A/N (4/10/2023): Minor fixes.
A/N (8/28/2022): Hi everyone, finally back! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter, as it'll be heading somewhere a lil' weird before we get back to our regularly scheduled programming!
Beta: Path of a Writer
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Jaune narrowed his eyes.
I feel like something doesn't add up…
The meeting location with his project team was very close to the subway line, but he first had to get to a subway station. His apartment was located a good distance away, still technically within walking distance, but far enough that it took a pretty good morning run to get there. Therefore, as a time saving measure, it doubled as a bit of exercise for him to start the day.
He had prepared some ideas yesterday after eating the god's chili. Refreshed, he was able to wrap it up quickly and he had spent the rest of the day on League. In addition, he had also prepared his Switch, placed in his backpack, and Smash, in a black reusable bag in his hands - he had run out of space in his backpack. Since it was their first meeting, perhaps they could play a game or something, to break the ice. Smash had sounded like a good idea to him, as something that was easy to bring and also not too difficult for a beginner to pick up. Not to mention that it could perhaps help with asking Ruby about her past, who had always liked games, his main goal today.
The problem is that… Isn't abandoning logic… kind of dumb?
Yesterday, having realized that his train of thought had been turning into a depressive spiral, he had decided to completely bench thinking further about the issue. It didn't seem like it was helping, nor did it seem like he was getting anywhere.
In truth, it's probably because I'm not that smart. I'm sure there were philosophers out there who easily thought about the right way to do things, and didn't feel discouraged.
…Or not. Weren't there a number who got immensely depressed from their work, opting to completely ignore their results during everyday life? Erm, what was one of their names… Er… David… Humus?
He tilted his head, slowing down his sprint. There was a large group of people blocking the way on the side of the sidewalk facing the street, so he was forced to go around them by getting closer to the buildings.
Isn't that a dip or something? Bread spread…? Or was that a bone in the human body? Wait, didn't that giant in the story of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' threaten Jack with turning his bones into bread? Is that even related to hummus?
He took a few moments to consider that possibility.
"...I kind of want some hummus, now."
The door to one of the shops suddenly opened in front of him. Yelping, he stepped aside, only to collide with the person who had opened the door in a rush. The familiar grunt made him realize who it was even before they hit the ground.
"Nora!"
"...Jaune?"
"Sorry, ugh… Where are you off in such a rush to?"
They both got up, patting themselves down. He grabbed the black bag he had dropped right beside him, as Nora grabbed a similar one near her.
Nora shrugged, looking very suspiciously away. "...Research."
"Research?" He glanced up at the store's sign. It was one of those video game stores. He'd been seeing less of those these days, with many closing down.
"Yeah, for the… Uh… Art."
To Jaune, she looked fidgety, and not just in the normal excited Nora sense. It must be something important. Plus, it wasn't as if he didn't have a meeting to get to. "Ah, then I'll leave you to it. Got a meeting for uni soon."
They said their goodbyes and sprinted off to their own things.
/-/
Jaune walked up to the lounge area outside of a library on campus. It was an area nearby the engineering buildings, making it a frequent place for the undergrads of multiple faculties. There were many tables and benches, making it ideal for group work or for hanging out. On week nights, it was also popular for events with a little vodka sprinkled on top. That, of course, makes the nooks and crannies of the place a little suspiciously filled with mysterious black dust and small bits of ancient food morsels.
Ugh, engineers, am I right? He chuckled to himself. This was one of the dirtiest places compared to every other humanities building, even if it was regularly cleaned superficially, but unlike other places the grime seemed immortal. Or, just due to a high turnover of students and the aforementioned parties, but what's life without a little rivalry between different majors?
A quick look around quickly found him Weiss. He approached the table she had commandeered for their team, giving her a quick hello. Her greeting back was curt, before she turned her nose back into her textbooks. He sat down, opposite to her.
Since it was just the two of them for now, he decided to ask. "Can I ask about that 'White' thing you did?"
She flipped a page. "No, you cannot."
He blinked back. "Well, I clearly can…" She flashed a glare at him. "...But I will go ahead and can it in spite of that."
"Smart choice."
There was a moment of silence as she scribbled away. A look at her books told him that it was related to biology. Jaune could also take out his books, but, well, he didn't feel like it.
Eh, the others will be here soon anyways. He pulled out his phone.
He blinked, before looking up at Weiss.
Nothing had changed.
Did…? He looked back down at a picture of a cat that someone had posted. The cat was displaying their supernatural ability to become liquid, their body leaking over the edge of a bowl and stretching all the way to the floor as if it was a fluid.
He looked back up from his phone, just in time to see her close her mouth.
"Did you say something?"
"No."
He shrugged, looking back down again. Someone else had posted a short video of someone harassing a kid for stepping onto a neighbor's backyard. The tagline was "son accidentaly got paint onto neigbor's flowers, told him apolgize and this hapened" followed by an emoji of rolling eyes.
Oh, but he apologized! He's just a kid, you can't… You can't yell at him! That's… Not good! She shouldn't be doing such a thing! He gave it an upvote.
He flicked his eyes up, catching for a second Weiss rubbing her right eye.
She quickly stopped, lowering her arms in a hurry.
Jaune tilted his head. "You know, if you're sleepy - "
"I'm not drowsy."
…Why? "...Okay, you are not drowsy."
"I'm not - " She insisted before giving a huge yawn.
Her yawn, for some reason, also made him yawn in reflex too. He gave her a flat stare afterwards.
She slammed her hands against the table, standing up, making him jump. "I said I'm not sleepy!" She almost yelled.
He raised his hands, as if at gunpoint. "Wo-ah! Alright, alright!" What the Hell! What a psycho! Sheesh! Game Weiss is far better!
"I'm not!"
"You're not!" He agreed. "Now, put that down, before someone gets hurt!"
Their gazes locked onto the ruler she had grabbed, now poking him in the chest from across the table.
She pinched the rim of her nose. "...I apologize." The anger that had so quickly came left just as fast, and she sat back down daintily. Her expression smoothed itself back to an ocean of serene calm.
Hm? Jaune eyed the area beneath her eyes. It seemed that he hadn't noticed, when he first sat there, that there were some signs of dark bags forming under her eyes, more so her right one, or half of it anyway? Half a one? How does that work? At least it confirms she's been having late nights. I don't understand why she's angry at it being pointed out, though. "...Just go take a nap, you psycho." He whispered underneath his breath.
The serenely calm expression shattered. "I can't!"
"...Ooooh." Jaune thought he got it. He pieced together the clues that he had gotten. There was only one conclusion. "...You're barely passing, aren't you? You need to make sure you don't fail the midte-"
"Don't put me in the same fucking bucket as you." She replied icily. He was taken aback. He'd never heard her swear before, which made it all the more jarring. "I can't because I - I… I…"
Her expression seemed to shift for a moment, but it was gone before he could properly take it in.
"I can't." She finally said.
This time, it did not sound like she'd treat further questioning kindly, so Jaune decided to abandon trying to make conversation.
"...But if you're that sleep deprived, you won't remember anything you learn. You should always prioritize…"
Jaune placed a hand over his eyes. Fuck you, mouth. Just because his reasoning had decided something, well… It clearly meant nothing. Not to mention that he was lecturing Weiss about something he well knew he was guilty of as well. Wasn't he a total hypocrite?
She didn't burst into a rage this time, just icily staring at her textbooks and writing things down. "...There's so much I need to… I can't - "
"It's fine. You should sleep. Look, you're even making a mistake. Didn't you just spell Richard Carson there wrong?"
Weiss paused, looking at the indicated spot. She stared at it, before looking back at the textbook a few times. "...No, it is Rachel Carson. It's right."
Erk. I guess I can't read upside down. He froze for a bit at the embarrassing mistake, losing his train of thought. Ooof, bad example!
"...Hmm, ah. I attributed the wrong research to her." She noted.
He jumped on that. "Yeah, see? That's what I meant."
"Hmm…"
"And I heard that even just 15 min of a power nap can drastically improve one's intellectual capabilities. Come on, just 15 min! It'll be more effective in the long run! 15 minutes will make your brain run a mile a minute!" He gave her a wink.
She stared at him.
His grin faltered a bit at the droning stare.
"...Fine."
"Great!"
She set a timer on her phone. "If I don't wake up…"
"...I call the coroner. I know the drill." He nodded.
She sighed, before packing her stuff up neatly and laying her upper body down on their table.
"...You know you are going to have crazy back pain when you wake - " She turned her head so that he could see her expression. " - I mean have a good night's sleep!"
Five minutes into her nap, Jaune yawned again himself. Putting his phone into his pocket, he started wondering if he should take five as well. He had also slept late a day ago and he was feeling the effects. Or, actually, rather than sleep late… He had completely not slept. In fact, he had done it twice within just this week. That's… Probably not good.
He stared up at Weiss for a second. "...Eh, what the heck." The others will wake us up when they arrive anyways. He thought as he rested his head in his hands on the table.
/-/
"Jaune?"
Someone was shaking him. It might've taken him a bit longer to realize, but given he'd heard the voice moments ago, he could tell it was Weiss' voice. Since the last thing he remembered was falling asleep, it must be the game version. As he started stirring, he sighed, as he was not eager to come back to the… delicate… situation he had left in the morning with Cardin and the Faunus. In fact, just remembering the situation made him grimace. Now, what was I doing again?
"Did Cardin come back?" He asked, sitting up. That's odd, this doesn't feel like the forest… His eyes opened to see a familiar, featureless white room. Huh?
"Cardin? You mean Carina?"
His gaze snapped to the Weiss beside him. Huh?!
Instead of the 'combat skirt' and white jacket, and the fancy hairdo, this one was dressed far more plainly, exactly like the real Weiss. He hadn't exactly been paying attention, but the well fitting blouse and jeans were far different from the game Weiss' attire. There is a chance this is her non-combat casual dress, but she also mentioned Carina! Game Weiss doesn't know a Carina! …I think.
What the hell's going on?!
[Special Event!]
The message window popped up in his view.
Due to your recent actions putting me in a good mood, and while RWBY:Online is on pause, I offer you the following short gaming experience:
RWBY: Eden of Roses
Get a good ending and you receive $300
[Accept][Reject]
"300?!" Jaune yelped. He quickly clicked accept.
[Admin]: By the way, if you aren't finished when the others come to wake you up, the game ends and you lose $25.
You… beach! The god had been so nice recently that he'd totally forgotten. I'm such a fool. Ah well, $25 vs $300 still sounds like a good deal… depending on the difficulty of the game.
Wait, until we get woken up?! Isn't that only a few minutes?!
Why are we even doing this?!
Weiss moved towards the wall. She touched it, inspecting it.
If it's Weiss Weiss… Did she see the message, too?
The realization came to him, slowly.
Is she a 'player'?! Now part of the gods' game?! Excitement rose in him. I mean, it's Weiss! The real one… Who does she not annoy? She probably did something to make the gods pissed at her and now she's in this too!
"These walls… Are they… Plastic? They're so smooth. But why don't they feel cold to the touch?" She questioned out loud.
"Don't even try, Weiss, it's completely unexplainable." The gods' multipurpose room is beyond human understanding, even though it's just a regular room. I think some physical laws are turned off here or something, or else the floor can't be permanently cold.
At that, Weiss looked over her shoulder at him.
"What?"
She then narrowed her eyes. "So you are familiar with this place we've been brought to."
Oh. Woops. I guess that's not a bad thing that she realized it. "Yeah."
Nodding, she strolled over to him… before suddenly grabbing him by his collar.
"Weiss?!"
"Start talking."
He sweated. Looks like she hasn't seen the message, nor met the gods yet. What could I even say to this?
She sighed. "I have little to my name, so there's no point in playing any tricks."
Right, Ms. 'White' and totally not Weiss Schnee. I'd love to see someone as pompous and arrogant as you without having been raised like a princess. Oh wait, we have Light… and he owns the world. "W - Weiss, I'm not a kidnapper!" He quickly looked around to see what he could use to prove the supernaturalness of their predicament. "Look, there's no door! Why would anyone, be it a kidnapper or not, take their time to make such a room?"
"I've noticed. And how would you explain our situation? Clearly, someone decided to move us for a reason." Her sharp eyes darted around. "Weren't you keeping watch?"
"...Er… I might have also fallen asleep…"
Weiss planted her other hand over her face. "Why the hell would you do that?! What if our stuff gets stolen!"
"Pff, it's just a few textbooks, why would you risk jail for that?"
She let him go, before stabbing a finger into his chest. "The police doesn't deal with stolen items under $3000 dollars, you dolt! You know how much work we'll have to do to earn any of these back?!"
He rubbed the back of his neck. She's not wrong… But like, it's in the open! No one would steal like that, right?
"And now we're kidnapped, and probably will end up in a ditch somewhere."
"Erm, actually I think we'll be fine."
"Your reason?"
"..." He glanced up at the ceiling, towards the sky, where he assumed Light was. He wasn't sure if heaven existed, but he was almost certain that Light would look upon the world from up there in order to look down on everyone. Actually, Weiss, we're currently in a temporary dream world created by the god of light, because he's petty enough to trap people in simulations for extremely minor transgressions - honestly, I think sometimes for his own amusement as well. Why are you here? Because you probably crossed him too at one point. The explanation sounded absolutely insane in his head. Then, what can I say instead?
"Well?" She asked, impatiently.
Giving it another moment of thought, he opened his mouth. "...You're dreaming."
They stared at each other.
Weiss looked like she wanted to strangle him.
"No, I mean really!" He hurriedly said. "See how there's no doors to this room, and the walls and floor are weird, right?"
"I've never had a dream even close to this vivid." She flatly answered. "Or had a person in a dream to tell me I'm dreaming."
"Haha… There's a first for everything… Right?"
She planted her hands at each side of his face, squishing his cheeks. "Oh, is that so? So if it's my dream… I can do anything, then?" She smiled.
"Ah?"
She pulled one of his cheeks, making him yelp. "Is that correct, Jaune of my imagination? Incredibly realistic, I'd say." Then she pulled him the other way.
"Ow - ow! Weiss, let go!"
To his mild surprise, she did.
"What the hell, Weiss?" He said, rubbing his cheeks.
Weiss didn't respond exactly to that. Instead, she collapsed to the ground a bit more abruptly than he expected. "Alright, you know what, do whatever you want. I don't even care anymore." She sighed, in a surprisingly tired manner.
He blinked at her. "...Then you could maybe help me look around?" He already accepted the game, so he wasn't certain why he was still in the room and not in the game. I assume this means that she can't see the 'game' either.
I don't really understand why she's here then…
As if having been waiting for their conversation to end, the far wall suddenly lit up with stylized text.
RWBY: Eden of Roses
[Start]
Surrounding the text, flowers started to fall. Jaune recognized that they were all roses, ranging from red, white, black, and yellow. The background was also covered by roses. Same thing with the accent on the text. Oh, and there's some at the edges of this wall… Aren't there a little too many roses?!
"...Is this spectacle necessary?" Weiss tilted her head with the barest amount of movement required to face the title screen.
"Maybe it's your birthday!"
"You're abandoning your dream theory already?" She almost drawled, but her pronunciation was too proper.
"Your birthday celebration… in your dreams!"
"It's not my birthday." Weiss sighed. "Anyways, to me, this distinctly looks more like a video game's title screen."
"Maybe… You have to beat it in order to exit the dream!"
Weiss stared at him like he was insane for the second time today, but far from the second time this week.
Jaune actually had a reason for voicing this assumption. He, for the first time in his life… was scheming. Heh, I've learned a thing or two from my experiences here. Weiss is pretty smart, right? If I can get her on my side… This battle between me and the gods will become a 2v2! I call this… The 'someone else does the hard work in my place' plan!
[Admin]: That's a terrible plan.
It's a genius plan!
[Admin]: I believe it sounds like a very familiar plan.
"...I do not have the energy to humor you today." Weiss said.
"Well, if you don't want to interact with my fabulous personality, it's your loss. Are you fine if I click start?"
As Jaune approached the wall, Weiss narrowed her eyes. "This isn't an elaborate way to skip out on the project, is it?"
Jaune turned to face her, before motioning around the room in an exaggerated manner. "You think I have the motivation to do all this, not to mention kidnap you without you waking up?"
"You're right… You're not that smart."
"Hmph, so you say. In fact, I'm proud of not being smart!"
There was yet another moment of silence.
"...Would you like to take that back?" Weiss asked.
"...Maybe a little." Jaune coughed. "I'll… Click 'start' now?"
"As you wish."
Jaune clicked it.
Wind blew across the room as the roses suddenly burst into petals, a bit like Ruby's semblance. The colorful swirl came straight out of the wall as if it had just been a window into a different world, ruffling the two's clothing as everything turned to white.
Then, color came back, as if it was painted back onto the world by a paintbrush. Strokes revealed an endless blue sky and calmly drifting clouds. A few more, and there was a distant horizon filled with a lush and bright forest. Then, the last few, showing the beautiful landscape below of an extremely posh and elaborate garden surrounding what looked like a building.
Now, the two of them would have been distracted by the incredible architecture, or the rows and rows of exotic flowers, or even maybe the statues which stood with beauty and majesty… If they didn't also shortly realize that they were in the sky.
And falling.
"Aaaaah!…" Jaune stumbled. "Ah?" …What? "Aaah…?" Weiss on his side was also clearly unsure on what to do and floundering.
Their cries were uneven as the building grew closer, plummeting at an accelerated speed. Except… they weren't moving; Despite the shifting world around them, it was as though they were on a stable surface, with no wind or anything.
Weiss quickly realized what was happening. "How did you make every single surface into a screen?!"
"I didn't!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, your accomplices then." She blinked. "...Why would they even need you on their kidnapping team?"
"What?"
"No really, what is your job in the group?" She paused. "Unemployed?"
"I work at McDough's!"
Weiss finally lost her balance as the environment made it feel like they did a sweeping turn in order to arrive at the very front gates of the place. She grunted as she fell down. "So you're the errand boy?"
"Yeah, yeah, Weiss, piss off the only other person in the same predicament as you!"
Then, to their surprise, they flew forward. Twisting and turning between the bushes, as gentle, yet exciting, music started playing. Even though they were seemingly thrust into the impossible aerial maneuvers, none of them felt any G-forces. That is also when they realized they couldn't feel their feet on the ground anymore… Nor see each other.
…A return to the most classic and pure…
The text coming up distanced him enough from the happenings that Jaune realized he'd seen this general situation before. "It's a cutscene!"
"What?! How did you accomplish this?!"
Do you remember… love?
The fuck.
Well, at least it seemed that I could at least hear Weiss. Alright, so currently the cutscene player camera is detached and we're disembodied ghosts.
Finally, the camera exited the rows and rows of flowers and entered an open courtyard, where a young adult in business casual wear was sitting at the edge of a fountain, one leg up on the marble surface. A butterfly fluttered onto his waiting hand and the camera flashed as if taking a picture. The scene that they had seen, now enhanced with an overload of special effects, was in front of Jaune.
"W - Why is everything sparkling?!" The teenager's amber eyes looked somber, yet sparkling with untold grief. His black hair was lucious, full, and incredibly well taken care of, fluttering gently in the exaggerated slow-mo of the cutscene. "Not to mention… Why the hell is he surrounded by all these flowers?! Where did they come from?! Who crashed a truck of flowers nearby?!" Jaune was talking about the mountain of black roses that was in the background, forming the outer edges of the 'shot'.
The teenager sighed, as if deeply concerned by life, yet he was clearly trying to show that he had a deeper caring side by his treatment of the butterfly. Then, he whispered huskily. "I'm sorry, but to be with you is not my fate."
Jaune dry barfed.
Blaine Belladon, the Tortured Artist
The words appeared on screen as if a Smash Bros introduction had been mashed together with rose petals.
"You're trying too hard!" Jaune yelled at him with his invisible fist. "Don't you think so too, Weiss?"
He didn't get a response.
The camera continued on, zooming to the courtyard behind the fountain.
A well-built teenager slid on the ground, blasting dirt into the air. His foot slammed into a soccer ball and before it could be launched away, there was another camera flash.
This man's slow-mo intro had him clearly show off his athletic side. His body was poised in action, his foot outstretched and arms animated. He was dressed similarly to the man from before, other than a few unbuttoned buttons. His muscles were taut in exertion. A wild grin was stretching his face, almost as wild as his blond hair.
He was also sparkly. His eyes and his hair most of all.
Jaune didn't want to notice all of this, but he was kind of forced to by the scene taking up his entire vision. "Did you rob a flower shop too?!" This man was surrounded by yellow roses. I didn't even know yellow roses existed!
Yan Xiao Long: the Wild Dragon
This man's line was spoken without the character moving his mouth. "Come on, skip class with me, let's have some fun!"
"Alright, that wasn't that bad. I'm starting to think I know what kind of game this is…" Jaune looked around. "Weiss, you still here? You haven't said any - "
"Shut. Up." Weiss gritted out. "You're distracting me."
"From what?!"
The camera zoomed past 'Yan' and went inside the hallway, where numerous others were wearing similar clothing to the previous two. As they all carried backpacks and some of them had notebooks and pens, Jaune guessed that this was set in a school with uniforms, set around high school level by how old they looked. Of course, it was a little difficult, as these randos they were seeing had barely a blur as a face.
As if fast forwarding through them all, his view found itself swiftly brought to the inside of a classroom. There he could see a boy, also in the same uniform as the others, clearly working with chemistry equipment. The test tubes bubbled and fizzed in a way that was obviously overdone, and as the camera zoomed in, the boy turned to face his audience and pulled up his safety goggles. The camera flashed.
The boy smiled brightly, like an innocent angel. Around him was a shower of crimson roses. But Jaune was completely distracted by the things about him that sparkled the most.
Jaune stared at the boy's black hair, tipped with red, and his noticeably silver eyes.
Reuben Rose: The Angel of Mystery
…Wait a second.
"Please, let's make some discoveries together, big sis!" Played the boy's line.
Wait a fucking second!
He paused, as the camera started to move again.
"That's fucked up - Gack!"
His face was bombarded with roses as the camera passed through the falling curtain of flowers. He spat out a bunch of petals.
"They were real?!" He stuck out his tongue in disgust, before blinking in surprise. "And quite fragrant."
The doors on the other side of the classroom opened as the camera flew through it. This was just in time to see another uniformed student stroll by. This one was quite tall and neatly dressed, with very angular rectangular glasses that accented his studious look. His long, straight hair was so shiny and perfect that Jaune was wondering how many bottles of expensive shampoo did this guy go through in a week.
In fact, all of the men he had seen had incredible hair. Could these four be single-handedly keeping nearby hair salons afloat?
The camera flashed and the roses came back, this time white.
Weis Schneider: The Enterprising Nobleman
Genderbent Weiss?!
"You have no say in this." The man's firm and sharp eyes gazed at the viewers.
…In what way in hell is that romantic? Jaune sweatdropped.
Then, the backdrop switched to one of the gardens outside. One portrait for each of the four men appeared, with their quotes and small taglines marked above and below on golden frames.
Jaune just kind of stood there as music played awkwardly. He wanted to speak up, but Weiss had told him to quiet down. Could it be that she was already considering her plans for this game and didn't want him to distract her thoughts? Better not bug her… And ride her coattails when she wins! He did start clearing the number of assorted roses that had begun to pile up on the floor, however, sweeping them aside.
Then, the scene switched entirely, as Jaune's eyes widened.
Across his entire view was a closeup of Blaine, portrayed in such a way to enhance the look of his sharp eyes and handsome face, ready to bite the white, smooth expanse of a blond haired girl's neck. The music picked up in speed and intensity, just like Jaune's panic as he realized that closing his eyes did nothing because his eyelids were also transparent.
"What is this feeling…" Came the voiceline at the same time as the words appeared below them. "...This passion I wish to draw on your canvas…"
It flashed to a second scene, this time with the blond girl - who kind of looked like one of his sisters - lying on Yan's chest. Her hair was fluttering and incredibly well lit, giving it an almost radiant shine, while Yan's smoldering eyes looked down with an equally passionate grin. At this distance, the man's unbuttoned top clearly revealed a tasteful glimpse of perfect pecs. Jaune only saw a flash, as he had fallen over.
Kill me now. He rolled around on the floor with his hands on his ears, hoping to god - a more merciful one - that it ended soon.
[Admin]: Too early, mortal. There's more suffering to come.
Lalalala I can't hear anything!
Soon enough, the world flashed again. As the light dimmed, Jaune could finally get his bearings again. Quickly noticing the music had changed to something more background-y and less cinematic, he opened his eyes and realized he was standing up before the front gates of the school again.
A perfectly cool autumn breeze blew by, making him follow its direction and see Weiss standing beside him.
Jaune blinked at her appearance.
Weiss didn't seem to notice for a second as she patted what should have been her covered arms, most likely in response to the wind. Her face morphed into confusion, as she then took a look at herself.
Jaune also took a glance at himself in response.
He was wearing a blazer, a tie and a dress shirt with short sleeves, plus the dress pants. Somehow though, they didn't look formal, being colored in a muter and lighter brown than a sharp black like tuxedos. Weiss also wore something similar, except she had a pleated skirt and leggings. This was the same uniform as he saw the students wear.
"Still think I had a hand in this?"
Weiss' blue eyes snapped to Jaune. "Clearly you knew something."
"It's a dream."
"Again with the bull!"
"Sorry, sorry. What if I told you that's just how good VR is these days?"
She just rolled her eyes.
Jaune looked askance, crossing his arms in his uniform. Sheesh, tricking her is far harder than Ruby or Cardin. Though now that I think about it, they technically tricked themselves. They filled in the blanks for me with that mafia stuff. Wait, should he just do that for Weiss too?
No. He finally decided. The more details I drop, the closer Weiss will get at the truth. She seems to have a keen eye for these things. Jaune couldn't remember exactly which of her actions made him a bit on edge, but somehow, that's how he felt. Not to mention that if she does start poking where she shouldn't… She might get targeted by Light.
…Or maybe she has been already? But she doesn't see the game windows…
"Next, you'll tell me we've been abducted by aliens." Weiss harrumphed.
"As if I'd be that fantastical. Maybe it's your jealous fiancé?"
"And now it's a soap opera. Why would this supposed man kidnap you in addition to me, not to mention how everything that had just happened would be impossible?"
"...Maybe he swings both ways?"
"I see you skipped straight past the fantastical and into the absurd." Weiss shook her head.
The gate itself was a huge ornamentally decorated black arch. It was quite imposing, being the largest and fanciest Jaune had seen yet.
A large gate, a garden… A school? I don't understand why the uniform is business casual though. Is that how rich people's schools work?
Noticing Weiss having left him behind, he quickly caught up. "Hey, wait for me!"
"Jaune."
"...Yes?"
"I don't care if you make a fool out of me after this." Weiss said. She sounded sincere to Jaune, as she closed her eyes.
"I told you it wasn't me!"
"Then be it a dream, a kidnapping plot… or even aliens…" Tears came from the corner of her eyes. "...Thank you for the meal."
Jaune blinked.
"I've never seen such tasty snacks in 3D!" She cried harder.
"Weiss?!"
"Hallelujah! I'm happy I existed! Praise the lord!" She started prostrating before the sky.
Jaune stared at the impossible scene. He slowly turned towards the sky. "Light. My Weiss is broken."
[Admin]: This one is pretty badly broken.
"...Can I fix her?"
[Admin]: No.
Weiss stood back up, patting the dust off her skirt. She wiped away a tear. "Alright. That's enough theatrics." Her composure came back. "I believe I'll try going for the Blaine route first. How about you, Jaune?"
"No one!" Jaune cried. The Blaine 'route'? Why's it called a road?
She sighed. "Don't tell me that you weren't paying attention during the cinematic? That is when you need to pay attention and consider who you are aiming for."
"I'm not gay!" Jaune complained. "Look, I just need you to get a good ending, alright? I can just help you."
Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Your help?" he could almost swear he heard a slight chuckle. "How are you going to help?"
Well, I have been playing the gods' games for a while. I've got to have learned something. "Experience. I've got experience."
Weiss looked at him skeptically. "...You've played these games and you're not gay?" Her eyes lit up. "Oooooh. I see. So you're still in the closet."
Goddamn, the way I said it - "No, I'm actually straight!"
She patted his back patronizingly. "I know, I know." No, Weiss! She gave him a playful wink, something that Jaune would have never thought he'd ever see in his life. "Let's go!" She went on ahead, through the gates. Noticing he didn't follow, she turned around. "Jaune?"
In fact, I'd never think she could smile so… He couldn't put a finger on it. …I probably shouldn't bring it up. "Coming!" He sprinted after her once more.
{Maria}: Today is my first day at school!
Out popped a window and this time, text scrawled slowly across it. It read like somebody's thoughts, and disappeared as soon as they finished. Time was also not stopped during it.
That's new.
{Maria}: I was able to get a scholarship at this prestigious school because of my light magic and grades, but will I really be fine in this place full of the highest nobility?
He fell flat on his face.
What the hell?! He glanced behind him, as several other students around them, who he swore weren't there before, laughed. There was nothing he could have tripped over. I tripped over nothing?! Suddenly, someone's hand was helping him up. "Ah, thank - " He lifted his head, only to see Weis' face.
And where did these flowers surrounding us come from?!
"So, you can't even walk correctly." The man's face neared his, making the distance very uncomfortable for Jaune. "How imprudent to defile our sacred grounds with a commoner of your quality."
…Get your face out of my personal space!
To his surprise, a number of text boxes appeared on his left as time froze.
[Ignore him]
[Verbally abuse]
[Cheerfully greet]
Hm?! Why…
"Why am I Maria?!" Jaune yelled.
[Admin]: Dark, didn't I tell you to insert waffles instead of pancakes in the slot? Why is he still in that role?
What runs on pancakes?!
[Admin]: …Ha… Woops. Lemme go fix that. Wait, Light, you forgot to mute us.
[Admin]: This damned speech-to-text.
Jaune sweatdropped, before frowning. Now that he didn't have the gods' messages to distract him, he suddenly realized there was this continuous shutter sound. He looked around. "Weiss?!" He felt like he was yelling her name a lot today. "What are you doing?!"
"Shut up and pose." Weiss was kneeling down, snapping picture after picture.
He looked down at the position he was in. The male Weis was bent over with knees straight, offering his hand with a distinctly aristocratic air. Jaune's hand was placed delicately in the other man's, as if he was precious and frail. "Delete those, you bitch!"
Jaune frowned. "...Do you not care you are not the protag - " Wait, I don't think that from this she can tell that she's not the protag. I have the messages from the gods confirming it, while she just has this. "...Weiss… You can move?" He realized in shock. I can only move my head, while she can move her entire body?!
"This is fine, too…" Her eyes looked insane to Jaune. "This is fine, too…"
"This is not fine!"
"Alright, once you decide on the option, warn me. I'll take a video."
"I'm going to break your phone."
"Good luck getting your hands on it. Now go pick-"
Jaune suddenly felt his world lurch. The sensation of something in his grasp made him look down at Weiss' phone in his hands. Surprised, he looked back up to see Weiss in his former position before him.
Ah! We switched positions! His eyes lit up at the phone in his hands. "Delete… Delete…"
[Admin]: Switch complete.
"My pictures!" Weiss glared at him.
Jaune took a few pictures of her instead. "Feel my pain - huh?" Clicking on the gallery, he checked them out. Instead of being embarrassed, she looked surprisingly photogenic. He planted a hand over his face. Of course it would turn out fine.
"Well, since you are there, how about taking a few photos from that angle?" Weiss nodded towards her other side. "The sun's glare is ruining the pics a bit."
"...Sure!"
Snap, snap, snap.
"Hm, Weiss, raise your leg a little bit."
"Can't. How about moving my head like this?"
"That works!"
Snap, snap, snap.
"Hmmm… Weiss, can you try to flutter your eyes more?"
"Like so?"
"Oh, yeah, that's good! Beautiful!"
Snap, snap, snap.
[Admin]: ,,,This turned into Ikemen Snap
[Admin]: Pokemon Snap isn't even made yet, he won't get the reference.
[Admin]: I speak of the one made in 1999.
[Admin]: Isn't that before his time?
Jaune stood up from the angle he was taking pics from. "I just realized, when we wake up, you probably won't have these pictures anymore."
She stared at him. "...You say 'probably', so you're saying… there's a chance."
[Admin]: She says there's a chance, Jaune. Who are you to dash her dreams?
You're the one who will be dashing her dreams!
"Well, that's enough." She gave a content sigh, before trying to click on one of the options.
"Oh, you need to say 'click'."
"Ah, I see." She clicked on 'Ignore him'.
Jaune's eyebrows shot up. "Weiss?!"
Weis helped Weiss up fully. Instead of thanking him, Weiss tore her hand out of his. A sneer appeared on her face, before she took out a handkerchief and wiped the hand that touched him. She walked past him with a harrumph.
[Relationships (Weiss)]: -30 reputation with Weis Schneider
"Ooooh. Wrecked!" Jaune whispered to himself and eyed the message for a second. He ran up to follow once more.
"Manners as expected of a commoner." Weis, left behind, harrumphing in a very distinct and familiar manner.
Bitch, don't think you did any better!
Jaune looked between the two of them as something else came to mind. Shouldn't they…?
"Hey, Weiss, you don't like…" He paused. Is 'Weis' pronounced 'Weiss' or 'Weiz'... or 'Wise'? "...That person?"
She stared forward, with the eyes of a predator. "Of course not. The cool-glasses type never appealed to me. He looked like he was full of himself."
…But you're like that too… He refrained from saying his thoughts out loud. In fact, that is you! Are you telling me you don't like yourself?! If there was a second me, we'd party! He took a moment to imagine two very prideful people in a relationship. It seemed like they may have difficulty finding middle ground or letting the other into their heart. Ha… You're right, that does seem like a difficult relationship. Seems like it'd be fun to watch, though.
[Admin]: Fuck that, Hayasaca's best girl.
[Admin]: Who is that?
He wasn't too sure what Dark was referencing. But in this case… Isn't it self-cest?
[Admin]: …Spicy.
That's what you have to say?!
[Admin]: Won't be the first time.
The hell?!
Suddenly, the space around Jaune warped and he found himself in the gym of the school.
Weiss flatly stared forward. "That's how you're going to deal with scene transitions? How lazy… and expected from you."
"I didn't do shit!"
"So you say."
Jaune was about to sit down, as he did during his school assemblies back in the old days, but noticed everyone standing up. The person at the podium was talking, so it clearly wasn't during the national anthem, so to him it was odd that everyone was still standing.
There, he took the time to completely ignore the speaker. Since the protagonist role had been shifted to Weiss, the text scrawl was appearing before her instead and he had time to look around at the gym. He wasn't sure what he was expecting from it in a school like that, perhaps some gaudy decorations, but looking around all he could say is that it was very clean and polished.
Poof, and Weiss and Jaune teleported to the hallway.
"That scene was already done?" Jaune commented.
"Hm, hm. Clicked to skip through the text. I know the gist of it, and that principal wasn't that handsome anyways. Old gray fox isn't my type."
Jaune scratched the back of his head. "...Good to know?"
"Hmmm… Now, let me see, where would be the next heading in order to maximize the events with Blaine?"
"Before that..."
Weiss turned her head to Jaune, raising an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"Why Blaine?"
"Weis - "
'So 'Wise' is the pronunciation Weiss chose. It's herself, so she's got to be right.
" - seems like a difficult, high-maintenance man."
Jaune snorted.
"Reuben… Seems like a distinct departure from the usual, so it's a bit off putting. Though, I will admit I've been bored of the 'dukes of the north' types recently."
…Northern dukes? Why? At Jaune's confused expression, she still continued without elaborating.
"Yan reminds me of someone annoying and I don't like it."
Poor… Yang, I believe she's the genderbent of.
"That leaves Blaine, by process of elimination. Excluding, of course, the secret capture target."
Oooof. Wanted because you're leftovers. I do wonder who Blaine is, though. Nothing comes to mind from people I've met. Maybe Pyrrha? "And also, a secret capture target?"
"Yes, someone you can romance that isn't revealed at first."
"Can't be the headmaster, right?" Jaune joked. Introducing other characters as early as possible seemed like a good idea for these kinds of games.
"No one wants to marry an old man unless you have really extreme tastes."
"...So that's not a no?"
"I've picked our next heading." Weiss said, ignoring him. "Looks like we'll be taking a detour before heading to class." She selected an option and time unfroze.
Before they could teleport away though, Jaune noticed one character who didn't have their face mostly blurred out turning the corner at the end of the hallway. Yellow hair? Must be Yan. He thought, until he realized that the build didn't fit. Before he could see more, he was whisked away.
The scene changed to that of an art classroom.
Curtains covered the windows, letting stray rays enter and illuminate the body of Blaine, who was laying down on a sofa. His pose was definitely casual, yet had all the style of a man who spent far too long posing. Near him was a number of paintings, depicting scenes from still life to charcoal paintings of people.
Not to mention the sparkles.
"So, what's your choice, Weiss?" He asked as he noticed the options in front of Weiss.
[Lightly jostle him awake]
[Hum a tune]
[Stick some paintbrushes up his nose]
Weiss was hovering over the last one.
"That is definitely not the right option." Jaune flatly told her.
She turned to him with a very serious expression. "Yes… But don't you want to see what happens?"
"Er."
"You do, don't you?"
Jaune sweated. "Maybe a little."
"Then it's fine if I stick some paintbrushes up his nose."
"Wait!"
Weiss gave him an annoyed glance. "What?"
During his time playing the gods' game, the 'RWBY:Online' one, he'd never really considered it as truly a game. No, that's not exactly right. It's a game - probably - and I've had my fill of fun, but doing stupid choices and seeing the consequences is distinctly not my playstyle. It feels… Wrong somehow. Like I'm treating them like toys - which I guess they maybe are - but with heavy bad connotations.
Weiss clearly doesn't have these considerations. He eyed the menu in front of her. Is it because she is more heartless, or is it because of the way the game is presented to her?
"We don't know how long you'll be playing this game." Jaune reasoned with her. "Don't you want to get a good ending?"
"...Why do I need to get a good ending? Neutral and bad endings also exist to be seen."
"Yes, but…" But what? Damn it, if she keeps getting neutral or bad endings, aren't I going to lose that 25$ to the gods? I need to think of a good reason to have her care. Maybe try to appeal to her compassionate side? "...Aren't you going to feel bad for the characters if you get a bad ending?"
"Well, yes." She agreed.
Nice, got her!
"But that's the point of a well written bad ending. It's supposed to make you feel things. If I'm going to die in a ditch somewhere I might as well experience both the ups and downs of being with a hot guy." She told him almost clinically.
That… That is a phrase I've never thought I'd hear from Weiss, or anyone else really. Just Weiss in particular. Jaune sweatdropped. He shook his head to clear himself of that train of thought, in order to return to finding reasons to save his wallet.
If compassion is out, then what else do I have? Reason, but in a different way? I mean, I've taken philosophy courses with both mortal teachers and a god, I've got to have some pretty good stuff in store. Hm, let me think… Jaune opened his mouth. "But you see Weiss… Good endings…"
He sweated as he came up blank.
"...are good?"
He planted his palm on his face.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine, if you insist." She selected the 'Lightly jostle him awake' option. She whispered 'jerk' underneath her breath.
Jaune let the mild insult fly over him. In fact, was it just him, or did it perhaps sound… Playful? "I can't believe that worked." He said, not commenting on it.
[Relationships (Weiss)]: +2 reputation with Blaine Belladon
While in the RWBY:Online game Jaune had been so used to the reputation messages that he was generally ignoring them, these ones had a different enough general form that they still stood out. It was the 'Weiss' part of the tag before the actual reputation message, making the section within the square brackets longer.
…Huh. He suddenly realized. "Menu." He said out loud.
As the familiar options for the different menus popped up before him, his eyes widened as Weiss turned her head to face him.
"You have more to complain about?" Weiss gave him an annoyed glance. Then, her expression changed into disturbed shock as she looked down at her frozen body.
Jaune gave a sigh of relief. "At least that's the same. Don't worry, that's normal." So during the option choice, only the main 'player' is frozen. However, when I open the menu, both of us are. A look around also told him the world was frozen as expected.
"How's this normal?" She looked at him suspiciously.
"Er, it just is." He had no idea how to explain it. "But it makes sense, right? That opening the menu pauses things."
"So that's the word you said. 'Menu'."
"Yeah."
She tilted her head at him with narrowed eyes. After a moment of contemplation, she asked "Then, what kind of menus do you see? They're a bit difficult to read from this angle."
"Shouldn't you have them too?" Jaune blinked.
"Menu." She said. A window appeared before her with a number of options. Jaune assumed they were of a similar list as his. "Click. Click. Click."
…The voice commands do feel a little odd when you're hearing someone else do them.
"This reputation menu seems intuitive enough. Different ranks of reputation that you can reach with each capture target… But what's this gift symbol beside each rank?"
Jaune blinked. Gift symbol? He took a moment to bring up Ruby's page before remembering. "Ah, uh, I think it's a gift?"
"You must give the capture targets a gift in order to rank up to that level?"
"No, no. It's… Some sort of reward for reaching that level." After all, he did get something for ranking up with Cardin. But didn't I rank up a lot with Ruby…? Where was my reward then? Jaune scoffed. Light's inconsistencies again. Just messing with me. Or a mistake. Or he'll tell me blah, blah, blah humans are stupid and can't know things.
Weiss gave the screen a long, inquisitive look.
Guess she's taking in the odd rank names.
"Have the gifts ever mattered for each target's routes?"
"Routes?"
"A branch in the branching storyline."
"Oh…?" Jaune thought about that. She means like, maybe we need to reach rank 3 with a certain character in order to finish another character's ending? I've… Never thought about that. Or about endings in general. I guess it is possible that there's several endings to RWBY:Online, and that it might require those 'gifts' from a certain character to complete. Narrowing his eyes, he opened up his objective menu. Yes, there's the quest I got from Cardin's 'gift'. The Faunus Question. That… Is something to consider.
He rolled his eyes.
Or to not.
All thinking about Light's game has done is almost give me depression, if we recall yesterday.
"...I guess that's possible. I've never thought about that." Jaune watched as Weiss just stared at him for a bit. "What?"
"Perhaps it could also be a good way to develop relationships between the cast, rather than the relationship between them and the protagonist alone."
"That's… True."
"Hm, that's pretty interesting design!" She nodded to herself.
Or maybe Light just wanted to add them in because it was Christmas when he made it. Poor Weiss, thinking it'll be logical in some way.
"Hm, let me take a look at the stats page."
Oh, there we go! Jaune would have rubbed his hands together if he could. Disappointment incoming!
"I see, the usual."
"...The usual?!"
"Yes, is something the matter?"
He couldn't comprehend it. She said 'usual'. Like, she's played a lot of games like Light's game? Could there be a genre that's actually similar to his game system?! No way, it's so confusing! "You mean this is normal to you?"
"Well, yes. Athletics, Smarts, Beauty, etc., you know, the usual."
He blinked. It took him a moment to process it.
You mean Light gave you an easier system than he gave me?! That's entirely bull! Why is he favoring you?! Because you're a pretty woman?!
[Admin]: I don't see why that would matter.
Explain this bullshit, Light!
[Admin]: Dark here. Light had to leave.
…This is so confusing, just use different name tags or something!
"Then, what do you see?" Weiss asked him, breaking him from his conversation with Dark.
"A whole bunch of baloney."
"Hmph."
Jaune blinked. "Was… Was that a 'laugh' version of your harrumph?!"
She gave him a thoroughly unimpressed look. "Is there an issue with me expressing amusement?"
Well, yes, not to mention that it wasn't even funny… "My stats screen is certainly different, like a whole separate system. It's a bunch of useless stats. Even though it's the same developer, it's for a different game. He clearly has favorites in terms of players…"
"And that developer is…?"
Oops. Jaune just laughed awkwardly. "Umm, I mean, I dunno. Maybe it is an alien?"
Weiss shook her head. "...Okay, if you don't wish to answer, then list the stats on your stats page. Describe them."
Or I could be a smart person and unpause the world, move nearer such that she'll have a view, and then reopen the stats screen. But that'll take me to be smart… "Why do you want to know? Doesn't seem like it'll help you."
"Why wouldn't it help? If it's the same developer, then it is very likely that there are ideas that persist between the games. There's often times a similar style to them all. In fact, even studios usually build themselves around a niche, like Bioware and games with splitting paths or that now-defunct Tell-Tale Games studios and their cutscenes that have a sprinkle of gameplay. Even if we think of studios as a faceless organization, the people in them have their quirks and personalities, which, when focused by the vision of the director, give their products a unique flair."
"Right. Riddle me this then, after playing their games 'greed' becomes the only thing that comes to mind. What am I?"
"Mobile games."
"...I meant a game studio, so EA, but that works too."
"That's a game publisher."
"But like, that's technically true, but what if this game is the exception? Or that by chance, the director's vision was just not realized? Doesn't that make your effort into trying to figure out the system of the game null, because you're just chasing clues that lead nowhere?"
Weiss looked at Jaune like he was an idiot.
"Why are you looking at me like I'm an idiot?"
"Because I am looking at an idiot."
The idiot flatly stared back at her, unimpressed.
Weiss clearly wanted to move her arms with the way she was struggling, but only her neck and face muscles moved. "Jaune. Come over here so that I can strangle you to death with my nose and sheer will."
"I'll stay here, thanks."
"You're seriously saying that because we can't be certain, we shouldn't even try?"
"Well… It's more like, it kind of feels bad, you know? Knowing that we live behind a veil of ignorance, and something, something, and all that."
Weiss grimaced. "Leaving aside the 'something, something'... Jaune, you see that trash can?"
"Yes…?"
"That's a trash can."
"Or maybe it's actually an artisan cake, or an alien, or even an alternate version of a person!" Jaune chimed.
"Yes, clearly an alternate version of you. Jaune." She sighed. "Let me put it in this way. Every second you exist, do you live in perpetual fear that a meteorite would hit you? Every time you walk outside, do you first die of a heart attack from the stress that a freak lightning bolt from a freak storm from a freak coincidence would strike you? No!"
"Maybe I should actually be scared of freak lightning bolts. Maybe I was just ignorant."
"And what's wrong with a little bit of ignorance?"
Jaune blinked. "...Everything?"
"Jaune, you can't know everything. Not even the smartest people in the world know everything - "
"And isn't that scary?"
"No! I literally do not care."
"You don't care that there is literally always a very, very small chance that everything can go absolutely horribly wrong and there's nothing you can do to stop it?"
Something flashed across Weiss face, but just as fast as it came it went. "I - I'm telling you that it's fine!"
"How?! How is that fine?!"
"Because I'm telling you that it is!" Weiss finally gave up.
Jaune scoffed.
"There's always a chance that every time you walk past a window, a stray bullet shot from Cairo would go through your window and kill you. But there's no point in worrying about that! What are you going to do about it - install bulletproof metal shutters? Or not have windows? Then you'll be worrying about armor-piercing rounds. If you put in the work, there will be results!"
"Or maybe you fail the test because the teacher put in bullshit trick questions."
"Yet you've learned the concepts, and next year, or next time, you'll do better." Weiss pointed out. "Or you've learned a new studying technique. Or you've exercised your brain, allowing your neural pathways to get better at retaining info. Your decisions have no certainty, but they've never needed to." She told him, almost pleading for him to understand. "Humanity has lived through ages in which they thought that sacrificing our humans on altars would change weather, yet we've still survived. Abandoning reason because it has failed you once? That's preposterous!"
"Pfff." Jaune looked askance. "Working hard. And then there's me who barely listens in class and just crams the night before, and still gets average anyways." He wasn't exactly making a point or anything, just grasping at anything. He didn't believe what he said yet wanted to at least put up a fight. For some reason.
Weiss stared at him.
…Did it actually dumbfound her?
Her eyes bored into him. "Rather than failure in rationality," She said. Her words had a sharp intonation to them. "Maybe instead, it's a fault in your logic. What's the more probable explanation for you still doing well on those tests, Jaune? That somehow logic itself is the issue… Or that you're actually really smart?"
Jaune was silent for a moment as her incredulous words slowly sank in. Then, he laughed. "Me? Smart?"
"Cramming everything within a single night, and still getting average, that is an achievement, Jaune. Think about it." Her words were harsh, despite speaking praise of him. "What could you do if you started earlier and actually studied like you should have?"
"I probably would have still gotten the same." Jaune insisted. "There's different kinds of smartness, you know? Like, I'm just better at on-the-spot thinking."
Weiss did not look convinced. "And now you're arguing technicalities, which I'd say is the hallmark of someone who has a degree of intelligence. Jaune, I've seen stupid people. People who get a job at a charity folding letters and putting them into envelopes… and still quit it and go jobless because the job was too hard."
"What?"
"I'm serious." She paused. "It's harder than it sounds, actually. You can't crease the picture on the letters, and nothing is standardized."
"You're pulling that out of your ass." Jaune gritted out.
"You say you're absolutely average. Yet even a moment of self-introspection will reveal that you are not. Others need weeks of effort to accomplish what you can do in a single night. So tell me, Jaune, are you average, or are you making yourself average? Average not because you lack the resources or the ability, but because you are unwilling to rise up to match the responsibility of your intelligence?"
Weiss closed the menu in front of her with a word, letting him see her stern expression better.
"Perhaps it's a hallmark of our era, where laziness and procrastination can be laughed off as nothing but a joke. Indolence is an enemy we all face, yet some decided the best way to fight it is appeasement."
Her sharp blue eyes met his wandering gaze and locked it in place.
"You, Jaune, have never been faced with the problem of being dumb or smart. No, from what you've told me, it sounds like you've squandered a gift. For you, there seems to have only been one problem."
Jaune realized that her expression wasn't just of stoicism, but of complete disappointment.
"Where… is your conviction?"
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
A/N (8/28/2022): Now this is what I call very questionable shipping bait.
I know it's a bit of a departure from normal, but I think we'll need to go through this dating sim stuff to set up the tentative answer to a lot of the questions posed in the past few chapters and then set up the important question for the next arc… right before I go into hiatus. I did say that I'll finish this arc before going on hiatus, so - it shouldn't be a surprise!
As you can also see, this chapter part feels incomplete. That's because it is, as chapter 11 - the last chapter before the hiatus - will take maybe 2-3 parts from my estimation. Don't worry, this whole dating sim is here for a reason! You can tell me if it's worth it later :/
By the way, Path of a Writer wrote this:
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Tis but a dream, tis what all of them would say,
But money on the line, his reply would be a nay.
A curse this would be, by the very Gods,
His cash it is lost, in huge wads.
Oh what can he do, this pickle of his own,
Oh that onion, if only he had known.
And thus is his fate, so it shall be,
Play along in their game and indulge their philosophy.
And so he must chose, livelihood or pride,
To indulge in greed, or should he do what is right?
For this curse he can't avoid, the patience he does lack,
When of distractions he's devoid, his mind is sent aback.
And so it began, first quest at hand,
Flirt like a man, win the Ice Queen's hand!
And she doth detest, so she protest,
Had he tried his best? Yet he was worse than the rest!
Second labor came, to be his claim to fame,
This would not be the same, In victory he'd reign!
Reaper by his side, and all mystery that she hides,
Her secrets he'd bring to light, her troupes in his sight!
Yet he had to desist, investigation not his destined tryst,
Before his eyes was a mist, of a detective he did not consist.
So he set it aside, surely a third quest would rekindle his pride,
By another warrior eyed, indeed he'd be delivered a new noble stride.
And so they would train, the mantra of no pain, no gain,
By the river their spar maintained, as they spoke of a fiendish bane.
A beast of subtle mind, of wicked, woeful ways,
The Faunus, the warrior defined, a monstrous foe in wait.
Yet that knowledge, too, was refined, to the gamer's dismay,
Oh how it boggled his mind, that each task would lead him astray.
Thus he resolved, there was only one thing to think or say,
The way this world revolved, only one answer would be okay.
Encounter them he had, from the beginning and all through the way,
Ask any lass or lad, on the tip of their tongues they all had the same to say.
So echo it he would, the only truth he knew would stay,
'The Mafia did it!' And with those words it'd finally go his way!
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Shame him for every half-rhyme, I say!
Next chapter: September 25, 2022