#Arc Sisters | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

howlingday · 1 month ago

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Jaune: Y'know, with Bleiss & Bluby around, I can't help but wonder what a "Blaune" would look like...

Ren: Probably a womanizer. That, or the Ultimate Fuckboy(tm).

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A moment before we begin. When I got this ask, I wanted to make a Jaune recolor that wasn't... Well, just a self-insert Jaune. Like, anyone can make a "Jaune" recolor and make them a harem king dickhead, but I don't want that. Hell, you can make a recolor of anyone and make them one-dimensional.

But that's not what I wanna do. See, I wanna do characters like Bleiss in a way where they're sort of mirrors of their counterparts. Bleiss Schnee (or Gele) is an impoverished Weiss as a bastard child of Jacques Schnee. Bluby Rose is Ruby's twin who matured too quickly at Summer Rose's death, becoming emotionally numb to support her sister. Allow me to present to you...

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PAUNE

"Good afternoon, students of Beacon Academy." A young man with reddish-brown hair introduced himself with a bow. He wore a set of blinding white armor, shining and glimmering like snowdrift in sunlight. Flowing down his shoulders was a gilded cape, acting as a field for his family emblem, the silhouette of a bird with spread wings. "I'm looking for my brother. Have you seen him around?"

Ren, the stoic member of the two, whirled his head round between his team leader and this newcomer, jaw agape at the abundant similarities between the two armored huntsmen. Jaune raised a brow, as if he'd seen this young man from somewhere before. The young man, in kind, narrowed his eyes at Jaune, though he was distracted by the bewildered look of the dark-haired boy.

"What?" The newcomer flipped out a pocket-mirror. "Do I have something on my face?"

"I'm sorry about my friend." Jaune replied, since Ren couldn't. "Uh... Who is your brother?"

"Cardin Winchester." This time Jaune's eyes almost popped out his skull. "Last I checked, he was a second year at Beacon Academy. I'm visiting for the tournament."

"Oh... You're Cardin's brother!" Jaune wagged a pointed finger.

"Yes." The young man scowled. "It's rude to point, you know." He chided with a pointing finger.

"Oh, sorry." Jaune retreated his finger with a blush of embarrassment.

"Of course you are." The student chuckled. He made a grand demonstration, slapping his hand to his armored chest. "Not everyone can be as perfect as Paune Winchester~!"

Ren started to visibly shake.

"Uh-huh... Well, if you'd like, I can try giving Cardin a call." Jaune pulled out his scroll. "I do have his number."

"Oh?" Paune raised a brow. "Let me guess, you're both his lackeys, members of his team who hang on his every whim?"

"Excuse me." Ren stood, politely rushing away. This became too much for him, so he was going to alleviate his nausea in the restroom. Hopefully, this nuisance would be gone by the time he came out.

"Ren?" Jaune watched as his teammate entered the restroom, a violent retching sound following. "Must have been something he ate." He turned back to Paune. "And, no, I'm not... his lackey..." Jaune's face soured, bitter memories returning to his mind, "I'm a team leader like him. The name's Jaune; Jaune Arc!"

"...Arc?" Paune raised his brow.

"Yeah, I'm-" There was a crack like thunder, echoing down the halls. Jaune felt a burning sensation across his cheek. Bringing a hand to his cheek, he saw Paune towering over him, a white glove in his hand.

"You dare breathe that name in my presence?"

"Huh?" Jaune rubbed his wounded face. "What do you mean?"

"I demand satisfaction, Jaune Arc." He turned away. "Meet me tomorrow in your dueling hall if you are not a coward."

"Dueling hall?"

"If you are not there by noon, then you as much of a coward as your family name."

"What?!" Jaune stood. "What does my family name have to do with anything?!"

"It has EVERYTHING to do with EVERYTHING!" Paune whirled about, pointing to the floor in fury. "And on my family name, I will have my vengeance!"

Jaune was left alone, watching as Paune Winchester, his supposed foe for tomorrow, stormed off with clenched fists, mostly hidden by his wavering gilded cape. Ren stepped out of the bathroom, noting Paune's departure before returning to Jaune.

"What just happened?"

"I..." Jaune looked to Ren. "I think I was just challenged to a duel."

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"A dueling hall?" Nora asked, brow raised at her team leader. "The heck's a dueling hall? Does he mean the library?"

"No, that's just where Ruby and Yang have their duels." Jaune clarified. "Do we even have a dueling hall?"

"We don't." Pyrrha answered. "The closest to a dueling hall we have is the sparring ring for combat class, and that's only used by students with a professor's supervision."

"And I don't think Professor Goodwitch is willing to use the classroom to settle a petty argument between students."

"I mean, he did slap my face." Jaune offered.

"With a glove!" Nora expounded. "Jaune HAS to fight him!"

"Does he, though?" Ren questioned.

"Of course he does!" Nora wrapped herself around Jaune, slapping his chest hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Multiple times. "If he doesn't, he'll be called a coward!"

"I've been called worse." Jaune weakly replied.

"We should just tell the professors about what's happening." Pyrrha offered as a solution. A knock came at the door. She moved to open it. "Dueling isn't condoned by Beacon, or any of the kingdoms."

"That's where you're mistaken, Miss Nikos!" Professor Port announced with a jovial chuckle. "Most kingdoms do not condone unsanctioned duels, save for Vacuo."

"I told you we should've gone to Vacuo, Ren." Nora looked to her partner. "Everything's legal in Vacuo."

"Not everything." Professor Port clarified without clarifying. "But this certainly is!" He held up a stack of papers, about three or four pages thick, and entered with them held out to Jaune. "Read this over, lad!"

Jaune took the pages, reading the title. "Concurrence to Duel." He blinked. "Wait." He read down the page, flipping to read the next, and at the bottom of each page was a signature.

Paune Winchester

"Just sign these documents and we'll be on our way, my boy!"

"Why would I sign this?!" Jaune asked.

"Diplomatic relations, Mr. Arc!" The large man guffawed. "With this agreement, a little tussle between strapping, young men, and Vale and Atlas become bosom besties in no time~!"

"But I don't want to fight, Professor Port!" Jaune argued. "I'm not at Beacon Academy to fight people!"

"Ah, but you may have to, if you recall!" Professor Port turned away. "Why, when I was your age, I was already engaged in more than fifteen duels, three of them against at least three people! And this one time..."

"Jaune, you don't have to do anything you don't want to." Pyrrha offered, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Whatever issues Cardin's brother has can be solved without you getting involved."

"You're right, Pyrrha." He looked to his partner, smiling. "I don't want to, so I'm not going to. And I'll tell that to him to his face tomorrow."

"Why?" Ren asked. "You could just not show up."

"I could, but it wouldn't feel right." Jaune answered. "I mean, he challenged me face-to-face, so I might as well tell him no face-to-face, too, y'know?" He looked to the professor, who was on about his eighth tangent. "Is that okay, Professor Port?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, that's quite alright." He took the papers and stepped out of the dorm. "You'll need that energy for tomorrow, won't you? Goodnight, students!"

"Goodnight~!" Nora waved as she shut the door. "Okay, now about Vacuo..."

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"Why are we going to this duel again?" Weiss asked, walking with her team to the sparring ring.

"Because Jaune is our friend, and we support our friends!" Ruby answered as she wrapped her arm around Weiss' shoulder.

"And this has nothing to do with this being the first duel you've ever seen?"

"That's not true!" Ruby argued, pulling away as though she were wounded by her partner.

"Legal duel." Yang corrected. "What happened at the back of the school back at Signal wasn't anything official."

"Oh..." Ruby quirked her brow. "Wait, then all those fights you got into-?"

"Yup!" Yang nodded.

"And how many of those fights did you start?" Blake asked.

"None~!" Yang grinned.

"All of them." Ruby clarified.

"Hey, it's Jaune!" Yang ran up to the sister team leader, refusing to explain her 10+ to nothing record. "So, ya ready for the big fight? All limbered up and ready to knock some sense into this punk Atlas kid?" She turned to Weiss. "No offense."

"Some taken." Weiss glared.

"I-I'm not going to fight anyone!" Jaune held up his hands in an awkwardly defensive motion.

"Oh, right!" Yang snapped her fingers. "This is a 'duel,' so it's all nice and legal~!"

"No, I mean I'm not going to fight anyone." Jaune rolled his eyes. "I'm going to walk inside and tell Paune that this is all a big misunderstanding."

"Boo!" Yang held her thumb downward as she jeered her fellow blond.

"Yang..." Jaune sighed.

"It's the smart thing to do." Weiss nodded.

"Thanks, Weiss!" Jaune beamed at agreement.

"Against a properly trained student, even someone from a junior institution, you'd only make a fool of yourself."

"Oh, thanks, Weiss..." Jaune slumped.

"Where's your team, Jaune?" Blake asked, noting him being alone.

"Nora and Ren are already inside," Jaune jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, "and Pyrrha went to go get a professor."

"Why?" Ruby asked. "I thought you were going to just talk to... Um... What was his name?"

"Paune Winchester." The girls each made a face at the name. "And Pyrrha said she wanted to be sure nothing happens while we're talking. She told me not to head inside until she came back."

"Well, we're gonna head in." Yang placed her hand on the door. "Wanna get the best seats in the house for this."

"Yang, I told you, nothing is going to happen..."

Jaune's argument became softer as a loud murmur emerged from the cracking of the door. As Yang pushed the door wider, the sound became louder and Jaune's words died before they could mean anything. Looking inside, every seat in the Beacon sparring room was filled. He saw a huge banner being held up by Ren and Nora, the latter of whom pointed him out and cheered, receiving a thunderous following by the rest of the Beacon Academy students. Like a moth to a flame, Jaune walked in and was given even more accolades by his peers and seniors.

"So..." Yang gave a smirk. "Nothing's gonna happen, right?"

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"You don't have to do this, Paune."

"I have to, Cardin." The youngest huffed at his eldest. He tightened the strap of his armor, barely moving the chest plate as it was already tightened as far as it would go. Cardin was leaning against the wall, rolling his eyes at his little brother. He'd lost count of how many times this was. "We are Winchesters. We are winners!"

"Okay, let me try this then." Cardin gave a stern glare. "You SHOULDN'T do this. I fought Jaune before and he's not as shrimpy as you think."

"I'm not concerned with his stature. Even the mightiest trees fall to the right axe."

"Let me guess," Cardin pushed himself away from the wall, "another piece of that 'sage advice' from those Katz tutors of yours?"

"Why, yes!" The younger beamed. "I take it you've been watching their instructional videos?"

"No, because I know better than to trust some dope on a TV screen." Cardin sighed. "Paune, if you go out there, you're just going to make an ass out of yourself."

"You mean like you did when Jaune had to save your butt?" Paune gave a cheeky smirk.

"Yeah, when Jaune had to save my ass." Cardin rolled his eyes, yet again. "Look, if you just go out there and talk it out, I'm sure Jaune will let this go. Heck, I don't even know why he agreed to this! What, did you make fun of his team?"

"The only insult was the one that oaf delivered."

"And what did he even do?" Cardin asked. From outside the locker room, there was an uproar from the stands. Both could hear Nora shouting cheers at her leader from across the auditorium. Taking it as his cue to leave, Paune made his way to the exit. "Hey! We're not done talking!"

"Because we are beyond talking, Cardin." Without looking back, the younger brother snarled. "Now is the time for vengeance."

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"Greeting, Beacon Academy~!" Professor Port boasted from within the ring. "Are you ready for a d-d-d- d-d-d-dueeeeeeeel~?!" The crowd roared in response as Jaune and his opponent, Paune, entered the ring.

"Professor Port, what the heck is this?!" Jaune shouted, partially deafened by the screaming crowd.

Pulling the mic away, the mustached teacher replied. "It's called being a hype-man, Mr. Arc! It's quite common in sporting events. Didn't Ms. Nikos tell you from her days in the ring?"

"No, she didn't, and that's also not what I'm talking about!" Jaune gestured to the crowd surrounding them. "I mean, what the heck is this crowd doing here?!"

"They're here for the duel, Mr. Arc!"

"I said I wasn't doing the duel!"

"Oh, are you that much of a coward?" Paune sneered, taking hold of the Professor's microphone. He gestured to the quieting crowd. "These people intend to see the first duel at Beacon in years, but you're too afraid to face me even in the ring?" He held the microphone out to Jaune.

"Uh..." Jaune gulped, realizing the crowd was listening to what he had to say. "Well... That is..."

"You can't even speak, you're so scared!" Paune guffawed into the mic. "No wonder your team is so weak!"

"Hey!" Jaune and Nora barked in unison, the latter nearly breaking her 'Go Jaune~!' banner.

"I guess an Arc truly is as worthy as their word if you're their honor-guard!" Paune shook his head. "Well, if you won't fight, then I'm sure you can have that partner of yours fight your battles for you, like she always does."

"Jaune!"

"Oh, and look who it is! Speak of the Grimm!"

Pyrrha ran up to the stage. "Jaune, you don't have to fight him!"

"He's right, Mr. Arc." Professor Goodwitch concurred, giving a glare at the shrinking Port. "So long as you don't sign that paper, there will be no fight." The crowd jeered at this. "QUIET!" She bellowed, not needing a microphone to get her point across.

"So, you intend to run away, tail tucked between your legs? Typical..." The Winchester boy clicked his tongue. "You'd rather hide behind bureaucracy than face me like a man in battle. I'd say you were the weaker man if not for your fragile stomach of a compatriot in the stands." The crowd made murmurs as eyes drifted to the blushing Ren. "If you'd rather I fight him, then I'd be more than happy to oblige."

"Jaune-" But it was too late for Pyrrha to talk sense into her leader. Taking hold of the papers in Professor Port's hands, he signed his name, before shoving the documents back into his meaty mitts. He then snatched the microphone from Paune.

"Fine!" Jaune barked. "You wanna fight?! Then let's fight!" The crowd roared in cheer.

"Oh, Jaune..." Pyrrha sighed.

"You heard him, Beacon~!" Professor Port took the microphone back. "IT'S TIME FOR A SHOWDOOOWN~!"

The crowd screamed as the words were called out. Pyrrha gave a sigh as Nora suddenly arrived with Jaune's weapon. She had access to Jaune's locker code, some way somehow despite his constant changing of the locker and code. In a blink, she was back in the stands to cheer for Jaune with Ren.

Across the arena was Cardin, looking to his younger brother with a familiar tension in his face. Pyrrha had seen this look many times before, all from managers and coaches who weren't confident in their athletes. It seemed he was worried about his brother in a similar way she was concerned about Jaune.

'He'll be fine.' Pyrrha thought, glancing to Jaune as he readied his sword and shield.

"Duelist, are you ready?!" Professor Port called, hand pointing to the younger man across the arena.

"Always ready!" Paune called back, repeating the response they were taught at Bulwark. Behind him, a long, purple staff extended into variant shades of lilac, lavender, and other purples.

"Duelist, are you ready?!" This time to Jaune.

"Ready!" Jaune brought his shield close.

"This will be old-school rules; first one to have their aura drop into the red forfeits!" Professor Port raised his palm high. "READY... BEGIN!"

As the professor jumped away, Paune wasted no time closing the gap between the two fighters, swinging his staff forward to reveal the bladed edge of his spear. It struck home, pushing Jaune back a bit as he noticed the dent in the middle of his shield. He'd need to avoid taking attacks like that in the future. Paune began jabbing with his spear, to which Jaune responded by moving to the side and removing the distance between.

Jaune swung with his blade, and Paune blocked with his staff. The younger grinned as he twisted the shaft and split his weapon in two, switching his style to something more akin to stick-fighting. The older was put on the backfoot again as his shield and armor began being pummeled by repeated strikes by the bladed and blunt weapons.

"What's the matter, Arc?!" Paune taunted. "Feeling overwhelmed?!"

Jaune brought his shield close and then thrusted outward, striking his opponent off-balance. Taking advantage of this, he jabbed Paune in the shoulder, making his aura shimmer as he grunted.

"No, are you?" Jaune chuckled. The crowd laughed, making both combatants blush. One was from being admired, the other from humiliation. Paune would switch their placements.

Clicking his spear together once more, Paune held the blade to the rear before charging once again. At the last second, he struck the ground and launched himself into the air, twisting his spear round and diving with blade pointed for Jaune's head. Jaune held up his shield and stepped aside, allowing Paune to drive his blade into the ground.

"Uh..." Jaune blinked as his opponent didn't move from where he crashed down. "Are you okay?"

"D..." Paune gritted his teeth. "Do not patronize me, Arc! I am a Winchester!" He stood and grunted as he pulled on his weapon. "And... a Winchester... always... ngh... wins...!"

Jaune looked to Pyrrha, who shrugged, before walking over and taking hold of the weapon. With a single yank, the blade came free. The two looked to each other, both not quite sure what to make of what just happened. For Paune, it was the single most embarrassing thing to happen in his career as a Huntsman... in training. For Jaune, it was extremely awkward, partially because he knew exactly how his opponent was feeling right now.

Some students began to murmur. They were expecting a tense battle between two feuding students of illustrious schools. But this... This was more like a playground dispute, with their ages embarrassingly showing. With only three words, the entire crowd was in an uproar.

"You guys suck!" Nora cried, earning the howls of agreement from the other students.

"Man..." Jaune sighed. "Everyone else is thinking this is a bad idea, huh-"

Paune didn't look his foe in the eyes. It was clear he was hiding something, though the stains on the floor revealed this secret far more clearly. The young Winchester was holding back his tears, and failing to do so, all because he was making a fool of himself from a single attack. He held a lot of pride in himself, something Jaune could definitely relate to. Which was probably why he did what he did next.

"AGH!" With a clatter, his sword fell to the ground, and Jaune fell to his knees, using his shield hand to hold his forearm. "My... My hand!"

"Huh?" Paune quirked a brow. "What are you..."

"I have fallen into your trap!" Jaune shouted. "Your weapon has a secret defense that only YOU can hold onto!"

"He does?" A student murmured.

"What's going on?" Another remarked.

"Oh, that's so cool!" A familiar voice called. "Weiss, I should totally get one of those!"

"You dolt..." Weiss groused.

"What are you doing?" Paune asked, shaking the tears from his eyes. "My weapon doesn't have that."

"I'm helping you out." Jaune whispered.

Paune flared his nostrils. "You think I need your pity?"

"YES!" Jaune called out. "PLEASE, HAVE MERCY ON ME~!"

"You expect me to play into your games, Arc?" Paune snarled, turning away. He then smiled and turned again. "Then you are mistaken! A Winchester never wins with mercy~!"

"Agh~!" Jaune cried as he jumped out of the ring. "You're way too strong for me! I have been completely defeated~!"

"THE WINNER BY RING OUT, PAUNE WINCHESTER!" There was a slow clap from the audience until it built into a roaring applause. Nobody seemed to care that this wasn't technically a win since they both still had near-full aura.

Paune beamed at his victory, as handed as it was. "Yes~! A victory for Paune Winchester~!"

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"So you just handed him the win?" Nora asked.

"He needed a win more than I did, Nora." Jaune answered. "And besides, even if I did win, I'd just look like a bully to everyone."

"And now, you look like someone who couldn't beat a beginner student in one-on-one combat." Ren replied, making Jaune flinch at how much worse that sounded.

"You did a good thing, Jaune." Pyrrha smiled. "Sometimes helping other people means giving up a win."

"Have you ever let me win to help me, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

"Oh no, I haven't let you win once, Jaune." Pyrrha giggled. "You need to earn a victory from me." Jaune slumped at this.

"You there, Arc!" Jaune turned to see Paune standing behind him, his older brother standing next to him. The young man cleared his throat. "Excuse me. Jaune."

"Uh, yeah?" Jaune answered. "What's up... Paune?"

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. It was unbecoming of a huntsman-in-training such as myself."

"Er, none taken."

"From him." Nora clarified, getting between the two duelists. "I still haven't forgiven you for what you said about Ren!" She shook her fist at the young man, making him flinch and put his arms up in defense. Ren took hold of his partner and pulled her away to the side.

"A-And I apologize for the things I said about your team as well." Paune clarified. "I should have known your team means as much to you as you do to them."

Jaune chuckled. "You're right." He looked to Ren and Nora, the former trying to calm the latter, then to Pyrrha at his side. "They mean everything to me."

"I hope I have a team as close when I attend Atlas."

"Or Beacon?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, right!" Cardin barked a laugh. "This guy is only interested in one thing; getting to Atlas and being a specialist!"

"A specialist?" Pyrrha asked.

"I've heard stories about specialists growing up. Undaunted champions who never lose to anyone or anything!" Paune struck a fist to his chest. "Truly an academy of winners!"

"Well, best of luck to you, Paune." Jaune smiled. Then he furrowed his brow in thought. "Actually, now that I think about it, the only reason this whole thing started was because of my last name. Why is that?"

"You didn't know?" Paune asked. "I thought you of all people would know of the crime your family committed."

"Crime?" Jaune repeated.

"CRIME?!" Nora repeated, much more eagerly.

"Yes, the crime of humiliating me!" Paune scowled. "I'll never forgive you or your family for what your sister did to me!"

"My sister? Which sister?"

"The one in the overalls who bullied me relentlessly when I was younger."

"Overalls...?"

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Jaune came home from working the Mr. Salt's fields. His parents convinced him that if he was going to be living in their house, then he had to pull his weight and help provide for the family. As he entered, he saw his sister sitting with a scowling pout on her face.

"Hey-"

"Don't talk to her, Jaune." Jaune looked to the kitchen where his mother was cutting vegetables. "She's in trouble."

"Uh, for what?"

"For getting into a fight." She huffed. "She sent a boy home in tears, and I had to hear about it from his mother!"

"Really?" Jaune looked to his sister, arms folded over her pink overalls. "But she's eight!"

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"Sherry?!" Jaune exclaimed, surprised that even after he left home, he was still picking up after his youngest sister.