#but maybe v3 ironwood...

[ordinaryoracle]

james ironwood is for real my roman empire.

[rwby-is-the-best]

shout out to general james "jimmy" ironwood for connecting his scroll to one of the most high-security confidential important smartdesks in the kingdom just to project a hologram of his big ships looking important, then being so embarrassed when everyone says "actually bringing your ships here was a bad move" that he doesn't see this

your scroll is so visibly hacked my guy. too bad the virus was made by the same guy who created the atlas Avast Free Antivirus program

[constantvariations]

RT doesn't know how scars work.

They don't know how anything works. They leave no stone unfucked

[sharkface]

RWBY would have been solidly 80% better if the White Fang was never a plot element and Qrow, Ironwood, Oscar, Tyrian, and Clover were all women instead. I also want Ren to be either nonbinary or a trans woman by the end of V6. I will concede on MAYBE Ironwood but only if he instead dies during V3 and Winter takes his place and does all that crazy shit during V7/V8. Jaune can stay a boy but ONLY for the comedic potential and all of his character development should have gone to Ruby instead YES including Pyrrha having a crush on her.

[oddlyhale]

It would've been very cute if the dinner party in V7 had everybody dressed up. A fun idea I had was that Team RWBYJNR show up in their prom dresses (and yes, Jaune has to be in his white dress or else 🔪).

Ofc the dresses would need to be slightly modified because the old ones they used were very basic and easy to throw on the models. Yang's white dress needs extra work done on it.

Oscar gets his own cute lil outfit, maybe something that matches Ruby's red dress.

Ironwood shows up in maybe a black and navy blue suit, and Penny wears a formal but aesthetically pleasing green and white dress. Winter wears something fancy and brings back her cold sleeves from V3.

[strqyr]

i spent way too much time on this—like, "wrote it in google docs first" amount of time—but, uh. team strq ages let’s gooooooo!!!

first things first, some assumptions™ that i’m basing this on:

1. the remnant school year follows the japanese school year, i.e. begins in april, and ends in march the following year.

2. the years are split based on birth year, nice and clean, since blake (who’s born in january) says ruby is “only two years younger” than wby. this would mean that blake had already turned 18 by the time of V1 (she would have been 17 during the black trailer), while weiss and yang turned 18 during V1-2 and ruby 16 during the small timeskip at the end of V3. (this is also what i’m used to, so it’s easier on my brain. don't @ me.)

the second point isn’t super relevant, but it does keep things simple since we don’t know strq’s birthdays; basically, the year students start their first year, they’ll be turning 18, 19 for the second year, 20 third, and 21 for fourth, with the possibility that some may have already turned 22 by the time they graduate.

so. the year strq graduates, they’re 21-turning-22 years old. since yang is born on july 28th, raven would have gotten pregnant some time around november / december (if i did my math right. i did count with my fingers.) since the school year ends in march, and i’m doubtful raven was already pregnant while still at school, at earliest yang could have been born was during the same year raven would turn 23.

and since yang is currently 19, 23+19=42 <- the youngest strq could possibly be in the present day.

(that is, assuming they were all 17-turning-18 during their first year. depending how you interpret raven’s “and qrow and i were the perfect age”, they could have been either exactly the age they should be to attend beacon (17-turning-18), or close enough for the tribe that they could pass as the right age.)

anyway! next part: figuring out how old they were during the V9 flashback.

first, the kiddos. if we are to take what yang said literally about ruby not being able to even talk yet when summer disappeared, ruby being a 2-year-old at the time is probably the safest bet. does she look like a 2-year-old in the flashback? eeeehhh… while i’d be willing to give a little more leeway there since it’s a short scene, to be extra safe, let’s say ruby is about 2-3yo, with yang being 4-5yo. if the members of strq were 23 the year yang was born, they would be about 27-28 at the time of the flashback.

which, if i’ve done my math right (knock on wood), is cutting it pretty damn close for raven becoming the spring maiden—even more so if she didn’t get pregnant the soonest possible moment after graduation—since as per miles: “As for ‘too old’, we don't like having super hard-fast rules for certain things, but we've sort of unofficially figured that 30 is probably around the cutoff point to become a maiden.” [source]

to be honest, i do think the math checks out. in before the dawn, according to yatsuhashi, theodore is “likely in his forties, maybe older”, and ozpin “had been younger [than theodore] but seemed much older.” per raven, ozpin was already the headmaster when team strq was formed, and prodigy or not, if as the headmaster of beacon he had a seat at the vale council (likely, since both lionheart and ironwood had council seat in their respective kingdoms as headmasters) i’m somewhat doubtful the rest of the council would have been super fine with someone who isn’t even the age of a huntsman graduate being in charge of what is essentially the main defense of the kingdom. so, if theodore is likely in his forties, maybe older (let’s translate that into late 40s-early 50s), and ozpin was younger than him but older than strq by at least 4 years, that would put him at ~45 in V1, and ~47 if he were still alive. maybe subtract a year or two, as a prodigy discount if you so please, but all in all, it fits rather nicely: yatsuhashi’s thoughts about theodore’s and ozpin’s ages are accurate-ish, and raven is just the right age to inherit maiden powers if she did get them during summer’s mission—and similarly, if / when summer joined salem, they’d still have to search for a maiden host since summer is going to reach the unofficial cutoff point of 30 very soon.

[dextixer]

What Vtuber Ruby and Miles cameos say, matter (kinda).

So, a day or so ago we have had people discuss about Rubys Vtubing appearances and the things she has said on video. People have had mixed opinions on what was said, some people think its not a problem, others think its a problem, some others dont care. So, i wanted to chime in on this entire discussion and why in my opinion this, and the cameos that Miles makes matter and are not "irrelevant".

Disclaimer

Before i start, i will note. I dont really think that these things are HUGE problems and "OH NO, THIS RUINS THE SHOW" or any other nonsense. Some people have seen these things way too negatively. But i also think that people who say that it doesnt matter at all are taking 2 way too extreme positions.

Lore Swiss Cheese

One of the main problems of RWBY has, for a long time, been the very vague concepts of what is canon and the in-show lore. From the very start of the show, it had commentary tracks, the creators talking about the show etc. Despite not being in the show itself, we have had many tidbits of information (such as Rubys favourite food) and the like given to us in outside of canon content. And it has not just been some minor things either. Ironwoods semblance basically does not exist in the show, and yet it seems to exist in lore, and it was shared with us from outside the show.

And later on, after V3, RWBY has received a lot of different media that expands on its lore and are considered canonical, despite sometimes never appearing on the show, or even creating very weird situations where something is conspicuous by absence in the show itself. For example, we have a very often discussed topics of V7-8 of the defense of Mantle/Atlas. One of the discussion points have always been how weirdly weak the defenses of the kingdom are. While one could chalk that up to people having an "inflated" view of Atlas military, but we have been canonically told and shown a lot of Atlas tech that is conspicuous by absence in the show.

Automated turrets, different versions of Atlesian Knights etc, which were said to be canonical in Amity:Arena. Or for example stealth tech. Yea, Atlas has stealth tech, like, genuine stealth. Its in one of the books. And yet nowhere in the show.

We have two canonical games, Grimm Eclipse and Arrowfell, with characters and concepts in them that have never been seen in the show. Has anyone ever seen team BRIR in the show? Heard of them? Maybe the tech from Arrowfell would kinda be useful, even if outdated against the Grimm invasion? What about the outlying Atlesian villages? Are they just dead at this point? Where the heck is Thornmane? He gets captured and hes nowhere in jail even as a cameo? And why does noone talk about Grimm Eclipse? Tech enchanced Grimm seem like a bit of a topic that kinda should be discussed sometime, no!?

We also have the comic books with various questionable canonical decisions including Raven turning into a bird to fuck with child Ruby. Blakes involvement with Adam which is somewhat weird because the comic books try to humanize Adam while the show demonizes him.

And let us not forget the whole "Canon Adjacent" nonsense where RT cant even come out and say that its obviously non-canon stories like Ice Queendom and even crossovers with DC are not canon. They cant even come out and say that!

Oh, and of course, i just remembered, the Grimm DnD campaign which is also apparently canon!

The reason i am listing all of these summarized versions of the multiple lore issues that the show has is that the lore of RWBY, is swiss cheese. It has lore that is given partially in so many different places, including in out of universe that its almost impposible to follow it properly, and if you do try, you are only going to get more confused because the main show feels like completely separate from it all, despite being in the same lore.

Vtubing and Cameos matter

And this brings me to of course the very simple claim, that due to the fact that the lore is already swiss cheese, these statements made in Vtubing and Cameos actually matter. Because even if they are not stated to be directly canonical, the lore is already so incredibly fucked and unclear (To the point that some people cant even decide if DC RWBY comics are even canon or not!) that adding these examples to the mix? Its just bad practice. Because at the end of the day, Vtubing Ruby, IS Ruby. She is played as in-universe Ruby, by the same Voice Actress, hosted by the SAME company.

And it matters especially because these things DO affect the FNDM. People who say that these things should be easily ignored are missing one key aspect. A lot of the FNDM are affected by these. BB being a key example. No, im not going to argue that the FNDM forced RT to make it canon. What i WILL argue is that the toxicity of BB community and its rabidness was intentionally cultivated AND enabled by RT. Does it matter that the BB song is not canon? No, it did not. Its not canon in the show and yet it made pro-BB and anti-BB crowds hysterical. Same for the song that was made for Blacksun. These songs directly contributed to the shipping wars. The various moments of people like Barbara also indulging the shippers just further fueled that entire movement.

Hell, the same can be said for Qrow x Winter shippers. While it was never a big thing one of the main "fuels" it had for a long time was because Vic and the VA for Winter interacted in a single panel. Or lets remember the whole "Vibrator function" which is OBVIOUSLY not canon, yet has become a part of often referenced and established fanon.

RWBY does not have a stable FNDM, i know, im a part of it. It does not matter if something is or is not canonical when not only are the lines of canon/noncanon blurred to barely existing, but the FNDM can often take things very far to fuel their expectations, wishes, and behaviour.

Especially when it can fuel what i will refer to as simply exploitative behaviour.

Cameos. Cameos, in my opinion are a fine way for VA's to make money. Such as many other things like, for example, music producers reviewing songs, voice coaches evaluating singing etc. Such content has cropped up maybe 4-5 years ago now and imo, is a fine thing.

But like any thing, imo, there are good and bad ways to do this kind of content. When for 40 bucks, one can ask one of the main WRITERS of the show questions about the shows world and opinions about things like ships. That is, imo, a bit far. Not only does that give an incentive for people to pay money for extra snippets of lore, but also, a way for people to validate their beliefs of ships and other such things. Because that is what his Cameo is all about. Its not VA work, its his words, in relation to his work as a writer for the show. And considering the earliest cameos and Ironwood discussions, that in my opnion is NOT a good thing.

The BB Onlyfans thing is ALSO an example of that, that i think was bad. Once again, disclaimer. I think that OF is fine, you want to do it? Go ahead, i paid for Markipliers photos, i aint ashamed, hes hot. I think it becomes at least slightly concerning however, when the VA's of a controversial ship decide to do an underwear photoshoot together with the same theme as their character in-show relationship.

Because...

Parasociality

A parasocial relationship is feeling a connection with a persona/thing that does not know of your existance or only humours you. Celebrities, sports teams etc.

RT has, for a long time cultivated a STRONG parasocial relationship with the FNDM. There is a reason why they pretend to be down to earth, why they pretend that they are not a corporation and why even to this day, some RT fans STILL believe that RT is some kind of "indie company". There is nothing inherently wrong with having it. Its kind of even unavoidable.

But what RT does is Cynically abuse that relationship. Just like any other corporation. Overworking animators for example? Part of that has been parasociality, people willing to work for their "loved" company etc.

Things like Miles Cameo, the BB photoshoot? The Vtuber Ruby? They are meant to encourage parasociality. To make it seem like the people, the watchers are "closer" to people performing or related to the show. Its all a cynical ploy to get people to pay money, to watch RWBY etc.

There is a reason why even after the RT expose not too long ago, people just went ahead and forgot about it. There is a reason why RWBYTubers that have previously condemned RT for their BS are now shouting at people to support RWBY, supressing those who criticized V9 and are encouraging people to buy merch.

Its all parasocial BS. BS that leads to extreme behaviours.

Such as, but not limited to - Biphobia, Homophobia, calling people facists for liking characters, calling people abuse apologist, groomers, Stalking. Just to name a few.

Also... On an ending note

Its just shit Vtubing

Consider this an unrelated tangent. I watch Vtubers relatively often, usually clips but sometimes i catch streams. Vtuber lore is usually irrelevant even in corporate settings. What people come to watch are the streamers themselves who usually partially play a character but mostly just act like themselves. Not really being lore accurate is not really of importance.

The thing is, those Vtubers usually dont have really established settings and they stream Multiple hours a day, so it all makes sense.

Why in the fuck is the Vtuber Ruby Rose, not acting like Remnant Ruby Rose!? Im not expecting deep lore drops here. But for crying out loud, why make statements that Rabbits or magic dont exist? Ruby Rose being visiting Earth is an AMAZING roleplaying set-up!

There is no dust, no aura, no Grimm! So many differences between the worlds that Ruby Rose can notice and act out! "Oh anime? We have our own version of that! One of the most watched shows is Sailor Sun! (Because the moon is broken)".

Its just a concept that can pay-off so much! Its an isekai in Vtubing form! As far as im aware Vtuber Ruby Rose doesnt even stream daily so its even easier to stay in character! So why in the bloody hell are we getting Dora of Explorer levels of childishness?

Anyway... Here are my thoughts. Peace out.

[thornsofrosesdumps]

thank you for sharing your experience. i hope you don't have any encounter with ableist shits that go around the fandom. you have my blessing

but i 100% agree with you and it's a shame that most fans ignore it, i guess they're sensitive with lgbtq+ issues bc they can relate but not disabled/poc issues. what i hate is that they always redirect valid worries over ableism/racism to the traits that made the villains villains. you say heyyy uhhh the ironwood metaphor is ableist, "but he was a genocidal maniac!". uhm ok? he could be one without the ableism. you say heyyy uhhh adam was a slave so doesn't anyone think it's weird he's a villain, "but he was an abuser!". ok? he was a slave too and it was never given proper care and attention. i mention both bc they were really hated v3 onwards and everyone behaves weird when talking about them. but yeah. best of luck out there !!

omg thank you beloved, I am surviving the best I can. <3

like it’s impossible for me to say that I don’t like Ironwoods arc, character or portrayal without getting grouped in with a side of a argument i don’t agree with.

You’re so right, or with cinder! “She’s insane and evil.” She was a disenfranchised and abused child, also she really didn’t need to lose her arm and eye.

mercury is the only character I’m not totally icky with, he’s disabled before we meet him and he’s more morally ambiguous but! He was also a homeless man in the RWBY equivalent of Mexico/India/maybe china/indigenous peoples in general (Vauco) which again. Very icky.

or how most of the few actually dark skinned characters in the early seasons are always portrayed as villains?

honestly the way the show and fandom treats disabled people is sickening.

Like I can’t get a word in without being called a hater, or a RWDE like gamers. Have you never once been critical of your media? Of why it’s how it is?

[bittiblakebelladonna]

Songs that are RWBY songs to me

A whole 4 people said they wanted this. This is really gonna show you which characters I think about most lmao

Rivers in the Desert (Lolia)

Winter Schnee in Atlas in V7-8? This is her song, especially in that V8 fight against Ironwood.

Training Montage (The Mountain Goats)

This is Neopolitan post V3, specifically the time between the V3 finale and when we see her again in V6, bonus if you think about the very end as V9 right at the end of ch8

World Burn (Taylor Louderman, Mean Girls)

Cinder Song Ever. Plus you can replace Kady with Ruby every time. It's fun.

See The Day (The Althogether)

Ruby Rose at the end of V9 would maybe cry if she heard this song but in a good way

Honeybee (Steam Powered Giraffes)

It's bumbleby you already know

Special Girl (Dodie)

Pyrrha Nikos really was doomed before she began, wasn't she? This is just Her Song

You're Not Welcome (Naethan Apollo)

This is a Yang Song, and it reminds me of both her fights with Neo and Adam, in which she didn't fare so well the first time around, but came back to fight them again

The Greatest (They Might Be Giants)

Jaune song.

World Spins Madly On (The Weepies)

This is simultaneously a Taiyang losing Summer song and a V4 Yang losing Blake song. They understand each other. And it works well with the song being a duet, just listen to it, you'll understand.

Hummingbird (The Weepies)

This is such a Nora song about her and Ren, and I love it and her and them dearly

I'd Rather Sleep (Kero Kero Bonito)

This is just RWBY: Ice Queendom. The whole thing. In one song.

Candle Queen (Ghost and Pals)

I lied earlier THIS is the Cinder Song Ever, like I'm not kidding THE most Cinder Fall song to ever exist it's literally her

So Alright, Cool, Whatever (The Happy Fits)

We can have a Sun pining after Blake but letting her go and wanting her to be happy song. As a treat.

Be Nice To Me (The Front Bottoms)

I was very neutral on Emercury as a ship until I heard this song and realized the first half is Emerald and the second half is Mercury and now I feel things about them, although this can also work for them platonically as well

P.U.N.K Girl (Heavenly)

This is bumbleby Yang is SO p.u.n.k girl coded and Blake loves her so much

Despair (leo.)

Whiterose song. Weiss is so scared to be in love that she denies that shit so hard. The lady really DOTH protest too much.

Clover (Louie Zong)

Too easy, it's a Fair Game song, but like, it's PERFECT

The Family Jewels (MARINA)

Schnee children, no explanation needed.

Christmas Kids (Roar)

This is Ozlem energy and you cannot tell me otherwise, their whole backstory, it's here

Partners in Crime (Set It Off)

THE Gelato/Pumkin Spice Ice Cream/whatever you want to call Roman and Neo song

Ghost of Chicago (Noah Floersch)

We can have a Qrow pining after Summer song but letting her go and wanting her to be happy. As a treat.

DEATH OF A PREDATOR (Banshee)

I have both versions of this song on my RWBY vibes playlist bc fuck Adam all my homies hate Adam, I'm not saying he deserved it (just kidding, I'm absolutely saying he deserved it)

Kids (Current Joys)

I just want all these children to be happy. That's all this song is for.

[kitkatopinions]

So this is about Rubys breakdown in S9 E7: I think what was weird to me was how out of nowhere it came. Like Jaune is grieving his friends, Weiss wants Ruby to say smth comforting, and Ruby just goes into her speech...but it seems so disconnected to the event that just happened. The first few sentences just tripped me up because this whole situation HAD nothing to do with Ruby being the leader. I HATE THIS SPEECH. AAAAH.

I think that you're right that there's a big old disconnect, and it makes the whole thing feel worse.

There are some pretty basic fixes that would still leave it feeling meh, but much better than what we got. Like for instance if while Team RWBY were sitting around the table talking about Jaune and the rest of Ruby's team were dismissing him, if Ruby - trying to be calm and work things out but clearly frustrated and going through it still - had started being like "why can't we let Jaune be the leader? He's the one that comes up with plans anyway, why do I have to greenlight stuff for you guys to do anything? Why don't you guys wanna contribute?" That would seem well placed and a good complaint for Ruby to have (she wants things to be a joint effort with her team,) and could lead to the others being like "But we believe in and follow you, we know you'll figure out what to do," which would cement just how much pressure they've put on Ruby and how alone she feels. And then if we still needed what happened with the Paper Pleasers to go down, Ruby - instead of being callously dismissive of the Paper Pleasers humanity - could be more visibly distraught at their 'deaths' because she's the only one in the group iirc that wasn't like "maybe them killing themselves is a good thing uwu Jaune why are you holding them back?" And then when the girls are all comforting Jaune, they could turn to Ruby to get the inspirational speech they clearly wanted and Ruby could start ranting about how none of them actually know how Ascension works and they don't know the Paper Pleasers are gonna be fine so they may have just let more people die. The others could then be like "whoa calm down, that's not how any of us need to be thinking right now" which could then lead to Ruby's explosion.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I 'being like Ironwood?' Is admitting that we're in way over our heads being bad? Am I supposed to be better than that and just come up with perfect solutions all the time?! 'Oh guys, don't worry, Ruby will think of something,' 'we don't even have to worry about what we do, because Ruby will save the day, Ruby inspires us and comforts us and makes sure we're all smiling!' I CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE! This isn't okay, what just happened isn't okay, we're not okay, I'M NOT OKAY!"

Then there can be pushback from the girls, a "what are you talking about, I thought you were fine" from Yang, a "I know things are really bad right now, but we have to focus on getting home and we can't do that by wallowing" from Weiss, maybe a "Ruby I know you're upset, but you're the best of us and we trust you" from Blake, which is the exact opposite of what Ruby would want to hear and that could push her into her "what about me" and angrily yelling at the others and her "we're all so happy for you, by the way" moment with Blake and Yang.

And if someone's about to say "Kitkat, hold up, wouldn't that take too long?" The answer is no actually. This is the supposed main central protagonist having her first real breakdown since crying over Penny's death in V3, the show should be willing to spend time on that to make it as good, dramatic, fleshed out, and deep as possible.

Now, what I would REALLY like is some much bigger fixes, like... Redoing the entire series and making it better, or at least re-doing everything after the start of season six, or at the very least like fourteen thirty-minute eps for this season where Jaune actually didn't time travel, everyone actually got proper focus on their growth, the Cat wasn't evil, Ruby didn't 'ascend,' Ascension was never written as way to make Ruby try to off herself without committing to treating it as important, everything was better explained, the Ever After characters weren't so annoying, and part of the season focused on Team RWBYJ waking up in different acres and having to find each other.... Etc., etc. But, I'd settle for just some minor edits to make Ruby's dialogue hit harder and make more sense.

[thatoneawkwardfanthing]

I realized I haven't actually talked about the epilogue animatic yet, just reblogged some stuff. I have so many feelings about it so uhhh

Spoilers below (it's also definitely out of order because I haven't watched it in a few days. Still can't without CRYING)

"We buried our friends today" okay ouch. Following it up immediately with that shit of Nora breaking down? CRIMINAL

The fact that Ren was talking to Jaune about how much he held them together and how he wished he was there hurt

Oscar/Oz actively fighting the merge is exact what I want! Let that little boy free!

Mercury having that same hesitation that Emerald did in V3 cmon let my wlw mlm besties be reunited

I haven't finished the two Vacuo books, but I know The Crown is BAD NEWS BEARS

Winter Schnee how I wish I could hug you so close. You did your best and genuinely thought Ironwood would come to his fucking senses it's not your fault!

The Renora parts of this really hurt my heart I love them so much you don't understand.

OOBLECK AND PORT MY FAVORITE OLD MEN and wait WDYM Vale's gone? Hello?

WHERE'S TAIYANG?!?

Qrow being optimistic and saying an old friend taught him that? And then it showing Clover's pin? STOP IT WE KNOW HE DIED AND THEY WERE GAY LOVERS PLEASE

As much as I HATE Raven, I do think that the second she felt her connection to Yang come back, she was there, breaking her "one save" rule. Maybe we'll see her try to make amends if/when V10 is made. Also really want to see Ruby going off on her because SHE KNOWS WHERE SUMMER WENT THAT NIGHT!

Where's anyone from Menagerie? Blake's parents? Illia? The faction of the White Fang that follows Ghira?

I know a lot of it is gonna be different in V10, but I'm sure the key points (them talking to the grave, Vale being gone, etc) will still be there.

I'm holding out hope and RWBY Beyond is also really doing a great job at telling more of the story. It really feels like Monty's saying of "Keep Moving Forward" is what's at the forefront of everyone's mind and I love that.

[diaryofamadsunwukongfan]

Very interesting ranking. I'm rather perplexed by Sleet and Camilla's placement given that their regular civilians. And Willow as well to a lesser degree. I could see them developing their Aura levels to such a degree to prevent assassination attempts given their status as council people but if that was the reasoning then Jacques would probably be up there also and yet he isn't. I definitely feel like Ciel, Cordovin, Lil Miss Malachite and Ghira should be a tier higher at the very least. Possibly the Ship Captain as well? People that regularly deal with Grimm, other criminals and people that try to hurt them for their Faunus heritage should logically train their Auras levels. Likewise, I think Jaune should be higher given that he has in Pyrrha's words "a lot of it" and him being a damage sponge is kind of his niche. Somewhere around Sienna's placement. What's the reasoning for Weiss and Yang's placements? Do they become Maidens and inherit Winter and Raven's powers, respectively?

So I'm making Camilla and Sleet veteran Huntsmen in this AU because I never understood how regular civilans could get to their position in the land of Renment. Like, Atlas is supposed to be this "fascist dictatorship" (it's not), but the Atlas military seems pretty unimportant in the actual government outside of Ironwood having two council seats. Like, that's it? He should have way more power with what the story was trying to do (then again he could kill both of them and get away with it so I guess he did have the power and these two were just puppets maybe?)

Willow took lessons from her Dad when she was younger, but she was never serious about it. As for Jacques, I'm giving him a completely overpowered passive semblance that makes him one of the most dangerous "civilians" here. He can hax legendary huntsmen level of broken.

I honestly don't know what to do with Ciel, so I kinda just threw her down there. Ghira being down there is just me memeing because in this AU, he got assassinated before the story began. I could just straight up write him to be weaker than canon, but honestly, that doesn't matter much either way. Cordovin has a little grandma health bar lol, but you are right in that she (and everyone else in the Atlas military) should be around master huntsmen level because I made Aura more accessible this time around. Malachite is a meme and so is Ship captian.

As for Jaune, I plan to swap his and Pyrrha's roles in the story (Jaune dies fighting Cinder, Pyrrha lives in to avenge him). In the early volumes, all the students have Aura levels at the low Huntsmen range and they only get higher as time goes on. In other words, Pyrrha starts the story at about 2500 AP while Jaune starts at 3000 AP. If Jaune followed the same path that he did in vanilla RWBY, then he would be chilling in the raid boss tier along with Pyrrha and Sun.

Finnaly, I do plan for Weiss and Yang to become the Winter and summer maidens at the end of the au. Because I plan for Penny to stay dead after V3, Winter gets the maiden powers as intended and then gets killed by Cinder in V8, only for the power to go to Weiss. Then in V10, Yang should become the Summer maiden (maybe as a sacrifice so some other character dosen't have to do it).

[smokestarrules]

I remember reading a RWBY fic that was, objectively, REALLY well written...

But the writers just did not get any of the characters.

Like, probably the ONLY characters they DIDN'T wind up horribly butchering were Ozpin, Pyrrha, and MAYBE Nora and Ren.

Like, to give you an idea of how bad it got, by the time they got to the end of V3: They had Glynda drop everything to become Ironwood's housewife, and then later gave Weiss ship tease with Adam after spending the entire story up to that point setting up Monochrome.

...Oh, no.

[alto-tenure]

River, River, I actually believe you owe me a RWBY rec list anyway, so....

yeah ok I did say that. fair enough!

I've separated these fics into a few distinct eras, because I think the show's long-running status has impacted characterization over time -- not to say that older fics aren't still worth reading, but there might be some things that are different (e.g. pre-V4 there was a lot of speculation that Blake was an orphan, pre-V8 there were a lot of V7 ending fix-its and such). Tossing you in the deep end with ship names sorry you're going to have to figure it out yourself <3

BEACON-ERA (V1-V3) - publication dates from July 2013-October 2016 (when V4 started releasing)

clinging to a little bit of spine by rwbyfics | T | Monochrome | 10.9k

Blake was the black water lake where people went to drown, she was fifty stones in each pocket and breezeblocks strapped to broken ankles. Sinking wasn't an option for Weiss, and it never would be.

A heartfelt exploration of Weiss's and Blake's relationship as it stood back in the Beacon arc.

Loyalty by Texan_Red_Rose | T | Monochrome | 59.6k

When pressed, will Weiss use her head or her heart?

AU - the Huntsman system is more militaristic, among other things.

V4-V7 - publication dates from October 2016-February 2020 (when V7 ended)

Celebrity Matchmaker by Texan_Red_Rose | T | Blake/Weiss/Yang/Pyrrha | 29.4k

Weiss, this season's lead on a reality show, has made it to the finale, where she must choose to marry one of three finalists. Then, Remnant gets to approve or nix the union, and that SHOULD be the hardest part of this. But when the choice is between Blake, Pyrrha, and Yang, how can she decide?

A funny Bachelorette-esque AU that chooses to sidestep love drama in favor of the polycule.

The Fairest by periferal | T | Calichrome | 42.3k

Mirror mirror, on the wall, am I the fairest of them all? And if I'm not, who will it be, please oh mirror, show her me- Blake finds a girl standing alone in the woods.

A great use of the fairytale allusions.

V7 hiatus-V8 - publication dates from February 2020 to March 2021 (when V8 ended)

like punching in a dream (wait, i don't ever want to be here) by nirav | T | Bees Schnees | 6.6k

Her ribs ache from the explosion in the desert, the one that sent her careening off target and let her mark get away, and she knows that Weiss and Yang will surely be home soon enough, if only to burn the evidence of their relationship to the ground. There’s no telling which of them had set the charges that nearly blew her up. Yang was the engineer, but Weiss was the planner. Even odds.

And from here on there will be a lot of Bees Schnees on this list! Kicking this off with a bang. Technically a sequel to another fic, part of a larger Mr. and Mrs. Smith inspired AU.

Books & Behaviors by GreekLetter | T | Monochrome | 65.3k

After an unforgiving life event, Blake Belladonna decides to move away from the town she's lived in for years. Taking a job in Vale, where she knows no one. As she sets out to make a new life for herself, she knows there's two things she needs. A good coffee shop and the perfect bookstore. Maybe finding a pretty girl at the bookstore isn't so bad either.

A slow burn modern AU that I enjoyed a lot.

The Official Ace-Ops Communications Channel by HopeStoryteller | T | Gen with various relationships | 10.6k

In light of the Amity Communications Tower project, General Ironwood decides it may be a good idea to have a communications channel among everyone working on it. Nobody really wants to talk about what happened the last time the Ace Ops had a group chat. Whatever it was, it won't happen again. Probably. After all, it's not going to stay just the Ace Ops.

Minor pairings include: Fair Game, Frosen Steel, Renorarc, Bumbleby, Schneewood Forest, and Elm/Vine (name I can't remember rn).

every siren went silent by lescousinsdangereux | T | Bees Schnees | 11.9k

“You are so smooth, Weiss,” Yang breathes and — god help her — her lips brush just so against the shell of Weiss’s ear. “Good to know that you aren’t affected by Blake bending over to line up her shot right now. Or by the fact that I wanted to keep you in my room for several more rounds, that morning you left.” Oh no, Weiss thinks.

Everyone's sports in this AU are very well chosen, though I wouldn't have expected some of the choices made for the characters -- it still works.

tell me what you mean when you scream by nirav | T | Bees Schnees | 10.6k

“They were your best friends once,” Ruby says, momentarily gentle. “And they’re still some of my best friends. Just-- one day, okay? No bachelorette party, no rehearsal dinner, nothing like that. Just stand up with me, be cordial to them, and then you never have to see them again.” Yang whines, slumping back against Ruby as she’s shoved out the door, half for show and half because she has six months to prepare herself for being in the same room as Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee for the first time in ten years.

A fun chaotic rom-com esque AU.

here i sit like a beginner beginning again by nirav | T | Bees Schnees | 52.5k

She turns her back on Yang and busies herself with the backpacks, leaving Yang with half a cup of coffee and an unfamiliar feeling in her gut, half the long-standing apprehension of trying to find her family and half something new and scalding and tied exclusively to the way her hands want to reach for the guarded set to Blake’s jaw as much as they want to reach for the familiarity of Weiss’s hand in hers.

Bees Schnees The Mummy AU. Fascinating in its worldbuilding and its portrayal of the character relationships.

jigsaws and pieces we made to fit by FaultyParagon | T | Fair Game | 41k

Clover is not a father, nor does he ever intend to become one. Then, he meets Qrow Branwen, and suddenly he finds himself with eight surrogate children, all with a different name for Qrow- a different bond. What he doesn’t expect to find out is that Qrow never wanted to be a father, either, but now he’s in it too deep. So… Clover’s got eight kids too now. Oops. -aka Clover falls for an oddly loving, domestic, awkward duncle!Qrow and doesn't know how the whole step-dad gig is supposed to work when they're not officially dating or anything. V7 domestic FairGame.

Exploration into chosen families that makes me soft.

All Together (Together) by KatQuasar | T | JNPR Berries | 28.2k

After everything, JNPR move into a house together as a team and two established couples. But things are a bit more complicated when there's feelings under the surface that are suddenly dug up when frictions arise between them individually. What happens when everyone's in love with each other?

A sweet fic set in a softer universe. Minor Bees Schnees.

sing for me, my meadowlark by FaultyParagon | T | Gen | 10.3k

Roman Torchwick is confident that he will one day reign supreme. Being a father was never in those plans. He’s always been weak for ice cream, though; and if he can make his ward smile on top of that, then he shall do whatever it takes- even if it kills him. -aka Roman and Neo’s relationship from Neo's childhood till V3, explored through a series of vignettes.

A note on canon compliance -- this pre-dates Roman Holiday and thus is not compliant with that (and Neo's backstory as portrayed in those portraits, which is essentially a summary of the novel).

she's got a halogen heart by hittingonallsixes | T | Weiss-centric RWBYJNPR polycule | 8.9k

The summary was fighting me and didn't want to paste, but TL;DR: Weiss goes out for dinner with her partners, slice-of-life chaos.

The Gang Kidnaps A Child by Kablob & mylordshesacactus | T | Gen | 10k

Summer, Taiyang, Raven, and Qrow would normally never stay at a place as disgustingly Atlesian as this. Unfortunately, it's nearly midnight and they don't have time to find another hotel to—hey wait a second, is that a fucking kid?

AU where STRQ adopts Cinder. (You'll note that if you look in the tag around the time this was published there are a lot of AUs where something changed for Cinder, whether it be STRQ adopting her or Rhodes just being less of a dick.)

The Lucky Merman by TheCraftyNinjaCat | T | Fair Game | 39.7k

Beloved by everyone and leader of King Ironwood’s prestigious Ace-Ops, Clover seems to be the luckiest merman in the ocean. His only secret; his unwavering interest in the human world, the bane of the king’s existence. At least he's good at keeping it a secret, and his friend Robyn is always down to help him indulge. He has nothing to worry about.

Then he rescues human prince Qrow Branwen from a sinking ship, and things get much more complicated.

An enjoyable TLM AU.

Hereditary by Riggy_Minus | T | Gilded Rose | 173.6k

Ruby Rose, a girl who always wanted to be a huntress, finds herself elevated to Beacon Academy two years early. With no real friends save her sister, she does her best to adjust before the machinations of those plotting against the peace that the world of Remnant has known her whole life become too much to handle.

Incomplete series, but some enjoyable plots and dynamics between the characters. I especially enjoy the Lancaster slow burn dynamic.

Volume One: Winter & Spring by tkss | T | Gen (hints of Catmeleon, Freezerburn, Monochrome) | 120.6k

Crimson Silver was raised in Evernight, taken in by Salem after being found missing one of her silver eyes on the night her parents were killed. Weiss Schnee failed her trial against the Arma Gigas and instead applies to join the Atlesian military. Blake Belladonna goes undercover as the human Dusk Nightshade to infiltrate Haven Academy and spy for the White Fang. Yang Branwen is the bandit princess of her mother's tribe and possesses the power of the Spring Maiden. Team WYCD arrives at Haven Academy, each member with ulterior motives -- but doubts and hopes alike work to change the course of their future, and the future of Remnant. Or: the WYCD AU. Ruby is a servant of Salem. Weiss followed in her sister's footsteps. Blake never left the White Fang. Yang was raised by Raven as the Spring Maiden. None of Team RWBY ever made it to Beacon, yet Team RWBY still formed... albeit under different circumstances.

Fascinating that Weiss would, in most circumstances, be the worst leader for team RWBY -- but under these circumstances, she has to be.

Post-V8 - publication dates from March 2021 to present

A Marriage Masquerade by Victorious56 | G | Hummingbird | 13.2k

Miss Summer Rose is to marry her childhood sweetheart, to the delight of all who know them. There are only two problems. Summer is no longer a biddable child, and the Honourable Taiyang Xiao Long is not her sweetheart.

A fascinating period piece featuring a ship that isn't typically my cup of tea, but makes it work nonetheless.

it's cooler than a knife, at least by bandiits | T | Bees Schnees | 8.9k

It starts with Ruby, who buys Weiss a sword, and goes from there - to a shrine on the wall, to gouges in the floorboards of a shared apartment, and confused feelings in the name of Athena. Or, you can buy a girl a sword, but you can't make the fools she's in love with realize they're in love right back.

modern AU + swords my beloved!!

show me everything and tell me how by ProfessorSpork | T | Gen (minor Bumbleby) | 20.1k

The second thing Blake notices about Sun Wukong isn’t his kind smile, or his concerned expression. It’s the way he wears his shirt open, proudly displaying the top surgery scars that accentuate his pecs: an underline in bold, declaring all that he is. Without thought, without fear. Blake’s never had that kind of courage in her life. - [Or: Blake & Sun & gender] [Or: How Blake Learned to Stop Worrying And Love Herself] [Or: Maybe the real they/them was the friends we made along the way] [Or: come for nb!Blake, stay for yearning bees]

I sent this to a friend of mine back when it was published who has never seen an episode of RWBY in xyr life, and it still managed to resonate with xem. I don't think any note I have to add to this can endorse it any more than that.

across the stars by CorvidFeathers | T | Bumbleby | 16k

Blake, running from her past and harboring a dangerous secret, would go anywhere the solar winds are blowing, so long as it gets her away; so she barters passage on the first solarship heading for the Outer Moons. If the Crescent Rose’s first mate is the most beautiful woman she’s ever met, that’s coincidence. Mostly.

Woooo okay we've gotten to the BBB fics I bookmarked from the 2021 event!! This was a really sweet and interesting AU.

back to places you run from by gayxiaolong | T | Bumbleby (minor Schneekos + Rainbow Quartz) | 42.4k

2 years, 8 months, 12 days. That’s how long Blake spent planning the heist of her dreams. It’s also how long she spent in jail. Now that she’s out, she gets to work. She’ll need a team of the best criminals she can find, a way to convince Yang to be her partner-in-crime again, and… a way to get back to how they were. Infiltrating and robbing the most exclusive event of the year might be easier than getting Yang to fall in love with her again. *** or, an Ocean's 8 au

I really enjoy heist fics, and I love the amount of thought that was put into this.

beyond this town lies a life much sadder by nirav | T | Bumbleby (minor Schneekos) | 25.4k

Yang Xiao Long has lived and died and lived again more times than anyone can count. She's spent centuries living a life in the shadows with her family and has never wanted anything more than that, until she wakes up one day from a dream that leads her to Blake Belladonna-- a new immortal unknowingly on the run from people hunting for the secret to her immortality-- and, for the first time since before written language was invented, finds herself wanting something for herself.

An interesting exploration of immortality and what forever truly means.

Caesura by Probably_Momo | T | Bumbleby | 19.8k

When up-and-coming cellist Blake Belladonna fired her manager, Adam Taurus, she thought she was finally free. But Adam’s obsession ran deep. During a botched attempt on her life, violin prodigy Yang was also gravely wounded. In the aftermath, Blake’s music was gone, silent. Her public reputation in tatters, Blake fled.

Three years later, Blake’s found her music again, jamming with friends and composing indie game scores. Her world is carefully rebalanced— until Sun shows her a viral TikTok video. There is Yang and her shiny yellow prosthetic arm. There is Yang covering the main theme from Blake’s latest project. [What can she do but play along?]

Music AU! A subject close to my heart.

Craving the Sky by najio | T | Bees Schnees | 205.2k

If it weren't for her grandfather, Weiss would have lost her wings at birth. If it weren't for her mother, she would have lost them as a toddler, when she was still too young to remember them. If it weren't for her sister, she would have lost them as a child, the moment she was old enough to be afraid of them. Weiss arrives at Beacon still counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, when she will finally get rid of them for good. It's the obvious next step. Until, that is, her team does what they do best, and makes everything a whole lot more complicated.

The word count probably seems intimidating, but I promise you it is worth it. (I was keeping up with this fic as it was updating, so...uh...it wasn't as intimidating when I started, whoops.)

I posted about this fic a while ago too.

[oddlyhale]

So, the end of RWBY x JL shows a scene where Team RWBY and Team JNR wake in a simulation room somewhere in Atlas, presumably all before the shit hits the fan and becomes V8.

It made me wonder, "again? They based it somewhere in V7 again?"

This is the second instance that the show had a spinoff or a thin extension of a new story come from V7. You'd think they'd choose somewhere that isn't in Atlas, y'know, because they're supposed to hate everything about Atlas, Ironwood, and the military and their highly advanced tech. The first time the writing went back to V7 was in Arrowfell, when Ironwood did nothing but act as quest giver.

Now granted, they may villainize Ironwood in the second part because Ruby deduced that someone from their world created the simulation. Or they may blame Watts, which would make more sense for him, but y'know, they may as well break canon for the movies.

Though I just wanted to point out that it is set in V7 again, and I kept wondering why they're choosing to put the kids back in the place that everybody is supposed to hate?

But then I came to think, "was V7 better than I thought?"

V7 is a vibe, in the beginning half. A very good vibe that brought everybody back together. It was the peak of peace of mind for all the characters to train and upgrade into new outfits and get some new upgrades for their weapons. Meet new friends and have Penny and Ironwood back, both of who were a delight to see. Not to mention, they're now surrounded by a great deal of cool Atlesian tech that gives them that futuristic vibe and much more exploration for the teams to do.

I think I can understand why it's neat to have that vibe. It's probably the only volume that had a sense of hopepunk in the cartoon itself. You'd have to ignore Yang and Blake's ignorant decision to trust Robyn to get a good feeling out of this volume. Weiss playing detective to expose her dad, while not the best sideplot, still was something good for her to do and finally put Jacques away. You'd have to also ignore Ruby lying to Ironwood just to have this good vibe.

Oh, and also, couldn't help but notice how hard RT keeps marketing RWBY in their Atlas outfits, as though they were trying to push the V1-V3 outfits away. Eventually, that didn't work. (Maybe that's the reason why they antagonized their Past Selves in V9 during the smoking trip, ooooooh.)

Anyways, that's all I noticed.

I refuse to think I'm wrong because they CAN go further back and avoid Atlas altogether, but they don't.

[maor-koren]

Penny Plan

so i though how the plan Penny have for stay in Beacon and this is what i thought could be the plan:

The important part of the plan is that it will look like Penny died so Ironwood won't keeping eye on her

Pietro and Penny need to have Ozpin, Qrow and Winter about what Penny is because the will be the key the plan:

Qrow would "kill" Penny

Winter will be the obe that will start the "fight" between her and Qrow

Ozpin is needed to informed about the plan

So for some reason that they will make up Qrow and Winter would start to fight like the part in V3

Penny would come to help Winter and she will fight Qrow

Qrow somehow will find that Penny is a robot and will "kill" her (in a way that look final but won't take the aura and core away)

Then after penny "died" Qrow would tell Ruby to meet him sonewhere and that Penny isn't dead

She then meet him, Winter, Pietro (who informe her that he is Penny father and creator), Ozpin and Penny

Penny would have a new appearence and name but only them (and maybe the rest of team RWBY and JNPR) would know about it