#because damn what would team RWBY do without her

[howi99]

Jaune is a Genuis Au: How about what happened to Penny,Lewis,Alyx and the Cat?

Follow up to this post. Also, disclaimer: the cat has a different way of subjugating people in this AU and is a bit more powerful.

Ruby: *looking at Penny, who only seem asleep in her lifepod* What... Happened? To both of you?

Roman: *sitting in a chair* What red said, me and Neo been waiting forever to know the whole story- *Neo kick his leg* gaoutch! Why!?

Neo: "Don't be an ass"

The Puppeteer: ... *Sigh while sitting down* I am the sole reason for the state she's in.

Weiss: Impossible! You'd never hurt her, even if your life depends on it!

The Puppeteer: *looking down* I wish you'd be right Weiss... *Shakily breath* But i had no other choice.

Yang: *eyes turning red* You are saying you almost killed Penny!? What did she do to deserve this!!!

Marie: *Putting herself between Jaune and team RWBY*

The Puppeteer: *sad chuckle* She was at the worst place at the worst time. They say curiosity killed the cat? What a joke, the cat killed curiosity, kindness and any hope to get out of here.

???: Oh but Jaune~ She chose to voluntarily be my host. Remember? A live for a live?

RWBY+RN: *looking around, wandering where the voice is coming from*

The Cat: *taking form from Jaune's shadow, chained by Jaune aura* I'm here! *Chuckle* I present myself: i am the Curious Cat, pleased to meet the second team i saw most in my jailers dream~

Marie: *looking furiously at the cat, trying to kick without any luck since the cat is intangible*

The Cat: Ah~ i see you are still angry about your mom and sister? What a shame, you can't hurt me as long as i am jailed~

Ruby: *shacking angrily* I assume this is the real culprit of hee condition?

The Puppeteer: He is. But i still was the one to hurt her...

P: *looking at Jaune, seeing that he's having difficulty bringing how Penny almost died* I can explain to them the story if you-

The Puppeteer: No, i... I should be the one to explain. *Looking at team RWBY+ RN* It happened 10 years ago...

______________

Jaune: Alyx, Where are you? *Shacking his head* Gods be damned, where the hell is she?

Alyx: *from afar* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Jaune: *turning to the direction of the scream* ALYX!? *Sprinting in her direction*

// I thought i got rid of all danger from the forest, but i was wrong...//

Alyx: *trying to run away from the danger, seeing Jaune* JAUNE! HELP! T-THE CAT! HE- *she fall to the ground, her ankle twisted* Aw!

Jaune: *Running even faster to her* Alyx!

// I couldn't stop it, i was to far...//

Penny: *coming slowly from the forest, blue filaments making her move like a puppet* P-please... No... I don't want to hurt...

The cat: *whose magic is controlling her* If i can't break her to my will, she has no purpose.

.

.

.

Kill her.

__________

The Cat: *chuckling* It was a blast! Poor Alyx getting killed by the one she wanted to call her mother. *Hysterical laugh*

The Puppeteer: Silence! Remember the only reason i keep you alive is to give me more time! Don't make me reconsider even more.

Team RWBY: *looking horrified at the cat*

Roman: *disgusted* I have done many crimes in my life, some i regret from the bottom of my wretched soul. But that's.. that's...

Neo: "You killed her for your own pleasure?"

The cat: *chuckling* Pleasure? I did take some but it wasn't the objective. I needed to break her, to make her empty. And what better way than making her kill an innocent child?

Marie: *furiously trying to kill the cat, still unable to*

The Puppeteer: ... I couldn't save either of them... But i'll make it right, i'll bring them back even if it takes centuries.

Weiss: Is that why you keep the cat!? Jaune, she wouldn't want that! She-

The Puppeteer: *angry* You think i don't know that!? I don't care what she would want, she's basically dead! The kid i was supposed to protect has been buried by my own hands! I'm dot doing this for them, i'm doing this for me Weiss! Because if i can't even save a kid and my own wife...

.

.

.

What good am i?

[reashot]

Trouble with Baby.

Baby: Wahhhh!!!

Ruby: Oh no the baby is crying, what do we do?! 😵

Yang: Wow, wow! What are you looking at me for. I'm supposed to be the wild and irresponsible one, remember?

Blake: *ugghh* Would someone please do something about it. I'm trying to read here.

Weiss: I'm trying to find a nanny through this app. Is 3000 lien a week sounds reasonable to you girls?

Ruby: *smell something* Eww.... The baby just pooped! 😨

Baby: Wahhh!!!

Blake: And... That's my cue to bail out. Sorry sisters but this is where the bond of sisterhood absolutely doesn't matter.

Yang: Oh no you don't. You don't get to take the easy way out and run away like you usually do.

Weiss: Whose great idea was it to babysit other people's baby?

BY: *Points towards Ruby*

Ruby: *Gulp* But his parents are in the hospital right now and they need someone to watch over the baby for them in the meanwhile. 😣

Weiss: That doesn't mean it should be us. You dolt. There's must be someone more capable to take care of a baby.

Ruby: But everyone is busy with the Vytal festival. And I just can't say no. 🥺

Weiss: So instead you volunteer the entire team to take care of a baby without asking us before hand?

Ruby: Well what's done is done and you seems to forget the most important thing here. That someone still have to change the baby's diaper.

Weiss: Well it won't be me that's for sure.

Yang: Eeehhh. Is it too late to run away with you Blake?

Blake: I know I'm the last person that should say this but you can't run away from your responsibility.

Ruby: I can't believe you girls would just abandoned a baby like this. And you call your self a hero. 😠

Blake: Uh... No we never call ourselves that.

Weiss: Quit dragging us to your problem. And if you will excuse me I have a date with Neptune.

Yang: And I also gotta go do... Polishing my bike, I guess?

Baby: Wahhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Ruby: Wait please don't go! 😭

Jaune: Don't go where Ruby?

Ruby: Jaune. You came. 🤤 And why is Ciel holding your arm like that? 🤨

Ciel: Hello again Miss. Rose. As you can see Jaune and I are on a date together.

Ruby: D-d-date?! Both of you are on a date?! 😳

Jaune: What no. I'm just showing Ciel around the festival. And what is that smell?

Ruby: Uh I have a baby... I mean I'm taking care of someone's baby for a while. And I might have bitten off more than I can chew. 😞

Jaune: Ah I see. Well Ruby if you are having trouble taking care of the baby then I can help you with that.

Ruby: You sure? I don't want to trouble you or anything like that. 😟

Jaune: It's my pleasure Ruby. *effortlessly changes the Baby's diaper* All done. You are brave boy aren't you. Yes you are.

Baby: Yay!!

Yang: How do you know how to do that?

Jaune: Oh. I just have a lot of younger sibling growing up. So I'm expected to pick up the slack and help take care of them. Not limited to just changing diaper and that's include cooking, cleaning and other things. And I don't mind it because I really-really like babies.

RWBY+C: *The collective sounds of their uterus descending*

Blake: LEWD!!!

Weiss: No-no it can't be right I did not just think about Jaune like that...

Yang: Gods damn Vomit Boy. You got me worked up like when the time Ruby visit a gun store... Isn't that right Ruby... Eh, Ruby why are you looking like that?

Ruby: Heh... Heh.... Heh... Heh...

Jaune: Ruby are you feeling okay. Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?

Ruby: Yes... Yes... We can do it in the infirmary... I mean take me there. There's probably a clean bed we can use... I mean a bed you can put me in. (While I close the door behind you.) 😶‍🌫️

Ciel: Oh Jaune you are so nice to offer her. But I think she is too busy with the baby stuff. And you promised me first to show me around Vytal. And Jaune I think we should end the tour in my room. There's something I want to show you later. What do you say?

Jaune: Your room? I don't know what you are trying to show me, but okay. I'm sorry Ruby I have to finish giving Ciel a tour. Call me in my scroll if you need anymore help.

Ciel: Oh I think we would find it rather enjoyable. *turns towards Ruby* (Get a hint brat he's mine.)

Ruby: Stay away from him! I saw him first! 😡

Ciel: All is fair in love and war.

Baby: Wah!!!!!

Jaune: Stop it you two are scaring the baby!

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

So the Rusted Knight reveal... Yeh. I think gonna write something about it.

So what do you guys think should my next post be Lancaster fluff or Angst? And by Angst I mean Angst - Angst. I mean heartbreaking and wrenching stuff here. The fluff is just okay.

[lilithfairen]

https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBYcritics/s/d5igtnp6JX

Celtic’s response

This is pretty damn hilarious, for elaboration:

First point, the Lack of Focus on Grimm

Every instance of Grimm that Celtic Phoenix mentions are things that he copied from canon.

Second point, the Lack of Focus on Team RWBY

Every instance he cites as "creating character arcs" for the main characters revolves around "women can't get along".

Third point, too many side characters

So let's quote Celtic Phoenix's own words: "Every story is going to have a cast of side characters"

But they'd better all be white male characters, yanno.

Fourth point (related to the third), side characters getting too involved in the plot

RWBY is a fantastic example of side characters being involved with storylines without diverting focus away from the main characters.

Fixing RWBY has the most inconsequential white dude tell one of the heroines to stay in the kitchen.

Pyrrha explaining aura

Given how terrible Celtic Phoenix is at foreshadowing and revealing information, I'm guessing this took the form of a terrible infodump rather than quick exposition, a la the show proper.

Not mentioning Salem until Volume 4

A solid example of how Celtic Phoenix doesn't understand the purpose of foreshadowing.

Replacing Oscar with Roman as Ozpin's host

Roman and Ozpin are nothing alike, no matter how much Celtic Phoenix wants to insist otherwise. A person genuinely trying to do the right thing, no matter how flawed his choices are, is nothing like an inherently selfish villain. It's purely about Roman being a character Celtic Phoenix identifies with—a racist, misogynistic white dude—more than a darker-skinned boy like Oscar.

Also worth noting is that Celtic Phoenix tries to claim Jaune is given too much focus in the show proper...when Fixing RWBY naturally has Ruby gets the solution to making her team of women (who can't get along) from Jaune, a male character. And Celtic Phoenix even goes ahead and says that if Jaune became Ozpin's host, "the main complaint I'd end up getting is that I was replacing Ruby with Jaune as the main character, because that's what he would effectively become." ...which of course completely ignores how Celtic Phoenix shamelessly made Roman the main character and reduced Ruby to his sidekick.

So in short, Celtic Phoenix is still a fucking hack, like every other RWBY "fix" creator~

[rachetmath]

U know rusted knight jaune remind me of original Jerry Smith. Considering the relationship your Jaune has with rwby over the original can u do something similar to when OG Jerry snapped at Morty, when he said that him and Rick abandoning him, his original family and dimension "improved" him to which he responded "oh, am I cool enough for you now? Well that was easy it only cost me F*cking everything."

(Don't get me wrong I know what you mean. However, with volume 9, I don't feel he would talk to team RWBY like that. But his own team is a different story. I have said this and made it clear, Jaune is the Raven of his team. But unlike Raven, who may not have had valid reasons to leave. Jaune does.)

Jaune packed and was ready to go walked out of the house. Nora trying to reason with him chases after him and manages to get in front of Jaune. Jaune not pleased tries to me past her but Nora refuses.

Nora: Jaune let’s talk about this.

Jaune: There’s nothing to talk about Nora. It’s time to move on.

Nora: So, you abandon us and come back like nothing happened. And you abandon us again.

Jaune: I mean why are you complaining, you already replace me. Just like Pyrrha.

Nora: What?

Jaune: Team NERO. Good name. Two new teammates without the incompetence.

Nora: I don’t think that little of you.

Jaune: Only because I showed you and your team up. I showed you what I could do now. But then again I forget how little friends we were.

Nora: Excuse me. I am-

Jaune: No you’re not. You insulted me every chance you got Nora. When it comes down to it, you’re not a good friend.

Nora: Jaune I love you. Just like I-

Jaune: Oh shut up. Before Oscar, the only people you cared about was Pyrrha and Ren. Ren above all else.

Nora; Not true. I-

Jaune: You and Ren do everything together. Where Ren goes you go. When Ren’s mad your mad. Everything keeps coming back to Ren. In fact Ren is still you top priority. It’s never was Pyrrha or at least me at some point.

Nora: Jaune I’m-

Jaune: Sorry?! Sorry won’t cut it. And you said I abandoned you?! Like I had a choice. I FELL! To a land I didn’t know. Travel back in time by accident. Almost died multiple times by either getting killed or poison. Waiting for Ruby! Trying to find a way home!

Nora: I mean you turned out fine in the end.

Jaune: Oh really. That’s great you think that. It only took me the equivalence of thirty years.

Nora: Jaune-

Jaune: I was alone for years Nora. I had no one. *sigh* And I still have no one. Not even my team.

Nora: Jaune we’re still you teammates. It just-

Jaune: Teammates don’t insult each other. They don’t use each other a test subjects. And they damn well don’t- they don’t-….

Nora: Jaune I-

Jaune: It’s time to face reality Nora. You and Ren- I least tried to be there for one of you when the other isn’t there. But when I needed you most… … …. Neither of you were there. So go back to your Renny poo and your cute boy Oz. Because so far you proven me where your priorities are.

Nora: Then why did you come back?

Jaune: Simple. I want to stop Salem. I have a family. A nephew. Plus I fulfilled my role. At least my past self did. I inherited his memories. His experiences. And his wisdom. Now he’s dead. And now, I owe it to him to live my life. And if it means I have to cut off this one sided friendship then fine by me. Goodbye Nora.

Nora: Wait. Jaune. Jaune?! Please!

Nora reaches out her hand for him. However instead a memory resurfaces as she watch and scream

Nora: Momma? Momma!

Nora eyes begin to tear as she fell to her knees

Jaune I’M SORRY! PLEASE!! Please don’t leave me.

Jaune: *walks away but doesn’t let his tears show*

Nora: *cries* Please. Don’t abandon me too!

[joy-crimes]

i think my biggest problem w/ rwby @ this point is how much they love shock value and making their characters suffer for entertainment. Ever since the end of volume 8 there’s been an air of “you’ll never guess what happens next!!” before the result being death, destruction, sadness, etc.

They played the Everything is Horrible card to wrap up volume 3 and it almost feels like theyve been trying to recapture that “woah what the hell???” factor ever since.

the volume 8 ending marked a really dark turn for rwby as a show, with scenes so graphic and upsetting that you can feel the grins on the writer’s faces when they told themselves “This is a game changer, no one will EVER expect this.” even though many of the darker themes were already explored much more tactfully in v3.

but the result is much more damning, because now, nothing is shocking. It’s the factor that made most people stop reading attack on titan. if ANYTHING is fair game, no matter how dark, then why get invested in any of it??? Hell, they made bumbleby canon after years of baiting, doubling back, yearning, etc, and it didnt even end up being the climax of the episode!!! (no really! that episode kept going after the happiest scene all season).

Now like, volume 9 has been arguably going better than its predecessors in terms of character writing, but it’s also really awkward to watch them stumble and trip over the decisions they made for the volume 8 ending. There’s a deep deep feeling that if the team just talked to each other for more than 5 minutes, none of these events would be taking place. It’s narrative tension in such a bland form. the biggest relief in the entire season was an extended scene where blake and yang FINALLY talk about their feelings. after AN ENDLESS SUPPLY of skirting around their issues, and unfortunately, that episode ended, and we had plenty more show afterwards.

This latest episode was a tough sell for me. i already don’t exactly trust RT to handle “sensitive/distressing themes”, and to that end i think that Ruby’s “decision” in this episode could’ve used much more sensitive & informed lead-in. Also, straight up there are some really dark things in this episode ASIDE from that, that I swear to god, someone was smiling over in the writer’s room.

SPOILERS: you can try to make Neo a sympathetic villain, or you can have her crush a defenseless mouse to death under her heel, but you can’t do both, dude. Ya just can’t.

END SPOILERS: overall, i think im fine w/ this season. it’s overall decent and is trying it’s best to handwave away all the bad decisions made in previous seasons. That method CAN work if it’s in the interest of making a more thematically interesting show & learning from your past mistakes, but instead it feels like they’re simply running from tragedy to tragedy, with glimpses of happiness that are starting to feel more like a trick they can pull out whenever they want to lure you into a false sense of security. Characters being happy is now a surefire sign that there’s going to be a character death soon.

SPOILERS AGAIN SORRY THIS IS DISORGANIZED: my friend hannah pointed out that one of the most egregious parts of this episode is that neo didnt know most of the people she was puppeting around to psychologically torture Ruby. Neo’s actions were supposed to convince Ruby that all these deaths were her fault, but because there’s VERY few characters that fit that bill, you end up with the issue of many characters being folks Neo shouldn’t even know the status of (unless she can suddenly read minds)

Leo, the headmaster of mistral died while ruby & friends were off screen, and was DIRECTLY killed by Salem without Ruby’s involvement.

Ozpin and Pyrrha were killed by Cinder, while Neo was busy careening into the abyss on her umbrella, implying in that in their brief time together, Cinder explained everyone who died who had a connection to Ruby. Neo clearly guesses that penny is dead in the first place, meaning that her even KNOWING about Leo is completely unexplainable. Neo also shouldnt have known that Ironwood was dead, and on top of all else, why does she think that Ruby would blame herself for clover???? methinks the writers just wanted to fill seats in neo’s scary fucked up dining room. wacky decision.

Or maybe it isnt, because the first thing i thought was: “Wow thats so scary what the fuck”

which again points a big neon arrow to the writing issues of current rwby: It was done to be shocking even though it doesn’t make sense.

I have a hard time believing any of the events of this episode are ones they’ll stick with. All of the characters who “died” in this episode can plausibly come back in some way shape or form, so I guess now its time to just wait n see what happens.

[bestworstcase]

It's starting to look like the rwby x jl p2 movie takes place in vacuo right after v9. Ruby is recklessly throwing herself into dangerous situations and WBY is very concerned for her well being now. Do you plan to watch this ?

yeah. with the context that V9 originally had an epilogue set in vacuo that had to be cut for cost i’m not really surprised, given the first film did touch on ruby’s insecurity pretty directly. a bit awkward timing with that epilogue having been cut but at the end of the day it’s not a big deal, and it’ll be interesting to get a glimpse of that emotional trajectory coming out of V9.

in terms of, like, characterization i think it makes sense; ruby spent virtually the entire journey through the ever after feeling worthless and unneeded, got whacked upside the head with a glimpse of summer not being a perfect storybook hero, and then came back to have a big damn heroes moment and saved her team from the cat.

so best case scenario, i would expect her to kind of—almost regress a little bit, actually, in terms of how she handles herself in combat. remember how she acted during the initiation? catching a ride on a nevermore? trying to solo a deathstalker to prove she’s good enough to be here? <- she calmed the fuck down primarily because ozpin told her she needed to be PERFECT ALL THE TIME LMAO. you know the advice she completely took to heart which lead to her implosion and realization that she’s allowed to just be herself in v9.

so again, best case scenario, ruby’s trying to figure out how to be a leader without putting herself under that kind of inhumane pressure again… and some of her innate tendency to be reckless is coming out again, because she never grew out of it really, just buried it.

what i think is more likely is a mix of that, and:

ruby feeling like she has to prove herself worthy to her team again

wby collectively trying to look out for her better and take more of the weight off her shoulders

ruby perceiving this (perhaps subconsciously) as a lack of trust in her ability or willingness to lead, and trying harder

thus creating a feedback loop of increasingly reckless behavior that wby are trying frantically to stop

possibly with a side helping of ruby channeling her complicated feelings about summer’s little conspiracy in the outlet she has, which is Killing Grimm Even Harder, although i doubt very much that the crossover film will touch on the summer thing at all.

[itsclydebitches]

I'm about to sound so unsympathetic since the chick was basically physically and psychologically messed up but during the whole beat down tirade I was like 'you forgot her hypocrisy about secrets, would've been a nice layer on there too' because I just.... the show got to the point where I didn't care about Ruby anymore and even though I stopped watching the show a while ago I still keep up with your recaps and sometimes a clip or two. But while I'm sure that scene garnered a lot of sympathy for Ruby, it just gave me satisfaction of the fact that even though Neo didn't know the full deal, she knew ENOUGH to keep kicking Ruby down from her self righteous perch into the mud and I honestly gotta give it to Neo, she tore her apart in an unrelenting and unforgiving fashion. It was amazing and terrifying. But then the writers went and did that to Neo, like damn guys, she still needs to get back at Cinder.

I definitely felt for Ruby in that scene because it was A Lot. As you say, Neo did a great job of psychologically messing with her, on top of a massively unfair physical fight. As well done as moments of that was though... that's kind of my problem with it? The extreme nature of Ruby's torture ensures that she doesn't have to acknowledge the points Neo made. Because Neo is a super evil villain who is deliberately twisting these situations to make Ruby feel solely responsible, preying on someone who is already blaming themselves to the point of suicidal ideation. The outcome of this will never be, "We do need to rethink the choices we've made and acknowledge our responsibility in many of these tragedies," it'll be: "Don't worry, Ruby! Neo is a lying villain! You're a good person and you need to learn that these feelings of guilt are lies as well." Certainly the rest of Team RWBY aren't grappling with guilt at the outcome of everything that's gone down. They're being vaguely sad that they don't have a home to go back to and are otherwise flirting. It's Ruby who is 'inaccurately' blaming herself.

Which is precisely what I didn't want because it lets Ruby off the hook. I never wanted a villain to point out Ruby's mistakes because, as said, that gives the story an easy out - why would we listen to the bad guy? I wanted a scene like the first half of Ren's where the heroes realize that they've fucked up and work to better themselves, but obviously that was rejected. All the Ever After has given us are creeps/evil-doers who, as a result of their characterizations the group doesn't need to listen to. Because they're bad guys. Caterpillar shows them spooky smoke people who question their status as heroes? They're spooky smoke people! Why would we trust them?? Cat questions whether they're actually as nice and as fair as they claim? The Cat is revealed to be super duper evil! Magical figments of Ruby's dead allies point out that she's often made things worse and they've died as a result? It's all an exaggerated manipulation orchestrated by a villain to get Ruby to commit suicide. There shouldn't be an outcome where Ruby goes, "Neo was right about some of that" because the scene was just too horrific and overflowing with manipulation to allow such an acknowledgement without Ruby coming across as still suicidal/self-hating. As cathartic as it can be to see Ruby getting called out, I find it far more frustrating that the call outs are so extreme that it continually positions Ruby as just another victim. Volume 9 is working hard to make you feel any guilt for criticizing Ruby: How can you be mean to the suicidal girl ignored by her teammates and targeted by Neo?? Ruby went from an incredibly cocky powerhouse straight into a #SadGirl, completely bypassing the opportunity for someone to legitimately criticize her without that being framed as kicking a puppy for, supposedly, no reason.

[kob131]

RWBY X Justice League: Superheroes and Huntsmen Part One Review (No Spoilers)

Dedicating this to @fallentitan98

So if I had to sum up the movie in a sentence, it would be-

“This should have been about 30-40 minutes longer.”

Summary:

So basic idea of the movie is ‘What if the Justice League found themselves in the world of RWBY as teenagers?’ This basic idea guides the whole movie, from the tone of the Justice League characters to how the movie is presented. 

Unforunately, both RWBY and ESPECIALLY DC are heavily dense properties with a bit of history at least behind them. So this causes some...issues.

Characters:

When it comes to a crossover event, judging characters is rather different since you have to judge them based on how they are portrayed in relation to their original counterparts. I will relate the DC characters to you but my focus will have to be on RWBY as that is my specialty here.

For DC, we have the likes of Superman/Clark, Wonder Woman/Diana, Batman/Bruce, The Flash/Barry, Green Lantern, Vixen and Cyborg. ... I grew up with the 2000′s JL cartoon, I just have the names of those four stuck in me okay?

With Vixen, Cyborg, Green Lantern and Diana- they seem consistent with the popular depiction of their characters. Cyborg is a bit sarcastic but well meaning; Vixen is frustrated by the situation but also confident and upbeat; Green Lantern is having issues which becomes an arc she gets and Diana is basically a warrior poet.

Barry is...off for reasons.

Clark has two lines in the movie that seem a bit too confident for him but that could be something that pops up in certain incarnations. Otherwise, he is the same Man of Steel as always- pure, wholesome, kind, responsible and having a grounded wisdom to him. To be truthful, Clark and his interactions with Ruby were my favorite parts of the movie.

And then we have Bruce. Bruce has an arc centered around a key aspect of the Batman character and how it can conflict with the core of who Bruce is as a hero- determined to save people. It can be considered massively missing the mark OR an exploration of Bruce’s character. It’s weird, much like the movie itself. But no, he is not a joke in the movie nor is he a generic brooding man. He is a calm, cool, smart and analytical man.

As for RWBY characters...things are off with them.

Yang, Blake and Jaune are perfectly fine. They’re relatively consistent to their Beacon characterization with Jaune lacking some of his patheticness, instead using his ability to support others both figuratively and literally which works because spoilers.

Ren and Nora have a...not-love triangle thing with Cyborg (this is not a spoiler, it does nothing) that feels like 95% of it was cut. Other than that, they’re consistent too.

And Ruby has an arc that involves Clark that makes sense for her character (especially if you watch Volume 9) but because the movie is like a skeleton- the meat of the arc is a bit lacking.

Gonna be honest- The RWBY cast feels the most off between them and the DC characters. Which makes sense when you consider the writer is from DC, not RT. Still, I would say it functions as intended. Just not very smoothly.

Animation:

The animation is actually pretty damn good. The fight scenes have good flow to them, a good sense of speed and momentum for the most part, interesting action. And the more casual animation works- faces emote and move properly, movements and gestures are effective in communicating the meaning behind the characters’ words.

This is one of the best showing for the CRWBY team yet.

Humor:

Almost entirely subjective. All I can say is it’s standard RWBY fair minus 2D anime cliches. Also no, this is not MCU humor. RT was doing this in RvB in 2004.

Plot, Pacing and Tone:

Okay, it is REALLY hard to talk about this without spoiling anything because good lord, is this movie densely packed.

Character interactions and plot progression are often mashed together with each other, which can often result in very awkward lines. Fortunately for DC fans, this is almost entirely on the RWBY end. Because much of the awkwardness comes from the writing needing to explain RWBY worldbuilding to the DC characters without having enough time for exposition. For example, Weiss outright calls Dust a ‘natural resource’, which while true has NEVER been how Weiss has talked about Dust in the past.

As for tone- it’s similar to Volumes 1 and 2. Some serious moments but general light hearted fun. Both DC and RWBY characters become the butt of jokes as well as moments to have more emotional and vulnerable instances. It’s not deathly serious like many DC properties nor does it have the same gravity as something like the 2000′s JL cartoons. But it’s not Teen Titans Go. It’s a mix of plot and humor.

Conclusion:

The whole movie feels...weird. I think this is what ‘rushed’ was originally supposed to mean. At 80 minutes, this is a rather short movie and it doesn’t really work. Humor and animation are fine because time doesn’t usually affect these. But the plot and especially the characters? There’s just not enough time to go through the proper steps. Things like the reveal of the villain or Ruby and Bruce’s arcs could work. They’re not exactly failures but they have been stripped of their meat. And the meat is what you taste in a movie, not the bones that make up the structure.

Bruce’s writing might set you off- it’s the biggest risk taken here. And the RWBY parts are a bit...off. So I can’t say this was fantastic or great. But it does give some good action, the character interactions between Ruby and Bruce, Yang, Blake and Diana; and Jaune and Green Lantern are great and the rest is given a real shot, just without the time to flourish.

All in all, an honest but stumbling effort of a movie.

[doomalade]

Friend: I personally think the vale council should audit beacon where the check the records of each students. Sorry about your cardin bro he gone before he can bully. >:D

Me: …you literally just screwed over ever other student.

Friend: what are you talking about…?

Me: by doing this audit yang is going to jail straight up. She sexually assaulted someone and attacked without any evidence or even a permit.

Not only that she was using a explosive weapon in a public club. Thank god no sharp rock shrapnel hit any innocent people.

Friend: ok well we have Blake that wants to do good in the world. That and she has chieftain status from her country.

Me: and??? She is not in her country so then her status doesn’t apply here. On top of that I am pretty sure with her terrorist actions what she did for the white fang will revoke any privileges she had.

On top of that even if you try to remove that Blake didn’t do anything criminal during the white fang. Team rwby lead the Paladin on a highway that got innocent people killed. (Cars got throw off the highway they are dead).

Sooner or later her past comes into play because of those actions.

Heck, your actions forever screwed jaune especially because once the council checks his transcripts and his status then not only he is blacklisted from every school he will be a public outcast.

No one will ever hired this guy especially when people will think the what ifs dangers he could have put Pyrrha though (the famous champion everyone loves).

Friend: Ozpin would have bailed them out before they could getting arrested.

Me: then you just made matters worse because ozpin could possibly be charge because of how irresponsible and corrupt he is.

He hired a 15 year old to train at this school and seeing what she did to those goons in that dust shop is… grizzly. (She impaled one of them) 

Ironic if you think about: out of all people to bounce back would be cardin.

All he did was racism: he could go into the atlas army and be sorted out. Before you say they wouldn’t allow it winter, Robyn, Cordovin all had racist moments in the show and yet had these positions despite their POV.

If anything I thank you for this scenario because you unintentionally made cardin a better person friend >:))))

Friend: …….oh damn

He was trying to pull a fast one but I got him good today!!!!!!

Here's the thing

alright

so

in the sense of morals? there are some major ups and downs about each point here. Cardin, Winter, Robyn, and Cordovin's showing racism against Faunus along with Yang's grabbing of Junior's dick? That shit you cannot argue is justifiable what so ever.

as for Ruby attending Beacon at 15 and Jaune faking his transcripts? Those can be seen as illegal yes, but arguing that is immoral? eh illegal doesn't mean immoral, even if there is indeed a crossover between the two.

Overall trying to make a "aha got them" point or a "oh this character can't be redeemed" point has tends to fall flat if you're looking at this stuff from an equal point of view

[deedeli-liveblog]

RWBY ReWatch Notes, part 2: how the hell did this get so long this was supposed to be quick and simple--

Starting a new post for Volume 2 because I apparently had a lot more to say about Volume 1 than I thought and I didn’t like how long the post was getting.

Mercury is so obnoxious in his introduction, lol.

Oh my god, the food fight!! 

I kind of miss RWBY having these low stakes, sort of slice of life episodes.

Also, Glynda storming in and righting the cafeteria in a single move is kinda scary strong. And kinda hot.

It’s kinda funny that they put Junior and the Malachite twins in the opening for Volume 2 but I don’t think they ever show up? Guess they just needed to pad the villain shots.

No, wait, they do show up, but they don’t really do anything. Their appearance is more cameo than anything else, lol.

Ah, yes. Ironwood. Glynda’s distaste for him is all too understandable now, lmao.

“Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?”

Hm. The conversation between Ozpin and Blake is a lot more interesting having seen the whole show. There’s the obvious angle that Ozpin was giving Blake the opportunity to tell him about the White Fang so that he could handle it. But I’m sure he also believed the White Fang were the “Queen’s” (Salem’s) pawns, and was hoping Blake was a thread he could follow into figuring out their next move.

Also, I know I said this in my liveblog but “They don’t know the White Fang like I do!” after you refused the one opportunity you had to teach someone in charge about the White Fang. Like, you can’t blame them for not knowing when the guy in charge is like “Hey, is there anything else you think I should know about?”

I will say, Blake’s VA is doing a fantastic job this episode though. 

“I love it when you’re feisty!” Yang says to Blake.  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I love the very villainous drawl Cinder speaks in. This girl can’t say a single thing without sounding like she’s up to something.

And by love, I mean hate.

“That’s dumb, you should always get friends involved.” lmao, he’s not wrong.

akdsfhkjahsdkf, Ruby’s fucking laugh at Weiss suggesting Neptune go with her.

PENNYYYYY!!!!

Damn, how fast was that truck going that it cracked the fucking road when Penny stopped it. Also what is that truck made of? Titanium??

Also, the metal thunk Penny makes when Ruby drops her.

her little hiccups ;o;

I know shipping is (or was?) a big thing in the RWBY fandom. I don’t ship anywhere near as much as I did when I was a tween, so there’s usually only about one or two ships that interest me in any given show. Arkos was that one for me in RWBY, and anything else fell into the “Yeah, that’s cute, I guess” category. But if I had to pick another ship, Ruby and Penny (Nuts and Dolts, i think?) would probably be the next one. They’re so sweet together.

into the dumpster you go, ruby

Oh my god, I forgot about the fight scene in Painting the Town. Definitely one of my favorites. The road chase, the team attacks, the part when Die kicks in just as Yang gets up and starts kicking ass.

I don’t think Weiss uses that speed glyph nearly enough.

Clownie rolling out of the carnage of the robot is still the funniest thing to me.

NEO! :D

Also, love how unaffected he is to losing, too. The robot he was battling in was just punched to pieces and he’s just like “aight, imma head out”

oh my god, watching Pyrrha kick Team CRDL’s ass is brutal, especially that last attack on Cardin. That shit was personal, lmao.

“I consider you to be the brother I never had!” “...And I, you.” Please, that’s so cute.

Love that Jaune was having this private conversation with Ren with Nora in the room and the door wide open, lmao.

God, I love Yang. I don’t think I say that enough, but I love her so much. The scene with her and Blake is so beautiful. She’s gentle with Blake, relating to her on a personal level, but also firm when she needs to be to drive her point home.

Also, from Yang’s story. I imagine it’s more likely that Qrow just followed Yang and Ruby that whole time, rather than just happening to show up. So I assume he waited until they were in actual danger to show up because he felt like Yang needed to search on her own, regardless of what she’d find.

We were robbed of seeing Yang and Blake’s dance.

I kind of miss adult Ozpin, cryptic riddles and all.

I like how Ruby doesn’t question Jaune at all, just holds his punch like he said. and then sips it.

oh no, Pyrrha’s talk with Jaune is actually making me tear up

“You treated me just like anyone else.” Remembering how Pyrrha followed Jaune into the cave that was clearly marked to have a dangerous Grimm inside. It’s funny in the moment, but if Pyrrha had been with anyone else, that person probably would have expected Pyrrha to take the lead and find the relics. But because she was with Jaune, she was able to kind of sit back and just support him. Because he didn’t have any expectations of Pyrrha and her skill. (and also a bit of him feeling the need to prove his own skill)

“If you want Weiss, she’s all yours.” fuck off

Oh my god, I forgot about the dance!!

Me, quietly making a screenshot of Jaune dipping Pyrrha into my desktop background.

So. What the hell is Cinder doing when she’s changing her outfit?? Is that part of her maiden powers? Is that her semblance?

Wait, the glass isn’t Cinder’s semblance? *pulls out my companion book* Okay... so the glass isn’t her semblance, but a byproduct of it. She’s able to superheat things and then change the shape.

oh god, I forgot Tai fucking sent Zwei in the mail. He just sat in that little tube package the whole time ToT

Tai sent them Zwei to take care of for a few days because he wasn’t able to, but this fucking dog was packaged in a tube. I think he’ll survive just fine on his own for a few days.

The Vacuo students don’t have a uniform, that’s a neat detail.

I love Oobleck so, so much.

“I thought I told you to leave all your bags back at school.” “But you hadn’t told us to listen to you yet... so I didn’t.” LMFAO. I mean, the logic is flawless here.

And he just fucking drops Zwei aksdhkjfafdsl

He’s so fucking funny, I adore this man.

“Remember, this is a job and you all signed up for it.”

Ironwood can’t help but feel like Ozpin is keeping him in the dark. A shame that he was right.

“You’re a good person, James. You’ve always done what you think is best for the people, even against strong protest. It’s admirable.” Oof. Love how this is worded, though. “What you think is best for the people.” There’s kind of no other way to move forward. There’s no way to know what’s best in the moment. The issue with Ironwood is the “against strong protest” part. Everyone else disagrees, but he’s gonna do what he wants regardless. That’s not how a leader should act.

These conversations are so fascinating now, knowing the full context of them.

“Moral grey area” i don’t think branding people in the face is a moral grey, weiss

Ohh, yes, the train fight. My favorite.

There has never been a moment in this show, before or after, as mind melting as Oobleck-- with no hesitation-- turning Zwei into a missle for just a moment.

neo is so tiny aklfdshkafklsd

I remember not liking Neo in the beginning, and I have no idea what changed, but I love her now.

I think it was how in control she seemed in every fight, and that irked me a lot. I’m usually not fond of characters like that, I like to see my characters struggle.

Like, compare Neo’s fight on the train, where she isn’t touched once, to Clownie’s fight, where he immediately gets rekted.

Damn, Weiss was kicking the White Fang guy’s ass, but it only took one hit from him to down her. Glass cannon, indeed.

akhdskafhksfdka Blake just kicks the shit out of Clownie.

Huh. I’ve never noticed before, but Neo’s eyes go completely grey when Raven shows up. She immediately leaves too, I guess realizing she was outmatched. Did she recognize who Raven is, or was she just able to read that Raven was way stronger than her?

Every part of the fight in the city is awesome, but when Team CVFY show up? *chefs kiss*

Coco is my queeeenn. She uses a heavy weapon like Yang and Nora, but it’s her goddamn purse.

Sooo... what did Cinder gain out of the train explosion? Just having Clownie arrested?

Also, the whole thing between Ozpin and Ironwood is fascinating, now having later context. Ozpin loses control of the Vytal festival and potentially his job as headmaster, all because of Ironwood’s “reports”. At the same time, Ironwood asks Ozpin to trust him, but we know that’s difficult for Ozpin to do because of his hundreds of years of working with people, and the many betrayals he’s likely had to endure. And this is yet another betrayal, cinching Ozpin’s ever shrinking ability to trust. But his inability to trust those around him fully is why others may turn on him, because there’s no transparency in his motives. And so, the cycle of mistrust and betrayal continues, the ouroboros eating it’s own tail.

Anyway, on to Volume 3!

[astraskylark]

Can we talk about Weiss in V8 chapter 13? Can we talk about how amazing she was in that episode despite all the batshit crazy insane shit happening around? Like it starts out with a full on Team RWBY Vs Cinder battle royale.

Weiss is literally never still even for a second here. She's clearly learned from Volume 5 that staying still in battle for a fighter with her attack type is a bad decision so she's constantly moving over here appearing on all sides in a matter of seconds while keeping the movements of her teammates in mind as well.

She's literally mid fight here half through zooming across the battlefield after an attack and she's already setting up a glyph to boost Blake up so she can attack Cinder keeping the momentum of the fight going in the split second she needs to move across.

Weiss's fighting style often leans to support and a series of attacks rather than one heavy blow. And support is probably the most complicated role to play in a fight.

It's all about insane mid battle calculation. She has to keep track of her team's movements to perfectly time her glyphs (also deciding what type of glyph based how her teammates are moving and their surroundings) and HOW EXHAUSTING IS THAT??? Because she not only has to keep track of the opponent's movement but she's also keeping her eye on three other people who are in continuing motion looking for any gap she can offer support in??? While constantly moving on the field and launching her own attacks in tandem with the others???

The minute Ruby is falling back Weiss is already pelting ice picks at Cinder. And okay mad props to Cinder because this entire attack sequences from RWBY was hardcore and Cinder managed to dodge it all. And back to Weiss.

So we have this insane battle where everyone is mentally exhausted and then we have Neo attacking Ruby and Yang falling into the void. And I've seen a lot of people shitting on how Ruby and Weiss didn't react fast enough and let me just say they acted exactly how you'd expect them too.

I don't have the pic here cause Tumblr has a limit but if you remember the split screen showing Ruby,Weiss, Blake and Neo we can all see Blake already starts moving. Ruby starts getting attacked by a feral Neo a second later and has no time to even process any event(a running theme this volume Rubes your breakdown is coming).

Now here Weiss starts moving a literal second later. And now remember this is Weiss, master of mid fight distance calculation.

The minute Weiss turned and saw Blake she knew. She knew that judging from how fast Yang fell of the ledge and how fast Blake moved the only person who had a sliver of a chance of saving Yang was Blake. She knew she would be a second late if she tried. She knew that summoning a glyph in the event of Blake missing would be no use because she's done the math in that heated second of fear and anguish and knows that she will be too late.

Which is why Weiss Schnee master of logic and cool headedness in the battle field and emotional wellbeing off the battlefield knew what would happen a second later. She knows Yang. Weiss was the first person we've ever seen Yang be vulnerable around. And I bet the reason Weiss was so sure Blake would find her way back to them is because Weiss and Blake are alot more similar than you think. So Weiss knows. She knows the Blake Belladona would not hesitate for a second to jump into the literal unknown for Yang.

She would too. But they're in the middle of battle and Ruby is being attacked and thousands of Atlas and Mantle citizens are in the middle of a space that shouldn't exist and she knows despite how she wants too she cannot jump. And she cannot let Blake jump either because she cannot and will not lose another member of her family today. And she immediately pulls Blake literally dragging her from the surface(and this is no easy feat because we know how crazy swol Blake is and adding that with mad grief Blake is basically the strongest most impulsive person in that space right now) and you can see from that single frame that Weiss herself is so close to tears but she has to hold it together for Blake. For Yang. For Ruby.

And once Blake takes off in a rage she knows that Cinder is left with no one to fight her. And Weiss (who is probably a little traumatised after having been stabbed and almost dying because of her) she immediately faces Cinder and Weiss is frantically dodging because remember Cinder was able to take on all four of them with barely a scratch and now Weiss is facing her alone.

And I also love this because it seems like Weiss is just zig zagging her way in a frenzy but she's trying to make herself really difficult to target here. You know how they say to run zig zag when your being chased by an animal right? That's what she's doing here. She's stays in a position for just enough time for Cinder to shoot her fire and then immediately takes off in a tangent making cinder have to spend a split second trying to reorient her attack cause all her attacks shoot in a straight direction.

I included this picture because she looks so fucking cool here. She literally fights fire with FIRE and I love her stance and pose and if you've actually read this far you can kinda guess I love everything about her.

And now we see her skating up. Because she knows the advantage and how being in a higher position can help. She needs to get to higher ground. And I'd like to highlight that Weiss only takes this pathway cause at that moment it is completely empty. She assumed that people had already finished evacuating from there which is why she chose that place. But it turned out that particular door was one for Atlas and Atleasians were alot more hesitant to use the gates than people from Mantle which is why there are people still there(this might also have been a convenient plot narrative to make Jaune aware that Cinder was here, who knows we shall see)

She uses her gravity glyph to try and hinder the airborne higher ground advantage that Cinder has. And it works. Cinder is momentarily focussed on Weiss allowing Penny to regain her stance and figure out her weapon situation.

And then an Atleasian steps out and Weiss realises in a matter of milliseconds that shit she has to protect them.

And if you notice Cinder is imitating Weiss's attack here. Weiss attacked Cinder with the same Ice pick move 5 minutes ago. And Weiss has to protect herself and the now emerging Atlas citizens. And I love how it's shown that she doesn't have the time to fully summon her Knight so only summons the arm and blade and protects everyone from actually getting hurt. Also I don't know if this the first time we've seen the summoning glyph for the knight in this angle but it is absolutely gorgeous and I really want to see what the Nevermore one looks like.

And I ran out pictures but Cinder literally tosses Weiss over the edge and the only thing stopping Weiss from certain fall in the void is her own gravity glyph which she is maintaining after all of the stuff I mentioned before.

I mean we know that Weiss has the lowest stamina of the team and the role that takes up the most energy. And she's still standing and she still going to fight in the next episode.

I just-- GODS Weiss Schnee is an absolute legend and possibly the best ally to have on the battlefield. She's is a super skilled ,level headed and versatile fighter whose constant presence and observations in the battlefield are such an asset and I wouldn't be far off in saying that she's probably the smartest fighter after Ruby and there's a reason they're partners because for every wacky absolute bonkers plan Ruby has, Weiss will be there to build the foundation to launch off from. And I cannot wait to see her learn and grow even more.

[silversmoke-20]

So I had an idea, can I request team rwby with an s/o who is just prepared for anything and just a generally great detective. Like they have backup plans for their backup plans. Their is almost no situation they are not prepared for. Ruby got her hand stuck in a Pringles can? Guess what, knew that would happen one day here's some spray I made to make your hand slippery. Figured out blake was a faunus in under 2 minutes. Playing chess with them would be a nightmare.

Sorry if I didn't answered this one! Don't worry Smokey here is going to try and get these Requests done! And I had so much fun writing this! I wouldn't mind making a sequel or trilogy. Oh maybe a quadoligy.

Team Rwby with a detective Reader.

You come from a long line of Amazing detectives!

Ozpin requested you to join his academy, it was because you found the culprit who destroyed his beautiful Coffee machine.

You were part of team DTEV [Detective], how ironic right?

Until some red hooded girl screamed.

"My Beautiful Crescent Rose, Who stained pink paint on my beautiful baby!"

Arching a brow as you approach the 'Crime scene', assessing the situation with your semblance Detective Mode.

"Now let's see, the victim is a scythe...by the design it's handmade and it's possibly a High-Impack 50 Calibre...wait, No...it's an 80 Calibre Sniper Rifle!" Looking around to see any clues, you pulled out your pen and notepad and approached the Red headed girl as your Reddish Orange coloured eyes furrowed as she looks at you.

"Hello miss, my name is Y/n Vermilion, son of Detective Sherlock Vermilion and I am here to solve the case of.....The stained Scythe!" Dun! Dun! Dun! Duuuuuuun!

Cue you trying to solve a damn case of someone possibly spilling paint on Ruby's scythe.

It took you 8hours, 34 minutes and 23 seconds to find the culprit and it was a student from team LOVE.

Ruby thanked you for Avenging her precious crescent rose.

Cue Ruby telling her friend's about you.

Which causes you to be apart of their whacky group of friends.

You and your team are practically the go to squad in case something happens.

Ruby got BOTH her hands stuck in two Pringle cans! Not to worry, you already figured that would happen.

You, JNRP and RWBY were stuck in a dead end as a approaching Horse was coming as your back-up plan had failed (which was Rare and you knew it was going to happen). So you looked at anything that could be useful for you and it clicked.

"since we're going to die, Pyrrha I'll shall confess your love to a certain someone" which causes the sparten huntress to look at you with fear as you smiled. Then you faced Weiss "you couldn't even stopped making three mistakes in your strikes, what would your sister think." Weiss glared at you, you looked at Yang as she stared at you with confusion. "What?" She asked, you shrugged "the Grimm are probably going to go for your hair." You slowly backed away as you watched the three girls launched at the Grimm horde as you looked at your invisible watch "aaaaaannnnd End scene!" You smiled as the Grimm horde was now dealt with....Now it's time to run!

You already figured out that Blakes a freakin Faunus. Which doesn't take an idiot to figure that out but it literally took almost and entire school semester for everyone who are friends with Blake to find out.

I mean she does like to eat alot of tuna and reads in the dark! Heck you saw her bow twitch.

"I'm a Faunus." Blake said looking at your Stoic face, while you dusted your mother's old trench coat and pulled the collar upwards as you began walking away. "Kinda figured that out, now C'mon I have Curfew to follow." Cue everyone doing a cliche anime collapsing to the ground moment.

Playing chess against you, is a literal nightmare!

You figured them out without even setting the game up.

And it's not just chess, but boardgames too!

No one can defeat you....well except Ruby and Nora.

Nora is terrifying and hyperactive to the point that you can't tell what's she's thinking to the point she beats you in the damn game.

You let Ruby win because you don't have the heart to beat a girl who's giving her all against someone who's just barely half-assing it.

Ruby challenge you to a game of card's against Remnant with a twist, if Ruby loses she can't eat any cookies for a damn month! But if you lose then you have to do everything she says. And you decided what the heck, you'll play.

Ruby was team vacuo and you were team Atlas. You were beating her within five turns and you could easily win the game in three turns or less. But, she was trying her hardest and looked like she didn't want to go out without eating a month's worth of cookies, and you were just barely putting any damn effort.

So you threw the match by playing the wrong card on purpose and rolling the dice to give you a bad score and gave Ruby the automatic win.

"HAH! I won! Guess a detective can't win against a cards against Remnant pro!" Ruby exclaimed as she looks at you with a smug look on her face, you rolled your eyes with a sly smirk on your face.

"you won fair and square toots, now what should I do for you since you won, hm?" You asked as Ruby puts some thought about it, before her face turns into a bright red colour as she leans forward and tilts her head sideways. "As the winner, I would like you to kiss me on the cheeks and take me out on a date!"

For the first time in your life, you were surprised by that request and didn't predicted Ruby to request those two things.

With a smile you gave the scythe wielding Girl a kiss on the cheeks and asked her on a date. Which she automatically agreed to.

Fun fact! Your weapon is a cane that can convert into a bladed whip. You also own some sort of old gun from the 80s.

You and Ruby's combo+ship name is called RoseNoir or Black Beauty Rose cause it's basically the noir of Roses.

Your semblance is called Detective Vison it works similarly like Batman's Detective Mode from the Arkham Games.

Vermilion is a Reddish Orange colour and Y/n is based on those old black and white Detective shows.

[greatwyrmgold]

Caught up on Ice Queendom (again), and...is it just me, or is Nega-Blake mostly winning her argument with Nega-Weiss? Nega-Blake keeps explaining all the reasons the faunus have to distrust/hate humanity in general and Weiss in specific, but all Weiss can say is "I didn't personally do any of that, don't take it out on me!"

I kinda wish Blake actually countered that point, though. There are lots of options, from "You're still benefiting from the continued exploitation of faunus!" to "What else are we supposed to do? Nobody else is going to fight for us!" to "Do you expect me to dig up the corpse of Big Nicholas to punish him for his crimes?"

But even without that...I love how Ice Queendom is focusing less on the White Fang's terrorism than on the genuine injustices that it's a reaction towards. You could argue that that's just because it's Weiss's story, but...no? Both sides of that conflict are equally part of Weiss's story. The only reason that the injustices faunus face are given more focus than their terrorism is that the narrative considers a few wrecked trains less important than the oppression of an entire ethnic group.

There are quite a few reasons I hope Toshimasa Suzuki, Kenjirou Okada, Tow Ubukata, and everyone on the Ice Queendom team that Wikipedia doesn't mention in the sidebar keep remaking RWBY under the guise of telling side stories. Their treatment of the White Fang is a big one! I could see it falling into the same traps Original RWBY did with regard to the White Fang, but things are looking promising so far!

(I also like the detail that faunus were forced to fight Grimm to defend the human upper class. I don't recall anything like that being mentioned in Original RWBY, but it's a neat idea.)

Other random thoughts:

The use of splitscreen shots is a neat aesthetic touch. It would be weird if just one episode or some scattered scenes were like that, but Ice Queendom uses them enough that it feels like a deliberate artistic choice.

Not sure how to feel about Grandpa Nick's presentation. On one hand, it makes sense that Weiss remembers him as a kindly old philanthropist. On the other hand, he built a company renowned for its exploitation of faunus workers, and that's not something that just springs out of nowhere. I don't feel like the Big Nicholas looming over the story gets enough focus to say anything as nuanced as "He was nice to his family but callous towards others"; it kinda comes off as suggesting that Jacques was a bad apple, and the SDC just needs the right Schnee plutocrat in charge. I feel like the best solution to this would have been to let Nicholas fade into the background. (For instance, cutting that dream-flashback-thing where Weiss talks with her grandpa, and replacing it with a conversation she has with some present-tense character. Maybe she could cover some of those points in that conversation she has with Ruby?)

Revealing that Ruby has some special anti-Grimm power in her eyes before it's absolutely plot-critical is a good idea! The implementation is weird, though. Ruby has her epiphany, her moment of triumph; then the Nightmare suddenly restrains her after being shot a bunch; then Ruby's eyes give her a different moment of triumph, one that feels a bit less earned.

The Silver Eyes also prove that the IQ team is, on some level, preparing to do an Ice Queendom sequel if it's greenlit. There is no reason for that double-reversal-of-fortune ex machina unless it's establishing the Silver Eyes as something Important and Magic.

Jaune defeating Weiss's internal image of her abusive father feels like it's symbolically significant, but damned if I could say what it means! He did it with the help of Silly!Pyrrha and the Silly!Weisses, the latter of which definitely represent the childlike parts of Weiss that she locks away under her icy facade, but I'm still not sure what the former means, symbolically.

[kob131]

Okay since I have a laptop at hand now, I wanna go more in depth-

The issue with Ozpin and the group started all the way back in Volume 5 with Raven telling Yang about Ozpin from her perspective. A perspective we find out to be VERY biased against the man because Raven needs to justify her actions to herself. While Raven's framing is bullshit per Qrow's own admission, it does set something up-

Yang: If Ruby sticks around, then I will too. If there's one thing I know about her, it's that she somehow always knows the right thing to do. But, if we're going to help, if we're going to keep risking our lives, no more lies. No more half-truths. Ozpin: (smiling) Understood.

That being- A. Yang is expressly NOT doing this out of loyalty to Ozpin so she has no personal reason to follow him and B. that Oz had a chance to come clean with the context that he should since they're risking their lives for his cause. Oz outright denied the chance to lay things bare on his terms and chose to keep lying (much like how Ruby and co. along with James all refused to do the same when THEY had the chance to).

Then we have as Snow points out- That Oz doesn't bring up that the Relics attract Grimm. This ends up being a HUGE problem because not only did they get stranded in the middle of the woods. They have to do this because the only other option was risking CIVILIAN lives. This brings up another issue with Oz- he's being a hypocrite here. He preaches about general morality and the good of being a hero but he's risking innocent lives because of his refusal to tell the truth.

Next we have the Lost Fable and So That's How It Is, where we see Salem and Ozpin's backstory (SPECIFICALLY their backstories, keep that in mind) and more importantly show how Ozpin has been misleading everyone. That they are risking their lives for a man...who won't tell them the truth and be honest with them. A man who is supposed to embody what it means to be a Huntsman and acted as their teacher. This is especially bad with Ruby because of her line-

Ruby: So all those times you talked about having faith in humanity, that was just for everyone else?

Once again, Oz showed that he's being a hypocrite. That he's implied that for all he preaches, he doesn't really believe what he says. Or at least, that's how it seems to them. To Ruby, who clearly respected him so much.

And it's not like these are the first times this problem of Oz's.

Ironwood: I've trusted him for years. We both have. I just... I can't help but feel like he's keeping us in the dark. Glynda: Don't be ridiculous! You know very well that we are not the ones in the dark. Ironwood: (Laughs humorously.) That makes it worse! I refuse to believe that a man that I've trusted for so long would act so... passively.

James being the one to say this is pretty damn important as not only does James end up following in Oz's mistakes but James is also a pretty clear parallel to Ruby herself: both are people who are left to lead their factions in the wake of Ozpin's death, genuinely believing in his ideals and cause and in some way look to him as a leader and example. And both fail because they followed his mistakes.

All of this to point out- everyone has a pretty good reason to be mad with Ozpin. As the man leading everyone, he has to be a better man to show people the way. It is through that morality that he derives the right to lead and the privilege of being the standard for others. Without his honesty, people begin to falter in his beliefs and feel they can't trust him. Because no matter how much they know about him- they aren't him. They cannot know his perspective and can't trust him to show it.

That's why Team RWBY needed to lie to James and be hypocritical from a story perspective- to give them the experiences necessary to understand Ozpin and know his feelings. It's why they don't need to apologize. They don't need to say it, they know each other now.

Now I get the issue. That they were just shown Oz's backstory and the pain he went through, how he started his journey and how painful the events were. That by not having them apologize, it implies they don't regret the pain they put him through. But not only is the implied empathy supposed to communicate that: they've NEVER been sympathetic to people's painful backstories. No, the SHOW has never been sympathetic to this unless the person is set for redemption.

Case and point, the same person who shared Ozpin's backstory and infact probably had a WORSE life than him: Salem. Salem went through all the same pain and suffering Oz did if not more due to being locked away by her father while Oz had the freedom to be a hero. She lost her husband to a cruel twist of fate; had the gods shrug and not give a shit about her pain; cursed her with immortality so she couldn't even reunite with him and lost her own children as her resurrected husband tried taking them away.

And how does the show react?

Yang: All of this endless death, because something bad happened to you once upon a time?!

Telling her to go fuck herself. Same that it did with Adam. Same with Cinder. Same with Watts. Same with Torchwick. Unlike Illa, Emerald Hazel and yes, Ozpin.

Ozpin being forgiven for his mistakes because of his pain brings up why the same isn't done for the first group and why the second had to actually brave danger and put themselves out there. To be fair, Ozpin is far more moral than Illa, Emerald and Hazel. But he still fucked up and he had to answer for it. Just like they did. Just like Ruby and James did.

The apology just isn't necessary and the implication Oz should be left off the hook would just come across as glaring and unusual in the story.

And before anyone says anything about the meme, I looked up the RWBY transcripts of the hell of it. No one ever apologizes for the shit they said to Ozpin in Vol 6. They just say 'we understand how you feel' and leave it at that. No one actually says "sorry for blaming you" or anything like that. It feels more like Ozpin's the only one apologizing when it should be both sides considering that Ruby and the others practically cursed him for choices he didn't want to make in the first place. This is more probably a nitpick, but it's one of those things you only notice when you stop and think or it gets pointed out to you.

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

When ppl try to say 'well other ppl did the thing' drives me lil nuts because it doesn't excuse Ruby and makes it even worse because Ruby is the 'Hero'. When the 'Hero' says " doing ___ is bad" then they can't do ___ without it having problems added to it. Oz hiding info was 'bad' and they claim to be better, but when they do the same and try to justify it. Its worse because its the bullshit of 'its ok if we do it' and while trying not to ruffle more; its just something a Hero in a story should do.

Same here anon. Ruby is supposed to be the hero. She is supposed to behave in a way that people can look up to and be inspired by. But Ruby has not been behaving in that way. She is fine with her teammates/family members lashing out with violence at the discovery that Ozpin lied but is comfortable with turning around and doing the exact same thing to James despite him being very open and honest with them about everything. Ruby condemns the White Fang because they steal military supplies. But when she "needs" to (she didn't actually have to but different post and discussion) it's totally fine and justifiable and makes James untrustworthy because his team arrested the people who snuck through the boarder in what appeared to be a stolen airship. If the Hero's actually have to do the very things they previously condemned, their should at least be some hesitation and self doubt. She should be wondering how she is different from the people she condemned if she's doing the same things as them without the narrative bending over backwards to assure her it's different when it really....isn't.

Ozpin didn't know if he could trust RWBY with his secret because he didn't know them all that well really and wasn't sure how they would respond. Ruby can't trust James because she doesn't know she can trust him with the secret because she doesn't know him that well and doesn't know how he will react. It is the same damn reasoning only done worse because they chose to go to James for help but crippled his ability to help by withholding critical information. RWBY is so frustrating with how it constantly has these double standards with no questioning or examination of said double standards.

[itsclydebitches]

Kinda feel that the Commentary trying to sweep Harriet trying to bomb Mantle under the rug is probably one of the noticeably worse parts of the Commentary.

Like, you have to be pretty damn deranged to bomb an entire city of civilians (unless it’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but that’s a whole ‘nother topic). That’s not something you can brush aside with the ‘trauma’ card, it’s genuinely psychotic, and a complete loss of heart and mind. Doubly so when you have literally no reason to do it besides, “Boss said so.” I mean, Ironwood being serious in his bomb threat is what got Winter and Marrow to turn on him.

Harriet getting a “she’s not bad, just twaumatized ~uwu~” use feels really annoying. Probably because I am utterly sick of Fandom Metas constantly talking about Trauma characters may or-may-not have.

What really stands out to me—both in terms of what RT wrote/has said as well as the fandom's response to both—is that Harriet is, in that moment, exactly the kind of person they want the rest of the cast to be:

Clover tries to peacefully arrest Qrow because he trusts Ironwood, has no other information to go on, fully expects to find out this was all a big misunderstanding, but also knows he’s fighting a war where many presumed allies are revealed to be Salem agents, all of this during a time when he just heard Salem is on her way: “He’s just a bootlicker mindlessly following orders.”

The Ace Ops are part of a long scene where they catalogue precisely how bad a state they’re in which includes having just fought a major battle they’re exhausted from, they’ve lost their first line of defense at the Kingdom’s border, the heat is out, Salem is minutes away, and they don’t believe they have time to evacuate anyone else. This leads to them agreeing with Ironwood that they should save who they can along with trying to keep the Relics and a Maiden safe: “They’re just a bunch of bootlickers mindlessly following orders.” (A perspective that's very reinforced by Yang’s line to Blake while fighting Elm and Vine.)

Ren begins to trust and believe in a leader that everyone else on his team is also assisting and fighting alongside, he’s struggling with an intense fear of what’s to come, he wants to try and prepare for these challenges but the others brush that desire off, admits that he’s struggling to explain everything he’s feeling right now which results in Nora forcing a kiss on him to ‘fix’ things, finally shares his numerous problems with their recent choices and his teammates respond by yelling at him, ignoring him, and telling him he’s a bad partner/friend, and if we take the comics as canon all of this is colored by him seeing some of his dead father in Ironwood: “Can’t believe Ren spent so long being a bootlicker mindlessly following orders. Thank god he finally got with the program.”

Meanwhile:

Harriet ACTUALLY mindlessly follows orders. She ACTUALLY has no logical, understandable, or justifiable reason to drop a bomb on Mantle after everything else Ironwood has done and after Penny has clearly escaped, rendering the threat itself useless. Harriet is, for the first time in the Atlas arc, 100% trying to follow orders without any critical thought of her own, without even a minuscule understandable reason, making her the exact thing the writing of RWBY and the fandom has called everyone else associated with Ironwood for two volumes: “Poor Harriet. She’s so traumatized. It’s not good, obviously, but still totally understandable why she’d try to go that far. She just needed Vine and Elm to remind her of the Power of Friendship so she can instantly get over the trauma of losing Clover, the man we never saw her having any romantic interest in.”

Honestly, I’m just endlessly scratching my head over when morals do and do not apply in this show. Clover was murdered days before the bomb threat was even a thought in Ironwood’s head, but we’re meant to believe he absolutely would have gone through with it. Meanwhile, Harriet is actually alive, actually there, actually doing everything in her power to drop the bomb, but we’re meant to believe she’s just struggling with some generic “trauma” and needs a “We care about you” to remind her that taking out an entire city is a bad thing. She gets instant forgiveness that the dead guy who didn't try to do this thing, didn't even know this thing was an option, isn't allowed. How does that make any sense?