WARNING: Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies to Fridge pages. All spoilers will be unmarked.
Fridge Brilliance
- It makes sense that Darth Nihilus would turn out to be such a skilled manipulator. After all, Darth Traya was the one who taught him everything he knew, so it's only natural that he would've picked up her talent at manipulation along the way.
- In "Leadership", Jaune mentions how Beacon Academy doesn't have any security cameras installed indoors. This explains how during the Beacon Dance, Cinder was able to enter the ballroom and blend in so easily despite being chased by Ironwood and his security staff after breaking into the CCT Tower. She was never caught on any surveillance because Beacon didn't have any indoor security cameras to begin with.
- Glynda being unusually emotional after learning that Jaune is possessed by a magic spirit is understandable given that she witnessed the same thing happen to Ozpin. She already had to watch Ozpin, someone she considered a good friend, slowly lose himself as he gradually merged with Ozma. Now she believes that the exact same thing is happening to her apprentice.
- Alpha talking about wanting to erase his memories of his team's encounter with the Mask of Darth Nihilus is actually a Properly Paranoid decision since it prevents his enemies from learning of the Mask's location in the event that he or one of his crew are captured.
- The Temple of Shadows being an expy of the Jedi Order makes sense when one considers that their founder was Darth Nihilus, a former Jedi turned Sith. It makes sense that Nihilus would take a group of warrior monks (which the Jedi technically are) and warp it into his own evil version of the Jedi.
- Jaune's ancestor Alixandre was one of Vale's greatest generals during the Great War and served Ozpin's incarnation as Vale's king with unwavering loyalty. This may explain why Ozpin was willing to accept Jaune into Beacon Academy even though he presumably was aware that his transcripts were forged.
- King Osmund ordering the Temple's destruction has a whole new meaning when one remembers how he's one of Ozpin's previous incarnations. The Temple of Shadows assassinated political and military figures from all sides during the Great War. When news reached Osmond of how this cult is causing mayhem by killing all the Kingdoms' leaders at the behest of a "Dark God", he likely came to the conclusion that Salem was behind the cult's actions. After all, assassinating the kingdom's leaders to cause chaos during a war sounds just like her M.O.
- The story of Darth Nihilus and his relationship with the Temple of Shadows closely mirrors the tale of "The Infinite Man" from RWBY: Fairy Tales of Remnant. Given that the Infinite Man is Ozpin, this only further establishes Nihilus as Ozpin's Evil Counterpart.
- Both feature a cult being formed around an immortal being. The Circle grew around and worshipped two of Ozpin's incarnations while the Temple of Shadows centered around the worship of the Mask of Darth Nihilus.
- Both Ozpin and Nihilus were perceived as gods by their respective followers. But while Ozpin didn't want to be worshipped and repeatedly insisted that he was "just a man", Nihilus happily took on a God Guise and proclaimed to his followers that he was the God of Darkness himself.
- While the Infinite Man and the Circle traveled across Remnant helping people, Nihilus had the Temple of Shadows going around spreading terror and death in his name.
- A major plot point of "The Infinite Man" was that Ozpin never lied to his followers in the Circle. Nihilus, on the other hand, told nothing but lies to his cultists in the Temple of Shadows.
- Both organizations were wiped out by a group of warriors. The Circle was wiped out by Salem's followers while the Temple was eradicated by Vale's army.
- Petros Krizoz could be seen as a foil to the girl in "The Infinite Man". Both first encountered their masters at a young age and become the leaders of their respective cults as they got older. However, while the girl was left as a Sole Survivor of the Circle's massacre by Salem's forces, Petros was killed alongside everyone else in the Temple of Shadows by Osmund's army. As an old woman, the girl had her faith in the Infinite Man broken, whereas Petros only became more fanatically devoted to Nihilus as an elderly man.
- While Ozpin truly cared about the Circle to the point where he deliberately lost a Duel to the Death in hopes of sparing their lives, Nihilus never cared about any of his cultists in the Temple of Shadows and saw them as little more than pawns to be sacrificed.
- Based on his notes at the end of "The Infinite Man", Ozpin is clearly affected by his followers' deaths to this very day. In contrast, Nihilus didn't even blink at the Temple's destruction and treated it as a minor inconvenience.
- Why does Jaune's family have so many different types of weapons in their home? Jaune's ancestor Alixandre Arc was the top general of Vale's army, so he likely collected various weapons from the battles he fought in as trophies.
- Both Palpatine and Vitiate had the power to enhance a Darksider's Force-sensitivity and used this ability at least once in the Legends continuity. One may wonder why neither made widespread use of this power. "Legends" provides an explanation. It turns out that using the Force technique carries a serious risk of turning the subject into a Force Wound similar to Nihilus. This explains why the Sith almost never used this ability, as well as why Nihilus calls it "vile" and only used it as a last resort.
- Adam blinding Weiss by cutting through her eyes makes sense in a twisted way when one recalls how Adam's left eye was permanently damaged from having the SDC's logo branded on his face. He is literally taking an eye for an eye.
- Why did Darth Nihilus lose his temper upon discovering that the reason Penny could survive his Force Drain was that she was an android? It probably reminded him of his encounter with Alpha and his team of droids long ago, the very same droids who stranded him on Remnant in the first place.
- Why did Ozpin pin all the blame for Nihilus' carnage on Adam rather than on Cinder? Adam is a wanted terrorist that the public is familiar with, meaning that people are less likely to question Ozpin's narrative or try digging for more information. Cinder, on the other hand, is someone the public is completely unfamiliar with and revealing her role as the mastermind behind the Fall of Beacon would only make people curious about her and start asking questions. Additionally, Adam is described as wearing a black cloak and a white mask in this fic. Coincidentally, that's exactly what Darth Nihilus also wears, meaning that any witnesses who saw Darth Nihilus can easily be dismissed as having seen Adam instead.
Fridge Horror
- How did a terentatek get on Remnant? More importantly, if there's one hibernating on Remnant, could there be more? For all we know, there are dozens of terentateks out there hibernating underground, waiting to be awoken. And because they're underground, a person could be standing right on top of them without even realizing it.
- It's known that Nihilus needs to constantly feed on Force energy otherwise his body will fade away and this weakness seems to carry over into the people he choses as his hosts. What happens if he were to possess Salem with her Complete Immortality? Since Salem regenerates from any injury, it's logical to assume that Nihilus wouldn't need to worry about maintaining a physical form or having his new body fade away.
- The only silver lining about Darth Nihilus being stranded on Remnant is that he has no way of returning to wreak havoc on the greater galaxy. Remnant doesn't possess space technology and Dust stops working once it exits the atmosphere. However, in KOTOR II, he was able to use the Force to make the Ravager, a literal shipwreck, move through space. It's not implausible to imagine that he could do the same with anything Remnant builds.
- Even exiting Remnant's atmosphere wouldn't likely be all that difficult for him. All he needs is a ship capable of reaching the atmosphere (which the World of Remnant shorts show exist), then he can use the Force to make the ship continue flying just like he did with the previously-mentioned Ravager.
- "Legends" reveals that Jaune's Horror Hunger wasn't because of Nihilus's possession, but rather due to ancient Sith magic that Nihilus used to transform Jaune into a living wound in the Force. So even if Jaune managed to resist Nihilus's influence, his growing hunger for Life Energy would eventually drive him to consume his friends anyway and he would have just become another monster no different from Nihilus.
- Even if Nihilus is somehow removed from Jaune's body and he is saved, Nothing Is the Same Anymore. There may not be a life for him to return to given that his reputation and relationships are in ruins.
- Cinder uploaded the footage of Jaune putting on Nihilus's mask and killing dozens of students all over the globe. While his teachers and friends may know that he's being possessed, all the rest of the world sees is Jaune transforming into a humanoid Grimm and going on a killing spree while Cinder's voice in the background makes him out to be the Grimm's master. It's almost a guarantee that Jaune will spend the rest of his life being hated and feared everywhere he goes. He won't be able to go out in the public ever again. Then there's also the very real possibility of Jaune having to spend the rest of his life watching his back in case the loved ones of those he killed while under Nihilus's control decide to come after him for revenge.
- Likewise, Jaune's relationship with his friends is in complete tatters. Qrow is dead, Nora is in a coma, Weiss is blinded, and Pyrrha's undergone a Loss of Identity all because of his actions while being possessed by Nihilus. Even knowing that he was being controlled isn't going to be enough to make his friends forget all the death and destruction his body caused. At best, they'll never trust him again and will see him as a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. At worst, they'll want nothing to do with him. Even his relationship with Pyrrha will never be the same as she is sharing her body with Amber, who has previously expressed a willingness to kill him if it means stopping Nihilus.
- Then there's the possibility of Salem (unaware of Nihilus's existence) targeting Jaune and sending her followers to either abduct him as a potential servant or kill him as a threat to her power.
- Ruby's status as the new Fall Maiden while also being a Silver-Eyed Warrior means that she will likely have to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder because Salem will never stop trying to hunt her.
- Salem is now actively trying to capture Ruby while also simultaneously searching for the Mask of Nihilus, which was sealed in Beacon's Vault. This means that Nihilus isn't going to stay imprisoned for long.
- The epilogue shows that both the Jedi and Sith sensed Nihilus' power and are on their way to investigate. If Nihilus had won, the Jedi and Sith would arrive on Remnant to find nearly everyone dead and the Lord of Hunger waiting for them. And after draining them both, Nihilus could take one of their starships and return to the wider galaxy to continue his feeding frenzy.
- Because Darth Nihilus was able to control the Grimm using the Force, it's not a stretch to imagine that the other Sith could also replicate his feat. When Darth Krayt does find Remnant, if he can also figure out how to command the Grimm, then the One Sith will have gained a near-limitless army of soulless monsters to do their bidding.
- According to Glynda, Ozpin's decision to scapegoat the White Fang for the Fall of Beacon is guaranteed to set back Faunus-Human relations by "years, if not decades". This becomes very worrisome considering that, according to canon, the White Fang's turn to violence was a fairly recent development that started a mere five years prior to the main story. If discrimination against Faunus was already bad enough that the White Fang was willing to resort to terrorism, then just imagine how worse it will get now that any progress for Faunus rights will have been torpedoed and pushed back by possibly decades. The worst part about all this is that the renewed wave of anti-Faunus sentiments amongst humanity will likely only make downtrodden Faunus even more desperate and push the White Fang into further extremism. Adam Taurus may be dead, but his dream of a Faunus revolution may just be on the horizon.
- Imagine how Taiyang is going to react to the news of Qrow's death. He's already "shut down" from Summer's death and Raven's abandonment. Now that Qrow is gone, he is all alone.
- In the Legends timeline, after the Yuuzhan Vong were framed for the sabotaging of the Ossus Project, it was Kol Skywalker who acted as a voice of reason for the Jedi and argued for the Vong's innocence when no one else would. He was also the one who convinced the Galactic Alliance to defend the Vong, which indirectly caused the Sith-Imperial War. Since he's abruptly left for the Unknown Regions on the same year that the sabotage would be discovered, he won't be around to defend the Vong or convince either the Jedi or Galactic Alliance to take their side. On the bright side, this means that the GA won't be severely weakened from having their member worlds resigning in protest of their decision to protect the Vong. On the downside, the Vong now have no one to defend them from the Fel Empire's "retaliation" for the Ossus Project's sabotage.
- The death of the waitress who Qrow ultimately makes a Senseless Sacrifice for and who dies anyway. Remembering the effects of Qrow's Misfortune Semblance, it's likely that Qrow's close proximity to her when he tried to Tuck and Cover only sealed her fate.
Fridge Sadness
- Ironwood's Death by Adaptation heroically fighting off Nihilus at the Fall of Beacon, contrasted against his longer-lived canon counterpart's fall into evil during the Atlas arc, is a perfect meta cross-continuity expression of the phrase "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
