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rwbyvein · 4 years ago

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Firen Lhain: Chapter 611: Fellowship: Part II/III

Jaune shuffled as he looked around. "Do you guys know where my armour is?"

"Dude?" Yang asked, "You can barely walk, and the first thing you think about is your armour?"

"I'm so used to wearing it - that I don't feel the same without it."

"We feel..." Weiss stated as she approached from the kitchen, "that it would be... for the best... if you spent some time recovering, first."

"Plus," Ruby voiced, "the bunny hoodie is JUST - SO - ADORABLE!"

"It's... uh..." Jaune said, but then completely trailed off. Nora appeared beside him with his cuirasse. "Thanks, Nora." Jaune said to her.

"You got it!" she exclaimed.

"Nora!" Weiss admonished.

"I know," Ruby said, "that Weiss is being Weissy, but I think, right now, she's right."

"I am?" Weiss asked, but simply looked distant.

"Weiss is best when she's Weissy." Jaune said to her.

"I am?!" Weiss called to him.

"Well, best and worst." he said. This caused Weiss to both scoff and shimmer a light blue as she smiled and looked around. Jaune finished affixing his cuirasse, and then looked back at Nora. "Nora?" he asked.

"Leader?!" she replied.

"The... uh... rest?" he asked.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, and disappeared once again.

"You sure you're okay?" Blake asked him.

"As strong as and ox..." Jaune wearily said. "Bull?.." He then stumbled. Yang caught him and helped him back to the couch.

"Chill, man."

Jaune looked up at her with a weak smile, and reached his hand out to hers. Yang nervously took his hand, and he pulled her onto his lap, snuggling into her. "You're one to talk about - chilling."

"Doesn't mean I'm the only one who needs it." Yang moaned.

"What was that?!" Ruby asked.

"I do believe it was a moan." Blake stated.

Weiss nervously looked back to the kitchen before looking back to Jaune and Yang, fretting to and fro.

"Linnet?" Yang asked.

"Yes?.." she teppidly replied.

"He ain't going anywhere with me on his lap."

"Weiss." Blake gently said as she walked up towards her, taking her hands in her own. "I'll help you and Aurora in the kitchen. We can let them have their fun." Weiss looked at her uncertainly, "Yang will make sure he doesn't get too far."

"You know it." Yang eagerly replied, only to moan once again. Ruby just stared at the two on the couch. "Why don't you come join us, sis?" Yang asked.

Ruby got down on all four and ran up to them, sitting on the ground. Yang grabbed Jaune's left hand, bringing it to Ruby's head. He started petting her, causing Ruby's tail to wag.

* * *

Blake snuggled up behind Weiss as she stood in the kitchen, causing her to scoff. "I thought you say you were going to help?" Weiss asked.

"I am." Blake stated.

"If I might ask?.." Weiss breathily voiced, "how?.."

"Aurora..." Blake breathed, "is the one doing the cooking." This caused Weiss to lightly scoff. Aurora simply looked back at them and smiled before continuing. Blake then nibbled on Weiss's ears, causing her to breathe even heavier.

* * *

Qrow and Ilia sat on the patio.

"So... uh?.." Ilia asked, "How do you... deal with this?" Qrow held his flask towards Ilia. "Isn't that how you deal with everything?" Qrow bobbed his head back and forth as he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's young love, something I never had a chance with."

"Were you at a Huntsman Academy?" Ilia asked, and Qrow nodded.

"With my sister, of all people." Qrow replied, "Along with Summer and Tai. Summer and Tai clicked almost right away... kind of like antler-boy and Ruby." Qrow then sighed.

"What about the rest?.." Ilia asked.

"Have I ever told you about my Semblance?" Qrow asked, and Ilia shook her head. "Oh, it's pretty simple, I'm unlucky."

"Un... lucky?.." Ilia asked. "I've never heard of a Semblance like that, but then..."

"Everyone's Semblance is different." Qrow voiced, "The only thing that's constant is that it comes from us, from our Aura. Mine causes bad things to happen. Sometimes minor, sometimes major. In battle, it helps, as my enemies will randomly trip and fall, or the cliff they're standing on will just break under the strain... but..." he said, and looked around.

"I'm honestly having the same problem." Ilia stated, "I've done some terrible things."

"Hm?" Qrow asked her, "Did I tell you why Raven and I first went to Beacon?" he asked, and she shook her head, "Oh, well, yeah, you see, we were kind of bandits."

"Bandits?" Ilia asked.

"The best - bandits." Qrow stated, "We could take on anyone... almost anyone... Care to guess what we had trouble with?"

Ilia looked at him for a moment before it dawned on her. "Huntsmen?" she asked.

"Bingo." Qrow replied.

"You?," Ilia nervously asked, "went to Beacon to learn to kill Huntsmen?"

"At least at first." Qrow stated.

"What changed?" Ilia asked.

"Oh?.." Qrow asked, "Tai and Summer. Summer was a lot like Ruby, driven, hopeful, idealistic. When you were with her, you felt like you could take on the world."

"And Tai?" Ilia asked, "That's Ruby and Yang's father, right?"

"Right on, kiddo." Qrow stated, "He was a lot like blondie, except a bit more timid... The timidness just made you want to take care of him, you know?"

"I feel the same way about Blake." Ilia replied.

"He... was a real ray of sunshine." Qrow voiced, and then took a sip from his flask, "He made someone like me feel like I could... you know?.. help."

"How?," Ilia asked him, "do you make up for?.."

"You don't." Qrow stated. "Nothing I do can undo what I've done. I've killed people," he said, and Ilia stared at her hands, "I have a bit of reputation for coming out of nowhere and saving my nieces," Qrow said, "but I'm scared out of my wits every time, all of the time, but, if I can save some people?.." he asked, and trailed off.

"Does that make it easier?" Ilia asked.

"Booze makes it easier." Qrow stated, "I'm doing what I do because it's right. Whether that makes me a good person, I don't know."

Ilia looked at her hands again and then out over Mistral.

"As for what's going on inside the house..." Qrow voiced, "well, like I said, young love. Considering everything they are risking for the smallest chance to do some good, they deserve to be happy."

"Smallest chance?" Ilia asked.

"Oz and Salem had been fighting for who knows how long." Qrow said. "Neither side has won yet. Some people might say that gives them hope, others..." he said, and sighed.

* * *

Jaune tried to slip Yang off his lap, but she just grabbed onto the couch. "Oh, no you don't."

"But?.." Jaune asked.

"I promised them you would sit on the couch?" Yang stated.

"What would I have to do to get you off?" Jaune asked.

"Hmm. Oh, I know, take off your armour." Yang said.

"And?.." Jaune asked.

"Lie down on the couch so we can cuddle more."

Ruby then stood up in front of them. "If you are going to lay on the couch, I should get to cuddle, too!" Ruby exclaimed.

Yang just shrugged while looking at Jaune. "She's right." Jaune nodded and Yang stood up from the couch. Jaune then started unhooking his cuirasse. He unfastened it and pulled the pieces off, putting it down beside the couch before laying down. Yang laid down on the couch, snuggling up to him. Ruby burst into rose petals, landing in the perfect place to snuggle into as well. Her tail could barely move, but still managed to flap back and forth.

* * *

Aurora turned to call out to the lounge, "Could someone tell the others that lunch is almost ready?!"

Jaune struggled to sit up with the two sisters cuddled into/overtop of him.

"Nooooooo." Ruby said.

"Nuh-uh." Yang replied.

"I do believe," Ren voiced, "that Oscar would like to see Jaune ambulatory."

"Hm..." Yang groaned.

"Nooooo." Ruby repeated.

"Not good enough reason for me to get up." Yang added.

"We are going to be having lunch." Nora stated.

"Ugh, fine." Yang groaned, and she slowly disentangled herself. She looked back at Ruby who seemed more than happy to remain. "You keep missing meals, sis, and you're never going to grow up."

"I'll have you know!," Ruby replied, "that Jaune finds me adorable!"

Yang then grabbed her own breasts and lifted them a bit, "Well, what about these, then?"

"Pfft." Ruby replied.

"PFFT?!" Yang asked, "How you can PFFT! these?!"

Ruby disentangled herself, sat up, and augustly pointed at Yang, "Jaune doesn't need giant boobs!"

"Says who?" Yang asked.

"Says Weiss!" Ruby shouted, causing a loud, terrifying, reverberating, but somehow still elegant scoff from the kitchen.

Jaune looked about for a moment, realizing he was free, and quickly stood up. He then paused and groaned as his body ached.

"Shit." Yang said.

"Nora can accompany Jaune," Ren said, "and I will retrieve those on the patio."

Yang looked at Jaune with worry before nodding her head. "But, if you get hurt, next time we're not letting you up at all!"

"Not even to go to the bathroom!" Ruby shouted, and Yang paused before looking at her.

"Uh?.." Yang asked, and Ruby looked at her as Jaune shambled away. She then looked back to Jaune as Nora walked beside him, "Shit."

"Exactly." Ruby affirmed.

* * *

Jaune slowly, deliberately walked down the stairs to see Oscar doing pushups. "Oscar?" he groaned, and Oscar fell flat on his face. He rushed to recover, but was out of breath. He stood there, looking at Jaune. "Lunch is almost ready, buddy." Oscar just nodded at Jaune, smiling as Jaune turned around to walk back up the stairs.

"He nearly died," Oscar voiced, "and was still the one to come get me."

Jaune stopped on the stairs, and looked down to shout, "The secret is that I always nearly die."

#rwby #firen lhain #faunus au #pollinated knight

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dalekofchaos · 5 years ago

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List of ways they could’ve handled Luke in the Sequel Trilogy

My other Sequel trilogy wasted potential posts

Rey

Finn

Poe

Rose

Luke

Han

Leia

Kylo Ren

Hux

Captain Phasma

Snoke

Actually use Luke in The Force Awakens. Don’t waste Mark Hamill. Don’t exclude him from marketing. Don’t force him to be on a mountain and say no lines whatsoever.

Have Luke’s big reveal be on Starkiller Base. Use Mark Hamill’s suggestion. ‘You can still have me come in at the very end, but how about this. How about Leia’s trying to contact me telepathically, she gets frustrated because there’s no answers, so she rushes to the new Death Star’–that’s three, so far.”He continued, “‘And she almost gets there but she gets stopped by two Stormtroopers and, just before she’s abducted, one Stormtrooper turns to the other one, blows him away, pulls off his helmet and says “Hi, sis, I’m here to rescue you.”‘ I say, ‘It’ll blow the roof off the joint, I’m still in it at the very end.'”“I think it’s more effective to have people that really have a history with Han Solo witness his death and be unable to stop it,” the actor claimed. “His wife, the mother of his child, his best friend, instead of two characters that have known him, what, 20 minutes?”

Use Mark’s other suggestion. After Finn is knocked unconscious, have the person who lifts the Skywalker Lightsaber be Luke. Luke duels Kylo and defeats his nephew and saves Rey and Finn. I know Jedi and force sensitives are more durable than normal people, but if you are thrown into a tree, you are going to be unconscious for at least an hour. So yes Luke being the one to lift the lightsaber would’ve been much better. It would’ve been a great entrance. The entire audience would have been cheering as they witness Luke’s return. Luke helps Chewie getting Rey and Finn aboard the Falcon and returns to D’Qar. Reunites with Leia and ends with Luke, Rey and Finn flying to the Ancient Jedi Temple on Ach-To preparing to train the new Jedi.

Luke grieves for Han

Luke actually trying to help Ben as a Padawan, but it is in vain as he already turned to the dark side and made his choice.

Luke will tell Rey why he left the map behind. He wanted Leia to come and find him. It is revealed that Luke did not run away, did not even consider running away, but rather went looking for the Jedi’s beginnings find the balance of dark and light–Luke Skywalker felt Rey and Finn awaken across half the galaxy, and settled on Ach-To, and waited.

Let Luke and Rey have a meaningful mentor and student relationship. Luke trains Rey, Rey develops her skills and Rey has a father figure that shows her place in the galaxy

Reveal that Luke is Rey’s father. After Rey falls into the dark side cave, Luke finds her and brings her near the fire and is there to comfort her. Then the revelation happens. Rey says “I’ve never felt so alone.” And we get Luke telling her “the force is strong in my family. My father had it, I have it, my sister has it and my daughter has it” “There is a reason you dreamed of this place.” “You were never meant to be left on Jakku…I thought you died the night in the academy.” “All those years. I was so alone.” “I know. I’m sorry.” “Did you ever try to find me?” “Of course. For so long I searched the galaxy for you. Everyone said that you had died that night in the temple, that I should give up searching. But through the force, I could still feel you. I knew you were still alive. Every face I seen, it was your. Every voice I heard, it was yours. It drove me crazy. I came to this island, turned away from the force because it was so hard. Feeling that you were somewhere in the galaxy and being unable to find you. Seeing you in front of me right now… I’ve never felt so lucky.” And Rey with tears in her eyes. “I waited so long for you and your finally here” they embrace, father and daughter reunited.” Rey then asks about her mother. Luke sadly says “her name was Mara Jade and she loved you very much.” Rey why she was left on Jakku. “Because of your cousin Ben, Kylo Ren.” Luke tells her that after a decade of training Ben, and fighting to keep the dark side at bay, Ben turned to the dark side because his family kept the secret that Darth Vader was his grandfather. He still wanted to help his nephew and save him from Snoke. One night he went to him to talk to him, Ben saw this as Luke being afraid of his power and Ben was the one to strike first. And then he woke up to see the other Jedi Masters dead. His wife Mara Jade dead and even the younglings dead. Only six other Jedi left with Ben, those who would become the Knights Of Ren. Rey left with Ben because she trusted her cousin and she couldn’t find Luke or Mara. and Ben left her on Jakku where no one would ever find her because a part of him couldn’t kill his cousin.

If we had to have a broken Luke, what would bring him back, is his father. Basically have a Lion King moment with Anakin and Luke. "You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself Luke, you are more than what you have become." would've meant more in my opinion if it were Anakin who reached out to Luke than Yoda.

Luke wants to save Leia. He lifts his X-Wing and heads towards The Supremacy. Boards the ship and confronts Snoke. Luke will reveal his Green Lightsaber and Snoke’s own Black Lightsaber. They fight, while Rey and Kylo fights. Luke defeats Snoke, but Kylo cuts Rey’s hand off. Enraged, Luke knocks Kylo out with a force repulse. So Luke gives Chewie the signal and gets Rey to safety, while Luke heads back to his X-Wing.

On Crait as Finn is about to make his sacrifice, we see Luke’s X-Wing firing and destroying the mini death star.

Luke is actually there with his moment with Leia. He is there in person, not a force projection, he. is. there.

A true fight between Luke and Kylo. Kylo Ren orders every ship to fire on Luke AT-M6’s all firing but to everyone’s surprise, all blasts stop frozen in midair. Luke wipes the salt off his robes and sends the turbolasers right back at the AT-M6s and TIE-Fighters. Brings down the transports and Kylo’s shuttle and the Star Destroyers in orbit. Kylo descends from his crushed shuttle, preparing to kill his uncle. We have a real lightsaber battle between Luke and Kylo. Luke has his green lightsaber. Their blades clash. Their dialogue remains the same, but Luke is there. Luke is toying with Kylo, similar to how Vader toyed with him on Bespin. When Kylo makes his dramatic slut ™ lunge at Luke, but Luke dodges and cuts Kylo’s hand off. And finally Luke gives his “see you around kid” but Luke does not die, he leaves to board his X-Wing

It ends with Rey, Luke and Leia together, brother and sister holding onto Rey’s hand. A father and his daughter and her aunt. “We have everything we need

What they chose to do with Luke instead

Luke is not marketed at all in The Force Awakens and is on a mountain and is only there as a cameo with no lines whatsoever

The Force Awakens established that Luke left a map to be found. It is never brought up. Han said he left to find the Temple to the First Jedi. It is never brought up. Funny how what was established is never brought up in the movie whatsoever

Luke, Han and Leia do not reunite at all.

Luke gives up. Luke Skywalker is a beacon of hope and optimism and love against all odds, and the fact that that was twisted into being depicted as some foolish youth naivety, and that the only way to make him “human” was to retract all that and make him a bitter, jaded man is so fucking disgusting. Even more disgusting is in TLJ novelization had him dreaming of never leaving Tatooine and having him live under the Empire's dominance. He does not even care that his sister’s life and the Resistance she is leading is in danger. Jedi do not give up. You might say that Yoda and Obi-Wan also gave up. But for those two, the Sith took over the galaxy, they had to go into hiding to protect and guide Luke and Leia. Obi-Wan wanted to save Leia and guide Luke. Yoda always wanted to train Leia as a Jedi and bring Anakin back to the light. He was reluctant to train Luke but he still did his duty as a Jedi Master. They did not just give up and wanted to die and they did not betray their characters at all. Luke spends most of Last Jedi on a windswept island, brooding in solemn silence and frozen by indecision. He doesn’t connect with Rey on any meaningful level, doesn’t impart wisdom or knowledge, and never reasserts himself as the powerful Jedi he once was. A brief physical duel against Rey ends with her as the undisputed victor, completely killing his deserved mythos and her potential character arc in one fell swoop. It’s clear in that moment that he has nothing to teach her, and nothing to contribute to the overall narrative. The boundless potential that seemed poised to explode at the end of The Force Awakens fizzles here but never ignites. And without any training at all, Rey defeats Luke Skywalker and Luke acts all cowardly and begs her to leave. He does buy The Resistance time and saves his sister, but it was ultimately pointless. He wasn’t even there and he dies pointlessly. What we got was not Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker is hope and optimism. Luke Skywalker is showing that no matter what, compassion, faith and love will always prevail. Luke is the hero that inspired an entire generations to aspire to be better, aspire to be heroes. Luke is what we wanted to see and what we got was not Luke Skywalker. Luke is someone who thought Doctor Aphra was a good person, she proves him wrong but he still had that hope for her. Luke believed that Darth Vader of all people still had good in him and was willing to die and he was able to reach his father. In Battlefront II’s Story, Luke saves Del Meeko because he asked and he offered Del a better life, a choice. Inferno Squad has committed atrocities in the name of the Empire, yet Luke still gave Del Meeko a chance. Canon Luke Skywalker is a kind hearted hero who will never run from a fight or knowingly leave a loved one in danger and will even save his enemy. This is Luke Skywalker. Luke is compassionate, adores his family, would never leave them. The Luke Skywalker I knew would never even think about killing his nephew in his sleep when there is always another way. Luke believes in the light and was willing to die to save his father. Darth Vader committed atrocities for decades, Luke still believed there was good in him. He would never give up on his family nor would he even consider killing his own nephew in his sleep just because he sensed darkness there. He would never abandon his sister at death’s door when she needed him most. The Hero’s Journey that he was following was ignored completely and he just gave up and wanted to die. And he dies instead of reuniting with Leia properly. Mark Hamill wanted Luke to live until Episode IX where he would pass on what he learned to Rey. No big battle with Snoke, no passing on, instead Luke dies and all we’re getting is force ghost Luke. Luke Skywalker was a hero to an entire generation. Luke was the true heart of Star Wars. His was the journey we followed from idealistic farm boy dreaming of adventure, to reluctant warrior, and finally to savior of the entire galaxy. The original trilogy built him up, and The Last Jedi finally broke him down. I for one mourn my hero’s passing.

Luke Skywalker tries to murder his nephew in his sleep and is blamed for Ben Solo’s fall and Kylo Ren. Luke would not even think of trying to kill his nephew in his sleep. He would try to talk to him and try to pull him back to the light. His sister brought Ben there for protection and guidance. Even if that did fail, you did not need to make Luke attempt to murder him. You did not need to make Luke, Leia and Han at fault for Kylo Ren. Kylo is a grown ass man, he is responsible for his own actions. Kylo was going to murder the Jedi and younglings regardless, he already fell to the dark side. No one is responsible for Kylo’s actions but Kylo Ren.

Rey and Luke have no meaningful relationship. There is no teacher and student relationship. Luke teaches her nothing. Rey is already all powerful for.....reasons. He doesn’t even impart any sort of wisdom, guidance or a semblance that they even had a relationship or that he taught her anything. All he was towards Rey was a bitter old man trying to get the girl to leave her lawn. And all of a sudden “we passed on all we know” SINCE FUCKING WHEN??? Rey learned nothing all movie and we are to expect she learns everything off screen. We were deprived of a positive Rey and Luke mentor and student relationship and we were given complete garbage. What we should've gotten was Luke teaching Rey to feel the force, to build her own lightsaber and that attachments can lead you to the dark side if you let them, but they won't lead you to darkness if you control your emotions. A battle between Rey and Luke against Kylo and the Knights Of Ren. Rey abducted and Luke has to lift his X-Wing and board the Supremacy to save Rey. Luke fighting Snoke and Rey against Kylo. Rey loses her fight and loses a hand. Luke stops Snoke and takes Rey to escape. Luke blasts away the battering laser. Fights Kylo on Crait with his green lightsaber. Escapes and reunites with Leia and Rey. Instead we are given nothing.

Luke doesn’t grieve for Han. Han Solo is Luke’s best friend. They have been together for decades. We are not allowed to see Luke react to Han’s death or Luke to grieve that his best friend is dead. Han was a big influence and friend it was dismissed as if he barely knew him. To quote Mark Hamill on the matter “They had time for me to milk that big alien but to show any human emotion? Nah"

Luke’s last moment with Leia is ultimately pointless. He was there as a projection. His last moment with Leia was made meaningless. He wasn't even there. It was a great moment with Mark and Carrie, but it was ultimately a giant fuck you to everyone who loved Luke and Leia and wanted to see them reunite.

Luke’s confrontation with Kylo is ultimately meaningless. We are not allowed to see Luke Skywalker as a powerful Jedi Master. He does not wield his Green Lightsaber, he does not bring down all the AT-ATs, the transports, shuttles or bring down the star destroyers in orbit. He’s not even there thus making the confrontation with Kylo ultimately pointless. He toys with Kylo, but we don’t see a lightsaber fight between them.

Luke is only coming back as a force ghost and from the sound of it, it will only be a cameo.

Mark Hamill was ultimately disgusted with the direction they took with Luke. He is heartbroken that he never got to reunite with his friends and that Carrie is no longer with us. He now wishes that he’s done with Star Wars. He went from being excited to returning to the role that made his career and the character that he loves so much to being broken and apathetic. Crying on set and just being absolutely miserable throughout the whole affair. Mark did not return to play Luke Skywalker, he returned to play Jake Soywalker. It’s like Mark said “should’ve left well enough alone” Should’ve left the original trilogy alone and made your own story, but no, you had to break down Han, Luke and Leia to pointlessly build up these new characters. Mark Hamill and Luke Skywalker deserved better

Mark tried to warn us

youtube

#Luke Skywalker #Anti Lucasfilm #Anti JJ Abrams #Anti Rian Johnson #Anti TFA #Anti TLJ

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calliecat93 · 6 years ago

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RWBY V6 CH9 Review: Lost

One holiday break later, we're back folks! I think that we've all been anxious about this one for awhile, so no point in waiting! Lets do this!

Overview

We begin with the bad guys where Mercury is sparring and Emerald is clearly still coming to terms with her situation. She asks Mercury about why he joined her and Cinder, to which the assassin says that it's because they needed someone with his qualifications, so it felt right. This... doesn't please Emerald, feeling that there has to be more than just that and because of Salem's promises to them. Up to now, the thief has stayed because Cinder took care of her... to which Mercury point blank tells her that she's in denial. Cinder never cared about either her. She never cared about either one of them. Ouch man... but he isn't wrong. Cinder only used them for her own needs. Mercury stuck with it because of his skillset, but Emerald.... well, look where it lead her.

But Emerald doesn't take this well at all and attacks Mercury. In turn, he vents about how his father hated him, beat him constantly as 'training, and most shocking of all is that he stole Mercury's Semblance with his own, saying that it'll just be a crutch. I... don't know how that's possible, but even after Mercury killed him, he never got it back. So he pushed himself to be stronger and as such, he feels like he's right where he's supposed to be with Salem's forces. Damn man... I don't know if I feel bad for Mercury, considering his previous actions without even a hint of remorse, but it's pretty clear that he is what he is because of his father. Very least, Marcus Black deserved what he got.

The fight is interrupted by, of all people, Tyrian who also now has his new robotic tail. It's pretty cool looking to! He and Watts are being sent to Atlas to handle Ironwood, but he ended up overhearing Mercury's rant/.And he... give some shockingly good advice. It's in his own sick, warped way of course, but still solid advice. He pretty much breaks down Mercury's attitude as him feeling like he's meant for nothing but killing and that that's the right mindset. You should do what you enjoy with your life, not what you think is all that your life is meant for. It's obvious that he wants them to leave so that he can kill them, even when he himself points out that they're in too deep to leave, but again... shockingly good, solid advice. Who knew?

We return to Argus where JNR and Saphron are searching for Oscar, Jaune clearly remorseful for lashing out at the farmboy like he did. It's clear that the recent info is still weighing heavy on JNR,w ho can't tell Saphron about it. She does suggest that they don't have to continue on this top-secret mission to be Huntsmen, they can finish their teachings at Haven and graduate with their licenses. It's of course far more complicated than that, and I feel for Saphron here. She doesn't know the situation and is clearly trying to help her brother with what she does have. But because she's a civilian, she can't really help them and her advice is sadly useless considering the circumstances. Seeming to realize this, Saphron leaves to go pick up Adrian, leaving JNR to continue on their own.

Nora and Ren go to get some warm drinks at a cafe, leaving Jaune to muse by himself. At least, that is, until he sees a lone maple leaf land before him. If you all remember V3CH8, the one before Pyrrha fought Penny, you already know the symbolism. Jaune follows the leaf as it blows away. Where does it lead him to? To his shock, and I imagine the audiences, it leads him to a statue. A statue of the one and only, Pyrrha Nikos. As an absolutely beautiful new song that I believe is called Forever Fall plays, Jaune walks forward and the emotions are clearly weighing heavy on him. All that he's done, everything that he's become, all the paint hat he's been carrying is all because of the loss of Pyrrha. All because of his efforts to not let her death be in vain. Now? It seems like ti truly was for nothing, and he almost hurt someone due to it. Even now, he has clearly never truly moved on.

It is then that another person approaches the memorial. A red-haired, green-eyed woman carrying a bouquet of red spider lilies. We never learn the woman's name, not even in the credits where she's simply referred to as 'Red Haired Woman', but considering her appearance and the fact that she is voiced by Jen Brown (Pyrrha's VA, and she's using her Carolina voice here) I firmly believe that this woman is Pyrrha's mother. She mentioned her before in V3, and as I'll explain in a bit it makes sense. For the purpose of the review, I will be refereeing to her as Mama Nikos. But I do think that her identity is one of those things where it's left to interpretation, which I think fits. Also those red lilies? Apparently they can mean to guide one to the next reincarnation... ouch.

As the two talk, Mama Nikos expresses to Jaune about how Pyrrha's memorial was placed in Argus because she attended Sanctum Academy, which I guess we can confirm is in Argus. They were sad when she decided to go to Beacon, but she was just glad that she was surrounded by people who loved her in her time there. Jaune expresses how she should still be standing with them, and how does Mama Nikos respond? Simple: she is. Pyrrha may be gone, but she still got to go and follow the path that she dreamed of, and in the end she wouldn't regret that choice nor the one to fight, even when it cost her her life. Why? Because she was a Huntress. For a Huntress, there really was no choice. They're supposed to make the world better, and that was what she decided to do. This seems to help Jaune, who expresses to Mama Nikos that even though Pyrrha never graduated Beacon... on the end, she was a true Huntress to the end. Something that a tearful Mama Nikos is grateful for.

Nora and Ren find Jaune, who looks to them before turning back. But by then, Mama Nikos is gone and only the flowers remain by Pyrrha's statue. Naturally, Nora and Ren are surprised to see this as Jaune begins to apologize for everything. About being a bad leader. About being a bad friend.. But Ren and Nora stop him, telling him that they love him just as they did Pyrrha. They don't want to lose him too. This seems to help Jaune, who also seems to finally come to realize that Pyrrha knew that she couldn't beat Cinder, and that she likely wasn't coming back. But still, she did it, because someone had to. As such, JNR resolve to do the same and to fight as though she's still there alongside them. They start to head back tot he house, Jaune looking at the statue one more time as a lone Atlas ship flies through the sky. He thanks Pyrrha, and leaves with his teammates.

Back at the house, RWBY has found Qrow drunk off his ass as JNR and the Cotta-Arcs return. There's still no sign of Oscar, but Jaune resolves that they're not going to Atlas without him, also making it clear that JNR isn't giving up yet. Suddenly the door opens... and it's Oscar! Yep, he's safe and sound folks! Even better, he's got himself some new combat gear! He gets glomped by RWBYJNR, who are all very relieved that he's safe. Oscar has been getting dinner ready while everyone was searching for him as Jaune apologizes for how he acted and how he treated him. Oscar accepts it, saying that while he isn't sure how much time he has left as himself, with whatever time he still has he's going to help in the fight ahead. I'm so proud of them all!

While the teens are all happy, Qrow is far from it as he starts to walk away. Ruby stops him, but Qrow rebuts that since they can't get into Atlas and have no plan to do so, there's no point. Jaune however proposes a plan, to get into the shipyard and steal a ship. This is, of course, a VERY risky plan since it would get the Atlas military after them and Jaune also hasn't thought it all the way through yet. Qrow dismisses it as a result, telling them all to give it up for their own sakes. This is finally what sets Ruby off, telling her uncle point blank that she wishes to hear Jaune out and that she doesn't care how he feels about it. Despite everything, all the despair about the reality of the mission, Ozpin sealing himself away, The Apathy, the train wreck, despite all of that... they've survived. They made it to Argus. The goal of reaching Atlas is still in their reach. And they all did it without any help from either Ozpin or even Qrow himself. As such, while Ruby is still welcome to Qrow aiding them, they're going to do it their way. The chapter ends with Qrow utterly speechless as Maria points out that maybe he also hasn't given Ruby enough credit. And thus, the stage for the final act is set.

Review

This... hit really close to home for me... we'll get to that in a bit.

First the villain scene. We got some setup for the next arc with Tyrian and Watts heading for Atlas, but more importantly we got some development for Emerald and Mercury. We got to see Mercury open up about how his father abused him and about where he feels that he stands. All that he feels that he is is a trained killer, and that's all that he can be. I don't know if he's worthy of a redemption yet, he's still displayed no remorse for his previous actions and seems no less against violence and hurting others as he was in Volume 3. But he is certainly more sympathetic with this and maybe it will get him to start changing himself.

I DO think that Emerald is very eligible for a redemption however. She's expressed regret before, is only doing what she does because of Cinder saving her, and is questioning if where she is now is really for the best. Mind you she still hasn't accepted that Cinder only ever used her, and IDT she will until she faces Cinder again in person. When even Mercury can point out that Cinder never cred and that she's in denial... yeah... But Emerald is clearly starting to realize that she doesn't want any part of this and that her best course f action is to get out. Hard to say ii she'll joint he good guys, if she even succeeds in escaping, but no matter what she needs to get out and get out now.

Onto the good guys now... well I guess that we panicked over Oscar for nothing! Haha... I feel dumb now. But I'm really happy with him right now! While I wish that we saw a bit more of him struggling with accepting his identity, there's still room for him to at least be worried later. But I'm still glad to see him resolving to do good with whatever time that he has. It shows a lot of maturity on his part, and I couldn't be more proud of him. I've seen some say that this is Ozpin pretending to be Oscar... which come on people? Can't we just be happy for a character without getting paranoid? That's OOC for Ozpin to do, especially with his current mental state, and just let Oscar have his moment. We'll worry about him later, 'kay?

Before we talk about the final part... we still need to talk about Jaune. This scene man... this... hit hard. It hit hard as a fan, of course. I still remember when I watched the V3 finale for the first time. I was in shock for I think a week, at least. It hits fans hard, and it hit Jaune hard. It's clearly still been weighing on him throughout the series with V4CH2, V4CH8, and the first half of the Battle for Haven being the heaviest indicators. It has been what's driven him to better himself and to keep up the fight... and then he finds out that it was for nothing. It hurt him. He almost hurt Oscar because of it, something that he clearly regrets, but it all comes back to losing Pyrrha and not wanting her death to be in vain. So seeing him find the memorial, the emotions clearly high as he talks to Mama Nikos... it was sad. I'd say it's probably the most emotional moment in not just the volume, but in the series thus far.

There's... another reason why this hit me though. Earlier this year, back in February, my father died. He had been sick for over 12 years form cancer, pneumonia, sclerosis of the liver, broken hip... just a lot of things. He died after signing the non-recesitaiton form. Just moments after, he had a seizure and I got told by my mom to tell him that I loved him. That's when I knew, and sure enough just moments later, he was gone. I thought that I had come to terms with it, but then the holidays came and I realized... no. I haven't. I've accepted it, but I haven't moved on. It still hurts. Just thinking back to that day makes me feel like I can't breathe. It was the worst day of my life and like Jaune, I wished that he was still standing here with us.

But Mama Nikos words... they were so beautifully put. Pyrrha died, but she still got to follow her dreams. She still was at a place where she was loved. She knew that she wasn't coming back, but she fought anyways. Obviously my dad didn't die fighting a crazed Fall Maiden... but he did know that he wasn't coming home. He chose to pass on, and I guess that's been the hardest part. Knowing that he's made it through just about everything for so long, and suddenly he was gone and that he wanted to go. I still don't know if I'm okay with that. But seeing Jaune start to come to terms with it and receiving comfort form Mama Nikos and his team... it helped. It really, really helped. If anything, Jaune is clearly grateful for what Pyrrha did for him, and that is something that anyone who has lost a loved one I feel should take away from this. Be happy for the time that you had, and keep moving forward. This gets JNR to decide not to quit, for Pyrrha.

Speaking of which, Ruby... oh my God Ruby. This is everything that I was hoping for. I do feel that Qrow deserves to be called out more for his extensive drinking and not giving a shit in general, but I am still thoroughly pleased with Ruby's reaction. She's had enough. She and the others, despite everything, have made it this far all on their own. They can't give up now. She can't give up now. SO if Ozpin is gone and if Qrow refuses to lead them? Fine. She'll lead, and they as a group will continue the fight their way. In V5, I expressed how it felt like Ruby didn't do anything and got so little development compared to everyone around her. This volume? She's stepped up as a leader. She start4d to learn and access her Silver Eyed power. She kept pushing everyone, even when under The Apathy, because this was what they signed up for. She never have up hope, no matter how much closer to the edge she was pushed. Now? She decides that she's done waiting for Qrow to get out of his stupor. She finally calls him out, and resolves to reach Atlas their way.

I couldn't be more proud of Ruby here. Hell, this whole volume has been absolutely amazing for the hooded Huntress. They really did seem to listen tot he feedback about V5 because they've fixed all of them. Ruby got no development? She's been the only one stepping up an trying, despite all the reasons not to. Ignoring the Silver Eyes? She found someone to give her proper guidance and is actively wanting to learn more. Isn't really leading? She's had to step up due to Ozpin and Qrow failing, and she's done an absolutely amazing job. Isn't taking it seriously enough? In every situation, she's taken it 100% seriously and has actively done everything that she can to resolve it. Ruby may still be keeping too much in, and hopefully she'll eventually be able to let it out, but right now? She has proven herself to be the motivational, hopeful person that Ozpin originally viewed her as. She truly is a smaller, more honest soul, and now she's gong to lead them to Atlas no matter what gets in their way.

Final Thoughts

This went NOTHING like I thought it would. But damn, this chapter was fantastic. Great character development, some VERY heavy but beautifully written moments, and as we approach the final act, we're clearly in for one Hell of a time. What'll happen in these last four chapters? Hell if I know. But with how great this chapter, and the entirely of the volume, has been so far then I'm excited for whatever it brings!

#rwby #rwby6 #rwby reviews #callie reviews

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