RWBY Listens to The Soundtrack

Vol. 4, This Life is Mine

     "'This Life is Mine has been referred to as the "final part of The Mirror Mirror Trilogy", but I think It's My Turn is just as worthy to be counted, so let's say it's the end of a Quadrilogy.'" The note pedantically explained. "Anyways, it's obviously from the perspective of Weiss Schnee & you know what useless waste of oxygen she's referring to. Have fun, kids! I know I did.'"

Everyone looked at Weiss.

"Weiss, do you think...?" Ruby asked.

"I...still don't know if I'm there yet." Weiss admitted. "If I wasn't then I doubt I am now, with this being potentially months into the future. But...well, it'll help to know where I'm going."

"Isn't that the point of all this?" Nora pointed out.

"You know what I mean." Weiss replied.

"So, we good?" Ruby asked. Weiss nodded & Ruby hit play.

[Song Start]

[*Soft Buildup*]

"Starting off as per usual, I see." Weiss immediately noted.

"You know, I kinda like to think I can tell just by the, y'know, music at this point." Ruby added. "Um, sorry if that's..."

"Motifs are important when composing." Weiss assured her.

"I was hoping for more It's My Turn out of this one." Nora admitted. "But then again..."

"...it has only started." Ren finished.

"With a title like that, & how the note described it...I don't think we can tell yet." Blake offered.

"Eh, we've been surprised before." Yang had no idea, truly.

[Mirror...
Can you hear me?]

"I'm...not certain it ever did." Weiss admitted. "It's not really a...good way to deal with that."

"But I think we're all pretty good at that by now." Blake pointed to herself as an example. Despite themselves, they both chucked for just a second there, before feeling weird about it.

[Do I reach you?]

"But then, I suppose there's a REASON I, & by extension Jeff & Casey, have chosen mirrors as a motif." Weiss granted. "It's...looking at yourself."

"A rarer thing than you might think." Ozpin added.

[Are you even listening?]

"WE are." Ruby assured her bestie. "And I don't care how many times I have to say that."

"I think we've pointed this out enough." Weiss lampshaded.

[Can I get through?]

"So, really, I'm asking that of myself." Weiss unnecessarily stated. "And..."

"I think it's working, for whatever that's worth." Yang said with a grin. Still, she WAS being sincere.

[There's a part of me
That's desperate for changes]

"I'd say it's ALL of you." Nora pointed out.

"Yes, see, I'd LIKE to say that, but..." Weiss had to admit.

[Tired of being
Treated like a pawn]

"...an-and yes, I suppose that's true, that most of me IS exactly that, and...I would not have this open about this a few days ago." Weiss noted.

"If it helps, then it helps." Ren assured.

[But there's a part of me
That stares back]

"There's always the...doubt creeping in." Weiss agreed.

[From inside the mirror]

"...Look, I know this doesn't mean much coming from me, but you're bigger than that part." Jaune declared. "I was just too dumb to really get it."

"Well, better than every boy my age I met in Atlas." That was a very low bar, Weiss knew.

[Part of me that's scared
I might be wrong]

"Everyone is wrong sometimes, but you're not wrong about this." Glynda assured her. "I realize that might sound a little hollow, but regardless."

"Yes, I've...finally started to put that together." Weoss granted herself. "What actually IS right & wrong, and..."

[That I can't be strong]

"Yes, that exactly." Weiss agreed. "...But I thought this was from when I got over that. The title and the description..."

"You don't ever really "move on", you "move forward", as Monty & Ms. Nikos said." Ozpin offered. "A subtle difference, perhaps, but an important one."

"...Yes, it's just hard to keep that in mind." Weiss admitted.

[*Opera Noises*]

"Alright, starting to pick up!" Nora approved.

"Never pegged you for an opera type." Blake smirked.

"Did we say that-oh, whatever." Ruby gave up on that count.

"Now you're getting it." Yang praised.

"Glad to know that my personal song now meets your approval." Weiss snarked.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it like-" Jaune began.

"She knows, Jaune." Ren cut him off.

"Either way, it's...very good." Pyrrha stated.

"...Does that actually say "Opera Noises" at the back there?" Glynda questioned.

"It's not an inaccurate description." Ozpin defended. This conversation wasn't as...intimate as it usually was, but then this was about Ms. Schnee.

[I've been afraid
Never standing on my own]

"Huh, I...suppose I never really have." Weiss noted.

"How so?" Ren asked.

"Well, before it was just him, there was Winter, & Klein, my mother when she was actually attentive..." Weiss trailed off. "I suppose I thought I was on my own, but really I just let him...define me. The whole time."

"Well, and I know this may go against the spirit of the lyrics, but you don't HAVE to do this alone." Pyrrha stated.

"No, trust me, I get it." And truth be told, Weiss did. "There's a balance here."

[I let you be the
Keeper of my pride]

"That I did." Weiss finally admitted. "I...feel as though I already knew this, though."

"Perhaps not that exact angle." Ozpin proposed. "It's a matter of how you look at it, sometimes."

"Sometimes you just need the right words to properly notice it." Blake agreed.

[Believed you when you told me
I was nothing on my own]

"We've already been over how this guy's wrong about everything, right?" Nora asked. "Cause you're doing WAY better without him.

"Well, I can't imagine anyone who WOULDN'T be." Glynda snarked. "But you HAVE progressed remarkably in all areas since separating yourself from him."

"...Okay, I'm still getting used to this." Jaune admitted. Scary Glynda was normal, this was...

[Listen when I say
I swear it here today]

"Oooooh, so what are telling the prick?" Yang asked with glee. "I mean, I think I can guess, but..."

"As can I..." Weiss was fairly certain, actually.

"We'll make sure he listens, don't worry." Ruby wasn't always the most socially graceful, but at times like these...

[I will not surrender
This Life Is Mine]

And there it was. The title-drop. What would they, & most importantly the past version of this very person, have to say to that?

"Well, I...certainly hope so..." Weiss muttered. "It didn't look great from the intro..."

"That was where we were starting." Ren pointed out. "Not where we ended."

"Yeah, who knows what actually happened? We're not actually watching the show." Nora added. "Also, lemme me just say, hell yeah!"

"What she said!" Yang agreed.

"It's yours and no one else's." Blake agreed. "Granted, that's not an excuse to be selfish, but..."

"There is a balance here." Pyrrha repeated.

[Amazing how
You conquered me]

"Honestly...I suppose even now looking back on it it seems rather ridiculous, but..." Weiss admitted.

"...It's not something you always think about until later." Blake agreed.

"Hindsight's a bitch, huh?" Yang asked rhetorically.

[Chained me in servility
And made me see...]

"Oh, um, Blake, I apologize if..." Weiss immediately stated.

"It may not be the most generally appropriate, but on a personal level...chains are chains." Blake brushed it off.

"What did he make you see?" Nora asked. "What, I know the next part's gonna tell us, but I'm just refocusing the-"

[The world the way
You told me to]

"-conversation." Nora finished.

"That was...somewhat evident when we met." Blake admitted.

"It's not a hard thing to shake off, even if your mind & soul are telling you otherwise." Weiss replied. "I know that's not an excuse, but..."

"It's an explanation, at any rate." Ren stated.

"I do NOT want to know how that monster sees the world." Yang added.

"It's not very pleasant, no." Weiss confirmed.

[But I was young
And didn't have]

"And...yes, this is true, but I definitely don't want to use THAT as an excuse either." Weiss was starting to panic a bit.

"It would only be an excuse if you weren't doing something about it." Blake reminded her.

"As as we've said, you ARE doing better." Ozpin assured her. Heh, coming from you... Seriously, this was getting annoying.

"Yeah, c'mon, it's fine, Weiss." Ruby assured her. "You don't need to be so down on yourself."

"Specially not right now." Yang pointed out.

"Yes, but it's like I said, I'm not THERE yet." Weiss reminded them.

[A way to know
The truth...]

"And now I...I hope I do." Weiss said quietly.

"The truth is always there for those willing to listen." Ozpin agreed.

"Kinda ironic coming from you." Nora noted.

"Not the time, Nora." Pyrrha chided.

"In those terms, I think you've figured it out." Blake admitted. "More than I have..."

"It's just the personal stuff." Weiss finished. "...well, I suppose that's why we're here. But...can't it be more...?"

[Born to live your legacy
Existing just to fill your needs]

"Whitley & I were just "spares", really." Weiss noted. "He might have had more, but mother had to find out who he really was eventually."

"How can someone...?" Ruby almost demanded. She couldn't comprehend that, but then in regards to him & Adam, she never fully did.

"Urgh, his kneecaps can't get broken fast enough." Nora complained.

"What a...pleasant family dynamic." Internally, Jaune was questioning a few things. Who needed EIGHT kids, really? And it's not as though his name meant nothing. Well, compared to the Schnees (& also Blake, wow) it did, but...

[A casualty...
Of this
So-called "family"]

"Hardly the only one." Weiss acknowledged. "But then that just sums up about everyone that isn't him."

"Even Whitley?" Nora noticed

"I...don't know what to make of him." Weiss reiterated. "I don't know if he's already too far gone, or if it's a facade, or what he even thinks, or..."

"It wasn't too late for you." Ruby pointed out.

"You'd be surprised." Ozpin agreed. "Though, it's not something that can be figured out in a day."

"...I guess we'll see." Weiss granted. Still...

"A "casualty", that's...evocative." Pyrrha didn't know what else to say, really.

"'We treat our employees like family.'" Yang dryly recited.

[That you have turned
Into a travesty]

"A travesty indeed!" Weiss continued. "Your eldest running away to the military, your youngest trying to copy you-maybe-your wife drinking all the damn time because she has to be near you, & the middle one has no idea how to actually fix it!"

"...Weiss, do you...?" Ruby asked.

"No, I wish I could broadcast this over the entire CCT!" Weiss stated, before coming down from her rush. "...but I never could. Not now. And I don't know how..."

"Right, Team Hug Time." At Ruby's declaration, a Patented Team Hug occurred.

"You'll figure it out." Ruby assured her. And...okay, a little crying was fine, actually.

[But I don't intend
To suffer any longer]

"That's easy to say, and we've said so much, I just..." Weiss couldn't finish.

"Well...you got us to help you get there." Ruby again reassured.

"Well, clearly SHE didn't need it..." Weiss mumbled.

"What?" Jaune asked.

[Here's where your
Dominion falls apart]

"I mean, my original self, she had to figure that out on her own. Because he took her." Weiss elaborated. "I mean, look at that. His dominion's fallen apart & I don't know HOW."

"I believe you would have found out eventually." Ozpin tried to reassure.

"I don't know about that." Weiss admitted. "I don't know that I can do it without the...specific set of circumstances that happened to her."

"Why is that?" Ozpin questioned.

"I..." In truth, Weiss had no answer, but that didn't change the facts. Didn't it?

[I'm shattering the mirror
That kept me split in pieces]

"Heh, yeah, mirror shattering, definitely the final part of that..." Nora weakly muttered.

"A good motif." Ren agreed, but he was even worse at this than his...partner, let's go with that, was, so...

"And I WANT that, I just...why am I so upset about it?" Weiss asked herself. "Why can't I see it? I did before, so what is...?"

"And why am I get yesterday flashbacks..." Ruby whispered to herself.

"Ms. Schnee, I think that-" Ozpin was cut off.

[That stood between
My mind and my heart]

"Wonderful. Now, if you could explain it to me..." Weiss drawled.

"Seriously, Weiss, if we need to stop..." Yang looked in concern.

"You know we can." Blake reassured.

"I just...I don't understand why this is an issue for me." Weiss admitted. "I should be happy that I'm even getting a hint, but..."

"Weiss..." Ruby reached out as always.

"...I think I understand what the issue is." Glynda spoke up. "I think you're jealous. Of her."

"Of-of MYSELF? I'm not that petty." Weiss protested.

"I never said you were petty." Glynda clarified. "This is understandable."

[This is where I'll start]

"It's okay to be a little jealous." Glynda continued. "That someone else, another version of you, the ORIGINAL version of you, has figured out things that you haven't. But keep in mind that she is, essentially, you. There are small differences, but nothing that substantial. If she could find the way, then so can you."

"I...I know that, but...where DO I start?" Weiss almost pleaded. "Because I can talk a lot, but when I'm fully confronted with it..."

"...Perhaps that itself is the key." Glynda added, pointing to the lyrics. "I believe THAT'S the explanation: just...starting. And then going."

"Huh, that's why this feels like yesterday..." Ruby noted, thinking back to Red Like Roses Part 2. And so... "Weiss, remember when you told me it was okay to not be okay even if I think I should be?"

"...Oh. I suppose this DOES seem somewhat similar." Weiss granted. "I mean, I went into this expecting this whereas that damn note didn't warn you OR Yang..."

"It's not the same issue, but you can still find commonalities." Blake added. "Our life stories aren't identical, far from it, but we've both faced...abuse from people who...should have been safe."

"No one's expecting you to just be okay." Yang assured her. "I mean, if I get a pass..."

"Again, that's different." Ruby insisted.

"But similar enough that you understand it better than most." Ozpin added. "I...believe it may also be in part because you believe you don't deserve it, but your friends, the Ex-White Fang agent among them, have assured you otherwise."

"No one's expecting you to be perfect, Weiss." Pyrrha assured.

"Just be...you." Jaune offered his (self admittedly) limited expertise.

"Everyone is a constant work in progress." Ren said.

"Just cause we get spoilers doesn't change that." Nora concluded. "I mean, we won't end up JUST like them, obviously, but I...think they'd be happy to know they're helping us, y'know?"

"I...feel like we may have lost track of things, but...yes. I think I'm finally getting it." Weiss admitted. After a few moments to herself, she resumed. "So, just...start. I think maybe I can do that. Though hearing the rest of the song might help. Ruby?"

[I'm not your pet
Not another thing you own]

"Heh. Damn right I'm not." Weiss had a hint of a smile.

"Told you ya had it in ya." Yang smirked.

"Fucking tell the bitch!" Nora shouted in glee.

"...We seem to be swearing more than usual today." Ren noted.

"And yesterday, but who's counting?" Ruby rhetorically asked.

[I was not born
Guilty of your crimes]

"Um, I hate to circle back to this..." Weiss sheepishly admitted but felt the need to say it anyways.

"You're doing something about it, so it's fine." Blake reiterated. "Just...remember, you don't need to overdo it to be better."

"Right, yes." Weiss was just embarrassed now.

"Even just refusing to follow his beliefs & acting in opposition to them, even in a small way, is in itself a form of defiance." Ozpin added.

"...True enough." Blake was agreeing with Ozpin a lot more than she thought she would this morning, huh?

[Your riches
And your influence]

"Are worth nothing. All they do is try to fill a void where his soul should be that can NEVER be filled." Ozpin stated.

"Got DAMN, Oz." Yang complimented. Huh.

"I DID have the pleasure of meeting Nicholas Schnee, & while the legends are SOMEWHAT exaggerated, the core is true." Ozpin assured.

"Well, that's good to know." Weiss admitted. She thought everything of her grandfather, but given all she learned by meeting every other rich person in Atlas, sometimes she had to wonder...

[Can't hold me anymore]

"And...they did once. Here, they still do to an extent." Weiss admitted. "You can't get anywhere without admitting that."

"True enough." Blake agreed.

"But now you can start." Ruby told her bestie.

"...Yes, yes I can." Weiss replied.

"I'm so proud of you, Weiss-y." Outsiders may have taken Yang's tone as mocking, but Weiss could see how sincere it was. Nickname aside.

[I won't be possessed
Burdened by your Royal Test]

"All the callbacks!" Nora declared. "So does this technically make it a sequel to THAT one?"

"I believe you're overthinking it." Ren offered.

"What it means is more important." Pyrrha affirmed.

"You're getting where you need to be." Jaune agreed.

"...I think I am." Weiss admitted.

[I will not surrender
This Life Is Mine]

"Alright, I think I'm better about this." Weiss told the others. "It really helped put it into perspective."

"Even if you're not there YET, you can always start." Ruby stated. "Um...that sounded better in my head."

"It'll do." Weiss graciously allowed. "Now then-"

[*Epic Rock Interlude*]

"Hoooo mama!" Nora exclaimed at the escalation. "I did not expect it to get THIS intense."

"It's...I think I should have expected this after It's My Turn." Glynda admitted.

"And given that the songs are primarily metal..." Ren pointed out.

"Yeah, uh, Weiss, you okay with...all this?" Jaune asked.

"...You know what? I think I'm "owning it." That IS how the saying goes, right?" Weiss asked & admitted.

"Eh, I barely understand the kids these days." Ruby assured her. "But probably."

"Definitely." Yang confidently declared.

"Maybe?" Pyrrha wasn't certain.

"Imagine how it is for me." Ozpin pointed out. Huh, a joke. Neat.

"It...suits you." Blake refocused, & Weiss could tell that she was being sincere. They (mostly Ruby, Yang, & Nora) spent the rest of the interlude hyping up, & then...

[Shame that it took so long
To rescue me]

"And that's still there." Weiss confirmed. "I think it always will be...but maybe that's a good motivator."

"May not be the best way of looking at it." Jaune offered.

"What matters is that it happened." Ruby agreed. That was MUCH better.

[From the guilt you used
To tie me to your
Family tree]

"Hahaha I'm loving this!" Nora declared.

"And that's...interesting." Blake noted. "You said your goal was to reclaim the family name, but..."

"...There's other ways to do that." Weiss stated. "Less...internal. That's why I came to Beacon in the first place. Maybe I'm just expanding on that idea."

[I guess your training failed
You're not in charge
I'm free]

"Well, given that you're on a team with some not rich people & a Faunus, I'd say it did." Yang smirked.

"And I think you are." Ren added.

"...maybe I am." Weiss granted. "Heh..."

[Your patriarchal prison
Won't hold me]

Now THAT just reminded Ozpin of what Ms. Schnee had said about The Girl in the Tower. Still, that didn't start out...how it ended, & certainly the start of her story was sympathetic, even if he'd become bitter to it, so... "It never can." he offered.

"Thank you?" Weiss wasn't entirely sure why he said THAT out of everything. Experience?

"He gets like that sometimes, but he's often right." Glynda added. "In this case, most certainly."

[Now this con-ver-sation's
Finally over]

"Only took us four Volumes." Yang noted.

"I think I'm getting there." Weiss confidently declared. "Where I don't NEED it."

"Love the vibe on that "conversation" part, also." Nora added.

[Mirror Mirror,
Now we're done]

"Heh, yup, final part of the Mirror Mirror saga right here." Ruby chuckled.

"I'm...well, I suppose I have a head start. And that's worth a lot." Weiss concluded.

"Assuming we didn't get our metaphors mixed up." Blake had to acknowledge the possibility.

[I've pulled myself
Together now]

"A harder thing than you might think." Ozpin commented.

"But certainly possible." Ren agreed.

"Well, can't argue with the evidence." Weiss was straight up beaming at this point.

[My mind and heart
Are one]

"I know you may think it's premature in regards to YOU, but I think you've managed." Glynda kept on being nice & it was weird, but...

"I suppose we could consider all of this a "crash course" of sorts?" Pyrrha cringed at her own joke.

"...No, Pyrrha, no." Weiss suddenly understood what it was like to be Yang.

[Finally oonnnnneee...]

"What about YOU, Weiss?" Ruby asked for the record.

"I don't know how many times I can say "These songs have helped me get closer faster as is their function in relation to us" before it becomes repetitive." Weiss sardonically replied.

"I thought we agreed to stop mentioning that." Blake pointed out with a grin.

"Except when it's funny." Yang declared.

[I'M NOT YOUR PET
NOT ANOTHER THING YOU OWN]

Okay, going for the loud finale. Well, Yang & Nora certainly weren't complaining. Normally they'd be singing along, but this was another deeply personal one, so they need to ask first. Weiss nodded at their look.

[I WAS NOT BORN
GUILTY OF YOUR CRIIIIMES]

And so the others began singing. Weiss herself couldn't quite bring herself to...but hearing her friends (well, the ones inclined to) sing along with Casey WAS pretty nice.

[YOUR RICHES AND
YOUR INFLUENCE]

It's funny. Before Beacon, before this magic multiverse cube, Weiss never could have imagined herself singing that loudly, that aggressively. And yet...Blake was right, it fit.

[CAN'T HOLD ME ANYMORE]

This WAS her singing this. Well, technically Casey, who at the time would be around Ruby's age, she suddenly realized. And her friends. Somewhat off-key & yet still managing to harmonize. And she was starting to see that.

[I WON'T BE POSSESSED
BURDENED BY YOUR ROYAL TEST!]

When this whole thing started, she'd said that those words were an apt metaphor. She was bound by it. Part of her couldn't see anything else to do but to follow it. But maybe the best thing to do was to BREAK it instead. And Weiss actually found herself whispering the final words here.

[I WILL NOT SURRENDER
THIS LIFE. IS. MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!]

And at this point...Weiss started outright singing along. Just for the ending, why the hell not? And with a tempo attempted to be matched by the kids in the room, the song came to an end.

"..." For a few moments, no one said anything. The song was loud as it was.

"That. Was amazing." Nora declared.

"It's...not what I expected, but somehow it fits perfectly." Blake agreed.

"Like I said, I knew you had it in ya." Yang reiterated. Okay, so this was breaking the "funny" rule, but...

"So, uh, Weiss, do we need to take some time off?" Jaune asked again.

"You mean do WE need to." Ren correctly deduced.

"It was rather intense, both in terms of lyrics & the music itself." Pyrrha agreed.

"And again, Ms. Schnee, I'd like to apologize for-" Ozpin stopped as Weiss held up her hand.

"We HAVE already gone over this." Weiss reminded him. "It's fine. Besides, I DO think it helped. Quite a bit. I'm still...a little jealous, I suppose, but it WAS a good motivator."

"You really have done remarkably." Glynda complimented. Was that a smile? She could DO that?

"So, uh, we good?" Ruby asked. At Weiss's nod she turned to her Scroll. "Alright, so up next iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissss...Home. Well that one's just short."

~~~~~

I lied, get Posted on Sunday, DInguses (Dingusi?)