#rwby characters see blake and think How can I get her to pick me up

[smokestarrules]

she just keeps getting away with it

[howlingday]

ARC-THOLOGY

A collection of short Tragic Backstory (TM) tales requested by @noneatnonedotcom

Enjoy!

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WHITE ROSE

Weiss and RWBY’s big day out! it's totally not an excuse for Weiss to buy ruby things she likes so she can make her smile.

Weiss: "I'm only doing this because there's things I want to get it's not like I'm doing it for you d-dolt"

Ruby: "SHE SAID THE LINE!!!"

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Weiss: I'm sorry, what?

Ruby: You said the line!

Weiss: What line? (Sneezes, Shivers) Am I the only one who feels really cold right now?

Yang: What? How's that possible? You're the Ice Queen.

Weiss: I'm aware of my nickname. What I'm not aware of is what Ruby is talking about.

Blake: The tsundere trope.

Weiss: The what?

Blake: The tsundere trope. A tsundere is a character who acts mean and aggressive towards others, yet has a secret desire for them that they keep hidden.

Weiss: (Rolls eyes) Oh, please. Besides, who would I tsundere at anyways?

Ruby: Well, there's me, and Yang, and Blake, and Jaune-

Weiss: No. No. No. And god no!

Ruby: Weiss! Don't be mean!

Yang: Yeah, wouldn't want ya to be too tsun-tsun, would we?

Weiss: WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!

Ruby/Yang: TSUN-TSUN! TSUN-TSUN!

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RENORA SUPPORTS KING ARC

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Jaune: Ah... Thanks for hanging out with us on the roof, guys. We really appreciate it.

Nora: Do you, though? We're not getting in the way of your make-out session, are we?

Mercury: Haha! Yeah, are we~?

Pyrrha: (Blushing, Covering her face)

Ren: It's the least we could do. Team RWBEY said they wanted to go out for a girl's night out with just their side of the team, so Nora and I thought we could do something similar with our side.

Jaune: Well, I still appreciate it.

Pyrrha: So do I.

Mercury: Even if we're interrupting your kissing time?

Pyrrha: (Glares at him) Watch it.

Nora: Besides, we're your whistles!

Ren: Vassals.

Nora: Vessels, yeah! Anything for our king.

Jaune: ...What if I wasn't the king? What if I really was who I said I was and I wasn't any kind of royalty. Would you still follow me as your leader?

Mercury: Absolutely not.

Pyrrha: (Growls)

Jaune: That makes sense. I'm nothing special.

Mercury: Heh, and that is why I wouldn't follow you. You're nothing special. Heck, Cinder wasn't either, but she still acted like it. You should really stop putting yourself down so much.

Ren: Especially when you've already done so much for the rest of us.

Jaune: What do you mean?

Ren: When Nora and I left our village, it was after a Grimm attack, and we wandered until we were picked up by an orphanage. We'd been stuck at the hip since then, and I would sometimes think about who I am without Nora. Since becoming part of your team, I feel like we've both grown into our own. Nora's found other friends she can hang around with, and I've spent a lot of time self-reflecting on who I am without her.

Mercury: And what would that be?

Ren: (Looks to Jaune) A brother.

Nora: Aw~!

Mercury: Ugh... This is way to sappy. Can we light a bonfire up here?

Pyrrha: On the roof? I don't think-

Nora: Ooh! Yeah! Let's show Team RWBY what they're missing out on!

Jaune: No, no, we shouldn- ACK! NORA! PUT THAT FIRE OUT RIGHT NOW!

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SALEM AND JAUNE

Jaune and Salem debate the nature of heroism.

Their core arguments are as follows

Salem: "at the end of the day a hero is someone who wishes for others to suffer without the grimm your entire way of life would vanish"

Jaune: "no, a hero is someone who helps. it could be against grimm but just as easily it could be natural disasters, human corruption, or the existential dread of living. the thing that marks a hero is their humility and willingness to try to make things better. a true hero is someone who sees a sacrifice must be made and chooses themselves to pay that price"

Who wins the debate? And what does salem want out of questioning our young hero?

..................................................................................

???: So, you are the one everyone is talking about?

Jaune: Huh? Who-

???: (Flickers into view) I have to say, I'm impressed by what you and Cinder were able to accomplish what James could not.

Jaune: Cinder? How do you know Cinder?

???: I know a lot of people, dear. But there aren't a lot of people who know me.

Jaune: Ugh... You're as bad as Ozpin.

???: So I've heard. I'll take it as a compliment this time.

Jaune: So, who are you, and what do you want from me?

???: I will answer your question, but only one of them. I'll allow you the choice.

Jaune: ...What do you want from me?

???: Smart. You really are as dangerous as they say, aren't you?

Jaune: That doesn't answer my question.

???: No, it doesn't. ...Very well. I have a question for you, oh "king of Vale".

Jaune: Ugh... No... I'm not-

???: I know you're not the king of Vale.

Jaune: I... You don't?

???: No. I knew the king of Vale, and he was twice the fool you were.

Jaune: Wait, but I thought the king of Vale died a long time ago.

???: He did. Much longer than almost everyone can remember.

Jaune: Almost everyone...

???: And now for my question for you. Are you a hero?

Jaune: What?

???: Are? You? A hero?

Jaune: I... I guess? I mean, that's what everybody else tells me. But I was just doing what I thought was right.

???: What you thought was right... And what of that one fool? That... Bull Faunus who attempted to murder your sister. I have no doubts he thought he was doing what he thought was right.

Jaune: That's not the same. Adam was a terrorist who wanted to hurt people that weren't involved in his cause. He was just looking for a hostage for an easy get away after putting people in danger with his terrorist attack.

???: And because he failed, that makes him the one in the wrong. Could it be that if you were the one who lost that day, that if you were the one imprisoned by the victors that you would be the one who was wrong, and he would be the hero.

Jaune: No, he wouldn't.

???: How can you be so sure?

Jaune: Because threatening children is obviously wrong! Adam Taurus almost murdered my sister, scarring her for life because he wanted to force an ideal that only he believes in!

???: And you believe this difference makes you a hero, and him the villain?

Jaune: What I believe is that everyone wants to throw stupid labels at me when all I want is to just live a normal life without people harassing and threatening my family and friends!

???: And the Wyvern threatened your family and friends, did it not?

Jaune: ...It would have.

???: So you killed it because it WOULD have threatened your family and friends?

Jaune: I-

???: So a hero is someone who slaughters his enemies for the sake of a potential threat to those closest to him. Is that right?

Jaune: ...

???: I will take your silence as-

Jaune: No. That's not what a hero is. A hero is someone who is willing to risk their life to protect someone or something that can't protect themselves, even if that someone or something isn't aware of what's threatening them. A hero acts to protect, not destroy for glory.

???: ...

???: (Fades away) How interesting...

Jaune: Wait, where did you-

Yang: Yo, Vomit Boy!

Jaune: Huh? Yang? Wait, where did she...

Yang: You done hanging out in that alley, or what?

Jaune: Hm... I'll be right there!

Salem: (In her castle, Watching Seer) Yes... How interesting indeed.

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CASTLE ON THE HILL

Turns out jaune inherited a castle. Like an actual freaking castle. Ozpin's been taking care of it and getting it ready for modern habitation oddly enough it was on the beacon property and left to him by the previous king Ozwald.

Ozpin: **sips coffee** "this should elveviate my bordom. dance puppets dance"

Glynda: "ozpin, did you let qrow spike your coffee again?

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Nora: Ren! Look! I'm queen of a real castle now~!

Ren: Nora! Get down from there!

Weiss: This castle is massive! It's even bigger than the mansion I grew up in!

Pyrrha: I think you're the only one in this group that can say that.

Ruby: Well, maybe not the only one. (Giggles, Points to Jaune)

Jaune: ...How many pitfalls does this make now?

Yang: I think that's the third one I managed to save your life from.

Jaune: Right. Glad to have you here, Yang. Without you, I surely would have fallen to my ten foot drop to certain death.

Yang: Hey, you never know. One fall could be your last one ever!

Jaune: ...I'm pretty sure Ruby survived bigger falls, but whatever. How much would renovating this cost?

Blake: (Tapping scroll) Considering current cost of construction contracts, and the amount of time it would take to plan, prepare, and execute a renovation, I'd say about five years and one hundred thousand lien.

Jaune: For this whole castle?!

Blake: No, of course not.

Jaune: Phew... For a second, I thought-

Blake: That's just for the central hall. Calculating the rest, it would take-

Jaune: Stop! Stop! I don't even know why Professor Ozpin even game me this stupid castle in the first place, especially since I have to be the one to foot the bill on all of it!

Nora: It's because you're the- WHOA!

Jaune: (Flinches at each crash)

Nora: (At the bottom of a pit) I'M OKAY~!

Yang: Well, it's gonna cost even more now.

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PURRHA

It's time for a DATE NIGHT! watch as we spin the wheel of romance and end up on.... Blake and Pyrrha? that's a rare pare oh but they're talking about Blake’s fanfics about jaune and Pyrrha, what's this Pyrrha’s been commissioning them? well at least they have fun.... where's jaune? (not pictured jaune training with Nora in the gym to get better at hugging)

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Blake: So, what else are you and Jaune-

Pyrrha: ATATATA! Pumpkin Pete and Patty!

Blake: Right. What else are "Pumpkin Pete and Patty" doing besides working on their fourteenth kid?

Pyrrha: It's only six children right now, and I was thinking maybe a romantic evening out at the lake.

Cardin: Hey.

Blake: Uh-huh, and how much smut are you wanting in this one?

Pyrrha: It's not smut, it's tasteful lemon.

Blake: Pyrrha, the last scene you had me write was Pumpkin Patty railing Pumpkin Pete on a hotel balcony, with him crying "Pyrrha! Pyrrha!" which you told me was rabbit for "my love."

Cardin: Excuse me.

Pyrrha: But that's-

Blake: And while she's pegging him, Pumpkin Patty is shouting "Jaune! Jaune!" which you insisted was rabbit for "my beloved." Listen, Pyrrha, I enjoy a good nsfw as much as the next girl, but I'm thinking you're not really understanding the amount of effort that goes into-

Cardin: Hey!

Pyrrha: (Turns) WE ARE TRYING TO DISCUSS IMPORTANT DETAILS, WINCHESTER! FUCK OFF!

Cardin: Er, sorry to interrupt your date, but uh... I just thought I'd let you know your boyfriend is gonna throw his back out if his partner keeps swapping weights.

Pyrrha: What are you- JAUNE?!

Jaune: NoRA! Are you SURE this will WOrk?

Nora: HAHAHA! I HAVE NO IDEA!

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WE’RE DOING A PRE-SEQUEL!

they're making a movie about jaune's life! they can't seem to decide on which version of his tragic backstory (tm) they wanna use though. walk us through each of RWBY’s and NPR’s versions of the story using a different genre for each character's narration.

(I find the idea of Weiss being a hopless romantic for jaune and Pyrrha really funny so Weiss’s should be a romance)

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Nora: Jaune, are you excited about the new movie coming out~?!

Jaune: What new movie? Ooh! Is it gonna have Spruce Willis in it?!

Nora: Mm... No, not that I saw. Why, do you think Spruce Willis could pull off a decent you?

Weiss: I think the bigger issue is a matter of physique. Spruce Willis is a man in his 40s, one who is both bald and physically peaked. Jaune... is Jaune.

Jaune: No offense taken...

Ruby: Spruce Willis probably wouldn't be that great for Jaune. Maybe someone more like... Spark M. Hill.

Weiss: Ruby, he's nearly sixty and his most prominent role now is as a voice actor.

Ruby: (Gasps) It's gonna be animated~?!

Meanwhile, at a meeting with the movie producers, or whoever it is that's creatively responsible for making movies.

"For the millionth and last time, it's not going to be animated!" Yelled a man in a designer T-shirt, featuring a special effects TV show character. "My vision includes real action with real explosions!"

"We don't have it in the budget for any kind of explosions." Calmly replied a man in glasses shifting his abacus to and fro. He didn't know how to use it. He just wanted an excuse to shift beads around like a toddler in a dentist's office. "We also can't afford a team of animators, either. They're almost as expendable as explosives."

"You mean expensive, right?" A woman in a business suit said. When met with silence, she returned to her coffee cup flap. She dressed way too formally for this meeting.

"Well, if we can't do action on such a high budget, how about a detective mystery?" Replied another woman, dressed not as formally with her leather jacket. "Jaune is supposed to be smart, right? Well, why not have him solve detective cases? Have him run around the city of Vale, scrounging for clues, only to realize he was the killer all along."

"...No. Just no."

"Alright, let's put it to a vote then." The man in the T-Shirt said, pulling free an empty water cup. "Maybe we can at least agree on something. Write what you want on this scrap of paper and then put it in the cup. Then I'l lask one of you to pull out a piece while looking the other direction."

The team did so and each wrote their choice and placed them into the cup. Once filled, the man in the T-Shirt rattled the cup around, then held it out to the formally dressed woman. Pulling out a strip of paper, they had their movie genre.

"Harem anime."

A silence fell over the room. One by one, everyone stood from their seats and left the room. Only the woman in the business suit remained, sitting in place as she stared at their movie choice. Looking up, she asked the empty room.

"What's a harem?"

[chittychittyyangyang]

“Knowing what it is to feel loved…”

So, I want to preface this by saying some of this is from my own personal experience as well as just kind of what I know from adopted people in general. While not outright stated, Summer Rose basically did adopt her, and the fact he was so young when Summer died, and she found out about Raven are both relevant. Because I feel like if Yang truly knew what it was like to feel loved on a deep, visceral level, she wouldn’t put herself in a position to always sacrifice herself for others. She wouldn’t martyr herself and have someone else feel the pain she has felt by leaving them behind.

The thing is, I don't think people understand how unlovable you can feel when you are adopted. Our society, puts motherhood on such a pedestal (and RWBY not existing in a vacuum we can assume there too), that it is so easy for a child to internalize there is something inherently unlovable about them that would make their own mother give them up. And you can just learn that as a kid even under ideal circumstances where others try to make you feel loved. Had Summer not left, Yang could have possibly lived a happy life without ever knowing Raven didn’t want her. But that’s not what happened. She had two mothers leave her and was left with a dad unable to take care of her and having to step up for her sister. No one ever stays, and Yang has to be the one to pick up the pieces.

When Beacon fell, Blake ran, Weiss’s father came and took her back to Atlas, and Ruby went off on her mission. Her own father says in ear shot he can’t go looking for Ruby because he has “to look after other things” while looking over to Yang’s room. As if she’s in the way of the daughter he really cares about because he out right states she reminds him of Raven. Speaking of, imagine growing up knowing your dad almost resents you for reminding him of the mother who left you, who you’ve been trying desperately to find, only to find out your father knew where she was and was intentionally keeping that information from you. Yang’s feelings of being unloved are so directly tied to being Raven’s daughter, and being forced into a parental role way before she should have been. I also mentioned with Blake in another post, that she did everything “right” with Blake, and she still left without even saying anything. “What if I needed her here for me?” Blake leaving her is just further proof that she must inherently be unlovable and not enough to stick around for.

Yang’s feelings seem so secondary to her that she finally finds Raven to help find Ruby. Yang gets to confront a woman who is nothing like the woman Tai eventually told her about, just for Raven to deflect and not answer the question of why she left. Yang’s feelings truly don’t matter right now because right now this is about getting to Ruby. Never mind, finding her trying to find Raven was how we were introduced to her character (Yellow Trailer). When Yang gets to confront her again, no one around, call Raven out on her shit, all but beg Raven to pick her over power and safety. Beg Raven to be a mother to her and love her, and Raven can’t. We, the audience, can see that Raven is conflicted and loves Yang as much as she can (which Yang can’t see because her back is to her), but it’s truly not good enough. It’s not what Yang needs. Raven might have been able to come up with an excuse before for leaving Yang, but now Raven is actively not picking to her face. Because in the end no one picks Yang.

But Blake did. Blake picked her all the way back in the Emerald Forest, and as far as we know Yang doesn’t know that. We don’t know if Yang knows that Blake ran to keep her safe. Yang doesn’t know Blake wanted her to hate her to further keep her safe. Everything Blake did was for Yang, but Yang doesn’t know that. Yang doesn’t know Blake is doing so well now because of Yang being in her life. Blake is in a perfect position to be there for Yang now and help Yang feel loved. Blake has gone through her journey and processing, and she’s seen and been demonstrated loved through her parents. We can only truly understand love when it’s been demonstrated for us. Yang has never had that, and Blake can be there to focus on her needs and show her what a good partner is like, because she knows what a bad one can be. Blake can take the lead and allow her to feel love in a way neither of them has felt before. It won’t completely fix Yang’s feelings of abandonment, but Blake can be there to help her hold that feeling so it’s not such a heavy burden.

[kitkatopinions]

New rwby ep dropped V9 ep6, my thoughts, praise, and criticisms (as well as obvious spoilers) beneath the keep reading.

Praise:

I'll give it to rwby, the twist that Alyx had a brother was not expected! I'm proud of them, actually, the two falling lights and the guy in the portrait, and even the footprints in the sand, that was all well done foreshadowing! Good on them.

The blink and you'll miss it reflection of Summer in the water is well done, not a lot of attention drawn to it.

Might hate that Jaune is here, but his line delivery of things like "I was the Rusted Knight" is well done too. Perfectly captures Jaune having wanted to be that, it captured his old feelings of pride that he must've felt, while obviously still bittersweet.

The thing is that I'm half-convinced that Jaune is going to be a secret accidental antagonist, and that his story about Alyx is him being an unreliable narrator, and if that's the case then to me the scene where he talks about Alyx seems - as of right now - pretty good!

The animators are once again knocking themselves out of the park on Blake's facial expressions.

I've already said it in another post, but it deserves repeating that after ten years, rwby confirmed main characters as queer. No matter how it's done (and I talk about my problems with it below) and how badly it's been handled before, it's a point blank period good thing and every bit of rep we see on screen helps normalize it and encourage it as expected for future media.

Again, I have very little praise.... Um, the sound effects remained good? That's all I've got tbh.

Criticism:

Me seeing even a moment of Jaune's POV going through a similar thing to Ruby in the beginning of ep1 was a curse. I am sincerely starting to hate him, and that's such a sad thing because I'm one of the few rwby critics who ever liked him at all (mostly as a concept, he's been used so badly,) but I just get so sick of seeing him and now me at Jaune is like:

Honestly they really just wanted Jaune to get a time-skip and be super old but needed an excuse for why the same thing didn't happen to Team RWBY so they went with special time fruit that he picked that sent Jaune back in time in the Ever After and created himself as the rusted knight he knew from the story in a time-loop worthy of Doctor Who. But I think it's stupid as hell. Sure Jaune jus yank a clock-fruit off of a clock-tree, that sounds like a good idea. /s Sure writers, just make a clock-tree that sends Jaune back in time, that sounds like a good idea. /s

Little is still an annoying intrusion.

Weiss being into Jaune is a bad choice.

I know it's hard for these writers because Jaune fans make up like fifty percent of their most loyal fans (the other fifty are bees shippers,) but if they could stop trying to convince us that Jaune is hot that would be great. Especially because let's not forget that Jaune was a total nice guy to Weiss, bothering her when she'd made it very clear she wasn't interested and I know 'times change' or whatever but it's a bad look to have her thirsting after him now and again it's just gonna feed the more misogynistic Jaune fans.

They cut away from Jaune actually telling Team RWBY what happened of course. Why would the audience want to see characters react to things when we can just understand they had emotions off screen? /s This is just like Yang's story about landing in the Ever After, we just brush it aside, but it makes the emotions so shallow and lacking.

Ruby: "We lost Atlas and the Relic." Blake: "But we got everyone out safely." NOOOoooooo babygirl, you did not do that. Not only were tons of soldiers sacrificed to try and hold her back, but Cinder attacked citizens on that bridge and apparently they were dead in the explosion, and also the Mantle and Atlas citizens were tossed into the middle of a sandstorm and got attacked by Grimm and that last one might not something the girls know, but they know the rest and nobody protests that Blake and Jaune both just think everyone is safe? This is especially weird to me considering that they don't know that Qrow, Robyn, Maria, and Pietro are safe (and they might not be!) And Penny is literally fucking dead. Like no, you guys are just delusional tbh and at this point I legit feel like the writers are trying to manipulate their fans into thinking that what they watched wasn't actually what they watched.

Ruby: "What good is saving anybody if Salem just destroys the world anyway?" Yang: "That's how Ironwood thought." So that's boiling down the volume 7 problem to being incredibly simplistic and tbh in not a very fair way (this is acting like Ironwood didn't want to save anyone in volume 7 and it's acting like Team RWBY had any real plan in volume 7 themselves,) but it's also.... Not wrong. If Salem gets all the Relics, the world could end and kill literally every person alive, Ruby is just saying 'we should've prioritized her not getting a doomsday key because not doing that could lead to Salem KILLING EVERYONE ALIVE ON THE PLANET. Yang is acting like being slightly realistic for two seconds is being on the path of villainy!

Blake's like "Hope the Cat is okay." I understand that the girls are processing a lot, but some of them didn't even think about the Cat risking itself, risking death, after having been freaked out by the Jabberwalker, and now the most they can muster when they remembered it existed at all is "yeah hope it's okay." Shouldn't they be slightly more worried about the life of an ally?

Jaune needs to take a million chill pills. Mr. Trauma he may be but if it's a choice between him or the Cat... I'm taking the cat. And he needs to not pull a "team RWBY" and draw his weapons on people. What was he gonna do, kill the cat? Nice thought, that Jaune might want to be a cold-blooded out-of-anger murderer as well as a it's-what-she-wanted out of kindness murderer.

Weiss: "We've been following this story the whole time and it's not even true?!" Okay, let's review. They arrived in the Ever After and a couple of things that happened to Alyx also happened to them so they assumed that they were going through the story in the same way as her - which is why they played the game with the Red Prince - but then when they beat the Prince's game same as Alyx, they got wildly off track without any of them mentioning it while none of them recognized the Cat right away and encountered a whole character who didn't exist in the book and then said they were off book, and then they went to a market to get a growgurt with none of them even sort of saying Alyx had done the same iirc, And now Weiss is insisting that they have been following the story? No, they stopped doing that like two episodes ago, right? The only thing they've been trying to do in the story is just go to the Tree, and they've been relying on the Cat for that since they ran from the Prince, not the book. So why is Weiss now acting like they've been following in Alyx's footsteps the whole time? They already know the Ever After contains lots of things that weren't in the original book - like the concept of Ascencion and the Caterpillar and other things they act like they don't know about like the loop, so why are they now acting like the story not containing everything in the Ever After is new?

So because of people being mad at the Cat, either the Cat or Ever After itself put everyone in a "punderstorm" (stupid name,) which is a "physical manifestation of a mental or emotional problem" (It's implied the Cat did it, but I'm unsure.) This is another thing that isn't in the Ever After book based on the reactions of the girls, and it immediately punishes Weiss for saying its the pits? Implying that the Ever After itself is an entity with enough consciousness to be offended? Also the gag where Weiss falls through the hole and then reappears falling on her back is very Marvel, very Spongebob. Oddly enough Weiss is just like "yep my bad lol" and doesn't say something like "omg did the Ever After itself just punish me for insulting it?!"

Jaune says the only way out is to fix the problem or 'wait for the storm to pass' before he directs them to keep moving before saying that Blake and Yang must've had 'something bigger' to work out. Here's the thing with that. Yeah, Blake and Yang did have their feelings to talk to each other about, but the Ever After forces them away from the others to talk about their emotional problem, and didn't like, force Jaune and Ruby into a place where he tells her he killed Penny? It doesn't force Ruby to stand across from her teammates and tell them she can't take everything anymore and it isn't fair that she's carrying them on her shoulders? The Ever After doesn't trap Weiss until she works out her clear emotional problems about losing Atlas? The Ever After doesn't put Jaune across from the Cat until they make up again over the situation with Alyx and Lewis? Why is it that Blake and Yang get singled out? Oh yeah, because the writers are singling them out. They might as well have had the RWBY writers appear on screen and shuffle Blake and Yang away from the others while breaking the fourth wall to tell the camera Office-style that they just can't write for characters to do things naturally so please stick with 'em for this brief intermission.

Blake and Yang need to get to the platform in the middle!

It's too bad that they aren't hunters who can launch themselves into the air or have weapons that help them with that!

Yang earlier: "Wasn't Alyx bad? She lied and cheated her way through the whole book." Jaune now: "She wasn't just a little petulant, or inconsiderate. She was selfish, cruel." Either Jaune misread Alyx in the book or Yang did, lol. 'A little petulant' is a minor character flaw (and every character ought to have at least one character flaw,) being a bad example for little kids on what not to do and a liar and a cheat through the whole story is something else entirely! This is hilarious, Jaune and Yang would've been out there accusing the other of being brainless antis who didn't read the same story. XD

So Alyx poisoned Jaune and he died? He says "I was dead" So... how did he come back to life? Is he alive?

Also it's worth noting that Blake and Yang don't even call for Weiss, Ruby, or Jaune and don't act worried about them at all despite the fact that "punderstorms" and their role is clearly also not part of the book. That's not helping the 'no they do care about other people' argument tbh.

Yang: "I like that you've never been intimidated by me." No lie, when I heard this, I burst out laughing. Blake has never been intimidated by Yang? She acted like Yang would hit her because Yang chose to go on a separate mission! Blake has been animated to make worried faces all season long while she tries to patiently coax Yang into not losing her temper like one would talk to a five year old. Blake has acted hesitant to express her worries with Yang - heck, throughout most of season six, Blake was acting like she was waiting for Yang to hit her, and their 'triumphant' moment in volume six was Blake sobbingly trying to assure Yang that she wouldn't ever leave her. Again, these characters are acting like they're delusional. Yang claiming that Blake has never been intimidated by her when Blake as recently as three in-universe days ago at least was ducking her head with a sad face and hunched shoulders while she waited for a scolding looking like she feared being hit because Yang had left her... It just makes Yang look like she doesn't pay any attention to Blake really, and during their love confession, that's a very bad look!

I would so much prefer a love confession where Blake and Yang naturally just told each other how they felt or kissed in the heat of a moment or something rather than having them forced into it, not only is it very fanfic in the worst way but it's also.... Cutting it kind of close to uncomfortable. If I was forced to confess my attraction to another girl, then no matter how sure I felt about my own feelings or how sure I felt that she felt the same way, I'd be pissed off. The fact that Blake and Yang are just like "aww I think we have to tell each other how we feel uwu" and not being like "god the Ever After doesn't even know if we're out and they're forcing this on us?" is weird lol.

Blake and Yang start telepathy communicating with each other?? I think??? And neither of them reacts to it????

Also here's the thing, being completely honest when I don't ship something, the attention and focus the ship gets and the shipping scenes are annoying to me. It's the same thing with Arthur and Gwen in Merlin, it's the same thing with having to watch Aragorn kiss Arwen. It's a complaint that I don't expect or even want to be adhered to because I'm not the only person in the world and I do think Blake and Yang needed the confirmation they got (though with most ships I don't ship my problems usually extend to not thinking they're super well done,) but it did lessen my personal enjoyment of the episode that such a large chunk of it was devoted to this ship that I honestly don't really like. This would be a skip on every watch through tbh.

Jaune: "Feels like I've been waiting forever for that." Buddy, when have you talked to Blake or Yang for more than a minute? Jaune is not only like twenty years removed from this situation but has very little established closeness between either girl involved. I feel like this would be like if I went back to my hometown in ten years and saw two friends of my sister kissing and I was like "I've been waiting forever for that!"

At first I thought I liked the Celtic Women style song that plays when Blake and Yang kiss, but on my second watch of this ep, I feel like I don't.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.... 2/10 episode. Pretty bad generally.

[onceuponalegendbg-rwby]

Reaction to RWBY Crew Commentary V9

Alright, as is tradition at this point, got my copy of the Blu Ray so let's get started.

Okay, first of all, before I even hop into the commentary, I love that the title screen for the menu is Ruby falling through that mural in the OP. That is... That is so cool man! Whoever thought of that... I love you. You're a genius.

So we start off with Kerry, Eddy, Laurie (hope I spelled that right). And addressing how they had to work mostly from home on this volume and the challenges that caused.

Yeah, quick reunion was the right call. I mean, we did the Team RWBY split for two volumes (4 and 5) and then again in V8. Don't keep the girls apart again.

Little origins! Give me! Someone that starts how Ruby started...

I mean... yeah, I assumed Ruby knew about Penny from Weiss. Like... duh.

Same peeps for episode 2 but also with Paula? Again, I hope I heard that right.

Return of Blake the Book Nerd.

Yang and Blake kind of dig the Ever After, Weiss hates it, and Ruby is lost in her thoughts.

Luci improvised Little's little song.

Oh, Yang might still think this is a dream so nothing here matters... That's an idea. Everyone grieves differently...

Man I love Weiss in this episode.

"We can't have her be the butt of every joke." .... I want to see what they cut.

Episode 3! We've picked up Conner, Dustin, and Kiersi! Lost Laura and Paula.

The animation is so good man.

Putting away depression to help her friends.

Prince Trauma(TM)

Neo Scary.

Episode 4. Kerry, Eddy, Miles and Dustin.

Curious talk.

Self critic!

"She learned her lesson in the end, right?" "Oh, I'd certainly say so."

"If there's something Ruby can blame herself for, do it!"

"Cat wanted to scope out which one of the girls was weakest."

Shout out to the VAs!!

Chapter 5: Kerry, Eddy, Paula, Kiersi!

Cat is dismissive of WBY. Focuses only on Ruby.

The Blacksmith: The Ever After itself is now reaching out to Ruby.

Walking the line between the audience knowing that Ruby needs help and WBY not quite understanding how bad it is.

Making sure the emblem wasn't on Ruby's model after was a pain.

"Oh no, he's hot."

Episode 6: Kerry, Eddy, Yssa, Laura.

The difference between Jaune having already lived for many years with this guilt in the Ever After and RWBY who are still fresh.

How protective Kerry is of the Bee scene is amazing.

There was an idea that the vision Alyx saw was that she saw that someone in her party was going to keep her from returning home, and it ultimately is herself before the Cat kills her.

Ya'll have already seen other posts about Kerry and crew's thoughts on the Bee scene and what it means for the Yang and Blake so I won't go into all that because, yeah, can't say it better.

"They were actually in front of each other the whole time." Excuse me!

"Now she has to step up again." ....Ow.

Episode 7: Kerry, Eddy, Miles, Dustin? I think that's what I heard.

How the meeting went: "Well he can't have been doing nothing, that would be really disappointing." *Beat of silence* "Oh, that would be really disappointing." Evil geniuses.

Stuck in the pattern of trying to be the hero. Both incredibly busy and doing nothing.

"He's more lost than ever."

Fighting on a hill. I'd never considered the complications of that either.

Miles and Lindsey kill this scene man. It's so good.

Episode 8 (oh boy): Kerry, Eddy, Miles, Paula, Kiersi.

Had to cut an episode due to scheduling and budget. Scary to have to rework that.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

The flowers on the Tea Cups are Forget-Me-Nots.

Imposter Syndrome.

Neo landed on the Brother's Acre.

"Neither one of them won that fight." Neo and Ruby.

Episode 9: Kerry, Eddy, Yssa, Dustin, Kiersi.

Blacksmith is a therapist.

Weiss is the best, true.

What do the characters want?

Episode 10: Kerry, Eddy, Yssa, Kiersi, Dustin.

Aw, their kids contributed some of the background drawings for Yang and Ruby's room.

Furious Cat.

"She's the self that chose herself." "She emerges herself but different."

"I'm so happy." I love how much they love this show.

"How do we not redeem her but give her this sort of neutral path?"

Oh man, I'm tearing up before Somewhat even shows up.

Somewhat is no longer defined by having one purpose.

Dude, they keep talking about not wanting this to be filler so they had the backstory of the Brothers but I will always stand by that if the characters learn and grow as people then it will never be filler. So from the beginning this was never going to be filler.

"One small kindness, in one small moment, led to such a marvelous transformation." That line always destroys me.

Whelp, that's a wrap on the commentary for V9. Now... we wait.

[mylittlerwde]

Ehh, Blake did enroll at Beacon without so much as a name change, and half the time makes big speeches, uses her semblance as a target decoy or runs around in white coats. Ilia fits the 'ninja' profile way better, though I doubt she'd make any headmaster's alternative maiden list. Pyrrha also used her magnetism *super* visibly during the food fight, so I dunno how covert she was really being semblance-wise. Weirdly enough, some element powers might blend right into Yang's sporadic light shows or 'just trying out new dust rounds guiz'. That quibbled, I don't think *any* of the Beacon mains could really keep this under wraps-Ren might be lowkey enough in isolation, but there's no way Nora's gabby butt wouldn't spill that tea somehow.

I agree, and I don't agree, Anon. Sort of.

For one, I'm not thinking of later volume Blake but more on early volumes, Blake. Who was mostly quiet during the early vol 1-3. From what I remember, the only big eye-catching speech in the early volume was the faunus rally, i think.

(And having been in the public eye once or twice isn't that big of an issue since Ozpin chose Pyrrha, who is a well-known fighter and has been on cereal box.)

Plus, Ozpin wouldn't know how she would change in later volumes, so I'm not thinking about it in that way.

I do agree that Blake wasn't really hiding, even if in the universe of Rwby, she was hiding.

But the one thing im confused about is your point about her semblance? What wrong with the fact that she leaves decoy it not like they linger they disappear just as fast as they appear. If you're talking about how maiden power wouldn't blend in, then you misunderstood me. I brought up semblances because I was going off the idea that they would go into hiding afterward. As Pyrrha was freaking about having to leave her friends behind, i think.

When I said Yang wouldn't be picked because of her semblance, it was more on the fact that her semblance calls attention to her no matter what. If she had to go into hiding, her semblance would always call attention to herself. She can't be subtle about it. It's loud, bright, and destructive. Plus, it's too tied to her emotions. All someone has to do is call her mean names, and she would probably begin blasting lightening.

And when I wrote about Pyrrha's semblance, it was a mix on how she kept her card to her chest (Pyrrha semblance wasn't that known from how the other characters reacted to learning it and correct me but mercury fought her to learn her semblance. I think.), and how she doesn't go all out with it. Think to how she subtly moved her opponents weapon to when she eventually goes all out against Cinder. It says a lot about Pyrrha. If she needed to, she could keep the maiden power secret or at least make it look like she was using dust.

(I can see why Pyrrha was picked she really was the best choice.)

While she does use it in the food fight it a event not many people would know. As far as I remember, most of the students had left during the fight, leaving only people she had told about her power.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is if Blake and Pyrrha were forced into a fight where they had to keep cilivans from seeing them. Their semblance wouldn't call attention to them. They could go through the fight and get out with no one knowing.

I hope that made sense. But no matter your right about Blake. She wouldn't be the best choice at the end of the day as I can't imagine early Blake who wanted to help Faunus and was forthright with her views would go into hiding.

So that leaves Velvet as the best choice. Or Glynda wished they explained why she couldn't be the maiden.

[electronicyarn]

Almost Live Blogging RWBY Vol. 9

Out of all the directions Volume 9 could have gone, I would have predicted none of it. Well, except the time dilation. Just in the wrong direction, I guess. So partial credit? But what did I think of this latest volume?

In my opinion, this volume is easily the best RWBY has ever been. Well worth the wait. The writing was consistently good to great. The art direction was terrific. The character beats were spot on. And the humor was…okay. (A big improvement.)

I suppose I should stop being coy. OH MY GOD! CANON BUMBLEBY! THEY SAID THE THING! THEY KISSED! HOLY CRAP! HOLY CRAP! HOLY CRAP! CUE THE OFFICE MEME! OH MY GOD, IT’S HAPPENING! EVERYBODY STAY CALM!

I never, ever thought in a million years that they would actually have the stones to pull that trigger. Well credit where credit’s due. Honestly? I kind of feel like the dog who finally caught the car. I’ve got canon Bumbleby, but what do I do with it? I was planning on writing a short fic that takes place during Volume 9 where Yang and Blake confess. Now…I don’t have to? I was not prepared for this.

It actually took me about three times as long as that scene’s runtime to watch it. I kept having to pause and walk away because I saw what they were doing, and I didn’t believe it. I was trying to emotionally prepare for coming so close and being denied. In fact, allow me to reenact (in prose form) the very beginning of that scene for me.

Yang: “But how do we take the next step?”

Me: *eyes narrow*

Me: “No…. No way…. Impossible….”

Me: *pauses and walks away for ten minutes*

Now there’s so much else to talk about. I really, really liked Ruby’s character arc in this volume. I loved the flash back to Summer Rose. I like what they did with Jaune. I liked the cute, polite paper people desperately scheming to embrace the sweet release of death. But forget all that. I want to talk about Neo!

Neo is RWBY’s best character, easily. I’m pretty sure this Volume was her swan song, but I can’t bring myself to be disappointed. Nothing that good can last forever. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Things need to end before they’re milked to death and ruined, or the good idea trough runs dry. (See Star Wars/Trek. Please pick whichever one resonates with you more.)

Now before I saw Volume 9 I would’ve said that them having Neo speak would’ve been a mistake. Oh how wrong I was. Neo speaking through a Greek choir of departed friends? Glorious. Absolutely glorious. And then the cat. Oh the cat. The cat made one, fatal mistake. He messed with Neo. You never, ever mess with Neo. That’s how you get murdered. Instantly and horribly. When it happened I literally jumped up from my seat and shouted something to the effect of, “YOU F!@#ED WITH NEO, CAT! NOW YOU’RE DEAD!” Not language I typically use, by the way.

And Neo’s send off. Only Neo can stop Neo. And even that was an example of how good a character she is. Without saying a word, she said to Ruby, “Don’t forget that I thoroughly beat you.” Goodbye, Neo. Goodbye. You were the flame that burned twice as bright. As beautiful as you were deadly.

(Yes I know that a new Neo…uh…a neo Neo? Will likely appear in a future volume, but while she might be awesome, she won’t be the same. You just can’t top skipping through a field of death without a care in the world with the Relic she stole from Salem because she knows she’s going to get away with it.)

So yes. More RWBY please. Now. I know there’s been a lot of drama surrounding Rooster Teeth recently. I don’t know what any of it is nor do I care to because that’s not how I engage with media. So I guess I’ll have to say the little prayer I always say when a new RWBY volume comes out. Please oh please don’t mess this up.

…

Oh, and I’m pretty sure Team RWBY+J has met God? So…have fun with that theological can of worms, kids.

[razorblade180]

RWBY Vol9 Ep2 Review

I’m gonna say this right now, and maybe my opinion on this will change by the end. At the rate this is going, I kinda hope we’re in this place for two volumes. It’s a complex feeling but more on that later.

You know I was one of those people who kinda missed how Lindsay Jones voiced Ruby in earlier volumes; it’s a real double edged sword that we’re getting a little bit of that because Ruby’s depressed. 💀

Strangely enough, this volume feels more whimsical than its been in a very long time. Not just in setting, but a bit of dialogue and the way they’re making them move. RWBY honestly feels like it’s acting more anime than it’s ever been in this regard. Though I’m sure part of the reason for this is because of the state of their production. I don’t dislike it but it’s definitely odd given the circumstances. The characters so far look the best they ever had though.

Very happy Weiss talked about having no home and saying “we didn’t handle right at all.” She even goes as far as to say hopefully their friends overcame the chaos of the situation and her team’s performance. I wish this conversation was a little longer and I absolutely wish Blake and Yang were included. If I have one fear it’s that the show keeps cutting them out of important moments like this in favor of honeymoon moments.

This is just a really good moment.

Didn’t take too many pictures of the auction but it’s definitely worth mentioning that it’s pretty interesting Yang was asked what is love and she had no answer. She didn’t even begin to formulate one. Also, this volume has given her back some of her carefree and happy demeanor, which makes sense considering she thought she was dead and alone; anyone would perk up after realizing that’s not it, but she also feels in a certain way…less mature? Like she was very quick to just try the most destructive way to solve the problem in a way not even Vol1 Yang wouldn’t do outright.

Perhaps that’s the point, making each RWBY character personify a part of Alex’s (Alice) flaws in the book that leads to the consequences for the book to progress

I’m shocked how quickly Ruby gave up the sword. I feel like she might definitely blow up somehow. The team is kinda checking in on her and aware she’s upset, but so far it feels like all of them aren’t trying to go too deep. Like there’s a scene where there’s a little laughter and jokes going on and Ruby is just staring at the sword. My hope is it’s highlighting that none are exactly on the same page.

Ruby being sad makes it rain. Hopefully all of them will pick up on that before a full blown storm happens. The episode ends with them trying to see the Red Prince, is what I assume his name will be. I’m definitely intrigued in where this goes.

Definitely sorting my feelings about all of this, it feels as if the show is giving me what I want, but only surface layer before running off to the next point and I’m going “wait we just started talking. 😅”

Also, this isn’t a gripe or anything, and I’m sure this is a hindsight moment, but I do find it a little strange they had Oscar mention this book last volume, and not someone who was going to fall. Granted, we know Ruby and Yang were read bedtime stories and Blake loves reading; I can even see why Weiss has heard of it, but I did find it a little strange when they all basically went “Oh yeah of course we know all about this book.” Like…sure? That’s fine, I guess it only feels strange because at no point was this ever brought up.

I wouldn’t even need much. We were in Weiss’s house and three of them were together waiting for Penny to wake up. Ruby could’ve saw it on a bookshelf and grabbed it; surprised that a household so far removed from her life style had a story Yang and Summer read to her. Blake mentions she likes that book and Weiss does her Weiss thing by saying “You do know a rich child still a child, right? Even Winter grew up reading that.” All while Ruby is too busy thinking about her own sister, and we transition to being stuck in the tundra.

(I don’t know why I made this whole scenario. I swear it doesn’t actually bug me in the grand scheme of things. 😂)

[waheelawhisperer]

My (very critical and generally unimpressed) thoughts on RWBY Volume 9 Episode 4 are behind the read more.

Poor Weiss. Her suffering continues.

Don’t worry, Yang, none of this makes sense to me either.

Why is the creature wearing Blake's skin like a suit calling itself a cat isn’t “Faunus aren’t animals” Blegh's whole schtick at this point

Oh wait that’s telling your fellow minorities to protest in a way that makes their oppressors more comfortable and then pining over Yang in the Kingdom most closely associated with Faunus oppression

I agree with you, Weiss. Like every other denizen of the Ever After, the Cat is constantly fucking annoying

Not sure if Yang is making fun of the Cat or Weiss here, but either way the humor actually does land for me for once. I do genuinely enjoy the Freezerburn dynamic. It's arguably my favorite in the show, especially after what the writers have done to the Bees so far this Volume.

Good plan, Blegh. I like the initiative she’s been showing spurts of throughout the Volume so far. It's the one bit of characterization she has left that doesn't revolve around Yang.

Okay they’ve snagged themselves a guide. That’s progress. Maybe soon we can get WBY back to normal size and leave this fucking setting

Love the Bees being visibly fed up with the cat because holy shit so am I

Saw on Twitter that Miles said he really liked this episode. Not hard to see why, given how much this writing team loves the smell of their own farts. This scene reads to me like a middle finger to anyone who's critical of the show, and like, I get it. Some of the people who don't like this show are real jackasses about it, and I completely understand the impulse to say "fuck the haters" at any time and for any reason, and even support it, but, like... bro. You are not good enough at your job to be this arrogant. You're not even good at your job. If you wanna take shots at the people who think your art sucks, you'd better produce better art than this, otherwise you just look like an insecure dumbass with an overinflated ego. Lampshading criticism doesn’t make it less valid. Hate to tell you this, but the shit the Cat mentioned is a set of actual flaws your show has. Sniping at the people who point them out doesn't make them disappear.

At least Weiss is focused on getting back to her normal size, and we get an interesting bit of worldbuilding, comparing the world to toys and explaining how each acre has its own characteristics and inhabitants

Once again, Yang, the bad sister, is the first to pick up on Ruby’s distress

but for the love of God please stop forcing Rubes it feels so out of place if you wanted to make this a thing you needed to do it before the ninth fucking Volume of the show

At first I was annoyed by Blegh saying they shouldn't worry about Remnant yet because dear God do I want someone to actually engage with the events of Volume 8, but after thinking about it I'm not too bothered by it. It makes sense to focus on the immediate problem right now. I just wish I felt like the writers cared about anything beyond the immediate.

I think it’s kind of funny how Yang is the official cat tracker. She’s more responsible than the fandom likes to think...

Little has been downgraded to Emergency Rations again

Let it all out, Weiss. I share your frustrations. Go off, queen. You are rapidly rising in my estimation this Volume.

"I'm getting really tired of that question" So am I, Ruby, so am I.

Keep up the snark Yang and you might fend off Weiss’s challenge to your throne (the coveted position of Heela's Favorite Character)

Looks like we’re getting more of the Ever After’s emphasis on purpose.

The “What is a Huntress?” question has the potential to serve as an interesting callback to the Mountain Glenn conversation around the fire. Let's see what the show does with it.

I like the Herbalist he’s as fed up with all of this as I am

I enjoy seeing the clash of perspectives here. Team RWBY and the Herbalist have fundamentally different approaches. Really drives home how different Remnant and the Ever After are.

Oh boy a magic hookah den. Really don’t like this choice, but not because I think it's inherently bad writing, I just have personal issues with drug use. I don't like it. I don't like being around it, I don't like seeing it depicted on-screen, I don't like it when media presents it as a positive thing... I'm not condemning people who use intoxicants or trying to prevent them from having the autonomy to do so, but I have a very strong negative reaction to it. I don't like this scene.

Having Yang call out for Blegh before Ruby is certainly A Decision and I’m not sure how I feel about it (poor Weiss, guess we all now where she is on Yang’s priority list lmao, baby I’m sorry your dom doesn’t treat you better). I don't really agree with them, but I can see where the people who think Yang isn't concerned enough about Ruby are coming from, even though Yang's been picking up on Ruby's emotional state better than anyone else so far. I can understand how it would be jarring to see Yang go from flinging herself in front of a fatal blow days or hours earlier and then first call out for someone else in a strange situation.

I don't think this bothers me yet. I think what the writers are trying to do here is set up a situation where Yang ends up prioritizing Blegh and misses the fact that Ruby needs her and then things go Very Wrong as a result, so I'll withhold judgment until I see what they do with this. I definitely get why some people are bothered, though.

Okay guess they’re confronting their past selves somehow?

Go back to before, Yang, back when this series still had potential and the cracks in the foundations weren’t tearing down the whole damn house. Go back to when I still had hope that the show would improve Volume over Volume. Do it. You know you want to.

Lmao did we really just offer the minority a chance to not be a minority anymore and compare her to an animal in the same sentence what is with this Volume and comparing Blegh to a cat

Like the writers already stated that the White Fang Arc is a direct analogue for the American Civil Rights Movement and explicitly equated Faunus oppression to black Americans' struggle for equality so the "human" and "Faunus" categories pretty clearly correspond to "white" and "black"

which means they just directly compared black people to animals lmao

This is actually so disgusting ngl but what do I expect from a company that called black employees racial slurs and let their community harass those same employees for years without doing shit about it

Dude MKEK you wrote your racism arc out of the story and still managed to be racist. Amazing.

God I hate this company and these writers

Blegh when have you ever been a bridge between humans and Faunus

Was it when you were blaming your fellow Faunus for their oppression and telling them to be nicer so the humans would like them?

But hey at least Yang's hitting us over the head with the impending change in her relationship status

What culture Blegh we don’t know shit about your culture there’s been close to zero evidence of it onscreen

Not that this is a problem exclusive to Faunus culture. We don’t know shit about any other Kingdom’s culture except maybe Atlas either because this show’s worldbuilding sucks ass. That said, this is egregiously bad. If Blake’s culture matters to her so much maybe make it a part of the show before now

Weiss your grandpa built fucking fantasy Amazon and helped colonize Vacuo but I don’t really hold this against you because to you he is a hero and you haven’t seen any of the effects (and the show really likes insisting that Nicholas was Good and all the Bad started with Jacques). At least you understand your daddy blows. Your magic acid trip sucks the least so far and you're coming very close to toppling Yang from her position as my favorite

Not sure how I feel about Yang’s whole conversation tbh, I feel like they're probably being gross about her disability again somehow but honestly I don't necessarily think offering a disabled person a chance to have their disability "fixed" is a bad thing because that can be a very powerful fantasy. I know that if I could have magic mushrooms take away the need for me to wear contact lenses I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I don't trust this company with this topic so this puts me on edge.

MKEK I hate to tell you this but having your characters turn to the screen and claim they’ve experienced character development doesn’t mean it happened. This is one of those moments where RWBY tries to insist a thing happened without doing a particularly good job of actually showing it on-screen (see: everyone hugging during the Volume 6 reunion despite the Beacon Volumes never taking the time to properly build all those relationships and the insistence that everyone cared about both each other and Pyrrha when fucking Jaune and kind of Ruby are the only ones ever allowed to grieve for her).

We are FINALLY diving into Ruby’s head and feelings. I love this for real. There's some good in this Volume.

We're finally learning a little bit about Summer Rose and how Ruby views her. Maybe this is the Volume she becomes a character instead of a plot device.

Okay it’s starting to look like Ruby’s depression is manifesting as a desire to not be herself/not exist anymore. I wonder what would’ve happened if the cat hadn’t showed up.

Okay so the Cat did the same thing they did for the Red Prince, apparently this can calm/stabilize people?

What the fuck

No seriously wtf just happened to the drug dealer

Shut. The fuck. Up. Little. You aren’t funny, you’re just annoying. MKEK, please stop undermining every serious moment with humor. Not only is the tone inappropriate, you’re not even good at making jokes.

Anyway it was pretty cool to see the V1-3 outfits in the new artstyle, and the crew did a really good job of making the whole series of scenes with the Herbalist feel very creepy, so props to them there.

Still laughing at the way Yang was just like "Weiss who?" during her magic bong hit babygirl really has been getting the short end of the stick ever since she dropped into the Ever After. Treat your sub right, Yang.

Marginally better than the first two episodes, worse than the third. If not for the "fuck the critics" vibes I'm getting and the frankly gross racism, it would've just been bad, but as it is I have to dock it points for that.

Overall rating: Fucking Horrendous/10

[ammy246]

Questions I decided to answer:

3) Rosegarden, because the two of them are really adorable, and are both going through things that only the other might understand since they are the ones deciding the fate of the world.

5) I adore Pyrrha and Penny, but I'll go with Penny, because of how deep and inspirational her character was. Her death made me even sadder than Pyrrha since we had gotten her back only to lose her in a way that felt even more final than the first time.

9) I hope Tyrian dies in the future, because he really deserves it after all he put Qrow through. Cinder also deserves death for her many crimes against humanity, and I hope its just as brutal of a death as her victims deaths were.

11) I have an idea for a cat Grimm. It has high agility/speed, and is able to see at night like the faunus do, and it uses is claws/teeth to kill its prey. Not sure of a name though.

16) The Ever After will always be iconic, and I wish we got to see more of it.

17) I believe that RWBY and co will be returning to Beacon before the series ends, and the final battle will take place there. The Relic of Choice will give Ruby the answer on how to save Remnant and avoid a negative judgement from the Brothers, but we might not be shown this and it'll be a volume/episode cliffhanger since it'd spoil her plan.

18) The Relic of Destruction probably has similar rules to the Relic of Creation such as it cannot be used to kill another being directly, but can only destroy other existing creations. I think it'll be used to counter something horrifying Salem creates and uses during her next invasion.

19) Whiteknight has actually been growing on me, but I'll need to see them interact more in Volume 10+ before wanting them actually canon.

20) I look forward to actually getting to see Vacuo fully animated since the extended epilogue was not in color. I also look forward to seeing so many characters in one place, and how they interact with each other. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the Ruby & Yang interactions with Raven & Taiyang given the feels and lore potential.

22) I hope Mercury gets redeemed. He never looked happy with Salem and always seemed to be scared of her. He deserves to be more than just the killer his father made him. Also, seeing him team-up with Emerald again, but on the good side would be really cool. Imagine the look on Cinder's face once she realizes both her teammates have turned on her.

25) I like the idea of trans!Nora. She even wears the flag's colors! But, trans!Ren is definitely up there for me as well. He is based on Mulan who was a girl in disguise as a guy, but this could also be potential trans coding as well. They can be trans together!

26) Purple has always been my favorite color, so it made me happy to see that Blake's was purple in the show, since I relate to her so much as a person.

29) "Rising" is such a great song, and the full version is even better. The imagery is really well written, the Pyrrha reference makes me emotional, and it just sounds amazing.

30) What are your theories/headcanons for Vacuo? Anything you want to happen or are afraid will happen?

RWBY ask game!

I don't have any art to contribute to the Viz hype and SMMRofRWBY, but I do want to get people posting, so I'm making a RWBY ask game!

Favorite debunked fan theory?

Rank the soundtracks!

Favorite Ruby ship?

Pick a design choice for the new outfits!

Favorite redhead in the show?

What kind of Faunus would you be?

Favorite lines?

Any characters you wish had lived?

Any characters you wish had died?

Favorite soundtrack moments?

Pitch a new Grimm!

Favorite visuals/shots?

Best idea for a RWBY crossover?

Favorite background character design?

Most nostalgic part of Poser animation?

Favorite location?

Theory for the Relic of Choice?

Theory for the Relic of Destruction?

Favorite Weiss ship?

What are you looking forward to seeing in Vacuo?

Favorite RWBYxJL character design?

Characters you want to see redeemed?

Favorite Maidenbowl?

Which acre of the Ever After would you want to live in?

Favorite trans character headcanon?

What would be your Aura color/color theme?

Favorite voice performance?

Fairytale character you'd want to see RWBYified?

Favorite opening to sing along to?

Free space, ask me anything!

Reblog to receive questions, or just post your own answers by the end of the day! And remember to tag #greenlight volume 10, #smmrofrwby, and #fndmrtx2024!

@smmrofrwby @calmenergy @hadesisqueer @bmblboop @primordialpaper @short-wooloo @tumblezwei @arnieb95 @strqyr @greenteaandtattoos @greenbeany @squipedmew @definitelynotgayforqrow @actualbampot

[howlingday]

Juniper Belladina

I would like to preface this by apologizing for the... less than stellar recreation you'll read. The chapter of Bond in the Spy x Family story is so very, VERY long and there's so much going on that I don't think I could effectively redo it with RWBY characters. If any of you want to give it a shot, go for it. Learn from my failures. Anywho, here's the story of Bond starring Juniper as Bond.

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

Jaune: Oh, wow! Look at this adoption fair! It's a shame Blake couldn't take us here herself.

Penny: Papa! Don't blame Mama! She can't help it if she has to take big- DOGGIES! OOH! AND KITTIES! BUNNIES!

Jaune: Penny! Don't run off! I don't want to lose you in the crowd! ...Again!

Jaune: Penny, I want you to give me your word.

Penny: Huh? How do I do that?

Jaune: Make me a promise. Promise me you won't run out of my sight.

Penny: Okay, Papa. I promise.

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

Penny: Huh?

Juniper: (Sniffs)

Penny: Whoa... You're a big bunny...

Juniper: (Flicks ear)

===========================

Jaune: (Laughs)

Blake: (Titters)

Penny: (Giggles)

===========================

Penny: (Thinking) Huh? Was... Was that us? Did I just read your mind?.

Juniper: (Flinches, Gallops off)

Penny: (Looks at distracted Jaune) Maybe... Maybe it'll be okay to leave... just for a few minutes.

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

Penny: (Riding on top of Juniper) That- That was so scary! I didn't think we would be able to get out of there! But... how did you know that would happen? Can... Can you see the future?

Juniper: (Huffs)

Penny: She's just like me. She has a super-power, too!. And she... She's running so fast! This is so exciting!.

Penny: LET'S GO! BACK TO PAPA!

Roman: Huh?

Penny: ...

Roman: ...Well, that was easy.

Penny: WHY ARE WE BACK WHERE WE STARTED?!.

Roman: Alright, kid. Game's over. Neo, take care of her, (Raises leash) I've got the jackalope.

Neo: (Reaches for Penny)

Neo: (Spins into the ground)

Jaune: I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET TRYING TO TAKE MY DAUGHTER, YOU CHILD-STEALING PERVERTS!

Roman: Wha..?

Jaune: SHE'S NOBODY'S CHILD-BRIDE!

Roman: What the hell are you- Forget it! (Snaps fingers) Sic 'im!

Jaune: (Dog growls at him)

Jaune: (Dog yipes away)

Penny: P-PAPA!

Jaune: Don't cry, Penny. The mean doggy ran away now.

Penny: (Crying because scared of Papa)

Roman: (Dragging Neo away) Forget it! I'm done with you people! Keep the jackalope!

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

Blake: What... is that?

Penny: It's a rabbit!

Jaune: A jackalope, to be specific. They're a very rare breed.

Blake: ...It's the size of a horse. I don't think we can- Ack!

Juniper: (Nuzzling Blake)

Blake: Fine! Fine! Just get off me! (Sighs) How did you even find this thing?

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

Blake: Ugh... Sounds like such a mess... I'm sorry I couldn't have been there to help you, considering my... condition.

Jaune: It's no problem, really! Everything worked out just fine!

Blake: Maybe, but that wouldn't have happened if Penny didn't wander off on her own again. Speaking of, PENNY!

Penny: (Flinches)

Blake: I've already warned you about wandering off! You could have hurt, or even killed!

Penny: (About to cry)

Blake: (Hugs Penny) They didn't hurt you, did they?

Penny: No, because the bunny protected me!

Blake: (Thinking) This rabbit clearly isn't normal, but...

Blake: (Strokes Juniper's neck) Thank you for keeping my family safe.

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

Blake: Penny, it's time to go home.

Penny: Okay~!

Jaune: Where are your gloves?

Penny: I... I don't know, (Glove falls by her) Huh?

Juniper: (Looking down at Penny)

Penny: Thank you~! (Picks up glove) Where's my other glove?

Juniper: (Runs off, Comes back carrying an entire bush)

Blake: What in the-?!

Juniper: (Shakes bush in antlers, Glove falls out)

Jaune: I never thought I'd see a rabbit carrying an entire juniper bush!

Blake: Saying it's a rabbit is already a bit of a stretch.

Penny: Joo-Nih-Per... Juniper! I'll name you Juniper!

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

Penny: (Dumps rabbit feed into bowl) Okay, Juniper! Time to eat!

Juniper: (Eats food)

Penny: (Takes pellet of food, Eats it) ...Eh. I've had better, and I've had worse.

Juniper: (Groans)

Penny: Oh! Do you have to potty? You can go pee over here! But only here. Papa likes it neat, so he'll get mad if you- Oh, you're pooping.

Penny: Okay, it's time for cartoons!

Blake: You're supposed to be studying, Penny. You better be ready by the time I'm done in the bathroom.

One bathtime later...

Jaune: (Whispering) Blake! Blake, come look!

Blake: Hm?

Jaune: They're so tired from playing all day, they fell asleep like this!

Penny: (Snuggled into Juniper)

Juniper: (Curled around Penny)

Blake: ...Maybe I'll give her a pass for tonight.

Jaune: Please, could you~?.

[biobugz]

From what I've seen it looks the the majority of RWBY fans on here don't know anything about Paladins, so as someone who plays the game I'd like to inform you that there's actually some kinda funny stuff with regards to the specific Champions that got skins for the crossover. And also that there might be some really cool concepts with how they might make Team RWBY perform all the abilities that the Champions do

Starting with Ruby, she's going to be a skin for Vora, and uh

I'm sure you can already see that there's some... Differences in the two's vibes. Gameplay-wise, Vora is a perfect fit for Ruby, as she is a highly mobile, scythe-wielding Flank Champion, who specializes in getting into the enemy backline to pick off a key target before quickly getting back out.

Personality-wise, though? The two couldn't be any more different, as Vora is the LITERAL HARBINGER OF THE APOCALYPSE WHO SERVES A TERRIFYING WORLD-EATING WORM!!!

her name is Yagorath and she's my personal favorite character to play

This will lead to some interesting results in terms of Ruby/Vora's animations, like with this emote:

(slight blood warning. It's only a little bit, this game is rated Teen, but scroll past the gif if you can't stand blood at all)

basically Ruby has finally gotten tired of being nice in Paladins and has chosen to go apeshit, which I think she's earned tbh

And aside from animations, skins in Paladins are technically split into two parts, the voice pack(which has all the voicelines) and the actual skin itself. This is important because Paladins lets you mix and match voice packs and skins, meaning we can give Ruby Vora's default voice pack, which leads to Ruby being able to say things like "ARMAGEDDON APPROACHES!", which I personally find very amusing. This is the case with all the others as well, but I personally find the extreme difference in personalites with this one to be funnier than the other ones.

Next up is Weiss, who is going to be a skin for Furia, the Angel of Vengeance

The differences between Weiss and Furia aren't quite as drastic as Ruby and Vora (Furia is still good-aligned... Mostly), so I don't think it's worth talking about that much. Mostly I want to focus on the abilities because there's potentially some really cool ideas for how they'd get Weiss to do the things that Furia does

Mainly, it's the wings. There isn't a single Furia skin in the game that doesn't have them, because they are a massive part of her in-game animations and visual effects, and I'm fairly certain that they're a part of her hitbox, so they can't really be removed without affecting game balance. My personal hope is that Weiss will be using her Summoning to give herself Nevermore wings, which is SUCH A COOL CONCEPT OH MY GOD! I've seen a lot of fanart depicting Weiss using her summoning on herself, like with the Arma Gigas armor/sword, and there's a possibility we could actually see that in this game and I'm really excited to see if that's the route they go with.

The only other thing really of note is that Furia is actually one of the taller women in the game, being roughly 5'6" in-game, which is significantly taller than Weiss's actual height. She's back to being taller than Ruby(and by a long shot, Vora's model is really short in-game), and I'm pretty sure this means she's actually taller than Blake in Paladins (although don't quote me on that one, I don't remember how tall Saati is in-game), and nearly the same height as Yang, though Yang's still got her beat by like an inch. Tall Weiss is real and she will hurt you.

Oh also one of her abilities is literally summoning a giant laser beam that scorches her enemies so there's that. Arsonist Weiss representation, I guess.

Next is Blake, who I don't really have much to say about, unfortunately. She's going to be a skin for Saati, the Trickshot.

Unfortunately there's not too much of note to talk about here. Her abilities all mostly fit fine, even being able to put up decoys of herself while turning invisible. Only thing really worth talking about is that her gun isn't a low caliber pistol like what Gambol Shroud seems to be, instead being closer to a Desert Eagle. Blake's got a big beefy gun now.

Saati's also a canonical lesbian so there's that too I guess? Idk not much else to say.

Finally there's Yang, who's going to be a skin for Imani, the Last Warder

a Warder in Paladins lore is someone with the ability to control a dragon

Right of the bat, HOLY FUCK YANG'S GONNA HAVE A GIANT DRAGON NOW!!! Imani's ultimate has her summoning her dragon to burn her enemies to a crisp, and I CANNOT wait to see Yang's version of this in-game.

The other notable thing about Imani is that she doesn't just use fire magic, instead she's able to manually switch between two different "stances", each with there own element. The first, obviously, is fire, but the second stance...

Is ice. Not only does Yang have a giant fucking DRAGON now, she's also stolen Weiss's schtick and can control ice magic now.

Freezerburn crumbs, anyone? Or mayhaps Spring Maiden!Yang crumbs? Both? You decide.

We don't know which Champion Salem is going to be a skin for, so I won't talk about her. There's going to be a Twitch stream at 12 PM ET tomorrow that will go more in-depth with what all will be in this crossover, so tune into that if you're interested. Also consider giving Paladins a shot if you're into multiplayer games, it's free to play, it's on pretty much every system, and pretty fun in my personal opinion. Would especially recommend if you were into Overwatch back in the day, the two games are pretty similar.

Also bonus fun fact that I couldn't really fit anywhere else, both Paladins and RWBY feature a shattered moon as a prominent plot point. Insert Doofenshmirtz "if I had a nickel" meme here.

[dragynkeep]

I want to write an AU fanfiction/semi rewrite for RWBY, but I have a difficult time thinking about the Faunus plotline. I want to change the White Fang to definitely being in the right and have them not be villains anymore, but I also really don't want to write scenes where Faunus are oppressed or brutalized because I just don't feel like it's my place to write something like that as a white person, but I also think that if I don't show why the white fang are fighting, then it will seem like they're upset for no reason like the show made it seem. I would just drop it altogether, but it's an incredibly important part of Blake's character and because doing so would just feel cowardly. I was wondering if I could get some advice if you're willing to share some since you're the writers of AZRE.

My best advice is, if you feel that you can’t write something with respect but still want to include it, do your research. 

See if you can get a beta reader who has some experience in writing these types of stories. They are invaluable in picking out parts that you might not have noticed, and can help tighten things up. I know as a writer, especially with something as big as AZRE, I have a beta writer who’s very talented and helped me a lot, not only with spelling and grammar, but with characterisation and plot progession. 

If you want to write Faunus racism, and keep the White Fang, I would say that since you can’t really take personal experience from yourself, talk with other minorities. Simple as is, I can’t tell you every single type of discrimination just across POC circles alone, because I am one dude with my own personal experience. I might have experience with diaspora and forced relocation of my people, but I also have light skin and so don’t have experience of someone who has darker skin. 

Same as someone who’s more visibly POC might not have experience with unique issues of “white passing” POC, or mixed race people. Racism alone spans so far with so many different issues, that just asking one person and getting one perspective is only really painting one part of the picture. 

So in context with RWBY, it’s a good idea to reflect that with the Faunus. How does someone like Blake struggle, with her ability to “pass”, wealth and home in Menagerie (an ethnostate), versus someone like Adam, who’s more visibly a Faunus and an ex slave with no name or resources beyond the White Fang? How does such a big group like the White Fang deal with their different leaders and their different ideaologies? Do some follow out of loyalty? Revenge? A sense of belonging?

And how does their kingdoms reflect in their ideas? Blake may have been on the road and seen a lot of the worst parts of Menagerie, but she still grew up mostly around her own people. Sun grew up in a kingdom that is intergrated and sees little racism amongst the people, so how does this naivity of the world outside of Vacuo impact on his opinion of the Faunus that do struggle more with it like in Mistral and Atlas? 

There’s also the case of discrimiantion amongst the Faunus, similar to how there’s discrimination amongst POC groups irl. How would they feel about mixed race people, or people who can pass completely like Ilia or somewhat like Blake? People in the White Fang especially since this is a group very intent on protesting for their rights.

It’s not everything to do with the Faunus racism, but hopefully this is enough to at least get you started on the planning. 

[tumblingxelian]

I am one of the most outspoken dislikers of Tai and a quick scan of my recent post history doesn't indicate use of the term resentment. I would also note that Yang in V2's resentment regarding Raven didn't look like snippy anger either. People contain multitudes, especially main characters.

(Shrugs) You're the one who demanded certain behavior for Yang to qualify as having suffered parentification. I highlighted why that argument sounds bad and drew a comparison that would be easy to understand. If you want to make that into something its not then that is on you.

Oh fun your post and then lying about my friend sure as hell pissed me off too.

Yang didn't have anger issues, a woman expressing anger is not an issue. Yang never lashed out at or hurt people in anger outside of combat scenarios. We see her express anger to get the frustration ot and then move on. Even Blake who was expressly traumatized by and afraid of anger, doesn't fear Yang's anger, the closest she came was in V2 and even then it was used strategically to demonstrate how Blake was endangering herself and then offset with a hug.

Yang had just been framed, lost an arm, lost her new home and was abandoned by her partner. Your total lack of empathy for the girl and dogged defense of her minor character father is confounding

The apathy, you mean those things that were explicitly effecting everyone's moods save Ruby 7 Maria's because they have magic eyes? That is your evidence?

You couldn't even provide episodes or scenes, though I assume in V5, you mean her being upset when Blake was brought up then instantly removing herself from the situation? Gee its almost like she hadn't actually recovered from her trauma but forced herself back out there to protect Ruby because their father wasn't doing it.

Ruby was fine talking to Yang about all her issues until she started taking on all the worlds burdens as her own. Which also coincided with Yang showing vulnerability and weakness that Ruby was not used to seeing and clearly had zero idea how to deal with.

You consider a stress induced meltdown to be accurate? What, do you think Ruby is homphobic too? I only ask cos you seem to be throwing out all the usual garbage that RWDE/HTDM do, I almost want to check if you have a Rewrite going.

He.. He literally was, that is why they are both used to Qrow being brought home black out drunk by strangers! We don't even see Tai until Volume 3 and his intro scene is having taken only Ruby to visit Summer's grave, giving a pretty clear indication of which child he prefers.

Your claims that Tai is a good dad who never neglected his daughters and that Yang didn't suffer from parentification makes them liars.

Yang outlining that she had to keep the family together and Ruby saying that Yang raised her were not them referencing brief moments of change in their childhood that only lasted a small time. That was the perpetual state of things, much as it is now. Hence Tai not going after them.

I love that you say you don't call them liars and then literally do it by claiming Ruby only said what she did to make Yang feel better. Like, even ignoring that being a totally baseless reading of the text with zero support, the fact you can say in one sentence you don't call them liars and then establish a headcnaon where Ruby lies... I mean its rather reflective of our entire approach.

Namely, ignore what is on screen, ignore what the characters say, ignore who the actual main characters are, frame everything via misrepresentation or lies to be about Tai and how amazing he is. As though this show isn't called RWBY.

That's not what the characters said, or what their words indicates~ and the main characters words matter more than your headcanons about a minor character~

I had to pick up the pieces. I had to keep things together. Alone. If you thought we wouldn’t come for you, then you must’ve forgotten who raised me.

Because the team was in an alien, magical fantasy land on a timed clock to get out. Because Yang actually did check in with Ruby and did try to reach out to her and Ruby kept shutting down any effort to comfort her, ask after her, or otherwise talk to her.

While Tai left a 5 and 3 year old in a Grimm infested forest alone while grieving for hours on end and then left the 5 year old to do the parenting, despite being an adult, not on a time limit, with access to other resources & support, & is continuing to rely on Yang to parent to this day.

Your counter argument's are farcical because they don't actually address anything I say. You just accuse me of being awful and then create elaborate, baseless and nonsensically negative interpretations of Yang and go "See!" even while obviously believing these things to be true given your hateful little notes in the post you made lying about my friend:

But hey, I have an official source on whether or not Yang is a bad sister and they have something for you!

Just block me again already, I have better things to do than argue with someone who acts like RWBY is about a dude.

genuine question: do people want bad, inconsistent writing? is that it? because that's the only way "taiyang is and always has been a horrible father and yang had to raise ruby all on her own and she resent him for it" makes any damn sense.

like. where's the resentment?

where is yang, while happy that ruby is one step closer to achieving her lifelong dream, feeling just slightly frustrated that she's once again sharing a room with her sister, when going to beacon was supposed to be a place just for her for at least two years without having to watch after ruby and feel guilty over it?

where's the resentment when tai sent zwei to the girls to be taken care of while he's away on a mission, placing that responsibility on yang again? why show yang instead being flippant about the whole ordeal, and shrugging it off like it's nothing, being ready to leave zwei alone in the dorm room for the week they're away because he has the absurd amount of food and a can opener tai provided them?

where's yang bringing up how she had to apparently grow up early because tai wasn't there, when she wanted to be treated like an adult?

where's the resentment when yang was about to leave home under the assumption it was her keeping her father from going after ruby, only to find out he isn't coming with her, once again leaving the responsibility of taking care of ruby on her shoulders?

because the show i watched, it doesn't exist. to even remotely get to that point you'd have to ignore ruby talking about their dad in a way that makes it clear he was present and raising them, you'd have to ignore yang having to wait for him to be out of the house to leave herself once again proving he was present and attentive of them, you'd have to ignore ruby's first happy memory being from that same time period (and with no corresponding sad memory to counter it), you'd have to ignore him reading them bedtime stories and taking them out for boba after school, making sure he's spending time with them even when he's busy with work.

you'd have to ignore that both yang and ruby have a good relationship with their father.

that is not to say tai doesn't have his flaws—every damn character in this show does—, but that's exactly what V4 is about. the rift that existed between yang and taiyang was his refusal to talk about raven and doing his best to prevent her from looking for her. that's it. just compare the difference in tone between yang's "oh, so now we can talk about her?" and "i don't know. some things you just need to be there for." and it's clear as a day where the resentment actually lies.

therein lies the core of the arc between yang and tai, and like many issues between characters in this show, it gets resolved: for the first time ever, he properly talks with yang about raven, and when yang is about to leave, he doesn't try to stop her like he has before; instead, he asks her where she's going, and gives information that might help make her journey easier.

if they intended there to be any lingering resentment from yang, 'boba' was not the way to do it. we know what yang's resentment looks like: anger, snappiness, the like. it's not quiet, almost somber.

they could have written yang treating tai's absence in vacuo as something she has come to expect from him, but they didn't; instead, she wonders why, because she can't fathom what could be more important for their father than being there, in vacuo, with them.

and that alone comes as validation for everyone who has wondered the same: why is tai staying in patch when everyone else is on the move? this is a character we're first properly introduced to as a father who has fallen asleep by his daughter's bedside waiting for her to wake up, a father who is almost brought to tears by relief that both of his daughters are back home and safe.

a father we last saw being absolutely desperate for his daughter to come back on screen when ruby's message cut short.

and beyond brings a sledgehammer and says yes, it is odd that taiyang hasn't left home to be by his daughters' side. wonder why that is, must be something important, wink wink ;)

and if you ask me, that sounds like a pretty damn good "long con", and damn good writing.

[itsclydebitches]

Do you find any similarities between Qrow and Clover's writing and Jaune and Pyhrra's? I was a huge Fair Game shipper way back when and the reason was because a lot of their relationship hit a lot of Arkos' beats: character with something main character lacks(luck, competence) spends 90% of their screentime with MC and their relationship grows exponentially in a short amount of time until character is handed the idiot ball and dies. 1/2

FYI I took psychic damage from hearing Fair Game shipping described as “way back when.” How has it been three years since the beginning of Volume 7? 😱

Anyway, I’d need to re-watch more of the first three Volumes to give a really solid answer, but the tl;dr is yeah, I can definitely see the parallels you’re talking about. The “character with something main character lacks” also ties into RWBY’s tendency towards romantically pairing opposites. Yang is the sheltered, extroverted party girl dressed in vibrant colors while Blake is the introverted activist dressed all in black. Nora is super duper energetic while Ren is so quiet he barely speaks outside of his arcs. Pyrrha is an insanely talented fighter that everyone is eager to befriend and also an open book whereas Jaune is a newbie that others often dismiss (with the contrast seen most strikingly in how Weiss treats them both) who is hiding a pretty big secret.

Clover is an optimistic soldier who puts his responsibilities first and wields good luck as a weapon. Qrow is a pessimistic freelancer (for lack of a better word) who has little regard for other’s expectations and wields bad luck as a weapon. There are ways their dynamic fits into our expectations for written couples—or potential couples—even outside of the obvious flirting moments like the Clover-waitress wink parallel which means that yeah, by default they end up reflecting Arkos to a certain extent.

As an example, that wink is a moment that I think mimics Arkos in some ways. In that both appear to be a pretty overt indication that the writers are setting up a couple, relying on a bit of humor to get that implication across. In Jaune’s case he says, “Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?” and as he walks away we see Pyrrha watching him go.

She is, quite obviously, the nice, quirky girl that Jaune will get to talk to soon and later behavior—saving Jaune despite fending off Weiss’ desire to partner up with “I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may,” immediately following that with an admission that she wants to spend time with him: “Jaune! Do you… have any spots left on your team?”—reveal that Pyrrha was always interested in Jaune despite not knowing him. It was instantaneous interest/attraction, a love at first sight sort of deal, and absolutely no one questions that because we are so used to m/f couples following that pattern. “Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?” is humors code for “They’re going to start a romance.” As people who have watched television, film, and webseries for our entire lives, we know how to pick up on these established patterns.

(Oh shit the wink looks horrifying in a screenshot SORRY LOL)

I’d argue that Clover’s initial behavior is code too, but viewers are more inclined to dismiss it because it’s occurring between two men. But answer me honestly: if we were to watch a man catch a woman from falling, talk about his talents, wink at her, and say, “Lucky you” would we really, truly think, “Oh yeah, they’re 100% platonic and there’s no chance at all that a relationship will develop. The fall, bragging, wink, and flirty dialogue are in no way tropes and popular short-hands for romantic interest. Nope. Not at all. Neither is someone staring in amazement at the person who just saved them and effectively changed their life in a single moment.”

From the light-heated moment to the idea of falling in love (or at least developing interest) simply from looking at someone, both Arkos and Fair Game pull from this established coding at the start of their interactions—and later with the screams of rage, the lost love, the revenge quest—it’s just that RT claims to have honestly not realized they were doing it the second time around. Their intentions matter in regards to the question of queerbaiting, but they don’t matter when it comes to reading these scenes as their own, artistic presentation. Strip away the homophobia (“Badass, skirt-chasing Qrow can’t possibly be into guys!”), the preferences that color analysis (“I’m personally not into the ship so I’m going to insist there was never anything there”), and the presumed authority of the authors (“We didn’t intend an attraction so it doesn’t matter that we ended up implying one anyway. The same way it doesn’t matter that there’s no evidence for Ironwood’s semblance because we did intend for it to be there. Prioritize what we tell you in interviews, not what ends up in the actual show, please”) and I’d challenge anyone to persuasively hand-wave away everything attached to Fair Game. Much of that does parallel Arkos, but I think that’s more because RWBY is just drawing (intentionally and otherwise) from a lot of established romantic tropes, not because there’s meant to be a parallel between these two specific relationships (obviously not given that Fair Game isn't canonical). RWBY pulls from everything that’s already popular, so when we see pieces of all these classic romance dynamics—the non-consensual kiss, the death, the revenge quest, the opposites attract, the jealousy, the blushing, the love triangle, etc.—of course there are going to be similarities across the board. It’s just that some of those tropes went to canonical relationships, others went to “What do you mean people think there might be a relationship??” and others went to “I think they’re supposed to be a couple but, uh… what counts as confirmation?” and therein lies the problem.

Also, random visual parallel to end on, but both pairs also start with one person quite literally being at the mercy of the other. Pyrrha pins Jaune to a tree and is the only one willing to get him down (Weiss deliberately walks away, Ruby is too happy to be partnering up with her to care what happens to Jaune). Clover traps Qrow along with the rest of the group and, as the leader performing the arrest, likewise decides when and if Qrow gets set free. Both seem to enjoy being in this position of power, with Pyrrha coyly asking Jaune about teammates while he hangs there (is he really going to say no when he's stuck?) and Clover twirling his horseshoe with a smirk (an accessory that never shows up again?) There are obviously other, distinct differences between these moments—Pyrrha pins Jaune to save him, Clover pins Qrow to (he thinks) keep the people safe from him; Pyrrha chooses to get Jaune down, Clover chooses to keep Qrow in bonds—but it’s just a moment that struck me while looking back through some of their interactions. Even the cinematography emphasizes a height difference with Pyrrha look up at Jaune and Clover looking down at Qrow.

[kitkatopinions]

In your opinion, what’s the worst line of dialogue in the show so far? Because some of it has been pretty bad and not even like in the sense that they’re cringey jokes, but like some actual, serious, meant to be epic lines are just not great and it can really ruin the immersion

Okay, there are some really out there ones, so I can't pick an absolute worst.

"All I do is tell jokes and hit stuff." Idk why the authors made a character recite meta reasons explaining that the writers had only been using her as comic relief and an extra fighter for almost the whole show, in a very non-organic way, so that someone could tell her that's not all there is to her character. Nora realizing her character has been neglected and getting upset that there isn't more to it did not a compelling character make, it just made me go "If you're aware you did it, make her have an arc that isn't about Ren, don't just make her pass out for several episodes!"

"We've been in bad situations before, and we didn't need an adult to come save us or tell us what to do!" Honestly, that whole speech is horrible and made it hard to think of Ruby as... Not an arrogant, naïve, ungrateful kid. Imagine telling the guy who literally stopped you from being kidnapped by a crazy murderer and stopped that crazy murderer from killing your friends in front of you that you don't need any adults! Honestly, what has Ruby done WITHOUT adults? And how are you going to write your main protagonist to tell her mentor/uncle that was doing the work in Haven, that's responsible for them getting to Haven, that saved her and JNR from Tyrian, that's the only reason she knows about Oz, the Inner Circle, Salem, to go to Haven in the freaking first place, HER OWN DANG EYE POWER...Like, how could the writers think of it as a good thing for Ruby to suddenly dismiss Qrow, say they didn't need adults to save them or tell them what to do, and then tell him to essentially comply with whatever she wants or get out - because when he said they shouldn't unnecessarily steal a plane to get across the Atlas border, her friends made sad faces. I cannot express how much I hated this whole scene.

"No more Gretchens." I've talked about how much I hate Hazel, right? I cannot and will not understand how they speedran a half-hearted redemption arc, primarily fueled by the incredible hypocrisy of his everything that never got called out, and then acted like Ozpin had some big lesson to learn about trusting the guy beating him on the orders of abusive ex wife while he's in the body of a kid, and how he never should've allowed a young girl to make the choice to learn how to kill monsters - while Ruby is outside throwing fits whenever any mean adult tells her she can't do whatever she wants whenever she wants. I will personally yeet Hazel into the fricking sky if I have to see him or hear about him again in this show.

"I just remember you being more of the quiet one." WEISS, WHEN? Blake was categorized in the first three seasons as feisty, she was stubborn and specifically called out Weiss, arguing and fighting with her for a full day and yelling at her to her face, calling her a selfish brat. She gave impassioned speeches and was always itching to enter the fight. Also, Weiss hadn't seen Blake do anything other than fight! What's new about that? What's 'not quiet' or 'out of Blake's character' about that? THEY KNEW EACH OTHER IN A COMBAT SCHOOL! Yes, Blake didn't trust or open up easily, but that doesn't mean Weiss should think that Blake helping in a fight is proof of some big change of character. This line made no sense at all.

Ironwood: "You've done the right thing." Emerald: "I have. Feels weird." @why-i-hate-rwby-now made a post about this line being really out of place and bad. But Emerald's everything was so badly done and her lines post leaving Salem were not super great generally, so yeah.

I don't know, I'm sure there's way more, but these are the ones that I had right in the front of my mind.