Co-Author: Recycler. (P.S. This chapter is a bit different from what I usually write. It is a reaction chapter, but we had to fill it with something before things start to heat up. Author's notes at the bottom as usual.)
We sat around the television, our eyes glued to the screen as we watched the supposed 'webshow'. We were using the Xbox One available to us to watch YouTube, which I found simply fascinating.
My personal views of the interconnectivity of devices aside, I brought my attention back to the show. It was something called 'RWBY', pronounced 'Ruby' like the gemstone. I didn't exactly understand it (How does a W make a U sound?) but Kristin just told me to ignore the technicalities and enjoy the show.
I found the first Volume to be very simplistic; the animation wasn't as good as some I've seen, the story focused around humans and these strange human-animal hybrids known as Faunus, and the drama between students. The end was better, since it involved actual real world problems over melodrama. Still, I found it interesting how humans react to one another and how they resolve their differences. Simplistic didn't mean bad, after all!
"I think my favorite character is Weiss," I opinionate with a smile. The two girls looked at me with raised eyebrows.
"She's a bitch," A2 pointed out.
"Kind of reminds you of someone, doesn't it? Long white hair, blue eyes, a bad attitude…" 2B trailed off, but a small smirk came to her face as A2 glared at her.
"Like you're any better-" A2 was cut off by me.
"Uh, well, anyways," I coughed - rather unnecessarily, but I did so anyways - and tried to reignite a civilized conversation. "I like her because she's intelligent, strong, and mistaken as a selfish and snobby person. I think she's really just afraid to express herself naturally."
"Well, my favorite is Blake." I looked at 2B, hoping for an explanation. She sighed before elaborating. "She's also smart, but focuses a lot on the mission at hand. She's dedicated, strong, and capable of seeing through with the mission. Her drive is admirable and would make for an excellent soldier."
"I don't care enough about the show to make an opinion," A2 sighed. I just laughed. That was exactly like her, I thought.
Exactly like her to not tell her true feelings, that is. "Come on, everyone has some kind of favorite. Who do you dislike the least?" I nudged her, a grin on my face. She just rolled her eyes and sighed, very similarly to 2B just a minute ago.
"I guess Lie Ren. He seems to be the only level headed one in the two groups, besides possibly Pyrrha. Then again, she chose a worthless partner based off of one single interaction, so that's debatable." I hummed, nodding in agreement. 2B grabbed the remote and pressed the play button, stopping the conversation and starting the next season.
The second volume better grasped my attention, though I wasn't sure about 2B and A2. The entire volume involved the character's fight against a terrorist group, the White Fang, and their interaction as a team under stress. We had just watched the last episode about the 'Breach' and were now conversing about it.
"I don't know, you would think they would have a better defense than relying on students to combat such a threat," 2B muttered, her visor discarded for once. "I for one would not entrust new recruits to battle any robots over trained YoRHa operatives, no matter how skilled. They're still inexperienced."
"They might be desperate," A2 decided to speak up. "Think about it. Humanity had to make us to fight the robots because they were desperate. This could be their step towards copying that decision if it comes to it."
I smiled and joined the conversation. "Yeah. This could be their last attempt before mass producing Penny like they do the Knights. From what I've seen in the show, a soul and living creatures are highly valued in their society. Even Faunus are much more valued than the Grimm. So they might be holding onto the belief that humanity should do the job over AI."
"It's a stupid belief. If there were more like Penny then I doubt they'd have as much of a Grimm problem. Don't they have those large airships too? Just bomb them from the sky. That should cull their numbers quickly." I chuckled at 2B's comment, shaking my head.
"They could do that, but the Grimm seem to come back pretty quick. Strategically speaking, it's futile and inefficient."
"I know that, but Mountain Glenn was a prime example of the sheer idiocy of their leaders. They continue doing the same thing time and again with no gain. It might waste resources, but if it pushes back an overwhelming number of enemies long enough for them to build new, stronger settlements, then I don't see the issue there."
A2 shrugged and sighed, a hand running through her hair. "I'm going with 2B here. Sorry 9S. Bombing them to oblivion would be a good move. They may come back, they may not. They seem to realize it isn't worth attacking large settlements with high protection, so you could bomb an area, keep an airship there to defend it until proper defenses are built up, then continue to the next one."
"But they have avian Grimm as well. Nevermore can be anything from the size of normal birds or large as planes, like the one they fought in Initiation. Get enough of those swarming at once and I'd imagine it would be enough to take down an airship."
"Just bring a ton of AA guns then. Shouldn't be too hard to bomb the ground and shoot birds."
"Whatever, let's just watch the next volume. Kristin says it's her favorite." 2B interrupted before I could continue the previous debate. I smiled and nodded anyways, switching it to Volume 3.
The hour clicked by faster than I expected and, before I knew it, the season was over. I saw why it was Kristin's favorite.
It was everything the last two volumes had and more. Fighting, drama, comedy, and a new darker undertone to the story. It wasn't the most original of plots; A big evil threatens the land, managing to overwhelm the good guys before they reform stronger than ever and, as yet to be seen, defeat the evil.
Original it might not be, but it made up for it in eccentricity. Not in the bad way, either. It was strange, yes, but only because it combined numerous works on fiction, history, cartoons called 'anime', as well as many other movies, TV shows, and pop culture aspects. I wouldn't call it the best piece of entertainment I've seen, but it definitely did not disappoint.
"I can't believe they killed Pyrrha," 2B grumbled. "She was way too soft, but she was undoubtedly the best combatant of her year."
"I'm disappointed about Penny. She was way better than Pyrrha," A2 spoke up next, who despite her words didn't appear any different than usual. Though there was a tinge of something in her eyes.
"Personally, I think their deaths were necessary. Ozpin's, Roman's, Penny's and Pyrrha's. Without their deaths then the story likely wouldn't have progressed much. We'd be stuck in the same place, and that would get rather boring." My opinion was met with two blank stares.
"Anyways," 2B drawled. "How about Salem?"
"Her voice actress is fantastic. I heard her in one of John's games, Halo I think it was. Though her design is original, but I still haven't seen many movies or shows like this. I'm pretty excited that Cinder isn't the main villain as well, it makes for an interesting twist."
"Eh," A2 shrugged. "I could care less about Salem. She's said a few lines, has an interesting design, but that's about it. I prefer Neo. She doesn't talk, but her actions speak louder than words."
I quirked my lips. I didn't like Neo too much. "Well, I think the more pressing concern is Ozpin. We didn't see him die. He was the only one not to be shown killed, so it's safe to assume he might not actually be dead."
"Or maybe there was just too much death for one episode," I nodded at 2B's response. That made sense, but I doubted it was the reason. "Having four characters killed on screen might lose some of the younger audience."
"Fair enough. I still suspect something larger is going on. Why show smaller character's die off but not the leader of the good guys?"
"We'll just have to find out. Speculation leads nowhere when the trail itself isn't even complete," A2 ended it, making me frown a bit. I was having fun… "I'm a little more interested on Qrow though," The smirk on her face told me just what kind of 'interested' she meant. 2B rolled her eyes and I just sat there awkwardly.
"Didn't peg you for the romantic type," 2B said. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was teasing A2.
A2 just shrugged, flicking her hair out of her eyes. "Romantic is a strong word. I don't want romance, I want other things."
"That's nasty."
"What can I say? We may be Androids, but they made us pretty damn close to humans," I quickly reached for the remote and pressed the play button, starting Volume 4 before this conversation got any more gross.
From browsing the internet, I came to the conclusion that this was what people called 'filler'. Some parts were very important to the story, such as the Qrow and RNGR meeting, but the fight with the strange Grimm and Yang's nighttime conversation with Port, Oobleck and Taiyang seemed fairly unneeded. There were other points where it felt unnecessary, but I didn't mind too much.
It wasn't the best volume, but neither was it the worst. The animation was superb, as well as the voice acting. It managed to be light hearted yet keep the dark undertone all throughout the volume.
"That horse Grimm was kind of creepy, wouldn't you say?" I asked, looking at the two fighters.
"No."
"No."
"... Well, I guess I'm alone in that regard," I murmured. "I am a little surprised that Lionheart is working with Salem. I didn't expect for her to work with the headmasters."
"It's not too surprising," A2 spoke up. It surprised and pleased me that she was talking so much today. Maybe we should do this more often, I thought. "Having an inside agent is strategically intelligent. It's why organizations, such as the CIA in the United States, exist. It provides invaluable information. How else did they learn about the Maidens, who they were, about those artifacts located under the schools, and so on?"
2B nodded, speaking up next. "Plus it gives extra power to their side. Political influence, the ability to sway information to the public, make it so Haven looks at the other kingdoms and thinks they're corrupt, and provide plenty of propaganda to attract willing soldiers to fight, and die, for them."
"I figured as much. But knowing it can happen doesn't lessen the surprise. You can know when the world will end and how, but seeing it happen still surprises you. Still, it's interesting. I'm wondering what Lionheart has to gain by the destruction of his school and other's, as well as betraying his friends. As you said before, speculation is futile," I felt Jack's influence rub off on me as my tone gained a sarcastic effect at the end.
"For a volume full of nothing majorly important, there sure is a lot to talk about…" 2B mumbled. I nodded in agreement. We barely started but it's all been on one topic, and we could probably go on that topic for another ten minutes.
"Is it just me, or is Weiss' entire family full of dysfunctional jerkoffs?" A2 still disliked Weiss for reasons I couldn't comprehend. She was still in my top three favorites. I'd say she's tied for first alongside Oobleck. The man values information gathering just as much, if not more so, than combat. Very inspiring indeed.
"That's true. Everyone except for her and Winter seem to be on the lower end of who's likeable." Yeah, 2B really liked Winter. I didn't blame her, but her favoritism of Winter seemed to be more like a love of the character than a simple like.
"I think the only characters that I dislike are Whitley and Jacques. Her mom seems to be an alcoholic, but Qrow is too, so…"
"Don't you dare compare Qrow to that woman," A2 glared at me. I gulped and scooted away. "Qrow is a functional alcoholic, that woman can't even spend time with her own children because she's too busy drowning herself in booze."
I just nodded, hoping it would prevent her from going off on me. I doubted she would, but the glare… "Speaking of Qrow, his Semblance is rather strange." 2B interrupted. I sent her a grateful smile and responded to her. Anything to get A2's ire away from me is something I'll jump at.
"Yeah. Probability manipulation, especially towards specific events, is rather powerful. It's very good in certain situations, like combat, but talking to people probably makes it a poor ability to have."
I looked at the clock, noticing it said 4:54, before getting back into the conversation. We'd have to clean up before Jack got off work. "Probability manipulation would be a very powerful weapon against the robots. Imagine all the messed up wires that come from it," A2 grinned slightly before it disappeared back to her normal look.
"How did he train Ruby then? I imagine teaching her how to use a scythe would end up with a lot of cuts and scratches, if not outright dismemberment."
"Maybe it was via notes and the Scroll. It likely eliminates any effect of his Semblance," 2B helpfully added. I chewed my cheek and thought on it, but it didn't add up.
"She probably just didn't cut off limbs. Or she used a practice scythe until she was proficient enough to go to a real one. But those still don't add up, so I'm not sure. They might expand more later, who knows."
"Yeah-" 2B was cut off by the door opening, with Jack walking in carrying an umbrella.
"Damn rain… Good thing I remembered my umbrella…" He mumbled and set it off to the side before taking off his jacket and shoes. He walked into the living room and stopped when he saw us.
"Uh… Is there a meeting or something?" He looked around, an eyebrow raised. "I don't see your Pods, so what's up?"
"We were just watching the web show RWBY. Kristin recommended it, so we figured we'd check it out," I smiled as I answered. He nodded and walked to the kitchen.
"Well just don't make anymore of a mess, clean up once you're done, and come in the kitchen when the others get here. We got stuff to talk about," We all shared a curious look before we started picking up the mess. There were some soda cans, a bag of chips, pillows and blankets, as well as the cell phone we were given to share.
"Well, guess we'll cut this short. Maybe we can watch Chibi later?" They all nodded and we stood up, walking towards the kitchen.
This chapter was a tad strange to write. It was kind of a chore for me to do; I'm not the biggest fan of any reaction fics, even if they're just one chapter things. But who knows, you guys might've liked it, or you might not have. Either way go ahead and tell us in the reviews - and we may do it again or not. Again I dunno, this was kind of a test while also trying to get another chapter out.
Next chapter will really start the story. It'll open up plot, provide action, and give the characters some actual growth outside of time jumps.
Speaking of, this doesn't specify when this happens, but it is around 3 weeks after they appeared.
So, yeah. Kind of underwhelming chapter, but I had to post something. Favorite, follow and review if you enjoyed anyways!
I bid you all adieu.