#i mean he planned for winter to be a winter maiden

[rachetmath]

Jaune was working as usual until he heard his scroll. He looks to see Blake calling him. He answers.

Blake: Jaune we need to talk.

Jaune: *putting a baby to sleep while controlling kids* Blake I am a little busy at the moment.

Blake: Jaune we need to discuss why you quit your position.

Jaune: I don’t know maybe because I’m not needed and might as well use my time to get stronger and probably be more useful.

Yang: Jaune come on you were plenty useful in the nursing.

Jaune: Yang they have medical professionals. They were fine without me. Plus I go back there every morning. I never left. I even have them on my scroll. They call me too. So what’s the problem?

Robyn: Look we just need you to start pulling your weight and do your job.

Jaune: *triggered*

Kid #1: Ooo you messed up lady.

Jaune”s teacher 1: Honey you felt that, right?

Jaune’s teacher 2: Mm-hm someone about to get their ass beat. And my son is about to do it.

Jaune’s teacher 1: Honey we already got ten kids.

Jaune’s teacher 2: And I love them but their still children. They don’t know how bad adulthood is yet.

Jaune: Little bi- *remembers the children* You know what how about we have a meeting about this okay?

Robyn: Fine.

The next day everyone gathered around for the meeting with Jaune being in the room first. After everyone finished what they had to say, Jaune presented himself and replied.

Jaune: So, everyone good? Okay, I’ll make this quick. I have been doing my job better than almost all of you. Almost.

Qrow: Jaune what do you mean you have been messing up-

Jaune: I know the man who can change into a bird and is a legend yet still can’t watch over a maiden and his nieces for shit is talking to me.

Qrow: Now hold up son I’ll beat-

Jaune: Bro you are the reason Clover is dead. And the reason Tyrian escaped along with Robinhood over there.

Robyn: Hey.

Jaune: And speaking of you, Ms. Hill, how the hell was Penny defending your city better than you or any of your Happy Huntresses considering the amount of citizens who got hurt? 

May: Hey we had to evacuate our citizens cause your team deserted us. 

Jaune: Well sorry, it is not like one of my friends wasn’t kidnapped and was about to die at any given moment. 

Yang: You could have helped.

Jaune: Bitch you told me not to fight. Hell we almost got him back too. Oh. And we were planning to come back. However, we were captured because I was trying to warn someone of an upcoming attack. Which happened and yet some stubborn mother fuckers wouldn’t listen. Cause they were fixated on looking for Penny. 

Winter: Mm he did. But you

Jaune: Yeah-yeah I know, the Ironwood and Ruby bs. And speaking of that wouldn’t James have killed everyone anyway if we hadn’t stopped him?

Qrow: Not to mention Harriet almost dropped a whole bomb on Mantle to kill everyone.

Harriet: Okay rude.

Yang: Okay Jaune-

Jaune: Bitch don’t get me- don’t get me started on you. You have been getting your ass beat as of late. Like in Atlas and Mantle, I don't know how that’s possible, but me and my men, have been carrying you throughout the whole ordeal. All you have been doing was not knowing how to shut the hell up.  

Yang: um…

Jaune: Like you was talking about the Ace-ops and Winter following orders yet you were following Ozpin’s,Ruby’s, Ironwood's and better yet, you were following my orders. At least I was coming up with a plan. I was helping Ren. Being a leader. What were you doing other than Blake?

Blake: Alright Jaune, calm down, You have made your point.

Jaune: Oh no the fuck I haven't. Are you Ruby's sister?

Blake: No.

Jaune: Mm I wonder what drew me to that conclusion considering you have been acting like her sister more than a blond brawler over here? Both moms left her too, yet she looked for the one who never raised her.  

Yang: *tears dropping from her eyes*

Nora: Wow Jaune, that's cold.

Jaune: Nora. Ren. My supposedly two remaining teammates. 

Ren: Come on not again. Jaune, Ruby already told us everything. What can you possibly say that she hasn't told us yet?

Jaune: For someone who was on James's dick you never once tried to snitch on us. In fact you been kinda rude half the time.Then you decided to speak out against Harriet like you and Yang didn't argue before we got caught.

Ren: That was because she was insulting Pyrrha.

Jaune: Which I understand but I thought we were past that already.

Ren: Well I was the reason Winter agreed to your plan. And I was the reason we survived the whale to find Oscar.

Jaune: Emerald and Hazel saved Oscar before we had a chance. We basically went in there for nothing. And you almost started a fight with Harriet. 

Winter: Also I was a little hesitant but I agreed to the plan. Mainly more hostages. You wouldn’t be alive if I hadn’t jumped in.

Jaune: More importantly if I were to have thrown the relic into the mix, which had one question left by the way,  you're telling me Harriet wouldn't agree to let us go. Mainly because they were looking for Penny regardless.

Nora: Wow Jaune you would thrown Penny under the bus that easily?

Jaune: If it meant a negotiation with James, probably, yes. And Nora, weren't you unconscious throughout half that experience? 

Nora: I saved team RWBY.

Jaune: Who hasn't? Cause I recall, Qrow, Oobleck, Gylanda, us, CVFY, Ace-ops, James, and Ozpin. You ain’t special.

Oscar: Damn.

Jaune: Oscar you decided to meet James and try to talk. After he made us wanted criminals. What were you thinking?

Oscar: At least I tried to reassure him. 

Jaune: And you got shot. Mother fucker you were wasting time and our efforts. Next time no one might not be able to help you. And Ozpin? It took a whole pile of shit to happen for you to finally came out and help? 

Oscar(Ozpin): Mr. Arc it was not that bad.

Jaune: He got shot. Manhandled by a Grimm. And beat up by an old man. Come on.

Ozpin: … …

Jaune: Don’t get me started on how you fucked up years before.

Pietro: Jaune. You killed my-

Jaune: I killed Penny and saved Winter. Winter was Ironwood's second in command and was in charge of a whole army during a full-scale invasion. The fact Penny had Weiss, Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Nora to choose from proves she knew all of them weren't up to the task. Plus I was trying to help her but my options were limited. I did what I had to. I’m sorry.

Pietro: You could have-

Jaune: Healed her? I TRIED!!! However let's discuss how I have been carrying every damn body on my back. I had to help Ren multiple times when using his semblance. I had to heal Oscar. Heal Nora. Amplify Weiss and Penny when it came to her virus. Hell fourth wall breaking did anyone think for a second I amplified Ren ahead of time so he can mask those same thousands of people.

RWBY fan: …. ….

Jaune: All that while running, fighting and surviving while having barely enough sleep or energy. Hell, my aura kept breaking multiple times. I am surprised I haven't passed out yet.

Winter: Mm he made his point.

Weiss: Winter, why are you siding with him so quickly?

Winter: First off I am alive because of him. Second, Weiss, you lied to my face. Like I was open with you and you never once came to me with the truth. I'm your sister. You're lucky I was willing to side with you at all.

Jaune: Facts. And for someone who lived in Atlas, you barely did shit to save it. 

Weiss: I sent ships to help Mantle.

Winter: That's the thing though Mantle. You did nothing for Atlas at all. And how did you send those ships?

Weiss: Well it was mainly Whitley.

Winter: I rest my case.

Jaune: Also aren't you Ruby’s partner? Why are Oscar, Blake, and myself filling in those shoes more than you? 

Yang: Well in the Ever After you-

Jaune: I was trying to find a way home by learning the story. But as the saying goes, “Don’t trust everything you read.”  And sorry for protecting a civilization from killing itself even though that was the only thing keeping me sane.

Yang: *silent*  

Blake: They came back though.

Jaune: They don’t remember me or their past lives. They died and came back only to die again. Not to mention I had to leave my second and long-time companion and place her in the care of a rat. Not only that I had a whole map of the Ever After. I wasn't playing around. I was seriously trying to find a way home. Yet you called me crazy.

Blake: *silent* 

Jaune: Here is what I am saying, true enough I can't fight for anything but I at least help in areas none of you can seem to grasp. I have to sacrifice my mental and physical well-being to support ya’ll. I have been doing my job as a huntsman, teammate and a friend than almost any of you. 

Nora: But Jaune you’re our leader we need you.

Jaune: I recall the majority of times you two barely follow my orders. Ruby is your leader. I don’t recall having a team move with either of you. Not just that you have Oscar and Emerald so fuck both of you. 

Ren: Are we that bad of a team?

Jaune: Yeah, and what’s crazier is I have a family I haven’t seen in years yet I’m still prioritizing a city full of savages, and you all as my friends when I can just pull a Raven and leave you be.

Yang: DUDE!!

Jaune: I’m just saying I could leave and nothing would change. Now I’m leaving cause I got a job to do!*leave*

Qrow: Well damn.

Nora: I guess we all made mistakes.

Ren: Yes.

Weiss: I’m going to call Ruby and see if we can hang out.

Yang: Can we make that a double?

Oscar: Um Nora do you think-

Nora: Calm down Oscar. Jaune may be upset but he’ll be fine. He wouldn’t leave us like that.

A few weeks later.

Ruby: Hey everyone we’re back.

Team RWBY saw a crying Nora in Ren’s arms and defeated Qrow comforted by Oscar. Ruby looks to see a letter and picks it up. Ruby and her team read the letter. Afterward, Yang is shocked, and Weiss is sad as Blake comforts them. Ruby on the other hand steps out and then stares at the sky. A tear flows down her eye.

Ruby:  Well, at least you have the common decency to tell me what you’re up to. But still…*sigh* Hope you find what you're looking for my friend. And… … Please… come back safely.

Jaune was flying on a Nevermore along with Emerald who snuck aboard to his surprise. Jaune, though irritated, continued flying as she held onto him.

Emerald: I can’t believe you tamed a Nevermore. 

Jaune: Yeah-yeah anyways why did you follow me here?

Emerald: Hey someone has to watch your back.

Jaune: You are the last person I want to cover my back.

Emerald: Well don’t be rude. But also…

Jaune: What?

Emerald: Jaune… Salem is after you.

Jaune: Really? Why? I don’t recall being a silver-eyed warrior or Ozpin’s vessel. So why me? Also, how do you know?

Emerald: Mercury told me and even he doesn’t know. He just overheard Tyrian about you.

Jaune: I fought with him a week ago. (Should’ve killed him too.) Still doesn’t make sense though. Did he hear anything from Cinder?

Emerald: No. 

Jaune: Look I already left the kingdom. Cinder mainly wants Ruby dead. And Salem will be too preoccupied to do anything about me. We’re under clear.  

Somewhere in Vacuo, Tyrian and Mercury were speaking to Salem and Cinder through one of her sphere Grimm. Salem hears Jaune has left the kingdom of Vacuo and is enraged.

Salem: WHAT?!

Tyrian: I’m sorry mistress. Please calm down.

Salem: *breaths* Very well. Cinder will meet you both in Vacuo. Therefore we will split our efforts into two. You three along with our allies will search and kill the Summer Maiden along with team RWBY and their annoying friends. I will send a request to half of them to assist me in finding him. I may even need them.

Tyrian: Them ma’am?

Salem: Yes, them.

Tyrian: Very well my queen. We will not fail you.

Salem ends the call while Cinder stands before her with an angered look in her eye.

Salem: What is it, my dear?

Cinder: Why are you after Jaune?

Salem: Why do you ask?

Cinder Ma’am, I don’t mean to be rude but that boy isn’t worth our efforts at all.

Salem: Hm… really? So how come he’s alive?

Cinder: By sheer luck of course.

Salem: True. However, there is no doubt he has gotten in the way of our plans. Like with killing the Schnee girl. Or getting the winter maiden’s power. 

Cinder: *nervous* Those were my failures, ma’am.

Salem: Regardless I need him alive.

Cinder: But why though.

Salem: His semblance and aura. With his semblance along with Gillian's, I might be able to push our army further to evolution. But I need his power to do it. 

Cinder: Then allow me to-

Salem: *snaps* 

Cinder was shut off as she could feel pain from her Grimm arm. Salem turns around and looks to Cinder and say as she closes in on her.

Salem: I recall sending you to handle said children and what happened? Oh. You costed me knowledge. You lost the maiden powers to another huntress. Hazel and Emerald betrayed us. And worse of all you lost two useful people. 

Cinder: But I gave you creation. Surly that makes up- *feels greater pain*

Salem; Ever since you came back you have been getting cocky and more foolish by the day. Draining my resources. Right now, all I want from you to do is simply play nice and follow orders. Like a good little doll. 

Cinder was terrified as she stared at Salem’s as she leaned down to look closer at Cinder’s frightened gaze.

Salem: Understand this Cinder. I was the reason you managed to obtain and control that power you have in your possession. However, you so far have continued to prove how undeserving you are of said power and responsibility that comes with it. So let me break this down for you. If you so much as make a mistake, further disrupt my plans, or worse fail me…

Cinder: … …. 

Salem: I will take everything from you. Do you understand child?

Cinder: Yes m- *screams* Yes… my queen.

Salem: Good. Now leave. 

Cinder gets up and leaves for Vacuo. Salem on the other hand walks around her castle until she reaches her destination. There she opens a huge door. She walks through the door only to be greeted by multiple eyes.

Salem: Hello my children.

???: Greetings Mother.

Salem: Mother is sorry. I wish I didn’t have to send you to do this. But there is no one but you that I trust to do this task

???: Anything Mother.

Salem uses her Grimm to present an image of the target.

Salem: Find this boy. Do however you feel it takes to bring him back alive. 

???: May we have fun hunting him Mother.

Salem: *smile* Of course, my children. You may torture him and do as you see fit.

???: Yes mother. It shall be done.

Salem: Then go. 

#rwby #jaune arc #ruby rose #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #nora valkyrie #lie ren #qrow branwen #penny polendina #raven branwen #pietro polendina #winter schnee #james ironwood #ace ops

[bestworstcase]

hm.

raven intends to stab cinder in the back (and expects cinder to do the same) in the haven vault. this is a scenario she gamed out with vernal well in advance—“we planned for this” means more, i would assume, than just how to handle salem’s agents walking into camp.

but she doesn’t move to defend herself when she realizes cinder’s gotten the drop on her. she lunges forward and shouts to warn vernal.

“you won’t find [the power], because vernal isn’t the spring maiden. i am.”

“if you were stronger or more clever, then maybe you’d remember to watch your back.” -> vernal uses her last moment to shoot cinder, giving raven her opening to throw cinder over the ledge -> “…thank you, vernal.”

the last spring maiden’s death, and raven’s part in it, is mirrored by what happened with penny and jaune (and winter, who blames herself just as he does). [*technically we don’t know this for sure, but the writing is on the wall. “it was mercy!”—and raven thought of vernal’s safety before her own, when cinder pulled the trigger.]

summer involved raven and the spring maiden in her last mission. she joined salem. salem wants the relics; summer’s confidante was the spring maiden’s mentor. the spring maiden died that night. you do the math.

penny threw herself in between cinder and her friends, over and over. (“kill me, and i’ll make sure the power goes to you.”) cinder kills vernal with the intention of killing the spring maiden (i.e., raven). vernal finds the strength for one last shot to tip the fight to raven. (raven tried to protect her too.)

…the last spring maiden was fatally injured taking a hit meant for raven.

raven, who talks and talks and talks about how the weak die, the strong live, those are the rules, talks and talks and talks about how she’s a survivor because she’s strong, raven “one save” branwen, raven “next time i won’t be so kind” branwen, raven “my semblance warns me when my loved ones are in danger and lets me reach them in time no matter where they are” branwen, who sees cinder throw a bolt of magic at her and lunges forward in desperation to protect vernal.

“she was scared when we found her! weak! no matter how much training i put her through, she never learned! she wasn’t cut out for this world—” what would it do to raven to watch a girl she loved as family die saving her?

#''i’m doing what gretchen would have done'' oh dear.

[anthurak]

Theory: Penny the Great and Powerful

A while back, I did a post theorizing on how Penny could return another time, specifically due to having essentially ‘piggybacked’ her consciousness onto the Winter Maiden powers before they transferred to Winter, likely with the hope that she could be extracted from Winter at a later date.

And ever since I made that post, I’ve only become more convinced that this IS indeed where the story is going. For one, looking back at Penny’s final moments, I think it’s clear that SOMETHING is being set up for later. I mean just look at Penny’s final words to Jaune:

“Trust me.”

This wasn’t some apology, a call to action or some last goodbye. Penny had a PLAN.

Then of course there’s her final words to Winter: “I won’t be gone. I’ll be a part of you.”

Now sure, at the time we were all thinking the same thing as Winter, that this was Penny echoing Winter’s own figurative words when Fria passed the powers to her at the end of the last volume.

Buuuuttt… what if Penny was speaking LITERALLY? I mean, speaking literally while everyone else is speaking figuratively/metaphorically IS kinda Penny’s thing.

And on top of all this, Penny attaching herself to the Maiden powers frankly makes perfect sense when we consider just where the powers came from.

I think at this point it’s safe to assume that the ‘Maiden Transference’ is really just the Oz Reincarnation Cycle at work. I mean think about it; upon the death of the holder, the Maiden Powers jump to a new host that fits a certain set of criteria, just like Oz does.

When Oz split his powers among the four original Maidens, I imagine they ALSO got the reincarnation protocol. However, because the reincarnation program was made specifically for Ozma, this meant that the consciousness/memories of Maidens didn’t transfer. Instead, it’s just been the raw magic alone that’s been reincarnating into new hosts.

I imagine that this is likely due to Oz’s own lack of knowledge/understanding of both his magic and the reincarnation cycle. He may have believed that simply giving these girls the magic would allow them to start reincarnating just he like does, not knowing or understanding that additional steps needed to be taken in order to ‘key’ their own spirits to the magic in place of his own. Or perhaps Oz simply didn’t expect the reincarnation magic to transfer at all.

Incidentally, this would also explain why the Maiden transference can seem to be so random. Oz’s reincarnation protocol is keyed specifically to HIS consciousness, and thus has very specific criteria to look for when selecting a new host, a ‘like-minded soul’ as various people have put it. Whereas because the Maiden Powers aren’t transferring a consciousness/spirit, their criteria for selecting a new host is likely as basic and general as possible. Heck, the age-range criteria may have been a built-in base-criteria, given how Oz also always seems to transfer into young men/boys, meaning that literally the only new criteria for the Maiden Powers’ reincarnation protocol was ‘girl/woman’. Which in turn explains the whole ‘goes to whoever’s in the host’s final thoughts’ thing. The criteria for the next host are SO general/nebulous/vague that the previous host can actually influence/guide where the powers are going to go.

Basically, the Maiden Powers have been reincarnating into new hosts just like Oz has, just simply absent of any conscious spirit attached to them.

Until now.

THIS is the bit I’ve gotten particularly interested in just now.

What if Penny was able to figure out HOW the Maiden Transference/Reincarnation Cycle worked and in turn was able to key her own consciousness/spirit to the reincarnation program just as Oz was?

Which in turn, would effectively make Penny another Oz-spirit.

I mean, they ARE both associated with the color green…

Now I know that everyone reading this is probably immediately thinking about the unsettling implications this could have for Winter, ie; does this mean Penny’s consciousness is going to overtake and merge with Winter’s just like Oz does with his hosts?

But let’s not forget a KEY aspect of RWBY’s character dynamics is contrast. Meaning that Penny becoming another reincarnating spirit like Oz means that she would end up representing a FOIL to him. Which would mean that Penny’s situation would be decidedly DIFFERENT.

What if everyone is at first terrified that Penny and Winter are going to merge just like Oz has with all of his hosts, but after a while it becomes clear that the merging… isn’t happening.

What if Penny has wound up gaining a far greater knowledge and understanding of the reincarnation cycle/protocol, and has figured how to simply STOP the merging process from happening. Something that Oz never could do himself.

Or perhaps, something that Oz never TRIED to do himself.

I think it’s all too likely that Oz has always simply assumed that there was nothing that could be done to stop his spirit from merging with those of his hosts. After all, this reincarnation cycle was created by the God of Light, the all-powerful creator of the world. How could he, a mere mortal, possibly hope to stop, alter or even understand such a power?

While Penny is under NO such compulsion and could have spent a LOT of time poking around in the metaphysical program files of her new maiden powers to figure out how they worked. Possibly even getting some ideas of how to extract herself from Winter, with or without the Maiden Powers. She may even have some ideas of how to extract Oz himself…

And of course, this would all thematically tie in PERFECTLY with the whole ‘actually the gods aren’t so all-powerful’ revelations that Team RWBY will be bringing.

#rwby #rwby theory #rwby analysis #Penny Polendina #penny revival theory #winter schnee #ozpin #ozma #rwby maidens #rwby gods #character parallels #character foils

[hockeyandhrsepwr]

Abu Dhabi moments

Jack Hughes x Ferrari driver reader

Je T’aime Masterlist

** Vegas is the last race before Abu Dhabi & series takes place in 2024 with Danny, Seb & Mick still on the grid **

A handful of moments as the season come to an end because I didn’t want to write a full fic. Also how are y’all? I’ve haven’t been on here in a while because ya girl had finals and grad 🫶

Post Practice, Friday

Welcome back to sunny Abu Dhabi, as we prepare for the final race of the season!! This weekend brings us the most heated battle for the Drivers Championship we’ve ever seen!! Yes that includes Lewis versus Max 2021, the Mercedes battle of 2016 & Sebastian Vettels maiden win in 2010. Ferrari have the Consrtuctors trophy, will they clinch the Drivers too? Lets have a look at the possibilities

Y/n L/n currently sits first in the points, with Max trailing by only one. Charles Leclerc only sits only 5 points behind him. It will come down to whoever takes the win for this race. Three potential champions, one race. Will it be a third championship for Verstappen, a second for Leclerc or a first for L/n?

Are you excited? Because we sure are. They all had great practices today. Who will come out on top? Tune in all weekend to see what happens!

Lets send it over to Naomi, who’s with y/n now

Media Pen

Hi y/n, how are we feeling today?

I’m doing great, how about you?

You know, I’m pretty good but were not here to talk about me. What’re you feeling coming into this weekend, knowing that the championship could be yours?

Honestly, I’m trying not to think about that. It’s just a normal race. I dont want to psych myself out since anything can happen once we get on that track. Of course I’d love to win, but who knows. Charles & I have been able to bring that constrictors back to Ferrari which was incredible, and whoever wins will have absolutely deserved it.

Thats a great way to look at it! I’m rooting for you but we’ll see what happens. Now, onto something more important. You had an interesting weekend in Las Vegas, didn’t you?

Yeah, you know the race was a lot of fun and it was great to win, especially given the issues we had the week before

Girl you know thats not what I’m talking about!!! I mean your after race shenanigans
Haha, yeah, so I got married which was a special experience.

Can I ask if you’d planned that going into the weekend?

Oh not at all! It was more a timing thing. So Saturday night Jack, my husband which is still weird to say, asked if I’d want to get married while we were there. He played a game in Vegas which is why he was there at all. Of course I wanted to marry him, but I didnt want to do it without some of our closest friends there. Luckily, most of them who play hockey were either in Vegas because they’re on his team or they were within a 2 hour flight range so we could get them there for Sunday night. And of course I was able to get the guys from the grid there no problem. So we just decided to go for it!

So no parents?

No, unfortunately not. Both of our parents live on the east coast and it was too quick to get them there, but we’re going to do a big party over the summer so they can celebrate with us.

At least they’ll have that!! Can I ask what the planning was like?

Jack took on all of the decisions which was really great of him since I had the race that evening, but Sunday morning we texted everyone with flight info & told them to get there asap. Then my best friend Thomas went & picked a dress for me, since Jack wasn’t allowed. I sent a message to our groupchat after the race with the chapel address once jack found somewhere & told the drivers to be there and look decent. It was a really great night though & I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Well congratulations!! Is he here this weekend?

Unfortunately not, hockey season is well underway, but I’m on the first flight to New York that I can get & we’ll have the winter break together.

Well, all the best to you and your new husband, and we’ll talk to you later this weekend I’m sure. Good Luck tomorrow!!

Thanks Naomi!

RACE DAY

Commentators

Oh my god, we’ve come down to the final lap to decide the championship. Who’s going to cross the line first?? Right now L/n is leading, but Verstappen is right behind her. Will he be able to get past?? The other Ferrari of Leclerc is a fraction of a second behind Verstappen.

There goes Leclerc!!! He’s trying to pass Verstappen, my word! OHHH he does it!! Charles Leclerc puts his Ferrari between the Ferrari of L/n and the red bull of Verstappen

Radio: “Tell y/n I’ve got verstappen, go & win it!!”

That was Leclerc, it looks like he’s going to defend against Verstappen so L/n can win. We have half a lap, can he hold off the Red Bull? Fantastic driving by Leclerc, and what a teammate!!

Here it it!!! Rounding the final corner in that iconic red car, its L/n!! The chequered flag is waving, SHES DONE IT!!!!

Radio: C’est toi y/n!!! Tu es la championne du monde!!!!!

In her 4th season in Formula one, your 2023 World Champion Y/n L/n everyone!! What a finish from the young driver. History is made here tonight as she becomes the first female driver ever to win the championship!! She’s also the second youngest driver to take it after former ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel.

What a race, what a finish as Leclerc crosses in second, less than half a second behind.

You

Over the radio you hear the team celebrating but you have no words. It doesn’t feel real. There’s tears streaming down your face. All the shit you put up with, all the years of hard work, missing your friends and family, it’s all lead up to this.

“Y/n?” You can hear your engineer ask since you haven’t responded, but nothing comes out. Driving towards the end, you do your donuts and pull in to your designated spot. You just sit there for a second before “HOLY FUCK” and someone on the other end laughs.

You’re still crying but its all happy tears as you pull yourself up & step onto the front of the car. You sit down on the Halo & put your head in your hands, trying to collect yourself as the crowd goes mad around you. Pulling off your helmet you look over to your team at the barriers & smile. You want to run over & celebrate with them, but you can’t bring yourself to move, afraid its all a dream. Then you get tackled. You’ve completely missed the other guys pulling up, too in your own head and you jump when Charles grabs you and pulls you off your car. He pulls you into a hug & whispers congratulations in your ear before someone else grabs you & you see Mick.

“You fucking did it!” He yells and you laugh. It was the kick in the ass you needed and you release Mick to go over to your team, hugging your engineer first. After that it’s a blur, until someone passes you a phone.

“McQueen!!!” Thomas is on the one end of the FaceTime, jack also popping up on the screen. You laugh at the nickname, glad to see their faces.

“I’m so proud of you!” Jack says “Me too!!” Thomas yells, wanting to be part of the conversation. “Thanks Thom!” “I love you so much babe! I can’t really hear you so I’ll call you later?” “Go celebrate, I’ll see you soon. Je t’aime mon amour” You blow a kiss before handing back the phone. There’s one more person you need to see. You spot Susie and you rush over to her. She’s been a mentor and inspiration to you since you were a kid and without her who knows where you’d be right now.

The rest of the day passes in a blur. You’re pulled into interview after interview, congratulations coming from all around and your phone buzzing like its possessed. You call your parents & Jack but thats it, grateful for all the love but too overwhelmed to deal with responding to all your messages. That night you and the boys go full send. You know its a good night since you can’t remember anything. Monday is filled with media, and then you hop on a flight straight to Newark.

Fourteen hours later, Jack & Luke are waiting from you when you finally make it through customs.

You’d think you’re racing or an Olympic gold to win the 100m with how fast you fly over to Jack & jump into his arms, tears streaming down your face as you hug him like a koala.

“Tu l’as fait” he whispers in your ear as you squeeze each other, your face buried in his neck. You can hear the emotion in his voice

“Je l’ai fais”

“Ma championne”

“Je t’aime tellment”

“Mon champion” you say back, smiling at the fact that both of you won this year

“Cough cough, Hi, hello, where’s my hug?” Luke says from somewhere behind you, causing you to giggle and pull your head up to look at him

“I’ll get to you in a sec”

Jack puts you down & you give Luke his hug. “Congrats y/n/n. You deserved it”

“ Thanks Moose. Now we match with our trophies.”

“We do!!” He passes you the big bouquet of flowers he’s holding, “from mom & dad”

“I love them. Let’s go home boys”

#jack hughes x reader #fast cars and sharp shoes au #f1 #f1 x hockey #jjwritesshit #je taime series #driver!reader #jack hughes imagine #f1 blurb #nhl blurb #hockey shit #formula one #hockey blurb

[aspoonofsugar]

Ironwood and Penny: Atlas and Amity

Winter: You chose nothing. This...was a gift.

Winter: No, you have sacrificed everyone else!

Winter’s 2 remarks above highlight 2 important themes explored by Ironwood and Penny throughout the Atlas Arc:

Trust - Ironwood wants to control Winter, but Penny trusts her with the Maiden Power

Sacrifice - Ironwood sacrifices others, while Penny sacrifices herself

These ideas are also at the core of 2 settings of volume 7 and 8: Amity and Atlas.

On the one hand Amity means “friendship” and the arena represents the ideal of unity among Kingdoms (the Vytal Festival, the Amity Project). It is then a place symbolic of trust.

On the other hand Atlas takes its name from a Titan in Greek mythology, who holds the sky in place. This alludes to Atlas’s role as the Greatest Kingdom, which should support everyone else with its technology and richness. For this reason the Kingdom frames itself as ready to selflessly make sacrifices. In reality, though, it is supported by others’ sacrifices.

How do these 2 places comment Ironwood and Penny’s arcs? And what do these characters have to say on trust and sacrifice? Let’s discover it, by analyzing their parallel and yet opposite arcs.

CREATOR AND CREATION - 2 SIDES OF TECHNOLOGY

Ironwood and Penny are introduced in the Beacon arc along 2 opposite creations of Atlas Technology.

Ironwood: There are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch. So, we are proud to introduce... the Atlesian Paladin!

Penny: Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura.

Ironwood wants to substitude soldiers with robots and presents the Atlesian Paladins. Penny is instead the first synthetic person with aura and she wants to be a normal girl.

This juxtaposition foreshadows 2 things:

1) Ironwood is linked to a technology with no humanity, while Penny embodies technology made with humans in mind

2) Ironwood is a creator, while Penny is a creation

1) 

Ruby: You're not like those things we saw back there. You've got a heart, and a soul; I can feel it!

Ruby juxtaposes the Paladins to Penny. They are only puppets, but she is a real girl. This opposition gains more weigh when we remember that:

The Paladins are made by Watts

Penny is made by Pietro

Watts and Pietro are Atlas’s 2 top scientists, but Watts’ creations are cold and logical, while Pietro’s have hearts. And yet, when it comes to choose a project, Ironwood chooses Pietro’s.

Why is that so? There are 2 possible answers.

a) The first one is what Pietro believes:

Ruby: You wanted a protector with a soul. Pietro: I did. And when General Ironwood saw her, he did too. Much to my surprise, the Penny Project was chosen over all the other proposals.

Ironwood used to wish for a protector with a soul, even if he later changes his mind. It is coherent with Ironwood being the Tin Man who loses his heart. His problem is not that he is a bad person.  If anything, several characters aknowledge Ironwood’s heart is in the right place:

Glynda: You're a good person, James. You've always done what you think is best for the people, even against strong protest. It's admirable.

Blake: The General's heart seems to be in the right place, but that doesn't mean we should trust him yet.

Still, he sees it as a weakness and refuses to follow it:

What if it’s true as they say That I don’t have a heart That I'm more a machine than a man? What would that change? Would it matter at all? I've made my plan Hearts and minds may not agree Emotions topple strategy

b) The second one is present in subtext:

Ironwood: For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint; how it works, what's it made of, how it can be used. We've made... significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it.

Isn’t it interesting that Atlas has been experimenting with aura machines while also developing an android able to generate aura?

The aura machine takes and transfers aura, while Pietro gives his aura to Penny to bring her to life. It sounds as if the 2 technologies might be similar, doesn’t it? What if what really intrigues Ironwood about the Penny Project isn’t giving a soul to a robot, but rather controlling a soul? By studying how Pietro gives his aura to Penny, Atlas can learn more about aura itself, how it works and how to artificially manage it.

In the end, we don’t know why ironwood chooses the Penny Project over others, but this ambiguity fits his inner conflict between the heart and the desire of control.

At the same time, Penny ends up objectified in both cases. She is seen as a protector at best and as a puppet, at worst. This ties with the difference between creator and creation (point 2).

2) Ironwood finances new creations, like the Paladins and the Penny Project. In this sense, he is a creator. Penny instead was built by Pietro, so she is a creation. This dychotomy is articulated in 2 ways:

a) Ironwood is active, while Penny is passive

Ironwood: I refuse to believe that a man that I've trusted for so long would act so... passively.

Penny: I want to stay at Beacon. Ruby: Penny, they'll never let you do that. Penny: I know, but I have a plan.

At the beginning of the story Ironwood and Penny are opposite in how Ironwood has much agency, while Penny has none.

Ironwood is basically the ruler of Atlas and everybody in the Kingdom follows his orders. He is so used to have his way with everything that he enters a conflict with Ozpin over exactly this. He claims Ozpin is too passive and uses his influence to take control over the Vytal Tournament.

Penny is a child-soldier whose life has been decided by adults around her. Pietro asks her not to venture too far despite how lonely and curious Penny is. Ironwood controls her schedule to a ridiculous degree to the point she is forbidden to talk with anyone. Even when Penny musters the courage to pursue a personal goal, the narrative kills her off before she can act on her wish.

In the end, Ironwood and Penny’s arcs in Vale are decided by their respective activity and passivity. On the one hand Ironwood is so active he doesn’t trust others’ agency. He wants to control everything and everyone, but this is his downfall, as Cinder and Watts use his own robots against him. On the other hand Penny is so passive her role is reduced to that of a pawn in Cinder’s plan. Her feelings are ignored and dismissed to the point they meta-narratively have no impact on the story.

b) Ironwood is framed as a “second father” to Penny

Ruby: Was your dad that upset? Penny: No, it wasn't my father...

In A Minor Hiccup Penny links Ironwood and Pietro. This is a way to show Ironwood is an authority figure in Penny’s life. He is some kind of metaphorical father to her. Not in the sense their bond is necessarily familiar, like Penny and Pietro’s. Still, Ironwood is the one who finances Penny and is her teacher and mentor. His influence on the girl is as much if not more than Pietro’s. Ironwood is the one who decides Penny is gonna be a Huntress and a Protector. Penny instead loves and trusts him.

In summary, Ironwood starts the story as a controlling father figure, while Penny as a controlled daughter. From this initial point they have opposite progressions.

On the one hand Ironwood loses his 2 daughters (Penny and Winter) and ends up passive:

Ironwood: So, consider this my last order: step aside. Winter: I've never wavered in fighting the enemies of this Kingdom--And I won't start now.

On the other hand Penny emancipates herself from his 2 fathers (Ironwood and Pietro) and grows more active:

Pietro: I want the chance to watch you live your life. Penny: But dad… I am trying to.

They do so by adhering to opposite ideals. Ironwood chooses repression and control. Penny chooses expression and trust. Ironwood acts selfishly and loses himself. Penny acts selflessly and finds herself.

THE BATTLE OF AMITY

Ironwood: It goes without saying that this arena holds a significance to all of us.

Amity is an important place for Ironwood and Penny. On the one hand it is both where Ironwood loses the battle of Beacon and a weapon to use against Salem. On the other hand the arena is where Penny is killed and it gets repaired together with her, after they make it back to Atlas:

Pietro: Died? I guess, in a manner of speaking, she did. But we were able to recover her core from Amity Arena once it had made its way back to Atlas.

At Beacon Ironwood loses both Amity and Penny, but in Atlas they are repaired and enhanced, so that they fit the general’s plans even better. Amity Arena becomes Amity Tower, a giant antenna that can unify all nations against Salem. Penny becomes the Protector of Mantle, a super-hero that fights for the poorest and most defenseless people of the Kingdom. The overlapping between Amity and Penny is highlighted also by their technologies being similar:

Watts: Penny’s blades operate on the same principle as Amity in the launch terminal. In order for her to control them all, they need to communicate with one another.

Ironwood and Penny’s stories are intertwined with Amity, but once again Ironwood gets to be active, while Penny is forced into passivity. Ironwood controls the arena and Penny, while Penny is a super-weapon tasked with the burden to be a symbol of trust.

However, things start to change in Amity itself, where both Ironwood and Penny have a pivotal fight with a dangerous villain:

Watts and Cinder are strong foils and personal antagonists to both Ironwood and Penny.

On the one hand Watts is a foil to Ironwood. Both are Atlesians’ elites who believe true strength is found in the mind rather than the heart. They are also very ambitious and wanna best and control others. In particular, they wanna control Penny.

On the other hand Cinder is a foil to Penny. Both are girls (maidens) objectified and used by Atlas, who wanna be free. This search for freedom leads them both into a conflict with the elites (Ironwood). However, the way they go at it is different. Penny refuses the mentality of Atlas, but tries to save its people. Cinder can’t escape the Atlesian framework, but wants to destroy the Kingdom.

So, Watts and Cinder are dark mirrors, who are meant to challenge Ironwood and Penny. Are the General and the Protector of Mantle really different from Salem’s servants? And why?

In particular, the 2 villains test Ironwood and Penny on the theme of trust, especially in the 2 Amity Fights. After all, both confrontations happen because of an exhibition of trust:

Ironwood chooses to trust Robin and to tell Mantle and Atlas the truth. He is open about everything, even the Amity Project, which works as bait for Watts. Penny chooses to trust Ruby and the world with the secret behind Salem. This is why she has to protect Amity Tower at all costs when Cinder arrives.

At the core of both Ironwood and Penny’s plans there is a dangerous bet:

Watts: It wasn't finished... it was bait.

Penny: This does not seem like a very good idea. Pietro: There is a difference between a good idea and our best idea. Sadly, we don’t have time for much else.

Ironwood knows that telling his Kingdom the truth may cause panic. He knows he is putting Amity in danger. Penny knows that Ruby’s message may go ignored and the world might not come for Atlas in time. Similarly, she knows Pietro’s method to have Amity work is dangerous.

They both trust and take a risk:

Weiss: Trust is a risk.

Watts and Cinder appear out of nowhere to weaponize this risk for their own selfish interests:

Watts: Our tin soldier's heart has cost him his mind. We need to keep their attention on Mantle for as long as possible.

Cinder: Salem doesn’t know those children like I do. They wouldn’t just abandon their misguided attempt to save the world.

The main difference is that Watts understimates Ironwood’s feelings, while Cinder takes advantage of Penny’s.

Watts immediately thinks the General has fallen prey of his emotions and has made a misstep. In reality, this is a moment of clarity for Ironwood, where he follows his heart and makes smart choices.

Cinder reads the protagonists’ way of thinking correctly. She understands Ruby and the others would want to try and use Amity to warn the world. She doesn’t ignore their feelings, but makes use of them.

This is why Watts embodies control, while Cinder represents manipulation. Control relies on the repression of feelings. Manipulation is instead the ability to twist emotions, so that a person would act in a certain way. These 2 approaches are present also in the 2 Amity fights.

Watts uses his rings to control the whole Arena and have it attack Ironwood.

Cinder uses Penny’s feelings for Pietro and the world to manipulate her.

Still, by the end both Ironwood and Penny win. They defeat their opponents in what is a crowning moment of awesome for both characters. So, is it everything alright? Have they defeated their nemesis and affirmed they are good? Not really, because heroes are really tested not when they win, but when they lose:

Just after such draining fights, Ironwood and Penny have to immediately deal with another problem. Ironwood is manipulated by Cinder, while Penny is controlled by Watts. They are both victims of the enemies’ schemes. Still, their reaction is different.

Ironwood gives up on trust immediately. This choice is conveyed also through him sacrificing the Amity Project:

Ironwood: We are going to take our plan for Amity Tower and apply it to the city of Atlas.

Penny chooses not to give up on faith. She decides to launch Amity, despite Pietro’s protest:

Pietro: You’re in no condition to do something like this. Even just the temperature out there could-- Penny: It is our only option.

This moment marks who they are going to become. Ironwood freaks out and turns into the antithesis of who he is. Penny is steady and stays loyal to herself. That is because Ironwood and Penny’s value is not measured in them winning a fight, but rather in what they do when they discover their victory solves nothing. Are they ready to push forward with no guarantee they are going to succeed? Ironwood isn’t, while Penny is.

As a result, Ironwood fails to learn the main theme:

Ironwood: You can label me whatever you'd like, but the fact of the matter is I was right! The minute I softened, let my guard down, that's when Salem had her opening.

While Penny comes to embody it:

But our greatest fear will be realized If we fall and lose ourselves to fear We've become what we feared all our lives

The point is not that trusting and following your heart will always lead to victory. In many cases it won’t. Still, if you resign yourself to be cynical, you’ll lose who you are and may end up failing anyway.

This is why from here on out Ironwood and Penny switch when it comes to activity and passivity. Ironwood still has freedom and power, but he ends up tricked and manipulated over and over. Penny isn’t given many options and all of them are bad. Still, she keeps on making her own choices. After his Amity fight Ironwood is left (passive) by Penny. After her Amity fight Penny leaves (active) Pietro.

At the same time, here Ironwood chooses to sacrifice everything, but Atlas:

Ironwood: I will sacrifice... whatever it takes... to stop her. Watts: Oh, I hope you do, James. I hope you do.

Blake: But we're nowhere near finished evacuating everyone! You'd be leaving Mantle to die. Ironwood: Yes… I would.

Differently, Penny chooses to sacrifice herself for everyone and comes to embody what Atlas should be:

Cinder: I don’t serve anyone. And you wouldn’t either, if you weren't built that way. Penny: That is not… I choose to fight for people who care about me.

This is ironic because deep down Ironwood wants to be a hero:

Take my hand I’m here to protect you Nothing will stop me Understand There’s no sacrifice That I won’t make I’ll risk it all To keep you safe Trust me to be strong I’ll be your hero Just hold on

While Penny just really wants to be a girl:

An answered prayer A chance to Share the world To be a girl Who fin'lly felt alive

And yet, Ironwood becomes a villain, while Penny grows into a hero. Why is that so?

ROBOT VS HUMAN

Penny: One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn.

Ironwood’s plan for Penny is to become the first of a new generation of Huntresses and Huntsmen. A new type of heroes that can be fabricated and controlled. Fighters who are smarter and stronger than humans and that can be accessorized with laser beams and other weapons.

Well, Ironwood is right on Penny being one of the best Huntresses, but he is wrong as to why:

Winter: No, Penny. You were always the real Maiden at heart.

What makes Penny a Huntress is not that she has a cannon or can fly. Rather it is that she has a human conscience, which leads her to make the right choice. Even if it is painful and difficult:

Penny becoming the Winter Maiden is what cuts her life short. At the same time, it is also what saves the people of Mantle. She becomes the real Protector of the City not when she takes down the Goliath, but when she chooses not to leave her people behind. It is this simple decision that makes her a hero. Penny doesn’t need a robotic body for this choice. Nor flying jets. Nor a laser beam. She only needs her human heart. That is the reason why she is a Maiden, a Huntress and a Savior. It is not because she is the special Creation of a genius. It is because she is a simple soul:

A story will be told, and victory is in a simple soul.

This is Ironwood’s mistake. He believes that to defeat Salem and save the world there is a need for special people. The truth is that it is sufficient for many people to make the right choice. Even if it hurts. Even if it is scary. Anybody could have made Penny’s choice not to give up on Mantle. The Ace Ops could have. Winter could have. Ironwood himself could have. And yet, they don’t. Penny instead does. This is why she is a hero, while they aren’t.

In short, Ironwood believes heroism is born by leaving humanity behind. Still, Penny shows that a true hero needs her humanity to succeed. This idea is commented also through Ironwood and Penny’s metallic motif. Both characters are in fact linked to specific metals of alchemy.

Ironwood is associated with iron through his name and to tin through his allusion (the tin man). In alchemy iron is linked to war and is more refined than tin. So, Ironwood’s growth lies in him letting go of his General persona (war) to fully embrace who he is and become gold/silver. And yet, he fails and as a result he regresses into tin. Symbolically, he loses his heart and becomes the Tin Man. A toy soldier for others to move around as they please:

By the end, all Watts has to do for Ironwood to come in the way of the protagonists is to simply open a door. Ironwood acts like a robot, completely under Watts and Cinder’s control.

Penny is associated with copper through both her name and color. On the one hand pennies are made of copper. On the other hand copper is usually green, just like Penny herself. Copper is more refined than both iron and tin, but it still needs to reach the perfection of gold. This happens when Penny grows up and symbolically becomes a “real girl” (a full self-actualized person):

In Pinocchio, the protagonist becomes a “real boy” and he discovers that his 30 copper coins are now 30 golden coins. In RWBY, Penny affirms she is a “real girl” through her final choice (giving Winter the Maiden powers) and becomes gold herself (she literally turns into a golden cloud while she disappears).

So, Ironwood gives up his humanity and loses both himself and his heroic ambitions. Penny instead holds on to her humanity and is celebrated as a hero and a wonderful person. This is why symbolically Ironwood transitions to a robot in the same episode Penny receives a human body:

This progression is shown also through their opposite relationship with Watts and Cinder. On the one hand Ironwood works with Watts, only to be tricked and eventually controlled by him. On the other hand Penny fights Cinder off until the very end and even negates her the Maiden Powers (what Cinder truly wants).

However, even if Ironwood is framed negatively and Penny positively, they both die tragically. Why is that so? What do Ironwood and Penny’s falls have to teach?

THE FALL OF ATLAS

I may fall But not like this – it won't be by your hand

Both Ironwood and Penny fall together with Atlas, and yet their final moments are complete opposite:

Ironwood is alone and makes no decisive choice. He is given one final chance to die heroically by fighting Cinder and Salem, but gives it up. Is that because he realizes all his efforts are useless? Is it because he accepts he is no hero? Or is it because Winter is right and he can only sacrifice others, but not himself? In the end, there is no definitive answer and that is the point. Who is James Ironwood? Nobody. He doesn’t leave back anything and there is no-one with him. Not even the viewers, who are negated his final moments. There is really nothing left to see.

Penny is with 2 friends, who witness her final choice. Jaune accepts her heroic sacrifice and Winter accepts her legacy. They both trust her and she manages to make one final choice which defines who she is. A friend. A real girl. A fully self-actualized person. She is a Creation who becomes a Creator. She is Pinocchio who gives life to the Blue Fairy:

Penny’s final moments are so meaningful and rich that the viewers are given the chance to follow her shortly after death. They see Penny’s goodbye to Winter and the affirmation of love for her friend.

Penny’s choice is an expression of her destiny:

Pyrrha: When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life.

After all, what is Penny’s final goal if not this?

My wish came true The day that you appeared And called me a friend

The thing Penny works towards her entire life is to be a friend. It is to affirm her personhood through her bonds with others and this is exactly what she does in the end. Right or wrong she chooses to be a friend. She goes back to protect RWBY and leaves the Maiden Powers to Winter. Her final decision is tragic, but it is still an affirmation of who Penny is, as a person. This is also why it is the only thing Cinder fails to anticipate:

Cinder: Where did it go?!

Cinder manages to manipulate everyone almost perfectly. She knows how the heroes and villains alike will act and makes use of their wishes and emotions. Penny is no exception and actually the love for her friends is what leads her back into the fight. Still, no matter how skilled Cinder is at manipulation, she can’t take away who Penny is. So, in the end Penny does something unforeseen, which gets in the way of Cinder’s objective. The Winter Maiden powers are kept safe from her and given to Winter.

Winter herself becomes symbolic of Penny’s moral victory over Ironwood. Our Winter Maiden chooses the future of Atlas.

Robyn: What do you think a Kingdom is? The people, or just the chunk of land they live on?

The General embodies an Atlas, who is isolated, cold and controlling. He is obsessed by the land and the resources. This is why he dies with his city. The Protector of Mantle represents an Atlas, who is friendly, warm and trusting. She sees the citizens are what matters. This is why she dies with her people. Eventually Winter chooses Penny and opens up a new path for the Atlesians:

In synthesis, both Ironwood and Penny die, but the way they fall marks them as different. Ironwood dies passive, isolated and pathetic. Penny dies active, surrounded by love and a hero.

In other words, Ironwood falls like Atlas:

An empty shell of his former self. A kingdom with no people. A man with no heart.

Penny instead falls like Amity:

She falls after having brought people together. She falls, but has trust in others and faith in the future. A real Maiden at Heart.

When the protagonists arrive in Atlas, they find a Kingdom which is scared to open up. It is scared of trusting:

Now that Kingdom is gone and not just physically, but also from the hearts of people:

Atlas welcomes the protagonists with an army ready to stop any intruder from other Kingdoms. Vacuo welcomes the protagonists with an army made of all the ships from every Kingdom.

Atlas (Ironwood’s mentality) is gone, but Amity (Penny’s mentality) is floating again in the sky.

#rwby #rwby meta #penny polendina #james ironwood #tw: penny's death #penny & friends #winter schnee #my meta

[itsclydebitches]

Trying to do a RWBY V9 rewrite where I actually address Penny’s death and I’m just, hitting a fucking wall. I was using a lot of “Penny was already dead as soon as Cinder got to her” ideas to justify Jaune’s decision, only to get smacked in the face with Jaune’s healing aura. There is really no way for me to write V9 without either, not acknowledging Jaune’s actions or going full throttle on making Jaune a shitty person. GOD, this show sucks

Where I personally get hung up in revised Volume 9 imaginings is his motivation. I've got no problem making a character a "shitty person" for a Volume—AKA making awful decisions with horrific outcomes that they need to come to terms with/perhaps make amends for, but are ultimately not reflective of their desire to do good—but I can't for the life of me come up with a good reason for why Jaune wouldn't try to save Penny. As you say, we can go the "she was already on death's door" route, but I had a problem with that logic in the canon, specifically because a) Jaune is not a doctor, b) Penny has had a human body for all of half an hour and doesn't know shit about what can and can't kill her, and c) even if they did somehow know for sure she couldn't make it, Jaune would have still tried. Not only does he have a healing semblance which makes him the one character perfectly justified in at least attempting a hail Mary, he's also the character who missed Cinder's attack on Amber, was kept from helping Pyrrha, and went through the horror of saving Weiss. Much like Ruby's "This is my fight too!" Jaune is primed to fight death kicking and screaming so that it doesn't take another of his friends. There is no consistent version of his character that rolls over and doesn't just let Penny die, but actively helps her do it.

Unless, that is, her death was inevitable AND not assisting her would cause harm to others. This is what Volume 8 tried to convey, but ultimately failed at. Spectacularly. As established, there's no reason for Jaune to buy into the supposed inevitability of Penny's death and, worse, the show has been wishy-washy af regarding the passing of the Maiden powers. Since Jaune is not privy to future scenes shown only to the audience—that is, Penny meeting with Winter—he'd have no reason to believe that killing Penny a few minutes faster would somehow keep the powers from Cinder's hands. For all he knows (and, frankly, for all we know based on RWBY's lackluster logic) the power still would have gone to Cinder due to her grimm hand involvement, or because she's still in Penny's thoughts as her (initial) killer, or maybe it goes to Weiss because she's in her line of sight, or Penny plans to send it to Winter by the act of dying means her thoughts panic and the powers just fly off somewhere else. Literally nothing established, "If you kill me now instead of letting Cinder's wound do the job I can DEFINITELY get this power to an ally instead," so to put that suuuuper iffy plan on the shoulders of the character who could have just saved her, or at least would have thought he could and been determined to try, is quite an egregious case of "Stupid for the sake of plot."

Honestly, fixing this mess requires fixing the death scene itself, ideally with work done far earlier throughout the series. The only thing I can think to do in a completely canon-compliant Volume 9 would be to have the girls act as audience stand-ins. That is, have Team RWBY asking all the questions we've been voicing. What convinced you that Penny was definitely dying? Why were you so sure this would keep the powers safe? Have Weiss gesture to her abdomen and emphasize that he healed her after she was stabbed with a flaming spear and you couldn't fix Cinder poking some holes an inch or two into Penny's chest?? Jaune shoots back that he needed to help her and she screams that he didn't, she was holding her own, and why the hell would you prioritize me potentially being mortally wounded by Cinder when Penny was already dying? Even if she couldn't be saved, why didn't you try?

Jaune's response would then set the tone for his arc throughout the rest of the Volume. Did he just panic? Is his ability to assess a situation compromised? Is he becoming colder, perhaps rejecting the idea that they should attempt hail Marys at all rather than just taking what seems to be the safest route? Idk. This is why my metas back around Volume 6 still held out hope and by Volume 8 had become a lot more pessimistic. We reached a point where even if RWBY gets its writing act together, there's simply too much damage to finish the series strong. Once you mess up that badly you'll continually hit those roadblocks of, "Hmm. How do I make that make sense?" and if the answer is, "I can't" it's just perpetual bad writing by virtue of RWBY having to build on what it set down before. (And no, the irony of us having this problem in a series that is simultaneously so inconsistent is not lost on me lol.)

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[jammatown919]

I had it pointed out to me by mercuryj15 on my last post that Penny’s Aura color actually is present in the transfer scene, as tiny little green sparkles.

Which means making it primarily the wrong color was a choice; they knew there was supposed to be green.

Additionally, I noticed Winter flies around on a cloud of a similar type of little sparkles rather than full flames like literally every other Maiden we’ve seen so far.

The only other time I can remember Maiden powers being primarily a sparkle rather than fire is Cinder when she only had half of the powers of the Fall Maiden.

Pair this with the fact that Penny's Maiden sword still exists for seemingly no logical reason, and her face is set to appear in it. I genuinely think Penny may have held onto a small portion of the Maiden powers (Winter would have a much larger portion, hence why both her eyes have fire when only one of Cinder's did). And I think she did it with Jaune's help. The Aura transfer was primarily his color and while asking for his help Penny said "there is something you (YOU specifically) can do" and "trust me". Penny had a plan, and this was it.

Her body is most likely too heavily damaged for her to inhabit it, so with her remaining connection to the powers she may have formed the sword as a temporary vessel out of self-preservation until something else can be arranged. As for how they get her out of the sword? Fuck if I know. Aura transfer, Pietro making a new body, somehow managing to heal her ruined human body, any of the other options, who knows.

And as for Jaune, who from the intro seems like he's going to be having a BAD time this volume most likely due to what happened to Penny, there's a legitimate chance he doesn't know she survived. If he was aware of his part in helping her keep her own Aura, he may think it went wrong since Penny is currently nowhere to be seen. Otherwise it may have been an evolution of his Semblance that he is not yet consciously aware of.

#penny polendina #rwby v9 theories #rwby v9 spoilers #rwby v9 #i went down such a rabbit hole with this trying to make sure I wasn't forgetting something major that would disprove this #this was written poorly and hastily but like the evidence is there

[ficretus]

Theory: Speculating about Summer Maiden

So far Summer Maiden is the only Maiden we have no whereabouts of. Not even Vacuo novels provide anything about her or her Relic. I wanted to throw some thoughts around who I think will be Summer Maiden by the end of the Vacuo arc.

CURRENT SUMMER MAIDEN:

As I said, no idea. But let me get one thing out the way, I don't think Summer Rose is Summer Maiden or that she'll be at any point in the story. This might seem relatively weird considering so far characters with season in their name did eventually become Maiden of their respective season, but I don't think this is the case with Summer.

First of all, it would be bit random considering that power is tied to Vacuo and Summer herself doesn't have any Vacuo connections we know of. Second, it is somewhat implied that Summer is still alive, likely being Salem's Grimm experiment. If Summer was Summer Maiden and is under Salem's control, why would Salem bother with Cinder? Summer would be loyal subordinate that is second to none in combat. Why would you need to groom new subordinate of questionable loyalty and lesser combat ability? Third, in case she isn't Summer Maiden and is just one of Salem's thralls, I don't think she can inherit the power. Chronologically she'd be in late 30s or even 40s, making her too old to inherit the power.

For Summer to be Summer Maiden, it would mean she became one ages ago and isn't currently under Salem's control (because that kind of creates plot holes in Salem's plan). But I feel that both kind of damages her character (she becomes another Raven, abandoning her family for her own goals) and wastes implications Hound creates. I think her fate will be revealed during Vacuo arc, during summer portion of the story, if that makes sense.

I suspect we'll have another Amber or Fria situation with current Summer Maiden. As in, minimally established character that will give away their power to more important character narrative wise down the line.

GATHERING CLUES:

First place I looked into is The Four Maidens, in universe fairy tale about Maidens. For those uninitiated, it's a fairy tale about recluse Old Wizard being visited by girls representing Maidens. They visit him in sequence of Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, each teaching him valuable lesson.

Maiden lessons are key part to focus on here. While in the story, they are something Old Wizard has to learn, in RWBY it's something Maidens themselves have to learn.

For example, Winter appears in front of Old Wizard's house, sitting in state of absolute tranquility. Wizard sits down and copies her example thinking about his own strange predicament. This somewhat matches Winter, who in her own moment of clarity realizes Ironwood is lost cause and turns against him.

Other two examples are much clearer parallels. Spring shows up and plants flowers all over Old Wizard's yard, turning a pile of dirt into beautiful garden. This implies Spring Maiden is all about fostering life. This matches well as a lesson Raven needs to learn as a Spring Maiden, someone who both abandoned her family and used her protege as a decoy.

Fall Maiden urges Old Wizard to be thankful for what he has. This matches Cinder who needs to learn to be grateful for what she already has, instead of seeking out all other Maiden powers.

Summer Maiden convinces Old Wizard to step outside. Upon doing so, Old Wizard starts laughing at himself for even staying indoors all this time. So whoever becomes Summer Maiden needs to have a flaw that makes them distrustful of the world. Their character arc needs to be about opening themselves to the world.

______________________________________________________________

All three current Maidens also have personal connection to the members of Team RWBY. This is either set up for eventual transfer of power to respective members of Team RWBY or they simply exist as dark reflections of respective team members.

Raven is Yang's mother, Winter is Weiss' sister and Cinder is Ruby's nemesis. This mean, whoever will be Summer Maiden needs to have some kind of connection to Blake.

______________________________________________________________

Lastly, all three current Maidens were at some point of the story antagonists. Winter was an antagonist during the portion of Atlas arc as Ironwood's most loyal subordinate, Raven was antagonist throughout most of Mistral arc and Cinder is still major antagonist. So whoever becomes Summer Maiden had to have been antagonist at some point of the story.

CANDIDATES:

First candidate I have is Gillian Asturias, one of the main villains of Vacuo novels. She is leader of villainous Crown faction, who seek to restore Vacuoan monarchy with Gillian in charge. She believes she is descendant of legendary Vacuoan kings, albeit this claim is based on delusion her father convinced her of.

Why do I think she might become Summer Maiden? First of all, she is an antagonist. While at the end of the novel, she gets imprisoned... it's RWBY prison, nobody stays there. Her Semblance allows her to siphon Aura which theoretically means she could take the power all by herself (since all transfer methods we've seen so far were Aura based). She also has a motive to become a Maiden, what better way to show you are true heir to the throne then seizing divine power that allows you to control the elements.

She also fits with Summer Maiden lesson. She is extremely traditionalist, avoiding the use of both Dust and Scroll. Crown members are also xenophobic to some degree. Both of these traits make her good candidate for a lesson about opening yourself to the world.

Issue with her is that she has no connections to any member of Team RWBY. While it's not out the question they might eventually interact, I am doubtful writers will have her establish some really personal relationship with Blake. I think she might become Summer Maiden, but more of a interim Maiden like Penny was.

______________________________________________________________

My preferred choice so far is Ilia. She matches all the criteria I've set up earlier. First of all, she is a former antagonist. Second, she matches well with lesson of Summer Maiden. As an antagonist, she was member of more radical version of White Fang that was no longer about Faunus equality and more about their supremacy. This "us versus them" mentality symbolically parallels Old Wizard refusing to leave his house, closed off from everybody else.

Summer Maiden lesson can also be manifested in another way. If you think about it, it's almost inevitable White Fang will appear in Vacuo to assist the good guys. And who else will be there? Ace Ops. Ilia will be forced to work side by side with people who represent abuse she suffered as a child. This could create interesting dynamic of Ilia and White Fang refusing to cooperate with them, creating an issue for good guys cause (in fact you can have entire Volume 10 be about previously opposed sides coming to terms with each other for the greater good considering you'll have Ace Ops, Happy Huntresses, White Fang and potentially even Branwen tribe all working together). Her character arc would be about letting go of her hatred and trauma and opening herself to the world, fulfilling the Summer Maiden lesson.

Of course, Ilia is also personally connected to Blake. Yeah, she is "just" her friend, but when you think about it, that's the most personal relationship Blake has outside of her team. Unlike her other team members, she doesn't have a sister, her mother is too old to inherit the power and her nemesis was not only male... he is busy being dead. Ilia becoming a Maiden would also diversify the roster by giving us Faunus Maiden. After all, if all kingdoms are coming together why not also have that symbolically reflected in Maiden roster.

_____________________________________________________________

What are your thoughts? Do you have any other Maiden candidate you think is more likely? If you do, feel free to comment it.

#rwby theory #rwby volume 10 #rwby vacuo #greenlight volume 10 #rwby ilia #ilia amitola #gillian asturias #rwby

[saltwukong]

Re: The Ruby Rose Meltdown

In order for me to explain this, I have to explain why I...really don't care.

I mean, I don't. I was not invested in the idea of the Ruby Rose collapse, never wanted it nor felt it was vital, and I didn't really care enough to anticipate its arrival, and that's because of...well, the reason Volume 8 looks the way it does.

Creating an absolutely bone-headed plan that displaces hundreds of thousands of people and crashes two city-states via landmass colony drop and then throwing all of those people into a desert filled with vicious monsters? Don't care.

Or at least, I don't care about Ruby Rose's part in that. I don't care about any responsibility or accountability she takes, I don't care about how the results affect her emotionally, and I don't care about any hypocrisy she may or may not have exhibited in relation to Ironwood, and what I mean when I say this stuff is that I don't care because Ruby Rose is completely inconsequential to these plot points.

These were not actions that matched a logical character trajectory for Ruby. They were not actions she took because they were in her character. All of the above things along with a shit ton more shit in Volume 8, happened because of railroading. Ruby didn't crash Atlas because it made any kind of sense or was a thing she would do, she crashed Atlas because Miles Luna wanted Winter to have the maidens' power, wanted Ironwood to be a villain, and wanted Atlas destroyed, and did not care how the hell Ruby and Penny and the cast as a whole fit into those goals.

Any character could've been used to achieve what was desired and nothing would really change.

So I can't muster any desire to see Ruby confront those events--they weren't hers to see through, so why should the fallout be hers to carry? Ruby's meltdown can never be entirely within her character if the ultimately crucial cause of it wasn't either.

There is still some novelty to be had in The Great Ruby Rose Meltdown, if you're into that sort of thing, albeit it's still coming way too late. It's kind of like Yang finally calling Summer Rose her mom in Volume 8--yeah, cool, way too late, this shit stems back to Volume 5, bucko. Ruby Rose finally expressing anger and resentment and impatience has been cautiously approached before, but finally getting it now doesn't exactly fill the stomach. Went and got my food elsewhere in the years you were fooling around, RWBY.

So free of the burden of having to care about Ruby's logical responses or moral compass, and the scene lacking even novelty flavor, I can just enjoy the Ruby Rose Meltdown for what 50% of it actually was: bitching at said plot being dumb.

Honestly, when Ruby got up in Blake's and Yang's faces and was like "good for you, yeah yeah we're happy for you, fuck off" I was like "gurrrrrrrl read them read them read them". I genuinely believe Miles wrote that to vent his frustration with being forced into that position to begin with. You know damn well him and everyone else at Rooster Teeth were not dropping the Bee Bomb until there was literally no other option left. Usually I hate when Miles lets his feelings bleed into the characters--terrible thing to do, leads bad places, see Volume 8 for worst case results--but he kinda slayed here. Having Ruby turn and ask if she's supposed to give a shit about Jaune's tomagotchi pets was just the icing on the cake.

#i am CACKLING babygirl #rwde

[howlingday]

Salem: Now, as for the Spring Maiden, I-

Knock, Knock, Knock

Salem: (Sighs) Come in!

Jaune: Hi, I just thought everyone would like tea and scones.

Salem: We're fine, Mr. Arc. Right, Cinder?

Cinder: Jaune, we're in the middle of a meeting, you can't-

Jaune: Oh, one second, Cindy~!

Cinder: (Blushing) I told you not to call me that at work~!

Jaune: I can't help. (Sets tea) Here, sweet tea for my sweet-ie~!

Watts: If you don't mind, Cinder, we're trying to discuss important information here.

Jaune: (Serving Tyrian) Like what?

Tyrian: (Cackles as crushes a scone) Killing the Spring Maiden!

Jaune: Oh, don't do that! (Takes Tyrian's hand, Wipes it with a cleaning rag) Killing her would only put her kingdom on high alert, which means the other kingdoms will be on high alert. It's better to slowly gain her trust over time until the time is right, then either kill her and take her power or have her work for us.

Watts: Absolutely ridiculous! That would never-

Salem: Now, now... I would like to hear more from you. Mister... Arc, was it?

Jaune: Oh, well, Mr. Arc is my father's name. You can just call me Jaune.

Salem: How sweet. Tell me, Mr. Arc, how would you, say, conquer a kingdom? And which one?

Jaune: Hm... I'd say Atlas.

Hazel: He's crazy.

Tyrian: I like it!

Watts: Oh, do explain how you came to the conclusion that conquering the most powerful kingdom in Remnant would be easier than the others?

Jaune: Well, I'd start by sneaking a spy in. Learn the political details of it.

Salem: Arthur, if you would?

Watts: Atlas consists of two cities, the elite Atlas above and the impoverished Mantle below. The two cities are run by the Council, with at least one representative from Atlas and another from Mantle. There is to be an election held to determine the Mantle councilman seat. The candidates are Jacques Schnee and Robyn Hill.

Jaune: Got it. We rig the election.

Watts: Oh, and in whose favor?

Jaune: I've seen people like Jacques Schnee before. He has more money than friends, so he'll be the easiest to manipulate. He wins the seat, we make things worse, attract Grimm, and I make my special chocolate chip waffles to celebrate.

Tyrian: Ooh!

Salem: And what of the Atlas and the Winter Maiden?

Jaune: Well, with all the Grimm attacking, they'll have no choice but to go on high alert. Maybe even enact martial law. Once that happens, (Points at Salem) you show up.

Watts: Outrageous! Your grace, this man has been rambling out of his rear this whole time! Please, allow me to-

Salem: Calm yourself, Arthur. This plan has merit, but there are also too many ifs and happenstances. Perhaps at a later time we can use it, but until then, we will continue as we were. Oh, and Cinder?

Cinder: Your grace?

Salem: Keep a close eye on him. I have a good feeling about him.

#rwby #salem #jaune arc #cinder fall #arthur watts #tyrian callows #hazel rainart #arcfall #knightfall

[mermaidsirennikita]

Before she released devil in disguise, I had a theory that Kleypas would write a book for seraphina (evie and sebastian's younger daughter) and foxhall (lillian and marcus' oldest son) with the she's all grown up trope. After devil in disguise was announced I scrapped that lol. I wonder if she plans on writing more for the other children tho, raphael would be interesting since he was out of the country during devil in spring, devil's daughter and devil in disguise, so we know almost nothing about him.

I also thought Raphael was getting set up for a book because of his absence and also his name? It's a very classic romance hero name.

Tbh, in order to pull it off, I think it would be best for her to keep him wherever he is. First off, I think Lisa could use something new and fresh if she goes back to historicals. (I would not be surprised if she took another contemporary break.) Like, put that shit in France or Italy or something.

And then... I honestly don't want another St. Vincent cameofest. I'm kind of over it. I liked Devil in Disguise, but that wasn't St. Vincent to me, and I'm kind of over him being brought in to prop up inferior narratives.

So like. He and Evie can send Raphael letters.

But yeah otherwise I think she kinda needs to refresh and look into other people. I think Lorraine Heath does a really good job of keeping her universe interlocked without like... overconnecting.

Like, The Scoundrels of St. James was probably her most successful series, and she did a spinoff series about the kids, yes. But first off--I think it being just baldly a spinoff series was way smarter than it being spun as something else, then shoving the Scoundrels in heavy. Yes, Hellions of Havisham kicks off with the hero falling for Jack and Olivia Dodger's daughter, but it's still allowed to breathe. I don't think the other two books really connect to them at all.

Second, she's let them trickle off. She had her shorter series, she introduced Mick Trewlove in her Lost Lords of Pembrook trilogy but didn't then keep shoving them in... She established the Trewloves as a new anchoring piece for her now that the Scoundrels are kinda retired except for cameos. The Stanwicks connect but don't rely. Her next book is going to be about Aiden and Finn Trewlove's half brother, but it doesn't rely. The Chessmen don't rely King.

To me, it's this really intense "here's this major favorite coming in to be overly involved in his kids' love lives thing that really bugged me with the Challon cameos. Because it was more than a cameo, lol. If you read the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James books, like... the parents are there. But they act like parents. Even when Lovingdon literally fucks the daughter of a former hero and is like "UMMMM she won't marry me???? Make her please??????" the dad is like "that is a you problem" lol. If that was a Ravenels book and St. Vincent was the dad it would have been like, 15% of the novel devoted to his reactions and his dealing with it.

Elizabeth Hoyt did it really well with Maiden Lane, too. ML always set up the next love story with small scenes from the next hero or heroine. But it never felt like they existed there to move the current love story along or insert themselves into it??? That's what really bugs about the Sebastian stuff. I love him, but she over-relied HARD. I mean, in Devil in Winter, she EASILY could've had an older Derek Craven cameo to be like, Sebastian's gambling hell mentor, but she didn't. And that was GOOD.

#romance novel blogging

[rachetmath]

Jaune desevers Choice

Jaune does not need the relic of destruction. First of all, let’s talk about the sword itself. The sword might as well be the last thing our heroes should ever take out of its vault or let Salem have. Considering it might as well be equivalent to a Death Note and a God of destruction. Summon the spirit, give it a name or a specified target and it will destroy what you desire. I’m saying anyone can use this sword and become all-powerful.

Now here’s what your thinking, “Our heroes need the relic to beat Salem.” right? But let’s look at the details here. Ozpin was reincarnated multiple times. He found each of the relics and used them to where he knows the rules and the spirits who reside in them. So wouldn’t he already have tried and failed to kill Salem with it? Because she’s immortal. What other purpose would the sword serve? Nothing. So why does Jaune need it?

Now, why Jaune doesn’t need the sword of destruction? That’s simple. Jaune already has enough power due to his semblance and aura alone. He just needs time and training to learn how to use them. However, that's only the secondary reason. The primary reason is Jaune is more deserving of the relic of choice. After all, his choices seem to be beneficial to everyone instead of sabotaging them.

Jaune in volume one, started simply as a boy going in way over his head. He got bullied but instead of quitting, he decides to ride it out. However, when his team was in trouble he stood up to his bully and resolve his situation. This was the first set of choices that resulted in his team not being set up for failure. If Jaune allowed Cardin to get away with his miss doings, Jaune’s team would have lost respect for him and worse Cardin could’ve gotten them into trouble.

In volume two he could have taken advantage of Weiss’s rejection from Neptune and used it to finally dance with her. But he didn’t. Instead, he chose to help Weiss by talking with Neptune and his choice helped everybody have a great time. Not only that it helped Jaune to be open-minded and think about others and their feelings. Volume four and five I will not discuss because Jaune’s decision-making was more based on emotions.

However, in volume six, despite there being other options, Jaune choosing to steal an Atlas airship was still a good suggestion. I mean, that plan by RWBY standards actually could have worked, flawlessly if Adam didn’t show up out of anywhere. Regardless of the outcome, his choice helped everyone get to Atlas in good condition.

Finally, in volume eight, though I do wish Jaune had a hand in a lot more, I will still give him some credit. Jaune telling everyone to split up, for now, was a good idea considering everyone was arguing back and forth with one another. Then Jaune took advantage of the war to look for Oscar and that helped them escape and gain a new crew member. (Still don’t trust her though.) And even though I still can’t stand the fact, that he killed Penny, Jaune still saved more lives than Team RWBY. By giving the maiden powers to Winter, Jaune not only prevented Cinder from taking both the powers and the relic, but he also gave the evacuated citizens a better chance at survival.

Every time Jaune calls the shots somehow it is more beneficial for others around him than with Ruby. Yes, Ruby is the main character and the primary leader of the group but her decisions always seem to lead to disaster than prosperity. Not only that Jaune, whether you know it or not, proved Jame’s and Clover's words to be true. The right choices are the hardest to make and sometimes you have to make the tough decisions. And what better way to see those choices unfold than with the relic of choice itself?

If what we know is to be true, the crown can see into the future. Allowing someone to see the possibilities or outcomes of his or her choices. However if not used properly or abused could cause the user to go insane and be numb enough not to make any choice at all. But for Jaune that is a risk worth taking.

Jaune always kept his eyes forward. Even after Pyrrha’s death, Jaune was still willing to follow the path he chose and become a huntsman. 'But after failing to save Penny Jaune could become more determined to stop Salem. So if he were to use the crown he will not care for the outcome as long as his friends are happy. Even if he might not be there to see it.

#rwby #Jaune Arc #adam taurus #ruby rose #penny polendina #winter schnee

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

It seriously irks me that people don't grasp that James Ironwood is disabled. Even then, they're SO ableist.

I fully understand what it's like to have your emotions shut off so you can do what you feel is right or what you MUST do in a certain situation. So much that you can't control when it happens or what you do during it. Seeing him CRY when his most trusted companion (he TRUSTED her with the knowledge he knew and rewarded her by making her the next candidate of the Winter Maiden) was betraying him because of his paranoia due to his PTSD? That was REAL to me. It was RAW.

Seeing toxic stans shit on the disabled asian man (who's conventionally white passing to non-asians) with PTSD is so triggering. It saddens me how he was handled. And how he became my instant favorite alongside Oz. Two of the opposing forces of team RWBY who are villains or "misguided" at best.

He's more lovable than the MCs. In what was only a singular volume.

While the MCs are SUPER arrogant and SO intolerable that fanfictions fixing the series make them better says leagues about how RWBY fell harder than Atlas.

Sorry for ranting, but my goodness. I hate how underappreciated James Ironwood is, how he's hated by most everyone and how the girls took credit for HIS plan and then condemned everyone they claimed to wish to protect to die, displaced from their home and in a kingdom that most definitely hates them and what they stand for.

He deserved so much better.

I'm having a flashback to that post saying James isn't disabled because he can walk. I just that post still breaks me I am not gonna lie.

But oh gosh I understand what you mean anon. While in my management job it was hell. I would have to push down my emotions and shut them off to get through the day because people where horrible but I couldn’t get emotional about it. Of course after being called too emotional and I tried to better control my emotions I was then accused of not caring :/.

The whole Winter and James thing is a it’s a thing and I hate it all lolZ. I hate how James is the only one to seem to care about the fight. I hate that Winter blames him for everything even stuff that’s not realistic to blame him for. I hate how it seems like Winter doesn’t give two shits about anyone. The tear itself can feel a little silly for lack of better words cuz it’s that dramatic single tear thing but like it at least shows James cares about Winter and hates what is happening unlike Winter who just takes the easy way out and decides to fight him rather then try and reach him and try and have the difficult conversation. As we see in the earlier scene where Emerald tricks him she has just given up on him without even trying and does t care that he’s suffering from PTSD and breaking from the pressure. The characters and the narrative hate him and shit all over him despite being the ones to break him in the first place.

Yea for me he became my favorite in volume 7 when we really saw what he was dealing with and the pressure he was under. I watched volume 7 during Covid after I left a really brutal management job and seeing James’s struggles reminded me so much of my own so I definitely connected with him. He’s so much more interesting because he’s allowed to make mistakes and have struggles and fail and it’s just more relatable then the mains who just….aren’t.

The mains are forced to be perfect and be seen as perfect in every action and it makes them so hard to relate to. I saw one twitter post that claimed Weiss was gaslighting herself in episode 2 when she said they screwed up. It’s kind of insane to me how fans just refuse to accept that sometimes the mains make mistakes and screw up but that doesn’t make them evil like James being flawed doesn’t make him evil.

Don’t apologize for ranting that’s what the inbox is here for! Volume 8 was a trainwreck and I hate how it ruined basically all of the characters to try and force a plot line to happen that just did not work at all and realistically would get more people killed then James’s plan would have.

James by far got screwed over the most but I think all of the characters deserve better then the bullshit we got.

#rwde #james ironwood #ironwood protection squad #pro james ironwood #pro ironwood #general ironwood #general dadmiral #dadmiral ironwood

[etincelleart]

mind wrote exacly how penny returne will not underminde her sacrefice and ruby jaune and winter development?

So I kinda already replied yesterday for Ruby, Jaune and Winter so I won't really go back on that for now (maybe later), but for Penny sacrifice, I'm only going to use other stories that involves sacrifice where people didn't complain about a revival :

Literally the allusion of Penny, Pinocchio, dies the first time by hanging, is revived, sacrifices himself to save his father, and is revived again. In his original story, Pinocchio is a mean puppet, he even kills Jiminy Cricket at some point. He could have stayed dead in the end after all, but they chose to give him the chance to be human and to make his own choices. Penny wasn't mean at all and is probably the purest soul on Remnant (with Ruby-), but during her whole arc she struggled everytime she wanted to make a choice, for herself or for her friends, right until the end. It's complicated to see her sacrifice as her ultimate and true choice as it isn't a choice to me, she doesn't have any choice, she has to deal with the situation, with Cinder, with her friends falling, and the only options she has to be out of this nightmare with the powers she never wanted was to die. She didn't want to die, but she was going to die and the only choice she did here is the next maiden, but she was again forced into that, idk it seems pretty odd to me to see her arc as completed when everytime she had a choice to make, she was forced to stay with someone/someone told her no/someone tried to tell her no, until the very end ? Penny's much more than just a protector, in the end we were told that her soul is who she is, and who she is is a young woman who wants to discover the world. We never knew about her plan to stay at Beacon, she barely saw Beacon as everyone was after her all the time. The only thing she could do everytime was to take the crumbs she had the chance to find sometimes and that's it.

But anyway I'm starting to ramble into that so I'll talk about other allusions :

Astroboy : in the 2009 movie, Astroboy "dies" the first time when Doctor Tenma puts out the blue energy of him, before he decides to reactivate him. Later in the movie, Astro finds a huge robot and revives it with his blue energy. At the end of the movie, Astro sacrifices himself to fight the giant red robot and save the city, but he dies. Then the giant robot arrives and revives him. My thoughts is that Winter could be a parallel of this robot, giving back Penny's soul with others help (Pietro, maybe magic with Ambrosius if they get the Staff back, or other people).

The Iron Giant : at the end of the movie, the Giant sacrifices himself to save the world, he explodes and "dies". But at the very last scene of the film, we see that he starts to reunite all of his scattered pieces, we see his face and understand that he's still alive. But before that we saw statues of him, memorial, etc.

I won't lie, in these films most of the time the revival is to give to the character a chance to live, in a simple way. So why couldn't it be the case for Penny ? We got "we kinda want to keep her around longer than that" during the talk with Ambrosius, I think it would be pretty cruel to make her disappear like that after opening so much doors. I'd like to think that this second death is meant to be impactful for Ruby and the audience, but in the end the Penny revival could be this hope and light Ruby and the other characters need in this dark world, a proof that people could reincarnate instead of simply dying.

I know people think that Penny was just meant to die, I don't agree. Like I said, Pinocchio who's her biggest allusion doesn't even die. they don't have to copy the whole fairytale of course, but it still odd to me. Also, we already got Pyrrha for the tragedy arc-- Penny could be this hope restored for every character and bring back hope and strength,

Oh also, how can I not talk about Little who's literally reincarnated, they die in front of Ruby and come back a bit later changed. I never heard anyone complain about that aha, probably just because they're Afterans, but still

I'll stop for now, will once again answer the others Asks tomorrow :]

#rwby #rwby discussion #discussion #theory #ruby #ruby rose #penny #penny polendina #winter #winter schnee #cinder #cinder fall #penny revival #sacrifice #i could write for hours about that

[metalhurricane]

Eddie Munson x Goth! reader, part 2

Masterlist

Note : y/n repeated one year, so she’s 18, Eddie’s supposed to be 19-20. y/n’s shorter than Eddie

Here it is. The day of going back to school. Actually, just going to school for y/n, as it was her first day ever in Hawkins High. Everyone else’s would be back from a small winter break. “Let’s make a good impression” she said to herself, smiling at her reflection in the mirror.

She had black eyeshadow, and a dark red lipstick on. She put black ripped jeans, with winklepicker (pointy shoes), a Sisters of Mercy t-shirt, with her fishnet sleeves under it, a warm cardigan over it, and her trusty leather jacket that she customized. She did put spikes, band patches, pins and safety pins in it. She slightly teased her hair on the side of her head, and put some hairspray in it. Finished the look with a few chains and necklaces, a scarf and gloves. She did put her beanie in her backpack, in case it was too cold.

She took her stuff, and went downstairs to eat breakfast. Her grandma prepared some pancakes for her. They ate, while making jokes about y/n’s appearance.

y/n : “I made sure to have no religious - I mean, satanic or pagan symbols”

They both laughed it off, but even if they didn’t show it, both of them were a bit nervous about it. In the 80s, if you’re slightly off track, you could get suspended for the absolute useless reasons. And y/n and g/n knew that.

y/n : “I’m going to bike there.” grandma : “Oh, why is that ? you can take the car, I told you” she said, her smile dropping y/n : “yeah I know, but with my appearance, I don’t know how they will react, and I don’t want to take grandpa’s car, and have some assholes willingly destroy it, because of me...”

g/n said nothing, because she knew y/n was right. It was the first day, she could get in trouble just by existing. Grandma knew that y/n knows how to assert dominance, and not get eaten by the golden boys and girls of the town. But, it is still only the first day. For know, she’ll bike.

Sitting on her bike, y/n is on time. She has her walkman earphones around her neck, so that she can still hear the road around her. She’s blasting Iron Maiden on it, and from the moment the high school appears to her, she can already sense eyes on her. She arrives at the highschool, and park her bike, while whispers and laughs settle around her. She ignores it, just like she usually does, and walk inside the school. She hasn’t walked for that long, when a blond guy, wearing a basketball bomber appears in front of her.

“Halloween isn’t here yet, you freak”

Laughs from people all around the scene. y/n smirks and slowly pauses her walkman. And with the brightest smile she says :

“Pardon me, I was listening to spooky music. What did you say ?”

And she knows that for these boys, making them repeat their punchline actually breaks it, and it angers them. As planned, Jason, angry, said :

“I said, it’s not halloween yet, you freak !”

y/n kept smiling and walked up to him, tapping on his shoulder :

“You should say that to your mom my dear, I saw her in the exorcist’s bedsheets last night” and then she left him dumbfounded, and even more angry, that she had the audacity to confront him. He yelled profanities at her, but she walked away with a satisfied grin on her face. You shouldn’t mess with y/n l/n, or else it will end bad.

The rest of the morning was similar. Everyone looking at her, giving her shitty comments, even the teachers. At 10 o’clock, she was actually asked to go into the principal’s office. She looked at the watch saying “Ah, they’re late”. In Virginia, she couldn’t even go to her first class of the morning, that she had to go to the principal’s. She went there, and the principal gulped when he saw her.

Principal Higgins : “y/n l/n is that right ? You’re new here...” y/n, taking a seat : “Yes.” Principal Higgins : “You know why we’re here ?”

y/n sighs. Then she sat up straight in her chair.

y/n : “Yes. You are going to tell me how my outfit and my hair, and... basically my whole physical appearance is a problem, and that it isn’t how a student is supposed to dress.” Principal Higgins : “Well, I...” y/n : “and I’ll answer that my outfit does not have anything to do with my grades, or how I behave in school. You saw my grades from last year, right ?” Principal Higgins : “Yes, but you repeated one year already !” y/n : “Yes but my grades from this school year are not bad. And in my file, I wasn’t the one causing trouble. I’ll make no trouble, as long as no one tries me.” Principal Higgins : “Listen young lady...” y/n : “Save your breath, principal. I know the rest of your speech, I’ve heard it a million times. I’ve read rules of procedures of Hawkins High, I’m not breaking the rules by just existing, so there is no point in wasting our times here. On that note, I have history class. Have a nice day !” Principal Higgins : “But...!”

And on that note, she stood up, and walked out of the office. She returned to class with a smile, while everyone looked at her, making disgusted faces.

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

(The day after Mike and Dustin met y/n)

Mike and Dustin biked to the trailer park, so they could see Eddie. They had a big new to tell him...

Dustin : “Really Eddie !! You have to believe us ! She was just like you !” Mike : “No, an even better version ! a girl version though...”

Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose, not understanding one bit of what the kids were saying, as they were talking at the same time. Eddie turned to face them, with a beer in his hand, and pointing at them with his finger, adorned with his ring.

Eddie : “Listen children, it doesn't mean that because you saw a girl wearing black, that she’s a metalhead ! Girls like that simply do not exist in this stupid town !” Mike : “Eddie, you have to believe us !” Dustin : “Look, she drew the dragon here !” Eddie, looking at the sketch : “Yes, her drawing is really nice, but still.” Dustin : “Eddie, this is the truth ! She said that she heard of DnD, and thinks it’s cool !”

Eddie’s eyes became big, while Mike tried to remember something

Mike : “Her jacket !! I remember her jacket ! It had lots of band patches on it, like the bands you listen to...”

Mike stood up and walked to Eddie’s room, with Eddie yelling at him from behind, quickly followed by Dustin. They were all in Eddie’s bedroom, while Mike was roaming through Eddie’s tapes. He picked a few corresponding the patches she had that he could remember. He put them down in Dustin’s hands. There was Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Whitesnake, Motörhead, Poison, and Mötley Crüe. Eddie checked the tapes.

Mike : “there was much more patches on her jacket, but this is what I can remember...”

Now Eddie is standing still. The kids were not metalheads... but Mike did not go randomly through his collection, he really searched for these tapes. They never lied to him, why would they start now ?

A big grin appeared on Eddie’s face, and he then dramatically finished his beer in one go, smashing it on the wooden dresser. He then jumps on the chair who serves to put laundry, and laughs like a villain. Mike and Dustin, jumpscared into each other arm’s, watching their leader with a worrying look on their faces.

Eddie, pointing at them : “This girl better be existing, because you’re not messing with my dreams you kids. But if you did, beware. We’ll have our answer when school starts again tomorrow.”

-----------

(fast forward now)

Lunchtime. Ughhh. Again, the pain of having to find a table, and a seat. And hopefully not eat in the toilets.

y/n walked out of her class, still whispers going around her. The laughing went down a little, as the other students saw her came back smiling from the principal’s office. Maybe they shouldn’t mess with her in the end ?

Eddie and the whole Hellfire club went sitting at their table for lunch, talking about DnD as per usual. Eddie glared at Mike and Dustin, and whispered to them “She better be here”. Both of them were anxious, and looked at each other, thinking if it would have been a better idea of keeping that for themselves, and let Eddie find out at school ?

At this moment, y/n enters the lunch room. Almost everyone turns to look at her in disgust, laughing and talking about her.

Eddie and the whole club notices her immediately. He looks at her in complete shock, like he hasn’t seen the sunlight in his entire life. “This is my dream girl” he thinks to himself. 

 He never saw a girl that seemed to have the same interests as him. In this day and age, in a little town, it was almost impossible to meet someone who likes darker things, let alone, a girl ! She was the coolest and most badass person he’s ever seen. She was dressed in all black, with a battle jacket and a piercing in her nose !!

He then grabs Dustin on his left by the arm and whisper to him “Well, you met her, right ? call her, do a sign, anything ! Make her come here !”. As Dustin almost fell of his chair as Eddie let his grip off, him and Mike quickly waved to her.

She’s scanning the place, ignoring everyone when she saw hands in the crowd. She notices Mike and Dustin at a table and smiles. She walks up to then, and say “Hi guys”

Dustin : “Hi y/n !” Mike : “Hi y/n !” y/n : “Can I sit ?” Eddie : “For sure milady, you are gracing us with your devilish presence” he says, while pushing Gareth away to make place for her. He then makes a theatrical flip of his wrist to indicate the place next to him.

y/n giggles a bit, and walks past everyone at the table to sit next to Eddie.

y/n : “Thank you sir, may I say you are the lord of this fellowship ?” she says with a wink Eddie, screaming inside, because she made a reference to LOTR + the wink : “I should humble myself, I'm more of the guardian peasant of all these lost sheep” Mike : “Eddie is our Dungeon Master” he said smiling

Eddie looks at Mike with a death glare, like how DARE he speaks to her instead of him ?? But quickly turns to her with a grin when she speaks

y/n : “Oh that is great, how does that work ? I’ve never played DnD, but I’ve heard of it” she says, while starting to eat her meal. Eddie, gleaming : “Well, don’t get me started on that, or else I won't stop talking” y/n : “go ahead” she said smiling

While Eddie starts explaining, as briefly as possible how DnD works, the entire crew at the table stopped functioning. From the moment they saw her, they couldn’t stop staring at her. And now she’s sitting here !! at THEIR table???? a GIRL???

Eddie finished explaining to y/n, who was still eating. Then she noticed all eyes on her, and saw that everyone stopped eating to look at her. She blushed a bit and said “something is on my face ?” with a shy smile.

Dustin : “Oh no, you look great !” Gareth, red as a tomato : “It’s j-just.... t-that we don’t have ladies eating w-with us that often you know...” Keith : “never actually...” y/n : “well I hope I'm no burden for y...” everyone : “no no no no no !!!” y/n, sighing : “good, but please, eat something !”

And of course, they all started to eat. Eddie kept looking at her, and giving her his best smile. He wants her. He needs her, is what kept playing in his head.

y/n : “So... Mike, Dustin, how did the poster work ?” Mike : “Well... The dungeon master is right next to you, but I would say that it was approved ?” Eddie, turned his face towards her : “Yes, approved. You did a great job.” y/n : “thank you, but I just showed Dustin how to do it... by the way, I don’t know all your names, besides Dustin and Mike ? I’m y/n” she said smiling.

Everyone around the table introduced themselves before Eddie, whom wasn’t very happy about it. He wanted to be first for her. When his turn came lastly, he said : “I am Eddie “the Freak” Munson, it’s a pleasure to meet you y/n”, he says, taking her hand and mimicking kissing the back of her hand. y/n starts blushing lightly and giggles.

y/n : “nice to meet you too Eddie. But you’re not a freak. And...”

She gets closer to him and whispers

“Kept the best for the end, right ?”

#Eddie munson #Eddie Munson x reader #Eddie Munson x y/n #Eddie Munson fic #Eddie Munson fanfic #eddie munson fluff #stranger things fanfic #Eddie Munson x goth! reader #Eddie Munson x goth reader

[skyfall8600]

Day 2: Snow Fall

12 Days of Christmas with Eddie List

Eddie Munson Masterlist

[1k words]

Sometimes you just needed to have some place to escape. A place where the worries of the world fade away, leaving you to feel nothing but serenity. Ever since you started dating Eddie, this secret place of refuge had become your private place together. Alone in the woods, surrounded by trees and the sound of birds chirping.

“So, that wasn’t part of the plan huh?” Eddie laughed, his long messy hair covered in dried up leaves.

“I mean…. I guess it won’t be so bad. Sure, I didn’t expect to be in a whole other country on Christmas Day, but it might be nice.” You said, keeping your eyes up to the sky. There was a chill in the air.

“I’m jealous,” he said, nudging his elbow into your side ever so gently. “You get to see the world, or at least start to.”

You sighed, turning to lay on your side so you could see his face. He seemed so happy and relaxed. It wasn’t your idea, your dad got a big bonus from work and decided that the family deserved a much needed holiday abroad. Although you were excited, going to see Rome was always a distant dream, the thought of not being able to see Eddie on Christmas was killing you.

You wouldn’t see his mismatched Christmas socks, or the black and red checkered pajamas he only ever wore on Christmas Eve. You wouldn’t see the excitement on his face as he opened his gifts, or have him always find some excuse to lead you to the mistletoe. It wouldn’t be Christmas without him.

“You’re taking this awfully well.” You said.

He shrugged, “It’s only one Christmas. We have so many years worth of Christmases to experience together.”

The sentiment warmed your heart. And your face.

“Besides,” he trailed off, the sound of leaves rustling underneath him as he moved. “Think of this as our first step of getting out of Hawkins, if you start to see the world… I’m sure I’ll tag along somewhere down the track.”

You smiled softly at him, “Aw Eddie, even without me you’ll get out.”

His hand flung to his heart, he cried out in a fake whine and rolled along the floor in a fake temper tantrum.

“Without you?! Sweetheart— how could you ever suggest something like that? Oh my heart— it’s frozen solid…. I’m afraid the end is near.” And he proceeded to go limp on the floor, tongue sticking out in a sad attempt to play dead.

“Eddie….” You giggled, constantly amused by his theatrics. “You know what I mean.”

Tongue still out and eyes shut, he shook his head. “Deceased. Soul died from a broken heart.”

Laughing, you forgot about the sadness that filled your minds only a short while ago. He always had this effect on you; it’s what you loved about him, he always had the ability to make the darkest times seem hopeful. Joyful even.

You moved to lean your body of his, your hand getting imprints of the leaves into your palm but you didn’t care. You were enjoying the view.

“Oh no, how could I ever save you— you poor defenceless maiden.” You played along, trailing a finger along his cheek. You could feel how tense he was, struggling to hold his position.

“A kiss.” He whispered, his ‘s’ coming out all hissed with his tongue still out.

You smiled as you bent down, kissing along his nose and cheek first. His skin was warm, warmer than what the cold winter air could offer. But Eddie was an impatient person, and as soon as he realised you would be taking your time to connect your lips to his, he took matters into his own hands.

Sneaking one arm around your waist quickly, he used all his energy to flip the two of you over. You erupted in laughter as he was now the one on top, and you had your back up against the leaves.

“I’m afraid you’re too late, my knight in shining armor could not save me…. And now you must pay the price.” He growled, burying his head in the crook of your neck.

His curls tickled against your skin. “Ah!” You screamed in laughter, “Stop stop….. I surrender!”

He persisted, knocking the wind from your lungs. “Do you accept the price?”

His voice changed, no longer playful. It was a voice that always made your core burn, ready to devour him in any way possible. You lifted up your head to connect your lips, he moaned instantly.

It was slow and passionate. Drawing out each motion in such slow, agonizing detail that it made your head spin.

With your hands locked around his neck, he held you securely at your waist and one hand laced in your hair. It was moments like this that were your fondest memories.

You were so caught up in feeling him against you that when you felt a pinch of cold on the bare skin of your hands it made your jolt. Breaking apart from the kiss, the two of you looked up to the sky simultaneously. There you saw the faintest flicker of white snow falling to the ground.

“It’s snowing.” He smiled, his dark eyes looking upwards for a few moments before he faced you once more. “At least we got to experience the first snow fall together.”

You smiled, placing one last kiss to his lips. “And here’s to many more.”

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Eddie Taglist

@silky-luxe @fentyreligion @littlelunarfox @coconutchumby @eempxth @superflannel @fluffycookies22 @yearwalker96 @cutiecusp @magicalchocolatecheesecake @grungegrrrl l​@m1rkw00dpr1ncess @dixontardis @buckyslwts @bratckerman @dani-d0rk @musicmoviestv @tomshelbystits @reddisteddie @ungracefularchimedes @santaatemypuppy @cherryrevenger @chipster-21 @azaleaforsure @eddielives1986 @luceneraium @loving-and-dreaming

#christmas with eddie #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #stranger things #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x reader fluff