#There isn't as big one for Soarin and the others and i feel I might need to post them in a separate post or ask...

[chimchiri]

How did the Wonderbolts find out/react to Spitfire and Rainbow's relationship?

Ok I will focus on Fleetfoot here because otherwise it'll be too long. I ended up drawing a few panels but can't finish them right now, so I'm giving you all the sketches.

I hc Fleetfoot to know Spitfire the longest right after Soarin. They're close friends (Fleets considers Spitty her best friend even) and even though she's got a pretty intense rivalry with Rainbow, they also started a close and intense friendship after Rainbow joined. Fleetfoot considers her friendship to both to be very special.

The scene in question happens during some holiday, general WB vacation, or just a weekend. It's one of the AUs where Spitty and Rainbow start dating and get closer while still in the WBs. At some point they don't want to stay at home and want to show physical intimacy in public instead of acting like friends. But both being well known (especially Spitfire) immediately excludes all bigger and nearer towns. They can't just go out and hold hands and kiss without the press immediately writing about it and it ending in a huge scandal for the Wonderbolts.

They end up spending this specific date in a small village which hosts some minor festival that day. It's tiny, not that well known and is perfect for them. People don't recognize them outside of their uniforms and signature outfits.

It's pure happenstance that Fleetfoot is at the same no-name festival, visiting either an old friend or having to spend some time there due to some family issue. She notices the familiar, colorful hair in the corner of her eye. The hair is a lot more vibrant and visible in the up-do Rainbow wears - a bit foolish of her to not wear a cap like Spitfire. But Rainbow being able to test, investigate and discover her own femininity in the safety of their private time is a big part of her. Plus, Spitfire also didn't think it would be a problem.

From the outfit, Fleetfoot wouldn't have guessed it's really Rainbow further down the street. But she recognizes her hair and laughter immediately. As for Spitfire, even with a hat and glasses, she'd recognize her a mile away as well.

It's a bizarre scene for Fleetfoot and seeing them kiss feels like a gut punch. At this point she's often tried to push Spitfire to go out and at least have some sexy flings, some fun nights with nameless girls instead of her just drowning in WB work. Spitfire always dismissed her, saying she can focus on romance later when she can actually date someone in private and not have the press nonstop on her heels. Similarly Rainbow always denied liking someone and wanting to focus on being a great Wonderbolt member, being the newest addition. The most Fleetfoot got out of her, was doing silly "Smash or Pass" games the nights out after training or a big event.

Fleetfoot would never even have guessed that either would be interested in anyone, especially not each other. And seeing them in front of her seems is like a dream. She feels like she's seeing two completely different people in front of her and not her friends: Rainbow with her more delicate and feminine attire than usual, and Spitfire who's acting a lot more flirty, soft and seductive instead of her serious, rough or dudebro-joking attitude as captain.

Fleetfoot considered her relationship to both as special. She's not just "a friend" and that's the first reason why catching them in the act affects her this deeply.

The second reason is that she takes the Wonderbolts, their reputation, and especially the team bond just as serious as Spitfire. Seeing them involved romantically goes not only against the Wonderbolt code and rules, but would raise red flags even if it was allowed. There are a gazillion reasons why trouble could and - in Fleets' eyes - would follow. Can either separate work from relationship? Can they stay neutral? Will there be favoritism? Will Rainbow start to slack off? Will she distract Spitfire form her duties? Will there be silent grudges in the team? Will the team and performance suffer?

Fleets is usually pretty outgoing and wears her emotions on her sleeve. This time she swallows her anger and other complicated emotions and keeps quiet. The desire to just go up to and confront them is big - but she doesn't want this to end in a catastrophe for the team. Also she feels Spitfire could talk and explain herself and Rainbow out of it - probably playing it all down since Fleetfoot doesn't even have evidence.

So Fleetfoot waits for now, hoping to observe and collect evidence she can use against them once her judgement day comes. She's still convinced this is bad and will hurt everyone in the long run. But even with a very close eye on them, she doesn't notice anything. Their performance doesn't falter. They're both as motivated to be peak Wonderbolts as ever. There are no noticeable longer or romantic touches. No special eye gazing. Rainbow gets no special treatment, quite the opposite - Fleets wonders if maybe she gets more criticism and work than the others (which is 100% the case. Spitfire does overcompensate a bit in her attempt to hide their relationship) She doesn't see them meet up in a romantic way. She never sees a kiss or romantic gesture again. And even when she spies on them when they think they're all alone, they don't act differently to regular teammates.

There are days where Fleetfoot wonders if her mind way playing a trick on her and that she saw two other people that day. Only sometimes though. And with time moving on and her not seeing any bad consequences, her emotions towards this secret mellow out and transform into a different, more empathetic nature.

There is more going on and some follow-up with Fleetfoot and Rainbow which also covers Rainbow's insecurity about feminine clothing - but it's a long post already. I might want to doodle something for it as well, when that time comes.

[chaikachi]

Hey radical spicy hot take but Trapdoor is 100% a ruby song. And. Trapdoor is 100% a oscar song. They are a mirror to each other. They are put on the same pedestal. They bear the same weight. They occupy the same space, simultaneously, impossibly. Do you see my vision?

anono... how does it feel to have such a big brain. all songs are rg songs if you try hard enough. 😤

Yes, Trapdoor is first and foremost a Ruby song, but her and Oscar are 100% mirrors living such similar character arcs. I could talk about all those parallels in a post all their own (one day), but for now a really good example is actually comparing Trapdoor to Sky is Falling (thank you @greenteaandtattoos for pointing it out first).

I'm gonna ramble a bit

Trapdoor is a song about the weight Ruby has been carrying. How she has tried so hard and how it's seemingly done more harm than good. It talks about how she doesn't feel seen or heard or needed, let alone wanted. How she's losing herself. How she feels like a trapdoor, part of the floorboards being walked on and unnoticeable. How one more step is all it might take for her to break and fall further into the depths below. And simultaneously like a trap that will lead all her friends to ruin.

And Sky is Falling (in my opinion) is a song about the weight Oscar has been carrying. How he's struggling with moving forward in light of everything he's been through and everything they've lost. The song itself is cited as referencing the original Henny Penny (aka Chicken Little) fairytale since it's a story that uses the song's title as a cry wolf for fearing the end of the world. But that feels a bit like a red herring to me. Or at least not like the whole picture.

The original myth of Atlas and the weight of the world isn't actually about the god holding the world on his shoulders. It's about him holding up the sky. So whether you read it as Oscar struggling with what to do given Atlas is falling... or struggling with how to move after Ruby falls, (Ruby, who was holding Atlas on her shoulders. So when she fell, so to did the city in the sky) is up to interpretation.

Some examples of how the songs mirror each other a bit tho:

Trapdoor

Though I try to keep the hope alive

Sky is Falling

Lost all my hopes and dreams

Trapdoor

Watch it all Unfold As I Cascade below Frozen In the darkest moment I can't bear the weight I hold

Sky is Falling

Starin' at the casket, hopin' to move past it Knowin' things will never be the same, and that's it Cold soaked as I'm standin' in rain Feelin' nothin' but pain until I see you again

Both of them struggling to hold onto hope. Both of them struggling with the cold of grief. The water imagery in "cascading" and "rain". The feeling of drowning. How to keep moving in the face of it all.

Also just on the topic of them being mirrors, it's interesting how many of these songs can so easily link back together. Trust Love's "open up your eyes" to Sky is Falling's "cover up your eyes". Then Sky is Falling's direct parallel, Touch the Sky. In my opinion, this song talks about both of them. The first verse is very Oscar "Little Prince" Pine, but especially this part:

I'm soarin' like I never have before Flying self-assured and free And I somehow feel I finally feel like me I looked in the mirror and I gotta say It's been a long, long time since I felt this way Right now, I'm just a bit surprised 'Cause I feel just fine and I might just touch the sky

And then directly towards Ruby's ascension in the second verse:

Open doors and so much hope in front of me Full of confidence, every challenge crushed My heart's electric, racing endlessly Feeling like the stars have all aligned Illuminate the darkness that was blinding me Now I'm positive that it's my time to shineI will explode, you'll see me rise You may not even recognize I just can't wait for this reveal

But also... very strong argument can be made that both verses apply to both of them. Finally feeling like themselves, the people they've wanted to be, the ones they're meant to be. These kids and their identity issues... But especially cause, um, Ruby isn't the only one that explodes.

So to summarize, Oscar looked in the mirror - not the mirror that showed Oz's reflection, but the mirror he sees in Ruby - and he became more like himself. Influenced by the hope she inspires.

And Ruby, like Alice, fell through the looking glass. But in the Ever After the only Oscar that was there to stare back at her wasn't a reflection of hope, it was was one of fear.

So she had no choice but to fall further and looked inward. Until she found the hope that was always inside her. The hope Oscar always knew was there because he sees her.

And the fact that Ruby's hope, her motivation, has always been "the people she hasn't lost yet". And how Oscar is the only living companion Neo 'kills' to hurt her. I'm getting so off track here but...

The Parallels. It's CINEMA.

They make me UNWELL.

Edit: I ended up just talking a bit about how they're mirrors through song and not so much Trapdoor from an Oscar lens. It is so strongly a Ruby song to me that it's hard to apply to him, even if it does fit him in some ways as well. All alone in crowded rooms and all that.