[RWBY] No Victory in Strength (Minecraft Jaune)

[eratas123]

Honestly im with Jaune in that I play with Characters i like and nit whats meta. Unless I both like the design and i get lucky with rolls. Though I do admit the fact he sacrificed them does produce an eye twitch from me. Honestly I thought Jaune would accidentally make a party out of the characters that match his team.

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Why are people so salty abour Jaune sacrificing the Pythias? A buncha comments say they really don't like Jaune doing it, but he kept one in storage and is doing what's fun for him. If he wants Pythia he can play her later.

 

[Lyrista]

Why are people so salty abour Jaune sacrificing the Pythias? A buncha comments say they really don't like Jaune doing it, but he kept one in storage and is doing what's fun for him. If he wants Pythia he can play her later.

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Second hand salt over Jaune's ability to get SSR rare pulls at the drop of a hat and treating them as a common pull

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Why are people so salty abour Jaune sacrificing the Pythias? A buncha comments say they really don't like Jaune doing it, but he kept one in storage and is doing what's fun for him. If he wants Pythia he can play her later.

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Its the fact he sacrificed them I think. Only time something like that won't piss people off is if hes already maxed her out in terms of upgrades via her cards and their just waste of storage space at that point.

 

[eratas123]

Its the fact he sacrificed them I think. Only time something like that won't piss people off is if hes already maxed her out in terms of upgrades via her cards and their just waste of storage space at that point.

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Not always. Like if you get four stars would you not sacrifice them to empower a five star? In Jaune's case, he gets XP sacks he sacrifices to buff up his favorite playable character. Pythia is just another sword user while scythes are a rare weapon class. Especially since it's indicated Obsidian is also a five star.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Not always. Like if you get four stars would you not sacrifice them to empower a five star? In Jaune's case, he gets XP sacks he sacrifices to buff up his favorite playable character. Pythia is just another sword user while scythes are a rare weapon class. Especially since it's indicated Obsidian is also a five star.

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Again its cause he sacrificed a non maxed out 5 star. For those of us that dont use money or have ungodly luck such a thing is sacrileges. Even if we dont like that particular character

 

[eratas123]

Huh, interesting. Like I said, never really played gacha. I played genshin for like two hours then uninstalled. I do know about whales though. Weiss and especially Neo and Cinder are that group

 

[eratas123]

A question, how greedy would Ozpin and Ironwood be for Minecraft stuff in Minecraft Jaune? How desperate would they be for his skills?

Cause I think I mentioned this before, but one of the interesting things I enjoy in this fic is that Jaune basically can't be bribed. Money? He gives away diamond swords to people he's just met. Connections? Doesn't need em, kingdom is self sufficient. So on and so forth.

The realization that the factions have no cards to play, after being used to having a full deck, is what causes the scramble. What can Ironwood offer Jaune when money, connections, and patriotism won't work? What about someone like the kingdom councils, Happy Huntresses etc? The White Fang will likely default to threats and force, thinking they can intimidate Jaune since he's 'just a builder'. Kidnapping the craftsman and making him their builder slave is something Sienna can live with.

Hence why everyone has to try to use different methods. Blake and Weiss default to seduction cause it's the only card they can play if appealing to his inner goodness doesn't work. And normally it would, but almost EVERYONE tries to appeal to his inner goodness, so it all kinda blends together. They need to try and incentivize him. Ozpin wins out on the appeal to goodness front since Salem is trying to destroy the world, but everyone else's issues are less critical despite how important they are.

 

[Lyrista]

A question, how greedy would Ozpin and Ironwood be for Minecraft stuff in Minecraft Jaune? How desperate would they be for his skills?

Cause I think I mentioned this before, but one of the interesting things I enjoy in this fic is that Jaune basically can't be bribed. Money? He gives away diamond swords to people he's just met. Connections? Doesn't need em, kingdom is self sufficient. So on and so forth.

The realization that the factions have no cards to play, after being used to having a full deck, is what causes the scramble. What can Ironwood offer Jaune when money, connections, and patriotism won't work? What about someone like the kingdom councils, Happy Huntresses etc? The White Fang will likely default to threats and force, thinking they can intimidate Jaune since he's 'just a builder'. Kidnapping the craftsman and making him their builder slave is something Sienna can live with.

Hence why everyone has to try to use different methods. Blake and Weiss default to seduction cause it's the only card they can play if appealing to his inner goodness doesn't work. And normally it would, but almost EVERYONE tries to appeal to his inner goodness, so it all kinda blends together. They need to try and incentivize him. Ozpin wins out on the appeal to goodness front since Salem is trying to destroy the world, but everyone else's issues are less critical despite how important they are.

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I think Ozpin and Ironwood would be desperate to "protect" Jaune from the threats of the world, fret Salem would want to kill or take him, criminals would want to abduct/use him.

They'd have the best of intentions but be obnoxiously overprotective and suffocating to him.

They'd probably try to appeal to his better nature.

 

[Delta/Soul]

If Jaune is able to a spell book it could have a curse breaker spell that could be useful against Salem.

 

[eratas123]

By the way, another thing for Minecraft jaune. Someone elsewhere noted the idea that criminals - mafia, bandits etc - would try to exploit Jaune's kingdom. Could be interesting. Chapter 1 had the militia captain note that people tried to come in expecting a free ride and got kicked out. Organized crime would be a bit harder and more stubborn

They then suggested the idea that Ironwood would leverage that. Like 'do some favors for me and I can have Atlesian officers stationed at Domremy to deal with any organized crime/black markets that crop up'. Of course, that's assuming Ironwood wouldn't be tempted to have his own soldiers try to steal right from under Jaune's nose....

If Jaune is able to a spell book it could have a curse breaker spell that could be useful against Salem.

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Not sure about spell book, but he does have portals to more worlds than vanilla Minecraft.

I think Ozpin and Ironwood would be desperate to "protect" Jaune from the threats of the world, fret Salem would want to kill or take him, criminals would want to abduct/use him.

They'd have the best of intentions but be obnoxiously overprotective and suffocating to him.

They'd probably try to appeal to his better nature.

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I think Jaune would say he's fine and his kingdom can protect itself. And he's right.

 

[Ashleythetiger]

My Gatcha in Genshin luck is like Weiss here, very bad.

Can i politely hate Jaune for burning his SSR's...

 

[eratas123]

My Gatcha in Genshin luck is like Weiss here, very bad.

Can i politely hate Jaune for burning his SSR's...

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Another Jaune hater! Ya'll just salty he's having fun and not focusing on stats.

 

[Lyrista]

You said it yourself, you're not a Gacha player. You can't understand their salt over it.

 

[eratas123]

I wonder how the kingdoms in general would react to Minecraft Jaune once they see what he can do? I assume they won't be as maddened as they were in Raise? Also, since they aren't paying him anything, the whole 'we pay him too much' entitlement wouldn't work. Especially since if the people complain Jaune will just shrug his shoulders then leave. He's not gonna take entitlement and ingratitude.

Or on more of a micro scale, what about the students at Beacon? Would they try anything when they see him building a flaming rollercoaster around beacon?

 

[Lyrista]

This Jaune is not dependent on anyone. He's self sufficient and can slap down hostiles who get uppity with his Golems and other creations. Once they see the true power of what he's capable of, they'll have to treat him as a peer kingdomwise. Won't stop maneuvering and other more subtle attempts, but they can't just think of someone they can just roll over onesidedly.

 

[eratas123]

This Jaune is not dependent on anyone. He's self sufficient and can slap down hostiles who get uppity with his Golems and other creations. Once they see the true power of what he's capable of, they'll have to treat him as a peer kingdomwise. Won't stop maneuvering and other more subtle attempts, but they can't just think of someone they can just roll over onesidedly.

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Yep. A friend elsewhere suggested that some vocal citizens would call Jaune a 'greedy bastard' for not doing enough for them, and I found that interesting. Like, how? No one is paying him anything. Most of his creations are done for free because he's being nice. What argument would they have if Jaune says no?

Also, how bad would Atlas be, especially the upper crust? Like these are the cream of the crop, the guys who do not take no for an answer. Then here's this country bumpkin telling them to their faces that them wanting mansions is not even on the bottom of his list of stuff to do.

 

[Demiurgos]

If you have a golem mod let's say Jaune has an army against the grims.

 

[eratas123]

If you have a golem mod let's say Jaune has an army against the grims.

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..I think you're gonna like the next chapter.

 

[mgl1206]

Yep. A friend elsewhere suggested that some vocal citizens would call Jaune a 'greedy bastard' for not doing enough for them, and I found that interesting. Like, how? No one is paying him anything. Most of his creations are done for free because he's being nice. What argument would they have if Jaune says no?

Also, how bad would Atlas be, especially the upper crust? Like these are the cream of the crop, the guys who do not take no for an answer. Then here's this country bumpkin telling them to their faces that them wanting mansions is not even on the bottom of his list of stuff to do.

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That's just how people are, some will only see what they wanna see, regardless of the truth.

Also he punches Jacques in the face.

A. Because he threatened his family.
B. He's a horrible father.
C. Tried to control Jaune and insults him.

 

[ArsMagna1337]

Gacha parody with RWBY characters, as I mentioned in a previous fic. Posting it here for anyone interested. Minecrafr Jaune 3 is out for supporters and will be released here in a couple of weeks.

Note that despite the portrayal here, I don't really have anything against Gacha. Mostly because I don't play Gacha games and my main exposure are rage videos where people lose their minds when they lose the roll.

This'll be a two-part story. Chapter 1 shows how the heroes are handling the introduction of Gacha games while chapter 2 shows the villains. Turns out even the worst monsters on Remnant can't resist the allure.

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Watts will be that one guy who finds exploits and tattles it to the devs out of spite... He is also an alpha tester who bemoans that things have changed so much.

Hazel sells all his Dust for the Gretel-expy.

Tyrian always kept getting Rare or higher, somehow. He livestreams his rolls and makes people suffer by using Rare, or higher, characters by feeding them to the low rank characters to level up.

 

[Enohthree]

A question, how greedy would Ozpin and Ironwood be for Minecraft stuff in Minecraft Jaune? How desperate would they be for his skills?

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Ozpin is shady, but his brand of manipulation is the kind where he's making people do things they wouldn't normally do while not aiming for them to be worse off. I think that will interact poorly at first with Jaune, but the sincerity of him not wanting Dormery to suffer will allow them to eventually salvage negotiations and push through. Even if Ozpin doesn't get what he wants, I don't think Jaune will dislike him by the end of it. Ozpin is softpower, and softpower is easier to forgive and reverse course if something isn't going favorably. Jaune is fundamentally a good person and even if he can't directly benefit Ozpin can still work with that.

Ironwood is... trickier. He's not the White Fang that would rather chain him as a pet crafter, but nor is he Mr. Softpower. His negotiations become more hardball, the more stressed he is, and the more dire the situation. He's willing to lean on things more.
That being said, the situation /isn't/ that dire, at least right now. Things are just at the usual low-level apocolypse. He'll push harder, but it would be treating Jaune as a state level actor more than anything else.
Send envoys, send recon, send assets, etc. He'll negotiate, and he'll also see if he can replicate Jaune's potions and steal his recipies without being obvious about it if he can't get them via trade.

Jaune's post scarcity living limits his options, but in the end, you don't try to bribe a country with one-time shipments of money or food like you would a normal person or town anyway. This is statesmanship, even if the other person is a one man state.
He'll probably salivate over the speed at which Jaune can build a simple massive wall around his holdings. That alone might be something he'd angle for once initial negotiations fail.

Overall, I'd like to say that I've really been hoping for a story like this! Specifically, someone with Minecraft abilities dumped into Remnant. There are other stories that involve this technically speaking, but that was more one man crack fic walking Vale as a feral person or 100 person modpack players that were impossible to keep track of. I realize that there are mods involved here, but this is much much closer to the idea of 'one chad Minecrafter builds their own settlement with vanilla nonsense' rather than the other stuff. There are elements like guns and intelligence potions in the story, but the actual focus is on stuff like the absurdity of a solid diamond suit of armor and massive walls of iron blocks. I really appreciate that! I'm not sure if it'll eventually devolve into trying to fit every thaumcraft thingamabob or planetcraft spaceship inside, but I'm hopeful so far.

Also pretty amused by the whole Nether > Everafter change. The Curious Cat getting disarmed by absurdly casual genorisity is kind of a microcosm of the fic so far .

 

[eratas123]

Ozpin is shady, but his brand of manipulation is the kind where he's making people do things they wouldn't normally do while not aiming for them to be worse off. I think that will interact poorly at first with Jaune, but the sincerity of him not wanting Dormery to suffer will allow them to eventually salvage negotiations and push through. Even if Ozpin doesn't get what he wants, I don't think Jaune will dislike him by the end of it. Ozpin is softpower, and softpower is easier to forgive and reverse course if something isn't going favorably. Jaune is fundamentally a good person and even if he can't directly benefit Ozpin can still work with that.

Ironwood is... trickier. He's not the White Fang that would rather chain him as a pet crafter, but nor is he Mr. Softpower. His negotiations become more hardball, the more stressed he is, and the more dire the situation. He's willing to lean on things more.
That being said, the situation /isn't/ that dire, at least right now. Things are just at the usual low-level apocolypse
. He'll push harder, but it would be treating Jaune as a state level actor more than anything else..
There is no wxxxxx
Send envoys, send recon, send assets, etc. He'll negotiate, and he'll also see if he can replicate Jaune's potions and steal his recipies without being obvious about it if he can't get them via trade.

Jaune's post scarcity living limits his options, but in the end, you don't try to bribe a country with one-time shipments of money or food like you would a normal person or town anyway. This is statesmanship, even if the other person is a one man state.
He'll probably salivate over the speed at which Jaune can build a simple massive wall around his holdings. That alone might be something he'd angle for once initial negotiations fail.

Overall, I'd like to say that I've really been hoping for a story like this! Specifically, someone with Minecraft abilities dumped into Remnant. There are other stories that involve this technically speaking, but that was more one man crack fic walking Vale as a feral person or 100 person modpack players that were impossible to keep track of. I realize that there are mods involved here, but this is much much closer to the idea of 'one chad Minecrafter builds their own settlement with vanilla nonsense' rather than the other stuff. There are elements like guns and intelligence potions in the story, but the actual focus is on stuff like the absurdity of a solid diamond suit of armor and massive walls of iron blocks. I really appreciate that! I'm not sure if it'll eventually devolve into trying to fit every thaumcraft thingamabob or planetcraft spaceship inside, but I'm hopeful so far.

Also pretty amused by the whole Nether > Everafter change. The Curious Cat getting disarmed by absurdly casual genorisity is kind of a microcosm of the fic so far .

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I wonder how Ironwood would react when he realizes that he CAN'T steal Jaune's recipers. The old lady in Chapter 1 mentioned that some people did try and all they got was toxic slop that made them throw up. Jaune's Minecraft Semblance is what allows him to do blatantly illogical shit like making intelligence potions that turns animals sapient or a suit of diamond armor that works stronger than any bulletproof suit on Remnant.

Hm, any chance the White Fang (under Sienna) would ever try diplomacy with Jaune or would they just default to the threats or attempted enslavement? Note that Jaune would actually refuse since he knows Sienna is a terorirst and he has no interest in helping her, but I'm wondering if they would make the attempt regardless.

And yeah, I like focusing on how Jaune's minecraft powers upend the setting and seeing how the different groups react to it It's one reason I'm prioritizing this fic over other commissions since I'm interested in faction warfare over superpowered individuals (this was a focus in An Arc for Every Season) and this is also interesting to me because Jaune's powers means the usual methods of offering money, connections, or threats just flat out does not work. So now you have these very powerful groups who are used to getting what they want suddenly having to play a game with empty hands and scrambling to try and get to a solution. Hence Weiss and Blake defaulting to seduction since it's the only thing they have outside of just speechifying Jaune to give them free labor for months or years.

Actually, Nether/The End still show up. Just wait for the next chapter lol.

 

[Enohthree]

I wonder how Ironwood would react when he realizes that he CAN'T steal Jaune's recipers. The old lady in Chapter 1 mentioned that some people did try and all they got was toxic slop that made them throw up. Jaune's Minecraft Semblance is what allows him to do blatantly illogical shit like making intelligence potions that turns animals sapient or a suit of diamond armor that works stronger than any bulletproof suit on Remnant.

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Ironwood cradling his face with his hands as the lab boys request that the next batch of spider eyes he sends them are fermented instead of fresh, knowing that he has to check even if all the other ones have failed.

Hm, any chance the White Fang (under Sienna) would ever try diplomacy with Jaune or would they just default to the threats or attempted enslavement? Note that Jaune would actually refuse since he knows Sienna is a terorirst and he has no interest in helping her, but I'm wondering if they would make the attempt regardless.

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I think they actually would. It would be doomed and maybe only put forward because the more militant factions want to have a cover for an inevitable kidnaping attempt, but no harm in reaching out. Maybe trying to lean on the fanus already inside as a point of leverage.

Of course this fails anyway when it comes out that Blake Belladonna is already negotiating on behalf of Menagerie so why would he go through them anyway? Fun drama for the undercutting.

I'm interested in faction warfare over superpowered individuals (this was a focus in An Arc for Every Season) and this is also interesting to me because Jaune's powers means the usual methods of offering money, connections, or threats just flat out does not work. So now you have these very powerful groups who are used to getting what they want suddenly having to play a game with empty hands and scrambling to try and get to a solution.

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Aw yeah, that's the good stuff right here.

 

[eratas123]

Ironwood cradling his face with his hands as the lab boys request that the next batch of spider eyes he sends them are fermented instead of fresh, knowing that he has to check even if all the other ones have failed.

I think they actually would. It would be doomed and maybe only put forward because the more militant factions want to have a cover for an inevitable kidnaping attempt, but no harm in reaching out. Maybe trying to lean on the fanus already inside as a point of leverage. Of course this fails anyway when it comes out that Blake Belladonna is already negotiating on behalf of Menagerie so why would he go through them anyway? Fun drama for the undercutting.

Aw yeah, that's the good stuff right here.

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Jaune tells Ironwood it won't work. Ironwood sitll tries becuase he has to know. I wonder how much budget he loses trying to make a full diamond suit that immediately get shattered by someone choosing a rifle bullet at it...

I wonder becuase Sienna is such a nothing character in canon that no one knows how she would react. Some people say she would be reasonable, others point out she takes Hazel (a Human's) presence in her lair as a personal affront and threatens Adam for it, so she's anti-Human but not genocidal like Adam is. This would mean she would automatically write off cooperating with Jaune because he's a Human.

Yeah it is. The commissioner is more in it for the harem and comedy, so I tied that to the factions as well. What to do when you can't bribe, threaten, or coerce a guy? Seduction!

On a side note, I wonder how things would change if Jaune was a Faunus. Especially with regards to Blake, Weiss, Ironwood, and Atlas a whole. Suddenly Jaune doesn't have as much incentive to view Weiss positively or Ironwood...

 

[Demiurgos]

On a side note, I wonder how things would change if Jaune was a Faunus. Especially with regards to Blake, Weiss, Ironwood, and Atlas a whole. Suddenly Jaune doesn't have as much incentive to view Weiss positively or Ironwood...

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I always thought of a story where Jaune was human and his mother was a Faunus. Also the mother has a different appearance. All of that ends with Jaune suffering double racism. His mother has to fight to have Jaune recognized as her son, and Jaune doesn't feel welcome in his mother's family.

Add Blake to that equation and nothing ends well.

 

[Zaheed551g]

I honestly think he could help them all at once, basically set up goals and have them shipped, or he can go there and make them. Harvest the resources himself and bring them to the faunas along with some of that automated farming machine to help get the settlement going for the next few months as they set up. For the SDC making mining gear and plans for better mining operations could be made easy by reviewing schematics and weaknesses of current methods of mining and gear. An extremely rough outline of how to do all that, but he has already estbalished how to build a ridiculous amount of equipment and buildings so building some more is well within means. It'll put a massive target on his back with the Kingdoms without even considering rogue elements like Salem and any groups that want to change the kingdoms. Overall this is an interesting idea and I can see how Jaune would stay kinda spacy with quite literally a worlds worth of crafting recipes in his head.

 

[eratas123]

I honestly think he could help them all at once, basically set up goals and have them shipped, or he can go there and make them. Harvest the resources himself and bring them to the faunas along with some of that automated farming machine to help get the settlement going for the next few months as they set up. For the SDC making mining gear and plans for better mining operations could be made easy by reviewing schematics and weaknesses of current methods of mining and gear. An extremely rough outline of how to do all that, but he has already estbalished how to build a ridiculous amount of equipment and buildings so building some more is well within means. It'll put a massive target on his back with the Kingdoms without even considering rogue elements like Salem and any groups that want to change the kingdoms. Overall this is an interesting idea and I can see how Jaune would stay kinda spacy with quite literally a worlds worth of crafting recipes in his head.

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The issue is that even with his powers it would take months if not years to accomplish each faction's goals, and obviously they all want him to focus on their goals rather than have him be spread thin by helping everyone. Especially Blake. Terraforming an entire island is a MAJOR time investment and she doesn't want to put off Menagerie 2.0 for anyone else.

Even the SDC is more than just equipment and potions if Weiss goes with her other plan of starting a business. Then they need to find dust mines to harvest, necessitating Jaune going across Solitas to find hotspots and then do the preliminary work of building tunnels to make sure it's safe for regular miners.

 

[mgl1206]

The issue is that even with his powers it would take months if not years to accomplish each faction's goals, and obviously they all want him to focus on their goals rather than have him be spread thin by helping everyone. Especially Blake. Terraforming an entire island is a MAJOR time investment and she doesn't want to put off Menagerie 2.0 for anyone else.

Even the SDC is more than just equipment and potions if Weiss goes with her other plan of starting a business. Then they need to find dust mines to harvest, necessitating Jaune going across Solitas to find hotspots and then do the preliminary work of building tunnels to make sure it's safe for regular miners.

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Don't forget greed and racists sabotaging both efforts. Though the SDC will be sabotaged even more so.

 

[eratas123]

Don't forget greed and racists sabotaging both efforts. Though the SDC will be sabotaged even more so.

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Yep. Jaune attracts both positive ans negative attention. Particularly those who prefer the status quo or those like Raven or Sienna who consider Jaune's consent and safety optional.

 

[eratas123]

Next chapter of Gacha RWBY, this time focusing on the villains being affected by Gacha. Next Minecraft Jaune chapter will be out next week for free readers. Currently writing the new chapter

For anyone interested in making a commission, email me at: storylover543@gmail.com

---

But it wasn't just the heroes of Remnant that had fallen into the Gacha's clutches. The allure had claimed both the virtuous and the villainous, the saints and the sinners. From the greatest heroes to the most depraved of monsters, no one escaped the all-encompassing pull.

Such as it was with one Roman Torchwick. The infamous thief trudged back to his safehouse with his head hung low. Working for Cinder wasn't fun. The fiery bitch didn't pay a single cent for all the jobs he did for her and she saddled him with those White Fang animals. Amateurs and zealots. Say what you would about him, but he was a professional. Just cause he was a showman didn't mean he let it stop him from doing what he had to. So what if he was on every camera? He still stole from that bank or store or museum!"

The reminder of what crime he could be committing made him depressed. It was a perfect, crime-full day! People were practically begging to be victimized! But nooo, apparently no one else thought so! Neo - his partner, the only person that mattered on this Brothers forsaken planet - wasn't answering his calls. Junior, who was normally so reliable, wasn't taking his calls either. Even the White Fang and Cinder were ghosting him! They were blackmailing him and now they didn't even have the time to answer his calls! Rude!

And why had everyone in this city gotten so damn lazy? One word: Gacha.

It took over the city by storm. One day everyone was excited about the Vytal or gossiping about which Huntsman would snag the win and the next they were all glued to their scrolls talking about 'banners' and 'husbandos and waifus'. Roman wasn't an old man - he was only 33, thank you very much - but he definitely felt like one listening to everyone talk about things that went in one ear and out the other. What the heck was 'freemocrystals' and why did people cry about 'getting C6 Benny'?

His shoulders sagged as he walked down the street. That would've normally been dangerous considering he was the most infamous criminal in all of Vale, but no one even cared. They all looked down at their scrolls and passed him by without a second glance. Even the cops didn't bother to look up from their scrolls. Roman had stopped and coughed at a bunch of them, just daring them to look up and actually do their damn jobs. All he got was some half-hearted 'we're busy, citizen' and a couple saying he should 'get that cough looked at'! Arggggh!

Even going to Junior's place directly hadn't helped. Junior, his entire gang, and even those two bouncers were too busy 'rolling banners' or whatever the heck those crazy addicts called it. It was right then and there that Roman knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere today. Even if he could rob some place right now, everyone would still be too glued to their scrolls to notice. Fire bitch could've enacted her plan to destroy Vale right now and they couldn't be assed to look up.

Sighing, Roman picked up his scroll. Not to play the game (because he wasn't a moron), but to check his bank account. Things had been pretty tight lately but so far he and Neo managed to avoid spending any-

He nearly dropped his scroll at the numbers that greeted him. 37 lien. 37 lien out of the tens of millions he'd squirreled away over his decade of being Vale's premier thief. It might not have sounded like a lot, but a lot of his assets came in the form of priceless stuff that couldn't be sold on the black market. Still, what he did have was enough for him and Neo to live comfortably off the grid if it ever came down to it. 30 million lien could grease a lot of palms.

Now it was all gone.

And he knew exactly who to blame, "NEEEEOOOOOO!" He screamed, his voice echoing across all of Vale. He ran like a man possessed and didn't stop until he reached her apartment. Without even bothering to knock, Roman kicked the door down and stomped inside, mouth frothing in a rage, "Where are you?!" You have some explaining to do, young lady!"

He kicked down the door to her bedroom and found the culprit looking like all was right with the world. Contrary to her usual looks, his partner looked borderline unrecognizable. Gone was the effortless style and cockiness that marked her as Roman Torchwick's equal. Instead, she looked absolutely haggard. Hair messy, bags under her eyes, and wearing nothing but a stained, oversized shirt and a pair of boxers that definitely didn't belong to him; he preferred briefs, thank you.

The entire room was a mess too, laden with empty bags of chips and energy drinks. He sniffed the air and grimaced at the stench. By the Brothers, how long was it since she bathed?! "You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady!" Roman grabbed her by the collar and dragged her out. She struggled like a limp cat, hands desperately pressing her scroll against her chest. Roman resisted the urge to toss her into the tub for a much-needed soak and instead dropped her on the couch.

"Explain." He snarled, crossing his arms like the disappointed father he was far too young to be.

Neo tilted her head to the side like the little girl she definitely wasn't and gave him a look of pure confusion, "Uh-uh, I'm not falling for it! Don't forget who taught you that look, young lady!" Roman pointed his finger at her nose, "What the hell happened to all our savings?!"

Neo shrugged and looked away.

"I know when you're lying. I taught you everything you know!" Neo rolled her eyes. Roman's mouth twitched. This little brat. Fine, she wanted to play hardball? He'd play.

Without warning, he reached down and took the scroll from her hands. Neo gasped silently and reached out, but it was too late. Neo might've been the brawn to his brains, but there was one undeniable truth: he was tall and she was short. He raised his left hand, the one holding the scroll, and grabbed her head with the other. She struggled and (silently) screamed, desperately trying to take back her drug, but he refused. Even her Semblance didn't help. He knew exactly what kinds of tricks she pulled.

"You're not getting this back until you explain!" He grimaced and ignored how she scratched and bit at him. There was a reason he didn't indulge in anything addictive. In the end, you always lost, "I'm giving you the count of five before I toss your scroll out the window! One...two...three-"

Neo suddenly pulled back and, much to Roman's surprise and disgust, got down on her hands and knees. Neo never begged for anything in her life, and now here she was, doing just that for her game. Roman's heart broke at the sight of it, "...Explain." He sighed and handed her the scroll back.

His partner made a wide array of gestures and expressions as she told her 'gripping tale'. She'd played the game for a few days and realized a bitter truth: there was no 'husbando' just for her. She looked and she looked, but there was no one that scratched that itch. And so she designed one of her own. The perfect 'husbando' from top to bottom that appealed specifically to her. And then she put her super duper special original character into the game.

"But why did you spend money?!" Roman threw his hands up, "You know how this works!" She made an X-shape with her hands and stuck out her tongue, "What do you mean 'you tried to do it the usual way'? Find an employee and threaten him. If that doesn't work, kill him, hide the body, then go for another-

Another long string of gestures and expressions. She did try to threaten an employee to find out who the mysterious boss of this Gacha machine was. They refused to break under torture and she disposed of them. Then she went after half a dozen more. It always ended the same way. They were more loyal to their mysterious boss than they were scared of losing their life to whatever Neo did to them. Neo loved herself a spot of torture here and there, but she knew when she was beaten. She couldn't get her 'Husbando' into the game with threats, so she dipped into their bank account...

"Neo, that was all of our savings! You know we can't sell anything else we've stolen!"

She was completely shameless, of course. It was worth it. She had to get her personal spank material into the game. She needed this. So on and so forth. Roman groaned and sat next to his diminutive partner. What else was he supposed to do? Neo didn't know the meaning of shame and telling her that spending 30 million lien on pixels was a bad thing just wouldn't register. Might as well tell her that theft and murder were generally frowned upon.

"Ugh. Fine, you know what? Show me this virtual boyfriend of yours. I should at least see what you spent our life savings on."

Neo jumped up excitedly and shoved the screen in his face. Roman wrinkled his nose at the smell of days-old junk food and watched as she tapped through a bunch of her characters. A blonde dame with her fists up, someone who looked like Pyrrha Nikos, some blonde knight with a really punchable face...shit, how many did she have? She cycled through a few (dozen) more of them before eventually stopping at her original character that must not be stolen. She tapped the screen and smiled proudly at him.

...

...

...

"This is the exact same as that knight character!" Roman screamed.

Neo looked horrifically offended at the idea and scowled. 'You take that back,' her eyes seemed to say. Roman did not. Instead, he grabbed her scroll and cycled back to the blonde knight. James Crescent. What a stupid name, "Your 'original character' is literally just this one except yours has heterochromia and a white streak in his hair! That's it! You spent thirty million lien on a color swap!"

'Nuh-uh!' She didn't say that, of course, but she kicked his side and took her scroll back before she stuck her tongue out at him. She swiped back to her color swap and cooed at the screen. How? How could she not see that it was literally just the same guy with slightly different colors?! He'd call it a scam, but that would imply they had to put in the effort to trick her! Passing off a cardboard box as Schnee Manor wasn't a scam, it was bending reality!

Roman sagged on the couch as Neo continued to fawn over her Original Character. Gacha...such a terrifying, evil thing. Addiction made fools of them all, he thought as he lit a cigar. Never catch him falling for that trap.

---

Sienna Khan had worked hard over the years to turn the White Fang from a ragtag group of ineffective activists into a name that struck fear in those who would oppress their kind. They called themselves freedom fighters. Others called them terrorists, though that came from a place of ignorance and entitlement. It was so easy to brand those who did not conform to your narrow worldview as criminals, deviants, and aberrations. Terrorists. They were simply people who were tired of being stepped down on.

It took years, but she'd cultivated a complex network of cells and informants, all ready and willing to give their lives for the cause. That and various legal and illegal ventures that funded their various activities. Connections to the black markets and funds entrusted only for usage only to those most loyal ensured that they never lacked for material support. While they couldn't match the Schnees or Atlas' cherished military, she ensured that no member of the Fang ever went into battle lacking, despite what their enemies claimed.

Sienna's right eye twitched as she sat up on her throne. Looking down at her scroll, she pinched herself with her free hand to make sure she wasn't dreaming. It hurt, so she wasn't dreaming and she really was looking at multiple empty bank accounts. It would've been foolish to put all their eggs in one basket, as it were, and as such she made certain that their numerous front businesses and ventures were deposited into dozens of bank accounts or stored physically in various safe locations.

And now it was all gone.

All of the White Fang's accounts had been drained down to the last zero. Meanwhile, no one in the cells she contacted was responding to her calls. Was it a simultaneous decapitation attack? Impossible. They were scattered all across Remnant. It would've taken a combined alliance of all four kingdoms to hit them at the exact same time, and there was no chance that any of her numerous spies and moles wouldn't have warned her of such an alliance.

So what was going on? What threat had taken her entire organization and brought it to its knees?

Elsewhere on Vale, deep in Adam's White Fang cell...

"No, I lost the 50/50!" Perry screamed. The bespectacled terrorist fell on his knees and punched the floor like he'd been told he had only seconds to live.

"So did I! What the fuck is with this?!" Deery shouted after.

"Don't give up! Keep rolling! Money isn't an issue!" Adam shouted. His entire cell was gathered in one room, dozens of them huddled over their scrolls as they rolled the banner over and over. It wasn't just any banner, though. It was for the newest character, one whose banner had been released just a day prior.

The Mysterious Beauty, Kunoichi Kitty. A ninja catgirl who used a combination of a katana and various ninja tools to incapacitate her opponents for quick burst damage. Not that he really cared about that, of course. Playing this inane game was beneath him. However, something in the character...stirred something within him that he couldn't explain. He was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Her amber eyes, that dark hair...her rear end. It was familiar in ways he couldn't explain.

And he wasn't the only one. His entire cell, and other cells as well, found themselves drawn to Kunoichi Kitty too. To them she was an undeniable presence, temptation made flesh...er, data. It wasn't enough that he had her. All of them had to have her. They would not rest until everyone in the White Fang had C6 Kunoichi Kitties! For that, they'd suspended all active operations and withdrawn as much funding as needed. As one of the White Fang's trusted leaders, he had access to all the bank accounts and put that position to good use.

"I...I did it! I got her!" Ilia cheered, hopping up in excitement. She showed off her scroll, the screen dominated by Kunoichi Kitty standing with her back to the player, exposing her bountiful rear clad in those tight leather pants. Because ninjas wore tight leather, obviously, "I can't believe it!"

"That's a good start, but we have to keep going!" He raised his own scroll with a C2 Kunoichi Kitty, "We won't stop till the entire White Fang has her at C6! Kunoichi Kitty belongs to the Faunus, not those filthy Humans, and we'll prove it here! For the White Fang!"

"FOR THE WHITE FANG!"

---

Cinder Fall had grown up with nothing. Born in an orphanage in the ass-end of Mistral, she'd grown up wanting along with the other abandoned dregs of society. While others grew up with loving parents and wanted for nothing, Cinder had to scrounge for everything. Mistral was a land of Haves and Have-Nots, and the former had no sympathy for the latter. If you were poor and helpless then it must've been because you deserved it. And so Cinder must've been the same.

Things only got worse when she was 'adopted' by the Madame and her two daughters. Her time under their care, and Rhodes' uselessness, taught her one thing: the world didn't care about who you were. If you wanted something you had to take it, and Cinder wanted power. To never be weak again. Things such as morality and rules were to be disregarded. It was nothing more than an excuse for the powerful to stamp down those beneath them. They didn't care for morals and neither did she.

Whatever Cinder wanted, she got.

And right now she wanted all those characters!

Cinder smirked as she added another C6 to her collection. Dozens of characters the game had and she was going to take them all. While others were limited to such things as money and the need to save in order to survive to the next day, Cinder wasn't burdened with such weaknesses. Working for Salem came with many benefits, one of which was a hacked Black Card that came with nigh-unlimited funds. She could've used it to buy all the Dust she needed, but that would've drawn attention. Besides, the chaos Roman and the White Fang enacted helped in her plans.

She was far less shy about using the card for this, however.

Cinder returned to her list and smiled gleefully at the sight. All of the playable characters unlocked, all C4 at minimum, and all of them loaded with the best weapons and equipment money could buy. She wasn't going to stop until she had the best account in the entirety of Remnant. It was what she wanted, what she deserved. She would throw away millions if it meant being able to lord over all the cretins at this school, to see their envy at what she'd achieved with her own two hands.

She returned to the game and blinked. A new quest had popped up.

"Emerald!" Her servant was at her side immediately, always eager to please, "Another world quest. Finish this up soon. I want to keep rolling."

"Y-Yes, Cinder!" The girl bowed and held her scroll like it was a holy artifact as she began to play. What? She wasn't going to actually play the game like some plebian. She rolled the gacha for characters and equipment, but she left all that tedious grinding and equipping to Emerald. Because it wasn't enough that she had all the characters but also an account that completed every single thing. Every treasure chest, every quest, every difficult boss fight. All beaten by Cinder Fall's account.

She'd heard that rankings would be released soon. The most prolific accounts would've had their names immortalized, and she aimed to make sure that her name was on the top of the list. She closed her eyes and smirked at the thought. Everyone in Vale - no, everyone in Remant - looking on at her in envy and desire. The top Gacha player in the entire world. Oh yes, the looks on their faces would nourish her for years to come.

Across the room, Mercury lay down on his bed and looked at his two 'teammates'. Cinder was sitting down and cackling to herself while Emerald ran herself ragged to play a game she didn't even like. Simp. The assassin rolled his eyes and tapped his own scroll. He wasn't interested in that stupid gambling shit. Apart from drinking, gambling was the other vice his old man enjoyed. He wasn't very good at it either. Explained why the best assassin on Remnant lived in a dilapidated shack in the ass-end of Anima.

And he was a sore loser too. He had a lot of bruises every time Marcus came back from a losing streak.

So yeah, he wasn't interested in all that shit, but there was something else that got his attention. People were obsessed with leaks. Like, they'd sacrifice their own moms if it meant finding out who the next character would be, where the story would go next, and what kit would be the new meta.

So...he got creative. He wasn't a supergenius hacker like Watts, but the old man taught him some tricks. He found out who the next character would be and leaked it in specific places on the Dustnet. Places that everyone at Beacon went to. It was both stupid and scary how much people cared about that shit. Everyone was panicking about whether they should save their money for the new character and there were fucking fistfights over whether the new character made the other ones redundant.

Then he realized he could have his fun.

A few fake emails and spoofed addresses later and he'd turned himself into the most prolific leaker on the Dustnet. Sometimes his leaks were accurate, sometimes they were total bullshit. It was never fully one or the other. Too accurate and it'd get boring, but too much bullshit, and people would stop caring. Seeing the arguments people got up to was the highlight of his day.

Like yesterday when he released the (true) leak that James Crescent and the Corroded Knight was the same guy from different points in time. Holy shit, the school went ballistic. Schnee went on a rant about how it was impossible and that there was no way 'that dashing knight' would be the same character as 'that lout James'. For some reason, that led to Nikos getting pissy and starting a fight with her. It was fucking amazing how obsessed people could get about their favorite pixels.

Maybe he was an asshole for it, but it wasn't like he made them act like morons about their favorite 2D drawings. They were the ones who chose to get so obsessed with them. He was just having his fun where he could.

Like right now. His next (fake) leak, complete with edited screenshots. The idea of it just came to him last night. A leak that Pythia Nicolaides was going to die in the next patch against the new bad guy, Ember Rise. And then James Crescent and Obsidian Nightshade would get together because they realized life was too short. He got the feeling that this would set the school on fire. Maybe literally, maybe not. Either way, he was gonna have his fun.

He uploaded the leaks and waited. One hour passed, then two, and then came the shriek, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He winced. Huh, sounded like Nikos. Geez, she had a pair of lungs on her. He was surprised their windows didn't shatter. He turned on his scroll again and laughed under his breath at the comments. Some of them calling bullshit, some of them saying they knew it was gonna happen, some celebrating 'their OTP', whatever the fuck that meant.

Mercury scrolled through the comments and then turned his scroll off, letting the sounds of panic and screaming outside lull him to sleep.

---

Poor Roman. And Sienna. If only they weren't murderous thieves and terrorists, you could actually feel sorry for them. Anyway, I considered a Salem segment but I cut it out. Maybe if I make a chapter 3, but I'm tempted to end it here.

Wanna help support me (and gain access to chapters a week or two early)? Then check out the link below:

Patreon.com/Vendetta543

Question:

1. If there is a chapter 3, who do you guys wanna see be affected next? We already dealt with most of the main characters at this point.

2. Given the Neo segment, would you guys be interested in a Silent Knight story from me? Not sure how I could sell it, though...