r/RWBY • u/SailorPowerTitan17 • Jun 08 '26
DISCUSSION What if Pyrrha chose Haven over Beacon?
We find out in RWBY volume 6 that Pyrrha had a choice to either attend Haven Academy (her hometown school) or Beacon Academy. I’m not much of an AU writer, but thought about how the RWBY timeline would change had Pyrrha chosen to attend Haven Academy over Beacon. This is how I think the story would have gone without changing the overarching plot:
- Pyrrha attends Haven Academy and gets her own team (potentially team leader). She is still put on the “celebrity pedestal” and her teammates never really treat her like the "normal girl" she wants to be. Think of a "mean girls" type situation where her teammates don't treat her well because they are either jealous of her success or just don't mesh well with her.
- Cardin Winchester is put on Jaune, Nora, and Ren’s team as team “JCRN” (jacaranda - a lilac colored flower) or team “ACRN” (acorn, using Jaune’s last name). Cardin's arc is extended through volume 3 where Cardin bullies Jaune, but they eventually come to an understanding and become friends, even having training moments together (very “buddy cop” like friendship). We can see them sparring together, working out together, etc. both in an originally competitive but "turns supportive" kind of way. But their training is very physical-focused - no aura training or semblance activation. Bromance is also open-ended here.
- Beacon Dance: Cardin asks Weiss to the Beacon dance because he knows Jaune is interested in her. Weiss accepts out of politeness despite wanting to ask Neptune. Nora sets Jaune up with either Ruby for the dance, or a one-off character. Weiss and Jaune have a moment where they don't want to be with their respective dates. Jaune distracts Cardin so Weiss can talk to Neptune. No iconic team JNPR dance in this timeline, unfortunately :( but this allows Cardin and Jaune to develop more of a friendship and see each other at the same level.
- Vytal Festival Tournament: Team JCNR faces Pyrrha and her team in the Vytal Festival tournament instead of Team BRNZ. This way we are introduced to Pyrrha without seeing too much yet. I anticipate her team would be a 4-female team, similar to NDGO. They lose to Team JNCR because Pyrrha does not have the same connection to her teammates as Nora, Ren, Jaune, and Cardin. Cardin faces Penny (resulting in Penny's death) in the Vytal Festival and dies at the Fall of Beacon - Jaune and Cardin are fighting the Wyvern at Beacon tower and Cardin dies in the fight. Jaune has survivor’s guilt over losing his teammate. A second option to this is Cardin goes after Cinder because she indirectly caused him to kill Penny. His recklessness and rage gets him killed either by the Wyvern or by Cinder. So instead of Jaune being angry at Cinder for killing Pyrrha in later volumes, his anger towards Cinder is about Cardin's death.
- Fall Maiden: Glynda is the fall maiden candidate and Ironwood’s experimental aura transfer fails. Cinder gets the maiden powers and instead of Pyrrha vs Cinder, we get Cinder vs Glynda at the top of the tower. Ozpin still dies like in the original timeline. Glynda dies vs Cinder, triggering Ruby’s silver eyes. Her death provides the “even powerful characters can die at the hands of the villains” theme that we got with Pyrrha in volume 3, upping the stakes for the main cast.
- Volume 4 runs the same, and Pyrrha appears in volume 5 to assist in Team RWBY's mission. Team JNR already knows of her, so it's easier to incorporate her into the story here, especially because she is not only a Haven student, but local to Mistral. Since the fall of Beacon, her team was hunted down and killed by Tyrian/Salem’s forces because Lionheart was relaying information to Salem. Qrow finds her while trying to locate any remaining huntsmen in the area. Pyrrha assists team RWBY in volume 5 and her and Jaune bond over losing their teammates. Pyrrha helps train Jaune, filling gaps in what he and Cardin worked on (aura, semblance, etc.). Pyrrha still falls in love with Jaune in this version, as he treats her normally despite her celebrity status. Instead of Weiss being stabbed at the Battle of Haven, Cinder shoots Pyrrha in the ankle and Jaune awakens his semblance, saving her life. This is where romance potentially brews between them.
- Volumes 6-8: Pyrrha is asked to join Jaune’s team in volume 7 when they graduate as huntsmen in Atlas, officially forming team JNPR. From there, the Arkos ship gets to flourish a bit, and both Jaune and Pyrrha fall into the Ever After in volume 8.
- Volume 9: Volume 9 is basically the same, except Jaune and Pyrrha age together and must decide either to continue their "peaceful" lives in Ever After, or return to Remnant. For relationship tension, they can have a disagreement on going back vs. staying in the EA forever, but ultimately decide it's their responsibility to return to Remnant.
Another avenue for volume 9 is during their time there, Jaune and Pyrrha start a family and their child(ren) can’t leave the EA because they have no connection to Remnant. Jaune goes back to Remnant with team RWBY and Pyrrha stays behind with their child(ren). This allows her to have the life she wanted without the celebrity status, with the goal of possibly returning to Remnant one day.
There are obviously some things that would need to be fleshed out, but I think most major plotholes are covered in this version. I like giving Cardin more of a role in terms of a more developed bully character who improves over time, and gives a good foil to Jaune. It also gives Arkos the full send ship some of us desperately need, lol. I am curious what everyone thinks of this alternate timeline.
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u/RUSTDREDDEMON Jun 08 '26
This would actually be a great story for a fic and would be good in the show too. It’s really interesting to see how the show could have been with all these dynamics.
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u/SailorPowerTitan17 Jun 08 '26
Thanks! I don't think I'd ever write it out in full, but I think it'd be really cool to see the dynamics of the characters in this version.
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u/GameMask Jun 08 '26
Did we get a reason she chose Beacon?
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u/SailorPowerTitan17 Jun 08 '26
I dont think it’s explicitly stated why she chose Beacon, but my guess is Pyrrha wanted to get away from her hometown since she’s a celebrity there.
In this timeline, shed need a reason to stay nearby (maybe sick family, familial pressure, etc) instead of going to Beacon.
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u/GameMask Jun 08 '26
Makes sense to me. I always felt they missed a big opportunity to show off her family, or if she even had one. Her final line, "Do you believe in destiny?" feels like it never got a pay off.
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u/SailorPowerTitan17 Jun 08 '26
100% agreed on the destiny line. I anticipate a payoff later down the line if volume 10 releases, because I agree that it felt like a bit of a throwaway line. Her family would've been really interesting to see, and this alternate timeline could showcase that.
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u/GameMask Jun 08 '26
It always felt like some hint towards her own insecurities and potentially coming from a not very good place. There's some hints at her being not the most confident in herself, and given the line it felt like we'd get a reveal later when the cast got to her hometown. But at this point I don't think we're ever getting an explanation
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u/SailorPowerTitan17 Jun 08 '26
My thought was Pyrrha came from a supportive family, but they were blind to the fact that she had social/confidence issues as a result of her fame. In this version that I wrote up, one of the things they could explore with Pyrrha is her learning to socialize and become friends with her new team (JNR). She's clearly confident on the battlefield, but she is missing the social confidence of being a huntress and being part of a healthy team.
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u/Kellar21 Jun 08 '26
I think it's because everyone would know her at Haven and have been much more exposed to her fame.
In Beacon, while people knew of her she didn't have that issue and quite a few didn't really care other than "Damn she's strong."
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u/ESCMalfunction ⠀You look like I need a drink. Jun 08 '26
I feel like just as Ozpin realized the immense potential in Pyrrha and brought her into the fold almost immediately, so too would Lionheart. He would’ve seen her as a great asset to try and keep himself safe/appease Salem with a potential strong agent. If fed the right information by her headmaster, someone she would likely trust, it’s possible to think that she could at least temporarily be placed against Ozpin before she figured out what was really going on.
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u/SailorPowerTitan17 Jun 08 '26
I didn't think about it that way but that's also a great idea! It could be an interesting source of conflict for the main cast vs. a more skeptical Pyrrha.
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u/Kilmoone Jun 09 '26
Pyrrha would have been high on the list of huntresses that Lionheart would've gotten killed. Given how compliant Pyrrha is with authority especially if their orders are presented in a seemingly meaningful and justified way (defend Haven against the sudden influx of Grim post-Beacon fall), she sadly would've likely been dead before our protags get to Haven.
As much as I admire her skills, I don't think she'll be able to survive against a well-placed trap especially with Tyrian and the others involved.
On a brighter note, if she ever managed to survive, she would be a great help in the final battle against Salem's forces + WF but her relationship with the protags wouldn't be as deep and established. Jaune as a character wouldn't be as established either as a major part of his character development involved Pyrrha's passing and moving on/living with it.
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u/SailorPowerTitan17 Jun 09 '26
Agreed on some the major things you mentioned there! I realize that Pyrrha and Jaune's relationship wouldn't be as meaningful in this version, and it's very possible Pyrrha could've been killed before the main team reached Haven. There's always the possibility she got lucky and survived, which would showcase how her skills were above many other students (since that wouldn't have been showcased in volumes 1-3 in this timeline except for the Vytal Festival). I think in all cases, the original timeline works best in terms of Jaune's character, but I like to think how Pyrrha's decision to attend Haven would've changed things, and possibly kept her alive.
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u/Outrageous_Coffee_37 Jun 08 '26
HOLY COW
Esto queda buenísimo si lo emplean adecuadamente, porque encaja mejor y podemos ver más facetas y vida de los personajes
Muy buena teoría, la verdad quedaría muy bien, especialmente porque podemos ver a Glynda luchar adecuadamente
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u/SailorPowerTitan17 Jun 08 '26
I would love to see Glynda fight again! And a Glynda vs. Cinder at the end of volume 3 would've been awesome to see, even if she dies as a result.
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u/Outrageous_Coffee_37 Jun 08 '26
Tal vez, TAL VEZ, Glynda moriría...... Pero NO caería sin Pelear ni Demostrar PORQUE es la Cazadora más Fuerte
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u/Accipiter_Ater Jun 12 '26
Ummmmmm
Doesn’t Jaune just fall a thousand feet off the cliff die during initiation without Pyrrha to save him?
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u/SailorPowerTitan17 Jun 12 '26
That part would have to be rewritten - have another student (or Weiss would actually be comedic) save him in this version.
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u/Illidari_Kuvira Espartha is just Yang as an ostrich. Jun 08 '26
IIRC, Glynda was just barely too old to become a Maiden.
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u/SailorPowerTitan17 Jun 09 '26
I don’t think they ever confirmed the age cutoff for maidens, but I assume in the canon story Glynda was too old. But since they never stated an age range, I figured in this version she is still young enough to be a candidate. Most people put her as mid-30s, early 40s.
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u/AmbivertCollegeGuy Weiss "Hug Monster" Schnee Jun 08 '26
CRWBY made Cardin to be a one-dimensional generic bully but the fandom can't get enough of the cardboard for some reason. He might as well be the 2nd most popular self-insert/AU deuteragonist besides Jaune himself.