#aesops

So I had an idea that I feel like this would happen a couple of times between Meztli and Trickster. 

(Also this is inspired by the canon Meztli and Trickster interaction!)

!!TW: ANGST, GORE, VIOLENCE AND BETRAYAL!!!!

that fucking kick emerald did was amazing. being smart and hiding right after is just what she’s used to. but im proud of her nonetheless

the fact that jaune went in first speaks volumes to me. power moves just to keep him at bay for a short amount of time. he’s come so far to be able to confidently take ironwood on first like that. 

seeing nora back on the battle field is enough to make one cry. it was beautiful

marrow using his semblance against the other aesops was super fulfilling

So after V7C11 I’ve had a lot of thoughts and read a lot of theories. And my particular idea is about Marrow.

As I’m sure a lot of you noticed, out all of the Ace Ops in the meeting room with RWBY and Ironwood, Marrow was the only one to not say ANYTHING in support of Ironwood. Rather, he looks beaten down and dejected.

This is a HUGE clue. He is obviously the least comfortable with what Ironwoods plan is. He knows how many people are still down there in Mantle that they would be abandoning to die. And he knows a lot of them are faunus like him. He’s the Ace Ops rookie, and often gets teased and belittled for it. He knows the team aren’t friends with him. Heck Harriet states it in her oh-so-famous line in C4. And out of all the Ace Ops, Marrow is the one who has had the most screen time with RWBY and co BY FAR. (I’m excluding Clover from this because, yes, he’s had a lot of screen time too, but it’s all been with Qrow, not the kids, and that’s a whole different ballgame). We’ve seen the relationships building with the kids and Marrow throughout the volume (Jaune and Marrow’s cute coffee shot in C5, when they become official Huntsmen/Huntresses Marrow is the one trying to prank them with the mission board, Marrow’s tail wagging when he sees Ruby at the rally, etc). They care about each other, no matter how much Marrow may not want to admit it. And this is why I feel he is by far the most likely to switch sides. The Marrow is a traitor theory could well be correct after all! Just not in the way many of us thought at first.

The Aesop fable that Marrow is based off is The Dog and the Bone (which I’m sure we all know by now). In this fable, a Dog finds a big bone and goes to bury it. However, he comes across a river and sees another dog in it, with an even bigger bone. The dog decides that he wants the bigger bone, and so lets go of his to grab the other, but it was just his reflection the whole time and so he drops his bone to be lost in the river forever. The moral being that greed can lead to ‘costly foolish behaviour’.

Now, Marrow is faced with a choice that will define his character. He already has one bone - following Ironwood along with the other 3 Ace Ops in the room, or he can choose to abandon that bone for the other one presented in front of him - switching sides to be with RWBY. As mentioned earlier, Marrow is clearly the Ace Op least comfortable with what is happening. And when all of them turn to face RWBY in the final shot, he is the one that doesn’t look at all comfortable with what he’s being tasked to do. Elm looks steadfast and wavering (in loyalty to Ironwood), Harriet looks angry, Vine looks like... Vine, and Marrow looks uncomfortable as hell.

So here’s what I’ve found on the Aesops/Ace-ops (not guaranteed to be 100% accurate)

Marrow Amin

Based on: The Boy who Cried Wolf. And his dishonesty is on adorable display.

Marrow is the inside of bones, referencing his wolf-faunus attribute. His surname is a variation on Ameen, meaning trustworthy in Arabic. Obviously a joke because he’s dishonest.

Elm Ederne & Vine Zeki

Based on: The Elm and the Vine, I guess? It’s a story commonly mis-attributed to Aesop, a parable about the support a married couple give each other. It’s the only story I could find that matched. Are Elm and Vine a couple? And since this is not actually an Aesop technically, are they not what/who they seem?

Her first name is obviously a tree. Her surname is Turkish for handsome/beautiful.

Vine is a plant (duh) and Zeki is also Turkish, meaning cleaver or intelligent. I guess he’s the brains and she’s the brawn? Power couple energy.

Clover Ebi

Based on: A Fisherman’s Good Luck. Hence the goodluck charms and the fishing rod weapon, which might be the weirdest weapon in RWBY yet.

Clover is a common good luck charm, and Ebi is probably short for Ebisu, the Japanese god of fishermen and luck.

Harriet Bree

Based on: The Tortoise and the Hare