Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-96.52.251.81-20130930020516/@comment-17760348-20131006230043

Procrastinating dragon wrote: The RWBY verse is explained in the first episode. It is not supposed to be in our universe, past, present, or future. I have thought about this though. My theory is that there moon is broken, but only half. Half of the moon remains completely intact and holds the shattered remains to it with some force, such as gravitational dust. When the moon is in a certain position (full moon) it appears whole and unbroken, but as it orbits the broken pieces become visible, giving the different views of the broken moon we have seen. I've felt exacly the same way ever since i saw how different the moon appears in the various trailers and Episode 1. The only way I could expain it is if it weren't tidally locked like our moon but was free spinning in space.

regarding its destruction; I suggest that perhaps the power of the Grim was somehow tied to the moon, hence its partial destruction during the foundation war, in a similiar vein to the matrix, "it was us who scorched the sky".

Regarding the impact of a moons desctruction on a planetary body; it depends greatly on the relative masses and distance. If you take earth's moon as an analogue for Vytal's moon then its partial destruction would have a massive impact on the tides but much less so on the crust. While earths moon does exert a tidal pull on the liquid mantle it does not effect it to such a degree that partial destruction would significantly alter the face of the planet.