#RWBY fans unite

[crossovershipstournament]

Crossover Ships Tournament

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Are you passionate about a ship between two people from completely different canons? Were you big into those Disney edits from some years ago that had entire plots focused on two characters from different movies falling in love? Did you come out of the Jimmy Timmy Power Hours with some Thoughts? Maybe you started shipping something as a joke, and now you’re deep into an AU where they’re engaged with an adopted penguin baby from Antarctica?

If any of the above apply to you, then you’re in the right place! Welcome to the Crossover Ships Tournament! Whether it’s two characters from a canon loosely connected by the same property, characters who once shared a crossover or two, or even a random anime character with a Disney princess, we’re here to see which pair of canon-crossed lovers can beat the odds and make it to the winner’s circle!

🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆🍀🦆

Further details/rules below:

Rules:

Characters must come from different, unconnected canons.

Characters from multiverses, rebooted canons, canons that span across multiple series, media whose entire gimmick is being a crossover, reboots, etc, will all be judged on an individual basis, as there are so many tiny details on what a crossover could mean on a technical level. If you have any questions on whether a ship counts or not, just ask!

Two characters per submission, please! We support polyamory here but it simply wouldn’t be fair to pair up a duo with a whole polycule.

No ships with real people, please! Also no MCYT characters, unless they fall under the Mogar Clause (that being; they are eligible if they originated from a MCYT series but ended up in another media that is separated enough from the source to be its own thing, and the character its own character rather than just an extension of a real person). Other than that, you’re free to submit characters from whatever franchise you want, but I will have the final say on what characters and franchises I want in the tournament.

In the wise words of my buddy, Roman; meme ships are acceptable as submissions as long as you ship it for more than just the memes. If you’re going to slam Sansmaeda or SansReigen into my submission box, you’d better do your hardest to convince me you ship it fully and unironically. Silliness and earnestness go hand in hand but the earnestness must also be present!

Following up on that, if you’re only here to point and laugh at the ridiculousness of the submissions, I humbly request you leave. We’re having fun here, and while a lot of it is very silly and acknowledging that silliness is well and good, this is being run by someone who has always loved crossovers and crossover ships. And I can only assume those who will be submitting ships of their own likely feel the same. This is a contest for love and appreciation, not cruel mockery.

Infodumping on how you came to ship your submission is ENCOURAGED. I wanna know as much info as you’re willing to give, even if it’s ‘I just thought they looked cute together!’ Maybe I’ll even publish some of the infodumps I like beneath the submissions that get in, with permission from the writer of course! But even if I don’t end up doing that, I’d still like to see them anyway!

Fan art submissions for the bracket pics are welcomed and will be accepted via the submission option on the blog. Please either provide proof that you are the artist or provide proof of explicit permission from the artist with your submissions, otherwise it will not be considered. All artists will be credited, and all art is welcomed! Even if you so much as smush two screencaps together! (It’ll be one less pair of screencaps I’ll have to smush together, hint hint 💗)

If you’re looking for a similar competition focused on non-romantic crossover dynamics, please follow the counterpart blog of @crossovernonshipstournament, run by my aforementioned buddy Roman! This one is strictly romance-based, while his is more focused on non-romantic dynamics! For the sake of avoiding any confusion or mini-heart attacks, I’ll be tagging any posts from his blog as #NonShip. 

More rules will be added as needed, and submissions will be open until an undecided date that is subject to change, depending on how many entries are initially submitted.

[Submission Link Here] SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

Automatic Entry Ships (No Need To Submit):

Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera (Ducktales 2017) and Clover Ebi (RWBY) Gyro Gearloose (Ducktales 2017) and Hazel Rainart (RWBY) Gandra Dee (Ducktales 2017) and Winter Schnee (RWBY) Dewey Duck (Ducktales 2017) and Whitley Schnee (RWBY) Mogar (Xray and Vav) and David (Camp Camp) Jimmy Neutron (Jimmy Neutron) and Timmy Turner (Fairly Oddparents) Jane Porter (Tarzan) and Captain Amelia (Treasure Planet) Max Goof (Disney) and Yakko Warner (Animaniacs) Huey Duck (Ducktales 2017) and Wakko Warner (Animaniacs) Dewey Duck (Ducktales 2017) and Silver the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog) Wirt (Over the Garden Wall) and Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls) Webby Vanderquack (Ducktales 2017) and Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls) Max (Camp Camp) and Phineas Flynn (Phineas and Ferb) Sora (Kingdom Hearts) and Jim Hawkins (Treasure Planet)

Happy shipping, everyone! 

🍊Tangy🍊

PS: Have an edit of one of my own submissions that I’m far too proud of to simply keep as the icon alone.

(Blog inspirations: @artificialkids-2k23-official​ @orangecharactersmackdown​ @eggcrackerbracket​ @servescuntcompetition​​ @best-kirby-character-tournament​​ @mad-scientist-showdown​​ ​

(Huey/Wakko fanart by @justadoll​ and @krillconoisseur​, remaining edits by me)

#Tournament Poll #Tournament Bracket #Crossover Ships #(Yes there are a lot of ships with characters from RWBY and Ducktales) #(I won't make this whole blog an advertisement for mine and Roman's crossover AU but I will say it was a big influence) #(But this is also being run by a huge fan of things like Kingdom Hearts and Nicktoons Unite so I just like crossovers in general) #(And every automatic entry ship is either one I truly and honestly ship or was suggested by friends who ship them)

[rubysweaponfetish]

Youmacon was a dumpster fire but I had fun jamming in the hallway while cosplaying as Yui and Bocchi.

Highlights for me:

- a group of several Eddie Munsons stopped by so I played Master of Puppets

- several Pokemon cosplayers came by and I played the Pokemon theme to each one I saw

- I saw a Fiona from Shrek and played All Star and watched them along with the rest of the crowd start moving to the beat

- three additional Bocchi cosplayers found me and stayed for some jams

- one of the Bocchis also brought a real guitar but their amp broke so I passed the wireless unit for my setup back and forth between the two of us like it was the aux cord

- a famous cosplayer came by and I played a song from RWBY because I know they're fan of it

- a Koutaro from Zombieland Saga came by so I played the season 2 opening

- I played the opening song from Ya Boy Kongming and looked up and saw a few people doing the dance from the anime in the distance

#youmacon 2023 #cosplay #anime #k on! #けいおん #平沢唯 #hirasawa yui #bocchi the rock! #ぼっち・ざ・ろっく！ #後藤ひとり #polite reminder that regardless of how i look in cosplay i am in fact a guy

[itsclydebitches]

CLYDE. I was thinking about the RWBY vs Ace Ops fight again because it's one my least favourite moments in the entire show and I realised that Qrow/Clover/Robyn weren't part of the conversation prior, nor were they ever acknowledged. Nothing of the effect that "Hey, maybe we should wait for Qrow/Robyn/Clover's opinion on this plan before moving onwards, considering their experience and leadership skills?" before being shut down that time is of the essence and they can't wait for them. It just feels illogical to have the Ace Ops leader, Mantle's primary representative and the leader of the Happy Huntresses and one of James' closest allies be completely absence from one the most impactful turning points of the Volume. It feels they were either purposely left out arbitrarily for the sake of two poorly conceived fights or the writers just forgot...which wouldn't be the first time. This show is very...frustrating to say the least.

YEAH. The other day I was thinking about RWBY and ludonarrative dissonance in video games. Specifically, the number of action/adventure games I've played that have a, "OMG COMPLETE THIS MISSION IMMEDIATELY TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE SOMEONE IS GONNA DIE!!" narrative paired with a "Look at all these fun side quests populating the map, you should totally spend a month of in-game time leisurely exploring them" gameplay. RWBY feels similar to me (minus the interactive elements, obviously). The narrative continually pushes the urgency of the situation, but what the characters do don't align with that. Waiting in the mansion is the classic, go-to example of this, but it's also seen in questions like, "If the group is so concerned with the safety of the Relic why don't they.... put it in the vault?" and "If Qrow needs to speak to Ironwood so badly, why doesn't he just... go to Ironwood in handcuffs rather than starting a fight that, unforeseen airship crash or not, is gonna SUPER delay him getting there." Importantly, these moments go beyond the characters simply making impulsive, fallible, human decisions. It always feels like the writers haven't thought through the situation, or are so focused on one (badly chosen) outcome that they'll ignore all logic to get there.

So, same idea with this fight. I completely understand Ironwood's position because there is a clear line of logic here. Salem is about to attack, the group has consistently lied/undermined him, ergo he is removing a potential threat by locking them up until this battle/escape is complete. No one has to agree with him, but I think the reasoning makes sense both in general and for his specific character. (Which is also one of the reasons why I think some fans are willing to hear consider his side: his writing, however messy in other places, is leagues beyond the group's, particularly in the first half of the Atlas arc.) The girls though? They're all over the place. They don't want secrets but they're going to keep them from Ironwood. But they're also going to spill them all to Robyn, someone they don't know and shouldn't trust. They want to save everyone but have no idea how and can't/won't troubleshoot an answer. They're determined to unite the people but are simultaneously determined to solve their problems with a fight. They start said fight and then Ruby immediately tries to talk her way out of it again. And, as you say, they ignore that unity/experience/help available to them by not looping the others in because, supposedly, there's just no time... but then we have long scenes where they just sit around the mansion, tearfully bemoaning the fact that they don't know what to do and getting angry that no one has magically shown up to help.

I can EASILY picture a better-if-not-perfect scenario where the girls' decisions in that fight actually follow their proclaimed intentions AND the not-actually-very-critical timeline they have (because remember, even after all this Salem just sits there for an extended time.) What if Ruby ordered the team to let themselves get arrested and then we got a cool break out of jail scene? (I mean... Ruby blasts through Ironwood's steel doors that are meant to keep people in + they sneak into Atlas HQ. Clearly this would not have been difficult for them.) What if they ran into Qrow and Robyn while in their cells? Or what if they escaped, realized they needed their uncle, and started a help Mantle/find Qrow dual mission? What if instead of broadcasting a horrifying and near incomprehensible message to the whole world, they spoke to all their allies in Atlas about the plan they'd come up with, calling them together? Maybe coded so Cinder wouldn't understand. Maybe bluntly honest like a gauntlet throw-down: we know you're here, but we're ready for you this time.

Instead Ruby forgets she exists...

There are just SO many things you can do with that fight/the aftermath that don't completely undermine the themes, the tension, the proclaimed desires, and the narrative expectations. If there has to be a battle of ally vs. ally when Salem is on her way and half our villains are roaming the streets (god I can't emphasize that enough), why is everyone with the wrong person? Why isn't Robyn fighting the Ace Ops, her political enemy long before the girls showed up? Why isn't Qrow fighting Ironwood, the guy he (stupidly) blames for Clover's death? Why isn't Clover with his team? Why isn't Ruby facing Salem? Why the hell would you have Qrow team up with Tyrian?

As a side note, I've seen a resurgence of discussion about Ruby's breakdown in Volume 9 and everything above re-emphasizes for me just how much she HAS demanded this power and responsibility. "Hey, maybe we should wait for Qrow/Robyn/Clover's opinion on this plan before moving onwards, considering their experience and leadership skills?" is one of MANY considerations when weighing the question of whether Ruby has truly been burdened with the unwanted expectations of others... because they've never been unwanted and she has never down a thing to lessen that burden. She doesn't wait. She doesn't ask. She doesn't lean on others' experience and leadership. And this goes all the way back to Ruby responding, "Yes, I want to attend Beacon and take on all the responsibilities of that despite not being old enough," but there is also a LOT in the Atlas arc - right before her Volume 9 breakdown, literal hours in-world - where Ruby stood her ground and said, "No, we're doing this my way and my team, whether they've disagreed with this decision, or suggested this course of action in the first place, will ultimately follow me because I am the leader." She told Qrow to stand down and let her continue fighting Cordovin. She made the decision to lie to Ironwood and talked the others out of coming clean. She made the call to attack the Ace Ops instead of submitting to arrest. Using the Relic and dropping Atlas was a group suggestion, but Ruby sanctioned it. Based on literally 8 Volumes of content, if anyone HAD said no to her Ruby would not have listened to them. That is an overt, consistent characterization of hers.

And then Volume 9 expects me to feel bad because she's going, "Everyone expects me to take the lead"??? Like sure, in a very general, "That's indeed stressful no matter who's at the helm" sense, but Ruby has spent years at this point loudly yelling, "I'M THE PERSON YOU SHOULD LOOK TO AND I'LL FIX IT. IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY PLAN I'LL FIGHT YOU :)" Not roping Qrow and the others in is a part of all that. Not overtly on screen - we don't have a scene where Ruby goes, "We don't need to talk to them" - but the story doesn't think their input is important. We get the closeup on her smiling face when she thinks of using the Relic and then the others just inform Winter of what is happening when she happens to call. Major decisions in RWBY have often been collaborative when it comes to suggestions, but the final call is always Ruby. Whether we're talking about "This is my fight too!" when Qrow warns her to stay back, or using the Lamp's question when Ozpin is begging her not to, or shrugging off Yang's concern that she lied to Ironwood, or telling the whole damn world about Salem when numerous people with more experience than her have said, "That's a terrible idea" for generations, Ruby forcibly takes the lead and will not back down no matter who is asking that of her, or how they're asking. In fact, I'd say that is the most OVERT and CONSISTENT way in which she displays agency in this show (which, ugh).

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[dextixer]

The ending of Volume 9 proves that RWBY is not about hope or acceptance, it is about meritless wish fulfillment.

Often have the topics of "consequences", of RWBY having "protagonist centered morality" and many other discussions surrounding team RWBY, and the plots inability to ever show them as being wrong. They might fail, but they are never wrong, and anyone who disagrees with them is instantly the enemy.

A lot of Fantasy stories at the end of the day are about hope. They are about the hero defeating a great evil and saving the day. This can take many forms, but unless a story truly aims for a tragedy or a more grimdark setting, hope always remains almost a constant companion to such stories.

The heroes fail, sometimes due to the enemy, sometimes due to their own failures, othertimes due to things that are outside their control. They can lose hope, and in fact, many stories traditionally have characters lose hope in their darkest hour. Only for it to be a set-up to some kind of an uplifting scene, or even an arc during which hope is restored.

Many fans of RWBY love to claim that RWBY is about hope, and admonish us critics for being "mean" or wanting a grimdark story. What these fans fail to realize however is something very simple...

What they are seeing is wish fulfillment.

In the last episode of V9, after Ruby reaches her lowest point. What is she told? That she is perfect the way she is. That everyone fails at some point. Ordinarily that would not be a bad lesson. But the thing with failure is that while it is inevitable, if the failure is caused by ones own actions that means that a mmistake was made, that a person is NOT perfect.

When in Volume 4, Ruby got Qrow stabbed by Tyrion by interfering in a fight that Qrow HIMSELF told her not to get into. Was she perfect? No. She made a mistake. But it was a mistake that came out of her selfish desire to play hero.

When in Volume 6 Ruby decided to steal an airship instead of doing literally anything else. Was that her being perfect? No. She made a mistake. A mistake that once again came out of a selfish desire, this time because she was told "No".

When in Volume 7 Ruby is trusted completely and utterly and given anything she wished for, a license, training from pros, upgrades to weaponry, unconditional trust of plans of national security. Only to then go out of her way to hide information and eventually betray the person who gave it all to her? She made a mistake, all because she decided that she will save everyone, even if it might kill everyone.

The first part of the wish fulfillment is that these things are not even acknowledged as mistakes. They are seen as "good" things, as "heroic" things, even by a lot of the fanbase.

The second part of the wish fulfillment is the lack of consequences. At the end of V4, Qrow is perfectly okay. In Volume 7 her decision to steal an airship is just ignored. In Volume 8 Ironwood is turned into a full on cackling saturday morning cartoon villain, so there is absolutely no need to even think about Rubys actions in V7 or her betrayal.

The ending of V9 takes the cake though.

The end of V9 has us see Vacuo with ships of various makings in the air above it. Many RWBY fans cheered! Look, Ruby was right! Ruby sent the message to everyone and the entire Remnant is now united! Suck it critics who said that her plan was bad! SHE WON!

Of course, these people fail to miss that they are cheering wish fulfillment.

Back in V8 the plan to warn the kingdoms was first hatched by Ironwood, and eventually stopped by none other than the "neighborhood hero" Robyn. Did the fanbase praise Ironwoods idea? No. They instead praised Robyn for stopping it.

Important part of it however was that once the message went out, it would create panic, thus Ironwood was planning to assist all of the states one by one to repel any Grimm incursions caused by such a message...

Yet Ruby went with this plan anyways... And nothing bad happened.

The narrative LITERALLY bent itself backwards to give Ruby a victory.

The SAME exact thing happened back in V8. Rubys plan of evacuating Mantle had no end point! It was simply evacuate Mantle to Atlas and then... There was no other plan. And while Atlas was suffering and its soldiers dying, Ruby drank tea in a mansion. The whole point of Atlas leaving without Mantle was to avoid getting swarmed by Grimm, to leave BEFORE it is too late to leave.

Now tell me dear readers, let us say that Mantle is evacuated into Atlas. What then? The Grimm have ALREADY reached Atlas. Its too late. Congratulations, the plan results in EVERYONE dying.

But wait, it does not. Because at the last second a GOD ITEM is revealed to be able to just portal everyone out.

That is not hope!

Hope is not the protagonist putting hundreds of thousands of people in danger with no plan to get them out of danger, only for the hand of the writers to come down and make them all survive.

Hope is not the protagonist taking reckless actions against their allies because they know that everyone will forgive them or that the allies will turn evil the next episode.

Hope is NOT the protagonists doing something that THE NARRATIVE says is impposible to do without consequences, only for those consequences to be deleted by the hand of the writer.

What HOPE at the end of the day is the protagonist keeping the fight on regardless of the odds, either to their heroic and expected death, or at a small but KNOWN chance of victory.

THAT is what separates hope from wish fulfillment.

Team RWBY being able to do anything and everything because the writers will give them a victory regardless of anything is not hope. And it will never be.

And it isnt Over

In case anyone has forgotten, Salem now controls the relic of creation. A thing that could be used to create anything for the sake of destroying ANY army that Salems enemies could wield. Let me ask you all. Is it not logical that Salem could just create a meteor shower and just destroy any and all airships over Vacuo? She has a literal god item that the protagonist gave to her by opposing Ironwood.

But i can tell you for a fact that she will never use it. The failure of losing the staff will never matter. Team RWBY will win regardless of how sensible or logical it is. The writers will make up a reason for why the staff doesnt work, or for why Salem does not want to use it.

And when that happens, be ready for RWBY fans to tell us all how stupid we are.

#rwde

[jayz4dayz]

Team RWBY will become the next generation of Maidens

(Disclaimer, none of the edited images above are mine! I just found them on google lol. Also, SPOILERS FOR VOLUME 9!!!)

So this is kind of just a random theory of mine that I’ve been brewing for a while and I’m sure someone has mentioned it before, but I’m simply gonna explain why this would be the logical and plausible ending for the entire show. 

We know the identity of the current three maidens. Cinder Fall is the Fall Maiden, Winter Schnee is the Winter Maiden, Raven Branwen is the Spring Maiden, but we have interestingly never had a confirmation on the identity of the Summer Maiden. Some fans (including myself) speculate one of two things: the Summer Maiden is someone completely random/character we haven’t been introduced to yet, or... Summer Rose is the Summer Maiden. Now if this were the case, then that means Summer Rose isn’t actually dead. 

The very first scene in the final episode of Volume 9, we see a private conversation take place between Summer and Raven about a secret mission Summer embarks on alone. We aren’t sure about the details of the secret mission except for the fact she had lied to her friends and family about it. To me, that sounds an awful lot like she either faked her own death or nobody found a body when she dissapeared and assumed she was dead. I think Mama Rose is still alive somewhere (possibly lurking around in the Ever After which I’ll circle back on)

As for the transference of the Maiden Powers to Team RWBY, I must address the elephant in the room. A few of our beloved side characters must die. 

I’ll start with the obvious. Raven and Yang.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Raven takes a fatal blow in a battle either from Salam’s forces or possibly even a Cinder battle 2.0 or Salem herself. I know damn well the final person in her thoughts would be her daughter. Go ahead and tell me I’m wrong. She knows out of everyone, Yang is the most trust-worthy and deserving of such power. Even Ozpin himself had once told her “Your mother must trust you a great deal” when Raven told Yang about how Ozpin turned her and Qrow into birds. In this case, it will be Raven’s final act of protection for her daughter to assure she’ll have a better chance of survival. Not only this, the transference of powers scene between her and Yang would be the most memorable and meaningful moment between them in the entire series. (And gods, Yang out of all of Team RWBY would make the most sense to become a maiden. Her hair ignites on fire for crying out loud!)

Next we have Winter and Weiss.

This one will be considerably more painful to witness considering how strong their relationship is and everything they’ve been through growing up together. My best guess is Winter will die battling Salem or possibly alongside Weiss in battle against a different antagonist, but I’m confident it will happen the soonest. And I mean like Volume 10 or 11 kind of soon. Winter and Weiss will likely be reunited in Volume 10 and near the end Winter will meet her fate, giving the Maiden Powers to her sister who will benefit the most from them. With Weiss gaining these powers, imagine her dust glyphs on steroids. She’d be a fucking unit against Salem’s forces (as I’m sure Winter would be too.)

Then, Blake and Cinder.

I actually have quite a bit of evidence to back this one up. Cinder really doesn’t have anybody close to her that she would even consider giving up her powers for. She’s a greedy bitch and would probably think nobody would receive her powers if she just didn’t think of anyone when she died, only come to find out the final person to look into her eyes before her final breath is the one to take the powers from her. Ironwood once mentioned that it’s not uncommon for the powers to be transferred to an enemy who the Maiden faced in her final moments. Blake absolutely deserves the right to send Cinder to meet her makers and snatch up her Maiden powers. It would be so satisfying to see Cinder and Blake meet up in the holding space between life and death, but Cinder becomes furious when she realizes Blake will be the one to take HER precious power. It’s the ultimate justice and the best revenge Blake could ever obtain. (Also, Blake would become the first Faunus Maiden that we know of and she'd be such a girlboss for it ;p)

And finally, Summer and Ruby.

In the end, I think it would be a wonderful way to wrap up the entire series by making all of Team RWBY into Maidens and would be the most logical way they could defeat Salem. Of course, this is also assuming they somehow are able to get all of the relics and use that to assist them in defeating Salem once and for all. Also, for shipping purposes, it pretty much sums up the soulmate parallels for the four of them to become maidens. Blake (Fall Maiden) + Yang (Spring Maiden); Weiss (Winter Maiden) + Ruby (Summer Maiden). I think it just fits all of them so well!

As I previously mentioned, Summer being alive and the current Summer Maiden would open the door for Ruby to receive Maiden powers. I’m not entirely sure how it would look and I could theorize for hours to try and explain it, so I’ll keep this short. My current belief is that Summer is in the Ever After which would mean at some point Team RWBY would have to return to deal with Neo’s bullshit and at some point come across Summer. In a heated battle, Summer knows her time to ascend has come. If we take a look at Ruby’s ascension, she technically didn’t even ascend at all. She chose herself which means she didn’t become a new person with no memories of her past or who she is. However, I’m fully confident that Summer will choose to become a different person. She knows she would lose all her memories of her family, her Team, and everything that makes her Summer Rose. This includes her Maiden Powers. It would make the most logical sense that she’d transfer them to her daughter Ruby as her final act of a mother’s love. It would be poetic and the perfect character development for both Summer and Ruby. Plus, imagine how much more powerful Ruby’s silver eyes will become. With Maiden Powers, her petrifying glow from her eyes might be powerful enough to trap anything that’s Grim, including Salem. She wouldn’t be dead, but she’d be imprisoned in stone and petrify for the rest of time.

[Another minor theory in relation to this: Summer is actually dead and passed on her Maiden Powers to Ruby when she was still an infant which means Ruby's powers would be dormant until the time is right]

#rwby #rwby theory #the ever after #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #maidens #raven branwen #summer rose #cinder fall #winter schnee #team rwby

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

So RWBY grimmverse style au, with a lot of the students being grimmified while hunting others to convert, so like, very high functioning zombies. Anyway so yeah Ruined city, numerous grimmified hunters-in-training scouring a city to find more to their numbers, before hearing a loud crash, heading over to find “patient zero” aka Grimm Pyrrha and she’s fighting or was fighting a Cyborg Jaune (Metal Gear Rising Revengeance style) and like they got a little excited and destroyed a lot of the building, so Grimmified hunters-in-training come in and see Grimm Pyrrha with her cloak off, which is not down often, and a Cyborg Jaune standing there in the ruins. So yeah Strongest grimmified hunter-in-training Pyrrha was equalled in power to Cyborg Jaune, with everyone surprised. 

Bonus: If Jaune explains how he became a Cyborg (Like survived an explosion and found a lab to survive in)

I don't know why I just got this sudden urge to ask this.

Thank you!

Pyrrha: Brothers! Sisters! Siblings of All Ages and ability! Our Goddess Has Given us a most Divine Mission!

The tension in the air was palpable, it landed somewhere between the moment before a bar-brawl and when Fans realize their team made the winning shot.

Pyrrha: Bring More Home~ Expand the Family! Unite all under her Glorious name!

Raccous cheering poured forth.

Pyrrha: But They Bring in Machines to stop us, Hurt us, capture and experiment Upon us! We all rememer when Our dearest Silver Angel was Stolen From us! The shame of failure to protect her was Too much for us to bear! We let loose our inhibitions and minds and fell to the like of the Beowolves and Beringel!

Shouts of Anger rung out, curses and swears unintelligible, but obvious.

Pyrrha: Luckily For us, those Machines need be told what to do, which means there is man behind the walls~ They've Backed themselves into corners all on their own~

Pyrrha: So if it's a game of Cat and Mouse, They are sorrowly mistaken about who is what.

Atlesian Airships landed in the distance, others dropping pods of Robots and Androids in the middle of the city.

Pyrrha: So without further ado, *Pyrrha pulled her hood over her head* Let the Hunt Begin~

Cheers of Violence and malevolence ring out from the Grimmified people, as they burst out from their hiding spots.

~Several Minutes Later~

Jaune: How are things looking out there Penny?

Penny: Not Well. We are losing Units at an astonishing Rate. Capturing the Rose family was very good for our understanding of what causes people to become 'Grimmified' and how too help them recover, but it seems that Ruby was very important to the others. They are attacking with more vigor and ferocity than ever.

Jaune: ... Somethings Wrong. Abort the Mission and Fall back.

General Ironwood: Arc, Stay there. I know You can handle whatever they may throw at you.

Jaune: Sir, Respectfully, You have put me in charge of this operation, and I am telling you to give the order to Fall Back. Somethings not Right, I can feel it.

Ironwood: Unless Something Catastrophic Happens, stand your ground. That is and Order.

Jaune: ... Sir, Direspectfully, Shove your Orders Up your Ass. *Shuts Off Communications Device* EVERYONE BEGIN TO RECALL WHATEVER UNITS YOU HAVE LEFT! WE ARE EVACUATING!

Penny: Jaune-

Jaune: Pen, I know what Ironwood Said, but He's not here, and I'll deal with Whatever corporal Punishment he thinks is neces- DUCK!

Jaune Pulls Penny low, a blood red Spear whizzing just above their Heads, Before retracting by Ebony Sinew and Tendons.

Pyrrha: Face the Divine Wrath of her CHOSEN Cowards!

Jaune: *Draws Aurum Exitium* Penny Get everyone out! I'll hold her Off!

Penny: I- Yes Jaune! Stay Safe!

Jaune: *Blocking another strike* I always make it back in the end! MOVE!

Pyrrha: The Fight's over here Huntsman!

Jaune: I know.

Jaune: *Tackles Pyrrha* But it's going this Way!

The two fall from the Atlesian's vantage point, tumbling down into the decrepit city.

Pyrrha: *Throws Jaune through a wall, causing part of a building to collapse* STAY DOWN DOGGY!

Jaune: *Breaking out of the Rubble* You'll have to do better than that!

Pyrrha Threw 'Akouo' at Jaune, who caught - and Pyrrha's heel in his face. He held tight to the Arm-Bound shield, slamming the redheaded monstrosity into the ground, dragging her face across the damaged pavement, before throwing her into the distance.

Jaune: I want to help you!

Pyrrha:*landing Deftly* You Kidnap Us! STEAL US From our home! We want to bring Enlightenment to you, and you meet us with Violence!

Pyrrha launched barbs that shattered against the bulkhead of a shield Jaune carried. He Retaliated with a strike from his longsword, the edge glowing blue with Hardlight Dust.

He whiffed the strike and the sword carved into the ground, Pyrrha Blasting him backwards with her semblance. Blisters formed across the pitch-black flesh, as her soul burning against it's monstrous bonds. She lunged at the stunned Jaune, aiming for the point between his eyes.

This dance of death, seemingly endless back and forth, A tactical mind meeting a being of pure skill, Remnants Greatest Mind's reconstruction of a Man holding against a near perfect amalgam of Man and it's Enemy, An Unstoppable Force fighting an Immovable Force.

Blow after blow, Aura ticking down, Grimm burning away. They stumbled into some old cathedral, standing a distance away from each other. Every breathe was heaved, exhaustion pulling at them. Even Jaune's aura had it's limits, and Pyrrha's arms were covered in open wounds, seeping Grimm-infused blood out of them.

Pyrrha struck first. Jaune Dodged and closed distance. Jaune fired a beam from Aurum Exitium. Pyrrha dodged and closed even more distance. They were in Melee with each other. Pyrrha Jabbed. The hit landed. Jaune attempted to Grapple. Pyrrha barely managed to avoid it.

Her cloak didn't.

Jaune finally saw his opponent's face and he was ... Entranced. Pyrrha, however, was Pissed.

Pyrrha: You ... Dare lay your FILTHY, UNDESERVING EYES UPON ME!

She through her spear once more, letting it truly free from her grasp. It flew through the air, Jaune barely avoiding it in his awe at her beauty. He flung the cloth wildly, the Spear piercing the hood and slamming into the great throne in the center of the building.

With all the rage of a disrespected Goddess, she dashed into Jaune, Stealing the techsword from his grip and pinning him against the chair, trying to press it's endlessly thin blade into Jaune's neck.

He Held against her pushing, forcing Aura into his arms as Darkness enveloped Pyrrha's forearms, more blisters forming on her arms.

Jaune felt his body lock up against her semblance, his own giving him the strength to resist her assault.

The held there for what felt like forever, long enough for swathes of Grimm-dark skin to fall from Pyrrha's arms, revealing the corded, red flesh beneath. Their hands shook. They both knew whoever gave out first would likely die.

Then a thin blade wrapped around Pyrrha's shoulder and pulled her away, Jaune's sword clattering to the ground.

Ren.

Jaune nearly fell to his knees, catching himself at the last moment and sprinting towards his brother- only to catch a glob of Acid in the face.

???: YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!

Another Grimm girl, short, with and arm that looked like a cenitaur had been grafted on. She slammed the chittering apendage into Ren, throwing him towards Jaune.

Nora: It's been a long time since Cuddles had a playmate like you~

Pyrrha struggled to her feet, weariness obvious in those who were near.

Pyrrha: Stay, Nora. *She points at Ren and Jaune* You. Aren't. Going. Anywhere.

Black, staticy figures shuffled in, a Winged figure cascading from above with them.

Sun: Glad I wasn't late to the party. Let's help them join it, Eh Ladies?

Nora: *Glare*

Pyrrha: *Glare*

Sun: C'mon that's funny- Whatever. Bye-bye Huntsmen!

Surrounded and outnumbered, Jaune and Ren faced their fate with grim (heh) Determination. They always had a back-up, and she was arriving right now.

Brilliant green lasers blasted through the ceiling, a ladder falling through from a hovering bullhead. Penny was coming to her friend's rescue.

Penny: Stand down, and allow yourselves to be captured or face the consequences.

The trios stared each other down. A Leader. A friend. A savior in their time of need.

The whirring blades of Floating Array held charges, ready to decimate any attacker, while Sun's clones stood still and were prepared to strike.

The Jaune and Pyrrha started Backing away from each other, pulling their partners, back to their own escape routes. Once they got away from each other the released their bated breathes.

Nora: Pyrrha?

Pyrrha: That wasn't a fight we could win. We kept them out of the city. We've succeeded, even if we lost.

Sun: Man, I was itching for some action. But, we did do good, didn't we?

Pyrrha: That we did, Sun. That We did.

With her cloak in shambles, Pyrrha had no choice than to face the crowd openly. They hardly dared look at her. Sharp, bony spikes that stuck out from just behind her jawline and ears, her face pale with dark red veins running up her cheeks, and to her eyes. Eyes, that unlike every other Grimm-Fated student, were Green.

She was different than the others, And it was obvious. She relished in that fact often, it earned her praise and gifts from their God-Mother.

But in this moment it was nothing but another reminder that she wasn't like her siblings. She knew that man she fought was handsome.

~~~~~

Ren: General Ironwood Won't be happy about this.

Jaune: We failed, but we survived. It's a win in my book.

Penny: I am glad you are alright. Please don't do anything that irrational again.

Jaune: I can't promise you that Penny.

Penny: I- I-

Penny: ... I Know, Jaune. I don't wish to see my Brother be injured anymore than he already has been.

They all fell silent as they watched the city of Atlas come into view, Sat just behind Mantle, a mountain gazing over it's earth-toned buildings. It had been nearly two decades since the theft of the Relic of Creation, causing it to sink into it's crater.

~~~~~

Pyrrha: We kept the city, Mistress.

Salem: And what about recovering your siblings? Was the enemy annihilated as you guaranteed they would be?

Pyrrha: ... They were different this time. Far more of their machines than before, easy enough to take down, but there was ... Retreat before the final Charge was made. I separated myself from the horde to attack their post directly, and was stopped by ... Something between Man and Machine.

Salem: And just what did this 'In-Between' look like?

Pyrrha: He was covered in metal, though I could tell a fair amount was armor and plating on his outside - His legs and left arm were mechanical, with certain thing within him being something I couldn't control, but could feel. His face was mostly free, he had blue eyes and blonde hair tied back.

Pyrrha: He was brutal and savage, yet intelligent. He new how to use the terrain to his advantage, and how to avoid the majority of my strikes, and those he could not avoid he simply took and kept going.

Pyrrha: He was my equal until outsiders interrupted us. A lithe man that wore green, wielding machine pistol that had been locked in combat with Nora. I could not feel him, which means he was either truly at peace in his soul, or his semblance makes us blind to his soul.

Pyrrha: After their arrivals, Sun managed to surround them, but their Machine-Girl gave them the opportunity of escape. They ran like the cowards they are.

Salem: Do not lie to me Girl. You didn't strike at them as they ran, could you?

Pyrrha: I-I- I-

Pyrrha: I am Injured and Exhausted. I Was, and I could not fight anylonger. I ordered our retreat. I failed you. I am Sorry.

Salem: *Grabbing Pyrrha* Apologies are useless. You had your orders, and you Failed them. You are to see Tyrian for your punishment.

Pyrrha: Y-Yes ma'am.

Pyrrha hands Shook. From pain, from fear, from shame, and many delineations of those emotions. But still, she strode to her punishment with haste. Wasting time was worthy of further punishment. She barely managed a nod to Cinder as she passed.

Cinder: Hold it Nikos!

Pyrrha: Yes Ma'am?

Cinder: ... This'll sting, but it'll help.

Pyrrha: What are you-

Cinder: Open wounds will make you weaker in the future. I am disinfecting them, then you may be back on your way.

Pyrrha: The Goddess-

Cinder: What she doesn't know can't hurt us. Stay quiet.

Pyrrha hardly flinched when the Alcohol touched her wounds. She shouldn't have flinched at all, she was so worthless and stupid to think she could've done her assignment right. She was meant to be the best among her siblings, unstoppable and-

Cinder: *Hugging Pyrrha, shaking her from her thoughts* You will be fine. You will be fine. Run, now. I'm sorry I can't save you from him.

~~~~~

Jaune: Yang? How is Ruby doing?

Yang: JAUNE! *hugs Him* She's been improving! Her heart is beating on it's own, and she's been more responsive- I can't believe it. I- I have her back. Ruby's- Ruby's back. Almost. My family, whatever's left of it- we'll be together again!

Yang: But you need to see Ironwood! he's Pissed to the grimmlands and back over whatever you did.

Jaune: I told him "Disrespectfully, Shove your orders up your ass." then shut off my comms.

Yang: *chuckles* Really? Man you must have balls of steel!

Jaune: Nah, At least one of those is still mine.

Yang: Gross.

Yang: ... Still. You should go talk to him. He's not happy.

Jaune: I'll survive whatever he throws at me. Or throws me into.

Yang: Not getting that stuff removed.

Jaune: ... I'll be fine Yang.

And Jaune left the medbay.

~~~~~

If anyone seems out of Character, it's because, well, these aren't the same ones from Canon.

Pyrrha has been more Forcefully manipulated, and the stakes for her are far higher than falling off a pedestal - falling from it means death. She believes the words she says, and feels guilty when she questions it.

Jaune had *Something* happen that made him lose a fair bit of his body. Atlas put him back together at the expense of his freedom, à la Robocop. But he still cares about people and is willing to defy orders to protect them. It's a matter of how far he can bend the rules before he gets broken.

I'll explain more if people ask for it.

#rwby #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos #rwby au #Grimm fates au #setsu-kos-arashi

[blake-wudonna]

I just read an article that was a list of anime’s fans of ATLA should watch, and y’all… RW//BY was on it lmao

Exact quote:

“RW//BY isn’t a traditional anime as it’s produced in the United States of America instead of in Japan. It does, however, use a lot of the elements fantasy anime is known for, including a trek across the known world, just like in Avatar. The teams in RWBY are born out of school assignments instead of necessity, but like Avatar, the group of teenagers is tasked with stopping someone who wants to use their power to ruin the world. Taking inspiration from fairy tales, the audience will find a lot of things familiar about the story, but with new twists on characters and happy endings. The series deals with grief, the burden of responsibility, and fear in a lot of the same ways Avatar does.”

Not even getting into everything false about this, but the bit about it deals with heavy themes the same way… that in itself is so inaccurate, I’m in tears lol

#rwde

[saltwukong]

Regarding Ironwood the Fascist,

I am abundantly sure this point has already been made in the past three years and I already know full well this is not going to sway anyone who had the combo of unparalleled brass balls and complete media illiteracy to label James Ironwood a fascist to begin with. This is mostly here so other people have something to link instead of having to make the exhaustive arguments themselves.

Read this paragraph:

Fascism (/ˈfæʃɪzəm/ FASH-iz-əm) is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement,[1][2][3] characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.[2][3]

And see how many bullets Ironwood checks off.

Authoritarian and dictatorial leadership: established in Volume 8 as Ironwood eliminates what appears to be the only rule of law aside from himself and no ruling bodies are left to oppose him. This also covers forcible suppression of opposition.

Militarism: established via Ironwood's position as leader of the Atlesian military.

Political ideology or movement? No. This one can't be true if Miles' and Kerry's insistence as to the fallen hero angle is taken as true. According to them, Ironwood fell from grace due to a spiral of fear and paranoia--Ironwood has no long-term political goals as of Volume 8. In fact, his turn as a villain comes with direct abandonment of the only thing he wanted that could have been called a long-term political goal, which was the uniting of the kingdoms against Salem.

Far Right? No. The left/right dichotomy was cleanly established in Volume 7, and Ironwood stood firmly opposed to right-wing Jacques Schnee and eventually allied with left-wing Robyn Hill.

Belief in a natural social heirarchy? No. Again, despite the presence of consistent virtue-signaling and buzzword usage on the part of RWBY standom, Ironwood does not at any point demonstrate his belief in such a heirarchy. If Mantle were the city-state floating in the air where all his military power were concentrated, it would be the focus of his 'go into orbit' plan. Not once, even in Volume 8 where he is at his worst, does he express even the remotest interest in the people of Atlas' social standing. He does not care about their money or class.

Subordination of individual interests for perceived good of the nation? No. A lot of people would argue that 'we have to let Mantle die for the good of Atlas' would qualify, but they'd be wrong because Mantle is not an individual. There is no evidence that individual interests have ever been sacrificed at Ironwood's instruction. Team FNKI are comprised abundantly of people who, in a true fascist dictatorship, would be immediately labeled disturbers of the peace, yet they're permitted to wear what they like and do their jobs how they see fit.

Strong regimentation of society and the economy? Also no. Ironwood's diversion of funds to support the Amity project was a matter of global security and there's no evidence that peacetime economy or the larger economy as a whole was something he had any hand in at all. Regimentation of society doesn't factor in either, again because Ironwood expresses no interest in individuals either way.

Most importantly, of course, since it's one of the core components of fascism, is ultranationalism. This one falls flat immediately. "Abandon Mantle and save Atlas" doesn't qualify for ultranationalism because Mantle is part of the nation Ironwood is in charge of. If Ironwood were ultranationalist, he would be promoting the superiority of Atlas-Mantle against that of the other kingdoms (Vale, Mistral, Vacuo). Ironwood's plan to run away to space while leaving half his civilian populace behind doesn't make him ultranationalist, just a huge idiot.

Like I said, I'm already aware that once a fan of RWBY is braindead enough to let "fascist" slip out of their mouths to begin with, there's no hope left. A lot of these people, Troche included, already know Ironwood isn't fascist--they know the difference between fascist government and what RWBY showed them. They just don't care. They worship the show and will follow its every pointed narrative no matter how ill-constructed or poorly motivated.

With this knowledge in mind though, I do feel clear to call them titanic shitheads for it.

#rwde #james ironwood

[princess-of-the-corner]

Okay, talking about Ozpin/Ozma from RWBY here because from the looks of things, no one else is.

Unfortunately the dude's motivations makes some fans hesitant to trust him, if they don't hesitate to villainize him.

His motivations? Unite the world into one of peace, call the gods of said world with four magical artifacts that have a lot of power, because in any other circumstances they would kill everyone, and ask them to please put his very evil ex-wife, aka SALEM, out of her misery that they caused via making her immortal.

Context? Okay so Salem was locked into her tower by her dad, but she sent letters out asking for some kind of help. Ozma didn't hesitate to do so, rescuing her. It was love at first sight for those two. And later on, they even got married.

However eventually Ozma died young. To injury, sickness, maybe a magic curse, it's unknown what the cause is. So Salem went to the gods to try and bring him back. When one denied her because doing so can cause funkiness with the balance of the world, she went to the other one, leaving the part about them being her second choice.

This god, despite being a horrifying god of darkness with a temper, was willing to bring Ozma back because Salem praised him and said he was her first choice. Till his brother, the god of light and calmer of the two, came in, forcibly calmed him down, and explained the way Salem was manipulating him. Afterwards they cursed her with immortality that will only end after she learns to appreciate all aspects of life or something.

So Salem decided to lead a bunch of humans and probably faunus idk if they existed yet in an uprising against them via saying they gods are withholding immortality from them out of revenge. So the gods kill everyone except her, say she'll have to wait for the next batch of sentient life to, evolve I think, without any kind of magic, then vanished. With the god of darkness breaking the moon due to his bad mood.

During the wait Salem jumped into these tar pits that Grimm spawn out of trying to die but it just made her a human with Grimm features. But she can just hide those features! So don't worry about how that could effect her mental state!

Anyways when humanity and fanus were a thing again the god of light found a random human and shoved Ozma's soul into him (without Ozma knowing if I remember correctly), told him to unite humanity or he and his brother will kill everyone after he collects and brings together the four uber powerful artifacts, and that his wife is a freak of nature that must be destroyed. Understandably, Ozma decided to ignore the last part and focus on the first two parts. And he even found his wife again, who clearly wasn't a freak of nature!

Anyways they get married (again) and due to their magic became the rulers of the country they were in because everyone is willing to listen to the two who can kill the Grimm with ease. They even had four daughters! Who, upon showing signs of having magic, Salem went a bit creepy about replacing humanity with their descendants.

Ozma then remembered what the god of light said, so he decided to take the kids out of the castle before going to talk to his wife to ensure that if they came to blows, the kids were away from the crossfire. However Salem caught him doing just that, snapped, and started trying to kill him without giving him time to explain. And would you look at that! Their daughters got caught in the crossfire! Causing Salem to get even angrier! This is when Ozma in a grief fueled rage killed her, only to learn she's immortal and very much looks like a Grimm. Then Salem turns around, cripples his one leg, then kills him.

This is when Ozma learns he has a version of immortality where he body hops into people of a similar mindset as his or something. Anyways for a while he is depressed as fuck, and evading his homicidal ex-wife, so he becomes a drunk hermit. Well, after he used the artifact of knowledge to try and learn how to kill said ex-wife but he was told he can't kill her which made his mental state even worse because the mind of said artifact, in my opinion, is a fucking JERK-

Eventually, with help of others (even if they don't know the full story), he pulls himself together and even starts to hear the voices of those he accidentally body snatches, so he then starts to reach out to those the person originally in charge of the body knows. And apparently their minds/souls start to fuse together after some point so there's that guilt.

Anyways, he starts trying to unite Remnant, and created a secret society to oppose Salem. And because it's implied that everyone he told the truth to betrayed him turned against him, he started to say the absolute bare minimum, including leaving out the fact that Salem was immortal, to avoid that.

So basically, to sum it all up, blame the brothers, Salem despite having a tragic backstory is still not a good person, and Ozpin is traumatized as FU-

GOD that's a lot

I did wonder what was Up with Salem and also I heard something about Ozpin bodyjumping.

But also yo what the FUCK

[onenettvchannel]

FLASH REPORT: Independent Texan Production Company and Animation 'Rooster Teeth' permanently closes down for bankruptcy after 2 decades, RWBY's future in Limbo as 'DillonGoo Studios' steps in

FORT WORTH, TEXAS -- Warner Bros.-Discovery (WBD) sadly announces to close down the established independent animation studio 'Rooster Teeth' after two (2) decades of digital operation. This moves might be a bitter pill for many to swallow that marks the end of an era for the studio behind a beloved web series 'RWBY'.

Entertainment news outlet ‘Deadline’ revealed that the Texan animation studio shuts its doors, but the popular audio-only podcast known as the ‘Rooster Teeth Podcast’ (RTP) won't be impacted there too soon.

The unprecedented closure for online bankruptcy of 'Rooster Teeth' leaves fans of RWBY in a state of much uncertainty, as the fate of the web streaming series hangs in the balance, following after the old video-sharing platform YouTube in several volumes. However, a glimmer of hope emerges as the torch passed on to a different independent studio, DillonGoo Studios, based in Austin, Texas, United States of America (U.S.A.).

'DillonGoo Studios', led by its Chief Executive Officer, independent self-animator and founder named 'Dillon W. Gu', has rapidly emerged as a prominent figure in the animation community. With strong connections to the RWBY fandom, the studio has garnered significant attention. The potential partnership production between 'DillonGoo Studios' and 'RWBY' opens exciting prospects for the series' future to a new heights. With 'Mr. Gu' stepping into the role as a new show creator, apart from the late original series creator (Monty Oum), fans eagerly anticipate the direction that Volume 10, potentially its final season as 'volumes' may take under a new leadership.

People are speculating about 'Rooster Teeth' (RT) considers to be shutting down, filing for bankruptcy, and selling RWBY to acquire a new IP (intellectual property) to DillonGoo Studios. Some have mentioned that RT encountered financial difficulties and a decrease in the appeal of their animations, possibly influenced by controversial anti-LGBT sentiments, extremist criticism, fouling behavior on social media, and disruptions caused by boycotts against CRWBY members, voice actors and fictional personalities, resulting to delay and secure a new volume. But now, with 'DillonGoo Studios' stepping in, there's hope for the future of the web-streaming series.

If DillonGoo Studios takes the helm for Volume 10 of RWBY and securing a partnership with streaming networks like Crunchyroll or somewhat others (which is our internet media affiliate for 'OneNETtv Channel'), it could signify a revitalization for the beloved franchise. The legal greenlighting of Volume 10 under the banner of DillonGoo Studios opens up avenues for a fresh approach to storytelling, while retaining the essence and spirit of the series that has captivated audiences worldwide.

As RWBY-nian fans eagerly await the future of the show, the partnership between DillonGoo Studios and a streaming platform holds the promise of a bright new chapter for the iconic series. With 'Dillon Gu' at the helm, RWBY may embark on a journey filled with innovation, creativity, and a renewed sense of purpose, ensuring its enduring legacy in the annals of animation history.

CONTRIBUTED LOGO and ART PHOTO COURTESY: AyRigatory via Reddit PHOTO & Google Images BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY: Tegna

SOURCE: *https://deadline.com/2024/03/rooster-teeth-shut-down-warner-bros-discovery-roost-podcast-continue-1235847264/ [Referenced News Article via Deadline Hollywood] *https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2024-03-06/rooster-teeth-shutting-down/ [Referenced News Article via The Austin Chronicle] *https://epicstream.com/article/rwby-volume-10-release-date-where-to-watch-trailer-all-details [Referenced News Article via Epic Stream] *https://roosterteeth.com/g/post/af39b172-be74-4398-94f8-908c3f4c5d6e [Referenced PR Post via Rooster Teeth News Bureau] *https://twitter.com/DillonGoo/status/1765562185990762798 [Referenced X Network Status Post via DillonGoo] *https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy6O1yWopCP/ [Referenced IG News Article via The RWBY Style News Bureau] *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcpQK9Qzf3g [Referenced YT VIDEO via Vexed Viewer] *https://rwby.fandom.com/wiki/Dillon_Gu *https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillon-gu-52b1b489 *https://www.dillongoostudios.com/about and *https://old.reddit.com/r/roosterteeth/comments/123ar0f/i_made_legit_adjustments_to_rooster_teeths_new/ [Referenced Fan-Made Logo via Reddit User - AyRigatony]

-- OneNETnews Team

#flash report #entertainment news #fort worth #texas #RWBY #rooster teeth #shutting down #bankrupt #animation #dillon goo studios #fyp #awareness #OneNETnews

[prancingintheshadows]

A RWBY RPG Idea: Formations

I'm not a game designer, nor am I someone with the skills or money to make a game. I'm just a guy who needs a hyper fixation to keep himself awake during the night shift

So, this is it.

RWBY's one of my favorite series and video games are some of my favorite forms of media, so obviously this was inevitable. Though I have to preface I have zero idea how deep I'll go with this idea. I'm labelling this title as if there's multiple parts but this is all I really have.

"But why an RPG?" The imaginary person asks.

Well, there was a couple of reasons. For one, I wanted to be somewhat realistic. I love RWBY and it's pretty popular, but it's not like it's got the ability to go for a full triple AAA game. I think a character action game would be great, but the amount of physics and work needed to put into those might be out of the ball park. With an RPG, you can still have impressive attack animations and action, just without the need for complex physics and enemy attacks and hit boxes and whatever. Fighting games are also in the ring, but Fighting games tend to be fighting games first and vehicles for narrative last. RWBY has gotten increasingly story and character driven, so I think an RPG is just a better fit for RWBY than a fighting game would be if it wanted to explore the world of Remnant.

Two, I think RPG is somewhat fitting. Monty was a huge Final Fantasy fan, and certain elements of RWBY, like Dust basically being materia.

Another very important reason is a thematic one. It seems to me, based on Grimm Eclipse and Arrowfell, they always want to include team mechanics in these games. Team up attacks in Grimm Eclipse are more common from my experience in multiplayer and Arrowfell necessitates using all 4 girls and was initially advertised with multiplayer. I think an RPG is a great setting to do team stuff with the least hassle, whether that be via dual techs or all out attacks or pair units or whatever else you can think of.

But now let's get into it

Story

I'm not doing story.

No, seriously.

This is a big limiting factor here since a story can often help give a game direction for its mechanics and character design, but I'm not going to pretend to know how to best make a story for RWBY. You can place it in Beacon, in Atlas, in Vacuo, in some sort of extra adventure in the Ever After on their way home, in some side continuity- Point is, that topic is so broad and vague that it's almost pointless for me to speculate on what it could be about, especially since RWBY's story isn't finished.

Gameplay

Final Fantasy XIII

Say what you will about the game, most have, but it's a heckin good battle system. It's also one of the first to try to be more actiony and cinematic without fully delving into action rpg, which is good for this. I'd love to have a FF7 Remake style RWBY game, but that's super complicated and, as mentioned, I'm not trying to imagine something too improbably here.

But there's one big reason I gravitated to XIII: Paradigms.

To me, this is a great system to enable team game play in a few possible ways.

I want to actually preface this by mentioning the idea I had before this one. This isn't vital to the gameplay idea, just my thoughts, so you can skip this if you want to. Long story short: I finally played the fangame Sonic RPG episode 10. It was good. It also has an ATB style gameplay, like XIII, so it's actually relevant. The Drive system got me thinking though. It's named after various Sonic characters and gives Sonic a stance system essentially. What if those were just actual team up formations? Like if the game was primarily Ruby calling in Weiss, Blake, and Yang for different formations. Then I just decided, fuck it, why do just Ruby teaming up with the others? Why not just do the whole team? (The Ruby main character with calling in different team mates to back her up is still a good idea though. I'll keep that one in the back pocket)

Back to the important bits: Let's give a rundown for the uninitiated. XIII's combat system doesn't use turns, and instead uses a meter that builds over time to let you perform actions. What actions you can perform are determined by your Paradigm. Each Paradigm focused on something different: Damage, chain building, tanking, healing, buffing, and debuffing.

So, what if I just used Team RWBY's team up formations as stand ins for paradigms? I mean, with 4 members, there would be 6 team up attacks, a perfect number to fit 6 paradigms. Now, these aren't one to one. I did want to take into account how the team up is depicted in RWBY to inform how they should function. This means I've actually modified some of the paradigms to split their roles or take on new ones to satisfy this.

Bumblebee was easy. It fills the slot of Commando, the damage dealer. It's big, strong, but unable to pin down the paladin without assistance. The same is true of XIII's Commando. A big damage dealer, but it needs help from Synergists's buffs and Ravager's chain building to deal it's huge damage.

Freezerburn: Another easy one. FB was used to blind the paladin, so it's easily the Sabateur, the debuffer.

Ladybug is where things slowly begin to shift. My current idea is to make it Ravager-esque. Ravager builds up the stagger meter on enemies, eventually breaking the enemy and letting you deal several times the damage you normally can. There's some differences here though. Ravager uses elemental attacks, this doesn't. I'm also considering whether or not stagger is the bar this kind of game should use. Building a more tradition limit break meter is in the back of my mind, maybe unleashing dual techs or a full team combo. Either way, with this dealing a huge combo of hits, it's obviously the meter builder.

Ice Flower is where I start making bigger changes. This is one of the buffers. Yes, one of them. I've decided to split the buffing between two roles, both of them featuring Weiss actually due to how she uses her glyphs. Because of this split, I'm actually splitting a lot of the other roles too and stitching them together. Due to how this Ice Flower is depicted, I'm thinking adding the offensive and elemental buffs here, while also giving it some attack options. Not sure where they'd lean to in comparison BB, LB, and even FB (since Sabo actually deals some damage), but that could be figured out later. I wanted to figure out overall roles first

Checkmate is the other buffer. You'd think with Schnee-brand haste, it'd be offensive, but nope! I'm making it a defensive role. Yes, not just buffer, role. It's half defensive buffs from Synergist and half Sentinel. Lightning's Sentinel in particular for more of a dodge focused build. Why? Honestly, it was inspired by Amity Arena's interpretation of this team up, being focused on negating attacks and such.

Which brings us to the Unnamed and Unseen Ruby and Yang Team up. That really needs a name at least. So, I'm actually glad this hasn't been shown off. It means I can do whatever I want with it. This makes it perfect to be the only healing role via Ruby's silver eyes and hopeful spirit, as well as pick up the last Sentinel moves with Yang's bulk.

... Alright, that's all I got. Ramble over. We'll see if I make up any more ideas during work. Maybe, maybe not

#RWBY #rambling #RWBY rpg idea #why'd I even post this? #Gotta get the creative juices out or else I'll go insane

[lilithfairen]

Just saw your post on someone from RWDE telling you to do ‘you-know-what’, and, yeah, that’s pretty messed up. Sorry you had to see that. I can assure you that most of us on the RWDE side aren’t like that.

As someone who is constantly stalked and targeted for hate by much of the RWDE tag, and has seen those folks and their harassment being supported by the average RWDE user, I can whole-heartedly assure you that most folks on the RWDE side are like that.

They're like that because hate is the only thing that unites them and gives them a community identity as a hatedom, so they relish in it. Their entire worldview revolves around believing that other people deserve derision and abuse because fans liking something is taking away from them, and if one less fan of RWBY existed, then that's one less person keeping RWBY from being what it "should" be, i.e. exactly and only what they want.

#rwby critics

[itsclydebitches]

So any thoughts on the news from Rooster Teeth regarding The stuff they're putting on the rooster teeth site?

I've only heard about this all second-hand, but the anthology series in particular has me going "Meh" at best and "Not again" at worst. The latter because (as we're all well aware) RWBY has a long history of dividing up information across its (flexible) canon, rather than consolidating it within the story proper, which makes that story... a mess. So I can perfectly picture a version of Volume 10 where important questions/revelations/world building are glossed over—or outright ignored—and when fans rightly want to know why the main characters aren't getting info about what occurred while they were gone, the answer is, "Oh we heard about that in passing in the side show developed during the hiatus." Emphasis on "we"—the viewers. RWBY tends to assume that if the viewer has certain information then they don't need to repeat that for the characters, despite this being a series where secrets and half-truths abound. And while that's a logistical issue all on its own, it also robs us of the chance to see the characters reacting. I don't want to watch a side installment to figure out what was happening in Remnant during Volume 9, then watch a Volume 10 where I have to assume via twitter announcements that the girls maybe learned about an undetermined amount of that stuff off screen. I want to SEE them learning with us in real time and once we have that framework, yeah, then you can flesh it out with an anthology series. It's far more satisfying to learn alongside Ruby that—as a random example—Sun and Neptune had all these cool adventures as a way of forwarding their friendship, then see those adventures animated down the line. As opposed to seeing it and then going, "I guess Ruby heard about that too? Maybe?? They haven't actually interacted on screen yet though, so...."

Of course, this is likely being done not only to fill the RWBY void, but to get our some of that Volume 10 info (epilogue included) in case the real deal is never green-lit. But again, I'd rather have confirmation. If Volume 10 is never going to arrive then fine, I get it, you publish what you can. But if there is still a chance of it happening then RT is shooting itself in the narrative foot by rushing and telling bits of the story too early. The hook of Volume 9's ending is the shock of seeing everyone semi-united in Vacuo, but still dealing with a myriad of problems. What happened immediately after evacuation? How did people rebuild? When (and why tf) did Ruby become this god-like martyr? Have they already spoken to Theodore? What new plans have been made to combat Salem? There are a lot of questions that arise from a time skip, questions the characters share, but if the audience gets many of those answers before they do AND the show doesn't lean into repeating that information for us to indulge in the characters' emotional reactions to it instead... what little that's currently interesting about Volume 10 goes down the drain.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[dextixer]

On Conventions, and why it is good that Roosterteeth is getting rid of RTX.

So, many people have probably already noticed and have been made aware that RTX is not happening this year. I have seen many reactions to these news, anger, joy, satisfaction, dismay etc. What i have also seen is people asking some good questions and making some bad conclussions too, like for example the person talking about how RTX made RT money and the like, so i wanted to put my two cents in.

Do be aware that im not an expert, nor an event organizer myself, the information i will share here has been gathered mostly from the comments and statements made by organizers and those who have participated in these events.

Conventions arent profitable

First things first, everyone should keep this in their minds moving forward. CONVENTIONS ARE NOT PROFITABLE. There are exceptions of course, but at large, most conventions operate at a loss, especially those that occur in the United States.

It all comes down to cost versus earnings ratio, which more often than not, does not fall to the side of earnings. To make a convention, one has to organize a venue, staff, events, security, decorations, catering and many such associated details. Venues alone cost a LOT of money, this is not like me, a random Eastern European dude renting out a specially prepared cottage for a party with friends, Venues are specifically made and built for conventions, they are extremelly sought after and they KNOW it, as such their costs are often jacked up to high heavens, especially since things like location matter to them extremelly. The problem is even worse in the United States where many venues jack up the prices to, quite frankly, criminal ammounts.

Earnings for such events are also, not amazing. Lets remember, most of these conventions are fan-events. So if a convention isnt sponsored by a corporation, most of its earnings will be things like ticket sales, people renting out space for vendors etc, sometimes signatures and even auctions.

As such, most "profitable" conventions are the low-key ones. The ones that are small-scale, that can get cheaper venues, and thus save on the costs while being able to profit.

Big companies can afford to make big conventions at a loss because to them, its partially a flex and partially an advertisement for the company. Think of things like Blizzcon.

RT however is in a shit position of NOT being a big enough company to spend money willy nilly, but also, their conventions are not small enough, to turn in a profit either.

Cutting Fat is good

RT is not in a good state. Those critical of the show and the company in general have known that for a long time now, despite the crying and bleating of some of the biggest of fanatics that "RT IS DOING GREAT GUYS!" and other such nonsense. We know RT is in a shit state, they know that they are in a shit state, everyone with open eyes knows they are in a shit state.

As such, cutting costs is actually good.

For a long time RT has acted as a "big" company due to the success of RWBY. When RWBY blew up, so did RT, they expanded into other animated projects, started high-profile conventions, started hiring TOP class VA's etc. The thing is, the golden years dont always last.

Many a Youtuber has said as much over the years, many of them have shared that they know that they wont be popular forever, and those smart among them build up nest-eggs from the money they earn on Youtube and streaming in general.

If a youtuber refuses to accept that they are becoming less popular, well, their ending can be less than pretty. The same applies to companies like RT. After RWBY became less popular, RT did not have the golden goose anymore. They could not afford to make stupid financial decisions anymore.

So now, they are trimming the fat.

Which is good.

Possible brighter future

Hope for the best, but expect the worst, that is my current opinion on this. Trimming the fat and tightening up that belt might result in RT being able to squeeze out some smaller profile shows and earn enough money to possibly come back to RWBY, or at least make a movie to end it.

It might help the company, and as far as im aware, this is the right step to take. At the same time, this can also just... Not be enough.

#rwby #rwde #roosterteeth

[tsuki-sennin]

Spreading sky! Hero gals! Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure! This is a... very exciting prospect, of course. Not only is it the 20th series and very close to the franchise's 20th anniversary, but we're jostling a lot of franchise traditions! Blue non-human leader, a full-time male Cure, an (entirely unambiguous) adult!

New town, new me. That also means a new tag!

"Hop! Step! Jump! Hero Gals Dream of the Everlasting Sky!"

Y'know, filter that out if you wanna.

Man, imagine liveblogging a PreCure series on time lmao

Spoilers, I guess...

-The sky!

-Skyloft?

-Oh wow, even got giant birds.

-There's Sora-chan. I'll give you a dumb nickname later,

-Skyland Castle!

-Wonder if we'll run into Spyro the Dragon?

-Maybe if we were on a Nintendo console we'd meet Bowser and Donkey Kong.

-Lotsa cute borbs on Skyland, huh?

-Subarashii~! Hapii Basudei~!

-Princess El. You are... a very interestingly designed baby, I'd say.

-How old are you, a year?

-Oh look it's Bebop from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That's neat.

-Kabaton.

-Gonna bomb a fuckin' baby! Okay!

-"Speed up."

-Don't pay that bird enough for this, Sora-chan.

-It's Hero time!

-Oh shit.

-I enjoyed DePaPre's OP an awful lot, but this

-This is a banger right out the gate.

-Gives me very high hopes for the rest of the soundtrack.

-Oh shit, Futari wa callback.

-Ah, even got a notebook opening for the title card, that's cute.

-P i g

-The 7th Chocobo Cavalry has come rushing in.

-Kabaton-ton?

-Very nimble for a big fella, huh?

-In comes Sora-san.

-Hot damn, this girl's must've done mocap for Mirror's Edge.

-Ain't no stopping this dude.

-Ready... Go!

-"I am the girl from the sky! Of the clear sky clan!"

-

-REALLY now, Toei?

-I ain't even gonna dignify that with a response, I'm just gonna move on with my life.

-Dropped the baby.

-Going into strange holes is generally not advised until you're far older, Sora.

-Hydrogen baby.

-Very cute hydrogen baby, might I say.

-Where we at?

-Drop TWO babies at once!

-Pretty Holic~! They sell stationery too~!

-Hurtling at the terminal velocity of... 2 miles an hour.

-That's a car, those're rolling death machines.

-That's Pretty Holic lipstick, that's what we call a "uniting thread".

-"WHY ARE THESE BIRDS SO TINY?!"

-Mashiro-chan, gotcha.

-Sorashido~!

-"My notebook~!"

-Ahhhh, Skyland script.

-Oh god, he's back.

-Underground!

-Ranborg!

-C

-CureTube.

-Curesta. CureTube.

-Gonna write up my fanfic ideas on my CurePad in Pretty Docs, then maybe post 'em up on Cureblr.

-Using the Octagon-washing-machine to dry Octagon-coats on Octagon-hangers.

-"Mashiro-san! Protect Hydrogen Baby with your life."

-"Noooooo pleeease!"

-Smoked out.

-Hot damn, these're some nice angles.

-"Gimme that baby, extra!"

-A fated duel!

-Oh, he went and done it now.

-Tore up her dreams right in front of her.

-Precuuuuuure!

-It's Hero Time!

-Sky mirage! Tone connect!

-Hirogaru Change! Sky!

-Hop! Step! Jump! Clearly she takes inspiration from Ichika Usami.

-Love the side cape.

-Blue sky soaring to infinity! Cure Sky!

-Sora Harewataru... that is, Cure Sky is our hero for this year. She fights for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow!

-She's not quite flying yet. But she is falling with style.

-That's some impact!

-Hirogaru Sky Punch!

-Dig in peace once more.

-You're safe now, citizen!

-Oh, ED time.

-Don't worry Mashiro-chan, you'll get to be Cure Prism in, say... an episode or two? You're voiced by Rabirin, so your odds are pretty good. There's the lad, Cure Wing, voiced by Don Murasame. And Butterfly-oneesan, I haven't actually heard of Ayaka Nanase till yesterday.

-I love the colored pencil aesthetic, I feel seen.

-Very nice ED, very cute.

-Gotta keep the kid safe.

-I've actually been considering a few of options for my unique liveblog tag.

-"I would fly into the sun if that would keep our dream alive" is fitting, but is a bit... loaded a reference for me to make as a RWBY fan.

-I've considered using the lyrics of the Jetman theme or even some old Superman standards, but I thought those'd be a little obvious.

-My Hero Academia and One Punch Man references were considered, of course, but were discarded.

-I reckon what I chose gets the point across well enough, yeah?

-Kinda newspaper headline-y too, as a bonus.

-Well, you know where to find me for next time! See you on the flip side, citizens!

#hirogaru sky precure #hirogaru sky spoilers #hirogaru sky pretty cure #pretty cure #precure #Hop! Step! Jump! Hero Gals Dream of the Everlasting Sky!

[historyhermann]

What the World Thinks of "Velma"

A compilation of some headlines about Velma from various publications since the series debuted in January 2023, showing different views of the series.

Since its debut on HBO Max on January 12, 2023, Velma, the mature animated mystery horror comedy series has made the rounds either on social media platforms like Tumblr, Facebook, and Tik Tok, or in rants by YouTubers, who are hate-watching the series while trying to monetize off people's anger. The series reception has been mixed, with reported "overwhelmingly negative" reviews from the audience, if the show's Wikipedia page is to be believed, with reviewers focusing on issues with the show itself.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-sixth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on March 9, 2023.

Reviewers have argued that the audience reception of Velma is negative, citing audience scores from Rotten Tomatoes, commentary by people on Twitter, low ratings on IMDB, Metacritic, and Google. However, none of those scores are a reliable measure of whether a series, film, or other media is worthwhile to watch. In fact, there is the phenomenon of review bombing, which is undoubtedly the case with Velma, as it was with High Guardian Spice and Magical Girl Friendship Squad. It is when a small group of people give a series, film, or other media, low ratings, causing the overall rating to plummet.

This is further evidenced by the fact that RWBY, a captivating young adult animated series which recently began its ninth season/volume this year, has only about 6,500 ratings on IMDB, while Velma has over 70,000. Over those "users", about 87% gave the rating of 1 star. Furthermore, the fact that Velma has tens of thousands more ratings than Steven Universe or She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, both of which ran for multiple seasons, makes it clear that people review-bombed the series.

One of the many reviews of the series came from Parade magazine. The publication declared that the series premiere "fell flat" with fans, citing Twitter users who called it a "disappointment", and stated that the show downplayed the #MeToo movement. It also noted that some on the social media platform claimed the show had a writing style of making "brown girls that hate themselves," portraying Indian girls as "losers", made Velma a self-insert for Mindy Kaling (who voices Velma), and called it "vulgar". To add to this, on the show's official account, in tweets possibly written by Kaling in the tone of her character, Daphne is described as a character who will be known "for much more than being hot", implying that Velma has feelings for her. Additionally, Velma expresses jealousy that Daphne has two "hilarious moms" and describes them as "Daphne’s police officer moms".

While there is no doubt that the comedic writing of the series isn't always the best, it admittedly flew over my head at times, I don't believe there are any self-hating characters. While Velma seems that she is "self-hating", in reality, she gets more depth as the series moves forward. No character is, by the end of the first season, shown as a loser. In terms of vulgarity, it is important to remember that vulgar means "of the common people", and it can be a charge leveled against LGBTQ+ people (and content).

In contrast, Ed Power of The Telegraph, a conservative British tabloid, claimed that the series "sexualized" teens, has "juvenile humor" and treats Fred as a stereotype. He also said the series is not "clever or subversive", but it rather an "accumulation of bad decisions", and claimed that the "left" and "right" united against the series. He also declared that some online had taken issue with Kaling's political views.

While I'm not sure about her exact political views are, apart from speaking out against White producers, it is important to remember she is only an executive producer of the series and is not even the series creator (that's Charlie Grandy). So, it seems wrong to say the series is "hers". Otherwise, Fred is no stereotype, as his character somewhat grows over the course of the series.

As noted earlier, some people have criticized Kaling's views, including when she liked a tweet of transphobe J.K. Rowling at one point. However, she is only part of the crew, as there are many other people working on Velma. In any case, it is better to examine the show's positives and negatives instead of just on the views of one individual.

Furthermore, other than the shower scene in the first episode (which seems to be a reference to similar scenes in horror films), it does not appear that the series sexualizes anyone. Velma has nothing like the ecchi-esque themes in My Dress-Up Darling, cringe-worthy scenes in Akebi's Sailor Uniform, sexual assault in Citrus, or the protagonist of The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!, Jahy, who wears a dirty long t-shirt and shorts (and a revealing outfit after she transforms into her demon form for temporary period of time). All of these series have fan service up the wazoo. In contrast, Velma does not have that.

As for being "clever" and "subversive", I would argue that Velma was never attempting to do either. Nor is the series a complete waste of time and energy as Nadria Goffe of Slate argued. I disagree with Goffe's claim that the show is misogynist, based on actions in the series by female characters and the fact that some (like Velma's stepmom) are toxic. At the same time, I agree that "race-swapped rebranding" can be good, when its done well.

One of the more interesting aspects of Velma is how many of the relationships of the protagonists with their families are rocky, and unhealthy. There are too many series, especially in animation, which portray families as positive and without problems. While that is the case for some people, it isn't the case for many others. One example of this is how Velma doesn't always get along with her dad, and even less with her stepmother, and another instance is how controlling Fred's parents can be of his life. This contrasts with Norville, who remains supported by his parents through it all.

It also differs from the relationship Daphne has with her two detective moms. The series bucks the trope of finding your "real" parents, since Daphne believes that she is reconnecting with her birth parents (Brenda and Darryl), who are members of the Crystal Mines gang,. But, it turns out they are just manipulating her. Even so, the reunion of Velma with her two moms afterward cannot compare with the heartfelt revelation of Turanga Leela's two parents in the fourth season of Futurama.

Goffe states that they don't know who the show is made for. I'd presume that the series is made for Indian-American women, and other adults, but that's just my guess. I also disagree with the argument by Shirley Li, of The Atlantic, that the series punishes its audience for being invested in the characters. In fact, I would argue that the series does reward viewers to some extent, as Daphne and Velma, especially, become more relatable, despite their personality flaws, in some regards.

Aysia Iftikar of Pink News noted that fans have relentlessly criticized the series, citing the show for "perpetuating stereotypes against South Asian women...poor attempts at self-aware comedy and...losing the essence of what people love about the Scooby Doo gang." She also stated that some took issue with the "crude" adult humor and said the show "annihilated" the character of Velma in previous iterations. Those are of Indian descent would have a different view of the series than me, as a White man, so I can't, personally, speak to any possible stereotypes in the series when it comes to South Asian women. On the other hand, I agree with those who argue that Kaling is being held to an "impossible standard" as compared to other producers and creators.

Much of the aforementioned criticism seems to stem from the fact that Velma is a stark contrast from its predecessors. There is no rule that reboots or revivals have to be the same as the original series. To give an example, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is different from The Proud Family, as it is more glitzy than its predecessor. So, it is no surprise that Velma would not have the same structure, humor, or plot than those Scooby-Doo series that came before it, which were aimed at all-ages, rather than adults. This is especially the case since Scooby-Doo is not part of the series, which is an understandable decision.

Comments by the above-mentioned reviewers pale in comparison to Taylor Henderson's review on Pride.com, which states that Velma doesn't "live up to the hype" and is a "crude, cliche, self-aware...incoherently violent...thinking mess of a series". He adds that bisexual energy from Velma and Daphne doesn't "save" the series. The latter sentiment was echoed by Heather Hogan of Autostraddle. While there is undeniably "hype" around the series, and it surely is crude and cliche, and even self-aware, I have to laugh at the comment about "incoherent" violence in the series.

The series is much tamer, in its violence, than the Indian Tegulu blockbuster film, RRR, which includes a scene of British colonists mauled by wild animals, the extreme violence in Akiba Maid War (especially in the first episode), the blood-filled scenes throughout The Legend of Vox Machina, or the occasionally gruesome scenes in gen:LOCK, especially in the last season. Perhaps Velma is a mess, as Henderson points out, but it has some merits.

Joshua Alston of Variety magazine posed similar arguments, calling the series "irreverent to a fault", designed to be "labeled a childhood-ruining travesty", and said while Velma centers Velma's queer identity, it is not groundbreaking. Alston also says the characters are "unpleasant" to spend time around, notes the number of pop culture references and referential jokes", and asks why the show needs to exist at all.

Alston makes good points, in terms of the number of reference to pop culture or referential jokes, and the fact that the show isn't groundbreaking, considering the recent LGBTQ animated characters in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, RWBY: Ice Queendom, Dead End: Paranormal Park, and Star Trek: Lower Decks, to name a few. At the same time, I would argue that the characters are designed to be unpleasant and not-all-together likable. I see a likeness to the Never Have I Ever protagonist Devi Vishwakumar. She is not the most likable person, and can be a jerk to people, with her behavior said to make her a "real person" in the eyes of some.

Angie Han, TV critic for The Hollywood Reporter, takes a different tact. She says that the series employs many common tropes, is extremely self-aware, is like Riverdale, and states that the characters are "joke-delivery machines" rather than individuals. She further says that Velma doesn't lose sight of the affection for the heroine, has thoughtful and emotionally honest moments, and criticizes the emphasis on "snark over heart," noting that is something the show could "stand to consider for itself."

In terms of the reviewers I noted so far in this post, I agree with Han above any of the others because she is more fair and less negative. One of the show's weaknesses is that it falls in line with the same tropes in shows like Riverdale, just as Wednesday does repeatedly. But, Velma does not include the harmful anti-Black underones that Wednesday has, in part because Black characters are not villains in this series. The jokes can be stale and the pop culture references will mean little if it is watched a few years from now, just as similar humor in Futurama doesn't land as well now as it did when it aired. On the other hand, the show's emotional honesty and thoughtfulness at times are some of the strongest moments.

There are a few more reviews I'd like to mention before ending this post. One of those is from Liz Shannon Miller in Consequence. She argues that there is "too much jammed into this series" and that there is "no clear focus". She also states that the series feels toned down as compared to mature animation currently in development, while truing to be "super-edgy".

On the other hand, Miller praises the voice acting and the "bright, poppy, and fun" animation, and criticizes the writing as inadequate. I'd have to agree as the writing can be lackluster, but would say that although the show's focus can be disparate, it is be strongest when Velma or Daphne are solving mysteries of their own, whether about birth parents (in the case of Daphne) or an evil scientist switching brains (in the case of Velma).

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times and Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly said the same thing as Miller. Roeper criticized the jokes and humor as exhausting, the writing as subpar, while praising the casting as diverse. Franich described the show as a "new bland, a deconstructed canonical bonanza pulled right off the corporate assembly line" and stated that Harley Quinn, also on HBO Max, is better constructed, and stronger, an argument with some merit. This is undoubtedly the case as Velma does try and poke at storytelling methods, like flashbacks and callbacks, but Harley Quinn does the same more effectively.

The views of Roeper and Miller are aligned with what is stated on the show's Rotten Tomatoes page: that the show has "plenty of attitude and style" but does not have the "first clue for how to turn its clever subversion into engaging fun." For one, I would argue that the series is more dramatic than funny, although it's writing can be lacking, it is not bland. It is different than previous iterations, but is not "subversive". Kaling, herself, never described the series that way.

In an October 2022 review, she told Entertainment Weekly that it was fun to voice Velma, that she and Charles? Grandy were "inspired by Into the Spider-Verse", said that with animation they could do anything, and stated "the essence of Velma is not necessarily tied to her whiteness...I identify so much as her character...so many people do...[so we decided,] let's make her Indian in this series." She further said that Velma is the hart of the show, that she is a "big fan of Scooby Doo," and that Velma felt like the best character "to handle a scarier environment" similar to Veronica Mars and Riverdale. In addition, Grandy said the idea of the series is not to "completely replace" previous shows, but just to be a "one little weird ice planet in the Scoobyverse."

In his article, Toon4Thought puts it well. He argued that he didn't mind changes to characters or get behind the "visceral hatred" for Velma Instead, he criticized the show's writing and praised the actual mystery as "engaging enough". He added that the writing for the characters feels "very haphazard" and more like Family Guy than a dramatic character-driven story. Even so, he argued that the show could use a rewrite to fix inconsistencies in characters and balance humor, but  said that people were disingenuous with approaching the series, especially with claims it was a "franchise killer". He concluded by saying that, overall, the show was a letdown, with clumsy and unfocused writing, and said that while an audience can demand better and rip media to shreds, "we also can and should not be assholes about it."

I have to agree with Toon4Thought, even more than others I've mentioned in this post. Before Velma, I've watched shows strongly disliked, by a core group of people, such as gen:LOCK and High Guardian Spice, and especially enjoyed watching the latter. However, Velma was nothing like either of those series. Sometimes, the show made good points, like in the seventh episode when Velma crossdresses as a guy named "Manny", everyone appreciates her worst qualities, and the series makes fun of how a guy can "do anything" and their male power. In addition, there is a social commentary in the final episode about human experimentation, corporate power, and even hypnosis. However, the latter is not as evocative as that in Jordan Peele's well-known horror film, Get Out, where the protagonist, Chris Washington, is hypnotized to purportedly "cure" his addiction to smoking.

This brings me to two reviews from CBR. In the first of these, by Sean Migalla, argued that the series "struggled" through the first season, with a "lack of commitment" to plotlines, but can "find its footing" in a second season. He also said the second season wouldn't be under the microscope as much as the first season. The second, by Joshua M. Patton, argued that the show is indicative of an "identity crisis" among new owners of HBO Max (Warner Bros. Discovery), calling it a "callous remixing" of Scooby-Doo which would do better if it was family-friendly. He concludes that it pushed boundaries in "desperate reach for an edge" and is formulaic in contrast to Harley Quinn.

Part of what Migalla and Patton are talking about is indicative in episode 8 of Velma, which appears to make fun of flashbacks and their use in storylines, with the flashbacks of each of the main characters intersecting with each other. That same episode further reinforces their arguments, as there are many intersecting plotlines, callbacks to the original series, and romantic drama. Patton is right that the show tries to be edgy. For example, in episode 9, Norville makes fun of Teddy Roosevelt as a murderous imperialist, but never expands upon his one-off comment. The new owners of HBO Max may be in a bit of a crisis of identity over the company's new CEO, David Zaslav, engaging in a content purge, angering many animators.

Apart from these reviews is an article by Kate Francis in Digital Spy. She notes the "abject disappointment" of fans over Velma, and hopes that the series can take in the feedback of fans and "come back swinging with fresh Scooby content soon." While I have my criticisms of the series, I hope that what Francis is talking about happens, and the second season of the series allows the show to blossom, coming back even stronger than before.

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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