#RWBY Jessica Cruz

[juanarc-thethird]

Another motivation of the day from Nora.

Someone from your past is still thinking about you and wants to be with you.

Cut to Jaune's tomboy childhood friend with the booty, wanting him badly still.

Nora's Motivation of the day

Nora: If you ever feel lonely, remember, there is someone who is always thinking about you and would like to spend the day with you.

Jaune: Like an old friend? That doesn't sound bad at all.

------------

Jessica: *Lying on her bed hugging her pillow while touching herself* Jaune~💕 Ah~💕 Jaune~💕 Mm~💕 I love you~💕

[metawatts]

Saw your review for the jl/rwby crossover. You mentioned Cruz as being one of the failures of the movie. Kind of leaves me conflicted because honestly she was kind of my favorite part of the movie while everything else was just mostly meh or frustrating. I am not that familiar with comic Cruz and the Incarnation I am more familiar with from DC superhero girls is very different from the comic from what little I know. Care to do a deep dive on this particular GL and how the crossover failed her?

Alright, I have some time to do asks, so lets dive on in! I was gonna write this out way better but my dotpoints kinda became their own essay so here we go!

TL:DR: I think that Jessica's anxiety was mishandled due to a fundamental misunderstanding of how her character is built in the comics, because they wanted a Cute Agoraphobic Queen (and forgot to have the agoraphobia). I also think that she lacked agency in her own mental health and plotline, with Jaune being the main mover in both, and that there is whitewashing to her design, as seen here compared to: other cartoons, other comic runs, her other rwby designs (feat. one Simon Baz because DC is keeping him from me)

Yeah. Hm. Anyway, lets get into my rambly thoughts about Jessica Cruz

Alright first things first: I’m not against Jessica Cruz being written differently to the comics if she’s written respectfully. I also really do like dc superhero girls and Jessica there is very fun as a character, even if I have some other issues with what they took out from her storyline

The thing about this iteration of Jessica Cruz is that apparently the theme of the movie was ‘gun violence’ or whatever and that’s. That’s her whole. That’s literally her whole comic backstory.

For a quick recap in the comics: Jessica Cruz one day was hiking with friends before they stumbled across some guys dumping bodies in the woods. All of Jessica’s friends were shot down and murdered right in front of her for being witnesses, and Jessica gained an absolutely brutal case of PTSD, which later fuelled her agoraphobia and anxiety.

Then, after spending 3 years literally never leaving her apartment out of terror that she was going to be tracked down and murdered like her friends, she was instead tracked down by an artifact called Power Ring (it’s complicated but p much it’s like an Evil Inverse Green Lantern Ring). The Power Ring, which is fuelled by the wearer’s fear and trauma, forces itself onto Jessica and turns her into a villainous puppet for it’s own will. She’s canonically being tortured by physical and psychological pain the whole time she’s wearing it. She’s nearly saved a few times from her Literal Possession but the thing that sticks is when she pulls a self-sacrifice and supposedly dies, only it turns out that the ring died in her place and then she got a Green Lantern Ring for her bravery in facing her fears and such. (I think the universe/writers were apologising because Genuinely WTF)

Now, the thing that a lot of people praise about Jessica as a character in most comics, is that she is, most of the time, a very realistically-written character with anxiety. Her anxiety is rooted mostly in her PTSD, which means that it has very definite triggers, one of which is, on her bad days, ‘guns being aimed at her’.

However, Jessica is also someone who actively works on this aspect of her mental health, she’s shown having gone to therapy sessions, learnt how to internally combat her negative self-talk, and actively works on herself. She has her coping mechanisms, and they genuinely work for her when she’s spiralling, and she’s able to work through her anxiety and remind herself that, in what is one of her main catchphrases ‘you are not your fear’.

DC Superhero girls pretty much just axed Jessica’s anxiety entirely and while she’s a fun character she’s also not really close enough to comics Cruz for me to really draw comparisons, although I do wish they’d been willing to explore that storyline (and maybe have Simon there) I understand why with the age range they didn’t decide to throw in Gun Violence and Anxiety (but they could have had Simon there where are you keeping him dc)

Meanwhile: RWBY/JL Jessica Cruz. Well. I don’t want to hate on people who like her. If you found joy in something that I did not, then I’m happy for you, but I do want to explain my problems. The first is the way they misrepresented and mishandled her anxiety, and the second is Jaune. Why does it always have to be Jaune, I don’t even hate Jaune, I just hate how much everyone in the writing rooms love him.

Anxiety: Jessica in the film is pretty much given a much more generalised anxiety disorder. She mentions that she’s had it from a young age, that she’s always been afraid, that the ring helped her fit in. She’s given a much different trigger of claustrophobia, and her agoraphobia is completely missing from her character. DC Superhero Girls took away her anxiety, so there’s nothing to misrepresent. RWBY/JL put in her anxiety, and put in the wrong one.

Comics Jessica’s anxiety, and her insecurities, come from a genuinely traumatic event, one that shaped her for years, one that she’s still fighting overcome. And then worse stuff happened to her and she kept going. I have a generalised anxiety disorder, I’ve had one since I was a teenager, and I can also say that how it was shown in the movie was… kind of stereotypical. She’s meek, and she shy, and she’s nervous and jumpy and doesn’t feel like she can do anything. And this is meant to be Jessica who still is that adult, just in a teen brain, and I know hormones suck, but they completely axed the fact that this is canonically a character who has mental health issues and works on them so they could have Jaune peptalk her through her panic attacks, which. Cures them, all of a suddenn

Yeah we’re getting into the Jaune stuff now. Jaune is the catalyst for everything Jessica does. He makes the plans while she worries, he talks her through her panic, he talks her through all her anxiety, and then… that’s it, really, all she does from that point on in the movie is Solve All The Problems. The emotional core of most of their scenes from post-Jessica confessing her anxiety disorder up until ‘the claustrophobia panic attack’ is on Jaune missing Pyrrha so much that he ignores Jessica actually trying to be reasonable about ‘this is sus’. It feels like they wanted to do ‘Jessica gets a best friend who helps her through her anxieties and supports her to stand on her own’, forgot to write the second part of that, and forgot one other tiny lil detail

WHICH IS SHE HAS ONE.

Simon Baz is Jessica’s Green Lantern partner in the comics, they’re your classic ‘hothead/cautious’ duo, they have literally the best interactions of friendship ever, this is the man who worries that Jessica’s not feeling okay after a bad day and shows up to make her pancakes for breakfast. They also have a real interesting quirk to their specific brand of green lanterning, which is that Hal Jordan was like ‘okay you need to learn to work together’ and fused their Power Batteries together. (quick rundown: green lantern rings need to be periodically charged up with lantern shaped power batteries otherwise there’s no constructs or cool costumes). Simon and Jessica cannot recharge their rings separately, they have to work as a team. And the first few comics of their run are great (I know nothing about the state of it now). They’re mutually supportive, they both have their issues, and Jaune feels like he was written to slot into that role.

I get that ‘we can’t have two green lanterns in here that’s boring’ was probably what was said but this is also what speaks to a wider issue about how Jessica is getting a lot more press time in non-comic properties. Which is awesome! Overall I love her character, I love the different takes on her, and it’s very cool to see her. Simon Baz, however. Is. Not getting any of this. Which is a shame. I just wish that my duo could get to be a duo.

But, I mean, if dc superhero girls is willing to just completely nix jess’s anxiety from her, why not nix Simon Baz’s backstory and still have him be her partner there? Why do all these properties decide that Jessica is best written when all of her character stuff beyond ‘female green lantern, occasionally nervous’ is removed from her? This isn’t just a rwby problem, but it’s something I’ve noticed especially in the rwby movie because of how they took Jessica’s character, when her backstory as it was would have tied into the so-called ‘theme’ for gun violence, and stripped her entirely for parts about ‘Jaune is a nice caring friend look how protective he is of poor scared Jessica’. He even powers her up for HER big 'ending the bad guy' move instead of allowing her to be as strong as a green lantern ring is meant to be

Jessica in the film is pretty much written as ‘nervous agoraphobic adorable widdle queen’, all of her actual agency, all of her own inner strength of being someone who struggles with anxiety and overcomes it is removed so that she can be a Pep Talk Recipient, and I gotta say another small thing: pep talks, in my experience, don’t actually cure a chronic generalised anxiety disorder.

Oh yeah and also not only is her Green Lantern outfit in this crossover really not good (everyone is, except vixen, vixen’s power is too strong for rwby character designers to truly damage), she’s also definitely whitewashed to the point that I think a lot of people would find it hard at first to know that she’s meant to be Latina. Like, even compared to her Adult Version, or her rwby comics version, or, say, some of the other animated versions of her, or even her comics version in The Good Runs, as shown above. I called her ‘ben 10-ified’, and I stand by that, it’s just… it's a bit eesh, considering rwby's other problems with colourism and such.

I think all the DC characters got massacred, but if this had to be the anxiety rep for the film, why couldn't it be the Jessica who was actively working on dealing with it, dealing with her self-talk, like this?

I know rwby's allergic to character development, but come on. Jessica is more than an Anxious UwU bean. That's kinda the whole point. Also, she plays pokemon, what's not to love?

[arc-misadventures]

A Rebranding

Jaune: Jessica.

Jessica: Jaune...?Jaune! You're here! You're...? Uhhh... W-Who are you?

Coco: Hello.

Jessica: Hi...?

Jaune: Coco here is my partner...

Jessica: P-Partner...?

Jaune: Yes, she is my partner in the, 'Beacons Fashion Trio.'

Jessica: Oh thank gods... not that kind of partner...

Coco: Don't hold your breath love~!

Jessica: EEP?! Y-You head me?!

Jaune: We are here to judge your outfit, and render judgement upon you.

Jessica: J-Judgement...?

Coco: Yes, and be warned; Our judgement bares quite severe consequences...

Jessica: Consequences...? W-What kind of consequences...?

Jaune: Worry not... unless you have something to worry about...?

Jessica: N-N-No... I think...?

Jaune: The judgement begins... with, Jessica's current outfit...

Coco: ...

Jessica: Please have mercy...

Coco: ...

Coco: You look...

Jessica: EEEEEE!?!

Coco: So adorable!

Jessica: Wha...?

Coco: You look so adorable! Oh, I love the shades of greens, are complementized beautifully by the whites, and blacks! And, your hair! I love this shade of green in your hair it is fantastic! And, this mark around your eye! GODS! You are so adorable I could eat you up!

Jessica: W-Wha...?

Jaune: I told you you'd like her outfit. I didn't expect you to like it that much though.

Coco: It's fantastic! I have yet to see a terrible outfit! Why did you want me to judge this adorable hamster!

Jessica: H-Hamster?

Jaune: Well, I wanted you to see her outfit, and how cute, Jessica is...

Jessica: You think I'm cute~?

Jaune: But, I wanted you to judge her super hero 'outfit.'

Coco: Her what?'

Jessica: Oh, he's talking about this:

Coco: HISSSS!!!

Coco: What is that ungodly abomination?!

Jessica: W-What?

Coco: I see seven different styles clashing colours clashing?! Why would they dress you up like that?!

Jaune: Actually... The green ring thingy makes her outfit based on her thoughts... This... thing was her idea...

Coco: (GASP?!)

Coco: You made that thing yourself?!

Jessica: Y-Y-Yes...?

Coco: ...?!

Coco: BURN IT WITH FIRE! BURN HER ALONG WITH IT!!! CLEANSE THE UNIVERSE OF THIS ABOMINATION!!! NOW?!!?!?!

Jaune: Now now. Coco... We're not doing that. We're here to fix this... And, I have an idea how to fix this... Oi! Stop biting me!

Coco: Let me at her! Let me destroy the cute hamster!

Jaune: No. You'll be sad if you destroy the cute hamster. And, at potential fashion redesign... Probably more than that one...

Coco: Fashion redesign...?

Jaune: Yes... We can think of a new outfit for her to wear, one that isn't an ungodly abomination.

Coco: A non-ungodly abomination...

Jaune: And, I have a perfect idea for an outfit.

Coco: You do?

Jaune: Yes. This one...

Coco: ...?

Jessica: ...?

Jaune: So what do you two think of it?

Coco: ...

Jessica: ...

Coco: I love it!

Jessica: Its gorgeous!

Jaune: Ha, knew it.

Jessica: I can change my outfit right now!

Jessica: How do I look?! How do I look?!

Coco: OHH~! That's such an elegant outfit on you, Jessica! The colours compliment you so perfectly! I love it so much! You look beautiful!

Jessica: this is the coolest outfit I ever wore in my whole life! Everyone is going to be so jealous of my awesome style! Jaune thank you so much! This new outfit is amazing!

Coco: I agree with, Jessica, Jaune. That is a beautiful outfit. You've out done yourself.

Jaune: To be fair, anything is better than her previous outfit.

Coco: True. So, Jessica you up to celebrating a new outfit?

Jessica: Sure!

Jessica: ...

Jessica: How?

Coco: First: We strip, Jaune of his~!

Jaune: For a new outfit right?

Coco: (Wiggles eyebrows~!)

Jaune: For a new outfit right...?

Jessica: Let's do this!

Jaune: Oh no...

[brokentrafficknight]

[howlingday]

Jessica: Hey, Jaune? I was wondering... How did you and Weiss meet?

Jaune: Well... We first official met in the locker rooms just before initiation. I kinda bumped into her and Pyrrha's conversation and tried to team up with her first. Kinda funny since she wanted to team up with Pyrrha and I teamed up with her instead. And we've been friends ever since!

Weiss: Huh?

Jessica: Wow... What an introduction!

Barry: That's one way to put it...

Weiss: Really, Arc? That's all? You know there's more to it than that!

Jaune: Huh?

Weiss: Why spare the details on how you met heiress to the Schnee Dust Company~?!

Jaune: Oh! You're right! Sorry, Weiss!

Weiss: (Beaming)

Jaune: After I tried to convince Weiss to join my team, she had Pyrrha throw her spear at me, pinning me to the wall. Then, after we were sent flying into the Emerald Forest, Pyrrha caught me with her spear, pinning me to a tree in mid-air. As I was left hanging until Pyrrha came to pick up her weapon, Weiss walked by, looked at me, and then left me hanging even though the rules said we're supposed to partner up with the first person we see!

Weiss: (Eyes wide)

Jaune: It was kinda mean of her to do that, but I don't hold a grudge against her.

Jessica: (In Weiss' face) EXCUSE ME?

Barry: Kinda mean doesn't really cover it...

Weiss: U-Uh... Listen, I know it sounds bad, but I can explain-

Jaune: ...After helping Neptune get the guts to tell Weiss how he felt about her, I met Weiss later and she thanked me for helping her have the best night of her life. And we've been close ever since!

Weiss: (In a headlock) I'msorryI'msorryI'm sorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'm sorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!

Jessica: (Holding headlock) Aw~! That was such a cute story, Jaune~!

[epic-arc]

OK SHE REALLY MISS JAUNE!

[reashot]

Why Do People Keep Saying Jaune Is A Daddy?

Ruby: *grumble* Can you believe the nerves of some people!

Weiss: What's wrong with her?

Blake: She saw a bunch of Milfs trying to get close to Jaune.

Yang: Oh? I thought she got PMS.

Ruby: How could tho-those hussies throw themselves to Jaune like that how shameless, how enviable.... I mean, those bitches be crazy y'all!

Weiss: You know Rubes. I don't get what you see in Jaune anyway?

Blake: Yeah, he's just a typical white cis-het male. Which according to my belief is that they're responsible for everything wrong with the world.

And the only way to remedy it is to reject all heterosexual relation and embrace radical lesbianism.

Yang: Okay... Anyway where's Vomit Boy?

Weiss: He's taking care of Adrian.

*opens door*

See Jaune and Adrian Sleeping together peacefully.

RWBY: .....

Ruby: Girls... Please get Adrian out of here.

Blake: Way ahead of you.

*gently picks Adrian up*

Weiss: So how are we going to do this?

Yang: We will take turns obviously.

Ruby: Good idea. Blake please lock the door.

*click*

Blake: Let me be first.

Yang: Said the radical lesbian.

RW: *giggles*

Blake: Oh go F yourself.

Jaune: *waking up*

Hey girls. What are all four of you doing here... Wait, where's Adrian?

Ruby: *crawl up to him*

Adrian is fine.

*kiss Jaune*

Jaune: Wait, why are you kissing me?

Yang: It's more fun to show you.

*all four starts undressing*

Jaune: Brothers preserve me...

In another universe.

Jess: My Jaune is about to become a baby daddy without his consent sense is tingling!

Baz: That's... Oddly specific?

[nadien-aqui1]

[cadhla182]

Patreon pieces for July 2024! NSFW alts up for patrons!

[bluearc009]

All I Want For Christmas is You.

Jessica: I don't want a lot for Christmas there is just one thing I need.

Ruby: I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree.

Weiss: I just want you for my own more than you could ever know.

All three: Make my wish come true all I want for Christmas is you.

Jessica: I don't want a lot for Christmas there is just one thing I need (And I) don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree I don't need to hang my stocking there upon the fireplace (Ah) Santa Claus won't make me happy with a toy on Christmas Day I just want you for my own (Ooh) more than you could ever know (Ooh) make my wish come true

All I want for Christmas is you You, baby

Ruby: Oh, I won't ask for much this ChristmasI won't even wish for snow (And I) I'm just gonna keep on waiting underneath the mistletoeI won't make a list and send it to the North Pole for Saint Nick (Ah) I won't even stay awake to hear those magic reindeer click 'Cause I just want you here tonight (Ooh) Holding on to me so tight (Ooh) What more can I do? Oh baby,

all I want for Christmas is you You, baby

Weiss: Oh, all the lights are shining so brightly everywhere (So brightly, baby) and the sound of children's laughter fills the air (Oh, oh yeah) and everyone is singing (Oh yeah) I hear those sleigh bells ringing (Oh)

Santa, won't you bring me the one I really need? (Yeah, oh, oh) won't you please bring my baby to me?

Weiss: Oh, I don't want a lot for Christmas this is all I'm asking for (Ah) I just wanna see my baby standing right outside my door Oh, I just want you for my own (Ooh) more than you could ever know (Ooh) make my wish come true Oh baby,

all I want for Christmas is you

You, baby All I want for Christmas is you, baby All I want for Christmas is you, baby All I want for Christmas is you, baby All I want for Christmas is you, baby All I want for Christmas is you, baby

[bobauthorman]

Just re-watched Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part One, and this part

At this point, WBY and Diana rejoined RNR and the League. Did Bruce seriously wait until the last moment just to reveal himself dramatically like that? Yes, yes he did. He's such a drama queen.

Also, Jaune's reaction

Look how the stars haven't replaced his eyes, but are inside them.

[juanarc-thethird]

Nora's Motivation of the day #7

Nora: If you ever feel unloved, remember that in a parallel universe you are someones Husbando or Waifu.

Jaune: *Sarcastic* Yeah sure.

Meanwhile in a parallel universe:

Jessica: *Sleeping with a body pillow that has the image of a shirtless Jaune* Oh Jaune, you're an animal~💕 *Giggles* You can't touch me there~💕 You're so naughty~💕

[riku-izanami]

Jessica Cruz design from batman ninja is the yakuza league.

Arc light shippers go crazy

[brokentrafficknight]

Jessica and Olivia team up to be Jaune's Greenwives.

[howlingday]

Miles: Copyright is a weird thing, isn't it? After a solid movie that's getting a third installation and a second video game with me as the main character, people still argue about how I'm not good enough to be a real Spider-Man. Anything crazy happen to your franchise?

Jessica: They took my husband...

Miles: ...

[palaceofpassion]

"Hey Jaune-"

Art by me.