#that just came after my. super oddly timed game selections I guess.

[jestiamy]

??? just rediscovered cake mania to the max. this, tetris, and pong was like the only thing I did in my spare time as a kid before I got a phone and got like actual hobbies

[coolgreatwebsite]

Cool Games I Finished In 2020 (In No Real Order)

Oh, hey! Right! I have a website! I’m like a week late on writing this, but what’s a week on top of an entire year of not writing, right? 2020 was... well, we all know what 2020 was. For me personally, it was simultaneously the best and worst year of my life. The worst in both ways you can probably assume and ways you definitely can’t (neither of which I’ll be getting into), and the best in ways I absolutely never would have guessed. That uncertain job I mentioned last year got very suddenly much more certain, at a much bigger company, for a much larger amount of money. That allowed me to get my own place, making my weird living situation much less weird. Still haven’t gotten the majority of my belongings off of the east coast, but if the entire world wasn’t currently fucked up by a global pandemic I’d have sorted all that out too. What I’m saying is that, for the third year in a row, my life has been a complete whirlwind that has left me very little time to get comfortable with any aspect of it. But I did manage to play more video games than I did last year! Which is perfect, because it’s once again time for another one of these. Here’s a bunch of cool games I experienced for the first time in 2020.

Astro’s Playroom (PlayStation 5, 2020)

My one word description of Astro's Playroom is "delightful". It's just an absolute goddamn delight. A total surprise too! Included with every PlayStation 5, Astro's Playroom is, in my opinion, one of the best pack-in games of all time.

First off, it's an incredible tech demo for the PS5's new DualSense controller. It was easy to brush off Sony's talk about the controller's haptic feedback and triggers as some Nintendo-style HD Rumble bullshit, but it really is incredibly cool once you get your hands on it. The game is obviously more than a tech demo though, or else it wouldn't be on here. It also just so happens to be an extremely solid and fun platformer on top of that. Astro controls exceptionally well and the levels are all well-designed and fun, even the gimmick vehicle ones designed to show off different features of the controller. It also has an oddly compelling speedrun mode, made all the more compelling by the PS5 notifying you when your friends beat your times and the ability to load into it within two seconds from anywhere on the console. But the biggest thing for me and, call me a mark, because I am, is that the game is an honestly incredible love letter to PlayStation history.

For the first time ever, Sony has pulled off a nostalgia piece without it ending up as embarrassing garbage in the vein of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. There's a Nintendo-like joyful reverence for all things PlayStation oozing out of every single corner of this game. There are so many nods and references and gags for literally every PlayStation thing of note throughout the the last 25 years, and then on top of that there's a whole heap more for the things that AREN'T of note that only hyperdorks like me would get! A sly reference to the ill-fated boomerang controller? Yep. A goof on the fat PS3's Spider-Man font? You betcha. A trophy you can earn by repeatedly punching a Sony Interactive Entertainment sign until it breaks and reveals the Sony Computer Entertainment sign it was slapped on top of? Yeah buddy. It's deep cuts all the way down, even up until the final boss which had me grinning like a total dipshit the entire time. The game is endlessly, effortlessly charming.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo Switch, 2020)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the perfect game at the perfect time. That doesn't mean it's a perfect game, I actually have some issues with it, but it could not have released at a better time than when it did. It came out at the very very beginning of everyone going into lockdown due to the pandemic, and it was the biggest game in the world for a couple of months as a result. I played like 300 hours and that pales in comparison to the amount of time many others put into it.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the most different Animal Crossing game there's ever been, and I'm of two minds on it. Like, I loved the game, I played a ton of it, but it's lacking so much of the stuff that made me love Animal Crossing in the first place. The series has been slowly trending in this direction for a bit now, but it's not really a game that happens around you anymore. It's all about total player control. You select where everything goes, you customize every detail of everything to your liking, hell, you can even terraform the landmass to be exactly what you want. Your neighbors take a backseat in focus and end up as little more than decorations with limited dialogue and next to no quests associated with them. Series staples like Gyroids are missing in action. Facilities and services that have been around since Wild World aren't implemented. It's similar to past Animal Crossing games in a lot of ways, but on the whole it feels like a different thing.

But like I said, two minds. New Horizons strays from what I truly want from an Animal Crossing game, but I can't deny that the game as it is is a hell of a lot of fun. There's SO much you can do and SO many options, it's super addictive. Plus it implemented my long-requested feature of letting you effortlessly send mail to friends online! Too bad the actual online play is as cumbersome as ever.

In conclusion, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a land of contrasts. I'm kidding. It's good, but definitely missing something in a way where I can understand some people being disappointed in it. I had a ton of fun though, and I'm probably going to get back into it later in 2021.

Trials of Mana (Nintendo Switch, 2019)

Late in 2019, with the physical release of Collection of Mana for the Switch, I decided I was going to play through each game on it for the first time and finally find out what this whole Mana thing was about. I went into Final Fantasy Adventure (the first game in the Mana series, because every RPG had to be Final Fantasy back then) with zero expectations and found a totally serviceable little Zelda-like with light RPG elements. I enjoyed my time with it. I went into Secret of Mana with the expectation of it being a beloved classic and found the worst game I beat that year, hands down. That game fucking sucks. I get why it made an impression on people at the time, but it's just so so SO awful to play. Needless to say I was pretty disappointed. Honestly, I would have been disappointed even if I hadn't heard it was one of "the best games" for so long. It would have been a disappointing follow-up to Final Fantasy Adventure, a game that in and of itself isn't anything incredible. Secret of Mana is just that rotten.

I braced myself for more disappointment when (after a much needed vacation from the series) I started up Trials of Mana. This game had a reputation too, as a long-lost classic that never made it stateside. One of the best games on the Super Nintendo, criminally never released for western audiences! Like Secret of Mana before it, I'd heard nothing but effusive praise. Unlike Secret of Mana, however, I was very pleased to find out that Trials of Mana mostly lives up to the hype. From a gameplay standpoint, Trials is an improvement on Secret in almost every single way. It's not perfect. The menus are still kinda clunky, animations for things like magic and items are still frequently disruptive. But the main thing is it actually plays like a sensible video game designed by humans with brains. Attacking is responsive! Hitboxes aren't complete nonsense! You don't constantly get stunlocked to death! There are more answers to combat than casting the same spell for five straight minutes to kill your enemies before they get a chance to move! It's great!

On top of being an enjoyable video game to actually play, the presentation is top notch. Secret of Mana could be a pretty game with decent music in some spots, but Trials is consistently gorgeous and the soundtrack is across the board great instead of randomly having songs that sound like clown vomit. And while Trials of Mana doesn't have the deepest story in the world, it manages to avoid being completely paper-thin like Secret. The story actually kind of has a reason for being a bit straightforward, and the reason is that it has a really cool system where you pick your three playable characters from a pool of six. Each character has their own goals and storyline, some of which line up with other potential party members, some of which don't, and you'll even run into the characters you didn't choose as NPCs along the way. This and the relatively brisk pace of the game make it highly replayable.

I'm really glad that Trials of Mana made it over here in an official capacity, even if it was like 25 years late. It's as good as I expected Secret of Mana to be and singlehandedly saved my interest in seeing any more of the series. I'm aware the quality of what came after is very spotty, but I'll get to the rest eventually!

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PlayStation 4, 2020)

They (almost) did it. They (basically) pulled it off. They remade (a chunk of) Final Fantasy VII and (for the most part) didn't fuck it up. Ok, funny parentheticals aside, Final Fantasy VII Remake is astoundingly good coming off of over two decades of just absolutely dreadful post-FF7 sequels, side games, and movies.

Final Fantasy VII has been historically misremembered as this kind of miserable, angsty, brooding thing, both by fans and by the company that made it. FF7-branded media after FF7 itself is a minefield of changed personalities, embarrassing original characters, and monumentally lame stories. Final Fantasy VII Remake is the first post-FF7 anything that actually remembers the characters, setting, and plot of Final Fantasy VII and what made them memorable and special to people in the first place. Which isn't to say it's a slavish recreation! There's a ton of changes and additions, and I actually like almost all of them! Except for some really big stuff I'll touch on in a bit!

The combat in Final Fantasy VII Remake is great. I was super skeptical about it when the game was first announced, but they actually managed to make the blend of real-time action and turn-based RPG menuing fun and engaging. The characters all play super differently from each other too, which is a huge and welcome difference from the original game. The Materia system fits like a glove in this revamped combat system as well. The remixed music is good as hell, and the visuals are beautiful (outside of a couple of very specific spots that I'm kinda of surprised they haven't fixed in a patch yet). It's a well-executed package all around.

But alas, as always, there are negatives. For starters, this is only part one of the overall Final Fantasy VII Remake project. It goes up to the party leaving Midgar which, as you may or may not recall, is the first six hours of the original game. They compensated for this by fleshing the hell out of the Midgar section the game, ballooning the overall playtime to total of about 30-ish hours. The game feeling padded is a common complaint but for what it's worth, I didn't really feel it until the unnecessarily long final dungeon, There's also the previously mentioned and funny parenthetical'd changes and additions I don't like.

This is big time spoilers for this game so if you don't want that jump ahead to the next game on the list. The Whispers suck ass. Final Fantasy VII Remake should have been brave enough to be different without having to constantly derail everything in the most ham-fisted and intrusive way possible. You can have Jessie twist her ankle without making a spooky plot ghost trip her. I don't want to fight the physical manifestation of the game everyone thought they were getting as an end boss. If you're not doing a straight remake, that's fine, but have the fucking guts to stand by your artistic decisions without feeling the need to invent the lamest deus ex machina I've ever fucking seen. The last couple of hours of this game are 100% about the Whispers and are awful for it. It's a true testament to the strength of the rest of Final Fantasy VII Remake that this aspect didn't completely sour me on it. I can only hope that they stay dead and gone for good in the games yet to come and the remake can be different while standing on its own two feet.

I truly cannot wait for the next entry in the Final Fantasy VII Remake project. I'm excited for Final Fantasy VII in a way I haven't been since the late 90s. I have a bit of trepidation that they could royally screw it up. I mean, they already got kinda close, as I said in my last paragraph. But they got so much right in this entry that, for the first time in decades, I'm willing to believe in Square Enix when it comes to Final Fantasy VII.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (PlayStation 4, 2020)

My one word description of 13 Sentinels is "fucking crazy". I realize that's two words, but shut up. A bizarre hybrid of visual novel, adventure game, and strategy RPG, 13 Sentinels not only makes that work, but makes it work incredibly well. 

The story is fucking bonkers. It's told entirely non-linearly and is purposefully dense and confusing, but it does an amazing job of hooking you with a cast of likable characters and some impressively well-paced twists, made all the more impressive by the fact that you can tackle the story in basically whatever order you want. I'll say it again for those in the back, the story is Fucking Bonkers. Wherever you think it's going, it's not going. Where it is going is PLACES. Seriously, if you want a wild goddamn ride, this is the game for you. The presentation is also stunning. It's a drop dead gorgeous game with a really nice soundtrack. Easily Vanillaware's best looking game, which is saying something seeing as looking good is Vanillaware's whole deal.

If I had to levy one criticism against the game, it's that the strategy RPG portion is just kind of ok. It's enjoyable enough, it doesn't get in the way and there's not too much of it, but once it starts introducing armored versions of previous enemy types it's kind of done doing anything different. It is really good at getting people to out themselves as having no idea what tower defense is as a genre though!

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition (Nintendo Switch, 2018)

I haven't really historically been a "Musou Guy". Not to say I've actively disliked them, they're just not something I've seeked out very often or played very much of. Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition kinda turned me into a "Musou Guy" a little bit? It's good, surprisingly-less-mindless-than-you'd-think fun.

I actually super don't care about the Zelda branding. I think all the fanservice stuff is meh at best. What I do care about is that there's a ton of character variety and a metric shitload of content. There's so many different characters and weapons for those characters that all play differently from one another and SOOOOOO many levels to play. Like the story mode is, again, kinda meh, the real meat of the game is the Adventure mode and there's a ton of it. It's 8 different world maps, each based off a different Zelda game, with each square of the map containing a little mini-scenario with unique objectives and rewards. There has to be at least 1000 scenarios between all the maps. There's so much. And that's not even getting into some of the other side stuff like the challenge modes and the fairy raising. It's a crazy amount of game in this game.

And again, it's not as mindless as it'd seem. It's not really a game ABOUT destroying 5000 guys, it's an area control and resource management game where the 5000 guys are one of those resources. Knowing who to send where and when to fight who is way more important than pressing the XXX YYY XXX YYY on the more than one million troops.

I'd say that if you're even cursorily potentially maybe interested in a musou game, this is the one to try. And if you like it, it could literally be your forever game. A sequel came out recently too, and I'm looking forward to trying that out soon.

Phantasy Star Online 2 (Xbox One, 2020)

Phantasy Star Online 2 finally came stateside in the year 2020, eight years after its initial Japanese release and initial American cancellation. It's no Phantasy Star Online 1, but it is a really fun game in its own right provided you can find the willpower to break through its clunkiness and eight years of confusing poorly tutorialized free-to-play MMO cruft.

The main thing going for PSO2, and this is a major improvement from PSO1, is that the act of engaging in its combat is fun. The combat is just feels really really good. There's a bunch of different weapon types and classes, and once you find the ones that really click with you you're in for a good time, whether you're izuna dropping dudes with wire claws or literally doing air juggles and rainstorm from Devil May Cry with the dual machine guns.

The other stuff around that combat is weird. I generally like it, but it's weird. The story mode is one of the most bizarrely presented things I've ever seen. It apparently used to be something you'd seek out in the levels themselves, but presently it's just a list of scenes you pick from a menu and watch with next to no context until it makes you fight a boss sometimes. There's some weird moments in there that MIGHT have been cool if it were presented in literally any other way?

The systems and presentation are also way more... I dunno, pinball? Pachislot? In very stark contrast to how chill original Phantasy Star Online was, everything in PSO2 is designed in a way to maximize that flashy light bing bing wahoo you got ~*~RARE DROP CHANCE UP~*~  feeling. Which isn't to say I don't like flashy light bing bing wahoo, but it's a weird different thing.

Was it worth the wait? Yeah, sure! For me! This is another one that I played like 300 hours of! I haven't even seen half of it, I fell off right before Episode 4 released because it coincided with my move! I'm gonna go back and see all that shit! PSO2's fun! A different flavor of fun than the original, sure, but fun all the same. Another one that I'm glad finally made it over here.

Riichi Mahjong (A Table, 1924)

Holy shit I fucking did it I finally learned how to play Mahjong and it rules.

It started when I picked up Clubhouse Games for the Switch. I saw that it had Riichi Mahjong and something in my brain snapped. For whatever reason, I decided that this was the time I was going to rip the band-aid off and figure this shit out. It wasn't too dissimilar to the first time I decided to try eggs, but that's a different and much stupider story for a different time. I did the tutorial in Clubhouse Games, looked up some more basics and advice because the tutorial wasn't super amazing, and I kept playing while being aided by the game's nice helper features like the button that pulls up recommended hands. I kept playing and... sorta got it. I learned the basic rules, but none of the strategy. And then I stopped playing for a few months.

In that few months, for whatever reason, a decent amount of people I know had their brains snap the same way? Like a more-than-two amount of people I'm either friends with or following online also decided to learn Mahjong. I decided to get back on the horse and downloaded Mahjong Soul and I don't know whether it was perseverance or the power of anime babes, but this time I got it. I still refer to a sheet with all the hands and whether they work open or closed, and I'm by no means a master player, but I actually honest to god understand what I'm doing and it's an incredible feeling.

Mahjong has such a huge amount of what I like to call "Get That Ass" energy. It is the energy you feel when you get someone's ass. In Mahjong you are either constantly getting someone's ass or getting your ass gotten. Someone puts down the wrong tile and you fucking GET THEIR ASS DUDE! They're got!! They're a fucking idiot that put down the wrong thing and now you have their points!!! Or you draw what you need yourself and you're a brain genius all according to plan and everyone gives you points because you're so wise!!!! It's great!!!!!

Mahjong has long been one of those games where I'd say "I'll learn this someday" and never reeeeally actually try to learn, and I'm so glad I finally took the effort to because it's good as hell. And, truth be told, it wasn't THAT hard to learn? Like you can get to the point where I was where I didn't know the strategy fairly easily in my opinion, and once you do that It's just a matter of continuing to play to understand the rest. I highly recommended that you also go out and learn it if you similarly revel in getting that ass, it's so satisfying once you do.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon (PlayStation 4, 2020)

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio took a big gamble with Yakuza: Like a Dragon. After seven games (more if you take spinoffs and remakes into consideration) they decided to focus on a new main character and, even more unexpectedly, they decided to change things up by turning the series into a turn-based JRPG. Their gamble paid off in spades. This is easily in my top 3 favorite Yakuza games.

The JRPG gameplay is surprisingly solid. There's definite room for improvement, but they nailed a bunch of it right out of the gate. Some mechanics are a little janky and I wish the job system was more fleshed out or just worked more like Final Fantasy V's, but they nailed one of the most important things and made the battles brisk and fun. It's a great foundation, especially for a team that's never attempted anything like this, and it's way more fun than the combat's been in any of the previous Dragon Engine games. I can't wait to see them iterate on it.

Everything else is top fuckin' notch. The music is great, the side content is fully fleshed out in a way it hasn't been since before they switched to the Dragon Engine, and I love the characters and story so much. Yakuza has a new main character in Ichiban Kasuga, and he's my son and I love him. Kiryu was great, and I love him too, but he was a bit of a passive protagonist. Stuff happened around him and he mostly just stoically reacted to it. Ichi is a much more active lead and it's great. He's a big lovable dope, and his tendency to keep an upbeat attitude and eagerness to leap into action is such a breath of fresh air. And it's not only Ichiban, since this is an RPG you have a whole party of characters and they're all great! Having them with you at all times bantering with each other and reacting to things is another great change of narrative pace, too. 

Yakuza: Like a Dragon just straight up rules. As someone who has historically not been too much of a fan of the Dragon Engine games, it's simultaneously a refreshing new take on the series and a fantastic return to form. I can't wait for what comes next. Wherever Ichiban goes, I go.

Moon: Remix RPG Adventure (Nintendo Switch, 2020)

After 23 years of Japanese PS1 exclusivity, Moon: Remix RPG Adventure finally got an English release this year for Nintendo Switch. I'm glad it did, because Moon isn't just the very definition of A Sebmal Game. It's the Sebmal Game missing link. In addition to being just a great video game, it helped me make a mental throughline for a bunch of games I love and a large part of my taste in video games.

To keep a long story short (seriously, I have a much much longer version of this saved in my drafts that I'll maybe finish someday), Moon turned out to be not the JRPG I assumed it was, given the title and basic story pitch, but a secret prequel to a game I love named Chulip. Moon's developer, Love-de-Lic, was formed by a handful of ex-Squaresoft employees, many of which worked on an extremely formative game I love named Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Love-de-Lic broke up in the year 2000 and its staff went on to form a bunch of different studios that ended up making a BUNCH of different games I love like Chibi-Robo, Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, Dandy Dungeon, and the aforementioned Chulip. These games, when you make the connection and line them up, all have a very distinct weirdness in common that makes perfect sense once you've realized many of the same people worked on them. Figuring this all out felt like snapping a piece of my brain back in place, and it was really crazy to come to understand exactly how much this studio that formed and disbanded decades before I'd even heard of them had impacted my tastes and, hell, my life.

So what is Moon, for those who don't innately understand what I mean by "a secret prequel to Chulip"? Moon is an adventure game where you explore a world with a day/night cycle, learn about that world's inhabitants, and eventually solve their problems. Think of it kind of like The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, but if the sidequests were the entirety of the focus with no Groundhog Day time reset mechanic and none of the Zelda stuff like combat and dungeons. You play as a young boy who, after a late night JRPG binge session, is sucked into the world of the game he was just playing. Everything is off from the way it was portrayed while the boy was playing the game, though. The hero he had previously controlled is actually a silent menace, raiding peoples' houses for treasure and slaughtering every innocent animal that crosses his path in an endless quest for EXP. The townspeople seem more concerned with problems in their day-to-day lives than the supposed world threatening crisis outlined in the game's intro. It's up to you as the boy to investigate this world's mysteries, help the townsfolk, mend the damage the hero has done, and eventually restore love to a loveless world.

Speaking of love, I fucking loved Moon. I loved the story, I loved the characters, I loved the music, I loved the way it looks (even though the Switch port is a little crusty in that basic emulator-y kinda way), I loved how constantly bizarre and surprising and funny it was. Like I said earlier, it's the very definition of a game made for me. It was essentially the progenitor of a long line of games made for me, and of games potentially made for me but I don't know yet because I haven't played them due to not understanding Japanese (UFO: A Day in the Life translation next please? Anyone from Onion Games reading this??). For as similar as Moon and Chulip are in their systems and pacing, I think I might actually like Moon better despite it coming earlier? It's not as full force maximum impact absurd as Chulip is, but it is a lot more playable and less obtuse once you get a grip on the time limit mechanic. You don't need a full strategy guide included in the instruction manual for Moon, and you don't need to exchange business cards with every single character to get information vital to finishing the game either.

I truly cannot recommend Moon enough if your taste in games ventures anywhere off the beaten path. Maybe this is a little conceited of me, but I assume if you're reading this article, let alone this far down into it, you relate to my video game opinions at least a little bit? You should play Moon. Everyone reading this sentence should play Moon. Moon: Remix RPG Adventure is my game of the year for the year 2020.

These games were also cool, I just had less to say about them:

Death Stranding (PlayStation 4, 2019): Death Stranding, much like Metal Gear Solid V, was a game I enjoyed for the gameplay and not much else. The story, characters, and writing were a huge disappointment for me, but man if I didn't enjoy lugging those boxes around and setting up my hellish cross-continental goon summer camp lookin' zipline network. Mr. Driller Drill Land (Nintendo Switch, 2020): I am a known Mr. Driller Enjoyer, and I enjoyed this Mr. Driller. Originally released for the Gamecube, Mr. Driller Drill Land is another long-time Japanese exclusive that finally came stateside this year and it's packed with new and novel twists on the Mr. Driller format. It looks super sharp, the music's great (also the credits music is the most impossibly out of place and extra as hell shit in the world and it's hilarious), and it's just a good ass time. The main campaign is pretty damn short, but if you're a post-game content kinda guy it has that and it's all super hard. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 (PlayStation 4, 2020): They finally made another good new Tony Hawk game, and all it took was perfectly remaking two of the best old Tony Hawk games! Plays exactly like you remember it with the added benefit of the best mechanics from up to THUG1, looks great, packed full of content, even has most of the music alongside some mostly crappy new stuff. It's the full package as is, but I do hope they end up adding THPS3 to it eventually. Mad Rat Dead (Nintendo Switch, 2020): Mad Rat Dead was a pleasant surprise that I only picked up because I saw a couple of people on my Twitter timeline constantly talking about it. A fun and inventive platformer where all your actions need to be on beat with the music. The gameplay feels great (aside from some not so great performance issues on Switch), the soundtrack is fun, and it's got a real good style to it. Demon's Souls (PlayStation 5, 2020): I love Demon's Souls and this is Demon's Souls. It plays exactly the same with some minor quality of life changes. I don't agree with many of the artistic changes, but there's no denying it looks incredible on a technical level. If you want to play Demon's Souls again or for the first time, this is a perfectly valid and fun way to do so. Groove Coaster: Wai Wai Party!!!! (Nintendo Switch, 2019): Groove Coaster is one of my favorite rhythm games, and they finally made an acceptable at-home version with Wai Wai Party. It's not a perfect replication of the arcade game control-wise, I have some issues with the song choices, and the pricing is frankly fucking ridiculous if you're not a Groove Coaster maniac like I am, but the same ultra satisfying gameplay is all there. You can even play it vertically in handheld mode! Flip Griiiiiiiip!

And we're done! Phew! Honestly didn't realize I played that many good games until I typed all this out. Thanks as always for reading this far. I'm gonna try and get back to regularly posting Breviews this year at the very least. Honestly don't know if I'll get anything else up on here, but we'll see. Here's to hoping 2021 is a little bit less of a nightmare!

[writingsofmyimagination]

Game Night

@local-alicia sent me this request:

Could you perhaps write a smut where y/n is having a sleepover with the maknae line and things get out of hand?

So this request I took as ‘things get out of hand with all of them’ :P So of course for a one shot this means there’s definitely some crack and some Ho behaviour; but it was super fun to write... so thank you and hope you enjoy!

Maknae Line x Reader (Sleepover AU)

Genre: Smut, slight crack :P

Rating:18+

Words:2889

Warnings: Swearing, Smut (Oral F receiving, implied M receiving, penetrative sex, thigh riding, tiny tiny bit of throat compressing), mentions of alcohol, spilt nachos (the tragedy).

Enjoy :)

“Hey!” you whined as Tae shoved you in dramatic victory when the kill scores finally came up on the screen.

“You only got two more than me, not exactly a sliding victory” you defended re-calibrating your cross legged position on the sofa.

“A victory’s a victory” he rightly stated beaming that beautiful smug box smile at you, recently washed fluffy chestnut hair draping over his forehead like an ethereal waterfall.

“Fine, snack break?” you’d let him have this round, confident in your ability for the rematch. Tae offered you a hand pulling you up. The douche purposely pulling you too hard flinging you sliding across the wood floor, your socks acting as perfect catalysts. You stopped yourself going any further by grappling onto the divider wall behind the flat screen

“Dick!” you bit, sticking your tongue in his direction in retaliation.The kitchen was neat and open, a large rectangular black marble topped island surround by a few bar stools. Your first mission, find the popcorn. You had a selection of white cupboards above the sides to choose from, your silent hesitation cried for assistance.

“Third cupboard” Tae directed with his head as most of his body was shielded behind the silver door of the fridge, the light illuminating the shine of his brown hair.

“You guys never put stuff in the same place twice” you complained, crinkling of the plastic wrapper from the popcorn, the butter aroma quickly rising to you.

“You really expect us to be organised?” The chip and dip was now joining the box of popcorn on the island.

“Fair point” you agreed beeping in the three minutes on the microwave leaving the pair of you with just the whirring and slow popping starting.

“When will the others be back they know its game night right?” leaning against the island.

“Yeah, you know what those two are like with their dance practice, they shouldn’t be late”

“Well that depends if Jungkook has a shower there doesn’t it”

“You know what, I’ll message them” he announced, you chuckled lightly.

“You’re so pretty when you smile” the camaraderie in his tone had dissipated and all that was left was a sincere compliment.

Weird, this is soo…

Before you’d even shoved your thoughts into order you were pressed against the counter, willingly wrapping your arms around his neck welcoming his lips to yours with an intensity out of nowhere. You didn’t fight any of it fully surrendering, his body pressing to yours. His hands fighting their way under your shirt. His hands traced your outline fingers dancing delicately on your skin.

“No bra?” he breathed taking the easy access in his stride.

“It’s a sleepover night, got to be comfy… easier to beat you” you breathed, suppressing the moans in your throat both of your lips twisted up into a smirk against each other

“How’s that working out for you” his raspy voice replied at your ear

“Its..” your head rolled back, answer hindered by the hand that had trickled down under the waistband of you trackies

“Feels like you like losing” he acknowledge through an impressed exhale at your neck. A faint click reached your ears, a small warning. The pair of you parted; quickly! Launching yourself away from each other. In the fluster and scurry all the tortilla chips scattered across the tiled floor.

“Shit! You exclaimed

“Easy Y/N you started drinking without us?” Jungkook toyed, holdall on his shoulder tugging his oversized black tee revealing the prominent defined collar bones

Stop!

“No, this idiot just thought he’d be funny and tackle me” His eyes grateful for the save while yours told him to sort himself out.

“Honestly Tae, think of the chips” Jimin added filing in after Jungkook slumping his bag at the door.You took an interlude to the popcorn duty and found yourself down on the floor cleaning up the mess, side eyeing Tae disappear to his room.

“Hope you’re ready” Kook checks collecting various bottles of alcohol from the cupboard, clanging them on the side.

“Hope YOUR ready, I swear if you shoot me this time just once. You’ll wish you never been respawned” Jungkook seems to have an ‘accidental’ habit of shooting you despite all of you campaigning on the same team. He’s never quick enough to hide the smirk that grows seconds before he pulls the trigger.

“I’ll do my best” he chuckles.The bass of the sound bar reverberated through the room in a dull boom as Jimin booted up all the sound systems. Tae emerged swamped under multiple duvets, chucking them on the floor before shuffling to fold them and create a comfy space in front of the TV.

“I guess I should go grab some more chips from the shop before we start, and don’t even say they are fine Jeon Jungkook, that’s gross”

“Fine but I’ll come with you”

“I’m more than capable of carrying some tortillas”

“You say that” he motioned his hands to the bin

“Besides the walk will be more fun with me”

“Fine” playfully rolling your eyes for him to see. Genuine lights sparked up from behind eyes as he bounced and grabbed his shoes.

//

The air was surprisingly warm given the 7pm time, everywhere was still bright and a low energy breeze caught you pleasantly as you strolled towards their apartment behind the security gates.

“I reached a new bicep curl PB” Jungkook beamed as we approached a door labelled ‘Gym’ prompting this new development. The hall way was carpeted a light royal blue, the walls papered a pale beige adorned with a more silvery beige pattern of fancy floral design. More like a feature wall than a hallway one but the luxury mirrored the apartment’s status.

“Yeah? Even the 30kg weight I set you?” your tone pitching at the end. He nodded.

“Prove it” you challenged, enabling Jungkook’s pride. It was cute, so you were happy to humour him. He beamed as he typed in the code on the door; thankfully the gym was empty. You followed him past the spotless cardio equipment to the free weights area. Plonking yourself and the carrier down on one of the benches your eyes following his every move as he thinned his layers down to just his t-shirt rolling the sleeves up for maximum bicep view. You certainly wasn’t going to complain.

“I thought you were showing me your bicep curl” you’d watched him step over to the next area with nothing but blue mats and sat himself down

“Warm up push ups”“Oh I see” you lightly chucked mildly unimpressed. His form was perfect, back straight, going low enough and legs straight. He made them look so easy.

“Get on my back” he ordered in his soft tone, smile making it hard to respond in turn.

“What?”

“Sit on my back” he said again. You made your way over to him with hesitant steps.

So they ARE easy for him

You exchanged amused glances, two people unsure of where this was going. You slid off your shoes and did as you were told.

“Mmm higher, more in the centre of my shoulder blades” he instructed adjusting to your weight.

“Here?”

“Perfect, try and keep your weight all in your body and not in your legs so much, ready?”

Nope

Your right hand was pressed at the base of his neck the other was screwing his shirt up within your fist for any type of support. The ripple of his muscles did not go unnoticed beneath you, the room was silent, just his concentration and his controlled breathing as he slowly lowered and pushed you back up a few times; you giggled as you wobbled slightly. He followed suit his concentration and strength breaking as he collapsed under you. You fell backwards tumbling half on the mat, your legs nearly clipped his head. He shuffled onto his back in beat while you quickly found your way to your knees.

“So you’re not THAT good then” you toyed

“You distracted me” he countered, his hair half covering his forehead in a messy picture framing his face.

“You asked for it!” you protested smacking his side. Before you could retreat you hand was gripped in his. You followed his pull caving in to where he wanted you.

What is with these boys today. Why am I not complaining? what is wrong with me?

“Can I ask for this now?” so innocently spoken, like a puppy asking for your last biscuit and not palming you through your loose trackies;

“Think you need to be more specific” you teased greedily rolling in to his palm biting your lip through a smirk stifling a moan. Your body flushed with adrenaline, you needed some kind of relief especially after earlier. You took his hands at your mercy pinning them above him your hips rolling being greedy for all the contact of his bare thigh, shorts had been pushed up slyly on purpose by yourself. His eyes latched onto your movement

“Don’t go shy on me now Kook!” you teased nudging his head to the side stealing a gasp, lips nipping at his collar bone.

“I want this” he breathes

“I want to see you fuck yourself on my thigh” hips grinding harder for a stroke.

“Yeah?”

“Mmmhmm”

“But I want to feel you” he added, you’d do anything for those eyes, hazel shimmering pools of lust right now so you slipped off your trackies.

“And the rest” he added eyes greedy transfixed on your underwear falling to the floor. The direction of your focus however was on the door.

“No one comes in here at this time, trust me!” oddly you did, if anyone was going to know the extent of the gyms usage it was him.You both unanimously groaned at the contact

“Good?” you breathed holding your hips motionless

“Feels really fucking good” Your hands found their way underneath his shirt and your nails lightly indented at his chest, you damn well wanted to feel those muscles tensing underneath you. This was clearly a thing for the pair of you.

Your hips took no time in finding the perfect rhythm, the way his eyes stared at down at his thigh watching every movement. His eyes beautifully blown out often switched up to you watching your face crease in pleasure. Seeing his face crease equally was a sight you wanted etched in your mind; the small breathy groans tied your stomach in knots adding to the build-up you could feel in your core.When your hips started pushing harder into him happily gaining momentum chasing your high he threw his hands pressing into your sides stopping you.

“I want to be tasting you when you cum” Supporting you with one hand he had you on your back, tracing down your body with kisses gently nipping your breasts. You pressed your hips up to him when his mouth covered your clit hands tangling in his soft long hair.His tongue flat licking the length of your folds before honing his attention to your throbbing bud. Sucking lightly before going side to side in rapid movements, simultaneously thrusting a finger into you

“Jesus Jungkook” you cried. He hardly faltered only stopping a few frustrating times to catch his breath.

“Right there, god don’t stop”

You bucked your hips harder against his tongue and stilled his head gripping tighter in his hair as the sweet pulses surged oxytocin through you. He carried on applying pressure until the aftershocks had finally stopped.

“We better get back” his chin glistening with his work, satisfied smirk plastered at his lips.

“I don’t think so” you disagreed pressing up onto your elbows pulling his chain having him captured in a kiss.

“You are not going anywhere until I’ve sorted that” head looking down at the bulge in his shorts

//

“Seriously where have you guys been, we’re snack deprived wasting away here!” Taehyung moaned, pausing the race Jimin and him were competing in.

“One that’s not dramatic at all is it, two we just got chatting on the stairs, sorry” poker face level pro.

//

Finally managing to beat all the boys in the arena mode! You’d spent months coming second to JK, victory was definitely sweet. It was standard on game nights to finish with a film, after much procrastinating on Netflix you’d finally agreed on Thor Ragnarok. None of them ever stayed awake for the whole thing. It wasn’t strange for you to cover them with blankets, they were dead adorable when they were sleeping. Another bonus of this was there was three beds free for you to choose from. Like the old Goldilocks story you always went for Jimin’s because his was the softest. It was like sinking into a marshmallow, absorbing you to sleep the moment your head hit the pillow.

Nudged awake by the feeling of the bed depress beside you. A gentle smile adorning your lips feeling him slowly creep up so his chest was flush against your back. Head nuzzling into the back of your neck; you shuffled back into him, grinding once your ass into his crotch. Big mistake, but not really.

Taking this as a que he ground back, this carried on until you felt him grow hard against you and the warmth began to pool in between your legs and your breaths had become more audible. His hand travelled underneath your shirt, exploring your skin. Leaving a trail of goose bumps up to your chest, kneading them still pressing into you from behind. Nipples perked with him rolling them in between his fingers. His warm breath fanning your neck in between the wet firm kiss at the top of your shoulder and the side of your neck. He pulled your hips more into him, legs slightly widening allowing him access to the top of your waistband. The tease ran his fingertips along your inner thigh upwards avoiding where you needed attention.

“Please, stop teasing” you whined in a whisper.

“But it’s fun” you rolled your head. He carried on teasing driving you insane; until you couldn’t take it anymore. You grabbed his hand and forced it onto your core. You moaned rolling your head forward into the pillow, his moaned dragged from yours.You left your hand resting on top of his as he took over circling your clit, only stopping to tease his fingers at your entrance. Enticing you to want more than his hand. Pulling his hand away, turning to him enveloping your hand either side of his head and pulling into you, kissing him with everything you could.  He rushed, desperately clambering on top you. Knee in between your legs giving you something to have contact with.

“God I can’t wait to fuck you” he panted scrambling both of your t-shirts off.

“Please, hurry up!” you whined still quietly conscious of the noise; disturbing the other boys.Bottoms discarded somewhere on the floor. Nipping at your neck, collar bone and your hand gripping round him in an attempt to hurry him up.

“So impatient” he smirked.

“Mmmhmm” you breathed. Following your wishes he finally lined himself up at your entrance.

“Beg!” he asked. Forehead against yours moans mixing in between you.

“Serious?”

“Yep”The teasing of his cock at your entrance rendered you way more than happy to beg.

“Fuck Jimin, please fuck me, I can’t wait to feel you inside me. Need to cum around your cock” you pleaded.

“Jesus didn’t know you could be so sexy with your words” approving thrusting into you. Your cry was uncontrolled and loud. One which tugged hard at Jimin’s pleasure centre. As much as he wanted to see how loud he could make you; he did not want the others to know, tarnishing his innocence. His hand lightly pressing against your mouth.

“As much as I wanna make you scream, you gotta be quiet baby” you nodded, completely agreeing.His hand slid down from your mouth, your moans sheltered as best you could. His hand gently compressing at your throat. Your head rolled back louder moans escaping. He just felt so good and the compression on your throat blew your mind, making your thoughts cloudy and blissfull. More moans escaped you, his brows knitting together leaving you empty and clenching around nothing.

“On your front, if you can’t be quiet at least the bed will absorb some of it” he rushed passing you a pillow to put under your hips. You lifted yourself onto your elbows only to be shoved face deep in the sheets. Good thing as he thrust back into you, fists curled in the linen, angling your head directly into the bed. Any cries now muffled.

“Much better” he grunted, hands planted at your hips keeping them secure. The angle he was hitting your sweet spot had all of your muscles at your core taking a heated run up to your release.

“You gonna cum for me baby?” the words had you clenching tight around him resulting in him choking out ‘baby’ and leaning forward more onto you. Lifting your head up from your hair as he re-stabilised.

“Fuck..Jimi…yes” You were gone. Seeing stars convulsing around him. Jimin’s hips jerked into you cursing your name.

“Please can this happen every game night” he panted crashing beside you on the bed.

[benisasoftboi]

Gushing time.

Rune Factory 4 Special arrived a day early, so my entire day has been consumed in nostalgia. The original Rune Factory 4 was the first video game I ever bought on release day - I remember saving up all my money and making my mum drive me to like three different shops trying to find one that had it. I was already a fan of the franchise - before then, Rune Factory 3 had been my favourite video game, across the board. Aside from a playthrough of the first game last year, I haven’t played a Rune Factory game in a long time, certainly not RF4. But just starting up the game and hearing the music again, it was like it was suddenly seven years ago. Running around Selphia and seeing all the characters again - I love JRPGs, have played a lot of them, and I can think of very few that have characters that have stuck with me this long. And the aesthetics - the best thing about the Rune Factory franchise has always been the aesthetics, the music, the scenic and character design, just the general world. It’s a beautifully whimsical balance of urban and fantasy, and it’s the only JRPG world I think I’ve ever come across that I would genuinely want to live in. Rune Factory may no longer be my favourite game franchise - but I don’t think there has ever been another series that has felt so much like home to me.

Here’s a very long selection of personal highlights from the art book (by which I mean photos of the art followed by my rambling opinions):

Yeah, see, here’s the thing - Rune Factory 1 is not a good game. I could write an entire essay on why it’s bad (I actually started and got pretty damn far before realising no one’s interested in my two thousand word review of a game that came out over a decade ago - the short version is ‘Misty Bloom-fucking-Cave’. Anyone who’s played RF1 knows exactly what I mean). Don’t get me wrong, it has good qualities - excellent boss fights, for one, and also, as with the rest of the franchise, it is aesthetically wonderful. But ultimately, it feels less like playing a video game, and more like playing a proof of concept for a game. Which I guess it kind of was - and I can’t hate it because we wouldn’t have the rest of the series without it.

But it literally ends with a dragon spewing plant breath on a tank to make a turnip grow out of the gun. ‘Profound’, my arse. 

It’s Raguna! The “master sowrdsman!” (that is not a typo on my part that is a direct quote from the ending of Rune Factory 1 this game’s script had so many issues-). And Mist! My favourite of the ‘canon’ love interests!

Best girl! When I was a kid, my favourite love interest in RF1 was Rosetta. As an adult, it is Tabatha. I don’t know what it is about her that I find so likeable (she’s as lacking in personality as any other RF1 character), but... idk, I just like her a lot.

Camus’s big ambition is to leave town like even once. He will never achieve it

Fun fact about Melody is that she’s extremely depressed, a fact that comes up once in an optional side quest and is never addressed again. It’s incredibly dark for an RF game

Fun fact about Lukas is that he sucks (he’s one of those ‘obsessed with talking about how hot all the girls are’ characters, an archetype that thankfully doesn’t show up again in these games). But also, interestingly enough, thanks to one of RF1′s many, many script errors, if you marry Rosetta (the girl Lukas is the most obsessed with), he’s supposed to express disappointment that he lost her to Raguna - but instead, he implies that he’s disappointed to have lost Raguna to her. The translators typoed their way into giving him a sexuality change. Which is honestly kind of amazing.

LOOK AT THIS SLIME THIS IS SUCH A COOL SLIME LITERALLY EVERY OTHER JPRG SLIME GO HOME DRAGON QUEST GET FUCKED (jk I like Dragon Quest a lot and its slimes are cool too). Wish you could see in-game that this is what they’re meant to be like.

I just generally love the monster designs, they’re really charming

Rune Factory 2! The RF game with the most weirdly mundane protagonist name (Kyle. In the main four games of this franchise we’ve got Raguna, Micah, Lest, Frey... and Kyle). The two generations thing was actually very cool, but when they say ‘each chapter captures a different lifestyle’, what they really mean is ‘the first half is a weak Harvest Moon I’m sorry, STORY OF SEASONS game, and the second half is a pretty good Rune Factory game’  

lookit this little fuck

Yue Yue Yue! I love Yue so much, she’s great. She’s kind of like a much chiller version of Anna from Fire Emblem.

It’s really cool that we got to see grown up Cecilia (she was in RF1). I have this silly headcanon that if Kyle doesn’t marry Mana, Nicholas (her friend in 1) comes to visit Cecilia one day in the hazy-post game future, and meets Mana, and they get together. While Yue is my favourite, I do genuinely like Mana a lot, and I just want her to find love, I guess.  

Here’s original Barrett! There’s a reason he was popular enough to make a reappearance (well, aside from the whole grumpy pretty boy thing he’s got going on) - he was a great character in this game. His and Dorothy’s relationship is also definitely the most compelling of the rival romances. Bonus Max, who also has a little shout-out in RF4 (check the diary in what will become Dylas’s bedroom at the start of the game)

Ray is male, but apparently he was originally going to be a female character, as he has an unused portrait in a wedding dress. My friend and I agree that this makes him a Trans Icon

Monster designs remain excellent. Especially the goblins

Skipping over Frontier (and also Oceans later), as I never got to play it growing up due to not having a console, and still haven’t got around to it - might try this summer. Except I do need to point out that these guys should be memes. I don’t know in what way. But they should.  

Rune Factory 3! My first RF game. The transformation thing was very cool, even if it was basically useless outside the main story. My friend and I spent hours mucking about in the WiFi dungeon. I loved the desert settlement and all of the dungeon designs in general, and man, RF3 is just great. I hope it gets a remake one day.

Raven Raven Raven! I LOVE Raven (as do most). Her story with Micah is the first time I can remember getting genuinely invested in a video game romance. I’m so glad she cameos in RF4. I love her. She’s wonderful.

I have an odd fondness for Marian. When I was about twelve, I decided to do a playthrough where I deliberately romanced the least popular bachelorette. After poking around on forums, I determined that character to be Marian, and did a run with her. And... I actually came to really like her. I find her endearing. I get that people find her annoying and don’t like her... unethical medical practices, but doing that run has still made me a pretty protective of her. It’s been a long time since I played RF3, so maybe I’d change my mind if I replayed now, but currently, as far as I’m concerned,  Marian’s a good’un.

I think I also used to low key ship her with Collette lol 

Pia’s official art has always been super weird to me because it’s so not what her character is like in-game. She’s a ditzy airhead. This makes her look so serious

RAINBOW! Another character whose art makes them look way more serious than they actually are. Daria is great and would be a meme if this game was more popular. I think she’s also implied to be a relative of Margaret. 

I’ve always been super confused about what Kuruna’s skirt is meant to be. Is it fur? Is it part of her shirt? Is it even a skirt at all?

Check it out, it’s the guy everyone would ship Micah with if this game was more popular

I want Zaid to make a reappearance and interact with Doug. Pretty sure it’s canon that they’re from the same clan? Think it would be very interesting.

RF3 definitely had the coolest farm. Also, still love the desert settlement.

This is from Oceans, so I have no context, but it’s just so cool that I had to share

Rune Factory 4. Culmination of the series is right - when I was playing it for the first time, I remember being blown away by just how much it is a true love letter to the franchise. I have never come across another game series that so consistently grew and improved from entry to entry. RF4 was a perfect ending.

Not that I’m complaining about getting RF5. Quite the opposite.

But if it had been the end (as we all thought it was until about a year ago), well, like I say. Perfect. 

Well. Aside from soda can nipples. Can’t believe they didn’t fix those. Though in some ways, that would have made me sad too

Dolce has such a cool design, in both human and monster form. I’ve always kind of crack-shipped her with Margaret, for no real reason at all

Vishnal! I love Vishnal. Vishnal is pure as heck. Marrying him this time around.

Doug! My choice from last time around. Another character who looks more serious in his official art than he is in-game (well... most of the time)

And then there’s Dylas, who looks much happier here than he does most of the time. Kind of looks like he and Doug swapped bodies, actually. There’s a fanfic prompt for you.

Their ship name is Dyldo. I love them

Leon is nostalgic for me mostly because my friend and I used to get into a lot of arguments about whether or not he’s the hottest character in the game. She maintains that he is, because muscles. I maintain that muscles aren’t actually that attractive. It is a rift that divides us to this day

(He looks oddly... younger in this art though? Weird)

Sechs Empire is such an unfortunate name. Seriously. How rushed was RF1′s localisation team? All those script errors, and then this (the Sechs were the antagonists in the first game, and were only referenced in passing in the rest until RF4 - so it was a bit of a ‘sins of the father’ situation by then).

Seriously, try saying ‘Sechs Emperor’ out loud and tell me you can take this man seriously 

I??? Love??? Them???

I??? LOVE??? THEM???

Still confused as to why Kiel, Xiao Pai, Arthur and Margaret are on the cover now. Don’t get me wrong, I like them, but... Amber, Dylas, Dolce and Leon made way more sense? Even the Archival Cover makes more sense (Vishnal, Clorica, Forte), as those three are all kind of Lest/Frey’s servants (well, Forte for the whole town, but still). Of those first four, all but Arthur basically lift right out of the game with little-to-no impact on the story

NO HAT TABATHA NO HAT TABATHA

I’ve always really loved this Raven picture

And I am thankful for you <3

[dyde21]

Beacon High 2: The Auditions

Sorry this took so long! My life got insanely busy now so my writing is going to be quite a bit slower to come out. I’m still working on the finale for Arc’s Metalwork. More after the end. Fair warning, this is a SUPER long chapter. Like really long. 

XxXxXxXxX

The days between the announcement and the actual auditions had been charged with energy. While many were wholly uninterested, for the select few that it applied to, it was game changing. Suddenly everyone was clambering for the chance to practice on the practice pads after school, bringing gifts to bribe Pyrrha and Yang to teach them how to drum. Yet, Jaune found himself oddly avoided. No one seemed too eager to ask him for advice on the drums, which only served to depress the self-doubting teenager.

Many in the class understood he was the best in the class on the piano. Even Pyrrha gave way on the piano, having focused her skills enough elsewhere that the nuances on the Piano eluded her. The very same nuances that Jaune had hurled himself at over and over again until he learned them, and continued to do so in a desperate pursuit of improvement.

Yet none seemed to consider him worthy of a bribe for help with drumming. It wasn't wholly unexpected, considered he rarely played the drum set or snare in class, opting to leave it to yang, or at times Pyrrha. That didn't mean it wasn't still a little sad to him.

The next Monday after class had ended, Jaune had sulked off to the piano as he saw students approach both Yang and Pyrrha again, bearing gifts. One girl even had chocolate for Pyrrha, which made Jaune smirk slightly. He knew about her weakness when it came to chocolate, it'd probably work.

He rested his hands on the keyboard, mentally running through all the songs he knew how to play. With a defeated sigh he just dropped his head onto the keys, earning an ugly burp from the piano at the poor combination. Nothing seemed fun to play at the moment. He knew he should be practicing as well, but he couldn't muster up the will power too. Plus, a lot of the practice supplies had already been claimed by Drumline hopefuls.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath, inhaling the old musty scent of the piano. He knew he couldn't afford to just mope around all day. It wouldn't be helpful to himself, or anyone. Plus, Pyrrha was right. Making small steps forward, even when it feels like the hardest thing to do in the world, was the only way to make things better. Momentum was key. If he started moving forward, the world would keep him doing so.

Forcing himself to sit up straight, he once again tried to figure out what to play. His eyes glanced over the piano, seeing Pyrrha being cornered by the girl from before who was holding up the box of premiere chocolates. Pyrrha was clearly eyeing them like a hunter eyes it's prey. It seemed like someone would finally be successful.

Jaune sighed, at least happy that Pyrrha would be getting a nice treat out of it. She was nice enough that she probably would have ended up helping them even without bribes. But this way she would be rewarded for her trouble for once.

Not really thinking, he let his feelings decide what song he was going to play. He slowly started to softly play on the piano. He stared at the keys as he played, lost in thought.

After a few moments, he noticed a pair of arms rest on the back of the piano. Noticing the woven bracelet on her wrist, an identical match to the one on his, he knew Pyrrha had come by once again.

“Who are you helping today?” He asked curiously, trying to distract himself from his own thoughts.

“No one, today.” Jaune paused playing, looking up at her in surprise. Slowly he started playing again.

“Why not? I thought those chocolates would have worked for sure.”

Pyrrha shook her head. “I was already given some last week. I can't afford to keep binging on chocolate. I don't think I can fit more time into the Gym.”

Jaune just laughed. “Pyrrha please, you're gorgeous. You don't need to worry about box of chocolates even touching your looks. I know how hard you work in the Gym.” He remarked idly, playing for a few more bars before the realization of his words had sunk in for himself. “Uh... I mean.” He began to scramble, unknowingly increasing the tempo of the song as he struggled to keep playing despite his mind hitting Mach 2.

Pyrrha turned away from the piano, covering her blushing face with her hand. “Thanks.” She had only meant it as an offhand remark. She hadn't seriously been worried about her appearance.

Jaune just slowed down the song to it's normal, somber tempo.

“Are you wishing someone would ask you for help?” Pyrrha gently asked after a moment, sliding onto the bench next to him.

Jaune just sighed, a smile creeping on his face. It was like she could read him like a book. “Yeah, I guess I am. But it makes sense. You and Yang are the better drummers, that's just obvious. Plus you're like an amazing teacher. I know that first hand.” He said, flashing Pyrrha her favorite smirk.

Pyrrha pouted ever so slightly as she saw it turn into a sigh and a frown.

“I just wish someone would have asked me, you know?” He muttered as the song began to wind down.

Pyrrha just thought for a moment. “You know if you told them you've done drumline before, they would be clambering all over you. Neither Yang nor I have done it in the past. You have that advantage.”

Jaune's eyes widened as he hit a wrong note suddenly. “No!” He said, quickly looking at her. Seeing her confused expression, he let out a sigh. “No, that's not... fair.” He muttered, resuming playing the final bit of the song. “I told you, it wasn't much. I don't want to mislead them into thinking they can learn a lot from me.” He finished the song, glancing down at the piano. “Maybe it's better for them anyway.”

Pyrrha frowned. Her hunch had been correct. She had refused helping the girl earlier because she had been worried about Jaune. He had been off during band class. Besides, Yang was more than eager to accept their bribes and teach a small group.

“Jaune, look at me.” She ordered, raising her hand.

Jaune turned his head curiously, but found her finger poking him in the cheek as he turned his head.

He stumbled back a little in surprise, causing Pyrrha to giggle.

Jaune just stared at her, smiling despite himself at the sound of her laugh. He thought for a moment. “I was doing it again, wasn't I?”

Pyrrha just nodded, still smiling. “Yup.”

Jaune just sighed. “I'm sorry.” He said, offering her a sheepish smile. Over their close friendship, Pyrrha had done wonders for his self esteem, he knew that. Her encouragement meant the world to him, and he would always value her as one of the closest people in his life. She had also helped him realize the downward spirals of negativity he would find himself in. She had helped him see that, even if only sometimes, realizing his own pattern of behavior could help him break it and get back on track. It was true, a smile was infectious. Emotions were a fickle thing, always coming and going. So if you invite in a little positivity, more would find it's way to you.

Grinning, he looked at her. “Thanks for being here for me.” Pyrrha just hummed happily. “My pleasure.” She thought for a moment. “Though, if you want to make it up for me...” She trailed off. She played a single chord on the piano.

Jaune just laughed, as he reached an arm around her shoulder, giving her a side hug before moving his hands back to the keys. “I got it.” He said, instantly picking up on what she was asking for.

He began to play one of the other songs he knew. This one he had actually learned for her. She claimed it was her favorite song. After pestering her to find a way to repay her for all her extra lessons a while ago, she had suggested he learn this song. He had been all to eager to comply with the small offer. Though, in hindsight he might have studied it a little too hard. She had been surprised when he showed up to the next session and could already play it for her.

Still, she never seemed to tire of it and it could make her smile so Jaune would play it till the end of days if need be.

“You really love Shine, don't you?”

Pyrrha just grinned. “I do.”

She began to play an accompanying part to his playing, one that they had developed over time from the sheer number of times they had been sitting side by side while he played it. Hardly an uncommon sight, yet one of her favorites always.

They continued to play, doing their best to keep on tempo despite the roar of the drums coming from the large practice room off to the side of the band room. Sound proofing it could only do so much in the end.

In the practice room, Yang was quickly drumming, chewing happily on a piece of chocolate. She'd be a liar if she said she wasn't loving all the bribes and attention she was getting. Plus, she was more than willing to go the extra mile to give these students a chance at landing a spot on the drumline. Though, judging by their playing it wasn't too likely. Yang and Pyrrha were a sure spot on the line. She even knew little Jaune would land a spot. Glancing over, she noticed Ruby in the corner of the practice room, matching her perfectly.

Yang couldn't help but grin at her little sister. She would definitely be the dark horse at the auditions. Most just knew her as the hard working saxophone player that had kipped two years, but no one would expect her to be a drummer. Even the others Yang was helping at the moment seemed surprised to see Ruby playing so well.

Yang smirked. “New exercise. We're going to just play a straight drum roll, but I'm going to gradually increase. Drop out when you can't keep up anymore, but don't be shy about it. It's better to stop playing than to tank the the entire group.

Getting their confirmation, Yang began to do a roll ever so slowly. She played each note with a tight grip on the stick, waiting for everyone to sync up before she slowly began speeding up. Still gripping the sticks tightly, she began to play faster and faster, reaching a pace that sounded much more like a drum roll. “Start using the bounce of the pad to work for you.” She called out over the roar of sticks on practice pads.

Loosening her grip, Yang switched to focusing on holding the stick with two fingers, using a fulcrum to allow the natural recoil of the rubber to bounce the stick back up after she let it fall. Now that she allowed the drum to do it's own share of the work, she increased the pace faster and faster.

After a little while, some of the students had to drop out. They were still uncomfortable with relying on the drum to do the work, and couldn't keep up with strict controlled movements.

“Now we're really getting serious.” Yang announced as she kicked it up once again.

The rest of the students were quick to fall behind, stopping with a satisfied smile. The last three had made it pretty far, and Yang figured they were fast enough for the bare minimum at least.

However, they weren't all done. Yang raised an eyebrow, seeing Ruby staring at her drum pad intently, but still managing to play on tempo. Yang knew she had been getting lessons from their uncle when he visited, but she was doing surprisingly well.

“Keep up sis.” She barked as she really began to push herself. Faster and faster, but Ruby wouldn't back down.

Eventually though Yang began to falter. She couldn't keep up a clean roll at that fast a pace, and she stopped. Sure enough though, Ruby was still able to roll. She kept it up for another minute, before she let out a defeated sigh and ended, her own tempo starting to go haywire.

Yang glared at her sister, pulling out a metronome. Tapping it a few times, she held it up to her ear to confirm her theory. Pointing her drumstick at her accusingly, she snapped. “How come you can do a clean drum roll at 220 BPM?”

Ruby shied away, touching the tips of her fingers together. “I like playing fast. Uncle kept giving me tips on speeding up.”

Just letting out a sigh, Yang ran a hand through her hair. She wasn't too surprised honestly. She had seen Ruby diligently practicing every night since the announcement. Getting an idea, a dangerous smirk crossed her face.

“Uh Yang?” Ruby asked nervously, suddenly wanting to leave.

“Paradiddles.” Yang deadpanned.

“What?” Ruby asked, tilting her head.

“Yeah, I'm sorry. What are those?” One of the other students asked curiously.

Choking back a evil laugh, Yang smiled. “Just a standard drum practice. You see, in drumline which hand you use is important. Normal rolls are left right left right left right, correct? Paradiddles are a little different. The pattern is right left right right, left right left left and repeat.” She explained, amused by the horrified expressions on her student's faces.

“Are you serious?”

“Yup.” Yang said, popping the 'p'. To drive the point home, she began to do paradiddles at a reasonable pace. They all watched in a sick combination of horror and fascination.

“Now it's your turn.” She barked the order, looking at them with an amused expression. Sure, the drumline instructor would probably be a better choice for teach them the drill, but Yang wanted to save some face after losing in a drum roll on a snare to her sister.

Their attempts were okay for a beginner. Hardly clean enough to even practice normally, but for the most part they seemed to be able to play the right pattern.

It wasn't like Yang had no sympathy. She remembered how annoying they had been when she had first seriously trying to learn to play the drums. Even now, she wasn't a fan of them. Most sane people weren't. But they were an important skill to learn, and the talent gained was even useful when transferred to the drum set.

“Now we'll do the same exercise with paradiddles. Drop out when it's too fast.” She said, glaring at her sister.

To give Yang some credit, she had started off at a snail's pace. She wasn't trying to completely wreck their confidence after all. No, she'd leave that to the drumline instructor. Everyone was at least able to keep up with her for the first few bars. Slowly but surely, she began to creep a little faster. It hadn't taken too much longer for the worst of the group to drop out. One by one, the remaining students fell. Soon enough again, it was only Yang and Ruby. Ruby, however, seemed to be fairing far worse than last time.

Not wanting to see her sister too much, Yang smirked. “Okay. We're kicking it up a notch.” Focusing, she jumped the tempo up a few clicks quickly as she drew on her years of practice. Ruby stopped almost immediately, throwing her arms up in defeat. “I get it! I lose!”

Yang snickered. “That's right.”

Ruby just pouted. “Show off! Now get back to the lessons!”

Just laughing, Yang just nodded. “Okay okay. Now, back to the basics. Here's what we're doing. 2 bars of quarters, eighths, sixteenths, then back down.”

Earning a chorus of affirmatives, Yang started counting it off.

Outside the room Weiss just rolled her eyes. “People get the idea that Yang can help them land a spot, and suddenly everyone is bringing gifts to bribe her.”

Blake rolled her eyes. “If you were in her position, would you be rejecting their gifts?”

Scoffing, Weiss looked at her. “I'd tell them to do better with their offerings.”

Just staring at Weiss, Blake wasn't sure how to respond.

“I'm joking!” Weiss said exasperated. She faltered for a moment. “I really am. People don't need to bring me stuff to talk to me.” Her voice trailed off as she frowned.

Blake just smiled, gently resting a hand on Weiss's shoulder. “I know. Don't worry.”

Weiss just flashed her a grateful smile. Her dad had found himself very successful in the logging industry, and as such Weiss had grown up in a life of luxury. But the older she got, the more she came to dislike the tense atmosphere in her household. The more she learned about her father's business, the more she had grown to detest it. The seedy businessmen that she would meet, the conversations in hushed whispers she would overhear. The blatant disregard for the rules, treating them as a mere annoyance. Weiss originally had thought nothing wrong, merely seeing her father's point of view on life. The world was a resource to be used, and unused resources, like useless people, were a waste of time. A lesson that had been ingrained deeply within her.

However, as she got older an opportunity presented itself. Her sister, Winter, was living away from home, rising up the ranks in a new green energy company. An offshoot of the Schnee Logging Company that was focusing more on sustainable renewable energy. Under the guise of learning more about the business from her sister first hand, her dad agreed to let her stay with Winter and even caved to her request to attend a normal high school, rather than another private school at her sister's suggestion.

One of the first people she had met when she transferred her sophomore year was Blake. Blake had already met Yang and Ruby, and Weiss had been paired up with Ruby for a term long group project in one of her classes. The fact that a student two years younger than her was in the same math class as her only served to darken her mood back then.

One day during a work session at the Xiao Long household, Yang had invited Blake over and the two had met. That was when Blake had found out about her family, and the resulting fight had been explosive.

It turned out Blake's family had always been very environmentally friendly. For years they had been involved in animal husbandry, relying on large amounts of land to raise their livestock in a more natural way. However, as land was obtained and clear cut, more and more land had been appropriated to make way for logging, and the selling of the land to companies. Blake's family had been some of the early victims of the loss of their land. Then they had moved inland, getting involved in politics to help combat the invasive logging industry, while still doing local active work with wildlife preservation foundations.

Though she found it difficult to voice directly, Weiss had actually been impressed when she heard that Blake volunteered every summer at a nearby wildlife rescue center. How could she voice her praise, when her family was part of the reason so many animals were losing their home?

Their argument had ended the study session, ending with Blake running out of the house, Yang chasing after her. Things had remained tense between them, until one day they had both ended up at the Xiao Long household again.

All their feelings had come out, and after a shouting match, they had finally understood each other. Their frustrations and prejudices falling aside as they honestly listened to each other. Since then they had only grown closer and closer over the years.

Surprisingly, Blake had been the one to talk her down during the great Schnee-Arc fiasco. Reminding her of the problems that came with bringing your own assumptions to the situation and being unwilling to speak calmly with and listen to someone else.

After Yang's urging, Blake had learned, Pyrrha had been the one to really help Jaune clear up his misunderstandings, to understand that even without the unfair claims Weiss was making about his intentions that she wasn't interested in him. Even without her claims of accusing him of just being after her money, that she didn't see him that way. It had been a bit of a challenge to help him understand that her rejection wasn't just because he was screwing it up, or failing on his end. That no matter how hard he tried, they just weren't meant to be.

That winter ball certainly had been an awkward one, the explosion between Jaune and Weiss had happened just days before the event when he had approached her with his last attempt at asking her. But they had had an honest heart to heart.

Jaune had explained that he honestly thought that he was just screwing up his approach, and that if he could do it right for once, she would take him seriously. He apologized for not getting the hint earlier, trying to get her to understand he didn't think she needed to say yes, but had just wanted her to treat him seriously. But he confessed he saw now he really should have stopped earlier, though both Yang and Pyrrha had stepped up to apologize and say they had encouraged him during his attempts, and that part of his persistence was due to their words.

Weiss also had forced out a small apology. She apologized for accusing him of just being after her family's money, and all the harsh words she had said during her final rejection. She then took the opportunity to calmly and honestly explain that she really wasn't interested in him that way, and that she really did want him to stop. She had been tempted to throw him a hint about Pyrrha, who even Weiss had discovered her feelings by then, but she withheld herself.

Jaune had gotten the message, then after a rather awkward handshake, they were able to move past it and become friends. Ruby and Nora had insisted that the entire group of friends attended the dance together as friends, since none of them had procured a date during the chaos.

Weiss and Blake both would admit that that dance had been some of their favorite memories. It had really been the first time they had all been able to come together as a group of friends and enjoy the night. None of them would certainly ever be able to forget seeing Jaune show up in a dress halfway through the dance, citing a promise he had apparently made to Pyrrha about her not finding a date. Weiss, Blake, and Yang had all face-palmed when he had explained the reason, feeling a mix of sympathy for their red-headed friend being in love with someone so oblivious to the reason she didn't find a date, and happiness that her target of affections had cared for her so much to endure the teasing he had suffered from wearing the dress.

Though, Pyrrha had made certain to ease his mind and explain how touched she had felt afterwards, and after one particularly terrifying, yet eerily polite conversation, no one dared to tease Jaune about it in front of her again. That one junior still couldn't look Pyrrha in the eye.

Now though, almost a year later, they had all grown closer. Even though Weiss and Blake weren't directly in drumline, they certainly shared the excitement in the air at the thought of the approaching auditions. As they discussed the try outs, they had offered polite waves to Ren and Nora when they had entered the band room again.

“Delivery~” Nora had called out in a sing song voice, slamming open the door with both hands as she balanced a bag on her head.

Ren once again caught the door, as he followed behind her, holding a few bags himself. Moving to the corner of the room, they began to set out the various donuts, drinks, and chips they had purchased.

The group had gotten permission from Ozpin to stay later in the room, to be able to get in some extra practice. Initially he had been hesitant, but after the promise of both Weiss and Pyrrha that the room would remain in perfect condition, he found no reason to doubt the word of his two most trustworthy students.

A long night of practice meant they needed refreshments of course! Which Nora had volunteered herself and Ren to get.

Blake and Weiss moved over to get some snacks, seeing Jaune and Pyrrha also being lured over by the promise of food. Nora cheerfully hummed as she walked across the band room holding a plastic tray. Stopping in front of the door to the practice room, she merely held it up to the window before stepping back. A minute later the door exploded open as Ruby appeared, already reaching for the cookies.

Yang had just sighed, packing up her sticks and practice pad before giving some last minute pointers to the other students she had helped out. It seemed practice would be over for a while. At least while they had snacks before they started up again.

The group of 8 was huddled in the corner before long, happily chatting and munching on snacks after they had all passed Ren and Nora their fair share of money to help pay for the snacks. There was a sort of unspoken rule when it came to snacks. You paid when you could, and your friends covered for you when you couldn't. It was obvious that Weiss, Pyrrha, and surprisingly Blake were well off enough to often chip in. Ren and Nora on the other hand occasionally had to be covered, knowing that their foster parents weren't exactly well off.  No one minded though, no one in the group was going to let money come between them. That was exactly the reason Weiss had learned to love her group of friends so much in the first place.

Slowly the rest of the students began to trickle out of the band room as time passed, pretty much leaving it alone for the 8 friends to get some serious practice in.

And practice they did. Yang was a drill sergeant, Pyrrha carefully critiqued everyone's form. Ruby and Nora kept morale up, while Jaune and Ren worked with such focus that the other's knew they couldn't slack off compared to them. They had ended up staying late that night, a little longer than they had initially promised Mr. Ozpin, but they had kept their promise. The room was spotless when he had arrived the next morning.

Despite all the fun they had practicing together for the auditions, when the actual auditions rolled around, many of them were a bundle of nerves.

Ruby was in one corner of the room, doing a roll on the practice pad so fast Yang was mildly concerned she wouldn't be able to play slow enough for the audition. Yang herself was rather calm, feeling confident in her ability, and figured staying positive would help her friends hold off their nerves. Weiss and Blake were in the other side of the room with some other girls. They had all changed into sweats, as they began stretching. They still hadn't announced either the guest drumline instructor or the choreographer for the color guard, so they had no idea what to expect.

Pyrrha and Jaune were both straddling the piano bench, sharing a practice pad as they ran through one the routines over and over again, Pyrrha gently but firmly barking orders, keeping them busy and focused. Pyrrha knew Jaune well, if he had time to just think he would psyche himself out which could affect his playing at the audition. So she was determined to keep them busy and warmed up until it was time to begin. Not to mention she preferred practicing before an audition herself as well, never one to rest on her laurels. So they would drill until the last moment.

Perhaps the most surprisingly was Ren and Nora, who were sharing their own practice pad as they practiced their own, slightly more unique routine. Ren diligently practicing was never a surprise, but even Nora was patiently following along. Though she still support her trademark grin as she inched the tempo ever slightly faster.

Soon enough, Ozpin walked out and stood on the slightly elevated conductor's platform. “Auditions will now begin.”

The noise in the band room ground a halt, save from the clattering of Jaune's drumstick as it collided against his wall when he has lost his grip from the shock.

“Are you the instructor?” Yang asked curiously, still not seeing anyone else.

Ozpin chuckled. “No, I'm afraid not. I found an old friend who is a rather expert in the field. I believe you know him actually.” Ozpin said with a playful smirk. “Would you come in?” He called out to someone in his office.

Casually a rather tall man strolled out from the office, taking a swig from a flask.

“We finally ready to start this, Oz?” He drawled out, looking over the class.

“Uncle?” Ruby shouted out, standing up suddenly. A moment later she had launched herself across the class, slamming into his waist and wrapping him up in a tight hug. “It's been so long!”

Qrow just smiled, messing up her hair. “Hey kid.”

“You're our instructor?” Yang asked surprised. “I thought you were just a drummer for some band. Can you properly teach us?” She asked curiously.

Qrow just raised an eyebrow. “You questioning me, firecracker? I'll have you know that back in my day, I marched in drumline in one of the top national teams.”

Yang snickered. “I didn't know dinosaurs had drumlines.”

Some snickers erupted from the class.

“Just for that, you're not on the line.” He offered.

“That's not fair! You're going to reject your adorable niece?”

“Nah, Ruby is safe.” He replied, messing with your hair again.

“That's not what I meant!” Yang replied angrily. “We're family!”

“Nepotism is bad. Can't show favorites.” He said with a shrug.

Yang just stomped her way over, glaring at him for a moment. Jaune just leaned over next to Pyrrha. “She's not going to... hit him, right?” He asked, a little worried.

“Yang wouldn't... I think.” Pyrrha offered, a little concerned herself.

Qrow and Yang just glared at each other for a moment, before Yang burst out into a grin and pulled him into a tight hug. “I missed you!”

Qrow just grinned, returning the hug quickly. “I missed you too, kid.”

A few students in the class let out a sigh of relief.

Ozpin just chuckled. “Yes, now that the surprise is out of the way, I'll be handing the reigns over to him. Qrow will be in charge of drumline, what he says goes. As for color guard, we have a visiting teacher as well.

Everyone turned to the other door where Ozpin had gestured. “She has graciously volunteered her time, despite also helping out at another school. I ask you welcome her and treat her with respect.” He introduced her.

Qrow leaned over to Yang. “He didn't give me that pomp and circumstance.”

Just shrugging, yang replied. “You didn't deserve it.”

“Smart ass.” Qrow quipped proudly.

The door open and in walked another woman.

“Winter?!” Weiss shrieked, before covering her mouth.

“Hello sister.”

Weiss stood up in shock. “You're our color guard instructor? Why didn't you tell me?” Weiss wondered, surprised. She was staying with her sister at the moment, how could she not know something like this?

Winter just smiled. “I thought it might be a fun surprise. Besides, it wasn't official until recently. Ozpin had approached me, but I had to see that things would be in order with work, and my volunteering at Atlas High as well. But, both I and Ironwood owe Ozpin a favor so here I am.” She offered in explanation.

The formal answer hung in the air for a moment, before a small smile crept on her face. “Besides, I can't let my sister's color guard be lead by anyone but the best, now can I?”

Weiss just grinned, glancing over at Blake.

Blake could practically see how excited Weiss was, despite her best attempts at remaining composed. Ruby, Blake, and Yang all were well aware of how much Weiss looked up to her sister. And, despite all of the airs she put up, how much she longed for the chance to be closer to her sister. Having her coach the color guard must be like a dream come true. Blake just put a hand on Weiss's shoulder, smiling at her.

Winter's smile dropped though as she turned to Qrow. “Though, Ozpin neglected to inform me that you would be the instructor for the drumline.” She quipped, her eyes narrowing.

Qrow just rolled his eyes. “I'm surprised you think you can instruct them. It's hard to teach with a stick so far up your a-”

“Enough!” Ozpin said suddenly, cutting the pair off. He had expected their bickering, and had a feeling it would be a long season. Still, they were both his first choice for instructors, so they would have to learn to get along.

Glynda just rolled her eyes. Once again, she had no idea what Ozpin was thinking putting them together. They had been at odds with each other ever since they had been her underclassmen.

“Now then, Winter will take the color guard to the Gym for auditions. Qrow will handle the drumline auditions here.”

Winter nodded. Clapping her hands once. “Follow me. We will stretch there and begin the auditions.”

She ordered, holding her hands behind her back as she began to walk away.

Nervously, Weiss shared a look with Blake. It was clear that Weiss's relation Winter would be doing her no favors today. Winter was taking this seriously, which was fantastic for the show but awful for the students. Waving their goodbyes to their friends, Weiss and Blake followed with the rest of the color guard hopefuls towards the gym.

Ozpin glanced over at Glynda. “Would you mind going to watch those auditions? I'll observe here.”

Glynda nodded. “Very well.” She offered, before following the group towards the Gym. Truth be told, she found Winter more pleasant to be around than Qrow.

Qrow took another swig from his flask before closing the lid. “Now then...”

Yang raised an eyebrow. “Is that booze? On campus?”

Qrow shook his head as he picked up a pair of drumsticks. “Nah. Oz here wouldn't let me. It's just diet coke. Still, a flask is more convenient than a water bottle.” He answered as he moved over to inspect the drums that had been set out. “First things first. We-”

The doors to the band room burst open as two girls came running in, out of breath.

“Did we miss it?” brunette asked between pants. “I told you it was today!”

Ozpin just smiled. “You're right on time Velvet, I'm glad you could join us.” He thought for a moment, glancing at her partner. “Though, Coco you're here for Color Guard, right? Winter just took them to the gym. I would hurry if I were you, I'm afraid she doesn't respond well to tardiness.”

Coco nodded. “Good luck!” She told velvet, slapping her on the butt as she ran past to catch up with the rest of the group.

Velvet just shrunk into herself, quickly moving towards the back of the room to try avoid drawing any more attention to herself than she already had.

Qrow just stared at them. “Any more dramatic interruptions? Or can we get this show started.”

Velvet just shrunk more, sliding next to Ruby.

Ozpin motioned for him to begin.

“So... Oz here tells me that we have a few different level of drummers here. Let's start with the basics. Raise your hand if you know the three different types of drums in our line.”

Most of the hands were raised in the room, thanks to the explanations Pyrrha and Yang had given most of the hopefuls.

“Good. You, Pyrrha, right? Yeah, Ruby has told me about you. You're good right? Tell us what the different types are.” He said, crossing his arms as he looked at her in a challenging manner.

Pyrrha nodded, stepping forward.

She indicated to the five large drums that grew from small to massive, all with a harness that would have them facing sideways off the chest of the percussionist. “These are the bass drums. They typically split up a single rhythm between all five players, relying on complicated coordination, and a strong sense of teamwork in order to produce the complicated rhythms. Heavily reliant on cohesion in the group in order to function.” She offered, ready to move on to the next one.

Qrow waved her off however. “Correct. But a little lengthy. Let's see... Yang. You tell us about these.” He said, motioning to the four complicated connected different sets of drums.

Yang hopped up off her chair, moving over. “Those are the quads. Each tom has a different tone, letting them play similar patterns to the bass drums, but by themselves and a lot higher of notes.” She explained. After a moment of thought she added “Like a drum set, without the snare.”

Qrow nodded. “Good. Now then... let's see. You, Blondie. Johnny right?”

Jaune stood up nervously. “It's Jaune, sir.”

“Right. Jaune, it's obvious but what are these?”

He asked, motioning to the last set of drums and harnesses.

“Those are the snares. They're just one drum, but they have the most complicated parts. Players need to be really good, and stay on time or it's obvious how off you'll sound.” He answered a bit nervously.

Qrow however, nodded finding the answer satisfying. “Good.”

“Now then...” He started out, reaching down and pulling the snare harness over his head. Noticing the bag hanging off the side was empty he frowned. “Sticks?”

Nervously a first year approached him, offering him a set of drum sticks.

“That's not what I need, kid.” He said, looking around the room.

The first year just stared at the sticks in confusion. “But these are drumsticks...”

“Yeah, but those are set sticks. What I need are...”

“These.” Jaune said, holding out a pair of drumline sticks to him.

Qrow nodded. “Thanks. Now see? These sticks are much larger than drum set sticks. Heavier too, meaning your hands will be tired for a while while getting used to them. But they let you make the noise required to fill an auditorium much easier.”

As if to accent his point, he played a single note on the snare, causing most of the people in attendance to flinch. In the band room, it was LOUD. It echoed, and seemed to drown out any thoughts in your head. “Normally we'll practice in the Gym, or Cafeteria since these bad boys are meant to fill an auditorium. A cramped little band room isn't the best place to here the sound properly. See?”

To prove his point, she started doing a simple roll.

Some of the first years covered their ears. It was much louder than they had expected, and that was just one drum.

The percussion section just watched him intently.

“That's so fast!” One of the younger students said in awe.

Smirking, Qrow stopped his roll. “That's nothing. But, snare drumming for drumline isn't just about playing quickly. In fact, none of drumline is just about playing nicely. It's all a performance. Just because there's the little flowery color guard dancing around us doesn't me don't have to pull our own weight. What separates the drummers from the performers is how cool you guys look.”

Suddenly, he started into a complicated pattern, alternating sticking, occasionally flaring up with large strokes. Students started murmuring in awe, seeing it close up for the first time. Then, kicking it up a notch he began to spin a hand as he drummed, flipping his hand over to play a beat with the back of his stick before flipping it back over for the next beat. Finally, he finished his lick, slamming his stick sideways on the drum, hit it the bottom of the stick with the other causing it to flip in the air, before he caughtt it, and played one final lick to end his little performance.

Some of the people in the room immediately started applauding, including Ruby. Yang just rolled her eyes. “Show-off.”

Ozpin just gave Qrow a pointed look.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Qrow looked around. “Uh, right. That's still a few steps away. First things first, the actual auditions. Now then, who has actual history on a drumline?”

Everyone looked around, but no one raised there hand. After a moment, Pyrrha nudged Jaune's side, giving him a careful look.

Jaune's hand slowly crept upwards.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.

“Only two of you?”

Jaune paused, surprised that someone else was claiming experience. Looking around, he saw velvet raising her hand, yet was no more confident than he was.

“You two, come up here.”

Slowly Jaune and Velvet made their way to the front, practically shaking from all the eyes on them.

Turning to velvet first, Qrow looked at her. “Right, I think I remember Oz mentioning you would probably be showing up again. You were on it two years ago, right? Snare I think he said. Good. Hop on one.” He said, motioning to Velvet who only nodded and quickly moved over, pulling on a snare.

Jaune had forgotten that she had played snare drum. Velvet and Coco were in the Orchestra class, that actually had violins and other stringed instruments. Jaune had only talked to them occasionally, but he vaguely remembered hearing that velvet did percussion.

“So, Jaune. What experience do you have exactly?” Qrow asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jaune looked to the side. “Not much. In... in middle school. I tri... I was in a small drumline. Only went to a local performance once.”

Qrow just stared at him. “What did you play?”

“S-Snare.”

“Go put on one.” He said, glancing over at Oz after ordering Jaune.

Ozpin merely stood up and walked back into his office, not saying a word.

Standing next to each other, Velvet and Jaune both felt extremely under pressure from all the eyes on them.

Reaching into a folder, Qrow pulled out a sheet of music, placing it on the stand between them. “We'll start simple. Play this exercise. On my count.” He said, as he began to hit a tempo on his snare.

It was a simple routine, that switch from half notes, to quarters, to eighths, to sixteenths, doubling it's pace every two bars before winding back down.

Nodding, Qrow smiled slightly. “Not bad, but that was hardly drumline music. Do the next one, and pay attention to the sticking.”

The second exercise was much more complicated, involving still relatively simple rhythms, but a complicated alternating sticking pattern. He counted it off again, but they had only made it a few bars before they both stopped playing, completely out of time.

Qrow sighed, looking between them. “You're the experienced ones? Let's try this one more time, a little slower.”

Both Jaune and velvet swallowed nervously, before nodding. At the slower tempo they managed to do a little better, but both of them were getting tripped up on the sticking.

Qrow cut them off again, sighing and dropping his head in his hand. “Right, this is gonna be difficult.”

After a moment, he stared at the both of them intently. His gazed focused on velvet. “I heard about you. You... don't read music that well do you?”

Velvet shook her head. “I'm afraid I'm bad at it. I'm much better... when I can see it.”

Qrow just thought for a moment, before moving the music stand and standing in front of her. “Copy after me. I'll do it twice, then you join me for the next two.” Counting it off, he began to play the exercise in front of her.

Jaune awkwardly stood off to the side, staring at the ground. Cautiously he glanced over at Pyrrha, who just offered him an encouraging smile.

Velvet stared intently at Qrow, and after he repeated the pattern she joined in.

Raising an eyebrow, Qrow was impressed. It was perfect. Curious, he tried a more difficult pattern but found her mimicking him perfectly again. He pushed her harder and harder, stepping up the routine each time. This went for a few times, until he managed to include a stick trick that tripped her up and her stick came clattering to the tiled floor.

Nervously, Velvet scrambled to pick it up.

Qrow just shook his head. “Kids these days. There's always one or two like you. Can't read the music worth a damn, but you can copy after just seeing someone preform it once.” Satisfied he had solved the puzzle of velvet, he moved on to Jaune. “Same thing.”

He tried playing in front of Jaune, but Jaune still seemed to get tripped up. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe snare isn't the best for you. Perhaps bass drum? Or pit is always an option...”

Pyrrha a fist clench around her heart as she saw Jaune's expression. She could practically see him falling apart on the inside. She knew how much this meant to him, and he was about to blow it.

Jaune opened his mouth, struggling to come up with something to say.

“Wait!” Pyrrha burst out suddenly.

Everyone turned to the red head that was now standing.

“Something to add, Red?” Qrow asked.

Pyrrha quickly made her way to the front. Speaking quietly so only the group around them could hear, she glanced at Jaune. “Jaune, you need to relax. I've seen you play much more complicated parts than this.”

Jaune just stared at her. “Pyrrha...”

She turned to Qrow, determined. “Can I try it with him? Just once?”

Narrowing his eyes, Qrow regarded her carefully. Turning, he called out. “Yang, get up here. Stand across from Velvet.”

“Kay~” The blonde called out as she went up there, pulling on a snare, while Qrow handed Pyrrha his.

Soon all four were standing in front of Qrow, who fished through his folder. “Here. Play this. Take a moment to look it over carefully. Yang, you know this so show Velvet the pattern quietly.”

Yang grabbed the cloth Qrow had offered her and placed in on her drum so she could show Velvet the pattern without making a lot of noise.

Jaune studied the pattern intently, feeling the pressure creeping up on him.

“We got this.” Pyrrha said softly, looking at him. “It's just like our normal practice.”

Jaune nodded. “I can do this. We can do this.”

Qrow stepped up, beginning to count off on his music stand.

Ozpin walked back in, a small smile on his face as he saw the four students playing the piece. It was a little more complicated from before, but they were managing. Yang was a little too fast, and Velvet lagged ever so slightly. Pyrrha was right on point, and Jaune was stumbling a bit but keeping it together.

They finished the short piece, all letting out a deep breath.

Qrow nodded approvingly. “Well, that was certainly better. Final test. Watch me carefully. We'll keep the rhythm a simple 16th note roll. Every bar move from one position to the next.” He explained. He began to play a roll as he stood there, after a bar he raised his right foot up his calf a little, the next bar he extended it outwards, the next bar he brought it back in, until the final bar he placed it back on the ground. He repeated the pattern with the other foot.

Finishing up, he stared at them intently. “Moving and playing is an important part of drumline, depending on our choreography, we could be dancing on the stage. We will practice this, but for now do you best to separate your drumming from your body.”

Counting it off, he watched them all carefully. Yang had no issues, having already attempted the exercise before. Velvet had already done it, and also was finding her balance just fine. Pyrrha was just a little bit shakey, never having drummed while moving, but her superior sense of balance helped her calm. Surprisingly, Jaune also seemed to be managing decently. He knew this could be a possible test, and had practiced on his own. He had mentioned it to Pyrrha before, but knew the most important thing they could have practiced together was actual drumming versus balancing.

The finished the exercise with only a few stumbles from the group and Qrow smiled approvingly.

Yang just grinned at Velvet, while Pyrrha was beaming at Jaune. Jaune himself was still a little wide-eyed with panic. “I can do better. I promise. I just need-”

Qrow cut him off. “You did fine. Though if you do get a spot, we're going to need to work on your performance anxiety. We're just standing still, playing in a room. Out there you'll be moving across a floor in front of a crowd. Do you think you can do it?” He asked, staring at him intently.

“I can!” Burst out, staring at Qrow with a look of determination. He wasn't going to pass up on this opportunity.

Qrow just smirked. The kid had spunk at least. “Well nothing is guaranteed yet. We still have to give everyone else a chance. Yang, Velvet, Jaune, Pyrrha, take a seat. Anyone else who wants to have a chance at playing snare come on up.”

Immediately Ruby had rushed forward, taking the snare from her sister as a few other nervous students walked up. Pyrrha and Jaune both helped get the snare settled on them as they moved back to their seat.  Jaune dropped his head into his hands as Pyrrha reassuringly rubbed his back. It was out of their hands now. The rest of the snare auditions had certainly been less dramatic. Ruby had excelled, though she was still pushing the tempo too much. Other students did their best, but after a certain point they completely fell apart.

Satisfied, Qrow made a few marks in his folder. “Now, onto the Quads. Since no one mentioned experience on them, first come first serve. We have four here, so come on up. Don't worry, everyone will get a chance.”

Nora quickly rushed up, dragging Ren behind her.

“Now these are a bit heavy and awkward to use. You'll want to lean forward but keep your back stra-”

Qrow trailed off as he saw Nora effortlessly lift one and put it on, dancing around a bit. “This is lighter than I thought!”

Ren stood next to her, a bit stiffer. He stretched his back, trying to get used to the weight, ignoring the fact the drums were too far down his body.

“The harnesses aren't adjusted to you yet, so make do. If you get a spot, we'll fit them to you but it will take too long for everyone to be fitted.”

Ren nodded. “Not a problem.”

Looking at them curiously, Qrow raised an eyebrow while helping one of the other students get in the harness. “You two didn't audition for snare. Why are you trying out just for quads?”

“We've been practicing specifically for Quads, with multiple practice pads. We wanted to be clear on what we chose, and practice the most efficient way. We saw no need to audition for snare.” Ren explained calmly.

“Plus one drum is way too boring! 5 though? That's so much more fun! There's so much more to do!” Nora added happily.

Qrow just shrugged. She wasn't exactly wrong. Quads certainly were a performance all on their own, arguably even more so than the snare.

“Now, each line in this music represents on of the drums. Here.” He started off, showing them which drum was which line in the music. “Now, you all can read, correct? Just play the basic pattern. We'll start slow.”

He counted them off, surprised to see Nora and Ren perfectly on time, moving from drum to drum effortlessly. The other two were a bit rougher, but still managing to hold on.

“Let's try something harder then.” Showing them another piece, he stepped back, counting off for them again after they had a moment to look it over.

Ren was preforming it perfectly adequately, while Nora was playing it a little faster than he was tapping. The other two managed to keep up barely.

He ran them through the movement exercises, but Ren and Nora still held their ground.

Qrow nodded, looking at them curiously. “Why are you two so good at this?”

“Practice.” Ren offered.

“Cause it's fun!” Nora added happily.

Qrow just stared at Nora. “Right.” Turning to the rest of the group he took another swig from his flask. “Who's next? Let's keep this moving.” He ordered as students began to cycle out.

Ren and Nora offered Jaune and Pyrrha high fives as they moved back to sit next to them, all watching the rest of the auditions eagerly.

They were all confident that they had preformed their best, so they chose to opt out of the bass drum auditions as Qrow did his best to try and get some semblance of unity between the newcomers. Relying on a slow tempo, heavy marching, and a simple pattern he managed to actually get a few decent runs going. Some more time passed as he called up various combination of students to test them. Unsurprisingly Pyrrha, Yang, Ren, and Velvet were in all the combinations, with Nora, Ruby, and Jaune both moving up and down as he debated who to put in.

“Take five.” He ordered as he vanished into the back office with Qrow as they began to discuss the future line.

Yang and Ruby were grinning, feeling confident that they had secured their spot. Nora was chipper as always, having faith in the strange luck that seemed to follow her around, while Ren was content letting the chips fall where they may. Velvet had a feeling she landed a spot, but was still feeling nervous all the same.

Pyrrha knew she had preformed adequately, and based off her previous experience with competitions and auditions, she was pretty sure she had landed a spot as well. Though, at the moment her concern was for her friend. Personally, she felt Jaune could do it. He had really pulled it together, and she could already foresee the amount of work he would put into it. He may be a bit of a slower start than others, but he could make it far. She just hoped that Qrow had the same opinion.

“If you don't make it, there's always Pit you know!” Ruby offered, attempting to cheer up her friend. “You'll practically run the pit!” Yang offered.

It was true. While “The Pit” was the group that often housed aspiring percussionists who didn't make the cut for drumline, it certainly wasn't just a reject group. In fact, many actually preferred the pit over the line. All the mallet instruments, piano, and auxiliary percussion was housed there, and they stood on the front of the stage, playing the melody to whatever piece they preformed. It was certainly an important role that came with its own challenges and enjoyments.

“Thanks guys. I'm sure I'll have fun there. Besides, we'll still be together for some of the practices right?”

“Don't sound so defeated!” Nora declared, pointing at him as she posed on a chair. “The battles not over yet!”

Giggling, Pyrrha nodded. “I agree. We don't know how the line will look. Let's just hope for the best.”

Qrow and Ozpin emerged a little while later. Jaune could have sworn he saw Qrow giving him a look and he hoped it was a positive one.

“Now then, we'll announce the results. Two things to say first. One, Pit auditions and try outs will be held on Friday. Please do not feel too discouraged if you don't make the line. The pit is equally important, and there are many spots in there that you can find to grow and practice for future attempts.

Second, is that this line-up will be tentative. After the first practice we can still make changes as needed in order to find the best fit. However, I feel confident with our selection. Now then, let's start with the snares.” Ozpin explained.

Everyone perked up, suddenly very interested. Jaune could feel his heartbeat hammering in his chest. This was the moment that would decide the course of the rest of his senior year. He knew it immediately.

“We have 7 spots open. Let's see...” Qrow started off, looking at his list once again.

“Pyrrha Nikos.”

Pyrrha let out a sigh of relief. She had confidence in her abilities, but it was still a relief. Now her thoughts turned solely towards her friends.

“Yang Xiao Long.”

Grinning, Yang leaned back in her chair. She knew her uncle would put her on the line, especially with her experience.

“Velvet Scarletania.”

Velvet just smiled, glad she was able to make it on the line. She gave a quick high five to Ruby before returning smiles to the rest of her friends.

“Tyler Glacias.”

The boy looked up in the back of the classroom in surprise, before leaning over as he let out a massive sigh of relief. He seemed to have been as nervous as Jaune had been.

“Ashelyn Ignis.”

The girl just grinned, rubbing her boyfriend's back as he leaned over. They had both made it on the line, they were relieved. They certainly had practiced enough.

“Ruby Rose.” Ruby let out a small cheer, before covering her mouth with her hand. She turned to Yang, but was already wrapped up in a tight bear-hug.

“Ohhh I'm so proud of you!” Yang squealed out, hugging her sister. She was so glad she could share this experience with her.

Qrow paused for a moment as he stared at the list intently.

Everyone's eyes shifted over to Jaune. His shoulders had slumped more and more with each name read, feeling his chances growing ever more dashed. He tried to resolve himself. Turning to Pyrrha, he offered a meek smile.

“I'll make sure to do my best in the pit, or at least visit the shows! Maybe I can help with the behind the scenes stuff to make your jobs easier.” He spoke, trying to ease the impact.

“You sure, Oz?” Qrow asked, looking at his friend intently.

Ozpin merely nodded his head, taking a sip of coffee.

Qrow sighed, trusting the teacher's intuition.

“Jaune Arc.”

Jaune's eyes widened in surprise. Immediately he felt Pyrrha's arms wrap around him in a tight hug.

“I did it.” He said numbly, hardly able to accept the fact his name was called. He hugged Pyrrha back in a daze as Ruby patted him on the back and Nora slapped his shoulder hard, grinning from ear to ear.

Pyrrha pulled back, blushing heavily. “I'm sorry! I'm just happy for you! This is going to be amazing!”

Jaune just smiled, before it faltered. “I made the drumline... I have to start practicing. I need to practice even more. I need to memorize the music immediately. Where are my drumsticks?”

Gently resting a hand on her panicked friend's shoulder, Pyrrha offered him a warm smile. “It's okay Jaune. We have time to worry about that in the future, for now it's okay to celebrate. Let's hope for our friends for now, okay?”

Jaune nodded, feeling his heart-rate slow to a healthy tempo again. “Right.”

Qrow just cleared his throat, mildly amused by the antics of the group in the back. While their relation to Ruby had no impact on his judgment, Ozpin had insisted they be fair and reasonable, he was glad it had worked out. It reminded him of his own past and celebrating with friends.

“Now then, the Quads.”

Everyone snapped to attention again.

“We have four spots. First: Thomas Rodrigo.”

The boy in the back with short hair just grinned, fist bumping Tyler and wincing as the girl next to him punched him in the shoulder.

“Bianaca Katsume.”

The girl smirked, sharing a fist bump with Thomas before Ashe tackled her into a hug.

“Lie Ren.”

Ren let out a sigh of relief, smiling up at Jaune who put a hand on his shoulder.

Next to him Nora was grinning, proud of her friend. Though for just a moment her grin faltered. Maybe she hadn't made the line? Doubt started to creep into her mind. Maybe she should have practiced more. Would she be separated from her friends for the rest of the year? She didn't think she could make it on the pit if she didn't make quads. Dancing was also difficult for her.

Nora looked up at a gentle reassuring hand on her own, seeing Ren smiling at her.

“Nora Valkyrie.”

Nora slammed into Ren in a hug, knocking them both backwards off the chair as she giggled. “We made it!”

Jaune and Ruby shared a double high five. “We all made it!” They said happily before quieting down after a moment. They realized there were other's in the room disappointed and they didn't want to brag.

As Qrow read off the names of the bass drummers, Jaune just slumped back in his chair. “I can't believe we all made it.”

XxXxXxXxX

Qrow finished naming the bass drummers as Ozpin took the podium again.

“Now then, congrats to the students who made the cut. Again, I'd like to encourage you all who feel disappointed to persist and audition for our Pit. We need an equally splendid front ensemble for our show to work. I'd also like to remind everyone on the line that these roles are a bit tentative. The first few practices will be critically important if we are to make sure everyone is in their proper spot. I suggest you all keep up your practicing. We will see those interested for auditions friday for our front ensemble, and our first practice will be held next Wednesday.”

Everyone nodded. “Thank you Ozpin.”

Smiling briefly, Ozpin walked off and returned to his office.

Qrow was about to follow him when the doors to the band room open and Winter walked in. Pausing, they looked at each other.

“Did anyone meet your “oh so high” standards? Or did you fail all these kids?” Qrow asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I'll have you know this year has a promising selection of students. Our Color Guard will steal the show. I just hope your Motley Crew turned out okay despite your drunken judgment.” She replied curtly.

“Enough! Now let's meet up to compare notes.” Glynda ordered, walking between Qrow and Winter, making them flinch before they followed her, glaring at each other.

Ruby and Yang shared a look. If Winter was back, that meant the Color Guard auditions were over, right? That meant they knew the results.

After a few moments of nervous whispering, Weiss and Blake entered the room again. Everyone stared at them expectantly, dying to know the results. Slowly Weiss and Blake both raised their hands, giving the group a thumbs up.

The group's eyes widened as Ruby and Yang suddenly let out a cheer. Ruby dashed across the room, wrapping Weiss in a tight hug. Yang hurried over herself, punching Blake in the arm as she grinned happily. It was a miracle, they had all made it together.

Velvet stood up nervously. “Um... do you know if Coco...?”

Blake just looked at Velvet, opening her mouth to speak when the doors to the band room opened again.

“Are you seriously doubting me, Velvs? Please, I aced the auditions.”

“After you were chewed out for being late.” Blake added after a moment, causing the group to laugh as Coco looked away indignantly.

Jaune just threw up his arms in a stretch as he leaned back in his chair. The miracle had happened, they all made it together. They would be together for the entire season, assuming nothing major happened during the first practice.

“We did it, Pyrrha!” He spoke happily.

Glancing over, he saw his best friend with her head bowed. Her eyes were closed as she clasped her hands together, mouthing some words silently. Waiting patiently, he saw her open her eyes after a moment. She beamed at Jaune. “We really did all make it. I'm very thankful for that. I look forward to spending the rest of the year with all of you.”

Simply smiling, Jaune let out a yawn before resting his head on her shoulder. With the fact revealed that they had all made it, the adrenaline left Jaune's system leaving him tired.

Pyrrha just smiled, resting her head against his. She really was thankful for this opportunity.

Yang glanced over at Jaune and Pyrrha, quickly snapping a picture on her phone before Blake hit her in the side.

“Don't tease them.” She offered a moment, stretching herself.

Throwing an arm over Blake's shoulder, Yang pulled her close. “Thanks for doing this. I'm sure you'll have fun.” She spoke in a sincere tone.

Shaking her head, Blake smiled. “I wanted to do this. I want to have fun with all of you.”

Snickering, Yang was happy to see how far Blake had come and how much more open she had become after their time being friends.

“Did your sister give you an easy time?” Ruby asked Weiss curiously, always hearing about her in the past but only meeting her on occasion. She had heard that she had done dance in college, but had no idea that she could teach Color Guard.

Shaking her head, Weiss grimaced. “Winter is very... practical. I can assure you she gave me no special treatment. Though, I must admit it's nice to know what she looks for in an audition. Congratulations on making Snare though.”

Ruby just beamed, kicking her foot bashfully. “Qrow might have stuck up for me a bit. He was the one who taught me after all.”

On the other side of the group Nora was still practically hanging off of Ren. “We did it Ren!” She chirped happily.

Nodding, Ren smiled. “Yes we did.”

Standing up, Nora began to fidget with the hem of her shirt. Her usual playful smile was replaced by a bashful smile. “We get to be with them for the rest of this year to. It... really feels like a family, you know? One of our own.”

Ren just stared at her for a moment. Smiling, He reached up and pet her head. “Of course they're our family. Nothing is going to separate us.”

Just softly smiling for a moment, Nora stared at her best friend. She burst out into a grin before she turned and lept towards Jaune and Pyrrha. “We did it guys!”

“Bwaah!” Pyrrha exclaimed in surprise, jumping as Nora crashed into her and Jaune's lap.

“Nora!” Jaune said, in surprise.

Both Jaune and Pyrrha had nearly fallen asleep from just resting in peace for that moment, and Nora's sudden entrance had startled them. Turning to look at each other, Jaune and Pyrrha both yelped as their heads collided accidentally as they recoiled backwards. Nora's tackle had shifted them and their new awkward position had resulted in a headbutt.

Nora grinned sheepishly as their pair rubbed their heads while the rest of the friends in the area burst out laughing.

“Nora!” They said together, standing up and Nora slid off their lap and onto the ground in a heap.

Soon enough, everyone was laughing together as they chatted about what to expect from their first practice. No one could quite remember who had been the first person to suggest the idea, but soon enough they had decided they all wanted to go celebrate so they all flooded out to the parking lot. Today deserves milkshakes and hamburgers so they were going to celebrate at a local burger joint.

Little did they know, that day would just be the first of many celebrations they would get to experience that year, and a precursor to all the heartbreak that would accompany it as well.

XxXxXxXxX

Thank you for reading! I know this took a while to come out. Originally I was going to have this be shorter, but about halfway through I realized I didn’t want to push the auditions off to another chapter because the first half was nice, but not important enough to warrant it’s own part. 

Finally we get to see some more of the crew. Velvet and Coco will be getting more attention in the future. 

There certainly is a bunch of jargon thrown around about percussion, but I tried to explain it. Please feel free to drop me an ask if you have a question about any of the concepts I mentioned and I’ll explain to the best of my ability.

Some of you may recognize Bia, Tommy, Tyler, and Ashe. They won’t be really having an important role in this story, I threw them in there for two reasons. One, I love my OC’s and name dropping them is fun. Two, it’s useful to have names for the other members of the drumline from a purely practical point of view, and if I do need to use them for whatever reason, I know them extremely well so I can do so naturally. But they won’t get any real attention, maybe just a scene here or there but really this is about JNPR, RWBY, and Coco and Velvet. 

The rest of the chapters won’t be this long, I just went a bit overboard with this one. I’ll try to update regularly but I’ve lost a significant chunk of my free time so I have to make do. I hope you enjoyed reading and that you have a wonderful day!