The Writer Games (Or Something)

It can take decades to write a masterpiece, and years to plan it- so see what a couple of amateurs come up with in 15 minutes after a prompt. College Fool, Couer Al'Alran, and the Jaune story concepts that followed.

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Special Author's Note:

Welcome back to Writer's Game. Coeur and I are back, and ready for the new year. Big ideas, bigger prompts, and... fewer fills?

Fear not. Writer Games is continuing, and will as long as we feel like it- but we're also both dedicated to numerous other things. You know, actual stories. Writer Games will continue, but not every day or even every week- not unless we can guarantee you something good for a week.

Without further adieu-

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Coeur's Prompt- Ruby made a friend on the first day, and Yang was determined to make sure nothing stopped that.

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C.F.'s Fill: (Not) Sharing is Caring

Yang always had a bad habit of taking and breaking Ruby's things. Toys, boys, friends... would-be boyfriends. Which is why when Ruby made a friend on the first day of Beacon, Yang was determined to make sure she wouldn't be the problem.

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The story opens with a flashback. A young Ruby is searching her room for something, worried and upset. Yang comes in, and Ruby asks her if she's seen it- a doll Ruby received for her birthday. Yang, embarrassed, admits she has and took it without asking. Ruby's too relieved to care- until Yang profers it, broken from rough play.

Ruby is upset, but swallows her anger as Yang explains that she took it when she went to play at another child's house. A sister-brother pair of children. Ruby wasn't invited- which hurts a bit- but Ruby is more interested in the boy, who she clearly has a childish crush on. Ruby wants to know if he asked about her, and other things. Yang, wanting to make amends for breaking Ruby's toy, promises to take Ruby with her when she goes over for a sleepover. Ruby is excited, and Yang thinks it'll be fine.

It isn't. The scene flashes forward- shortly after an early return. Ruby is sulky, and Yang tries to cheer her out, only for Ruby to explode at Yang in childish anger. Ruby was ignored, a fourth wheel, and outright mocked by the boy, and while Yang punched the boy (hence why they're returned early), it doesn't make Ruby happy. Ruby liked him, and he was only dismissing her because he was trying to get close to Yang. Now he's declared he doesn't want to be friends anymore, and he'll never talk to her again.

Ruby blames Yang for it all, saying that she always does this- takes Ruby's toys, her friends, and even the boys she's interested in. She takes them, and breaks them, and leaves Ruby with nothing. Ruby declares she hates Yang, and runs off to their room and locks the day, leaving Yang feeling guilty.

Flash forward to the airship ride to Beacon. Yang is reminiscing as she waits for Ruby to show up. Ruby does, and greets Yang as warmly as in canon, and Yang reflects that she's happy that Ruby never held a grudge. That incident from childhood set a tone for thereafter- even when she didn't mean to, Yang's always inadvertently taken and broken things. Ruby's friends at Signal became Yang's, and stopped being Ruby's. The boys interested in Ruby crushed on her instead. And so on. The only thing of Ruby's that Yang's never broken, never been allowed or allowed herself to touch, has Crescent Rose.

Ruby's never held a grudge against Yang, but Yang holds a lot of guilt, blaming herself for Ruby's isolation and social awkwardness. Yang had hoped that being alone at Signal would give Ruby a chance to make friends of her own without Yang being a distraction. Now that Ruby's coming to Beacon, Yang is both happy and worried that history will repeat itself.

Canon continues on track as Yang seens and leaves with her friends from Signal. From her perspective, friends are mostly 'Ruby's former friends'- people who started being her friends via Ruby, but started ignoring Ruby in favor of her. Yang tries to recommend/push them to re-engage Ruby, but none of them do- wanting her attention only- and so Yang makes a break with them. She won't have time for people who don't have time for Ruby.

Some feelings are hurt, but Yang dismisses them all with a resolve to make a new start at Beacon. This time, she won't be the obstacle to Ruby having friends. Any friend she can't share with Ruby, won't be her friend at all. But most of all, she most certainly won't steal any of Ruby's friends.

It's with this resolution that Yang turns and sees Ruby enter the main hall- and sees her accompanied by Jaune. Yang is pleased to see the friendly back and forth between them- and delighted to see Ruby looking happy and at ease. Yang vows on the spot to help nurture and preserve Ruby's fledgling friendship, lest Ruby ruin it by accident and social inexperience, and so when Ruby sees Yang and separates from Jaune to join her, Yang waves and calls Jaune over as well before Ruby risks ditching a potential friend.

By the same measure, though, Yang realizes she's making a mistake when she gives Jaune a warm greeting- Jaune's smile at the invitation and taking her in calls to mind past boys that she inadvertently drew away from Ruby. Yang realizes she'll have to play cool and distant herself, lest Jaune fall for her and lose interest in Ruby. She won't let herself steal Jaune away from Ruby.

She also won't let anyone else steal Jaune away from Ruby either- and so when Weiss makes her fake flirt, and Jaune thinks she's interested, Yang does her best to crush it quickly. First by pointing out Weiss's sarcasm, and then by rudely interrupting Jaune's discussion with Weiss and Pyrrha to drag Jaune away and back towards her and Ruby. It's not that Yang is shipping Jaune and Ruby, but rather than Yang wants to prevent and pre-empt whatever obstacles to their friendship that she can, including Jaune getting distracted by any other girls other than Ruby. In order for Ruby to have a friend, Jaune's not allowed to have any other girlfriend (or chase after one).

Yang's interactions with Jaune see-saw from hot to cold as Yang bounces from warm approval of anything approaching friendship with Ruby to reminding herself not to get too close and thus steal Jaune's attention to herself. She invites Jaune to bunk down with them overnight so that they can all talk, but then spends most of the evening ignoring him or deflecting his attempts at conversation back to Ruby. She laughs at his choice of sleepwear, but defends him against mockery and tells him not to change after Ruby approves. She declines to find where he wandered off to in the morning while Ruby is changing, but then interrupts his chat with Weiss and Pyrrha to drag him off and scold him for flirting.

Yang is, in effect, a tsundere- and downright confusing for Jaune and others. This is a reoccurring thing.

Initiation happens. The tendency for Yang to perceive everything about Jaune through the prism of Ruby continues. She hopes they'll be partners. She'd like them to at least be on the same team. She's worried about what would happen if she and Jaune became partners- though she'd prefer that to Jaune and Ruby being on different teams entirely.

Yang's worries and efforts mean little as canon teams and partners form. About the only change that happens is that Yang races to catch Weiss when Jaune moves to catch her- wanting to prevent any romantic gesture and sink that ship once and for all. For his trouble, Jaune gets thrown towards the deathstalker, and so is closer to help shield Ruby from the deathstalker after the nevermore pins her. Yay friendship flag! Yang is so grateful she hugs Jaune in sincere thanks, before realize how tightly she does so and quickly releasing him.

Yang is skeptical about Weiss, but the two girls actually get off to a better foot- Weiss appreciates Yang intervening and crushing Jaune's horrible flirting, and so makes a deliberate effort to think better of Ruby by proxy. Weiss falls into a 'can share' category of potential friend for Yang and Ruby- same with Blake, who has no issue. On the other hand, Yang has a slightly negative view of Team JNPR. Nora and Ren are tame enough- they aren't likely to be Ruby's friends, but they seem together enough to not drag Jaune away- but Pyrrha is sure to claim Jaune's time and attention. Even if Ruby doesn't see it as such, Yang sees Pyrrha as 'competitor'- and even if Yang knows Ruby is awesome and amazing as everyone should see, she can tell Pyrrha will be a worthy rival. Fortunately, Ruby has Yang to help.

The first days/weeks of Beacon are Yang trying to bind the teams together for maximum friendships. Yang pushes Ruby to link up with Jaune as fellow teamleaders and have their teams together- and when Ruby is shy or hesitates, Yang does so herself, engaging Jaune directly to invite him to their table before stepping back once more. Yang pushes Jaune to help support Ruby during her doubts as a leader- which he does- and is warm when he returns with Ruby. Before remembering she shouldn't, of course, and flips the tsundere switch.

Eventually Jaune starts to be worrying. While he's being friendly with Ruby- good friendly- he's also shooting looks at Yang when he thinks she's not looking and tries to approach her directly when they're alone. Yang tries to subtly discourage or deflect such approaches- but other times she forgets to remember, especially when he has questions about Ruby, and they have warm conversations. She's dangerously close to being friendly with him, and she knows where that can lead.

Yangs tsundere flips are noted, and confuse everyone. Does she think well of Jaune, or does she hate him? Is she just putting up with him for Ruby, or is she pushing Ruby to deal with him so that she doesn't crowd him? Does she like him, or not? Even Ruby is confused- and much to Yang's horror, Yang overhears Ruby speculate with Blake and Weiss that Yang might be interested in Jaune. Jaune must mean something special to Yang, because Yang's never acted like this with any other boy. Ruby resolves to talk with Jaune to get his thoughts on Yang at the next of the regular team-leader huddles that Yang started for them as a pretext for them to have time together.

After hearing Ruby's speculation, and deciding that Ruby and Jaune are friends enough to continue being so without her, Yang resolves to put space between her and Jaune. To nip any misconception in the bud, Yang goes all tsun, all the time: she forces herself to nix friendly moments or banter with Jaune, tries to push him away, and joins in on the general teasing and light mockery of his abilities when he doesn't. It's nothing too serious, and Yang's even pleased when Ruby stands up to her to defend Jaune after one session, but the period of Yang pushing of Ruby and Jaune towards each other is over. When Ruby tries to mediate and see if Jaune did something wrong she dislikes and he should apologize for, Yang deflects and merely says that they won't have a problem so long as he and Ruby are friends. In Yang's mind, it's as simple as that- she'll step back and out of the way, and not interfere any longer.

That intention is tested as the Jaundice arc starts with Cardin and the bullying. Cardin initially follows Yang's lead in mocking Jaune- but doesn't stop when she does, and Yang realizes she started something bad as the bullying takes it's toll on Jaune. Yang stays back, hoping for Ruby to step up and defend her friend, whose distress is clearly worrying her- but Ruby doesn't. Ruby was comfortable enough to confront Yang in private, but isn't brave enough to make a scene in public- especially as Jaune demurs or denies needing help he clearly needs. Jaune's beat downs by Cardin are especially illustrative- Ruby is fretting, but doesn't know how to help Jaune if he doesn't accept help, and confesses in the team room that she feels she's being a bad friend by doing nothing.

That's what convinces Yang to give up her distance for the time being in order to help Jaune- especially when she catches wind of Pyrrha deliberating on offering to train Jaune. Still more tsun than dere, Yang pre-empts her by cornering Jaune and drags him to the roof. Instead of uplifting encouragement and an offer to train, Yang gives a frank assessment and a beat down- overruling Jaune's protests about needing to do things on his own by blunt honesty and blunter fists.

Despite beating him, Yang doesn't crush him as a person- doesn't mock or belittle him- and instead gives Jaune frank pointers and tips on how to improve. There's no personal fight, and no confession- only Yang admonishing Jaune to learn for Ruby's sake, and vowing to continue this sort of training again.

Jaune shows up beaten and bruised the next day- sparking concerns from everyone about how it happened- but also in better spirits. Direct honesty and a boot up the ass did what concern and pity wouldn't, and Yang notices Jaune practicing some of the tips she told him. Yang still ignores Jaune at the public table, letting Ruby fuss and fawn over him- but soon enough they're back on the roof again, and again, and again.

As the training goes on, Yang's tsun-person slowly shifts as the dere, the personal warmth, begins to re-emerge. Small gestures at first- offering a water bottle or a hand up during relentless training- but gradually more, such as encouragement to withstand Cardin's bullying. Bits of banter during breaks, hard-won praise, and even a public word of congratulations as Jaune beats the second-worst student in the class and starts to rise from the bottom. Yang still tries to frame it in terms of Ruby- that Jaune needs to be better to be worthy as Ruby's friend- but the resumed moments of warmth are real. As is her pleasure when Ruby comes up with ideas to help Jaune endure and cheer up- taking him to Vale on the weekends to meet Qrow for tips and instruction, and so on.

Thanks to Cardin not getting blackmail material, Jaune's situation doesn't deteriorate, it just stays a steady sort of harassment which Jaune slowly begins to rise above through growth and grit. By the time Cardin starts to get frustrated by Jaune's resistance, Jaune is able to stand up in the training ring, and eventually win.

Jaune's first victory over Cardin marks a turning point. After a brief spike in harassment- once which has Yang publicly standing up for Jaune's honest victory when Cardin calls cheating- Cardin slowly begins to turn to less capable targets for bullying. The friends rejoice as Jaune's growth leaves him in a better mood, and Jaune gives credit and reveals Yang's secret training. Yang is displeased- she'd been trying to keep it a secret, and wanted to end it once Jaune could stand on his own two feet- but when an impressed, somewhat jealous, and possibly interested Pyrrha makes to invite Jaune to training with her, Yang objects on the grounds of time conflict. Yang's training sessions aren't over yet.

And so they aren't. Yang tries to hand them off to Ruby- to once more step away from letting herself or anyone else interfere with their strong friendship- but she can't do so in a way that doesn't leave the door open for Pyrrha to intervene. So she and Jaune continue, and her harsher façade come back and forther- periods of warmth, followed by thaws of approval and affection followed by snap-backs as she realizes she's slipping. She continues to interfere with everyone else but Ruby getting close to Jaune, but doesn't do anything herself.

It's confusing and frustrating, and a climax comes around the Blake arc. Jaune is strong and bold enough that when Blake runs off and Team RWY leave to search, he offers to help Yang search. Yang tries to pawn him off on Ruby, but Jaune makes the relevant point that Ruby has her partner. He's offering to help Yang- as a friend.

Yang reacts poorly, and their hunt for Blake is derailed when Yang puts up her barriers and Jaune finally calls her out for it. Jaune doesn't get Yang- doesn't get why she seems determined to ignore him most the time, and yet interferes whenever anyone but Ruby tries to spend time with him. Half the time she seems to hate his guts, but then she does things like go out of her way to help train him or encourage him to spend time with Ruby- things that suggest just the opposite. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was a jealous admirer, and wishes she'd just come out and say it.

Yang reacts very poorly to that. These are, of course, Yang's fears- that he'll start ignoring Ruby in favor of her- and so when Jaune asks outright if they're friends, she denies it. Go be Ruby's friend if that's what he wants- she only helped him because he was Ruby's friend. She even goes as far as to say she doesn't like him, just to drive it in. Jaune gets the picture, and stops pestering Yang- but the uneasy air remains even after Blake is found.

The unease lingers. Jaune is clearly affected, even hurt, by Yang's vocal renunciation of friendship. Their training sessions promptly end as Jaune takes Pyrrha's standing offer instead. Yang's offer/attempt to push Jaune towards training with Ruby is rejected- Pyrrha has more to teach, and Jaune would rather train with a friend than listen to someone who isn't.

That wouldn't be so bad, except that Yang notices that JNPR and RWBY are drifting. Jaune is spending more time, private and public, listening to Pyrrha and taking her ideas for team-training- training that RWBY isn't invited or suited for. Meanwhile Ruby is trying to reconcile and rebuild Team RWBY after Blake's escape. But really… the real issue is that in putting space between himself and Yang, in their mutual avoidance when possible, Jaune is also avoiding Ruby.

It's slow at first, but Yang notices that it's taking a toll on Ruby, who doesn't do well being ignored or avoided. The Jaune-Ruby teamleader meetings come up with less ideas for collaboration, and more things for separation- and Ruby looks more and more depressed each time. The less success her gestures for two-team unity have, the more space Jaune and Yang have to stay away from eachother, the more depressed Ruby gets. And more upset Ruby gets, the less happy Yang is with Jaune.

A climax comes when Yang spies on a team-leader meeting between Ruby and Jaune after a failed collaboration. It's clearly strained- Ruby scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas- and Jaune sighs and visibly gives up. Despite Ruby's protests, Jaune proposes an end to these meetings, and the JNPR-RWBY closeness. It just won't work out. Ruby begs for one last chance to salvage things, and Jaune gives it to her, but clearly doubts it would help.

Yang is alarmed, and angry, but mostly angry as she sneaks away and avoids being seen. Her formerly good mood of Jaune is now in the gutter- so much so that when Ruby approaches her to talk about Jaune, Yang doesn't hide her true feelings. Ruby asks if Yang likes or dislikes Jaune- and Yang firmly, sincerely, says she really doesn't like him. Yang vents about the general, unflattering, reasons she doesn't like him right now- obviously without sharing her eavesdropping- and Ruby gives a soft 'oh' and slinks away.

The next day, JNPR and RWBY sit at different tables in the lunch room.

Despite having Weiss and Blake to share, Ruby is clearly unhappy about it, but her attempts to bring the teams together anyway are foiled when Jaune rejects and pushes her back. The rest of JNPR looks apologetic, but when Yang comes over to investigate they rally behind Jaune. For the rest of the week Ruby is upset, shooting glances at Jaune in class as he and Pyrrha talk and are friendly, and Yang festers with glares.

But it's not until Jaune rejects Ruby outright in a private moment in the hallways- kindly but firmly claiming that they can't be friends anymore- that Yang snaps.

Yang waits for Jaune to be alone, and ambushes him for a 'training session'. 'Ambush' is really the best term for it- it's not a fight, it's a beating mixed with an interrogation as Yang attacks and lashes at Jaune for turning against Ruby as a friend. The two talk at cross-purposes- Yang demanding to know why, Jaune wanting to know why she cares- but in the end Yang shouts harder and punches more and Jaune is a mix of black and blue, and in a berserk fury Yang deliberately breaks Jaune's arm.

Then Ruby arrives, demanding Yang stop and to know what she's doing.

Yang is filled with righteous anger- this is the boy that hurt Ruby, this is the one who betrayed her friendship for no good reason- until Ruby clutches her fists and shouts out that there was a good reason, and that reason was Yang. The team friendship, and Jaune and Ruby's friendship in particular, was broken over Yang.

Yang is shocked, and gradually horrified, as she realizes what her actions and views gradually came across as. She was so determined to not be friends with Jaune that she succeeded- that he and everyone else believes she hates him, and that she only put up with him or did kind things for Ruby's sake. That the moment he was no longer under Ruby's 'protection,' she went and beat him up so bad that he's broken.

Yang tries to defend it on the grounds that he hurt Ruby first, but the truth is that Jaune and Ruby were both afraid that things were irreconcilable between them. Yang was aloof when Jaune was around, Yang repeatedly disclaimed friendship with Jaune, and she honestly said she disliked Jaune when Ruby directly asked. It's not hard to see that this could be an either-or thing in the long run- either Ruby gives up Jaune, or she risks alienating a sister who doesn't like her friend.

Yang is horrified as she realizes that she is the crux of the friendship breakup: Ruby is convinced that Yang hates her friend, and Jaune would rather break up their friendship than being the cause of a schism between sisters. Which is now exactly what's happening- Ruby, upset and angry, accuses Yang of ruining her friendship. Of taking and breaking a friend, a boy, she liked. Again.

She'll forgive Yang eventually. She always does. But she never forgets, and for now she's angry, and disappointed. Just once, she'd hoped to be able to keep a friend she made all on her own.

Ruby takes Jaune to the infirmary, and leaves Yang to her regrets. JNPR and RWBY both hear about what happened soon enough, and everyone gives Yang a cold shoulder or disapproval- not that she expects sympathy. Ruby's disappointment is well earned and widely shared.

Yang sits in the infirmary, waiting for Jaune to wake up so that she can at least give him an apology. Yang, hounded by guilt, gives a monolog to the sleeping Jaune of her reasons and fears- that she was afraid of stealing one of Ruby's friends, and now she drove one away instead. It's the defense she didn't, couldn't, give to an angry Ruby. That she was afraid of stealing Jaune away if she allowed herself to be friends with him.

Jaune's snort of laughter, and pained gasp, is the proof he's actually awake to hear it. He was faking sleep to avoid talking to her- but hearing what she has to say, the air is cleared along with misunderstandings. Jaune claims Yang reminds him of a tsundere sister of his own- so much so that the idea of him falling for her to the point of forgetting Ruby is laughable. Seven sisters means splitting attention in seven or more ways at once, without ignoring anyone.

Yang is relieved, but worried that what she's done can't be forgiven by Ruby or Jaune so easily, but Jaune denies it. Jaune, despite being black and blue and broken all over, is willing to forgive Yang once he understands her perspective- and if he forgives her, then Ruby will come back around quicker than she otherwise would. Jaune's only condition is that they start over again as friends- he thought they were once during the Cardin arc, was hurt when she denied it during the Blake incident, but would like to try it with the real Yang now. Jaune and Ruby won't be friends if Jaune and Yang can't.

Yang agrees to try, and helps smuggle Jaune out of the infirmary so that they can go to the dorm rooms. Ruby answers the door, is initially upset to see Yang, surprised to see Jaune, and shocked at what happens. Yang proffers Jaune forward like an offering. In the call-back of the toy from the start- claiming she found Ruby's lost friend, apologizes for breaking him, and shyly asking if Ruby would be willing to share?

Jaune smiles and shrugs, and Ruby looks overjoyed as she accepts.

End

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Coeur's Impression:

So this was an interesting prompt, and I like the direction CF took it. Yang and Ruby's small backstory thing is a very realistic and good reason for the problem - even if at first it looks like a problem only Yang still agonises about. Though ironically at the end we also see from Ruby's outburst that it's still something she cannot forget.

The build up is good, and works throughout the story. It never feels too rushed or too slow, which is good.

The ending is also good, but there's one thing for me. I would have liked a little more drama perhaps from it. Yang's guilt is delicious, in that way negative emotions can only be in a good black moment. But it never goes quite as far as I would have liked it too.

Now I'm not suggesting suicide or anything. But perhaps we could have Yang, in her self-hatred and knowledge that it's her who is causing problems, trying to remove herself. Perhaps by leaving Beacon entirely.

So when Jaune bumps into her or something, they each fall over - and Jaune sees the documents, he realises what she is doing - and demands to know why. Of course, yang could either get angry - or just sadly say she's the problem between him and Ruby. So if she's out of the way, they can go back to being friends again.

And of course Jaune has to go on a small campaign to stop that, and make Yang realise things - leading to the same ending in a chapter or so. The reason why I'd have preferred something like this is because at the moment there's a lot of growth with Yang - but I feel that Jaune doesn't quite get as much. it takes two to tango, and as much as Yang has a lot of the fault, there's no denying that Jaune COULD have just ignored her emnity and remained friends with the group anyway.

So maybe rather than Yang "revealing" her problems in an overheard hospital scene (which forgive me, does feel a little cliche) - I would have liked to see him figure out those issues himself, showing that he still does care about Yang. Even if the bumping into trope is probably even MORE cliche.

Honestly could have him finding out however you want. Hear whispers from a teacher, see the paperwork, see Yang packing her bags. Whatever. Hell, maybe Jaune even enlists Ruby's help, and they both discover she is leaving - chase after her. And in a scene where Yang frankly admits she's doing this for Ruby and him, they both dog pile her and tell her she's being stupid.

Ruby still needs her sister, and doesn't want a Beacon without her - and Jaune gives his same argument in the canon piece. Or Jaune could face her alone, stopping her from getting on a Bullhead, until she hits him - cue confession - and her delivering him like the symbolic teddy bear once more.

Just my thoughts anyway, but I really liked this nonetheless. A friendship fic for a change, even for me, romance can be too much sometimes.

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C.F.'s Reflection:

I was really close to subverting the prompt and picking someone other than Jaune. More out of spite than anything. I didn't get any further than 'Blake doesn't abandon Ruby at the start' before I realized that this was a story I wanted to play straight. Even if it was basically 'faunus Ruby' without the faunus, and with a tsundere Yang instead.

Coer makes a really, really good suggestion, and I wish I'd thought of it. Pro-tip- anything that can be summarized as 'monologue' is probably weak or lazy writing. That's the advantage of a good sounding board/muse/beta, people. Coeur's point about multiple people showing growth- not just Yang, but also Jaune and even Ruby- is a good point. Few stories are made better by static characters, and this one could have gotten a late-game boost by having Jaune and Yang reconcile by actions and not just words.

So let's say go with it- Yang makes a hospital apology that's not clear, means to drop out, and Jaune discovers it. He gets involved, flaming bullheads crash, and everything. I like the 'bumps into and spills paper' idea- it'd be a good post-injury opportunity for Yang to show some regret and not hostility. It's also a way for Yang to demonstrate/show responsibility for and after the arm-break- that she uses the incident to voluntarily withdraw from Beacon.

Hospital confessions have become something of a crutch for me. They're convenient on multiple levels- combat school leading to injuries of accident/self-sacrifice, relative privacy, and plenty of oppenings for guilt or strong emotion- but it's also a bit of a crutch. What's also a bit... overused? Well-worn?... is this dynamic of 'Yang's relationship with Jaune is based off Ruby.' I've done it before- ladybug Ruby- and I'll probably do it again sometime, but this one was... not bad. I'm relatively satisfied with it, for most of the reasons Coeur gives. I'm not sure how well tsundere!Yang works in practice, but I like the set-up and I adore the final scene. Like Coeur says, it's a culmination of character growth for Yang.

Still... dat tsundere. I don't like that archetype, personally- infact, I dislike it and would never date one. I don't think I could get into someone who I could only trust the honesty of their feelings half the time. Just not for me. But it was required for the story, it was a flaw to be addressed, and probably best of all it wasn't a romantic thing.

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