#(not just combine grimm elements with human elements as she did with cinder)

[bestworstcase]

I urgh, made a reblog earlier on your post about The Shallow Sea, asked a question there which you might have seen and then accidentally deleted it (oops!)

Anyway I wanted to ask do you think the fanus’s struggle for equality will be involved somehow in salem’s villian-to-hero arc? Because fanus and salem (and grimm) are just so heavily connected. She actually had a very great chance with sienna but unfortunately adam killed her.

And also if you could elaborate this salem being the god of animals thing, did she actually created fanus or it’s more about symbolic connection?

An additional note which’s just something I found very interesting. In the opening of v6, adam appears as the leader of white fang while the song goes ‘the river knows to reach the sea’. Besides the chronological order goes cinder-adam-the rest of salem’s force. (Added that rising is a salem song)

oh i. i think about salem and the faunus and grimm only a normal amount. there's more that i've written on the topic than that (among others, i have a relevant post about tyrian and his worship of salem somewhere but i cannot for the life of me find it) but tumblr, u know. 

not directly faunus related but the god of choice post is salient because rwby handles divinity in a very polytheist way, and while the recent alchemy post was just for fun it does also lay out the thematically essential death/resurrection element of salem's immortality with more clarity. 

(my other mythology tin hat is that salem was the original inspiration for 'the warrior in the woods') (<- tangent). 

TL;DR: i think she is the literal, though possibly indirect, creator of the faunus (through her combination of human + grimm into own being; the faunus descend from this harmony of opposites in some way) and that at some point in history, she belonged to faunus civilization and the mythical figure of the 'god of animals' arose through a combination of worship of salem herself + stories she told about the brothers in relation to her transformations.

(notice that the god of animals in 'the shallow sea' resembles darkness in character, and the one in 'the judgment of faunus' resembles light, but both versions are also unrecognizable as the brothers because they interact with their chosen people in a reciprocal manner—faunus choose to be changed in both stories. where ozma uses myth to guide humans toward what his god wants them to be, salem used myth to uphold her idea of what the brothers should have been and what kind of gods deserve reverence.)

the narrative has not ever been shy about making symbolic connections between the faunus and the grimm—like, blake reveals her ears for the first time whilst gazing at and identifying herself with the beowolf trampled underfoot by human huntsmen in beacon's statue. the white fang wear grimm masks because "humans wanted to make monsters of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters." qrow in the faunus WOR episode more or less explicitly describes faunus as in-between humans and grimm.  

(<- which is not necessarily accurate because qrow's narration is chock full of obvious subconscious bias—to the point of straight up saying "honestly, it's not too hard to sympathize" with the perspectives of humans who hunted down the faunus like animals because "seeing something that looks like you and acts like you walk out of a forest and reveal a pair of fangs can be… upsetting" and in no way are we meant to take that as an objective statement; in V1 weiss is unambiguously portrayed as the one in the wrong for hating faunus on the grounds that the white fang is at war with her family's company, a reason that is a lot less shaky than "fangs are upsetting" and yet is (properly) framed as irrational and bigoted.

but qrow's perspective is meant to reveal cultural attitudes, not objective facts, and his overt placement of faunus between humans and grimm is interesting in the context of everything else the narrative does to draw a connection between faunus and grimm)

salem is "your grace" to her followers and ghira is "your grace" as the chieftain of kuo kuana, implying that salem might outright self-identify as a faunus. she wants to secure  sienna khan's alliance (<- a genuine activist) and drops adam (<- a terrorist) like a hot potato after he murders her, she explicitly has no plans to attack menagerie, and menagerie doesn't… seem to have a grimm problem… like at all. zero grimm attacks in kuo kuana across two volumes there and not a single character in menagerie mentions them as a problem.

so rwby is not exactly being subtle. 

generally, i do not think the heavy emphasis put on the white fang arc was solely being overambitious about doing a Racism Subplot; i don't think it's coincidental that the narrative completed the white fang arc and then immediately launched the "salem backstory" arc with the lost fable. the white fang arc sets up for the lost fable and salem's arc is inextricable from the faunus-persecution narrative because she, in every way that matters, IS a faunus herself.

and i think that is very much going to eventuate in V10+ yeah. it's already beginning to—the affirmation of jabber's personhood and overt sympathy afforded to neo and the cat, in tandem with blake's arc in V9 being toward vocally embracing and taking pride in being a faunus as the culmination of her journey out of shame in V1-6 and quiet figuring-herself-out in V7-8, points strongly in that direction. 

[perpetuallyfive]

If people want me to believe that grimm that isn’t even the same species as her is somehow Summer Rose, they’re going to have to give a pretty convincing argument for why she would attack her own daughter and particularly why the writers would create such a dramatic moment and not do anything with it, not even a moment of hesitation or recognition from the grimm to pay off with the reveal later.

#rwby spoilers #rwby v8 spoilers #i feel like people literally just don't think of yang as summer's daughter #so they aren't thinking about how much that doesn't make any sense??? #it would be TERRIBLE writing in my opinion on multiple levels #if salem can de evolve and also evolve and also mutate people cross species #(not just combine grimm elements with human elements as she did with cinder) #and also maybe mind control them no matter what their original species #all while being unkillable #after a while you cut out all narrative tension if you make your bad guy that op because nothing the heroes do matters in the face of that #but it's also bad writing to set up a dramatic moment between mother and daughter and not actually include ANY suggestion that's happening #you'd at least expect the framing to emphasize it more if that was the case #like i get that the idea is all red riding hood theme stuff but on every other level it just doesn't make any sense to me? #i hope this doesn't sound defensive i just don't even know where this reasoning is coming from #i really really don't want this to be rude which is why i didn't want to put it in the main tag #i just hate the idea that the writers wouldn't acknowledge the importance of yang and summer in each other's lives AT ALL #that feels like it would be such a clumsy retcon of a scene we just saw to be like #''there was something else going on here and we NEVER hinted at it AT ALL.'' #rwby

[vecnawrites]

With Emerald's defection, she seems to think she needs to make up for her past transgressions, especially to Jaune. Jaune says the only thing he wants is to have Pyrrha back, even if it's just for one night. Well, Emerald can give him just that. Offering herself up to Jaune and disguising herself as the Mistrali Champion means she won't be able to walk for a few days, but if it gets her on Jaune's good side, it's a pain well worth it.

Emerald didn’t know how she was going to do this. The guilt was practically killing her at this point. She had always felt guilt over what had happened at the Vytal festival, what with the gynoid being destroyed (although it seemed that did nothing in the long run, since the innocent android was now fully human and taking hugs from everyone she could, even her, the very one that had gotten her ‘killed’ at the Vytal Festival), the Grimm being loosed within the Kingdom of Vale, and Pyrrha Nikos being murdered by her ex-leader, Cinder. Of all these things, she knew which one haunted the blonde leader of JNPR the most.

She didn’t know how anyone else didn’t notice...or maybe they did notice and just ignored it. How hurt, how broken he was. It wasn’t hard to hear him, crying in his dreams, stifled yells as he woke up in the middle of the night. That night almost two years ago now still haunted him. It haunted her, too. She had just thought that Cinder wanted power and a relic, she didn’t think she was going to do all...all that! She herself had nightmares for months after the event.

How had it come to that? She despised how Cinder had preyed on her desire for any type of love and acceptance, but knew that she had fallen for it because Cinder had told her what she wanted to hear. How working with her would keep her clothed in the best finery, belly full with the finest food, never sleep in the elements again...all she had to do was listen to her and do what she asked. Simple.

Except it wasn’t. Emerald was a thief, she had no shame in admitting she did what she had to in order to survive on the streets of Vacuao, but she had scruples. She never took from those who couldn’t afford it, and she had never killed. She didn’t want that stain on her soul...but it was a bit late for that now, she supposed. She had inadvertently helped kill and displace thousands. The stain on her soul would never leave. That pained her more than she could say.

But what hurt the most...was something that she heard him say. She was fairly sure he hadn’t meant for anyone to hear it, but she had been close enough to. They had been talking about what they would ask for if they could use the staff for anything they wanted...and she heard him whisper something heartbreaking.

“I just want Pyrrha back, even if it’s just for one night only…” she felt her own heart shrivel and break for him…

...which was why she was here, in front of his bedroom door, wrapped in a bathrobe. She waited until now, when everyone was asleep, so no one would interfere with what she was about to do. Swallowing deeply, she reached out and slowly opened the door.

The bedroom was dark, and would have been pitch black had it not been for the pale moonlight that cast a silvery sheen through the room, across the bed, highlighting the young man that had been filling her thoughts. Her heart thumped hard, pounding against her ribcage, the sound filling her ears, seemingly so loud that she was surprised that Jaune wasn’t shooting upwards with his sword in his hand.

Taking a few steps further into the room, Emerald closed the door and locked it behind her, not wanting anyone to decide tonight was the night they wanted to check in on him and see what she was about to do. It would likely destroy any headway she had made with earning their trust.

Swallowing, she loosened the knot tying her robe together, and let it slide off her body and flutter to the floor surrounding her ankles, exposing her bare body. Her large breasts capped with dark nipples, graceful frame, wide flaring hips, bubbly rear, and graceful legs combined to make a beautiful body that practically any male and some females would beg to worship.

But this body wasn’t the one that was going to be used tonight. Focusing that little part of her mind, Emerald activated her semblance and wrapped it around the still sleeping blonde in his bed, making her skin whiten, her breasts and butt shifting just a bit, her nipples turning a bright pink and her rear taking on more of a heart shape, her green hair growing longer and forming in a ponytail, turning to a burning red color, as her crimson eyes changed to the bright green of her namesake.

She supposed she should be grateful she shared group showers with the champion. She wouldn’t trust her own imagination with something like this. Swallowing roughly, she gently walked over to the bed and began to peel the blanket back, a flush coming to her cheeks unbidden as she revealed the surprising fact that Jaune apparently slept commando when alone.

She remembered him as a skinny nerd back at Beacon...but that obviously wasn’t the case now. Broad, defined muscles lay atop his body, almost as if he had been sculpted out of stone, the odd scar marring the skin here and there, telling her of the battles he had faced, that he had survived.

Her eyes trailed further down his body, seeing a firm six pack of muscles on his abdomen, leading to the defined ‘v’ shape of his hips, down to...oh my.

Emerald swallowed hard, staring down at the utterly massive endowment that lay between his thighs. Even completely limp against his inner thigh, he was a full six inches at least. She could only imagine his full size...but she didn’t have to. After all, in a few minutes, that would likely be in her. And that thought led to why she was grateful that she had procured birth control. His balls were huge.

She had to hand it to the blonde. Girls would have been flocking to him to ride something like this back at Beacon, but save Ni-Pyrrha, and Ruby, most considered him something of a joke. Meaning he hadn’t been bragging about it or even letting anyone know about what was between his legs.

Licking her lips, she slowly reached out and grasped the shaft of soft flesh, hefting it in her hand. She shuddered. Even completely soft, it was hot, and twitched against her palm, growing as she slowly moved her fingers along it. She swallowed back a wave of saliva as it stretched out and thickened, becoming erect in her massaging hand, reaching a length of over ten inches, feeling his heartbeat throb through it.

Climbing quietly into the bed next to the still miraculously sleeping young man, Emerald held his shaft gently while pulling him close. She hoped that doing this would help him…“Jaune? Jaune...time to wake up, sleepy head~” she murmured softly, her voice having changed to the gentle lit of Pyrrha’s. She rubbed his cock gently in her palm, already getting wet just from the thought of having this thick shaft of meat inside her...focus! This wasn’t about her pleasure, this was about helping Jaune move on...her eyes snapped to the blonde’s face as she groaned softly in his sleep, his eyes moving and twitching as he slowly began to awaken. She swallowed, her heart racing as bright blue eyes peeked open sleepily, glancing about half awake, before locking on her and sharpening, although still retaining that haze-like quality of being half asleep.

“Pyrrha? You’re...you’re here?” his voice was a thick rumble, making her quiver softly, praying she’d be strong enough to give him what he needed, what she had been a part of selfishly taking away. Instead, she forced a smile to her face.

“Hello again!” she said, her voice as cheerful as she could muster, seeing blue eyes sharpen with recognition, even as he stayed half asleep. She marveled at that, but then, she knew that he wasn’t sleeping well at all, having deep bags underneath his eyes that everyone saw, but no one spoke of. “I’m here for you Jaune...I...I’m so proud of you...you’ve truly become the Hunter I knew you could be.” she saw a lazy smile form on his face, enthusiastic, even if exhausted.

“I’m sorry, Jaune, but I can’t stay longer than tonight…” she hated herself when she saw the sorrow creep into his face, leading her to leaning down and kissing him on the lips gently, pumping his shaft gently with her hand, watching redness fill his face when she pulled back. His mouth worked, opening and closing as his eyes moved down, taking in her-Pyrrha’s body.

“I’m here to help you, Jaune...you’ve been in pain so long…” Emerald moved them so Jaune was lying on his bad and she straddled him, letting him see the entirety of Pyrrha’s body. She gently placed one of her hands on his chest, feeling the heavy thump, thump, thump of his heart beneath her palm, making her smile. “You’ve gone through so much...I may only have tonight, but I will help you move on…” she whispered.

Slowly, she rested her wet pussy on his cock and began to grind it, seeing his sleepy eyes becoming more alert as the signals of pleasure rushed through his body. “Just relax, Jaune...let me help you…” she murmured, shivering as she felt her lips spreading, trying feebly to wrap completely around his length, even as it lay pressed against his belly.

She forced herself to stay strong, to make sure her semblance stayed up and active. This wasn’t about her, she reminded herself. This was about helping Jaune move on. Any pleasure she earned was inconsequential.

“I can’t take away all the pain from you, but I can do this...please accept it, Jaune...I want you to not feel the guilt anymore...Cinder and Salem are to blame.” she said, barely biting back the urge to add her own name to the list of the damned, but she knew that he might protest, and honestly she didn’t want him getting too animated or perceptive. He might figure out the ruse.

Rising up, she swallowed as his cock sprung straight, throbbing mightily and brushing her damp labia. Reaching down, she grasped the thick stalk of flesh and wiggled her hips, slowly beginning to slide down, biting down the whimper that she wanted to release. Fuck, he had a battering ram attached to him! And while she wasn’t a virgin by any means (living on the streets meant you used any weapon you had to get what you needed), it had been years...and he was definitely the biggest she had ever been with...a thick groan spilled from her lips as her hips met Jaune’s, her core clenching tightly around the thick flesh within her.

Swallowing, she rubbed Jaune’s chest, before slowly lifting her lower body bit by bit, her pussy quivering around his cock as she pulled herself up, breasts heaving as she panted, looking down at the drowsy, but alert young man. “So much bigger...than I imagined…” she choked out. Fuck, she wasn’t going to be able to walk straight for days! She’d have to come up with some excuse for her limping…

She slowly moved in a rhythm, lifting and dropping her hips on that massive cock, a bubble of pleasurable warmth filling her lower belly. It was happening quickly, incredibly so, a mixture of sex for the first time in years from something other than her hand or a toy, and all the stress she had been feeling recently. Either way, she was sure to cum soon. But she ignored her own impending pleasure (doom) and instead focused on Jaune, who was becoming more active as the feelings and pleasure of sex flowed through him.

Grasping his hands, she lowered herself so their chests were pressed together and buried her face into his neck, allowing herself to focus simply on raising and lowering her hips and gauging the pleasure that Jaune was feeling. She hoped she was doing okay, though the soft moans coming from the body beneath her told her she was doing very well. She could feel that he was close to, a throbbing within her making her swallow, both welcoming and dreading what was going to come.

“I...It’s okay, Jaune…” she managed to moan. “Feel free to cum, whenever you want!” she grit her teeth as she felt that warmth beginning to suffuse throughout her body, feeling Jaune’s hands gently break away from her clutching own and move down to grab her hips, before moving down a bit further, becoming daring and roaming over her toned rear, fingers digging in as he squeezed. The throbbing within her became harder and more rapid, Jaune’s pelvis bucking upwards rapidly, letting her know that he was gonna-

“C-Cumming!” he gaspsed thoatily, and Emerald’s eyes squeezed shut, a small whine escaping her lips as she felt a pulsing wet heat shooting powerfully into her core, setting her off into her own orgasm. She whined louder, shuddering as she fought desperately to keep her semblance up with her body betrayed her, warmth suffusing through her body, her core clenching and flexing around Jaune’s cock.

She lay on top of him for several moments, before squeaking as she was suddenly rolled over so her back was against the mattress and Jaune was on top of her. He still looked half-asleep, but he was definitely alert, his eyes passionate and a small smile on his lips.

“Was too quick that time, Pyr...sorry, I’ll make it up to you…” Emerald swallowed hard as he rolled his hips, her sensitive core clenching around him. As he began to actually thrust within her, her eyes rolled up as he used strength she never knew he had...but perhaps Pyrrha had. One of the conversations she had eavesdropped on her having with Nora made so much more sense now.

x~x~x~x~x

“How did you know Jaune was so strong, Pyr-Pyr?” Emerald overheard the bubbly Valkyrie ask. She could almost see the smirk on the redhead’s face as she answered. “Well, Nora, for one thing, he carries his sword and shield around his hips with no issue. His very heavy sword and shield…” there was a beat of silence, and Emerald swore she could hear Nikos licking her lips. “Boy’s got hips like a jackhammer…” she shuddered at the almost horny tone and immediately moved away, deciding that she had heard far too much for the day…

x~x~x~x~x

Apparently Pyrrha was able to see something no one else could, squeals escaping her throat as Jaune began to really get into it, his hips going faster and faster and plowing into her core, filling her deeper and deeper, churning up the cum already within her.

‘Fuck, got to...gotta make sure he stays...in my semblance…’ Emerald whimpered as her legs swung up and around the blonde’s hips, throwing her head back as he began to truly hammer into her, his fat balls slapping into the underside of her ass, the slight sting only making the feelings flooding her body even more intense.

She opened her mouth to cry out, only for the sounds to be swallowed as her lips were claimed and her mouth utterly dominated by Jaune’s, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth and wrestling with her own. Her core flexed and rippled around his cock, as though her body was trying to milk him of cum.

Emerald’s head swam as Jaune broke the kiss between them, her swallowing a mouthful of their mixed saliva. Normally, such a thought would have disgusted her, but right now? Her fingers and toes only curled as she was sure her ass was making a divot in the mattress underneath her when he started to slam into her pussy, reshaping it to only be satisfied by his cock.

The hidden verdette whimpered. This wasn’t about her pleasure, this wasn’t about her pleasure...she heard Jaune grunting above her, felt his lips kissing her jawline and neck tenderly, smelled the tang of sweat mixed with the combination of his natural musky scent and the light perfume of the body wash he used during his shower.

Her eyes screwed shut and her jaw ground, a whine building up in her breast as she felt herself getting closer and closer to orgasm again. She didn’t know how much longer that she could handle this...but she would, simply to ensure that Jaune could get closure.

“C-Cumming, Pyrrha!” she heard Jaune gasp into her ear, his thrust becoming stilted and stuttering as he thrust into her fully, his balls resting on her ass cheeks, feeling them pulse, tense, and lift up as her insides were filled with massive, thick jets of cum, the viscous liquid draining downwards. She swore she felt her womb becoming filled, the cum filling the small chamber, before squirming around and searching for an egg to fertilize.

Starbursts burst bright, filled her eyes as a ringing filled her ears, her core clenching hard and flexing, milking the cock inside her and working hard to draw every drop of cum from Jaune’s balls. And boy, was the blonde delivering, the bursts of cum seemingly endless, more and more and more filling her pussy and womb up with the life giving fluid. She moaned as her orgasm slowly ended, the lazy haze of afterglow filling her with a pleasant buzzing sensation.

She was knocked out of it when Jaune collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily, pressing lazy, sleepy kisses along her neck, sucking and nipping at her pulse point. “I...I missed you, Pyrrha...so much…” he murmured in her ear.

Swallowing, Emerald gathered her strength in order to answer. “I...I m-missed you too, J-Jaune…” she gasped. Right. This was for him, this was for him...she inhaled sharply as Jaune rolled, cuddling her to him as they lay on their sides.

“Thank you for coming back...even if its only for tonight…” Emerald felt her heart break again at the overjoyed tone in his voice. Still she forced a smile to her face.

“I’m glad I could, Jaune...rest now, okay? I’ll stay until you fall asleep…” the door was locked, she knew she would be safe until then. A gentle kiss to her lips answered her, making her heart skip a beat. She watched as Jaune fought sleep as long as he could, but exhaustion, plus two intense orgasms and the after sex glow swiftly lulling him to sleep.

Emerald waited until she was sure Jaune was asleep, his breath evening out and slowing down, before she began to worm her way gently out of his hold, her breath hitching as she slowly pulled herself off of his cock with a muted pop, forcing aura to her pussy immediately, in an attempt to dull the stinging pain.

Glancing down at the sticky, flagging cock, Emerald fought with herself, licking her lips. “...well, I suppose it would be a bad thing for him to think that actually happened…” she whispered, leaning down and opening her mouth, gently drawing the limp shaft into her mouth and quickly cleaning it with her tongue, making sure not to do too much, lest Jaune wake up again. Still, every gasp and groan gave her a thrill.

Pulling off his squeaky clean cock, Emerald placed a gentle kiss along the tip, before carefully standing and beginning to waddle out of the room, collecting her robe as she did so. As she opened the door, she glanced over her shoulder to see Jaune sleeping peacefully, a small smile on his face.

A smile of her own on her face, Emerald made her way out, intent on getting a few hours of sleep herself.

~x~x~x~x~

Emerald sat in the living room, close enough to the others that she could still talk, but far enough that none of them would notice that she couldn’t fucking sit right. Her pussy ached like she had been punched in it, full force, no aura.

But then, Jaune did have a battering ram between his legs. Maybe he had horse faunus in his ancestry? Maybe, but that wasn’t exactly something one could just bring up in causal conversation. “Hey, Jaune? Do you have any horse faunus in your family? Why am I wondering? Well, its because I can barely walk after you almost fucked me through your mattress last night!”

She shook her head, as she heard Ruby speak. “Morning, Jaune! You’re looking-” the cape wearing scythe wielder was cut off by the bim-by Yang. “Not half-dead.” red eyes rolled upwards. Stay classy, Xiao-Long. Stay classy.

Listening, a red hue formed in her cheeks as she heard Jaune speak. “Yeah, I actually had a pleasant night’s sleep...I feel...lighter.” she ducked her head to ensure none of them saw her cheeks, staring down at her morning coffee as she remembered the previous night.

Jaune...despite thinking her to be another girl, had treated her better than any lover she had ever had before. All others had been a means to an end, to ensure some goal…she supposed this was to ensure a goal too, but it was a much better one than any of the others.

She blinked as Jaune sat by her, a cup of coffee in his own hand. “Morning, Emerald. How did you sleep?” the verdette cursed internally as her pussy twinged at his voice. She couldn’t just say, “My pussy is damn near broken from that bitch breaker you have, be more gentle next time will you?”, could she?

But she didn’t need to say anything, as Jaune leaned forwards and began to talk softly. “I want to thank you for last night.” her eyes widened in horror at the fact that she had been caught, her heart pounding in her chest so loudly that she almost missed his next words.

“I...I wanted to believe that I was fine, that I had moved on...but I had simply slapped a bandage over an open wound. Allowing me to see her...it helped in ways that I didn’t know I needed…”

Emerald began to calm down. He didn’t appear upset...or maybe he was just hiding it so he didn’t bring their dirty business up in front of people who couldn’t keep their opinions to themselves or their noses out of other’s business.

“I will admit, waking up alone sucked,” Emerald winced, “...but I understood it. I want to thank you again...and honestly?” he shrugged. “If you want to ever...hah, I’ll be blunt: Emerald, would you like to try a relationship? It can be purely physical, or we try to see if we can be romantic, whatever you want.”

Emerald was shocked. She raised her coffee and took a sip, pondering over his words. While laying in bed very early that morning, she had thought about that very notion. She had thought it laughable, after all, who would want a girl that had helped cause a kingdom’s fall? Looking at him, her gaze fell to the table. “Are...are you sure? I...you know what I’ve done…” she whispered.

She found her hand grabbed and squeezed in a pale, callused one. “Yes, you’ve done bad things, so have I. I snuck into Beacon by faking my transcripts. Its not as grand a scale sure, but neither of our slates are clean. What matters is what we do to make up for what we’ve done, and if we’re willing to forgive ourselves for our transgressions. Will you try?”

Emerald’s eyes stung and her throat tightened. Why, why couldn’t she have met this lovable goof before she had met Cinder? Things would have been so different…but he was right. She couldn’t change her past, all she could do was work towards a better future for herself.

Raising her gaze, she saw his hopeful look, and decided to give him her answer; she leaned forwards and pressed her lips against his firmly, feeling his free hand cup the back of her head and allow them to kiss better.

...and if she heard the noises of shock and confusion coming from the others, she ignored it. They weren’t important. What was important was in front of her right now.

#Jaune Arc #Emerald Sustrai #Topaz #Volume 8 #Semblance Use #Hurt/Comfort #Redemption

[hamliet]

RWBY and Alchemy: The Birds

So remember when I wrote about the seven metals of alchemy? Well... there are also five birds, and like with the metals, RWBY seems to be associating a specific character with a specific bird. 

Birds are important in alchemy because they were viewed as symbols of the spirit, as “mediat[ors] between the earthly realm and heaven world.” Adam MacLean states:

The alchemist in observing the flight of birds, recognised in them a picture of the human soul undergoing spiritual development. The soul, aspiring upwards, flying free of the restraints of the earth bound body seeking the heavenly light, only to have to return to the earthly consciousness again.

Black Stage: Raven/Crow (Raven and Qrow Branwen)

The raven/crow/jackdaw is a symbol of nigredo, the blackening. This stage corresponds to earth elementally and symbolize decay and death (obviously).

It’s no coincidence that Qrow and Raven are focused on in the first part of the story, and while they still are under their own arcs, Qrow has been largely separated from his nieces and others during the past few volumes. His nieces and the rest need to grow up rather than depend on Qrow. See Splendor Solis 20:

The children are portrayed as playing with a crow/raven among them, symbolizing their immaturity. However, the adults in the back of the image are in red, showing that they have grown up.

The theme of growing up and maturation is very present in Raven’s arc: namely, she never did. She fled from her adult responsibilities in abandoning her own daughter and ran back to her childhood home, her childhood promise. She also undergoes a putrefaction, a purification by fire in a sense, through her daughter. When Yang confronts her in the vault of the Spring Maiden, she shreds every excuse Raven has, pointing out that Raven is selfish, cowardly, and childish, happy to sacrifice others but never herself. The daughter, here, is the mature one, and thus Yang wins the lamp of knowledge: Yang gave Raven a dose of self-knowledge in the vault, and we see Raven making a small step afterwards via going to see Tai.

Qrow is better off than Raven in that he doesn’t entirely run from his responsibilities... except he does, just in a different way. He drinks to dull the pain, and as a result, Ruby ends up taking care of him on their journey instead of the other way around. Qrow himself acknowledges that he has childish beliefs; his semblance is a self-fulfilling prophecy rather than an actual power.

For the first time in a while I thought, maybe, maybe I could be around somebody -anybody- without my Semblance making it… complicated. And now, it just feels like a childish dream. Gone... like everybody else.

Just like his twin sister, he’s afraid of truly getting close to people, which RWBY seems to hold up as the pillar of maturity and development. I’m not saying Qrow is as negative a character as Raven (he isn’t at all), but he is still struggling to grow up aside his nieces and their companions. In fact, this will be A Thing for all the characters who relate to birds.

The crow is often depicted as dying inside a flask:

Which could be seen as alluded to by Qrow’s alcoholism. Through not facing the darker parts of himself and not growing up, Qrow is killing himself. Fortunately, he’s been making some steps in the right direction.

Rainbow Stage: Peacock (Cinder Fall)

Look the girl has feathers on her outfit that are very reminiscent of peacocks feathers... without the eyes. We’ll get there. The feathers are described by CRWBY as “iridescent” which is a term alchemists employed historically to refer to the rainbow stage. 

Post-Blackening, the products of the great work are scattered in a variety of colors, colors that are all at war with each other. To quote Carl Jung,

It is commonly said of the peacock that it has an angel‘s feathers, a devil’s voice, and a thief’s walk.

NB: arrows are often used as symbols in part of this stage, and bows and arrows are weapons Cinder is, er, known for using too. 

Jung also comments this, which fits with Cinder being both a Maiden, associated with the seasons, and with her being an agent for change in the story as a whole:

Just as the Queen Mother or the mother of the gods grants renewal, so the peacock annually renews his plumage, and therefore has a relation to all the changes in nature.

The peacock is actually a flightless bird: post death in the Blackening, it cannot fly, but in order to proceed through the rest of the stages, it has to gather the disparate colors (ie parts of itself) in order to renew itself (yes, they’re linked to renewal and rebirth).

However, Cinder is not doing this. She received many call-outs, and has severed every bridge people have attempted to build with her. If anything, post volume 8, she seems more lost than ever. So what could be an impetus for her to do this? Well...

Why are her peacock-esque feathers missing their eyes?

The ancient Greek legend of Argus (which is a place in RWBY’s world; the place where Ruby hears Maria’s story of her silver eyes and asks Maria to train her in using her silver eyes) is that there is an immortal monstrous woman with snakes for legs named Echidna who they keep hidden in a cave, but she keeps finding ways to kill humans, until Argus finally kills her. After this, Hera has Argus guard a goddess with his hundred eyes, but then Mercury/Hermes/Thoth kills Argus, and Hera casts his eyes into peacocks’ tails to remember him. I wouldn’t read toooo much into this, but I do think it would be very, very fitting for Cinder to receive a call-out from her “kids”: Emerald and Mercury, the latter of whom is an allusion to Hermes/Mercury and the former of whom might be an allusion to Thoth. Until Cinder has been confronted by Mercury and Emerald, she won’t truly be able to see. 

I have said before that I think Ruby will use her silver eyes to save Cinder from being consumed by the worst parts of herself (as literally symbolized in the Grimm taking her over). The decay of the Blackening is washed away to reveal the color of the peacock’s iridescent tail, and so both a confrontation to get Cinder to face the worst of herself, and then pity shown to her by someone who has no reason to be kind to purify her (look, it’s a term in alchemy, and Ruby has been described as “the embodiment of purity”) of the Grimm will probably be the impetus for Cinder to change.

White Stage: Swan/Dove (Robyn Hill, maybe Winter Schnee?)

Robyn’s emblem is a white bird.

The swan symbolises the dissolving of impurity into ash. In Volume 8, when Robyn and Qrow are freed from prison, ash falls everywhere.

Like the peacock, a swan is a bird that does not fly. Robyn is grounded in Mantle, rather than Atlas. After the gathering of opposites in the Peacock’s Tail, the dove/swan “reconciles and unites opposite substances,” according to Lyndy Abraham. Swans swim along the surface of water, while the true colors are concealed beneath; swans dunk their heads underwater, which symbolizes a person diving deep into dissolution and purification. Robyn’s Semblance is also about this: it allows Robyn to sense their true colors and intentions, rather than what they attempt to protect at the surface.

I am also wondering if Winter is somehow connected to this as well, because of the appearance of white birds in her semblance. 

The focus on transformation that is part of the life cycle of a swan (ugly ducking to beautiful bird) is also perhaps symbolic of Winter’s internal development; this volume, she learned to fly on her own, growing up and shedding the need for father figures completely. She’s now able to fly (literally) freely and to save her people. But we will see; the connection is less strong here. 

Yellow Stage: Pelican (Hazel Rainart)

Due to the previous three all having links to a maiden, I wonder if the summer maiden will somehow be connected to pelican imagery, but for now, my inclination is to say that Hazel displays traits of the pelican as well, though there may be another person associated at some point. 

The pelican’s notable accomplishment is to stab its own breast and nourish its young with its own blood. It is a symbol of sacrifice. Hazel sacrifices himself to save the children: Emerald, Oscar, Jaune, Yang, and Ren. He does so by stabbing himself in the chest with numerous dust types, combining all sorts of elements (key to alchemy).

Red Stage: Phoenix (?)

This one remains to be determined. It could well could be Cinder (I mean, look at her name), plus the bird characters have thus far been adults like she is and possibly have a maiden association. 

But it could also be Mercury, because of his association with fire  and specifically with burning his “nest” as the phoenix does. When Cinder and Emerald find him, he’s burned his home. 

Plus, I think it’s pretty obvious Mercury will either get his semblance back or develop a new one, and it’s most likely going to be related to flying given his emblem and allusion. It would also fit with his having prosthetic legs: he doesn’t need them fixed, and his losses don’t make him any less human. It’s always been within his soul to fly. 

Ooooor the phoenix could be connected to Oscar, because of its association with the sun. It’s really too soon to say. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#rwby alchemy #rwby meta #rwby speculation #cinder fall #mercury black #oscar pine #qrow branwen #raven branwen #robyn hill #winter schnee #alchemy #hazel rainart #rwby theory #this meta is not perfect #but i was tired of wrestling with the birds

[psyga315]

Fixing RWBY Volume 5

Well, here we are. Volume 5. The hot mess that helped spark a new generation of critics. Sure, Volume 6 also had its share, but it was more focused on Adam and the Bees. Volume 5 destroyed a lot of things and caused people to voice their complaints. It was so bad, RT had to literally appease the public by giving them exactly what they want. You ever wondered why Ruby suddenly gained prominence as a character in Volume 6 or the sudden focus on Blake and Yang’s relationship or even Penny’s return?

But why is Volume 5 so bad? Well, I made a lengthy post about it, but the long story short of it is that a combination of RT’s over ambitiousness of RWBY, its lack of resource management, and the writers clearly having no idea how to pace scenes out led to a Volume that felt more like the writers just wanted to get it over with and failed to live up to its core theme. I brought this up time and time again with my tweaks that each of the volumes carried with it a certain theme.

Volume 1 was about beginnings and friendship, Volume 2 was about stepping into danger, Volume 3 was the theme of falling, Volume 4 was the theme of picking yourself back up, Volume 6 was outgrowing your mentor’s advice, and Volume 7 was about trust and fear. What’s Volume 5’s theme? Well, from the interviews mentioned in the Reddit post and the opening song, the theme revolves around solving problems on your own and, most importantly for this rewrite, shouting “We’re not done here!”, which, if you’ve seen Volume 5, went more like this:

“Let’s wait until the bad guys call us to fight them. Then we’ll cry about how things aren’t going our way until this guy goes about feeling up- I mean, healing up this girl.”

Obviously, this needs to be changed. Unlike the other tweaks where I change one or two major elements of a Volume and mostly shuffle things around for better coherency, this is just gonna outright be a full rewrite, since while I mostly let things go as they are, the problem with Volume 5 is that nothing should go as they are.

In fact, all the tweaking I did is basically building up for Volume 5. All the bits where Ozpin is untrustworthy? To better sell Yang getting all pissy about BIRDS. Hazel’s appearance? To make him a much more prominent character. Everything in regards to Adam and the White Fang? To set up a better closure for the White Fang subplot. It’s all been to try and fix Volume 5. If Volume 3 is the lynchpin for which all other Volumes try to imitate, then Volume 5 is the lynchpin for which all other Volumes try to avoid being. Like I said, RT had to basically give viewers a shit ton of cookies just to make up for how bad Volume 5 was.

So, instead of going by this arc by arc, I’m gonna go the more traditional route and rewrite the Volume episode by episode. My obligatory recommendation is a mishmash of Volume 5 rewrites that Unicorn of War made. I mean, he made about 3? 4? I lost count.

Episode 0 (Trailers)

Okay, these need to be changed. The point of a character short is to highlight the character’s strong points. Not make them weak or focus on someone else. Ruby’s character short did this, Adam’s character short did this, the original trailers did this, so why the hell did they drop the ball with Weiss losing to common undead mooks and Blake listening to a backstory that isn’t even in the show proper?

So, we’re going to change all this. Weiss’s character short has her fighting against the Beowovles and she manages to win. Winter comes by, but points out how sloppy she was and reveals that she held back. She then gives a foreshadowing line of “if this were a real battle, you’d most likely be bleeding out from that last blow.”

Blake’s character short goes more into detail of what happened to Ghira. Namely him getting gunned down by random humans and in a later scene, Blake fighting them to get revenge, only to stop herself. Adam steps in and personally finishes off the humans, which causes Blake to realize just how much of an asshole Adam is.

Yang’s character short is somewhat the same, but drop the stupid plotline of Ruby learning hand to hand, since RT wants to pretend it never existed to begin with. Also, let’s not have Yang’s aura flicker and tell the Audience she has no aura when you literally just explained a day or so ago that no aura means no semblance.

Alright, now let’s finally get into it:

Episode 1

We open right where the stinger of Volume 4 leaves off with Jaune and co visiting Pyrrha’s mom and dad and dropping off a spare shield that RT joked about in an interview that forever scarred the Floof Artist and blurred the lines of if RWBY should be an anime or a cartooooooooooon. It’s meant to set the tone for this Volume as we get a brief bit where Ruby and Qrow explore the rest of Mistral and not just look at mat paintings. Also, show that it’s in a state of chaos instead of two people with some bamboo heart plant thing.

We also have bits that catch up with our cast. Weiss hears a distress signal and much to Pilot Boi’s demands, she commandeers the ship and flies to them. Blake and Ilia meet for the first time since the fight and Blake argues with her on why she’s vouching so much for Adam. Ilia only warns her to leave Menagerie before she gets hurt and leaves before Blake asks for details. Yang and Heather gang up and get Not!Bakugou to drag them to the bandits.

RNJR and Qrow meet up with Lionheart, who fills them in on the crisis as Qrow tells him that he had to explain the Relics since Ozpin is no longer with them. Namely, Mistral has tons of Grimm going around, not helped by bandits who are making bad matters worse. When Qrow mentions that the Spring Maiden is among the bandits, he nearly has a heart attack. “Bandits are one thing but magical bandits!?”

He also answers Jaune’s question with the same response: “Nothing but lies and forgeries.”, which makes Jaune angry and openly complains about it before Ruby tries to help him. “Hey! We may not have gotten what we wanted, but people here need our help.” When Ruby says this, Qrow decides to inform the group about the possible home base of Raven’s tribe. Note that he does not mention that she’s Yang’s mom nor do they know. Lionheart is a little startled and warns that they only have one shot at this and if they fail, Raven’s tribe will scatter into parts unknown, if they haven’t already. He tries to get them to stay, but Ruby is insistent to stop Raven at the very least, with securing the Spring Maiden being a secondary mission, not asking why she’s important, since she kinda got the idea from Jaune when he recounted how Ozpin forced the Maiden powers onto Pyrrha.

As they leave, Lionheart sighs and warns Watts about it, only for him to say that this game of chess was out of his hand to begin with. The most Lionheart can do is provide the team with the one Huntsman who is at his Academy…

Later that evening, Qrow goes for a drink while RNJR prepare for their mission. He is approached by Oscar and Lionheart. Lionheart says that Oscar had arrived at Haven days ago and refused to leave when he’s told that school’s out for the summer. He leaves Oscar to Qrow while saying how “a day out in the field is worth a week in school.”

As Oscar is alone with Qrow, he asks for his cane in a voice that is not his. Ending the episode there.

Episode 2

Lionheart informs Salem about RNJR arriving at Haven with Qrow and that they’re on their way to retrieve the Spring Maiden. He advises Salem to act quickly, but Salem hushes him (no, she does not strangle him) and says that she’s got the situation under control. She then advises Watts that he is no longer needed at Mistral and is to return to Evernight before the others find him. Watts uses the Seer to teleport and he and Cinder have a bit of a snarkfest now that Cinder can talk before Watts leaves to make Tyrian’s tail.

Cinder then asks Salem to personally be the one that kills Ruby, only to be warned that Ruby’s Silver Eyes are a hazard to her. “She is merely a novice with the Silver Eyes and yet put you on death’s door… I don’t want you to get hurt again.” Cinder just flares up and goes “I. Won’t.” And storms off.

Weiss battles with Lancer Wasps like in the original, but she’s acting on initiative so people are being saved. Battle proceeds like normal, but when Weiss crashes the plan, she and Pilot Boi survive before being kidnapped by Raven.

We cut to Adam and Sienna doing their usual talk, but instead of Sienna going out like a bitch, she actually has a battle with Adam because I assume in this universe, RT knows better than to fuck up like this. I’d compare it to Maul vs. Vizsla from the Clone Wars.

Meanwhile, Ruby and co. are ready to depart before Qrow approaches them, drunk, with Oscar, who quickly informs the group that they may know him better as Ozpin… Cue Jaune becoming shocked at first… then turning into outright rage. End episode.

Episode 3

We open with Kali making a speech on Adam’s plans to destroy Haven Academy and the rest of the Menagerians hesitant to step forward. One of the guards approaches Kali, then stabs her. In the chaos, the guard runs off, then appears through the crowd, shedding her disguise and revealing herself to the audience as Ilia, who gives her whole “Now is the time to side with Adam” speech and also reveals how her parents died in the dust mines. This goes into a brief scuffle between Sun and Ilia that Ilia gets out of by disguising herself as Blake when Blake joins the fight. This is where you can do that Blake slaps Sun bit, but instead, it’s Ilia who slaps Sun.

We then cut to Jaune slamming Oscar against the wall and shouting: “YOU BASTARD! HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?” Ruby tries to pull Jaune away, but he won’t budge. Oscar, still in Ozpin’s voice, gives the explanation that he is able to reincarnate but hides why or how he can do this. In fact, he hides that his “reincarnation” actually means his soul becomes linked to another’s, much to Oscar’s chagrin. He explains that Lionheart has been very sketchy and warns not to listen to what he says. He then advises that they should move quickly. Note that he doesn’t say that they need to train, since the training arc goes nowhere and we need to not only streamline this but make it a lot more entertaining. Ozpin then de-possesses Oscar, who cries about his hurt back, immediately bringing Ozpin’s methods into question for Ruby for the first time.

Weiss awakes to find herself in a cage next to Pilot Boi, who just gives her a comedic calling out just before Vernal and her troops come in and drag out Pilot Boi. Vernal looks to Weiss and tells the bandits “she’s important. Leave her be.” Weiss asks what’s going on as Vernal tells Weiss about how she’s going to be used as a bartering chip. For what, we don’t know yet, but it’s clarified that she’s not being ransomed back to her father. Vernal then explains that Pilot Boi is merely a spare and that they can do what they want. As she says that, she goes to Pilot Boi as he is held down in front of Raven. Vernal approaches Pilot Boi as Weiss looks on in worry. We then end the episode with a crash of lightning.

Episode 4

Heather and Yang get ambushed, but beat up the gang with ease, then enter the tribe, though not without seeing Pilot Boi’s charred corpse crucified outside the gates as a warning for intruders. Heather and Yang get their weapons ready.

We cut to RNJR, Oscar, and Qrow, who are walking to Raven’s camp. Along the way, Oscar is given a lecture from Qrow on Aura, namely on how to activate it. He then asks Ruby, as she’s the youngest of the group, if fighting is as easy as huntsmen make it out to be. Ruby gives the naïve answer of “of course!” though Jaune brings up how inexperience is discouraged. As Oscar grows afraid of Jaune, Jaune sighs and apologizes. “Sorry, I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with you and Oz right now… I don’t hate you… Just the voice inside you.”

“I know… I hate it too…”

Qrow stops them and tells them they’ve arrived.

Cut to the tribe letting Yang and Heather in where they confront Raven… Heather questions if she’s the one responsible for not just the destruction of several villages, but also the disappearance of huntsmen too. Already, this should send warning flags, but Yang decides to ignore them.

Yang: Take off that mask, Raven.

Raven: Is that anyway to treat your mother? {Heather gives a WTF look}

Yang: My mother is dead and you know it.

Raven: {sneers} Regardless. You’ve proven yourself by coming out to find me. I guess you grew tired of Ozpin’s teachings and wanted to join the winning side.

Yang: That’s not why I’m here.

Raven: Then why are you here?

Yang: For my sister.

Raven: Well, hate to disappoint you, but she’s not here.

Yang: That’s why you’re going to bring me there with your Semblance. It can create portals with you and a close bond, right?

Raven: So… you know about that. Well, unfortunately for you, I don’t respect that brat enough to make a portal.

Yang: {eyes go red} Don’t talk about my sister that way!

Raven: What’s so important about her anyways? From her eyes, she’s already a lost cause for that Ozpin.

Yang: What do you know about Ozpin? You got kicked out the moment he saw that you’re using his teachings to kill innocent people!

Raven: Is that what Taiyang told you? Foolish. Simply foolish. I didn’t get kicked out of STRQ. I left STRQ. I’d rather use those teachings for better things than what Ozpin had in store. He turned my brother and your ‘mother’ into his personal attack dogs and put one of them down when they got too gabby.

Yang: {about to go into a frenzy} You shut your mouth!

Vernal: Are we going to have a problem?

Yang: {sees she has Myrtenaster} W-where did you find that?

Raven: {nods to Vernal, who goes over to reveal a caged Weiss} We had anticipated your arrival since you stepped foot on Anima. The fact that one of your friends just so happened to be close by gave us the perfect bargaining chip.

Yang: What are you going to do to her?

Raven: Nothing, if you join us. {Weiss looks at Raven, having suddenly figured out that’s what Vernal meant}

Yang: And if I refuse?

Raven then signals Vernal to execute Weiss. Just then, Ruby intervenes and speed blitzes her. Weiss then breaks out of the prison with her summon as JNROQ come in. The group is surrounded by bandits as everyone quickly finds out that Raven is Yang’s mom. Ren is the first to attack, seeing Vernal and believing her to be the child he made friends with back in Kuroyuri. This begins a massive clash that is sure to sate the appetites of those who want to say “RWBY’s about four girls who kick ass” and give a taste of what’s to come.

The group have little time to figure out what’s going on. Just that Ren, Weiss and Nora are fighting Vernal (this is where you have Weiss trying to summon only to get shot by Vernal), Jaune is battling some bandits with Oscar and Heather, and Ruby and Yang try to fight Raven, only for Qrow to interfere and say that Raven’s on a whole different level. Raven retreats and after battling some bandits for quite a bit, Hazel comes out of the tent. Turns out that Fort Castle (the place where Adam fought Sienna) was not too far from Raven’s base. Ruby and Hazel reunite briefly before Hazel apologizes and enters the fray. He makes everyone his bitch and that’s without the Dust Crystals. Heather and Qrow are the only ones to give him an even fight, but he quickly overwhelms them too thanks to his Semblance.

While the group manages to fend off the bandits, it’s clear that with Hazel, Raven, and Vernal, they need to make a retreat, especially since Raven asks Hazel to bring in “that Adam boy”, making Yang go full PTSD mode. However, before they could leave, Hazel defeats Heather. Ruby protests that he shouldn’t kill her, but her pleas fall on deaf ears as he finishes Heather off. Ruby begins to cry and asks why he killed her. Hazel just replies “She made her choice.” The group retreat back to Mistral as we end the episode with Raven going back into the camp as we see that a Seer Grimm is inside her tent.

This reveals a rather big twist: Raven is also in league with Salem’s crew, acting as Huntsmen removal instead of Tyrian and Hazel (since they were too busy with their stuff in Volume 4) and it also explains why Salem and the others aren’t as hard-pressed about the Spring Maiden as they should be. They already have her in their grasps and, were it not for Cinder getting Silver-Eye’d, Cinder would have immediately gained the Spring Maiden powers.

Episode 5

After that rollercoaster of an episode, the story relaxes with Sun trying (comedically) to get people to join in the battle for Haven, only for Blake to stop him and tell him that it’s futile. She just visited her mom, who is currently recovering in the house, and tells Sun that they should just give up and leave. Sun refuses, since he wants to give Adam a thing or two about giving Faunus like him a bad name. Were I to completely redo Sun’s character, I’d definitely see him as Claude from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

Blake then explains to Sun who Ilia is, complete with a Burning the Candle-like flashback. This is where her backstory comes in. She then explains who Adam is. We don’t get a flashback and even so, she knows little about him. Just that he came to the White Fang one day, asserted himself, then when Ghira was assassinated, took the reins of the White Fang, leaving Sienna Khan to be a puppet leader. As such, Blake believes that she’s the one who made Adam the monster he is, when audience members can obviously tell that’s not the case. It’s just Blake putting herself down and Sun points out how this is probably something Adam said to her to make her feel small. If you’re not getting it by now, Sun is basically where Blake learns a lot of Adam’s tactics from and eventually, she becomes a much better person at handling Adam’s BS. The reason why he knows all this is from his own personal experience. To ensure there’s no “mystery box” element, I’m gonna nip it in the bud and say his father’s the RWBY version of King Louie… Which given how he sings about wanting “man’s red flower” and how people compare Adam to Mowgli because he killed Sienna Khan…

Oooooooh, this could be really cool but this is a tweak, not a fanfic. FOCUS! … I want to say that Adam was an experiment by Vacuan scientists (read: shamans who prefer using Dust as science) before being dumped to the Schnees as part of a deal and that’s how we got his Semblance being as weird as it is.

Back at Haven’s dorm, RWYJNR are shaken up from the battle, not to mention Ruby having personally seen her friend’s father murder someone before her eyes. Oscar himself is rather shaken up. Qrow is the only person unfazed, but that’s because he’s always drunk instead. While everyone takes their time in recovering, Ruby and Oscar talk about the future, as Heather was an experienced Huntress. This is where the infamous speech comes in, but Ruby doesn’t blame Salem for killing Penny and Pyrrha, rather she blames Cinder, then mentions how she’s a pawn of Salem and expresses doubt if they could beat her.

Cut to the Albains. They have no communications with Adam and so they have to move on their own. One of them decides “let’s kill Kali!” and the other’s like “uh, isn’t that going to cause people to turn against us?” “No, no, it’s okay dude, they can trust us!” all while Ilia is like “… wtf?” and Yuma’s like “only here for a few minutes, use me effectively.”

Episode 6

Qrow investigates and finds that all the other Huntsmen have met unfortunate ends and all assigned to the same quest: stop the bandits. He mutters about how Raven could do such a thing, only to find a young girl crying and asking for her mother. It’s made clear that this is Heather’s kid and Qrow, for the first time in a longass while, begins to feel remorse, if only because he mistook her for Ruby.

We cut to Raven as she has a meeting with Vernal, Hazel, and Adam. It’s clear that RWYJNR are gonna try and return and rather than prepare for a rematch, Raven proposes to nip it in the bud. She also dotes on Adam a bit, saying how he is better than Yang in every way possible. We don’t know the full extent of what she means just yet, but we’ll find out later.

Ren and Yang have a chat about Raven. Ren’s absolutely pissed that Yang’s mother is the person who torched his town and stole his friend (he assumes she’s kidnapped and is being forced to fight against her will) while Yang is just as irritated that Raven tried to use her friend as leverage. Weiss copes with having seen someone die in front of her and Nora comforts her, casually joking that, if Vernal tried that on her, she’d be sorry. Ruby, Oscar and Jaune discuss on what to do going forward, having Ozpin come out so that they can get some sort of advice, much to Jaune’s chagrin.

Ozpin, however, refuses to speak. Before Jaune could get upset with Oz, he cites that even walls have ears. Cut to Yang as she sees a red-eyed raven outside her house. She quickly remembers the red-eyed raven from Patch, both the one that screamed at Ruby and the one that was there when she lost her arm. She instantly goes on the defensive as the bird flies through the window and changes to Raven. Yang asks how she can do that and she merely says “Oz did this to me.” End of episode.

Episode 7

Everyone rushes in as Raven brings in her proposition: Surrender Yang and she’ll spare the rest of the group. Refuse and they will have the fight come to them. Ozpin interjects and offers Yang in trade for the Spring Maiden, to which everyone, Qrow included, goes “WHAT THE ACTUAL F, DUDE!?” The two have a little back and forth as Ozpin makes clear that she chose to have these powers and points out that if she was salty about being able to turn into a bird at free will without any drawbacks, he could gladly take them back by force. This casual threat is enough to make Raven back off, only to warn the others that a storm is coming.

With that, Ozpin is forced to explain quite a bit. This, unfortunately, is where we can’t mince the scene, since Ozpin has to explain what’s going on. I guess the only way to make it more effective is a little back and forth where the characters share what they do know about Ozpin’s magic and Ozpin fills them in on what they don’t. First and foremost, Yang is not upset about Ozpin and BIRDS. The person being upset is Jaune, especially since Ozpin reveals that not only did he create the Maidens in the first place, but also that by “reincarnate” he meant inhabit the body of a young boy. This is made worse when he reveals accidentally that he is able to reincarnate earlier than intended if he chooses to die instead of being killed.

This sets Jaune off since, as far as he can tell, Ozpin is responsible for Pyrrha’s death more than Cinder. Cinder may have killed her, but it’s Ozpin who not only put Pyrrha in that position, but also paved the way for Cinder to overpower her. Before they could get into a tussle, Yang shouts and has Ozpin promise “no more lies, no more half truths”. He obviously lies about promising that and Qrow can see the crossed fingers behind his back.

We then end with Cinder and co arriving to make negotiations with Raven.

Episode 8

The beginning actually stays the same, all things considered. The only massive change is that Yang is not easily convinced to want Blake back because Weiss told her “lol, my mummy was drunk so shut it”. In fact, we see the others talk about Blake and Jaune is the most bitter, even more than Yang, because Blake was a White Fang member and refused to share any information regarding them, which could have led to an easier time dealing with the Fall.

Ruby puts her foot down and tells Jaune to stop being so salty over Pyrrha’s death, but is quickly outvoted since Ren and Nora are also upset that Pyrrha died. She’s frustrated and goes to interrupt Qrow and Ozpin discussing what to do regarding Raven. She asks Ozpin what he knows about the Silver Eyes, saying how it’s the only thing that might incapacitate Vernal. Ozpin tells her he doesn’t know too much about Silver Eyes, as he did not have any himself, but reassures her that the Silver Eyes would have no impact on a Maiden.

Raven and Cinder chat and Cinder makes it clear that it’s time for the Spring Maiden to relinquish her powers to her, reassuring Vernal that she can make it quick and painless. Raven stops Cinder and says that Ruby and the others have set their sights on the Spring Maiden and that if she were to take them now, she’d have a target on her back, reminding Cinder of the Silver Eyes. She then makes a proposal. Salem has given them a blank check on how Haven falls since they have all the cards on the table, so why not kill two birds with one stone… Or rather, kill one crow and seven kids with one army?

Blake’s bit with Ilia stays the same as well, but the difference is that Ilia wants to keep Blake for herself instead of sending her to Adam, saying how she can keep her safe. Yes, this edges her more into the Psycho Lesbian route, but unintentionally. She genuinely cares for Blake’s well-being and not in some sort of yandere bit. Sun intervenes and the group runs back to the house while the guards have a war with the White Fang.

Episode 9

We instantly kick off the Battle of Menagerie instead of a long, drawn out sequence of Raven talking with Cinder. It mostly stays the same, but how the house catches fire is different. Blake sees Ilia in the dark, shoots her and goes “rly?”, though, in the middle of this, the Albains begin to fight amongst each other.

Corsac is willing to kill the Belladonnas for the cause (“THEY’VE GIVEN US NOTHING BUT GRIEF!”) while Fennec is trying to convince him that Adam is a lost cause and they need to replace him. During this scuffle, it’s revealed that Corsac was the one who set up that roadside ambush that killed Ghira, believing that Ghira was weak and that they needed a stronger leader ready to give the Faunus much needed progress. Fennec tells him that all it’s given them is chaos.

The two clash and set the house ablaze. Ilia realizes that Blake would be in immediate danger and struggles to save her instead of seeing the assassination to the end, thus redeeming her as she nearly dies saving Blake. Sun sacrifices himself to get Kali out of the burning building, but its revealed to have been his Semblance at work. When Sun shows up, Blake finally slaps him for realises, and this time, for good reason.

Blake gives her “humans didn’t do this” speech, Ilia playing a recording of Corsac’s hand in Ghira’s death, and this motivates the crowd to fight for Haven. Fennec emerges, heavily burned and carrying his brother’s tattered cloak. He has much to atone for and offers to remain on Menagerie with Kali to establish a new White Fang, giving Blake the task to destroy the old one. Ilia, Sun, and Blake go with the Menagerian army to Haven, with their captain, having comedically been neglected all Volume, finally getting the spotlight… He’s going to steal Robyn’s line of “still here, everyone” because honestly, that has a better spot here than in the show proper.

Episode 10

Lionheart messages the crew that Raven had left Vernal at his office and they go. They know full well it’s a trap and so Qrow elects to stay behind in bird form. Lionheart instantly stammers and freaks as he sees kids and not Qrow.

Lionheart: W-where is Qrow?

Ruby: I don’t know if you’ve heard of us, but we’re Teams RWBY and JNPR. We’ve accomplished many things without an adult to save us or tell us what to do-

Weiss: Uh, technically-

Ruby: {whispers to Weiss} Ssssh! You’re ruining my groove! {speaks to Lionheart} Even though we’re incomplete, our friends are by our side. And that’s why… {she points her sniper rifle at Lionheart} We’re not going to fall for your tricks!

As she fires, a fireball comes out and there’s a large explosion as Cinder flies through the smoke. The Battle of Haven begins as, one by one, the villains enter the fray. First Cinder, then Emerald and Mercury, then Raven and Vernal, and lastly Hazel. Lionheart is reluctant to fight, but Oscar forces his hand.

Meanwhile, outside, Qrow is attacked by Adam and the two duel it out for the episode. Maybe have Qrow quip a line like “so, you’re the one who severed my niece’s arm? Well, why don’t you give me a leg?” and some joke about equivalent exchange that would be funnier if Vic had voiced Qrow in this universe.

I’m not gonna sugar coat it, the Battle of Haven, at least in the opening act, is a battle royale and one that V5 should have been. We have six people going up against six people, each of them taking turns at their opponents and switching out every now and then, the only consistent battle pairings are Qrow vs. Adam and Lionheart vs. Ozpin. By the midway point, though, the fight has been finalized to…

· Jaune vs. Cinder

· Ren vs. Raven

· Weiss vs. Vernal

· Nora vs. Emerald

· Yang vs. Mercury

· Ruby vs. Hazel

Each of them gives their own reason why they’re fighting. Jaune and Ren want to make their opponent pay, Weiss wants Vernal to give her back her weapon (yeah, she never gave it back), Yang is angry that Mercury framed her, Nora tries to help Ren but is interrupted by Emerald, and Ruby fights Hazel to reason with him.

Eventually, the battle comes to a head when Emerald uses her illusion powers and Ruby witnesses it. She quickly realizes she caused Pyrrha to dismantle Penny and goes ballistic. Before Emerald knows it, she gets speed blitzed and beaten up by Ruby’s fists. Ruby then chops off Mercury’s prosthetics as soon as she notices them, knocking both out of the fight. It then becomes a little one-sided as Nora helps Ren fight Raven and Yang helps Ruby fight Hazel, where Ruby gives her “I’m angry” line.

Jaune nearly getting killed by Cinder, along with Weiss’s aura running out and screaming in pain, causes Ruby’s Silver Eyes to go off as it begins to burn Cinder. Cinder gives her a fireball to the chest in desperation, destroying Ruby’s aura and leaving her venerable for a hit. Jaune swings his sword and, while he misses like in the original, gives Cinder a deep cut on her cheek, right below where the burn is. Qrow’s fight with Adam knocks him into the room and Adam waltzes in, giving Yang the PTSD trip of a lifetime, not helped by Adam gloating…

“I didn’t realize that when we fought at Beacon, I was facing Raven’s own daughter… Now I know what she means when she said I was the superior child!”

Boom! Plot twist! Adam’s Raven’s son! Well, adopted son. But still!

Also, Cinder decides to make Jaune’s life a living hell by trying to stab Weiss… But Ruby runs and takes the blow for her, ending the episode.

Episode 11

The episode starts off rather similarly, with the exception of Ruby being the one that’s mortally wounded. Jaune cries and says “we need you!”, which given what he said in Volume 4, fits better.

The major remainder of the fight is focused on fighting Hazel, Lionheart and Adam, as Emerald and Mercury are still out of commission and Cinder, Raven, and Vernal f off to the vault. The two prove to be a powerhouse, especially since Hazel powers up Adam’s Moonslices and Lionheart handing Hazel more Dust Crystals. Ruby heals up and tells Jaune “whatever you’re doing, don’t stop”, only for Jaune to go “then don’t take my hands off the wound!”

Pretty standard battle and we have a reveal that Raven was the true Maiden.

Episode 12

The battle comes to a second head when Blake’s army arrives, forcing Adam to leave the battle and confront Blake. His fight happens like before, but Blake appears behind him instead of in the path of the blade.

Hazel, meanwhile, is not tiring out for a second. Not even a stab from a Lancer is enough to take him out. Ruby comes to and evens out the battle by speed blitzing him. Yang and Blake meet each other for the first time, but as Yang tries to reconcile with Blake, not only is she reminded of the bitter words she gave her in V3, but Adam’s presence makes it a hard-emotional hurdle to break. As soon as Oscar warns Yang that the Relic of Knowledge should not fall in to the wrong hands (during this, he explains what’s so important about the Vault), Yang goes after Raven, Cinder, and Vernal, much to Ruby’s dismay. She ends up losing her arm from Mercury grabbing it.

The Battle of the Bitches remains unchanged because it is GOAT.

Episode 13

The final episode of the Volume (because Volumes 6 & 7 are also 13 episodes long) has Blake defeating Adam, with Sun breaking off one of his horns because Monkey King. Sun gives chase, only for Adam to almost kill him were it not for Ilia saving Sun. You can have it so that Ilia is killed by Adam here.

Blake joins in and we have a fight scene with Hazel & Lionheart vs RWBJNROQ. It’s short, but everyone gets a hit in. Ruby realizes that there’s only one way to stop Hazel. She flies over and aims her sniper rifle at the Dust Crystals on Hazel’s arms. Weiss and Blake hold Hazel down with Glyphs and Shadows as Hazel looks at Ruby. He quickly realizes what she’s doing and asks:

Hazel: What do you think you’re doing!? What would Gretchen think of this?!

Ruby: … You made your choice.

BANG! As the sniper rifle hits the crystal, it triggers a chain reaction that causes Hazel to explode, killing him in the process.

Cut to Yang and Raven. The two have a stand off as Yang begins to piece everything together. We have a flashback of the fall of Kuroyuri, this time from the little girl’s perspective. She’s upset since she brought the Bandits to the place and caused enough havoc to have it be destroyed by Grimm. She protests this to Raven who, having run out of patience for her, stabs her and says how she’ll use her powers in ways she can never imagine, mirroring how Cinder killed Pyrrha.

Yang bitterly calls out Raven for murdering a child and Raven claims it was mercy. They get into a heated argument, but no one wishes to move. It becomes apparent that, with Raven out of aura and Yang without an arm and also having very low aura, this battle will not only be quick, but deadly. And yet, the battle lasts for a good chunk of time as the two try to avoid getting hit, Yang out maneuvering Raven while Raven uses her magic. It ends with Yang delivering a fatal punch to Raven’s gut as Raven lays dying in her arms. Raven warns her that, should she take the Relic, Salem will hunt her down. As such, she refuses to give her the Maiden Powers and dies without Yang in her thoughts. Yang goes to get the Relic, then begins to cry.

Emerald awakens from the sound of the explosion and finds that she is out numbered. She goes all “CINDER WILL TAKE ALL OF YOU OUT!” before Yang comes up and devastates Emerald so much, she makes the Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Salem. However, this isn’t a jump scare. Rather, it’s a full-on boss battle as RWBY try to face it like in the opening. While they realize it’s a hallucination, their mind makes it so real that one hit from it is enough to knock Yang out.

Lionheart sees this and, deciding to be brave for the first (and last) time in a long while, stockpiles the remaining Dust Crystals he has and tells the others to get out as he deals with the illusion. Before they do, he tells Oscar to tell the others about his betrayal. Although he was brave in this final moment, he wants everyone to know he was always a coward. He then sets the crystals into overdrive and explodes, taking both him and the illusion out, but also collapsing Haven’s main hall down and with it, the entrance to the Vault.

The group are confronted with police and concerned Faunus… Cut to a few days later as Menagerian Faunus are welcomed with open arms and news of Lionheart’s heroic sacrifice makes headlines. A manhunt is put out for Adam, Emerald, and Mercury, with Cinder being presumed dead.

After having rested for a bit, Ruby confronts Jaune about wanting to kill Cinder and tells him that she doesn’t feel anything good when she hurt Emerald and Mercury and even feels horrible for having killed Hazel. Nora and Ren join in and tell Jaune not to doubt himself for a second. Basically, that bit in V7 is here. RNJR disbands, but not without a tearjerking remark from Jaune where he says that “at least one team is back together”… Not bitterly, surprisingly enough. Oscar joins in and asks Jaune if he’s willing to take him in. Jaune asks for his name so they can figure out how to name themselves and when he hears that it’s Oscar Pine, he just chuckles and says “Well, there’s always JNPR…”

Blake and Yang are clearly shown to not be back together, but Yang is willing to let Blake stay for now because that’s all that matters. Weiss and Ruby talk about Ruby sacrificing herself for Weiss and she chews her out in a rather sweet way. Qrow, meanwhile, pours one out for Raven. She may have been a bitch, but she was still his sister. Oscar comes and calls for a meeting. With the vault no longer accessible for the time being and the Spring Maiden having gone to someone random, they have no choice but to leave for Atlas. There’s a pause before Weiss goes “WHAT THE FU-”

Roll credits.

DVD Exclusive Episode

This is where we have the STRQ flashback episode now that one of the core members is dead. It is a simple how they formed and how they eventually left, with Raven leaving STRQ on her own terms soon after she’s inducted into the shadow war, Summer leaving on her final mission assigned by Ozpin, and Taiyang retiring as a Huntsman. Qrow, the last one, laments on how everyone he loves is gone and is driven to drink more, foreshadowing to his alcoholism spike in V6. Ozpin comes to him and gives him a rather heartwarming speech about how time heals all wounds, using RWBY and JNPR as examples of this.

As he ends the speech, we end on a small girl in the middle of Shion village, now going through a rebuilding, before her eyes flare up and she begins to use gusts of wind to help clean up the debris.

And that’s how you tweak Volume 5. Granted, a lot of stuff has been changed and makes at least one hole in the V6 Tweak, namely the DVD exclusive episode for that. To which I say… Make it an extended look at the beginnings of Remnant 2.0. Apparently, there was a lot more information RT couldn’t squeeze into The Lost Fable, so do that.

With that, the Tweaking Series is finally done. I don’t think I’ll do V8 unless it proves to be just as problematic as V7, V6, or V5. This has been a rather entertaining ride and I hope you guys loved these entries. Adios, amigos.

#RWDE #Rewrite #RWBY #RWBY Rewrite