#and was from a time before Yang/Blake was confirmed

[azulity]

Seeing some of my old Yang/Neptune art get reblogged and commented on so fondly and honestly it warms my heart 🥰

#azulitytext #the art is super old like from 2016 #and was from a time before Yang/Blake was confirmed #i highkey would bestow bisexuality onto all my faves so you can imagine how I felt when she first had her interactions with Neptune!! #anyway I don't watch RWBY anymore though every now and then I think about picking it up but I have my reasons as to why I likely won't #that said I'm glad something I made way back - and now looking back doesn't look as great as my current work - makes people happy still #it's a very warm feeling and i am very happy to see what few shippers there are of the couple still kicking

[deadbeatbirdmom]

I've a vague recollection of posting something about this before at some point, but I've seen other posts around about it and felt like saying something.

Yang Xiao Long is canonically sapphic. At this stage the only thing we know for certain is that she's romantically paired with Blake. There was this whole confession of love and kiss, and seeing a gif of that cross my dash was what got me into RWBY.

There was also the Volume 9 Bluray commentary released later on last year, the gist of the relevant part of that is Blake is Yang's first love, and as of that confession scene Yang is realising something new about her sexuality. If CRWBY had wanted to confirm Yang as lesbian, bi or pan, they could've. But it sounds like Yang herself hasn't fully figured that out yet. The only thing that is certain is that Yang isn't het.

That means there's nothing wrong with headcanons that she's lesbian, or bi, or pan. Or even that she's Blakesexual and not interested in anyone else and never will be. All are valid. There's no erasure or phobia of any sexual orientation involved with any of these headcanons.

My own headcanon is that she's lesbian, or will be when she's figured it out. It's something that takes time for a lot of people, me included. I was over 25 before I figured out I was bi. You'd think that being bi I'd headcanon Yang as bi too, but no, and that's not internalised biphobia. I just don't get the impression she's interested in men.

But what about this moment back in Volume 1?

Yang leering at shirtless boys, after saying she approves of them in response to Ruby commenting that she doesn't think their dad would approve of all the boys. This is the single time Yang shows any interest in boys, and it sounds a lot like a joke. It can be interpreted as Yang genuinely finding those boys attractive, but with the way Yang has a thing where she deflects with humour it's hard to tell for sure.

There's also the secondary canon of that Volume 9 commentary. At this point in Volume 1 Yang herself presumably had even less certainty of her own sexuality than she does at least a year later. She's 17 here, and she's 19 when she kisses Blake. We also know from that commentary that Yang's first love is Blake, so anyone she might have been with before that? She didn't love them. And I personally find it unlikely that she'd be with anyone she didn't love.

Secondary canon is one of those things that some people ignore. If it's not in actual main canon, they don't consider it canon. It's also easier to miss than main canon. There could well be people who haven't heard about the Volume 9 commentary. There could even be people who don't know that Blake is bi, because it's not explicitly stated in RWBY itself. It's just implied by her romantic history, and by Bumbleby being canon.

There's also nothing wrong with shipping Yang with anyone else. She's with Blake in canon, but there's no reason she can't be with someone else in headcanons and fanfic or fanart. And vice versa with Blake. Which does feel kinda weird to type, but then they are my OTP.

#Yang Xiao Long #Bumbleby #Blake Belladonna #deadbeatbirdmom posts

[chaikachi]

The Little Prince, The Rose, & The Aviator

AKA We just got confirmation that Oscar's main allusion is in fact The Little Prince so I wanted to gather all evidence that supports it in show thus far.

cross-posted from twitter

A brief summary for those who aren't familiar:

The Little Prince is a story about a young boy that travels to many worlds & meets many people. It is told out of chronological order from the perspective of an airplane pilot that the prince meets close to the end of his journey.

It explores themes around childhood and growing up, love, loss, friendship, loneliness, and hope, among other things. All ideas very prevalent in RWBY.

Part 1: The Little Prince

The first theme I want to touch on is that struggle of trying not to lose yourself as you grow up.

"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again."

Oscar is the youngest of the group, and yet he is one of the characters most often shown trying to reason with the adults in the room.

Yes, we've mainly seen it with Hazel, Ironwood, and Oz... but while the rest of RWBYJNR are also 'just kids', he spends so much energy trying to reason with them and mediate conflicts there as well. All while still being the youngest of the bunch.

Another way this shows itself is in Oscar's resistance to merging with Oz. The merge is a very clear metaphor for how the people you meet and the things you experience can often change you. And how, when you're a kid, it all feels like its completely out of your control.

Speaking of the hoverbike scene, I want to shift to a different part of The Little Prince. The infamous moment with the fox and what it is to be 'tamed'. To be tamed is to create ties with others. To become important to them and for them to be important to you.

When Oscar is having a talk with Oz in v8 about how he finally felt like himself, the person he wanted to be, and felt like he was finally "part of the team"... There is a fox plushie lying on the ground as he passes by.

But we see that Oscar was right to feel this way later on.

Because just as he was "only a little boy like a hundred thousand other little boys" when he first met everyone... he had since been tamed, and tamed his friends in turn. And they fought tooth and nail to bring him back when he was captured by Salem.

Part 2: The Aviator & the Rose

In RWBY, most characters have a main allusion that is central to their arc and then secondary allusions for what roles they fill in relation to other characters. (Ex. Yang's main allusion is Goldilocks, but when thrown into the plot, she also becomes the Beauty to Blake's Beast, just as Blake was once the Beauty to Adam's Beast).

If we apply that metric to other characters here, we know that Ozpin's main allusion is The Wizard of Oz and Ruby is Little Red Riding Hood... so when placed within Oscar's story structure of The Little Prince, they become The Aviator and The (Ruby) Rose, respectively.

The aviator is a man that struggles to hold onto his childlike wonder. He tries, but he lives in a world of grown-ups so it becomes difficult with time. The little prince - much like Oscar with Ozpin - helps him remember some of the things that he's forgotten.

When the little prince meets him, the aviator is grumbly after crash landing his plane in the desert & is trying to fix it before he runs out of water.

Funny then, that when Oscar is crash landing a plane it is Oz that instructs him on how to do it.

When the aviator explains his circumstances, the prince laughs and exclaims that he "fell from the sky too". Which is an interesting tie in to the canon RWBY fairytale mentioned in Before the Fall, The Boy Who Fell From The Sky...

...as well as another fairytale we've seen mentioned in the show proper: The Girl Who Fell Through The World. A tale that was first talked about by Oscar, later expanded upon by Ozpin, and finally lived by Ruby Rose herself. (Yes her team also experienced it but it's very strongly emphasized Ruby and Alyx were paralleling each other in ways the others were not).

One thing about the little prince and the aviator is that by the end of their journey when it's time to say farewell, it's quite clear they've tamed each other as well. So much time spent by the pilot wishing to fix his plane and get out of the desert, but when it's finally time to say farewell, he does not want to go. This is not something we've gotten in show yet, but I'm willing to guess is going to be the basis for when the war is won and Oz is finally set free. Leaving the two of them to finally have to say goodbye.

And I realized I couldn't bear the thought of never hearing that laugh again. For me it was like a spring of resh water in the desert. "Little fellow, I want to hear you laugh again..."

Moving onto the Rose.

In the story, the little prince is enamored by her as soon as he sees her for the first time. As he gets to know her, she is described as many things. Some that fit Ruby well (miraculous, naïve) and some that she subverts (vain, self-centered).

Ruby might not be caught up on physical appearance, but she is convinced that she's the only one in all the world that can do what she has to do. It's a childish way of looking at things, and to believe you can't accept help from others is - in its own way - selfish.

In the book, the rose asks the little prince to tend to her. She's very needy with her demands and while the prince loves her dearly, it is a strained relationship. In RWBY, Oscar sees Ruby wilting very early on and decides to tend to her without waiting for her to ask. Of which we have... SO MANY EXAMPLES AND I DON'T HAVE A HIGH ENOUGH IMAGE LIMIT TO POST THEM ALL SO YOU GET 2.

Not pictured here, but still worthy of note: Oscar mediating when Ruby is being undermined in v8, Oscar talking the responsibility of telling Ironwood the truth in V7, the "food always makes me feel better" / "I made you a casserole because you were sad" scenes. The List Goes On.

Part 3: Other Easter Eggs & Evidence

There are also other fun little pieces that drive home just how much these characters allude to the book as well as the inspiration it's had on the show in general.

The first thing the little prince asks the aviator for is a drawing of a sheep that he can take home with him so that it can eat up the sprouts of baobab trees before they overgrow his entire planet and destroy it (and his rose) in the process...

The tree in the Ever After has maple leaves, but the shape of its trunk is very clearly not a maple. When compared to these illustrations, it seems to have pulled inspiration from baobabs... and what does the tree in the Ever After do?

Its roots consume the rose.

One of the lessons that's brought up repeatedly in the book is that:

"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”

This is brought up in a few different ways:

The little prince left his rose back home, so when he looks to the night sky, separated from her, he says:

"The stars are beautiful because of a flower you don’t see . . ."

When Ruby is in the Ever After, with no one to tend to her, she is in a town filled with paper stars.

It is brought up again in reference to the desert, which we have a wonderful tie-in now thanks to the animatic shared at RTX recently:

“What makes the desert beautiful,” the little prince said, “is that it hides a well somewhere . . .”

And again by the aviator in reference to the little prince himself.

What makes the little prince special is his loyalty to a flower. Ruby Rose, who inspired Oscar to keep fighting, who reminded him he was brave, and who's mission he has worn on his literal shoulders.

Two other lines in that passage I've highlighted I also want to mention.

"As the little prince was falling asleep, I picked him up in my arms, and started walking again. I was moved. It was as if I was carrying a fragile treasure."

This line about the little prince being a treasure (treasure is an rg song truthers rise up 🙌)

And the emphasis on lamps being symbolic of the Little Prince himself which... we've seen for Oscar A LOT.

"What moves me so deeply about this sleeping little prince is his loyalty to a flower - the image of a rose shining within him like the flame within a lamp, even when he's asleep... (...) Lamps must be protected: A gust of wind can blow them out..."

Also Ruby has been referred to as a "spark" by Oz before and when Oscar is worrying over Ruby at Brunswick farms, Maria tells him to "keep that fire fed" which is exactly what lamp lighters do. Just very deliberate use of that imagery here.

It ALSO ties into earlier in the novel where, among the little prince's many travels meeting plenty of confusing adults he doesn't understand, he encounters a lamplighter. And of all those that confused him, he found he could at least relate to this one and see value in his work.

There is also a matter of how the prince's first appearance is at sunrise:

That he is cited to live on a planet "scarcely bigger than himself" and "being in need of a friend". How we see Oscar very alone on his farm back in Mistral, just like the prince, only tending to his daily chores by himself, we never even see his aunt.

And while there are a few other bits and pieces i'm surely forgetting, the last big one I want to talk about is how both the beginning and end of the book start with a venomous snake.

The aviator shows us a drawing of a boa constrictor eating a wild beast...

...versus Oscar's first appearance coming immediately after he wakes from a nightmare of Tyrian, a venomous scorpion faunus, being sent to capture his rose.

And the story ends with the little prince in a desert getting bit by a venomous snake that sends him back to his rose and away from the aviator... thank goodness RWBY loves to subvert its fairytale origins, amiright?

"(The little prince) fell gently the way a tree falls, there wasn't even a sound..."

tl;dr Oscar is for sure The Little Prince, Ruby has always been his rose, RG canon, Tryian vs. Oscar in the desert real and #GREENLIGHTVOLUME10 SO WE CAN SEE IT HAPPEN ALREADY >:OOOO

Thank you for reading 💕

#might to a lil red riding hood one next tbh #rwby #ruby rose #oscar pine #ozpin #analysis #rwby analysis #chainalysis #long post #the little prince #rosegarden #greenlightvolume10 #meta #rwby meta

[hadesisqueer]

Okay, doing a RWBY timeline for ages for some characters FOR MYSELF (take this like a grain of salt).

First, let's get the characters that have birthdays (some of them are not really confirmed or are just estimated or just headcanons by EC Myers, but I need something c'mon.)

Ruby Rose: October 31.

Weiss Schnee: May 15.

Blake Belladonna: January 19.

Yang Xiao Long: July 28.

Jaune Arc: February 29.

Neptune Vasilias: May 1.

Velvet Scarlatina: February 14.

Coco Adel: June 11.

Fox Alistair: November 22.

Yatsuhashi Daichi: January 6.

So, we don't exactly have a confirmation of how the school year works in Remnant, but volume 1 starts with them starting Beacon in the Spring semester, so we can assume that their school year works kind of like in Japan in real life. In that case, we can also assume that in a school year, students go from kids being born already during pring to people being born in winter next year, maybe until early March. So, if we're going with that, Weiss is the oldest member of team RWBY, then Yang, and then Blake is the second youngest, since she was born in January (this would change if the school year was confirmed to work from September to June, though, because then she'd probably be the oldest and Yang the second youngest).

Jaune would also probably be the youngest of his team if we took that birthday seriously (I don't really, but idk). Neptune would be one of, if not the oldest of team SSSNN. As to team CFVY, Coco would be the oldest, then Fox, then Yatsu and then Velvet would be the youngest.

Now, like I said, if the school year works like in Japan, then they'd start in spring, then they would have a long summer break, then the Fall semester would start, then they'd have a shorter winter break and then the school year would end and they would also have a short spring break before the next year starts. That somewhat fits RWBY's narrative, considering we know the Vytal Festival and the Fall of Beacon took place during the Fall Semester, which would mean the Fall of Beacon took place about six-seven months after the start of the show if they started in Spring, which if we're considering that team RWBY and JNPR were still First Years, seems the most likely.

So, volume 1 covers all of the Spring semester, and then volume 2 and 3 take place after the summer break and cover the Fall semester until the Fall of Beacon. If Weiss' birthday takes place in Spring, that means that she turned 18 at some point in volume 1, and Yang probably turned 18 between volume 1 and 2, which means that by volume 2 both Weiss and Yang would be already 18, Blake would still be 17 and Ruby would be 15 going on 16 already. By the time we fully see team CFVY, Coco would be 19 and Fox, Velvet and Yatsu would still be 18. Jaune (again, if we take that birthday seriously) would be 17 during the entire Beacon Arc, and I would say Neptune was 18 by the time we met him if it weren't because we actually don't even know if team SSSN were actually First Years or not: as far as we know, they could be CFVY's age.

In any case, we know Ruby turns 16 somewhere in that timeskip at the end of volume 3. And by volume 4, we know it's been several months since the Fall of Beacon, and it's already spring; therefore, Blake has already turned 18 during that timeskip between volume 3 and 4, and so has Jaune. We don't know Ren and Nora's birthdays, but we know they were about 18 too already. Weiss, on the other hand, probably turned 19 sometime during volume 4, if she hadn't turned it already when we saw her.

In volume 5, it's already summer, and the volume covers several weeks, which means that Yang turned 19 around that time as well.

Volume 6 takes place a couple of weeks after the end of volume 5, so it's already Fall (about a year after the Fall of Beacon), so Ruby is 16 going on 17 by that time. The Atlas Arc takes place over the course of several weeks as well; probably like a month and a half or maybe more; to them it's probably November now. So it's safe to assume that Ruby turned 17 by that time. Oscar is also estimated to be about 15 already by now, so he probably was born during the Fall season. Therefore, right now, Weiss is 19, Yang is 19, Ren and Nora are 18-19, Blake and Jaune are 18 going on 19 (well, Jaune's not anymore), Ruby is 17, and Oscar is about 15. Neptune is either 19 or 20 depending on what year team SSSN actually are in, and Coco is already 20, Fox is about to turn 20 as well and Yatsu and Velvet are still 19.

I would talk about Emerald and Mercury's age, but I also actually have no idea what year they were in when they were pretending to be students at Beacon; I know Cinder was passing as an upperclassmen, so it's likely that they were pretending to be upperclassmen as well, but they could have lied about their age just like Cinder did. But since Raven considered them kids, it's probably safe to assume that they're on RWBY's and CFVY's age range, 18-20.

Don't really take this seriously, though, this is just me interpreting their ages and the timeline right now. None of this is confirmed so, again, take this like a grain of salt.

#rwby #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #weiss schnee #ruby rose #lie ren #nora valkyrie #jaune arc #neptune vasilias #oscar pine #coco adel #fox alistair #velvet scarlatina #yatsuhashi daichi #team cfvy #emerald sustrai #mercury black #rwby timeline

[invested-in-your-future]

Is Yang a people pleaser?

I think it's bit more complicated than just that.

I think it's the only way she knows how to function.

Even going by just what has been said in the first three volumes (because everything after makes her VERY inconsistent and messy in terms of characterization), there are five things we know about Yang:

She lost her mother figure at a young age.

Her dad shut down in depression from what happened.

She was left with her little sister to essentially take care of themselves(and to be each other's emotional support) for indeterminate period of time.

At some point in time Yang found out that her mother figure is not her biological mother, which, for a child, threw lot of her life and interactions into question, shaking the foundations of who she saw herself as.

At some point her need to find her mother has put her sister in danger (the cabin incident), which essentially taught her to protect her sister, but also seems to have taught to put the needs of others above herself.

Yang puts the needs of those close to her above her own because she derives self-worth and value from that.

She grew up as her sister's protector, and Yang never stepped out of that role, even when it came to other people. She never really developed a goal for herself or any real reason for who she wanted to be. How Yang handles Oobleck's question shows that - her first answer is utilitarian, with her just restating the technical meaning of being a huntress, and her "real" answer is easily the most unclear and reliant on emotion and impulse - it's devoid of the ideological side of things. Unlike the three others, her reasoning lacks any ideological core - there's no future-tense "goal" there - she says she wants to do what she always did - and that's not a why. And even before that - you have Yang equating being a Huntress to fighting with how she's disappointed Oobleck is not doing "pro-huntsman things".

Yang is still running on auto-pilot, essentially taking damage for others so she can protect them and prove her own worth to herself that way - even her semblance, as it's described in the first three volumes, places her in front of any danger coming at people around her - she's there to get hit.

It's truly fascinating that the characters view her as "a party girl" - which speaks miles about how closed off Yang is. On one hand, she dedicates herself to others - on the other, she avoids her problems via a rush of adrenaline that chaotic situations cause her - the first time we see her in the Yellow trailer, she gets into a fight with an entire mafia nightclub.

Yang loves avoiding actual self-reflection or dealing with her issues. She keeps chasing her mother, but all she does is get into unrelated bar fights and the like (and she needs Qrow's confirmation that it's her mother once she actually encounters her meaning she could have passed her in the street and she would never know) and when Qrow offers her to help to meet her? Yang outright ignores that until she suffers something horrifying.

She likes the idea of finding her mother but not so much of acting upon it - she likes having a dream and having a goal, but when asked about it, she has no concrete thoughts on what those are - she likes the IDEA of a goal, but doesn't have one.

But she does open up a bit once team RWBY gets going - I genuinely feel that honest conversations like the one she had with Blake in V2 are too far and few in between.

It's no wonder failing Blake at end of Volume 3 should affect her a lot - ALL of those things come crashing down at her all at once.

She's unable to protect Blake at all and ends up being protected by her instead.

For once she can't just "crash" through her issues anymore.

She's unable to protect her sister from traumatic experiences.

The people she opened up to all "leave" her.

The entire world views her as some awful person who broke her opponent's leg.

Yang acts like a people pleaser because she doesn't know who she wants to be, and the only inherent value she could find for herself till now was in how others view her.

I think it's interesting to explore where she goes from there.

It's why it's so disappointing how the show treats her after V3 - the brash loudmouth whose issues and trauma are ignored (because, according to her VA, "it's boring"?), the relationship is not given a proper build-up and whose loudness is treated as development instead.

It's actually one of many reasons I started putting up the AU idea I am writing.

#yang xiao long #rwby #blake belladonna #ruby rose #rwde

[bestworstcase]

Ooo share the unorthodox ruby & oscar thoughts. Romance has never been a draw for me and in this case fanon flattens and honestly mutilates the significance and nuance to their relationship. There’s a lot of interesting things going on here that gets lost and I think that’s a shame

right so the rosegarden orthodoxy goes something like: "oscar is the Only Person who sees and understands the pressure ruby is under and the pain this causes, and the central conceit of his character is about learning how to take care of her because she is precious to him and needs to be taken care of." central to this orthodoxy is the reading of 'the little prince' as a romantic love story between the prince and the rose, with ruby interpreted as "his rose."

for a more thorough breakdown of my thoughts on the intertextual layer, refer to this post. the TL;DR is this: the rose is not the prince's partner—she is his dependent. he returns to her as her caretaker: a child grown up and ready to embrace the joys and responsibilities of parenthood. 'the little prince' is an allegory about parent-child relationships and the importance of treating children with respect and kindness. fortunately for the rosegarden shippers in the audience, ruby is not the rose. she alludes to the snake—the one character in the story who meets the prince as a friend and an equal. 

now, before getting into the weeds i do want to stress that, 1. i'm not a shipper and i don't "ship rosegarden" in the usual sense, but 2. ruby/oscar is canon and narratively important and i think about it in those terms.

"but oscar is a child, he's fifteen, he's two years younger than—" thank you for your opinion, person who ships ruby with another character 2+ years older than her, i'll take that under advisement. 

"but ruby doesn't need a love interest—" no character 'needs' a love interest, but rwby is a love story about fairytales and its romantic arcs are thematically motivated.

"but he has ozpin in his head and that makes it—" weird, yes. this tension is the fulcrum upon which the romantic arc turns and, also, it is going to be resolved by way of breaking the curse and removing ozma from oscar's head. this is a fairytale. what is not clicking.

here is my first unorthodox ruby/oscar thought: it is not complicated. the set up is really quite clear and if the rosegarden shippers would quit barking up irrelevant trees for five minutes they might notice the forest, which is to say, the foundational argument for canonicity is simply this:

marrow sees yang's disastrous stab at flirting with blake and comments, exasperated, "man, i did not sign up to be a babysitter." later, marrow watches ruby and oscar stammer through an awkward conversation resolving their volume-spanning emotional conflict and mutters, "ugh, kids." marrow's commentary underscores the tangible subtext of romantic interest in both exchanges and implies an equivalency between blake/yang and ruby/oscar.

the reunion scene in V8 is structured such that the platonic reunions occur first—ruby rushes out to hug yang, then clasps jaune's hands while yang hugs weiss—before the more lingering romantic ones. yang goes to reassure blake that things are okay and the bees forehead touch happens; ren steps forward to ask where nora is; ruby says oscar's name and goes to embrace him before emerald's presence distracts her. this again positions ruby/oscar together with the other textual romances.

that's it. there are plenty of supporting details with which to build out a more comprehensive argument, of course, but the narrative flags ruby/oscar by grouping that relationship together with the other two main pairings. (rwby does the same thing in a more overt way to confirm blake/yang […again] in V7; nora tries to initiate a romantic confession by comparing herself and ren to them.)

ozpin retreats from oscar's mind, leaving oscar free to be his own person—"i started to feel like me"—and during this time oscar comes into his own he develops an obvious crush on ruby as the narrative begins to not-so-subtly move this relationship into a romantic context. ozpin's absence opens the door for the pairing and ozma's return creates a seemingly-insurmountable obstacle. the romantic arc is about surmounting that obstacle—separating ozma and oscar—so that oscar can be free to live his own life.

it's not complicated.

so with all of that being said, let's talk about the notion—central to rosegarden orthodoxy—that oscar is uniquely supportive of ruby, and never leans on her the way all the other characters do.

in a word: no.

the cornerstone piece of evidence supporting this reading is the dojo scene in V5, construed as oscar "getting ruby to open up emotionally" leading to his recognition that "this must be really hard for her, too." but:

ruby comes downstairs to find oscar doubled over, panting heavily, with ozpin's cane in his hands—he's training alone, pushing himself almost to the point of collapse. this is not good for him or physically safe, which ruby would know as someone trained as a warrior from childhood. she says: "you're really getting better, huh? are you hungry? it's almost dinnertime." this is a soft way of telling oscar that he's done enough for the night and he should take a break. ruby is checking on him to make sure he's okay.

oscar agrees that he was "about to call it a night anyway," ruby asks about his past, he answers casually, she tells him he "looks like a natural!"—and then oscar looks down at long memory and says "it's strange. i've only had this cane for a few weeks, but i feel like i've had it for a lifetime. longer, even… i sound like a crazy person." 

"i mean, uh… yeah, just a little. but at this pace, you'll be combat ready in no time!" says ruby, and then catches herself echoing penny and gets sad.

what happened here?

oscar is training this hard because ozpin told him to, explicitly in order to increase the tempo of the curse: "oscar can give me temporary control, but he'll need to strengthen his body and aura. he'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but training will expedite the process." the reason oscar seems like a prodigy is ozpin's skill and experience bleeding through. 

in ruby's mind, "you look like a natural!" is a compliment. but what oscar hears is a reminder that his life is no longer his own: he gazes down at ozpin's weapon and states that he feels like it's belonged to him for lifetimes—and he doesn't like that. "i sound like a crazy person."

the reminder of what's happening to oscar makes ruby uncomfortable—she deflects and tries to put on a happy face, but the truth slips through. "you'll be combat ready in no time!" associates oscar with penny—who is dead. neither ruby nor oscar will say it out loud, but they both understand that he's going to die as ozpin's soul amalgamates with his. and when oscar begins to open up about how scared he is, ruby flinches away—gotta stay positive!!!—only to trip on her grief for penny.

her smile falters. she tucks into herself and turns away. in trying to hide from the thought of oscar being erased, ruby reminded herself of penny. she's already watched helplessly while two of her friends died. she is scared of letting herself get close to oscar, knowing that she won't be able to save him either. so she tries to withdraw.

but she's the first—and so far, only—person oscar has ever tried to talk to about how scared he is, and what he sees is ruby brushing him off and turning her back. "how do you handle all of this?! […] i'm… scared. i'm more scared than i've ever been in my life, more than i ever thought was possible. i always knew that i wanted to be more than a farmhand, but this? who would ask for this?"

<- note the echo here of what ozpin said to him in V4: "you do have an opportunity [for] greatness: greatness in knowing that when the world needed help, you were the one to reach out your hand. it won't come without hardship, without sacrifice, but i know you don't want to live the rest of your life working as a farmhand in mistral," which oscar experienced as a violation ("you just decided to read my thoughts?!") and which ozpin justified on the grounds that "well, they're our thoughts now."

the dojo scene is not about oscar offering ruby emotional support or pushing her to open up about her feelings because he can see that she's hurting. the dojo scene is about oscar breaking down and begging ruby to hear him, to be here with him instead of turning away because he's terrified of what ozpin is doing to him and ruby is dealing with all the same problems but acts like she doesn't care. "people have tried to kill you! the world's about to go to war all over again! how are you okay with any of this?!"—he lashes out at her because he's seeking a real connection and ruby keeps brushing him off.

so ruby—who is very empathetic and insightful enough to recognize why oscar just exploded at her—tells him honestly why she turned away. two of her friends died at beacon, and she is scared specifically of letting anyone else be killed. this is an important emotional moment for her in that she really did need to talk about penny and pyrrha, yes, but that's not quite the point of this scene.

rather, it's about the choice to be vulnerable and trust each other with absolute emotional honesty. oscar is afraid to die. ruby is afraid to lose another friend, and therefore afraid to let herself become close to oscar. he opens up to her about his fears and challenges her to reciprocate, and she does. that's the basis of their bond. by extension the dojo scene also sets up the core emotional conflict underpinning the romantic arc, which is that ruby can't bring herself to face the truth about what ozma's curse is doing to oscar.

that comes between them here. it floats uneasily around them in the aftermath of what jinn tells them: "i'm just going to be another one of his lives, aren't i?" says oscar, and "of course not," says ruby, "you're your own person—" and "don't lie to him, ruby," says qrow, "we're better than that."

at the end of V6, ruby exclaims that "oscar made a successful crash landing! he's a fourteen year old farmhand!" and oscar squirms and admits that ozpin helped him do that. in V7, yang confronts ruby on her choice to lie to ironwood by asking "how did oscar feel about that?" and the way oscar felt about it is hesitant to take the lamp back and fretting that "hiding things from ironwood, doesn't that feel like what ozpin did to us?" and ruby echoes that fear to qrow in the next episode. 

the rest of V7 is filled with references, courtesy of ironwood, to oscar's similarity to ozpin. "eventually," ironwood tells him, "you won't even know who's who anymore." but oscar never stops trying to assert himself as an individual. in V8, salem rubs the thinning boundary between him and ozma in oscar's face and that terrifies him so badly that he insists upon staying put under torture rather than let ozpin take over or risk using magic because "every time we use magic, i can feel us merging faster." 

they exit the volume more in sync, notionally on equal terms—and then in the ever after, this happens:

ruby cuts neo's simulacrum of ozpin down and reveals oscar, mortally wounded. she's spent four volumes pretending everything is fine—encouraged by ozpin's withdrawal and some of her grief eased by  penny's return—and all that denial ends here. she experiences what scared her back in the dojo scene, getting close to oscar only to watch him die, subsumed completely by ozpin.

here's what you're most afraid of. what are you going to do about it?

<- pyrrha is gone. penny is gone, and not coming back. but oscar is alive, and ruby can't pretend anymore that the way things are is okay. she's going to have this image of oscar dying in ozpin burning in her mind every time she sees oscar and (just as nora's injury led ren to admit his feelings and yang's apparent death gave her and blake the push they needed to take the next step) that demands change.

what that change will look like is an open question—it could be anything from ruby simply opening up to oscar about how scared she is of losing him in particular to ruby actively trying to come up with a way to save him—but whatever it is will move toward separating ozma from oscar.

similarly, while oscar recognizes at the end of the dojo scene that "this must be really hard for her too," his mild hero-worship of her continues unabated throughout V5 (think about oscar shaking her and telling her "get up! we need you!" while she's unconscious at haven) and even after they find a more even footing during V7-8 he still contributes to the weight on her shoulders (it is oscar saying "all this doubt and and worry and distrust, it isn't getting us anywhere" that causes ruby to snap and run out of the room in V8). oscar, too, is forced to confront the fact of her mortality. how does he respond when ruby turns out to be alive?

well.

one of the obstacles to the ozlem reconciliation is that ozma has never allowed himself to empathize with salem's grief—he was dead, he never saw her anguish, and the way jinn narrates ozpin's side of the story dismisses the very real pain and anguish salem felt as merely a pretext for what was really just spiteful lashing out at the gods. ozma leapt at the chance to return to her but he has never really understood that she felt the same depth of feeling for him.

he's in oscar's head right now. they are separate people still, but ozma feels what oscar feels and thinks what he thinks and remembers his memories—and also they're on speaking terms again. and oscar has been put in salem's position: he looked up to ruby as a noble hero, he had nascent romantic feelings for her, and now she's gone. oscar to sit with that for several weeks, maybe a couple months, before ruby comes back. and ozma has to bear witness.

i think the change this incites for oscar will be less about ruby than it is a reason for oscar to challenge ozma, building from the ways oscar challenges him in V8 (to trust oscar, to become more honest, to face his mistakes) and giving oscar a chance to continue to maintain his own identity separate from ozma. which again, facilitates an eventual physical separation and the ozlem reconciliation.

<- rip to all the rosegardeners who want ruby/oscar to be the rebound and/or narrative refutation of ozlem. it is not that. lol.

#also rosegarden people who thought oscar being in V9 would have like Solved ruby's breakdown are annoying

[owl127]

Bumbleby Big Bang 2023

My work is on Ao3!

Shoutout to @3nsider and their awesome work with the art <3

"Yang's life is perfect. She's happily married to the love of her life and they are eagerly expecting their first child. However, when her wife, Blake, starts acting strangely with secretive phone calls and late-night shifts at the police station, Yang suspects something is amiss. Her suspicions are tragically confirmed when Blake is kidnapped by an escaped prisoner seeking revenge on the pregnant detective.

Now, with time running out and everything Yang holds dear hanging in the balance, she must confront her own past traumas and find her wife before it's too late.

or

Yang bang-bang-save-your-pregnant-wife tope from the evil hands of bullboy " Fic Link

#bbb2023 #bumbleby big bang #rwby #rwby fanfiction #abo #bumbleby #bumblebee #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #a touch of rosebird becase why not #rosebird #this is why my prompts were late folks #but I'm on it!

[itsclydebitches]

I think one of the things that bothers me most about the way RWBY has handled the whole b/umbleby thing is the fact that volume 9 kind of puts paid to the idea that their relationship was a 'slow burn'.

If it were a slow burn, if their relationship had been steadily growing and changing over the past few volumes and according to their experiences, then that burn ultimately resolving and becoming explicit and them getting together would have been a significant milestone that changed things between them so completely they could never go back to how things were before.

But... nothing changed. If you took out the confession and the kiss and Ruby's (understandable) anger... you'd never be able to tell anything had changed between them. They have the same level of physical affection and tenderness they've had since volume 6. They don't talk to each other any differently. There's been no change in their behavior, no evidence they are now a couple in a way that they were not before except their one single kiss. And that's just deeply unsatisfying to me.

This criticism popped up after the episode aired and I came across a couple of posts that, with lesser and greater respect, pushed back against it. One in particular was rather snide, asking what RWDE folks expected to change: for them to be kissing non-stop? Declaring their undying love at ten-minute intervals? Pulling out a ring for marriage? People are still themselves while dating, you know. Besides, they're a little busy at the moment!

Now, I personally believe that yes, there should be changes to their behavior. I likewise believe that this could have easily been accomplished if a) Blake and Yang hadn't already gone through the physical displays of affection that RWBY uses to confirm a romantic relationship (primarily hand-holding) and b) if they hadn't jumped straight to "I love you." Removing the numerous moments of hand-holding since Volume 6 would have left that as an easy, visual indicator of the change in their relationship (rather than the confusing "So are they canonical or not??" we got for three years). Likewise, having them admit to having a crush could have opened the door to actually dating which in turn could have eventually led to the big "I love you" moment. That's how you do a slow-burn post-confession: breaking up all those relationship milestones and thus making time for the characters to run into obstacles and celebrate the success of each step forward. The way bumblebee has been written, it simultaneously feels far too slow (why did it take 4+ years for them to admit they like each other?) and simultaneously way too fast (they don't actually admit that they like each other, but that they're IN LOVE).

Beyond what all might have been added though, I think it's worth considering what might have been lost in a better written romance. Slow-burns, as mentioned above, thrive on obstacles. There has to be a reason why the characters don't get together, whether that's internal ("I'm too afraid of commitment to date them") or external ("Our families will lose their shit if we date"). Seriously, this is like writing 101, yet Bumblebee gave us NOTHING. For literal years there was no reason, internal or external, why they couldn't/wouldn't admit to their feelings, which not only begs the question of why in the world it took a magical prison to force them to confess, but ensures that their relationship doesn't change as a result of that weight being lifted from their shoulders. If Blake was scared of what it would mean for her to love a human, or if Yang was scared to commit after losing so much else in life, or if there was homophobia to deal with in Remnant, or if they both wanted to wait until the Salem fight was over, or if they honestly didn't realize they had romantic feelings, or if one of them needed to come to terms with being queer first, or if there was a literal curse at play that hindered the relationship somehow... there are a HUNDRED ways to provide obstacles and the removal of any one of them would have changed both the character(s) and their relationship with each other.

Not to continually bring up my blorbo Trent Crimm, but Ted Lasso does this beautifully. With the removal of his obstacle (inability to admit that he's gay) Trent becomes a radically different person from who he was in Season One; a more authentic person. His style changes, he smiles more, his conversation becomes more "dorky," and his relationships with the rest of the cast likewise develops. What would Yang look like if she went on a journey of coming out as queer? What would Blake look like if she kept her activist roots by fighting for the right to date a human? How would they both act post-kiss if they'd been afraid, for whatever reason, to show that level of affection in public before? Something like holding hands could have been a radical act -- it IS for real queer people!! -- rather than a generic, cutsey detail we've been getting for years now.

Instead, as you say, anon, literally nothing changes. I am 99.9% convinced that Ruby wouldn't even know Yang was now dating Blake if they hadn't exited the storm still kissing because them sitting close and occasionally holding hands has been their norm since VOLUME SIX. Nothing changes because RT didn't do any of the work to write an actual, romantic relationship. They wrote a couple of years worth of implied queerbaiting and then confirmed it when it looked like RWBY would be cancelled. We don't know anything about them in regards to romance and/or sexuality. When did Yang realize she likes girls when she started the series only appreciating guys? Is Blake expected to marry anyone in particular given her status as the pseudo-princess of Menagerie? Have either of them ever been in a relationship before? Do they have any idea what they want out of a relationship? Does the fact that they're on a supposedly doomed quest with their world hanging in the balance have any bearing on their long-term plans? There are fictional couples who avoid admitting feelings because of the presumed hopelessness of their plot and there are those that grab at a relationship and hold on with both hands because they're determined to live and love for whatever time they have left. Bumblee offers none of this. Their love exists only between the two of them, primarily off-screen, separate from both the plot and the rest of the cast.

The fact that Yang never once talks to Ruby about her feelings and then the Volume drops Ruby's annoyance really says it all. Of course nothing changes. RT doesn't want to write a Blake/Yang subplot. They just want to have a queer couple among the main team to bring in viewers and sell merch. The fandom has done ALL the work to make Bumblebee a nuanced, heart-felt love story. It literally, barely exists on screen and what little we have gotten often makes no sense. They hide their feelings when they have no reason to. Yang is worried about a fight with Blake that never happened. They both say they love things about the other that sound like a list of generic Good Characteristics, rather than traits that actually align with these characters. They're caught kissing thanks to the magical world they're in and the characters treat this as a given, giving the story an excuse not to engage with their reactions because again, the story isn't interested in that. One reaction is tossed in for the drama? Don't worry, the tree will cure Ruby of her understandable anger that Yang is more concerned with holding Blake's hand than her sister's tragedy-inducing depression. Everything is only canon in the moment.

Outside of the kiss checkbox there's no romance here and, thus, no reason to show its development. All RT needed was to get one kiss on screen and then boom, their merch sells out and (they hope) Volume 10 is greenlit. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pleased it's actually confirmed now, but it's nevertheless the fans who are doing all the work to make this an epic love story, not the writers.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[kitkatopinions]

Your take on the recent RT announcement of a storybook anthology series to show what was happening in Remnant during volume 9?

I really feel like it's unnecessary at best at the moment and really doesn't give me any hope at all for... Anything going forward. XD

Like, 'this shows what's happening in Remnant during V9' V9 happened over the course of like a day and a half. And yes, it's obvious to the audience through the visual of the ships over Vacuo that it's been at least aa bit longer for the people of Vacuo than for RWBY+J in the Ever After (which I didn't want.) But if they were doing V10, I think they could stand to actually confirm how long they were gone in the show before they're like 'aren't you curious about what happened during all that time?'

Number one, it makes me feel like they will just brush over any time gap and have RWBYJ be like 'Well I guess it's been six months' or whatever and then move on quickly. Number two, despite caring about and liking a lot of the characters left in Vacuo, my hope is below zero for the fact that we'll see anything good or worthwhile at all.

Here are my predictions:

We'll get a minor cameo from Team SSSN and Team CFVY working with Team FNKI or something and at best Sun will ask about Blake and Nora will offhandedly say something about Blake belonging to Yang and Sun will be like 'oh, good for them.' Nora and Ren will get back together. Winter will get a ton of focus and weirdly will be like the only person really allowed to grieve for the presumed dead kids in more than a passing way. Maria and Pietro will also make a minor appearance and the anthology will say like one thing about Pietro missing Penny, but there's not gonna be any info on what happened to them out in the tundra or how they got to Vacuo. Qrow will get like a moment of acting bummed about Ruby and Yang and then Robyn will put a hand on his shoulder and Qrow will just move on. Theodore will make an appearance being 'the good member of Oz's inner circle' where he'll make some comments about never trusting Ironwood and will say something to Oz like 'it's a good thing you had those girls picking up the slack' and Oz will be like 'I know,' and they'll mention Glynda in passing. Mercury and Tyrian will be dealt with in this anthology.

And honestly, I could like all of them so much and I still wouldn't buy this because 'what Ren and Nora did in passing while Ruby was committing suicide' obviously doesn't matter as much to me as seeing Ruby actually go through the plot. And there being enough time for an 'anthology' to happen in Vacuo does damage imo to the main story because it gets consequences of V8 for Remnant and personal conflicts and moments I'd have liked to see addressed in the actual show for characters all brushed aside.

Also some people in the Discord chat I'm in mentioned that they think it's possible that the 'Beyond' portion of this is concerning.

As in, we might be getting important things like Team RWBY+J's return to Remnant and reunion with the others in this instead of waiting for V10 out of a desire to quickly tie up loose ends in the fear that V10 will never happen.

I've been on the 'V10 will probably happen but it might be the last season and probably will get rushed hardcore' train, but everything that RT does with RWBY makes me feel like V10 might not happen after all, or at the very least will only happen if the projects they make sell very well.

#rwde

[littlemisssquiggles]

So miles did another cameo video about a week ago someone asked him what it would have been like if Oscar had gone to the ever after and Miles confirmed that if Oscar had been there with Ruby she wouldn't have gone through the conflict and trauma she was going through and volume nine if he had been there cuz Oscar would have been the one to notice it instantly unlike the others who didn't notice it till after she snapped at them

You can even see hints of it in the episode were they meet John again and they're at his house where Ruby sitting at the table and across from Ruby is an empty chair while Ruby sits there and look at Yang and Blake happily celebrating their new relationship Ruby sits there if so she's missing someone and that someone is Oscar I think

Hello anon-chan! Pardon the late answer to your inbox.

Do you mind linking me to this specific cameo you mentioned pretty please? Because I would honestly loved to listen to it.

Funnily enough, you’re the second person to bring up the theory that the empty seat across from Ruby at Jaune’s home in the Ever After during the scene before Jaune returns Crescent Rose to Ruby could’ve easily been filled by Oscar.

It makes perfect sense that Oscar would’ve been the one to notice Ruby’s depression if he were there since he has been shown to be weary of that in previous seasons such as the infamous dojo scene. Oscar noticing Ruby’s change in demenour is what initially prompted him to push her to admit her true feelings about everything that happened during the Fall of Beacon.

Not to mention that when Ruby was shown to be overwhelmed at the Cotta-Arc during the moment when Jaune exploded after JNR learned the truth about Oz and Salem, Oscar was the one to take notice of this and even did his best to help quell the situation.

Oscar has always been observant of Ruby’s feelings especially when she is at her lowest. It’s one of the reasons why I love their dynamic so much. Ruby has always been protective of Oscar since the moment he joined the team, looking out for him in her own way just as much as he looked out for her.

Oscar should’ve been there for Ruby in the Ever After just as how Ruby should’ve been the one to lead the charge to save him from Monstra instead of Jaune back in V8.

I absolutely hated the fact that Ruby was omitted from Oscar’s side of the story back then and this is one of the reasons why I didn’t enjoy that season.

The CRWBY showrunners spent the last few seasons continuously building up this shared sense of caring and protectiveness as the basis of the Rosegarden friendship and yet…there was no payoff?

They showed prior moments of Ruby protecting Oscar yet…she was completely absent during his most dire time of need---being a prisoner of Salem and brutally tortured by her and Hazel for hours. Ruby was not allowed to protect Oscar from that.

They showed prior moments of Oscar being a voice of wisdom to encourage Ruby to open up and be honest with herself and those around her yet…he was absent during her darkest emotional moment yet---her literal breaking point where she committed the Ever After equivalent of suicide.

You see the pattern?

Neither Ruby nor Oscar were present during each other’s worse moments.

They weren’t allowed to because the writers knew, canonically, these two would be each other’s true savior---their beacon in the darkness to get more metaphorical.

Because they needed the story to go a different way to get the ending that we actually got in V8 and V9, that’s how it had to go.

If Oscar has gone to the Ever After then Ruby would’ve never had her whole arc which…needed to happen. Although, some might argue that the whole point of Ruby’s journey in the Ever After was ultimately made pointless by her going from “no longer wanting to be Ruby Rose anymore” to “being Ruby Rose just as I am is enough. I’m Ruby-nough! I don’t need to change at all. I’m perfect just the way I am even with the flaws that I still possess that led me down this path in the first place”.

Sarcasm aside, I don’t dislike the fact that Ruby chose to be herself in the end. Being yourself and having yourself be enough is a good message. I just wished the showrunners had allowed this concept to cook more. While I’m aware they were pressed for time given the fact that no V10 was greenlit, nevertheless, I would’ve rather a twist where only Weiss, Blake, Yang and Jaune were able to return home while Ruby remained in the Ever After to complete her transformation.

We spent nearly an entire season building up to Ruby’s breakdown. It took 8 out of 10 episodes to have Ruby fall apart only to have her have her big revelation in the last episode. That makes the whole thing seem almost flat so I don't blame some fans for being disappointed with the conclusion to Ruby's Ever After story being concluded that way.

I dunno about you anon-chan but this just makes me disappointed that Oscar wasn’t present for the Ever After Arc because all cues prior to V9 hinted that he could’ve easily been added to this season and worked.

Oscar was the one who first introduced the audience to the fairytale of the Girl Who Fell Through the World.

Not to mention the whole theme of the Ever After being about embracing change---Oscar SHOULD’VE gone to the Ever After. Part of Oscar’s journey is about him coming to terms with the Merge with him either losing himself completely or becoming a new person entirely.

Seeing Oscar going through his own arc while trying to help Ruby with hers could've been great to see. But alas, that's not what we got.

I will give the showrunners this though---if Oscar had gone to the Ever After then we probably may not have gotten the clue that Ruby cares deeply for him.

It is very evident after V9 that Oscar's life is precious to Ruby. Shipping and romantic implications asides, you can't deny the fact that Oscar's wellbeing is important to Ruby.

Much like characters such as Penny and Pyrrha, Oscar is someone who Ruby doesn't want to lose.

Better yet, he is someone precious to Ruby that she doesn't wish to lose as a result of her failure.

Take a look at the deaths of Pyrhha and Penny. What do those deaths have in common?

Ruby failing to stop it from happening in the first place.

Ruby was present for Penny's first death but arrived too late to stop it from happening.

Ruby was present for Pyrhha's death but arrived too late to stop it from happening.

Ruby was present again for Penny's final death but got tossed into the Ever After before she could do anything to help stop it from happening.

Once again, Penny died and Ruby failed to stop it from happening. This is why the words of her illusion cut Ruby deeply during the Mad Tea Party fight.

"...Just like you were too late to save me at the Vytal Festival. I died in Atlas too, didn't I? Could you imagine what that's like? To be completely and utterly failed time and again by someone who meant the world to you..."

Similar to Penny, Ruby is someone who Oscar has been shown to care deeply for and Ruby, in turn, cares a lot for him. The evidence of that has been shown sprinkled throughout the seasons. There is no denying that these two smaller, more honest souls care very much for each other.

While there has yet to be any payoff to the development in their relationship as yet, one thing's for certain is that Oscar is a person of importance to Ruby.

He is someone she doesn't want to lose. He is someone she doesn't want to fail.

He is someone she can't stand to watch die because of her own inability to protect him.

Not again after she's failed others like him in the past.

Overall, I guess the point I'm trying to make here is, while it would've been great to see Oscar in the Ever After with Ruby (since he definitely would've prevented her breakdown), at the same time, the showrunners did still found a way to use his presence as part of the narrative to signify something about his connection to Ruby.

Oscar needed to be absent in order to Ruby to have her arc yet ironically, he was the reason for Ruby's breakdown in the first place. While Little's death was the final straw that drove Ruby over the edge, before that moment, it was actually the imagery of Oscar's death caused by HER HANDS that drove Ruby to her final breaking point.

While it would've been nice to see Oscar there with Ruby, in a way, he was still there with her---being used by Neo to indicate to the audience that Oscar is a person of dear importance to Ruby.

Moving forward, I expect the events of V9 to have some kind of impact on Ruby's overall relationship with Oscar. I want to believe the events of the Ever After would make Ruby more overprotective of Oscar; possibly hinting at much deeper feelings. That's how I see it.

~LMS (2023)

#squiggles answers: rwby #rwby volume 9 spoilers #ruby rose #oscar pine #oscar and ruby #rwby rosegarden #rwby theories

[strqyr]

BIG agree. ruby made herself vulnerable to her team and it backfired in the worst way, confirming every fear she'd had about opening up in the first place. the only way they can move from that point productively is for ruby to choose to seek them out again

altho i think wbyj also needs to have a Big Talk and sort some things out among themselves before reuniting

anyway, bets on yang being the most Mad at ruby? i feel like the comment abt her and blake would hit her pretty hard bc it's clearly something yang has wanted for a long time, plus i think in some ways yang still views herself as Ruby's Protector/Big Sister/etc and confronting the way Ruby's feeling would require her to confront the way she's contributed to it which. Is hard.

not yang hate btw i love her i just think it will be more interesting if wbyj is not 100% on the "oh God we fucked up how could we be so mean" train

yeah like. i wouldn't be surprised if this volume ends with all of them together getting back to remnant, but i also wouldn't be surprised if even after that ruby keeps her distance a bit more? as in, ruby is going to seek them out not necessarily bc she's 100% ready but bc it's necessary, cos like. i don't think this should be a thing that gets 'fixed' fully in three episodes. it's going to leave a Mark and that's fine, since things can't go back to way they were before; that's what got them to this point in the first place.

anyway, i am very excited to see everyone's reactions after the initial shock fades away, especially yang's. i think people are way too focused on the whole "she's a good / bad sister!!" when the point is that.. they're just.. sisters. i mean i'm the second youngest out of four, i have two older sisters and i love them very much but they have also pissed me off more times than i can count. that's just what having siblings is like; sometimes you're a good sibling and sometimes you're a bad sibling and sometimes that's intentional and sometimes it's not. that's just life. you can't be a little miss perfect all the time and always know what it is your sibling needs to hear or how to help them. sometimes you try and you fuck it up spectacularly, and if that happens, well. you think about it, figure out what went wrong, and try again if your sibling is ready to accept your help again. if they don't want it, then you respect that, too.

...where was i. oh, right, what comes to my mind is 'risk' and yang's attempted pep talk for ruby after she snaps and runs away for the first time; yang tries to cheer up ruby about her amity plan—'i was being childish' / 'you were being optimistic. look, blind optimism isn't great (lmao if this ain't what ruby has been kind of doing), but no optimism means we already lost. we need hope. we need to take risks. / 'but mine didn't work.' <- ruby pulls away from yang, who then has this look on her face before she sighs and gets up to get some distance before the talk takes a turn back to summer:

it's taking yang everything not to be frustrated at ruby's behavior and snapping back, and it still leaks through. like i don't think yang really knows how to handle ruby when she's being like this, bc ruby has always been optimistic and smiles all around; this kind of anger and frustration, the complete lack of any optimism, is new from ruby.

yang is definitely going to be concerned—they're in a strange world with unknown dangers, and on top of that neo is hunting down ruby specifically!!—but i can also see her being a little upset / annoyed / frustrated at ruby for... well, many reasons, but one of them being 'clearly she's not okay so why didn't she say anything?'

either way. interesting times ahead.

#rwby #rwby9 #rwby spoilers #ruby rose #yang xiao long #anon #ask.strqyr

[the-descolada]

I spent like half of my drives today singing along to All That Matters and it got me THINKING about how well this whole scene in today's episode responded and developed everything from the middle of their relationship, when that song was summing it up.

Especially for Yang, it's so fucking vindicating to see her having gone from what she clearly thought was a one-sided love for Blake, and feeling as though Blake running confirmed all her worst fears about trust and abandonment even after she came back...to now being still cautious, and nervous, but brave enough with Blake's support to be able to voice her own feelings.

And you can see it on her face! With the way she looks to be in disbelief looking down at Blake's lips before they kiss, as though she still can't believe this is really happening. She trusts Blake now wholly, and is able to lean into that, but I think there still was a part of her that was afraid that her romantic feelings weren't...um...worthy of her partner returning them - which makes sense, because it's pretty clear she has absolutely no romantic experience thus far herself (freezerburn divorce jokes notwithstanding)! Doing that for the first time and having to show her desires in a way that the Yang behind the facade of V1-3 party girl never actually had must have been really scary even if she was almost certain they'd be returned.

And now here we are, with that worth being returned for BOTH of them!!

Blake obviously has gone from her own nervousness and doubt, not to mention the self hatred that Adam instilled in her, to realizing that she truly wanted Yang and that she didn't have to be scared of wanting that - and slowly gaining the confidence to know that she was ready for Yang to take that step on her own terms (although she clearly realized how nervous Yang was herself and took the initiative to make it feel safe for her to do so which makes me fucking melt).

All That Matters really clearly shows the groundwork laid for their relationship to recover and grow and now it has GROWN SO MUCH AND WE GOT BMBLB 2

#rwby #bumbleby #rwby spoilers #rwby9 spoilers #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #I am just so fucking. MUSIC. GAY #rwby meta

[iamafanofcartoons]

Ruby: “Okay, so then we got on top of the train right? ‘Cause there’s no way we could leave the Grimm fighting to the train’s defenses and just those 2 huntsmen!”

Weiss: “Especially because, well, let’s just say they didn’t exactly inspire confidence when we first met them. And then their performance only confirmed our suspicions.”

Ruby: “Yeah, they weren’t too good, but we did awesome!  The things attacking the train were manticores and Sphinxes; a whole pack or swarm or. . . Penny what’s the correct term?”

Penny: “As they are flying Grimm, it would usually be considered a flock.”

Ruby: “A whole flock of them! I had never fought them before! Their huge fangs were so cool! They were. . . Just like this:”

Ruby, before Weiss can realize what she’s doing and stop her, puts chop sticks in her mouth

Ruby: “Like this: RAWR! I read they can go through a foot of steel!”

Weiss: “Ruby! We’ve all fought them before now and we’re in public! Where are your manners?”

Winter: “Hahaha. . . Weiss, you said that it was a pain to get Ruby through your Grimm studies class. She seems rather interested in them.”

Weiss: “Her interest is directly correlated to how cool it looks. Just try to get her to learn boarbatusk herding behavior.”

Penny: “Really that’s actually a rather fascinating thing!”

Ruby: Anyway back to the story! So: At first we could handle them pretty easy; I cut the first one down and in half with one swipe after it went past Yang and Blake!”

Weiss: “After which you decided was the perfect time to pose and taunt the Grimm. So I had to save your butt when one came from behind you.”

Ruby: “Hehe. . . I knew no matter what I would be fine because you were there! You always save me, all of us actually! Everyone owes you so much!”

Weiss: “Oh she’s exaggerating. We all always help each other when we can. . . You saved me right after that remember? There was a tunnel coming, and we were running back to the hatch, when I was hit by a fireball from one of the Grimm.”

Ruby: “And I grabbed you by the wrist and petal bursted you into the train! The red and blue spiral we made was so cool!”

Penny: “If you saved each other then it seems like you’re even one to one!”

Ruby: “Maybe if it was only that! But Weiss saved us all, and me specifically, a lot later too! Like when we were still on the train a fireball took out the tracks and Weiss’s glyphs made it so we didn’t crash as hard! She probably saved us all!”

Weiss: “I didn’t help that much; we still crashed.”

Winter: “A full train? That’s very powerful for your glyphs Weiss. I’m impressed.”

Weiss: “It was only a few empty cars because we had already detached most of it.”

Winter: “Still my point stands.”

Ruby: “And later when we were fighting Cordovian and her mech, sorry about the whole. . . All of that by the way,”

Winter: “You did what you had to. And anyway. . . And. . . Let’s say there’s a reason that woman is stationed where she is.”

Penny: “Even if you all collectively broke 137 laws and ordinances, which would result in almost assured life imprisonment if it was ever prosecuted.”

Weiss: “How very comforting.”

Ruby: “So anyway when she tried to blast us the canon on that thing, Weiss put up a rock wall and saved us from getting blasted!”

Winter: “Thats a rather high degree excessive force.”

Penny: “And against regulations for use of that machine.”

Weiss: “Thats what we were saying! Except the regulations part. But Ruby; before that you saved all of us from the apathy, terrible things by the way, they drain you like one of Father’s self promotion parties, with your eyes. And you almost stopped the leviathan.”

Ruby: “Sure, but against Cordovian she saved me from falling twice! And it was only with your lancer that I was able to do that! Admit it Weiss: you’re a life saver. Literally.”

Weiss: “Well, I cant exactly let you get hurt if I can avoid it, can I? I like all of us, but especially you too much.”

Ruby: “And I’ll always be thankful.”

Penny: “When we fought Cinder, Winter and I saved each other too!”

Ruby: “Ooo! Tell us! We haven’t heard enough about your fight!”

Weiss: “Yes, please do.”

Penny: “So when I was with Fria and. . . She was passing on. . . Cinder has gotten back inside because Fria wasn’t making a wall of cold anymore! She sent her Grimm arm towards us but Winter jump in and cut it off just in time!”

Winter: “And that’s how I got into the fight that almost, and would have, killed me you two not showed up; because by that time my aura was already broken. . . From when Penny saved me earlier. . .”

Weiss: “What happened?”

Winter: “Cinder pushes both me and Penny through the walls, so we were fighting in the air. Penny and Cinder can fly of course, so I was using my manticore summon,”

Ruby: “You have a manticore summon!? That’s so cool! Weiss you need to make one!”

Weiss: “SSSSHH!”

Winter: “We tried to double team her; flying at her from two directions. But she was smarter than I had hoped. . . When I was attacking alone she destroyed my summon with her swords, then sent a fireball to destroy my aura.”

Weiss: Gasp

Winter: “I would have assuredly fallen to my death below. . . But instead of following Cinder. . . Penny saved me.”

Penny: “Yet the first thing you did was scold me for it.”

Winter: “I thought we may have just lost everything to Cinder. . . In that case my life really doesn’t matter.”

Penny, putting her hand over Winter’s: “Winter, I said this back then, and I mean it maybe even more now: you’re life does matter. At least to me. And it always will.”

Winter looked at Penny, who’s green eyes stared back. Sometimes she would forget that Penny was technically a machine; because she could see what was behind all of the sensors and cameras

A soul

A soul that really did love her. And one she loved back

Leaning forward, she was reminded yet again how human Penny’s lips were too

Ruby, staring at this adorable display: “. . . Weiss. . . Remember how we said we’d thank each other later, on the train?”

Weiss, a little uncomfortable at her sister making out in front of her: “Y-Yeah, I do. Why-“

Ruby takes a soft hold of Weiss, and looks into her eyes for a second. Before closing hers, and leaning in

The kiss caught Weiss off guard, but after a millisecond she melted in Ruby’s liplock embrace, and returned the favor

After a few moments of being lost in bliss, Ruby pulled back

And Weiss regained her normal senses

Weiss: “RUBY ROSE! What have I told you about making out with me in public!? I explicitly told you not to embarrass me I front of my sister!!”

Ruby: “But you still seemed to enjoy it!”

Weiss: “T-that doesn’t mean anything!”

Winter, having gotten done with her own kiss: “Weiss, calm down, please give the girl a break. It’s just because she loves you. . . And don’t think it should be embarrassing in respect to me: I’m happy you have someone like Ruby.”

Penny: “And Schnees are difficult to resist. One can’t blame her for wanting to kiss a snow angel.”

Ruby: “Yeah exactly! They are really sensational aren’t they Penny?”

Penny: “They are! Perfect in most ways my sensors can measure! We are so lucky to have them!”

Weiss: “I. . . I suppose we might be the lucky ones, aren’t we Winter?”

Winter: “That a couple of frozen women like us found red headed Dolts to melt us, and apparently quite enjoy our company? And that I must say are fairly attractive? I do think we are.”

Ruby: “. . . Penny. . . I just realized something. . . We’re going to be sisters one day!”

Penny: “I KNOW ISNT IT GREAT!?!!”

Ruby: “WE COULD HAVE A DOUBLE WEDDING!”

Penny: Excited robot noises

Winter: “I’m not sure about that, but still: I guess that means we’ll have to at least save each other until then.”

Weiss: “And we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

(Hope you like this one!)

Artist: Gardavwar

https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBY/comments/xh23p4/double_date_gardavwar/

https://www.deviantart.com/gardavwar/art/Double-Date-840380149

#winter x penny #ruby x weiss #rwby weiss #rwby ruby #rwby penny #penny polendina #whiterose #gardavwar #rwby fanart #rwby fan art #rwby winter #winter schnee #weiss schnee #ruby rose #rwby ruby rose #rwby

[almea]

How do you think everyone is going to react to this info that Raven was with summer on her final mission? Will they give her a chance to explain her side or will they just be even more disappointed. Yang’s going to need Blake again this is why I’m glad they’re together. I also Weiss and Blake to give them space to have a sisters chat

Oh my god, I've been thinking about this nonstop since yesterday and there are so many possibilities about how it could play out.

I think it would at least partially depend on how Raven reenters the story. Like. If she managed to show even an ounce of care for Yang. I'm so curious about whether Ruby was in the right headspace to register that Raven did care, even if she tried to pretend she didn't. If she told Yang that, how much would it matter to her?

With how much Yang was able to break through Raven's defenses the last time they spoke, the fact that Ruby and Yang already have their suspicions about Summer being turned into something like the Hound, and now the knowledge that Raven was with her, if they were to directly confront her about that I want to believe she won't be able to be as cagey or quite as supremely unhelpful as she was at the start of volume 5. This is probably 50% coloured by how much I want Raven to Just Be Better and 50% me wanting the answers only she can provide.

I want the Raven confrontation to be mainly be Yang and Ruby (Qrow and Tai can be there too since it was their team and family too, but let the girls do the heavy lifting because I Love them), but I still want Blake to exchange some words with Raven at some point. Because Blake loves Yang so much and she's the only one of team RWBY who hasn't spoken to Raven, she hasn't even SEEN her, and I want that interaction so badly. Like, if we somehow get confirmation that Raven was taking a shot at Blake with "Your teammates never let you down before" I would fucking die.

And if they do show us Ruby telling Yang about what she saw rather than having it be something that happens off screen, I do think it would be nice if it was just Ruby and Yang. Not in a "keeping secrets from Blake and Weiss" kind of way, but it's something so deeply personal to their family that I think it would be good if Ruby told Yang one on one so she could digest the information and react to it before they decided what to do with it.

#Anonymous #Annie babbles about RWBY #rwby spoilers #Oh Raven my beloved #I love how messy things get whenever you show your face

[howlingday]

you dong reeally good yang and blake au keep up at it

First / Second / Previously

"And here we have your dorm, Team JNPR." Professor Port said, waving his hand to the door. "Here, you shall share the adventure that is camaraderie, self-improvement, and dare I say, maybe even romantic pursuits?" He wiggled his bush mustache with a chuckle, though it was only amusing to one student. Two of them blushed and looked away, while the third simply stared with dull eyes. "But there will be enough time for that later. You may awaken at any time prior to your first class, but we expect all students to be in their seats before class begins at eight."

"Eight at night?" Nora bounced off the heels of her rabbit feet.

"Ho ho! That is quite the... terrible idea, actually." Professor Port answered, furrowing his brow in thought. He quickly shook his head. "But no, eight in the morning. Breakfast will be served until seven forty-five." He then opened the door, allowing the students into their new home. "Your scrolls should unlock this door, the same as any teaching faculty member may enter, should the need arise." He stepped away, turning away. "This marks the end of your tour around campus. Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. I will leave you four to get settled in."

The large professor then left, leaving the four students alone in their room. The thin, blond boy with a hanging dog tail quickly ran into what was the bathroom. The sounds of retching filled the room, making a proper introduction pretty much impossible. However, this did nothing to stop the other three from making their intros to one another.

"I'm Nora, and this is Ren!" The girl pulled the taller boy closer to her. "We're best friends! Together since we were kids!" She then stopped herself. "Oh, but not together-together, you know?"

"I... guess?" Pyrrha flicked her large, round chinchilla ears. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

"Well, we already knew that! Right, Ren?" The tall boy simply hummed in agreement.

"Oh." Pyrrha sighed when suddenly, the bathroom door opened. Shambling out was their leader, a pale and sickly-looking boy. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." He groaned, wiping his forehead. "I just need to take my medicine."

"If you die, can Pyrrha be our leader?"

"Nora!" Ren chided, the first words to come out of his mouth. "I'm very sorry about her. What was your name again?"

"I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc." Suddenly, he got a second wind, standing up straight to look confident. His tail even wagged a little. "Short, sweet, and rolls off the tongue. The ladies love it."

"Was your puke short and sweet when it rolled off your tongue?" Nora asked, earning another chide and apology from Ren.

Pyrrha simply giggled. "Do you need any help, Jaune? We are partners after all."

"Yeah, we are, huh?" Jaune's tail seemed to wag a bit more.

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

"Are you sure this is the right person, ma'am?"

"Well, you don't see anyone else, do you, Emerald?" Cinder replied. "Are you Marcus Black?"

The boy heaved heavy breaths as he stood on shaky legs. There was blood all over his shirt and it seemed like every breath was agony for him. He looked up to the two, taller women and answered them.

"No, I'm Mercury. Marcus is my dead." With a light groan, pointing to the burning house behind him. "He was in there."

"Was?" Cinder asked. "Did he leave?"

"Kinda." The boy answered. "He's dead. He's dead and I killed him."

The boy was still in shock, clearly. Not taking any chances, Cinder sent Emerald to the house to confirm. Unfortunately, the boy was right and the assassin they needed was dead inside, buried under a burning support beam. This put a wrench in Cinder's plans, but not for long as she smiled at the boy being tended to by Emerald.

"How would you like to come with us?" Cinder asked, sweetly as a serpent to a mouse. With nowhere else to go, Mercury joined the serpent, and her green-haired friend.

#rwby #rwby au #fall maiden blake au #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos #nora valkyrie #lie ren #peter port #mercury black #cinder fall #emerald sustrai #maiden blake au #maiden blake

[bridgyrose]

One hundred and twelve days. It had been one hundred and twelve days since Penny had been rebuilt after her death at Beacon, every day filled with training to keep her from falling once again. Every day became a new challenge. A different grimm to fight that was caught from the tundra, missions to clear out caves and tunnels that the grimm like to rest in, all in an attempt to hone her skills. 

“Penny Polendina.” 

Penny jumped up as she heard her name being called by General Ironwood, saluting him as she looked up at him. “Yes, General?” 

Ironwood looked her over before motioning her to follow him. “Its time for your test.” 

Penny gave a quiet nod as she followed him, running the protocols that she normally did for each training session. She gave a little skip as she tested the thrusters in her boots, pleased that they were still working as needed. Her swords started to make their way out of her back as she tested their movement again, putting them away once she confirmed everything was working. Thrusters: on standby, weapons: ready, power levels: ninety percent, plenty of time before her next recharge was needed. Ready for anything she was going to be put up against. 

Or atleast, she thought she was. Penny nearly froze as she laid eyes on Amity Arena, memories flooding in when she felt the wires of her swords wrap around her. She put her hand on her arm, nearly squeezing it like she had seen Ruby do to calm herself in a panic attack before closing her eyes and purging the memories of her death. They were unnecessary. Distractions that would keep her from doing everything she needed to be the protector of Atlas. 

“I know it wasnt that long ago that you were here and killed,” Ironwood started as he led her down to the arena floor. “But this will be your final test to prove that you’re ready to defend Atlas. You wont have to worry about grimm or any of the training bots that Specialist Schnee liked to put you up against. Instead, we’ll consider this… target practice.” 

“I am not sure I understand,” Penny said as she followed Ironwood down to the bottom of the arena, looking around at the rebuilt stands. She could remember where everyone was sitting that day, how Ruby was there one moment and then gone the next, that Weiss and Blake had chosen to skip out to go around the festival grounds, Yang being on house arrest until the end of the tournament. Her fingers twitched as she held onto each memory, trying to focus on everything in front of her. “If I am not fighting grimm, then what will be my targets?” 

“Images of those who you’re supposed to protect Atlas from. I’ll give you a few minutes to prepare before we start.” 

Penny nodded as she watched General Ironwood make his way up to the control room, closing her eyes as she tried to focus on the task at hand. All she had to do was destroy the targets that appear, prove she can be the protector of Atlas. Defeat the targets, become the protector of Atlas. 

The arena started to awaken and Penny opened her eyes as she watched the floor open up and hard light platforms started to appear. Then, she saw the targets as the appeared: small disks with the faces of past enemies of Atlas. It only took a moment for her to start tracking them as they moved around with the platforms, powering up her thrusters as she took to the air. With a blast of energy, she shot at the first target, releasing a shower of sparks. Then, she shot at the next target, running through the sparks that came from the targets. Her vision faltered for a moment as she landed on one of the platforms, losing track of the targets. 

“Dont falter now, Penny,” Ironwood said through the speaker system. “Only a few more targets.” 

Penny nodded as her vision started to clear up and she was able to start tracking the targets again. She rushed through, slicing through the rest of the targets as showers of sparks fell over her, only one thing in mind: to become a weapon for Atlas. As she sliced through the last target, she felt her body start to power down and her thrusters give out, finally powering down as she slammed onto the arena floor. 

“Penny?” Pietro asked. “Are you awake now?” 

Penny slowly woke up as her body powered back on, memories a haze of data filled with holes. “Did… did I pass the general’s test?” 

Pietro smiled, almost relieved that Penny was awake. “Yes, you did. Though you took a bit of a beating to go through whatever he wanted you for.” 

Penny looked over herself, patches of her synthetic skin singed along with a few patches missing from her landing. She moved her arm, hearing the joints grind. “I-I remember powering down and falling..” her eyes went blank as she tried to remember, unable to recall much beyond the desire to be a weapon, a protector for Atlas at the General’s disposal. “It must have been classified. I… I can not remember.” 

“I’ll repair the damage, and then you can go see the General. Mentioned something about an airship not responding with the right landing codes.” 

Penny nodded and closed her eyes to put herself into standby mode until her repairs were completed. She’d need to be in her best condition to protect Atlas, and if an airship made it through the blockade, then Atlas would need its weapon to keep it safe.

#rwby #penny polendina #james ironwood #pietro polendina #repurposed au