People are really out here trying to convince themselves that Ruby's suffering in volume nine is so hard to perceive so that they can try to convince everyone that Yang is perfect and her not really noticing Ruby needed help was totally fine and good when like..... Ruby literally fainted.
Like, even if the rest of the signs Ruby was displaying weren't like a giant neon sign reading 'I'm not okay' that Yang ignored - even if Yang hadn't completely ignored when Weiss and Ruby stopped walking to have a serious conversation, even if Yang didn't take more than a moment or two for a short 'are you okay' and then bought the obvious deflection, even if Yang hadn't shut down the time when Ruby actually started trying to express feelings of hopelessness and frustration by telling her she was being like the villainous and hated Ironwood, even if Yang didn't try to dispute anything Ruby was saying during her angry breakdown and didn't stop Jaune from screaming in her face and didn't immediately try to run after Ruby when she ran off alone crying, even if she wasn't a smiling beaming hugging person like five minutes after Ruby tried to kill herself, even if Yang didn't immediately start acting like Ruby was a good perfect leader who has never been confused directly after Ruby told them that she didn't want to be the leader anymore and didn't want to be treated like she was perfect......
Ruby literally
And Yang??? Was not that concerned???? Like bro if I ever fainted in front of my family??? They would want to call the doctor. They would be flipping out. Like, yeah, maybe I'm a little frustrated that Yang's reaction to Ruby's problems is like
When Ruby passed out. I'm sorry to the people who are on the "how could Yang have known that Ruby was feeling bad" train, but
Ruby quite literally fainted. And then had a breakdown while crying. And then ran away and tried to kill herself. And Yang's like
And people are like "idk what you're talking about, seems like the reaction of a great sister who cares about Ruby more than life itself and knows her better than anyone and raised her all by her lonesome and is always there for her and always knows best."
Bro just let??? People say that they think Yang is wrong???
That part of the FNDM(TM): we want female characters with flaws!
Female character: acts questionably
Fan: points out the questionable actions
That part of the FNDM(TM): nooooooooo she is perfect and good and you thinking she EVER did ANYTHING not perfect or in line with my hc is sexist and homophobic and evil!
I'm not a Yang hater, and I get how dramatic irony works, but the way none of the characters seemed to notice something was seriously Up with Ruby felt like a stretch of my personal suspension of disbelief.
Yang DID try to talk to Ruby in Volume 8, but when Ruby expressed her fears and doubts, Yang did what most of the mains (Oscar being the exception) always do when Ruby exhibits doubts -- told her how much they need her and how good a leader she is and that she did her best and how her optimism is what keeps them going, etc., even comparing her to SUMMER in a way that framed her sacrifice as a good thing while Ruby feels she's following in her footsteps.
Yang saw Ruby break down when Salem mentioned Summer in v7, but I do get that being an easily misinterpretable moment on Yang's part. Comparing Ruby to Summer was something she intended as comfort. It made sense for her character in that moment.
But v9? We're past that. Yang noticed SO LITTLE of Ruby's mental struggles, and when she DID ask and Ruby began to express worry, Yang shut her down by outright TELLING her "no you don't mean that" and comparing her to IRONWOOD for so much as having similar fears. Imagine being Ruby, who bottles her emotions and clearly feels bad for having negative ones, and hearing your sister compare you to the man who tried to bomb a city of innocents the moment you open up. Oof.
They all have a lot on their minds, and I appreciate bumbleby getting focus, so this isn't about taking from that. But aside from one shockingly brief check-in from Yang and Weiss, both of which resulted in Ruby shutting down further, WBYJ acted so oblivious with her it kinda baffled me...
If it was intentional and gets brought up that'll be one thing, and they did talk (again, briefly) about how they've been putting too much pressure on Ruby (only AFTER she broke down and yelled that fact at them point-blank), and I loved that! But the way the finale ended with WBY all telling her the SAME SHIT they have been -- putting her on a pedestal, Yang saying Ruby's "NEVER been ANY of those things" [weak, broken, or confused], Blake saying "that's why we follow her" and Ruby SMILING at it? Rubs me the wrong way. Ruby had been confused all volume! Last volume, too! She just tried to potentially kill herself! And right after her telling you to stop expecting perfection from her, you go right back to saying you follow her BECAUSE she's never confused or weak??
Momentary relief her sister is okay & the battle at hand distracting Yang? Cool, makes sense! But Yang in c9, after watching Ruby essentially attempt suicide, took it way too well to feel right to me (also as an older sibling). If my little sister's close friend died, if she blamed herself for the fall of a kingdom, if she fainted in front of me, if I watched her try to end her life, I would NOT have been as chill as Yang. She tried to pull off some branches and said "what if she isn't Ruby when she comes out?" but other than that? It wasn't enough for me. Yes, everyone's different, but if you want to communicate care between sisters, I need more than that. [Note: I well may be forgetting something, but even that is indicative the impact was insufficient for me]
Imagine Yang bolting for Ruby as she drinks the tea. Imagine her lashing out at Neo but hitting an illusion instead and breaking down. Imagine her being uncomforted by the paper pleasers becoming gems, or irritated with Jaune for stopping when they need to find Ruby ASAP. Imagine her ripping off the branches and needing to be physically held back while she cries and yells to be let go, as her teammates convince her to stop bc she might be hurting her. "So what, I'm supposed to do NOTHING? Just stand around and lose her?" Imagine her FURY at the curious cat and Neo blinding her in battle. Imagine Ruby's return distracting her and almost getting hit because of it, only prevented because Blake stepped in to have her back, and that being the only reason she doesn't rush to embrace her sister. Imagine her hugging Ruby afterwards and asking if she's okay, and Ruby saying something along the lines of, "No. But I will be." to which Yang responds, "That's okay. Take all the time you need." Or even, "We can talk about it later, if you want," And Ruby smiling. "I'd like that."
Just... ANYTHING to make it feel like they're sisters, like Yang sees her, like anything that just happened affected the way WBY treats her/talks about her. And we may get more of that in v10, I understand time constraints are a thing, but we needed SOME of it in v9 to have the message land.
Please don't take this as hate towards the character; I understand she's fictional and everyone reacts to grief differently. I just wish we'd gotten more, or at minimum greater intensity with what we did get. When I mentioned in the v8 finale that I wished Ruby's reaction to Yang falling had gotten more focus or been more intense, I got hate asks calling me a lesbophobe with a hate boner for bumbleby (even though I'd clarified in the post that I LIKED Blake's reaction to Yang falling and this was unrelated, and I'm sapphic, and I ship bumbleby), so I'm hoping this isn't taken as that, too. All I mean by this is that, for ME, Yang's reactions and lack thereof felt disingenuous to the character as well as to their sisterhood, and I hope going forward this is acknowledged and/or rectified.
EDIT: Gonna go back and check and update if I missed stuff cause I probably did
Ok so we have
Ruby faints; when she comes to, Yang puts a hand on her shoulder and asks "Hey, are you alright?" (A lil casual for the situation but eh I digress on that one.) Ruby doesn't answer, changing the subject back to Neo with, "She attacked me when we were falling." Found it odd no one else expressed concern over her fainting... unless you count Weiss' "I know that Penny... I know that was a lot to hear" but that was later in the next episode, and again, Ruby didn't reply, and Weiss returned to treating Ruby oddly harshly for much of the volume.
This is a good time for me to re-clarify that Ruby being shut off made it hard for her team to check in with her, even in the moments they did try, but they acted like it was way more minor than it was overall, and from Yang in particular, I would've expected more... I dunno, insistence? Attempts? Persistence? Girl, at least walk beside her in worry she'll faint again?? Or react to Jinxy saying Ruby "doesn't have enough hope" to fill a jar?
2. Ruby sits sadly, cradling Penny's sword and looking down on it. Yang says, "Ruby?" Ruby says she was drawn to it. It rains, Weiss complains about it and yells at the team. Ruby represses again. The rain stops.
3. Ruby stops in her tracks and looks sad after the cat calls into question how they can defeat Salem. Yang goes, "Uh, hey? Rubes?" Ruby says, "I- uh-" and Blake cuts her off with "Maybe we shouldn't worry about home right now? We've got enough problems to--" Yang: "The cat!"
NO ONE but Little stays with Ruby in the markets... Yang immediately says she'll go with the cat, Blake follows, Weiss says "get me FAR away from the nose hairs" and Little says "I'll go with you, Ruby!" No one so much as offered. OMG even when Ruby's on her knees in the battle Yang runs right past her with a grin bc she's normal size again.
4. Ruby says "We lost Atlas and the relic." and then adds "what good is saving anybody if Salem just destroys the world anyway?" Yang puts a hand on her shoulder and says, "That's how Ironwood thought. You don't mean that." Jaune angrily interrupts, "Are you done?" So that time Yang didn't even ASK, Ruby just expressed worry and Yang told her no you don't feel that, that's bad.
Still SHOCKED at everyone's reaction (or lack thereof) at Ruby lingering in the paper village all sadly and not joining the battle. Weiss snaps at her, Jaune yells at her and blames her (for HIS plan???)
5. When Jaune drops Crescent Rose and Ruby backs away so it hits the ground, Yang goes, "Ruby? You o--" and gets cut off, but like??? NO?? Obviously she's not okay? You should know this by now???
And that's everything before Ruby's breakdown at them all.
So yes, there are multiple moments of Yang beginning to reach out, but "are you ok" and "rubes?" are like, the BARE minimum of worry imo. I'm not trying to go "Yang is a bad sister 100%" or anything btw! Just that I wish ALL the characters took more notice, ESPECIALLY Yang. And even if they didn't, after she attempted suicide? There's no excuse to not realize how bad it was.
updated version cause I missed some stuff <3
