#the only way to talk to Weiss properly is to pick her up and have her wrapped around your waist

[sirazaroff]

Maybe out there is a forever that I get to spend with you

[dragynkeep]

What are some icky things rwby men do?

You know those Andrew Tate, alpha male “buy my course and I will teach you how to become rich and hit on females” guys with podcasts? Jaune definitely had a phase and used to watch them. 🤢 100% tried what he “learned” on Weiss.

Sun picks his nose. He developed it as a habit back when he was a child and ever since then hasn’t been able to unlearn it.

I feel like Ren enjoys drinking pickle water.

Ironwood sneezes very loudly. Like, very loudly. Like, it echoes throughout the entire hallway kind of loudly.

Hazel would go on and on about his sister on his first date and always wonders why his dates never give him a call back afterwards.

Torchwick chews with his mouth open, often talks while he eats and sometimes even spits by accident. Like, him and Neo are having lunch, he is ranting about something and suddenly spit and chewed up food is sprayed on her face because man never learned how to eat properly.

Mercury prides himself in being able to burp the alphabet. And he is always. Willing. To demonstrate.

“I’m sorry if you felt this way” is how Adam apologises. And whenever you are venting or complaining to him about something, he finds a way to hijack your vent and make it all about himself. “Ugh, I’m so exhausted, I only slept 4 hours last night.” “Really? I haven’t had proper sleep ever since I was 9. Last night I didn’t even blink” kind of thing.

PLEASE I’M WHEEZING

[juanarcthethird]

The Things You Make Me Feel AU: Weiss is a wreck after seeing that Jaune has muscle in his chest and arms. She used to think he was a scrawny pasta noodle, but reality said "Nope" and now she's tantalized by the Arc Arms.

The Things You Make Me Feel 2

Jaune is walking down the hall of Becon to get to his next class.

????: Drats!

Jaune turns around to see Weiss in distress looking at a big pile of boxes.

Jaune: Are you ok Weiss?

Weiss: Huh? *Turns around and sees jaune* Oh yes, I’m ok.

Jaune: You don’t sound ok. Did something happen?

Weiss: Is just that my team was supposed to help me carry this boxes to professor Peach class. But as you can see, they are not here.

Jaune: Don’t worry, Weiss. I can help you *Start to remove his blazer*

Weiss: Is fine, maybe I can use my semblance to get the… *looks at jaune*

Jaune already remove his blazer, his tie, and has rolled up his sleeves. Showing his thick muscle arms and his wide strong chest.

Jaune: I insist, let me help you. *gives her blazer and tie to her* Can you hold this for me please?

Weiss: *Blushing* O-ok (Oh my Oum! When did he become so muscular? He was just a scraggy boy when I meet him. Did Pyrrha do this?)

Jaune: *Smiles* So you only need to move this 3 boxes?

Weiss: *Still blushing* Y-yes (His smile is so cute~ What am I saying! Is Jaune what we are talking about!)

Jaune: Great! Leave it to me. *He crouches down a pick the 3 heavy boxes in one go* Is a little heavy.

Weiss: *Wide eye* (Yang can only carry one box by herself! How strong is him!) *She sees his muscle flexing while he get a better grip on the boxes* (Such strong arms~)

Jaune: Ok Weiss, lead the way.

Weiss: O-of course! This way. (He looks so confident. Is this the same Jaune that try to hit on me?) *take a couple of glances at him* (His dress shirt is so tight on him. I can see the outline of his muscles. I wish I could wrap my arms around him like that shirt~ No! Bad Weiss, you are a proper lady and Jaune is a dear friend!)

Jaune: Are you worry that I will drop the boxes?

Weiss: Pardon?

Jaune: I see you looking at me. So I thought you were worry that I will drop them. Don’t worry Weiss, it may not look like it but *Holds the boxes with one arm and flex the other while also showing part of his chest* I’m super strong!

Weiss: *She covers her nose to stop the nosebleed* (He is doing it on purpose!! Is this a way to get back at me for rejecting him all those times! Did he decided to get this exquisite and rub it on my face! How dare he!) What are you doing?! Hold the boxes properly!

Jaune: I-I’m sorry!

Weiss: *Stops walking* We finally arrive. You can leave the boxes inside.

Weiss open the door and let Jaune in. He walks to one of the corners at the other side of the classroom to put the boxes down.

Weiss: *Looks at jaune while he works* (Does he really think that looking this good will make me want to date him? Showing off his tone muscles and wide chest~ Oh Oum~ I just want to feel him up~ Is all your fault Jaune! You were not supposed to look this yummy! You better take responsibility~)

Weiss, without realizing, was walking behind Jaune, hugs him, and use this opportunity to get a good feel of his muscles.

Jaune: *Surprise* Weiss, What are you doing?

Weiss: *In cloud nine rubbing his chest* You smell so good~

Jaune: Weiss!!?

Weiss: *Back to reality* Oh! Apologies Jaune! I don’t know what came over me!

Jaune: *Confuse* It’s fine, but if you are not feeling well. I think is best for you go to the infirmary.

Weiss: *Embarrass* Yes, you are right. I should do that

Jaune: Well then, I have to go to my class. *Grabs his stuff from weiss* Thank you for holding this for me, see ya.

Weiss: Goodbye (Why did I do that?! Damn you arc, you did this to me! You better be prepare for what’s coming)

[juanarc-thethird]

The Things You Make Me Feel 2

@true-king-of-monsters

Jaune is walking down the hall of Becon to get to his next class.

????: Drats!

Jaune turns around to see Weiss in distress looking at a big pile of boxes.

Jaune: Are you ok Weiss?

Weiss: Huh? *Turns around and sees jaune* Oh yes, I’m ok.

Jaune: You don’t sound ok. Did something happen?

Weiss: Is just that my team was supposed to help me carry this boxes to professor Peach class. But as you can see, they are not here.

Jaune: Don’t worry, Weiss. I can help you *Start to remove his blazer*

Weiss: Is fine, maybe I can use my semblance to get the… *looks at jaune*

Jaune already remove his blazer, his tie, and has rolled up his sleeves. Showing his thick muscle arms and his wide strong chest.

Jaune: I insist, let me help you. *gives her blazer and tie to her* Can you hold this for me please?

Weiss: *Blushing* O-ok (Oh my Oum! When did he become so muscular? He was just a scraggy boy when I meet him. Did Pyrrha do this?)

Jaune: *Smiles* So you only need to move this 3 boxes?

Weiss: *Still blushing* Y-yes (His smile is so cute~ What am I saying! Is Jaune what we are talking about!)

Jaune: Great! Leave it to me. *He crouches down a pick the 3 heavy boxes in one go* Is a little heavy.

Weiss: *Wide eye* (Yang can only carry one box by herself! How strong is him!) *She sees his muscle flexing while he get a better grip on the boxes* (Such strong arms~)

Jaune: Ok Weiss, lead the way.

Weiss: O-of course! This way. (He looks so confident. Is this the same Jaune that try to hit on me?) *take a couple of glances at him* (His dress shirt is so tight on him. I can see the outline of his muscles. I wish I could wrap my arms around him like that shirt~ No! Bad Weiss, you are a proper lady and Jaune is a dear friend!)

Jaune: Are you worry that I will drop the boxes?

Weiss: Pardon?

Jaune: I see you looking at me. So I thought you were worry that I will drop them. Don’t worry Weiss, it may not look like it but *Holds the boxes with one arm and flex the other while also showing part of his chest* I’m super strong!

Weiss: *She covers her nose to stop the nosebleed* (He is doing it on purpose!! Is this a way to get back at me for rejecting him all those times! Did he decided to get this exquisite and rub it on my face! How dare he!) What are you doing?! Hold the boxes properly!

Jaune: I-I’m sorry!

Weiss: *Stops walking* We finally arrive. You can leave the boxes inside.

Weiss open the door and let Jaune in. He walks to one of the corners at the other side of the classroom to put the boxes down.

Weiss: *Looks at jaune while he works* (Does he really think that looking this good will make me want to date him? Showing off his tone muscles and wide chest~ Oh Oum~ I just want to feel him up~ Is all your fault Jaune! You were not supposed to look this yummy! You better take responsibility~)

Weiss, without realizing, was walking behind Jaune, hugs him, and use this opportunity to get a good feel of his muscles.

Jaune: *Surprise* Weiss, What are you doing?

Weiss: *In cloud nine rubbing his chest* You smell so good~

Jaune: Weiss!!?

Weiss: *Back to reality* Oh! Apologies Jaune! I don’t know what came over me!

Jaune: *Confuse* It’s fine, but if you are not feeling well. I think is best for you go to the infirmary.

Weiss: *Embarrass* Yes, you are right. I should do that

Jaune: Well then, I have to go to my class. *Grabs his stuff from weiss*Thank you for holding this for me, see ya.

Weiss: Goodbye (Why did I do that?! Damn you arc, you did this to me! You better be prepare for what’s coming)

[kienava]

several folks requested beacon era bees for a fic giveaway and i miss them so enjoy <3 

_________

Dancing - Blake can’t remember the last time she enjoyed it.

She remembers going to functions with her parents when she was little and frolicking to her heart’s content before self-consciousness hardened into an opaque shell around her.

With the White Fang, there were plenty of other teenagers who were just as awkward and nervous as she was, but nights spent with them around bonfires always felt stolen and forbidden. Having fun meant wasting time that could be spent on the mission.

Seeing so many hunters-in-training taking the time to relax and forget their own insecurities reassures Blake now. She’s somewhere safe, relatively speaking, and she’s allowed to take a night off from trying to fix the world. She’s allowed to enjoy wearing a dress, and she’s allowed to enjoy yelling the wrong lyrics to songs along with her friends.

Yang was right to encourage this, she thinks. And the fog machine is actually pretty cool.

Considering how difficult it is to look anywhere else when Yang is in the room, Blake’s seen surprisingly little of her. Yang greeted her when she came in and then ran off, and Blake hasn’t spotted her since. It feels a little silly to want to thank someone for inviting her to a school-wide event, but she certainly isn’t going to thank Sun for stepping on her foot three separate times. Blake feels compelled to find her partner and say it anyway, and she’s confident the buzzing in her stomach won’t stop until she does.

Sun is trying to figure out how to re-knot his tie properly after tying it around his head and subsequently loosening it beyond salvation. Neptune is about as helpful as Blake would have guessed, and when Jaune gets involved, the whole thing is a lost cause.

Blake searches the room. It’s challenging enough to look anywhere else when Yang is in a room - but despite that, she’s surprisingly difficult to find.

It’s only when a giggling, stumbling couple clears out of the balcony that Blake sees her. She’s watching from one story up, her elbows propped on the railing and her chin resting on tight fists. There’s a wistful look on her face, and Blake might not have recognized it if she hadn’t seen it before.

She remembers watching Yang drag a piece of chalk across a blackboard, that same expression following as she looks at the floor. Sometimes Yang is loudest when she says nothing at all. When a teacher asks if her semblance causes her pain and she doesn’t say no. When someone mentions their mother at lunch and Yang doesn’t have a quip ready in reply. When someone asks if she’s interested in anyone and she says nothing at all.

Blake thinks she’s started to understand what those silences mean. Right now, Yang is unmistakably lonely.

It’s written in that cloudy, content smile. A quiet yearning with no particular velocity, like a single firefly hovering still over a field in the middle of the night. Look directly at it and it disappears.

Most people are born alone, but nobody is born lonely. That kind of thing has to be learned, practiced, perpetuated. Eventually, when solitude is a choice, it’s a comfort. Blake understands, though it’s not something she ever thought she’d have in common with the most extraverted girl in the whole school.

Maybe it’s foolish to hope that Yang will feel Blake’s eyes on her and turn her head, but Blake hopes anyway. She doesn’t remember when she started wishing so recklessly. The thrill it brings is something she’s only ever mined from the pages of her favorite novels, usually in the moments before an almost-kiss or a bracing confession. So she wishes, and she hopes, and she watches.

Yang keeps her eyes on the crowd, scanning with a soft focus that says she isn’t searching for anything. She glances toward the corner where the fog machine is. Weiss has made plenty of vague threats about the machine breaking under mysterious and unprovable circumstances, so it’s probably smart to keep an eye on it. But that can’t be the sole reason Yang has sequestered herself on the balcony.

Blake drifts off, leaving Sun, Neptune, and Jaune to their contained chaos. Pyrrha will probably intervene before anything gets broken.

At the bottom of the stairs, Blake bumps into the couple from the balcony, but they’re too wrapped up in each other to notice. As they whirl towards the dance floor, already laughing and twirling in each other’s arms, Blake looks over her shoulder, and she suspects her expression matches the one she just saw Yang wearing.

A few other people are up on the balcony, including Ruby, who’s so sick of her shoes that she’s put her bare feet up on a table. Blake passes by and raises an eyebrow at Weiss, who’s in the middle of an impermeable tirade about how revolting and utterly inappropriate it is to take off one’s shoes in public. Ruby simply leans back in a chair precariously, hands behind her head, eyes closed. Sooner or later she’ll lose her balance and fall over, but Weiss is right there to catch her, bare feet and all. That’s what good partners do, isn’t it? Catch each other, no matter what. 

Yang finally looks away from the dance floor when Blake is just passing Ruby’s table.

“Blake!” she calls. Her distant, foggy smile has brightened into a wide grin, and Blake feels like she’s just reached the bottom of a page.

“It's pretty exciting up here,” Blake replies. “I think I just heard Weiss mention foot sweat.”

“Gross,” Yang laughs.

Blake slides up next to her and grips the railing. “I think it hurt her to say it more than it hurt me to hear it.”

“Definitely.”

Yang looks back down at the party, and Blake hears the beat of silence that follows.

Blake pokes Yang’s shoulder. “So, are you having fun up here all by yourself?”

“I’m not by myself. Ruby and Weiss are--”

“Arguing about foot sweat.”

“And I’m having a great time watching.”

“Uh-huh.”

Yang turns to face her fully, and Blake is struck once again by how beautiful she is. The dress is cute, but it’s the attitude, the smirk, the pop of her hip.

“You got something to say, Miss Belladonna?” Yang teases.

“I came up here to say thank you, actually.” Blake rocks away from the railing, hiding her hands behind her back. “But I’m a little confused. You went on and on how much fun this dance was going to be, but you’ve barely done any dancing yourself.”

Yang mirrors her but leans one elbow on the railing. “Sounds like you’ve been keeping tabs on me.”

It’s like their own little unconventional waltz. One leads, the other follows, alternate, repeat. Is it too soon for Blake to know that she would follow her partner anywhere? Is it wishful thinking for her to believe Yang would do the same?

Blake could say something, or she could let her sly silence do the talking.

Yang holds her gaze for a moment, then another, before looking over the railing.

When Yang looks back again, her lip curls shyly, and Blake’s pretty sure she’s not thinking about the fog machine anymore.

“I’m glad you came,” Yang says.

Blake wants to kiss her again, pick up where the left off in their dorm room. First kisses are supposed to be messy, and Blake wouldn’t trade it for anything, but she feels the need to thank Yang for this night in as many ways as possible, with and without words. After all, Yang hears her no matter what. 

But they’re in public, and Blake isn’t sure if Yang would be comfortable with that. For all the attention she commands, Yang doesn’t make a point of sharing personal details with... anyone, really, now that Blake thinks about it. Not on purpose.

Blake remembers when she accidentally saw Yang’s bullet-bruised skin after a heavy fight, and she knows that the rest of their team doesn’t know about it.

When one of their friends needs to talk, Yang is happy to listen. Yet she never brings up anything more serious than a bad homework grade herself. She overwrites her own silences with easy jokes and disguised deflections. If Weiss and Ruby are around, she’s wary. Maybe she doesn’t want her sister to worry.

Blake knows what it’s like to keep the truth from people and think that you’re protecting them.

“Yang?” she asks.

“Hm?”

“You are having fun, right?”

Yang shifts. “Of course. Aren’t you?”

“Mostly.”

That catches Yang’s attention, and suddenly this is a very serious matter to her. “What’s wrong? Did someone spike the punch?”

“You wish.”

“Did someone not spike the punch enough?”

“No...”

“Because I can fix that.”

“Nothing needs fixing,” Blake says. She reaches for Yang’s hand and squeezes, hoping it’s convincing. “Tonight is pretty much perfect.”

Yang frowns. “Pretty much?”

“Well, I’ve barely seen the person who asked me to come to this thing in the first place.” Blake steps closer, and she sees Yang’s breath catch in her chest.

Yang covers it with a light and fleeting laugh. “Yeah, I could have guessed Sun wouldn’t be the most attentive date on the planet.”

Blake almost rolls her eyes because that one is way too easy to see through, but she’d rather watch the blush flare under Yang’s freckles. “I wasn’t talking about Sun.”

“Oh.”

Yang doesn’t move, and she doesn’t say anything more, and Blake isn’t sure what to do. Whatever Yang’s silence is trying to say is drowned out by Blake’s deafening need to kiss her, and it certainly isn’t helping that Yang is still holding her hand.

“Blake...” Yang says the name like she’s starting something, and it’s infinitely more exciting than turning a page.

In invitation, Blake nods her head towards the stairs and tugs just slightly on Yang’s hand. “You promised me a dance.”

“I guess I did,” Yang laughs.

She looks down at their hands like she’s double-checking a lock, and Blake hopes she never gets better at hiding it when she’s nervous.

Maybe she’ll get to kiss Yang later, when they’re walking back to their dorm at midnight after staying late to help clean up. Blake’s legs will be pleasantly exhausted from jumping around all night, and Yang will pull her jacket out of nowhere and drape it around Blake’s shoulders. Blake will pause to shiver and pull the coat tighter, and momentum will carry Yang half a step in front. She’ll turn around to see why Blake stopped following, look up at the shattered moon, and then find Blake’s eyes watching her, waiting. It will take a moment, perhaps two, for Yang to gather her courage, and then Blake won’t feel the cold at all.

It’s a scene right out of one of Blake’s books - but it doesn’t even compare to the way Yang looks at her when they reach the bottom of the stairs, all light and admiration. Blake can’t help but think of the couple she ran into earlier, and she allows herself to make one wish.

She hopes they stay like this always, side by side, braced to spin and fall and catch each other.

Blake certainly isn’t going anywhere.

***

[cross-posted on AO3]

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain: Chapter 706: The Great Beasts:  Part II/III

Jaune lead the party. Blake was off to his right flank, Ren to his left. The rest of the group were together, behind.

* * *

Jaune felt something, and looked over to see Ren beside him. He followed his smiling gaze. Ren disappeared a moment later. Jaune slowed down as he stepped forward and saw the giant footprint. He stopped and looked behind him. Jaune's gaze fixed on Weiss. Weiss smiled but did not understand what he wanted until Ruby pushed her forward. "He needs your Weissiness." Ruby said. Weiss' first thought was to give Jaune an offended look, but she breathed in deep and told herself to accept it as a compliment. She straightened her hair and then her dress before stepping forward.

"Got to look your best." Yang chided, and Weiss glared at her.

"Would she really be Weiss?," Nora asked, "if she didn't look her best? It's like her Semblance or something."

Weiss stopped midstride as the thought deeply weighed upon her psyche.

"Weiss Queen?" Yang asked her. Weiss looked over to see Yang pushing her hands forward. Weiss turned back to walk towards Jaune. She found a way to sashay in the woods and made her way up to Jaune. He was looking at the footprint, and turned. Before Weiss knew what was going on, he picked her up, craddled her, and gave her a passionate kiss. When he put her down she could barely stand. She heard a click, and turned around to see Yang and Nora pointing their cameras.

"Must you?.." Weiss admonished. She tried to frown but found herself smiling. She crossed her hands in front of her and turned towards the footprint. She then looked back to Jaune. "Not that I'm objecting, but why?"

Jaune pointed at the footprint, "You're Professor Port's star student."

Weiss thought it over for a moment before it occurred to her. It hit her so powerfully that she nearly lost her footing. Thankfully Jaune wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her. She heard significant movement behind her and turned to see the others rushing in. She stood up properly, bowed her head to Jaune, and turned to them, bowing. "I apologize."

"What's wrong?!" Ruby asked.

"What is wrong is that I am suddenly confronted with who I used to be." Weiss sadly stated.

"Huh?" Ruby asked.

Ren appeared in front of her, "Well that embarrassment, that desire to go back and tell yourself not to be so stupid, that just proves you're not the same person you used to be. You're smarter, you're kinder, you're stronger, and you're not done growing yet. None of us are."

"I swear I've heard that before." Jaune stated.

"Indeed." Ren said with a smile.

"From you." Jaune said accusingly.

"Indeed." Ren said with a brighter smile. "Some things need to be learned more than once."

Blake appeared beside them, "They say you learn things once for a day, twice for a week, and three times for the rest of your life."

"Which means," Ren continued, "after the third time there's going to be a test."

"What?!" Yang asked, "You can't do that, right? Can he?"

Ren turned to smile at her before turning back to the footprint.

"Ren is like really wise, so?," Nora asked, "mmaayybbee?"

"You can study for it later." Jaune dismissively uttered, waving his hand over his shoulder. "Snow Angel?" he asked, and she swooned. He turned towards her as she collected herself, "Do these look like the footprints of any large Grimm you know about?"

Weiss made to kneel down, but paused, and decided to adopt a less elegant squat instead. She lowered herself down and closely inspected the footprint. She then stood back up. "I can't make heads or tails of it. It has some passing similarities to a Boarbatusk, but I've never seen any of this size."

"So, giant armoured boar?" Yang asked.

"The feet are too pointed to be a boar." Jaune stated, "It honestly looks more like a giant deer."

"So, a deer Grimm?!" Nora asked.

Jaune then turned to the group, "Does anyone know about a deer Grimm?" he asked, but as he looked between everyone present, no one showed any recognition. "Alright," Jaune said, "we know how to fight Boarbatusks." Ilia looked confused. "Maybe Blake can talk to Ilia about it." He made to turn away, but paused halfway and turned back, looking Ilia in the eyes, "And remember, you're not a Huntsman. We want you to learn, not die. If you move in, only do so when you see an opening, and move back out again." He turned back to the tracks. He turned back to everyone. "Everyone get a good look."

"Even me?!" Nora asked.

"If you launch yourself," Jaune stated, "it might scare off what we're chasing."

"Which is what?" Yang asked.

"Something big with hooves." Jaune stated.

"Uh-huh." Yang sarcastically said, "Real helpful."

"Whatever it is," Ruby added, "we'll be able to defeat it! With the power of friendship!"

Weiss developed a sour look that sweetened with every moment until she found herself smiling.

"And punching." Yang stated.

"And punching!" Ruby exclaimed.

* * *

The party followed the hoofprints, up, and down, and around through the woods, until they saw movement. Large, black movement off in the black woods. Jaune turned back to everyone, "Keep your distance until we know what we're fighting."

"Or," Yang said, "we just wait for you to start the thing, since you want to be big daddy about this, and all."

"I concur." Ren stated.

"Even the big daddy part?" Yang asked.

"He is fatherly." Ren stated. "Though calling him daddy might be a bit much."

"Let's just spread out and keep quiet," Jaune said, "until we find out what we're up against."

"Yes, Daddy." Yang stated.

Weiss glared at Yang for a moment before looking at Jaune, "And, for those of us, who, perchance, are not so good at stealth?"

"Just hang back until you hear Dustfire or something." Jaune stated.

"Or Yang getting Yangry." Nora added.

"Duly noted." Weiss stated. Nora still looked eagerly forward. "You do realize you are one of them, do you not?"

"What?" Nora asked.

"She's right." Jaune stated.

"Yes, Daddy." Nora stated, and Jaune glared at her.

"I thought you were my minion?" Jaune asked.

"That would make you her master." Ren quipped, and Jaune looked shocked.

"Master?!" Nora eagerly exclaimed, and Jaune just sighed.

"We'll have to work on that, later."

* * *

Blake, Ren, and Ilia all creapt forward, keeping their profiles as low as possible. Jaune simply walked through the heavier brush. As they approached, they saw a ridiculous set of antlers, at least 12 points. They approached even more and it was a colossal black buck of some sort. Suddenly it turned towards them, and they all stopped in their tracks. Even more startlingly it had a black head. It didn't have the Grimm mask you would normally find, but it's eyes glowed blue-green in the dark of the forest.

"I know you are there!" it's great, deep voice bellowed, "Come and present yourself!" No one was sure of what to do, except Jaune, who walked forward out of the brush and up to the great beast. "You are at home in the woods. State you name."

"Jaune." he said, "Jaune Arc." Giggling could be barely heard from behind him, back in the woods. "And you are?"

"I am the Black Hart." the great beast bellowed, "King of the woods."

"We?," Jaune asked, and paused for a moment, "heard howling?"

"Why would it be strange?," the Black Hart asked, "for a king to be given tribute?"

"The howl?" Jaune asked.

"All give what they can." the Black Hart stated, "The wolf his howl, the bird his song, the tree her fruit."

"What... are you?" Jaune asked.

"I could ask you the same question." the Black Hart stated, "You are half man, half beast. I decided to simply watch you in my dominion, and what you did was come to me."

"We are called Faunus." Jaune stated.

"Who created you?" the Black Hart asked.

"We don't know." Jaune replied.

"How could you not know your own creators?!" the Black Hart asked.

"If I might ask?," Ren asked as he approached, "but who created you?"

"The Brother of Light, of course." the Black Hart stated, "Before his brother created the Grimm, and before our father lost interest in us to create Humans. But you are not Human, nor are you beast. I do not know what to make of you."

"While not exactly Human..." Jaune stated.

"We do not think of ourselves as all that different." Ren finished for him.

"If you were Human I would banish you from my woods." the Black Hart stated. "They carry the same power of destruction as the Creatures of Grimm."

"We were worried you might be Grimm." Jaune stated.

"And now that you know we are not?" the Black Hart asked.

"We assure you," Ren stated, "that we mean no harm to you or your wood."

"We ask to be allowed safe passage," Jaune stated, "the right of hunting and forage, and the right to sustainable forestry."

"YOU WISH TO CUT DOWN MY WOODS?!"

"Trees, yes," Jaune stated, "but not your woods."

"And what, dear halfling, is that?" the Black Hart asked.

"To take a section of the woods, cut down the trees, and let it regrow."

"The woods are always replenishing..." the Black Hart stated. "In light of your nature as beasts, I will give you the chance to prove your case. But, if I find my woods diminishing, your rights as beasts will be suspended. But, as beasts, you must also pay me tribute."

"I am afraid we have not much to give to one such as you." Ren stated.

"We are Huntsmen." Jaune said to him, and then turned to the Black Hart, "You can call us, and we will hunt Grimm in your woods."

"The Grimm rarely approach," the Black Hart grumbled, "but when they do, I will call."

"We ask that you grant us lordship over the woods," Ren stated, and the Black Hart glared at him, "In doing so, we could keep other people away."

"And what form would this take?" the Black Hart ask.

"Well," Jaune said, "for it to work with the Human kingdoms, it would have to be a Letters-Patent."

The Black Hart thought for a moment and then stamped his hoof. A letter appeared in Jaune's hand. It had cursive black ink with golden filligree.

"I, Black Hart, King of the Woods, hereby grant Title-Patent of Earl to Jaune Arc. He is to be granted sole right to the woods known as the Woods of the Beast, along with the Tower that so overlooks, though this right can be revoked at my displeasure." Jaune finished reading the letter and looked up solemnly. He then glared at Ren who simply smiled in reply.

* * *

Jaune and Ren walked back to Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Nora.

"So?!" Nora asked.

"He made me an Earl." Jaune non-commitally said.

"Wait, what?" Yang asked.

"My thoughts, precisely." Weiss quipped.

"We should talk about it at home." Jaune said, and then looked at Ruby and Weiss, "Could you two head back to the glade and call Taj?"

"Why us?" Ruby asked.

"Perhaps our alacrity." Weiss stated.

"Okay, well, then why not Nora?" Ruby asked.

"Because I have some hope in restraining you." Weiss added.

"How?" Ruby curiously asked.

"But offering you a kiss."

"Okay, yeah, that would probably work." Ruby said. "When was that?" Ruby asked.

"When we arrived." Weiss replied.

[kitkatopinions]

(raises hand) So....I'm really confused about something. If their plan was going to result in a majority of the people they're trying to save in Atlas being picked off by grimm in a sandstorm... And also being completely murdered by Cinder and her cabal. And Atlas is currently falling on top of Mantle... Wouldnt things have been better if they had let Ironwood take all of Atlas and what refugees he had away, then? He wanted to apply the idea for Amity by using the Atlas tower in the stratosphere instead. He may or may not have spoke the truth about Salem, but he could at least mention what's happening to Mantle, and worldwide comms would be longer lasting. Oscar still had his deus ex machina which wouldve destroyed the whale, beat Salem, and killed all grimm with zero civilian casualties... And then they could be trying to move Mantle as they're trying to move Atlas. But instead of through a sandstorm w/ no visuals or comms, they could contact the base in Argus for help...? This way they'd be saving both best they can, not losing the relics to the enemy, and not making enemies out of everyone while so trapping everyone in an even worse situation?

This is a great point to make. Honestly, the heroes caused way more problems than they solved. I don’t know if I’d say moving Atlas to space was a good choice that would have no consequences, but there’s no proof that Ironwood was going to keep Atlas in space forever, and it does seem to be the better solution.

The ultimate solution in my opinion would be for someone to compromise with James and move Atlas elsewhere in Remnant, maybe Argus because they could actually lend help and fire power, or maybe Vacuo, since the meta narrative would dictate that going to Vacuo would be more interesting. Then RWBYJNOR could be defending and helping the remaining non-evacuated citizens of Mantle. Oscar can still be kidnapped by the Hound and JRY (or RWB or WNY or RRN or whoever) could still go after him, and Oscar/Oz could still nuke the whale from the inside, leaving Salem regenerating and less of a threat and still having Emerald’s weak sauce ‘redemption.’ Then when Atlas is safely parked wherever, then they can do the staff plan, only sending the citizens of Mantle over to Atlas instead of in the middle of a desert sandstorm. And while they’re moving the citizens, Penny could launch Amity and get out an actually well constructed message anyway, Ironwood seemed very sure of telling the world about Salem if they were able to properly defend, and he may not consider that good at this point, but they could still get up global comms and uniting the world more. And ninety percent of the mess that is season eight wouldn’t have to happen.

Instead we’d get: ‘Simple soul’ Ruby talking world-weary allies into listening and compromising, which furthers messages of hope and unity. RWBYJNOR flexing some smarts that don’t seem to just come out of nowhere after they endangered everyone, which makes them more compelling as protagonists. The feeling that the protagonists not only care about their allies, but care about the people of Atlas and the already evacuated people of Mantle by being willing to save them rather than endanger them. Whichever team going to get Oscar doing so in the full knowledge that there’s still at least a significant number of people they trust still defending the non-evacuated citizens of Mantle. Better tension, as Cinder, Neo, and Watts are in Atlas with Ironwood, Penny, likely Qrow (since this is my ideal fantasy situation and Qrow can be good and central to the Atlas plot if I want,) while Salem, Tyrian, Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel are all in the whale near Mantle. This means that the stakes are at least somewhat smaller for each group, but able to be more personal and aren’t overwhelming, which would make the pay off seem less out of nowhere or convenient for our heroes. The heroes seeming to make an actual significant sacrifice, since letting Ironwood take Atlas did take protection from Mantle, and everyone would know that they’re risking their own safety to protect the remaining citizens until Atlas gets to a safe place. Instead of RWBYJNOR risking the safety of two kingdoms worth of people, they would be putting themselves in harms way to try and save every life - like they said they were going to do. Team RWBY recognizes a no-win situation and responding with understanding, but still pushing for a hopeful end where they save more people and teaching James a valuable lesson about listening to his heart as well as his head, causing clear growth on both sides and making Team RWBY look more logical and grown up than they previously had been. Salem getting more focus as the main villain in her introduction without James or Cinder yanking the focus away from her and hopefully resulting in her seeming like a more significant threat who was beat via cleverness. Penny remaining a robot who is still very much a Real Girl and doesn’t need to change to be valid and accepted, Penny facing the hard choice of not joining the battle in Mantle to be able to better help everyone in the long run through accessing the Vault. Ironwood being a faulty, but good person with no completely incomprehensible and jerkily done fall to villainhood, plus Qrow, Oz, Winter, and the others characters don’t suffer from feeling like jerks who literally never cared about him at all as a result of his badly done fall to villainy. The end result could still be exactly the same, with some of Salem’s operatives causing trouble in the void space and knocking Yang into the void, but now we got a well earned victory from the heroes and an arc with natural drama and good choices the heroes made, plus their plan is not fool proof and their insistence on trying to save everyone still resulted in a blunder where the villains took advantage of the open portals and despite the warning to ‘not fall’ from Ambrosius, Yang still falls and the heroes have to grapple with it.

Now I’m not saying that’s perfect, I’m pretty sure there’s still glaring holes and stupid stuff, but it keeps better to the central themes like redemption, hope, and unity, while it makes our heroes seem smarter and more heroic, and Ruby, Weiss, and Blake wouldn’t spend several episodes sitting around in a mansion waiting for the plot to drop into their lap, and most of the season wouldn’t feel completely avoidable.

[it-me-butts]

So I dug through my secret stash and I could bring you this:) Some sneak peeks of Ch1 and Ch2 of Swords, Magic and Monsters

From Ch1

For her credit, Ruby made good on her word. A good hour passed before she returned. Maybe she really took her sweet time, maybe it was Ruby’s lack of knowledge of the castle or maybe it was that Weiss didn’t tell her which gardens she will sit in

By the time the dark haired girl found her, she was calm again. After all, she loved sitting among the plants of the gardens. Despite all, it made her feel less suffocated and more like she is not trapped under his father thumb.

“Want this?” Ruby broke the silence and held a piece of pastry in her outstretched hand. “I don’t know what this is. But the kitchen maid said you love it.”

“Yes, I do.” She took the food.  Weiss smiled to herself. This girl really knew nothing else than potato and carrots. “Thank you and it’s a cinnamon bun.”

“Bless you.” Ruby said, took a seat next to her and pulled out a piece of similar pastry from the opening of her shirt. The heiress watched in horror. First: a common person dared to sit right next to her and even rub elbows! Second, did Ruby really pulled out food from her shirt?

Upon closer inspection, she realized Ruby’s shirt was stuffed with goods from the kitchen and she was hugging a rather large linen sack filled with several other items of food in her injured arm. The guardswoman had a wide variety of nourishment. All kinds of baked goods, a few pieces of cooked meat and many different kinds of fruits were now in her possession.

“Did you mean to say, ‘you’re welcome’?” Weiss asked.

“Oh yeah, that’s the word.” Ruby said sheepishly. She moved to gobble down her sweet bun, but she was stopped by Weiss.

“I hope this one didn’t come out of your shirt.” She held the pastry up for inspection.

“No. I brought yours in there.” Ruby laughed her mouth half full, pointing to the sack of goods in her lap. “The kitchen people said you were picky, but I had no idea this much.”

“I’m not picky!” Weiss felt her temper rise again “Who said that?”

“Like I spit them out!” After swallowing the bite she was chewing, Ruby laughed heartily.

Weiss fumed, but let it slip. Ruby hummed an awful lot while eating, but the heiress suspected it was some peasant thing to not being able to eat in silence or keep table manners. She tried to ignore the fact that according to the example right next to her, the people of Solitas ate loud and stored food under their clothes and maybe worst of all, rubbed elbows while eating.

Other than these minor hiccups, she enjoyed her food. They ate in relative silence.

“You know, Weiss, I saw sooooo much food today.” Ruby chirped when she finished with most of her food. Weiss wasn’t sure if it was healthy to eat that much. “The kitchen was full of so many things! It was amazing. You own all the food in the world.”

The heiress listened halfheartedly. She carefully picked a handful of grapes as dessert.

“You can have the rest if you want.” She said, ignoring Ruby’s ramblings about all the amazing food in the pantry. She turned to the girl and gestured for her to have the food she won’t eat and she was greeted with a sight to behold.

The dark haired girl was staring at her with glistening eyes, much like when a dog stares at its favorite person in the world. Truth be told, Weiss was afraid she’d be victim of a tackle hug, but fortunately her guard seemed to get a grip on herself.

“Thank you, Weiss.” She said and gobbled up all the baked and cooked items, leaving only the fruits. Ruby wrapped a smaller portion into the linen sack mumbling something about tomorrow’s breakfast and some food for Penny.

With her provisions prepared for the next day, Ruby leaned back in her seat.

“Want to tell me what your problem was earlier?” the dark haired girl loosened her belt under the chest plate.

“Are you kidding me?” Weiss shot her a look of such malice.

“No.” She said after a few minutes of consideration. She made a conscious effort not to hold eye contact. Her uncle always said it just angers already furious creatures more. And Weiss was a very furious creature right next to her.

“Don’t you dare tell me you danced on my nerves all day without even meaning to.” The heiress chewed on her grapes, like she was working out all her frustrations on the poor fruit.

“Your culture is really confusing, Weiss. I need some time to understand the habits.” Ruby turned cautiously to the other woman “What did you expect from me?”

“Excuse me?” Weiss nearly spat out her half-chewed fruit.

“I excuse you.” Ruby said, but quickly realized it was a mistake.

”I’m not asking for a fight. I want you to tell me what you want. I don’t know your customs yet.”For her credit, Ruby held Weiss’ blazing gaze now. She had the opportunity to watch as the heiress sunk into deep thought and a few minutes later realization dawned on her.

Ruby discovered that the frowny face meant that Weiss was deep in thinking. She thought the small wrinkle between Weiss’ eyebrows and the twinkle in her cold blue eyes as she found the answer was kind of cute.

Her surprised face quickly turned into a scowl.

“You are not from Atlas, right?” Weiss asked curious.

“Close enough! I’m not even from the continent!” Ruby cheered and slightly turned in her seat to face Weiss. “Ask and I’ll answer your questions.”

Weiss took a minute to decide which one should be her first, but before she could ask away, Ruby raised her hand in a gesture unfamiliar to Weiss.

“But only if you answer my questions too.”

“Deal.”

---

From Ch2

“That makes nothing sense!” Ruby exclaimed angrily.

The two of them spent the better part of the afternoon sitting in the flower garden, telling about their own customs. Mostly Ruby talking in length, while Weiss kept herself to short and straightforward answers.

The huntress roared up at regular intervals, mostly on things that were so natural to the heiress, but apparently seemed to enrage the dark haired girl. Weiss made sure to enjoy the show she got gratis with her mid afternoon fruit snack.

“Why would someone do that?” Ruby seemed to hold against her confusion really bad. “This place is really all backwards….From all the things you told me so far, this is the biggest bollocks of all.”

Weiss couldn’t contain her giggles longer, needless to say, it only served to confuse Ruby even more.

“That’s it! I knew you were just pulling my hair!” Ruby laughed along with Weiss.

“For real now.” Weiss started with a dead serious expression “I wasn’t. You cannot call me by my name in public.”

At that, Ruby seemed to deflate. Now that Weiss knew the reason behind her guard’s unusual behavior it started to enjoy how needlessly expressive the other girl was. Of course, they only grazed the surface of the most of it, but she learned enough to have the outline of what to think of when Ruby opened her mouth to speak.

After she got to ask all her questions and got satisfying answers for all, it was her turn to give explanation. Or more like, give out the pointers and rules of public manners used among the noble folk of Atlas.

It was tiring to explain everything twice, but Weiss had to learn with great amazement that Ruby was a rather entertaining conversation partner. She was quick on her mental feet most times and surprisingly witty. Maybe a little simple minded about a lot of topics, but Weiss suspected it wasn’t ignorance, just a way to find some sense in it all.

Ruby often made good hearted jabs or tried to come up with something to lure a laugh out of Weiss, only to fail miserably. Weiss caught silver eyes glued to her, taking a close inspection. She knew that Ruby’s intent was purely to learn and copy how to talk and behave properly, without causing a disaster. If she had to be honest, she found it a little flustering. Just like now.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Weiss said and Ruby whined a little as a reply. “It is rude to do so.”

“Then what am I supposed to call you, if I can’t say your name?” The guardswoman pouted.

“You can call me ‘Your grace’ or ‘Your majesty’” Weiss selected the next piece of grape she would eat. “Also, I have a title.”

“What. Is it princess?” Ruby butted in, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“It’s heiress, actually.” Weiss deadpanned. At that Ruby snickered.

[roz-ani]

Okay, so first: I am so sorry it took me so long to respond, dear anon. I was really busy with school. Not to mention Tumblr wasn't kind enough to put this in my ask box, but I fortunately took the screenshot the day I received the message, while it got lost in all the other notifications.

Now, properly responding to your ask would require me to write a looonnngggg analysis. I have absolutely nothing against Bumbleby or Blacksun. In fact, I feel indifferent about both. I did say once I ship BS, but it kinda... disappeared? I think around V5. I'm not even sure what to think about Bumbleby at this point. I do feel like something is missing there, but I also don't think Blacksun should've become canon? Like I said, I haven't formed my opinion on the matter, but I'll try to explain it as good as I can while hoping to not write a novel XD

In volumes 1-3 we witnessed how friendship between Blake and Yang formed. After leaving Adam, Blake needed someone who would focus on positives, make her feel comfortable and offer emotional support. She found that in team RWBY. Did she form any special connection with Yang then?

I think this moment is one of the most important ones in their whole relationship. Yang told Blake she can't focus on fighting all the time - she has to rest too, with her friends by her side. She even winked at her, but I don't see it as something romantic. I'd connect it to Yang's playful personality.

After that, we didn't see anything really important. There were a few smaller moments between them, usually shared with Ruby and Weiss. Until the Fall of Beacon:

I've noticed many people pointing this out as the first evidence of Yang's feeling for Blake. For me it doesn't really make sense. I'm 100% sure her reaction wouldn't change if it was Weiss, not to mention Ruby.

After that, Yang expressed how disappointed and crushed she felt when Blake left. She obviously didn't blame her partner for what happened, but she was trying to protect her at that moment, she heard how she screamed after Adam hurt her. But Blake felt guilty and went to the only people she had left in her life - her parents. Sun travelled there with her, therefore they logically had to spend more time together. More one that later.

Now, them missing each other is understandable, but were they really that close? Yang wanted Blake to be with her. It was not the first time someone left her, when someone didn't give enough support after something tragic happened. Many people saw it as something romantic. I didn't. Weiss explained Blake's way of thinking to Yang and Sun did the same for Blake. However, many interpreted that longing as more than friendship. I honestly don't blame them. It really felt like they tried to work with something that... just wasn't there. Now, it all seems to come back to the moment when Yang lost her arm and Blake left her. And that's the thing that probably confuses me the most, so let's just leave it here and move on.

Volume 6, oh sweet, sweet volume 6. We started with Yang still being uneasy around Blake... for a moment. She said it'll take time for things to be normal again, but what mattered the most was the fact her partner came back. On the Brunswick farm Blake tried to show her support by promising Yang she'll protect her - Yang obviously wasn't happy with that. The audience received an information that there's still a problem, something's wrong... but then they started to talk normally again. Now, there were more important things to focus on, but it felt like the whole issue disappeared, it went absolutely nowhere. Then we got the fight with Adam. My biggest problem is his line "What does she even see in you?". It's really, really difficult, if not impossible, to not see it as something connected to love/romance. Would he say the same thing if it was Weiss not Yang?

After that we got the hug and hand holding. Was it romantic? Pretty much yes. Saying that the Renora airship scene from v4 was intimate, but this one wasn't seems kinda unfair to me. But why? Why was it romantic? What lead to those feelings? Where did they come from? There had to be something in v6. If we accepted the fact them missing each other was completely platonic then why it would suddenly become romantic?

Now, Blacksun. The first time we met Sun he immediately found Blake interesting and knew about her being a Faunus. 

And while he might’ve been a bit “insistent”, he kept supporting Blake while trying to get closer to her. It’s obvious he was the one initiating something, like inviting her to the dance. Then we got this: 

Now, blushes are something that can be interpreted in a few ways, mainly embarrassment or something more romantic. I think we can all agree it’s the second option. Again: why? When did Blake start to see Sun as someone she could possibly date? We obviously skipped some school weeks in the story, so it’s possible that they just spent more time with each other. Still, there wasn’t much we could pick to support this. At the same time it was more than what Blake had with Yang at this moment. While Sun became someone she started to develop feelings for, Yang remained her close friend.

Then came the Fall of Beacon. Blake ran away and Sun went after her. He felt like he couldn’t leave her alone, she needed support. Like I said, Sun can be insistent, but he’s still a great friend. The only time he acted like he was flirting with her was when he called her “his hero”. After that he kept being supportive, help her solve the White Fang problem etc. Blake on the other hand was constantly saying she doesn’t want his help and that she came here to rest. If there was any romantic development from v3 left, they both knew it wasn’t the right time for it. After Sun got hurt, Blake revealed why she ran away, why she didn’t want her friend to get close to her. She viewed herself as the source of their problems, wanted to be hated. Sun explained to her why her mindset isn’t healthy.  

He even knew Blake kept thinking about Yang. 

Oh, I almost forgot about the parents thing XD It’s obviously an old scenario: overprotective father and supportive mother meeting their daughter’s boy-friend. It’s always connected to romance between two young people, so I don’t blame Blacksun shippers for pointing it out. After that, we didn’t get much between the two. They focused on their mission, Sun kept supporting Blake in her fight. I v6 Blake expressed how much she'll miss him and kissed him goodbye. Sun told Neptune it was never about romance and it’s true to some degree. I’m sure he’d go after her even if he wasn’t in love. Sun is an amazing friend. He has his flaws, but you can’t deny his loyalty. 

Okay, I skipped a few things here and there, but there’s still something I want to point out: the audience perspective. I think it’s safe to assume that Blacksun was more obvious choice. Does that mean Bumbleby never had a chance? Absolutely not. It’s not about whether it was planned from the beginning or not. It’s about buildup. When Blake and Yang got separated it was obvious they’re going to reunite. I wasn’t part of the FNDM during v4, so I assume people expected Blacksun to become canon during v4-5. I think it was still important to remember the fact of Blake and Yang reuniting in the future, which would obviously be crucial for their relationship. I also believe it was pretty obvious Sun wouldn’t stay with the group, so Blacksun would have to be confirmed later. I think the biggest problem with Bumbleby people seem to have is how obvious it is now. We all know it’s going to be canon, some even say it’s canon now. It does make sense since it’s inevitable at this point. But let’s look at this: 

It seems like they’re trying to make up for what was lost in the previous volumes. Bumbleby technically isn’t canon yet. Blake and Yang seem to be fully aware of their feelings, it’s just a matter of time before they confess. Now, that may annoy some people, because we all already know it’s the endgame. At least that’s how I see it.

Now, which ship had more buildup? It’s honestly hard to say. Just because two characters shared more scenes together it doesn’t mean the ship is going to be canon. You have to look at the context. It’s also important to not have those characters be together all the time. It gets boring and annoying. Sadly, RWBY likes to do that (although v8 is doing a great job so far). I think both ships would need more time to be properly built up. Now Bumbleby is basically canon. The ship has its flaws when it comes to writing, but it’s not something that can be changed.

[alexadru]

White Knight - Pay & Play to Win (Fate Grand Order edition)

Weiss had often wondered what made Ruby waste so much of her time on her scroll and when she had asked the question one day, her leader had simply shown her.

Fate Grand Order. 

That was the title of the mobile game Ruby was sinking at least a couple of hours a week. Time which she could have spent improving her grades and becoming a better leader. The young girl was the face of team RWBY, after all, and Weiss would not settle for less than the very best.

That said, she did not have any particular complaints about her progress over the months, but she disagreed with all the time she was wasting pointlessly on a silly game. 

A fact which she voiced without any restraint and which incurred another childish (in Weiss' opinion) argument between the two girls.

Ruby: "It's not childish! It's based on the greatest heroes from Earth's history, their stories and it has many life lessons. Plus, it's fun."

Weiss simply shook her head at the absurdity of her argument. She found it hard to believe that some fictional characters and their half thought out stories could ensnare people into playing that game for hours.

Ruby: "Why don't you give it a try first before you say it's childish? I bet you'll change your mind."

Another absurdity uttered by her partner, but, against her better judgement, Weiss, decided to give the game a try. If nothing else, but to prove Ruby wrong. 

After an entire week and a lot of wear to her scroll's battery, Weiss would have an epiphany and would, begrudgingly, agree with Ruby. This game was fun.

From the intriguing story, the likes of which Weiss had never seen or read to the beautiful art of the characters, the heiress could say she was hooked. She continued to play regularly, enjoying the experience as she continued to make progress through the story.

Weiss had not reached the point where she would spend money to get certain characters like she had heard from Ruby that some players did. That was until she saw him and she literally fell in love.

After spending a substantial portion of her allowance to get him when he was in the gacha, her joy could be heard across campus as she literally screamed like a fangirl when he answered her summons.

Her object of adoration? The servant Saber, King Arthur. He was everything she dreamed about. From his kind, loyal and slightly playful attitude to his charming, soft looks which made her blush every time he'd give a smile when she would level him up.

These were all traits that she had voiced quite often to her team, which was present in the room on the day the Weiss alarm rang for the first time. Weiss talked so casually about the game these days that it showed just how much she was sucked into this world.

One Saturday, as Weiss was farming like mad for materials to make her prince perfect, Ruby said something that changed her perception on life.

Ruby: "Hey, Weiss. Don't you think that Arthur is kind of like Jaune?" The girl commented as she busied herself leveling up a well known red Archer.

The innocent remark was met with the heiress looking up from the device abruptly, ready to refute the claim and defend the knight. However, Weiss stopped short to consider her words for a few moments. Moments which turned into seconds which then turned into minutes. Her eyes widened as if she reached a revelation. 

Ruby... was right! 

Abruptly, she jumped on her feet and walked out of the room with hurried steps. The rest of team RWBY heard her knock on JNPR's door. It opened moments later.

From the other side, Jaune had answered with a bit of apprehension. It wasn't often that someone would knock so loudly on his team's dorm room, except for Nora when she'd forget her scroll. What he didn't expect to see in front of his eyes was the familiar figure of his former(?) crush which he was trying to move on from with little success.

Jaune: "Weiss? Is everything alright…" The boy didn't get to finish as her hand grabbed his wrist, earning his full attention.

Weiss: "Come with me for a bit!" 

Unable to resist, he was dragged away by the small girl. Weiss had surprised him by how strong her grip was as she led him somewhere. The poor boy was caught so off guard, he couldn't do anything.

30 minutes later, Jaune found himself in the changing room of a store. It wasn't an ordinary store, however, but one that specialised in cosplay. Outfits belonging to famous fictional characters were sold here and for some reason, he found himself ready to change into one.

Of all the places in Vale, he did not expect the girl to bring him here. Nevermind the fact that she had given him an outfit and was told to try on, something from a game Ruby played if he remembered correctly. 

It was very unusual from the normally serious Weiss he knew. Still, he begrudgingly started undressing and putting on the outfit, having a new-found appreciation for the people who enjoyed cosplaying.

Weiss waited outside the changing room for 10 minutes, her mind a jumbled mess of thoughts. All ranging from curiosity about how Jaune would look to her slightly panicking that she acted so out of character and dragged him without giving a single explanation.

Looking at her feet she considered her thoughts about the boy and found that she didn't know how to feel about him. Given what occurred in the last few months, Weiss genuinely didn't know the nature of their relationship. She never thought of him much before and only recently started noticing him.

Her head snapped back up when she heard the door open.

Jaune had exited the changing room looking awkward. His steps were hesitant as if he didn't know how to walk properly in the extravagant armor. Oddly enough, despite having more layers on him, he felt a lot more exposed as if a lot more eyes were on him. Which could very well be the case, the store was huge and packed with other customers.

In his personal opinion, when Jaune checked himself in the mirror before exiting, he found that the look suited him. The blue went well with his eyes and while the silver armor was not that special, the gold accents brought everything together, matching his hair as a bonus. 

However, he looked nervously at the girl who had dragged him here. Jaune didn't know why, but he felt that she had done this for a reason and while she didn't share that reason, he hoped that he didn't disappoint her.

Weiss was quiet. Almost unusually so, despite her normally verbose self. She had seen the boy exit the changing room, donning the clothes she had picked for him and her mind came to a halt.

Baby blue eyes danced around, drinking in the sight of Jaune cosplaying the prince of her dreams. The boy who had both annoyed her the most and had been the kindest to her.

Weiss: "Jaune, would you smile for me, please?" She requested quitely.

Jaune: "What?" He didn't have a good feeling about the situation. Not with how quiet Weiss was being, her previous scrutinising gaze only adding to his nervousness.

Weiss: "Just… just give me your best charming smile."

And her weird requests kept coming. Jaune was smart enough to not question them, so he did as she requested. He tried to smile once, but it felt shaky, so he stopped, took a deep breath and tried again, his thoughts on how the beautiful girl in front of him made him feel before.

Weiss' breath hitched in her chest as she looked at him. It was impossible how well he fit the look. Everything from the blonde hair, his tall and lean physique to his boyish face was a near exact match to the Saber Servant. The only discrepancy was the eye color, deep blue instead of aqua. No less perfect in her vision.

Her face burned.

The old saying turned out to be true. The clothes did make the man and in this case, they made Jaune into her dream.

Jaune: "Weiss?" He stopped smiling and was a bit worried that she had yet to say anything. 

His words seemed to have been a wake up call as she acted almost immediately. Abruptly, her small hands pushed Jaune back until he was inside the changing room again. The surprise gesture made him trip and fall on his butt inside the small room.

Weiss had followed him inside with no hesitation. After closing the door, she wasted no time in straddling him by sitting in his lap and giving him a deep, hot kiss, catching him completely off guard.

They broke it off after nearly a minute. The two panted as they struggled to regain their breaths, Weiss managing to do so much quicker.

Jaune: "W-weiss? Why di…?" To say he was shocked was an understatement. This went beyond anything he expected to happen when she had dragged him with her.

Weiss: "Where have you been all my life?" Her purring voice nearly made him melt from all the affection it held.

Jaune: "I-I've literally been asking you out for weeks." Did she really not notice him all those times?

Weiss: "Nevermind that. What matters now is that we're here and we can do whatever we want." To prove her point, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned forward until her body was pressed completely against his, feeling everything. She pressed her forehead against his, the intense gaze in her eyes sent shivers down his spine.

Jaune: "I think I need an adult…" As freaked out as he was by her gesture, he could not deny the butterflies he felt in his stomach or how hot his cheeks felt. Weiss Schnee had kissed him and it made his heart start a marathon in his chest.

Weiss: "I'll make a King out of you." With a slow, sensual lick, she wet her lips and captured his again. This time, her fingers went through his hair as she got lost in the sensation. Weiss nearly moaned when she felt his hands on her slim waist, pulling her closer as he began reciprocating.

They continued like this until the staff found them and kicked them out for indecency. Weiss managed to somehow buy the outfit anyway, though. 

Now they simply walked around Vale with the heiress hugging his right arm to her body closely and leaning her head against it. The boy blushed all the way, but remained quiet. 

The day had only begun for them.

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Pairings: Bumblebee (Blake x Yang)

Word Count: 1,923 Words

Summary: Discussion and go time.

Warnings: Fighting Mention, Cursing, Weapon Mention, Death Mention, Blood Mention, Amputation Mention, let me know if I should tag anything else.

Shadows Are Made Of Light: Chapter 5

Dinner was lively to say the least. Terra and Saphron seemingly decided that eating at the table in their kitchen was their best bet while the group was discussing. Terra and Saphron had long since gone up to their bedroom to sleep.

The plans were talked through and they were about to wrap up the conversation when Mercury sighed. Now was a better time than ever for the little plans he'd overheard details from.

"I actually have something to say." Mercury didn't like all this attention once all their eyes were on him.

"What's wrong?" Jaune asked, looking over his tension-filled expression.

"There were some things Salem would relay through Cinder. There was always a plan behind the fall of Beacon. Salem's plans are to create a divide and unrest amongst the people of Remnant and gather the relics so, when the gods come back, they'll destroy Remnant, everyone on it, and she will no longer be immortal. Salem's goal is to free herself from eternity by taking everyone with her." Mercury told them.

"So she'll be looking for the Lamp." Oscar asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

"For all the relics. Last I heard, Emerald told me that Ozpin had apparently hidden the Crown even better than the other three and Cinder still hadn't found it. Now that we have the Lamp, they know they need to get the others before we can so our goal is a ticking clock." Mercury took a deep breath, hoping nobody was disappointed.

"A time crunch isn't anything new. We can still do this." Ruby assured him.

"We should get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be interesting." Maria laughed on her way upstairs. Mercury was going to end up asleep on the couch again because Oscar was half asleep against him again.

"I have a feeling Nora is taking pictures." Mercury told them.

"Good instincts." Nora told him, obviously taking another picture. "I've never passed up an opportunity for Cute Farm Son pictures." Nora alerted him.

"Good to know, crop me out of them." Mercury told her.

"Ehhh, I think I'll leave you in since you're looking particularly Dad-like." Mercury laughed while frowning at her.

"I hate you." Mercury smiled at her.

"Yeah, sure, Dad-cury." Nora snorted.

"Go sleep or something." He laughed, smiling as everyone filed from the room and shut the lights off. Mercury's heart stopped at the darkness. As childish as it may be, the dark was something he couldn't deal with.

"Nora?" He asked, she'd been the last one to go up the stairs due to her need for pictures of Mercury and Oscar.

"What's up Dad-cury?" Nora asked, coming downstairs and turning the lights on.

"Could you leave a light on?" Mercury asked.

"Oh yeah, sure. You scared of the dark too?" She asked.

"More of an instinct. Can't sleep with lights off. My dad told me too many stories of monsters in the dark." Mercury admitted.

"You're good, I'll leave the lamp over here on." She told him and patted the lamp before turning it on and turning the main light off. "Night, Dad-cury." She told him.

"Night, Nora." He called after her as she went upstairs. Mercury sighed at Oscar asleep on him.

"I hope you realize I'm not a pillow." He told the sleeping boy only to receive a small snore. "Fine, but it's because you're a kid and you remind me of Chrome." Mercury grumbled.

He went about pulling Oscar's excess clothing off as well as his own. They didn't need to wake up in puddles of sweat in warm, heavy clothing meant for much colder weather than this.

Then he laid down and then he smiled holding the bear from inside his jacket that he had kept, Chrome's favorite teddy bear. It was the piece of her he had left. He had kept it with him since he left his father's house. He fell asleep holding it close, Oscar deciding to cuddle up against him and he smiled. He guessed he would be a father figure to a pre-teen now too.

In the morning, the plan was running smoothly, Weiss was on the Atlesian aircraft to Atlas with Maria in her luggage as the only small person who could fit who could also fly a plane with Saphron and Adrian as her distraction to get Maria onboard. It was up to him and Blake to turn off the radar for Weiss.

Mercury was sure that three people riding on a two person motorcycle probably wasn't safe, he was aware. He was acutely aware of the conversation Blake and Terra were having about the comms equipment for the city versus the radar box.

"Are you two sure I shouldn't come with?" Yang asked as the bike stopped about a half mile from the tower.

"More intruders means we're more likely to be seen." Blake told her. "Besides, stealth isn't exactly your, um...I mean, you're great and we'll hurry back!" Blake told her.

"Go." Yang smiled at her. They went running off toward the tower together, Mercury feeling that bear close in his jacket, snuggly secured to his front so he couldn't possibly lose it.

"Heading in on foot, won't be long." Blake told the others on the comms.

"You know, you two flirting couldn't be more apparent." He told her.

"Hey!" She snapped.

"I just say what I see." He smirked.

"Sure, 'Dad-cury'." Blake teased.

"I won't deny my fatherly title. And don't make me adopt you all." He taunted back.

Their run to the tower was largely uneventful until they got to the tower itself. When they got there, there was a red-haired man he vaguely recognized as having maybe met once or possibly twice. Adam Taurus, a White Fang operative whom Emerald had informed him about two weeks ago that he'd taken reigns as the head of the organization before its eventual fall at Haven not long after.

"Blake. And you. Salem heard of your betrayal at Beacon, Mercury Black." Mercury felt a rush of both helpless and rage. This guy had the guts to practically threaten him?

"Merc, don't rush him." She warned quietly.

"Protecting your friend? Or are you travelling with an enemy, Belladonna? He could betray any of you at any moment while claiming to be a friend. He's probably not even with you to help, he's just running away like he ran away from his dear old daughter two years ago." Adam taunted.

"Don't you talk about my daughter!" Mercury snapped at him.

"Is Dad mad I brought up his abandoned baby? Mad because I'm right or because you're sad she won't have a Dad after I'm done with you?" Adam asked.

"I'm mad because some asshole is talking shit about me protecting my daughter!" Mercury shot at him with the gun-scythe, which he'd named Caduceus, Qrow got him that morning.

"Merc!" Blake snapped, pulling him away.

"Get to the radar." He whispered to her, rushing into the fight with Adam and distracted him while Blake tried to get up the relay tower. Unfortunately, that fight didn't quite favor Mercury as Adam grabbed his leg during a kick and pulled. Hard, so much Mercury went flying to the ground. The lock popped from the pin and he felt the lock break as the pin wasn't undone properly.

"Looks like Silver Black did a good job making his son easily controlled." Adam snapped. Mercury couldn't move, he knew Adam was looming over him, he knew it was so easy for him to die like this if he didn't attack but he felt a crushing weight of shock hit him that he would never see Chrome again.

She would never have a Dad, at least not one that was him. He'd never see her grow up. It made the breath catch in his lungs and tears build in his eyes. But the strike never came and, when he opened his eyes, Adam was gone, going after Blake.

He had to had to help Blake. He heard them tumbling in the trees, he shoved a twig into the the broken lock and put the pin back in. The stupid thing didn't move his stupid knee. Thankfully, he didn't need the use of it, he had a weapon still and another leg.

He could do this. He wouldn't stop fighting until he at least saw Chrome again. Blake was fighting Adam. He could hear it. he followed them to a waterfall nearby. he could tell by the sound of their swords clashing.

"You're delusional." Blake sounded shaken as he stood hidden in the forest before the opening. He saw their blades clash once more as he ran forward to save her. He wouldn't let him kill her.

Gambol Shroud was broken in half and his ears rang with Blake's scream as Mercury saw the blood on her wrist and was now getting on the ground. Her hand still on the grip of Gambol Shroud as it skittered away from her.

Adam simply shoved Mercury down and went about his bullshit speech about how she hurt him, showing off a brand on his left eye, one of the Schnee Dust Company's for their mineworkers. Blake's ears tuned back.

"I don't fucking care much for your pity me speech." Mercury spat and took him onto the ground, knocking Wilt from his hand and bringing the staff of Caduceus down on the bastard's head to try to just knock him out but he got kicked off and landed on top of Blake.

"Tell me, how does it feel to be alone?" Adam was picking up Wilt. He was holding that blade up, yelling as his intent was to bring it down but the blade didn't come a second time, Blake had taken him as she used her semblance to shadow them a few feet away.

"I'm not alone." She grit out as she held her holster for Gambol Shroud in her left hand.

"Yang." Blake grunted, holding her bleeding right wrist.

"It's okay, Blake, catch your breath for a second. Me and Merc can hold him off." Yang assured her.

"She's right, Blake. It's okay, we have unfinished business." And man if he actually needed to help her, he would have but Yang was amazing fighting him. He aided helping Blake stem the blood flow before she bled out by having grabbed her jacket, which he tied part of around her forearm and made a makeshift tourniquet.

"You'll be okay. Don't let yourself get dizzy and don't fall asleep, it might be severe blood loss." He warned her.

"His semblance is like yours! He absorbs energy through his sword, stores it up, and then sends it back when he's ready." Blake told Yang.

"He gets to dish out damage without having to feel it? That's just cheap." Yang scoffed before going after him again. Before he knew it, Blake was yelling for Yang and he was grabbing for her.

"Leave us alone. This is your last chance." Yang told Adam.

"Do you really believe that? Or are you just trying to scare me away so you won't have to die to protect her? Like your good metal buddy, Mercury over there, tried to." Adam asked.

"She's not protecting me, Adam. Neither is Mercury." He felt Blake's stump in his hand, she put it there. She was holding Yang's hand and trying to hold his in the only way she could with her right hand now gone. "And I'm not protecting them. We're protecting each other."

[warsmith-38]

How I would do RWBY pt.4

World Travel Arc.

Season Four.

Cinder was found by Salem after fall of Beacon.

Missing arm and eye.

Salem helps her and even rewards her.

She accomplished her goal of shooting Ozpin with the arrow.

It didn’t take, sure, but that’s not Cinder’s fault.

Arm is replaced with grimm arm.

An eye was also offered but Cinder refused because she wants a visceral reminder of her failure.

Translation: Because chuunibyou.

Cinder spends her time training to compensate for and overcome her new disabilities.

Has massive grudge against Ruby.

What should have been two easy wins were stolen from her by sheer dumb luck and circumstance.

She has made it her goal to prove that she is more powerful than Ruby and will do so by tearing her heart out and turning it to ash.

Salem decides that Ruby will be an issue to her long term plans and sends her best assassin, Tyrian, to kill her instead of Cinder.

Just like Summer.

She doesn’t want to send Cinder on the grounds that she thinks that homegirl REALLY needs to chill.

Ruby is full murderhobo.

Killing grimm and taking whatever freelance bounty money she can on her way to Mistral.

Fuck if she knows what she’s going to do when she gets there but she hasn’t planned all that far ahead.

She just wanted to not be stuck at home again.

Finds JNR, who had volunteered for general assistance in the areas around Mistral.

JNR says that there’s both a grimm issue and a bandit issue in the area.

Ruby wants everything to do with it.

Blake is on her way back to Menagerie.

Encounters SSSN who are on light duties and are being sent to putz around in Menagerie.

Sun asks her ‘what the fuck is your plan?’

Blake says that the only place for her in the world is back home with her family.

Weiss is also back home with her family but is far less into the idea.

Dad is distant and detached.

Mother is drunk and miserable.

Winter is the only one she properly interacts with, training and sparring to keep herself in shape.

Winter offers a position in the military, a cushy one at that (Can I get an amen for nepotism?)

Weiss ignores the offer, is depressed, misses her friends.

Yang is stuck at home, also depressed, dealing with deepening abandonment issues, and constantly fiddling with the trinket Raven gave her.

Having Ruby run off only made things worse. Combining her abandonment issues with the feeling of letting her sister down when she needed her most.

Tai barely pays attention to her outside of his constant worrying about Ruby but eventually sees the trinket and tells Yang about Raven.

Is very clearly bitter about the whole thing but is pretending he isn’t.

VERY rose (ha) tinted glasses about Summer.

Not that she was secretly a piece of shit or anything, but to hear Tai talk about her she made saints look like goatfuckers.

Ironwood shows up and gives Yang robo-arm as an apology for saying he’d help her after the fight with Mercury and then letting her down.

Ironwood helps break Yang out of her funk, offers some military style counseling, helping her work off the muscle atrophy, even teaches her some spec-ops chokeholds and the like.

Yang says it’s nice to have an actual male role model/father figure in her life.

Ironwood rips Tai’s shit in for being such a bad parent to Yang.

Tai has no real counters to what Ironwood is saying.

He realizes that he’s been a neglectful asshole and starts helping retrain Yang too.

Weiss makes a scene at an event her father is putting on.

Jacques sits her down after it and says that they’re going to have a completely frank conversation.

Topic shifts to their viewpoints and life choices.

He’s fine with his daughter disagreeing with him, he just wants her to understand him and he her.

Weiss calls him out on the blatantly bad shit the SDC has done.

Jacques defends his points, saying that he tried to make things better for the faunus and the White Fang just made everything worse for everyone.

Weiss tells him that passing the buck is bullshit.

Agree to disagree.

Jacques gives her a spiel laced with double meanings about freedom and making your own path.

Weiss leaves that night. (keikaku doori (Translation: All according to keikaku (Translators note: Keikaku means plan)))

Jacques might be a dick but he does want his family to be as genuinely happy as he can make them.

Blake gets back home.

Gets royal reception on the grounds that she’s the daughter of the chief of the kingdom.

Sun sends SSN to get on with their mission, he’s gonna be a while, faunus business.

They understand, they’re hip to this sort of thing, and tell him that if he needs them they’re just a phone call away.

He calls Blake out for being one of the most privileged faunus alive while lecturing others on said topic.

Blake and Sun walk in on White Fang people trying to recruit Ghira.

Notices Blake in the process of telling them to leave.

Ghira shoves everyone out of his way to embrace his long believed dead daughter.

Emotional reunion.

Sees Sun, makes joke about ‘Adam’s cheerier replacement’.

Blake gets sad.

Ghira assumes Adam died or something and doesn’t press the matter.

Calls for a royal banquet to celebrate the return of his daughter.

Sienna is present.

Sienna is overjoyed to see Blake alive and well.

Blake is happy to see ‘aunty’ Sienna but is apprehensive to talk that much with Sun glaring at them both.

Ilia is there (as head of local White Fang cell) and is happy to see her old friend is alive.

She already knew but has to keep up appearances, especially after The White Fang was seen at Beacon.

Very poor publicity to be seen operating at a place like that.

Ilia had been reassigned to Menagerie before the fall happened so she’s not guilty of taking part.

Later has small meeting with Blake, Sienna, Ilia, Sun, Ghira, and Kali.

Sienna tries (again) to bring Ghira into the White Fang.

His joining would bring all of Menagerie and the connected resources into the conflict.

This is opposed by everyone else present barring Ilia.

Ghira says that he has washed his hands of the problems in Atlas and has local stuff that he believes is more important in the long run.

Supporting Wild Call is how he helps the rest of his people.

Kali’s been running Wild Call since Ghira stepped away to run Menagerie.

Sienna talks about how faunus are treated in certain parts of the world.

It really is nowhere near as bad as she says it is.

Blake brings up terrorist acts in places completely innocent of any faunus abuse.

Sienna ‘condemns’ these acts and blames them on ‘bad apples’ like Adam, citing the fall of Beacon.

Says that Adam was acting alone and without official endorsement.

She’s lying through her fucking teeth, but the only other one who knows that for sure is Ilia.

While taking part in the fall was technically unsanctioned, Sienna knows all about Salem and was okaying Adam’s efforts working with her.

Ilia suddenly feels very guilty for some odd reason.

Ghira is very confused, doesn’t keep up too much with world affairs, generally too busy.

Blake rounds on Sienna for trying to shift the blame to Adam, cites all of the bullshit attacks she was involved in, letting it be known that she herself was in the White Fang.

Ghira and Kali both become enraged at Sienna, who told them that Blake was killed years ago at a protest gone south.

Sienna tries to make excuses for the cause.

Is escorted with Ilia from the palace at gun point.

Kali and Blake reconnect as Ghira has a sit down with Sun, telling him to tell him everything he knows.

Weiss is stowed away on airship bound for Vacuo/Mistral (doesn’t really matter which, ship gets taken down either way).

Ship gets attacked by grimm and gets splashed.

Weiss makes it to shore and travels southward, realizing that maybe she should have planned this a little more than not at all.

Wonder who she picked that up from.

Ends up surrounded by bandits who see the pretty girl from Atlas who might just be worth a lot of cash.

Weiss kicks the shit out of them.

Raven shows up.

Weiss loses.

Yang decides enough of her sulking and gets ready to set off to find Ruby and either 1. Bring her home 2. Look after her and keep her safe on her personal quest 3. Kick her ass for running off and making everyone worried 4. Some combination of the above. (Maybe hit up where Raven’s map leads along the way if she gets the chance)

Tai acknowledges that he can’t always protect his girls.

Tells Yang to not be too hard on Ruby, realizing that she would never have been happy with a calm, sheltered, life.

Summer was the same way.

He also apologizes for neglecting Yang for as long as he did.

Yang gets a hug from Tai, a salute from Ironwood, and a slobbering from Zwei.

Yes, the dog is still here. He’s a good dog. Every story could use a good dog or twelve.

Gets to the continent that Mistral is on. (I do not care about the name)

Starts biking in the direction that the conflict zones are, hoping to find word about Ruby along the way.

Gets accosted by bandits along the way.

Kicks the crap out of them.

Raven shows up saying that she expected nothing less from her daughter.

Yang realizes that she is indeed around where the map was pointing her.

This was supposed to be a test to see if Yang was resourceful enough to track her down.

Didn’t really mean to come this way just yet, but sometimes things just work out that way.

Raven happily takes her daughter to the main camp.

Yang is apprehensive to get comfortable and seems a little disappointed that her mother is just some asshole bandit.

Raven gives her a speech all about survival of the fittest and might makes right and all that jazz.

Yang wants to know why she left her in the first place and why she is suddenly wanting to be back in her life after all this time.

She’s got a lot of questions and Raven has very few answers.

Raven avoids Yang’s questions and says that she’s always been watching her from behind the scenes.

Yang actually dislikes that even more because it means that she could have been there for her the whole time, yet wasn’t.

Raven continues by saying that if Yang’s so weak that she couldn’t beat a pissant like Neo then she really needs mama to teach her what’s what.

Offers Yang a position in the tribe and even offers to make her second in command.

Yang then sees Weiss in a cage.

Raven explains that she’s going to be given to Salem to use as a hostage in Atlas.

Yang had already given up on getting answers and was already going to tell Raven to eat shit but now...

Demolishes the camp, takes Weiss away on the bike, and leaves the trinket Raven gave her in the dirt.

Would have taken the time to kick the shit out of Raven, but she needed to get Weiss out of there.

Raven is livid.

In Menagerie, Ghira and Kali have very upfront conversation with Blake.

They are upset with her that she ran off with terrorists but are happy she’s alive.

They also admonish her for running/taking the easy way out of every problem she’s had.

Blake is exasperated that the last place she could run off to is calling her out for running off so much.

Adam is all like ‘what up bitches, imma kill ya’.

Has sizable team of White Fang commandos with him and some grimm Salem sent.

Ilia shows up with her own commandos to counter his.

Both sides duke it out with the Belladonnas (Nightshades technically) getting pissed and telling all of them to get off their lawn.

Blake fights Adam.

Starts losing.

Sun calls SSN in for the assist.

They help but not all that much.

Sienna shows up to break the stalemate.

Starts kicking the shit out of Adam’s posse.

Officially denounces and attaints Adam for his crimes.

Adam leaves and swears vengeance, telling Blake that if he can’t kill her, he’ll kill RWY and make sure they know it was her that sent him to them.

Blake finally learns her fucking lesson.

Start to pack up to stop Adam before he kills RWY and, either afterwards or in the process, find and reconcile with RWY.

Takes the time to actually explain why she’s leaving this time.

Ghira understands.

Sienna takes partial blame and offers Blake the last known location of a red hooded huntress with a big fucking scythe her spies found.

Blake thanks her, but refuses an escort, hitching a ride back to the mainland with SSSN.

Ghira and Kali thank Sienna for the help but still tell her to get the fuck out and that the White Fang and their war are both not welcome in Menagerie.

In the name of their past friendship, they don’t just shoot her.

Blake has parting conversation with Sun about justifications and personal growth.

She and Sun amicably part ways.

SSSN go back to their usual shit and Blake starts hunting for Ruby.

Her logic is that, as far as she knows, Weiss is surrounded with SDC security and Yang is probably somewhere safe-ish, while Ruby is actively in a dangerous locale and ripe for predation.

Speaking of…

Ruby and JNR are clearing out local grimm around Mistral as expected.

Include sad scene or two there they find the ruins of Nora’s home village, destroyed by bandits.

Tyrian is all like ‘what up bitches, imma kill ya’.

Ruby is actually very eager for a fight against one of the important bad guys.

That excitement is curbed when Tyrian lets her know that he was the one to kill Summer.

Ruby is now more scared than anything.

R+JNR fight him and get their asses handed to them.

They try running but Tyrian isn’t giving up the chase.

Turns into cat and mouse game.

Jaune is pushed to his tactical limit against an incredibly intelligent and just as unpredictable enemy.

Everyone is scared out of their minds.

The cat (Tyrian) is just playing with his food (R+JNR) at this point.

Could have killed them at any point but he’s a sadistic animal that gets off on this shit.

Nora flies into a fury, bellowing that she will never lose anyone close to her ever again.

This creates an opening in Tyrian’s style.

Jaune’s planning manages to exploit this enough so Ruby gets a good hit on him, severing his tail.

He is very unhappy at this development.

Decides that he’s done playing with his food.

Wrecks R+JNR.

About to kill Ruby when Qrow ex machina runs him off.

Jaune discovers his semblance is healing and uses it on everyone that needs it. Which is everyone.

Qrow is annoyed that Ruby ran off on her own but understands.

Says that there’s an abandoned chateau that can serve as a pit-stop.

Been in the Branwen family for ages.

They abandoned it after they lost their fortune and it got overrun with grimm in the past.

Grimm have since moved on but the building is still there.

He’ll explain everything he can when he knows they’re out of danger.

Raven contacts Salem and tells her which direction Yang and Weiss are going.

Salem barely cares about what one of her least important agents is up to.

Notices that Ruby is in the same area and gets wind that Tyrian failed.

Sends Cinder and company to meet up with Raven and get hunting.

Salem makes a point of ordering Cinder to let Tyrian take on Ruby and not get involved against her.

Cinder just happens to ignore that order.

Blake does a little extra tracking but heads in the right direction.

Yang and Weiss hear about a red hooded huntress with a big scythe and follow the rumors.

Everyone converges at the chateau at the same time.

It’s a very all over the place scene.

Ruby is happy to see Weiss and Blake but is a little wary of Yang after how their last conversation went.

Yang is eager to make things up with Ruby but more than a little scornful of Blake.

Blake is scared of everyone’s rejection but understands their anger and is more than willing to work through it if they’d have her.

Weiss is happy to see everyone but her happiness and excitement is curbed by how everyone else is reacting to each other.

The tension explodes when Cinder and co. arrive.

Ruby and Cinder lock eyes.

Ruby goes quiet for a moment-

And then goes completely Broly BERSERK!

Group of boss fights.

Ruby madly charges Cinder in a rage.

JNR, Qrow, and Weiss begin fighting Emerald, Mercury, Tyrian, and grimm they brought.

Blake fights Adam. (again)

Yang fights Raven, constantly calling her on her shit.

Abandoning her and Tai to be some asshole bandit, siding with Salem, being a coward, et cetera.

Says that she has figured out that the reason Raven left was because she’s just a chicken shit coward who can’t deal with the world.

All of her issues and traumas have manifested into a sort of nirvana of wrath that gives her a one-time, ‘fuck you, mom’, power up that puts her at Raven’s power tier level.

Ruby vs Cinder takes them away from the others.

Ruby is in berserk, adrenaline filled, wrath fueled, fugue state, taking hits that should be stopping the fight but aren’t.

Cinder is also not fighting at her best due to A. missing eye, B. her grimm arm having a built in weakness to Ruby, and C. the fact that she had no idea that Ruby would go fucking mental like this.

Ruby eventually knocks Cinder down a pit and promptly passes out from blood loss.

Blake beats Adam and tells him to fuck off, saying that she will not stoop to his level of murder.

Yang overpowers and beats Raven, but barely.

JNR is busy with the grimm and Qrow is busy with Tyrian, who has a freaky grimm tail now.

Weiss is fighting both Emerald and Mercury.

Is losing pretty hard.

Yang shows up to fight Mercury.

WY have their first proper rival fights against E+M.

And proceed to lose.

Raven has heel-face turn and bails them out.

Tyrian is killed at the same time. Small justice for Summer.

Qrow reunites with Raven.

The Branwen siblings intimidate E+M, faking not being fuckoff exhausted.

Dare they stand against this deadly alliance?

Nope.

Emerald and Mercury cheese it.

Raven explains that since Yang beat her, Yang is now in charge of the bandits.

Raven says how proud she is that her daughter is such an ass kicker.

Yang is about to tell her off but then realizes that Ruby is still gone.

They find her in a widening pool of her own blood.

Jaune heals her.

Everyone wonder just what the fuck that was that Ruby did.

It’s not its own power or a sub-power of her new semblance.

She was just that fucking angry at seeing Cinder.

RWBY has a big ‘we beat the middle to high tier bad guys’ group hug.

Ruby affirms that she senses that Cinder is still alive but accepts the hug anyway.

Raven says that Salem’s next target is Mistral itself with Adam’s White Fang hardliners.

Yang says thanks for the info and then tells her to do what she does best and fuck off.

Literally everyone mirrors the sentiment.

Raven leaves in a huff but starts to question her morals.

RWBY is now reunited as a team.

They’re not quite back to normal, but they’re all together again.

Reunited RWBY, JNR, and Qrow now on course to Mistral proper to recoup and make new plans.

Season four done.

[iwillwalk500miles]

Uwu heard you were taking requestsss If you've got the time and mood a whiterose *she was a punk she did ballet* au mayhaps

a/n: fair warning i don’t know shit about ballet so it’s barely mentioned

Weiss Schnee was, objectively, a very talented individual. Thrust into singing, fencing, and ballet lessons at a young age—there was quite literally no space for her to be anything but talented. 

That was, of course, until she found herself quite effectively disowned.

Not that she found herself minding much.

It starts, as most of these stories do, with a girl. Well, two of them, actually. Weiss (tired, angry, sore) leaving her ballet practice with a rage so obvious it practically shimmers beneath her skin, and the strange one (too tall, dark hair, lots of piercings) coming to pick up someone in the same class as her.

“Weiss!” Penny calls. “Have you met my friend yet?”

Leave me alone. Weiss wants to say, but Penny was practically beaming, making the freckles on her cheeks more pronounced and Weiss can’t find it in herself to brush her off. “I have not.” She says instead, and she sounds more soft than she’d meant to.

“Wonderful!” Penny exclaims, and gestures to the girl next to her (you know the one—too tall, dark hair, lots of piercings) who waves a little stiffly. “This is Ruby!”

Weiss (reminding you—tired, angry, sore) looks up at her, meeting her eyes. “Hello.” She says, rather flatly, crossing her arms and tilting her head. Penny can take care of herself, Weiss knows, but she can’t help but feel the slightest bit protective of the only one in class willing to actually talk to her without being passive aggressive about it.

“Hey.” Ruby greets, twitching in a way that is so endearingly awkward and does not at all go with the combination of black, red, and leather she is wearing. 

Oh no. Weiss thinks. She’s cute.

Which is very much not fair, very much not fair at all, because Weiss (who is tired and angry and sore) is really not properly equipped to deal with someone who falls under the purview of ‘heart-meltingly adorable.’

Penny grins, and she can’t really tell if it’s knowing or oblivious. “Anyway, do you want to come with us to—”

“I can’t.” Weiss says, and she finds that her voice is genuinely apologetic. “I have to go to a fencing competition tomorrow morning, Father would be displeased if I spent more time than necessary outside the manor.” 

Penny pouts. “Excuse my language, but your dad is absolutely—”

Ruby puts a hand over her mouth before she can say anything else. “Haha, I’m sure she didn’t mean—”

Penny shoves her hand down, still looking positively bright. “Oh know, I assure you I absolutely meant—”

“Penny!” Ruby hisses, her cheeks pink, and Weiss can’t help but laugh. Ruby shifts at the sound of her laughter, and then smiles, a heartbreakingly beautiful thing. “Um, are you sure you don’t want to come with us? We’re gonna go to the mall and get some food court nachos.” Ruby crosses her arms around her chest, still smiling, and Weiss notices the tattoo of roses for the first time.

Crap. Weiss thinks. She’s hot too.

“Food court nachos?” She asks. “I’ve never had them.”

Ruby gasps, melodramatically placing a hand over her heart. “Well now you have to go.”

“Alright.” Weiss agrees after a moment of deliberation.

“Wonderful.” Penny says, “I totally have somewhere entirely different to be—” (she hiccups) “—so have fun! Salutations, friends!” And then she was gone, skipping away before anyone could protest.

Ruby’s smile turns sheepish. “Ummm, sorry about that, you don’t have to—”

“So which mall are we going to?” Weiss interrupts her. “I expect the very best food court nachos, now that you’ve introduced me to them.”

“The best?” Ruby asks after a moment.

“The best.” Weiss agrees.

“Alright.” A crooked grin slowly makes its way onto her face, “Let me show you.”

It goes without saying that food court nachos were not the only thing that Weiss was shown.

[astraguardian]

Clover Ebi is Important

I was inspired to write this after seeing posts where people suggested that Clover was a “nobody” in-universe and that we were never supposed to care for him as a character. Clearly quite a few of us think otherwise, and I wanted to go into detail on why that’s the case. I’ll be primarily focusing on how the show used framing to set Clover up as an important character who we should pay attention to, while also touching on how Clover is shown to fulfill a high-level role in-universe in the Atlesian military. I previously discussed Clover’s role in the trailer for volume 7 and that post can be found here.

Clover and the Ace-Ops

For this section, we’ll mostly be discussing how Clover is given more focus than the other Ace-Ops in terms of both framing and screen time. Fun fact, a reddit user who ranks the word count of each character in RWBY found that Clover had 1,259 words this volume. So, what exactly does that mean? For starters, it means that Clover spoke more words than all of the other Ace-Ops combined, who add up to 1,176 words among the four of them. It means that Clover has the 22nd highest word count out of all characters in the series and it means that he has the highest word count for any character who has only appeared in a single volume, beating out Jinn by 27 words. It also means that Clover, in one volume, has spoken just under 100 more words than Penny Polendina, our winter maiden, has spoken in the entire series. The reddit user also found the characters with the top three word counts per volume, and Clover had the second most words spoken this volume, only beaten out by Ironwood. None of this seems fitting for an “unimportant” side character.

With that said, we’ll start by looking at episode 1 and Clover’s introduction to the show before we dive into the opening.

Our first shot of the Ace-Ops has Elm, Vine, Marrow, and Harriet looking off-frame at what we soon find out is Clover. From the very beginning, Clover is shown separated from his team as the leader, and most relevant member of the Ace-Ops. He’s established as the one they look to for orders.

When Clover finally comes into frame, we have not one,

not two,

but three shots of him before we see his face.

You don’t build up to a character reveal for someone considered irrelevant.

The rest of the scene sees Clover handling the relic and explaining why the Ace-Ops have been called to Mantle. Pietro asking what the Ace-Ops are doing down in Mantle suggests that this sort of work would likely be below their pay grade, that the Ace-Ops are expected to be undertaking more important missions. It should also be pointed out that Clover is the only Ace-Op who speaks in this entire episode. While he’s given more characterization in episode 2, Clover’s establishing character moment happens in episode 1. We’re shown that he’s the confident, collected leader of a group high up in Atlas’ military.

Even the end of the scene focuses on Clover. The Ace-Ops move in separate directions when they leave, but the scene follows Clover as he heads off.

The opening only serves to reinforce the idea that Clover is narratively important.

His badge is shown on-screen alone, before Clover’s hand appears and grabs it.

The screen then goes green except for Clover’s hand, and the following shot of all of the Ace-Ops establishes this green as Clover’s color.

Just as interesting is the proper shot of the Ace-Ops. Unlike episode 1, this shot opens with only Clover present at first.

He moves slightly before the other Ace-Ops fade in. It’s interesting to note that we’re shown Clover without the Ace-Ops, not the other way around. If CRWBY wanted to foreshadow episode 12, they could have just as easily had Clover appear after the other Ace-Ops. This would have shown the other Ace-Ops without Clover, instead of showing Clover on his own. The opening clearly singles Clover out, giving him a level of focus not shown with the other Ace-Ops.

This continues to be shown in episode 3, where Clover’s fighting abilities are shown off against the Geist.

We get a whole sequence of Clover jumping into the fight and taking action to separate the Geist from its body.

The sequence even warrants a shot of all four members of RWBY watching in awe as Kingfisher’s line wraps around the Geist’s mask.

When the Ace-Ops get their cut in, the shot starts with Clover before adding in all of the other Ace-Ops at once. For comparison, the RWBY shot (which happened only 10 seconds earlier in the episode) had Weiss and Yang appear on the outside before having Ruby and Blake appear in the middle. No team member appeared by themself, unlike with the Ace-Ops.

To say Clover was given the same significance as the other Ace-Ops is to ignore the repeated framing of Clover by himself instead of with the other Ace-Ops. He was always meant to stand out and be the Ace-Op we focused on.

Clover and the Military

Clover is also shown to operate on a totally different level of the military structure than the other Ace-Ops. While they were all trusted with Ironwood’s secrets, Clover is clearly higher up the chain of command.

He’s shown staying behind to discuss plans with Ironwood even when the rest of his team is dismissed,

he leads the briefings,

and he’s chosen to accompany Ironwood at the Schnee Dinner, alongside Winter and Penny.

Particularly interesting is a moment in Ep9. When Mantle is being swarmed with Grimm, Clover’s the first one to hear about it. Not Winter, not General Ironwood, Clover. Mantle’s at risk of collapse and Clover is being contacted before Ironwood is.

He’s then the one leading the charge to save Mantle, shown by him literally leading our heroes out of the dining room, with even Winter following him.

He’s also chosen to help fight Tyrian alongside Qrow and Robyn. Ironwood would want someone competent and trustworthy leading the charge against Tyrian, considering his current stress over Salem’s forces being present in his kingdom, and Clover fit that perfectly. 

Clover is one of the two most powerful people in the military outside of Ironwood, the general. Considering the strength of the Atlesian military, that’s by no means an insignificant role. He’s who soldiers are contacting in a time of crisis and he’s the one leading the charge to save Mantle. That doesn’t sound like the job of a “nobody.”

Clover and Qrow

I don’t think I need to explain why Qrow is an important character in the overall plot of RWBY. He’s one of Oz’s most trusted men and one of the strongest fighters in Remnant even without his magical abilities. He’s also someone who has been defined by his choice to push others away and be alone. Prior to volume 7, most of his interactions were with Ruby, his niece who has been shown to look up to him for most of her life, and many of his interactions outside of that weren’t exactly friendly. We’re shown that Qrow tends to be abrasive towards others, both because he doesn’t fully trust them and because he worries about putting them in danger due to his semblance. Ozpin even refers to it as a “fear of growing close to someone.” Yet suddenly, volume 7 starts and we see Qrow not only interacting with someone new, but also getting close to him in a way we haven’t seen with Qrow and any other characters. The volume after Qrow hit rock bottom, Qrow has his first healthy on-screen relationship outside of his nieces, with most of his screen time being dedicated to developing this relationship.

Volume 7 stressed Clover’s importance through his connection with Qrow even before they had a proper conversation. If you’ll remember from the start of this post, the first time we see Clover is from Qrow’s perspective.

Episode 3 is where RWBY begins to properly set up Clover as Qrow’s partner. We’re shown that the two of them have been paired off, working as a team of two while the other two teams consist of two Ace-Ops members and three to four younger huntsmen. Qrow’s first proper conversation with Clover has him commenting on how he’s not used to working with others again, as he’s been on his own for a while now, which Clover says is a shame. He then catches Qrow when he falls, showing that Qrow does benefit from having someone else alongside him in the field.

Lucky you, huh?

Qrow’s luck semblance has been special for a while now. It lacks the physical nature of most of the other semblances (ex: glyphs, speed, aura disruption) and hasn’t been explored much yet. And suddenly, here we have someone whose semblance is a perfect foil for Qrow’s. This could’ve easily been a point of contention, but we’re never shown anything suggesting that Qrow resents Clover for his semblance.

Clover’s semblance is especially important considering his line in the next episode: “Ace-Ops are hand-picked to perfectly complement each other.”

Elm can root herself in place, while Vine can propel himself using aura vines. Harriet has super speed, while Marrow can freeze enemies in their tracks. The Ace-Ops have opposite semblances and Clover has just worked with someone who has the opposite of his semblance.

It’s also worth noting that while Qrow is included in the frame while Clover says this, Qrow plays no role in this conversation. He’s just there to look at Clover while Clover talks about complementary partners.

They’re also shown to have complementary fighting styles, with Clover prioritizing disabling opponents over going in for the kill (also seen in the fight with the Geist, where he pulled it out of the ice so Harriet could kill it), while Qrow is the damage-dealer. Their fight against Tyrian has Clover twice wrap Kingfisher around Tyrian to let Qrow get a strong hit in.

Clover and Qrow are also complementary outside of their semblances and fighting styles, perfectly illustrated in the truck scene. Qrow is pessimistic and jaded, while Clover is optimistic and genuine. Clover helps convince Qrow to stop deflecting compliments and putting himself down and Qrow lets Clover have a chance to relax and make jokes instead of always acting the part of a cool, professional leader. It’s by far the healthiest relationship we’ve seen Qrow have with someone his own age. It also parallels Blake and Yang and Ren and Nora, two sets of partners (both in terms of battle and romance) made up of people with contrasting personalities.

Their eye colors are also the inverse of each other, a pattern seen again with Blake and Yang and Ren and Nora.

Throughout the volume, the focus on Qrow or Clover is often shown from behind the other’s shoulder, putting both of them in the frame. One example is in episode 7, in Ironwood’s office, where we’re shown Clover’s response to Ironwood from over Qrow’s shoulder, including how Clover briefly looks to Qrow during this. It’s also interesting to note that Clover’s response to Ironwood demanding the arrest of Robyn in this moment is to say “we’ll figure it out,” while looking at Qrow. A bit unusual for a military man who is supposed to always be following orders.

The end of episode 11 features the same framing, with Qrow being the focus this time. It’s important to remember why so many of us were caught off-guard by the start of episode 12 after seeing this moment; Clover had been separated from the other Ace-Ops to be placed with Qrow. It was a pattern we had seen all volume, emphasizing Clover’s relationship and partnership with Qrow over his other connections, so of course we all assumed he was set up to side with Qrow in this moment. Looking at what seemed to be foreshadowing regarding his role with the Ace-Ops and his partnership with Qrow, many of us thought he’d be leaving the Ace-Ops behind to join our main cast.

Orders vs Morality

Clover’s relationship with Qrow also played into the orders vs morality character arc he seemed set up for. Who better to convince a soldier to rebel than Qrow Branwen, notable hater of the Atlesian military?

Clover is never shown to be someone who follows orders without thinking for himself. In episode 2, he apologizes to team RWBY for arresting them, despite the charges against them having been accurate. He could’ve told them off for stealing a plane and using their weapons in a city without licenses, but he instead tried to make amends. In episode 5, he wishes Robyn luck in the election even after she almost had the Happy Huntresses attack the truck, only calling them off after Penny asked her to stop. There’s also his line in episode 7, which we’ve already discussed, alongside how he sees Robyn, who still has an arrest warrant out for her at this point, in episode 8 and makes no move to arrest her.

There’s also this look in episode 10, right after he receives orders to switch from fighting Grimm to joining Robyn in defeating Tyrian. We’re immediately shown him looking at the Grimm swarming the sky before telling Qrow that they need to hurry. He might be following orders and prioritizing Tyrian, but he’s also concerned about the attacking Grimm and wants to return to protecting civilians as soon as possible.

While episode 12 abandoned this set up, it would likely come back into play if Clover is revived in volume 8. In two volumes with a heavy focus on orders vs morality, RWBY has yet to use this arc and Clover remains the best candidate for it. The other Ace-Ops haven’t had enough focus to warrant a developed arc. Winter has been defined by her loyalty for Ironwood since volume 3. Penny was always loyal to the kingdom, not to Ironwood specifically. Her arc has been about making her own decisions, not about having to decide between following orders and doing the right thing. If RWBY wants to talk about trust and trusting love, having Clover come back and choose to trust Qrow, his partner, over following orders would be a perfect way to showcase these themes in a positive light.

Conclusion

In addition to being an important person in the Atlesian military structure, Clover was clearly framed in a way that told viewers to keep an eye on him. He spoke more than his four team members combined, he was shown to be the complementary partner to a character connected to RWBY’s main plot, and he was set up for an important character arc. Clover isn’t just another side character and if we’re lucky, we’ll get to see all of this setup pay off in volume 8 with a Clover revival.

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain: Chapter 703: Minas Levain:  Part II/III

"Wait?" Yang asked, "Does that means he actually wants her to give him a blowjob?"

"She's hot," Jaune stated, "and cute, but as I said, I'm not looking for more wives. Four is plenty."

"Then, perchance?.." Weiss asked.

"I was raised to mean what I say." Jaune replied, "Kind of important for a knight and whatnot, but, I honestly believe that the only way this is going to work is if we are completely honest with each other. We're here for each other, and no one is being forced into this."

"He does have a point." Ruby said, "Wait, does that mean you are going to spank us if we lie?"

"Yes." Jaune simply stated.

"I didn't think I was asking?.." Ruby asked.

"Rhetorical." Weiss stated.

"Literal." Blake said, looking at Jaune, "So, my choices here are let Aurora stay in exchange for blowing Jaune when we need it, or getting a spanking."

"You should go for the spanking." Yang said, and everyone quickly looked at her.

"Qrow did say you are like Raven?" Ruby asked.

"What does mom have to do with this?" Yang asked.

"That you seem to take after your mother." Weiss stated, "And aside from her hair, once you think about it, the resemblance is uncanny."

"And you called her mom." Blake stated.

"What does Raven have to do with this?" Yang asked.

"Nice save, sis." Ruby said to her.

"Uh-huh, yeah, thanks..." Yang sarcastically said.

"I do think we should be completely honest with each other." Weiss stated.

"Even if we get spankings?" Ruby asked her.

"If my pert posterior has to be sacrificed?.." Weiss happily asked.

"Try not to sound too eager." Yang said to her.

"...then it will be sufficient if it means harmony amongst our family." Weiss finished.

"So?," Ruby nervously asked, "are... we going to let Aurora give Jaune blowjobs, or?.."

"Am I the only one who's ever given one?" Blake asked. Ruby and Weiss would be expected, but Blake just glared at Yang.

"I may..." Yang voiced, "or may not - be all talk. I've never actually..." she said, and trailed off.

"You have?" Ruby asked, "How was it?"

"Nothing quite like that feeling of direct sevice..." Blake whistfully said, "though, my memories... I'd rather replace them with someone who's not a monster, nor will turn into one."

"Are you?.." he said and paused, "That confident in me?" Jaune asked her.

"Of all of us here, you are the least likely to turn to the darkside."

"The I don't give a fuckery," Yang stated, "is strong with him."

"Stolid." Blake quipped, and Weiss eagerly nodded at that.

"Implacable." Weiss added.

"Even when I was... you know... crying?.." Jaune asked.

"Give the circumstances," Weiss stated, "that was understandable."

"The ancients created tragedies to give men an excuse to cry." Blake added, "But the pain of that loss marked your soul. I can see the scar burning, a scar you never want to happen again."

Tears started to form on Jaune's face.

"What about me?" Ruby asked, raising her hand.

"You," Blake said to her, "are like me, you can do the wrong thing because you believe it's right. I honestly don't know what I believe anymore."

"What about me?" Yang sheepishly asked.

"Your strength needs strength to temper it." Blake said to her.

"And... if I might ask?.." Weiss asked.

Blake looked her deep in the eyes, "What you want most is to do what is right." Subtle tears started to form on Weiss' face.

"And?.." Yang asked.

"And?," Blake asked Yang, and looked back to Weiss, "what is that?" Weiss looked lost and distant in reply. "That's the thing." Blake stated, "we don't have to do this alone." She stepped forward to embrace Weiss in a deep hug. "We love you." Blake whispered, and then stepped back. "To think I'd love a Schnee. You were like Satan or Dark Brother."

"And, no offence," Weiss stated, "but you as well."

Yang powerfully punched her fists together, "Heaven help us. Hell's afraid of us."

"The power of RWJBY!" (ruj-by) Ruby exclaimed.

"I do believe we need to work on that." Weiss stated.

"Or we just call ourselves Arcs." Blake stated, "That is how it traditionally works."

"Because we're so traditonal." Jaune sarcastically stated.

"A knight and his concubines?" Weiss asked.

"Well, yeah?," Yang asked, "but wouldn't one of us be his wife?" Weiss and Blake looked at her curiously, "I mean, the knights always had wives right?, and concubines aren't wives, which means he had to have a wife and maybe concubines?" RWBY eyed each other narrowly, as if a fight could break out at any time.

"No fighting!" Jaune's deep baritone stated, and the girls quickly relaxed.

"Now that this is resolved," Weiss said, and looked at Blake, "don't think we forgot what you said about Aurora."

"Are we really doing this?" Blake asked.

"Indeed." Weiss stated.

"But?.." Blake asked, and then trailed off. "No, I'm the one who said it, so I'll have to stand by it."

"Who knew Blake was that kinky?" Yang asked.

"I suspected." Weiss said to her, and then turned to Aurora. "Aurora?" Aurora simply nodded. "Well, now that this is out in the open, I'll have to object."

"WHAT?!" Blake and Yang shouted.

"Did you really think I would accept this?" Weiss asked.

"I'm honestly completely lost here." Yang stated.

"I knew you would decline." Aurora stated.

"Then?.." Weiss asked.

"Then," Aurora said, "I have made myself clear."

"And then," Jaune stated, "she can't stay in the master's apartments."

"You heard his daddy voice." Yang stated.

"I'd pefer a mommy voice." Aurora said, and then with a shocked look, looked about bashfully.

"Well, that explains it." Blake stated.

"Explains what?" Weiss asked.

"She's a lesbian submissive." Blake stated nonchalantly.

"That," Yang voiced, "doesn't really explain as much as you think it does."

"Hm?" Blake asked, and Yang vigorously pointed between Aurora and Jaune.

"I think we've embarassed her enough for the moment." Jaune stated, "Aurora?," he asked, "guest apartments or servants quarters?"

"The guests apartments are closer to my mistress," she stated, "unless they are otherwise needed, in which case I will take the servants quarters."

"She's part of the family, isn't she?" Ruby asked, and everyone looked at her.

"Yes," Blake said with a smile, "just not in that way."

"Alright," Jaune stated, "I'm going to go check out the kitchen. Assuming Contrary is going to explore the library."

"I will accompany Jaune-dear," Weiss stated, "and prepare us coffee."

"The library is like an entire floor, so I'm sure she's going to love it." Yang stated.

"And what are the sisters going to do?" Weiss asked asked.

"I know this is going to sound corny," Yang replied, "but I'm going to guard our... apartments."

Before she knew what was happening, Jaune had pulled her in for a passionate kiss, causing Ruby to huff. When Jaune pulled away he opened his arms, and in a burst of rose petals Ruby was there, and he picked her to kiss her before putting her back down.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"I'm going to see how Ilia is doing." Ruby stated.

"Very well." Weiss said, and gave her a peck on the cheek. * * *

Ruby used Crescent Rose to launch herself from the roof of the tower. Mid-way she burst into rose petals to cover the remaining distance. She reverted as she landed on the roof of the turret. She looked at the parapets, unsure of what they were. I mean, all castles had them, right? She looked around, opened the trap door, and started running down the stairway. The turret was round, about 20-30 feet across that descended anticlockwise. It was about four floors high, but the floors were much lower than the main tower. More like a regular house. The 4th floor was a large, open room with 3 beds. Ruby Petal Burst across the room to the next flight of stairs down. She got down on all fours and looked at the 3rd floor, to see Ilia looking through drawings. "Hey!" Ruby exclaimed, and Ilia turned towards her.

"Hello." she said.

"Getting comfy?" Ruby asked, and Ilia just looked at her for a moment.

"Yes." she said. "I've never been comfortable in luxury..."

"It is like REALLY BIG." Ruby stated, "But also REALLY OLD. Nora and Ren have gone to look for the ghost."

Ilia smiled, "I doubt there's a ghost."

"Well, yeah, but," Ruby stated, "REALLY OLD. And it's all ours. Isn't it exciting?"

Ilia turned to sit on a bed. She was still smiling, just a bit more weak than before, "It's all yours." Ilia stated. "I'm just tagging along. You are Huntresses, and I'm?.." Ilia asked, and flopped back on her bed, "an... assassin?" Ruby ran down on all fours and ended up at the end of Ilia's bed. When Ruby didn't say anything, Ilia nervously lifted her head. "That... isn't?.."

"You WERE an assassin!" Ruby said, wagging her tail.

With this Ilia sat up and looked at her questioningly, "Isn't that," she nervously voiced, "a problem?"

"I really don't know?" Ruby asked, "I mean, everyone else seems good with it, and I'm not really the best socially... Jaune's happy to have you."

"He is?" Ilia asked.

"He relies on you." Ruby stated.

"Doesn't make me part of the family."

"FFIINNE!" Ruby exclaimed, "We'll just hire you."

"As a what?," Ilia asked, "assassin?"

"I don't know?" Ruby asked, and stood up properly, "What's between Huntress and assassin?" Ilia just rolled her eyes. "Okay?," Ruby asked, "but Uncle Qrow was apparently a bandit, and he's still my uncle."

"So?.." Ilia nervously asked, looking at her hands, "you're... fine with it..."

"Nope." Ruby said with glee, "I mean... this is awkward... that an inside joke with me and Jaune." She stood up properly, pointing at Ilia, "Anyways!, you can't change what you've done, but you want to help us save the world, so you can't be all bad, can you?"

Ilia flopped back on the bed, and her colours changed to camouflage herself into it. Ruby pounced on Ilia. "As someone who hides in her cloak, I know how well that doesn't work."

"Can't you leave me to mope?" Ilia.

"Nope," Ruby excitedly said as she stood from the bed and held our her hand, "Weiss is making Coffeee." Ilia took Ruby's hand and let herself get pulled to her feet.

[danurso]

The Arc charm

RWBY: *playing with adrien*

Adrien: *happy baby giggles*

Yang: awww.

Ruby: he's so cuuuute.

Blake: he is.

Weiss: *hugging him* he's the most adorable thing on this planet.

Saphron: wow, so young but already surrounded by girls, adrien is quite popular don't you think.

Terra: *nods*

Jaune: yup, he is. Just don't let dad teach him how to flirt, its gonna go wrong for him.

Saphron: who needs flirting skills? He has the arc charm on his side already.

Yang: vomit boy already mentioned this arc charm and used it to go after ice queen, it didn't worked for him though.

Jaune: *deadpans* not all charm in the world could make up for how annoying i was being.

Saphron: still, i'm surprised your charm didn't work on her *grins* adrien on the other hand doesn't seems to have problems using the arc charm to get the attention from the ladies.

Ruby: what is this arc charm?

Saphron: it's a natural skill all arcs are born with which makes you a chick magnet basically.

Yang: is vomit boy's charm broke? Cause he isn't that magnet.

Saphron: believe me, during school days there were lots of girls interested in jaune, he was just too dense to notice that.

Jaune: i wasn't dense.

Saphron: yes you were, just like dad was when he first met mom. *sigh* at least i hope adrien didn't got that side from arc family.

Weiss: if you raise him properly, then you won't have that problem right?

Saphron: i don't think so, being dense is engraved in the arc DNA, so i'm afraid that i can't really do much about that.

Blake: *raises eyebrow* i thought adrien was terra's kid?

Terra: and he is.

Saphron: but he's also an arc.

Weiss: wait, wait, wait, how is it possible that he's both terra's child and an arc, last time i checked two womans couldn't. . .well. . .reproduce.

Saphron: *snort* and they still can't silly, that's why we had to add the boy factor to the story. *pulls jaune into a headlock* and that's where my little brother comes in.

RWBY/_N_R: *car crashing sound on the background*

Ruby: w-wait a minute. . .does that means that-

Saphron: adrien is jaune's son with terra? Yup, he is.

Nora: hold on a second. *picks up a cup of tea and sips it, before spitting it all out* HE'S WHAT!?!?

Saphron: what? We wanted our kid to be an arc too, and since my brother was a very kind person he didn't refused to help us and donate some of his DNA.

Weiss: o-oh right, so jaune donated the DNA so you could make an artificial insemination? For one moment i thought-

Saphron: no, they just straight up banged for a whole night.

RWBY/_N_R: *chokes*

Terra: *blushing* s-saphron!

Saphron: what? It's the truth.

Terra: still. . .

Saphron: still what? Don't act like you didn't liked it, i can still hear you screaming and moaning jaune's name for hours. it kinda makes me jealous, i never heard you moan like that with me.

Terra: *atomic red*

Jaune: *red* s-saphron? Don't you think you said enough already?

Saphron: yeah i probably did, but that reminds me, are you okay with making me and terra another baby?

RWBY/_N_R: *chokes even harder*

Jaune: *deep red* w-what!?

Saphron: me and terra were talking about it for awhile and we wanted another baby, we're both very excited about the idea of another adrien running around the house. . .although i can't really say if terra's excitement is for the baby or for getting dicked by you again.

Terra: *solar red* s-saphron!!!

Saphron: so? Can you help us out?

Jaune: . . .are you really okay with me doing that again?

Saphron: as long as you give me a new kid i'm one hundred percent fine with it, luckily terra is on her fertile period today so i don't think you'll have troubles knocking her up.

Jaune: *blushing* and you terra? Are you okay with that?

Saphron: ohh i bet she is, especially now that you've got ripped and even more handsome.

Terra: *hiding her face with her hands and with smoke coming from the top if her head* please stop.

Saphron: that's not a denial. So, can you do me that favor lil' brother?

Jaune: *dark red* well. . .if she's okay with it i don't mind.

Terra: i-i don't mind it, really.

Saphron: *pushing them upstairs* great, great, now get out of my face and start making me a second kid.

Jaune/Terra: *disappears on the second floor*

Saphron: *walks back to the living room and sits down on the sofa with a sigh* finally. *looks back at RWBY and _N_R who have completely shocked expression on their faces* what?

Ruby: *blushing* a-are jaune and terra going to. . .uhm. . .well. . .

Saphron: yup, unless you know another way for them to make babies.

Weiss: and you don't care for the fact that jaune is going to sleep with your wife?

Saphron: he's doing me a favor, why would i be worked up about that? plus terra has been a bit stressed because of her work recently and i don't have much time to take care of her, jaune's actually doing me two favors for the price of one.

RWBY: *blushing* oh my god.

Ren: well, when you put it that way it does make sense.

Nora: fearless leader has also been stressed for awhile now, i bet that this is going to help him too.

Weiss: are you two seriously agreeing with this!?

Nora: yup.

Ren: *shrugs*

Saphron: what about you girls?

RWBY: us?

Saphron: did any of you give my brother a try?

RWBY: *dark red* a WHAT!?

Saphron: so? Did you?

Ruby: n-no.

Weiss: absolutely not!

Blake: i don't think so.

Yang: no.

Saphron: you girls have no idea what you're missing. I bet jaune could help you girls with all the stress you've got on this trip.

Weiss: *red* who said we're stressed!? And what makes you think he can help us!?

Saphron: *grins raising three fingers*

Ruby: . . .what does that means?

Saphron: three. . .two. . .one *cover adrien's ears* aaand.

Terra: OOOOHHHHHHH FUUUUUUCK!!!!!

RWBY: *blushes*

Ruby: w-was that. . .terra?

Saphron: yup.

Terra: AAAAHHH!!!!! JAUNEEE!!!! OOHHH MY GOOOOODDD!!!

Yang: is the always that loud?

Saphron: not even close, terra is pretty shy in bed and she gets embarrassed of the neighbors hearing her lewd noises, so she tries her best to hold back her voice, but that's only with me, when jaune comes around the story is different.

Blake: *blushing* is he really that good?

Saphron: oh he is, i never saw him in action for obvious reasons, but from everything i heard from terra. . .well, let's just say that if she met first jaune instead of me, terra nowadays wouldn't be lesbian.

Blake: wow. . .he's that good?

Saphron: isn't that enough of a proof to you?

Terra:  YESYESYESYESYESSSS!!!!! THIS IS SOO GOOOOOD!!!

Saphron: do i really need to say anything else?

Yang: . . .gotta admit, she does have a point.

Weiss: are you serious!?

Ruby: i mean. . .terra is supposed to only like girls, but jaune can still make her feel like that. . .what would happen if he did it with a girl that likes boys?

Weiss: ruby i. . . *sigh* why do i even bother.

Yang: where's blake?

Blake: *walking downstairs with wide eyes and a nosebleed*

Ruby: blake? What's wrong?

Blake: i saw them. . . 

Weiss: d-don't tell me you were peeping on them!?

Blake: there are things i thought were only possible on books and doujins. . .jaune just proved me wrong. . .i need to see the rest. *walks back upstairs*

Yang: okay, now i'm curious. *follows her*

Ruby: h-hey! No peeping *follows* i-im going too, but just to make sure you'll not peep on them.

Weiss: y'know what, i don't care anymore *follows* wait for me!

Ren: . . .were you planning all of this?

Saphron: *grinning* maybe, but would it be that bad if your friends and jaune got together and made us some nephews?

Nora: it would awesome! And they would be so cute too!

Saphron: *picking adrien up* and adrien would have friends to play with him. Now if you excuse me i'll walk a bit with adrien, maybe find a nice hotel to stay, something tells me that even after he's over with terra jaune will still have a lot of work. Bye you two! *leaves*

Ren: . . .

Nora: . . .soo, wanna do something renny?

Ren: like?

Nora: i don't know, watch a movie, eat something, maybe-

Ren: *sigh* you wanna do 'that' too, don't you?

Nora: *pounces at him* thank god i thought you weren't going to ask!