User blog:ChishioKunrin/Why do people mix up Summer and Yang's mom?

What the hell is so complicated about the story Yang told?! I see it time and again, people keep mixing up Summer and Yang's mom in various ways, sometimes thinking they're the same person! I understood the story upon my first time hearing it. It's not that complicated or confusing, people!

Let's read what Yang said:


 * "Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island off the coast of Vale. Our parents were Huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal, and our mom took on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was, like... Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then... one day she left for a mission and never came back. (Looks down as she says this, and Blake looks sorry for her.) It was tough. Ruby was really torn up, but... I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, y'know? And my dad just kind of... shut down. It wasn't long before I learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he lost; she was the second. The first... was my mom. (Blake looks amazed at this information as Yang keeps talking.) He wouldn't tell me everything, but I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and that she'd left me with him right after I was born. No one had seen her since. "

What information did we get from her story? See? Simple as fuck.
 * Taiyang (Ruby and Yang's father) and a woman (who was not Summer Rose) had Yang together, but immediately after Yang was born, her mother left. No one had seen her since, and Taiyang was left heartbroken, taking care of infant Yang, until...
 * Taiyang got together with Summer, and they had Ruby. Since Yang was only an infant when her mother left, she didn't know that Summer was not her mom. She and Ruby grew up believing that Summer was the mother of both of them.
 * One day, Summer went on a mission and never came back (dramatic way of saying she died), and Taiyang was left heartbroken again. He shut down, and then eventually, he told Yang the truth about her real mother and that Summer was only Ruby's mother, not hers. He also told her that he, Summer, her mom, and Qrow were all on a team together.

So, why do I keep seeing people saying shit like: I don't understand how people can get so confused about something so simple, and I'm tired of seeing them spouting this misinformation and basing their speculation on it.
 * "Yang's mom went on a mission and never came back, and Summer, Ruby's mom, died."
 * "Yang's mom is dead, and Summer left on a mission and never came back."
 * "Ruby and Yang's mom went on a mission and died."
 * "Ruby and Yang's mom went on a mission and disappeared, so Yang is looking for her."
 * And other shit where people get confused between Summer and Yang's mom or somehow morph them together into one person!

The facts are these: Also, on top of all this...
 * Yang's mom: Got together with Taiyang (Ruby and Yang's dad), and together they had Yang. Right after Yang was born, she left for unknown reasons, not for a mission.
 * Summer Rose: Got together with Taiyang after Yang's mom left, and together, they had Ruby. One day, Summer went on a mission and never came back, most likely died.
 * Yang is looking for her mom, not Summer.

For the people who think that Red Like Roses Part 2 is about Yang...

Red Like Roses Part 2 is about RUBY and SUMMER, not Yang!
How many times does it have to be said? I don't care what your reasoning is, it's not about Yang.

What's ridiculous is that some people won't accept the fact that Jeff Williams, the guy who wrote the damn song, outright said that Red Like Roses Part 2 is about Summer and Yang. Yeah, I've actually had someone say to me that they don't care what the writer of the damn song says, they felt that Red Like Roses Part 2 fits Yang better than it fits Ruby.

Red Like Roses Part 2 was written partially because fans were disappointed that the first Red Like Roses barely said anything about Ruby. (Don't say "Well, I Burn was just remixes instead of being about Yang." The album version is all about Yang.)

"Red Like Roses" is Ruby's thing. Her color is red, her last name is Rose, her cape leaves behind red rose petals, Red Like Roses was the title of the song in her trailer, her leitmotif (musical theme) is the tune of Red Like Roses. There are multiple times in the episodes where the music plays to the tune of Red Like Roses with Ruby as the focus of the scene. Meanwhile, "I Burn" and "Gold" are Yang's things. Red Like Roses Part 2 says nothing about burning or gold, but the lyrics repeatedly say "red like roses."

It definitely has nothing to do with Yang's mom, considering the lyrics

Was stripped away from me the minute that you died.
 * All of the joy that I had known for all my life

Yang's mom did not die. She left. And Yang never knew her, so "for all my life" would make no sense.


 * Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted

Again, Yang never knew her mom.


 * You were the one I needed, and you left me as I always feared you would.

Again, Yang never knew her mom, so how could she always fear that her mom would leave?

Okay, so it's definitely not about Yang and her mom. What about Yang and Summer? I point you again to Red Like Roses. Ruby's theme, not Yang's. The song sounds more like Ruby recalling how she felt at the time when people told her that Summer was dead.

And here come the usual arguments against it being about Ruby...
 * "But Yang said Ruby was too young to understand what was going on!"

She also said "Ruby was really torn up." Everyone conveniently forgets that part, don't they? She sounds pretty damn torn up in the song. It also sounds like she doesn't seem to understand that, just because Summer swore that she would come home, that didn't grant her immunity from death.


 * How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay?

This comes off as "How dare you?! You swore you would come home!"


 * No way in Hell that I can ever comprehend this.

I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong.
 * I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone,

At first, when they told Ruby that Summer was dead, she was in denial and having a hard time comprehending it. It felt like a bad dream at first, and she felt like they had to be wrong, that her mother wasn't dead. You do realize that Summer died when she was a little kid, right? She's not going to grieve for over a decade. Yes, the memories are painful, and yes, she was torn up at the time, but she's not going to just become a depressed, solemn person, perpetually grieving her mother's death. She moved on, with Yang's help. Most likely, Red Like Roses Part 2 is just Ruby recalling how she felt at the time.
 * "But Ruby is way too cheerful for the song to be about her!"

If you want a song about Yang after Summer's death, go listen to Gold. It's most likely about Yang being there for Ruby, trying to be the best big sister she can be, and trying to cheer her up after Summer's death.

I will be there to take all your fears away.
 * Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day,


 * I will burn like the sun

I will turn your life to gold.
 * With a touch of my hand,

Nothing will ever harm you. I'm close by, I'll stay here; Through all things, I will be near.
 * Don't worry, I've got you;

Don't you cry. Love's around you; In time, you'll fly.
 * Close your eyes,

^ Gold is Yang's post-Summer's-death song. Red Like Roses Part 2 is Ruby's.