#zsweber-studios

[happybirthday-unusannus]

Could you mind reminding me what the June 4th Unus Annus video was?

June 4th was "Morphing Our Bodies Into Superhero Poses" which honestly I found to be a very cursed video :)

[itsclydebitches]

So, I'm not sure if I'm the best to articulate this thought, but...I feel like RWBY has been trying to do a Fullmetal Alchemist with the Huntsman organizations and really failing it. Like FMA, it has an organization that holds a lot of importance in the safety of the civilians. Like FMA, that organization is flawed in some ways and possibly absolutely corrupt in others. Like FMA, the main characters join this organization for personal reasons, before realizing the depth of the corruption (part 1

Oh yeah, Arakawa has a far better, more nuanced grasp of these topics than RT does, which includes the concept of flawed institutions, rather than just flawed individuals. Ruby isn’t realizing that certain structures and acts are a problem--lying, secret keeping, military force, etc.--the show just keeps doubling down on the idea that these problems only exist provided she’s not at the helm. It’s exactly as you say: Ruby and her friends aren’t corrupt, ergo nothing they could do is bad. It’s this idea that the heart of the person changes the action, rather than the action changing the person. Ruby magically turns any act into a heroic act, rather than acknowledging that the act may be changing her. And that individualism extends to Ironwood. The soldiers aren’t the problem. The laws aren’t the problems. Huntsmen like Flynt and Neon aren’t the problem. The only problem is that evil Ironwood is in charge, so once you kill him off everything is fine. No institutional problems here. Yet the concept that Ruby could become corrupt in the same way Ironwood became corrupted isn’t even an idea on RWBY’s radar because it’s all about individualism. Ruby is the hero and destined to remain that way, no matter what she might actually do. 

That individualism is also seen in those “personal reasons” that led both protagonists to their respective organizations. Ed and Al learn right at the start that the tool they’re using was always corruptible, but they still try to manipulate it to get what they want. It’s only the act of giving up alchemy entirely that gets Ed what he’s always been after, Al’s body, something that was only lost because of these ideas that they could take on the world with that power--literally reverse death. “That’s it! That’s the answer!” he hears when he announces that his friends and family are more important than this power. RWBY quite obviously hasn’t ended yet, but I can’t picture Ruby laying down her scythe with the knowledge that in order to find peace she must distance herself from that corruptible system and that’s partly because Ruby has no identity outside of that system. Her uncle is a huntsmen, so is her father, so was her mother--with Ruby copying her as much as possible--so is her sister, so are all her friends, Ruby is introduced to the viewer declaring that the only thing she wants in life is to be a huntress, gushing over how cool Glynda is. That’s her whole person, being a huntress. Ed? He wanted his mother. He wanted his brother. Giving up alchemy is easy in the end because alchemy was never what he really wanted in life, but being a huntress is what Ruby has always been after and the show has yet to do anything to teach her that her larger goal of helping people can be achieved through other means. And why would it? Because Ruby, as a huntress, is always the hero. According to the story, the problem is not society’s choice to give teenagers lethal weaponry and send them out into the world without any checks and balances, nor is the problem making use of military might to replace those individual fighters... the problem is only when someone other than Ruby tries to make use of those resources. Dumping people out of a plane, threatening a sibling with your sword, taking a headshot at an official, turning your weapons on your uncle... none of the little moments where we go “holy shit??” matter because RWBY functions under the belief that if the group is leveraging their power to steal, threaten, lie, or hurt it’s automatically for some excellent, world saving reason. They’re not corruptible. Never mind the number of people around them who have gone down that road (Raven, Adam, Lionheart, Ironwood, etc.) it’s simply not possible for them to repeat those mistakes. It’s a very Chosen One story and not in the way YA tends to deconstruct the trope. For RWBY it’s a very serious “Ruby is 100% pure and can do no wrong. If it looks like she’s doing wrong, she’s not. If it looks like she’s part of a corrupt system, she’s not. Ruby’s inherent heroism makes any possible action she takes heroic by default”... and that’s a bunch of nonsense that Arakawa understood. 

When critical fans are feeling salty they sometimes make exaggerated claims like, “Ruby could blow up the world and the show would paint it as this wonderful heroic choice” and yeah, that stuff is an exaggeration... but it’s coming from a legit place of frustration with how Ruby is framed. For all Ruby’s surface claims that she’s not perfect, the story believes she’s above fault. That’s why every character instantly reassures her (Blake) or takes back their grievances the moment Ruby might act on their advice (Yang, May). No one in the show forces Ruby to admit to her mistakes and grow from them because the concept of Ruby being a flawed protagonist--particularly to the extent she’s at now--is simply not on the table. 

[browniefox]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Can't believe you're already 22--hope your day goes well and you find time to celebrate today!

Thanks!!! Love you

[tigerstripedmoon]

It just occurred to me that the idea that Ozpin was a student/headmaster at fourteen feels really weird, but that's basically what would be happening with Oscar in a less crazy world. Which...I still don't agree with, personally? Like, yes, it's important for the one person who knows what's going on in the world to be in a position of power, but like...did NO ONE find it odd that this little boy that's not even done with puberty is a head of a school?

This is why I hc him as a student at 14 and headmaster at 21. The age isn’t completely unreasonable, to me, and while the headmaster age is still very young, it’s still possible. But yes, it’s basically a parallel with Oscar, who is now thrown into combat situations at 14--except not in a controlled educational environment.

[podcastwizard]

TAZ Characters as Star Wars

taako: luke

magnus: lando

merle: chewy

lup: leia 

barry: han

lucretia: c3po

davenport: r2d2

john: darth vader

angus: bb8

[ozcarpin]

Odd Affection

end me ‘Odd Affection’ and I’ll tell you an unconventional sign of affection from my muse!

Ozpin’s affection can come in spontaneity. He’s always busy, you’re probably always busy, but sometimes, you’ll just enter a room at your work (most likely your office) and he’ll just be there, and he has plans and now you have plans and its all okay, everythings been figured out and its time to go live a little. He’s done this to everyone in the Inner Circle and most of his staff at Beacon at least once before. 

Finding himself as nearly as much of a recluse as the voice in his head, Oscar’s affections can often come in the form of letting people in a bit. Sharing bits of himself with them. This can come in the form of telling stories about the farm, his family, admitting to pieces of his past that he often feels embarrassed about since they’re surely boring to these people who throw themselves at monsters on a whim. 

Something very intimate to him is sharing parts of his journal, which he uses as a part-time sketchbook as well. He doesn’t consider himself an artist, but he likes sketching his surroundings, mostly animals plants and..... people. The people sketches in particular he prefers to keep to himself.

[combat-heelys]

👀 for Tomi [@indomitable-dark-knight]

“You know actions speak louder than words, right?”

[theheadcanonzone]

SubSat: When getting the guest list together, Julia asked Magnus if he had any family he’d like to invite. Despite him not remembering who he was inviting, he still reserved six seats for the family he couldn’t remember. In the end, three of the seats ended up being filled.

You wanna make me cry here, huh?!