#Alphinau Leveilleur

[pyrateko]

WIP sneak peak into my crushing love for the Leveilleur twins (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

[azems-familiar]

uno reversing with emet specifically for Seika

fuck you skdgjhsdjhg

this is 3k words long, very relevant to their verse if i ever write more of it, and has a decent focus on emetraha also, so here's your AO3 link if you'd like to support it there too!

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The Warrior of Light is in the First.

Emet-Selch had felt it when the Exarch summoned her, that rush of aether and the Tower’s activation tugging at his senses where he’d been wandering Lakeland at a distance, watching one of the so-called Virtues make its unerring way towards civilization. He hadn’t gone looking at the time, but he’d known all the same; it was the obvious culmination of the Exarch’s decades-long study on summoning spells and voidgates. Of the past five years of plucking the Scions of the Seventh Dawn across the rift, one by one, a mistake at a time. Her appearance had heralded the beginning of the endgame in truth, and thus he had determined to avoid the Tower (no matter that it…disappoints him to leave behind his regular teatime meetings with the only other intelligent soul this side of the rift) until he made his last moves, that he might spare both he and the Exarch the…difficulty. Neither of them are fools enough to let their conviction waver, this near to the end, but it will be far simpler to remove the temptation all the same.

Or so he had thought.

The Exarch had sent the Warrior of Light off to Eulmore, it seems, to collect the young Leveilleur twin, and at the time Emet-Selch had thought it an excellent opportunity to observe her in action - though he had not expected her to discern the truth of Vauthry’s identity, and there was little chance to see her combat prowess, Emet-Selch does not need to witness either of those firsthand. He knows more than enough about her skill at arms from the truths of Lahabrea’s, Igeyorhm’s, and Nabriales’s demises, and from Elidibus’s account. No, he wishes to see her around others, and her response to Eulmore’s stagnant society had seemed an excellent litmus test for a hero.

At least until he laid eyes on her soul, of course. 

Leaning against the entrance to Vauthry’s chambers, Emet-Selch stares at that soft green, a shade as familiar to him as his own heartbeat despite the eons it has been since he’s seen it, and swallows down the frankly-hysterical laugh that wants to burst from his chest at the sight. Of course she would interfere here, after everything. Azem had ever been fond of causing mischief and ruining his best-laid plans; it was why Hythlodaeus had befriended her so easily as children. They had both taken such great delight in ganging up on him, even when Venat had caught her attention and her career path and taken her away, and she had begun to spend less and less time in Amaurot and their company. That cheerful delight had never disappeared, not until the very end.

Not until they stood across from each other in the Convocation’s chamber, masks and hoods set aside, and she declared this all wrong and told him that she would act as her Seat demanded in this matter, no matter that it set her against their collective will. That he should remember her as Azem, not the shadow of the childhood friend who had followed him around everywhere he went, begging for his attention.

He had not said, you have not followed me anywhere since the moment you met Venat and she offered you a smile and a compliment. He had not said, I am asking you to stay because I have loved you since the moment I knew what love was and I fear for you, should you leave Amaurot now. 

He had said, I, too, act as my Seat and this body demands, and should you consider yourself more knowledgeable and more moral than it, you are free to resign your Seat.

…no wonder Hydaelyn chose as She did. She too would have likely found the draw to this particular soul unbearable. How many eons have they all been alone?

He watches as she and Alphinaud defy Vauthry for the sake of a simple Mystel child, as she bares sharp teeth and hisses out a threat that Alphinaud interrupts, as her aether rises around her as though she intends to cast a spell-

He stops.

Emet-Selch has been in the First for a century. He is more than familiar with the Light and the way it taints - and the Warrior’s corporeal and incorporeal aether both are saturated with it, her balance already perilously tipped. If the Exarch’s plan is to have her kill the Lightwardens and absorb their aether, she will too-easily fail and turn, he thinks distantly, in some vain attempt to avoid the horror dawning in the pit of his stomach like acid. Because- Hydaelyn’s magic is heavy on her, brand and ward in one, and…

There is only one way one of Hydaelyn’s Chosen would lose their aetheric balance to the Light.

He should leave it. He should. This is the advantage he needs to solidly win his game with the Exarch and push the First into Rejoining; he cannot prioritize one life, one soul, above all else. But she bears Azem’s soul, and when she turns to leave the chamber behind her face is the same, soft and warm, indigo eyes and deep violet-brown hair framing it, despite the ivory scales across her cheeks and nose and forehead. The soft glow of the limbal rings surrounding her pupils is nearly enough to let him imagine the light of ages past in them, and her determined expression is horribly familiar. There is a knife between his ribs, twisting with every breath, and while usually it would herald loneliness now it is merely the strength of his longing, and he hardly manages to teleport himself away before she catches sight of him, reeling with the force of it. Azem had turned away once, but that was before Hydaelyn Sundered the star; he is near-certain that if this reincarnation of her, semi-translucent soul and imitation face or no, has anything near her morals and beliefs, she could be made to see the necessity of their work, the duty he bears. Diplomacy could succeed where challenges via combat have failed.

But if she is tempered. If Hydaelyn’s will holds sway over her own - because while She and Zodiark are not alike the primals of the Sundered’s knowing, and do not temper the same, if Hydaelyn did this to Her own champion it was purposeful and thus must be for the purpose of control - she will never be able to choose anything but this supposedly-righteous crusade. And she will never know what she is bound to, and with her strength, should she survive saving the First, somehow, his people will fall and be forgotten. And Hydaelyn has, in the past, at least done Her heroes the kindness of letting them choose to martyr themselves for Her cause, even if She has lied terribly to them to achieve it; that She does not do so now makes something like bile rise up in the back of his throat.

He had never approved of Venat’s relationship with Azem - it had begun when Psyche was still her student, and they were traveling the star together, mentor and apprentice doing the Seat of Azem’s duty. Psyche had only been a few years older than Venat’s own son, but she was old enough to make her own decisions, even if he felt it certain that Venat had been inappropriate in encouraging her affections. But Emet-Selch had even then been self-aware enough to know much of his dislike and disapproval was due to jealousy - he had hated the way Psyche turned away from him and Hythlodaeus to chase her mentor across Etheirys, the way the home he shared with his partner had ever felt slightly cold without her presence, the way they had both loved her so dearly and she had never once chosen them.

He has enough tenuous faith in Hydaelyn’s morals, despite how much She had changed upon becoming a goddess, to hope that She has done nothing untoward with this young hero who knows so little of their past. But the Warrior is unmistakably tempered, and there is only one reason he can imagine why.

He cannot let this stand, not without at least making an attempt to stop it.

Emet-Selch steps through another portal, this one depositing him directly into the Ocular - the Exarch knows a great many things, but this…he has to hope that this man, with his encyclopedic knowledge of the Ascians and his eight-times-Rejoined soul, is unaware of the state of the hero he has summoned to save his reflection. The idea that the Exarch would willingly use…they are, of course, two sides of the same coin, and the Exarch is as willing to manipulate others to achieve his goals as Emet-Selch is. But this is different, if only for the identity of that evergreen soul.

“Tell me you don’t know,” he demands, bursting through the door into the Umbilicus with nary a warning or a greeting, despite how long it has been since their last meeting. The Exarch is seated at his desk at the far end of the room, studying something from an Allagan tomestone, hooded and robed as he ever is, but his head snaps up at Emet-Selch’s entrance, and for a moment he simply stares.

“...I…imagine there are quite a few things I don’t know,” he says after a moment, confusion clear in his voice, and Emet-Selch grits his teeth and crosses his arms over his chest, fighting back the urge to snap. “Could you be more specific?”

“The Warrior of Light is tempered, Exarch,” he says slowly, enunciating the words over-clearly. “If you have summoned her out of ignorance for the fact, then that is forgivable; if you intend to use that against her for your world’s salvation, I will be greatly displeased.”

The Exarch stares, obvious despite his cowl, mouth opening slightly, and he has never been a stellar enough actor to fake this, at least. Emet-Selch finds himself relaxing slightly despite himself. “Tempered- how? Hydaelyn’s blessing protects those with the Echo!”

Grimly, Emet-Selch says, “It does not protect them from Her. The Warrior’s aether and soul are both corrupted by Light already, despite not slaying a single sin eater; the signs are unmistakable to my sight. You were unaware, then?” Despite your likely-future knowledge, he does not add, but he thinks he does not need to. The Exarch knows he suspects.

“...what do you mean, from…from Her…no,” the Exarch gasps softly, the implication hitting him with all the force of a spell; Emet-Selch can see the way he reels, the way he pales, in real time. “No, She…then- Zodiark? Please, tell me He isn’t…He didn’t…”

There is an aching horror in his voice, realization mixed with some kind of sickness, and it softens Emet-Selch; he crosses the room to the desk and leans against it with a sigh, nodding his head once. “Eldest and most powerful of primals,” he confirms. “My people created them, rather than the summoning you are familiar with; their tempering method is different, and we are not slaves to their will. Yet Hydaelyn does not temper, usually, and in fact wards Her Chosen against aetheric corruption, which leaves me terribly suspicious as to the reason the Warrior has been subjected to it - especially given her identity. As for my brethren…we gave Zodiark life to save our star from terrible calamity, and even now He acts in that capacity. Do not insult my conviction, or this conversation will be over.”

“...there was never any…I…I see,” the Exarch says softly, and lets out a shuddering breath, slumping into his desk. “Then why would She…?”

It is a foolish, aching moment of sentiment that has Emet-Selch shift one gloved hand to rest over the Exarch’s crystal one. “I have my suspicions,” he admits. “It is a long tale, however, and while I swear to tell it to you, at the moment I find myself more invested in finding a way to separate her from Hydaelyn’s clutches, that she might know the truth of our duty and our conflict, and make her own decision. You must know that with her aetheric balance compromised, she will not successfully contain the Light of the First without being consumed by it - aid me in freeing her from Hydaelyn’s influence, and I swear to you I will aid you in return in whatever your contingency might be.”

He knows it is a foolish hope, in part. He knows he sounds desperate, and that he is placing all his hopes in one basket, guaranteeing failure and defeat should her own conviction to Hydaelyn prove true despite it all. But he must make it anyway, even should it be doomed to failure, even should he be doomed to put his duty over Azem’s soul and fight anyway. The memory of her face, of her soul, haunts him the way Azem’s last words do - he cannot simply let her fade into the Lifestream or turn away from him once more without one last attempt. Elidibus will forgive him for this, if it succeeds.

“...aye,” the Exarch says softly, and turns his hand to thread their fingers together. (If he pretends not to notice, then he does not have to pull away.) “I think I can swear that. But- for my own peace of mind, if nothing else- please. Whatever cure we find for her tempering - allow us to also use it on you. If…if only to erase the doubt in my heart.” He lets out a breath and offers a small, tremulous smile. “Perhaps…if this process takes too long, we could find something useful to do with the Light that benefits the both of us…?”

“...perhaps,” Emet-Selch agrees after a moment. “My duty remains absolute, whatever else I desire, but any middle road that does not destroy the both of our duties in the walking of it is one I am open to discussing. And where the Warrior of Light is concerned…” He looks off into the distance of the room, gaze unfocused, and for a moment he could almost see Psyche before she was Azem, laughing brightly, her hair streaming out behind her. “...I must believe she will make the choice she would not before. I must.”

He does not know if he could take her turning away from him once more, even if this is not her in truth.

“...perhaps in the end, she will,” the Exarch murmurs, rubbing a thumb over the back of Emet-Selch’s hand. His other hand rests over the golden constellation engraved in his crystal arm, that terrible, blatant mark of Emet-Selch’s unavoidable affections - a care he cannot truly deny, no matter how he avoids it.

For a moment, Emet-Selch merely watches him, the lines of his face cast into shadow by the depths of his cowl. His eyes, Emet-Selch knows, are a vibrant red, and what fringes of his hair he’s seen are bleached blue-white; there are no ghosts lurking in the curve of his nose or the warmth of his smile, no constant reminder of the past he so longs to restore, the people he so desperately misses, just an old, comfortable enmity. Perhaps that is what makes him so easy to care for - so easy to slip up around, because how many concessions has Emet-Selch made for this man, in the name of their game, when he could have simply struck the Exarch down upon his arrival in the First?

“A truce, then?” he asks softly - too softly, he knows, his voice betraying him in this, because the knowledge of the Warrior’s true identity has cracked something open in his chest that he can no longer bind closed. “On the condition we find an acceptable resolution to this dilemma, one that may let us truly consider this game of ours a draw.”

The Exarch stands and circles the desk, dropping Emet-Selch’s hand to pull him into a tight hug, a tremor in his flesh hand. Emet-Selch knows better than to give in, but he leans into the touch anyway, closing his eyes and leaning his head on the Exarch’s shoulder, slipping one arm loosely around his waist. “...as the only scenario in which I do not lose outright- aye. Aye, a truce. And I will not sleep until I find a suitable resolution.”

“You most certainly will,” Emet-Selch scolds, directing a sharp-eyed look up at the Exarch’s face without lifting his head. Foolish, foolish decision, but- if a truce truly is possible… “You are not wholly crystal yet, my dear Exarch, and I expect you to stay that way.”

“You shall simply have to arrive at a suitable conclusion before I must sleep, then.” There’s a ghost of a smile on the Exarch’s face and Emet-Selch reaches up to smooth one thumb over the corner of it, humming to himself, one eyebrow raised.

“Will I now,” he drawls. “You seem quite certain there is no other way to convince you to rest.”

It is a terrible, dangerous thing, hope, no matter that it is what Zodiark was formed from. Hope that the Warrior of Light can be made to make the choices he so desperately wishes for - that his long millennia alone in the dark may come to an end - that Hydaelyn may finally be brought to justice for Her crimes. That he will not have to stand against this enemy who has made the game enjoyable in truth for the first time in millennia. Terrible and dangerous…and yet he cannot let go of it all the same.

“Hm. I think you must be very persuasive,” the Exarch says, voice low and near-purring - and then he sighs and sobers, arm tightening around Emet-Selch’s back. “...we’ll cure her. I am not losing this chance.”

The steely determination in his voice is the same as when he has faced down sin eaters, Vauthry, and held together his city by force of will alone.

“Nor am I,” Emet-Selch promises - and then smirks, a sharp-edged, smug expression. “Now…shall we judge my skills in persuasion?”

[dextixer]

Why some people dislike team RWBY and how it can change (Comparative Analysis)

I think it would be no secret to say that over time, more and more people have become disillusioned with the protagonists of this show. Mainly team RWBY. The reasons for disliking team RWBY overall differ from person to person but usually share certain similarities, especially when talking about team RWBY as a whole. And the feelings concerning these characters run the entire range from liking them to outright despising them, although most people fall into more moderate positions and are more or less neutral on the main characters.

Despite what some might believe, team RWBY are definitely not unique characters in that regard, either in how they are written currently, neither in their age range, nor the reasons as to why they are disliked, as an enjoyer of a lot of types of media is slowly started noticing that the reasons given for disliking team RWBY seem to map on very well on two other characters with simmilar character development, those characters being Ashoka Tano from the Clone Wars series and Alphinaud Leveilleur from the game FF14.

As such i would like to try my hand at a comparative analysis by comparing the dislike of these characters, reasons for it and how eventually that all changed or might be able to change.

(Spoilers for the Clone Wars series and FF14 ahead, be aware)

The Origin

At first, i think i should begin by talking about these characters more, their actions, and why they are/were disliked in their respective fanbases.

Alphinaud Leveilleur - This is a character that the player meets relatively early in FF14. While his twin sister goes her own way, Alphinau joins the faction of heroes that the player belongs to. Despite his willingness to help others and be the hero, one can quickly notice Alphinauds character flaws. Alphinaud very much considers himself to be a hero of the realm, someone who is meant to unite everyone and fight against anyone who would want to harm them, this is mainly informed by him being a descendant of his grandfather who saved the realm before.

While this leads to Alphinaud being compassionate and willing to help others, it also leads to unearned self-assuredness , reckless arrogance and even ignorance at times. He also comes off very condescending at times, even if unintentionally.

Despite his arrogance, most of his actions at the time did not come with negative consequences and for the most part resulted in only positives, which is what also increased the playerbases dislike of him. Arrogance is already a grating trait, but for it to be repaid so often can also lead to dislike.

(It has to also be mentioned that at this time he is 16 years of age)

Ashoka Tano - She is a character that was first introduced in the Clone Wars animated movies as a padawan to Anakin Skywalker. The watchers could follow the many adventures that Ashoka had together with Anakin in the various Episodes of the Clone Wars series. She was a dislike character since her earliest appearances, she was disrespectful to established characters that people have grown to love, she was disrespectful to even experienced soldiers of rank like Captain Rex despite just joining the war effort. She often argued with Anakin and Obi-Wan, questioned or even disobeyed direct orders.

Despite her overall behaviour she was still kind-hearted, compassionate, heroic, besides being a great fighter in her own right. Her talent in fighting however also leads to arrogance in her own skills.

What is worse is that many of her actions ended up either rewarding her for being reckless and arrogant when they succeeded or resulted in absolutely no consequences if she failed. This further cemented the dislike of her character and especially due to her age many people were reminded of the nonsense that Anakin pulled as a kid in the Phantom Menace. A negative association to be sure.

(At the start of the Clone Wars, Ashoka is 14 years old)

Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose, Blake Belladona, Weiss Schnee - I do not think i need to describe these characters, we are in the RWBY subreddit after all. What i will cover is why people dislike these characters as a whole, as a team.

Team RWBY are perceived to be arrogant and self-righteous by some. Their actions in Volume 5 with Blake putting the responsibility of the White Fangs actions on all faunus, Their actions in V6 with stealing the airship for what is seen to be personal comfort, and especially their actions in V7-8 with lying to and going behind the back of Ironwood.

They consider themselves and their positions to be immutably right and because of that they are perceived to take actions that are not necessarily right, only right to them. For example, lying to Ironwood after taking issue with being lied to by Ozpin. And then later on directly opposing Ironwood in Volume 7, going so far as to be perceived by some to hold Atlas hostage unless their demands are met.

There is also a very much grating quality and that is the lack of consequences for things caused by their own actions. Or at least, consequences that are relevant to them. Qrow gets injured in V4 because of Ruby interfering in a fight that she was told not to interfere in. The theft of the airship in V6 despite resulting in their arrest and a summoning of a large monster does not have any personal ramifications, in fact the show tries to portray them as justified even admonishing Qrow while doing so.

At the same time. They are kind, they are compassionate, heroic. We are talking about characters that are heroes, they want to make the world a better place. But they still have many perceived qualities that are extremely dislikeable to some

(I want to note that what i am describing here is not a factional recreation of the events of the show, but rather the PERCEPTION that some people had which would be different from others)

Commonalities - I think many people can already notice a lot of similarities. Arrogance, lack of consequences, self-righteousness and disobedience of senior figures, all of these qualities resulted in combinations that made these characters not very well liked, of course, do take note that this is not universal, there are people who liked those characters too.

The Flashpoint

With the characters i mentioned before being quite disliked eventually their flaws culminated in some massive event that exposed those flaws for everyone to see, and this time, with actual consequences or potential consequences that would come out of that.

Alphinaud Leveilleur - After the many successes in helping the "Scions of the Seventh Dawn" group of heroes, including the main character, Alphinaud in his wisdom decides to form a guild of warriors called the "Crystal Braves", this would be a military organization beholden to no nation and meant to protect all of the nations from common enemies. A good idea in theory. IN THEORY.

The thing is that partially due to his arrogance and inexperience Alphinaud has no idea how to correctly manage such a group. The group was supposed to be financed by donations of citizens, this however was quickly abused by a political group in one of the nations, they became the major funders of this group. And in the end, this group was then used to betray the heroes including the player character, to frame an assasination of a head of state on the player character and then resulted in the entire hero group of the "Scions of the Seventh Dawn" to be lost.

Because the group was never loyal to Alphinaud or his ideals. It was loyal to the coin of the faction which funded them. And Alphinaud never saw this coming due to his character defects. It is a massive blow to him and in that single moment, Alphinaud loses EVERYTHING he was working to build.

Ashoka Tano - Ashokas flashpoint comes when she is finally given command of troops. She is given a squadron of pilots that she is supposed to lead in an attack on an enemy starship in support to 3 allied cruisers. It is quickly found out that the enemy has set a trap and Ashoka is ordered to retreat, instead of doing that she disobeys orders and continues the attack until she is finally forced to retreat. Due to her disobeying orders she loses the entire squadron, the admiral leading the attack is critically injured and one of the cruisers is lost with all hands on board. All due to her disobeying orders and thus forcing the rest of the attack group to wait for her to return.

It was one of the first times that her character defects led to such a large loss of life instead of just being an annoyance to the audience.

This is further compounded on in a separate fight, this time on a planets surface where she ignores the orders to retreat because she believes that the enemy is running away and that she is winning. While she survives the encounter and is evacuated, many of the soldiers she was with do not make it and she is forced to watch them die, once again to her disobeying orders orders.

This results in Ashoka eventually being assigned to the Jedi Temple as a punishment, since she craves action. This craving of hers is denied by the punishment.

Team RWBY - Team RWBY has their flashpoint, the major flashpoint in Atlas. Their actions lead to the ever building stress, distrust and the eventual falling out with one of their allies, General Ironwood. Their actions then play a part in the destruction of Atlas, as they refused the Generals plan to leave with Atlas and abandoning Mantle. Giving Salem and her forces the time to reach and attack Atlas, and those same actions resulted in the relic of creation ending up in the hands of Salem.

Their choice of evacuating people to Vacuo also is shown to result in the people evacuated being attacked by Grimm and transported into what can only be described as an inhospitable land with people that have no love for the other kingdoms, nor resources to sustain a large population.

While we do not see the effects of another event we also know that the Amity tower is launched succesfully enough for Ruby to reveal the existance to Salem to all kingdoms. Which was projected by Ironwood to cause panic and increased negative emotions to such a level that the kingdoms would suffer attacks that would need to be repelled. But Ruby does so without the ability to actually assist those kingdoms.

For now, team RWBY itself has no suffered any personal consequences YET.

(Also, since i know it is going to come up and people will attack me if i dont include this, i am not blaming team RWBY nor calling them villains in this case, what i am stating is what happened and that they had responsibility in these actions. Ironwood also had responsibility in this actions and the consequences of his actions were his own soldiers abandoning him and his eventual demise)

Commonalities - All of these characters experience massive events that have dire consequences, entirely or partially due to their actions. Let us all remember that all of these characters are still heroes, their intentions were good, and yet in the end the intention does not matter as much as what actually happens. These Flashpoint events are also very much informed by what are perceived to be the characters negative qualities and actions born out of those qualities.

The Rebuilding

The flashpoints do not happen for no reason. These are meant to be the lowest points of the characters so that the characters could undertake a journey of change for the better. To acknowledge their personal flaws and then attempt to eliminate them and grow as people.

Alphinaud Leveilleur - Alphinaud is devastated by the Flashpoint and loses his self-assuredness and arrogance quickly. He blames himself entirely for what happened and starts to be more of a follower rather than a leader. He becomes more attentive to listening to people more experienced than him.

Part of his arc, as funny as it is, is him learning how to forage for wood to make a campfire for the rest of the team of Adventurers. As a privileged trust fund kid he has never done that before. And this is very much symbolic of his growth. He is not all knowledgeable. His experience in real-life matters is very much non-existant and this is what partially led to his unintentional arrogance before.

Its like a rich kid going away from the serving staff at home and starting to learn how to cook for himself. What we have as a result is a character that is very liked by the FF14 fandom, his flaws are not entirely fixed, but where before his flaws were obvious and unbearable, afterwards his flaws became minor and almost endearing in a way, especially with his twin sister being quick to discipline him if he was acting stupid.

Ashoka Tano - Ashoka after being assigned to the Jedi temple eventually loses her lightsaber in a bad part of the city. To find it, she gets the help of an extremely patient and slowly acting Jedi. He is a complete opposite to her and drives her up the wall. She still has her character flaws of being too hard-headed and aggressive and fails to catch the thieves. Something that the jedi accompanying her manages to help her with.

At the end, it results in a valuable lesson and one of the main changes to her. During the adventure she learns the value of patience and even listening to her elders, to people that know more than her.

More importantly, she does not lose her character traits. She is still strong-willed, she is still willing to question authority and even orders. But she does so in better ways. The negative aspects of her character get filled down through many more episodes to create a diamond of a character that might be a fan favourite.

Team RWBY  - Team RWBY are yet to undergo change or a rebuilding of character. And i am of the opinion that Volume 9 can change it. At least currently it seems that Volume 9 is intended to be more retrospective and thoughtful, maybe even slower paced.

Simmilar to the 2 other characters i mentioned before, i believe that team RWBY need to have a moment of self-introspection. It is good to be heroic. But their reckless actions have been a problem for a long time now (At least to people who dislike them), even if the intentions of team RWBY are good, their actions bring with them consequences that are quite negative and could have been avoided.

The main hallmark of heroes is that they are not perfect, they have flaws, flaws that they eventually have to confront. Because if they fail to do so, at least in regards to RWBY, they turn into someone like Adam. Adam had many chances to confront his own flaws and obsessive behaviour, instead he blamed others, and where did that lead him? To losing everything, including his life. And for a villain, that makes sense.

But team RWBY are heroes, and their flaws should be acknowledged and then adressed. At least in the perception of me and many others.

Ending Word

Look, let me say this. I do not think that team RWBY are villains, not at all. And for many of their actions, i do not fault them at all, for example Ruby cutting Tyrians tail? My opinion is that she should have aimed for the head. At the same time, i think that while team RWBY are heroes, it should be acknowledge that their actions have consequences, good and bad, intentional and not.

While people might have different opinions and maybe even thing that team RWBY are not reckless or that it is even GOOD that they are reckless. There are others with opposing opinions to that and see the recklessness of team RWBY to be existant, and a negative thing for their characters.

I just wanted to cover this topic. This is intended to be both an expression on why some people do not hold team RWBY in high regard, and as a way to compare them to other characters that had the same problems as them, but eventually turned into fan-favourites or very well liked.

This is not the first time i am making a thread of this type, but i am still unused to this kind of format. Any kind of advice, critique or the like would be appreciated. Of course, disagreement or agreement with the points themselves is also welcome, or additional questions if anyone has them.

[autumnslance]

👀

send me a 👀 and i’ll post a snippet of art/writing that i never got around to finishing this year (r.i.p) 

I think I've yet to share the initial short blurb I wrote that eventually morphed into “Downtime”.

Like so many of my NPC-focused fics, “Downtime” keeps the WoL generic to focus on the other characters. So this initial blurb never really fit in there, though this is what that thread grew from.

Maybe someday it will find a home in Aeryn’s series, but for now, here are the Leveilleur twins, Ryne, Taynor, and Cerigg (with a cameo from our favorite waitress) on the night the Warriors of Darkness returned from the depths of the Tempest...

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“What a night,” Alisaie yawned as the trio of younger Scions stumbled into the Wandering Stairs. Glynard waved to them as they found a seat, Ryne slumping into her chair and managing a weak smile for Cyella as she set down three glasses of water.

“Probably need this far more than any other drink,” the elf said, fixing a fierce eye on each of them. She was always polite and helpful, but there was just something about her that set an instinct in the back of Ryne’s mind on edge. She couldn’t explain it any better than that, so said nothing aloud. Instead, Ryne nodded up at her and let Alphinaud do the talking. He was the best of them at that, anyway.

“I wonder where Aeryn got off to; I’d thought we’d have seen her by now,” Ryne said once Cyella had left their table.

“That isn’t going to happen tonight,” a new young voice piped up from behind her.

“Good evening, Taynor,” Alphinaud said, nodding to the young mage. “Enjoying the festivities?”

Taynor grinned and shrugged. “Cerigg and I returned from a job to the night sky and the whole place in an uproar. You lot certainly know how to throw a party.”

“What were you saying about Aeryn?” Alisaie asked, before chugging down her own water glass.

“Well,” Taynor said, leaning on a chair. “As we came in, we saw her and that Thancred fellow dancing across the Quadrivium--”

“Dancing?” Alphinaud asked, surprised. His smile, though, seemed also...relieved? Happy? Ryne wasn’t sure.

Taynor nodded, scowling only a little at the interruption. “Music was playing, they were having a grand time. Others joined in--someone tried to cut in, get a dance with our famous Warrior of Darkness, but your man was too quick for that.”

“He certainly is,” Ryne said. “Are they still here at the Stair somewhere?” She began to look around, wondering if they had somehow missed the pair.

Taynor shook his head. “Oh no; he escorted her into the Pendants once the band’s set was done. That was more than two bells ago.” He paused. “They haven’t come out since.”

“That is enough gossip for one night,” a man’s voice growled. Taynor’s guardian, Cerigg, strolled up, gently tossing a money pouch to the elven boy. Taynor caught it easily, immediately claiming a spot on their table to inspect the contents. “You are all far too young to be concerned about any of that.”

“I beg your pardon,” Alisaie bristled, glowering up at the hume hunter.

He met her gaze dispassionately, then shrugged. “You and your brother are almost old enough for that sorta nonsense,” he amended. “But still no call to be poking into Aeryn and Thancred’s business. For all we know, they’re playing a few vicious hands of Triple Triad--Aeryn losing them all, of course. I value my hide too much to ask ‘bout it later, though.”

Alphinaud shook his head. “I’d rather not think about it anyway,” he admitted. “Ryne, if you’d like to stay with us again tonight, you’re more than welcome.”