#Even when Oz literally can't get a cold

[kiruamon]

"Hey, Noob!"

"You look cold. Take this. You need it more than I."

[chaikachi]

Treasure is a Rosegarden Song

HEAR ME OUT OKAY. I've known for a while it could be sort of linked back to them, but it felt easier to brush it off as a general whole team reunion song... Until today's new episode.

⚠ SPOILERS AHEAD, YE HAVE BEEN WARNED ⚠

We got a very big win today with the Bees, they even got a whole new song that Casey has confirmed is bmblb part 2 (check her twitter, i'm not linking it lol). Which... really makes you wonder if they'd have that many Bees songs back to back, right? An argument can surely be made for it being a song about Yang and Ruby as that's the first reunion in Ultimatum that we see, but the lyrics don't really imply a sisterly bond. It could be Renora as the other couple that had a hint of a reunion that scene... but they didn't have a proper one. We got it and their confession in the following episode.

Which leaves the only other focused relationship dynamic in that moment: Ruby and Oscar

And why would it be an RG song? Well, they're the only 'pair' that got separated in v8 that didn't end the volume together. The teams were split down the middle with very clear foils:

Yang to Blake Ren to Nora Weiss to Jaune Ruby to Oscar (Also Ruby to Yang but this ain't about them)

But when Atlas fell, Ren and Nora were together in Vacuo. The bees made it to Ever After. Jaune and Weiss did too... but Oscar and Ruby? They're the only ones that are still apart. And this song is one about absence of another and awaiting a reunion. So lets dive into the lyrics proper, shall we?

Night and day, I've waited

For starters, the sun and moon symbolism that's been thrown around for them since their introductions. Yes, the Bees also have a celestial union going on, but again please bare with me.

All alone in crowded rooms I'm incomplete, my life is paused When you're not here

This is the longest portion of the analysis as the line "all alone in crowded rooms" is so heavy.

It gets tricky when we can't see Oscar's state rn (i will come back to him in a minute tho), but we do know Ruby's. We know that she is preoccupied with a lot of things. She's weighed down by Penny's death, by the internalized expectations she has to be just like Summer, this perfect hero from a fairytale, and is alone in her burdens as a leader. Romance is likely the last thing on her mind. But she is feeling loneliness, isolation, and left behind. We can see that in all past volume examples quite literally (like the above photo, the dance, Brunswick farms, her team not wanting to explore Atlas after their first mission, etc.), but it's really being driven home in recent episodes between the Blacksmith (Carpenter?) and Ruby's reaction to the Bees.

"You're doing this all alone?"

Also just... the way they're all positioned in this scene is so intentional. Yang and Blake are together and they are warm by the fire. Weiss is drinking some piping tea and smiling at them. And Ruby is sitting alone at a table with an empty chair, draped in a teal/green cloth, furthest from the fire. Remember the song "Cold" and how it's used as a metaphor for loss, loneliness, and grief throughout the show? Yeahhhh.

Recognizing Ruby is alone in crowded rooms begs the question of who in the cast makes her not feel that way. Well, anyone that's spent any amount of time looking at RG knows their entire dynamic is built on relating to and respecting each other for their similar positions. That out of everyone, Oscar has been the one to see through Ruby's mask and got her to actually open up about her grief. On the opposite side, Ruby helps Oscar in much the same ways he does her. By constantly watching his back, standing up for him, and reassuring him that despite the merge he is his own person... but he is also someone familiar with this feeling.

By virtue of being an Oz, he's already alienated. He joined the party late and doesn't know everyone as well as the others. He's also the youngest of the bunch and that's a lot of pressure that Ruby is familiar with.

So out of every pairing in the cast, these two are the ones that feel the most alone in crowded rooms and, by extension, less alone when they are together.

Though I walk this world I am nowhere to be found Every thought's of you And for now, you're not around

The singer here is saying that they don't feel present or grounded because of the absence of someone else. Their thoughts are with the person they are missing... but the wording about 'walking this world' is so specific when RG is the only pair split between worlds.

If this is from Oscar's POV, then he isn't found on Remnant. He's found in Ever After because that's where Ruby, and therefore his thoughts, are. The reverse POV also works, but in Ruby being very prioritized with the state they left Remnant in and her team consistently trying to pull her back to what's happening right in front of them.

But that's alright I'll be just fine I'm not concerned With sands of time

Sands of time is another very specific wording choice. Hourglass being associated with time is a give-in... but knowing what we know now it could be a lot of things. The Ever After is messy with time; we're seeing that firsthand with Jaune. But with Ruby and Oscar being the only ones still separated, there is an anticipation and a 'waiting' happening.

Beyond sands of time, Oscar - who has clock gears as a constant motif for his character design - is surrounded by sand as far as the eye can see in the deserts of Vacuo.

If forever comes and goes, I won't pay it no mind

Oscar is Oscar, do not misconstrue me here. But who, out of everyone in the cast aside from Salem, is most familiar with the concept of 'forever'? The one currently merging with a man who's lived a thousand lifetimes.

Hour after hour, I spend Dreaming that your voice will wake My slumbering ear Numb and lost I wander with No place to go, just aimless 'til You reappear

This is much like the earlier verse talking about loss and being directionless without their light to guide them. This song has some parallels to a few others, but for now I want to talk about Sky is Falling, which we know is an Oscar song:

Our world, lost without a soul Losing all control, not getting closer Every day is just another dose of torture (Torture) Now we pay the cost, the race is lost This nightmare's our real life

This can easily be linked back to wanting to wake from a bad dream and feeling lost without a (smaller more honest) soul being present. Later in that same song:

Lost all my hopes and dreams

Being numb and lost without hope. Ruby being the embodiment of hope.

Watch my life flash by in scenes And it seems there's no soul on the video screen

I am aggressively reminded of Arkos and Jaune watching Pyrrha's training video on a loop. Would bet actual money Oscar is doing the same of Ruby's broadcast back in Vacuo... because he was the only big name in the cast that wasn't shown watching that video when it went live.

Cold soaked as I'm standin' in rain Feelin' nothin' but pain until I see you again

Once again tying into feeling lost without the other.

Back to Treasure:

'Til you come in view I keep watch with these sore eyes Looking through the tears As the days creep slowly by

Emphasis on seeing each other again which can also be linked to the above stanza from Sky is Falling as well as Until the End with rain and tears being almost synonymous. (Until the End and Treasure have SO many parallels that I can't talk about all of them here without it becoming a whole separate post. Maybe later tho!)

Nothing's gonna shake my faith I know you're coming back real soon to my embrace

The emphasis on embrace when RG was the only pair that didn't get a hug.

Though time goes by so slow I'm never letting go I won't give up, if I spend my life I know

The time motif again followed by "I won't give up" paralleled to Ruby's line in her broadcast where she says "Even if Atlas falls, you can't give up."

"Atlas" also meaning Ruby. "You" being Oscar and the rest of the people still fighting. Oscar, who took up her mantle of leadership in a way through his costume change and actions in v6 after Ruby stepped into Oz's role.

And then lastly, the song's namesake:

'Cause the treasure of my life Is being by your side

Treasure, by definition, has two different meanings.

noun 1. a quantity of precious metals, gems, or other valuable objects. verb 1. keep carefully (a valuable or valued item).

The song at face value is talking about treasure as the verb. The act of treasuring or cherishing something precious. But much like some other double meanings in this song, a very strong argument can be made for the noun definition as well.

Ruby, who's first name literally means 'precious red gemstone'. Ruby, who's eyes are Silver and how that has tied into Rosegarden since their very first meeting. Oscar, who's eyes glow Gold with his own magic. Who's first name can also be easily associated with the colour by way of the award show statues of the same name.

If those are symbolisms associated with Oscar and Ruby, while Yang and Blake get a song called bmblb for being the same colour as bees and having a confession in a garden... then I think there is no other duo that the song Treasure can be about.

[emma-dennehy-presents]

Subjected myself to the Netflix Death Note movie for the first time, while I'm hyperfixating on the series again. Willem Dafoe voicing Ryuk is one of the only things I think I particularly care for. That doesn't mean I like DN'17 Ryuk (the Faustian bargain feels so weak when it feels like he's forcing it), just Dafoe voicing him. Similar feeling about L. I stan Lawliet, love LaKeith Stanfeild, doesn't mean i like the movie character. As for the rest:

-why is Sachiko fridged?

-where is Sayu?

-WTF is Soichiro's deal?

-what was wrong with heart attacks?

-why do they get rid of ppl touching the notebook seeing the shinigami?

-why is supposedly 4d level chess Light dumb enough to show Psuedo-Misa the notebook just because he's a lil thirsty?

-WTF is Psuedo-Misa's deal?

-Kira means literally none of the things Light says. Celtic is also not a language.

-the jingoism behind Light's international kills

-totally not surprised US LEO were big Kira fans from the jump

-what did the sex workers in the club slaughter scene do wrong, other than be sex workers?

-wtf is up with ninja L asking Watari to sing Wizard of Oz karaoke to him?

-the Raye Penber incident carries so much less weight

-fuck yea Phantasm

-I appreciate Light retaining some humanity, with the concern for his dad

-L's case feels so much weaker in this

-The OG rules were fun and compelling, the movie ones aren't

-emotional L crushes so much of my personal relation to the character

-i don't like ghost town Whammy's House. Assuming The Rochester in Rochester House means Rochester NY (judging from L reaching the NY field office), nothing even close exists. I grew up in the area and went in a lot of vacants. We would have found that.

-whats with the Bladerunner guns?

- L did NOT need to shove diner guy's face into his plate to parkour around

- L using a page? No.

-i hate it. I Hate It. I HATE IT.

About as seething as I expected, so can't exactly say disappointed. I'd rather rewatch DB Evolution, though. I assume all of these are very cold takes, but my body physically recoiled in reaction to exposure to this souless monstrosity. I know a lot of ppl hate on the '06 live action movies, but I'm so happy to be moving on to them.

[kitkatopinions]

I just stumbled across your blog and I love the Ironwood content here though I have a question. You mentioned in some posts that Ironwood shooting Oscar was what rocketed his villiany arc, can you elaborate on that? Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe shooting Oscar is bad/villianous thing but I always assumed Ironwoods mindset was "If I kill this child we might get Oz, the person who has most experience fighting Salem, back" and with him being sorrowful at shooting Oscar it never seemed too much of a leap for me instead it could have been the start of a great"Sacrifice people to save as many as I can/have the best chance at stopping Salem" arc that made him an anyogonist and not a villian who threatened to bomb a city and shot down evacuation ship

I would love to explain.

In my opinion, the difference between an antagonist versus a villain is that an antagonist gets in the way, but villains commit actually evil acts. So when Ironwood went from getting in the way via arresting Team RWBY when they said that they would stop him from saving the people of Atlas and the already evacuated citizens of Mantle, and instead went to shooting children from incredibly high heights, I'd say that moved him into the villain category despite his motivations likely still centering around beating Salem back. Villains can do bad things with good intentions, and it's still a villainous act.

I do agree that he could have come back from it, in fact even though I have a preference that some villains should stay villains I tend to think that there's very little a character can't 'come back' from if the redemption arc is done well (and they're actually treated as wrong and try to make amends somehow.) But I do think that it made Ironwood a villain when he shot Oscar.

One big reason why I think that it rocketed his (rushed, badly done) villain arc though, is because before that moment, Ironwood was not a 'murder in cold blood' character, especially if the person he was murdering was a literal child just disagreeing with him. He didn't send Clover, Qrow, and Robyn to kill Tyrian, just to apprehend him. He didn't kill Watts, he only apprehended him. He didn't kill Jacques when Jaques was in the way. He didn't kill Team RWBY for disagreeing with his solution to the trolley problem they'd found themselves in. He didn't kill Robyn when she was stealing supplies. Ironwood has in the past hesitated to even fight his allies when he thought they were gunning for his head (turning his gun around when facing Qrow.) The motivation of 'kill the kid, get Oz back' is... Believable, but I don't think it makes the act itself fit in with the rest of Ironwood's character. And this quickly escalated into shooting the councilman who disagreed with him (when he'd only jailed Watts,) talking about torturing people, bombing people, etc. I think that from a writer standpoint, the rw//by writers used that moment to 'clue the audience in' that despite the fact that they intended for the 'fight and risk everything or take who we can and run' question to be one with no clear right or wrong... They wanted us to still see Team RWBY as the good guys and anyone who opposed them as evil. It's a little like Cordovin, they didn't actually have Team RWBY written to be right - the steal a plane plot was wholly unnecessary and their need to get over the border immediately was never grounded in anything - so they had to make the obstacle in their way an annoying irrational screaming person violently attacking them despite their uwu sad eyed pleas to just let them break the law without a fight and then also made said annoying person make jabs at Blake being a faunus. Now nobody in their right mind would want to root for her, so nobody has to think that deeply about whether or not Team RWBY's actions and stances actually make sense.

"In a trolley problem, do you save the many or the few? Johnny says save the many and David says 'have we tried hitting the trolley with baseball bats in the hopes it won't hurt anyone?' Well, Johnny is a secretly evil piece of shit who's trying to torture people and murder children, so batter up, let's go with David's plan - Oh, David and his friends put up a billboard that says 'a trolley is running amuck' and now they're drinking tea on the trolley tracks and you say that's a bad move? Well David isn't murdering children so tbh I gotta go with his plan still." That's the vibe I get from Ironwood's villainy arc.

That's my thoughts on it anyway.

[hermit-called-he]

STOP AND STARE

Today I watched you stop and stare at me 

Oh God it made me nervous as can be 

You've moved on, your girl was next to you 

A large part of me was satisfied that you saw I'm in the process of moving on too 

There you sat, on your little perch,

Clearly not fighting back an urge 

Did you really have to stare so much? 

Especially when you were the one who released me from your clutch?

I couldn't help but want to smirk 

When she asked you who I was 

I was fascinated that you ignored her for a bit, continuing to lurk 

I know you showed her something on your phone but I caught you staring more 

I caught it enough times to know it wasn't a faux pas 

Your intense gaze shook me to my core 

Maybe you didn't know it was obvious but my friend caught it too 

Perhaps you should be more careful who you choose 

Especially when you were the one that decided to let go 

You can't complain that I didn't go with the flow 

I know I was being loud, obnoxious 

Not my fault that the way you treated me was kinda toxic 

The vindictive part of me hopes you were displeased 

Unfortunately that feeling alone wouldn't help me feel eased 

Maybe you should think again before you stop and stare 

You were literally the one that said we were going nowhere 

So honest to God, fuck you you dumb bitch ass 

Meanwhile, I'll be trying to graduate middle of my class 

The angry part of me hopes this comes off bitchy,

That it gets under your skin and makes you feel itchy 

You're not worth my time

But if you're going to stop and stare,

Think about how terrible you spent mine 

There will come a day when neither of us will really care 

But to be honest? That day is dawning soon 

I am my own moon

And sun and stars

I am my own woman, I set my own bars 

I'll leave you with this, you piece of shit 

Maybe don't stop and stare at your supposed friends because that kinda ruins it? 

Just acknowledge that I'm there and go back to your table 

I'm sure that your girlfriend would find that agreeable 

Speaking of her, hopefully you treat her right 

Otherwise, I hope one of her friends punches out your light 

Unavailable, unemotional piece of garbage 

Don't you dare have the audacity to complain that empathy is in shortage 

I tried my best for you 

But apparently even half-hearted isn't something you can do 

I hope for the day that it's goodbye forever 

Because then I won't have to see you and feel under the weather 

Seeing you triggered an anxiety attack 

So honestly, thanks for that 

Are you proud of yourself for making a grown woman shake like a leaf? 

Does that make you feel all nice and sweet? 

Is that your little treat? 

I was so blind at how bitter your pill was 

My mind flew off like the house in Wizard of Oz

So hopefully this is goodbye 

I'm going to give the cold shoulder a try 

I don't need you or anyone else 

Especially when all I need is myself 

Okay, maybe I need my friends too 

But you have forfeited most of your place in that glue 

If you want your spot back, then you better work for it 

Because I don't plan on giving you shit

[negativepeanuthoarder]

c!Peanut:

Squirrel - Specifically a Prevost's Squirrel.

8 inches tall when standing, 16 inches long (nose to tail) and weighs 327 grams.

Literally Just A Rodent In A Shirt

follows PandasCanPVP in both the regular dsmp universe and the twt au

Pyromancer

Ideal weapon is a slingshot (also sometimes a dagger with fire aspect)

Lives in Snowchester but should probably move to Kinoko tbh he gets really cold and you can't exactly hibernate for 3/4 of the year

Technically a CITIZEN of Snowchester but he's a literal squirrel what are they going to do kick him out to live in a tree somewhere else?

HijackedSMP lore:

Completely the same in terms of body structure. Still just a squirrel.

Follows PandasCanPVP but unlike his dsmp varient it borders on true devotion

Pyromancer - still uses a slingshot but it's mixed with flaming projectiles. Also occasionally uses a fire aspect dagger.

Not a member of the Cult of XD and doesn't care much about it.

Athiest towards HD specifically. Even though the guy is proven to exist, cPeanut does not believe in him at all.

fireproof shirt

works as an assassin/merc and is surprisingly effective at it because ppl aren't expecting an 11 oz rodent to appear from nowhere and kill someone.

[deathisararemercy]

Death and Sleep

Death Headcanons? Ramble? Death Something.

A/N: I was originally going to make a little one-shot x reader for this but I found that I was really just making headcanons. I needed a break from long writing anyway so here's a quick list of headcanons and thoughts on Death and dreaming/sleeping! This gets sad because apparently it's really hard for me to write Death being happy. I really saw literal Death and said "This bad buy can pack so much guilt and emotional baggage in 'im."

Death doesn't dream. He can't really fall asleep either. He might curl up for a bit and rest his eyes, but he can't actually sleep. His job kind of keeps him up.

It's so hard to get him to take a break. And his idea of "taking a break" usually involves watching people live their lives on his way to his next soul or things like chasing down Puss (the latter is actually something I don't think he does all that often considering Puss was arrogant and cocky about his nine lives. Other people wasting away their one life is sad to see, but a cat wasting eight of his nine lives? Absolutely infuriating.)

But back to the "Death doesn't dream" thing.

The only way to make Muerte actually fall asleep is through magical means.

And following fairy tale logic, the best candidates this for this would be some sort of cursed spinning wheel, poisoned apples, or poppies like in The Wizard of Oz!

I imagine Death is too wise to get pricked by a cursed object or ingest strange foods. But poppies? Ohohoho.

Stopping to smell the roses is nice. And Death appreciates life.

If this were an 'x reader,' I'd say the reader gifts him flowers without realizing the bouquet has poppies in it.

Death takes one big whiff of those things and he's out cold, curled up on the floor. Unlike most wolves, he snores a bit.

At first he dreams of nothing. Everything is dark and silent and still, and Death is finally at rest.

But when he does begin to dream, he sees spirits who have figuratively haunted him. Children and animals and people taken too soon. Guilt wells up in him. This is his job and it's what he must do, but god, that doesn't mean he's heartless and that it doesn't hurt.

But he also sees things in color for the first time. Wolves don't see the full range of color. (Technically red is one of the colors they can't distinguish but red is a central part of his character design so shhhh he can see red even when awake).

So being able to see all of these colors is also terrifying. How could he even begin to describe it all?

Alternatively, he gets happier dreams. Dreams of particular people throughout time who have meant a lot to him. Dreams that are more fantastical and imaginative.

A dream idea: Death's agility and speed and strength increases 1000x. He runs through a forest and barely feels the ground beneath his feet and at some point he is literally flying, seeing the world from above. The air is fresh and clear and he can feel the thrill of a chase (even though he's not really chasing anything).

A nightmare idea: Death experiences what it's like to die a painful death while facing the most violent and monstrous part of himself. He tries to be kind and gentle with the spirits he has to reap; they recently died, and they need that comfort while they grieve. Bu there's that part of him that loves the smell of fear.

Sleeping Death fights against Death the Big Bad Wolf, and his fighting skills are slow, sloppy, and sad. A sick twist of Fate is Death being slashed by his own sickles. Hearing his own whistle and his own laugh. He knew he was scary but this? Facing his own monster? This is next level.

Eventually he wakes up as the poppy magic wears off. He's never had that feeling of being "well-rested" because he's never rested before. So it's a new and interesting sensation to say the least.

But he's also behind on so many souls. And it was terrifying to see things in full color for the first time.

And he never wants to be near a red flower ever again.

I'm only half-joking. He's a lot more wary about bouquets of flowers or smelling flowers in general. He's really careful about the types of flowers. But this just leads into a really fascinating interest in plants and gardening. He's Death so he doesn't have the biggest green thumb, but he has a lot of respect for life and creation and these beautiful little flowers that seem harmless but absolutely destroyed him.

[alonelysimp]

Ice skating headcanons (part 2)

I've been grinding artifacts for Venti but I have returned !! (ㆁωㆁ)

Barbara, Bennett, Diluc, Fischl

Barbara

When I tell you she is like a goddess

IM SUPER JEALOUS BC SHED DRESS AMAZING TOO???

Would wear a super warm winter fit. Its baby blue and white and its beautiful

Shes also wearing a really pretty hat that matches the colour palette

Ok but like fr she is so graceful, literally everything shed do would be so pretty

Skills are only paralleled by Zhongli

Would immediately help you up if you fell

She tries to get you to sit down off the ice for a few minutes, even if you assure her you're completely fine

She'd give you her coat too

Even if it doesn't fit, its going around your shoulders

Its super fluffy too? 10/10 would keep you warm regardless of size

Wouldn't try to heal you tho bc hydro in the cold? wouldnt end well </3

Bennett

Shouldn't come as a surprise, he can't. at all.

That one kid at the rink thats like 5-8 years old, haphazardly skates around despite not knowing how to skate

Goes super fast, can't go more than 10m without crashing

Has crashed into everyone at least once

Mostly Sucrose tho

Tries to stay away from you bc he doesn't wanna hurt you

You'd try to keep him from getting hurt (it doesnt end well)

He broke through the ice

Someone please save him

He is drowning

Would definitely talk to you while sitting by the fire

I feel like he'd be warm in general because of his pyro vision?

so uhm do with that knowledge as you please ._. <3

Diluc

If you can get him on the ice, congrats you've done the impossible

Awkwardly shuffles along next to you for like ten minutes before getting off

He doesn't want to fall and look dumb bc he has a reputation but he'll never say that out loud

He'd encourage you to keep skating, especially if you enjoy it

Harasses you every once in a while to drink some water (thank you pls i keep forgetting i need to ;-;)

Gives you his coat

10/10

Its also really warm nd soft

He'd be super warm in general though, more than Bennett bc those layers keep him insulated

Fischl

Would say she's amazing at it

She can but... poorly

Super unstable, really awkward, her posture is horrible and would hurt herself. Balance? who's she?

Would hold onto your arm or shoulder if you let her

You'd have to go slowly to stay with her

I'm so sorry if you can't skate either, y'all are dead pls go ask Kaeya or Zhongli, anyone

Bennett probably tries to stay near her without crashing into her (too much)

You're in the danger zone too, good luck

Oz is useless. Doesn't help whatsoever.

She wouldn't bring a coat but would get cold super quickly, please give her yours

Another super short one!! As soon as I figure out how to use this shit I'll link part 1 <3

[oddlyhale]

For me as an Ironwood fan, the beginning of Ironwood's character introduction was written carefully. He was the guy who was in between the lines, not really sure where we could put him. He said shady things, but things not enough to make me think, "oh super duper evil bro." He felt like he was written to be the loner that wanted to do things his way, because he didn't like how passive Oz was being. That said, his choices were not in the best light, I can't say they were malicious. Shady and dumb, yes. But evil is a stretch.

Even the way characters like Qrow were trying to tell us, "I'm not sure he even has a heart." Was still stretching it. Even if we didn't know James enough, what Qrow said was eye-rolling. Like, "yeah sure, Mister I'm-Also-Pretty-Shady."

However during the Beacon crisis, yes the writing absolutely did a pivot on that. James became a better person, fighting for survivors and telling the kids that they can fight or go home without shame. He let Qrow - of all people - save him from a Grimm attack. The writing uplifted James to show a side of him that wasn't cold and militaristic. He showed himself to finally being vulnerable.

When V4 and so on came around, and how the characterisations were just horrid with the cast, you'd think the writing would 100% wreck James' character. No, they literally rolled out the red carpet for this guy. Arguably the most layered and well-written character that a lot of people loved to see. Still flawed, still in between the lines, but he worked harder than the rest, burdened himself in with the responsibilities, stressing day-in and day-out. I can't remember what RWBY did because I was so focused on James. He carried the volume. He listened to the kids, he had his own mind, he gave back to them, and even going as far to give them his trust and the Lamp back. He let himself be vulnerable - yet again - only to be backstabbed later.

Even the writers admitted that they don't want people thinking Ruby is wrong, even though that's not a bad thing to do for the hero? That's just learning not to be an idiot next time, especially when a whole two cities are in deep shit. It could've been a simple lesson of, "hey maybe next time, don't take the advice of lying from a liar, then you won't be looked at as a dumbass kid that started a whole butterfly effect of issues." But no, this was where the dramatic pivot in Ironwood's character just exploded into a convoluted train wreck.

So as V8 came around, this was where the writing decided to break James on purpose. Yes, everything before weren't the most brightest of James moments, but even this volume decided to chuck all those graying moments out the window and mold a brand-spanking-new villain that somehow overdid Salem's entire role of V8. Again, taking the volume and having to run the whole thing, again, but now as some wacky cartoon villain. Is it possible to write your character OOC? Well it's not technically their character but you get my point.

And yes, this was a very awful time to kill James when #StopAsianHate was wildly trending on Twitter. Yes I was there when this hashtag was lighting up everybody's TLs as it should be. Literally at the same time this hashtag was spreading, James was already being killed off. This looks bad. Especially topping on his prosthetics and his paranoia waving around like a flag for two whole volumes, and then Miles making a shit cameo laughing about James being a genocidal maniac (which makes me laugh because everybody seems OK with Salem being a suicidal-genocidal maniac.)

And agreeing with @why-i-hate-rwby-now , the show did nothing to prove us wrong that Team RWBY+ can save a man like James. They don't do heroics unless it's fighting Grimm because Grimm have watered down to being easily disposable. Well... even then, they just sat in a mansion drinking tea while the big bad was running wild outside. So the extent of their heroics is next to null. There's no silver linings, no hope for us to hang on to. RWBY just keeps looking worse and worse, hence why people were more hyped for James because he was the only one doing anything remotely good in V7. Suddenly throwing that out and painting him as evil was just so silly.

Nora and Penny were also the ones to do anything remotely good in V7. Though curiously, those two also got decommissioned through most of V8. Curiouser and curiouser.

Overall, EF made the video because he also gets that the signs of James weren't the best, but how the writing went about it was both good and then downright awful. You can't make a man heartless if he's already got a heart!

Hiiii I’m maaaaad (again)

So I saw another thumbnail, except this time the video title has to be in it too so… don’t be mean to the guy >_>

This is it is here ^ and Iiiiiiiiii…… don’t understand 😶. Ahh EruptionFang… I have a strange relationship with you >_>

Like okay, from most people’s first perspective, sure, Ironwood’s turn CAN seem out of left field. But if you think about it, think about Ironwood and his previous actions, then a lot of them can be viewed in a different light. The deal with Ironwood has been foreshadowed since episode 2 of volume 2 y’all >_> Like Ironwood literally went BEHIND Oz’s back to secure that ATLAS can be in charge of the security in Vale. And you know what he says? “This is the right move Ozpin, I need you to trust me on this.”

Trust. Loyalty. Those are 2 of the most important things to Ironwood, and we see him do away with them in the first volume he’s introduced .-. And it continues like that going forward ._. Like with Penny. Like I said in my ‘An objective look at Ironwood’ post, not making Penny public information makes sense, yeah. But he didn’t even tell Ozpin, Glynda, or Qrow about her .-. And those are, supposedly, his closest allies and friends. 

In conclusion: It you rewatch the series without a bias for Ironwood, it falls into place. But if you keep watching it with your ‘NOPE! RWBY bad, Ironwood good!’ mentality, no shit you’re not gonna see the hints ._.