[RWBY] RWBY Shorts

[SharkCultist]

A kinda fun not quite a Isekai idea.

Pyrrha is not happy about her death. At all. She was expecting to at least live past graduation! Instead she's in the afterlife.

Which is set up like the fucking DMV and for some reason has elevator music playing.

So understandably she loses her shit. Just a tiny bit of extreme violence, side not semblances and aura are a whole lot stronger when you don't have flesh getting in the way.

After about two hours of violence security finally pin Pyrrha and take her to the bosses.

Mostly because outside of her soul being marked for one of the nicer afterlives (before her crash out) there's nothing on her. Or any of the Remnant souls to be honest. It's a big multiverse and they're really busy so they didn't notice when a multiverse cluster stopped submitting paperwork.

The brother gods are gonna be in big shit for not managing their world properly (and collecting a salary the entire time).

As soon as they can find the fuckers. They've been on a bend fucking around with some of the world's who don't have gods yet or that most gods avoid claiming responsibility for (looking at you Worm 8799923 and your The-Kephri-who-Laughs).

Well since Pyrrha wants those fuckers to pay and the gods really just want this shit over and done with they cut a deal.

"Take a power boost, jump around until you find the fuckers then call us. We'll grab them and give your world a spin back and correction to some of the bullshit they caused, not all of it because a bunch of it is baked into the setting of your universe now but we can definitely revive you and strip away some immortality. Maybe even revive a few others depending on how badly we need to correct things."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Another idea we had on the Discord? Atlas has developed prototype mind diving technology that allows you to go into another person's head. They actually manage to capture Cinder, and Jaune volunteers to dive into her head to learn what she knows. Turns out that thanks to the Maiden Power Transfer, a tiny bit of Pyrrha's Aura got into Cinder when she died, and Jaune's Aura was awakened by Pyrrha. And Jaune has an enormous amount of Aura so he could, in theory, hold his own when it comes to sheer power.

So in Cinder's head it's a battle of wills. Deception, illusions, fighting against one another with memories and emotions. Each using the other's pain and worst memories against each other.

But Jaune gets a helping hand from what's left of Pyrrha's Aura. He thinks maybe there's a chance to save her, to get her soul out and into a robot body. To bring her back to life. With her help, he's able to break Cinder, and find her core: A scared, abused little girl in the Glass Unicorn.

He helps her see she doesn't need power or to hurt people to feel safe. And she agrees to work with them. He turns to Pyrrha's remnant to get her out with him... But.

Pyrrha's remnant isn't trying to get herself saved.

Pyrrha: "I'm sorry... I'm dead. When this is over... I'll be gone. Except in your memories."

Jaune: "No... No, please... Please... I can't..."

Pyrrha: "I know... I know, I'm sorry. I just wanted to say... Goodbye Jaune. I love you. And please... Find a way to be happy. Find a way for all of you to be happy..."

Jaune: "I was only strong because you... You made me that way."

Pyrrha: "You became strong for those who needed you... And they still do."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

For Titanmaster_117



Training with Arslan



- - -



It wasn't that Jaune was unhappy with more training. Pyrrha had helped him improve by leaps and bounds in combat. Nora had helped him with exercise and how to get the most out of his work outs. Ren was invaluable in helping him learn to control his Aura and how to meditate to maintain his calm. Even RWBY helped out here and there where they could. All so he could get better



Arslan Atlan's training was a bit different though. She was the one who had asked him to train with her. But what Jaune could teach her? He hadn't the foggiest.



Pyrrha had said Arslan was her toughest opponent and self-declared rival at Sanctum Academy. He also knew she was a Stonebreaker, a Warrior Nun of the Tablebreaker church. Jaune was part of that church too, but given her Sash of Mastery, there was nothing he could teach her.



Still, while Pyrrha said she could be very aggressive, she never said anything bad about her character. So he went to meet her in the Star Maiden Garden near the main courtyard of Beacon proper. It was very pretty, with several white marble tables and benches nestled amidst trees and rose bushes.



Arslan was sitting in a meditative pose on the grass in front of a fountain, looking as peaceful and serene as her surroundings. A few birds and squirrels were scampering around her, as though she was one with creation. Combined with her beauty, it was a picturesque scene.



He walked up and stopped a few feet in front of her. He waited nervously, holding in an awkward cough.



Arslan opened her eyes and looked up at him with her amber eyes.



"Hello Jaune," she spoke in a melodic, smoky voice. Jaune nodded politely.



"Hello, um, Sister Altan."



Arslan frowned, her expression familiar: Disappointment. Jaune winced-What had he done?



"You don't recognize me, Jaune?" She asked softly. Jaune coughed, and wracked his brains.



"Er, um... No, I don't," Jaune said, "I'm sorry."



Arslan sighed softly.



"I suppose it was a long time for both of us," she admitted. She then stood up. She walked up close to him, her expression serious. Jaune gulped, worried at what her next move would be.



She then... Held up her hands like kitty paws, smiled, and tilted her head. She winked cutely, and opened her mouth enough to show off a snaggletooth.



"How about now, nyah~?"



Jaune's jaw dropped. A summer or two of fun and adventure with a fun girl came back to him.



"Arsly?!" He gasped. Arslan chuckled and hugged him tightly, a hug he eagerly returned. "It's been so long! I'm so glad to see you-How are you?!"



"I'm wonderful, thank you," Arslan said with a happy smile. She nuzzled him, which made him blush deeply. "Mm! I'm so glad! How are your parents?"



"Great!" Jaune said happily. "I didn't know you'd achieved your dream!"



"Well, almost," Arslan said, her face becoming serious again, "Though your father and uncle helped me with part of it."



"Part of it?" Jaune whistled. "You're a Level 11 Stonebreaker! That makes you one of the strongest fighters in the Mistralian church! Pyrrha says you're absolutely amazing!"



Arslan flushed lightly, then smiled.



"That was part of my dream, and I'm very proud to have made it so far," she said, "But there is another part of my dream. That part involves you."



"Me?" Jaune asked. He flushed. "I uh, I can't say I know how I can help you-"



"Jaune," Arslan took his hands between hers, looking intently into his blue eyes, "You showed me so much kindness and sincerity those two years I was in Radian. I never forgot it. You swore you would become a great Huntsman, who would protect the weak and save people."



"I did," Jaune said with a nostalgic smile. Despite all the difficulties and stress, he did remember the promise he'd made. "It was... Impulsive and childish-"



"But you are making it happen nonetheless," Arslan said fondly. "And my dream was to be a great Stonebreaker. And we promised... We would do it together."



Jaune's cheeks went a darker red.



"O-Oh... Well, um... I'm sorry I forgot that part," Jaune said quietly.



"It's all right," Arslan said warmly. "I just want you to know that I'm happy we can fulfill that promise together."



"Oh!" Jaune chuckled. He sighed in relief. Arslan blinked.



"Hm? What?"



"Er, um... I was just worried that I uh... I might have promised to marry you or something! And you might have been angry that I forgot!"



Arslan raised an eyebrow.



"Really Jaune," she said with a fond smile, "That's a bit too far, don't you think?"



"Yeah, probably," Jaune said with a nod.



"Besides," Arslan said warmly, "I haven't even asked you to be my boyfriend yet. Marriage is a step too far right now."



"Yeah, it is," Jaune chuckled. A chuckle that died as his eyes widened. "I... Wait what?"



Arslan smiled gently.



"Will you be my boyfriend, Jaune Arc?"



Jaune's jaw dropped.



"I uh... Um... I-I mean uh... I-I need to think about it-"



She pulled him into a warm, gentle kiss. It sent electricity shooting through him, and his arms went around her waist.



Is... Is that her tongue? Jaune thought in amazement.



Arslan pulled back, panting for breath. Jaune wasn't much better, gasping like he'd run a marathon.



"Still need to think about it?" Arslan asked, a bit smugly.



Jaune opened his mouth. He really should say 'no'. He'd had a disaster of a romance (if you could call it that) with Weiss. It was too soon, he was just getting his head on straight and taking school seriously-



"Okay."



Arslan purred happily, and kissed him again. He mentally sighed and hugged her back as he deepened the kiss.



Well... It's not like this could be a bad thing, right?



Somewhere, Pyrrha crushed her Scroll between her fingers and wasn't entirely sure why.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The Hunters-in-training of Beacon were enjoying a day out on the quad, just soaking up the sunshine. Ren and Jaune had even prepared a picnic lunch for their team and RWBY, and they were enjoying it. Though not without some complaints.



Pyrrha: "Ruby, you've spent long enough in Jaune's lap."



Ruby: "Nuh uh! I called it!"



Nora: "Nobody's taking Ren's lap! Everyone take Jaune's!"



Jaune: "It's fine guys, it's fine! It's not that big a deal."



Yang: "Well then, it's my turn next~."



Jaune coughs.



Weiss: "Ugh. Nobody's around, you don't have to fake that you like him!"



Blake: "You don't have to fake you don't like him."



Weiss: Blush "SHUSH!"



All of a sudden, a saucer-shaped airship flies overhead. It soon lands, scattering many students. RWBY, JNPR, and some other teams stand up, alert and ready in case things got ugly.



Weiss: "They can't land here! It's a no fly zone!"



Yang: "Yeah, that's the main takeaway, Weisscream."



A hatch slides open on the side of the craft, a gantry extends... And one at a time, dark skinned men in red, white and blue jerseys and shorts, dribbling basketballs, emerge and line up on the lawn outside the craft. Their leader, a man with keen eyes and an incredible afro, walked out last and took the center.



Ethan "Bubblegum" Tate: "People of Vale! I am Ethan "Bubblegum" Tate, leader of the Harlem Globetrotters!"



Many gasps fill the air.



Blake: "The elite sports warriors of the independent kingdom of New Harlem?!"



Weiss: "The Sultans of Swoosh?!"



Ruby: "The Thunder from Downunder?!"



Tate: "All of those but the last one, yes! For years, we have lived in peace with Vale! But now, we have come for a reason!"



He points at Jaune.



Tate: "JAUNE ARC! COME FORTH!"



Everyone stares at him. Jaune gulps.



Ruby: "Why is it always you the cool stuff happens to?!"



Jaune: "You call this cool?!"



Pyrrha: "Why do you want him?"



Tate: "For he is the son of the only Valean Man who Could Jump: NICHOLAS ARC!"



Jaune: "Wait... Uncle Bubblegum?!"



Tate: "YES!"



Weiss: groans "Of course Jaune knows these weirdos! Is there anyone strange he DOESN'T know?!"



Jaune: "Er... Well, it's nice to see you again."



Tate: "IT IS! But now that you have begun the journey to become a Huntsman like your father, we have decided to test you in a game of basketball! You will assembly a team and engage us in a game of skill and hilarious antics! We shall see if you have the same level of game as your father!"



Yang: "What happens if he loses?"



Tate: "NOTHING! There are no stakes and no consequences, save the ignominy of defeat!"



Jaune: "Well, I-"



Nora: "YOU'RE ON! WE WILL DEFEAT YOU IN THE UPCOMING SPACE JAM!"



Tate: "A NAME FOR THE GAME HAS ALREADY BEEN DECIDED, YOUNG HAMMER GIRL!"



Nora: "Oh."



Tate: "But we'll use that one instead because I like your spirit!"



Nora: "YAY!"



- - -



Given the crossovers the Harlem Globetrotters did in various cartoons and Futurama, and given RWBY's own crossovers, I thought... What the hell?

 

[SharkCultist]

Yang Xaoi-long got her ass kicked.

Oh don't get her wrong she had lost fights before, but she never got torn apart as badly as she did by that mute shorty on the train.

She needed more training. Beacon classes are great but they're both generalized combat instructions and half the classes aren't even combat focused.

She needs specialized hand-to-hand brutal training. And she ain't getting it here.

So half joking Yang put in a request for leave with the reasoning given being "training trip".

She was surprised that it was approved within the hour. She was even more surprised it came with directions.

Guess Ozpin has a since of humor since he sent her on a wild goose chase. Nobody finds the Master of Fist. But fuck it we ball.

---

Resin was a hot ass town. Situated at the top of a small mountain surrounded by a lake. It was hot, humid, and a tiring climb.

And to make it worse.

"You ready to show me your rhythm?"

She'd been followed since the bottom of the mountain by this weirdo!

Super thick coke bottle glasses, a pink colored afro, and clad in nothing but platform shoes, pink boxing gloves and orange boxers shorts. The man was a walking disaster.

His name is Boogie and he's been waiting for someone to "dance" with him forever. Nobody ever takes him up on the offer.

Gee I wonder why.

But at least now she was at the top of the mountain. She could ditch this clown, get a shower, and start looking for the master.


Eeeeexcept the town is empty. Well there's the big ass beringel with cement fucking boxing gloves in the middle of the square. Oh and it's starting to rain. Humidity. Yay.

"What the fu-"

He hits like a train. Or a 600 pound creature of darkness with cement hands.

"Oh dang, helluva wipeout girlie. Guess tango ain't your dance."

AND THEN THERES THIS ASSHOLE.

Before she could unleash the language she learned from her drunkle the big beast was upon her again. With a god damned power bomb!

Who the fuck has been teaching Grimm stuff like this?!

Luckily her aura was enough to tank it. Unfortunately that was about all it could do since it started flickering immediately after.

"Not gonna lie girlie I was expecting a bit of flare. Coulda at least shown me your two step."

Fuck this heat, fuck this trip, fuck this guy, and fuck this damned monkey!

Aura or not she was going to throw hands. So she put everything she had in one punch. Every scrap of instruction from her dad and every dreg of aura she had left. One amazing punch that the Grimm tried to counter with its own massive punch.

Their fist connected. Time seemed to stop.

And the cement glove shattered.

Yang was hit with a sense of pride. And then the other fist. Which sent her flying back into a wall.

"I guess a shuffle is a good enough start."

The Grimm had jumped at her while she was dazed but was stopped in its tracks less than five feet from her.

"Lemme reintroduce myself kiddie."

Standing in front of her was boogie except without his stupidly thick dumb glasses revealing calm purple eyes ringed with red. The rain had flattened his afro leading to a shaggy mane of curls trailing down his (as she just now took notice of) very muscular back.

""My name is Childman D'rosa. My friends and students call me Boogie!"

He flashed her a shit eating grin.

"Well the ones who can talk. BoBo here just kinda screams. Shame I'm gonna have to kill him, he was one of the better training partners. After a few weeks of work."

The Grimm tried to run. (Yang didn't know Grimm even had self preservation instincts?) It didn't get far before a hole was punched through it.

No weapon, no dust or aura or Semblance. Just a punch strong and fast enough to violently displace air.

"Now then girlie Ozzy sent me a message that you were looking to learn how to dance."

"Dance? No I- Ozzy? I came looking for help being a better fighter."

"kid lemme tell you a truth. Everything is dance. Movement, motion, rhythm, matching and mixing between people. So I'm gonna ask you again. You wanna dance little girl?"

Well there's only one thing she could say to that.

"Let's Boogie!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The sky above Atlas was a maelstrom of fire and ash, the once-proud city crumbling into a frozen grave. The flying city groaned, its hull splintered and tilting, a dying beast plummeting toward the icy tundra below as Grimm reigned supreme above and below it.

Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos stood on a warped bridge near the city center, the Staff of Creation pulsing faintly in Jaune's grip, its light a flicker of hope amidst the chaos. Thousands were dead, Atlas's gleaming spires reduced to rubble, and Team RWBY and JNR had fought to their limits to stop Pyrrha—once their friend, a champion, now a cyborg enforcer forged by Jacques Schnee's cruelty and reprogrammed by Arthur Watts to serve Salem's will.

Yet they'd gotten most of the population away through portals generated by the Staff. The Staff Jaune now kept from Pyrrha. Kept from Salem.

Pyrrha's emerald eyes, once warm and kind, glowed with an unnatural crimson, her cybernetic limbs gleaming under the flickering lights of the city's failing systems. Her movements were precise, mechanical, yet carried the deadly grace of the warrior she'd been. Jaune faced her, Crocea Mors trembling in his hands, his aura flickering like a candle in a storm. He was battered, bloodied, his armor dented from her relentless assault, but his blue eyes burned with unyielding resolve. The fight had been brutal, a dance of desperation and memory, each blow a plea to reach the Pyrrha buried beneath the programming.

All to let the people of the city escape. To be safe.

She lunged, her spear Milo a blur of crimson and steel, its Dust-infused tip crackling with electricity. Jaune parried, the impact jarring his arms, his shield absorbing the brunt of her enhanced strength. Sparks flew as their weapons clashed, the deck buckling beneath them. Pyrrha's cybernetic arm whirred, pistons hissing as she drove a fist toward his chest. Jaune twisted, his aura flaring to deflect the blow, but the force sent him skidding across the deck, his boots scraping against warped metal.

"Pyrrha, please!" Jaune shouted, his voice raw, cracking with emotion. "This isn't you! You know who you are!"

Her head twitched, a glitch in her movements, as if his words pierced the fog of her programming. But Watts's code surged, her crimson eyes flaring brighter.

"Target: Jaune Arc. Objective: Retrieve the Staff. Eliminate resistance," she intoned, her voice a chilling blend of her own and the machine's monotone. She hurled Akoúo—now a disc of deadly precision—at Jaune, its edges spinning with lethal force.

Jaune dove, the disc grazing his shoulder, tearing through his armor and drawing blood. He rolled to his feet, gripping the Staff tighter, its warmth a reminder of what was at stake.

"I know you're in there, Pyr!" he yelled, ducking as Milo's spear form stabbed toward his heart. He countered, his blade slashing across her cybernetic arm, sparks erupting where steel met steel. "You're my partner! My friend! You're Pyrrha Nikos! You... You love me! And I love you!"

Her movements faltered, a flicker of green in her eyes, but the programming snapped back, relentless. She shifted Milo to rifle mode, firing a barrage of Dust rounds. Jaune raised his shield, his aura straining under the onslaught, each impact driving him back toward the ship's gaping edge. The deck tilted further, gravity pulling at them as the city's descent accelerated, the roar of wind and creaking metal drowning out all else.

Jaune saw an opening and charged, his Semblance surging, amplifying his aura to bolster his strength. He tackled Pyrrha, pinning her against a bulkhead, their faces inches apart. "You saved me once," he whispered, his voice trembling, blood dripping from a cut on his brow.

"Let me save you now. Please."

She knocked him back with an elbow, and he stumbled. He stood on the bridge, the flying city shuddering as it fell.

"You must be eliminated," Pyrrha stated coldly, mechanically.

His shoulder drooped, exhaustion hitting him. Emotional, physical. He took a deep breath. He'd done... He'd done all he could.

He shook his head.

"... I won't fight you anymore," Jaune whispered. He dropped his weapons, only holding onto the Staff.

Pyrrha's eyes again glowed red as she charged. She slammed him into the bridge, pushing his head off the edge. She seized his throat to choke him, but her grip hesitated, her eyes flickering between crimson and green.

"Jaune…" she murmured, her true voice breaking through, fragile and pained. The city shuddered, a massive groan signaling its final collapse as the bridge began to crack and splinter around them. Jaune's grip on the Staff slipped, and Pyrrha's programming surged, her spear arm rearing back.

But Jaune didn't flinch. His cupped her face.

"I'm with you, Pyr," he said, his voice steady despite the blood and pain. "Til the end of the line. I won't... I won't leave you again. Never again..."

His Aura flickered and broke, as he fell unconscious.

The words shattered something inside her. Pyrrha's eyes widened, green overtaking crimson, her cybernetic arm trembling as Watts's code battled her will... And lost.

"Oh no, no, no, wha—what have I done?" she gasped, her voice breaking. She stroked Jaune's bloodied face, pulling him close, her metal fingers gentle despite their strength. Her mind felt like it was splitting apart, memories of Beacon, of laughter, of love, clashing with the cold directives implanted in her brain.

A deafening groan tore through the air as the part of the bridge Jaune was lying on gave way, metal twisting and snapping. Jaune slipped from her grasp, his body tumbling toward the icy plain far below, the Staff falling with him.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha screamed, her voice raw, human. She leapt after him, her cybernetic limbs propelling her through the air. In free fall, she caught his limp form, pulling him close, her arms wrapping around him as the wind roared.

"I'm with you, Jaune!" she cried, tears streaming from her eyes, mingling with the frost. "I'll always be with you!"

Together, they plunged into abyss, the impact a shock of cold and darkness, their fates entwined as the wreckage of Atlas burned above, the Staff's faint glow sinking into the depths with them.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

It wasn't often that Pyrrha asked Jaune to accompany her on her "celebrity work". He understood that she wanted to keep that part of her life and her life at Beacon firmly compartmentalized. He wasn't stupid.

... Totally. Completely.

Okay in this instance, he wasn't stupid. He got that she wanted to be more than just a face on a cereal box. She wanted to help people, protect them.

He didn't think he'd really fit in at a commercial shoot anyway. Nor would Ren or Nora. Well mostly Nora. He loved her to death but taking her out in public was sometimes fraught with peril.

Pyrrha though had asked him to come with her. And so he'd agreed.

They'd been taken in a private limo to the Canta Children's Hospital in downtown Vale. Pyrrha had gotten out in a hat, sunglasses, and a trenchcoat, along with Jaune, and they'd gone up to the fourth floor. Jaune's jaw tightened as he read the sign on the ward entrance:

Terminal Section.

They went into a small room filled with stuffed animals, toys and cards. Along with several posters, holos, and even figurines of Pyrrha. In the center of all this was a little bald girl who looked no more than eight. She had a pink headband on, the only spot of color in her white bed. She looked up from a book with wide brown eyes that lit up, despite the breathing tubes in her nostrils.

"M-Miss Nikos?" She asked, awestruck. Pyrrha smiled and pulled off her baseball cap and trenchcoat, revealing herself in her full armor.

"You can call me Pyrrha, Melody," Pyrrha said warmly. She walked over and knelt next to Melody. She reached out and hugged the child, who eagerly returned it. She looked up in curiosity at Jaune, who smiled and waved back.

"Who's he?" Melody asked. Pyrrha chuckled.

"He's my team leader at Beacon. His name is Jaune."

"It's nice to meet you, Melody," Jaune said warmly. Melody gave Pyrrha a shy look.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Pyrrha flushed. Jaune chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah. She's too good for me," he said. "She's amazing, isn't she?"

Melody nodded eagerly.

"Oh yeah! She's just the coolest! Like when you fought Ragriz Harodrim in the finals last year! It was so scary! He was super strong and threw rocks around-Were you scared?"

Pyrrha smiled gently.

"A little here or there," Pyrrha said. Melody's eyes widened.

"You?"

"Everyone can be scared sometimes," Pyrrha said softly, "But being brave is about pushing past that fear. It's not that you're not afraid. It's that you need to fight past it. That's what being brave is."

Melody frowned.

"Everyone says that's what I am, brave," she said glumly, "I don't feel brave."

Pyrrha smiled and hugged her again.

"It's not always a feeling, Melody. It's just what you are. And I think you're very brave."

Melody's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Really really," Pyrrha agreed.

Melody smiled. They chattered eagerly for a while. Pyrrha let Melody hold and examine Milo and Akou, even let her transform them. She got to take pictures of herself with Pyrrha, and their weapons. Pyrrha also told her about her early fights, and training, and even some of her misadventures with RWBY. Jaune hung back, quiet, letting them have this moment.

Pyrrha had a lot of smiles. Some when she was trying to hide her anger, some when she was trying to be nice. Here though... She felt more genuine, more sincere. Yet she also felt very sad.

He couldn't blame her.

Finally, Melody was exhausted. Pyrrha helped her lay back so she could sleep. Melody smiled back up at her.

"Can... Can I see you again?" She asked quietly. Pyrrha nodded.

"I'll make time for you, I promise," she said. She beamed. "Before I go though..."

She pulled out a red sash from her trenchcoat. Melody gasped in delight, and took it reverently. She looked at Pyrrha in worry, but the redhead's smile soothed her.

"It's all yours," Pyrrha said softly. Melody beamed, and laid down. Her eyes slowly shut as she went to sleep, holding the sash in her arms with a content smile on her face.

Pyrrha slowly stood up. She pulled her trenchcoat, sunglasses and hat back on. Jaune waited for her as she gave Melody one last hug, before she turned and walked towards him. He joined her as they walked out, down the hallway, to the elevator, and then out the lobby to the limo. They sat in the back in silence, as the driver took them away.

Her hands twitched in her lap as they sat... And Jaune reached out rest his over them. She started, and looked at him questioningly. He smiled sadly.

"... I read her chart," he said quietly, "Her parents were killed in a Grimm attack. Their estate is funding her treatment but... She doesn't have long."

Pyrrha looked ahead, silent.

"No," she admitted softly. "I... I don't know if I'll make it, with the tournament coming up and... And..."

"We'll find the time," Jaune said softly, "I promise."

Pyrrha sniffled. She bowed her head.

"I don't... It's so hard," she whispered, "They look to me like I'm some kind of goddess. Like I'm something... Something special and I can't even... I can't..."

"You make them smile and laugh," Jaune insisted, "you made her happy. That's the important thing. So that they know they are loved and someone cares about them. That's amazing and wonderful, Pyr."

Pyrrha sniffled again, her shoulder shaking.

"... It doesn't make it any easier," she whispered.

"No," Jaune agreed, "But it makes you kind and strong to keep doing it."

She leaned in against him, sobbing softly. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and held her hands with his. All the way back to Beacon.

- - -

I just thought that this might be an interesting thing to do with Pyrrha's celebrity status.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune woke up the next morning to see Pyrrha emerging from the shower. She was wrapped in a towel, and as usual it was very tight on her. As usual, Jaune did his best to keep his eyes on hers: She was his partner, after all. And she was probably tired of guys leering at her.



Jaune: "Hey. You're up early."



Pyrrha: "I just went out for some early training. You were fast asleep and I didn't want to wake you. You had a rough day yesterday."



Jaune: "Yeah but... Well... It had a bright spot."



Pyrrha: "Oh? How so?"



Jaune: "I uh... I asked someone to the dance."



Pyrrha: "Oh. I'm sorry that Weiss didn't-"



Jaune: "Oh no! No, they said said! It wasn't Weiss, it was Yang!"



Pyrrha: "What? Yang?!"



Jaune: "Is... Is there something wrong with that?"



Pyrrha: "I... N-No, of course not."



Jaune: frown "Nobody's asked you yet?"



Pyrrha: "I... W-Well, um... No."



Jaune: "Ugh. They're all idiots! Any guy would be lucky to have you on their arm! They should praise the Tablebreaker for it! Jerks."



Pyrrha: pleased flush "You mean that?"



Jaune: "Absolutely! Hey... I'll help you, Pyr. You deserve to have someone take you to the Dance."



Pyrrha: "I-No, I don't really need-"



Jaune: "It's okay, Pyr! I'm going to help you. It's what a good partner should do, right?"



Pyrrha: "No, I-"



Jaune hugs her.



Jaune: "Don't worry. I'll find you the best date I can."



Jaune goes into the shower as Pyrrha stares after him forlornly.



Pyrrha: "... You are the best date I could find..."



Nora: "Seriously. Why can't you just tell him?"



Pyrrha: "No... I would never know for sure."



Nora: "Then... How about I break Yang's knees so she can't go?"



Pyrrha: "..." shakes her head rapidly "N-No! Of course not!"



Nora: "Oh! So you want to do it yourself?"



Pyrrha: "Y-NO!" sighs "Is there anyone else as bad at romance as I am in this school?"



Elsewhere...



Ruby: "Wha-What do you mean you can't take me to the dance?!"



Sky, cringing back in a hallway that Ruby cornered him in: "I-I just can't, Ruby!"



Ruby: "Is-Is it me? Am I not pretty enough or-?"



Sky: "No! You're very pretty, Ruby! Totally! And I liked gaming with you!"



Ruby: "So why?! I mean, my sister's going with Jaune so she won't get mad!"



Sky: "Yeah, during the dance. But what about after? I don't want her to punch my head off! I'm sorry Ruby, I like you, but I'm just not brave enough to risk your big sister kicking my ass. Sorry."



Sky heads off. Ruby pouts.



Ruby: "Hmph..."



Instead of crying though, Ruby comes up with a plan.



She messages Jaune.



Ruby: Jaune?



Jaune: Yes Ruby?



Ruby: I need you to make sure Yang is so lovey dovey and happy during the Dance that she won't even think of punching off my date's head!



Jaune: ... Okay... How do I do that?



Ruby: You had a girlfriend before! Just do what you did then!



Jaune: But



Ruby: Pleeasssseee?



She made sure to send a gif of herself with puppy dog eyes on full.



Jaune: ... I was going to do it anyway.



Ruby: Thank you!



Ruby beamed. Now to find someone not afraid of her sister who could take her to the dance!



Elsewhere, Whitley Schnee, visiting Beacon on business for his father, felt a shiver go up his spine.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

On a lighter note, Prunella Glocken would be a regular adversary of Councilman Jaune Arc. Mainly because he misunderstood her intentions.

Prunella: "Now Jaune-May I call you Jaune?"

Jaune: "I guess."

Prunella: "You're brand new to politics! Your star has risen quite dramatically! But stars do need guidance to navigate, don't they?"

Jaune: "Yes."

Prunella: "And you need to be careful with who you ally yourself with. Or who you learn from. You need to embrace a larger viewpoint, so you're not led astray. Get everyone's viewpoint so you can be well informed! I can help you gain wisdom, so you'll be a fine Councilman."

Jaune: "Uh... I appreciate that."

Prunella: "Indeed, we could form a very close relationship."

Jaune: Wait... Is she coming onto me?

Prunella: "A very close bond that would benefit us both!"

Jaune: Oh Breaker she is!

Prunella: "You can always benefit from a woman with more... Experience, yes?"

Jaune: "Ahhh... Councilwoman Glocken, I'm very flattered. Maybe even curious. But I think that's way too fast for me! I-I mean we've just met!"

Prunella: "... Did you think I was coming onto you?"

Jaune: "Uhhhhhh..."

Prunella: "Well! It is flattering for me to still get a young man's attention, but I'm married... Unless you were interested?"

Jaune: "Um... No."

Prunella: scowl... All smiles "Of course! Just a little joke, ahahaha!"

Jaune: "Hahahaha! Haaa..."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The grand ballroom of Mistral's elite gala shimmered with opulence, chandeliers casting a golden glow over silk-clad nobles and clinking glasses. The air was thick with perfume, ambition, and the faint hum of Dust-powered ornaments. Pyrrha Nikos stood at the bar, her crimson gown hugging her athletic frame, her emerald eyes scanning the crowd with polite detachment. She was here as a guest of honor, her status as the Invincible Girl a magnet for attention, though she longed for the quiet of Beacon's dorms. A familiar, sleazy voice slithered into her ear, and her stomach churned as Jackie Arc slid beside her, his smirk as oily as his slicked-back blonde hair.

"Hey, Pyrrha, right? My cousin's partner?" Jackie said, leaning against the bar, his tailored suit slightly rumpled, a stolen glass of champagne in hand.

Pyrrha's smile froze, her voice tight with disbelief. "Jackie?! How did you get here—?"
Jackie's grin widened, his dark blue eyes glinting with smug pride. "I've got my means! Just said I'm related to the former Empress of Vytal! …And
borrowed a ticket. Ya know." He winked, as if his dishonesty was a charming quirk.

Pyrrha's grip on her glass tightened, her voice flat. "I'm leaving."

"Wait! Wait…" Jackie said, his hand darting out, not touching her but close enough to make her skin crawl. "Hang on… Listen. I know you're pining hard for my cousin."

Pyrrha's face flushed, her eyes widening, her voice a stammer. "Wh-What?!"

"Yeah!" Jackie said, his smirk growing, his tone dripping with false sympathy. "I can tell. I also know… He's just too damn thickheaded and dense. He'll never make a move. But…" He leaned closer, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial purr. "You've got me."

Pyrrha's expression went blank, her silence a warning as dangerous as a drawn blade. Jackie, oblivious, pressed on, his ego blinding him. "I'm basically Jauney, but I'm not stupid. If I was him, I would've made you my wife and started making like bunnies! So… How about it? You get to live out your fantasy, and I get what I want, too. What do you say, hm?" He leaned forward, his breath hot and sour. "Want to be with an Arc who won't disappoint you?"

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed, but a sweet, chilling smile curved her lips. Her hand rose, hovering beside Jackie's head, her fingers twitching as if itching to act. Jackie's smirk faltered, his eyes darting to her hand, then back to her face, hope flickering in his sleazy gaze.

"Yes! YESSSS!" Jackie whispered, misreading her entirely.

Pyrrha's voice was honeyed, lethal, each word precise. "If you don't get out of here in the next ten seconds, I'm going to use my Semblance to give you a grand mal seizure and make you die. Do you understand?"

Jackie blinked, his bravado crumbling, but he clung to delusion. "…So that's a maybe?"

Pyrrha's smile didn't waver, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper.

"Five seconds."

Jackie's face paled, his champagne glass slipping from his hand to shatter on the floor. He turned and bolted, shoving through the crowd, his stolen ticket flapping from his pocket as he fled for his life. Pyrrha watched him go, her smile fading to a weary sigh, her hand lowering as she turned back to the bar, signaling for a stronger drink.

The gala's chatter resumed, oblivious to the near-disaster, but Pyrrha's thoughts drifted to Jaune—dense, earnest, infuriatingly oblivious Jaune—and a small, genuine smile tugged at her lips, untouched by the shadow of his cousin's creepiness.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Spoiler

Type: Airborne Corvette
Manufacturer: Neith Armaments
Origin: Vale
Top Speed: 420 mph
Service Ceiling: 40,000 feet
Range: 10,000 miles
Length: 80m
Width: 94m
Height: 18m
Weight: 1,000 tons
Propulsion:
2 x Beltane P322 Dust reactor-powered turbofan engines
1 x Beltane G14 Gravity Dust Projector Systems
Crew: 5-10
Cargo: 30 tons
Troops: 20
Maximum Evacuation Limit: 40
Armament:
2 x Cappadocia 155mm Dust Round Cannons in mountings on the wings
2 x Redspot Multifunction Small Missile Launchers x 40 rounds each
2 x Winchester M88 30mm CWIS autocannon in retractable turrets (dorsal and ventral)
1 x Hard-Light Dust Pulse Emitter (Optional)
4 x Balor ASM-44 Anti-Ship Missiles (Optional)
Njord QSA-568A Jammer System

Brief: A sleek and efficient corvette, the Phantom is a prolific vessel with the Valean Defense Force. Fast, maneuverable, and fairly well armed for its size, it handles multiple missions from escorting Banshee-class carriers to patrolling Vale's borders to Grimm interdiction. It's aerodynamic shape gives it great range and maneuverability in combat with threat forces or Grimm, and carries enough firepower to threaten even large Grimm. Its sensor suite is also very advanced and the jammer system combined with its small size and advanced engines allow it to be fairly stealthy. Certain models in the VDF special forces are heavily modified with sensor jammers, sound suppression technology, and experimental Hardlight Dust EMP generators.

In concert with strike fighters from Banshee carriers and missiles from frigates, the Phantom provides close air support to Hunters and ground forces and can rapidly deploy small Hunter strike teams. It can also serve as a patrol vessel to engage bandits and pirates, and support strike fighters as a Forward Air Control platform. It does have some weaknesses though: It can only carry four anti-ship missiles in comparison to a frigate's 16-20 on external hardpoints, its range is not as great as a frigate or a carrier's, the standard model is nowhere near as stealthy as the special model, and its main guns are not on turrets, the ship must be turned to target them. It relies on the carrier it is accompanying for refueling of its Dust reactors, or must land at various bases.

All of that said, the Phantom is a popular vessel in the VDF and quite good at its roles.

Note:

Yes, it's the X-70B Phantom from Star Wars: The Old Republic. I thought it would be a good fit for a small combat airship for Vale.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Nora ducks behind Jaune after shooting a arrow at a random girl who just happened to be walking by

Jaune: "Wha- Nora!"

Arslan who was just minding her own business before being shot by an arrow looks up to see Jaune and thinks to herself "MINE!"

Jaune: "Arslan before you try anything, just know there's already three women who are trying to get me as well and they'll stop at nothing to destroy anything or anyone that get's in there way. So knowing that, you should probably... and she's already gone off to fight them. Sigh Good job Nora, now there's gonna even more property damage to clean up."

Nora: "True, but Pyrrha and Yang alone couldn't hold off Goodwitch forever. So this way those two get backup, and we get more time to save Renny from that no good flying orangenette hussie!"

Jaune: "Fair enough, but you're still grounded after this."

Momentarily, thanks to the fact Penny is not using her rocket boots at full blast, Jaune and Nora catch up with Penny and Ren.

Penny: "Nora! I am feeling such passion for Ren!" Squeezes him "Is this what they call 'love'?"

Jaune: "No! No, it's been magically induced because Nora's an idiot!"

Nora: "HEY!"

Jaune: "Did you not think of just ASKING Ren out?"

Nora: "Of course I did! And I said it! And did it! And it didn't work! So I had to escalate to using a magical set of bow and arrows to try and get him to feel how I do!"

Jaune: "Okay... Ren? If you'd be willing to be honest with your feelings please?"

Yang: "THERE HE IS!"

Jaune: "Maybe hurry? Like NOW?"

Ren: "Nora... I do care for you. But I'm afraid to take that step because I feel guilty."

Nora: "Guilty? For what?"

Ren: "For living while my friends and family died. And... If I lost you, what would I have then?"

Nora: "Oh Ren, you shouldn't blame yourself for something like. What happened was completely out of our control. The fact that we survived it was a miracle in it of itself."

Ren: "That doesn't change the fact that I lived while others more deserving than I did not. Why should I be allowed to have what they could not?"

Nora: "You lived, that's why. Believing that you are unworthy of having the life those people could have had is dumb. If anything you should be experiencing all that life has to offer. Do all the things they didn't, couldn't, and will no longer be able to do. I don't know why we survived whereas others did not, but I do know it would be a disservice to those people if we didn't use the gift given to us to try and live a life free from regret. You deserve to be happy Ren, to have a life, and though I won't force you to do anything, I think I can help give you it."

Ren: "... How?"

Nora: Grins cheerfully "By being with you, silly!"

Ren: "... Then will you be with me?"

Nora: "Of course I will!" Hugs him

Penny: "Oh... I am now feeling sad and jealous. How should I react?"

Jaune: "It's not real, Penny! None of the feelings induced by the arrows are real!"

Nora: "Nuh uh! They're totally real! It can't work with nothing! That's what the little magic man who gave me them said!"

Jaune: "In what world would some of the strongest, most attractive, and highly Intelligent women I know be in any way shape or form attracted to me!? At least to the degree that getting shot with an apparently magic arrow would get them to fall in love with me."

Pyrrha, Yang, Glynda, and Arslan blush at Jaune's statement about them, but are overall angry at his belief that they wouldn't be able to fall in love with him. Which also makes them all pause.

Jaune: "Okay so let's break the damn curse already!"

Nora: "Spell!"

Jaune: "WHATEVER!" Snaps the bow in half "... Did that work?"

Nora: "No idea!"

Jaune: "No idea?! You didn't even ask the guy how to make it stop?!"

Nora: "... Ohhhh... Shoot. I knew I forgot something!"

Ren: "You really should expect this sort of thing from her by now."

Meanwhile...

Whitley: "... Why are we making out?"

Ruby: "Is that a problem?"

Whitley: "... I suppose not?"

Ruby: "YAY!"

Blake: "Oh thank the Horned God, Cardin's off with that rabbit girl... Sun! Sun, are you-?"

Weiss and Sun are making out.

Blake: "WHAT?!"

Sun: "What? You said we weren't a thing."

Blake: "W-WE WERE!"

Sun: "News to me!"

Written with help from Red Dragon Empress

 

[AndrewJTalon]

It had been a very, very long day. Teams RWBY and JNPR staggered back to their dormrooms, exhausted, filthy, and in terrible moods.

Except for Nora and Ruby, who were quite chipper all things considered.

Ruby: "Wow... We totally saved a village from an oil tanker spill, guys! Wasn't that great?"

Yang: "Yes... Except for the part where the tanker blew up in our faces."

Ruby: "I said I was sorry! I didn't use just the right mixture of Dust!"

Nora: "But it sure was awesome to watch it explode, right guys? Right guys?"

Pyrrha: "... I'm not talking to you for a week."

Ren: sighs

Jaune: "No pancakes for a month, Nora."

Nora: "What?! COME ON! We saved the village!"

Jaune: "Yeah! And we got blown up instead!"

Ruby: "It wasn't that bad!"

Yang: "It was."

Blake: "It was worse."

Weiss: twitches as Jaune carries her "S-So... So much filth... So much dirt...!"

Jaune: "We're almost there Weiss, it's okay..."

Yang: "Why aren't you carrying me, your sweet, loving fiance?"

Blake: "Or me? Your actual fiance?"

Pyrrha: "Neither of you are his fiances, shut up!"

Jaune: sighs "Because she won't let go of me."

Ruby: "Weiss!"

Weiss: "So filthyyyyy!"

Jaune groans.

Jaune: "Guys, let's just get to the common room, take some showers, go to bed and-"

He opens the door to the common room. Both teams blink at the interior, which is shining and spotless. There are birds flying about, organizing things, while a few raccoons and deer sweep the floors. A beautiful blonde woman in a yellow dress with an apron over it is cleaning and singing.

Lilac: "Lalala, lalalala-Oh! Jaune!"

The beautiful woman walks up and hugs Jaune happily, never minding how filthy he is.

Jaune: "L-Lilac?!"

Pyrrha: eyebrow twitch "Who is this, Jaune?"

Jaune: "Oh, uh, this is my big sister Lilac. Lilac Arc."

Weiss: groans "Another one?"

Lilac: "Oh, you poor dears! Quickly now, quickly!"

The birds and mice and other creatures all fly up or scurry to the Hunters-in-Training.

Ruby: "ACK!"

Nora: "EEP!"

Weiss: "What?!"

Blake: "Huh?!"

Yang: "HEY!"

Pyrrha: "Wha-?!"

Ren: "Huh?"

The worst of the muck is wiped away by the critters, who run off to put their washcloths in a laundry bag. Lilac beams.

Lilac: "There, much better! Now, you all get into the showers! The baths have been drawn and the temperature should be perfect!"

Ruby: "Ah... Um... W-We all...Bathe together?"

Everyone goes bright red at that, save for Ren, who cocks an eyebrow.

Lilac: "Of course! You're all good boys and girls, and you should save water! But if you don't hurry, you'll miss dinner!"

A veritable feast is being cooked on the stove, and a rabbit is tending the pots carefully.

Jaune: smiles "Thanks Lilac. I appreciate it."

Lilac: "Awww! I'm always willing to help my cute, kind, strong little brother! Now go get cleaned up!"

In the bathroom... The girls all look one way while the boys look the other as they clean themselves up.

Pyrrha: "So, um... She seems very nice?"

Ruby: "Yeah! And her Semblance lets her control animals?"

Jaune: sighs "No, she's... Just like that. She's so kind and nice that almost anything will obey her."

Yang: "That's just ridiculous!"

Jaune: "Then why aren't we trying to peek at each other?"

A moment of silence.

Ruby: "Trying implies that I failed!"

Yang: "RUBY!"

Click to shrink...

They came out, clean and dressed in their casual clothes. A veritable feast was laid out on the tables. Lilac was standing there with a wide smile.

Lilac: "Oh good! Come on, let's eat!"

Ruby: "Where did your animal friends go?"

Lilac: "Oh, I told them they could go. They don't like spending too much time indoors." She picks up Zwei and cuddles him "Except for you, you cuddly wuddly little doggie woggie~! Yes, yes you do~!"

Yang and Ruby: scowl, mutter "Traitor."
Jaune: "Easy Lilac, easy."

Lilac: "Mm? OH! Sorry!" Hands Zwei back to Yang and Ruby "Didn't mean to make you jealous! He's really very loyal!"

Zwei: whines and struggles towards Lilac... Even as Ruby and Yang glare at him

They did sit down, Yang and Blake taking either side of Jaune. Even as Pyrrha sat across from him with Ruby. Weiss sat with Nora and Ren. Lilac began to dole out food, still whistling her happy tune. She sits at the head of the table and bows her head.

Lilac: "Let's say grace!"

Blake: "I'm not a believer."

Lilac: "Oh that's all right! Is it okay if I pray for you anyway?"

Blake: "I... Sure?"

Ren: "I'm a believer in Pathism."

Lilac: "Oh. Can I pray for you too then?"

Ren: "Yes?"

Lilac: "Wonderful! Anyone else?"

Nora: "I believe in pancakes!"

Lilac: "But dear, why believe in pancakes and not the one who makes them for you?"

Nora: gasp "I never thought of it that way! REN! YOU'RE MY GOD!"

Ren: "Not what I think she was getting at."

Nora: "Oh! You're right, Jaune makes me pancakes too! Hrrrrmmm... Miss Lilac? I have a theological issue!"

Lilac: "We'll talk about it after we pray!"

Nora: "Okay!"

Jaune: sighs

Lilac: bows her head "Thank you Heavenly Emperor for this meal, good friends, and wonderful company! And may Jaune and his friends triumph in the Vytal Tournament! But without anyone getting hurt too badly! Amen!"

They dug in...
Yang: "... Jaune? Did your sister teach you how to cook?"

Jaune: "Um... She did, yes. But I'm not as good as her."

Lilac: "Oh don't be so modest, Jaune! You'll get better! I can teach you!"

Ruby: "B-Better...?"

Weiss: deep breath "It's... Incredibly good."

Lilac: "Aw, thank you!"

Pyrrha: "Yes, it's wonderful!"

Blake: "It is extremely good. Thank you."

Nora: "Wow... Like hugs on my tongue!"

Ren: "Yes, it is very good."

Lilac: "You're all very welcome!" beams "Especially Jaune's wonderful fiances! I'm so glad you'll be joining our family!"

Weiss: "Wait-Fiances plural?!"

Lilac: "Yes! I mean, Nana Arturia said you were marrying little Ruby, and Great-Aunt Morgana said you were marrying Miss Nikos, and Mrs. Xiao-Long came by to yell and scream at Mom about you getting engaged to her great-granddaughter Yang, and Uncle Phillip told us that Miss Yoruichi said you were engaged to Miss Belladonna-So welcome to the family!"

Jaune: "I-Hang on-!"

Lilac: "Oh don't worry about a thing, Jaune! Aren't you lucky, four wives!"

Jaune: "N-No, we're not really-!"

Lilac: "Mom and Dad are going to be thrilled when they visit and meet all the parents!"

Jaune: "THEY'RE WHAT?!"

Ruby: gasp "I'm engaged too?!"
Pyrrha: happy gasp "I'm engaged to Jaune?!"

Yang: "Oh, well, um, eheh, yeah! Totally!"

Blake: "I'M ALSO PREGNANT!"

Jaune: "BLAAAKE!"

Weiss: scowls "... And why didn't anyone lie about me being engaged to Arc?"

Zwei: whines and climbs into her lap
Weiss: sighs and scratches behind his ears "At least you're here for me."

Zwei: "Arf."

Weiss: "I am not jealous..."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Nick: "Son? You've come of age and now you're a man. And you now have shown signs of the Arc Family Curse. Just like your mother."

Jaune: "Curse?"

Nick: "The Arc Harem Lead curse."

Jaune: "What."

Nick: "Now... If you can manage the curse effectively, you could have a happy family of several wives and live happily forever after! If you can't? You'll have to fight for your life or die!" beams "Fortunately, your mom and my curses mostly cancelled eachother out! But we did still have to fight a lot of crazy people!"

Jaune: "Uh huh..."

Nick: "And one of them tried to murder your mom! I think she was after her though, not me."

Jaune: "She?!"

Nick: "Yeah! Did you know girls can kiss girls? It's awesome!"

Jaune: "I'm... aware? Wait... That time with that blonde woman with glasses, that tiger lady and Mom in cowkinis and you in a cowboy outfit in the barn-?"

Nick: "Yup! The curse still needs some relief every now and then!"

Jaune: "... I need to go be violently ill in the bathroom."

Nick: "Have fun!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune: "Yang... Can we please stop bar hopping and go home? We've mostly just got into fist fights."

Yang: "And?"

Jaune: "And it's kind of terrifying when we might kill them all since we have Aura and they don't?"

Yang: "Are you going to admit I'm superior at drinking?"

Jaune: "You haven't had one bit of booze and I've been drinking wine since I was five-"

Yang: "I WILL NOT LET THE CHALLENGE GO UNANSWERED!"

Jaune: "What challenge? I'm just saying you haven't actually had any alcohol-"

Yang: "THEN I'LL CHANGE THAT!"

Later... At a bar...

Yang: "All right... Whiskey! Now this is a proper drink for a dragon!"

Jaune: "Okay... Can we go home after this-?"

Yang: "What are you, a nun? BOTTOMS UP!"

Jaune: sighs "Okay..."

They drink.

Jaune: "Ugh. This crap is north Vacoan. You can tell by how poorly they aged it. Bet the barrels were rotting wood. How about you Yang?"

Yang: bright red, grinning "Heehee... Drinkshe... Are... Are... Heeheehehehe...!"

Jaune: Oh shit she's drunk already!

Yang: "BETCHA I CAN BLOW STUFF UP REAL GOOD!"

Jaune: "OH SHI-!"

Yang being a lightweight might also be amusing. And Jaune having to keep her from smashing stuff up is also fun.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Radian was even more beautiful and picturesque than Jaune remembered. The streets, the castle, the mountains in the background, the fields... And the Arc Farmhouse. All tripping memories he didn't know he'd had, ever since the "vision" had arrived.



He stood in the entryway, in front of a staircase going up to the second floors, the walls covered in family photos and keepsakes... And he let out a long sigh of relief.



Despite the strange memories he now had? He felt like he was home.



Jaune: "Come on in, guys!"



RWBY and JNPR put their luggage away in the guest rooms, and went to the living room to relax. Lilac Arc, as matronly and kind as ever, happily bustled about and provided food and snacks.



Lilac: "Hmmm... Jaune? You look a lot taller and fuller!"



Jaune: smiles "Thanks Lilac. You're just as pretty as ever. Mercer set a wedding date yet?"



Lilac: giggles "Oh... He's planning it. We'll just have to wait and see~!"



She headed back into the Kitchen. Jaune sat with Yang on one side, and Pyrrha on the other. Blake took a loveseat all to herself, while Ren and Nora shared a couch. Ruby perched on the arm of Jaune, Yang and Pyrrha's couch, while Weiss sat primly at the old family piano.



Ruby: "Anyway! Jaune and I are in agreement as team leaders! We are gonna just have fun for this whole two months! Total relaxation!"



Weiss: "I mean... If you can call relaxing in such a rustic atmosphere such..."



Yang: "Great!" Takes Jaune's hand "If you don't mind, we're gonna go roll in the hay for a while!"



Nora: "Awesome idea! Renny, let's go-Oh, no, wait! That wouldn't be fair!" She nods to the other girls "Jaune-Jaune! You gotta roll in the hay with everyone else!"



Jaune: "What?!"



Pyrrha: "Um, I wouldn't mind-"



Blake: "Well, if you insist-"



Weiss: bright red and sputtering



Ruby: blushing and trying not to look at Jaune.



Yang's eyes and hair were glowing.



Jaune: For crying out loud! "Or we can just go to the center of town and have some fun, huh? What do you say?"



Yang: "Oh, I don't know... All sorts of violence might be fun right now!"



Ruby: "Ugh... How about we all just go and have fun on our own for a while? Huh? So we can all stop being weird and horny?"



Jaune: "Probably for the best!"



And so they did split up. Blake went with Pyrrha, of all people. Weiss let Ruby drag her off. Nora and Ren ran off. And so Jaune and Yang went around the farm. Jaune talking about his childhood.



Jaune: "And this is the hot springs my grandpa built for my grandma."



Yang: smiles and nuzzles him "Mmhm? There a reason you brought me out here in particular, Stud~?"



Jaune: coughs, smiles "Well... I had a few thoughts..."



They kissed happily. And continued to make out happily... Before someone cleared their throat and they parted.



Jaune: "Mom! Uh-"



Isabel: shakes her head, sighs "You know... Other people have to do things around here too. Maybe hold off on the hanky panky for a while?"



Jaune: bright red "I... Well..."



Isabel: "Just saying. But! You are able to make your own decisions." Hands Yang a book "Here."



Yang: "'1001 Baby Names'?"



Isabel: smiles and winks "Just in case you decide to go that far. Oh, and I have a copy of the Kama Sutra too if you'd-"



Jaune: "No! Nonono, we're good Mom!" He dragged Yang away, down the road, and to the main road leading to the town center "Geez..."



Yang: "Ugh... Is she trying to make us not in the mood? Because it's working."



Jaune: chuckles and hugs her "We'll get it back. In the meantime, wanna get lunch? My Papa's restaurant is great."



Yang: smiles and nuzzles him "Sounds good to me..." tightens her grip on him "I'm just... Ya know... All of this is a little heavy."



Jaune: "Believe me. I know the feeling. But we're here to relax, so let's not think too hard about things, huh?"



Yang: "Sounds good to me."



Which is when a familiar voice called out.



???: "Jaune? JAUNE!"



Jaune gulped and turned around. There she was-Cute, busty, blonde catgirl in a sundress. She grinned and waved, even as Yang tightened her grip on his hand.



Jaune: gentle smile "Hey Katy. It's nice to see you!"



Katy: grins "Great to see you too, Jaune! I... Oh... Hello! I'm Katy Sith, Jaune's childhood friend. And you are?"



Yang: tight smile "Yang Xiao-Long... Jaune's girlfriend."



Jaune: "Yeah... We're together."



Katy: "Oh! That's great, Jaune!" beams "I was headed into town for lunch! Let's catch up at your Papa's!"



Jaune: "Well we were-"



Katy: "Please? I promise I won't take up too much of your time?"



Jaune: sucks in a breath. Feels Yang's look. "... Sure. For old time's sake."



Katy: "Great!" hugs him, and then hugs Yang "Mm! Welcome to the family!"



Jaune's Brain: Okay... She's just a friend. Just a friend... But given Yang's mood, I'm probably gonna want to cut this lunch short... Sheesh. Damn my Arc harem powers...

Click to shrink...

Papa Shirou's restaurant La Belle was warm, cozy, and served a wide variety of fare. Including burgers, though with a French bent. Jaune held back a 'snerk' at the Royale with Cheese on the menu.

Katy: "Hm? You see something funny, Jaune?"

Jaune: "Ah... Just remembering that time I got food poisoning."

Katy: "Which time? You got sick a lot! Usually when Nana was cooking!"

Nana Arturia: "Hey!"

Jaune's Brain: Holy shit it's actually Saber! I mean she's older and taller and has wrinkles and white hair but HOLY SHIT IT'S ACTUALLY SABER! Huh... Am I that unoriginal or did Monty not put this in because he didn't get a clear transmission? Or was he afraid of getting sued? Or were Kerry and Miles that unoriginal-?

Arturia walks up to Jaune, looking stern in her blue dress and apron... Before she hugs him tightly.

Arturia: "Awwww! My little Jaune! You've gotten so big and tall!"

Jaune's Brain: But... She's my Nana... And I love her.

Jaune: smiles and hugs her back "I'm so glad to see you too, Nana."

Shirou: "Hey! No hugs for me?"

Jaune's Brain: And Shirou! Er... Archer... Who is smiling genuinely. That's weird... It's Shirou though... Or Papa... And I love him too.

Jaune hugs him too.

Jaune: "Papa Shirou!"

Shirou: "Heheheh... You ran out in a hurry last time we saw you."

Jaune: "Ah, well... Y-You know... Beacon was starting soon and all..."

Arturia: sighs "You know... You could have just asked us to train you. Or asked us to get you into Beacon for you. Instead of fraud."

Jaune's Brain: What-HOW DID SHE KNOW?!

Arturia: "Orchid told us."

Jaune's Brain: SHE TATTLED ON ME?!

Jaune: "That's so not cool-!"

Shirou: "Son, come on."

Arturia: shakes her head "She can't stand up to both of us guilting her."

Jaune's Brain: I guess that's true...

Arturia: "But... I totally understand." smiles "I got thrown into the thick of battle after years of hard training, my Aura only recently unlocked, and I had to learn how to fight with it in only a few minutes! And I succeeded! Father was so proud! You were just following family tradition!"

Shirou: "Technically I didn't do that sort of thing, I just got thrown into war with only a little training and my Aura unlocked-"

Arturia: "But it let our true strength shine!"

Shirou: "It was kind of traumatizing."

Arturia: "That built character!"

Jaune's Brain: Oh... I see why he was unsure about talking to them... Though I don't think I would agree after the Rusted Knight.

Arturia: "But you're at Beacon and doing so well! We're so proud!"

Jaune: "Aw, thanks..."

Shirou: "So... You gonna introduce us to your girlfriend?"

Arturia: "Did you hook back up with Katy?"

Jaune: "Ah, no! This is my girlfriend, Yang Xiao-Long!"

Yang: smiles "Hey! It's great to meet you!"

Arturia: "Hmmmm..." Eyes narrow

Yang: Stares back

Arturia: "So... You serious about my great-grandson, huh?"

Yang: "Yes."

Jaune's Brain: Oh God, she can't be rivals with a Granny Xiao-Long here too, can she?!

Arturia: "... You look strong, and you're very pretty!" She hugs Yang "It's great to meet you! Call me Nana!"

Yang: "Well... Thank you, Nana!" smiles and hugs her back

Shirou: "Heheh... Knew you couldn't resist a warrior woman, huh kid? Runs in the family, you know."

Jaune: flush "Ah, well..."

Katy is smiling a bit uncomfortably. Jaune cannot blame her.

Yang, Jaune and Katy get seated. The food is soon delivered, though Nana and Shirou don't linger for too long. They do watch from the kitchen though.

Jaune: "They opened this restaurant when they retired after the Great War. They've run it ever since."

Yang: happily eating "Mmmm... Damn! This is great! You learn how to cook from them?"

Katy: "He did."

Yang: "Heh. I'm gonna get fat when we get married, Stud."

Jaune: "Well, I'll make sure we both get lots of exercise."

Katy: "Ha! I get it!"

Jaune: "I uh, er..."

Yang: flush

Katy: "So... You two are getting exercise, huh?" smug little grin

Jaune: "It's... Part of the job."

Katy: "Sounds great."

Yang: "It is."

The two stare intensely at eachother. Jaune moves things along.

Jaune: "So... What have you been doing, Katy?"

Katy: "I'm going to Atlas to study fashion. To support myself, I'm gonna be a secretary for the SDC."

Jaune: "Oh! That's great, really!" smiles

Katy: "Yup! Here are a few of my designs."

She held them out. Yang looked them over with Jaune. Jaune... Couldn't appreciate much but he thought they looked nice. Yang blinked and nodded in approval.

Yang: "Yeah... It's pretty great work."

Katy: "Thanks! It's pretty traditional. I'm thinking of expanding out into Huntress fashion, but that's more complicated since it has to be fit for combat AND look good. Hey Jaune? Mind if I talk to her in private for a bit? You never were very interested in fashion."

Jaune: "... I guess not." He smiled and nuzzled Yang "What do you think?"

Yang: "We need to get this out of the way anyway."

Katy: "Heh... You're not as dumb as you look."

Yang: "Says another blonde."

Katy: "We're all blondes."

Jaune: "Be nice please? This is Nana and Papa's restaurant and if you start a fight, they will kick your asses."

Katy: "We'll be totally civil!"

Yang: "Absolutely!"

They both smile. Jaune smiles back stiffly. He gets up... And walks to the kitchen.

Shirou: "Ah. They're hashing things out, huh?"

Jaune: "Yeah."

Shirou: "You worried?"

Jaune: "Yeah."

Shirou: "About what?"

Jaune: "Just... I mean... I care about Katy, and I love Yang... And I don't want either of them hurt."

Shirou: "You already hurt Katy though."

Jaune's Brain: Geez, there's that Archer bluntness...

Jaune: "... We broke up amicably..."

Shirou: "But you both had broken hearts. She came in here and cried for a week straight after you ran off."

Jaune's Brain: Urrrrgghhhhhh!

Jaune: "... I thought she'd get over me easy enough..."

Shirou: "That's your problem, son. You think so little of yourself that you don't think about how others feel when you break things off." sighs and shakes his head "She loved you, Jaune. She would have been your wife, your everything."

Jaune: "... But I would have been miserable. And I wouldn't have loved her... Not how she deserved to be."

Shirou: nods "You're right. You'd have both been unhappy. You wouldn't have been true... Katy, for all her claims, wouldn't have been happy as a farm wife. As much as she tried to convince herself."

Jaune: "I can't avoid hurting people in my life, can I?"

Shirou: "No one can. But it's how we deal with that pain that defines who we are." He smiles "And do you regret it? Or Yang?"

Jaune: "... No. I don't."

Shirou: "Then everything turned out all right, huh?"

Jaune: "So far..."

 

[SharkCultist]

So a old character me and my brother created stuck in my mind and I wanted to toss him at remnant and see what happened. This one is just stream of consciousness. I'm writing without any plan and seeing what happens.

---

It was Saturday which means one thing. Ren cooks a pancake breakfast.

He was considering if he wanted to make a fruit compote as well when he heard it. Coming from the doorway. Him.

"En Flambe."

"Still alive I see. I thought you died in Vacuo, seems I was wrong. Shame."

"En Flambe."

"I believe you should be leaving. This is a school after all and you most certainly are not a student."

Standing in the doorway at a towering 3 feet 6 inches (9 feet with chef hat) was a small middle aged man. Short brown hair and eyes that couldn't be seen through his squint along with a small but incredibly curly mustache (it spirals!). The man was definitely not here as a student.

"En Flambe!"

"Since when does beacon even have a cooking class?!"

"En Flambe."

"Whatever. Nora isn't up yet anyway so you can leave. She's going to have a proper breakfast instead of being your taste tester."

"En Flambe~."

"I am NOT mad that she likes your smoothies more than mine."

"Who's making smoothies?"

The arguing between cooking rivals had woken up Nora. Still clad in her sloth onesie (a gift from Jaune for her birthday).

"*Gasp* Ren you didn't tell me Frenchie was visiting!"

"It was a surprise to me too."

Jaune and Pyrrha also ended up joining the breakfast crew soon after.

"Frenchie?"

"Fenwick Richard Flambe the third. He's a traveling chef me and Nora have had the ...pleasure of running into a few times."

"Frenchie is great! He even made a entire cooking technique for cooking with fire dust."

"En Flambe!"

"Yeah, that!"

"well it's nice your friend is here but why specifically is he here before breakfast?"

"En Flambe!"

"What's a crepe?"

"En Flambe."

"Stuffed pancake cones? What can I stuff it with?"

"En Flambe."

"Anything? *Gasp* I can put pancakes in my pancakes! Reeeeeen you gotta let Frenchie show us these crepe things."

Well. There goes rens relaxing Saturday breakfast. Better get the fire extinguisher before-

"EN FLAMBE!"

*Boom*

-That happens.

 

[MetalHead]

Me, being my lazy ass, is taking too long to make a snippet based on a previously made idea for Arc Clan member Cousin Siegfried.
But in the process I got a prompt for whoever wants one. Why don't we make the Arc Clan even bigger?

Arc Clan: Second cousin Anna-Joe "AJ" Smith
Blonde hair, green eyes, freckles, country accent, pony faunus.
A part of a large family managing also large apple orchard near Sunnyville town.
If aura unlocked - her semblance is always-active living truth detector, feels minor toothache if someone's lying.

Will grill Jaune about not notifying his family. If Weiss and/or Blake are with him it turns out that: the Smiths sold apples to Menagerie even despite any sanctions/embargos. Also, Weiss favorite dessert is based on their apples. (Smiths will not deny apples to anyone, that's just cruel).
Might update Jaune on some of their friends:
Their local mad scientist nearly blew up the town three times and taken an apprentice. Who is even less socially adept.
Faye is dating an older gentleman. She is the initiator, so mr. Quentin Lancey is not at fault.
"The trio" finally got their girlscout badge collection.
"Spikey" finally made someone named "Rares" to cave in and go on a date.
Maud started a rock band. It's not what you'd expect.

In the end she forces him to make a pinkie promise to contact his family. Weiss might say that pinky promises are childish and be corrected "it's a Pinkie promise".

Something like that, anyway.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

I did have a funny idea for expanding Pyrrha and Arslan's rivalry/friendship. It was like Yunyun and Megumin's duels in Konosuba and got increasingly ridiculous. But because Arslan was always Super Serious, Pyrrha didn't get that these were Arslan's attempts to be her friend.

"PYRRHA! I challenge you to a pie eating contest to determine who is the superior warrior between us!"

"PYRRHA! I am here to challenge you to a rock-paper-scissors contest to determine who is the superior warrior between us!"

"PYRRHA! I am here to go shopping with you and to the salon to see who can be the hottest between us! Thus we will determine who is the superior warrior between us!"

Pyrrha, being rather socially inept, and Arslan being... A bit socially inept herself given she was training to be a warrior nun? She doesn't get it. She thinks Arslan was just obsessed with beating her. When Arslan just wanted to be Pyrrha's friend and to be good enough for her. So it takes Jaune when Arslan is at Beacon to help them figure things out, and truly become good friends.

Pyrrha: "Honestly, I was so alone before coming to Beacon. Arslan wouldn't stop challenging me to duels. Duels at movies, duels at restaurants, duels at the shopping mall..."

Jaune: "Wait, wait, she challenged you to duels as part of your rivalry at places other than the ring?"

Pyrrha: "Yes! Like who could eat more pies or who could get their hair shinier or who could sneak into the back of the theater without getting caught longer... My Agent hated it!"

Jaune: "... But did you hate it?"

Pyrrha: "I mean... Sometimes it was fun but I just wish she could be friends with me."

Jaune: "Pyrrha. You went to movies, dinners, games, and had fun together. You were FRIENDS."

Pyrrha: "Wait... We were?!"

Jaune: groans "Why are all Huntresses freaking insane...?"

Ren: pats him on his shoulder with one hand while feeding Nora pancakes with the other

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Dust allows for numerous effects on the world, ranging from Elemental attacks to Time Dilation, and with the use of Aura, it is possible to cause an even wider range of things to happen. So it should come as no surprise that medical applications for Dust were investigated and researched as thoroughly as the many other uses for the material over the course of centuries. Ranging from quacks trying to ingest gravity dust to become immortal, to more scientific approaches of using Air Dust to improve oxygen concentrations for patients with damaged lungs.

The holy grail sought in all this research was a way to transfer Aura from one person to another, which would speed healing and recovery from almost any injury and many ailments.

There were some early successes with transferring Aura via blood transfusions, but this was often hit or miss and potentially deadly until bloodtyping and safe blood transfusion and donation practices were discovered. Even then, it was entirely dependent on the donor's blood type and thus of somewhat limited utility.

It wasn't until the decade prior to the Great War that a real breakthrough was made by Lady Liath Airmed of Albion. An aristocratic lady, she had grown up with a keen interest in Dust, Aura, and medicine, and was a trained nurse who did extensive charity work to provide medical care to the poor and needy. Her husband Askel supported her research through his industrial concerns, as he had a keen interest in Dust and its scientificial and industrial uses. His lab was one of the first in Albion to begin active scientific study of Dust with the new invention of X-Ray cameras, and he made this available to his wife for her work. She studied how Aura moved through Dust and humans thanks to these and other early spectrographic sensors, and used what was then cutting edge knowledge on physics and chemistry to do some of the first real scientific analysis of the phenomenon. Thanks to this work and the volunteering of several Aura-unlocked individuals, Lady Airmed was able to analyze why Aura reacts with Dust and how.

Among her incredible discoveries was that some mixtures of Dust absorbed Aura at different frequencies than others. That Aura could have different frequencies. And that some frequencies of Aura could bypass the resistance put up by other people's Aura and be absorbed.

This breakthrough in particular allowed for Lady Airmed to create the first rudimentary mixtures of what she called "Panacea". She, being Aura unlocked, would place the mixture in a capsule that was strapped to her hand. She then placed the capsule against the patient, and flared her Aura. Thanks to the absorbing properties of the Dust Mixture, some of the Aura actually got through and the level of the patient's own Aura increased, improving their health. It worked.

However, there were drawbacks. This early version of the Healing Dust was only 5 percent efficient-For every point of Aura the patient gained, the donor lost twenty. Another drawback was that, like regular Dust, Healing Dust was essentially worthless after being used. Still another was that it was complicated to manufacture and required very specialized equipment. It was not until the Great War, with the necessity for massive industrialization and huge advancements in technology, that Healing Dust could be produced on a large scale.

A final drawback though was that there is a limit to how much Aura anyone could give to others. And as a result, people with powerful Auras were torn between being exceptional support or being exceptional front range combatants.

After the war, Medical Dust improved, and training for maximizing use of your Aura spread with the global Hunter system. With the post-war economic booms, the technology spread across Remnant and helped lead to the massive improvement in the quality of life across the planet seen by the modern day. Many medical breakthroughs have helped make Healing Dust far better. Even so, the maximum efficiency of Aura transfer through the most advanced Medical Dust is 25 percent, and still requires Aura powerful individuals to save people in critical condition. But millions of people across Remnant enjoy better, healthier lives or have survived everything from Grimm attacks to natural disasters to disease outbreaks. While Aura infusions alone cannot cure every disease, they give everyone a far better chance of surviving them.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Yang usually got up cheerful and energetic, but today she was like a miniature sun. She hugged Blake, made breakfast (Ruby's favorite chocolate chip pancakes) and teased Weiss.



Blake frankly was mortified and jumped out the window when it looked like Yang might hug her again. Which Yang found hilarious.



She left with Weiss to work on the ballroom, a spring in her step. Weiss was scowling constantly.



Weiss: "Really? So easily pleased by Arc asking you out, huh?"



Yang: "Ha! He's gonna only have eyes for me, Weisscream!"



Weiss: "Neptune is a hundred times the man Arc is!"



Yang: "Hope that works out for you-"



She bumped into Jaune when he came around a corner. He grabbed onto her shoulders and laughed nervously.



Jaune: "Oh! Uh, hey Yang! Hey Weiss!"



Weiss scowled intensely at him as Yang giggled.



Yang: "Hey Jaune! You know, if you wanted to get your hands on me, you just had to ask~."



He laughed and blushed. She liked it. She liked it a lot.



Jaune: "Funny me running into you-"



Yang: "Ha! Nice!"

Jaune: "Heh. I was going to ask if you needed help with the decorations?"



Yang: "Oh?"



Jaune: "I mean, I used to help decorate the school gym for dances in my hometown."



Yang: "Well! I appreciate the help! Come on!" She took his hand and led him away "You know, you didn't tell me where you came from."



Jaune: "Oh, uh, Radian. It's a little mountain town up in Gallia."



Yang: "Never been there, it any fun?"



Jaune: "Well it's got some great sights, and there's a ski resort in the valley. Mostly we just have our hospital, which used to be the family castle..."



Weiss stepped in front of Yang and Jaune, glaring.



Normally being ignored by Jaune was something she'd hoped for... But now it was just so... Irritating! And she didn't know why.



Weiss: pulls out her Scroll and texts Hello Neptune. Would you like to join me in the ballroom to decorate for the dance?



It took a few moments but she got a reply.



Neptune: Sorry Snow Angel. Got work to do with my team. Sun called a team training session. Duty calls.



Weiss scowled a bit. From what she had seen of Sun, he wasn't very keen on team training. Still...



Weiss: Oh. I understand. See you later.



Neptune: Totally. Later babe.



She sighed... Then heard another sigh. She looked over her shoulder and saw Pyrrha staring after Yang and Jaune, looking a bit forlorn.



Weiss: "Ah! Oh, Pyrrha, I'm so sorry I didn't see you there..."



Pyrrha: "Oh! I didn't want to be seen. Sorry..."



Weiss frowned. She looked back at Arc and Yang, still laughing together. She looked back at the forlorn Pyrrha.



Her eyes slowly widened.



Weiss: Wait, wait, wait... There's no way... It's impossible...!



Weiss: "... Pyrrha... You're not... Jealous of Yang... Are you?"



Pyrrha went bright red. Weiss stared. She waited. Waited for Pyrrha to deny it. To say she was kidding.



Pyrrha: "I... O-Of course not!"



Weiss: "Oh Breaker you are. You... You like him?!"



Pyrrha: "I-I... W-Well... Um...!"



Weiss: This can't be happening. SHE LIKES HIM!? SHE LIKES THAT IDIOT?!



The majority of RWBY seemed to think Pyrrha was just an overprotective big sister to Jaune-Natural given that he was so hopeless. Only Ruby thought Pyrrha had feelings for him, but Weiss had dismissed that due to Ruby having all the romantic experience of a paperclip!



Weiss: "I mean... You could have literally any man you wanted! And you want... Him?!"



Pyrrha very meekly nodded. Weiss stared in disbelief. Her mind was a blank... Until Weiss's training in political maneuvering and ruthless strategy asserted itself. She smirked devilishly.



Weiss: Wait a minute... I can get back at Yang for her insults to Neptune, make Pyrrha happy, AND get Arc off my back all in one fell swoop!

Weiss: "Then... There's only one thing to do for you, my dear friend Pyrrha."



Pyrrha: "Huh?"



Weiss: "I'm going to help you get your man, of course!"



Pyrrha: "Y-You are?" She frowned "Why?"



Weiss: "Because we're friends, of course!" And I'm getting back at Yang!



Pyrrha: "I-I just... If he rejected me-"



Weiss: "He won't! I know just how to do it!"



Pyrrha: stares in wonder "You do?"



Weiss: "Of course! Hang on..."



She led Pyrrha after Yang and Jaune. They made it to the ballroom, where several students were milling about. Already, Yang and Jaune were decorating together happily. Laughing and joking like they had been friends for years. Weiss' eyebrow twitched. She saw Pyrrha look more depressed.



Weiss: "Listen. I'm sure the dolt cares for you too. He just hyper focused on me for some idiotic reason. The best way to get him to pay attention to you is jealousy."



Pyrrha: "J-Jealousy?"



Weiss: "Exactly! And for you to do a bit of acting."



Pyrrha: "Um... That's not one of my strengths."



Weiss: "N-No, you were pretty good in The Amazon Strikes!"



Pyrrha: stares "You think so?"



Weiss of course was lying her ass off. The Amazon Strikes did star Pyrrha, but Pyrrha was terrible. But Weiss was well versed in flattery.



Weiss: "Of course! You just have to have a date who can act like he's taking advantage of you! Get Arc to protect you, he takes a fall, you confess your feelings, and you two live happily forever after!"



Weiss: And Yang gets to suffer knowing her dolt broke up with her! It'll serve her right for implying my Neptune would cheat on me and being so obnoxious!



Pyrrha: "I-I um, I don't know-"



Yang laughed and hip bumped Jaune. He laughed and hip bumped her back. Pyrrha stared very intensely at this scene. Weiss grinned.



Weiss: "You were saying?"



Pyrrha: "... What do we do?" She sounded both resigned but determined.



Weiss: "Simple... Um..."



Weiss headed off, Pyrrha in tow. They got out onto the quad. She narrowed her eyes as she scanned through the available Hunters.



Weiss: Too stupid, too weak, too foolish-AHA!



She spottered Mercury Black lounging around. She strode up to him, pulled him up, and dragged him off.



Mercury: "Ah! Hey, what are you-?"



Weiss dragged him to the tree Pyrrha was waiting by. She turned to him with a smirk.



Weiss: "Mister Black, was it? You know Pyrrha Nikos, do you not?"



Mercury: "Uh, by reputation only-"



Weiss: "Good! You're going to take her out to the dance!"



Mercury: "I-What?!"



Pyrrha: "What?!"



Weiss: "Miss Nikos is trying to get the attention of her dimwitted partner, who is taking another girl out. You are to play the cad, to make him jealous, and make it look like you're trying to take advantage of her. You will lure Arc in, pretend to fall to his attack, and ensure Miss Nikos ends up with him."



Mercury: "I... Why in the hell would I want to do that?"



Weiss: "Because I will pay you 2000 lien to do it. Half now, half after the job is done."



Mercury: blinked rapidly "I... You're serious-?"



Weiss produced the lien and held it up. Mercury blinked twice, went through a mental calculation, and frowned.



Mercury: "... 5000 lien and I'll make it look extra good."



Weiss: "How extra good?"



Mercury: "I'll make it look like Arc can actually fight."



Pyrrha: "H-Hey, he really can-!"



Weiss: "Hmmm... Difficult. Are you sure you can manage it?"



Mercury: "You picked me for a reason."



Weiss: "True... It's because you seemed to have the temperament needed to truly take Miss Nikos out and make it believable."



Mercury: "Well, if I have that confidence, then clearly I'm worth the extra money, hm?"



Weiss: "Hmmmm... Very well. 5000 it is!"



Pyrrha: "W-Weiss-!"



Weiss: "Excellent! You two will start the operation now!" beams at Pyrrha "Don't worry! I'm sure he'll do just fine! And if he doesn't stick to the job, you can fold him in half!"



Mercury: "Hey! I'm a professional! If I'm given a job, I will complete it!"



Weiss: "You'd better!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

A friend of mine wrote this on Reddit and it got taken down. So I have decided to share it.

Kirei Kotomine on Yang x Blake

I feel like Kirei Kotomine would say something along these lines with Yang x Blake, what do you think? At the end of the post is why Yang x Blake would never truly work based on realistic relationship dynamic/compatibility understanding.

"How fitting. Two broken creatures clinging to each other, not out of understanding, but desperation. Such is the romance: a sanctuary not of mutual admiration, but of shared wounds."

"Yang Xiao Long, once a creature of blazing spirit, now dims her own light so that Blake Belladonna might not be blinded by it. In this, she does not love Blake — she merely pities her. And in return, Blake does not cherish Yang — she merely depends upon her."

"Their bond is not one of equals, but of caretaker and invalid. One bleeds endlessly so that the other might breathe a little easier. Tell me, is that love? Or is it merely martyrdom in silk disguise?"

"It is a common misconception: to believe that shared pain alone is enough to sustain affection. True bonds are not forged from mutual wounds, but from the ability to stand beside one another without fear, without compromise, without shrinking oneself into a more palatable form."

"In striving to appear whole for Blake, Yang has carved herself hollow. In hiding her own scars, Blake ensures they will never heal. It is not a partnership they have built, but a mausoleum — a beautiful, stagnant grave where their true selves are entombed."

"Call it 'representation.' Call it 'hope.' I shall call it by its true name: despair clothed in the tattered remains of sentimentality."

The logical reasoning why Yang x Blake doesn't work and is unrealistic:

Regarding the ship though, in real life Yang x Blake would not last and would be plagued with issues until they broke up. Why? If one has an understanding of real relationship dynamics and compatibility, you would know Yang has many fundamental issues with Blake that would shatter the relationship. It's not opposites attracting, it's bad writing forcing a ship that could not last unless the characters were rewritten.

Yang must alter who she is to be with Blake, when you have to change who you are, you admit you're a mistake in being yourself. That's toxic and unhealthy. There is no situation where it's the right thing to do, to alter who you truly are for someone else. That's a false persona and admittance that you are wrong for being yourself.

Yang is emotionally direct and needs open, direct, constant communication not just verbally but physically. Constantly having to read the lines, hold back, question yourself, etc would lead yang to emotional erosion, emotional suppression, friction, etc. It's wrong to shrink yourself, to not be who you are to the fullest. Yang and Blake have different love languages and different forms of communication, Yang has not evolved as a person but became worse especially with the treatment towards Ruby which defies who she originally was.

She and Blake have lost their original individuality in my opinion. True growth doesn't mean abandoning your Essence, it means refining it. Yang has regressed, not progressed. Blake has always been emotionally elusive, and the writing bends the world to accommodate her style. In doing so, Yang is recontextualized not as her own person, but as a patient support system.

The romance should have elevated both. Instead, it reshapes Yang to fit Blake's comfort zone. That's not romantic growth — that's narrative submission. The "opposites attract" idea is often romanticized in fiction. But in real life, it only works when both partners adapt without losing their identity. That's not what happens here. Yang and Blake don't communicate the same way, don't process emotion the same way, have little in common, and don't seek love the same way. in real-world relationships, when one partner is constantly pulling and the other withdrawing, it creates chronic emotional dissonance.

Think of friendships if not romantic relationships, what friendship is healthy and thrives if it's one sided and relies on you to be someone you truly aren't? In romantic relationships, where you constantly are the one giving while having emotional and physical needs neglected? That, never lasts healthily.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Using my fanon, here's a basic skeleton for how things would go in this timeline.

Lionheart provides Cinder with diplomatic and political connections that lets her pose as a lobbyist who makes connections with Vale Councilwoman Prunella Glocken, and Vale Defense Force Commander-in-Chief General Aldric Varnholt. For Glocken, Cinder uses a mixture of blackmail and bribery to get her to allow her fake company access to the computers that manage the CCTnet and the Vale Civil Defense Networks. She, Emerald, Mercury and Neon go in under disguise as technicians to put the virus in. You could have Cinder make an attack on the CCTnet Tower at Beacon to cover her tracks, but it should not be the method to upload the virus. This virus targets only Atlasian assets. Thus, stage two of the plan.

For Varnholt, Cinder uses a mixture of flattery and Lionheart's connections to get him to side against Ozpin and seek out more command. She gets him to reveal secrets of Vale's military and the city itself. For both Glocken and Varnholt, Cinder provides information on the Breach that implicates Ozpin as negligent and incompetent, which allows him to be pushed out and lose influence. Both Glocken and Varnholt were opposed to Ozpin anyway but Cinder cleverly uses this against them AND Ozpin. Glocken now has clout she can use for her next election and Varnholt has direct command over Vale's defense forces, he isn't being challenged by Ozpin anymore and he doesn't work well with Ironwood, which increases tensions.

Prior to the attack, the VDF gets an emergency on their sensor network. Signs of a massive Grimm assault on a nearby city, and there is also a communications blackout so nobody can know for sure. The fleet assets in the area along with anything else they can find head out, and it is kept quiet under Glocken's orders to not cause a panic that might affect the Vytal Festival. Varnholt insists that Atlas stay put around Vale, they can handle this. This weakens Vale's defenses and ensures that only Atlasian units are providing protection for Vale.

Naturally, the emergency is fake. Vale's sensors and defenses are compromised which allows the White Fang forces to get in close and to herd Grimm closer to critical weakpoints without being detected.

The death of Penny is televised as per the show, but Cinder uses White Fang propaganda with her own touch. It's used purely to rile up the crowd. This is when the defense systems go down across Vale.

The Atlasian fleet then goes beserk with all their forces, timed with the White Fang strikes and the Grimm surges. The Atlasian drones attack power plants, substations, and comm relays, as well as gates and any weakpoints in the walls to let in more Grimm.

The Grimm attack escalates and awakens/draws in more Grimm.

While this is going on, other White Fang cells spark civil wars in Mistral and Vacuo with Lionheart's help, which, combined with Watts' virus, causes global panic and chaos.

Atlas's forces are not ALL hacked mind you, but a lot are. And now they're in the middle of a shooting war between Mistral's various factions.

In Vale, the VDF races back to try and help, Varnholt leading the charge. Their forces aren't affected by the virus but they aren't as numerous or well armed as the Atlasian battleships. The Atlasian forces engage them in a massive aerial battle that causes heavy casualties on both sides and is made worse by the Grimm.

Atlas begins to withdraws, but things are so confused many units in the VDF continue to fight them while also trying to help the civilians and ground forces. General Varnholt personally takes command of the Vale forces and leads them in battle to try and save civilians, but he falls. He does gain some redemption.

Councilwoman Prunella Glocken gets a rather personal death delivered by Cinder: She was at Vytal to preside over things and rub her success in Ozpin's face. She is subsequently found by Cinder. She pleads for her life and Cinder commands a number of Beowulves to tear the woman apart.

Jaune in this case landed, joined a few students, and tried to fight his way to the tower to help Pyrrha, but finding the injured Yang and the terrified Blake, and given the overwhelming forces arrayed against them, he's forced to retreat with his friends. Blake still runs off while Jaune, Nora, Ren and a few others get Yang to an evacuation shuttle.

Pyrrha does try to fight Cinder but in this case, she is trying to fight a delaying action so that Jaune can get reinforcements (though she still kisses him and confesses her feelings before launching him out of there). She's actually doing a good job until Cinder cheats and summons the Dragon. Then Pyrrha gets her ass kicked. Ruby comes in earlier to try and save Pyrrha, but is getting her ass whooped until Pyrrha takes a killshot meant for her. Pyrrha dies, Ruby unleashes the Silver Eyes and blacks out, Cinder is injured while the Dragon is stoned.

Had Ruby been able to unleash her Silver Eyes earlier, the defenders might have had a chance. But the sheer devastation means the majority of the VDF forces have to withdraw to a safer distance to regroup.

This version of Vale's fall would accomplish a number of Cinder and Salem's goals:

1: Much of Vale's military has been crippled and their government has been effectively beheaded.
2: Massive destruction caused by Grimm, White Fang and Atlas means they are in a bad way.
3: Any coordination between Atlas and Vale is going to be hampered by how many losses both sides took and Mistral and Vacuo's conflicts.
4: Pinning the blame on the White Fang means any organized resistance will be targeting Faunus and Mengarie for retaliation, which will make things even worse.
5: Get the Relic, get the Maiden powers, kill Ozpin.

Because if you want to weaken all the Kingdoms of Man and Faunus so that it's easier for Salem to do her work, you want them to start shooting at one another in open warfare.

What do you think?

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Weiss Schnee was, for once, alone in the RWBY dormroom. She was doing some studying, completing an essay on Dust formations and how they could be used tactically, when her Scroll broke the quiet with a loud hum. She checked the screen. It was flashing with a name that made her stomach twist: Jacques Schnee.

She hesitated, her ice-blue eyes narrowing, before answering with a practiced, neutral tone. The call was rare—her father seldom reached out—and never pleasant, but today's conversation would veer into the utterly bizarre.

"Father," she greeted neutrally.

"Weiss," Jacques's voice crackled through, cold and commanding, "I want to know one thing. Is there a Jaune Arc at your school?"

Weiss's brow furrowed, her voice cautious. "Yesss…?"

"Of the Radian Arcs?" Jacques pressed, his tone sharp. "Uses a sword called Crocea Mors?"

Weiss blinked, her confusion deepening. "I… Think so?"

"Good," Jacques said, his voice tightening with disdain. "I want you to steer clear of him. Have nothing to do with him at all!"

Weiss's grip on her Scroll tightened, her voice rising with bewilderment. "I—Wait, what? Why?"

"The Arcs are our family enemies," Jacques spat, his words dripping with venom.

Weiss blinked rapidly.

"They are?" She asked.

"Yes," Jacques nodded, "In my youth, this-this Jaune's father tried to woo your mother! While he was bodyguarding her no less! He was shameless! Thankfully, he failed, but he insulted me to my face many times! Even physically assaulted me!"

Weiss stared in astonishment. That her father was even admitting to something like that was… Huge. And that said man had gotten away with crossing Jacques Schnee was even more amazing. After all, Jaune didn't speak of his father in the past tense.

"The family has further thwarted my efforts to acquire Dust mines in North Sanus! His great-grandmother insulted me at a town meeting and mocked my manhood! She convinced the local council to reject my business offer! They are persona non grata to me, and should be to you, too!"

Weiss's jaw dropped, her voice flat with disbelief.
"…Really?"

Some little old lady did that?! The mystery about the Arcs grew… As did Weiss' unintentional admiration for them.

"Yes!" Jacques snapped. "In addition, his mother is a real…" He hesitated in using a slur, his eyes darting to and fro. While Weiss wouldn't call it fear, he was… Reluctant to bad mouth the woman. Someone who could make her father do that was rare.

"… She refused to become our exclusive physician. She refused ME. They are not to be trusted or associated with. Understood?"

Weiss's lips twitched, suppressing a smirk, her voice obedient but laced with irony.

"Yes, Father."

"Good," Jacques said, his tone final. "Remember: Nothing to do with that boy at all!"

"Of course, Father!" Weiss said, her voice overly sweet, which as usual Jacques took no heed of.

The call ended, and Weiss stared at her Scroll, her mind racing. The sheer pettiness of her father's vendetta was almost laughable, and the idea of Jaune Arc—clumsy, earnest, infuriatingly persistent Jaune—as a family nemesis was absurd. Yet, a spark of defiance flared in her chest, and her lips curling into a sly smile.

Perhaps it was because of the dolts she was surrounded with. Perhaps it was after the disappointment she had suffered with Neptune and Jaune's earnest efforts to be her friend.

Perhaps it was just the thought of her father suffering a heart attack, but Weiss Schnee… Had an idea.

A wonderful idea.

A wonderful, awful idea…

- - -

Later, in Beacon's courtyard, Jaune Arc was polishing Crocea Mors. He had to agree with Ruby: There was something therapeutic about weapons maintenance out in the bright sunshine.

So engrossed in this, he didn't notice when Weiss marched up, her white combat skirt swishing, her expression a mix of determination and mischief. He looked up, his blue eyes wary, his hoodie slightly askew.

"Hm? Oh, hey, Weiss," Jaune said, rubbing his neck. It had been weeks since the dance and he had been making an effort to be her friend rather than her suitor.

"Um, what can I do for you-?"

"Apparently, our families are mortal enemies," Weiss interrupted, her voice crisp, her arms crossed.

Jaune blinked, his jaw dropping. "…What? They are?"

"Yes!" Weiss said, her tone almost gleeful. "My father truly hates your family! Entirely! And wants me to have nothing to do with you!"

Oh great, Jaune mentally groaned, No wonder she wanted nothing to do with me! I mean, even more than in general!

Jaune's brow furrowed, his voice hesitant.

"Well… I mean, if you want, I'll just—"

"So you're taking me out on a date Friday night," Weiss declared, her eyes glinting with glee.

Jaune's brain stalled, his voice a stammer.

"…I… Am?"

"Yes, you are," Weiss said, her smile sharp, daring him to argue.

"Even though our families are supposedly mortal enemies?" Jaune asked, his confusion deepening.

"Yep!" Weiss said, her voice bright, her rebellion against Jacques fueling her resolve.

Jaune stared, his voice slow, as if testing reality for any faults that might lead to a total collapse.

"…Okay?"

Weiss nodded, turning on her heel, her voice firm but playful.

"Dress nice. Bring flowers." She strode off, her ponytail bouncing, a triumphant smile spreading across her face.

Jaune sat frozen, Crocea Mors forgotten in his hands, his voice a bewildered mutter.

"…What the hell just happened?"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The next leadership class...

Ruby: "I'm just saying, why am I in trouble for stopping some suicidal terrorist trying to get into the CCT building?!"

Jaune: "Are you sure it was a terrorist?"

Cinder: "Why suicidal? Why not trying to infiltrate it?"

Ruby: "Ugh, because only an idiot would try to get in that way! Everyone's securing the building now! You can't get in to do any real damage like that!"

Jaune: "Totally. If they were actually doing an infiltration they would get fake ids and pose as technicians."

Cardin: "I guess you'd know about that, Jauney."

Jaune: "Well uh..."

Coco: "Why?"

Cardin: "Because he's a madlad and pretty street smart. But even with fakes, you would need some leverage in local government. Like some bureaucrats to file and backdate paperwork otherwise you would be waiting forever on authorization to get in. Every CCT access is logged and the documentation standards are high-My Dad saw to that in the last couple of bills he got passed."

Cinder: "Really? Hacking isn't enough?"

Ruby: "No! Even I know you need more than just that because people will check hardcopies or ask people who know all this stuff!"

Coco: "It's more involved. You would need to work hard and be cunning... But at least it would get you in."

Ruby: *laughs* "Yeah. Only a complete idiot would try to break in by force as their Plan A!"

Cinder: *twitch* "Yes... Quite..."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

It took a lot to scare Blake. Adam, the White Fang, her books being held over an open flame-All terrifying. Her parents and Aunt Yoruichi rated pretty highly up there too. But they lacked the same menace as the presence she sensed as she entered her empty dormroom.



She looked through the dark to a pair of green eyes glowing in the shadows. She sucked in a deep breath. She tried to stay calm, to not bolt... Even when the door behind her slammed shut. She glanced back over her shoulder-A figure with blue eyes stood there.



"It's taken us a long time to track you down, Pequeña Blake," the green eyed man growled softly. "Even then, once we found you, we were content to stand by and keep watch. See what you would do."



Blake sucked in a breath.



"You just can't stay out of trouble, can you gatita?" Purred the blue eyed woman behind her, "Even now you fight the White Fang and play vigilante when you should be keeping a low profile."



"It's taken a lot of work to keep you safe, little one," the green eyed man said, standing up. "But I suspect we have the reason for your reluctance to get back in contact, no~? Jaune Arc?"



Blake's eyes narrowed.



"What have you done with him?" She hissed.



"Why don't you see for yourself?" The man chuckled.



There was a pause. A younger man coughed.



"Oh! Oh, that was my cue, right, right, sorry!"



The lights went on. The green eyed figure was a short orange tabby cat Faunus man in tall musketeer boots, a lavish black, red and gold jacket and fencing breeches, a purple cape and a jaunty hat with a yellow feather in his cap. A well used rapier hung from his belt. The blue eyed figure was revealed as a svelte, beautiful black cat Faunus woman in an emerald green mask, a green and gold catsuit with white highlights, and a number of daggers and thieves' tools hanging from her belt. Both were casting fond if exasperated looks over at the owner of the third voice.



Said owner was a young, large eyed chihuahua in a ratty purple and blue sweater and jeans. He panted, his tongue hanging out, as he stood by the lightswitch... And an unconscious Jaune Arc tied to a chair. Blake's eyes widened.



"Jaune!" She gasped, rushing over to him. "How could you?! What have you done to him?"



The blue eyed woman chuckled menacingly.



"Why, we-!"



"We invited him out to a taco diner and had tacos!" The dog Faunus barked happily. "I love tacos, and he loved them too! I don't think his Hispanish is too good though since he ordered the Ghost Pepper Salsa! Eesh! That made him pass out so we brought him back here!"



"Perrito," the two cat Faunus groaned. Perrito coughed.



"I-I mean we tortured him until he passed out! With hugs! And cuddles! MEAN HUGS AND CUDDLES!"



Blake sighed, her lips twitching slightly as she fought a smile.



"It's nice to see you too, Uncle Gato, Aunt Kitty, and Perrito. But must you be so dramatic?"



Gato Zapatos, legendary outlaw of Remnant and fearless hero, scoffed.



"Drama is the very soul of life! What, we were just going to drop by and say 'hello, we heard you got pregnant by and engaged to some human'? Who does that?! That's not memorable!"



"Besides," Kitty Softpaws chuckled, "You have no room to speak, Miss Runaway Princess who Declared She Would Join the White Fang to her parents before Dropping a Smoke Bomb."



Blake flushed.



"It was a small one?"



"No it wasn't," Gato scoffed, "I made sure of it!"



- - -



Yes, Gato Zapatos from White Knight Errant (who is a Remnant-fied expy of Puss in Boots from the Shrek Franchise) is now part of my general RWBY fanon. Neither he nor Kitty are biologically related to Blake but they are old friends of her parents-Though they split from the White Fang and Menagerian politics a long time ago in favor of being free and after the atrocities of the White Fang. Perrito is their adopted orphan, as per The Last Wish.



Gato naturally knows about much of Jaune's family and is interested in testing his blade while Kitty is going to do her level best not to steal (too much). Perrito will just be Perrito, a happy ball of sunshine.



And yes... A certain wolf Faunus with scythes does wander by from time to time... Though Puss is hardly the only person in Remnant who is familiar with him and his whistle.




View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o8GWhoD53I

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Written based on an idea by Insomnius

= = =

The training grounds lay quiet under the lengthening shadows of the ruins that surrounded Beacon proper. The air was cooler here, carrying the metallic tang of polished weapons and the faint scent of pine trees wafted from the mountains. Reese and Arslan strode along a gravel path, their boots crunching rhythmically. The grounds were bordered by ancient oaks, their gnarled branches heavy with leaves that rustled in the evening breeze.

Sparring rings, marked by white chalk and scuffed earth, lay empty, save for the occasional student polishing their gear under the fading light.

Reese, her hoverboard tucked under one arm, tilted her head, her green-tipped hair catching the golden glow. "So, who's this guy we're meeting again?" Her voice was light, teasing, her eyes glinting with curiosity.

Arslan sighed, her robes swaying as she walked, the intricate embroidery glinting faintly.

"My fiancé. Yatsuhashi of the Daichi Clan. We last met some twelve years ago, during the engagement ceremony. He was very… timorous. I was decidedly unimpressed. But I went forward with the engagement as it would benefit my family and faith greatly." Her voice was steady, but there was a tightness to it, a flicker of resignation.

Reese grinned, nudging Arslan's shoulder.

"Aw, c'mon, it's been twelve years. A lot can happen."

They reached the meeting point, a clearing where the path widened into a circle of smooth stone, bordered by low benches and a single, weathered statue of a huntsman. The sun dipped lower, casting long shadows that stretched like fingers across the ground. A figure waited there, and as they approached, Arslan's breath caught.

Yatsuhashi stood like a monument carved from granite, an absolute mountain of a man. His heavy armor, dark and intricately etched, gleamed dully in the twilight, each plate fitted to his massive frame. A sword, nearly as tall as he was, rested against his shoulder, its blade broad and unyielding, the hilt wrapped in worn leather. His presence seemed to anchor the clearing, his dark eyes calm but piercing, his short hair ruffled by the breeze.

He nodded respectfully towards Arslan, a hint of a blush on his cheeks through his stoic demeanor.

"Hello Arslan," he said, his voice cool and steady, "It's nice to meet you again."

Arslan's heart stuttered, her dark skin hiding the flush that warmed her cheeks.

"A lot can happen indeed," she murmured, her voice softer than she intended, her golden eyes locked on him.

Reese's grin widened, her teeth flashing as she elbowed Arslan playfully. "Told ya," she whispered, her voice brimming with smug satisfaction.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune's Aunt Nero from Vitalia comes to visit.

Yang: "Ummm... Just so you know, I'm totally his girlfriend and fiance!"

Blake: "And so am I!"

Pyrrha: "NO! I AM!"

Ruby: "Arturia likes me-!"

Nero: "I don't care! Save that my nephew is finally getting over that prudishness Izzy tried to instill in him!"

Jaune: "First, you're like my... Second cousin? And second, you do not want to know what she's into."

Nero: "ANYWAY! Enough of your blather! I didn't want to be a Huntress, you know! That was just to give me enough capital for my true passion: ART! BEHOLD MY LATEST MASTERPIECE!"

It is a stick figure.

Nero: "See? SEE?"

Jaune: "... Ummmmm..."

Nora: "IT'S TERRIBLE!"

Nero: "Wait, wait, I can make it better!" Draws some fox ears and boobs on it

Nora: "... Wow! It is better!"

Jaune: groans

Pyrrha: "Ummmmm..."

Nero: "Well fine! There's no accounting for taste!"

Jaune: "Except for people with eyes."

Nero: "Oh yeah, you smug little brat? I'll have you know I am showing an exhibit of my photography at a local prestigious art gallery! BEHOLD!"

She shows off several photos.

Yang covers Ruby's eyes. Blake gapes in astonishment. Weiss turns bright red. Ren... Twitches.

Pyrrha: "Um... Well... You're certainly, um... Uh..."

Nora: "Ooh! Ooh! I know this one! She's NAKED!"

Nero: "YES! NUDE PHOTOGRAPHY! OF MYSELF! NAKED! It's BRILLIANT!"

Jaune: "Oh Breaker no..."

Nero: "Hey! Your prudish mother can't tell me how to live my life! Art is about pushing boundaries! And am I not beautiful?! Who wouldn't want to see me nude?!"

Jaune: "I wouldn't!"

Nero: "Well! Everyone else disagrees and they're gonna look at my brilliant photography exhibit! It's because I'm such an artistic genius!"

Jaune: "It's because you're a hot naked blonde!"

Nero: "So you were looking!"

Jaune: "THAT'S WHAT YOU TAKE AWAY FROM THIS?!"

Nora: "YAY! Teach me to be an amazing artist too, Jaune's Auntie!"

Nero: "I will share what I can but be prepared to be disappointed with how you will fail to reach up to my towering artistic genius!"

Nora: "I AM!"

Nero: "THEN LET US BEGIN!"

Nora: "LET'S STEAL SOME ELEPHANTS FROM THE ZOO!"

Nero: "BRILLIANT!"

Jaune: "NO!"

- - -

Nero is a kickass fighter, of course, And actually quite a good musician. But her true passion is to be an artist... Which she totally sucks at.

And she's rather demented.

She's a cousin of Jaune's thanks to some Arcs who intermarried with the nobles of Vitalia (which is sort of like Italy in Remnant) long ago. She dresses like Arturia did in her prime to honor her, and Arturia is fond of her.

Isabel is often exasperated with her actions, along with the rest of the family. But she is a lot of fun.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

"... And that is the final result of the analysis. Do you wish to change anything before I send off the final report, General Ironwood?"

The Commander of Atlas' military forces shook his head as he sat behind his desk. The cheerful orange-haired girl beamed at him from the other side of said desk.

"No Penny, that will be good. Send it off."

"Yes sir. Done."

"You may go," Ironwood said, turning his eyes back to his computer. About ten seconds later, he glanced back up: Penny was still there, looking... Anxious.

"Is there something wrong, Penny?" He asked, not unkindly.

A gentle frown came over her face.

"Not wrong, General Ironwood. However, I am experiencing unusual sensations and I am unsure of how to process them. I was hoping you might be able to assist me?"

Ironwood frowned.

"Why me?"

"I trust you, General Ironwood," Penny said cheerfully, "Father did tell me I could do that!"

It was something Ironwood took pride in. That Pietro had told her, unprompted, that he could be trusted.

Granted, Penny's personhood was still... A bit difficult for Ironwood to really believe, but if she had an actual soul, it was hard to argue against it.

"Very well. What can I do for you?" Ironwood asked, a bit more gently this time.

Penny nodded.

"Many of my runtimes are being devoted to a friend I have recently made, in addition to Friend Ruby. My fluid pump works faster when I am near him. And I wish to unleash Primary Array when he is near other women, despite my directives to not harm non-criminal or enemy humans." She tilted her head. "May I ask what the reasons behind this are?"

Ironwood was silent. He blinked. He blinked again.

Don't tell me Pietro gave her the ability to feel romantic attraction, he thought to himself, holding in a groan.

"Which young man are you experiencing these... Things... Around?" Ironwood managed.

"Friend Jaune! Jaune Orleans Arc, Student ID 32203, Freshman!" Penny chirped brightly, projecting a holographic image of an awkwardly smiling blond young man. Ironwood winced.

"Son of Nicholas and Isabel Arc?"

"Yes!" Penny chirped, "How did you know?"

Of course his son would be the one she gets a crush on, Ironwood mentally sighed. Out loud he said:

"I am familiar with them."

"Is this the result of some kind of latent Semblance affect?" Penny asked, worried, "Is he an enemy agent seeking to compromise my functions?"

"Unlikely," Ironwood said dryly, "Access human romantic relationships."

"There is a block put on there by my father-"

"You are authorized to bypass said lock," Ironwood said firmly. Penny's eyes glowed and darted about as she processed the information. She blushed.

"Oh. My."

Ironwood nodded.

"As for your feelings... My suggestion is to be open and honest about things with this young man. The worst he can say is no."

"What happens if he says no?" Penny asked, looking worried. Ironwood sighed.

"It will be... Disappointing. It may even hurt your feelings. But you will recover from it, and find another who is more receptive to your feelings," he said. "But you should be straightforward about things with him. Humans tend to hide their emotions and that makes things much more difficult than if they were simply honest."

"Then why do humans lie and deceive?" Penny asked.

"For many reasons," Ironwood stated, "Fear, to protect themselves, to avoid facing things they do not wish to face. It is a complicated subject." He offered her the tiniest of smiles. "However, in this case, it is a binary decision. Either he accepts your feelings and you begin a relationship, or you do not."

Penny nodded with a smile.

"Thank you, sir. May I be excused?"

"You may," Ironwood said, and the gynoid turned and hurried out of the office. He let out a sigh.

It had been a very long time since he himself was young. He'd chosen his career, his duty, over anything like romance. But he wasn't an idiot about it, and the simplest explanations tended to work with Penny. It would be a learning experience for her-Perhaps a vital one. Especially if she was rejected.

Of course, if they did begin a relationship, well... He would leave that to Pietro to work out. He had done more than enough.

- - -

Jaune Arc was relaxing under a tree with the rest of JNPR. Pyrrha was reading a comic, one Jaune had recommended. Nora was playing a video game on her Scroll, and Ren was meditating. It was nice and peaceful under the clear blue sky.

"Friend Jaune!"

A peace disrupted when Penny Polendinia marched up to them, her eyes bright and focused. Jaune looked up with a smile.

"Hey Penny! What's up?"

"Do you find me attractive?" Penny asked. Jaune blinked. Pyrrha's jaw dropped. Nora and Ren looked up in some shock, though more Ren than Nora.

"Uhhh... I-I mean-"

"Do you find me attractive?" Penny repeated.

"I-I mean... Yeah?" Jaune managed.

"Do you like spending time with me?" Penny pressed. Jaune blinked.

"I mean, we haven't done a lot of that but yeah?"

"Sensational!" Penny said. She reached down and pulled him up, making him yelp, "You are now my boyfriend!!"

"What?!" Pyrrha gasped. Ren raised an eyebrow. Nora grinned.

"Wow! So direct!"

Jaune went bright red as Penny began to drag him off.

"Wait, I didn't-!"

"We are going on a date, boyfriend!" She beamed. "And if it goes well, we will kiss! Is that acceptable?"

"I mean, I don't-"

"YES OR NO?"

"YES!" Jaune squeaked.

"SENSATIONAL!" Penny cheered. "Let us commence dating now, boyfriend!"

- - -

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Vale, Warehouse District. Irene Arc was handcuffed to a chair, being leaned over an open chute into the incinerator. A gangster, flanked by his goons, chuckled as he stood in front of Irene.

Big Jim: "You thought you could outwit me, Big Jim? I've survived crackdowns and Hunters and vigilantes! Some little strumpet snooping around, what do you think you're gonna do?"

Irene: "Pl-Please, I was just asking some questions-Don't-!"

Big Jim laughs.

Big Jim: "Yeah, sure. Asking about 'Atlasian Hardware'. You think I'm stupid?"

Irene: "M-My cousin just said I could ask around... He's with Altas's Defense Force-"

Big Jim: "HA! Bet he works under Saravick, that sneak! He sold me all the equipment and arms I want just to keep his gambling going! But he don't know shit! I'm the big smuggler! Every shipment someone wants to bring in, they go through me!"

Irene: in fear "Y-You mean... The Paladin?"

Big Jim: "HA! Just one Paladin? I've got a whole fleet of them! It's gonna be quite a show when they go off-"

Which is went Qrow appears, walking up from the other side of the room.

Qrow: "Hey Irene, you got a minute?"

Big Jim: "Who the hell are you-?"

Irene's body language changes entirely. Where before she was like a wounded, fearful kitten, she now looks irritated.

Irene: "Seriously Qrow? What are you doing? I'm in the middle of an interrogation!"

Qrow: "I see that but this is much more important?"

Big Jim: "Ice him!"

One of the goons shoots a gun at Qrow... It explodes in his hand and he falls back.

Big Jim: "Wha-Lenny-!"

Irene: How is whatever you're saying more important than this? He is literally giving me everything."

Big Jim: "Wha-What the hell do you mean everything?!"

Irene: rolls her eyes "You just gave me names and critical intel on your arms smuggling. Like an idiot."

Big Jim: "N-NO I DIDN'T!"

Qrow: "You totally were. But back to my original point-"

Big Jim: "RARR-!"

He charges Irene, who breaks out of the cuffs and the chair and handily blocks his punches before she leaps over him and slams him down, knocking him out. Qrow quickly knocks the last goons out with the flat of Harbinger. Irene grumbles.

Irene: "What's worth screwing up my mission, Qrow?"

Qrow: "Does it help I got their computer data?" Holds out a holochip

Irene: scowls... Takes it "A little. What's so important? Ozpin got another S-Rank threat? A Grimm Cult this time? Mad scientist?"

Qrow: "Your nephew is dating my niece."

Irene: "... Are you for real?! I already knew that!"

Qrow: "Yeah, yeah, I know."

Irene: "And let me guess, you want me to discourage them?"

Qrow: "No!"

Irene: "Wait, what?"

Qrow: "Look... I think they're good for eachother. Like Tai and Raven were, but better, because it won't end like that."

Irene: scowls "You just want an excuse to get free wine and booze from our brewery, don't you?"

Qrow: The picture of innocence "Who me? No, noooo...!"

Irene: scowls harder

Qrow: "Okay, that IS one motivation. The other is... Well..." sighs "Look. I want this to work out. The Kid's already got enough trouble, what with that Belladonna girl declaring him her fiance."

Irene: "Geez louise, it's like Nick AND Taiyang all over again!"

Qrow: "I know right? I just... I mean, I want this to work out because surprisingly, I think they're good for eachother."

Irene: "They're only 18, Qrow."

Qrow: "Yeah and that's when Tai and Raven started. I'm usually pretty hands off but... In this case? Since we know eachother, I want us to be ready if things go wrong."

Irene: sighs "... All right."

Qrow: "That and there's one other thing."

Irene: "Why do I have the feeling that you were just sugarcoating things until this point?"

Qrow: "Because you know me all too well."

Irene: small smile "I suppose so. If Oz is gonna ask me to join up with his cabal, no. I don't know what you guys are up to, but I work independently."

Qrow: "For the Assassin's Guild?"

Irene: "I'm more like a contractor. Besides, I do stuff for Valean and Atlasian Intelligence too."

Qrow: "Close, but no." grimace "I'm supposed to represent Signal Academy at Vytal... And I'm going to a lot of stuffy functions... And I need a date."

Irene: "... You couldn't have just waited for my interrogation to be done to ask me?!"

Qrow: "You were just drawing it out at that point, sweetie."

Irene: "I was NOT drawing it out!"

Qrow: "You were done! You were just showing off because you knew I was there!"

Irene: "HA! In your dreams!"

Qrow: "So...?"

Irene: sighs "... Fine. I do need to represent my school and I need a date too... If you'll actually shave."

Qrow: "Come on! If I shave nobody will know it's me!"

Irene: "Yes, I believe that's a good thing."

Qrow: "Be honest, it's so you won't lose control over your primal lust for my rugged good looks."

Irene: rolls her eyes, smiles faintly "You would think that, wouldn't you?"

Qrow: "Can you blame a guy for being confident?"

Irene: "Delusional is more the word I would use... Also? None of that terrible cologne I know you still have."

Qrow: "You gave me a gift that wasn't poison. I wasn't about to throw it away."

Irene: "It is, it just takes a very long time to kill you."

Qrow: "Heh..."

The two head out to root through the gangster's office.

Irene: hums "Though honestly, I had thought that Ruby would have gone for Jaune first. I suppose she needs to grow up a bit for him to complete the set."

Qrow: "That's not funny."

Irene: "Who said I was joking?"

Qrow: groans "Save me from blond himbos..."