#marrow getting a faunus hero to look up to

[itsclydebitches]

Sort of related to the "Tail Discourse" (tm) but you ever notice that pretty much every Faunas with a trait that can be used in combat or isn't just purely for aesthetics is villainous or at least starts as an antagonist? Tyrian, Illa, the two goons that the Fennecs had...Sun is like, the only exception and even then he doesn't really use his tail much.

Yeah, there are definitely examples on both sides, but generally speaking the heroes tend to skew towards cute and/or aesthetically passive, whereas the villains' faunus traits are more overtly connected to their villainy (AKA their combat and how they're using that to attack others). Blake, Velvet, and Fiona all get the cute ears. Sun, Marrow, and Neon get the tails that, while could be used prominently in combat, really aren't. Now compare that to Tyrian's 'scary' tail playing a key role in his fighting style: stopping Nora's hammer in the reveal, poisoning Qrow, getting cut off, etc. Tock's teeth are used to scare Maria. Tifra's webs are used to capture Blake. Yuma's bat wings are meant to aesthetically characterize him as one of the bad guys. Ilia uses her camouflage to attack and betray Blake.

It's by no means a clear cut division. Ilia's camouflage is also used as an indicator of romance, the Albain brothers get cute fox traits, and Lionheart is a villain with a fairly useless tail. But on the whole I'd say RWBY emphasizes 'undesirable' faunus traits in its villains (note that Ilia was redeemed and Lionheart was a former hero), in larger part because they want those 'scary' features to help sell the villainy. This includes Adam whose horns are compounded by the White Fang's desire to look as fearsomely animalistic as possible--more like the grimm. It's by no means a coincidence though that we have this pseudo-division. When RT wants to write a Good main character, they're more likely to give them adorable ears that help sell merch and feed into cultural assumptions about anime girls. When they want to write a Bad main character they're more likely to give them dangerous, threatening traits to emphasize that biased view between morality and aesthetics. People like cats better than scorpions. That's as far as their thought process has gone. But how different might the fight have been received if, somehow, Ruby had cut off Tyrian's cute cat ears instead of his spooky scorpion tail?

Though I'm not surprised by the division, it is disappointing in this day and age. Other shows have done a much better job of pushing back against those assumptions and saying, "If people have animal traits in this world, there's no reason why what we currently consider cute would automatically go to the Good characters. Let's mix it up." One example that immediately comes to mind is She-Ra, which basically gives us a reversal: the cute cat is the main antagonist for most of the series and the buff scorpion girl with tail AND claws becomes one of the main heroes. RT is too concerned with simplistic aesthetic preferences to play with assumptions like that though. So the heroes are mostly cute, harmless animals (cats, sheep, rabbits, monkeys, dogs, deer, chameleons) whereas the villains are mostly scary, dangerous animals (scorpions, bulls, bats, spiders, crocodiles, lions, big, vicious, scary dogs). We've long known that RWBY has this simplistic, moral divide and this is just one more example of how it tends to play out.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[bug-the-chicken-nug]

on my latest rwby au bullshit, which I think i will officially start to also tag as the "Silver Wolf" AU.

Silver Wolf AU: Premise

A combo of Ruby being a wolf faunus (on top of getting rid of the stupid rule about one trait because fuck that i want her to have the ears, tail, AND sharp teeth and nails) and having silver eyes, but silver eyed warriors now being considered like... this creepy-but-unfortunately-necessary group who barely anybody wants to really associate with, under fear of it "cursing" you. By extension, they are now known as "Witches" rather than "Warriors", regardless of gender. (This also makes it possible to just shorten it to 'Witch' and have it already be pretty obvious what a character is talking about, so it rolls off the tongue better, while also creating this uncomfortable implication that these people are put on the same level as Salem despite directly opposing her.) The "curse" is a more superstitious exaggeration of the unfortunate reality that associating with them really can put you at risk of becoming collateral when they're hunted down, on top of their eyes now being not all-or-nothing Grimm nuking, but instead having a sort of "level up" system, and the potential to unlock certain abilities that can affect people too. (the new common thread being that all of these abilities have to do with sensing and/or eliminating "darkness" and "negativity", not just Grimm) The fear of association, powers that can be directed towards humans, and the societal shunning would also do a lot to help explain exactly why Witches are so scattered and fragmented, and why people know so little about them. Because in canon, it just seems like they should be heroes who everyone should know about and have a vested interest in supporting.

Relationships:

Also, this AU would 100% be a Ladybug thing. Because I can just see Blake standing up for Ruby, and Ruby immediately being head over heels in response, but having no idea how to actually express it and also being paranoid that Blake will just think she's weird like everyone else. (And meanwhile Blake is paranoid about how Ruby will react if she finds out that Blake is technically a terrorist, and also friend/sister-zoning Ruby big time for the first few volumes, less out of a genuine lack of interest and more because of her subconscious fear of commitment)

Although there'd also be other fragments of Ruby ship teases, just because I imagine this version of her to have developed "gets a crush on anyone who's nice to her for five seconds" syndrome. (Yes I'm sorry, I know a ton of y'all hate Jaune but my Ruby's friendless, bullied, avoided, desperate-for-validation ass sees him being nice to her and unafraid of her for like ten seconds and is lowkey already thinking about a spring wedding.) This also includes a one-sided crush on Ozpin, just for how I think that'd be kinda narratively interesting and potentially a little fucked up. (Especially because the full nuance of why it's interesting can change depending on how grey this Ozpin's morals end up being. Is he subtly using it as leverage? Could this version of him be dickish enough to lead her on? Does he do it on purpose? Or does he even notice her feelings at all? Does he notice and subtly try to discourage it? What happens when he gets stuck in Oscar?) And a crush on Marrow, literally just because I think it'd be funny. Marrow: *obliviously friendly* Ruby: *practically ready to become Ruby Amin, just because he's a fellow Faunus, complimented Crescent Rose, and didn't say anything about her eyes* Blake, looking on: hmst,,, don't know why but. this is bad, actually. Weiss: *sighing deeply* you obviously know why. Meanwhile I figure Yang is human, because only Summer was a Faunus, and it kinda puts this weird Thing between her and Ruby where Ruby both greatly admires and envies her, but lowkey resents her, because she feels like Yang will never truly understand what she goes through, and gets to "have it easy". On her own end, Yang has had to sacrifice a lot of social opportunities to prioritize a good standing with Ruby, because even just admitting relation to Ruby makes people treat Yang differently anyway. So Ruby thinks of herself as a burden, and Yang is desperately trying to hide the fact that she *agrees* with Ruby, deep down. She thinks the burden is *worth it*, but she doesn't know a way of properly conveying "It's okay that you're a burden sometimes, I know it's not your fault, and I still love you even if I get frustrated with you sometimes" that doesn't make her feel incredibly guilty and paranoid that she sounds insincere. And finally (at least for now) I think this would be inch-resting for Adam because now Ruby has something that can actually give her something to do with him too, and make her feel more connected to the things that go on around her. She could even have weird mixed feelings on him, stemming from him seeing her silver eyes and not only expressing approval of them, but trying to get her to come around to his side, using the extra discrimination she's faced because of them to try and butter her up and manipulate her.

#rwde #rwby #ruby rose #silver eyes #Silver Wolf AU

[constantvariations]

Hi, it's the same anon. We see Jaune and his sister's relationship before the trip to Atlas. It's warm. They fool around. Also, Jaune without hatred or aggression tells Ruby he has 7 sisters. Compare this to Weiss. We learn Jacques is bad not even from Weiss. We find out it is Blake who is talking about SDC. In v1 we are shown motivated the characters to go to Beacon and what their relationships are with their families. We see the difference between the Weiss and Ruby families. We are immediately given to understand Jacques is a bad person. We are given to understand that part of Yang's family is fractured and she loves Summer as her mother. But she keeps looking for Raven. We see Summer is dead. We see Summer was a good mother. We see who Ruby got her inspiration from. Ruby has a favorite uncle. Even Blake tells us very little information about herself. Yes, she grew up among the White Fang and went to protests. But she still has privileges. They talk about the problems of the faunus, but do not show them. We know there is a White Fang. They have protests that have gone too far. But we don't see any racism toward the fauns. Even in the most racist kingdom, we don't see racism. We see an unfortunate example of racism when the heroes just show up in town. And that's it. That's just it. There is a faunus among the Ace-Ops and no one cares. No one makes racist comments. Although Marrow's portrayal of himself is very racist. They made him a dark-skinned dog/wolf on purpose, didn't they? And they kept trying to show us how good he was. He was getting into all the timeline they had. He was a very handy tool when they decided to make James evil. Jaune doesn't talk about being forbidden to train. Jaune just went along with the crime. Blake had a reason for running away. Jaune had no reason to run away. He's just a fantasist. He didn't even know anything about the aura. Aura is a hunter's most basic skill. I wouldn't be surprised if they told us that Jaune had an abusive family all along and was forbidden to look at guns because he was a boy.

Hello again, anon! I have no idea what draws you to my blog in particular for these, but I am pleasantly surprised

Jaune’s family is mostly an enigma. Yes, we see him and Saphron (honestly I forget she exists 99% of the time) and it is a saccharine sibling dynamic, but they never mention any of the other sisters. No names, no shared memories, nothing beside the fact that Jaune and Saphron are the only ones not living at home. (Ngl when I first heard that my immediate thought was that it was a cult family and these two were the only ones to escape. It’d be a really cool subplot imo.) I think there’s a single off-handed line about Jaune’s parents in one of the early seasons, but I don’t care enough to check. Either way, there’s no concrete evidence as to the web of dynamics in the Arc family

I can’t agree with the assessment that Blake, in talking about the SDC as a whole, is the one to introduce the idea of Jacques not being a good person. A company isn’t a person. That’s like trying to pin all of RT’s own scandals on one person instead of acknowledging it’s a massive mess with dozens of participants. It’s still Weiss who talks about Jacques as a person when she tells the group that his anger at business gone bad made for a difficult childhood, and it’s through her story that we learn more of who he is as both a father and a businessman

I’m not entirely sure the purpose of the comparison between the RWBY families. It circles back to your issues with Blake and the White Fang, but I don’t know how the two connect. Unless they weren’t supposed to? It’s difficult to read long asks when there’s no paragraph breaks between topics

The racism in RWBY is poorly implemented because its writers were and are cowards about their world. They want the aesthetics of deep themes and adult topics, but have no idea about how to actually do that. What we end up with is la croix racism, where bigotry looks like high school bullying (Velvet getting her ears pulled, Robin calling Marrow “Wags,” some drunkards being mean to Blake)

When you make peace with the fact that RWBY is written by people who have no idea what they’re doing, you’ll have way more fun with this series. It won’t erase the bad writing, the promises of representation that they backpedaled on, the inherent bigotry throughout the show, BUT it will give you enough distance from the Watsonian universe that you can pluck the parts of the show you like and run away with them in your imagination

That’s why there’s so many rewrites - and the especially fun thing about that is how every individual’s experience/interpretation will dramatically change how they rearrange RWBY. No Remnant will look exactly the same as another and I think that’s beautiful

#rwde #ngl anon im v curious abt what prompted these messages #im not usually the person people send whole ass essays to lol but i do enjoy replying to them #you also seem v invested in blake jaune and weiss #specifically in dragging both blake and jaune at weiss's feet #you aint gotta justify your love of weiss my guy. shes a fun character. love away #and honestly im always down for jaune hate so long as its accurate #idc how many times crwby say jaunes not an author insert. yes he is. hes a manic pixie dream girl #why bother hating on shit thats entirely speculation when the show is like. right there #blakes just disappointing through and through #she was my fav until v4 rolled around ;^; #i miss that sarcastic deadpan bitch #who is this new girl. i dont know her #thanks for asking #anon hours

[lunaeloves]

God I’ve been having this r/wby thought for a bit

Rabbit is a faunus activist to continue her family legacy on fighting for justice and marrow looking up to her as his hero and everything

Basically fanboying when he meets her during the r/wby and co arrest like

“I wrote my senior thesis on you and your family! What an honor miss rabbit!”

He talks to her as much as he can and they speak in the menagerie slang that makes almost everyone wonder what they’re talking abt

Like tell me this isn’t super cute, you can’t!

#lunae laughs #the rabbit aesthetic #marrow says! #that’s his tag now #cant believe I didn’t have a tag for him before #like I swear I did!! #oh well #gotta remember this one lmao #but yeah head empty #marrow getting a faunus hero to look up to

[alexkablob]

We All Have To Get Along vs I Outrank You: Effective Leadership In The Kingdom of Atlas

Alright, so, Robyn and Winter (or Mantle and Atlas, if you will) actually provide us a great example of how—and how not—to be an effective leader.

Let’s start with the good example: a brief spat between Robyn and May in A Night Off.

May antagonizes Marrow to try and get him (and Penny) to leave security to the Happy Huntresses, because she obviously doesn’t trust General Ironwood’s assigned “security” as far as she can throw them. Robyn arrives, asking what’s going on, and May and Joanna both visibly expect Robyn to join in on their side and kick Marrow out.

But then she walks up to Marrow and...doesn’t do that. She tells him it’s fine, he can stay. May’s caught entirely off-guard—she gasps in surprise, because Robyn just sided with a member of the AceOps over her, what the hell?

But then Robyn provides her reasoning: she’s running for a seat on the Council of Atlas that she’s widely expected to win. They have to play nice, because even though they oppose Ironwood they’re going to have to be able to have a working relationship with him if they want to get any of their goals accomplished. May sees Marrow and Penny’s presence as a provocation, or maybe even part of a plot against them—Robyn’s choosing to see it as an olive branch, a sign that Ironwood is acknowledging them in an official capacity, and it can’t have escaped her notice that he chose to send the two members of his team that would be the least objectionable in Mantle; the city’s official protector and the only Faunus AceOp.

She looks at May, expectantly, with a smile on her face. Holds steady eye contact until May breaks off in a huff, rolls her eyes, and stalks away. She very much just pulled rank on May, in front of the enemy no less, but—and this is very important—she didn’t humiliate her. She didn’t make it hurt, she didn’t hit her in the ego. May walks off annoyed, grumbling under her breath, sure. But she also walks away knowing that Robyn is right even if she’s mad about it, because May trusts Robyn implicitly. Why? Robyn just demonstrated why. Because Robyn Hill is an effective leader who trusts her subordinates and so is trusted in return.

I ask once again what we would do without Robyn Hill, the hero Atlas deserves and the one it needs.

For contrast...the much remarked-upon moment between Winter and Harriet in War.

Winter tells Yang, Jaune, and Ren that she’ll let them make their attempt to rescue Oscar, but that they won’t wait for them to be clear before setting off the bomb. Harriet raises some very valid concerns, from her point of view—they’re fugitives, they’re traitors, General Ironwood explicitly ordered Winter not to let them out of her sight just a few minutes before this. And what’s Winter’s response? A cold, contemptuous “I outrank you.”

That’s it. End of discussion. Because this is Atlas, and the only thing they run on is appeals to authority for its own sake, or outright violence—both of which we’ve seen Winter has a history of resorting to with subordinates, be they common soldiers (”You have ten seconds to take those off before I start hurting you.”) or Weiss in V3. Which is a fascinating bit of cognitive dissonance on Winter’s part, because what do you know, General Ironwood outranks her. Yet here she is, directly countermanding an order of his in the field, and expecting her subordinates to follow her for no other reason than because she told them to do so. And they do, for the moment, because they’ve had that instinct instilled into them the same way Winter has...but man, they are not united in it.

Unlike May, Harriet comes away from this spat with even less reason to trust Winter’s leadership—and she already visibly didn’t. (There’s a brief but significant moment in Midnight where Harriet glances over to see how Winter is reacting to JYR’s appearance before she starts talking before Winter can, having seen Winter freeze up.) 

Which, she is, to be brutally honest, correct to not trust Winter’s leadership, because Winter being placed in command of the AceOps is entirely bullshit and reflective of how Atlas views its soldiers as replaceable cogs. Harriet, frankly, should have been promoted to replace Clover, because she was already acting as second-in-command, but Ironwood doesn’t care about making sure the AceOps are an effective unit right now, he cares about making sure they follow his orders no matter how suicidal they are. And Winter is the one who he trusts most, because his idea of trust is all about control, and Winter is the one who he’s spent years molding into someone who will gladly die for him. 

(How ironic, then, that Winter disobeyed an order of his that Harriet would have followed.)

Not to mention that Winter is most likely younger and less experienced than anyone else in the AceOps save for Marrow, that Ironwood has promoted her too far too fast, beyond the level that she has the experience and ability to manage, that the reason she caught his eye in the first place is due more to the social connections stemming from her last name than any skill of her own, that all of that has given Winter the subconscious expectation that she should be given more trust and authority than others—and damn, that subtext is barely even subtext, isn’t it?

#rwby #winter schnee #robyn hill #harriet bree #may marigold #long post

[kitkatopinions]

‘Alright, so in answering this ask right here about the worst line in RWBY:

I gave a couple options off of the top of my head, but have gotten a great response of more completely ridiculous lines that are meant to be taken seriously, but are instead terrible and ruin the immersion of the story. And I thought it might be fun to actually put all of the nominated lines in a post and then invite everyone to vote on what line is actually the worst line in RWBY. Please comment or send me an ask with your vote (anonymous is fine if that’s more comfortable for you,) and I’ll tally ‘em up and get together a top five worst quotes as voted for by the general rwde community.

The contestants for “The Worst Line of Dialogue in RWBY so far” are:

1. “All I do is make dumb jokes and smash things with a hammer.” - Nora Valkyrie S8E11 - ‘Risk’

2. "We've been in bad situations before, and we didn't need an adult to come save us or tell us what to do!" - Ruby Rose S6E9 - ‘Lost’

3. “No more Gretchens, boy.” - Hazel Reinhart S8E9 - ‘Witch’

4. “N- No! I just remembered you being more of the quiet one.” - Weiss Schnee S5E14 - ‘Haven’s Fate’

5. "You've done the right thing." "I have. Feels weird." - James Ironwood and Emerald Sustrai S8E12 - ‘Creation’

6. “No, you have sacrificed everyone else! You closed the borders, you squeezed Mantle until it broke!” - Winter Schnee S8E14 - ‘The Final Word’

7. “The mechanical parts are just... extra.” Yang Xiao Long S8E12 - ‘Creation’

8. “I don't know if you can hear me, but I need you, Ruby. We all need you.” - Blake Belladonna S8E8 - ‘Dark’

9. “Let me choose… this one thing… trust me…” - Penny Polendina S8E14 - ‘The Final Word’

10. “I suppose I have all of you to thank for one last lesson. Sometimes, if you want to win ...You simply can't do it alone.” - Cinder Fall S8E13 - ‘Worthy’

11. “I thought… you said we could keep it.” - Ruby Rose S7E11 - ‘Gravity’

12. “I used to wear this rank with pride, now I see it for what it really is: a collar” - Marrow Amin S8E11 - ‘Risk’

13. “Clover was a lot of things. You respected him, but I gotta tell ya, I think you’re a better Huntsman. Not because you’re the one who walked away, but, because you’re the one who was fighting for what was right.” - Robyn Hill S8E11 - ‘Risk’

14. “Then you’re as dangerous as she is, James.” - Oscar Pine S7E13 - ‘The Enemy of Trust’

15. “So... The destiny I chose for you has arrived.” - James Ironwood S8E14 - ‘The Final Word’

16. “I am so sick of secrets!”  - Nora Valkyrie S7E7 - ‘Worst Case Scenario’

17. “We can do something… We can kill the man who put us here...” - Qrow Branwen S8E2 - ‘Refuge’

18. “How are we supposed to find Oscar? It's going to be like finding a needle in a... giant... whale. Why did we think this was a good idea?” - Yang Xiao Long S8E9 - ‘Witch’

19. “It was a little strange at first because you were younger, but I've always looked up to you, Ruby. And I still do.” - Blake Belladonna S8E8 - ‘Dark’

20. “Then nothing has changed! We’re in the exact same spot we were yesterday. Arguing what to do while the Kingdom waits to die.” - Ruby Rose S8E11 - ‘Risk’

21. “Believe it or not, I know a little of what that’s like.” - Robyn Hill S8E4 - ‘Fault’

22. “But... they're just kids.” Marrow Amin S8E9 - ‘Witch’

23. “Kill me and the powers will go to you.” - Penny Polendina S8E11 - ‘Risk’

24. “Look, I’m just going to be super pissed if you all finally decided to give up the moment I switch sides.” - Emerald Sustrai S8E11 - ‘Risk’

25. “Some heroes choose the wrong side” - Season 8 Opening theme song

26. “Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop!” - Ruby Rose S5E12 - ‘Vault of the Spring Maiden’

27. “Humans didn't do this. We did this: Faunus. We did this to ourselves.” - Blake Belladonna S5E10 - ‘True Colors’

28. “She’s not protecting me, Adam. and I’m not protecting her. We’re protecting each other.” - Blake Belladonna S6E11 - ‘The Lady in the Shoe

29. “I didn’t forget you.” - Weiss Schnee S8E8 - ‘Dark’

30. “James will take the fall. I’ll make sure of it.” - Qrow Branwen S7E12 - ‘With Friends Like These’

You can vote via commenting or sending me one of the whole quotes listed above or the corresponding number I assigned them. Thanks in advance to anyone who votes! :)

#rwde #rwby hate #rwby bashing #anti rwby #rwby criticism

[gemtail]

Uh oh, guys!!!!!! I’m in biiiiiiiig twouble! I just told a very sour anti directly that I love rosegarden UwU

...don’t worry, I blocked. I ain’t wasting my time with that. People are not worth arguing with about ships and it was a mega whiterose shipper. I really shouldn’t be surprised that some Whiterose shippers especially get angry about Rosegarden. Like, I get it, I HATE seeing my favorite ships get ‘ruined’ by canon ships but... no amount of complaining changes canon and you wind up looking like a jerk. 

Also... you can still ship a ship despite the canon. I ship Kacchako from my Hero Academia, Zutara from ATLA, and I still love blacksun. But I also respect the canon ships. My favorite rwby ship currently? I absolutely LOVE slushpuppies in RWBY even though it’s such a rare pair ship and probably won’t amount to anything... but by god, I LOVE THE CONCEPT OF WEISS FALLING IN LOVE WITH A FAUNUS!!!! And it would be so awesome if it was Marrow!

And you know, I wanted blacksun to happen so bad that I did have to take a break from RWBY for a bit after V6. But I came back thinking ‘screw it, I love the show more than I want my favorite ship to be canon’ and I still love it and I learned to love and accept bmblb, too.

#rwby #ships #ship wars #shipping #whiterose #rosegarden #rg #it'll be fine #you can still love a non canon ship #weiss #weiss schnee #ruby rose #oscar pine

[spectralscathath]

Ruby

Send me a RWBY character and I’ll tell you:

Ruby Rose

My top three ships for the character

Sun/Ruby, Mercury/Ruby, Marrow/Ruby

My three least favorite ships for the character

Weiss/Ruby, Jaune/Ruby, Oscar/Ruby

My biggest criticism for the character

What is there to say about Ruby? She wants to have her cake and eat it too. She wants to be a hero at any cost. She wants all of the accolades and praise without any of the work, get the privileges and perks of being a Huntress without any of the responsibilities. She wants to save everyone, and will actively refuse to let anyone else save anyone. She wants everyone to help her, and if they refuse, she calls them villains. She wants to be treated as an adult, but when confronted she hides behind her excuse of ‘I’m just a kid don’t be mean to me’.

Ruby is the character who was told ‘don’t steal’ and nearly caused the destruction of Argus. Ruby is the character who said ‘how could you hide the truth about Salem from us’ and then did the exact same thing to James. Ruby is the character who trapped Atlas to protect Mantle, then abandoned Mantle for Amity. Ruby is the character who sips tea in a mansion while soldiers die on a battlefield that she put them onto. Ruby is the character who runs off crying about how hard things are and waits for someone else to give her the answer. Ruby is the character who decides ‘there’s no saving a city that I trapped here, so let’s toss everyone into an inhospitable desert’. 

And the worst thing is that the story supports this. Ruby doesn’t have to do anything, the story drops the answer into her lap. She causes problems and then the writers hand her a solution because they don’t seem to understand that a character who always wins is boring and annoying. Ruby doesn’t get to learn, or grow, or actually have any sort of interesting character arc. She just gets solutions and power-ups handed to her like candy. And honestly? She’s verging on becoming a Mary Sue. 

Now, I know that’s a loaded term, and everyone thinks ‘mary sue is a derogatory term for powerful woman character, and the people who use it are sexist incels’. And while that can happen, let’s talk about what a Mary Sue actually is. A Mary Sue is not ‘your fanfic oc that has purple eyes and superpowers’, there’s nothing wrong with that, that’s just for fun. What a Mary Sue is, and when it becomes a writing problem, is when the story exists to glorify the Sue. When the story is written not from the perspective of ‘I want to tell a story’, but instead is written from the starting point of ‘look how cool this character is’, that is when Sueness is a problem. And this is where Ruby risks turning into a Mary Sue. She doesn’t get challenged. She doesn’t lose. The writers refuse to have her lose, because she’s been decided as ‘the hero’. The show is written from the perspective of ‘Ruby is the Best’, and not ‘this is a story about Ruby’s hero journey’. 

And that makes her dull. Nowadays Ruby is a grabbag of cool traits, special powers, heroic speeches, and quippy oneliners. There’s nothing behind her eyes. She’s empty, and therefore the story around her is empty as well. 

My favorite thing about the character

I think her design is so cute. She’s just a cute character, and here’s a wierd thing: I love making AUs where something about her is different, because she’s really fun to toss into AUs as a main character. I have my Antares AU, where she’s a scorpion faunus, I have my ROSE-6 AU, where she’s a robot, I have my old Dreamwalker AU that I haven’t looked at in ages, I have an AU where the Branwen Twins are Salem’s children, and in this Ruby takes on more of a Luke Skywalker role, being hidden as Summer’s child and going under the name Ruby Wolffe... She’s a very fun character to put into dynamic and different aus. 

A headcanon I have about them

I’ve talked before about how I wish the silver eyes were trauma/adrenaline/negativity-fuelled rather then ‘the power of love’, but that’s more of a general headcanon. For Ruby herself, I love the idea that she doesn’t remember Summer at all. That her memories of Summer she sees are just her trying to recreate any memory. She wants to think that she loves Summer, because everyone says Summer was wonderful and heroic and a good mom, so she goes to talk to Summer’s grave, and she wears a cloak like Summer, and she becomes a Huntress like Summer, because she thinks: maybe this is what mom would want? Maybe this is what she was like? Maybe this is some way for me to learn about her?

I love the idea that Ruby doesn’t love Summer. She feels like she should love Summer, that she should love her mom, but she never knew Summer. How do you love someone you’ve never known? So she crafts an idea of her, as a perfect mom, someone Ruby never knew, and maybe never would have missed if she hadn’t forced herself to grieve for someone she never knew. And maybe, deep down, part of her hates Summer for never being there in the first place, but that can’t be right. Summer died a hero. You can’t hate someone for that, right?

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

In canon I would have her terrible attitudes get challenged. I’d make her lose. I’d make her be wrong. I’d make her have to face consequences for her actions. I’d also fix her fighting style because it’s so boring and terrible now. And her semblance ‘evolution’ is dumb. I would have preferred ‘short-term speed and mobility enhancement, that still retains mass’, because it’s more fun that way for me. 

However, I also kinda like, just for fun, what if she was a faunus?

What I I think of their character allusion and what (if anything) I would change about it

I like it! I think it’s a fun allusion and it’s present but it’s not overbearing. It’s one of the few allusions that’s still used well, in my book, because it’s simple. “Girl in a red hood travelling to meet an old woman, and she’s got to avoid dangerous monster”.

#rwby #rwde #ruby rose #asks

[undeadwicchan]

RWBY Volume 8, Episode 1 “Divide” Thoughts + Reaction

Well well, we’re back! And this episode was a very pleasant surprise of how good the writing this episode has.

Spoilers below!

Cinder’s backstory is very faithful to her allusion. 

Poor Neo looks so confused and uncertain. 

They did a really good job on Monstro, especially how fleshy it is. 

Neo’s reaction to Cinder lying saying she did all the hard work. She’s gonna backstab her I can feel it. 

Tyrian’s tail is so expressive here I love it!

Cinder’s and Tyrian’s back and forth chatter shows that Cinder isn’t as scared of him as she was in V4 it looks like. 

Man Neo looks so offended by Cinder’s remarks. That’s gonna bite Cinder in the ass.

MERCURY AND EMERALD FINALLY GET NEW CLOTHES YES.

I like Hazel’s new outfit… not sure on his haircut however. 

Also damn, looks like Mercury’s talk was ineffective on Em….Hopefully that changes soon.

Damn Salem really out here telling Cinder to go sit on the bench for this one lmfao

You know I always wondered if Adam spent his childhood in those slums. 

I love that Badgar Faunus, and I hope he lives. 

Ozpin sounds so done with the “Heads Up” I imagine he’s probably upset at RWBY still.

“Every choice I made was the wrong one” VS “I’ve made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet” 

Don’t think I notice that quick blush from Oscar CRWBY.

Ren and Nora sitting at different tables oof. 

Awwww Oscar was expecting an attack hug but got a comforting one instead.

Interesting Oscar is hiding that Ozpin is back from them. And it’s neat how he doesn’t need to talk out loud to reply to him anymore.

I’m really liking Johanna

I’m really liking the conflict between Yang and Ruby here

Also the direction here for this scene with people that side with one side showing up right by them

I’m...siding with Ruby on this one. 

Damn Yang! That was cold!

Bless Jaune for being the balance for this discussion.

Penny no sweetie…. 

Blake’s and Weiss’s reaction to Yang is just oof. 

Ooof Ren and Nora fighting…

Oh yikes, Ironwood is calling Penny. 

Man he’s trying so hard to sound stable. 

I get the feeling Penny is gonna break at some point in the volume

AWWWW Marrow’s face ;-;

Harriet is pissed.

That Hero Leitmotif!

This scene is really chilling. Ironwood just flat out shot him.

Oscar. RUN.

The opening’s visuals are really good and cement my burning theory that Penny is either gonna snap or get hacked because she is seen facing the heroes instead of being with them. It looks like Cinder is gonna use the lamp and Oscar is gonna get tortured by Salem….

Overall, a really enjoyable start to Volume 8. I wonder how many people we saw will still be alive by the end of Volume 8.

#RWBY #rwby volume 8 spoilers #RWBY Spoilers

[ac-liveblogs]

RWBY vol 8, ep 11

, So... what narrative purpose does Ironwood diving off the morality cliff actually serve at this point? Because he’s kinda overshadowing Salem as the major threat at this point, and I’m really getting tired of the “but Atlas! But Mantle! But Atlas!” tug o’ war. tbh

I’m assuming his actions are going to be what results in Salem getting the Staff and Atlas falling, but like... we’re sure taking a long time to get there.

Okay, the decision to make the dog faunus call working for Ironwood equivalent to wearing a collar is... a choice

For someone willing to shoot Marrow for speaking out, Ironwood sure had no problems with Winter letting political prisoners go? Did we forget about that? No bullets for her?

Team “Ruby always has a plan!” does not have a plan, and things are finally starting to fall apart! Oh no! Well, they were comically unprepared for this anyway and they sure are wasting a lot of time given their deadline is an hour. 

nora holy shit stop lazing around, damn, it’s not that bad

Nora’s “don’t worry, I’m always stupid and reckless, I was bound to get disfigured at some point :/” would carry more weight if the way in which she was injured wasn’t so astronomically stupid. Nora had no reason to think she’d get injured by a DOOR because SHE CAN TANK LIGHTNING, and. Again. SHE WAS OPENING A DOOR, this isn’t some grave war wound??? Holy shit, stop dragging it out!

Ren and Nora’s conversation - Ren needs to stop pushing people away and lettng the team down and Nora’s feelings of inadequacy because of it, plus some chatter about noble self-sacrificing tendencies being admirable - really, uh... feels like a conversation Yang & Blake should have had?? 

Look... the resolution to this is fine, but the Renora relationship drama was rushed and forced to begin with, so like... I don’t care. The “boop!” callback is kinda cute though. 

Sorry, Robyn the hero of Mantle, is the voice of reason when Qrow wants to go on a murderous rampage to stop Ironwood? When Ironwood is threatening to drop a bomb on her city? I’m sorry???

And now we’re just gonna besmirch Clover’s good name posthumously to make Qrow out to be the better man?? Whatever we can’t go 10 seconds without digging at Ironwood I get it 

Incidentally if this turns into another “the adults deal with the problem while RWBY is useless” moment I swear to god 

Why is Yang pronouncing Schnee “Sche-knee” all of a sudden? Has she always done that? Did I just not notice??

Blake said “Ruby and the Schnees took the hellhound down”? Excuse me, RWB were cowering against a wall and Whitley and his mom took it down, lets not mix up facts here

Salem wanting silver eyes to make these weird Grimmdogs is uh... a motive, I suppose... kind of a lame one, but sure...

They uh... sure forgave Emerald real quick, huh... seriously, Emerald gets a free pass but Ozpin- ah, forget it. Dead horse, stick. 

Ozpin is now blaming himself for running away from Team RWBY when they attacked him. ok

Is... is the moral of this story really “we have to take risks sometimes”? I? Huh???????? It takes THIS LONG for that to be an actual LESSON that has to be learnt?!

Hey so about “you have an hour before I drop the bomb” - long hour, amiright?

So like... what exactly is the loss associated with giving Ironwood the Staff again? He evacuates Atlas but Salem might attack (which she is already doing)? I get like, not wanting to give Ironwood any victories, but.. sheesh...

#ac watches rwby #rwbylog

[itsclydebitches]

re: that ask you posted a couple days ago about the male and female representation in RWBY, part of what makes RWBY's whole 'girl power' thing ring exceptionally hollow to me is the fact that there are like... no women in positions of real power in remnant. like at all. except the big bad.

winter is second in command to james. glynda is second in command to ozpin. all of the headmasters are men (for no discernible reason, imo; why theodore and not dorothea?). the leader of the ace ops was a white man (and then winter seemed to take over clover's position instead of either of the women of color on the team, and she was still second to james). RWBY is an all girl team, but JNPR was led by a boy despite a girl arguably being far more qualified (pyrrha). the happy huntresses are all women, and robyn had no real power to speak of--she didn't even manage to win the election, because jacques rigged it, and then the council ceased to matter. there was one (1) woman on the council, but she was so inconsequential that i can't even remember her name. (i suppose we're lucky it was the guy and not her who james shot lol) jacques controls the SDC instead of willow, even though he's not even a schnee by blood and actually married into the family for power. (and we don't even know how he got it over his wife.)

and then there's the white fang, which ghira led and not kali--and it's ghira who leads menagerie itself, while kali seems to be a housewife. sienna had five minutes of screentime before being brutally killed and her position assumed by adam, a man. cordovin is basically a one off lackey we haven't even thought about before or since. neo was second to roman. you have cinder, sure, who is a second but to salem, a woman, and raven as the leader of the branwen tribe--but what does it really say about your 'girl power' narrative when the only women with genuine systemic power in your world are villains or antagonists with massive bodycounts??

atla has the same sort of problem--a couple great female characters, but all the leadership positions are men (except the kyoshi warriors, an all girls group, and even then the leader of their island is an old man) and the one female mentor figure also turns out to be evil--but it at least has some great writing to help overlook that fact, and it came out in the mid-00's and so has some sort of excuse of being a product of its time. but rwby didn't even start until 2013 and it's still going and still making these kinds of decisions well into 2021.

where is this supposed girl power, exactly? am i really supposed to overlook the very patriarchal worldbuilding just because the title characters are girls?

That's an excellent summary of the situation, anon, and as with so much in RWBY, it comes down to the full context. Any one of these examples isn't necessarily going to mean much on its own. It's when you look at the pattern that you can start making a case for those conclusions: Why is the show marketed on "girl power" set in a world where men hold the vast majority of that power? And, more importantly, why is that setup not the point? We could easily have a story where that lopsided gender dynamic is the problem that the girls are looking to fix, but... that story doesn't exist. Like the problems discussed with Jaune, the supposed point here exists only on the surface. Dig just the tinniest bit — the above — and you hit on a lot of structural problems with this "girl power" world.

To add just a few details to what you've already said:

Salem indeed has power, but she's never allowed to fully use it. Each volume the frustration with this grows as Salem accumulates more abilities and then just sits on them. From literally hiding out for a thousand years to worries that she won't use the Staff in Volumes 9-10, Salem really isn't allowed to be the threat she's presented as on the surface. And yes, this is absolutely due in part to the "She's too OP and the writers don't know how to let her be that powerful while still having the heroes win" issue, but again, context. That problem doesn't exclude others occurring simultaneously.

Same double explanation with Summer. Yes, dead moms are an incredibly common trauma to dump on a protagonist, but it still left Yang and Ruby with Tai as their primary influence. And Qrow. The uncle becomes the extended family influence while Raven is the absent one/eventual antagonist. It's personal power as opposed to political power, but Tai, Qrow, Ozpin, formerly James... most of the mentors are men. Maria, a key exception, has been ignored in that regard. The story announced that she was Qrow's inspiration, setup her being Ruby's new mentor, and then... nothing. Nothing has come of that. She disappeared for a volume and then went off to Amity and was literally forgotten by the story when evacuating everyone was the finale's whole point.

Like that Endgame moment I mentioned, the Happy Huntresses feel a little too forced to me. Yes, it's the same basic idea as in ATLA, but ATLA, as you say, has a lot more going for it. The Happy Huntresses feel... on the nose? Idk exactly how to explain it. Like, "Here they are! Another team of all women! Isn't this how progressive storytelling works? Just ignore how this is a one-off team of minor characters compared to the world building issues discussed above." And if you're not paying attention, you miss just how insignificant they are, with a side of Robyn being, well, Robyn. The Kyoshi Warriors, at least, are based off of Kyoshi. A woman avatar who is a significant part of their history. That is, presumably, why they're an all women warrior group (but who notably still teach Sokka). The Happy Huntresses are all huntresses because...? There's no reason except that meta "We want to look progressive" explanation. Just like having all the women superheroes team up for a hot second so people get excited and ignore the representation problems across, what? 21 films? Don't get me wrong, I love that May is among the Happy Huntresses. I think including her in the explicitly all-women group was one of the better things RWBY has done in a long time, but the rest is still a mess.

RWBY is arguably about these smaller groups as opposed to systematic power (despite the writers trying to work that in with things like the White Fang and the election. Not to mention the implication that everything in Atlas is fine now that evil Ironwood has died and taken the symbol of wealth (the city) with him. We saw a human holding hands with a faunus after all. Racism and corruption solved, I guess.) So yes, our group is dominated by women... but Whitley is the one saving Nora, helping to defeat the Hound (plus Willow), thinking of the airships, and providing the blueprints they need to escape. Salem is our Big Bad, except Ironwood is the one the volume focuses on. Ruby is our leader, but Jaune is the one leading the group into the whale and getting praised for how heroic he is. Ren does more to shake things up, even if he's painted as the one in the wrong. Oscar gets to confront Salem and destroys the whale threat. Ozpin provides the information they need to evacuate. Meanwhile, when the girls do things in Volume 8 it's almost always followed by a long-stint of passiveness. Nora opens the door so she can be unconscious for most of the volume. Penny keeps Amity up so she can also be unconscious for a good chunk of time. Ruby sends her message and then sits in a mansion. Blake fights so she can tearfully beg Ruby to save her. Weiss, as said, takes a backseat to Whitley (and Klein). They forward the plot, absolutely, but comparatively it doesn't feel like enough.

It's that pattern then, no one specific example. More and more the personal power, not just the systematic power already built into Remnant, seems to be coming from the men. Not all the time, but enough that scenes like the tea drinking moment feel like a part of a much larger problem. Pietro taking control, Watts hacking, and Ambrosius literally remaking her when Penny is supposed to already be in control of herself and her fate. Winter being presented as the active mentor to Weiss, only to turn around and claim that Ironwood was actually responsible for everything. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and May straight up commenting on how awful things are out there while Yang, Jaune, Ren, and Oscar lead the charge against Salem — with the latter three doing the most to forward that mission (no fear, semblance, cane). As others have only half-joked, Yang's supposedly badass moment was bringing up a mother she's ignored for six volumes and briefly blowing up the immortal woman for a couple of seconds (with Ironwood's bombs). Even Marrow is arguably the most significant Ace Op after Clover. Vine isn't actually a character, Elm slightly less so, Harriet is there to go crazy and try to drop a bomb (notably before admitting to never-before-existed feelings for Clover), but Marrow? He's the one who breaks out. Who is meant to heroically stand up against Ironwood. Who comments on how awful it is that teenagers are fighting and, regardless of how messed up the moral messages are, is supposedly pushing for active change while all the women in his group, including Winter, insist on maintaining the status quo. Look at all these choices as a whole, it makes throwaway worldbuilding choices like "All the Maidens are women" feel pretty hollow. Why does it matter if Amber is a Maiden if she dies in a flashback so Ozpin can struggle to pass on the power? If Pyrrha dies before becoming one so Jaune can angst about it? If Raven is one and then disappears from the story entirely? If Winter has enough power to break Ironwood's aura, but supposedly had no power throughout every other choice she made getting here? If Penny is one, but is continually controlled by men and then asks another man to help her die? It's just really unconvincing, once you look past the surface excitement of a woman looking cool with magic powers.

When you do consider the whole of the story — both in terms of our world building and who is forwarding the plot in the latter volumes, getting the emotional focus, being proactive, etc. — there are a lot of problems that undermine the presumed message RT wants to write. They say, "girl power" by marketing RWBY with these four women, but too many of the storytelling decisions thoroughly undermine that, revealing what's likely a deeply ingrained, subconscious bias.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[toysoldiers-rwby]

[SYT] 6. the lofty lion

Show Your Teeth

Characters: Fiona, Winter, May, Robyn, Joanna Rating: Explicit (tagged as thoorist) Tags: loss of virginity, body worship, cock worship, edging, trans female character, confessions Word Count: 8,705

Summary: According to the movies, May was due for an epic love confession. She never could find a movie to relate too.

Read on Ao3

PREV - NEXT

A/N: starting moving to my new apt. Don’t know when i’ll have time to post this so here it is! will fix errors when i have time lol

 May told herself she was going to tell Winter today. After the usual ‘Accelerated Program’ debriefing, the group will go on another not-date stroll around Mantle and goof around until Glade told them where they trapped the Grimm.  

Everything went as planned. Fiona dragged them around her neighborhood. They found an empty park and jumped on the swings. May got to see and smile at Winter’s soft embarrassed blush as her adult teammates tried to do a full 360. She got Winter laughing softly when the pair of stopped at the apex and fell onto the bars. She got to hold Winter’s hand as security chased them out of the playground.  

Winter didn’t let go of her hand, as she fixed her hair and tried to hide the smile behind a fist. May couldn’t even breath at the sight. It’s been years since the women looked so relaxed and happy. Joanna only smiled at the pair, lifting Fiona onto her back and linking arms with Robyn as they went about to cause more mayhem. May should have told Winter then.  

They checked in on Glade who was slowly recovering and sleeping on the clinic’s couch. None of them had the courage to slip off those glasses and peek at their face. Fiona did produced a marker from her semblance. When she went to draw on their face a sudden headbutt had Fiona on the ground. Robyn and May screaming, practically climbing into their partner’s arms. Winter openly laughed.  

May could have confessed through a kiss. Wanted to right then and there. Instead May blushed, heart cowering and thundering in her chest as she tried to worm her way out of Winter’s grasp. The women sneered and adjusted her grip, holding May tight until she finished laughing. It was soft and gentle and confused Glade enough for Faunus wears to poke out from the sides of their head and swivel around. It was like May’s head and heart, confused and dizzy and May thought she could feel Winter’s chest beat in time with hers.  

Winter did admit she loved her back after all. 

Nothing would go wrong if May told her.  

Somehow Fiona managed to drag Glade to the movies with them. It involved flustering them with too much physical affection and playful headbutting until they were a little overwhelmed. The Thief was lil’ Fi’s prisoner for the night, trapped between Fiona and Robyn to make sure they didn’t slip away.  

May would confess her feelings before they went into the theater. The not-date night out would turn into a date night out and May would finally fucking kiss her.  

Instead May’s heart was in her throat. A nearly choking pressure as Winter stood comfortably at May’s side, talking with Glade about Dust while Robyn tried to wrestle Fiona into not stealing from the arcade machines. May would tell Winter after the fifth pointed look Joanna would give but Winter didn’t talk much.  

The Schnee commanded, gave advice and lessons. Her tone was always above others, either as a leader in the public eye, a parental figure to her siblings and even a challenger to May and their friends. But with Glade, Winter’s voice was non of the above. It was cautious and curious as they talked about Dust. It was a voice May rarely hears so she didn’t chicken out of confessing, she enjoyed the moment and listened. Until Glade and Winter both gently prodded May into joining the conversation.  

Gentle prods turned into teasing May tried to match their bite. Far too soon Joanna dragged Glade away. Winter pressed into May’s side, shoulder to shoulder and whispering taunts Fiona and Glade could hear. May played along, waiting till her nerves and irrational fear calmed down.  

She’ll tell Winter after the movie…  

Or after they made sure Glade was on Robyn’s couch to rest instead of Grimm wrangling. Their ears flicked nervously and they loosely hugged the Spring the toy lion. “Did… did you guys just kidnapped me?” They mumbled  

“Is it possible to kidnap a stray?” Winter teased slipping into Robyn’s room to change. May followed before her nervous could stop her. She gently closed the door and… Stood there. Fiona was loud, excited and teasing her fellow Faunus but Winter’s calm breathing was easier to hear. Easier to focus on as Winter slipped the tie and shirt.  

In the movies Fiona likes, this would be the scene where the hero finally confess.  

Instead May’s mind stopped, eyes lingering on the bra that slipped to the floor and then mesmerizing the planes of Winter’s back, the flexing shoulders and arms as she slipped on a looser bralette for the night. Up to her neck and lips as Winter turned and smiled at May.  

“You are such a bottom.”  

“I… f-fuck off,” May stammered eyes wide. She tried to be polite and keep her eyes on Winter’s face but it was getting harder as she walked towards her. Harder when those hands slipped the belt loose and hips wiggled her pants down.  

She knows. It’s so fucking obvious but every confession May tried to force out just choked in her throat. Frustration started to prick at her eyes. May tried blinking away the tears and saw a Winter’s hurt expression for a moment. The Schnee almost stepped away but May grabbed her.  

She had no plan, she just wanted Winter close. Wanted the smile back. Winter braced herself against the door, hugging May tight to her body. If this was a movie they would kiss. May wanted too and now that she knew Winter liked her back it was so obvious that Winter wanted to kiss her too.  

Instead Winter took a deep breath, gently pushing May against the door. May blinked away the frustrated tears but more swelled up as Winter’s hand slide from her back to her ribs, over her chest and slowly up May’s neck. Her thumb brushed May’s lips. The Marigold would have whimpered if her breath wasn’t stuttering.  

“You always sucked with words,” Winter mused lightly. May frowned, grumbling and looking away. Winter laughed softly resting their foreheads together. Still she didn’t kiss close the few inches, those blue eyes didn’t move from May’s lips. “I think you’ll taste better if I have you wait a little longer.”  

“S-seriously!?” May weakly growled.  

“You want it so bad? Take it,” Winter said, lifting her fingers off May’s lips and cheek to grab at May’s tie. She even encouraged her partner with a light tug but May was frozen. Shaking. She felt too hot against Winter’s cool skin. Winter waited for a minute, getting comfortable and enjoying how May’s beating heart made her tremble. “Good girl.”  

“Cheating,” May said with a gasp. With two words all the heat fluttering in her chest shot low. May tensed, the romantic frustration slowly draining as as she fought the lower fire in her gut.  

“Sorry,” Winter said with a mocking smile. A hand was on May’s check again, first pressed against her lips then swiping the tears that slipped past. “I… I don’t know if I liked you as long as you liked me but I want to do this right.”  

“Because making me cry from frustration is a good start,” May grumbled.  

Winter blinked, surprised. She then tucked her head into May’s neck and laughed softly. May leaned her head, opening up and letting the Schnee cuddling into her. May’s arms finally felt light enough to move but felt heavy as she wrapped it around Winter’s neck. Her partner gave a content sigh, soft laughter turning into a gentle chuckle.  

“Just for that you don’t get a kiss until, after our first date.” Winter said.  

“How does tonight- fucking today not count as a date?!”  

“Because I didn’t ask you out yet,” Winter teased. May was about to yell, face now burning more frustration but calmed the instant Winter’s lips pressed against her pinched brow. “Give me a little more time, I want you for myself for a day and because of… some people it’s a little hard.”  

“It doesn’t need to be fucking perfect!” Fiona screamed through the door. May screamed a little, jumping in Winter’s arms. She blinked, surprise fading to angry realization.  

“Where you assholes listening!?” May yelled through the door.  

There was a pause and feet scrambling, shadows moving under the door. “No!”  

May wiggled free from Winter’s hold, ignoring Winter’s pout and grumpy face as May threw the door open. She had too much energy and if Winter wasn’t gonna burn it off with a lot of kisses then revenge will have to do. Fiona only stuck her tongue out from behind Joanna and Glade.  

“Wait till I get my hands on you, you little shit!”  

By the time Winter finished changing Fiona had pinned May to the ground. May didn’t miss the grins Joanna and Robyn was giving her partner. Instead she tagged Glade in to the wrestling match and was surprised when the Thief and Fiona was nearly tied on the ground. For a moment Glade was winning until they favored their side and Fiona scrambled to get off them.  

The following morning they were late to their debriefing and got their ears chewed off but May barely stop herself from grinning. She felt lighter, the pressure of actually stating the obvious off her chest. It still took a few days for her nerves to calm down but even a week after it was obvious she was on cloud nine.  

During the ‘Accelerated’ student’s combative training Marrow paused during their spar. He frowned, tail twitching. “Did your uncle die or something? You’ve been… in a scary good mood lately.” Across the training room, May heard Fiona snickered. She glared at her teammate, but the Faunus was busy dogging Harriet and swinging a sledgehammer into the senior’s gut.  

“Just… good news,” May said with a shrug. She tapped her staff on her shoulder before activating her semblance. She watched Marrow jump and look around, trying to guess where she’d appear next. Instead she took the time to watch Winter and Robyn.  

Winter was good but no one expected Robyn to be better. At least against other humans. She trained to take down humans without a protective Aura. She was used to holding back but against Winter she shoot those explosive bolts at that pretty face and just leave her stunned. Those sharp blades on her wrist mounted crossbow didn’t slice open skin but slowly at at Winter’s low Aura.  

It would have been match if May hadn’t jumped in staff crackling with lightning Dust. Robyn gasped, throwing herself back to avoid it. Winter blinked surprised. May only winked at her and disappeared again before one of the instructors spotted her. May was grinning when she reappeared in front of Marrow, feet kicking him in the chest.  

“Ow! See, that’s what I mean!” Marrow grumbled. May only rolled her eyes and sneered, twisting the Dust chamber in her staff and activating the fire Dust.  

The sparring session ended with the usual outcomes. Marrow just a little burnt, Harriet pulling tricking Fiona and winning, Elm and Joanna was now tied, Clover’s stupid semblance gave him the upper hand against Vine. Finally Winter and Robyn… was the same as last week and the weeks before.  

With Winter sprawled on the ground and Robyn sitting on top of her, victorious.  

Fiona grinned into May’s line of sight. May scoffed and turned away with a light blush. They looked good together but right now May wanted Winter for herself.  

Robyn laughed and helped Winter up, “And here I thought you were the knight, snowflake,” She teased with a wink. Winter rolled her eyes trying to roll a kink out of her shoulder.  

“And here I thought you were above cheap shots,” Winter replied, not mumble or pout. The Schnee was too dignified for that.  

“I prefer the term ‘trickshot’, thank you very much,” Robyn said with a haughty scoff and lead the group to the showers.  

May frowned for a moment, trailing behind the Mantle Rats with Winter. She kept rubbing her neck and rolling her shoulder. “You okay? I do owe you a massage.”  

“Sounds like a good way to end a date,” Winter said with a small smirk. May’s eyes went wide, a blush quickly crawling over her cheeks as Winter finally asked, “Mantle has that carnival today. Would you like to go out?”  

“Yes!” Fiona screamed.  

Winter clicked her jaw shut, an angry blush dusting her pale cheeks while May shuffled a little embarrassed. Those Faunus ears has been particularly… sensitive lately. The pair had a hard time glaring at Fiona as she prounced back to her elites.  

“This was suppose to be just me and May, Thyme,” Winter said. Her voice was a little hard and Fiona’s cute ears twitched low and sad. “Damn it… You idiots have been on my ass and when I finally ask May out you all think it’s another group date.”  

“Oh! Ooh!” Fiona said with a slow gasp of realization. Fiona nervously twitched, embarrassed.  

“Don’t worry, lambchop,” Robyn said. It seemed she was coming to Fiona’s rescue but then she leaned with with a smirk, “Me and Joanna will take you on a date.”  

“It- It doesn’t need to be date!” Fiona huffed, shoving Robyn back who only rolled with it and laughed.  

“Call it whatever you idiots want but I doubt it’ll be any different from a normal day,” Joanna said with a laughed. She got behind the couples and gave them a light shove forward. “Come on! No one is going on a date all gross and if we all shower at Robyn’s place the water will get cold.”  

“This is not a double date!” Winter stressed with a hard blush.  

“Oh please, May can give you all the privacy you need,” Robyn teased, wiggling her eyes brows. At first May only raised a brow. Then she gasped, face burning as images of herself between Winter’s legs and her hand through May’s hair while a crowd of people walked, oblivious- “Wow… your kinda innocent aren’t you?”  

“Shut up!”  

May’s mind instantly went into overdrive, body on autopilot as she undress and showered. She thought about all the outfits in her closet and the ones left at Robyn’s place. A dress was out of the question if they were going on some rides- would they be going on some rides? Does a Mantle carnival even have rides? May should definitely avoid white, the stains would be near impossible to get out but anything too color full would clash with Winter’s wardrobe.  

Winter didn’t wear anything fancy though. In fact after the shower in the locker rooms and after changing into into the usual Atlas uniform, Winter dragged her back to Mantle. Robyn and Joanna blew wolf whistles at them, a blushing lamb swatting the former cops.  

At the carnival entrance Winter pulled their ties off, shoving it into a trash can and then tossed the gray vest next. May blinked surprised. Winter rolled her eyes, unbuttoning her cuffs and undoing the top two buttons of her shirt.  

Then the Marigold crossed her arms and smiled, watching her picture perfect date muss herself up into something casual, "What happen to doing this right?"  

“You’re smiling and not a nervous wreck,” Winter pointed out. May quickly turned her head away with a blush. When did her angry facade completely disappear? Winter hands gently on May’s chest as she unbutton the vest a little to be much more comfortable. “Would you like to keep the skirt or change into pants?”  

“The um… the skirts fine,” May mumbled. May’s heart skipped a few beats every time Winter’s skinned bushed against hers. It nearly gave out when Winter undid May’s cuffs and folded them up her arms a little. Her heart completely stopped when Winter held her hand and pressed her lips to her knuckles. Light and quick, a sharp contrast to the lingering and intense blue eyes staring at her.  

Before May could feint Winter grinned, something wicked and endearing, and pulled her into Mantle’s Carnival. Right towards the biggest, fastest ride on hard-light rails.  

“You’ve been on roller coasters before, right princess?” Winter taunted with a raised brow.  

May scoffed but it didn’t come out as strong as usual, “I should be asking you that. When do you have time for fun?” she said with the same playful bite.  

Joanna was… right. It wasn’t much different from a normal day minus the fear and anxiety of having to confess. The ride helped May scream out her nerves and burned excess energy that rolled over into anxiety. She laughed linking her arms with Winter as they hurried over to the next ride.  

After each ride, their linked arms slide lower and lower until Winter’s hand was comfortably in hers. Winter smiling and tilting her head down to let May tidy her hair a little. It took a few tries to brush Winter’s signature fringe back together and by the end of of May was staring at Winter’s lips. Until they curled into a teasing smirk, pointedly leaning back.  

May growled, face hot with a mix of frustration and anger and she nearly ripped the shirt open. All that was forgotten as the next ride slowly crawled up the hard-light rails. May’s anger burned away with a scream, heart lurching between her gut and throat as the ride whipped them around. In between it all she got to hear Winter’s laugh in her ears.  

By the time the Mantle Rats finally got into the carnival the place was packed and the lines were long, but because this was Atlas, military personal and students, had free access to the VIP line. Winter spotted the trio first, the cheater having a few inches over May. Still Fiona was easy to find, atop of Joanna’s shoulders and sometimes leaning down to give Robyn a kiss. They were adorable, picture perfect cute.  

So May pulled out her Scroll and sent the picture to the group chat. She pulled Winter to a corner and they watched as Fiona perked up, eyes scanning for white and blue hair. Winter and May giggled as Fiona kicked her feet and wiggled her ears in frustration. Robyn reached up, pulling Fiona into a calming kiss and then dragging them onto a ride.  

Winter continued to take secret pictures whenever they’d see the trio by chance. Finally fed up, Fiona dragged the other Mantle Rats to the Farris Wheel to try and find them. Winter and May giggled, ducking into the large tent housing the games.  

At first it was a small competition. Then it became a losing streak as Winter cheated her way to victory for every game. Then cheating became the game and May wrapped her arms around Winter’s waist, tucking her head into her shoulder to muffle her laughter.  

Winter’s small Beowolf summon would appear whenever the carnival worker wasn’t looking, pushing the ball into the hole or kicking a pin. Children would gasp and clap their hands adorably and Winter would give them the prizes and wink. They were a little younger than Whitely.  

“You two are too adorable,” Robyn said. Winter’s relaxed smile slipped into a small playful huff as she looked up at the others. Fiona was finally walking on her own two feet with Joanna’s arm draped across her shoulders. Robyn had that stupid cute grin. May didn’t know if she wanted to slap it off or watch Fiona kiss it off.  

“Oh! I wanna be romantic and steal May for myself,” Fiona taunted and sang, striking romantic poses like in those movies they watch sometimes. May blushed and decided that slapping both of them would be better. Fiona only laughed at their faces, “Then she spends the night taking pictures of us and baiting us around.”  

“May started it,” Winter said quickly.  

“How mature,” Joanna sneered. She rested her arm heavily across May and Winter’s shoulder, guiding them out of hiding and to the food stands. May sighed and rolled her eyes. Even on an official and proper date it felt like a normal day.  

“At least have dinner with us! I’ll show you the best food in the carnival,” Fiona said with a grin, grabbing Winter and May’s free hands and tugging them faster along. May and Winter gave each other a defeated look. Their lil’ lamb was too cute. They both dramatically sigh and acted reluctant, making Fiona blush and hear ears twitch nervously.  

Fiona didn’t take them to dinner, she dragged the group to an Argus crepe booth. It was delicious, filling enough to stave off hunger for a real meal and they should be safe enough for another ride as long as it wasn’t extreme. But instead of turning the date into a double date May noticed Winter rolled her shoulder, face twitching in pain.  

May did owe her a massage…  

“Actually I think we’ll head back,” May said. Fiona frowned and pouted. May smiled down at her, rubbing the base of those fluffy ears. It always made Fiona smile, “It the weekend tomorrow, we can ride all day if you want.”  

“Phrasing,” Robyn said with a cough. Fiona and May glared at her, a hard blush on both of them but Fiona was the only one that actually elbowed Robyn.  

The walk to Robyn’s apartment was slow but May didn’t notice the time. Only the smile and Winter’s unguarded voice as they chatted without a goal. A review of the past month, reassurance about Weiss and Silvio, speculations about Fiona’s crush on the pair. Her hair was a mess, out of that tight bun and in a loose ponytail, her cheeks were a little rosy from all the laughing and smiling. The pristine white shirt actually a little dirtied from all the rides and kicked up dirt.  

“You look better like this…” May said softly as Winter sat down on Robyn’s bed. She raised a brow a smile slowly crawling across her face as May stepped between her legs. If this was earlier in the day May’s anxiety would have killed her. She wouldn’t be able to slide her hands up Winter’s chest. They would be shaking as she applied a gentle and firm pressure around the back of Winter’s neck.  

The Schnee’s breath hitched, body shuttering as all the tense muscles twitched and relaxed under May’s fingers.  

“You look better happy,” May explained. Winter blinked, trying to focus but her eyes kept lingering on May’s lips. “Alive, actually enjoying yourself with other people instead of on that stupid Schnee pedestal.”  

“Good,” Winter said. For once her voice was the one weak and trembling. May smirked, settling against Winter’s body. The white knight only had her hands on May’s waist like she was a cherished maiden. Even as May undid the ponytail and reach brush of her hands drew soft moans from her.  

For a moment May remembered that just hours before the mere thought of this would send her into overdrive. Hours of screaming and laughing, the fear she had twisting her gut was gone. Fear and a pressure she didn’t realize was on her chest. But right now… May smiled and enjoyed it.  

The warmth their families never gave. Trust and intertwining history so deep it was almost protective.  

Her body moved without second guessing everything and her lips was soft against Winter. After years of crushing on her family rival, childhood friend and partner… it felt natural. It wasn’t wasn’t like the movies, books, her first kiss or whatever bullshit people like to say.  

It wasn’t an explosion of fireworks.  

It was warm and slow, her lips following Winters as she pushed and pulled. May’s mind wasn’t racing, her heart wasn’t trying to escape her chest and run. It was… calming. Devouring. Like Winter herself, the kiss was cool on the surface, the bite on May’s bottom lip was gentle and teasing. Once she opened up she beyond warm.  

Hot didn’t even begin to describe it. Intense and passionate fell short.  

It just felt like Winter.  

May moaned into the kiss, her tongue gliding against Winter. Cold, hot, too much but not enough. May’s body felt hazy and heavy, her heart and head somewhere on cloud nine as she pressed Winter’s back into Robyn’s bed. May pulled back, softly panting for air. She pressed into Winter’s tense neck again, harder than before. Winter’s back arched a low groan and face slightly twisting in pain had May laughing a little.  

“I owe you a massage remember?” May asked, getting up and closing Robyn’s door.  

“Finally paying me back over a month later. Typical Marigold,” Winter teased. May rolled her eyes instructing Winter to take off her shirt and pants, if she wanted a full body massage. May looked around for some lotion. The first draw on Robyn’s nightstand was locked. The second was ammo for a gun and the last was… very Robyn.  

A small boxes of condoms for various of sizes for the toys that laid neatly next to it. The harness was suspiciously missing. And of course there was edible oils and lube-  

Only then the high of the date sparked into embers low In May’s gut. She tried to smother it, glancing at Winter’s bare back and nearly bare ass.  

Now wa a perfect time for revenge for the changing room. May was not easy, even if Winter made her come with just looks alone. But- but may must have been thinking to loud because Winter turned her hears towards her a smiled. She was blushing a little hard, “I’m fine with whatever pace you want to go at,” She said settling back down.  

May tensed, abs flexing as her member throbbed once but hard. Winter’s eyes glanced down to the small tent in her skirt and she tried to hide the smile in the pillows. May blushed hard, grabbing the edible oil and shoving a few more pillows under Winter’s stomach and hips so her spine wouldn’t be completely fucked.  

She moved quickly, standing next to Winter’s head and warming the oil in her hands. She tried to keep her thoughts chaste but that quickly went out the window as Winter tensed for a second and let out a low groan. May’s hands faltered a little, entire body shaking as the sound hit deep between her legs.  

Bits of her dreams and daydreams ghosted over her skin. Her body didn’t feel as cool as May thought it would. It flexed, blood running hot under May’s touch. After one long and deep stroke along Winter’s spine, the Schnee melted a little into the pillows and bed with a happy and pleased moan. May took a quick breath, trying to ride the innocent high from the carnival as other parts of her got harder.  

May tried not to focus on it… Then she scratched that thought, realization and the rush of their first date and kiss calming her fears. I’m fine with whatever pace you want to go at. Winter Schnee could be a rough lover the women choked Robyn in a changing room while Fiona fucked her. May trembled, as the memory of Winter pinning her with her eyes came back. Joanna’s hot hands pinning her hips and finally Winter’s own fingers grazing the tip of her leaking head. Winter’s eyes staring right into her as she licked her cum off her fingers. May groaned shaking her self back to the present.  

I loved her since I could remember.  

Loved her enough to sooth her nerves and make sure May was truly comfortable before kissing her.  

The embers low in her gut didn’t feel sinful or tainted. In fact it felt rather holy.  

“Always the knight,” May whispered. Winter looked up, a surprised blush on her face at the low and hungry tone in her voice. May didn’t even realize she was speaking until the next words spilled out. “Always with the restraint and control…” With purpose May’s palms firmly pressed into the base of Winter’s neck. She tore a moan from Winter’s throat with a gentle pressure on tense muscles. The sound throbbed painfully between her legs, panties tight and slowly growing slick.  

May doubted she’ll ever see Winter lose control but getting her close would be fun.  

Winter made another noise as her girlfriend’s thumb dug into the muscles between her ass and lower back. Winter’s hips subtly grind into the pillow and bed. May felt it more than she saw it. Her dick throbbed, imagining the hot pressure sidling gently over her shaft. May took another slow breath, a rush hungry rush of power throwing completely fogging over her fears and nerves. “I’m not sorry for enjoying this,” She heard herself say.  

Winter growled softly but with another stoke down her back it choked into another whimper and an empty threat, “Don’t bite off more than you can handle, May.”  

"Shut up and let me worship you," May said, the words surprisingly hard as her hands squeezed the back of Winter’s neck. Winter gasp and did just as May ordered. Fist clenching the sheets and a quivering moan spilling out. May let the sound roll through her core and down between her legs, groaning with her. More slick smearing on her head as she moved to continue the slow massage. Winter’s face was right there… Blue eyes on the bulge of her skirt but her lips were too far to do anything.  

It felt like a trance watched the women she loved that was so forcibly perfect and put together fall apart. Sculpted hard muscles loosen, gasp slipped into small moans. Each pass over Winter’s spine made her tremble. The knot in her shoulder had her biting the pillows and wiggling until it was gone. But she was wasn’t worked up enough, the grinding on Robyn’s pillow obvious now but not desperate enough. She was still too controlled, so May focused on her neck.  

Winter gasped, eyes fluttering close. Cool skin was starting to warm under the attention and oil, blushing softly. The soft moans turned into pleased and sleepy hums. The tension was completely gone from her shoulders, making the women she loved look smaller somehow.  

At least until May transitioned to Winter’s lower body. She leaned over her, propping a knee by Winter’s shoulder to get the right pressure. Hands splayed wide, May pressed at the base of her spin and pushed low, thumbs digging under the dimples on her back and rolling lower to the swell of her ass.  

Winter whimpered, body shivering slightly as May’s fingers slipped under those panties. When her hands glided out towards her hips Winter growled in frustration, a fist clutching at May’s skirt so near the bulge May bucked her hips a little.  

“Relax, Win.”  

“I’d relax a lot more if you’ll let me suck you off,” Winter mumbled as she let go. May only laughed. It was a little shaky as her member leaked more pre-cum, and the feeling of it wetting her panties didn’t help.  

May straddled Winter’s lower back and licked her lips. She warmed a little more oil in her hands before adjusting Winter’s panties a give May more room to work with. She might have pulled the wet cloth tight against the core and Winter might have shivered at the pleasure. The selfish Schnee was definitely a little restless, shifting as May’s hands started on the swell of Winter’s ass and rolled down the back of her legs.  

Winter tensed for a moment. May repeated the massage, applying a little more pressure into the tense muscles, feeling it quiver so slightly. Winter melted again and groaned. Slowly she relaxed. And slowly May’s hands wandered higher inside Winter’s thigh.  

High enough to feel the heat and wetness that escaped onto her thighs. May swallowed hard, cock throbbing between her legs. Winter must have felt it too because she growled and shifted a little. She took a shaking breath, hands losing their focus and just kneading Winter’s ass. For a moment May grind down, imagining her shaft disappearing between the soft muscles in her hands.  

When her grinding started to become a little too desperate, May forced herself off. Leaving a small droplets of pre-cum on Winter’s slower back.  

Trying to regain some self control, May returned to Winter’s head, her hands starting at her neck and working down again.  

“Lower,” Winter instructed. Her voice was low and husky, almost half asleep but the blue eyes on her restraint and covered hard on gave her away. With her hands spread wide May started at the edge of Winter’s wide back. Fingers following the curve of her breast, just shy of her nipples.  

The Schnee whimpered, shifting with just a hint of desperation. Her pale hand fisted May’s skirt. The light clawing had May’s heart jumping, chest stuttering for breath. May watched Winter observe the tent in her skirt, the throbbing… Winter licked her lips but that damn control kept her from doing what they both wanted.  

May repeated the motion a few times. Wondering who’s will would break first. Each time, Winter shuttered with pleasure, first bunching up the skirt and inching closer and closer to May’s leaking member. She was sure her panties were dripping just as much as Winter’s. Another pass and the selfish Schnee almost tugged the skirt off-  

“Ma-May…” She begged. Winter-fucking-Schnee begged, her voice high pitched and hopeful.  

“Fuck-” Her breath caught in her throat. You are so easy. “Fuck,” May cried again. With one breath May’s hour of hard work and control broke. Her hands completely slipped around to Winter’s front, oil slick hands kneading her once. Winter cried out, pressing her chest into May’s hands. Another call of May’s name as fingers pinched her nipples. Winter grind down on the pillow, other hand clawing into the back of May’s thigh to anchor her self. Winter’s grinding stopped and that hand on her thigh quickly slid up, under her skirt-  

A moan was pulled out of her as hands finally cupped her throbbing slick shaft. It took May an hour to get Winter to whisper her name but she was about to say Winter’s like a prayer in less than a minute. The only reason she wasn’t was because Winter didn’t move her hand.  

The Schnee paused eyes up at May in wonder and desire and love that somehow looked far too wicked. Winter’s hand slipped off her, May would have whimpered at the lose but then her panties snapped. But her dick wasn’t free, it was back in Winter’s fist and May nearly screamed. Too hot and too cold and not tight enough. May clenched her jaw, head dizzy with a rush of pleasure.  

Then May was on her back in the middle of Robyn’s bed, hands pressed firmly on her mouth to muffle any noise but her harsh breathing. May felt like she was burning in Winter’s cool skin. The contrast was delicious, making her thigh shake slightly as hips moved. May cried into her open hand. Winter’s fist moved with her, giving but the tiniest teasing friction.  

“How your refractory period?” Winter asked, voice stupidly cool and control for someone with eyes that was devouring. May didn’t answer at first. She tried again and again to thrust into Winter’s hand. She didn’t want to answer, she wanted pleasure, her head an angry red as pre-cum slipped out. May gently thrash in a haze, not fighting or helping Winter as she undid the buttons of her vest and shirt just enough to slip a hand under May’s bra. It wasn’t the pleasure she was begging for but it was enough to calm the fire in her gut and head.  

“I- I don’t know!” May answered honestly.  

“You don’t know? How can you… You’re a virgin.” Winter realized, eyes a little wide and grip a tightening. May was confident in her body, proud but… sex was never an itch for her, not like Winter and Fiona. It was a craving only one person could fill and that person was just a big fucking tease that was going to make her cry from frustration soon. The pressure in her gut and balls, and cock was almost painful. It was spreading all over her body and sending her into a craze.  

“Oh… Oh, May. If, I’d known,” Finally Winter’s fist started to move. A tight tug up had May gasp for breath. A twist at her head, a fucking tight and hot twist at her head had May completely breathless with one sharp cry. “I wouldn’t have teased you so hard in the changing room.”  

“Shut up and make it up to me then,” May said with a clench jaw, hips fast and desperate. Winter hummed in thought but didn’t slow her hand. It kept a lazy pace as Winter finished unbuttoning May’s top and flicked the front clasp of her bra open.  

“I’m debating on how hard I want you begging.”  

“You are such an asshole…” May huffed. Winter only laughed as tears finally fell from May’s eyes. Winter made her self comfortable at May’s side, kissing the tears away before gently claiming her lips. May groaned and growled into it. She bit her bottom lip, desperate for more heated and faster affection. But Winter’s hand continued to lazily stroke her, forcing May’s hips to move.  

A shock of pleasure spread from her chest, Winter’s fingers pinching and twisting a nipple. “Sorry May, but I’m going to break you in the most gentle way I can,” her knight promised. May was about to bite her neck, frustration turning into plain anger but then Winter’s lips claimed her in demanding kiss, swallowing a near scream of pleasure as Winter’s hand finally moved. Hard and fast, almost vicious but May wanted more.  

May’s hands clawed deep into Winter’s back, hips stuttering and rolling, trying to match Winter’s pace but it was faster than May could manage. Pleasure coiled in her gut, climbing quick and making her body tremble. Winter moved from her lip to her neck. Biting hard enough for her Aura to flare. A flash of heat spreading throughout May’s body, pleasure turning everything white for a second.  

May found herself begging and whispering Winter’s name. Her member was twitching, pre-cum leaking out in a steady stream. Tears pricked her eyes as the hight of her pleasure was suddenly taken from her.  

“Please… Winter, please!”  

“Aura,” Winter growled into her neck. She bite again, making her Aura flash hot and making May’s entire body pulsed. Her dick throbbed and twitched, the need for something around it making her head spin and more tears slip out. “Turn off your Aura.”  

“I-I can’t… please just,” May’s hips fucked the air. Winter groaned, watching her shaft twitch. She bit down May’s body but stopped at her breast. May softly cried, her own hands moving to continue but Winter pinned her wrist down. She thrashed lightly, chest arching into Winter’s mouth as she bite and sucked and teased.  

The edges of an orgasm eased off, May’s breathing just started to even out when her Aura flashed across her body. Turning off. Winter groaned, teeth sinking into her chest and sucking hard. “Good girl,” Winter praised, hand tight around the base of May’s cock. May threw her head back, a fast pace stealing her breath again.  

May whispered Winter’s name, begging for her hand to move faster but ever time she got too desperate Winter only slowed down. The selfish Schnee left love bites and marks across May’s chest. Then her soft abs. When Winter bit at her hips May’s hips stuttered to a stop. Her eyes wide as she propped herself up to watch.  

Winter smiled up at her, making herself comfortable between May’s legs and even grabbing a pillow to slide under her partners ass. It was clear Winter intended to be there long enough to kill May.  

“A small confession,” Winter said licking her lips. “Me and the others… all of them talked about your…”  

“Dick, penis, cock, whatever is fine,” May mumbled in a haze. Her heart did odd skips, fear and nerves coming back. She knew Winter for years, everything about her partner was second nature but Joanna and Robyn… The anxiety was pulled out of May, with a twisting pressure of Winter’s fist over her head and slit. May moaned, arching and hips thrusting to chase that pleasure. “S-surprised I’m not cut?”  

“It’s a good surprise,” Winter whispered. May gasped, hand covering her mouth as Winter decided to play. Her thumb pressed against the rim of her head, tongue twirling around the slit, slowly working under the foreskin-  

Lightning hot pleasure shot through May’s body, completely overwhelming her. Suddenly everything before felt muted. Her tongue was twice as soft, twice as warm. Winter had her at tears before and now she was freely crying. Winter pulled off with a pleased hum.  

“So we were right… You are more sensitive…” Winter murmured. It sounded distant to May’s ears. Her heart beat too loud, pleasure clouding all her senses except for touch. The cool fingers claws warm trails down May’s stomach, the hands massaging her balls as Winter’s tongue followed a vein down and licked pre-cum back up.  

May wasn’t even aware when Winter finally wrapped her lips around May’s hard shaft and started sucking. She came back to Winter groaning around her cock, the vibrations prolonging her orgasm as she slipped deep into Winter’s throat again. Her throat felt rough, just barely hearing herself scream Winter’s name. When she tried to pull her hand free from Winter’s hair she held it there with her free and pointedly swallow.  

May whimpered, thrusting deeper as she felt another load pulled from her. Winter finally lifted herself off May, taking a deep breath and clearing her throat a little. With one last lick and a some sucking she cleaned May off and hovered over her with a smile clean smile.  

“Welcome back,” She mused, wiping her mouth with her fingers and licking it clean. May groaned at the sight, her hard member throbbing painfully. She grabbed Winter’s hand when it wandered through her soft mound. Winter settled against her. Thighs and panties wet, leaving a hot trail on May’s leg. She shifted at the friction but didn’t chase it. Though May could feel her desperation in the hard kiss. She didn’t give a fuck about how she tasted, it was Winter. “You… are back, right?” She muttered softly, eyes a little concerned.  

“If back you mean still in heaven, sure,” May mumbled, voice slurred with pleasure. She pressed her leg into Winter’s core, listening and eating up her soft moan and the way she anchored herself with her nails. May grabbed Winter’s ass, slowly encouraging her to grind against her thigh. May hooked her thumbs under Winter’s waistband and slipped them down during the next thrust.  

Winter pulled back letting out a sharp and shock cry of pleasure her wet lips and hard clit glided down May’s thigh. Suddenly that hunger in her gut was back, drying out her mouth. May’s lazy breathing speed up, soft noises of her own muffled by Winter’s desperate whimpers.  

“Winter… please. I’m not done worshiping you,” May begged, the hands on her ass and hips trying to guide the women up. Up past her hips, past her breast and guiding those toned wet thighs to the side of her head. May melted at the sight. Her perfect partner completely flushed above her. Her pale skin a rosy pink from ears to cheeks to the top of her breast. May pulled her down a little, turning her head to lick at her thighs.  

The Schnee whimpered while May closed her eyes and moaned at the taste. Before she knew it her lips was pressing kisses closer and closer to the soft wet curls. Her hands roamed Winter’s front, deep red lines marked Winter’s abs and chest. Her body twitching each time May twirled a nipple between her fingers.  

May hovered less than inch away from Winter’s core, taking in the heat and the smell, the sweetness before her tongue slipped in. Winter lurched forward, fingers digging into the headboard and the other clawed deep into May’s hair. She groaned at the pain, at the taste, at the liquid heat finally spilling into her mouth. She leaned up, nuzzling and breathing deep. Thrusting her tongue as deep as it would go while her nose rubbed against a hard bundle of nerves.  

“Fuck! May!” Winter gasped eyes wide and back arching. Wetness trickled onto her tongue and chin, making May groan. Her hips thrusting into the air as her member throbbed in time with Winter’s core, squeezing hard on her tongue and trying to pull it in. Instead tongue slowly slide out, drawing out a cry from Winter and making her grind to chase it. May only chuckled softly. A quick broad lick, tasting the wetness on her lips and a teasing gentle pressure over her clit. Broad strokes had her panting and tight circles just grazing the bundle of nerve nearly had her screaming.  

She had to pull May’s head back before those lips sealed around her clit. “Virgin, huh?”  

“You can thank Robyn and Fiona,” May said with a hazy smirk and heavy breath. She might have looked a mess, face wet and blushing but Winter looked worse in a perfect way. She looked a mixture of embarrassed and frustrated, gasping for breath, pupils wide with desire and stomach flexing as her core tighten around nothing. Like this, her knight looked more like a Goddess. “Watching them eat each other out gave me a good idea of what to do.”  

Winter groaned, body shivering. May hummed happily, leaning up to as Winter settled back down. May was polite enough keep her licks light and pleasing, not overwhelmingly pleasurable so Winter could talk a little, “I have… some pretty good ideas on how to thank them,” She mumbled, voice trembling at every stroke around her clit. “Fuck. If I’d known you were a virgin I would have asked you if you’d wanted Fiona to join. Watching her ride your face while I fuck you- Fuck! May!”  

All at once May sealed her lips around that throbbing nub, a slick finger sliding deep into her core. May groaned, her member twitching and throbbing as Winter squeezed her finger. The memory of Fiona pinning her to the floor of the training room, her warm small hips on her… May groaned, clawing at Winter’s hips and ass.  

“May!” Winter nearly screamed at the finger slowly dragging along her front wall. She trembled. “More, harder,” She ordered. After over an hour of teasing each other Winter was far too worked up to last long. She pushed Winter forward, angling her hips for a brutal pace with two fingers focusing on that spongy spot that had her partner screaming.  

In a few minutes she was trembling, whispering May’s name in a small prayer begging for just a little more. That she was close. May thought about bringing her to tears but her body betrayed her. Before she could stop herself, May’s lips wrapped around the bundle of nerves, tongue gently rolling around it as she sucked.  

Winter came with a shout, fingers clawing through May’s hair as her body shook and stilled. May groaned, slick hitting her chin and rolling down her neck. “Please don’t stop! S-Slow. Please, May,” Winter whispered again and again in a broken voice.  

Those tight muscles and spasms didn’t relax until Winter was out of breath and then dragged on a few minutes more thanks to May’s gentle and slow thrust, alternating between the sensitive spot and just giving her a pleasing stretch. May avoided her clit, licking around it just to give Winter as much attention as possible. She’d love to massage those breast but her other hand as keeping Winter from completely crushing her.  

When those soft moans turned into a sharp whine, May finally stopped. Head sinking into the pillow. She felt stupidly high and satisfied. The hunger in her blood now content and warm instead of starving hot. She gave a grin up at dazed blue eyes.  

“Been awhile, huh?” May teased, clean hand guiding Winter to laying next to her. Winter huffed and sneered biting at whatever was closest, May’s shoulder. “You back yet?”  

“Shut up…” Winter whimpered, her voice slurred and fairly unconvincing. May laughed lightly at it, trying to kiss Winter’s forehead but the women pulled her down for a messy kiss. May groaned, melting into it. Her mouth parted with Winter’s tongue meeting her halfway. Winter pulled back before she lost her breath, “Since Fiona isn’t here…” Her hand squeezed tight at the base of May’s shaft.  

“Twice…” May said with a groan. She pumped her hips into Winter’s hand a few times before she remembered she was speaking, “I can cum twice before going soft and I usually don’t try for a third.”  

“I’m surprised you didn’t cum when you were eating me out,” Winter said between bites down May’s chest.  

May blushed and huffed, “Three hot girls fucking each other and being felt up by Joanna would probably do you in too!”  

“Challenge accepted,” Winter said with a small laugh. She bit May’s stomach, sucking a mark there before throwing her legs across May’s hips. That content feeling was suddenly gone.  

“Fuck! Win- Winter!” May gasped head thrown back as a blaze of heat and pleasure made her back arch. Winter laughed and gently grind down, spreading her wetness over May’s throbbing cock, pinned between her pelvis and Winter’s hot core. “I’m pretty sure your wet enough,” May teased, blinking back tears of frustration. Her fingers trailed under her chin, gathering the wetness from Winter and licking her fingers clean. “I’m sure you didn’t just soak Robyn’s pillows and sheets.”  

Winter only smirked and raised a brow, hips sliding low. The warm pressure shooting down May’s spine making her legs trembled. Down and down, to the base of her cock and balls… Then she rose up, head lightly brush past Winter’s clit.  

And sunk down to the hilt.  

May saw stars, burning hot and impossibly tight. Winter gasp, moaning and almost purring as May’s hips snapped up. Once, twice, on the third time Winter pulled May’s hands off her hips and pinned them beside May’s head, a hard kiss taming May’s desperate thrust.  

“Slow. May… fuck, please. Slow!”  

May stopped and Winter continued rocking at her pace. Small and gentle. Her head deep in her core. May swore and twitched, the skin on her head slipping on and off. The alternation of burning heat and muted pressure clouding paralyzing her for a moment.  

Winter whimpered, hips adjusting a slow circular grind. THey both gasp as somehow May was pulled in deeper.  

“It’s… It’s been while since I last took anything your size.” Winter confessed, “I… I screamed your name during a one night stand and well.”  

“Honored,” May said after several deep breaths. She couldn’t form any other words, Winter’s lips on hers as she controlled the pace.  

Slowly May’s hands wandered down Winter’s body. From her chest to her neck. As Winter’s increased her pace they traveled lower and lower. Finally her hands was back on Winter’s hips, slamming her down into thrusting hips.  

After years of dancing around each other and the hours of working each other up it didn’t wouldn’t long for May to finish. She pulled her head back from the kiss, whispering warnings. Winter laughed and smiled. She leaned back hands wandering her torso as she her hips grind in low circles that kept May on the edge. Pale fingers pinched her own nipples, fingers splaying wide down her abs. The show stopped as Winter rubbed circles around her clit, hips stuttering.  

May closed her eyes, grabbing Winter’s hips and thrusting as she spilled into her. Winter followed seconds after, drawing out soft confessions as May trembled under her.  

“I love you too. I always have, Winter.”

#Robyn Hill #Winter Schnee #springthyme #schneewood forest #rwby #rwby7 #May Marigold #Fiona Thyme #Show Your Teeth #hellbore #poly #wlw #very happy huntresses #very seasoned huntresses #fic #thoorist

[nights-lament]

RWBY Volume 8, Chapter 1 Thoughts and Opinions

HELLO, INTERWEBS!!! At long last, we are back with more RWBY, and with it, more RWBY Thoughts and Opinions! After the absolute roller coaster that was Volume 7's cliffhanger finale, I can not imagine the insanity that awaits us this Volume. So, without further ado, here are my various thoughts and opinions on Chapter 1 of RWBY Volume 8, "Divide"

SPOILERS BELOW:

Hmm, starting off with a mysterious woman scrubbing floors, and...wait, is that...no...

I really like the way they juxtapose Cinder scrubbing with her scratching the chair. Very symbolic.

Yick, something about organic architecture just gives me the willies. I mean, is the whale aware that they double as a building complex? Can they feel the diabolical ongoings of it's rib cage? Creepy stuff.

Oof, outright taking credit for grabbing the relic, Cinder? Yeah, no way that's going to bite you in the ass.

Oh my. Mercury, Emerald, AND Hazel have new looks this season. I'm sure I'll warm up to them eventually, but right now Emerald's and Hazel's aren't really doing this. For Hazel, the outfit is all right, but the hair is a bit boring compared to his originals. Mercury's is ok, but is it just me, or is he basically wearing Yang's V4-6 outfit? I mean, it works, but still.

"Without you, I am nothing." That...didn't sound like the first time she's said that. It almost sounds like something Salem's drilled into her head for years. Cinder may be irredeemable in my opinion, but I do love a good tragic backstory.

You know, I guess would make sense for the crater to be the slums area. Can't imagine living directly under a floating landmass would be considered prime real estate.

Ooh, this old man has badger paws. I don't think we've seen that kind of Faunus trait yet.

D'aaww, Nora gave Oscar a soft hug rather than her usual glomp. So cute ^-^

I'm interested in how Oscar not telling them about Oz is going to play out.

Ok, their is a lot going on in this bar-base worth talking about, but for some reason I am fascinated by the picture of (i'm assuming) the founders in the background. What interesting designs they have. I feel like they have a story, and I would like to hear it.

Penny's dejected demeanor is giving me all of the feels Q_Q

Not sure how I feel about the rift forming between RWBYJNRO, though I guess we'll have to see where it goes. At least we have people like Jaune playing mediator.

I will say, though, I look forward to seeing Ren and Nora apart. As much as I love them as a couple, I'd very much like to see them operate as individuals.

God, Ironwood trying to manipulate Penny like that.

And there it is. Ironwood has truly revealed his true feelings, and his motivation for his attempt to launch Atlas. He isn't making a tactical retreat in order to form a new plan altogether. He's abandoning the fight altogether, leaving Remnant to die so that he and Atlas can live. It's funny, he wanted to avoid becoming Lionheart, but he was a coward too.

"Everything that follows will be on your hands". That motherf-

You know, we don't see a lot of corpses on this show, do we? Penny got better, Amber's screentime ended as she died, Roman got eaten, Pyrrha got an express viking funeral, etc, and a lot of others were only corpses for seconds before we never saw them again. They did a good job selling how proper dead Clover is here.

Ok, I don't know squat about Hospital layouts. Is it normal to have the morgue right outside of an emergency room? I mean, I guess it saves some travel time should things go wrong, but still, seems like a great anxiety generator for the patient, especially with both rooms having windows. "That's where I'll be going next."

I like the new metal arm. The fact that you can see all of the internal stuff makes it feel like it was quickly put together for the sake of urgency, while still looking cool.

Man, that rendition of "Hero" in the background. Chilling.

Is Winter getting a new look already? I must say. I like the look of the braces, and the ponytail is a vast improvement over the bun.

JESUS H CHRIST IRONWOOD!!! I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING OUT THERE TO ARREST THEM!!! THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A PRETTY BIG FASCIST MOVE, RIGHT!? HE JUST SHOT CHAD JAMES IN THE FACE!!!

What really interests me is everyone's reactions. Elm and Marrow are incredibly shocked, Harriet and Winter share their little look of doubt, and then there's Vine who just...doesn't react at all. Either that or it's all in his eyes, which we can't really see from here. Either way, not a huge reaction from him. Methinks the Ace-Ops and Winter might be starting to doubt the horse they bet on.

I find it interesting that Salem doesn't know how the Relic works, but then I suppose it makes sense, seeing as Oz probably placed them into the vaults almost immediately after finding them, so this is probably the first time she's even seen one in person..

Ok, OP time, and buckle up, guys, gals, and nonbinary pals, because this one is going to be a doozy.

-First off, the song sounds pretty good, but it seems like it's going to go through the same cycle as the rest where it doesn't do too much for me at first, but has me headbanging like a metalhead by the end of the volume

- Mantle glitching out between peaceful and wartorn is a wonderful effect. Definitely fills you with a sense of dread.

-The individual shots of Team RWBY are absolutely gorgeous. Conceptually, it's the standard "where we started and where we're at", but the composition is worthy of a chef's kiss. I think I've found my new wallpaper.

-The Ace-Ops appearing on Clover's pin is nice, but what I find interesting is Harriet and Qrow appearing back to back, especially with Harriet looking so angry. Is Harriet going to double down on her loyalty to Ironwood and go after Qrow?

- It seems Robyn is going to be Qrow's main source of support this season, though the bars seem to suggest they might be in custody for a while.

-Oscar seems to be in Salem's stronghold, which doesn't bode well for our farmboy, also, WHY DOES SALEM HAVE DEMON WINGS!? Emerald's Volume 5 illusion wasn't this scary looking!

-I feel like their's symbolism showing Team RWBY's weapons paired together like that, but I feel like it's too early to say what of. Looks pretty, though

-Ren and Nora standing so far apart. It hurts my soul! Interesting how, while Ren looks away, Nora actually turns towards him.

-I didn't notice Winter's change of expression/outfit before passing by Weiss. She went from looking confident and slightly condescending to full with doubt.

-Not a lot to say about the quick shots of Whitley and Willow other then the fact that they both look worried. The image of the Schnee Snowflake shattering, however, is VERY interesting.

-I'm always a sucker for some good ol' chess symbolism. I find it interesting that while Salem's pieces dissolve into creatures of Grimm, Ironwood's simply dissolve, leaving him alone. Perhaps shooting a fellow councilman in the face right in front of his inner circle doesn't play out as well for him as well as he thought it would.

- Speaking of the classics, also gotta love me some reflection artwork. Watts seems to be working behind Pietro's back while Pietro (presumably) works to get Amity running, while secretly worrying about Penny, whose reflection cracks, possibly symbolizing her resolve. I worry for her.

- The snowflake turning into a flower petal in Ren's hand, while a similar petal passes Nora by. I don't know what this means, but I'm intrigued.

- It seems Ruby and Yang won't be completely be at odds, judging by the look they give each other before going into the action shot.

- Hmm, while Cinder pulls a Za Warudo on the fight scene, you can see a dejected Emerald and a pissed off Neo, still moving, among the heroes. Interesting...

-Almost as interesting as Cinder grasping her Grimm arm before being engulfed in flames. Perhaps Salem pulled a Wormtail's Silver Hand with that arm.

-Is this the first time we've seen the Staff of Creation in it's entirety? I remember wanting to include it and the Lamp in my RWBY Vol 7 spritesheet, but couldn't find any images of it's bottom half. I like the little jewel on the bottom.

-Wow, CRWBY went full Kingdom Hearts with the heroes falling through the ice, and I absolutely LOVE IT! This op has some of the most gorgeous visuals the series has ever seen.

-HAPPY EVER AFTER HAPPY? NEVER AGAIN Daaaaaaamn, that's awesome. It kind of reminds me of a line from Red Like Roses Part II, "This bedtime story ends with Misery Ever After". It's incredibly haunting.

-Almost as haunting as the sketchy art style that flashes in between the words, particularly the part that shows Penny's eyes going red before the rest of her does. Did we predict Watts hacking Penny a volume too early?

-The final shot of Crescent Rose alone stuck in the snow. Damn. The theme of this op seems to be "foreboding as all hell"

Damn. Damn! DAMN! This was, without question, the best OP RWBY has ever had. By, like, a lot. The visuals were some of the best the show has ever had to offer, the foreboding is through the roof, and the symbolism is incredibly clever. I don't envy them when it comes time to make Volume 9's, because this will be a very tough act to beat. I am so happy to have RWBY back, and I am both excited and terrified to see what this show is going to do next.

#rwby #rwby volume 8 #rwby spoilers #rwby thoughts and opinions #rooster teeth animation

[shadows-twilight]

RWBY Volume 8, Chapter 1 Thoughts and Opinions

HELLO, INTERWEBS!!! At long last, we are back with more RWBY, and with it, more RWBY Thoughts and Opinions! After the absolute roller coaster that was Volume 7's cliffhanger finale, I can not imagine the insanity that awaits us this Volume. So, without further ado, here are my various thoughts and opinions on Chapter 1 of RWBY Volume 8, "Divide"

SPOILERS BELOW:

Hmm, starting off with a mysterious woman scrubbing floors, and...wait, is that...no...

I really like the way they juxtapose Cinder scrubbing with her scratching the chair. Very symbolic.

Yick, something about organic architecture just gives me the willies. I mean, is the whale aware that they double as a building complex? Can they feel the diabolical ongoings of it's rib cage? Creepy stuff.

Oof, outright taking credit for grabbing the relic, Cinder? Yeah, no way that's going to bite you in the ass.

Oh my. Mercury, Emerald, AND Hazel have new looks this season. I'm sure I'll warm up to them eventually, but right now Emerald's and Hazel's aren't really doing this. For Hazel, the outfit is all right, but the hair is a bit boring compared to his originals. Mercury's is ok, but is it just me, or is he basically wearing Yang's V4-6 outfit? I mean, it works, but still.

"Without you, I am nothing." That...didn't sound like the first time she's said that. It almost sounds like something Salem's drilled into her head for years. Cinder may be irredeemable in my opinion, but I do love a good tragic backstory.

You know, I guess would make sense for the crater to be the slums area. Can't imagine living directly under a floating landmass would be considered prime real estate.

Ooh, this old man has badger paws. I don't think we've seen that kind of Faunus trait yet.

D'aaww, Nora gave Oscar a soft hug rather than her usual glomp. So cute ^-^

I'm interested in how Oscar not telling them about Oz is going to play out.

Ok, their is a lot going on in this bar-base worth talking about, but for some reason I am fascinated by the picture of (i'm assuming) the founders in the background. What interesting designs they have. I feel like they have a story, and I would like to hear it.

Penny's dejected demeanor is giving me all of the feels Q_Q

Not sure how I feel about the rift forming between RWBYJNRO, though I guess we'll have to see where it goes. At least we have people like Jaune playing mediator.

I will say, though, I look forward to seeing Ren and Nora apart. As much as I love them as a couple, I'd very much like to see them operate as individuals.

God, Ironwood trying to manipulate Penny like that.

And there it is. Ironwood has truly revealed his true feelings, and his motivation for his attempt to launch Atlas. He isn't making a tactical retreat in order to form a new plan altogether. He's abandoning the fight altogether, leaving Remnant to die so that he and Atlas can live. It's funny, he wanted to avoid becoming Lionheart, but he was a coward too.

"Everything that follows will be on your hands". That motherf-

You know, we don't see a lot of corpses on this show, do we? Penny got better, Amber's screentime ended as she died, Roman got eaten, Pyrrha got an express viking funeral, etc, and a lot of others were only corpses for seconds before we never saw them again. They did a good job selling how proper dead Clover is here.

Ok, I don't know squat about Hospital layouts. Is it normal to have the morgue right outside of an emergency room? I mean, I guess it saves some travel time should things go wrong, but still, seems like a great anxiety generator for the patient, especially with both rooms having windows. "That's where I'll be going next."

I like the new metal arm. The fact that you can see all of the internal stuff makes it feel like it was quickly put together for the sake of urgency, while still looking cool.

Man, that rendition of "Hero" in the background. Chilling.

Is Winter getting a new look already? I must say. I like the look of the braces, and the ponytail is a vast improvement over the bun.

JESUS H CHRIST IRONWOOD!!! I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING OUT THERE TO ARREST THEM!!! THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A PRETTY BIG FASCIST MOVE, RIGHT!? HE JUST SHOT CHAD JAMES IN THE FACE!!!

What really interests me is everyone's reactions. Elm and Marrow are incredibly shocked, Harriet and Winter share their little look of doubt, and then there's Vine who just...doesn't react at all. Either that or it's all in his eyes, which we can't really see from here. Either way, not a huge reaction from him. Methinks the Ace-Ops and Winter might be starting to doubt the horse they bet on.

I find it interesting that Salem doesn't know how the Relic works, but then I suppose it makes sense, seeing as Oz probably placed them into the vaults almost immediately after finding them, so this is probably the first time she's even seen one in person..

Ok, OP time, and buckle up, guys, gals, and nonbinary pals, because this one is going to be a doozy.

-First off, the song sounds pretty good, but it seems like it's going to go through the same cycle as the rest where it doesn't do too much for me at first, but has me headbanging like a metalhead by the end of the volume

- Mantle glitching out between peaceful and wartorn is a wonderful effect. Definitely fills you with a sense of dread.

-The individual shots of Team RWBY are absolutely gorgeous. Conceptually, it's the standard "where we started and where we're at", but the composition is worthy of a chef's kiss. I think I've found my new wallpaper.

-The Ace-Ops appearing on Clover's pin is nice, but what I find interesting is Harriet and Qrow appearing back to back, especially with Harriet looking so angry. Is Harriet going to double down on her loyalty to Ironwood and go after Qrow?

- It seems Robyn is going to be Qrow's main source of support this season, though the bars seem to suggest they might be in custody for a while.

-Oscar seems to be in Salem's stronghold, which doesn't bode well for our farmboy, also, WHY DOES SALEM HAVE DEMON WINGS!? Emerald's Volume 5 illusion wasn't this scary looking!

-I feel like their's symbolism showing Team RWBY's weapons paired together like that, but I feel like it's too early to say what of. Looks pretty, though

-Ren and Nora standing so far apart. It hurts my soul! Interesting how, while Ren looks away, Nora actually turns towards him.

-I didn't notice Winter's change of expression/outfit before passing by Weiss. She went from looking confident and slightly condescending to full with doubt.

-Not a lot to say about the quick shots of Whitley and Willow other then the fact that they both look worried. The image of the Schnee Snowflake shattering, however, is VERY interesting.

-I'm always a sucker for some good ol' chess symbolism. I find it interesting that while Salem's pieces dissolve into creatures of Grimm, Ironwood's simply dissolve, leaving him alone. Perhaps shooting a fellow councilman in the face right in front of his inner circle doesn't play out as well for him as well as he thought it would.

- Speaking of the classics, also gotta love me some reflection artwork. Watts seems to be working behind Pietro's back while Pietro (presumably) works to get Amity running, while secretly worrying about Penny, whose reflection cracks, possibly symbolizing her resolve. I worry for her.

- The snowflake turning into a flower petal in Ren's hand, while a similar petal passes Nora by. I don't know what this means, but I'm intrigued.

- It seems Ruby and Yang won't be completely be at odds, judging by the look they give each other before going into the action shot.

- Hmm, while Cinder pulls a Za Warudo on the fight scene, you can see a dejected Emerald and a pissed off Neo, still moving, among the heroes. Interesting...

-Almost as interesting as Cinder grasping her Grimm arm before being engulfed in flames. Perhaps Salem pulled a Wormtail's Silver Hand with that arm.

-Is this the first time we've seen the Staff of Creation in it's entirety? I remember wanting to include it and the Lamp in my RWBY Vol 7 spritesheet, but couldn't find any images of it's bottom half. I like the little jewel on the bottom.

-Wow, CRWBY went full Kingdom Hearts with the heroes falling through the ice, and I absolutely LOVE IT! This op has some of the most gorgeous visuals the series has ever seen.

-HAPPY EVER AFTER HAPPY? NEVER AGAIN Daaaaaaamn, that's awesome. It kind of reminds me of a line from Red Like Roses Part II, "This bedtime story ends with Misery Ever After". It's incredibly haunting.

-Almost as haunting as the sketchy art style that flashes in between the words, particularly the part that shows Penny's eyes going red before the rest of her does. Did we predict Watts hacking Penny a volume too early?

-The final shot of Crescent Rose alone stuck in the snow. Damn. The theme of this op seems to be "foreboding as all hell"

Damn. Damn! DAMN! This was, without question, the best OP RWBY has ever had. By, like, a lot. The visuals were some of the best the show has ever had to offer, the foreboding is through the roof, and the symbolism is incredibly clever. I don't envy them when it comes time to make Volume 9's, because this will be a very tough act to beat. I am so happy to have RWBY back, and I am both excited and terrified to see what this show is going to do next.

#rwby #rwby volume 8 #rwby spoilers #rooster teeth animation #rwby thoughts and opinions

[blake-belladonna-defence-force]

42-Saviour. I'll go first. {Blake was cornered, and with seven highly trained assassins facing her, there'd be no hope of escape. That is, until her partner came crashing down from the rooftops, forcing the assailants back a few paces. B:"Yang! I'm glad you made it bef-" Y:"SAVIOUR breath Blake," she grinned back cheekily. The look she received from her partner rivalled the one Summer used to give her as a child. B:"Could you kill her instead?" The assassins nodded.} Your turn 🤪

Pfft. Okay, I wasn’t expecting that one, mate 😆

Anyway, have some Future High Leader Blake doing her inspiring speech thing.

I’m a simple person. I love Blake’s badass moments. So I wrote one 🤷🏻‍♀️

Not sure how good it turned out since sparring and fight scenes aren’t my thing and I’m so used to writing the bees 😅

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Blake stepped forward, locking eyes Marrow as they levelled their weapons at each other. He was their best chance at getting out of this. Blake had to try.

“This will a lot easier on you if you stand down, Blake!” Marrow let out a grunt as their swords met. “We have a responsibility to Atla-“

“And what about your responsibility to Mantle? The people that you’ve promised to protect?” Blake retorted, ducking under his swing and darting away, keeping out of reach. “What about your duty to the faunus; our people, Marrow?! If we don’t do something, they are all going to die!”

“The General-“

“Is not the saviour he thinks he is!” Blake interjected, gritting her teeth as she blocked another strike. “He’s not in his right mind. He’s sending thousands of innocent lives to the slaughter! Where’s the nobility in that?! What kind of hero sacrifices the people that he promised to protect?!”

“I-“ Marrow hesitated. Blake could see the struggle in his eyes. The choice of duty versus what’s right.

“I know what you’re going through.” Blake said calmly, keeping her weapon up as she and Marrow circled one another. “A leader I once followed and trusted soon gave way to madness because of the trauma he endured as a boy. But that doesn’t excuse the innocents that he slaughtered. It doesn’t excuse the pain and suffering he inflicted upon others. Just like the General’s pain and fear doesn’t excuse what he’s doing to Mantle.”

“I can’t just-“

“Yes. You can.” Blake persisted, parrying a blow. “There’s a difference between doing your duty as a soldier and choosing to do the right thing as a person. You’re so much smarter, stronger and braver than anyone gives you credit for, Marrow. So stop letting others think for you and make your own choice. If not for you, then for the people that you care about.”

Marrow paused, his eyes darting between team RWBY and the Ace-Ops. He shook his and growled, gripping his hair with his hand.

And oh, how Blake sympathised. To realise that the man you followed and believed in couldn’t be trusted. That he who promised safety and honour and freedom was not fit to lead. It hurt. And Gods, did Blake understand that.

“Marrow… we don’t have much time.” Blake said, lifting her chin defiantly. “Make your choice; the people you swore to protect or the man who has doomed them to death.”

“I-“

“Blake!”

Blake gasped as one of the other Ace-Ops fired their weapon at her… only to watch as Marrow diverted it with his own.

“I made a promise to the people of Mantle. I’m going to keep it.” Marrow said shakily, his tail twitching nervously. He was standing up against his team. Going against everything that they stood for. This wasn’t going to be easy for him. “Even if it means breaking my vow as an Ace-Op.”

“Then you join the rest of them.” Elm growled, betrayal clear in her eyes.

“I guess I do.”

Blake looked around her. Her team stood tall, weapons drawn as they looked at each other. When she met Yang’s eyes, she saw pride and admiration and something else that she couldn’t process right now.

“Please.” Ruby tried one last time, her silver eyes wide and pleading. “It’s not too late to do the right thing.”

But when the remaining Ace-Ops shifted and readied their weapons, they all knew the answer. And so, team RWBY and Marrow lifted their weapons and fought.

Mantle deserved to be fought for. And so, they would fight until their last breath if that’s what it took.

Because a saviour doesn’t sacrifice the innocent. A saviour isn’t to be lionised. Instead, a saviour will fight and stand their ground. And that’s exactly what they would do.

#blake belladonna #marrow amin #rwby #fanfic #rwby volume 7 #ruby rose #rwby vol 7 spoilers #yang xiao long

[gemtail]

Marrow Mirrors Weiss

Marrow’s existence in his position, the fact that his uniform doesn’t look as customized, and his attitudes about the systemic racism (or what he voiced about it) makes you wonder just how many people had to comply with the racism in Atlas just to get anywhere? You can apply that to reality, too. How many people do this to themselves? I bet that, if he didn't act so compliant, he'd probably wouldn’t be in his position. He represents one of the 'good ones' who don't make a fuss about the unfair treatment and so got his position not only through hard work but because he’s proved systemically that he’s ‘not like the others’. Anyone else who isn't like that? Anyone who speaks up? Well then I guess the people of Atlas would assume he’s just like the white fang that Adam led: criminals. So, to prove everyone wrong and that he can in fact get into a position that would have otherwise been impossible for a faunus... he just became compliant...

What a rebel, huh? Be the good dog, show everyone that he’s not ‘like the others’, outwardly voice that there’s no point in fighting the systemic racism, wear a uniform similar to Ironwood’s with almost no individuality to it except his tail and bandanna. He got into that position but at the cost of himself as an individual. It’s no wonder he doesn’t see the merit in how he could be a potential role model or a hero for other faunus: the reason he got there was partially because of his compliance to what society thought of him. Obviously not all of it or else he still wouldn’t be there. In fact, I won’t be surprised if he got into his position to prove the faunus who doubted him wrong, not just normal humans.

I initially thought ‘oh wow! He’s the opposite of Weiss!’ but no... that was wrong. He’s almost exactly like her... But mirrored.He’s a lot like the person she used to be before she decided to become her own person (though not nearly as bitter), the only difference is where that pressure to conform was coming from: for Weiss, it was a mix of family and how society viewed her family or at least the rich class Jacques was trying to impress (though all of that can be chalked up to Jacques). Gotta be the pretty and perfect princess for the Schnee Dust Company! Who sings for ‘events’ and goes to parties to try hamming it up with the upper class to score points and show off their wealth... The same Schnee family who treats their workers like slaves, most of which are faunus, and judging by the brand on Adam, they basically were slaves. And now she’s got to deal with those stereotypes because of Jacque’s influence.

Like how Marrow unironically has his prejudices about her. It makes you wonder if he pegs all of it on her as a result? But just like how he wasn’t born guilty of whatever the terrorist White Fang did or others criminals who might have made the faunus look bad, Weiss wasn’t born guilty of being the reason behind the unfair treatment of faunus. But they’re both guilty of being compliant with it and even seeming to think it was okay. You can bet that Weiss would speak out about it now... but Marrow could learn a thing or two from her.

You almost wonder how well she and him would have gotten along if the Ace Ops were allowed to get more personal with team RWBY? Like, be able to go out and have a drink somewhere instead of just having coffee in the morning together only to be all work and no play after that. What would happen if he allowed himself to fully connect with her?? At the very least, he might understand that she’s not just a rich Schnee brat... in fact, she pretty much gave up her status as part of the upper class to fight along side her friends. And even when she was heiress, she wanted to change the SDC for the better, too. Does he even know those things? I bet not.

#rwby #weiss schnee #marrow amin #way more similar than you think #this is why i lowkey ship them #rwby volume 8 #rwby vol 8 #rwby ace ops #ace ops #volume 8