#Ozpin's speech

[thesparrow1996]

“balance is not two forces locked in a never ending battle. balance is an ecosystem. an organism. a living, breathing thing. thus balance cannot be restored with force or calculation. true balance finds it’s own equilibrium. it only requires love, and the patience to see things through to the end.”

salem and ozma save the world by falling in love again ending is so real. btw.

#listening to that speech…… oh love? the thing that started this whole thing in the first place? #rwby #ozpin #salem rwby

[epic-arc]

Crazy Knight 2

Ozpin would be in his room looking at the view until he would notice the sound of the door opening and he would look back to see the rest of team jnpr.

Ozpin: Good morning jnpr team came to ask about the mission?

Nora was about to start talking, but Pyrrha would be in front with an expression of irritation and a little nervousness in her speech and actions.

Pyrrha: You asked Jaune to escort one of the most dangerous criminals and you didn't even think he needed help?!

Ozpin heard that and would be confused by Pyrrha's comment so she would take her scroll and show him a photo that Juri had posted on her social network. In the image it was her and Jaune in bed almost half naked and Jaune would be passed out and the image would have the following caption "I loved this toy Beacon gave me"

Ozpin: ...Okay now I understand the concern.

Team (j)npr: OH NOW YOU UNDERSTAND!

#rwby #jaune arc #lie ren #nora valkryie #pyrrha nikos #rwby au #rwby crossover #crossover ship #juri han #Crazy Knight

[bestworstcase]

@tumblingxelian tag from here

#OK I'd legit love to hear your take on her interactions with Oscar

oh i think about the interrogation scene a normal amount

something i want to underline before diving in is the conspicuous discrepancy between the eloquence and spoken delivery of salem's soliloquies in V1/V3 (internal monologue) versus her dialogue (verbal speech). it's especially noticeable in juxtaposition with ozma's V7 soliloquy versus ozpin's dialogue, where no such discrepancy exists; oz talks the way he thinks, he's an excellent orator and even in casual conversation he's well-spoken and charismatic.

whereas salem... thinks eloquently and often poetically ("nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness..." or "it's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the hearts of the weary..."), but speaks with minimal rhetorical flair. her speech is also sometimes a little stilted or just very, very deliberate in a way that does not sound natural; and there's times—her conversation with cinder in V5 is a particularly noticeable example—where what she says circles around what she means.

"working with bandits? keeping ruby alive? what's the point? we're strong enough to take what we want by force!" / "never underestimate the usefulness of others; take leonardo. he was one of ozpin's most trusted, but now... hm. you will have the power i promised you when the time is right, but remember that it comes with a cost. if ruby rose has learned to harness her gift, you must take care to protect yours. there's only so much i can do to aid you."

<- its like. instead of just saying it, salem says examples supporting the idea she's trying to articulate. if a conversation were a math problem, salem shows all of her work but doesn't give the answer. and she does this A LOT.

none of the other characters in the story are like this—which means it isn't, like, a problem with the writers failing to write cogent dialogue. it's a deliberate character choice for salem specifically.

anyway, prior to the interrogation scene, salem only appears in contexts where she is either addressing her subordinates or—in V7—giving ironwood the terms of her siege. on two of these occasions, she get interrupted with unexpected new information (ozpin is back, ruby rose used the lamp) and in both cases, salem abruptly ends the conversation and either kicks everyone else out (V6) or leaves (V7).

and i think that's worth noting in relation to this scene, because the interrogation veers off script very fast and we get to see salem, um, Trying Her Best.

so!

as far as salem knows, oscar is gone. she expects—prepares for—a hostile and painful confrontation with ozma. when oscar wakes up, she's huddled against a pillar in a shadowy corner with an arm curled around herself and her head low, staring fixedly at conjured shadows of her dead children. she is Not Okay.

but when she speaks, her tone is conversational. almost cordial, once she's past the withering sarcasm in "my long lost ozma... found at last." it's affected! it's not real! she's reciting words she planned and probably rehearsed beforehand—which i think is likely the case for most of her little speeches. she's a poor speaker.

except... it's oscar. salem twigs that he isn't ozma the instant he talks, stares at him for a couple seconds without no visible reaction except that her mocking little smile fades, and:

snarls and grabs his face and yanks him down to get a better look at him—the mask just shatters. there's lots of ways to interpret this, but i'm inclined to take it as salem recognizing that this isn't ozma and then second-guessing that instinct and grabbing him because she needs to be absolutely sure.

"you can pretend, boy... but you're not fully him. not yet, at least." her tone shifts on every clause, from almost a growl to relieved to just sort of resigned. and then she drops him, exhales, steps back:

and just... stands there gazing into the middle distance for a couple seconds. like—oscar being here was not a possibility she even considered until it happened and upon finding herself in this situation her reaction is basically, "...um."

and then she's like

well... :)

perhaps you and i can have a better working reLaTiOnShiP.

...

...

oscar, >:[

was it? :\

laying aside the dire understatement of referring to what happened between her and ozma as a bad "working relationship," you can like. hear. the crash box crashing in her head as she says this. her tone swings from sweet and gentle to sardonic to coldly indifferent—and then she follows this by swerving right back into cordial neutrality. hrgkhsj her affect just goes haywire

and i think that happens because this is just so far out of expected bounds that she can't figure out how to say what she needs to say to get herself back on track. her speech smooths out again as soon as she segues into her questions, because she knows what she planned to ask ozma and she can tailor that to oscar instead.

but getting there? dial-up noises.

the hysterical part though is that it's really obvious this awkward verbal jumble isn't indicative of internal confusion or uncertainty, in that salem knows what she's going to do—her chosen tactics are clear and entirely coherent. she:

calms herself down and backs off.

states her intention to play nice if he cooperates.

both implicitly and explicitly differentiates him from ozma to indicate she understands he's his own person and can and will set her rage and bitterness with ozma aside to treat oscar fairly.

which is precisely what i meant in the OP, about salem having the necessary grasp of human nature to be—in theory—a formidable manipulator but lacking the social dexterity and charisma required to put it into effective practice. like, tactically this line of attack is very shrewd, but her awkward, erratic delivery cuts the legs out from under it because she sounds utterly insincere.

⭐️ she tried.

continuing on—salem first explains the context regarding what she needs to know about "the beacon relic" (sidebar, does... salem even know what it is? this is the only one she refers to this way. the lamp, the staff, the sword, and "the beacon relic"), all in a fairly amicable tone except for:

"if i know my ozma" <- she's implicitly positioning herself and oscar on the same 'side' against ozma. this follows from her deliberate rhetorical separation of oscar from ozma and also the basis of her strategy in coaxing this information out of oscar. the reason she's taking the time for this little prologue is not to help oscar understand why she captured him necessarily. she's (trying to) set out the rules of the game she is playing. trying to, because she's doing her showing-her-work-but-not-giving-the-answer thing again.

here's what she means:

"perhaps you and i can have a better working relationship. oscar, was it?" -> i can work with you because i know you're not him. "if i know my ozma, he has used some means of deception to hide [the relic's] location differently from the others." -> ozma lies. i despise him for lying to me. i expect you to prove to me that you're not like him in this specific way. "i need to know where it is." -> i want an honest answer.

salem knows he isn't going to tell her where ozma hid the relic, if oscar even knows that information; she doesn't expect or even want him to tell her that yet, necessarily. rather, this is a test. she wants to see if oscar will try to deceive her.

"that's not something i know about." he passes.

immediately, salem rewards him for being honest. "of course." she removes her hand from the hound's shoulder and moves away.

"he would keep that one guarded as long as possible." she also takes the opportunity to reinforce that she sees oscar as a separate individual and insinuates that ozma is actively keeping secrets from both of them.

and again, this is a cunning approach because:

oscar is scared and uncomfortable. he quite clearly anticipates that salem is going to get angry and hurt him as he says he doesn't know the answer. so when she accepts "i don't know" without hesitation and physically moves out of his personal space, it creates these feelings of surprise and relief.

that emotional reaction is the key to salem's strategy here. first she tells oscar that she will be reasonable if he cooperates, then she clarifies her expectations ("don't lie.") she asks a question knowing full well that he either can't or won't answer it. he says "i don't know" and braces for retaliation, but instead salem goes "okay" and turns down the heat. she's demonstrating through her actions that she's going to play fair.

"how about something easier, then? the password for the lamp."

she doesn't expect him to tell her this one either. not yet. it's another test that builds from the first. she's established that "i don't know" is a safe answer (as long as it's true). what salem's fishing for him to say now is "i'm not going to tell you that."

why? when she walked away, she left oscar hanging from the hound's jaws. salem lowered the heat—she didn't turn it all the way off. the point of all this is to teach oscar how to play her game, and the last rule he needs to know is that "i won't say" is also a safe answer. had he given her that answer, the hound would have set him down and withdrawn to lay down in the entryway.

only then would the game truly begin. the idea is to draw oscar into something like a real conversation and gradually get him comfortable saying things like "i don't know" and "i won't answer that question" by cultivating trust. once that rapport exists, it becomes really easy to turn the discussion around by asking oscar why? why not take the risk of trusting her with this or that information? after all, she's been nothing but polite and reasonable. does he truly still believe she's the evil monster ozma made her out to be? she gave him the benefit of the doubt... can't he do the same for her?

salem wins by convincing him she's a person he can negotiate with. that pulling this off would be the ultimate fuck-you to ozma only makes it more satisfying.

of course, that's not what actually happens. (partly because salem talked a circle about the "don't lie" rule and oscar—who hasn't spent the last four volumes seeing that his woman yells and flips tables when she's lied to—didn't pick up the hint.) instead, he tries to deceive her again and salem lashes out.

<- the physical violence gets all the attention from the fandom, and i do understand why, it's nasty and protracted and made to be viscerally unpleasant to watch, but. it's only a placeholder, something salem does while she considers what she's going to do—and say—to hurt him in a way that will never heal.

ok.

salem gets that oscar isn't ozma, didn't ask to become him, and feels desperate to retain his own identity distinct and separate from for as long as possible. she knows how ozma's reincarnation works, what this curse does to his hosts. it's not hard to figure out that it is a horrifying, traumatizing ordeal for the souls he's "paired" with. this is why she makes such a particular point of differentiating between oscar and ozma.

"the lies come out of you so easily." ("if i know my ozma, he has used some means of deception...")

why does she caress his face like this? to make him remember her like ozma does. "like-minded souls, indeed." you can pretend, boy, but so much of you is him that you remember even this.

the torture is just the preshow. this is the cruelest, most devastating thing she could possibly do to him, and salem knows it. she gave him a pass on pretending to be ozma, and he threw the second chance back in her face by lying to her again; she's furious and upset and she wants to HURT him.

this is how porous the boundaries between you and him have become. this is how close you are to being him. this is how little of you there is left to lose. like-minded souls, indeed.

like.

she does this to fuck with his head and it horrifies him so much that oscar spends the remainder of this arc actively choosing to endure being hazel's literal punching bag rather than let ozma take over or try to escape using ozma's magic. in 8.6:

OZMA: I’d like to express again that this is my burden to bear, not yours. His grudge is with me. OSCAR: No, it’ll be even worse. He’s holding back with me, I can tell. OZMA: I understand. I do. But you’ve done so much already. The least I can do is give you a break and try to get us out of here. OSCAR: We can’t leave yet.

they go back and forth, oscar proposes trying to flip hazel, ozma agrees it's worth a try. when hazel comes in, ozpin goes "oscar, please"—and because oscar doesn't respond, it's ambiguous whether he gives ozma control or if ozma shunts him aside again as he did at haven academy.

either way, the next we see of oscar after the interrogation scene is ozma entreating oscar to let him take over and oscar going no no no, that'll make it worse, no i don't need a break, i've got a plan, no no we have to stay here. and while his reasoning is cogent... this is a fifteen year old boy who's spent the whole day getting beaten up by a guy three times his size, and he actively wants to stay and be tortured more rather than let ozma front for a while.

and then in 8.9:

OZMA: I think this plan to divide may have run its course. It’s time we start thinking about a way out; not having our cane certainly limits our options, so… OSCAR: No! I don’t like what happens when we use magic. Every time we use it, I can feel us merging faster. I'm not ready for that.

the deeper truth gets spoken aloud.

this is not a new thing with oscar—his emotional core has always been existential dread—but framing it in this way, set against hours and hours of brutal torture that oscar insists is the less bad option, represents a massive spike in the intensity of his horror.

because salem Did That.

anyway the interrogation scene is great. 10/10.

#can't wait for her to have more Conversations in V10

[tumblingxelian]

I like Cinder's backstory for a multitude of reasons.

It does a great job humanizing Cinder without justifying the terrible things she does; like the hopeful smile on her face before a door is slammed in her face, that brief moment of hope when she first arrived, the longing looks she gave Rhode's, the utterly broken way she says "I don't have to run anymore." Like, Cinder is an incredibly broken person.

It adds a lot of world and how morally bankrupt Atlas is that this kind of thing can so obviously be happening in front of people and bring about nothing. Plus the other implicit world building details regarding the child trafficking ring.

It explains why Cinder is so desperately, hungry for power, because every relationship she's had is just someone with more power holding it over her, thus she's contextualized 'power' as the only means of safety/freedom.

It neatly covers why she holds Hunters in special contempt, and ties in well to her V3 speech about the likes of Ozpin and Ironwood being nothing more than men, just like Rhode's.

It also introduces Cinder's penchant for mimicry, with her copying Rhode's hairstyle and introducing us to the clicking heels of Madam which Cinder imitates.

It lays the groundwork for her holding the current world order and systems in utter contempt, because hey, what did they ever do beyond enable her suffering?

It hits the Cinderella hallmarks very smoothly while still allowing it to feel like its own story.

Long story short its a really, really good backstory.

#RWBY #CRWBY #Cinder Fall

[benevolentslut]

it's been said before but i'll say it again it's fucking wild how rwby can on the one hand have the goofiest moments like nora yelling thunder thighs and then having the physics of a cardboard cutout for ren to pick up and walk off with but then also come out of fucking nowhere with deep ass shit like ozpin's speech abt fear at the end of v7

#rwby

[invested-in-your-future]

You just know that if they do V10

The world will be painted as having been completely useless without the Heroic and Stalwart Team RWBY to GUIDE them. The Beyond Shorts will likely already anviliciously tell the audience that.

Raven and Yang will suddenly be besties and ALL LITERALLY UNRESOLVED ISSUES YANG HAS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RESOLVED VOLUMES AGO will be once again forgotten. Inferiority complex? Masking her aimlessness with bravado? Rage? Who cares, everything is fine now.

Raven will come full circle being completely useless with a character arc that you could literally cut out and not miss anything (literally, Yang could have encountered her at Vacuo right now for the first time and NOTHING would change). Seriously if there was one character the show wasted the most it would have been all the mystery and build-up her character had only to end up...THIS.

Ruby will be fine and giddy now, having been "cured" from having traumatizing experiences and doubts, because this show hates human beings being human beings and the writers likely actively hate Ruby Rose and having to have her as protagonist of their Jaune Show.

Weiss will yet again have no subplot being the "Schnee successor" idea which completely ignores that the very concept of SDC is rotten to the core and built upon classism and exploitation.

Blake will continue not having any sort of plotline because anti-faunus stuff got "solved" by her "looting and burning speech" and she's uwu catgirl gf now.

Ozpin being a body-snatcher will yet again somehow be side-stepped.

They will absolutely somehow find a way to tell the audience how it's wrong to be mean to the rich colonizer people and how something something both sides, something something violence bad.

They will once again off-screen the important and interesting things like characterization or worldbuilding - all while spending screentime on Jaune or padding.

Bonus points if they STILL attempt to throw Jaune at Weiss because oh yeah this show needed even more bad writing decisions than it already has.

This setting deserved so much better than being whatever this is.

Yang and Blake deserved so much better than literally having no development or characterization for each other OR their relationship.

And Ruby deserved so much better than being a God-Chosen-Hero Prop that is not even allowed to have flaws or characterization or actual growth as THE PROTAGONIST OF ENTIRE SHOW..

#rwby #rwde #rwby volume 10 #ruby rose

[strqyr]

knowing that cinder's backstory and maria were originally intended for V5 makes me wonder how they would have played out, like. just from a thought exercise angle it's fun to think about?

would cinder's backstory still mostly have taken place in atlas, or would it have been solely focused on mistral—hence her words during her speech in V3: "as someone who hails from mistral, i can assure you the situation there is... equally undesirable.", with her words towards atlas not holding any strong personal feelings? if so, how much different would it have been, or would it have been more or less the same, just different kingdom?

if maria had appeared in mistral, would she have followed the main gang to argus, then atlas? would ruby have had her hand-to-hand combat mini-arc, or was it a replacement for learning about silver eyes more? would maria have been someone known to ozpin / qrow (iirc qrow was supposed to find her during his search for huntsmen), someone they knew would be able to help ruby re: silver eyes more than they ever could, if ruby came asking about them?

ya know. it gets the brainworms worming.

#this has been on my mind for DAYS now #and it's showing no signs of stopping

[spahhzy]

Apocalyptic Anniversary~

Jaune: Ruby!

Ruby: Tacitus, you're here, but shouldn't you be with your team?

Jaune: Their busy and can manage, look Ruby what I need you to do now is get to the top of that tower and help Pyrrha out, I'll handle him.

Jaune points to Torchwick, who just rolls his eyes.

Ruby: But Tacitus, that's THE Roman Torchwick, a very bad man!

Jaune: It will be alright, Ruby, trust me, I'll take it from here. Believe in me.

Ruby looked unsure, but Roman didn't seem to make a move, so he must be afraid to attack.

Ruby looked at Jaune determination in her silver eyes.

Ruby: Alright, Tacitus I believe in you good luck!

Glancing at Roman one more time, Ruby turned into petals and flew off towards the top of the tower.

Roman: bahahahahaahahah! Oh, Jaune, great speech! 'Believe in me'.

Jaune: Where's Trivia?

Roman: uhhh, she kinda fell off the side of the ship?

Jaune: She WHAT!?

Roman: Don't worry, her parasol got her safely to the ground. She is safe.

Jaune calmed a bit but got back focused back to the task at hand.

Jaune: What the hell are we doing Roman?

Roman: What do you mean Jaune, this is all part of the plan...

Jaune: This? All this destruction and death? What is the end result of all this! What happened to stealing whatever Ozpin was hiding!?

Roman: Are you really having second doubts about this!?

Jaune: Because this ain't US, this aint Trivia, Yang or you, Roman!

Roman: Oh, what do you know about US, I clearly remember you leaving Yang, me and Neo for two years to go on whatever little sabbatical you did.

Roman: And then a year after you left, Raven took Yang to do whatever with her tribe, leaving just me and Neo.

Jaune didn't say anything at that.

Roman: I looked after her while she was in tears, I helped train and build her up while you were off doing whatever the hell.

Roman: And what's all this for? I want us to be kings and queens!

Jaune: Oh, I'm sorry, Your Highness, let me rephrase: Here is King Roman, king of nobody, yeah, such a good idea. Let's cut the bullshit and call this for what it is, You want revenge.

This time it was Roman to be quiet.

Jaune: I know you want revenge on the council for what they did to Mt. Glenn, Roman, but your damning people who had NOTHING to do with it!

Jaune points out to the city of Vale, smoke billowing in the sky as cries and pleas for help echoed into the night.

Jaune: I know you want revenge, but following Cinders plan is going to get you, Yang and Trivia killed!

Jaune: Yang is hurt, Trivia is god knows where, and you still wanna go through with whatever that damn lady planted inside your head!?

Roman: She is the only one who can give us the power to actually change things, Jaune. Us. we could actually be something instead of just thieves waiting for a bigger score.

Jaune: You don't honestly believe Cinder is gonna let you or any of us live? We told her no once, and she is the type of people to remember things!

Roman: It will work out Jaune!

Jaune: No, Roman, you'll damn us all if you continue through with this. Is that what you want!?

Roman: I want better for us, Jaune! Why can't you see that!?

Jaune: I do see it, Roman, but not like this! You're only gonna prove the council right. there is a better way, Roman.

Roman: How can you be sure, Jaune?

Jaune: I don't know, but please, you can start by believing in me, Roman!

Roman looked into Jaune's pleading eyes as chaos and destruction rained all around.

Jaune just looked at Roman. If he didn't see reason, he would force him. Jaune wouldn't lose his family, not like this.

Roman: Haha, you've truly soaked up a lot of the hero stuff from Beacon.

Roman: Still Jaune, how do you think we can stick it to the council...I mean, it's not like we can build our own city overnight.

Jaune, when he heard that, just laughed to which Roman raised an eye brow.

Jaune: Man, I was hoping to save this for Trivia and our anniversary, but...

Jaune reaches into his bag before pulling out a rolled up piece of paper, tossing it to Roman who caught it.

Jaune: Open it, this is my gift to you and Trivia...and the reason I left for two years, it all culminated into this paper.

Roman opened the paper and began reading it.

Roman: Jaune this is...

Jaune, nodding: mmhmm.

Roman: H-h-how did you get the deed to all of Mt. Glenn?

Jaune: A lot of searching and a lot of money, but I was able to find the son of the man who had the deed to the land, I did what he asked and paid his price and so...

Jaune smiled a bright smile as Roman just looked at the boy he thought of something akin to a son.

Jaune: Congratulations, Roman, you own -

Jaune couldn't get much said as he was put into a headlock/hug.

Roman: Thank you, I truly mean it, Jaune.

Jaune: Ah, think nothing of it, but just because we got all of Mt. Glenn, we still gotta get rid of all the Grimm occupying the land.

Roman: We'll think of that later, Jaune, but now let's regroup with Trivia. She's been blasting my scroll for the past ten minutes.

Jaune nodded, happy that Roman was able to look past Cinders' plan. Now we they go help everyone back at Beacon and-

A glint of red eyes caught Jaune's eye.

Roman: Alright, Jaune, so what's the plan? I can message Neo, and she can-

Roman didn't get to say anything else as suddenly he found himself pushed face first onto the floor.

Roman got up and looked in the other direction.

Roman: Jaune what the-

Roman's eyes widened in horror as he saw Jaune holding the mouth of a Nevermore from swallowing him.

Jaune: Find Trivia and Yang.

Jaune activated his aura just as the Nevermore swallowed him whole.

Roman: No Jaune!

Roman attempted to fire from Melodic Cudgel, but the Nevermore was already flying away.

All that was left behind was Jaune's blade. Crocea Malum.

.

Neo was silently FUMING.

Damn little red for knocking her off the ship, now Roman had to fight her alone.

Yang wasn't answering, and neither was Jaune.

Fuck fuck fuck, maybe Jaune was right in not going along with Cinders plan...maybe this shit wouldn't be all fucked up.

Neo shook her head. No use crying over it now.

'Ping'.

Neo's eyes flew towards her scroll.

'Meet me at the docks, warehouse B'.

Neo's eyes widened.

That wasn't part of the plan? Weren't we supposed to take the airship and demolish Beacon?

Neo's narrowed her eyes but typed out okay in her scroll.

If this wasn't Roman, then whoever had his scroll would be very sorry.

-

Blake shed a tear as she saw the medic working on the body of Yang. She held on to Yang's hand. Her only hand remaining.

All thanks to Adam Taurus...

Blake just squeezed Yangs hand as tears ran down her face.

#jaune arc #neopolitian (rwby) #rwby silent knight #yang xiao long #blake bellodona #roman torchwick #rwby bmblb

[pilot-boi]

Wonder what other ghosts affect the Voices AU. Watts? Lionheart? Sienna? Fennec Albain? Amber? Vernal? Brawnz, Roy, and May Z? Pilot Boi? Fria? Nicholas Schnee? Gretchen? F Pickerel (the guy who initially captured Tyrian)? Ilia's parents? That huntsman that died in front of RNJR in Volume 4? Fox's uncle Copper? Marcus Black? Bartleby from Brunswick Farms? Ozpin (the host, not Ozma)? Forest? Curious? Neo's parents? Rhodes? Sleet? Hazel? Tock? Tukson? Clover? Vine? Sorry this is a lot.

Nah you’re good, lemme just cover them one at a time. It’s nice to see people excited

Saddle in because this going to be VERY long

Okay first of all we need to establish some ground rules. Not all deaths in Remnant create a ghost, otherwise Jaune wouldn’t be able to function ANYWHERE because if all natural deaths made a ghost the whole world would be infested

So ghosts only appear from particularly traumatic/violent deaths. AKA Grimm, usually. But if you die peacefully in your bed, you don’t make a ghost.

ALSO, if it’s been long enough, or they don’t have a reason to stay, a ghost will fade away. This process is faster for ghosts without their Aura unlocked. As they fade they become harder and harder to understand until their speech is complete unintelligible

For example, Oz and Salem’s daughters have LONG since faded. In Kuroyuri most of the citizens are still around but they’re completely unintelligible and barely corporeal, but Li is the same as the day he died because he has a “mission” to continue protecting the village

So going through the list, I can say that Fria, Nicholas Schnee, and presumably Neo’s parents wouldn’t have ghosts. They all died naturally. But all those other guys would have ghosts

Most of them continue haunting the area where they died, or go off and do their own thing

Some of them would probably follow the gang around if they could but they don’t know where the gang is. For example, Ironwood only knows where they are because he was in the inner circle and so knows the next target is Vacuo

And then there’s the ghosts that don’t follow out of choice

Pilot Boi, for example, tries to find his way back to Atlas. Bartleby continues haunting his farm even after the gang leave. Lionheart is a coward and stays in Haven Academy. The huntsman who died returns to the capital, same with Tock with her respective city. Forest and Sleet stay haunting the ruins of Mantle and Atlas, as do Amber and Tukson with Vale.

That leaves a LOT of ghosts though, so let’s cover them one at a time

Most of them, if they don’t haunt a location, follow around someone who was important to them in life, like Pyrrha does with Jaune

Watts and Ironwood both go to Vacuo, because they know that’s the next target. They bicker the whole way which is very entertaining

Hazel follows Emerald around, a sort of guardian spirit. Since he helped them escape and fought Salem for them, Jaune doesn’t see any reason to try and get him to leave. He does tell Emerald that Hazel is there, though

Fennec follows his brother around, which mostly just consists of the two of them sitting in jail. He tries to comfort his brother, but of course Corsac doesn’t know he’s there

Sienna follows Adam around, constantly berating him, and she helps Pyrrha kick his ass when he finally dies. After that she goes back to Menagerie

Vernal either follows Raven around or returns to the tribe. It’s not like she’d be lonely, there’s plenty of ghosts in the Branwens to keep her company

Brawnz, Roy, and May Z all follow Nolan to Vacuo when he goes. He doesn’t know they’re there until Jaune arrives and can tell him, and then Nolan breaks down crying because his team didn’t let him have to be alone, even after dying

Gretchen, of course, follows her twin around and the two reunite after his death. It’s the happiest and most complete Hazel has felt in decades. Jaune doesn’t even know they were siblings until after Hazel dies and they reunite. After all, she still looks seventeen

F Pickerel probably tries to follow Tyrian around, at least until he joins Salem, and then the man’s spirit is promptly banished. Gretchen she allows to stay because she knows the girl won’t try to interfere, she just wants to be with her brother, but Pickerel could be a problem

Ilia’s parents of course follow her around, from Mantle to Mistral to Menagerie and eventually to Vacuo. Not that she knows, again until Jaune gets to Vacuo and can tell her. Then she has a similar reaction to Nolan

Copper follows Fox until he joins team CFVY and finally has a family again, then the man passes on since his “nephew” is safe and loved

Marcus Black would certainly TRY to follow Mercury, at least until he gets to Everlight. Then the man almost meets a similar fate from Gretchen as Adam does at Pyrrha’s hands. Gretchen isn’t quite strong enough to get him to leave, just enough to get him to keep his distance. Once Hazel dies, though, it’s all over for him

Ozpin, of course, follows Oscar around. Jaune actually figured something is up with Oscar when they first meet because for the first time ever, someone else can hear what a ghost is saying. Only the most recent Ozcarnation remains as a spirit, and as the merge comes closer, Ozpin’s ghost starts to fade

Oz used to be able to see/hear ghosts just like Salem, but as he’s used up his magic he’s lost that ability. He DOES know that Jaune can see ghosts, because the boy makes eye contact with him and reacts when he speaks to Oscar

Rhodes would, of course, follow Cinder, but he gets similarly banished when she joins up with Salem. A Huntsman’s spirit is too dangerous to keep around

Clover follows Qrow around, trying to apologize to the man for his stupidity. The two of them reunite when Vine dies, and they actually also get to reunite with Tortuga as well. With Tortuga back it’s the first time the Ace Ops have felt whole since his death, and all three follow the remaining Ace Ops to Vacuo

And finally, the Curious Cat. CC doesn’t leave a spirit when they die, because Ascension works differently. No body left behind, so I figure also no spirit. Alyx only left one behind because she was killed and because she’s from Remnant she doesn’t ascend

#rwby #voices au #jaune arc #professor ozpin #hazel rainart #arthur watts #leonardo lionheart #sienna khan #curious cat #clover ebi #vine zeki #salem #mine #asks #anonymously20 blog

[marrow-minded]

its really so funny that ruby can apologize to cordovin, someone who was blatantly racist to blake, and make peace with her that "theyre all on the same side" and "we didnt want to steal from you but you gave us no other choice" (which is total bullshit cordo literally said she would escort weiss to ironwood, why couldnt weiss have just taken oscar and qrow and the lamp and then they could have gotten direct orders from ironwood to collect the rest of the team) and after *nearly* dooming argus (through some really piss poor writing) they can all be besties and cordo gives them her blessing to steal an atlas airship, not because she was made aware of the true mission and she understands thats theres more at risk than her petty arguments with maria and sticking to the rules by the letter, but simply because ruby made a speech which included a dig at cordo physical attributes--

but General Ironwood, someone qrow has a personal connection with and history, and has actual power to make a difference in this war just from his assets alone, is someone inherently untrustworthy and needs to be lied too; not bc he did something that "forced" ruby and co to lie, but because a schnee implies that mantle didnt use to be this bad (?) and dissonance between what was being shown to the audience on screen (a pretty well taken care of couple city blocks and two drunks) and what the characters were saying (total chaos and martial law and fascist dictatorship being imposed on the poor). like ruby was willing to look past CORDOVINS blatant racism, endangerment of civilians (by jumping straight into her mech over what was essentially a petty argument that leads to the whole city being in a panic and drawing a leviathan) and is even willing to apologize and take accountability for their fuckups to leave on a good note with cordovin.

but nah ironwoods too fucked up. hes too sus. i know we literally spent the entire show up until this point showing ironwood as a well meaning ally put into tough situations and ozpin and qrow both see ironwood as an ally and yeah sure hes literally going to upgrade our weapons and gear for free and is going to give us our licenses (you know, just the entire original premise of the show being fulfilled dont focus on that) and even train us to use our semblances and aura and tools in new ways that we never thought of while also being completely open and honest about his plans that hes making with all the knowledge he has available to him (mind you, we are going to keep really vital and important information that could drastically help and change the plans around). like IGNORE all of that, its more important that we make the schnees likable and have cordovin as an ally.

#the writing is so bad it makes me want to sob sometimes #general ironwood #pro ironwood #rwde

[samwinchestersbf]

{ The Ghost of Beacon }

Chapter 1. "Do you really believe in ghosts?"

A RWBY x reader

warnings: small language, maybe ooc?

small authors note: I just created this idea on a whim, I am open to criticism. The gender neutral reader will be using they/them so anyone is welcomed to read. I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors in advance, I also have a small concept on how tumblr works beware! Please enjoy :) More chapters to come. (This takes place along with the original storyline with a few tweaks. I might toss in some romance when the time comes but who knows.)

Short Summary: The ghost of Beacon was thought to be a legend however with the recent spikes of activity, the school has grown unsure. The students with no idea of the story behind it all have determination to find out...

Reblogs are appreciated!!<3

WHY IS IT KINDA LONG OML SORRY 🙏

At first it was...difficult to come to terms with your death in the first couple of years. It's not like anyone noticed anyways, with all the speculation and lies.

Your days passed by very quick to say the least, you grew bored of it all. You craved to have fun if you were going to be a ghost trapped forever, right? Especially with new fresh students coming in.

Now here you were, amongst them all without their knowledge. These new students definitely piqued your interest, as did the last ones but there was something about them. You couldn't put your finger on it, perhaps it was just their behavior so you brushed it off.

You were too stuck in your thoughts to hear the headmaster's speech, along with his colleague. "Are there any questions?" He asked smoothly before taking another sip from his mug.

"Yeah...uhm sir?" You turned your attention to the timid blonde boy before he was cut off. "Good! Now take your positions." You let out a simple laugh and observed the group of teens ready themselves, the boy not aware of what was about to happen. "Uh sir...I've got a question" He still raised his hand.

Students were being flung into the air and he was still on rambling with his question as Professor Ozpin answered calmly. You walked over to him, "Good luck" You whispered into his ear before he was being launched at full force.

"My bets are on the energetic redhead" You tried to joke before realizing again no one can hear your remarks. You watched the collective group in the air, giggling a bit to yourself.

Professor Oz and Glynda pulling out their scrolls to watch on the surveillance system. "Hey! Let me get a peek" You tried to watch over Glynda's shoulder, she let out a little shiver. "Sorry, just let me see real quick" You attempted to take it before the tablet swung out of her grasp, her eyes widening.

You were able to see the students landing strategies before she scoffed, picking up the tablet from the ground. "Slippery fingers I see." Ozpin let out his own remark. "Oh shush, I don't even know how that happened." Her tone a little irritated. She walked off to go somewhere more private to observe.

You were a little shocked to say the least from your power. You didn't know you could do that? You decided to try again on the headmaster, you swatted at his mug, yet nothing happened. "Maybe if I- aha!" You hit the mug as he was about to take a sip, a majority of the drink spilling on him, before the mug took a tumble to the ground.

Glynda looked over her shoulder as she was walking away, "Now you've got slippery fingers" She mocked him, he seemed amused with his furrowed eyebrows. He glanced down at the mess, "Ignore that please." You bursted out in a laughing fit, feeling satisfied you now have the power over objects.

You recovered from your prank, thinking about it more now. If you were a stereotypical ghost, you could do much more than that. You could possibly try light tricks or even talking to someone finally. You yearned for conversation, sure you loved to be alone but you wished deep down for someone to hear your opinions and jokes.

You just wanted someone to know you were there, you wanted to be noticed.

You stood there, ruminating to yourself. It's not like Ozpin could see you, if anything he thought he was alone.

Soon enough Glynda spoke up again after quite some time, walking up to him. "Our last pair has been formed sir," She continued on swiping the scroll to a different perspective. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren...poor boy, I can't possibly imagine those two getting along." You peered over her shoulder watching Nora be quite silly.

"They seem alright to me." You muttered, Glynda turned to Ozpin. "What did you say?" He looked up from his scroll, a look of confusion on his face. "I didn't say anything." He cocked an eyebrow before Glynda returned back to watching with a small eye roll following. So you could talk to people, if you really tried of course.

"But still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos." Ozpin replied with a small hum. "I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat."

You wondered for a bit, it was possible to forge your way into any academy. You've seen it happen before besides no school is perfect.

Glynda put away her scroll, "I guess we'll find out soon enough" which in this case meant they were going to be finishing soon, you did want to test tricks on the new students. It'll maybe finally give you your own entertainment instead of listening and watching.

The collected woman walked off yet again, "At their current pace they should reach the temple just in a few minutes." She turned a little, she was truly a professional woman. As if you always knew that's who she's always been.

"Speaking of which; what did you use as relics this year?" She turned her full attention to him and called out his name again. He seemed too focused on his scroll, watching the kids from earlier have an argument. You believe he heard her because all he let out was another responsive hum.

He always did this, his little hums. Anyone was lucky if they had a full conversation with him.

All of a sudden you started to feel an intense pain in your stomach and throat, if ghosts could even feel a phantom kind of pain. You fell to your knees, trying to scream for help except not a single word came out. You coughed into your hand, pulling away to see your transparent hand stained with blood.

Get up. Get up. Get up

You blacked out and went dormant before waking up in a new scenery. You were in the academy now? You were still on the ground and quickly returning on your feet. An overwhelming confusion as you finally calmed down, realizing the pain beforehand was completely gone.

You woke up in that secluded spot you would go to clear your mind, a special place to your heart. It was dark outside and you could hear a faint commotion of people down the corridor.

You walked down there, walking through the door as you saw a sea of people surrounding the stage with four new students and Professor Ozpin. Everything must be over now, he's giving the new teams publicly.

"Oh shit, I missed all the fun." You sighed in defeat, still trying to figure out how that could've happened. You listened to Ozpin, making your way through the people to hop on stage.

"Looks like things are shaping out to be an...interesting year" He turned around, walking right through you. "Ow! You know that hurts right?" You hissed holding your stomach but he didn't notice.

He entered off stage as the girls and crowd cheered. You were obviously quick to follow right behind him.

He exited the room, Glynda waiting outside for him to talk to him. "I want to talk about what happened earlier today." He stopped in his tracks, and looked down at her. "Earlier?" He questioned before she took a breath in, "Earlier today, what happened wasn't ordinary. Stuff just doesn't come flying out of our hands and there wasn't any wind if I recall."

He raised an eyebrow before clicking his tounge to speak. "Yes that was quite odd but-" he was going to dismiss it all before a couple of students came to talk to him, surrounding him and Glynda. He politely answered some of their questions.

You saw the new team RWBY come out of the room, they seem to be having fun so you decided to follow them. They were chatting and walking to their brand new dorm.

After a while they finally made it there and you decided it was time to do what you originally wanted to do. Everyone was about to head to bed anyways so it was perfect for you.

The students said their goodnights to each other and were fast to fall asleep, now was the time to strike.

You went to team JNPR's dorm, knocking on their door and frantically shaking the door handle. "I'm coming..." Jaune's tired voice croaked before opening the door to absolutely nothing.

"Oh?" He looked down the halls with no sign of people whatsoever.

You decided to do it again every random hour of the night and you would follow him all day tomorrow to torment him.

The next morning he came off as very tired, explaining what happened and how no one has that much dedication to a joke like that. He believed it was a ghost, he was practically accusing you without knowing your name.

"Jaune cmon, maybe you were just restless all night from homesickness" Nora commented, she definitely had a heavy sleep effortlessly. Her friend Lie Ren was meditating on his bed.

He snapped his eyes open and whipped his head, drawing his teammates attention. He glared down where you were standing specifically, he must be able to tell you're there. He stopped before realizing he couldn't see you and apologized to them, "I thought I could sense something.."

Nora tilted her head and questioned the situation to the two boys "Do you really believe in ghosts?"

Jaune nodded desperately, "If it wasn't a ghost then it was most likely a student" Pyrrha suggested. "No it wasn't, I would've caught them!" Jaune rubbed his eyes, you did feel a little sorry.

"Then you should talk to Professor Ozpin about it later today" Ren replied, he was back to his calm meditation. The rest of the team agreed before you all heard team RWBY speeding out of their dormitory.

The four kids peeked out, falling onto the ground and catching up with the other team.

Hopefully this year would be interesting.

#rwby #rwby x reader #rwby vol 1 #rwby fanfiction #rwby fanfic #x reader #fanfic #professor ozpin #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xio long #ghost reader

[epic-arc]

My ideas for dark au

I see that a lot of people are liking how this au is going but well I'm coming this Saturday to talk about more ideas I had, so get ready where you're lying or sitting and look into my eyes!

Events: In the last post we commented on volume 2 up to its last ep but now let's get into 3 and a little about 4..

Well, the vytal festival would still take place, but with improved surveillance and security. Because of the deaths of the students, the order of the fights would change. And interestingly, at the festival they would probably change the symbol or pay some tribute to Pyrrha as she was one of the best champions.

Well if Jaune participates in the tournament I believe that the formation of the team would be like this JPC, Ciel would probably be introduced to Jaune and Penny in ironwood or ozpin orders.

With this tournament we can see an increase in ozpin's personal group as follows: Winter, Glynda, Ironwood, Tai, Qrow.

Characters;

Well me and @howlingday , We commented in our posts that certain characters would have a more closed personality or manner in this au. An example in my opinion would not be the bringa between winter and qrow in the beginning because winter would be but would be able to recognize qrow if they had to get into a fight.

I commented about Tai joining ozpin's personal circle, because even after talking to raven he would at least try to help something his daughters were doing before leaving, so he would try to help ozpin and his private circle.

Winter would be more focused on work, using her brain more than emotion in conversations or speeches and even in choices, which can make it very difficult in certain situations.

@howlingday

#rwby #rwby au #dark au #pyrrha nikos #taiyang xiao long #ironwood #winter schnee #glynda goodwitch #qrow branwen #ozpin #ciel soleil

[bestworstcase]

You’ve mentioned a few times that Salem is awkward, could you get into you’re reasoning and evidence for this characterization (as she is currently)? I’m fascinated by this reading and fully persuadable. Her origin story being the tower, it makes sense she’d be a little socially stunted but she was charismatic enough then to convince others to fight for her through words alone (tho that is different from in person social skills (to that point she persuaded kingdoms to revolt against the gods)). Millions of years of isolation wouldn’t put a shine on amicability, but these things /inform/ characterization. I’m interested in what you see in her as awkward in how she’s presented to us in the Current Era (Remnant Era?)

this post regarding her interrogation of oscar in 8.4 is salient because that's the scene that rly convinced me she's being written this way on purpose. there's a lot of contributing factors, though:

both then (fomenting rebellion) and now (recruiting hazel), salem's standard approach to getting people on her side involves basically walking up and "demonstrating her powers," i.e. inviting or just letting the person she's trying to sway kill her over and over again until they're willing to hear her out. she can (and did) make a compelling enough argument for people to follow her, but the way she chooses to make people listen is by subjecting herself to extreme violence.

further, it's shown in V8 that even within her own inner circle, there is a lot of confusion regarding what salem wants—so much so that tyrian and hazel think diametrically opposed things. why does this confusion exist? ozpin (and most of the fandom) believe it is because salem lies; but a) salem hates lies and liars, and b) the idea that salem herself is deceitful is founded on things jinn says of her in the lost fable, which is a verifiably unreliable narrative. if we look at the two onscreen instances of salem speaking of her goals—"the moment you put your desires before my own" and "in pursuit of a new world"—what strikes me about both is her vagueness.

when cinder questions her in V5, salem answers in a very oblique way: "working with bandits? leaving ruby alive? what's the point!?" -> "never underestimate the usefulness of others; take leonardo. he was one of ozpin's most trusted, but now…" both the bandit (raven) and ruby were or are among ozpin's "most trusted," and salem's point is that she wants to turn both of them against ozpin (like leo and summer). but she does not actually Say That. i made this analogy in the oscar interrogation post but i'll make it again: the way salem answers cinder's question is like showing her work on a math problem but not actually giving the answer. a lot of salem's dialogue is like this: she talks in examples, hints, and implications.

in fact the one time we have ever seen salem clearly state what she means is after ozma asks her "what are you saying?" <- i find this to be significant not only because it flags that other characters find salem's speech to be opaque or unclear sometimes, but because salem answers him honestly and without any hesitation, which indicates that she was not trying to be vague or obfuscate her meaning on purpose. asked for clarification, she clarifies.

then there is what she says to ozma once he tells her the whole truth: "why spend our lives trying to redeem these humans when we could replace them with what they could never be?"—now i am not going to get into my whole theory here, suffice it to say that i think that by "them" salem meant the gods in accordance with her longstanding ambitions—but the salient piece for this discussion is that this bolded phrase is a direct paraphrase from the final lines of 'the shallow sea' and i do think that that is, given the preponderance of thematic links between salem and the faunus, probably intentional, i.e. salem is quoting that myth to express her rejection of ozma's mandate (compare ozma's reliance on fairytales to communicate and make sense of his existence.)

lastly, there are several occasions when salem is talking (to her inner circle in 6.4, or to ironwood in 7.11, or oscar in 8.4) only to be interrupted with unexpected new information (ozpin is back; ruby used the lamp; oscar is fronting). in the first two examples, salem responds by either kicking everyone else out or leaving herself. see the linked post for a more thorough breakdown of her conversation with oscar, but suffice it to say that she responds in a very awkward and disjointed way before she's able to get herself back on track.

so we have a pattern of:

speaking vaguely or being cryptic, in a manner that other characters explicitly find to be confusing,

clarifying readily the one time she's asked for clarification,

paraphrasing the concluding lines of a myth about people embracing change and leaving their old selves behind to live their truth in a new world that is harsh but free, in order to articulate her rejection of "redemption" and the divine mandate,

and ending conversations very abruptly when interrupted mid-speech.

and this pattern exists in correlation with a pair of soliloquies whose language is markedly more eloquent, even poetic, and delivered with a clarity and emotional smoothness that is often lacking from her spoken dialogue.

what this suggests, to me, is that salem struggles to articulate her thoughts (the soliloquies) into words (her dialogue), and that she deals with it with preparation—by planning out what she intends to say and how she'll say it in advance. that she relies heavily on scripts and rehearses speeches and conversations in her head specifically to avoid having to speak off the cuff, in essence.

(and i think this is generally the basis for ozma's distrust and doubts: she told him the truth but in a really confusing and cryptic way that didn't always make sense. if she wasn't coherent—and how could she be after millions of years alone?—of course he wasn't sure whether he could believe what she said!)

basically, i think she's capable of being compellingly persuasive only under particular circumstances (planned speeches given to an audience primed to listen to what she says by violent, spectacular demonstrations of her immortality), and she flounders in ordinary conversation because a) she struggles to find the right words to express her meaning clearly, b) her natural affect is blunted and sometimes erratic (<- "well… :) perhaps you and i can have a better working relationship……… >:( oscar, was it? /:"), and c) she knows both of these things make her come across as an insincere liar.

<- there is a performative aspect to… nearly every scene in front of her inner circle or her enemies; that informs this reading too. as does the fact that there are many, many characters who are tangibly more charismatic than she is—ozpin, blake, oscar, cinder, robyn, ruby, yang—whereas the character whose manner of speech most resembles salem's is pyrrha, who speaks in an overly formal way and explicitly feels socially isolated and unable to form real connections with people.

#it's also not just the tower #it's the millions of years being the only living person on the planet #i think part of it is she's so accustomed to having nothing and no one to talk to except herself #like a lot of her Being Cryptic comes across as salem #really needing the other person to ask clarifying questions bc she doesn't know how to organize information cogently #but she's surrounded by people who Don't Ask Questions

[itsclydebitches]

The thing that gets me about the 'Remember her message' crap is like... Remember what? Her message wasn't some inspiring speech or moral lesson, it was essentially saying "Shit is going down, here are people who know more. And Ironwood is a bitch ass mother fucker.". What, does Winter think people will forget the important details?

Though Ruby's message is definitely generic, I personally have no problem with that. Generic can be great when it plays to a genre's strengths and the audience's expectations. Ruby does spend the second half of her broadcast asking the people not to panic, telling them to pull together, and reassuring them that they can in fact beat Salem. On paper, it sounds like a pretty solid speech that, yes, is worth keeping in mind after she's supposedly perished and things have well and truly gone to shit. Hell, part of what Ruby asks is that the people of Remnant keep moving forward even if Atlas falls, with the implication being that she may die too, but they should heed her warnings even if she's no longer around to remind them. The scraped epilogue shows the people doing just that.

The problem—multiple problems, really—is that this message within RWBY's specific context is nonsensical. I spoke a lot about this back when Volume 8 first aired, but it's worth repeating in light of the epilogue. Ruby's speech is heard as one unbroken transmission, yet Ruby skips over a ton of crucial information, implying that the people of Remnant have heard it off screen... yet, given how this is written (both that unbroken stream + they have literally one shot at this message with Penny buying them time), that's simply not possible. Ruby admits that the Maidens and the Relics sound insane, but she never told the people what those are. She reassures them that Salem can be beaten even though she can't be destroyed, but she never tells them that she's immortal in the first place (which is HUGE given what went down with both Ozpin and Ironwood). Ruby announces that Ironwood can't be trusted, but provides no reason or evidence for why that's the case. She further tries to provide reassurance by saying that they must be a threat to Salem because if not, she would have attacked long before now, but that's another huge, baseless assumption. (Plus, the viewer knows there's no in-world weakness that Salem is hindered by, one that Ruby is strategically alluding to. She just didn't attack earlier because the show didn't start earlier. Salem, as a character, waited around for Ruby to grow up enough to fight her.) Perhaps most damning from our perspective, Ruby talks big about stopping Salem without once even considering how they might beat her, let alone coming up with a viable plan to present to the people.

In short: she's pulling an Ozpin. Ruby knows that saying, "Our enemy is immortal and we have no idea how to stop her, but you should keep fighting anyway!" is a very bad gamble, so she doesn't lie exactly, but implies that she has a much better handle on the situation than she actually does. She is, on a literal level, doing precisely what Ozpin did to the girls except on a world-wide scale. And unlike Ozpin who at least offered information that made sense to people based on what they already knew, Ruby references things on the fly that are either a) meaningless to the people or b) entirely unpersuasive. This is a kid who hacked every screen in the world to say, "Hi, it's me, someone you've never seen before. An entire kingdom is about to fall to grimm, but it's okay! See, everything bad that's ever happened in history, from those grimm to the White Fang to random crime around Vale, is all orchestrated by a woman named Salem. We can't beat her, but we can totally beat her. How? I won't say. Also, a world leader is evil now. How do I know this? I won't say. Also also, "maidens and Relics." Don't worry if those words don't mean anything to you. So see? If you just band together everything will be fine!"

And then the world... did that, with the side benefit of not panicking and drawing grimm like everyone agreed would happen back in Volume 7. But that's a writing decision entirely separated from the reality RWBY's built. From the perspective of Remnant, Ruby's speech is unsubstantiated nonsense. At best it comes across as a conspiracy-theory obsessed child playing a prank. At worst it's panic-inducing without providing a shred of explanation or reassurance. If there was ANY consistency in the show the girls would arrive in Vacuo to find the majority of the people going about their daily lives because... wait. You actually thought we were going to listen to you when you spouted all that ridiculous stuff? Meanwhile, a handful of believers are now ready to fight ... because they think Salem can, in fact, be beaten. She's an enemy, yeah? We're brave! Let's go kill her! All Ruby would have done is put those people in the same position they were pre-Volume 6, with information they probably should have been able to use to figure things out (how is Salem still around after centuries if she's not immortal?) but more likely they just jumped to the easiest, most reassuring conclusion. You said there was an evil lady controlling everything, but that we could beat her. So... let's go beat her? And Ruby is standing there, sweating, because oh yeah, she has no idea how to beat Salem. She is ACTUALLY speed-running Ozpin's choices except she pulled the entire WORLD in instead of just a few, choice hunters already committed to half the fight and instead of damning her for that like Ozpin was the show goes, "Yes. This was a lovely message worthy of murals in her honor."

So Ruby did have something akin to an inspiring message alongside the "Shit is going down, others know more, Ironwood is an asshole" spiel. But it's only an inspiring message when removed from eight Volumes worth of world-building and arcs that show precisely what happens when people do this. In that light, Ruby's message isn't inspiring at all, it's just another lie undermined by her giving no explanations and no proof that she can back up her reassuring claims.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[arc-misadventures]

What are those AU, you know I find it pretty ironic that Jaune is a dragon Faunus but is still training to be a knight, because in fairy tales it’s always the knight that slays the big bad dragon, but since Jaune is both it makes me wonder just what kind of big bad Jaune will need to overcome.

It’s Just His Nature

The Grimm Lands.

Salems castle was under attack by a combined force of Hunters from across the world along with the might of the, Atlas Army along with several high ranking, and highly skilled members of the, White Fang.

They were here to finish the centuries long shadow war between the witch, and the wizard, and upon this day the war would finally come to an end.

Just not how any of them expected it to end.

Ozpin: Come on! We’ve nearly won this war!

Dozens hunters,and soldiers ran to doors leading to, Salem’s throne room, but before they entered, Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy stood before them all to given them a final speech before the upcoming battle.

Ozpin: We are here, just beyond these doors lay our dreaded foe! From here on out we will fight out enemy, and we will…?!

: Oh shut up will ya!

The fellow who interrupted, Ozpin’s little speech stared at, Ozpin with a highly annoyed glare with his sharp deep blue eyes. His gold hair was flanked by a matching pair off-white horns that ran up the side of his head, peaking into a crown of three points that bore a golden hue. Giving this rather extraordinary faunas his own natural golden crown.

For he was a king. For before, Ozpin stood, King Jaune Arc, Dragon King of the Faunas. And, he was not amused.

Jaune: You’ve given over a dozen speeches for every five meters we’ve manage to take. If I have to listen to one more long winded speech I’m going to take my forces, and leave you here. But, not before I cut up your face to the point that it makes an, Apathy look handsome!

Jaune flexed his hand letting his claws flash threatening before, Ozpin’s face. With a threatening glint in his eyes as he dared anyone to face him.

It had been years since, Jaune graduated from, Beacon Academy, and even longer since he was inducted into, Ozpin’s little cabal. He had long since lost his willings to deal with, Ozpin, and his bullshit as a result of it.

And, all, Ozpin could do was gulp nervously as a series of eyes belonging to the, King’s Guard agree with their, King, and glared dangerously at the old man.

Ozpin: ��

Ozpin: Okay then…

The doors to, Salem’s throne room exploded open as several individuals came rushing in to find the Queen of the Grimm sitting upon her throne looking at the intruders as if they had just come in, and served her cold tea.

Salem: Ozma… I see you’ve finally grown a spine, and decided to take the battle to my door step. How kind of you…

Ozpin: Enough, Salem! You reign of tyranny ends now! Surrender, or face our wrath!

Salem laughed hauntingly echoed throughout the hall as she rose to her feet, and descended from her throne crystal throne. Her blood red eyes stared at, Ozpin’s as an amused smile spread across her face.

Salem: And, how do you plan to do that? You know I’m immortal; You can decapitate me, crush me, incinerate me, and so many other colourful ways you could kill a person, and I would simply shrug it off as a mild inconvenience. So, what could you possibly do to stop me?

Ozpin: I will trap you in a hell that you fear more than any other.

Salem: I’m a immortal who has lived for thousands of years; I have lived through a hell unlike any other! What kind of hell do you possibly think could be worse than the life I was forced to endure?!

Ozpin: Back to where I should have left you… Back to your cage in the high tower!

Salem’s eyes widened in pure fear. A emotion that she had not yet felt in millennia. Ozpin’s threat was one that struck at the heart of her. For how better to wound her more than she already was, but to be trapped in the cage she longed to be freed from, by the very man who once set her free. And, that thought stroked the flames of rage within, Salem unlike ever before felt.

Salem: You dare…? You dare…?! You dare to threaten me! Threaten me to lock me in a tower away for all time, and eternity?!! You will die a thousand deaths, this world would burn a thousand times over before I let you imprison me once again!!! I swear you will, Ozma!!!!

Ozpin: Bring it you foul fiend for I will…?!

Jaune: Hold up! Hold up now… Before we begin I have some questions I’d like some answers too.

The Dragon king walked between the quarrying couple with his hands out stretched in a non-threatening posture as he addressed the pair.

Ozpin: Mr. Arc?! What the hell are you doing?!

Jaune: You shut up, or I’ll gouge out your eyes.

Jaune glared threateningly at, Ozpin before he turned to address, Salem.

Jaune: Okay, Ozpin told me about your past relationship. Of which I blame, Ozpin, and the Gods for most of your problems…

Ozpin: E-Excuse me?!

Jaune: But: ‘Locked away in a tower?’ What is that all about? Ozpin told me most of the world’s fairytales were made by him, so would that mean that you are, ‘The Princess in the High Tower?’ Or, ‘The Girl in the High Tower,’ which ever title you prefer. The fairytale is a title of a difference.

Salem rage faded just ever so slightly as she gazed at the rather curious looking faunas before her.

Salem: Yes… Yes I am… Was! I was, ‘The Princess of the High Tower.’ Why does that matter? Who I was back then no longer matters; that life has long since been dead, and buried. It doesn’t matter anymore…

Jaune: I can gather that, but, Ozpin… Ozpin, was the knight who saved you from the tower…?

Salem: He was the one who saved me.

Jaune: I see…

A devious smile spread across, Jaune’s face as something, some deep unknown switch in his mind was flipped on.

Ozpin: Mr. Arc… Why are you smiling about…?

Jaune: Oh… Just realizing how many many stereotypes I tend to inhabit… Seemingly out of nature, and desire than anything else. Hmmph… Ain’t that a weird thought?

Ozpin: W-What are you talking about?

Jaune: Well, since I can’t be the knight who saves the princess, I’ll just be the dragon who steals the princess instead~!

Ozpin: What the hell are you talking about?!

Jaune: This~!

(CRACK!)

Ozpin: OH GODS?!!

(Thud!)

Salem: Ohhh… His next reincarnation is going to feel that~!

After, Jaune’s swift, and incapacitating kick to, Ozpins nuts, in the blink of an eye, Jaune ran over, and picked up, Salem who gave a startled shriek as, Jaune ran for the door.

Salem: W-What?! Hey! Put me done this instant!

Jaune: She’s mine! She mine: She minnnne~!

As, Jaune bolted out the door, his royal guard quickly followed after him, throwing a smoke grenade behind the to hide their presence as they disappeared. By the time Ozpin, and his combined forces could give chase, Jaune’s forces had sabotaged all of their aircraft engines, and made their escape.

And, as, Ozpin watched, Jaune Arc, and his forces make their escape with the, Queen of the Grimm, he made the one thought on his mind vocal for all to hear.

Ozpin: …

Ozpin: What the fuck just happened…?

~~~

One Year Later.

~~~

In the hills of, Menagerie, over looking the town of, Kuo Kuana, lay the castle, Ásgeirr, home of the Dragon King, and his brood.

And, the one place in all of, Remnant, Ozpin so desperately wanted to get into. But, considering the ever so watchful guards, Ozpin had not been able to get close in the slightest. And, fear from an uprising of the faunas population across the four kingdoms, Ozpin couldn’t persuade them for an all out attack. And, many of his students tended to come from, Menagire, and benefited greatly from the, Dragon King’s rule so it was impossible for him to have his students help him. So, he would have to brave this alone. And, this time, this time he would get into Arc’s castle!

And, he would!

Only he was bound, sorely beaten, dragged into the castle.

It wasn’t how he would have preferred to get into the castle, but it worked.

He was dragged up to a balcony that over looked the city of, Kuo Kuana. Standing on the edge was the, Dragon King looking over his domain. He stood there for a moment before looking down at the intruder that dared threaten his kingdom, and his family with his shear presence.

Jaune: You know… If you wanted to see me, you could have just scheduled an appointment. That would have been far easier to do compared to everything else you have been trying to do.

Ozpin: How could I trust you to let me in?! The last time I saw you, you kicked me in the balls, picked up, Salem, and ran away with her. I fail to see how, asking you politely if I could come in to see you would have worked!

Jaune: Mmm… Fair, fair. Sometimes I just lose my mind when what one would see as a dragon stereotypes comes into play.

Ozpin: And, that’s why you kidnapped, Salem?

Jaune: The Princess, and the Dragon tropes; Yeah, that’s pretty much why I did it.

Ozpin: And, then you refused to let anyone see her! Much less know what you did with her! Do you think that helped you win any battles!

Jaune: Well, actually she didn’t want to see you, or anyone else for that matter. And, she likes her privacy, so why should I tell you what we’ve been up to. Besides I was keeping you safe by keeping you away from her.

Ozpin: I can handle her, you didn’t need to concern yourself with that!

Jaune: No, I was keeping you safe from me.

Ozpin: Safe from you? Why?!

Jaune: I’ll put it to you simply; You so much as breath on her, and I will hunt your reincarnations down for the rest of my life. And, the only thing I would ever regret is that no matter how many times I could kill you, you would eventually get away, because you would outlive me.

Ozpin: What are you talking about?

Jaune nodded his head behind him, and Ozpin’s turned, and saw Salem resting comfortably in a fainting couch. A cool drink lay in her hand as she basked in the warm sun, and the cool sea breeze. She smile softly as she waved to, Ozpin. Her smile only growing as she saw his eyes widen in shock as he noticed the noticeable bump on her stomach.

Ozpin: Salem?! You’re pregnant?!

Salem: Quite an astute observation from you, Ozma. I’m impressed.

Ozpin: W-What… But, how?!

Jaune: Considering you were a father multiple times, Ozpin, one would think you would understand how it works.

Ozpin: Not that. How did you two get together?

Jaune: Well, while the urge to grab her, and run like hell was certainly something dragon faunas related, unlike you I knew what, Salem’s greatest pain was.

Ozpin: Her greatest pain.

Jaune: Yes. Salem’s greatest pain she ever had to endure : Loneliness.

Ozpin: Loneliness…?

Jaune: Yes, loneliness.

Salem: A pain that I never even fully knew I suffered under. Until my darling King pointed it out to me.

Ozpin: Why was that your greatest pain?

Jaune: Think, Ozpin think! She was trapped all alone in that towers for years. Then one day she is freed from her life of solitude, then you died, and she was all alone again. She fought the gods to have you back, but they refused, then they cursed her to live forever, alone. Years passed, and you finally came back, only to betray her, and leave her all alone once more. Salem’s life has been one of sadness born of loneliness, rage born from betrayal, and unjust punishment. And, pain from unobtainable dreams through no fault of her own. And, now I will right the wrongs that, Salem has been forced to endure. Not because I believe I must do so for the good of the world, or some other bullshit like that. But, because I love her, and I want her to be happy.

Salem shed a few tears of joy as her beloved husband came over, and gave her a passionate kiss filled with love, and compassion for such a broken soul.

Ozpin: But, she is still her, Grimmified version of herself! What is to stop her from becoming evil once more!

Jaune: Her family.

Ozpin: Family…?

Jaune: Me, my sisters, my mother, and my father. My many wives, and their children, and the child that grows within her. Salem will have a family that loves her, and even if I die before her, she will never be left alone ever again.

Salem: Oh, Jaune…

Jaune: My Queen.

The pair shared another kiss before, Jaune turned to face the dumbstruck, Ozpin as he stared, at the, Dragon King, and one of his many beloved wives, The Grimm Queen.

Jaune: So, Ozpin. Now that you’ve seen her, what will you do now?

Ozpin eyes fell to the floor, his mind lost deep in thought until he let loose a deep sigh before addressing the happy couple.

Ozpin: It appears I was never a good husband, much less a good father was I?

Salem: Considering what happened to our first born. You… No. We… We were not good parents. But, this time, this time I will be better, but can the same be said of you, Ozma?

Ozpin: Only time will tell. May I have your permission to leave your, Grace? I have much work to do back at, Beacon.

Jaune: You have my permission.

Ozpin:Thank you, your Grace. Goodbye, Salem. I wish you well.

Salem: Goodbye, Ozpin. It was… interesting seeing you again.

Ozpin smiled as he, and his guard detail took him away from the loving couple. The only words they heard from him, was him complaining that the were restraints still necessary.

Salem: You know… I never thought I would experience such joy as I do now. I am at peace with, Ozpin. And, I have a chance to have a new life with my family. This is perfect. Thank you, my King.

Jaune: Anything for you, my Queen.

Salem: Oh really? In that case, I want to break mom’s record of how many kids she had…

Jaune: Why does everyone want to do that?

Salem: And, the next time we do it: Can we have someone else join us? My hip’s can’t handle you all on my own.

Jaune: Ha… That would be my extreme pleasure, my dear~!

~~~

While there is a chronological order to my stories. This was just one I couldn’t pass up on.

I’m just going to mark it differently on the, Master Post.

Do Enjoy~!

#rwby #jaune arc #rwby ozpin #rwby ozma #rwby salem #salem x jaune #jaune x salem #rwby grimmknight

[invested-in-your-future]

I have curious to know more about that:

In your version what would Jaune fallout would be?

Would he be an outcast or a you suck speech to be better?

How would the team dynamic be especially after the situation?

If I were to alter stuff in V1-V3, the bully arc would need some significant changes - far too many things in a show are built around excusing him rather than making him confront his flaws.

I think I said most of these before, but if I were to put it into a list.

Starting with the Bully Arc:

DON'T have Pyrrha help Jaune save Cardin and actually show that while his mindset is toxic, Jaune has the conviction to risk it all when pushed - of course, since Pyrrha wouldn't help him there, Jaune would actually get hurt, making the confrontation a bit messier even if the outcome is the same. And Cardin seeing someone like him put his life on the line to save him would likely sting a lot more.

DON'T do the weird "Ursa Grimm like honey" at all - the show has literal bullies prey on people in the forest, and Grimm are attracted to negative emotions - this means we don't get the "harrowing" scene of Jaune throwing honey at people and the whole plot is a bit less silly - and that means Jaune is NOT here because of blackmail or anything - having Jaune risk his life to save Cardin despite him being a bully is good enough as it highlights the qualities needed for being a Huntsmen and there must be no possible upsides to Jaune doing this - Pyrrha won't change her opinion and she is not involved in the fight - there's no benefit for him doing it other than it being his calling.

DO make Pyrrha genuinely angry with Jaune and have Jaune actually openly apologize to her after the Cardin incident and come clean to her.

DO have Cardin threaten to blackmail Jaune, but resolve it with Jaune coming clean to his team first (ALL of them) and then resolving to come clean to Ozpin and co.

DO have Ozpin shrug it off, either when Jaune comes clean or when Cardin decides to rat him out because, to him, the forest events would be all the proof he needed that Jaune has "needed qualifications" - can even throw in some shady Ozpin stuff and imply the teams are the way they are for a reason too.

DON'T have just Jaune and Pyrrha train. DO have the entire team JNPR decide to work spar together and train together to help him and make him regain their trust by putting in actual work to earn his spot.

There's no instant forgiveness or reassuring Jaune that he's great actually - everyone involved agrees that it's a work in progress, but his willingness to come clean and work to be a better person is a good first step. Team building.

Oh look we just got done with Jaune Arc arc of V1 in, like, two episodes instead of four or five.

V2 stuff

Just erase the "trying to woo Weiss" arc for Jaune Arc. Completely. Have the feud be about Cardin shifting targets and fighting Pyrrha in that sparring match and Jaune being unable to stay in his lane when she handled them just fine herself.

Drop the "I can't dance part" from Neptune. How about Neptune, despite his womanizer façade, actually likes guys but thinks it would make him seem uncool if he asked a guy out to a dance. Here, you have an actual LGBT rep two volumes in without "having to build up a relationship", and it ties nicely into the theme of dealing with toxic masculinity and how it affects different people. And we avoid a scene where two guys treat Weiss like an object they own.

It overall also ties better into the cross-dressing segment because it now becomes Jaune basically going - "Look, I learned my lesson, and I am comfortable without stereotypical macho nonsense" to Pyrrha. And it's a message to Neptune that there's nothing "silly" about not adhering to heteronormative "coolness" - oh look, suddenly there's no need for a laugh track of everyone pointing out that a guy in a dress is oh-so-funny in this diverse and accepting world of Remnant. EDIT: also yes monty intended ot to be about him keeping promises but that still works - Jaune regressing at the start by whiteknighting is him faltering on the promise he made to the team on v1 arc of this version - so the message of him reaffirming his promises still remains.

That's just off the top of my head in what could make him more bearable without sweeping his flaws or his forgery under the rug.

There are PLENTY minuscule things to change that would expand upon his characterization in a way that doesn't detract from the actual protagonists.

BUT

Since I am keeping the first three volumes as-is instead, I am treating the Fall of Beacon as Jaune's wake-up call for self-reflection.

Jaune had quite a bit of time to rethink everything that happened in Beacon - what he did or didn't do, what he said, and his overall priorities in life.

Coming face to face with how insignificant he ended up being ironically had provided him with a sense of clarity - everything falling apart allowed him to look at it all from a different angle.

He did not like the person he used to be, and that's where V4r starts - Jaune views his staying at Beacon due to forgery as a debt Jaune can never repay, and he strives to be a better person - actually worthy of that chance. He also understands just how privileged and stupid his behavior during Beacon was.

He has newfound respect for Pyrrha for having put up with him all this time. He also is regretful over how his antics had prevented them from actually exploring what could have been between them till it was way too late.

There's no melting her weapons for himself, no hero's journey for him. After the tragedies that hit Beacon Jaune ended up with a more clearcut understanding of who he wants to be and how he wants to honor Pyrrha's memory, in turn having processed grief in a bit more healthier way than the others.

#rwby #rwde #rwby au #jaune arc #rwby rewrite #rwbyr stuff mine