Nuts and Dolts

Nuts and Dolts is the femslash ship between Ruby Rose and Penny Polendina from the RWBY fandom.

Canon
Penny and Ruby first meet in volume 1 chapter 15. Penny immediately takes a liking to Ruby when she calls her a friend. This excites Penny quit a bit, she then questions Ruby if she's sure and even though Yang, Blake and Weiss shake their heads in protest Ruby replies "Yeah, sure. Why not?". Ruby on the other hand, seems incredibly put off by Penny's strange behavior and then asks Weiss if that was what she was like when they first met.

Penny eventually admits to Ruby that she does not have any friends, and thus she greatly treasures the friendship that she's forged with Ruby. In the next chapter, she is also shown to be extremely protective of Ruby, as seen when she jumps into a fight in her defense when she was injured against Torchwick. Also in volume 2 chapter 3, where she pushes Ruby out of the way of an incoming truck before stopping it with her own two hands. In the next chapter Penny is shown placing a high amount of trust in Ruby when she confesses to her that she's not a real girl, and actually an android.

Penny was then surprised by how well Ruby took the news. Ruby then reassures Penny that has a heart and a soul and she's not anything like Ironwood's other robots. Penny was so happy that Ruby still accepted her for who she was that she then wrapped her in a bone crushing hug, saying she was the best friend anyone could ask for. When they then here atlesian guards looking for her Penny then picks up Ruby and puts her in a dumpster and tells her to stay there until they're gone.

The next time the two see each other is in volume 3 chapter 5. When Penny sees Ruby again she tackles her into a hug. In volume 3 chapter 9 when Pyrrha "kills" Penny, Ruby was completly devastated, even dropping to her knees and beginning to cry. In the next chapter, Ruby then defends Pyrrha from a giant Nevermore breaking into the colosseum with one of Penny's discarded swords.

In volume 5 chapter 5, Ruby mentions Penny to Oscar. Saying that she was killed just to make a statement and that she has thought about her every day since the Beacon fell. She then tells him that she's fighting against Salem because she knows that Penny would've done the same thing for her if the roles were reversed. Then in volume 6 chapter 13, Ruby while trying to activate her silver eyes remembers Penny's death, which then causes her to lose focus and is unable to use her eyes as a result. After she gathers herself up later, she then thinks about the happier memories with her, and is successfully able to turn the leviathan grimm to stone.

In volume 7 chapter 1, after Penny takes down the remaining grimm, she turns around and everyone is shocked to see that she is still alive and well. She then says salutations and uses her turbo boots to tackle Ruby to the ground and give her a giant hug. After the get up off the ground she explains to everyone exactly she is still alive. She then exclaims that she cannot wait to talk and catch up with Ruby again; then another grimm attack in Mantle interrupts them. Penny then says I guess it'll have to wait.

In chapter 5, when on a mission Penny confesses to Ruby that she hasn't had time to make any other friends. She then confesses that she struggles with doing what she wants and with she needs to do. In chapter 13 when she becomes the winter maiden, she decides to abandon Ironwood and join Ruby's side. In chapter 13, Ruby then rests her head on Penny's shoulder looking relieved that she is ok.

In volume 8 chapter 2, Penny admits to Ruby that she feels hurt and confused over what happend with Winter and Ironwood, and that she doesn't like it when friends fight. And that she was scared since Ironwood told her people would die because of her. Ruby then assures her that he was lying and was only trying to hurt her. Penny then thanks Ruby for trying to comfort her, and they have a hug.

Fanon
Fans quickly started shipping nuts and dolts after Penny was introduced in Volume 1. It is sometimes joked to be the logical end to Ruby's love of weapons and machines. Shippers were understandably upset with Penny's death in volume 3, with some choosing to drop the series as a result. Many fans believed that Penny would return in the future volumes as she could be rebuilt and there was speculation over wheather she would be the same Penny that Ruby knew. Shippers were extremly happy when Penny was indeed built and reunited with Ruby in Volume 7, allowing the ship to rise once more.

Fandom
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Trivia

 * Their ship name is a pun on nuts and bolts. Penny is the nuts since she's a robot and Ruby is the dolt since weiss called her that back in volume 1.

Variations

 * Bright Eyes — the ship between Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina and Oscar Pine
 * Frosen Steel — the ship between Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina and Weiss Schnee
 * Short and Sweet — the ship between Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina, Weiss Schnee and Neo Politan
 * Strawberry Cream Machine — the ship between Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina and Neo Politan
 * Winter Greenhouse — the ship between Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, and Nora Valkyrie