deadbeatbirdmom

[deadbeatbirdmom]

the perennial Tai Discourse is really interesting to track bc, speaking broadly, the two major camps are just:

those who focus primarily on ruby’s recollection of her childhood and relationship with her dad (and filter what yang says through that lens such that “i had to pick up the pieces and keep things together when i was five” gets diluted into “yang had responsibilities as a child”)

those who focus primarily on yang’s memories and her arc in v4 (and tend to just ignore or minimize the things ruby says that suggest a positive relationship with tai, in particular often just flat out disregarding how excited ruby is to spend time with or receive care packages from him)

when it’s like. yeah that’s. literally the point. that ruby and yang had profoundly different childhoods.

they’re half-sisters in a story about fairytales and only one of them had a decent dad. rwby is unsubtly interrogating the fairytale archetype of the Evil Stepmother/Dead Mother with raven (not dead, but absent) and summer (villain, presumed dead) and that archetype quite literally requires its counterpart archetype of the Neglectful Father who remarries and tacitly participates in the Evil Stepmother’s abuse of his child from his first wife

tai is as much an exploration of the fairytale Neglectful Father as raven is the Dead Mom and summer is the Evil Stepmother. that’s. a core aspect of the narrative surrounding the rose xiao long family.

the Dead Mom often reincarnates as a bird or tree or similar spirit to watch over her child; rwby turns this on its head by reimagining the Dead Mom as an absent one. raven watches over yang in her bird form because she is too afraid to be meaningfully present; she isn’t dead, but her absence in yang’s life is so complete that she might as well have been, and the fairytale tension between the Dead Mom’s death and her lingering presence is explored through these cramped and inadequate half-measures raven takes in trying to have it both ways.

the Evil Stepmother is a vehicle for making the fairytale heroine miserable; she has no identity nor any reason for her monstrous treatment of the child who is not her own. rwby, again, flips this over with the mystery of summer rose. who was she, really? did anyone know? she was a good stepmom—she loved yang like her own daughter—but now she’s gone. she left. she never came back. she lied. she joined salem. why? what expectations did she feel on her shoulders? what broke her? why did she do the things she did?

lastly, the Neglectful Father must either be a love-blind fool or a weak, contemptible man with no love or loyalty to his own blood; he forgets his motherless child at the behest of his new love. rwby turns this on its head too by rendering tai as a human being—messy, flawed, fully-realized. wicked stepsisters exist for the purpose of being spoiled by the Evil Stepmother in juxtaposition with her cruelty to the first child, who is kind and good because she remembers her mother’s lessons. the fairytale children of these archetypes function as repetitions of their mothers. rwby makes that the central conceit of its spin on the Neglectful Father: what if he loved both the Dead Mom and the Evil Stepmother so much and then both of them broke his heart in mirrored ways, leaving him a single father to both of their children? if he sees raven in yang and summer in ruby, how does that color his relationships with both girls? if you take away the Evil Stepmother but not her daughter, does the Neglectful Father remember his first child? or are people more complicated than that?

and with all three, the narrative engages with these one-dimensional archetypes by constructing complicated, multi-faceted characters on top of them; by tossing the simplistic moral didacticism of a fairytale and presuming, first, that everyone is trying their best, that bad choices can be made from good intentions, and that no one gets it right all the time, or even most of the time. love and profound dysfunction can coexist.

ruby and yang had very different childhoods. that’s the narrative foundation the whole rose xiao long family is built on, because they’re a deconstruction of the archetypal fairytale blended family.

#Yang Xiao Long #RWBY Ruby #Taiyang Xiao Long #this is a very good point #they did have different childhoods #Ruby's wasn't perfect by any means #but that's at least in part because Yang picked up the pieces #I do believe Tai loves both of them #but he definitely sees too much of Raven in Yang and that has to colour things even subconsciously

[deadbeatbirdmom]

They grew so much 💛❤️

#RWBY Beyond #Yang Xiao Long #RWBY Ruby #the sisters of all time #the sisters Xiao Long-Rose #aaaaa feels #Ruby literally grew taller too

[deadbeatbirdmom]

I think I've recovered enough from watching the episode to actually say something about it, or at least more than I managed right afterwards.

I loved it.

It's great to see chibi-ish!Ruby used for comedic effect again, for the first time since Volume 1 I think. First acting playfully mad with Yang, and then in her excitement at the boba.

On that note, it's great to see and hear Ruby excited again. It's impressive how high her voice can go without breaking, especially considering Ruby's VA's normal voice seems to be lower pitched than Yang's voice.

I'm not surprised Ruby's uncomfortable with the cult that has sprung up around her message to Remnant. She always wanted to be a normal girl, if one who became a huntress, which is a fairly normal thing in Remnant. Especially for someone born to a family of them.

It's good to see that refugees from Patch can set up their business in Vacuo, and even better that it lets Yang and Ruby carry on the tradition they had before Beacon. That it was something they did with Tai also ended up revealing why he isn't there with them: he's on assignment, according to Qrow. What is more important than being in Vacuo, where the majority of Remnant's population is gathered? And more important than being with his daughters, who he might have heard were presumed dead and miraculously reappeared.

I've seen the suggestion that Tai's guarding the Crown aka Relic of Choice, but I've also seen the great point that if that's the case and Salem finds him, there's not much he can do to stop her, no matter what his Semblance is. Although I guess Raven might feel that he's in danger and open a portal for him to escape through. It's not confirmed that's how her Semblance works, but it explains how she knew when Yang needed saving in Volume 2.

Anyway, back to Yang and Ruby! I love that Yang brought up what happened in the Ever After. That she's understands, or at least understands enough after what Yang herself has been through, and the important thing she gets across to Ruby is that she's not alone. That she's not going to carry the weight of leading them alone. Not anymore.

It's also important that they've figured out a code word to signal that Ruby needs help, because she doesn't always know how to reach out. I figure that they will tell Blake and Weiss about that, or it could confuse them:

Ruby: "Boba!"

Weiss: ...

Blake: :3 ???

Yang: Hugs Ruby. "I'm here for you."

Weiss: "Is. Is this another weird Xiao Long-Rose thing?"

What I particularly appreciate about it is that Yang acknowledged her mistake but didn't actually apologise for it, and Ruby didn't mind that. Because the important thing isn't saying sorry, it's changing things so that Ruby never feels that alone again. Actions speak louder than words.

It's also equally important that Ruby recognised she still has issues saying when she needs help. They're a team and they need to work together.

It just reinforces RWBY's message of hope, and to keep moving forward, and that no one is perfect but that they learn from their mistakes.

Asjhgsdkjghfdkshjkakjhdhlsj FEELS AUGH

Also that last line kinda hints that Ruby likes to go shopping with Yang, but they haven't got around to it. Shopping for new outfits, perhaps?

#RWBY spoilers #RWBY Beyond #Yang Xiao Long #RWBY Ruby #the sisters Xiao Long-Rose #the sisters of all time #deadbeatbirdmom posts

[deadbeatbirdmom]

I wasn't in tears but I was crying on the inside too.

rwby beyond really made me cry

#RWBY spoilers #RWBY Beyond #the sisters of all time

[deadbeatbirdmom]

The BEST sisters

#RWBY spoilers #RWBY Beyond #Yang Xiao Long #RWBY Ruby #the sisters Xiao Long-Rose #the sisters of all time #aaaaaa feeels

[deadbeatbirdmom]

xiao long-rose sister hugs are the best hugs

#RWBY Spoilers #RWBY Beyond #Yang Xiao Long #RWBY Ruby #the sisters Xiao Long-Rose #the sisters of all time #AUGH #FEELS

[deadbeatbirdmom]

RB:E4 - RWBY Beyond: Boba

BEST SISTERS!

Also, oh gosh, I still adore Vacuo's aesthetic so much, thank you to everyone who worked on this wonderful little love letter to RWBY, I have loved it and I hope with what we heard recently you can all be re-hired and finish your work and continue on for years to come!

Back to the story, I know I have been saying "Give that girl a cult" but damn I didn't think the show would necessarily line up with me, love it! Surprised Tai came up if only cos the girls rarely think of him, a stance I respect given who actually did the parenting XD I am guessing he's Raven's portal link elsewhere perhaps?

At first, I was eh on the trip to Boba Boba Boba in their childhood, but it actually fits well with how I imagine Tai looked when "recovered" but not really parenting. IE. he's the 'fun' parent who does 'fun outings' but doesn't have the energy or where with all for the heavier stuff that Yang was dealing with as the one who raised Ruby and she had being raised by her sister.

Anyway, their conversation was very solid, it built up well and flowed naturally, I like the emphasis Yang puts on Ruby not needing to justify. defend or recant her decision but instead Yang keeping emphasis on the fact she is there for Ruby and affirming her needs as best she can.

I also really like that Ruby admitted that she also hadn't been asking for help and that there was no real blame there either so much as an acknowledgement of it being a complex and messy situation where no one had the full picture. The code word for when feeling overwhelmed but not able to properly communicate one's needs is brilliant and heartfelt and just generally this is a sweet scene, and I love this as a note for things to go out on, for now. So optimistic!

#RWBY spoilers #RWBY Beyond #Yang Xiao Long #RWBY Ruby #the sisters Xiao Long-Rose #the sisters of all time #I don't think I can say any of this better #although I'll still try to pull my thoughts about the episode together #might have to be later #my feels keep getting the better of me

[deadbeatbirdmom]

The callback 🥹🥺

#RWBY spoilers #Yang Xiao Long #RWBY Ruby #the sisters Xiao Long-Rose #the sisters of all time #I love this so much

[deadbeatbirdmom]

What happens when the vet is mentioned around goofy Blake?

fear

#RWBY fanart #Blake Belladonna #Goofy Blake #aaaaa that poofy floofy tail #poor Goofy Blake

[deadbeatbirdmom]

oh this hit me like a truck

#RWBY spoilers #RWBY Beyond #Yang Xiao Long #RWBY Ruby #AAAAA FEELS #the sisters Xiao Long-Rose #the sisters of all time

[deadbeatbirdmom]

"i know qrow said he's on an assignment, but what's more important than here?"

THE CROWN. HE'S THE DRAGON PROTECTING THE TREASURE.

#RWBY spoilers #RWBY Beyond #Taiyang Xiao Long #that does make a lot of sense #it's either that or he has to find Zwei or something

[deadbeatbirdmom]

#RWBY spoilers #RWBY Beyond #Yang Xiao Long #RWBY Ruby #the sisters Xiao Long-Rose #the sisters of all time #that normal knees line: throwback and feels #aaaaa these gifs #FEELS

[deadbeatbirdmom]

Full disclaimer: There's a Somewhat episode that aired before this, but I haven't watched it yet because Yang. And Ruby. The sisters of all time. I will watch it, because Somewhat is cute, but I'll wait until I'm not quite so overwhelmed with FEELS.

AUGH FEELS.

I think getting my thoughts down about this episode will have to wait. I'm very close to keysmashing.

I will observe that while there was no Blake or Bees cameo, Yang did seem to have this resting expression on her face:

:3

A touch of Blake's influence perhaps...? I'm kidding. Mostly.

#RWBY spoilers #Ruby Beyond #Yang Xiao Long #RWBY Ruby #the sisters Xiao Long-Rose #the sisters of all time

[deadbeatbirdmom]

I heard @ghoulsamgrusam 's call to arms and I'm here to deliver. So anyway is this anything chat LMAO cus if there's an audience for this I will 100% write this

Rated E for monster fucker (as usual), violence, on-par with Beestfic stuff. Apocalyptic virus/monster/survival AU

#RWBY fanart #Bumbleby #oooo interesting concept! #neat detail where the damage to were!Blake's left ear is on her cat ear too #there's something about your Yangs with her hair pinned up that makes me want to see Blake bring it cascading down

[deadbeatbirdmom]

Come at me and you'll see

I'm more than meets the eye

#RWBY fanart #Yang Xiao Long #I feel like I'm in danger #love the pose and dramatic angle #and those eyes of fire

[deadbeatbirdmom]

#Yang Xiao Long #Elm Ederne #Elm's face must've been a picture

[deadbeatbirdmom]

I'm starting to think Yang has something against floors...

#Yang Xiao Long #Elm Ederne #yeet!