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A Red Rose in the Blue Wind

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  • Broken Base: A Red Rose In The Blue Wind is most certainly Iron117Prime's most divisive work to date, and among the most divisive RWBY crossovers in recent years. As a crossover between two fandoms known for their own broken base this is unsurprising. Some of the most notable points of debate are listed below.

    • Readers are torn regarding the confrontation and actions between Ozpin's group and the Sonic cast. Some readers have sided with the Sonic cast against Ozpin's acts of secrecy, his allies withholding information from Sonic and the others of the hidden war between them and Salem. Despite the Sonic cast having proven their worth multiple times, Ozpin refuses to inform them of other threats while seemingly content with keeping the status quo. Even though many times Ozpin's allies have suggested otherwise, Ozpin refuses to let them in, which angers the cast as some drama could have been avoided if they'd been let in sooner. On the other hand, other readers point out that while Ozpin and his allies have treated the Sonic cast well, those such as Shadow and his team dig into their secrets with no regard for their privacy and act entitled to them. When confronting Ozpin and his allies, Team Dark attacks them and considers maiming them despite Ozpin's group having done nothing to warrant such brutality. Upon forcing them to reveal their secrets, everybody accuses them without considering the full reasoning behind their actions and simply treats them as unsympathetic. It should also be noted that the Sonic cast is keeping Shadow’s past and crimes a secret from their Remnantian allies, making them hypocrites when it comes to secrets being kept from allies.
    • In later chapters, the split between readers continued to widen due to new events in the story. After the Battle of Beacon, readers will learn that distrust of Qrow (and Ozpin's group in general) has grown so much that Ruby's friends did not let him near his niece (Yang, in particular, has become extremely hostile towards him), and later Jaune blames Qrow for Summer's death, simultaneously telling him to his face that Ozpin deserved to die. Some readers believe that the Secret Circle has earned distrust and criticism, while others consider it excessive and frankly unfair, especially regarding Qrow.
  • Continuity Lock-Out: Whereas the story will guide the reader through the RWBY story as part of its Fusion Fic format, Sonic fans would have to be familiar with the main Sonic canon - which means almost every game until Colors, the IDW comics and Sonic Prime - and watch the movies since most of the characterization and backstory is taken from there.
  • Designated Hero: Continuing from above the Sonic cast comes off as this when it comes to dealing with Ozpin’s secrets and are always treated in the right by the author. They are also EXTREMELY antagonistic towards them to the point of treating them as if they are as bad as the actual villains.
  • Evil Is Cool: Doctor Ivo Robotnik/Dr. Eggman has proven himself to be this even when demonstrating his genius intellect, forming his partnership with Salem, and providing the rest of the rogues gallery with his machines.
  • Fan-Disliked Explanation: Some readers have found Adam’s new background of being trained by the Branwen Tribe inconsistent with his character, as it makes his hatred for humanity extra pointless since a human taught him how to fight.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • The J-WITCH Series had Cornelia Hale dress up as Zero Suit Samus for Halloween. While ZSS is playable in her home series in Zero Mission, the Zero Suit as a whole is associated commonly with Super Smash Bros.. This fic would mark the first time the author would work with a franchise that actually has a character featured in Smash's roster. note 
    • The famous TMNT cameo panel from the Archie Comics becomes this in the context of Iron117Prime's work, as they're both now worked by crossover fanfics of the same author.
    • This picture of Metal Sonic drawn for Halloween 2021 depicted him as a Grim Reaper wielding a scythe (this isn't the only one; many others have depicted Metal in a similar costume). Not only does it foreshadow the fic's publication the following year, but it also foreshadows Metal stealing Crescent Rose mid-fight.
    • While Eggman's Adaptational Villainy in some cases isn't relatively new, the fic, which depicts a very competent Eggman (so far), was released a year before Sega's rival Nintendo decided to give its mascot's archnemesis a good dose of the same.
    • The fanfic came out when Rooster Teeth released Justice League × RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, the first official RWBY crossover in animated format. To wit, it starts in the middle of the then-current volume while the fic goes straight from the start.
    • The latter part of the Grimm Eclipse arc released in 2023 resembles the plot of Metal Gear Solid, which would slightly age well when Metal Gear Solid Delta being revealed that same year, followed by remakes of the first three Metal Gear Solid note  titles. Bonus points for the latter Grimm Eclipse arc resembling MGS1.
    • The story involving Sonic cast going to Remnant and giving Shadow Character Rerailment becomes this with the release of Sonic × Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings, which earned praise for bringing back the nuance of the black hedgehog's character and acknowledging that the moon of Sonics world is still shattered from the events of Sonic Adventure 2. Bonus points for having an ending song with vocals from none other than Casey Lee Williams herself, well-known for her work on RWBY 's soundtrack.
    • Adding onto the above, the story has Ozpin's reluctance to bring Sonic and his allies into the fold as a source of conflict, and when things come to a head is confronted with the fact that they "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot if he'd simply been more trusting. Sonic × Shadow Generations: Dark Beginnings has Team Dark attack a G.U.N. base so Shadow can get to the Ark, and afterwards Commander Towers berates Rouge for causing so much unnecessary property damage since he would have provided transport if they'd simply asked.
    • One thing that Sonic and RWBY have in common now is that they both did a crossover with DC Comics. RWBY has the various comics and the two-part animated film, while Sonic is confirmed to be crossing over with DC in 2025. Coincidentally, Viz Media, RWBY's current owner collaborated with IDW Publishing (the current owner of Sonic's comic book rights) to make a crossover of ''Naruto'' and ''TMNT'', meaning an official Sonic/RWBY crossover is not out of the question.
  • Karmic Overkill: Shadow's brutal beatdown of Cinder Fall, which leaves the woman with a mangled body and stuck in a coma is very much an example of this. While Cinder has done some awful things in canon RWBY, Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic have stolen nearly every single evil deed she has committed in this story. The one crime Cinder has to her name (murdering a young White Fang member who was going to defect) does not warrant the level of violence Shadow has inflicted upon her. That, coupled with the fact that Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic got off MUCH more easily than her during the Fall of Beacon, causes Cinder's treatment to feel less like a justifiable punishment and more akin to the author simply working out his aggression on the character for the things she did in canon- despite not giving her the opportunity to do any of those things.
    • A similar case can be made for Caroline Cordovin in Chapter 44. While Cordovin was certainly unpleasant, and had attempted to go behind the back of the heroes to give to Atlas the green Chaos Emerald (despite Ironwood ordering her to assist them), her death at Raven's hand was something that could have been totally avoided as the Colossus Mech was shut down by the time Raven stabbed her. Not to mention her wanting to kill Sienna is very understandable as Sienna is the leader of a faction that killed many members on her side including innocents and Sienna herself isn't a completely upstanding person regarding the deaths caused by the White Fang as shown by her interactions with Ruby and Yang previously. One can hardly fault her for trying to kill her on sight. Ultimately, her death felt more like a attempt to swiftly remove her from the story immediately upon her introduction than a karmic end with how quickly she perished.
  • Moral Event Horizon: While manipulating Teams RWBY and JNPR is one thing, it's Mimic's treatment of Weiss, especially with him posing as Jacques Schnee and then proceeding to slash on her with her own weapon pretty much seals the deal, even callously remarking how he's more than eager to redo Jacques' abuse on the suffering girl.
  • Seasonal Rot: More like "Creator's Rot" in this case, but the fic is easily one of Iron117Prime's most controversial stories, with the main complaint being that his Signature Style and how his fanfics are usually structured does not work for a RWBY and Sonic crossover, combined with rather egregious cases of Franchise Original Sin.
  • Spiritual Successor: The crossover is a throwback to the Frozen Turtles series. Both the worlds of Sonic and RWBY are established as different dimensions, much like how Arendelle and New York are different in the setting. One franchise is composed of a World of Funny Animals opposing a human antagonist hell-bent on destroying them all. The other is patterned after fairy tales, but it's more of a motif rather than a direct adaptation.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: RWBY is a series with many many characters and the wave of Sonic characters adds even more to it. Thus a common complaint is that with so many characters struggling for screentime, quite a few get the short end of the stick.
    • Among the many characters who readers felt were misused, Cinder is the most egregious example. To wit, she spends the entirety of the Vale Saga (first 30 chapters out of a currently 40 chapter story) being completely outplayed at every turn by the heroes and put in her place by Eggman for the slightest of mistakes. This culminates in her getting outsmarted and captured before the Battle of Beacon even starts. And while she does get the Maiden powers, she proceeds to get utterly demolished by Sonic and Shadow, with the aftermath revealing she lost the power, is now crippled for life, and is to be killed on sight should any member of Salem's faction encounter her (a very unlikely possibility considering her state). All in all, the biggest villain in canon RWBY next to Salem herself has been used by the story only as an ineffective agent that has their agency completely removed, with no real presence in the story from now on compared to canon. Even worse is that she never engaged with any of the canon RWBY protagonists. Any connections in canon have been rendered null due to the events of the story.
    • Another example of this is Dr. Merlot the Arc Villain of the Grimm Eclipse story arc. Merlot had introduced mutant Grimm that were not used in canon on top of a expertise in biology and in this version, was connected to Salem. He had the making of being a recurring villain instead of a one shot antagonist introduced in a canonical game. Sadly any potential of him was cut off when Metal Sonic decapitated him at the arc's conclusion. Many fans lamented his departure and the manner of his death, feeling Metal Sonic was only used to quickly remove him from the plot.
    • Another is Caroline Cordovin. While she was rude, unpleasant, and tried to give the Emerald to Ironwood despite his orders she was killed off at the end of the chapter she was introduced in. In canon she was willing to admit her mistakes after she saw that her actions brought in a Grimm invasion to Argus and the mech needed to kill the Leviathan got damaged as part of misguided attempt to stop the heroes from stealing a Manta aircraft. She even let the heroes take the aircraft to Atlas once the Leviathan was dealt with. Here she is not given a chance to display any feelings of being sorry and only her negative traits are displayed.
  • Unexpected Character: At the end of Chapter 19, many readers were surprised at the appearance of Mimic from the IDW comics, especially since he debuts much later in canon. This officially makes him the first IDW character to make an appearance in the story, especially considering that the fic draws heavily from its canon.
  • Unintentionally Sympathetic:
    • Sure, Ozpin and his group may have been manipulative with regards to handling the situation regarding the Maidens and Pyrrha and hiding said information from Sonic and his friends; but the latter group nearly drawing their weapons on them is contentious among readers. More so when the students begin acting as if Ozpin would willing turn Ruby into a living weapon with accusations that he purposely got others killed for his war.
    • Easily one of the biggest victims of this trope is Qrow. He might've been part of the entire conspiracy and acted a bit jerkish when it came to handling the rest of Sonic's compatriots, but before the battle of Beacon, both Yang and Ruby shrug him off and turn on him with regards to this. Making matters worse, one of the most frequent accusations Sonic's group makes against him is manipulating his nieces in the name of Ozpin's conspiracy, something RWBY and JNPR seem to agree with, despite his vehement opposition towards getting them involved in the Secret War at all, which is actually the main reason for his dislike of Sonic's compatriots. Said accusations being founded on him not informing them of the existence of also rings hollow given it's a secret only Ozpin's inner circle is privy to and said secrecy is one of the points Sonic's group concedes is reasonable on Ozpin's part. Gets worse further when it's revealed that after the battle, Yang and everyone kept him from checking to see if Ruby was okay while she was unconscious. Then, once she awakens, everyone - particularly Jaune and Shadow - accuses Qrow of trying to turn Ruby into a soldier and claims that it was for the best that Ozpin died, Qrow's father figure and friend. While Qrow is guilty of his shady work with Ozpin, seeing him being distrusted by his family and everyone else making such cruel remarks makes it hard to agree with any of the characters' viewpoints of Qrow. Even when Jaune, Shadow and Yang are given their own Hypocrisy Callouts and verbal lashings, the narration still makes it seem like Qrow is the one that needs to apologize, not the other way around.

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