Four long years have gone by since Jaune's introduction to the colorful world of Beacon Academy. It wasn't smooth sailing at first, but after a bit of catch-up courtesy of both the expert guidance of Beacon's staff and his three other awesome team members, he's now one of the top huntsmen in this year's class.
There's been surprisingly few changes to his attire: Yeah, his armor's been expanded a bit, and his… *ahem* unique clothing choices have long since been replaced with something much more fitting of his new frame, but there's no denying that it's the same old Jaune that almost everyone has come to love.
Now, just two weeks past graduation day, it is finally time to to go back to Arcadia and return to his family. This date has been circled on the calendar by both sides, but especially so from the Arcadian side. Seven times, in fact.
Luckily for Jaune, he is not facing the maniacal wrath of his sisters alone. For there was one other pickup that he has made during his four years away… There she is now!
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The first thing that pops out is the hair. No one could miss it. It almost glows a vibrant shade of deep purple.
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What, you thought it would be a stunning dark red?
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That's what everyone else thought too. The future champion of Humanity and the current Fall Maiden, paired with her handsome knight in shining armor… the story would captivate millions! But the armor-laden Mistralian was never able to conquer his heart in the end.
So comes the question: Who did?
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Her full name is written as 'Moon Woot', but everyone that's ever known her has went with the much simpler 'Moon'. Standing at just under six feet tall, weighing in at a quite surprising 160 pounds, and coming packaged with two free crescent-shaped earrings, this conniving woman is the one who has taken this Arc's heart for a forever joyride.
The two met in about the least likely place that one could imagine: a stadium. During Jaune's third year, the unending pressures of life as a huntsman-in-training finally let up enough for him to take a rare trip to see a game of sportsball. The contest between the Mantle Vikings and the Solitas Chocolate Chips was engaging enough, but once those two were sat next to each other… it was nigh-impossible to drag the two apart. They got so involved that they completely missed the entire second half of the game!
Of course the electricity between them would not stop there. Two visits to Moon's apartment later, it became official. And the rest is history. To this day no one other than themselves really understand just how they connected so well together. It must just be something that will forever remain a secret…
A secret that they look all too happy to keep. Or maybe that is just the raw elation from both of them finally getting a chance to meet the Arcs. Regardless of which is right, they slowly walk hand-in-hand toward the front door. Moon is decked out in her usual combination of a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, while Jaune is wearing his Pumpkin Pete hoodie, the very same one from all the way back when.
The instant Moon saw the clothing collecting dust in a drawer, there was no way that he wasn't going to be wearing it as many places as she could think of. Today is yet another one of those times. The tips of her fingers grapple onto the edges of that garment as they walk up the steps. Jaune, of course, is the one to knock proudly on the door, and it is answered almost immediately by his father, who throws the door open with ease. Moon can't help but notice that he is standing suspiciously close to the edge of the doorway…
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"Welcome home son! Beacon sure has bulked you up, hasn't it…"
He reaches out to confirm for himself, and a bit of muffled complaining follows his right arm out as it works around one of Jaune's biceps.
"You're even getting to be stronger than me now! They sure do good work down there, don't they… Come on in!"
Jaune can only take one step forward before a blonde blur pushes through the crowded doorway and tackles him right where he stands.
"Bro! Why haven't you been here in so long?! We all missed you!"
Unfortunately Jaune is not really in a good position to answer her question right now, thanks to his breath being crushed inside Saphron's well-meaning embrace. But that's nowhere near the last of it. Saphron can't even start to get up before she is pushed down by another sister. And another. Moon watches with a smile that barely holds back her laughter as she watches all seven of Jaune's sisters dog-pile on him like he has just recovered a fumbled football.
"Gggggguyysss… aiiiiirrr…" Jaune's head barely sticks out from underneath the pile, his eyes clearly still recovering from the shock of being almost run over. After seeing his distressed face, Moon finally jumps into action and rushes to pull him out head-first. But the weight of seven happy women are too much even for Moon's strong muscles to beat.
"C-Can you please l-let him go?" The absurdity of the situation finally shatters her resolve and she breaks down in laughter.
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Violet, the sister at the tippy top of Arc Mountain, slides off and is the first to take a look at Jaune's companion. Stars appear inside her eyes the instant she sees Moon bent over behind him.
"Oh my god, you look so beautiful!"
Not having had her fill of joyous tackles, Violet immediately runs straight for her. Moon, however, is not about to repeat the same mistakes that her boyfriend had made just 30 seconds earlier. She expertly moves to the side as Violet launches, her missing by a mile as she topples over the porch and lands on the ground below.
"Violet?! What happened!" Jaune's mom, who had been content with staying behind and watching the inevitable unfold until now, finally pops through the door and joins the rest of the family.
Soon all the other sisters are up and looking for her, finally giving Jaune a much needed chance to get in some oxygen. He spends a good minute or so catching his breath as the whole rest of the family is off on their rescue mission. Moon quickly helps Jaune back to his feet, and the two return to locking hands as they watch the chaos try to sort itself out.
"So that's your family? Now I get why you haven't been over so often..."
"They're usually not this hyper, babe. Trust me, they aren't as crazy as they look."
"If you can handle them, then I can handle them too."
"Heh.." The raw joy that bubbles up inside him is immediately diluted when Saphron returns with a very dizzy Violet in tow.
"Awwwh! You two look so perfect together!"
"Saph! Please at least get your sister inside first!"
"Okay!" She looks them over one more time before finally going back inside.
Jaune's mom sees Saph go, and quickly turns her attention back to Jaune and Moon, whose mannerisms put a smile on her face, even despite the blonde tornado still ongoing behind her.
"Sorry about them. My name's Lisa. You want to come in and eat something?"
"Sounds like a good time!"
Jaune can just barely react fast enough before being led inside by his celestial princess. They are both followed by the rest of his sisters who eye the pair with tiny hints of jealousy.
None of them even finish sitting down before Moon shifts her eyes toward the kitchen table, where many, many plates await being filled with today's meal: tuna casserole.
"Alright, I'll just go get the plates ready real fast…"
The couple watch as Lisa leaves to get all the meals served. After a few seconds, Moon's face loses some of its smile, and she leans into his ear and starts to whisper…
"Does it really have to be casserole…"
"At least try some. You'll never know, maybe this recipe will be good. I like it, if that helps."
Moon's face morphs into a very slight pout. She does not like casserole one bit.
"You'll only have to take one bite."
"I know, but…"
Jaune places his hand right onto her cheek, making sure to sponge the disappointment away before it can even get started.
"Hey, if you don't like it, I'll order something else here."
"Will it be pizza?"
"You'll find out." Jaune gives Moon the goofiest smile he can possibly muster.
That smile melts her heart no matter how many times he flashes it. It takes all her mental strength to avoid just pinning him down and peppering him with loving kisses right there. But the dam holds. And thank god for that, because-
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"Here they are!"
Lisa comes out with plates full of casserole for everyone. All of his sisters look away from the two long enough to take their own portions. Jaune takes his, quickly realizing there's double the amount on his compared to everyone else's.
There's no question on his mind to what should be done, as the trifecta of himself, Moon, and delectable food have been a part of his daily life for what feels like ages now. He stabs a bite and raises it just inches in front of her face. With only a little hesitation she closes her jaws upon the fork, trying her best to capture the pleasure of what is supposed to be an incredibly tasty dish.
Sadly, it does not work. It's not vomit-worthy by any means, but it still isn't good enough to eat more than one bite. The reaction is obvious to everyone, including all seven of his sisters.
"You don't like it?"
"How could she not eat-" Taylor, one of Jaune's shorter sisters, gets mercifully interrupted before the sentence even finishes.
"I just don't like casserole…"
Moon sinks back slightly into the couch, leaning onto Jaune's right shoulder, desperate for comfort. Meanwhile, Jaune is on his scroll texting some instructions to a certain lotus…
Alright, get two pepperoni with extra cheese. Total should be about 35 Lien. You remember the address, right?
Thankfully it's only a second before the response comes through.
Of course. It's all done.
Thanks for the help Ren. I owe you one.
Jaune doesn't wait for a response before turning the scroll off. Knowing Ren and especially knowing more than enough about a certain hammer girl's antics, he's going to be collecting on that sooner rather than later… His muscles ache a little at the thought.
But that's for future Jaune to deal with. Current Jaune has a much more important gauntlet to charge through… He looks over toward the opposite couch to see eight faces staring at him. Seven of them all have that same wonderstuck look, watching both him and Moon as if they are animals in a zoo. The eighth, Terra, is only sporting a genuine, but also sympathetic smile at the two.
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"What would your girlfriend want?" Jaune's mom has long since left and is currently at the fridge, ready to cook whatever Moon's heart desires.
"I got it for her."
"Really?" Lisa was certainly not expecting that. Especially from Jaune of all people. "Well… what are you getting her?"
"Pizza."
Everyone on the couch can't help but notice Moon's reaction to that particular word. All the stars in the eyes of Jaune's sisters have bloomed one-hundredfold inside the eyes of the purple vixen.
"Really? Thank you so so so much! I love you!"
She looks around briefly, as if her mind is deciding on whether to go all the way or not, but after barely any time at all the raw emotions spill far, far above the dam, and she launches straight for the pizza-giver himself. But Jaune doesn't notice.
"I love you too ba-" His thought doesn't finish as he gets tackled for the second time today. The momentum easily pushes them both to the floor, where she is going in for the first of an uncountable number of smooches.
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Even with Jaune's new[-ish] muscles, it's still a hell of a time to get a frenzied Moon away from him. This task only gets harder when the entire family starts laughing at Jaune's horrible misfortune. Well… almost. The two youngest sisters, Lily and Taylor, are covering their eyes to avoid seeing this display. Or are they? Taylor can't help but peek through. And then there is Terra…
Terra's smile is so wide that it almost breaks her cheeks open. Moon's… well… let's just say 'excessiveness' reminds her of her own introduction to the family. She was in Jaune's position once, except instead she was getting pinned down by her at-the-time girlfriend on the couch, being made out with for who knows how long. That was a fun one to explain to them. But thankfully, after being officially wifed up, those kind of theatrics are now reserved for more… 'indecent' activities.
The fact that this is happening to Jaune this go-around only makes it 100x more delicious to watch. It's about 15 kisses or so before Jaune can finally break free from Moon's clutches, staggering his way back onto the couch, with his lover quickly following right beside him.
"See! She's got you wrapped around her finger!"
"Saph!️!️!️!" Terra tries to interject, but it's one step too late.
Jaune would try to defend himself, but the faint stains of lipstick do all the talking for him.
"I think she's perfect for you, Jaune. Has the dorkiness and everything." Talia joins in this time, having only just now stopped laughing. The other sisters and even Jaune's mom, of all people, quickly join in agreement.
"She's definitely the one."
"Yeah! When are you gonna marry her!"
"Come on bro! Make sure to invite us to the wedding!"
Traces of blush appear on both their cheeks, the two of them turning pinker than a dollop of cotton candy.
"Girls, please. They will get married at their own pace. So, how did my little boy do over at Beacon?" Lisa wants to steer the conversation to something that is not about the couple for once.
"Well… it was awesome." Jaune silently thanks the gods above for the diversion before continuing on.
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"My team was just amazing. They were probably the best group of people you could ever meet. Nora loves pancakes more than Moon loves pizza, and she is just a ball of pure energy that makes everyone happy. Then there's Pyrrha, and I don't think I need to explain her out, and then there's Ren. He's a bit muted, but once you get to know him he's an awesome friend. I can't count on two hands how many times he's saved me from something I would have regretted later."
"With them around, life at Beacon was about as perfect as ever. The staff trained me, I got to kill tons of Grimm, and I even got my sword upgraded while I was there."
He brings the new Crocea Mors Mk II out from his hip to pass around to everyone. This one has been upgraded with both Fire Dust capabilities and a much stronger metal, giving it a heft that would make any warrior smile in satisfaction. The younger sisters are really interested in this one, jumping over themselves to get a touch of it.
"So… yeah. It was about the best thing that could have happened to me. Well, second best, I suppose…"
Moon smiles at the last comment, tangling their hands together once more.
"Well, what about her?" One of the sisters points straight at Moon, directing everyone over to her again.
"Yeah Bro! Tell us about your conquest over there!"
"Uhh…"
"Are you saying that… she conquered you?" The toothy grin reveals the true nature of her request. Saph can not resist the allure of teasing her only brother to infinity and back. It's not like Jaune can't take it, right?
"Uhhhhhhhhh… I'd really… not… want to talk about that…"
Jaune has his usual reaction to her teasing. Moon, on the other hand, is rapidly turning brighter and brighter shades of red. She eventually hides her face inside Jaune's shoulder, and while it doesn't definitively say one way or the other about how they came together, it does show how much she would prefer it not be mentioned.
"Hey Hun, I think I lost one of my rings around here somewhere, can you help me look for it?" Terra sees Moon's plight, and tries to get Saphron out of her hair for a while.
"Wait, you did? Alright, I'll go help."
Terra leads the way into one of the many currently unoccupied bedrooms, with Saph following close behind sporting a slightly worried expression.
"Sorry about Saph. Sometimes she doesn't know when to quit, especially in regards to Jaune. Don't be too against her for it, okay?"
Moon unhides herself and nods, the redness already draining away from her cheeks. She did say that she could handle anything that Jaune could handle… Just how much teasing did he go through from them? Her thoughts drift over to some of Jaune's childhood tales that he has told her over the past year and a half. There was a lot of testing in those, wasn't there...
"So, Jaune, now that that's all over with, how did you meet her?"
He grips her hand tightly, a bright smile painted all across his face as he starts on the retelling of the most important page of his life.
"Well, it all started about two years ago..."
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Everyone except the Cotta-Arcs are present for this one as Jaune sings pretty much nothing but praise about his companion. Genuine laughs and smiles abound as the time slowly begins to pass. Coming up on 15 minutes, everyone is still drawn in as he is talking about a time when Team JNPR were out at a museum and got in such a sticky situation that Moon had to make a quick rescue.
"And then Nora wanted to just feel the textures on everything. Seriously, she wouldn't stop trying to touch every single exhibit. A security guard eventually comes up, and-"
*knock knock knock*
"It might be the pizza." To the shock of absolutely no one, Moon jumps from her resting position and rushes toward the door.
"Babe what about the…" She is long gone before Jaune can even finish the thought.
There's no way she has a tip…
Thinking quickly, he takes out about ten Lien and shoves it inside a paperclip. He looks above the couch's rim to see Moon has already swung open the door and taken both the pizza boxes with one hand.
"Babe! Give him this!"
She already has her fingers on the door, just starting to push it shut. He hops off the couch, takes two steps back, and throws an absolutely perfect dart, the money barely wavering at all as it flies toward Moon's hopefully raised hand.
The aim is truer than a javelin, landing perfectly inside her palm. She quickly grabs hold and takes the money out of the clip, handing it to the driver.
"Sorry about all that. Here you go!"
The pizza boy blinks a few times in an attempt to wipe that whole episode from his memory before grabbing the money. All he says is the word "Thanks." before briskly walking away back to his car. The sound of a door slamming follows him out, and Moon turns back around, pizza boxes in hand, and eyes barely able to look away from the prizes contained within them.
"Why is she so addicted to pizza?" Jaune's dad, Gary, is the one to finally ask the question that everyone has had in the back of their minds for some time, but didn't really want to vocalize.
Jaune looks at Moon to answer, but one glance leaves no doubt that she isn't going to be answering questions anytime soon. She already has the top box open, barely having thought enough to put it on the nearby table before chomping down on her first slice. Seeing this along with anyone else, he has no choice but to answer.
"Well, back when she was younger, she hung out with one of her best friends in his apartment and watched a bunch of sportsball together. Every time they met, they would have some pizza together while watching the games. Whatever was in that pizza is apparently the best thing on Vale, cause once every week or two she just craves the stuff."
Everyone thinks that over for a bit. While they are in thought, Moon is able to grab two more pieces out of the box without anyone sparing a glance.
"That's… a good story, son. I'm glad that she found someone who can… indulge in her quirks."
"You know, she's not that weird of a person. I mean I'm sure Sa...-" Jaune tries to point to where Saph would be located, but the empty space that greets him kills off yet another sentence.
"Are they still not back yet?"
"Oh, I'm sure they will be back real soon…" Lisa knows what is probably going on between the two. She tries hard to block those thoughts out of her mind without letting her disgust show. Thankfully, the conversation continues with none being the wiser.
"Their loss." Jaune bites into his own slice of pepperoni pizza. In fact, there's only a couple left thanks to a combo of Moon's gorging and one of the boxes being passed around between the sisters.
"Son, I can say one thing for sure. Whenever you two decide to get married, she is going to be a great addition to the family, purple hair or otherwise. You really got yourself a good one, as I can tell just from the look in her eyes that she absolutely adores the hell out of you." He's definitely seen more evidence than just her eyes, but Gary leaves those parts out for now.
"Thanks dad. That means a lot." The two share an emotional hug, standing in the center for quite a while before either of them decide to release. This starts a train, with his mom the next one up, followed by each of his sisters minus Saphron. No need to worry too much about her, though, as she'll definitely get her show of affection in some form or another…
But that can wait for a later time. For now, the sisters finally scatter off and leave the two alone of the couch. Jaune can barely get out his scroll and start a game of Slingy Birds before getting gently tapped on the shoulder by Moon yet again. By this time she has finished her six slices, and one would think that would be enough to satisfy. And it would be… for anyone else.
"What is it babe?"
"I'm still hungry."
"Still? How many did you eat?"
"Uhhh… six pieces."
That's a bit high, even for the celestial's standards. Maybe it was because of how happy she was? He looks over at her, and while her mouth is tilted slightly in a questioning look, those purple eyes glimmer at him, revealing the truer emotion underneath. Yeah, she's definitely happy, that's for sure…
"Well… I'll go see what we've got around here. You'd want ice cream, right?"
Moon nods her head.
He gets up and looks for what is hopefully going to be something easy to grab. Not that it has to be, as it's impossible for one to not learn some about cooking when being around Ren for four years, but more convenience is always better.
Jaune opens the freezer door only to see lots and lots of vegetables. Carrots, peas, stir fry, and even a couple of random chicken nugget bags crowd the inside. But there's no ice cream.
He moves some of the bags, setting them down on the counter below. The bags of veggies get replaced with… more veggies. How much do they keep in here?
Other than the occasional pack of meat, and a couple of microwavable dinners that he suspects have been sitting there for ages, there's nothing else of relevance to talk about. And that unfortunately includes the lack of ice cream.
There's no way that he can go back empty-handed. So, he looks for a suitable alternative. The fridge doesn't have any sweets to speak of, and the nearby cabinets also don't offer anything much of use. Unless she would like some bagged cotton candy… He doesn't even bother continuing that train of thought.
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He presses on, scanning every single box of anything for something good. Crackers… gravy mixes… some cobb-
Oh! There it is!
Over on the very right edge, partially hidden by some bags of instant noodles, is a single box of vanilla cake mix. This is the next best thing there is to satisfy her sugar cravings. Luckily, all the ingredients are there in the fridge, and after a few short minutes of preparation he shoves the cake inside and closes the oven door.
As he approaches the couch, Moon starts to pout when she realizes that there isn't any bowls of ice cream in his hands.
"They didn't have any ice cream. They do have vanilla cake mix, so that's in the oven. It'll be ready soon."
The pout is quickly replaced with a contagious smile, which hops over to Jaune's mouth in no time flat. The scroll is a distant thought now compared to the person in front of him.
"So… now that you've properly met them… how are they?"
"They're nice. A little crazy, but nice. I can see where yours comes from now…"
"You're saying I'm crazy?"
"My kind of crazy."
"Wel- uh…" His mouth hangs open as his brain stumbles over that compliment.
She glows like a lightbulb while she reaches up and cups his chin, pushing his mouth closed.
"Relax. I love them almost as much as I love you. Even Saph…" She gives Jaune a single kiss on the cheek before continuing on.
"*yawn* ...so what do you want to do tomorrow, once we're back in Vale?"
"Uhhh… maybe go to a restaurant?"
"Like what?" Moon snuggles Jaune's right arm as her eyes and body gradually begin to droop.
"Well… how about that seafood place? Marco's? They have that dunked lobster I heard you talk about."
"That sounds niceeeee…"
"Heh. I've been thinking about trying one of those too. You have any ideas?"
"mmmmmmmmm..."
"We don't have to do anything huge. Grimm Wars 3 did just come out a week ago… so we could always just do that. Or we could both try that one fish game again." Jaune thinks for a second on some more ideas.
"Oh! How about maybe we binge Jostlevania together? I've heard from Weiss that it's not one of those super sappy romance kind of-"
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His mouth goes completely silent. The instant his eyes dropped upon his girlfriend, sound asleep with the biggest smile on her face, he instantly knew that all was right with the world. Yes, the road ahead was going to be long and grueling, and yes, there's a chance that one day he might be taken out of it by the cruel swipe of a Grimm's claw, but all those worries are just fuzzy thoughts in the distance. What's here now is much more important.
There's no way he can possibly wake her back up now. With his only free hand, he takes his scroll back out and passes the time by returning his focus onto the relaxing game of Slingy Birds. The sounds of pigs vanishing and stars being obtained aren't even close to enough to wake Moon from her slumber.
As the levels march on, the warmth that sits next to him puts his mind more at ease with each passing moment. Before long, his eyes are more than ready to join hers' in rest. Eventually the game, the scroll, and the entirety of Remnant cease to enter his brain as his eyes finally surrender, his muscles relaxing as far as they can go. Jaune's head leans over to just barely graze hers', as they both sit dead to the world, blissfully asleep.
Minutes pass without a care. One would have to be a cruel, cruel beast to shatter this moment of tranquility.
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*CHRRCK*
"That one's getting saved."
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The sound of a loud (virtual) camera shutter makes them both jump awake, eyes only just fluttering open.
"Wakey wakey little bro!" Saphron is there for the customary tease, but she was not the one behind the offending flash… That was Terra. They had both finally returned from their time spent 'looking for Terra's lost ring', and Saphron could barely stay silent the instant she saw the two fast asleep.
The picture was worth a thousand words to them, but the sleep was worth ten thousand to Moon. She is not happy about being woken up, especially from such a perfect sleeping position. She looks for someone to take out the anger, and the one standing right behind the camera look all too… tackleable…
Jaune doesn't see it until she has already bolted. He can barely stand before Terra goes down, easily pushed backwards for a 3 yard loss. He's well on his way over to help when his thoughts are halted by a yell.
"The only woman who can pin Terra like that is ME!"
Saphron gets down into the pile, desperately trying to pull Moon off of Terra before anything else wacky happens. Jaune increases his pace as he rushes toward the pileup. Nothing can seem to go quite right when the Arcs are involved…
As the chaos begins anew, a single pan of cake batter continues to rest trapped inside a box full of metal. It should be getting cooked into a delectable dessert, but instead it remains cold and motionless.
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It'll be really funny when someone realizes that Jaune forgot to turn the oven on...
A Jaune/OC pairing was about the last thing you expected, huh?
Well, it happened in Brinkmanship, and it's remastered here now. I decided to separate it out from SOiB for the sake of literary consistency, as it was basically just a funny dream and could be taken out easily.
Now, who is this 'Moon Woot' that this tale is all about? Boy, do I have a story for you…
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You might remember me saying that Brinkmanship was my second fic ever. The first one was a fic called "Welcome to the 2020 College Football Playoff!", a fic where Moon and a reader-insert watch all of 2020's college football games together (+ some other stuff). That is on my AO3 account. Moon Woot was a character designed to be a friend for the reader's journey through that. And her name comes from possibly the most ridiculous source possible:
Low scoring College Football games.
"Moon" comes from a Michigan — Northwestern game in 2014, where they were tied 0-0 at halftime.
"Woot" comes from a Virginia Tech — Wake Forest game during the same year, where they managed to be stuck at 0-0 throughout all of regulation.
This particular realm is also where my username comes from: the "herbie" is a reference to Kirk Herbstreit, an ESPN college football anchor who is often called "Herbie" for short. Then I put that with the -cide ending, because fuck Kirk Herbstreit, and fuck ESPN's handling of NCAA Football.
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So why is Moon here with Jaune in the world of RWBY? 'Cause I thought it would be funny. And I'm frankly surprised there were only 9 Jaune/OC pairing fics on all of FFN until now. This one is the tenth. There needs to be more.
I hope you like what I tried to go for with this. I love being unique and trying something off-the-wall. That's what makes fic-writing fun. For me, anyway.