#rwby v9 e7

[anretoga]

Relationship are such that if one person changes the relationship changes

But things are stronger when they were broken

[shikishake]

it’s a little late now, but I was rewatching volume 9 recently and I wanted to talk about a “fun” little detail I noticed during ruby’s breakdown in episode 7. or, not detail I guess, but a narrative decision.

ruby’s problem, for a long while now, is that she feels like she has to be strong for other people. that she’s not allowed to feel bad. she has to be the optimistic hero girl who always picks people up, who always sees the good in a situation, who always helps people out with a smile. she’s had to do it since she was a child, back when summer died and she just had to be a little ball of sunshine and rainbows for a broken father and a sister that suddenly had to be her surrogate mother. yang could do the housework and the raising. ruby couldn’t do anything. so the least she could do was keep smiling, and make sure that nobody worried about her.

but it’s been getting harder and harder for her to keep up for... maybe 3 volumes? kind of 4, we saw hints of it in volume 5, but that feeling of her forcing herself to step up and inspire her team to keep going was really starting to wear on her in volume 6. it was alleviated a bit in volume 7, primarily during the early part where the gang were being “real” huntsmen and huntresses, doing missions for a kingdom, slaying grimm. it wasn’t EASY, but it was simple. the right thing to do was easy to identify and largely pretty simple to execute.

it crashed back in during the latter half of volume 7 and only got worse as volume 8 continued. the feeling of bearing the responsibility of being the driving force that pushes the gang forward, the weight of having to make the decisions and find the solutions, the constant worry of having to find “the right thing” in a sea of a million ways that things could and did go wrong.

but she’s supposed to be the one to stay positive. she’s the one that helps the others pick up the pieces, the one that motivates her friends to keep going. they need her to do her best and smile and march on like nothing bothers her. and she can’t just keep doing it. like past-ruby said in episode 4: “it’s up to YOU to make it better. everything all depends on you. your sister needs you. your friends need you. the whole world needs you to keep fighting, forever and ever, against an invincible monster that took your mother.”

everyone needs her to be the plucky heroine girl that does her best to save the day. and she just can’t anymore. and when she can’t, when she needs the pick-me-ups, when she’s the one that needs to be inspired to keep going for once, she feels like nobody steps up. they’re relying on her to pick them up when they can’t keep going, but she feels she can’t rely on them to pick her up when she’s the one crushed by the weight of everything.

so it is a BRILLIANT piece of writing that, when she finally snaps, when she finally breaks down... jaune overshadows her. again, another person’s problems are more important than hers. again, the focus is shifted from ruby’s feelings to how someone else feels. jaune breaks down, and you have the brilliant scenes of him screaming about the weight of how penny died and what he had to do, and how he now has to just live with that. yet, in the background, ruby just has to watch as her friends crowd around him to comfort him. the camera fully zooms into jaune, and you don’t even see her until she just can’t deal with it anymore, snaps at blake and runs off.

even when she’s breaking down, they’re assuming that they don’t need to pay attention to her. it’s ruby, right? she’s strong. she can handle it. jaune’s a lot more fragile, a lot more unstable, so it’s fine if they focus on him first, right? she can wait a while, right?

[wixhing0nastar]

Okay, so I'm not watching the new episode of RWBY yet cuz I have to go to sleep and I know if I watch it I'll be up all day again freaking out over it (I work nights), SO instead I've distracted myself by figuring out the approximate length of Episode 10 and the answer is...

26 Mins 10(ish) Secs

Math below the cut! 😁

Average V9 Episode Runtime: 18 Minutes and 52 Seconds

Approximate* V9 Runtime: 188 Minutes and 40ish Seconds

*idk how they rounded the average runtime vs my rounding of the total time.

V9 Episode Lengths E1 - E9

E1: 17:41

E2: 17:43

E3: 20:23

E4: 18:47

E5: 16:37

E6: 20:50

E7: 18:23

E8: 16:26

E9: 15:40

Minutes Total = 157 Mins

Seconds Total = 5 Mins 30 Secs

E1 - E9 Total = 162 Mins 30 Secs

188 - 162 = 26 Minutes

40 - 30 = 10 Seconds

Therefore

E10 Runtime = 26 Mins 10ish Secs

[tumblingxelian]

RWBY V9: E7 - The Perils of Paper Houses

Warning this episode contains themes that might be distressing for some viewers... Well fuck. 

The origami village has a sunlight, that is charming!

Also boo, no snuggling Bumbleby X3

Oh dear, Ruby’s awake and watching CR, also there’s fiery explosions and haha, Jaune is the white rabbit, he’s late, he’s late, for a very important date! 

Weiss that was the last thing she needed to hear, also Little is adorable. 

The Paper pleasers are adorable. 

Oh god he named them after everyone, that is cute and very, very sad. 

Oh my gosh, I feel legit bad for Jaune here, fuck this is sad. 

Little is paying close attention to Ruby. 

Oh dear, this is ah, Jaune, this is very fucked up as a thing you are doing. 

I like Yang pointing out hat they don’t know the full story. 

Oh shit, worst time for him to walk in, or did he just overheard everything? 

Well fuck, that was rude. 

“Because I can actually protect these people.” God damn. 

Some very cool action here. 

Also fuck, Ruby is paralyzed with dread! 

OH FUCK YOU NEO! 

So that’s the Salem segment. 

I swear if Little is hurt or dies I will scream. 

So that’s how its mouth workds. 

Oh fuck you Neo.

Fuck you Jaune. 

Oh fuck Jaune. 

Oh dear, not a good thing to ask Ruby right now. 

Oh fuck, Ruby can be acidic when she wants. 

... FUCK! 

[asm5129]

RWBY V9 Thoughts & Analysis: E7 - The Perils of Paper Houses

So I thought there were new images of the blacksmith in the opening of this episode on first watch, but a friend told me they were always there and i checked and he was right. Oh well. Moving on

From the first shot we can see the creativity put into the design of the town with the paper lantern acting as their "sun"

Yang and Blake appear to have slept directly next top one another, which is adorable. Yang's also a snorer, because naturally.

Jaune...literally sleeps in his armor. Yikes. that's not a good sign.

And then Ruby...Ruby, you poor girl. I desperately hope you weren't awake all night stewing in your negative thoughts while staring at CR. Honestly though, considering what comes later, i wouldn't doubt it--we'll get there.

"I'm late!! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" As others have noted, Jaune holds allusions to the white rabbit

"You can fix it. You always fix it." Ooh boy, that's not a good sign.

"Ruby, where's your weapon?" Ruby dismisses this as her being tired, but it's clearly hinting at her actually not wanting to pick up Crescent Rose again.

"Hurry, people are counting on us!"

Ruby needs a break, but she's expected to be able to fulfill the role of Hero at any given moment. No time to rest, there's a new crisis to deal with!

btw I'll be talking more about Weiss' role this episode--and honestly, this volume--when i get to the final scene

Love this bit of foreshadowing--the vocal performance of "Three cheers for the Rusted Knight and his White Rabbit" is extremely flat and inauthentic. I noticed that the first time, but i wasn't sure what it meant. Now i know.

In fact, nearly every single moment with the Paper Pleasers gets new context on rewatch.

For instance, blatant disregards for their own (presumed) safety, like "Hello water, how may i serve you?"

Oh so Alyx did leave Jaune to die. It was a lethal poison. I stand by my theory that Alyx genuinely thought of the Ever After as make believe though, not to mention that it's quite possible she thought would Ascend--especially if she had topped believing he was actually from Remannt

Jaune's spent decades literally putting out fires whenever one pops up. He runs himself ragged, but as he says--at least the crises in this village are "predictable"

Oh no. He named the Paper Pleasers after everyone he feels like he failed. Oh no.

Ooof, Yang and Weiss accidently feeding the idea that Jaune is a failure through their tone about him not having any leads. This whole episode is "hurt people hurt people"

I won't go in depth here, but i highly recommend reading through Jaune's to-do list. It's wholesome and heartbreaking and a great look into his psyche at this point in time. I'm really happy they actually filled it out and gave us a good look, they easily could have made it squiggles or something.

So...hot take: I actually think Jaune's plan isn't that bad. But I also get why WBY are hesitant to take him up on it. From their perspective, this absolutely would feel pointless.

"This isn't crazy...I'm not crazy..." Poor Jaune. he's genuinely terrified he IS crazy, that he's been driven mad by isolation and pain, which is why he was so angry when CC implied it last episode.

"We can be frustrated later. Right now, Jaune needs us."

Ruby hasn't talked at all since they sat down, and she's not looking too good. and Little is noticing.

"Who does that leave us with? It's obvious we need someone to guide us"

Ruby speaks up for the first time "Well if that's how everyone feels--"

and gets cut off. If she hadn't been, I think what happens later would have happened here. She was already getting genuinely angry, clearly feeling like her team was saying they had a problem with her leadership. Except, maybe it wouldn't have been quite what it was in that final scene. Maybe it would have been more manageable. We'll never know.

So here's the thing. Arryn's great, but this isn't a town of "suicidal origami." The Paper Pleasers have no wish to die. If they were suicidal, they'd want to get eaten by the Jabberwalker. The problem is, Jaune doesn't understand that Ascension isn't death. I know to us and to him it sounds like it's indistinguishable from it, but it's been made explicit that to Afterans it is not the same at all. If they were the same, there would be no reason to worry about getting eaten by the jabberwalker. No, Ascension is a continuation of life to them. We may not understand it, but it's simply their reality. And that's why what Jaune has done is so awful.

To be clear, I'm not demonizing Jaune. I have deep empathy for him. He was desperate, and in pain, and isolated, and again, to him Ascension is death. But his own trauma and trust issues and subsequent willful ignorance about how the Ever After works ended up pushing him to craft a fantasy where crises can befall the people he loves (or stand-ins for them, anyway) and he can save them, again and again and again and again and again, forever.

Yang is totally right-- no one has the full story, not yet.

"he's clearly not...all there"

"Is that what you think?!"

There is a surprising lack of empathy for Jaune from Weiss and Yang in particular this episode--and we see the direct consequences of it right here.

"We're not listening to [the cat] We're listening to the Afterans"

Someone mentioned this somewhere and i think it's right--this is Blake's social justice side coming out in the aftermath of the visit to the herbalist. Listening to those with the authentic lived experience, rather than accepting the biases that come with her own.

Oh Jaune. Your trust issues are so deep.

"Then why do you care so much about this village?"

"BECAUSE I CAN ACTUALLY PROTECT THESE PEOPLE"

Ugh, my heart. Refer to my paragraph about Jaune creating a fantasy here

OH NO, JABBERWALKERS

Again, they aren't suicidal, otherwise they wouldn't be running in fear from the walkers

"then we won't run this time"

Ruby stays back for a couple seconds, but as always there's no time. She has a responsibility, right? She's the hero. There's no choice but to fight, no matter how much she doesn't want to, because that's her role.

Weiss and Jaune acting like partners in this fight while Ruby stands off on the sidelines, ugh. And that look he gives to Ruby when he notices she isn't fighting? ouch.

I hope i'm not misusing the term, but what's happening to Ruby here certainly seems like PTSD flashbacks. And the way they're animated and visualized and framed really puts us in ruby's headspace, it's heartbreaking. Plus that shot of Salem? Yikes

It was literally going to eat her and she was just...paralyzed.

Yeah, so yang's weirded out--definitely more than a semblance evolution here.

Regardless, Neo's closing in. I expect a lot of her tomorrow, but we'll see.

Meanwhile Jaune is lashing out, framing her paralysis as cowardice and selfishness, yet Ruby can't even hold Crescent Rose, the thing she once called her "sweetheart".

everyone knows that's a big deal, but hey--there's another crisis! There's always a crisis.

Clear mirror to the fall of Atlas.

"I was supposed to save them, and they're dead." -Jaune

Explicit spelling out that they're gone, but not dead

And here it is. THE scene. Let's break it down

"Why are you asking me? Because I'm the leader? Because I'm just supposed to have something to say? Cuz i don't. I mean, why do I have to be the leader anyway? Why do I have to be the one who always picks everybody up? What about me?"

Everyone has always looked to her for inspiration, because she's damn good at it. But it's waaaay too much pressure. It's funny--Yang once said something ruby desperately needed to hear, but she said it in one of her worst moments and Ruby didn't know how important it was.

"Sometimes bad things just happen"

And the thing is, without intending to, a lot of people--people who genuinely love her--relied on her to make that not true. To make every bad thing seem manageable, or to mean something.

They relied on her to make the world more like a fairy tale, because they didn't know how to cultivate the same spark she seemed to have.

Ruby's pain was always quiet. Actually, funnily enough, a lot of the audience fell into similar assumptions--that if Ruby's development wasn't loud, didn't get the spotlight, that it didn't matter. But it was always there. And just because not everyone's pain is loud and obvious, doesn't make it not real--If you were paying attention, you could see the groundwork being laid for this in every volume, including the ones that get the most gripes for doing her dirty.

But, the thing is, WBY and co aren't the bad guys for not being able to help her. She wasn't able to be helped, and they had their own baggage to deal with. Everyone can do their best, and someone can still get extremely hurt. WBY did the absolute best they could, and Ruby was still hurt. Those can and do coexist.

To Weiss: "No time, right? Gotta get home! Gotta help Jaune! Gotta find someone who isn't going to screw everything up!"

So, i personally take this line as coming from Weiss' behavior in this volume--the complaints about the Ever After, the blaming of team RWBY for the evacuation plan going wrong, being "tired of leaving places in ashes--having been internalized by Ruby as remarks about her failures.

Remember, Ruby blames herself for getting everyone stuck in the Ever After, so every time someone expressed frustration with the Ever After, or impatience over not having gotten out yet, she would have internalized that as slights against her.

When Weiss' frustration about the Ever After comes out, Ruby hears it as "You got us stuck here, you lost my home, and I'm miserable because of your choices. and you aren't even able to get us out."

BUT

I ALSO think it has a lot to do with her behavior in volume 1

the FNDM talks a lot about the impact of Oz's words on leadership on Ruby, and for good reason

But i think we overlook just how much of an impact v1 Weiss likely had on Ruby's psyche

Ruby came to Beacon riddled with insecurities

She was worried about making friends, worried about being a leader, worried about not deserving the skip to Beacon Oz granted her, and worried how people would treat her because of it

And Weiss hammered at ALL of those

Reapetedly

Hell, Ruby only got that awful advice from ozpin because she wanted reassurance that he didn't think weiss was right about her inability to be a leader

Again, not demonizing Weiss. We know why she was like that, it wasn't her fault. But i think it's something we oughta talk about more.

To Yang: "Gotta stay positive, right?! Smiles all around!! Maybe even get our feelings sorted out!

We've seen Yang very explicitly put Ruby on a pedestal multiple times. Most obviously in volume 5, but a bit even as far back as volume 1.

in volume 1, Ruby is expressing her desire not to be seen as a freak or imposter for skipping ahead two years, saying she doesn't want anyone to think she's special, while Yang piles on the praise telling her she is special

in volume 5, she stays to fight Salem after learning about all of Oz's lies and explicitly states it's because Ruby is doing so and she "always knows the right thing to do"

In volume 7, despite her hesitancy around lying to Ironwood, she tells Ruby they'll follow her lead

in volume 8, she says "We said we'd follow your lead when we got here, and that hasn't exactly worked out", unintentionally laying the blame for Ironwood's fall and all the other Atlas crises at Ruby's feet

Again, not demonizing Yang. She gave up her childhood for Ruby to be her parental figure when Tai was in his depression, but that doesn't mean she knew how to be a mother, not at that age. She would have no idea how to deal with with the complex and messy emotions of someone the age Ruby was when she was raising her, and Ruby herself would have felt pressure not to make an unfair job for Yang even harder.

To Blake: "Good for you, by the way, we're all so happy for you!"

RUBY IS NOT BEING HOMOPHOBIC. Can't believe I have to say that. She's not even genuinely unhappy for them I'd wager, she's just resentful that she didn't get to be happy too.

The thing is, there always seemed to be time for everyone else to slow down and sort through their feelings, but to Ruby that meant that if they needed that time she had to pick up the slack. That's why she went to Haven. It's what happened with the Apathy. If everyone else has fallen apart, someone has to hold it together and save lives. Someone has to hold it it together and lead. And she could, so she should...right?

"i'm sorry is this a bad time? Are we supposed to be mourning Jaune's make believe friends?"

and then Jaune goes on to blame her for everything she's already blaming herself for, and ooof that painful expression she makes, it breaks my heart (RWBY facial expressions are such an underrated part of the series btw--they're so good)

Jaune was her first real friend at Beacon. He gave her his hand in support for no other reason than that she needed it. I'd say that they genuinely might be best friends. They were always there for each other.

Hearing these words would always be painful, but hearing it from Jaune cuts straight into Ruby's soul.

He immediately apologizes. "I'm sorry, I know I'm not okay, I know I'm not right.... but how am I supposed to be?"

That bit of self-awareness is what could save you Jaune. Hold onto that.

"I've been alone for so long...Here...on that bridge...I was the only one that could do it, i was the ONLY ONE. And now I have to live with that forever. In here or back home." I think he's talking about killing Penny.

"Guys, i know things are bad but--"

"Shut. Up.

Don't do that. Just...don't."

When you know all the right words to lift people up, but you've stopped believing them, hearing them from others feels...almost insulting.

God what a brilliant episode. Im excited for what comes next, but also utterly terrified. I'm not sure any other story has affected me quite as deeply as RWBY. I'll have to do some RWBY meta on why that is at some point, but right now I've already spent far too long on this.

Good luck everyone! We'll need it 😅

[ninadove]

📝 Random Ramblings

A helpful compilation of fully fleshed out character analyses and random ramblings from yours truly.

Miraculous Ladybug 🐞🐈‍⬛

Actually, this one gets its own masterpost!

Professor Layton 🎩

Professor Layton and the Formal French Pronouns™

Professor Layton and the True Sexyman — Campaign Management Chronicles

Reasons you should love and worship Clive Dove

“I’ll miss you… and our lost future”

Clive is terrifyingly smart, actually — Part I: Battle of Wits

Clive is terrifyingly smart, actually — Part II: The Ace Temptress

RWBY ❤️💙💜💛

Sun is just a really good guy your honour

Everything is A-OK [V9 E7]

The Owl House 🦉

In defense of Huntlow: a love letter to Dana and the Owl Crew

EPIC 🌊🔱

I remember actions of passion

I see your palace covered in red

Being so normal about Man of the House

“Exactly”

Cyrano de Bergerac 🪶

De mon pourpoint de buffle dans ton pourpoint brodé

Sun, Moon and Earth in Benoît Solès’ 2015 production

Production notes

Not romantic not platonic but a secret third thing

We don’t thank hats enough

La douceur féminine

Treat the poets like Ragueneau would

“This character is LGBTQIA+” “What, all at once?”

The dark side of Gascogne

East of Eden 🌱

Your honour they were literally just kids

Steinbeck wrote Cathy wonderfully. You guys are just mean

… This bears repeating actually

La Sombra del Viento 📖🔥

Tinieblas azules

Le Comte de Monte-Cristo 🌊

A word on Benedetto’s father figures

Les Trois Mousquetaires ⚜️

“Je prendrai la main gauche”

Just me screeching about the timeline

Multifandom / Generic ✨

Humanity is cool, actually

Classics + Miraculous thoughts

September appreciation

[kob131]

Unfortunately this isn’t Monkey 60, it’s someone else. The big issue that manga made and I can see it is how ultimately nothing matter. Don’t mistake my intentions, loving who you are is a great message but when the message involves a character being ignored while showing signs of heavy depression to the point of being not alive (I’m hoping this phrase is okay) and them magically getting over it feels sorta disgusting. It’s like a bad form of coping that I feel is more toxic than positive and the writers are trying to paint it like committing not alive (again I’m hoping this phrase is okay) and being reborn makes all the problems go away.

Thanks for coming back Anon.

And considering you're talking to a guy whose had suicidal thoughts and has depression- you could have just said 'comitting suicide' and it would have been fine.

I hope you see this because I'm gonna be bearing a lot here.

I feel like Kamen doesn't understand the complexities of depression and suicidal thoughts.

The mentioning of how Ruby's friends and family don't show concern for Ruby? That's not true. They do show concern for Ruby. Everyone is visibly uncomfortable when Ruby gives the parting line at the end of V9 E2. Blake tries to comfort Ruby during E7 and remind her of staying cheerful. Yang...does this three fucking times.

Do you want to know what Ruby herself does each time? She rejects them. She pushes them away or shoots down their concerns. Then she explodes on them for things that are either not their fault or just trying to move on.

RUby wasn't ignored- She felt ignored because she was isolating herself.

And just as well- Only Ruby could pull herself out of that slump. Only Ruby could pull herself out of that hole she dug herself in. Only Ruby could overcome that.

'But isn't it really wrong to just have your character magically get over suicidal depression after a small talk?'

Maybe. But you know what would be worse than Ruby's situation?

Losing the only man who ever believed in you, showed faith in you and guided you. Your so-called comrades not only TRULY ignore your pain, one of them even says that you're at fault for his death because you had an emotional episode and he died saving you. And all he gets is a minor call out by his sister. But you getting up in your friend's face, putting blame on him for your bro's death because of his religion? That's a big no-no. And the only person to actually try talking to you is some girl you found about a day ago. But hey, it's all better now! The girl you use to have a crush on told a story about your bro that you might have not even heard and you're all better after a speech!

I mean, what awful, no good, poorly written, obscure trash could that even be-

Oh. It's not only one of the most well remembered scenes in one of the most well beloved recent anime-

It's the story of the character who inspired me to keep living.

Yeah, I wasn't just saying bullshit to defend RWBY when I said I've had suicidal thoughts. That is something i legitimately went through. Back when i was in high school, with depression destroying my motivation to work on my grades, my mom screaming her head off at me about how I was ruining my life, how I hated how angry and temperamental I was. I legitimately thought about sliting my wrists and walking out into the snow to die.

And then i caught Kill La Kill on Toonami at my grandpa's house. I thought it looked cool so I looked it up and found Gurren Lagann. And I binged watched it. I watched a kid who went through far worse than me, finding himself in as deep a hole as me. And he pulled himself out. He found the will to keep living, to keep fighting, to break through any wall in front of him. And by the end, Simon was a true hero.

And that inspired to keep living.

I'm sorry but the arguments Kamen and so many make about Ruby's arc would also apply to Simon's. That there's no self reflection? Simon proceeds to do reckless bullshit throughout the series.

That no one cares about them and no one reflects on how they affected them? Team Dai-Gurren legitimately NEVER check up on Simon or try talking to him. NIA did more for him than they did and she knew him for a fucking day.

That what they did to them was toxic? Gee, at least Team RWBY admitted they may have made a mistake. Kittan, the guy who threw Kamina's death into Simon's face, acts like he always knew he was okay and he suffers no consequences for his actions.

That they're magically okay afterwards? Trying to show me a picture of Ruby coming back and Simon coming back would be like that Office meme- they're the same damn picture.

In every regard, for me to accept that RWBY fucked up would be to accept that Gurren Lagann fucked up as bad if not WORSE. And that doesn't work considering it resonated with me enough to keep going.

So I hope you understand why I don't think these arguments work. Especially since I know quite a few of these guys are Gurren Lagann fans.

[bssaz97]

I feel for my children… including my slightly older child.

Relationship are such that if one person changes the relationship changes

But things are stronger when they were broken