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itsclydebitches · 2 months

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Right, so I was looking over your recap of Worthy again and didn't see you mention how absolutely contrived the circumstances of the James vs Winter fight were. If you remember from Creation, Winter explicitly states "No. When we're finished, we'll move both of you to safety." when Jacques asks if she'd be leaving him there. Logically, this would mean the next we see of Winter she'd be transporting James and Jacques to the nearest available portal but she doesn't? She just conveniently forgets about them. And I'd be FINE with that if it was written as a deliberate choice by Winter. "Sorry Weiss, these two men have negatively affected my life beyond repair and I can never forgive them." and while I don't necessarily agree wholeheartedly with that line of thinking because no matter what, every life should be fought for and saved in a scenario with magic transportation portals such as this. It'd at least be SOME sort of explanation that's in line with the narrative CRWBY is trying to tell. Instead we get her walking around aimlessly in the Atlas Vault, trying to communicate with everyone on the plan's status. Which makes no sense given that we've already seen the ground shake elsewhere meaning SOMETHING has happened to notify everyone that Atlas is falling. And I thought maybe I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she doesn't know since no portals have spawned in the vault yet and then I rechecked and they HAVE.

She should be sprinting for the portal. Atlas is falling. She needs to go go go but instead she just calmly walks towards it? Is time not of the essence? Where's the urgency? Like I get that sprinting in heels up a flight of stairs that large would be absolute murder on her ankles but still. They dumb her down just for the sake of a stupid fight that nerfs her so she NEEDS Penny to die to give her the powers and win in a fight she should have no issues with.

If I'm also giving her the benefit of the doubt - and from what I can recall after an admittedly long hiatus from watching this particular episode - I think she intended to move Ironwood and Jacques after the evacuation is complete. "When we're finished." So yes, she knows Atlas is falling because that's a prerequisite of the portals appearing. She knows the evacuation is underway and that something is going on thanks to communications being down, but not what. Winter has her next step planned, but no indication of if she should start it yet because she's not able to contact anyone and presumably she wouldn't want to go through the portal until she's planning to leave Atlas permanently. (We know that they can use the portals to get around Atlas/Mantle thanks to Jaune portal hopping to look for survivors, but I'm not sure that's ever established among the other characters. AKA Winter might think she shouldn't go through one until she's ready to leave it all behind, but she can't do that until she's gotten Ironwood and her dad).

But all the above keeps it just as contrived and stupid? Why does Winter need to wait until "When we're finished" to move them? To my recollection the show never establishes anything like, "You're a security risk so we're going to ensure everyone else is through before dealing with you" or "Based on our battle we'll need the rest of the team present to move Ironwood" or even a variation of your idea: "In theory I believe that no one should be left to die, but considering you made our lives hell, Jacques, we're not going to worry about you until everyone else is safe. You get rescued if there's time left :)" It's just such a weird situation that, yes, exists to ensure that Ironwood is conveniently alone so that only his cell can conveniently open so that he can conveniently go find Winter who is all alone in the vault... because?

This could 100% be me forgetting some aspect of Volume 8, but why is she in there again? She's not guarding the Staff because the girls already have it. She's not guarding the portal because portals have opened up all over the city and Ironwood/the villains can slip through any of them to reach the same place (as Cinder did). She's not playing decoy - misleading others into thinking the Staff is still there - because she's totally blindsided by Ironwood's attack. I'm just trying to remember/figure out the justification for this because if there isn't any that makes the fact that Winter isn't rounding up the prisoners all the more absurd. Her role in this plan seems to be to twiddle her thumbs (in a random place she has no good reason to be in) until she's told that all the hard work is already done. Then she can do the one errand she could have been doing this whole time.

I will say, thinking about it now I'm not against Winter being at a disadvantage against Ironwood, regardless of whether or not she's nerfed in terms of the skill she displays. Her losing tracks for me in terms of her being the subordinate/having him as a mentor in the early Volumes (implying that he's stronger not just politically, but combat-wise too), age (again, the older character is likely to have more experience + time to train their skills), and the fact that just recently we saw Ironwood going toe-to-toe against her, Emerald, and all of team JNOR, holding his own until he was inevitably overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, everything is still wrong with Penny dying to give Winter the Maiden powers, from how her death was orchestrated all the way to a semi-literal deus ex machina that lets Winter win via convenient magical powerup. We could have had the more interesting a) she wins through a really smart tactic or b) she looses and now Ironwood is thrown into the portal bridge fray instead of being left to presumably die off screen :/

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

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iamafanofcartoons · 7 months

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No , RWBY is neither misogynistic nor homophobic...it is every bit the opposite

Rwby not written for the male gaze. Redesigns made by critics focus on sexualizing women. RWBY has women show much less skin than the typical fairy tail woman. Also their clothes have pockets and pouches. Rwby is not written for the patriarchy.

So Personally I've always felt like misogyny was always made by the critics. A common thread in a lot of that group's criticisms seems to come down to not liking that some of the show's villains embody male power fantasies, and that the positive male characters it has aren't the main characters, with the female characters being a harem for them.

It's a female-centered story whose true focus is its main characters' growing and supporting each other through their weaknesses and struggles, and a lot of men can't stand it.

Rewrites and AUs focus on men, on straightwashing women, on validating edgelords, on telling women that they suck. And more importantly, rewrites are obsessed with not letting women be right about anything or important unless they're tied to a male protagonist story.

But Rwby is about giving women roles typically held by men. Women not requiring men for authority, or guidance, but instead being men's equals. Or in the case of the female antagonists? Having mental superiority over deconstructed edgelords like Adam taurus or the "ends justify the means" deconstruction of ironwood.

They have girlfails like Cinder, who you can hate, but also admire that she keeps coming back and refusing to give up.

They have badass grannies like Maria Calavera.

They have autism-coded women.

And unlike Naruto? Women can actually WIN a 1 on 1 fight against a male opponent.

Edgelord is what incels see themselves as. Incels also see themselves as victims of women. They also see themselves as tragic, misunderstood, or entitled to an ego.

Adam is the example of the incel: "I was hurt by society, so I am going to make it everyone's problem! I am a hero of justice, for I am giving the world the justice it deserves! I am an underdog!"

That's how incels, conservatives, otakus see themselves.

They saw Adam as a Vergil Sparda. A dude who murders countless innocent lives for the sake of power.....who believes that power is the only thing matters. He ain't morally grey, he's evil. But he's cool, and to a lot of very emotionally immature people, coolness means morally grey or anti-villain/anti-hero. Adam was introduced trying to rob a train and blow up innocent people....people accused blake of being a murderer and trying to blow up the train, then running from adam. Adam was shown in volume 2, as a cult leader neglecting the deaths of his people. As with "Burning the candle" Yang and Blake scene, RWDE and RWBY Critics disregarded that because it ruined their headcanons of what they wanted Adam to be.

How many Adam fanfics have you seen where Blake is written as the one abusing adam?

Male abusers see themselves as victims of women.

Coffeehouse Crime, Danielle Kirsty, Eleanor Neale. Look them up on Youtube. They cover multiple cases of murderers and abusers. And the details that go into emotional and mental abuse/gaslighting? They cover them all. Including how society turns a blind eye to abuse if its not physical. Which is what Adam fans do.

Btw, if you want an example of a murderer who was an IRL abuser? Just look up OJ Simpson, who got away with both thanks to his fans.

RWBY covers emotional abuse, shows the damage it can do, and shows through Blake the recovery.

Arryn has been a victim of IRL cyberbullying from blacksun fans, BobxEliza fans, and Adam fans.

To where she's had to deactivate her social media.

Art imitates life....RWBY Critics harassing voice actresses. Though thefloofartist actually sent CRWBY gore fanart of Bumbleby and tauradonna ntr fanart, that was horrific.

Roman Torchwick is an example of charismatic sociopaths being the criminal: Society was mean to me, so I'm going to be racist, steal from the elderly, and hurt kids. Sure he has charisma as a character....does that excuse racism, calling Emerald a Street Rat, trying to rob old men, and shooting teenage girls

Jacques emotional abuse and gaslighting, something many people refuse to acknowledge unless its clearly spelled out from A to Z. One Adam taurus fan on twitter made death threats to a woman trying to explain that emotional abuse is real.

Raven is a bandit. A bandit is a killer and a thief. You don't romanticize killers and thieves. One piece paints an unrealistic view of pirates.

Ironwood and Atlas represent the American Macho mindset and the nationalism issue Americans have. Illegally occupying foreign nations with military force as a means of "peacekeeping"? Removing leaders from power who don't respect your authority or your ideas? My way or the highway? Unwilling to compromise? Willing to work with capitalist Corporations so long as your war machine is funded? The ends justify the means? Only villains say that! Merging the police with the military to have unlimited power? Putting the good ethical cop "Marrow" under pressure and mockery? Treating the poor people as acceptable losses to cut and cutting all aid and support to the 99%? Arresting or threatening good samaritans who try to help the impoverished and underprivileged because they're not recognized by your licenses? Refusing to accept checks and balances because you see yourself as above the law and being the only one with the big picture? Seeing it as your duty to police others?

People were willing to consider Ironwood a sussy baka so long as they could consider Atlas to be like Germany. But the moment CRWBY pointed out how Atlas was too much like America? The "patriots" got furious...because it was too much like looking into a mirror, and the Ironwood fangirls did not like what they saw.

youtube

Less character bloat compared to shounen anime. Shounen has thousands of character. RWBY barely has 200. But they focus more on women's characters than men, and that upsets the Cardin fans and fanfic writers. If I had a nickel for every youtube channel that decided to make the racist incompetent bully into some "gigachad", I'd have two nickels, which isn't much, but still weird that it happened twice. Meanwhile, let a man have 3-5 minutes of screentime, the critics will say that Team RWBY don't act like the main characters. Protagonist centered morality only in shounen. Team rwby do face consequences and are forced to evaluate their decisions. The women are the protagonists, and they can spend more than 10 minutes without breaking the Bechdel test. Something that, once again, adam and cardin and jaune fanfics fail within a paragraph.

"A man and a woman can spend several seasons together and be just friends at the end"

Ichigo and Rukia from Bleach, One Piece Live Action, Naruto and Sakura from that Gay Ninja Series.

Or in RWBY's case, I'm referring Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong

Neither showed romantic attraction towards either gender for the majority of the show. Blake and Sun's arcs in V4 and V5 were about Blake learning to accept help, and Sun learning to recognize and respect people's boundaries. Neither Blake nor Sun actually made serious advances, and simply stayed good friends. Also if lesbians cannot exist without being fan service to you, that just means you're a pervert and need to touch grass.

Anyway, whomever said that RWBY Writers have no idea how to write women need to take a look at how their critics make video after video bashing women and LGBT.

Oh, and twitter calls RWBY post v3 "pandering to tumblerinas".

Given how Tumblr has no pedophiles/lolicons, less conservatives and terfs, and is very feminist? I'll take that as a compliment.

#rwby #rwby is great #please give rwby a chance #rwby is worth watching #greenlightvolume10 #greenlight volume 10 #Youtube

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roosterteethwatchdog · 10 months

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Last year around the end of July to the beginning of August I went through the RWBY volume 8 credits because of stuff I was told at the time to see how many people in the crwby were still with the company. I did that and it was very time consuming, and I said that I would never do that again. Fast forward to last week when V10 didn't get greenlit while RvB and Camp Camp got renewed and I got curious. I decided to do what I did last year again and went over the V9 credits. This is what I found. I will get into specifics after presenting the numbers. The names I counted are the beginning section from supervising director to post production producer, then the entire crwby section that comes after the voice cast section.

Total number of employees- 190

Confirmed gone but could not find specific date- 2

Left in 2020- 4

Left in 2021- 26

Left in 2022- 77

Left in 2023- 24

Total confirmed gone- 133

Those I could not confirm if they still work there/Rt work done under general freelance- 10

Those still at RT- 47

Depending on whether or not you want to count the 10 I can't confirm still work there, then anywhere from 24-30% or 1/4-1/3 of the people who worked on v9 still work there. Before we get into specifics, I want to mention that I was just as shocked about the 2022 number as you probably are to the point that I thought I messed up and after going over everyone I did it again and specifically marked the employees that left in 2022 and got the same number.

Here are some specifics from job titles from the V9 EP10 credits-Of four episode directors only one is left. Of two head of studios, one is gone. The environment, vehicle and prop designers are gone save for two I can't confirm still work there due to their rt work being in their general freelance. The 2d concept artists along with additional help are gone. The storyboard artists are gone save for one I can't confirm works there due to rt work being in their general freelance. From lead modeler to environmental modelers, all except one character modeler are gone. From pre-visualization artists to camera and layout artists they are all gone. of seven visual post artists, one is left. From the FX Technical director to the visual post intern, they are all gone. From lead rigging artist to jr. rigging artist, they are all gone. From animation director to lead animators, they are all gone. Of nine senior animators only one remains. from technical animators to animation intern, they are all gone. From mo-cap co-director to mo-cap artists all but one are gone.

This is telling me that animation has been gutted. I'm assuming those left are working on Deathbattle, Camp Camp, and RvB. I'm also going to assume that as time goes on the number of those still there is going to decrease as several of those who are still around have open to work on their profiles which means either supplemental income or they know their contracts aren't getting renewed and are preparing.

#rooster teeth #rwby #crwby #roosterteeth

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citadelofmythoughts · 1 year

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It would be one thing if the episode happened and that was it but EVERYONE who worked on it and knew it was dropping hyped it up. Kerry was so eager to direct it! Eddie wanted to write it. The ppl voicing it were thrilled ppl were fighting over who got to animate which parts. ALL of crwby wanted part of this. Blake and Yang are not a last ditch effort to save the show they ARE the show. Every single moment they’ve had together has been growing a beautiful relationship resulting in romantic love and EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE SHOW WANTED IN ON IT BUBMLEBY IS THE MOST POPULAR GIRL IN CLASS THE BEES ARE TO THE CREW WHAT PYRRHA WAS TO WEISS THEY WANT TO BE BESTIE WITH THE BEES AND NOW THEY CANT SHUT UP ABOUT THEM LIKE COME ON NOW

I would argue that you can't create a scene like that and not just be totally in love with what you're doing.

I've seen so many present and former CRWBY members talking about what parts they did or wanted to do or how they felt when they saw it.

This wasn't pressure from higher-ups, this wasn't "wasps" demanding something that wouldn't happened otherwise.

This was LOVE. It was their love of the show, and the love of these two amazing, beautiful girls and their love and admiration for each other that allowed them to create this.

I'm a writer, the quality of my output is a matter of debate but I know my best work happens when it's something that 's important to me and I've no doubt the same thing about Eddy, Kerry and Miles applies.

Trust Love Y'all.

#rwby spoilers #bumbleby

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chaikachi · 11 months

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Omg I never noticed the mirrored rg scenes like wtf?was it intentional? Ahah of course completely accidental coincidence ofc, bc we know how crwby is hehe lmfao rofl,

unless..?

(you owe me some brain cells,I'll never be the same after that post)

RWBY IS BUILT ON PARALLELS, FRIEND. THERE'S NO WAY IT WASN'T ON PURPOSE.

Their entire story arc together has been mirrored 🥺

Red vs. Green. Silver vs. Gold. Moon vs. Sun. What are you vs. Who are you. The Rose vs. The Little Prince. Six of Swans vs. Rumpelstiltskin. Dorothy vs. Tip. Chooses adventure vs. Chosen by adventure. The smaller more honest soul vs. The man with two souls. It just keeps going... They've always mirrored each other. Even their scenes do!! When they first met we got

Oscar: You... have silver eyes. Ruby: Who... are you?

mirroring speech patterns.

Then we got

Oscar: Heh... sorry! I've just never met huntsmen or huntresses before. Ruby: Well, we've never met a person with two souls! First times all around.

mirroring speech patterns again but Ruby also copies him in the fumble later on!!!

Ruby: Heh... sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt. Oscar: You didn't, actually!

Then the two of them turning around at the same time to wish each other luck?? the way Ruby literally JUMPS OFF THE GROUND WHEN SHE DOES?!?!

They're insufferable (affectionate) and they can't keep getting away with this (they can and they will).

#cannot fucking wait for dojo scene 2: electric boogaloo #rwby #rosegarden #ruby rose #oscar pine #asks #ask #anon #anono #chainalysis

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deadbeatbirdmom · 2 months

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Between stalking Blake in a freakin' cloak on that ship back home, the flakey robot fight-ditching in V2, that sorta obsessive-sounding 'run but I'll follow' character tune and some of his clownery around the Belladonna household, I really dunno about the pedestal that one reblog puts Sun on. Sure, he *eventually* takes 'no' as an unspoken answer better than Adam, but talk about low bars. I also think the Bees would've had to get fairly deep in for a breakup to gut Yang quite so hard as they were joshing about. I mean, she seemed happier to see Blake having some fun than anything once he cut in at the dance.

Disclaimer: I like Sun and think he's generally a decent guy, but he's not one of my fav characters. I don't feel terribly qualified to talk about him because while I've seen all there is of him in RWBY (as in the main show, not including the novel he's in), he wasn't where my focus was.

Like you mention, Sun has done some dubious things that I don't agree with. Overall it's a good thing he did follow Blake and refused to leave, considering she might've been captured and dragged to Adam without him. Sun also eventually got an important message through to Blake, about letting her friends make their own choices, and not to take herself away from them after they get hurt trying to help her.

I can't speak for the OP of this post I reblogged, but I don't think it puts Sun on a pedestal as such. I think it just compares how he'd take rejection to how Yang would, and that he'd take it better isn't because he's better than she is. It's because she has trauma he doesn't, as far as we know.

Come to think of it I don't think we know much about Sun's background. Does he come from a happy family? Is he so carefree because he's an orphan and has no memory of his family, so doesn't know what he's missing?

Anyway, I think the true test of how Sun takes rejection will be when he sees Blake and Yang together, and I think chances are he'll be fine with it, to the extent that he'll be happy for them.

If the Bees broke up I do think it'd hit Yang hard. She'd most likely try to hide it, but she would be deeply hurt. I don't think Volume 2 Yang's feelings for Blake are any comparison to Volume 9 Yang's, as I'm pretty sure they've got deeper over time, although I do see where you're coming from. Yang would want Blake to be happy no matter what, and if that meant seeming happy for Blake being with someone else, so be it. She'd smile (and most likely cry on the inside and in private).

To be clear, I don't think the Bees will break up. I think they're great together. And I'd hope CRWBY wouldn't make Bumbleby canon only to tear them apart later. That seems too cruel to me.

#RWBY Sun Wukong #Blake Belladonna #Yang Xiao Long #Bumbleby #Ask #gorkhandsmcschmuck #apologies if said OP sees this and would rather I'd just tagged him #I honestly wasn't sure whether or not to do so

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aspoonofsugar · 8 months

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This is me trying to avoid the slaughterhouse for what I'm about to suggest (there's a good chance I'll get cooked alive anyway).

I'm not sure where you stand with Penny and Ruby's relationship, but I wanted to get your opinion on my interpretation (sorry to put you on the spot).

I interpreted Penny as the little sister Ruby never had. I think that CRWBY wanted to put Ruby in Yang's shoes during the Atlas Arc, since that was the main internal conflict within team RWBY.

Yang spent her childhood trying to protect and raise Ruby. She tried so hard to be the best big sister she could be so Ruby wouldn't ever have to suffer the same pain she felt... the pain she felt twice, with Summer disappearing and learning that Raven abandoned her. She gave up everything for her.

I saw Ruby as stepping into that role for Penny. There was that parallel, about friends. Ruby asking if Penny made any other friends, compared to when Yang asked Ruby to make some friends at Beacon.

Ruby always trying to comfort and protect Penny, even at the cost of her own safety (yes, any friend would do this, too).

I don't know, that's just how I saw it. The Atlas Arc very much was about changing perspectives, with them also being put into Oz's shoes after he left, needing to make the hard choices, prioritizing what to tell and what not to tell.

I thought since Yang and Ruby's rift was most prominent during that arc, that she was also being put into Yang's shoes with Penny. Just like Yang was put into Ruby's shoes and taking charge of her own team.

(That being said, I do see the appeal of a romantic relationship, but I was much more interested in the Potential of it, the symbolism and parallels, rather than it actually being canon.

Another statement that might get me slaughtered is that I wouldn't have liked if it became canon while Penny was alive because it felt like Penny contributed to the weight on Ruby's shoulders. She was extremely codependent on others (TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE and just like Ruby was with Yang at the start at Beacon) and if I was to like the ship in canon, then Penny would have had to stay alive and go to Vacuo while RWBY fell (guess Jaune wouldn't have a reason to fall anymore), and learn how to be independent.

Even then, I'd feel horrible for Penny because she hated being the Winter Maiden, and if she survived, she would no longer just be protecting Mantle and Atlas, she'd be protecting the entire world. Though... she wouldn't be doing it alone anymore. She'd have the rest of the world to back her up.

I dunno, sorry for the ramble, and sorry if you are offended (I get it, homophobes like to use the "they're just sisters argument with a lot of wlw ships, but I promise there's no malicious intent behind my interpretation. Plus, I just recently discovered and am exploring my own sapphic identity).

But yeah. I hope they don't come for me for this. I decided I'd rather talk with someone about it rather than post it as a statement. It feels like it'll come off differently as a civil conversation.

(it's greentea)

Hi!

Don't worry, it is fine for me to discuss anything, as long as people are polite!

So, this is a very interesting take and I agree on many things, while I interpret others differently. If you are interested, you find my 2 cents below.

PREMISE

So, let's make it clear where I stand on ships. I am not a multi-shipper, so I am really not that passionate about ships unless they are canon or I think they are becoming canon by the end (obviously I may always be wrong in this second case). When it comes to Ruby, I think Rosegarden is gonna be endgame, so I am mostly focused on this ship.

That said, I think that so far Ruby has shown no romantic interest in anybody:

Ozpin: Not enjoying yourself? Ruby: Oh, no, everything's fine! I'm just not much of a fancy pantsy… dancey girl. Ozpin: Well, you can't spend your whole life on the battlefield, even if you may want to. Ruby: Yeah, that lesson's been floating around a lot lately. Ozpin: If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different. Two partners interlocked, although one wrong move on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot. Ruby: Or a twisted ankle.

In Atlas, she is uninterested in Renora's romantic conflict. In volume 9, she is the only one who doesn't get Weiss's crush on the Rusted Knight and Bumbleby's developing attraction. Basically, Ruby's focus is really not on romance and that is (imo) for 2 reasons:

She is focused on the mission and the macrochosm, rather than on her personal life

She is in a different development stage when compared to the others. In short, she is younger

Obviously, younger people fall in love too (I mean, puppy love is a thing) and everyone develops romantic feelings (if they even do) at different ages. However, RWBY is a story which makes use of metaphors and archetypes to describe the characters' inner journeys. This happens with Ruby, as well.

In particular, volume 9 has Ruby going from childhood:

To adolescence:

Little becomes Somewhat. Ruby becomes Someone. Neither Somewhat nor Ruby have figured themselves out. Still, they have grown and stepped into a new phase of their lives.

Well, I think that after this inner transformation Ruby will be more open to romantic relationships. In short, I think the Vacuo arc will focus on Ruby and Oscar's bond, which will grow to be romantic on both sides.

So, where does it leave Penny? I think Ruby and Penny's dynamic can be read in 2 ways:

A platonic friendship (my preference)

A bond, which could have developed into a romantic relationship with time once both Penny and Ruby grow

Ironically, I think the platonic interpretation is deeper and is better to explore Ruby and Penny's dynamic in canon. That said, there is nothing wrong about headcanoning a romantic attraction in a what if scenario.

In any case, it doesn't really matter because Penny is dead and personally I don't think she is coming back. Of course, there are people who feel differently and that is alright. I simply want to make clear the frame I am using.

That said, I don't think it is coincidental that so many people ship Penny and Ruby together. As a matter of fact Penny and Ruby's bond is very important and will be important for Ruby and Oscar's story, as well. After all, Penny and Oscar have been set up as foils since the very beginning:

Ruby: But at this pace, you'll be combat ready in no time! Suddenly, Ruby frowns upon mentioning her last phrase. Oscar notices this and tries to ask a question before Ruby interrupts him. Oscar: Uh…

In the dojo scene, Ruby unconsciously compares Oscar and Penny. This is also the first time Ruby indirectly brings up her friend before meeting her again in Atlas. In short, Oscar and Penny are linked when it comes to their arcs and what they mean to Ruby. So, Ruby's feelings over Penny's death are gonna be important for her dynamic with Oscar (and many other things, of course). Let's now focus on what Penny represents for Ruby.

PENNY AS RUBY'S INNER CHILD

I interpreted Penny as the little sister Ruby never had. I think that CRWBY wanted to put Ruby in Yang's shoes during the Atlas Arc, since that was the main internal conflict within team RWBY.

I like this take. I think it is interesting how you parallel Ruby and Yang's journeys in Atlas. Ruby becoming a big sister to Penny and Yang acting as a leader of her own faction.

That said, I think Penny's role in Ruby's arc is wider and it doesn't start in Atlas. Since the beginning, Penny represents Ruby's inner child:

A person's supposed original or true self and the part of the personality that still reacts and feels like a child.

Penny arrives at Beacon and is immediately presented as a Ruby up to eleven:

Penny: Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys! Ruby: Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?

Just like Ruby, her initial objective is to make friends. Just like Ruby, she is sweet, innocent, hopeful and can wield lethal weapons:

Ruby grows close to Penny because of these similarities. At the same time, Ruby is immediately not only supportive of Penny:

Ruby: You're not like those things we saw back there. You've got a heart, and a soul; I can feel it!

But also protective in a way, which is uncharacteristically strong:

Penny: Ruby, are these people your friends? Ruby: Penny, get back! AAAAAH! Ruby: Penny, wait! Stop! Penny: Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!

Finally, Penny's death is what breaks the peace and happiness of Ruby's school days:

The fall of Beacon starts with Penny's dismemberment. That is the moment Ruby's world breaks and she crashes down in shock. However, she is fast to get back on her feet and immediately uses Penny's sword to fight a Nevermore:

The metaphor is clear. The Nevermore embodies grief (see Poe's The Raven) and Ruby deals with it with her inner faith, which is represented by Penny's sword.

Atlas is just the repetition of this story. Penny arrives like a ray of hope in the grim situation the heroes are. They have just discovered Salem can't be killed and Ozpin has left them. Still, a lost friend appears out of nowhere and brings new happiness to the characters:

Penny: It'll be just like Beacon again!

Thanks to Penny, Ruby is able to go back to her happy place. She is back at Beacon with her friends all working hard to become extraordinary Huntresses and Huntsmen. Sure, some things have changed, but Ruby can find solace in the things that haven't. This is why Ruby's line to Pietro is so telling:

Ruby: Even if the worst does happen, you can always reactivate her again, so maybe try not to worry so much.

Pietro is worried about Penny's well being and Ruby tells him not to because if push comes to shove Pietro can just revive Penny again. Ruby clearly sees Penny as an ideal existence that can defeat death. However, Pietro is quick to shoot down this belief. This is foreshadowing for Penny's eventual death and how Ruby will have to accept it. Penny's second death brings out all the negative feelings Ruby has been repressing:

The scenario is the same of the one at Beacon, but this time Ruby can't stand up and struggles to find Penny's sword again:

Jinxy: Enough hope to fill this jar.

She has not enough hope to wield her inner blade anymore.

It is deep down still there:

Ruby: I… I thought this was lost forever. How’d you have it? Blacksmith: Nothing. No one is ever truly lost.

However, Ruby can't see it.

In other words, Penny is symbolically linked to Ruby's hope. She is the embodyment of the inner child that shines within Ruby and brings light to others. Still, Ruby is growing up. The coping mechanisms that worked as a child are starting to lose their grip on her.

It is not by chance that in Atlas Ruby struggles to use her silver eyes. She finds an inner equilibrium in volume 6, but Salem's words in volume 7 are all it takes to throw Ruby off:

After that, Ruby manages to sucessfully use her eyes only when Penny is in danger:

So, symbolically Penny is the one keeping Ruby together. This is why she is undone the moment Penny dies. Penny's death marks the end of Ruby's childhood.

Volume 9 is really Ruby grieving her child self in Penny. This is made clear by Little, who is Ruby's innocent self and shares many similarities with Penny. They love hugs and friends and Ruby. They are hopeful and want to grow up and help others. They are both Ruby and Penny in a nutshell.

So, Ruby's final goodbye to Somewhat is really Ruby saying goodbye both to her child self and to Penny:

Ruby: Well, uh… To me, you seem like a friend. Blake: A guide. Weiss: A protector. Yang: A…dorable. Ruby: Do any of those sound close? Somewhat: Hmmm. Somewhat. Yeah. Somewhat. I’m not any one thing, I’m somewhat of a lot of things! Ruby: It is a true pleasure to meet you, Somewhat. Somewhat: It will be my honor to serve you. Ruby: You’ve already done more for us than you know. Somewhat: You do feel… familiar. Like a happy dream I can’t remember.

She is moving on towards adulthood and self-actualization. She is working through her grief for her friend's loss.

Of course, this process has just begun:

What survives After all the dust has gone? Were you there till the end (the end)? Were you at least called a friend?

My wish came true That day that you appeared And called me friend

Penny is absent from Ruby's final confrontation with the Blacksmith (my main complaint about volume 9 ending). Still, this is clearly because Ruby is going to symbolically face her later on.

It is the same with Jaune and Pyrrha:

No more Sudden movements Please So tired, I'm sleepless And haunted by you Falling Forever Was I always just A man out of time

Both fallen maidens indirectly appear in the climax of the volume, but neither is properly addressed. They will be in Vacuo. They must be because both Jaune and Ruby are still hung up on them.

RUBY IDEALIZES PENNY

Neo-Penny: Just like you were too late to save me at the Vytal Festival… I died in Atlas too, didn’t I? Can you imagine what that's like? To be completely and utterly failed… time and again… by someone who meant the world to you…

This is the Penny Ruby sees in her head. This is in no way the real Penny. In her final moments, Penny is not looking for someone to save her, but rather she is searching for ways to save others.

In short, Ruby idealizes Penny to an extent. She sees her as someone innocent and pure to protect, but Penny is much more. Penny is her own person and her arc is about reaching self-actualization. She isn't the Pinocchio who is created by the Blue Fairy. Rather, she is the Pinocchio who creates the Blue Fairy:

All of this to say, I disagree with this take:

She was extremely codependent on others (TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE and just like Ruby was with Yang at the start at Beacon) and if I was to like the ship in canon, then Penny would have had to stay alive and go to Vacuo while RWBY fell (guess Jaune wouldn't have a reason to fall anymore), and learn how to be independent.

Or to better say, I see things a little bit differently. It is true that Ruby and Penny's dynamic is one where Ruby is mostly the one supporting and Penny is the one supported. It is also true that Penny is unsure about herself because of how her life has been controlled by others. Still, the way this dynamic works is also because Ruby keeps on projecting on Penny a very frail and vulnerable part of herself.

I actually think your parallelism with Yang and Ruby's dynamic is pretty poignant. Yes, Ruby is initially dependent on Yang. Still, Yang too is clearly projecting on Ruby her guilt and belief that love is conditional. This is why Yang should let go of Ruby:

This doesn't mean for Yang to stop caring for Ruby. However, it is not Yang's fault Ruby drinks the tree tea. Similarly, it is not Yang the one who can save Ruby or decide who Ruby is gonna be. Only Ruby can do that. That is because Ruby is her own person outside of Yang.

The same goes for Ruby and Penny. Ruby is a wonderful friend to Penny. Still, it is not her fault Penny dies at Beacon and at Atlas. Finally, Penny has in herself the strength to grow up and become her own person. Something she does before dying.

If Nuts And Dolts were written to become canon, Penny should grow more self-assured, so that she could be there for Ruby. At the same time, Ruby should stop projecting her inner child on Penny.

THE CONFLICT THAT WASN'T THERE

I would like to highlight that volume 7 offers the perfect chance to change Ruby and Penny's dynamic.

As we know, Ruby's main internal conflict there is if to tell or not Ironwood about Salem's immortality. Well, if Penny were to have an arc intertwined with Ruby, so that they could grow together and end up as a couple, this conflict needed to be addressed between them.

After all, Ruby doesn't tell Penny about Salem. At least, we have no reason to think otherwise. Penny is close to Ironwood and Winter and trusts easily. So, it is to be expected that if she knew, she would insist to tell the Atlas higher ups. So, not only is Ruby hiding info from Ironwood, but also from her friend. She obviously does so not to put Penny in a thight spot.

However, if Penny were written to grow into Ruby's partner, I think she should have entered a minor conflict with Ruby over this. In volume 8, Ruby not telling her should have been mentioned and Penny should have called Ruby out. She should have demanded Ruby to trust her more.

So, why doesn't this happen? Simply because imo Penny and Ruby are not written to be endgame. Moreover, the ones who enter a conflict with Ruby over this are Yang and Oscar. In particular, Oscar gets the part of the conflict, which could have easily been Penny's. He is the one who grows the closest to Ironwood. He is the one General objectifies. He is the one who eventually reveals the truth. He is the one who faces Ironwood in a last desperate attempt to get through to him.

Obviously, there could have been many other ways to write Penny and Ruby as a ship. Still, Penny is right now dead and her arc is done. In general, Penny and Ruby's arcs are not even that intertwined structurally:

Penny's arc is about reaching personhood through making difficult and tragic choices. She explores the theme of humanity, duty vs want and faith. Finally, her destiny in the sense of final goal is linked to "friendship". Her final choice is to say goodbye to Winter and to solve their conflict. She also chooses her friends over her duties as a Maiden. The character at the centre of her arc is Winter and not Ruby.

Ruby's arc is about overcoming Summer's death. She is a wide-eyed child, who is confronted with the darkness of the world and has to resist it. She must keep her idealism in the face of the worst happening. The characters at the centre of her arc are honestly Summer and Cinder so far. Still, I think Oscar will be key, as well. I mean:

Foreshadowing is foreshadowing.

That said, Penny and Ruby are incredibly important for each other. They are linked to each other's best parts. Ruby is the first to recognize Penny's humanity. She is Penny's guide and inspiration to grow up. Penny reminds Ruby of her most innocent and hopeful side. She is an even more simple soul than Ruby herself.

So, I personally don't ship them, but I can understand why people are passionate about their relationship. As for me, I am more interested in their individual arcs and what they have to say. Thank you for the ask!

#rwby #ruby rose #penny polendina #rwby meta #my meta #greenteaandtattoos #tw: penny's death

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gunchucks-wukong-archive · 1 year

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i totally get people with a limited wallet being upset that rwby won't be aviable for free anymore, i have limited money too and it's part of the reason why i never buy or commission merch because i can barely afford subscription to watch the show, but i think some people are honest to god exagerating and only end up sounding very entitled. Like honestly, when have you ever been allowed to consume a show for free unless you pirate it?? How can a show, an animated series of all kinds, live off of just merch? It's impossible, the show just wouldn't be able to see completion. RWBY was already an outlier for being aviable for free (and past seasons STILL are) so like, it's insane to me that you'd get so upset over this ?? The show gotta go on somehow??? RT is burning down they can't no longer afford this formula, maybe they're even handing over the show, change is necessary i think ??

Then there's the whole debate about what's more ethical to do considering the allegations against RT. If you wanna pirate it bc you feel like you shouldn't support RT or Crunchyroll that's honestly your choice, i personally won't pirate, i prefer not to buy shitty merch on the RT Store but support the stream on the new platform because i want to continue watching RWBY in the future, and in my view taking money or stream away from CRWBY will not pay the employees more, it will only make the situation worse (on a sarcastic note. what employees? they have all been let go. RT is burning down either way, im telling you) . That's my view, but i think it's a personal choice, so you do you.

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irandomblogfulb · 8 months

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You can't separate Roosterteeth and Crwby when the shows themes and messaging is a reflection of the work environment.

Call me a conspiracy theorist nutjob or whatever, but its not lost on me team rwby is cool and all with May, until she criticised rwby and oooh no, May you are a big meany...how dare you criticise team rwby :(

And then a year later, May's voice actor calls out Roosterteeth's scummy behalf and fake progressivism and now Roosterteeth/the fndm see her as an enemy and how dare she speak badly on this capitalist corporation and oh golly jee, completely out of nowhere this slanderous video of her using slurs comes out. Roosterteeth totally didn't try to paint her as a disingenuous, disgruntled employee and have been called out before by other employees for having a "You against us" and toxic positivity work place mentality where you are shunned and put on a list of "troublemakers" if you dare try to offer any criticism /s.

Total coincidence how Rwby parrots the same "you against us", toxic positivity mentality ripe within Roosterteeth where the good guys turned bay guys are all the people that wont let Ruby just do as she pleases. Its almost as if...gasp! Crwby and Roosterteeth are the same!

#rwde #rwby are valiant heros for bare minimum virtue signalling saying racism and classism is bad while sitting there #watching the racism and classism happen #continously prioritizing their friend group upbove everyone else #and destroy every place they visit #and roosterteeth thinks they “do enough for the lgbt community” by having pixels kiss #and almost kill their trans employee they propped up as their token trans person #all while prioritizing the z list internet celebs and protecting them even when they fuxk up and do wrong aka Gray #and not gaf about anyone outside of their z list highschool clique of e-celebs including those from marginalized communities they say they #are “allies” to and say they “do enough” for

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dragynkeep · 9 months

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I'm sorry of this is whiny, but I didn't know where else to put it or ask and I just wanted to type it out lol.

With that out of the way, sometimes I feel like CRWBY is so mean spirited to BlackSun shippers. Like, the panel where they said ' I knew you'd look better without the bow' was just Sun trying to get in her pants, or laughing as they wondered why people shipped Blake and Sun together. I'm a big BlackSun fan, and sometimes I feel like I've been harassed for it ( though, I've been told I got off easy compared to some shippers, so I do count my blessings there) and I just wish that with how much negativity BlackSun and shippers got in V1-V5 when it looked like it could have been canon that CRWBY would have just been more professional about it. I totally get that CRWBY can ship what they want, but it feels so meanspirited to me that instead of just being happy for BumblBY they went after BlackSun like that, and reduced a relationship dynamic so many people loved as a "silly teenage crush" really bummed me out in a way I can't really explain. I know CRWBY aren't our friends, but it just felt really mean. I genuinely can't think of any other love triangle in media where the writers themselves seemed to mock the romantic moments they themselves set up or the fans for shipping it. Sure, I can think of writers going 'Huh, I didn't realize people would ship A with B that much, I feel like it was clear A was going to be C' but I can't think of moments of writers going 'This romantic moment between these two? Creep trying to get in her pants.'

IDK, I guess what I'm trying to get at is that it's so weird to see that it wasn't enough for them to be happy about BumblBY, they had to take pot shots at BlackSun too, a ship which has never been the most popular, which has always invited controversy, discourse, outright death threats, etc. Am I overreacting/being too thin-skinned about this? Or can you sort of see what I'm getting at? Either way, sorry for such a long ask lol

The retroactive stripping of the nuance in Blacksun's relationship is infuriating.

Especially the "I knew you looked better without the bow" scene, because that was not a scene of Sun just trying to rizz Blake to get in her pants, and the fact that these white bitches are trying to downplay this scene is honestly racist.

It was one minority trying to compliment another about a racialised feature that they were hiding away, that they didn't want others to see in fear of marginalisation and violence. Sun complimenting her works because he is another Faunus who is out and proud, and isn't insulting Blake for her very realisitic choice for survival.

Compare that to Yang saying "You have cat ears!" in V9, which is just downright insulting.

Because Yang is not a Faunus, and she is specifically singling out Blake's features as something that she personally likes, rather than Sun singling out her bow as a mean of empowerment.

And it's the fact that it's the white ass VAs and the white ass writers barring Eddy that're doing this further aggrivates me. Stop demonizing Sun just because your shitty written ship won, it's pathetic.

#rwby #rwde #sun wukong #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #anti bb #blacksun #answered #luke.txt

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rnlacc · 9 months

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Can just sweep in and add on the whole "Ironwood is a fascist" discourse?

In all honesty, the idea V7 Ironwood is a fascist sounds ridicilous to me. In fact if that's what crwby wanted to build up Ironwood as then they didn't too great job at that. V7 Ironwood came off as a person with flaws who was put in a tough situation, trying to keep the world safe...and then he shot Oscar...because reasons.

But back on the topic. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I'm aware that during the time, speaking out against the government, showing a hint of dislike towards the government could get you in the biggest trouble.

Remember the guy who was arrested in the second episode of volume 7? The one who praised Robyn to the team and Qrow? By all logic, if Ironwood had always been this evil, fascist who will hurt you if you get in his way or speak against him, shouldn't the whole scene with him have dreadful atmosphere? He was caught by the police, protesting against Ironwood, after all. There's no knowing what will happen to him.

But no, the whole scene is comedic. Haha, look how obnoxious he sounds, using these big words when in reality he only threw a brick at a ship. Haha, isn't funny how he bounces, while praising the Happy Hunteresses? Hahaha, look how done the soldiers are with him, hahaha

Let me remind you - getting caught saying something against the goverment could get you in serious trouble. You could get imprisoned for a long time, murdered, get deported, put your family and friends in danger. It's no laughing matter.

And on top of that, we're shown him getting dropped off by the military and he's...fine. He sees no problem being rude to them, despite having gotten arrested by them minutes. Maybe it's just me, but can't have characters show a middle finger to Ironwood/the military, with zero worry of putting their lives in danger, get scot free, have Ironwood be understandable for others hating him and expect me to believe he's a fascist.

Yes, people in real life fought against their opressors and weren't willing to stay quiet, but jesus christ, people were still afraid!! I wasn't born when my home was occupied by USSR, but my parents and grandparents were and even if they lived their lives and had happy moments, there was still this anxiety that something bad might happen that could put you in danger. And guess what? Bad stuff happened! People got murdered and deported for speaking out or being deemed as the "enemies of the country" for as simple as having piece of land/home be "too big" for USSR's liking.

Others are shown disliking Ironwood and his choices. It's not even a secret, he's aware people are not huge of fan of him, but Ironwood doesn't do anything ~evil~ to change that. Jaune straight up tells to his face that if he hadn't done the embargo, others wouln't blame him and guess what? Ironwood agrees with him. He doesn't warn Jaune to hold his tongue, to think what he's saying - doesn't do anything that indicates Jaune being on a thin ice for speaking out. He agrees with Jaune and moves on with the conversation.

For God's sake, there literally is a plot point where all the people who spoke against Ironwood were found dead, but actually Ironwood has nothing to do with those deaths and actually has been framed. Are you kidding me??? A character who's supposed to be fascist is being framed for murdering those who speak against him??? What the f-

Seriously, if Ironwood is supposed to be a fascist then why not have us led to believe it was Tyrian who did, while sprinkling hints that Ironwood is hiding something, later revealing he was in fact responsible for the murders with him justifying it those people deserved it for causing worry amongst others and was using Tyrian as a scapegoat. I swear, the writers had the characters not like the military and called it a day, because thats enough to convince others that he's a fascist🙄

And then there's the Happy Hunteresses. My God the more I think, the more I lose my mind. I know there is more to fascism than speaking against government getting you could get killed, so sorry for sticking to only this point, but those women should be on the thinest of ices!! They're walking out, with their faces and real names out, being deemed as the heros of Mantle, being vocal of their dislike of Ironwood and the evil, evil, always has been evil fascist Ironwood...has done nothing all this time to get rid of them, especially Robyn???

In all honestly the more I think about everything involving Ironwood - him being part of Ozpin's crew, him and Ozpin, him and Glynda, him and Qrow, his and Qrow's hug, him and Ruby, him and team Rwby, him and Winter, him and the Ace-Ops, the Ace-Ops's and Winter's loyalty towards him, Pietro working with Ironwood, Robyn working together with him in the end etc. - and put him being a fascist next to it, I become uncomfortable, that everything ends up getting ruined in the story.

If Ironwood has always been a fascist like the fandom loves to claim...then that means Ozpin was fine with welcoming a fascist in his circle. Glynda showed a concern to a fascist. Glynda called a fascist a good person. Qrow saved a fascist from getting attacked by Grimm. Qrow nicknames the fascist "Jimmy". Qrow hugged a fascist with a smile. Winter chose to follow a fascist. Ace-Ops chose to follow a fascist. Team Rwby were fine with working alongside with a fascist. Yang got a prosthetic arm from a fascist. Weiss got defended at the party by a fascist. The Headmaster of Atlas Academy is a fascist-

Do you realize how messed up everything becomes? How it makes others look terrible? Don't give me the excuses that others didn't know. I'm willing to accept it with the kids, since they don't know him well, but Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, Winter, Pietro and the Ace-Ops? People close to him didn't know? Didn't see signs he's a fascist? Ozma lived for many centuries and couldn't pick up that he's letting a fascist in his group?

Jesus Christ

Yeah yeah, I can confirm that you'll get into trouble if you speak up/fight against the government in some one-party state countries or new countries just got out of the war(because their political system is just formed, they need to secure their power before developing the country in economic and social aspects, even that makes their political system turn into the dictatorship). But Atlas and Ironwood arent' like that, people can protest/fight/speak up against the government or Ironwood without any harm, the guy (from the begin of v7) got arrested and the military didn't do anything bad to him. Where's my fascist references, M&K?

And yup, if Ironwood was a fascist dictator, he just could get rid of Robyn. :) But he didn't. In fact, Ironwood had no problem in Robyn being a candidate for the position of the council, he even deployed Penny to protect the HH's election speech. In Atlas Academy, Ironwood let his students watch the election between Jacques and Robyn with free drinks and foods, he wanted his students to have the most comprehensive and unbiased view of politics, he didn't force them to follow a particular political faction. If he was a fascist, he could force them to follow his ideals without being allowed to have other political thoughts. Again, where's my fascist refs, K&M?

To me, "Ironwood was planned to be a villain from the start" is bullshit, they made this up to justify their bad writing. If Ironwood was actually planned to be a bad guy from the start, why would they let him show his loyalty and understanding to his allies?Why do they imply that he is willing to help his ally without return?He even wants the robots to replace human in battlefields to reduce casualties. A man who wants to save human beings is evil????What the fuck K&M?

One more reason why I don’t believe Ironwood was planned to be a villain from the start: THEY SHOWED THAT HE WAS ALWAYS A RELIABLE ALLY. In Before the Dawn, Velvet’s dad admited that he knew Ironwood as a friend, even he was just working for Ironwood. And Taiyang showed that he knew Ironwood so well that he could write a letter for him to ask for help, as a friend. Remember, Ironwood’s position is the commander of the strongest military in the world, he’s also a congressman, he’s the one always busy with his job being a General and a Headmaster and a congressman. And some random persons without any power in their hand can be his friends???A man like that is evil???If I were that busy man, I wouldn’t waste my time for “friendship” ngl.

(I stole this from OddlyHale ♥️)

Btw, Ironwood lets his students call him "James" aka his first name instead of his titles like General or Headmaster and he lets his students to have a 15 minutes in his office to talk to him every month. Idk but I feel like his students really love their Headmaster. And a man like that is evil??? 💀💀💀

I...just can't understand K&M&E's logic 💀what the fuck...And sorry for my bad English skill haha, English isn't my mother tongue and I'm very bad at it.

#rwby #rwde #james ironwood #general ironwood

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itsclydebitches · 11 months

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It astounds me that CRWBY can have the whole volume's 'character arc' resting on the idea that Ruby doesn't need to be perfect and that her friends aren't expecting her to be, only for her heroic entrance in the climax to be followed by her team mates basically going "If she wasn't perfect, we wouldn't follow her.". They've already failed to effectively establish a character arc and somehow STILL manage to undermine it.

Unfortunately, that's RWBY's go-to writing style: put forth a straightforward character arc, but then fail to consider how everything surrounding it may undermine that journey. RT seems to continually believe that The Message of the show is separate from everything else we see on screen, rather than realizing they're two sides of the same coin; a fictional series of evidence supporting a fictionalized argument. You can't have a character proclaim, "I've learned to be charitable!" and then show numerous scenes where they're being unnecessarily stingy. That's a head and a tails that simply don't fit.

Cat: You’re broken! You break everything you touch! I call Humans… weak! Confused! Incomplete! Weiss: No, you’re wrong. Yang: She’s never been any of those things. Blake: That’s why we follow her.

Unlike my above example though, RWBY is usually a bit more complicated. Here, the Cat tosses out accurate and inaccurate accusations, making it that much easier for viewers to simply ignore the ways in which this moment doesn't support Ruby's arc because look, some of what he's saying is nonsense. Personally, I disagree with "broken" and "incomplete"—especially with those two descriptors leveled partly at Yang—but confused? Frequently. Weak? Yes, that's a part of life; a challenge to overcome. Breaking everything they touch? Not everything, but a large part of Volume 9's reflection was supposedly them acknowledging how massively they messed up in Atlas. So... yeah. Things have been broken, on a literal and metaphorical level. Why would the heroes deny that in the final hour?

The purpose of Ruby's arc was meant to be accepting her flaws to the point where she can work to move past them. There's a fine line between acknowledging that people are imperfect while likewise acknowledging our responsibility to continually improve. It's not an excuse or a pessimistic declaration, yet Volume 9 started by denying the impact that their failure has had on others—Who cares that an entire Kingdom is gone? We tried our best and that's all that will ever matter!—and ends with the girls denying that those flaws exist at all. "You're wrong... She’s never been any of those things." Ruby has never been weak? Or confused? She's never fucked up? Huh, I thought this arc was explicitly showing how weak and confused and a failure she's been, to the point where those emotions drove her to a magical suicide. Worse than simply erasing Ruby's (already near non-existent) growth though, this moment—as you say, anon—suddenly paints Ruby as perfect when the whole POINT was for her to realize she didn't have to be. Her team turns her into an archetype on a pedestal, rather than a living, breathing, flawed person who needs support. Ruby is never confused. She's never weak. She's never lacked anything within her sense of identity. She's never made horrific mistakes. She is the PERFECT leader and that is why we follow her. Insert the implication here that a flawed Ruby would be abandoned by her team, AKA the very fear she expressed earlier that day:

Ruby from a few hours ago: "Why do I have to be the leader, anyway? Why do I always have to be the one to pick people up? What about me? ... Gotta find someone who isn't going to just screw everything up! Gotta stay positive, right? Smiles all around!"

RWBY is so frustrating because we have these scenes where multiple narrative problems are combining. I hate that they have Ruby complaining about being leader when she continually demanded that responsibility, to the point of actual Kingdom-wide destruction, and I hate that she's simultaneously right to be upset with how her team has been treating her. RWBY fails on both fronts by giving us a hero who is incapable of acknowledging her own screwups without making a whole production of it (Ruby's breakdown, though understandable, puts her in the position of a victim in need of comfort, rather than the responsible party who needs to own up to those mistakes) and it gives us a hero who expresses a need to be treated like a human being... only for her team to turn around and deny a large chunk of what makes her human.

None of which even gets into the iffy human/faunus dichotomy and how these definitions of humanity apply to Blake...

I love you just the way you are, says Summer, talking to a literal toddler who has not caused irreparable damage in a war. What about me? screams Ruby, someone who has made it all about her since she ignored Qrow's advice and ran after Cinder. We never expected her to be perfect, says Yang, and she's kinda right because the story has consistently shown Ruby demanding this responsibility, not having it placed on her shoulders. We follow Ruby because she's perfect, says the team, obliterating this Volume's arc that was already contradicting the rest of the series. This show is a MESS, says Clyde, banging her head against the metaphorical wall.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas #suicide tw

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