Mit Livs Eventyr [RWBY]

ZerbanDaGreat said:

"Muffin pocket," Ruby replies, as if that answers everything.

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Is this a reference to DBZ Abridged's muffin button? It made me laugh regardless.

[X] Ren's. He's a mysterious sort, quiet and unassuming, seemingly content to just go along with whatever Nora wants him to do. Is there some kind of hidden reason for it, or is that just who he is?
[X] Answer him. Tell him how you plan to get to know your teammates and work on getting them functioning like a cohesive unit.

Look, fam, the answers here are fairly simple. We target Ren because he's the unknown quantity. Pyrrha is most likely to challenge us, but Nora is a doof, and easily manipulable. Get Ren, then Nora, and we'll have their support if Pyrrha challenges our authority.

As for our plan? We're clueless, but Jaune knows this shit. He grew up living and breathing being a hunter. His family are hunters. His ancestors are hunters. And he knows damn well that the first step to a cohesive team is actually knowing what that team can and can't do. As of right now, we know jack and shit about Ren and Nora, and a hair more about Pyrrha.

And all this posturing, alpha male stand up to Cardin stuff? Why bother? Be the team leader that he doesn't take seriously. That just makes it easier to slide in the knife when he least expects it. Attention makes our job harder. We're not here to stand out. We're here to infiltrate, gather information, and then subvert.

Ziel said:

[ ] Ren's. He's a mysterious sort, quiet and unassuming, seemingly content to just go along with whatever Nora wants him to do. Is there some kind of hidden reason for it, or is that just who he is?
[ ] Answer him. Tell him how you plan to get to know your teammates and work on getting them functioning like a cohesive unit.

Look, fam, the answers here are fairly simple. We target Ren because he's the unknown quantity. Pyrrha is most likely to challenge us, but Nora is a doof, and easily manipulable. Get Ren, then Nora, and we'll have their support if Pyrrha challenges our authority.

As for our plan? We're clueless, but Jaune knows this shit. He grew up living and breathing being a hunter. His family are hunters. His ancestors are hunters. And he knows damn well that the first step to a cohesive team is actually knowing what that team can and can't do. As of right now, we know jack and shit about Ren and Nora, and a hair more about Pyrrha.

And all this posturing, alpha male stand up to Cardin stuff? Why bother? Be the team leader that he doesn't take seriously. That just makes it easier to slide in the knife when he least expects it. Attention makes our job harder. We're not here to stand out. We're here to infiltrate, gather information, and then subvert.

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You need to put Xs in your vote brackets otherwise they won't be counted in the vote tally.

Ziel said:

Look, fam, the answers here are fairly simple. We target Ren because he's the unknown quantity. Pyrrha is most likely to challenge us, but Nora is a doof, and easily manipulable. Get Ren, then Nora, and we'll have their support if Pyrrha challenges our authority.

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I'd suggest not labeling people "manipulable" before we actually get to know them.

Ziel said:

As for our plan? We're clueless, but Jaune knows this shit. He grew up living and breathing being a hunter. His family are hunters. His ancestors are hunters. And he knows damn well that the first step to a cohesive team is actually knowing what that team can and can't do. As of right now, we know jack and shit about Ren and Nora, and a hair more about Pyrrha.

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Shadow: "Jaune talk to me."
Jaune: "OKAY SO IF I HAD FRIENDS THE FIRST THING WE'D DO IS GO OUT AND EAT TOGETHER AND HANG OUT IN PUBLIC WHERE PEOPLE COULD SEE ME AND WE'D TALK ABOUT STUFF AND-"
Shadow: "Okay Seabass talk to me."
Detective: "I have two failed marriages and my partner name-checked me in his suicide note."
Shadow: ":S"

(To be less pithy we've got an emotionally neglected ball of anxieties who had no friends and a lone wolf detective who couldn't trust anybody. We're not getting help from that front. )

Ziel said:

And all this posturing, alpha male stand up to Cardin stuff? Why bother? Be the team leader that he doesn't take seriously. That just makes it easier to slide in the knife when he least expects it. Attention makes our job harder. We're not here to stand out. We're here to infiltrate, gather information, and then subvert.

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'Cause being a pushover comes with its own consequences, the main one being that people, uh, push us...over? Around? Shit one of the two. Which means that we have progressively less leeway to do shit we want to or need to do. Being mediocre too means we get extra scrutiny 'cause this is an environment designed to wring success out of our supple shadow-ass. If this was, say, a lecture hall with a hundred people in it and a TA who only kinda new our names then just being a face in the crowd would 100% be the best option. But we're in a class of twelve, and more than that we're one of three individuals within that class tasked with leading/organizing/directing the others. We can't blend in with the wallpaper and we can't just meekly nod along, we're sitting in the spotlight and we'll do better owning it off the bat than trying to shun it.

Also we're a Grimm who ate an insecure college freshman. Our monstery instincts say that if we let someone bat us around we won't get any of the good eating and our Jaune instincts say that if we give in we're going to be sad and miserable the rest of the day.

Edit: Shit meant to reply to this too.

toxinvictory said:

Honestly I don't think Cardin has done something wrong as such, even if he's being something of a dick. Ruby and Jaune legitimately don't appaear to have a plan and from what's he seen the assumption that he should take charge is grounded in facts.

The way to counter this productively in such a way as to avoid a fight would be to put forward a legit team plan. Show some initiative and thought and in so doing disprove this narrative Cardin seems to be building in his head where he's the only competent leader who needs to take charge because no one else can.

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The issue with that is that Cardin has, by all indication, been training for this for most of his life and is gonna smell out any attempt to grasp at straws unless it's really damn convincing. And off the top of my head I don't have a convincing plan.

Oh, my God, I just realized it. The dysfunctional group of child soldiers, a supposedly normal leader-boy as the main protagonist who's really a two-faced manipulator who acquires people who he can copy, his main associates that consist of a sarcastic strategic foil, an idealistic female, a brash female warrior, and a withdrawn boy, a paper thin veneer of normality that utterly fails to hide the darkness of the setting. We're fucking Jake Berenson with a competent Yeerk in his head from the Animorphs.

[X] Ren's. He's a mysterious sort, quiet and unassuming, seemingly content to just go along with whatever Nora wants him to do. Is there some kind of hidden reason for it, or is that just who he is?
[X] Answer him. Tell him how you plan to get to know your teammates and work on getting them functioning like a cohesive unit.

you guys voting for "answer him" know that you have to actually write in an answer yeah?

[X] TenfoldShields

TenfoldShields said:

We're basically a slightly killier roomba and only started developing past that when we ate Jaune and Seabass, the two of whom function as prosthetic masks essentially.

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Yes, versatile - able to take on the many traits of our prey. For now our total power is weak, but that is not necessarily a statement about our structure being weak as well.

TenfoldShields said:

Like, without an identity we lack shit like...values, morals, social support, ethics.

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Yes! We have a purpose, and are free from all contaminating considerations.

TenfoldShields said:

you guys voting for "answer him" know that you have to actually write in an answer yeah?

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Well here's my attempt.

Ren's. He's a mysterious sort, quiet and unassuming, seemingly content to just go along with whatever Nora wants him to do. Is there some kind of hidden reason for it, or is that just who he is?
Answer him. Tell him how you plan to get to know your teammates and work on getting them functioning like a cohesive unit.
Your group will at a set time before or after lessons do a series of challenges, based on field required skills (combat, tracking races etc). Nikos and Valkyrie have shown a competitive streak making them see working together and completing tasks as a competition should get results.
If Ruby and Cardin are okay with it have the other teams do similar activities and record their scores for communal viewing. Give your groups something to compete against. A standard to surpass and they should be motivated to improve.

Edit changed vote to Revlid's plan.

[X] Ren's. He's a mysterious sort, quiet and unassuming, seemingly content to just go along with whatever Nora wants him to do. Is there some kind of hidden reason for it, or is that just who he is?
[X] Answer him. Tell him how you plan to get to know your teammates and work on getting them functioning like a cohesive unit.
-[X] "First, I'm going to take the time to read these files, then try to get to know my teammates, see if I can't find some common ground to build off. I barely know anyone on my team after all. Afterwards I'll try to learn how best to go about doing this. I'm not going to pretend that I know what I'm doing just yet, it hasn't even been a full day since I've been appointed leader after all, but Hunters work in teams as standard protocol so getting a group of unfamiliar Hunters working like a well-oiled machine must be a problem that older Hunters have encountered and solved. Possibly on a regular basis, depending on casualty rates. I'll see if I can't dig up some references, learn what does and doesn't work, maybe interview one of the teachers or an experienced Hunter on the subject."
-[X] If called out on how weak the answer was, respond that we're here to learn. If we knew everything there is to know about being a Hunter right off the bat, we wouldn't be here in the first place.

My attempt at an answer.

[X] TenfoldShields

[X] Ren's. He's a mysterious sort, quiet and unassuming, seemingly content to just go along with whatever Nora wants him to do. Is there some kind of hidden reason for it, or is that just who he is?
[X] Answer him. Tell him how you plan to get to know your teammates and work on getting them functioning like a cohesive unit.
-[X] Your group will at a set time before or after lessons do a series of challenges, based on field required skills (combat, tracking races etc). Nikos and Valkyrie have shown a competitive streak making them see working together and completing tasks as a competition should get results.
--[ ] If Ruby and Cardin are okay with it have the other teams do similar activities and record their scores for communal viewing. Give your groups something to compete against. A standard to surpass and they should be motivated to improve.
Edit Changed Vote
Not sure we should do the last part. It would create better cohesion within each individual team, yes, but it could also create a "us and them" situation between each team.

Alright, so if we want to answer him, we probably will want to plan that a bit around how we want to get control of our team. Once we get one of them on our side we have a clear way to getting everything sorted out, and through that we can actually progress as a team.

So first off we need to decide who we want to focus our efforts on. I'm leaning Ren since I feel he'll be the easier of Ren and Nora, and once you have one you get the other. Pyrrha will be a bit too difficult in my opinion to get on our side initially, so I'm hesitant to choose her. This is of course just preliminary, and we may change our mind after reading their dossiers.

That's all well and good, but we need to actually have a plan on how we're gonna get through to Ren first, especially with how him and Nora are seemingly inseparable. So second off is to separate Ren and Nora without causing too many problems -- I'm thinking of pairings of us with Ren, and Nora with Pyrrha. These pairs would be for competition and training of sorts which Nora and Pyrrha should respond well to. Set things up that the partners are competing against each other at the start, rather than us boys competing against the girls so we can (hopefully) connect better with Ren.

Once we have Ren on our side, we move on to Nora who should be significantly simpler to connect to now. After we have her, we can slowly work on bringing Pyrrha into the fold since the disruptions she can cause by challenging our leadership will be mitigated with the rest of the team behind us.


As for how we should word this, I think I'll steal modify one of the plans out there.

[X] Ren's. He's a mysterious sort, quiet and unassuming, seemingly content to just go along with whatever Nora wants him to do. Is there some kind of hidden reason for it, or is that just who he is?
[X] Answer him. Tell him how you plan to get to know your teammates and work on getting them functioning like a cohesive unit.

[X] Ren's. He's a mysterious sort, quiet and unassuming, seemingly content to just go along with whatever Nora wants him to do. Is there some kind of hidden reason for it, or is that just who he is?
[X] Answer him. Tell him how you plan to get to know your teammates and work on getting them functioning like a cohesive unit.
-[X] First thing's first. Since you're going to be fighting together you need to know how each other fight. Enter a discussion about each other's fighting styles, weaponry, and Semblances. This not only informs each team member about the abilities of the others, but will serve as an icebreaker of sorts. As for general team cohesion: It could be disastrous if two team members get in each other's way in the middle of a fight, so establish basic roles and plans for general scenarios. Example: when encountering an enemy, person A should engage the enemy while person B provides fire support, meanwhile person C flanks the enemy and prevents escape/finishes them off. Since you're new, do not try anything complicated, just stick to the basics for now. However, roles should not be set in stone so early on so allow members to change roles if they feel they could be better in another position. Someone who normally provides fire support may feel they could be better as a direct fighter, or vice versa, so change the team composition around to experiment. To further get to know our team mates' personalities, discuss potential scenarios a hunter would face on the field. What would you do if you encountered this type of Grimm? Now let's say there are innocent civilians you had to defend when this Grimm shows up, would you do anything differently? If so, what? What would you do if your teammate was injured while surrounded? Would you eliminate all the enemies before providing medical treatment? Would you attempt to grab your teammate to escape? Or something else? Not only will their answers provide insights to their personalities, but these scenarios are likely to happen in the future so it's something useful to think upon as well.

[X] Ren's. He's a mysterious sort, quiet and unassuming, seemingly content to just go along with whatever Nora wants him to do. Is there some kind of hidden reason for it, or is that just who he is?

[X] Turn the question back on him. Maybe he's the one flexing because getting to Beacon with his cobbled-together team was just as much a fluke as anything else you've done.

The sounds of chewing slowly creep into the silence that follows. You and Cardin both turn to look at Ruby. She freezes, autumn-orange eyes flicking between you and him and back again, cheek swollen around the mouthful of masticated muffin. The half-eaten baked good in question still clutched in her hand.

"Where'd you get that?" Cardin asks.

"Muffin pocket," Ruby replies, as if that answers everything.

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Geez, even the Greater Grimm are kind of dumb aren't they?

I mean, they're aware that they're stories and archetypes, but they literally just put us- an unwritten story- into the power of one of their greatest enemies, in a situation where we're being trained to become a hunter of their kind, and apparently not expecting us to become the story of the great hunter, slayer of beasts.

I fully expect Ozpin to be completely aware of what we are, but trying to form us into Good Guy Hircine, at this point.

Vindictus said:

Geez, even the Greater Grimm are kind of dumb aren't they?

I mean, they're aware that they're stories and archetypes, but they literally just put us- an unwritten story- into the power of one of their greatest enemies, in a situation where we're being trained to become a hunter of their kind, and apparently not expecting us to become the story of the great hunter, slayer of beasts.

I fully expect Ozpin to be completely aware of what we are, but trying to form us into Good Guy Hircine, at this point.

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I wouldn't be surprised if Ozpin himself was a Grimm. Judging by what's happening to Roman, the boundary between human and Grimm isn't as solid as one might expect...

[X] Answer him. Tell him how you plan to get to know your teammates and work on getting them functioning like a cohesive unit.
-[X] "First, I'm going to take the time to read these files, then try to get to know my teammates, see if I can't find some common ground to build off. I barely know anyone on my team after all. Afterwards I'll try to learn how best to go about doing this. I'm not going to pretend that I know what I'm doing just yet, it hasn't even been a full day since I've been appointed leader after all, but Hunters work in teams as standard protocol so getting a group of unfamiliar Hunters working like a well-oiled machine must be a problem that older Hunters have encountered and solved. Possibly on a regular basis, depending on casualty rates. I'll see if I can't dig up some references, learn what does and doesn't work, maybe interview one of the teachers or an experienced Hunter on the subject."
-[X] If called out on how weak the answer was, respond that we're here to learn. If we knew everything there is to know about being a Hunter right off the bat, we wouldn't be here in the first place.

Honestly, I'm not sure whether explaining ourselves to Cardin is worth it. Let's be honest; We don't have a plan, so any plan we make is going to be pulled out of our ass, based off of the synthesized knowledge of Jaune, the Detective, and that one dead cat we ate, through the viewpoint of a Grimm who is only successful at hiding because nobody is really looking that closely.


The obvious motivating characteristics that our protagonist would recognize are hunger/desire, and competition. Therefore, our plan would probably be appealing towards our teammate's human desires, while attempting to create a competitive context that drives our team together... Against other teams.

[x] Nora's. Outspoken and confident and barely on speaking terms with the concept of shame. She has some sort of history with Ren, and for lack of a better frame of reference she seems to be his own Pyrrha. Perhaps if you get to her, he'll follow suit?

ZerbanDaGreat said:

"Now that one," he replies. "That one is a special one. I know her kind, of course. Just a poor young lady of exceptional breeding, all the money in the world and nothing she can buy to fill the void inside, longing for naught but the warmth and comfort of a man in her life.

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Nono, I've read the fanfics. No way a Y-chromosome is getting anywhere near that.

... But not all men have Y-Chromosomes, do they? CURSE YOU NONSPECIFIC WORDING THAT DOESN'T ADEQUATELY COVER THE REALITY OF GENDER IN COMPLEX ORGANISMS!

ZerbanDaGreat said:

You wish you hadn't become the detective. By necessity it brought him straight to the surface, with no trace of Jaune to dull his insightful eye. Where once you considered him your superior and no less, now the Groom makes your skin crawl. He's seen too many men just like this Grimm, rich or poor, charming or boorish. Difference is the simple thugs learn once you beat 'em with the book. The 'classy' ones, the ones like the Groom, they never do. They just grind you down until they win.

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So it turns out The Groom is a creep. I'll give you all a moment to recover from this tremendous shock.

ZerbanDaGreat said:

He shrugs. "The truth... is that she keeps her plans to herself for the most part, and I see no reason to question her. What I do know is that even as we speak, my lesser brethren are beginning to gather in the secret places just beyond the valley. Massing steadily, such that their exodus will not be noticed by the humans until it is too late. Then, on the solstice, she will lead them forth like the onslaught of winter itself." He sinks comfortably in his armchair with a sigh, wriggling a little in excitement. "Ahhh, what a sight that will be."

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Look, the Danish winter this past few years have been uncomfortably weak. If that's all our lady can do we better prepare to lay low a looooooong time.

ZerbanDaGreat said:

He brings his free hand to his chest, grinning the grin of a man who relishes every opportunity to talk about himself. "I am every charming smile that hides the darkness within. I am every handsome suitor with ulterior motives in his heart. I am every killer that uses a false face to lure his prey. I work through them and through them I am sustained. Through them I only grow stronger, day by day. They are all me, and I am the sum of their sin."

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This is just confirming what we already suspected of Greater Grim, but it does bring up an interesting question: What exactly is the Snow Queen? The Sea Witch is easy to peg as the kinda gal who grants you what you think you want at prices you think you can afford, but the Queen herself is not as easily defineable. At least, not by me.

Spoiler alert, I've never actually read The Snow Queen, but my image from the various retellings I've stumbled across is that she's really one of Andersen's less bad antagonists. The real 'villain' of The Snow Queen isn't the Snow Queen herself, but the Devil who originally made the magic mirror. The Snow Queen mainly sought companionship, and though she kept Kaj away from everyone it's not like he would've been a great fit for society with a mirror stuck in his eye. Maybe our Snow Queen similarly seeks human companionship, and uses the Shadow as a testbed to see if its at all possible for a Grim to survive amongst the humans.

Or maybe I'm just pulling all of this out of my ass, I have no idea.

ZerbanDaGreat said:

"And then... take you," he continues. Flicking his wrist. "Nothing at all. No mask to make you a man. No will to break. No voice to whisper man's evil back into their own ears."

He wraps his hand around the pages of his book and rips them all out of the spine in one swift tug. Leaving nothing but a long strip of dried glue and a few paltry scraps of paper. He closes the empty cover with a sad, quiet little 'snap'.

"Hollow," he says.

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And Mit Livs Eventyr has been confirmed as part of the Hollow Fake stories.

Really, this whole thing is just Andersen reading a bedtime story to Rostam and Karna's gaybies.


[X] He wants flexing? Alright, you'll flex. Give him a taste of the same medicine you gave Pyrrha. Tell him in no uncertain terms that you won't put up with a year of this bullshit when you're ostensibly equals so he'd best cut that shit out now.
Both shadows and snakes can be very flexible.

[X] Nora's. Outspoken and confident and barely on speaking terms with the concept of shame. She has some sort of history with Ren, and for lack of a better frame of reference she seems to be his own Pyrrha. Perhaps if you get to her, he'll follow suit?

Nora is the key to cracking this weird Scandinavian/Chinese duo. Besides, surely Thor will be easier to crack than Mulan?