#rwby gravity

[v0xtagram]

YOUR LANDING STRATEGIES SUCK

[sirianhewigxiii]

Winter and Fria.

[bobauthorman]

A Semblance of Reasoning (Part 3)

We move on to the “mentors” of RWBY, or rather, the “Past generation of heroes”; the secret society called by fans the Ozluminati. We’ll only cover those whose Semblances are discussed or seen, as not every member has demonstrated a Semblance. Like with Team JNPR, we get very few glimpses into their pasts, so we’ll have to make do with guesswork to figure out how they developed their Semblances.

Glynda Goodwitch: Oz’s Number 2 for Beacon, Glynda has the power of Telekinesis. In short, she can manipulate objects with her mind and move them around. She first uses this power to help Ruby fight Cinder on the rooftops in “Ruby Rose”, making a spear from shrapnel, but we later see a different application in Beacon Academy; Fixing up the messes caused by the future or current members of Oz’s group messing around or messing up. We first see it in “Best Day Ever” when she cleans up the mess hall (Ha ha) after the epic food fight, and in “Breach” when she restores the hole that caused the breach. In short, she fixes and enforces the previous status quo, making things to how they used to be. Glynda’s was last sighted trying to fix Vale in a similar manner at the end of Volume 3. However, her efforts fail, Because the damage is too great. Or maybe because she’s been pushed to her limit. This represents on how the status quo is effectively gone, beyond repair. There is a new status quo which she needs to adjust to.

While we may never know what events caused Glynda to develop her Telekinesis, we can certainly discern why she needs them in the present story. As shown, Glynda has many roles in the show; She is both a huntress, deputy headmistress, combat instructor and member of the Oz gang. Each duty requires different skill sets, fighting a huntress requires combat skills, clerical for being deputy, teaching for instruction, and of course, and fair amount of deception for the secret society thing. So, Glynda’s mind has to be broad and flexible to adjust to each needed scenario as they are required. Her Semblance allows her mind to physically cover as much ground as possible, as she must do so mentally.

James Ironwood: The second member of the Oz Gang to be met, whose Semblance was revealed by the CRWBY in a post-script. According to them, “The whole thing is just this kind of iron resolve/will that kind of powers him to -- almost like a very stubbornly narrow set focus-like mindset on things to kind of push himself to do what he's decided he's gonna do…” “It helps him hyper-focus.” Essentially, the mental drive to pursue a single goal to exclusion of everything else. In theory, a useful power, like if one is doing technical work such as bomb-defusing or surgery. But it clearly has its negative sides. If Ironwood becomes attached to a bad idea, he focuses on that. In short, it’s tunnel vision. Combined with his natural arrogance, hubris and paranoia, this has led to numerous bad plans, because he doesn’t just focus on the goal, he fixates on what that goal will achieve. When he builds his army, he only thinks about what good it will do, while ignoring any complaints at what’s really happening. When Beacon falls, largely in part because of that same army, he instead focuses the idea that Ozpin’s disagreement with him caused it. In Volume 7, All of the major problems stem from Ironwood’s policies, but Ironwood insists that saving Mantle is what led to being vulnerable to Salem. When pushed, it clearly becomes a form of self-delusion.

I have seen posts describing Ironwood’s Mettle as disappointing, and some such, and I agree. And that is why it is so perfect for Ironwood. Because Ironwood IS disappointing. He’s a compelling character, but largely uncreative and superficial. His weapons (Which as Ruby claims in “The Shining Beacon” are an extensions of themselves) are just basic hand-held guns, and his fighting style is very bland. So it’s very unsurprising that his Semblance, the representation of his soul, is just an enhancement of his natural stubbornness and ego.

It’s easy to figure how come Ironwood’s Semblance is what it is. As shown with the fight with Watts in “Gravity”, Ironwood’s hyper-focus leaves him vulnerable to falling into traps or being caught off-guard from those outside his narrow focus. As a member of the military, Ironwood has most likely had back-up during his career, soldiers providing cover and shielding him from his blunders. And as a member of the Oz Gang, Ozpin most likely was shielding him from his own mistakes during his formative years. Ironwood is a stubborn dick because being a stubborn dick has always worked out for him. Until now, when it’s not.

Qrow Branwen: Our favorite drinking bird has Misfortune, which is weaponized bad luck. It causes things around him to break or fall the wrong way, hurting others. The problem is, Qrow can’t really control it. According to CRWBY, he can cause it to spike up at will, but it’s always working in the background. Having such a double-edged power has given him a bad attitude and a buttload of anxiety issues, and is probably the reason why he’s such a dour character. So the real question is, what aspect of Qrow’s experience and personality does his Misfortune represent? My theory, is that it’s laziness. Yup. Or, more likely irresponsibility. Throughout the show’s run, Qrow has shown himself a little lacking in innovation. He may the guy who goes after information After he gets no help from Lionheart in going after the Spring Maiden, he stalks off to a bar. The following plan to recruit Huntsmen to attack the Branwens was clearly fashioned by Ozpin, as was the decision to take the Lantern to Atlas. When Oz goes into hiding and the attempt to get through Argus base is rebuffed, Qrow just slinks off for more drinking. While it’s clear that this alcoholism is born from the depression of living life as “a jinx”, we cannot fully guess that his bad attitude was the result of this. For all we know, he might have already been somewhat sour (Being raised by bandits will do that), and his Semblance exacerbated that. In any case, Qrow has a habit of just going through the motions. He seems to have a ‘who cares’ mentality when worst comes to worse. He just goes along with whatever life throws his way, and only pushes himself when particularly motivated. Because of this, despite having remarkable combat potential, Qrow’s Semblance has remained the random effect

Raven Branwen: Raven’s Semblance is called Kindred Link. This Semblance lets her ‘mark’ people and then open portals to their location whenever she wants. We first see this in “No Brakes” when she warps to Yang’s rescue, saving her from Neopolitan. This represents how, in spite of her bad attitude and immorality, she deep down cares for her daughter, and others as well. However, she rarely acts on that care, preferring to keep the people she likes at a distance. It’s a bit ironic that a woman who seems to care so little, has a Semblance that allows her to reach to anyone she wishes whenever she wants. But, perhaps having such an special shortcut may have caused her to begin to take such bonds for granted. “Mission on the other side of the world? I can get home instantly, so why not?”

But as Taiyang implies, Raven used to be a much better person before the whole “Secret War” thing warped her. What kind of life did she have to warrant the development of such a Semblance? Well, in “Family” Raven told Qrow that they had been raised by the Branwen Tribe, implied that they had been found by the tribe, and not born of them. Which means that for their real parents had been lost, taken by some calamity. Perhaps this loss is what sparked a need to have a way of getting to whomever she cared about. Or, just as likely, the Tribe’s nomadic (As in, let’s cut and run before the cops show up) lifestyle meant people would get seperated, and thus fodder for the Grimm.

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

“No more surprises, all right? I don’t think I could take it.” 

Understatement of the fucking century.

[v0xtagram]

“ You never appreciated my genius, James. You just stood atop it and called yourself a giant! “

“ I gave you everything you could have wanted! “

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

“You never met the man he was before Salem found him.”

We really did not know what Oz was talking about until now, did we?

[v0xtagram]

“I suppose in this instance, my brains and your brawn are evenly matched.”

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Salem is very good with leaders, especially those who set themselves apart and make all the big decisions alone. She’s been fighting Ozma, who for all his talk of unity keeps his secrets to himself. In the flashback, she focuses on converting the kings and queens. And now she has Ironwood, who was able to undermine her plans when he listened to the council of others, but has become vulnerable to her manipulations when his paranoia leads him to think dictatorship is the only way forward. Of course she focuses on the leader, on Ruby. That’s her specialty. Cut off the head, and the body flounders.

But RWBY is not about a single leader, strong as she is. It’s about a team of four. They respect her decisions, but they still call her on them, and all three made their own major decisions this volume without her input because they trust each other. They remind her of her morals. They make plans together. And they comfort her when she (literally) falls. Ruby may be the leader, but they are equals in every way that matters. Contrast literally everyone else Salem has manipulated and defeated thus far. Even Summer Rose ultimately chose to be alone, and paid for it.

This was the first meeting between our heroes and our villain, and Salem broke Ruby with ease. But she is only one of our heroes, and in focusing on her, she made the critical error of ignoring the other three.