#james ironwood (mentioned)

[chiefladylightyay]

Death of a General

Scene: A darkened command room with flickering lights. General James Ironwood of the Atlesian Military lies injured with a large metal rod though his abdomen by a console, surrounded by dead or dying soldiers...

Ironwood: Lieutenant, get the wounded to those shuttles!

Atlesian Officer: *over radio* We're almost there! Should I send a team to get you?

Ironwood: I'm fine, Lieutenant. Just see to those wounded. I'll get out another way...

*General Ironwood attempts to dislodge the large metal rod, but stops after grunting in pain.*

Officer: General! There's too many grimm! We're not going to make it!

*a brief power surge lights up the room, revealing Cinder standing in the broken open doorway*

Ironwood: Cinder. You listen to me. I have three shuttles packed with men too injured to ever be a threat to you. Husbands. Fathers.

*he grunts in pain as he shifts to get more comfortable*

Ironwood: You let those shuttles go. You hear me?

Officer: General, we're surrounded! There's no way out!

Cinder: *stares impassively at Ironwood, her grimm parts clear for all to see*

Ironwood: You bitch. You're not even human anymore. You betrayed us all. For what? Petty revenge? How many innocents have you killed? How many more have to die?

*beat*

What if Rhodes could see you right now?

Cinder: *scowls in clear anger before using her maiden powers to push the large metal rod completely through Ironwood, killing him.*

Officer: General! We're surrounded! We're not going to make it!

Cinder: *turns around and walks out of the command room, leaving the dead general behind*

Officer: General! The grimm pulled back! It's a miracle! We're going to make it! ...General! ...General?

Note: Ironwood doesn't know about Cinder's treatment at the Glass Unicorn, all he "knows" is she worked there and murdered her friend and mentor Rhodes as well as her adoptive family.

As for the grimm situation? Did Cinder have a change of heart and ordered them away? Did they get bored? Did Salem return to her centuries long hobby of doing fuckall? I leave that up to you.

[bafflement]

Deaged Oz AU - You're Grounded, Tip!

Tip woke in a cold sweat, staring around at his surroundings, briefly unsure as to where he was. He’d been trapped somewhere cold and dark, alone, with no hope of rescue. But the room he found himself in didn’t match, it felt safe, familiar. It wasn’t that terrifyingly small place he’d been. The walls weren’t closing in. What was going on? As the nightmare faded slightly, he felt himself relaxing. He was safe, while that tiny cramped space had existed once, he hadn’t been trapped there in centuries. It wasn’t him who’d been trapped, not really. He wasn’t going to risk going back to sleep, though… he really didn’t like small dark spaces and he had a sudden feeling that that dream might have been a large part of why, but he was safe here. He was in the room he shared with Oscar, his brother still fast asleep in the bed opposite. Oh, but in so many ways, that was a blessing. Oscar could sleep through just about anything, so when James had stated that he would feel safer if Oz was in a room with someone else, just in case, Oscar had volunteered pretty quickly. He would have felt so horrible, had it been one of the others. They needed their sleep too, after all! He was aware that was slightly hypocritical, but everybody kept telling him just how safe Atlas was as opposed to the other kingdoms, surely him sleeping alone wouldn’t have been that bad? The others all did, after all, it had even been one of the perks that had convinced them to stay in Academy dorms.

Huh. Maybe he could convince someone to let him sit in on a few classes one day? Just so he knew how Atlas Academy worked, the place he might have even attended had things gone differently all those years ago. But then, if the stories he’d been told of his frail, sickly self before he was snatched were true, would he have done? Would anyone ever have allowed it? He knew, of course, that the main reason he was no longer that sickly child was because of his Aura, but for most people Aura... helped, but did not cure. He was different, there, too. Maybe because of that second presence, maybe not. He’d been far too young when all this started to ever really know the difference and the pre-merge memories of his predecessors were… hazy, at best. Sometimes, that was probably a blessing though.

He sent a fond look over at the still sleeping Oscar, but made no move to wake him. Let him sleep, at least one of them should be able to. Ah well, he was awake now, he might as well take advantage of that fact and get some work done. There were several things he needed to look up and the library wasn’t that far away. He loved that it was open all night, though that made sense with the amount of students Atlas Academy had. You never knew when someone would forget their homework until the last minute and need to pull an all night study session, or worse, have to cram for a test. He thought back to similar situations at Beacon and couldn’t help but smile, albeit slightly sadly. For so long, that place had been his home, but there was no going back now. He just hoped the students were alright, though he’d only heard of one death at the time, there was no guarantee the others were still safe now.

Oh, Pyrrha. She’d never been meant to die as his school fell, she should have lived a nice long life, been happy even if she wouldn’t have been safe. He tried to think about just why his adult self had decided that she was the best suited to be the Fall Maiden, but no matter how hard he tried, the memories wouldn’t come. It was probably the trauma from the fall, from almost dying and waking up as a ten year old, but that didn’t excuse it. She was just one more mistake, one more decision that should never have been made.

He needed to stop thinking like that. What was done was done, all he could do was try to ensure that it couldn’t happen again, that everybody else was kept safe. He wasn’t sure quite what he’d do if he lost his friends, his brother… Qrow. He wasn’t going to think about it, it hadn’t happened and it wasn’t going to.

Research would distract him. He scrawled a quick note and left it on the desk, better for the others not to think he was missing, but he really didn’t want to wake anyone this early. They’d see the note when they woke up, everything would be just fine.

The corridors were deserted as he made the familiar trek to the library, though he wasn’t expecting anyone to be around at this time of night. The lights flickered on and off again as he passed, one of the things he quite admired about Atlas. There was such a thing as too much technology of course, but in this case they’d got the balance just right. He just hoped the books he needed tonight wouldn’t be on too high a shelf. Oh, there were always a few librarians there on the night shift but he really hated having to ask for help reaching things. He couldn’t wait to be tall again, to be able to do all these things himself.

He knew that would take some time, but the part of him that was eleven was impatient and he had to admit to himself that everything was easier in a larger form. He thought he might be faster and more flexible like this, though, which helped in fights if nothing else. But sometimes people didn’t want to fight him, didn’t want to hurt the child he appeared to be and he hated that. He wasn’t actually a child, not really. He was more experienced at fighting than any of them, yet they couldn’t bring themselves to try.

There were a few people scattered throughout the library as he entered. Nodding to the receptionist, he moved towards the shelves purposefully. He tried to ignore the soft smile they always gave when they saw him, since he knew that was mostly down to his age. At least, he’d never seen them react that way to anyone else and he was pretty sure he wasn’t really that abnormal a person to find amongst books by now.

Oh good, the geography texts he was after were located on lower shelves, he wouldn’t need to make a nuisance of himself by asking for help. Carrying them to a desk one by one, he settled in to read, pulling out a notebook to make notes. He liked it like this, when he could relax and just read, take notes and forget to worry for a few hours.

Oscar was panicking. When he’d woken, it was to find Tip’s bed empty, though it did look slept in, there was no sign of his brother. He hadn’t been in the common room either, nor anywhere else he could think of to look. Oh no, what if he’d been snatched in the night? It might not even be Salem, there were quite a few other people who didn’t seem to like Tip very much, though thankfully his friends had mostly gotten over that. By the time General Ironwood entered, Oscar was far from the only one worried. Nora was pacing up and down the carpet, looking terrified for him and even Ren telling her that he was probably okay wasn’t seeming to help. Ruby was muttering to herself and Weiss was busy taking the common room apart, looking for her uncle. The note had slipped off the desk in the confusion, nobody had noticed its presence.

They’d tried scrolling him, of course, but there hadn’t been an answer, Sometimes Tip would forget to reply if he was busy enough, but it was a rare occurrence and usually, if he was that busy then the others would know. Tip was small, yes, but why would he disappear?

Technically he could and had pulled that trick in the past with his semblance, but that was mostly just to get out of playing games or, once, to win a fight. Vanishing like this, causing everybody as much worry as he had was something they all knew he’d never deliberately put them through. But there wasn’t anything to suggest that he’d been snatched, either. The tracker the General had woven into his hair was pinging as within Academy grounds, though he couldn’t really narrow it down beyond that. Ironwood’s eyes narrowed, he might need to correct that particular oversight. Tip knew he was being tracked, surely he couldn’t complain if the tracking got more efficient? The better they could get it, the more they could help others who became targets later on, or at least was the excuse he was planning to use.

They started to fan out, checking places they thought Tip might be. Wherever he was, though, he’d be in so much trouble when they caught up to him. He needed to realise that doing this worried them. They all knew he had a hard time believing that people cared, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t.

Tip, in the library, was too deeply engrossed in a book to realise he was being scrolled. He’d moved on to sciences, looking for ways to disrupt Watts while they still could. He was pretty certain that most of them would have been looked into, but it was always possible that they’d overlooked something simple by dint of assuming it needed to be complicated. That had happened far more times than he liked to think, over the millennia. It wasn’t even like this was a problem that hadn’t happened before, though he couldn’t fully recall how it had ended last time. They’d find a way, they had to.

He flinched, feeling a sudden hand on his shoulder and blinked up at James’ angry face. He swallowed, what on Remnant could he have done, to make his friend that furious with him? He couldn’t think of anything, but obviously something had to have happened.

“… James?” He ventured softly, looking up at him, eyes wide and confused.

James snarled. “Wintertip Pine, where were you. You went missing, do you know how worried we’ve been?”

“I left a note.” Even to his own mind, it didn’t sound like the best excuse. But he had!

“What note and where?” James didn’t sound amused, but there was a note of doubt to his tone. Oz wasn’t likely to lie to him, but if he’d been informed then he would have remembered.

“On the desk? I didn’t want to have to wake anyone, and it’s just the library.”

“You know damn well you’re a priority target, Oz. You don’t get to just disappear like that. Wake us next time if you need to be somewhere else!” The frustration in James’ voice was almost touching, though Tip really hadn’t meant to cause it.

“I’m sorry, I’ll try harder next time.” He admitted, trying to ignore just how scary James was like this. He might have been intimidated as an adult, but as a child?

“You’d better. Now get back to the common room. Oh, and you’re grounded by the way.”

Tip’s mouth opened to argue, but he thought better of it. Oh no, if his friends were that worried about him, what must they be feeling right now? What had he done?

On returning, the others made something of a fuss of him. Tip wanted to complain, but under the circumstances, discretion was likely the better part of valour. He resolved to wake James, specifically, next time. After all, if he was going to be grounded for leaving a note, then James could bear the consequences. He never had liked being woken up too early, but then this time he’d even asked for it.

The note lay undiscovered for almost two days. Tip felt rather vindicated when they found it, not that that got him out of being grounded. He had to admit, rather sourly, that James might have a point. Like this, he was rather vulnerable. He could look after himself just fine, under normal circumstances, but the possibility had existed that Salem might have had him snatched.

That would have been a very bad thing indeed.

[nightmare-foundation]

I BEG people to look up the BITE model of a cult before they call the Academies or Oz's inner circle a cult. If you actually look into it they don't classify as a cult at ALL

[jjacqualope]

Finally stopped staring at this long enough to post this AMAZINGLY SWEET AND SOFT ART OF MY BABY ADELAIDE WITH HER DILF HUSBAND!!!

Drawn for me by @rubyneo 💜💜💜💜💜

CHERRY THANK YOU AGAIN AND ILU SO MUCH AND IM GONNA GO BACK TO STARING NOW uwu

[helena-and-helena-meta]

Love and Bad Luck

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I wrote this at 12AM, please don't mind the mistakes! :3

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Qrow’s semblance has always been something he hated. In his own eyes, he was a bad luck charm. Whenever his emotions get the best of him, whether that be happiness, anger, or anything else, his Semblance activates and causes Qrow and everyone around him to suffer from the problems it causes.

Qrow sighed in annoyance as the glass he held slipped from his grip and shattered, small things like these kept happening, earlier it had caused Ruby’s Crescent Rose to jam while she was training and Harriet suddenly tripped and sprained her ankle while using her Semblance. In Qrow’s mind, it was all his fault, and at times like these, he would take a long swig from his old flask, but he crouched down to clean the shards of the glass he dropped.

“Son of a-” Qrow curses as a piece of glass suddenly slices his finger, his blood being another thing he had to clean. As Qrow stood to grab a towel before he could grab it, Qrow lost his footing, but before he could hit the floor, someone caught him.

Qrow opened his eyes and looked up to see James. The general sighed as he helped Qrow to his feet.

“You could’ve asked me to help, Qrow,” Ironwood spoke as he grabbed the towel, handing Qrow a bandaid for his sliced finger. “Jimmy-” Qrow attempted to protest as the general cleaned the glass, spilled tea, and blood. Qrow sighed as he bandaged his finger and went to sit down on the couch.

“So… How long have you been here?” Qrow asked, looking down at his injured hand. “I walked in right as you cut your finger,” James spoke as he finished cleaning the glass. When he was done, James sat by Qrow on the couch. James went to reach for Qrow’s hand, but Qrow stopped him, a flash of frustration gracing his features. “I wouldn’t touch me. My Semblance has been giving everyone problems. I don’t want you to deal with them either.” Qrow spoke, gritting his teeth.

Instead of heading to Qrow’s warning, James carefully grasped Qrow’s injured hand and traced his knuckles, softly sighing as he saw Qrow’s frustration with himself. “I don’t care if I get bad luck by being around you. I still want to make sure you’re okay,” James whispered, almost as if he feared breaking Qrow.

Qrow watched as James carefully looked over his cut, he sighs in mock annoyance, “I’m not a damn baby, y’know, you don’t have to check over every cut and bruise I get.” James looked to Qrow, their eyes meeting. Qrow couldn’t help but get lost in the general’s beautiful blue eyes. Not even the prettiest of sapphires could beat them. “What kind of partner would I be if I didn’t?” James asked. When he finished checking over Qrow’s cut, he still gently held the hunter’s hand.

Qrow’s breath catches in his throat as James softly kisses his knuckles, his cheeks turning a soft shade of crimson. Qrow clears his throat, but he can’t find his words.

“Your Semblance may bring bad luck,” He speaks. James looks into Qrow’s red eyes. The deep shade of them could make any ruby jealous in the general’s eyes. “But I feel lucky when I see you.” He finishes, James softly caresses Qrow’s cheek as he smiles at his precious bird. “Love isn’t enough to express what I feel for you,” James speaks as he leans close. Qrow smiles as he attempts to kiss James, only to fall off the couch.

“BROTHERS DAMNIT!”

[livestosave]

@flightofaqrow asked: (Ironwood) 🍁 + What was his family like 

      “...I take it you mean my...biological family?”

      The general leaned back from his desk, folding his hands. What was his family like...

      “I’ll give you the answer to both, and hope it does not disappoint you, hm?” The small half-smile was faint, but there, sighing softly as he steeled himself against the memories. It was likely best to start with the unpleasantness and...move to gentler thoughts afterward.

      “My mother was a dust trader from Mantle. From what little I know of her, she was a bright, beautiful woman, who loved with all she had. When she was home, she was always playing with me, and...I remember her laugh. She had the kind of laugh that made you want to laugh right along with her. She traveled a lot for work, and left me with my father.”

      And if, more than four decades later, his hand still clenched tightly enough that his glove audibly strained, well. It had never become easy to talk about.

      “He...he was from Mistral, I think. Or maybe from Argus. I assume they met when she was there for work, but eventually he moved to Mantle. He worked in the mines, and took care of me when my mother was away for work...which was most times. And he was...” A hesitation, and the headmaster forced his eyes to shut. It was easier that way. “He was cruel. Abusive. I only really remember being afraid, and angry. I don’t even know what he looked like, beyond a fist coming at me.”

      With a soft breath, James opened his eyes, tipping his head slightly and managing a small smile. Gentle, and...deeply, deeply fond.

      “I ran away when I was about six or seven. Lived on the streets for a few years. Then I picked the pocket of a well to-do gentleman, hoping for something good...and got caught. Luckily for me, old Goodkind was always far softer than he ever let on.” Sapphire eyes soften, full of both warmth and a nostalgic pain. An old grief. “I don’t know how many remember old Goodkind properly...he was a general in the Great War, and was General and Headmaster before me. He took me in, though at the time I didn’t fully realize it.”

      He fell silent for a moment, gloved left hand reaching up to stroke over his beard as he lost himself in fond memories for a moment.

      “Goodkind was a stoat faunus, and one of the old nobility from the Kingdom of Mantle. He was...brilliant. A bit standoffish, unless he liked you. A brave warrior, a fierce politician, a bright academic, and wonderful teacher...and he was very wise. And kind. And gentle. I was a feral child when he took me in, and he never pushed. Never caged. In hindsight, he treated me like you might a feral cat, and it worked. Eventually, without my ever realizing it...he became my father. I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss his guidance dearly. And the sharp wit that often accompanied it.” The thought brought a soft huff of laughter from the tired general, even as his hands folded across his middle. All the tension from before bled out of him, to be replaced with a warm amusement and relaxation. “Did I mention he had a sharp tongue? When he was a general in the war, he tore out throats, and I think in peacetime, he decided to see if he could do it figuratively.”

      After another moment’s quiet, he rolled a shoulder, and looked back down to his desk. “I suppose old Lark ( @couplct​ ) counts too. Another General during the Great War, Robert lark was Goodkind’s dearest friend...and something of an uncle to me, I suppose. Maybe even a second father. He and Goodkind were always visiting each other when the schools had breaks. Lark was big, and loud, and brash, and did absolutely nothing by halves. He could be a tough, mean old bastard, or one of the gentlest, warmest men I’ve ever known.”

      The sadness and grief in his eyes only deepened, as the general finally leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his desk and folding his hands. “When Lark finally passed, Goodkind followed him five years to the day. And I miss them both terribly.”

[invincibleweasel]

Was it ever explained why Winter seemingly skipped over going back for Jacques and James. Did the writers forget? Or did they desperate need a shit fight to fill up time?

[rachetmath]

Robyn: So Arc-

Jaune: You can call me “Jaune”. I’ve been here for five months.

Robyn: Well okay. Jaune um… what’s your day like with Fiona.

Jaune: Normal.

Robyn: Really? Nothing’s going on with you two?

Jaune: No. I just help her out. That’s it.

Robyn: Really?

Jaune: Yes.

Somewhere else

Nora: So Fiona. How long have you and Jaune been a couple?

Fiona: We’re not couple. What makes you think that?

Nora: You see him everyday. More than me.

Fiona: He helps me with the orphanage.

Nora: Nothing else?

Fiona: No!

Jaune and Fiona were in the Orphanage.

???: Mr. Arc? Mr. Thyme?

Jaune: What is it Rex?

Rex: Are you and Ms. Thyme a couple?

Fiona: Oh my- Robyn!

Robyn appears only to have May and Nora with her.

Jaune: Nora, you too?!

Nora: Look d-

Jaune: Nora.

Nora: *forgot the kid* Oh.

Jaune: Rex go to your room.

Rex: Okay. *leaves*

Jaune: Now what the hell wrong with you two?

Fiona: Why are you so obsessed with this?

Robyn: Because you two-

May: Look Fiona I been watching you two a lot and I have to admit it’s hard not to believe you’re not dating. In fact, I wouldn’t be surpise to call you both a married couple.

Fiona: Ugh you too May. Seriously wat-

May: You and Jaune do Laundry together.

May: Spend time with kids together.

May: In fact, when Jaune’s training leads him to get hurt, you are the first to drag him to the nursery and patch him up. Even when he tells us “Don’t worry about it.”

May: In fact you two are always in the kitchen together making dinner.

May: And Jaune, boy what Nora told me about you was damn lie. I saw what you did. Slow dancing in the night.

Nora: He was that smooth?

May: Smooth as Micheal Jackson.

Nora: Oh no.

Fiona: Um.

Jaune: Damn.

Nora: Oh yes. Finally. Fuck you Pyrrha! He go get right. *pulls scroll out her pocket and makes a call*

???: Hello.

Nora: Fuck you Weiss. You lose. He found someone better. He found the princess and gone make her his queen.

Jaune: Nora, calm down.

Nora: Fuck off Jaune. This is my victory.

In the twilight.

Pyrrha: Okay bitch, what did I do?

Adam: I mean you left the guy and died a meaningless death like Summer.

Summer: I gave birth to another silver eyed warrior. That has to count.

Hazel: Does she know how to use her eyes though?

Summer: Shut up.

Ironwood: And she destroyed Atlas and got Penny, Vine, Clover and myself killed so she’s kind a misfortune upon us.

Summer: Okay ya’ll need to stop disrespecting my daughter. Ya’ll made mistake.

Ironwood: Or so you say.

Summer: We can fight. We can fight right now James.

Pyrrha: I don’t understand.

Penny: Friend Pyrrha you are the main source of his trauma and pain.

Pyrrha: B-you know what… fuck all you.

Roman: Whoa Invincible Champion, it’s not our fault your ‘boyfriend’ decided to break that little curse you placed on him.

Pyrrha: Oh come on- I’m leaving. I don’t need this.

Summer: My death had meaning. My daughter has a mystery to solve.

Adam: So finally one of your daughters is actually trying to know what happened to you. It’s too bad they have to find the same woman that took one of them many years to find.

Summer: Oh my god.

Roman: Not to mention at least Penny’s death served a purpose. Winter’s alive. She kept thousands of people alive. While your death, Pyrrha, caused more suffering than good.

Pyrrha: You know what who wants to fight first? Who? Cause I’ll show you why they written me off. Name one. Who can body me? Who?! Step up. STEP UP!

Adam: Oh I never run from no challenge. Especially no One-V-One, come on bitch.

[anthurak]

So here’s an interesting little detail I noticed while rewatching some of the Beacon arc:

Out of all the various disposable pawns, patsies and stooges we’ve seen utilized by Salem over the course of the show (not counting the stooges who make up her inner circle), it’s funny how the only one who seems to actually recognize how much of a pawn he really is, is TORCHWICK of all people.

Like when you look at Roman’s scenes with Cinder and her minions, and particularly his final fight with Ruby in Volume 3, it’s pretty clear that he was always acutely aware that he was a very small piece of a MUCH larger game.

Just compare that to the likes of Adam, Leonardo, Jacques and Ironwood, who by all rights were all COMPLETELY oblivious to how much they were getting played, or just how little they mattered to Salem.

And that gets even more interesting when you consider that Roman was probably the smallest piece in terms of both status and overall significance compared to Salem’s other pawns. Like I actually don’t think for a moment that Torchwick ever actually met Salem or even KNEW about her by name. I imagine all Roman knew was that there was some boss/mom that Cinder was reporting to.

Instead, Torchwick was able to look at everything Cinder was doing and plotting, between manipulating the White Fang, securing several warehouses of stolen dust, planning a full-on grimm-incursion of Vale during the Vytal Festival with the ultimate aim of toppling one of the four Huntsman Academies. Not to mention I imagine Roman had at least an inkling as to the whole Maiden business that Cinder was after, plus the fact that she seemed to be able to control grimm to a degree. Maybe even guess that this was a plot years if not decades in the making.

And it’s pretty clear that Roman took one look at all this and rightly surmised that he was a bit player in a truly MASSIVE game. As he implies to Ruby during their final fight, Torchwick may not have known much about Salem or her plans, but he knew ENOUGH that he didn’t want to be standing AGAINST her.

Again, just compare that to someone like Adam Taurus, so-called big-shot revolutionary with his big plans to topple the oppression of the humans… who seems to have had no fucking clue that his new ‘friends’ were fully intent on sending him and his followers out to die as a DISTRACTION for their own plans.

Or of course, James Ironwood the big, strong (self-appointed) defender of Atlas and (also self-appointed) last, best hope for humanity, who to his dying breath seems to have been ENTIRELY oblivious to just how completely Salem and her minions were playing him like the cheap kazoo he was.

Or just Jacques Schnee the big-shot corporate overlord who wasn’t even important enough to know about any kind of scheme. All he needed was Watts dangling an election win like keys in front of a baby to be a dutiful little pawn for Salem.

Though funny enough, to Jacques’ credit; the moment he hears about the heating grid going down he does seem to immediately catch on that Watts played him for a chump.

And it’s rather amusing that this is more than can be said for the likes of the ‘Faunus Revolutionary’ who bent the knee to a human girl who kicked his ass, or Ol’ Jimmy the Child-Shooter himself.

[howlingday]

So who would rank as the best fighters in Rwby that don't have magic? So no Maidens,Salem,Brother Gods, the Tree or Opzin. Anyone else including the Curious Cat is a choice. (I'm saying the cat counts for this list because even though it's magic we at least have a clear understanding of how his powers work.)

The best fighters? Hoof... That's a tall order, especially since I'd have to look over all the candidates I can remember. But I'll narrow it down to TEN characters, in order to appease the [tumblr] gif limit.

General James Ironwood: Simply put, you don't become the headmaster of a huntsman academy by being weak or stupid, because this commanding officer is definitely neither... relatively speaking. Granted, one could argue against his battle tactics as a military general, but I think when compared to other huntsmen, there's not a lot of characters you can say that require an ambush by almost a dozen people to take down! So yeah, General Ironwood is definitely an intimidating character to start off with.

Ruby Rose: Yeah, I know, I know. Ruby's the main character, so of course she's gonna be on this list! But to be fair (to be fair), she's EARNED her place as a main character. The series starts off with her easily thrashing goons, followed by her heading off to Beacon Academy two years early for her skill against such an impressive foe. And she's only grown ever since. Given time, I can totally see Ruby being the hero who saves Remnant and looks good while doing it.

Neopolitan: Barring magic is one thing, but some characters never needed magic to be overpowered. One such character started off as a generic sidekick villain who bailed Torchwick out. Then she comes back later that same Volume to style and beat down on RWBY's heaviest hitter. Heck, Neo would've ended Yang if it wasn't for Raven showing up! And while Neo doesn't have magic, she does have an overpowered semblance that makes her a nuisance at first and a crisis by the end! Tell me, dear reader; what happens when you put a girl whose semblance called, "Overactive Imagination" inside of a FAIRY TALE?! I'll tell you what you get- YOU GET A NIGHTMARE.

Pyrrha Nikos: Ooh, boy, now this is where things get sad. Pyrrha was the best fighter in Volume 1-3 solely for the fact that she was the one fighter EVERYONE knew about. Pyrrha was getting wins BEFORE the series started and she started racking up wins afterwards against Grimm and other students, too. Sadly, this poor, young Achilles was not truly invincible, for her tender heart was what got her killed... And also an arrow to said tender heart.

Cinder Fall: And speaking of arrows to tender hearts, I should give credit where credit is due, and it's overdue for Cinder Fall. First up, let's look at Cinder WITHOUT her magic. Her semblance, Caress, increases the temperature of things she touches, burning and even melting them. Heck, she was even throwing fireballs BEFORE the Maiden powers were hers! Not to mention she was throwing down with Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon and definitely the oldest man on the planet! She managed to outwit and outpace a man with centuries of experience. She then went on to kill the best fighter of the roster at Beacon Academy and steal her powers, only becoming wounded by Ruby's silver eyes. And this was all BEFORE she became the Fall Maiden.

Tyrian Callows: I want to admit something. I have a certain bias both towards and against Tyrian. Towards him, he's one of my favorite villains simply for the sheer lengths he'll go to in order to please his goddess, regardless of who he has to kill and how many. Against him, while I will admit he has some of the best fights in the series, his best fight is also the worst in the entire series. Story-wise, that is, because for some reason the other two combatants got way stupider than they should have.

Qrow Branwen: And speaking of fighters getting dumber than they should, here comes one now! Qrow was our introduction to what a REAL huntsman was like. And he did not disappoint! ...At least, when he first showed up. When Team RWBY were struggling against Tyrian, Qrow came in and fought him to a standstill. If Ruby didn't put herself in danger trying to help, Qrow could have won the battle and even been a big help later. Then again, for as skilled as Qrow may be, he's also got some personal issues that make him more of a hinderance than a boon.

Blake Belladonna: Thinking on it, Blake might be the best fighter of Team RWBY, besides Ruby. She has probably the most versatile weapon of the group, neither limited by range nor function, and watching her fight is always entertaining because, well, she's an agile-build fighter who uses airborne attacks to both maintain distance and to build momentum for closing in with killing blows. While Weiss and Yang also have their uses as support and tank builds, Blake feels like the only other fighter who actually has experience fighting.

Jaune Arc: Big surprise, we have the big man himself, Jaune Arc on my list. To the surprise of no one. No, but seriously, Jaune is someone to be praised for his combat skill, especially since his story is about how he literally showed up with 0 skill. I've seen people meme him as "Dark Souls style" and I can't argue. Where everyone else is over the top with their combat, Jaune manages to stay relatively grounded by comparison. No jumping or magic; just pure human strength, and what strength he has! Though, I will say that his usual style is more akin to tank/wall tactics. He's strong enough to take hits from heavy hitters, protecting his allies from heavy, crippling blows, and his semblance keeps himself and others in the fight.

Now, who else do we talk about... Oh, right! Since you brought them up...

The Curious Cat: For this, let's explain how their power works. Simply put, the Curious Cat's power mostly resides in their ability to possess creatures in a weakened state. Ruby was the intended target of this possession, having been forced by the Cat to avoid ascension while becoming physically and emotionally weaker over time. In the end, however, Ruby did ascend, and the Cat was forced to change their plans to possess Neo, who had also recently become emotionally vulnerable. Tactically speaking, the Cat is dangerous simply for their ability to take over and use the powers of another which, as stated previously, is overpowered to MAXIMUM. Once Neo had outlived her use, the Cat then made themselves more powerful by changing their body into something more combative. Combative enough to push Team WBY and Jaune to their limits. It wasn't until Ruby, who found new purpose and strength within herself that she was able to overcome the "Furious Cat" with the aid of her team.

So... yeah.

[frickingnerd]

the beginning of darkness

pairing: james ironwood x gn!reader

summary: you've been ironwood's right hand man for years. but when you change sides, ironwood isn't very pleased about that…

tags: ironwood holds reader at gunpoint, co-workers/friends to enemies, mentions of team rwby, ironwood vs. team rwby, angst with an open ending

“i wanted this to end differently.”

james had a tight grip around his gun, pointing it at you. you didn't dare move, knowing he wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. and after everything you had done, you wouldn't be surprised if he'd shoot you without any remorse.

“my own right hand man, working with the enemy. together, we could've saved atlas. but you had to betray me and sell me out. i should've gotten rid of you a long time ago…”

james sighed and loaded his gun.

“i never meant to betray you.” you spoke up, knowing that it was now or never. perhaps your words could sway james, before he'd shoot you. “i want to save atlas, just as much as you do. but this isn't the right way! if you'd listen to ruby and–”

“don't say their names, traitor.” james voice was firm and he glared at you. those girls really were a thorn in his eyes. “you've sold me out to some teenagers, who have no clue about the world we live in, nor how to protect a whole nation. it doesn't matter how good their plan is. they are just children, who don't know any better!”

“they aren't just children. they are our hope.”

a dry laughter escaped ironwood's lips as you said those words. you really had changed. just like everyone around you, you had let their naivety infest you. once you were someone james considered an equal. but now, he could only laugh at your simple mindedness.

“i've had planned to get rid of you the same way i do with all traitors.” james said, as he unloaded his gun and slipped it back into its holster. “but i'd much rather keep you alive, to see their plans fail. maybe seeing the world in ruin after they failed to save it will bring you back to your senses…”

[thousandyearphantombunker]

“The titan said Belos is evil tho! Are you stupid the show said he was evil!”“Masha said lil’ bro just got jelly that his brother got a girlfriend! He doesn’t have depth and his ending was supposed to be unsatisfying!”“But James Ironwood losing his arm is supposed to represent him losing his humanity”“Jason Rose said that James could’ve always become evil and sided with Salem”“They literally called him genocide general!”“But in this Q&A they said the puppies survived they just lost their laser powers! And in the tie-in material, they showed everyone was fine! You just hate Starco!”“The show/tie-in material/a fucking Q&A said blah blah blah!”These arguments are shit. TOH- “God says witches are evil so it is his duty to kill them!” is a pretty horrible justification for killing someone except when the titan says it to Luz. I don’t think Luz is in the wrong for killing Belos, he was a genocidal maniac and child abuser and genuinely irredeemable- nobody who hates the ending of The Owl House complains about Belos being irredeemable, they complain about the show flopping the cult critical message, how hunter’s possession felt like needless shock value, the show not properly setting up the collector or how the coven system/conformitorium’s writing is a mess or how Eda becoming a teacher makes as much sense as Toph becoming a cop and you can go ‘but the show said-’ what the show said had unfortunate implications, was uncomfortable to abuse survivors, and I can’t forgive the ass-pullery of the trailer-bait nightmare sequence or how in the hexside crew became irrelevant! When people complain about how Belos was handled nobody complains about him not getting a redemption arc- they complain that hunter should’ve been there to see belos die or how they hate Luz’s power up. RWBY -James Ironwood’s and Penny’s character arcs and deaths felt so ableist it’s actually uncomfortable to watch, I have ASD my sister, and like half of the people I know have PTSD, I don’t know any amputees but I’ve seen plenty making noise about how shit the writing was. Good, they should be mad! The show’s message about prosthetics/amputations was toxic! Not mention for all the hopeful messages Team RWBY screams at the top of their lungs about trust they knowingly broke Ironwood’s trust for very poorly defined reasons! while I do think ruthless pragmatism is a bad thing, team RWBY offered no alternatives, he wasn’t a villain- he was facing an ethical dilemma and got fucked over. And SVTFOE- I shouldn’t have to buy tie-in materials to understand the show- tie-in material should be a bonus not a supplement or requirement, I Don’t have to buy the ATLA comics inorder to understand the show, I don’t have to read all of Lord Of The Rings to understand the movies. It doesn’t matter how the show was supposed to be interpreted or how the audience is supposed to feel, and It’s perfectly valid for the audience not to care about damage control spinoffs (cough cough Steven Universe) or Q&A’s or whatever. I’ll admit sometimes the audience is fucking stupid and completely media illiterate but can we stop acting like anyone who doesn’t blindly consume product and go with what the writers said are stupid? I know im not articulating this well but I’m pissy rn and I’m having trouble deconstructing whats wrong with those kind of arguments but god there is so much wrong with these arguements

[itsclydebitches]

Right, so I was looking over your recap of Worthy again and didn't see you mention how absolutely contrived the circumstances of the James vs Winter fight were. If you remember from Creation, Winter explicitly states "No. When we're finished, we'll move both of you to safety." when Jacques asks if she'd be leaving him there. Logically, this would mean the next we see of Winter she'd be transporting James and Jacques to the nearest available portal but she doesn't? She just conveniently forgets about them. And I'd be FINE with that if it was written as a deliberate choice by Winter. "Sorry Weiss, these two men have negatively affected my life beyond repair and I can never forgive them." and while I don't necessarily agree wholeheartedly with that line of thinking because no matter what, every life should be fought for and saved in a scenario with magic transportation portals such as this. It'd at least be SOME sort of explanation that's in line with the narrative CRWBY is trying to tell. Instead we get her walking around aimlessly in the Atlas Vault, trying to communicate with everyone on the plan's status. Which makes no sense given that we've already seen the ground shake elsewhere meaning SOMETHING has happened to notify everyone that Atlas is falling. And I thought maybe I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she doesn't know since no portals have spawned in the vault yet and then I rechecked and they HAVE.

She should be sprinting for the portal. Atlas is falling. She needs to go go go but instead she just calmly walks towards it? Is time not of the essence? Where's the urgency? Like I get that sprinting in heels up a flight of stairs that large would be absolute murder on her ankles but still. They dumb her down just for the sake of a stupid fight that nerfs her so she NEEDS Penny to die to give her the powers and win in a fight she should have no issues with.

If I'm also giving her the benefit of the doubt - and from what I can recall after an admittedly long hiatus from watching this particular episode - I think she intended to move Ironwood and Jacques after the evacuation is complete. "When we're finished." So yes, she knows Atlas is falling because that's a prerequisite of the portals appearing. She knows the evacuation is underway and that something is going on thanks to communications being down, but not what. Winter has her next step planned, but no indication of if she should start it yet because she's not able to contact anyone and presumably she wouldn't want to go through the portal until she's planning to leave Atlas permanently. (We know that they can use the portals to get around Atlas/Mantle thanks to Jaune portal hopping to look for survivors, but I'm not sure that's ever established among the other characters. AKA Winter might think she shouldn't go through one until she's ready to leave it all behind, but she can't do that until she's gotten Ironwood and her dad).

But all the above keeps it just as contrived and stupid? Why does Winter need to wait until "When we're finished" to move them? To my recollection the show never establishes anything like, "You're a security risk so we're going to ensure everyone else is through before dealing with you" or "Based on our battle we'll need the rest of the team present to move Ironwood" or even a variation of your idea: "In theory I believe that no one should be left to die, but considering you made our lives hell, Jacques, we're not going to worry about you until everyone else is safe. You get rescued if there's time left :)" It's just such a weird situation that, yes, exists to ensure that Ironwood is conveniently alone so that only his cell can conveniently open so that he can conveniently go find Winter who is all alone in the vault... because?

This could 100% be me forgetting some aspect of Volume 8, but why is she in there again? She's not guarding the Staff because the girls already have it. She's not guarding the portal because portals have opened up all over the city and Ironwood/the villains can slip through any of them to reach the same place (as Cinder did). She's not playing decoy - misleading others into thinking the Staff is still there - because she's totally blindsided by Ironwood's attack. I'm just trying to remember/figure out the justification for this because if there isn't any that makes the fact that Winter isn't rounding up the prisoners all the more absurd. Her role in this plan seems to be to twiddle her thumbs (in a random place she has no good reason to be in) until she's told that all the hard work is already done. Then she can do the one errand she could have been doing this whole time.

I will say, thinking about it now I'm not against Winter being at a disadvantage against Ironwood, regardless of whether or not she's nerfed in terms of the skill she displays. Her losing tracks for me in terms of her being the subordinate/having him as a mentor in the early Volumes (implying that he's stronger not just politically, but combat-wise too), age (again, the older character is likely to have more experience + time to train their skills), and the fact that just recently we saw Ironwood going toe-to-toe against her, Emerald, and all of team JNOR, holding his own until he was inevitably overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, everything is still wrong with Penny dying to give Winter the Maiden powers, from how her death was orchestrated all the way to a semi-literal deus ex machina that lets Winter win via convenient magical powerup. We could have had the more interesting a) she wins through a really smart tactic or b) she looses and now Ironwood is thrown into the portal bridge fray instead of being left to presumably die off screen :/

[bestworstcase]

something interesting that popped into my head re: maiden talk. objectively between winter, weiss, and jaune, winter is the one most committed to atlas the nation; her line to ironwood, "I have never wavered in fighting the enemies of this kingdom, and I won't start now" has always stood out to me and I find it... interesting. Winter has the winter maiden powers and is probably the most high-ranking Atlas official to survive the fall. Raven, in committing to her tribe, places herself squarely in Mistral. Cinder steals Amber's powers in Vale, a country historically against Atlas (notably in the Great War), therefore aligning with her own sentiments. I doubt there is actually anything to this, but it feels like more reason to believe the Summer maiden will be in and associated with Vacuo. also as I rewatch the ironwood fight, he says that he never expected Winter to betray him... I have to wonder if he groomed Winter into joining the Atlesian military, or planted the seed in her mind, thinking that if he could mold someone into the lieutenant he needed that he'd never have to worry because he would have been totally responsible for them. (as in, taught them everything and shaped their morals and scruples). we know that as head of atlas he is the headmaster of the atlas academy but what better way to make sure that your protege never gets any "ideas" by picking someone who is isolated and desperate to escape, who wants to be cared for and about by someone and especially someone like him? if they never go to the academy they won't have the distraction of "friends" and "teams" and "allegiances." this could in part explain why her sword and rapier (?) are like ironwood's bfg and due process- she modelled them after him. also of course must be mentioned that when James realized Winter had inherited the maiden powers, he says that the destiny he chose for her had arrived. he must have known that it means penny is dead, but that doesn't matter to him at all. i think that's part of why winter is so pissed when she says "you chose nothing. this was a gift." she has to grieve her friend and a man who stands before her claiming he feels betrayed doesn't even seem surprised or sad about the death.

…hm yeah. throws that on the "gillian asturias is the summer maiden" pile

the WOR episode on huntsmen implies this pretty overtly, as ozpin notes that atlas academy has been under increasing scrutiny for "indoctrinating" its students into the military and pressuring graduates to enlist as special operatives, and…

ironwood also personally invites weiss to enroll at atlas in V4, and he knows jacques personally--prior to the fall of beacon it's implied they were political allies even, so he certainly knows what kind of person jacques is and how he treats his children. and then the way he talks to the kids when he gives them their licenses in V7 implies an expectation of personal loyalty--he needs huntsmen he can trust at his side.

i think he probably saw it as himself opening doors and taking a personal interest in promising students, much as ozpin does--bc ironwood very much does view himself as ozpin's most important lieutenant and natural successor, based on his unilateral actions after the fall--without necessarily recognizing (or caring) how manipulative and exploitative this sort of behavior is. but 100%, absolutely he was surprised by winter's "betrayal" because he thought she was his perfect protégé, never realizing she could still think for herself.

the funny thing is, projecting absolute obedience and deference while keeping her true thoughts and feelings behind a faultless mask is almost certainly a survival skill winter learned to protect herself from jacques, and she slips seamlessly into doing that the instant ironwood begins to make choices she disagrees with.

ditto her decisions in V8: winter sees ironwood murder a councilman in cold blood, going past "martial law" all the way to "military coup," and she sees the ace-ops brace up and fall in line. so what does she do? quietly stays put and starts doing what she can to sabotage him. she lets JYR go, then--upon realizing that they must have been the ones to blow up the whale, and thus probably survived--immediately turns around and declares they're going back to ironwood, no searching for the hostages, they'll tell him something else blew up the whale in person. jumping in to "arrest" marrow before ironwood shot him wasn't the moment winter "came to her senses"--that happened when she saw ironwood shoot sleet. it was just the moment when she saw she could do more good by leaving than by staying to mitigate ironwood's excesses. & i would bet anything that is exactly how winter was with her siblings when they were children: appeasing jacques and presenting as the perfect obedient child, and using the relative freedom that gave her to make things easier for her siblings in small, quiet ways.

ironwood just never noticed that he'd burned through all of winter's trust and all the chances she was willing to give him.

as for his reaction to penny's death: another moment i think about fucking constantly is this:

the way her focus goes right to penny's sword. the pause before she responds "sir?" to ironwood's greeting because she's so caught up in her worry for penny. (watts being… watts, and silently gloating at her because he can tell how bothered she is. framed between ironwood and harriet, who don't see penny as anything but a weapon to get under control.)

there's a reason winter is such a storm of feelings when she lets JYR go to try to save their friend, and the reason is she's terrified and angry and disgusted by whatever ironwood did to penny while she was being fitted into that brace, unable to intervene or protest.

so a day later, when penny dies and ironwood shrugs? it's not just that he's indifferent. ironwood is directly responsible for penny's death--he made the devil's bargain with watts, he authorized that virus, he is the reason penny was forced to leave her robotic body behind, he made penny vulnerable to cinder--and winter knows that.

[pinkrangersarah]

For all the reasons I've seen for people to either love or hate James's arc in V8, I've never once seen anyone bring up his semblance. Specifically, I've never seen anyone mention what a disservice it was to have it merely mentioned on Twitter and never once bring it up in any sort of way in the actual show.

I hate information being released on the side and never once being brought up in the canon in any sort of way. It's lazy. It is relying solely on the audience to have seen it and to take your word for it. It's like adapting a book into a show or film but leaving out important details about the world and/or characters, relying on the audience to have read the book first (which a vast majority of them will not have done).

James's semblance, to put it simply, is tunnel-vision. It "strengthens his resolve to carry through with tough decisions", basically cancelling out rational thought and ignoring consequences. This is a major piece of information about James's behavior that is never once brought up, and because of that I can understand why a lot of people didn't like his 180 heel turn into antagonist territory--I didn't either for the longest time, and because of this a part of me still doesn't. While parts of his downfall were done subtly and done well, this particular part of it was not.

"But why would his semblance ever be brought up in conversation?" Good question, one that could be easily answered by the three characters in the cast that definitely should know about James's semblance: Qrow, Ozpin, and Watts. Qrow and Ozpin had been working with James for years, and before that it is implied that Watts and James also worked together for a period of time, getting to know each other fairly well. It makes absolutely no sense for neither of these three to ever once bring up the fact that James's behavior is likely due to his semblance interfering with his ability to make decisions. Hell, I can even imagine Watts being delighted by this; Watts knowing how James's semblance works and how to take advantage of it would definitely benefit Salem.

James Ironwood was such a fascinating character, but the fact that his semblance felt like an afterthought is a major disservice to his arc, in my opinion.

[helena-and-helena-meta]

It's been a while since I made a James Ironwood post. I wanted to address something.

Recently, I had major surgery, and I'm starting to understand this action. When you remove one piece of your body that you have two of(Say arms, legs, or an ovary) the other one begins cramping, it's working much harder than it has plus even after it's mostly healed the scar can hurt bad especially if you drop something on it or have materials over it that cause irritation. Not to mention, your body still tries to send the missing part signals at times, those hurt.

I believe Ironwood was in pain during this scene especially after we learn how much he overworks himself, I believe it wasn't his scars aching but his other arm from overworking himself. He needed a break so badly even during the Beacon arcs.

I'm not Including how much the medication can drain you depending on what it is.