#rwby atlas specialist

[xxspellbloxedxx]

Sage in Huntress attire!

[quattro-bacheema]

I try not to think too hard about RWBY's worldbuilding (bcs frankly I'm not sure even CRWBY thought too much about it outside of the bare minimum) but one thing that'll never sit right with me is how... disarmed, the nations are. In a world where monsters roam the countryside freely and are a constant danger, relying on a small class of specialists to deal with everything is frankly kinda stupid. Atlas being the only Kingdom with a large standing army doesn't make sense no matter how much suspend your disbelief.

[ficretus]

*during Volume 7*

Ruby: General Ironwood, me and my team have some... concerns about your leadership.

Ironwood: *with his back turned* What's an issue?

Weiss: Well first you closed Kingdom's borders.

Ironwood: Necessary precaution. We must impede infiltration of Salem's agents with any means necessary. When Salem sends her people, she is sending her best.

Yang: Then you called Mistral "a shithole Kingdom."

Ironwood: That is not language I usually use, but I stand by my stance about Mistral. I assure you, nobody knows more about Mistral than me.

Blake: Then you claimed Robyn Hill is Vacuan agent sent to undermine Atlas. And you keep demanding to see her birth certificate.

Ironwood: And I am yet to receive those papers.

Ruby: But most concerning is... that cap you are wearing.

Ironwood: What is wrong with my cap, am I not allowed to make rash fashion decisions?

Weiss: You really shouldn't make rash fashion decisions.

Ruby: General Ironwood... turn around.

*Ironwood turns around revealing MAHA cap*

Ruby: Make Atlas High Again?! This was never about saving Remnant, you just want to launch Atlas into stratosphere and leave the rest to die!

Yang: I knew we couldn't trust you!

Ironwood: Wait what? That would be crazy and unsustainable plan. No, my plan is far more reaching. *reaches for his pocket*

Blake: He might be pulling a weapon!

*RWBY reach for their weapons*

Ironwood: This is the key to MAHA plan.

Yang: That's a... blunt.

Ironwood: You see, after I lost my limbs I was prescribed medicinal marijuana for my phantom pain. It seemed silly initially, but then it awakened my Semblance, Woodstock. Every time I smoke weed it clears my mind and I get brilliant ideas.

Ruby: I'm confused.

Weiss: So every time you had a secret meeting with your inner circle... you were... you were... smoking weed?!

Ironwood: Yes. Your sister is way more pleasant and honest conversationalist when she is high.

Yang: Wait, how? I tried it while I was in Branwen bandit camp and it only made me more cranky.

Ironwood: You didn't try the good stuff. And this just confirms my stance on Mistral.

Blake: Nothing beats good catnip.

Ruby: Look, I am gonna ignore this whole post has been hijacked by weed jokes. What exactly is your plan General Ironwood?

Ironwood: Before Atlas gets high, it needs to get low. We are gonna land Atlas before using Relic of Creation. With it, we are gonna create a massive eternal blunt. Using the Winter Maiden power, Specialist Schnee will spread its fumes across the Remnant.

Weiss: How will that fix... ANYTHING!?

Ironwood: It will work as a double protection. Salem and her agents will be neutralized by relaxing effect of the blunt. Grimm are immune to it, but they'll have nothing to latch onto since everyone will be spreading positive vibes. It's a foolproof plan.

Yang: Have you lost your mind? That will never work!

Blake: Subjugation through hedonism. That's a gross violation of free will!

Weiss: I said no to drugs long ago! I am not gonna be defeated by glorified second hand smoke!

Ruby: I'm afraid we have to stop your plan General.

*RWBY pull out their weapons*

Ironwood: Stop me? Did you really think I would parade around with this cap and tell you about my plan if there was a chance of you affecting its outcome? I did it... 35 minutes ago.

*smoke enters the building*

*5 minutes later*

Yang: *giggling* You know what, I loooooooove you Blake!

Blake: Really, just like that?

Yang: Why not, did you expect me to confess while hanging over chasm or something.

*Bees kiss*

Weiss: *giggling* Great, I took one whiff of it and I immediately find myself in indecent company. Mom was so right about drugs.

Yang: Oh, it's gonna get even more indecent. Where is Ruby?

Weiss: She is zooming around the building. Do you think this plan actually worked?

*elsewhere*

Cinder: Maiden powers are so lame, it's the exact same power repeated four times. Such a dumb thing to obsess over. Screw it, I'm getting laid.

Emerald: Me, me, me.

Cinder: Someone loyal, bold, responsible...

Emerald: Me, me, me, me, me.

Cinder: Blond...

Emerald: Sigh, not even with weed.

Salem: I feel like everything I have done just keeps spreading... negative vibes.

Tyrian: Whatever you say my Goddess.

Salem: I am cancelling this whole end of the world thing and getting back with Ozma.

Tyrian: Aw...

[howlingday]

*Slaps leg*

Rwby Au: A Sly cooper thing but But Jaune is the Leader and Theif,Nora the Muscule and Driver, and Ruby as the Inventer and Hacker. They would have different Relationships than the Sly cooper gang. Like Nora x Jaune. I think Ruby should date the main detective after them. I think Penny would be neat. Weiss would work better probably. I don't know just a knee jerk idea from my Nora's Arc ask. They would only steal from Crimials and Corrupted leaders though.

I like this idea, but I'd like to tweak it a bit.

So, I actually saw another RWBY Sly Cooper AU with Ruby and I think Winter having a Sly/Carmelita relationship, so I'll stick with Ruby as the leader of the Ruby Rose Gang.

Ruby Rose is the leader, as previously stated, and the inheritor of the Robber's Rose, an ancient and secret relic intended for Silver-Eyed Huntresses like her, even though there's a current propaganda war going on to abolish freelance huntsman work. Unfortunately, on the night she was supposed to inherit this relic, her home was attacked, and her mother perished in the altercation. But it's not all bad, since it's where she met her best friends, Jaune and Nora.

Jaune isn't an orphan, but is the son of the Arc Family Foster Home, and spent a lot of team helping Ruby with hard brain stuff, like math and physics, though a lot of the experiments were done with him going hands-on. That doesn't make his efforts to build and improve weapons any less impressive.

Nora is an orphan and has been since her village was destroyed years ago. The village leader, Li Ren, offered to raise her with his son, but their home wasn't big enough anymore to support four people, even if two were children. So she left and met Jaune, a kinda gutless dweeb who was picked on a lot. That all changed when Nora stepped in and showed just what "girl power" was really all about! Since then, the two have been thick as thieves, which is fitting since Ruby had some plans for when she left the Arcs.

Now, with introductions out of the way, I'd like to talk a bit about story, if anyone is interested. Going along with the story of the first game, Ruby breaks into Atlas Headquarters to find a lead on what's known as "The Inner Circle". It is during this venture that she meets Specialist Penny Polendina, who says it's her duty to stop freelancers like the Ruby Rose Gang. Hunting down and besting The Inner Circle, Ruby makes it to Salem, whom she must defeat by teaming up with Penny. The second game story will also be the same with a new group of villains trying to bring Salem back from the dead, ending in a fight that cripples Jaune, Nora blaming herself, and Ruby giving herself up to Specialist Polendina.

Whatcha think?

[notmaplemable]

Stark Red - Part 2: Pack Up Your Troubles

RWBY and JNPR sat around their usual breakfast table as they did most days. The two leaders stopping their conversation to take a concerned look at Blake. Who to that point hadn't even bothered to look at the tray of food Yang had placed in front of her and was instead looking around the cafeteria like someone was about to start another food fight.

Jaune: *Whispering* Sooo, what's wrong with Blake?

Ruby: *Whispering* Umm, well-

Weiss: Just tell him.

Ruby: Right, um, well Blake has been really worried about you know who.

Jaune: Cardin?

Weiss: White Fang.

Jaune: Oh.

Ruby: So to help Blake out we went to try to find out what they were doing in Vale.

Jaune: And it didn't go well?

Weiss: Not particularly.

Jaune: Did you at least find something useful?

Weiss: We didn't find anything we didn't already know. The White Fang has been stealing more dust, and other SDC property, than they usually do.

Weiss: So much so that Atlas and my father are having specialists guarding dust shipments in transit.

Ruby: Really?

Weiss: You would know that if you didn't run off.

Ruby: ...Sorry.

Jaune: ...Is that it?

Weiss: *Nods* Yang's lead didn't turn up anything, while Blake and Sun-

Jaune: Sun? You brought SSSN with you, but not us?

Ruby: We didn't want to get you in trouble.

Weiss: Sun and Neptune invited themselves, but as I was saying. Blake and Sun ended up walking into an ambush and barely made it out safely.

Jaune: ...

Ruby: So yeah, rough night.

Weiss: And now Blake is more paranoid than she was before.

Jaune: ...Your team gets up to a lot of crazy stuff.

Ruby: Yeah.

Weiss: Indeed.

Jaune: At least the- *Scroll beeps*

Ruby: *Scroll beeps*

Jaune: ...

Ruby: ...Did you just get a message to go to the main hall?

Jaune: Yep.

(Confused on why I jumped from penny's death to Volume 2? It shall be explained. Eventually.)

[arc-misadventures]

Thought of something...tasty for the Rebirth AU. How will Jaune react to seeing this universe's Cinder? Either young or after beacon

How about I do it in a slightly different manner~?

Those Amber Eyes

Jeanne: Hey, Jaune. What ya watching?

Jaune: Look for yourself.

Jeanne: Hmm? A video on, Atlas Specialist’s; Why would you watch a video about them?

Jaune: Look closely.

Jeanne: Hmm…?

Jeanne: …

Jeanne: Wait… That one with more red, then the other’s! I-Is that…?! No way…

Jaune: Yep, that there is, Specialist Cinder Fall.

Jeanne: She’s a specialist; Not some crazed homicidal maniac?!

Jaune: Nope, that’s my world’s, Cinder Fall. In your world she became a Specialist.

Jeanne: Wow… Was she any good?

Jaune: I don’t know… I only learned she was a specialist after I tore up the school, well your, Beacon I should say. So I don’t know if she good. But, I assume she would be, you have to be among the best of the best to be a, Specialist.

Jeanne: I remember that day. Man you wasted those guys. Shame I missed it, probably would have joined you in the chaos.

Jaune: You would of?

Jeanne: Hell yeah I would have!

Jaune: Okay… Why?

Jeanne: Oh, well I was sick of the guys; After you remoulded the courtyard with them, Rin, Nora, and I elected to have, Pyrros removed from our team, and had May take his place.

Jaune: You did that?

Jeanne: Yeah, we just got sick of, Pyrros, and Team RWBY’s antics, so we basically cut all contact with them afterwards.

Jaune: Was this all my fault?

Jeanne: No… No, no it wasn’t, well, maybe a little. But, you mostly just shinned a light on the problem.

Jaune: What was the problem?

Jeanne: A whole lotta stuff; The staring, the invasion of my personal space, the arguments over me. Ruben was the least troublesome one to deal with; He usually, just stared, and shadow me all the time. And, I mean, all the time. He never had a crush before so I don’t think he knew what to do. William, kept saying stuff like, ‘Imagine all the things we could do together with my families vast wealth.’ Basically he kept on trying to bride me with shiny stuff.

Jaune: Seriously; What did he think you were, some sort of hooker?

Jeanne: I should have gutted him like a pig… That little…!

Jaune: Whoops… Uhhh…? W-What about, Yin, and Blake, were they just as bad?

Jeanne: Oh those two were the worst! Blake kept trying to recommend those damn, Ninjas of Desire books to me! In hope to reenact those cheesy sex scenes!

Jaune: Saw that coming. And, Yin, what did he do?

Jeanne: He bombarded me with horrible, horrible sexual innuendoes, and third-rate pick up lines. The only jokes was him thinking those would work on anyone, much less me!

Jaune: And, what about, Pyrros; Why did you give him the boot?

Jeanne: …

Jeanne: Trust…

Jaune: Trust?

Jeanne: Yeah… The girls, and I started to stop trusting him after a while, we just didn’t feel comfortable around him anymore. He started glaring at anyone who got close to me, acting all possessive of me. He also started staring at me a little too much, trying to sneak a peak at me. I started changing in the bathroom to stay away from him. The final nail in the coffin came the day before you beat the crap out of the lot of ‘em up.

Jaune: What did he do to you?

Jeanne: Not to me, but to, Rin…

Jaune: Rin?! What did he do to her?!

Jeanne: He was trying to get her to kiss him. Kept pushing closer, and closer to her. Rin managed to keep him at a distance from her, and, Nora soon came, and Pyrros backed off, but, Rin was in a terrible state. Pyrros didn’t do anything to her, but the shock of what he was trying to do sent her semblance into overdrive. The three of us fled to, Vale for the day, and we went back to school the next day, we wanted to ask, Selma to have him removed from our team, and then you showed up.

Jaune: That bastard! I should have done more to him then break his aura!

Jeanne: Why do you think I wanted to be there.

Jaune: But, to do that to, Rin! She such a sweet, and caring girl. Why would he do that to her?!

Jeanne: I never asked, never really wanted to know why either. But, I think his persona of, The Invincible Man got to his head, and he started thinking stuff like, “I Pyrros Nikos, I can do whatever the fuck I want!” Fucking bastard… Would have preferred if he did that to me in all honesty, save, Rin the trauma of it all.

Jaune: And, because you would have flambéed him if he so much as touched you?

Jeanne: Hell yeah I would have.

Jaune: I would have liked to have seen that!

Jeanne: Yeah, me too.

Jaune: …

Jaune: Are you scared?

Jeanne: Scared, scared of what?

Jaune: Going to, Beacon, seeing who’s there? Considering we don’t know who’s going to be there, and all, you’re worried you might come across someone you don’t want to see again.

Jeanne: …

Jeanne: There are many people I want to see again… But, there are more people I hope to never see again. I can’t tell who might be here in this world. Sure, Pyrrha, and Salem are here. But, until we’re at, Beacon, anyone could be there! We won’t know if it’s Weiss, or William for at least two more years, and even if one of them is, Weiss, who’s to say, Ruben, or Yin aren’t here, instead of, Ruby, and, Yang! I don’t want them to be here, I want your Team RWBY, Pyrrha, and my, Rin. I want this to be the happier life you didn’t get to live. But, I don’t know what’s going to happen, and that scares me… I’m scared of what might happen, Jaune…

Jaune: I see… Tell me, what do you see in, Cinder’s eyes, Jeanne?

Jeanne: Cinder’s eyes?

Jaune: Yeah, what do you see?

Jeanne: Amber…?

Jaune: Besides the incredibly obvious; what can you see?

Jeanne: …

Jeanne: Pride… Pride in… In herself for becoming a specialist…?

Jaune: And…?

Jeanne: Hope…? Hope in what she can become, and could do for others…

Jaune: What else do you see?

Jeanne: Joy… She’s happy that she made it this far…?

Jaune: Pride, hope, and joy… I can see all of that, and more in her eyes. My, Cinder was filled with rage, hate, and sorrow… That’s all she ever had in her. But, this… This isn’t my, Cinder, she’s something else, someone else. I hope I can meet her one day, I’d love to get to know her.

Jeanne: W-Why are you telling me this?

Jaune: Because, Jeanne. No matter what it is, what we may find, and encounter; It can be that bad. We have no idea what we’ll face, but as long as we face it together, it can’t be that bad.

Jeanne: Jaune… You’re a hopeless goofball…

Jaune: True. But, still relax, Jeanne, we’re together in this, and no matter what comes, we’ll make sure we have a better life this time.

Jeanne: Promise?

Jaune: Arc’s promise.

The twins soon enveloped one another in a deep hug, as the stay on the couch to watch a movie.

But, unbeknownst to the twin, one figure stood hidden in the shadows, over hearing the tail end of their conversation. He smiled softly as he saw the pair comfort one another. But, his smile fell as those words his son spoke echoed in his mind over, and over again.

Acheius: ‘This life…’ What the hell do you mean by that, Jaune?

[rwby-soh]

The sister team of SJJL and deuteragonists of the 2nd gen AU featured in the Fanfiction RWBY: The Seeds of Hope, Sins of the Past (Links below)

Belka Gele is the youngest child of Jacques born after his messy divorce from Willow, her very existence being a massive political scandal as it proved the two candidates for the Atlas council were quite literally in the same bed, she chose to attend Beacon to get away from the constant judgement she faced and to hopefully connect with her father's side of her family who's been distant to uninvolved win her life

Her partner Goose Branwen, Willow's youngest child and her baby girl, sweet as sugar without a mean bone in her body Goose is friendly and outgoing if more than a little weird and chaotic, though that's due in no small part due to her probability manipulation semblance. The first one to give Belka a chance and the least involved in the family drama surrounding her, just wanting her family to get along. 

Elizabeth Ironwood, niece of both Belka and Goose, growing up raised by the former General of Atlas and one of its top specialists Elizabeth grew up sheltered and under strict expectations by her parents Elizabeth rebellious and hot headed with a bit of a Napoleon complex as the shortest member of her family and friend group, often bumps heads with her aunt Belka and has a friendly rivalry with her cousin Lumi.

And Lao Ren, the only member of BGEL not directly involved in the Schnee family soaps opera. Lao is a quiet and reserved young man, almost always in control of his emotions to the point of feeling robotic to those who don't know him as well as if he loses control of his emotions the results can be disastrous due to his semblance Emotional Storm, something he swore to never allow to happen again. 

You can read about them in the fanfiction RWBY: Seeds of Hope, Sins of the Past on Fanfiction.net and Archive of Our Own

[rwac96]

Crossover AU (Blazblue/RWBY)SFW Prompt

Team Rwby and JNPR vist Weiss sister winter house early in the morning as weiss want to drop in and visit her. As they walk in the house they hear some one in the kitchen and think it winter so they wait for her in the dining room, only for winter to walk in the room her hair a mess and only wear a black long shirt(it Ragna shirt) witch is loss worn show show a lot with hick and bite mark this suprise them and winter is in suprise as well not expected them to be there and to make it worse Ragna walk in only wear his pants show of his bare chest which is cover in kiss mark hicky and bite make. This is the day that wiess find out that her sister is date that brute

"It's nice to finally visit my sister," Weiss Schnee said with an exhale of relief, "not to mention finding where she lives ever since she left for Atlas Academy."

The middle child of the Schnee Children stood next to her team and their sister team, as the doors opened. The eight teens enter the building, as it was modest compared to the large mansion Winter and Weiss grew up in. The group looked around the interiors, amazed at the architecture and design. Ruby, Yang, and Nora gawked at the many items within the home; looking at them in awe. Jaune, Blake, Pyrrha, and Ren simply placed their bags down to rest after a long day's travel. Then, noises can be heard coming from presumably the kitchen, making Weiss raise her brows in excitement.

"Winter," she called out to her older sister, she then turned to her friends. "she must've been expecting us."

Then, the owner of the house stepped into the dining room, wearing only what appears to be a hakama shirt. Winter Schnee looked at her sister with a look of surprise; as her white hair looked unkempt, and due to the large shirt, hickeys & bite marks can be seen on her porcelain flesh. Both teams stared in shock, Weiss most especially as she felt the hairs on her skin stand up.

"W-Weiss," the usually serious Ace Ops Specialist stammered, "I...I didn't expect to see you here." Her blue eyes shift from left to right, clearing her throat.

"W-Winter," Weiss laughs sheepishly, then takes a deep breath. "I...I assumed mother or Klein told you, I was pretty certain Ironwood mentioned it at least once."

"What's with the 'I just got laid' outfit?" Nora Valkyrie bluntly asked, pointing to the woman's current attire.

"Nora, that's rude," Ren chided his teammate, clearing his throat loudly in an attempt to lessen the growing tension. "and rather personal."

"Hey," Ruby spoke up, squinting at the hakama top, "I could've sworn I've seen that shirt before." She points to the blushing Winter as her younger sister scolded her teammate.

"Winter," a male voice called out, a new set of footsteps getting louder. "Who the hell's that? We weren't expecting...!"

Joining the shocked specialist was a shirtless Ragna the Bloodedge, who stared at the gathered group with widened eyes. He wore only his hakama pants, standing next to Winter shirtless. His bare, muscular chest exposed kiss marks, hickeys, and bitemarks. Seeing them coming all the way to his lower neck. Yang and Nora let out a small 'Oooh!' in unison, while Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren let out awkward coughs. Ruby and Blake simply whistled innocently, while Weiss stared with widened eyes.

"Winter!!" Weiss shouted, "What is that brute doing here?!" She points toward a now annoyed Ragna.

"Company," the swordsman said with an irritated groan, shaking his head lightly. "and nice seeing you too, brat." The Grim Reaper said to Weiss with a sarcastic tone.

"Ragna," Winter turns to the man, giving him a scolding stare. "Weiss," she turns to her little sister, "Um, the reason why Ragna's here...well, he's my paramour." The Specialist admits, her cheeks turning crimson as Ruby's cloak.

"Paramour?" Nora pursed her lips in confusion, furrowing her brows for a moment. "Oh! The fancy word for 'together-together'!" She said with a teasing grin.

"Eeeey," Yang snickered while Weiss twitched, mentally comprehending what she just heard. "this explains why he's not in an Atlas jail, Weisscream."

"Not funny, Yang," the Heiress said through gritted teeth, her gaze still focused on her sister and Ragna.

[rocknroll7575]

WinterKnight Analysis!

I know how weird it must seem to compare a fictional relationship in RWBY to another fictional relationship of a much better and popular show like Game of Thrones (well before it all came down terribly)

I just feel like a WinterKnight is and could be similar to JonXDaenerys and would be a very good slow burn about a specialist who wants to escape her family name and is dedicated to a job and wants to prove she is more than just her family name and a young u and coming huntsman or soldier who sees who she really is and looks up to her but is also in love with her, but knows he can't have her due to his position.

Dany loved Jon because he was loyal, honorable, and truthful.

Jaune is Loyal and has a sense of morals and while he isn't truthful completely, (His fake transcripts), he is still honest with the people around him. I feel that Winter would see those qualities and admire those, even his goofy and dorkish sides, and hell, she might even want to help him with his self-confidence as she possibly sees a younger version of herself in him.

However, I also feel like Winter's "Duty as a soldier" and Jaune's own low self-esteem would hold them back greatly.

Winter's Duty and wanting to be a good soldier that follows orders and thinks about the bigger picture despite what it might cost, like Ironwood, would affect Jaune's Morals, which are he'll do the right thing, laws damned and he isn't a soldier and his only duty is to protect the people, we even see that aspect in Vol.8.

All the tension between the two and the "Will they won't they" would be amazing if done right.

"Love is the death of Duty" fits Jaune so well as he would do anything for the people he loves, if break the law, because he would do what is right in his eyes.

"Duty is the death of love" fits Winter so well because she tries to not let her feelings get in the way, she has a duty and she wants to fulfill it because that is what she had been taught, her sense of duty would overwrite her sense of right.

Jaune is well Jon Snow in the ship, and Winter is Dany if she was a soldier princess, but at the same time, Winter is also Jon.

Jon wants to be like his father, loyal and honorable and truthful, like how I think Winter wants to be Like Ironwood, who in many ways was a good person and believed in doing the right thing.

However, both Ned Stark and Ironwood had their flaws. Ned was too honorable and too truthful and Ironwood believed in saving Atlas and its military and technology because it could (and would) help the people of Remnant but at the cost of leaving the people of Mantle and the hands of Grimm and Salem's wrath, believing it was better to see a bigger picture and ignore the morality of the situation.

However, Winter is different than Ironwood, despite what she has been taught to be, a soldier following orders, she eventually did what was right, no matter how you look at it, Winter betrayed the very standard that the Atlas Military stands for, which based on how they use robots, gives the impression that they are to be cold and only follow orders, this also fits with Atlas banning most arts and forms of expression.

This is why I love Winter's character growth in Vol.8, she has a completely opposite journey of Harriet.

Harriet wants to be like Clover, who was the perfect example of an Atlas soldier, sure he was charismatic, kind, and someone who wanted to do good, (which is how soldiers are depicted in certain forms of media,) but he was also someone who followed orders, who did what he was told, not what was right.

Harriet wanted to be that, and she was right, if he lived and Clover was given the order to drop the bomb on Mantle, he would have done it.

And Winter was doing the same thing, she was following orders and doing her duty, like any good soldier, but she saw the truth, she knew what was going on was wrong and took action to change, to do what is right, and yeah she is a main character and they would never let a character like her to remain as an antagonist the whole volume, I still like her development, it was also due to Penny's own personality that helped Winter change.

Penny was a robot, but she was more human than anyone in Atlas, and that helped Winter do the right thing.

Clover and Harriet are what Winter could have been, and if that is what she was the whole Volume, we would have been screaming at her to quickly change sides and do the right thing.

And like Jon, Winter would do what is right despite how it could affect her, much like how both Jon and Jaune had to at the end (Jon killing Dany and Jaune killing Penny).

Her fight with Ironwood no doubt hurt her, I'm sure she looked up to him and he was like the father she always wanted, but I'm sure it broke her heart to fight someone she respected and looked up to (Problem was that the relationship between them wasn't shown or expanded upon thoroughly). She did it because it was the right thing to do because he needed to be stopped no matter how she felt, like how Jon needed to kill Daenerys after what she did in Season 8 (Still a shitty ending to her character btw, not letting that slide D&D!).

If I kind of went off topic a bit, I'm sorry, but I felt that the Character development (or what I might be assuming is character development) of Winter and the small similarities to Jon Snow. Also before you say "Winter said she was doing her duty as a soldier and Jaune was also doing his duty to the Relm," I like to think that isn't what they meant, I think it was more of their Moral Duty to do what is right by doing what they did, even if it was breaking their heart.

I also think that Jaune's Morals + his low self-esteem would greatly affect his love/relationship with Winter.

If she was being a good soldier and just doing what she was told instead of what was right, Jaune would be angry and want her to keep doing what was right, but she refused and kept doing what she was taught to do as a soldier and follow orders, Jaune I think would understand where she's coming from but greatly object to it, and this would result in the two splitting apart and still causing conflict and this could end with them eventually getting back together after Winter did what was right, or leave Winter married to the job and still be a good soldier.

If we're going down the self-confidence route, I feel like V1-3 Weiss would sort of be against their relationship and bring Jaune down by saying that he is ruining Winter's image and that her sister could do much better, I also think that Jaques would put him down, while he might not care about Winter not being the heiress, he would still do things to ruin her happiness, Idk what whitely would do, but if he was beginning to start trying to be like his father during V1-3, he would also try and bring Jaune down, simply because it would hurt Winter for abandoning him.

This paired with the possibility that Winter would be a little reserved and not show much emotion due to her upbringing and not wanting to be hurt, would confirm everything in Jaune's mind and fill his self-doubt more.

I can just imagine Jaune telling himself that he's not good enough and that he is ruining Winter's image and status and I can see him breaking up with her, thinking she'd be better off and Winter would either be saddened by the breakup but appear to accept it and this would confirm that she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up as she walks away or it would finally make Winter realize that she was being a little "emotionless" in their relationship and finally tell Jaune how she really feels and try and convince him to stay with her because he makes her happy or feel normal (but my tragic mind would still have Jaune break up with her because his self-doubt has poisoned him).

Though this could also eventually lead back to them being together after Winter finds out everything that people told/said to Jaune.

Fuck… now I’m inspired!

Screw it! I’m making a WinterKnight Story!

[ratmor]

My Weiss Schnee SI fanfiction

First chapter of Weissweise

or RWBY for one who didn't watch it

Doing the Stupid

Thoughts were quite mushy.

I propped myself up from the floor on my elbows and looked at the tense back of the big sis, who was covering me with her snowflake - the glyph - from the fire, opened by some freaks in masks. For some reason I remembered that this was my sister, though I'd never had an older sister in my life. For some reason I thought I was male, though I was wearing an uncomfortably short skirt and heels, and - I shifted my knees and rubbed the inner parts of my thighs against each other - there are absolutely no desired sex characteristics. This body thought it was a girl, until the very hit to the head as a result of these terrorists smashing the window in my favorite cafe, with a grenade at that. I was slightly carried away by the shock wave - it was a dust grenade... What does dust mean? We - and a bunch of civilians, of course - were saved by my sister's impeccable reaction. Snowflake - by the name of the Twins, it's a glyph, not a snowflake! - was a great way to protect, as it turned out.

"Winter," I whispered, and winced at the surrounding screams and wails.

There weren't just civilians here, Atlas specialists-huntsmen - who are the specialists-huntsmen? - they were shooting back hard, and some of them couldn't tolerate the sight of civilians with shrapnel wounds and went into close combat.

"Winter!" 

I said that louder and realized that my voice gained raspy quality, although it was very squeaky, compared to what I was used to... And what am I used to? 

"How long until the arrival of backup?"

She squinted at me and spoke through clenched teeth.

"They will arrive on the alarm beakon in three to five minutes, the police as well. You've been unconscious for over five minutes, so... Weiss, hide for now, okay? Don't do anything stupid!"

Her attention shifted back to the fight, she swore softly, and then fired summoned nevermores at enemies unseen. What the devil are nevermores? And what is the devil?

The big sis obviously took someone out, because I noticed her satisfied smile, and then she immediately disappeared from my sight.

Wow, the speed!

I leaned back, trying to sort out all this fantasy setting happening, while feeling terribly tired - it felt as if the best choice would be to continue lying unconscious. I also bumped the same place on my scull again, it had knocked me out before - was it just some kind of grenade that took off my aura so quickly?! - what the fuck is aura?!

I was ready to simply growl from the unknown of what was happening, my emotions, my thoughts - everything was mixed up. Here were feelings like the effects of green fairy, lifting the current mood and setting up a further positive feelings - I'm alive! Yes! I'm alive again! And there was a strange tearfulness and disturbance from helplessness - What to do? Civilians got hurt because of me, and so did the cafe. My father was right...

"Fuck father", I muttered, touching the bloody back of my head, on which my aura was already working, because the pain gradually dissipated. 

My eyes stopped on a frightened girl with a clearly noticeable red fluffy tail, in a waiter's apron, who, like all the other civilians, tried to flee somewhere, but apparently her injured leg prevented her. I kept muttering to myself - now I had a shock verbal diarrhea, so in the end, even if someone hears, they'll just have to understand, forgive and let it go. 

"Wow! There are furries here! This is plus hundred to will for life! Need to help. I'll just have to get up now..."

I groaned like some old granny, well, more like a pug, but the granny sounds better, then I got on all fours. The knees, in no way covered with anything but tights, did not like it, because the shards were everywhere. But my Aura was certainly enough not to get hurt... What the hell is this Aura? What the hell is hell?

"A-a-ah, bitch!" 

I tried to get up and doubled up, naturally, after a couple of steps in this crouched position, I was trying to make sure that these terrorists, who are already screaming in horror from my sister, by the way, did not notice me. 

"Oh, hello, pretty girl! How's your nothing?"

I obviously fell next to this canine girl, but she no longer listened to my questions that were too joyful for this reality. She gasped for air immediately after my "bitch", almost crying in shock. Of course, I didn't get it right away, but apparently she took it personally, that's weird.

"I'm not!" her voice was pleasant, not as hoarse as mine, but she was not that much sprinkled with plaster from the ceiling that fell down on me from the explosion. "Couldn't we just..."

"We could do anything honestly, but only after we, hopefully supporting each other, go through the back door. You have no concussion, and I got two legs. That okay?" 

I spoke confidently, without negativity, because I needed her to agree as soon as possible, and not to cause more circus.

I stretched out my little hands to her, and we half-bent and half-hopped after many civilians who had already left this place. You never know if what my sister said there was rational - any moron understands that staying at the same place in case of such an attempt on life would be suicidal.

After a couple of minutes of hobbling, this canine girl thought of something ridiculous and spat it out.

"You took me with you because it's White Fang, and they won't kill the faunus?"

I thought for about three seconds - I was still trying to grasp what she meant while I was consulting with an inner voice who exactly these faunus were - and rasped in her ear, almost growling with irritation.

"You don't know the terrorists very well, dear... Uh-uh... By the way, what's your name?"

"Mei. Mei Herd."

"Herd, you mean, like Feuer Herd?"

"Yes, this is my father's cafe."

"We will restore it," I said confidently and pressed her in this slightly gusty half-embrace to me, and her tail curled nervously around my arm. "I hope faunus don't flirt like that? Now is not the time, although I wouldn't mind much..."

With these words, I kicked the back door, briefly thinking that I would definitely change my wardrobe from skirts to pants, because suits are forever, and dresses lift up.

"Schnee!"

A masked guy tried to run me with a sword, obviously guarding the back door for just such a meeting - they let the rest of the civilians get out, it was a terrorist attack aimed specifically at our anti-Addams family... What the Addams had is much better, honestly, than the thoughts that come to me in response to these not-my-own-but-mine memories.

His hit didn't work out, because Mei turned out to have both the Aura and the Semblance, and it was apparently protection and strengthening of the body, extended to whatever or whoever she touched. My Aura level was still below the necessary, although I was not so shaky anymore. Apparently, this girl went to some Atlas combat school and therefore assumed in her much less clouded brain that we could be having some joyous meeting right at the exit of the building.

Unfortunately, this masked genius realized that this is not my feature - damn snowflakes - Glyphs! - Why is it so fundamental?! - they were quite visible when they did something magical. It's not magic! For me, everything that is not on the laws of physics will be magic!

I blinked, because I was a little carried away with my thoughts again, and instead of solving the questions of reality, for some reason I started a conversation with myself.

The tail disappeared from around my forearm. The girl already patched up her wound due to the fact that the shard passed her tangentially, because we had time to rest while we were limping towards the exit. So she decided to shield me with herself and try to start a conversation. She obviously still believed that they wouldn't try to kill her because of her faunosity or whatever, but I was less naive. I quickly threw my phone - a multifunctional scroll - on the floor behind me after I put it on the record. I felt it was important. This will prove the arse of all this terrorism in all its glory, and will probably become one of the hits in the destruction of this radical cell...

The girl got in huge trouble, because there was clearly the adult man with burning eyes and the Aura that was open for much longer than hers, but the epicest and most ingenious dialogue prevented the fight from ending in a couple of blows.

"She's a SCHNEE-E-E!"

Aw, I'm going to go so deaf, although it seems even from my vague memories, this is the first time I don't have to do anything at all to have money, except to agree with my father, and this is the only thing that will definitely be difficult for me to do... Why did they decide to attack his family? Don't they understand how this guy is? Even his real name translates as frostbitten or whatever, what else do they need to understand how he will not give a shit about the death of his daughters, as long as he has his own dick in his pants and a son who kisses his ass at every opportunity?

"She just carried me out of the building you blew up!"

Well, don't exaggerate, I'm blushing! But her face was contagiously inspired when she said it.

"Why are you defending her, you're faunus!"

The man dodged the girl's fist - she demolished a lamppost because of this dodge, and his sword tried to sweep off her hand, but once again the aura did not allow the maximum fcukery to happen - I have not yet seen the dismemberment today. Although, judging by the mood of this idiot, who didn't even think of calling for his colleagues - or was too proud to call - it's quite possible that everything could end with this dismemberment. Maybe not even mine? Although why do I have doubts, we're basically schoolgirls, so what could we be talking about here at all? It totally ends with bloodbath!

"Because she is a person!"

The dude's ass was blown by these words, and I realized that the PR team of the father of this body would kiss me wherever I point, if I wouldn't die here. Just for the sake of it, I will try not to die.

"Gra-a-a-a!"

Well, it's not a bighorn, but a bear - well, then let it be Ursa! What the hell is Ursa!

When I blinked, instead of the darkness of my closed eyelids, for some reason I saw a short flash of the image of that very Ursa in the photo in the scroll. Mine, by the way, continued to record, so... Then I did the stupid thing, I followed the girl who got flung into the wall, rushed to her even, and not to the enemy, like an honest to gods civilian idiot. That is why I received a blow from this masquerader a step before getting to her, but she waved her tail, as if expecting his actions, anticipating their simple direction. Her fluffy tail managed to touch my ankle.

I crushed on top of the girl anyway - she passed out, and for a moment it seemed to me that she was not breathing. That is why I quite justifiably lost my temper in a way that Weiss had never done before, in any case, such a feeling was new to both this body and myself, because Aura was an extremely unfamiliar concept... Anyway, I remembered at least that for sure!

Out of the corner of my eye, I realized that a snowflake, familiar to everyone but me, had formed behind my back - YES, IT'S A FUCKING SNOWFLAKE, SHUT UP! - and for some reason, the faunus who opposed me, instead of continuing the onslaught, spent precious seconds to grab his sword more tightly and move back... Heck! He decided to use his Semblance whatever it was, damn it! Come on, I already died before, I certainly don't like it, but judging by what I got here from my memories, this world is not the best place to enjoy culture and recreation, and being here without special qualities of a fighter is somehow not very safe, especially as an heir...

"What a nonsense!" I snapped, trying to stall for time.

For some reason, I felt cold from behind, and the man with the sword growled something indefinite, and for some reason his eyes widened, he shook his head strangely and then made some kind of indefinable face. I was getting carried away, and I was afraid of losing eye contact with my only spectator, so I was carried along all the ravines there were.

"We are all people, we are all being attacked by the grimm, you have just ruined one of those rare Atlas cafes where faunus are positively treated, simply because you wanted to get to me and my sister! How did you have the fucking audacity and stupidity?! This will only make the situation worse! What does it have to do with me at all? Are you an overgrown moron or are you pretending? I can see that you're twice my age!"

"You are SHNEE-E-E!" - the man finally found the rage he had been looking for all this time, lit up with his Aura, and rushed at me.

My own rage - from the understanding I will have to die again, and from the fact that the tail of my recent savior went limp, and she herself was right behind my back - my own rage solved the outcome of this clash.

I freaked out.

[armenianwriterman]

RWBY x MORTAL KOMBAT KHARACTER: JAX

Bio: Jaxson Hargrave was a kid from Mantle who joined the Atlas military to get money to pay his mother’s expensive medical bills. In the military, he proved to be a valuable asset with both his calculating and level headed strategic mind and prowess on the battlefield. However, during one mission, he, several other Specialists and a unit of soldiers were ambushed by the Grimmified Lin Kuei, resulting in him losing both of his arms and barely escaping with his life. After he recovered, Ironwood gave him a pair of advanced prosthetics and invited him to join the newly formed Special Forces. As one of its leaders, Jax will be one of the foremost commanders in the war against Salem, and hopes to get a bit of payback in the process.

Design: MKX (w/ Atlas Military aesthetics)

Color Name: Hargrave - Grey

Species: Human

Eye Color: Brown

Aura Color: Red

Weapon: Thumper- A grenade launcher that can transform into a double sided battle axe.

Semblance: Ground Pound - Jax can store up energy into his fists to create a large shockwave when he punches something, which he can use to stun anything in his vicinity when he hits the ground.

Affiliation: Atlas Military/Special Forces

[xxspellbloxedxx]

~A Night In Atlas~

[doomalade]

Chapter summary of:

RWBY: Amity Chapter 20: Penny.

With the Great War raging on, Atlas Tech Specialists Pietro Polendina and Arthur Watts are assigned by General Ironwood to develop a weapon never seen before in Remnant. So, they created life.

Daughter of Maria and Pietro Polendina.

Sister of Ciel Polendina.

Niece of Arthur Watts and James Ironwood.

Friend of All.

Protector of Mantle.

She is, PENNY.

[hotpotrandomfics]

RWBY OC: Jin Arcturus

Name: Jin Arcturus

Age: 17 (Pre-Fall of Beacon)

Race: Faunus (Sun Bear)

Height: 5'11"

Physique: Welterweight, defined upper body and back

Eyes: Silver

Hair: Umber Brown, medium length low fade

Trait (Faunus): Bear Claws, slightly longer and stronger nails

Complexion: Warm, caramel brown with slight freckles all over the body, minor scars on the abdomen, upper back, left and right shoulders

Personality: Protective, sensitive, intuitive, and individualistic

Likes: Fruit-based pastries, coffee, tea, capable training partners, and modern fantasy novels

Dislikes: White Fang, manipulators, motivation-lacking individuals, irresponsible individuals, and arrogance

Hobbies: Martial arts training and sparring, evening walks, going to jazz clubs, bonding with his team and friends

Allusion: Perseus

Symbol: Bear head with a pair of Butterfly swords on either side and a crescent moon

Weapon(s):

Tempest Eclipse, is a pair of modified gauntlets with Dust access points at the wrist that is capable of dealing with electric and wind dust predominately. The pair of gauntlets appear similar to a set of fingerless gloves but are durable and are increased in other areas after entering Atlas Academy and visiting the weapons forge for assistance in improving the design.

Tempest Howler, a custom VP9 Tactical that was received during a firearm search in the early days of Atlas Academy, was modified with Atlas technology to fire solid dust rounds.

Combat knife

Fighting Style & Skills:

Wing Chun Kung Fu

Atlas CQC (Kali/Eskrima, kickboxing, muay buran, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling)

Combative Shooting

Infiltration

Demolition

First Aid

Semblance & Abilities:

Shatterpoint: can see the structural weakness in inanimate objects, structures, living creatures, and creatures of Grimm. This allows for the surgical ability to disassemble an opponent throughout the battle.

Silver Eyes

Biography:

Left in the care of his aunt named Freya, and his uncle named Fa Jin, Jin Arcturus lived with his guardians in the city of Argus where he'd grown up. Fa Jin was a medically retired huntsman from Menagerie, who had to walk often with a cane but was no less a threat than the most seasoned of huntsmen and Jin idolized him. Freya was a more authoritative guardian compared to her husband, Freya had grown up in Mantle but moved away to be able to marry Fa Jin and run the local tavern named "Ours Endormmi."

Jin is a kind soul whose sympathetic nature has landed him in multiple altercations with a few unsavory elites' children, predominately faunus racist even though their influence in Argus was nothing. Sadly, one of those children happened to be the child of the principal of the huntsman prep school, Sanctum Academy, and as result, the boy was banned from attending the school or any local huntsman school in Mistral.

Melancholy, but not disheartened due to the inspiration from Jin's uncle, the boy would be trained by his retired guardian who'd hand down his huntsman weapon, Tempest Eclipse, though worn and torn they were an excellent set of gauntlets. Jin would later have the opportunity to prove himself during an attempted terrorist attack by the White Fang where he'd meet the Atlesian Specialist, Winter Schnee, and aide her small team in the attempt to save his home city. Though his skills did show a need to be nurtured, he had the drive to push and would be offered to go to Atlas Academy on the Specialist's recommendation.

One major factor that would also place him in the Atlas Specialist program was the fact Jin possessed Silver eyes like his father, something that General James Ironwood took interest in and decided additional preparation was needed for such an individual given the limited and falling numbers of silvered-eyed persons. It was rare to be a sun bear faunus, but to be one with silver eyes? Jin is one of a kind... hopefully, that will be enough to keep alive with what's to come...

[howlingday]

Up Next: Team Atlas!

Winter: I've heard enough. It doesn't matter why you enrolled in this tournament. All that matters is that we fight... if you could even call this a fight?

Ironwood: That's enough, Schnee. Speaking so provocatively helps no one. Penny, since Winter is letting her temper get the better of her, I think it would be wise to have you fight our opponents by yourself.

Penny: Me?

Winter: ...

Penny: I am not certain if I'm mentally fit for the task, but my body is combat ready~!

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

Penny: (Enemy wrapped in wire) You are now trapped by my weapon. There is no escape. You will be shred to pieces because now is not the time for mercy.

Penny: I'm sorry, Ruby...

Penny: (Crying) But being nice won't save the world.

Penny: ...You're still alive. If you agree to surrender, then you'll be able to leave here alive.

Penny: THIS IS THE MIGHT OF ATLAS...

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

Yang: What happened to Penny? She's... different.

Weiss: Was she always this cold-blooded?

Blake: Do you think Atlas has something to do with it?

Jaune: (Walks in) So this is Penny?

Ruby: Hi, Jaune! And yeah, that's Penny.

Weiss: Wha- Why are you so calm about this?! Penny is-

Ruby: Relax, Weiss! She was up against a tough enemy, so she's just doing what makes sense, y'know? Besides, I trust Penny to do what she thinks is right. She's her own person like that.

Yang: But... Rubes, what if she kills them?

Ruby: ...

Ruby: If she does kill them, then I don't think we can be friends anymore.

WBY: !

Jaune: Ruby?

Ruby: Bad guys are one thing, especially when your life is on the line. But this is a tournament, so even if killing is allowed here, doing it like this... IS UNFORGIVABLE. That's why I trust her. I have faith in my friend.

Nora: Yeah! That's right~!

Ren: I understand how you feel, Ruby, but I don't think putting all of your faith into Penny will end well for you.

Ruby: Well, we'll see. Right, Jaune?

Jaune: (Nods)

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

Penny: I'm sorry. I was going to spare you, but... I see now that the only way to stop you is to kill you.

RWBY: !!!

JNPR: !!!

Penny: (On her knees, Clutching her chest) My... My chest... Why... Why didn't my attack work? I don't understand- (Hiccups)

Ironwood: I was afraid of this. Polendina isn't up to task.

Ironwood: (Grabs Penny, Tosses her aside)

Penny: General?! General, what are you doing?!

Ironwood: This is a battle, Polendina. As your commanding officer, I can't allow weakness in the field.

Penny: What?! But I-

Winter: You hesitated, Penny. A moment slowed is a day closer to death. How disappointing. If you intend to continue serving the Kingdom of Atlas, you will report to our quarters for punishment.

Penny: ...Yes, Specialist Schnee.

Ironwood: As punishment for the crime of attempting to murder Penny Polendina, I SENTENCE YOU ALL TO DEATH.

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

Ruby: Penny... What have you gotten yourself into...?

[lyriquette]

Old RWBY AU description from the Frosen Steel chat server - 1/25/2021

This is a continuation of the Salem and Ozpin reincarnating into Penny's head (/prior post if queueing is working properly.). The Qrow and Winter convo about sobering up is probably the one I'm most proud of.

__

lilac — 01/25/2021 10:52 PM

Soo...>>. just gonna yell more background involving the au with Salem and Ozpin reincarnating into Penny's head.

Jacques had managed to get away from the White Fang that day by using his children and his bodyguards as bait, but it did not come without its consequences. When Jacques Schnee held the press conference to salvage his reputation, Momma Schnee, in an unprecedented act of assertiveness, threw a slap to his face before throwing the divorce papers right into his chest.

“Get away from my kids. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

“What is the meaning of thi-“

Willow pressed a button on her scroll, and the quiet background music was replaced by an audio clip.

----

“Both of you, stop following me! They’ll spot us easily from the bleeding!”

“Father!” Whitley exclaimed.

“Sorry, son. We have to part ways. The Schnee Dust Company will fall without me. I’m too important to die!”

A startled cry could be heard, followed by the soft sound of something falling. Numerous clicks, reminiscent of a safety coming off, could be heard.

“Stop following me.”

“You monster!” Weiss’s voice growled out, “Ordering people to draw guns on your own children.”

“Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good,” Jacques said self-righteously.

The audio clipped shut out.

----

Willow didn’t quite get custody of the kids. Jacques didn’t manage it either. Turns out being an extreme alcoholic who neglected her kids for a good number of years worked against her. Though at this point, anything would be better than awarding custody of the Schnee kids to a man who purposefully put them in a situation where they could get killed.

It didn’t stop the Atlasian Government from trying though. The man nearly won custody because he had the “means to take care of them”, and it took a mysteriously-appearing stack of information appearing on General Ironwood’s desk involving the recent financial transactions of the jurors and judge that made the head of Atlas himself act.

Willow just wanted her kids out of the house, even if they couldn’t come with her. It would hurt, but she’d understand. What probably prevented Jacques Gele from fighting as hard as he could was that she offered to let him keep everything so long as he never interacted with them again. Faced with both his greed and an Ironwood ready to lay down the law, Jacques reluctantly let go of his rights to his children.

However, Ironwood was also uncomfortable with letting a woman who, by all counts, seemed to have neglected her children for a greater part of their life, a lot of it because of alcoholism. So he required her to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and set her up with a mentor who had beaten his alcoholism, though he didn’t come willing at first. He had to call a favor from Headmistress Goodwitch who threatened Professor Ozpin who in turn called the man in question, Qrow Branwen.

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

Willow works as both a programmer and security specialist with one of the local businesses in the area. The business had its misgivings at first, but when Willow breaks into their core security with nothing more than a shitty laptop and some social engineering, she’s hired on the spot. Pretty soon, everyone, even the big boss, begin to see her as the boss, because she knew her way around corporate bureaucracy and navigated through it well. In a couple of years, they’re one of the top ten digital security companies in Mantle.

The Schnee family’s new home is now located several blocks from Penny’s house, a place they continued living in despite Willow’s success. To her, the people were more sincere here, but more importantly her family loved it here compared to the central city of Atlas where they had to constantly put up a façade.

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

Qrow and Willow slowly test the waters in their first meeting and eventually have a heart-to-heart. He begins to tell her his tale.

Like Willow, Qrow had to pick up his life after alcoholism. He was one of the rare Hunters in the business along with his sister after Mantle cleaned up the local bandits in the area. Going on the run, they sought refuge in Vale and eventually enrolled into Beacon under Headmistress Glynda and Assistant Headmaster Oobleck. Team STRQ was going well until they encountered the real world. There was no such thing as fighting the good fight, just eliminating the enemies of the Kingdom – people who have been neglected and oppressed by society and could only survive by fighting back – people who could empathize with having lived as a bandit before. He eventually quit being a Hunter but because he had no physical reason for why he couldn't perform his duties, Vale forced him into a dishonorable discharge and prevented him from getting benefits during his stint in the military.

He eventually got into an unfulfilling bodyguard gig and sunk deep into his alcoholism because of the unfairness of it all. When he started arriving to work drunk, he got fired. He probably would’ve been out on the street If it weren’t for his savings he accumulated over the years from the military.

--

“How did you decide enough was enough?” Willow asked.

“…”, the man shifted uneasily, the question clearly uncomfortable for him.

“Err. I’m sorr-“

"No. No. It’s a valid question,” Qrow waved a hand shaking his head, “I just…I just never told anyone about it before.”

“I wish I could say it was a piece of cake. That I did it through my own strength of will and flipped my alcoholism off as though I flicked off a switch,” Qrow said with a rueful grin before sighing, “But it’d be a disservice to you. And as much as James and I dislike each other, he trusted me enough to give you sound advice.”

“You’ve met my niece earlier, Ruby,” Qrow said.

Willow furrowed her brows at the non-sequitur.

“Yes. She’s a nice girl, even if my youngest daughter doesn’t want to adm-“

“What if I were to tell you that I nearly pointed a gun at her when she was 8?” Qrow deadpanned.

Willow stopped speaking upon hearing that, her words caught in her throat and her eyes wide in horror.

“And that I nearly did it over a stupid prank?” Qrow took another breath as he continued, “Because all she wanted was attention from the uncle who ignored her for most of the weekend cause he was drinking?”

His hands shook as he quietly pulled out a silver flask from his vest.

“So she hid all the alcohol in the house while her uncle was asleep,” Qrow frowned deeply as he stared at his reflection in the well-polished flask. Loathing and hatred and a burning urge to hurt could be seen in his eyes, causing Willow to step back instinctively. “And when he woke up in need of something to curb the hangover and figuring out what his niece did…” the man then bellowed, “he started to desperately demand where his drinks were and began to lose his patience with his niece who still thought everything was still a game.”

“And then it stopped being a game. Because in that moment all I saw was an enemy who had to be dealt with so I could get what I needed.” Qrow let out a sigh and let some of the tension in his limbs go, “And I think she saw the difference too, because she started looking at me the same way you’re looking at me now.”

Willow’s breath caught in her throat.

He shuddered.

“I’m grateful,” Qrow smiled faintly, “For that tiny bit of clarity that stopped me from pulling out my pistol that day,” he said, “When I saw her face full of fear, the only thought that ran through my head was ‘what the hell was wrong with me?’ I hugged her and apologized and played everything off as a joke and promised to take her out for pancakes, and everything was okay again.”

“But it wasn’t okay. Only I knew that day how close I came to pulling my weapon on my niece,” Qrow closed his eyes solemnly before opening them again.

“And now you do too.”

“Qrow…” Willow truly didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t reconcile the playful, rogueish man as a guy who would pull a gun on a kid, much less a niece as adorable as his own. And though he didn’t direct his emotions at her specifically, she could feel the anger and rage and self-loathing he felt as he recalled his painful past for her own sake.

“I checked myself in to a rehab facility as soon as Tai picked Ruby up,” Qrow continued on, running a hand through his hair, “During my first year alone, I relapsed twenty-two times and sent myself to the hospital around half of those cause my alcohol tolerance no longer matched my bingeing.”

He paced back and forth, clearly trying to figure out what one recovering alcoholic should be saying to someone who wanted to stop. <c> 73

“It’s going to be hard at parties,” Qrow continued, “Seeing everyone around you enjoying their drinks while you’re forced to sip on some non-alcoholic Tomato-Lime Sipper will eat at you inside.” He frowned at the mention of the drink before he added, “It’ll be even harder when you’re stressed out, knowing that blissful numbness is only two blocks over.”

“You’re probably going to fail. Multiple times even. Other people won’t understand,” Qrow said, “They don’t understand how much we…need this. How unnatural being without drink is; they can’t appreciate that we choose to go without anyway. Others will judge you for being ‘too weak’ or ‘not having enough willpower’ or that we don’t care for the reasons we stopped drinking enough. It’s why us recovering alcoholics stick together, because we can at least understand each other’s struggle.”

“It’s going to be hard. But as long as you remember the reason why you stopped drinking – and keep picking yourself up when you fail, things will get easier. I promise you that.”

A pensive silence.

“…Thank you, Qrow. For sharing. For everything,” Willow said sincerely, “I think I understand a little bit better now.”

“Don’t mention it,” Qrow said with a faint smirk, the playful rogue returning before her eyes.

He opened up the flask and took a sip from it.

Willow could only look on incredulously with wide eyes.

Qrow glanced at Willow confusedly and then at his flask with an understanding expression. His teeth lined up in a grin.

Closing the flask and tossing it to her, Willow caught it awkwardly in her hands, and prompted by a nod of his head, she opened it and took a sniff.

“Apple juice?”

“You really think I’m that shameless to drink alcohol after my whole schtick?” Qrow said with a chuckle.

Willow couldn’t help but laugh to that before closing her eyes and nodding her head.

“To apple juice then,” she said before taking a swig of Qrow’s flask.

“To apple juice,” Qrow laughed.