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bees-shitposting · 1 year

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The Beethis

Volume 1-3 Characterization

Starting from the original trailers, the characters of Blake and yang have been linked, as well their foils being set up. We first see the Red trailer, and though the trailer only features Ruby and also doesn’t really have much in the way of character development, we do get the main lyrics to the song playing in the background that sets up how we are meant to view the characters

“Red like roses fills my dreams/and brings me to the place you rest/White is cold and always yearning/burdened by a royal test/Black the beast defends from shadows/Yellow beauty burns/Gold”

These lyrics both exemplify all four of the girls in one line, but draw parallels to their stories. Ruby always coming back to and comparing herself to Summer, Weiss taking on the burdens of her family name and trying to make it better for herself. Each of these lines take up two phrases, creating one motif for each Character, however, Blake and Yang’s line are each one phrase, linking them together and making their two characters stitched together on one musical thread.

There is also the use of fairy tails throughout all of RWBY, and an important distinction to be made between Blake and Yang and their origins. Blake is based on Belle, from “Beauty and the Beast”, however she is not just Belle, but also the Beast. Yang is based on Goldilocks, though its not quite as pertinent to the story. This thread in the song sets up their dynamic though, Blake being the beast, how she most likely views herself throughout the first parts of the story, and Yang being set up as Belle as well.

Going into the Black trailer, we see the other part of the Beast though, Adam, symbolized through his wilting rose emblem, he is also a part of the fairytale, Adam being the name of the Beast and the rose being the symbol of the curse. Adam is the angry part of the Beast, the curse, for the sake of the original story, he represents all the bad things about the Beast, and therefore all the bad things Blake sees in herself. In the beginning volumes, she is constantly caught up in how she views herself, how she comes off. She want’s things to be easier, but she can’t let go of what she cares about.

The parallel between Blake and Adam, with Adam representing what Blake sees to be the worst in herself, is backed up with Negative Blake in “RWBY: Ice Queendom” with Negative Blake being costumed almost exactly how Adam is in the first volumes. Along with the visual similarity, Blake is similarly aggressive toward the SDC and has similar ideas about how to handle it.

Blake from the beginning is set up as a complex, shy, and closed off character. She’s seen being slow to trust. Yang in the beginning isn’t set up to be quite as complex, but she’s shown as an expressive, quick-tempered, and brash character. She knows her goals and what she wants, her style of fighting is personal, and she’s probably the most confident fighter on team RWBY.

Neither of them change very much through the first three volumes, both opening up and showing themselves to have more depth, but neither showing much of a difference in overall attributes. Blake, still recently traumatized from Adam, is still quiet and closed off, she still has a lot she doesn’t want to talk about. Yang had opened up about her mother and her own goals, but she hadn’t done anything with them quite yet. In the first three volumes, they’re set on a track to parallel each other constantly, but not yet to collide.

Vol. 1-3 Scenes

Their first introduction to each other isn’t sparks flying, in fact Blake seems to be annoyed at Yang and Ruby’s approach, her voice being flat and her attention always falling back to her book. Yang is chipper and, and starts out complimenting her bow, and when she doesn’t get much of a response, awkwardly continues to her pajamas. She doesn’t seem to be very used to such a muted reception, she brings up a stereotypical awkward conversational beat, being the weather, and Blake says her iconic line of “Yes, its lovely. Almost as lovely as this book. That I will continue to read. As soon as you leave”

Yang says this girls a lost cause, but Ruby continues to talk to her about the book. There’s not a whole lot going into this first scene, they talk briefly, even seeming a little distant from each other, as even towards the end of the conversation, it’s Ruby who’s talking to Blake, but whatever the interaction was was enough to get Blake’s attention, which brings us to our next scene.

The Emerald Forest is the next place they interact, when Yang lands, she calls for Ruby, trying to look for her sister so she won’t be alone on a team, but Blake seems to follow Yang. She took an interest in her and is seen as a shadow following her before she fights the Ursa and likely watching her fight the Ursa before coming to help her with the second.

Blake doesn’t say anything on their first meeting in the woods, she kills the Ursa and looks up deliberately, she chose Yang, and at this point I’m not sure if even she knows why. Yang didn’t really chose Blake, but she smiles and jokes that she could’ve taken the Ursa. Despite her comment the day before, she didn’t seem to have much of a complaint with her new partner.

Starting at Blakes Faunus arc, Yang is seen always giving her the benefit of the doubt, she doesn’t ever accuse Blake of anything or take Weiss’ criticism of her, she defends her every time she’s brought up and clearly cares about finding her, even going as far as to accuse Weiss of not caring. To me, it seems like she’s take Weiss’ distrust of Blake personally.

Going into the start of V2, our first shot of Blake is preceded by a drawing of Adam, it almost looks like a doodle alongside some notes, but she seems to be thinking about it when Yang butts in. This sets up their link for the first time, showing that Adam, Blake, and Yang are three parts of the same story. At this point in the show, its almost a spectrum from how Blake views it.

On the far end we have Adam, who has such powerful anger and feels justified in any and all actions to get what he wants, to Blake, he’s seen as a strong character, someone who will do anything and is scared of nothing, when really he is ruled by fear.

Then we have Blake, she’s scared at this point, and she knows it. She’s angry and similarly determined, however she differs by seeing the flaw in what Adam is doing. She see’s that some of the things she had done and the things that he had done were wrong, and she’s willing to do anything in order to fix it. She knows what she wants but she doesn’t know how to keep it from controlling her.

Yang is different from both of these, she’s just as determined and goal oriented, but isn’t scared, at least not yet. She knows the importance of balance and she tries to show Blake that. Yang is everything Blake wants to be, strong, confident, unafraid.

This leads to one of every bee’s favorite scene, Burning the Candle. This sets up our second foil, Raven. In the beginning of the episode, where every other character expressed doubt in being able to get Blake to come to the dance, Yang is confident she can. She thinks she knows Blake and will know what to say to get her to come, and she does.

This is also some of the first characterization that Yang gets in the series, she reveals that she’s been taking care of Ruby most of her life, that she views herself as responsible for her. She opens up to Blake, about her insecurities about her mom leaving, about her search for her and about how it almost caused her to get killed, she ends by showing her that its the same kind of situation as Blake is in right now, that she doesn’t need to stop looking for Roman, that she doesn’t have to stop fighting the White Fang. But that not taking a minute and resting could be dangerous.

She ends the conversation asking if Blake could take Roman if he walked in then, Blake tries to say she could but she couldn’t even stand up to Yang. Yang gets angry, trying to get through to her. Yang was saved by her uncle, she wasn’t alone, but if she was she likely would have been killed, and when Blake says “I’m the only one that can do this” it drives in the point for yang, she can’t do this alone and Yang knows that.

At the end of the interaction, she ultimately leaves it up to Blake, saying “If you feel like coming out tomorrow, I’ll save you a dance” She’s confident that Blake will come, but she’s not making her. The choice is still hers and she can do whatever she wants with it, but she choses to listen to Yang and come to the dance.

There are two things worth mentioning about this scene before we move forward, the first is the lighting of this scene. It parallels the line from “Red like Roses”, with Blake consistently being scene in the shadows, her model being darker even when closer to the light, while Yang is almost glowing consistently. The light behind her making her almost resemble the sun.

The second thing to mention, and the less important one, is that the barn in Yang’s story is the same barn that Blake is seen hiding out in at the beginning of Ice Queendom. This isn’t incredibly important, but it is another thing linking her, Yang, and Raven together. That being where Yang was told that Raven would be and later it being where Blake is, connecting them all together in a small way

Briefly, though Blake goes to the dance with Sun, she says “technically, though my first dance is spoken for.” Traditionally, the first dance of a ball is the most important one, and though Yang didn’t ask for the first dance Blake saved it for her.

In Mountain Glenn, the have more of a conversation about their goals, why they want to become huntresses. This is the first time that Blake says Adams name, she seems to be unsure of his role in her life at that point, saying that he was a partner, like how Yang is now, then saying a more of a mentor. This sets up the power imbalance between them, Blake clearly seeing him as much more powerful than her, almost as a teacher. She expresses how she realizes how his way of thinking and his way of doing thing was wrong, and how she wanted to help make it right and that’s why she joined the Academy. Her only goal is to fix what she perceives that she broke, “how to undo so many years of hate,” she says. She wants redemption.

Yang goes on to reassure her, that she’ll figure it out and she’s not one to back down from a challenge. Blake gets irritated at this, she sees herself as a coward, as someone who runs away when things get hard, who is afraid of everything, that even her semblance shows that, leaving behind a copy to take the hit so she can run.

Yang then talks about why she wants to be a huntress, that she’s always gone with the flow and this is where it took her, but she isn’t satisfied with that. She feels like she doesn’t quite have a purpose, she doesn’t want to be noble or a hero, she wants to live in a world where she doesn’t know what will happen tomorrow. In a way, its the same kind of running away as Blake. She doesn’t want security, she doesn’t want to settle, she may even be scared of what would happen if she just sat down for a minute and thought about everything. She looks up to her sister, even though she’s younger.

Now a lot happens in V3, starting with Yang’s fight with Mercury in Amity. The conversation that happens between her and the rest of Team RWBY is an interesting one, after she tells her side of the story, however unbelievable, Ruby and Weiss are quick to believe her, but Blake is unsure, she says that she wants to believe her, but it reminded her of Adam. The situation felt too familiar to her, Yang did something awful, and she’s making an excuse for it. No matter how valid the excuse is, to Blake it’s an opening for her to keep doing this, to keep making excuses and doing worse and worse things because that’s exactly what happened before.

Yang is hurt by Blake’s doubt, but expresses shame, she’s understanding of the expression but clearly upset about the whole situation. All it takes for Blake to give her trust is for Yang to look her in the eyes and to say it. This is important, as Adam never did that. He constantly wears a mask over his eyes, deflects, and never takes responsibly. Yang however can, and does, ensuring that she makes eye contact through other important scenes later.

When the Fall of Beacon starts, Blake’s first reaction is to call Yang, even though the pervious interaction had just happened the same day. She calls to make sure that Yang is safe, and yang expresses that to her as well.

When Blake splits off from Weiss to go after the White Fang and some Grimm, She finds Adam. This is the first time we see that Adam may have also been a romantic partner, his first line being “Hello, my darling.” In a moment calling her “My love,” showing his possessiveness. He always qualifies whatever pet name he choses with my, asserting his ownership over Blake. This becomes especially troubling later, when we see that Adam was likely a slave of the SDC, knowing what it feels like to be owned and then enforcing that feeling onto a younger Blake.

Adam’s attacks towards Blake tend to avoid his usual slashing and more towards a personal, physical attack. He keeps her safe from the Grimm attacking her, and then continues to threaten her, saying that she will run, after she suffers. Adam continues to express his anger, he says it could’ve been our day, refusing to acknowledge that Blake’s view has changed from his. He states that the equality and peace that Blake wants, that Blake has been fighting for, is impossible, and continues to slap her. He compares her “impossible” goals to his, of wanting her. He’s decided that if he can’t have her, she will have to suffer.

When Yang comes running by, yelling for Blake, Adam realizes just by the look on her face that this person, whoever she is, is important to her. The look of fear on Blakes face being enough to let him know that’s someone she cares about. This is the first time that Adam uses his sword in a non-physical attack on Blake. He stabs her, but he only does so with the goal to get her to yell so that Yang would be drawn over to them.

Yang’s first reaction is anger, she wants to defend this person she cares about, but doesn’t know enough to thing through the situation. Blake knows that and quietly begs her not to, unable to be louder or to stop either her or Adam, she watches as Yang charges in. She jumps into her signature attack, semblance activated and no doubt draining her aura that’s running low after the day of fighting.

Adam uses his semblance and the frame goes red, he has taken over the frame, over the screen. The only other color left is the yellow of Yang’s hair and gauntlets, highlighting her arm as it separates from her body in an otherwise still frame. She’s sent over Blake, who is no doubt watching her the whole way.

This is the moment the story changes. This is where Adam, Blake, and Yang are now mixed to the point they can’t come out of it anymore. This is where Yang’s confidence and emboldened personality falls apart, this is where Blake regresses intoner fears, where she resolves that she has to run away again. This is where Adam gets the power over Blake he boasts until volume 5 and over Yang until 6. Everything came crashing together in one short moment, and Blake wants nothing more than to separate it. She wants to remove herself, and so she thinks she’s removing Adam.

The last thing that Blake does for Yang is to jump between her and Adam, to create a decoy, for the first time also creating a decoy of another person as well, and to run away with her, carrying, almost dragging her, out of the hall. For her, this is the best thing that she can do. This is her fault and she has to fix it. The way she thinks is best to fix it is to leave.

The last shot of them in these volumes is of Blake apologizing to an unconscious Yang. She doesn’t even consider that this was a choice for Yang, it was all her fault and she wouldn’t hear anything else. Despite her own injury, she rolls to her side and holds Yang’s hand. Clinging to her and pleading that she’s sorry.

We next see Yang sitting up in what appears to be her room, she’s quiet, despondent. She’s slow to talk to even her sister. When Ruby asks about Blake, Yang gets angry, saying that she ran. Something that seems to contradict what she previously thought of her. In Mountain Glenn, she expressed that she thought Blake was never one to back down from a fight, but she did. She left her, just like her mom did years ago. When Ruby asks why, Yang says “I don’t know,” she sounds sad, almost desperate. She wants to know she wants to understand, to her the person she thinks so highly of just did the worst thing a person could do to her; leave.

She continues, now in a much angrier tone, “And I don’t care.” She does, but she wants to convince herself that she doesn’t care why, doesn’t care that she even left in the first place. This person who meant so much to her left, and she doesn’t want to process that when she hasn’t even processed the first person who left. For the first time in the series, it seems like Yang has given up, asking Ruby to just leave her alone.

Adam and Yang as Literary Foils

For those of you who don’t know what a Literary Foil is, it’s a character who is a direct contrast of another character, used to point out specific qualities that are better or worse in one or the other.

Adam is a direct foil to Yang, being characterized as similarly brash and headstrong. As the characters develop, this aspect of them grows apart, while Adam becomes angrier and more impulsive and single-minded, Yang becomes less. She grows an understanding of a bigger picture, she learns to think through her problems more and gains the ability to be introspective and thoughtful. This even extends to combat, most notably at the end of V5, where Adam charges at Blake, allowing himself to be taken down simply by not thinking his attack through. Yang, however, realizes that she can avoid a fight to get to her goal quicker, briefly activating her semblance before realizing that she can just let go of her arm to get where she needs to go.

Both Adam and Yang are physically mutilated, and presumably have lasting trauma about the events leading to it. But they both take different things away from it, Yang is able to grow from her injury, she’s able to train to fight differently, become more intelligent and doesn’t let anything hold her back or make her weaker. She acknowledges her pain and takes time to process it, but she is able to come to terms with her new life and her new arm. She doesn’t hide her injury like Adam does, she even paints her new arm a bright yellow to match her gauntlet. Through this, she makes that injury a part of who she is, and she builds off of that experience to become better.

Adam doesn’t take this path, we have a lot less information about his journey to where he is, but we have enough to understand a few things. He’s the one who started the tradition among the white ring to hide their faces, donning a Grimm mask to hide his injury. He internalizes his experience and allows it to cloud his thoughts, becoming angry and resentful not just to the people who did this to him but to all humans. He blames all of them for what happened. He hides his scar behind the face of a monster, and therefore becomes a monster himself. Even after he is outcast from the White Fang he hides his eyes, still removing his humanity from himself.

Their most material similarity is Blake, and most notably their reaction to her running away. They have opposite reactions, with Adam becoming obsessed and willing to do anything to either get her back or get back at her. He stalks her across a continent and sends people after her just to hurt her, he puts so much energy into trying to make a point to her that his original purpose is lost, becoming enraged that Blake is doing anything, much less stopping the White Fang in Haven for a reason other than him.

Yang however accepts it relatively quickly, though also not in a healthy way. She tells herself that Blake left and isn’t coming back, so there’s no use to care about it. She never allows herself to confront her feelings, allowing them to back up into her and boil over. Any time she’s reminded of Blake she tries to distract herself, when she sees the books she turns on the TV, when Ruby and Weiss bring her up she leaves. She doesn’t want to entertain the idea of Blake being there because it hurts and it would have to make her confront the fact of why did she leave and though Blake had noble reasons, Yang didn’t think that. It’s only when Weiss talks to her that she’s even able to acknowledge that she does care that Blake left, that she wants to help her, and that she feels like she needed Blake there for her too.

The last thing I want to touch on is their semblances, they’re both very similar. They take in kinetic energy and are able to control a release of that to an enemy, but how they take that initial hit is where they differ and where I think the base of their characters lie.

Adam uses Wilt and Blush to take the hits, he absorbs gunshots and hits into his blade to deflect them. He never comes into contact with this force if he can help it, his fighting style is designed to get as much energy into his sword as he can before unleashing it to his opponent, all without feeling a thing. His way of fighting is for the most part impersonal. He’s able to be removed from everything and benefit from pain he never felt.

Yang on the other hand has to feel everything in order to use her semblance, attacks stick to her body and though she is smart about taking that damage, its still damage that she has to take. Therefore, every use of her semblance is personal, her attacks are close and kinetic, and her use of her semblance depends on her understanding the initial impact. She feels everything that she dishes out, even if she dishes it out ten-fold, she felt all of it.

While Adam lets something else take a hit for him and reaps the benefits, Yang is always the first to step up to defend. Just like she defends Mantle through the Atlas Arc, and how she defends her sister and the rest of her team. She’s always willing to put others first, where Adam never is.

Raven and Blake as Literary Foils

This section is going to be quite a bit shorter, not because it’s less important but because it only really centers on one thing, and that’s how they both left.

Raven is very similar to Yang, she’s just as strong and stubborn, protective of who she views as her family, but she isn’t nearly as aware. When they first meet again, she says “After all this time, you finally decided to visit me.” She made Yang come to her, she didn’t ever tell her where she was or how to find her, yet she seemed to expect Yang to “visit” sooner. She left Yang and Tai for herself, she left because she wanted to join the Bandits again and she didn’t want the life that she’d made on accident.

Raven tries to make it admirable that Yang spent so much time looking for her, and when yang does find her, she acts entitled to her time and to her trust despite never being around to earn it. Raven is self righteous, she thinks that she’s done what’s right and what’s best, but refuses to see that what she thought was best wasn’t the best for Yang. She spends so much time lauding her strength that she doesn’t realize that the base of all of her actions are fear.

Blake on the other hand, is the one to come back to Yang, though she’s not directly seeking it out, she’s the one who shows up, and she’s the one who promises never to leave again. She knows that she left because she was scared, and though she thought it was the best thing to do at the time, she now knows that it wasn’t. In addition to that, she doesn’t expect Yang to trust her right away. She knows that she needs to earn that back and she’s determined to do just that.

Volume 6

Blake is initially unsure of how to approach Yang, she wants to do everything that she can to help, to gain that trust back, but she goes about it in the wrong way. She misunderstands why Yang is upset and accidentally says and does some things that do the opposite of what they wanted.

Yang is clearly open to trusting Blake again, but she doesn’t know how to express what she wants from her. They continue to have the same chemistry battling as they did before and they get along well enough, but it seems like there a gap between them that wasn’t there before.

The first major scene they get this volume is the one in the barn at Brunswick, the Apathy seems to already be affecting Yang, who already seems annoyed at Blake wanting to go with her to find something to transport them, she doesn’t laugh at Blakes joke and asked what she thought happened there. When asked if she’s okay, she’s able to open up enough to say that she isn’t, but immediately attributes it to being tired, not bringing up any real issue that they need to talk about.

It's then, when she’s probably thinking about what really is bothering her, that she has that flash to Adam and Blake and Yang talk, if only for a bit. Yang opens up to Blake, realizing that this is shared trauma. They’re the only two people that went through this, so Blake is the only one that could understand, except she doesn’t. Blake expresses her own experiences with him, reassures her that she’s not leaving and that if they see him again she’ll be there. This is what Yang wanted to hear, but Blake continued, “and I’ll protect you”

That’s probably the last thing that Yang wanted from her, that’s what happened to them in the first place and why everything got so messed up from there. Blake saying that she’ll protect Yang is saying that she sees her as in need of protecting. Maybe Yang saw it as Blake saying she’s weak, maybe she saw it as Blake taking all the burden for herself. Either way, she’s not happy with the response that she got.

Though at this point she’s still upset with Blake, she still makes sure to get Blake, who was the most effected by the Apathy, out of the house, grabbing her hand before leaving.

Throughout the volume, they warm up more, allowing themselves to be more comfortable with each other, mostly Yang being more comfortable, as Blake was the one who was trying the most to make up for leaving. Towards the end, they’re even confident enough for Blake to poke a little fun at her.

Now for the big one this volume, the Blake and Yang V.S Adam fight. This shows the build up of everything we’ve talked about until now. Adam has become even more obsessive after losing the one other thing he had, Blake and Yang are both desperate to come to terms with what happened and how to go forward.

Adam continues his trend of using more aggressive physical attacks with Blake, notably hitting her with the butt of his sword, choking her, and kicking her. Throughout the first part of the fight, Adam mocks her for running, but she can hear Yang’s motorcycle and is running towards that. She knows she’s coming and so she’s able to wait for her.

One important line I want to point out from the first part of the fight is “I wouldn’t have to be doing this if you just behaved.” Its a jarring and aggressive line, painting how Adam sees the situation perfectly. He thinks that its Blakes fault, that she should have just listened to him, that everything would have been easier, simpler if she had just listened to him. Nothing can be his fault, he can’t be responsible for his actions, so he puts all the blame on Blake.

He says all of the negative things that Blake had thought about herself. She’s selfish, she’s a coward. And she stands up to it, she defies what he says and also him. She listens to what he has to say, to his shifting of blame and his excuses, his accusation that her leaving him was just as bad as the people who gave him his scar. And when he asks how it feels to be alone, just in time Yang shows up.

Throughout their fight, Adam becomes increasingly irrational. He sees the care that they have for each other and despises it. Yang shows her development in fighting the most here as well, being able to adapt to the situation as Blake tells her about his semblance.

The last sequence of the fight frames the whole thing, Adam, so confident that he had won, that he was more powerful, taunts Yang. He plays all his cards, yelling at her to hit him, and finally calls her a coward, to him, the worst thing a person can be. Yang outsmarts him, baits him into an all out attack and takes his sword.

I know in some circles the ending of this fight was seen as unnecessary, I personally don’t think so. They both needed to face this demon, and they needed each other to do it. I do think its worth noting the way each of them stabbed him though.

Blake used the base of her weapon, the broken edge that was much more dull, and no doubt much harder to force through. She had to face him head on, take the weapon that he was reaching for. Her relationship with Adam was much more personal. She had much deeper seated trauma with him that occurred over years and years of abuse. This was once some one that she, in a way, loved, and though that feeling was gone, the memory lingered.

Yang used the broken piece of the sword, she couldn’t see what was going on in front or who got the other piece first, all she knew is that she had to get to Adam before he got to Blake. Her piece was sharper, easier to stab him but harder to hold. Yang stabbed his back, her part wasn’t quite as personal, but she was only able to even do that because of him. She was only able to hold and use that part of Blake’s weapon because of her prosthetic arm.

After this is done, Blakes first thought is to make sure that Yang knows what Adam said isn’t true, that she won’t leave. And yang makes sure that Blake looks her in the eye again when she tells her that she knows she won’t.

Volumes 7&8

Now I don’t want to go on forever, so this section is gonna be kind of short, both for your time and mine, both these volumes are far lighter on the bee content and much more recent so I feel less of a need to summarize.

What I find most important about these volumes is the amount of comfort that grows between them. While in V6 yang was much more apprehensive, after the fight with Adam and the realization that they finally understood each other and what they wanted they both relaxed. They let themselves joke and have fun, flirt even.

One of the more serious interactions shows again the difference between Yang and Adam, when they disagree about telling Ironwood the truth and about Robin, they talk about it and they come to an agreement. When Blake expresses doubts about if they should really do this, Yang actually listens to her and takes her side, rather than plowing over what Blake thinks to what she wants to do.

When they disagree later at the start of V8, it doesn’t come across as if they’re angry with each other for choosing the other path, Yang is even worried about what Blake thinks of her. And when they come back together, they’re more relieved than anything else. Allowing themselves a moment together.

In the last fight of the volume, pretty quickly Yang ends up falling off the edge, protecting her sister. In the scene as they all watch her fall, you can see Blake running in the back ground, when she throws her weapon to her partner, who never failed to catch it, its in desperation. There’s nothing else she can do but watch as it falls just short of Yang, who likely couldn’t catch it anyways.

Blake watches over the edge, horrified that this person who meant so much to her, who had gone through so much with her was gone. She screams for her, unsure of anything else to do. Reaching for Yang, though she already isn’t there. She has to be pulled away from the edge of the platform by Weiss, immediately breaking down into tears, and then anger.

Its the same kind of anger that Neo has towards Ruby, the need for retribution clouding her judgement. She recklessly goes after Neo, until she realizes everything else that’s happening around her. She has to chose between getting the revenge she feels she needs, and protecting the greater cause. Unlike Neo, she is able to separate these feelings and do what she needs to.

Volume 9

When they all wake up in the Ever After, they’re separated. Blake is relieved that Yang must still be alive, and after they find her, she finally allows herself to be as open with Yang as she can, from her perspective, she almost lost Yang forever. She wasted so much time with small actions, with being closed off and nervous, and all for what.

This time around, its Blake who jokes around, who flirts and is the most open. She is determined to get everything she can out of this relationship because she will never take it for granted again.

When they get caught up in the Punder-Storm, (Ponder-storm? Idk I couldn’t get captions), they were separated from the group and basically strong-armed into confessing to each other.

Yang is a lot more hesitant, a lot more initially lighthearted. She’s the one who initially questions how to take the first step, and she’s the one who expresses fear the most in her expressions. Her first steps come from almost an accident, she’s not good at planning what she’s going to say and this first part comes out of nowhere for her, she sees that Blake got a step and expresses her confidence in her, that she’s smart.

When Yang gestures for Blake to continue, she is smiling, expecting an equally light hearted compliment from Blake, but she’s surprised with what Blake says. Her face says a lot, showing how surprised she was, that she didn’t expect Blake to think so highly of her. Blake sees this and tries to lighten it for her, joking with the “try to keep up” its Blakes emotional awareness of yang that allows her to guide Yang into exploring how she felt, Yang is a character that spends so much time caring for other people, that Blake wanted her to get the opportunity to express what she felt herself.

When Yang says to make this quicker, she isn’t thinking I love you yet, its only as she lets the words settle that she realizes, and for once, while Blake is self assured and confident, giving Yang a smile, it’s Yang who is unsure and insecure. She realizes what she’s thinking, but doesn’t let herself think that Blake could feel the same way, her emotions are so apparent on her face, and though the weather has cleared and light shines behind both of them, the fear of what comes after this pulls them back apart.

Yangs thoughts so clearly express how she see this, its like a cliff, and she’s scared of falling. She’s scared that once she does this, it can’t be undone, and she’s right, but she isn’t quite sure yet if its a good thing. She doesn't know how Blake feels, she’s not as emotionally in tune with Blake as Blake is to her, but Blake says it best, they’re already falling. They both already love each other, they’ve just been to scared, to busy, to caught up in everything going on around them to talk about it.

Blake lets Yang say it first, lets her think through it and say what she wants to say. She knows that Yang loves her, but Yang herself hasn’t quite allowed those emotions to process. Blake wants Yang to have this autonomy, to be able to initiate this without being pressured.

When Yang says “I love you” she qualifies it with an “I think” it expresses her insecurity, by saying “I think” first she can feel safe, the uncertainty being something she can fall back on.

But Blake is confident, she’s straight forward and eager, almost interrupting Yang. She wanted to give Yang the first chance but she was so excited to be able to finally say it out loud.

In an instant, the space between them disappears, both literally and metaphorically. The air is clear and their trademark colors mix into a beautiful pink that surrounds them. They both still hesitate only for a moment, to ensure they’re on the same track before finally coming together.

For only a moment, nothing else has to be important, they can be together, they can be alone, they can be whatever they want to be, and what they want to be is together. There are no pressures or conflicts, there’s no life or death situation, and there’s no one else to think anything of them. There’s just them.

Brief Bit on Color Theory because its 4AM

Colors are very important in RWBY, they show who someone is, they show their Aura, the manifestation of their souls, and Blake and Yang’s compliment each other perfectly.

The colors yellow and purple are opposite of each other on a conventional color wheel, otherwise called complimentary colors. They’re colors that are generally known to look good together. In Blake and Yang’s case, they’re shown to represent the Yin and Yang, light and dark.

Along with these colors being complimentary, their eyes hold the color of the other’s Aura, and with a person’s aura representing their soul, each of them hold a bit of each other in their eyes.

Anyways that’s just about all I have in me, if you have any questions or want any clarification id be more than happy to answer anything you have, otherwise, Happy Bee Day Y’all!

#rwby #rwby 9 #rwby 9 spoilers #rwby spoilers #bumbleby #bmblb #let me 🐝 your bmblb #yang xaio long #blake belladona #rwby yang #rwby blake #rwby analysis #rwby bumblebee #long post #and I mean longgggg #thank you for reading!

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chaikachi · 1 year

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Treasure is a Rosegarden Song

HEAR ME OUT OKAY. I've known for a while it could be sort of linked back to them, but it felt easier to brush it off as a general whole team reunion song... Until today's new episode.

⚠ SPOILERS AHEAD, YE HAVE BEEN WARNED ⚠

We got a very big win today with the Bees, they even got a whole new song that Casey has confirmed is bmblb part 2 (check her twitter, i'm not linking it lol). Which... really makes you wonder if they'd have that many Bees songs back to back, right? An argument can surely be made for it being a song about Yang and Ruby as that's the first reunion in Ultimatum that we see, but the lyrics don't really imply a sisterly bond. It could be Renora as the other couple that had a hint of a reunion that scene... but they didn't have a proper one. We got it and their confession in the following episode.

Which leaves the only other focused relationship dynamic in that moment: Ruby and Oscar

And why would it be an RG song? Well, they're the only 'pair' that got separated in v8 that didn't end the volume together. The teams were split down the middle with very clear foils:

Yang to Blake Ren to Nora Weiss to Jaune Ruby to Oscar (Also Ruby to Yang but this ain't about them)

But when Atlas fell, Ren and Nora were together in Vacuo. The bees made it to Ever After. Jaune and Weiss did too... but Oscar and Ruby? They're the only ones that are still apart. And this song is one about absence of another and awaiting a reunion. So lets dive into the lyrics proper, shall we?

Night and day, I've waited

For starters, the sun and moon symbolism that's been thrown around for them since their introductions. Yes, the Bees also have a celestial union going on, but again please bare with me.

All alone in crowded rooms I'm incomplete, my life is paused When you're not here

This is the longest portion of the analysis as the line "all alone in crowded rooms" is so heavy.

It gets tricky when we can't see Oscar's state rn (i will come back to him in a minute tho), but we do know Ruby's. We know that she is preoccupied with a lot of things. She's weighed down by Penny's death, by the internalized expectations she has to be just like Summer, this perfect hero from a fairytale, and is alone in her burdens as a leader. Romance is likely the last thing on her mind. But she is feeling loneliness, isolation, and left behind. We can see that in all past volume examples quite literally (like the above photo, the dance, Brunswick farms, her team not wanting to explore Atlas after their first mission, etc.), but it's really being driven home in recent episodes between the Blacksmith (Carpenter?) and Ruby's reaction to the Bees.

"You're doing this all alone?"

Also just... the way they're all positioned in this scene is so intentional. Yang and Blake are together and they are warm by the fire. Weiss is drinking some piping tea and smiling at them. And Ruby is sitting alone at a table with an empty chair, draped in a teal/green cloth, furthest from the fire. Remember the song "Cold" and how it's used as a metaphor for loss, loneliness, and grief throughout the show? Yeahhhh.

Recognizing Ruby is alone in crowded rooms begs the question of who in the cast makes her not feel that way. Well, anyone that's spent any amount of time looking at RG knows their entire dynamic is built on relating to and respecting each other for their similar positions. That out of everyone, Oscar has been the one to see through Ruby's mask and got her to actually open up about her grief. On the opposite side, Ruby helps Oscar in much the same ways he does her. By constantly watching his back, standing up for him, and reassuring him that despite the merge he is his own person... but he is also someone familiar with this feeling.

By virtue of being an Oz, he's already alienated. He joined the party late and doesn't know everyone as well as the others. He's also the youngest of the bunch and that's a lot of pressure that Ruby is familiar with.

So out of every pairing in the cast, these two are the ones that feel the most alone in crowded rooms and, by extension, less alone when they are together.

Though I walk this world I am nowhere to be found Every thought's of you And for now, you're not around

The singer here is saying that they don't feel present or grounded because of the absence of someone else. Their thoughts are with the person they are missing... but the wording about 'walking this world' is so specific when RG is the only pair split between worlds.

If this is from Oscar's POV, then he isn't found on Remnant. He's found in Ever After because that's where Ruby, and therefore his thoughts, are. The reverse POV also works, but in Ruby being very prioritized with the state they left Remnant in and her team consistently trying to pull her back to what's happening right in front of them.

But that's alright I'll be just fine I'm not concerned With sands of time

Sands of time is another very specific wording choice. Hourglass being associated with time is a give-in... but knowing what we know now it could be a lot of things. The Ever After is messy with time; we're seeing that firsthand with Jaune. But with Ruby and Oscar being the only ones still separated, there is an anticipation and a 'waiting' happening.

Beyond sands of time, Oscar - who has clock gears as a constant motif for his character design - is surrounded by sand as far as the eye can see in the deserts of Vacuo.

If forever comes and goes, I won't pay it no mind

Oscar is Oscar, do not misconstrue me here. But who, out of everyone in the cast aside from Salem, is most familiar with the concept of 'forever'? The one currently merging with a man who's lived a thousand lifetimes.

Hour after hour, I spend Dreaming that your voice will wake My slumbering ear Numb and lost I wander with No place to go, just aimless 'til You reappear

This is much like the earlier verse talking about loss and being directionless without their light to guide them. This song has some parallels to a few others, but for now I want to talk about Sky is Falling, which we know is an Oscar song:

Our world, lost without a soul Losing all control, not getting closer Every day is just another dose of torture (Torture) Now we pay the cost, the race is lost This nightmare's our real life

This can easily be linked back to wanting to wake from a bad dream and feeling lost without a (smaller more honest) soul being present. Later in that same song:

Lost all my hopes and dreams

Being numb and lost without hope. Ruby being the embodiment of hope.

Watch my life flash by in scenes And it seems there's no soul on the video screen

I am aggressively reminded of Arkos and Jaune watching Pyrrha's training video on a loop. Would bet actual money Oscar is doing the same of Ruby's broadcast back in Vacuo... because he was the only big name in the cast that wasn't shown watching that video when it went live.

Cold soaked as I'm standin' in rain Feelin' nothin' but pain until I see you again

Once again tying into feeling lost without the other.

Back to Treasure:

'Til you come in view I keep watch with these sore eyes Looking through the tears As the days creep slowly by

Emphasis on seeing each other again which can also be linked to the above stanza from Sky is Falling as well as Until the End with rain and tears being almost synonymous. (Until the End and Treasure have SO many parallels that I can't talk about all of them here without it becoming a whole separate post. Maybe later tho!)

Nothing's gonna shake my faith I know you're coming back real soon to my embrace

The emphasis on embrace when RG was the only pair that didn't get a hug.

Though time goes by so slow I'm never letting go I won't give up, if I spend my life I know

The time motif again followed by "I won't give up" paralleled to Ruby's line in her broadcast where she says "Even if Atlas falls, you can't give up."

"Atlas" also meaning Ruby. "You" being Oscar and the rest of the people still fighting. Oscar, who took up her mantle of leadership in a way through his costume change and actions in v6 after Ruby stepped into Oz's role.

And then lastly, the song's namesake:

'Cause the treasure of my life Is being by your side

Treasure, by definition, has two different meanings.

noun 1. a quantity of precious metals, gems, or other valuable objects. verb 1. keep carefully (a valuable or valued item).

The song at face value is talking about treasure as the verb. The act of treasuring or cherishing something precious. But much like some other double meanings in this song, a very strong argument can be made for the noun definition as well.

Ruby, who's first name literally means 'precious red gemstone'. Ruby, who's eyes are Silver and how that has tied into Rosegarden since their very first meeting. Oscar, who's eyes glow Gold with his own magic. Who's first name can also be easily associated with the colour by way of the award show statues of the same name.

If those are symbolisms associated with Oscar and Ruby, while Yang and Blake get a song called bmblb for being the same colour as bees and having a confession in a garden... then I think there is no other duo that the song Treasure can be about.

#rwby #ruby rose #oscar pine #rosegarden #rosepine #meta #analysis #rwby analysis #treasure #song analysis #parallels #i'm sorry if this is messy #it's late and brain is moving very fast #rwby v9 #rwby spoilers #rwby v9 spoilers

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peridotite · 1 year

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i started shipping bumbleby when i was 12, after volume 1 was out i was looking at fanart on deviantart, and i saw one of them together. i thought, "yeah, from their interactions, this makes sense and it'd be cute!". it only grew from there, i took notice of the lyrics in red like roses, the hug in burning the candle made me scream, and the volume 3 finale left me utterly obsessed with their relationship and the romantic implications in heroes and monsters. before volume 3, i actually thought whiterose had more chances of happening in the show than bumbleby... but my hope for bees skyrocketed during the v3 hiatus, reading tons of analysis posts, potential reunion scenarios, etc. my expectations for volume 4 were HIGH. instead, by the end of it i was devoid of hope due to sun currently being with blake... until the v4 soundtrack dropped and bmblb made me the happiest person on earth. volume 5 only kept giving me hope, and volume 6 remains my favorite season of the show because of the much needed focus on the mending of their relationship and of course, the wonderful conclusion to the adam arc. though volume 7 and 8 are my least favorites, and i had been expecting blake and yang to confess/kiss during those so the fact that they didn't made my hope waver-- the little moments during v7, and in v8 the scene where they reunite in schnee manor and when blake cries for yang's fall filled my heart. the wait for volume 9 was long, and as confident as i was that there was no way they wouldn't get together after blake saw yang "die", there was always that nagging doubt in the back of my head-- what if we're wrong? thankfully the first episode of v9 filled me with relief again, as did episode 2, 3, 4... as we got to the middle of the volume i began to wonder when we were getting that scene of yang and blake in the clouds from the trailer. well it wasn't episode 5, but right after it aired... crwby started hyping up the next episode, a LOT. barbara and arryn too. going as far as to tell everyone not to go on social media until they'd watched it. could it be...? it couldn't be anything else, right? i was so anxious i woke up like 30 minutes before my alarm. and i waited for the episode to drop, and i finally watched it, and it was beyond my wildest dreams. cried like a baby watching it happen, and cried too when i watched it again, and again, and again. after 9 years of wanting and hoping and waiting it'd finally happened. they even got to kiss in a garden, like i'd been wishing they did since bmblb! can you beelieve it? all that's left is exhaling and enjoy seeing how they maneouver their newfound relationship. i personally can't wait for the following episodes.

#you guys seem to like me talking in lenght about bees so. here?#this is from me posting my art on deviantart #bumbleby #my posts #rwby #rwby9 #rwby9 spoilers

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asmallermorehonestsoul · 10 months

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RWBY Volume 9 Soundtrack Reaction

Inside- Our theme song! A high energy opener for a pretty emotionally packed volume. I would say it’s pretty clearly Ruby’s POV as she struggles with how to move forward after the events of the past few volumes. And of course the talk of “a new me” refers to Ruby’s arc and eventual Ascension at the end of the volume. A really good start!

Checkmate- Fight scene song let’s go! Casey was right to call it bop city, it’s just as fun outside of the scene! And the lyrics are fittingly intense for the stakes of the scene, and love the triumphant feeling it gives. But “and who is your king of the castle now?” We needed Nora in here to show the Red Prince how it’s done!

Chatterbox- Another fight scene song, but less triumphant. It’s a little tough for me to point down who it’s by and about. The talk of smoke and illusions makes me think of Neo, but the riddles and talking a lot makes me think of Curious Cat. But loss and anger might be either of them or Jaune as well, and then there’s the bit about love… a complicated song, but still good!

Worthy (Bmblb, pt. II)- SO PRETTY… THE BEES ARE IN LOVE WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY WHILE I AM CRYING… i def think it is a mix of their POVs though

Trapdoor- This… was a rough listen…. It’s obviously Ruby, my poor girl, she was struggling so much in this volume…

Quiet- And so was Jaune, who it seems this song is the POV of, given the talk about time. And while he might have had time to sit with it, that doesn’t mean he dealt with it in a healthy way, as we know. Oh Jaune… still a very pretty sounding song though.

Guide My Way (Red Like Roses, pt. III)- This song!!! It captures the culmination of Ruby’s arc this volume so well, starting off feeling hopelessly adrift and wondering about Summer’s fate and legacy and if she could ever live up to it. But by the end she finds the strength in herself! Everyone has brought up the “I’m what inspired the fairytale” but it is a pretty badass line and Ruby deserves it. Love our girl!

The Edge- A beautiful conclusion to the tracklist and volume, conveying the feeling of struggle and confusion and growth and hope that the story gave us. Though I already made the Nora joke… well I miss our queen of the castle! Well, maybe Volume 10. It was an incredible journey with RWBY+J, all of whom I love. Let’s hope the show can keep going strong.

Given the nature of the story this volume, I feel like it might have been a little harder to do much analysis, but still a really good soundtrack! Checkmate and Worthy would probably be my top picks though.

#rwby #rwby volume 9 #my reactions

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bmblebys · 3 years

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Hi so I never really post, but I had some thoughts about the bees™ this episode.

Alright so when I first saw Blake look super shy and almost sad when she sees Yang, I was a bit confused. But then it hit me.

So we all know how Yang was scared Blake would think less of her for going opposite ways, right?

Well I was thinking, Blake probably felt that way too. Only she ALSO has to deal with the guilt of having abandoned Yang for the second time. She willingly chose to not go with her, and although it was because she thought helping with Amity was the better thing to do, she can't possibly know what Yang is thinking.

She's probably scared Yang might feel left behind again, so she doesn't know how to act once they're finally reunited.

What if Yang's not ready to forgive her..again?

And so she just kind of shuts down, which is what makes Yang's gesture all the more important.

Yang manages to reassure Blake without having to say anything. In this moment, she understands Blake might have had her same fears, and that right now they share the same sense of relief.

Blake's not going to break her promise.

And neither is Yang.

#rwby #rwby bumbleby #rwby spoilers #rwby v8 #rwby volume 8 #rwby v8 spoilers #bumbleby #bmblb #blake x yang #yang #yang xiao long #blake #blake belladonna #bumblebee #rwby analysis

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hadesisqueer · 4 years

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The thing about people saying that Bumbleby is a forced couple with no build up is that sometimes I wonder if they have eyes or something.

First of all, the storyline is clearly heading that way, but they're not a couple yet, as many antis love to remind the shippers. Therefore, how can they be a forced couple if, as you say, they're not dating yet??? They're STILL developing the couple lmao.

Second, it does have build up. The thing is, you dismissed many of those interactions as friendship, saying that there are a lot of ways of love, not only romantic and all that.

And you're right, there are many ways to love someone, and platonic relationships are just as important as romantic ones. But then again, you are missing a very important detail: the context of the scenes.

You can interpret Yang saying “I love it when you're feisty” and “If you feel like coming out tomorrow, I'll save you a dance *wink*” as friendship considering “Yang tends to be kind of flirty and affectionate with everyone”. It's not entirely true but yeah okay, I get that. There's also the fact that females are more allowed to be affectionate with their other female friends. So when you see a woman being flirty with each other you'll interpret it as friendship when it's actually not. That doesn't happen to straight couples (they will smile to each other once and they will already be in love and the audience will never hace doubts), or mlm ships, because males aren't seen to be as affectionate with each other as females, and when they are, it's seen as romantic (even if they're platonic, and people will call it queerbaiting).

Examples (and no shitting on the other ships. I fucking love Renora):

Renora holds hands after a really emotional moment, or to reassure one another: Totally romantic.

Bumbleby holds hands MULTIPLE TIMES after a really emotional moment, or to reassure one another: Gal pals.

Clover winks at Qrow in a cocky way and says a “lucky you huh”: Damn he's sooo gay.

Yang winks at Blake in a cocky way and literally tells her that she's saving her a dance after a clear joke with the “coming out” thing: A great straight girl!

See what I mean? Honestly I don't blame people for this, because I myself dismissed the whole flirty Yang thing in the first few volumes as just friendship and teasing for the fans. It's just heteronormativity that we all have inside.

However, there are some things that, if you interpret them as friendship... Well.

One of the most obvious ones, and which confirmed to me that Bumbleby was, indeed, romantically coded: THAT scene at Heroes and Monsters. How blind do you have to be to deny that it was meant to be romantic?

You can say “Oh but there are many ways to love not just romantic it could be sisterly love” and as I said, you're right. If you had put Ruby instead of Blake in that situation, it's clear that it would mean sisterly love. But that scene is not meant to be “sisterly”, no matter what you say. Because, the scene is: Exboyfriend threatens Girl to destroy everything she loves and then Other Girl (who was directly compared to Exboyfriend earlier) appears looking for Girl, and Girl looks at her terrified, Exboyfriend notices. You know the rest.

This is, as I call it, the classic “summon love interest” card. If you changed Blake and Yang there and you put Ren and Nora (who, until their backstory in vol 4, didn't even have that much development nor confirmation of being really romantic, just teasing and a song -you know, like Blake and Yang-) in that situation, there's no way people would have thought that it was friendship lol. Damn, if they just made Yang a male, with all the interactions they'd had and that scene, people would have been chanting CANON in that moment.

Also, vol 5 chapter 8. Yeah, that talk in which Yang admits to Weiss that she is really hurt by Blake leaving and that she wished she hadn't because she wanted to be there for her and needed Blake to be there for her as well could be friendship... Except it isn't. Because, considering the past scenes, the ENTIRE conversation and the fact that it took place in the same episode other girl confesses to have romantic feelings for Blake... Well. Oh, and basically the whole reunion scene when all Blake could say was “Yang?” and Yang.exe stopped working. And don't get me started with the songs (come at me with a straight face and tell me that bmblb is about a bike, I fucking dare you). All That Matters just...

And of course, the entirety of their interactions in volume 6.

Oh, and let's ignore the fact that these two characters that pretty much are a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast, because it was a last minute decision pushed by the fans; it's not as if Red like Roses pt 1, the first song that we hear in the series and which lyrics are foreshadow for the characters, literally said that they are “Black the Beast” and “Yellow Beauty”.

“But, Sun”.

Look, I was a Blacksun shipper when I started watching the show; I still am, actually, I just like Bumbleby more. And I understand why people want them together. However, saying that they had better development than Bumbleby as a couple is just not true. Because they have barely any development: the first volumes was just Sun crushing hard on Blake the moment he sees her, and Blake kind of returning the crush but never at the same level or with the same enthusiasm. They barely have any interactions in vol 3. In vol 4 Sun can't understand Blake and she could barely stand him. And in vol 5, Sun has finally given up on Blake romantically speaking and now they get to develop, but as friends.

Also, have this in mind: when Adam fought Sun, he didn't see him as anything else than Blake's classmate, and even called him that. Because he never saw them as a “rival” when it came to Blake. Now, Yang? He tries to kill her out of jealousy the first time he sees her because he noticed the way Blake was looking at her. He tries to kill her again multiple times in that fight in volume 6; again, out of jealousy, because he sees how they're looking at each other. Damn, he even screams “What does she even see in you?” when they fight. So yeah, the fact that Adam, Blake's exboyfriend, is jealous of Yang and sees her as the romantic rival instead of Sun should have told you something back in vol 5.

Look, you don't have to like Bumbleby, and I'm not saying it's perfect, because it isn't; there are things that could definitely have been done better. But saying that it's forced (when, again, they're not dating yet), that they have no build up because you never saw it coming... Watch the show again, man.

#yang xiao long #blake belladonna #bumbleby #bmblb #look i'm just tired #bmblb analysis

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tumblingxelian · 11 months

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Preview 2 - RWBY Is: Doing Slow Burn Romance Right (Bumbleby)

#youtube #RWBY #Yang Xiao Long #Blake Belladonna #Bumbleby #BMBLB #Video #Analysis #Video Essay #RWBY V6 #femslash #Yuri

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bridgyrose · 3 years

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Alright, time for the post that no one asked for! Which ship had more development between Bmblby and Blacksun!

Gonna preface a few things first: I dont particularly ship either ship, so I'm going to do this with as little bias as possible.

This is only over the first 3 volumes, so anything after the fall of Beacon isnt taken into consideration right now.

And the rules are as follows:

First, winking will not be considered. Since people keep saying a wink isnt inherently confirming of a relationship, I'll ignore any winks and judge the scenes based on the content.

Second, scenes will be judged by whether or not you could replace any character and still get the same effect. (the more you can replace, the better in my opinion)

And lastly, since I keep seeing this coming up as well, the only evidence I will consider for absolute confirmation is of any sort of kiss in the first 3 volumes. Although, its going to feel a bit rushed and out of nowhere since the first 3 volumes takes place over 4-6 months at best.

Without further ado... everything will be under the cut.

Starting with Vol 1, after re-watching, there really wasn't any build up to either ship. Which, doesnt surprise me considering that Sun doesnt show up until the end of Vol 1 and the entirety of that volume is centered around introducing the characters, the world in which they live, and just general ideas on what it's like being a huntsman academy. But there are still a few scenes to note in vol 1:

Initiation: Its a quick blur, but you can see Blake rush across the screen once we see Yang walking through the forest. At that point, its safe to assume that Blake had already made her choice on who she wanted, which is further implemented with Blake helping Yang out with an Ursa.

Its safe to assume that between talking with Ruby the night before and seeing hearing how what she thought of Yang didn't quite match her thoughts.

Our next scene comes to Sun and his infamous "slow-mo wink introduction." As per the rules, I'm ignoring the wink and going straight off the content of the scene itself. Which, doesnt leave much. We know he pinpoints Blake as a faunus very quickly and he has some sort of infatuation with her, but the scene alone doesnt give us much.

However, that one does lead into the end of the Vol: Blake runs off from her friends and takes her bow off to finally show us her ears. At which point, Sun comments that he knew she'd look better without it. So that already shows that 1) Sun definitely pinpointed Blake being a faunus early on, and 2) he wanted to talk to her and this provided the right opportunity. Or... so he thought. Especially since the next scene opens up with him half complaining that they've spent 2 days together and all she's done is make small talk.

Which is all pretty on par for Blake. She then spends the next bit talking about her past, how she was pretty much born into the White Fang, stayed with it after it went from peaceful protests to more anger filled, until leaving Adam just a few months ago. After all of this, Sun asks if she's told her friends, to which we can assume she answers no to, you know, since she ran. Overall, it ends up leading Sun into going a bit gung-ho about helping Blake with the White fang.

Overall, Vol 1 did well to start putting together dynamics between Blake and her friends. Sun and Yang both make different impressions on Blake, both of which she ends up seeing as friends... for now.

Vol 2, is a bit of a strange one. Our first introduction to Beacon is Sun basically telling Neptune how cool team RWBY is, emphasizing a bit on Blake. Which does end up bringing us to the meat of the first half of vol 2: Blake worrying over the White Fang. Now, because of this, we dont see any build up between Blake and Sun or Blake and Yang while they go around town to figure out what the White Fang and Torchwick are up to. Sun makes a good point that Blake shouldnt go to the rally alone, and the two pair off while Yang goes to the club with Neptune.

Once the dance arc comes along, that's where things take an interesting turn. Sun immediately asks a sleep deprived Blake to the dance, in probably the most awkward way since he's trying to say the dance is lame, but would be less lame if the two of them went together.

Sun definitely cares about Blake and actively tried to help her calm down a bit. Which, ultimately, she never says no, just that she doesnt have time for a dance. So, I give this one a +1 in points for build up.

Then, we get to the burning the candle speech. Which, a lot of people seem to write off as either pointless or not build up. Personally, it gets a +1 in points on build up for me on this. First, Yang is absolutely worried about her partner, seeing her go down the same path she did when she was much younger. She immediately starts by telling Blake that she doesnt want her to stop, just to slow down and take a breather. And she ultimately makes a strong point: slowing down isnt a luxury, its a necessity.

This also end s up being the first time we see Yang open up and drop the party girl demeanor that she's had. She talks about her mother, someone that she doesnt talk to many people about, and just how much it hurt her to find out that Raven left shortly after she was born.

After an emotionally charged discussion, we finally see the point that Yang had been trying to get Blake to see:

And it finally does work. Blake slows down, takes a rest, and ultimately enjoys herself at the dance. Which, in her own words, she technically goes with Sun.

Overall, the dance arc in general gives great build up to both ships. Which ultimately is the end for the Black Sun build up.

Bmblby doesnt get much more build up in vol 2, the only other notable scene being the campfire where Yang, Blake, and Weiss start opening up a bit more to each other to figure out why each of them are becoming huntresses. Which absolutely gives a bit more foundation to the friendships they have.

Vol 3 ends up having most of the build up between Blake and Yang. The first major scene being after Yang was disqualified for breaking Mercury's leg. When Yang finally asked her team if they trust her, Blake is the only one who doesnt immediately say yes, instead, saying she wants to. Leading us to this face from Yang:

(yes, I know, captions are a bit off, deal with it.)

But Yang ends up being distressed by her own partner saying that she wants to trust, but doesnt yet. Blake ultimately ends up opening up about Adam, telling us how she used to trust him... until accidents started piling up. Eventually, she looks at Yang and asks her to look her in the eye and tell her she didnt do anything wrong. When Yang does, Blake allows herself to trust Yang.

Which then brings us to the biggest piece of buildup between the two: Adam. When Adam shows up, he starts using words like "my darling", hammering in that at one point, the two had something going on. He decides immediately he wants to hurt Blake just like she hurt him by leaving. But what really hammers in Blake's feelings for Yang, is the fear she had on her face when she heard Yang's voice not so far away... and right where Adam can hear her. It doesnt take long for Adam to look down at Blake, notice the fear, and then look in the direction of Yang, ultimately stating that he'll destroy everything Blake loves, starting with her.

Now, I know a lot of people will dismiss that as "it could've been anyone. If Sun had shown up, it would've been the same." And honestly, yes, it would've. This moment here is what solidifies who Blake ultimately cares about. Had it been Sun to come around, no doubt she'd show the same fear. But it wasnt him. Instead, it was Yang, who immediately found Weiss and asked where Blake had gone. And we further see her feelings for Yang cemented by the way she blames herself that Yang got hurt. The way she stays close, gently reaches for Yang's hand, the emotion of the entire scene after they get to safety.

Sun does ultimately care about Blake, and helps out where he can, but at least in vol 3, he had his own priorities of making sure everyone could make it to safety.

TL;DR: Both ships had a bit of build up in vol 2 and 3, although, the build up that Bmblby had outweighs the buildup that Blacksun has. Blake definitely had feelings for both, but ultimately, it took until Adam was a threat for her to realize the feelings that she had for Yang, and even then, she still wasnt entirely sure what they were until later in the series. At this point, the only reason anyone can say that Bmblby has little build up is due to either a higher bar for f/f ships (because, lets face it, everyone takes the wink from vol 1 as absolute confirmation for blacksun because its m/f) or they continue to deny that sometimes, there are multiple ways to show buildup between two people for a relationship and the slowburn route usually takes an emotional route over a physical route. And look, Blake has two hands. Take that as you will.

#rwby #rwby analysis #the post no one asked for #blacksun #rwby bmblb #bumbleby #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #sun wukong

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