#Lance doesn't have a tragic backstory

[howlingday]

tragic backstory (tm) au)

pyrrrha and jaune have a date. yang is defnatly not jealous and neither is ruby they're just tagging along for moral support…. yeah!

ozpin takes the time to inspect jaune's gear for him. he's seeing a lot of … aura? magic? something like that. it's rearranging the metals and making them both sturdier and acting like a conductor for jaune's aura… this is something he heard about when he was a boy… as in a boy back in his first life. but it was only for great legends.

… just what has he turned jaune into?

(slaying the dragon was a big enough feat that now jaune's weapons and armor are more symbols of that feat than actual items. more like if you somehow crystallized the attention and emotions people felt about jaune's slaying of the dragon. tldr jaune's got a couple of noble phantasms on his hands)

Ponce Age

Pyrrha: (Sighs contently, Holds Jaune's arm)

Jaune: Everything okay, Pyrrha?

Pyrrha: Yes. Everything is just... perfect.

Ruby: (In a bush) Target in sight.

Weiss: They're not targets, Ruby.

Yang: I mean, they're the reason we're out here, so...

Blake: Targets.

Emerald: And why are we following them? Shouldn't we be respecting their privacy?

Mercury: And miss this blackmail? Yeah, right!

Emerald: Wait, are we really here for blackmail?

RWBY: (Holding up their scrolls) Um...

Emerald: I can't believe this...

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Wei: Do you truly believe this?

Adam: (Bound by chains, Welts all over him) Yes! All of my suffering has been by the hands of a hum- ARGH!

Wei: No! You only suffer because you lack discipline! You lack understanding! Humanity did not give you that scar. It is your naivete and ignorance that causes you pain!

Adam: ...

Wei: Who did this to you? Who is responsible for your incarceration? Who is the one who put you away, only to be freed later by my hand?

Adam: ...Me- ARGH!

Wei: You say the correct answer, but you do not believe it. If you are going to speak, then speak with certainty.

Adam: Jaune Arc...

Wei: Good. Your honesty will reward you this once... with less pain!

Adam: AUGH! ARGH! DAMMIT! WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS TRAINING?! I WOULD HAVE HAD HIM! I WOULD HAVE KILLED- AAAAAAAAUGH!

Wei: You were fighting an unarmed opponent and you lost. He surprised you not only once. Your rage for humanity blinds and now your hatred of this Jaune Arc is blinding you more so! If you wish to become stronger, you must free yourself of your mask of animosity! See the world for what it truly is!

Wei: See this Jaune Arc for who he truly is.

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Jaune: Ugh, I still can't believe this...

Pyrrha: What's wrong, Jaune? Are you mad we got free snowcones?

Jaune: It's the being free I'm mad about, it's the reason. "Here you are, your majesty"? (Groans) Is this my life now?

Pyrrha: (Pats his back) You saved a lot of people, Jaune. People who will be forever grateful for what you've done in Mallet.

Jaune: I didn't do anything. I just held a sword... lance... drill thing and lucked a killing blow. After I abandoned you guys.

Pyrrha: You didn't abandon anyone. You were needed elsewhere. You abandoned us as much as you abandonded your sister when she got away from Adam Taurus.

Jaune: I... I guess.

Pyrrha: How is she, by the way?

Jaune: Cin-Cin is... Can you promise not to tell anyone?

Pyrrha: I promise. I could give an Arc's word, but...

Jaune: (Chuckles, Sighs) She's doing better, but I can tell she's traumatized by that night. Mom was telling me about how she's been avoiding kids at school. Kids with Faunus traits.

Pyrrha: Oh my...

Jaune: I know she doesn't mean it, and I can't say I blame her. Whenever I think about the White Fang or what that bastard did to her, I- (Crushes cup) ...Dammit.

Pyrrha: Here, let me clean that. (Wipes hand) And you have every right to be angry. What happened that night would be traumatizing for anyone, especially someone as young as your sister. I don't think there's a magical cure for what your sister is feeling, but what she does need is the same as what you need. (Looks at him) Love and support.

Jaune: (Blushes)

Yang: Damn... Pyrrha's making some moves.

Weiss: Is it any different than what any of the rest of you have done?

Mercury: Heh... Burn.

Emerald: Geez... I knew that guy was bad, but leaving a little girl traumatized? Never thought he'd go that far.

Blake: ...

Ruby: Are you okay, Blake?

Blake: ...I have to make things right. For everyone.

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Ozpin: No, no, this isn't right.

Ozpin: Perhaps if I applied fire and ice dust..?

Ozpin: ...

Ozpin: That did nothing. Unexpected.

Cinder: And he's been doing this all day?

Goodwitch: All week. Ever since what happened in Mallet, whenever Jaune Arc has nothing to do after classes, and he has no missions, our headmasters steals away his weapon to run secret investigations on his sheath.

Cinder: And what if Jaune needs his weapon?

Goodwitch: Ozpin has the locker moved up here for "upgrades", and in a distress, has it delayed until Ozpin sets the weapon in and shuts the door. He's also been excused from participating in combat classes until the "upgrades" are installed.

Ozpin: Glynda! Ms. Fall! I'm made a stunning breakthrough in my research! It turns out that all of the dust does absolutely nothing, ergo, Archaic, dust itself is entirely resistant to his sheath- I mean, his sheath is resistant to dust!

Cinder: ...And I should care why?

Goodwitch: I've stopped asking those questions a long time ago.

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Pyrrha: Thank you for the lovely date today, Jaune.

Jaune: Of course, Pyrrha, and, uh, thanks for keeping it on the cheap side and for paying for the snowcones.

Pyrrha: Of course, Jaune. I understand these dates can be very taxing on your wallet.

Jaune: On their own, no. But when you have three in the span of a week.

Pyrrha: (Giggles) I understand. Um, Jaune, do you think we could-

Shishi: Mr. Arc? May I have a word with you?

Jaune: Uh, sure. I'll meet you inside.

Pyrrha: ...Sure. (Opens door) I'll be waiting, Jaune-

Yang: YO! GET IN HERE AND DISH, GIRL!

Pyrrha: (Nervously chuckles) I'm coming! I'll see you soon, Jaune. (Steps inside)

Jaune: You're Shishi, right? From the first year, Team Savage?

Shishi: I'm pleased you remember me, but what I wish to discuss is not a team matter.

Jaune: Oh? Is it about classes? Because first year can be rough-

Shishi: No, no, it's about your social status.

Jaune: Ugh... Look, I know everybody thinks I'm a king, but I'm not. I'm just a regular guy!

Shishi: I know. I am well aware that you are not the king.

Jaune: ...I'm sorry, what?

Shishi: You are not the king.

Jaune: ...Huh. I, uh, wasn't expecting that, but man, does that make my day! Thanks, ma-

Shishi: I must ask that you stop pretending to be.

Jaune: Huh? But... But I'm not pretending. It's everyone else saying-

Shishi: Then make them stop. You're only serving the public by making an ass out of yourself. You're distracting everyone else from the true king.

Jaune: The true king. Look, I don't know-

Shishi: (Steps up to him) Then know this; continue to insult the royal family, and I will see you pay for it with true humiliation.

Jaune: Uh... N-Noted, um, your highness.

Shishi: Oh, I am not the king. (Turns away, Walks away) No, I am but a humble servant of the true crown.

Jaune: ...What the hell is going on?

[winterlogysblog]

FOUR KNIGHTS OF THE APOCALYPSE THOUGHTS

I've been relatively silent for far too long and as compensation, let me share the things that have been occupying my head for the longest time.

"Knights" of the Apocalypse

I've posted my wishful thinking of the four knights possibly having their own squads before. It's cool to think that each of the four knights would be the Captains of their own title. Like, Knights of War, Knights of Death (sounds the coolest tbh), Knights of Pestilence, Knights of Famine. I still think that this is extremely unlikely because if this were to happen Nakaba would have to focus on so many people but it still sounds really cool.

Narrative-wise, we already have the Percival Platoon and the Tristan Platoon, and in my good honest opinion. The Percival Platoon has a higher chance to be relevant later on. Each Platoon has four members, including Percival and Tristan (we are not counting Lance in this) but Jade died, and we already got Chion's backstory (Nakaba can kill him off by making him save someone that is not Tristan) Isolde being the potential love interest for Tristan (and Gawain hihihi) is the only thing that is keeping her around. With the Percival Platoon, however, Anne is the potential love interest of Percival and her mom has a history with Arthur since she was once a Knight of Camelot, Nasiens is still a mystery and Donny still needs some hours on the oven for character development. My point is Percival and his Knights of Death (in my head) are complete and packed.

What about Tristan then? Tristan's platoon could possibly stay with him and the narrative. However, Thetis can be put into play here. Thetis is Derieri's reincarnation and she remembers everything, Thetis was once a demon and her story with Monspiet ended tragically and the girl needs a happy ending, so... Who is to say that Monspiet didn't also reincarnate (that would be a cool plot for Thetis). Then, we have Zeldris and Gelda, and I know them having a kid isn't mentioned in any way shape or form but I want them to have one (this is slowly turning into an AU). So, with that in mind, Tristan's new squad should consist of Isolde, Chion, Thetis, Monspiet reincarnation and Zel and Gelda's kid. Did you spot a theme here, most of the characters listed are or was a demon. Tristan struggles with his identity and he doesn't have any control over his demon side so it should be neat for him to have someone who can help him through it. Granted, I believe Mael is his perfect teacher since he once wielded both powers.

Now, let's get into Lancelot. I only have three candidates. Rou's reincarnation, King and Diane's eldest and/or possibly Tioreh. Rou and Derieri are currently in the same position. They have both reincarnated with their memories still intact, but Rou has already been reincarnated to Oslo then he died and got reincarnated again. I've said that it would be cool and fun and happy if he got reincarnated as a fairy so he could be with Gerhade, but he could very well be reincarnated as a human and his story would revolve around reuniting with Gerhade either way that's how his story will go. King and Diane's kids are pretty self explanatory since they are Lance's cousins. King and Diane's eldest is intriguing for me especially because of Disaster. Disaster isn't something we've seen at its pure and raw form, when King uses Disaster it's always with the Spirit Spear and King and Diane's eldest could be the character that can showcase just what Disaster can do on its own, and being the eldest and heir to be the next Fairy King The Sacred Tree can give him the power of Disaster. So what I'm saying is Lance's squad is literrally Fairy supremacy.

Lastly, Gawain. This one is easy. Gawain has Sunshine. Her team is the perfect way to revive the Four Archangels... well the graces of the four Archangels.

That's all for my rambling. Next time, I'll talk about the Demon Realm Arc. I have a few things to saw about the Demon Realm Arc.

[tangledbea]

It’s also very triggering to hear people try to excuse Cassandra by citing her trauma. EVERYONE has trauma. She gaslighted Rapunzel for her own kidnapping. Yes Rapunzel is dismissive, but that’s not a valid excuse for Cassandra’s betrayal. The series could have shed more light on Varian and Eugene’s actual past, showed more bonding between Lance and the girls, given Arianna more depth- so many other things to focus on and it was foolishly centered around a poorly made character arc.

She didn't gaslight Rapunzel for her own kidnapping, she shifted blame. Gaslighting is very specific, and incredibly deliberate. It's psychological manipulation of a person, usually over an extended period of time, that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator (from Merriam-Webster). It's very important that people understand the definitions of words and use them correctly, or else they're likely to throw unfounded accusations around, and/or not properly understand what it is they're experiencing.

What Cassandra did was blame Rapunzel for Gothel abandoning her. Now, Gothel abandoned Cassandra because she had Rapunzel in her clutches and needed a place to hide, but that doesn't make it Rapunzel's fault. But there was no manipulation on Cassandra's part, just misdirected anger and lashing out.

Gothel gaslighted. Cassandra victim-blamed.

People also cite trauma when they excuse what Varian did. It's part of why I dislike the trend of sympathetic villains. A sympathetic villain must be done incredibly well to avoid being either sloppy or cliché. When every villain is given a tragic backstory, audiences who don't engage in critical thinking begin to excuse and dismiss the villain's behavior because of it. I'm going to fall back on good ol' Brooklyn 99 and say, "Cool motive, still [attempted] murder."

The series was always designed to focus on Cassandra, and on her relationship with Rapunzel. Yes, I would have liked Eugene and Arianna to have had better development, or for Lance to have had any development at all beyond, "he stops stealing and eventually decides to adopt Kiera and Catalina." But I would have liked even more if they had told the story they intended to tell well. If the whole thing had been well done, I'd have been left feeling like it was a shame x thing didn't happen or y character wasn't better developed, but I wouldn't have been disappointed in the end.

[logical-crysis]

‘“Lance.” Keith pushed himself up, looked more directly at him, and Lance jolted out of his thoughts just in time to turn away. He pretended it was just to take another bite. But the food was going cold and the taste grew bitter and bland on his tongue. He chewed slowly as Keith watched him with a frown. 

“It’s okay to not be okay.”

The comment was so out of the blue that Lance dropped his fork and turned to Keith, brows furrowed. They hadn’t been talking about that at all, and Lance was sure that he had done well to act normal. His room wasn’t messy and his grades hadn’t really dropped that much and he still wore his shorts and T-shirts when it was hot so what gives? “What do you mean? I’m fine.”

“But it’s okay if you aren’t.”’

I don’t think I ever posted a link to the first work in this series, but here’s the second! I’ve decided to start a Lance-centric fic series of unrelated one-shots, all based off of the meaning of tarot cards.

I don’t actually know much about tarot cards, but the title for the first one (The Eight of Cups) just kind of happened, and I decided to just keep it rolling. Obviously since the first fic was posted almost five months ago and I’m just now getting the second out, updates to the series will be...slow. But! since none of them are related to each other it’s fine!

Edit: I did share the link to the first fic! It’s just a little ways down lol. You can also find it in the collection on ao3 that this one is posted in! If you’re looking for langst, give them both a read.