It Should've Been Jaune Instead of Pyrrha

[@kaialexander6806]

Pyrrha surviving also has the added benefit - from a writing standpoint - of thousands of Remnant citizens having seen her kill Penny live on TV. She was already a little famous so her then having seemingly killed another student during the Vytal Festival and that seeming to have been the catalyst for the Grim invasion would definitely make her a pariah. It would turn the theme of celebrity on its head; before, everyone thought she was too perfect and didn't really see her as a human being, but now people see her as a monster. She never gets to be just Pyrrha.

[@declanmckenna6854]

I could only imagine how she would have been treated during the Atlas Arc and also imagine if Penny didn't immediately come back at the start of 7, but instead came back during the mid-season finale.

[@brleise2942]

@@declanmckenna6854 Imagine how bad it would be if Pyrrha then had to kill Penny again at the end of the season

[@snoww3771]

@@declanmckenna6854 I am sure Penny would assure Pyrrha that it was an accident and would be an advocate for Pyrrha. Also, I'm sure Ironwood would have known it wasn't Pyrrha's fault.

[@alviabtahi5440]

The whole "Cinder needed to beat Pyrhha to be an established threat" is even funnier when you consider that she already beat Ozpin. The volume even establishes earlier how strong the headmasters could be with Ironwood. So Cinder's last big obstacle being some random student instead of Headmaster Oz, who was shoruded in so much mystery makes even less sense.

[@xxhaxonxx8345]

Yeah, beating pyrrha was impressive, but as good as she is, she’s a student, the mere idea Cinder could surpass Ozpin was enough to place her as a threat

[@calebkelly8221]

A huntress who surpassed metal gears.... ⚙️

[@calebkelly8221]

​@@xxhaxonxx8345cool fight tho

[@kidprime6863]

​@@xxhaxonxx8345And yet, they don't show us Cinder surpassing Ozpin.

[@xxhaxonxx8345]

@@kidprime6863 To me it actually made it more impactful. I know off-screen deaths suck sometimes, but when I first watched I thought Cinder murdered him so badly they couldn't even show it because how brutal it was Then came Oscar and that confirmed my assumptions, Indeed, Oz wasn't just Missing in action, He got wrecked hard and had to be reincarnated

[@LazyNinja421]

I like the idea of his sisters having this almost Nurse Joy role where there happens to be at least one of them in every city they visit and they all help Pyrrah out in some way or another

[@RedEveTillDawn]

I love that idea

[@ObsoletePerson]

I think that's a funny idea but it'd be hard to take seriously. It'd feel contrived for the party to encounter one of Jaune's sisters everywhere they go. It'd be like the Merchant from 'Resident Evil 4'.

[@RedEveTillDawn]

@@ObsoletePerson I feel like it’s okay for one off characters to be like that because they’re not as important to the story so they’re the only characters who can do such a thing. Plus seven older sisters, I can imagine they’d be spread out across the world except maybe minagre? (Blake’s home I forgot how to spell it) It’s also nice to think each interaction with a sister would help Pyrrha past her grief

[@emberthecatgirl8796]

@@ObsoletePersonNo, you could’ve just thrown in a mention “Oh, all my older sisters moved out already, it’s tradition that the youngest gets to keep the household. Because of that, there’s at least one Arc I know in every major settlement on Remnant.” And then Pyrrha just gets approached by blonde women in Mistral, Argus, Mantle, etc.

[@shadowbrine114]

Jaune: "I wish more people liked how I am written in the show... :( " Critter: "I think I can help with that" Jaune: "Really? What's your idea?" Critter: "Step 1. Die."

[@mercury2157]

I agree

[@CloudyDaze]

Truth

[@DatCameraMON]

I'm imaging that clip of Worf saying the same thing in TNG.

[@funnymisterm5014]

Sounds about right! 😊👍

[@trolledfordrip]

Step 2 prepare thy self

[@joshquatch2980]

This also just fits better with the figures they are based on. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, and Achilles was enraged and motivated by the death of his lover to fight. Jaune gets incinerated by Cinder (maybe even pretending to be Pyrrha like Patroclus pretended to be Achilles), and then Pyrrha is motivated by his death and her unresolved feelings about him to try and get revenge on Cinder. It was all right there.

[@mimicrymwot]

And also additionally fits Pyrrha's secondary inspiration. Her name is an obvious play on Pyrrhic victory, which is widely understood as 'victory at the unacceptable cost'. This does kinda fit 'the cost is your death', sure, but even more so 'the cost is something that you value more than anything else'. Like, say, your best friend.

[@MhEahStopmotionTv]

Spoiler ig: this would also make sense for the white knight arch jaune do Pyrrha pretending to be the white knight carrying jaune shield and badass to see Pyrrha in white

[@thomascochran7907]

I think people forgot that RWBY doesn’t just make fairy tails inspired characters, it specifically makes inversions of them. Ruby is little red riding hood but she kills big bad wolves. Black is beauty that is also a beast and grown to hate somebody she loved. Ironwood and Lionheart are the tin man if he did loose his heart and the cowardly Lion if he wasn’t courageous deep down. Similarly, Jaune is Joan of arc that wasn’t burned but seeks vengeance for his love, while Pyrrha is Achilles that is burned instead of her love and puts his Patroclus in a tent instead.

[@mimicrymwot]

@@thomascochran7907 except when it doesn't: Sun is basically just Sun Wukong as is, Nora is pretty much Thor in skirt.

[@thomascochran7907]

@@mimicrymwot To be fair Sun Wukong and Thor are less defined by certain story beats. And while it’s not really a inversion Sun takes a journey to the east. Kinda weak but still there.

[@XandertheStoryKeeper]

You know, it'd be tragically fitting. Jaune would die being a hero instead of the damsiel in distress, saving the girl but sacrificing himself in the process - a knight never able to reach his full potential but with no regrets

[@marocat4749]

Yeah you can even have pyrra fight cinder but in a bad mindset and too open for her tricks, also you could come then have jaune in, be surprising strong holding her of and keeping pyrra from deaths door but that lets him open to die to protect pyrra. And he could show his semblence there but get weakened and , die, and then ruby came searching for him. and savey pyrra Did you see ever wakfu, that finale, ther is a reason later , but damn season ones finale really.

[@ifeeldead463]

And Achilles (Pyrra) once again loses Patroclus (Jaune)

[@CompSomAnichi]

also fits the Jaune of Arc thing haha

[@GrokeytheHunter]

Make it even more painful by having Pyrrha make Jeane promise to come back alive, only for that to be the last conversation the two have together

[@io9671]

​@marocat4749 holy shit someone knows about Wakfu.

[@Galaxy_Winter]

I like the idea of this AU because it makes so much more sense with how their inspiration’s stories went. In the myths Achilles’ lover Patrocles was killed in battle which caused Achilles to go back battle to seek revenge for him which would fit Pyrrha’s rage against Cinder Also, Joan of arc became a saint after she killed and was only canonized as one after her death which is like Jaune becoming a hero in death

[@TheVTable]

Exactly, That’s what I thought

[@shadowclaw7210]

Also Cinder Fall a character who uses fire as main weapon, killing Joan of Ark based character. Feels just right.

[@Gdsryrox]

Oh shit for real

[@littlebabyman8494]

Man, if only.

[@thekingmaker2159]

Then have him come back as the rusted knight. Damn this show and it's fandom always does him dirty. Read barsev's version of jaune. That's peak.

[@neptunnae]

Honestly Jaune being the Patroclus to Pyrrha’s Achilles would have been so interesting in the long run- and I like to think about how Pyrrha would’ve been treated post-fall, since she killed someone on national tv and basically kickstarted the fall of beacon in the public’s eyes

[@Trixster009]

The Patroclus and Achilles comparison is pretty brilliant. Cinder could've been Hector.

[@jude4195]

I think having jaune die would have a wonderful twist to the "mentor dies to fuel the rookie" and it becomes "for all her skills she couldn't keep the one person who her as her" and have her go on maybe a Virgil arc where she wants power to destroy cinder

[@whoevencares123]

This actually made me realise how cool it would've been to see both Pyrrha and Cinder being motivated by power, but for different reasons. Not only it would've made Pyrrha a better character, but also give Cinder more points for being a good foil.

[@Legacy_of_Yata-Garasu]

⁠@@whoevencares123 Yeah, that plus the fact that Pyrrha and Cinder are just all around better foils for each other, as Pyrrha was originally going to be the Fall Maiden before Cinder stole that from her, of course the fact that she killed the man that Pyrrha loved, and there’s also that whole “Do you believe in destiny” thing between Pyrrha and Cinder that ended up being a throw away line, could instead be a very intriguing contrast between the two as Pyrrha believed that destiny was one’s final goal, while Cinder would believe that she is destined to be the strongest, and that her future is predetermined.

[@brainflash1]

"who her"?

[@marocat4749]

Or an arc wher she has to develope more people skills and be more reflective and that she has to think more of people and there to protect and care for them as long as they there. It could be a lot of different arcs. even one to open up and she culd be torn between juniper and going afte rcinder and that could be a good arc to get together, and her refusing to let people in. , and have an ongoing characte rarc where she can relapse. And get ptsd

[@starsymcdoodle6965]

​@brainflash1 I think they meant "the one person who saw/ appreciated her for her".

[@DinoDave150]

That "Jaune's mechanic sister building Yang an arm" is honestly a really great idea.

[@RoronoaZoro-ur6hr]

Yang's arm being made from Jaune's sword and shield could also be a passing of torch where Yang surpasses her mother with friends help instead of it being a shitty girl boss fantasy.

[@ezool18]

the idea of either ruby or pyrrha being the one to return the family heirloom sword and shield and seeing the family grieving and themselves dealing with the trauma of losing their friend, that would have definitely got me tearing up.

[@deadpoolchimichangas7111]

Honestly that would be way more interesting and intense for Pyrrha. I can imagine Pyrrha getting revenge on trying to kill Cinder in volume 5

[@changingpeopleslivesmoon2993]

fr

[@falconeshield]

I'm still pissed Ruby didn't leave her home to avenge her sister against Adam. The motivation was RIGHT THERE.

[@deadpoolchimichangas7111]

@@falconeshield for real, but yet again I don’t think Ruby knew the leader of the white fang. Heck I don’t think she even knew Adam besides Blake and Yang. Maybe Weiss.

[@ag.gibler6010]

@@falconeshield Maybe she didn’t know about Adam cutting Yang's arm off? Since we’re never show if Yang or anyone else told Ruby about how Yang lost her arm?

[@bamby7766]

it would have played out the exact same way

[@pikagammerpluspizza7478]

Since Pyrrha did get even the smallest amount of the Fall Maiden's power before she died. It be plot point in this AU idea that Pyrrha and Cinder would become mentally linked in someway. That way whenever the bad guys plan for something Pyrrha is able to tell the main cast and they can plan against it. Which in turn will make Salem leave Cinder out of 'the loop' which will push Cinder to become an independent threat. &/OR further push Pyrrha into keeping more secrets from the cast until its revealed that Cinder was actually spying on them thanks to their mental connection & have an early version of the 'no lies, no half truths' conversation a volume or 2 before the Ozpin one.

[@mitchdadude2341]

I like to imagine that if the gang still heads to Atlas and sees Penny again, Pyrrha would want to get closer to her With either the mindset of "I need to make amends" or "I won't let you die a second time"

[@silberkatze2326]

Both. Both is good

[@OneTaker]

I think it would have to be well written on how Juane died instead of Pyrrha. I'm not a good writer, but way I see it is, that Juane manages to get the locker to fly up to were fight is. His months of been bullied he learned how to somewhat control them and called ruby while on route. While cinder dose not take his arrival seriously, they use their team work training and Jaune having faced cinder before are able to hold their own for abit, but cinder overpowers them. And while they separated, cinder drains more of the maiden power away from Phyrra just to make her suffer more. Before she can get off the killing blow, Jaune comes in and the white flash that happened last time in the forest happens again and cinder is seen screaming,seemingly falling to her death. This has exhausted Jaune, but he looks into her eyes and says " Phyrra... I..." before getting stabbed from behind through the chest just as rwby got there to see it all. Then silver eyes happens. Think the dynamic of Ruby and Phyrra would be very tense. Ruby seeing Phyrra as responsible for death of 2 of her best friends and phyrra feeling that guilt. Think there would be alot of Nora thing to get them to be friends but rei wanting them to come together naturally when they ready. Think Phyrra would be more sympathy to Oscar too as while she chose to have maiden powers, she understands the burden being put on him. I do think it be interesting to have phyrra kill penny again and dealing with that in Jaune's place. And in ever after the rusty knight did look like Juane too. Just a reminder of the hero he want and could have been.

[@overhypin9579]

Im not sure why but the idea of one of Jaune's sisters being a mechanic and making Yang's mechanical arm actually made me tear up a bit because it would in a way connect her to Jaune. Also, her wanting to get her arm back in Volume 9 would have more stakes to it since its a reminder of her dead friend. My heart ❤️

[@Trixster009]

Everyone making the Jaune as Patroclus to Pyrrha's Achilles deserves a medal, but I raise you: Cinder as Hector, the one who killed Patroclus

[@stormy_person7530]

I know going into fairy tale inspirations isn't _too_ important for early RWBY (but god is it important later on) but having the character based on _Joan of Arc_ become revenge-motivated after his best friend/love interest dies and having the character based on _Achilles_ become the postmortem inspiration to do good and inspire the heroes is kinda ironic huh. I know it's pretty unlikely given the age rating but it would have been _extremely_ cathartic to see Pyrrha lash Cinder's corpse to the back of a bullhead and fly it around Salem's castle like Achilles does to Hector.

[@sev1120]

Or hell, in the Haven fight have Pyrrha in a complete blind rage, focused solely on Cinder to the point of leaving herself open, screaming out in fury as she attacks with reckless abandon, with nothing on her mind except to tear Cinder apart. It would legitimate be terrifying for the characters to see someone who's normally so calm and composed, just frothing at the mouth and screaming about ripping their target to pieces

[@thomascochran7907]

I think people forgot that RWBY doesn’t just make fairy tails inspired characters, it specifically makes inversions of them. Ruby is little red riding hood but she kills big bad wolves. Black is beauty that is also a beast and grown to hate somebody she loved. Ironwood and Lionheart are the tin man if he did loose his heart and the cowardly Lion if he wasn’t courageous deep down. Similarly, Jaune is Joan of arc that wasn’t burned but seeks vengeance for his love, while Pyrrha is Achilles that is burned instead of her love and puts his Patroclus in a tent instead.

[@komos3719]

There's a bittersweetness to the idea that Jaune becomes a martyr. I love the idea of him becoming the "saviour of Beacon" and given plaques and statues. Another symbol of hope (or Beacon...harhar). And his sisters sadly remarking that they always thought of him as worthy/heroic through his kindness.

[@mariopanczel8581]

I just realised that Jaune dying actually fits EVEN more because it would mirror actual Joan of Arc being wrongfully prosecuted and executed. This realisation is making my heart cry a bit

[@Zerochroma15]

Not only that Joan of Arc was killed by being burned at the stake, Jaune being burned to death by Cinder would hit even harder than when Pyrrha was shot in the heel

[@shama1239]

I really like the different context of Pyrrha watching the Jaune training video in the forest. It isn't so much her wanting to get better, it's her thinking about how if she had done more, maybe Jaune wouldn't have died to Cinder.

[@Grendallmayo]

In my eyes, this would've even made the Ever After arc more interesting. the idea of Pyrrha slowly building up her identity outside of the perfect hero, only to be hurtled back in time and desperately protect the Paper Pleasers, clinging back onto the perfect hero identity, would've ruled to see.

[@valeriedure2341]

i also love how this would fit with Jaune's ideas of heroism. he doesnt need special powers or a fancy weapon, he just needed to stand his ground and buy time for the others

[@skysiren4113]

Even though I'm not the biggest Pyrrha fan, the idea of Pyrrha not only loosing the fall maiden powers but loosing Jaune to Cinder has always been fascinating to me. Not only would it have hit WAY harder since we got a lot more screen time with Jaune, but we could've gotten a lot more interesting development with Pyrrha Pyrrha could've gone through something similar to what Katara went through in The Southern Raiders, a character who's usually kind and motherly become more serious and aggressive as they let their desire for revenge towards the person who killed a love consume them. But while Katara's arc lasted one episode, Pyrrha's could've lasted munch longer in Volume 4 to 5

[@rexlumontad5644]

There is a fanart of Pyrrha being so affected by Jaune's demise she literally wore his armor and act like she is Jaune while claiming Pyrrha fell to Cinder. Deliberately hampering her combat abilities to fight like Jaune.

[@dspace4514]

I've think i saw that once. Might see if i can find it.

[@electricangel4488]

Wait so like like the litteral joan of arc. Pretending too be someone she isnt.😢

[@nachomanrandy]

Thats so dumb lol. Like that archer dude from the boys gimping himself using a bow and failing to save people in the process.

[@WolfBoy-om6dw]

That's absolutely depressing and I need to find that fan art

[@twinodoom]

I'd read a fanfic about that

[@itspienoon7883]

Judgmental Critter back at it again with another AU idea that's way more interesting than what we had canonically in RWBY. As many have pointed out, not only does it just make more narrative sense to keep Pyrrha, (because she has more plotlines going for her like being the future maiden and having unfinished business with Cinder) but also can you imagine the strained relationship and long lasting conflict she'd have with Ruby?? Ruby watching first hand at Pyrrha (accidentally) killing/indirectly failing to save her two best friends. First with Penny, AND THEN in the battle of Beacon, she sees Jaune killed by Cinder, meaning that Pyrrha was not able to protect him. That could've brung so many amazing stakes personal conflicts between Ruby and Pyrrha, something that could develop both their relationship and Ruby's entire character in the long run. Because while people have also given warranted criticism that it was weird that Ruby reacted so heavily to Pyrrha's death during and after the event, you wouldn't even need to justify Ruby unlocking her sliver eyes when facing Penny's death AND Jaune's death back to back. ESPECIALLY WITH JAUNE because that's the first person she talked to at Beacon AND someone she could relate with as inexperienced leaders, it wouldn't even need an explanation just GAHHH THE POTENTIAL!

[@cane-mixed-soda2271]

I am personally a big fan of this idea cuz than jaune's death could mimick that of the actual joan of arc. They both got "burned"

[@nozon5686]

As an added thing to jaune dying, him being based on joan d'arc who essentially died a martyr would se up the parallels between the two even better

[@Zerochroma15]

Cinder even uses fire powers. Him being burned alive would probably be too graphic, but turned to ash like Pyrrha would still fit.

[@thomascochran7907]

I think people forgot that RWBY doesn’t just make fairy tails inspired characters, it specifically makes inversions of them. Ruby is little red riding hood but she kills big bad wolves. Black is beauty that is also a beast and grew to hate somebody she loved. Ironwood and Lionheart are the tin man if he did loose his heart and the cowardly Lion if he wasn’t courageous deep down. Similarly, Jaune is Joan of arc that wasn’t burned but seeks vengeance for his love, while Pyrrha is Achilles that is burned instead of her love and puts his Patroclus in a tent instead.

[@myeyesdontbreathe3555]

I feel like Jaune's death would be so much more effective than Pyrrha's for another reason. With Cinder vs Pyrrha, it was two equally strong opponents in an intense fight for survival. Jaune vs Cinder would be so brutal, watching this scared little kid try in vain to fight Cinder, inevitably being completely overwhelmed and killed. It would be less of a fight and more of a murder.

[@marocat4749]

Ot jaune awakens his semblence but still dies. Plus maybe pyrra is weaker and got beaten by cinder, because she thought not about herself and jaune did save her, and she has to , jaune can awaken his semblence and shine and die.

[@thekingmaker2159]

The show was purposely crippling him. His fucking semblance is Aura Amplification.

[@Zerochroma15]

@@marocat4749 Exactly, give him a semblance powerful enough that he is able to hold his own against Cinder for a little bit before he is overwhelmed and killed. It would also give the audience the idea "If Jaune had survived and had time to train and develop his semblance, imagine how powerful he could have been"

[@aj.hardwick]

Holy crap i love the "dead Juane's sister makes yangs arm" idea so much, cuz not only does it have way more emotion like you suggested, but it also takes away one of the big things that makes it make 0 sense that the girls done trust Ironwood. It doesnt solve the Ironwood problems by a longshot, but it would go at least some way to mitigating the issue that they have been given so many reasons to trust him and none not to by at least taking away one of those reasons.

[@beylethdirons2160]

The more I think about this... it feels like one of those areas where someone meddled with what was supposed to be? Like it was supposed to be Jaune and then someone said "...but then we'll lose what male audience we have without Jaune! Switch it around."

[@LuisRodriguez-tp8rz]

Isn't Jaune the stand in for one of the writers? Maybe that's why.

[@Appletank8]

@@LuisRodriguez-tp8rz yes one of the writers voices Jaune.

[@angelcrush3320]

​@@LuisRodriguez-tp8rz I don't know if I would use the term "writers" here, they didn't study storytelling and are complete amatures.

[@troperhghar9898]

If jaune died Pyrrha: I'll never find someone as great as jaune was Wiess: Pyrrha, if you're looking for a dorky nice guy, then THROW A F##KN' ROCK

[@pickyphysicsstudent201]

I think it can work either way. Pyrrha was the only one who believed in Jaune and Jaune was the only one willing ot be Pyrrha's friend. They were both one-of-a-kind, to eachother.

[@troperhghar9898]

@@rathraven1313 Ruby: Why do you need it Qrow: the redhead wont leave me alone

[@beylethdirons2160]

@@rathraven1313 Ruby: Ewwwwwww.... Uncle Qrow... Qrow: Talk to her! Not me! Why do you think I want the flask?

[@JayRedGear]

@@pickyphysicsstudent201 What do you mean Jaune was the only one willing to be Pyrrha's friend? Literally everyone in Team RWBY (besides Weiss technically since she was only interested thanks to her fame) and JNR were willing to be her friend. Jaune isn't special for that.

[@ag.gibler6010]

I like this “rewrite” of yours and it would make much more sense for not only the entire cast, but for Pyrrha as a whole. I also like the idea of Pyrrha living instead of Jaune and how to see her trying to overcome the guilt she has over Jaune's death and that Jaune's sister have more screen time and interact more with the cast rather than what we got. Keep up the good work!

[@nkyfong]

I’d like to also point out that if Pyrrha was still alive and Jaune died, it would also fit the fact that she’s based on Achilles. When Achilles’ boyfriend was killed, he got depressed for a while before going on a murderous vengeful rage. Imagine if your scenario happened! It would fit!

[@BeetleTricks411]

What I disliked most about the statue was the fact that IMMEDIATELY AFTER they went back home, RATHER than search for Oscar more

[@ularkurma]

Jaune can be the 'real hero' in the final moment of his life in this AU. Fullfilling his dream in the end. Good Video.

[@komos3719]

I... never thought about Jaune being the one to die but it makes a ton of sense. I also wanted to see more of his sisters! Especially with the whole "all of my family are warriors" thing he had going on. In the early days, I thought he'd have a similar situation to Weiss as being the runt amongst golden child huntresses.

[@justinn8541akaDrPokemon]

It would make the constant screne time in volume 1 and 2 more justifiable.

[@falconeshield]

He'd have become the Aerith of the show. Prryha...I loved her but she's barely there even in the og show.

[@justinn8541akaDrPokemon]

@@falconeshieldHer having more screen time would really make her feel more of a badass.

[@ethans9379]

@@falconeshield eh, not really. I get the feeling that Jaune didn't really get many fans in the early seasons, and season 3 death would only cement that. Plus, I find it hard to believe that the people of Remnant would see Jaune as some great hero in the same way as they canonically do for Pyrrha. But it is an interesting AU idea nonetheless

[@nickstrobelight7804]

I'm imagining the Volume 5 fight Cinder asking Pyrrha, "... and who was that?" After her whole breakdown over Juane. Nice little nod to the best part of that fight where Cinder asks Juane who he is

[@Zerochroma15]

Oh, that would hit so much harder, having Cinder regard Jaune as so beneath her notice she doesn't even remember him would set Pyrrha off even harder

[@MeemahSN]

I just wish we had seen more from Pyrrha. She feels the most human out of all of the characters, and compared to Jaune, she's much more interesting. You're definitely right about the fandom loving the idea of her rather than who she actually is, because she was a character absolutely filled with untapped potential. Being the strongest fighter, you can imagine the amount of guilt she'd be carrying after Jaune's death. I imagine it to be a similar situation to Jaune and his outburst in Volume 9, "I was the only one that could do it." Pyrrha feeling responsible for his death would have opened doors for a lot of character development. Being the only one truly capable of saving Jaune, yet still being forced to watch him die would have been a lot more intriguing than Jaune's situation.

[@rexlumontad5644]

If Pyrrha takes Jaune's place, that means she will be The Rusted Knight in Wonderland.

[@falconeshield]

Or you just shoot off to a different storyline from V3

[@falconeshield]

And Pyrrha X Weiss shippers would've been fed. At least there was a tease in S1.

[@matijasostojic4288]

I just got a picture in my head of pyrha using her magnetism to peel all of the rust off of her armor.

[@buttery_gooch6]

@@rathraven1313WHAT are you talking about

[@buttery_gooch6]

@@rathraven1313 why in the hell would jaune be ozpin's new body??

[@walterthomas7540]

Pyrrha keeping Jaune's gear cause she just can never move on from his death

[@brleise2942]

At the statue scene, we could have Pyrrha giving the gear back to the sister and finally start moving on.

[@thexivthlion8447]

Man, I'm amazed at how hard you can cook every time you drop a video

[@Wild_Pilot]

_Just gonna sweep my Jaune-117 AU under the rug_ So, yeah. A guy probably wouldn't have a soulmate-level attachment to their mentor/ friend right after the latter confesses their love for the guy. Much like with Pyrrha, it's the headcanon for the character that we like, and a heartbroken knight is a great concept. Even in the show proper, we need more of the Arc Sisters. The two you portrayed are easily recognizable from the family photo with their personalities and color palettes. Thank you for more of your wonderful content. Have an awesome day! P.s. Wait, what are the age-gapes between the Arc siblings? I honestly thought Saphron was the Mother before counting the sisters. We also get a set of twins, a rarity in RWBY, but that only helps the math a little.

[@playererror4044]

Thinking on the whole 'Meeting his sisters throughout the show' We had a big national Tornoment, where any of them watching? Imagine if they'd been in the crowds or something and got to see Jaune changes first hand, and we could also get before and after with how the sisters are coping.

[@chickenelafsworld7105]

Also, you could keep some of the impact of Pyrrha losing to Cinder anyway. Her and Jaune both fight Cinder and lose, either together or one after the other. Maybe they’re really in-sync, maybe he’s getting in the way, maybe he’s just watching at first because he isn’t confident enough, or maybe she sends him away and it takes most of the battle to get back to her. Depends on what flavor of angst you want. Pyrrha gets knocked down because Cinder was focus firing the biggest threat, and now she’s close to being killed. Jaune jumps in to distract Cinder and fight her himself. Mixing in stuff like him using Pyrrha’s lessons or making moves that are recognizably adapted from her could show how much he’s grown in his last hoorah. Cinder’s seen him around school, so maybe she tries to make him feel inadequate during the fight and there are some cool moments where you think, just for a moment, that he can prove her wrong. That with Pyrrha weakening her, Jaune can finish her off. Only to have that hope cut short when she starts taking him seriously and bodies him right before Ruby arrives. It gives him a chance to actually make a difference before his death by saving Pyrrha, and keeps the feeling of hopelessness because it wasn’t just Jaune who lost, it was both of them. Pyrrha has been beaten and he knows she’s better than him, but this is his only chance to save the people he cares about. He held her off until the cavalry got there and that’s genuinely a hero’s death. It’s no longer “Ruby got there too late” but “Jaune kept Cinder there long enough.” It’s not the fast Ruby not being fast enough, but who we thought was the weak Jaune being strong enough. A bittersweet death where he’s grown, he’s useful, and he’s saved the day. It feels like an actual Pyrrhic victory when Cinder goes down instead of just a loss.

[@caseytaylor4896]

a note about Jaune's sisters being established prior, I think it would also be especially interesting to meet Jaune's father (or grandfather)! "Mr.Arc" is part of Jaune's drive to be a hero, as he comes from a line of them, where his grandfather fought in the Great War if I remember correctly. Why he was so behind on training arriving at Beacon I'll never know, but the kid forged transcripts to get into this school and carries a family heirloom as his weapon. Also, I think the comedic line "My dad says all women look for is confidence!" says a lot, like you have SEVEN sisters, and you took HIS advice?

[@waterdog737]

Also I just feel that Pyrrha had more importance to the plot over Janue. She sense of Duty over what she really wants. looking for a friend who look pass her celebrity status. While Janue became a 1 to 2 note character when each additional volume passes. Pyrrha has more emotional impact with Ozma deceptions than Jaune. Sorry, I'm such a Pyrrha fan I got carried away

[@TheTolnoc]

Ruby and Pyrrha never really got a chance to talk about what happened with Penny, so the awkward, unresolved tension could have easily motivated them really getting to know each other and hash things out.

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

That whole thing about Jaune being a hero just for that brief little bit in his final act reminded me a lot of Church's infamous speech from the end of RvB, the "But the hero never gets to see that ending" monologue. One can only imagine the fan edits that would've been spawned from such a turn of events

[@GTGAMERZ]

i was rolling my eyes at the concept, until i heard your explanation. Its such a good idea! And i like the jaun sisters showing up, especially the mechanic giving yang her arm. It fleshes out the world more organically, and it makes the arm more personal (was hoping Yang would say something to Ironwood when she saw him but that never happened 🙁 )

[@NerdMiGerd]

Honestly, having all that build-up of Pyrrha as a soon-to-be martyr only for Jaune to heroically (even if foolishly) sacrifice himself in her place would’ve been a far more compelling twist. It’d be a great way of subverting the mentor dying trope, especially when we saw bread crumbs of Jaune being more emotionally supportive towards her. With six whole seasons of hindsight I really think killing off Pyrrha kneecapped the show, especially when all her death is used for is an excuse to mine sympathy points from the dude. God, could you imagine if instead the dude who started out as a nobody on the show, ends up kicking off the inciting incident by having his traditional hero’s journey cut tragically short?

[@Jacob-hx7kk]

Oscar Ren Nora Jaune Team Name: ORNJ (Orange) Pyrrha Oscar Ren Nora Team Name: ... Well, that's just unfortunate.

[@Trixster009]

The only real flaw with this is that it centers too much of Pyrrha's character around Jaune. Maybe if the shows gives her more than just Jaune or secrets, it could balance out.

[@kitsong]

Here's a tangential Pyrrha idea I had while thinking about how to tidy up RWBY’s power system with minimal changes. Hear me out. All inherited magic works on Ozpin rules in this version and silver eyes ain’t no thing. >Pyrrha gets a fragment of Amber’s power and memories before Cinder stops the transfer >That fragment goes to Ruby when she dies, cue the eyeball light show >Now Pyrrha is in Ruby’s head sometimes >She learned from Amber’s memories that Ozpin didn’t tell her everything >Wants to investigate without telling Oz’s crew >Ruby now has a reason to be in the plot and JNR have a stronger motive to accompany her >Does she deserve to be in control of her choices anymore? Pyrrha was the chosen one, not her >Head start on Ruby's identity crisis >Cinder becomes a screwup after V3 because Amber is in her head messing with her >She has to master her power and her own mind by subduing Amber >What’s this? Ruby and Cinder are now something like actual foils?

[@pieoverlord]

I mean, the perfect answer is still collapse Jaune into Ruby. Ruby gets bullied by Cardin, keeps it secret but spills her feelings out to Pyrrha, then gets subtly assisted when she stands up for herself; Ruby starts secret practice sessions with Pyrrha to catch up to her teammates; Ruby gets into the whole love triangle with Weiss about the dance, then learns connects with Pyrrha after realising how lonely she is; Ruby's relationship with Pyrrha is strong enough for her to realise something's wrong when she sees her kill Penny; Pyrrha kisses Ruby and sends her away to fight Cinder; Ruby has to run all the way back just to arrive too late. Watching the person who has been supporting her the most die would definitely set off the silver eyes. All good dramatic stuff. Then Ruby has the secret video, reacts angrily once she learns all the big secrets; has a real moment with the stupid statue; makes the grudge with Cinder deeply mutual and very personal; hell, adds a fun new dimension to her relationship with Weiss going forward. Suddenly, Ruby feels like a protagonist.

[@littlenice-ve5pb]

Omg that would be so good We could have this

[@metal_fusion]

If our positions were switched, would I have your life and your mine?

[@Pomoriee]

Even just her name implies a death, but it was such a fumble to make the death be hers, a Pyrrhic victory is one that comes at a great loss. If Jaune had died, this would have been that perfect loss. And I love your final sisters AU. That would’ve been so good.

[@flanthief]

You're point about a lot of rwby consisting on peoples head cannons is something i have felt for a long time and feels so similar to the harry potter fandom. Which is double funny because rwby is heavily inspired by HP

[@masterstylez6960]

The thought of Jaune Arc getting killed by cinder's fire does also add some cruel irony to his name sake

[@TheOneTrueErica]

This is exactly why I want a RWBY AU reboot. Get another studio to tackle the potential of this world and its characters. Ice Queendom would've been better if its animation hadn't crashed and burned AND its story wasn't so rushed.

[@falconeshield]

And it was a real AU not a dream state.

[@bluemoss9831]

Oh one way that the volume 5 confrontation would really get elevated is that after Pyrrha does her big rant about how much Jaune meant to her, Cinder going “Who?” would be a much more brutal sting and set off

[@ivanbackfromthecardshop8093]

On the "taking out pyrrha makes here a threat" you could still easily have this by having her loose like normal and having jaune show up last second to save her but dying in the process maybe even awakening his semblance to do so to bait people into thinking he has a chance. Or maybe you could still have pyrrha "die" but really exagerate the healing part of his semblance and have him able to revive her. Only too lead to his death as cinder would see such an abillity as too troublesome to let stay around. If you want to get really dramtic with traumitizing pyrrha and sticking with that healing idea maybe let him have a really strong self healing as well. So while he cant threaten cinder hes able to effectivley be a nice punching bag distraction to help pyrrah. At some point she still gets hurt though and too save her jaune basically has too stop healing himself for a bit which gives the opening for cinder too get the kill.

[@sev1120]

That idea of "I know I can't win, but I can keep you busy until you lose" is amazing. Jaune constantly getting mortal wounds in the fight, but his semblance, having turned on so late in life compared to everyone else's, is in overdrive and won't let him die. Pyrrha is shouting encouragement and aid to Jaune, keeping pressure on an injury, as Cinder looks on horrified as Jaune is filled with arrows, blood cascading out of multiple open wounds, burns covering his entire body. Cinder thinks she's finally taken him down, when Jaune stands up one final time, and through lungs filled with blood shouts "I'M NOT FINISHED YET!" and charges in to Cinder. Jaune in the fight is a literal dead man walking, and it ties into Jeanne D'Arc becoming a saint and martyr.

[@ivanbackfromthecardshop8093]

@@sev1120 its a favorite trope of mine. It has a lot of potential

[@Soobins-Dimples]

Why does this timeline make more sense come on rooster teeeeth 😩

[@junk_bot_man6412]

Exactly why we need a reboot

[@juliusbossman7280]

I like the idea of one of the sisters being a minor antagonist for Pyrrha. She saw Jaune as not huntsman material and tried to stop him from leaving but he sneaked out. She is grieving losing her brother by going after Pyrrha as she knew that Pyrrha didn't tell the teachers about the fake transcripts and believed he would've been alive if he was expelled. This makes Pyrrha wonder if she is right but also angry that Jaune's sister would trash talk about him like that and fight her.

[@valeriedure2341]

pyrrha and weiss would be such a good dynamic is this au

[@shadymoustafa93]

Know what a good callback would be? Jaune using the rocketlocker on Pyrrha after learning the trick from Cardin (sure the lockers are metallic but maybe he could have used his shield to block the door (a Cardin callback in a Cardin callback? Go me !)). That'd be cool and funny

[@usmansubhani7482]

I wished they leaned more into Jaune’s ancient family that still uses standard weaponry. The gunblades stand out less if there aren’t characters who use guns and blades that DON’T transform. Plus it’d be interesting if he had toxic masculine beliefs about sacrificing himself as a go-to, rather than Beacon being so low security that he got in being his entire character. It’d be nice if he was more ‘medieval’ rather than ‘weak’.

[@sev1120]

He uses outdated weapons because he believes in facing your enemy head-on His armour barely covers him because "armour is for those afraid to die"

[@usmansubhani7482]

@@sev1120 Now that would be fun. I honestly expected an entire arc about weapons when he called his “hand-me-downs”. How society evolved and the concept of old versus new.

[@sev1120]

@@usmansubhani7482 Maybe at some point, he refers to his weapons not as "hand-me-downs" but instead as a "legacy" of one of his ancestors, and he's trying to emulate them as a hero but doesn't quite understand the gulf in progress between then and now

[@usmansubhani7482]

@@sev1120 THAT sounds more like a main character.

[@funnymisterm5014]

The moment I saw the title. I immediately said "YES"

[@nanovega3918]

Wow just from that title I’ve never heard something ring so true. Pyrrha was at the height of her incredible character progression. Jaune was a fool who never took the situation seriously. Sometimes the useless jerk isn’t hiding some incredible ability, sometimes he just dies. Honestly it sounds fucking amazing, you can complete all of Jaune’s Arcs at once and also set Pyrrha on her path. Throw away the stupid healing semblance. It’s dumb. Instead, Jaune can discover His Semblance right as Pyrrha is fighting Cinder, and make it “Martyrdom” or something similar. Basically, Jaune Marks a Target, and takes damage in their stead. Now you’ve answered his question and given him a callback to Joan of Arc, one of history’s GREATEST MARTYRS. Cool, he said he wants to be the hero, the one protecting others. You can finish this now too, as Jaune shows up late and absorbs a dangerous attack, giving Pyrrha the chance to fight cinder off while he uses his massive Aura reserves to tank incoming damage. Until near the end of the fight. His Aura Breaks, but his semblance stays active. He gets very afraid, and we see the mark on Pyrrha flicker, he could cancel it and save himself, but instead, chooses to leave it on. Now that his Aura can’t deflect attacks for her, the semblance works different. The attack passes straight through Pyrrha, leaving her unharmed and giving her the chance to wound Cinder, maybe even cutting off Cinder’s arm, and making her leave in fear. Pyrrha turns around, thinking she won, and realizes this was a PYRRHIC VICTORY. As Jaune crumples to the ground dying, the attack that was meant for her, fatally wounding him in her place. Bam. Neat pretty bow. Honestly it seems like that would’ve been the original intention.

[@firelight3219]

@The Judgmental Critter, this idea works great with an au idea I've been working on. Thanks! Also, thanks to the other commenters that gave me ideas! It also occurred to me that Phyrrha being alive, and a part of the group could add a more believable reason for why they were stopped by what's her name? the Atlas lady in the town they meet Jaune's sister? with the fact that she can't be trusted and with her semblance she could cause HUGE amounts of damage to Atlas. Also just think of how hilarious the line "we steal an airship" 😂would be coming from Pyrrha, the girl who has always been the peak of what a hero should be.

[@billyboleson2830]

Jaune dying would make the volume 5 counter with Cinder make orders of magnitude more sense

[@snowflake_obsidian669]

Though you already have been talking about it, Jaune was voiced by one of the writers and of course he didn’t want him to die or not have an important role in the show and not enough screentime. Funny here is that this has only shown how incompetent the writers were and that the story has a lot of fabulous things in it which don’t work due to what we saw before

[@marocat4749]

We could have ghost jaune

[@snowflake_obsidian669]

They could do a Ghost-Jaune in vol 9 or try to create with stab him or something else, they have so many things in their universe that it wouldn’t be impossible for someone getting the power by gods to revive someone on their own which then was the semblance every generation got like Weiss got hers by her mother, there is so much freaking potential to just fill the freaking plot holes DX

[@xray8270]

2:25 small thing but Maria said that the silver eyes only work in the presence of grim in volume 6. There were no grim (that we can see) on screen during Penny's death and so it makes sense that her eyes didnt light up, although i do agree with you that the death of penny was much more tragic for ruby than pyrrha.

[@thesapphireone]

I’ve already commented on why I feel like Pyrrha’s death didn’t sit well with me, it’s on Celtic Phoenix’s Fixing RWBY Volume 3 video that goes into more detail about my thoughts, but your video got me thinking: While I like Jaune’s character, even if he does take away time from Ruby and her team, I’m wondering what would’ve happened had he died… MY WAY! In this version, when Pyrrha is about to push Jaune into the locker, he already cottons onto what’s about to happen and stops her, and when Pyrrha insists it’s her destiny to fight Cinder, but is clearly blaming and gaslighting herself into thinking that she has to for failing to be a Fall Maiden, as Jaune comforts her and tells her that it isn’t, assuring her that while she isn’t a Fall Maiden, she’s still the kind, brave and passionate girl that helped others, not to get some big reward out of it, but because she believed it was the right thing to do. As Pyrrha is touched by this, Cinder catches up to them, and Jaune, afraid for Pyrrha’s life sends her away in the locker, and while Pyrrha watches from a distance, screaming as she sees Jaune valiantly fight Cinder and get abruptly killed for it, but his sacrifice proves not just how much he loves Pyrrha, but how, for all his flaws and screwups, he still is a courageous, loyal friend and a true hero, with Pyrrha honouring him and finding the self-confidence to follow her own path.

[@nocturnalcove9736]

The fact Jaune even survived into volume 9 is anything short of a miracle. I get what he's suppose to represent: the everyday man who's out of his depth, but he did overstay his welcome. Him dying in volume 3 trying to be a hero only to be brutally reminded he's not special would have worked more than Pyrrha dying.

[@falionna3587]

Something I'll note is there's added drama with Pyrrha killing Penny if Pyrrha is allowed to live. Not to mention Pennys ressurection. Like if Pyrrha and Ruby traveled in volume 4 could've been quite spicy.

[@adriannagomez2306]

I’m on this alternate timeline where Jaun dies 😊 sounds more interesting

[@bruvance]

I really like that ironwood gave Yang the arm, because I could really see them having that silent understanding of the horrors of battle and i also just love ironwood as the big rock of stability, like how he handles weiss's boar, and offers help and stuff at every turn for the main girls. I really like your Idea though, so you could combine them. Say yang gets the arm from ironwood, but its not as precisely tuned as she'd want or she doesn't want to put it on at all, but then jaune sister number x comes and brings it up, saying she could tune it and make sure yang got used to it, kinda having the moral message its ok to accept help.

[@blue-and-kai]

i see the title and go: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT JUST SAVE THEM BOTH

[@TBAunknown]

Nah you right, pyrrha and ruby would have crashed out if both lost jaune

[@DeDuppio_111]

Ngl,At first seeing the Thumbnail , you had me like "You are smoking CRACK!". But watching and think about it, I'm sold...

[@notsowatermelon117]

Going along with this AU, another interesting concept to play around with would be Cardin. Granted, I'm not sure where he/his team would fit into the story (realistically the best choice is to sub them in over Dee and Dudley), but the idea of the reformed bully having to cope with the fact that his victim sacrificed himself and died like a hero for Beacon while Cardin could hardly fend off a few grimm and bots is pretty neat to me. The internal stuggles and self reflection of Cardin having tormented Jaune for months, being saved not once, but now twice, needing to step up to become the knight in shining armor Jaune died to become, never getting the chance for closure or being able to apologize, and later being confronted by Pyrrha in the aftermath, idk it's a really fascinating concept to me that I wish to explore more, even if it would probably just be some mini arc.

[@nanni0580]

R.I.P Pyrrha you deserved so much better writing

[@yersonpanqueba9263]

I only know that CRWBY probably would have made her kill Penny again. In the name of the angst.

[@somenerdpng]

Okay I haven’t seen anyone else talk about this, but Pyrrha also uses a shield… Like the only other character other than Jaune I can think of who does. Jaune already has that scene in the show where he upgrades his weapons with pieces of Pyrrahs, this would hit so much harder if Jaune died. Not only would it be cool to see pieces of his sword on her rifle/spear but her taking up his shield in honour of him, carrying on his family heirloom would be an incredibly emotional story telling piece. Everything is setup almost perfectly for Jaune to die and Pyrrah to live, it’s actually crazy they went the other direction in the actual story. Hopefully rwby gets picked up somewhere else one day, extends the early volumes out a bit and we get this version of the story.

[@skytiger215]

Why can't we have this version, it's so good! I've always loved this idea more. It's typical of the mentor figure to die, so I always thought it'd be more interesting for the student to die and instead the mentor would have to live with the fact that they let their student down and weren't good enough in a different way.

[@krysslucario9478]

Amazing video once again! I always love how articulate you are. I think another big point about Jaune being the one Cinder kills, is that he isn’t a threat to them, or her. We established that the villains are strong, Cinder kills Ozpin. So having her absolutely wreck Jaune’s ass is a no brainer. But all she really would have to do is disarm him. He’s not a threat, to her he’s just a weakling. But even after getting disarmed, she kills him anyways, just to send a message. It would be ruthless. Unnecessary. Jaune did nothing, he easily could’ve surrendered, but Cinder shows no mercy. I don’t know, I think it would add to her character, show that she genuinely is so power-hungry and loyal to Salem that she won’t let anyone go

[@Safgdr]

I love the idea of Pyrrha and Cinder being rivals so much more because it sets up an interesting battle scenario with Pyrrha not being able to manipulate any of Cinder’s glass creations (and especially since Cinder has the full maiden powers). It forces Pyrrha to somehow be even better than untouchable. It would be interesting, then, to see how much pressure Pyrrha starts to put on herself to getting even better so she can beat Cinder and avenge Jaune. I like this so much more also in part because I loved Pyrrha’s aesthetic and her voice and what semblance of her character we got. Like the whole scene with her against CRDL (i think that was the acronym) was so fun to me. Did it have any narrative purpose? I mean, not really… BUT SHE KICKED ASS AND IT WAS SO COOL! So yeah, she was one of my favorites and I never liked how she went down because some of the battle decisions she made against Cinder felt a little… unnatural? I feel like the Pyrrha they had established would’ve gone in so much harder than the Pyrrha in that fight. Idk, I’m just really biased because we lost Pyrrha who can beat ass over Jaune who steals screen time and lowkey Ruby’s position as both leader and main character.

[@NoHandle44]

I really hope that someone buys Rooster Teeth and reboots the series. But I don't know how I feel about waiting ANOTHER 10 years for the series.

[@duckgooseyswan]

And maybe, just like with the Fixing RWBY show, Pyrrha might have a small portion of Amber’s Fall Maiden powers inside her. This would have her Maiden powers lay dormant for a while and have it awaken in Volume 5’s big battle. And having Cinder realized that she was not powerful than she thought, because there was a piece of it missing would make her more power hungry than before. Having that said, now the two “Fall Maidens” would become enemies with different motivations to get the power they desired. Cinder wants to be the Fall Maiden for power, and Pyrrha needs to be the Fall Maiden to protect her friends, her family, and avenge Jaune.

[@christopherbravo1813]

Imagine if the fight between Pyrrha and Cinder played out pretty much the same way it did in canon, only for Jaune to swoop in at the last moment attempting a heroic rescue...upon which he gets trounced with minimal effort on Cinder's part before being killed off. Not only would Pyrrha *hate* Cinder for what she did, she would also loathe *herself* due to believing that if she was only strong enough to defeat Cinder herself, Jaune wouldn't have had to die.

[@retrox2776]

Jaune dying could also be some twisted Karma as to why you shouldn't cheat since he cheated his way into beacon and paid the price for not being prepared 🤷‍♂️

[@Cain1134]

I can get behind that. The fact Jaune had to cheat his way into Beacon is what frustrates me about his character.

[@littlebabyman8494]

0:54 I’m just here cause I love pointless hypotheticals about fiction.

[@CinnaSloth]

You see, Critter, the only problem with having team Rwby meet more of the Arc sisters in Rwby proper is that it would have been a great idea and incredible story writing. We all know Rt was deathly allergic to great ideas and good writing. Someone in WB probably brought this amazing idea into the boardroom and because Rt was SO allergic in fact, they died as a company. Having any sort of introspection, wholesome dialogue between team members, family relationships, or any kind of emotion beside gasping and standing around for entire scenes at a time was far too difficult beyond jaune being a broody crybaby mf. Having family speak to another member of the main cast?! You're asking too much. lol

[@LordWeems]

I wanna take a crack at how a Jaune Dies scenario would go too -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- Cinder attacks Pyrrha just after gaining the rest of the Fall Maiden powers, pushing everyone around her outside into the firefight at large. Jaune sticks with her immediately, and he does NOT let Pyrrha fight alone no matter what she says. Its a brilliant moment of tenacity where Jaune doesnt back down and he refuses to play damsel, for that entire scene, Jaune *is* a Huntsman in everything but name - Jaune and Pyrrha are on the backfoot, having to fight off Grimm as WELL as Cinder who's rapidly taking to her full strength *way* too well. - Jaune is putting his combat skills to the test and we get to see how he's developed and gotten better because of Pyrrha's tutoring and sparring and for a brief section of the fight it looks like they could win if help arrives fast enough. Theyre not winning, but theyre not losing yet either. Theres a chance theyll make it out. - Pyrrha is obviously proud, and the two work in lovely synergy, almost mind reading one another and we get to properly see the techniques theyd have used in the Tournament Arc together - Then the fight starts to slowly become more and more tilted in Cinder's favor. Shes gotten a lot of excellent hits in, while taking some herself but its definitely not enough to lose any time soon. - Then it happens. Cinder takes the upperhand. Pyrrha is wounded and down, Jaune is disarmed and only has his shield. Cinder goes for the final blow, the arrow to Pyrrha's chest that kills her in canon. But Jaune is here this time. He pulls his shield up, and braces in front of Pyrrha in a split second choice of self sacrifice. He thinks his shield can withstand the arrow, his Aura if all else fails, but hes wrong. Hes empty. He has nothing left. It punctures his shield, sticking through it and through his armor, essentially skewering him on it. Its the only thing keeping him upright as he slumps forward, not letting go of the shield so he can keep Pyrrha safe. Cinder walks up, and grabs him by the hair, forcing him to look up. Shes in control of this fight's outcome now, and theyre both at her mercy. She says her little villain speech, and Ruby arrives just in time to see Cinder incinerate Jaune in front of both her and Pyrrha. Jaune's shield and his armor clatter to the ground, his jacket burning away and leaving behind only the tattered scrap of his symbol, the same one on the cereal boxes Pyrrha was featured on. Jaune kept Pyrrha close to his heart and she just watched him die, never confessing her feelings. Her training did not save him. She could not save him. Pyrrha has no weapons in hand, all she can do is try to grab his shield in some desperate, grief stricken attempt to kill Cinder But Ruby is standing there, eyes wide and mouth open. Small scenes play out of her and Jaune's friendship, their good times and bad thus far. And even a brief scene done in 2d art of Jaune scoring well on a combat evaluation and sharing the news with Ruby in excitement And then the bottoms of the memories burn with silver fire. Ruby's silver eyes well with tears as she *screams* Jaune's name, and the bright flash emanating from Beacons tower engulfs the entirety of the campus. Pyrrha saves Ruby, having been behind Jaune's now scorched shield when the blast hit, protecting herself from being hurt. - We cut forward. Jaunes confirmed dead, JNPR is now just NPR. Pyrrha is not her usual self anymore. Shes depressed, almost cold and detached from Nora and Ren. Shes worried about Ruby's wellbeing But shes hungry for revenge on Cinder to the point of recklessness, and we've only ever seen her do that when Emerald influenced her But now its constant. Shes running herself ragged training, training to be stronger, to recover from her injuries but her ACL was severed, and its taking so long to be ready again Shes similar to Yang in that aspect, and they probably bond over their circumstances, maybe even training together, bonding over newfound protectiveness and anger Against Cinder again, Pyrrha is self sacrificial and angry, recklessly and brutally swinging and stabbing at Cinder with everything she has, throwing her shield (which now carries accents of Jaune's armor in it, callback

[@austinharris3139]

That's a good point Jaune would've narratively made more sense when you consider Ruby and Pyrrha.

[@MorningDusk7734]

It also makes sense that Pyrrha (inspired by Achilles) would have a storyline about losing her loved one, Jaune taking the place of Patroclus.

[@anwenlokier2292]

In my school vr game, Jaune is mentioned by Nogara as her first victim to her recently unlocked Semblance, Decay

[@supersmily5811]

This video really feels like a "hindsight's 20/20," concept. No one writing the show in that moment could have expected that Jaune dying would have been so differently impactful. They were giving him all the screentime specifically because he'd outlive Volume 3 and be a main character thereafter. If they wanted Jaune to die instead, they probably would have rewritten the story before that point to focus more on Pyrrha, creating the same initial problems in reverse.