#ilia *confesses her love to blake*

[technicallyblakebelladonna]

oh bitch shut the fuck up SHUT THE FUCK UP

[kitkatopinions]

One of the things that many anti-rwde posters get really worked up about is the complaint that bumblebee is rushed, but at least for my part, I feel like there's a misunderstanding on what the real problem is.

They always say "how can people say that the ship is rushed when there were signs early on?" And I think the real problem isn't that there weren't signs. Tbh I personally don't read Blake as romantically interested in Yang during the first few seasons, her treatment of Yang isn't actually that different from her treatment of her other teammates and whatever closeness they accomplish is usually initiated by Yang, but it's easy to read Yang as having a crush on Blake. It's easy to read a lot of characters as having a crush on other characters, like it's easy to think that Ruby had a crush on Weiss, Blake, Penny, and Emerald during different times in the first three seasons, and like it's easy to think that Yang and Weiss were romantically interested in each other specifically in season five. I wouldn't think any of those ships 'came out of nowhere' or 'didn't have any juice' or so on. My main point here is that Blake and Yang weren't a forgone conclusion, but yes, despite the fact that nothing was clear solid proof of romantic interest OR clear solid proof of early writer intention to actually make them canon, there were hints that Blake and Yang could potentially turn into a real ship and it eventually did when the writers got around to it under criticism of queerbaiting and while running out of money.

When I say that I think the ship was rushed, I don't mean that there was never an indication that Blake and Yang might be romantic before they got together or even before their first big significant 'shipping moment' at the end of V6. When I say that I think the ship was rushed, I mean that the writers bypassed growth and working through conflict that I think was necessary for Blake and Yang's dynamic. When I say that I think the ship was rushed, I mean that they invented conflicts just to throw them out one after another without ever addressing it on screen. I mean that there are things very important specifically to the character of Blake like her time in the White Fang, her family, Ilia, and Adam that Yang hasn't talked to her about on screen (except Adam but it was not in any detail.) This isn't even bringing up the fact that they were forced into confessing their feelings for each other and when that happened, Yang didn't say anything about Blake that was true past her being a Faunus. Which makes it seem like the writers don't care to put in effort with the ship but that's just my opinion.

The ship between Blake and Yang wasn't rushed because 'there were never any signs' that it might happen, it was rushed because the writers didn't actually put in the work to deal with the conflicts they themselves wrote for the ship and just bypassed them instead. It was rushed because they went from 'Blake has spent seemingly a year apart from her team while Yang was angry at her the whole time and now the two are awkward with each other' straight to 'they barely leave each other's side, Yang gets angry at the thought of even doing a mission apart, they're in love, they caress each other's faces' without the writers really addressing that quick change.

It's got nothing to do with whether or not I think Yang's 'save me a dance' could be an indicator of real romantic feelings that would get developed later. The writers just fumbled the bag on execution, per the norm.

[misstrashchan]

2, 3, 7, 20, 27, 28, 29, for the rwby ask game? If you don't mind!

2. Rank the soundtracks

From favourite to least:

V1

Not a single track I don't love. Forever iconic, each and every one.

V5

Ignite is my favorite Yang song, as is Path to Isolation for Weiss. Smile is such a tragic song of showing Ilia's parents telling her to cope by smiling, by hiding, to the present where it's twisted into an angry mantra and she's still hiding who she is in a different way. The Triumph feels like such a comeback song with how high energy it is, all our girls heading back to each other, jumping back into the fray. All that Matters is PEAK bumbleby pining angst song. All Things Must Die is glorious, and tbh I think even This Time is pretty underrated as a song for Blake/the White Fang.

V7

I find myself relistening to this one a lot. Trust Love is my favorite OP (and yes that is in part the refrences to the Little Prince I can draw). I also like Touch the Sky and Brand New Day as these kind of recovery songs for all the characters that had been at their lowest or feeling lost finding their hope and confidence, happy in themselves. Let's get Real is a song that DID get me into Renora a little, it's a bop. Was over the moon to have an Oscar song in Fear that encapsulated the theme of the volume and complimented Ozpin's fear speech. Hero makes my brain go AAAAHHHH at how it captures the hubris of Ironwood. Such a great tragic downfall song for his character. Until the End is a great listen and such a lovely surprise to have a Ruby song after so long. War is a certified banger and a great song for the RWBY vs Ace Ops fight.

V9

In fairness I don't think I've listened to this one enough, but the more I do it definitely grows on me. Inside feels like the most unique OP, Checkmate is catchy as hell, Trapdoor makes me INSANE as a Ruby spiralling song. Pleasantly surprised to have a Jaune song in Quiet that's very moving. Worthy is beautiful as a Bumbleby confession/kiss song, truly magical. As a whole I feel the songs lean into being more gentle and introspective as to the usual hardcore rock ballads we know RWBY for, even Checkmate with it's jazziness feels fresh and new. I haven't actually listened to the Edge or Guide my Way enough to have an opinion on them, but I remember liking them, Guide my Way is a nice continuation and evolution of the Red like Roses song trilogy.

V3

When it Falls is SO HARDCORE. Bleeding edge and tragedy for the death and destruction to come. I'm the One is fantastic at laying out Emerald and Mercury's trauma's and subsequently coping mechanisms. Neon is one I like to listen to a lot, it's so fun and upbeat. Divide is brutal and chilling as the song to introduce us to our main villain after seeing her for the first time in all her dark glory at the end of V3. Not Fall in Love with You is... eh. It's my Turn is a good Weiss song, but it's not one if my favorites.

V6

I really like Rising as an OP, it feels the most... magical? fantastical? idk. I like the vibes. Indomitable is what I feel like singing all the time in wake of the recent RWBY news! We really are indomitable! Nevermore as a true triumph over Blake and Yang's trauma at Adam's hands, while acknowledging the tragedy of Adam's own situation. And Big Metal Shoe is a certified banger, love all the fairytale references crammed in there. Miracle is... fine. One Thing is a great song for Neo's return and revenge quest, but I never bought into the Neo hype so I'm kinda mid on it too.

V2. SACRIFICE I LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER PLEASE REPRISE IN THE SHOW LATER WITH CINDER PRETTY PLEASE. Now it's Time to Say Goodbye is an incredible banger of an OP, but it felt a little misleading considering it's a song all about losing innocence and leaving behind childhood, which feels more appropriate for V3 and the FoB than V2. Shine, Dream Come True and Boop are all fun and cute but I'm not hugely into Arkos or Renora so I'm kinda neutral on them. I'm also kind of mid on Time to Die as a song.

V8. Honestly this is just the soundtrack I find myself listening to or remembering the least, even though I really like Friend as the perfect Penny song that had me tearing up, and Truth, while short was a great bittersweet song for Cinder. And it was nice to get a Nora song too. The opening for this volume never really grew on me like all the others did (aside from the "some ROSES WILL NEVER BLOOM, SOME HEROES CHOOSE THE WRONG SIDE"). I also just associate this soundtrack with fandom arguing a lot about what song applied to who and it felt exhausting.

3. Favorite Ruby ship?

ROSEGARDEN ALL THE WAY BABY!

7. Favorite lines I already answered for @hoepunkausta

20. What are you looking forward to seeing in Vacuo?

*vibrating at a frequency unknown to man* idk I think a reunion hug between Ruby and Oscar would be neat maybe. Like @aspoonofsugar has pointed out all the set up at the end of the extended epilogue points to these two having a second alchemical wedding and so their relationship having a certain amount of focus/development in Vacuo seems apparent. After so long of not seeing them onscreen together I'm excited for any interactions honestly. I miss my kids.

Wanting to see WBY all trying to support Ruby more and her actively trying but still struggling to open about how she's feeling. More of what see saw with Ruby/Yang in the Boba episode. I'd especially like Ruby and Weiss to have a heart to heart.

Very curious about what Theodore is gonna be like and whoever the hell the Summer maiden. With the Dorothy allusions and those who've lost their homes trying to make one in Vacuo, I'm expecting an exploration of "there's no place like home" to be leant into.

RAVEN. TELL US WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT MISSION WITH YOU AND SUMMER. RUBY AND YANG DESERVE TO KNOW. For real though I'm hoping we see what lead Raven to rejoin the fray too, and how she'll interact with Yang and Qrow and even Ruby, what tension might be there. Delicious family drama....

Speaking of delicious family drama, the Schnees! all reunited! I want Winter and Whitley to tackle hug Weiss to the ground! Also the Schnees appear to be being confronted with all the harm their family and company has done in a kingdom like Vacuo, so I'm curious to see how Weiss handles that. Also Winter is clearly Not Doing Good, so something I'd really like is if Weiss (as her sister) and Ruby (as a friend of Penny and someone she also offered the maiden powers too) and maybe Jaune (who was there with Penny in her final moments) offer comfort to her and they all grieve together.

Emerald. Honestly suprised we didn't get much of a sense of how she was doing in the extended epilogue, not even briefly like Mercury. But I'm super excited for what her arc holds. Seeing her integrate with the group, if Ren, Nora and Oscar are already on friendly terms with her but RWBY are all still a bit wary of her because they've spent less time together. Seeing more of her friendship with Oscar develop (gimme that Little Prince/Fox allusion with their friendship in taming each other pretty please) and like. Mercury. Emerald KNEW Mercury and Tyrian were being sent to Vacuo, she saw him off in the ship, but Ren seems suprised to see him and Tyrian on the cameras in the epilogue. Did Emerald... not tell them? Even though that's incredibly important information that could help her new allies? Because... she wanted to protect Mercury? Because she still feels conflicted? It's incredibly juicy and I can't wait to see how Emerald and Mercury's relationship comes into conflict during the Vacuo arc. Gimme that Emercury angst pretty please.

Vacuo in general. By virtue of the books I think they have the most interesting world building, the food, the culture, the different words for weather phenomenon, the fauna, the nomadic tribes, the history of being a once incredibly beautiful oasis full of everything they needed, then exploited time and again and left with nothing and yet still surviving and carving a home and life for themselves. The world building of Vacuo is one that is inevitably tied to the story because of their fraught history leading to tensions between them and all the refugees from Atlas, Mantle and Vale seeking their aid and shelter in their kingdom, not to mention the Crown seeking to restore the monarchy, it'd be easy for them to be divided and conquered by Salem, and so our heroes have to find a way to overcome that and bring everyone together. So just getting to see the kingdom animated and learn more about its history and culture would be cool. I also like desert punk aesthetic, so I'm hoping whatever new outfits our girls get will have a little of that. (part of me hopes for maybe some Trigun inspiration... we've had Gurren Laggan inspiration in Yang's outfits before!)

I would also say I'm looking forward to seeing my darling cringefail wife Cinder but I don't know if she'll be in Vacuo or with Salem in Vale wrecking shit.

27. Favorite voice performance?

AARON DISMUKE AS OSCAR HANDS DOWN. Him being the VA for Oscar meant I was destined to like him, I usually do with characters he voices. The fact he has to also voice Oscar when controlled by Ozpin, and sometimes Oscar pretending to be Ozpin, and completely nails the subtle differences in all of them is phenomenal. And as the merge progresses he's literally having to mix and merge their voices together too!!! It's crazy!!! The awkward and shy intonation becoming a more sincere and quiet confident voice as Oscar develops, and gaining Oz's mannerisms in speech with a deeper and more serious tone. That is some crazy talent this man has.

Always impressed with how well Linsay Jones and Miles Luna hold up in earlier volumes, they've consistently been the best voice performances from start to present. Also Cherami Leigh as Ilia is absolutely fantastic, it's rare I've heard her get to flex her emotional range like that in her voice work for such a complex character.

28. Fairytale character you'd want to see RWBYfied?

With how character songs are a big thing in the show and semblances that can hypnotize and mind control exist, and instruments sometimes being weapons (gestures to Flynt), I'd love an allusion to The Pied Piper or the Lorelai Siren as a villain of some kind. Bonus if you had a Little Mermaid/Lorelai Siren allusion for that victim/monster/hero duality RWBY likes to play with.

Not technically a traditional fairytale but also very much one, the Last Unicorn, one of my alltime favorite books would be beyond amazing to be alluded to, even a tiny bit. Amalthea the unicorn being the last of her kind, the rest hunted down by a wicked beast at the order of a tyrant. She is associated with silver, the moon, hope and purity constantly. A story that is both a love letter and deconstruction of fairytales, an exploration of the nature of humanity and mortality. Tell me that wouldn't be perfect as an allusion to a Silver Eyed Warrior (also thought to be a myth) trying to find out what happened to the rest of her kind.

29. Favorite opening to sing along too?

TRUST LOOOOOVVVVVEEEE AND OPEN UP YOUR EYESEESSSSS TRUST LOOOOVVVVVEEEE THE TRUTH IS THERE BUT SOMETIMES IN DISGUISE

[itsclydebitches]

it genuinely surprises me that CRWBY wants to push this idea that the bees have been planned for ten years (idk if you're on twitter but yang's VA responded to someone who said 'wow this was planned for the past two years?' and she said '2? try 10' and an animator said something similar in another thread), because at least if they owned up about how they hadn't actually decided to do anything with the bees officially until fairly late in the game, they wouldn't basically be saying 'yeah we had this planned, we just never bothered to write anything confirming or alleging it for years because reasons'

it's just infuriating bc like you said, the straight relationships are not treated this way. pyrrha's crush on jaune, jaune's crush on weiss, and weiss' crush on neptune in the early volumes are all entirely unambiguous, despite none of them looking at the camera and spelling it out in dialogue. nora and ren's relationship is likewise unambiguous, or at the very least nora's interest in ren (leaving ren's feelings to take longer in the story to really be given form).

and EVEN IF we accept that they didn't want blake and yang to be aware of their own feelings for whatever reason (even if that's shoddily hamfisted in the narrative--they don't have any of the conversations they should have had post volume 6 to work through their feelings, leaving the confession in this limbo where it's simultaneously forced by the narrative and yet also like 'uh, duh? why are they so worried about confessing? what obstacles remain in their path that weren't clearly deemed unimportant by the fact that the story never cared to linger there?') there's zero excuse for the story not choosing to unambiguously confirm their sexualities.

blake could have had a conversation with ilia where she made it clear that she didn't return her feelings because her own lay elsewhere, not because she doesn't like girls (which would go a ways to alleviate some of the uncomfortable framing of ilia being the psychotic lesbian in love with her straight best friend and trying to kill her about it). yang could have had a brief crush on a girl in their beacon days, or talked about past relationships, etc. there's no reason for blake to be the first and only person yang ever shows true interest in, especially since blake has an unambiguous romantic history (with adam and also with sun).

especially since this is a world where, ostensibly, homophobia doesn't exist. (at least according to word of god) it's also not like this was a network television cartoon where they had to worry about BS&P or sneaking things past the censors! there were no censors to worry about! so if this was being planned for an entire decade, why doesn't it show?

I'm not on twitter, but I did see those tweets when they made their way over here. For the record, I personally don't believe it. I hate saying that because I'm not someone who enjoys accusing someone else of lying, but as you've established above, there is nothing in the story to imply that this was a decade long endeavor. I mean that quite literally. Yang eyeing the shirtless guys, Blake's entire romance-coded arc with Sun, the rejection of Ilia, Adam framed as a potential ex, Yang never once showing an interest in other girls, the lack of explanation for why they won't confess (AKA an established, long-term arc about one or both of them discovering their sexuality, coming out, overcoming homophobia, working through another relationship first, etc.)... The Blake/Yang subtext began late post-reunion - which isn't a bad thing! But why in the world would you pretend that it was in the works 5-6 years earlier?

I mean, we know one potential reason why. Right now, there's a lot of uncharitable conversation surrounding how the romance is being used to prop up a struggling show. So if you're hoping to draw in more viewers through your work's queer rep, it helps to present that rep as a celebratory achievement after a decade of work. It makes RT appear to have always been progressive and worthy of your time/money. There never was a fear of queerbaiting because this was planned from the get-go. There are no problems with the romance's writing because we knew this was the end goal from day one. No, no, pay no attention to how our queer employees are treated. Why would you doubt our allyship when we strove for a decade to bring you a queer main couple? Noooo, also please ignore that nothing was stopping us from giving you that in Volume One. Good romance has to be earned, remember.

My tone in the last paragraph heavily implies that I've made up my mind regarding why we'd get this narrative of the bee's development, but the reality is that I just don't know. Obviously. I'm not in the writer's room, I'm not in their heads, I will never be able to provide irrefutable proof either for or against that interpretation. But given how RWBY was written and given what RT has to gain from acting like this was always the end game (which is a lot), I think the most charitable reading (if not necessarily the most likely one) is that RT is subconsciously stretching the definition of "planned." Do I believe that they sat down at the start of Volume One, decided that Blake and Yang would be a couple, and then somehow spectacularly failed to write that story for the better part of a decade? No. Do I think it's possible that, given the nature of fandom, RT immediately picked up on the fact that people instantly shipped Blake and Yang (because they were partners, complimentary, if you've been in fandom for longer than five minutes you know that splitting the RW and the BY is easy picking), maybe joked about them and WhiteRose being a thing, spent a couple of years writing safe het romances while testing the waters, realized after 6-ish years that providing serious queer rep would prove more helpful than harmful to the show, stayed in the ambiguous 'Are they friends or something more?' stage to further cover their bases, and then at a time when the company was at its most vulnerable, give the fans exactly what they wanted, capitalizing on the gratitude by thinking back to those initial days of joke-y what-ifs and going, "Yeah! This has been in the works since the very start! That'll help get us renewed, right? ;)"?

...Yeah.

Honestly, a part of me doesn't care. Queer rep is queer rep, regardless of how it came about, and a few years from now the drama of it all will have begun to fad. From here on out, newcomers to RWBY will never have to deal with that potential queerbaiting. They'll start and end the show knowing that the rep exists and, likely, won't give a damn how it came about. But for those who do want to unpack that motivation, I'm personally of the belief that RT is stretching (at best) the definition of "planning" in an effort to make the company look as good as possible during this time. People are welcome to call me pessimistic and overly critical if they'd like, but I think it's important to keep in mind that RT is a company. They're not a bunch of home-bound fans writing simply for the joy of it. They're also not an individual, safely established author who can push the boundaries of their craft without fear of (much) repercussion. They're a company. Their job is to make money and though that doesn't preclude them from creating amazing art and taking great pride in their work, at the end of the day 99% of the writing decisions are based around what will bring in more viewers. I'd caution anyone to think critically about a saluting emoji and a very simplistic summary of - what we know having lived through it - was a very complicated situation.

[uncaught-coolfish]

ok ok imo there was defo some planning to the bees becoming canon and to deny that is kinda silly to me. that doesn’t mean that planning and eventual execution was good.

•Yang losing her arm is apparently a “sign of her love for Blake” because of that line Adam had in V3? …I thought y’all despised his ass, when did we start believing a word that came out of his mouth??

•On that note, paralleling the two, when the latter was literally the abuser of the former’s current gf, is…..😬

•Also on that note, the objective infantilizing of Blake. All she really does now is whimper and be meek around Yang until another “bee moment” or until the plot remembers to use her for something. Yes, because turning this once feisty character into this shy nervous little meow meow who can’t even fight on her own anymore after she’s revealed to have been an abuse victim is totally not gross.

•Yang prioritizes her new GF over her little sister who is clearly in a horrible headspace, and when she finally breaks down, instead of attempting to calm her down or console her she steps in front of a COWERING BLAKE and just says “Hey!”. YOU TWO ARE BOTH OLDER THAN HER WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE THIS

•The scene in which they finally confess was literally forced out of them by a storm. I…I thought we learned to not do this? Guys? Um…

•The 10 year queerbaiting smugly disguised as “planned from the start uwu” that Voltron Legendary Fucking Defender wishes it could have achieved. Does that mean it was always planned that you’d write your hatesink character to have been a branded child slave? Does that mean it was always planned that you’d write the confession of these two’s love for each other to have been forced out of them? Does that mean it was always planned that you’d confirm your main queer couple two episodes before said couple did nothing to save their 17 year old leader from taking her own life on screen?

•Saying the quiet part out loud when an employee tweeted that “The bee kiss alone hopefully green lights V10.”

•Also, the immediate merchandising of it. Ugh.

Before I go on, no I do not believe the bees were “forced diversity”. No I do not believe Adam was killed to push it (he was killed because the writers wanted a quick way for people to forget how abhorrently racist this show fucking got anyways). No I do not believe this is a bad pairing, and if you accuse me of being an [insert hetero Blake/Yang ship here], I ship fucking Monochrome and Thundercats, dude. But what about the rest of this show’s LGBT representation? Is it any b

No.

•Our first on screen rep is in the form of Ilia. I really like Ilia, genuinely, she’s honestly one of my favorite characters. But why did they write their first lesbian character in the “psycho lesbian” trope? Also, why did their first indigenous character start out as a villain who had to be redeemed by learning violent protest bad all lives matter and ANYWAYS—

•Coco leers at women and her allusion is a fucking Nazi. She sucks. •The wives from V6 (Terracotta-Arcs??) are fine. Probably the most decent rep we’ve got, even if they were just a one off thing. They’re cute and I’m happy for em. Slay.

•We’ve got a single gay man in the entire cast (Scarlet) and he’s confirmed in a book. A single gay dude in a show infamous for its character bloat. Obviously we know why but man.

•3 non-binary characters. 1 is in a spin-off, 2 are animals. In this latest volume in which the last two are present, one is revealed to be a villain, and the other goes out Green Mile style. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay….

•And lastly, May. I also do like May! However, her character is not the problem.

What is the problem with all of this, no mater what, is the people, company, making this show.

Rooster Teeth is not your friend. Rooster Teeth does not care about you, or putting that loving care into representation.

Why are half of the villains disabled? Why are half of the villains in universe minorities? Why are half of the villains POC? Why are half of the villains a combination of two or all three of those traits?

Why is the only freedom fighting, minority rights organization terrorists? Why does their WOC leader die the scene we meet her? And why is her killer revealed to have been in fucking slavery the same episode he dies on screen in? And why is this organization taken as a serious threat, while two openly racist antagonists are portrayed as goofy and comical?

Why are any and all plus-sized characters portrayed as jokes? Why does the disabled-coded girl get her disability ripped away from her so she can “truly be human”? Why does another disabled character have him losing an arm to mean he’s lost his humanity? Why does this show portray so many misandristic tropes? Why does this show portray so many misogynistic tropes?

Why was this show’s first LGBT character a villain? Why was the next based off a Nazi? Why are two out of their three non-binary characters animals, and why have those two either been “killed” or turned into villains? Why is there only one gay man in this huge cast?

And why is it so many just let it slide that, while before and during the production of the volumes featuring the show’s first transgender character, Rooster Teeth treated and abused that character’s VA like absolute garbage?

Are the lives of those real people less important than those sweet, sweet “bee moments”?

In conclusion, the bees were not forced. I am glad they are canon. But I am not glad that it has nearly managed to conceal all the deplorable shit the racist, homophobic and awful company behind it has done.

[tifaisms]

RWBY and Trauma Part 2: Team RWBY

Ruby lost a lot of people that she was close with, and moved forward too much - she ended up hurting people close to her because she refused to process her grief, and it led to her own misery, and that isn't something anyone wants to see. She also lashed out at people close to her in volume 9 as a direct result of her refusing to process her trauma, and seeing everyone else dealing with theirs and moving forward.

Weiss has trauma around her upbringing, and she let it colour her worldview and caused her to hold biases and prejudice that she worked to undo over the course of the show. She also hurt her brother without even realising - a documented phenomenon among children with siblings in abusive households is the complex cocktail of emotions around feelings of leaving, being left behind, being the favourite, etc. so Weiss ultimately made peace with her family, including her brother, because he was as much a victim as she was and he didn't deserve to be treated like a villain for it. they are now on the road to making peace with each other and moving forward as a family.

Blake suffered tremendously at the hands of Adam. She became wrapped up in his twisted view of the world and his twisted sense of justice, and she managed to escape from it, but Blake suffers from a specific trauma response that Ruby also has - she runs away. But where Ruby simply avoids her trauma, Blake physically distances herself from it. The problem is that she hurts people by doing so because she abandons them, and they are left to pick up the pieces by themselves. it takes Ilia, of all people, to help her understand this. Blake worked with Ilia to help her make amends for her actions, because staying behind to patch things up is far better than running away from the past. you need to confront it head on, and Blake realises through helping Ilia that she herself isn't staying behind to make things right. Ilia doesn't run away from her actions, and Blake shouldn't either. She realises that running away only hurts people close to you, and it doesn't help you in the long run. so Blake learns to commit. I'm very curious to rewatch v9 because I don't remember who makes the first move in the BB confession, but I think it works better if it's Blake, so I hope it is, because her whole deal was running away, so for her to CHOOSE to stay, even if things aren't perfect or going great, is a big personal step for her.

side note re Blake, Sun was very important for her arc because he is a shonen protag archetype and that really helps people deal with trauma by simply addressing it directly. He never gives her the answers, but he does push her out of her comfort zone to reach conclusions herself. Excellent supporting character, if a bit messy in the way he was written into v4. He was necessary for Blake to open up and deal with her trauma.

Yang's trauma is around abandonment and anger. Anger is an amoral emotion - it is the ways in which it is directed that lead to negative consequences. And Yang's semblance is representative of her anger manifesting in self destructive ways, because she needs to take the hit to get the payback. After Yang trains, she fights smarter, and learns that her anger, her semblance, is a powerful tool, but it is NOT something you should rely on. Keep a cool head, and you can protect people a lot better. It's also worth noting that Yang has dealt with her abandonment trauma as a result of Blake coming back, because abandonment leads to feelings of inadequacy - did they leave because they don't love me? and when Yang is shown that that is not the case, by blake coming back and making amends, and by disowning Raven instead of the other way around, she realises that she isn't the problem and never was - Blake ran because she was scared, but she came back because she realised it was wrong of her to run and hurt Yang in that way. Raven ran because she was a coward, and chose not to return because she is still running.

I've seen some people point out that team RWBY and team STRQ kinda parallel each other, with Summer and Ruby being the leader with the crushing weight of the world on their shoulders, Tai and Yang having been abandoned by the love of their life, Blake and Raven running from their problems when things look bad, and Weiss and Qrow having trauma related to their loneliness and isolation.

The fundamental difference is that team RWBY grew.

Summer told no one anything, and presumably died on a mission in secret. Ruby never shared her burdens with anyone, and it technically killed her in V9, but she was reborn and now needs to realise that she is not Atlas - the weight of the world is not her burden alone to bear.

Tai was left behind by Raven, and it destroyed him. Yang was left by Blake, and even before Blake came back, she prioritised the people she still had in her life, namely Ruby, and decided to do what she could for them.

Raven ran away from all of her problems and all of the people she cared about out of fear and paranoia, and never stayed in one place for too long. Blake did the same, until she realised that she was hurting people she cared about, and would rather face difficult problems with them than run away without them.

Qrow lets his isolation seclude him from people out of fear of hurting them, and it drives him into a depressive spiral. Weiss is isolated too, and even though their circumstances lead both to solitude, Weiss begins the slow road to making connections. I want to note that Qrow also does this, and eve nthough it kinda blows up in his face, I believe that he will also continue making strides and paralleling Weiss breaking away from terrible family members.

One last thing to touch on then I'm done, I'm sorry this post is so long lmao it's just a LOT to discuss.

I want to talk about Yang's semblance and how it parallels Adam's. Yang's strength comes from her anger. She takes the hit, and gets a rage power up to dish it out twofold, but it is self destructive and risky. Because anger can be directed and used for good, but it is dangerous to YOU. Adam on the other hand has no physical drawbacks to his anger on a magic system level. But that doesn't mean the anger isn't there, and it doesn't mean the anger isn't destroying him. It's jsut not physically destroying him. Having two characters rely on anger in this way, and having them parallel each other in a number of ways, is really cool.

Okay, I'm done for real. Hope you all enjoyed reading.

[chaoticevilspacewitch]

More Objectively Correct Shipping Opinions: RWBY+ Edition

Members of Team RWBY plus someone else

Ruby

Nuts & Dolts: honestly, the Ruby ship with the most basis in canon. WhiteRose has had a lot of time to cook and hasn't much, whereas every minute these two share seems like it's loaded with affection. I honestly thought it was just too wholesome to be interesting until I heard Taylor McKnee's confession monologue, and the line "I adore you so" broke me.

(as an aside, Frosen Steel combines many of the strengths of Nuts & Dolts and WhiteRose... although I wish it was called Frosted Cinnamon Rolls instead)

Milk & Cereal: in an AU where Yang isn't part of Ruby's life, Pyrrha could easily fill the roll, *and* be shippable. I did a smut oneshot of it once, but I'd like to explore it more thoroughly.

Fallen Petals: ah, my beloved dark rose! I was skeptical until I read Rise from the Ashes and became a believer in Ruby's power to redeem Cinder with kisses.

Strawberry Shortcake: very similar to Fallen Petals, but with more comedic potential between less murdery Neo and Ruby.

Death's White Rose: this one is entirely @powertaco 's fault. Ruby, Weiss, and a somehow young Maria Calavera. It's grown on me.

Red Fox: my wildcard. I typically am dead set against shipping any of RWBY with men, but I started writing Fox trying to flirt with Ruby as a joke and decided they're kind of adorable together.

Weiss

North Pole/Schneekos: I love Weiss and Pyrrha together. They have a lot in common with being women put on pedestals and always expected to be exceptional... and then there's the height difference thing. They're the backbone of Scattered Petals.

White Chocolate: fashionista rich girls who experimented on a dare and liked it? OR committed lesbian Coco seducing the uptight thinks-she's-straight Weiss? Yessssss.

Black Ice: hear me out here. MILF Salem playing a long, strategic game of seduction with Weiss, offering her power to make the world as she believes it should be, and vengeance against her father, only to actually fall for her? Weiss *knowing* what's happening and thinking she can play Salem, until suddenly it's not playing her anymore? Dirty and delicious!

Hailstorm: I was recently put onto this one by a couple of @powertaco 's fics about them, and I'm kinda taken with the Ruby/Weiss/Nora dynamic. It feels like it works best when one of them is damaged and the other two, in a healthy relationship, adopt them.

Blake

Catmeleon: Obviously. My only gripe with Bumbleby is that Ilia is a total sweetheart, and her "I wish you'd looked at me the way you looked at him" line breaks my heart every time.

Black Velvet: I just think they'd be sweet together, and their different perspectives on life as a faunus would be interesting to see interact.

Yang

Baked Alaska: I started writing this out of spite when @etincelleart was getting harassed for drawing it, and realized that, like many things with Neo, it's a lot of fun. The idea that Yang realized Neo was mute and learned sign language *just* so they could banter during fights is adorable.

Greek Fire: I think this one is a fun one to explore precisely because it takes Yang's usual position as the buff, strong protector and lets her be Pyrrha's little spoon. Great for sports AUs.

[hadesisqueer]

On Twitter there are polls to elect the best wlw ship, and I couldn't help but notice the snide remarks about RWBY and Bumbleby. I can understand misogynistic and homophobic men shitting on the show, but queer people? Why? Aren't we on the same side? Why are you insulting bmblb???

Yeah, I've seen it and honestly, the whole thing is both sad and hilarious. Bumbleby, Catradora, Bubbline, Lumity, Damie, Korrasami, Xena/Gabrielle-- I'm literally a fan of most of the ships in that poll. People attacking one ship or another are fucking stupid, because they're all great and important in their own ways. This poll thing is supposed to be fun and people are taking it too personal.

Now, people attacking RWBY and Bumbleby over this is sad as well, because they probably haven't watched the show and are going with just what they've heard from haters. Because if you are queer and you actually watch the show, then you know that Bumbleby is going to be canon and CRWBY's not baiting anyone. They have canonical romantic feelings towards one another. It is clear that they are going to be a couple, they simply are taking their time to develop them. It's called a slowburn for a reason, guys.

People talking about the lack of rep in this show is also kind of hilarious. Blake is canonically bisexual, Yang is canonically sapphic as well and, like I said, it's clear that they are going to be a couple. Ilia is also a lesbian. Saphron and Terra are both sapphic. Coco is a lesbian, too. Scarlet and Nolan are gay. And of course, we have May Marigold, who is canonically a transgender woman, and Shion, a non-binary character. And more queer-coded characters.

You can argue that Coco, Nolan and Scarlet being gay is only mentioned on side content, like RWBY Chibi or the novels. Or that Shion is only part of Ice Queendom. But even if you don't want to count them because of that—even if the first three are probably gonna be mentioned next volume, all of them being in Vacuo and all—, the main show still includes five canon sapphic characters (2 of them, 2/4 of the protagonists) and a trans character.

And no “they are implied, not explicit, so homophobes can still watch the show” bullshit, like I've seen some people say. Blake and Yang having feelings for each other is not implied, it's a fact; even other characters, like Nora, say so: it's pretty explicit. Ilia, a girl, confesses to Blake, another girl, that she used to be in love with her. Saphron—who is based of fucking Sappho—and Terra are quite literally married, call each other “my wife” on-screen, and have a child together. And May quite literally, explicitely says she's trans on-screen as well.

Could the show have more MLM rep? Absolutely, and the writers themselves have said they want to include more. But criticizing RWBY for “lack of rep” is proof that you either don't watch the show or you're stupid, because RWBY has more canon queer representation than most mainstream shows.

[dragynkeep]

Blake's "romance" will always suck. First she was shipped with Adam due to their history, then Yang after they're partnered, and later with Sun (with blatant flirting and ship tease). But this wasn't enough, V4 would've been perfect to show Blake as LGBT but that went to Ilia, who was seemingly invented to take that distinction and also be attracted to Blake. Then after all that nonsense every character ship teased with Blake are suddenly booted out except Yang, making the whole thing pointless.

it’s definitely odd that they’ve chosen to make the only bisexual character in the show have the most potential love interests, something that is “memed on” by the fandom & creators alike but also shows a worrying trend in blake’s character. her own character arcs are always eclipsed by what love interest of the month she has.

with adam, the abuse storyline between them overtook both of their connections to the white fang, entwining it into an ugly, tangled mess that finished with some very uncomfortable notions that killing adam, blake’s personal villain, solved racism in remnant, a societal issue. one that blake doesn’t even seem to care about in the current iteration in the show.

with ilia, once again their connections to the white fang, ilia’s indoctrination & her rightful anger at blake blaming the faunus for a problem she had contributed to & her parents saw fit to ignore while they sit in a mansion,  were all pushed aside for ilia to instead have a crush on blake, confess to her in a super femcel scene before trying to kill blake’s parents. it’s only through the value of this crush & blake’s affection for ilia that ilia is allowed to skate by on the barest redemption for multiple murders & the attempted terrorist attack on a school.

with sun, blake’s abuse of him in v4 is completely overtaken by whatever their arc was meant to be in v5 & the fact that it was never addressed or that blake was never held accountable really retroactively left a sour taste in the mouth about the rest of their relationship in previous volumes. what was once one of the most developed relationships on the show between a main & her love interest  /  friend was now this abusive, unfair mess where sun got nothing & blake once again got everything while being the perpetual victim.

which is a pattern we’ve seen repeated in her relationship with yang; where blake is only held to her side by a promise made in the aftermath of a murder neither of them wanted to do but were forced to. yang has ended up giving everything in this “relationship” with blake, including her arm, & yet they’re never allowed any concrete resolution to if they’re even a couple, let alone any conflict they have. any issue or conflict that does happen between blake & yang is immediately pushed under the rug or given the barest amount of screentime to then progress to the next emotional point & that’s just it, it’s all pointless. i don’t know why i should care about any of these relationships blake has when the show doesn’t even seem to care about blake.

they’ve completely stopped in developing her since the death of adam & the loss of any focus on the faunus racism arc, a defining issue for blake’s character since the inception of the show. she was always meant to be the activist, the one who went against the grain if it’s what she felt was right & she was strong & she was passionate. now she’s this limp wallflower who goes to parties with people she doesn’t even like instead of political rallies & holds herself while espousing this image of a perpetual victim. it’s sad to see just how far blake has fallen as a character because there is legitimately nothing for her to do anymore. she doesn’t even have a personal reason to fight salem besides the fact her designated girlfriend - but - not is right there with her.

blake’s relationships will always be unfulfilling because blake as a character is unfulfilling.

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain:  Chapter 1208:  Queen of Hearts Overture:  Part III / III

The White Wall surrounded the hillock as Ironwood's Own began to dig in. Ruby had Balios land next to the others on Chevals. A moment later a Sunlit Dragoon swooped down beside them.

"My Lord and Ladies." the Dragon Knight addressed them, causing Ruby to giggle.

"I'm... not... exactly... ladylike..." Yang voiced. She paused as the Dragon Knight waited for them.

"The area is secure and we are standing down in sections. We recommend you do the same. We will need your strength for the time to come."

"What do we do in the meantime?" Ruby asked.

"Giggity." Yang said, snapping her fingers and pointing at Jaune.

Jaune furrowed his brow before looking up to a nearby ridge. "We can relax up there."

"'Relax.'" Yang said with glee.

"In shifts." Ciel neutrally said, causing Yang to burst out in laughter.

"She is not joining us." Jaune admonished.

"I cannot relax?" Ciel asked, "I supposed I have my work as a signaller to do?" This caused Yang to laugh even louder.

"You can relax..." Jaune said to her.

"Acknowledged."

* * *

"Sister?" Weiss asked from atop the Indominable.

"Sister?" Winter replied.

"Perhaps we should repose as well?" Weiss asked.

"Agreeable." Winter replied.

"I would understand if you wanted to - away." Weiss said to her.

"Pardon?" Winter asked her.

"Is there not someone you would rather be whiling your time away with?"

"I do not know what you are insinuating." Winter dismissively said to her.

"Perhaps nothing." Weiss stated, "Or perhaps I should rephrase. Do you not have clerical work to attend to?"

Winter's eyes narrowed as she scowled at her sister. She breathed in deep to vanquish the mottled hues that danced about her. "Very well." She turned about and walked away.

Nora swooped down a moment later, with Penthesilea landing just after.

Penthesilea had a bright smile as she bowed, "M'Lady."

"M'Weissy." Nora said, copying her.

"To what do I owe the honour?" Weiss asked.

"It is our honour to serve you, M'Lady." Penthesilea said with glee.

"Uh-huh." Nora said, quickly nodding. "Whatever that is."

Weiss gripped the hilt of her rapier in it's scabbard, "I suppose it is an honour, now that honour finally has meaning for me."

"What does it mean?" Nora asked.

"I thought it meant the good name of grandfather." Weiss quickly replied.

"Thought?" Nora asked.

"Nicholas Schnee was the one whom created the Schnee name." Weiss replied.

"What was he named before hand?" Nora eagerly asked.

"Pardon?" Weiss asked, and blinked, "He was always named Schnee."

"He made the name reknown." Penthesilea added.

"Ooooh." Nora stated.

"Nicholas Schnee was the one that created the Schnee Dust Corporations. A corporation that is essential to almost all of Remnant. Until that curr he calls himself my father usurped it."

"How did he do that?" Nora asked.

"I have been curious, myself." Penthesilea nervously added.

"By marrying for my mother." Weiss simply said, and paused, "When I was young, on my birthday, he confessed to my mother that he had never loved her."

"THAT - EXPLAINS - SO MUCH!" Nora exclaimed.

"It does?" Weiss nervously asked.

"I'm afraid it does." Penthesilea stated.

"What, exactly, does it explain?" Weiss uttered.

"Why you are such an ice queen." Nora said to, causing Weiss to blush and flush a mottle of light and dark blues.

"Perhaps, I have been..." Weiss uttered.

"You are more warm and beautiful than you have ever been." Penthesilea added. The flush turned into a brilliant light blue as Weiss looked away.

"I do feel warmer." Weiss replied. "In home, family, and spirit."

"The towers actually kinda chilly." Nora said, causing Weiss to look about at the wind that rapidly passed them. "But, having family?!" Nora asked.

"It is... indescribable..." Penthesilea gleefully said.

* * *

Blake and Ilia came out of nowhere to flank the seated and cuddling Ruby and Jaune.

* * *

Ciel had a dark glow as she floated up beside Ren on the tor he had claimed. The dark glow broke as she landed, "Greetings."

Ren turned and smiled at her.

* * *

Sheva awoke with a start and looked over to her open bedroom door. She saw Sophia slumped up against the far wall, sleepily waving at her. "Morning." Sophia sleepily said.

"Morning." Sheva more quietly replied. "You don't have to..."

"I don't." Sophia gave her a weak smile. "I'm not Summer or Shantae, but this is how I can help."

Sheva jumped out of bed, "I've got to..."

"Breathe." Sophia said to her. "You can't help if you don't breathe."

Sheva paused to breathe deeply in and out. "Thank you."

"Thank you." Sophia said, as she sleepily stood up.

"What have I?.." Sheva asked.

"For believing my brother." Sophia replied.

Sheva simply stared at her for a moment. "The man that saved me?.." Sheva nervously asked.

"You had to fight to trust." Sophia said, "After everything. Thank you." She turned to walk away as Sheva thought it over. It never occured to her how astounding it was that she trusted her lord.

* * *

Yang sat astride Tyrannosaur. "Did you want to join your companions?" his vocober asked.

"Kinda, yeah, def." Yang replied, looking at the distance before looking down, "But I'm also kind of riding a dragon."

"Wouldn't you rather have a real one?" Tyrannosaur asked.

"You think he would?" Yang asked, and nearly fell over as Tyrannosaur shrugged.

"What about your horses?" Tyrannosaur asked, gesturing over to the four Cheval Knights.

"They cool." Yang said, "Right, Rhys?!" she called out.

"We are lovely, thank you!" Rhiannon shouted in reply.

* * *

Winter augustly walked into Ironwood's office.

"What is the meaning of this?" he harshly asked her.

"The battle will be long and drawn out. If I leave you to your own devices, you will simply brood."

Ironwood sat at his desk for a moment and started as his Aura flashed. "I suppose anything to distract me will be good." he replied.

"Anything is exactly what I will do with you." Winter starkly stated.

"Not quite yet." Ironwood stated.

"If you insist." Winter said warmly.

"I do." Ironwood uttered.

[firefly20ffm]

ilia saying that she felt like blake was too smitten with adam to notice ilia’s feelings for her isn’t the show saying ‘blake is straight’ holy shit it’s literally just saying what’s on the tin. it would be different if we had one of them comment on how blake couldn’t return the feelings - which is usually what we get when a show/other form of media is dealing with incompatible sexuality. all we got is that ilia wanted it, but it didn’t happen. 

let me put it to you this way: love triangle tropes are rampant in fiction. now, if Girl A wanted to be with Guy A but he was with Girl B - what are the usual ways this would be explained/develop? well - maybe Guy A just never noticed (which could result in him falling for her later on). or he genuinely doesn’t have feelings for Girl A (sees her as a sister, is only interested in Girl B, etc). or maybe he was torn between the two but chose Girl B because he thought Girl A didn’t like him back or because it would be easier to be with Girl B (the second one happens especially when Girl B is popular, or Guy B’s longtime crush, or is less ‘complicated’ than girl A.) Or maybe he was with Girl B *before* things started happening with Girl A. Orrrrrrrr - I could go on. Now let’s change that to Girl A wants to be with Girl B but she was with Guy A. what are the reasons behind this? well, there’s the option Girl B is straight. and there’s LITERALLY ALL THE OTHER REASONS I MENTIONED. BECAUSE BISEXUAL PEOPLE EXIST AND WE’RE JUST AS DUMB ABOUT ROMANCE AS LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE.

[technicallyblakebelladonna]

going from ilia's first introduction in v4 with her first interaction with blake ending with ilia saying in THE MOST devastating, heartbroken voice (god bless cherami leigh) "you shouldn't have come back" to v5 episode 1 with blake and ilia's next interaction having ilia plead with blake to leave menagerie and ending with blake saying "you're going to have to make me" ....

LITERALLY the gayest fucking shit. i LOVE bumbleby, i love the story they told (and will CONTINUE to tell, shoutout to VIZmedia), but if bumbleby wasn't going to be canon, i would've put money on catmeleon. the HISTORY between those two, and the narrative foils of ilia and adam. and that doesn't even count the v5 blake character short that gives us even MORE context of their previous relationship.

i love what they did with ilia's character, i honestly would not change it at all, because i love how they twisted the trope of the whole "psycho lesbian" when they revealed ilia's feelings for blake, but not at all having that be her driving force for revenge/her motivation, it's just SO GOOD. and then on top of that, having her confession on screen revealing that, yeah, this is the first canon confirmed lesbian. and just to have her character treated with SUCH respect is just wonderful.

anyway i just love ilia amitola SO much and rewatching rwby has reminded me so very loudly of this fact that i just have to blab about it again at length. i will probably be blabbing about ilia and catmeleon as i continue my rewatch, ESPECIALLY now that im back into v5, aka the ilia/catmeleon show XD

[kitkatopinions]

I do think it's rather hilarious that of all the RWBY girls, Blake has the most love interests yet she's never confessed to loving or kissing ANY of them. Even when she was canonically in a relationship with Adam in the flashbacks she's never seen in any intimate scenes that can't also be interpreted as platonic. Ironically Sun is the only one to get a kiss from Blake but blacksun is all but sunk.

Yup, Blake’s relationships are all so... Okay. There’s literally no ship with canon backing for Blake that isn’t full of problems, but one of the (more minor) problems is that Blake always seems like the less interested of whatever couple she’s in.

Some minor ship bashing for most of the popular Blake ships, but most notably for Bumbleby, which I don’t really like. The tumblr tagging system might make it show up in bees tags despite my best efforts and tagging it as anti eight ways to Sunday. Any bees fans, please don’t read this and especially please don’t tell me to take it out of the bees tag, because it isn’t in it.

Don’t get me wrong, I ship BlackSun and I do think that Blake liked him back, and I do read Bumbleby as having romantic feelings on both sides no matter how much I dislike the ship. But Blake always seems less invested.

As for BlackSun, Sun is usually the one to make the moves. He winks, he talks to his friend about her excitedly, he asks her out, he gets flirty after his V3 fight, he decides not to abandon her, he wraps his tail around her waist, he reassures her, he has a friend who talks to him about her in more explicit terms. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not intending to bash Blake with this, and she does display interest. She opens up to Sun more than anyone else, she goes on an explicit date, she blushes when he flirts, she gives him these fond looks, she actively kisses him on the cheek... I’m just saying that Sun drives their relationship a bit more than her. For them, I don’t think it’s really a bad thing, since Blake does reciprocate and do things, she just takes her time with it and is less obvious about her feelings. It’s still just a fact of their ship though.

As for Bumbleby, for the first five seasons, it’s much easier to read Yang being interested in Blake than it is to read Blake as interested in Yang, which makes them feel very one sided (and even Yang’s behavior is easily dismissed as not romantic.) And then when they do start getting romantic coding, it’s after Blake has been super guilty and then swears to stay with Yang in a very traumatic and triggering situation, now in volume seven and eight, her and Yang’s romance feels forced enough that it’s really hard for me to read Blake as actually in love with Yang and wanting to be in a relationship with her, and instead she just feels... Stuck? Like she’s trying to be in love with Yang, because she feels like she should be. I get that it’s not the only definitive reading, this is just how I feel personally.

And obviously, Blake was already done with Adam prior to the start of the series, and there’s really nothing that says she ever felt anything more than friendship for Ilia, while Weiss and Ruby are the next more viable options and again, Blake has showed less interest than they have. Once again, it’s not bad, but it does make the whole concept of ‘having to justify ships’ that I was talking about really difficult, because people can easily dismiss Blake as not caring at all, and it just adds onto the other problems of most of Blake’s more popular ships.

Blake’s most believable relationship was with Sun, but you’re sadly right about the ship’s chances.

[shortkingvi]

Ilia confesses her love for Blake as she dies at the end of season 5 but unlike Yang she is never referenced again

LOL ilia is those two lesbians in the gemini cult in tvd. just utterly useless and never mentioned again

[zwei-the-penguin-with-a-pen]

‘Black and Yellow’ (I don’t have time to think of a clever title rn)

Since it’s @bmblbweek and all I’m feeling write-y again. This is a frist kiss fic but there’s forehead touching too. So yeah, a two for one sale. Enjoy?

Blake gazed across the room at Yang, who was currently brushing her hair in the mirror. Yang had glorious hair like a mane of spun gold, and she took amazing care of it. The dorm's shower was full of hair care products the four of them used, though she, Yang and Weiss used much more than Ruby. The red scythe slinger had much shorter hair than anyone else in the dorm, so a bottle of shampoo could last forever. She wondered how Ruby would look with longer hair. Would she look like Yang?

Nah, nobody could look like Yang. The golden dragon had beautiful hair and muscles for days, not to mention legs that just didn't quit. Blake wondered if Yang liked looking at her legs. Blake figured her legs were pretty great, even if her thighs got all squishy when she sat down. Blake loved her big ole thighs, though, so why Wouldn't Yang?

Did Yang even like girls? She didn't seem to show much interest in boys, or really anything besides fighting and partying. And of course being the dorm's mom. She made breakfast every morning and remembere everyone's dietary restictions and encouraged everyone to take care of themselves and do their best. This girl was some kind of Superwoman.

Wait, was Blake catching feelings? She had always liked duys and girls, and even kissed her former cohort Ilia a time or two. She'd only known Yang for a few weeks, but she really enjoyed being around her. She was certainly better company than spoiled Princess Schnee. Ruby wasn't at the dorm all that much; Little Red had taken on lots of extra school stuff. Blake wasn't sure the girl ever got any sleep. The kid was a truly amazing fighter, especially for only being fifteen.

Blake snapped out of her thoughts when she realized Yang had asked her something. "Sorry I was zoned out..." Blake confessed.

"It's okay, Blake. I was just asking if you wanted me to brush your hair." Yang shot her a grin at the end of her question. Blake tried not to look as though she was having a fit of bisexual panic, though she hed never been good at hiding it.

"That sounds really fun and relaxing. I've never had a girl brush my hair before..." Wow, that sounded way less gay in Blake's mind. "What would I do for you in return?"

"No need to return the favor, Kitty Cat. I promise I won't brush your ears. Unless you want me to?" Blake hoped she wasn't blushing ten shades of red at that. She loved when someone played with her upper ears, but it was probably best not to tell Yang that. The beautiful blonde sat on Blake's bunk next to her and commenced with the brushing. Yang was dangerously close to her. Blake could feel her face turning red as a tomato.

"So Yang..." She finally brought herself to say something. The silence was brutal up to that point. Yang was usually pretty chatty, but she was oddly quiet today. "Do you... like girls?" Could Blake's face get any  redder at this point?

She waited for an answer and turned to Yang when she didn't receive one. Yang's face was the color of a ripe tomato too. This girl who always seemed to know what to say looked as though she was at a loss for words. "That's a... very forward question, Blakey." The blonde finally spoke, stumbling over the words. "But yes, I do like girls. I always tried to like boys because it seemed like that was the thing to do, but I never really did. Girls are so pretty. I've got a thing for dark-haired girls especially." Yang covered her mouth at that. Blake tried not to grin ear to ear.

"Do you now? Well, I've got a thing for blondes, myself. I like girls and guys, though." She confessed. Was it really a confession? Blake felt that it was pretty obvious.

"That's valid. There are some boys that are very pretty. Especially that guy with the tail and the abs."

"Yeah, Sun's cute, and he has abs for days... but I think your abs are better." Blake grinned even wider at her own words.

"Blake, that's gay!" Yang uttered before she realized. "I mean, thank you! I'm glad you like my abs." The girls sat in silence for a moment. "Would you like to touch them?" Yang asked, blushing even redder than before and trying not to cheer when Blake gasped.

"More than anything!" Blake cheered. She had to restrain herself from saying something embarrassing. Yang lifted her tank top the slightest bit, exposing her chiseled abdomen. Blake's eyes turned to stars as she drug her hand across Yang's fantastic abs. "Yang... can I kiss you?" She could not believe she had just asked that question out loud.

"I think I would really enjoy that, Blake." Yang finally responded after blushing for ages. The two of them were unsure how to move forward from this moment, so finally Blake moved toward Yang and their lips met. They both sort of just stayed that way for a moment, but feelings crashed over Blake and she moved into the kiss. Yang followed her lead and even moved into the kiss herself.

Their lips parted and their foreheads came together, and the both of them could not stop blushing and breathing heavily. Blake revelled in the forehead touching. She had never kissed someone in such a way and never wanted a kiss that was any different.

"So... that was a thing!" Yang broke the silence. "Did you enjoy it?"

"It was incredible, Yang! I think we should do it more often!" Blake replied, hoping she didn't sound lame or thirsty.

"So, since you touched my abs... can I touch your butt?" Well, Yang didn't seem to care about sounding thirsty. Blake held back her laughter and scooted her behind closer to Yang. Yang placed a hand on it softly and her eyes turned to hearts. "It feels nicer than I ever could have imagined. Can I slap it?"

"Calm down, Dragonfire. I hear your sister and her favorite princess coming back..." Blake mentioned. Yang zoomed up to her bunk so that Ruby and Weiss wouldn't suspect anything. Blake grinned at her as the two girls walked into the dorm. Yang's Scroll buzzed, and she saw a message from Blake saying 'But yes, you are allowed to slap it ;)'/ Yang grinned herself at that. Ruby took to her deathtrap of a bunk and Weiss settled into her own with a complaint about Professor Port's lecture.

Blake couldn't wait to be alone with Yang again. What a kiss they had shared!

\/\/\/\/\/

\/\/\/\/\/

\/\/\/\/\/

[hearticho]

Top 10 gay moments in RWBY

 “And if you feel like COMING OUT tomorrow, I'll save you a dance” *lesbian wink*

Weiss not saying a single word about boys or romance since volume two

Ilia confessing that she wished Blake could’ve looked at her the way she looked at Adam 

Coco smacking Fox’s ass 

Yang casually picking up a giant speaker in the background 

Yang’s motorcycle!!! (But also her aviators, bomber jacket, tank top, big boots, etc.) 

Coatless Blake™

Blake blushing and being coy + Yang’s “Sorry! Just not used to the new hair yet!”

Robyn and Fiona Sharing A Moment on stage during the election party 

“I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love. Starting with her.” (Adam honestly did a great job at emphasizing how much Blake loves Yang... A homophobic ally???)