Rooster Teeth Watchdog

An archive of sorts now. Feel free to ask questions or send information.

[roosterteethwatchdog]

Hey its been awhile. I’m someone that used to post here around a year or two ago but stopped because of certain individual (you know who it is) and it looks like that problem is happening again. Anyway I’m going to put something here that you may have already seen but I’m specifically tagging/putting it here because its tangentially relates to RWBY and because i would've put it here, but like I said I didn't want to deal with stuff at the time.  A couple of months ago, I put forward google docs that I’ve made along with one that was made with help, each one having a different thing to talk about. Y’all might be interested in these. lets get started.

https://href.li/?https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uQ1Fd98BTkxv4IU6-Ro3zdpExYAvtSxUxr16hbTq8yU/edit?usp=sharing

So the first one is a compilation/list of things Rooster Teeth or some people under their employment have done. whether its crunch in animation, not paying its VAs if they are already have a position in the company, or a RWBY VA defending a sex pest and not apologizing. There is a lot.

https://href.li/?https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zD-_NlfvWQiqkLCSAvByrL4XSq4flJ-3HUTdkrSaRMs/edit?usp=sharing

The second is about Shane Newville’s open letter. Its something that tends to get dismissed but I found some stuff that points that  more happened and that it really was something that should’ve been look into at the time. Like there is literal proof of some of the stuff he alleged at the time.

 https://href.li/?https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qGw6Ovv1b_o8ilI0x3Hg2IYGrnJWqoT5B9oxAj_z7PU/edit?usp=sharing

The last one is something that I tried doing back in 2019. I tried to do a investigative type thing to look into the company, and while I didn’t get far I did have some people speak to me about their experiences. This was made while keeping them anonymous.

that’s all I got. Also before someone who has problem with this tag says something, listen, what you call “spreading negativity” I call spreading awareness because people should absolutely know about this stuff.

EDIT: With Rooster Teeth now gone this blog will now be an archive of sorts. If one has questions or information feel free to message.

[sheenaduquette]

have you ever shared some info about the world you're building and your characters or is it a top secret thing for now? (would you share some things if a curious anon asked really really nicely? 🥺)

I wish to do these characters and their stories justice, so it is difficult to show anything; I still believe there is a more meaningful way to present them.

However, since you asked so nicely, I think it's safe to share a few world-lore snippets with you for now.

[sheenaduquette]

Character Model - April 2026 Progress

Haven't updated in a while and these are already, "old," by now. I am very proud of how the braid turned out, fingers crossed getting the flow maps working won't be too much of a hassle.

Continuing the process with UV unwrapping which doesn't really look like anything but getting ready for some test bakes.

I continue to be incredibly moved by the kindness and generosity of the fellow artists willing to offer their hands and help me out along the way. It feels like I've had a decade's worth of catching up to do but knowing I'm not alone has been a tremendous reprieve I will be forever grateful for.

[sheenaduquette]

Speaking of stories, there was a particular name that popped up under the Aurulent Reaver weapon you showed us back in late 2025 - Venus Adel.

Did you also create Venus as a character? If so, what would have been her relationship to Coco Adel, and Raven Branwen as part of Team RAVN? And what of her role in the overall narrative of RWBY?

Would you like to share more of her character to us?

This is about as far as we got on her character model in late 2014. Monty would infamously, "kit-bash," pieces from other models he had ripped from games to do quick vis-dev concepts that I would then clean up. (She has Aqua's hair here with the hue shifted from Blue to Blonde as a temporary stand-in.)

A very scrappy method that was quick and dirty but got the job done.

Venus attacked Yang in order to curry favor between the teenager and her mother through manipulation. The pair used to be very Bonnie and Clyde, which Raven gave up after becoming a mother. Venus harbors selfish resentment towards her best friend for choosing her daughter over herself as her partner in literal crimes but cannot bring herself to go through with anything that would bring pain upon Raven. She serves as an echo of how wild Raven used to be and how the swordswoman is torn between her responsibility and her freedom.

Lots of double-crossing over top of each other. Sometimes it's hard to keep straight who was on which side, or how many sides there even were. She didn't get developed very far beyond being a pawn to manipulate Yang, though I'm not sure if Monty had any unspoken plans for her beyond what he'd shared with me.

[sheenaduquette]

Wow. This is... truly an eye-opener. The Cinder in the current show is vastly different from the Cinder you just shared. Cinder never saw Summer in the show due to being a slave to her allusion's step-mother and sisters. Just... wow.

I'm not sure if you're okay with what I'm about to say, but Cinder here reminds me of Severus Snape. Especially the unrequited love bit and protecting the legacy of their love through the offsprings. And all this talk about world-shield is making me think of FF7 with how they did Mako and the Lifestream.

omg this is so cool. i'm sorry for fangirling aaaaaaaaaaaaah

There's something gratifying about how even with such rough notes, he was able to convey exactly that to you.

[sheenaduquette]

I'm the anon who asked you about Cinder over the weekend. I realize that in my ask I forgot to tell you what they did with Cinder in RWBY. In canon her sole motivation is power for power's sake. She is a victim of abuse (which is why, despite everything she's done, I can't help but feel sympathy for her) at the hands of her adoptive mother from Atlas who she snapped and killed in self-defense as well as Salem. She isn't a mother and so far she has no redeeming qualities. How different is that from the Cinder you discussed in 2014?

When we were discussing Pyrrha’s fate and how Cinder came into play, he decided he wanted her to be, “misunderstood,” by the audience. There was a whole side story where she hunted and killed the previous Fall Maiden at the temple in order to steal her powers, furthering the assumption she was acting out of malicious and selfish intent. Because she did not inherit the powers properly (intentions of the previous avatar) she feared Pyrrha being capable of taking them back from her as the true successor.

She was intended as a red herring who was tricked into believing a half truth in order to manipulate her into a puppet being controlled from the shadows. While she had blood on her hands, she carried that burden of guilt by believing she was acting out a necessary evil, similar to Lelouch from Code Geass.

Ashe had been under the impression that the rise of the Maidens would lead the world to calamity, so it became her goal to harvest the avatars’ powers in order to destroy them with herself as the sole vessel. When she learns the truth of how she was tricked, she sacrifices herself to help the girls and restore their Maiden powers in a final effort to overcome the true affliction on the planet.

While the world would remember her atrocities, a small handful would hold her as a hero in their hearts.

[sheenaduquette]

I completely forgot a very vital piece about this character, so here's some notes straight from Monty:

[sheenaduquette]

Really wishing I had collected more DVDs and BlueRays. Recalling scenes so vividly in my mind yet the frustration of being unable to find it online feels terrible. Streaming services deciding on a whim to just REMOVE entire franchises from their platform is such a dastardly move.

[sheenaduquette]

When I was young (in high school) I looked up to Monty and he was the reason I got into drawing and appreciating art/animation on a deeper level.

Right now I’m am adult whose been burnt out creatively with the stress of life, but seeing you get back into art and creating has really set a fire inside of me, you really inspired me to keep persevering with my art even if it’s just for me.

So thanks to you both 🫂🤍 God bless you.

I have never thought of myself as someone who is capable of inspiring others, so this comment is cherished. I have spent so long being inspired I may have missed the other side of that coin, preferring to live in obscurity.

You make me hopeful that I’m back on the right path. I hope you continue to stoke your embers of creativity, too, and I will try to do the same. Find the best ways to express yourself, and learn all you can about who you are.

[sheenaduquette]

I've seen people claim that you were never involved with RWBY at all just because you never at RT

*Facepalm

Some people need things stamped and signed by a third party to believe in credibility. While he originally had hopes for bringing me on in an official capacity by leveraging all of the “free,” work I contributed to make his case, it was quickly made clear that if Monty wanted to fulfill his dream of making something with me, it was going to be impossible to achieve at RT.

[sheenaduquette]

I know Sun Wukong's direct inspiration is Sun from Chinese myth, and KPOP Band Boys, but were there other inspirations for him? like Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX?

A lot of characters were already born in Monty’s mind years before the original color trailers, some even during his fanimation years. The nunchucks combat style had been reworked and polished over the years; originally roughed out in his, “My Lecon,” original short.

127K views · 4.6K reactions | Song: JTL - My Lecon I've spend the last 12 or so years building movies in my head. Mostly to music. This is

Song: JTL - My Lecon I've spend the last 12 or so years building movies in my head. Mostly to music. This is one I've had for a long time.

However, Final Fantasy was by and large an immense inspiration for him, which was an interest we both shared. It makes sense there would be indicators he drew inspiration from several of the titles.

He also drew from classic Chinese films like Drunken Master, Ong Bak and Ip Man, so there is a wide net of talent even in the film industry whom he aspired to. From the top of my head I can recall his collection of inspirational works including Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Tony Jaa and Donny Yen, just to name a few.

[sheenaduquette]

Idk if this was a rumor from a long time ago or if it's made up, but I heard before Rwby was a thing, Monty fan casted Vic Mignogna to be Qrow.

I have no idea where that came from. All I know is that Monty wanted to shift from voicing Ren to voicing Qrow himself; it was a very important character to him. I only ever heard of him wanting to voice Qrow.

That aside, I already knew of some misconduct by Mignogna from event organizers in the PNW. On top of that, I also personally witnessed off-putting behavior by him towards minors at Anime Revolution at the Vancouver Convention Center in 2013.

Popular voice actor, Vic Mignogna, is coming to AR2013. Vic is well-known for his roles such as Edward Elric in FMA, Tamaki Suou in Host Clu

I would have heavily advised against his casting in the role given the target audience being teenage girls.

[sheenaduquette]

People who can’t confront someone face to face over an issue has no business cowering behind anonymity to engage in targeted harassment. It doesn’t matter how many times you contest my words, my reality will not be changed, nor will I lie in order for you to maintain your comfort that is clearly threatened by the truth.

Get uncomfortable. It’s merely a fraction of what I’ve been forced to endure and I’m done keeping quiet about it.

[sheenaduquette]

Hello Sheena.

if you don't mind answering, I'd like to ask what the original plans for Raven's character were?

With her post-credits scene getting retconned and team RAVN being cut, she seems like the character that changed the most in the show we wound up getting.

Raven is not a character I feel can be explained with words alone. I will be getting around to working on both her and her brother soon, I will share more then.

[sheenaduquette]

What was it like sketching the outlines of what would become Qrow? did Monty pull from inspirations much in the same was as his other characters?

I think the best way to put this without giving away too much would be:

If Monty ever had a VTuber, it would’ve been (his version of) Qrow.

Not quite a self insert but definitely a lens reflecting his personal experiences and perspectives. He was very excited about the prospect of voicing him, too.

[sheenaduquette]

You mentioned back in late 2025 how you shaped Winter's design around the Maidens, but what about her story? did you have a hand in crafting the character?

The original purpose behind Winter’s creation was to supplement the Maidens’ lore for the viewers; their roles and responsibilities, insight to events that occurred prior to the story’s beginning, as well as providing meaning behind others’ actions.

She was first conceptualized around NYCC in 2013 when we were candidly discussing Qrow and his backstory. By request, I drafted an outline for an OVA ~30min detailing the pair’s relationship from first contact to breakup; something that could be referenced when reinforcing the motive behind each character’s decisions, whether or not it went to production. I would transcribe both of our ideas as we verbally worked through them side by side. Winter was Qrow’s guiding light and ultimate downfall, as she would serve to make him more tragic (by request.) This would be why he drinks.

Monty was very enamored by Lightning Farron (FFXIII—across all three games) as was I, so there was minimal friction in the direction of her character. A strong-headed woman who refused to allow her heart to be manipulated or sacrifice her future for others, only to later realize the best chance she had to protect her sister was to endure that heavy responsibility in silence. A life of love lost and painful regrets fueled the vigilante war against her own family in an attempt to free her precious sibling (Weiss) from the tyrannical legacy of their lineage.

In the end it was decided she would take on a more, Fran-and-Balthier (FFXII) pirate-mercenary-for-hire, flies-an-airship-with-her-crew (Eureka 7) sort of character. This was what we thought would be the best way for her to serve the story and provide support to other characters’ development.

Even if it never came to fruition, I still think the Winter I know is pretty cool. :)

[sheenaduquette]

Commentary from places of utter ignorance feels like such a shortcut to exposing oneself. Opinions are not facts and are much more likely to embarrass yourself when the point you’re trying to make doesn’t land anywhere near reality.

[sheenaduquette]

What is so bad about learning? Why does everyone seem to feel the need to strut around parroting words they don’t fully understand? The fear of coming off uneducated in an area or subject drives people to pretend they know, but that’s just a new indicator of ill- mis- or just utterly uninformed posturing entirely.

It’s okay to say you don’t know. It’s okay to ask questions. It’s okay to express what you think you know and then request corrections to whatever is incorrect. You can read buzzwords online and garner some inferred knowledge from headlines, but that doesn’t make you educated in a subject.

Discussions with professionals in that field. Reading accredited dissertations or essays in that field. Participating in a mentorship.

Education requires effort, and it’s not much. Most of the people that I know are happy to make the time for someone who’s also willing to put in the effort to listen and learn.

[sheenaduquette]

I wish sometimes I had a way to convey to people that every little rendezvous with a few friends, every little detour on a big trip, every movie, brunch, bar crawl, every memory you make with others is what will fill your mental photo album to reflect on later.

Keeping small mementos of every outing would be a lot, but setting aside even just one token of representation for the people close to you, the people who have made a difference in your life, the people who were incredibly fleeting but you cannot forget their impression, is a really nice way of remembering them.

Go out and be with people. Don’t deny yourself that. And, while you’re at it, try to make things worth remembering in twenty years.