Rwby Thoughts - Blog Posts

RWBY V7 THEORY (Spoilers)

Okay, so I am most likely look way to far into this but I realized something after episode 4. When Weiss’s father showed up he looked at her and said 

“You know your mother was devastated when you left, she didn’t leave her room for days. You know how she gets when she's upset.” 

I had always presumed that Weiss’s mother was dead (I don’t remember if it was confirmed or not). We have seen her brother, sister, and father but never her mother. Now, Jacques could be referring to when she originally left to attend Beacon Academy but one like stuck out to me “You know how she is when she is upset.” I thought about it and then I remembered

“And the Winter Maiden?“

“She is secure, and in stable condition.” 

That line confirming the winter maidens safety was from Winter. So my theory now is that Weiss’s mother is the Winter maiden. It would explain why we have never seen her (if she is alive). It would also explain why Winter knows the winter maiden is stable. This could also explain why Winter's name is Winter, too throw people off her tracks. This could be me looking way too far into what they said but honestly, it might not be so far fetched, speaking Yang's mom is Spring. Let me know what you all think.  

What do you love about Fairgame ? I liked them too ! Share some positivity with me if you feel like it 💚❤️

Bestie I’d love to talk abt fairgame if I didn’t have crippling anxiety and a fear of upsetting ppl :’)

Hey what are your mbti and enneagram typings for Salem and OG Ozma? I see Salem as an INTJ. She’s maybe an unhealthy 4w3? Taking from his first two incarnations (bc he basically overrided his first reincarnation), I feel like OG Ozma was an IxFJ? He seems like a Fe user. And maybe a 9. I’m not too stuck to those conclusions though. What are your thoughts?

Hello again !

I'll be honest, I had not tried to type these two (mainly bc they don't have a lot of screentime) but I can try to give it a go !

SALEM

Ennea

I think 4w3 makes some sort of sense for Salem 🤔 Considering her issues with grief and not getting what she wants, I think ît's highly likely she has at least one type from the Frustration triad. 4 fits that bill, I don't really see a 7, 1 would work too. Inherently, Salem is dissatisfied with the world she lives in, she's frustrated and feels that she doesn't have what she wants.

HEART. 4 : she want(ed) someone who understood & accepted her. she's unabashedly herself and even when she found Ozma again, she didn't care one bit to pretend or hide who she was (doesn't fit 2/3). she's pretty confident but also doesn't really seem to need the wins for it (doesn't fit 3). she fumes in her negative emotions & experiences, and is currently using them to define herself.

Positive Outlook (2) doesn't fit her at all. Attachment (3) doesn't fit her much either. 2 & 3 are out. Conclusion : 4w3

GUT. 1 : she wants the world around her to fit her standards, very critical of others, some competency thrown in the mix. she seems like she could be a 8 too but she feels much more controlled; and in any case she would be a weird 1 fix since she's quite literally corrupted by the pool of Grimm and thus won't abide by the usual "i need integrity" core fear.

Positive Outlook + Attachment (9) ? No way. 8 could work too but leaning toward 1 for now. Conclusion : 1w9

HEAD. Unsure of her head fix, would need more data.

Conclusion : 6 or 5 ?

MBTI

As for her cf, I never really thought about it... But I could see the Fi-Ni or Ni-Fi I think ? I agree on Ni-Se axis in any case.

IVs

Soc blind

INTJ 4w3 1w9 ? sx/sp

. . .

Ozma

Ennea

This man is a himbo your honor and I stand by these words. This gonna be harder to say because we have like... 1 ep at most to make any conclusions.

I agree Ozma mostly overrid his first reincarnation, but the guy was still *here* in some shape or forms; so it's hard to be certain that Ozma's character wasn't influenced in some way. Considering that he's probably stayed mostly the same...

GUT. 9 or 1 : i feel like the very first Ozma, before his death, might have fitted 1 better. we talk of a man who fought "only for righteousness", and who afterwards still held onto his mission tightly despite his missteps along the way. he wants integrity, to do things right & correctly ("things" being uniting humanity in this case). at the same time, Ozma 2.0 seemed to have a very hard time asserting himself in Salem's vicinity & often ended up swaying to her ideas which seems pretty 9-ish. we could wonder how much of that is due to Salem's manipulation though : no need to be a 9 to fall for people's lies. it still stands that Ozma lacks a bit the rigidity and overly critical side of 1s, as well as the frustration. overall i'm tempted to say that maybe OG Ozma had a 1; and Ozma 2.0 leaned more toward 9; even if it might seem like a cope-out.

Reactive + Reject (8) ? Nah. Frustration + Competency (1) ? 🤔 Not that much either from what we've seen. Conclusion : 9 with a strong w1.

HEART. Not enough data. Not really seeing the 4. Could be either 2 or 3; I'd need interactions outside of his interactions with Salem to know honestly. A couple isn't the most neutral setting, and they were kinda codependant on top of that.

Conclusion : 2 or 3 ?

HEAD. 6 ? : not sure at all, but i guess he was pretty upfront about his fears with Salem (something that came to bite him in the ass afterwards). sure he took a long time before speaking up (9, remember) but he DID confront & speak his doubts into the open : embracing & reacting to the fear. he also readily took to Salem's plans when faced with the enormity of his mission to unite humanity. Ozma doesn't really runs away from his responsabilities, nor does he derive any stress or frustration from the idea of missing out (doesn't fit 7). he didn't seem to feel the need to disengage from the world and from his emotions to be objective & prepare for his task (doesn't fit 5). he leans readily into proposed solutions and what he considers a trusted ally (not couterphobic)

Frustration (7) ? Not really ? Reject + Competency (5) ? Not seeing it either. Conclusion : 6w7

MBTI

I have even less on an opinion on his MBTI than Salem; but I'd actually say that he strikes me as the Fi-est Oz out of the main three. I'd entertain the idea of something else than Fe. ... Fe stills works though, he WAS pretty open-minded about Salem's methods for "uniting humanity" at first.

No clue on axis. Maybe some Si ?

9w1 6w7 ?

. . . . .

That's all the thoughts I can bring into the open ! Sorry for the major focus on ennea, hope you can still find something interesting in the answer xD

What is your take on rwby chara's mbti types? I think

Weiss - xSTJ, thought that she was ESTJ at first but ISTJ makes a lot of sense too.

Winter - ESTJ

Pyrrha - ESFJ

Emerald - ISFJ (I've seen some ppl type her as INFJ but I don't see how she is a Ni dom?)

Whitley - ENTJ? I'm honestly not sure abt that..

Adam - fucked up xNFJ, probably INFJ (seen him typed as xNTJ but his delusional thinking process imo screams unhealthy Ti and I think his manipulation of Blake and the WF is more Fe than Te

Qrow - was thinking ISTP but with the more recent volumes I'm really not sure..

Penny - ENFP

Ozpin - Uuuuuh INTP maybe?? But I've seen some people type him as INFJ. INFJ 5w6 would make sense as to why he might appear as an INTP but idk..

Bartholomew- ENTP

Jaune - no fucking idea honestly

Ironwood - ENTJ

Sun - Seen ppl type him as ENFP but I don't see any Ne at all..,,ESFP?

Yang - ESxP, maybe ESTP

Cinder - INTJ

Mercury - ISTP

Oscar - ISFJ

Ren - ISTx?

Hello anon ! I see my love for typology hasn't gone unnoticed 😂 Thank you so much for the ask !

I prefer enneagram over MBTI because I find it easier to type; so fair warning that I'm not an authority on MBTI-typing. But I do have have an ongoing RWBY typing that includes MBTI sooo... here goes !

(I'm putting my ennea typings along with it, but not explaining them on this post)

➸ RWBYJNPR

Ruby • xNFP 6w7 9w1 2w3?

I just can't decide between the two fors Ruby because... it kind of goes both way ??? Like Ruby definitely feels as INFP for the first half of the series; she's got a clear Fi > Ne preference... But then when she develops her Tert in V6 it's just... Te ? And she really doesn't show much Si actually she fits more the Si inf vibe in the form of forgetting about bad memories and her mom until people dig it up and she's like "nooo !" ?? So it looks like Te > Si but also Fi > Ne; conclusion idfk

Weiss • ISTJ 1w2 6w5 3w4 sp/so

Clear Fi tert rearing its head along with the 1 so I'm going with ISTJ; I also never really saw any Ne. Her type isn't too disagreed upon so tell me if you want a lenghtier explanation.

Blake • ISFP 6w5 9w8 4w3 (in some order)

Wooh this might get the anger of some (i have experience with the INFJ typers) but Blake goddamn REEKS of Fi. Less so recently but for the first seasons oh my god. She straights up catch you by the shirt and tells you "I'm doing the right thing"; and said right thing is so heavily dependant on her own subjectives values, which is why Blake can't reconcile with the current White Fang; because she doesn't have a strong Je vision of "what objectively works in the end", she only sees actions in terms of immediate right and wrong, and this b&w dichotomy stems from herself. What the WF is doing is wrong and the circumstances don't matter for judging the morality of their actions (of course I'm not talking about murder here bc that's pretty wrong ALL THE TIME but for example the stealing occuring in V1 bc of the WF is a better example)

Yang • ESXP 7w8 8w7 2w3

I'm sorry about that but I can't help you on that aspect anon, I still can't make up my mind about whether Yang has Fi or Ti. I have seen arguments for both, and i'm not the best at picking up on Ti so it's hard for me to tell.

Jaune • ESFJ 6w7 3w2 9w1

No strong opinions on his MBTI, it's kinda just based on vibes

Nora • ENFP 6w7 9w8 3w2

Textbook ENFP, not much to say here x))

Pyrrha • XXFJ 2w1 1w2 6?

In my list Pyrrha is currently written down as ISFJ but that's mostly based on the general consensus and me wanting to get rid of the XX. I don't actually have any convincing arguments to decide on Ni or Si, so I could go either way if someone else makes their case well. I feel like she's Fe aux more than dom, but even about that I could change my mind. Pyrrha didn't have that much screentime in the end :((

Ren • ISTJ? 9w1 5w4 4w5

Ironically I'm not sure about his type, kind of like you. I've mentionned I'm not very good at picking up on Ti right ? And Ren was a background character before V4 really. I had him written down as ISTP for a while but I've seen some convincing arguments for ISTJ so I might lean toward that actually but who knows. The thing I'm very confident about is his 5 fix = )

➸ Faunus bonus

Sun • ESFP 7w6 2w3 9w1 so/sx

I don't see any Ne at all either so I don't understand the ENFP typings...?? Maybe the 7 stereotypes ? Imo Sun is just a very good boy; certified ESFP 7 himbo; triple positive sunshine !

Ilia • Ti-Fe axis ?

Again, not enough screentime for me to make an educated guess. My only certainty is : not high Fi. It's the source of their conflicts. Blake confidence in absolute right & wrong, tracing lines in the sand between acceptable & unacceptable. Whereas Ilia can only shake her head and say "Because it works", or cry out "I don't know what else to do !"

Adam • 3w4 8w7 6w5

I honestly don't really have much of an opinion about Adam's MBTI, i'm sorry anon ;; I don't know enough about how he thinks

➸ Oz-related things and his circle

Ozpin • INFJ 5w4 2w1 1w9

I would personally call him an INFJ. I... never really got INTP vibes from him ? I don't see the Fe inf work out with his interactions : he's always rather at ease, he knows how to navigate around people... His focus inherently lies on doing what's best for the "group", the people, humanity. Fx functions are both concerned with ethics, in different ways, and I think Oz reflects that well. He IS concerned with the moral weight of his actions, but it's a more adaptable and unpersonnal concern than Fi people. He regards Ironwood's soul machines as something wrong, but can still agree to use it if the situations demand it for example. So... if the INFJ + 5 makes sense to you, well that's what I'm typing him personally. I also feel like Ni fits him more than Ne. Ozpin has a very linear way of planning, he does use his fair share of symbolism in every day conversation... Even when taking decisions, he... kind of cares about the meaning of things a lot ? It's hard to explain but like; the way he highlights the difference between an army and a guardian, and the emotionnal response it brings. I don't know it feels like there's some Ni vibes in there x)

Oscar • ISFJ 9w8 6w7 3w2

Oscar's type honestly isn't the one I would have the easiest time explaining in lenght but yea. It's mostly vibes; also just like Ozpin he doesn't seem to have a particularly Fi reasonning. And he feels more grounded, I don't really remember any Ni so... yay ?

Ironwood • ENFJ 6w5 1w2 3w4 (pre-Vol8); ENTJ (post-Vol8)

Might be weird if you think he was a dictator from the start, but I kind of entertained the idea of Ironwood being Fe dom ? From his very first interaction it was very clear that he was a Je dom to me; he's all about objective results; he doesn't give off the "internal framework" or "personnal values" vibe AT ALL; so it was more a matter of picking Te or Fe. He LOOKS super Te don't get me wrong; but he also has an enneagram tritype that is very common amongst XXTJs (and TJs stereotypes thus derive from it). And just like Oz, his focus at all time seemed to be the greater good and doing what's best for the people still. So I was like... Eh, a "harsh" ENFJ I think that's interesting ? Plus Fe ethics actually derive from their environment, kinda like "everyone agrees that Y is wrong", and if you consider that James is from Atlas... Well his way of thinking and ethics align pretty well with the military.

His character took a turn for the worse in V8 (whether too quick or not depends on who you ask) and past that point he's a clear ENTJ; but I feel like it was more debatable before that. Idk though I might be overthinking this in the hope of making more interesting combinations xD

Qrow • ISTP 4w3 6w7? 1w9? sp/sx

I don't really see anything else than ISTP for Qrow... But he's not a character I would want to find Ti arguments for either.

Raven • ENTJ Cp6w5 8w9 3w4

Most villains get called ENTJ at the first occasions tbh zlqfznhqzkf but I think it fits Raven for the most part actually...

➸ Atlas

Winter • ESTJ 1w9 3w4 6w5

The whole Schnee family has the same enneagram tritype in different order/different wings, it's ridiculous I think she has a higher Te than Weiss, and Fi inf fits her more. She struggles more to reconcile with her emotions and the idea of a personal right/wrong than her little sis.

Penny • ENFP 4w3 6w7 9w1 sx/so

Perfect example of a healthy 4, she's a great friend a cutie pie. ... Sorry we were talking about MBTI x) Well again, textbook ENFP. Not much to debate here.

Whitley • 3w4 1w9 6w5?

Not enough material for me to guess a MBTI type correctly either, sorry... I could see some kind of xNTJ yea but it's really just vibes and not enough concrete.

➸ Antagonists and Extras

Cinder • 8w7 3w4 6w5

Never cared to guess her MBTI type. I hereby type her as insufferable qkfqskfq. More seriously, I don't really know sorry Anon :/

Emerald • 2w3 ?w? ?w?

I never got Fe vibes from her tbh, I just think she's a 2. And Fe as a function is very infused with 2 stereotypes. So yea. Like, she isn't even that worried about the morality of her actions or anything more than the other villains. She just cares more about her personal relationships and being loved, so she automatically looks much nicer, especially with 2 mechanisms of trying to make herself useful and needed. Also because she's surrounded by 8-ish people xD

Mercury • 8w9 7w8 ?w?

ISTP doesn't sound too farfeteched, but I never MBTI-typed him either, sorry.

+

Bartholomew Oobleck • xSxJ 5w4

The only vibe he gave me is Si somewhere because of all his talks about learning from the past and everything repeats itself and it's a mine of informations at Mountain Glen... That's really the only time I tried to put down anything for him, and it was Si + 5. He could be some kind of xNTP nerd too for sure, but that's more vibe and I couldn't make an actual argument for it.

I saw this new thing going around, you can ask me if you're bored or curious 💜

If you're wondering "does she ever shut up" the answer is no I'm sorry I love sharing what I think and hearing what others feel 😭 And I constantly wanna be doing something ;;

Source : probiepannikar (just found out from someone else's reblog, sorry for the previous lack of credit :)

James Ironwood, for character ask? 👀

Aaaa thank you so much for the ask ♡ More rambling incoming !! Sorry for the wait btw, I've been both pretty busy and tired ;;

If you hate James Ironwood and don't wanna hear one good thing about him tap out now please ღ

My fav ship(s) for the character

I am not a super big shipper when it comes to James, but there are still some I like more than others soo here goes :

I think Ironwitch is a pretty good one. It's not necessarily a ship I'd search content for but I think these two would work well together ! Glynda is stern and honest and a no-nonsense kind of woman. She has the strenght to stand up to James when he slips or gets too stubborn when faced with the high stakes. At the same time, we've been shown that she cares for him and she knows he's only trying to do what's best for people. She has faith in him but also the ability to stand at his side as an equal. She seems to be the more steadfast of Ozpin's circle : loyal, you know you can trust her, and she will not crumble. This is the kind of personnality that I think James both admire and feel safe with. And the other way around, I think James is a good match for Glynda too. On a day to day basis, he's serious enough to not annoy here, but he's also a softie in some aspects and that's a nice combination to smooth out Glynda's edges.

Ironqrow is a completely different dynamic. The "we're annoying each other" dynamic is not one I'm particularly interested in usually xD But these two certainly had strong & interesting moments so it's a pretty valid ship !! Despite how they might butt heads because of the difference in their upbringing they (prior to V8) clearly trusted each other with their life. Even if Qrow jokes about shooting himself if he had to be one of James' man, when everything goes to shit there is no doubt in his mind that James wasn't responsible. Similarly, while James talks of shooting Qrow for his misbehaviour, when push comes to shove and we meet a tired Ironwood, run ragged by the pressure he's under... the only thing he does is hug him and reiterates how glad he is to see him. So again, they clearly have a lot of faith and trust in the other, and that's solid ground for a relationship.

My least favorite ship(s) for the character

Same spiel as always, shipping kids and adults is a big no from me; so any ships between Ironwood and RWBYJNOR can qualify here. That said, among the less uncomfortable ones, here are those I don't really like

This one is again because I love their relationship but platonically only, I'm talking of Winter Soldier. The reading I like best is not that Ironwood is Winter's Jacques 2.0, nor that he groomed her; but that he was an important father figure in her life. Protective and caring, who tried to help her escape with what he knew. I don't see James recruiting Winter as a way to gain a strong ally. But rather that Winter wanted to detach herself from her family name, and make something worthwhile of herself all on her own. And that the military is what Ironwood knows and understand, so naturally it's a career he'd see as a good path. Just like Winter then proposed it to Weiss. I like to think they care about each other a LOT and they're their own tight family in between the lines, even if professionalism might throw a wrench into it. For short I love them together but not romantically please =)

I don't know if there's a ship name for this, but Salem x James Ironwood would be a big nope from me too... In general, let's just assume I ship Salem with nobody because abuse.

My fav & least fav platonic relationship(s) for the character

Fav platonic relationship would be (have been because we dont talk about V8?) with Winter. Fooor the reasons I've explained above I suppose x) I (again) love the trust they had in one another and the quiet support.

There was also his relationship with Oscar that I really liked during V7, although it has been soured a bit by the (valid) reading from some people that Ironwood sought out Ozpin a lot through Oscar, and given his identity issues it is not ground for a greatly healthy relationship. Their interactions were still very intersting though ♡ I consider Oscar to be the kid who went at trying to appease James' fear or make him reconsider his decisions the best way. There was true understanding and hope for a working relationship here. I do feel that Oscar put in more work than James however (emotionally) and I wish there had been pay-back instead of a gunshot.

For my least fav relationship ? Probably Robyn or Watts ? Robyn was always very antagonistic toward Ironwood since their priorities are so different. And I overall just don't really like her after V7 so there are very few relationships with her I'm interested in (the exception is her ship with Fiona I think it's cute). Meanwhile, Watts is just a petty asshole hell bent on ruining Ironwood because he didn't pick his project. I'm not very interested in hate relationships, and since theirs wasn't deeply explored anyway, it's even more the case here. Their fight was great though, one of my favorite RWBY fights !

My favorite thing about the character

Well this was completely proven wrong by V8 buuut as of V7 I liked that he was a deconstruction of the military general (dictator) trope. Sooo you can guess how i feel about V8 X) In general among RWBY, several of my fav are fav BECAUSE they look like one trope but also have key differences that from the get go make the character stray away from said trope. For example I'm not a fan of the princess tsundere archetype at all, but I loooved Weiss in V1 BECAUSE she was extra-willing to listen and change her mind, and you could very easily tell that it was her upbringing speaking more than herself in most occasions.

Similarly, I wasn't a big fan of Ironwood before V7. I didn't hate him you know and he wasn't lower than most characters in my Tier list but I also didn't particularly care. But you know what ? I've aaaalways had a really soft spot for the "angsty angry traumatized teen". And RWBY made the mistake of extending that soft spot to "tired adults trying their best" (only to repeatedly beat them up/make them villains after making me care about them but what can you do uh)

Soo in general, I loved that Ironwood was trying so hard. I loved that he was tired and in over his head but learning and listening and trying to do good and be better despite his fears. I liked that he told his entourage about Salem and was loyal. I liked that he cared about helping the people above his own image and the way people perceived him. I liked that you could tell this was a terrible situation all around, and his decisions WERE questionnable but we could SEE that he meant WELL and was genuinely trying so hard despite how scared and tired he was.

My biggest criticism for the character

Well this won't be a surprise but in general I just wished he had stayed a morally grey character we were allowed to feel for instead of a cartoon black villain. I didn't need James to be THE Hero or anything like this despite some accusations levelled at those who like him. Him becoming one of RWBY's antagonist is honestly fine by me ! It is interesting. But I'd have preferred they kept him ambiguous and trying in his own way. (And smart because V8 Ironwood was dumb af)

I can be a tad overprotective of his character since he's just... so despised, so I think that I have inadvertently distanced myself from any of his flaws... somehow like "people are already yelling all of them so I don't need to add to this shit show" you know ? skjfkd But I KNOW he has them and it would still have been good to develop his flaws, just... not like that

But yea I'd have liked it if V8 Ironwood DID diverge from RWBYJNORQ and became an antagonist but not an iredeemable villain. LIKE,, we redeemed Hazel and Emerald and IRONWOOD is where the writers draw the line by saying "nope this one is rotten" ?? What ?

When was their writing at the peak according to me (ex : best season)

V7 definitely ! Ironwood carried V7 so hard haha. His character was fleshed out and given nuance and made to struggle and evolve and I loved him in that volume.

A song I think fits them & why

Hunger • Monsters & Men Human • Rag'n'Bone Man Way down we go • Kaleo Beekeeper • Keaton Henson Thistle and weeds • Mumford and Sons Castle of Glass • Linkin Park It's all so incredibly loud • Glass Animals

A headcanon to make up about them

His metal parts impact his metabolism so Ironwood is terrible at holding his alcohool and very little manages to knock him out. He's a workaholic. His low tolerence for alcohool is a great tool whn friends need to put him to sleep.

His joints crack and hurt in the cold, his metal parts as well and they are an hassle in the sand. James like to keep his room temperature warmer than the average atlasian because of this, otherwise he has to spend 30 min every morning simply unwiding muscles to move around efficiently.

He's not a good singer but has a nice low voice for telling stories. If he had kids, he'd probably avoid lullabies but compensate with bedtimes stories.

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

As always, I'm kind of reflecting along the way as I write this, and one thing I'm thinking right now is... Doesn't it take away from the atlas arc message ITSELF to just pile up so many "standard bad guy" stuff on Ironwood ? Like, I wanna ask... why do we hate him ? Is he an antagonist because he lets fear get the best of him ? Because he's a classist who doesn't care about Mantle like some fans argue ? Because he's too stubborn and wants to be THE hero ? Because he doesn't listen to others ? Because he abandonned Mantle ? Because he kills peopke left and right ? Because he wanted to bomb a city ? I think you might see where I'm going with this : his status as villain is kind of messy. V8 just kept piling-up flaws and villainous actions onto Ironwood with no concern for whether this was a lenght he would go to (using the certainty that he would go to any lenghts to enact his plans), ,or whether these were one of the initial flaws/failings that led to his "fall" as an antagonist. What lesson is Ironwood supposed to learn ? Personally the very first time I yelled at my screen "No ! Why would the writers choose that ?" is when Ironwood shot Oscar. When answering criticism against medias, many people tend to look at it only through the lense of "well it makes sense in universe" or as if there were no other ways for the story to devolve. But at the end of the way, everything in a story is a choice from the writer even if it is influenced by the characters' personnalities. If I took the scene where Ironwood shoots Oscar, someone might tell me "he's crippled by his PTSD, he COULD do this." Maybe, that's a reading I can somewhat understand at least. But the writers have the power to NOT put his character in such a position. When I saw the wreck that was V7 finale, I ranted to my bestfriend about it and at no point did i say "why did Ironwood do that", I said "why did the writers make him shoot Oscar, the only point narratively would be to make irredeemable" Aaaand that's what they went for and I obviously didn't care for it. So if I had to rewrite it; I would have kept Ironwood's "mistakes" more focused. If he's wrong because he wants to abandon Mantle, because he's (understandably) scared and doesn't want to take risks; then stay focused on that. It's what makes RWBY leave, and out of all his V8 actions that's really the only thing RWBY needed to tell the whole world he wasn't an ally anymore apparently. - Don't make him shoot Oscar point blank, instead Oscar can simply fall because he flinches away from Ironwood's outburst; and a distraught/guilty Ironwood can decide that he doesn't have the time or capacity to help because of the tense situation. (Killing and not saving someone don't hold the same moral weight at all). - Don't make him kill people left and right or bomb cities, maintain the flaw of Ironwood struggling with his PTSD and his fear and not being able to take risks. - Don't paint him as a black villain, and eventually write V8 in such a way that RWBYJNORQ show taking risks might lead to a bigger victory, which was the volume's theme anyway. For example, following Oscar's destruction of the whale, a growth can occur that would bring back together the two anti-Salem factions : Oscar's risk put Atlas out of harm's way, which leads to Ironwood seeing that maybe there WAS a way to save Mantle as well as Atlas despite Salem's presence and he might have jumped the gun too quickly because of his fears. I'm not sure, I haven't thought about this extensively honestly but I hope you see what I mean. I think it would have been more focused & more in-character to focus Ironwood's failings on his fear; and the fact that he cares for the people and the greater good sometimes at the cost of the individuals. The idea that by sacrificing individuals too much you forget the people you're fighting for in the first place, could have been interesting to dig deeper into. Keep to the idea that Ironwood is somewhat disensitized to the individuals suffering for the sake of the greater good, instead of making him just

callous & uncaring.

My guess for their MBTI/Enneagram

I think pre-V8 Ironwood was an unconventionnal ENFJ. Aka, the type of character no one would type ENFJ because they go by stereotypes and Fe stereotypes are just enneagram 2 everywhere (aka nice, kind, helpful) whereas Ironwood has an enneagram tritype very common among xxTJs so that's what he looks/behaves like, but the way he thinks (what's best for the people, ethical values derived from an Atlasian upbringing) align more with Fe cognitively I think I'm going with ENFJ 6w5 1w2 3w4

Starting from V8 though, Ironwood veered clearly into ENTJ territory (types aren't supposed to change but I wouldn't say RWBY is the most consistent media when it comes to characters' personnalities)

One aspect that I think would be nice to delve deeper into ?

I understand why they didn't care to, but it'd have been interesting to get a few backstory hints for Ironwood. How did he lose half his body ? How did Oz recruit him ? Or some pieces about his upbringing ?

RWBY in Song ♦ Adults and their mistakes

Human - Rag'n'Bone Man

Maybe I'm foolish, maybe I'm blind Thinking I can see through this and see what's behind Got no way to prove it, so maybe I'm lying

But I'm only human after all I'm only human after all Don't put your blame on me Don't put your blame on me

Take a look in the mirror, and what do you see? Do you see it clearer or are you deceived... in what you believe?

'Cause I'm only human after all You're only human after all Don't put the blame on me Don't put your blame on me

Some people got the real problems Some people out of luck Some people think I can shoulder The weight of heavens above

I'm only human after all I'm only human after all Don't put the blame on me Don't put the blame on me

Don't ask my opinion Don't ask me to lie

Then beg for forgiveness For making you cry For making you cry

I'm only human, I make mistakes I'm only human that's all it takes To put the blame on me Don't put the blame on me

'Cause I'm no prophet or messiah You should go looking somewhere higher

I'm only human, I do what I can I'm just a man, I do what I can Don't put the blame on me Don't put your blame on me

»»————-　♔　————-««

A song for the adults in the cast and the mistakes they made, but mostly how much these mistakes boil down to humanity's limits.

➸ While RWBY as a show is mostly focused on the teenagers, I've found the adults to be really compelling when you allow them the room to simply be human and acknowledge that they inevitably make mistakes as a result. That is not to mean that some of their actions are not reprehensible, but I think they also all deserve some manner of understanding, in the sense that the root of their failures are more often than not familiar and real.

➸ Fear, Hope, Despair... The hesitation to trust brought on by trauma and experience, the fumbling that occurs along the way of an impossible task. The fall that comes with relying too much on others' hope, trying in vain to numb and run from your pain. How the weight of your responsabilities and desire to do the right thing can bring you down if pushed and pulled for too long. The difficulties that come with leaving behind the life you've been raised in (and ultimately failing to). The root of everything being a simple human's grief and his inability to let go... or the fact that the gods might be much more to blame. The hope and desire to make the world a better place for the next generation, only to force a bigger sacrifice on them.

➸ Everyone is human, trying in their own way and making mistakes on the path. Everyone is faillible, and I sometimes wish this was acknowledged more... Because it is so very easy to become the antagonist in someone else's story as everyone struggles to find their place in the world or simply what to do. And I think it's important to remember the good among the bad decisions... To look at the root of the evil more than the humans who fell victim to it.

for the rwby character asks, whatcha got about Nora? :)

Ooooh Nora !! Thank you for the ask, I wasn't expecting her but this is great, this is gonna be interesting, I'll be organizing my thoughts & realizing how I fel as I go

My fav ship(s) for the character

Basic but I'm obviously very soft for Renora 🥺 The show has given me too much for me to not like it y'know ??? The companionship, the shared past, their easy bond & complicity, how well they complete each other... Nora with her determination and enthusiasm and emotionnal intelligence. Ren who is more level-headed, peaceful but also insightful. MHMMM I dunno if I'm making my case well but yea; I care them ! There's like... only one detail I dislike about their shipping interaction (the unexpected/kind of unasked for kissing at Robyn's rally if anyone is wondering) but otherwise they're very good

Next up is the poly Renorarc, I dunno I just think they're soft. Like; on one hand Ren & Nora are sooo close but at the same time I feel like the show striked a great balance and managed to still really make them a trio and I love their team-moments where they are all grieving or touching or caring for each other. They're neat !! And Nora has the biggest emotionnal intelligence I think, and she takes care of them both so well... She's also a pillar of enthusiasm. I love the scene they have at Pyrrha's statue !

If I have to think of a less common ship, I'll prob go with Gingersnaps, I think Penny & Nora had cute moments in V8; they're both lovely enthusiastic cuties, and thematically they both had an ongoing arc about finding themselves so they're nice together.

My least favorite ship(s) for the character

Mhmmm the least fav is harder already. So; like for pretty much all the kiddos I'll start out by saying that all the ships with adults are a No from the get go. Now to elaborate on the more "feasible" ships...

Candy Cane (Nora x Oscar) is a No from me. They are family, brother & sister strictly, I can't see them any other way ! Nora is the cuddly & overbearing big sister, nothing more >:0 Please let them beee ;;

Other than that, Heavy Metal (Mercury) & ThunderCat (Blake) are both ships that don't really interest me, I don't remember any interesting interaction to bring them together so meh x)

My fav & least fav platonic relationship(s) for the character

Good question ! I'm not sure so let me mull on it for a bit...

I like the Renorarc team both romantically AND platonically they have their spot here...

I really like Nora & Oscar ! She's such a big sister to him it's adorable. In V4 to V6 she's one of the characters who tried to include Oscar the most. Teasing him, hugging him & including him in the convo and the chaos. She's very earnest and open about her appreciation and he really needs that. At the same time, she can bit a tad too much but she recognized that and I liked that. How slowly and softly she hugged him at the start of V8 ;; So yea.

I'm not sure what my least fav platonic relationship would be... I can't think of anyone right now honestly !

My favorite thing about the character

Mhmmm I think I like her emotional intelligence ! Like, we all know Nora is funny and excited and enthusiastic... But I like the calmer & more vulnerable moments; when she recognize Ren's trauma & takes off with him, when she takes his hands and say "I won't let you kill yourself like this." When she tells Jaune "You're not being fair to yourself. We love you, just like we loved Pyrrha.". When she comforts Penny "It's just a part of you, don't forget about the rest."

I just think it's nice when Nora gets to comfort those she cares about, along with protecting them =)

My biggest criticism for the character

Mmmmh good Q too. I don't think I have much to criticize about how they handle Nora's character in general ? Soo maybe more like... how things were presented maybe ? If anything, I guess there are some details that could have been handled better about her relationship with Ren in V7-8. For example, I wish the faults had not been presented as so one-sided. Ren struggles with communication and it was shown clearly. However Nora's "Screw talking then !" and subsequent kissing wasn't any better in term of communication, even though it was taken as a great milestone because "first kiss !!". I personally feel that they both were at faults during this arc ? Ren for bottling up & not sharing his struggles, but Nora as well because she lacked patience and was more concerned by their relationship/where they stood than how Ren was actually handling everything. Does that make sense ? I looooved the second part of their convo in Risk, it was adorable really. But I wish the first part hadn't be so unilateraly accusing toward Ren ? Sorry if I'm like... branching out from Nora it goes together in my head ?? Tell me what y'all think !

When was their writing at the peak according to me

To be honest, I think Nora is peaking right now so I have high hopes for her character in the next season ! As for the why I like Nora right now... I think V7 was good at putting her a bit in the spotlight, with the times she confronted Ironwood about Mantle's situation. It was reminiscent of the harsh times she lived herself, and how she could relate to Mantle as a consequence. As someone who liked V7 Ironwood, I sometimes found her to be a bit harsh but you know what ? It was still a GREAT thing. She can be harsh and go too far. It makes sense for her. Let her be a not 'big picture' kind of character who focus on the little person. It let her fight for what she believed in & what she knew. So I really liked that !

V8 was good too because it acknowledged what some people disliked about her, aka the fact that it was Renora instead of Ren & Nora. Nora needs the room to breathe as her own person, and V8 acknowledged that, it brought to life some of her insecurities and all of it was nice. Who am I if not the overexcited "be strong hit stuff" girl ? That's the question I'm eager to see her solve. There is of course already MORE to her, that she fails to see, but it should still be interesting to delve into.

A song I think fits them & why

Line without a Hook (Ricky Montgomery) for Renora + Walk me Home (P!nk) + I wouldn't mind (He is We) + Would you be so kind (Dodie) + I dare you (Bea Miller) ? (might edit to add more, i want a non-romantic song but it's late & i'm lacking in ideas rn)

A headcanon to make up about them

Nora has a big appetite and doesn't hesitate at the table because she knows what it's like to go hungry. She takes full advantage of Ren's cooking ;)

She's still able to share with her closed ones though

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

MHMMM, apart from what I've said in the criticism section maybe just... mhm... OH YEA ! I'm... well I kind of understand why they did it ig, because they wanted Nora apart from Ren in V8; and I liked Ren's side too much to change it but... I feel like it would have made more sense for Nora to help Mantle instead of Amity in V8 ? Because in V7, Nora was very much in opposition to Ironwood. It was "the little guy" vs "the bigger picture" and it fitted Nora well... But then she chose Amity over Mantle and like. I wouldn't go as far as to call it JARRING but if you mull on it, it's definitely kind of weird.

My guess for their MBTI/Enneagram

ENFP 6w7 9w8 3w2 so/sx

One aspect that I think would be nice to delve deeper into ? (optional)

Give us her backstory ! I mean I know we got the Renora village backstory but I wanna know what happened to her before. What is it with her mom ?

I have so many ideas of songs to apply to RWBY characters in one way or another, like I can picture it perfectly in an AMV, I'm imagining the lyrics with the scenes in the background...

Except I've never ever made an AMV, idk how to or what programm to use 😭 I'm coping with music posts to at least put the ideas OUT THERE instead of just letting them rot in my brain, but the yearning to just... snap my fingers & make them into AMVs is so strong

I'm putting my long list of song ideas under the cut if anyone's interested If per chance someone who sees this makes AMV, all these ideas are like... free to take just give me the link to the results if you use them 🙏 (and like, if you credit me for the idea in a corner that'd be NEAT but really not mandatory)

Yang - Piece by Piece (Kelly Clarkson) ➸ About Raven's abandonment, how Tai/Qrow made up for it, and her inconditional love for Ruby

Blake & Yang - Forgive me friend (Smith & Thell) ➸ About their fallout in V4-V5 due to their respective issues

Ruby & Yang - Trenches (Beth Crowley) ➸ About their respective Branwen relationships, Qrow & Raven, and the struggles they put them through at times (the difference between the two being that Qrow is always willing to change and do better) .

Ozpin & Ruby - Burned out (Dodie) ➸ On the concept of leadership, and the similarities between the two

Oz-carnations - I was Wrong (the Oh Hellos) ➸ About their story and mistakes, but mostly how guilty and sorry they feel about it

Blake & Ozpin - Savior (Beth Crowley) OR Don't Make Me (MALINDA) ➸ About their respective abusive relationships with Adam & Salem

Ozpin - Liar (Arcadian Wild) ➸ On Ozpin's lies, his guilt fighting his desire to appear strong and reliable. Ends with showing how RWBYJNRQ succumb to the same need to save face and hide their struggles. .

Ren - Keep you safe (Crane Wives) ➸ About Ren's struggles with risk and the fear of failure

Renora - Line without a Hook ➸ About their relationships, ups-and-down. Alternating PoV. .

Qrow - Ship in a Bottle (Steffan Argus) ➸ About Qrow's downward spiral, and how Ozpin/Clover factor into that

Adults in the RWBYverse - Human (Rag'n'Bone Man) ➸ To highlight the humanity of the adult cast. About their mistakes, and how they boil down to humanity's fallibility. My top adult pick for this one are Ozpin, Qrow, Ironwood & Raven. Then Winter probably ? And maybe others can be found. .

Sun about Blake - She wants me (to be loved) (The Happy Fits) ➸ One-sided love that realizes they won't be loved back, while acknowledging that Blake does love Sun (platonically) and wants the best for him. The most anti-incel song, 10/10

Sun & Weiss - Soap (The Oh Hellos) ➸ Sun singing to Blake and Weiss to Yang, platonic love, V4-V5 focus .

Penny & Pyrrha - If I die young (The Band Perry) ➸ About their lives, cut short. Highlight on their sacrifice and the good times

Penny - Bright Idea (Mother Mother) ➸ About the love Penny found in her life, her relationships, her growth and choices, and simply how great of a person she was. Good vibes .

Ironwood - Hunger (Monsters & Men) ➸ On his struggles & shot mental health, and his jarring behaviour in V8.

Emerald - Be my Escape (Relient K) ➸ About Emerald's doubts & subconsequent redemption, and Oscar's role in it.

Emerald - 10 feet tall (Cavetown) ➸ On the need to appear big & tough when her main goal is to find a home & family .

Salem - The Angry River (The Hat)

Mercury - The Moon will Sing (Crane Wives) ➸ A different look at Mercury's harsh persona, focused on his status as an abuse victim who feels trapped by the darkness they were raised in

Adam - This is Love (Air Traffic Controller) ➸ About his twisted personnality & abusive behaviour toward Blake

Neo - Snowcone (Rei Ami) ➸ About the duality of Neo, who is such a competent bad bitch but also so vulnerable without Roman, and still lost as to what to do with herself since his death

The RWBY character ask still going on, don't hesitate to ask if you have nothing better to do <3 (it lets me organize my thoughts because when I'm not speaking I don't think apparently)

(i'm reposting instead of reblogging bc the original post is getting long, sorry)

Send me a RWBY character and I’ll tell you:

My fav ship(s) for the character

My least favorite ship(s) for the character

My fav & least fav platonic relationship(s) for the character

My favorite thing about the character

My biggest criticism for the character

When was their writing at the peak according to me (ex : best season)

A song I think fits them & why

A headcanon to make up about them

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

My guess for their MBTI/Enneagram

One aspect that I think would be nice to delve deeper into ? (optional)

Okay so This is just a way to let out some frustration so I can put it out there and stop mulling on it bc I'm bad at this sort of stuff - Feel free to ignore it

I'm putting this under Read More; if your fav past-time is to call anyone who likes Ironwood's character or was disappointed by his V8 turn to villainy a stupid bootlicker who "should have seen the signs he was always a tyrant !!" please don't interact with this post. You're ultimately free to think what you want but honestly I see enough of that in the main tag when left alone, I don't need it on my blog it doesn't make me feel good.

Anyone else... well you can read if you're interested but you don't have to either. Feel free to respectfully disagree though, I'm not that bullheaded that I can't partake in a friendly argument =) I'll just be listing some things about Ironwood's reading by the FNDM who get old or draining as someone who doesn't like the V8-characterization they went with

Can people please stop just... copy/pasting real world issues on a world/characters that have nothing to do with them or a completely different context ?

Like,, I genuinely try to educate myself on real-world issues. I know I'm rather privileged so I try to listen and hear out people who speak out about the issues they live through day by day. I know why the "ACAB" moniker exists. I understand the problem that lies within the american police system (and likely other countries as well). I see why the army, on our blue planet, is criticized & its many failings. Etc, the list can go on...

But I'm sorry to say, Remnant isn't OUR Earth. Their Army's primary job is to fight actual evil soulless monsters, not people. The Ace Opps or Huntsmen are not an organization directly inherited from slave-hunting groups. James Ironwood isn't the US army general bombing Middle East. Clover Ebi isn't the racist cop you want in prison. So WHY are they treated as such by so many people ? Stories are not a 1-1 where you can take everything you know and just apply it to a completely different world.

Has Atlas been presented as a country that suffers from racism & classism ? Certainly. Has it be shown this way ? That's already more debatable since the only racist arguments we got were in Mantle (which is the city we're supposed to be rooting for so that's a weird choice but eh it's whatever). Are the characters, as persons, shown to evoke these issues in a way that deserve our scorn ? Not really.

Is Ironwood depicted as particularly racist for example ? I wouldn't say so seeing as one (or more considering Tortuga) of his Ace-Opps are Faunus & it seems perfectly accepted; and he hates Jacques Schnee's guts. So why does he get to shoulder all of our real-world issues as if he was responsible for them, in a context where (pre V8) his army had most likely never killed anything else than Grimm and was shown to elicit very positive reactions from most of the population (V3) ? (In direct contrast to the polarization that the US army might evoke for example.)

You can totally hate Ironwood because of the feelings he evoke, the trope he stems from or the parallels to be made. That doesn't mean however, that he IS truly guilty of every one of OUR world issues (pre-V8)

Just because classism is prevalent in Atlas society does not make Ironwood the figurehead & leader of this issue.

Is classism an issue in Atlas ? Yes. That's been made clear because of Mantle's state as well as Jacques Schnee entire existence & even Cinder's backstory. Does that mean every single one of Ironwood's decisions reeks of classism ? NO

Trust me, as someone who found Ironwood's V8 characterization not... well-executed & too much; there's nothing more annoying than being assaulted by posts about his fall going "it was so obvious !! look at -" only for them to then list reasons in a really biased way or even headcannons based on (again) irl problems. An exemple...

Reasons his turn was good that I see thrown around : "Ironwood left Mantle behind because he only wanted to save the rich. He's a selfish coward & an asshole !"

What we were actually given : "Ironwood suffers from PTSD, and faced with Salem's imminent arrival, he tried to save what he was CERTAIN to be able to protect aka the flying city and all the people on it including Mantle evacuees. There is absolutely no text backing the idea that he wanted to leave with Atlas because it's rich. We could even suppose that he would have left with the 'poor' Mantle if it was the flying city and rich people were hanging safely on the ground. There is indeed an issue with Atlas & Mantle disparity, but Ironwood isn't directly responsible for it."

Does that make his decision to leave Mantle behind a morally right one ? That's of course NOT what I'm saying. The situation is still very ambiguous. But the classism theme has NO place here.

"Ironwood leads Atlas & Mantle. As such, he inherently holds responsability for the issues plaguing it." THIS is an acceptable reading according to me. I would probably argue that even if Ironwood's the only Atlas leader we're shown; he actually only oversees the military & academy (where we haven't ever seen classism issues), so putting Atlas' classism issues on him still doesn't sound fair to me. However the idea & argument is sound.

Acknowledging only how his actions look/the tyrannical surface reading and not the reasonnable justifications or glimpses we were given (pre-V7) of Ironwood being more than his trope

I'll probably stop after this one, but the last thing that is both tiring & annoying after too much of it; is seeing people boil down all of Ironwood's character to the most basic summary, inherently written to paint him in a bad line. And then saying that everything led up to his downfall by using these watered-down versions of the show's events to justify it. Or worse (imo), saying that people who are not satisfied with his V8 characterization that THEY don't understand how good a character he is and don't really appreciate him.... All the while only ever highlighting his characters flaws. Please stop this.

"Ironwood brought an army to the peace Olympics why are you surprised he turned out this way ?" ==> Ironwood brought an army to a country where the civilians visibly have no issue with said-army, to protect a peaceful event that he KNOWS to be targeted by foes. It's definitely overzealous & his conviction that threats should be dealt with by blunt force IS one of his flaws; but pretending that he did it for fun or because he's a tyran is just as misplaced.

"Ironwood said he'd shoot Qrow if he were one of his men why are you surprised he shot Oscar ?" ==> Do I really need to flip through every joke in this show and consider it as absolute truth & proof that the character would enact these words if given the occasion; even when we're shown with certainty that they actually don't mean it ? (IW hugging Qrow to welcome him, refusing to attack Qrow when he's certain Qrow IS attacking him...)

"Ironwood has his military all over Mantle, there's a curfew, all of this is tyrannical why are you surprised he's also down for genocide" ==> Damn, it sure is criminal to have Mantle defended from the litteral monsters roaming inside & out, and to make sure with a curfew that the people are not at risk during the night. I wonder if any recent events could make us reconsider our stance on how evil a enforced curfew is. Mhmmm maybe a pandemic ? Nah I must be imagining things. For real though, at what point did Tyrian's framing/lies (IW has his soldiers all over Mantle because of politics/he's a tyran who refuses opposition) became the truth of the situation for the FDNM too ? Again Mantle's situations SUCK, and that's a problem in itself. Making up problematic reasoning for the situation is dishonest though.

To end this, I'll just make clear. I do not condone any of Ironwood's actions post-V7. I don't think he had to be the big hero of the Atlas arc. Nor that he was without faults. I merely think that he'd have been a better antagonist than villain. And that it'd have been nice to keep the ambiguity/morally greyness that surrounds him; the knowledge that he's TRYING hard to do what's best for everyone; that he has good intentions. That he cares about individuals too to a lesser degree, and that he had people who cared about him as a person.

For short... Ironwood as an antagonist with understandable issues, flaws & failures; making questionable choices but with good intentions ? Hell yeah. Ironwood as a villain, more irredeemable than Hazel, willing to kill people for NO reason or even wipe out a city ? I'm not convinced.

I got an ask for Qrow Branwen so here it comes !

My fav ship(s) for the character

I think my favorite ships for Qrow are Cloqwork and Fair Game ! Cloqwork lacked screentime in terms of canon content of course, but I love the potential here. I also have a things for shipping the sad men together xD There are a lot of REALLY great Cloqwork fanfics out there and I love seeing people write about these two <3 It's in the details but I think there's something interesting here. With Qrow who is convinced to be a curse, who came from such a harsh background... And with Ozpin who is so convinced of humanity's inherent goodness and that anyone deserves a chance. At the same time they're both very complicated people who I think would interact in cool ways. Ozpin is wise but does have a mischievous streak that I think also helped in making them both get along. Qrow is much more perceptive than he appears and that's also good for dealing with someone as secretive as Ozpin.

Fair Game also had a very good start ! The relationship was admittedly a bit tilted toward Qrow's recovery in the show, but they were nice to see together. Clover was perceptive & caring as well as patient. All great qualities for a relationship with Qrow, who has a hard time breaking down his walls and a shot mental health. At the same time, Atlas is very professional, straight-to-the-point and I think Qrow is a real breath of fresh hair in that environment. He brings a different viewpoint to the table, he's very loyal & caring and it's clear that his sass amused Clover greatly. We didn't get to learn enough about him, but Clover's VA hinted that Clover's trust was a fragile thing and he wasn't a fan of showing vulnerability. Qrow, who gives everything he has in all his relationships, would have been a great balm for that uncertainty. So yeah !

My least favorite ship(s) for the character

There are, of course, any & all ships between Qrow & the kids or Qrow & Salem's team. But outside of these obvious "nope", I'll have to go with Jailbirds. This is COMPLETELY personal but I have a really hard time liking Robyn's character as of V7 end/V8 so I'm barely interested in her dynamic with Qrow. I did appreciate her talking down Qrow from revenge because he was only doing it for his own sake but... That's about it. I find her way too abrasive (hidden behind her shiny Robinhood looks). And whereas Clover (imo) was pretty good at getting Qrow to face his issus head-on & building him up, I feel like Robyn relies more on humour & deflection... Which is an art Qrow is already acquainted with, and not the best coping mechanism for him. Aaaand I just feel like she put Clover down several time in order to lift Qrow up. That, plus the queerbaiting controversy, plus her having indirectly participated to Clover's death... The ship makes me a bit uncomfortable.

My fav & least fav platonic relationship(s) for the character

My fav platonic relationship for Qrow is his bond with Ruby ! I really hope they bring it back because these two were GREAT together. Ruby's admiration was adorable. Qrow's nonchalent but clearly protective streak. They care about each other A LOT and I really loved them together. I hope they can have more moments together like back in V3-V4 or V6.

I'm not sure what my least liked platonic relationship would be. Saying Robyn again feels like beating on a dead horse but I don't really have a problem with any other ones. They're all, if not kind & good for him, at least interesting (like Raven)

My favorite thing about the character

The combination of his sassy/cynic personnality and how loyal & caring of a person he actually he is. Qrow is rough around the edges, leans easily into banter but he cares so damn much. He fit so easily next to Ruby's peppy enthusiasm in Vol 1-3, and then he was just an incredible badass and yet so damn vulnerable human in Vol 4-6. I liked that about him. How all the pieces fit together

My biggest criticism for the character

Well I have 2 things to say about that. First : V7C12 With Friends like these. What the fuck was this episode qkfazkfhkgh Qrow's brain was nerfed SO DAMN HARD, I was genuinely pissed while watching the episode. This was just a string of dumb decisions from everyone except Tyrian. But I digress -

In a more general sense, I'd say... putting Qrow in the sidelines. Him falling further into depression was a sound decision. It was interesting and fitting of his character imo. But I feel like they tied "Ruby having enough of his alcooholism" and "Ruby growing away from adults" in a way that kind of.... just put Qrow to the side and doesn't allow him to do much. In V6 finale, Qrow expresses understandable concerns about their plan to steal an airship, but instead of dealing with that Ruby's frustration with his cynicism is aired out and... the timing kind of makes the whole thing weird becaus Qrow isn't allowed to disagree with their plan ("we'll do it with you or without you") and then has to trust Ruby and let her go which AGAIN is a great moment in itself. But all that put together just like... rid Qrow of his function as a parental figure because Ruby is the leader now and he's just... kind of following along.

When was their writing at the peak according to me (ex : best season)

Okay for this one Q, I'll have to go with Vol 4 and Vol 6 for very different reasons. V4 was great because we really got to get to know Qrow. His complicated relationship with Raven. How BADASS his encounter with Tyrian was I freaking loved it. What his semblance and how it shaped his life. And it also let him be vulnerable through the poison & seeing Ruby repay his care was very nice.

Vol 6 for fleshing out, taking his issues & drinking more seriously. Showing more hopelesness and cynicism, and that he had a real drinking problem and he wasn't just a fun drunk. Plus the loss of faith in Oz showed how much Qrow needs stability and secure certainties to orbit around despite his nonchalant personnality. But I like it a bit less because it was the starting point of putting him on the side kind of.

A song I think fits them & why

Ship in a Bottle (Steffan Argus) ➸ A song about being alone in your fight, in the sense that your life is like a sail on the ocean and you are the only captain, the only one who can choose what to do with it. At the same time, there are several mentions of a "captain" as if the singer/Qrow adresses someone else. It's reminiscent of his relation with Ozpin or Clover : speaking of a deal, of being honest and sharing what's on your mind. Qrow thinks too much, he's scared and he sinks more & more as he delves into his cynicism (V6). Qrow cries, things get worse, the mention of the glass echoes his struggle with alcooholism. And the Scarewrow loses his brain, "lose touch with all the things that made [him] feel sane."

+ Problem child (Simple Plan) The Star song (Amanda Palmer) Would anyone care (Citizen Soldier) Wasted (8 Graves)

A headcanon to make up about them

Qrow didn't have the most normal childhood and because of that he had to learn a lot for Ruby & Yang. Notably, Qrow had absolutely 0 notion of what was an appropriate presents for young girls. As a result, he tended to simply bring back from his travels whatever shiny thing might have caught his attention. Could be a weird flower. Could be a pretty knife. Or even junk that his corvid brain latched upon.

Tai designed a look(Tm) that Qrow learned to recognize as "No, not appropriate." After a while, Yang learned to mimick it (but rather at random, she didn't really recognze what was appropriate and what wasn't). Ruby always liked his presents though.

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

I CLEARLY would rewrite V7C12 so that Qrow & Clover keep their brains kzjhfkqhzk There were ways to reach the same conclusion without like... having a Qrow-Tyran team-up which was REALLY weird

I see 2 main possibilities to stick close to canon content - After the crash, Tyrian gets free but he keeps playing dead for a bit. Since there is no 3rd menace, Clover and Qrow's argument devolve into a fight as seen in canon. At one point, Clover manages to briefly disarm Qrow. They discuss for a bit, you can even put the exact same dialog as in the ep. Then Tyrian takes action, moving out of the shadows to kill Clover with Qrow's discarded weapon. Braincells saved. OR - Instead of having Qrow & Tyrian outright team up, Tyrian just... keeps instillating doubts in their mind. Qrow & Clover are temporarily allies in taking Tyrian down but because of this, they don't TRUST each other which cause missteps and make them less effective. At one point, Qrow tries to attack Tyrian who is behind Clover. But because neither Qrow nor Clover really have faith in the other at that moment (and because Tyrian is poisonning their mind), Clover automatically steps back or aside. He doesn't entirely trust Qrow. Because of this small hesitation, Qrow's attack fails. Tyrian manages to disarm him. Tyrian uses Qrow's weapon to kill Clover. There could even be some message here about the lack of Trust & letting Salem divide friends... something of that caliber in any case 🤔 It can even parallel V3 where Qrow did the same thing with Ironwood & Ironwood refused to stand aside even if he thought Qrow meant to attack him... Could lead somewhere ! Like, in V3 Qrow had faith that Ironwood wasn't to blame. Only Ironwood feared that Qrow blamed him, but Qrow knew & trusted that Ironwood wasn't to blame. In other words, Salem didn't divide them. Here, Qrow & Clover let Tyrian get into their head. And as a result Clover dies. "Together we stand, Divided we fall"

My guess for their MBTI/Enneagram

I'm still mulling on it right now but I think he might be some kind of ISTP 416. He has some weird 7ish behaviour but his need to orbit around someone/a goal, his relationship with Oz, how close he stuck to Tai & Summer sounds closer to 6 fix. He wants people to go home to. Certainty and security. His independance definitely is there but seems emphasized moreso out of necessity.

One aspect that I think would be nice to delve deeper into ? (optional)

I'm not sure mhmmm maybe his relationship with Summer ? It would be both cute & interesting. As well as finally giving us insight into who Summer was

Sorry to get uneasy & extra-specific on main but I wish there was a way to block the very specific narrative that Ozma 2.0 trying to leave with his children was in any shape or form a "betrayal" or "wrong" or "sickening" or one of his faults; because I don't think Salem should be in a 3-meter radius of ANY children including hers and blaming the abuse victim for trying to take his children with him just make me very uncomfortable and I want to close the rwby feed any time I see something close to that thinking.

Look I know that up until that point she was apparently a good mom. But seeing as she basically wanted to replace humanity with her children. And the only magic-people are her, her husband & her children. And that when she saw Ozma trying to leave she immediatly attacked with no care for the girls' safety I wouldn't think she's safe anymore & I would hightail the hell out of here too. The best understanding of mom-Salem in my opinion is that she's a great mom up until things don't go her way, and then all bets are off. And I don't care whether she felt betrayed & anguished by Ozma trying to take her children when she killed them 5 min later.

Bringing this back just bc I've actually taken 1 min to wonder what I would be able to say for everyone and what I wouldn't jbfqjfgqj so, slight edit (bc I'm not even sure I ship enough to have 6 in total for everyone oops)

Send me a RWBY character and I’ll tell you:

My fav ship(s) for the character

My least favorite ship(s) for the character

My fav & least fav platonic relationship(s) for the character

My favorite thing about the character

My biggest criticism for the character

When was their writing at the peak according to me (ex : best season)

A song I think fits them & why

A headcanon to make up about them

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

My guess for their MBTI/Enneagram

One aspect that I think would be nice to delve deeper into ? (optional)

Send me a RWBY character and I’ll tell you:

My top three ships for the character

My three least favorite ships for the character

My biggest criticism for the character

My favorite thing about the character

A headcanon I have about them

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

What I I think of their character allusion and what (if anything) I would change about it

I've been having THOUGHTS again (very dangerous I know, someone take my brain away) but about Summer this time bc I saw a post with the same premise aka...

Please, PLEASE don't make her a Ruby 2.0

The show kind of loves to emphasize their Ruby-Summer similarities... Their designs are very similar, and most of the time when her personnality is mentionned it's to drive home how much Ruby took after her.

But I really don't want it to BE that ?

EVERYONE is their own person. And even then in general, trapping a child in the confines of who their parents were is bad for them on many levels. It stifles growth and self-expression and in Ruby's case since her mom is very appreciated by those she left behind, it's also a kind of "role model" she feels she HAS to reach. Even though Ruby's growth right now should lean more toward acknowedging her flaws, her trauma with honesty and gentleness instead of being "perfect" like her mom. I don't want Ruby teared down, but i also don't particularly want 3 speeches a day about how good she is because it doesn't help nor fixes her core issues.

BUT ANYWAY, back to Summer Rose. Make Summer her own characters. Give her flaws, her own personnality, her own dreams. Why did she join Beacon academy ? How did she get along with everyon ? What I love most about her design are the little things that differentiate her from Ruby. A warmer skin (though let's be honest Ruby being pale as a sheet makes no sense when BOTH of her parents are more tanned wyd RT xD); a white cape; hair even redder that her daughter

Give me a Summer who has the same drive and optimism as her daughter but who is her own person. Give me a bratty Summer. Give me a Summer who knows how to make herself respected. A Summer who is warm and bright and sunny but won't coddle you. A Summer with a temper. A Summer who went toe to toe with Qrow's shenanigans. A Summer able to butt heads with Raven without flinching and laught it off afterwards like a warm summer wind.

In a fanfiction I read, someone went ahead and gave Summer & Clover parallels and similarities as a way to tie up how easily Qrow fell into that relationship. Give me this sort of thing : let Summer exist outside of Ruby. Tell Yang how she inherited some of her mother's quirks too. She knew her in a way Ruby didn't. Show that.

Give me her mistakes and her flaws without making Ruby the "upgraded" version who is everything Summer was without her failings. Instead, give me a human Summer and a human Ruby who are both their own person with their own flaws, similar but also so very different. Let Ruby recognize that without making it about "being Summer but better". I know that "the world is in good hands with the new generation, they're better than us" is compelling to many and there were already hints of that...

But I wish for something slightly different. Just a step to the left

Okay, I'm really curious to see everyone's thought on this so...

If you had one complaint, or if you could change one thing about the Atlas arc... What would it be ? And why ?

The answer can be anything, from "I'd put a Bumbleby kiss somewhere" to "I wouldn't make Ironwood a villain" so just... go wild, I won't judge !! I just wanna see your answers :D (in reactions, or reblogs or a separate link, anything really). Ramble as much as you want !!

PS : if you're more comfortable with that, my ask box is open to anon. As I said, no judgment here, pure curiosity :D

A nice night to everyone ! (or well, evening for the american I suppose)

i keep forgetting that reblogs don't show up in the main tag after ranting for a good 10 minutes SO, I was saying

On the subject of Silver Eyes, I've been thinking that I would really like Mercury to have them ?

No way it is canon of course, the writers have made clear that Mercury's eyes are grey; and I'm pretty sure they want to roll with the Chosen One/only Ruby has Silver Eyes currently aspect. But I think it could have been interesting in other ways; and Mecury would have been an easy way to develop SEW lore.

For a starter, Mercury (apart from being part of Salem's team) is kind of lacking in direct ties to the rest of the world of Remnant. We barely know what country he's from. He doesn't care about Cinder as a person; both her and Salem are just job-givers. His abusive dad is dead and there's no mention of a mom. Truly his only tie in terms of relationships currently is Emerald, who just defected. In that sence, Mecury having Silver Eyes that no one (not even himself) knew about could be a good starting point do develop new relations with other characters.

His character also isn't bloated with traits or skills, so it wouldn't feel like a weird powercreep pileup.

And the other aspect that I think could be really interesting is in term of Lore. I don't know PRECISELY where we're at in terms of SEW lore, but I think there were some ideas thrown around akin to "there have never been SEW who used their powers for bad" ? (or was that a headcannon, I forgot -) In any case it's been clearly said that Silver Eyes aim to protect life. And what life does Mercury feels the need to protect ? None. He's an abused, lonely and cynic kid who doesn't feel like he has anything better to offer than assassination talents. The only person he cares about is Emerald. How would Silver Eyes play out among that ?

And more than that, let's not forget : his father rid him of his Semblance. Semblance, the manifestation of the soul. What does Mercury's soul even look like now ? How damaged and hurt could it be ? That's interesting.

So what if Mercury plain grey eyes were but a dulled version of true Silver Eyes. Because to truly shine like this, like Ruby and Summer and Maria and all these previous SEW did, you need more than just DNA : you need the will to protect. A simple soul.

I just think it would be neat to explore that. It wouldn't even hinge on Salem being dumb : Mercury doesn't have Silver Eyes as it is, but he'd have the *potential* for them under different circumstances, given a reason to protect life. I don't think it would be farfetched to assume that Salem didn't look further than "SEW vaporizing Grimm, transmitted in a family" and not experimenting on whether angry children with plain grey eyes had the potential to vaporize her Grimm : it's not like she WANTS to create herself more ennemies.

And on the other hand, I just think there would be a poetic message within the abuse victim who dwells in darkness by habit, because they're convinced they have nothing better awaiting them... That no : you have good and greatness in you. You can do so much more than what you've been taught.

(Oughta be careful to not make it look like Mercury specifically is redemeeable because of those hidden Silver Eyes instead of just because he's a person who has more to offer to the world than just his father's teaching, bc that would turn a good message into a terrible one. But like, there's something there ? I think ?)

Idk people I've been having feels over this concept.

RWBY Analysis - Ozpin & Ruby, on the concept of leadership

In her song "Burned out", Dodie sings of her fans, how they look up to her and how uneasy that realization made her. For everyone is at the end of the day just as human as their neighbour; and having the hopes and expectations of others put upon you when you're just as lost as them can be a frightening thing. And this... made me think of Ruby & Ozpin.

On the subject of leadership, Ozpin tells Ruby the following : “Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?”

While I love this quote, I also have to analyze the drawbacks of this mentality and how they align with both Ozpin and Ruby. At the time, Ruby is a newly appointed leader and unsure of this reality. Ozpin's counsel give her the confidence needed to step up as a leader and take her duties more seriously, which in return appeases Weiss' and make their team all the more balanced. It is, in that context, good advice. A good leader should strive to lead by example and work hard to be worthy of the respect others give them, both in and outside of battle.

However there is one aspect that I find much more complex and that is... what does it mean to "always perform at your absolute best" and to have others follow you ? Note the use of follow, people letting you lead alone as opposed to "standing by your side" or a similar expression. It showcases in my opinion one of the biggest problem of Ozpin's leadership, but one that I feel has been inadvertently repeated by Ruby's.

- - - - - - - -

To cultivate hope and lies

When it comes to Ozpin's lies, I am of the firm belief that he had good intentions. Soo if you think he's the scorn of this earth, this might be a good time to tap out :D Now, this said I have a lot to say on the subject but I'll keep this short to stay on track (& make another unrelated post to develop my thoughts.)

In my opinion, at the core of his lies stand different beliefs. And on the subject of leadership, I think one stands out in particular and aligns with the advice he gave Ruby : the need to perform at your best to give others a reason to follow you.

Ozpin is the reincarnation of a centuries-old wizard and the headmaster of a school : what is one aspect almost every character agrees on upon meeting him ? "Oh, he's wise. He's knowledgeable. He has the answers. He has his shit together. He can tell us what to do."

Inherently, Ozpin's existence inspires respect and reassure. Just like to a child, a parent is all-knowing and unbreakable, Ozpin's status automatically give others the assumption that he knows what he's doing. And this, in my opinion, is one of the core problems of his leadership.

May it be with his inner circle, with RWBY, with ANYONE really; as soon as Ozpin reveals himself there are unspoken expectations that will chain him. He has the knowledge, he was here when it all began, he's the one calling the shots so he HAS to know exactly what to do. In that situation, breaking down and revealing to everyone how lost Ozpin is, how out of his depth... is unconceivable. And this is where Ozpin's conception of leadership becomes a problem as well. If you always perform "at your best" then you keep your doubts to yourself, you hide your sorrows and you put on a brave face. There are expectations in place that Ozpin wants (needs even) to meet. And thus the hopes of others and Ozpin's desire to fulfill them feed one another, as a perfect recipe for disaster. Because the more time Ozpin spends acting as if everything is under control, the more the expectations pile up... And coming clean about his humanity, the fact that he's just as powerless as the rest of them, becomes impossible.

And in that sense, breaking down the pedestal Ozpin had been put on was probably one of the best thing to do for his own mental health (though the method lacked a bit of compassion in my opinion xD)

The other part that somehow causes problem is how RELIANT on him his inner circle is. Despite their apparent friendship, Ozpin is the clear leader and as soon as he's out of comission, everything falls apart. Ironwood is the only one to call out Oz but in the end still wishes for the wizard to tell him what to do in period of stress. Qrow plays spy and takes order but doesn't seem really interested in stading at Ozpin's side as an equal. Glynda is stern but still defers to him etc...

All of them FOLLOW Ozpin but are just a few steps off from standing at his side. And this is something I see reflected in Ruby.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Following optimism up until it fails you

In Vol6, as secrets and lies are brought to the light, the loss of Hope that Ozpin feared so deeply happens. Is it worth it ? What are we even going to do with an immortal foe ? Maybe we should just go home. In that situation, Ruby is the simple soul who manages to keep her optimism, stand tall and say "No. We are taking the lamp to Atlas." And from then on her position as a leader and a bacon of light is reaffirmed. As Jaune put it in V4 "You gave us the courage to follow you."

Now is that, in itself, a problem ? Of course not. In fact I loved seeing Ruby come into herself and take the lead in Vol6. The problem in truth comes after, from the ramifications. From Vol6 onward, Ozpin has essentially been rid of his leader position and Ruby inherited it. And on a surface level sure, they are pretty different. Ruby is certainly closer to her partners : they're a family and they care about each other.

However, she is still clearly put at the lead. The others relied on Ruby's optimism and resilience to get to Atlas, and continue to do so. Setting foot in Ironwood's office, Blake tells Ruby "We'll follow your lead". They trust her, and whatever Ruby does... goes. They lie to Ironwood and Yang expresses some hesitations but eventually rally to Ruby's decision. And I emphasize this again : it is Ruby's decision. They did not pre-emptively discuss this as a group and then let Ruby be the spoke-person. Yang herself in Vol8 criticizes not their actions but Ruby's choices. Ruby calls the shots, Ruby is responsible for what happens, Ruby is their beacon of hope... Ruby is the new Ozpin.

Ruby has to be optimistic, and make the decisions and take risks because she's the leader. When Ruby leaves the room to break down, conversation & strategy stalls : the others don't take the lead. When things go south, it's Ruby's choices that led them here. Ever since Ruby has left Beacon, the only person who consistently encouraged Ruby to express the BAD, to share the negative has been Oscar. Even her silver eyes ask her to focus on only the happy memories to go off without a hitch ! The others comfort, they smile, they trust, they love even. But they don't want depressed Ruby finally grieving, they don't want honest "I don't know what to do" : they try to bring back confident and optimistic "we're gonna try" Ruby Rose. They want their earnest and happy but ultimately perfect leader that gives them reason to follow. In the end, even if they deeply care for her and have no shortage of warm coated reassurances for the teen, they still chain her down with their expectations. Ruby is NOT built for this. And I don't even say that in the "why is a kid calling the shots" sense, but "why is a kid put in a position where she's RESPONSIBLE for calling the shots ?"

Ruby is the youngest of the group apart from Oscar. The others should not rely on her this much to function. Blake telling Ruby that she looks up to her and that they'll follow her lead is admittedly sweet, but still builds up the pressure weighing her down. Blake calling out for Ruby's help when the teen has just been crashed to the ground by the Hound isn't even sweet anymore. They're all supposed to be equals. Blake is just as capable as Ruby. Calling out to your mind-controlled friend to bring them back from the edge is good. Calling out to your 17-old sister who's been beaten up because you need her to fight isn't.

They need to recognize that Ruby should not hold up the place alone. Because yes, they love her. But at the end of the day, Ruby is still the one bearing the weight of their decisions... Alone, even surrounded.

✦ ✦ BURNED OUT - DODIE ✦ ✦

He was certain; So was I There was comfort in her sighs

Dreams and ideas should not be the same thing You waited, smiling for this?

Oh, she'd want it, if she knew She could take it, I thought too Be careful, be cautious but you just wished harder You waited, smiling for this?

"But they love you!" Over and over, "they love you!" Thousands and thousands of eyes just like mine Aching to find who they are

"Oh, they love you!" Oh, you can feel how they love you ! Coated and warm but that's all they can do Words only get through if they're sharp

Oh, how fitting For one so fake Make me a fairy Whatever it takes

And just like a tale my dream was a scam You waited, smiling for this?

I am burnt out I smell of smoke It seeps through her cracks and so I start to choke Sentences sit in her mouth that are templated You waited, smiling for this?

Oh, maybe I'll talk about it... (maybe I'll talk about it) I can just talk about it... (I can just talk about it) I'll never talk about it... (I'll never talk about it) No, I cannot talk about it...

Don't build hope on something broken I am not cartoon. Cry for help, I am not joking I might just leave soon