#also it does not explain all the weird things about ruby like why could she make it snow then??? why did that christmas song start playing??

[zevsarainai]

man dw really did not stick the landing huh

[penny-the-pissed-poltergeist]

decided to rewatch the the series because I'm hyperfixating again, I might liveblog the rest but I'm just going to my thoughts on rewatch the first episode of volume 1 here because why not

.The fact all they explain in the backstory opening is "Grimm, dust and that's it" is funny, but if they wanted to show what dust is they could of just had some of dust being stolen or in the shop explode and do it's effect, after 2 or 3 times everyone would get that it's both color coded to the elements and very powerful

.People treating "There will no victory in strength" as gospel for how the show is going to end like it wasn't said by the main villain of the whole series... how were her and Ozpin talking anyway?

.The early Volumes look "bad" not in the foodfight way like that one (very funny) post but in a way where if this show had aired on like MTV in 2004 no one would question it

."This will be the day" being an in universe song and Weiss's singing voice being Casey raises some questions, did Weiss make that song under another name or something? (It probably doesn't mean anything but it's fun to think about)

.Glynda's weird lightning attack isn't evidence she's the summer maiden you guys, Maidens didn't exist yet when the episode was written and even if they did, do you really think Cinder wouldn't have reacted to that?

.Ozpin constantly looks like he want to give me his riddles three

.The way Ruby says "That's my Uncle" when her mouth is full is funniest fucking thing ever to me, why does it sound boarder line Alien?

.Talking about Ruby's voice reminds me how much more normal she sounds in volume 1, it's just Lindsey's speaking voice they're not doing a character voice at all unlike every other volume

."I don't want to be the bee's knees, I want to be normal girl with normal knees" hits kinda different after volume 9... wish it didn't take that long for it to though

.It's really funny how Ruby's first encounter with Jaune is him puking on her sister shoes (I also think Jaune himself is a puke character most of the time but whatever)

[13thdoctorposts]

Oh my goodness, thank you for that post. I was losing my mind seeing the excuses people were cooking up. Now they're all about the writing being better and loving the discussion, like (a) the writing is just vagueries that never explain or resolve anything and it's hit upon multiple damaging stereotypes on adoption and race because there's no black writers or adoptees at the helm, not to mention how many times RTD has already released those weird behind the scenes videos explaining things which is just embarrassing and weirdly egotistic, (b) it's not great that there's so much discussion because RTD is using ~~magic~~ as a handwave explanation or that people lack the awareness to acknowledge the lack of discussion before was because they bullied anyone remotely interesting in actually engaging with Thirteen's series of the show and aggressively took over discussions and filled them with their shittakes.

Seems they still have a lot of shittakes to be honest.

All the 'Sins' they claimed made Chibs a terrible writer... plot holes, leaving things ambiguous, too much exposition, things not making sense, bad representation... if these are the things that make a writer bad then how is RTD a master writer because every episode so far has had these things along with stereotyping issues. I'm sorry but you can't just say 'oh magic, that makes those things ok' thats hypocritical because if Chibs claimed 'magic' they would have ripped him to shreds for that.

Could you imagine if Chibs made an episode with a bunch of set up and no answers that both created a time paradox at the end and essentially didn't happen to the character in the end rendering it unimportant to the characters and show? How what would have gone down? Could you imagine is 73 Yards had Chibs name on it instead of RTDs? Below were just some of the questions I had off the top of my head. This episode is being hail as one of the best in years... imagine if those same people had this many questions after a Chibs episode, the dude would have had to been put into the witness protection program.

I'm not claiming the episode is bad, I'm just highlighting the hypocrisy.

Who made the circle?

How did that person know about the future to make the circle? 

Did they know that the Doc and Ruby were going to land there and so deliberately put it there because why was in that location?

Why was there a circle in 2024? (When Mad Jack is PM 22 years later)

Why was it 73 yards? 

Where did the Doctor go? All of them not just 15 because they are time travellers so all the other Doctors also existed through those years, so why didn’t they show up/do anything, or did they all just disappear leaving all their companions wherever they were? 

Why were the people at the pub so horrible?

Why were there 2 older women who are supposedly meant to be Ruby played by different actresses, because that makes you wonder is it actually Ruby who's been 73 yards away?

Why if it is older Ruby did she scare everyone off? Like why did she want herself to be alone, why did the younger version of her have to be alone and abandoned by everyone what purpose does it serve? 

How did older Ruby (73 yards version) manage to get closer than 73 yards when older Ruby (in her bed) was dying (I’m assuming she was dying)?

Was older supposed older Ruby gesturing to her the same message throughout the years after the Doctor disappeared that she was telling to tell younger Ruby to tell the Doc not step on the circle so Ruby would understand it to close what I’m assuming is a time loop? I can't be sure were weren't told it was a time loop and that would be sci-fi not folklore magic.

Was stopping the nuclear bombing the purpose of all this because the woman remained 73 yards away for the next 40 years after that why? To tell Younger Ruby to tell the Doctor not to stand on the circle so she wouldn’t live through all that and so wouldn’t stop the nuclear bomb stuff?

How did supposed older ruby get telepathy to say don’t step on the circle?

Doesn’t stopping the Doctor from stepping on the circle create a time paradox, because if he doesn’t step on it Ruby doesn’t have that experience and so she never tells him not to step on it?

What is the lady saying to everyone to scare them off? And it must be some kind of magic she’s doing because a mother isn’t just going to abandon their child so how did supposed older Ruby acquire the magic to do that?

Also how did she time travel back to stand on the hill just to give her younger self a telepathic message?

Since she doesn’t live that life that means she never stops the Nuclear bomb PM so theres really no point to having gone through all that, since we’re getting Nuked by him now because Ruby doesn’t live that life.

Why did Ruby’s grandmother Cherry never talk to her again? that woman seems like she would have slapped Carla for kicking Ruby out of their lives considering she didn’t talk to the lady so wouldn’t have been affected by her.

Where were all Ruby’s friends from the first episode?

Ruby knew everything started with the circle, why did she never go back to Wales and find people who specialised in folklore stuff and seek their help? If goblins exist, if curses exist then you can assume witches or magic people do why wouldn’t you try and find them?

I haven’t watched unleashed but supposedly RTD says Ruby had to pay a penance and do good, I.e stopping Nuclear bomb PM I guess for the Doc standing on the circle… Why would Ruby have to pay a life penance for the Doc stepping on the circle? You shouldn’t go to jail for someone else’s crime. Also he disappears, is that his penance and hers is living that life for reading the paper? who knows?

And a real world question since you only have 8 episodes why would you spend one where you have to spend the whole episode with the companion (because Ncuti was still tied up with Sex Ed) to create an episode that doesn’t actually effected the companion at all because it seems shes forgotten the whole thing at the end. Make an episode that dives deeper into the companions character that we dont usually get because we dont normally get a whole episode with just them, she should have come out of this episode changed somewhat for the better. 

If this episode was to show her abandonment issues… the girl was left on a church door step, and the Doc said she couldn't see her biological mum from that night so we already know she's going to have abandonment issues.

People are like oh its meant to be all open... this much should never be left open and if Chibs did it, it wouldn't be hailed a one of the best episodes in years it would be hailed as a failure of writing.

It's the hypocrisy that annoys me because yes you can still enjoy this episode not getting any of these answers, it can still be your fav of the season but you can't claim RTD is a good writer and Chibs a bad one when RTD in this episode alone went above and beyond in doing all the things you claimed made Chibs a bad writer. Honestly I hope Chibs from here on out has the best life because he deserves it after all the horrible things that have been thrown in his direction.

[ficretus]

Theory: Cinder will capture Jaune in Vacuo portion of the story

It's me, back again with another theory based on Joan of Arc story. This time, trying to figure out how her capture by Burgundians will be realized in RWBY story.... if we ever get to that part of the story. If it were to happen, it will most likely be in Volume 11 (I might make Volume 10 Joan of Arc theory one day).

I'd suggest reading my theory to get better understanding of who do I read as what character and how do events that already happened figure out in their respective story timelines. If not, I'll still make quick summary whenever something from that theory pops up.

First of all, let's start with why. Why would Jaune be captured at any point of the story? Jaune is one of the rare characters in the story who's primary allusion gets captured in their story (other being Ruby), and no, I don't think Jaune being captured by Ace Ops will suffice for this. Joan of Arc' time in captivity was comparable to her time serving as a soldier (both being roughly one year), so I'd find it pretty weird if Jaune never got captured as major plot point.

Timeline wise, it also matches. Volumes 4-5 match Loire campaign (pursuing the enemy, enemy fails to ambush them and suffers major defeat), Volume 6 is Rheims coronation (usage of Lantern/King is granted wisdom by Ampulla, both being oil containers), Volumes 7-8 are siege of Paris (both being greatest cities of their respective regions, Joan/Jaune suffered major defeat and retreated last over the bridge). I go over this in more detail in the timeline theory I linked above. Volume 9 is the only one I cannot connect to major event of Joan of Arc story, although that could be because Jaune became Rusted Knight during that portion of the story, temporarily ceasing to be Joan of Arc. This would make Vacuo portion of the story, theoretical Volumes 10-11, Joan of Arc' campaign against Perrinet Gressart, battle of Lagny and siege of Compiegne. Compiegne was the last battle Joan of Arc participated in, leading to her capture. So based on this, if Jaune ever gets captured, Vacuo portion of the story is the safest bet.

Cool, but why Cinder as his captor? Joan of Arc was captured by Burgundian army and Cinder matches Burgundian role in Joan of Arc story. Both side with enemy to achieve their goals (Burgundy sides with England, Cinder sides with Salem) ,both are power hungry with the goal of eventual freedom (Burgundy wanted to separate itself from France and become independent Kingdom), both have personal vendetta against enemy leader (Ruby reads as king Dauphin). On top of that, soldier that captured Joan of Arc was archer and Cinder is one of the rare characters in the series to use bow and arrow instead of firearms. Additionally, Joan of Arc was under shared jurisdiction of two enemy commanders, Lionel Bastard of Vendome and John of Luxembourg. Former had a lame hand, latter had a missing eye. If you overlay their injuries, you get Cinder again.

Why would Cinder capture him is different question who's answer will vary depending on interpretation of the events.

Now that I explained why do I think it's incredibly plausible thing to happen, let's get to the interpretations.

First let me start with interpretation I strongly reject.

Theory 1: Cinder won't capture Jaune, she will kill him on the spot. This is one of those obvious interpretations dating back all the way back to early Volumes, ever since Cinder was revealed to be the fire user. She is fire, he is Joan of Arc, bam, perfect match (I guess Cinder will give Jaune and Pyrrha matching sweaters). There are couple of reasons I reject this interpretation.

I am sceptical about Jaune having tragic ending to his story. While it does make sense on paper considering Joan of Arc is his allusion, it doesn't quite work with Jaune's story. Joan of Arc had series of triumphs before losing some battles at the end and getting captured. Jaune basically gets none of that, or at least scraps of successes Joan had. On top of that, he gets significantly more failures and suffering compared to Joan. Killing him like this would be like kicking the man while he is already down.

Story seems to reject Jaune's martyrdom, ironically in his battle with Cinder back in Volume 5. He goes in admitting he doesn't care about his own life as long as others succeed. Issue Jaune has is lack of self worth due to his perceived uselessness. For him, character development would be learning to value his own life and not throwing it away for what he thinks is greater good. Having him die in combat basically invalidates that. Him trying to throw away his life in Volume 5 wouldn't be an issue in that case, it's the fact he tried to throw it away at the wrong point of the story.

Having Cinder kill him would feel pretty weird. Common aspect of their encounters is that she can kill him at almost any point but for some reason chooses not to (be it arrogance, sadism or something else entirely), even when she logically really should (there is no reason to not go for a kill when Jaune denied her Maiden power). Having Cinder kill him would feel like she at some arbitrary point decided to flip metaphorical kill switch and finally do it.

Now to interpretations I find more likely

Theory 2: Jaune will be captured and then turned into Grimm. This is taking Joan of Arc story pretty straight forward with some twists. In this version of the events, Cinder will capture Jaune, but not kill him, most likely sadism or because of something Salem ordered her to do. Burgundians ransomed Joan of Arc to the English, which will be mirrored with Cinder giving Jaune to Salem. She will turn him into Grimm akin to the Hound and force him to fight his friends. This will represent Joan's death as heretic. Joan of Arc was re-trialed years later at the orders of Dauphin, who is Ruby in this version of the story. Duke of Alencon (who I read as Weiss) was one of the witnesses during rehabilitation trial, so I guess she'll help out as well. Ruby will purify Jaune with some assistance from Weiss and save his life, symbolizing Joan's rehabilitation.

Next thing is not Joan of Arc related, but what the hell, when will I ever get an opportunity to mention this. There is a another Grimm fairy tale about Snow White, in which she has sister Rose Red. This always bothered me, since it works so well with Ruby and Weiss but story seemingly has no relevance in RWBY plot. They met a talking bear they took care of. Then they met evil dwarf several times, always helping him, but he is always ungrateful. In the end, bear killed a dwarf, revealing himself to be cursed prince dwarf turned into a bear so he can steal his treasure. Snow White then married cursed prince and Rose Red married his brother, the end. So, what does this has to do with anything I said paragraph before? Well, if Jaune does become Grimm and he becomes let's say, Ursa like Grimm, then things get more interesting. He becomes cursed prince from the story that ends up marrying Snow White, making this effectively Whiteknight (Cinder can be then read as evil dwarf since she'd be one responsible for his curse and she stole his treasure, Pyrrha). This would also imply Rosegarden since Rose Red marries prince's brother (Oscar being another cursed prince).

This interpretation does rob Jaune of lot of agency post capture since he'd be esentially mind controlled, but it does hit enough Joan of Arc story beats for me to consider it plausible. This would also shift Cinder to being primarily Weiss' rival since Jaune would be out of commission.

Theory 3: This is step one in Cinder's redemption arc. Time to get back to that particular rabbit hole, this time with 100% more Stockholm syndrome. This one will have whole lot speculative canon, but I'll try to reinforce each point with Joan of Arc parallels.

Ok, how the hell does that work? Well first, we need to get back to that double timeline theory I linked at the beginning. To sum it up, timeline 1 goes from Joan's arrival at Chinon to her heresy trial, timeline 2 goes from Joan's childhood to her victory at Orleans. These two timelines overlap creating complete narrative (V5 is both Joan's Loire campaign and trip to Vaucouleurs, V8 is both siege of Paris and Joan's village being sacked, etc). I went into reasons why I use this method in that theory.

Anyways, last event I traced to 2nd timeline is Joan's village being sacked. She spent her time in city of Neufchateau before departing for Vaucoleurs to meet Robert de Baudricourt for the third time. Quick summary, Cinder is Baudricourt in this timeline since both dynamic and timeline placements of her meetings with Jaune match Baudricourt's meetings with Joan. Both times, Baudricourt dissmisses Joan (first time publically humiliating her), but third time he relents (motivated by his desperate circumstances and Joan's correct prediction of Dauphin losing key battle near Orleans) and sends her to Dauphin's castle in Chinon. Side note, Cinder also plays the role of Dauphin in timeline 2 (backstories match, both have a crown that they cannot reach, both were raised by powerful queen dowager after running away from their home) which I don't feel is contradictory for the reasons I go more in my timeline theory. Additionally, Joan gained a favor of two of Baudricourt's soldiers, Jean of Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy. This surprised Baudricourt considering both were notorious troublemakers. I translated those two as Emerald and Mercury in my timeline theory.

Cool, but what does this has to do with Joan's capture? Well, we overlay this portion of timeline 2 onto Compiegne portion of timeline 1 to get the full story.

First to get back to Compiegne: Burgundian duke Philip broke the peace treaty with Dauphin and attacked Compiegne. Joan went there with relatively small army and in some sources, against Dauphin's orders. She rallied out to fight Burgundians, held well, but ultimately getting captured. Burgundians were unable to take Compiegne.

So full translation to RWBY would be: Cinder manages to outsmart Ruby and gets into position where it's likely she'll take Maiden power and/or Relic. Jaune shows up as the last line of defense, likely fighting her together side by side with Emerald and Mercury (I believe Mercury will be redeemed in Volume 10, partially due to Joan of Arc story). This can be interesting callback to either Cinder, Emerald and Mercury taking on Amber or Jaune confronting Cinder with Emerald and Mercury by her side like in Volume 5 (their roles now being reversed). Similar to Volume 5, Jaune will likely hit several sour spots for Cinder (this is reference to Joan telling Baudricourt her unfavorable visions and them turning out to be true). They lose after putting up a good fight but buy enough time for others to reinforce and prevent Cinder from obtaining the Maiden power and/or Relic (or Cinder takes too much damage in the fight). Cinder makes spur of the moment decision and captures Jaune while running away (this matches Compiegne, Jaune gets captured but enemy doesn't achieve their objective). Capture kind of works with timeline 2: if Cinder is both Baudricourt and Dauphin, then she is effectively sending Jaune to herself, that to me reads like capture.

Several of her comrades tried to free Joan, but by the time they reached the place where she was held as prisoner, she is already moved to different castle. This could also happen in the show, breaking the trend of main cast successfully rescuing their captured friend from previous volumes. Jaune would then be taken to Salem with Cinder (who'll likely get punished for her failures) arguing she can exchange Jaune for location of Relic of Choice (maintaining the part of the story Joan is held for ransom). Similar to theory 2, I'd expect Jaune's capture to last at least one full volume.

Ok, that's cool and all, but what does this have to do with Cinder's redemption in any shape or form:

They will be forced together for extended period of time. Additionally, there will be nobody else for them to interact with. Eventually, they'll have to interact in some shape or form. I would expect lot of initial setbacks considering Joan of Arc attempted to escape twice. But still, it would be pretty weird if they just grumbled at each other whole time and then went back to fighting. Come on man, they are foils that don't know they are foils, do something with that.

Neither can hurt each other. Jaune cannot hurt her since he would be her prisoner, she cannot hurt him without risking the prospect of deal falling off (and as shown when threatened by Neo, Cinder considers her death plausible outcome if she screws up the Relic). This means Jaune could meaningfully verbally challenge Cinder without the risk of dying (hello Watts). This also wouldn't be reach to happen, considering he did similar thing in Volume 5. Basically, Cinder will be stuck with Jaune as voice of consciousness entire volume without being able to get rid off it.

This would transition relatively well into Indecisive King story. In that story, Widow (basically Jaune) spends time in King's castle before eventually confronting him over Relic of Choice. Joan of Arc similarly spent time in Dauphin's castle at Chinon. In both stories Jaune coded character spent time with Cinder coded character before eventually changing them for better.

As usual, I decided to make Cinder portion needlessly long and complicated. Anyways, what are your thoughts? Did I miss any plausible interpretations?

[invested-in-your-future]

So how do you explain Qrow and Taiyang and especially Ozpin not telling Ruby anything about her silver eyes during her time at Beacon? Off the top of my head the only time Ozpin did try tap into triggering them was when he enabled team rwby go on a mission leages above them in v2.

The way I see it - that neither Qrow nor Tai would want that for her. Just keeping it a secret and hoping it never triggers was the plan. It always felt like Ruby deciding to be a huntress was something Tai wasn't comfortable with because of how Summer ended up. Of course, Taiyang isn't one to go against his daughter's dreams, so being passive-aggressive with Qrow was all he could do.

As far as Silver Eyes go, genetic inheritance is not guaranteed - Ruby being born with them was up to a chance. And at the same time, having them didn't mean she would activate them - that also would be up to chance. But if she ever uses them, she can't "undo" that.

It's also why Qrow did not sound that happy when he had to tell Ruby about the eyes at the end of V3 (And the awkward look he shared with Taiyang). None of that conversation sounded like an "Oh yay, you unlocked superhero powers!" kind of deal - it always felt like a "there's no point in hiding it now since we failed" situation. Qrow sounds defeated when he has to tell her - she already used them, so there's no going back.

Ozpin only found out she had them at the start of V1. So, till then, both Tai and Qrow hid it from him.

Why did he not do anything? Ozpin was busy with everything else happening - like the Fall Maiden assault. In the show, it does feel like he sits there going ":O" at everything going wrong, so one of the first things I am doing is the idea of Ozpin possibly having attempted to steer an unavoidable outcome towards something more favorable by using his students as chess pieces. This whole generation of Beacon has lots of weird and unique circumstances - a champion of mistral(reminder that Monty wanted Raven to fight JNPR), a boy who was allowed to stay despite forgery and having no training, a girl with silver eyes, a heiress to one of the most powerful corporations in the world, a former high-ranking white fang terrorist, a daughter of someone who deserted Ozpin. Even Nora and Ren had unique circumstances. So, instead of Ozpin sitting and doing nothing, it is more like he had attempted to stack the deck in his favor before everything fell apart.

The one time we see him interfere directly is when clearing up obstacles for their journey to Mt.Glenn - the decision that starts a chain reaction that sabotages part of Cinder's plan by having Roman use the train stuff months before the Fall. He has lived for hundreds if not thousands of years - he has patience and a sense of what to prioritize. So chances are Ozpin wouldn't directly act on the silver eyes' knowledge, but at the same time, Ruby would have likely found herself in situations that would nudge her towards them, and if they work, they work.

Ozpin shares information when it is beneficial. Knowledge is a tool for him in a way that veers toward Faustian bargain, especially if the story ISN'T going to go along with the idea of Raven being mad at being able to turn into a bird. He wouldn't tell her anything if it would make no difference. Does telling her cause her to activate them faster? Then he would. It doesn't? Then, there's no reason to inform her because it introduces too many variables.

Whatever happened with Summer didn't happen in a few days after all - Team STRQ has been in the game for quite a while. There's no reason to believe Ozpin would have moved faster with RWBY.

Both Ozpin and Salem have lived for centuries - it would be awkward if they treated the passage of time as well as the concept of planning the same way human beings(who live ~100 years tops) would.

[iamafanofcartoons]

Rabbit Debunks Hbomberguy’s “RWBY is Disappointing Video” and explains why the Critics are wrong about RWBY.  Part 1 of 2

Making a thread reacting to the hbomberguy RWBY is Disappointing video.

Mostly as a refresher and also because there’s been a lot of dissension regarding it so why not.

Intro Calls it R (Rue) By lmaoo.

You’re not supposed to pronounce the W So the gist of it, is that he feels like it has great concept that could be interesting, but fails to execute it in any meaningful way???

Like overall it’s bad but there’s few good glimpses-

Of what could be a great show.

I guess for now I guess I can give it the benefit of the doubt and assume good intentions so far.

No words on the History of Monty Oum and RT history.

I mean it pretty much all checks out

Though immediately admitting your bias against the show takes the validity of some of your criticisms away ngl.

So he loves the Red Trailer but brings up the views it gained and then brings up the views of the episodes (Vol 1 ep 1 and 2) as a sort of gotcha like “oh see the trailer is more popular than the episode like look at the 15M to (episode 2) 6.8M ratio!!!”

Like those are two-  Wildly different things my guy

But what’s up with that “Red Like Roses Part 1 is the best composed music Jess has ever done” take?????

That’s wild asF fr.

Like no way you listened to the soundtracks of V1-3 and still have that opinion.

Like it’s amazing but????

“Does she get the scar from the fight or from something else, oooo mysterious”.

Is this a bit????

She so obviously gets the scar from the fight so I hope it’s just a bit lmao.

Also the complaint about Adam is so weird?

“He’s so obviously a bad guy that it doesn’t make sense”

“Since there’s already wolves set up as the baddies in the series”

Like, it’s not word for word what he said but that’s the gist of it?

It’s a bad and very nitpicky complaint since there are many series with more than 1 antagonist and antagonistic force.

I don’t know.

Saying “it’s coming from a well meaning place” but then saying it’s extremely bad, followed up by an intro song saying that RWBY is lame and it sucks all while dedicating it to Monty is…. So disgusting??? And very disingenuous???

Using the ending of Vol 2 as a point in your “they don’t know their story” when Ruby is laying down all the things that they have yet to solve (leading into the new volume and this laying down the groundwork for it)

It’s obviously in your face my dude.

Ah damn, a little out of order, but is there instances where Miles or Kerry  acknowledges good faith criticism? Panels? Deleted tweets? Anything?

Mainly just curious if it’s true that they haven’t and he just didn’t do the research by saying he “has a hard time finding any”

Another thing. Forgot to mention.

Really wish he prefaced his complaints about the voice acting and writing that he understood that the studio itself was amateurish and small with not a lot of budget to work with. (Unless that’s true) not that there isn’t criticism but that- There are TANGIBLE reasons why it’s the way that it is.

Where Do We Even Start?

Uhhh they never dropped the Dust Theft plot line????

Volume 2 was literally the culmination of the dust theft and the reason is because of Cinder’s plans.

Another thing that’s in your face but just, weirdly you gloss over???

“The intro doesn’t set up the story properly… leaves out the fragile peace between the nations…. Leaves out faunus… leaves out semblances…”

Quite literally, the intro talks about things that weren’t even revealed until Vol 4 to 9. The intro is good and sets up what it NEEDS-

Like sure you can say “oh but it’s only added till later when they got the story that they wanted to tell straight”

Mate, a pro tip for a lot of writers renowned/acclaimed have admitted that some of their works or some of their best writing decisions were made by the seat- Of their pants.

You think Naruto, one of the most iconic and popular anime of all time would have spun into how it is just off the intro of the first episode?

What about Bleach?

ATLA?

One Piece???

There are so many instances where the intro just isn’t all encompassing bc- That just isn’t how story writing goes.

You can have the best most rigid outline in the whole world, but at times you’re gonna go off script because there’s something you want to expand upon more or explore.

Ends off this segment by saying that RWBY’s story is interesting and it has neat ideas (backahandedly by adding “to write a wiki about”) but the storytelling only gets worse.

Which, I sort of disagree with???

It’s not stellar by any means, but I chalk that up with them- Not having the sort of resources available.

However from what they managed TO put together it was coherent enough to convey what they were meaning to portray.

Though I do have my gripes with certain aspects of the first two volumes.

But from V3 on? It’s only gotten- Stronger.

Yes I harp on V5 a LOT and it’s still one of the weaker volumes, but the conversations and character dynamics where stronger than they’ve been.

It was mainly the animation in the last few episodes of the giant fight that I just, wasn’t vibing with at all.

Worldbuilding and Conveyance

So next he talks about how aura was explained.

Bringing up both Harry Potter and ATLA and how they tell it as an example.

Following it up by making a rwby edit to make it seem as if it was mundane and boring.

Which isnt the case at all.

If you- Actually take the time to watch the scene.

It's about 1:20 long and while the explanation of what Aura does is being told to the viewer, it shows Ren taking down the King Taijitu with his aura.

It's another valid form of story telling because it's not just two characters talking on screen.

it's also giving us an insight of how it would be put into action.

"No one just happens to have full on speeches prepared in case anyone is to ask"

Uhhh, have you met Weiss?

Even the examples you gave literally is Hermione and Katara.

"Why does Jaune not know about this?

When he came from a long line of hero's and monster Hunters."

Idk, how does Naruto not know about Chakra despite 8 years as a academy student.

He probably just skipped out on it or didn't take it seriously enough.

He never went to- A prep school like Signal either.

His transcripts were faked, so you could easily say he went to Beacon with nothing more than a Dime, A old Rickety sword and a dream lol.

Also Pyrrha is super smart and also a really great battle tactician.

Of course she would be able to- recite what Aura does word for word.

It's not mischaracterization.

You just want to twist that narrative against her.

And not just that, I feel a strong mischaracterization of Jaune.

If Jaune is played off as an idiot for jokes, that's cool. But if he's shown to just not- Understand or doesn't know about the world at large, then that could hint at the fact that Jaune is more than just an idiot.

He's probably born in the sticks/boonies.

A country bumpkin if you will where Hunters aren't all that well known nor pop culture.

It doesn't dumb down the other characters.

Because Weiss is frustrated herself that someone so famous isn't recognizable by anyone and everyone in the world.

Same thing with her and the SDC

For Christ sakes, he only knew Pyrrha from a cereal box be fr

Well he brings up the Jaundice thing and yeah that's fair, a lot of people have gripes with that (i'm not one of them) and brings up how Pyrrha is only really a character for Jaune's development as a fighter and romance option but not much else on her own.

Which... Yeah I kinda- get that too.

Like, I liked Pyrrha too, but I do wish she had more to do in V1 and 2.

But in V3 is where she shines.

Hell there were so many people who did cry and got shocked by the end of Vol 3 even with the amount of screentime she gets.

"Praise RWBY for being feminist and progessive cause most of the mcs are women... But Jaune has 4 episodes dedicated to him, and has the coolest girl in school flirting and helping him become a stronger warrior."

Jaune isn't the main character.

How I've always viewed RWBY and JNPR has always been: RWBY as the protagonist and JNPR as the deuteragonist.

They hold about the same amount of importance because of how close their teams are.

So of course you're going to want to give the deuteragonist development and screentime to.

And yes Jaune had Jaundice.

RWBY still has an ABSURD amount of episodes dedicated to them as well so the balance/ration will always be in RWBY's favor regardless of how you feel about Jaune as a character and Jaune's importance to the story.

Same goes for the rest of NPR

"The writer's dont know what Yang's semblance is.

It goes from her being angry, to it being her taking hits and she transfers that energy back to them by hitting them again, and then temper tantrums, and then re-xeplain it as a redirection of energy stored from hits."-

Uhh, no.

Her semblance has always been about redirection of stored energy from attacks and aiming them back at the opponent.

Every single time we see her use it, it's always after she's taken several hits.

It's probably still possible to use it without taking hits, but its more than- likely less powerful.

He goes on to talk about how semblances are abstract and only gets mentioned 14 episodes later.

Which sure ok, but the gist of them and how they work are still easily within the story.

Could they have expanded upon it more earlier on? Yeah they could.

But to sit there and say, "When Pyrrha used her abilities and Ruby and Weiss look at her like she was weird and surprised and confused she has powers too"

no no no no no, that is grossly misreading the scene.

Pyrrha has kept her semblance a secret from anyone and everyone.

No one knows what it is or if she even had one.

They were just confused by what she did, why her hand glowed black, and why her hand was out.

It had nothing to do with them being confused about why someone else had a semblance, but more so they never knew what Pyrrha's was.

and also, the reading of Semblance = magic is both meh and eh.

Like if you looked at any and every single semblance that exists in RWBY, every single one of them have to do with concepts that has nothing to do with earth, wind, fire, and water.

Whereas Magic in the series- has Maidens throwing storms, lightning bolts, fire, ice, etc. at any enemy they choose.

That's the major difference between magic and semblance.

Magic is divine, naturalistic. Semblances are more man made if that makes sense.

Man he really does not like how semblances are portrayed/exposited.

Like it's been just as long as he harped on for Pyrrha expositing the aura scene.

like the exaggeration that he's going to, to explain this is kinda crazy

It's not a semi complicated concept at all, like he said it was.

It's very easy to follow and very easy to understand. he brings up Emerald and Cinder knowing about it, but doesn't bring up the fact that Pyrrha had to have put it in her application for Beacon or her personal- record that only Beacon has track of.

A record that they broke into with the helps of Watts, but not just that.

But Mercury also figured it out because he's an intelligent fighter just like Pyrrha is.

You can just say that Pyrrha's opponents were all just dumb for not figuring it out.

But no, it's just bad writing I guess.

Brings up WoR as an example of not being able to tell the story completely and labels it as homework.

It's not necessarily out of the norm though.

There are lots of character guides, extra material that expands on characters, worlds-

nd ideas that you can't really put the time in the show to do.

Like let's look at the first 3 volumes and how most episodes where 12-15 minutes long.

And even then they were still trying to get the hang of writing for something so massive as RWBY.

Having extra material so readers can get a better understanding of the world around them isn't bad. because even then, most everyone knows who Faunus are.

How Aura works, what a semblance is. all of these on a surface level.

If you want to dig deep, thats what WoR is for.

Unless you just wanna insult the show and embrace ignorance?

Some Positive Examples

Such a nothing complaint really. 

Just Miles and Kerry's writing vs Monty's character acting (in terms of how he conveys the four in a team fight (example being Team RWBY vs Mecha Roman)). 

I mean, I dont know what to really say here.

"The writers are so busy writing drama and wacky skits to explain why they're friends while Monty is putting in the REAL work with the fight scenes and showing how close they are and how far ruby has come at becoming a leader."  

Yeah... Cause that's what writers and animators do

Briefly touches on Ships and how Monty, Kerry, and Miles referenced them in the fight. (also decided to call it creepy since Ruby is 15 and the other girls are 17...

Which isn't that bad??

Like Sophomore and Senior in High School really).

Wasn't Ichigo Kurosaki 15 and Naruto not even 13?

Also says they didn't make a name- for Ruby and Yang because of the certain fans that ship those two together so they avoided that one altogether

.... Which yeah??? Did you want them too lol??

I can't seem to see his point of bringing this up because on one hand it feels like he's admonishing them for it, but  on the other hand he seems... like he's a little upset that they dont have a team attack name?

Maybe just at the inconsistency of it. Which i can understand.

I would have maybe came up with one that isn't fandom made so they can have a cool SISTERS team attack, like Rose Dragon!

Ends off this segment talking about more Miles and Kerry vs Monty (with Shawn being added in).

Another example of writing vs character expositing through animation by using the Pyrrha vs Mercury fight as well as the exposition between Emerald, Cinder, and Mercury.

Lots of talk about animation being weird and how he's seen worse animation but the stories were good enough to overlook it.

I'd be a broken record by stating this again and again.

But just look at what they had to work with. Look at how divided the writing and the animation- really were with Monty coming up with new characters that the team had to shove in last minute.

Look at Poser even and how the engine was something really only Monty and Shane (oops I made a mistake in that other post) could work to the level that they did.

Look at RT and even CRWBY at the time.

And now look where they are now.

You can't tell me that they've gone downhill when most of your gripes that you've complained about are/have been fixed in the later seasons.

Gonna end it here and make it a 2 parter. This thread is-

Long enough and I'm tired extremely lol.

I'll do a QRT tomorrow and start it back up. 

If anyone has more to add or correct me on, feel free to QRT anything you feel i didnt do a good job of explaining or just missed in general.

Any help is appreciated.

https://twitter.com/PhonyMangaka/status/1653898140678856704

[neatangent]

I think I have cracked the chelby code , I was interested in the movie on the trailer alone but the compilation of chelby comics on YouTube made me seal the deal , on the topic of trailers

I never saw a trailer basically tell audience what’s supposed to be a surprise and the fact that by the end Ruby is fighting against a red giant monster with a trident and Chelsea appearing in this promo as a mermaid with red hair and a trident https://youtu.be/99_TZqyyDrE?si=DZKhz4qGt6wGfyls

If that wasn’t enough there also this

It’s kinda of embarrassing how telegraphed the twist was , and when the movie confirmed it , it should have sinked the ship right ? … weeeeelllllll no

and as someone who knew of it after the movie release , whenever you ship it or not ,

let me explain why it didn’t :

From scene one the story explains how krakens are misunderstood creatures , being labeled as bloodthirsty monsters but in reality they are noble guardians victims of prejudice , so much that the Gillmans have to pretend to be Canadians to live on Oceanside , it’s a simple story on how you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but there is a problem , and that problem are the mermaids , the trailer itself calls them vain narcissist , basically what people thinks the krakens were , the mermaids actually are ,

some saw a problem with this , the movie presents all krakens as good and all mermaids as evil which is true in the narrative , but something like this already happened before , back when SVTFOE wasnt a dumpster fire , it tackled the theme of historical revisionism https://youtu.be/O-mr46TOHmk?feature=shared

And the stories pass down to generations might have been modified to fit a narrative

The thing is the setup is not that much different from what grandmamah tells Ruby , both end up ruling unchallenged a vast territory even though many others inhabit it , it’s like if star was right from the start and monster were only evil and the were was no wrong in conquering their territory , so people were a bit confused on how the movie seemingly presented on side as missunderstood and the other as completely in the wrong , of course the actual answer it’s that riff on the little mermaid , but nothing on the movie is about the little mermaid, Chelsea just looks like her and people like her because they thought she saved Connor , but enough about that a movie should criticized what it is and not what it could been ,

which brings me to the main reason on why chelby still exist and it’s thriving (on tumblr) , the movie does a terrible job at presenting any character that are not the Gillmans , Chelsea or the captain that is actually pretty funny , Ruby friend group have one personality trait each , goth girl , clown girl and streamer , Connor exist as a reward for Ruby at the end and aside from maybe skating I cannot tell you what he likes aside from the things that Ruby likes ( I dare you to came up with something) ,

that leaves out Chelsea that despite being presented as a self centered popular girl until the very end it’s the only positive reinforcement Ruby has in the story , everyone else either disappears like Ruby friends ( which would have ditched to go to prom without her ) , grandmamah basically wants her to be the next in line to the throne ( a kraken always answer the call ) and Agatha left Ruby in the dark about the whole situation of her being capable of becoming a kraken , this leaves Chelsea in a weird position story wise she’s the main antagonist but it’s also a mentor to Ruby and it’s what she needs the most at the moment , case in point in a moment of vulnerability Ruby goes to her

and she actually received good advice and from this point on the movie is about Chelsea teaching Ruby how to be more in touch with her kraken side and with all the previous points it comes together to make them the most intriguing relationship in the movie and it made people want that the story would have been focused on them

[cherry-berry-candy]

How do we feel about TEoD?

so, overall my feelings are... mixed. some of the problems i had last episode seemed to be confirmed, there were some themes i wasn't expecting (pleasantly surprised), and there were some themes i wasn't expecting (unpleasantly shocked)

soooo time for another cut and a lot of thoughts (including a lot of complaints, be prepared) (also, nyx did a lot of writing for this oops)

TRUMAN SHOW

(i promise this isn't our main gripe lol)

okay, first thing's first, elephant in the room- tv show theory wasn't confirmed. well... not necessarily confirmed, but still very possible. the TARDIS crew not-quite-literally (or was it literally...) watch previous episodes on a television screen, and mrs flood is mrs flood. or, is she? we'll get back to her.

so, we know people have said that this is more than likely not the end of the current story- we should wait to see where the second block of 8 episodes go! usually we'd agree with this, but we take issue with something for this particular theory. we're going to explain why we think this season is worse off without a confirmation for this particular thing- assuming it's accurate.

take mrs flood for a moment, in isolation. she does some odd unexplained things- saying ominous stuff, knowing things you wouldn't expect her to, speaking to and looking to camera, etc. that we don't fully understand her now is fine- there's a bit of mystery to chew on, and it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the episode, unless we assume that the explanation won't be sufficient.

the tv show theory explains a lot more than this, though. yes it recontextualizes in-universe events, but it also recontextualizes the experience of watching the show itself. the relationship between the doctor and ruby growing so fast, the anachronistic music in Rogue, the musical number in The Devil's Chord, the choice to not show hardly any moments before or after adventures, and more.

before getting an explanation of these things, i feel these things are distracting. this doesn't feel, to us, like the type of thing that should be a long game. obviously, there's plenty more than enough for us to pick up on to give the impression of tv show theory being real. but, for anyone not digging into this, hoping, praying for an explanation for the oddities, like we have been- this is just a series of strange choices.

even for me, someone who is all aboard still- this is a full season of show! maybe "full" is an odd word for it being so short, but there is some intention of a contained arc in these 8 episodes. so, in some sense, it should be taken as its own. and on its own- these choices are unexplained. even if they get explained later, i think this season is forever weaker for it.

Thoughts from TLoRS

(and how they were affected by TEoD)

we made a post following TLoRS with some issues we had, that might be resolved by the end of TEoD. so here's how those panned out, in our eyes

im going to skip over anything that's just "well, tv show theory isn't confirmed yet, so this is still weird! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" to avoid redundancy.

some characters- in particular, rose noble, ibrahim, and carla- didn't do anything this episode. just like they did nothing last episode. so why were they here lol. carla being in this episode being seen getting turned to dust im alright with. but what's the point of the other two? why did carla need to come to UNIT? it seems like the reason rose was here was to bring carla in- especially since she just stands around, even when everyone else is firing at the TARDIS. she only gets one line upon waking up. and i don't think carla contributed nearly enough to TLoRS to justify either of them being around for this story. ibrahim doesn't seem to have a reason, even outside of that. lol.

one could argue that carla was brought to UNIT so mrs flood could have an excuse to be alone with cherry (oh hey. nice name sagkjsjakdg). but like... why did that need to happen? like, okay, mrs flood needed to spout some ominous stuff to camera, but she couldve done that to carla, no? or just done it to cherry with carla just... in the other room? especially with mrs flood's only role in this episode being to ~be mysterious~. a little of our feelings on this is flavored by That One RTD Interview, but... it just feels pointless to do it this way! maybe it'll be clearer later why we needed to have mrs flood be ominous to cherry specifically, specfically without carla around but... idk.

the thing with the radio reading "15:08" and "service not available" before susan's speech (immediately following Carla saying "go and get her!") still don't mean anything, yet. i guess. we saw it flicker a bit more, and see that 24 minutes passed (there were still nearly 36 minutes left in TLoRS when we saw the radio that episode. wonder what's up with that) but otherwise nothing.

the themes around sutekh actually did sell me on him being here! the idea that the doctor has been bringing death wherever he goes is a great one to explore this way! the reveal is still the reveal, but i was happy with the them explored here, and ill get more into that later down the road in the next section

FINALLY, THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE ITSELF

(still ft. some broader season thoughts, but more focused on this specific episode)

can we stop writing kate to be just. fully stupid. please. im tired of her just firing at gods like it's going to do something. im fine with her being morally funky because UNIT but oh my god.

the "there will be birds" line is cringe and out of nowhere and lame. LMAO like. i don't think i could put it in any way that's smart. it's jarring for her to say such a flowery line before she dies and it's odd and it's cringe and it's lame

satisfying susan (triad) explanation. neat

god we love 15. "ruby roo"? "melanie b"? absolutely lovely

the doctor closing the door behind him on all the death he's caused? mwah. chef's kiss

not going to think about the DNA data existing in 2046. it doesn't matter. not thinking about it

"i traveled to all those worlds. i thought it was fun." what a great parallel to the archeologist from Pyramid of Mars that the narrative once defended. someone smarter than me could say more, but im too busy complaining. oops

didn't watch the tales of the tardis, but from the outfits it seems like they slotted it chronologically in the middle of this episode. neat!

"cultural appropriation" is a response that tickles me, and is also appreciated. glad the acknowledgement is made. that said, i saw some people still taking issue with the portrayal here so... maybe that growth isn't all the way done yet.

the doctor not acknowledging that the 4th doctor was him is so interesting. it also recontextualizes him calling 14 rose's uncle a bit- he really is trying to separate from who he used to be. maybe this also adds to him still not visiting susan. this also plays into the theory that he was straight up lying about having healed from 14's experiences- this too could have been him trying to separate!

if you can't tell, im saying all this as i rewatch the episode. not much to comment on where we're at, so a good time to bring up- the effects struggled in this episode, just a bit. the greenscreening of the og tardis in the time window was a little rough, and the makeup is (imo) noticeably worse. or rather, noticably noticable. maybe it just shined in the lighting of TLoRS? it was odd.

feel like "silence can reign" instead of quoting "silence can fall" is a potential missed opportunity? this one doesn't matter really, i think i'm just surprised

also i was reaaaally think this was going to be a "ruby is a devilspawn" moment, it almost feels like it was teased? idk, maybe i just was theorybrained. lol

oh okay. the tardis just has a laser beam in it. alright. sure i guess

this face is so fucking funny to me LMAO

okay i actually don't really. understand what's happening in the vortex here. like what is the cause and effect. idc that it's supernatural i just don't understand what the supernatural thing is. maybe that's a me problem.

the corniness of them all silently stepping outside... okay

okay other people brought it up before but. what about all the identical-looking susans across the modern day 😭like are they just gonna live their lives and no one's gonna think about it?

wait how did they. how did they get the data on ruby's mother. why didn't they just do whatever that process was before.

just some girl! okay, sure! i like the idea that she wasn't actually special, there were just weird circumstances that caused everything-

"we invest things with significance" awww that's kinda sweet actually :)

...

okay but hold on. what was the snow all about though. why could ruby create snow around her. and why did the memory keep changing. and what made the 66.7 meters relevant to her mother and to 73 Yards. and also...

this season has done a lot with myths and stories and such, but usually there's something... more to it. as there has been in other episodes like this in previous eras, too! in space babies, the spaceship creates something from stories. in 73 Yards, the mythology of fairy rings is implied to be based on a true story, in some sense. but here, a story just... became fantastical. for no reason other than being a story. and only specifically for ruby sunday. half the story or not, this is incredibly unsatisfying for a finale, lol

the pointing thing is. lame. the pointing doesn't make more sense in hindsight. it makes less. who the hell dramatically turns around and points at a sign to unofficially name their child. 😭

i really like the doctor projecting his issues onto ruby. like i don't because don't traumatize her just because you've dealt with it LOL but i do like it because Character Flaw

HEY WHY DOES THE DOCTOR LOOK INTO CAMERA HERE.

wow, the doctor... basically kicks ruby out of the tardis. dude you suck so much ass 😭

"my real mum" your WHAT? what do you mean your "real mum" who the hell has been raising you this whole time? russell. russellllll. come on dude 😭

kinda weird ruby never mentioning the possibility of having a dad just... went away here. is that intentional? idk. i don't really get why or how it would be, so i guess it's just retroactively weird that she never wondered about her dad until now.

hi mrs flood! who are you!! people are pointing to missy vibes (the umbrella!), the outfit similarity to romana at... one point? i don't know classic who aslkgaklgd there are a couple other characters people have pointed out, as well as the "clever boy" reference. kind of reminds me of rogue being a seeming amalgamation of some other characters, like river, jack harkness, and the master. hmmmm

well! there it all is! our disorganized thoughts. too tired to make a conclusion though LOL so im just. putting this all out there lmao

[aylacavebear]

Dimensional Shift - Chapter 7 S4E3-6

Story Summary: Maria was just a regular girl, worked at a gas station, wrote fanfic, and loved Supernatural. She even created her own supernatural creature for her writings. When the aurora borealis comes to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, one Halloween night, everything changes for her in ways she never expected. Will she be able to navigate this new world she's thrown into?

Word Count: 3688

Please don't take my work. I'll post warnings for each chapter. Will eventually be 18+!

Warnings: Angst, some Fluff/Comfort, Alcoholism.

----------------------------------------- Chapter 7 - S4E3-E6

(Sep. 20/08 - Oct. 28/08)

Maria stayed out of the next case, knowing that this would be when Castiel would come to Dean in his dreams and then send him back in time to see what happened between his mother and the yellow-eyed demon Azazel.

After which Dean would be confronting Sam about being on demon blood and working with Ruby. Then they’d have a Rurguru case, which was when Sam would choose to stop drinking the demon blood all on his own. She also had no desire to watch Dean flirt shamelessly with the waitress when they’d deal with the shapeshifter at the Oktoberfest.

She told the boys to be safe and that they could handle it, but if they needed anything, she and Bobby were there and only a phone call away. After the boys left, Maria filled Bobby in, swearing him to secrecy because, in her words, “This needed to happen a specific way.” Bobby wasn’t happy about it, but he agreed. 

“Kid, they should know more than what you’ve told ‘em,” Bobby sighed after she explained some things.

“I can’t risk changing too much, though. I know they both miss her, and I don’t know another way to bring her back,” Maria practically mumbled.

“But do they really need to go through all that crap?” he asked, not completely sure how it all fit together.

She sighed, staring at the coffee table, “Over the time that passes, the two of them learn things on their own and it helps their bond eventually get stronger. Those two would do anything for each other. Even Cas ends up being family, but he does some stupid shit too.”

Bobby sipped his whiskey as he eyed Maria momentarily, concern etched into the lines of his weathered face, “How are you holding up?”

She shifted in her seat, her gaze flickering to the floor before meeting Bobby’s eyes, “Honestly, it’s both weird and cool, being here. I fell in love with all of the show's characters. It’s why I wrote fanfic. I just never thought I’d actually end up here,” she chuckled dryly, a hint of vulnerability in her voice.

He leaned back in his chair, studying her with a mix of sympathy and understanding, “Just know, I still see you like my daughter. You can talk to me about anything,” he tried to reassure her.

“I know, and I appreciate it. I just don’t know how to act around the boys sometimes,” Maria sighed.

Bobby chuckled, “Well, the you from here has had a crush on Dean since she was about thirteen. Swore me to secrecy back then. I’m gonna guess you probably have more than a crush.”

Her cheeks warmed as a deep blush appeared, and she was thankful neither of the brothers was there, “Yeah, that would go over really well. The girl from another dimension is in love with what used to be a fictional character in her world,” she said fairly sarcastically, then sighed and looked back down at the table. “He’d laugh at me.”

Bobby sighed, not quite sure how to say what he was thinking about, “You could always just be blunt about it. Don’t live with regrets, kid.”

She knew exactly what he meant. Bobby had regrets, most of them having to do with his deceased wife and choosing never to have kids himself. He’d broken her heart and then had to kill her three days later due to her getting possessed by a demon. She debated telling him he should get an anti-possession tattoo, but that would have changed far too much. 

“Dean isn’t the kind to settle down, Bobby. He likes his “freedom”,” she replied, rolling her eyes and putting the word freedom in air quotes.

He eyed you for a minute before he continued, “He may be an idjit, but he has a good heart. I think he might surprise you if you were honest with him.” After sipping his whiskey, he realized something, “Is that why you didn’t go with them?”

She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with him, “You try to watch someone you love flirt with every girl but you. Can we talk about something else, please?”

Bobby sighed, deciding he’d try to figure out a way to help her, but kept that to himself for now. “Then, while you’re here and not on a case with those two, you’ll train. That way, I don’t have to worry ‘bout you so much when you do go out with them.”

“Thanks,” she replied, giving him a thankful smile.

During that month, she spent a lot of time practicing movements, using her Touched abilities to get the hang of them better. It was the training she needed to reacquaint herself with what the character from her fanfic had been doing since her powers manifested. One thing she was having the hardest time with was feeling so alone. 

She was a fangirl and had been for over a year, and now she was in her favorite show with a fictional character she’d gone and fallen in love with. She also figured this entire situation had to be weird for all three of them.

When she slept, memories of “her past here” played through her mind, and she began missing the man who was her father here. She also got memories of the times she had hung out with the brothers, Bobby, and even with John. 

Bobby made sure to reacquaint her with how to shoot a gun. Her body knew what it was doing, but she had to grasp the feeling of it when she pulled the trigger. Each gun felt different. She didn’t want to be afraid of them, so she managed to stay serious while Bobby taught her.

Castiel couldn’t infiltrate Maria’s dreams due to her being a Touched and having the protection of Bastet by a birthmark or, more, a brand of a small, one-inch black cat mark on the back of her left shoulder. Most monsters couldn’t use their energy powers on her due to that. It did depend on how powerful they were. Of course, she wasn’t invulnerable. 

When Dean got Ghost Sickness, Sam called Bobby in for some help, so Maria tagged along. She stayed in the motel room with Dean while Bobby went to help Sam. Dean didn’t have long left, a couple of hours if he was lucky, and the hallucinations were bad at this point. Maria did her best to keep him distracted but couldn’t when the sheriff showed up, worse off than Dean was. 

Maria’s blood could only heal so much, and this was not one of those things. Even though she tried, cutting her finger and dripping blood into Dean’s wound that he had scratched into his arm, sadly, it had no effect. All she could do was hold him as he held his chest, gripping where his heart was. She knew he wasn’t meant to die here, but being a part of this was hard for her, far harder than watching it on the show.

“Bobby and Sam will fix this, I promise,” she tried to tell him, even if he was in too much pain to hear her.

Then, out of the blue, he was fine, and Maria let out a sigh of relief. The blood she had dripped into his wound now healed his injuries fairly quickly. Dean looked up at her, slightly confused as to why she was holding him. He got to his feet and then helped Maria to hers.

“Thanks for trying at least,” he told her with that smile smirk of his.

“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t at least try?” she replied, smiling more with one side of her lips than the other, not quite a smirk though.

This was the first time the two of them had been alone since she had arrived in their world. Dean was relaxed as he headed over to the fridge, grabbing himself a beer and chuckling slightly. Maria, on the other hand, felt nervous and anxious around him. Keeping her composure took quite a lot, but Dean noticed the smile she couldn’t completely hide, as well as the emotions in her eyes.

“Well, I appreciate it,” he finally told her before he took a drink.

She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt as she went over and sat on the edge of the bed. Her nerves felt as though they were on edge. Maria knew there was more to Dean than just his outer appearance. But dear God, that outer appearance was something she’d fantasized over on numerous occasions. 

He was the epitome of rugged charm. With broad shoulders and a sturdy build, he exuded an aura of strength and confidence that drew people in effortlessly. Along his chiseled jawline was two-day-old scruff since he hadn’t bothered to shave, accentuating his rugged good looks. Then, there were his piercing green eyes. They held a hint of mischief, always ready with a smirk or a cocky grin that sent hearts racing.

Dean had the most expressive eyebrows that could convey a range of emotions, from determination to vulnerability. He moved with a relaxed, self-assured swagger, every step exuding a magnetic charisma that made it impossible not to be captivated by. From his leather jacket from his father to the worn-out boots, he was the embodiment of any girl's wet dream.

“Want a beer, Sweetheart,” he asked, that damned smirk plastered on his lips again.

“I’d say sure, but beer doesn’t do anything. It’d kinda be a waste to drink it,” she chuckled, hoping he hadn’t noticed the blush that had crept into her cheeks. She also hoped he hadn’t caught her staring at him, again.

He chuckled, “I’d offer you whiskey, but I don’t have any here. We can get some at the store down the block if you want.”

She tilted her head slightly, wondering if he had something else on his mind, but was too nervous to ask at the moment. “It’s okay. I’m pretty sure Bobby and Sam will be back soon.”

Dean leaned against the counter, sipping his beer, occasionally looking over at her, but hadn’t said anything. She could tell he was in his head, lost in his thoughts while still paying attention to everything. It was moments like this that his personality captivated her. He had the kindest heart and the sharpest tongue that cut with a pain that was capable of pushing someone away forever. Just as their eyes locked, Sam walked through the motel room door.

“You two okay?” he asked, concerned for his brother still.

“Yup. Hunky-dory,” Dean replied, sporting that playful smirk of his again.

Then, the three of them drove back out to the factory. Maria had been lost in her thoughts on the drive. Dean kept glancing at her in the rearview mirror, which his brother did notice, but neither of them said anything to her. They met back up with Bobby, and after Dean parked, he pulled four beers out of the green cooler, but Bobby declined. Maria leaned on the trunk of the Impala, thinking about the events that were about to play out soon when Sam pulled her from her thoughts.

“So, Maria, you comin' with us, or heading back with Bobby?” Sam asked, glancing over at her.

“I could do either, but it’d probably be more fun going with the two of you,” she chuckled playfully.

Dean raised an eyebrow, as did Bobby, “Bobby can’t be that boring,” Dean stated, that smile smirk on his face again, which made Maria roll her eyes, but in a playful way.

“Well, if I’m gonna be here, in this world, I might as well get to hunting,” she told him. 

The week she’d spent at Bobby’s while Dean and Sam were working out their issues, she had begun practicing with her abilities, feeling how her body had moved. It was almost muscle memory for her, which she found only slightly odd. 

She had also been having more dreams that consisted of memories of her life in this world, things that her character may have dreamt about in her fanfic. Maria was done questioning going back or even attempting to find a way back. 

She’d already decided she was going to stay, and no one was going to change her mind on the matter. This whole thing reminded her of a few different anime shows she had watched where a player got sucked into the game they had been playing.

Maria’s words made Dean chuckle, “Alright, Sweetheart, but you’re in the back seat.” 

She rolled her eyes before grabbing her bag from Bobby’s back seat and putting it in the Impala’s trunk. Then she hugged Bobby, promising to check in with him while she was out with the boys. Maria had gotten better about Dean’s scent not affecting her as badly as it had in the beginning. 

Her main reason for going with them was because she wanted to see the angels, knowing they were going to show up. She’d already told Bobby about the seals that were being broken, telling him what books were going to be the most helpful. Maria had also gotten more confident over that week, smiling as she walked over to Dean and Sam.

“Ready when you two are,” she told them with a smile before climbing in the back seat of the Impala, getting comfortable in the middle. 

Dean, Sam, and Bobby looked at each other, all exchanging looks while signing to each other.

Bobby: Keep an eye on her. I don’t know if she’s really ready for this yet.

Sam: We will, and we know. She seems eager, though.

Bobby: She’s been training the whole time the two of you were gone.

Dean: Really?

Bobby: Yeah, really. Just watch her. I worry.

Dean: She’s family Bobby, and our old Maria was a damn good hunter. We’ll keep an eye on her, we promise.

Sam: Yeah, Bobby, we promise.

They said their farewells before Bobby got in his car and drove off. Sam and Dean exchanged another look before they got in the Impala. She knew they had just over a week before Sam would find the next case. This was one of those timeframes the show hadn’t added for the fans to watch. She was curious as to what the two would end up doing.

She stared out the window at first, just watching the scenery pass by while Dean drove. Her mind wandered again, thinking about the future events and how pissed he was going to end up being with her.

“So, since you know the future, Sweetheart, what’s our next case?” Dean teased her playfully, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

Maria rolled her eyes, “You’ve got roughly ten days before the next one comes up.”

“Didn’t answer my question,” he sighed.

She clenched her jaw, still looking out the window, “It’s in Red Wing, Minnesota, okay? But nothing is gonna show up for a case till around the twenty-ninth.”

Sometimes, she hated her memory. She’d done so much research in her world on locations that weren’t easily found when it came to towns that weren’t listed on regular fan sites. This had been one of those that took far more research than she was willing to admit, putting together bits and pieces of information and asking numerous other fans on several chat sites.

“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Dean smirked, feeling accomplished that he got something out of her.

“So, what are we gonna do for just over a week?” Sam thought out loud.

They normally didn’t have time to themselves, and now they knew they had a week off of hunting monsters or dealing with a case. Maria was pretty sure what Dean would want to do, and she didn’t want to think about it.

“Well, I say we go find a nice small town near there, get a couple motel rooms, and relax,” Dean said happily.

As long as my room is on the other side of the building entirely, Maria thought to herself.

“Sure. It’s been a long while since we’ve had time to relax and do nothing,” Sam chuckled, looking forward to it now, too.

The drive wasn’t horribly long, just under half a day, but they got in sometime near three in the morning. When the brothers went in to get a couple of rooms, she followed them after grabbing her bag. Dean wanted her room next to theirs, but she asked for one as far away from theirs as possible, making sure it had two beds. She had a feeling Sam wasn’t going to want to spend much time in the room with Dean or would end up getting kicked out due to Dean needing some private time.

“What was that all about, Sweetheart?” Dean asked, trying to catch up with her, “Don’t want to share a room with me now?”

She rolled her eyes, “I know what “relaxing” means to you, and I’d prefer not to hear it.”

He smirked, which Sam saw, and he shook his head, knowing his brother was an idiot, having no clue why she really didn’t want to be near his room.

“Oh, and Sam, you’re welcome to bunk in my room, when Dean picks brings a chick back,” she added, making her way to her room on the far side of the motel building.

“Thanks,” Sam chuckled as he and Dean headed to their room.

Maria locked her door behind her before tossing her bag on the bed, grabbing some fresh clothes, and taking a shower. It wasn’t the best water pressure, but it did the job. She threw her hair up in a ponytail and went to the closest corner store, purchasing five bottles of whiskey. Her excuse to the cashier was that she was hosting a party, which he bought.

She hadn’t planned on drinking that night. She just wanted it on hand for the next day. So, when she got back, she tucked it away and out of sight, then crawled into bed. Her dreams were again of memories of this world and her character's past, things she’d never added to her fanfic.

It was a long week for her, and she mostly hid from Dean more than anything. Sam spent several nights out of the week in her room on the other bed, as Dean had done exactly what she knew he would. 

“How long are you gonna not tell him how you feel?” Sam asked on the next to last day.

“He’d laugh at me, Sam. I mean, seriously. A girl from a world where he’s just a fictional character, and my dumb ass had to go and fall in love with him,” she retorted with a humorless chuckle.

“He might take it as a compliment?” he replied, raising an eyebrow

“He’s also not the settling down type. He likes his freedom. Then there's the way he always worries about losing those he cares about most. That somehow being close to him puts them in danger,” she sighed, then groaned, “He’s so stupid in that though. Any person he’s helped is in danger if a monster wanted to get to him.”

“Looks like you know him pretty well,” Sam chuckled, realizing that just because she looked like “their” Maria, she was very different, in all the best ways.

She rubbed her face with her hands, mildly frustrated, “He’d think it was creepy. I could probably tell him what he was thinking most of the time.”

“Not sure I’d want to know what he was thinking most of the time,” he laughed.

“Sometimes I wish I didn’t know,” she sighed.

The alcohol was long gone at this point, and she knew they’d be heading out the following day for the next case. She again offered the other bed to Sam for the night in case Dean picked up yet another girl at the bar he’d been spending far too much time in, at least in her opinion. He did take her up on that offer when he saw Dean’s car gone, yet again, around dinner time.

Maria and Sam had pizza for dinner while watching a movie when they heard the Impala pull up at the motel. She didn’t even need to look out the window to know he had another girl with him. She could hear the woman giggling after the car doors closed.

“You’re only torturing yourself,” Sam sighed, hating seeing her sad like she was now.

“Not like I can just turn off my hearing,” she grumbled, turning up the TV.

She barely slept that night, unable to get him out of her head, so the following day, she looked as tired as she felt when she and Sam joined Dean at the Impala. Dean just watched her, attempting to read her expression, body language, and what she wasn’t saying.

“Never saw you at the bar. You into Sam now?” Dean asked, leaning against the driver’s door.

“He’s like a brother to me, and I’m not into family like that,” she snapped, not looking at him.

“Geeze, Sweetheart. Sounds like you just need to get laid,” he teased.

“Dude? Seriously?” Sam questioned him from the opposite side of the car.

“What?” he asked, acting innocent before sliding into the driver’s seat.

Maria ignored him on the drive, sitting behind Sam and keeping her gaze out the window. She was still fighting with herself on how to handle future events and deal with the man she loved, having no clue how she felt toward him. Knowing him the way she did, she knew how he was going to react to numerous things, especially since if she shared the information, he’d stop it. Her only thought was that she wanted the brothers to have their mom in their life again, and one family dinner that they never got. The one day where their dad got pulled from the past, but that was a great many years from now.

----------------------------------------- Chapter 8 - Coming Soon

Dimensional Shift Master List

Main Master List

Tag List: @nancymcl

[skania]

Hey so this is about the GPS thingy in ch 98. I have come up with a theory on what happened exactly because I think the whole GPS situation was pretty messy. My theory goes like-

Aqua was actually using the GPS all this time! The one year that they dated fr, I think all through this time he has been using it. A person like aqua who can go to lengths to protect the people around him- ignoring kana for a whole year, preventing ruby from becoming an idol...

I don't think it's really out of his character to check on Akane's location from time to time. If she's reached where she was to safely or no. We know they talked to each other every night and aqua knew everything about akane's schedule- where she's supposed to be, at what time etc.

On one hand while I think he was guilty for using it, on the other he couldn't help but use it because, really, what's stopping him from just taking a quick peek? He has already placed it, there is no going back either way. I don't think aqua would suddenly start looking into Akane's location after a whole year of dating. How would he know that she's going to find some lead on the killer at this exact time?

This brings me to "I can guess the killer from Akane's movements". I don't believe her movement monitoring is all he did. I'm pretty sure the moment he realised that akane is going to places and doing things behind his back, he was surely suspicious. Akane never lied to him, why all of a sudden? Again, knowing aqua, he probably went out to stalk her in person. And seeing the people she's talking to (kindaichi, himekawa, some other lala Lai members etc) he probably:

1- understands she's doing research on some person who's probably Aqua's father because there is no other reason why she'll hide anything from him (flashback to ch 72 when she left in a hurry and the only time she hid anything from him)

2- does his own research and narrows it down to hikaru (most evidence should point to him). Aqua understands akane extremely well and probably knew that she'll draw a similar conclusion as well.

This brings me to ch 97. Aqua asks if akane is upto something. Obviously, again, to catch her lying. She tells him nothing much. Later she walks out of her house at night (why would she need to go out at a weird time? She was also not upto something, right? Yet she went out immediately after the call ended).

Seeing her head out of the house, aqua probably went out to stalk her again. When hiding, and observing akane from a safe distance, he noticed:

1- a man in black hoodie covering his face(just like Ryuske), was approaching her from the back, and his spider sense went crazy.

2- "akane is carrying a bouquet of white flowers like she's going out to meet someone important, but why now? She wasn't upto something, right? These white flowers, aren't these the same that Ai's killer carried? Is she going to..."

I think it was at this moment aqua realised that akane was going to kill hikaru and not before that. Also the fact that she was going to kill this person straight up gives him the confirmation that the person he is suspecting, is actually the killer, because akane has taken this massive move.

Idk if this is convincing at all

Hi anon, thanks for sharing your theory with me! I think you've given this a lot of thought and it shows. In fact, I think your theory explains some things way better than the actual canon does 😂 in particular, I've always felt that Aqua figuring out Kamiki's identity simply because of Akane's "movements" makes no sense.

I do agree that it wouldn't be out of character for Aqua to check on Akane using the GPS, so unless Aka shoots this down later, your theory will always be plausible! Regardless of when he starts to use the GPS, personally, for now I'm still assuming that Aqua realized Akane likely found his dad (and that she was planning to do something about it without telling him about it) at this moment:

Regardless, that’s just my personal theory and I could definitely be wrong!

Later she walks out of her house at night (why would she need to go out at a weird time? She was also not upto something, right? Yet she went out immediately after the call ended).

Really? I've always assumed Akane goes out the day after her phone-call with Aqua! In Chapter 97, Akane looks about ready to go to bed and Aqua is sitting by his bed too, so I've always assumed their phone call takes place at night. The clouds outside look pretty dark too.

But in Chapter 98, Akane mentions that Aqua should be on his way home from school, so the scene seems to take place during the afternoon.

Another reason why I've always assumed it takes place the following day is because I thought Akane was on her way to Kamiki's office, which wouldn't be open late at night.

Now you've got me wishing these chapters were colored so we could see what color the sky is supposed to be 😂

[justkarama]

Okay so how exactly do I start this umm this is my first official RWDE post like ever that isn't a reblog off another post so bear with me I am going to be tagging people I follow because I want to hear their thoughts and open a dialogue @kitkatopinions @itsclydebitches @ironwoodprotectionsquad @rwbyconversations @rosekushina @bad-food-sells-burgers @rwde-chibi @dragynkeep

First and foremost I've had no interest in volume 9 I don't know why but I was more invested in volume 7 then v9 I thought volume 7 first to second half was mid and boring. From what I've heard volume 9 is poorly written after seeing criticism for it and watching the episodes yeah I can see why the majority of the volume feels like filler

Personal feelings aside I have a question why was Weiss Blake and Yang and jaune in this volume legitimately why were they there one of the writers I believe Eddie talked about how this volume was about failure and self acceptance basically this is supposed to be Ruby volume the one where she finally develops for the longest time Ruby always felt underdeveloped .

So wouldn't make more sense if this volume only had Ruby fall in the ever after let this be a character study of Ruby centering her as the main protagonist for this volume

Weiss Blake Yang and jaune all had character arcs Weiss learning to break away from her father Blake learning running from your problems doesn't help Yang learning to get her spark back all happened in volume, 4

Jaune learned to grieve phyrra death for three volumes

Ruby never had a character arc so for a volume that should be about failure Ruby should be the only one there narrative wants you to believe Ruby feels underwhelmed by the responsibilities of others the one to always come up with the plans Ruby has always been the one with the most moral compass out everyone what if Ruby question her morality questioned if she was right or wrong questioned if ironwood was right dealing with the fall of beacon not just atlas

In my volume 9 rewrite ( more like a rough outline) Ruby fall through the void with neo

Now why neo well volume 9 neo doesn't feel like a character in fact neo in general doesn't feel like a character neo is only popular because of her design semblance and fighting style. V9 neo is a plot device so Ruby can unlive herself neo wanting revenge for Roman is never explored because the show never explored either of their characters why does neo feel so strong for Roman all of these questions are answered in a book that is never truly addressed in the show in my v9 rewrite

Neo is told by Ruby herself she didn't kill romen I always found it odd how neo was so quick to believe cinder like cinder is more likely to kill romen then Ruby ever could

.the two are forced to work together to put aside their differences to help each other out

.I also toyed with the idea of neo and Ruby sort of leaning on each other in a sense that they learned to be more open with each other and sort of learning to cope with one another

I would also introduce Alex and Louise changed their stories to my knowledge of the volume it never explains how the twins ended up in the ever after I would have it to where tht twins were being evacuated and because of cinder the siblings fall into the void

I would also provide proper characterization of the twins Louis is a silver eyed who was being forced to become a huntsmen by his father who's also a silver eyed warrior Louis was a prodigy and natural gifted he is considered to be a model student and son

But Louis never wanted to be a huntsman he doesn't like fighting I like the idea that he always wanted to be a make-up artist but his father saw it as too feminine Louis from an early age had toxic masculinity placed on him

Alex wasn't a silver eyed warrior she was more like a tomboy and liked to do boy things but since they grew up in Atlas that was seen as weird and unladylike she wasn't considered talented at all and her father never really bonded with her favouring Alex

.I like to think Alex resented Louis for being the favorite I also imagine that she was to be married off to a wealthy family basically Alex was kinda like Weiss but worse she had no real freedom

The twins meet Ruby and neo I imagine that Louis and Ruby feel a connection as silver eyed warriors

I would also change the jabberwalker to be the main antagonist with intelligence manipulating the cat to do its dirty work befriending the group picking them apart starting with Alex who i feel wouldn't want to leave the ever after because of the freedom it grants her

So yeah this is my sorta rewrite of volume 9 it's a rough outline but I am interested in seeing how others feel about this or how they would rewrite volume 9

[kendrixtermina]

Space Babies

I did not like the overly silly & unserious beginning sequence, but once they landed on the spaceship it got solid, & there’s an actual sense of exploration, mystery, sensowunder & familiar thematic beats since the persistence of humanity, the solving things by talking („just creatures you haven’t met yet“), the Doctor as confident, enthusiastic & very experiened.

Ruby just had more emotional reactions in 2 minutes than all the Chibnall companions did in the entire opening two-partner. She’s woved by space. She’s showing concern for the Doctor. She’s awed at seeing humanity’s survival. She’s guessing & thinking.

UGH im just so glad.

Like she manages to seem like a person while continuing to be established as someone who rolls with crazy very well, as in the previous episode. It’s the little subtle reactions & questions that still make her seem like a person / functional audience surrogate.

That opening dialogue is a good summary of the Doctor as an explorer.

Ovsly they’re expositioning a lot of the lore of the Doctor’s backstory for any new fans who are only starting to watch wth this ‚era‘, but they’re also showing us where he arrived at as a character after his time with Donna.

He’s still rushing from place to place & being a tad blunt at it, he’s still glossing over heavy serious stuff by saying it lightly, but he’s come a long way since Martha had to forcbly drag the backstory out of him, and found a renewed sense of joy & purpose.

I love how they’re doing his reactions of being excited by the weird. Like, there’s the character I like again! (I suppose run with RTD’s patchup of explaining 13s OOC-ness with burnout, I don’t think that’s what Chibnall was doing, but it’s the best they could do & an unboring concept. I kinda wish we could just ignore the timeless child nonsense completely but I realize why that’s not possible, at least they’re actually showing him having an opinion about it. (‚the adopted one was the one to survive‘)

Like they’re actually trying to give it some meaning & have the character say what it means to him (exactly the thing Chibnall just never did with the twist for the sake of twist) & tying it into some celebration of diversity, which like strikes me as how the Doctor’s character would react to such a thing. They’re steering it away from ‚specialest little boy‘ & having him still identify with the culture he grew up with. (it probably lands better than it could have otherwise because they’re having someone from an immigrant family like Gatwa perform it. Like he’s got other roots but probably also sees Britain as his home & part of him? More sort of how many immigrants in europe tend to see themselves rather than the US American culture = genes nonsense. ‚In Germany I‘m the Turkish kid but when I go to Turkey I notice I’m very German’ type of thing. )

I still hate the timeless child thing with a passion & still wish it didn’t exist, but this is probably the best way to salvage it.

It’s telling that they’re not even using the fancy mary suey title „timeless child“ but having him say he was randomly found & no one knows where he cae from etc. that’s a different framing/flavoring less eviscerating of the character & less invalidating of all the previous stuff.

Well. I got the time jigzaw line, im grateful for it, its explicitly ambiguous what the og backstory was.

Especially in the context of the current arc with the rewritten universe, it does make sense that he doesn’t even know what his original backstory was, he’s kind of outlived not just Gallifrey, but his OG timeline, his OG version of the universe, sort of a unaligned unmoored chaotic existence. Theres some pathos to that, and you can see Ncuti channeling a bunch of his own feelings into it.

Though this makes me wonder how they’ll handle the Master when he comes back, if he’s now the one that did it in place of the Daleks. )

A speaking baby is unexpectedly funny, especially since they move their lips XD

I also love how much Ruby & the Doctor are obviously having fun together and acting like actual friends.

I keep being excited over low bar things but, like, UGH Chibnall traumatized me.

Still, they ARE actually doing a good job at showing Ruby & the Doctor behaving like friends, especially in the way they’re making jokes & gesturing.

They comitted to the ‚kindergarten meets space accident‘ aesthetic…

I love how Ruby immediately kicks into Big Sister Mode. The last episode we mostly got to know her family but there wasn’t so much on Ruby herself so in these episodes we’re probably going to focus on her.

The babies act like a mix between serious astronauts and actual babies xD

I love how sucinct & archetypical the answer of „The Bogeyman“ is. No uneccessary Fluff.

And though he’s warmer & more open, the doctor is still distinctly his a tad insensitive, big ego self.

So that’s the reveal.

I like this. This kinda miscarriage of justice situation and a random accountant who doesn’t know how to run anything being the one who stayed behind. „they won’t stop the babies being born but won’t care for them“… badum tsch.

Ohh, ohh the refugee line. That’s SO on point. That’s all the shit I’m mad about in current european politics. That’s not pulling punches.

I love how Ruby is the one to piece together the fairytale logic.

Like the Doctor’s excited to be learning the ‚new physics‘, but he’s the physicist. Ruby is kind of a fairytale protagonist, crazy number of siblings included.

Erics’s little toy sword :(((

Ruby’s actress NAILED this one. Like her concern & everything.

(oh thank fuck there are feelings in this show again)

RTD was rather good at world building, wasn’t he? Like making unique little one-off settings. Yeah, he had his flaws with the resent button endings & overblown pathos at times, but I always thought he did worldbuilding & flavor text pretty well. I like Joycelyn.

So yeah, we’re definitely getting to know Ruby in this episode and she’s pretty proactive & rolling with the punches a lot. Like she improv’d the distraction, she decided she was going with the Doctor etc. like, a lot of companions would have stayed with the babies (for different reasons), or gone with the Doctor mostly out of worry for him and have an emotional moment here, but Ruby’s like, just casually deciding here. She’s very ‚cool‘.

And she's embroiled in some kind of never-seen-before phenomenon. But after Donna, Amy & Clara that's just average tuesday for the Doctor at this point. Unknown Phenomena go Brr!

Must be wild for Ruby that this super-experienced time-traveller guy can't explain her.

Like I’m already getting a sense of ‚what would Ruby do if you throw her at a given situation‘ which fucking Chibnall couldn’t give us with 3 seasons and 3 characters to contrast off each other.

I love how they save the monster, too. I love the TARDIS key scene and how the Doctor’s actually excited to have Ruby on his team, & actually asking her. (war flashback to that compilation of prev Doctors inviting their companions enthusiastically except for the very awkward chibnall scenes or how 13 barely showed any emotion when any of them left)

it’s fucking Doctor Who again. The HUMANIST THEMES! The xenophile eccentric nerd protagonist. The friendship & humanity & shit.

It’s the show that I used to like that I didn’t fucking recognize in Chibnal’s trashfire except for, like, the one stray good-ish ep per season.

I’ll take it. I’m like, the Dad from ‚the Prodigal Son‘ today.

I lost it & it came back, I’ll take it.

Love also how this time the Doctor has the 'no undoing the past' convo right away to pre-empt a repeat of 'Father's Day'.

[bug-the-chicken-nug]

on my latest rwby au bullshit, which I think i will officially start to also tag as the "Silver Wolf" AU.

Silver Wolf AU: Premise

A combo of Ruby being a wolf faunus (on top of getting rid of the stupid rule about one trait because fuck that i want her to have the ears, tail, AND sharp teeth and nails) and having silver eyes, but silver eyed warriors now being considered like... this creepy-but-unfortunately-necessary group who barely anybody wants to really associate with, under fear of it "cursing" you. By extension, they are now known as "Witches" rather than "Warriors", regardless of gender. (This also makes it possible to just shorten it to 'Witch' and have it already be pretty obvious what a character is talking about, so it rolls off the tongue better, while also creating this uncomfortable implication that these people are put on the same level as Salem despite directly opposing her.) The "curse" is a more superstitious exaggeration of the unfortunate reality that associating with them really can put you at risk of becoming collateral when they're hunted down, on top of their eyes now being not all-or-nothing Grimm nuking, but instead having a sort of "level up" system, and the potential to unlock certain abilities that can affect people too. (the new common thread being that all of these abilities have to do with sensing and/or eliminating "darkness" and "negativity", not just Grimm) The fear of association, powers that can be directed towards humans, and the societal shunning would also do a lot to help explain exactly why Witches are so scattered and fragmented, and why people know so little about them. Because in canon, it just seems like they should be heroes who everyone should know about and have a vested interest in supporting.

Relationships:

Also, this AU would 100% be a Ladybug thing. Because I can just see Blake standing up for Ruby, and Ruby immediately being head over heels in response, but having no idea how to actually express it and also being paranoid that Blake will just think she's weird like everyone else. (And meanwhile Blake is paranoid about how Ruby will react if she finds out that Blake is technically a terrorist, and also friend/sister-zoning Ruby big time for the first few volumes, less out of a genuine lack of interest and more because of her subconscious fear of commitment)

Although there'd also be other fragments of Ruby ship teases, just because I imagine this version of her to have developed "gets a crush on anyone who's nice to her for five seconds" syndrome. (Yes I'm sorry, I know a ton of y'all hate Jaune but my Ruby's friendless, bullied, avoided, desperate-for-validation ass sees him being nice to her and unafraid of her for like ten seconds and is lowkey already thinking about a spring wedding.) This also includes a one-sided crush on Ozpin, just for how I think that'd be kinda narratively interesting and potentially a little fucked up. (Especially because the full nuance of why it's interesting can change depending on how grey this Ozpin's morals end up being. Is he subtly using it as leverage? Could this version of him be dickish enough to lead her on? Does he do it on purpose? Or does he even notice her feelings at all? Does he notice and subtly try to discourage it? What happens when he gets stuck in Oscar?) And a crush on Marrow, literally just because I think it'd be funny. Marrow: *obliviously friendly* Ruby: *practically ready to become Ruby Amin, just because he's a fellow Faunus, complimented Crescent Rose, and didn't say anything about her eyes* Blake, looking on: hmst,,, don't know why but. this is bad, actually. Weiss: *sighing deeply* you obviously know why. Meanwhile I figure Yang is human, because only Summer was a Faunus, and it kinda puts this weird Thing between her and Ruby where Ruby both greatly admires and envies her, but lowkey resents her, because she feels like Yang will never truly understand what she goes through, and gets to "have it easy". On her own end, Yang has had to sacrifice a lot of social opportunities to prioritize a good standing with Ruby, because even just admitting relation to Ruby makes people treat Yang differently anyway. So Ruby thinks of herself as a burden, and Yang is desperately trying to hide the fact that she *agrees* with Ruby, deep down. She thinks the burden is *worth it*, but she doesn't know a way of properly conveying "It's okay that you're a burden sometimes, I know it's not your fault, and I still love you even if I get frustrated with you sometimes" that doesn't make her feel incredibly guilty and paranoid that she sounds insincere. And finally (at least for now) I think this would be inch-resting for Adam because now Ruby has something that can actually give her something to do with him too, and make her feel more connected to the things that go on around her. She could even have weird mixed feelings on him, stemming from him seeing her silver eyes and not only expressing approval of them, but trying to get her to come around to his side, using the extra discrimination she's faced because of them to try and butter her up and manipulate her.

[quibbs126]

I wonder, am I overcomplicating things for Dark Cacao’s backstory and why he’s got abnormal powers?

Like, in my original headcanon, he escaped from the Oven and just ended up in what would become the Dark Cacao Kingdom, and doesn’t entirely remember the Oven. I mean, I don’t think anything contradicts that and it works as an explanation for him

And if you want to explain why he’s got incredible strength, maybe his dough accidentally contains some grape jam where there should be strawberry jam, which does weird things like give him his strength and occasional slit eyes (originally I headcanoned grape jam to be dragon’s blood, I think mostly because it makes the Grapejam Chocoblade sound cooler, like it’s made from dragon’s blood, but also I don’t think I fully understood the dragons at the time, so probably not so much now)

And maybe his eyes are purple because he’s got grape jam, and Dark Choco’s eyes are red because he’s got strawberry jam, I dunno

Like I think that could work as an explanation that actually fits the series. He doesn’t need some weird complicated backstory about his parents or whatever, maybe he was just accidentally made with a few wrong ingredients

And I mean, him being baked by a Witch instead of born into a family works with his Story description, if you want to go that route

“The last bean, devoid of any sweetness, fell down from a withered branch of a lonely cacao tree growing above the edge of a cliff. Lying there in frozen soil, enduring snow and wind, this bean wasn't aware of its destiny to become the main ingredient for the cold and reclusive Dark Cacao Cookie”

I mean it sounds like that bean was just a bean, not some metaphor about him or whatever

I don’t know why I’m making this. I woke up, I plan on going back to sleep because I woke up at 4:30 despite it somehow already being light here and I went to bed late last night, and this just popped in my head and I thought I’d make a post on it

It’s not because I dislike Theobroma in hindsight, I still really like her, this was just a thought that crossed my mind. But if anything, I’m starting to like this idea more

Don’t know what I’m going to do with Theo then. Ah well

Edit: oh wait, I think I remember why I changed it. It was because originally I had assumed all the Ancients were baked by Witches, as per the prologue, but then you have characters like Hollyberry, who was part of House Berry and so had to have been born in it, and Golden Cheese, who claims to have hatched from an egg, implying she at one point was a baby, at least I think, which means that isn’t true

And then later I just got an idea that Ruby Cacao would be a good name for if Dark Cacao had a sibling

Why am I adding this? I dunno

[pacexlikexaxghost]

Steven is a little taken aback by the reaction to his pronouns and the high five offer, but he's never one to turn down a high five.

❝Uh, sure!❞

They're not sure they'd actually... told anyone that before? It was never a big deal. The gems are... gems. Amethyst routinely turns into all manner of objects; it's not like gender ever seemed like it mattered. And he's heard random stories about his dad's dating history before his mom, and there didn't seem to be any consideration of it there. And Garnet is... Garnet.

It's all just kinda been whatever. Why should it be a big deal?

It's kinda funny for Pearl to be the one saying she doesn't get gender though, she's undeniably the girliest of them.

Well, maybe Steven is girlier than her sometimes. He just does whatever feels right. And sometimes that's glitter and skirts and ruffles and such. He likes pretty things.

While Pearl is just a ballerina. Which... why is that like, gendered? Weird.

❝Well, a few times Ruby was met with confusion until they heard her talk and decided her voice was feminine, same with Bismuth, though I think in this day and age they would just be read as, ah, what's the term... tomboys? And myself, in the past when I steadfastly refused to make my form match the women's fashion of the day, but then I spoke and they instead condencended to me and told me to dress like a real woman.❞ She rolls her eyes. ❝But, generally, yes, gems tend to be read as feminine by humans. I've never seen a masculine pronoun really stick to a gem, even when the human speaking was confused.❞

❝Who are Ruby and Bismuth?❞

Pearl pauses, both saddened at Bismuth's loss (at least they probably aren't going to find her as a monster; shattered is worse, but Pearl doesn't know that she'd be able to make herself fight a corrupted Bismuth) and also needing to answer that carefully. ❝... Two other Crystal gems I knew in the War, Steven.❞

❝Oh, okay.❞

She listens with interest as Flicker tries to explain gender, not that they say all that much clearly.

❝The queer community? Gender roles I'm familiar with, and I'm... not a fan, but I'm, admittedly, extremely out of touch with human culture. If it wasn't something Rose was involved with and told me about, I don't really know about it.❞

❝You should ask my dad. I think he was involved with that, with the stories he's told about touring.❞

Pearl makes a face. She will not be doing that. ❝I'll keep that in mind.❞ She focuses her gaze back on Flicker. ❝I suppose you could say my pronouns don't 'match' mine then, given that I don't have a gender. Not that I'd mind other pronouns either; it really doesn't matter.❞

❝I'm okay with she, it wouldn't make me uncomfy; it's just like... not accurate. Not that anyone has ever made that mistake.❞

❝And as for the organic pronouns, they could roughly translate out to a male, female, and unknown or variable. But they're really only used in a strict biological sense, because research is the only Diamond sanctioned,❞ she says the words mockingly, ❝reason for gems to be interacting with organics at all.❞

Oh. Steven? What kind of story about fusion would require Steven not being here for it? Well now it was even more intriguing. They both nodded back to communicate that they'd understood, though.

Flicker snickered. "Yeah, if she can't even stay together long enough to try things that aren't fighting? You don't have to worry about that at all."

"Oh!" Flicker grinned. They reached over for a high five. "Always nice to meet someone else in the community!" Dang, Steven had figured themself out even younger than Flicker did, too.

. . . Well. Maybe not, if they counted the fact that they'd only been alive for seven years before they realized they could just use whatever pronouns they wanted. In that case it depended on when Steven figured it out too.

They were deeply interested as Pearl went on. "Really? They don't have genders at all?" Though after a pause they added, "I guess that sort of makes sense. I mean. You're all gems that are made. The only differences are the type of gem." And having a singular pronoun sounded wayyyyyy easier than having a pronoun for each type of gem. "They really hardly ever use anything other than feminine pronouns for you guys, though?" They supposed that's where their mind would have naturally gone with the gems they'd met here, too, but they'd only seen a handful of different types of gems, and they were fairly certain there had to be a lot more types than just the ones on earth. All of them tended to be called by feminine pronouns?

They wondered if Rose potentially having a gender when the others didn't by default would make her trans.

At Pearl's contemplation over the purpose of gender, Flicker shrugged. "I don't really know how to explain it. I mean I guess there are different gender roles? But also like subverting those gender roles is a big part of the queer community. And gender itself is like . . . a feeling? I guess you wouldn't know it if you don't have one. Proving a negative and all that. Sometimes people have multiple, sometimes people have none, sometimes it's nebulous and sometimes it's not. I dunno! It depends on the person. But there's so many out there and people figure out terms to describe how they feel all the time.

"A lot of times the pronouns you choose match your gender, but not always. There's just-" They tossed their hands up. "I dunno! It's difficult to explain! Just- being misgendered is uncomfy as heck. Like, that's not me, why are you calling me that? Stop calling me something I'm not."

A pause, and an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry. Anyway, so then what are the differences between the three organic pronouns?" They were fascinated by all of this.

[razorblade180]

Special

Ruby:Hey J-

The young lady sees her friend struggling to pull is sword out of a tree trunk. He freezes in place, slowly falling as the blade slips out.

Ruby:…Are you losing to a tree?

Jaune:No! I just- learning new skills is hard!

Ruby:What skill?

Jaune:I asked Ren how he was able to throw his blades and have them come back. Apparently with the right force and technique, a lot of swords can do it. Thought it might be interesting to learn.

Ruby:From the looks at that gash I think you have force covered. Maybe a little too much.

Jaune:I’m still learning. Doesn’t help that it’s not exactly balanced evenly.

Ruby:Let me see.

He hands her Crocea Mor. Ruby holds it flat with both hands to feel the weight before gripping the hilt with her right. She dashed back with Jaune to move him away from the tree. Raising the blade, Ruby hurled it, making it cut threw the air as it spun. Crocea Mor went past the tree before then started coming back around from the other side. It flew right back into her hand.

Ruby:*smiles* I throw Crescent Rose a lot. It’s in the wrist, also diagonal throw.

Jaune:….Sometimes I forget how gifted you are.

Ruby:!? Oh…umm I’m sorry. Guess this sort of thing isn’t exactly eas-

Jaune:That…was a compliment. Ruby, you’re awesome.

Ruby:Oh. Hehe, it’s no big deal. Thanks.

Jaune:You first tried it. I’d say that’s pretty big. Guess there’s a reason you got into school when you did.

Ruby:Honestly it’s nice you keep forgetting. Being gifted isn’t all that. *looks at sword* It just means you burn out faster from all the expectations.

Jaune:….

Ruby:….!? Whoops! Didn’t mean to dampen the mood.

Jaune:Something you want to talk about?

Ruby:Well…not really. I’m a little tired is all. We’re all punching above our weight these days but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like I was doing that sense I stopped a dust robbery. Don’t get me wrong, I love being awesome and glad to help. However…being talented feels like it’s a natural resource. Other people use it until it’s all drained. Next thing you know-

Jaune:You end up like Pyrrha?

Ruby:!? I was gonna say exhausted, but yeah, there’s that possibility too. It’s a lot. It may sound weird but being normal sounds so nice. You’re valued, but with in reason. No one is expecting a first try, or early graduate.

She throws the sword around the tree again and catches it before handing it back to Jaune.

Jaune;Would you like to hear my opinion?

Ruby:I’d feel guilty if you didn’t say anything so duh.

Jaune:I believe both you and Pyrrha truly are a gift, but it’s still your gift to give. You just don’t see it that way because of how kind and caring you are to others. If people need you so much then I say set your own pace when you have to. If they value you that much then they’ll listen.

Ruby:Hmm, I never thought of it liked that. In case you haven’t noticed, my pace is pretty quick.

Jaune:Gee I wonder why? I’m proud of Pyrrha for everything she’s done; always will be. Still, I never would’ve blamed her for choosing to slow down for an instant.

Ruby: No one would.

Jaune:That goes the same for you too! If you’re tired then slow down! You’re not alone. It’s not like you’ll be any less amazing. I’m glad you’re so talented honestly. Seeing everything you do is inspiring. Just having you around makes me want try. I’m thankful for that, Ruby.

Ruby:*blushes*….So, wanna try tossing the sword again? It’s pretty hot out here so we shouldn’t doddle. Remember, wrist flick and diagonal.

Jaune throws the sword and surprisingly, it does go around the tree, however…

Jaune:What’s the trick to catching!?

Ruby:…..

She dashed ahead and grabs the blade before any accidents could happen.

Jaune:That…could’ve been terrible for me.

Ruby:My bad! Ya see, if I was normal, i I would’ve thought to explain the entire process beforehand.

Jaune:Why do I find that hard to believe?

Ruby:Wow! Okay then, I won’t teach you.

Jaune:Oh don’t be like that! *hugs her* Gifted or not, you’re still you.

Ruby:Is that your way of calling me chaotic.

Jaune:No. Just saying you’re special to me regardless.

Ruby:….*hugs back* Then I guess…feeling special isn’t all that bad. It also makes you special.

Jaune:Yeah but it’s like a participation trophy when it’s me.

Ruby:Oh my gods…

Jaune:All I’m saying is I just threw sword with no plan to catch it. Like who the hell does that!?

Ruby:Hahaha, don’t worry. We’ll take things from the top.