#nora's the heart jaune's the mind ren's the soul

[kinaesthetiqueer]

fascinating! nora and jaune both have six chapters, ren has seven. however, i know there's at least a couple of his that are pretty short. the real test would be to check the word counts which, unless i can do word count by heading, i am not doing.

[spahhzy]

Neo smirked at her handiwork, and now once Ruby gets here, she can despair at her Lil blonde friends death... before she ends Ruby for good. Speaking of death, it was time to kill him.

She walked over, hush in hand, and as the blonde knight just sat on his knees looking at the floor, there was no light in his blue eyes.

She smiled cruelly and raised to stab him behind the back - only to be hit by a small bolt of lightning, which sent her flying back.

Jaune wasn't even phased as suddenly C.C. appeared before him in his vision.

C.C: Oh Jaune, you've been through so much.

Jaune: ...

C.C: It's hard trying to do the right thing...having to live with the guilt and pain.

Jaune visibly recoiled as Penny's face flashed before his eyes...he could make the difficult decision...to do that, but..

C.C: How many more dead friends do you want on your hands? First, it was Penny... but then it could be anyone from Team RWBY or any of your other friends you've told me about.

Jaune's blank eyes widened. He didn't want that...he couldn't ever live with the fact that he could possibly get Nora, Oscar, or Ren, Blake, Yang, Weiss, or Ruby killed by his foolishness.

???: It's no use, Jaune... you've had a good run.

Jaune felt the air leave his lungs.

He moved his head to the side, and he wasn't sure if it was Neo or his mind playing tricks on him but their staring at him with an ARROW still lodged in her chest...was his partner Pyrrha.

Pyrrha: It's time to finally admit that this was too big of a task for someone like yourself...it's time to stop and let someone else take over, like Ozpin...I'm sure he'll lead Nora and Ren to safety.

Jaune swallowed the lump in his threat as he felt Pyrrha lay a head on his shoulder.

Pyrrha: You did good, Jaune, but good only gets you so far.

Jaune felt tears sting his eyes.

She's right.

He was in over his head. His weakness cost him Pyrrha, and now Penny...who else was next? He...he didn't want that anymore.

He didn't want to be this anymore.

Being Jaune only leads to disappointment, suffering, and pain.

He...he didn't want to be Jaune anymore.

C.C: Your poor rusted broken hollow heart can only take so much...

C.C. climbed up Jaune's chest, laying a paw on where his heart would be.

C.C: Every difficult decision you've ever made...led to here Jaune, it led you to me, my hero.

C.C: I can fill that broken heart...I can mend the cracks in your soul.

Neo recovered from the blind side and looked at Jaune in anger. She ran with hush at the ready, poised for the kill.

C.C: Let me be...

Pyrrha: Let them be...

Jaune raised both his arms, encircling around the cat.

Neo was upon him. Hush held high. Ready for the kill.

C.C/Pyrrha: Your everything!

Jaune embraced the cat as he felt as shift happen.

Ruby: Jaune!

Team RWBY had just managed to arrive just in time as Weiss eyes widened in horror. The image of Jaune's body being taken over by the cat was on that was sure to haunt her in her nightmares.

As for Neo, the letter stepped back, looking on in gross horror at the action happening before her.

And as quick as it started...it was over.

For a brief moment, you could hear a pin drop before suddenly Jaune rose from his knees and stretched the movement almost akin to that of cat.

CCJaune: Ah, Team RWBY, you finally made it.

CCJaune began to giggle as he felt himself all over.

CCJaune: This is amazing, I always knew he was strong, but I could never imagine this ~

He felt a click of shoes behind him as he side stepped out of the way and caught Neo by the arm.

CCJaune: I must give my thanks to you...with out all this *points to the whole tea party* I wouldn't have acquired this~ *pats himself down*

CCJaune: So as a token of my thanks~

Team RWBY watched in shock as Crocea Mors sliced straight through Neo's aura before lodging into her chest , The criminal looked on as if not able to comprehend what happened, as a boot found her chest and CCJaune kicked her off his blade and then kicked her body to Team RWBY.

CCJaune: You're welcome, Ruby~

Ruby looked at the dying body of Neo, and than back to Jaune.

CCJaune: Hehehe~ oh yes, my Rusted Knight, I knew you'd do very well.

And then he turned his back to Team RWBY.

Weiss: Stop!

CCJaune: Hmm?

Yang: Release Jaune right now!

CCJaune: Release him? Back unto you all? No, thank you.

CCJaune: Besides... he gave himself to me, the only one who truly cares about him, willingly.

Ruby: No-no, he-he wouldn't do that...

CCJaune: Oh, I beg to differ. Everything he had been through was just too much for his poor heart to bear, but poor you right, Ruby?

Ruby couldn't say anything as she rememebr her last conversation with Jaune and how disastrous that was.

CCJaune: Well, as much as I loved to talk about who's right and who's wrong... I have a date with destiny...so...bye!

And in a flash of lights, CCJaune disappeared from their view, a trail that led to the tree was all that they could see as Ruby could only sink to her knees and scream.

Ruby: Jaune!

[tecnestheim962]

A Rating & Scathing Review of RWBY Characters:

Done by: Me (surprise!)

This is a serious review where I seriously analyze each character and rate them all seriously!!

If I hurt anyone in this, I’m sorry, it’s not you, it’s me. It’s nothing personal.

That being said, let’s get on to the ratings!

Ruby Rose:

Can I just say:

I really just love Ruby. Isn’t she awesome? Like. Man. What a lovable, strong, caring, amazing person! Had the weight of the world thrown onto her, and she didn’t care, she just kept doing what she thought was the right thing. And when she broke? It was still selfless. She thought she was doing the world a favor after all her mistakes. Then she came back because she knew she could do and had to do more for everyone. She needs a hug and all the love.

Rating:

Infinity/10

Weiss Schnee:

Weiss??? The way she opens up and goes from being all, “friendship? Who needs it.” To, “I! Love! My! Friends! Friendship is magic! I will fight tooth and nail for them! They are the most important people in the world!” And the way she became so open minded after learning from different perspectives? Gotta love her.

Rating:

Infinity/10

Blake Belladonna:

Oh my gosh and another of my favorites: Blake! She learns to let herself be loved by those around her! She learns that letting people in isn’t a weakness, but a great strength! She is a fierce protector and a whole civil rights activist taking the world by storm! She finds a way to show love now in any scenario when beforehand she didn’t because she was scared to get hurt. Gosh. Spectacular.

Rating:

Infinity/10

Yang Xiao-Long:

Don’t even get me started on Yang. Protector Supreme. The way she used to let her emotions control her to controlling her emotions??? I’m in shambles. From learning how to live for herself and not just her sister??? It’s important even though she missed rubys pain she’s only human and she’s beautiful!! The way she loves through her actions and defends through her words??? Just kill me now.

Rating:

Infinity/10

Jaune Arc:

Oh yeah and Jaune??? The character development??? Wowza. The way he’s always there for those he cares about??? Fantastic. The way he would throw everything away just to be there for his friends?? I am deceased. His fortitude and determination to keep pushing through?? Ugh.

Rating:

Infinity/10

Nora Valkyrie:

Nora??????? My Queen????? With her heart a beautiful storm that she projects to all those around her??? Her protective nature over everyone??? How she learns that she needs to love herself and know herself before she can truly dedicate herself to another???? Literally puts me 6 feet under.

Rating:

Infinity/10

Pyrrha Nikos:

Pyrrha??? Don’t think I’m leaving her out of this! Her heart was so strong with her convictions and her love for her friends that she literally did everything she thought she could to protect them. She wanted to define her destiny and save the world in the way she thought only she could. I will literally never recover.

Rating:

Infinity/10

Oscar Pine:

Oscar???????????????? My baby???? My precious little prince??? Innocent farm boy who keeps getting slapped in the face by literally everyone (seriously crwby this poor boy needs a break and a hug) literally losing his soul but wants to spend every second he has doing everything he can for remnant???? He didn’t ask for this???? And yet here he is??? I haven’t stopped crying since V5 thank you very much!

Rating:

Infinity/10

Lie Ren:

Ren????? My boy??? Who feels like he always has to be the strong one emotionally??? Who always has to mask his own emotions to take care of others???? Who literally developed a semblance, a manifestation of his SOUL that is empathy??????? Like what???? Who would literally rather be dead than without Nora?? Who tried to take up the mantle of Jaunes emotional support humanness???? Orkcmekwkqo.

Rating:

Infinity/10

I could go on for the rest of my life for these people and literally every other character.

Also, how come tumblr doesn’t have more colors available??? Truly a tragedy and quite rude if I might say! Hmph!

I really hope someone gets some giggles out of this like I did!

Let me know if anyone wants me to do another HIGHLY critical review (ahem) and rating of these characters.

Gonna go cry now bye-

[pilot-boi]

for the man out of time au: does jaune show his friends his TARDIS ?, if so what are their reaction

He does! During the first break between V1 and V2, he shows the rest of JNPR

(I’ve always headcanoned that they visit the Arcs during that break, since Ren and Nora don’t have a home to go to. Pyrrha probably visits her mom in Argus for a bit, and then joins the rest of her team on the farm)

But yes, he shows them his TARDIS

She can feel his nervousness before he even opens Her doors. Her charge is worried about something, about making a good impression. He’s always suffered with self-image, something that hasn’t been helped by that image changing so much more than his adoptive family’s

So She is surprised when three other people step through Her doors. Not any of the Arcs, She’s known them Her charge’s whole life, She would recognize them in an instant

No, these people are new

She wasn’t designed to sense Aura, the primary life force of the creatures on this planet. Heart beats, breathing, mental acuity, these are all things She can measure. But Aura is different, it’s more personal, a force of energy completely unique to each living thing on this planet

With the addition of Dust to Her systems (this planet’s main source of energy), it was like She gained access to a new color spectrum. Suddenly She could sense the energy in the grass around Her, the sedate calm of the livestock on the Arc’s farm, and the light and hope in Her charge’s soul as he worked with child’s hands to bring her online

She’s felt it in the Arcs, bright in the two parents and dim in the children. With every regeneration, She’s felt it more and more in her charge, as each new body adjusts more to the planet

So when three new people step through, and She can feel the light and warmth of their Auras, She knows these people are different

Her charge feels as close to them as his family, closer even, his hearts beat with love and loyalty. And their Auras, although clearly separate and distinct, sing with unity. They are a family

The Green one is amazed by Her circuitry and is immediately down on his knees examining Her Dust couplings, the Pink one scampers through Her limited corridors and shouts with excitement, the Red one rests her hands delicately on Her dashboard and stares in awe up towards Her ceiling

Her charge stands by Her doors, wringing his hands and anxious. She realizes he’s worried that they won’t like Her, and She understands that in his mind not liking Her means that they don’t accept this so utterly different part of him

He needn’t worry. She can measure their Auras as easily as their height. Their Auras are separate, but together, distinct, but MORE as a collection. They are a family

She likes them already

[sonofthetrigod]

We’re fine.

When the gods depart for the last time, and Salem finally dies, the world breathes a quiet sigh of relief. We’re fine, echoes in the minds of people all over the world. In the minds of humans and faunus. Children and the elderly. Warriors and civilians. Villains and heroes. It’s over. We’re safe. We’re fine.

When the war ends, Nora is tired. So, so tired. Sure, the war is over. People all over think they’ve won. But they’ve still lost so much. She’s lost so much. Pyrrha. Beacon. Still, Ren’s hand holds hers tightly. So, even though it’s hard some days, and some nights she wakes choking on the smell of fire and blood, when she looks at her family she thinks she’s fine. Some day it will be the truth.

When the war ends, Ren is... confused. He didn’t expect to make it this far. He wasn’t a hero, like Jaune. He wasn’t strong, like Nora. He wasn’t powerful, like Pyrrha had been. He’d been resigned to the fact he’d have to trade his life helping set the world right. He hadn’t liked it. He’d dreaded it, but he’d walked into hell with his friends accepting he wouldn’t walk out the other side. But he has, and now he has his whole life ahead of him. The Grimm are gone, and he no longer has to keep running. When people ask, he says he’s fine. He doesn’t really know what that means, but Nora is with him and the world is healing. So Ren says he’s fine.

When the war ends, Jaune is a hero, just like he always wanted to be. People cheer his name and he’s celebrated in the streets along with his friends. He smiles and waves for the crowd where he can, but it all feels fake. In private Jaune looks over the scars that mar his body, and takes in the white streak in his otherwise blonde hair. Reminders of times he wasn’t enough. Crocea Mors is broken once more, but he doesn’t feel right replacing it. It wasn’t enough, just like he wasn’t. Still, Weiss is there with him through it all. Maybe he won’t fail her, unlike Pyrrha. Unlike Louis. Unlike Alyx. He’s a young man with his whole life ahead of him, but his heart still feels rusted over. But Weiss believes in him. So when she asks, he smiles and says he’s fine. He hopes that it will be true someday. He’ll keep trying to be.

When the war ends, Weiss feels like she can finally breathe. Despite everything her families made it through. Even Winter despite everything Cinder tried has made it out the other side. With RWBY and JNPR by her side, the Schnee family at her back, and Jaune’s hand in hers, she’s finally able to start rebuilding. It’s a lot, but she knew that before her journey began. Before the war began. So when people ask, she says she’s fine. It’s the first time in years that it isn’t a lie.

When the war ends, Yang finally feels complete. Loss is nothing new to her, so she accepts the losses that came with their victory. They still hurt, and that may never go away, but she can live with them. The long messy chapter of her life that was their adolescence is behind her, and her past no longer matters. She’s focusing on the future now, and no one’s past will ruin it for her. So when people ask, she says she’s fine. And when Blake smiles at her, she knows it’s the truth.

After the war, Blake feels like she’s gotten a fairytale ending. She’s a hero! She’s in love! Her family survived! There are costs in any war, but for Blake herself almost everyone she loves has made it across the other side. It seems like humans and faunus are getting closer and closer in equality. Things aren’t perfect, but they’re still like a fairytale. The world is healing. Her loved ones are healing. So when she smiles at Yang, Blake knows to the core of her heart that she’s fine.

After the war, Ruby feels hazy. She’s happy they’ve won, make no mistake. But with three maiden powers crammed haphazardly into her soul, passed on by someone who despised her, she sometimes trembles in the quieter moments. But Ruby is their leader. Their champion. Their hero. So she smiles for the cameras and says she’s fine. When Oscar asks, in private, she admits she doesn’t know who she is anymore. But in the dark of their room in their apartment, Ruby feels like herself again. So when she leans to kiss him, she insists that she’s fine.

After the war, Oscar finally feels free. Free of Salem. Free from Oz. Free from the gods. Free to do whatever he wants. Whatever Ruby wants. He’ll never be able to repay her for telling off the gods and convincing them to depart for good. So when she asks, her voice impossibly soft, if he’s okay, Oscar tells her he’s fine. He knows she isn’t, not yet. But he’ll stay by her side until she is. He promises.

[darksaiyangoku]

Crows cawed as they flew across the grey skies. The leaves of the Emerald Forest blew in the wind. Above the sea of trees stood a tall, white and silver castle.

Ozpin: Beacon. It was once a kingdom of great prosperity. The lands flourished and there was joy in the air... until the day the king died.

Gris: My poor brother. Too weak and unworthy for the throne. Don't you worry. Beacon will emerge from the ashes stronger than ever.

The doors open and an army of knights rode out, armed with swords. Many small villages were raided and destroyed. Houses were burned down and the people were thrown onto the streets.

Ozpin: Gris was a ruthless tyrant, whose cruelty knew no bound. He betrayed his brother and usurped the throne, leading Beacon to ruin. All hope seemed lost. But wherever there is evil, good will always rise up to put an end to it. The sword in the stone lies dormant, awaiting its destiny, awaiting for a saviour, awaiting the true king.

🎵They see you as small and helpless.

They see you as just a child.

Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild.🎵

[Arc House]

Jaune: *grabs leaflet* It says here that there's a tournament to determine a new king of Beacon. Whoever pulls the sword out of the stone will be the victor.

[Tournament Stage]

Pyrrha: Hiyaaah! *beats knight*

🎵Prepare for your greatest moments

Prepare for your finest hour

The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower.🎵

[Emerald Forest]

Jaune: Haaaaa!!! *punches tree* Ha! Ha! HA! HAAAAA!!!

Ozpin: This boy may be our only hope.

🎵We are lightning🎵

Yang: *raises fists* Sorry, scruffy, but no one's getting past me.

Jaune: *draws sword* Bring it on, bandit!

🎵Straying from the thunder🎵

Blake: You think you have what it takes to be a knight? *kicks Jaune*

Jaune: Agh!!

Blake: *pulls his hair* You. Aren't. Ready.

🎵Miracles of ancient wonder🎵

Jaune: *stands up and puts a wrap round his head* I can feel it. The sword, it's... *clenches fist* calling to me.

🎵This will be the day we've waited for

This will be the day we open up the door🎵

Ren: RAAAAAH!!! *charges at Cardin*

Cardin: YAAAAAAH!!! *charges at Ren*

🎵I don't wanna hear your absolution

Hope you're ready for a revolution?🎵

Weiss and Pyrrha fight with their swords, while Yang blocks Nora's hammer strikes.

Nora: SMAAAAASH!!!!!

🎵Welcome to a world of new solutions

Welcome to a world of bloody evolution🎵

Jaune and Sun engage in a deadly battle, sword against staff. Each of them parrying each others strikes. They're an even match.

🎵In time, your heart will open minds

A story will be told🎵

DarkSaiyanGoku Pictures Presents

🎵And victory is in a simple soul!🎵

JNPR: Excalibur Kingdom

A knight in red and black armour stands on a cliffside, her crimson cape flowing in the wind. In her hand, she carries a scythe.

Directed by Taiyang Xiao Long

[howlingday]

Wrong Order

Nora was excited. No, she was more than excited! She was so excited that the word excited seemed boring to her. She needed to make up a new word to even begin to describe her excitement!

Yup, she was feeling extradupladumple today because her new glitter grenades were coming in! Custom ordered straight from Atlas itself! Atlas always made the best stuff!

She skipped to her locker in the mail room and found the pink slip inside, waiting for her to collect and use it! She practically jumped at the mail clerk, holding out her ticket. He mumbled something, then retreated to the back to retrieve her goods.

As she waited, she looked at the different posters on the wall. Mostly boring stuff were put up, like "Don't mail bombs!" and "Grimm are not an acceptable carrier!" and other warnings that they were required to put up after Nora had her brilliant ideas. One poster read, "Verify your package before you open!" Wouldn't that be crazy, getting someone else's grenades by mistake?

The clerk returned with her order in hands, and had her sign a waiver, explaining this was dangerous material, and that the mail service was not liable to lawsuit for any injury made by Nora. Specifically Nora.

Nora then took her package and skipped away with glee. Her mind, heart, and soul were brimming with extradupladumplement at her new sparkly weapons of glittery, shiny destruction.

"I'm back~!" Nora sang, her door sliding open to her dorm. "And I got my grenades~!"

"Then why would you bring them here?" Jaune, her team leader, asked with concern.

"Because I wanted to show you guys my fun new toys before I tested them out!"

"They're weapons, Nora, not toys" Ren, her partner, pointed out, "and if you wanted us to see them, you have invited us to the training room."

"Yeah, but you guys always have something going on." Nora pried open the crate. "Either your crushes come by, or your super diet drink is culturing, or your crush wants to make plans for later tonight..."

"What?" Jaune raised his brow.

"What?" Ren joined.

"What?!" Pyrrha, her fellow lady member, almost shrieked at her words. As if it wasn't obvious what she was talking about.

"There! Come to Mama!" Nora pulled out a grenade and... was disappointed by how bland it looked. It was pink, sure, but it didn't sparkle and shine like the ad showed. The only fun thing about it was how it looked more like one of those spiked fruits. This was not extradupladumple. It wasn't even exciting.

"Everything okay, Nora?" Jaune asked.

"I think I got ripped off." Nora groused. "I spent good lien on Atlas grenades, and this is what I get? It looks nothing like the ad!"

"What ad?" Ren asked.

"Here, I'll show you." Nora tossed the grenade behind her as she reached for her scroll. Screams of distress filled the room as Nora began searching on her scroll. "I found it!" Nora turned to show off her find, but was surprised by what she saw.

Standing in front of the door was a thick cloud of pink smoke. As it fell, a complete stranger stood inside the room. Noticably, Jaune was missing, and he was right where their leader was standing before. He looked older, much too old to be a student, with thick, dirty blond hair, tied back in a really short ponytail. His muscular chin was covered in thick stubble, framing his familiar nose and tired, bagged eyes.

"Oh, it's you guys again." The stranger said, giving a soft smile. He made his way through the room, walking as if lost in a daze. He sat on a bed, and the frame creaked under his weight, likely due to the heavy, scratched armor he wore. "This place feels so unreal, just like all of you. I think I might start crying."

"Uh, excuse me, sir." Pyrrha cautiously stepped forward. "Um, who are you?"

"Oh, right." The man cleared his throat into his fist, worn gloves faded by time in the sun. "My name is Jaune Arc, short, sweet, and it rolled of the tongue. The ladies used to love it."

"Nora," Ren asked, "what was in these grenades?"

"So, uh, I think I know what happened." Nora answered. "I think I got the wrong package."

"Oh, Nora." Ren rubbed his eyes.

"It's not my fault!" Nora defended. "I thought Giannini was a company it came from, not the person it was supposed to go to!"

[malice-death]

Rwby Drabble

Really its hard making full chapters, and since I have so many to write, I thought I take a break a make some more of these.

Have some Oscar angst and love.

His feet ached from walking.

His arms felt like lead.

His mind was filled with horrors that he had never seen before.

His soul was beaten and ruined.

His heart was bleeding on the inside, not physically, but in a sense that he never knew before.

His teeth were clenched, not sure how to even begin to think.

His mouth was dry.

His clothes drenched in sweat.

His face caked with sand.

His eyes fluttered as he fought to keep them open.

But in the end, he was done, he was spent.

Oscar collapsed in the sand; his arms curled in front of his chest.

Exhaustion filled him, and nothing fueled him.

His thoughts had turned against him, and now he was going to die.

Because he was certain that no one loved him, no one was going to save him.

Ozpin could come back at any time.

It was only when he finally closed and he let the exhaustion take him, not that he had finally accepted he was going to die.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I think he’s waking up?” Said a voice, and when he opened his eyes, he was looking into the face of Emerald, who looked like she had been crying.

Nora and Ren were behind her, rushing to his other side.

Qrow was standing in the doorway, while the doctor checked his vitals again.

And even though there were tons of yelling and crying.

Oscar knew that he was loved, he knew that they had come to save him once again.

Ren had said that he was part of the team, and even if Jaune wasn’t here, he sure felt his presence.

And that was enough.

It would always be enough.

[collective-remnants-rwby]

The Oh Moment

AO3

As a little girl, Weiss Schnee’s relationship with romance was one of fairy tales. Dashing knights rescuing captive princesses from towers, of princes who ran away from loveless marriages arranged by their evil step parents, eschewing their crown for their bodyguards or humble peasant boys. It made sense, in retrospect, why she would feel that way, trapped within the ivory towers of Atlas, quite possibly beholden to an arranged marriage to ensure her father’s continued monopoly over the Dust supply of Solitas. 

As she grew, Weiss’s desire for romance stemmed from societal obligation. She was a teenager, for Dust’s sake! She was supposed to spend her time swooning over some classmate, or music idol, or fictional character. But she never understood why she’d want to. The latter categories were simply impossible, and the former…

Well, it would not be exaggeration to say Henry Marigold was an excellent indicator of the people Weiss rubbed shoulders with in her exclusive private schools. But that was Atlas, Beacon would be different, right?

…Right?

It wasn’t. It was not to say she tried. But Jaune was…Jaune, Pyrrha was an idol, someone she wanted to be like instead of be with, and her brief time with Neptune, as nice as he was, only further reinforced her belief that dating just…wasn’t for her. Maybe, maybe she just needed to wait, to find someone and slowly fall in love with them.

But as the years went by, and romance dropped to the rock bottom of her list of priorities, her opinion on personal romance began to wane. This was not to say she didn’t love, especially since she came to understand how love and romance were two entirely separate concepts that only periodically intersected. No, Weiss Schnee loved with all her heart and soul, whether it be her family, team RWBY (though the two became synonymous in her mind), JNPR…and especially Ruby Rose. 

For a while, Weiss dared to believe that Ruby was the one, the Blake to Weiss’s own Yang, the Nora to her Ren. But, as affectionate and sweet and close they were, when she tried to envision them together together, as Nora so eloquently put it…it just didn’t click. And even if she could, she was sure Ruby didn’t. Ruby’s eyes never seemed to subtly drift to her in that longing, incomprehensibly intense way they drifted towards Penny, or Emerald, or eventually both of them. She recognized that look, it was the same one Yang shot Blake whenever her back was turned.

Ironically, it was Blake & Yang’s romance, as sweet and beautiful as it was, that finally turned her off the concept. She loved them, and her heart melted whenever she saw how happy they made each other, but the lead up had been unbearable. She’d been made the unofficial, and certainly less-than-enthusiastic third wheel, and promptly had her views on the entire ordeal shattered. The messy emotions, the misunderstandings (as quickly as they were resolved), the seeming inability to just voice their feelings and get on it with Dust damnit!

She knew it was more complicated than that, that relationships required effort, and even two people who were meant for each other could have a hard time of it…and, she wanted no part of it.

But…she…she should want it right? And if she didn’t, was something…off, with her?

She forced her mind off of that particular train of thought before it derailed and turned into a spiral.

Still, the question lurked in the recesses of her mind, a poisoned needle in the haystack she needed to be mindful of, lest she give herself an unpleasant prick.

----------------------------------------------

The solution came to her in the middle of the night as she scoured the internet for a gift for Jaune’s upcoming birthday. She’d stumbled upon a line of shirts with pithy sayings related to queer identities, including one bearing the pun “Pan-Tastic”. Noting there were others besides that, and always a fan of puns, she’d decided to take a look, find some the others would enjoy. Maybe she could even snag an Asexual shirt for herself!

(That revelation had come much easier, she liked physical contact, but sex was just too… unhygienic in her mind for her to ever consider partaking.)

She scrolled further, then stopped as one shirt in particular caught her eye.

A shirt with “Aromantic, not a-Romantic” emblazoned in green and white across the front.

It seemed to be staring at her.

In Atlas, being Queer wasn’t something you really talked about. Open prejudice wasn’t a thing per say, but there was a woeful lack of meaningful education on the subject. As such, Weiss had a lot to learn, unlearn and relearn about queerness, mostly filtered through open and frank discussion with her friends about their own identities. 

Aromanticism had never entered that discussion.

Ever eager to learn, Weiss did what anyone awake and on the internet at 3 AM would do. She fell down a rabbit hole. The next several hours passed in a blur as Weiss systematically researched Aromanticism and what it meant. Something about the term called to her, took hold of her heartstrings and tugged incessantly, tumbled in her head like a loading symbol but frustratingly true understanding eluded her-

Then she found the comic. It was the Aromantic artist explaining said Aromanticism in a way that was painfully familiar. The obsession with romantic stories, the social obligation, the feeling of being off…

Oh.

Oh.

A lot of things suddenly made sense.

I, Weiss Schnee, am…Aromantic, she thought haltingly. The term sent a flood of warmth racing through her veins and filled her with a sense of hair tingling euphoria.

“I’m Aromantic,” she whispered, and the tingling returned twice as intense. Dust, the term felt so right!

She smiled giddily. Her toes curled in joy.

She repeated the phrase several times, each utterance sending her skyrocketing back to that state euphoria, of joy, of belonging.

She wasn’t broken, nothing was wrong about her.

She was Aromantic, and she loved it.

She ordered the shirt.

[20elements]

(My descriptions of each photo is numbered.)

1. Introduction: Custom Bleach Brave Soul Attributes

The game’s units are each given one of five attributes on the left. I believe the game would define “Heart” by gut/instinct/intuition while “Mind” umbrellas wits, knowledge, and focus. 

For fun I wanted to come up with five more by combining pairs of them. However, I don’t plan on seeing more than 10 colors for these, so I won’t be mixing Mind or Heart with any of the other three. While Balance could apply to equal shares of all five, I mostly think of just power, speed, and tech.

2. Elemental Planet Associations

More often than not, in BBS’ quest menus, the five would be listed in the order I’m displaying, and because of their colors too, I ended up seeing a coincidence with (simultaneously) the weekdays, the “planets” (including the moon) the days are associated with, and the Chinese (and presumably Japanese) names for those planets. But even without the latter translations, the first three are easy enough to explain with Greek mythology or astrology, but I won’t go into that in detail.

So since I added five more (lower half), I figured I’d match them with the remaining “ruling stars” (yes even in Chinese, three of them are named after the Greek deities). In Chinese, Saturn is named after the Earth element, the “middle ground” of the Wu Xing’s elements so using “Balance” fits that criteria. But for the rest (if I failed to use color as a basis), I mostly went with what I thought a master of each element could shine best in.

3. RWBY: Grimm Eclipse

To be honest, it was Team JNPR that first made me want to start merging BBS’ attributes, because after I determined Ren could own both Speed and Technique while Jaune carried Heart, I wanted to mix the former’s into just one. That led me to start merging all the others but after I extended to all eight playable characters, this is what I determined. (And yes, I am trying to distinguish all eight.)

Originally my basis for assigning Jaune “Heart” really just came from his moon-like emblem, though Bleach does tie it with spiritual aura as well. But as his team’s leader and tactician, “Mind” would also fit him, so I mixed the two and gave him “Soul”. I also deemed Blake the better option for “Heart” since I assume being a Faunus would give her higher instincts than most humans (in case my own observations of the show don’t suffice).

It was tempting to assign Nora “Momentum” because of the pink while Yang would be “Power” (a neater choice for Team RWBY), but “Momentum” is on a basis of Power AND Speed. At least in GE, I find Nora slower than the other characters including Yang.

As long as Pyrrha has her wits and intelligence, I could get away with satisfying both planet and color associations with Mind. At least in my experience, countering enemy attacks when they’re open (circle button on PS4) does expect focus from players. While every character has that, I found Pyrrha’s one of most satisfying to use because it’s a projectile.

4. Yakuza 0 Styles

I always viewed Kiryu’s styles as “raw” in terms of the given stats (i.e. speed is speed, power is power, etc.) while Majima’s has more nuance and art, so that summarizes my choices here.

I could give Kiryu’s Dragon style “Balance”, but since the Legend style was a lofty “awakening” and more unique to himself, I figured that would be his “Soul”. But while that could also be true for Majima’s Mad Dog Legend, the latter just feels more instinctive than anything. Playing in Mad Dog myself, I feel like I can time and chain his attacks as a quickly learned “habit”, to say nothing of his mentality.

The rest of Majima’s styles are all my custom attributes, because to reiterate, they’re not just raw stat displays like Kiryu’s. While Thug would be a technical style, it’s also fairly swift and agile; even meant to be “efficient” because of its “dirty” strats. Slugger is a power style that also displays technique, or a certain handle on the weapon (how he swings or twirls the bat, etc.). I don’t need to explain why Breaker is Momentum (whether or not I can maintain the Power component). 

5. Forger Family AU

This is a drawing I shared a few months back where I matched the Forgers (including my OCs) with BBS’ attributes and even elements wherever I could. If I had to use my custom labels as an alternative, the icons below would be it. But since this includes OCs that hardly anyone knows, I won’t go into detail about this group for now, though I trust the canon three should be intuitive enough.

6. Espadas

Since there are 10 of them, I’ll just entertain a one-to-one alignment. I’ll let this one speak for itself.

[professorspork]

superhell fic prompt: JAUNE RUNS INTO PYRRHA

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5]

It doesn’t occur to that she’s allowed to talk to them until Torchwick reveals himself to Neo. And even then, well-- Roman Torchwick isn’t exactly a shining paragon when it comes to setting a good example of what’s allowed.

But the idea refuses to stop hounding her footsteps, once it’s come. Once she’s seen it’s possible, without consequences. Still, she waits, and keeps her distance. There’s no sunset, here on the island, no night, but there are shady places beneath the towering roots of the Tree; eventually, they all bed down, and Jaune-- as she’d known he would-- volunteers to take first watch. It’s a heartening display: Yang and Blake twined together like ivy on a wrought iron gate, but each clinging to the hands of their teammates, chained together by grasping fingers. Otters in a stream, unwilling to be separated.

She doesn’t know why she’s surprised to hear her own voice when she approaches.

...I know this can be frustrating, and it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've never met someone so determined to better themselves...

“You’ll drain your battery,” she cautions, reaching out with her mind to press the off button on his scroll. His head whips up, expression aghast, and she smiles at him softly. “I’d have thought you’d have it memorized by now anyhow; you haven’t seemed to need it in some time.”

She expects disbelief, perhaps, or shock. Joy would have been nice, but she’d have understood anger. So she’s surprised and---bizarrely proud, actually-- when instead his eyes narrow in suspicion and the first thing he says is, “Your Semblance works.”

“Well, yes.”

“Why does your Semblance work?”

“Because I’m where I’m supposed to be. A soul knows when it’s in the right place. Or the wrong one, as the case may be.”

“Or I’m dreaming.”

“Or you’re dreaming,” she agrees, keeping her voice mild, but feeling it like a punch to the stomach when his shoulders relax at the idea. Does he... not want her here? Goodness, but she’s out of practice. She’d forgotten it was like this; how talking to him had been both the easiest and the hardest thing in the world. “Would you-- prefer that? If I weren’t really here?”

“The real Pyrrha would know better than to ask me that.”

Despite herself, she laughs. “Oh, I wish that were true. I asked myself that every day. Every class, every glance, every study session on the roof. I’m afraid I was never as confident as I should have been.” It’s an embarrassing admission, but an effective one; the walled-up caution behind his eyes dissipates... only for tears to well up in its stead.

“Are you-- can I touch you?”

“I hope so.” (She’d left Torchwick and Neo behind before they’d gotten that far, for obvious reasons.)

“I--” He scrambles to his feet and crosses the distance between them, enveloping her in a crushing hug. It doesn’t feel like she remembers, but then, that’s no surprise-- he’s taller than he used to be, and her body isn’t exactly a body, per se. She’s grateful, even so. Happy just to have the chance to hold him up. She keeps quiet at first, letting him get it all out as he sobs incoherent apologies into her shoulder--

(IloveyouImissyouIloveyouImissyouI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry)

--and contents herself with playing with the short hair at the nape of his neck. Eventually, he calms.

“I like the haircut,” she says, when he pulls away. “It’s handsome. You look so grown up.”

“You look so young,” he croaks in response, and-- she supposes she must, to his eyes. It’s strange to think that she’s the same age as Ruby now; that they’ve kept going on without her, and they’ll continue to do so, once she’s led them out. “Are you--? Have you--?” He wipes at his eyes, laughing at himself a little. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know where to start. I just-- I can't believe you're here with me.”

“I'm always with you,” she assures him, unable to suppress the urge to thumb away a tear he’s missed. She keeps her hand there, at his cheek, as she she speaks: “Even when you can’t sense me, I... oh, Jaune. I’m so proud of you. You’ve come so far.”

He sighs and steps out of the circle of her arms, hanging his head to stare at Crocea Mors where it rests in its sheath. You’d never know it to be broken, just by looking. The scabbard hides the damage-- giving him the appearance of being armed and ready though all he carries is a shattered hilt. “Yeah, maybe. I-- I thought I had, but...” He swallows, face filled with shame.

She starts to reach for him again, unwilling to waste even a moment of their time not touching him, but forces herself to relax and drop her hands to her sides. It has to be his choice, doesn’t it? “Tell me. You can tell me anything; you know that.”

His voice falters terribly when he finally speaks: 

“I mean, I feel like you already know. For the longest time, I wanted to be this... I dunno. This warrior, or whatever. And it never fit, no matter what I did, or how hard I worked, and I just-- I resented it so much. Being...” He shakes his head. “I just felt useless. But when I unlocked my Semblance, I had to let that go. And it was hard at first, it took time, but for a second there it finally started to feel like... like I knew my place. Where I belonged; what everyone needed from me. I was good at it. But then Penny needed--” He chokes on a sob, and has to stop and take several deep breaths before he can continue. “Nothing’s changed. I’m still useless. The idiot stuck on the wrong side of the glass, out of his league and forced to watch because someone else has to be the Maiden now and there’s nothing he can do about it. Only this time it’s worse, because this time I actually-- I--”

Unable to hold herself back anymore, she reaches for his hands; he squeezes her fingers tight, like a lifeline. “I understand,” she soothes, voice heavy like a vow. “Did you think I wouldn’t? I don’t think I have to remind you that I’m the only other person who knows what that feels like. To have been the one who killed her.”

He lets out an awful, cynical noise; a parody of a laugh. “Depends on who you ask,” he says in explanation, looking askance towards Ruby. Pyrrha sadly follows his gaze. Ruby’s shifted in her sleep, curled under her cape to be as small as possible with her head nestled in the crooks of Yang’s bent knees. Her arms are wrapped around Yang’s shins in a death grip, as though she fears her sister might fly away at any moment. Pyrrha’s heart aches for her; for the responsibility she carries. Weight Pyrrha could have helped shoulder... if only she’d been a little faster, a little more clever.

She shakes off the feeling; now’s not the time for regret. “But things have changed,” she says, bringing Jaune’s hands up to her mouth and kissing the knuckles. It will be a long time, she knows, before he believes there isn’t blood on them; maybe this small act can help. And if it doesn’t... she has other options. Maybe even a little levity, for once. “You’re not useless. You’re amazing. You’re a licensed Huntsman now; you’re accomplishing things you’d only dreamed of. All the mothers of Mantle adore you. You even got to go on a date with Weiss!”

He boggles at her, wrenching his hands away. “What?! That wasn’t a date, we were just hanging out with Oscar, we--” His jaw falls open, suddenly, and his eyes narrow once more. “Wait a minute. Are you teasing me?”

She grins, sheepish and caught. “I figured it was now or never to give it a go; I didn’t want to waste my last chance to try it. Nora always said it would be good for me.”

“To make fun of me?” he squawks, indignant.

She laughs. “To remind myself it’s okay to be a novice sometimes; that there are things I won’t instantly be good at.” She bites her lip, unable to stop her grin. “...And also to make fun of you, yes.”

He surges forward, then-- wrapping a hand around the back of her neck and pulling her closer, pressing a fierce, grateful kiss to her forehead. Then he does it again; then once more, at the bridge of her nose. And then a final time, against her lips. Quick; intense. Filled with meaning.

She’s got not breath in her, and still she’s breathless.

“I miss you so much,” he says, squeezing his eyes shut and resting his forehead against hers. His fingers thread themselves into the hair at the back of her skull, tangled into the base of her ponytail. “So much. I think about you all the time. Every day. Wondering how different things would be, if only...”

“I know,” she says, because she does. There’s more that she should say, probably-- that it’s good that he’s started to move on; that none of them can hold onto her forever. But she can’t quite bring herself to voice the words.

“It’s not fair,” he mutters, then sighs at the sound of it. “I mean, none of it is fair, but-- I feel like a jerk, I guess. That I’m the one who gets to see you, of all of us.”

“You’ll tell them I love them, won’t you? Ren and Nora. They...” They’re doing things she never did, is the thing. Maturing in ways she’ll never have the chance to. Learning that responsibility doesn’t mean putting it all on your own shoulders; that love doesn’t mean giving all of yourself away. It’s overwhelming, how proud she is of them for that. “They were on the right path, in Atlas. Don’t let them convince themselves otherwise.”

He nods, the movement of it levering her own head in shared agreement. “Anything else? Anyone else you’d like me to...?”

So many; too many. But one rises above the rest. “Tell my mother to stop leaving flowers,” she murmurs, wishing she had more to offer than that. “Tell her they belong in the garden; that I like to watch them grow. That’s-- the way it should be.”

“Okay,” he says, and relief rushes through her. “Okay. I will.”

Slowly, they both become aware once more of the gaggle of Huntresses sleeping just a few yards off. Pyrrha could leave dozens of messages with Jaune, if she wanted, but the people she most needs to speak to are right here, within arm’s reach. They need her guidance; it’s selfish not to provide it. She’s taken so long already. And yet...

Jaune beats her to voicing the thought: “I know we should probably wake them, but-- can it be just the two of us, for just a little longer? Please?”

She smiles, and brings a hand up to caress his cheek. “I thought you’d never ask.”

[razorblade180]

Thin Divide: Among Us

Eight people, two imposters. Snuff them out or complete the required tasks. Good luck!

Nora:I call it now, it’s definitely Jaune.

Jaune:You see that make you look suspicious Nora, but that’s so in character of you that I’m pretty sure you’re just a crew mate.

Nora:Maybe that’s the plan? Hehehe.

Weiss:Are you blaming Jaune or incriminating yourself?

Ren:Don’t even. Just don’t, she’s gonna do this the entire game.

Ruby:Alrighty! Let’s do this guys. We have our tasks, just keep an eye out for anything suspicious....

Nora:I’ll be watching Jaune like a hawk! I’ll catch him in the act!

Jaune:This is going to be a long game....

Pyrrha:Or a really short one.

xxxxx

Several minutes pass. Everything seems fine and people are on task. Yet things are a little tense. No one is talking. They’re all learning the rules and being cautious. Nora casually follows Jaune to do wiring and go just about everywhere. She can feel it in her gut. “I’m onto you.” She thinks as he suddenly sprints around a corner out of sight. Suddenly, lights shut off. Things suddenly feel like a bad idea.

Nora:What the!? That’s cheap. Maybe stalking someone alone was a bad idea. Oh! I’ll get Ren t-

xxxxx

Emergency Meeting!

RWBY JPR:Huh?

📢Yang: Oh, so that’s what that button- oh geez, Nora’s dead!

Ren:Wait, what!?

Everyone looks at the character icons to see Nora’s crossed out. Ren goes pale.

Ren:Nora! Who’s responsible for this!? Where was the body found!?

Blake:Nowhere, Yang pressed the button. However....*looks at Jaune* I did see her following you.

Jaune:You know why! I didn’t do it! Ren I did not do it.

Ren:I’ll vote you out right now. Jaune I swear-

Jaune:I just finished doing wires! I’ve been focusing on task and nothing else. Yeah I saw her spy on me, then lights went out. Now we’re here.

Blake:I’m just saying you had all the opportunities to do it. The fact that you’re so offended isn’t helping.

Jaune:We have no proof and you’re suspecting me!

Weiss:You were the one with her.

Pyrrha let’s not jump to conclusions. Someone could be framing him.

Ruby:Where was everyone? I was doing trash.

Blake and Yang:Med bay.

Weiss:This map is confusing. Communications, maybe?

Jaune:No, I was there. Unless there’s another one.

Ren:A room with a tree.

Yang:It’s totally Jaune. He’s alone and already knows the map.

Ruby:I know the map. Weiss is just bad. You’re bad if you don’t know the map!

Yang:I know it.

RWPJ:THEN YOUR POINT MAKES NO SENSE!

Times up. No one voted. Two imposters remain.

Jaune walked back two wards communications. The group had gotten pretty familiar with all the cool things possible. Cameras, vents, everything. This time two people followed Jaune. Yang and Blake. He started sweating.

Yang:Why are universe lady killer? Running out of luck?

Jaune:It’s possible. You two could possibly kill me then cover it up. Do your tasks!

Yang:We were together all the time last round. We’re in the clear.

Blake:It’s you that’s in the hot seat.

xxxxx

Ren:*getting oxygen* Who do you think did it?

Ruby:I don’t wanna point fingers, but Yang would totally thrive in this game. But Weiss is possible too. Stay focused. Killing Nora was to make you stirred up. Keep a cool-

Reactor Meltdown

Ren:That’s not good.

Ruby:You go left, I’ll go right! Be safe!

xxxx

Jaune:I’m going to stop the-

Blake:It’s taking you awhile on that panel Jaune. Don’t tell me you’re stalling?

Jaune:No, I’m just bad! Let me go the reactor or we lose!

Yang:Ooorrr I go. If Blake dies then you’re dead! If you don’t finish that panel-

Jaune:You have 30 seconds!

Yang goes sprinting out of the room. Blake goes to do her task across the room. She’s definitely sure it’s Jaune. This plan is full proof. Yeah if she dies then that would suck but-

Jaune:Ummm why hasn’t anyone stopped the reactor yet?

The counter was already at ten. What was taking Yang so long!? Both ran to the door in a panic to reach the reactor but then-

Report!

Everyone spawned back at the button. Well not everyone. Yang’s named was crossed out, and Ruby had teary eyes with a finger pointed at Weiss.

Ruby:MURDERER!!!

📢Weiss:Ruby it’s not what you think! I-

Ruby:Oh I saw! I saw perfectly! Right on the bridge leading to the reactor panel on the right. You were right over her corpse!

Blake:What!?

Weiss:I know it looks bad, but I found her like this! I run because I saw 1 out of 2 on the panels-

Ren:Me. I was on the other panel. Ruby was with getting oxygen and chose to get the other one.

Ruby:Yeah I wasn’t expecting to walk in on a crime scene.

Weiss:Wait! I was all the way at the bottom of the map. You should’ve gotten there before me.

Blake:Oh now you can read a map!?

Weiss:It takes time! It has to be Ruby.

Ruby:WHAT!?

Pyrrha:I was in electrical by the way. I know nobody was with me but I promise I’m innocent.

RWBR:We know Pyrrha.

Jaune:I don’t think it’s you but the fact you’ve been alone twice now.

Blake:Oh no, you’re definitely still an imposter Jaune.

Ruby:NONE OF THAT MATTERS! I want Weiss out right now!

The reaper puts her vote in.

Weiss:Ruby!

Ruby:Sister killer! You were by yourself too. I know you Weiss, always plotting. I came across a locked door while heading there that slowed me down. Nobody can confirm where you were, and you could’ve easily vented to get where you needed to be. You’re just mad I caught you so you self reported.

Weiss:That’s- I....don’t be a dolt. You all can’t be serious, right?

Pyrrha hugs a crying Ruby while the others have their heart ache at the sight. They all look at Weiss suspiciously, taking the risk to vote. It was unanimous. Weiss was immediately escorted to the air lock, struggling the whole way.

Weiss:You’re being tricked! I’m innocent!!

Ruby:Tell it to the souls you’ve taken.

She was shot into space. All of them watching her drift away. Ruby rubbed her eyes, then gasped.

Weiss was not an imposter. 2 imposters remain.

Ruby slowly backed away towards Ren. Right now, he was the only trustworthy one. Someone’s playing mind games and it’s working two well. Nobody had the chance to get anything done before Jaune presser the emergency button.

Jaune:Okay, we obviously need a minute to reevaluate-

Blake:You’re an imposter!

Jaune:We were in a room together! Why wouldn’t I kill you and vent away. At that point I could’ve made up a story! But no, I just wanna shoot asteroids!

Pyrrha:Fair point, it would’ve been a double kill.

Ruby:All of you look suspicious except for Ren! *votes Jaune*

Pyrrha:Ruby! He only pressed the button to clear the air!

Ren:He did just come up with a good argument.

Blake:I’m voting for Jaune.

Jaune:Well I’m skipping! Pyrrha please skip two before there’s two imposters and two crew mates. This is very bad time to throw caution to the wind.

Pyrrha:I agree. *skips*

Ren:....*skips* If someone dies next round and it isn’t Jaune then it’s definitely Jaune. You’re on thin ice, so are you Pyrrha. You agree with him easily.

Pyrrha:Ren, that’s not suspicious. I do that in real life.

Blake:And he’s using it to his advantage.

Jaune:You’ve been gunning for me since the start basically, even though you were with me. That’s pretty suspicious.

They all went their separate ways except for Ren and Ruby. This was dire. Everyone sounded sketch and friendships were crumbling. Next time for sure, a vote needed to happen. Pyrrha found herself going back near the button whe Jaune came out of a room to the right, alone. Both of them looked at each nervously.

Pyrrha:What are your tasks? I’ve already seen two other people enter that room before?

Jaune:I was checking vitals. We’re all alive and my tasks are done. What are you doing?

Pyrrha:I was gonna call another meeting. Say, are you saying I’ll go in that room right now and we’re fine?

Jaune:There is no body in there. Check for yourself. If I was an imposter then I’d be on cool down. Plus you could report and I’d feel the vaccum of space.

Pyrrha nodded and peeked in. No blood or anything. She went to the vitals to confirm that everyone actually was alive. The imposters must’ve known how risky things are now. It was fine. Tasks were almost done. Jaune was finally looking normal. She breathed a sigh or relief.

Jaune:Don’t tell me you were expecting a body?

Pyrrha:*red* I’m sorry!

Jaune:It happens. Honestly I thought you were about to stab me.

Pyrrha:I don’t like this game. It’s stressful. Doubting my friends isn’t exactly fun.

Jaune:What we need is a trap. A play that leaves Blake and Ruby red handed.

Pyrrha:You think it’s them?

Jaune:It has to be, and I know just the way to check one of them and keep us in the game. Pyrrha, I have a plan....

xxxx

Ruby and Ren watched the cameras in silence. Blake was at the trash while Pyrrha and Jaune were near the button. Ruby looked at Ren and smiled.

Ruby:It’s Blake and Jaune.

Ren:How can you tell?

Ruby:Unless Blake has a similar task, I did trash already. Shall we question her, or wait for actual proof.

Ren:Tasks are almost done. We might be able t-

Reactor Meltdown

Ren:Shit, Pyrrha can’t press the button now.

Ruby:But this also gives us a chance! Imma about to catch them red handed! Ren, stay on cameras and watch me go to the left. That way you can report my body if get killed, or out them if they self report. Jaune’s not dumb. He has to go right in order to act innocent and cancel the meltdown. Pyrrha would catch on otherwise. Especially if Blake goes right and nothing is fixed or they’re both alive. Meaning...

Ren:Blake has to go left or stay where she is.

Ruby and Ren high-five and get to work. Ruby starts sprinting as fast as she can. Ren checks the right side and sure enough, Jaune has a hand on the panel. Blake comes up from the bottom to where Pyrrha is. It would be dangerous if Blake killed her, but then she would definitely get voted out. The faunus slowly gets closer to the red head when suddenly, the cameras get jacked.

Ren:What!?

xxxxx

Pyrrha:Go left!

Blake:Gotcha!

Blake runs to the left to get the other panel. So far so good. Let’s see how right Jaune is. Pyrrha stared at the camera. Strange, she was certain it was on earlier. Now it was off, then flicked back on briefly. Seconds later, the meltdown ended but she didn’t press the button. Not yet. She was told to wait five seconds. In that amount of time, Blake might-

Report!

📢Blake:Guys, Ren is-

RJP:You killed him.

Blake:Wh-What? No, I found him on the ground in the camera room!

Ruby:Yeah, where you killed him. I thought you’d go after me. Sloppy mistake, Blake. Now we caught you.

Jaune:I cut off the meltdown, and Ruby had to get the other one. I found it funny how eager you were to get rid of me by vote. You killed Nora to add to the suspicions. You couldn’t kill me directly because of Yang. She wasn’t an imposter but stuck to you like glue.

Pyrrha:So you had your partner kill her because you couldn’t do it without outing yourself. But if Jaune died alone with you after all that blame then you’d be caught! If you payed attention then you would’ve saw the cameras were on this round. You killed Ren without him noticing then checked them yourself.

Jaune:You soon realized you could only self report because the meltdown ended. No way you could get to the panel that fast unless you vented. Now the real question is how committed are you two bluffing, Ruby Rose? If you don’t vote Blake....

Pyrrha:Then you’re definitely the second imposter.

Blake:Ruby don’t believe them! We know Jaune is definitely-

Ruby:*votes Blake* You betrayed my sister and made me accidentally vote for Weiss because I swept up in emotions. Just like how you got Ren to look at Jaune after Nora died. I’m done with you.

The others voted for Blake. The girl could say nothing. She was at a loss for words. The trap was perfect, calculated to a the last detail. Blake took a deep sigh and walked to the airlock, giving Jaune one final look.

Blake:Well played...

The airlock opened and the three watched their friend get launched into space.

Pyrrha:Jaune that idea was amaz-

Blake was not an imposter.

Pyrrha felt her blood go cold. Those were not the words she wanted to see. She didn’t even turn around to look her “friends” and chose to stare out the window. She felt both of them pat her back. 2 imposters still remained. A problem for her, the remaining crew mate. The sight of Ruby holding a gun and Jaune with a knife was visible in the window reflection.

Ruby:Knife or bullet. You deserve the choice.

Pyrrha:Jaune’s stabbed me in back metaphorically already. Might as well do it physically.

Jaune:That’s fair.

Imposters Win

[post game]

Jaune and Ruby:Oh yeah!!!! That’s why we’re leaders!

Weiss:You can’t say that after killing your teammates!

Nora:I demand an explanation!

Jaune:Ren is too smart and figures things out fast. Had to kill you first anyways. You saying I was an imposter was just an unfortunate coincidence. But let’s talk about how you were my only kill.

Pyrrha:Ruby, you killed everyone else!?

Yang:I walked halfway up that bridge thing to the panel and then she comes running down it and kills me. Now I’m watching as ghost as she jumps into a vent and waits for Weiss to find me to put on the most believable performance of her life. You killed me, then cried about it!

Weiss:I was pleading to a murderer! You put blame on Jaune so he could do it to you and throw the trail off!

Ruby:I also told Ren that it was either you or Yang, that way he’d vote the way I wanted. I think Blake was the real crown of the plan.

Jaune:This is why you don’t blame people so fast. You had to go.

Blake:Ren, what happened to you?

Ren:*face palming*So I was watching everyone until the cameras went out, which I now know was Ruby’s doing, because she had the nerve to kill her camera last. She looked right into it as she jumped into a vent back to me.

Ruby:If you were watching then I knew you were still there and alone. I killed him, took a vent back to where I was supposed to be, stopped the meltdown, and pinned the death of Blake. All with the simple lie about me taking out the trash and not killing Ren earlier.

Jaune:And I used Pyrrha’s trust. Thank you.

Pyrrha:Don’t talk to me! You got me to skip a vote and vote Blake off! Ruby, you cried in my arms! How could you use me like that!?

Jaune and Ruby:Because you’re so helpful! Thanks Pyrrha!

WBYNR:Yeah, thanks Pyrrha.

Pyrrha:*red* I’m sorry!!!

[spahhzy]

Of things to come~

Winter sat at the campfire as her comrades slept.

The journey had been long and the battle had been painful but now...everything would come to an end.

"The God of Light had been telling us the truth the whole time" She thought as she stoked the fire.

"All of us here are the ones who fractured everything...our journey is the very reason this madness exists!"

A snap and pop was all that could be heard in the forest.

"This is the truth the book showed me...and the truth Ruby could no longer face" Winter sighed her eyes firmly focused on the ground.

A ruffling of some bushes caught her attention as she turned to them as out stepped two figures.

Two children.

"The time is almost coming you two...prepare yourselves for what is too come" She told them as both the children hugged each other, nervousness and fear gripping them.

"I know your scared but this...is the way things must be" She tried to comfort them but it did little.

One of the children pointed to the group that was all huddled together, sleeping.

"It has to happen"

The other child wanted to protest.

"There is no other way Salem"

The child, Salem, sniffled before running back into the forest, the other child followed after her.

Winter sighed.

Glad that her comrades didn't wake up, well shouldn't have after all the sleeping medication she put in the food and drinks.

She looked at her long time companions and family one more time. She got up and walked to the group and spoke to them individually.

"Weiss my dear sister...I..I'm sorry for what I'm about to do and I hope that you'll forgive me one day I-I love you" her heart ached and was racking with guilt. She moved on to the next two.

"Nora...Ren without you two are journey would have been even tougher"She said whole heartedly

"you both deserved better...I just wish you two could get just that...I'm sorry" She moved to the next person.

"Blake...I know you had a dream to be there to see humanity and faunus unite together...seeing you and him together...so forgive me for taking that dream from you..."

"Yang I saw how much it hurt...seeing a younger you with your mother, you've been through so much and done so much for the people you love you protected them fiercely...I am sorry that I will be the one hurting you" She finally made her way to the last two who were in the center of the pile.

"Ruby...I...I want to hate you...hate you for what you did but...I cannot" She spoke looking up at the fractured moon

"All I can do is pity you"

"The the things you did and then tried to undo?" She shook her head.

"They tricked and manipulated you into believing a better tomorrow and for that I'm so sorry...but now...its over all of you can rest"

She then looked at the man in the center, a smile on his face as he was hugged by everyone.

"Jaune...I'm sorry the gods did this too you" She reached down to touch his cheek.

"I'm sorry that...I'm doing this too you" She planted a kiss in his forehead.

Winter sat back down on the log as the two children came back.

"Salem...Ozma...it's time"

Winter pulled out two artifacts as she looked up into the starry moonlit sky.

"May they have mercy on my soul"

I need some angst it fills my soul.

I have more coming but this is just a snippet of bigger story in mind, but I have to get through the other stories to tell this one.

[dascarecrow]

Dating Advice II

Oscar: *Approaching JNR* Hey guys. 

Jaune: Hey Oscar what’s up? 

Oscar: *A bit nervous, rubs the back of his head* Well Jaune... You know how to talk to girls right? 

Jaune: *a bit confused* I... guess? What’s this about? 

Oscar: *still nervous* Well... I was hoping you could help me. See there’s this girl I like and I was hoping you could help me talk to her. 

Jaune: Now when you say like do you mean “I like your hair” like or do you mean “I’d love to go out with you” like? 

Oscar: *bashful* The second one. 

Nora: Oh my gosh! You’ve got a crush! Oh that is wonderful! Who is it? Who is it? Wait it’s not Neon is it? Ugh that girl lives to drive people mad. 

Oscar: Uh no it’s not Neon.  

Nora: Then who? Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!  

Jaune: Nora! *gently pulls Nora back* So who is this girl anyways Oscar? 

Oscar: *bashful and nervous* I’d... rather not say. I don’t want to set things up that might not happen. 

Jaune: *very understanding* Alright. Well you’re in luck. The Arc family has a bevy of secrets and knowledge. And I think I can share some of it with you. 

Oscar: *completely earnest* I know. That’s why I came to you. You’re an expert when it comes to girls. 

Jaune: *flattered* Well I wouldn’t say expert. *places his hand with his index finger pointing on his chin and flashes a confident grin* Though it wouldn’t be inaccurate.  

Nora: *whispering to Ren* I wouldn’t say expert either. And it would be accurate. 

Ren nods his head without a change in expression. 

Jaune: Here’s what you need to do Oscar. Women like confidence. Just go up to them like you know what you want and they’ll respond. 

Nora: *still whispering* Yeah with biting commentary. 

Oscar: Confidence huh? Well the thing is I can’t even get near this girl without freaking out. I don’t know if I can just go up to her like that. 

Jaune: You get nervous huh? Don’t worry, happens to the best of us. 

Nora: *still, still whispering* How would he know? *no longer whispering* Okay that’s enough of that. *Pushes past Jaune* Don’t listen to Jaune. He got shot down at Beacon all the time and couldn’t see a girl crushing on him when it was lit up with a neon sign. 

Jaune: Nora! Not in front of Oscar! And I didn’t get show down all the time! It was just Weiss being... Weiss. 

Oscar: Wait you went after Weiss? 

Jaune: *now embarrassed* See what you’ve done now? Ahem. I attempted to court Weiss and she was not receptive to my advances. She chose to pursue someone else and I accepted with grace and dignity. 

Nora: After she turned you down flat for like the thirtieth time. Look ignore him. Take advice about girls from an actual one. Be direct, okay? Don’t dance around or try to hide it form her. Just go right up to her and lay everything on the table. Leave no doubt about how you feel about her. 

Oscar: *doubtful* And what if she doesn’t feel the same way? What if I wind up ruining something good because I push too strong? 

Nora: *a bit saddened now* Then... at least you both know what’s going on and can figure out where to go from there. Even if she doesn’t feel the same way at least you’ll know whether or not there’s a future there. *looks at Ren, who looks away* Trust me it’s better having everything in the open instead of just dancing around trying to see what might happen if you wait. 

Oscar: *uncertain* Any advice Ren? 

Ren looks up, a bit confused. 

Ren: You’re asking me for advice because...? 

Oscar: Well you and Nora... I don’t actually know what you two are right now but you’ve both gotten your feelings out in the open. You’ve made whatever this is work for you. I just want to know how you were able to say it. 

Ren: *feeling uncertain* Okay then. I don’t think I’m the best source of advice for this sort of thing. I’ve spent most of my life mastering my emotions so they won’t rule me. *gaining confidence* But if I were to give you advice it would be to try and determine how this girl would feel before you say anything. It’s easier when you know how someone else feels to say what you have to say to them. And you should also determine if what you want to say is something that they should hear. You could give them an undue burden or you could be giving them a source of comfort in difficult times. Just be mindful is what I’m saying. 

Oscar, Jaune and Nora look at him in awe.

Ren: What? 

Jaune: Nothing. That was just... incredibly profound. Way better than my advice. 

Nora: Yeah. How are you so good at this? 

Ren: It’s not that difficult. When you look with your heart you see things rightly. You can see the things truly matter and should be done. So look with your heart Oscar and you won’t be led astray. 

Oscar (smiling): Thanks Ren. That’s actually very helpful. Okay I’m going to go try that. 

Jaune: That’s the spirit. Go for it Oscar! 

Oscar: Right. 

Ruby: Hey guys! 

Oscar: *internally* Oh Dust. 

Team RWBY walks up to them. 

Ruby: What are you guys up to? 

Oscar: Well... 

Nora (grinning): Oscar here is crushing on someone! 

Ruby: Wait really? 

Nora: Yep. It’s so adorable. He’s so shy that he can’t even go near her without freezing up. 

Ruby: *excited* Oh my gosh! *gets in Oscar’s space* Oooh who is she? Is it love at first sight? How long have you known her? What made you fall for her? Details Oscar! 

Oscar: *in crisis mode of the inside* Well it’s not that big of a deal. 

Ruby: Not a big deal? Oscar you have a crush on someone. That is a tremendous deal! So tell us about her. Is it someone we know? 

Oscar: ‘You have no idea’. Well she’s someone that I’ve known for a while. She’s... amazing really. Being around her I don’t feel like the next life of Ozma, I just feel like me. As for what she’s like... well *starts smiling* there just aren’t enough words. 

Ruby: *smiling widely* Oooooooh! You make her sound so wonderful! Stop being so mysterious about it! 

Oscar: Er... well... I... 

Jaune: Okay give him some breathing room. This actually might be an opportunity for us. Would any of you be willing to help Oscar? 

Oscar: *starting to panic* Wait what? 

Jaune: If you’re having trouble going near this girl then maybe you just need to practice talking to someone so you know what to say to her. Now any volunteers? 

Ruby: I’ll do it! 

Oscar: *goes wide eyed* You will? 

Ruby: *oblivious to Oscar’s panic* Sure. Might be nice getting to hear romantic things from a boy. Light knows Dad made sure I never got the chance back in Patch. Besides this’ll help you out. So *grabs Oscar’s hands in her own and lifts them up* what do you want to say to her? 

Ozpin: I honestly can’t tell if the Brothers above are blessing you or cursing you right now? 

Oscar: ‘I lean strongly into curse’. 

Oscar looks at Ruby, entranced by her gleaming eyes and gentle smile. 

Oscar: Well no turning back. The first time I ever saw you I was entranced. My whole life had been in chaos and then I saw you and none of that mattered. I saw your eyes and I knew that I would never see anything else so beautiful. And then I got to know you. I saw you for all that you are. Your strength, your wisdom, your resolve. Nothing would ever turn you from the fight to save us all. As I’ve gone on this journey you are the most amazing thing I have seen. Somewhere along the way things changed for me. I don’t know if it was the first moment I saw you or one of the many incredible things you’ve done. You’ve gained my heart and soul ever and eternally for as long as I live this life. You are special beyond measure. Ephemeral. And for all of that... I have fallen in love with you.  

Everyone looks in awe and wonder at Oscar for the words he’s just spoken. 

Ruby: *touched in her very soul* Oh Oscar. That was beautiful.  

Oscar: *emotions all over the place* Y-you really think that was good. I just... spoke from the heart.  

Ruby: It really was wonderful! You better be careful! If you keep talking like that I just might have to fall for you myself! 

Oscar: ‘By the Brothers above!’ 

Ozpin: Alright Oscar this is your chance. Just tell her that you meant those words for her and you will find victory. 

Oscar: I... I’m glad that you liked what I said Ruby. It really does help to know I can say the right thing. 

Ruby: Of course. Well we’re going to go over the mission board. Tag along if you want but I’m guessing you still have to think over what to say to this mystery girl. 

Team RWBY walks away as Oscar watches Ruby. 

Ozpin: I try not to be too condemning or judging of the souls I reincarnate in but I can honestly say that was one of the biggest shows of foolishness and cowardice I have ever seen. 

Oscar: ‘What was I supposed to do? Confess to her in front of everyone?’ 

Ozpin: Of course. You just had the perfect setup to reveal your feelings to her and walked away from it. 

Jaune: Wow. Just wow Oscar. I mean where did all of that come from anyways? 

Oscar: *not fully tuned in* Just something that’s on my mind a lot. I had a lot of time to put the words together. 

Jaune: Well you know what to say. Now we just have to get you to the point you can say it to this girl. *leans in and whispers* Don’t suppose you could give me some pointers? 

Oscar: Another time. I think I’ll see what the mission board has available. *walks away* 

Ozpin: What are you actually planning to do? 

Oscar: Find the hardest wall I can and hit my head against it until I either forget his whole thing or I’m so dazed that talking to Ruby seems like a good idea. 

Ozpin: Believe it or not this actually isn’t the worst luck we’ve had with romance in our lives. 

[yamaoni]

The Second Great War of Remnant has begun. Once more, Vale and Mantle are embroiled in a massive conflict, only this time, they are on the same side against Atlas.

I don't think it was a coincidence that so many people drew parallels with the last episode and WWI. We've never seen people fight that way in RWBY. Grimm don't use projectile weapons the way humans do, so the benefits of the trench are diminished; especially if you compare it to the drawbacks.

Now, I understand not everyone in the Atlas military has their aura unlocked and the squishy soldiers need some cover, but if The Long Memory didn't nuke every grimm on Atlas, the lines would have been overrun and then there would have been nowhere for them to retreat to.

You think the very real hand to hand struggles in the trenches of WWI were bad, imagine being trapped in a narrow trench with a bear. Or having this thing explode out of the ground under you.

I refuse to believe no-one in Atlas ever thought, "if we put the dirt from the trench in a box, no only can we give our soldiers cover, we can also give them an elevated position to fire from."

The top of a wall has been the primary defensive position for the people of Remnant for a long time. You can see them in the establishing shots of most settled places the team has visited. So why are we seeing a trench now?

Simple.

Show, don't tell.

RWBY has done a pretty great job, especially in the last few seasons, of showing the audience what it is trying to convey without explicitly telling them. They especially like drawing from well known folk lore to give insight into the future of the show.

Only difference here, instead of drawing the parallel between characters, they're drawing parallels between worlds.

Remnant's first Great War started with Mantle suppressing freedom of expression, the destruction of Art and Color. Ironwood always has little in the way of color, but in his first broadcast since everything started hitting the fan, he has none.

That broadcast also included evacuation ships being blown up by fighter-bombers, Dunkirk. It threatend to level a city if they didn't surrender, Battle of Brittan. All delivered by a dictator trying to scare his opponents into submission through careful use of film.

Theories

If the rest of the season is WWII, I have several theories on plot direction. Considering how well they did keeping up with both ends of the battlefield it wouldn't surprise me if they followed all of them at the same time.

Operation Dunkirk

Or, the evacuation of Mantle.

Players: Penny, Nora, Ren, Happy Huntresses

The Happy Huntresses involvement is a given. Not only has saving Mantle been their goal the whole time, they're also stuck in the middle of it right now.

Penny is the Protector of Mantle. It would be a shining moment for her character to fully throw off the virus Watts implanted and overcome Ironwood's threats to do so. Just crossing my fingers that it doesn't end like the Iron Giant.

Nora is currently Penny's tether to sanity, so she has to go with, and I doubt they would separate Ren from her for the next arc so he's going too.

Surprise twist for this plot I'm betting will be the Starwars "they aren't warships, just people" scene everyone loves to rag on. After all, the broadcast went out that they needed help and, at least at Dunkirk, it was fishing boats and pleasure crafts that retrieved the 338,000 surrounded on all sides.

Why We Fight

Or, countering Ironwoods propaganda.

Players: Robyn and Qrow

For one, these two are unaccounted for and in the heart of Atlas' military machine. If anyone has means to do so, it's them.

The film, Why We Fight, also countered the dramatic cinematography of Goebbels propaganda by painting it as ridiculous and making a folksy call to action much like Robyn has done in the past.

Operation Fortitude

Or, the deception of Ironwood.

Players: Emerald, Jaune, Oscar

This is the mission to make Ironwood think the team is going after the relic. This theory is why I actually thought of and wrote out this whole thing. Thanks @maxiemumdamage, I had things I was supposed to do tonight.

https://maxiemumdamage.tumblr.com/post/644291955872890880/willing-to-bet-my-own-soul-that-emerald-uses-her

Only difference in my theory and their's, is Jaune is going to be playing the part of Penny.

I say this for two reasons. One, Joan of Arc pretended to be a man. While we've gotten both Jaune pretending to be something he's not and him in a dress, this would pose the first time in the story he could do both. Two, it would put him on a direct collision path with Cinder. It needs to happen at some point to bring his arc to a conclusion, but man I hope we're not about to watch him burn.

With Ozpin active again, Oscar has to go along to direct them to the vault. He's also one of two backing the idea of Emerald joining the team and Jaune wouldn't be willing to work with her without him.

Operation Overlord

Or, busting down the doors of Atlas Acadamy.

Players: Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Yang

Where Operation Fortitude was the faint, Operation Overlord was the real deal. For those that aren't history buffs, this is D-Day.

I think this is the reason we've only seen the main team fighting together once since their split from Beacon. And even then, that fight was at most pairs of fighters and not all four of them supporting one another.

RWBY tricked us into thinking season 4 was the post-timeskip level up we come to expect from anime when really we ended up watching the training flashbacks as they happened instead.

We've seen hints of it with the various team ups and combinations, but are we really ready for how much ass kicking they are about to do?

I'm hoping for a One Piece level of badass entrance that can give me shivers whenever I go to watch it again like the walk to Arlong Park still does to this day.

(Aside: if you try telling me RWBY isn't anime, I'm just going to ignore you. Anime is an art movement. If you don't understand what that means, watch this video. https://youtu.be/uFtfDK39ZhI)

Now last and certainly not least

Operation Valkyrie

Or, the death of Ironwood.

Players: Winter and Marrow

The long awaited defection. Plenty of speculation has already floated around about if and when these two where going to cave to their morals and jump ship. I don't know how many of us were expecting the straw to break the camel's back to be a nuke held over Mantle, but I certainly wasn't.

What worries me, is Operation Valkyrie failed and all its conspirators were executed. As if there weren't enough death flags for Winter before.

Even if it's not Winter that kills him. I don't see Ironwood surviving this season. Even if it means he goes out like another hated dictator. It's not like it would be the first time RT had a fallen hero chose to use his own sword.

Wildcards

Or, Murphy will have his due.

Players: Cinder, Watts, Neo, Tyrian, Mercury, Clover

These players can go any which way. Three we know for sure are going to be active in the coming episodes and I wouldn't be surprised if the other three play a part as well.

Oscar made a hell of a light show for Tyrian and Mercury to see behind them. Not to mention, Salem will still need a ride home when she pulls herself back together.

Clover keeps getting mentioned even though he's hospitalized. If he was truly out of commission for the rest of the season, they would have made us think he's dead before bringing him back like they did with Penny.

Up to now, what we've seen is a three way conflict. But one of the hallmarks of Remnant's First Great War, was making temporary alliances to fight off grimm.

The grimm might be gone, but the wild cards can't complete their own objectives if they are dead. The question is who's goals better align with their own.

Two surprise twists I can see here. One, Mercury stabbing Tyrian on his way to defection. He was raised by an assassin and has not going to get a better chance than that. Two, Clover joining Operation Valkyrie. He might have accepted that sacrifice is a necessary evil to ensure Atlas' survival, but might go Schindler's List on us and find horror in what Ironwood plans to do.

TLDR

I spent way too long writing this out. All the WWI imagery means we're getting a WWII movie with RWBY characters. Major death flags for Penny, Jaune, and Winter.

Also I finally figured out how to do a readmore. Apparently it's just been a long time since I updated.

Note: kept seeing things talking about clovers death and I kind of went ???? Isn't he barely alive in medical? Went back and watched that scene and though I am 90% sure he is dead still kind of weird that they have him in his own room instead of a morgue and the initial framing made my mind instantly think he was propped up on a hospital bed. I mean, I guess we needed to have all the ACEOPs there for their reaction to Ironwood... but it definitely made me think he was alive. That and they have a bandage on his chest wound... when he's supposedly dead. Also have a phantom memory of Harriet saying something about him being in critical but I think that's my memory playing tricks on me.

Having his face exposed instead of covered by the sheet and seeing him in the same frame as Winter being treated also didn't help my gut reaction of "Oh Shit! He's alive? How?!" If I'd followed up more on the "how" might not have made the blunder of writing his return as the final twist in my theory. Oops

[howlingday]

I’m not sure if you plan to continue the short story with jaune and goodwitch in detention but if you do you could have jaune trying to comfort goodwitch and have him become like her shoulder to cry on or you could make them get intimate but that is completely your choice I just thought it would be interesting to see what you come up with as a continuation

"Professor Goodwitch?" The blonde professor turned towards a man at her classroom's doorway. He stood about 5'2", had a large crooked nose, wore a combover under his fedora, and appeared to weigh well over two hundred pounds. And in his gnarled, hairy hands were a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

'Oh no,' the professor thought. Half of th class stared at the visitor, while the other half stared at her. The two sides took turns shifting back and forth between the two. Glynda swallowed the lump in her throat and finally spoke. "Yes? May I help you?"

The stocky man waddled down the steps to the front of the class, then propped himself on one knee with a grunt, and extended the flowers to her. "Professor Goodwitch," he spoke, "I love you. I love with all of my heart, all of my soul, and, uh, everything that makes me who I am. I wish you nothing but all the happiness in the world, and I want you to love yourself every day as much as I love you."

The professor stood in shock, her face red as a tomato with embarrassment, as this complete stranger professed his love towards her. She wanted only one thing in her life right, but unfortunately, the nearest hole deep enough for her to crawl into was about two hundred miles from Beacon. The man nudged his arms towards her, signaling for her to take the flowers. She nervously took the bouquet into her hands.

"Also, you smell nice." The man stood up with another grunt. "Love, your secret admirer!" He then tipped his hat with a nod, and waddled back up the steps. "Thank you for choosing 'Heartstruck Telegrams,' where we hit hearts with an arrow's accuracy!" The doors shut behind him, and all eyes fell on her once more.

Her blush was less intense as she regained focus. She looked over the class and their reactions.

Yang Xiao Long was covering her mouth with one hand, and banging her desk with other. Her sister, Ruby Rose, had her face to her desk, while her partner, Weiss Schnee scolded her. Blake Belladonna, as recluse as always, merely cocked an eyebrow at the display. Team CRDL were joining Nora Valkyrie, who was shifting her gaze, and her open jaw, between where Glynda stood and the visitor left. Lie Ren, Nora's partner, tried fruitlessly to shut said jaw. Pyrrha Nikos had a blush on her face and averted her gaze when she noticed the professor looking her way.

It was then she noticed Jaune Arc wearing a wide smile on his face. She looked down at the bouquet, and, more importantly, the card attached. She read the card, finding the man recited it, word for word, no doubt as he was paid to. A smile graced her lips as she walked back to her desk, never taking her eyes off the hand-written card.

Once the bouquet was set, she hardened her features, and loosed her crop on the desk with a thunderous crack!

"Now that we've had our fill of distractions, we will now return to our subjects, and with double focus this time." The students all straightened themselves. "If I catch even one of you losing even an ounce of focus, you will be spending this weekend in detention with me! Am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" The student's reply was fearful. Good. They still respected her authority.

"Excellent. Now, open your books, and turn to page 48. We will begin our lesson with-" Glynda stopped and pointed her crop at her first victim. "Mr. Arc! Wipe that grin off your face! Since you're in such a chipper mood, you won't mind spending that energy in detention this weekend!"

Jaune stopped grinning and opened his book with a hurried, "Yes, ma'am!"

Professor Goodwitch returned to her desk and opened her book as well. She glanced at the note and smiled.

Jaune Arc never was one for subtlety, even when pretending to be a secret admirer.