[RWBY] RWBY Shorts

[AndrewJTalon]

How It Happened – Part 2

---

Count wrote a continuation.

And this is the second chapter in a row where I managed to light every one of Whitley's nerves on fire. This is not going to be a thing every chapter.

I'll get this posted on SB in short order. But now that Dragonslayer week is over, I felt that it was right to work on something non-Dragonslayer again and was able to bang this out.

Thoughts, feedback?

Also, @AndrewJTalon, nice work on the Cinder & Pyrrha snippet.

Click to shrink...

The exposition was pretty well handled. You did misspell "Warrant Offizier". You could tighten up the dialogue a little, though you do have fairly decent voice differentiation between characters.

And thanks. I thought it might have been good if a bit cliche to enhance both Cinder and Pyrrha's characters.

 

[CountvonBarnOwl]

The exposition was pretty well handled. You did misspell "Warrant Offizier". You could tighten up the dialogue a little, though you do have fairly decent voice differentiation between characters.

And thanks. I thought it might have been good if a bit cliche to enhance both Cinder and Pyrrha's characters.

Click to shrink...

Bad idea?

I'm trying to capture the General's Edward Richthofen tone of voice and his propensity to click back into his native when I can get away with it, and the fact that Amzel is basically an archetypal Germanic mad scientist. Unfortunately, the only German I know all involves weapons, munitions, tanks, planes, premodern mercenaries, philosophers I have wildly varying relationships with. Certain classical songs and poems that I particularly like. I cannot say I know very much about the language.

So it comes off as disjointing and breaking the flow of the story? Like, it isn't readily apparent that this is just the way the character talks?

So, might I ask further how I can make Amzel sound like a giggling mad scientist?

In your estimation, what does he lack?

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Peleus needs the beetle treatment from the Mummy

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Dragonslayer week is almost upon us! So enjoy a few more prompts to get yourselves writing:

-Yang feels ugly and unfeminine after losing her arm and acts more butch. Jaune though tells her she doesn't have to reject the feminine, it's part of who she is, and he still thinks she's beautiful. This sticks with her and she sees Jaune in a new light.

-Jaune is at his lowest in the Ever After. He's been haunted not just by something pretending to be Pyrrha, RWB, Ren and Nora, but also pretending to be Yang. When he meets the real thing again... He embraces her and thinks she's the illusion, admits he loves her and he misses her so much. Explore the fallout when he learns it's the real thing.

-Post-Vytal, Yang unlocks a new level to her Semblance that turns her into a crazed, mad berserker that can't tell friend from foe. Jaune is the one who figures out how to calm her down. She's terrified of her new power but Jaune is determined to help her master it. He wants to be useful and he can take the hits, so he works with her the most.

-Yang and Jaune end up working on Bumblebee together and take her for a test ride, where Yang hopes to get her feelings across to this dense idiot!

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Bad idea?

I'm trying to capture the General's Edward Richthofen tone of voice and his propensity to click back into his native when I can get away with it, and the fact that Amzel is basically an archetypal Germanic mad scientist. Unfortunately, the only German I know all involves weapons, munitions, tanks, planes, premodern mercenaries, philosophers I have wildly varying relationships with. Certain classical songs and poems that I particularly like. I cannot say I know very much about the language.

So it comes off as disjointing and breaking the flow of the story? Like, it isn't readily apparent that this is just the way the character talks?

So, might I ask further how I can make Amzel sound like a giggling mad scientist?

In your estimation, what does he lack?

Click to shrink...

His patter needs to be more manic, slow dramatic weighty bits, quicker bits. You can use smaller words or lack of spaces and runon sentences in a few places to better convey his manic feel.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The surprise came in the form of a tall, broad-shouldered man with the same warm blond hair as Katy and the same easy, slightly crooked grin that Mia had inherited.

Mercer Sith Junior stood in the courtyard of Beacon with a travel bag over one shoulder and a small, carefully wrapped package under his arm. When Jaune stepped out of the dorm with Mia on his hip, Mercer's entire face lit up.

"There she is," he said, voice rough with emotion. "There's my favorite little niece."

Mia blinked, then her ears shot straight up. "Uncle Mercer!"

She practically launched herself out of Jaune's arms. Mercer caught her with a deep, booming laugh and spun her around once before settling her against his chest.

"Hey, troublemaker. Missed you."

Jaune smiled, tired but genuine. "Didn't know you were coming."

"Surprise visit," Mercer said simply. "Had a few days free. Figured I'd come see the little spitfire and make sure Beacon hasn't corrupted her yet."

For the rest of the day, Mercer took Mia into Vale.

They rode the tram with the windows open so she could stick her head out and feel the wind. They bought ice cream (Mercer let her get the biggest cone the shop sold). They visited a toy store where he bought her a small wooden sword and a matching shield "just like Papa's." They fed the ducks at the park, and Mercer made ridiculous duck voices until Mia was laughing so hard she nearly fell over.

Every time she laughed — that bright, unrestrained, pure sound — Mercer went quiet for a second.

It was Katy's laugh.

Almost exactly the same.

He never said anything about it out loud. He just kept making her laugh again and again, as if he could somehow bottle the sound and take it home with him.

By the time they returned to Beacon in the evening, Mia was half-asleep against his shoulder, sticky with ice cream and clutching her new wooden sword like a treasure.

---

Before he left the next morning, Mercer asked Jaune for a private word with the girls.

RWBY and Pyrrha found themselves in an empty classroom with the door closed. Mercer stood with his arms crossed, looking every bit the protective older brother.

"I'm not gonna sugarcoat this," he said. "Katy left that little girl in Jaune's hands, and by extension… in yours. You're the closest thing she has to aunts and a mother figure right now."

His eyes moved from Yang to Ruby to Weiss to Blake to Pyrrha.

"I need you to promise me you'll look after her. Really look after her. Not just when it's convenient. She's all that's left of my sister, and I won't have her growing up without people who love her the way Katy would've wanted."

One by one, they nodded.

Pyrrha's voice was soft but firm. "We will. I swear it."

Yang cracked her knuckles. "Anyone tries to hurt her, they'll answer to me."

Ruby nodded hard. "She's family."

Weiss straightened. "She will be protected. You have my word."

Mercer's gaze lingered on Blake last.

"And you," he said, voice quieter but sharper. "I've heard the stories. I know what you used to be. I'm not here to judge the past… but I am keeping an eye on you. If you ever put Mia in danger — even by accident — you and I are going to have a very long conversation. Understood?"

Blake met his eyes without flinching. "…Understood."

Mercer held her gaze a moment longer, then nodded once. "Good."

He turned back to the group.

"Take care of her. That's all I ask."

---

Later, Mercer crouched down in front of Mia one last time, adjusting the little wooden sword on her back.

"You be good for your papa, okay?"

Mia hugged him tightly around the neck. "Come back soon, Uncle Mercer!"

He closed his eyes for a second, holding her just a little tighter.

"I will, kiddo. I will."

When he finally stood and walked toward the airship, he didn't look back until he reached the boarding ramp. Then he glanced once more at the small group watching him leave — Jaune with Mia in his arms, and the five young women standing protectively around them.

Mercer allowed himself a small, quiet smile.

Katy would've liked them.

He stepped onto the airship and didn't look back again.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Jaune: "Professor, what did you call me for?"

Ozpin: "I need you to come up with contingency plans."

Jaune: "Contingency plans?"

Ozpin: "Yes, to defeat your teammates if they go evil or get mind controlled."

Jaune: "Huh? Why?"

Ozpin: "You have a fantastic strategic mind, Jaune. I'm sure you can do it."

Jaune: "So there are people who can mind control my friends? Shouldn't we focus on stopping them?"

Ozpin; "Oh we will, Jaune, we will. But if they get control of your friends first, it may lead to their deaths if we can't stop them non-lethally."

Jaune: "Shouldn't we have a contingency for me too, then?"

Ozpin: "Oh if you're turned evil we're all fucked, Jaune. It's just a case of a sniper round or a bomb in a birthday present for you. We have to get more creative with the others."

Jaune: "... I don't know how to feel about that."

Ozpin: "Good!"

Blake actually has plans like that for everyone including herself.

Jaune: "Plans that aren't just porn."

Blake: "... Now I have to start over."

Jaune: "Seriously why did you start making these?!"

Blake: "If I ever went evil again... You'll need to put me in bondage. And probably keep me at a low level of stimulation, just on the edge and calling me a worthless Faunus slave and-!"

Jaune: "OKAY, I'm good. Don't need to hear anymore"!

 

[Blackicefox]

Wimp he should have went okay tell me more and should I start doing this now or later

 

[AndrewJTalon]

About Damn Time

The Beacon vehicle garage smelled like oil, hot metal, and the faint ozone tang of Dust. Bumblebee sat in the center of the concrete floor like a sleek black-and-yellow predator waiting to be let off the leash. Yang was already elbow-deep in the engine, golden hair tied back in a messy ponytail, a smear of grease across one cheek.

"Hand me the torque wrench," she said without looking up.

Jaune passed it over. He had been relegated to "toolbox guy and occasional extra pair of hands," which suited him fine. Watching Yang work was its own kind of education—precise, confident, completely in her element. Every so often she would glance at him like she was about to say something important, then close her mouth and go back to tightening something with more force than strictly necessary.

He was, she had decided, the densest, most frustrating, most endearing idiot on the entire continent.

"Okay," Yang announced at last, wiping her hands on a rag. "She's ready for a test run. Valley road. Low traffic, good curves. You coming?"

Jaune blinked. "Me?"

"No, the other tall blond standing there looking useful. Yes, you. Hop on."

She swung a leg over Bumblebee and kicked the engine to life. The motorcycle purred like it was happy to see her. Jaune hesitated only a second before climbing on behind her, big hands settling carefully at her waist.

Yang grinned to herself. Perfect. Nowhere for the dense idiot to run.

- - -

The valley road unspooled beneath them in long, sweeping curves. Wind whipped Yang's hair back into Jaune's face. His grip on her waist stayed polite for the first ten minutes. By the fifteenth it had grown a little firmer, a little more natural. She leaned into the turns harder than she needed to, just to feel him adjust and hold on.

"You're quiet back there," she called over the engine.

"Just… enjoying the ride," Jaune answered, voice close to her ear. "You're really good at this."

Yang's heart did a stupid little flip. Say something, Arc. Notice something. Anything.

They never got the chance.

The Beowolf pack came out of the treeline without warning—six of them, drawn by the engine noise and the two living Auras cutting through the afternoon. Yang cursed, braked hard, and killed the engine. She and Jaune were off the bike in the same motion.

"Left side!" she barked.

"On it!"

It was messy, fast, and perfect.

Yang's fists lit up with fire. Jaune's shield caught a lunging Beowolf and turned it into a perfect setup for her haymaker. They moved like they had been practicing for weeks instead of hours—her aggression, his timing, the easy way they covered each other's backs. When the last Grimm dissolved into black smoke, both of them were breathing hard, standing almost chest-to-chest in the middle of the road.

Adrenaline still sang in Yang's blood. She turned to say something cocky—

—and Jaune kissed her.

It was brief. Almost clumsy. Just a quick, firm press of his lips to hers, warm and startled and real. Then he jerked back like he'd been burned, face going scarlet from the neck up.

"I—sorry! I'm sorry. I got caught up in the moment. That was— I shouldn't have—"

Yang stared at him.

Then she grabbed the front of his hoodie with both hands, yanked him down, and kissed him back properly.

This one lasted longer. This one had intent. When she finally pulled away, she left him dazed and still very red.

"About damn time, idiot," she said, voice rough with laughter and something softer.

Jaune's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. "…Yeah?"

"Yeah." Yang bumped her forehead lightly against his. "I've been trying to get through to you for weeks.I was starting to think I'd have to draw you a map... Or kick your ass."

A slow, disbelieving smile spread across his face. "I've been… Um... Well... I was thinking of... Working up to it. Didn't want to mess things up."

"You almost did by taking so long." She poked his chest. "But you get points for the dramatic post-Grimm timing. Very heroic. Very you."

Jaune's hands found her waist again, surer this time. "So… does this mean I get to keep riding with you?"

Yang swung back onto Bumblebee and patted the seat behind her.

"Get on, partner. We've still got a whole valley to finish. And next time you kiss me, maybe warn a girl first."

She paused, glanced over her shoulder with a grin that was pure sunlight and mischief.

"…Or don't. I kinda liked the surprise."

 

[AndrewJTalon]

The old guardhouse at the edge of Arcadia had been carefully remodeled into a cozy little farm shop, its thick stone walls now lined with shelves of preserves, smoked meats, and fresh baked goods. Tourists drifted in and out, drawn by the warm smell of woodsmoke and the hand-painted signs advertising everything from pickled vegetables to game meats. Nick and Isabel led Teams RWBY and JNPR inside, the bell above the door chiming softly. Orchid was at the shop counter, looking bored.

The teens went through the shop, peering at the items for sale.

Weiss stopped dead in front of a display case. "Fried Squirrel?!"

Nick only grinned, completely unbothered, as he offered them all some squirrel kebabs. "It's gamey, but it's great!"

Ruby stared at the skewered creatures with pure betrayal in her silver eyes. "But they're so cute!"

Yang wrinkled her nose, waving a hand in front of her face. "Ugh, the meat stinks!"

Nora, already chewing, offered a cheerful thumbs-up around a mouthful. "Om nom nom… No complaints!"

Ren took a measured bite of his own squirrel-on-a-stick, expression thoughtful. "When you live on the road… you learn to make do. Honestly, it's better seasoned than anything I was able to make."

Jaune chewed his portion with the calm of long practice. "I mean, it's not even the weirdest thing I've eaten either."

Weiss eyed him warily. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what is the weirdest?"

Jaune's smile turned deliberately mysterious. "I'm keeping that a secret."

"Oh come on!" Ruby protested.

Yang had already wandered deeper into the shop, eyes wide as she took in the rows of glass jars. "Wow… look at all the stuff… they have… and all the pickled stuff… I didn't know you could pickle eggs… or beets… or asparagus?"

Ruby's attention snapped to a different shelf. "Oooh! Sooo many cookies!"

Jaune gently caught the back of her cloak before she could dive in. "Down, Ruby… maybe we'll get some for later."

"What's this 'Sith Farm' shelf for?" Blake asked.

"Oh, our neighbors the Siths sell a lot of their goods here!" Jaune said cheerfully, "They're our friends and have been for a thousand years!"

"A thousand years?" Blake asked in shock. Jaune nodded.

"Yeah! Cait Sith, the Faunus Thief of Albion, joined my ancestor Jeanne D'Arc and helped her defeat the Witch Queen of Argus! When she became queen of Radian, she made him a Duke!"

"A duke?" Blake snorted. "You made him a duke?! I don't believe it!"

Blake opened her mouth, clearly about to say something else, when Weiss scowled.

"Blake, so help me Breaker, if the next words out of your mouth have to do with Faunus and oppression, I'll tell Mister Arc how much you love working with the cattle dogs, and he'll make sure you're always with them."

Blake's ears flattened. "No! I was going to ask—"

A drawling voice cut across the shop.

"Well, well, well! If it ain't some Menagerian Pussy come around!"

Jaune groaned. "Mercer!"

A young farm cat Faunus man with a sharp grin, a leather jacket and a swagger walked up. He pulled Jaune into a hug. "Hey, Jaune, you keep shooting up like a weed!"

Jaune straightened, already moving into damage-control mode. "Uh, this is my friend, Mercer Sith Junior." He quickly introduced the others, though Mercer's attention remained fixed on Blake.

"And you… Menagerian Pussy… here to lecture us, I take it?"

Blake's eyes narrowed. "Wha—How did you—?!"

Mercer smirked. "You literally look like Blake Belladonna, princess of Menagerie."

"I'm not a princ—I mean—Who? What's Menagerie?!" Blake recovered quickly, ears twitching. "And there can be no princess of Menagerie because it is a republic!"

Mercer waved a dismissive hand. "Uh huh, which is why Ghira's been voted in as Chieftain for, what, almost ten years now?"

"Because he has been voted in by the populace, that's just it! And it's only been six years, not ten!"

Mercer's tone turned sharper. "Bah! I'm not lettin' some princess come here and tell Faunus we're being oppressed when your father's ruling with an iron fist!"

Jaune stepped between them, hands raised. "Hey guys! C'mon, let's all just have a nice day here at the market… please?"

Mercer paused, then huffed. "Hrm… Fine, Jaune. For you."

Blake's ears pinned flat. "You obey him even now?!"

Yang's voice rose in alarm. "Blake, no, nonono—"

"Mercer, hold back—!" Jaune started.

"DAMNIT BLAKE!"

Mercer's temper flared. "I WAS GONNA DO IT TO BE POLITE BUT IT SEEMS YOU'VE ALL THE MANNERS OF AN ALLEY CAT!"

Ren, ever dry, murmured, "Alley cats at least didn't start arguments unprompted."

"NOT HELPING, REN!" Jaune snapped.

Blake's chin lifted. "At least I removed my collar!"

Mercer's voice cracked like a whip. "THERE WAS NEVER A COLLAR T' BEGIN WITH YA DAMN PUSSY! WE WERE DUKES!"

"AND WHAT ARE YOU NOW?!"

"FARMERS AND NOT TERRORISTS!"

Isabel's voice cut through the shop like a blade of pure maternal authority.

"MERCER SITH JUNIOR! ARE YOU GIVING OUR GUEST A HARD TIME?!"

Mercer wilted on the spot. "…No, Ma'am."

Isabel folded her arms. "Good! Then you'd better apologize."

"…Sorry…"

"That's better."

Blake's lips twitched into a smug little smirk.

Jaune didn't even look at her. "You next, Blake…"

Isabel's gaze shifted. "Yes. Blake, please apologize."

Blake mumbled something unintelligible.

Isabel's tone sharpened just enough. "Blake…"

"…Sorry…"

"Good! Now, let's keep shopping, shall we?"

The tension eased as the group drifted deeper into the shop. Ruby's eyes lit up at another display. "Ooh, pheasant! Pheasant pheasant pheasant! How does it taste?"

Jaune answered without missing a beat. "Like less good chicken."

Isabel's head snapped around. "Jaune! It's not less good chicken!"

 

[John Jackson]

Blake's chin lifted. "At least I removed my collar!"

Click to shrink...

Blake internally
"I remembered to take it off this time right?"

 

[ExFelineServer3]

Yeah, that tracks!

 

[Bommel]

Jaune: "Plans that aren't just porn."

Click to shrink...

The irony is that all of Blake's porn plans that involve Jaune for others are all so effective that they're almost garanteed to succeed.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Well now I wanna see a Jaune who's really paranoid and he constantly makes contingency plans that sounds insane and yet he's trope savvy enough that they always work.

 

[John Jackson]

Well now I wanna see a Jaune who's really paranoid and he constantly makes contingency plans that sounds insane and yet he's trope savvy enough that they always work.

Click to shrink...

So cyclops who objected to his plans being labeled alphabetical because that implied he only had 26

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Later...

Yang: *snort* "You have to come with contingency plans to stop us if we go evil? What kind of assignment is that?"

Jaune: "It's a special assignment but I'm working on it."

Blake: "I am working on it. I have many such plans ready. Including for you, Yang."

Jaune: "Blake, please, this is my assignment, not yours-"

Yang: "And how would you stop me if I went evil?"

Blake: "After I seduced you-"

Yang: "BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHA! AHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAA!"

Blake: "... After I seduced you-"

Yang: "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Blake: "Stop laughing!"

Yang: "Haaaa... Seriously Blake? I'd have to lose my right arm before I ever thought of sleeping with you!"

Blake: "... While I was seducing you-"

Yang: "FAILING to seduce me-"

Blake: "My clone would sneak up behind you and hit you over the head!"

Yang: "... Seriously?"

Blake: "A sudden enough strike can overwhelm you before you get powered up."

Yang: "With what? A frying pan?"

Jaune: "A nerve strike would probably do it."

Blake: "Huh, good point."

Jaune: "Yeah, like right here." Precise nerve strike to Yang's neck

Yang: "URK!" She collapses like a doll

Jaune: "Oops... Um... My mom's medical training sometimes comes in handy..."

Blake: "Hmmm..."

Jaune: "Stop thinking weird sex thoughts! It's just to render someone unconcious painlessly-STOP IT!"

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Neo had mostly just been watching.

Cinder's orders had been clear: no harm was to come to the little Arc girl. Not yet. Not while they still needed their cover at Beacon. So Neo observed from a distance, silent and amused, as the tiny blonde Faunus tore through the academy like a one-girl natural disaster.

Then Mia tried to ride her tricycle down the stairs.

"WHEEEEEEE!"

Neo's eyes widened. Dear gods, this girl is going to get herself killed.

In a burst of shattered glass and rose petals of broken light, Neo appeared just in time. She scooped Mia out of the seat and shattered away again as the tricycle bounced, flipped, and tumbled the rest of the way down with a series of loud crashes.

Neo and Mia stared after it in silence.

"…Woooah," Mia breathed, eyes sparkling. "So cool!"

Neo just stared at her.

"Oooh! I wanna do something else cool!" Mia declared.

Neo blinked.

Later that same afternoon, Mia somehow convinced someone (Mint still wasn't sure who) to tie a scarf to a ceiling fan. She swung on it with pure joy—

"WHEEEE—!"

—and nearly sailed straight out an open window.

Neo caught her again, of course. This time she held the girl at arm's length and formed a simple sign with her Semblance:

You're quite the daredevil, aren't you?

Mia grinned. "That sign means nothing because I can't read!"

Neo looked at the floating letters, then at the cheerful little idiot in her arms. She tossed the sign over her shoulder with a silent sigh.

You're lucky you're cute.

Mia just giggled. "Heehee…"

---

A few weeks later, the adventurous spirit had vanished.

After the Beowulf incident, Mia had become quiet. Subdued. Neo found her sitting alone on her bunk in the JNPR dorm, knees pulled up to her chest, staring at nothing.

Neo shattered into the room without a sound, settled beside her, and gently pulled the little girl against her side. She placed a bowl of strawberry ice cream in Mia's lap.

Mia hesitated… then her sweet tooth won. She took a small spoonful.

Neo gently stroked her hair.

"…Papa's training with Grandpa," Mia mumbled. "He wants to be a hero… He asked me to be brave." She looked up, eyes big and uncertain. "How do you be brave?"

Neo gave her a small smile. She tapped a finger lightly against Mia's forehead, then against her heart.

Mia tilted her head. "Huh?"

Neo rolled her eyes playfully and pulled out her scroll, switching to the text-to-speech app.

"Learn what you can," the calm electronic voice said, "and always follow your heart."

"I don't know how to do that," Mia admitted.

Neo typed again. "For the first one: learn from your family and from school. Book smarts and training your body. As for following your heart… do what you always think is right. No matter what anyone else tells you."

Mia thought about it for a long moment. Then her face brightened.

"…I wanna eat ice cream!"

Neo's smile turned into a full gigawatt grin.

"Exactly."

---

When Neo walked Mia back into the common room a little later, Yang's eyes narrowed the second she saw them together.

"Hey," Yang said, frowning. "Wanna tell us when you're hanging out in the Booger's room?"

Neo gave her a smug look, leaned down, and pressed a quick kiss to the top of Mia's head. A new sign floated beside her:

Just practicing.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

Neo's grin turned positively Cheshire as she stretched. The sign changed.

For becoming Stepmommy.

(She had switched back to silent signs so Mia wouldn't understand. It was still too soon for that particular conversation.)

Pyrrha's smile was calm… and just a little terrifying. "I don't think you'll need to train for that."

Neo silently giggled, pulling Mia into her lap and petting her hair while the girl continued eating ice cream. Another sign appeared:

Ah-ah-ah. I don't think that's wise.

Before anyone could escalate further, Ruby blurred across the room in a flash of rose petals and snatched Mia right out of Neo's lap.

"Want cookies with your ice cream, Mia?" Ruby asked brightly.

"I SURE DO!" Mia cheered.

Neo pouted, holding up her scroll one last time. The text-to-speech voice chirped:

"Welp. There goes my fun. Bye-bye, Mia."

Then she shattered away in a cascade of broken glass and light.

"Awww!" Mia called after her.

Yang ruffled the little girl's hair. "It's alright, Mia. You don't need to worry about her."

But Neo, already gone, was smiling to herself in the hallway.

She wasn't done practicing just yet.

 

[Unknown_One]

And there's the other death tornado...

Jaune: "Why am I getting all of these looks?"

Cardin/Team SSSN/Any other guy: "He protests as though his steak is too juicy, and his lobster too buttery."

 

[MetalHead]

Spoiler: snip

snip

Click to shrink...

Now I imagine Mindy and Buttons style comedy with Mia and Neo.

 

[Gur40]

Hound live action

Spoiler: nightmare fuel

no wonder Ruby was traumatized

---

Wait in how many of the timelines did May/Maia die?

Spoiler: momorial

specifically to temporal step siblings timelines, speaking of

Spoiler: Jaune new mentor

---

Summer was a problem

Spoiler: justified force

as the last trained SEW i think Summer had a major chip on her shoulders she didn't want Ruby to have... unfortunately being untrained had it's own slew of problems

---

after v 5 she just became a cockroach

Spoiler: die already!

pre-fall i can see a redemption arc but post-fall? i just want canon Cinder DEAD

---

wait a minute

Spoiler: [I]Pietro[/I]

answer the question old man!

---

art

Spoiler: art by Hiru3152

---

RWBY Manga is wild

Spoiler: context

i forgot, penny went wild with another robot, Yang punched a metor Weiss summoned, and Weiss can't bake

---

summon bigger fish

Spoiler: just throw at Salem

just imagine Salem getting isekai'd to Persona, or BlazBlue and finding out she was a mid fish in a puddle

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Ruby had been vibrating with excitement for three days straight. "Comic Con Vale! It's the biggest one this side of Mistral and they're doing a full Starlight Brigade panel! Jaune, you have to come with me. Yang too!"

Jaune had caved immediately—mostly because Ruby's puppy eyes were lethal, and partially because he'd caught Yang trying (and failing) to sneak a worn Starlight Knights figurine back into her drawer when she thought no one was looking. He knew that look. He'd seen it on Orchid's face a hundred times.

Which was how Yang found herself being physically dragged through the convention center doors on a sunny Saturday afternoon, one arm hooked through Ruby's and the other reluctantly linked with Jaune's.

"I can't believe I let you two talk me into this," Yang grumbled, adjusting her sunglasses. She was dressed in her usual leather jacket and shorts, trying to look as unbothered as possible. "I'm only here for moral support. And maybe to make sure Ruby doesn't buy the entire dealer's room."

"Lies," Ruby sang, already bouncing toward the first booth. "You used to love this stuff! Remember when we'd stay up late watching Starlight Brigade reruns and you'd do all the transformation poses with me?"

Yang's face went bright red. "Ruby! That was like… ten years ago. I was a kid."

"So was I!"

Jaune glanced over with a small, knowing smile. "Nothing wrong with that. My sisters Verdy and Coral still build working replicas of half the mecha from that show. Orchid has an entire shrine to the limited-edition figurines."

Yang shot him a betrayed look, but there was no real heat in it. "Traitor. You're supposed to be on my side here, VB."

"I am," he said softly, squeezing her hand where Ruby couldn't see. "That's why I'm here."

The convention floor was a chaotic explosion of color—cosplayers in elaborate armor, vendors hawking everything from custom Dust-infused prop weapons to indie comics about Grimm-hunting heroes. Ruby vanished almost instantly toward a booth selling weapon props, leaving Jaune and Yang momentarily alone.

Yang's shoulders tensed as they passed a large Starlight Brigade display. A group of kids were reenacting the famous team pose, complete with glowing wristbands. She looked away quickly.

Jaune noticed. Of course he did.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Fine." She crossed her arms. "Just… I used to be really into this. Like, really into it. Before Dad... Before I had to start taking care of Ruby full-time. I had the full collection of comics, the action figures, even a crappy homemade costume I wore to one of the tiny local cons back in Patch. Then life got… real. Raising a kid, training, punching bad guys. Nerd stuff felt like something I had to grow out of."

Jaune leaned against a pillar, watching her gently. "Sounds familiar. Katy used to tease me about how much I loved those old knight errant stories my dad told. Said I was going to get myself killed trying to be a hero instead of staying home and fixing tractors with her and Mercer."

Yang's expression softened. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Turns out you can do both. Being a Huntsman doesn't mean you have to give up the stuff that makes you happy." He reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a small, familiar box. "Here. Brought something for you."

Yang opened it curiously. Inside was a brand-new Starlight Brigade enamel pin—the golden phoenix emblem of the team leader, polished and gleaming.

"I saw you eyeing that old one in your room," Jaune admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Figured it was time for an upgrade. And… maybe it's okay to let that part of you out again. Even if it's just for today."

Yang stared at the pin, then at him. Her cheeks were pink, but her eyes were suspiciously bright. "You big sap."

She clipped the pin to the lapel of her jacket anyway.

Ruby reappeared like a red tornado, arms full of merch. "Yang! They have the new volume of Ember's Edge—the one where the fire specialist goes full power! You gotta read it with me!"

Yang opened her mouth to protest… then closed it. She looked down at the pin, then at Jaune's encouraging smile, then at her little sister's hopeful face.

"…Fine," she muttered. "But only because Jaune bribed me with emotional support."

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of laughter. Yang dragged them to the mecha model contest (quietly geeking out over the articulated joints with Jaune, comparing them to Verdy and Coral's latest disasters). They watched the Starlight Brigade panel, where Yang found herself cheering along with the crowd during the climactic transformation sequence. Ruby nearly cried with joy when Yang joined her for the group pose at the end.

At one point, a little girl in a makeshift Yellow Starlight Knight-inspired cosplay (complete with yellow scarf and gauntlets) ran up for a picture. Yang froze for half a second—then dropped into a perfect combat stance beside her, grinning wide.

"Looking good, kid. Keep punching those monsters!"

The girl beamed. Yang's smile stayed long after she left.

Later, as the three of them sat on a bench sharing oversized pretzels, Yang leaned into Jaune's side.

"Thanks," she said quietly, so Ruby wouldn't hear. "For… pushing me a little. I didn't realize how much I missed this. Being able to just… enjoy stuff without feeling like I'm slacking on my responsibilities... Or being, ya know..."

Jaune slipped an arm around her shoulders. "You're allowed to have both, Yang. The badass fighter and the girl who secretly loves cheesy sentai shows. I like both versions."

She looked up at him, lilac eyes warm. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He brushed a stray hair behind her ear,. "Besides… I think the nerdy side of you is pretty hot."

Yang's grin turned wicked. "Careful, Arc. Keep talking like that and I might fall for you~."

Jaune coughed and went bright red.

"Ah... Uh... Um..."

"Or maybe," Yang whispered, leaning in, "I already have."

Ruby, thankfully distracted by a booth selling cookies shaped like weapons, missed the way Yang pulled Jaune in for a quick, stolen kiss behind her back—soft, sweet, and full of promise.

By the time they left the con, Yang's jacket was covered in new pins, her arms full of bags, and her smile brighter than it had been in years.

She was still the unstoppable Yang Xiao Long.

But maybe—just maybe—she could be a little bit of a dork again, too.

And with Jaune beside her, it felt like the easiest thing in the world.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Secretly nerdy Yang is best Yang

 

[dogbertcarroll]

Cluck Like a Chicken

Jaune struggled but Scarlet and Sun held him solidly in place. "This isn't funny guys!"

Neptune smirked. "It's not meant to be funny, we have a serious question and you are going to give us a serious answer."

"And you had to pin me to a wall to ask it?" Jaune demanded.

"Yes, because otherwise you would just duck the question," Sage said with a shrug.

"So you are going to torture the answer out of me?" Jaune asked, eyes widening in panic.

"Don't be silly, everyone knows torture doesn't guarantee truthful responses," Sun said, tightening his grip.

"Yeah, we have a much more reliable means of getting you to answer truthfully, whether you want to or not," Neptune said smugly. "Sage, hit it."

Sage stepped in front of Jaune and his aura flared in a repeating pattern. "Jaune, relax and be at peace."

Jaune just stared at him in disbelief not noticing his muscles going slack while the others all closed their eyes.

"We are all friends here, there is no need to be afraid, while we are a bit enthusiastic we would never really hurt you," Sage assured him as his aura pulsed like a heart beat.

"I suppose that's true," Jaune agreed his eyelids drooping a little.

"So relax, let go of everything that is holding you back, your worries, your fears, your restraint," Sage said in a calm soothing tone.

"Yeah," Jaune agreed straightening up as if he'd just removed a heavy weight from his shoulders, his aura beginning to pulse in tandem with Sage's.

"Jaune... I'm a friend, you can trust me, tell me which girl on the two teams in your harem is the one you are interested in?" Sage asked intently.

"And why can't you let another brother get some?!" Neptune demanded before he could answer, only to get smacked in the back of the head by Sage.

Jaune's eyes snapped wide open and unseeing while his aura blazed like a sun. "Let another brother get some? I'm not the one standing in your way, you are. You chase after anything in a skirt, not able to focus on one girl for longer than an eye blink, have no sense of commitment, don't even really see them as people so much as mobile platforms to carry their curves around."

Sun and Scarlet went flying as he flexed his aura. "The girls are not my harem, much as I wish they were, and each should demand your full attention and affection."

Neptune's aura dropped by a tenth and he rolled with the backhand that sent him tumbling along the ground.

"Each and every one of them is unique and awesome," Jaune said stepping forward as Sage tried pulsing his aura faster, trying to break Jaune out of it, only to get a foot to the gut that folded him over.

"Really the fact that you only put the bare minimum of effort to gain any of their attentions is an insult!" he growled out his aura dancing on his sword like flames.

"When did he get his sword?!" Neptune cried out.

"And as some of our instructors have said, 'Insults are training opportunities!"

An Hour later

Glinda entered the training room and shook her head at the damage and the demolished team, while Jaune snored softly as he laid on the ground, head on his arms, peacefully asleep.

After she'd gotten everything repaired and the teens sent on their way Ozpin entered. "What excuse did they give?" he asked curiously.

"A test of Sage's hypnotic semblance gone wrong," she replied, shaking her head.

"Technically true but misleading," he said with approval.

"And they have somehow managed to forget that we have cameras in here recording everything in case of accidents," Glinda said dryly. "The recording will no doubt cause even more relationship turmoil among the students, but there seems to be little that does not."

"Erase the recording," Ozpin said, "I think things will go smoother if certain facts are not know at this time."

"Gladly," she agreed, feeling a small surge of satisfaction at the thought that her bet on Yang winning Jaune would be much more secure now.

Ozpin nodded, his plans to insure their were strong future wielders of the silver eyes bloodline combined with the number of children the Arc family tended to produce making the future seem that much more secure... as well as his bet on Ruby winning the blonde himbo's heart. He'd bet quite a bit after all.