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Here’s a RWBY sketchbook page abt the V3 finale cause a) I am Emotional, b) I like how it turned out, and c) Qrow is Soft in it and I love him

Yes I only colored half the page, and yes you can tell which side I cared about more, and no I don’t care

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YOUTH.

When they were teenagers.

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Blake 🖤

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(Not a ship post) After dozens of rewatches I’m happy to say I’ve grown to like this fella :]

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NOBODY TOUCH ME I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR YEARS

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I will forever love the fact that RWBYs go to attack for hard enemies is to just have Blake yeet Yang at the enemy and pray

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qrow stops being emotionally constipated dumbass for 0.1 seconds and huggy he nieces

Qrow is criminally awful at giving hugs

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Hdhdjdshd

O-O

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lmao I saw Yang had her arm on Blake's back after Ruby told her to shut up, but I just noticed she was leaning on Blake when they were looking at Jaune's map and that's so cute.

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Yang making Blake the focus of this selfie is the gayest fuckin thing lmfao

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Even More Symbolism

so obviously RWBY is the king of visual symbolism, but god the Bees vs Adam has one of my favourite examples in the whole show: Blake meets Yang halfway

So we all know the bees' whole arc is about meeting each other halfway, completely equal ("protecting each other"). But Yang's whole character is defined as being the one left behind, who has to seek out the other. Raven leaves and Yang tracks her down. Ruby leaves and Yang goes after her. And here, Blake stops responding and Yang goes to make sure she's okay.

And finds her here:

See that big ol rock dividing the waterfall at its centre? That shit's important.

From the second Yang lands, she's positioned in front of the rock. She's at the centre. She's already here, meeting Blake halfway.

Now obviously in such a dynamic fight, the fighters move around a lot, but whenever it stops for a significant shot, where is Yang?

In front of the rock, at the centre. Halfway.

Not only is this marking the centre of the whole thing, but the nature of it also speaks volumes. Yang is the rock, steady and constant and there. Blake on the other hand, is rushing water, impermanent and unpredictable and sometimes here and sometimes gone. And Blake stays completely against the water, until...

Now Blake still isn't quite there yet, but she's reached out. Blake went after Yang. The one who leaves went after the one who is left. She reaches her hand out (idk if it was intentional but the part of Blake currently in front of the rock with Yang is only her right arm, the same arm that Yang lost for her, because holy shit), but Blake is still against the water, not entirely secure yet, for one obvious reason:

Adam is the reason Blake is untethered. She can't stay grounded anywhere or with anyone as long as he's chasing after her. Blake can't hold onto her rock because Adam is always in the way.

Until, he isn't.

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They be cuddling n shit

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HEY-OOO IS MY BABY GONNA BE OKAY-OOO????!!! ….is he???

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Criminal masterminds.

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them!!!!!!!!!!

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The Best Defense is a GOOD DEFENSE. Shocking, I know.

Something I feel is a really nice, subtle touch that also doesn’t seem to have been talked about in Volume 7 is how much Jaune has transitioned away from being an offensive fighter and has taken up much more of a defensive and supportive role in combat.

Sure, Jaune still uses his sword, but his fight scenes this volume have put far more emphasis on his shield. He always seems to be blocking hits or knocking enemies off balance to allow Ren or Nora to get hits in. His big upgrade at the start of the Volume was very pointedly to his Shield and not his sword, and post-upgrade he doesn’t even use the ‘Super-sword’ mode.

Honestly, post-upgrade Crocea Mors might not even have the ‘Super-sword’ mode anymore. And if that is the case, it would be a really nice subtle way of showing how Jaune is better coping with his grief post-Volume 6. Looking back, it seems pretty clear that Jaune’s ‘Super sword’ effectively embodied the self-destructive ways Jaune was dealing with his grief for Pyrrha, and his suicidal revenge-quest against Cinder; 

By transforming his shield into a bigger sword, Jaune was abandoning his defense and self-preservation.

But now with this Volume’s upgrades, Jaune has not only taken up his defense again, he has made it better and now favors the Shield over the Sword, to the point where he often times doesn’t even have his sword drawn in combat.

And it’s not just Defense that Jaune has started favoring more. This Volume has also greatly emphasized Jaune’s role of supporting his allies: Aside from offering more protection, the other upgrade to Jaune’s shield adds a shockwave attack that stuns enemies and leaves them more open to attacks from his allies.

Even aside from his equipment, everything we see of Jaune this volume emphasizes his role as a supportive figure. While his comrades are off hunting Grimm or protecting vital resource shipments, Jaune’s first Official Huntsman mission has him babysitting preschoolers. A task that, while it may not have been his first choice, Jaune does not at all resent and even takes pride in.

And during the climactic battle for Mantle, while his comrades are battling hordes of giant monsters, Jaune is coordinating the evacuation, guiding civilians to safety and empowering Ren’s Semblance to keep the people safe. And again, this is a task Jaune takes with no resentment whatsoever. He is not here to slay monsters. He is here to save lives.

All these things come together to really emphasize how Jaune has grown not into yet another big powerful warrior who slays monsters and bad guys, but rather a man who Defends, Supports and Inspires those around him.

Pretty fitting for a character based on Joan of Arc.

It also makes it clear that all the people still clamoring for Jaune to get some kind of super badass power boost or battle Cinder or Salem have seriously missed the point of his character. Jaune is NOT ‘Anime Protagonist Man #40831’.

He’s so much more interesting than that!