#pyrrha: *war flashbacks*
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Prof. Rose AU Concept
To be clear this isn't the only Au/ comic I'll put the model in but it is the one that comes to mind for me most often.
All of team RWBY are born into the previous generation.
Ruby would've never thought of herself as the teaching type of Huntress and yet here she was in Beacon showing students how to Huntress with the best of them.
So yeah she was a bit late to the classes she taught, and liked to dress... Um, a bit messily BUT THAT WAS HER METHOD GOSH DANGIT!
Besides she was a adult, and a awesome one at that. Heck Gynda barely ever scolded her... Anymore.
Today was no different either as she walked to the auditorium. Near the launch pad, watching as new students came flocking out looking around with stars in their eyes and hope in their hearts.
She remembered being like that back then... Okay, maybe not like that one blonde blowing chunks into the garbage can but still.
A bunch of Weiss's Dust packed, she was Enough reminiscing she had stuff to do like being a awesome partner, moving her friend's Dust to their room. Now she didn't need to pay extra for them to navigate Beacon and, and, ACHOO!!!
'Boom!'
What Was This Place Cursed!? Really? the same spot she blew up I on her first day her all those years ago!
At least she didn't have a fuming Weiss to deal with this time again... Right now.
She sat there sulking remembering back then to. That'd nearly broken her back in the day. But she knew better now, nobody would come to help he-
"You okay?" She blinked, looking up and meeting gazes with a boy.
"Aren't you the guy who blew chunks in the trash?" And like that she'd instantly insulted one of her students and a nice cute one too... Wait, cute?
"Hey I have motion sickness! It's a common problem that a lot of people have." They walked through the school, him quick to follow her lead. The boys name was Jaune, obviously he was a first year.
And he wielded a classic bastard sword with a mecha-shifting sheath/ shield. Nothing fancy but the metal was like freakishly durable and seemed immune to rust! She'd admit to drooling over the thought of what she could make with a alloy like that.
Oh And Jaune Was A Arc!
A Actual Arc! To most people that wouldn't mean much, heck to hear even just a few years ago it wouldn't mean much. But now that she and her team were Part of Ozpins super secret decret circle she knew better.
Jaune came from a long line of heroes, heroes who fought against Salem and in just about every war you could look up. Heck one of the two people exemplified on the statue were a Arc!
Yep Jaune was gonne do great, awesome things, she just had a gut feeling about these sorta things. He even got that she was older then him! And with her baby face that was saying something!
Though admittedly he did only think she was a senior, but still. Jaune was hitting every box to being her favorite student this year. She was so excited she was gushing about her new friend to Glynda and the rest of the staff that night.
Still if Jaune was gonna be her new favorite student she wanted to know everything about him she could. Some research was in order... And he cheated his way into Beacon...
Cool, and here she was expecting worse like him being a former terrorist or bandit like Blake or her uncle Qrow. He just never went to combat school.
That wasn't so bad, he probably had the basics down and could he taught the rest. Yep, everything would be A-Okay!
-0-0-0-
EVERYTHING WAS NOT A-OKAY!!! Heck It wasn't even C-Okay! It was F-Bad! Real Bad! Jaune Didn't Have Aura! Nope Nadda! HOW!?
What Kinda Parents Didn't Unlock Thier Kids Auras When They Wanted To Fight Grimm!
Thank God Pyrrha There... Touching his chest, unlocking his aura... One of the most intimate acts you could share with another person...
Huh? She, she didn't like that... At all. Though there were some hiccups Jaune and his team managed to pass, with Jaune leading it... Yeah she was getting flashbacks to her first year.
The party started and his team was the center of attention or to be more accurate Pyrrha and very very much not normal knees. Good thing Jaune seemed to catch on quick cuz he quickly took the lead and acted like a buffer between her adoring fans. And now Pyrrha was blushing as she looked to him.
Did she like him... No.
No no no no NO!
Okay, so maybe she had a few drinks, but she was a adult so it was fine... Besides the drinks just made Jaune look yummiest after all... Yummier?
She dragged him off for super secret team leaders advice that none of the other leaders needed. Why would they?
Nope Jaune was her friend and student, which meant she won, Pyrrha was just his partner.
So they talked, about how imitation went, about his family (And geez what a family) and what he wanted to be... Like her? Her?
"Yeah, I looked some videos up and figured out you were some kinda hero Craterfac-, I mean Ms. Rose.
Nope! She did not like that! And refused to let it stand. And when he dared to refuse her refusal she decided force was needed and tackled him down.
Pinning down her new friend/ student she threatened him to start calling her Ruby again like all her friends only to freeze up. Becaus something was pushing up against her. Something big and hard, and in Jaune's pants... Oh!
And like that he was off, rushing away with a absolutely tomato colored face. And she was left there, everything clicking in her head and tingling in her body... Oh, so she had a crush on Jaune...
And didn't that present a problem, Ruby Awesome Rose had butt tons of experience in a lot of stuff.
Fighting Grimm, Weapon Repair, Baking... But romance was very much not her field. And Weiss and Yang were nowhere in sight to ask for advice. Well, at least there was once source of study she had available on hand.
Thank Oum for Blake and her books, she was sure they'd make Great references material...
And great they did, especially with a drink or two... Yep Jaune could definitely be like these studs and... Heheh and do fun stuff to her.
Actually 'Hic' why did she never think about making babies? She was a grown woman, and Jaune she could chisel into a super hunky knight.
Yeah, the more she thought of it the better that idea got. And drinks made the plan all the sexier. utterly sloshed, she worked another orgasm off of watching a teacher student porno, and found herself quite annoyed.
Why was she using this? There was a cute dork who just passed Initiation AKA was totally and utterly legal.
Her mind made up she whipped out her Scroll and made her way down go JNPR's room. Knocking on it, waiting for someone to answer, for 'Him' to answer, the door opening her prize came half confused as and all flustered as he readied to speak. But she didn't let him, after all she wanted a taste really bad...
Lips smacking she pulled back and found him landing flat on him ass face red as a tomato and pitching a new tent.
Her drunk mind worked a lightbulb and she smiled. .
That was just the sorta reaction she wanted, she would pressed on, already getting ready to pull down her top but she could hear the familiar sound of Glynda's heels as she made her way there.
-0-0-0-
Jaune was flustered, not sure how he was gonna face Prof. Rose, yep, Professor, Ruby as it turned out wasn't just some quirky fourth year student. Nope, his dumb butt went and made buddies with his teacher... He could already hear the bullies cracking their knuckles. That team CRDL group had been bugging him ever since, but somehow that wasn’t even the worst of it. Nope, the worst was Ruby herself, well… What she did while drunk…
His cheeks pinked, still vaguely recalling the taste of strawberries… He really needed to clear the air, he knew asses who tried to take advantage of his sisters when they were drunk and he had no intention of falling in with that lot.
All he could do was try to clear the air with miss Rose and hope she would be understanding, she might’ve kissed him but he did lean into it instead of rejecting it. So even if others would argue it he felt guilty… Still he was in his first class here and she was gonna teach it, fingers crossed she wouldn’t hate his… His. Sexy… Wha!? No he meant what was she wearing!?
-0-0-0-
One awesome thing about having a Drunkle Qrow was that Ruby Rose was a expert drinker, highly adapted and incredibly quick to bounce back. AKA no hang overs and a crystal clear memory… And oh did she make great memories last night!
Hehe, he tasted like honey, and his face got all red, she bit her lip thinking about it, okay so yep Ruby Rose had it bad. And usually she might hesitate, but Drunk Ruby had nailed the assist! And now Ruby knew Jaune was interested and that she wanted it!
Oh she panicked at first, but then looked up the rule book and yeppers it was all cool and legal! Heck her dating Jaune wasn’t nearly as bad as half the stuff her team got into back when they were students!
Maybe when she was a freshman she might’ve panicked, have second guessed herself… But that was then, she’d gone through to much, to many difficult experiences to be thwarted by romance… Mt. Glenn… Dr. Merlot and Salem’s sinister circle and the Hunters disappearing in Mistral. Ruby Rose had faced death and danger on scales most hunters would never know.
And from them she’d learned above all else the value in being decisive, and Ruby Decisive Rose had a new goal! And that goal was a blonde young knight husbando! Mark her words! Ruby Rose was Gonna get herself a man! And Jaune Arc didn’t stand a chance!
She would use all the knowledge and know how of Blake’s many smutty books, and years observing her big sis flirting to her full advantage! She was no longer a member of the itty bitty boobie club dangit, she had Ruboobies to match her Bubooty! And she was gonna use it to it’s full effect!
And Ozpin was all for her making some Silver Eyed Babies! Which meant Jaune Arc was as good as her’s! Ruby Rose had it going on and every student in the class had their eyes on her in her sexy dress including Jaune!
Operation Lancaster Start!
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there's something to the reveal that raven and qrow were sent to beacon to learn how to kill huntsmen. it's not just fun little backstory tidbit, not when the following volume they pretty much distances qrow away from it; he idolized the grimm reaper, a huntress, before beacon; that creates a reason for doubt that qrow was ever there for what the tribe wanted him to do.
cinder & co pretended to be students from haven. the fall of beacon was kick-started by students severely harming or killing other students during the tournament; yang breaks mercury's leg in an episode called 'fall'. it gets followed by 'beginning of the end', a flashback episode during which cinder & co attack amber, the fall maiden, before getting back to the present day and the aftermath of 'fall'. pyrrha kills penny in 'PVP', a player vs player. and it's in 'end of the beginning' when cinder kills pyrrha, ozpin's candidate for the fall maiden.
someone without a goal of actually becoming a huntress, attending an academy with a goal that involves killing... the beginning of the end and the end of the beginning; the first act. the first move.
something something... in war, truth—knowledge—is the first casualty.
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It’s almost 2024 here are my Alecto wishes and predictions:
Wishes:
Nobody dies (not likely)
We see more of Gideon numero uno and Matias and Marta and Ortus fighting the RB in the river.
More flashbacks with the OG Lyctors while they create the trials.
Harrow and Gideon get happy endings with their souls and bodies in tact and their own and healthy and whole. (Also not likely)
Gideon confronts dear old dad about his whole…vibe.
More Jod. I hate him but god he is a compelling character.
I want an explanation about all the mellon imagery and all the mellons in general.
Judith and Carona fuck nasty.
Pyrrha and Gideon having a fucked up step mom/step kid vibe.
Predictions:
Cassiopeia is alive somewhere.
Pyrrha is probably not gonna make it (I hate it so much but context clues suggest)
Ianthe and Harrow did in fact meet BoE with Carona and Cam before the Harrow Labotomy and Jods appearance.
They go through the stoma into hell to fix what is wrong in the river. The ghosts of Dulce and Abigail help. Harrow is probably the one to have to do this and reckon with her war crime ghosts.
Wake comes back in some form
Alecto hates Gideon cus she’s Jods kid but then also loves her because she is so so human. They make ass jokes together and talk about swords.
#alecto the ninth#alecto the first#tlt#the locked tomb#the locked tomb predictions#tlt wishes hopes and dreams
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Sniper Jaune: Hunt or be hunted (Note: Summer will appear in this au sometimes later)
Glynda: Alright childrens, today’s assignment is called hunt or be hunted. The rules are simple there are 2 4-man teams, each are selected randomly. The 2 teams will compete with each other, the teams are needed to take a red flag that is somewhere inside this forest while trying to survive from the hunter as long as they could. But try to be aware of your surroundings, as one pf you will be the hunter there will be one hunter that i choose from one of you will be watching every movement of these 2 teams hidden somewhere in this forest. If one of your teammates or you are able to incapacitate the hunter, your team will win instantly. I’ll be seeing you kids in the bullhead landing pad in 10 minutes
[Bullhead landing pad, 5 minutes later]
Ruby: Pyrrha!!! We’re a team!!!
Pyrrha: Yes Ruby, it is quite fortunate that we are both on one team. I guess all of us got lucky
Yang: Hell yeah we are! Even Blakey over here is relieved by the fact that we are a team!
Blake: I didn’t say that Yang, all i say was we got lucky that Team CRDL is still they’re own team. Well, mainly because they are the most hated team in beacon
Ruby: But i still wonder who is the hunter in this assignment
Glynda: For the Hunter role today, the role goes to Jaune Arc.
Cardin (In the distance): HAHAHAHAHA This’ll be easy as hell, Jauney boy couldn’t even do shit!
Ruby: [Flashback to the firing range] *Squeak* Please tell me this isn’t real!
Yang: What isn’t real?
Ruby: About Jaune becoming the hunter! He’s too good!
Pyrrha : What do you mean he is too good?
Ruby: Remember yesterday when i go to the firing range? Jaune is there and he betting me 50 Lien if one of us could land 10 shot on the vital parts as fast as we can!
Blake: You’re worrying too much Ruby, this is Jaune we’re talking about, so i think you’re the one who wins the bet
Ruby: HE WON THE BET BLAKE! I’VE NEVER SEEN A SNIPER BEING THAT GOOD! HIS AIM IS EVEN OFF THE LAST SHOT BY 10 MILLIMETER!
PYB:.………
[4 minutes later]
Jaune: Sorry i’m late. I’m ready now Ms. Goodwitch!
Yang: Well V-Boy, you’re over prepared yourself
Jaune: Seeing that none of the students wanted to be the Hunter, i need a lot of things since i will be at the forest. Good luck everyone!
[5 hours later]
Glynda: Well class, it seems that none of you found the flag survived the hunter long enough. But i have to give credit to Team PBRY (Plum-berry) for surviving the longest from Mr. Arc.
Entire student body: *Having a war flashback due to all of them getting ‘killed’ so fast, they don’t even know where the shot was from*
Yang: Ruby?
Ruby: Yeah, Yang?
Yang: I’m soooo sorry for not trusting you, i never seen anyone incapacitated someone that fast. Even faster than mom
Ruby: Don’t worry Yang
#jaune arc#rwby#ruby rose#yang xiao long#blake belladonna#pyrrha nikos#cardin winchester#Sniper Jaune AU
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Okay, OKAY, I know right now the FNDM is flooded with theories about who the Hell Knight (what I'm calling this GrimDark Bastard) is. Some people think it's Jaune, some don't.
BUT what if we're going about this the wrong way?
So Jaune's weapon, Crocea Mors, is an Arc family heirloom from his great-great-grandfather who fought in The Great War. If you need a refresher on The Great War, here's a good summary.
Ozpin described it as "the largest war in recorded history" and for ten years, it was brutal and bloody.
Though Jaune never really talks about his ancestor, one could imply that he is well regarded in the Arc family if it's been passed down through generations. But what if Great Great Grandpappy Arc (G3A from now on) wasn't as heroic or knightly as we thought. What if G3A was a blood thirsty berserker? Just slaughtering anyone who opposed him, like a follower of Khorne wanting to add to the Skull Throne?
What if during the 70 years since the war ended, the Arc ancestors changed G3A's story to make him more appealing to the family? Hell, Crocea Mors translates to "yellow death" in Latin, even adding to the brutal imagery.
So then Jaune falls on his own in the Ever After and somehow has the truth revealed to him - that his ancestor was less this:
And more this:
And that image of the Hell Knight is some sort of mind fuckery flashback in which Jaune sees the brutal atrocities committed by G3A!
BUT! It wouldn't be so much as a way of breaking the poor Noodle, but freeing him. That Jaune is wracked with guilt over Penny, basically blaming himself for her and Pyrrha'a death but also lamenting the destruction of a family heirloom. But whatever magical fae Jaune runs into in the Ever After basically tells him "Naw, fam, your ancestor was an asshole. Freeing yourself of that sword is the best thing and here's why!"
This would lead to Jaune freeing himself of all of that guilt and letting go of Pyrrha and Penny and maybe even forging a new sword once he's free of the Ever After!
Thank you for coming to my DUST Talk
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would you ever write locked tomb fanfiction??
i have thought about fanfictions i would like to write but honestly i am just not motivated enough. perhaps if a whim strikes me. there is a lot of fic i would like to read... untapped market potential... not enough canon divergent aus. LOL but writing it is so much effort
here are some fics i would like
au where john can see the body
au where john and ianthe abscond with gideon-in-harrow’s-body instead of pyrrha at the end of htn. and so instead of nona it’s just like, gideon who is a hostage but also hanging out with her dad, who sucks. and ianthe, who also sucks? and it’s weird for everyone
john takes like five more minutes to reconstitute his bod after mercy murders him and mercy and augustine find out pyrrha's been "alive" this whole time. i don’t think much would change. but i would like to think about what they would say
"cytherea doesn't go to the first" au where the heirs and their cavaliers are able to figure out perfect lyctorhood without the threat of murder hanging over their heads. would cut between flashbacks of them at caanan house and the present as john tries (and fails) to indoctrinate them and also stave off a civil war. oof
harrow figures out time travel to save gideon's soul au except everyone remembers the future and everyone's alive now and this also just leads to civil war. boring
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Pyrrha had to die before Ironwood became a 'bad guy' because she would absolutely destroy him thanks to her semblance
#yknow because hes 'half made out of metal at this point'#she could literally just rip all the meral bits off of him#i need the meme of a big book and a small one next to each other#'this is rwby now' 'this is rwby if pyrrha had lived'#and then imagine the penny meet up#penny: 'itll be just like beacon again!'#pyrrha: *war flashbacks*#don't mind me#rwby#james ironwood#pyrrha nikos#penny polendina#iconic
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If you could choose any member of RWBYJNPR - including Pyrrha, let's assume an AU where she's alive - to replace Oscar as Oz's host, who would you choose?
Cool question! Having given it some thought, I think I'd have to go with Ren. For a bunch of different reasons that, when combined together, I think could potentially work well:
It's another guy host so we dodge the complications of slamming Ozpin into one of the girls' heads (something that, while compelling, isn't an issue I think RT should tackle)
But this time it's someone the fandom is already familiar with and, though a background character compared to Team RWBY, Ren is already well established while also being kind of a blank slate? Pre-revenge arc Ren was still pretty open-ended in terms of characterization while simultaneously having some basic traits that fans enjoyed. He seems like a good balance between someone the fandom feels like they know and someone whose personality we wouldn't mind changing a bit as a result of the merge
Immediate reason for why Team JNR is sticking around for the war/helping our primary protagonists when arguably the story should have left them behind by now
Interesting tension between Team JNR and Ozpin where they have to reconcile their teammate housing the man who (according to Jaune) is responsible for Pyrrha's death. Take the hints we got for that in the canon — anger at the fireside, accusing Oscar of being Ozpin in disguise, etc. — and expand it into an actual arc for Ren
Imo Ren is one of (if not the) most level-headed in the group. He's a good candidate for dealing with this kind of nonsense
On the flip-side though, tie that into his "My semblance is literally shutting down my emotions, so guess how well I'm handling the erosion of my identity? Not well, thanks!"
Back in Volume 4 Ren demonstrated an interest in souls, semblances, and how powerful skills reflect one's identity. Move that conversation back a bit and like Blake's book, it could serve as foreshadowing
Literal orphan whose entire family now consists of Nora and (to a lesser extent) the rest of the RWBYJNR team, so we're not left with any questions like, "Oscar just ditched his aunt and she's never mentioned again? Really?"
Also unlike Oscar who lacks long-term goals, Ren is established as wanting to be a huntsmen. Much like Pyrrha becoming a Maiden, this is (presumably) just a different way to achieve the primary end goal of helping Remnant, though the merge could be used to delve into the specifics of what Ren is looking for in his life
It's Ren who shows up on Ruby's doorstep post-Fall of Beacon, looking for Tai and Qrow so that Ozpin can get his cane and regroup. Handy that his new host knows the daughter/niece of two inner circle members! Cue Ruby eavesdropping on the conversation and deciding that she's going to get involved in whatever all this is
Perhaps an arc where Ren and Nora separate/don't officially get together because Ozpin has now made this into a trio. Personally, I like Renora as a couple and yeah, we saw in flashback that Ozpin has been in relationships before, but it's still different when it's the young adults in the flirting stage of the relationship managing their ancient headmaster as a third wheel. Nora still decides to figure out who she is without the both of them and ideally (for me anyway) Ozpin gets his own body/is released from the curse by the end of the story, giving them the freedom to come back together now that they're more mature, more experienced, and know that this is indeed what they want
Ideally Ren's Volume 8 views on them screwing up could be handled respectfully, with the added bonus of that being a very "like-minded soul" moment. Out of everyone thus far, Ren has displayed the most willingness to both accept fault ("I have made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child") and think about their actions on the large scale. Prior to being convinced that he was wrong, Ren is 100% the kind of guy who can step back, take stock of where his good intentions went wrong, and make changes moving forward
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*Jaune and Pyrrha are visiting the Arc house*
Jaune: Hey Dad, can we talk for a few moments?
Jaune’s dad: Sure, What is it?
Jaune: Well, as you know, Pyrrha’s currently a few months pregnant and lately she’s been having.....these....‘not too kind’ mood swings.
Jaune’s dad: Yep. That’s bound to happen with a pregnant lady.
Jaune: Well how did you deal with it? The pregnancies, from mom of course. You gotta be a field expert by now from the 8 kids. Got any tips.
Jaune’s dad, chuckling: How did I deal with it? *continue chuckling*
Jaune: Yeah, I could use any tips you can think of. Any.
Jaune’s dad: *still chuckling*
Jaune, confused: Dad?
Jaune dad: *puts his hand on his son’s shoulder and stops laughing*
Jaune: Uhh...
Jaune’s dad, solemnly: Pray.
Jaune, raising an eyebrow: Pardon?
Jaune’s dad: Pray every single morning that whatever she gets angry at that day wont be you. Pray that it’s the toaster, or the TV, the microwave, *urgently shakes Jaune* anything that can’t feel pain or fear.
Jaune, awkwardly:........*gently removes his father’s hands* Don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit?
Jaune’s dad: Oh I used to have the same mindset as you. Said he same thing to my old paps too.....I almost didn’t survive the first pregnancy.
Jaune:........
Jaune’s dad, having flashbacks: She could somehow sensed whenever I was fearful. Used it against me whenever. It’s as if the word mercy just became nonexistent during those dark times.
Jaune, worried: D-Dad?
Jaune’s dad, still having flashbacks: I remember my friends used to joke about it afterwards. Saying how at least it was over. How I don’t have to deal with it anymore....they didn’t know about the nightmares I had still. Waking up in a cold sweat, sometimes with tears running down my eyes.
Jaune: Dad?
Jaune’s dad: They appeared to frequently too. Like a demon clawing it’s way into my head, leaving its scars that I will still sometimes remember. *shakes head* No, it’s still not over for me. I’m fighting a fight.
Jaune, horrified:..........
Jaune’s dad, just staring into nothing: My friends didn’t know the pain. Their wives weren’t that bad for them. They didn’t know what I had to go through. *shakes head* I think it’s a curse. Ones that just affect the arc men. We make our wives endure pregnancies so many times that it’s only right that we suffer for it....
Jaune:.......
Jaune’s dad, sadly chucking: It’s kinda funny actually. I used to face death every single day as a hunter. Had plenty of close calls that left me with nightmares. But at the end of the day, nothing, and I mean nothing, left me more fearful than your mother. Hell, one time after the pregnancy I remember getting nearly killed by this giant Grimm, one that would make any grown man shake in his boots....you wanna know what I felt when I saw it’s jaws of death slowing coming towards my beatened body in comparison to your mother’s pregnancies?
Jaune:.......
Jaune’s dad: Not a god damn thing.
Jaune:.........
Jaune’s dad:.........
Jaune:.....d-dad?
Jaune’s dad, our of his trance: Huh?
Jaune: Uh...are you uhm.....are you okay?
Jaune’s dad, chuckling: Oh I’m fine. Just remembering the younger years with your mother.
Jaune:.....dad, you just described a war story to me.
Jaune’s dad, nodding: Yep, I sure did.
Jaune:.......
Jaune’s dad, clearing his throat: Anyway, What were we talking about? OH, right, tips. Just pray every morning and NEVER show fear.
Jaune, unsettled: O-Okay.
Jaune’s dad, smiling: Great. Glad to help.
Pyrrha, from the other room: Sweetie, can you come in here real quick?
Jaune: Y-Yeah. One second.
Jaune: *starts walking away*
Jaune’s dad: *clears throat*
Jaune, turning: ????
Jaune’s dad: *snaps finger before pointing up*
Jaune: *confused before nodding in realization and does a small prayer under his breath before going into the other room*
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https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBYcritics/comments/tti4kg/the_following_things_do_not_make_a_character_deep/
I usually aim criticism of RWBY towards CRWBY's worldbuilding techniques as a majority of their problems; how the stage is set and how writers adapt to changes their own stories may or may not make can adversely affect practically everything else about what it is they attempt to do in the story. However, after watching Yahtzee's video on "The Last of Us Part 2", I figured I'd weigh in on characterization within RWBY using a metric I agree with.
"Things What Don't Make a Character Deep or Compelling"
Getting hurt a lot
Being sad
Doing morally questionable things
Being a member of a minority
It's pretty straightforward.
Cool.
... Now where’s the part where you describe what makes a character deep and compelling? Yahtzee did it himself (’interesting to watch’ and ‘growth’), where’s yours?
For my part, I still hold up Torchwick and Pyrrha as some of the best characters depicted in the series, the former being the best villain ever to come out in the series (in the same way "Firefly" was Joss Whedon's best work that side of the Avengers), and the latter having compelling personal and inter-personal arcs shown through her time in the story that haven't been equaled.
Yes the compelling arc of not wanting to be put on a pedestal...which she mentions once...and never again...and doesn’t even glare at Weiss for smack talking Jaune for NOT putting her on a pedestal...
And...the Maiden thing...which by common critic standards was completely dropped...
And...Uh...Oh yeah...
B-b-but we have Roman who...never wins a straight fight...is a lacky to Cinder...fails in all his plans...and got eaten like a chump...
..Hm. Me thinks this is more nostalgia than anything concrete.
From Volume 4 on, it seems that the only attempts to develop characters fall under one of the four "options" on this list with #2 being the biggest crutch of the series. As an example, I'd be surprised that if after the initial freakout of Ruby finding out that Jaune killed Penny the second time there was any long-lasting impact on Ruby's character because of it, especially in her relationship with Jaune. As another instance, Cinder utilizes three of the four entries, all four depending on the headcanon. That character has been all across of the spectrum of bodily harm, from getting her teeth kicked in and getting pitched in to an abyss to hiding under Salem's dress.
Right, because Ruby Rose, the same girl who never held it against her sister for lashing out against her during her time of grief, tried reasoning with Raven and gave Cordovon a warning before fighting back; would hold it against Jaune. I know what the point is but my point is that I don’t really think a guy suggesting this really understands Ruby’s character.
And gee, I wonder if that has been brought up before-
Watts: Oh, of course you are! Because that's just what you do, isn't it?
Watts willingly lets go of Cinder's Shadow Hand, as if he is allowing Cinder to drop him.
Watts: And how has that worked out for you? You stormed into Fria's room, thinking you can take on Ironwood's top fighter and war machine. But you couldn't. (Cinder has a flashback of her battle with Fria, Penny and Winter) And that machine became the Winter Maiden. Oh, and let's not forget your deal with Raven Branwen. (Cinder has another flashback, of her defeat by Raven) Get all your enemies in one place so you'd have a shot at revenge. If only someone could have warned you against such a miserable idea. Oh wait, I did! But you pushed ahead and you lost it, when all you had to do was your job!
Cinder's expression becomes increasingly angry; her Maiden powers form a vortex of orange energy around her.
Watts: You think you're entitled to everything just because you've suffered, but suffering isn't enough! (Cinder has a third flashback, of her abusive childhood) You can't just be strong, you have to be smart! You can't just be deserving, you have to be worthy! But all you have ever been, is a bloody migrane!
The show routinely does a better job deconstructing characters than the fucking critics.
All this to say that characters taking some sort of beating is kind of the standard in RWBY and the story as a whole suffers for it. There's a "status quo" that's maintained by the characters being in such poor of shape (mental or physical) that they don't have any time or the means to progress or develop from where they started. The needle has barely moved for anyone with the possible exception of powers changing hands. That plays in to a different theory I have, but that's a post for another day.
You know-
Because it’s not like Yang has learned to not just trust everything told to her (shown in her criticism of RWBY and defiance of Ironwood)
Or Blake has become significantly more positive and relaxed (shown in her return from failing to make the Alban brother confess)
Or Weiss has taken more agency in her life (shown in how she actively works against Jacques)
Or Ruby has been forced to confront her own immaturity not once (Volume 4 finale) but TWICE (Risk).
But hey, that would require thought because the traits aren’t literally beaten into you.
TL;DR - Character progression in RWBY is hampered because pretty much everyone in story has one of these details as a defining characteristic, if not a standard state.
Because you should just be happy go lucky under such stressful situation while also effortlessly winning without harm or compromising yourself!
Seriously, Yahtzee’s own point wasn’t that these are bad, they just aren’t development on their own. And even Yahtzee’s view is reductionist, given how four out of the six OG Joestars never had what many would consider growth (Jonathan, Jotaro, Josuke and Giorno).
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War of the Roses: Perturbation: Part I / II
Weiss made her way through the forest until she found the blond buffoon dangling from a tree. He seemed to be held in place by the spear used by Pyrrha Nikos. The famous, no infamous Miló, who had fallen so many competitors. Weiss breathed in deep, "How could you possibly attend Beacon Academy without a landing strategy? How do you not know about Beacon Academy's initiation. Did you even attend a combat school? How could you possibly be so irresponsible with your own life?"
"Wait, what?" Jaune asked.
"How could you possibly attend Beacon Academy, the finest Huntsman academy in Remnant, while being so ignorant to the risks so involved?"
"I just?.." Jaune tried to say.
"You just?!" Weiss asked him, "You just what?! You just risked your own life, and potentially those of everyone else here because you were so egotistical as to think that you should be given special treatment?"
"Aren't you afraid we'll be on a team?" Jaune nervously asked.
"Sadly?" Weiss asked, "I have already made eye contact with... an individual."
Ruby then Petal Burst next to Weiss. "Best friends!" Ruby exclaimed, causing Weiss to scoff and hide her face in her hand. She then pointed up at Jaune, still hanging from a tree.
"Don't think that I've forgotten about you!"
"Oh, don't worry." Jaune stated, flashbacks to his sisters flying through his head, "I haven't forgotten."
"Well, good!" Weiss huffed.
"What did he do?" Ruby asked, and Weiss looked at her without lowering her arm. "What made you so Weissy?"
"Pardon?" Weiss asked, dropping her arm.
"Well, you're Weiss?" Ruby asked.
"Yes?" Weiss replied.
"Which is why you're Weissy." Ruby added.
"I'm what?" Weiss asked.
"What did he do?" Ruby asked.
Weiss put her hands on her hips and huffed, "He came to Beacon so thoroughly unprepared for the well known dangers of doing such."
"Like what?" Ruby asked, causing Weiss to let out a long, drawn out scoff.
"How could you possibly attend Beacon without knowing about their very well known initiation practice?"
Ruby looked about nervously. "Well, my dad and uncle came here, and Yang was coming here, and..."
Weiss let out a great scoff that echoed about the forest. "Not only are you such a rube as to STRIKE - OUT - OF - TURN, but you came here without knowing the slightest thing about the practices therein."
"Well, I mean..." Ruby nervously voiced, "Dad... and Uncle Qrow..."
Weiss then turned back to Jaune, dangling from the tree. "At least she has shown some modicum of competence."
"Thanks!" Ruby exclaimed.
"That... was not..." Weiss voiced, glaring at her out of the corner of her eyes before focusing back on Jaune. "As for you!"
"I'm a fraud." Jaune stated, and Weiss stopped her tirade and breathed in deep as she stood with proper form.
"How could you possibly admit to something so atrocious?" Weiss asked.
Jaune shrugged, "I really don't have any way to defend myself. I'm a fraud, I didn't know anything about Beacon before coming here, and you know what?, I'm probably going to die. But I would rather die than quit. I don't intend to risk anyone's life but my own."
"And?!" Weiss exclaimed, and pointed at him. "You asked me to join your team?!" This caused Ruby to snicker. Weiss then turned to look at her, still pointing at Jaune, "Pardon?"
"Oh?" Ruby asked, "Just kind of seen this with my sister."
"Pardon?" Weiss repeated, "What did you see with your sister?"
"Oh?" Ruby asked, "He was just trying to flirt."
Weiss looked at Ruby with concern, before turning this look to Jaune. "Your invitation to join your team was insincere?"
"What?" Jaune asked, "I thought you hated the idea?"
"I am still concerned with your lack of good faith with your proposal."
"I would LOVE to have you on my team." Jaune replied, "If I have a team. I really have no idea what I'm doing, here, if you haven't figured that out."
"So, if your overture was less sincere, but flirtatious?" Weiss asked, "Then I must ask, why me?"
"What?!" an offended Jaune asked, "Because you are a Snow Angel."
"Yes?" Weiss asked, and turned to Ruby, "I am certain it had nothing to do with my family connections?"
"What connections?" Jaune asked.
Weiss was momentarily stunned before turning back to face him, "I am heiress to the largest Dust congomerate in Remnant!" she huffed.
"Uh-huh?" Jaune asked.
"Uh?" an offended Weiss replied, "Huh?"
"What does that have to do with being a Snow Angel?"
"I am not even certain what a Snow Angel is, and why it is I am one."
"What?" Ruby asked, "Have you never gotten a compliment?"
"The facile, insincere insanity from the well-coifed elite who's only concern are for their own fortunes." Weiss said, and Ruby just stared at her with a look of non-recognition.
"She means they hit on her for her position." Jaune said, still dangling from the tree. "Which I really don't understand."
Weiss then turned to glare at him, "And what is it you fail to comprehend?, that time and time again the 'gentle'men of Atlas have time and again only approached me for my position?"
"That anyone would think that is more important than you are."
"I mean, obviously." Ruby added.
Weiss turned to look at her, "Pardon?"
"Oh?" Ruby asked, and snorted, "I mean, you look like an angel, and you look snowy, so..."
"His calling me a Snow Angel was his attempts to refer to me as angelic?" This caused Ruby to keel over with laughter. Weiss simply looked at her for a few moments before clearing he throat. Ruby breathed in deep and stood back up. She was still fighting back her laughter that was occationally coming out as a snicker. Weiss then looked at Jaune, glaring back at Ruby as the snickers were let out. "So, your statement is that I am unto you, angelic?"
Jaune snapped his right hand and pointed at her, "Yes."
Weiss let out a momentary huff. "I am still upset with you in regards to your poor faith proposal for teamship."
"Huh?" Jaune asked, "We can be on the same team. Wait?" Jaune asked.
"Yes?" Weiss replied.
"He told us how partners are made?" Jaune.
"Hm?" Weiss asked.
"But what about teams?" Ruby asked her. Weiss looked around for a moment as she tried to find the thoughts.
"That's what I thought." Jaune stated, "Well, if it's up to us, there's still room on Team Jaune."
Weiss spun about on her heels and huffed as she marched off. Ruby waved up at Jaune before Petal Bursting after Weiss. Jaune just breathed in deep and sighed, remembering that he was still stuck to a tree, and could use help to free himself. "This by no means makes us friends."
* * *
"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, and Jaune looked down at her, "Do you?.." she asked, and momentarily paused, "have any spots left on your team?"
Jaune crossed his arms, "Very funny." He eventually looks back down at her and gives a smile. Pyrrha smiles back, raised her hand and used her Semblance to pull Miló from the tree. She then caught Jaune in her arms.
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So RWBY/Justice League is apparently a crossover that's actually going to happen. Of the little we know right now, how do you think that's going to pan out?
Anonymous said: Those questions about Superman and Batman in RWBY seem prescient, because I'm hearing that an official crossover is in the works
Anonymous said: Um, so there's a legit Justice League/RWBY crossover coming
Anonymous said: So, that official DC/RWBY crossover, huh?
Anonymous said: So, how about that DC/RWBY cross, eh?
Anonymous said: No more speculating how Superman would fit into RWBY when DC themselves are providing their own answer XD
The immediate thing that leaps out beyond the Kingdom Hearts* level of utterly out of nowhere berserk this premise is: while the RWBY comic had a couple minor sequel hooks, and I don’t know how it did in its original digital chapters or in trade, as a monthly periodical it was selling poorly enough that DC didn’t bother to print its last physical issue after the return from the Coronavirus shutdown, and while I thought it was great a lot of fans complained about its art and characterization throughout. I hoped for that sequel, sure, but I wasn’t expecting the book to be regarded internally as anything but a sales failure, nevermind not only continuing it but tripling down in the most extreme and bizarrely specific way possible that’s neither intuitive (unless you have special interests like me) nor surface-level ridiculous enough like Batman/Elmer Fudd that people will buy it just to see how it works. I don’t understand why this comic is happening when no one but me wanted this.
(* The Kingdom Hearts comparison is apt because they were similarly close to the top of things I’d love to see cross over with the DCU that would obviously never, ever happen because that’s too precise and random a combination of my interests. Even if this is legally possible where that isn’t, that would still be conceptually simpler.)
I was asked a couple times in the past about how Superman or Batman could make sense in RWBY’s setting, and it turns out I was closer with the latter than the former - that rather than a dimension-hopping traditional crossover, this is reverse-engineering what the assorted members of the League would look like if they had always been part of Remnant ala JLA/Planetary, some of the old DC/Marvel crossovers, or the more recent Batman/The Shadow. Which actually fits really well with the series regularly evoking assorted fairy tales and mythologies with their characters; this bunch is just one more set to be added. Though that raises several more thoughts and questions:
* The solicit refers to them as Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, and Diana Prince, but will they actually be referred to as such in the story, and will people comment on them not fitting with the color-based naming conventions of that world? Or will they be renamed and evoke their sources purely through iconography, ala Ruby not literally being Little Red Riding Hood?
* How much will the origins of the assorted characters be changed? Batman, Cyborg, and Aquaman would all make perfect sense within the ‘rules’ of the setting with few major alterations, but will Superman still be from Krypton and Green Lantern a space ranger, or will they simply be ordinary humans with thematically reminiscent backstories and Semblances/weapons that evoke the classic powers? I think the latter could work, but I imagine the former is more likely (even if Bennett might keep it vague on some of the details to preserve the aura of mystique and avoid changing the shape of the world too radically) simply because everyone’s surely aware that fans would complain about being ‘ripped off’ for getting the characters ‘in name only’ otherwise.
* Speaking of changes to fit the setting, between being a Faunus and the apparent low-tech traditional armor look of his suit, is Bruce Wayne in here not operating from a position of wealth? You’d just think as a given the Wayne family would be easily plopped in as business rivals to the Schnees and Alfred would be on a first name basis with Klein, but it seems Bennett might have something very different in mind. Also, little disappointing he simply has a katana rather than those collapsible batarangs that turn into swords that Ellis always gave him which would fit perfectly here. And, as so many have already asked: how miserable is he every second of every day in a world where everything is also a gun. At least this isn’t a universe where anyone’s gonna think he’s irresponsible for training teenage sidekicks.
* And if we’re going into individual characters: RWBY Barry Allen is adorable, what the hell. He just looks so dopey and hapless, I sure hope he doesn’t ever have to die to stop the Anti-Monitor. We’re definitely getting a meeting with Harriet that retcons in that he’s the other person with a speed Semblance she mentioned running into, and if he’s tapping into the Speed Force then the jokes that that’s what Harriet does are probably gonna become at least a little bit canon.
* Are the Themyscirans magic, given all magic has a very important common root in this world?
* I don’t think there’s a dud redesign in the bunch? These are all really inspired in their own ways, which is good because unlikely as it seems this is I believe the first time we’ve really gotten any sort of official interpretation of “here’s what the DCU would look like as a Shonen”. Go ahead and say the hell with it and make it Earth 28, I’ve thought before making that an anime Earth would fit with the map.
(By Ag_Nonsuch)
* Bunch of obvious ways these characters can play off of each other: Ruby is paralleled with Wonder Woman on the cover, and I’m curious how Bennett will play that, but she makes most sense next to Flash, a super-fast fan made good, or Superman, a character she so deeply if unintentionally evokes on so many levels I felt I had to make clear when describing her that I didn’t solely appreciate her as a psuedo-Superman analogue. Weiss makes sense up against Batman either as a wealthy heir or a Faunus who’s likely faced his share of pain from the Schees who either way are cold perfectionists defined by inner pain stemming from their families, or Wonder Woman/Aquaman as fellow ‘royalty’. Yang is paralleled with Superman on the cover and that makes sense with the two country bruisers with issues regarding their lost parents, though she’d also make sense with Aquaman as the ‘temperamental’ members a lot of the time of their respective teams, or Cyborg as they both deal with their relationships with their bodies after requiring prosthesis. And Blake pretty much has her pick: like Superman she uses an article of clothing to ‘pass’ and shares the commitment to justice, she and Batman are dark children of privilege (or not in this case, though in this world they’re both Faunus), she and Wonder Woman both left the island homes where their people were safe to try and make the rest of the world better, she and Aquaman are both Faunus royalty, and Green Lantern is about overcoming great fear and in Jessica Cruz’s case specifically about the guilt of running away.
* Will this be entirely flashbacks to the pre-series/Beacon years, or will those be flashbacks set from a ‘present’, and if so when? What happened between the siege of Haven and the train setting off for Argus is the most loosely-defined period in the story and is right on the heels of the end of the original RWBY mini, so I’d imagine it fitting here. And given they apparently join together “to take on a force unlike anything they've seen before” rather than purely the character work of that previous book, what might that be?
* Hey, superhero comics/superpowers as an idea already exist in this universe, will that come up?
* If we can get one single scene in this and it’s going with a “yes they’re still aliens and magic and whatnot” premise I want Clark, who hasn’t thought of being Superman yet and therefore is still at least somewhat hiding his powers, being wracked with guilt over not pursuing becoming a Huntsman and therefore not being there at the Fall of Beacon. Which is a ridiculous thing to take the blame for, but of course he would, he’s Clark, culminating in trying to apologize to JNR for Pyrrha dying he feels in part because he was a coward (when they don’t even have the faintest concept for why he would think he should have been there or could have done anything).
* Once all’s said and done, how is their presence in the world justified as not being a factor in the series proper? It’s simple if they’re ‘ordinary’ analogues who can go off to quietly have adventures elsewhere, but if not then some of them either have to be shuffled off stage or presumably left with their stories incomplete, with a little afterward of “and they went on to be the greatest heroes of all...later, after the scope of team RWBY’s main adventures so that we never have to directly address them again” to avoid them becoming unavoidable major factors in the war against Salem.
In the end, will it be DC’s best comic? No, though I imagine one of their better ones this year. Will it be among the ones I look forward to most each month? Right up there with Yang and Reis’s Batman/Superman baby, this is a miracle freak of fate and I’m gonna appreciate the universe bending over backwards to make entertainment for me and me alone while it lasts. Given I finally checked out RWBY in the first place because I was curious about Bennett’s original comic, this is a heck of a full-circle moment.
#RWBY#Justice League#Batman#Flash#Wonder Woman#Superman#Green Lantern#Aquaman#Cyborg#Barry Allen#Jessica Cruz#Ruby Rose#Weiss Schnee#Blake Belladonna#Yang Xiao Long#JNPR#Marguerite Bennett#Aneke#Stephanie Pepper#Emanuela Lupacchino#Opinion
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So… been a while since I did one of these. Yeah, long story short 2020 just ruined my anxiety and a bunch of other things and I just couldn’t handle doing the reviews after I feel so behind during the first half of V8. Even the six-week break didn’t do anything to reignite the motivation or help the anxiety, so I decided it was best to quit and just wait for the volume to be over. Which with how emotionally draining the volume was which may have very well impaired my judgment at the time, was probably the best decision. But V8 has been over for months now and we’re awaiting V9. So it’s time to finally finish this.
I normally do one chapter per review, but since I now know all that’s coming, I’m going to do two chapters per review. That means four total reviews, then a mass V8 review, and then hopefully things go better when V9 starts. So last I left off, we got Cinder backstory, the Ace-Ops running into YJR, and Salem breaking Atlas’ shields to finally go forward with her invasion. The dark times are upon Atlas and our heroes are running out of time. So… what happens now? Well, let's find out.
Overview
I normally break down everything moment by moment, but we’re gonna keep it brief since there’s a lot to cover.
In War as Salem’s attack marches forward, all of our heroes are in a bind. RWB wants to help Atlas while May wants to return to Mantle and points out that they can’t have both. Nora is still in need of a doctor, which causes Whitley, who overheard, to call in a character that we haven’t seen in quite a while. With JYR, they were captured by the Ace-Ops, who has now been tasked to use a bomb to blow up the whale. Our heroes negotiate with Winter to allow them time to go in and rescue Oscar and causes Ren to make an unexpected discovery. Meanwhile, in the whale, Emerald overhears Oscar/Oz again pleading to Hazel to see reason, even going as far as to give him the password to the Lamp. Not for Salem, for Hazel. This causes Emerald’s doubts to become even more concerning and with Mercury leaving with Tyrian for Vacuo and Cinder focused solely on her quest for power, she is left alone to decide what she wishes to do.
In RWBY’s 100th chapter Dark, we are at the Schnee Manor where the power blows out. But when they recall that they have an emergency generator, Whitley realizes that they can use the SDC to get supplies to the Mantle refugees. Ruby and Blake go to restore the power as Ruby is still struggling to maintain her usual optimism, but they encounter a Grimm in the process. Specifically, The Hound. Meanwhile, Penny, who crash-landed in front of the Manor last episode, tries to maintain control as Watts’ virus goes into effect. During the battle, it ends with Ruby discovering The Hound. One that utterly horrifies her…
Review
Okay, there is a LOT to go over with these two chapters, So let’s break this down event by event.
Monstra
Let’s discuss our villains first since we have some pretty major developments. First, we have Hazel. We had just about everything that I had assumed before confirmed. The reason that Hazel works for Salem isn’t merely just because she claims to want a new world order. Honestly, I think that Hazel just fooled himself to justify his decision to himself. No, as he talks to Ozcar, the truth becomes crystal clear. Hazel has given up. He confronted her once, and all that happened was she kept coming back until he was too exhausted to fight anymore. She broke him. Fighting her was futile and by taking advantage of this, Salem set him on the only path that he had left: getting revenge on Ozpin. Even though he’ll reincarnate, he can still be hurt. He can still be killed. He can still suffer. It was all that Hazel had left, and it consumed him.
As much as I know that some had issues with Hazel’s backstory, losing your sibling to circumstances that weren’t really anyone’s fault but you still feel so angry that you just need to blame something is very understandable. I’ve been in that place. I think that many of us have. And to learn that he did try to fight Salem at first but in the end, gave up due to her immortality… can you imagine how many others likely went down that route? Wanting to fight Salem but when the horrible truth came out were left empty? RWBY went through it in V6 and barely recovered, so it’s easy to see where Hazel is coming from. It’s easy to see why he won’t believe Oz when he tells him what Salem’s true goal, the release of death via summoning the Gods judgment, is. Oscar takes over and reveals the password, trusting Hazel to decide for himself what to do. Not Salem, Hazel. Will it pay off? Only time will tell.
But Hazel isn’t the only one privy to this new information. Emerald overheard all of it. Whatever fears that she had were all confirmed. Mercury is dismissive, both not believing it (until Tyrian confirms it) and even if he did, points out that Hazel failed and fell into line. It’s going to take time for the assassin to change his mind. As far as he’s concerned, he’s on top of the world, or at least in the best place that he can be in. Better than when he was with Marcus at least. Emerald though? She’s been doubtful and scared since at least the end of V3, even earlier if we count the flashbacks in Beginning of the End. The only thing that has kept her around along with the fear of Salem has been her devotion to Cinder. But with how Cinder has been coldly dismissive of her thus far this volume and now knowing that she’s part of something far worse than she imagined, it looks like Emerald may be deciding that it’s not worth it anymore. The question is, will she act before it’s too late? With Mercury off to Vacuo, she’s on her own to make that choice.
The villains’ stuff is mainly setup for Chapter 9 but it’s good stuff. We’re getting everything in place for the many payoffs that we’ve been waiting a long time for. Many of us have been hoping for Emerald to defect. While IDT as many have wanted the same for Hazel, he’s certainly the nobler of his buddies and has shown signs of possible redemption, so I’ve been hoping for it. Oz and Oscar’s efforts seem to be paying off and Oscar taking over and playing a huge gamble is pure excellence. It’s both Oz trusting the boy and working in tandem with him showing how he is genuinely trying to be better and showing Oscar’s growth with his more diplomatic skills here. It failed to work on Ironwood, but perhaps this time he’ll have better luck.
JYR and the Ace-Ops
Like with the villains, their stuff is contained all within War. But boy do we have plenty to go over. With Atlas in utter chaos, to the point of all the citizens having to hide in a subway, Ironwood has decided to have Winter and her team bomb Monstra. Which makes sense… except that Oscar’s in there. Needless to say, JYR isn’t happy about that. But Harriet, Elm, and Vine remain committed to their ‘we have no feelings’ routine. Even though it’s so obvious that they’re lying through their teeth. Ren’s Semblance confirmed it, but it’s not hard to tell. Elm and especially Harriet are hiding their feelings through their anger and doubling down on following orders. Vine does try to remain reasonable, but otherwise retains his emotionless demeanor. Marrow… he just clearly doesn't want to be there anymore. He’s still trying to remain comitted to what he’s doing, but this and Chapter 9 are going to be changing that big time
And WInter? Oh Lord Winter. She wants to do the right thing but is bound to her loyalty and duty to Ironwood and Atlas, and she doesn’t know which one to follow. Her orders? Or her heart? The choice may seem like a no-brainer to us, but to Winter it’s more complicated. She feels that she owes Ironwood so much. Because of him and the military, she escaped her father and his control. I think that she does realize that this point that she’s just exchanged one puppetmaster for another, but she doesn't know how to cut the strings. We see some signs of hope, both in the last volume when she allowed Weiss and the others to escape, and here when she grants JYR’s request to go into the whale to find Oscar before the bomb arrives. She knows that if Ironwood finds out she’ll be in trouble. She remains conflicted, but it’s still a signt hat it’s not too late. It allows her (and Marrow forthat mater) to remain sympathetic while others like Harriet… well, they’re not making it easy, let’s leave it at that.
That brings us to Ren. He’s had it hard thus far, his emotional control slipping, his split-off from Nora, and everything that built up the last volume coming crashing down. He’s been pushing everyone away, but now? He can’t afford to do so. Not with Oscar in danger. When Harriet says that teammates are replaceable, he strongly disagrees. He and Jaune would absolutely know how wrong this is. They’ve never replaced Pyrrha after all. Even if one considers Oscar part of JNR, he’s never been considered the new Pyrrha. He’s just Oscar, their friend. When he finally admitted that to himself, it allowed Ren’s Semblance to evolve. Instead of simply masking emotions, he can now see them via colored flower petals. Yes dear readers, Ren is an empath.
This development is perfect/. It happened at the right time, Ren finally admitting his feelings for those that he cares about instead of internalizing them and pushing those people away as he has been with Nora. It’s a natural evolution of his powers. He can mask emotions to protect others from the Grimm, and now that he can take it off he can see beneatht he masks of others. Harriet and Elm’s rage. Vine’s uncertainty (I’m assuming anyways based on what happens later). Marrow’s sadness. Winter’s collection of so many different colored petals, reflecting the war that she is having with herself. Now that Ren is beginning to open up, he can now help others do the same. Semblances reflect the on using them, and I think this says a lot about what Ren is truly meant to be and will be in the future.
Schnee Manor
Now we get to the meat of this post. Let’s go over the events in War first. While our heroes are safe at Schnee Manor, they’re conflicted on what to do. May wants to, and by Dark does, go back to Mantle since things are just as bad there and they don’t have the military to save them. Weiss however? She wants to help Atlas. Despite everything, Atlas is still Weiss’ home and there are still family and innocent people that she wishes to save. She’s a Huntress, that’s her job. May however? Her family dismissed her when she was their son, and she made it very clear that she is in no way their daughter. Which first, that was a brilliant way to add that representation. Kdin confirmed that May was Transgender last volume, but now we have undeniable proof in the show itself and it was perfectly delivered. She also makes a good point, Mantle has no protection. The whole reason that RWBY went against Ironwood was that he chose to leave Mantle to die. At this point, it does seem like the heroes can have it both ways. It worked in the past, but not here. Not anymore. But even May admits as she leaves that at this point, there might not be anythign left to do for either city. It’s just… bleak. Even moreso than in V3.
This of course hits Ruby. Normally, her optimism and hope carry her through. It was practically what got the heroes through V6 alive and well. But now? No. Even she can’t deny how bad things have gotten. When she and Blake go to turn on the backup generator, it’s clear how conflicted she is. She wants to help everyone. She chose to send the message because it seemed like the best chance to save everyone. But the longer that she waits, the more unlikely it all seems. She’s becoming utterly overwhelmed. Honestly, with how 2020 went, I find this very relatable. You w\see all the suffering caused by COVID and the horror of the police brutality against Black people and so many other awful things we’re still in the midst of. You want to do something. You want to help everyone and want things to just be okay. But when you do, all of it weighs down on you because you simply can’t help everyone. As Klein said, you can only focus on what’s in front of you first. You feel helpless, scared, maybe even angry. But we’re only human. We can only do what we can a step at a time in whatever way we can, even if it’s just being a shoulder to lean on. It’s at least something.
This leads to something that I have practically been begging CRWBY to do for years now, have Blake comfort her. We’ve had very scarce Ruby and Blake interactions, but it’s always been pretty clear that Blake trusts Ruby and has followed her lead faithfully more or less since the team formed. I think it was very fitting for Blake to be the one who reached out to her as it calls back to when they first talked in Volume 1. Back when Ruby expressed her love of books and wanting to make the world better like the heroes that she would read about. How Blake admired her goal but also viewed it as rather childish. Considering everything with the Faunus oppression, the White Fang, and of course Adam, who could blame her? But Ruby gave her hope. Ruby got her to see that they can make the world better. That despite everything, it’s their job to protect everyone and to move forward. Ruby’s been able to push them ahead so much, and they all still need her. It’s what Ruby needed to hear and it shows how far that both girls have come since those early days at Beacon. Which since this happened in the 100th episode, was very fitting.
Now I’m not gonna say too much about The Hound here. The entire fight scene was awesome and the thing stalking through the Schnee Manor? It somehow felt more horrifying than The Apathy did in Volume 6. How do you manage that?! Whitley and Willow ultimately killing it via the armor was also pretty cool and it’s nice to see the civilian characters getting involved, showing that they don’t have to be helpless like with the ship captain and crew back in Volume 4. Then the final revelation, that The Hound was not only human but had Silver Eyes… yeah Ruby’s reaction could not be more justified. I’m gonna go into my thoughts more in the 11-12 review since Ruby goes more into her feelings there. But the revelations that this one scene caused… yeah, it’s added a whole new level of horror to not just Salem, but the Grimm as a whole. It’s kind of a bummer that The Hound was killed off and it just feels so soon, but with how so much is going on at this point… yeah I’m gonna forgive it especially since the death still leaves a lot to think about in the future.
So let’s talk Schnee family! First, Willow. I like how they handled her here. She’s an anxious mess, which makes complete sense. She has to keep forcing herself to not drink, but without that coping mechanism, she’s so anxious that she ends up running out of Weiss’ room in utter panic. Fortunately, she’s still able to get her act together enough to be of help. She uses the security cameras to warn Weiss and keep an eye on The Hound. Which also allows her to see it heading for Whitley. But instead of waiting on Weiss and since Whitley understandably doesn’t want to listen to her, she does the right thing: act like a mother and save her child. Including actually using her Glyphs to summon a Boarbutusk. Yes, Willow. In a jam-packed volume like this, it’s nice to see these bits of character development for even the minor characters and it was done well here.
Then we have Whitley. I’m gonna admit it, it feels like his change is pretty rushed, but again we have about a million other things going on. Plus I guess the worst situations can bring out the best in people. That’s certainly the case here. He over-hears RWB and May talking and decides to call Klein, who is apparently a doctor, not only a butler (the temptation to NOT make an ‘I’m a doctor, not an X’ joke after getting into Star Trek is REALLY hard XD) to treat Nora. Which Weiss’ reaction to seeing him and him not at all blaming her for being fired was just beautiful. But it’s Whitley making a decision. Not due to his father’s influence. Not to get Weiss’ attention. He did it because Nora needed help and it was simply the right thing to do. The fact that he acted independently makes Weiss so happy that she hugs him. It surprises Whitley… but you can tell that he’s happy about it.
I think that really encouraged Whitley. Jaques isn’t there anymore. There’s no one controlling his fate anymore. It doens’t matter if Whitley defies him now, Jaques can’t do a thing about it. It’s Whitley who realizes that they have the resources and ability to send supplies and help to Mantle. It’s him who goes to his father’s office to get the process underway. Even when The Hound comes in, he still makes sure to give the authorization before making a run for it. With the fear of his father gone and Weiss showing more support, Whitley is showing that he’s not a bad person. He was very much like his sister was; someone trapped and forced to succumb to the toxic influences to survive. He didn’t have the support that Weiss did, nor the skills that either of his sisters had that let them escape. But he’s taking those steps now. He has an attitude still, but he’s kind of where Volume 1-3 Wess was; a major brat but one very much on their way to improving. If Whitey ends up taking over whatever remains of the SDC or outright remakes it, I think that he’ll be a fine leader while his sisters continue as Huntresses.
Finally, we come to Penny. I should probably talk about Nora as well, but since Chapter 11 is when she expresses how she feels ike how Ruby does, I’m going to hold off until then As far as Penny goes… God, I… it just hurts. Knowing how this ultimately will end only makes it more painful to go back through. But just as Chapter 5 made it look like Penny would finally be allowed to choose for herself, Watts ruins all of it. This is a girl who is utterly trapped. Ironwood bound her down by isolating her and then forcing the protection of a whole city on her. Pietro, while well-meaning, was over-protective and allowing that to keep Penny held by her strings. He let go… and look at how it ended. The Maiden Powers, while something that Penny accepted, now has her targeted on all sides and she can’t escape them while bound tot he responsibilities that come with it. Now we have Watts’ virus and despite her best efforts, she can’t stop it.
It’s just… heart-wrenching. Especially when Nora wakes up and calms her down by reminding her that whatever is trying to take over is only a part of her, not the whole being. It works… for a few moments. But in the end, all that Penny can do is succumb. This girl truly has no control over anything. Not over her own life. Not over the abilities that she possesses. And now not even over her own mind and body. She keeps having her strings yanked back and forth, wanting to just snap them off but all her limbs are held in place so she can’t. Watching her act utterly robotic, blankly describing how she will open the Vault then self-terminate… it’s just so wrong. Not to mention her coming dangerously close to being carted off to Salem with only Ruby managing a Silver Eyes blast saving her. It was hard to watch back when these premiered but after the finale? It’s just… it’s just so cruel.
Both of these chapters were excellent. War is mainly a setup chapter and ho boy the event that it sets up for… Chapter 9 is gonna be fun to talk about! But it also had plenty of pay-offs, especially for Ren and great moments like May’s scene, Salem conducting the Grimm, and it just captures the bleakness yet determination of our heroes perfectly. Then Dark… boy is that chapter title appropriate. Again great moments like the Ruby and Blake talk, the entire fight sequence, and probably the most horrifying revelation thus far. There’s some minor stuff like the jailbreak as well that made RWBY’s 100th chapter, as well as the chapter to kick off the return after the six-week hiatus, a thrill to watch. That's not even going into Alex Abraham's spectacular score, especially when the big reveal/death of The Hound happens. Just... it's just perfect. It can feel like there’s just so much going on that it gets hard to keep up with at times… but to be fair, that’s how our heroes feel as well, so I supposed that’s appropriate.
Chapter Stats
War
Favorite Character: Lie Ren
Favorite Scene: Ren unlocking his emotion-reading power
Least Favorite Scene: RWB sipping tea. It’s not a bad scene, but them just kind of standing by while the chaos is going on… it just feels a tad out of place.
Favorite Voice Actor: Kdin Jenzen (May Marigold)
Favorite Animation: Salem conducting the Grimm attack.
Rating: 8/10
Dark
Favorite Character: Ruby Rose
Favorite Scene: Ruby and Blake talk
Least Favorite Scene: I got nothing. Everything here was perfect.
Favorite Voice Actor: Arryn Zeck (Blake) and Jason Liebrecht (The Hound)
Favorite Animation: As horrifying as it was, The Hound reveal.
Rating: 10/10
Final Thoughts
When I watched these, all I could really do was stare wide-eyed. Even though I knew that this volume was going to be intense, somehow I wasn’t prepared for any of it. Certainly not for everything in these chapters. But all of it was just so freakin’ good. Does it feel emotionally draining? Yes. It was a big part of why I’m only getting to these several months later. But was it still worth watching? Absolutely. Compare Dark to the first chapter of Volume 1. RWBY has come such a long way. A lot of things both good and bad have happened in between, but it’s still going and I plan to be here until the bitter end. With quality like this, it gives me a good reason to stick around. So six more chapters/three reviews to go.
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10 and 17 for the salty ask meme (also do 17 for star wars pplease!)
10. Most disliked arc? Why?
jaune :|
but also i mean in seriousness... i don’t know that i would call it a specific arc but i’ve been generally frustrated around how rwby’s handled the faunus of it all throughout the show. mostly the fact that most of what we’ve seen or heard about the discrimination of the faunus has been from, y’know, characters like adam, who went for violent retribution, or bits like back at beacon where you just saw cardin bullying velvet. it’s created a nice neat binary of “good humans are nice to the faunus” and “bad humans are cruel to the faunus” and leaves no room for the vast array of human nature in between it-- specifically that a lot of good people can be and are still racist or prejudiced. it’s also infuriating that there’s been so little of it in the atlas arc so far, given that atlas has been so heavily implied to be the worst offender of racism against the faunus; there was the bit early in v7 with the drunk guy in mantle, and the crotchety racist grandma in v8, but aside from that it’s just been throwaway bits. add in the fact that both of those bits have been more about weiss and yang, respectively, than blake, the actual faunus on the team, and...yeah. the whole faunus situation in the storytelling hits very much like a series of whiffs for me.
17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…
for rwby hmmmmm. v4′s adventures of team rnjr frustrated me because in a lot of ways it supplanted ruby as a main character with jaune, and in a lot of ways put ruby’s trauma related to pyrrha’s death in the backseat to jaune’s lost not-girlfriend, and also because in general it seemed to prioritize jaune and ren over ruby and nora. both ruby and jaune’s survivor’s guilt and trauma surrounding pyrrha are equally valid stories, but it seemed like it focused more on jaune than ruby, which frustrated me. similarly, v4 was where we got the groundwork for ren being a shithead in v7-8, and in a lot of ways treated nora as a prop for his storyline than her own character.
also like-- and i acknowledge that this is probably generally colored by opinion of how ruby and jaune were handled in the volume-- v4 had a lot more dudes ~saving~ girls in it than i ever like. qrow showing up to save ruby from tyrian-- because honestly, that really did read more like a ruby fight than a team fight-- and flashback!ren saving nora with his semblance and sun helping/saving blake from locking herself away and tai helping/saving yang with her trauma. individually each of those stories worked well, but all of them happening in the same volume was like. no thank u.
for star wars: there’s a really great post somewhere that i’m too lazy to find that’s like instead of making anakin basically a war machine when they took him in, the jedi should have made him a crechemaster; if his inability to sever human connections is the worry, then make him connect with a lot of humans and leverage that as a strength instead of a weakness. rigidly sticking to the dogma of connections = bad and forcing anakin, a traumatized former child slave who loves deeply and without reservation, into being a weapon who’s constantly told he’s forbidden from loving other people, is a recipe for disaster with a dessert of stupidity. yes, i realize this would mean there’s no epic space opera story to tell and no, i do not mind.
also like. the entire sequel trilogy tbh. finn getting a lightsaber and being a jedi just like rey because didn’t they learn in the original war that p much wiped out the jedi that working as a team is better than alone. poe not being a plot punching bag. rey not being palpatine’s grandkid because what the fuck. the way they really took the worst part of the og trilogies-- aka that the whole galaxy suffers because of the stupidity of one or two families of people-- and doubled down hard on it and leaned even more into the idea that people are only viable heroes if they have the right bloodline. i am Not A Fan.
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A Semblance of Reasoning (Part) 2
And now we go to the B-Team, or the “2nd A-Team” as called by the CRWBY, I think. (Could be wrong). Now, I should mention that because their development is not central to the progression of the show (Although it is important), we’re not going to see much discussion on how their Semblances have evolved. Because they haven’t changed. At all, really. And because we only get bits and pieces of their backstory compared to Team RWBY, it’ll be harder to determine the events that led to them developing the powers they had, so this will require a great deal of guesswork and should not necessarily be treated as canon.
Jaune Arc. It only took 5 Volumes, but he gains the power of Aura Amp. It’s basically him using his own aura to bolster the aura of others, such as speeding up their healing, and boosting the power of their Semblances. It’s pretty obvious that this is partially another Joan of Arc allusion, as she reportedly never took part in battles but only directed the troops, so Jaune now has the power to embolden his teammates and others. Up until V5, the only hint we got about this power was in V1, when Jaune unleashed a flash of light to heal himself from Cardin’s beat-down. However, since it took so long, we can easily guess how his Semblance became what it was.
Following V3, a major chip on Jaune’s shoulder has been the death of Pyrrha, his partner, mentor, and confident. He’s clearly haunted by how he couldn’t help her in her final battle, or even stop her from taking part. These feelings are so strong that when he’s confronted with Cinder, he throws himself into combat with her, despite being outmatched. And his own guilt towards his own failures is such that he doesn’t think his own life is worth anything. So much that even the prospect of death doesn’t cause him to develop a New Power To Save The Day. But when Weiss is mortally wounded, his Semblance appears; I believe that it was his desperation to save her life, coupled with his own willingness to sacrifice his own, that caused his Semblance to become what it is. He’s essentially giving his own life-force to fuel her regeneration. It hasn’t evolved much since then, but as he’s moving away from his self-destructive crusading tendencies, there no telling how or if it will change.
Nora Valkyrie: Hers is called High Voltage, and it’s basically absorbing electricity to become stronger. Nora herself tells us that she learned what her Semblance was when a bolt of lightning struck her once. “Crazy Thursday”. I personally subscribe to the theory that rather than ‘discovering’ she developed the Semblance split-second to survive what should have been a fatal accident. Of Team JNPR, she’s the most energetic, and the CRWBY once jokingly stated that she ‘eats’ Ren’s energy. I think this may be more truthful, as its possible that she is subconsciously stealing the electricity out from his body, slowing him down slightly.
The Semblance hasn’t changed at all since it first appeared, but how it’s used best illustrates the tone of the story; When Nora’s Semblance was first revealed, it was as a joke and a way to easily stomp Team BRNZ in Volume 3. When it’s used again Volumes 4 and 5 against Tyrian and Hazel, the stakes are higher and so she’s far more serious when she uses her Semblance.
Pyrrha Nikos: The “Invincible Girl” has the power of Polarity, or magnetic manipulation, and how she uses it best describes her character. Rather than using it to bash people with chunks of metal like Magneto (X-Men) or Eustace Kidd (One Piece), Pyrrha predominately uses her Semblance to subtly manipulate how people she’s fighting move, essentially controlling the flow of the fight. As Cinder notes, while Pyrrha seems destined for victory, what she’s really doing is taking her destiny into her own hands.
It’s possible that Pyrrha developed this style to help down-play her victories in battle, appearing to win purely by skill that anyone could develop and not by a one-of-a-kind Semblance. Pyrrha has clearly been uncomfortable with the pedestal she’s been placed on, and perhaps this is her way of trying to regain some control over her life. It should be noted that the few times that Pyrrha foregoes the subtle approach and full-on blitzes people, she ends up losing. Sadly, we don’t get any possible explanation as to how she could have developed her Semblance as of yet.
Lie Ren: Ren’s Semblance is called Tranquility, which is basically creating a field where Grimm cannot find whoever’s inside it. Nora describes it as “Can mask emotions”. Given the Grimm are drawn to negative feelings, this is a useful Semblance to have. We also see firsthand how Ren created this Semblance; As shown in the flashback of “Kuroyuri” shows that he gained it during the Grimm attack that destroyed his village, which was also where he met Nora. And like Nora, in order to avoid certain death, he gained the power he needed at that moment. When Little Lie uses his Semblance for the first time, you can see him calming down, a preferable state compared to the high-octane fear he was no doubt, and necessary so he and Nora can escape the danger they were in.
Like Nora, Ren’s Semblance hasn’t changed at all. But I think we can gauge Ren’s character development through the series by it. When we first meet Ren, he is the calmest character on the show, the ultimate straight man to Nora’s comic, manic energy. However, as the series takes a turn towards the serious, Ren has shown that even he has his limits. That he’s prone to acting out, and not in a funny way. Bursts of anxiety and emotion. Now I did suggest that Nora was subconsciously eating his electricity with her own Semblance, I now wonder if Ren was using his Semblance to stay calm and better deal with her…Nora-ness. But this was all within the confines of the well-protected Vale. But in the post-Volume 3 status quo, Ren has to use his Semblance more frequently to better protect Team RNJR during their hike to Haven Academy. Even with Qrow’s secret protection, this means that Ren’s Aura levels are constantly being used, and as such his ability to stay calm is now frayed. Ren’s one of those characters who’s character, rather than shaping his Semblance, was shaped by how he used his Semblance. However, through Volumes 6 and 7, Ren begins using his Semblance in tandem with Jaune’s, symbolizing how more effective they are when they work together instead of going at it alone.
As of “War”, Ren’s Semblance has evolved, adding in him the ability to see the emotions of others. This may seem like a bit inexplicable, but looking back, we could see bits and traces of this ability being shown beforehand. In “Tipping Point”, he was able to seemingly sense Tyrian’s approach. And in “The Greatest Kingdom” and “A Night Off”, he seemed to react to the approach of the Atlas Elites, the Ace-Ops and Ironwood. All of the aforementioned characters have shown to be highly emotional, even if the Atlasians tend to high their feelings with epic poker faces. Throughout Volumes 7 and 8, Ren has been struggling with trying to communicate with how he feels about various things. Given how closed-off he was acting, his tendency to shut people out meant he would in turn have difficulty gauging the feelings of others. Recently before his Semblance evolved, Ren had let both his positive and negative feelings out- In “Fault”, he vented the rage he felt towards the apparent futility of their situation, and in “War”, expressed the importance of the people in our lives. By finally demonstrating how he felt, for ill and for good, Ren was able to both understand others and his Semblance shows that.
#RWBY Analysis#A Semblance of reasoning#RWBY#Semblance#JAuneArc#Jaune Arc#Lie Ren#Nora Valkyrie#Pyrrha Nikos#Analysis#High Voltage#Aura Amp#Tranquility#Polarity
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I personally would love an episode where Oscar is included! It seems he and Maria have been side-lined. I’m now following by the way and ARNOLD! What do you think Oscar’s relationship is like Team JNPR?
Again, I’m super late responding to these RWBY asks, so I’m super sorry! (I checked my archive and I asked for these back on November 30th, I’m so irresponsible keeping up with my inbox, OOF) So, I know this was asked at the start of Volume 7, but I will be answering this now with knowledge of all of Volume 7.
I’m currently very invested in the theories that when Jaune finds out about Oscar’s “death”, he will fall into a period of guilt again, like with Pyrrha. The parallels are already there, both ran off to save the day and left Jaune behind. It wouldn’t be an unnecessary character reversion, and as much as I would love other characters besides Jaune to feel the weight of Pyrrha’s death, I think this would be the final hurdle to getting over such grief. I think for both Team JNPR and RWBY, hearing that Oscar was “killed” by Ironwood (as I’m seriously hoping Oscar stays away from the maincast and gets separate screen time during a large amount of Volume 8) leads to the cast becoming somewhat numb. They’ll become angry at his death, angry at themselves, but it will be a realization moment that death comes with war, and they need to stop this war.
Before I go any further into JNPR’s relationship with Oscar, let me just discuss the WIP video that we got during Comic Con showing Yang and Oscar, and refresh anyone who hasn’t heard this theory yet:
Many people believe that rather than Oscar reuniting with the teams so early on in the volume, since that clip is from an early episode, it’s actually a flashback from an event we didn’t see during the “Brand New Day” montage after the teams got their licenses. The teams will discover Ironwood killed Oscar for disobeying him, and we will finally see the scenes we missed in Volume 7, when Oscar was absent from most missions because he didn’t have a huntsman license. The city in the clip is empty, but does not look damaged, the tone is way too different for a city that should be overrun with Grimm as Salem was soaring overheard (she can’t just disappear after that).
It would be very powerful if we got scenes of each character having a flashback to a moment they remembered with Oscar, a scene that was saved for this moment. I’m holding out on this because of how little screen time Oscar got this past volume, and I am somehow still holding onto the belief that it was an intentional writing move and not an oversight.
But, this leads me back into Oscar’s relationship with Jaune, Nora, and Ren. I definitely think Jaune takes pride (although he and Oscar, really Ozpin, had that fight) in being somewhat of a mentor/older brother figure to Oscar. If you think about it, Jaune has always been the younger brother of all his sisters, and since Oscar was introduced, according to CRWBY (in the companion I believe?), to be the new eyes we see the huntsman through after Jaune went through his development, I think its fitting that Jaune is the one to be the teacher to him. Although we’ve only seen Ruby be the mentor figure, I’m certain that is the sort of dynamic that they have off screen. In terms of Nora and Ren though? Unfortunately they were shipped off the screen for most of the time whenever Oscar was there, but if they had more time to bond during their time at the Atlas Academy, Nora would obviously be an overbearing older sister type, but I think Oscar would come to enjoy her hyper activeness. Although what we did hear of Oscar’s aunt in Volume 4 was minimal, I could see him finding comfort in her being somewhat like her, a bit commanding, but boisterous. He would likely seek her out and join her on shopping trips or for walks to get a sense of normalcy on days he missed home.
As for Ren? It would be really easy for me to see they sit in silence most of the time or meditate, but I think Ren would be the one most likely to fill Oscar in on everything he’s been missing. Sure, he’s gotten a rundown of major events, and maybe some unnecessary details from Nora and Ruby’s exaggerations, but Ren would be like a storybook. Oscar could go to him when everyone else was out and ask him, sheepishly, to re-explain what everyone was talking about at with the initiation at Beacon. Ren would welcome him and explain things plainly. Oscar would admit to having some memories of the school, filtered through thoughts of Ozpin that are just naturally merging with his own, but Ren would describe things clearly and in specific detail. He would describe the walkway of the courtyard, the architecture of the pillars and bridges, the statue before the gates, and then the routes they all took to class. Oscar would get better pictures of these fuzzy images, and then suddenly catch a memory of him- no, Ozpin- standing off to the side with a mug as students (Nora, Ruby) sprinted passed as their teammates chased after them. Ren would stop and ask him what’s wrong, because Oscar was smiling, to which the latter would tell him it’s nothing and ask him to continue.
Ren is an encyclopedia of mundane things, moments people wouldn’t think Ren would hold onto, but does, simply because he’s observed them quietly and held onto them. I think Oscar would ask about Nora, and how Ren puts up with her, to which Ren would smile and explain to him why he’s come to care about her so much. With Jaune and the others, they’ve been through enough together that such tales don’t need to be spoken. They’ve all been through shit so they understand they all have deep bonds, but Oscar is still an outsider, and sometimes, it’s nice to be able to tell someone who is looking in and observing as well, just why you feel a certain way. They see things that others caught up in all the moments don’t, and don’t need to hear. And while Ren may feel a bit guilty that Oscar is always going to be an outsider to those days, those conversations makes Oscar feel a little bit closer to Ozpin’s students- no, his students. Those memories were his now.
Maybe one day he’ll be able to relay them the same way Ren did to the next soul he joined, should he die too.
#me: WHOOPS i guess i accidentally wrote a fic again#ill retype this later in fic format too#ask poland#rwby#lie ren#nora valkyrie#jaune arc#oscar pine#ozpin#rwby volume 7#rwby volume 8#jnpr#ornj
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