RWBY Discussion: Maidens and Magic

Let's explore how RWBY handles "magic" in a world with Semblances, and Maidens that are meant to be living forces of nature.

[@tobechiokoye1527]

RWBY's story was never good, but we all still loved it. But now its story is getting worse with recons and bad writing.

[@sebas8225]

And the funnier part is that they ditched Poser for Maya and clearly stated RWBY was going to suffer changes from Monty´s vision and the plot hasnt gotten any better whatsoever, meanwhile the fight choreography gets sabotaged, those bastards thought they could actually make a better plot and series without monty around and now reality has come to bite them in the ass.

[@wisemankugelmemicus1701]

Retcons*

[@twilightlordyt7835]

Yeah... I wish Monty was still here because he would be able to fix the plot.

[@utopian4769]

@@twilightlordyt7835 No he wouldn't. Monty wasn't a good writer. He had cool ideas and was a great animator but storytelling wasn't his ballpark.

[@bryana.escaleralopez]

Rwby was two different story telling in one. Monty’s through the fights and whatever the writers came up with.

[@xxhaxonxx8345]

Anyone remembers volume 1 introduction? when dust was supposed to be important?

[@zusfrankenstein8561]

Now: What's dust?

[@zachhecita]

@@zusfrankenstein8561 When I listen to the opening exposition, I thought it was hinting to humans were composed of Dust. This would explain how the three different magicesque powers in Remnant (Dust, Aura, and Semblance) were related, and why they seemed so similiar. Dust was just part of their genetic makeup.

[@Jordan-gp3mj]

Zachary Hecita I mean, that explains how people develop their own semblances, but no one seems to care anymore😭. It’s all about the situation around them that brings out their semblance🤔. And what they’re feeling at the time.

[@the33rdguy]

I would have much preferred having like a dust shortage and something forcing the characters to scavenge for dust as they try to hold back the grim for the unrest happening. Forcing them to get better at hand to hand and non magic combat. People would be anxious since without the dust, the grim come. Their could be this cool classist thing, where the rich hog the remains dust, leaving the poor and faunus alone. Btw this would also make them more likley to learn their semblance and use them professionally. No magic btw. I dunno how you would get rid of the grim, but maybe the bad guys r stealing all the dust so that they can control the grim or something I dunno. But I just wish they didnt change the story. I was so into a dust shortage. They could have shown such great economic and classist and racist ideas in such a cool monster show. Whyyyy 😭😭😭😭.

[@alexjewett7455]

But then they decided to introduce 2 new completely unrelated magic systems and mostly forget dust exists.

[@TwilightWolf032]

How about this: Semblances are limited to your aura, using your semblance doesn't deplete your aura, but if your aura depletes, you can't use your semblance until you get your force field back. Magic, however, allows the user to dish out attacks regardless of their aura levels. Meanwhile, dust allows for long ranged attacks of the hunters and huntresses' weapons (bullets need to be infused with dust to damage the Grimm, and manipulation of Dust for combat is only granted to those who graduate from combat school - something Jaune didn't do, hence why he doesn't have any long ranged options in his arsenal), adding different effects depending on the element combination and the semblance of the user (such as creating a damaging smokescreen with various elements, like we see when Ruby bumps into Weiss in the first episode). Basically Dust works as an enhancer to the semblances that can incorporate it (such as Weiss' glyphs controlling the Dust in her sword, and Blake's copies freezing in place), but only works as ammunition for those that can't (such as Ruby and Yang, who only seem to be able to shoot with them). Semblances run on MP, but Magic is eternal. Add to that the possibility of being passed down or stolen, and we get clear rules to what each system does. Actually, this is basically how the show used to be at first - Cynder used infusion of Dust in her clothes to disguise the fact she was half Maiden; the prologue and World of Remnant state that it was the discovery of Dust that allowed humanity to fight against the Grimm, so it shows that semblances alone aren't enough. The Maidens should be the most powerful beings in the world, capable of dishing out the Grimm like they're nothing, without weaknesses on their arsenal, making capturing or killing them having to be done through mental manipulation or other underhand tactics. The problem is that RT doesn't make it clear that this is the case, instead making Weiss say all the supernatural stuff they live with is believable, but someone turning into a bird is weird! The problem isn't on the system itself, but rather how the writers can't do jackshit with the material they already have established!

[@restinplace1464]

I feel like that's a bad idea because.... If their aura is gone that's it they're retreating and their semblance is their last defense.

[@TwilightWolf032]

@@restinplace1464 Which is why hunters are made to fight in teams of two or more.

[@brandonontama2415]

The problem is that we see characters use their sembalnces with no aura, like Qrow or Yang.

[@williamharmon4039]

@@brandonontama2415 Which is dumb because there's supposed to be a rule that semblances are powered by aura.

[@derekneese9497]

I completely agree. As someone who's written RWBY fanfic, it's aggravating how many magic systems have to be juggled together. Semblances, Dust, Aura, the Maidens, it honestly opens your eyes on how broken the supernatural aspect of Remnant is.

[@sebas8225]

Always go the Fullmetal Alchemist or HxH route with power systems.

[@furyberserk]

Not really. They are broken because of lacking information in too much. I think monty wanted it to go the way its heading, but in a different way. I think aura and semblances were to be hard magic system and the magic as soft, coming with troublesome limitations, while aura always work the same. Aura is stated it can be projected, but semblances show it can only do this in certain ways and tied to aura. While magic seems to have no limitations. I think the distinction wpuld have been made in season 4 if monty was still around. It's clear from his other projects he was inspired by HxH for this show.

[@thebanditman5663]

I broke things down like this. Dust: Brand fucking new *elements* (Think separated highly reactive particles held close to critical mass,) that to us are like magic, but could be studied and understood to the point, we on Earth would probably be able to use more effectively than the people of remnant. I mean shit, If you told someone from remnant "Do not go in that room, or a rock emitting invisible waves of energy will disrupt your DNA causing cell death, slowly killing every part of you at once." They would't understand that it was because radiation exists. Aura: The soul manipulating the body. If someone's aura is turned on, it's not so much that they have a force field, it's more like, their body is being told by their mind to increase tensile strength, or in the case of full blown shield creation, Ren vs tijuta in V1, they are concentrating said soul beyond the physical barriers of the flesh. Little bit of traditional eastern philosophy on the energy the body produces, but it's mostly to make the fights last longer than, whoever get's shot first loses. Because if that was the case, no one would fight, they'd just kill each other how we do on earth, then the story has to have crazy reasons why the good guy didn't just cap the bad guy, like he has a strict and cliche moral code, or there are hostages, or a dead mans trigger. Semblances: A sort of hyper evolution. We know that remnant is not our planet, so who's to say remnients are genetically the exact same as humans. (I mean the faunus are a thing, and they just have animal parts tossed onto people, and I can't imagine that human's and faunas are incompatible for procreation given the obvious relation to humans.) Point is I see semblances as a form of hyper rapid evolution. Struck by lightning, and you have a few unspent "EVOLVE points"? Now you get stronger the more electricity you absorb. Eels generate electricity, but storing it? Why would you need that? that's why to us it seems unnatural. It's a bizarre adaptation we can't easily wrap our heads around, but with time, it makes sense. Maidens: Full bore elemental control MAGIC. Their power over what appears to be the 4 base elements and then some, is in a word absolute. It's the only one of the 4 things listed here that has no in universe scientific explanation. If these existed in our world, they previous three could be learned like a disciplined art form, Dr. Strange style, physics bending as they might be, but Maidens go to another level of breaking the universe. Building those ice and fire swords in the Haven fight, would require so much small scale atomic manipulation, that it'd be next to impossible to create without reality warping powers. That and poor writing.

[@zusfrankenstein8561]

@@thebanditman5663 While I do agree with most of your points, I think canonically, Semblances aren't supposed to be genetic mutations. They keep telling us its tied to Aura, and how the Semblance is fueled by Aura, and if Aura breaks you can't use your Semblance until you have enough Aura to fuel it again. It's also implied that using your Semblance burns through your Aura, hence the explanation for why Ruby doesn't spam her rose petal speed ability all the time. But then you just have random inconsistencies like with Weiss using her Semblance after her Aura broke. So yeah, it would make more sense if they were mutations, but as it stands right now, Semblances are badly writtena nd make no sense.

[@Rob.N.]

@@zusfrankenstein8561 Semblances honestly should be genetic mutations or at least affected by genetics. Because you have people like Wynter(Winter?) and Weiss who have the same semblance. Therefore you'd have to ask the question are semblances affected by bloodlines? But semblances are supposed to be unique for each individual so........ Yeah.

[@galgow]

i also cannot fathom why they named characters after seasons when they seemingly arent maidens (summer, winter), like i get its probably misdirection but it just makes it really confusing for casual viewers. i feel like they try so hard to make rwby hard to predict, with the colors or names of the maidens for example, that they end up missing opportunities and making the show thematically murky

[@twiinsiink]

I doesn't help that they came up with maidens right before volume 3, hence why we have characters like Summer and Winter named after the seasons.

[@failingeverything5793]

Here ima try and patch shit up with an evem worse plotline(probs because I just made it up). Lets say that the folktale is really famous, to the point where people name thier kids after the maidens. Like how people keep naming thier kids David because its a famous person in the bible. So winter, summer, spring, and fall are all very famous names now, yay. Now lets make it known, have people reference how many flipping "Fall"s there are. Lets also make the names color coded because RWBY, people with the name Winter normally wear white or blue. This also alerts you to the fact that the Schnee family really likes Winter(the maiden), I have no idea what to do with this, maybe you can see Weiss wearing red as a form of rebellion. I have no idea what to do with magic, okay so aura is the soul and semblances are a reflection of the soul, unlike magic which is more flexible than the other two, as it doesnt rely on your soul. Maybe have semblances be really powerful but limited and magic be really flexible but less powerful as the gods dont fuel it anymore? People want it because magic can do a lot of stuff I guess. And plus the magic can be stacked with semblances and aura so with magic you could throw your semblance at someone while also throwing them off with magic. Also people with magic tend to be leaders in something now because yes, people see them as gods because they can do everything, of course they can easily be tricked by people with illusion semblances, making people like Emerald and Neo a lot more threatening. As those two can fake having multiple semblances(magic). Silver eyes is another weird ass thing to add in, now you have ATLA, MHA, any anime with Aura, and magic in one area. Silver eyes should have had a story of its own, maybe talking about how silver(grey) was a symbol of balance between the dark and the light. As for how it works? Lets say the eyes destroy Grimm because of the light parts of it, but lets also say that it can only be used during a time of great darkness(yes basically ATLA). Lets also have it be used for great evil as well(like people with grey eyes being able to decimate whole cities during war.) Unlike magic, silver eyes are easier to spot and are controled by feelings mostly, making them closer to the soul than magic. But its also separate from semblances so its not directly linked to the soul either. Rather its linked to the eyes(you can determine what that means because I have no idea). Pls kill me I wrote this halfassed essay instead of doind my homework or sleeping.

[@Mister100Percent]

Well Winter is now the Winter Maiden, so yeah...

[@cariaidyn4274]

I think that the original intent was very much so to make each at least supposed be one of the four. This doesn't mean they would all necessarily succeed. The power could be usurped. Then that makes the plot more dramatic to overcome this setback.

[@cureice]

"Maidens are just fancy keys with a second semblance they have to share"

[@redlock1353]

Thank you for making this. Personally, I have always thought RWBY became broken after the main power everyone had was defined as "magic". It just went so well when it was just Dust, Aura and Semblance. It worked so well, Semblances were kinda like Stands in JoJo, but now that "magic" was introduced and Weiss can suddenly summon, I can see that the power creep of the show will get destroyed by Volume 7 if not sooner. Personally, if I wrote the Maidens, I'd give them two abilities: Youth Restoration and Dust Creation. Youth Restoration would explain the term "Maiden". It would revert the age of the wielder to their peak (say to age 18 to 24) and would make them stay there. It would atleast explain how Cinder could pass as a student even though she seems to have some years behind her. Plus it would also explain away why Raven looks exactly like Yang. Maybe they looked the same when they were the same age. Dust Creation would be the thing that would make the Maidens a game changer without breaking the power balance. Imagine if you had the ability to make gold from nothing. This would be the Dust equivalent. Dust in itself is very powerful in any of it's forms, so if you had a Maiden by your side, you could theoretically have an infinite supply of Dust. I would of course limit the Dust by elements (the basic Burn, Aqua, Ground and Air Dust). I would also visually distinguish Maidens by having them grow Dust crystals on their bodies and clothes. In combat I would also make it so that Maidens make their own Dust armor and weapons to gain a better advantage. How badass would an armor made of Dust be? And as for the season naming convention, I'd just say they are codenames. Like when soldiers in WWII used secret codenames for most of their operations.

[@SwitchbackCh]

Connecting each Maiden to a fundamental type of Dust is a simple but brilliant idea. Still roughly follows the elemental powers but tweaked to fit Remnant's unique world specifically.

[@T-Jex]

"THerEs nO sUCh ThInG AS MagIC"

[@danielhughes6556]

@@SwitchbackCh Plus Cinder's maiden powers were literally introduced as an advanced form of dust manipulation.

[@monochromeink.]

You have better riting skills then the writers of rbwy

[@sapphicvampire8504]

I wish you wrote the maidens instead

[@armanaryan4663]

Everyone: Magic! Semblances! Dust! Me: The Maidens should be a team and their name should be WFSS. Waffles.

[@snowboundwhale6860]

Team SFWS: Safe For Work Seasons

[@truetotheit6668]

1:23 HEY HEY HEY Don’t you know Anime teens are the strongest beings that will ever exist

[@Nomadistar]

Ummm, nooo??????...They are supposed to be THE, Goddesses, of the God of light & darkness.....Right? Ummmmm, right????

[@danielzakgaim2764]

@@Nomadistar r/whoooooosh

[@Nomadistar]

@@danielzakgaim2764 No U. You missed it. It was joke, FFS. Chill.

[@bryana.escaleralopez]

@@Nomadistar Only when defeating the antagonist and giving her immortal

[@16firework33]

I wish winters power was to "freeze" time to make the powers be something powerful and punny, springs power is to fast foward time, causing enemies to age extremely fast to death since in spring things "grow" like some shit like that, now THATS powerful and god like, and makes sense on why they would need to hide or find the maidens.

[@snowboundwhale6860]

So "fall" would be gravity and floortilting yeah?

[@QwErTy-cw6fh]

I imagine Winter got Creation because in several interpretations, Winter represents rebirth, renewal, and the major change. While it is depicted being destructive, it is, the meanings of renewal are also present. Summer is Destruction is due to the fact that while Summer is known for all happy fun times, you also have to remember that monsoons can quickly become storms and other large natural disasters in a lot of circumstances. Also, the sun becomes freaking hot as hell. I'm sure drought is also a bit of an influence. Even then, I wish they did more with them. What a waste of magic in a world where magical stuff happens. Wait.

[@dapperparraper860]

It could also be because summer is typically associated with fire and winter with water so fire is often associated with destruction and water creation, but the maidens don't have unique powers anyway so I guess this point doesn't really matter.

[@QwErTy-cw6fh]

@@dapperparraper860 tru dat.

[@cake6851]

Rebirth and renewal? That sounds like spring. Not even close to what winter is about

[@Nomadistar]

@@cake6851 Sadly, the "hip" thing (or, whatever the current acceptable word/jargon? is AT current) It SEEMS, it's all about subversion NOW. So, if it makes sense, it will not only NOT be done, but at times, even the exact opposite.

[@lightdragoon88]

Ok now that I watch 2 things: 1) to me another way to see which maiden is witch is the flames in their eyes. Cinder had orange flames while Raven had red flames. If winter has blue flames and summer has yellow flames then there is that. 2) Relics and the 2 Gods along with the Maidens where never planned. Miles and Kerry decided to add Maidens and "magic" in V3 and then (I forget which one) decided to add his personal idea of the brothers and relics, a idea that was shot down when they were working on V1 and V2 with Monty, Since now no one could say no anymore.

[@lightdragoon88]

Samantha Pribble which was why it was shoot down when he brought it up in V1. Then he decided to do it anyway because he thought it was a great idea.....it wasn't. It times like this where I would highly consider rebooting it.

[@shineyorkboy]

The show's already pretty much constantly rebooting itself given how much they retcon and contradict in each volume.

[@twiinsiink]

Lightdragoon88 I"m not sure a full reboot would be a good idea? I think they could make it work without rebooting it but, they'd have to dedicate some time and effort into really thinking about how it all works without just hand waving inconsistencies, or going the lazy route and just being vague about it.

[@lightdragoon88]

Twiins iink all the vagueness then. :p

[@Luke-lq9rn]

Actually Miles and Monty worked together on the Gods idea, but didn't include it because they didn't know how to yet. And Monty planned out the Maidens. But the Relics are 100% M&K and it shows

[@testsubject747]

for Season-to-Relic-concepts, i think the plan is for the concepts to correlate with the RWBY main four. Fall: Ruby - Choice (her little spiel to Oscar in V5 Episode 5 ended with "So that's what I choose to do - to keep moving forward." Winter: Weiss - Creation (wanting to create her own path, one that's not dictated by her father) Spring: Blake - Knowledge (she has knowledge of both the struggles of the White Fang, and the good side of Human society, and thus knows the true course of action that the Faunus must take) Summer: Yang - Destruction (duh)

[@twiinsiink]

I'm not sure about that, as you could pretty easily relate all the girls to any of the relics. Fall: Choice- Yang (she chose to keep fighting after losing her arm.) Blake (She chose to stand up to adam and take back the white fang) Weiss (She chose to stand against her father and follow her own path) Winter: Creation- Yang (creating a new life without her arm or mother). Blake (Creating a new whitefang and equality for the faunus) Ruby (creating a better world with her silver eyes) Spring: Knowledge- Yang (search to know more about her mom). Ruby ( knows to acknowledge the good in the world even when all hope seems lost). Weiss (knows about the struggles of oppression due to her father.) Summer: Destruction- Blake (white fang destroyed stuff with her help) Ruby (silver eyes destroy the grimm). Weiss (symbolic destruction of all the limitations she's been given by her family). There's also no reason to assume the members of team rwby would become the maidens (save for the fact that there are four of them). Just one becoming a maiden seems unlikely, let alone all 4. If they do go this route though, it would be interesting to see how your theory holds up.

[@Nomadistar]

@@twiinsiink if RWBY are all destined to become "Mary-Sues" (Edit: Didn't really know how else to convey the point, otherwise....) PLEASE RoosterTeeth, listen to this, like we ALL know you can....WHEN THE HEAT IS ON! Thanks!

[@bryana.escaleralopez]

Trust me, Jaune is becoming a maiden

[@KannoVee]

Personally, I think it would’ve been better if they could only use one specific element.

[@Cailan_Mors]

I don't think maidens or magic should exist in rwby, it already had aura, semblances and dust. The show didn't need another magic system.

[@Nomadistar]

Magic in RWBY was/is used to do at least ONE thing......anyone recall/remember what it is? I'll give some hints/clues........... God of Light says humanity is a fraction of what they were, for starters. Not enough? Still thirsty? OR, insatiable? Or in-between? It was a GIFT!!! No limits or hindered to dust in your "inventory", so-to-speak. Still not enough? Really??? OKAY THEN.....Magic is the tipping point, unless RT retcons THAT TOO!!!! Looking at you RT!!!!! With all 3 eyes!!!! The Maidens powers are a "remnant" of WHAT HUMANITY WAS...when humanity WAS WHOLE. The God of Light says what??? In short, even the two-god-brothers-failed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please, let it "stew" a bit....please. AND, they will learn from their failure, ANNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDD, hopes Salem WILL TOO. WOW. That is the biggest set-up since OT STAR WARS!!!!!!! AND..........IF RT drops/fumbles this, it will BE. THE. BIGGEST. FLOP. OF. ALL TIME. IN MY MIND. I would give more, BUT, I WONT.

[@bryana.escaleralopez]

@@Nomadistar Gods lore and two brothers are half baked excuses to connect the dots. Adding them in general don’t follow the cool rule sadly. They need to be whiped out. The second half of volume 3 shifted way too quickly in tone which is evidence of rewrites. Heck, even introducing Salem was bad. Also, ruby not getting a power up after 4 or 5 volumes just breaks every known anime rule ever made.

[@sebas8225]

Magic is a asspull. And kinetic semblances should be canon already pyhra can metalbend and glynda use complete telekinesis, Glynda is more powerful than all the maidens confirmed!

[@kaliko5245]

So true! Instead of actually beating the utter shit out of everyone she becomes a glorified janitor.

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

Yang's semblance also absorbs kinetic energy to enhance her strength.

[@zusfrankenstein8561]

Glynda doesn't just use the classic "lift heavy shit" type of telekinesis, she's demonstrated the ability to literally fuses things back together after they've been broken. That's way more impressive than any of the Avatar shit the maidens do. Everything they can do can be feasibly achieved with the right combination of Semblances. Didn't we even have a character who could steal Semblances?

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

Zus Frankenstein Wait what?! Steal Semblances?!

[@zusfrankenstein8561]

@@samuelrodriguez9801 Yeah, Mercury's dad's semblance was stealing other people's semblances. He used that to steal Mercury's semblance when he was young, explaining why he doesn't have a semblance. The man was on some real All For One shit. And then apparently Mercury killed him, a guy with multiple Semblances, with just his bare fists and no Semblance. Yeah, talk about a waste of a character. Why isn't Mercury's dad the most powerful guy in all of Remnant? His power can let him have all other powers. Why was't he running at least a crime organization? Why would you choose to be an assassin when you have enough power to become basically a god? Another example of nonsensical writing from CRWBY.

[@worldweaver2691]

counterpoint. Raven and Vernal are trying to HIDE the fact that they are the spring maiden. cinder has no excuse tho.

[@ajiththomas2465]

I agree with you that the concept of Maidens has really been underutilized in the show. Naming them after the Seasons but having them have the same power set was pretty dumb to be honest. It’d be really interesting to see some specialization to make things interesting and to be able to differentiate which Maiden is which. For example, each Maiden could’ve had access to a specific type of Elemental Magic associated with them like, Fall- Wind/Lighting Winter- Water/Ice Spring- Earth/Plant Summer- Fire/Light In addition to that, other specific non-Elemental Magic could go with them as well. It just seems kind of like a waste. Also, to be fair to Amber, she was described as being inexperienced with her Maiden Powers. And Cinder is a much more bigger threat as a Maiden because her base level was already on the level of an above average professional Huntress (CRWBY said that she was in her early to mid 20’s). And I would argue that Maidens aren’t just MacGuffins only meant to act as Keys to the Relics. They also serve as immense power boosts and could set up very strong opponents that would require lots of training, skill, coordination, etc to take down, sort of upping the stakes really. Also, something interesting to note is that Maiden Powers/Magic can still be used, even when the Maiden’s Aura has been depleted. We’ve seen this in the Amber fight and the Raven vs Cinder fight. So I can see how that’s certainly an advantage as the quantity of Magic in Maiden Power probably immensely exceeds the quantities of Aura the best Huntsmen and Huntresses have to offer. Also, the Relics (and the Two Brother Gods) were actually thought up from the beginning. You can see this in Initiation, where Ozpin tasks the Initiates with “retrieving the Relics”. The whole idea of Maidens was thought up by Monty between V2 and V3, and after his death, Miles and Kerry felt honor bound to implement it, however roughly it was done. So yeah, it was the Maidens idea that was the new idea that got in the way, not the Relics. Both Maidens and Relics could be good if executed better. I also sympathize with how flawed Magic has been implemented with all the other still poorly defined and vague power systems in RWBY there are. When you have Semblances that can summon Aura Constructs of fallen enemy Grimm, can affect people’s minds, teleport through space and time in portals based on something as abstract as “bonds”, and can affect a metaphysical concept like misfortune, what is there that makes Magic look all that impossible in comparison? If they did a better job of establishing what a Semblance can or can’t be, then it would make Yang and Weiss’s shock at seeing Raven Shapeshifting into a bird a lot more meaningful and impactful. But that’s not what happens. And to end, Consistency has never been RWBY’s strongest suit. Even back and *especially* with Monty still at the helm. Hell, if Monty was still here, it’d probably be even MORE inconsistent that it already is.

[@violet999ab]

No, the Relics were NOT thought up in the beginning. Literally the only evidence I can find is that Ozpin tells the students to “find the relics” before throwing them into the forest, and that’s a pretty big stretch. Unless there’s more evidence I don’t know about, it seems unlikely.

[@creamycream7081]

Something I find funny is that in episode one you literally watch Glynda create a thundercloud and throw giant icicles from it with her semblance. This means that there's literally no difference between semblances and maiden powers

[@bryana.escaleralopez]

xmen = semblances. Which makes sort of sense but adding magic just through the show on a loop

[@TortoiseNotTurtle]

I'm surprised they never got powers related to their titles (you'd think that'd be obvious). For example give Summer some Hakai/Thanos Snap shit, maybe giving Winter Dust/Matter Creation, Spring gets some form of omnipotence or advanced learning and Fall gives some sort of influence on destiny or +2 charisma

[@smokedeuch4039]

2:24 Hey remember when Naruto had the Jinchuriki(Eerily simmilar concept to maidens) that gained the ability to use completely foreign powers that viewer weren't able to see anything similar again until more Akatsuki/Kage. Or how One Piece stopped treating devil fruits(Again similar concept) as special (Including its background commentary characters) since the in world lore explains why outsiders not in the grandline would be surprised by devil fruit powers. What I'm saying is that things like what was mentioned takes actual forethought and planning which apparently crwby lacks.

[@violet999ab]

Someone said it! Yay! My issue with Semblances/Dust and magic both existing in RWBY is that, since Semblances and magic have poorly-defined limits, they seem to overlap a lot. Is Cinder using Fire Dust or magic? Who knows, who cares. They’re both functionally the same thing anyways! Also, why is everyone saying Relics were a pre-Monty thing? Literally the only evidence anyone cites is that Ozpin tells the students to “find the relics” before launching them into the forest, and that’s really circumstantial evidence unless official subtitles capitalize the R in Relics. Does anyone have more evidence?

[@timothymclean]

From my limited time with RWBY (Volume 1 through the first few episodes of 3), it seemed like the three systems of "magic" were pretty well-defined. Dust was elemental gubbins, Aura was hit points, and Semblances were mostly centered around making energy or moving things. But the waters for Semblances were muddied even by mid-V2, the other magics got new epicycles to clog up the works, and and new systems were added that didn't fit within or complement the pre-existing stuff. I have a RWBY fanfic that I started writing sometime around Volume 2 that I want to rewrite, and I feel the need to chuck out all of that and craft a new magic system that includes everything I didn't ditch (the Relics are almost certainly getting trashed) and unifies it into something where everything is distinct yet makes sense in the same world.

[@grayson5000]

Personally I like that Raven’s colour palette didn’t fit spring since she waned to keep it secret, but I’m disappointed that they didn’t give Vernal a green or pink colour palette to really make us think she was the maiden. Since colour in general is such a big deal in the show I feel like it would’ve benefited the twist.

[@iamlordapollo]

also i have a theory that the first of jinns questions was secretly used by raven. she became the maiden, went to the school to use the relic, and thats why she knows salem cant be killed and then stopped serving ozpin.

[@DarthTalon5]

The first question was Ozpin/Ozma asking her how he could kill Salem. This is literally in the fucking show.

[@Lupirio23]

@@DarthTalon5 Suprised there hasn't been a response to you. Surely that part of the chapter showed he asked 3 questions; "Where are the other Relics?" "What are their powers?" "How do I kill Salem?" Having Raven somehow have asked a question is interesting and would actually give an answer to it, if implausible. 80 years has it been since the end of the war or the inception of the academies; did the questions reset before or after they were sealed away initially? Being that the Oz asking the questions in that Chapter is most likely NOT the King of Vale. In fact if the King of Vale happened to have had the Relics of Destruction (sword) and Choice (crown) he would have had to have asked previously to know where they were.

[@Jordan-gp3mj]

When Oz FINALLY confirmed he made the first maidens, I was like « OMG WE KNOW! TELL US ABOUT THEM! WHERE’S THE ANIMATED BACKSTORY?! » Also it really doesn’t make any sense for Oz to mention his magic is limited considering he’s not even using it. You’d think he’d already be teaching Oscar some spells n such lol. But no...just keep mentioning how sad he is that their souls are merging instead of treating the kid as an actual person with his own life and limitations. Also did Amber have a semblance that they just forgot to write in?

[@bryana.escaleralopez]

Magic systems are the hardest thing to come up with😂 there’s a reason why monty avoid it and created dust and semblances. Writting a perfect magic system is like writing a new language but harder that’s why most stories use objects or chakra but never magic

[@sammydray5919]

I still don't know the difference between Semblance and magic lol

[@narcolepticcow807]

It actually makes sense for Raven to open the door to the Knowledge relic. She's based off of Hugin, one of Odin's crows representing 'thought'. The fact that she opens the Spring vault to retrieve knowledge brings that piece of lore full circle.

[@katarinalavoie6476]

Agreed. Anyone remember that one line where Weiss arguably the smartest of team RWBY and common sense says "there's no such thing as magic"

[@redstarshooter85]

FINALLY! There's someone who gets it AND points it out in detail! I agree with all of your points and I love this video! (now that I think about it, this may be the video that got me to subscribe to you). I believe that Semblances having a weak magic system worked well in the past because this gave Monty and the other animators at the time more freedom to make the series absolutely GLORIOUS while showing us the flaws simultaneously. The imaginative use of powers contributed to the lighthearted tone which works in tandem to the over-the-top action scenes. But your right: Semblances still need some rules to ground the characters and force them to get creative. I believe they should've stuck to Semblances but should have tried to push more on how Semblances grow. For example, Jaune can heal like an RPG healer but grow to the point where he can regenerate someone's amputations and burned nerves. The only weakness is that he needs a lot of time, effort, and creativity so he can keep his team going, which still paints a target on his back. Also, Relics should be powerful but forgotten technology based on mythology and fairy tales. Relics could be used to enhance one's Semblance, explain or enhance RWBY lore, and/or improve something in the environment. It could have been a weapon that Cinder wields and another Relic she gave to Emerald to improve her own Semblance because she never had Huntress training.

[@yomanyo327]

one ever so small but none the less crucial problem with your idea. It requires the writers to be competent.

[@elusivo3347]

What really ruins the concept of the Maidens for me is how similar their abilities are and how convoluted their roles are and how diminished they are to unearth the importance of the Relics. If it were up to me, the Maidens can only use magic through elements of their respective season: Summer with fire, warmth and heat, Winter with ice, snow and cold. Spring can utilise nature through plants, flowers and animals, and maybe healing to make Spring Maidens more unique and cool. And lastly, for Fall, Fall Maidens in my concept solely has the ability to generate wind, squalls and storm. Edit: Oh and for their roles in the story...well, I haven’t worked that bit out but I am satisfied with how I fixed the powers of the Maidens where they can only wield elements of their seasons so that way we can officially differentiate the Maidens in power.

[@vynonyoutube1418]

My idea on the Maidens is that they should manipulate an element for more self-defense potential, have enhanced Aura and probably also an enhanced version of their Semblance and, instead of the Relics existing, i'd have the abilities/gifts of the Relics given to the respective Maidens: Fall -> Fire, Choice Spring -> Thunder, Knowledge (the Maiden can summon Jinn basically, with the same limits) Winter -> Ice, Creation Summer -> Wind (or another element), Destruction This way, not only is RWBY's supernatural system a bit more streamlined, but the focus is put on the Maidens rather than the relics, which I find more intriguing because, unlike the relics and the avatars of their gifts, the Maidens are normal people otherwise, they're flawed people given a huge responsibility with their great power (for example, it gives the protagonists more reasons to go after Cinder, she's a Maiden on the side of the bad guys, so they have to kill her and hope the power goes to someone good)

[@bell7567]

this would be really cool and seems easier to follow than what we have now. i wonder how this would work once we know about the other relics. we kind of know how the destruction relic works, maybe they can imbue that same destruction-stuff into their own weapon..?? maybe.

[@calicomarker]

I always made the idea in my head that while a maiden can use all seasons, their stronger in the specific one they are. It doesn’t seem to be real in the show, but I think it would be a better idea then just only the maiden herself knowing

[@macyreif8371]

What upsets me is you have a pretty cool idea. Girls who represent the 4 seasons, but you don't do anything creative or fun with it. The writers and productors had so much potential to have fun with their powers and locations and instead, the maidens all have the same powers and the only way to tell the difference is to have them touch a door. Like, I understand not wanting one to outweigh the others, but you still could have some fun with it. Winter Maiden- Ice manipulation or snow manipulation seeing as Winter is a promin ate time for such things to come Spring Maiden-I'll admit, Spring is an interesting one, but you could do plant manipulation or animal summoning to represent the bringing of new life Summer Maiden- now, fire isn't very summery if you ask me. However, I can see lighting manipulation being a possibility, seeing as some severe weather also happens in summertime. Fall Maiden- Wind Manipulation would be pretty cool to see. That or either fire manipulation to represent life getting ready for Winter to come It's also not hard to have these powers ONLY limited to these maidens. So, we can have an Maiden vs Maiden fight, but have more fun with their powers and see their strengh and weaknesses. Like, if we had a Summer Maiden vs Spring Maiden fight, we can see how the Summer Maiden handles lighting and how the Spring Maiden could create a plant dome around her to protect her. Just have some fun with the idea if you're going to do it so people can be invested into it a bit more.

[@Jordan-gp3mj]

The newest volume should start with a snippet of Fria’s memory (now that she’s part of Penny now) of when she received her power and who she’s connected to, and then cut to Penny quickly opening her eyes to see Ruby and the others discussing the loss of the lamp, Cinder & Neo. Also how to deal with Salem, of course

[@KeeKage37]

Sadly Maidens are another of Rooster Teeth’s bad habits. They introduce characters that are supposed to be key to the plot of the show. Only to immediately forget about them or treat them as a afterthought. Why should we care about these characters if we know absolutely nothing about them. The only reason why we don’t want these characters to die is because of the risk that there powers will fall into the wrong hands. But really this treats the living characters no different than the relics that are just objects. So we have people fighting over living people like there things to posses. Which may as well be the case because the show gives them absolutely no character or depth as people.

[@amandaa8472]

I agree that there are too many "different" magical aspects of the story. We have dust, semblances, the Maidens, the Relics, the Gods, and the magic abilities that people had when the Gods lived among them, the powers that are still present in Ozpin and Salem. Plus we have Salem's Grimm control/creation powers too.

[@bryana.escaleralopez]

Remember dust? Only one character uses it now

[@JSythe]

Am I the only one who thinks the maidens look like the emotions from Inside Out?

[@Zerum69]

In my opinion magic is different in the sense that it doesn't have a limit to how much can you use it Dust and semblances feed of your Aura to do their thing, while Magic are a unlimited resource Dust is just as strong or slightly weaker than elemental magic but once you run out of dust or worse you run out of aura that's it, no more fireballs for you and even if semblances don't a physical cap of how much semblance you can carry it still drains your aura while you use them, magic has no limits, Raven and Qrow can live as birds for the rest of their lives if they want to, but if that was a semblance they would only be able to stay as a bird for a limited amount of time, I'd say not more than just few hours A Maiden who has hunter training can put all her resources into having a thicker aura to last longer in battle instead of dividing it between their limited dust reserves, using their semblance and having a shield or healthbar active

[@TheLonelySkeleton]

There is a small difference between magic and semblances, that is semblances use aura.

[@transhumanhivemind3048]

So has your stance on the maidens changed at all after what the old Winter Maiden pulled before she died and passed on her power to Penny?

[@twiinsiink]

Not really. The important thing is still the relic, not the maiden. It's just now the fancy key could be someone we'd care about if they were to die. Though they do seem to be trying to give the maidens more to do than simply die or touch a door, so that could help.

[@transhumanhivemind3048]

@@twiinsiink I was mostly referring in terms of power rather than importance. What Fria pulled off before she died was something I thought Salem or Oz at his prime could pull off. It's crazy to think that is roughly one-forth or fifth of Oz's former might. RT seems to have used Fria to introduce the concept of a "fully realized maiden" to make up for years of criticism over just how underwhelming the maidens have been up to that point. Narratively speaking they are still just keys to get the relics but their power now seems far more impressive than anything we have seen. Thoughts?

[@twiinsiink]

@@transhumanhivemind3048 Ah, yes! I agree! "fully realized maiden" absolutely feels like a "we need to retcon maidens to be stronger". How does one become a fully realized maiden? Why isn't Raven one yet? Why isn't Cinder working on becoming one? I appreciate the new level of power the maidens get, as that can offer fun places for Maidens (specifically cinder) to grow to- so I guess I'll call it a good thing.

[@transhumanhivemind3048]

@@twiinsiink have you read the RWBY companion book because apparently they felt the need to reveal Salem's motivation in a book rather than the show itself but miss queen of the Grimm wants both the relics and the maiden powers for herself. Any thoughts on that?

[@twiinsiink]

@@transhumanhivemind3048 Haven't read it.

[@A10N50]

why couldn't the maidens be the gods instead of the light and dark ones?

[@zusfrankenstein8561]

I know, right? The whole twin gods of light and darkness thing is so played out and overdone in media these days. I could name like 17 JRPGs with that same mythology more or less.

[@rejeneracion]

5:15 yes... no the maiden was after of the relics acording to what i see the idea of the maidens was in volume 2 when the relics was in the begin but they explain the maidens in volume 3 ... the only reason why there is maidens in the plot ... is becuase was a cool idea like the mother of ruby was made.

[@calibursatsujin3112]

you have good taste in music

[@LXVELAIN]

maybe they dont see semblences as magic because they're used to everyone around them having semblences? but ig it doesnt rule out the possibility of maiden powers & turning into birds being a semblence because anything can be a semblence.. *bro they should really figure things out*

[@grantlauzon5237]

Ozpin can talk to Oscar. Do maidens transfer their consciences to their next host? This video was made before V6 (I think). Would the Maidens have children in their heads? Presumably the maidens were Ozma’s children who died.

[@MrAuthor3DS]

At this point, can we really claim anymore that Semblances aren't some form of magic? Maybe...limited, focused forms of magic, since each Semblance does a single specific thing?

[@petercocchiara659]

Now that seasons 6 and 7 are out the whole plot of the maidens has gone off the rails.

[@miasmacaron]

I don't even watch RWBY anymore and I just adore your analysis videos. Subscribed!

[@twiinsiink]

Hooray!

[@dyllan1001]

3:12 literally seeing it as that i made me think originally they were gonna have only one abilty each and that the power base were the 4 natural formed dust that first appeared fire, earth, wind and ice

[@littlelotus4572]

Lowkey I think a better idea would’ve been to just completely forget the maidens and instead make it so that in order to get into the vault you have to truly understand the meaning and importance of each and put the limitations that once one person opens a vault they can no longer open another vault nor can they operate another relic. That would make Salems generals important and would keep the four theme because only a team of four could use all the relics. It would also make direct counterparts between the girls and the generals and would make Salem’s aggression to her generals more understandable as should would be more that able to get the relics by herself had it not been for those rules and she would be upset she has to rely on others to get to her goal and would make her more manipulative because she had to make these three or four like each other well enough to not betray one another. I think it would also serve to help the girls look more unified because they would also have to get along to use the relics in combination so it would give a good prompt for the characters to work on their issues as a team

[@iamlordapollo]

i love the banjo kazooie music you always use. works perfectly for rwby's atmosphere

[@IWroteSomeThings]

Or even when maidens has a power outside of there element like let’s say winter used summers ability’s the summer maiden would know and sense it. Whether that leads to summer maiden coming to aid or destroy the winter maiden and gain her power too. Meaning they could have an ultimate maiden. An ulta-Maiden. If you would haha get it. Ultimatum.

[@sillygoose293]

At 2:47 you said Weiss could summon Grimm. While that is technically true, her semblance is summoning the creatures she’s killed. Many of them happen to be Grimm, however.

[@Lupirio23]

Has either Weiss or Winter summoned anything but Grimm? I know I initially thought back in V3 that Winter summoned a flock of birds, but after a closer look I realised they were small Nevermores, like what Blake shot outta the air in Mountain Glenn. I'm guessing what you said has been officially confirmed?

[@zusfrankenstein8561]

Doesn't that mean Weiss's entire family are functionally a bunch of necromancers that can summon the ghosts of the dead? For example, if Weiss were the one to kill Adam, she could bring a summon of him back to life and just puppet him around. That opens up a whole new frontier for her powers.

[@Lupirio23]

@@zusfrankenstein8561 Feel like if the Armoured Knight is not technically a Grimm; then her power may only affect that without a soul/aura, but that would open up ideas of summoning machines or golems if that is what the Armoured Knight is considered.

[@zusfrankenstein8561]

@@Lupirio23 It seems like the Schnee family Semblace just exists to break what little rules we had for Semblances.

[@Lupirio23]

@@zusfrankenstein8561 I wish summoning wasn't a thing and the glyphs were used to create spells like her initial trailer or Glynda's initial introduction so at least Weiss can show off her fancy fencer-ballerina/ice skating style and provide that spellsword role of the team.

[@dorotanagadowska6802]

This theory make so much sense but if there is someone like Raven and her semblance is making portals then her power is usles in fights and maiden power makes person like this more powerful

[@movieclipsvideos1781]

This episode where they went full on magic and gods nearly made me stop watching the show

[@EmSwaff2]

I never really thought about how there is no distinction between which season is which. How would one even know who they are?? If multiple Maidens died at once, how would they figure out which one the new girls are?? Unless the power goes to someone they knew and it's obvious, you'd have to take them to each door till they hit the right one.

[@DarthTalon5]

The colored glow of their eyes is what gives it away. Fall Maiden has Orange as shown by Amber and Cinder and Spring has Red shown by Raven. (which makes no sense since the original spring maiden was green and green is more of a spring color, but hey Miles and Kerry can't do colors anyway as shown by the volume 4 redesigns.)

[@zusfrankenstein8561]

@@DarthTalon5 Yeah, not even that color theory works anymore. When Penny got the winter maiden powers, her eye fire was green for some reason, despite the previous user having blue eye fire. This tells us that pretty much the only thing they correspond to is the maiden herself's eye color and not the power color coding.

[@pleromaprism7581]

I think the relic meaning and seasons are supposed to be opposite for some reason, spring is youth and that's when you make choices that effect your life, fall is when things get old and die, and the old have more experience and knowledge, winter is destruction because it's when most life dies and decays, summer is creation because in that time of your life you start acting on your choices creating new stuff for yourself and others

[@adiazrue5776]

In RWBY Winter is actually Creation and Summer is Destruction.

[@pleromaprism7581]

@@adiazrue5776 didn't you read the first part, I said I think the relics meanings are supposed to be the opposite of the season

[@adiazrue5776]

@@pleromaprism7581 I see. The Opposite of the Opposite. The relic meaning in RWBY just make me so confused. Seeing your post make me rethink: "Wait is Winter really Destruction? Cause it make more sense than Creation. Maybe I am misremembering." Like that. It trip me up so bad, seriously.

[@twilightlordyt7835]

There's no difference between semblances and magic because there's no difference explained. A semblance literally could be elemental control and they could claim to be a maiden without being one.

[@thomasraines1396]

Hell Neptune’s semblance is basically water bending.

[@burnt.alaska]

also in vol 3, it was fall, pretty funny because the fall relic thing was there, and pyrrha was there

[@shineyorkboy]

I wonder if the ability to turn into a bird is going to transfer when Qrow and Raven die.

[@bell7567]

dont think so. maiden powers were specifically designed to transfer so there would always be someone to "protect" the relics.

[@johnsondwayne2315]

the only cool stuff about magic and maidens is that they apparently have infinite power from it. a maiden can charge endlessly to create a moonbusting attack, and fanfiction helps that even further by bringing semblances diwn from aura depletion

[@nothingyet120]

I disagree with most of your points. Dislike! >: (I 'll explain They don't have elemental powers per say, but seasonal. And if you lived more than a year you'd know that any season isn't the same all the time. There doesn't have to be snow at winter, summer can be hot and rainy and stormy, spring can have snow/rain too not just growth of plants etc. Furthermore their powers being poorly defined kinda suit to "magic"(cause that how it appears in most media :D) The relics being in specific vaults: ugh, you're overthinking it! It really doesn't matter which season has which, it's just randomly distributed so there's one in each vault. No maiden is linked to specific relic, there's just 4 of them(relics) in 4 vaults. I maybe agree that in a world with sembelences and dust they should't react as they did. Though having this "magic" maiden's powers might be handy, because you can have power even without dust or aura to chanel your superpowers(sembelence?)...

[@twiinsiink]

k

[@lightdragoon88]

Curse being at work right now. Will watch later.

[@onlinegametime]

Ozpin is the old man and the four maidens are Ozpin four children he had with Salem long ago. Also the 4 kids all of them were born with magic. When the kids die because of Salem. Their magic power spread it out around the world

[@boomaggeddon937]

Not having each maiden have unique abilities is really a missed oppurtunity. Imagine if like winter could use snow that literally withers and decays everything it touches. Unique powers would be great, but at that point they just become glorified semblances and the difference is even more muddled. I think that with Vol6 ep3 that semblances are meant to be a "semblance" of what magic can do, and those who can use magic have access to the whole array of powers, but that just means later fights are going to be more and more boring. If magic users can use all magic, then end fights will be people with more or less the same abilities going against each other, and it will be extremely boring. Non one will have any specific strengths or weaknesses and the fights ill be determined by whoever the authors want to win in the moment.

[@restinplace1464]

Yeah Madiens are super dissapointing but I'm glad they aren't stereotypical random power houses that's come together and take on the witch(there's still time tho)

[@sheepishly6942]

I feel like males not being eligible for the powers is just as dumb. Because... why? Because it happened to be all females who got the powers the first time? Why would that even matter? I mean it was a man who gave the powers to them to begin with. It's just entirely arbitrary.

[@Quartings]

Cuz we need more waifus to sell the show, duh!

[@restinplace1464]

Spring *Maiden* get over it.

[@antitheist3206]

@@restinplace1464 They're called the four maidens because they're all female, but why are they all female?

[@Angi3_6]

Probably to mirror RWBY.

[@antitheist3206]

@@Angi3_6 Out-of-universe reasons don't count.

[@sassui90]

I think they should have kept them separated by element and glow color. Or make magic emulate certain semblances or buffed auras. Like Cinder blocking attacks in V1.

[@xendra333]

Well, it was confirmed that Maiden powers buff semblances and aura.

[@carlosbatista6319]

I would've made magic the final evolution of semblance and aura control like it was implied in world of remnant aura. Remember the line "if one masters their aura the become more than a man."?

[@bell7567]

but then anyone can use magic and it isn't exclusive for ozma and salem.

[@goblinslayer8589]

Bois I found the better version of RWBY with an equally shit special effects but better storyline it's called Kamen Rider saber and instead of having Character based off of a fairytale Character the Character in saber got their powers from fairytale story and yeah they have elemental ability too The main character main color are also red and black and he somehow have more Character development than Ruby in 4 episodes

[@Jay-gurl]

For me, the reason I began to check out of RWBY mentally was the poor balance between aura, semblance and magic. Like, what is the difference really??? Everyone was shocked when Penny took a truck crash head on and survived, well a tournament was going on of teens being blasted, thrown around and you know ... Doing all kinds of powerful crap related to their semblance and aura. How was Penny being okay from a truck crash so shocking???? Before the maidens were introduced semblances were cool and unquie to a character. But now it really does make you question what is so darn special about a maiden when others can do what they do and more? "A maiden can fly!" Okay. There are hover devices that allow people to do that. A fanus with wings can fly. Weiss can summon a giant bee to fly!! Really, flying is like the ONLY unquie aspect to a maiden which is a shame. Based off the story, I thought each maiden power was special and linked to their season. Winter freezing things, Fall burning (even though I thought it would be wind) and so on. But no. Each maiden can harness all of them. RWBY really needed to cut these story elements out or really limit sla semblance verses magic

[@12brunni]

Funnily enough, it was the opposite. The maidens were made AFTER the relics. Which is... honestly kind of really hard to grasp considering how significantly the maidens define Vol. 3, 4, and 5. Like seriously, what was the plan otherwise? Unless Leo wasn't originally a traitor, what was supposed to happen?

[@twiinsiink]

I know right! For being a relatively new addition to the plot, Maidens have been given so much screen time.

[@DarthTalon5]

What makes you think that the maidens were made after the relics? Because in the Beacon exam the teams had to retrieve the "relics" that were chess pieces to be divided into teams? Because that is kind of an ass pull especially since the existence of the relics was supposed to be a secret and their existence as a secret was orchestrated by Ozpin...the same character who would be apparently hinting at their existence. Also since there were more than 4 "relics" available at the exam it makes it even more of an ass pull especially since each team only needed 2 relics. Not 4. The presence of the word relic does not denote that they intended for the things we now know as relics to have always existed. Unless I somehow missed something in which case feel free to fill me in, because I can't find anything that actually supports that theory. (One could argue the nation crests, but it is entirely possible that the inspiration was the other way around, especially since the significance of the symbols in the crests are never explained in universe. Thus making it so Miles and Kerry fell back on that in order to justify more mcguffins.)

[@williamharmon4039]

Weird coincidence. A friend and I were talking about this very topic the other day before I found this video. It really is crazy and way too vague in the show, but he and I think we figured out at least a starting foundation to explain why magic is a big deal and how to differentiate the Maidens.

[@shadowangel6359]

If Semblance was contextualized as magic for RWBY's setting, it would've made more sense instead of separating it from magic entirely.

[@EYang-hl6hv]

Very old video of course, but now I'm wondering if the writers couldn't have somehow forced Maidens and Relics to coincide: -Each Maiden is limited to a set of elemental powers. Divide them equally across the major natural dust types -Make up some BS "actualization" to the Maiden magic. Said thing is basically breaking past a hidden ceiling on the power and is unlocking some equivalent of the original Relics' power. -Get four actualized Maidens in a room together=the gods return or something idk whatever the plot is anymore.

[@LegendoftheAce1]

You really broke this down well and I love your vocabulary. The maiden powers should be treated like this awesome power up like an infinity stone. Rules with each season power would help too. It's too late for this now because I feel like rwby can only go 3 more seasons at the most

[@ceriethewitchchick]

I feel like a good way that the maidens could be differentiated is by the eye flame. Amber’s eye flame looked just like the color of the fall maiden, Raven’s should have been green.

[@mr.marmar7690]

honestly the maidens should be some type of one for all, where the new maidens can use the semblences of the ones that came before them or something like that

[@bryana.escaleralopez]

Let’s say that the Avatar creators probably send them one or two emails when they showed the maidens.

[@Blue_Mental]

I love this video

[@Blue_Mental]

Name: Bobbie Marley Where they work: Travel Agencies Hobbies and interests: She loves exploring the wonders around the world Type: ISFJ Appearance: She has tan-brown skin, hazel-brown eyes and light brown curly hair. She also wears sunhat and sunglasses. She wears a white t-shirt, dark brown eeveless leather jacket with many pockets. She carries a rucksack around her bag. She also carries phone and binoculars around her neck. She also wears blue jean shorts, socks and brown boots. Other info: She was born in Jamaica but now lives in Canada. But she has been to many places. She desires to see the rest of the world.

[@cariaidyn4274]

Please take a fundamental issue in to account, Monty Oum's death. It has been well established that he had notes, but did not lay out everything he planned exactly. I believe it is reasonable to infer the Maidens and the artifacts were both in said notes. However, the exact details were not. Would suspect then, the intended relationship is now lost.

[@my_artflare]

This was great, I agree with everything you said in this video

[@kickarugrugkicksyou2099]

I'm watching from volume 7 and penny fits creation so well.

[@paulbutkovich6103]

How does it feel from Vol 8?

[@kingraplhmativo5178]

@@paulbutkovich6103 it feel like Penny is wasted potential

[@Cross3061980]

And if they were keys, surely stakes would increase as Salem's crew wouldn't need to succeed charisma checks to get what they want, they could just kill whoever had the key and take it for themselves.

[@alexjewett7455]

3:42 also, the eye glow thing doesn't work either. Fall is orange, which kinda makes sense but would work better with summer. But spring is red and winter is green? What? What sense does that make? Shouldn't spring be green and winter be white or blue? Did they put any thought into this whatsoever?!

[@twiinsiink]

The eye glow matches the woman's aura color. Freya's was blue.

[@alexjewett7455]

@@twiinsiink ok. That makes sense... But shouldn't it be tied to the maiden powers since it's triggered by them?

[@Mica_T]

There is a slight difference between magic and semblances. Magic doesn't require aura, semblances do. So semblances are restricted.

[@sebas8225]

Yeah and thats stupid, same shit with the silver eyes, also Glynda´s semblance can overcome the maidens and Jaune semblance can overpower other characters to the point aura wasting becomes less of a problem.

[@zusfrankenstein8561]

I wouldn't say Semblances are restricted, because Semblances honestly do way more impressive shit than Maiden powers. Qrow and that Ace Ops guy's semblances literally manipulate probability and the Schnee family's semblances literally summon the ghosts of dead grimm. Maiden Powers are literally glorified Avatar powers in comparison.

[@soarel325]

a better fix is to cut the stupid plot-ruining macguffins entirely

[@ghostzombies3252]

Wait I thought semblances were powered by ones aura If you're low on it (or it drops to zero like in the tournament fights), you won't be able to use your semblance Just the physical capabilities you would have without any aura to use Whilst magic takes no aura to use, you just need enough energy to fuckin haul ass

[@rolando277]

2:46 tho

[@crystalwaites4731]

1:15

[@OrangeHunterStories]

My headcanon is: Dust is one time use Semblances come at the cost of aura Magic has no limits

[@randomdonut1134]

I guess the only different between magic and semblance is that magic dose not us aura

[@twiinsiink]

The fact that semblances use aura is one of the worst implemented elements of the show. It's something that's never been established in the actual show, instead only showing up in like, the companion book and tweets. And even then, it only seems to apply when the plot needs it to.

[@burnt.alaska]

maybe cinder doesnt make choices even though shes the fall maiden because she originally wasnt supposed to be the fall maiden, pyrrha was supposed to be the fall maiden

[@bell7567]

that doesn't make sense though?? "oh i dont know how to do this project i applied for because i wasn't originally picked to do it, someone else was." they knew she was going to be the fall maiden, so she should have some connection. raven wasn't originally the spring maiden but she had a connection.

[@antongrigoryev6381]

My ideas on Semblances vs Magic vs Dust fix Introduce some abstract ethereal substance like Mana (or however you call it). It exists everywhere, though in different quantities and qualities, and can affect the material world if agitated. Aura and Semblances, Magic, and Dust would be different ways of using it. Aura is an effect of the Mana that comes from a person's own soul. It has simple uses of enhancing your body - strengthening it, healing, and protecting - and for some very minor effects on the world such as activating Dust. Semblance happens when this Mana gets further "shaped" by the soul instead of going straight out. Soul in this case works as a template for a "spell", but since each person has a single unique soul, their Semblance is also single and unique. Its use is instinctive and its effect can be of any complexity. Using Semblance depletes your Aura as it takes energy from the same source. Magic is the ability to manipulate Mana in the world. It's much more versatile since it isn't limited by the soul. Basically, anything that a Semblance can do Magic can do too, but it isn't limited to that one thing, and neither it is limited by your Aura. It is, however, limited by the user's skill and knowledge. The more complex the spell, the harder it is to do, and unlike Semblances those aren't instinctive. The elemental stuff that Maidens do in the show is some of the simplest applications of Magic, but they won't ever be able to do something like "Give an ability to turn into a bird at will" unlike Oz with his hundreds of years of experience and experimentation. Magic is also limited by the amount and type of Mana in the environment, but it isn't as big of a factor since only very few people can use it and there is a lot of unused Mana around. Dust is crystallized Mana. It appears when Mana in a certain area isn't used for a long time and becomes "stall", decomposes into its most basic forms, and creates crystals. It can be activated very easily by Magic, Aura, and even mechanisms, upon which it releases stored energy. Its power also can be shaped by those, but only in very crude ways. The effect is still very limited by the type of Dust is used and comes down to most basic elemental stuff.

[@bryana.escaleralopez]

I get it but mana already exist in other games. They been taking things from avatar, soul eater, taking mana would have probably caused a lawsuit😂

[@antongrigoryev6381]

@@bryana.escaleralopez Yeah, I get it, it's just a generic name off the top of my head, if it were to be actually implemented in the story, some better name is needed. And by the way, the fact that mana is used so often is the exact reason there wouldn't be a lawsuit. No one owns that name, and no one can own it since, as far as I know, the term comes from some ancient spiritual practices or something like that.

[@rasmusmalmberg6468]

Why the hell are they named after seasons anyway? Just go with the relic names, since that's the only distinction they have! The maiden of choice, the maiden of destruction, ect.

[@stevenriften7561]

So much magic...what's the point of the science stuff? Unless they use it to understand the magic that would be interesting. 🙁

[@kidprime6863]

My problem with the Maidens is why do they necessarily have to die when they transfer their power? Old people I can understand, but what if the Maiden in question is young and can no longer handle the responsibility and wants to give to someone else who can so they can go back to their lives? "Dying after transfer regardless of age" is just utterly unnecessary, pointless, asinine, illogical, impractical and bullcrap in the grand scheme of things. Who made up this rule?

[@phantasmic1000]

I think they should handle magic and dust the same way blazblue handles it. In that game there is true magic and then there is a watered down version called armagus,true magic let's you call down a large amount of meteors in the time it takes someone to summon just one. So make the maiden powers more then just make a big fire sword or summon lighting make them things like calling down cosmic storms or summoning volcanoes or earthquakes,make forrests spring up from nowhere,you have these crazy powers but you don't do anything with them