#tyrian you know what you're doing

[reashot]

And As Promised. An Epilogue to Final Goodbye.

A New Beginning...

Ruby Rose stirrs in her sleep. Having a dream about an adventure she had with other 3 girls in her teams and many others. But for some reason she remembered her time fondly with a boy whom has a hair that are the same color of the sun.

Smol Ruby: ...... Mom?

Summer: What is it dear?

Ruby: I had a dream...

Summer: What dream?

Ruby: I dreamed that I was a huntsman. And that I go on numerous adventure with them. And I also dreamed of a boy with hair as bright as a sun.

Summer: A boy. Oh my. Is my little Ruby finally showing an interest in boy?

Ruby: No! I hate boy they're gross.

... But when I saw him. I felt something throbbing inside my chest.

And I kinda want to see him to know what is it I'm feeling.

Summer: Oh Ruby... That means you're in love with him.

And with another blonde too. I guess the Apple didn't fall far from the tree after all.

Ruby: What. No I'm not in love. I don't even know him!

Summer: It's okay don't be shy. Dear look, Ruby is in love.

Tai:

Jaune's version.

*knock, knock*

*door opening*

Smol Jaune: Dad. I had a nightmare.

Papa Arc: You're fine. Now get back to sleep so I can go back porking your mother.

*slams door*

Jaune: I guess. It's fine then?

Wonder what's "porking" mean?

Years later On Beacon.

Jaune: You took quite a fall there, you okay?

Ruby:

Uhm... Hey... (He's the boy from my dream)

Jaune: You look familiar. Have we met?

Oh by the way my name is Jaune... Huh?

*runs up and hug him*

Ruby: Jaune! Jaune! Jaune! I remembered you.

Jaune: Uhm... Ruby why are you hugging....

Wait how do I know your name?

Ruby: Jaune you remembered me too? I knew it.

Summer: Oh look dear, our Ruby finally meets the boy of her dream.

And they're kissing in public. Oh my, how bold of them...

And they're now... Taking each other's clothes off?

Honey I think we need to separate the two of them

Tai: (How about if I separate the boy from his life while I'm at it.)

#rwby #jaune arc #ruby rose #lancaster #lancaster rwby #jaune x ruby #ruby x jaune #rwby lancaster #summer rose #rooster teeth #papa arc #tai xiao long

[what-the-heck-is-rwby]

Great framing, nuff said

And Ruby... YOU didn't know about Tyrian either!! It's not like you tricked them into coming KNOWING that a crazy man sent by THE DEVIL would be coming after you!!

I know what you mean, that if they knew they wouldn't have wanted to come along. But you're wrong. If anything it would've made them want to come MORE, so they could KEEP YOU SAFE

These are the same three that just lost a member of their team to the same people who would be trying to hurt YOU. Do you really think they'd let that happen again? Even if just for selfish reasons of not wanting to go through that again, they'd want to come to KEEP YOU SAFE

#rwby #rwby liveblog #liveblog #rwby e10v04

[strqyr]

while training, cinder is not comfortable with her grimm arm, yet; this is made clear when the beringel leaps at her, and she reverts to using her right arm to kill it, instead of her left that she was using just moments ago. she's clearly not doing well, falling to her knees and breathing heavily, when salem speaks: "i thought you were the girl who wanted power? did you lie to me?", telling her to stop holding back, that if cinder wishes to master her new powers, she must—, which is left unclear by tyrian's arrival.

yang, meanwhile, is comfortable with her new prosthetic, even voicing her own surprise at the fact, having thought it would be a huge weight, but instead she feels perfectly balanced with it. more than anything, there are no signs at yang being at her limit or pushing too hard; they've been at it for weeks, taking the training step-by-step, tai making sure that yang is ready. he warns her of relying too much on her semblance, especially when it comes to saving it for tough spots: "but what happens if you miss? what happens if they're stronger? what then? now you're just weak and tired!" and to keep her emotions in check, to keep a level head and think before she acts.

and yang learns: in haven, mercury grabs her arm, her eyes turn red, and before, she might have just turned around and punched mercury square in the face; instead, she lets her prosthetic arm go, focusing on getting to the vault, making herself more vulnerable in the process without even knowing what kind of situation actually awaits her in the vault, and it pays off.

salem has cautioned cinder before, but i feel like for cinder, all of it got banished from her head the moment salem told her to stop holding back while she was still at her weakest, on her knees, still recovering. so against raven, she did exactly that, starting with one sword, then two, then a big one, and whaddaya know: none of it got her the upper hand. raven could match her and at times outsmart her, when cinder was so laser-focused on her that she failed to pay attention to her surroundings.

and as a result, cinder ended up kneeling on the ground, weak and tired, when none of her usual methods that she relied upon worked.

#strqyr.queue

[itsclydebitches]

Cinder is a lot more sexualized then the male parts of Salem's inner circle

Like tyrian is shirtless sometimes but that does not feel as...drawn attention to, as say, the lingering shots of Cinder's butt or thighs. Or her wearing short shorts and high boots you know what I mean?

I do, anon. RWBY got a lot of attention back in the day for its anti-upskirt technology, but that doesn't give it a free pass for all the other ways you might (and it does) sexualize the cast. I've never been inclined to give RWBY too much shit in this regard because it is pulling from media with a LONG history of such designs and cinematography - it feels unfair of me to act like RWBY is uniquely responsible for such problems when I'm simultaneously willing to overlook, say, the 90's "gag" of Yusuke flipping up Keiko's skirt - but there's nevertheless a voice in the back of my mind constantly asking things like, "Why are so many of the girls fighting in heels?" and "Why are they dressed like they're going to the club and not the literal TUNDRA??" I'd kill for the whole cast, but the girls in particular, to get a re-design that focuses on fashionably compelling practicality, rather than sexy fanservice. (Though Ice Kingdom did a good job overall, particularly for Ruby.) Sure, RWBY didn't give us panty-shots, but one of the first characters we're introduced to is literally designed like a dominatrix.

If we're talking about outfits though... I'd say Emerald gets hit the worst out of Salem's minions. Yeah, Cinder is definitely sexualized in a more general sense as the tall, white (that's not a coincidence), long-legged beauty who sensually conjures fire as she prowls towards the heroes, camera focused on her hips swaying. But Emerald?

She suffers from the same problem Yang has. AKA, if your woman isn't classically beautiful (like Wiess and to a different extent Blake), or cute / child-like (Ruby, Penny), but is instead going for a sporty, comparatively masculine-esque vibe... then they've got to show a LOT of skin. RWBY makes it sexy by just denying them clothes. You're entering dangerous battles on the daily? You want to protect yourself? Too bad. The audience needs a midriff and cleavage and your whole arms to stare at. Shorten the skin-tight pants so we can see some leg too. Oh, Yang has to have long pants because she's heading into the coldest Kingdom in Remnant? Never mind that, cut a strip out to show her thigh.

"But Clyde, the girls don't need to wear armor because of aura--" then why the hell does Jaune bother wearing that heavy-ass suit? Is it weight training? Does he just think it makes him look cool? ...or does it exist in case his aura breaks and he's allowed to wear more protective gear because there are different gender expectations attached to his design? The aura argument is just a modern rehashing of the Supergirl sun argument: using made up lore to "justify" getting your women characters into skimpy outfits, despite the men rarely being held to the same standards.

Tyrian is actually an interesting exception here and if I were less tired I'd think through this argument more, but something something as the "crazy" character he's allowed more leeway in breaking those expectations. Also the open shirt shows off his scars, which likewise help sell how dangerous he is. With the exception of characters like Cinder and Nora - whose injuries are Important Character Moments the audience gets to see play out - scars are surprisingly uncommon in Remanent. Or, again, they're severely downplayed so as not to interfere with that classic beauty design (like Weiss', or even Yang who gets a perfect cut when losing her arm). So when you see a character with giant scars spanning the length of his chest, an open shirt drawing deliberate attention to them... that makes you go, "Oh shit. What's he been through to scar like that in a world where most people make it out of fights with no permanent damage?"

#rwde #rwby #mymetas #also sorry there's no readmore #tumblr won't bring it up for me :( #thanks tumblr

[bestworstcase]

What specifically makes you say that the Ozpin circle is basically a cult?

not "basically" a cult—it is a cult.

ozpin's inner circle is a religious organization dedicated to safeguarding four divine relics entrusted to their leader, who is literally the god of light's chosen one, until he deems humanity prepared for the final judgment. its notionally secular nature likely exists because ozma figured out that publicly doing this:

“The others cheered in agreement. The man considered. He had wanted to bring people together, and his efforts were finally bearing fruit. The accidental experiment was working, far better than any attempts he had planned in his previous lifetimes. “The people here believe in magic, though many have never seen it,” she said. “If you show everyone that it’s real, that the man with infinite lifetimes has returned as he promised—” [...] “She shook her head. “We trust in you and the fate you’ve laid out for us. We believe in the good of people and our shared responsibility to protect one another and Remnant. So many have heard our stories about you, but now you’re here, in the flesh. Your presence is living proof that everything you’ve said is true. It reinforces our beliefs and commitment to the Circle. Together, now, we will make ready for the final judgment.” [...] “And for a time, all that the woman had said seemed to come true. Many more followers flocked to Circle and their reputation and message spread all throughout Remnant. This was what he was here for, he thought. Perhaps, in the end, he would be able to rest.”

inevitably leads to conflict because, surprise! people don't like being told what to do by eschatological cults!

but ozpin's circle is not in fact secular—ozpin tells his hand-picked loyalists that the gods he serves are the Only True Gods and the whole point is that he's working to fulfill the mandate given to him by the god of light. the huntsmen academies are, inescapably, a religious institution.

moreover ozpin's circle is a cult not just in the broader sense of being religious in nature and dedicated to worship of a particular god but also in the narrower modern connotation of a high-control group organized around a charismatic leader. this is not a matter of interpretation; this is overt text. half the point of pyrrha's arc in V3 is to reveal this fact.

members of his inner circle are expected to work in absolute secrecy and—evinced by the antagonism between qrow and ironwood in V2-3, and the immediate suspicion of lionheart in V5—subject to intense scrutiny by other members against the possibility of betrayal. likewise, pyrrha is deliberately isolated from her peers (primarily through secrecy) and put under immense pressure when ozpin et al attempt to recruit her as their next fall maiden—all without informing her of anything beyond the very bare minimum facts of what they want her to do. "we can fill you in on the details once we know that you're with us."

and like. with the way those scenes in V3 are framed, with the very direct line drawn between ozpin's ruinous paranoia and secrecy and preoccupation with betrayal and ironwood's ruinous obsession with loyalty, and with the whole thing where the narrative continues to highlight how deeply and profoundly traumatized everyone who comes into contact with the inner circle ends up being... like, this is the intended reading. it is so unsubtle.

salem's circle is also a cult in the religious sense—she's, er, very explicitly receiving cult from tyrian and i would argue at least notionally from the others as well—and while it remains to be seen to what extent tyrian's belief that she would send him to hunt down anyone who left is grounded in reality, at a minimum she doesn't bother to do anything about it so the implicit threat is there to keep people in line.

#also like this is a story about a religious war #hrkhgksdh

[howlingday]

More Serious version

Jaune: First off, we've got the good ol', run of the mill Super Jaune! (Aura Amps) Everyone knows this one!

Mercury: Wait, did you seriously call your semblance "Super Jaune"? That's pretty lazy, isn't it-

Jaune: And this! (Aura Amps further)

Mercury: Oh, sure, just cut me off.

Jaune: Is a Super Duper Jaune!

Mercury: I... Is there a difference? I can't because you look exactly the same!

Jaune: Nah, there's little zappy bits. (Zaps) See?

Tyrian: (Excitedly nods)

Jaune: And this! Is to go! EVEN FURTHER BEYOND! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ozpin: Oh no, by all means, Mr. Arc! Waste all your time left there WHIPPING OUT YOUR DICK!

---------------------------------------------------

The world quakes as Jaune's power rises up and up and up! Exponentially! Glass in buildings shatter as people below scream and cover their heads.

---------------------------------------------------

Ruby: Ack! Do you hear that?

Weiss: I feel that!

Nora: I taste that!

---------------------------------------------------

Velvet: ...What's that smell?

---------------------------------------------------

Jaune: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Jaune: And this... Is a Super D Duper Jaune.

Mercury: ...Couldn't you just gonna call it Super Jaune 1, 2, and 3?

Jaune: Sure, if you're boring.

Tyrian: I'm certainly bored. Can we fight now?

Jaune: Sure! (Grabs Tyrian by his bionic tail, Yo-yo punches him repeatedly)

#rwby #dragon ball z abridged #dbza #buu bits #mercury black #jaune arc #tyrian callows #velvet scarlatina #ruby rose #weiss schnee #nora valkyrie

[novankenn]

Ah, come on!?!

ONE

Jaune sat before his secure terminal in his small bioengineering lab, slack jawed and totally dumbfounded. Head of and the sole staff member of the Inner Circle's Grimm Development Division, he just couldn't understand what he was being instructed to do.

Salem: I feel your proposal has merit, Executive of Espionage Oleander Arc.

Oleander (Executive of Espionage): Thank you, Lady Salem.

Salem: All in favour of this information gathering operation, please raise your hands.

Every Arc Sister plus Watts and Tyrian raise their hands.

Salem: All opposed?

Hazel raises his hand, along with Jaune.

Salem: Jaune I appreciate your desire to contribute to the discussion, you however are not an executive and your vote will not be recorded in the official meeting minutes.

Jaune: But...

Azalea Arc (Executive of Policy and Procedures): Jaune please, don't embarrass yourself. While you are head of the Grimm Development Division, you are not a member of the board.

Jaune: But why not? I'm the Head of the Department I'm the only member of... plus you're all deciding to ADD to my work load!

Jasmine Arc (Executive of Finances): Jaune as this operation will have the greatest impact on your department, it is only appropriate that you lead the operation. You will be compensated for your time.

Jaune: Compensated? Does that mean I'll get some staff members?

Daisy Arc (Executive of Human Resources) : I'm sorry that is not currently a priority. Combat and Liaison Departments along with Mobile Applications Development require such resources.

Jaune: But I'm the only...

Daisy Arc (Executive of Human Resources): I'm sorry, Jaune. It's not in our mandate for this quarter.

Jasmine Arc (Executive of Finances): Your department is constantly over budget and under performing, and as such we can not justify the additional resources to hire more staff.

Jaune: But... I would meet deadlines and budgets if I had staff to share my workload! I mean, I have six projects that are in limbo because I don't have the time to allocate to their development.

Jasmine Arc (Executive of Finances): It's not in this quarter's budgets. You'll have to make due. Sorry little brother.

Salem: We are getting off-topic. So as per the vote, I would like it noted in our minutes that the Proposal for Grimm Development to infiltrate Beacon to observe and analyze the training methods deployed by our foes in an effort to make more effective grimm as a countermeasure has been approved.

Jaune: This is not fair! What am I supposed to do with my latest project? Wolf Bete's brain is complete, I just need to work on fashioning his body...

Juniper Arc (Executive of Public Relations): I would like to introduce a counter suggestion and amend grimm Development's Wolf Bete proposal.

Salem: Please continue.

Juniper Arc (Executive Public Relations): We have conducted some focus groups about Wolf Bete's final design...

Jaune: Focus Group? How do have a focus group about grimm?

Juniper Arc (Executive of Public Relations): Simple, we structure it as the reveal of a potential new character for one of our mobile products. Regardless, while Wolf's abilities were well received and applauded, the consensus was that Wolf's appearance was not cute enough. So I suggest a reconfiguration of Wolf's body to one that of a young woman, preferably around Jaune's age.

Jaune: WHAT?!? DO you KNOW how much work that will require? Not to mention the reconfiguration of the brain to accept the new body structure?

Jasmine Arc (Executive of Finances): We can not allocate any further funds to this project, Jaune. You will have to make the needed adjustments with in current budget constraints.

Jaune: That is unaccepta...

Salem: All in favour of the proposed modifications to the Wolf Bete proposal?

Everyone raises their hands.

Salem: Motion unanimously passed. Grimm Development will make the directed modifications under the budgetary and time constraints originally agreed upon.

Jaune just slumped in his chair. It was just inconceivable the amount of overtime he was going to have to pull to reconfigure Wolf Bete's body along with preparations to attend Beacon.

Salem: If there is no further business (looks about seeing no one stepping forward) Meeting adjourned.

Jaune fell back into his seat as he watched all the holographic images blink out one by one. Until finally it was just him and Lady Salem.

Salem: Jaune, even though you are not an executive like your sisters, I wanted to reaffirm that you are a valued member of our organization.

Jaune: Thank you, Lady Salem.

Salem: This additional assignment will be rough on you, and as such aside from your Wolf Bete project, I am formally extending all your deadlines indefinitely until you return from this assignment.

Jaune: Really?

Salem: Yes. I look forward to seeing your bi-weekly reports.

Jaune: Bi-weekly? As in, one every two weeks?

Salem: (Chuckles) No, twice a week.

Any relief, Jaune had been feeling, fled his body in that instant. Even with his other grimm design projects shelved, he was still facing a huge backlog of work. As Lady Salem's hologram blinked out of existence, Jaune truly began to wonder if the choice his mother had made in talking Lady Salem out of World Destruction and into incorporating to facilitate World Domination... was really worth it.

/==/ 26 Hours Later /==/

The bio-pod drained and slowly rose into the ceiling. A pair of bare feet splashed through the small puddles of bio-fluid that has not drained away.

Wolf Bete: Finally! Those huntsmen and huntresses won't... hey? What's with my voice?

The nude figure rushed past the sleeping form of Jaune, and straight for the large mirror attached to the far wall.

Wolf Bete: What the HELL?!? (She reaches up and grabs her bare breasts) What the HELL?!?

Spinning about, the nude young woman with a wolf's tail and wolf ears, rushed over and yanked Jaune from his chair, and proceeded to start roughly shaking him.

Wolf Bete: What the HELL, dude?!?

Jaune: Ahhh, what? I'm up!

Wolf Bete: What did you do to me?!?

Jaune: Oh, you're awake, and... (Jaune's face grew bright crimson) naked!

Wolf Bete: Of course I am! I don't own any clothes! But that's not important! What happened to my body?!?

Jaune: Executive Decision.

Wolf Bete: Eh?

Jaune: I was out voted... but I can't vote, so does that count?

Wolf Bete: What did you do to me? I was supposed to be a hunk of a guy! Not... not this!

Jaune: The BoD amended your proposal, due to the feedback from a focus group. I was directed to give you the body of a young woman.

Wolf Bete: (Releases her grip on Jaune) A focus group?

Jaune: Focus Group.

Wolf Bete: Okay. Okay... this is NOT okay! I'm supposed to be a guy! I trained in all those simulations as a guy! Why didn't you fix my brain at the same time? I know I'm supposed to be a guy!

Jaune: Deadline and budget.

Wolf Bete: Er... what?

Jaune: The BoD wouldn't extend my deadline or increase my budget for your development... so I did what I could, and I think I did pretty good considering. I even came in under budget... just barely, but I'm under budget.

Wolf Bete: Eh?

Jaune: We should get you dressed. Now that you're complete, I have to present you to the BoD...

Wolf Bete: Why?

Jaune: Final approval, and quality assurance testing.

Wolf Bete: Quality Assurance testing?

Jaune: Yeah, they'll ask you some questions to make sure you have a functional mind, and can think independently, as well as a physical test.

Wolf Bete: Test? What type of test?

Jaune: You'll fight another grimm.

Wolf Bete: Fight... another... grimm?

Jaune: Yes.

Wolf Bete: And if I lose?

Jaune: Psh. You lose? Wolfie you are the most advanced bioengineered grimm I have EVER created! You can't lose! But try your hardest... I can't afford to have you lose.

Wolf Bete: Wolfie?

Jaune: What? Don't like it?

Wolf Bete: WAIT! You said I couldn't lose, and just said you can't afford for me to lose! Which is it?

Jaune: Both?

Wolf Bete: I'm confused.

Jaune: And cold.

Wolf Bete: And... HEY! Eyes up PERV!

Jaune: (Face cherry red) Sorry! Sorry! I suggest we get you some clothes...

Wolf Bete: (Covering herself with her arms and tail.) Fine clothes first, and then you're explaining all this to me... (pokes Jaune in his chest as he opens his mouth)... again.

(== Table of Contents ==)

#rwby #miss kuroitsu from the monster development department #jaune arc #salem #jaune is a grimm designer #anthropomorphic grimm #humanoid grimm #wolf bete #All of Jaune's sisters outrank him in the organization #salem wants world domination not destruction

[meeeeeeese]

Boltzmann brains and the true cosmic horror of the mists.

The fractals of the mists, for some they're an infinite loot farm, and for others they're a wheel of infinite torture. Their status as 'kinda horrifying' is pretty well known but I wanna go into the true depths of what they imply to the world of Tyria, and to do that we need to look at the Boltzmann brain.

So, the Boltzmann brain was a thought experiment that suggested that over an infinite period of time, it was far more likely for your brain to be the result of a random fluctuation of entropy hallucinating past memories. Essentially it was saying 'what's more likely, that your one of the people who lived and died on earth, or that your one of the infinite brains (again, given infinite time) that randomly spawn into existance before degrading back to nothing (I am VASTLY oversimplifying here and I'm sure anyone actually educated on the topic can point out innumerable misundersandings in this paragraph alone.).

Now this can kind of be applied to the world of Tyria and the surrounding proto-reality of the mists as well. We don't know how many fractals there are in existance, they seem to form naturally and the world of Tyria alone has spawned countless fractals as it marches through time (and this isn't even getting into the artificially created fractals that the wizards and similarly powerful entities can create). So essentially, my argument is, what's more likely, that you are a true Tyrian mortal, born and raised in prime Tyrian reality, or that you're a denizen of the infinite fractals that have echoed out from Tyria like ripples on a pond? Statistically, you're a fractal denizen, cursed to repeat the same day over and over until you fade back into the mists. And you'd never even know.

Honestly I don't know how Tyrian citizens sleep soundly at night.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #moose lore posting #'random fluctuations of entropy' is code for a lot of complex physics that my brain isn't nearly big enough to understand #so you'll have to find someone more qualified if you really wanna understand that little thought experiment

[rocknroll7575]

Can you do a Ranger Jaune vs Adam, tyrian, cinder, raven intro

R!Jaune: *Walks on stage in a hood with a sword and Knife* Taurus... surprised to see you again

Adam: *Twirls Wilt before sheathing it* I don't believe we've met

R!Jaune: Well then I'll reintroduce myself.

XXX

Tyrian: *Jumos on stage while shooting wildly* OH HO! What do we have here?

R!Jaune: *Appears out of the forest like a ghost* You're undoing

Tyrian: *Chuckles* We shall see!

XXX

R!Jaune: *Walks on stage in a hood with a sword and Knife* Cinder Fall, what can I do for you?

Cinder: *Flames in her eyes and smiling* You're skills, I need them

R!Jaune: I'm afraid I won't be giving them to you so easily

XXX

R!Jaune: *Appears out of the forest like a ghost* Branwen, what are you doing here?

Raven: *Puts Grimm Mask on* I've heard the howling of the dead in the forsets, know anything about that.

R!Jaune: It's the innocents your tribe has slaughtered.

#rwby #jaune arc #ranger jaune arc #rwby x mk #mk intros #adam taurus #tyrian callows #cinder fall #raven branwen

[chaikachi]

I'm thinking about the idea of Oscar joining the "Wants to throw hands with Cinder Fall on sight" squad bc she specifically is the reason things went wrong with the plan. (She's the reason that Ruby fell/died based on what he must be thinking currently.) I can't help it I just love the trope of "character goes absolutely feral when their love interest is hurt" he's already done it once but I want MORE

YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT BUT ALSO LISTEN. IT'S NOT JUST CINDER

Like yes, obviously, but Little Prince in the desert with a venomous antagonist Tyrian?? Little Prince who will have just gotten his rose back?? Also just... they way they have focused on Oscar's protectiveness and attachment to her over the volumes in such specific ways??

Yes, we have the scene at Haven where he gets Big Mad™ when he sees Ruby is hurt (meanwhile Weiss is literally dying in the corner, lmao).

EDIT: I FORGOT THE V6 FINALE

But we also see him pay such close attention to her in the quieter moments too. Standing up for her against Jaune when she's looking down on herself:

Remembering her saying that 'food makes her feel better' and making some for when she and the rest of them get back. WE SAW YOU PAUSE AND LOOK AT RUBY BEFORE YOU FINISHED YOUR SENTENCE OSCAR!!! YOU'RE NOT SNEAKY!!!

The DOJO SCENE?? I don't need to put them all here, y'all get the idea.

But Ruby, this light that has inspired so much of his choices over the course of this story is gone. They reunited at the beginning of v8 for no more than an hour before splitting ways again. Then the same thing happened at the Manor right before RWBYJ fell. You think that boy isn't going to get her back after thinking she was gone forever and be watching her as if she might fall through his fingers again at any moment? When this is how he looked at her before that scare???

That he isn't going to fight tooth and nail to not lose her again?

That there is a very solid argument towards his semblance unlocking in such a moment?

Like, be for real. The kid has been beaten, kidnapped, beaten more, went toe to toe against Salem and not a single one of those instances was traumatic enough for him to unlock it. But both times Oscar's lack of semblance have been brought up? He's been talking to Ruby.

In v5, there's a moment where they focus on Jaune who still hasn't unlocked his and Oz says something about how his journey isn't over, and the same can be said for the rest of them. That unlocking isn't the end but semblances can also evolve we get this framing:

Jaune, who's semblance unlocked that volume finale, Nora, who almost certainly did something to her semblance with her stunt in v8, Ren, who's semblance evolved in v8 as well, and then Ruby... who's semblance and evolution has been teased and talked about for the last three volumes!!

Then in v7, Oscar once again paying such close attention to her that he can tell when she does something differently with her semblance.

I am too lazy to add text to the gif so the convo goes as follows:

Oscar: Have you... always been able to do that? Ruby: Heh, I don't know! I don't normally think it through that much. Oscar: You guys are evolving and I still don't even have my semblance. Ruby: Well, I bet we'll all be jealous when you do.

Like bro, bro, i am shaking you by the shoulders is there ANY OTHER WAY IT PLAYS OUT???? Boy is going to LOSE IT the moment she is in any serious danger and I am so looking forward to it.

#y'all keep leaving me the nicest asks #and i just keep taking them and RUNNING dlksjflk #brainrot go brrrrr #asks #ask #anon #anono #rosegarden #rwby #oscar pine #ruby rose #rosepine #analysis #chainalysis

[tumblingxelian]

Okay so, given Mercury Black's and Cassandra Cain's backstories, what do you think both characters would feel after an encounter with each other where neither dies?

Sorry I've been neglecting asks recently, been kind of down and so just doing low effort reblogs with the occasional burst of energy.

Anyway!

This is a fun and interesting question I actually sought help in answering from but a humble good, who always has good Cass takes and loves RWBY!

Off the cuff and for anyone confused, the characters being asked about are:

Cassandra Cain - who was raised by master assassin David Cain to be the perfect killer. She was never taught to speak and only learned through physical action. Because of this she can essentially predict what a person will do before they act and she is functionally the best martial artist in the DC Universe, or always in the top 3. Said body language reading ability though also means she can experience her targets deaths by proxy which... Yeah basically led to her adopting a 100% no kill policy after her first mission. Thus leading her to running away, living homeless for several years before joining the Bat Clan and becoming Batgirl.

Mercury Black - Like Cassandra his father Marcus Black raised him to be an assassin like himself. Marcus may not have denied his son words but he instead stole the manifestation of his soul (His Semblance) claiming it was a "Crutch" and he would get it back eventually. He never got it back & instead had his lower legs mutilated to be replaced with robotic prosthetics which he then used to kill Marcus. Unlike Cass he's not the best of the best, but is definitely skilled & unlike her he's doggedly committed to the role of playing the villain with a veneer of jocularity he uses to hide that he can't imagine any other life.

Conclusion:

So we have two teens/young adults coming from very similar places as far as what they were trained and otherwise horrifically abused to be, but who ended up on seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum.

Cassandra's reaction when encountering most killers tends to be one of two things. A very stern "You need to grasp the enormity of what you are doing and stop or be stopped painfully." Or "Oh, you actually think this is in someway necessary, please do not do this, there is a way out, there has to be."

She's also very chill with people who did kill but choose not too, she's not... Preachy or judgmental in that sense, doing so would be hypocritical in her eyes.

So she'd likely emphasize a lot with Mercury, being able to see him as something of a "Therefore but for the grace of empathic body language go I." So she'd very much want to both stop him from killing but also show him that he can go down another path.

This doesn't mean she'd be inclined to be a doormat, quite the opposite but she'd definitely be working to communicate with him as much as fight him if she had to.

Mercury meanwhile would hate this. He is deep in denial about himself and hates being read for what he is, as local serial killer Tyrian Callows did in Volume 6:

Tyrian: (mocking) Oh yes, the world is mean, and I'm a big, bad man now just like the others. (laughs)

Mercury: (growls as he angrily walk over to Tyrian) How long have you been standing there?!

Tyrian: All you ever learned was pain and violence, and now you're too afraid to leave it. Such a tragedy.

Mercury: You don't know me!

So while he would see the connection the moment he had any details he'd throw up an aloof façade and claim Cass was weak and lacked the stomach for what he does or something to that effect.

Internally he'd be seething with resentment, or more, a blooming sense of inferiority about how someone who proves his beliefs wrong seems to so casually exists and wants to help him of all things.

He'd not welcome or trust her, not a first at least.

#RWBY #Batman #Cassandra Cain #Batgirl #Black Bat #batgirl (2000) #Mercury Black #Marcus Black #Crossover I guess #Text Post #Meta #Analysis #CRWBY #Bat Clan

[agentrouka-blog]

My favourite thing when anons want to stir trouble is that like, inevitably they have consistent misspelling habits which mean you know exactly who it is sending repeat asks. So unself-aware.

Anyway, I do think there is a balanced path between the text and what the author says. GRRM's comments about Sansa are about as light as they could come. I love when people want to ungenerously frame the debate as if she's tantamount to Tyrian or Daenerys, come on. Girl took a steak knife to see a drunken knight in the godswood. The most harm she's going to inflict is driving Jon crazy with the incest. I'm trying to be lighthearted here.

Anyway, Rouka, what's your opinion on author vs. text? How much is too much, relying on the former? On the other hand, with the Daenerys is a tragic hero fandom, there's a lot of outright twisting of the text. Does relying on the author's comments provide some clarity or just make the conversation harder, since one would want to reason based on the text? Thank you for your time and your graceful handling of us terrible anons 🥰

(The posts referenced: one and two)

(I'm chronically bad at recognizing these individuall spelling patterns. Unless they make it obvious, every anon is a newborn dawn to me.)

Hello and thank you!

For me, the actual text of the books should always be central when it comes to actually analyzing the books. (You know. Obviously.) Interviews can be nice, but should be absolutely optional to any of it. If you NEED an interview to support your position, you're not analyzing the text.

Perhaps I am biased because I can't be bothered to follow GRRM interviews, let alone dig up ancient ones - unless I am feeling especially motivated.

But also, most of the time we don't have a lot of good context for GRRM's quotes. How exactly a question was phrased, what direction the conversation went before it, how distracted or rushed was GRRM when answering, how likely is it he actually managed to get across exactly what he meant, and how easily can it get twisted around? Who edited and published it? Worse, did it go through a translation process?

Take the "Aragorn's Tax Policy" quote that still has people frothing at the mouth. People hear him mention Tolkien and lose all sense of nuance. No, he's not describing how his endgame king will be elected on his tax plan. He's giving context for parts of ADWD. That's it. Still people wail about what an evil hypocrite GRRM supposedly is because Bran was crowned king in the show without a single published treatise on his taxation policy.

Same with some commentary on the show, specifically Dany with Drogo. I've had people in my Inbox arguing for Rhaegar/Lyanna because GRRM is obviously okay with adult men preying on teenaged girls based on that interview. Which... you know, actually read Dany's chapters? Please?

The books, on the other hand, were not blathered out in a hurry. They are not a commentary on a text, they are the text. A labor of many hours of writing, editing, rewriting and more editing. They are complete and fully intentional in their form. They are the message.

So, while I admire how someone who knows what they are doing is able to create a brilliant body of supporting evidence on book content by compiling quotes in a meaningful way, often with good sources and context - looking at you here, @kellyvela - these lovely metas should never be considered necessary to understanding the text, and they should certainly neither replace nor supercede it. They augment the experience of it.

Knowing GRRM approved on the Meereenese Blot essays is nice.

But you don't need to know them, nor what GRRM thinks of them, in order to arrive at the same conclusion.

Knowing GRRM agrees with the statement that "Brienne is Sansa with a sword" is nice.

But you need never have heard of that quote in order to understand the similarities between these two idealistic, dutiful female characters.

He called Tyrion a villain, which is nice.

But you can arrive at that same conclusion by reading the books.

On the other hand, you can take one quote about the Key Five Characters from a decades-old outline that deviates from established plot in multiple significant instances, and then try and justify dismissing the importance of other characters. You just need to ignore the published text in order to do it!

So I just can't take that anon seriously when they gesture wildly at some quote about Sansa while ignoring the way it's entirely contradicted by the actual body of the text.

And if some members of the fandom have a habit of very selectively reading the text then this makes their analysis suspect, so what's really the point of arguing with someone who isn't really interested in analysis in the first place?

If "she burned a slave alive" or "she is ordering her servant to please her sexually" or "she condons torture even while she knows its useless" or "she ordered the murder of children" isn't going to convince them, an interview snippet isn't going to do it, either.

#i get wordy #textual analysis #anti key five nonsense #grrm quotes #anti daenerys targaryen #not really but you know #anti tyrion lannister #sansa stark #jonsa #(because it was in the ask)

[tumblezwei]

Man it sucks to be ruby right now I imagine even if she is muling over the fact that she for once is away from the immediate action that gives her a way to ignore all her fucked up trauma, from her perspective even if shit went sideways in the void she at least the contentment of knowing Penny was safe and she was able to keep her promise to Pietro and Penny herself, its possible the shock of that revelation causes her to pass out like we see in the trailer and lead us to the build up of her encountering her other self in what appears to be a void of all her fucked up emotions

PS.

Pov you are Ruby Rose and you realize no wife no life is literal

Like imagine being Ruby Rose and fighting so hard every day to be better and make the world better, but you keep losing ground with each battle you enter.

You enter Beacon hoping to fight Grimm and save people, but the school is destroyed and your friend dies in front of you.

But it's fine! You have Special Eyes that mark you for greatness, you can do this! So you set out on a journey with your friends to right the wrongs and figure out how you can rebuild what's been torn down. What do you mean relics? What do you mean unwinnable fight against an immortal being that defied our now absent gods?

But no. This is fine. Your team is back together, you didn't totally fail at Haven. Oz is a bit of a mess and Ironwood makes you nervous but you're doing fine.

Except you're not because there's a big Fuck Off whale outside spewing Grimm out of it's mouth, and Ironwood has gone fully off the deep end and is going to sacrifice the lives that you exist to save.

And what-

What was that Grimm you just fought? What has Salem done to them? What has Salem been planning for you if Tyrian had caught you?

What has she done to your mother?

And now you're here, in some psychedelic hellscape and Crescent Rose is missing and your team is missing and Penny is dead again which just. Why? After you tried so hard to save her. Why does this keep happening?

If you truly are some warrior destined for greatness, if this is your purpose, then why can't you just keep people safe?

#ruby rose #my girl #ask #anon #rwby9

[ratasum]

Asura Gate and Waypoint Systems

So I. Love the logistics of this kind of thing. We see in game how the world functions, so how do we match how we perceive it in play to how it would actually work?

Which is why I'm writing up this hc! Starting with... asura gates!

Now, this is less the technical part and more how you get charged a nominal fee for waypointing. I know in the meta sense that it's to limit early waypointing and encourage natural exploration for new players... but I constantly think about how those things could function realistically.

In general, I think your average citizen travels via asura gate more than any other method, because except in unusual circumstances, most are in cities, and travel through them is free because upkeep and gate technician pay is probably subsidized through local and city taxes. Common Tyrians probably aren't frequently waypointing their way about Tyria.

Waypoints can be in remote areas, though, and upkeep is probably costly. There's undoubtedly a prorate on pay for techs working on the system, just for how much danger they're probably in on a fairly regular basis depending on where the waypoint is being set up.

So I think you can either purchase a device that's similar to a reloadable public transit card that can be magically loaded with a certain amount of funds, or one that attaches to your bank and automatically pings to transfer funds as a consistent thing if you're using waypoints regularly. The fees cover upkeep and technician pay

With waypointing within cities, are of course no fees... and in this case, I believe that waypoints within a city are likely ALSO subsidized, similar to the maintenance tax for asura gates, but first teleport into the city is like a tax someone pays for traveling there initially.

(Notably, I know this dialogue exists on the wiki.

"Gates are managed by asuran gatekeepers who set the rates and handle payment, while gate operators ensure the gates stay functional. Even though gate travel for players is completely free mechanically, lore-wise asura gates cost a fee to travel through similar to waypoints, along with shipment fees based on how much cargo passes through them. Because these gates are critical for travel and shipment throughout Tyria, users have no choice but to pay what the asura ask, which many merchants resent."

But I like the idea of having it work in universe similarly to the in game functionality more than being like "no they function different in each place," because it's fun to think about.)

#gw2 headcanons

[itsclydebitches]

You're saying what I've been feeling this whole time. The story doesn't do enough to justify Ruby's place at the center of it. I get that she's special because of her eyes, but the only time that made her the center of attention in the main conflict was when Salem sent Tyrian after her. After that Salem stopped caring about her because reasons.

Yup.

RWBY got it right at the start. We're told in episode one that Ruby has eyes that are somehow ~special~ and they intrigue the mysterious, powerful headmaster. All they needed to do was establish that this rare power is the only way of beating Salem, thereby forcing Ruby to shoulder the responsibility of this war, or else doom all of Remnant. It's a classic set-up and it works. Harry is named Voldemort's equal by a prophecy. Ellie is the only one immune to Cordyceps. Buffy has been gifted the power of the Slayer. Aragorn is heir to the throne. There are a ton of ways to go about it, but so long as you give your character a unique position/power and say, "If you don't do it literally no one else can" then you've got a perfect recipe for them grappling with that responsibility. They're at the center of the tale because they have to be.

RWBY didn't follow through with the Silver Eyes. At no point have they ever said that it's a crucial (or even helpful) ability against Salem, which means that, nine Volumes in, Ruby remains a relative nobody who is choosing to put herself at the center of this fight. Which is also a very compelling setup! But RWBY has simultaneously a) not written Ruby as having more power/better ideas/wisdom/whatever to justify why others should listen to her over the already established heads of this war and b) lately the writing has sharply pulled back on her willpower. She's no Goku, mastering techniques her allies - at the time - can only dream of and possessing a drive to protect others that will overcome even the Gods themselves. Ruby's subconscious spent the whole vision going on about how hard it is that she has to fight all the time, figure out a solution to an impossible problem, save the entire world, and meanwhile I'm going, "You literally don't? Have to do any of that??" The ONLY reason why we, the audience, read Ruby as "having" to be at the center of the fight is because we recognize that we're watching a show with her name in the title, but the in-world reality is that Ruby is a blip in a multi-dimension world with incredibly little to offer. What would happen if Ruby actually decided to bow out? Nothing. Remnant would not fall because there are other huntsmen, other fighters, and Ozpin who has been at this for actual lifetimes, continually keeping Salem from taking over. If things were to fall that would be a direct result of the series long choices Ruby and her teammates have made that have actively made things worse (taking the Relics out of their vaults, dropping Atlas, etc.) It simply doesn't work for the story to pretend that Ruby is so burdened by this war when nothing and nobody is making her continue on. Not even, as you say, following up on Salem's Volume 4 obsession with her. Ruby could go, "You know what? You're right. I'm done. I'm gonna go defend average people from grimm in some no-name town for the rest of my life" and the fight would continue on without her. Without that success/drive that makes a character go, "I don't have to help, but by god I'm going to!" Ruby is a flat protagonist who is only important because the show says she is.

The longer the series goes on the more I wish it were (in direct contrast to its initial tone/genre) an intentional tragedy. A young girl with dreams of being the hero of a fairy tale wrests power from those with more experience, wisdom, power, and resources than her because she's so sure she can do it better. Her good intentions are praiseworthy, but at the end of the day hubris, naivety, and a rigged game from the Gods inevitably doom the world. You tried, but at the end of the day you were never going to win because no, life isn't a fairy tale.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[bestworstcase]

brief preliminary list of things i am going to be unhinged about for the indefinite future:

MYSTERY KINDRED LINK. WHO. WHO?!

"and when it turns out to be just another run-of-the-mill patrol..." HBHKSDFHG god. the fact that mysterious important top secret missions regularly turned out to be non-issues... salem was IGNORING HIM LMAO

implied time-skip but i think not a very long one; we have amity plonked onto a carrier ship and what's left of the atlesian air fleet, plus a handful of ships from other kingdoms, but no grimm. salem isn't here yet. tyrian and mercury probably are. loose estimate, probably a couple weeks? qrow et al being in solitas still at the end of v8 makes the quick turnaround logistically plausible

salem routed the fleet lmfao

"one brother [light] believed they had disrupted the balance, while the other [dark] refused to condemn their creations for their mistakes" hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

in the ever after's terms, dark's purpose is destruction for the sake of new life—i was dead to rights on him being a god of cyclical change—and the conflict with his brother began with dark defending the lives of their creations. light decided that they [the brothers] made a mistake and wanted to "fix" that mistake by getting rid of it, dark said no.

dark is unambiguously the good guy here.

the annihilation of humanity was essentially dark recanting his original stance and accepting his brother's position that their creations are "mistakes" that must be eradicated

except he didn't (or couldn't) eradicate salem, humanity rose again, and light is still on the "eradicate the mistake" train with dark nowhere to be found. either 1. dark completed his ascension by coming to understand his brother's perspective and became something new [the relics?], or 2. dark regretted this after the fact and directly had a hand in bringing humanity back, or 3. if he left salem alive on purpose the whole thing was a gambit to repeat the ever after's solution to their conflict, leaving remnant behind because remnant could not bear their experiments any longer.

dark + humanity vs light endgame real

unless dark ascended and light did not, in which case the ultimatum is probably coming from a place of grief—light doing the very thing he condemned salem for.

the immediate narrative rebuke for turning their backs on the cat:

in juxtaposition with ruby's overt sympathy and concern for neo, and the blacksmith's sympathy for both neo and the cat, and the implication that the cat can now ascend [note the hawker's statue too—neo's jabbers couldn't permadeath people]... juicy

raven and summer stayed in touch. raven was summer's confidante; she doesn't just know what happened to summer, she knew well in advance what summer had planned and was herself integral to that plan. and in the ten+ years since this night she hasn't said a word about it to anyone.

raven trusted her

raven was probably closer to summer than to her own brother

whatever raven learned, whatever horrors she brought back, she told summer. and summer believed her. and they kept it to themselves, and made this plan.

"if i do this right, there's nothing to worry about. trust me." you sound just like your mother (derogatory). oh raven absolutely got a team salem recruitment pitch from summer after this.

and she's keeping that secret too

this is how they're looping raven back into the story btw

ruby knows that raven knows but she doesn't know exactly what raven knows so she's going to need to find raven to ask

raven: summer is a better mom than i could ever be

also raven: [continually dragged kicking and screaming back into the story by inescapable motherhood]

"you're really leaving them?" "you're one to talk" oh that's JUICY

even taking into account raven's heels, summer is fucking tiny

#rwby v9 spoilers