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dicknouget · 1 year

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On Arkos Revival

Before going any further I want to thank @pilot-boi for helping me with the arguments as well as @pottermusprime and @rwby-sk for reviewing the actual essay.

I cover the possible out comes of Pyrrha's revival and how an event like it would affect the show and the cast.

A couple days ago, I mentioned in an ask to Pilot that we never received a name for the red haired lady that Jaune converses with in V6C9 “Lost”. I also then brought up the dialogue where Jaune thought Pyrrha should be standing there, to which the woman replied she is. I’m not going to debate whether or not Arkos will be unsunk or even if Pyrrha will be revived. What I am going to share my thoughts on is how Pyrrha’s revival would affect RJNR’s character arcs, the relationships between Pyrrha and RUBY JNR and would Arkos still happen if, and this is a big IF, Pyrrha was revived. For the sake of the essay format I will be arguing as if Pyrrha’s revival has happened. This is a disclaimer: I recognize that Pyrrha has NOT been revived, and probably won’t be.

The first argument is in regards to Pyrrha and RNJR. RNJR, more specifically JNR, were hit the hardest with Pyrrha’s death. Ruby witnessing it, and JNR being her teammate. Since then we’ve seen the four of them develop and grow as characters, accepting Pyrrha’s sacrifice and recognizing what it means to be a huntsman/huntress. The initial reaction of a Pyrrha revival would be along the lines of “It completely undermines, and undoes the character growth of RNJR!”. However, if you stop and look at how people interpret experiences and events, you realize that it doesn’t undermine the character development and growth of RNJR. RNJR still lost a friend. They still learned to keep moving forward. They still learned the meaning of sacrifice, and what it means to be a huntsman/huntress. Pyrrha’s revival would simply be another event, another experience for RWBYJNR to understand. If she is revived, how did it happen? Is she the same Pyrrha that they loved? Is she older, does she still have her combat prowess? Just because she is revived, doesn’t mean she’ll be the same “Invincible Girl” from before. There’s also the topic of whether or not she would be willing to continue the mission if she turned out the same way, although given the information presented to us, she would likely join the heroes. Pyrrha’s revival is another event and experience that our heroes will have to work through and understand.

As a final support to the first argument, the audience has already seen a character revival. At the start of Vol 7 Penny was shown to be revived by Pietro as the protector of Mantle. Her revival didn’t magically undo everything that RWBYJNR had learned about loss, or even sacrifice. If anything her character arc helped remind them of sacrifices, and that a huntsman/huntress MUST be able to make the toughest decisions, even if that means losing a life.

The second argument is in regards to Pyrrha and RWBYJNR. This is much more uncertain, as it depends on HOW Pyrrha is revived. I will be arguing with a neutral approach given that condition. Let’s start off with Pyrrha and WBY. For the most part, they would be happy she’s back. Yang might tease Weiss about having a crush on Pyrrha. Ruby would give her some space, but would eventually hug her and might ask a couple questions about the afterlife. Blake and Weiss for the most part would be glad to have her back. Onto JNR. Nora and Ren would likely be more emotional, with Nora tackling her and Ren crying while hugging her. And now we have Jaune. Jaune would be emotional, the most of the group. His emotions would be very conflicting, likely a mixture of joy, relief, sadness and anger. One way I’ve always imagined it is similar to how Astrid repays Hiccup at the end of How to Train Your Dragon. A punch on the shoulder for scaring her and a kiss for everything else. While I will admit that Jaune punching Pyrrha would be a little OOC for him, it would be somewhat believable, given that he is a physical character, and in this situation would be overwhelmed by his emotions. Again it would be hard to judge how the characters react to such an event, because there are so many ways for it to occur, whether it be in the ever after, or a small reveal in a quiet part of the show.

The final argument is would Arkos happen. We’ve seen the primary cast grow from their naive, and in some cases ignorant selves, into fleshed out characters with strong backstories and their places in the world of RWBY. Jaune is an interesting character as we have seen him lash out on two occasions, both of which were in relation to Pyrrha. The first time we see him lash out in anger is in Vol 5 when he assaults Cinder, both verbally and physically. The second is when he yells at Ozpin, and unfortunately catches Oscar in the crossfire. However, since then we’ve seen him grow into a much more collected huntsman, even if he is still emotionally charged, the evacuation of Mantle and the battle of the bridges are good examples of this. Continuing, he’s also a much more forgiving person than we would have assumed in Vol 4/5. When JORY exits the Whale in Vol 8, he deliberately holds his ground to ensure that Emerald escapes as well. One of the people that helped orchestrate the fall of Beacon, and a lackey of Cinder, he ensures escape. Why? It’s because he recognizes that she also helped Oscar, and the rest of them escape. This doesn’t mean that he fully trusts her, but it shows that he’s willing to give her an inch of his trust, and work towards forgiveness.

Given this information and analysis of Jaune it would be safe to assume that if he is able to forgive a former enemy, he would be able to do the same to Pyrrha. There would be A LOT of pain, and A LOT of anger, and yelling. But at the end of the day, Jaune would forgive Pyrrha, and they would slowly start to form a relationship again. It would likely start platonically, as a way of building trust back up, but I am confident that Arkos would eventually become romantic. It would be an extremely slow burn, likely one that makes Bumbleby look like a speedrun, but that’s due to Jaune needing to rebuild his trust in his partner, and Pyrrha needing to recover. If Arkos were to become Canon, it would likely not be shown in the main series, likely in an epilogue.

Arkos is one of the more popular ships in RWBY, and evidently, one of my favourites. Jaune’s my favourite character, and I’ve always enjoyed Pyrrha. Part of being an Arkos fan is understanding that it likely will stay sunk, but it’s interesting to think about how it could happen, given the current character’s and their experiences. It’s also compelling to explore how an event such as Pyrrha’s revival would affect RWBY/JNR as well as how said group would react. I don’t claim to know more than what’s been presented onscreen and in extra lore, but I will explore the information presented to the audience on screen.

I hope you enjoyed reading this theory and essay

- Nouget

#rwby #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos #arkos #nougets essays

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everafterfrisk · 2 years

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Here we go again Folks and today I'll be dissecting the popular topic of "Ruby isn't affected by anything across the volumes"

-I'm gonna be honest and say this claim is pretty much BS

Volume 3

- Ruby falling to the ground in sadness after seeing Penny's Dismantled Body

> Was mortified by Pyrrha's Death at the hands of Cinder

Volume 4

In the DC Comics(which take place during the events of Vol 3-4)

Ruby showcases alot of uneasiness and self doubt

▪︎I.E being worried about how Yang felt back at the end of Volume 3

▪��Believing that she herself can't go on without her team backing her up

▪︎Questioning if she can truly make the right choice

"No One is truly alone".

"What you can do and Who you are-- These are Two very different things".

"No Person is Lesser for Being Alone,

You miss them but You aren't incomplete without them"

"They may bring Forth the Best in You

But the Best still Belongs to You".

- Episode 2 - Ruby is shown having Nightmares about the events of Volume 3

Vol 5

-After the battle with Tyrian, Ruby was upset that she indirectly got her uncle poisoned as well as not being so welcoming about team JNR joining her as the Problems got increasingly worses

"I should've never brought you guys into this"

But the Most powerful scene in this Volume for Ruby is her talk with Oscar

Where she tells him that how distraught she felt about Pyrrha's and Penny's Deaths & wished she could've gotten to know them better

Proclaiming that if she were have died, Pyrrha and Penny would try to keep fighting no matter the obstacle

As she then says that moving forward is what she has to do in order to protect who she cherishes left

Which parallels Issue #6 of the Comics

"Even When it's Hard---

--Just Live".

Which leads to the 2nd Strongest scene for Volume 5 Ruby

The Letter Scene

"Believe me when I say I know it can feel impossible. Like every single day is a struggle against some unstoppable monster we can never hope to beat. But we have to try…"

As Ruby is writing a letter to Yang about how although the World may seem bleak and while things may be painful in the long run, With the right people working together for a good cause can make an extraordinary change no matter how small it seems at first

Also Ruby LITERALLY TEARS UP DURING THIS SCENE

The Silver Eyes Activated after Ruby had a PTSD flashback of Pyrrha's Death when Jaune was going to clash with Cinder in the battle of Haven

■ Ruby was seen shocked by Weiss's fatal injury from Cinder's Spear strike

Volume 6

■ Felt a little Betrayed by Ozpin's Secret after Jinn revealed the Truth

■ Her Silver Eyes Activated When Blake was almost at death's door against the Apathy

■ Confronted Qrow about his lack of willingness to keep moving forward during "Lost" & "Stealing from the Elderly" Episode

Wanting him to view Team RJNR as people who can fight alongside him instead of just being a bunch of children who needs to be protected

"Just because you don't have an idea, doesn't mean we're out of options! Oz hasn't been here to tell us what to do, but we still managed to get this far anyway. We've been in bad situations before, and we don't need an adult to come save us or tell us what to do. We just did it our way! And I say we do it our way. And if you think you can keep up with us "kids"... we'd be happy to have you"

"We're all in this together, and we're all going to do the best we can. That's all anyone can do. And I know it's what you've always aimed for. We would've come whether or not you'd let us, so stop talking like we're your responsibility! We're not! But we could still use Qrow Branwen on our side"

Volume 7-8

■ Immediately felt guilty about lying to Ironwood about the Other stuff that happen with Ozpin

■ During Her Talk with Qrow, She even questions if she even knows what she has been doing was the correct decision

■ Ruby pleads Harriet in the "Ace Ops vs Team Rwby" to stand down and join her team in saving the citizens

■ Stood in Confusion and shock after witnessing a Silver Eyed Grimm Hybrid

■ in Volume 8 Finale,

Ruby is seen shedding a tear during her fight with Neo(Supposedly as a result of Yang's death)

---> in the Vol 9 sneak peek it showcases Ruby's POV where she was having constant anxiety attacks throughout the fight against Cinder

And in the Volume 9 Chapter 1 Sneak Peek Clip

Ruby breaks down and Cries to herself reflecting upon the events that have transpired

So Yeah I think this pretty much sums up how much these events have had an Impact on Ruby's emotions

(She ain't just Happy all the time and Ignores all the tragedy, if anything she tries using it as a Coping Mechanism of some sort in order to move forward & keep her mind away from the Darkness)

Hope yall Enjoy

#rwby analysis #rwby ruby #ruby rose #rwby

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aspoonofsugar · 2 years

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RWBY Over the Rainbow

So, have you already read this wonderful meta by @hamliet on how RWBY is at its root an alchemical story? Well, you should :P

If you haven't, this is the gist of it. RWBY takes both some imagery and its structure from the alchemical tradition. Alchemy is an ancient discipline that aims to create the philosopher stone and to turn metal into gold. In stories, this idea is usually used to comment on the protagonists' inner journey and refinement through some motifs and a specific way to organize the narrative.

To be more specific, alchemical stories have 5 phases. Sometimes 2 of them can be skipped, but when all 5 are present we have:

Black Phase (Nigredo)

Rainbow Phase (the Peacock's Tail)

White Phase (Albedo)

Yellow Phase (Citrinitas)

Red Phase (Rubedo)

Yes, they are team RWBY's colors, but these phases are also followed step by step when it comes to the story and to the characters' journeys. Again, for more details just check hamliet's meta.

In this short post, I wanna focus a little on the Rainbow Phase. As hamliet writes in her meta:

At the very end of nigredo, just before albedo, there is sometimes a flash of light, of rainbows and colors, that give hope. It’s not quite a phase, more of a moment, but it’s referred to as the peacock’s tail. While this is less plot-related, it does make sense that this is the point in the story where Team RJNR is formed. Why? Because look at their colors:

Ruby: red, black

Jaune: yellow, blue

Ren: green, purple

Nora: white, pink, orange

Between them we’ve pretty much got the full rainbow.

So, the Rainbow Phase is a very short moment meant to give hope after the devastation of the Black Phase (The Fall of Beacon). Now, in RWBY this happens in volumes 4 and 5 where our protagonists pull themselves together after the shock and trauma of volume 3. What's cool is that symbolically this is conveyed by all girls meeting a character linked to the rainbow. These colorful characters have key roles in RWBY's stories and help them moving forward in their personal developments.

RUBY

Ruby. We lost... We lost Pyrrha. You lost her, too. And Penny and your team and in a way... your sister. But you're still here, despite everything you've lost, everything you could still lose, you chose to come out here, because you felt like you could make a difference. You didn't drag us along, you gave us the courage to follow you.

Just like each RWBY girl is linked to 1 of the major 4 phases, Jaune is the one among the main characters linked to the Rainbow Phase. HIs surname "arc" (bow) is a reference to the rainbow and he and his 7 sisters are all linked to 1 of the 7 rainbow colors.

In short, he fits the rainbow motif and he and his team support Ruby when her teammates can't. The colorful JNR joins Ruby in her journey helping her to push forward in her mission. They are inspired by her and give her friendship and warmth in a very dark moment. They are a reminder that good people exist in the world and that everyone can step up to change things, if they are willing to.

WEISS

Hot coffee, Miss Schnee? I always find he keeps his study dreadfully cold.

Speaking of warmth, Klein gives love to Weiss when her family is too fractured and in pain to care for her. He plays the role of the Helper in Weiss's story in volume 4. He supports her fully and risks his job to make sure she leaves safely.

In short, he is the perfect embodyment of Snowhite's 7 dwarves who protect the girl from the Evil Queen. At the same time, his link to the number 7 and his eyes changing colors make his linke to the rainbow obvious.

BLAKE

I lost control. Every inch of me turned blue as I wept. And suddenly, all the girls that I'd laughed and played with... were scared of me.

Ilia too changes colors according to her emotions and her surname literally means rainbow. Her role in Blake's arc is different from Jaune and Klein's in Ruby and Weiss's, though. She is not really the Helper (that is Sun), but rather she is the Shadow. She embodies Blake's flaws and by helping her, our Cat girl shows her growth and change.

That said. Ilia is still fundamental for Blake pulling herself together, finding her inner strength and preparing to face off Adam once and for all. Her redemption proves people can change for the better and gives hope that hate can be overcome.

YANG

I... I'm sorry...

Some Shadows are able to step into the light when given the chance, while others... need a little bit more time. Raven's role in Yang's arc is similar to Ilia's in Blake's. As a matter of fact Yang too is helped by a Sun character (Tai) and confronts a Shadow (Raven), so that she can psychologically face her trauma. In this way, she is ready to finally move past it physically in volume 6, when she defeats Adam.

Differently from the other characters in this post, Raven's link with the rainbow is not so clear and I might very well be missing something (so help me if I am missing some piece of symbolism). Anyway, Omen is a weapon with 7 color-coded blades hence resembling a rainbow. Raven's role as a link or bridge (Kindred Link, but also ravens are symbolic of bridges) can make her a living rainbow, since they are seen as bridges in many mythologies. Finally, @hamliet found this. The Ranbow by Lawrence tells the story of the Brangwens, whose name sounds similar enough to Branwens. Take what you want from this :)

What's important is that Yang's meeting with Raven is a key moment and leads to the girl finding her loved ones again (Weiss, Ruby and metaphorically Blake). In a sense, her mother is the bridge that leads Yang to her personal rainbow...

CONCLUSION

RWBY is extremely creative with its alchemical symbolism and manages to be blunt, but also original in its motifs. The way the Rainbow Phase is handled is an example of this. At the same time, picking up such motifs is useful also to better understand the story and the girls' foiling and parallel journeys.

For example, as stated above, both Yang and Blake's arc in volume 4 and 5 and centered around the ideas of light and shadow. Fitting, considering the 2 girls themselves are linked to these 2 concepts (Blake is the shadow to Yang's light).

Ruby and Weiss's rainbow phases instead simply set the stage for future developments. They are moments where the brave child and the cold princess are shown love and appreciation. Similarly, it is interesting how Weiss and Blake's rainbow character is a minor one, while Ruby and Yang's a major one.

In general, noticing similar structures can lead to unexpected future realizations and I can't wait to be surprised more and more by RWBY!

#rwby #rwby meta #alchemy #team rwby #jaune arc #klein sieben #ilia amitola #raven branwen #my meta #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long

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ammy246 · 9 months

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I started writing a Kingdom Hearts/RWBY crossover fic post-KH3 where instead of ending up in Quadratum like canon, Sora winds up in the World Tree which takes him to Remnant. Riku eventually finds out about the existence of said tree and follows him there. If written fully, it'll cover volumes 1-9 and end in 9 since that's when they wind up in the Tree again. It'll start pre-volume 1 a few weeks before the girls start attending Beacon. Sora will arrive during the V5 Yang Trailer, Riku will stumble upon Raven's camp but find Sora later on in Vale. I'd also like to point out that there will be no Heartless or Master of Masters here and it will solely focus upon their journey throughout Remnant. They will have their magic temporarily taken away before arrival, because magic is not a common occurrence in Remnant and the Tree wanted to help them blend-in, and they will each be given aura/semblance instead but still have their physical keyblade wielding skills. As for romance, Soriku will be the KH pairing. Riku has feelings for Sora but hasn't confessed while Sora will be trying to figure out how deep his feelings for Riku go (he will figure it out by the end don't worry). The RWBY ones will be the canonically explored ones (Arkos, Renora, Bumbleby) but others such as Blacksun may be referenced or minimally explored to throughout depending on my mood. If you are homophobic, don't even consider reading my story if I ever publish it, because it is not meant for you and neither are RWBY/KH as series to begin with.

Here's a basic summary of how this fic may go per Volume

Pre-Volume 1: Sora bonds with the Rose-Xialong family and learns basics about Remnant while taking a much deserved break. Riku is searching for Sora and ends up getting assistance from Raven after proving himself worthy of her time.

Volume 1: Sora goes to Vale with Ruby/Yang to see Yang off only to fight Roman and get acknowledged by Professor Ozpin along with Ruby. Riku intervened as Cinder was about to hit Sora with a powerful magic attack, and helped Sora/Ruby/Glynda repel her. The three get invited to attend Beacon and accept, leading to the formation of the teams and Sora/Riku being a duo instead of four person team because of the odd number of students for the year. They learn how to be students (Riku excels Sora does not) and huntsmen together and make new friends and enemies.

Volume 2: More challenges await as a threat rises. Sora and Riku gladly help their friends take on these enemies, but are unaware of the true darkness under the horizon. Will the light prevail as it always does or will the darkness be too strong for the heroes to squander? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, the two are settling in this new world, and pondering over their feelings for each other.

Volume 3: Sora thought he'd get a break in this new word and enjoy it with his best friend. Riku thought he'd be able to have some fun with his crush in the Vytal Festival. Neither could've predicted the tragedy that was coming. Hope is shattered, and light is in pieces. Innocence is lost, and they will never be the same again.

Volume 4: What does one do when the light falls to darkness? Sora, Riku & co will have to figure this out the hard way as they head to Mistral searching for any light that can guide them to a much needed victory against the dark. With RWBY scattered and RJNR despairing, is there any light left or has the dark taken over all of their hearts?

Volume 5: They are but a few sparks, and the darkness is vast. How will the light prevail against such overwhelming odds? Perhaps the return of old friends, new allies, and hope they had long needed will arise help them triumph over darkness.

Volume 6: Everyone is together again, and Sora could not be happier. However, there are still many challenges ahead as the group must head to Atlas to hide the Relic of Knowledge warn General Ironwood of Salem's incoming invasion. Old and new enemies, secrets, troublesome and confusing feelings and more threaten to tear him and his new friends apart, but Riku won't let him give up now.

Volume 7: After all this time, Sora and Riku are now huntsmen! They will give it their all to protect Atlas and Mantle from Salem's forces. However, light is stronger in some people's hearts than others. Will love prevail or will fear tear everyone apart?

Volume 8: Sora's worst fear has come true; the dark is stronger than the light. He and Riku might not be able to save everyone like they had been able to in the past. However, that doesn't mean they won't risk it all to fight for every life. Will light be able to overcome the odds and save they day or will they fall into darkness?

Volume 9: The heroes saved the day, but it came at too high a cost. Now, Sora and Ruby grieve over the loss of a friend they failed not once but twice all while dealing with a world whose weirdness reminds him of home and feelings that may change things between him and Riku forever. As the World Tree appears before them, Sora and Riku must ask themselves: What are you? Are you the same boys that left home? Do you even want to return knowing the fight against the darkness will never end? Is there even any light in your heart anymore? What these boys decide will determine their futures.

Feel free to give suggestions if you have any ideas of specific events or character interactions you want to see. Note that Sora and Riku are the only Kingdom Hearts characters physically present aside from flashbacks.

#rwby #kingdom hearts #soriku

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dragynkeep · 2 years

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In hindsight, Cinder killing Pyrrha was a boon for her side. Tyrian would have a hell of a time trying to hit anything with his wrist blades and God help him if he encountered her after he got his new tail. Mercury is up shits creek without a paddle for obv reasons. Watts would be losing his mind when all his tech gets jacked up by her etc. Cinder did the villains side a solid.

i think tyrian wouldn’t be as much of an easy knockout considering he was quite fluid & able to adjust to a situation quickly; especially measuring by the rjnr fight. pyrrha would be able to manipulate his weapons but he would still have his stinger & his reflexes.

emerald would probably be able to get some foothold to help another take pyrrha out if she was able to ensnare her quickly enough in her semblance, but cinder was absolutely the best option out of all the villains side to take out pyrrha because she was the one who needed to be in closest proximity to ensure the maiden soul would go to her.

#rwby #pyrrha nikos #cinder fall #tyrian callows #emerald sustrai #ais.txt #answered #q

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rafaelzan1 · 5 years

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#rwby #jnpr #rjnr #ruby rose #jaune arc #lie ren #nora valkyrie

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evebun · 7 years

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Hello, I’m a huge fan of extremely self aware and potty mouthed Ruby Rose.

Also I’ve only seen Oscar for a like a total of .07 seconds and I already would die for him. So far volume 5 has been extremely kind to me. (❛ᴗ❛*人)

#my art #rwby #rwby 5 #ruby rose #oscar pines #qrow branwen #roosterteeth #rosegarden #rjnr #ornj

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coffee-pyrrha · 6 years

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sing hallelujah...

either way, I’ll cry with the rest of them

redo of this

#rwby #arkos #rwby vol 3 #rwby spoilers #jaune #nora #pyrrha #ren #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos #nora valkyrie #lie ren #jnpr #afire love #ed sheeran #rjnr #plot twist i bet you thought this was going to be sweet and not angsty #i made this a while ago but it never seemed like the right time to post them #rant

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jillzyglow · 7 years

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Straight out of beacon

#rwby #rwby cosplay #rubyrose #roosterteethcosplay #cosplay #rwbyvol4 #RJNR #jaune arc #nora valkyrie #memeanime #memecosplay

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arc-misadventures · 2 years

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Friend au) Qrow say why he didn't knew they were his friends: ruby and yang had never mentioned him when they talked about friends during calls back at Beacon, during RJNR ruby talked to ren and nora and to him when she needed help, ren and nora supported each other but never him, Weiss never even thanked him for saving her life and was always snarky when they talked , Blake when joined the group asked everyone if they need help with injuries, everyone but him, plus never said a word to him

This is going to answer another question where I was asked if Yang and Ruby are going to ripe one into Qrow.

///

Friends X

Qrow: Well, I'll say this, Firecracker, you left-hook has gotten better. But, did you really have to do that?

Yang: Yes. Gods, I can't believe you said such things about me! Thinking I had a crush on, Jaune? Why?!

Qrow: Seemed like a good answer at the time.

Yang: Well I never did...

Qrow: What's the point of all of this anyway, why are you all so upset? So what you're not friends, not like it's the end of the world if aren't friends.

Ruby: Well, maybe were just having a hard time dealing with the realization that someone we, I! I thought was a close, and dear friend never saw it that way! And it turns out it was because I was too selfish and never saw it that way!

Yang: Not to mention we completed forgot about him and we were all caught up in our own little words.

Qrow: I mean, that's understandable. You kids were all going through allot of stuff. Can't worry about everything that's happening to everyone else now can you?

Yang: Yeah, but...

Qrow: Some people need to be alone, to deal with grief, sure they can ask others for help every now and then. But, they need to figure out everything out on their own.

Ruby: That's the problem! Jaune said so himself! He's always been alone, before he came to Beacon and after he lost, Pyrrha! And he's been dealing with all this pain on his own!

Yang: We had Dad, Blake, had her parents, and Sun. Weiss, well, she had her butler! Ren has Nora, and Nora has Ren! Jaune, had no one! No one to support him when dealing with all of this! And don't you dare, dare say you can handle it on your own!

Qrow: What?! I have been handling it on my own! Damn succeeding at that!

Ruby: Then how come you've become a drunk since mom died!

Qrow: W-What did you say...?

Ruby: Ever since, Mom died you have been drinking your life away! Hell, you even said it yourself that you were too sober to deal with this, with us! What the hell makes you an expert on any of this!

Qrow: Ruby, wait, just listen!

Ruby: NO! Now leave me alone!

Qrow: Ruby! Ruby, wait!

Yang: And... she's gone. Nice going Uncle Qrow, you made your little niece cry, ya happy now?

Qrow: Well shit... There's goes my bad luck for the day...

Yang: Bad luck? Uncle Qrow, luck had nothing to do with this; You are just being a jackass. I'm going to go check on her, I'll see you in the morning...

Qrow: ...

Qrow: Hah...

Qrow: I'm still too sober to deal with this shit...

#rwby #jaune arc #ruby rose #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #weiss schnee #nora valkyrie #lie ren #qrow branwen #sun wokung

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itsclydebitches · 2 years

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(What if Anon) Sometimes, I wonder how it would be if RWBY didn’t reunite in Vol. 5. Specifically, if Volumes 4-7 focused on each of the girls separately: Ruby and RNJR, Grimm, Salem focus for Vol. 4, Weiss, her family, Ironwood, and Penny for Vol. 5, Blake, her family, Sun, and Ilia for Vol. 6, and Yang, Tai, the teachers for Vol. 7. And then Vol. 8 would involve RWBY reuniting. I think if it had been this way, we could have gotten more world building of Remnant (1/2)

Yeah, I’m of the opinion that RWBY’s problems (usually) lie more in its execution than the initial choices. Meaning, bringing the group back together in Volume 5 is a good idea, keeping them separate past Volume 5 is a good idea—both choices have their pros and cons and it ultimately comes down to the writers’ skill at managing either one. Given RWBY’s track record, I don’t think any single change would automatically fix these issues. A team struggling to incorporate world building isn’t going to suddenly overcome that by keeping the main team split. If that alone were the answer, we wouldn’t be seeing so many takes along the lines of, “I can’t believe we saw Vale, Menagerie, Mistral, and Atlas and I still feel like I barely know anything about them. They don’t feel like distinct Kingdoms with their own history and cultures" post-Volume 4. This is especially evident to me given that Neo and Roman are split up in their own novel, yet Roman Holiday still describes Mistral as having the exact same ‘poor at the bottom, rich at the top’ problem as Atlas. The only place that feels semi-established is Vacuo due to the reiteration of how harsh it is (we’ll see if that actually ends up on screen) and Atlas in regards to its tech… but as discussed elsewhere, that may not have an impact on Remnant as a whole. Critics are partly critical because they’re invested in world building. Haven’t RWBYJNOR decimated the dust trade by destroying the Schnee empire? Haven’t they screwed everyone like Yang, Maria, anyone using airships, paladins, etc. by destroying the Kingdom whose identity is “Makes all the tech in this world”? But already the fandom has rejected such questions and it remains to be seen whether RWBY capitalizes on the impact of destroying Atlas at all. If its loss has no effect on the world, clearly its presence didn’t either.

But I’m getting off topic. You’re absolutely right that the potential is there and might have been great to see, especially in the hands of more skilled writers. Yeah, many fans likely would have been very upset at the group taking so long to come back together, but it would have provided space for them to grow individually, form other bonds, and, as said, explore the world of Remnant outside of wherever Ruby is. Many of the problems fans have with the series—lack of world building, homogeneous group that only cares about one another, no personal motivations for getting involved in this war, etc.—could potentially be fixed by having them start individual side quests that just happen to all culminate in going after Salem. Yang gets closer to her Dad and learns about the inner circle. Blake’s involvement in the White Fang inevitably leads to assisting in the war that impacts humans and faunus alike. Weiss is in Atlas fighting against Jacques and assisting Ironwood with his new communication plans. RJNR is on a revenge quest against Cinder/on a search to find out more about Silver Eyes (so maybe Ruby meets Maria far earlier). Qrow and Ozpin are reconnecting, training Oscar, dealing with Lionheart. Then, when the series is actually ready to start its final showdown with Salem (not have her hanging out in a whale the whole time) we can have the somewhat unexpected, somewhat planned reunion. Remanent is meant to be a large world and our group is meant to have individual desires/goals, but as a 1,000+ yo enemy determined to destroy the world, Salem is an antagonist whose presence is really easy to work into everyone’s unique journeys. Especially when you can go the easy route of, “Such-and-such betrayed us by teaming up with her. Now it’s personal.”

It’s been a very long time since I read the manga so my memory might be faulty, but I recall enjoying a similar structure with Hunter x Hunter. They come together for their test, become friends, we get a substantial amount of storytelling with them as a team, and then each gets to go off and pursue their own goals (with Gon and Killua often sticking together much like RJNR did). As the omniscient audience, we still follow each character to varying degrees, never straight up dropping them from the story, but Gon remains the focus and the moments when the friends come back together are exciting—a sharp contrast to the, “Doesn’t Character A ever talk to anyone other than Character B?” feeling of late RWBY.

At the end of the day though, a lot of this ends up coming back to the team’s barely established motivations. It’s just not compelling to have a large group, who previously had personal goals, now following the main character because yeah, Salem is bad and I guess we’ll try to stop her. The fact that the show ignores the number of characters who joined Salem/gave up—this group of eight is just conveniently resistant to that!—as well as the fact that, given her immortality and Ozpin’s ultimate goal of unification, “stopping” her could well be tied to lots of other actions they want to do anyway, like smoothing over faunus relations… it kind of ruins the “Good people fight the hard fight because” take for me. There's too much in RWBY's history making me question their motivations to just shrug and accept that they're The Best Heroic People. So I’m interested in RWBY’s world building, but I care far more about the group’s characterization. In retrospect, I’d take a split group that’s growing and thriving with other characters than the static passiveness we’ve seen with them together. Again, either option should be good, but given how disappointed I am in Option A, it is appealing to think about how much more we might have gotten with Option B.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

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marythedemon-blog · 7 years

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#rwby #winter schnee #qrow branwen #uncle qrow #weiss schnee #ruby rose #pyhrra nikos #jaune arc #lie ren #nora valkyrie #penny polendina #sun wukong #neptune vasilias #blake belladonna #tyrian callows #team rjnr #team rwby #team jnpr #team strq

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hamliet · 3 years

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RWBY and the Philosopher’s Stone

So, I finally watched RWBY after a friend name-dropped several characters and I was like wait... those names are alchemical. I was still pleasantly surprised to find out just how deeply rooted in alchemy the story is, from its characters to its plot structure.

Background: alchemical structure is a type of story structure that focuses on inner transformation via outward obstacles. You can find it in literary traditions across the world, from Moxiang Tongxiu’s novels to A Song of Ice and Fire to Harry Potter to The Witcher to Trollhunters. Carl Jung incorporated it into his psychology. Daoism plays heavily into Chinese alchemy. The Wizard of Oz, one of RWBY’s main inspirations, is a blatant alchemy allegory. It’s everywhere, so it’s not surprising RWBY is drawing heavily on alchemy, but it is neat to see how blatant the references are.

Thematically, the goal of alchemy is a metaphorical philosopher’s stone. The philosopher’s stone, in legend, is said to produce an elixir of eternal life, and to be able to transform “baser” metals into gold.

In stories, when positive, as it usually is, this usually results in a character either overcoming death (see, Harry Potter) and/or transforming the world and others around him (Harry Potter saving his friends, etc.) But the journey from how they get from prima materia (raw material) to the philosopher’s stone? Now that’s the story.

(When reversed, a metaphorical stone results in something that can destroy everything; see: the One Ring, also Salem, because Salem’s whole thing is that she cheapened the process of life and death, while alchemy states that death is a necessary part of achieving life.)

So, mostly I’m gonna talk about the symbolism I’ve seen so far and make some predictions for what’s likely to happen next in the story, and for the characters.

Each of the four main characters has a name that corresponds to one of the four phases of the Magnum Opus. “Blake Belladonna” refers to the nigredo, or black stage; “Weiss Schnee” to the albedo, or white stage; “Yang Xiao Long” to the citrinitas or yellow phase, and “Ruby Rose” to the final stage, rubedo, or red (Ruby’s name is quite literally taken from that stage). Naming them for these stages shows a dual purpose: while Ruby is the central character, she needs her team around her, and Team RWBY will save the world together. Team JNR is also a part of the stages, but I’ll get to what they represent later on.

Jung associated each of the major stages with a major archetype. The major stages can be further broken up into a total of seven or twelve or even fourteen stages. Most commonly you’ll see George Ripley’s Twelve Gates referenced, and I believe that’s what RWBY is referencing as well since its allusions are pretty perfect. The "gates” or stages also sometimes overlap, especially when different characters might be at different stages.

Nigredo: Seasons 1-3

Alchemy begins by gathering the prima materia, or raw material. The characters assembling in season 1 is more of the gathering than the actual transformative process. But once we hit season 2, we dive straight into the process.

Calcination occurs during the climax of season 2, during the fight on the train. Season 3 contains dissolution, or the washing of impurities through the exposure of certain secrets (like the fall maiden) as well as the literal dissolution of Beacon Academy, and separation (the end of the season, when Team RWBY is scattered).

Narratively, Jung associated nigredo with the shadow, with someone’s dark night of the soul, their low point. In historical artistic depictions, often part of nigredo is dismemberment... which happens to Yang when she saves Blake from Adam. See, Splendor Solis:

The goal of the shadow is that it should be integrated with, accepted, rather than denied. Facing the shadow is a necessary part of growth and ultimate transformation... and the point is, through facing the shadow, hope and light come.

Peacock’s Tail: Seasons 4-5

Okay, I lied, there are sometimes five phases in alchemy. At the very end of nigredo, just before albedo, there is sometimes a flash of light, of rainbows and colors, that give hope. It’s not quite a phase, more of a moment, but it’s referred to as the peacock’s tail. While this is less plot-related, it does make sense that this is the point in the story where Team RJNR is formed. Why? Because look at their colors:

Ruby: red, black

Jaune: yellow, blue

Ren: green, purple

Nora: white, pink, orange

Between them we’ve pretty much got the full rainbow.

We also have, in Blake’s arc, the introduction of Ilia Amitola, whose last name is the Souix word for “rainbow.”

Albedo: Seasons 5-7

Albedo is associated with the anima or animus, or the part of ourselves that we are lacking (it’s generally gendered as the male within a female and the female within a male, but please understand he’s not talking literally and more in terms of traditional qualities ascribed as feminine or masculine that we may repress), which more than fits the fact that this stage begins while team RJNR is literally wandering around a continent called Anima.

Conjunction is a term in which all the separated parts that can be salvaged from the Nigredo come together. Obviously the main incident for this is the fight at the end of volume 5, but I’d argue it overlaps a bit with volume 4 and even with separation.

The characters are only able to come together again once they’ve accepted aspects of their shadows. Yang deals with hers in Raven and Blake with the White Fang. Nora and Ren’s fight at their home village represents them dealing with their shadow as well, and also relates to conjunction because conjunction is the stage where the first chemical wedding comes into play. A chemical wedding is the joining of alchemical partners, and while I’ll probably discuss ships in another post (there’s a lot of set up alchemy-wise), I’ll just reference the obvious one here:

The fountain image and a person shooting arrows is some pretty uncannily similar imagery to the fight at Nora and Ren’s home village.

Next up in albedo is putrefication (focus on death and rotting). We see this with the encounter with the Apathy, who look like skeletons, cause death, etc. We’re also introduced to Maria Calaveras, aka the Grimm Reaper. (Her last name also means “skull” aka the white results of putrefication).

Congelation requires a lot of water, and we see this in the focus on Atlas, wherein snow (water) is everywhere. The point of congelation is to separate the thin from the thick, the latter of which will of course become the Philosopher’s Stone. We see this through Team RWBY’s break with the Ace-Ops (aka the Aesops), whose simplistic morality and rule-following are not going to bring about character growth or eternal life.

Citrinitas: Volume 7-?

Citrinitas focuses on the light, or fire. That immediately after congelation, a giant whale brimming with yellow appears in the white-colored Atlas is not a coincidence. Citrinitas is associated with the sage or the wise old man/woman, so Maria and Pietro fill this role.

The first stage of citrinitas is cibation, which involves feeding with fresh material. I’d actually say that it seems quite possible cibation overlaps with congelation, in that there is a focus on food and on training with the Ace-Ops early in Volume 7. The next phases are sublimation and fermentation. I can see potential for sublimation in that it essentially is when solid becomes air (think of the setting of Atlas), but it’s too soon to say what this means for the plot.

Fermentation, though... well, things will get worse before they get better. :’)

Rubedo:

Finally, Rubedo is associated with the fully individualized self. We can assume each of the main seven will come into their own, confident of whom they are. Oscar should, as well, and probably will have fully control over his body by the end (ie Oz will likely... find rest or whatever).

The stages of rubedo are exaltation (the creation of the stone after two contraries meet), multiplication (the stones’ properties increase), and projection (the stone’s abilities are projected over the entire world, aka presumably RWBY will save the world).

The most common way to display multiplication is through, well, a lot of couplings. It’s why the main characters ending single seems extremely unlikely to me. Even if it seems a fairy tale ending, well.... *gestures to everything about RWBY being inspired by fairy tales* Fairy tales were also often alchemy based. But ships will get their own meta, because I actually don’t really ship much besides Renora and am for once not super invested in anything, but I can see the set-up for four or five ships.

I also want to highlight the other symbolic names that stood out to me:

Ironwood. While I know Ironwood references the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (tin being one of seven metals associated with alchemy), his name also references a second metal: Iron. Tin and Iron are the two of the three basest metals in alchemy (the other is lead). Iron in particular is ruled by Mars, the god of war, meaning it is associated with violence. It’s not a coincidence that pretty much from the second Ironwood is introduced, the concept of war comes up, and his entire character has gone on to be the embodiment of the military and violence.

Tai Xiao Long. His name literally means “sun,” and Ruby’s mother is defined by her silver eyes (silver being a color traditionally associated with the moon). Ruby is thus considered the child of the Solar King and Lunar Queen, two mythical alchemical figures who together create the “Philosophical Child,” or the personified philosopher’s stone.

Pietro Polendina: his name literally means “stone,” and Penny is his philosopher’s stone. Penny is arguably a reference to copper, another of the seven metals, as copper references compassion and love, which seems like Penny to me.

Qrow and Raven Branwen: crows and ravens are symbolic of nigredo, or the black phase; death, decay, etc. However, within the story I think Qrow and Raven fulfill this role as the Jungian shadows of hunters as a whole and of Yang.

Sun Wukong: obviously a reference to the sun.

Emerald Sustrai: Emerald is a reference to the Emerald Tablet, which in alchemical lore is a tablet containing the secrets of alchemy, as written down by Hermes (in legend). Hermes is, of course, Mercury. Everything about alchemy stems from the Emerald Tablet, so Emerald should be important. In addition, green is the color of the prima materia, so it references Emerald’s arc in being shaped and molded by Cinder.

Mercury Black: Mercury as the mythological god is the legendary founder of alchemy, so like, he’s important. Mercury is also the third most important metal in alchemy, after gold and silver. It is necessary to achieving the philosopher’s stone so, like Emerald, Mercury is probably important. Mercury is of particular note because mercurial characters are common in alchemical literature: they make stuff happen. Think of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, for example. Mercury transcends death symbolically (you can see the roots of this in Mercury’s backstory with his assassin father): it is difficult to pin down and can quickly shift from liquid to solid. Thus, in alchemy, mercury can shift between life and death.

Mercury is also a noted servant of the white queen. I initially thought this a surface reference to Salem’s appearance, and it might be, but Salem is more associated with a black queen in the recurring chess motif, and I don’t see Mercury staying on her side (mercury isn’t fixed, after all; that’s its central tenet), so I kind of wonder if the “white queen” will be later revealed. Or maybe it just is a surface mention.

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