Lost In The Fandom

I’ll probably get flack for this, but honestly I don’t care.  This is something that has been eating at me for roughly two weeks now and if I don’t get something written down and out into the ether, I might lose it.

(Cut due to longish rant and possible spoilers)

A list of some initial thoughts – A more proper review to follow once the episode is available to everyone on the site (and I’ve been able to digest it without mouth surgery happening in less than three hours).  

As an aside, this week I’m putting my thoughts under a cut, but in the future I’m tagging RWBY Volume 7 spoilers as “rwby vol 7 spoilers” should anyone need to update their Tumblr Saviors or blocking apps, etc.  

With RWBY Volume 7 literally days away, there’s a lot of speculation about what will happen to our heroes in Atlas.  Volume 7 is shaping up to be a pivotal time not only for teams RWBY, JNR, Qrow, Oscar and Maria, but for the series as a whole.  The group has come a long way since leaving Vale and Atlas needs to be the biggest challenge they’ve faced yet. 

With that in mind, here are 6 things that Volume 7 needs to do in order to make this volume stand out. 

1. Focus on Weiss

It can’t be argued that Weiss has come a long way from her introduction in Volume 1.  Volume 4 especially laid the groundwork for Weiss’s development when she chose to forge her own path rather than stay under the cold thumb of her father.

Since then, however, not a lot of attention has been given to Weiss.  We got a touching reunion between her and Yang (and later Ruby) and she certainly kept her cool when she set the Brunswick house on fire to stop the Apathy’s pursuit.  Now, with the party arriving at Atlas, it’s important that the volume take the time to focus on her, her feelings about being back so soon after leaving, reactions regarding what Atlas has become and (hopefully) a showdown between her and her father – or at least Whitley.  Hell, a reunion with Winter would certainly be welcome as would an introduction to the elusive  Willow Schnee.

Of course, I’m not looking for the rest of the cast to take a complete backseat (some attention thrown Oscar’s way and how he’s dealing with his situation, would be nice), but the main focus of the volume when it comes to characterization needs to be on Weiss.  The volume should take the opportunity to develop her character further, work on the relationship between her and Yang that was touched on in Volume 5, and lay the framework for continued relationship building with Blake and Ruby and maybe members of team JNR as well.

2. Show (Don’t Tell) the Civil Unrest in Atlas…and some Faunus Discrimination too.

RWBY has a bad habit of telling us a lot of things, but not actually showing any of it to us.  Volume 5 spent too much time in the teams’ safe house and not enough time out exploring the Kingdom of Mistral.  Not to mention that we have had our ears talked off about how badly the Faunus are treated, but to date have not seen much to back that up.  With the exception of Jinn’s vision in Volume 6, exposition has been given by way of a lot of talking and little showing. 

The trailer for Volume 7 teases us with scenes from a very dark city (Atlas? Mantle?) where the people are very unhappy and we hear a voice over from Weiss observing that “This isn’t right”. 

It’s hopeful that this means we’ll actually get to see the affect the fall of Vale and the subsequent closing of Atlas’s boarders has had on the people of living in the kingdom.  Has Ironwood gone too far with the idea of a military state?  Has martial law been declared?  Are things so bad that civil war threatens to tear apart the country if the grimm don’t get to it first?

Whatever is going on in Atlas, it’s vital that Volume 7 takes the time to show it to us rather than have Ironwood (or anyone else) simply explain the situation to Ruby and the others. In order of us to really grasp how things “are not right”, we need to see it for ourselves.

Same goes for some negative treatment of the Faunus.  Mistreatment, even oppression, of the Faunus has been something repeated again and again over the course of the series, but not something we have actually seen much of.  Granted, it’s not easy to write (much less watch) the cruel treatment of others, however, it is something that needs to be seen in order to carry any kind of weight.  This is especially true if the audience is meant to be sympathetic towards the Faunus.  Considering Atlas is supposed to be the most offending country when it comes to Faunus rights, Volume 7 absolutely must show how the Faunus living there are treated, especially during this time of social strife and unrest.

3. Ruby Learns that there are Consequences to Her Actions

Ruby really came into her own as a leader during the events of Volume 6, something that was a long time coming and was fun and rewarding to watch.  However, there is a significant difference between being a leader and being overconfident to the point where you’re reckless – like diving headfirst up the barrel of a buster cannon during combat.

Part of being a good leader is realizing that your actions have consequences, not only for yourself, but for your team as well.  This is a lesson Ruby hasn’t seemed to have learned yet and one she should have learned back in Volume 4 when she butted into the fight with Tyrian after Qrow told her to stay back.  Qrow, fortunately, recovered from that encounter and for whatever reason, the event has never been brought up again.  Furthermore, Ruby’s “We Don’t Need Adults” speech in Episode 9 of Vol. 6 (Lost) underlines the fact she has a lot to learn when it comes to the idea that her actions have consequences.  Especially considering that no, Ruby, you wouldn’t have gotten to Mistral had it not been for the adults in your life stepping in and helping out.

I will admit that the fight with Tyrian showed Ruby’s sense of responsibility (“I can’t stand by while someone gets hurt”).  However, she hasn’t quite learned about taking responsibility when her actions cause problems for others or puts them directly in harm’s way, or risks her own life needlessly.  Ruby needs to learn this lesson and she needs to learn it the hard way. 

We all make mistakes.  Let Ruby make her own that have serious repercussions not only for her but to those who follow her. Let her face those repercussions.  Doing so will not only make her more relatable as a character, but will help her to continue to grow into the great leader and hero she is being set up to be rather than being a girl who can do no wrong (even when she does).  

4. A Limit to the Silver Eyes

Ruby has learned to control her Silver Eyes too easily and too quickly. Yes, it took her two tries in order to use them on the Leviathan at the end of Volume 6, and she didn’t freeze it permanently, but she still was able to do it just with the meager information Maria had given her earlier in the volume.

The other two times Ruby used her eyes she was under great emotional distress and she had little to no control over what she was doing, much less an understanding of what she was doing.  This is what made the concept of Silver Eyes so appealing and so mysterious.  The appeal was taken even further when it became obvious that not a lot of people knew anything about the Silver Eyes (if anyone did at all), and that Ruby was going to have to figure it out on her own and we would figure it out with her. 

However, by the end of Volume 6, and after one conversation with Maria (in which the huntress didn’t provide Ruby with much information we didn’t already know), Ruby seems able to use her eyes no problem and against a gigantic beast that was supposed to be an imposing threat against Argus.  The issue here is since she was able to use her power on something so imposing, any time she doesn’t use it on much smaller grimm will come across as being forgetful at best and negligent at worst.  It also mitigates any threat the grimm still have, turning them into more of an annoyance than anything else. 

This can be avoided, however, if Ruby learns that there is some kind of limit to her power.  I’m inclined to believe that there is considering that in Maria’s flashback, she only used her eyes against one nevermore and only after she had defeated the first using her weapons.  This is only a theory, of course, but a limitation on the power will keep it from becoming too powerful too quickly and keep the grimm a reasonable threat. 

5. A Reconciliation (of sorts) with Ozpin

Volume 6 changed Ozpin from a righteous and wise figure our heroes followed without question and humanized him, giving him flaws and faults and casting him in shades of grey.  I loved every minute of it! 

But Ozpin has had his time to brood and has made it clear that he hasn’t completely retreated to the recesses of Oscar’s mind.  So, now is the time for him to attempt to reach back out to the people who are still carrying on his mission, with or without him.

Let’s be clear here: Ozpin was 100% in the wrong for keeping secrets from those who were loyal to him. However, I can sympathize with his reasoning and I can certainly sympathize with the overall reaction from Team RWBY and Qrow when his secrets finally came to light.  But here is the main take away from this scenario: no one is absolutely right or absolutely wrong.  No one is meant to be.  It isn’t about who is right and who is wrong.  I mentioned this before, but its about taking responsibility for the decisions you’ve made, right or wrong, good intentions or no.  

I’m not talking about total forgiveness here.  There was a gross betrayal of trust on Ozpin’s part and he should have to work hard to gain that trust back.  However, having him reach out to the group, and having them respond (perhaps having an actual conversation about what happened), would provide for some fantastic character moments during quieter scenes.  It would also be a great parallel for Ruby, as she too comes to understand that there are consequences for her decisions as well. 

6. A Defeat at Atlas

The end of Volume 3 changed everything for RWBY.  Though technically Ruby, her team and her friends weren’t completely defeated at Vale (the relic there still remains unclaimed...as far as we have been told...), they were shown for the first time that there are forces closer than they think that are incredibly strong and just how unprepared they were to face them.

Volume 7 needs to do something similar.  The convergence of Watts, Tyrian, Cinder and Salem (along with her flying monkeys) on Atlas at once is the perfect time for our antagonists to re-establish their threat to RWBY and Co., as well as to us as an audience.  Salem, especially, needs to continue to be a considerable looming threat and its time that she come out of the shadows to show our heroes just what she is capable of and why their mission against her is so important.  

Now, I’m not calling for Atlas to come crashing down to the ground (though wouldn’t that be a spectacle), but the group needs to experience some kind of loss – either the loss of a relic, a maiden or even a teammate – to show them how far they still have to go if they ever hope to stand up to Salem…much less the gods themselves.

Recently Youtube creator EruptionFang put out a video regarding which direction he believes Red vs. Blue should go in the upcoming seasons (video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6DJmrCI84g).  In his video he postulates that while he doesn’t think the show should end, maybe it’s time to retire the Reds and the Blues, at least temporarily.  

Now, this is an interesting idea.  The Red vs. Blue universe (Red vs. Blu-nerverse?) has no shortage of characters that the series could shift its focus to and there’s no denying that the fan base does have a certain affinity for the Chorus Lieutenants, the Freelancers…hell, people have been chomping at the bit to see Junior again for the last ten years.  But do any of these characters, or groups of characters have what it takes to carry a season’s story on their own?  Would Red vs. Blue be the same without the Reds and the Blues?

Of course, it wouldn’t. The reason those of us still watching the series keep coming back is for the current cast of characters.  People went nuts when Donut, after nineteen seasons, was finally given his own story line, and one (despite its flaws) was actually entertaining and interesting to watch and actually progressed the character forward beyond Guy Who Makes Inappropriate Innuendos.  There are fans who would love to see the same be done for other characters still who haven’t received the Spotlight Treatment.  Honestly, after Season 17, I believe that very well could be a possibility and there is a part of me that is looking forward to those types of stories.

All that being said, however, I do think there is something to the idea of a possible spin off series, which EruptionFang also briefly touched on.  I think the best way to test those waters is to revisit the Season 14 idea of an anthology season.  Now, I’m not going to argue that Season 14 was not a great season.  I fact, if I were to rank the seasons, Season 14 would fall somewhere near the bottom.  The reason for this isn’t necessarily the idea of a season made up of differing stories, but the type of stories that were used for the season.  Of the seasons 24 episodes, the only ones I really remember are the ones in which Captain Butch “Florida” Flowers recruits the team to Blood Gulch, Felix and Locus’s backstory and the Triplets.  Why are these the episodes I remember?  Because they were “canon” episodes that actually expanded on the universe.  They took characters we were already familiar with (or in the case of the Triplets, a set up and time frame that we were already familiar with, i.e. the Freelancers) and used them to explore a different aspect of the universe and/or introduce new ideas and information concerning to their individual stories.  

I think doing another season in which we had stories like these would be a good way to gauge interest in possible spin off series, or even give writers the chance to take a break from the normal RvB writing and play more to their strengths, or even experiment a little.  This anthology season would have three to four stories that would span three to four episodes each.  Each story could focus on a character or set of characters.  For example, we could have a story focusing on the Freelancers during a mission (which we were semi teased with in Season 14’s trailer but never got), a story about Vanessa Kimball and/or the Lieutenants adjusting to a newly unified Chorus and what that means to and for them, and a follow-up story about Felix and Locus showing how they went from bounty hunters to mercenaries.  There is quite a bit to explore in each of these ideas.  Hell, I’ve read plenty of fan fics about the Freelancers during missions that I actually think would make for interesting episode plots.  And if there’s some hesitation about completely leaving the Reds and Blues out of the picture, do another shorter story about one or two of them.  A Grif and Kai story could be interesting and provide an opportunity to let yet another member of the BGC a chance at development.  

I got my pillow sheath and tote with design by @jealizing and I love them!  The tote is the perfect size to carry around my binder and dice for my gaming nights.  I love the pillow so much I ordered a second (this time with filling) so I can have a matching set!  If I could get this design on a shirt, I could die happy XD

Available on jealzing’s RedBubble!

This needs more than just 41 views.  

I’m  a goddamn sucker for Found Family.  

One of the many things I enjoyed in Gen:LOCK was the Found Family dynamic that formed among the team, especially between Kazu, Val/Entina and Cammie.  Do these kinds of relationships get names?  If so, do we have a name for this yet?

It’s just...this is such a sweet moment.  It’s the first big sign (no pun intended) that the soldiers at Anvil have really accepted the GEN:Lock team as their own and not a stand alone unit of experimental mechs and inexperienced pilots.  They’ve even given them call signs!  And, awww, Cammie’s is “Trixx”, like the rabbit.

(Side note: Apparently the breakfast cereal Trix exists in this universe and now I’m wondering if Lucky Charms does too...)

But this is also so sad, because this was Leon’s “debriefing” he was giving them shit about at the start.  The whole “you expect us to put up a banner and throw some confetti” line?  A total misdirect.  He really is proud of them.  The GL team knows that now, but they can’t show their appreciation because the base is being wrecked currently by the Union.  It’s just...ouch, right in the gut, here!

That all being said, Rooster Teeth made the correct choice by letting him go.  You may agree with it.  You may not.  But the fact of the matter is, it’s never good for a company to be mixed up in a controversy like this.  Just take a look at what happened to Channel Awesome in April of last year. 

One thing I would like to say is that it is ok for you to still be a fan of the shows Mignogna worked on.  Don’t let him or anyone else dictate to you whether or not you can still love Edward Elric or Qrow Branwen or any of the other characters Mignogna has voiced.  Don’t let him or anyone else have the power to take what makes you happy away from you.

As for RWBY specifically and RT’s announcement, am I afraid that they’ll kill of Qrow due to loosing his voice actor?  No, not really.  Neath Oum took over for Ren when Monty passed away, and Mercury switched voice actors as well.  I really have better respect for Miles and Kerry than to believe that they’d take the easy route and kill off a character just because they don’t have the voice actor anymore.  Will Qrow’s voice be exactly the same?  Probably not, but you know, as long as the character remains true, I think I’ll be satisfied.

I’ve seen a lot of suggestions about who should replace Mignogna as Qrow’s new voice.  My personal favorites are Matt Mercer (Levi from Attack on Titan and Trafalgar Law from One Piece) and Travis Willingham (Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist).  

Or perhaps Rooster Teeth will find an independent voice actor, or  someone within the fandom or community to take up the mantle of our favorite Bird Uncle.  That actually would be really kickass. 

Is anyone really surprised that Argus is under a massive grimm attack right now?  

Between the mech fight and the Lantern Relic still bouncing around attached to Ruby’s belt, they may as well have slathered Argus in ketchup and put up a “free buffet” sign.

What bothers me about this from a storytellers perspective is that not one of our protagonists saw this as a potential outcome.

I can forgive the group for not expecting a giant massive mech to appear, but did they really expect Cordo wouldn’t have done anything the moment the airship disappeared from radar?

                                        “Why can they still see us?”

Maria’s feud with Cordo was well established.  So even if Blake’s portion of the mission had gone off without a hitch, did they really expect that no one would be watching the radar?  The airship is only carrying a Schnee.  And yes, Weiss may be a wayward Schnee, but Cordo was making a big deal about how pleased she was that Weiss had decided to return home, going so far as to ask her to put in a good word with Ironwood for her.

                      “Be sure to tell General Ironwood that for me.”

So, yeah, she’d probably have eyes on that ship from Argus to Atlas (or as far as their radar goes) and the moment it “disappears”, she’s going to notice and react.  

And let’s not forget that Maria’s feud with Cordo is well established.  It’s not a stretch that Cordo would have assumed Maria (who she knows is also attempting to get into Atlas and is associated with the group she turned away) to be involved, if not the mastermind.  And no one, not even Maria, the goddamn Grimm Reaper, the Legendary Huntress herself, thought that Cordo loosing her shit and coming after them was a possibility?! Even without knowledge of the mech, the fact that they weren’t expecting some kind of fight just baffles me.

Let’s add to that that the group knows that the relic attracts grimm.  Everyone was present when Oz let that shoe drop on the Argus Limited (except for Maria, but I have a hard time accepting that no one has clued her in on that little detail by now).  They even saw it at Brunswick with the Apathy.  Though, I’m willing to forgive them not making the connection considering they were under Apathy’s influence plus running for their damn lives. One tends not to think particularly clearly under those circumstances.

But we aren’t experiencing either the Apathy or literally running for dear life here, so I’m not willing to believe that everyone in the group conveniently forgot about the relic.  One or two of them? Maybe.  A handful of them?  Sure. But all of them?

Ok, so let’s say for the sake of argument here that yeah, everyone in the party conveniently forgot about the relic’s little side effect while planning the mission to steal the ship. Why didn’t anyone think of it during the lull in the battle when Jaune mentioned that the mech was probably designed to fight large grimm?  I do not accept the fact that they simply didn’t think of it.  These are huntsmen and huntresses.  Yes, our protagonists are young and yes they are still technically students.  However, it has been stressed a lot in the last several episodes that the students – the kids – need to be listened to, need to be trusted, that they are capable to fight and survive on their own. However, this message is undermined by the poor planning that actually went into this plan.  That not one of them thought of the potential risks, of what could possibly go wrong, and as a result have left Argus utterly vulnerable.

What is

your obsession

with eyes?!

Rather than just dismiss this as a dues ex Machina being used to show us just how cool Maria is (as if we needed another example), I choose to believe that after being blinded, Maria found herself in Atlas and with the opportunity to receive some new (at the time) prosthetic eyes.  In order to pay for her new bionic eyes she took a job as a pilot.  This would explain not only how she’s able to fly the ship, but also how she knows (and can speak with fluency) Atlasian military jargon, not to mention how she “magically” knew that she’d be able to link her eyes to the ship’s sensor array.

Notice how everyone is positioned.  Ruby is out front, taking control and leading.  Jaune, Ren, Nora and Oscar all standing together ready for orders and to back her up, with Oscar standing a little in front.  

The group is shown here as being strong and unified behind Ruby.

And then we have Qrow standing off by himself.  When I first saw this shot I thought the reason he was off to himself was because he really didn’t want any part of this plan and was there grudgingly, however, as the episode progressed, I realized that’s not the case at all.  He’s isolated himself, something we’ve seen him do all throughout the season.  Hell, we’ve seen him do this as far back as Season 4, first while tailing team RNJR and leaving a trail of slaughtered grim or watching RNJR from a safe distance in another inn.  Even when he officially joins them, he keeps his distance, opting to sleep away from their encampment.

He’s doing it again now because he knows, or at least believes, that if he gets too close he’ll ruin not only their plan, but their one chance to get to Atlas.

This is underlined by the way he reacts when the plan does go south.  I highly doubt that Qrow’s semblance had anything to do with Adam showing up and ambushing Blake and preventing her from disabling the comm tower, but he doesn’t know that.  At this point none of them know what’s happened.  We don’t know much about what Qrow’s life growing up was like, but we can infer from things he’s said (“…crows are a sign of bad luck…it’s how I got my name”; “Nobody wanted me.  I was cursed.”) that his semblance, and him by extension, were blamed for a lot of things that went wrong in others’ lives.  When you are told something over and over and over again, you start believing it, even if it isn’t true.  So it’s easy to see that when things go wrong with the plan to steal the ship that Qrow would instantly hold himself accountable.

Then something important happens.  Its like this is the final straw that finally breaks him and he starts opening up, just a little bit by revealing that he holds himself personally responsible not just for their current situation, but for everything that’s happened up to this point as well as he current state of the world.  That is a lot to carry on one’s shoulders, whether its justified or not.  Some may see this as over reacting or another instance of him being all “emo” and shit.  I don’t. Instead I see this as a pivotal moment for Qrow because he’s finally showing the pain, frustration and anger he’s been keeping bottled up inside (no pun intended).

And Ruby’s reaction to this is amazing.  She recognizes what’s actually happening here.  Throughout the volume she’s started to realize the problems and flaws her uncle has and see them for what they are.  She’s also a person who is able to sympathize with others.  So now she’s drawing connections between her uncle’s drinking, his semblance and how he sees himself.  He hasn’t told her in so many words, but he doesn’t really have to either.  What Ruby says in response to Qrow’s outburst is probably the best little speech she’s ever given.  She tells him in no uncertain terms that she knows he’s always done the best he can, even though things didn’t always turn out well for him or those around him.  He doesn’t have to carry the burden of blame when things go wrong, she doesn’t expect or want him to.  And after everything is said in done, she still considers him one of her role models. After Qrow’s line “You gave me a place in this world.  I thought I was finally doing some good” in Chapter 4, hearing and seeing that his niece really does see him as a good person is absolutely vital.

Which leads us to this shot:

I love this shot.  Just like the first one, we have a visual establishing of the team’s dynamics. JNR + Oscar are standing unified, but this time, Ruby is bridging the gap between that unified group and Qrow.  She hasn’t quite made it all the way there yet, but she’s a hell of a lot closer now than she was before.  It’s a fantastic moment for both Qrow and Ruby and I am an utter sucker for moments like this in which both characters share an emotional moment and both grow from it.

Firstly, how does that work, exactly?  Did Marcus Black need to touch his target in order to steal their semblance, a la Rogue from X-Men?  Or was this something he could do just by thought alone?  Either option has the potential to be absolutely devastating to the target. I mean, really think about this. How many of our main protagonists rely on their semblances in combat?  Ruby with her speed, Weiss with her glyphs and summoning, Blake with her shadow clones and Nora with her lightening.  Even Jaune and Ren were shown this season using their semblances in order to save the civilians on the Argus Limited.  Imagine now those abilities suddenly being stripped from them.  This would be especially devastating for Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Nora who have all deeply embedded the use of their semblances into their fighting styles.

Never mind the fact that one’s semblance is a physical representation of the person themselves. Can you imagine what it would be like to suddenly have a part of what makes you, you taken away?

Also, if Marcus is able to steal semblances, did that mean he could use the stolen semblance himself?  Mercury said he was an assassin.  I’d imagine that using your target’s semblance against them would be incredibly useful. “Oh, so your semblance is the ability to move from Point A to Point B at incredibly speed and essentially become impervious to attacks while doing so? Well it’s mine now.  Good luck keeping up!”

Going further, did Marcus need to identify his target’s semblance in order to steal it?  Or was his ability like Qrow’s in that he had no control over it, meaning whenever he was in contact with someone whose semblance was unlocked he just automatically stole it.  I don’t think this is the case since Mercury made it sound as though his father intentionally stole his semblance.  Either case is still absolutely terrifying and incredibly powerful.