#and I know rwby has pacing that is good and bad

[ruins-of-tragedy]

Old habits die hard it seems. Not as thorough, but here you have some random thoughts on volume four of RWBY...

- Cinder may be bad, but she is a good villain and shouldn't have to take shite from Watts. Especially when she did get the job done... Misogyny in the workplace. Can never truly escape it.

- Salem is pretty in a creepy fashion. Does she have a dust stone in her?

- How is Jaune still okay? He was hit by rocks. So were his crown jewels, if you catch my drift. And then his face as well. Glad he is somehow still standing though!

- What do you mean his armour and weapon now have Pyrrha's too?! ...I am not crying. Am not!

- Please tell me this butler of the Schnees is Calvin Klein. Such humble origins! 😂

- That whole video with Pyrrha while Jaune and Ruby listen. Why?! Why must you hurt me like this...

- It also shows Beacon in the background. 🥺

- Pyrrha is going to haunt the narrative and I wouldn't have it any other way.

- Ghira and Kali Belladonna are great parents. Kudos to them for trying their best while still not being too over bearing during difficult situations.

- Jacques Schnee should come at me and meet his demise. Whitley is annoying.

- Two things. Why did Professor Ozpin sound like Baymax the first time he scared the living shite out of Oscar? Secondly, I legit thought either this is Ozpin's kid or that he reincarnated again. (Apparently, was closer to the truth than I imagined)

- Cheered every time Zwei was on-screen.

- "I will be there for you." -Tai, F.R.I.E.N.Dly father. 😆

- Well. Qrow is a tragic character. "Bad luck charm." Fucking hell. I love him.

- What traumatic hero hellhole did they make Lie and Nora's backstory in?

- Holy fuck. Ren is going through so much shite mentally. And he still came back. Best boy!!!

- Funny thing, his semblance really confused me at first. He took away the colours when using it and I assumed that meant they go invisible. Had to enlist my friend to help figure it out. Big brain moment. 😅

- Now, here's to friends like Sun who are there for us when we don't want them to! Or allow them to, but still need.

- As someone who adores purple, Salem's lair is my dream house. I just need to get rid of the occupants. And install some warm lights.

- Casey Lee Williams brings it every time she has to sing for RWBY and I love that!!!

- This season felt more like a filler, but a necessary one...

- Yang underwent the using-her-head-full-of-wonderful-gold-locks-first, instead-of-relying-only-on-brute-strength arc. 👊🏻

- Weiss' family is an absolute mess and now we know why she is the way she is. But also that she is better than them too. She has to be. Especially after everything that happened. ❄️

- Blake really needed to realise letting people be there for her is important. Even more so because they want to, since they love her. 💖

- Team RNJR is grieving and getting better and possesses a whole lot of emotional baggage they need to sort out. At least they have each other's backs! And are not named team JNRR. 😆❤️‍🔥

- The plot too is moving forward. Picking up pace. "What's your favourite fairytale?"

- Much respect for the people who watched RWBY as it came out. I could not have waited to learn what happened next without losing my mind.

(You spoil me, I become Yang and punch you into tomorrow. A presto!)

[darksaiyangoku]

RWBY Christmas Tales

Baby, it's Cold Outside

[Arc Manor - Charlemagne]

It was late in the evening and Teams RWBY, JNPR, Oscar, Sun and Neptune were having a wonderful time. They all crowded around the table as Weiss and Blake were head to head in a chess match. Both of them glared at each other fiercely. It was sudden death. Weiss grabbed her piece and made her move. Blake's eyes shrank as she sat there helpless. It was all over.

Weiss: *smirks* Checkmate.

Blake: *sighs and smiles* You win again, Weiss. Good game.

Ruby, Pyrrha, Nora, Whitley and Neptune all cheered while Jaune, Ren, Sun, Yang and Oscar all groaned.

Yang: *looks at her watch* Aw man. Girls, we gotta get going. Ozpin has a new mission for us tomorrow.

Ruby: Oh right! I almost forgot about that. Let's get going.

Jaune: Huh? But it's a blizzars out there! You're not gonna make it all the way back to Vale.

Weiss: Psssh, I've been through worse. This is a mild inconvenience in Atlas.

Whitley: She's right, you know.

Sun: Come on, don't be reckless.

Blake: Sorry, Sun. But if we don't do this, the headmaster will give us one of his creative punishments again.

Yang tries to open the door, but Ren tugs on her jacket.

Yang: *chuckles* Jaune, stop it.

Jaune: Come on, sweetie. Stay. For me?

Yang: *shakes her head* 🎶I really can't stay🎶

Jaune: *points to the sofa* 🎶Baby, it's cold outside🎶

Blake: 🎶I've got to go away🎶

Ren: 🎶Baby, it's cold outside🎶 *takes her scarf*

Weiss: 🎶This evening has been-🎶

Neptune: 🎶Hoping that you'd drop in🎶

Ruby: 🎶So, very nice🎶

Oscar: 🎶I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice🎶

Blake: 🎶My mother will start to worry🎶

Ren: *holds her gently* 🎶Beautiful, what's your hurry?🎶

Yang: 🎶My father will be pacing the floor🎶

Jaune: 🎶Listen to that fireplace roar🎶

Ruby: 🎶So, really I'd better scurry🎶

Oscar: 🎶Beautiful, please don't hurry🎶

Weiss: 🎶But maybe just a hald a drink more?🎶 *takes coat off*

Neptune: 🎶I'll put some records on while I pour🎶 *grabs bottle*

Blake: 🎶The neighbors might think🎶 *holds Ren's hand*

Ren: *twirls Blake* 🎶Baby, it's bad out there🎶

Yang: *smiles and sips glass* 🎶Say, what's in this drink?🎶

Jaune: 🎶No cabs to be had out there🎶

Ruby: 🎶I wish I knew how-🎶

Oscar: 🎶Your eyes are like starlight now🎶

Ruby: 🎶To break this spell🎶

Oscar: *grabs beanie* 🎶I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell🎶 *ruffles Ruby's hair*

Weiss: 🎶I ought to say, "No, no, no sir"🎶

Neptune: 🎶Mind if I move in closer?🎶

Weiss: 🎶At least I'm gonna say that I tried🎶

Neptune: 🎶What's the sense in hurting my pride?🎶

Yang: 🎶I really can't stay🎶

Jaune: 🎶Baby, don't hold out🎶

Jaune/Yang: *lean on each other* 🎶Baby, it's cold outside🎶

Whitley: ...are they always like this?

Sun/Nora: *nods head* Yep.

Pyrrha: Last year, they sang Holly Jolly Christmas.

Blake: *stands up* 🎶I simply must go🎶

Ren: 🎶Baby, it's cold outside🎶

Blake: 🎶The answer is, "No"🎶 *chuckles*

Ren: 🎶But, baby, it's cold outside🎶

Weiss: 🎶The welcome has been-🎶

Neptune: 🎶How lucky that you dropped in🎶

Weiss: 🎶So nice and warm🎶

Neptune: *points outside* 🎶Look out the window at that storm🎶

Yang: *drapes arms over Jaune's shoulders* 🎶My uncle will be suspicious🎶

Jaune: *holds Yang's waist* 🎶Gosh, your lips look delicious🎶

Yang: 🎶My puppy will be there at the door🎶

Jaune: 🎶Waves upon a tropical shore🎶

Ruby: 🎶My Maiden aunt's mind is vicious🎶

Oscar: 🎶Gosh, your lips are delicious🎶

Ruby: 🎶But maybe just another dance more🎶

Oscar: 🎶Never such a blizzard before🎶

Blake/Weiss: 🎶I've got to get home🎶

Ren/Neptune: 🎶Baby, you'll freeze out there🎶

Blake/Weiss: 🎶Say, lend me your comb?🎶

Ren/Neptune: 🎶It's up to your knees out there🎶

Ruby/Yang: 🎶You've really been grand🎶

Oscar/Jaune: 🎶I thrill when I touch your hand🎶

Ruby/Yang: 🎶But don't you see?🎶

Oscar/Jaune: 🎶How can you do this thing to me?🎶

Ruby/Yang: 🎶There's bound to be talk tomorrow🎶

Oscar/Jaune: 🎶Think of my life-long sorrow🎶

Ruby/Yang: 🎶At least there will be plenty implied🎶

Oscar/Jaune: 🎶If you got pneumonia and died🎶

RWBY: 🎶I really can't stay🎶

ONRJ: 🎶Get over that hold out🎶

RWBY/ONRJ: 🎶Baby, it's cold Baby, it's cold outside!!!🎶

Yang: *chuckles and takes off her coat* Well I'm convinced. We're staying. Mr Arc, please join me on the sofa. *kisses his cheek*

Jaune: Certainly, Miss Xiao Long. *kisses her hand*

[benrobertson2004]

And that’s season one of hand jumper good comic I like the concept the characters are building up to be cool and the art is nice the hype around it definitely meant I went in with to high an expectation so I got something really good when expecting something great

The good

The cast is strong I at least like everyone there and they all have room to grow

The art style is really nice I like the pastel type colours

The world is interesting the worm meets x-men comment I made at the start was largely accurate and it’s fun

The themes of the justice system authority and family were interesting

It’s very readable with a tv procedural style of writing that makes it easy to pick up and put down at any point

The eh

Most of the comic is close up shots webtoons do that a lot but it was really noticeable here I’m assuming that was due to time constraints in the creator more than anything

While I like the cast barring Sayeon and Ryujin all development was built around flashbacks and not the characters now doing stuff

The flashbacks also mean that little actually has happened outside of setting up stuff it’s like the well first season but it is all set up and 50 issues of it

The pacing is jank in a similar way to early Rwby was in 50 issues we get the intro a bunch of characters being show off a first mission some training and some hanging out with like 12 flashbacks and it’s a lot of lore and details which I like but it also feels like very little in a page count to content way even though the comic would fundamentally not work with out the build up being there

The bad

I don’t care for Jaleil he died in issue two and the irony of Sayeon not knowing while cool gets lost in the shuffle of everything else did make a good final scene though

Sayeon goes of the deep end fast and it’s not surprising that it happened like I feel like her telling Min to cut a guys arm off was meant to be shocking but it kinda wasn’t I called this arc from issue two but I think that’s more me hearing about the comic and her arc second hand online and coming in with some expectations that were separate from what the comic wants to do

Overall

8/10 a good start that I’m going to keep reading but probably at a more casual pace the series is written like a cable tv drama and I have been binging it in chunks like a streaming show to my detriment

[penny-the-pissed-poltergeist]

RWBY Volume 5 Episode 1:"Welcome to Haven" rewatch thoughts

It's finally time to get to the volume that was widely considered to be the worst volume in the whole show... back when most(ish) people could agree on that. RWDE/Critical opinions ahead, you know the drill.

."Only one of us almost died" Heh

.Oh my god, I know this has been talked to death about, but using 2D art here deletes any awe this scene is supposed to have. I've heard some murmurings about this volume having major production issues that may have lead to them not having a proper version of the main fucking setting of the volume, but it's kinda hard to tell fact from fiction there.

."LOOK AT ALL THE WEAPONS" how strong are those silver eyes, that's some far fucking sight!

.Shout out to the only MLM rep that's actually in the show. (I know about Scarlet and Nolan, but everything gay about those two has only been in side material so far)

.That's a good segue into Weiss's segment because of pilot boy, for reasons I won't get into until a bit later. You think if thing I'm not talking about didn't happen, he'd still have the cult following he that he had for a bit?

.I know how Lionheart's shock KO is supposed to be funny, but something is off about the timing and it just fails for me.

.Guys, can you tell Lionheart's the cowardly Lion, it's REALLY subtle but it's there if your a super fan who looks close enough! /S

."You filled them in?" Wouldn't it be more fucked up to bring a bunch of students with you and NOT tell them anything?

.I don't know why but "Is this not going at all like anyone thought it would?" pisses me off. Maybe it's the "Well that just happened" energy it kinda has.

.So we went from RNJR, to Weiss, then back to RNJR, and now to Blake, what is this pacing, why the shots of the Belladonna house right before this? Why is Weiss segment even here?

."Unbelievable, total garbage!" When me and Dad get back from the shit that sucks convention.

.I just noticed that there's been no background music in some of these scenes, and it only adds to how off they feel.

.Blake get rid of the guard and immediately an intruder shows up lol.

.This just reminds me how much I actually like Blake and Ilia's dynamic. Even if the WF subplot is still comically bad.

.Lionheart's speech would be powerful if we didn't already know it was almost all lies. Him bringing up Penny reminded me again how weird it is that nobody seems to acknowledge the her being a robot thing.

.And this is where the Maidens get revealed as over-glorified keys...

.Jaune knowing Raven is Yang's mom feels weird, I didn't think Yang would open about her outside of her own team but I guess not.

.I know Lionheart's bullshitting, but this makes me think about Oz not setting up the councils of each kingdom to be in the know about the shadow war and how dumb that this, why would you leave a layer of ignorant bureaucracy in way of ever headmaster that works under you?

.Everything about this makes me wish they didn't just spoil Linoheart working for the bad guys in VOL 4.

.And now the VOL 4 post credits scene that they just threw in here because they were scared people missed it I guess.

.And now we cut to Yang at a weird gas station with a helipad(?) on the roof and it's also a bar, what kinda place is this?

.They really named a guy Shay D. Mann... I love his name but it's only enjoyable thing about him. He also means middle names exist on remnant and that feels weird for some reason. (Are Ruby and Blake's middle initials also R and B respectively?) Also something, something One Piece.

.FUCK HIS SHIT UP YANG.

.So Yang having her hands shiver when she's having PTSD problems is something that wasn't in volume 4, and I don't like it as much as anything volume 4 did PTSD wise.

.Her drinking the water just reminds me of how unreasonably mad a certain RWBY youtuber got at it for no reason.

.Yang basically went "Yeah I'm looking for Al Capone" to this guy.

.How did Shay D. here her from over there.

.Oh god it's the House.

.RNJ expecting trouble but they just get this tiny 14 year old.

.I like to think that, before the Oz thing is explained, everybody thought Qrow was just trying to set Ruby up with Oscar. And I don't even like Ro//se//garden all that much.

[dragynkeep]

Oh boy! Time to be RWDE again!

Volume 1:

Why is Glynda set up with every possible anime trope of being Ruby’s mentor, yet she gets shafted?

Who thought two minutes and forty seconds is an episode? No, that’s a clip. A short.

Speaking of episode length (or lack thereof), what is up with this pacing…

So…team RWBY aren’t going to ever speak to each other? Why not assign them to different teams?

Borrowing from Young Justice, Weiss could lead the team until Ruby is mature enough to handle the role. Why yes, I do think Weiss has the head to be a leader, or at the very least, try to be a leader and fail, teaching her how to be a better team player. Character Arcs 101.

You had Weiss having a internal dialogue (great! Do that!) and then drop it to never use it on her or any other character. That’s a staple of anime, geniuses.

-we’re not copying Soul Eater down to the school layout, we swear- Uh huh. Sure.

Why is Ruby giving Jaune advice she doesn’t know herself??? How did she learn/know that???

Also PS- While Emerald’s redemption is something RT did, it could have been pulled earlier in Volume 2 or Volume 5, but that requires actual good writing and planning.

So many points, so little time with this show fr.

1:

RWBY just hates women. Like I'm not even joking, this show hates women despite being a female-led show. Glynda was given the oppotunity to be this figure for not just Ruby, but the team as a whole, but every chance she gets is given to the male teachers for no reason.

Professor Port was the one to lecture Weiss about being a good teammate and to not allow her ego to blind her to her own shortcomings, even if that scene is dogshit in retrospect. Professor Oobleck was the one to challenge Team RWBY's ideals around being Huntresses, to the point where we got depth into his character on why he wanted to be a Huntsman.

Even when Yang had lost her arm and needed guidance, Port and Oobleck were there with Tai for that arc. Glynda never gets a chance to even talk properly with our main team, or even flesh herself out as a character to the point that the most we got is from the AA game.

2.

The reason why V1 was like 20 episodes long. The episodes were like five minutes long and would've done better just shoving the parts together. It also meant that the pacing was really slow because we'd be waiting a week for a continuation only to have another five minute long episode.

3.

Interteam relationship outside the partnerships have always been an issue tbh. It's just more egrigious now because it's been like ten years and Ruby/Blake are barely friends, let alone close enough that Blake would admire Ruby like she said she does. Classic told =/= shown.

4.

I think the whole leadership issues with Weiss and Ruby were concluded far too quickly, they could barely be counted as arcs. Weiss has justified issues with Ruby not taking Beacon or her role as their leader seriously, but rather than that being built up more and having the two actually grow together, they just get lectured at and immediately change.

5.

Unpopular opinion but I hate the inner monologue used in anime and I'm glad RWBY doesn't go into it all that much outside of that one time with Weiss. The issue rises because they don't ever let the watchers in on what these characters are thinking or feeling, and even contradict themselves over the volumes.

6.

The advice Ruby gave to Jaune is honestly bad advice? A leader isn't someone who puts the team before themselves, that just opens up for the burnout and idiolising the leader, which is exactly what happened to Ruby in the later volumes. But they didn't show that the advice she gave them was not meant to be something taken seriously.

If they even remember what Ruby told him when they can't even keep track what happen in the volume before.

7.

The whole thing with Emerald's redemption is that she really wasn't given much to flesh out. She started the show straight up ignoring Cinder's orders to go out of her way to be more evil and violent, murdering a minority who ran from an organisation she has no part of. Only for the show to try and paint her later as a lost soul who doesn't realise how bad Cinder is for her.

Nevermind the actual redemption doesn't have her face consequences for the fact that she murdered countless people without much care and only ever pulled sad faces rather than, you know, having actual character to push her redemption.

[hamliet]

Warning this is a reaaaaally long thing I’m sorry if it’s a bother

RWBY was my absolute FAVORITE thing when I was in middle school. It was one of the first works of fiction I could ever recall feeling so passionate about, like I had a ReNora sticker on my water bottle that I made and had the lyrics to almost the entire soundtrack memorized. But I stopped watching it around the end of 8th grade because YT dudebros like Hero Hei made me feel like I was an idiot with bad taste for liking it. The internet hatedom for it was so prominent that I found myself unable to express my enjoyment of it which led to me stifling it and losing it completely.

But as I’ve matured I realized how sad it was that I gave up on something that brought me joy and forced it out of my life because some people on the internet thought it was dumb or bad and didn’t challenge myself to well, challenge their perspective on it and hold my own opinion. And all of this got me thinking about hatedoms, cringe culture and the hunger that the internet has for negativity. (And I came to realize how relevant SVSSS still is even if it was written over a decade ago).

Anyways, I’m looking back on all these experiences after reading your metas on RWBY and wishing I’d seen them earlier. They probably would’ve helped younger me a lot lol. With the context out of the way, I was wondering, do you have any advice for coping with the negativity and backlash one might receive for liking something that the masses frequently shit on? Don’t get me wrong, I think everyone has the right to an opinion and people should be allowed to express their dislike of something if they want to, but unfortunately I still sometimes feel sad when there’s just such an overwhelming outpouring of negativity towards something I’m passionate about.

Hi, sorry for taking awhile to get back to you on this!! Been Going Through It.

I agree with what you say here. See, critique is itself an art form, one I genuinely have fun doing and reading. But, I think there's a fine line between "I don't like this" and "this is bad." And I think a lot of people mix them up (I'm not immune to this either). At the same time, there are general consensuses of what makes stories bad, and things that don't work, and you can articulate why.

RWBY doesn't fall into any of those categories. At worst, Volume 4 is a bit poorly paced and less thoughtfully put together.

I also think there's a particular rise of YouTube Bros who review things like RWBY or Hazbin or any sort of "indie" story (that often feature queer women) and use all the right rhetoric and big words (not to mention padded run-times on their videos) to sound like their critiques make sense... but if you look at what they are actually saying, they follow no logic and they often are intellectually dishonest. Even when they come from supposed leftists--sometimes people assume that just because a reviewer has good politics or can dismantle a philosophical argument that means they are qualified to critique stories at a deep level, or that they are exempt from implicit biases. Not necessarily.

And honestly? It's good to think critically! You can still love a YouTuber's content and be like hm, I actually don't agree with them on this, and here's why.

Lastly...

Even if something you love is "bad," so what? If you like it, so what? I like some "bad" music and stories. I know they aren't great literature. I know they're just entertainment, but they entertain me. Even if they aren't art, so what? Entertainment has its purpose too! (I guarantee you those Dudebros stan a video game or something that is, itself, not exactly top-tier art.)

*runs off with my Twilight books shouting YOU CAN'T TAKE THEM FROM ME YOUTUBER HIGHBROWS*

[its-to-the-death]

Bracket B thoughts:

"Yodel-Aadle-Eedle-Idle-Oo" is better than I expected from the movie's reputation, but I really only have so much tolerance for yodeling. Also the lines "You'll suffer till the end of time / Enduring tortures, most of which rhyme" from "Robot Hell" are hilarious.

...It's fucking "In the Hall of the Mountain King." I don't need to explain that one.

"Kidnap the Sandy Claws" isn't as bad as I remembered it being, but the verses that don't rhyme really irk me for some reason, and Lock+Shock+Barrel's singing is just...not great. So I'll give this one to "Big Shot."

"Wait for It," I will begrudgingly admit, is a good song. It's not the best villain song in that matchup, though. It's not even Burr's best villain song (that would be "The Room Where It Happens"). "Want You Gone" still very clearly has GLaDOS' trademark condescension, snark, and vitriol towards Chell, but it's also mixed with her complicated need for her to be around that adds a lot of emotional nuance to her insulting goodbye. Does she really want Chell gone because she's a pain in the ass, or because she knows keeping her in Aperture will hurt her? Does she want Chell to stay to keep testing her, or because she's her only friend? Honestly, probably some of both columns. GLaDOS has very good villain songs.

"Magic Dance" just feels like an excuse to have David Bowie do David Bowie things while singing a David Bowie song alongside minions whose singing...really sucks. "Meant to Be Yours" is a really intense encapsulation of JD's character, swinging from slow, emotional expressions of love to fast-paced, aggressive vows of violence.

"Great at Crime" is just a fucking bop, IDK. It's very catchy and goofy (in an intentional way).

Both "The Mob Song" and "Biggering" are very good, honestly. Personal preference for me.

Have you heard that guitar in "E.G.G.M.A.N"?! That shit SLAPS. It makes the phrase "I am the Eggman" sound cool.

"Look Away" is...really just not a Villain Song. Doesn't focus on Olaf enough. "There Ain't Nothin But Bad Days Ahead" is not exactly what I'd call good, but it's more fitting for this tournament.

...fuck IDK, I voted for "Who Will Know" because it seemed underappreciated, but I get why "Nothing Left to Lose" is winning. That one is really good. Maybe I should have gone for that instead.

All of the IEYTD theme songs kick ass and "Cog in the Machine" is no exception. Those vocals are powerful and emotional and very good.

"Love Doesn't Stand A Chance" confuses me because it has Regina calling Snow White a "bitch," but also can't show her doing any villainy more intense than childish mayhem like ripping a grandma's knitting and pushing a dwarf over. The tone is very confused. Also, Jeremy Jordan sings the English version of "Hurricane" and I'm a sucker for him belting about justice.

"Les Poissons" is...fine. But "Hero" and the scene it accompanies are some of the few things I actually like about RWBY, which says a lot about how good that song is.

"Heffalumps and Woozles" is not about actual villains but mere products of Pooh's imagination, so I am disqualifying it in my books on the same grounds as "Look Away." Also, "The Hounds" is pretty damn good.

I really appreciate the sheer drama of Raphael singing his own damn boss theme, and I honestly could not give a shit about that rich white girl.

I always like a good Weird Al, and "Let The Pun Fit the Crime" is very good, but "The Pitiful Children" had already seared itself in my brain as one of my favorite villain songs.

I’m right there with in Great at Crime. Epithet Erased songs are just so good lyrically.

[moltensmusings]

About to ramble a bit about my thoughts on volume 4 now that I'm rewatching it. It'll be positives mixed with negatives. A bit long so under the cut.

I am enjoying volume 4 of rwby more now. Still don't like the Blake plotline, hurting knowing sun will be going away soon. Maybe he's not the best at reading situations but the way some fans act like he's the worst and are okay with the writers just massacring his character hurts. He's just trying to be a good friend to Blake and be supportive.

I wouldn't mind Kali and Ghira as characters if they weren't related to Blake. Or at least not her parents. Their designs are nice but I never have been a fan of her suddenly having parents when it always seemed implied that she was an orphan or at least from a lower class family. I also don't really like how Ghira treats Sun, maybe if he wasn't the overprotective father stereotype I'd have less issues with him.

I'm wondering why Oobleck and Port didn't get new outfits. Those men have been in their teacher outfits since we met them. They have no other clothes. Please I'm begging for them to get new clothes.

I don't have really any negative feelings about Weiss' plot currently outside of wishing her butler wasn't all seven dwarves in one. It feels a bit gimmicky and of they were broken into 7 workers at her parents home it would make the Schnee family feel wealthier through having more people employed.

I finally figured out what about Blake bothers me: She's running so the large amount of white feels like a weird choice, it being a long coat is something I don't like. If it was short all around, I'd prefer it, and I think it should've been closed.

I still think they were too heavy handed with Tyrion as a villain. I love unhinged villain characters but he seems more ridiculous than scary in his scenes. If they pulled back a bit and had him be more invasive when interacting with others than laughing all the time it'd work better. Specifically I really enjoyed how they handled his writing in the fight against RNJR. It's more noticeable because of how understated most of the inner circle is.

All the female characters having larger eyes and rounder faces bothers me mainly for the older characters. Raven having smaller eyes would make her look her age and work far better. Though I wish it general there were areas of hee design they altered to make her visually more mature and seasoned.

Things I do really like: the appearances for the new characters, weiss having moments where she lashes out after clearly feeling suffocated by perfection and angry at everything bad that has happened, yang and her quiet dealings with her trauma and feelings, getting to explore other towns and areas as team RNJR travels, the story being allowed to slow down more. The pacing of this and season 3 does make me again wish we had one more season to build up characters before the fall of Beacon. Overall I still do prefer season 3 over this season but it's not as bad as I remember it being.

[happy-tori-friends]

fate (khloe aliapoh ffxiv and rng) has decreed that i must post a preview of that self indulgent crossover with my silly omegaverse original work. one may notice some similarities to rwby (team names being acronyms, kemonomimis being called creatura (which are just bootleg faunus). this is because it was very heavily inspired by rwby (well an rp that was a crossover with rwby and something else). really, is it an original work if it's a bunch of things i went 'wow cool. im gonna take inspiration from this' and then. made a patchwork quilt. this is only a fraction of what is planned. before the story there will be some notes that may help you to understand

here is information about bloody war (fun fact: this title is stupid. i dont even know if there will be a war) that may be helpful for this section.

everyone has two blood colors - a main and a secondary, which is marble into it. this gives them cool powers.

the guardians of blood are this cool organization that defeats teros (aka bootleg grimm). you must be 13 or older to enroll in one four academies, but the most common age range is 17-20 (minors also need their guardians permission). usually, training takes two years but ti can take longer if one fails exams. once you have graduated, you are free to move to base on sanguine island (it comes with free housing.) for some reason you can then become a professor and teach shit (i didn't think this through tbh)

frost's guidance is in kaldsne, forest's illumination is in luctis, sea's sanctuary is on the gemsea isles, and night's shadow is in kagayatsuki. there are more countries than that but those are the four with training academies (the others got destroyed).

yes there's a white fang rip off it's called the ichor of the wild it might not come into play at all but... i really wasn't original at fucking all lmao.

theres also maiden rip offs. their the seasonal monarchs. their secondary color is a type of gold. but they dont come into play here right now. (except for the fact that miaki and hibiki are the fall princess and fall guardian. but they are only mentioned. whats a guardian. wait and see. why is princess and not queen. dont ask questions past me is stupid)

omegaverse but i make my own rules (i did Not mention it at all in this part tho). this was supposed to be fucking smut guys. it was supposed to be smut and then my stupid idiot dumb ass decided 'WaHt iF I WeNt tHrOuGh eVeRyThInG FrOm fIrSt mEeTiNg tO PoSt-gRaDuAtIoN WhEn tHe pOrN TaKeS PlAcE' like a moron and now here i am. still haven't written anything nsfw. the entire point of this bullshit.

@guardians-of-blood is the account for bloody war. it is on ao3 on my main pseud (AnemoVictorious)

splendont's from the gemsea isles. lifty and shifty were from luctis but stowed away on a ship to kagayatsuki and got taken in by a farmer.

team sfre = sapphire

this is stupid really stupid but it's my self indulgent heathen bullshit

okay i think that's good enough.

Two years ago, Splendid decided to attend Frost's Guidance Academy, where he became one of two leaders of Team SFRE, the other being his future boyfriend, Flippy Blair. At that point, Splendont was content with where he was and, though his abilities could be useful in combat, he didn't really think it was for him.

And yet here he was, a new student at Night's Shadow Academy. Older than most of the other new recruits at 23 years old, but he didn't really care about that. It wasn't even a big epiphany he had that made him decide to do it, he just wanted a  change of pace and scenery.

Kagayatsuki was nice enough - the weather was more mild compared to the hot summers of the Gemsea Isles, and despite being in the capital city of Yoruhoshi, the light pollution was surprisingly not that bad. He'd looked at them through the window, but tonight he wasn't all too tired. If he snuck out at night back home, his parents would scold him even if he was a grown man, but here nobody really cared.

There wasn't likely to be anyone else out this late at night either, so he made his way to the rooftop, the lighter and pack of cigarettes within his pocket just begging to be used. He didn't do it often, especially because his parents and Splendid frowned upon it, but sometimes he would smoke, just to have something to do. He didn't have an addiction by any means, it was usually only one or two every few months but it was sort of comforting to do something considered taboo.

He opened the door, already grabbing one cigarette and the lighter from his pocket as he left the building and saw the expanse of the sky over the rooftop. 

“Shit!” He heard a voice say. “I told you we should get off campus.”

“If we go off campus, we're more likely to get ID'd,” another, very similar voice, responded. Maybe a bit higher pitched. “Does it matter though? You forgot the lighter.”

“How'd we get ‘em in the first place? That's right. Fake IDs. Believable enough to get us cigarettes.” The first voice responded, clearly a bit agitated.

Once again his super-hearing caused him to hear things he didn't intend to. If only power limiters could limit specific aspects of one's ability, but alas. They limited everything. No getting around it if he wanted to use other aspects of his blood's ability.

It seemed these two were underaged and trying to smoke. Splendont didn't care - he, too, had done such things in the past, and had gotten caught. He turned towards the voices, and found two raccoon creatura  with messy green hair. One wore a hoodie, and the other a fedora and a bomber jacket. They both had similar shoes and ripped jeans, and the fedora-wearing one seemed to be irritated. From the back, they looked to be basically identical, save for clothing. Twins, maybe?

Well, it wasn't hurting anyone other than them, was it? Splendont approached, lighting his own cigarette as he did so. He then held out the lighter to them. “Here. I'm feeling nice right now, I'll let you borrow this for a second.”

The two turned to face him, and he saw their faces were basically identical too. Definitely twins. Their eyes were a brilliant golden color, which widened, and then narrowed, though the one with the fedora took it, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it before tossing it to his brother, who barely caught it and did the same, before gingerly handing it back to Splendont, though hesitating slightly.

“Thanks,” the hatless one, the second voice he'd heard, muttered, and Splendont nodded, taking a drag of his own cigarette and walking away, settling not that far from them.

Maybe he was curious about what they had to say, and maybe his super-hearing had a use when he wanted gossip or something like that. He tried to seem like he wasn't listening in, at least for a while, curious about what they'd say.

“You could've pocketed that,” the voice belonging to the fedora-wearing man spoke.

“Why bother? It's just a lighter. And we promised we'd try and stop.” The other responded, and Splendont raised an eyebrow, looking over at them

The fedora wearing one let out a snort. “Hah! Lifty, do you really think that Miaki and Hibiki would know, let alone their dad?”

So it seemed the hatless one was Lifty. Considering the weird names in his family, including Splendid's boyfriend, he wasn't too surprised at the oddity of the name. He did recognize the two that were mentioned - members of the first team formed in the year. They had different last names though. Maybe divorced parents.

“Shifty, he's staring. I think he can hear us,” Lifty murmured, giving Splendont another name.

Whoops. Oh well.

The redhead snorted, deciding to pipe in now that they were aware. “Duh. I gave you a lighter when you were whispering about needing one. It was kind of obvious, wasn't it?” he hummed, making his way closer to the two. “Not that I care what you do, though. I got grounded and chewed out for doing something similar, but I'm not going to pass on that pain to you.” He approached the one with the hat - Shifty, and extended a hand and offered an introduction. “Splendont Astra. You could say I'm a little late to the Guardians party ‘cause I'm 23, but I don't regret it.”

The other's eyes were narrowed as he took the hand and shook it, and they remained staring at him even as he did the some for his brother. “Shifty Steele. That's my stupid brother Lifty.”

“Hey!” Lifty protested as he pulled his hand away, punching Shifty in the shoulder before taking a drag of his cigarette. He seemed much more open than the other, but distrust was still evident on his face. “So… do you need something?”

With a shrug of his shoulders, Splendid took in another puff smoke. “Eh. Figured I'd talk to some kindred souls. Smoke together awhile. Better than doing it alone. And if anyone comes up here, I'll take the fall.”

“Cool. A scapegoat,” Shifty murmured, “Can't really say no to that.” It was clear he wasn't all too interested, but was allowing it nonetheless.

His brother, however, looked him up and down a few times before offering a hesitant smile. “Well, we were told we should make friends,” he let out a sheepish laugh before turning to his brother. “And before you say ‘how are they going to know’, if we just keep trailing behind them or hanging out by ourselves, Miaki and Hibiki are going to realize we haven't made a single friend besides them yet.”

“I'm fine playing the part of someone you befriended,” Splendont chuckled, breathing in the nicotine. “Makes me look better than some guy that always keeps to himself too. You get to fool those two and get a scapegoat for smoking and stuff. Win-win situation.”

Lifty let out another laugh, tail swishing beside him. “Yeah! C'mon, Shifts, don't be a stick in the mud. Splendont seems kinda cool! Maybe… maybe we won't even have to lie to them, and we'll have a real friend.”

“Ugh, you're so annoying. Fine,” Shifty scoffed, shaking his head. “You're such a people pleaser.”

Their conversation continued for a while - mostly talking about how things had been since they arrived at Night's Shadow - how Lifty and Shifty were expecting to be on a team with their friends and got surprised at the first assembly, how their courses were going, and some rumors they'd heard passed around. Eventually, the two could barely keep their eyes open, and Splendont walked them back to the dorms. He made sure to snag their numbers first though.

As Splendont found himself back in bed once more, he couldn't help but smile slightly. Considering that they were likely underaged and he could infer from what he'd overheard that they liked stealing, Splendid would hate these two. He'd just have to leave out details when he told his brother that he'd made some friends.

[tempestswing]

Okay so I actually have watched every episode of RWBY, I really liked Volumes 1 - 3 but I can't say they're genuinely very good, and i wasn't a fan of 4 - 6, but I think RWBY has definitely had an upwards trajectory in 7 - 9. Whilst I personally enjoy the show and will continue to do so, I don't think it's a genuinely well written show.

Putting aside my criticism of the pacing and exposition and such, here's a few specific concepts and ideas I think RWBY definitely wasted, although some could certainly be addressed in future seasons (but the fact is they've had 9, that's plenty of time).

1. The White Fang: As people in the notes on the OP are saying, this plot line is handled poorly at times. I won't elaborate on the organization as a whole but I will on two characters -

1A) Sienna Khan feels very wasted. Probably as a result of how late she was introduced in the show. I think they should have had her present sooner, maybe giving speeches or something? As it is, she gets name dropped a couple times, finally shows up, and is immediately fridged. yes, I consider her death a fridging because she's killed ultimately to develop Adam's character, to show how ruthless he is.

1B) Adam. Just... Kind of pathetic actually how shallow this character is and how negatively it impacts Blake's character. I don't really give two shits about Adam as a character, but he was someone important from Blake's past, someone she looked up to and respected. Her literal introduction in the black trailer is her leaving him. Adam should have been a more two-dimensional character, someone that allowed the audience to understand why Blake was so loyal to him for so long. As it stands in the show, Adam looks like a monster and we can't understand what Blake ever saw in him. He's got no principles despite being the literal leader of an activist group. All of these problems are bad enough before we get to his death - that's Yang's first time killing another human as far as we know, and very possibly Blake's too. They're both 17 at the start of the show, and train to kill monsters, not people. The trauma and psychological effect of killing someone is almost entirely brushed over.

2) Volumes 1 - 3 waste the Grimm I think, at least up until the finale. The whole concept of RWBY is cool fights against monsters - watch the Red Trailer, it kicks ass! Obviously, a show can't be all action. But we could have character development, romance, etc, all in the context of humans vs monsters. but we're very quickly introduced to human antagonists, and they make big sweeping changes to the status quo, and I think ultimately it takes the bite out of Salem's reveal because the Grimm have never really felt like the show's ultimate threat (at least until the Fall of Atlas).

The idea that oh, all this evil is traced back to one woman should be shocking and interesting to the characters, for whom the Grim are the biggest threat their world had, but we the audience don't really see it. Episode 1 has Ruby fight Torchwick and Goons, our early arcs are stuff like "Jaune gets bullied :( " and "the gang goes to a dance :) " and we never really feel like the grimm are a big part of the world and a threat until V3. In Volume 2's breach, sure the Grimm getting into the city is a big deal, but that arc is ultimately a White Fang arc. The Grimm aren't the problem, it's the White Fang setting off a bomb and letting them in that causes the trouble. You could replace them with a big wave of water or something and the arc would play out the same pretty much. The Fall of Beacon doesn't even do much to change that, because the main threats there are still human (or robot, I guess?). The Grimm are there, but they feel supplementary.

3) the Weapons. This is possibly the most controversial point, but I think RWBY has sick as fuck weapons but I don't think how static they are is a good thing. Every character, bar Jaune, is using the exact same weapon they have when we meet them, no upgrades, no changes? Weapons are a great visual shorthand and can be used to both characterise and showcase the development of the character.

I will use Nora as an example. She's a loud, energetic, and gleeful woman. Her weapon is a reflection of her, with a heart and lightning motif, as well as literally being a grenade launcher (and a hammer). Could her development through the series be reflected in weapon upgrades? How would the loss of her teammate, Pyrrha, reflect in changes to her fighting style or combat techniques? Perhaps Nora could add more defensive capabilities to her hammer, allowing her to protect her friends (she can channel electricity, maybe an electric shield?). Or Yang, who's lost an arm from being reckless and rushing in - and still doesn't have a fucking better ranged option?

These characters are 17 when we meet them. They're really making zero changes to their weapons until they die? And seriously, Jaune, as the only character to get an upgrade... DOESN'T GIVE HIMSELF A RANGED OPTION. When I first saw his little sword upgrade I thought the two bits at the side would fold out next, creating a bow or crossbow kind of look, but nope! It just makes his sword slightly longer and heavier! And then he gets that little magnetic barrier grenade in Volume 8 and I want to scream.

You can't even argue that changing the iconic weapons is bad because they're iconic when Mecha-shift weapons are an established part of the world since episode 1, upgrades could just be new Forms of the same weapon.

This post has gotten unreasonably long and if I had time I would also complain about silver eyes, the maidens, Ozma, Raven, CFVY and the vytal teams, what the fuck is Vale doing post V3, etc. There's a lot to criticize RWBY for, even as a big fan of the show! It doesn't have to be a perfect show for me to love and enjoy it! None of this stuff makes the show unwatchable or not entertaining.

"rwby had a lot of good ideas going for it but completely squandered them" list some examples. go on

fucking do it

be fucking specific. actually list something goddamn fucking specific

this is the "the show keeps threatening to be good" crap again, you've got nothing beyond a vague assertion that "it's totally bad guys, trust me. i said it was bad and a lot of people liked my tweet even though i'm only regurgitating things i've heard and i know nothing about the show or its production but obviously i'm right" it's just meaningless vague horseshit because you know nothing about the show and have exactly fucking dick to support your claims

[majoringinsarcasm]

The fact that Blake Yang and Weiss are all walking forwards / moving up in the intro from V1 to V9, but Ruby in V1 STARTS closest to the front / the viewer and regresses backwards. Thinking about her being there for Jaune, hyping up her team in volume two and their second semester of school. Comforting Penny and being her first friend. She’s there for Oscar always the first in his corner, she helps give Qrow his huge wake up call and her “I’m not leaving without the lamp!” which I loved in V6.

She started out on an 11 in terms of that upbeat / determined protagonist but she’s not Unaware. She’s never been Unaware. After V3 we do see her somber expressions and looking worried but it’s usually if not always when nobody can see her face. Again V4 when she and Jaune are carrying Qrow and she says that Ren and Nora will be fine after they split up. Jaune expresses doubts and it’s only when she turns her head forward again that worry fills her face. She has always put on that brave face even as she grew from naive clumsy new leader of RWBY to kings leading RNJR, friends who are putting their faith in her and Jaune who was meant to be the leader letting her take center stage. Her mother was the leader of STRQ, she has silver eyes and was trusted with so much. She learned so much. Lies unraveled and she had to make up plans and they failed but she kept going. She kept trying.

And then V8 happened. She saw the Hound. We don’t know for certain that Summer was / is now a Hound but if she went off to fight Salem and never came back then that’s what happened to her right? If the best of the best couldn’t do it when she was the proper age to enter Beacon and not some kid who cheated her way in then what makes her think She can do it. She can’t even fight without her weapon and that has gotten her and others into trouble time and time again.

With each big transition (and outfit change for the visuals) the girls have gotten stronger. They have found some part of themselves they have grown in some way. They had lost some insecurity or fear. And while of course this is not the end of their journey, and Yang I am looking at specifically because poor girl thought she was Dead and was pushed into leaving Patch maybe sooner than she was truly ready for, Ruby’s V4–6 self being behind her V1-3 self is so. That’s when she was making the most leader like decisions. Outside of the school setting with adults and vulnerable citizens now needing to be saved or convinced she and her other band of teenagers can save the day. And then the most recent version who Does have a legal huntress license and Did go on actual missions with other trained huntsmen, is the one farthest back and the most lost and scared and miserable.

Up until now Ruby has had the least amount of big character moments compared to her team, but I do not see her as stagnant so much as…. Her cheerful optimism and drive to keep moving forward was once her sincere true ideology and has now become a mask. She has growth as a fighter and a leader but she was not prepared for the gods and Salem. And in a perfect world she would not have to fight this. But she does, and she has not allowed herself to be seen how she truly feels because there’s no room for a little girl to cry and fret and prove those old hurtful true. She cannot Change from the cheerful go getter she started as because the people around her Need that now.

But that hasn’t been who she really was since the fall of Beacon and it’s catching up to her fast. She pushes the bolder up the hill farther than anyone but now it’s fast in its race to flatten her and she is Tired

[animebw]

Something I’ve noticed about RWDE and the asshole side of RWBY criticism is just how bad they are at reading anything into the things they don’t like beyond their initial dislike of them. They never say “I think X was done poorly, the writers were probably trying to accomplish Y but they fell short because Z and it hurts the show because ABC.” It’s always “X SUCKS AND THE WRITERS ARE AWFUL PEOPLE WHO HATE WRITING.”

Like, perfect example: I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about the pacing in the most recent RWBY episode, and I agree with a lot of their complaints. We weren’t given any time to see WBY’s reactions to Ruby’s choice in episode 8, how it affected them and what they thought about it before finding her at the tree. Hell, the way the start of the episode is written it basically feels like everyone forgets they exist so they can deal with Jaune’s trauma; nobody even really acts like Ruby just, you know, Did That. I get that WBY knows by now ascension isn’t death and Ruby’s probably not gone for good, but it’s still a hell of a sight to witness. And there needed to be, like, two more minutes dealing with that fallout before connecting it to Jaune’s catharsis and their mutual understanding that the people they care for aren’t gone forever. I know RWBY doesn’t have unlimited money to throw around, but it really feels like a critical scene was just cut out wholesome.

But there is a stark difference between how regular fans and RWDE voice these complaints. On one side, you’ve got normal people saying “Yeah, that was rushed, it needed a scene of WBY processing what just happened and it feels kind of callous for them to seemingly get over it so fast.” And on the other side, you’ve got the usual asshats going “OMG YANG HATES HER SISTER AND MILES AND KERRY ARE JERKING OFF JAUNE CAUSE HE’S MILES’ SELF-INSERT AND THEY HATE RUBY AND THEY HATE WOMEN ARGLABARLG.” No, you insufferable nimrods, it’s a very simple writing error, nothing more, nothing less. And you really don’t have to expend much brainpower to take that failure in context and move on. It doesn’t ruin the episode, it doesn’t take away from Yang’s scene with Ruby’s tree form, and unless you’re either stupid or deliberately arguing in bad faith, it’s not hard to take it on its own terms without blowing it out of proportion.

Despite what RWDE would have you believe, RWBY fans are fine with criticism. The reasonable, measured complaints I’ve seen from fans about this episode are proof of that. We have no problem discussing the issues with this show. But the bad-faith, poorly-researched, bias-driven, self-serving drivel that spills from these so-called critics’ mouths has no business sharing the same space as actual analysis. And we’re not going to insult our own intelligence pretending otherwise.

In short: RWBY fans have no problem with reasonable critiques. Maybe all these “critics” should try actually, you know, making some one of these days.

[whitleyschn33]

RWBY V9, Episode 1: Liveblog Thoughts

This is the curse of long hiatuses, isn’t it? Back at the end of V8, I was like “I’m done. I hated the ending, the entire volume felt poorly done and uncomfortable, most of the characters I still care about are either dead or side characters, there’s no reason for me to watch V9, especially if we don’t see Vacuo.” But here I am, dragged back in by the separation of two years. The salt in the wound has stopped stinging quite so bad, and morbid curiosity has taken hold.

Against my own better judgement - pulls out the pirate hat - let’s take a look.

-Opening the volume with the narration from the teaser trailer, a voice we don’t know, is a choice.

-Close up of Blake does absolutely no favors to the models, I’m sorry

- Little would be a lot cuter if they couldn’t talk, but that would be inconvenient

-I know people have mentioned this before about the rain starting exactly when Ruby starts to cry, but it also stops when she stops crying, which is more evidence in the direction of Ruby effecting the weather. I am starting to hedge towards the island being connected to Ruby’s emotional state myself, but that would only be satisfying if the island is of Ruby’s own creation in her head, a delusion she’s made while falling to mentally process the fall. Otherwise, why would this other dimension island be connected to Ruby of all people?

-Blake and Weiss! Acknowledging the weirdness of them finding each doesn’t make the weridness go away, but since it’s whacko world where the laws of space don’t seem to work, I’ll allow it.

-And, uh, the vine scene is utterly pathetic. I get they’re exhausted, they can’t just burn the place down, but seriously? Weiss can create platforms, there’s no need for this reach down from the tree gag, Weiss is not the cheerleader type so that’s just jarring as hell, Weiss can also summon her knight to cut the vines for her or a flying Grimm to get them overhead - there’s a lot of smarter ways to go about this that doesn’t make our heroes look weak. Now, maybe they’re out of Aura still and exhausted from the fall. Okay, that makes sense - but it would also make sense for them to rest and regain their Aura and Semblances before attempting to retrieve Gambel Shroud and find the others.

-Laying on the “what is your purpose” theming very heavy

- “I don’t know if anyone else fell” I mean, a bunch of civilians got knocked in by Cinder, but I suppose they could be dead.

-Should have paid more attention in that hand-to-hand arc, Ruby. This creature though actually looks really cool, I do like its design and the twitching effect. Kind of a Grimm, but not. But... it wasn’t doing anything to them. Why immediately attack?

-And Yang’s here! That was fast. And apparently she fought the thing off and then decided to track it down to finish the fight? Okay... seems like a waste of energy if it had already left, but whatever. In character enough.

-”Damn it. You weren’t supposed to be here.” Okay, that’s a good line. I really like that and the delivery. 

-”if you didn’t think we’d come after you” - you didn’t. You got thrown in, Ruby.

-”What is that?” The skull beast thing was already talking, Yang, why does this surprise you?

-Cat pounce. Thought they’d go for a kiss, but that probably wouldn’t jive right with the pacing of the episode. We should get a kiss this volume, but I can see them waiting for either a moment when the two are alone, or a moment where they can build it up without immediately cutting to exposition.

-Ruby black out. I’m surprised her eyes didn’t activate, an instinctual lashing out like they did with Pyrrha. Ah well.

- Y: ”How are you feeling” R: Dodge roll!

- “Maybe we’re dead... I thought I was.” I mean, that would be more interesting, fighting their way outta hell, but unlikely.

- “I think we’re in a fairy tale” Not mutually exclusive, but okay. I’m going to assume that all these realms (that are so neatly sectioned off) are going to be Remnant fairy tale settings that Blake’s read over the years, which would indicate there is a way out.

-OP - chaotic, doing the progression of character thing V7 did and really hammering in the “Ruby’s really not feeling it”. Jaune is in the OP, but I believe only two or three times, and never with t!RWBY, which could either be a good or bad sign. None of the girls saw him fall, either, so they’re not expecting to look for him. Also, no hint of Vacuo anywhere in the OP, so odds are we’re staying here for the entire volume, or at least until the last episode where we’ll probably get a stinger for V10.

-New girl - Alice? I’m not sure why they bothered to hide her features for so long only to reveal them at the end. There’s also a shadow of a boy with glasses behind her in her portrait, so either another faller or maybe a denizen?

-Credits - “Jabberwalker” NOOOOOOOO, my snake dragon monstrosity jabberwocky T-T But if that poem’s on the table, I expect we may see some juju birds and bandersnatches (assuming that we haven’t already with the spoonbill and the thing that took Yang’s arm)

Overall? Not the worst episode of RWBY, but it just felt very... unpolished. The background animations have gotten a bit better, less unfinished (though still jarring in their vibrancy though at least that’s on purpose), but some of the dialogue and pacing feels like it was a first draft that never got refined. Like “Weiss and Blake find Gambel Shroud in vines that trap them as they try to get it out” was written, but wasn’t expanded upon in the individual actions, so you get some gestures at getting it out without any smarter actions that require effort in thought, and some of the emotional shifts felt jarring. For example, like the script said “Turn to Weiss, Weiss is crying”, and in the actual episode they click the emotion into place instead of giving Weiss a few moments to express that slip into despair. Just a few extra moments of Weiss’s face crumbling, her voice cracking, would have sold the emotion more, and there’s a couple moments like this, particularly when they go for humor. Speaking of, the comedy attempts were also not appreciated. Levity isn’t really something the show needs at this moment, and none of the jokes land. I don’t find Ruby screaming at a mouse or mice reacting in terror to Blake to be funny, and I can see the “Oh my God, this is so weird and strange” reactions getting old if it carries on for too long. I haven’t found RWBY funny for a few years now, though, so it’s not really surprising. 

Score that’s mostly arbitrary and will probably forget to keep doing: 5.5/10. Perfectly functional, not a pain to watch or boring, but lacking anything that really makes me enjoy it enough to rewatch or recommend. 0.5 points for Yang’s “You weren’t supposed to be here” line alone.

[tumblingxelian]

I intended to respond to this ages ago, I'm so sorry it got lost in tabs!

White Fang: I don't really agree with that stance on the White Fang/Faunus subpot. I think that while there was some major clumsy aspects to it, the overall theming, world building and ideas behind it work well.

RWBY actually acknowledges that addressing systemic bigotry is a long, frustrating and difficult task, not something that gets magically fixed with some speeches.

RWBY has different areas manifest different degree and methods f bigotry, from the tolerated/accepted harassment and presumptions of guilt in Vale. To the systemic oppression of a collective underclass in Atlas, with Faunus pushed even lower than impoverished humans to undercut class solidarity. Or the basically open-season, legalized but not well organized bigotry across Mistral with no Faunus signs and outright lynch mobs in the back woods.

RWBY doesn't presume that all rebels are good or bad, but does acknowledge violent movements can be very easy systems for bad faith actors to claim influence in, Which is historically supported, as the White Fang's fall can easily be compared to the corruption and fall of the IRA.

This isn't to say there weren't fuckups, the biggest of which was throwing away Sienna. But but overall I think the collective arc holds together a lot better than people accept.

Volume 1: My idea was more along the lines of Blake seeking out Velvet to see if she was all right, and Yang seeking out Blake & velvet for the same reason, but basically keeping herself out of their space once its clear she'd be intruding and giving them space. With a sort of quiet moment between her & Yang indicating "Yang knows" but she'll be letting Blake decide the pace of reveals.

Sun: The thing with Sun is that his main narrative roles were to serve as a sponge for exposition and on a more subtle level be someone inspired by Blake to care about Faunus politics. Or so I think.

When we meet Sun he's a petty party boy mostly interested in just dicking around and he has near ZERO grasp of Faunus history or politics. But in his association with Blake he learns, such as his initial response to Kuo Kuana, but also being told the reality of it.

Again, I think these aspects were made clumsy, by a mixture of factors, be they his role as comic relief, general himbo attitude and the un-needed pseudo romantic sub-plot. But conceptually there's merit to his presence both for the audience and themes of the story, he just wasn't executed that well I feel.

"Princess" Blake... Isn't a princess though? Ghira was chosen as Chief as far as I'm aware. The home she references outright has large chambers that are just filled with desks, this is more like a town hall that doubles as a house. What's more, Blake didn't exactly spend much if any significant time there anyway given she was busy being a child soldier.

There's a better post covering this topic, which talks about the cleverly subversive nature of Blake's origin, the foreshadowing and the fact it neatly avoids a ton of problematic tropes which I really like:

Hope this response was worth the wait!

fellow bees shippers i have a question. what is your own criticism to the ship? like, things you didn't like or you would have done different or added or removed ecc. including the interplay with blcksn and/or adam, not just blake and yang's relationship alone.

[swan2swan]

I think the thing that makes me love RWBY so much is that they’ve escalated their progressivism with the times.

So many shows and franchises I loved years ago have now become “eh” these days because they reached some sort of limit. Star Wars had the most spectacular nosedive by completely erasing their black protagonist from the narrative and eroding any depth from the white woman protagonist (while sabotaging the Heroic Space-Dominican by making him overconfident comic relief), but while they worked in some more diversity with The Mandalorian, they obviously had...a number of issues. SNL could be doing skits every week about the continued police violence in DC, utilizing the platform to do new things, but they’re quickly recessing back to their typical stuff. When Samantha Bee and other comedians got too on-point with their skewers, they had to offer apologies and retract statements. Disney’s mainstay cartoons have done a great job diversifying the color palette...but they’ve also failed to progress in a lot of other regards, and unless Zootopia+ goes on a full binge of exposing corruption and violence among cops, I’m very wary. Even Rogue Squadron has side-eye because I suspect it’s going to be Air Force propaganda--which brings us right over to the Marvel Universe and its, well...you know all about that. 

I know I spent pretty much that whole giant paragraph talking about Disney, but, hey, that’s a monopoly for you. The Jurassic franchise has done well (the Prattster being a major detriment, though), and there have been a number of other sparks, but you can tell that a lot of franchises aren’t going to take major steps foward. A lot of others do stand to be progressive...but remain unappreciated (Thundercats Roar...) or end up underfunded or poorly-written, or left in the hands of people who make bad decisions (the DC cinematic universe has a lot of good potential and doesn’t seem afraid or limited, but also, “pushing the envelope” for them is “Batman drops an F-bomb”, so...yeah). 

RWBY? It’s super-popular. It’s brilliantly written. It has an immense and talented cast of actors and actresses, animators, directors, producers, and is even working with management that is willing to allow delays and schedule shifts in order to avoid crunch and overwork (so I hear). 

And what have they done? 

They started by being revolutionary by having all-female protagonists. Then they had a few subtle same-sex hints (Reese’s wink, Bumbleby foreshadowing, Coco, Emerald...), but nothing major...until they pulled out the wives a few volumes later. And Ilia. And they’re racing toward Bumbleby. It was pretty obvious that Qrow was into Clover (bless his poor taste...). They didn’t do Pilot Bro. And today? Straight-up Trans story to the face, spoken by a trans voice actress.

All wrapped tightly within stories calling out authoritarianism, bracketed by songs about how you shouldn’t give up hope just because it’s dark, and deliverring messages about fighting for the future. 

While Star Wars preached “you should always be hopeful!” while spreading misery and deflating fans’ optimistic bubbles left and right, RWBY keeps heading forward and providing victory and spectacular moments, allowing characters to grow and change and develop. 

RWBY feels like it will stand the test of time, but it also feels like it belongs in the present--and it’s not just because it’s adapting to the current day and age. It’s a year behind and still on-pace, because it’s trying to push forward. It’s smart, it’s full of heart, and it’s good. 

[kitkatopinions]

Thoughts on Arcane?

NOTE: I know nothing about League of Legends, I came into Arcane with no knowledge of anything to do with League, so everyone, please try to refrain from possible future spoilers by discussing major plot in the OG product. My brother-in-law already dropped some very big info and similar to going into the Final Fantasy remakes, I'm trying to avoid any other spoilers for something that's been around for ages. Thanks!

First thought, the animation is very good and very iconic.

Sometimes the faces seem a little off, but the whole effect looks almost like paint, and overall, it is very good. This is such a well made and just beautiful show in terms of the art, animation, and aesthetic.

The combat is a step above most things I've seen, but not as good as the early RWBY seasons by a long shot. On top of that, some of the weapons looks... Over the top, particularly the gauntlets the Vi eventually wears.

They're just a bit too big imo, it makes scenes go from cool to goofy really quickly. Still, the fights are worth watching and by no means are they bad!

Most of this show was directed very well, but they would do these strange jerky cuts that often didn't work for me. There also was this weird scene where two characters were about to fight, and then it suddenly changed into those characters doing the fight in slo-mo while the show switched to like, a completely different design, and then they just... Did the battle like normal all over again at normal speed. I can't blame them for experimenting with styles and stuff, but it just really took me out of the moment.

Some of it felt a little rushed and hurried in act two especially, where it's like they were trying hard to establish character dynamics early on to get to the juicy stuff later. I don't mind it so much especially since it's just the first season, and as a general rule, I try to give grace during a first season. But I'm really hoping we get to see more from many of these character interactions that feels a bit more fleshed out next season.

On that note, there were some writing choices I thought were strange. Characters that I kept waiting to have at least something of a good storyline that haven't gotten one, story elements that had suddenly come out of nowhere and didn't add much at all so far, moments that I feel didn't make much sense or things they had characters do that I thought either should've been gone into more detail around or should've been different. During the last three of four episodes especially, my sister and I were watching it and going "if they just tweaked this, this scene would be so much better," and "if this had been set up like this, this would've been such a compelling moment!" I feel like the show could be better than it is. The writing isn't life changing, it could be stronger and fuller, but it's still for the most part good, especially when you compare it to a certain color themed webcartoon.

But as for some praise, most of the characters are nuanced and interesting, the concepts are amazing and could lead somewhere great, the design is off the charts, the voice acting is pretty dang good, the dialogue is nice and even if the pacing is a little rushed, the way everything was delivered including stellar VA performances and animation makes everything feel more genuine and believable. Also I don't know how to describe 'this piece of media feels like it would be great for transformative works, even more so than most pieces of media,' but Arcane has those vibes. The more simple looks the characters sported in the first couple episodes were okay, but the character design in the post-time skip looks were really good. In fact, the show generally did a very good job at the time-skip. I was seriously thrown off and worried when I realized one was coming so early, but they did it well and the results were cool. Also, the battles are never easily won, our mains always seem to take hits, both emotionally and physically, and that's good. Also, they know how to get tension into a scene in this show, they're really good at using their music, too. The show is exciting, it throws curveballs at you in a way that (most of the time so far,) doesn't feel cheap or badly set up. Best of all, they're really good at making you care about the characters and what happens to them. I've mentioned before that I tend to consume media primarily for character arcs and character interactions, and I think this show has the potential to serve up some amazing ones. One of my favorite characters in the series - who I won't name atm because of possible spoilers - is so cool, and I just want the best for them because they deserve it.

I think the show maybe could've benefitted from taking a bit more time, but hey. they wanted to set the groundwork early, and I can't blame them.

There are some red flags. There were some things that made me feel uncomfortable at the very least. SPOILERS INCOMING: SKIP THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS.

For example, the main villain in the first season is someone who revolutionaried too hard and was actually super detrimental to the people he was supposedly advocating for to the point where the lead yells at the people oppressing her and her people to go wage war on her people in order to take him out - which I feel like something like this could've been done, but the way they did it was clunky and sent some weird messages imo. And for another example, in the last three episodes, they kill off two different dark skinned women (or at least, I think, the second death hasn't been exactly confirmed, but I'm pretty sure it happened.) And one of those women hadn't been given much outside of a flimsy connection to one of the main male characters, who was Very Sad about her death. In another scene, our main protagonist tore a prosthetic off of someone's body in a fight, etc... On top of that, I'm always annoyed when there's some piece of media that establishes a clear system of oppression - in this case the privileged Piltover versus the poor Undercity / Zaun, including a thick layer of obvious classism - and then instead of the main villains being say the people who helped build that system or the people who have worked to maintain that system in clearly corrupt and selfish ways, they say "Hmm, who will our villains be? The people who grew bitter after being oppressed for so long? The children who were traumatized and also suffered from this oppression?" Idk, it's all red flags. I'm really hoping that the show gets better after season one, but I can't pretend that some elements of the show so far didn't make me at least a little uncomfortable. There were ways that the writers could've gotten the desired effect without doing anything problematic. There are ways Vi could've won her fight with Sevika without ripping off her prosthetic, there are ways they could've portrayed Viktor's experiment going wrong without murdering Sky. Also, I'm already side eyeing some of the fandom for hating on one of the women of color essentially for getting in the way of a ship they - and I - like. I love Mel Medera and nobody has to put her down in order to stan Jayce and/or Viktor.

Aaaand on the subject of Jayce and Viktor, for my final thought, I wanna say that Jayce and Viktor is an amazing ship that I adore, and I love them so much. They had such a well done, natural dynamic. There's tension, but they obviously care about each other so much, and this ship has all the makings of a great 'mutual pining / they both think it's unrequited' dynamic and would make for an amazing slow burn. I'm going to ignore that the writers made Jayce say that Viktor is like his brother. Omg the looks, the energy, the way that Viktor smiles at him, the way that Jayce seems touchy feely with him, the deep connection and friendship, the great back and forth... I love this ship.