The previous Nora chapter had some, quite frankly, kind of sad and depressing themes interwoven in it, seeing as this is RWBY and all, and my central characters for that chapter were Nora and Blake. Is it any surprise that it dealt with some heavy themes, even if it was subtext? Sorry 'bout that. Look, we all saw V8, we know the show's capable of some dark stuff.
To make up for that, have a Weiss and Jaune chapter.
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Volume 2.25 (Friday): Long story short, but TIL what a tampon is!
For as long as she could remember, Weiss was fond of dogs.
No, scratch that – she loved dogs.
Unlike her teammate Blake, who always claimed that dogs were shifty creatures, always plotting something behind those blank smiles of theirs, waiting for the right moment to strike, Weiss believed that dogs were utterly incapable of malice. How could they, when they let out such soft groans of content as you ran your hands across their fur, scratching their chins, giving them belly rubs, and patting their heads as a reward for good behavior?
Plus, unlike cats, dogs never abandoned you, even if you tossed a frisbee into the distance, prompting them to dash away to retrieve them for you. Cats did their own thing, and only came back to you when it was convenient for them, but dogs? No matter what happened, come hell or high water, they always stayed by your side, each disappearance only temporary since they always came back, carrying the lost frisbee in their mouth, placing it on your feet, their tails wagging to and fro because they knew they did a good job and was going to be rewarded with treats and head pats. Weiss also liked that they were predictable creatures, their loyalty easy to manage as long as you gave them dog treats to them every time they acted like good boys.
Dogs, after all, were simple creatures, very much unlike people, who were complicated, messy, and hard to manage.
Weiss let out a smile at the thought, meditating on the joys of taking care of dogs as Zwei dashed back to her side, frisbee in his mouth. The two were spending the pleasant end-of-the-weekday afternoon at the Beacon courtyards, with Weiss sitting on the grass under the shade of one of the Beacon courtyard's trees. She was watching Zwei run around the Beacon courtyard, taking the time to scan videos and photos on her scroll whenever Zwei wandered off on some other adventure, while Zwei's supposed owners, Ruby and Yang, were off in the distance, Yang with a guitar on her as she attempted to play some rudimentary chords and Ruby trying her best to weather the storm. (Even Weiss could tell that Yang was not yet at the level that she was doing could be called music, but Yang did just start learning to play yesterday.)
Zwei, meanwhile, spent most of the afternoon running around the courtyard, chasing small insects, as well as looking for the most interesting patch of grass he could find. He would stop, every so often, sniffing the ground, and Weiss would break out into a smile every time Zwei did so, trying to imagine what thoughts ran in the pupper's head as he pawed on a particular spot. Perhaps he found some secret treasure, buried underneath? Every now and then, to break up the monotony, Weiss would toss a frisbee at Zwei's direction, giving the corgi some exercise as he would dash towards the object at lightning-fast speeds that rivaled his owners, before returning with the toy.
Weiss' thoughts were interrupted by a small whimper from the corgi, who had deposited the frisbee at her feet and was wagging his tail at her, expecting something else from the heiress, prompting Weiss to decide that it was perhaps time for something different. Weiss looked at her collection of Zwei toys and treats, looking for the best toy for te dog to play with, and eventually settled on the rubber ball that Ruby had lent her (this is his actual chew toy, Ruby reminded her, so use it in case Zwei starts messing with Blake again) to use for Zwei's Playtime with Weiss, as mandated by the Zwei accords.
(As per the Accords, drafted by one Jaune Arc, notarized by one of the Schnee Family lawyers, signed by both teams RWBY and JNPR, and with one Professor (Doctor!) Bartholomew Oobleck as a witness, Zwei was due at least an hour of dedicated Weiss bonding time per week, maximum, due to fears from her legal owners, one Ruby Rose and one Yang Xiao Long, that Weiss would try and somehow subvert Zwei to her side. It was all pure hogwash, Weiss would insist, but as she took back the rubber ball from Zwei, enjoying the mesmerized look that Zwei was casting on the chew toy that Weiss was dangling in front of him like a piece of meat, Weiss started thinking if there was a loophole around the legal document that Jaune had drafted on Ruby's insistence. Honestly, Weiss complained in her head, why was that dunce such a pushover for that dolt?)
Playtime with Zwei was one of the few bright spots of this, quite frankly, miserable week they were all enduring, what with them being cooped up in their dorms and very few classes to distract them from the events of the Breach, and she had been looking forward to it ever since they officially legalized the Zwei Accords. (Incidentally, the Accords were an agreement between the two student teams and Beacon, allowing the corgi to stay within school premises as long as someone from the two teams, as well as Doctor Oobleck, was ensuring that the dog was being taken care of at all times.) Weiss was surprised that Glynda had even allowed it, the Combat professor and Deputy Headmistress of the academy not bothering to hide her disdain for what she had termed the 'mangy beast' (a description that Blake wholeheartedly agreed with), but what could she do if even Ozpin allowed it?
Which led to the current situation: Weiss enjoying her first ever Playtime with Zwei.
(Never mind that there was someone missing, someone who had promised to be there to take care of Zwei… Weiss did her best to suppress the voice in her heart, screaming where is he?!)
She tossed the rubber ball in the air and marveled as Zwei caught it mid-air, landing on his feet and showing off the ball in his mouth, his tail wagging furiously. Weiss supposed that part of why she liked these playtimes with Zwei was that she never really got the chance to have a pet growing up, unless you counted the animals that her mother kept caged up like trophies for the Schnee Manor, and even so, they never were truly free, not unlike Zwei, enjoying the freedom afforded to him by the Beacon courtyards, who was looking at her now with an expectant look on his face, waiting for the treat that Weiss would inevitably produce every time he did something good. Weiss chuckled at that. It was just so easy, receiving love and affection from Zwei. At least Zwei was always there for her and didn't disappear to Dust knows where when they had agreed to meet after lunch! Was it any surprise that one sad look from Zwei made her give up the treats she was saving for later?
(Honestly, so what if Weiss was such a pushover for Zwei?)
Off in the distance, Yang started singing, trying to pair her… unique voice with her clumsy attempts at playing the guitar, and Weiss could see Ruby visibly trying not to laugh or grimace at what Yang considered music. At the very least, Weiss mused, Yang certainly seemed to enjoy herself, smirking at the way Ruby desperately tried to pretend she was enjoying Yang's atrocious performance, and Weiss certainly couldn't fault Yang for trying to better herself and work on a weakness of hers. But bless her, Yang was just not cut out to be a singer. For Dust's sake, she was almost as bad as Jaune!
Speaking of, Weiss thought, recalling the other blonde she was friends with, we were supposed to meet here an hour ago!
Weiss didn't like to dwell on things too much, and while playing with Zwei certainly helped her take her mind off things, it had been an hour and a certain someone still hadn't shown up, despite the plans they had made earlier in the week. As per the Accords, Blake had, citing "philosophical differences", turned over her part of the duties and responsibilities to care for Zwei to team JNPR, and Jaune was all too happy to care for the dog, the two forming a fast friendship almost as soon as Ruby introduced the corgi to their sister team. Was it any surprise that team JNPR immediately agreed to allowing the dog to stay over at their dorms when necessary?
Still, their agreement meant that Jaune promised to help Weiss watch over Zwei during her Playtime hours, as well as discuss a couple of other things they really needed to talk about, a promise that Jaune seemed to be determined to break right now. While she certainly enjoyed the presence of the corgi by her side, Weiss could admit that it was a little lonely, spending time with Zwei alone. Even Yang had Ruby with her as she practiced non-stop with that blasted guitar of hers, and Ruby even humored her big sister's atrocious playing, all the while Weiss was all alone! Heck, at this point, Weiss could admit that she was slightly jealous that Yang and Ruby were spending time together, and she could even admit that it was kind of lonely, just watching out for Zwei by herself! It wasn't like she could ask the rest of Jaune's team for help either, as they had all mysteriously disappeared, along with Blake, and Ren, her usually reliable coffee and tea partner, mentioned that he had 'other plans!'
By her side, Zwei whimpered, as if sensing his dog-sitter's melancholy. He placed the rubber ball by Weiss' side and began nuzzling his head at Weiss' side, and Weiss, her mind hazy with a vague annoyance she couldn't put her finger on, responded by scratching the back of his ears, thinking to herself, at the very least, dogs won't leave me alone.
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Welcome to White Knight!
Snow Angel: Jaune, where the heck are you?!
Snow Angel: We were supposed to meet today so you could teach me how your recording set-up works!
Someone is typing…
Sir Dork Knight: huh?
Sir Dork Knight: wait what
Sir Dork Knight: i thought we were doin the asmr stuff after dinner, coulda sworn i asked someone to tell you
Snow Angel: No, you dunce.
Snow Angel: We agreed to meet after lunch to do a practice recording, after Playtime with Zwei!
Sir Dork Knight: [edited]
Snow Angel: What was that?
Sir Dork Knight: no, no, its nothing
Sir Dork Knight: oh also
Sir Dork Knight: i thought playtime w zwei kicked in next week
Sir Dork Knight: werent you going to contest some of the wording in the Accords?
Snow Angel: Well, yes, but I've been looking forward to some personal time with Zwei all week, and I will not be denied his adorableness. Not by a piece of paper!
Sir Dork Knight: o…kay?
Snow Angel: Besides, that's not the important matter here! We agreed to start preparing for the debut of White Knight Productions today!
Snow Angel: How am I supposed to learn the proper set-up for recording these videos if you don't teach me?!
Snow Angel: Are we not supposed to be partners here?
Sir Dork Knight: uhhh we are im p sure
Sir Dork Knight: besides, we can do all the recording and practice stuff later
Sir Dork Knight: i know youve been so excited all week but a few more hours cant hurt, right?
Snow Angel: What could be so important that you'd push back on our meeting, anyway?
Sir Dork Knight: uhhhh
Sir Dork Knight: look did you forget
Sir Dork Knight: today's food run day so me and ren are heading to vale to stock up on food and stuff
Snow Angel: "Ren and I."
Sir Dork Knight: …me and ren :stuck_out_tongue:
Snow Angel: Oh, you insufferable little- [edited]
Sir Dork Knight: uhh you ok there weiss
Snow Angel: No, no, I promised Ruby and your teammates I would try and be more civil. Nora and Ren are on my case as it is.
Snow Angel: Even Blake is telling me I'm too harsh towards you, and she's the one who keeps changing your nickname in chat to :dog: when nobody is looking.
Sir Dork Knight: dw i already took away forced nickname changes in the main chat
Sir Dork Knight: so you wont wake up anytime soon to yang changing your name to something mean
Sir Dork Knight: …for the record, i genuinely didn't realize it was bothering you
Sir Dork Knight: didnt even know bleiss meant anything
Snow Angel: It doesn't! I'm not sure where Yang dreamt that silly concept up!
Snow Angel: You will never find me dressing up in black and swearing like a sailor like I'm going through a dust-damned rebellious phase!
Sir Dork Knight: might be a fun costume party get-up though
Snow Angel: If you think for one second that I'm going to be wasting any Lien on buying that outrageously terrible outfit Blake posted…
Sir Dork Knight: speaking of buying stuff did you give ruby a list of the stuff you need
Snow Angel: …oh.
Snow Angel: I will admit, I completely forgot about that.
Sir Dork Knight: lmao
Sir Dork Knight: don't tell me you were so excited to record asmr that it slipped your mind
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(She was, but there was no way Weiss was telling Jaune that.)
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Snow Angel: Jaune, focus!
Snow Angel: I'll make sure to pass along my shopping list to Ruby or Ren later!
Sir Dork Knight: alright alright
Sir Dork Knight: look, i think sun and neptune are planning on inviting themselves along on this trip ever since sun found out we do this so uh
Sir Dork Knight: might take us a while to get back
Snow Angel: Do try to make sure your friend doesn't commit any crimes along the way.
Sir Dork Knight: kinda feel that's a bit discriminatory, but w/e
Sir Dork Knight: ill make sure to pass the message along.
Sir Dork Knight: no message for neptune? hes been asking about you
Snow Angel: Jaune…
Sir Dork Knight: ok, ok!
Sir Dork Knight: Wouldn't hurt for you to stop giving him the cold shoulder, you know.
Snow Angel: …just tell me what time you're getting back.
Sir Dork Knight: uh, maybe we'll get back after dinner?
Sir Dork Knight: so uh, you don't need to wait up for me
Someone is typing…
Snow Angel: Wait! But what about Zwei!
Snow Angel: The poor thing's been so lonely without you!
Sir Dork Knight: aww
Sir Dork Knight: im sure zwei can last one day without me
Snow Angel: [edited]
Sir Dork Knight: what was that
Snow Angel: Nothing.
Snow Angel: I accidentally sent the wrong message to this chat.
Sir Dork Knight: Oh, ok. Well, see you later, Weiss! Don't wait up!
Snow Angel: …of course. Why in the world would I wait up for you? Don't flatter yourself.
Sir Dork Knight: hahahahahaha
Sir Dork Knight: ofc
Sir Dork Knight: not gonna make that mistake ever again :wink:
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(Perhaps it didn't need to be said, but if Zwei could last one day, then Weiss certainly could.)
Weiss uttered a silent apology for using Zwei's name carelessly, a vain attempt to try and get Jaune to reconsider his plans. She sighed, massaging the temples of her head, a headache beginning to develop thanks to annoyance at how most of her plans for the day were effectively shot to hell.
Sure, it wasn't Jaune's fault per se – it wasn't like Weiss was still living in Atlas, where everything she would ever need could be obtained at the snap of a finger, and Jaune wasn't one of her servants, someone she expected to attend to her every little need. Sure, she had been looking forward to their little channel production, an opportunity for her to use her voice for something outside SDC propaganda and whatever delusions of grandeur her father had when he began having her train her singing voice, but Jaune, much like Zwei, was free to spend his time as he wished, and Weiss had no right to force him otherwise. And sure, Weiss was trying her best to suppress a vague feeling on unease that had been troubling her all day, but again, that wasn't Jaune's, or any of their other friends', problem. Loneliness was part and parcel of her existence, and Pyrrha had once told her that everyone was entitled to their own sorrow. It didn't mean everyone else was obligated to stick around and make her feel better about herself.
(Weiss often cursed the complexities of the heart, as well as just how messy emotions were. Why couldn't things be more simple?)
Still, when they had their little… reconciliation (a word that Weiss hesitated to use, but had no other alternative for) and Weiss discovered Jaune's little secret, it awoke in her an unusual feeling, bubbling in her chest. It was the same feeling that engulfed her when she first laid her eyes on Zwei, as if something was unlocked in her heart, something she had kept caged for fear of offending her father or displeasing her mother. She had never once considered taking care of a dog, or recording things for strangers on the internet, but the mere idea of it filled her with glee, giving her the same sense of liberation she felt when she made the decision to study at Beacon instead of Atlas. They were rare moments, Weiss understood, that helped combat the loneliness that gnawed at her heart, these moments where she felt that all her guilt about feeling sorry for herself and the loneliness that she always tried to suppress were… still there, but much more manageable.
(Much, much later, Blake and Yang would joke about it being a rebellious phase, a notion that Weiss would have a hard time refuting.)
Off to the corner, Weiss observed Yang, who had somehow transformed the basic four chord progression most songs had into some nightmarish cacophony of sounds and noises that she was sure a guitar was physically incapable of producing. It had gotten to the point that Zwei had curled up on her lap, trying desperately to burrow deeper into Weiss' embrace to escape the aural assault that Yang was inflicting on his poor eardrums, and honestly, Weiss couldn't blame him, seeing as Yang was probably producing sounds that her ears couldn't pick up, judging from the way Zwei was reacting. Weiss could have sworn that she saw a couple of Faunus students run away from the general vicinity too, as well as a flocks of birds (was that a dust-damned raven flying away, looking as if it was disgusted?) flying away from the courtyard. At least Yang seemed to be having fun?
(Weiss was also confused about how Ruby was surviving the noise, being in close proximity to Yang, but everything made sense later when she discovered that Ruby had invested in a pair of wireless earphones precisely for this purpose.)
A part of Weiss was tempted to take a video of Yang's attempts at playing her instrument, hoping to send it to Jaune and convince him to teach her instead, but stopped herself before she pressed the record button. Really, what good would it do? It wasn't like Jaune would rush to her side, or Yang's for that matter, just because she was a little anxious of having nothing to do, nor to help Yang out with her atrocious musical skills. After all, Yang had had only one day of tutelage under Jaune, and nobody improved overnight. Yang certainly couldn't be expected to be an expert in a day. Weiss had to remind herself, too, that Jaune wasn't a dog, and she couldn't just throw a frisbee in his general direction and expect him to rush back to her side like Zwei always did, despite Blake's insistence otherwise.
People, after all, were complex, messy, and hard to manage. Not like dogs. Dogs were simple.
(A part of her knew that perhaps, in the past, he would have done so, lovesick fool that he was, but Weiss admonished herself for ever considering taking advantage of his feelings like that. Despite their rocky past, despite how complex their relationship had gotten at this point, despite all the awkwardness between the two of them, it wasn't like Weiss ever set out to deliberately mislead or take advantage of him. He was a friend, damn it, warts and all!)
Still, with all her plans for the afternoon pretty much evaporating into thin air, Weiss had to do something. As Zwei, tired out by the constant running, settled by Weiss' side, enjoying the way that Weiss absentmindedly rubbed the dog's head as she read her group chats, while Yang and Ruby were evidently packing it up, probably to move elsewhere and do whatever it is the two sisters did in their spare time, Weiss started thinking about how to pass the time until Jaune could come back…
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Welcome to Team RRAYNNBW!
Queen of the Castle uploaded a photo!
Sunny Little Dragon: oof
Sunny Little Dragon: blake are you ok
Cereal Girl: Oh, Yang, you worry too much.
Queen of the Castle: Never fear, Yang, Pyrrha and I made sure to go easy on Blakey!
Ren-sensei: Blake, if you need a pick-me-up, I have a tumbler of my newest herbal shake sitting in the pantry refrigerator.
Ren-sensei: …pick-me-up. What a strange phrase.
Snow Angel: Ren, focus!
Snow Angel: Did you get the list I sent you?
Ren-sensei: Yes, Weiss.
Ren-sensei: Ah, Weiss, Neptune is asking me to pass along a message…
Snow Angel: No.
Ren-sensei: Understood.
Sunny Little Dragon: oh hey you're on the air bus to Vale, right? hows VB holding up?
Cereal Girl: Oh dear. Did Jaune pack his motion sickness medicine?
Ren-sensei: He is holding up, although Sun is not making things easy for him
Ren-sensei: …I kind of regret not letting Neptune manage him for the duration of this trip. Sun is very, ah, rambunctious, I believe is the right word to describe it.
Ren-sensei: Jaune is hunched over at the back, and Sun is trying to open the windows, despite the looks the pilot is throwing at him.
Queen of the Castle: Watch out for the projectile vomit, Ren!
Snow Angel: Nora, that's disgusting!
Snow Angel: Anyway, Pyrrha, Nora, are you three still at the gym?
Cereal Girl: We are, actually. Now that we've made sure to put Blake through the paces, we can focus on our own workout while Blake rests.
RedLikeStrawberries: oh no
RedLikeStrawberries: is it a good idea to just leave blake there on the floor all collapsed
Queen of the Castle: Oh, she'll be fine.
Queen of the Caste: Weissy, you wanna come with? Pyrrha and I were thinking of doing some practice recording workout videos, and we could use a second opinion.
Snow Angel: …no thanks. I'd rather not have a repeat of the last time I went with you.
Queen of the Castle: I promise I'll go easy this time!
Queen of the Castle: …and if I don't, I'll carry you back to the dorms! I'll even princess carry you!
Snow Angel: Please don't.
Snow Angel: Just… go have fun, you three. Good luck with your practice recording. I'll… do some other things this afternoon, I suppose.
Cereal Girl: Oh.
Cereal Girl: Weiss, you were supposed to practice recording things with Jaune today, weren't you?
Snow Angel: Yes, we were. What about it?
Cereal Girl: I'm afraid I may have forgotten to tell you…
Cereal Girl: Jaune was only able to reserve the recording room for later tonight, instead of the afternoon slot you two originally discussed.
Cereal Girl: Which is why he decided to postpone your meeting to after dinner. He stayed up late last night working on the paperwork and asked me to pass along the message…
Cereal Girl: I'm sorry!
Cereal Girl: It must have slipped my mind with all the excitement today, seeing as Blake agreed to work out with us.
Sunny Little Dragon: speaking of, how did you get her to agree
Sunny Little Dragon: i keep asking her to join me but she always says shes too busy
Queen of the Castle: Oh, we have our ways~
Queen of the Castle: Besides, Blake had some rare free time today!
Sunny Little Dragon: in the first place, i didnt think Blake was the type who liked working out
Cereal Girl: If it is any consolation, Yang, I don't think Blake likes it, per se.
Cereal Girl: She has her reasons, but they're a bit too complicated to explain at the moment…
Queen of the Castle: Aww, don't overthink it, Yang. Blake felt like joining us today is all. Sometimes, it's hard to explain why we do things, y'know?
Ren-sensei: The heart is a lockbox full of mysteries, after all. Our emotions and motivations are complicated beasts, difficult to tame and almost impossible to manage cleanly.
Sunny Little Dragon: oooh is that another one of those mistralian koans
Ren-sensei: …no, Yang. Not everything I say is a koan.
Ren-sensei: And quite frankly, it is very discriminatory of you to say so.
Sunny Little Dragon: oh shoot sorry
Sunny Little Dragon: didn't mean to offend you
Ren-sensei: Ah.
Ren-sensei: I believe this is the part where I mention that I am joking?
Sunny Little Dragon: pfft what
Queen of the Castle: That was a really bad joke, Ren!
Ren-sensei: My apologies. An upperclassman suggested that I could make jokes about being from Mistral as a way to… 'break the ice', as it were.
RedLikeStrawberries: ren idt you should be getting humor advice from fox
RedLikeStrawberries: i like him but his jokes can get too mean sometimes
RedLikeStrawberries: Oh, and Sun sent me a message, asking if Blake needs anything since he heard she was working out with Pyrrha and Nora today.
RedLikeStrawberries: Can you pass it along to Blake?
Someone is typing…
Cereal Girl: Oh dear.
Cereal Girl uploaded a photo!
RedLikeStrawberries: wait idgi
RedLikeStrawberries: why does blake have her middle finger up
Sunny Little Dragon: ill tell you when your older
Cereal Girl: Oh, and Blake says to add the caption "Mind your own business."
Cereal Girl: Also, Jaune, Ren, Blake has asked that you don't let Sun see her shopping list.
Ren-sensei: I'll make sure to pass the message along once Jaune has stopped evacuating the contents of stomach.
Ren-sensei: Also, Weiss, Neptune is insisting on me getting you to respond. What exactly happened between you two?
Queen of the Castle: Yeah, Weissy, I thought you and Neptune were cool.
Sunny Little Dragon: o ho ho
Sunny Little Dragon: trouble in paradise? lover's quarrel?
Sunny Little Dragon: why doncha lay your love problems on me? aunty yang is here to listen
Snow Angel: Yang, first of all, Ruby's told me your dating history, or lack thereof, and believe me, I don't really trust your advice on romantic relationships.
Sunny Little Dragon: excuse me? ruby?
Queen of the Castle: She got you there, Yang.
Cereal Girl: I do remember that night out still, you know.
Queen of the Castle: Three-drink Yang strikes again!
Sunny Little Dragon: you will never let me live that down huh
Snow Angel: Also, why are you all assuming that Neptune and I are in a relationship? It was one dance. Besides, he turned me down when I asked him, remember?
RedLikeStrawberries: didn't he end up joining you by the end, though?
Snow Angel: Well, yes, but even so, one date does not make us an item, no matter what Yang may insinuate.
Sunny Little Dragon: im just surprised you seemed to have gotten over him rly quickly since you were rly into him before the dance
Snow Angel: I was not!
Queen of the Castle: You kinda were, Weissy
Cereal Girl: It is very hard not to notice these things, Weiss.
RedLikeStrawberries: weiss, even i could tell what was going on, and i spent most of the party by the punch bowl
Snow Angel: You are all overcomplicating things.
Snow Angel: My relationship with Neptune is very simple.
Snow Angel: I asked him to the dance, he turned me down.
Snow Angel: We spent some time together during the dance itself.
Snow Angel: Nothing more, nothing less. See? Simple. Nothing as messy or scandalous as you are all implying.
Snow Angel: Nothing happened. I simply do not want to talk to him right now.
Sunny Little Dragon: idk weissy, im no blake but even i can smell if something's fishy
Cereal Girl: As Blake is unavailable at the moment, I feel I must point out that this is bordering on discriminatory, yang.
Sunny Little Dragon: frick i didn't even mean to make it a pun
Snow Angel: Well, think of it what you will! Allow me to make it as simple as possible! There is nothing happening between me and Neptune!
RedLikeStrawberries: …. "neptune and I."
Snow Angel: RUBY ROSE YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT
RedLikeStrawberries: totally worth it
Sunny Little Dragon: well idk abt anyone else but im sure theres a story here
Sunny Little Dragon: but if weiss isnt telling then i guess theres nothing we can do
Queen of the Castle: Oh, Weiss will tell us when she's ready. We can wait!
Snow Angel: Then I fear you may have to wait a long time, as I have made things as clear and simple as I possibly can!
Cereal Girl: If you say so, Weiss.
Someone is typing…
RedLikeStrawberries: wait
RedLikeStrawberries: i just got the finger thing now
RedLikeStrawberries: language, blake!
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It was moments like this that solidified why Weiss preferred dogs to people.
How many times did she have to explain it before her friends got it in their heads that they were overthinking her and Neptune? Neptune could cry and complain and run to all of her friends to get them on his side, but Weiss had made things perfectly clear, that night when the dance was winding down: there was nothing between them. Weiss had nothing against Neptune. He was a perfectly acceptable person, someone Weiss wouldn't mind being as her friend, but that was it. Nothing more, nothing less. Weiss was beginning to sympathize with Blake, who was experiencing a hard time getting Sun to understand that very same point!
So engrossed was Weiss in the conversation happening in their chat that she didn't realize that she had been sitting there for almost half an hour, just… thinking and staring at her scroll. By her side, Zwei has fallen asleep, tired from his afternoon activities, and was now snoring in rhythm to the soft midyear winds blowing through the Beacon courtyard. The shade from the tree they were under protected them from the heat, allowing Weiss a modicum of peace and comfort, and she could just zone out and not think, a rare comfort for her considering the tumultuous chaos she was starting to feel build up in her chest. She hated it, the way that her own emotions were just so messy and confused. And all because she was reminded of Neptune!
Sure, so a part of her was still annoyed at the boy once she figured out why Neptune turned her down in the first place. After Neptune joined her for the dance, Weiss was over the moon, but a lot of the celebratory mood was extinguished when Neptune admitted why he had turned him down in the first place, and, quite frankly, forced a lot of things in Weiss' perspective, and what she found at the other end of that introspection, admittedly, put her in a bad mood, a lot of it centered around her recent relationship with one Jaune Arc.
(What a dust-damned stupid reason to turn her down to the dance, she would complain to nobody in particular. This was all because he couldn't dance?)
In Weiss' mind, she had turned down Jaune to the dance for a few good reasons. One, it was obvious that Pyrrha was interested in him, and while Weiss didn't exactly understand why Pyrrha was interested in Jaune, she also wasn't the type to get in the way of her friends' romantic interests.
(It did not need to be said that Weiss didn't exactly have a lot of friends, growing up, but even she knew that much about interpersonal relationships.)
Two, Jaune was just so persistent that it wasn't charming. Sure, so Weiss could have put her put down from the start and told Jaune, in no uncertain terms, that she wasn't interested in his clumsy advances, and sure, she could admit that she was a master at sending mixed messages, and maybe Jaune misunderstood a few jokes that implied interest from her part, but that was no excuse for him being such a pest.
(In retrospect, the fact that, all things considered, Jaune didn't go as far as to hound or harass her the way some other suitors back in Atlas did was a relief, because at least Jaune stopped as soon as he realized he was making Weiss uncomfortable. But still, how anyone could confuse tall, blond and scraggly as a compliment boggled the mind. Was Jaune that starved for compliments in his daily life?)
Three, while she didn't hate Jaune all that much, all things considered, she just wasn't interested in romance at the moment. At the end of the day, Weiss' goal was in Beacon was to find herself, to grow outside the shadow of the Schnee family and to improve her skills, allowing her some form of independence and the ability to stand on her own two feet. Sure, she had been dragging her skills on practicing some of her skills – she had gone a long way in developing most of her skills with the family semblance, especially with things like Time Dilation, but Summoning proved impossible for her still – but it was still one of her focuses, and romance just wasn't on the table.
(Besides, even if she entertained the notion of getting into a romance with anyone, she certainly didn't want it to be with Jaune, of all people, since they would just distract each other from their mutual goals of getting better. After all, not even Weiss was blind to the fact that Jaune was training desperately to catch up to all his friends, after all.)
At the end of the day, Weiss realized that what irritated her about the entire ordeal was that, instead of being able to admit to these things, instead of being honest to herself and to her friends, she had instead dismissed Jaune away with the vague excuse that he was just like the rest of them, the rest of her suitors back at Atlas, the type of suitors that Weiss despised because they only saw her for her name and put on pretentious airs about themselves. If she had just listened and paid attention, then perhaps it would have dawned on her rather quickly that none of her friends, except perhaps Blake at the beginning of their relationship, even cared that much about the Schnee name, Jaune included, and that she was being hasty and judged people on appearance alone – the very same thing she claimed to despise in all her old suitors. For all his faults, Jaune was genuinely trying to get to know her beter. Heck, all of her friends were!
(To think that Jaune, of all people, had to tell Neptune off so he would go to Weiss at the dance! Jaune didn't even try to swoop in to comfort her like some dust-damned pick-up artist, hoping to prey on her lonely heart! Wasn't that a rarity? A guy who wasn't actively toying with someone else's feelings? It really shouldn't be praiseworthy, but after every suitor Weiss had had to drive away, it was really refreshing that she knew people like Ren and Jaune who were the complete antithesis of disgusting macho behavior like this!)
That really drove Weiss up a wall. Because really, why did she decide to invite Neptune to the dance, when at the end of the day he was just as much of a dork as Jaune was, except he was better at hiding it and pretending to be more suave than he really was? Did Weiss really fall for yet another Atlas suitor, pretending to be classy and sophisticated to get her attention? Putting it simply, her decision to go after Neptune exposed just how much of a hypocrite she could be, and that was not a pleasant thought to deal with. Gods, she was acting like a dust-damned teenager, and she was better than this!
(Much, much later, Weiss would confide these things to her big sister, the idea that Winter would never had had these kinds of… childish problems, and Winter would laugh long and hard at the hero worship Weiss lavished upon her. A story for another time.)
Meditating on the events of the dance, the talk she had with Neptune deep into the night, when he admitted the whole story and Weiss, stunned, could only nod at how utterly banal Neptune turned out to be, only intensified the headache she was feeling. She caressed Zwei's fur, hoping to find some comfort with the loyal dog by her side, but Zwei only whimpered and continued to nap, leaving Weiss to her thoughts, forcing her to relive the exact moment that she had told Neptune that while she appreciated that he opened up about her insecurities to her, it was probably better off that they remained friends, because the events of the dance reminded her that she should really be focusing on more important matters (Weiss had to thank Blake for that reminder, ultimately, because at the end of the day, a lot of the teenage drama from the dance didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things), and Weiss was forced to relive the crushed look that Neptune gave her, forcing her to walk away lest she feel bad for the heart she had broken that night. It wasn't a mistake, Weiss would tell herself, and ultimately, she knew she was in the right, but it didn't take away the fact that she did hurt Neptune, even if she didn't mean or want to.
It was a nasty habit, Weiss would admit, something that she and Ren tended to share – the two could admit to each other that they had a tendency to be lost in their own thoughts, to grapple with intense rounds of self-doubt and self-hatred over the mistakes they had made in the past – and unfortunately, there was nobody around to distract her from her mistakes.
This is why I hate dealing with people! Weiss complained in their head. Why are emotions so damned messy and complicated?
Truly, this was why Weiss preferred dealing with dogs: she didn't have to worry about hurting Zwei's feelings, because Zwei was a good boy and was the most loyal friend a girl could ask for. Weiss smiled at that thought, before taking a selfie of her and the sleeping dog. At least this was a good memory she could look back on fondly!
-0-
Welcome to White Rose!
Princess uploaded a photo!
Dolt: aww look at you and zwei
Dolt: you two look so cute like that
Princess: Of course we are. We are perfect for each other, after all.
Dolt: …still not letting you keep zwei
Princess: Perish the thought.
Princess: …Zwei will choose to be with me of his own choice.
Dolt: speaking of, where are you two anyway? we left the courtyard a while ago
Princess: Oh, you know.
Princess: Just spending some more quality time with Zwei.
Princess: I'll bring him back to the dorms in a bit – I just needed some time to think.
Princess: How about you and Yang? Surely she's stopped that infernal racket she calls playing the guitar.
Dolt: yang's still practicing, i think. i think she dragged nora and pyrrha to be her audience this time, so rip
Dolt: im just hanging out with blake at the common room. she lent me this really cool book!
Dolt uploaded a photo!
Princess: I'm surprised Blake agreed to a selfie.
Dolt: i mean, she grunted once and it sounded positive so i figured she was ok w it
Dolt: gonna enjoy some peace and quiet before yang gets back. remind me to kick jaune in the butt for agreeing to try and teach yang, cuz I could barely hear myself think back there
Princess: Honestly, I'm impressed you were able to stand Yang's impromptu practice session.
Dolt: yeah, well, you know, shes my sister so i gotta deal w it
Dolt: we may not always get along but you gotta learn to live w em, right?
Dolt: sibling stuff is complicated like that
Princess: I… suppose that is true, yes.
Someone is typing…
Dolt: jaune blake says that's not the tuna she wants
Dolt: oops, wrong chat
Princess: Are you talking to Jaune right now?
Dolt: oh, sun decided for some reason that he was gonna liveblog them shopping over at the leader's group chat, so now coco and I are laughing at the entire thing. [edited]
Dolt: im not really sure why he finds the whole shopping thing so fascinating, really
Princess: Well, I'm glad you're finally learning proper grammar.
Princess: Although… Coco? Why is she involved in all this?
Dolt: oh, sun blabbed about it in leader chat so coco decided to send fox and yatsuhashi with them since they're behind on their groceries
Dolt: they're making a boys' night out of it apparently
Princess: Why in the world did they decide to turn grocery shopping into boys' night?
Dolt: iunno, but sun says jaune and ren need some guy time away from us
Princess: What, does Sun think we have cooties or something?
Dolt: no way, even i knew cooties were bs when i was ten
Princess: Are you sure it wasn't until you were fifteen? :smirk_cat:
Dolt: rude!
Princess: In any case, I'm surprised you're using that leader chat of yours for something like this. Aren't you friends with an upperclassman in that chat?
Princess: Also, isn't Cardin in that chat?
Dolt: naw coco made a separate chat with me and jaune because she couldn't stand being in the same group chat as cardin
Dolt: seriously jaune and i have cardin's chat muted bc he keeps posting really gross and uncomfortable stuff and nobody really wants to call him out
Princess: How in the world did Sun get added to the chat, then? From what you've told me, Coco isn't very fond of Sun
Dolt: well, jaune begged coco
Dolt: don't tell anyone this but I think coco has a soft spot for jaune. i think he reminds coco of her brothers
Princess: That's… surprising.
Princess: Do keep me updated on Jaune and Ren, will you? We supposedly had plans for today, although now that's shot to hell
Dolt: aight, although im surprised you arent taking advantage of your free time to practice your glyphs
Dolt: didn't you mention you were still having trouble with that whole summoning thing?
-0-
Leave it to Ruby to just say these things out loud, Weiss complained in her head.
Weiss was certainly over the moon at the beginning of the semester, seeing as she had managed to make some headway into her glyph practice, and she was becoming more and more proficient with combining her semblance with her dust once Pyrrha had knocked it into her head that she would be getting nowhere if she stubbornly refused to use the resources that was afforded to her. So what if she used SDC dust, despite her desire to be more independent? Weiss' pride and ego wasn't that fragile that it would hurt her that she still needed to rely on daddy's dust to prove skilled enough in combat. At this point, she would rather grow stronger, using anything at her disposal, before she could even consider trying to go at it without the advantages of being a Schnee.
In retrospect, that first instance of successfully using her Time Dilation in combat, when she used it to help Blake fight off a barrage of missiles during the fight with the prototype Paladin, might have been a fluke, seeing as she had gotten cocky the second time she chose to it. Weiss didn't like to dwell on her losses, but the disastrous fight she had with that White Fang Lieutenant on the train showed off her inexperience and overconfidence, as well as her tendency to rely on one trick to get her through fights. Sure, the little enhancement the Time Dilation gave her was enough to push past the White Fang Lieutenant's defenses, but she had severely misjudged the drawbacks of the glyph and had paid for it with losing badly. If it wasn't for Blake, who knows what might have happened?
(If there was any consolation, it was that Blake was able to win her fight thanks to Weiss lending her some of her dust. Blake didn't often do that, since she couldn't really afford a lot of the expensive dust that Weiss had access to, and her trick with her clones and dust only worked with the high quality stuff, so it was perhaps Weiss' only good tactical move during the events of that mission.)
Be that as it may, the events of that mission to Mount Glenn and the subsequent Breach highlighted that for all of her improvement, Weiss still sorely lacked the battle experience, knowledge, and tools to bring her to victory. She chided herself on her tendency to rely too much on the new trick she had learned, in this case her Time Dilation, and she had resolved to push through with her training, exploring the myriad ways that her semblance could be taken advantage of. It overwhelmed her, sometimes, just thinking of all the potential things she could do with her glyphs, and honestly, she suffered from indecision at times, drowning under the weight of all her options. What should she focus on?
The fact was there were too many different experiments she could be doing right now, as well as looking into developing her summoning skills, but when Weiss imagined all the things she could do, she just… buckled under the pressure of it all. The Schnee Family semblance, much like the Schnee name itself, held much power, and for perhaps the first time in her life, Weiss felt inadequate to wielding it.
And really, wasn't that why she had been antsy the entire day?
It was all excuses, and she knew it. The intellectual side of her knew what it was that she needed to do – train, improve herself, focus – and it was the intellectual side of her that knew that she had no time to focus on romance, and it was the intellectual side of her that knew that Neptune was Bad News. Wasn't that why she had decided they were better of as friends, and why she was determined not to lead Neptune on and give him the hope that he might have had a chance?
But the emotional side of her, the dust-damned messy emotions that people had to deal with, said otherwise. Because for all that Weiss despised to think about it, a part of her liked that people like Jaune and Neptune fawned over her, and a part of her liked that positive feeling of being loved and cared for instead of dwelling on how her progress with her training was stalled out. It was the irrational side of her, the part that didn't enjoy all the failures and difficulties she encountered during training, despite knowing that she was making progress bit by bit every day, that wanted to spend the day taking care of Zwei and doing silly ASMR videos and spending time with Jaune now that they had finally cleared the air and could become friends again.
(And really, it was so simple, reconciling with the blond – Jaune approaching her, the day after the dance, apologizing for being kind of a pest, and Weiss responding that she too deserved a bit of the blame, and as if by magic, it was as if a month of awkwardness disappeared into the ether, especially after Jaune let it slip out that he was the one running her new favorite Dustube channel! It was almost as if she was overthinking the entire awkward mess!)
At the end of the day, Weiss despised the fact that despite how simple the solution to her problems were, her dust-damned heart had to go and make things so complicated. Which was why she had been unable to train by herself this entire week, and instead threw herself into all sorts of other activities. Somehow, some way, she woke up to find herself a hypocrite, because didn't she reject Neptune because she wanted to avoid these distractions?
No wonder she had been looking forward to today – she was eager to just not think about how much she hated herself at this moment.
Weiss sighed and looked at Zwei. At least Zwei looked like he was at peace. She envied that, really. It must have been nice, living a life as simple as a dog's!
-0-
Welcome to White Rose!
Princess: …there are some difficulties, yes, but I'm sure I will overcome them eventually.
Dolt: oh oof
Dolt: you hit a wall, huh?
Princess: …a wall?
Dolt: yeah
Dolt: my uncle qrow used to tell me that training is weird, bc sometimes we develop skills at a really quickly and sometimes we just don't feel like we're improving
Dolt: he says its like running headfirst into a wall, so now you have to put in the effort to scale it
Dolt: in video game terms, its because the xp requirement to level up gets bigger every time, so at some point levelling will slow down
Princess: I have no idea what that means, Ruby.
Dolt: see this is why you should play more video games with me and jaune
Princess: Pass. That sounds like a horrendous waste of time, especially when I could be training instead.
Dolt: aww but like
Dolt: uncle qrow says if you're stuck, its better to do something else
Dolt: helps you approach things from a different perspective, apparently
Dolt: instead of trying to climb the wall, maybe you can find a door or walk around it or something
Princess: This metaphor is becoming more and more strained at the minute, Ruby.
Dolt: ugh, you know what i mean weiss!
Dolt: it just means you need to switch priorities. maybe ask advice from someone, or change up your routine
Dolt: who knows, maybe you just need to talk to the right person to figure out how to unlock your summoning
Princess: Life isn't so convenient that a mere talk will allow me to figure out one of the greatest tools in the Schnee family semblance's arsenal, Ruby!
Dolt: hey, take it from me, you'd be surprised how much it helps to find the right person to talk to. i was complete garbage until uncle qrow took me in!
Dolt: plus, like, look at jaune! he didn't improve all that much at the start of the school year, but once pyrrha knocked some sense into him he started improving by leaps and bounds
Dolt: sure, part of it is he started from scratch so any improvement will be noticeable, but you'd be surprised how much a change in perspective can help speed up your training!
Princess: …I suppose you have a point.
Princess: Thank you for that, Ruby. I'll make sure think about what you said.
Dolt: yea well you should
Dolt: im your leader, after all, and i've got lots of secret leader knowledge to share with you :smug:
Dolt: oh~ it's so hard, being the leader~ youre forced to grow up so quickly and learn stuff on your own~
Princess: Oh, ha ha. Don't let it get to your head!
Someone is typing…
Dolt: oh yeah you wanted to be kept up to date about the boys, right?
Dolt: gna add you to the leader chat bc
Princess: …isn't that chat meant to be for official business?
Dolt: yeah but its mostly for chatting and stuff now. coco's cool with it too
Dolt: besides, i know you've been really bothered all afternoon because your video thing didn't push through
Princess: …was I that obvious?
Dolt: ofc
Dolt: nothing gets past me, especially when my partner's troubled and needs help
Dolt: c'mon weiss ill add you
Princess: …alright. Alright. Thank you, Ruby.
-0-
(Well, this was interesting, Weiss thought, banishing all the gloomy thoughts from her head. Meanwhile, Zwei pawed at his nose, trying to remove an imaginary fly that was bothering him.)
-0-
Welcome to Leader Chat(Cool Kids and Jaune Edition)!
Budget Fashionista added Weiss Schnee to the chat!
Budget Fashionista: there, i added weiss coco
Head Fashionista in Charge: mhm
Head Fashionista in Charge: Ruby says you were looking for the walking fashion disaster?
Weiss Schnee: Huh? Who?
Budget Fashionista: she means jaune, weiss
Head Fashionista in Charge: yep
Head Fashionista in Charge: Tall, blond, scraggly, wears really horrific hoodies out in public and thinks he looks good in 'em?
Budget Fashionista: didn't you say they were comfy?
Head Fashionista in Charge: well, yes, but you don't wear comfy out in public
Head Fashionista in Charge: Being fashionable, my dear apprentice, is an art. And artists must suffer for their art.
Head Fashionista in Charge: It means dressing up to look fabulous, even if you're going on a mission to the deserts of Vacuo.
Head Fashionista in Charge: I, for one, will never consider dressing for comfort, even if I end up somewhere like that.
Hoodie Boy: rly don't think it's a good idea to walk around the sands of vacuo in heels coco
Head Fashionista in Charge: Oh, Jaune
Head Fashionista in Charge: My poor, useless, idiotic child
Head Fashionista in Charge: One day, you will look back on your wardrobe choices, cringe, and go damn, why didn't I listen to the amazing and fabulous Coco Adel?
Hoodie Boy: p sure ill be asking myself why the amazing coco adel speaks in third person
Head Fashionista in Charge: Coco Adel talks the way she wants, noodle boy, and unless you want to serve as target practice for Gianduja, you will keep your opinions on the way Coco Adel talks to yourself
Hoodie Boy: yes'm
Hoodie Boy: please don't use me for target practice ma'am
Head Fashionista in Charge: Good boy
Head Fashionista in Charge: Anyway, did you get everything we asked for?
Hoodie Boy: yeah, although and sun and neptune wandered off again
Hoodie Boy: ren and I are almost done, we're gonna meet up w fox and yatsuhashi in half an hour
Budget Fashionista: wow, cant believe all of weiss' prodding is finally getting to you
Hoodie Boy: nothing wrong with trying to work on my grammar bit by bit, right?
Hoodie Boy: oh wait, weiss is in the chat? what happened
Weiss Schnee: Ruby added me.
Hoodie Boy: oh, uh, neat
Hoodie Boy: sorry its taking me so long to get back, I swear we'll get on the earliest airbus back
Hoodie Boy: don't ask how but somehow sun and neptune are slowing things down
Shirtless Disaster: Oh, hey! Weiss is here!
Shirtless Disaster: 'sup, Weiss?
Hoodie Boy: gdi sun where are you
Shirtless Disaster: Oh, you know, walking around.
Shirtless Disaster: Weiss, get this. I've learned so much about girls today!
Hoodie Boy: Huh…?
Shirtless Disaster: Long story short, but TIL what a tampon is!
Weiss Schnee: …what
Hoodie Boy: it's a long story, ill let ruby and coco tell it.
Hoodie Boy: gotta get neptune to stop hitting on the cashier lady and find ren
Hoodie Boy: Shirtless Disaster i told you, i can see those bananas you're smuggling! i do not want to be arrested for shoplifting
Shirtless Disaster: I swear I'm gonna pay for 'em!
Weiss Schnee: I am so confused right now. What on Remnant is going on?
Budget Fashionista: id like to know too, and ive sat through most of sun's narration
Head Fashionista in Charge: Long story short, we learned that Sun and Neptune have no idea how to run a household, or do shopping, or anything else related to these things.
Head Fashionista in Charge: I'm not sure how, but apparently SSSN lives off junk food and take-out from Vale if they aren't getting food from the cafeteria
Budget Fashionista: don't get me started on their laundry too
Shirtless Disaster: Hey, we're a buncha dudes! Us bros would rather rough it than worry about stuff like chores and shopping and stuff!
Budget Fashionista: see this is why yang keeps making fun of you, sun
Shirtless Disaster: Aww, Yang's just teasin' me, nbd
Head Fashionista in Charge: In any case, when Sun and Neptune decided to tag along with your boys and ours, they ended up getting lost on the way to the commercial district because Sun kept wandering off, apparently
Weiss Schnee: I feel like I have to object to you calling Jaune and Ren 'our boys'.
Head Fashionista in Charge: Wait, but I thought Jaune was really into you.
Head Fashionista in Charge: He would not shut up about it for weeks! He was so looking forward to inviting you to the dance and everything!
Head Fashionista in Charge: Speaking of, do you have any pictures of Jaune in the dress? I hear he was rocking it on the dance floor
Weiss Schnee: …no, unfortunately, although I do remember the scene vividly.
Head Fashionista in Charge: Don't ask me how he knows so much about women's fashion, but I'll be damned if I don't have any blackmail material on him after I went through all the effort to get him that nice dress he asked for
Weiss Schnee: Wait, you got him that dress?
Budget Fashionista: yeah, but originally jaune wanted to send it to his sister in Argus as a gift
Head Fashionista in Charge: Yeah, and he has pretty good taste too. How the heck can you think a hoodie is fine but be so fussy about dresses?
Head Fashionista in Charge: Anyway. Back to the story.
Budget Fashionista: right, so they got delayed on the way to the shops, and then once they got to the markets, sun and neptune apparently just wandered around randomly
Budget Fashionista: turns out they didn't even prepare a list of stuff to buy or anything
Budget Fashionista: ren ended up making them do a list on the spot
Shirtless Disaster: Oh man, I didn't know you guys need so much stuff! I usually just end up buying whatever looks nice!
Head Fashionista in Charge: And this is why we're never letting you boys tag along for one of these things.
Shirtless Disaster: Look, it was a bit of a shock to find out that Jaune and Ren are basically Pyrrha freakin' Nikos' personal shoppers, alright? She even lets Jaune handle her credit cards!
Weiss Schnee: Sun, not to state the obvious, but Jaune and Pyrrha are partners, you know.
Shirtless Disaster: Sure, but I didn't realize Pyrrha makes Jaune buy all this personal stuff for her!
Shirtless Disaster: He even knows Pyrrha's favorite shampoo and soap and stuff!
Weiss Schnee: …why does this seem so surprising to you?
Shirtless Disaster: Look, I'm just surprised you all don't mind Jaune and Ren buying your personal stuff for you!
Shirtless: Heck, Ren and Yang share shampoo brands!
Weiss Schnee: …is this what it's like when you're on an all-boys team?
Head Fashionista in Charge: iunno, Fox and Yats were never this hung up on this stuff
Budget Fashionista: yeah, plus jaune has like a million sisters and ren grew up w nora, so they arent being weird about this
Budget Fashionista: meanwhile, neptune apparently froze up when they got to the feminine hygiene aisle
Shirtless Disaster: hey, it's not every day you see freakin' pyrrha nikos' face plastered all over the entire aisle!
Budget Fashionista: as it turns out, sun and neptune are huge fans of pyrrha
Shirtless Disaster: look, neptune's from argus so he's heard all about her exploits, and how the frick can you not be a fan when you see how cool she is?!
Shirtless Disaster: we're lucky we got to know her, yknow?
-0-
(Weiss did her best to ignore how familiar Sun and Neptune sounded, because at the end of the day, when Jaune admitted to her why he was so interested in pursuing a relationship with her, how could she not hear it and think of her own hero worship for Pyrrha?)
-0-
Welcome to Leader Chat (Cool Kids and Jaune Edition)!
Weiss Schnee: Wait, Pyrrha is a brand ambassador for…
Head Fashionista in Charge: Tampons and pads, yes.
Head Fashionista in Charge: It is very weird and Pyrrha should drop her manager because of all these questionable sponsors she keeps getting forced to promote
Budget Fashionista: unfortunately, her contract means she has to use 'em, so jaune usually buys 'em for her
Budget Fashionista: which caused sun and neptune to freak out, prompting jaune to, well…
Head Fashionista in Charge: I never thought I'd get to see Jaune give The Talk to Sun and Neptune, but here we are
Head Fashionista in Charge: Good thing Sun was recording everything the entire time
Shirtless Disaster: Hey, in my defense, my cousin never taught me this stuff! How am I supposed to know how girls work?
Budget Fashionista: wait til i tell blake abt this she'd be embarrassed to be seen around you
Shirtless Disaster: aw cmon you know me n blake arent like that
Weiss Schnee: "Blake and I."
Budget Fashionista: blake and i
Budget Fashionista: jinx :stuck_out_tongue:
Head Fashionista in Charge: …monkey boy, you're talking to a bunch of girls right now
Shirtless Disaster: Yeah and my team's all dudes, gimme a break!
Shirtless Disaster: You think Scarlet has any idea what makes girls tick?
Shirtless Disaster: Look, there's no shame in admitting that I'm ignorant about some of these things, ok! I can accept that part of myself!
Shirtless Disaster: If I don't know something, then I'll ask! That way, I can fill in the gaps in my knowledge
Shirtless Disaster: I have no shame in admitting that up until half an hour ago, I had no idea what a tampon was!
Head Fashionista In Charge: Can you please not phrase it like that, monkey boy?
Weiss Schnee: …that's a very interesting perspective to have, Sun.
Shirtless: Thanks! Glad you like my words of wisdom! My cousin Starr did her best to teach me all of these things!
Shirtless Disaster: Anyway, jaune's gesturing at me to get going, so we may be back soon
Shirtless Disaster: Hopefully before dinner, because Velv decided she wanted to make dinner for the team today and she's determined to make Fox admit her cooking is good
Shirtless Disaster: We'll do our best, but no promises
Shirtless Disaster uploaded a photo!
Budget Fashionista: pffft
Budget Fashionista: why is neptune clinging onto ren
Head Fashionista in Charge: Who knows? Maybe someone opened a water bottle nearby.
Someone is typing…
Head Fashionista in Charge: Well, that was a fun distraction.
Head Fashionista in Charge: Nothing like laughing at the boys to get me in the mood for training.
Weiss Schnee: …training?
Head Fashionista in Charge: Yeah, I learned this neat pre-training trick from Yats
Head Fashionista in Charge: He likes to watch funny animal videos before a spar because it helps loosen him up mentally
Head Fashionista in Charge: I, on the other hand, get my kicks laughing at dumb people, so here we are
Budget Fashionista: coco that's mean to sun and neptune
Head Fashionista in Charge: oh, sun knows im just joking around
Head Fashionista Charge: It's really useful when I'm stuck trying to work on something, like a new team formation or a new maneuver
Head Fashionista Charge: You see, sometimes overcoming a hurdle means finding alternative paths, not bulldozing your way past obstacles
Head Fashionista Charge: It's really helpful to get in the right headspace when doing something, because if you keep trying to push yourself when you're in a bad place, the results won't be pretty. Trust me on that.
Weiss Schnee: …huh. I'll…take that into account, Coco.
Head Fashionista in Charge: No problem.
Head Fashionista in Charge: Think of it as secret leader knowledge I'm passing on to you, Weiss
Weiss Schnee: I see.
Weiss Schnee: …by any chance, did you also teach this "secret leader knowledge" to Ruby?
Budget Fashionista: eep
Head Fashionista in Charge: Yeah? Of course I would. Gotta train my apprentice to be almost as good as me, of course.
Weiss Schnee: That's… very interesting indeed.
Weiss Schnee: Ruby?
Budget Fashionista: yes weiss
Weiss Schnee: What did I tell you about letting the whole leadership thing get to your head?
Budget Fashionista: im not sorry!
-0-
(Leave it to Ruby to try and cheer her up with words of wisdom she nicked from someone else, Weiss laughed to herself.)
By her side, Zwei stirred, letting out a bark to signal his waking up. After a few seconds of stretching on the ground, Zwei turned to Weiss and started running around in circles, his tail wagging incessantly as he seemed to try and get Weiss' attention. For her part, Weiss could do nothing but let out a soft smile, the heavy feeling in her chest lightening up a little bit. Maybe there was something to her leader friends' words, because it seemed like all the things she was worrying about the entire day had just… evaporated into thin air.
Heck, Weiss even found herself laughing, despite herself, as she listened to Ruby and Coco recount the shenanigans that the boys got into on their food run. There was something so comforting about the boys doing something so utterly silly and banal like getting the groceries, that forced things into perspective for the heiress. Because really, she had been so hung up on training and improving herself, but didn't she also choose to go to Beacon to be free of these expectations and pressures?
It was such a small thing, to be able to enjoy time with her friends, a marked difference from the existence she led back in Atlas, and here she was now, reaping the fruits of that effort. The fact that she even had the opportunity to play with a dog with Zwei, or try out something as silly as ASMR with Jaune, or to mess around with Ruby, or listen to Yang play her guitar badly, or laugh at Nora and Pyrrha putting Blake through the paces with a workout… thinking back, the fact that she could enjoy these things was something she would never have considered when she was younger, and the fact that she was getting hung up on these things instead of enjoying what she had was just mind-boggling.
So what if her training had stalled out? She was still getting better, day by day, even if it wasn't progressing as quickly as she may have wanted, and so what if she wasn't as focused on her self-improvement as her perfectionism demanded? Ruby, Sun, and Coco's words reverberated in Weiss' head, as if to respond to the intellectual voice in her head, telling her that she couldn't allow herself to be distracted, that she should focus only on the task at hand.
Because Weiss, try as she might, couldn't be that simple. People, after all, were complicated, messy, and hard to manage. And try as she might, she couldn't be in the best physical state possible if she didn't try and manage her emotions better. Sometimes, a change of perspective worked wonders, and maybe the answer wasn't to obsess on her failures, but to focus elsewhere.
The realization, so utterly obvious in hindsight, felt like the light that broke past the dark, stormy clouds that was her mood, and it felt as if the guilt and the anger she aimed at herself cleared up at that moment. It was as if all her worrying about possibly being hypocritical or allowing herself to be distracted was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
Already Weiss' mind was abuzz, her head filled with new glyph and dust combinations that she could attempt the next time she practiced, and she even wondered if she could try and have another go at trying the summoning glyphs. The pressure of the Schnee Family semblance, the pressure of living up to the power and the potential that her Semblance represented, the fear that Weiss felt when she imagined all the work she needed to do to even realize a smallest percent of that power – all of it felt so inconsequential to her now. She just had to do it, and not worry about anything else, like her insecurities, or her perceived hypocrisies, or all the myriad messy emotions that bothered her to no end. Because they were a part of her, and try as she might, she was never going to be free of them, so she may as well learn to accept it, learn to accept that a part of her loved dogs and loved ASMR and loved being fawned on by people and loved getting love and affection from her close, personal friends, as well as a million other things that had nothing to do with improving her combat skills. Weiss Schnee was a complex individual, after all.
(Weiss made a mental note to thank Sun for his words, even if she suspected that he would never understand why.)
And right now, a few days after the stressful events of the Breach, and all the other events of the past month, what Weiss needed the most was to be with the people who made her feel good about herself.
It's the end of the week, Weiss finally thought to herself, and I can afford to take a break.
(Weiss sometimes meditated on how much she and Blake were similar, when you really thought about it.)
Finally finding the strength to move, Weiss motioned to Zwei, who had remained by her side, just like the way Weiss liked it. In response, Zwei barked at Weiss. The two, reenergized by the break that they took, began walking back to the dorms, looking forward to what the remains of the day had to offer.
-0-
Welcome to White Knight!
Sir Dork Knight: hey weiss
Sir Dork Knight: real sorry it took us so long
Sir Dork Knight: just gonna drop off the stuff and ill run straight to the recording room, aight? we can meet up there
Ice Queen: Oh, you don't need to rush. You haven't had dinner yet, right? We can get dinner before we start practice recording.
Sir Dork Knight: uh, sure, that's fine, but i thought you were looking forward to this all day
Ice Queen: Well… I thought about it, and I figured I was being very unreasonable with you. You still have practice with Pyrrha tonight, don't you? you certainly have a full plate today
Ice Queen: We can afford to take a break and take it easy, Jaune. I wouldn't want you to be distracted by training worrying about me.
Ice Queen: Between training, studies, your responsibilities as leader, and everything else you have to worry about, I wouldn't want you to buckle under the strain of all of these things.
Ice Queen: If anything, I'm impressed you haven't just given up, despite being so hopelessly behind the rest of us.
Sir Dork Knight: eh
Sir Dork Knight: i mean, theres always the pressure to get better, sure, but i figure theres no point in moping around, right?
Sir Dork Knight: my mom always used to say i should focus on what i can do, and accept that sometimes ill be down in the dumps or w/e. just gotta learn to live with those feelings, yknow?
Ice Queen: …Blake was right. You really are a :dog:
Sir Dork Knight: aw man, not you too
Sir Dork Knight: anyway, i think our airbus is pretty close to beacon, so ttyl
Sir Dork Knight: meet you at the cafeteria?
Ice Queen: Of course. I've not eaten much today, so I'm starving.
Sir Dork Knight: well milady, who am i to keep a lady waiting?
Ice Queen: Oh, don't you start! You don't sound nearly as cool as you think you do!
Sir Dork Knight: :shrug: worth a shot
-0-
Of course Jaune already figured out the thing that Weiss spent most of the day meditating about on his own. Jaune was very much like a dog that way, the way everything just seemed so simple in his head, none of this complicated and messy emotional turmoil that Weiss found herself in often. But, well, Weiss didn't hate that about him. After all, Weiss was fond of dogs, wasn't she?.
By the time that Weiss arrived at the cafeteria, Jaune was there, sweat pouring profusely from all over his body, evidence that the doofus ran all the way from the air docks to their dorms to the cafeteria, presumably carrying their groceries all the way. He didn't have to, but he did. That was Jaune, all right. So much like a dog, coming back after retrieving a frisbee she tossed his way. At least, she could count on him always coming back and always be by their sides.
Jaune, realizing Weiss' approach, immediately straightened himself and fixed his posture, and with the grace and the poise of someone who had spent most of the day wrangling some very unruly friends of his, uttered:
"I'm back, weiss."
And, well, she had to respond to that, didn't she? She sighed, smiled, and greeted her tall, blond, and not-so-scraggly friend.
"Welcome home, Jaune."
And just like that, Jaune made his way back to Weiss.
-0-
I've reached 100,000 words or so with this chapter. Hooray? That's pretty neat for what's supposed to be a chatfic. I don't think I've ever seen any chatfic do what I'm trying to do with this, so I'm glad with what I've ended up writing for you all, even if admittedly my fic isn't going to be that popular compared to others.
I'm not one of those do it for the art types, but I do take pride in my craft, and I hope that everyone is enjoying all the care and attention I put into crafting these chapters and making them as good as they possibly can, enjoyable for everyone, as loyal and respectful to the show as possible… if there's anything you'd like me to improve, or work on to make this fic better or more enjoyable, please tell me in the reviews below. I read each and every single one of them, and trust me, I make sure to take your feedback into account.