Out of the things I thought I’d see during this hiatus, the resurgence of Noah’s Arc (the RWBY ship, not the literal biblical ship, lol) was not one of them.
oh boy the episode's public now, time for more and more people to buy into the "having the character with suicidal/sacrificial tendencies commit assisted suicide to ~~~finally have agency~~~ is good, actually" bullshit
i just realized penny's suicidal sacrifice did fuckall because even if winter became the maiden she was still late, cinder still got the staff, weiss and jaune still fell (and died for all the characters know)
Uh and yet on the other hand as a RWDE addendum to my other post, I don’t really know how crazy I am about the idea that a song about a “heroic sacrifice for all” is somehow more meaningful than one about a young girl raised under harsh military command learning that her life is worth more than being treated as a disposable weapon for everyone else to use so uh. Yeah. Hm.
Anger about the implications of the song and Penny’s death itself aside, what really, truly upsets me about "Friend” is just how...happy it is?
Not to say that it’s out of character, but when you consider the context of it all, it’s heartbreaking. The song says that Ruby literally made Penny feel alive and instead of being upset about her own death and all the hopes and dreams she could have had, she just says that it was worth living if it meant she got to meet Ruby.
And it’s even MORE upsetting because one of the recurring themes is about making wishes, and the idea that even if Penny’s initial wish was to be a real girl, it morphed into wishing to be around people who would view her that way despite her circumstances, and I-
Darkness like midnight
Moonless there’s no light
Another lonely day is ending
Searching forever
Waiting but never finding
The only thing i dream of
The warmth of a smile
That stays for a while
The face of a friend
That won’t leave
I heard a song once
It posed this point of view
That wishes made on stars
Are likely to come true
So here’s my secret
At bedtime every night
I searched the sky
And hoped to find
A star who’d send a light to me
The one thing I need
Just one kind soul
With a heart of gold
Then my dreams became real
And I finally feel not alone
Do hugs always make you feel this warm?
My wish came true
The day that you appeared
And called me friend
An answered prayer
A chance to share the world
To be a girl who fin'lly felt alive
I’m so excited
We’ll do so many friendship things
Paint our nails
Try on clothes
Talk about cute boys
Attached but not by strings
And when you’ve got problems
Woah! Then I’ve got problems too
You’ll never face this world alone
I’ll be right here it’s you and me
Protectors of each other’s what we’ll be
You saw my soul
Through the nuts and bolts
You’re the friend i can trust
Helped me see i’m not just a machine
And is this what “all the feels” means?
I’ve been combat-ready since the day dad made me
Now I’ll fight for something more
This might sound wholesome but strangely
I’ve got friends I’m fighting for
But I found that humanity
It came with sacrifice, a pact
To shield you from the wicked even if I can’t
Live for real, it was worth it to know you
My wish came true
The day that you appeared
And called me friend
An answered prayer
A chance to share the world
To be a girl who fin'lly felt alive