#Salem teaching The Hound

[ficretus]

Theory: Speculating about Summer Maiden

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

CURRENT SUMMER MAIDEN:

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

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

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

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

GATHERING CLUES:

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

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

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

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

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

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

______________________________________________________________

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

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

______________________________________________________________

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

CANDIDATES:

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

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

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

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

______________________________________________________________

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

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

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

_____________________________________________________________

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

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

[citadelofmythoughts]

Here’s an interesting idea. We know that Grimm can learn and live for centuries. Well what if RWBY met a Grimm that has not only been around since the gods left and actually refuses to follow Salem, but has actually managed to teach itself how to talk, even if just barely.

Like the hound, but 100% Grimm

Oh I don't want to give too much away but there's something...similar? Kinda? Coming in my SREN fic.

But not so similar that you couldn't run with this idea in your own fic, trust me lol.

I do like the idea of an absurdly ancient Grimm.

[player-1]

While I'm hoping to get ch 1 and 2 up, that'll be a while though. Still I have some important bits that I want to explore:

-While the Nexomon series always followed the silent protag scheme, I kinda want to make Luke (N:E protag) a bit more reactive to what's going on around him besides a few plot beats that will go right past his head. I imagine he has more of a puppy-dog personality whenever he's comfortable or quirky and very protective about his friends when the going gets tough (it'll be more of a slow burn before The Realization but there will be plenty of hints sprinkled about). And even if I also consider Extinction's story as "a new legend retold through the generations", I also wanted to tone down how many people know Luke's name unless he tells it (ie. writes it down on a notebook) or Coco/Nora/Ross introduces him, nor does everyone magically knows sign language (besides Deena, Mentor/Ulrich, and Luke's friends/siblings).

-Besides Luke canonically being mute, I wanted to mix up some aspects of the default avatar and the "alternate version" that seem pretty close to what the Omnicron fam have as a human disguise, namely the contrasting stripes of hair Luke would usually cover with his goggles. And another thing would be adding the little paw rings, star-like crest, and sharper teeth from Solus just because, and it will mostly culminate into Luke believing he has “birth defects” that make him the way he is and is pretty insecure about it (which seems harsh but Ulrich and family tries their best to give him more self-confidence).

-More! Family! Fluff!

Even if Deena ran the risk of getting hounded by the Drakes if she simply breathed in Luke's direction story-wise, she will do everything in her power to be there for him emotionally and teach him the in’s and out’s of the Guild (which is a task failed successfully on her part the second Luke figures out she knows sign (an automatic friend to him)). Even if the Primordial Tyrants are mostly meant to teach Luke how to control the Tyrant of Light, they'll have their own way of showing their praise to him (positive or not); not to mentioning sprinkling in some Metta mentions/“lore” since he’s the uncle none of them want to talk about but actively seethe over since he’s one of many factors for causing this whole mess in the first place. Ulrich would definitely be the tough but caring mentor/uncle/pseudo father-figure that he was forced to be cause of Deena that unfortunately stuck to him over the years and not-so-subtly being the favorite out of all the other kids (not that he wants to admit it outright). And of course, Luke's "siblings"/friends would have a stronger bond outside of living together in the Orphanage (Coco moreso out of "jokingly" being monsters (Luke with his muteness and other "defects" and Coco being Coco), even if the Guild slowly drives them apart with the Tyrant shenanigans.

-The normal Tyrants have the same storyline (besides a few changes), but the Abyssals will have more of an air of mystery to the main story; whether they confused the Guild about their enigmatic motives, why their bones are all out of whack compared to what they really look like, or the main culprit creating these monstrosities over a millennium and never getting caught. And since Deena, Keith (aka. Ghost of Nexomon Past), and Hilda were directly involved with Venefelis/Salem; I suppose they would have some doubts if she finally changed for good as well as having some guilt about Salem staying in undead limbo since the punishment doesn't fit the crime at this point (mostly told by Deena). So out of the goodness of his heart (and the Guild coincidentally being notified of the disturbance), Luke takes the chance to break the curse and bring her back to the physical world...And then the Abyssal storyline begins.

-And finally with Byeol the mystery "Tyrant", the cheeky little cherub deserves more recognition and potential to impact the larger story. For example, if Byeol is considered a regular Tyrant, how was he created since his Primordial Tyrant (ie. Metta) was supposed to be dead and there isn’t a Renegade fighting to make him the new King of Monsters? How wasn't he targeted by the Drakes or even mentioned by the other Renegades since the Guild somewhat know about Byeol but know nothing about his motives or said Renegade? And if all that Venefelis/Salem did was stay trapped in Pinewoods for 1,000 years, how did she know about the Spencer family vaults and have a key, have a Perfect Berry despite not being able to eat as a ghost, and knowing everything about where the Abyssals were buried and Precursor Mountain? It's almost like she had some kind of accomplice to help her learn about the outside world and indirectly allow her plan her future revenge plot...

Other than that, I'll consider getting asks up if anyone’s up to anything Nexomon related. I have more than enough energy to ramble until Nexomon 3 finally starts coming out of the woodwork.

#nexomon #nexomon spoilers #nexomon extinction #nexomon extinction spoilers #nexomon abyssal spoilers #nexomon byeol #long post #Nexomon 3 when?

[kaiyeti]

Cinder: So now that you have the staff of creation. What will be the first thi-

Salem: *Actives the staff and when Ambrosius Instantly holds out a rolled up scroll.* I want you to make this.

Ambrosius: Hmm. Straight to the point I see. Alright. Lets take a look at what you want me to built. *Takes the scroll as they make a pair of glasses to look over it.* Hmm Small yet very very details and complex. 

Salem: Can you make it?

Ambrosius: Of course. Just one moment. *The blue being claps his hands together and with a few swith motions creates a chambers.*

Cinder: What is this? *She asked as Salem places the lamp inside and turns a dial on it.* You had him make a vault?

Salem: Don’t be silly Cinder. I had him make a time chamber.

Cinder: A... Time chamber?

Ambrosius: Yes. according to these blue prints  anything place in the chamber will go forward of backward in time. In this case your... Mother?

Salem: Teacher for now. 

Ambrosius: Right. Teacher, is fast forearding the time for the lamp by a hundred years.

Cinder: Oh I see. *Watchs Salem remove the lamp and holds it up.*

Salem: Jinn. 

Jinn: *Jinn forms out of the lamp* MMMMm. My My That was a quick hundred years. Oh Hello again Ambrosius.

Ambrosius: Greetings to you as well.

Jinn: I assume you helped in my speed nap? *Before the blue man could answer the blue woman Salem cleared her throat.* Exucse me. I am Jin and I will answer three of your-

Salem: Has Cinder kill Ruby Rose in her failed attempt to disobey me once again?

Cinder: Wh-What? My queen I told you that- *Cinder began before her grimm arm grabbed her throat and started to squeeze.*

Salem: You lied to me about you mute friend killing Ruby and Watts fate, which I am willing to over look do to the remaining kingdoms won’t be in Watts’ area of expertise. However, I will not have that silver eyes girl interfere with my plans again because of your inability to follow simple instructions. *Turns back to Jin.* Continue please.

Jinn: ... Ruby Rose... Is no longer in this world.

Salem: And yet that isn’t a yes or no.

Jinn: *Jinn smirked.* Clever girl. No. Ruby Rose is still alive but not in this world.

Ambrosius: I warned them not to fall.

Salem: I see. Is there a possibility of her returning?

Jinn: It is slim but yes.

Salem: Interesting. One last question, *Salem smiled as she lifted a finger summoning grimm arms to bind Cinder.* Since I will have to teach my dear Cinder a learn in honesty, *Salem steps closer to Cinder and gently strokes unscarred cheek* How long will Cinder need to be submerge in the pools of grimm to make her into my new hound? 

#rwby #rwby jinn #rwby ambrosius #rwby salem #cinder fall

[jungle-angel]

Feral Children Prompts

Bit of a tough day at work, but at least it’s been giving my brain some excellent ideas for writing prompts (lol). Fandoms include the usual, Top Gun Maverick, Outer Range, Bad Times at the El Royale, Salem’s Lot and, this will be crossed over with Outer Range, YELLOWSTONE!!!!!!!!

1. “No, black with white stripes is NOT A KITTY!!!!!” 

2. “What are you doing with (insert insane object here)?

3. Muddy kids

4. The kids coming home with ripped pants

5. “This kid just ate his/her weight in wild berries” 

6. “We’re not keeping wild animals as pets” 

7. “Ight kiddos, your Aunt/Uncle/Grandpa is gonna teach you how to light off fireworks” 

8. “Release the hound” 

9. Soda can/pine cone/crab apple wars

10. The kids wandering around in the woods all day

11. “Mommy!! Daddy!!! Look what we found!!” 

12. Frog jumping at the lake

13. Tin can fishing

14. Building a stick and rock fort

15. Rock wars

16. The Goonies

17. The town church lady saying the kid is too feral for their own good and then realizing her mistake when she learns who their father is

18. Building an Evil Keneval bike ramp with the neighborhood hoodlums

19. Causing trouble with the hooligans over the hill

20. The kids reenacting the Hoth battle from Star Wars in the dead of winter

21. The animal whisperer

22. “No that is NOT apple juice!” 

23. Their child being the youngest barrel racing champ

24. A slight accident with the spaghetti

25. Hunting for horny toads

26. Fence climbing/jumping

27. The kids finding their parents cassette/mix tapes

28. Kids say the darndest things

29. Playing with their toy cars and trucks in a fresh mud puddle

30. Trying to cook/bake on their own or with Dad and making a total mess

31. Blanket and pillow fort

32. “RAAAAWR I’M A DRAGON!!!!” 

33. The Underwear Game (two kids fight to the death to get a pair of shorts over each other’s heads)

34. Sneaking cookies/baked goods from under mom’s nose and Dad being an instigator

35. The kids watching Jurassic Park and later building an entire scene with their toy dinosaurs

36. The kids tending to the animals

37. The kids going on a field trip to the fire station and later wanting to play firefighters when they get home

38. “Darlin this one’s a little streaker!!!” 

39. What’s bathtime like for them?

40. The kids playing “stop-hitting-yourself” on a long car ride

41. Using Mom’s yoga mat to slide down the stairs

42. Jumping down the staircase and onto a mattress on the landing

43. The kid(s) hiding under the bed while mom and dad watch a grown up movie

44. The dog being just as feral as the kids

45. Playing “roadkill” on the swings

46. The kids hiding in the haypiles in the barn

47. Bike riding in the local cemetery

48. The kids playing WWE on the trampoline

49. The kids hitching a ride on the back of a firetruck and their parents chasing after them

50. Bless this mess

#top gun maverick #outer range #bad times at the el royale #salem's lot #yellowstone outer range crossover

[onewomancitadel]

Some thoughts about Winter, Cinder and parent figures in RWBY

You know, Brawl in the Family (V3:E3) is a great introduction for Winter’s character. We’re basically immediately told that Winter, despite otherwise contrary overtures, loves her sister and cares about her emotional wellbeing, and also needs to rebel against a patriarchal figure for the future of her character arc (but is reined in by Ironwood, the patriarch she turned to after her father).

Qrow’s the perfect character for this. He’s paternal, but he’s also not a rulemaker, in fact the very opposite - and is the cool uncle. He’s ‘safe’ for Winter to rebel against (and signal the future of her arc), because he is opposing Atlesian measures (which is why I love when he’s paired up with Robyn in V8). Of course, their fight is also cut short by Ironwood, which to me is structurally quite clear that Ironwood is part of what’s keeping Winter in arrested development. (This is like... just symbolism - I’m not saying Winter is ‘childish’, but she did trade one abusive father figure for another, much like Cinder - and transition from child/teenagedom into adulthood - indeed, Maidenhood - is just metaphorically portrayed here, like, spiritual/personal growth, and generational inheritance).

Also, I like how Winter is kind of play-acting parental kind of telling-off - ‘if you won’t hold your tongue, then I’ll gladly remove it for you!’ like okay. She’s really enjoying picking a fight, lol.

Anyway, I just like how clever that is, because Cinder and Raven’s fight mirrors this in Volume 5 (where Raven is also ironically ‘mothering’ her, and also demonstrating use of the Maiden powers) - Raven and Qrow are both safe parental figures for Cinder and Winter to rebel against, because they cannot yet do so against Salem and Ironwood (both figures they swapped out allegiance to after breaking free from their abusive step-mother and father, respectively).

And Cinder also gets to be similarly mouthy with her when challenged about the Grimm arm, and there’s even that shot where Cinder is on her knees (which we know she’s forced to be with her step-mother and Salem) and talks back at Raven:

which honestly, is a great demonstration of how conflict can be healthy! Basically, I’m trying to demonstrate that conflict and rebellion is actually necessary, but it had been disallowed in their character arcs.

There are also two other really great points about this fight:

1. Raven teaches Cinder a lesson (always watch her back) and also reminds her to be clever (which we know Cinder to be, but she’s relearning that she is, and she’s also persistently undermined by others around her), but Cinder is also teaching Raven a lesson (how to mother... kind of).

2. It’s a collision of Knowledge and Choice, if the theory that Raven knows what happened to Summer (and Summer is a Grimm) is true - it might explain Raven’s relative lack of surprise, too - and I don’t think Cinder was exactly fully consenting of the Grimm arm. So, Raven is immobilised by Knowledge (Spring Maiden, guardian of Knowledge), and Cinder is immobilised by Choice without full Knowledge (what will happen to her with the Grimm arm).

Actually, this first lesson? This happens to Winter, too. Qrow spots Ironwood coming, and lets Winter reap the consequences and learn from them:

Elegantly, we see this lesson reprised in Volume 8. Marrow isn’t watching his back: Winter is.

So, she is able to save somebody she’s framed as being older than (first Specialist we’re introduced to, outranking them) from the patriarch’s cruelty. This is, in a way, something she was not able to do with Weiss (and something Willow couldn’t do), and honestly - that is not an indictment on her character, but I think for her own personal feelings it can be redeeming. Additionally, this is also the volume where Willow’s complicated relationship with her children is further explored, and mother and son are able to save the girls from the Hound (who is also symbolically connected to Ruby’s mother - basically, love, and contextually, parental love, as well as ‘facing the truth’ - especially after Ruby’s silver eyes reveals the Hound is a person - can be salvific).

(As an additional note - I think Ironwood’s killing of Jacques is really effective for portraying what he’s become, that is, he essentially destroys Weiss’ opportunity for kindness towards her father, not forgiveness, but a kindness, before his confrontation once again with Winter. He denies both a rebellion and a reconciliation.

Oh, and also actually - Penny saving Winter from Ironwood is beautiful as a representation for the way communal bonds can be powerfully freeing. Penny’s new role as Creator literally helps Winter rebirth herself through a matriarchal (Maiden) figure).

Anyway, Ironwood can’t handle somebody challenging him, but challenge and conflict is GOOD. Marrow’s sense of morality is good. And there’s this wonderful chain of causal effect, that Winter’s fight with Qrow eventually culminates in this: saving Marrow’s life, and subsequently, the rest of V8 which follows, saving Atlesian and Mantle citizens.

In a similar way, at her own pace, Cinder shirks off Watts’ false parenthood by killing him, and tricking him with her cleverness and stroking his ego.

I actually push back against Watts as an actual parental figure the way Qrow or Raven are stand-ins, or if he is, he’s not teaching a lesson, so much as reinstating Cinder’s complex about Atlas elite. In a similar way that Tyrian is mimicking Mercury’s father (and because Mercury is symbolically part Cinder’s inner child, Cinder’s abusive step-mother), Watts is also a false parent. By contrast, Hazel parentally sacrifices himself for Emerald (and, indeed, Oscar, emphasising his own humanity and the way he’s grown this volume), which is part of why Emerald is able to free herself from Salem, and move on from her own arrested development (seeking parent figures) and begin her new path figuring out things for herself.

The key difference with Watts is that he’s lecturing her. It’s not actually a lesson she can learn from: he’s lecturing her and he likes the sound of his own voice, and really, his lesson is about himself and his own overdeveloped ego.

I know this was considered a funny line, (’if only somebody had warned you...’), but the key here is that this is not how you parent children (children/teenagers respond to consequences and positive modelling... and maybe a swordfight?). I think this is also key to understanding why Cinder’s redemption arc is more protracted than Winter’s, though they do reflect one another.

So, anyway, later on, I do really like that when Winter finally turns against Ironwood when he’s gone too far, Qrow is with Robyn, there to assist. You have to free yourself from restrictive parental authority and learn the ropes, but there can still be paternal figures there to support you.

This, I think, is also why V6 especially focuses on moving beyond parental figures and receiving support instead of direction (setting up V7/V8 theming, as well as Cinder’s backstory). Ruby can do this in a gentler way with Qrow, and obviously receives guidance from Maria, but she also figures out how to be clever on her own - literally removing the other voices in her ear telling her what to do:

However, it is also the memory - (’I’ll be part of you’) - of Ruby’s mother that finally helps her use her Silver Eyes (basically igniting her soul). So, there is a reconciliation of parental themes here: Ruby rebels against Qrow and Oz’s direction, but the memory and love of her mother also guides her.

It’s about balance. Also, this sequence makes me cry every time. It’s so beautiful. (However, I’ll also note here that Ruby still needs to reckon with her mother - as we learnt in V8, so this isn’t over yet, and neither is Cinder’s arc. So, I think that whilst Winter and Cinder’s arcs closely mirror one another, the length of Cinder and Ruby’s arcs with their mother figures will be the ones structurally most related - especially as Cinder, or, Rhodopis like in Herodotus’ Cinderella (literally ‘rose-faced’) is the villain protagonist to Ruby’s heroine).

Anyway! I really love what Winter vs. Qrow and Cinder vs. Raven represent structurally (especially for the latter re: Yang, because Raven is like ‘learning to mother’ through these final few episodes of V5, it’s very good). I think we can also tentatively say that in a similar way to Qrow assisting Winter in V8, Raven may play a similar role in Cinder’s future arc, for the better.

I enjoy the intergenerational themes in the show a lot, so this is a lot of fun for me to think about, and really in my opinion - this applies to nearly every single character in the show, because this is such a big deal. It’s even present in the cosmic relationship of Salem vs. Gods of Creation and Destruction, who are both patriarchal, condescending figures. I can’t really go into that right now, but it’s definitely food for thought!

I would say though, in summary, these interactions and relationships are the show’s broader themes writ small. ​

#cinder fall #winter schnee #raven branwen #qrow branwen #my RWBY tag that is not for cindemption #oh wow I noticed SO many similarities between the two fights! even more than I thought were present #so interesting #rwby analysis

[tumblezwei]

why are silver eyed warriors your type? give us your essay

Silver eyes warriors so far have 3 defining traits that are consistent through every adaptation of canon

1. They are very powerful and skilled fighters that are often lone wolves

2. They have an overwhelming love for people and always go out of their way to protect them

3. They are ridiculously reckless and/or self-sacrificing in the process, more often than not leading to tragic ends

Maria Calavera spent her entire life as the Grimm Reaper, travelling alone and vanquishing Grimm whenever she encountered them. She was a personal idol of Qrow's, a real life hero who's reign was cut short after Salem took notice of her and Tock cut out her eyes. She's the one who teaches Ruby that life is precious and must be protected.

The Warrior in the Woods was much the same, a village's silent protector for years who was so good at her job that those in the village didn't even believe Grimm existed. In the end it could only be guessed what her fate was, but it was heavily implied that she was finally killed by Grimm.

Summer Rose was the pinnacle of self-sacrifice. The super mom that loved Yang like her own child and was so determined to protect her love ones that she faced Salem on her own, leaving a deep scar in the hearts of her team and her family after her passing. And, of course, we now know what her fate ultimately became.

TR the Hound (I nicknamed him Tea Rose) is the only one we don't know much about, but I can guess his life was spent pretty similarly to the rest. And we all know how he ended up.

And Ruby Rose, our glorious leader who bottles up her feelings and desperately fights for her friends as she breaks down inside. I don't think there's any denying how much Ruby cares about people, and how hard she tries to save them. We can only hope she breaks the tragic cycle that is the SEWs end.

So like, I like sad characters that love people. Don't give me the misanthropic asshole that learns to love, give me the bubbly girl that does love, she loves so much that she ignores her own hurt because it's not worth caring about in comparison. Give me that "Only I can Save The World" hero without the arrogance.

#ask #anon #I think about the Warrior and how she died with barely a single acknowledgement every single day of my life #I think about Maria fading out of the public's eye in an instant because no one even knew what she looked like #I think about Ruby Rose standing alone at a cliffside grave attracting a horde of grimm and dealing with all of them by herself

[itsclydebitches]

re: that ask you posted a couple days ago about the male and female representation in RWBY, part of what makes RWBY's whole 'girl power' thing ring exceptionally hollow to me is the fact that there are like... no women in positions of real power in remnant. like at all. except the big bad.

winter is second in command to james. glynda is second in command to ozpin. all of the headmasters are men (for no discernible reason, imo; why theodore and not dorothea?). the leader of the ace ops was a white man (and then winter seemed to take over clover's position instead of either of the women of color on the team, and she was still second to james). RWBY is an all girl team, but JNPR was led by a boy despite a girl arguably being far more qualified (pyrrha). the happy huntresses are all women, and robyn had no real power to speak of--she didn't even manage to win the election, because jacques rigged it, and then the council ceased to matter. there was one (1) woman on the council, but she was so inconsequential that i can't even remember her name. (i suppose we're lucky it was the guy and not her who james shot lol) jacques controls the SDC instead of willow, even though he's not even a schnee by blood and actually married into the family for power. (and we don't even know how he got it over his wife.)

and then there's the white fang, which ghira led and not kali--and it's ghira who leads menagerie itself, while kali seems to be a housewife. sienna had five minutes of screentime before being brutally killed and her position assumed by adam, a man. cordovin is basically a one off lackey we haven't even thought about before or since. neo was second to roman. you have cinder, sure, who is a second but to salem, a woman, and raven as the leader of the branwen tribe--but what does it really say about your 'girl power' narrative when the only women with genuine systemic power in your world are villains or antagonists with massive bodycounts??

atla has the same sort of problem--a couple great female characters, but all the leadership positions are men (except the kyoshi warriors, an all girls group, and even then the leader of their island is an old man) and the one female mentor figure also turns out to be evil--but it at least has some great writing to help overlook that fact, and it came out in the mid-00's and so has some sort of excuse of being a product of its time. but rwby didn't even start until 2013 and it's still going and still making these kinds of decisions well into 2021.

where is this supposed girl power, exactly? am i really supposed to overlook the very patriarchal worldbuilding just because the title characters are girls?

That's an excellent summary of the situation, anon, and as with so much in RWBY, it comes down to the full context. Any one of these examples isn't necessarily going to mean much on its own. It's when you look at the pattern that you can start making a case for those conclusions: Why is the show marketed on "girl power" set in a world where men hold the vast majority of that power? And, more importantly, why is that setup not the point? We could easily have a story where that lopsided gender dynamic is the problem that the girls are looking to fix, but... that story doesn't exist. Like the problems discussed with Jaune, the supposed point here exists only on the surface. Dig just the tinniest bit — the above — and you hit on a lot of structural problems with this "girl power" world.

To add just a few details to what you've already said:

Salem indeed has power, but she's never allowed to fully use it. Each volume the frustration with this grows as Salem accumulates more abilities and then just sits on them. From literally hiding out for a thousand years to worries that she won't use the Staff in Volumes 9-10, Salem really isn't allowed to be the threat she's presented as on the surface. And yes, this is absolutely due in part to the "She's too OP and the writers don't know how to let her be that powerful while still having the heroes win" issue, but again, context. That problem doesn't exclude others occurring simultaneously.

Same double explanation with Summer. Yes, dead moms are an incredibly common trauma to dump on a protagonist, but it still left Yang and Ruby with Tai as their primary influence. And Qrow. The uncle becomes the extended family influence while Raven is the absent one/eventual antagonist. It's personal power as opposed to political power, but Tai, Qrow, Ozpin, formerly James... most of the mentors are men. Maria, a key exception, has been ignored in that regard. The story announced that she was Qrow's inspiration, setup her being Ruby's new mentor, and then... nothing. Nothing has come of that. She disappeared for a volume and then went off to Amity and was literally forgotten by the story when evacuating everyone was the finale's whole point.

Like that Endgame moment I mentioned, the Happy Huntresses feel a little too forced to me. Yes, it's the same basic idea as in ATLA, but ATLA, as you say, has a lot more going for it. The Happy Huntresses feel... on the nose? Idk exactly how to explain it. Like, "Here they are! Another team of all women! Isn't this how progressive storytelling works? Just ignore how this is a one-off team of minor characters compared to the world building issues discussed above." And if you're not paying attention, you miss just how insignificant they are, with a side of Robyn being, well, Robyn. The Kyoshi Warriors, at least, are based off of Kyoshi. A woman avatar who is a significant part of their history. That is, presumably, why they're an all women warrior group (but who notably still teach Sokka). The Happy Huntresses are all huntresses because...? There's no reason except that meta "We want to look progressive" explanation. Just like having all the women superheroes team up for a hot second so people get excited and ignore the representation problems across, what? 21 films? Don't get me wrong, I love that May is among the Happy Huntresses. I think including her in the explicitly all-women group was one of the better things RWBY has done in a long time, but the rest is still a mess.

RWBY is arguably about these smaller groups as opposed to systematic power (despite the writers trying to work that in with things like the White Fang and the election. Not to mention the implication that everything in Atlas is fine now that evil Ironwood has died and taken the symbol of wealth (the city) with him. We saw a human holding hands with a faunus after all. Racism and corruption solved, I guess.) So yes, our group is dominated by women... but Whitley is the one saving Nora, helping to defeat the Hound (plus Willow), thinking of the airships, and providing the blueprints they need to escape. Salem is our Big Bad, except Ironwood is the one the volume focuses on. Ruby is our leader, but Jaune is the one leading the group into the whale and getting praised for how heroic he is. Ren does more to shake things up, even if he's painted as the one in the wrong. Oscar gets to confront Salem and destroys the whale threat. Ozpin provides the information they need to evacuate. Meanwhile, when the girls do things in Volume 8 it's almost always followed by a long-stint of passiveness. Nora opens the door so she can be unconscious for most of the volume. Penny keeps Amity up so she can also be unconscious for a good chunk of time. Ruby sends her message and then sits in a mansion. Blake fights so she can tearfully beg Ruby to save her. Weiss, as said, takes a backseat to Whitley (and Klein). They forward the plot, absolutely, but comparatively it doesn't feel like enough.

It's that pattern then, no one specific example. More and more the personal power, not just the systematic power already built into Remnant, seems to be coming from the men. Not all the time, but enough that scenes like the tea drinking moment feel like a part of a much larger problem. Pietro taking control, Watts hacking, and Ambrosius literally remaking her when Penny is supposed to already be in control of herself and her fate. Winter being presented as the active mentor to Weiss, only to turn around and claim that Ironwood was actually responsible for everything. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and May straight up commenting on how awful things are out there while Yang, Jaune, Ren, and Oscar lead the charge against Salem — with the latter three doing the most to forward that mission (no fear, semblance, cane). As others have only half-joked, Yang's supposedly badass moment was bringing up a mother she's ignored for six volumes and briefly blowing up the immortal woman for a couple of seconds (with Ironwood's bombs). Even Marrow is arguably the most significant Ace Op after Clover. Vine isn't actually a character, Elm slightly less so, Harriet is there to go crazy and try to drop a bomb (notably before admitting to never-before-existed feelings for Clover), but Marrow? He's the one who breaks out. Who is meant to heroically stand up against Ironwood. Who comments on how awful it is that teenagers are fighting and, regardless of how messed up the moral messages are, is supposedly pushing for active change while all the women in his group, including Winter, insist on maintaining the status quo. Look at all these choices as a whole, it makes throwaway worldbuilding choices like "All the Maidens are women" feel pretty hollow. Why does it matter if Amber is a Maiden if she dies in a flashback so Ozpin can struggle to pass on the power? If Pyrrha dies before becoming one so Jaune can angst about it? If Raven is one and then disappears from the story entirely? If Winter has enough power to break Ironwood's aura, but supposedly had no power throughout every other choice she made getting here? If Penny is one, but is continually controlled by men and then asks another man to help her die? It's just really unconvincing, once you look past the surface excitement of a woman looking cool with magic powers.

When you do consider the whole of the story — both in terms of our world building and who is forwarding the plot in the latter volumes, getting the emotional focus, being proactive, etc. — there are a lot of problems that undermine the presumed message RT wants to write. They say, "girl power" by marketing RWBY with these four women, but too many of the storytelling decisions thoroughly undermine that, revealing what's likely a deeply ingrained, subconscious bias.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[littlemisssquiggles]

Ruby Alone

As you all have seen, since prior to the last episode, I’ve been sharing my thoughts and ideas on the theory of V8 concluding with the “death” of RWBY after they fall “off Remnant and into a mysterious Other World”, as alluded to by Oscar.

While I’m still inclined to believe that theory may become possible given what transpired in this recent episode, in reviewing the RWBY V8 Opening, I noticed something interesting about the visuals again which caught my attention.

During the opening, RWBY falling was hinted much earlier in the theme during these shots right here. It’s these two shots of RWBY’s signature weapons falling through negative space which is later followed up by the opening ending with the weapons landing together on the ground.

However, here’s the bit that I think is noteworthy that I didn’t take into account before. Although the weapons of all four main girls were shown falling together through space and landing on the ground, not only is Crescent Rose the last one to hit the ground but it is also the ONLY one shown in the final shot of the opening.

It is also worth noting that the weapons fall in this particular order---first Ember Celica, then Gambal Shroud, then Myrtenaster and final Crescent Rose which ironically spells RWBY backwards.

And going back to my theory about RWBY falling in order....with Yang falling first then this is all starting to make more sense.

Going back to my point---Crescent Rose---Ruby’s weapon is the only weapon that landed on the ground but didn’t fade to darkness like the others. Instead, Crescent Rose is the only one remaining in the snow on what appears to be Remannt. Keeping that in mind, it’s making me start to ponder an alternative to my V8 finale theory. 

What if…I’m actually mistaken about the whole RWBY team falling prey to the Other World ? 

What if…as an alternative prediction, V8 will end with Ruby as the last man standing and the sole surviving member of her team after the rest “die” to the void?

Thus; V9 becomes Ruby’s story as she deals with the depression of losing her whole team; all obviously culminating with her eventually reuniting with them in the Other World. But before that, it’s mostly just about Ruby. Not RWBY. But just Ruby since RWBY started with just Ruby on her own in Remnant, trying to become a huntress. She only ends up going to Beacon and meeting and forming her own team due to Ozpin’s influence.

So imagine if...after everything she’s been through these last eight seasons, things just go back to how they were before. Ruby is on her own again. No team to lead. No big sister to guide and protect her (although ALPNE is there of course). No “BFFs” or “future-sister-in-law” on the same team to fuel her spark of hope. She no longer has her main friends by her side.

Ruby will be on her own for the first time in a long time and it becomes just her story for the most part of V9 as she does her best to figure out things all while the rest of the cast who survived the fall---Penny, ALPNE and their allies in Vauco and eventually Vale---try to provide her with the emotional support that she needs in place of the one she lost.

For the first time, the story is not about Ruby having to be the spark of hope to support others but…her friends, at least the ones she still have, coming together to support her for once in a time when she can truly need it.

Like I said. It would be the story of Ruby. Not RWBY. Just Ruby. If you get what I mean.

...And now for a squiggly rant...about Ruby:

One general complaint that I’ve heard from the FNDM about Ruby including Little Red Ruby fans like myself is that Ruby has more or less received the shortest end of the stick in terms of development over the past couple of seasons since V4…despite the fact that she is our central main character who is the leader of our core team with her name literally being in the title. Not to mention that Ruby is also the face of the RWBY franchise. When RT isn’t promoting the whole RWBY team together, it’s mainly Ruby to represent RWBY since of all the girls, she is the main one as the main protagonist of RWBY. At least…she’s supposed to be?

To be blunter, I’m just going to call out the fat Heffalump in the room---Ruby Rose, despite being the leader of RWBY---despite being our title character and face of the franchise---the one characters in the show always turn to since she’s THAT important---despite all of that, Ruby has NOT felt like the actual main protagonist of RWBY for several seasons. Since V4 as some fans like to point out. 

And after closely observing her story over the last few volumes, I can’t help but agree with these critiques and comments of Ruby’s treatment when it comes to her own writing. Even when the CRWBY showrunners DO attempt to do stuff with her---it all falls...flat especially when you compare Ruby to other characters like Jaune Arc, for example, whose stories and overall development were handled much better. At least in my opinion.

Don’t believe me? Take for example, Ruby’s whole so-called “arc” as a Silver Eyed Warrior. First it was introduced as a new idea for Ruby during the FINALE of V3, then it got abandoned for two whole seasons between V4-V5. Then it got reintroduced back in V6 but was then rushed and dropped yet again for V7 only to be brought up again briefly during V8…kind of?

It’s really telling when you realize that Ruby gained control of her silver eyes despite never truly receiving any actual training from Maria in how to control her powers. Not only that but the showrunners really did Maria Calavera dirty. She was supposed to be the wise old mentor who was a badass in her prime meant to pass down her wisdom to her young eager apprentice who knew nothing of her own unique abilities including its mysterious origins.

Instead Maria didn’t know at all about where her powers originated from until she conveniently met our heroes after the Argus Ltd crash and just happened to be present when they asked Jinn about Oz’s secrets. Instead of being a mentor to Ruby which she was initially propped up to be, Maria ended up being relegated to the Granny Uber Driver of the hero team---no longer the wise experienced ex-huntress whose supposed to be teaching our title character but just a form of transportation who provides the occasional comic relief and support for Pietro Polendina, who she was put to work with…instead of Ruby…her alleged apprentice?

 Shoot---despite being a Silver Eyed Warrior, Ruby was never even a person of interest for this volume. Despite the main big bad being in Atlas and despite targeting her in the past, Salem…never goes after Ruby again while she’s in Atlas??? Ruby never even meets Salem? Despite…Salem targeting Ruby back in V4? Despite Salem’s history with capturing Silver Eyes? Despite Salem’s connection to Ruby through her mother???

Ruby is never actively a part of the Salem subplot on Monstra…even though… certain developments left over from previous seasons indicated that she should’ve been?

Instead…we got to watch Yang accost Salem for Summer Rose’s death after SHE is the one to be on the rescue party to save Oscar from Monstro. Even though…Yang has neither been a person of interest to Salem before NOR has the Xiao Long girl been shown to be a close affiliate of Oscar in the past prior to V8 NOR has the Xiao Long girl actually addressed Summer Rose as her mother since V2???

Up until V8, Ruby has always been the character of focus with all things Summer Rose and Salem and yet…we NEVER saw her meet Salem in the flesh period for this season…at all…???

Instead; Ruby spends MOST of this season cooped up at Schnee Manor, completely absent from and even oblivious to some of the more dire PLOT stuff that was happening outside of Schnee Manor (such as YJR going into Monstra to save Oscar before the Aces Ops blew up the whale).

Despite her connection to Oscar who became Salem’s prisoner. Despite her connection to Salem through her mother. Despite being a Silver Eye and a former target of Salem. Despite the Hound and what it turned out to be. Despite the showrunners literally teasing Ruby meeting Salem face to face back in V7---WE NEVER GET TO SEE RUBY MEET SALEM IN THE FLESH AT ALL DURING V8 WHILE SALEM IS IN ATLAS???

Salem targets Oscar which makes perfect sense given his connection to Ozma as his current incarnate. But Salem doesn’t target Ruby? DESPITE HER BEING A TARGET OF HERS IN THE PAST? DESPITE HER BEING A SILVER EYED WARRIOR? DESPITE WHAT THE HOUND REVEALED?

Why didn’t Salem send the Hound after Ruby? That would’ve made more sense, again knowing what the Hound actually was? Instead the Hound was sent after Penny which, in my opinion, felt mighty redundant since Salem already had Watts and Cinder Fall dealing with Penny.  

THEY EVEN TEASED THE HOUND TARGETING RUBY BUT IT WAS ALL A FLUKE.  RUBY IS COMPLETELY OMITTED FROM THE SALEM SUBPLOT EVEN THOUGH SHE IS THE TITLE CHARACTER AND THE ONLY ONE ON TEAM RWBY WITH A LEGIT CONNECTION TO SALEM AND HAS BEEN A TARGET OF HERS SINCE V4???

I DON’T GET IT!

…BUT… with my mini rant aside, those are just a few of the inconsistencies that I’ve noticed in the writing of RWBY in respect to Ruby Rose.

Overall; the point I’m trying to make here is this: for the sake of sounding like a Negative Nancy, I ask this honest question to the CRWBY Writers. How? How can you fumble this much with your own title character? I’m not saying this to come off disrespectful. I’m saying this as someone who has followed the story of RWBY since the get-go and has closely observed the treatment of its characters; particularly the main ones and particularly the ones that I personally love and Ruby is one of them.

Despite being our main girl, Ruby’s writing hasn’t been the squeakiest, admittedly. As a matter of fact, it’s been quite messy since V4 due to the amount of times the showrunners have introduced ideas for her only to abandon them later on thus creating those problems with consistency I mentioned earlier.

Overall, it’s difficult for me to even say that Ruby is the lead character of RWBY since often times; she doesn’t FEEL like the main protagonist despite the show claiming how important she is meant to be. And this sentiment is due in part to how messy her story is handled compared to other characters of lesser importance.

And it’s a sad thing for me to say as both a viewer and fan of Ruby’s character since Ruby is THE lead main character of RWBY. She’s like the Tony Stark of the RWBY-verse. She’s the one who started it all yet her story is one of the messiest I’ve seen in terms of direction and treatment. At least by my observations since this is just my opinion on the subject matter.

It’s one thing to blunder a bit on your side or even your supporting characters. But to slip up on your lead characters, especially your MAIN one who is the FACE of the show, c’mon CRWBY Writers.

And the events of V8 didn’t help change my opinion. After taking away all the bloat this season had for all the stuff they tried to shove into this one season, I realized that V8 didn’t really do much for Ruby. At least, not as much as I anticipated.

I was hoping that Ruby would’ve been a more focal character for V8 since V7 teased some stuff for her in respect to Salem. Instead, I watched a season where Ruby felt more like a supporting character for Penny Polendina since, in my opinion, Penny received much more focus and better development for V8 while Ruby, our LEAD took backstage to her story.

Because while Ruby was stuck playing supporting character, she was actively left out of subplots that she should’ve been a major part of. Not just because she’s the “protagonist” but because of elements to her story that were developed seasons prior but seemed to have gotten dropped for V8?

Ruby’s treatment for V8, to me,  is an example of a “build-up with no payoff”. All that stuff between her and Salem and her mother felt like it ultimately didn’t matter in the end because Ruby didn’t even meet Salem. 

Yang, to me, had the development with Salem that Ruby should’ve received.

Shoot---Ruby wasn’t even a thought on Salem’s mind…despite the events V4 and V7???

I just don’t understand. 

But like always, this is just how I feel about it. I’m disappointed with how Ruby was done for this season. While I liked the moment she shared with Blake in V8CH8 and Yang in V8CH11...that’s pretty much the ONLY thing I liked about Ruby’s story for this season. 

Outside of that, it felt to me like the showrunners didn’t do much with her for V8. In a season of so much happening, the stuff that happened with Ruby on her side of the story didn’t honestly stand out to me compared to what I saw the showrunners do for other characters who aren’t the lead this season.

It’s not like I’m trying to say she didn’t receive any development at all for V8. It’s more like most of what was done with Ruby didn’t quite stand out to me so it ends up feeling like not much was done for her. 

To me, Ruby falls into the same category as Nora Valkyrie for this season. Despite the PLOT preaching about them getting big developments, if you rock back and actually analyse the narrative, you’d actually see that not much was done for them despite the PLOT “talking the talk but not walking the walk” y’know what I mean?

And going back to Ruby, that’s disappointing since I wanted more for Ruby. I EXPECTED MORE for Ruby as our title lead but it didn’t happened. Instead it felt like some of the major developments that she should’ve received for this season went to other characters while she in turn took a backseat.

Things didn’t really start kicking up for Rubes until halfway through the season when the 100th episode aired and the Hound appeared. And even then the excitement of that reveal was short-lived since...Ruby was NOT the real target of the Hound. PENNY WAS. The Hound wasn’t sent to antagonize RUBY. It was sent for Penny which to me sort of undermines the reveal.

Some Ruby fans have been wishing for the show to feel more about just Ruby again for quite some time now and it is for this reason why I’m starting to dig this alternative theory of mine with Ruby surviving “The Fall of the Central Zone” alone with the rest of her team lost to the Other World.

While the concept of RWBY being trapped together in another world is still on the table of possibilities, I still wish to toss out this other one too.

I like the idea of a more Ruby-centric season where for the second time in the narrative, she’s separated from her core teammates only this time…it’s in “death” or rather “nonexistence” or “nothingness” since from Ruby’s perspective with her limited knowledge of magic (despite what she does know from Oz and Jinn) and the workings of the world that Ambrosius created, she doesn’t know what truly happened to her team.

The only thing she knows is that she watched her whole team dissipate into nothing before her very eyes and that is the last memory she has of them that haunts her for some time.

Imagine if…V9 will be about Ruby dealing with such a huge loss which could potentially touch more upon how she internalizes death in general tying back into probably flashbacks of her time with her mother before she learnt of her death at a young age.

While I understand we’ve had a storyline with Ruby being separated from her main team before back during V4-V5, however a plot line like this would be different this rounds since unlike before, Ruby at least knew that her team mates were alive. Far away. Separated by distance. But still alive and still a part of Remnant with the hope that she would be reunited with them again.

However this won’t be the case this second time. It would truly be Ruby alone since her team would be gone and no one could provide her with the solace of seeing them again---not even the friends she does still have (although that doesn’t stop some of them from trying to be there for the little red rose who has now lost more than her heart could handle)

I know the off-chance of this theory actually coming to fruition might be scarce. But like many ideas I’ve shared, it’s still worth tossing out since you guys know how this squiggle meister likes to roll.

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

#rwby #ruby rose #rwby volume 8 theories #rwby volume 8 spoilers #rwby theories #rwby volume 9 theories

[kaen-ace-of-diamonds]

Okay so the evidence for the Summer Hound theory is piling up: its werewolfish appearance + Summer’s association with the moon, the fact that it has no eyes, the question of “Where did Little Red Riding Hood find her grandmother?” which made my heart leap up into my fucking throat, etc. It also more or less tracks with the Dead Moon theory, though for that one, I have to say, I expected Summer to stay submerged in Grimm goop, not for the Grimm goop to get up and start walking around with her in it, good fucking God.

But when I saw the Hound Grimm start writhing in pain as it transforms to grow wings, the first thing that popped into my head was:

The idea that the Hound Grimm was either once human or that there’s a human trapped inside is almost definitely the correct one. I’m just thinking that if it isn’t Summer, we’d probably still find the human in there very familiar.

There is absolutely no way that Cinder is the only follower that Salem has grafted Grimm parts to. Though we don’t know how exactly it was attached, in Volume 4 Salem knows exactly how to graft it to Cinder without further damaging her, and exactly what to teach Cinder so she can master it afterward. That’s something she could only get through so much experimentation that she’s got it down pat, being a human-turned-Grimm and not a human with a Grimm stuck to her that she has to fight to control.

There’s also no way that Cinder is the only weak, scared, and powerless person that Salem has promised everything they ever wanted in exchange for loyal service. Like Tock came before Tyrian in her line of killer theater kids, how many Cinders has she had? How many of them either chose to or were, let’s say, highly encouraged by their master to enhance their bodies with Grimm? And how many — when the graft failed, or when it was used to punish them for betrayal or unforgivable failure even after it went perfectly — died, if they were lucky, or were turned completely into monsters, stuck as Salem’s attack dogs forever?

In addition, the closest match I could find for Cinder’s Grimm hand before now was a Geist, but the Hound’s hand looks even more similar:

And here:

Hound Grimm pulls the exact same stretchy arm trick that Cinder’s new arm is introduced with. Was that the first thing her predecessor learned to do, too?

#kaen rambles #rwby spoilers #rwby8 #cinder fall #summer rose #hound grimm #rwby salem

[fanfictionsrookie]

...FUCK

Fuck don’t do this to me.

So Cinder lived in an orphanage for about ten years of her life. Since the beginning she was forced to constantly work under harsh conditions while the other children were free to play and hurt her. So this already gave rise to Cinder’s temper and tendency to lash out when provoked by people of lesser power than those keeping her captive.

And when someone does come around...

A woman who can give her a life she only dreamed of?

Well it turns to be just that, a dream, a fairy tale.

For this woman didn’t want another daughter to begin with. She wanted a servant, The woman does not even consider Cinder as a person who needs something as little as food. Cinder has to go out and ask for these things, and when it is given, it is simply enough to scrape by.

It is at this moment that Cinder realises that her life here, will be no better than the life she lived at the orphanage. It might very well be worse.

But even no, with no options but to do as she is told, Cinder is intrinsically defiant. She is looking for an escape.

Just like her fans, Cinder is forced to live off of crumbs. I’m sorry guys.

But seriously, this just hammers in the fact that Cinder has been taking care of herself, surviving since the beginning. She wouldn’t even dare risk asking for food, which will never be enough, and still get punished for it.

And there he is guys, Cinder’s prince.

Fuck this breaks by heart.

So Cinder has already unlocked her semblance. I’ve said it before, but to me, Cinder’s semblance is the subconscious manifestation or need for emotional warmth that she never got to experience as a child.

And what she got instead was torture. Like this is literal torture. And I can imagine like, just being adopted, Cinder is given this wonderful gift, a new home, a beautiful necklace. Only for it to turn into a cruel means of controlling her.

And this is giving me horrible deja vu.

Fuck me. Rule of three.

This scenes clearly cements the lasting effects of mental and physical abuse, especially when someone never escapes her abusive environment. Cinder presently knows what Salem is doing to her. But it’s something she doesn’t want to face, because of a desperate need to be free.

Just this reaction. This instant reaction of fear and always being on guard.

Cinder’s arc has multiple facets. The realisation that power does not guarantee victory, that hurting others does not heal your own pain, and as we’ll later see, that in doing so, you’ll forever be forced to go on the run. That one should peruse constructive methods in achieving one’s goals.

And what Cinder has always wanted is freedom.

I guessed her to be about 12 in the first snippet in the previous episode, but good grief this is heartbreaking.

Even more so when you realise that through everything, Cinder did look for a positive way out. She wanted to be a huntress. Just stop and think for a minute how different her life could have been. This is what she wanted. Freedom to live her own life, free from anguish.

And by the gods did she work hard for that dream. It’s not just seven years of training and waiting. But seven years of continuous torture.

And the effects of that is showing, slowly but surely the bottled up hatred is showing and she is trying so hard to bottle it up.

Then it happens. Cinder is so close. She has grown up into a beautiful young woman and she is on the verge of fulfilling her dream. Getting a taste of freedom. But, a dream once again.

Then it happens. Cinder is so close. She has grown up into a beautiful young woman and she is on the verge of fulfilling her dream. Getting a taste of freedom. But, a dream once again.

And to what a cruel reality Cinder has woken up to.

Now I would just like to point out fifteen minutes. Not just the fifteen minutes in which Cinder killed her ‘Mother’ and ‘Stepsisters’ but fifteen minutes in which Cinder most likely desperately tried to convince them otherwise and hold onto her goals which is is in her grasp.

Of course, what happens when Cinder is pushed into a corner with no way left to go? She attacks.

Another detail, but again, think how this ‘shock collar’ had Cinder on her knees in the beginning. Not only has she gotten used to it, but she still has the will to fight back.

Now, I very well know that who one becomes is because of who they are and their decisions, but up until this point, Cinder is right, what she is, is what they pushed her to become. What they deluded her into thinking, that the only way to freedom...

...Is to get rid of those who have power over you.

Fuck guys, I wanna cry.

Cinder knows what she did was wrong, she knows it. But she is still holding onto the possibility that everything will be alright now that her abusers are gone.

But then one obstacle turns into another. And at this stage, there is no turning back. At this moment, Cinder will do anything to make sure she isn’t locked into another cage yet again.

Let it be knows that Cinder has always been a crafty fighter. that was has always been her strongest, when she was at her weakest.

Cinder just killed a Huntsman.

The first person to ever care for her. The first person to show her any kindness. Because she was afraid that he’d turn out like all the other’s. And yet, he showed her that kindness up until the very end.

And here’s where is starts, burying her guilt, shutting out her emotions because Cinder finally got the freedom she wanted.

She is free. Her shackles are unbound. But all she can do is run.

Now, I wonder, if volume 1-3 had the same budget, or if CRWBY knew for certain that this was the direction they’d be going, would they have shown these scars on her neck? And are they still there?

Here we are. Back to the present and our view on Cinder is forever changed.

I can only assume that Cinder’s response, the fear of realising where she is after her failure, is because of the effects of her memory. That she hasn’t had the time to slip on that façade of hers. That underneath, Cinder is still a scared little girl.

Despite everything Cinder still has someone, one person who still cares for her and her feelings towards losing Mercury as an ally couldn’t have been clearer. Cinder wants people around her, to care for her. But she has yet to realise that, that means caring for them too.

But what would she know about that? The only prominent ‘caretakers’ in her life has been her ‘Stepmother’ and Salem. And that’s what Cinder is, or is trying to become, even if she doesn’t realise it.

And despite everything...

...Cinder is back where she started. Caught in the cycle of abuse.

Nothing has changed. Cinder swapped one abuser of another. One pair of chains for another.

And she is so close to realising it.

But Salem knows Cinder, she knows how to manipulate and make Cinder think that she is any different from her abuser. And Cinder believes it, or at least she wants to. Cinder wants freedom so bad that she would justify Salem’s abuse as such.

Now this shot.

To me this symbolizes Salem forcing/ manipulating Cinder to trust her. That isn’t Cinder’s hand. Those are the chains that binds Cinder to her. But Cinder still seems them as gifts, and I can only hope that’s she’ll tear it apart.

Another, Cinder’s third possible face off with Penny. Now, how will this go?

Considering Cinder’s recollection of what she learnt from Rhodes, and the Hound backing her up, I would want to belive Cinder will succeed, but CRWBY loves proving me wrong. If Cinder succeeds, then it could act as a further reinforcement that more power is not what she needs. Of course this means Pietro dying to most likely giving his last remaing Aura to Penny, but I very much doubt Penny will lose this fight. But at the same time, this episode feels like a shift in Cinder’s direction, and I’m not even sure to where.

Salem has reaffirmed Cinder’s trust in her, or so it seems, because right now they couldn’t feel further apart. Because of this shift I feel like Cinder would win, but not in the way she expected, perhaps not even by using Salem’s teachings,. But by her own cunning. This could mean blackmail. Cinder’s fear of failure could outweigh her need for the Winter Maiden’s powers, so she somehow tricks Penny, assuming she regains consciousness, into giving her the staff.

 ...

In short, I don’t know what is in store for Cinder.

To me, Cinder would break away from Salem the moment she realises what Salem is doing to her. But that means accepting that she isn’t free. And that is something Cinder is so terrified of that she won’t even consider it. The only way to get Cinder to realise this, is to take away the remaining person at her side, Emerald. Cinder needs to fear something else, more than she fears feeling powerless. But she also needs to realise what true freedom is like.

As for what that looks like for Cinder... I don’t know.

...

But CRWBY has done a fantastic job this episode.

We’ve waited for years and to me, it’s everything I expected, wanted, hoped for and more. This episode truly feels like a new chapter in Cinder’s story.

She might have gone from one abuser, one cage to the second, but we will be waiting for the third time.

For when she finally breaks free.

#rwby #rwby8 #cinder fall #rwby8 spoilers #fuck guys #im typing this in mozambique paying out the ass for data #T-T #but weve waited so long #and it was so worth it

[secret-engima]

More Thoughts On Team Gremlin verse

-This thing’s official name is “Saving the World for Fun and Profit” because I find that funny.

-At some point in their escapades, Whitley joins the team. No, he’s not a time traveler, he’s just a smol child Schnee that certain members of the White Fang thought would be good to hold for ransom. Naturally, Oscar found him and put a stop to that and trundled off with a kid his physical age in tow. Torchwick oFFERED to put the kid back where he belonged (once he caught the kids with an extra in their midst, which took about a week) but Whitley is young and impressionable and has just gone from a house that is empty and cold and devoid of anyone willing to love him to spending a week or so with this crew of crazy kids who hug him and ruffle his hair and let him get dirty while playing and feed him candy and don’t scold him for not spending hours practicing for his recitals. Who have an adult that acts so vibrant and *different* from his parents and who pays attention to Whitley when he speaks. Who even have a DOG that is friendly and huge and TALKS which almost makes up for how he’s a bit goopy instead of fluffy like the books say dogs should be.

-He turns those big hopeful eyes on them and asks if he can *stay* and Oscar immediately turns the puppy eyes on Torchwick, because if Whitley, who helped him in the future-that-isn’t, wants to stay and be happy here then of course Oscar is onboard.

-Torchwick: Noooo. Noooooo. Arrgggh don’t you DARE try to cute me you tiny terror-.

-Oscar and Whitley: *puppy eyes intensify*

-Also Torchwick: FINE. But he needs to dye his hair so people don’t instantly know he’s a Schnee.

-Neo: *whips out a two bottles of dye that both match her hair and beams because she always wanted a baby brother*

-At some OTHER point in time, Oscar accidentally mentions that a Certain Person shot him off a cliff when he was out of Aura. Torchwick, being the reasonable, focused, definitely-not-a-dad criminal mastermind he is, absolutely does NOT break into General Ironwood’s home to break his nose.

-The fact that his entire info network in Mantle and Atlas is now running a side operation of Make The General Miserable is complete coincidence. Truly. So is Neo disappearing for a week and coming back smelling of Tundra, with bloody knuckles and a satisfied expression.

-Oscar: Guys, I told you to leave him alone! He was suffering a mental breakdown, and I survived the fall. It’s fine!

-Mercury: You and I have *very* different opinions on what counts as fine, Boss. And that’s counting the fact that I was raised by Marcus Black.

-Sondor the Grimm Hound is the goodest boy. He crawled his way out of the experimental goo pool Salem had dumped his founding material in several years early just to go find his Pups.

-Everyone is a Pup to Sondor.

-Yes even Torchwick. Torchwick is just more like a bratty yearling pup to him.

-Except Neo, she acts too much like a cat to be a Pup.

-Of course his favorite Pup is Oscar Pup. Who is small and fierce and doesn’t understand that because he is hurt, he shouldn’t be trying to hunt the same way the others do. Here Oscar Pup climb on his back, he will help.

-Sondor, like in canon, can speak, he just tends to stick to short phrases because talking is tricky when you have a skull shape Like That. The kids have maybe had too much fun trying to teach him human single-word memes.

-Behold, the Grimm who knows the meaning of and can say Yeet at the correct time.

-Sondor is a firm believer in bedtime. The concept was introduced to him pre-time travel when Neo, Mercury, and Emerald were all trying to put Oscar back together mentally and physically. Often, Oscar would lose all concept of time (and self) while trying to mentally navigate around the ragged hole left by what Salem did to Ozpin inside him, and this could lead to Oscar just- straight up forgetting to SLEEP. For Days. So since Sondor was always a constant at Oscar’s side (no one else wanted to deal with the Grimm but also no one else wanted to try removing him from the side of the one person he was attached to and who would in turn spontaneously use magic to defend), Em sat down with the Giant Death Dog and taught this sucker the concept of bedtime. Specifically, if the Broken Light (moon) was out and the clock looked like So, then Oscar needed to be IN BED, lying down and SLEEPING until the clock looked like This.

-It took a few tries but Sondor got the gist eventually, and this makes taking bby out on nighttime heists post-time travel tricky because Sondor is prone to just looking up at the moon, rasping “Bedtime. For pups.” and then scooping Oscar up and trundling off to the nearest comfy spot. He will 100% lie down with Oscar and gently rest his head on Oscar’s torso so that the boy can’t escape. Oscar would protest but he does need the help and Sondor has also done this to any of the other Pups if he catches them up too late at night.

-Sondor must be *bribed* to let Oscar participate in any activity past his “bedtime” that Emerald first taught him. And then Oscar has to make up for it by taking a daytime nap. Oscar would protest but physically he is 6 and working his way up so he does actually need sleep.

-If anyone ever told Oscar that someday the fastest way to put him to sleep would be to have a giant, vaguely gooey Grimm hound that can shapeshift into even more terrifying forms cuddle him and make low rumbly noises he would have... well depending on timeline he would have stared, run away, or just laughed hard enough to choke on his own blood because sure why not, it’s not like his day can get any weirder after being kidnapped and tortured by an evil grimm queen lady.

-Everyone picture Oscar riding Sondor into battle. Or just riding around on him in general because bby has joint problems and height problems and riding his Best Friend Doggo is a great way to help with both.

-Everyone picture Oscar smiling serenely at some criminal gang who has surrounded him to try to kidnap him and hold him over Torchwick’s head. They have a lot of men.

-“I have a Sondor.”

-*furious bellowing Hound Grimm with bloody-colored wings drops from the sky to LOOM protectively over Oscar, roaring bloody murder at the criminals who thought the child with the limp and the cane was a good target*.

-Sondor’s second favorite Pup is Emerald, because she gives the Good Scritches and also has more sense than most of the other Pups combined. Mercury is Trouble Pup, Neo is Kitten. Whitley is New Pup and has been occasionally dubbed Brat. Sondor is not afraid to gently drag Whitley out of trouble by his leg. The fact that his entire leg can fit in this giant Grimm’s mouth should probably terrify Whitley, but he’s picked up his cues from Mercury (who has also been dragged around by his leg by an annoyed Sondor) and thus just whines and flails.

#Secret Engima Rambles #Team Gremlin verse #rwby #rwby au #Oscar and his posse of bad guys save the world

[kitkatopinions]

(raises hand) So....I'm really confused about something. If their plan was going to result in a majority of the people they're trying to save in Atlas being picked off by grimm in a sandstorm... And also being completely murdered by Cinder and her cabal. And Atlas is currently falling on top of Mantle... Wouldnt things have been better if they had let Ironwood take all of Atlas and what refugees he had away, then? He wanted to apply the idea for Amity by using the Atlas tower in the stratosphere instead. He may or may not have spoke the truth about Salem, but he could at least mention what's happening to Mantle, and worldwide comms would be longer lasting. Oscar still had his deus ex machina which wouldve destroyed the whale, beat Salem, and killed all grimm with zero civilian casualties... And then they could be trying to move Mantle as they're trying to move Atlas. But instead of through a sandstorm w/ no visuals or comms, they could contact the base in Argus for help...? This way they'd be saving both best they can, not losing the relics to the enemy, and not making enemies out of everyone while so trapping everyone in an even worse situation?

This is a great point to make. Honestly, the heroes caused way more problems than they solved. I don’t know if I’d say moving Atlas to space was a good choice that would have no consequences, but there’s no proof that Ironwood was going to keep Atlas in space forever, and it does seem to be the better solution.

The ultimate solution in my opinion would be for someone to compromise with James and move Atlas elsewhere in Remnant, maybe Argus because they could actually lend help and fire power, or maybe Vacuo, since the meta narrative would dictate that going to Vacuo would be more interesting. Then RWBYJNOR could be defending and helping the remaining non-evacuated citizens of Mantle. Oscar can still be kidnapped by the Hound and JRY (or RWB or WNY or RRN or whoever) could still go after him, and Oscar/Oz could still nuke the whale from the inside, leaving Salem regenerating and less of a threat and still having Emerald’s weak sauce ‘redemption.’ Then when Atlas is safely parked wherever, then they can do the staff plan, only sending the citizens of Mantle over to Atlas instead of in the middle of a desert sandstorm. And while they’re moving the citizens, Penny could launch Amity and get out an actually well constructed message anyway, Ironwood seemed very sure of telling the world about Salem if they were able to properly defend, and he may not consider that good at this point, but they could still get up global comms and uniting the world more. And ninety percent of the mess that is season eight wouldn’t have to happen.

Instead we’d get: ‘Simple soul’ Ruby talking world-weary allies into listening and compromising, which furthers messages of hope and unity. RWBYJNOR flexing some smarts that don’t seem to just come out of nowhere after they endangered everyone, which makes them more compelling as protagonists. The feeling that the protagonists not only care about their allies, but care about the people of Atlas and the already evacuated people of Mantle by being willing to save them rather than endanger them. Whichever team going to get Oscar doing so in the full knowledge that there’s still at least a significant number of people they trust still defending the non-evacuated citizens of Mantle. Better tension, as Cinder, Neo, and Watts are in Atlas with Ironwood, Penny, likely Qrow (since this is my ideal fantasy situation and Qrow can be good and central to the Atlas plot if I want,) while Salem, Tyrian, Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel are all in the whale near Mantle. This means that the stakes are at least somewhat smaller for each group, but able to be more personal and aren’t overwhelming, which would make the pay off seem less out of nowhere or convenient for our heroes. The heroes seeming to make an actual significant sacrifice, since letting Ironwood take Atlas did take protection from Mantle, and everyone would know that they’re risking their own safety to protect the remaining citizens until Atlas gets to a safe place. Instead of RWBYJNOR risking the safety of two kingdoms worth of people, they would be putting themselves in harms way to try and save every life - like they said they were going to do. Team RWBY recognizes a no-win situation and responding with understanding, but still pushing for a hopeful end where they save more people and teaching James a valuable lesson about listening to his heart as well as his head, causing clear growth on both sides and making Team RWBY look more logical and grown up than they previously had been. Salem getting more focus as the main villain in her introduction without James or Cinder yanking the focus away from her and hopefully resulting in her seeming like a more significant threat who was beat via cleverness. Penny remaining a robot who is still very much a Real Girl and doesn’t need to change to be valid and accepted, Penny facing the hard choice of not joining the battle in Mantle to be able to better help everyone in the long run through accessing the Vault. Ironwood being a faulty, but good person with no completely incomprehensible and jerkily done fall to villainhood, plus Qrow, Oz, Winter, and the others characters don’t suffer from feeling like jerks who literally never cared about him at all as a result of his badly done fall to villainy. The end result could still be exactly the same, with some of Salem’s operatives causing trouble in the void space and knocking Yang into the void, but now we got a well earned victory from the heroes and an arc with natural drama and good choices the heroes made, plus their plan is not fool proof and their insistence on trying to save everyone still resulted in a blunder where the villains took advantage of the open portals and despite the warning to ‘not fall’ from Ambrosius, Yang still falls and the heroes have to grapple with it.

Now I’m not saying that’s perfect, I’m pretty sure there’s still glaring holes and stupid stuff, but it keeps better to the central themes like redemption, hope, and unity, while it makes our heroes seem smarter and more heroic, and Ruby, Weiss, and Blake wouldn’t spend several episodes sitting around in a mansion waiting for the plot to drop into their lap, and most of the season wouldn’t feel completely avoidable.

#rwde #rwby hate #anti rwby #This is just my personal opinion #this post contains anti rwby #warning this is just my opinion #pro ironwood #anti crwby

[luimnigh]

Hey so weird thing I noticed. At the start of V4 Cinder has trouble speaking and gets her voice back when Salem finishes her treatment (She said she'd CONTINUE the treatment, implying she had already started). Considering one of The Hound's abilities is to shapeshift vocal cords (I am conviced they are the same kind of Grimm at this point), do you think Cinder will still be able to speak when she's cured of it?

I don’t think the Grimm Arm extends as far as her vocal chords, no. Salem was teaching Cinder how to dominate the Grimm in the arm. 

I think the damage to Cinder’s vocal chords is simply something she healed herself over time. It makes sense that there was some internal damage to Cinder, given that the Grimm that was inside her had been vaporized by Ruby’s blast. 

#rwby #cinder fall #rwby spoilers #rwby8 spoilers #rwby8 #Anonymous #asks

[apoemaday]

Highwomen

by Amanda Shires, Brandi Carlile, and Jimmy Webb

I was a Highwoman And a mother from my youth For my children I did what I had to do My family left Honduras when they killed the Sandinistas We followed a coyote through the dust of Mexico Every one of them except for me survived And I am still alive

I was a healer I was gifted as a girl I laid hands upon the world Someone saw me sleeping naked in the noon sun I heard "witchcraft" in the whispers and I knew my time had come The bastards hung me at the Salem gallows hill But I am living still

I was a freedom rider When we thought the South had won Virginia in the spring of '61 I sat down on the Greyhound that was bound for Mississippi My mother asked me if that ride was worth my life And when the shots rang out I never heard the sound But I am still around

And I'll take that ride again And again And again And again And again

I was a preacher My heart broke for all the world But teaching was unrighteous for a girl In the summer I was baptized in the mighty Colorado In the winter I heard the hounds and I knew I had been found And in my Savior's name, I laid my weapons down But I am still around

We are the Highwomen Singing stories still untold We carry the sons you can only hold We are the daughters of the silent generations You sent our hearts to die alone in foreign nations And they return to us as tiny drops of rain But we will still remain

And we'll come back again and again and again And again and again We'll come back again and again and again And again and again

#poetry #song #highwomen

[zozee122-2]

The War Ends at Dusk

This is my first fan fiction, so I worked super hard on it! This is the prologue, and the first chapter is finished so I will post that shortly. The premise is four years after the accounts of RWBY and Blake and Yang are awaiting the birth of their first child. Ruby, Weiss, Nora, and Ren are in the waiting room awaiting the birth of the bumbleby baby. The fic is centered around the bee family, and add a bit of found family trope and new age angst.

WC: 2,214

“Does anyone know how much longer this is going to take? I mean they’ve been in there almost 10 months!” Nora barked, getting up to stretch. Ren sighed and grabbed his partner’s hand.

“Patience, please Nora. This has got to be hard on Blake and Yang too.” Ren said ever ready to calm down his excitable partner.

Ruby chuckled, “Guess they’ll be as stubborn as Yang. Taking bets that they’ll be born tomorrow?” she said checking the clock on the wall which read 5:38 pm, the group had been there since Yang’s frantic group text that early morning that Blake was going into labor.

“I’ll put ten liens on that bet, Ruby” Nora said tossing Ruby a rolled-up bill.

Weiss and Ren collectively sighed at their partner’s immaturity and gave each other a knowing look.

“Ruby, your sister’s wife, your best friend, is giving birth to her first child have some sympathy.” Weiss retorted rubbing the bridge of her nose. The four of them sat in silence for a minute. It seemed impossible that they were here together to celebrate life. Something none of them saw in their future a mere four years ago when they were fighting for their lives and battling a unkillable creature. Ruby sat back in the hospital seat closing her remaining eye. She was about to be an aunt, she still couldn’t believe that they were all here like this, yesterday it seemed that Blake and Yang announced they were officially dating, yesterday that they were trapped in Purgatory without seeing any way out. Ruby smiled, she couldn’t quite describe how elated she was to celebrate this moment with her closest friends and family.

“You know,” Ruby started, “I don’t know if you all feel this way, but this feels unreal.”

Weiss looked to her best friend and smiled sincerely, “It does feel unreal. Like all the tribulations we went through as teenagers seems so close, yet so far away. I’m happy in a way that we were a part of the new future that we are giving to Blake and Yang’s child, to all future generations, that they will never have to worry about the things we did.”

“Never thought a future would exist for us like this,” Nora chimed in, taking Ren’s hand, “After everything, I am so thankful that I get to experience this moment. Can’t imagine what they must be feeling too and I’m glad Jaune is assisting in boosting her aura for childbirth.” She smiled and looked towards the birth wing.

Ren rubbed her hand with his, smiling contently, “When we became huntsman it seemed like a forever thing, like we would never be able to experience moments in life as precious as this. I felt like this at Yang and Blake’s wedding too. Their happiness and love for each other filled the room with pink petals, their emotions were so raw and real, I can even feel it today.”

The three smiled at him, “You always know what to say, Ren.” Weiss said, “I just cannot wait to spoil the little thing.”

The group laughed, “They just have to hurry up and get out into the world!” Nora yelled earning a strict look from one of the nurses. She uttered a soft apology while Ruby chuckled and in turn Weiss gave her a look.

Ruby sighed, “It is taking a long time, I hope she’s okay. Has anyone heard anything from Yang or Jaune?”

The four of them checked their scrolls, “Haven’t heard anything sense ‘Blake is 7 centimeters,’ and that was two hours ago.” Weiss replied, huffing quietly in annoyance.

“Hmm, well we could tell some stories to pass the time?” Ruby asked rubbing her chin.

Nora looked up at her, “Practicing your story telling skills on us before you have to tell famous, huntress who saved all of Remnant Auntie Ruby Rose stories?” Nora asked.

Ruby laughed, “Partially, I guess. So, yes, or no?”

Ren nodded, “I’d like to hear some, maybe some that we were not together for? Like what you’ve been doing now with Jaune and Weiss?”

Weiss looked at Ruby, not like her work now was anything confidential, just not something Ruby liked to talk about specifically. It hit close to her.

Ruby took a long sigh, she closed her good eye and raised her hand to touch her scarred over right eye, “I’d hate to put a damper on our good moods,” Ruby let out a long breath and Weiss put her hand on Ruby’s shoulder.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you do not want to Ruby, it’s not an easy topic to discuss,” Weiss reassured Ruby.

Ruby looked to Weiss, who has been next to her throughout her whole journey, never questioning Ruby’s judgement, the most loyal person Ruby has ever met. However, Weiss was right, this was not an easy topic to talk about. Especially when this only mattered to her, but she has not discussed this with anyone except her teammates and Oscar. She was reminded of her mother for a moment, and Maria who did not have a lot of information to give her either on the silver eyed warriors. After seeing Salem’s Hound, she promised herself that she would do whatever it takes to end any part of Salem’s tyranny, and as of late Ruby found several lackey groups that still practiced horrid experiments on silver eyed people.

“I could talk about it, but I am not sure where to begin, it is not a particularly easy thing to talk about. You remember four years ago in Atlas, the Hound that was after Oscar and Penny?”

Ruby could feel the atmosphere shift. Weiss raised her hand from Ruby’s shoulder to fix her hair bun. Nora’s shoulders slumped and her eyes darted to the ground. Ren let out a long audible sigh as he straightened in his seat.

Ren spoke first, “It, it is not something I like to think about,” remembering his own impudence, “but I will never forget it.”

“I was thankful that I did not have to see it in person,” Nora added rubbing her lightning bolt scar on her neck.

Ren folded his hands on his lap, “It’s never something I like to discuss either, if the students ever bring it up, I mean.”

Weiss nodded, “Ruby and I have been well…” Weiss looked to Ruby.

“We have been finding Salem’s old research facilities and finding silver eyed people being experimented on.” Ren and Nora collectively gasped. “Yeah, it is not something, well it is not an easy thing to talk about. The hardest part was finding out that Salem, even now that she is gone, still has her clutches across Remnant.”

Weiss rubbed Ruby’s back, “As a huntsman rehabilitations counselor, I focus on finding homes for the silver eyed people who have either been born into the lab, or who have lost family members…” Weiss trailed off looking at her scroll to check any messages.

Ruby picked where Weiss left off, “It is not an ideal situation, but through Weiss’ company we are finding homes that are taking children and teenagers and Oscar is letting adults live in some empty apartments in Vale.

Ren shook his head, “I hate that there are still veins of Salem’s reign throughout the kingdoms, but I am glad that there is you two that are liberating these people.”

Nora placed her hands on her thighs, an exasperated expression on her face, “I have a student with silver eyes, they’re so promising. I can’t imagine anything ever happening to them.”

Ren nodded in agreement, “Yes, they are a wonder, though I am not sure they know how to use their silver eye powers yet.”

Ruby nodded, “It might be best right now, for your student to not know, it will paint an even bigger target on their back.”

Weiss looked to Ren and Nora, of course they would be worried about their students, even though there was peace many dangers still lurked around the corners, still small threats of Salem’s powers.

“Nowadays, huntsmen and huntresses are returning home, all of the small lurking problems are ones for the younger generation now.” Weiss said giving a reassuring look to Ren and Nora.

“Remnant is safe, yes though there are Grimm still lurking about, thieves trying to steal maiden powers or relics, even bandit troops are still around. While these new huntsmen nowadays don’t have to worry about the fate of the world, they are just cleaning up our scraps.”

Nora stood and looked Ruby in the eye defiantly, “Ruby, that is why Ren and I decided to become professors at Beacon. People will always be willing to help those in need and we will be there to offer support, just like our professors and mentors did for us.”

Ruby sniffed and stood to give Nora a hug, “I will always count on you guys to do that for us, and if you ever need a guest talk about the silver eyed warriors or to teach your student how to use their eyes, I am here for you. All three of you.”

“You guys, I love the sentiment, but you should really save your tears for Blake and Yang’s child.” Weiss sighed.

The group laughed. “I am glad our parents were allowed to go into the room with them, but I am a bit jealous,” Ruby said and continued, “Dad is so excited to be a grandpa and I know Kali and Ghira have been waiting for this moment too. I don’t think I have been this excited for something in a long time.”

“I couldn’t wait to meet the little cub since the baby shower, I think I bought too many gifts.” Weiss sighed leaning on her knees.

“I am surprised you still have money after that spree,” Nora said sitting back down next to Ren.

Ren laughed, “I splurged a bit too much as well, almost my whole paycheck.”

“Mrs. Xiao Long-Belladonna! Do not run in the halls!”

The group stood up when Yang burst into the waiting room.

“Yang! Is everything alright?!” Ruby and the rest stood quickly.

Yang ripped the hair cap from her head and pulled her surgical mask down, beaming from ear to ear.

“Guys! You’re allowed to come into our room, there is someone I’d like you to meet!”

…

The gang followed Yang quickly down the hallway to the room. Jaune was waiting outside for them.

“Everything alright still?” Yang asked him, leaning an arm on his shoulder.

Jaune looked to everyone, his eyes heavy, “Yeah, they are resting comfortably. Though, that kid is a fighter, I used up all of my aura.”

Nora stood by her teammate to rub his back.

“We really appreciate it, Jaune. Now guys, please come in.”

The group of seven walked in slowly passing by Taiyang who was standing in the corner of the room, weeping softly. Ruby placed a hand on her father’s back.

“Alright, Dad?” Ruby whispered. Taiyang nodded and ruffled Ruby’s hair. Yang passed by to sit beside her wife. Blake reached up and kissed Yang sleepily. Blake held a bundled blanket closer to her chest and smiled happily to the rest of the gang.

“Well don’t just stand around like that you guys! No need to be nervous!” Kali said grabbing Ruby by the arm leading her to stand by Yang.

Blake and Yang laughed as the group nervously huddled around Blake’s bed. Yang gently touched the bundle which in turn made a soft gurgling sound.

“Hehe, our little guy just ate, he and Mommy are super sleepy now, huh?”

Weiss raised her eyebrows and stared at Yang, “A boy?”

Nora and Ren bumped fists, “We knew it!” Nora cried.

The baby moaned a bit at the sudden loud noise and Blake and Yang were quick to reassure their newborn son. Ruby and Weiss shot Nora a look and Ren rolled his eyes.

Blake laughed after the baby calmed down.

“Sorry, Blake. I know you’ve had a hard day.”

Blake laughed again and looked at Yang, “Nora, this was one of the happiest days of my life. He was a sucker to push out, but I would do it all again to share this moment with the person I love the most and my most prized possession, our son.”

Ruby smiled and moved closer to Yang, “So, are you going to introduce us then?”

Weiss grabbed Ruby’s arm, Ruby leaned in closer to Yang, and Ren, Nora, and Jaune linked together.

Blake unwrapped the small bundle a bit where two little, folded blonde cat ears stood up.

Weiss teared up, “He’s beautiful, Yang, Blake”

Yang smiled and kissed the small head, “Well, I mean he came from the most beautiful woman on Remnant, of course he’s beautiful.”

Blake and nearly everyone in the room rolled their eyes.

“Yang, please. I love you, but please.” Blake pleaded, “Even the baby hated your joke.”

Yang chuckled, “No, he didn’t. Look at the perfect little kitten.” She said taking the small baby’s hand.

“So,” Ruby pleaded her eyes beginning to water, “What is his name?”

Blake and Yang looked at each other then to their son.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Dusk Yin Xiao Long Belladonna”

#rwby #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #lie ren #nora valkyrie #jaune arc #bumbleby au #bumbleby #future au #rwbabies #bumblebabies