#salem meta

[salemoleander]

I am BARELY resisting going full red-strings-corkboard on this season. And by barely resisting I mean not resisting at all here is an extremely long list of the events those pins would be marking out.

BigB getting a Task that was a different color than everyone else's. It's not just a randomly assigned Hard Task, bc Scar rerolled for a Hard Task and his was also just a white envelope. It's fundamentally different.

That task taking BigB away from socialization, and seemingly being an incredibly time-consuming and dull request. Of profound disinterest to any watchers.

The phrasing of his Task!!

Dig a big hole. All the way down. At least 3x3. Make it your base if you want.

Everyone else's are direct and formal - the only one with more than one sentence was Skizz's, with the rule clarification of "One attempt only." Bigb's Task is four short abrupt sentences. It is also the only Task to contain extraneous information, 'Make it your base if you want.' The requirements (at least 3x3) feel like an afterthought to mimic the numerical/specific demands of the other tasks.

Evo symbol on the face of the Secret Keeper statue.

The fact that there's a statue at all; the fact that there is a physical representation of what is assigning tasks that everyone must complete, when previously everything was always handled via commands and unseen RNG.

Grian talking to the statue, and (bc of his Actual Role as game organizer) acting as a mediator for the impartial decisions handed down, speaking for it.

Grian making one last bad joke and saying he doesn't know if it counted or not- depends on whether we the audience laughed.

Grian asking for task recommendations from the audience. The watchers are making the tasks. The Watchers are making the tasks.

Again I could be off-base, and I'm not usually even that smitten with bringing in Evo lore. I don't want a Big Bad really...but. It feels like something very unusual and intentional and cool is happening in this series. And I'd guess we'll know if theres something going on once we have more than one data point.

My largely unfounded suspicion is that there is another being (maybe Listeners, maybe something else) trying to reach out to the Players via decoy Tasks, and BigB was the first recipient. Get them alone, make them of disinterest to the watchers, and tell them something we don't get to know.

Because that's the really, really fucking cool part (if my wacky theory is remotely right): We're the bad guys. We're the ones giving out tasks - hell, we're the ones actively brainstorming harder and crueller tasks in Grian's comments!

If they actually made a story where the Players have to keep secrets from us I will be delighted. Bc that is the same genius bullshit that made Evo Watcher lore so fun

#secret life #slsmp #life series #grian #secret life smp #bigb #i think im starting to get the shape of the conceit #this could all be nonsense of course. i may be completely off base and nothing will happen and it's just a normal life series #but it feels like there's something Larger happening here #anyways. will keep thinking and mulling this over and collecting scraps of evidence #secret life spoilers #slsmp spoilers #spoilers #salem meta #salem tag #im so enriched. i love being wrong about stories

[blue-cheeseinmyoffwhites]

ALLUSION ANALYSIS: SUMMER & RAVEN

I always wanted to do a deep dive on Summer & Raven’s characters, and after that finale I think it’s time. So as we all know RWBY characters are based on fairy tales & stories of real life. I want to dissect the inspirations for Summer & Raven & analyze why it’s so interesting that these two are paired together.

So Summer’s base allusion is from the poem The Last Rose of Summer. Her grave has lines from the poem, her name, etc. The actual poem is an allegory for death & the acceptance of it. “Thus Kindly I Scatter” refers to the act of peacefully dying and being returned to the universe, not to mention her intentional ghost like appearance.

As for her secondary allusion, well, she basically fills all the remaining roles in Little Red Riding Hood. She’s the (grand)mother Ruby visits, the wolf with the shiny big eyes, & the brave huntsman with the ax. This telling of Little Red is a lot more Grimm than the original, pining Summer with a not so happy ending.

Now onto Raven. A lot of people think her base allusion is Huginn, one of Odin’s all-seeing ravens. Although this is true, it is not her base allusion, but her secondary. Secondary allusions only work when another character is involved. She can’t be Huginn without Munnin (Qrow) or Odin (Oz). Odin’s ravens were meant to represent his eyes, so when Huginn left, he lost one of his eyes. Similar to how Cinder’s lost eye was revealed after her fight with Raven.

Her real base allusion is of the poem The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. The poem is about a talking Raven consulting a man about losing his loved one. Both of Raven’s allusions come full circle within her fight against Cinder in Volume 5. Cinder’s theme song has been teased since her introduction & it ended up being a diss track about her downfall and telling her to accept her death. The entire scenario played out as if this was Cinder’s final fight. And of course, Raven was there. And you know who else died there? Vernal. Raven officiated her passing by closing her eyes for her, one again linking Raven with death, just like the poem.

Now, we have a theme here. Both Summer & Raven take cues from poems about death & passing & acceptance. With all of this information, rewatch their scene again. Raven, the death doula, is sending Summer, the Last Rose, to her death, and Summer is accepting it. That’s why she left the rose pendant with Ruby. Deep down she knew there was a major chance that she wouldn’t come back. But she accepted that fact. She then traveled with Raven to hopefully put an end to Salem, but this is where both of their stories come to a plot hole.

How can someone accept death if they can’t die??

#rwby #summer rose #raven branwen #salem rwby #rosebird #rwby analysis #rwby allusion #allusion rwby #rwby meta #team strq

[girlbosspyrrha]

yknow the way rwby thinks about heroism may not be the most subvertive or otherwise super noteworthy compared to how other media handles the concept, it is still fascinating as a core of the show. in rwby, heroism is an ideal, it is a stained glass window, a mural on a wall, a storybook picture. you can't actually reach it. and yet they try regardless.

ruby herself is pushed toward it due to her resemblance to her mother, who was that storybook and then suffered (and perhaps still does) endlessly for it. and while i do deeply believe summer was a person and fell flat just like every other member of strq, narratively summer rose is just a concept.

jaune and oscar are both representatives of two highly troped stereotypical (male) heroes, but the key difference is what they're given and what they take. jaune is actively laughed at for trying to be a hero, but will grip onto every scrap of the concept he can. in his worst moments, he's parellel to ironwood in this way, stubbornly sticking to his slowly warping ideas of heroism as he continues again and again to fail to achieve it and lowers his own bar hoping to impress everyone when he clears it. versus oscar, who is handed the (metaphorical) sword of heroism repeatedly, wincing each time its placed in his hands and tries to drop it aside. but there it is again, in his hands.

or cinder, who is not a hero in any way. her mentor in her youth called himself a hero, and she has been disgusted by the idea ever since. she despises heroism and feels she must snuff it out. which is how salem gets to her, because salem too feels hurt by the concept of heroism through oz's strict adherence to it and how that turned him against her. and so as much as the both of them swear against it, they too are shaped by the idea.

because remnant is a world of heroism, even in its unattainable state. because the gods shaped it so. the gods are storytellers, and treated humanity like playthings to make chase after goals they'll never reach.

#rwby #rwby meta #rwby analysis #ruby rose #jaune arc #oscar pine #cinder fall #salem rwby

[confusedandghostly]

Entirely self indulgent dp x dc x mlb prompt

—

-Danny & Adrien know each other, maybe via Magic Stuff, maybe it’s the classic “event in a convenient spot”, doesn’t really matter. Point is they’re hero friends who both know each other’s secret identities and keep in touch.

-At some point, Danny is forced to relocate from Amity park because of a reveal gone horribly wrong. He bolts and keeps going until he can’t anymore. He’s picked up by a stranger.

-(Generally he doesn’t drop his transformations by accident anymore but thank the ancients he did this time because he would’ve had one hell of a time explaining to this stranger why his blood was bright neon green. As it stands, the biggest question is what the hell happened to him.)

-Nightwing is just vibing, doing his nightly patrols in Bludhaven, when he finds this kid half unconscious in an alleyway, bleeding out. They more or less beg not to be taken to a hospital when Dick suggests it, so instead he takes them to one of his safe houses and patches him up there (This kid is 16? Maybe? Why’s there an open autopsy incision-)

-Danny is not in any shape to be going anywhere and on top of that, his accelerated healing is working at a third of the speed it should be because of the materials that were used to hurt him being anti ghost, so Dick manages to convince him to stay in his misc safehouses - he doesn’t need to stay in just one, he’s allowed to move between them, just please don’t leave entirely.

-Danny explicitly requests that as few people as possible get involved in this, and yes that means the rest of the bats. If he can leave once he’s healed without anyone but Nightwing ever knowing he was there then that’s for the best.

-Except, as it often goes, Danny gets attached to Dick and Dick gets attached to Danny and the Reveal happens, etc.

-While he’s still healing and can’t do much of anything, a story runs on the news. Dick doesn’t think too much of it at first, but Danny gets really concerned when he sees it.

-“-Paris’ supervillain Hawkmoth has finally been taken down. Secretly the popular fashion designer Gabriel Agreste, many people who have heard the news are devastated. His home is currently being searched….”

-Danny goes “oh shit!!! I know that guy!!!” and immediately calls up Adrien and asks if he’s alright, what he’s doing, etc and the resounding answer is no, Adrien’s having an existential crisis, and he’s staying with friends while he figures out what to do with himself.

-Danny explains his own situation, specifically that he was displaced but found a safe (and at this point he really doesn’t want to leave anymore) home with another hero, and Dick, who’s only heard half of the conversation but understands that someone Danny knows and trusts with his own identity needs a place to stay, and offers Adrien a place here.

-Adrien decides to take him up on that offer. He’s being harassed, moreso than he ever was simply for being Adrien the model, because now he’s Adrien, the supervillain’s son, and since Hawkmoth was pretty localized he’s hoping that it won’t be near as bad in a different country.

-Now Dick has two kids in his care and he’s feeling more and more like Bruce by the day because he’s just gone from living alone save for whatever times he visits the manor to having two kids in his house, relying on him for safety and emotional support in the span of like. Two weeks.

-Reveal x2 with Adrien, all that Bonding Stuff™️

-Adrien and Danny get to talking and they’re both experiencing some cabin fever and so they decide “yk what?? We could help Nightwing with his hero work!! The area already has a metric fuckton of heroes, what’s two more?”

-It’s actually rather easy for Adrien to convince Nightwing because he gets why Adrien wants to be back out on the field. Danny, on the other hand, is finding it way harder, because Dick is already worried about Danny’s injuries.

-They both manage it though, under two conditions.

-1. They can’t be Phantom and Cat Noir. Not only is it going to be incredibly obvious if/when they make any public appearances as civilians, but also it’s going to raise questions and unwanted attention.

-2. Minimal magic and ghostly powers. This ties back to the previous stipulation, technically. Cataclysm is too recognizable as a miraculous thing, and it could be detrimental in a fight where Adrien can’t get away to recharge. If Danny used too many of his ghostly powers, he could give himself away as a ghost and become a target for hunters.

-Cue a montage of Dick hiding his two new protégés from the rest of the bats because he wants it to be a surprise and also he wants their debut to be on their terms for safety and damage control reasons while trying to set them up with the appropriate training and gear (moreso Danny who needs a whole new suit than Adrien who can just redesign his magic suit)

-The other bats are absolutely certain something is up with Nightwing and they’re proven right when two new players make their debut.

#dp x dc #dc x mlb #dp x mlb #dp x dc x mlb #OKAY SO #Adrien’s hero name is Salem but I can’t think of one for Danny :( #I might come back to it later though because I have Ideas for Adrien’s costume #Adrien still keeps in contact with the miraculous team ofc but they all decided they were gonna take a goddamn vacation #they deserve it after the time they’ve had #also imagining how this goes down is great #Batman: you know the rules about metas. it’s dangerous #Nightwing: those are your rules for Gotham. Bludhaven doesn’t have anything of the sort and they’re based with me not with you #B gets pissed off about it less because of their abilities (because he’s mostly sure they’ll be safe with Dick) #and more because Dick actively kept it from him #Nightwing being protective of his kids #the other bat siblings ABSOLUTELY make jokes about Dick taking after Bruce’s adoption habits #Danny and Adrien are also making jokes about it #miraculous ladybug #Danny phantom #dc comics #nightwing

[nightmare-foundation]

Muffled screaming. Everyone has it backwards

Oz is Darkness and Salem is Light.

Something something destruction is just the cycle of life. It's to clear out the old and replace it with the new. It's to learn and live and die and be reborn. Oz is Darkness, because he lives and he dies and he is reborn. He tears down the old (abolishing monarchies and militaries) and replaces it with what's new (the Academies, a council). He is demonized every time he does his best to help. He believes humanity shouldn't be punished for his mistakes. He offers choice and even knowledge (but not always; but choice is one thing he values above all else). He offers magic as a gift and a tool to use. He learns and grows from his mistakes. He's willing to concede and admit when he's done wrong.

Salem is Light. She is unchanging, undying. She does not age. She believes humanity is lost without Gods, that humanity, while strong, is a fraction of what it once was. She brings life (creating and modifying Grimm). She heals those who need it (Cinders arm, telling Watts to give Tyrian a new tail). But she's stubborn. She's cruel and terrifies people. She manipulates when deemed necessary. She wants to create a new world, one where she's the sole goddess. She hates Oz's gifts to humanity (possibly aura/semblances if my theory is right). She encroaches on Oz's territory and terrorizes those who side with him, and even those who aren't affiliated with him. She's petty and angry and a hypocrite.

I just. Sits down. They're Darkness and Light. They do hold qualities of the other (Salem is Grimm and destructive, Oz is Light and creates things), but it's like how Darkness can create life and Light can destroy.

#felix (host) #rwby #rwby rambles #rwby meta #rwby analysis #ozpin #rwby salem #god of Light #god of darkness #rwby gods #oz detests the grimm because they remind him of himself or something #salem detests aura n semblances because oz gave it to humanity #anyways im gonna go and die now

[aspoonofsugar]

Emerald's Aladdin: Wants Versus Needs

Emerald's Aladdin allusion is a difficult one to understand (or at least it was so for me) and I even doubted it for a while. Still, it is actually there and it is a pretty good one, as well. So, let's explore Emerald's fairy tale and see how its story is intertwined with our hidden gem's.

A QUICK SUMMARY AND KEY ELEMENTS

First of all, a quick summary of Aladdin's original fairy tale. Feel free to skip it if you already know the story:

Aladdin is a boy who lives in poverty until a wizard arrives and introduces himself as Aladdin's uncle. He promises the boy a huge fortune if he retrieves something for him. The boy accepts and travels with his fake uncle to a mysterious cave. The fake uncle instructs Aladdin to enter the cave and to take an old oil lamp. He also gives the boy a magic ring that should help him in his mission. Aladdin enters and retrieves the lamp, but the wizard tries to double cross him and as a result Aladdin finds himself trapped with the lamp and the ring.

Aladdin discovers the ring contains a geenie that teleports him home. Once there, he finds out the lamp too has a geenie, who is even more powerful. So, he uses the geenies' magic to marry princess Badroulbadour (Full Moon of Full Moons) and to live with her in a fancy palace. However, the evil wizard hears of Aladdin's fortune and steals the lamp teleporting the princess and the castle away from him. Aladdin uses the ring to find Badroulbadour and together they defeat the wizard. In some versions at this point the wizard's more powerful brother appears and Aladdin and the Princess have to defeat him too.

As per usual, RWBY takes some elements from the fairy tale and turns them into recurring motifs in its characters' arcs. For Emerald, these are the key ideas we must look out for:

The 2 evil wizards

The 2 geenies

The Ring and the Lamp

The Princess

In particular, Emerald's allusion takes the 2 malevolent wizards and fuses them with the 2 geenies. The result is 2 evil abusers, who trick Emerald with the promise of granting all her wishes:

Cinder: "Follow me, and you'll never be hungry again."

Salem: "The path to your desires is only found… through me."

GEENIES AND WIZARDS

How can we be sure Cinder and Salem are Emerald's 2 geenies? The answer lies in these 2 parallel scenes:

Cinder: I know my fair share of liars and thieves. Stealing is an art of patience, coordination, and in a pinch, sleight of hand. But you didn't steal the ring in your pocket. You took it right before the jeweller's eyes. And he smiled.

Salem: You really have been honing that Semblance of yours. What did you do with the Lamp?

These 2 moments are meant to be foiled and juxtaposed. They are when Emerald enters and leaves the cycle of abuse, which overlap with the beginning and the end of her villanious career. Moreover, her powerful semblance and her thief motif are on focus both times (we'll see later why).

The fact that in such key scenes the ring and the lamp - so fairy tale's symbols - are mentioned by Cinder and Salem marks these 2 characters as respectively the geenie of the ring and the geenie of the lamp. This makes sense considering the role of the 2 geenies in Aladdin's story:

The geenie of the ring is less powerful, but he never leaves Aladdin. He is the one that frees Aladdin from the cave and the one that reunites him with the princess, even if he can't defeat the geenie of the lamp. In short, he is a less powerful spirit, but clearly symbolic of Aladdin's own inner strength.

The geenie of the lamp is more powerful, but he is stolen later on and used against Aladdin. So, he is really a 2 edged sword and less linked to Aladdin as a character. For example, it is not Aladdin himself that discovers him, but rather his mother.

What does it have to do with Cinder and Salem? Well, if you combine the 2 geenies with the 2 wizards trying to trick Aladdin, then you get Emerald's 2 abusers:

Cinder, who is way less powerful than Salem, but whose relationship with Em is way more personal

Salem, who is a force to be reckoned with, but ultimately not central to Em's arc.

In short, the wizard of the ring (Cinder) is less powerful physically, but has more psychological power over Em, while the wizard of the lamp (Salem) is more dangerous, but ultimately her grip on Em's mind is weaker.

Let's now see if this interpretative key works for Emerald's overall arc and if our gem's story fits Aladdin's fairy tale.

THE CAVE OF WONDERS AS A METAPHOR FOR THE CYCLE OF ABUSE

Emerald is introduced as a street rat living in poverty until Cinder promises her a better life. This is how Aladdin's story begins. To be more specific, Emerald and Cinder's relationship is very similar to the one between Aladdin and the Wizard.

The Wizard enters Aladdin's life and becomes a father figure. In particular, he gives Aladdin gifts and grooms him with the excuse of being his teacher. This is exactly what Cinder does with Emerald:

Emerald: I just… Cinder was the only family I ever had. She cared about me, taught me things…

Moreover, one of the first signs of the Wizard's evil nature is him slapping Aladdin so violently that the boy spits blood. Well, Cinder acts in the same way:

Emerald: We don't need him! Everything was going fine! (a slap is heard, and she cries out in pain) Cinder: Do not mistake your place.

So Cinder, just like the Wizard, tricks Emerald into following her and traps the younger girl into an abusive relationship. The lie works out until Cinder and Emerald go to retrieve a certain Lamp:

Just like with Aladdin and the Wizard, the appearence of the Lamp marks Emerald's separation from Cinder:

Emerald: It's not over! Cinder will come back, she'll have the Relic, and she'll stop all of you! She won't let us down.

Emerald keeps believing in Cinder even when everything seems lost, but in the end she is let down. Symbolically, she is left behind, trapped in the cycle of abuse (the cave of wonders) with an even stronger and more dangerous abuser (the geenie of the lamp):

It is telling that while Cinder is away, Salem immediately acts to bring Emerald under her control and to weaken her bond with the previous "geenie":

Salem: Emerald… I want you to tell me whose fault this was. Now. Emerald: Cinder! We failed because of Cinder…

Salem does so by using desire-rooted rhetoric:

Salem: It's important not to lose sight of what drives us: Love, justice, reverence… (she meets Emerald's eyes briefly) …But, the moment you put your desires before my own… they will be lost to you.

She frames herself as the only one who can grant Emerald's wishes. She and not Cinder is Emerald's true geenie. Hers is an attempt to replace Cinder as Emerald's authority figure. She tries to become Emerald's new "master". However, her attempt has actually the opposite result because it stimulates Emerald to self-reflect and new ideas start coming to her. Like, that she is not in the right place and may not even need a geenie to fulfill her dreams:

Tyrian: Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. I want to tell you both a little secret. Your question is all wrong. "What do you want from this?" Children, please, if you're not loving what you're doing, then you're in the wrong field.

Especially, if her geenie doesn't really care:

Mercury: Wake up, already… Cinder doesn't care about you! She doesn't care about either of us!

Emerald initially refuses these hard truths, but they start to slowly erode her idealized idea of Cinder. In the end, she is able to see her precious geenie of the ring for who she is:

In Cinder and Salem's relationship Emerald sees a mirror of her own with Cinder. She finally realizes Cinder has been treating her, just like Salem treats Cinder. All Cinder's promises and even her kindness were tools to trap Emerald and enslave her. Cinder isn't a geenie at her service, but Emerald herself has become Cinder's servant. This revelation leads Emerald to leave Salem and Cinder. She leaves the fascinating, but dangerous cave full of fake treasures and illusions. She leaves the cycle of abuse once and for all.

THE LAMP AND THE RING

Emerald's escape from the "cave of wonders" is meant to show she is slowly developing. When she joins Cinder, Emerald steals a ring and is tricked, while when she leaves, she doesn't steal the Lamp and tricks Salem.

Stealing and illusions are 2 key motifs for Emerald's story:

Delusion I'll steal til your blind and defeat you from inside your mind Illusions Will conquer your mind and will make you fulfill my design

Emerald is introduced as having nothing, so she steals and conjures up illusions not to feel empty. However, no matter how much she takes from others or how wonderful her dreams are, she is still hungry. After all, she steals things she doesn't truly want and lies to herself.

Because of this, Emerald escaping Salem without stealing means she is growing. She is starting to better understand what her true wishes are and how to turn them into reality. Similarly, when Cinder finds Emerald, she sees through the girl's illusions and realize that behind the street criminal there is a scared child she can use. However, when Emerald leaves Cinder, she fully recognizes Cinder's abuse towards her, as well as Salem's mistreatment of Cinder. She has outgrown Cinder and can now see better than her. As a result, her illusions grow strong enough to trick even the almighty geenie of the Lamp.

In other words, on Monstra Emerald starts a path to reach what she truly wants and, like her literary counterpart, she finds some tools that help her in this journey. The difference is that Aladdin finds a physical Ring and a physical Lamp, while Emerald's Ring and Lamp are symbols of her inner growth. She doesn't have to look outside to turn her dreams into reality, but must develop as a person and pursue her wishes herself. So, her Ring and her Lamp represent parts of her. The Ring is something she has always had, while the Lamp is something she acquires in Monstra (in the cave of wonders).

1- The Ring symbolizes Emerald's true worth, which is why she steals this jewel when she meets Cinder. It metaphorically suggests Emerald herself is the real precious ring. Or to better say she is an "emerald in the rough":

"Only one may enter here, one whose worth lies far within... the Diamond in the Rough" (Aladdin, 1992)

She is a gem covered in filth, whose potential needs to be recognized and brought to the surface:

I'm the one Who rose out of filth and was loved by no-one

This is probably the idea that inspired Emerald's design as well:

She always wears brown outfits with some green in the center because she is meant to look like an emerald that struggles to emerge from mud.

In story, Emerald's potential is metaphorically represented by her semblance, which is commented on by several characters and considered pretty powerful. After all, her ability is why she can be such a game changer in Atlas despite doing pretty little. Just a small illusion on her part is sufficient to trick God and to free a Kingdom.

More importantly, her semblance is why 2 key characters take an interest in Emerald.

The first one is obviously Cinder (the evil Wizard), who sees Em using her illusions to steal the ring, recognizes her talent and decides to corrupt her. She isn't really interested in Emerald as a person and traps her in a delusion, where she can't really grow:

The second one is Oscar (the good Wizard), who is freed thanks to Emerald's semblance and sees her as a precious ally:

Oscar: I've seen what you can do, Emerald. However this fight ends, we could really use someone like you.

He is also trying to help Emerald personally and to inspire her to be better. He is mentoring her toward becoming a happier version of herself:

2-The Lamp represents Knowledge (obviously). Emerald's development in volume 8 is strictly intertwined with this idea, as it is one huge realization on multiple levels.

On the one hand she discovers the truth about Salem and the bigger conflict:

Ozpin: "So long as this world turns, you shall walk its face". That was the curse cast upon her. But if Salem can divide Humanity beyond repair, and bring all four Relics together, she believes that maybe her curse will be broken. The Gods will rule against us and destroy Remnant, once and for all.

On the other hand she discovers the truth about Cinder and herself:

Mercury: Would you stop trying to protect her already? She doesn’t care about you.

It is thanks to this clarity that she manages to leave. After all, her defection follows the scene where Emerald and Hazel see Jinn. It couldn't be clearer symbolically. They both receive knowledge and so are able to overcome their internalized illusions and to oppose Salem.

So, Emerald leaves the cycle of abuse (the cave of wonders) by using her semblance (the ring) and with a new found knowledge (the lamp). Her whole scene with Salem even calls back to her fairy tale, where the evil Wizard insists that Aladdin gives him the Lamp, only for the boy to refuse:

Salem: (The Lamp) is missing. Where is it? Emerald: I didn't do anything with it.

Still, there is a key difference between Aladdin's story and Em's. Aladdin has the Lamp the Wizard desires, while Emerald is really ignorant about its whereabouts. Why is that so?

It is true that Emerald not stealing can be seen as her starting to leave her flawed coping mechanism behind. However, Emerald refusing to take the Lamp when leaving with Oscar leads to bad consequences. So, why does this happen? The answer is that even if Emerald is now wiser, she still has to learn things.

As I have explained in this post, Emerald goes from one extreme to the other. She goes from being obsessed with Cinder to ignore her altogether, even when she clearly shouldn't. To be more clear:

After Emerald's quiet moment of realization on the bridge, she just stops considering Cinder in a way that is almost odd. It is a very huge shift of her focus, which is really not explored nor verbalized. Emerald simply starts to act on other things and relationships. She tries to convince Mercury to leave with her, joins Hazel, bonds with Oscar and so on. In all of this, she never tries to communicate with Cinder. Actually, it is implied she is ignoring her:

Watts: Did… Did anyone respond? Cinder: No.

Sure, initially RWBY and co might have taken her scroll away, but in Vacuo she is shown to have it. This means she saw the call and ignored it. Let’s highlight that Emerald believing Oz and Oscar does not explain her behaviour towards Cinder. She tries to convince Mercury of the truth and could have made an attempt with Cinder as well. However, she does not and simply leaves her.

The easiest explanation is that the clock striking midnight has finally dispelled the idealized illusion she had of Cinder. Still, the end result is not really Em being able to unpack her relationship with Cinder or to face it. Rather it is her repressing it altogether. Cinder who?

Basically she has turned Cinder from everything into nothing. She has made her disappear. However, she can’t really ignore Cinder and the consequence of this negation is on a meta level Cinder attacking her new group and making victims.

Emerald has gained self-awareness, but has still to fully unpack Cinder's abuse and their relationship. She still lacks Knowledge, so she fails to take the Lamp with her. This ends up with the Lamp being stolen and used against Emerald's new found family.

A DIVIDED FAMILY AND A LOST PRINCESS

At one point in Aladdin's story, the Wizard steals the Lamp and uses it to teleport Aladdin's castle and the Princess away. This endangers Aladdin's life and breaks his heart. This is the point we currently are in Emerald's rewriting of Aladdin. This moment is declined in 2 different ways.

1- Cinder uses the Lamp in Atlas

Cinder, as the Evil Wizard, manages to take the Relic of Knowledge, to learn the password and to use it to her advantage. The Lamp gives her all the information she needs to win in Atlas, kill Penny and send team RWBY + Jaune into the void. All of this happens just after Emerald defects and finds a new place for herself. Her home is immediately threatened by Cinder, that Emerald understimates and tries not to think about.

Right now, a part of Emerald's possible family is separated from her and she is through a self-defining journey to find where she truly belongs.

2- Salem sends Mercury to Vacuo

Salem, as the Geenie of the Lamp, sends Emerald's partner away from her. Mercury, just like Princess Badroulbadour (Full Moon of Full Moons), is linked to the moon (silver = moon). Not only that, but he too finds himself trapped and isolated, similarly to the Princess when her castle is teleported away from Aladdin. However, in the end Aladdin finds the Princess again and together they trick and kill the Wizard.

This is probably what is going to happen with Emerald and Mercury, as well. Emerald is currently headed to where Mercury is, so that they can find each other again, fight Salem (the Wizard of the Lamp) and face Cinder (the Wizard of the Ring) together.

SO MANY GEENIES!

Emerald's story is not over, so it is possible her fairy tale will resonate more when her arc climaxes. As for now, let's just have some fun with her geenie motif and see how it can fit her plotline in many different ways!

This is just a meta-headcanon, but I like it. If Mercury indeed references The Spirit in the Glass Bottle he may be Emerald's third and final geenie. He is the spirit Emerald needs to free from his prison (like in the Disney movie), so that they both can have their wish granted. This would also work as a call back to the vastly popular idea of 3 wishes. Cinder is Emerald's first geenie/wish, Salem is her second one and Mercury the third and true one.

Emerald has actually 4 geenies. 2 are malicious, while 2 are more well-natured. To be more specific, Salem (Lamp) and Cinder (Ring) are the negative geenies to Hazel (Lamp) and Mercury (Ring)'s positive ones. After all, Hazel is freed thanks to the Lamp and he fights Salem to save Emerald. In a sense, he is the geenie that frees both himself and Aladdin from the cave of wonders. A similar thing may happen with Mercury, as well. He is currently stuck in abuse, but it is no mystery his feelings for Emerald may free him, so that he can support Em during her eventual face-off with Cinder.

Cinder is initially a combination between Emerald's Wizard and her Geenie/Wish. This is in line with how RWBY depicts abusive relationships. The abuser ends up becoming her victim's world. For example, Adam is both Beast and Rose to Blake and Salem is both Stepmother and Fairy to Cinder. Here, Cinder is both Wizard and Geenie. However, as Emerald breaks free from her she is bound to find new wizards and geenies. For her arc, we can already see 2 key characters replacing Cinder. Oscar is Emerald's new Wizard. He becomes Emerald's new mentor and inspiration and they are bound to develop a sibling dynamic with no strings attached. Mercury is set up to become Emerald's new geenie, in the sense of a new wish and objective Emerald might have to fulfill. After all, Emerald is already a part of Oscar and Mercury's respective allusions (she is the Emerald Forest and the Emerald Tablet), so it makes sense they are gonna be a part of hers, as well.

Now, these are just theories and it is also possible new elements will come into Emerald's allusion that may change things. However, the meaning behind Emerald's geenie symbolism is clear. She herself has to become her own geenie. She can't depend on others to realize her dreams, but must work hard to fulfill them with no short-cuts. In this way she may find happiness and maybe even transform into someone else's Geenie:

Emerald: Can I ask you something? Why did you come with us, the night Cinder and I found you? Mercury: Why are you asking-- Emerald: Just answer the question. Mercury: Just made sense. Emerald: That's it? Mercury: Hey, what's your problem? Emerald: I mean, there has to be something you want from this, right?

Emerald is the one that challenges Mercury to think about what he truly wants. This is not by chance and ties with Emerald's thematic role in the story, especially when it comes to CEM, my favourite trio of misfits.

BECOME YOUR OWN GEENIE - WANTS VS NEEDS

This is Aladdin's teaching, according to One Thousand and One Nights:

"Sire," said Scheherazade, ending the story of the adventures of the marvelous lamp, "your majesty will no doubt have noticed in the person of the African magician a man with the passion of possessing treasures. He discovered many of them, but he couldn't enjoy them because he became unworthy. On the contrary, your majesty can see in Aladdin a man of low birth, who rose to King, by using those same treasures only to the extent he needs them to reach his goal.

This is just another way to say Aladdin as a story explores the idea of wants vs needs. This is a very common trope in writing that can be used in multiple ways.

The basic idea is that there is a difference between a superficial wish and a deep need. Sometimes people would ignore what they need in favour of what they want. However, only by realizing and fulfilling the need they can be happy and sometimes even get the want.

Well, CEM's arcs are all different takes on this theme:

Emerald's want and need overlap. She wants/needs love and a family. However, she gets at it wrong. She wants her family to be Cinder, but she needs Mercury + the protagonists.

Cinder's want is power, but her need is freedom. Notice that as a child she correctly identifies her need/want. However, her traumatic past forces her to give up on it.

Mercury is an inversion. He is currently trying to fulfill his basic need aka survival. However, he must realize what he really wants (Emerald's safety) and act on it. Only in this way he can get to his existential need > to become himself, instead than Marcus's copy.

All 3 members of CEM must struggle with this psychological conundrum and Emerald is the one who will figure it out first, so that she can lead the way. Our Emerald in the Rough is bound to become her team's Geenie:

She starts as an abused child, who is turned into a slave through trickery. However, she manages to free herself and will soon reveal her true power and potential. In this way, she will succeed at helping her loved ones by showing them what they truly want/need. She will force them to see the truth about themselves, so that they can overcome their illusions and pursue their real wishes.

#rwby #emerald sustrai #cinder fall #salem rwby #oscar pine #mercury black #rwby meta #once upon an allusion #my meta #aladdin #emercury #hazel rainart

[sugarspikesart]

Sometimes i think about how so much of RWBY was probably inspired by Zelda. (Maybe not but I'm a hardcore zelda fan, and i will associate everything i like) and i love it bc it's not...too obvious? Like, you can clearly point out the similarities and even after noticing them you don't see RWBYs story as a copy or anything (bc this is probably a strech BUT I DONT CARE)

The two brothers /the spirits of the relics -> the three goddeses

The blacksmith / the brothers -> hylia

The two brothers represent different aspects of life and the world -> so do the brothers, they divide their work

The triforce -> the relics

Gathering all of them has very important and potentially horrible consequences but it also can be used for good -> both the triforce and the relics

The pieces by itself can grant some sort of power or effect on the wielder -> the pieces of the triforce represent the goddeses and grant powers (using the light power, super strength, being able to wield a legendary weapon) / each relic has it's own purpose

An innocent soul drunken by power who is also a victim of an ancient god-like entity who seeks reuniting all the pieces of the triforce/relics -> salem / ganondorf

Someone who ended up being cursed to live again and again and again, as a mortal inmortal being whose purpose is to stop the great evil that is threatening the world -> hylia / zelda and ozma

Hm, and somebody innocent who due to this original curse was thrown into all this mess, starting to aquire memories from years and years and decades and centuries before they were born that belong to someone that is merging with them so that innocent person becomes the next soul in the curse and has to stop this great evil because is their fate? -> zelda (skyward sword) and oscar I'm looking at you two

And you're telling me that there were lies and manipulation involved? -> zelda again and ozpin I'm looking at you both

And who did you involved in all this? A brave warrior with a heart of gold and a simple and peaceful background and life who ALSO HAPPENS to be gifted at fighting who carries something unique, the only thing capable of harming that great evil?? Hmmm... -> ruby, link, I'm looking at you both

And you're telling me that having that thing is not as easy as it seems and you need to unlock it and learn how to unleash it's true potential? -> maybe like the silver eyes? Or maybe the master sword?

And you're telling me that these two souls are bonded by fate to meet and have A LOT of pararells and they complement each other? -> ruby and oscar I'm looking at you

And you're telling me that their story resembles and is a pararell to the original story of lovers? -> ozma/Salem - ruby/Oscar and the first link/hylia -zelda/link

And you're telling me that the soul who merges with this magical ancient being also carries light themed magic? -> zelda? Oscar? Explain

AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT EVEN IF THERE'S A MAIN HERO, THEY CANNOT DO IT ALONE AND THEY NEED HELP?

Hmmm like RUBY AND ALL HER TEAMMATES AND LINK AND HIS COMPANIONS?

Oh, and you're also telling me that there are very important and powerful people who carry a fraction of the power of the gods? Like the maidens? Or like maybe the sages? (I'm not including the champions bc botw came out after rwby)

So yeah, there's some similarities. And i LOVE IT

Also i ship zelink and rosegarden and I CAN ASSURE YOU. THEY'RE THE SAME. SAME DYNAMIC, SAME VIBE, THEY'RE SO DEAR TO ME OH MY GOD.

#rwby #rwby rambles #rwby meta #zelda #I'm very sleepy #it's 6am #man they're the same #ruby rose #oscar pine #rwby ruby #salem #rwby salem #ozpin #ozma #rwby ozma #proffesor ozpin #zelda lore #rwby lore #zelink #rosegarden #headcanons

[picaroroboto]

don't have a reaction image but. Guda Enjoyers clapping and cheering and hooting and hollering every time Guda is in a state of severe psychological distress

#fgo #fate/grand order #guda #in other words i saw those Salem manga panels #meta posting on my art blog

[t3acupz]

during the salem witch trials, abigail hobbs was a teenaged girl that was arrested for witchcraft. in the show, her namesake character starts to trust hannibal (lucifer) because he gives her comfort and love. eventually though all he gives her is death.

#abigail hobbs #hannibal #hannibal meta #salem witch trials #sigh* #really related to abigail #not only did i love her style but she really felt like a 2013 tumblr girl

[nightmare-foundation-2]

Am I the only one that disagrees with peoples perception of Oz being that he's a religious paranoid zealot out to destroy and demonize Salem??

Because,, I really never got that kind of vibe from Oz. Oz is a lot of things- bitter, cynical- but what he is NOT is a religious fanatic who follows the GoL without question.

At first, yes he was willing to follow the GoL's orders with little argument.

But did everyone just,, forget,, that he flat-out originally said NO to the God of Light with no hesitation just because he thought Salem wasn't alive?? Like. He straight up said that he basically DOES NOT CARE about the world (and by extension, the gods) if she's not in it.

And when he found out Salem was alive? He completely ignored the GoLs actual warning, the only thing he SHOULD have listened to. He only accepted the GoLs order because Salem was there. That's it.

That... doesn't tell me he's a zealot blindly following the God of Light.

And about trying to follow through with his task, yes it's bc the GoL told him to. But he's not a fanatic.

The only reason he originally wanted to destroy Salem (which was probably a last resort to him, lbr) was because she was actively working AGAINST him. She hurt him DEEPLY by incidentally killing their kids and him (which, yes, she killed their kids, she attacked first for no reason without trying to talk to him), so naturally he's going to see her in a not-so-good light.

As for Oz being paranoid, it's reasonable he would be. He doesn't know which Grimm is hers, which Grimm was deliberately sent, what events are because of her, etc. There's NO WAY to tell at all. He HAS to be vigilant, because if he isn't, people DIE.

And he isn't demonizing her for no reason. This entire time, Salem has been vying for the destruction of Remnant. Whatever her reason is doesn't matter, that's what she wants. If she really wanted to just bring the Gods back to defeat them, she could've easily communicated this to Oz and worked WITH him instead of against him. Not only that, but she destroyed 3 Academies and is responsible for hundreds if not thousands of deaths, everyone from the guilty to innocent, from elders to children. And it's HEAVILY implied that she started the Great War ("no one knows who shot first" <- in stories that implies the third party, the antagonist, caused it, and Oz was still fighting her then), which resulted in possibly MILLIONS of deaths.

There's also nothing to even imply that she grieved for her daughters' deaths. It's explicitly stated that OZ grieved and drowned his sorrows with alcohol, when Jinn easily could've mentioned if both of them grieved. Oz was, and likely still is, deeply traumatized by his and Salems first fight.

The reason Oz sees her as a manipulative monster is because that's what she currently IS. She tortured Cinder after she disobeyed Salem and manipulated her right after, told Tyrian she was extremely disappointed in him knowing it would hurt him deeply, used Hazels sister to manipulate and keep him on her side EVEN WHILE fighting him- there's probably a million more examples that I can't think of right now. She deliberately uses the broken and hurt of society for her own gain and keeps them broken.

Because of this, in her songs Sacrifice and Divide, she projects HARSHLY onto Oz. Everything she says Oz does is what SHE does- she lies, manipulates, gets people's hopes up only to crush them. She sees humanity 2.0 as nothing more than pawns to use, that she and Oz are the only players. So she thinks that Oz MUST be the same, right? They're both immortal, the only 'true' people, why wouldn't he??

So Salem doesn't TRULY understand Oz in my opinion.

But I really think that Oz DOES understand Salem, at least better than Salem 'understands' him.

Oz... is definitely disillusioned in the Gods. He refers to his immortality as a curse despite the GoL delivering it as a blessing. He's pretty much given up on not just destroying Salem, but also on his task (he straight up said he has no plan when Ruby asked him). He's bitter and no doubt angry. If he was so zealous in his love for the Gods, why would he refer to a blessing as a curse? Why would he give up on his task? Why would he refer to them as essentially people who get into petty fights? To an actual zealot, that would be extreme blasphemy and heresy.

I really do think Oz understands Salems dislike for the Gods. Maybe not at first, not entirely, but now he definitely does. The only thing is that he's not willing to crush people under his boot like Salem does just to get that point across.

I definitely don't think they could ever work together, but mostly because of Salem. Salem views herself as completely separate and better than humanity and hates everything Oz is responsible for. Oz was likely willing to compromise with her, but he didn't like how she did things (like being a tyrannical dictator). And now that Salems done so much damage to him and everyone else, I highly doubt Oz would ever be willing to work with her, same thing with Salem.

To be clear, I don't think Salem was always evil or manipulative nor that Oz is perfect. Salem was, at one point, just a grieving woman who loved her husband enough to go against the Gods because of it. But I think time and constant fighting jaded and twisted her. Oz too- he's had to do things he's not proud of, made mistakes that blew up in his face, hurt people without meaning to. But time also changed him, and he's learning because of Oscar as well as teams RWBY and JNPR.

Ultimately, I don't think Oz is the zealot people think he is. He's not evil, and Salem isn't good or remotely sympathetic anymore. Salem doesn't understand Oz as much as she likes to think she does, but Oz understands her and not only does he hate it, but it scares him.

#felix (host) #ozpin #rwby #rwby salem #ruby rose #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #weiss schnee #team rwby #team jnpr #rwby ozma #meta analysis #also im not even gonna get into how jinn IS in fact a reliable narrator #smth smth bias and misinformation is the enemy of knowledge #also of oz was really so bad #why would it hurt him every time to lose an ally #salem doesnt give a shit #but he does #rwby fndm #fndm #anyways rwby fndm stop misinterpreting oz challenge #i saw a post that tried saying he was a paranoid zealot who doesn't understand salem #im not gonna name names obv im not an ass #bc everyone has their opinions #but its just straight up false to say that

[salemoleander]

Was anyone going to tell me the Secret Keeper speaks in rhyme?

#okay that's it I'm making a fucking video tomorrow #slsmp spoilers #slsmp #secret life #secret life spoilers #salem tag #salem meta

[autumnsorbet]

Epilogue and theory v9/10

So today a few hours ago for me the epilogue came out I'm very excited about it since this is the most Ruby content related to the main show we've gotten and about a year it's better than us waiting and confusion like we did wondering what was going on with volume 9 where it was a to what felt like to 4 year wait 😅

I also like to hear a rise then there's possibly been a time skip of longer than we think and vacuole even though the epilogue shows the characters and the same outfits they've been wearing since volumes 6 and 7 I do like to think that when we do see these parts of the epilogue and volume 10 like we've been told by Eddie and kerry

💖

We'll see new updated looks maybe some of the characters will look older or a bit taller I really hope this happens and I can't wait to see what their character designs look like especially Oscars and winter

So let's get started with what I liked from the epilogue and some theories all throwing you here and there

🧡💚Oscar

wondering if the others were alive and actually trying to do research into it even though remnant has limited resources and information even ozpin didn't know what happened to Ruby and the others

♥️

So I'm excited to see their reaction and volume 10 I'm guessing we'll get the reunion with everyone and episode 2 whenever we get volume 10 and these explanation of the ever after will come up an episode 3 because I believe in episode 2 if they do end up getting to vacuo and reuniting with the

💖

others then that's going to be the main focus and then maybe a fight will happen and after that and episode 3 they'll take a break for episode they'll explain everything that's been happening with them Ruby and the others will explain what happened to them and the ever after, team Rwby will see how Oscar's merge is affecting him I wonder if jaune using his Aura amplification would help Oscar I'm not sure it might make it worse we'll have to see

💖

but like I said in other post on here and Twitter I Believe by the end of volume 10 Oscar's merge will be complete and will be left on a cliffhanger as to who it is or will actually get to see who it is at the end and we'll have to go from there sadly cuz either way we're either losing ozpin or Oscar

💙Nora

I'm so happy that this epilogue started out with Nora cuz she was one of the characters even more than Oscar that I wanted to know what was going to happen with since from the beginning they'd always set her up it's kind of like a pair with Rin and now we're getting to see Nora Branch out and do

💖

her own thing away from rent even though he can tell that now after telling himself and Nora that he loves her, he still gives Nora her space I'm glad that Nora got to stand up to people who were being hostile towards orphans since Nora's been an orphan for longer than we've probably known

💖

We get to see Nora actually interact with other characters for once outside of her team it's just amazing and I wish they had done this sooner

I can't wait till when we actually give volume 10 because I hope we'll see so much more of Nora and maybe if we're lucky maybe she'll somehow become a maiden

❤️💚Ren

I like what they're doing with Ren Ren sees that John isn't there anymore so now he's trying to be supportive and uplift the team the same way his leader would and I'm happy they're doing this he learned a lot from him and Atlas he saw how

💖

confident John became after losing so much and struggling since the beginning of beacon and now he's not there to uplift or support them like he used to so wren's trying to support and uplift everyone

💖

even though they're separated I also look forward to seeing what happens with him and volume 10 especially with his relationship with Nora he's still trying to give her space even though you can see he does want to be with her at the moment so I wonder what they'll do with him from what it seems maybe they'll have some moments with him along with maybe other characters like male characters

💖

kind of like we seen in Ruby Chibi where he'll be with some of the male characters and they'll be looking into Tyrion and Mercury working with the group called The crown from the before the dawn and after the fall light novels which are Cannon to the main story of rwby

💙Winter

I actually got to see more of winter than I thought I would with the rest of the epilogue I'm happy that we see how much control she seems to have over the maiden power so far her flying her combat and skills she truly is a good candidate for the powers

I'm hoping at some point we'll get to see winter interact with the other maiden I'm hoping that this maiden is very young somewhere around winter's age but has a bit more control over her powers than winter and maybe she can learn from someone instead of trying to teach maybe form a friendship or a bond and that will help them in their upcoming battle with Salem and speaking of Salem

❤️🖤Salem in vale

For the longest time now I theorize that Salem probably went to Vail I think she used up her grim pools on the dark Continent and needs to go to a place where a larger amount of her grandma are still active and that would be veil she's there looking for the crown possibly with cinder since she has Tyrion and mercury and vacuo teaming up with the crown

Salem can sit back and make more grim using the staff I honestly do have some doubts here and there when it comes to the writing in the show but so far over the past several volumes is actually gotten so much better and I love it it was especially amazing and volume 9

I'm not sure what they'll have Salem do with the staff maybe if we're lucky Salem will somehow separate Oscar and Oz before they merge I doubt that will happen with that could maybe happen so she can actually confront the person she wants to instead of a 15-16 year old

#rwby #rwby9 #vacuo #rwby10 #rwby fan art #rwby designs #rwbyv10 #noravalkyie #lie ren #oscarpine #winter schnee #salem #rwby analysis #Rwby meta #rwby theories

[blue-cheeseinmyoffwhites]

RWBY Oscar’s Allusion(s)

Oscar is based on both Tippiterius & Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz books. Tip was a young boy who lived with a cruel witch named Mombi. His true identity is Princess Ozma, the ruler of the Land of Oz, but the witch captured her, wiped her memories, and disguised her as a boy to prevent her from claiming the throne. Dorothy was a young girl who lived on a farm in Kansas with her mother. Wishing for adventure, she finds herself suddenly in Oz and journeys trough the land with new friends.

Oscar takes inspiration from both characters. He starts off as a young boy (Tip) who lives at a farm with his aunt (Dorothy) wishing for something more out of his life. He gets chosen as the next vessel for Ozma, reflecting how Tip is the secret identity of Princess Ozma.

As Oscar progresses through his adventure in the RWBY story, he finds himself in an altercation with all of the Wizard of Oz based characters, Ozpin (The Wizard of Oz / Vol. 4), Leonardo (The Cowardly Lion / Vol. 5), Qrow (Scarecrow / Vol. 6), Ironwood (Tin Woodman / Vol. 7), and Salem (The Wicked Witch / Vol. 8). Dorothy runs into all of these characters, with the Scarecrow (Qrow) being the first she meets.

Dorothy gains a pair of Ruby/Silver Slippers at the beginning of her journey. This could explain his relationship with Ruby (who also has a secondary Dorothy allusion). Take note that he notices her silver eyes in the same way Ozpin does. Also, his outfit change came with a fresh pair of red boots.

Tip being captured was also referenced in the RWBY story. It actually aligns with his run in with Neo. Neo is based on Trivia, a Goddess of witchcraft. He gets taken by this "witch" who has the power to change identities, reflecting how Princess Ozma’s identity was hidden by the witch, Mombi.

In The Marvelous Land of Oz, Tip's first friend is Jack Pumpkinhead, a being with a jack-o-lantern for a face and wooden joints for a body. After their adventure, the Pumpkinhead resides in Winkie Country, the land ruled by the Tin Woodman. There, he learns how to grow his own Pumpkins that he uses to replace his old pumpkin face. In the RWBY story, this character may be reflected as Maria. Her base allusion is the Grim Reaper, who has the appearance of a skeleton. It’s fitting that she has a secondary allusion to Jack Pumpkinhead, for jack-o-lanterns and skeletons are often aligned with each other (Halloween vibes, you know?).

During their journey in Volume 6, she was mostly aligned with Oscar, helping him on his feet, reading him a story, defending the airship, etc. She gets caught up in the heroes' journey on her way to Atlas, the kingdom ruled by Ironwood (the Tin Woodman), to get some repairs done on her face (cybernetic implants). Jack's wooden joints wore out during their journey, which could be a nod to Maria old age.

Oscar is adopted into Team JNPR, who are all based on crossdressers. Oscar's allusion of Tip fits into their theme: Tip is actually the Princess Ozma transformed into a boy. Ozma's domain was in the center of the Emerald City, which could explain Oscar's alignment with Emerald.

#rwby #oscar pine #ruby rose #maria calavera #qrow branwen #salem rwby #team jnpr #james ironwood #wizard of oz #allusion rwby #rwby allusion #rwby analysis #rwby meta

[hawkeabelas]

I think that there was a part of me that wanted the finale to bring closure, to tie things up in a neat little bow, to let the love square finally converge in a way that guarantees their happiness forever after, roll credits, everything's perfect now

And like. Ok yeah there are like three more seasons I should have known better.

But with time to process I'm glad it wasn't a perfectly satisfying ending. I'm glad we've been left with a resolution that doesn't actually resolve anything, a "happiness" for the characters that leaves us feeling more unsettled than anything.

Technically, the bad guys won. The heroes don't realize this, but we, the audience, do. So it feels like I'm on the other side of soundproof glass, banging on it, screaming at Adrien and Marinette that everything is not fine, they're still in danger, the world isn't right and it's about to get so much worse and they can't hear me

fucking hell. what a turn for a silly kids superhero cartoon. damn.

#ml meta #ml season 5 finale #ml season 5 spoilers #ml s5 spoilers #ml conformation #ml recreation #ml finale spoilers #salem says #i am having thoughts! emotions! feelings! #too many of them goodbye

[nightmare-foundation]

Yknow, it's really interesting to me how Ozpin hasn't actually been responsible for most things in rwby

Like, I'm gonna list a few things

Oz, obviously, didn't make any of the kingdoms (I've seen some people try to say it's possible he has, but I doubt it).

The Academies also aren't unique. Combat schools existed, at least in Mantle, prior to their creation. If I'm right (please tell me if I'm wrong), a combat school was turned into Atlas Academy, an old one specifically. So it's not a unique idea that Oz got from nowhere.

The CCTS also wasn't Oz's idea. It's explicitly stated it was Atlas's gift to the world, so it's pretty unlikely Oz even had a hand in making them.

The Circle also wasn't made by Oz. The other people who tagged along made it, with Oz as the figurehead. He likely wasn't even the leader because he was gone so often. He didn't even want the Circle to be a thing initially, but he saw how much good they were doing (protecting people, teaching people how to fight) and just let it happen.

The 4 man team ALSO wasn't Oz's idea. It's stated the King of Vale, aka Oz, got it from a fairytale (the hunters children I believe it's called??). Said fairytale was something he very likely was Not a part of, so this is true too.

The only thing he's really done is raising Atlas and abolishing the monarchies and militaries. Which, btw, the last thing was Objectively good (raising Atlas was a mistake and Oz 100% knows this).

Maybe another thing is that he made Beacon and Vale more friendly towards faunus, but honestly that's not entirely successful bc systemic racism is hard to get rid of, especially in one lifetime.

Really, from what I see is that Oz believes that humanity doesn't need anyone to guide them. Maybe something or someone to look forward to (symbols of hope are always nice to have but also have their own flaws), but otherwise? He's never tried 'guiding' humanity.

Which I think is REALLY interesting, bc between Oz and Salem, it was SALEM who seems to think that humanity is lost without Gods. She suggested that humanity needed guidance, and initially Oz went with it, but now he clearly disagrees with the idea that humanity needs to be 'guided'. And Salem doesn't seem to have changed her opinions, either. I think she wants to overthrow the gods and become humanities new Goddess, possibly the only God on Remnant.

But I digress, I think it says a lot about the both of their characters. And it's ironic, too. Salem, the woman who rebelled against the Gods, thinks humanity needs Gods to guide them because otherwise they're divided and lost. And Oz, the one who accepted Lights task (albeit being manipulated into it), thinks humanity doesn't need Gods to guide them because they're powerful all on their own.

It's even more interesting because, funnily enough, Salems idea that humanity is lost without Gods feels like a very Light thing to believe, but Oz thinking humanity doesn't need guidance is a very Darkness thing to think. It's utterly fascinating and deeply ironic.

These two bounce around my head All the damn time

#felix (host) #rwby #rwby rambles #ozpin #rwby salem #rwby gods #god of light #god of darkness #rwby meta #rwby analysis #ALSO SALEM IS SO HYPOCRITICAL #i love her to DEATH #crazy woman i love you

[iamafanofcartoons]

When RWBY Critics Claim that Team RWBY have No Goals

Apparently if you’re not selfish, you cannot be a hero. Unless of course you’re Adam Taurus or James Ironwood according to RWBYCritics.

Like...do you need to be some legendary hero in order to fight the villain? Do you need to be a battle-hardened warrior? No!

Why would team RWBY wanna fight Salem if they got their personal development? Because they live on the planet she’s trying to destroy?

Is that not reason enough?

#rwby #ruby rose #james ironwood #rwby characters #rwby analysis #rwby salem #rwby meta