[RWBY] RWBY Shorts

[AndrewJTalon]

Lol, any of you active on r/RWBYcritics?

I just love seing most of them get incredibly salty whenever Jaune is brought up and keep saying he is a generic white boy for fans to self insert to?

It's just so funny how they will call him bland in one breath and then discuss why his actions were so controversial and misogynistic and why he is stealing the spotlight and over staying his welcome.

Like you described a completely polarising character and still call him bland?

Thank God for r/fnki. At least I can eat my Garbage in peace over there.

Also do you guys follow the fate/stay night themes RWBY comic posted over there with Rider Rusted Knight and Jaune's Grandma as Saber?

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Wait, wait, wait... There's a comic where Saber is Jaune's Grandma?!

Since when?! Did I come up with that or did they?!

 

[zMADLAXz]

Wait, wait, wait... There's a comic where Saber is Jaune's Grandma?!

Since when?! Did I come up with that or did they?!

Click to shrink...

Ok so this isn't actually Saber but rather Jaune's grandma who is acting as the Saber for this war.

Ruby summoned Saber(Jaune's Grandma), Weiss summoned RK and Weiss is the Rin here, Pyrrha summoned the personification of all the silver eyed warriors (think of nursery rhyme as she is the personification of the concepts of nursery rhymes) and Pyrrha is the Sakura. It is heavily implied something bad happened to her and we even had a viewing party of the brother gods and Blacksmith who show this version of "Standing in the rain" scene that was in Heaven's feel 2: Lost Butterfly.

Alyx is also a summoner and Qrow is the stand in for Lancer ga shinda! Penny is Illya and Jabberwocky is the Berserker.

The best duo however is Ozpin/Ozma summoning a pre Corruption Salem as Caster. Who is sadly killed by RK.

Also we had an equivalent of carnival Phantasm where Glyda talks/argues with Salem and Glynda is worried hat due to her advancing age, she will never find love(Salem Caster is dating Ozpin here)

Can you guess who came to her rescue? The ultimate protector of MILFs and Mature ladies, Rider Rusted Knight himself looking mighty fine in a semi Casual Suit.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Ok so this isn't actually Saber but rather Jaune's grandma who is acting as the Saber for this war.

Ruby summoned Saber(Jaune's Grandma), Weiss summoned RK and Weiss is the Rin here, Pyrrha summoned the personification of all the silver eyed warriors (think of nursery rhyme as she is the personification of the concepts of nursery rhymes) and Pyrrha is the Sakura. It is heavily implied something bad happened to her and we even had a viewing party of the brother gods and Blacksmith who show this version of "Standing in the rain" scene that was in Heaven's feel 2: Lost Butterfly.

Alyx is also a summoner and Qrow is the stand in for Lancer ga shinda! Penny is Illya and Jabberwocky is the Berserker.

The best duo however is Ozpin/Ozma summoning a pre Corruption Salem as Caster. Who is sadly killed by RK.

Also we had an equivalent of carnival Phantasm where Glyda talks/argues with Salem and Glynda is worried hat due to her advancing age, she will never find love(Salem Caster is dating Ozpin here)

Can you guess who came to her rescue? The ultimate protector of MILFs and Mature ladies, Rider Rusted Knight himself looking mighty fine in a semi Casual Suit.

Click to shrink...

Oh, cool. Well, I'm a little disappointed since I made Arturia Jaune's great grandmother in my weird little fan canon and I was hoping one of those spam bot emails about drawing a comic of my fics was true! Oh well, that sounds great.

 

[zMADLAXz]

Oh, cool. Well, I'm a little disappointed since I made Arturia Jaune's great grandmother in my weird little fan canon and I was hoping one of those spam bot emails about drawing a comic of my fics was true! Oh well, that sounds great.

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In a way I think we can still enjoy a reality where despite completely different platform, two creative entities came to a similar conclusion and had a different approach to the same goal.

Almos like a Naruto and Sasuke situation.

 

[Himera]

What are your thoughts?

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The army and its role in the world of RWBY is a complex and confusing topic. In short, a team of Huntsmens cannot replace a company of soldiers. If you are ready to listen to my reasoning, then I will try to outline my opinion on this matter.

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​

To begin with, the RWBY-verse itself was originally invented with a lot of internal contradictions. The most important of them is the discrepancy between society and the world. As the classic said: being defines consciousness. In other words, people in particular and society as a whole will adapt to the environment and shape themselves in accordance with it. Remnant is a death world in which civilization is: first, it is under threat of permanent destruction and has already slipped into the Bronze Age at least once. Secondly, there is an acute shortage of resources. It would seem that society should correspond to this state of affairs, but instead we have a typical Western (American/European) peacetime society with its own peculiarities and problems.

To exist for centuries, such a society simply must have the necessary survival tools, be survival-oriented, and as a result have a high degree of practicality, thrift, militarization, and civic responsibility. The public is above the personal, conservative values are above liberal, every grain of resources and manpower matters. One can only survive together; therefore, each person must become a useful part of society and contribute to its prosperity, otherwise, left without the support of fellow citizens, he will simply die.

Any harmful or useless elements, whether they are criminals, dissidents, or just loafers, should be treated as hostile and are highly likely to either be rejected or brought into subjection. You are either with us, or against us – in such a paradigm, the local population will exist, laws, culture, traditions, science and art will correspond to this.

Organizations such as the White Fang or the Branwen Tribe will not only not be tolerated, they will be ruthlessly destroyed at the slightest sign of criminal or terrorist activity. First, the government will offer them surrender, and then simply pour napalm or cluster bombs on their heads, after which it will clean up the survivors with a hunting squad. When the whole world is on the verge of destruction, rocking the boat is unacceptable. Crime can only exist in very moderate and mild forms, like the Junior Club. Any nail that sticks out too much will be hammered in as soon as possible, because the kingdom already has enough problems to spend its limited resources and forces on crime.

Therefore, the picture drawn by the authors of the script, to put it mildly, raises questions. Events unfold in the death world, but its inhabitants are openly disdainful of internal and external threats, wasting time and scarce resources. They do anything but strengthen society in the face of the threat of the Grimm. I repeat once again: we are being shown a prosperous Western-type civilization, a consumer society in peacetime, while it should be something similar to the USSR of the 30s. Or the Imperium from Wh40, if you want to take it to the extreme.

As for comparing the Huntsmen Corps and the regular army, this is a useless and pointless matter. Simply because they are two completely different structures with completely different goals and ways of organizing, neither of which can fully replace the other. Huntsmens should be used primarily for rapid response to threats, as well as for the destruction of particularly dangerous species of Grimm, which ordinary soldiers may have problems with. At other times, they can reinforce regular military units.

For all other tasks, the army is preferable. First of all, these are border protection, garrison duty in cities and towns, protection of strategic facilities such as power plants, mines, factories and transport hubs, and escort of transport convoys. Any small town should have a garrison whose sole task will be to protect it. One might think that the militia can handle this, but in all senses, a professional army is preferable, it will cope with this better, will have a higher level of training and material support. There are reasons why the people's militia has practically fallen out of use in the modern world.

Huntsmens, for all their strength, have several obvious disadvantages. Firstly, there are simply few of them. They cannot shut up all threatened areas, especially in times of crisis. This also applies to necessary but routine tasks, such as patrols or the protection of important facilities. For example, there is an ordinary railway bridge, through which communication is carried out between the Vale and one of the satellite settlements. Tons of food, consumer goods, dusts, fuel and ammunition are transported along it every day. It is through him that, if necessary, reinforcements will arrive and civilians will be evacuated. The Grimms or White Fang can destroy the bridge at any moment, creating a critical vulnerability in Vale logistics. So this bridge needs to be guarded around the clock or at least kept under surveillance, but we can't assign a team of professional Huntsmens to this, can we? There are hundreds of such bridges, as well as other facilities – mines, power plants, hospitals; there simply won't be enough Huntsmens for all of them.

Secondly, there are very few Huntsmens. Yes, I'm repeating myself, but it needs to be repeated. If a Huntsmen fails, for example, is injured, gets sick, or has diarrhea, it will be very difficult to replace him. Moreover, it takes about eight years to train a Huntsmen (correct me if I'm wrong), while a soldier can be brought up to an acceptable level in a year. In a couple of months, if you cut corners and focus on the most important things. And they can be cooked by the thousands, unlike the scarce Huntsmens.

Thirdly, compared to Huntsmens, soldiers are not that weak. Their main drawback is the lack of Aura, that is, personal protection that allows them to survive a fatal blow. They also cannot replace most of the Semblances. If we talk only about the attacking ability, then everything is not so bad here. Let's think about what the canonical teams are armed with. Let's put aside melee weapons and focus on shooting. RWBY team? A large-caliber sniper rifle, a pistol, and the equivalent of a shotgun. JNPR? A rifle, a grenade launcher, and a pair of small-caliber SMG. CFVY? A minigun and a Velvet's copycat weapon. And so on and so forth.

With rare exceptions like Penny, Huntsmens don't use some incredibly powerful small arms. They mostly use varieties of real weapons that simply have an exotic shape and appearance. At the same time, all of the above weapons are obviously quite effective against Grimms, since professional Huntsmens use them. It may well be used by soldiers without an aura and in much larger numbers.

You also mentioned that soldiers are less mobile than Huntsmens, but this is only partially true. Yes, Huntsmens are generally more mobile and this is achieved through two factors – the use of aura to accelerate and the small number of team members. If nothing can be done about the first one, then the second one is not such a problem. Let's not compare the Huntsmen squad with a motorized rifle company and go down to the platoon level. That's a total of thirty to forty soldiers, who can be transported by a pair of M35 trucks or one CH-47 Chinook (their equivalents).

At the same time, thirty to forty soldiers, even with M1 Garand rifles, can create a fire density greater than the entire RWBY team. They also carry significantly more ammunition and auxiliary equipment, such as grenades, for example. If you equip them with more modern weapons, as well as strengthen them with machine gunners and grenade launchers, then the firepower simply becomes incomparable. What can we say about technology – Huntsmens don't have it at all. Even a single M2 Bradley attached to a platoon can provide significant support against both humans and Grimms. I am more than sure that a series of shots from a 25 mm automatic cannon is fatal for a Huntsmen, regardless of whether he has an aura or not.

At the same time, it is not necessary to arm soldiers according to the standards of high-tech modern armies. Grimm's confrontation is in some ways easier than for other people, since there is no need for many devices and specialists, such as mine detectors or electronic warfare equipment. It is enough to develop a line of cheap, unpretentious and easy-to-learn weapons, and then start mass production. Soviet weapons fit almost perfectly: AK-74M, RPK, PKM, RPG-7, AGS-17, SVD and so on.

To summarize, the Huntsmen's Corps cannot replace the regular army in principle. It should be a highly professional special forces unit, whose task is to respond quickly to threats and strengthen regular units; it relies on and complements the army, rather than trying to replace it.

By the way, I don't understand at all the freedom with which Huntsmens operate in the canon. It looks like some kind of mercenary market without strict accountability. No contracts, protocols, or obligations to the kingdom are properly mentioned. It turns out that a random guy like Jaune can enroll with forged documents, and then die, wasting the lighthouse's time and resources? What if he finishes his studies and changes his mind at the last moment? Is there really no control at all? Against this background, Atlas looks like a model of foresight and common sense, although its creators did not think everything through very well.

I would like to emphasize once again that in a world like Remnant, the army is not a whim of the government or a burdensome expense item, but a fundamental part of society, the basis of its survival. Without professional military personnel, civilians can literally be devoured at any moment. Consequently, a lot of time and effort will be devoted to the development of the armed forces, and resources will necessarily be spent on them. I will say more: historically, society should have developed in such a way that the career of a soldier will be considered an honorable and heroic deed. Both public culture and state propaganda will work for this.

I see the system adopted in the USSR as a good, or at least reasonable, form of organization of military service. Such a system consists of several related elements and aims to maintain a permanent professional army, as well as create a large number of reservists who can either protect themselves or who can be quickly conscripted into military service. As shown by the canon of RWBY in general and the fall of the Beacon in particular, such a situation can occur without warning at literally any moment.

So, how do I see it:

1) Initial pre-war training. Teaching schoolchildren aged 14-17 the basic skills they may need to live in a society under constant threat of destruction by the Grimm. The training course should include the basics of handling and maintaining weapons, providing medical care to the wounded, using personal protective equipment, and basic topography. Regular exercises should be conducted both in schools and in production facilities. The entire population should know what to do in case of a Grimm attack, where shelters and arsenals are located. Civilian shooting ranges and clubs (with pneumatic and blanks) should be accessible to everyone.

2) Compulsory military service. Upon reaching the age of majority, all young men undergo compulsory one-year or two-year service in the Vale Army. The exceptions are those citizens who are already undergoing training in socially important professions, such as engineers or doctors. During this period, conscripts will complete a full-fledged combat training course and receive military specialties. Most of the time, they won't be used to protect the kingdom from the Grimm. In case of emergency, they can be used as reserves or auxiliary forces for the regular army of Vale. At the end of their term of service, all conscripts are demobilized as reservists.

3) Professional military service. Any adult citizen of Vale can sign a contract and enlist in the military. Recruits undergo training, take the oath of office, receive a military rank and position, after which they are sent to one of the active units. These are mainly border fortifications and garrisons located inside settlements or near objects of strategic importance. At the same time, unlike modern Earth's armies, soldiers are not transferred from place to place every few years, on the contrary, they are encouraged to grow into the local population. Soldiers are encouraged to form bonds with the community and start families. I repeat that in the Remnant, a soldier is primarily a warrior-defender; this is what state propaganda works for, this image is supported by traditions and public opinion.

5) The Huntsmen's Corps. Huntsmens should be considered as elite warriors necessary for the existence of society. There are always not enough Huntsmens, so a significant part of the resources and efforts are devoted to their training. This is a very attractive and socially acceptable career that promises a good salary, government benefits, as well as honor and respect among fellow citizens. Therefore, the state is looking for children with a high level of aura from an early age and very persistently offers education in specialized schools. This training is conducted in a paramilitary manner, where students are not only taught professional skills, but also instilled a high level of discipline and social responsibility.

Huntsmens for training have many privileges, but their level of accountability and responsibility is also much higher. Thus, the episode where Yang destroys the nightclub is not just a minor prank, but a serious criminal offense. An attack on a civilian will result in very severe punishment, unless it was committed in self-defense, to protect someone else's life, or to prevent the commission of a crime.

In general, Huntsmens should become the equivalent of special forces, an integral part of the army, whose abilities are in high demand. Alternatively, they can form highly professional military communities, such as knights' orders. However, one way or another, they will be accountable to the state and will benefit people. But what they definitely won't be is a mercenary labor exchange (a guild of adventurers from any typical fantasy) that you can't rely on and whose actions can't be controlled.

6) Military industry. To ensure its own security (and existence in general), any Remnant state must have a developed military industry. Not necessarily high-tech, but economical and focused on the mass production of cheap, reliable and unpretentious weapons. The armies of the Remnant as a whole should be more practical and defense-oriented than the armies of Earth. It makes no sense to spend a lot of money on aircraft carriers or ballistic missiles when several artillery batteries will be much more useful. When everything is filled with Grimm, there is no such thing as excess firepower.

At the same time, the entire military (and most of the civilian industry) will either be nationalized or have a high degree of accountability. When the survival of humanity as a species depends on timely deliveries and quality of products, corporate owners and private contractors will have to fulfill obligations on acceptable terms. If a businessman like Jacques Schnee decides to unreasonably raise the price of products above those approved by the state, or for some reason simply refuses to sell his goods to the Atlas army, he will simply be removed (arrested or killed as an enemy of the people in the truest sense of the word), replaced by someone more understanding and loyal. Remnant is not a Land, and if capitalism exists there, it will be in some other form, different from the one we know.

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That's kind of how I see it. I hope you found this post useful or inspired some interesting thoughts. Otherwise, I wasted 6 hours writing and translating.

Good luck and have a nice day.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

One very interesting idea that would have given Ruby some badly needly character development is something I expanded on in my Discord:

I always headcanoned that the ONLY reason Ozpin let Jaune's obviously fake transcripts pass and let him into Beacon was so that he could be used as a measuring stick by Ruby. So she wouldn't feel as out of depth being forcibly made leader of her team and even if she wasn't an excellent leader, she could work her way up to it while comforting herself that she wasn't the worst in Beacon, a position Jaune definitely holds at the beginning.

However, Jaune began to improve rapidly by leaps and bounds. He also has better skills in leadership and management, skills Ruby doesn't have. It doesn't help that JNPR runs like a well oiled machine, whereas RWBY constantly sabotages itself and often only listens to Ruby when the alternative is death. So Ruby's frustration grows, but she can keep telling herself "At least I'm not as bad as Jaune."

But at some point, due to luck or skill, Jaune and his team are able to do something RWBY couldn't. Or Jaune manages a lucky win in combat class. And Ruby's frustration finally comes out:

Ruby: "H-How?! How did you-YOU LITERALLY GOT YOUR AURA UNLOCKED WHEN YOU STARTED! And now you're able to beat me?!"
Jaune: "I-I didn't-!"
Ruby: "I've worked my whole life for this and you-you just get in on a whim and-IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Ruby runs off. Jaune later manages to find her.

Jaune: "Ruby... I'm sorry. I don't know what I did but... Please. You can yell at me and even hit me, just don't shut me out. Please."

Ruby is able to, with some coaxing, admit she idolizes her mother. She sees her mom Summer as this invincible superheroine she can never measure up to. All the frustration, all the failures, and now Jaune is doing better than her. She feels like she's failing Summer. She has never told Yang or her father and uncle because she wanted to be like her mother's successor. She wanted to live up to that. And she's failing. Being a Huntress is basically the only thing in her life and all she's wanted.

Ruby and Jaune work this out, both recognizing they have similar issues: Wanting to be heroes and live up to a family legacy. But Jaune is able to help Ruby because while he is... Well... Reckless in how he got into Beacon, he also recognizes that his parents aren't perfect. Neither was Summer. She had to start somewhere, so will Ruby. And that Ruby's team is difficult, to say the least. Jaune offers to let JNPR be a safe place for Ruby, so she doesn't have to be the leader. And if Pyrrha's done wonders for Jaune, she might also help Ruby become better and realize her dream. Just as she's helping Jaune.

 

[zMADLAXz]

Ruby: "H-How?! How did you-YOU LITERALLY GOT YOUR AURA UNLOCKED WHEN YOU STARTED! And now you're able to beat me?!"

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It doesn't help that JNPR runs like a well oiled machine, whereas RWBY constantly sabotages itself and often only listens to Ruby when the alternative is death

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It's weird that team RWBY has more well thought-out combination moves and can be actually effective in a fight but even then JNPR somehow feels more put together? Not as a combat team but like reliable when they are needed emotionally?

I mean in Vytal Festival we saw that the team was having a meeting on the battleground and we see that their particular combinations are still not solidified(Jaune called out Arkos and still Pyrrha couldn't get the hint that Jaune is calling for a combination attack) but even then the rest of the team was listening to him. I mean all Jaune had to do was call Nora and she took care of the opposing team in one hit.

It just feels weird that the only thing that is holding back team JNPR in the early volumes is Jaune's own lack of understanding of situations at times but once he does get it, he really simplifies the problem like we saw in Initiation against the Death stalker. He saw the Death stalker's stinger was putting them on the spot and he just directed Pyrrha to deal with it along with making sure it's legs were taken care of and then co-ordinated with Nora to bash it in.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

It's weird that team RWBY has more well thought-out combination moves and can be actually effective in a fight but even then JNPR somehow feels more put together? Not as a combat team but like reliable when they are needed emotionally?

I mean in Vytal Festival we saw that the team was having a meeting on the battleground and we see that their particular combinations are still not solidified(Jaune called out Arkos and still Pyrrha couldn't get the hint that Jaune is calling for a combination attack) but even then the rest of the team was listening to him. I mean all Jaune had to do was call Nora and she took care of the opposing team in one hit.

It just feels weird that the only thing that is holding back team JNPR in the early volumes is Jaune's own lack of understanding of situations at times but once he does get it, he really simplifies the problem like we saw in Initiation against the Death stalker. He saw the Death stalker's stinger was putting them on the spot and he just directed Pyrrha to deal with it along with making sure it's legs were taken care of and then co-ordinated with Nora to bash it in.

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Good writers would have leaned into this: Into the strengths and weaknesses of the two teams and how Ruby and Jaune were learning and growing. Just accept that we have two protagonists in Ruby and Jaune and focus on that dynamic. Ruby is the eager young prodigy with great skill but who lacks real world experience, Jaune is the goof who just unlocked his Aura but has enormous potential, learns fast and has practical real world experience. These contrasts are fantastic for dramatic purposes and great character work. We needed Ruby to have some failures, just as Jaune did. We needed her to be overconfident. We needed her to be cocky and way too eager more. We needed her and Jaune talking more about their issues. Ruby's friction and frustration with her team should have been an ongoing issue, not something thrown in at Volume 9. Because that's organic drama and that makes things interesting!

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Jaune offers to let JNPR be a safe place for Ruby, so she doesn't have to be the leader. And if Pyrrha's done wonders for Jaune, she might also help Ruby become better and realize her dream. Just as she's helping Jaune.

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This should lead to JNPR verbally and almost physically tearing WBY a new asshole. I'd love to see Jaune Aura Slash Yang's arm off so that she learns to stop being cocky early(he reatachs it using his Semblance but the trauma stays)

 

[zMADLAXz]

It's so weird how RT used to stumble around into good plot points so often but still never explored them to their full capabilities.

 

[SharkCultist]

So a idea here that takes Ozma and Salem punishment and makes it hurt more.



Salem and Oz are cursed with reincarnation immortality, they don't take over someone else's body, they are just reborn. They're cursed to always find each other and fall in love then have one of them die. It's when one dies that the other regains all their memories of previous lives and is unable to kill themselves (like Salems original curse) until they naturally die of old age.



Grimm are still a thing because of Oz and Salem because they still have magic even if they can't use it anymore, so it seeps out of their bodies (living and dead) tainted with their negative emotions and become monsters



There is a way to break the curse but it's one that is astronomically small.



They have to, in spite of their own feelings and magical compulsions, fall in love with other people and never meet.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

It's so weird how RT used to stumble around into good plot points so often but still never explored them to their full capabilities.

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Probably the biggest issue was this "girl power" and feminist crap they began to shove into the show, especially after Monty died but it was in the first three seasons. RWBY should have been treated as an ensemble show, with the two teams growing and changing. Digimon Adventure would have been a decent model because THAT show, despite being a children's anime, expertly juggled the eight main characters to the point you knew exactly how they all related to one another and how they got along. Yes it's named for RWBY, but guess what? Naruto is named for Naruto yet Sasuke has almost as much screentime and as much narrative weight to his story. Just because you have both teams being deuteragonists doesn't diminish it being RWBY. And just because you have guys on an equal footing in the narrative doesn't mean it's no longer feminist. Actual feminism is equality between the sexes-It's only this moden agitprop nonsense that pushes for female supremacy, which is as bad as male supremacy.

 

[zMADLAXz]

Probably the biggest issue was this "girl power" and feminist crap they began to shove into the show

Click to shrink...

Actual feminism is equality between the sexes-It's only this moden agitprop nonsense that pushes for female supremacy, which is as bad as male supremacy.

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Andrew not gonna lie when you started to talk about feminism like that I thought I would lose one of my favourite writers on this platform.

Guess Universe is still a little kind and I am thankful that there still exist people who actually know what feminism is about rather than trying to over correct centuries of systematic oppression of one gender by systematically hurting another gender rather than actually doing something about this system that allowed this kind of shitty thing to happen for centuries in the first place.

But I will have to disagree that RWBY needed the deuteragonist system solely because I firmly believe RWBY wasn't meant to be a series to tackle complex socio-political topics in a post apocalyptic world rather many people like me just came here for the badass fights.

And to be honest I recently came to find out that this is one of the things that people critic Jaune about saying, "this was never a show about him but rather about cute girls having cool fights so his inclusion in the series is stupid." I swear 12 years on Internet and still it leaves me flabbergasted.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Andrew not gonna lie when you started to talk about feminism like that I thought I would lose one of my favourite writers on this platform.

Guess Universe is still a little kind and I am thankful that there still exist people who actually know what feminism is about rather than trying to over correct centuries of systematic oppression of one gender by systematically hurting another gender rather than actually doing something about this system that allowed this kind of shitty thing to happen for centuries in the first place.

But I will have to disagree that RWBY needed the deuteragonist system solely because I firmly believe RWBY wasn't meant to be a series to tackle complex socio-political topics in a post apocalyptic world rather many people like me just came here for the badass fights.

And to be honest I recently came to find out that this is one of the things that people critic Jaune about saying, "this was never a show about him but rather about cute girls having cool fights so his inclusion in the series is stupid." I swear 12 years on Internet and still it leaves me flabbergasted.

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Ugh. Modern feminism is a topic far outside the bounds of this thread and will stay that way. Suffice it to say it got wrapped up with other political agendas that are decidedly the opposite of its original goals.

But what I mean is, I didn't want serious sociopolitical stuff in my fighty fighty anime. I wanted a compelling story using eight incredible protagonists trying to save the world with coherent and well thought out worldbuilding so the fighting and stories made sense. But then they tried to shove a lot of shit to be "politically relevant" into it like pandering to the LGBT Tumbler crowd (who didn't BUY ANYTHING because they NEVER FUCKING DO) and made some political statements on the military which DIDN'T MAKE SENSE IN A FUCKING DEATHWORLD and many other things instead of actually building the world PROPERLY.

No, what I wanted was a STORY akin to a Final Fantasy game. My favorite FF characters from the various games were often not the main player characters. I loved Vincent and Yuffie from FF7, Selphie from FF8, pretty much everyone from FF9, Rikku and Auron from FF10. They all had their own stories, plots, and struggles throughout the narrative that built up the bigger, greater story. THAT'S what I wanted out of RWBY, and what most people wanted. But we didn't get it. And so, fanfiction.

 

[SharkCultist]

So another idea I'd like for RWBY.

I'd like it if every academy treated aura different. Not just different techniques but entire different mindsets based off of the people and their cultures.

Like Atlas, the cold and scientific kingdom seeing aura as just another resource that's part of you, like muscles or brains. And having techniques that are cookie cutter. Simple, efficient, easy to learn, boring and rigid.

Mistral I guess would have the closest view to canon. The light of your soul and your inner strength made manifest. (I'm going with that since Pyrrha is Mistral and that's similar to the explanation she gave Jaune). Highly specialized and individualistic great diversity of techniques. Actual effectiveness varies HIGHLY. Many jealously guard techniques so they end up lost usually.

I could see vale ending up as sorta a middle ground of all of the ideals there could be, melting pot so everything ends up mixing and refining. It leads to better huntsmen but overall they have less of their own cultural identity or signature aura techniques.

I see menagerie ending up the most spiritual kingdom. Less analytical that Atlas on it's views of aura, more philosophy based. You have a shadow based semblance? What does that say about you as a person? They have the most introspective huntsmen making them the most stable (on average) but they also have the lowest amount since they don't have a official academy and they haven't been out to ground as long as the other kingdoms so their culture is still relatively fresh and new.

Thoughts?

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

I like it. What does Jaunes semblance say about him as a person?
Yang: Healbitch
Ruby: Yang!
Yang: It's true isn't it!?
Jaune: Well this Healbitch can just not heal said bitch *dramatically walks off*

 

[AndrewJTalon]

So another idea I'd like for RWBY.

I'd like it if every academy treated aura different. Not just different techniques but entire different mindsets based off of the people and their cultures.

Like Atlas, the cold and scientific kingdom seeing aura as just another resource that's part of you, like muscles or brains. And having techniques that are cookie cutter. Simple, efficient, easy to learn, boring and rigid.

Mistral I guess would have the closest view to canon. The light of your soul and your inner strength made manifest. (I'm going with that since Pyrrha is Mistral and that's similar to the explanation she gave Jaune). Highly specialized and individualistic great diversity of techniques. Actual effectiveness varies HIGHLY. Many jealously guard techniques so they end up lost usually.

I could see vale ending up as sorta a middle ground of all of the ideals there could be, melting pot so everything ends up mixing and refining. It leads to better huntsmen but overall they have less of their own cultural identity or signature aura techniques.

I see menagerie ending up the most spiritual kingdom. Less analytical that Atlas on it's views of aura, more philosophy based. You have a shadow based semblance? What does that say about you as a person? They have the most introspective huntsmen making them the most stable (on average) but they also have the lowest amount since they don't have a official academy and they haven't been out to ground as long as the other kingdoms so their culture is still relatively fresh and new.

Thoughts?

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I love it! I really enjoy worldbuilding and adding cultural quirks and fun bits like this. I am fascinated by the weird and fun customs of various human civilizations, as well as our myths, legends, and superstitions. Remnant would have plenty of their own, and exploring them is a worthy bit of writing.

 

[LordofBones]

I like it. What does Jaunes semblance say about him as a person?
Yang: Healbitch
Ruby: Yang!
Yang: It's true isn't it!?
Jaune: Well this Healbitch can just not heal said bitch *dramatically walks off*

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Nora: "Renny, why is Yang mocking Jaune-Jaune's semblance when hers got her arm chopped off?"
Ren: "Because Jaune can both tank and heal, Nora, and Yang's lost her fanservice privileges to you and Ruby."
Nora: "You mean..."
Ren: "She's not a main character anymore. She's an NPC."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Nora: "Renny, why is Yang mocking Jaune-Jaune's semblance when hers got her arm chopped off?"
Ren: "Because Jaune can both tank and heal, Nora, and Yang's lost her fanservice privileges to you and Ruby."
Nora: "You mean..."
Ren: "She's not a main character anymore. She's an NPC."

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Yang: "THE HELL I AM!"
Ren: "Name anything significant you've done since Volume 5 that didn't involve you being a mouthpiece for the writers or Blake's romantic interest?"
Yang: "... I... You...!"
Nora: "Oooh." nods sagely "She's gonna go into a loop!"
Ren: "Which only proves my point."

 

[SharkCultist]

Ren: "She's not a main character anymore. She's an NPC."

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Worse. She's a NPC with a bandit quest line.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Worse. She's a NPC with a bandit quest line.

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At least it's not an escort mission?

 

[SharkCultist]

At least it's not an escort mission?

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....isn't the entire everafter thing basically a escort mission?

 

[VinniTheP00h]

The public is above the personal, conservative values are above liberal, every grain of resources and manpower matters. One can only survive together; therefore, each person must become a useful part of society and contribute to its prosperity, otherwise, left without the support of fellow citizens, he will simply die.

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I will add that while this is true, it isn't overwhelming. Personal life is allowed and (considering current era of peace) thriving, resources are spent thrifty but not frugally, and most importantly: this is not shown as overtly (and stupidly) as, say, Faunus rights or many dystopia settings - those postulates are centuries if not millenia old and are cornerstone of the culture, they are already baked deep into everyone's heads, assumed to be correct, already had time to correct the long-term issues (short term introduced by the idiots in government is another story) with restricting certain parts of life, and no one can imagine a world where settlements don't have walls, for example. The issue for writers here is that they truly need to feel this different culture, not just write whatever they see IRL.

Organizations such as the White Fang or the Branwen Tribe will not only not be tolerated, they will be ruthlessly destroyed at the slightest sign of criminal or terrorist activity. First, the government will offer them surrender, and then simply pour napalm or cluster bombs on their heads, after which it will clean up the survivors with a hunting squad. When the whole world is on the verge of destruction, rocking the boat is unacceptable. Crime can only exist in very moderate and mild forms, like the Junior Club. Any nail that sticks out too much will be hammered in as soon as possible, because the kingdom already has enough problems to spend its limited resources and forces on crime.

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On one hand, yes, in a lot of regards they will be harsher than IRL. On the other, world is not on the verge of destruction. The threat is looming, but it has been that way since forever, which gives them some space to relax and not punish jaywalking with execution, or declare a total war on White Fang no matter the cost. Similar thing about the bandit clans, normally they should be eradicated but they can be made viable if they are placed in the frontier, beyond reach (or harming interests) of central governments with access to serious enough forces to hunt them down.

Overall, I think you should take your ideas on culture and simulate it over some time. You should see that total suppression of large parts of life doesn't end well or hold up for long, so while they will be more ruthless and collectivistic than modern Western (and most other) civilization, it would also be way more moderate than what you suggest. Actually, good idea about USSR of 1930s because it is an example of such evolution after the sheer insanity of 1920s cultural innovations (which, if my hunch about where you are from is correct, you should have heard about) calmed way down - though it didn't reach a decent balance until 1950s or so. It is also a good example of a culture that will have pretty similar everyday interactions but be pretty different once you look deeper - yet not so different that it is completely alien.

Agree about the military stuff, with a single exception: Hunters do have higher mobility since they can use same transports as normies, but require far fewer of them, making them more suited to act as eg QRF when tactical situation fits them (close range offense, like retaking and holding a wall breach).

By the way, I don't understand at all the freedom with which Huntsmens operate in the canon.

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Doylist answer is that they wanted it to be a JRPG-esque world where protagonists could go out, kill monsters, and save the world without having to write a whole large structure that they work in or limit their freedom to do so by having some higher ups (you saw how that worked out when Ruby disagreed with Ironwood). Watsonian answer is that it is part of Oz's machinations combined with tech level allowing him to get away with it, where he saw the extent of the Great War, got horrified, and used the Ozluminati and ambitions of the periphery centers and parts of the Kingdoms to decentralize armed forces and make the most potent offensive force - Hunters' predecessors - work as mercenaries to spread them out and prevent another military buildup. At least, that's the best theory that can explain it.

 

[mgl1206]

Oh, cool. Well, I'm a little disappointed since I made Arturia Jaune's great grandmother in my weird little fan canon and I was hoping one of those spam bot emails about drawing a comic of my fics was true! Oh well, that sounds great.

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And here I am shipping her with him instead because of "All the Difference in the World"

 

[mgl1206]

I like it. What does Jaunes semblance say about him as a person?
Yang: Healbitch
Ruby: Yang!
Yang: It's true isn't it!?
Jaune: Well this Healbitch can just not heal said bitch *dramatically walks off*

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Literally? It says that he's the type of person to cut off his own hand if it meant saving someone. His literal superpower is empowering others.

 

[SharkCultist]

he's the type of person to cut off his own hand if it meant saving someone.

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That could be a drama point. It's one I've mostly seen associated with shirou emiya.

"There is cruelty in your kindness."

Him being so busy helping others it's literally slowly killing him and it's playing havoc on his loved ones.

If they let him continue he'll die. If they stop him he'll wish he was dead. Everybody loses.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

A few ideas to expand upon:

-Let's dive into Ruby's obsession and idolization of Summer. Let's also add the pressure in the wake of Jaune and Yang having a stronger relationship Post-Volume 3, a strong bond between the blonds. Ruby might feel some conflicting emotions-A subtle romantic attraction to Jaune, jealousy of Yang, and her obsession in the wake of Vytal with becoming like her mother: In her eyes, an idealized, flawless heroine. What could we do with this dynamic?

-Ren after the Nucklavee feels a bit rudderless. He accomplished his goal of revenge, catharsis. Now what? He could see in Ruby a similar obsession, but different. Ren sees Ruby's reckless heroics—like charging into danger alone—as a mirror to his own Nuckelavee death wish, but inverted. Where he sought closure, Ruby chases an unattainable ideal. He tries to caution her—"Perfection isn't worth your life"—but Ruby, fixated on Summer, brushes him off, deepening her spiral. Ren's quiet frustration grows; he respects Ruby but fears her path will be self destructive.

-Building on this, Ren struggles with his survivor's guilt even after the Nucklavee. He sought martyrdom, but Nora is what keeps him from ending it in the cause of defeating Salem. What might lead him to finally opening up about the conflict he feels? How would his friends help him?

-How would Jaune and Yang as a romance affect Nora and Ren's romance Volume 4 onwards?

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

but Ruby, fixated on Summer, brushes him off, deepening her spiral

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This makes me honestly want to see Ruby get a beating from everyone for literally trying to take the easy way out with the suicide tea.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

This makes me honestly want to see Ruby get a beating from everyone for literally trying to take the easy way out with the suicide tea.

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Or Jaune bangs her into a happy mind broken mess so she can recover and get over herself, but that's more for the other idea thread...

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Or Jaune bangs her into a happy mind broken mess so she can recover and get over herself, but that's more for the other idea thread...

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Here she gets a very harsh training session over the stupidity she just pulled. Seriously Jaune didn't pussy out and he was there for decades!