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lore-of-the-silvereyes-rwby · 1 year

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The impact of truth upon rwby

Questions asked by @angstandhappiness

@iamafanofcartoons @sid471 @miki-13 @keyenuta @anthurak @bardock1991 @harostar @thegirlwholovespines

I would like to get your thoughts on these as well as they do pertain to similar subjects that we have talked about in the past.

What do you think of Ozpin's choice on choosing Pyrrha to be the new Fall Maiden?

On paper it seems ideal but like any candidate chosen or given a job or task it's the then and there do you see whether or not it was a good choice and selection to make that person the one for the job or in this case Pyrrha as the Fall Maiden.

Truth be told when Oz made this choice there is a very high possibility that he didn’t know Pyrrha as much as he needed to and this is due to Pyrrha herself.

Personally I think Pyrrha more or less was having the same problem as any teen that could have been resolved had she talked and shared her thoughts about it instead of bottling up her emotions and just going with the flow.

Had that been known chances are Ozpin wouldn’t have chosen her to have been the Fall maiden but in all honesty and truth there weren’t that many options if you had to choose a good natured candidate to be an all powerful elemental avatar so yeah on paper she seemed like an ideal choice but once you read in between the lines it's a 50/50 gamble on whether or not it will pay off.

What is your opinion on Ozpin withholding the truth from his current allies of Salem's true invulnerability and immortality?

First off she is not invulnerable, maybe fast healing but not invulnerable if V8 is proof of anything.

Second to answer this one I have to invoke the old question that Dr. Oobleck asked team RWBY; Why did they become Huntsmen and Huntressesin the first place?

Before Salem was even a thing to the main characters they seemed pretty ok spending their lives knowing they can never eradicate the Grimm so that does beg the question; What’s the difference between then and now?

All they know now is that the Grimm have a leader and that just like them they can never truly eradicate the threat of her but beyond that what has really changed?

Does knowing that you can never beat or kill the final boss that is actively trying to kill you, your friends and every defenseless innocent really going to discourage you from doing whatever you can to help hinder said enemy and defend everyone you care or will care for?

No unless you have resolved to continue on with the fight and endure knowing that you may not succeed, and that those of good may continue to fail for thousands of years after you but they will not stop. All it takes for evil to truly succeed is if good people do nothing.

Now why do I bring up this highly philosophical theory is because everything that I just said is what is more or less Ozpin’s resolve and why he didn’t share the truth about Salem’s immortality with his allies; They are not Heroes who joined him to counter Salem

Other than Ruby Rose every single one of Ozpin’s allies did not join his fight against salem because they were altruistic or charitable enough to lend a helping hand for the greater good, no just like their choice to be huntsmen and huntresses they are not in this fight because it's the right thing to do, they are in it hoping that it will help serve their own personal needs and goals

In short the overall reason why Ozpin didn’t share the truth is because almost all of his allies are not true or real heroes that are on his side because it’s the right thing to do.

To help further explore this point here’s a list of goals and motives for some of Ozpin’s allies for either being huntsmen or being in this conflict and why they prove that they did not deserve the truth

These will also lead into the next question.

Team RWBY

Weiss;

Goal; redeem the Schnee family name & SDC.

Motive; prove that she is nothing like her father.

Why they didn’t deserve to know about salem’s immortality; All her efforts and goals are self serving and tend and will only benefit her so that she may not feel so guilty about being a rich girl with a monopoly on the words most relied and needed resource to survive on

Sidenote; I’m not familiar with the inner workings of shady corporations or questionable business practices but i'm pretty sure being a monster slayer is not going to expose and remove Jaques from power so can someone tell me why Weiss couldn’t have done a whistleblower operation or corporate espionage instead of becoming a Huntress because honestly besides the fame and notoriety I don’t think there was any legitimate reason for Weiss to be a huntress (Like do Huntsmen double as PI’s or something?)

Blake;

Goal; Faunus equality/ Making things right with her friends

Side note; not gonna lie I don’t even know what her goals are anymore as her character at this point has been reduced to a love interest for Yang

Motive; Better life for herself/ Redemption for being both an enabler and coward

Why they didn’t deserve to know about salem’s immortality; Just like Weiss, her goals and motives are also self serving in the sense that it opens more opportunities in life for blake as well as to put her mind at ease for being an ex terrorist as well as abandoning her friends and family in the past

Yang;

Goal; Find out why Raven abandoned her

Side note; Honestly this could have been resolved had anyone just told her that her mom was a psychopathic murderer who would rather kill than be part of a family

Motive; Besides knowing the truth for why Raven is awful she is also motivated by thrill seeking adventures and danger

Side note; there might be a bit of revenge and resentment added to her motives post V3 due to being framed losing her arm and being abandoned by almost everyone she had known

Why they didn’t deserve to know about salem’s immortality; Besides being the daughter of a person that uses Ozpin’s teachings and power for evil, Yang is another example of someone who only does things that benefit herself and could care less about what happens(not unlike Raven)

Sidenote; if V5 & V6 are anything they prove that Yang is more or less the first one to walk away, and doesn't give a damn about the Salem conflict and will have left had Ruby not been there to stay.

Team JNPR

Jaune;

Goal; Become a Huntsmen to prove himself to his family and be a hero

Motive; apparently he is the family disappointment

Sidenote; Revenge for Pyrrah may be a motive post Fall of Beacon

Why they didn’t deserve to know about salem’s immortality; besides lying, cheating and forging transcripts to get into beacon Jaune is another example of a self serving huntsmen with the added bonus that he should never have been involved in the first place

Sidenote; I can’t say for certain why Ozpin allowed Jaune to continue as a student in Beacon with forged transcripts but I doubt a reincarnating benign with 1000+ years of experience wouldn’t recognize forgery so for the benefit of the doubt lets assume that Ozpin decided to go with a 50/50 gamble either A.) Jaune becomes a great huntsmen or B.) he dies either way Jaune got what he wanted and Ozpin wins.

Nora;

Goal; Be with Ren/ Find self worth independent from Ren(Later)

Motive; Not to be alone and abandoned again

Sidenote; V8 really gave Nora depth as a character as to be honest she more or less was a flat character

Why they didn’t deserve to know about salem’s immortality; Honestly besides Ruby, and Pyrrah Nora more or less had a decent 50/50 chance to have been involved in the Salem conflict however Nora Pre V6 wasn’t exactly the most reliable or secretive individual from Ozpin’s perspective and in all honesty had very little relevance or motive to be involved in the Salem conflict

Ren;

Goal; Become a Huntsmen

Sidenote; Possibly wanting to prevent others from having to lose what he had lost

Motive; Grief and anger from being orphaned by the Grimm

Sidenote; Basically he’s batman with the whole I am vengeance thing

Why they didn’t deserve to know about Salem's immortality; If later volumes after V4 are anything Ren isn’t exactly one of the most emotionally stable people to trust as his character during the Atlas arc is more or less akin to a whiny emotional b!7(# while trying to be emo and besides that just like Nora he had very little relevance or motive to be part of the Salem conflict

And Yes even though it was a Grimm that orphaned Ren I doubt Salem sent the Knuckleleave just to orphan Ren and in truth the destruction of Kuroyuri is ore or less akin to that of a wild animal attack, just a random act of nature that serves no purpose

Other

Qrow

Goal; Find friendship and protect the only real family he has left

Motive; Self worth and loneliness

Why they didn’t deserve to know about salem’s immortality; Besides the fact that originally he was to use Ozpin’s teachings as a huntsmen to rob and kill innocent people

Ironwood

Goal; Ensure Atlas(the source of his power) is absolute and will endure

Motive; Obtaining power to feed his ego and hero complex

Why they didn’t deserve to know about salem’s immortality; to put it in short Ironwood only ever say the Salem conflict as a opportunity to increase Atlesian influence and superiority as well as a means to increase his own rule and power and being the opposite of everything that Ozpin stood for and tried to achieve

Sidenote; Ozpin wasn’t about seizing power or creating an unchallenged rule or seeking glory. Ozpin was doing what was best to help guide and nurture the good for the people of remnant, not to rule or control them with little care like Ironwood did.

Sidenote; I’ve done an entire analysis series on Ironwood explaining why

As you can see a majority of Ozpin’s allies really shouldn’t have been involved in the first place due to just what kind of people they are and probably still are by the time of the show's present. But due to circumstances and the choices of a few people they are involved do to either need or accident regardless of who they are and what they hope to achieve which is enough just cause and reason for why Ozpin didn’t tell them about Salem’s immortality

Because it was none of their business and by far beyond any of their capabilities combined as in truth the conflict with Salem is truly only Oz’s. Those are my reasons why none of these people were told the truth about Salem’s immortality as well as why they didn’t need or deserve to know as well. With that I’ll be moving on to the next question.

How do you think he should have told them, and when?

I just gave a whole lot of reasons why they shouldn’t have been told and if you noticed Ruby isn’t apart of that list because out of all Oz’s allies I do see Ruby as being the first if only person that Ozpin would have told the truth about Salem’s immortality because unlike the others her goals and motives aren’t self serving or a means to an end.

Ruby is content with being a huntress and is more or less willing to spend her days as one knowing she will die but still helps people along the way regardless of what the situation is or what the outcome will be.

But if Oz had to tell them it would probably have happened after they secured the relic in Atlas first and probably before Ironwood's descent into warmongering which lead to his eventual insanity in V8.

But that is besides the point, for you see this conflict with Salem is and always has been Oz’s problem and his problem only and everyone else could only really do is lend a helping hand and nothing more. Because of the sad truth and reality, what can they do? It doesn’t matter if they are all powerful, if all the grimm are extinct or if the world is under their control. Salem and Oz are basically timeless beings now and everyone around them will die and everything they have achieved will be undone one way or another.

And even then Defeating and Killing Salem is not the end goal of Oz’s mission. Salem may be the biggest obstacle at the moment but her being out of the picture doesn't mean or guarantee that things will be better for everyone.

Regardless of whether or not the main cast succeed and defeat Salem and she finally dies, Oz will still be there, once all of RWBY & JNR die Oz will still be there, and in in either hundred or a thousand years later after all of this Oz will still be there and will still be there after until he either succeeds in his mission in uniting Remnant in peace or until the Ozma soul has become so stretched and diminished to the point that the soul may no longer be able to reincarnate and eventually fade away into non existence. No afterlife, no heaven or hell, no rest just gone.

It's a sad but likely outcome for Oz because the story of the show and overall conflict with Salem isn’t a tale about power or dominance or about hope and fellowship.

It is a tale about, Human evil and all that it encompasses which leads to the consequences that is the overall theme between Salem and Oz and those that become involved; A tale of Death and the desire for deathlessness.

For better or worse or for good or evil, all thing must come to an end in order for the tale to progress and move forward otherwise the great old tales will never end and history repeats itself and were back at square one

These are my thoughts to these questions let me know what you think?

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powertaco · 2 years

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It’s food fight time. Best Day Ever...it’s probably the gayest one yet...

The Episode starts with a few minutes of partners bonding. Blake reads smut until Yang badgers her to play a game with her, and Ruby and Weiss both write letters to their family. Weiss’s letter to Winter talks about how Ruby is gonna be a great leader and saved her. Her smile when she writes about Ruby is very...telling. Also very clearly her answer to Ruby in the dream was that yes that can be friends (and eventually girlfriends WR for life)

There’s some interpartner bonding, ie Blake and Weiss which is nice to see when Weiss insists that she cares, that they all care about Blake and that she needs to come to her team when she needs help.

She and Blake shake hands and Yang instantly is like ok moving on, which I respect the territory patrolling (i jest).

Blake meanwhile forces Yang to read her books. Not sure if it’s the smut series or not but that’s funnier to imagine so I’m going with that.

And we get ANOTHER WR coffee scene. The scene so nice we see it thrice. Although this time it’s Weiss making coffee for Ruby and she remembers how her dolt takes it.

They are both blushing messes which is so adorable it’s hard to put into words as Awake plays in the background.

Shion talks about how her semblance evolves and how Nightmares are attracted to those with strong personalities. Yang continuing her reason for being annoys Weiss with this who managed patented Schnee look 12 of suffering at her.

Nora then dumps on Jaune which is incredible. (He doesn’t have a semblance lol)

Then Renora and WR mess around while BB and Arkos do the same and Ozpin is mysterious and asks to speak with Ruby and Blake separately.

Ozpin tries to hint at Silver Eyes and Ruby is like “lol can’t remember but friendship is great” (seriously).

The lighting in the scene is a good reflection into Ozpin’s mind, and the current state of Beacon. Ie as Ruby can’t recall the eyes she’s not in so much danger and so Ozpin leans back into the light instead of being shrouded in the darkness.

The scene lighting continues to be great during Blake’s talk which is really Ozpins way of showing he knows exactly who Blake is, what she did, and came from and being slightly smug about it.

When he mentions her heritage and past Blake who is ashamed of it is bathed in darkness but then goes back to light. Ozpin then lays his cards, or some of them on the table and really ramps up the interrogation and essentially all but says he knows more than she’s saying and gives her a chance to talk. Blake being Blake doesn’t.

And again he’s in the Gendo pose in the dark as he does this. Once the moment passes he’s back to being the affable headmaster in the light.

We get more monochrome bonding as Weiss waited for Blake so she wouldn’t be alone afterward and they have a really great talk about helping make the world a better place with the help of each other and their team.

Weiss is...more of a drama queen than I remember but canon adjacent and all that. We get some sisterly teasing which is cute.

Sun shows up and is just a great guy. Weiss invites him to hang out and for some reason this confuses Yang, which I honestly don’t get at all, but nothing is perfect.

Sun says he’ll introduce his team to them and that they’re all super hot. Seriously.

Weiss then remarks on Pyrrha’s interest in Jaune and says she has weird taste lol. Ruby is like “oh no she really does want to be on Pyrrha’s team, and Weiss gets all upset cause she thinks Ruby is. Then Yang suggest they trade Weiss and Ruby says that Weiss can’t ever get back on the team even if she begs. Then they look like they’re about to kiss and Yang seems pretty amused by it before they all start laughing.

Rwby take a group phot and then we cut to a very...excited Pyrrha helping Jaune train and cheer him on.

Renora remain pure and I love them, and Nora says that Ren is the strongest one of them before they agree to look out for each other and hold hands. Like some sort of cute couple or something.

We get this scene and Ruby calls her Weiss and Weiss is of course upset she didn’t refer to her as girlfriend or wife but hey she’s learning.

Yang makes a pun so bad literally no one gives her a pity laugh even as she makes it several times until Nora clocks her with an apple, which is the only real response.

Weiss asks if Ruby stole her binder, and Ruby assures her she just added a fun plan to it.

The food fight happens and there’s some interesting stuff going on. WR save each other several times which is cute. We don’t get the don’t leave me scene cause the fight goes differently and no one really loses or “dies”

and ends on this scene:

It’s a strange ending and a little anticlimactic, but overall it’s pretty gay. The first few minutes are very very gay for WR with some sprinkled in the rest of the episode.

#rwby #icequeendom #spoilers #whiterose #taco rambling hour

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palaceofpassion · 2 years

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Combined arms. Jaune has been acting odd as of late. He's been vanishing alot as of late, sometimes well into the night. He comes back exhausted and sometimes even sweaty. Pyrrha and May have tried to ask him what's going on but he deflects the question or tells them everything's fine. One day, Jaune comes back with his fingers bandaged! Enough is enough! Both girls confront him about what's going on. Only to be surprised when Jaune gives each one a handcrafted a ring he made for them.

May and Pyrrha were both worried, with good reason they'd felt. Lately Jaune, had been rather absent minded, and just over all absent from their lives. Neither knew what he was doing, or if he was even alright. Whenever they tried to broach the subject, he'd just wave them off and promise everything was alright.

The worst part was, he gave them an Arc's promise, so they could only believe him.

Still... neither liked when he came back late at night, exhausted and tired. Sometimes he came drenched in sweat, as if he'd been in an inferno.

They wanted to let it go, till he finally came back with his fingers bandaged and wrapped with gauss.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha let out an unlikely shriek, "That's enough! Whatever you're doing has to stop." She... she didn't want to step in like this, but she couldn't watch Jaune fall into self destruction, whatever he was doing couldn't be healthy.

May, oh sweet shy May, firmly stood in front of her boyfriend. Her gaze sharp, her eye focused on him, hands clasped around his cheeks. "Jaune, please... neither of us like seeing you hurt. And whatever it is you're doing it needs to stop before it gets worse. So we're begging you. Please just stop it." A tear ran down her cheek, "I don't want to see you hurt... it's not worth it."

Pyrrha taking her side nodded, placing a hand on his and her shoulder, "Please Jaune..."

Jaune stared, slightly perplexed, but also grinning devilishly from ear to ear. "Alright, I promise!"

"What?" Both girls responded, confused from how easy this turned out to be, knowing full well how stubborn Jaune was.

"Yep!" He popped the P. "Either way, I don't need to anymore, I'm all done. Just uhm, gimme a sec."

He pulled away, and began to rummage through his pockets finally pulling out little black boxes.

"So ah... you know, the entire thing happened while were in the forest, and didn't really have time to prepare anything. I also don't have any real money on me and uhm... I had Ruby's help to get these, I know they're not very good, but I wanted to get these for you anyways."

Jaune held out a box, one to May, one to Pyrrha.

Carefully, both girls plucked their presented items from his hands, slowly opening them till both released a shocked gasp.

Pyrrha was the first to break the silence, "Jaune! You... You didn't have to."

May said nothing, she silently wept tears of joy as she eyed the small golden ring inside the box. Crude and somewhat lopsided, it was still a present for both of them, that Jaune made by himself.

"Yeah well... I didn't want to not do it. My ma would have never let me down... anyways it's not like real gold and... I know that I can do better once we start going on missions, but I just wanted to ya know get you som-!"

He didn't get to finish as both Pyrrha and May simply tackled him pushing him down his bed and holding him close.

"No no! They're perfect, I love them!"

"Ye...yeah!"

Both girls were delighted, though slightly stressed, they couldn't ask for better engagement rings.

#Jaune Arc #Pyrrha Nikos #May Zedong #combined arms

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grimmgrinningghouls · 1 year

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I have like. So many emotions when it comes to Cinder. Because I like her don't get me wrong, I think she has some flaws but in the grand scheme of things she makes a good villain. But I just can't bring myself to see, or really want, Cinder to get redemption. I hate to sound like one of those people who wants to see her die a gorey death, I get it those kinds of critiques annoy me too, but I also don't want to be someone who excuses her actions bc she was abused.

But really, Cinder doesn't really deserve forgiveness. Especially not from team RWBY and co. They could tolerate Emerald, but Cinder? No. Cinder murdered Pyrrha, stabbed Weiss, had a hand in destroying their school, attempted to kill Winter, successfully killed Penny twice, and had zero hesitation in killing team RWBY and then mocking Weiss after she'd killed her entire team. Also yes I'm fully aware that they aren't actually dead, but Cinder believed she killed them, and everyone else believes they're dead so the point stands. And Yes, you can argue Emerald caused the illusion and Pyrrha finished the job, but come on Cinder intentionally planned for all that. And yes Jaune landed the blow the second time but only to prevent Cinder from finishing Penny first.

And that's just the stuff that affected RWBY and co personally! Not to mention she killed Vernal, killed watts, killed several unnamed service workers, killed her mentor, and it was satisfying to see the evil stepmom and stepsisters get killed but it doesn't mean it wasn't murder. Cinder has been proven time and time again to show absolutely no remorse for her actions. I think it is possible Cinder will eventually get dumped by Salem, almost certain actually, but that doesn't mean she can just go crawling to team RWBY and beg for forgiveness and they'll just let her join them like they did Emerald.

Frankly, it'd be stupid if they did, why the hell would they ever forgive her? They have pretty much no reason to. Cinder has caused nothing but problems and pain for them. I see a lot of people say Cinder will go off and just do her own thing, which I mean yeah maybe, but considering how Cinder is and how intent she was on killing Ruby and getting the winter maiden powers I see her getting dumped by Salem, and immediately going after Winter and even Ruby. Just even angrier now since Salem betrayed her, I could even see her trying to get the relics before Salem does.

So how should Cinder's story end then? That's kind of difficult since there are multiple different paths she could go down. I don't think Cinder will stop going after team RWBY and co even if Salem betrays her, which will make her just a persistent threat and one they have to get rid of eventually. I think, in the end, Cinder will die. Maybe Salem kills her, maybe one of our main characters killed her, hell maybe she even sacrifices herself or something. There are a lot of different ways her story could end, too many for me to talk about here.

#rwby #rwby analysis #cinder fall #and to be clear I AM NOT trying to critique the writing here #I'm just trying to point out why I don't want a redemption for Cinder #ruby rose #winter schnee #team rwby #Weiss schnee #Arthur watts #Salem #RWBY salem #Cinders a pretty touchy topic #and there are a lot of different opinions on her ik #shes a character I myself have just a lot of emotions on #and thats great! I like that the writers have made a character that can make me feel so many different ways #penny polendina

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onewomancitadel · 11 months

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Writing Cinder in love is one of the most interesting experiences because it portrays an entirely different facet to her character which demands that you think really hard about her canon character, but are also able to permutate believable behaviour and beliefs she expresses. This makes it really hard, especially when common beliefs surrounding villains are that they're incapable of love at best, and at worst probably malign the concept just on principle (that this is both shortsighted and inconsiderate of canon is another problem). It is definitely something I've noticed in discussing Knightfall that part of the unlikelihood isn't just based on Cinder killing Pyrrha or Jaune killing Penny, but also that Cinder is partly emotionally dead.

Of course, what I like is that she seemingly is.

Because that is literally asking for dramatic reversal! I don't know how to make this idea clearer, but saying that a villain is lonely (and also explicitly told she is unloved and no one will ever love her) and incapable of love and also has never been unconditionally regarded nor has she had anybody to unconditionally regard is basically begging for something to be done with it. From a canonical perspective if they don't follow up on it, it's criminal, but from a purely fanfic perspective, that's saying: now imagine Cinder Fall in love.

But if your model of romantic love is superficial, then of course Cinder's not going to fit into that paradigm without some squashing; if all you're used to is 'and then they looked at each other and giggled' or 'and then he manfully embraced her' then you're not going to get it, because I'm actually talking about romantic love, not paint-by-numbers 'romance'. They are really two different things. It doesn't mean that Cinder is going to 'normally' express it which includes any - dare I say - 'yandere' tropes. It means that you have to seriously consider what person would move her and what she would have to do with that when it completely unseats her world perspective and all the things she's been told about herself.

The reason I'm meditating on this is because I was musing on the attitude that I encounter which is that romance for Cinder is 'unrealistic' just because they don't think about her actual canon character properly or narrative stakes. From a fanfic perspective it's unimaginative, from a canon perspective it's damning. The two are inextricably tied for me; I can't talk about how to believably write a romance for Cinder without thinking about her canon character... but the more I meditate on that challenge, the more I wonder: surely they've seen this opportunity themselves. Like, if you could show this side to her and tie that to her redemption, that's a serious missed opportunity.

I know she's possessive and covetous and hungry and lonely and metaphorically dead and dramatic and sometimes even funny, so what on earth would she be like facing something unconditionally pure? Would she scorn it, for not thinking she deserves it or not understanding it? Want it twice over? Steal it? Hoard it? Reject it? Embrace it? Oh! Maybe all of them!

#on romance once again #knightfall

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ryuto12 · 2 years

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Does Anything Really Die?: The Yang snapshot.

So basically I'm writing a rwby story loosely based around some folklore, some religion and some mythology. To sum it up, Ruby is a grim reaper, Blake is an angel and a Goddess, Weiss is a forever reincarnating paragon of good, and Yang is a demon and also a Kami. Jaune's a reincarnating warrior, Nora's the reincarnation of Thor, Pyrrha's the reincarnation of Achilles, and Ren's the reincarnation of the Kami Jurojin.

Anyway this is a piece out of that which centered around one of Yang's first moments in the story.

Yang Xiao Long, the Demon who decided that she would marry an angel, divorce her, and then move away to cry in hell for all of eternity.

Should they have stayed married, today would have been the thousand-year anniversary. They had married in the year 1014 and it had been the talk of the realms. From the Underworld to Heaven to Alfheim, everyone had talked about it.

Everyone knew in every realm from the Paragon of good Weiss Schnee to the very incarnation of death Ruby Rose, the King of Asgard Odin, the Demonic-Spirt mixed Yokai, and the world snake Jormungandr. She reckons even St. Peter heard the word.

Everyone knew.

But her insecurities had gotten in the way of the happiness they both felt.

Yang, immortalized as the Sun Kami Amaterasu, couldn't die. Death would be paradise to whatever this was.

Blake, --who would only be immortalized as the Goddess Faunus in Roman, or the Goddess Pan in Greek mythology-- two centuries later, was at the time a mortal being.

An angel, so she may live a couple hundred years, but she was no immortal God. And Yang's abandonment issues were no easy thing to overcome.

Frankly, a thousand years later she regrets the outburst she had. The words that would break her and her utmost love apart. The actions that would follow that would seal the deal.

She's aware after everything that Blake delved deep into work, almost falling into a pit of despair. As evidence, her actions had helped humanity so much they now praised her as a Goddess, which would effectively have her immortalized.

Yang vividly remembers begging for forgiveness she was not granted. She's pretty sure she's the reason patience became a virtue.

And poor Jurojin had cracked a harmless joke about it, oh poor Jurojin, listening to the words of his drunken best friend Thor. And oh poor Jurojin, forgetting that as one of the Supreme Rulers, Yang was one of the few people capable of killing Gods.

She hears Jurojin and Thor reincarnate every couple of decades these days.

Yeah, Odin hadn't been happy about that. But what was he gonna do? Smite Japan as Agard burnt to a crisp? No. She heard a lot more prayers than he did on the daily, her will was a bit stronger. He was still pretty pissed though.

"You've fucked Ragnarok!"

"Is the pretty?"

"You idiot!"

That's what she remembers from that encounter.

Yang sighed, it was much easier to cling to her Demonic origins as a Yokai. Father a Spirit and mother a Fallen Angel turned Demon, --later after the Kami's Izanagi and Izami- Yang had been the first Yokai. But haunting people was boring and she had this bad habit of helping them instead, so they started praying to her.

Thus she had become the Goddess Amaterasu, ruler of the sun and the heavens for all who believed in Shinto. Leader of the heavens was already enough to make you a Supreme Ruler, and now here she was.

Sitting in Hell like a coward because sex, drugs, alcohol, and every other sin that is known to man, was much easier to do than rule a realm.

So here sat upon her throne, one made by the greatest Demonic architects solely for her. Slouched and in the middle of a decent blowjob, when a servant entered her throneroom.

"M'lady?"

"What?!" For God's sake she was getting her dick sucked, this was no time for conversation.

"Someone is here to speak to, Miss Xiao Long."

"Oh again? Let me guess, Emperor fucking Tenmu."

"Not exactly..."

"Then who in the actual hell is so important?!"

"Um... Your sibling, ma'am."

Yang groaned, fire burning bright behind her as she sat up straight. "Let 'em in. Go away Neo, now I'm bored and there is no way I'm gonna have sex for the next decade now."

The servant quickly scurried out, having faced Yang's wrath ten to many times.

Yang's also fairly sure she's the reason wrath became a sin.

The girl huffed, standing and giving Yang the side-eye.

"Yes I know you're salty, I'll give you some tongue later, now leave me alone. My family never visits Hell unless it's important."

Neo scoffed, but with a roll of her eyes shattered into shards on the floor that quickly disappeared.

With that reaction, Yang wishes she asked which sibling. For Tsukiyomi or Kagatsuchi she could surely have made them wait.

But oh no fuck her, the higher powers of the world were screwing her day up badly.

Just as she had managed to pull her pants up, the very essence of death itself was in her throne room.

"This better be fucking important."

Ruby grumbled a string of old-timey Korean curses. "It is. Now unless you would prefer I send you right down to the very heavens you rule, I suggest you shut up because I just found your wife on the brink of death. And you, Yang Xiao Long, are the prime suspect in the crime."

Yang snorted. "What is this court?"

"Yes, and I'm the judge, jury and executioner if you don't explain where you were yesterday at midnight."

#rwby #rwby au #yang xiao long #demon au

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howlingday · 2 years

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tragic backstory (tm) au) cin cin needs help learning the rapier, or the small sword doesn't really matter it's just her class is doing a story about a masked hero and she wants to get the lead really bad. jaune's sorry to say that he doesn't know much beyond longsword from his own time as a practice partner, but maybe letting her train with weiss would help? i mean obviously real combat isn't a good match for stage but anything is better than nothing right?

meanwhile ren's thinking he might have to rethink the assassin theory, he doesn't think jaune's sister has it in her to even say a bad thing about jaune let alone kill him... so why is he training her in such things? and what sort of training lets her be that athletic and graceful! (ballerinas are jacked man! never even try to mess with one)

and weiss is struggling to not have a mental breakdown, the girl is a once in a generation genius when it comes to the small sword and rapier but everytime she thinks she's connecting with her newest student she huffs and clams up, she's not even hiding anything it's just that she seems to remember that she's supposed to be mad at them for some reason and then goes back to pouting! she can't imagine anyone being so stubborn even when they're wrong! (basically cin-cin is volume 1 weiss when she's mad and these people were mean to her big brother for a long time from what she heard!)

You Do It For Cin

Cinnamon Arc loves many thing. First, she loves her family, who was always there for her through everything. Second, she loves her friends, whom she shared many wonderful memories with. Third and finally, and possibly more than anything else, she loves the theater.

She loved dressing up, performing, and becoming something more than herself! She begged her parents to take her to every play they could. She would reference the greats wherever she could, and often disrupted class for the sake of the arts.

Ozpin: (Clack! Clack! Clack!) And you left your sister under the care of Ms. Schnee?

Jaune: (Clack! Clack! Clack!) Yeah, I trust her. Besides, she's the better swordswoman than I am.

Ozpin: (Clack! Clack! Clack!) Well, to be fair, of the two of you, she's the only swordswoman of the two of you.

Jaune: (Clack! Clack! Clack!) I can't argue with that.

Ozpin: (Clack! Clack! Clack!) A moment, Mr. Arc.

Jaune: (Stops) What's wrong?

Ozpin: Nothing. I just have a question for you.

Jaune: Oh, okay. What do you want to know?

Ozpin: Actually, that's exactly what my question was going to be.

Jaune: Huh?

Ozpin: I'm sure you have questions for me, so consider this your chance to learn what you can. Ask me any question.

Jaune: Uh, okay. Uh, how old are you?

Ozpin: Much, much older than you, or anyone you know.

Jaune: Really?

Ozpin: Indeed.

Jaune: Older than Professor Port?

Ozpin: Much older.

Jaune: Older than the Councilman.

Ozpin: Much, much older.

Jaune: What, are you, like, a hundred years old? (Thwack!) OW!

Ozpin: (Smiles) Much older.

Jaune: I feel like you're messing with me.

Ozpin: A little bit, yes.

Weiss: Now, just as I showed you...

Cin-Cin: I know what I'm doing.

Weiss: Yes, but your arm is too tense. You should try-

Cin-Cin: I have been doing this for years! I don't need you smothering me, hag!

Weiss: H-Hag?

Yang: (Sigh) Not again. (Picks up Weiss) Come on, Weiss, suck it up, you're not a hag. Just useless teenager.

Weiss: Useless?! I'll have you know, Xiao Long, that I have done nothing but excel since...

Yang: (Walks back) Yup, this is going to be a long day.

Nora: So she's not an assassin in training?

Ren: I'm starting to think no. She's attached to her brother, so when the time comes, she won't have it in her.

Blake: Not to mention, I can't imagine Jaune training an assassin.

Ruby: He was in the mob, wasn't he?

Nora: No, he made that up to hide the fact he learned it using the bones of his best friend rat while he was enslaved.

Ruby: (Sniffs) Poor ratty!

Pyrrha: I remember Jaune telling me she's a fan of performing Huntsman. He said she's attending Sanctum so she can learn to fight and perform in an arena.

Ruby: So she's going to Sanctum to be an actor?

Pyrrha: Not everyone who attends and graduates from a primary school go on to a Huntsman Academy. Sometimes, they'll go back to have regular jobs, using their experience to benefit the community without committing to the Huntsman lifestyle.

Nora: So Sanctum is just another step towards being an actor?

Pyrrha: Real combat isn't that different from stage combat, though there are key differences, such as developing a killing intent.

Nora: Killing intent? With her

Weiss: Now, one, two, three, tap. One, two, three, tap. One, two-

Cin-Cin: I'll kill you! (Weiss expertly deflects every strike) Die! Die! Die! (Huffs, Pants)

Weiss: ...Are you done, dear? Good! Now, as we were doing. One, two, three, tap.

Nora: Yeah, I could see it.

Jaune: Wow... So that's what Uncle Jim was like. I never got to meet him before he died, but he sounds really strong.

Ozpin: Indeed. Though, I wish he controlled his emotions better.

Jaune: (Chuckles) Yeah, he sounds like he was an emotional kind of guy.

Ozpin: Yes, the apple doesn't fall far, does it?

Jaune: Hey, I am not that emotional.

Ozpin: Mr. Arc, te only difference between yourself and your uncle was his voracious appetite for flesh.

Jaune: Hey, I eat a lot of meat, too!

Ozpin: (Leans forward, Gives a knowing look) Not what I'm talking about.

Jaune: (Blushing) Oh...

Ozpin: In fact, he was especially fond of one woman in particular. A miss-

Vernal: Raven! (Rips open tent) You're going to need to see this!

Raven: (Steps out, Walks with Vetnal) This better be good.

Vernal: It isn't, ma'am. It really isn't. We were watching the Luna tribe, when suddenly one of them started screaming, then the others! Next thing we knew, they were beating each other to death, then gutting themselves!

Raven: Did any of them escape?

Vernal: Yes, but they were moving south to other side of the camp. I think they were hiding from them and trying to get you to protect them.

Raven: Cowards and weaklings, all of- (Looks over the death and gore) I'll be back. (Flies up in her raven form, Flies back down shortly after) Mobilize the camp. We're going to Beacon.

Vernal: Of course, but may I ask why?

Raven: Because like it, or not, I need Ozpin.

#rwby #rwby au #tragic backstory (tm) au #ozpin #headmaster ozpin #professor ozpin #jaune arc #weiss schnee #cinnamon arc #yang xiao long #ruby rose #nora valkyrie #blake belladonna #lie ren #pyrrha nikos #vernal branwen #vernal #raven branwen

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itsclydebitches · 2 years

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I think as the volumes progressed, the writers took Blake "running away" more literal than metaphorical. Its like with Nora's whole "be strong, hit stuff" or Penny's "just a part of you" arc. When it comes down to it, Blake is not a confrontational person. At least post V3. Yeah, she rallied an army to stop the WF but consistently there is almost no healthy communication within her interpersonal relationships. Just vague platitudes and its draining to watch.

Yeah, we certainly see the "vague platitudes" a lot in Volume 8 where Blake, originally someone who marched up and called people out on their shit, now stands meekly in the background while others, usually Yang and Ruby, direct things. She's definitely become more passive, whether that's in regard to what she doesn't do (not speaking up about Ozpin, or lying to Ironwood, being mad at Weiss for not listening to her like she likely would have been in the past), or what she does do (begging for help, continually being framed as the comforted by Yang rather than the comforter). Actually, forgive me, but I was in the process of reblogging my own post with a clarification about how I see Blake's "running away" flaw... but I think I'll just chuck it here instead lol. Some of what I wrote does touch on that post-Volume 3 change:

Okay, so @irandomblogfulb pointed out that one of these run away moments was when Blake was dealing with Weiss’ racism. So technically speaking, sure, she ran away in the sense of leaving the situation. But one of the reasons why I never bought that as a specific flaw for Blake is that everyone does this. Not just in a general sense of, “Everyone is allowed to remove themselves from a harmful situation. That’s not automatically a major flaw you have to overcome, especially when the initial removal isn’t proof that you’ll never deal with this problem,” but also in a much more specific, “The RWBY characters run from things a fair bit.” Specifically, things that are currently harmful to their mental health/are simply difficult for them to deal with right now. Weiss ran away from her father. Pyrrha chose Beacon because she was running away from her fame. Yang symbolically ran away from the mission Ruby wanted to go on, her new arm, and fighting in general for months. Ruby literally ran away from home rather than continue the hard emotional work of trying to get through to her sister. If we count “running away” as avoiding difficult situations through secret keeping (as some people do in regards to Blake hiding her faunus identity) then Jaune did that with his stolen transcripts and Qrow did that with his semblance. The point is, most of these characters at various points are allowed to leave/avoid situations until they were ready to deal with them. Weiss chooses when to return to Atlas and confront her father, Pyrrha chooses how to handle being well-known at Beacon, Yang chooses when to put her new arm on, Ruby was (luckily) already ready to see Yang again when they unexpectedly reunited, Jaune chose when to tell Pyrrha about his transcripts, and Qrow chose when he told the girls about his semblance. No other character has this “I can’t believe you ran away from this difficult situation, rather than immediately tackling it head-on” flaw because the story didn’t announce that that’s a flaw for them... even though, by this logic, the flaw still exists. Blake’s actions aren’t inherently worse than anything they did, Blake is just the character with the designated “This is bad” attached to her as a character trait.

In particular, there are a lot of easy comparisons between Blake and Weiss. If Blake is expected to immediately spill her minority status and the difficulties inherent in that, why isn’t Weiss expected to immediately spill her difficult home life? If Blake is expected to immediately stand her ground with Adam, why isn’t Weiss expected to immediately stand her ground with Jacques? Given that we weren’t shown what, if any, explanations were left post-Fall of Beacon, if Blake is horrible for running away back to Menagerie, why isn’t Weiss horrible for running away back to Atlas? No one should know that Jacques forced Weiss back and even if they did, how do they know something else didn’t likewise force Blake to leave too? They should be on equal footing in regard to Yang’s anger based on the established knowledge she has (baring, of course, that Yang simply cares more about Blake) and hell, Weiss would likewise be justified in being angry that Yang and Ruby “ran away” from her too. Where were you when my father scooped me up and decided to hold me prisoner? Well, Ruby was unconscious, Yang had lost an arm, and their uncle took them home. Oh. Where were you, Blake, when Yang was recovering from that lost arm? She was going home like literally everyone else, recovering from a stab wound, and reeling from her abusive ex saying that he’d kill everyone she loved, immediately following that dismemberment, thereby solidifying the idea that her being around those friends is incredibly dangerous for them. Oh.

RWBY never did a good job of establishing Blake as cowardly or unwilling to face her problems. It just dropped her into a couple of traumatic situations and then when she got out of them had her say, “Omg I’m a horrible person for running away”... even though she’s absolutely not and, you know, everyone else is “running away” too. It’s only when it’s Blake that it’s supposedly a problem. The time when I think RWBY accurately established running away as harmful was a) when Ozma hid away in his cabin and b) when Maria disappeared (and even then I’m like, girl... you lost your eyes and Salem was actively hunting you. You’re allowed to take a step back lol). In those cases, we establish that these are individuals whose knowledge and skill are rather significant and their choice to avoid those hardships indefinitely is, ultimately, not good for the world. Beyond that, RWBY doesn’t have a clear, moral distinction between running for safety/mental health/needing time to process and running as something actively harmful. Even if they did have that distinction, the solution, apparently, is swearing to never leave Yang’s side. Just hers, specifically. That feeds into many fans’ discomfort over how this duo gets angry over the mere thought of separating to better their combat skills (Marrow’s comment) and are so focused on one another that they imagine the other being upset with them when they are separated (Yang thinking Blake will be mad during Volume 8, Blake’s drooped ears and hesitation when they reunite). I say as someone who likes the pairing and VERY MUCH wants it made canonical: that’s not a comfortable depiction of a romance, not if we’re looking for this to be presented as a healthy relationship. This also feeds into the problem we saw with Ruby and Weiss where swearing that Weiss will never have to leave the team results in stealing the airship being the “better” idea. The conclusion of that “running is bad” arc has course corrected into, imo, far more harmful character traits. Blake won’t run away, she just can’t deal with the idea of being separated from Yang. Blake won’t run away, so she’ll automatically support Ruby’s non-existent plan regarding Salem, dooming an entire Kingdom rather than letting a portion escape. Blake won’t run away, so she’s left begging Ruby to wake up and save her from this grimm rather than, you know, trying to grab Ruby’s unconscious form and leaving. RWBY doesn’t know what it wants to say in regards to strategic retreat vs. cowardice and Blake was hit pretty hard by that indecisiveness. In “Mountain Glenn” she says:

“I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself - an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away!”

and it’s easy to take that line at face value, but... what about Sun who also creates copies of himself to take hits? What about Wiess who summons grimm to fight for her while she stands safely on the sidelines? Or Ren whose semblance helps him hide? Or Ruby whose soul ability is literal super-speed so that she can run away?

The show never tells us why Blake's run away semblance is harmful when everyone else's run away semblance is not. By this logic, the only one who isn’t cowardly is Yang whose semblance forces her to take hits directly (and when a semblance like Adam’s avoids that it’s “cheating”). Just because Blake says she has this flaw doesn’t mean the writers did a good job of showing it. It just means they recognized she needed some kind of flaw to work through and had her announce one, regardless of whether it made good sense. In that regard, it’s no different than Ruby’s “Suddenly, my flaw is that I don’t know hand-to-hand. No one else is expected to fight without their weapons, just me. I’ve now overcome this with a single headbutt.”

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

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arc-misadventures · 2 years

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Shark

Ruby: Hey, Team JNPR, who’s ready to party!!!

The members of Team RWBY burst into the room of Team JNPR, to find three fourths of them laying on the ground, their bodies looking as of they had the life drained our of them.

Ruby: Guys… Guy’s are we going to the party, or do you have something else going on here.

Jaune: …

Ren: …

Pyrrha: …

Ruby: Uhh, guys…? You okay?

Yang: What’s wrong with you guys?

Weiss: Are they dead…?

Blake: They sure look it…

Jaune: I wish we were…

Ruby: Ahh!!! OhOff!!! Wha?! It’s alive?!

Weiss: Of course he’s alive you dolt!

Yang: You sure…

Weiss: Ehh… Yes?

Blake: What happened, the place is a mess?

Ren: Nora… Nora happened… again…

Weiss: Well… that narrows it down.

Yang: Sarcasm?

Weiss: No.

Yang: Just thought I should ask.

Ruby: What happened to you guys?

Pyrrha: Nora… she figured out she could swap the words…

Blake: What, that makes… Ahh?!!

Jaune reached out and grabbed Blake’s arms with the last bit of his strength. He gazed upon, Blake with a mad look in his eyes, the eyes of a man terrified of what he had just witnessed.

Jaune: It matters not what happened! You must run! All of you run, and never stop running!

Pyrrha: You must run… Run while you still can… Run… Run…

Yang: Okay?! What the hell is all of this, some elaborate prank?

Jaune: No joke of any nature, only a warning from the dammed…

Ruby: Don’t worry, Jaune, what ever it is we can save you and still make the party, right guys!

Yang: Yeah, this party has been in the making for nearly a month, no way you’re gonna miss it!

Blake: While I’m not much of a party person, I am in no mood to miss out on this one.

Weiss: Blake, you , not wanting to miss a party? This I gotta see.

Ruby: Yeah! Come on you lazy bones, lets go!

Pyrrha: You don’t understand! You need to leave now, before its…?!

The roomed grew silent to the world around it. And yet, they could all here a slow hum of a tune played in the silence.

Yang: W-What? Is that music…?

Ruby: Why does it sound so familiar…?

Jaune: You fools! We told you, I begged you to run! And you didn’t! Why didn’t you heed our warnings!

Pyrrha: And, now it is too late for you! For any of you now! You are all doomed, doomed!

Ruby: Okay what’s going on?

Weiss: And what is that music, its getting really annoying!

Ren: Its the sound of death… And now it has come… It has come for you…

Team RWBY was about to barrage the group with a series of questions when suddenly the room was filled with silence. Yang made to speak, but the door suddenly burst open and out came a wild eyed, Nora. Who stared at the group, with a look, that inspired fear and dread into their hearts.

Ruby: H-Hey, Nora… Uhh… Any reason why, everyone is… dead…?

Nora stared at them for a moment, her owlish, soulless eyes staring through the as if they were glass.

Yang: Uhh… Nora you okay…?!

Nora opened her mouth, but she did not speak for she sung instead. For she sang a song, a song of death…

Nora: Baby Sloth, doo doo doo doo doo! Baby Sloth, doo doo doo doo doo! Baby Sloth, doo doo doo doo doo!

RWBY: …

RWBY: AHHHHHHH?!!!!!

Nora: BABYSLOTHDOODOODOODOODOO!!!! BABYSLOTHDOODOODOODOODOO!!! BABYSLOTHDOODOODOODOODOO!!!

#rwby #jaune arc #nora valkyrie #lie ren #pyrrha nikos #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long

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rockleaves · 2 years

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i finished harrow. it was VERY good. i have a lot of theories and thoughts and i am sure i will be slowly spitting them out as they percolate into coherent words over the next forever, but for now my biggest theory is: while i think anastasia is going have some big role to play still, i do not think she is the body in the tomb. i think alecto is both the body AND the ninth resurrection beast. main reasons:

1. john’s resurrection beast math not mathing. 9 beasts, 5 killed, 3 left he said. but alecto isn’t actually dead, he couldn’t fully kill her, she’s just mostly dead.

2. the way teacher describes alecto in chapter 35 (how the lyctors begged john to kill alecto once they found out about the resurrection beasts because they thought she would do them harm. mercy later says they thought the beasts were coming for alecto, but we know john is lying liar who lies) combined with as yet unclarified truth about her resurrection that john told the lyctors

3. mercy saying cytherea went mad for weeks from seeing a resurrection beast’s physical body. harrow going mad after seeing the body in the tomb.

4. the mouth of hell opening for john. pyrrha says it must think he’s a resurrection beast. he’s got alecto’s soul inside him.

5. ummm i think i had a fifth reason but i can’t remember it right now because it’s almost 9 pm and i am very hungry. but yeah. if any of you are hashtag Anatasia Body Truthers tho i would love to hear your theories because i am very curious about it. also i am ready for taz to just dance on all of this anyway because that is what reading these books is like.

#t #harrow the ninth spoilers

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just-another-obsessed-fangirl · 3 years

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slow motion, double vision in rose blush (Renora College AU)

Summary: Ren doesn't need alcohol to know how gorgeous his best friend is or to admit to himself (kind of, sort of) that his feelings towards her aren't exactly platonic. Apparently, he just needs it if he wants to be unable to ignore those facts.

Warnings: Drinking alcohol, some suggestive thoughts

Fic under the read more or can be read on AO3 here

I wrote this for Flower Power Week, but I didn’t see that there was a rule to keep works PG-13 until I was almost finished with this fic, and I figure this fic is already inherently a bit more mature than that, so I don’t think I should use the tag or tag the blog.

Hope you enjoy!

Parties wouldn't really be considered Ren's "thing".

He much prefers the slightly-hectic-but-relatively-calm get-togethers of his friends that they manage to schedule every week or so amongst all their university classes. But it was the end of some particularly grueling midterms and everyone in their little friend group (and apparently, everyone on campus) had wanted to let loose and let wild after being cooped up with only their textbooks and their stress for so long. So that, and not enough displeasure at the plan to do anything about it, is how Ren ended up in the corner of the front room of some frat house with a red Solo cup in his hand.

He doesn't know where most of his friends have gone. Ren hasn't seen all of them in one place since basically when they first arrived and Yang had shoved shots of - Ren hasn't drunk enough alcohol in his life to know for sure, but he would assume it's whiskey - into each of their hands. He didn't have much desire to down it in one go like most of the group, would rather let its burn come in little bursts than have all of the pain all at once. By the time he had finished it, Yang had taken Blake somewhere promising to dance, Ruby heard a rumor of a ping pong table and had set off to find it with Weiss so they can challenge each other, and Jaune and Pyrrha went… somewhere. The only friend who hadn't wandered off was Nora, who immediately upon finishing her shot had started pouring ice, orange juice, and maybe a tad too much vodka into a Solo cup.

She had immediately come back to his side, expressing how much this was needed for her after midterms. Nora then starts rambling about what lengths she had gone to in order to make the information stick and the stomach aches she got from the stress and how she was shaking during her last test partly from how little sleep she had gotten in the past month from projects. At least, that's what Ren was pretty sure she was talking about. The music was so loud that he had to lean in pretty close to hear what Nora was saying, and even then he couldn't pick up half the words said. Which was a shame, because as much as people seem to believe he just ignores her, Ren does listen to everything his best friend wants to say, and he likes listening to everything she says.

Nora must've noticed how close Ren was leaning in, or his discomfort at the loud music, as she then grabs his hand and walks them somewhere else, still talking all the while. The farther they walk, the quieter the music gets, the more Ren can hear Nora. They arrive at some far-off corner and Ren is more than content to stay there and listen to Nora for the rest of the night. But then a girl dressed more like she was going to a full-out rave rather than a college party rushes up to Nora and begs her to be her partner at beer pong.

"Kobalt and Ivori are ‘too cool’ for it, and Flynt's our DD, so obviously he can't drink, and you're fun enough and I bet you'd be super good at beer pong-"

Ren can tell Nora wants to say yes, but she keeps looking at him from the corner of her eye like she doesn't want to leave him alone. If he really had heard her correctly, then she is certainly deserving of some fun right now, and it might be a little awkward standing here alone but it wouldn't be the worst thing.

"You should go," he says.

Nora turns her head fully to him. "Are you sure? You gonna be okay here all by your lonesome?"

Ren gives her a little smile. "I think I can manage."

"Great!" the girl says with a clap of her hands. "So it's settled". She grabs the cup that Nora was holding and hands it off to Ren. "Now be a good boyfriend and keep this safe for her."

Nora's face flushes, and Ren can feel that he does too. "Oh no, Neon, we're not-" but before she can continue her denial, Neon yanks her away to the beer pong table.

They're a little ways away, but they are perfectly within Ren's eyesight. He can see that they're playing against Sun and Neptune. He doesn't know them too well but he hasn't known them as anything other than friendly. Well, Jaune might disagree at least where Neptune's concerned, but it's been ages and he's since got over his crush on Weiss, so he's probably okay with him now. They start their game and on her first try, Nora lands the ball cleanly into one of the other team's cups. She jumps and pumps her fist in the air, showing off that usual bright beautiful smile in her joy that always seems to lighten up every room and flood Ren's insides with warmth.

He looks away a little, not wanting to acknowledge what that feeling really meant, even if he had finally admitted to himself that what he had felt for his best friend wasn’t exactly platonic. The admission itself is a barely-there kind of thing because no matter how much Ren would prefer it, he couldn't be in complete denial over it for the rest of time so he'll just settle for being as close to that as possible. Nora's his best friend, what they've had since they were kids - it's good. For the most part, he's completely fine with the way things are and Nora seems to also so why potentially ruin or try to change something that's practically perfect already? Before he could uncomfortably spiral into that thought process anymore, mercifully, he is interrupted. But not so mercifully, that interruption is from Nora, laughing so loud and wonderfully that Ren just plummets even deeper.

Something funny must have happened. Or maybe not. It doesn't seem to take much to send Nora into a fit of laughter. He likes that about her, that she can let joy or other emotions in so easily and that she doesn't really care about how it may look or what others might think. He's glad there isn't some insecurity that keeps Nora from laughing so often. She has such a nice laugh and Ren likes knowing she's happy and it's nice that she does it so much. And her lips are so pretty, especially when she smiles. He can't help but keep his focus on them. That is until she throws her head back, showing off the nice smooth skin of her neck. Ren then starts to wonder what it would be like to press his lips to the side of it and just how she'd react before he realizes the nature of just what exactly he's thinking.

His mouth goes dry. Without thinking, he raises Nora's cup to his lips to make it go away but it isn't until he's already swallowed and surprised himself with the hefty burn it leaves in his throat that he remembers what was in that cup. Yeah, he definitely took a much bigger sip than he should've, and there is definitely too much vodka in that. But the orange juice masks the taste of it for the most part and the ice soothes away a good amount of the burn, so it's definitely not the worst alcoholic drink Ren's ever had and might actually be one of the more pleasant ones. He takes a smaller sip of it out of a measured curiosity.

Ren's eyes drift back to Nora. If he had any sense left in him, he'd focus on anything else, keep trying to avoid feelings he doesn't want to feel and thoughts that might be inappropriate, or definitely inappropriate. But it's as if Ren's field of vision can only narrow down to just her. There are clouds of pink on the edges of what he can see, threatening to fill up the entire room, and it seems as if the only way it won't happen is if he keeps Nora right in the center, where all her movements seem to be in slow motion.

She picked a green top tonight, a color more associated with Ren more than Nora. She bears a little more skin in this top too, the two spaghetti straps unable to hide the nice, toned muscles of Nora's arms and shoulders along with her delicate collarbone. Ren had already noticed this top when everyone was on the way to the party, trying to figure out if it was new as he's pretty sure he had never seen it before. He must've been more obvious than he should've, because Pyrrha had nudged his shoulder then, giving him a coy little smile. "Green's a good color on Nora, isn't it?" Pyrrha had said, as if he hadn't already known that. Nora doesn't have a lot of green in her own wardrobe, but Ren does, and the times when she has worn the color were usually because she was wearing his clothes. She's done it often enough - stolen his sweater to fight the cold in the café while they were studying, hung his jacket from her shoulders walking around town, switched into one of his tees and sweats when she needed to crash at his dorm for one reason or another. It always feels nice seeing Nora in green, especially when it's his green. Ren would let Nora borrow his clothes any time just to see it more often.

Nora's skirt is still her signature pink, but without the usual volume or swish ability that she loves so much. No, this skirt is… tighter. It clings to the shape of her quite well, accentuating her curves very nicely. She's doing a little dance right now, and it looks like she's singing too. Nora's a really good singer when she wants to be but he can't imagine she's deciding to be that right now. She bumps her hip against Neon's and spins around, does some shimmying movement. Ren's mouth goes dry again. He's starting to feel really warm. He should look away. Nora's his best friend. He shouldn't be getting mesmerized by the movement of her hips or tracing his eyes over the muscles of her arms, or even noticing how her outfit and especially that skirt, while she’s dancing, makes certain areas of Nora more prominent and - okay Ren's taking another drink. He's taking another drink because he needs another drink, because he needs to stop ogling Nora and thinking these kinds of thoughts about her.

The burn hurts. It's a deserved punishment.

He's a little woozy right now but he still feels guilty. Nora is beautiful. She's always been beautiful. Ren has known that even before realizing he liked her in that way. But that doesn't give him or anybody else the right to objectify her like that. It's obviously not like her being gorgeous is the only thing to Nora, and neither that nor the idea of them being physical together are why Ren fell in love with her in the first place.

Love.

Well, that is… definitely true. It's definitely true but Ren doesn't think he's ever admitted that much to himself before. In fact, he knows he hasn't because emotions are uncomfortable and scary and often irrational and he doesn't like dealing with them especially when it could ruin probably the most important relationship he has. Why did he have to realize this now? Why did he have to realize this at all? This is uncomfortable. He might be panicking. He feels off balance. Ren takes another drink just so that he can distract himself from all of this but it doesn't quite work by the time he's finished off the rest of it.

There's nothing of this too-much-vodka concoction left and it is immediately apparent to Ren that that was not his brightest idea. He doesn't really drink too much, even at social gatherings. Their friends usually appoint him the designated driver, and he doesn't mind. If he does drink, he'll usually stop by the time he feels a hint of a buzz. This was… more than a hint. He's more off-balance than before, the room sways a little more and he thinks it's grown even pinker. His head feels cloudy. And this is the longest a burn has stayed in his throat. And he is so warm. Ren leans his back against the wall for some stability.

His eyes come back to Nora because if Ren couldn't stop it before, he can't stop it now. She's still there, being beautiful and charming and full of life, laughing with the people around her, and of course Ren is in love with her, how could he ever try to deny that fact. Neptune comes up to her, leans in kind of close to say something. Ren doesn't like that, or the way he's looking at Nora. Maybe Jaune was right about him. Maybe the problem with Neptune is that he's too friendly. Neptune points his thumb somewhere and - wait, is he pointing at him? He must have because Nora immediately turns her head and catches Ren's eye. There's some expression on her face and she immediately sets off in his direction.

There's something in Ren that tells him to act casual and he raises the cup to his lips one more time but is immediately reminded of the fact that there's nothing left in it so he figures he just looks stupid.

"Hey," Nora says as she stops in front of him. "You okay?"

Ren looks up from his empty cup and pushes himself off the wall. He probably used a lot more force than he should've and stumbles a bit, which Nora remedies by putting her hands on his shoulders. She laughs a little, and he can't help but feel even warmer.

"Guess that answers my question," Nora giggles some more.

"I'm fine," Ren says. He is very aware of how her fingers are splayed out on his shoulders, the pressure she's putting that's just enough to still him. It keeps him calm, but also doesn't, and his heart is beating so hard she must feel it where her hands are.

Her eyes scan over his face. "I've never seen your face so red." Ren's sure it only gets redder then. "How much have you had to drink?"

He wordlessly brings his attention back to the empty cup in his hand, which Nora follows. "You drank all of it?" she points at the cup, her eyes widening. "Ren, I put a lot of vodka in that!"

Ren blinks a couple times, having to more manually process what Nora said while he was trying not to stare at her mouth. "I can tell," he says, maybe a couple of seconds too late.

Nora raises an eyebrow. It's another cute look on her. "You don't really drink that much. There a reason why now?"

There's genuine concern in her voice when she asks that question, and it's so sweet and Ren's heart beats a little faster and he wants to take that concern away from her. But he doesn't think answering that question truthfully is going to help that. Ren's pretty sure the best-case scenario of saying 'you're pretty and I love you' to Nora is causing her confusion to the point of distortion.

"I was… thirsty." And that's really about as close to the truth as he can get. Ren shakes his head, but not too hard because the room is moving too much already and… ouch. "I'm sure you've had more tonight," nodding towards the beer pong table. She must've, shouldn't she? Is it just his alcohol-addled mind or does Nora not seem any bit of drunk at all?

She scoffs. "Maybe not. Sun really doesn't like putting too much beer in those cups. Besides, that's beer, not hard liquor. And I'm more experienced with it than you, so it takes a bit more to get me down. I've had more practice."

Nora shoots him a cheeky grin, a little closer to his face than she was before. She leaned in a bit when she was talking, migrated her hands closer to the base of his neck. It's nothing new. Nora being so physically affectionate is one of her trademark qualities. And Ren's happy to let her do that to him at any time, but he knows he generally seems unresponsive to it. But what if he responds to it now? He's not going to, he's absolutely not going to, but it's easier to fall into that daydream than usual. Ren could wrap his hands around Nora's waist, lean into this little space between them to ultimately close it. He could press his lips to that grin on her face, and Nora would be a little surprised, but in no time at all, she'd be kissing him back. She'd wrap her arms a little easier around his neck and she could press herself a little more against him, the idea of having any distance left between them as unappealing to Nora as it is to Ren.

"Uhh, Ren?"

He falls out of the daydream. "Oh! Ah… umm… huh?" She hasn't been saying anything. Ren has been very focused on Nora's mouth for the past couple of minutes, so much that he had missed the blush on her face. He must've missed something happening. Did he say something? The thought of that mortifies him to no end.

He might've been emoting his thought process on his face because Nora chuckles. "Yeah. That's definitely more alcohol than you're used to." She grabs his hand and leads him over to a couch nearby. Nora lightly pushes him down next to the armrest. "You stay right here," she says firmly, but full of fondness. "I'm gonna get you some water. And I probably need some too." Nora pats his cheek a little, brushes it with her thumb. Ren almost leans into it but she pulls away too soon.

Nora turns around and goes in search of some water, and characteristically of him tonight, Ren can't help but keep her eyes on her, until he's forced to because there are too many people in that direction. He sighs, sinking into the cushions as he closes his eyes, feeling the warmth bloom in his chest. She's just so caring. Nora is just so caring and she loves people so much. And she's not afraid to give away all that love and care, to allow people to really see that that's what she feels for them, does it without a second thought. That's one of the big things, Ren thinks. That's got to be at least one of the big reasons why he fell in love with Nora.

She comes back to him with two large water bottles in her hands. Nora tucks one under her arm in order to open the other, which she gives to him. Ren takes it and continues watching Nora as she settles right next to him, sitting down then kicking her legs up onto the couch. She leans back into the cushions and shifts herself more towards him, letting her head rest closer to his shoulder. Nora moves her head a bit to drink some water and then it actually touches his shoulder. Ren loves her so much. Moments like these are so small, and it's not like they don't happen between them very much. But maybe one day Ren will be brave enough to let them happen a lot more often, and those moments will have a slightly different meaning between the two of them than it does now.

She looks so pretty in this light. Nora looks pretty in any light.

Nora catches his eye again. She pushes her hand up beneath the water bottle Ren had forgotten that he was holding. "Drink up."

And who is Ren to refuse her? He starts to sip his first non-alcoholic drink of the night and already his head is starting to feel less like it's filled with cotton. He drinks until the room feels still again, until everything stops looking like it's in slow motion, until there's no more pink clouds on the edges of his vision. Before he knows it, Ren's finished the whole bottle and his throat feels the best it's been all night.

Despite the lack of pink clouds and an apparent increase in sobriety, Ren still keeps looking at Nora. She's giggling now. He doesn't know what exactly is so funny but that doesn't really matter.

"Feel better now?" She asks. He nods because he doesn't know just what he'll admit to her right now if he allows himself to speak. "Great. I'm glad they set out those really big water bottles. That really saved me another trip. And you probably didn't drink enough that you'd need ibuprofen or something. I would've said to take some just in case, but I'm not sure what taking meds when something isn't really wrong with you could do to you. I think you should be fine now. Don't think you'll wake up in the morning with a hangover."

Ren just keeps looking at Nora, without a word. He doesn't need them right now. He doesn't think he needs to do anything else besides look at Nora and hear her talk for the rest of time.

But something must be wrong because Nora turns her head away a little, shrinking a bit into herself. "Are you mad at me?"

That surprises him. "No," that is very much not what he was feeling towards Nora right now. "Why would you think that?"

She heaves out a heavy sigh. "Neptune said you were staring at me the whole time we were playing." Ren's heart stops a little. Nora keeps shrinking down and her voice feels smaller. "I don't know- I just figured you might be angry at me for leaving you alone at a place I know you'd rather not be."

Ren straightens up, shifts fully towards her so she can more easily believe what he's about to say. "I told you to go," maybe he's leaning more forward than he usually would, makes more direct eye contact with Nora. "And being here isn't too bad. I just- uh- I uh-" He puts his head down a little, taking some time to find the right words. How does Ren explain the staring? That he just loves the way she exists and who she is and she deserves good times and it's nice when she gets them?

"You were having fun," Ren brings himself to look back at her, says these words in all earnest. "I like when you have fun."

That takes her back a little. Nora's eyes widen but her face softens. For one terrifying but almost hopeful moment, Ren thinks she might've understood what he really meant underneath those words. She smiles and brings her hand up to his face. She uses a couple fingers to sweep his bangs to the side. Ren's eyes almost close at the contact.

"You're so sweet," Nora says, almost like she's in disbelief. "You wanna go back home? I can walk you back."

"Are you sure?" That does sound like a good idea to Ren, but he doesn't want to take Nora away from something she enjoys just for him. "I'm honestly fine here. I know you were really stressed, I don't mind if you wanna unwind a little more."

Nora smiles a little wider. "I think I've had a good amount of unwinding here already. If I stay here any longer and leave you unattended, who knows how many more screwdrivers you'll drink." She moves her hand from his forehead down to his cheek. "And you need to get home safe. For the most part, you seem all right now, but I just… I need to make sure."

Ren leans into the hand Nora has on his cheek. It's a bit more than he'd usually do, but it feels right. "Alright then."

"Can I crash at yours' too?" she asks. Ren chuckles a little at that, because when has Nora ever needed to ask that.

"Of course." And then some daydream starts again. They get back to his single dorm and it'll be just like the other times Nora's slept over there. She'll switch tonight's outfit out for some of Ren's pajamas and she'll look just as good, if not better to Ren. They'll lay down and fall asleep in his bed, and that's all they'll do tonight. And then the morning comes and there's no trace of alcohol in their systems and everything's in the clear, and Ren will kiss her, soft and sweet. Nora will kiss him back because she has wanted this just as much as he has. He'll keep a hand on her cheek and maybe she'll tangle her fingers in his hair. Then maybe they end up never leaving the dorm that day, or even the bed. They'll talk, of course. They'll say what needs to be said, about their feelings and anything else. It's decided between them that Nora can sleep at his dorm a lot more often. And when she does, they don't need to struggle as much to fit together on this twin size XL bed, because Ren can wrap himself around her and they can let their legs get tangled together. He can wake up and bury his head into the hollow of Nora's shoulder and just breathe her in. The next time they see their friends, Ren and Nora won't act all that much different, but it won't take long before they realize something's up. They'll get it out of them, and they'll be happy, and then they'll be mercilessly teased because how did it take you two this long? Ren will get a bit embarrassed, but Nora will take it in stride. She'll kiss the blush on his face, and he'll just blush harder, and she'll laugh a little until he does too.

But Nora in this reality grabs his hand and forces him to stand. He doesn't know if it's just how much he was in that daydream or if he's still a little buzzed from the alcohol, but it's a little disorienting as he makes movements.

Before he knows it, they're out the front door and into the cold night air. It's a little windy out. Ren wishes he had a jacket to give to Nora.

They walk at a leisurely pace in the direction of his dorm. Their hands are still intertwined, their arms swinging in between them. They don't speak, not uncommon at all for Ren but a little surprising from Nora. Ren might've wondered at this if we weren’t lost in his own thoughts.

How close is that daydream to reality? How close could that daydream be to becoming reality? Is it just Ren or are there enough pieces in place for that to happen? All this time he's been worried about losing their friendship, what they already have. But what kind of future could they have? What could they gain? Is all that Ren really needs to do is get over himself?

Maybe he's still not in his right mind. It certainly can't be that easy. But he can recall a few times when he's caught Nora looking at him. And maybe some of the comments she's passed off as jokes had more truth to them than she lets on.

Everything about this still feels scary, but not as scary as it was before. He is at least very lucky to fall in love with such an incredible, amazing woman who's already his best friend. He doesn't know what will happen, but he does know what could. And yes, that may include losing the person closest to him. But as devastating as that is, there's another possibility that is at least that amount of wonderful.

He peers at Nora from the corner of his eye. She's tucking some hair behind her ear to keep it from flapping in the breeze. Her hand is so warm in his.

Ren's not going to do anything like confess to her tonight. Or the next morning. But looking at Nora, and holding her hand, and thinking about the good possibilities - he thinks he's starting to build up the courage.

#renora #nora valkyrie #lie ren #rwby #my fics #I FINISHED WRITING A FIC FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 3 YEARS #I LOVE THIS SHIP SO MUCH #i finally did my all lowercase tswift lyric title fic for this ship #fanfiction

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quinintheclouds · 3 years

Text

YES YES YES YES YES

Spoilers for RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 6

THAT WAS SO MUCH MORE THAN I HAD EVEN LET MYSELF HOPE FOR

It really looks like this is the Volume the writers realized how many answers we’ve needed for years and years, and is answering them now. I wish it’d come sooner, of course, but since they can’t go back and fix the pacing or writing, I’m really impressed and optimistic about how Volume 8 is going!

BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY

I would like to GUSH about how they handled the Oscar and Ozpin scenes. We have needed, nay, BEGGED for this sort of development, and it’s finally here. There’s too much I want to rave about so bullet point time!

[Note: I love the farmboy so this wound up longer than expected -- have a read more for your scrolling convenience -- TL;DR at the end]

We got confirmation that Ozpin has been pleading with Oscar to let him take over so he can burden the pain and torture instead. Oscar is the one refusing, choosing to take it himself because he knows Salem and Hazel will be much harsher on Oz. I thought that was the case, but I’m so glad they addressed it because otherwise we’d be wondering why Oz hasn’t offered. It does make me wonder, is Oz still able to take control without asking? Oscar was able to fight it in vol 6, and he’s come a long way.

Hazel is holding back -- at least, Oscar says he can tell that he is. This would keep in line with the battle at Haven, when Hazel was suspiciously playing defense and stalling by letting Ozpin monologue, then letting Oscar give a little protagonist speech... I mean, it sure doesn’t LOOK like he’s holding back. Look at this kid:

moving on before I cry,

Ozpin suggests he take over and try to escape.

Oscar says no, he has a better idea. “This is our chance.”

Oz: “Hm. Maybe you’ve taken one too many hits.” I like this for two reasons: one, because it gives us a taste of the ol’ lighthearted Ozpin humor we’ve missed since he’s been gone, and two, because it shows that he and Oscar think differently. They have different thought processes, ideas, etc. Oz didn’t immediately know what Oscar was planning.

Oscar explains that Salem can’t take on everyone at once, and thus has been sending people to infiltrate all of remnant first, to attack from within.

I LOVE that they had Oscar come up with this, because it is so in line with his character development in Volume 7. Not to mention how in volume 6 he was the one to figure out how to defeat Cordovin’s mecha. It’s cool to see him as a strategist, because while he’s a sweet kid from the middle of nowhere, he’s proven to be really smart and quick.

Plus, this gives him agency. People wanted Ozpin to return and save Oscar, but this is so, so much better. Oscar’s idea, Oscar’s choice, and Oz gets right on board. They’re agreeing to work together, despite their unresolved conflict. “Ozma learned the importance of living with the souls with which he’d been paired.”

AND THEN, A MOMENT I CANNOT THANK RT ENOUGH FOR:

The captions don’t show it, but Oscar AND Ozpin said this in unison. Now, this and the few seconds that follow were a rollercoaster of emotions. Let’s break it down:

When they said this together, I was positively GIDDY with excitement: they’re leaning into the “like-minded souls” thing and calling attention to the situation! Surely this must be a sign that Oscar and Ozpin will indeed both exist when their souls are one, as they are both equally parts of the combination of lives that is Ozma. Well, maybe not equally (yet?).

Then, my elation was replaced with dread. What if this was actually an indication of them “merging” in the way some of the FNDM interpret it will go, rather than how I think it does? Or what if that’s not what RT is doing, but what if the FNDM takes it as a sign Ozpin is taking over?? I can’t last the whole break without knowing!

AND THEN!!! Ugh, this made me so relieved. Ozpin says, in a slightly amused tone of voice with a trace of a laugh, “We certainly are similar, you and I.” YESSSSS more references to them being like-minded souls!! But still having differences!!

“Maybe we have been presented with an opportunity.” I’m really glad they went the route where Oscar is changing Ozpin’s mind on things. Oz no longer thinks he knows best, and is allowing Oscar to come into his own. Now he’s seeing how far Oscar’s come and the person he is.

Related note: The commentary for the vol 7 finale said that it was Oscar’s speeches to Ironwood about fear and trust that made Oz realize he’s been keeping secrets and hiding out of fear, and inspired him to come back. This is so promising for Oscar’s character going forward.

[Side note: Would love more info on what Oscar meant in volume 7 when he said “these memories... you’re back, aren’t you?” because? Is he just referring to the scenes with things like how he talked about Atlas’ history as if he were there, or does he have access to Oz’s memories now? 2 chapters ago we saw that he doesn’t yet know the location of the Beacon Relic. So unless he was lying really well, he doesn’t have ALL the memories yet. So which ones does he have? RT EXPLAIN]

Next,

I would like to call attention to the fact that Oscar smiled here. After Ozpin said they were similar, I was worried Oscar would react the way he has in the past: sad and conflicted about his identity, worried he’s becoming less of himself. But no. Like we saw in Volume 7, THIS is who Oscar Pine is. His development was his own, and we get to see that when Ozpin returned because Oscar had made him rethink his choices. Oscar Pine is more himself now than he’s been at any other point in the series.

It’s really brilliant how the writers have used these last 2 volumes to show that Penny, the robot, is one of the most human characters on the show; and Oscar, the boy cursed to death and rebirth with a soul that was not his own, is one of the most individualistic ones. It’s just really cool how they’re playing with our expectations of the characters. (They’re doing great with Salem, too!)

[Side note: Penny’s soul/aura was given to her by Pietro, and they still have distinct personalities and identities. It’s possible that’s a parallel to Oscar’s situation, but I do feel the merge’s completion will result in one remaining soul/identity - just not a “taking over” situation]

Okay, that’s the last of that rollercoaster I mentioned.

Time to get on a new one!

At long last, this episode finally gave us something we haven’t had since chapter 4 of volume SIX*:

*(I am not counting the one second of "Oscar." *glowy eyes* *Oscar blinks and is back in control* in the vol 7 finale)

OZPIN IS BACK!!!!

First, HELL YES I WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN!!!

Second, wow, they can change really quickly now. At first it took effort and was super visible, then just shook Oscar up a bit with the glowy eyes, and now it seems almost effortless, seamless. The eyes glow and the transition is smooth. I like it.

We didn’t get to hear Oscar’s thoughts after Oz said “Oscar, please,” begging him again to let him take control. So we don’t know whether Oscar allowed it out of pain, exhaustion, their plan, or a decision to trust Oz and work together here. Alternatively, Ozpin may have simply taken over of his own accord. I wish the writers would give us more insight to Oscar’s thoughts, because those scenes already have him talking inside/to his own head, so leaving some of his thoughts out can seem intentional and open-ended, which could mean more dragging out answers, but I think this was fine. Not the worst case of this by far lol

WHEN! HE! SPOKE!

I was hoping for this with all my heart. Over the course of volume 7 in particular, we saw Oscar’s voice, mannerisms, and speech patters start to resemble Ozpin’s. However, he still sounds and feels like Oscar. Going back to Volume 5, heck, even Volume 6 (which is when we last saw Ozpin in control), the voice of Ozpin speaking through Oscar is similar, but distinctly different from how Oscar’s speaking now. So I’ve been theorizing and hoping, and it CAME TRUE! Ozpin sounds more like Oscar now, while still managing to clearly be Ozpin.

Right from the first “Hello,” it was noticeable. It sounded almost like Oscar. I know it’s the same voice actor when one of them is in control (same body, same vocal cords), but that just makes it even more impressive. This is the first time we’ve heard Ozpin’s voice speaking through Oscar since QRWBY yelled at him in the snow in vol 6. And I was NOT disappointed.

“Why do you follow her?” I’ll keep saying it, but he sounds so much like Oscar confronting Ironwood.

“I know how you see me. But her? Look at what she does, how is she the answer, why not stop her??” This gives me serious deja vu to Oscar’s speech towards Hazel in the Battle of Haven (and his speech towards Ironwood in v7′s finale). That speech had given Hazel pause then, and this one does as well, now. Ozpin sounds angrier, though, more aware of just how far gone these people are, but knowing they can change.

Hazel calls Ozpin out for the same thing the FNDM has been, and honestly, it’s been a long time coming. Hazel’s motivations are extremely misguided, Oscar was right to stand up for Oz/Gretchen at Haven, and the show really needed to reinforce the Ozpin-isn’t-bad-actually thing. Now it’s all out in the open. But it’s Ozpin’s response to this that elevated this scene even more:

That’s it. Ozma has spent countless lives fighting a war that may be impossible to win. But if no one tries, no one will survive. The gods will destroy all of Remnant. Still, every single lifetime, he chooses to try. Like Oscar said in volume 5 (about Hazel’s sister but writing-wise also kinda about Pyrrha), “She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself. So do I.” Like-minded souls.

AND THIS!!! Good gods I’m glad he said this. The show went way too long before anyone even questioned the “You can’t” answer from Jinn. Nora mentioned it in passing earlier, which I liked a lot (though this really should’ve been discussed in volume 6, but better late than never). But here? We see that Oz never gave up, never planned on losing, not sending people to a battle he “knows they can’t win.” While Salem is immortal, she is not infallible. Not even the gods were. Salem can be fought. Even Hazel has a moment of hesitation, perhaps even realization, before Salem enters.

Salem manipulates Cinder, offering her the maiden powers she wants so badly, and Ozpin interjects. “You’ll only be helping her bring about the end, for all of you!”

I just wanted to show these shots because again, just as we’ve seen Oscar’s mannerisms become increasingly similar to Ozpin’s, now that he’s back, we get to see the other way around. Look at the surprise and fear on his face. Look at how he widens his eyes and raises his eyebrows instead of narrowing/furrowing them now. Listen to the sounds he makes when tortured or thrown about. Listen to the desperation and earnest passion held in his pleas. He’s no longer hiding -- he’s being honest with the people who scare him most, and truly trying to help them see the light.

[Side note: Cinder is not showing remorse in this scene, but I wonder how she’d react to Oscar, not Ozpin, being tortured. In the same episode, we have Cinder being tortured with a shock collar, AND we have Oscar decide to try to appeal to the humanity left in these villains. Last time we saw Oscar, Salem was torturing him with intense, almost electric magic. She might not care, but I wonder...]

ANYWAY I’m done for now. Have a TL;DR that wound up being long too

TL;DR:

Basically, I’m super happy with the writers for the detail put into these scenes:

they confirmed Oz has been begging to take over and bear the torture instead

had Oscar come up with an idea himself instead of getting rescued or immediately escaping

had Oscar view his dire situation as an opportunity, reminding us of his optimism and capabilities as a strategist

had Ozpin not know what Oscar’s plan was before he explained it (this might change as the souls become one, but it at least shows they think differently)

Oscar’s plan to appeal to the villains’ humanity and infiltrate Salem’s forces from within lining up with his volume 7 character development

had Oz trust Oscar and put his faith in him, which is progress for Oz

Oz and Oscar speaking in unison and agreeing to work together

Ozpin’s comment about them being similar, not the same

had Ozpin take control to speak to Hazel

Ozpin’s speech to Hazel and Cinder as parallels to Oscar’s speeches to Hazel and Ironwood, which CRWBY said were the reason Oz realized his secrecy is out of fear of trust, and Oscar’s points are what inspired him to come back.

Ozpin sounding and acting more like Oscar just like we’ve seen happen the other way around (though with Oscar, he’s holding true to his own ideas/morals, with Oz meeting him there)

established hope for some of our villains to defect, setting it in motion.

#oscar pine #professor ozpin #rwby ozma #the merge #rwby ozcar #hate calling them that lol but it's a useful tag #rwby8 #rwby #quinpost

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