#this was done very fast. I apologize if the colors are wonky | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

itsclydebitches · 4 years ago

Text

RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Divide”

Hello, everyone, and welcome back! It feels good to be doing some normal RWBY-ing in this strange world of ours. First, some supplementary materials.

Number One: In response to any (valid) questions along the lines of, “Hey Clyde, it’s now been a full year since Volume 7 was airing and you still haven’t answered my ask about it. Or the ones about Volume 6… what’s up with that?” I’ve created what I hope is an informative video detailing the problem:

vimeo

(I assure you, the Earth, Wind & Fire was a happy accident during the screen recording.)

Needless to say, there’s a lot and I’ve known for some time now that I will LITERALLY never get through all my asks. Which doesn’t mean I don’t want you to send future thoughts in! Just know that as we head into Volume 8 territory I’ll most likely prioritize those, as well as any Volume 7 asks that aren’t woefully out of date. But I do want everyone to know that I read all the asks I receive, appreciate them immensely, and think too much about hypothetical answers, even if I don’t have time to actually write them out 💜

Number Two: There’s a bingo board this year!

Jury’s out on whether I’ll remember to update it, but at the very least this serves as a decent glimpse into my — and others’ — expectations going into this volume.

Number Three: I’ve collected a list of things I’ve heard about Volume 8 from what seem to be reputable sources. I did this because RT is developing a tendency to talk up certain points and then fail to deliver, either because something was taken out of a volume/moved to another, or because RT apparently has radically different ideas about what including something means. So this might be handy to keep on file and ask ourselves two months from now, “Did RT actually deliver on what they promised?”

Emphasis on Ruby’s leadership and how Summer’s death has impacted her

Insight into Ren and Nora’s flaws

May Merigold will supposedly have a larger part

More information about The Long Memory (Ozpin’s cane)

Theme of the volume is that you can respect someone but that doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with them

Very short timeline (supposedly just two days)

Yang in particular is very suspicious and distrustful

I was also going to include a list of all the threads that need to be continued/wrapped up, but honestly that would have taken too large a chunk off my life. Let’s just throw out the highlights:

Are we really going to have Qrow gunning for Ironwood?

Clover is dead regardless. Press ‘F’ to pay respects

Oscar bb you got shot please acknowledge this

Ozpin bb you got done dirty please acknowledge this

Penny is a Maiden now. I feel like the fandom has been sleeping on this (myself included)

Queer baiting, queer baiting… you’re on thin ice at this point, RWBY. Just skate on over to the queer snack bar before you fall straight into the lake.

Ren spill your deep dark secret already and it had better be something more than just ‘Oh no Nora might someday die :( ’

Salem is here so how the actual fuck is the cast surviving this?

Will Ironwood likewise survive his descent into antagonism? Yes or please yes no?

I think that’s all the biggies. I strive to keep lists like this in mind while analyzing, but honestly RWBY has a hundred moving parts that are abandoned or changed or simply retconned at the drop of a hat. So an attempt will be made.

Number Four (last one I promise!): Normal disclaimers and reminders for Recaps apply:

Please don’t fill up the already full inbox with flames. It’s still 2020. No one has time for that nonsense.

There will absolutely be typos and wonky parts because I try to get these out the same day an episode premieres. I have now been working on this for ten hours, nearly straight, and have no more energy for edits. Apologies in advance and RIP to my Saturdays.

I reserve the right to use stupid GIFs and memes at my discretion.

I strive to keep my focus on recapping/analyzing but salt tends to worm its way in… If you’re a die-hard RWBY fan with little patience for criticism, let alone (at times) snarky criticism, please proceed with caution.

No wait I lied, this is the last thing:

Okay, got that out of my system LET’S DO THIS!

We start not with the episode itself but rather Rooster Teeth’s (RT’s) strange non-promotion of it. If you follow my blog you may have caught the post where I pointed out that there was nothing on RT’s website to suggest that one of their most popular shows—if not the most popular show—was premiering today. Nothing on the main page. Nothing on the RWBY page either, not unless you count the Volume 8 poster background (easily mistaken for the Volume 7 poster) and the trailer buried all the way down past Episodes, past Merch, in the Bonus Features section along with videos like Live From Remnant and the volume intros. RT… the promotion of your feature show is not a bonus. This should be front and center! Honest to god, five minutes before the episode dropped I was checking the website for a Volume 8 section, a countdown, anything that would tell me the episode was imminent without relying on fans on tumblr to keep me in the loop. We got nada, zilch. I’m not sure whether that speaks more to RT’s iffy management of the series or simply the website’s horrible design—RIP losing RWBY on Youtube—but I was surprised when I saw the episode a few minutes after 11:00am. At that point I honestly expected to hear about a dely.

So that’s the mood I entered the premiere in, but truly? We start off strong. Things take a pretty severe nosedive later on, we’ll get to that, but I was impressed with our beginning and that probably has a lot to do with the fact that we start with our villains.

We open on a Cinderella character, Cinder, and thus I’m immediately pleased that we’re getting something about her backstory after all this time. Seven years! She appeared in episode one, folks! To say we’re overdue is an understatement. There isn’t a whole lot to go on, just a younger Cinder sadly scrubbing the floor, poised under a spotlight. What we learn, or potentially learn, is based far more in cultural knowledge than this scene. We know Cinderella’s story, which includes the abusive family, the longing for more, the eventual escape, and thus we’re able to read all of that in this image, despite the image itself not telling us any of this overtly. That means we could be wrong in our interpretation, but if we’re not it’s an easy shorthand in an already packed story.

What I’m really impressed with is the sound bridge between the scrubbing and her nails on the back of Neo’s chair. Fantastic way to confirm that this is Cinder as well as showcasing just how far she’s come. The sound of her labor has been replaced with the sound of her power and given that Cinder’s power is stolen, tied to a grimm arm, the property of a genocidal maniac… that’s messed up. It’s a Cinderella story gone wrong.

So yeah, Cinder tells Neo to head straight into the creepy, grimm infested blood cloud to see Salem and Neo is like, ‘Uh… no thank you?’ lol.

RT does a good job this episode with her expressions, ensuring we know exactly what she’s thinking despite an unwillingness/inability to speak.

Poor Neo might be in too deep, but I quite like the overall atmosphere of this opening. Say what we will about Salem’s awful characterization, at least she has style. This woman knows how to make an entrance and, piggybacking off of the Apathy, RT knows how to infuse horror elements into their fantasy. The red and purple coloring of the clouds, spiked whale teeth peeking through, bright orange in the background looking like explosions… that’s all 👌 Including the intro card.

The only thing I want to gripe about is this:

I’m sorry, why does the whale grimm have landing pads? Or something like it?? The whale otherwise works because it’s poised between the natural and the fantasy synthetic. It looks like a real grimm whale on the outside, but is sporting a throne room, a control panel, and other unnatural elements on the inside. It’s a visual indicator of Salem’s ability to control and change grimm. Now though, the additions are wrong, infringing on the line between organic and tech, the line between what helps the grimm individually (giving monkeys wings) and what just helps Salem. Every other aspect of the whale straddles that line wonderfully, adding to the creep factor, like a grimm version of the Uncanny Valley: it’s not quite a whale anymore… but landing pads? That looks ridiculous. Why does Salem even have that? How many ships are her people feasibly using? Why are there five?

Take it away, please.

Cinder waltzes in like this is a normal home visit, but Neo has an appropriate ‘What the actual fuck?’ face going on.

They approach Salem on her throne where Cinder immediately kneels, greeting her with, “My queen.” I mentioned during my trailer breakdown that I think Cinder is lying her ass off here, and I still think that based on a line we’ll get in a minute, but now at least we have a sense of how she can pull this off. A woman who started out as a (presumed) servant is going to know how to mimic subservience, even if her heart isn’t in it. Salem is very good at playing the girl who will still kneel and scrub the floor for you. She will scrub the floor, she’ll do everything you want, she’ll just be plotting her own rise to power while she does it.

There’s quite a bit of interesting cinematography in this episode, not all of it good, and I think one of the mistakes is here when we get a closeup on Salem’s mouth as she greets Cinder. A closeup like that should be reserved for more significant dialogue—“Rosebud”—and yet we get this shot again when Cinder tells Emerald to be quiet. It’s awkward and coupled with the numerous eye closeups we got in the trailer, I think RT is playing a little fast and loose with the camera. Each shot should add something to the scene, not distract from it. If you don’t have a reason for including a technique like that then leave it be.

Back to the actual dialogue though. We knew that Salem knew Cinder was alive and now it seems that she just expected her to come back? I’m slightly lost. It feels like we’re missing something here. Cinder goes off to secure the lamp, fails, nearly dies, wanders on her own for months, and then randomly shows back up on Salem’s whale doorstep, yet Salem isn’t angry at all? Did she have faith that Cinder would return when she has something to offer? Did she just not care about Cinder, considering her return an unnecessary but otherwise welcome surprise? That would make the least sense given that she holds the key to accessing Beacon’s relic… but that circles right back around to why Salem is seemingly indifferent to Cinder’s comings and goings. Surely she can’t actually believe that Cinder is loyal?

“So I trust you wouldn’t return to me empty handed,” she says. Yeah, trust means nothing in this show, Salem, didn’t you watch Volumes 6 and 7? Again, I simply don’t know. I suppose I’ll just chalk it up to confidence, that if Cinder did bail Salem knew she could track her down again. Deciphering her motivations and beliefs is a lost cause when the show continually gives us so little.

The important thing now is that Cinder does indeed have an offering and you can see that Salem is somewhat surprised at being handed the relic.

Cinder, of course, takes credit for the victory and we’re given another wonderful shot of Neo. ‘YOU took it?’

Oh, Neo. Best get out while you still can.

Tyrian appears having obviously made his way to Salem’s ship sometime between her arrival and now. The exchange is pretty standard for this group. He insults Cinder for failing and needing this victory to make amends, talks about how any win against Ironwood says more about his lack of intelligence than her skill, and Cinder… doesn’t have a whole lot of comebacks, actually. I’d say Tyrian won that verbal spar, enhanced by a better use of the camera when we get his tail looming menacingly towards Cinder and Neo.

He goes on to say that Watts was a “necessary sacrifice” so, uh… I’m just going to toss out the ask I answered yesterday. Based on our intro I’d say Watts is still significant to the volume—hacking Penny is my guess—but by the end? He could be in trouble.

(As a side note: I plan to analyze the intro next week. It’s just easier when it comes first.)

Tyrian also calls Neo “little one” which I just found absolutely hilarious. In an on brand creepy manner, that is. Not that Neo couldn’t kick his ass, but there’s something wonderfully chilling about having the serial killer use an endearment towards a potential victim, one that comments on her size while he’s looming.

In contrast, Cinder refers to Neo as a “valuable asset” and we get our third mood of the episode.

Who’s going to start a Neo reaction image collection?

It’s true enough on the surface—who wouldn’t want an ally who can turn into anyone else?—but we’re still bumping up against question of why Salem needs this. She’s immortal! She has an endless army! Magic! This scene works well with a villain who needs a skillset like Neo’s to succeed, but Salem doesn’t. RT is doing a great job writing a story thus far, just not the story we’ve previously been given. This isn’t the story they set up.

This will come back up when we reach the RWBYJNOR group. Just wait.

Before that though, the gang’s all here as Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel show up, all in new outfits.

I think I like everything except for the weird Xs on Emerald’s jacket—it’s way too distracting and frankly makes an otherwise good look ugly—and the fact that she’s showing her midriff in Atlas. Hazel doesn’t have any sleeves! Oh my god, why doesn’t anyone dress for the weather in this show?

Frankly, I found their reunion to be kind of lackluster. I mean, there was nothing wrong with it. Emerald does sound briefly excited, she does run, and it’s in character for Cinder to cut her off… it just didn’t resonate with me emotionally. I thought after two volumes of thinking she’s dead, then working through the knowledge that she’s alive, that I would feel Emerald’s shock and relief more, but I didn’t. And I’m not entirely sure why. I don’t want to level any accusations at the voice acting because frankly I know next to nothing about that skill (and from what I’ve seen it’s usually praised in the fandom), but I will say that throughout the premiere I was noticing it more than I ever have before. The lack of emotion here and some awkward deliveries later, like when Yang goes, “Ruby, there is no way Ironwood will cooperate with us” and I immediately thought, “Wow, that came out stilted.” These observations stick with me because, as said, voice acting usually isn’t on my radar. It’s not something I’ve studied or had practice analyzing. If you’d never told me that Ren or Qrow’s VA changed then after a year hiatus I literally wouldn’t notice… but there’s something about this episode that didn’t sit right. Anyone else get that sense, or was it just me?

Regardless, the arrival of our other three villains really doesn’t amount to much, though I’m happy for all the Emerald and Mercury fans who get to see them in new outfits. The focus is still on Cinder as she delivers a line indicative of her true motivations: “That power will be mine.” Yeah, she’s not loyal to Salem, she’s just power hungry. Of course, Salem immediately takes note of this and raises her hand, in another nice use of the foreground, reminding her that she hasn’t given that order.

Cinder is shocked, angry even, but quickly covers it up with her ��Without you I am nothing” line. If I caught it right I think she also calls Salem “Ma’am”? Hilarious. Again, skilled at playing the servant.

Also, before I forget, it’s worth noting that almost everything from our trailer appeared in this episode. Yeah, there are a few details like Nora attacking some tech and the group on their bikes, but on the whole we’ve already seen the majority of our promo material and will likely get most of the rest next week. It makes me both interested and nervous for what another twelve episodes are going to hold.

Salem opens her whale, or opens a portal type view in it, something that gives us a long-distance look at Atlas. I don’t know what exactly is going on here, but it’s pretty so I’ll take it.

She also delivers the frankly badass line, “Just because you’re more valuable to me than a pawn does not make you a player.”

She waves them all away with perfect ‘You mean nothing to me’ attitude and we sadly leave our villains.

Sad not because I don’t love my farm boy, but because things are about to get a whole lot messier.

Oscar has made his way to a camp of civilian survivors… all of whom are just hanging out in the supposedly deadly cold. Yeah, there’s a single fire, but at least four of them aren’t anywhere near it. Three of them also aren’t wearing gloves. What was that survival rate again?

A nice if gruff dude gives Oscar soup—water?—while showing off his… badger claws? I don’t know what kind of faunus he’s supposed to be, but he feels like the sort of two second, minor character who could easily become a meme lol.

Oscar thanks him (my polite son!) and hands the bowl back after a single sip. Which is impressive because I would have assumed the guy was giving me the whole bowl and just taken it. Hell, I’ve done that even when I didn’t assume it’s all for me. A Starbucks barista once approached me with a tray and a plate of samples, I knew I was supposed to take just one, yet for some reason my hand went to take the whole goddamn plate. He had to tell me off, then I was trying to explain that I didn’t actually want or think I should have eight shots of cappuccino all to myself, I don’t even like coffee, he clearly didn’t believe me… it was awkward. So good job, Oscar. You’re less awkward than me (though that’s not saying much).

Now a question, Oscar. Darling. Brilliant boy who has been through too much: why the fuck aren’t you talking to Ozpin? This will be A Thing later when he presents a lack of time to talk as justification for keeping more secrets (we’ll get to that too…) yet here is time! You’re just sitting there for who knows how long, with plenty of privacy to hide a supposedly one-sided conversation so the Mantle citizens don’t get weirded out or suspicious. Talk to Ozpin. Our headmaster gets two lines in this episode, utterly inconsequential lines like his airship scene, lines that feel like they exist to say, “See? He’s still included in the story!” even though he absolutely is not. Two volumes of mostly silence, a perfect setup to start the reconciliation process, but we’re going to put it off again?

Instead Ruby randomly and conveniently appears. I want to know how she found him. Oscar isn’t wearing a tracker. He clearly didn’t call them because he’s surprised when Ruby shows up. He fell alllllllll the way back down to Mantle and then wandered to a random part of the slums. You’re telling me they flew over the entire city—after beginning this search thinking he was in Atlas—and somehow managed to spot him from up in the air? C’mon. I would have rather had a beginning where Oscar makes his way back to the group himself, giving him and Ozpin time to hash things out.

“Need a lift?” Ruby says, eliminating that potential. Sigh.

Oscar immediately starts beating himself up when he gets onboard, saying that he “was stupid to think the General would listen.” Nah, you were stupid to buy into Ruby’s nonsensical confidence and for telling Ironwood he’s as bad as Salem. Sorry, Oscar, but everyone is written badly these days. I will, however, say that I am THRILLED at the group’s reaction to his return. Ruby says that she’s “just glad you’re alright.” Nora has a wonderfully tender moment where she hugs him gently rather than her usual glomp.

That? That added a year to my life. Everyone else seems relieved that he’s okay too, so kudos there. After four years of Oscar being an outsider in the group, this is one of the few moments that feel like he’s 100% accepted. Really glad to see it.

Now let’s see if it sticks after they learn Ozpin is back...

They fly to the Happy Huntresses’ base and I again feel like I’ve missed something crucial. When did they team up? I mean, RWBYJNOR was working directly under Ironwood up until the last hour and Robyn ran off to fight Tyrian/Clover in the last couple episodes. When did she have time to explain her (briefly) changed allegiance and why would the Happy Huntresses trust the group without that? Did Robyn share that Blake and Yang went behind Ironwood’s back for her? Do the Huntresses instinctively trust them because they’re now wanted by the military? How did they even run into each other?

Again, I think we would have been better served to have an episode before all this. Let Oscar make his way back and let the group struggle with the magnitude of their situation on the airship, before they find new allies. Transferring directly to, “They have help and a secret base and a plan in the works!” makes me feel like I missed the real premiere last week. You know, the one where Salem unexpectedly arrived and we left the group like this.

This is where we’ve ended up though. The group is cozy in this hideout, getting info from Joanna, and my only other thought is, “Why is she giving all this exposition?”

Shouldn’t it be May? I mean, we were told that she was going to play more of a role this volume, a promise that’s pretty important imo given her status as a (so far off screen) trans character, so why not put her in the role of mediator between the Happy Huntresses and RWBYJNR? Giving her that setup as a leader among her people as well as lots of lines would be meaningful. A trans character just existing and being a part of this fight! May could obviously still fill that role—I’m well aware that we’re only one episode in—but it just seems like a missed opportunity to me. Out of all the undeveloped Happy Huntresses, our premiere focuses on the one who has the least importance to the fandom.

As said, Joanna talks a fair bit but what it basically boils down to is trying to get everyone to the crater below Atlas. It’s apparently not safe, but it’s warm, which is what matters right now.

So… let me get this straight. You want to gather everyone into a not safe crater, by leading them through an army of grimm, so that they can wait there in case someone moves the Staff, thus dropping an entire city on top of their heads? That’s the plan? Which admittedly isn’t Joanna’s fault. This is another instance of RWBYJNOR having information that a leader does not and they should really consider speaking up about it. But of course they don’t.

Also, how long does everyone have in regards to the cold? Shouldn’t there be dead civilians by now? The time it would take to find the Happy Huntresses, team up with them, get settled in the base, and find Oscar says that things should be pretty grim right now (pardon the pun), yet every non-aura user in this city seems content to just hang out in the snow. Either the cold is deadly enough to justify moving everyone to the crater, or it’s mild enough to let everyone survive this long, not both.

After hugs are given everyone obviously wants to know what happened to Oscar. His response?

“It’s a… long story. I get the feeling there’s been a few of those tonight.”

That’s a check for the bingo card! We’re halfway through the first episode and we’ve already got another secret. Yes, this is a secret. Oscar actively chooses not to tell anyone that Ozpin is back—something Ozpin himself comments on—and then skillfully draws attention away from himself with “I get the feeling there’s been a few of those tonight.” Indeed, all eyes go to Penny. Oscar’s plight is forgotten, which is what he wanted. His justification?

Ozpin: “You’re not going to tell them?”

Oscar: “You and I aren’t done talking yet.”

Along with this look.

Oscar no. There’s so much wrong with this I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s create a list.

As said, you had plenty of time to talk to Ozpin and chose not to. Miss me with this excuse.

You are now doing to your friends exactly what you and your friends did to Ironwood, which in turn is what Ozpin did to you! I can’t believe we’ve got Oscar critically side-eyeing him when they are still—still—repeating the behavior they drove Ozpin away for.

What is there to even talk about now? Oscar didn’t punch himself/Ozpin (lol) but he did steal Jinn’s name from Ozpin in the first place. You got what you wanted, drove him away, and have been lying and keeping secrets ever since. The only thing they should be talking about involves apologizing. Any further criticism—which is what Oscar’s expression and curt reply suggests—is beyond hypocritical.

Seriously, what needs to be discussed? There’s no reason not to tell the group unless Oscar wants to talk about whether they should tell them. There’s no good ending here...

Don’t you think it would be nice to know that Ozpin is back and you’ve got super magic powers while making plans to save the entire world?

This is all especially stupid given Oscar’s “Salem wants to divide us” reminder to Ruby in a moment. Oscar, you are doing the most to divide the group right now. By not forgiving Ozpin. By refusing to work with him. By keeping him secret from everyone else.

This is bad, friends, I worry for what the rest of the volume will bring…

The story is done with Ozpin for now so I guess I will be too. The group continues filling Oscar in and we get some shots of the base, including a rather prominent poster of what I assume are two Happy Huntresses. Did they die in battle perhaps?

It’s a little strange.

Oscar: “Where’s Qrow?”

Me: “Likely still making bad decisions.”

No one knows so they just drop it. Which I kind of get, only so much you can do to find him if he’s not out on the streets like Oscar, but it still reads as kind of iffy that two nieces look down at the ground for a hot second and then move on with their plans, content to leave Qrow to whatever fate befell him. In a minute we’ll see Yang firmly take Ren’s side regarding helping the people they can in Mantle, which frankly comes out of nowhere for her. I think an easy motivation would have been Qrow. Ruby wants to save the world, Yang wants to find and save their uncle, and that just happens to align with Ren’s desire to save the civilians who need immediate grimm and cold help. Don’t get me wrong, I like that there’s finally some division between the sisters, I just wish it hadn’t come about so abruptly. Ren had setup for standing up to Ruby. Yang did not.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Joanna lists the grimm horde and no heat as the major threats to everyone. The group agrees.

Me: What about Salem?

Joanna says that this is all doubly dangerous because there’s “no more military protection.”

Me: Oh, so now you want the military?

This is all so disjointed. Even more-so when Joanna mentions that Ironwood has stopped all evacuations to Atlas, likely due to the “hard light shields” that are the only thing standing between Salem and the city. Thing is, the show never makes this connection, I just did it myself based on this scene and the one that comes later. The show presents Joanna’s line as a pure condemnation. Ironwood won’t let more evacuees in because… he’s just evil, I guess. Yet there is a justification here, namely that continuing the evacuations even while he’s stuck without Penny leaves him wide open to a Salem attack, the death of everyone currently safe, but that argument is never presented to the viewer. I don’t need people to agree with Ironwood’s perspective, I just wish that perspective was offered as an option. The show is very good about acting like RWBYJNOR’s opinion is the only justified opinion, or simply the only opinion at all.

After everything is laid out Weiss goes, “We’re never going to sleep again, I just know it.”

I could make a crack about the lack of continuity and how the group should be collapsing right now… but that was a funny line. It can stay.

What is far more of a problem is the fact that no one is talking about Salem. Okay, that’s a lie. They do talk about her, but in a roundabout way like her presence isn’t impacting every decision they make. That’s the real issue. They’re acting as if Salem isn’t here right now, like she’s off far away, maybe approaching slowly, and they’re arguing over how best to prep the world for her eventual attack. There’s no emotion here—let alone action—to reflect that the series’ Big Bad has arrived and is poised to murder them all. Literally what is this? Ruby is yelling about warning the world and, ignoring the continued question of why that’s a good thing when the world can do nothing to stop Salem and knowledge of her continually drives people to horrible acts, she has yet to acknowledge that… she’s the world? Ruby is the world in this conflict. She, Mantle, and Atlas. Salem is here for you all. Right now. You are, this instant, in the situation you want to warn others about, so why don’t you try to do something about it? Or at least acknowledge it. Ruby wants to warn the neighborhood about a potential fire while her house is actively ablaze, and the fire could have totally killed her by now but decided not to for… reasons.

“Ruby’s right,” Nora says. They have to tell the world so “they can prepare.” How? How are they supposed to prepare for this? The story cannot continue ignoring Salem’s immortality.

“Ruby’s right,” is all Blake says and I’m starting to thinks that’s why her character exists now, to agree with Ruby. It’s great that she’s getting a little distance from Yang, but man.

As Ruby asks whether Pietro can get Amity up and running despite it not being finished (called it) we start an incredibly odd sequence of flashforwards to their individual missions. I’ve seen a lot of praise for this already and though I agree that, in theory, it’s a good way to save time, I found the actual execution to be jarring. Upon thinking back through our timeline, it became clear they were flashforwards, but while watching I thought they might be flashbacks (especially since that’s more common).

Some of the shots, like Nora’s, just look awkward when you’ve got the exact expression and pose transplanted from one scene to another, like she’s a cardboard cutout behind a green screen. To say nothing of how the flashforwards ruin any suspense (I use that word loosely) in the conversation itself. If the question is, “Will they decide to go to the military compound?” then that question is answered when we see Ruby scoping out the compound, not when the group actually decides on the course of action.

It just made an already muddled scene worse for me, so I hope this trend doesn’t continue.

And of course, Amity can be used despite all the info last volume claiming that it wasn’t finished. Pietro suddenly acts like it is finished and the only thing standing in their way is Ironwood providing access. If that were the case, he would have used Amity weeks or days ago like he wanted to! When was it finished? Not after Watts commented on how incomplete it was. When did they get back the resources they needed from Robyn? It’s as ridiculous and retcon-y as I thought it would be.

Yang points out that Ironwood will never listen to them and Ruby counters that “he doesn’t have to.” They’ll just take the access from him. Because why wouldn’t they in a series where they’ve already stolen two airships? Stealing from the super evil military that Joanna wishes were helping them right now is just the group’s go-to plan nowadays.

Pietro isn’t sold on this plan though. He lists at least three obstacles they’d need to get through “and then… oh boy, I might need to think about this some more.” “And just to clarify,” Oscar says, “This is the easy option?” Um...no it’s not? We also know there’s an access point in Ironwood’s office so… why not go there instead? They really think the Academy is less guarded than the military base? There’s a potential justification here along the lines of, “After Neo and Cinder broke into his office Ironwood will have the place on high alert,” but unless I missed it the group doesn’t assume anything like that. They just listen to Pietro point out all the ways they can’t get into the military base and jump straight to that being the best option. It feels like a transparent way to create conflict for the group. We’ll just have them taking the most dangerous route despite an easy route being offered alongside it. Why bother mentioning his office at all? Just have the access in the military base. Boom, done.

It’s that conflict and the fact that Ruby tends to hear “You can’t” and digs in her heels. You can’t go to Atlas. I’ll just steal a ship then. You can’t defeat Salem. Watch me. You can’t break into this base. Guess what I’m doing! She’s dangerous in her fairy tale, meta-driven insistence that everything will turn out her way because she wants it to.

Speaking of, we finally—FINALLY—get someone challenging Ruby. Sort of. Not actually but it’s the closest we’ve ever gotten:

Yang: “Ruby, when we came here we said we’d follow your lead… but things haven’t exactly worked out.”

Now, there are two things to take away from this moment. The first is how utterly shocked Ruby and the others are. I mean, take a look at these expressions.

Ruby straight up can’t believe what she’s hearing. Weiss put her hand to her mouth like this is the most dramatic thing to ever happen to her. Oscar looks down in a ‘Yeah, I agree but please don’t look at me and make me admit that’ way. And Nora looks indifferent in the screenshot but animated she goes sort of stern, likely pissed that Yang would dare say that given her own agreement with Ruby. This not only reiterates that Yang’s challenge came out of nowhere—seriously, how did we move from following Ruby no matter what to this? Last volume she asked a single question along the lines of, ‘You sure?’ and when Ruby said ‘Yes’ Yang was entirely on board—but also demonstrates that no one has EVER said no to her before. Ruby is amazed that someone would challenge her. The act of challenging Ruby is, in and of itself, shocking. This group has gotten so used to following Ruby blindly that the teensiest little pushback is greeted with this.

Because it is teensy. This is the second takeaway: Yang barely challenges her and that challenge leads nowhere. She doesn’t accuse Ruby of anything, she doesn’t question her continued authority, she just broadly implies that things could be better. We followed you, now things are bad, take from that what you will. It’s incredibly mild as far as criticism goes, making the shock all the more, well, shocking, but it also amounts to—wait for it—nothing! Because Yang didn’t truly challenge Ruby’s leadership. She’s still in charge, she’s still calling the shots, and they’re still listening to her. We might have gotten some change if this division had been allowed to play out, but instead Jaune comes in with a, “Let’s go for both!” solution. It let’s both groups get what they want which, in turn, releases them from the need to grapple with whether they’ll listen to Ruby when she’s advocating for something they don’t agree with. We have now lost the chance to see whether, when push comes to shove, Ren and Yang will cave to Ruby’s will or stick by their own beliefs.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s more conflict than we’ve gotten in years, but that doesn’t mean it’s particularly compelling conflict. It’s good by RWBY’s standards, which doesn’t necessarily make it good. The actual issues at hand—Ruby’s dangerous arrogance, the group’s loyalty, her choices up until now—are just swept under the rug. For all the visuals we get insisting that there’s this great divide in the group… there’s really not. Not in any way that matters.

Also, Ruby is an idiot. Okay, that was mean, but she really is in this scene. She’s actually not an idiot overall because she was written as wonderfully intelligent in the early volumes, but now? Lately? She makes me want to bang my head against a wall.

“But that’s how Salem got this far,” she cries. “By dividing us!”

Ruby… oh my god, Ruby. No one should have to explain to you that dividing people means turning them against each other, not literally dividing your team to complete separate tasks. This girl honestly thought that because there was this teensy disagreement and that half the team would complete Plan A while she and the other half completed Plan B, both of which notably work towards the goal of, “Protect people from Salem,” that this was somehow what Salem wanted. That is was dangerous. Honestly, it’s a scary look at her view of leadership too: If everyone doesn’t 100% agree with me and do what I say, that’s an objectively bad thing that the grimm queen wants, right? Does Ruby think that unification means following a single person (her) without question or variation? That would explain a lot...

The fact that Oscar needs to explain the difference to her is not good. It really doesn’t say great things about this version of Ruby. Though he was comparing Ironwood to Salem last volume, so really they should all be wearing dunce hats.

Penny offers to take the relic directly to Salem in exchange for her leaving the kingdom alone. I honestly didn’t expect that. If anyone took that risk I would have put my money on Ozpin (but of course, during all this talk of the women he knows best, he’s kept quiet). Oscar is again the voice of wisdom, pointing out that they have no reassurance that Salem will keep her word. At least Penny is thinking about Salem as a threat though, so kudos for that. When this plan is shot down she volunteers to get Ruby past the military security instead and, uh, she’s a little intense about it.

I’m not entirely sure what is going on with Penny. She disagreed with Winter but then seemed to come around to her point of view, enough to help anyway. They had another (stupid) disagreement about the value of individual lives, so that helps to explain why she’s teaming up with RWBYJNOR (if you ignore that Ironwood is also trying to save individual lives...). Did watching Fria die shake her up? Is it being the Winter Maiden that’s not sitting right? Does Penny have lingering feelings about the framing that haven’t shown up until now? Her status as a ‘real girl’? We’ve got a lot of reasons that could definitely explain this sudden need to fight, but we’re not told which—if any of these—is the driving force.

We’re then given a lot of little details. Someone points out that if Salem gets the staff and “create[s] anything else” then Atlas will fall (so yeah, let’s move the people underneath it). We still don’t know what exactly the Staff does because “creation” is kind of broad and “powering a city to float” doesn’t seem to sit within that category at all. Pietro gives Yang the keys to his lab so they can get the bikes. We see the group dividing in the flashforwards, something I do like, especially since the show has gone out of its way to break up most of the usual duos. Nora in particular is pissed at Ren for his choice.

“Oh, I’m saving Mantle because I actually believe we can do this.”

#yikes. Well, I did say I wanted a conflict other than ‘Oh no, one of us might die’ and it looks like I got it. But Nora, the only reason you can do this is because the plot is in your corner: none of you are collapsing from two major fights, you didn’t lose your aura so the cold isn’t a danger, the military is barely a threat all of a sudden, Salem is helpfully hanging out in her whale instead of killing you, and the story decided that Amity can function so long as you all are the ones who get to use it. That’s why you can do this. Ren, who follows in-world logic and doesn’t want to risk a whole kingdom’s worth of lives on a pipe dream, thinks differently, oddly enough.

As they leave though Penny gets a call from Ironwood. I know precisely what the fandom is going to say here: “This evil man is just trying to use Penny to open the vault!” Of course he is. He needs it open to save everyone he can, Penny included. Plus the concept of “using” her is a double-edged sword. What do we think the group is doing right now? Using her to get past the security. Penny’s power is a tool any way you slice it. Granted, Penny volunteers to help the group, but notably here Ruby speaks for her. Penny seems torn and Ruby takes the scroll away with, “She’s not going anywhere until you change your mind about Mantle.”

Sorry, Ruby, but coming from you that sounds less like a reassurance for Penny and more like just an order for Ironwood. Remember Harriet? We’ll stop attacking you provided you do what we want. Ruby has yet to learn about compromises, let alone acknowledge that she might be wrong. How about you let Penny decide where she goes, especially since by all logic she should have a lot of loyalty to Ironwood. She knew him before she ever met you. She’s worked with him since she was rebuild post-Volume 3. Despite what Penny has said, if the story would just let her think about his actions for a hot second—making her the protector of Mantle, sticking up for her after the framing, sending her to the party, teaming her up with Ruby, etc.—she might realize that the ‘He doesn’t want me to have friends’ and ‘He just treats me like a tool’ assumptions are just that, unfounded assumptions. But no, Ruby speaks for them both because Ironwood is evil now.

“If she makes it through our defenses,” Ironwood says, “everything that follows will be on your hands.”

That’s true! Kind of like how it’s own Qrow’s hands that Clover died. When you insist on making a bad situation worse you hold responsibility when the shit hits the fan. You know though that Salem won’t get through their defenses now, somehow, so that there’s no chance RWBYJNOR will be blamed for it. Or, by that point Ironwood will be so crazed that anything coming out of his mouth is dismissed, no matter how accurate it might be.

We then transfer to the Ace Ops who are, despite what the fandom theorized for many months, clearly upset about Clover. Also pissed. Which they have every right to be. Their friend and leader was killed. Imagine for a moment that Ruby had been murdered by Tyrian with an allies’ help. Exactly what do you think the group would do? Swallow it quietly and get over it? Ha.

I’ve already seen some speculation that Clover survived due to details like showing us the bandage and his room being listed as for a “Patient,” but he looks pretty dead to me.

He got gutted through the chest and left out in the snow for who knows how long. We saw him slip away. Qrow screamed over his dead body. He’s not breathing now. If RWBY suddenly claims he survived this, I’m calling BS.

Most of the other visuals we get here were already dropped in the trailer. Winter is pretty injured from her encounter with Cinder, likely permanently based on her new outfit. Ironwood had to replace his arm—and I am calling BS on that “Losing his arm is reflective of him losing his humanity” commentary from RT. Please go read up on a couple decades worth of ableism in media and then get back to me.

We get Ironwood’s line about the light shields and, notably, a whole lot of empathy. Regardless of what he might want Penny for, he still called her with compassion. He’s watching the Ace Ops mourn their friend. He’s talking about protecting his kingdom. The first thing he says to Winter is, “Thank you, Winter. I don’t know what I would do without you.” Ironwood has a heart! It’s always on display, which makes this scene utterly ridiculous.

I literally don’t know how to respond to this. The gunshot made me jump, both because it’s a gunshot and because, again, what the fuck? I know I said that next volume RT might just have Ironwood descend into full villainy, shooting whoever he pleases now that he’s shot Oscar, but I didn’t actually expect them to do it. Because he never should have shot Oscar in the first place! I wanted the story to let Oscar grapple with it a bit and then quietly backtrack, acknowledging it as the mistake it was. The concept that Ironwood, empathetic Ironwood, rational Ironwood, always thinks before he acts Ironwood, let’s kids yell at him Ironwood, tried to team up with Robyn Ironwood, did everything Ruby wanted Ironwood, won’t kill Watts after he destroyed his arm Ironwood would shoot this guy just to shut him up is absurd. It was absurd then, it’s absurd now.

That being said, there’s a possibility he didn’t actually shoot the council member, but rather just (“just”) gave a warning shot down the hallway. I say this because the reactions to this are pretty tame. Everyone looks startled, yeah, but after the initial shot there’s nothing that I would expect if there was now a guy bleeding out on the floor. The council woman doesn’t scream. Winter doesn’t seem overly shocked. No one is running to try and help him. Basically, if Ironwood had just killed a political figure in front of six witnesses, entirely unprovoked, I would expect a bit more of a reaction than this. This feels far more like a, “Damn he’s not joking around, letting off warning shots to get people to leave him alone” not “WOW, our general just killed someone in cold blood!”

What I really hate though—beyond just assassinating his character—is how many fans think my friends and I are delusional for calling it character assassination at all. I hopped onto the RWBY tag for five minutes this morning and was bombarded with posts about how Ironwood needs to be murdered horrifically, anyone who likes him is sick, the Ironwood stans are as bad as Adam stans, you’re an idiot if you want him redeemed… because apparently the concept of a story writing a character badly doesn’t compute. I’m not here to argue that Ironwood didn’t do these awful things (regardless of whether he actually killed the guy or not). I’m not here to argue that they’re not awful. I’m just here to say that we never should have gotten these scenes in the first place, or if we were going to get them, we deserved an actual descent into murder at the drop of a hat territory. I’ve already explained extensively on this blog how early Ironwood was not accurate foreshadowing for this, and Volume 7 certainly wasn’t setup, but it looks like the majority of fans aren’t interested in examining whether any of this adds up. Which makes my job, as someone trying to examine this series somewhat objectively—in as much as that’s possible for any single viewer—as well as simply enjoy it as a show, really hard. It’s bad enough when a story keeps taking the characters you love and villainizing them, and doing that badly, but then when you turn to the community and see them rallying around the idea that you’re awful for being dissatisfied—you’re the bootlicker, you’re the blind stan, you can’t see what’s ‘really’ going on here… that sucks. For those of you happy and satisfied with Ironwood’s arc, that’s great! I’ve also seen a lot of posts hyping up the complexity of his character now. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying what we’ve been given and I’d never want to imply that just because it’s not what I wanted it’s somehow wrong. I’m honestly thrilled that after a year of worry so many people have adored our premiere, including this scene. I just wish that I could say RWBY had given me something I didn’t want in a persuasive manner and that the fandom as a whole was a bit more welcoming of differing criticisms.

Not that I didn’t already know the RWBY fandom had its flaws, but still lol.

That’s basically it for our premiere. Nice note to end on, huh? Our final scene is of Salem using the lamp to set her bloodhound grimm on the city. Why doesn’t she just go herself? What was she planning to do here in Atlas in the first place, considering that getting the relic was a surprise? Who knows. Little about this holds together. But we do end with another awesome shot, so small favors.

It’s always strange concluding a recap, but even more-so when it’s a premiere, during a historical moment in the U.S., amidst all the nonsense that is 2020. So for now I’ll just conclude with three quick things:

The updated bingo board will be listed at the end of each recap, provided I don’t forget about it lol. Today I’m checking off tone (not nearly enough freaking out about Salem), the team keeping secrets (Oscar), and major plot point dropped (Amity is suddenly finished). I could also probably check off the cold not killing civilians and getting Amity up and running, but we’ll see if any changes with those.

I’m including my Ko-Fi link at the end of recaps now. Not with any expectations. Not with anything resembling pressure. I thought long and hard over whether to include it at all—let alone mention it here—because I love doing these and never want anyone to feel like it comes with strings attached. But life is a little harder and weirder than it was last year, so I figure it can’t hurt. Feel free to pass on by and I won’t be bringing it up past this note.

Far more importantly: thank you for reading! :D

(Bonus 4. Editing this was an absolute nightmare — damn you, tumblr! — so I apologize if anything is super wonky when I finally post.)

See you next week! 💜

[Ko-Fi]

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #mymetas #rwby recaps

106 notes · View notes

yellowsuitcase · 4 years ago

Text

Betwixt; Draco Malfoy: Chapter 2 - The Prince

A/N: Getting settled! Enjoy

Warning(s): Swearing

Word Count: 4.8k

Credits: @10amnoodles Check her out! her artwork is incredible and this series wouldn’t be happening without her :)

Bewtixt Masterlist

“Here is where you will be staying indefinitely. You have an hour before your etiquette lessons start. They will be held in the library on the first floor at exactly 10 o’clock. Please do get settled; your uniforms are hanging in your wardrobe. You are expected to wear them every day unless told otherwise,” Olive opened the door. I gave her my thanks for showing me around, and she took her leave. Once she was gone, I stepped into my new room.

It was better than I’d expected, honestly. I had assumed I’d receive a bed and wardrobe, and while the room did have those essentials, it certainly wasn’t limited to them. There was a dark wooden desk in the right corner; a matching wardrobe leaned against the wall next to it. The room was lit up by two glass doors leading to a balcony. I instinctively took a step towards them and found myself standing on a cream-colored rug. It was perfectly circular and looked very expensive. I hastily shuffled off of it, not wanting my dirty shoes to taint its color.

I proceeded to the balcony. There were two pots of blue flowers in each corner, as well as a bench sat in between both doors. Despite my aching feet, I found myself at the railing, clutching it firmly. I ignored the discomfort of the chilly autumn air nipped at my skin. From where I stood, I could see rooftops and people moving through the city, albeit they did look like dots from this height. I tried to look past the walls, tried to see home. Of course, all I could see were fuzzy blobs vaguely resembling trees. I couldn’t help but think of Jasper. God, I hope he’s okay. I wonder if he’ll be upset with me when I come back.

Reluctantly, I shoved Jasper from my mind and retreated into my bedroom, kicking off my shoes as I sauntered over to my wardrobe. Upon first glance, I could tell it was handcrafted. However, it had undeniably seen better days. The wood was chipped in numerous places, and one of the knobs was dangerously loose. I gingerly opened its doors to reveal several white dresses. I pulled one out and held it up to my chest; it looked as if it’d fit me well. I stood in front of the vanity adjacent to the wardrobe to examine it further. The dress was quite simple, just a flowy frock paired with a dark blue corset and green apron.

I made sure my door was locked and got undressed. I then slipped into the corset and attempted to tie it on my own. I thought I had done quite well, but when I examined myself in the mirror, my eyes widened at the sight. The ribbons were twisted, wonky, and overall atrocious, barely acceptable. Yet, it was the best I could manage. I had never been a fan of the restricting garment.

I went back to the wardrobe to hang up Ginny’s dress when I was dressed. Upon getting close to the closet, my eye caught sight of a loose panel in the back of it. Quickly, I pushed the dresses to the side to get a better look. “Huh,” I mused aloud. The board had a slight bend in the corner of it as though it had been forcefully yanked from its place on more than one occasion. Curiosity got the better of me, and I reached out my fingers and grasped the corner, testing the waters, seeing how much it would give. Surprisingly, it resisted my gentle tug. Although this should’ve deterred me, I was too interested now. I planted my foot firmly in front of me, bent my knees, and yanked on the panel. It remained stuck. I tried again; this time, it gave way so easily that I toppled over onto my back with a loud thud.

“Fucking hell,” I muttered under my breath, examining the board in my hand. Then I looked up from the ground; my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw it. Behind the panel was a tight crawl space. I hastily got to my feet and leaned my face towards it. Cold air fanned over my face, carrying the smell of dirt and dust particles with it. I reeled back, coughing violently. “What on Earth…”

It looked as if the channel had no end. It was fully dark, but my room's light highlighted all the numerous cobwebs covering the walls. Hesitantly, I stuck my hand inside it, feeling the rough stone walls as I did. Where could this possibly lead? Surely, it’s not a secret passageway. There’s no way Ron was right... Fuck, what if he was? I pulled my head out of the wardrobe and scanned my room for a clock, locating one on my bedside table. I picked it up and looked at the time: 9:30. My eyes drifted back to the wardrobe, then to the forgotten panel on the floor. Fuck it. I hiked up my dress and clambered into the closet. Yet, once I got inside, my feet hesitated as I faced the dark abyss.

My heart pounded in my chest. This could lead anywhere. If I was lucky, it could lead home. Yet, I had no way of knowing how long it was, whether or not it was safe, if I’d be able to turn back. Tick, tick, tick. The unmistakable sound of time passing reminded me I had a mere thirty minutes to spare. I decided to go through with my decision, putting my head down and crawling into the hole. It was only when I got my entire body inside that I realized how truly tiny it was. The floor of it felt unpleasant against my exposed elbows, and I could feel fear beginning to set it, but I was in too deep now; I had to keep going.

I trudged forward and, at some points, dragged my body through the crawlspace. It wasn’t getting any brighter, and the cobwebs were only getting thicker. Nevertheless, I kept going until my hand reached forward, only to find that the floor had, inexplicably, ended. My heart stopped, and I quickly curled my toes and pulled my body backward, away from the edge. Once I had calmed my pulse, I picked my hand up and felt around. My fingers found the ledge, as well as a wall beneath it. Wondering if there was anything else, I extended my arm downwards. As I did this, my hand brushed up against something firm. Hastily, I curled my fingers around it. It seemed to be a wooden pole of sorts. Upon further exploration, I discovered I was touching a ladder. Excitement stirred within me, and I reached upwards, trying to find the ceiling. I waved it around wildly in the dark; I couldn’t feel anything but air.

Time was still ticking, so I extended my arm backward and latched my fingers around the edge of the crawlspace’s ceiling. Then, with wobbly legs, I got to my feet and stood up. “Okay,” I breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly, I turned myself around and lowered my right foot. It found the first rung of the ladder, then my left found the second. I climbed down it until my feet met the floor. An echo sounded when they did, and I whipped my body around, startled. I couldn’t see anything, I couldn’t hear anything, but the scent of mildew and mud was unmistakable. However, my curiosity was only growing, and after a few moments of standing with my back against the wall, it overpowered my fear. Tentatively, I stepped forwards and stuck out my hands.

As I moved them around, my left pinky finger came in contact with something sturdy; another wall. I ran my hand up, down, and across it in every way I could manage. Just as I was going to try the opposite wall, my hand hit something cold. I yanked away with a gasp but then reached out again; this time, I felt something smooth. As I ran my fingers up, I felt little bumps and then a rough stick. I pinched my fingers onto it and felt some sort of crust smear onto them. Puzzled, I brought my hand to my nose and sniffed. Ash. It smelled of ash. This was a candlestick, I realized. My heart leaped; this meant I could return with a flint striker to light the tunnel. That’s just what I’d do, I’d return, but at that moment, I knew I had very little time left. I went to the ladder and crawled back through the hole, this time with light shining from the end of it.

Once in my bedroom, I picked up the panel and jammed it back into place. Then I pulled the dresses over it to hide it and shut the doors of my wardrobe, letting my hands rest upon it as I caught my breath. So many emotions were running through me, confusion, exhilaration, shock, but then my eyes found the clock. 9:50.

“Shit!” I cursed as I started for the door. However, as I was taking my leave, I caught sight of my reflection in the vanity mirror. It showed a dirty woman, her hair covered in spiderwebs, definitely not someone who could roam the castle halls. Frantically, I rushed back to the closet and took out a new dress. There was no way I could show up to lessons looking like how I did. As fast as I could without tearing it, I disrobed my soiled uniform and tossed it into the basket beside the wardrobe. I then donned the new, clean dress and jerked open my vanity drawer. I spotted a hairbrush and frantically ran it through my tangled hair, ridding it of any debris. Once it was clean, I twirled it into a bun and pinned it.

After a final once-over in the mirror, I deemed my appearance acceptable, slipped on my shoes, and fled my room. Since Olive had already given me a tour of the castle, I knew the library was located at the back of the palace. My feet carried me down the hallway and down the staircase. I was nearly running, terrified of being late. Upon turning a left corner, my body ran into something firm. “Oh!” I yelped.

“Watch where you’re going,” a familiar voice hissed. I looked up to find the prince glaring down at me, a scowl etched upon his face.

“I apologize, Your Highness. It won’t happen again,” I told him while bowing my head.

“It better not,” he spat. I nodded curtly and took a step forwards, aiming to walk around him and continue down the hall. As I was passing him, a hand abruptly and firmly grabbed my wrist. Without hesitating, I wrenched myself from his grasp and took several steps backward, my heart speeding up. Draco stared at me bewilderedly, his hand still hanging in the air. Obviously, he was wondering why I’d reacted in such a way. His eyes were narrowed, but even from the distance I had put between us, I could see the confusion in them. Curiously enough, despite emotion being at the forefront, the look of vacancy from that morning was still there, buried beneath it all.

Before I was able to properly calm down and further study him, he snapped out of it, lowering his arm and clearing his throat. “When you’re done with your training, stop by my study. We have things to discuss,” he instructed me. I nodded, watching as he side-stepped away from me and continued on his path, wherever it may be to. As my heart began to slow down, my eyes drifted to a nearby clock. 9:58. “Motherfucker!” I whisper-yelled, then broke into a sprint that carried me all the way to the library doors.

When I entered, a tall, grey-haired woman peered at me through her oval-shaped glasses. I swiftly straightened my posture, suddenly aware of my disheveled appearance. She carried herself with elegance and maturity; I could practically feel her judgment from where I stood.

“Y/N, I presume?” I nodded. “Next time, arrive early. You will address me as Lady McGonagall, understood?” she asked. Her voice was high pitched and steady. This woman wasn’t one to fool with.

“Yes, Lady McGonagall,” I replied. A smile formed on her lips.

“Excellent, let’s get started.”

--------

I closed my door behind me, finally inside my room. Exhausted, I let myself sink to the floor. Mother of God, had my first lesson been rigorous. McGonagall had high expectations, to say the least. She berated me the entire class.

��Spine straight, chin up, shoulders back.” I must have heard that phrase nearly twenty times. When I made the decision to try for this position, I had no idea it would be this exhausting. I couldn’t help but wonder if my mother had gone through the same thing. She hadn’t worked for a member of the Royal Family, of course, but being a maid for Lord and Lady Greengrass surely meant she had to learn proper etiquette. If only she could see me now. What would she say? What would she think? I like to think she’d be proud of me for getting off my ass. The thought of it made me laugh.

I picked myself up and walked over to the balcony. I knew this would quickly become my favorite spot. I knew Jasper would love it. The thought of him made my heart squeeze. I’d only been gone eight hours and I missed him terribly. However, I suppose it made sense that I was feeling this way; I’d never been gone from him this long. Releasing a sigh, I rested my head on my arms that were propped up on the railing. I can’t be thinking like this. I’m here for a reason; I’m here for Jasper.

Reluctantly, I went back inside and began cleaning myself up in my mirror. I already stopped by the kitchen after my lesson to get a small snack, so the only things left on my agenda was my meeting with the prince and dinner. McGonagall told me I’m on waitress duty for tonight’s dinner. This meant I’d be one of two servants present in the dining room. I’d only be able to eat once the Royal Family was finished.

I deemed myself presentable and once again headed out of my room. The North Wing of the castle housed all the family’s private quarters, so I made my way there. I was unsure of where exactly Draco’s study may be, but I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

When I reached the correct corridor, I slowed my pace, examining each door as I went. Some had signs hanging over them, but others remained unmarked. None were open. Well, I’m not going to find it by standing here, I thought. I went down the hallway, knocking on every door and trying the handle. One after the other, locked, locked, locked. My hand was hovering over the final door when I was startled by a soft “ahem.”

I whipped my head to the left to find Draco standing in the middle of the corridor. The look on his face made my stomach churn; he didn’t look pleased. He strutted towards me, fists clenched and chest puffed out. His stance reminded me of Jasper when he was trying not to throw a fit. Was the prince about to have one?

“Rule number one, don’t attempt to get into rooms you haven’t specifically been instructed to enter,” he spat as he reached for the doorknob in front of me. The door swung open easily, and he gestured for me to go inside.

“But, Your Highness, you told me to go to your study, how was I supposed to-” He held up his hand, silencing me.

“Go inside, don’t make me repeat myself,” he ordered. I did as he asked and stepped into his study. The curtains were drawn shut, making the room extremely dark. I watched Draco walk over to a desk, presumably his, and open one of the drawers. He pulled out an object. I couldn’t quite make out what it was. It made a clinking noise as he held it in his hand. The light from the hallway illuminated the room just enough for me to see Draco approach a wall-mounted candle holder, and sparks emerge from his hands. The tinder took flame, and from its light, I could see the object in his hands were actually two—a flint striker paired with a piece of steel.

He used the tinder to light the candle, then used that to light the others until every last one was lit. The study was now easier to examine. A large mahogany desk sat in the center of the room. To the left of it were green sofas and tall bookshelves, packed to the brim with various novels. To the right, a round table surrounded by dark green armchairs. A vase of white, wilting flowers sat in the center of it. It seemed as though Draco had noticed me staring at them, my feet subconsciously drawing me nearer to them.

“That’ll be a job of yours, replacing those flowers. They’re appealing at every stage of their short life, but the stench of rotting sweet pea is not one I find to be very pleasant.”

I turned my body towards him. He was standing by his desk, hand resting on the edge of it. Neither of us said a word; we simply looked at one another. He was trying to figure me out. I was doing the same. Suddenly, he seemed to come to his senses and broke eye contact.

“Shall we sit? Perhaps you should grab parchment and a quill? To take notes of what will be expected of you,” he suggested, placing the flint, steel, and tinder back into its case on his desk and reaching for a piece of parchment. My hands found each other behind my back, and I walked right past his desk and straight towards the sofas. I could feel his eyes on me as I took a seat.

“I’ll remember, Your Highness,” I told him, my voice soft. He raised an eyebrow, doubting me.

“Are you sure? Maybe you should just-”

“I said, I’ll remember.” My words seemed to anger Draco, but he said nothing. Instead, he took a seat on the emerald couch across from me, his eyes still searching. I wondered what they were hoping to find. If it was obedience, submission, he wouldn’t find it in me. Yet, I think he understood that when we met. I think it’s why he chose me.

“Very well. I assume Lady McGonagall has already informed you of many of your duties. Such as weekly tidying of my bedroom-”

“Your study, the kitchens, the guest rooms, the sitting rooms…” I trailed off as I saw Draco give me an unamused look. Nevertheless, he nodded and cleared his throat.

“It seems you do remember well. Good, so you know your chores. Now I can go over my personal rules for you. We’ll start with this room,” he said while gesturing around the room. “I spend the majority of my days in here, thus it gets messy quite quickly. While you must clean it, you shall never clean my desk. I don’t care if its entirety is covered in parchment and books; they are not to be touched. Neither are the drawers.”

My eyes followed his fingers as they pointed towards his desk. The flint striker shined with the light from a nearby candle. It was calling my name, but patience was going to be the key to snagging it, so I turned back to the prince as he stood up from the couch. He walked towards a series of display shelves. Numerous peculiar items sat atop it. The one that caught my eye the most was a small glass ball with a golden ring around its middle.

“None of these items are to be touched under any circumstances, understood?” he asked. His voice had turned dark. Seems as though these objects held quite the meaning.

“What if one of them is about to fall onto the floor?” I asked, purposefully trying to irritate him, just to see how far I could push him. He pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance but did inform me that should an item be falling to its doom, I could catch it.

Draco continued going around the room and telling me what I could and could not mess with. Some of these things seemed completely arbitrary, like the crooked picture frame above an end table. Others made sense, like the ring on display. According to Draco, it had been passed down through eight generations.

Once Draco finished going around his study, he headed to the door, ready to lead me to his bedroom. Before joining him, I walked by his desk and pretended to look at the portrait to my left. It was of the prince and his father. Draco saw this, and instinctively followed my gaze; it was all I needed. My fingers swiped the flint and steel case right off his desk and slid it into my apron pocket. When his eyes returned to me, confusion evident on his face, I was already heading towards him. He said absolutely nothing about the now missing item. What a shame, he really had been just angry this morning.

As we entered the bedroom, I felt my eyes begin to widen. His room was magnificent. Not only did he have a dark green canopy bed, but he also had couches, a fireplace, a floor-length mirror next to his enormous wardrobe, and another desk. I noticed from the open door that it even had a washroom of its own. I must not have hidden my surprise well enough because I heard a soft chuckle beside me.

“Biggest bedroom in the palace,” Draco gloated, his hand on his hip. I disregarded him and instead began walking to the windows. When I got to them, I peered out to see a relatively big fenced-in field. There looked to be some stables in one corner. Do they have horses?, I wondered. Unable to quell my excitement, I turned to Draco to ask but stopped short when I found him giving me a hard stare.

“Do you have no manners at all? You cannot just wander around my bedroom as if it is your own! I’ve been tolerating your nonsense only because it’s your first day, but one more foolish act of disrespect, and you’re gone, understood?” he lashed out, his teeth barred and chest heaving. I gave him no reply, only watching as he seethed with anger. However, that soon got boring, so I turned my head back to the window. His little tantrum didn’t phase me one bit; I knew his words were empty threats.

“Do you have horses?” I asked, breaking the silence and meeting Draco’s eyes again. His eyebrows were knitted together, and his nose was scrunched.

“Seriously? You’re not going to acknowledge what I just said?” he questioned, his anger still strong. I said nothing, my eyes blinking at him with false innocence. He stared at me, waiting. When he realized I wasn’t going to back down, he threw up his hand halfheartedly. “Yes, of course, we have horses. What kind of a question is that?” he berated me. “Whatever, just sit down, and I’ll show you what else you’re forbidden to touch.” I decided enough was enough, and I did as I was told, taking a seat in one of the nearby chairs.

As Draco roamed about his room, I couldn’t help but let my eye be drawn away from him again. This time, it wasn’t the window that interested me. It was the sword hanging above his nightstand. The handle of it looked to be made of jade stone. It had silver snakes curled around it, hovering, almost. At the base of the blade was a dark, black gem. Not until Draco waved his hand in front of my face was my gaze torn from it.

“Forgive me, Your Highness,” I apologized. However, the prince didn’t look upset. He smirked at me as he walked over to the sword and gently lifted it from its shelf. His right hand gripped the handle as he began lightly swishing the blade through the air. I watched, mesmerized as he handled the weapon with ease. I’d be lying to myself if I said it wasn’t attractive. There’s something inherently captivating about a man who’s good with his hands.

Without warning, Draco twirled the sword around then upwards towards the ceiling before slowly bringing it down until the tip of the blade was nearly grazing my nose. My heart pounded in my chest, but not from fear.

“Do you know how to use one?” he asked. I shook my head. Of course, I didn’t know how to swordfight. “Didn’t think so,” he replied, lowering the blade from my face.

“Why do you ask, Your Highness?” Draco didn’t answer. He seemed to be in deep thought. Surely he wasn’t thinking what I was thinking.

The prince toyed with the sword for a moment before looking at me and asking, “Would you like to learn?” His expression remained blank as he stared at the floor. He was nervous.

“Why would I? And why would you want to teach me?” I asked him. There was no point in beating around the bush. Draco shrugged his shoulders and glanced up at me briefly before breaking eye contact again.

“Protection,” he stated as if it were obvious. “Sure, you can wash my bedsheets and clean my room, but knowing that I can have you as some sort of secret weapon, should anything ever happen, is good insurance.”

He wasn’t wrong, I suppose. Teaching me to fight would be a good thing to have in his back pocket. If anything were to happen, like a neighboring kingdom attacking Sithrawl, not one member of their army would consider me a threat. Furthermore, not many get the chance to learn the art of wielding such a dangerous item. I’d be stupid to deny his offer. I pushed myself up from the chair and clasped my hands together.

“I accept your offer, Your Highness,” I said confidently. There was a mocking undertone, but of course, Draco didn’t pick up on it. Him and his big head.

“Wonderful. We shall meet in the dungeons every Friday at, let’s say, nine o’clock.”

“In the morning?”

“Evening,” Draco specified. I nodded but went on to ask another question.

“May I ask why the dungeons? That seems like an odd place. Surely a ballroom would be better suited?”

“Well, if you’re to be a secret weapon, we can’t exactly have you swinging a sword around in one of the main rooms of the castle now, can we?” Draco smiled, waving his sword back and forth as he spoke. I didn’t like how cocky he was with that thing in his grasp.

“Of course, you’re right.” A moment of silence passed. Draco continued playing with his sword while staring at me, his eyes cloudy. “Am I dismissed, Your Highness?” I spat out, eager to leave the tension-filled room. Draco nodded and gestured to the door. I bowed slightly, showing my thanks.

As I was reaching for the handle, Draco cleared his throat behind me. I spun around to face him, wondering if he was going to change his mind. Maybe there was something else he wanted to go over. However, his next words surprised me.

“Forgive me. It’s just occurred to me that I haven’t asked for your name.”

I felt my eyebrows raise and the corners of my mouth lift, despite my best efforts to retain a straight face. You shouldn’t be blushing because he’s doing the bare minimum of asking your name, I chastised myself. Truly, Draco had been nothing but a spoiled brat since I met him this morning; however, there was something about him that drew me in. He just seemed so intriguing, so puzzling. I wanted to figure this man out.

“Y/N. Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Well, Y/N,” Draco started. He then took a few steps towards me, swinging his sword. He seemed to like fidgeting with it. “I will see you at dinner.”

I swallowed. He had gotten close enough that I was able to smell his perfume. Despite the sword in his grasp, I looked up at him. Once again, a staring contest arose. This one didn’t last long, though. “Until then, Your Highness,” I said softly. Then I pulled the door open and hurried out, not bothering to look back and see if Draco was staring. I didn’t have to. I could feel his eyes on me.

Taglist(pls lemme know if you don’t want to be on the Betwixt taglist!): @mischiefisbeingmanaged @pastelpuffbar @cutie1365 @dracoxmgg @lumlfy @sambucky8 @emilianamason @raplinethereal @DixieTheMorab24 @xoxohollands @prongsandprancer @ch0kemedracomalfoy @avlauriaa @purpleskymalfoy @mariah-can-dream @drxcomvlfx @sydnee-kom-spacekru @dracosgoodgirl @voilawind @gloryekaterina @anchoeritic @ragxsxragxs @exoticlizard @dlmmdl @siriusblklftv @Writtenbyadramaqueen @amourtentiaa @keidensu

51 notes · View notes