#the literal robot girl being the Maiden at Heart
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Hot take, perhaps, but if/when Penny 3.0 happens I don't think she should have Floating Array, etherial or otherwise. It's just too bound up with her self-image as a Weapon instead of a Person. If Penny gets a sword, it needs to be a sword she can put down.
This is-- a fascinating take! I’m not sure I agree with it, but I think there’s some meaty ideas here worth unpacking. And I do think we agree on the fundamental premise (i.e. Penny’s autonomy needs to be foregrounded above all).
You assert that Penny’s current problem is that she sees herself as a Weapon and not a Person, and I don’t think that’s exactly the case.
One of the things I admire most about Penny is is that when people try and tell her who (or, insultingly, what) she is, she quietly but assertively refutes them. Though early on her conviction in her own personhood was somewhat shaky, when her friends encouraged her she took it to heart. After Ruby “I Love You And Your Beautiful Soul” Rose told her that she was real and Winter “Everyone’s Feelings Are Valid Except For Mine” Schnee told her that her opinions mattered, she got-- really quite bullish about this. To illustrate:
Random citizen: It's Ironwood's robot!
Robyn: [suspicious] Penny.
Penny: I-- I didn't!
[7.06, A Night Off]
Vine: I thought you were supposed to protect the people, not hurt them.
Penny: I would never hurt anyone.
Elm: Well Winter’s in critical condition, because of you.
Harriet: And you repaid her by stealing the power that should have been hers.
Penny: But taking the Maiden power was the only way to stop--
[8.03, Strings]
Cinder: You’re just a tool to be used!
Penny: You do not know what you are talking about.
...
Cinder: I don’t serve anyone. And you wouldn’t either, if you weren't built that way.
Penny: That is not… I choose to fight for people who care about me.
[8.05, Amity]
Which isn’t to say Penny isn’t prone to self-doubt, because she absolutely is, or that Penny doesn’t have a self-sacrifice streak a mile wide, because she absolutely does. But Penny wouldn’t have that reflexive, Janet-saying-“Not-a-girl”-style reaction to people telling her she’s nothing but a weapon unless she genuinely thought they were wrong. She’s not defensive, in these moments, even though she’s defending herself. She’s certain.
Maybe this is me splitting hairs with your argument, but I don’t think Penny’s issue is that she sees herself as a weapon. It’s that she sees herself as a hero. Not just a soldier, but THE soldier. The Protector of Mantle. She’s not Winter; she’s not most comfortable when she’s got orders she can hide behind so she can reassure herself she’s doing the right thing because someone else already did that math. She’s-- she’s Spider-Man. She feels a tremendous responsibility to save everyone she can, because that’s what you do. And yes that’s also, literally, what she was built for, so I can see where the argument is coming from, but I think it matters that the argument’s being made about someone from Remnant.
And on Remnant, your weapon is an extension of who you are.
We’ve never, as far as I can remember, seen anyone straight up switch their weapon. Ironwood made the nuke attachment for his pistols, but it’s still Due Process underneath. Maria only carries one of her two canes, now, but she didn’t make any design changes. Same with Yang and (lefty) Ember Celica. Jaune gave Crocea Mors substantial upgrades, but it’s fundamentally the same weapon; Blake chose to solder Gambol Shroud back together rather than replace it... and if anyone had an argument that using the same weapon might be too traumatic, it would be her. I mean, hell, the Messrs Oz have been using the same staff for millennia.
Weapons aren’t something you turn your back on. I don’t think it’s something that would occur to people. It would be like-- like turning off your Aura. That’s you.
Unless, of course, you’re Cinder.
Cinder gave up on Midnight after the Beacon arc, and we’ve never seen it since. She relies exclusively on Maiden weapons instead-- some of which she molds into forms quite similar to her old swords or bow, but still. She tossed it aside. This follows the logic of the show: Cinder discarded the weapons, and with them the person she used to be, when she found it all to be lacking. Instead, she embraces what she sees as a higher form of power.
I don’t think Penny would think of Floating Array that way; as a sign of her failure. Nor do I think she’d see it as the prophesy/burden your take implies.
Granted, Watts used a sword from Floating Array in order to get access to her code and install the virus; it ended up being the vector for a huge breach of autonomy and violation of consent. But so was Tyrian using Harbinger to murder Clover, and Qrow’s still using it.
And granted, Penny didn’t choose Floating Array in the same way most people chose or designed their own weapons. She was born with it; activated combat-ready. But then, that’s not so different from Jaune inheriting Crocea Mors, is it? It might not be what either of them would have selected or been most suited for if they’d had the chance to say for themselves at the start, but... well, we’re far from the start, now. And Penny does choose Floating Array, when it matters. When she conjures weapons in her new, self-created body, she instinctively reaches for what she knows, what’s familiar. Her father’s providence. So for me, the moment you’re alluding to... it’s already happened. The whole point of leveraging Ambrosius’ limitations in the way they did is that Penny is separated from the parts of her that can be weaponized-- she watches her synthetic body eat itself, consumed by its own self-destructive urges. It doesn’t get much more metaphor-made-literal than that!
What remains, then, is Penny. And Penny uses Floating Array.
If Penny comes back and doesn’t resume the Winter Maidenhood (which I think is... low on the list of options, given Winter’s desperation and the likelihood that Maiden transference shenanigans are going to be a part of the vehicle that allows Penny to return in the first place), then she won’t have a choice. Either because that will mean she’s back in a 3.0 robot body (in which case it’s the same lack of choice she always had; Pietro wouldn’t give her an unfamiliar weapon after all that) or because she’s a Regular Normal Flesh Gal now and unless her Semblance is telekinesis (which it may be!!! we don’t know!!!) a weapon like Floating Array just isn’t on the table. But all of that, as I’ve already laid out, has to contend with so many unknown factors. How she comes back, and in what form, and at which time.
If Penny does end up designing a wholly new weapon, to me that would signal total transformation, given the rules and themes of the world. And that... well, it depends on the execution, I suppose, but I think I’d find that a little alarming. That she’d choose to have so little of her old self in her new form. But on the other hand, maybe I’m dead wrong there! That could also be read as yet another gorgeous act of creation by the Maiden best suited to it; it could be Penny choosing to yes-and herself into doubling down on her identity. She could be SO MUCH of a person that she, and she alone, gets to make a new weapon for her new self. I’m not against any of that!
But even if that’s the case, I still think we’d see the hard light version of Floating Array again, especially if we have a Maidenbowl Redux. Even if I were to concede to your point that it’s too bound up in her self-image issues, that doesn’t imply to me that she’d have to move beyond it. If she’s to contend with herself, if she’s to decide she’s a person and not a weapon as you lay out, she’s going to put all of herself in the effort. As the speech goes, it’s a part of her. Even if it’s just a part, that’s still... a part. And this show has never been about severing yourself from your broken bits; it’s been about embracing them tenderly and letting them actually heal.
...also, Floating Array is *checks notes* cool.
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Charting Penny's course, on the eve of the V8 finale.
I just realized that one of the lengthiest essays I ever posted online was never copied or cross posted over here to Tumblr. A huge mistake on my part. For one, as a big fan of transhumanism, I got a kind of enjoyment mapping out the distinctions Penny Poledina’s series-wide arc, even with the flaws. Two, I’m actually kind of proud of the predictions I made at the end. Not because I was correct about one of them; I remarked how I’d LIKE Rooster Teeth to do something, not that they’d actually take the shot. But some of the stuff I thought of was fun, and I do feel a bit of validation for having my thoughts line up with the actual writers; especially in lieu of how heated other people’s reactions were to something sorrowful and unexpected.
Tonight I had been responding to a critique I'd found earlier on Tumblr. They had remarked that Penny's conflict in Volumes 2, 7 and 8 were just recycling the question of whether Penny was a real girl. That doing so was just boring as heck, when the question has been answered firmly with Penny becoming the Winter Maiden. I thought the question of “what makes a person a person, and not just a simulated pattern of behaviors with the instinct to survive?” was broad enough to get a few arcs’ worth of visitation. But I thought just responding with that one lengthy sentence could come off as belittling sarcasm. So tried to offer up an my actual interpretation and clear opinion. I got this monstrosity.
Volume 1 has Penny reaching out to make friends, V2 is finally admitting her robot nature to someone and vocalizing her fears about being a real girl. Volume 3 dangles the upcoming conflict of her wanting to exercise independent action, step away from the national military organization that bankrolled and housed her, and go to Beacon with her friends. But that got cut short.
Volume 7 picks up the thread of Penny’s independent actions. Not just with the ability to disagree with or full-on disobey orders, but her own value system and initiative. Not only is she asking Winter about how to make decisions in life, she is also silently (and not-so-silently) judging whether Winter is morally right, or even truly happy with her own choices. When she takes Freya’s hand, she asks something that no one has probably said to Freya in awhile: “Are you OK?”
Volume 8 is focused on the things being taken from her. Her previous family-unit-facsimile of James, Winter and the Ace Ops have labeled her a traitor and are now hunting her. Being targeted as the Maiden makes her distance herself from her friends, so they aren’t further harmed . In doing that, she also leaves behind her previous dedication, protecting Mantle, to launch Amity Tower and assist in the bigger picture of warning the entire planet. Then in the pursuit of that goal she damages herself, pushes her body to it’s limit, and says goodbye to her father.
Volume 8 might seem to backpedal, and spend much of the season emphasizing how inhuman Penny is. That’s the point. After Freya essentially canonizes Penny as human, with her ‘blessing,’ Penny’s new identity (to herself and the audience) is arrested in the most traumatic ways possible. Her body is peeled back and cut open. Her schematics are passed around and assessed by characters and factions more than ever. The hacking is the Atlas military complex literally claiming ownership over her, exploiting the body and code they created alongside Pietro. (In contrast with the earlier consensual control and teamwork with Pietro, which even then she hardly enjoyed). How much pain can you inflict on a person until they devolve, or abandon rational thought? Little wonder Penny ends up begging the team to end her own life. She’s now taken Winter’s role from Volume 7, her self-esteem having sunken even lower. “My life doesn’t matter!“
When that ghastly moment was (temporarily) resolved with a quick revelation and Jaune’s Semblance, it was a moment of mixed feelings for me in an episode I otherwise loved. But I really came around to it afterword. They have to head to Vault for a permanent fix pretty much immediately, so it doesn’t feel like the writers used Jaune to kick the can down the road until they felt like tackling it. A very direct benefit is that by pausing Penny’s affliction, Penny gains the ability to actually have a conversation with people, to have scenes beyond just desperately wrestling her. It also spared us the repeated dialogue of “I must go to the Vault. I don’t want to! I must - I don’t! - I MUST- I DON’T!” Seriously, that routine was wearing thin.
Whether any fans predicted Jaune’s Semblance being able to help or not, I’m pleased when characters are able to quickly conceive applications of in-universe fictional powers. This is such a refreshing improvement over how CRWBY previously couldn’t bring Ruby to even ASK about the Silver Eyes that put her in a coma.
There were missteps along the way. Ruby really should have reacted more to her friend coming back to life; RT leaning on the Fourth Wall doesn’t fully remove the sting. ("It seems we will have to wait!”) We also never see any of our protagonists outside of Ruby even react to the revelation of a robotic life form. When they meet Penny again at V7′s start, apparently ALL of them, even Oscar, were so acquainted with Penny’s story that none of them had any questions for her the entire Volume. There was no sense of betrayed trust, or trauma from watching one friend be ripped apart by another. These are disappointments, but not deal breakers. Now, I want to talk about how post-Ambrosius Penny may fit in with the rest of the story. Maybe it’s stupid of me to try to get this out by 4 in the morning the day the finale drops, but I’m on a role, and I want to get my ideas out in the open before they’re tainted by hindsight. Otherwise I won’t feel like even finishing this.
I’m not going to launch into a tangent with the metaphysical mechanics on whether Penny’s new body would have ‘logically’ been conjured or not. (For the record I think it works). I just want to talk about the message the show is conveying, and what they could do with it. My base assumption is that Cinder is going to get the Winter Maiden power. It would be great way to coincide with her (GASP) actual character development this volume. But more importantly, if she doesn’t succeed in her goal, and get an upgrade to compete with our leveled-up protagonists, I can’t see how she can be an interesting or threatening villain going forward. A few ways this can end for Penny:
Pietro could give up the last bit of his life to bring her back. He’d probably need to get assistance from Abrosius, since he’s lacking in equipment; he’s a brilliant scientist, so explaining it certainly wouldn’t be an obstacle. Maybe Penny would be back to being a synthetic, maybe she remains organic. Either way, it’s a compromise with having a functional villain, while keeping around a fandom darling. Personally, I think RT needs to evoke the spirit of Volume 3, and make people cry.
Actually killing Penny would be bold and stand-out. By taking away Penny’s function of a core that can be salvaged (as explained at the start of Volume 7), and having her body get incinerated just like Pyrrha, RT can fully signal “This character is dead, and can’t be resurrected.” The heart break would be brilliant, with Penny getting to know the joys of an organic body just to be immediately ripped away from life. This would beautifully parallel with General Ironwood. James clamped down on human emotion because he thought it would give him the strength to stand against the darkness. Penny’s friends made her MORE human in a loving act of rescue, but now have to watch as she dies like any other human. Both characters would be cautionary tales regarding the Atlas Arc’s question of Trust. To leave yourself open.
Alrighty, now that I’ve gotten to feel like an intellectual by making some proclamations of doom, I want to throw out a tinfoil hat theory that actually combines the two previous versions. What’s fascinated me for years, and the show hasn’t re-visited, is the nature of Cinder’s parasite. Can Cinder talk to it? Will it begin gaining sentience? What’s relevant to Penny is what exactly this thing DOES. When it comes to it’s soul-power-absorbing function, we’ve never actually seen it’s full extent. The process with Amber was interrupted, with half the power just zipping over to Cinder after Amber expired. With Raven and Penny’s power, Cinder’s arm only got a little taste of them both, since both of their captures were unsuccessful. What if Cinder’s parasite can absorb more than raw power? Pinnochio is eventually swallowed by a monstrous beast. We were all sure it would be The Whale. But what if it’s Cinder?
I’ll be watching the finale in about 5 hours. The idea that I could be correct about something that takes everyone else off guard (Penny’s death) has an electric feeling, and I totally understand why people can get hung up on the stories they compose in their head. But I don’t want to start thinking any of MY ideas HAVE to come true for me to get joy from whatever happens to Penny or Volume 8. Regardless, reviewing character arcs that preceded wherever we are in the present is always worthwhile.
#reddit#RWBY#rwby volume 8 prediction#penny polendina#pietro polendina#cinder fall#james ironwood#Rooster Teeth
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Mario Odyssey: Paper Kingdom AU
Or: The AU where I adapt Paper Mario characters into a kingdom in Mario Odyssey because while my brain is small, it has a big mind that keeps thinking up new ideas. This tackles the kingdom’s backstory, it’s travel brochure, why Mario ends up going there, and the frankly ridiculous political context he stumbles into. I might tackle the characters in another post.
Backstory
A long time ago, a creature made out of shadows and thin as paper rose out of an island. Calling itself- or herself- the Shadow Queen, the malevolent spirit could wield the power of seven stars, and her heart was pitch-black and full of chaotic hatred. She reigned over the land with an iron fist, terrified painted shadows at her command.
Until one day, a small faction of her own people turned against, led by four heroes and eight mages. They studied her magic, and turned it against her, folding themselves like paper get close to her and stealing her stars to destroy her body, the eight mages using their magic to separate her heart from her spirit
Enraged, her spirit lashed out, cursing the four heroes into suffering the same fate as her, reduced to spirits enclosed in coffins just as she unleashed the full power of her heart. But before she could turn her wrath on the other rebels, the eight mages sacrificed themselves, turning their souls into pure energy and setting it on the Shadow Queen’s heart, ripping it out and sending both the heart and the soul of the Shadow Queen into a deep sleep.
The only thing left was a prophecy- a warning. If a cruel monster and a gentle maiden marry each other in a farce, the Chaos Heart will rise again. If this happens, the Shadow Queen’s rise is imminent, and she will take over the body of the maiden. The only way to stop her is to find her Seven Stars, and use them to destroy her soul once and for all.
The throne of the Paper Kingdom is left symbolically empty, and the country is ruled by a council.
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Travel Brochure
Population: Sparse, but plentiful
Size: Wide
Locals: Shapeshifters
Currency: Paper fortune teller shaped
Industries: Construction, stories
Temperature: Average 73 °F
A craft for the ages
Multi-level: The Paper Kingdom is made of multiple levels carved within the plateau, and all of them have something to offer. From the charming beach town of Rogueport to the looming Castle of Chaos, this place is vibrant and full of carefully crafted layers.
Rich History: The Paper Kingdom’s history is something for the ages: A demon rising out of the earth, her own people standing up against her, a battle ending in tragedy, and a prophecy! And they know it too! Their own history is so rich and captivating, they transformed telling people about it into a spectacle. If you’re ever in the need of someone to give a grandiose speech, a Paper Kingdom storyteller is what you need!
Origami Festival: If you visit the Paper Kingdom during their fall season, you might bear witness to the Origami Festival! While considered unorthodox and dangerous, Shapeshifters recognize origami as an incredibly powerful type of magic, allowing one to become anything their heart wish. As such, they have festivities centered around this concept that lasts a week, where they put up tons of different and incredible origami displays celebrating the concept.
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How it fits in the game
For it’s location, it would be a decently sized island between the Luncheon Kingdom and Snow Kingdom, and would be the last place you go to before Bowser’s castle. From above, it would look rectangular, and most of it would be very elevated (think of a plateau, but in the middle of the ocean.) While it would seem small at first glance, the truth is that most of the earth is hollowed out, and there’s a lot of communities that live underground. You would be able to visit the two surface ones (Rogueport at the base of the plateau, and Castle of Chaos (Equivalent to Castle Bleck) on top of it) from the start, and at least one additional area under Castle of Chaos would unlock after the main story.
As for it’s place in the story, a wedding needs an officiant, and Bowser decided to get a storyteller from the Paper Kingdom because they’re known to give quite touching speeches. Bowser was originally planning to make his announcement of his marriage to Peach, take someone by force if he got denied, and leave the kingdom in disarray as punishment for denying him.
So you can imagine his surprise when not one, but two storytellers volunteered to be his officiant: Dimentio, royal jester and local agent of chaos who’s starting to find the current situation in the Paper Kingdom boring because it’s stagnating (albeit because they want to stop the hostilities temporarily for the upcoming Origami Festival), and the Beldam, eldest of the shadow Sirens and actively trying to resurrect the Shadow Queen.
Let’s be clear, here: Neither of them are really interested in Bowser’s marriage, but both are after the power of the Chaos Heart, which has the potential to arise from this union: Dimentio to create even more chaos, and Beldam to harness it’s power and bring the Queen back to life. He picked the storyteller who had actual experience with being an officiant: Dimentio, who officiated multiple noble weddings- and left a fuming Beldam behind. In her rage, she decided to make the King of Koopas not choosing her as an evil marriage officiant everyone else’s problem and promptly started freezing everything in sight.
And that’s where Mario and Cappy come in, looking for Power Moons...
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What’s going on?
A few weeks before Bowser shows up, the wedding of Blumiere, the son of an important count, and his human girlfriend Timpani (I don’t know from where she could be, probably New Donk CIty), was happening. However, in part due to a sinister prophecy that foretold the rebirth of the Chaos Heart if a furious monster lord (Blumiere is not human, and he has quite the unstable temperament) and a fair and lovely maiden (Timpani is a bit shy, cares for everything around her, and is nothing but kind) got married, and in part due to being a racist fuck, Blumiere’s father tried to stop the marriage by lethally attacking the bride.
Big mistake.
Blumiere ended up flying into a rage, messily killing his father with his bare hands and the assistance of a surge of magic, and destroyed the wedding venue. He then took Timpani, who was dying, to the origami craftsman, who earned himself a reputation of defying nature’s law by creating Olly and Olivia for an Origami festival, which was. Not planned. He then more or less forced him to heal his bride.
The craftsman was absolutely able to say no: Olly brought to life multiple office supplies and all of them are ready to attack on sight, but he still went and healed up Timpani, albeit altering her physical appearance permanently due to having to heal her up using Origami Magic. Olly does not take his father being threatened into helping someone well, and barges into Castle of Chaos two weeks later and self-proclaim himself king with the assistance of the office supplies, which he dubs his Legion of Stationery, because of a perceived disrespect toward his family.
He is twelve.
Blumiere- who renamed himself Count Bleck following his father’s death- is understandably outraged, and denounces Olly with the support of his companions. Said companions are: his wife lady Timpani whom he (and most of the kingdom) adores, a small bat-like woman and his spokesperson Nastasia, the strong but dimwitted warrior and champion O’Chunks, the robotic but emotional Mimi who works in banking, and local shit-bastard jester Dimentio. This is due to Bleck being a direct descendant of one of the eight mages that sacrificed themselves, and he’s forced to make a claim to the throne to be taken seriously in trying to stop Olly.
He does not want to take the throne.
So now, there’s a twelve years old and a pissed off count who murdered his father in a blind rage fighting over the throne of the Paper Kingdom, neither of them know what they’re going to do next, and no one is happy about this situation. The instability allows a third party to make an appearance and grab for the throne: The X-Nauts, a race of robotic aliens led by the tyrannical Sir Grodus. Their goal? Resurrect the Shadow Queen and use her power to remake the Paper Kingdom, and eventually the planet, in their image.
The good news is that neither Olly nor Bleck want the X-Nauts to succeed. Bleck because he knows they’re planning on resurrecting the Shadow Queen and he does not want that to happen, and Olly because Grodus’ second in command was mean to Olivia once. This means that they are able to put their difference aside, which means there’s still hope an all-out civil war can be avoided.
Speaking of Olivia, poor girl think her brother went evil and wants to reign over the Paper Kingdom like a tyrant. This is understandable, as he’s a irritable twelve years boy with six killing machine at his command and also starting his emo edge lord phase, and she’s a literal ray of sunshine. As such, Olivia decided to find other people willing to stop Olly, Bleck and Grodus from burning the country to the ground in their squabble, not realizing that, as the leader of this group, she is also making .a claim for the throne.
She is also twelve.
And now, there’s Beldam losing her shit over being turned down and freezing everything into unmoving sheets on the walls. Ironically, this common enemy might just be what’s needed to calm everyone down.
#writing#My writing#mario bros#paper mario#paper mario origami king#paper mario the thousand year door#super paper mario#pmtok#spm#pmttyd#king olly#olivia#count bleck#blumiere#timpani#tippi#dimentio
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RWBY V08E05 - Amity
Amity! A return to the adventures of RWB? With no Penny sadly. I doubt we'll get so many visual puns again but who knows, maybe they'll make friends with Whitley or at least have a cordial chat with him without killing each other. I have no idea, so let's do this!
Wow, great start. Poor Pietro, got copypasted there with no regard for his feelings.
I'm very glad I was wrong about no Penny.. Even if every second she's on screen increases the chances of something bad happening to her.
Why does the HUD look like someone used the wand from photoshop to extract it from a white background?
Wait, are they going to blow up the Dust to launch amity into space?
Penny is right, that doesn't seem like a good idea but it's also incredibly in-character for the show. Now even caves are a gun.
Someone at Rooster Teeth really likes the idea of little old ladies riding huge robots, and honestly? Can't disagree.
hmmmmmmmm not a big fan of pietro at the moment
oof, my heart
Maria continues to be the voice of wisdom. Sadly, I doubt Pietro is going to listen to her.
In the original tale Pinocchio ends up learning by making bad choice after bad choice. Penny doesn't seem to have that much in common with her inspiration but if she hasn't ever been able to make a choice at all, would it be surprising if the first time she makes a choice it ends up being a bad one? It wouldn't surprise me if this is setting her up to fly away from Amity (against Pietro's wishes) once she notices something went wrong with everyone else (making her vulnerable)
Welp.
look at that poor girl
Aaaa, that's the same expression she used when Ruby said Penny was still the Protector of Mantle. "my feelings don't matter, conceal, don't feel, don't let them kn— wait, never mind
but yeah, she's used to putting everyone ahead of her (because as a robot she supposedly doesn't know better, there's a reason that was her first thought when she was talking with Winter in last season)
aw poop
Cinder was moving so fast she left her shadow behind.
Great deranged expression and voice though. Did she bring both Neo and Emerald or just the latter?
Penny yes
Hey, 9 blades! For a second I thought they wouldn't remember that she lost one.
no, no, no, time for what? aaaaa
Now that we have more context, Cinder using her own experiences to know where to hurt people is * chef kiss *
Intentional reference to the PvP fight?
okay, I didn't expect badass Maria to actually fight using her robot but I blame my own lack of imagination
now I'm hyped, it also gives something the other two something to do.
I think the main problem here for the good guys is that if Pietro gets threatened there's no way Penny is not going to surrender. Although, maybe he gets kidnapped? That'd make him get "swallowed" by a whale... hm. Another possibility is that they threaten Pietro and Penny gets hacked "just in time"
you can't lie to me, subtitles, I know she was going to say bitch
lol at crashing the entire ship into maria to get her out of the way
bad mistake to hurt one of Penny's friends in front of her
Did anyone give a job to poor Emerald? I can almost see Cinder telling Neo to distract people while in the ship with Emerald sitting in the back seat trying to get noticed.
C'mon Neo, leave the old lady alone
…of course she wouldn't leave her alone, she's Neo, she likes playing with her victims
I wonder if Neo has a deeper plan than "killing this old lady while looking like her protege would be incredibly cruel and extra and therefore worth doing"
If the drifting was an accident, where did Emerald go?
waiting for the RWBY shmup
I understand why she's leaving Amity (to prevent their fight from destroying it by accident) but leaving Pietro alone feels like a bad idea.
…this HUD is a lot cleaner, I don't get it, it should be the same png overlay
anyway, took the screenshot to write "wow, Cinder is actually capable of thinking through her rage these days, good for her" but now that I think about it, I'm not sure if she's ever been fooled.
booo
I wanted more evil Ruby
Also, I'm literally loling at Maria yoda-ing Neo.
ah yes, neo, so graceful
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmm
mmm
oof, looks like that was a direct hit. And the worst part is that the second James hacks into Penny, I assume it'll will work that way. Probably her worst nightmare.
Yeah, no, this worked for spiderman because his nemesis wasn't right in front of him.
I like the idea of this shot but for some reason the execution looks weird. Maybe it's just awkward positioning, it's hard to tell the angles.
lmao
* cough *
I mean, yeah, saw that coming.
For a second I thought she was melting her face but then I remembered the one reason Cinder has that arm.
I'm going to need a diagram to know what Emerald was doing.
Yessss, no need for swords if you can make your own
I really need to know what she was doing inside because right now it feels like that was the worst excuse ever to get her out of the fight until the last possible second (and maybe make it another reference to PvP when Ruby exits the corridor?)
Did she finally see Pietro?
Emerald has so much faith in Cinder, sigh
I wonder if before the end of the show Neo will get to stab someone with her umbrella. Maybe it could even be Cinder
First time she gets knocked out?
Cinder with a long spear only means one thing. Someone is getting stabbed
Huh.
I hadn't thought about this until now but before this second I'd have said Emerald's semblance shouldn't work on Penny. Like, what part is she affecting to make Penny see the duplicates? But I guess it does work, somehow. Maybe reality gets processed through Aura.
Fire spear vs laser, who wins?
Giant laser wins
Glad that Penny is confirmed as the most powerful character in the show.
Poor Emerald, two lines this episode and they are both "CINDER"
Damn, she looks done with their crap.
And now she looks absolutely feral. Loving this.
I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. If she gets hacked now, Cinder still wins. She wouldn't get the maiden powers but at least she'd stop the transmission.
aaaaa
Emerald breaks my heart. So much love for someone who couldn't give a hoot about her.
At least Cinder seems to know her place with Salem, but I can't tell if she started like Emerald and got her love beaten down or if she just had different priorities after getting saved from what seemed similar circumstances.
Ah, Neo. Now to add to her resume that she beat a granny only because she got distracted.
oh, shut up, Pietro
Is this it? Is this where Penny "rebels"?
Even after all that fight, I think this is the best animation of the episode so far. It conveys so much resignation and annoyance.
I think this is the first time this season RWBY makes me teary-eyed. She finally said it!
This is too cute for this world.
Remember when I said that hug with Ruby felt like a goodbye? Well, this is much worse.
Wooo, she succeeded! (I hope, they did mention the message was a couple of minutes long)
But I'm also even more worried now because it feels like the one last thing she had to do.
They are back!
I wonder if the one character I miss the most will also get a shot.
Pensive Whitley? more likely than you think
He has a lot of potential, especially now that Salem -> Cinder -> Emerald are a thing, making cyclical abuse more of an explicit theme. Not sure if there's enough time to do him justice though, considering he's not much of a character.
"we don't want to reveal Vacuo yet, what do we do?"
"put them in the desert"
Yessss, Ilia got a cameo!
Are they pulling her back from voiceless purgatory?
Holy shit, wow, really didn't expect to see her.
Literally a pet. I wonder where the hound falls in the hierarchy
...why is she so happy? She's not supposed to be happy!!
siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh
yeah
was expecting this
Poor guy, I wonder if this is the first news he gets from her daughters.
Taiyang made me realize they didn't show Yang's team. Huh.
Oh, fuck you rooster teeth.
Fuck oofffff (RT, not you, Pietro)
Is Winter end up doing the right thing? She's obviously affected by seeing Penny's sword there.
Also, I wonder if her new armor is just that or if it's a bracing system to help her move so soon after getting beat. But I guess that wouldn't be necessary if her aura helped her heal.
Hopefully, if Watts escapes and tries to get everyone else to help (since I doubt he can beat all the guards on his own), Qrow shows he learned his lesson about trusting the enemy.
ah, there you go
Okay, this is an amazing reveal. Is Salem transforming Mantle into another land of darkness? Because that'd definitely explain why she was so unworried about the broadcast.
What a way to end the episode. A brief moment of hope completely destroyed, twice.
Penny has been raising so many death flags that her inevitable hacking lacked some impact. I'm still sad (and annoyed at RT for poor Penny being a magnet for suffering) but Watts being Watts maybe he did a bad job just to prevent Atlas to escape? And Penny seemed able to resist? aaaah, I don't know. Now that the hacking finally happened all the foreshadowing is over, anything could happen.
The worst part of the hack is that it modified Penny's thoughts. It wasn't a complete takeover, like with Pietro, it was a lot more insidious. Literally making true what Cinder told her. Ugh.
Looking back at the screenshots, wow, a lot of the episode was just them fighting, but there were some fun moments, like Maria kicking Neo's ass.
Very curious about where it's going. Both the Penny plot (there's absolutely no way hacked Penny doesn't fight Ruby, there's probably a rule written in the universe about having mind-controlled people fight their loved ones) and the river of Grimm which was an excellent secondary gut punch. Really, loved that reveal. "You thought things were bad? lol"
I think that's all for now, until next time!
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I know you probably posted about Penny awhile ago, but I’d like to through some of my thoughts into the ring. I wasn’t personally hurt by her turning human, I was more just annoyed that they had an interesting premise because not even Ambrosius was sure what she’d be after that. flesh and blood? A soul made physical? A wireframe aura? A fourth thing? And then just. Kaput, she’s dead, there goes all that. Now watch Winter. The end. It wasn’t tragic. It was annoying.
So I have talked about Penny a lot, but... I can talk about it more.
I’ve talked before about how problematic it was and I’ve shared lots of posts from other people. It’s my opinion that even if people weren’t personally hurt themselves, it’s important to recognize the hurt other people have experienced over these choices. But even outside of the problematic way it was framed and the problematic undertones of it, it’s just not good writing. Let’s get into it.
Trigger warning for death and mentions of suicide
First problem: Ambrosius can’t break the rules, so he can’t break the rules in order to break the rules. So he can’t make a human body without a schematic, and he can’t create something and then have it not vanish when he makes something new. He can’t kill, but a flesh and blood body was not the only option he had and he shouldn’t have been able to make it without a schematic and have it stick around. And before anyone says it, the other conclusion we could come to is that Penny’s soul somehow conjured a physical flesh and blood body, and that is - in my opinion - plain stupid. We’ve never been told auras could even sort of do that, so... Yeah. The use of the magic system is incredibly lacking in either case, no matter what justification you can find for it. Plus, with no in universe explanation of how Penny’s body was made, fans are left scrambling for explanation. Point against their execution.
Now let’s talk about choice of framing.
From having Penny - the robot body - clutch her head, to framing things from her point of view, to having her reach out, to showing you her perspective as her friends and the new, perfect, flesh Penny walk away and leave her behind to die... Idk how we’re meant to see this as an empty machine, rather than a person in pain, a person dying. But the narrative and the main characters treat this as something easily moved on from, as something that doesn’t matter at all, that they aren’t even really feeling anything about. Even Penny herself just looks mildly disturbed by the image of herself dying, and then is all smiles and joy immediately after. This literally made me wonder if the writers were intending to somehow resurrect the robotic version of Penny as a villain - except that she vanishes with the creation of the bridges. It’s clear they intended for us to see this as nothing more than an empty vessel, but animated the body to act like a person with a perspective that we see out of. That makes their insistence that the robotic body has no humanity incredibly hard to believe. Point against their execution, again.
And, as you point out, there are ways they could’ve made this transformation interesting that they didn’t do. For one, like I said before, it doesn’t make sense for Ambrosius to break his rules in order to avoid breaking his rules. He himself expressed interest over what would be left, so instead of just turning Penny into a flesh-human, they should’ve done something more interesting. The ideas I have for this are Penny being a bodiless spirit (like Tikal in Sonic Adventure,) having her soul have to take refuge in someone else’s heart, inaccessible, but alive (like Kairi in Kingdom Hearts 1,) or having her soul have to latch onto some other non-sentient robotic form like one of the robotic soldiers (like in Fullmetal Alchemist.) All of these things, I think, could be very interesting and leave Team RWBY with a strong consequence to their actions. Instead, the CRWBY writers chose to turn Penny into a flesh person, which not only had some bad connotations, but also was the most boring and pointless transformation. And they also did nothing interesting with it. As soon as I heard about this transformation, I thought ‘they better have her struggle now that she can’t do the things she used to’ but they just had her... Somehow have such complete mastery of the Maiden powers she got two days ago that she’s able to completely recreate the exact same abilities she had in her robotic form as a flesh-human maiden. No interest at all! What’s the point of turning her into a flesh human if it’s not going to provide any struggle or tension? Point against their execution, again. They chose the most boring path and then they didn’t do the only interesting thing they could’ve done with it.
Aaaand then onto the next point, the choice was totally pointless.
Why was her turning into a flesh human completely pointless? Because they could’ve killed her just as easily as a robot. I’m not kidding, this choice is maddening when you get into the various problems. Penny getting hacked contributed very little outside of fleshing out the season, her getting turned into a flesh human didn’t matter, because she just died two episodes later with zero challenge added due to her being human. The only thing her getting hacked did was force our mains to get off their butts, but they should’ve done that anyway and it makes them look selfish that several of them acted like they didn’t have to do anything to save anyone (after directly putting many of them in danger) until one of their own personal friends was in danger. But Cinder attacks Penny and wounds her, and then Penny decides for some reason that there’s no time to heal her, and in order to make sure the maiden powers go towards the girl who was just as bad as Ironwood in V7 and half of V8 her trusted friend Winter, who was slotted to receive the powers in V7 already, so Penny even getting the powers was pretty pointless.
Not to mention, Penny being alive again was treated by the show like it wasn’t that emotional and didn’t need to be gone into - with even Ruby, who was sobbing at the sight of Penny’s dead body in V3 and couldn’t even say ‘combat ready’ in volume 5 without having an emotional reaction
Didn’t really act emotional when Penny came back from the dead. So what was the point of Penny returning?
There’s nothing about Penny getting her new body that was done well. From how it was framed, to how it was executed, to how they chose to phrase things when the characters justified changing Penny’s body, to making Penny an unwilling participant (consent under threat of death isn’t consent,) to not properly setting up the rules, to breaking the rules they just announced, to not doing anything interesting with the transformation, to then making the transformation not matter at all in the end because they just killed Penny off two episodes later.
It’s honestly just bad. The whole thing is overall bad.
#rwde#anti rwby#anti-rwby#rwby bashing#rwby hate#rwby criticism#if you hate seeing anti rwby please block the tags
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So anyway I think that the heroes are going to snatch control of Atlas right out from under Salem and Ironwood’s noses. It’ll take a few episodes, but it’ll happen by V8′s end. Here’s the probably inaccurate spiffy:
Ironwood and Salem are busily playing army and being absolutely ignorant to their own and each other’s underlings thinking maybe they’re in the wrong. So while they think they are controlling the Battle For Atlas (TM), everybody else is going to be trying to save people. Emerald’s going to get to the lamp first(ish).
Emerald: JINN! I must ask you something!
Jinn: For reasons related to metaknowledge I like you a lot kid, so I’ll warn you to word your question very carefully.
Emerald: Well... shit, give me a minute.
Jinn: Time’s frozen, I’m magic like that. Take as long as you need.
Exactly what Emerald asks is up in the air, but it’s probably either ‘what is Salem hiding’ or ‘how can Cinder be freed from Salem’ and either way Jinn will make it clear Emerald needs to get to Ruby, so Emerald shrugs cause she was totally going to jump ship from Salem anyway (woman is dancing murder, literally) and so she waltzes out to pick up Oscar and then they run into JYR.
Yang: You framed me!
Emerald: Yeah but I’m good now. See? Saving kids, got the relic--
Ren: I HATH SEEN HER VIBES, AND SHE DOTH BE GOOD NOW.
Yang: Wait but how do you know it’s not an illusion?
Ren: YOUR VIBES DOTH PROCLAIM AFFECTION FOR THINE PARTNER, OF DEEP AND INTENSE KIND, YET YOU DOUBT YOUR VALUE TO HER--
Yang: Okay okay I believe you!
Oscar: Hey I’m kinda bleeding to death can we escape already?
And as they rush out of the whale, there is DRAMA in the Schnee mansion. Ruby’s panicking over Penny, and because Penny came in hot she can’t touch her with her bare hands so she’s getting Weiss to summon up some remote gloves for Emergency Robot Surgery and totally ignoring that pain in her heart. Meanwhile Klein’s patching up Nora--
Nora’s Past: Excuse me, sir, I need to reveal myself now. You don’t mind do you?
Klein: This girl is pretty badly hurt, so I do rather mind--
Nora’s Past: Not to worry, I won’t interfere in your healing and you can have a conversation that sets up a future plot point.
And Blake and May are talking about how they robbed people to save people and Blake’s kinda trying to hint maybe that the situation’s pretty bad up here without offending May who is really just this close to exploding.
May: If you can’t give me one good reason to stay I’m taking the jet down to Mantle!
Whitley: Jacques has a work computer in his office, maybe you can reactivate Mantle’s heat from there?
May: ...fuck it get me some cocoa.
And indeedily, it turns out that there are programs to reactivate the heating grid! And switches to flip the direction of the Mantle/Atlas chute system! And a bunch of other stuff that’ll help Mantle, and May’s getting into it when she hits THE JACKPOT. You know how Jacques got elected a councilman? And how he got some key codes for that? Well, being the brilliant genius that he is, he put those key codes on his home computer and nobody’s thought to erase them since his arrest. Which means May can spoof Atlas systems to think ONE council member is doing things!
[Interlude with Cinder going aircar shopping, surprisingly easy when the city stores are abandoned. She has a run-in with the Glass Unicorn, which does not survive. We get a close-up of her face, and she’s frustrated that this isn’t satisfying her.]
But only having one councilmember’s codes isn’t enough to do more than move some people around the subways to safer places--great and all, but won’t solve the problem. If they had more control of Atlas’s automated systems, they could maybe do something, but the only way to do that is get more councilmember control codes. Like a majority. That’s two codes, and there’s no way to--
Blake: Wait doesn’t Ironwood have two seats?
May: Yeah but he’s not going to work with us.
Blake: We’re already spoofing Jacques’ codes, we can spoof Ironwood’s.
May: We’d have to get to the terminal in the military compound!
Blake: ...or the one in Atlas Academy. I need to make a call.
Cut to team FNKI, not at all chillin’ in their dorm. They’re ticked for so many reasons, they’re antsy, Neon gets a call from Blake and listens for a bit before saying ‘hey everyone wanna go infiltrate the Headmaster’s office and save Atlas?’ And Flynt’s like ‘You know what, sure.’ And four teenagers with attitude Power Ranger their way through some very confused soldiers and then Ivori puts on his hacker glasses and says--
Ivori: Oh crap guys. Ironwood only put the Headmaster codes on this terminal. Not the military council codes.
Neon: Paranoid bitch.
Ivori: Also he knows we’re here now.
Meanwhile JYR and their new pals (who may or may not include Hazel and Neo, depending on how effective Oscar is at handing out redemption arcs) have a bit of a tiff over the whole ‘recruiting bad guys’ thing and Emerald’s like ‘Guys fine arrest me but I literally have all the knowledge you need and for plot reasons we need to go to the Schnee mansion now’ so Winter’s like ‘Oh shit! I hate plot in my house!’ and she checks the clock and yeah, there’s PLENTY of time to hop over before the bomb arrives and, hey, probably fugitives, so dad Ironwood can’t yell at her for this!
[Interlude with Fiona and Joanna, who start characterizing each other and mention Important Plot Details that will probably come into play in the next volume but the fandom’s all going to speculate about how it’ll come into play this volume because we’re like that.]
So back with Ruby, she’s managed to juryrig Penny back to life and there’s this big emotional moment and Ruby has a breakdown and Weiss is all ‘I’m not equipped to handle this shit but I’ll try anyway’ and Penny has a breakdown and Weiss is like ‘yeah okay, cuddles and comfort time, come here you crazy girls’ and THEN Whitley bursts through the door and shouts ‘GUYS GUYS TEAM FNKI’S ON TV AND THEY’RE SAYING SWEAR WORDS!’
Neon: I’ve come to make an announcement: James Ironwood is a bitch-ass motherfu--
Ironwood: Okay this teenage rebellion is stupid. Luckily it’ll be easy to take back control of Atlas Academy because I am always right and never miss anything.
Random Intern: But Sir! Aren’t You Worried They Will Hack Atlas’s Systems?
Ironwood: Allow me to exposit on how impossible that is and how they would need three council codes to make a majority that could let that happen.
Camilla, in her office: YO BITCH! REMEMBER ME?!
That’s right, Camilla’s noticed this TV broadcast, put together the pieces, and as scared as she is of Ironwood she’s noticing that he’s not really doing so hot fighting Salem so, what the heck, she’s going to tell everyone that Ironwood killed Sleet and he’s a treasonous traitor and soldiers should totally turn to Robyn Hill. Because she just sent her own council codes to ALL FOUR OF THE HAPPY HUNTRESSES. Also she says this is a pre-recorded message and she probably got killed by her doorguards.
[Meanwhile, the Hound gets a smoothie. It’s plot-detail flavored.]
Ironwood rages, but it’s okay! He’s got Robyn’s scroll! So he’s got the codes, he’s still in control aaaaaand Fiona’s already changed the password. But you know this plan is totally going to fall apart without Robyn, who’s trapped in her cell, so he marches down there to kill her before she can become a problem and comes face to face with Cinder God Damn Fall.
Ironwood: Get out of the way, I need to kill that woman.
Cinder, flipping him off: Fuck you, Atlas scum, I do what I want!
Hardlight generator: Hey why are you reaching for me scary lady OH GOD THE PAIN I AM DEAD THE PRISONERS ARE FREE BLEGH--
Watts: Let’s get out of here while they’re fighting each other!
Cinder: ...yeah, that, that was totally my plan, yeah.
So Cinder and Watts skedaddle and the soldiers are like ‘uh should we catch them’ and Ironwood’s all ‘WE MUST KILL ROBYN’ and Robyn has no idea why but she’s not going down easy and Qrow’s screaming how Ironwood’s just the worst and Jacques is cowering in a corner because everybody has guns. Realistically a whole bunch of soldiers are able to easily subdue Qrow and Robyn and Ironwood gets ready to kill them when suddenly--
Raven: Looks like I need to save your weak ass, bro.
Robyn: Who’s the hottie?
Qrow: A fucking bitch.
Raven: Yeah, okay, but I brought Tai along so...
Taiyang: Anybody want a brownie? No? Fine. Sic’ em Zwei.
Obviously the might of the War Corgi (and yeah, the Spring Maiden, sure) is enough to get Robyn and Qrow to safety, and they also snag Robyn’s scroll on the way out, and Robyn gets informed of basically everything in one long ‘thank god you’re back’ speech by May who is REALLY tired of wrangling all these teenagers and their drama, but she’s interrupted when the Ace Ops land at the Schnee mansion and bring in their drama and should they turn on Ironwood like Camilla says and Blake says some stuff about ‘did you promise the man he is or who he pretends to be’ and Penny also has lines and there’s so much yelling--
Watts: According to my notes, Penny’s at the Schnee mansion.
Cinder: My orders are to deliver you to Salem.
Watts: But Cinder, there’s a lot of plot at the Schnee mansion right now! I know you looove ploooooooot!
Cinder: Are you trying to tempt me to do a dumb?
Watts: What can I say, I’m mischievous.
Cinder: ...okay, you can drive yourself right back to Salem--I mean it! Drive STRAIGHT BACK, don���t get yourself CAUGHT AGAIN, and you tell her that you ordered me out.
Watts: You have my word!
Watts tells Salem Cinder totally abandoned him of her own free will.
So Cinder Fall strides into the conflict and she’s all smug--right up until she sees EMERALD IS WITH RUBY and she just flips out like ‘what the shit! What the shit girl what are you doing?!’ And Emerald says ‘I’m doing this for you! Allow me to begin my melodramatic speech about--’ Cue the Hound smashing through the window with a horde of Grimm and suddenly everything is chaos nobody knows who’s on anybody’s side Penny’s being fought over by everyone and--
Penny, eyes red: THE VAULT--Aaaaargh!
Ruby, watching her fly out: Oh yeah, she was hacked, right, forgot.
Cinder:
The Hound:
The Ace Ops:
JNOR:
RWBY:
TRQ:
May:
Robyn: Kids, go after her, we’ll clean up here.
Everyone RUNS OUT OF THE SCHNEE MANSION and it’s a race to get to the Vault using every method they can and Cinder’s melting the ground and getting into fights left and right and the Ace Ops are showing their true colors by getting random citizens out of the way and meanwhile the Happy Huntresses are coordinating everything in Atlas AND Mantle and it’s all chaos but it’s clear that Ironwood’s not in control and then--
in the vault--
there he is, holding Penny’s sword. And he’s picked her up and started literally banging her against the door because the vault won’t open--
Cinder: Yo, moron, you need to do it right.
Cinder: *Whips out a frying pan and conks out Ruby*
Cinder, sweetly: Penny, if you don’t open that door I’ll melt her booooones~!
Welp, there’s no way to solve that hostage situation, so Penny reluctantly opens the Vault of the Winter Maiden and it looks like, oh no, somebody bad is going to get the staff, when all of the sudden--
Nora: THIS is what I’m good for!
Nora’s Past: Go get ‘em girl!
Nora just catapults herself into the vault, grabs the staff and--before anybody can react--gets it to land next to Mantle. And THEN the Ace Ops come in and say ‘yeah, uh, Ironwood, totally under arrest for being stupid’ and turn off the hackersword which lets Penny get Ruby away from Cinder. Cinder’s right ticked so she reaches for the staff with her Grimm hand but, in a fit of realization, Nora decides to use the staff to regenerate Cinder’s lost arm (which destroys the Grimm Arm entirely).
Cinder: Wait... what the fuck? Why’d you do THAT?!
Nora: I have complicated in-character reasons but the truth is I’m setting up a plotline for you to doubt the path you’ve chosen so you’ll turn on Salem down the line.
Cinder: Well now I’m feeling existential. I think I’ll go back to Salem and whine about this whole crazy day.
So anyway the volume ends with reinforcements arriving, Robyn the new leader of the Kingdom of Mantle, Ironwood locked up for being a moron, Salem just totally blindsided by the complete upset of the board, and Nora offering to regenerate Yang’s arm. Yang says no because she gave up her arm for something precious and her new arm was a gift plus it’s awesome plus her sister’s dating a robot so saying ‘I don’t like metal arms’ is kinda hypocritical.
....
And then in the stinger Cinder’s staring in a mirror and Pyrrha says ‘Hello again.’
#RWBY#V8#Spoilers#V8 Spoilers#Speculation#Ruby Rose#Weiss Schnee#Blake Belladonna#Yang Xiao Long#Actually a whole bunch of characters#This is probably going to be wildly inaccurate#No mention of Willow's secret elf powers#But let's see how badly I can guess
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RWBY Volume 8 episode 14 rant
I actually really like the finale. At first I didn’t really enjoy it cause so much happened and it was way to fast. But after a second watch I found myself really enjoying the episode.
I think it definitely had its flaws but I think it also shined spectacularly. Like the whole volume had a problem with sidelining the main girls (tho it did a lot of really good character interactions that I absolutely adored) but honestly I’d give this volume a 9/10.
I think that everyone can agree that Penny was the true main character when it came to the atlas arc and honestly as someone who wasn’t a big penny fan until after vol 7 I can honestly say that her story broke my heart.
When she came back to life I knew it wasn’t for long, I mean that kinda ruins the way death works in the series. So I knew she was gonna die by the end. But that doesn’t mean it hurts less. I think her death was done beautifully. All she ever wanted was to protect her friends and make her own choices. And people kept getting in the way of those wishes.
I’m not gonna get into the whole trans allegory and how many people read her character as that and how they are disappointed in her death cause they think rt hates trans people. (*cough* May is standing right there *cough*) Cause I’m not trans and I don’t want to speak over the people who actually are and that are having very valid feelings while grieving her. But the people who are damning the show because of it are kinda getting on my nerves.
Anyways, Penny’s last moments was her last chance to make her own choice. Even if it was the choice to end her life. Honestly the whole volume she knew this was going to happen. I mean having the maiden powers basically puts a big sign on your back saying, “HEY CINDER COME KILL ME”. But she made the sacrifice to insure that the good guys at least wouldn’t lose everything. And it’s heartbreaking because all we want is for Penny to finally live the life she always wanted. To be with her friends and feel the love that comes with that. But sadly she doesn’t get to experience that.
I think in a show like rwby, that’s basically about war, it’s really appropriate to show people that not everything will be okay. The good people die. For no reason. And it sucks. But that’s war. And I understand the grief, really I do. But in no way does Penny’s death ruin the show for me. If anything it makes me love and understand her character more.
(And penny was always a real girl robot or not so bite me fandom)
I also am so happy with how the girls fell trying to save each other and how Weiss was fighting for her found family even through her grief. She literally had no aura and yet still went full strength against a nuts maiden.
And omg Blake baby I love you and I can’t wait to see you shine in volume 9. Also bumbleby is canon suck my dick haters.
Same with Ruby, she has so much trauma to process and my girl needs a long hug.
And Jaune is the mvp in my heart. Literally I become a Jaune stan recently and I’m so sad for everything he did in this episode. He is the support but Penny was 100% right, healing would have taken to long. I mean come on, Cinder was right there it was a matter of seconds before she pushed Weiss aside and finished the job. Jaune did what Penny asked but the blood is 100% on Cinder. And then the weapon that has never truly been his was shattered. I can’t wait for his journey next volume.
Winter, omg, Winter. Literally I have no words. Her character is so much and I don’t think I can talk about it rn. Just, I love her and I am so so sad for her.
Cinder has finally become a truly terrifying villain and I’m all here for it.
All that out of the way, I loved this volume and I can’t wait for the next one. I know a lot of people a disappointed and I understand that, I really do. You are 100% valid in your sadness. And I understand a lot of people are mad about it not only being rwby who fell into “ gay super hell” but imo I’m so excited for Jaune to be there lol. (I literally yelled “YES” when he fell lol)
I love rwby and I loved this volume. Can’t wait for more ☺️
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RWBY V8E5 LiveThoughts
And now for the last episode before the HUGE break they’re taking. Seriously, February? Damn, whats going on at RT?
It matters not. Lets see what this weeks episode has for us.
And here we see Aminety Colloseum, the place that Atlas SHOULD have weaponized the moment it rolled its way back here. Seriously look at it; floating free away from everything else...you could mount missile launchers and laser batteries and CIWS batteries on it, launch fighters from it, let dropships deploy through its base...a floating aircraft carrier of unprecidented size.
Or maybe turn it into a weapon...use its drive system to focus Dust energy into some kind of gravitational force...thats just me though.
Missed oppertunites...ah well.
You CAN see its been adjusted though, it looks less like the sports arena from its last apperance and more like a floating coms hub, with those dishes on the outside and the huge spire.
Intersetingly if you look in the upper right corner the moon is there but almost completely covered by the storm Salem summoned. Interesting.
Wait why is PEITRO out there? With like...no supports? Seems kinda dangerous to send the weak old dude out there...
...thats a bomb. A Dust bomb in pipe bomb style form but thats very much a bomb.
Yes, Penny, danger indeed.
Atmospheric orbit. Ahhh that must be the low-level orbit path that they need to ensure it doesnt loose power. The part where you coast along with almost no drag.
Like what the X-15 hit in our world, and punched through at least once.
WAIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT. Thats some kind of loader mech. THATS A FUCKING UTILITY TITAN. WHEN DID ATLAS GET ONE OF THOSE?!
Also thats a jet engine.
And Maria’s piloting it. To quote Daimon Baird; I know wha thappens when you let an angry chick loose with a power loader.
Multiple bombs...wait. Thats the mine that RWBY fought in with the Aces, the one that almost blew the fuck up. They’re...
Oh. I get it now. They’re gonna use the blast to fling Amneity into upper orbit and stabalize it. Clever. Not exactly SAFE, but clever.
Just hope the mine doesnt go anywhere important. Those tunnels are going to turn into firestorms.
Cute, she thinks she can stay and help. Trust me, Penny. You’re better off running.
MARIA CASUALLY DOING THE MEXICAN GRANDMOTHER THING WITH HER MECH...THE HIP HAND. MY GOD.
Oh, and his chair has gravity restraints too. They...gonna handle the impact of the launch? I mean thats literally a fuel/air bomb under them. Dust/air...
Well Maria seems alright with it.
OH GOD DAMMIT. Its Cinder isnt it? Fucking bitch...
On the positive side if she DOES hitch a ride then they get a chance to give her the ol’ “Long fall special”.
Lets see your maiden powers save you from a fall from near orbit.
Well then, she burned right through the floor. Interesting. Maiden powers or her own, who knows...I do admit seeing her ride the ship in like that is kinda cool.
The eagerness in Cinders remaining eye interest me.
Also, even when using maiden powers, her dead eye emits nothing. So that whole parts just gone.
Secondary note, I think they’re standing on the...Shade emblem? Shade is the swords I think. Vale is the axes, Atlas is the staff, Havens the lamp. Doubt it means anything.
Ahhh, okay I was gonna say, that launch was...kinda lackluster. But the blast is being used as a BOOST on top of the four existing external thrusters. Like the yellow emergency turbines on the outside of the Pillar of Autumn in the end cutscene of Halo Reach
Dust explodes in its own individual colors. The blast under them looks like a Pride festival.
Also Penny just going WHAP like that amuses me, whereas Cinder just crouches. Guess she knew what was coming.
I dont see how the blast is helping through...maybe its the pressure wave and we cant see it right.
Now THAT is a command and control table!
Based on the image I can see, the map is showing “Atlas Mantle” in the middle in green, Aminety in red to the north, and the whale as its own red marker just off to the west a bit of Atlas/Mantle. So now we know where everything is stationed.
The scales all kindsa weird tho
Ah THERES the G-force. Emeralds literally stuck to the floor.
And because Cinders an unoriginal bitch, fire swords. Im not impressed ot say the least.
On a side note that DOES mean that radiobandit was right about her powers, so theres that. I’d wager this is a combination of her semblance and the maiden abilities.
For those who follow me, Cinder’s blades here are similar in look to what Ash Vulcan can summon, minus the fire. His are more of a cooled obsidian look.
They are, however, as sharp as these are, but much less sturdy. Ex; the one that pins itself to the wall by Penny’s head would have shattered on impact, which Ash uses as a secondary ability. Because no one likes a hundred glass shards in their eyes...
OH HELL YES. Maria with the mech. Now, Cinder...TASTE METAL FIST.
RT...I salute you. Angry mother figure piloting a giant robot screaming “get away from her you bitch”. ALMOST had it. Almost.
What smacked into her though. Neo?
Yes, Neo piloting their escape craft. Interseting.
Emerald looks completely useless and confused and Neo is suddenly very much in a realization shes inside a tin can and MARIA IS OPERATING A GIANT TIN CAN OPENER
Emeralds semblance works on Maria. Interseting, so it must bypass eyes. Effect the brain specifically. Note to self for Chrys on that...
WHY did Neo take Ruby’s form when shes fighting Maria? On that Maria seems very happy to brawl on the ground now. Old habits die hard, I guess.
Additional math note; “broadcasting range” is, by this numerical, 543.523 of...whatever Remnant uses as units. On Earth, the edge of outerspace is almost exactly 100 km, or 62 miles, straight up. So going by that measurement...
(Doing the math here hang on)...1 km is equal to 5.43 of Remnants distance units. Lets just say 5.5. Assuming Remnants edge is the same (but everything we’ve seen so far hints that it is, or at least very close)
Alternatively, since we heard klicks used in V4, but miles used in After The Fall, we can assume this is one of those, meaning that either broadcast altitude on Remnant is ABSURDLY HIGH, because 500km is literally 5 times the edge of space on earth, and 540 miles is ALMOST 9 TIMES AS HIGH. Either way Im pretty sure this is the first measurement of Remnants units we’ve seen.
Alternatively alternatively, judging by the arrows we see, these might be required velocity to maintain orbit, which MAY make a bit more sense but it doesnt really fit. Low orbital velocity on earth for example is 17,000 KPH. Even with the math above, theres still a TITANIC difference.
And now we see the numvers going down again because CINDER BURNED A HOLE IN THROUGH ONE OF THE STABALIZERS. Bitch.
Again on th e weaponizing the colleseum; look at all this empty space. They didnt even remove it from when it was a consorse for the festival. You could put SO MANY weapon emplacements...the landing pads are still there!
Oh so now Cinders a Dawnblade from RWBY is she.
And exploding arrows too. Alright then, sure, why not.
Not sure what the point of this little bit was, aside from Penny trying to draw Cinder off and Cinder going back because...evil? Bait for Penny? Who knows.
Oh yeah, Marias having a GOOD time. Also, Neos face when she gets kicked in it; “NO, NOT THE SANDEL!”
Also the disrespect from Maria. Yes. Suck it, Neo.
Also theres some timeskippage, as there is NOT a 2 minute gap between when we see the clock the first time and when we see it now. I dont think, anyway. Im sure theres math to be done but it serves the purpose its suppose to, for tension.
Uhhhh...Cinder, please. Your Salem’s most bottom of bitches right now. She favors Hazel and Tyrian over you.
Did Cinder really just try for a does not compute moment. Or is she just out of ideas.
Cinder stealing the maiden powers reminds me of the Grip of the Devourer perk from the Necromatic Grips in Destiny 2. Mainly the green energy flowing. I know thats Pennys aura stuff but it does remind me.
Ahhh they got a plan with Emerald then. Interesting. Also Neo taking advantage of a distraction sounds like her.
And Penny ONESHOTS Neo. Lets be real here, without aura? She’d be LIQUID. Or maybe ash. Not sure how Penny’s funnels (THEYRE STILL FUCKING FUNNELS DAMMIT) works.
Annnnddd you forgot shes a robot and sees aura didn’t you.
Again, without aura, she’d be dead. Actually, she might legit be dead considering that scream. That sounds like the noise someone makes as their organs are fried by high intensity radiation. Not too mention the MASSIVE BURN MARK on the back wall there.
Either way; GET FUCKED BITCH.
Very dramatic, Emerald, but really, come on. Penny has lasers. You would get maybe one more shot (from a weapon that has, at best from my viewpoint) a caliber equal to MAYBE a 9mm pistol. That stuff doesnt have the penetration power required.
If Penny wasn’t nice and more interested in saving Peitro...you’d be dead. Ripped asunder and Cinder made even worse.
A pity, really, Penny has a heart. But...hey. Real girl.
I feed upon Emeralds tears though. Mmm. Simpy.
What the HELL is hitting them. Grimm?
Oh boy here we go, more of this. Like...bruh. Just set down for a bit. Always gotta be dramatic dont ya
Aww. Touching. But pointless in the grand scheme of things.
Interesting note but she puts her gloved hand on his cheek, not the one with the glove burned off. For what thats worth again.
Holy shit, that map wasnt lying. That whale��s almost as big as Atlas is from this angle. Mind you, might just be a trick of the location but it would make sense if they were afraid of a Grimm THAT GOD DAMN BIG.
I was just seeing it as like, about the size of a normal sperm whale, maybe as big as the Leviathan from the series of the same name, but even that was barely 150 feet long. This things HUGE.
Nope. Pretty sure its about the same size as Atlas is long.
Also the Moon seems smaller from this angle oddly enough.
Wait is she gonna superman this fucking thing?
Okay yes, the numbers were based on distance not velocity, as Penny is pushing the stadium UP, rather than accelerating it in proper stance.
The noises she makes...huh. Glad my sister didnt walk in on those. Sounds...not like someone straining.
Hey look, its clumsy shitface McGee. HES NOT DEAD!
Note about the message; whos the chick with the eye patch next to the faunus in the back left of Ruby.
Im going to assume the first place we see the message played is the Mistral Black Market. Seems fitting for how it is, and the design matches Havens ascetic.
OH MY GOD THE LITTLE EARED FAUNUS GIRL IN THE HOLE. OH NO. SHES TOO CUTE.
Also in that same shot we see the old Karen from two episodes ago, a mouse girl, Fiona’s mole uncle, and someone new I think. Plus the huge eared girls mom who has a fox tail. And also one of the thirsty moms and her kid maybe?
Hey, Sun and Neptune! Out in the middle of nowhere in Vacuo. So this is the first time we’ve seen it in the show.
And Ilia’s still alive too!
Hey and Goodwytch too. No voice, of course...she got fired ages ago.
Also hey, so this is where Ironwoods been. I love how Hare turns it off before Ruby finishes.
I will note that technically Ruby’s not wrong. Ironwood cant be trusted.
But then, he couldnt before because (gestures to Atlas’s pathetic, scraggy SOFT “military” instead of THE CHAD FORCES OF...uh...)
(Rapid sounds of shuffling papers and files labeled “UNSC” “Coalition of Ordered Governments” “SRPA” “GAR” and “Yukon Confederacy” fly off the table)
Several others. Yes. Lets go with that.
(Accidentally bumps paper labeled “Vanguard” off the desk)
Watts is back out I see too.
Wait wait wait. Penny’s blades operate via chips...part of her, sure. So WHY does she need wires on them? AGAIN. WHY ARE THEY WIRE FUNNELS AND NOT SEPERATE ONES.
Interestingly the inside of the one Watts has resembles a Scroll...did Peitro commender that technology?
No focusing system for the laser. No chamber for acceleration or direction. Odd.
Salem looks oddly glad for this. Probably cause she thinks this is going to spread more fear.
And Ruby gets to the heart of the deal. You dont beat something that cant be killed. You capture it. Hurt it. BREAK IT. A sentient being can only take so much punishment before it shatters into madness and controllable fragments.
You just. Need. To. Hit. It. HARD. ENOUGH.
Additionally Ruby’s got a point there too. Salem played the shadows until this moment when everything was going her way. So...whats she afraid of.
Annnnddd thats all it takes to hijack Penny? Seriously.
Fuckin god damn useless Atlas bullshit fucking...(LONG SUFFERING SIGH OF A TECH NERD)
Hey theres Taiyang. Where’s Raven?
Wait hold on a second. She catches fire literally two seconds after she falls? You gotta fall a bit more than that for shit to start happening. WHAT THE FUCK IS REMNANTS ATMOSPHERE?! Or is it just dramatic...
Also as a small note the way the coms between her and Peitro cut off like that is accurate to reentry; during the hottest part of a splashdown, a space craft creates such a huge trail of energy behind it, rattling and burning its way down, it creates a blackout with its own passage. So based on the massive Apollo style reentry fire cone shes already putting out shes most likely going to be out of coms until she slows down orrrrrr craters into Remnants surface with the force of a meteor.
And no. I dont think shes dead. The fact that, DESPITE being surrounded by the kind of fireball that worked its way into the fueltank of the space shuttle Discovery and blew it and its crew to bits on reentry, she was still intact...shes probably going to be fine.
Hacked, certainly, but fine. It takes more than that to finish her. Besides now that shes hacked, she has to fight Ruby. We all want that right?
Ahh good to see Winter in full armor now. Or...close to it. Im sure some of its a support rig for her injuries but I like to think this is the start of Atlas’s Specialist Weaponization Program.
Ironwood makes a good call here. Same thought process as mine.
Salutes in this world are the same as ours. Interesting. Must change that for the HKs
Annnndd of course Watts steals the busted Scroll because IRONWOOD IS A FUCKING DUMBASS
...um.
Im...not even going to COMMENT on what the FUCK this thing is that Jaunes detachment found.
Also why is there A TREE in the tundra?
Oh, caustic. Interesting.
Mmmm.
(Pause. Fingers to lips)
Thats your plan, Salem? To literally leak liquid Grimm into Mantle.
More silence.
Ladies and gentlemen...Salem is, officially, THE WORST VILLAN. OF ALL TIME.
The level of incompetence and stupidity I have seen here today completely obliterates the LAST person to hold that title, President Snow from the Hunger Games.
The amount of unnececary back door work and seecret plotting here astounds me. Shes doing this because she can, Im SURE of it. Theres no other reason.
Unless...she kows in a straight out fight, she’d have Ironwoods metal arm up to her colon in seconds. Which I wouldnt be surprised about.
Either way uh...thats it. Thats the end of the episode.
Nice fight, at least.
See you all in Febuary!
EDIT: NOT FEBUARY, the break is a few more episodes after this
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Connections in PreCure Civilian Names (Updated)
If you don’t see a Cure, I found no relevant connection.
Sometimes I looked to Google Translate for help.
These are only connections I’ve noticed on my own. Please let me know which connections I’ve missed!
Honoka Yukishiro (Cure White) - “Yukishiro” means “snow white.”
Hikari Kujo (Shiny Luminous) - “Hikari” is just the literal word for “light,” alluding to her role in the series.
Saki Hyuuga (Cure Bloom/Bright) - “Saki” means “bloom” or “blooming.” “Hyuuga” can mean “facing the sun’s direction”; if you’re wondering what relevance that has, look what type of flower appears in Bloom’s transformation.
Mai Mishou (Cure Egret/Windy) - “shou” can mean “fly,” referring to the egret bird.
Nozomi Yumehara/Cure Dream - “Nozomi” can mean either “hope” or “wish,” as she introduces herself as the Cure of hope (I think). “Yume” means “dream.”
Rin Natsuki/Cure Rouge - “Natsu” means “summer,” referencing her fire powers.
Komachi Akimoto/Cure Mint - “Aki” means “fall,” which could refer to the leaves behind her transformation. But, like, that’s the best I can do with that.
Karen Minazuki/Cure Aqua - It’s not exact, but her last name contains “Mi__zu__” which means “water.”
Love Momozono/Cure Peach - “Momo” can mean either “peach,” or a word for “pink.” “Love” obviously refers to her heart theme.
Miki Aono/Cure Berry - “Aono” means “of blue.” “Miki” is used for a lot of blue magical girls (Sayaka, Mew Mint’s pet dog, the Amulet Spade Chara), though it means “beautiful tree.”
Inori Yamabuki/Cure Pine - “Inori” means “prayer,” referring to her transformation phrase and attacks, where you can hear her use the word.
Setsuna Higashi/Cure Passion - “Higashi” means “East,” referring to her previous role as Eas. “Setsuna” can mean “precious” or “beloved,” possibly referring to her newfound friendships.
Tsubomi Hanasaki/Cure Blossom - “Tsubomi” means “bud,” as in flower bud, and “Hanasaki” means “blooming flower or blossom.”
Yuri Tsukikage/Cure Moonlight - “Yuri” means “lily,” her personal flower, and “Tsukikage” literally translates to “moon shadow,” oddly enough.
Hibiki Hojo/Cure Melody - “Hibiki” means “resound” or “sound” (though “sound” is usually translated as “oto.”) This also goes for Hibiki Tachibana, of course.
Kanade Minamino/Cure Rhythm - “Kanade” means “beautiful sound” or “playing music.” This also goes for Kanade Amou.
Eren Kurokawa/Cure Beat - “Kuro” means “black,” possibly alluding to the fact that Eren used to be a black cat.
Ako Shirabe/Cure Muse - “Shirabe” means “note” or “tune.” This also goes for Shirabe Tsukuyomi.
Miyuki Hoshizora/Cure Happy - “Hoshizora” means “starry sky.” This isn’t a direct reference to her, but a starry sky can be considered a setting for fairy tale.
Akane Hino/Cure Sunny - “Aka” means “red,” which might be a reason why some people list her as a red cure when she is clearly orange. “Hino” means “of fire.” This also goes for Rei Hino.
Yayoi Kise/Cure Peace - “Ki” can mean “yellow,” though I know the translation better as “Kiiro.”
Nao Midorikawa/Cure March - “Midori” means “green.” This also goes for Izuku Midoriya (happy birthday to him, btw).
Reika Aoki/Cure Beauty - “Reika” means “below zero,” according to Google Translate, referring to her ice powers, though the name has multiple meanings; another is “beautiful.” “Ao” means “blue.”
Mana Aida/Cure Heart - “Ai” means “love.”
Rikka Hishikawa/Cure Diamond - “Rikka” also has several meanings, though one is “snow” or “snowflake,” referring to her ice powers.
Makoto Kenzaki/Cure Sword - “Ken” means either “blade” or “sword.”
Megumi Aino/Cure Lovely - “Megumi” can mean “love” or “affection.” “Aino” means “of love.” This also goes for Minako Aino.
Hime Shirayuki/Cure Princess - “Hime” means “princess.” “Shirayuki” means “white snow,” probably alluding to the famous princess.
Yuko Omori/Cure Honey - “mori” means “forest,” maybe referring to her clover theme.
Haruka Haruno/Cure Flora - “Haruno” means “of spring,” referring to the season her element is associated with. The same goes for her first name.
Minami Kaido/Cure Mermaid - “Kaido” doesn’t seem to mean anything relevant, but it’s similar to “Kaioh,” Sailor Neptune’s last name. “Minami” means “south,” though I don’t know if that’s supposed to mean something.
Kirara Amanogawa/Cure Twinkle - From first to last name, it translates literally as “twinkling Milky Way.”
Towa Akagi/Cure Scarlet - “Aka” means “red.”
Mirai Asahina/Cure Miracle - “Mirai” means “future.” I didn’t actually watch all of Mahoutsukai, so I don’t know if that’s relevant.
Kotoha Hanami/Ha/Cure Felice - “Ha” means “leaf,” which is in, like, all of her names. “Hanami” means “flower viewing,” an actual pastime in Japan where people picnic near the newly-bloomed sakura trees.
Ichika Usami/Cure Whip - It’s not exact, but “Usagi means “rabbit,” referring to her animal theme. Thus is where Sailor Moon’s first name comes from.
Himari Arisugawa/Cure Custard - “Hi” can mean “sun,” which is sometimes portrayed as yellow.
Aoi Tategami/Cure Gelato - From first to last name, it translates literally as “blue mane.”
Akira Kenjou/Cure Chocolat - “Akira” contains “ak__a,” which means “red.”
Ciel Kirahoshi/Cure Parfait - “Ciel” is French for “sky.” “Kirahoshi” means “twinkling stars,” which could refer to the ethereal nature of her animal theme, as does Ciel.
Hana Nono/Cure Yell - “Hana” means “flower,” referring to one of her attack themes and part of her outfit.
Saaya Yakushiji/Cure Ange - This one might be a stretch. Yakushi-ji is a Buddhist temple in Japan; its main attraction is “The Medicine Buddha,” which could reference her introducing herself as “Healing everyone!”
Homare Kagayaki/Cure Etoile - “Homare” means “honor,” which could refer to her character arc of self-acceptance. “Kagayaki” means “shining,” referring to her golden-like theme.
Ruru Amour/Cure Amour - “Ruru” is a reference to R.U.R., a 1920s play that brought the word “robot” into modern usage, referring to her true nature. So it’s not Lulu. “Amour” is French for “love,” referring to her and Macherie’s theme.
Emiru Aisaki/Cure Macherie - “Aisaki” means “blooming love.”
Hikaru Hoshina/Cure Star - “Hikaru” means “bright,” “shimmer” or “gleam.” “Hoshi” means “star.”
Lala Hagoromo/Cure Milky - “Hagoromo” refers to a few things, but the anime makes it clear what the fake name specifially refers to. I forget which one, but I think it’s either for a space orbiter or an old Japanese play about a swan maiden.
Elena Amamiya/Cure Soleil - “Elena” is a multilingual name that means “bright” or “shining light,” referring to her sun theme.
Madoka Kaguya/Cure Selene - “Kaguya” refers to a Japanese story involving a princess of the moon.
Yuni/Cure Cosmo - “Yuni” is supposed to refer to how Japan pronounces the word “universe,” in reference to the outer space themes.
Nodoka Hanadera/Cure Grace - “Hana” means “flower.”
Chiyu Sawaizumi/Cure Fontaine - “Chiyu” can mean “healing” or “cure,” though since she’s not the main cure I don’t know why she gets to be named after the season’s main theme. “Sawaizumi” can mean “marsh/stream fountain.”
Hinata Hiramitsu/Cure Sparkle - “Hi” means “sun,” which refers to her bright powers. “Hinata” means “sunny place.” Although not exact, “Hiromitsu” means “wide light.” Interestingly, “mitsu” is a word for “three,” which could reference her being the third Cure in her team.
Asumi Fuurin/Cure Earth - “Asu” is just how the Japanese pronounce the English word “earth.” So Cure Earth’s civilian name is literally the same. “Fuu” means “wind,” referring to her actual element. The same goes for Fuu Hououji.
8/3/20 EDIT: MY ASS COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT SPLASH STAR, IM SO SORRY.
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Penny Polendina: Robot Rep
Robots as representation has seen a lot of use throughout media, to varying degrees of success. Sometimes it is fairly explicit in the narrative, others it is more subtle. Often it is borderline impossible to determine whether intentional or not, such is the popularity of this trope.
RWBY has made attempts at representing marginalized groups over its run, similarly to varying degrees of success. One character, the focus of this post, is Penny Polendina, a robot girl who, while not explicitly confirmed by the writers of the show, is seen by some fandom members as a source of representation, most commonly as neurodivergent or transgender (usually nonbinary), but also as aro-spec or a-spec.
This post will be a collection of my thoughts, as a member of multiple of the above mentioned demographics, against Penny as a source of representation, as well as a few reasons behind these thoughts.
Contents
Who is Penny Polendina? (a summary of her story from Volumes 1-7)
Robots as Representation (in general)
Case-specific Additions (for Penny in particular)
Closing Thoughts
Who is Penny Polendina?
Penny is introduced fairly late in Volume 1 when Team RWBY quite literally runs into her. The group exchange greetings and names, though not before Yang asks her if she’s “sure she didn’t hit her head.” As they leave, Ruby offhandedly calls her “friend,” leading Penny to ask her curiously if she truly is a friend. Ruby agrees (to her teammates’ dismay) and Penny grows very excited at the confirmation.
Subsequent meetings with Penny, many of them by pure coincidence, reveal more about her character. She states that she doesn’t have a lot of friends, that she has never been to another kingdom before, and that her father, worried for her safety, did not want her to venture out too much during her time in Vale. Perhaps most notably, she tells Ruby in confidence that she is “not a real girl,” but rather a synthetic person built by her father (later revealed to be named Pietro Polendina). Ruby insists that she has both a heart and a soul, to which Penny becomes overjoyed and hugs her tightly.
In Volume 3, Penny is competing against Pyrrha in the Vytal Tournament when tragedy strikes. Emerald uses her semblance to trick Pyrrha into destroying Penny, slicing her into pieces with her own weapon, killing her and revealing her secret to the whole world. The villains use Penny’s death to incite panic and fear, and the Fall of Beacon ensues.
Penny is not seen for a long time following her death, but in Volume 7 she has been brought back, her robotic core recovered and a new body built. Her chassis and weapons are upgraded, and, remarkably, she shows little initial change in personality from her brutal death in Amity Arena. Penny remains largely the same earnest, slightly-naive girl who she was before the events of the Fall, still just as curious and excitable as ever.
Penny continues to play a part of multiple major events in Volume 7, namely the Council Election and Winter Maiden plotlines.
The former sees her framed for murder by Tyrian and Watts, and subsequent scenes reveal new things about the nature of her construction. When Ruby asks why Pietro is concerned for Penny’s safety, stating that “[e]ven if the worst does happen, [he] can always reactivate her,” Pietro reveals that her aura is actually given from his own reserves, and as such, with every reconstruction she grows more difficult to rebuild.
The latter plotline features her in relation to Winter, who is slated to take on the Maiden powers after the current holder, Fria. Winter states in previous scenes that she dislikes how she allows her emotions to get the better of her, at first stating that Penny wouldn’t understand but then attempting to apologize and clarify her poor wording. Later, during a battle with Cinder, the Winter Maiden surrounds herself in a whirlwind of freezing air, fast enough to rip Winter’s gloves from her hands and cold enough to leave ice burns on her fingers. Penny, seeing this, decides to dive in, relying on her leg-mounted rockets and synthetic skin to soldier through the dangerous conditions. This, combined with Winter’s efforts to hold back Cinder, allow Penny to secure the Maiden powers, taking them up herself.
Robots as Representation
Robots are a powerful tool for tropes because they are in most cases created as imitations of life, most commonly humanity. Combined with sentience or even simply heightened degrees of knowledge/adaptability compared to real world robots, this allows for many philosophical questions to build off for subplots (what is a person, what is emotion, etc.) However, the same factor that makes a robot such a good exploration into what defines humanity simultaneously makes them such a poor allegory for marginalized groups.
Real world bigotry is between humans, from one group of humans to another based on superficial differences. All parties involved are the same species with the same key makeup. Bigots often insist that groups are different in some fundamental way that makes them the enemy or the outsider, a strategy to rationalize their bigotry when in reality, no such fundamental differences exist. All people are all human, all people deserve the respect and dignity of a human being.
With a robot, however, the definition of “human” can get blurry. Robots are, at their core, imitations. Depending on the media, this could mean, for instance, operating on different logical principles, or that possessing physical traits, internal or external, that mark them as definedly not human. This blurring of the lines is good thing for “what is humanity” plotline, but an incredibly bad one for representation. This is in especially poor taste when the groups that said robot is often supposed to be representing (a-spec, aro-spec, neurodivergent, and/or nonbinary) are frequently referred to as “robotic” as an insult. It is used to dehumanize us, to insinuate we are lacking in something that would otherwise make us more.
There is also the issue of context. This trope being as widespread as it is, some traits in a robot are markedly “human” while others are markedly not. Generally, these traits include the ability to articulate emotion, the ability to take things figuratively, feelings of attraction (platonic, romantic, sexual), and others. These, coincidentally, all line up with the very same groups robots are most often coded to represent. Some neurodivergent people have difficulty articulating their emotions or understanding subtext. Some aro-spec or a-spec people do not feel romantic or sexual attraction, respectively. Robots like the Terminator, who shows little emotion and frequently takes things too literally, are generally seen as less “human” than a robot who clearly articulates their emotion (i.e. Transformers, the Iron Giant, Wall-E, etc.)
Allegories, for all their versatility, always go both ways. Comparing a real-world minority to a definedly inhuman character may grant said group some much-needed spotlight in media, but it can just as easily lead to the audience drawing conclusions that said minority can be likened to robots, or at the very least that the author/showrunners believe said minority can be likened to robots.
Case-Specific Additions
Penny Polendina’s plotlines lend themselves to some specific facets of the allegory for marginalized groups. Firstly, her arc is primarily about what makes a “real girl.” This is a point in her direction, as it puts the idea that she is a person front and center.
Unfortunately, this is likely the only point in her favor. Starting from her very first outing, Yang refers to her as “weird,” Weiss voices skepticism about her ability, and Ruby is urged by all of her teammates to deny that Penny is a friend. The issue here is, first and foremost, that none of these reactions are framed as bad by the story. If anything, they are barely acknowledged at all. This lends itself to the notion that it is okay to treat people who are different than you in such a way, which is not a good message for representation.
In Volume 3, perhaps the most egregious instance, she is quite literally ripped apart on live television, her secret revealed to the world against her will. This not only results in her death, but in the deaths of many others due to the Fall of Beacon. Beyond the brutality of this scene and the message it sends through the lens of representation (being unwillingly “outed,” violently murdered, and used as a tool for further violence and death), it also created the Volume 7 conundrum of her being brought back to life.
Morbid as it sounds, mortality is one of the things that ties all humans together. Death is permanent and tragic, but one could argue it is integral to the human experience. Penny, however, defies this with her resurrection, not by magic nor miracle, but by virtue of her robotic core being retrieved and a body being rebuilt around it. The story tries to rectify this by saying that Pietro can’t restore her forever, but this does not actually put a hard limit on the number of times she can be brought back. It simply puts a limit on the number of times Pietro alone can bring her back; anyone with a reserve could theoretically donate the needed aura to rebuild Penny should she be destroyed again (provided her core is retrievable).
Finally, the end of Volume 7 sees her claim the Maiden powers. While it seems the narrative attempts to frame this as a confirmation that she is a real girl, the context surrounding that same scene shows otherwise. The howling vortex of freezing wind was shown to be too strong and too dangerous for a flesh-and-blood human to reach through, tearing apart Winter’s gloves and freezer-burning her fingers when she attempted. Penny’s ability to penetrate this whirlwind was not thanks to her supposed humanity, but thanks to the upgrades to her chassis that included both strengthened synthetic skin and rocket boosters on her legs. Both were only added during her reconstruction, which was only possible due to her robotic nature. Penny’s storyline in Volume 7 renders the foundations of her humanity-based plotline shaky at best, contradictory at worst. Unfortunately, this leaves her with more negatives than positives.
Closing Thoughts
In summary, robotic characters are generally a good way to explore what it means to be a person, but due to the dual-edged nature of allegory, they often make poor allegories for marginalized groups. Ways to rectify this would be making an explicitly human character also a member of the demographic(s) the robotic character is a part of, though that requires at the very least some form of confirmation from the writers, which as of now, has not been given.
Of course, these are just my opinions on the matter, but if you have not scrolled past or clicked away already I hope that you take my points into consideration when making your own opinions and/or headcanons. Please also note that my thoughts on Penny as poor representation do not reflect my thoughts on her as a character, nor are they intended as an attack on those who like her. Finally, please remember that Penny is not (as of yet) canonically confirmed to be a member of any of these groups.
As much as I would like to see myself and my demographics represented in the show, I simply believe that Penny Polendina is not the best way to go about it.
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V3 Talentswap AU
Self-control who, don’t know her
I’ve been doing a little collaboration with my dear friend @dreamydiamond putting together a full-on Talentswap for the V3 peeps bc everyone likes different talent AU’s, don’t they? At this moment in time, there is no exact designated protag/deuterag/antag-rival/Mastermind bc it’s literally just been fun old brainstorming, but here are some brief, general descriptions of what’s what under the cut.
Ultimate Pianist - Toujou Kirumi: Enjoys making others happy with her music and will play (almost) any song asked of her, though she seems to have an unspoken preference towards softer tempo songs. Open to learning as many different kinds of songs as possible from her beliefs of music being the number one thing to soothe even the savagest of beasts. Took over piano from her mentor who suffered a serious hand injury and was left unable to play any longer, also prompting her to wear gloves in case she ever went through the same fate.
Ultimate Detective - Shinguuji Korekiyo: (NOT A FUGGING SERIAL KILLER HERE; THIS IS A HOUSE OF CHRIST) Dedicated primarily to his work that will someday make him a full-fledged sleuth without his parents’ aid. Gained notoriety as a sleuth following a domestic abuse case ending with the arrest of his (now disowned) elder sister, but wasn’t able to leave without the trauma that came with it. As a result, he’s rather apprehensive when it comes to non-platonic relationships and prefers to direct as much of his focus away from them as possible.
Ultimate Astronaut - Ouma Kokichi: A misanthropic astronaut-in-training with one goal in mind: conquering the galaxy and destroying the planet with nary a drop of mercy for anyone else. Believes he’s higher and mightier than any “Earthling scum” and will gladly show so, using contradictions and fibs to hide what well may be his true self buried underneath. Nonetheless, he seems interested in seeing if there are any “rare ones” that could somehow prove to be worth his time, but severely doubts he could be stood corrected. Could he?
Ultimate Magician - Harukawa Maki: The self-proclaimed master of the arcana and dark arts, she often secludes herself from others in order to perfect her spells and concoctions, believing non-magical creatures may “curse” her and leave her efforts for naught. Having used to do magic shows before growing to hate them and quitting, she also seems to be a reluctant hit with children despite the frigid, unfriendly exterior she gives at first glance. Warns people that magic isn’t a toy or show gag, but is very seldom heeded and brushed off as “crazy”.
Ultimate Aikido Master - Saihara Shuichi: Initially bullied to no end by his peers, he sought martial arts as his way out after taking advice from his beloved uncle and developed an adequate way to defend himself. Because of this, he’s highly disciplined and doesn’t believe something as sacred as aikido should be used for any other reason. Being easily startled, it’s not wise to try and sneak up on or spook him; you will get tossed at best and en route to the hospital for broken ribs at worst as a result.
Ultimate Child Caregiver/Assassin - Akamatsu Kaede: Started out as a simple daycare assistant that’s a born natural with children, but was later taken by a mysterious organization and brainwashed using a sleeper code to test her capabilities. Following her first kill that she doesn’t remember, she was then actively trained into a killer-for-hire, which she’s done everything in her power to keep a secret from the children and everyone else. Some say that uttering her old code will temporarily re-activate her deadly trance, but that’s just a silly rumor! ...Right?
Ultimate Cosplayer - Yumeno Himiko: A longtime lover of the magical girl genre that fell in love with their colorful designs and longed to recreate their outfits for her own to don. Had gotten her first taste of sewing work from having to patch up holes in her clothes and others, which eventually grew with modifying her school uniforms to fit her smaller stature and paved the path to cosplay. Sets up stands at conventions that sell cosplay outfits and wigs for a “reasonable” (to her, at least) price, if only to make up for being terrible at delivering adequate fanart of her favorite mahou shoujou anime shows.
Ultimate Robot - 10-K0, aka “Tenko”: A fully functional android programmed with an intense dislike of robophobes and “degenerate males” created by the esteemed Professor Chabashira (who is also male, but she greatly reveres him and the contradiction hasn’t clicked yet). Has a great sense of empathy and can get a good reading on someone using a simple scan, and despite not being entirely invincible, will serve as a protector for any fair maiden that needs her.
Ultimate Entomologist - Iidabashi Kiibo: More in-tuned to befriend bugs than people as a result of (and resulting in) being harassed by other children over the years, but managed to not let his heart turn bitter from it nonetheless. The son of a biologist father, he grew to discover his own research with arachnids and insects to learn the lifestyles of such small creatures that play such a big role in everyday life. Though he loves his bugs, he also seems to yearn for a human friend to call his own that actually accepts him and his “bizarre” interests.
Ultimate Artist - Gokuhara Gonta: Lost in the woods from an early age, he fell in love with nature and sought to find a way of immortalizing it to its fullest potential. His large size and massive strength make him best at creating sculptures, but his unexpectedly gentle hands are what helps convey his muse through paintings and sketches. Still an aspiring gentleman that hopes to show his sophisticated works to the world, but is also prone to aggressive outbursts when faced with intense enough artist’s block and seeing his art be disrespected.
Ultimate ??? - Hoshi Ryouma: Doesn’t remember too much about his talent or past life save for vague flashes hinting towards it, which he’s only gathered that he’d done something atrocious to warrant being on the lam and sent running to too many places all over the globe. In spite of his amnesia, it seems he doesn’t care if he never gets those memories back if the implied crimes were too horrible to recall in the first place.
Ultimate Inventor - Amami Rantaro: Shown a gift for tinkering at a young age, though was initially apprehensive with making it too big of a deal and making it his primary living in life until he came to enjoy doing so over time. Makes small gadgets for his younger sisters and larger, more complex gadgets that would be beneficial to anyone even if technically in the “prototype” stage. Overall leans more towards making things that’d be useful and not just for fun, but if he trusts someone enough, he’ll likely be more up for bending that rule just a little.
Ultimate Anthropologist - Yonaga Angie: A devout traveler who’s been all over the globe following the word of different religions believing she is the vessel for every deity ever known. Personally prefers the word of her home island’s god, but beckons to all depending on their culture’s faith. Carefully studies humanity in seeing how vast they are in everyday life and primarily looks into their creation myths and pantheon.
Ultimate Supreme Leader - Shirogane Tsumugi: Claims to have been raised into the line of succession for a dangerous organization she believes will bring the downfall of man itself if crossed too much. Wonders how such a “plain” girl such as herself wound up in such a position of power and blames it solely on good luck, but isn’t complaining much otherwise. The day she’s in charge is the day she plans on making the best she’s ever lived.
Ultimate Tennis Pro - Momota Kaito: The unlikely “Shining Star of the Court” that’s come a long way in conquering tennis leagues from all over the nation, but seems to be hiding something he fears will hinder his athleticism. Advocates for keeping a healthy lifestyle both in diet and physiology, and aims to train as hard as he can to stay almost invincible in the face of difficulty. Won’t hold back during a game, but wants his opponents to have as fair of a shot as possible against him if they intend to win.
Ultimate Maid - Iruma Miu: Started from a poorer background and needed to find a way to make a better living for herself, so what better way than putting her “natural good looks” to great use? Is very good at what she does, but her inappropriate comments and nature makes everyone hesitant to trust things she’s prepared in addition to finding her “sexy maid” jokes too off-putting to laugh at. Thinks her skills are better than sliced bread and bellows how people should be thankful for needing her, but one mistake pops her bravado like a bubble and she crinkles at the slightest criticisms.
#New Dangan Ronpa V3#Kirumi Tojo#Korekiyo Shinguji#Kokichi Ouma#Talentswap AU#V3 Talentswap#AUCanon#Putting it under the cut for length reasons#And so I can edit it anytime I please lmfao#I'm also more than willing to answer questions about this AU btw :3c
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CinderIris: chapter 8
WestAllen Cinderella AU
Summary: With his mother death looming, King Henry holds a ball and invites all the eligible maidens in the kingdom, hoping his son, Prince Barry, will finally find a bride. Iris West is a bar maiden, who would love to attend, but, she is very poor and can’t afford a nice dress or a ride to the castle.
Chapter 1
Archive of Our Own version
The second time a maiden whom the slipper fit came to the Palace, the Prince was just as-if not more-excited than the first time. There was no doubt in his mind that the girl he fell in love with at the ball would be standing behind the door, waiting to make his heart flutter just as it had the moment he first laid eyes on her.
But, the Prince was disappointed yet again. It was not her.
The third time a maiden whom the slipper fit came to the Palace, the Prince was skeptical. He didn’t get his hopes up, because the sunken feeling he’d be left with after the previous failures was horrible. His skepticism was wise, because it was not her. Barry cursed the commonality of the size seven foot.
The fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth times were no different. The ninth time, the Prince, Captain, and Royal guard made the grotesque realization that the only reason the maiden fit the slipper was because she’d sawed off the back of her heel. She was taken to the Royal hospital and initially considered crazy, until she sparked a trend. The thirteenth maiden who fit the slipper had cut off several toes to squeeze her foot into it.
“This is getting a little ridiculous.” Earl H.R. said one evening.
“GETTING? A LITTLE?” Grand Duke Wells scoffed. “We are far past that.”
Prince Barry, who’d just finished martial arts training with Jesse, wiped the sweat off his brow and tried not to listen.
“How far past ridiculous? Are we in ludicrous territory?” H.R. asked.
Duke Wells turned to H.R. and looked at him with contempt. “Shut up.”
“Oh, so we’re in shut up this is not a time for jokes territory. Got it.” Mumbled H.R.
“Your Highness, you must put a stop to this madness at once.” The Duke insisted.
Prince Barry threw down his towel in frustration. “I haven’t found her yet!”
“How many more girls are going to mutilate themselves until you do?”
“Next, some lass will chop off her whole foot and build a robot one to perfectly fit.” Jesse joked.
Duke Wells held up his hand in attempt to silence her. It only made Jesse roll her eyes.
“I’m just saying, that would be kind of cool. She may not be the girl you met at the ball, but at least we’d know she’s resourceful.”
H.R. was the only one who laughed.
“I never wanted anyone to hurt themselves, never asked them to make the slipper fit by any means necessary. It was their choice to do it.” Barry said in his defense.
“Even so,” Duke Wells retorted. “This goose chase is causing hysteria. It makes the Monarchy look like bad.”
“Since when do you care about PR, Duke?”
“This isn’t about PR! Have you forgotten about the trade embargo Midway is threatening to place on our imports? Or the delicate situation in the far East where North and South Keystone are on the brink of peace for the first time in a century? But oh no, let’s focus our efforts on locating a girl who’s made it clear she doesn’t want to be found! That’s more important….. NOT!”
“Dad,” Jesse groaned. “Stop trying to make ‘not’ happen. It’s not going to happen.”
“But you just said it!” H.R. pointed out.
Barry couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up and marched towards the door as he explained, “I’m aware of the current events. I know how crucial it is for my focus to be on such matters. That is why I’m determined to find the girl. Until I do, my mind can’t concentrate on anything else. I need to know who she is, to be with her again. She had this way of calming, centering, focusing me. Like an anchor to keep me from floating away when I’m overwhelmed. Somehow she brought out the best in me, I’ll need that if I am to serve this Kingdom.”
“Like a lightning rod?” H.R. said. “A lightning rod to bring out your lightning.”
“Yes.” Barry said, satisfied by the anecdote. “Like that.”
Duke Wells opened his mouth to rebuttal. Before he could, Jesse chimed in.
“You agreed to thirty days of searching. There is still one more week left, in which His Highness could very well find the girl. Dad, one week won’t hurt anything. Let the guard finish the search. If they do not, the Prince will never be able to get over her. You don’t want him to be haunted by the one that got away….. literally.”
“Thank you, Jesse.” Prince Barry said. He was slightly taken aback by her sudden romanticism.
Jesse pointed her finger at him. “Don’t get any ideas. I’m becoming a romantic, I just want the search to finish so you’ll get your head out of the clouds and go back to being decent competition in training.”
Barry smirked.
Duke Wells rubbed his temples. “Fine. Finish the search. I’ll go speak with the Captain of the Guard.” He nodded to excuse himself and left.
Prince Barry didn’t like knowing that his time was running out, but he felt confident that there would still be enough time for his love to be found. He figured the Guard must be nearly finished with the search by now.
As soon as the Grand Duke stepped out of the room, he was face to face with Captain Singh.
“Grand Duke, just the man I was looking for.” Singh greeted. “We need to talk about the search for the girl from the ball.”
“I was looking for you as well, Captain. May we talk as we walk to the kitchen? I’m famished.”
“Sure thing, sir.”
Captain Singh and Duke Wells set off. When they were several feet away from the door and Wells was confident they were out of the Prince’s earshot, he spoke.
“How is the searching going?”
Captain Singh shook his head. “Awful.”
“Seen more amputations than you bargained for?” Duke Wells joked.
“More than my stomach could handle.” Singh admitted. “There is no way we’ll be able to finish the search in the thirty day time limit. We’ve been at it for three weeks and we’ve barely finished with the Northern Isles. That leaves a good two third of Kingdom to search. It will be Christmas by the time we’ve made it to every maiden in the Kingdom.”
“To have half the Royal Guard preoccupied with a shoe fitting for so long is-”
“A dire waste of resources.” Singh finished.
“My thoughts exactly.” Duke Wells said. “Thankfully, the Prince understands and is not wholly uncooperative. He will listen to some reason. That is why he’s agreed to keep the thirty day time limit. If the mystery girl is not found within the week, he says he’ll move on.”
Captain Singh looked surprised, but relieved. “Well, that’s a comfort to know. I know my men will share in my relief.”
“Tell them not to worry about this. It was never that important.”
♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥
“If it isn’t the best barmaid South of the Jay Garrick monument.”
That smooth voice could only mean one thing. Iris turned around to see Scott Evans sitting down at the bar.
“Hello, Scott.” She said with a smile.
Scott was a traveling journalist. He wrote for one of the only, and the most respected, paper in town, South Side Print News. Scott made a name for himself all across the Kingdom for his talent when he exposed a crooked Parliament candidate a few years ago. His tall, dark, and handsome good looks didn’t hurt his popularity either.
Iris always admired him for his work and relentless pursuit of the truth. When he first came in Drunkards, she was a little star struck. She was excited to have the chance to talk to Scott about her love of writing and hope to be a reporter one day as well. However, her idol soon proved himself to be a pessimist, putting her off. Scott said it was impossible to do the work he does and be an optimist. Iris told him that nothing is impossible.
Scott kept coming back to Drunkards ever since. He’d say it was for the Brandy, but he’d always wink at Iris.
She poured Scott a glass of Brandy and slid it across the bar.
“You look tired.” Iris noticed. “Or, should I say, more tired than usual.”
Scott smiled. “I’ve just gotten back from a trip to Royal Landing.”
“What were you doing all the way out there?”
“Captain Singh of the Royal Guard made an announcement regarding the search for the girl from the ball. You know, the one the Prince is in love with?”
Iris smirked. “I’ve heard about her.”
“I don’t think a soul in the Kingdom hasn’t. She was the top story all month. Any mention of her would make the front page, no question. But, that’s over now. Soon she’ll be remembered as an old folktale of some kind.”
Iris didn’t understand what he meant by that. “Huh?”
“The search is over.” Scott informed her.
“Over?” Iris repeated.
Scott nodded in confirmation. “Over.”
Iris was dumbfounded. She believed that what she and Prince Barry shared was special enough to leave a lifelong impression. The determination with which he chased her that night and pursued her to come forward since made Iris feel like he would never give up on her.
“What? Wait- it’s- it’s over?” Iris tried to keep her voice even, sound casual. “How? Why? They didn’t find her, did they?”
“No, and it looks like they never will.”
“But they’ve only searched one small part of the Kingdom!” Iris protested. “Wasn’t it the Prince’s order that the Royal Guard have every eligible maiden in the Kingdom try on the slipper?”
“Apparently, a time constraint was agreed to. It must have been thirty days, because here we are on day thirty one, and the Palace is no longer interested in the mystery girl from the ball.”
Scott took a sip of his Brandy.
“The search may be over, but surely the Palace is still interested, right? I mean, if the girl were to turn up, they wouldn’t send her away, would they?” Iris asked, hoping Scott would have something reassuring to say.
Scott shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“The Prince, he must still be interested. After all, they said he loved m- her. Love isn’t something you can just forget about.”
“Why do you suddenly care?” Scott asked with raised brows. “I thought you hated talking about the ball and the Prince. You've change the subject every other time it’s been brought up.”
“I suppose this news is a little surprising to me, that’s all. I really thought the Prince would keep searching till he found her.”
Scott took a swig of Brandy before saying, “I suppose finding her isn’t as important to the government as it is to the Prince.”
“What do you mean?”
Scott smirked. He leaned over the bar, getting close to Iris. He whispered, “You didn’t hear this from me, but the speculation is that Grand Druke Wells and other members of the Royal House have been pressuring His Highness to call off the search.”
“But why?”
“It’s too expensive and uses too much man power. Parliament feels the Palace’s resources could be better spent elsewhere.”
Iris looked down at the floor. She mumbled, talking more to herself than Scott. “The Prince is quite selfless, dedicated to the wellbeing of the Kingdom. If he thought the search was harmful, he’d likely call it off even if he didn’t want to.”
“That’s the popular opinion.” Scott told her. “He wouldn’t want any more ladies severing their toes to fit the slipper.”
Iris scrunched up her face in disgust. “Eww! Someone did that?”
“Several someones.” Scott said.
Iris shivered. “And they say the South Side is weird.”
Scott laughed. He pulled a few coins out of his wallet and placed them on the bar.
“Thanks, Iris. It’s always nice talking to you, but I better be off.”
“No problem. Thanks for filling me in.” Iris said.
“I have to keep the Kingdom’s best amateur reporter up to date.”
Iris smiled, a little embarrassed.
“Anything else an amateur reporter might need to know?” She asked.
“It’s going to rain this weekend.” Scott joked. “Oh, and word is, the Prince is still desperately in love with the girl. Staring out windows, head in the clouds. She’s what he’s always thinking about.”
“Really?” Iris gasped.
Scott put on his coat. “She must have been some girl.”
Iris watched Scott absentmindedly as he left the tavern. She was thinking about Barry and wondering if Scott was right, that he was still thinking about her. The plan was to wait until the Royal Guard came to her and requested she try on the slipper. But, now that was never going to happen. The fantasy of her being whisked away to the Palace and running into Barry’s arms, rejoicing in their reunion with a kiss, that Iris had played over and over in her mind now made her feel foolish. Of course, that was never going to happen.
Iris thought it might be best if she pretended the night of the ball never happened, just as she was going to do before finding out Barry was looking for her. But, the thought of not seeing Barry again made her feel physically ill. She wanted to be with him again, even just once, even just for a minute. If he wasn’t interested in her anymore, she’d accept that. But, Iris was very much still interested in him and she had to try. Cecile had advised her to find her happily ever after, and that was advice Iris was going to take.
#westallen#westallen fanfiction#westallen fic#westallen au#westallen cinderella#westallen cinderella au#westallen cinderiris#cinderiris#barry allen#iris west#barry allen x iris west#barry x iris#iris x barry#westallen fairytale#westallen fairytale au#the flash cinderlla#the flash fanfiction#the flash au
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the v5 finale was a bunch of good moments in an episode that didn’t hold well together and didn’t live up to the hype that comes with being a finale
good things tho
yang focus is always welcome
i love being right about raven branwen this fine day (people kept thinking she wasn’t doing this out of fear, that she had some ulterior selfless reason for ditching yang, that she was either a stone cold bitch or had a heart of gold under it all, that she’d switch sides this early on or at all)
speaking of raven, i was going back and forth on what happened to the last spring maiden but i WAS leaning towards her killing her in a combination of mercy, ruthlessness and desperation (because the maiden reminded her of herself, because the maiden was too weak, because having the power gave her a leg up against salem/oz which was her thought process with the relic before yang called her out on the contradiction in her plan)
raven & yang crying and it’s all so bitter and good and i love it
yang refusing to run away even though her ptsd makes her shake like a leaf and being the first person (definitely the first non-maiden) to claim a relic like the hero she is
sun being cute and waving at rwby/jnr (and getting excited when he sees yang) - then proceeding to literally push blake forward because he knows how much she needs to reunite with her team
ilia being cute and getting admiration from a cute girl (ilia in general <3)
merc and em shit!!! emerald having a full blown meltdown because she’s put all her faith in one person and that person’s either died or abandoned her AND HER SEMBLANCE GOING HAYWIRE BECAUSE OF IT! mercury, who doesn’t care personally that much for cinder either way, showing concern for emerald bc they ARE friends + partners! i love it, i love it. i love my dumb evil kids who were tricked into getting way over their heads!
salem’s mobile body being what’s essentially an octopus with knives is still funny to me, as is the fact she can make it just brutally murder a dude without having to get out of her seat
raven having no other option in her bond portals but taking a left turn outside of vale and ending up on tai’s doorstep lmao also his face being like ‘goddamn it >:/’ is so funny?? is raven going to confront him or try to fly to the nearest working train station and ride back to mistral to rejoin the tribe? the first option gives way to strq shenanigans but the second is hilarious to imagine so.
qrow calling yang firecracker is still the cutest ok bye
yang keeping mum (hehe) on the identity of the spring maiden hmmmm mmmmmmmm don’t know if that was the best idea but it’s gonna be fun when that comes back into play later on
weiss and ruby are so cute i love them
weiss getting a bit flustered when blake comes back like ‘i diDN’T EXPECT YOU TO COME BLUSTERING IN’ was also cute
team rwby hug and reunion - “i’m not going anywhere” thank GOD
if they’re going to atlas next volume, then i expect one) weiss getting a lot of screen-time and focus with a return of her family and two) either a penny (or another similar robot) return or some backstory on rwby’s geppetto and the process/reason behind penny’s creation
i’m so excited for the soundtrack aaaaaaaa
and the bad things (or at least disappointing)
for all the hype going in (which was to be expected as it’s the finale), nothing really exciting happened? i guess it’s because they saved all the fighting and plot twists in the eps leading up to it but it made the whole episode feel very lacklustre and anticlimactic
hrrrm i get what they’re going for with adam and part of me appreciates seeing blake humiliate and scare him off but this feels too early and too fast, especially since this will make any future return less.....threatening. i could talk about this more but others probably have said it a lot better than me. there’s still a lot you could do with adam to make him a good antagonist again so i’m willing to give the writing the benefit of the doubt on this one (for now).
i was too impatient for blake and yang to breathe the same air again that i could not deal with sun and blake standing that close lmao i was just ’[yt comment voice] this is looking ominously hetero,,,,,’ and don’t get me wrong, it was a cute scene but......htrgfhfh i need both of you to take a step back
i’m just going to assume they’re holding off on the actual meat of the bee reunion for next season when they can have proper conversations about it (what with blake seeing adam again, blake’s scar being animated for SOME REASON, yang being willing to be more mature and forgiving after her talks with weiss and raven) but also......man, i expected a bit more?
this isn’t a complaint but can sun and ilia join the team fulltime pls and thx
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Accidentally deleted my Tyrian and Watts asks while I was trying to fix a mistake so... Sorry about that, everyone! Here they are! Tyrian and Watts for the RWBY character asks!
Let’s do Tyrian first, because I have less to say about him, I feel like.
My top three ships for the character
Tyrian/Watts. Dysfunctional villainous romance of the century, no one knows how they’ve managed to make it to their tenth anniversary without killing each other, including them. Tyrian/Salem is my second top ship for him. Major Bellatrix/Voldy vibes with this one, but I could see it. Tyrian/Hazel is my third ship for lack of options. Does this one make sense? No. But I can at least see Tyrian being super flirty and Hazel being endlessly tired, but never really stopping it. (Also I hate Hazel so much lol.)
My three least favorite ships for the character
Tyrian/Qrow sucks for me. Like... I kinda feel like two people fighting each other just gets shippers, which is fine and totally understandable. But for me, Tyrian poisoning Qrow and almost killing him and calling his beloved niece a bitch and then killing Clover is a big no from me, dog. On that note! Tyrian/Clover is also one big no from me, since Clover murdered him. And Tyrian/Ozpin is another really big no from me. Tyrian and his crazy Salem worship can stay five hundred and fifty feet away from my son.
My biggest criticism for the character
They went a little too much on the crazy in the fourth and fifth season and it made him feel annoying. Like, I don’t mind the Bellatrix vibes, but I do mind the movie version Bellatrix vibes, sometimes. It just got kinda annoying. I wish his crazy was always more on the dangerous side and less on the kooky side, but that’s just personal opinions.
My favorite thing about the character
The way people are so uncomfortable around him. Whenever Tyrian talks to Emerald or Mercury, he’s honestly freaky. Like both me and the characters are waiting for him to snap. That’s a great quality in a villain that we’re meant to hate or love to hate. He has a real presence and it’s enjoyable.
A headcanon I have about them
Tyrian doesn’t often try to act normal, but he can, and he’s got a great ‘respectable, cool guy’ act that’s actually a little reminiscent of Qrow or Clover. He’s even passed himself as a Huntsman here and there.
What I would change about them if I was making a re-write
More involvement in volumes 4 and 5, and I’d treat him a bit more seriously and make him a bit more dangerous. Maybe I’d have him wound a member of Team RNJR in his attack as well as poison Qrow (maybe give Jaune a reason to unlock his semblance in season 4 and in response to the pain of a member of his team. Also, his ‘Tyrian purple’ color should be more than just the color of his eyes. Like, how come so many RWBY characters season 4 and onward have such boring colors? I’d give Tyrian some strong purple and pink.
What I I think of their character allusion and what (if anything) I would change about it
Tyrian alludes to the animal fable ‘the Scorpion and the Frog,’ and that’s... really in name only, I think. A part of me wants to give them some kind of points for having Qrow work with him against Clover, only for Tyrian to kill Clover, which lines up with his ‘its just my nature’ scorpion stinging the frog so that they’ll both drown and die. But they didn’t mean for Qrow to really be wrong! They didn’t mean for the lesson to be ‘Qrow shouldn’t have trusted the poisonous villain’ it was ‘wowza does Qrow’s semblance hurt him. :( Too bad Clover got himself killed.’ Which makes the whole allusion kind of suck.
Now for Watts, the single best villain in my opinion.
My top three ships for the character
Tyrian/Watts. See above. This ship would be a dysfunctional mess, but it’d be a wild ride. Watts/Villain!Ironwood. I kind of hate this ship when it’s ‘fallen hero turned villain’ Ironwood. But if he actually had been written as a secret villain or obviously headed that way from the start, I can see him and Watts also being a dysfunctional mess of a wild ride ship, only with way more ‘evil power couple’ vibes than Tyrian and Watts would have. Also my favorite version of this features Watts having been the one to build Penny (maybe by stealing the plans from Pietro) and him and Ironwood raising a still bright and cheerful, still innocent and trusting, villain Penny who will attack to kill with a smile on her face and a ‘it was nice meeting you!’ And this is very weird and niche but Watts/Evil Stepsister (specifically the one with the sharp bangs and highlights.) Someone sent me an ask saying the Evil Stepmother and stepsisters should’ve been connected to Salem and gotten Cinder involved and I totally agree with this. I then started envisioning a world where the step sisters competed with Cinder and all three of them were raised in Salem’s circle. In this version of things, I could totally picture one of the step sisters having a romantic tension driven connection with Watts and the two of them subtly flirting sometimes (and bonding over their mutual hatred of Cinder.) I picked the sister with bangs for no real reason except that I like her look more.
My three least favorite ships for the character
Watts/Cinder. Watts thinks of her like a bratty little girl, and Cinder kills him. Watts/Lionheart. Kinda really hate this one because of how clearly Lionheart was terrified of him. Just a bit uncomfortable for me to see that in a relationship. Watts/Hero!Ironwood or Watts/HeroTurnedVillain/Ironwood. Sorry, but Ironwood in canon got such a bad, bad portrayal in season 8 and the end of season 7, and I just can’t help but blame Watts for quite a bit of it. I only like them as a ship if Ironwood is an antagonist from the start.
My biggest criticism for the character
They shouldn’t have killed him! He was one of Salem’s best followers and one of the best villains and it was such a big mistake to kill literally one of the only actual loyal followers. It threw off any character development for Cinder and it was a big mistake. I really wanted the Cinder / Watts / Neo team up to keep going! I’m so disappointed it got thrown away.
My favorite thing about the character
Watts is an entitled, petty bastard, and I think that’s so good for a villain that isn’t meant to be social commentary (because tbh, RWBY never should’ve tried to be social commentary.) Watts isn’t sympathetic, he’s an Atlas born and raised guy in a three piece suit, he’s posh, he’s upset because he wasn’t given exactly what he wanted. Most of the villains in RWBY are either victims of abuse, systemic oppression, or poverty, and that’s... Not fun in a show that’s never handled social commentary well and is about magical girls destroying Voldemort/Satan with the power of friendship (Ruby literally never says anything about Faunus rights iirc.) Watts is refreshing because he’s exactly the type of villain that you can expect in a show like what RWBY should’ve been, and he flourishes as that. Why would we be sympathetic to Watts when he’s just doing this all because he wasn’t picked first for his tech? Why would we feel soured towards conflicts with Watts and Team RWBY? He’s just a petty bastard being evil because he was snubbed. Why would we be frustrated that incredibly significant problems are being shoved to the side with Watts? He’s a fun villain, he’s not meant to be more, he’s not meant to make you emotionally invested only to then be gutted for it. You can hate to love him without it feeling bad. Maybe that’s why he’s just my favorite non-kid villain (other than Roman.)
A headcanon I have about them
Watts has been trying to build his own AI robot like Penny, in his spare time. He wanted it to be done in time to become a Maiden, but it wasn’t, and Salem gave that slot to Cinder and got after Watts for not contributing enough. He of course thought this was deeply unfair (especially after being made to contribute a lot to Cinder’s Beacon success without getting any credit for it.) And this just fueled his hatred of Cinder, his hatred of Pietro and Ironwood, and by extension, his hatred of Penny.
What I would change about them if I was making a re-write
I would keep him freaking alive and keep up the pair up he had going on with Cinder and Neo! But also I’d increase his relationships with Emerald, Mercury, Tyrian, Hazel... Just some more Salem’s Inner Circle moments to flesh out their characters. Other than that, I wouldn’t change much. He’s a pretty good character.
What I I think of their character allusion and what (if anything) I would change about it
Okay, I’ve talked about his character allusion in a very long post awhile ago, but I’m not scrolling down that far to tag it. To sum it up... I hate his allusion. XD I loved the Sherlock Holmes books and read most of them, and I didn’t realize he was supposed to allude to John Watson until I read someone else’s post saying so, and I started freaking out about how awful it was. Watts has so little in common with Watson, he’s essentially the anti-Watson. Which basically means he’s Sherlock Holmes, the opposite of Watson in almost every way, up to and including freaking faking his death which is one of the most iconic Sherlock Holmes thing ever. Watts is everything Sherlock Holmes is on his worst days, arrogant, callous, consumed with his projects, petty, smug, over the top - as well as being hyper intelligent and a genius who often just gets passed over. He has rivalries with his colleagues like Holmes did. And like I said, he faked his death, only to reveal himself to an old friend later on the cusp of carrying out a scheme. He’s evil Holmes! He has nothing to do with John Watson - caring, humble, down to earth, not brilliant like his friend but content to be ordinary and special because of his emotional depth and devoted heart, medical former doctor who spends quite a lot of time chronicling the successes of someone else because he’s content to live in the background. Don’t get me wrong, a ‘Watson’ character who is evil could work - Watson himself indulged in crime for the sake of Holmes sometimes in the original works and if he worshipped Salem or one of her followers and did everything for her while still being a more humble, more friendly, not brilliant person he could be good - but Watts is not that person. Even the gimmicks Watts is given are stupid and don’t make it obvious he’s Watson. Boy’s got a moustache and a revolver and they thought that’d be enough. Idk why they thought 'we’ll make him Watson’ when he’s clearly a Holmes! Also, he’s supposed to be ‘Watson if he’d met Moriarty instead of Holmes,’ and to that I say boo! Watson wouldn’t turn into a super genius just because he meets a different mastermind!
...That’s summing up my feelings, yeah. Because I have so many feelings about his warped, weird character allusion. If I was changing it, I’d just make him Holmes like I think he was clearly supposed to be.
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CHARACTER TROPES: YAGAAN
Just a few tropes from tvtropes. They are (hopefully) linked correctly if you want to read up on them. Feel free to add more! Bold what applies.
Asskicking Equals Authority / Mama Bear / Respected by the Respected / Cut a Slice, Take the Rest / Half-Human Hybrid / Achilles’ Heel / Nigh-Invulnerability / Soul Jar / Kryptonite Factor / Involuntary Shapeshifter / Voluntary Shapeshifting / Kaleidoscope Eyes / Asshole Victim / Anti-Hero / Ideal Hero / Kill All Humans / Organic Technology / Ridiculously Human Robots / Become a Real Boy/ Ambiguous Robots / Magical Eye(s) / Magic Music / Lady of War / Expressive Hair / Spoiled Sweet/ Battle Ballgown / Cute Bruiser / Cheerful Child / Rapunzel Hair / Dark Action Girl / Mind Virus / Theme Music Power-Up / Epiphany Therapy / Rich Bitch / Aloof Big Brother / Stalker with a Crush / Driven by Envy / Always Second Best / I Lied / Big Brother Instinct / Fake Memories / Shell-Shocked Veteran / Jerk with a Heart of Gold / Noble Demon / The Power of Love / The Love Slap of Epiphany / The Power of Friendship / Good Thing You Can Heal / The Power of Hate / Remember That You Trust Me/ Dark Is Not Evil / Lovable Alpha Bitch / Split Personality Takeover / Dying Alone / Heroic Sacrifice / Loners Are Freaks / Go Mad from the Isolation / NEET / Do Not Taunt Cthulhu / Curb-Stomp Battle / Cry for the Devil / Cradle of Loneliness / Desperately Craves Affection / Hates Being Touched / Because You Were Nice to Me / No Sense of Personal Space / Et Tu, Brute? / Go Out with a Smile / Artificial Limbs/ Apocalypse Maiden / Enemy Within / Badass / Freakiness Shame/ Abusive Parents / Defied Trope / Fluffy Tamer / Nightmare Fetishist / Bad Dreams / Talking in Your Sleep / Death Seeker / The Dreaded / All of the Other Reindeer / Heroes Prefer Swords / One-Man Army / Lightning Bruiser / Sanity Slippage / Roaring Rampage of Revenge/ White Hair, Black Heart / Light Is Not Good / Unstoppable Rage / Too Clever by Half / Younger Than They Look / Older Than They Look / Well-Intentioned Extremist / Smug Super / When She Smiles / Bad Powers, Good People / Big Brother (Sister) Worship / Emotionless Girl / Earthy Barefoot Character / 100% Adoration Rating / 0% Approval Rating / Magical Girl / Laughing Mad / My God, What Have I Done? / Dishing Out Dirt / Sickeningly Sweethearts / Ill Girl / Bandage Babe / Too Good for This Sinful Earth / Brilliant, but Lazy / Motor Mouth / Beauty Mark / Psychopathic Manchild / Voice of the Legion / Mad Scientist / Our Zombies Are Different / A-Cup Angst / The Hedonist / Big Breast Pride / Absolute Cleavage / Blue Blood / Cold-Blooded Torture / Lad-ette / Kung-Fu Wizard / Significant Green-Eyed Redhead/ Sour Outside, Sad Inside / Inferiority Superiority Complex / Green-Eyed Monster / The Gadfly
Tagged by: @winterinmyveins thank you for the tag! I actually had never seen this one before lol nor did I know what ANY of these tropes were, so I had to literally read through them all XD
Tagging: whoever wants to do the thing!
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How Utena Helped Me Understand My Queerness
As a queer person (and the word “queer” means so many different things for me), I can call upon any number of childhood moments where my understanding of the gender binary were constantly challenged. When I played Power Rangers with my friends, I always wanted to be the Pink Ranger. The breadwinner of my family is my hard-working mother. My favorite manga growing up were shojo and magical girl stories. These days, it’s easy for me to say I was always the way I am now, but for the longest time, I never had a reference point to help me define my conflicts over my queer expressions. Utena Tenjou was one such anime character who contributed a lot to that end.
As the titular protagonist of Revolutionary Girl Utena celebrates her birthday on December 29, I write this as a tribute to Utena. Her own experience with toxic masculinity and restrictive gender roles helped inform my own, and I consider her one of my major influences on my ongoing queer journey up there with Steven Universe and Bayonetta.
As a character, though, she didn’t start out that way. In fact, her entire worldview was centered around a very black-and-white concept of gender. Or in this case, blue-and-pink. It was her whole journey—tragic and surreal and cathartic as it was—that I was able to empathize with. Utena’s evolution beyond her preconceived notions of society became something of a cautionary tale for me and my voyage beyond the gender binary.
Utena’s story began after a seemingly-gallant prince saved her from a life of despair. When tragedy befell her at a young age, Utena had nearly resigned herself to darkness and isolation. It wasn’t until her prince came along and showed light at the end of the tunnel. From that point forward, she sought to become a prince herself.
While attending high school, she became a popular tomboy who proudly wore her princely demeanor, quite literally. She was known for preferring boys’ school uniforms as opposed to the girls’ and often bested many of the male students at sports. When it came time for her to fight the Student Council over Anthy the Rose Bride, she took on the role of a prince defending a helpless and innocent damsel.
As the title suggests, Utena sought a form of social revolution with her masculine expression. She refused to let her gender limit herself in both school life and as she fought for Anthy’s hand in marriage and did her best to shake up gender norms. I was initially inspired by her efforts to present her masculinity, but when I look back on it now, that mindset was almost self-defeating.
She rejected any notion of traditional femininity while also heavily conforming to displays of traditional masculinity. At a certain point when she loses the will to continue her fight, she resigned herself to wearing a girl’s school uniform and trying to act more feminine and delicate. This is almost as if taking on "feminine traits" was supposed to be a form of punishment. She both subverted and reinforced the gender binary and lived her whole life under this paradox.
Much like Utena, my own expression was also restricted by these guidelines. Growing up, I had no grasp of what was “for boys” or “for girls.” I wasn’t born with any particular notion on how to gender my behavior. I only learned about the gender binary through the lens of how other people structured their lives by it.
Being assigned male at birth, the world provided me with the recipe on how to act like a boy I tried desperately to fit into it. It became easy for me to feign masculinity and adjust my personality among my cisgendered friends. But I could feel my femininity trying to ooze out. I felt it through my favorite anime and choice of role models and the crushes I had and this growing desperation I felt to reject the manlihood I could feel infesting me. It would be a while until I realized how harmful this was to my emotional health, but Utena helped me along the path of revolution.
Utena went through a similar struggle throughout her battles for the Rose Bride. What began as a story of her, the gallant prince charged with protecting the helpless damsel, was deconstructed into something much more sinister as she dug herself further and further into the throes of toxic masculinity.
She eventually started interacting with Akio Ohtori, Anthy’s brother as well as an incarnation of the prince who had saved her. And from that point on, Utena’s principles on gender were constantly challenged to the point where she had to question everything she thought she knew about the world and even herself.
Her prince was nothing more than a manipulative abuser who sought power for himself. Anthy, while still a damsel in distress in her own right, was capable of cold-hearted cruelty as she remained in the thrall of her brother. And Utena’s efforts to embody a gallant prince were nothing more than her own roundabout way of allowing patriarchal standards to control her life as she continually fell into Akio’s clutches.
Eventually, Utena made a sacrifice that helped her accept the world for what it was and allowed her to achieve some small form of revolution. She fought until her last breath to save Anthy, disregarding all notions of princely duty or the expectations of a maiden. Though she disappeared in the process, her final efforts had touched Anthy’s heart and allowed her to leave her brother behind as she left to answer Utena’s love and find her once more.
As strange as Utena’s journey was, it contains a rather simple message that has since resonated with me: the gender binary is simply a construct and affixing yourself to it is poisonous. There is no right or wrong way to present your gender identity, but the necessity to draw that distinct line between how to be feminine or masculine is a strict and narrow-minded concept that all but destroyed Utena's life.
Utena helped me realize how I prefer to present more feminine. Whether it's through my cosplay or the clothes I wear every day or the way I speak, my femininity is vital to who I am as a person. I long for the day when I’m able to appear as girlish as I please and have people question the very nature of gender expression. But even when I feel as far from content with my gender identity as possible, Utena's story taught me that my queerness doesn’t change. My being trans and being femme is a constant, and even at my lowest points, she reminds me that I’m always as queer as I should be.
When I first watched Utena, I thought I wanted to be her. I viewed her as someone who challenged gender norms and shattered expectations. But as I saw her grow and change, I learned that that wasn’t the whole truth. Defining her whole life between being either a prince or a damsel was her downfall, and it wasn’t until those final moments that she realized that being herself was more important than fulfilling an idyllic yet flawed patriarchal fantasy.
In Adolescence of Utena, she does achieve a more fulfilling catharsis. After winning the right to marry the Rose Bride, she rejects the marriage entirely. Her only wish was to live freely with the girl she loved, and she fights tooth and nail and race car to achieve it with Anthy. True to the title, Utena more readily overcame her adolescence and rigid gender structures to come out and love both Anthy and herself more openly.
As for me? I suppose even in my mid-20s, I’m still in that same proverbial adolescence that Utena went through. This is still a world where people still adhere to that rigid binary and leave little wiggle room for people to safely explore themselves. And I still have plenty of days when I don’t feel nearly as queer or as trans as I want to be.
But Utena Tenjou’s story gave me so much guidance at a time when I really needed it. I learned alongside her that we have no obligation to fit into anyone’s molds but our own. As a queer person, I choose to be feminine and how I achieve that is up to me. Once upon a time, I would’ve called Utena Tenjou a role model. That isn’t the case anymore. More truthfully, we were kindred spirits who were, and still are, desperate for revolution within ourselves. So to celebrate Utena's birthday, I'll keep trying to revolutionize my own world. Happy birthday, Utena!
What's your take on Utena's tumultous coming-of-age? What's your favorite Utena moment? Comment below and let us know!
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Carlos is a freelance features writer for Crunchyroll. Their favorite genres range from magical girls to over-the-top robot action, yet their favorite characters are always the obscure ones. Check out some of their satirical work on The Hard Times.
Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!
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