- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Get it to click.
Hold It In (RWBY/Transistor)
- Thread starter Prok
- Start date
- Crossover
Prok
Go play Star Fetchers
- Location
- Scotland
Happy to defy expectations!
I've mentioned, though perhaps not publicly, that I hate the way Cardin was treated in canon. It extends to the entirety of CRDL to an extent, but I haaaaaaaaaaaaaate the way Cardin was treated in canon.
He just- he wasn't a character! He was an engine of antagonism! He existed, his sole purpose, was to facilitate the whole Jaunedice arc, and that's it, for the whole team- besides maybe a minute of being beat up by Pyrrha again in V2, then again in the Vytal Tournament by I want to say Penny it's been a hot minute, that's it.
That's... it.
… That's it?!
Sorry, got carried away there- the point is, I think that more can be done with the entire team, not just Cardin, and the best way to do that was to explore the tiny shreds of themes actually brought up by Cardin in the eight seconds of collective screen time he had- even if that does mean basically creating the rest of his team, none of whom had speaking roles by the way, from whole cloth.
Hopefully, it pans out the way I hope it does. God willing, I'll at least stick the landing.
If you're ever unsure about your standing amongst the other students, and for the most part it will be referring to the other students- check your Karma, that'll give you a decent idea of where you stand.
If you want a more in-detail analysis- for the most part, Jaune's the kind of quiet that makes people wonder if he can even talk, and when he does talk, it's like he's doing everything in his power to not be heard anyway. He sometimes seems to be off in his own world, doesn't go out of his way to interact with people unless prodded to, and then he'll either turn around and chat with the short blind kid completely unprompted, and save him from smacking into a hard corner more than once doing it, or he'll save someone from a severe head injury by noticing something nobody else did.
In the end, this particular thing was less nervousness about what Jaune was going to do, and more shock that he actually had anything approaching a vindictive streak.
People don't think about it too much, but a year is actually a pretty long time to cement someone in your mind- especially someone like either Jaune, with his massively distinctive companion, or Qrow, with his general aura of trash fire. But yes, Qrow taught Jaune for the first year or so of Signal, they commiserated over having shit Semblances, then quietly retired to pastures unknown.
Well... now you know. Or, well, you will know, by the time this lift ride's over.
Things not shown but that definitely happened during the course of that class:
-Ruby getting caught by her hood after trying to out-speed Ozpin and being used to plough a trench for her insolence
-Leathers being grabbed by the ankles and used to take out that gazebo because Ozpin always hated it but Glynda insisted it be installed and this is as good an """accident""" as any
-Kapila actively keeping up with Ozpin for a solid 30 seconds, before being sent into a rose bush
-the inaugural launching of Xiao Long Airlines' first flight
-Creme being taught the antonym of defenestration by accidentally shifting one of Ozpin's punches to Haru and sending him into Oobleck's third-year class
I'll admit that I've sort of dragged Vale halfway across the Atlantic as time goes on, mainly because when I realised that the city was the size of a small country and thus accents would naturally form as time goes on, falling back on British divisions was the first thing that occurred to me since, it's what I'm used to, I've been to various parts of the UK throughout my life, I can place those accents easier than I can American ones, and anyway this is all stalling the admission that Creme sounds violently southern Welsh, think Tom Jones, when she doesn't make a concerted effort to sound like she isn't from farmland territory. This is the character voice I've had in my head since the beginning and it HAUNTS ME.So is Creme also supposed to sound British Prok or is it just you?
... I'm not sorry.
Anyway, it is being voted for by an overwhelming majority, so recognising Qrow and vice versa wins!
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No reason to vote (what I wanted won anyway so yay!), so I just wanted to say great chapter as always. Like others have said, I really like what you are doing with team CRDL, and I love that every character has depth, canon and OC. Excited for what we can do with Glyphcraft, especially in combination with the Aura Control class.
But first, Interesting Times with Ozpin!(tm) And also, OH GOD, I AM IN AN ELEVATOR WITH THE LITERAL UNLUCKIEST MAN IN THE WORLD.
But first, Interesting Times with Ozpin!(tm) And also, OH GOD, I AM IN AN ELEVATOR WITH THE LITERAL UNLUCKIEST MAN IN THE WORLD.
- Location
- Hyperborea
Don't get me wrong; I knew we'd get something better than canon, it was just the specific details I hadn't expected.
Fingers crossed.
- Location
- Canada
ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
Man, how awful must it be to get hit when you aren't even the one who got hit?
I thought Xiao Long Airlines was yesterday, what with the Yeetening that starts off initiation.
- Location
- Belfast
So... using Nia as a stand in voice is acceptable then?
- Location
- Around here
- Pronouns
- He/Him
This is an uncontained infohazard and you are not observing proper protective protocols (i.e. a spoiler with an uninformative yet teasing description).
NexysDhyArchen
Throne Breaker
Would that happen to be "Refenestration"? Seeing as they had all left the building to enter the garden.
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infinityDivided
Prince Of Doom
- Location
- USA
So I was rereading, and this comment just became more immediately relevant:
Granted, we have no reason to show it to him unless he brings up his dislike of Ironwood, but it might come up at some point.Well that event took a fun turn. Also since we record everything we can print a picture of Ironwood's face when he was getting schooled bye Blue and later sell/trade it to Crow when ever we meet the Drunk. I'm sure he'll love it.
THatWhichWillBe
The Squiddly One
- Location
- In The Darkened Deep
Look, we owe it to ourselves, and our fellow students, to get Jaune into CQC class with Ozpin next semester.
I just feel like Jaune hasn't been constructively beaten up enough, y'know?
Running himself through the self-destructive wringer just isn't the same.
I just feel like Jaune hasn't been constructively beaten up enough, y'know?
Running himself through the self-destructive wringer just isn't the same.
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- Location
- New York
[X] Get it to click.
"... Jaune?"
"... Professor Qrow?!"
Because it's going to be funny when we talk to Yang and Ruby about Qrow.
"... Jaune?"
"... Professor Qrow?!"
Because it's going to be funny when we talk to Yang and Ruby about Qrow.
...@Prok would it be OOC for Jaune/Transistor to suddenly find themselves become the latest unofficial-official bookie for all bets of Lien placed between students at Beacon? Because I easily see rumors blowing out of proportion about "that guy with a supercomputer sword for a brain" being the obvious choice of getting betting odds from, and Transistor takes initiative to dealing with all the random scroll messages thereof because reasons.
- Location
- Around here
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Interesting to see Rashmi's deal- future sight of some kind, though judging from the fact that he keeps walking into doors, and, well,
Could be interesting to see if we can make a Function out of that- it'd be pretty darn useful for Turn().
that, we might end up seeing him in Semblance Counselling with us.
Could be interesting to see if we can make a Function out of that- it'd be pretty darn useful for Turn().
- Location
- France
[X] Turn away.
With a grumble and a shrug of apology, the two of you go back to being complete strangers- whatever familiarity you'd hoped to spot wasn't there after all.
Still, no reason to say you can't get to know each other on the ride up, though.
Piranesi is an ancient incarnation of Papin or some Remnant Leonardo de Vinci level genius.
With a grumble and a shrug of apology, the two of you go back to being complete strangers- whatever familiarity you'd hoped to spot wasn't there after all.
Still, no reason to say you can't get to know each other on the ride up, though.
Piranesi is an ancient incarnation of Papin or some Remnant Leonardo de Vinci level genius.
- Location
- Nashville Tennessee
[X] Get it to click.
"... Jaune?"
"... Professor Qrow?!"
"... Jaune?"
"... Professor Qrow?!"
ADeshantis
King on the Chromium Throne
- Location
- United states
You know it would be pretty interesting if Qrow taught Semblance Counselling at Signal but for the sake of the students' pride they make it sound like some kind of elective combat class that he occasionally picks people for.
I'm not sure if Qrow can actually be that wholesome but it's a nice thought.
I'm not sure if Qrow can actually be that wholesome but it's a nice thought.
NexysDhyArchen
Throne Breaker
I'm more interested in just what a younger, less data diving restrained Jaune found out about Professor Trashfire.
[X] Get it to click.
QuestionTime(Ozpin)
Prok
Go play Star Fetchers
- Location
- Scotland
... yeh
Signal's large enough that it has to run multiple classes to accomodate all its students- Qrow's good(ish) at teaching, but he's not "teach 300 students at the same time" good. Even then, he only taught Jaune's year for about a year and a half, maybe two tops- for people who aren't Jaune or Yang, yeah, he's going to fade a little in their memories. Besides that, he's
Ruby missed him entirely because I'm a bastard
Theoretically, most vices are heavily frowned upon in Beacon- at least the ones that can't be mitigated with protection. You know, school policy of not encouraging bad habits and all.
In practice, people bet on after-school spars all the time, but it's not likely Jaune would become some kind of go-to bookie simply because it's not that organised in the first place. More importantly, the Transistor wouldn't be able to do it because, one, it doesn't have its own bank account, it just uses Jaune's, and two, it can't exactly hide physical Lien anywhere, and neither of those are conducive to doing this without Jaune knowing.
Granted, it could probably enlist Lumen or Ada to help on that front, Lumen being fairly amoral about parting fools from their money, and Ada being too chronically poor to have something as petty as school rules or basic ethics stand tall in the face of LOADSAMONEY, and that would probably keep the racket going a lot longer.
While it's something you may be able to look into, it would probably be far more work than it's worth for something that would, admittedly, grant some decent short-term dosh injections, but would also just annoy Jaune when he finds out, if Goodwitch didn't stick that riding crop where the LEDs don't shine first.
In short- could it be done? Possibly. Would it be worth it if you did it? Probably not.
Would it be funny anyway? Absolutely.
... Papin the French murderer, Papin the French physicist, Papin the French football player, or Papin the other French murderer?
Anyway, update, along with a genuine plea for someone to hold my hand through setting up an actual vote using the system, because I swear this is like the third time they've changed the system in as many months and every change leaves me exactly as lost as the first time they introduced it
The silent investigation on both your parts continues for a few moments, neither of you willing to just speak up and ask, but after a moment, you don't actually need to, because it finally…
Clicks.
"... Jaune?"
"Professor Qrow?!"
The initial shock passes quickly, shifting into outright elation on both your and Qrow's parts.
"Heya, Nosebleed!" he says, reaching down for a moment to ruffle your hair, only then realising that you've, ah, caught up to him. "Oh, Brothers, you finally start eating something other than Pumpkin Pete's?"
You playfully bat away his hand as you try to straighten yourself a little, trying to eke out even another quarter-inch on him.
"Hey, I told you that growth spurt was coming any day, you walking definition of a bad influence!"
Qrow just laughs, and you get the feeling that this is probably the first time in a long while he's had something to laugh about, because it sounds… unused.
The two of you stand there in a now much more comfortable silence for a moment, all tension from before all but forgotten at meeting one of the coolest teachers you've ever had again.
"... So," he starts after a moment. "You finally made it, huh?"
"Yeah. It's… weird," you admit, "but it's good to be here."
He smirks, clapping you on the shoulder in congratulation.
"Told ya you'd do it, kid."
You smile back at him, your eyes suddenly hot enough to force you to stay silent for a moment while you compose yourself.
After the moment passes, Qrow frowns, eyes narrowing in confusion, as everything wrong with this situation finally occurs to him.
"... Jaune, why are you visiting Headmaster Ozpin, after school hours, on your second day of term?"
And just like that, the good mood is gone, replaced with the sudden recollection of why you're here.
"That's…"
You hesitate for a moment. Qrow's someone you trust, hell, you'd even call him a friend, for the most part, but you're pretty sure you shouldn't just go telling people willy-nilly about the whole weird soul thing.
{Like you did your teammates? Including Creme, the girl who very nearly worked her way into a stress ulcer keeping a relatively much tamer secret to herself?}
… Look, do as you say, not as you do-
"... He wants to talk to me about some things. Things I, er, don't know if I can share with you."
To your, not entirely surprise, Qrow just snorts, grinning at you.
"Kid, why do you think I left Signal?"
You blink, just as realisation dawns on you. Why else would Qrow, be here? In Beacon, in the lift up to Ozpin's office, if he didn't-
Gods, you are an idiot.
The revelation must be clear in your face, because Qrow just chuckles, shaking his head.
"I've been working as one of Ozpin's goons for about… three, four years now? At first, it was just little things, go here, do this, tell this person what that one said, put this bullet in that Grimm- but eventually, his missions got complex enough that I had to give up teaching at Signal just to keep up. So- yeah, you can tell me."
{All truthful.}
… That's a fair explanation, especially when it's also the truth.
"... Ozpin broke my sword with unintentional magic after it tried to figure out what's up with his soul, because it's so incredibly dense that it could barely scratch the surface. Now he wants to talk to me and I've only just rid myself of the idea that this is just a way to get me on my own so I can disappear."
The following silence is deafening.
"... Yeah, that'd do it..." Qrow mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck. "Er… well, the best I can say is-"
-ding ding-
You're there already?
Qrow smiles wide, whatever he was about to say suddenly lost in excitement on par with a child waking up on their birthday.
"Pay attention, kiddo- you only see this view for the first time once," he says when he sees your questioning glance.
You glance around, frowning as you try to figure out what he's talking about because there are no windows in here, but then you realise- every side of the lift is glass. The brass metal surrounding you on all sides has just been burnished and smoothed to within a few micrometres of atomic perfection. If it weren't for the slight shadows at the edges, you doubt you'd ever have noticed if you weren't clued in on it.
A moment later, as the metal suddenly turns to glass, you understand why.
The clouds are below you.
The sun sits low on the horizon, slowly burning from orange to red, turning the underside of the low sheet of cumulus that had been marching its way across the sky for most of the day into a deep, almost angry crimson, the top left grey as the light failed to filter through.
Like burning coals, ready to be raked across.
Whatever you are about to say dies an ignoble death on your lips, just… not important in the face of such a sight.
Qrow is silent as well, watching your reactions with some concern. He smiles again, but it's less certain this time.
"Jaune, he's not gonna bite your head off," he says, but his heart isn't in it, really.
"It's not that, Qrow. There's… things have changed. Things have changed a lot for me, in a very short time, and I'll need Ozpin's help to make any use of it without angering, most of the Kingdoms into declaring me a terrorist, and probably Ozpin himself. I'm… still not sure which of those scares me more."
Qrow's lips move silently for a moment, before he glances at 01, quietly nuzzled in the crook of your neck, underneath your hair- you should probably see a barber at some point if it's getting long enough to hide a whole Cell- its single red eye staring out at him from behind blond locks.
"... It… got anything to do with that thing hiding in your hair?"
You tilt your head forward and shake it a little, pulling the hair away from 01, who chirps in surprise at being exposed so suddenly.
"Say hello to Professor Qrow, 01," you tell the little Cell with a smile.
01 moves out onto your shoulder proper, still staring at Qrow the entire time.
"Hello," it says, lacking a little bit of its usual cheer.
Qrow stares at it for a moment, his confusion not budging in the slightest.
"... I don't get it," he admits after a few seconds of silently staring at it. "It's cute, sure, but… what is it?"
"It's a Cell unit of the Process, and… were you, around, for Initiation?"
"I wasn't, but I saw the footage, and- I think I know where this is going and I don't know if I like it."
Before you can confirm or deny his suspicions, the slow pull on your stomach stops, and the lift gently dings again, signalling your arrival. Once the motors stop and the doors open, the first thing you notice is the ticking.
Tick, tick, tickticktick like hearing every gear in a clock click clock click- god you hope you get used to that click- QUICK.
{Do you want some noise-cancelling?}
You'll be fine, you think. Qrow steps out into the entrance hall first, slowly walking off in almost a daze, pulling a depressingly familiar flask out from his vest and taking a pull from it before finally shaking himself free of his stupor.
Walking out after him, you realise this isn't an entrance hall- it's Ozpin's office. Along the whole back wall proper is a set of four lifts, though you've no idea where the others lead to, underneath pillar-supported overhang.
The rest of the office, somehow manages to look even weirder than that.
Past the thick carpet of the entrance, the entire ceiling is glass- leading into the ticking interior of Beacon's clocktower, you realise, looking into the movement of Beacon's clocktower, its gears and pulleys working with loud clicks and grinds, a sort of constant grey noise in the back of your head.
… Now that you're used to it, it's actually somewhat relaxing.
{Glad to see your misophonia is under control.}
Quiet, you.
The floor is carved stone, A large circle of slightly green stone bordering something so dark it could swallow you up and you wouldn't be surprised- all polished to within an inch of its life.
At the other end of the room in front of the window wall are Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch, respectively sitting at and flanking a wide glass desk, filled with more gears, silently ticking along.
{... Well. Can't say the guy doesn't own his aesthetic.}
Ozpin looks up from his paperwork, and smiles brightly at your arrival.
"Mr Arc- and Qrow. I must say, I didn't expect both of you to turn up at the same time."
"Oz," Qrow grunts, "you mind telling me when you were gonna tell me that that 'second sunrise' bull the Dispatch was raving about a couple days back was one of my old students?"
"In a perfect world, after I'd already talked to the student in question," Ozpin says, not missing a beat.
"I-I can come back later, if you'd like," you offer, since you've obviously walked into a much more important conversation.
"No need- my meeting with Qrow was just to be a status update and a new mission assignment. It can wait. Now, please, sit, both of you."
Shuffling forward, you take the seat on the left, while Qrow twists the chair on the right, leaning his head on the back of the seat. A moment passes like that in silence, you and Ozpin and Qrow and Goodwitch all just sitting or standing there, too awkward or out of the loop to say anything.
"... I believe… I owe you something of an apology, Jaune," Ozpin starts hesitantly after a moment. "I understand that most of your tribulations during Initiation can be traced back to my own actions on the cliffside- I left you without your primary weapon and medical assistance for most of the day afterwards, and I cannot begin to articulate my regret in forcing you to do that."
… Not… the opening you expected, that's for sure.
"I think the Transistor has something to say to you as well."
Ozpin raises an eyebrow, and you wave at your sword, bringing it forward, settling between you and Qrow, its unblinking red eye pointed directly towards Ozpin.
"{... We're sorry. We admit that we should have found a better way of getting your attention than attempting to use an untested Function to ping your soul. Our paranoia got the better of us, and we didn't think of what it could actually do to you before it was too late.}"
Qrow jumps back a little, head snapping to your sword as he bites back a curse- Goodwitch and Ozpin are much more subdued, having seen your sword do much worse than talk, but there is still a muted surprise in their reactions- Ozpin's eyes widen just a fraction, while Goodwitch restrains herself to a slight intake of breath.
"... And… you are?" he asks hesitantly.
"{My name is Blue. I'm the social diagnostics partition of the Transistor- the face, if you will. My, er, partner, Bracket, is a little shy, so I'll probably be who you're talking to for most of tonight.}"
Ozpin sits quietly, digesting that information for a moment, before smiling lightly.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Blue. I can't help but feel the need to apologise more deeply, knowing my actions affected a sapient being as unique as you and Bracket."
"{And we, you. So, uh, how is this going to work? I think we all have a lot of information to share.}"
"I believe a simple quid pro quo will suffice. We both have questions to ask, and we both have information to share. As we continue, we will hopefully stumble across our more salient points naturally, rather than to explain it all and overwhelm each other."
You nod, accepting his explanation.
"Well, Mr Arc? The floor is yours."
The 2 most voted questions will be asked within the first salvo- you may vote for as many as you like. Please keep write-ins to questions about Ozpin, magic, Salem, the actual, high-concept stuff- you'll get a chance to talk about Ada, or Blake, or who or whatever else you want to talk about after the big stuff's been placed on the table.
[] "What is magic? And how did it break the Transistor so badly?"
[] "Why is your soul so different from a baseline human's?"
[] "What do you need goons like Qrow for? His phrasing, not mine."
[] "I have reason to believe that it's not impossible for the Transistor to create its own soul. The thing that told us about this is dead now, but I wouldn't say no to a second, sane opinion on it."
[] Write-In
And how do you intend to answer his own questions?
[] Honestly- You're not hiding anything. This is not the time for that. You'll tell him just about everything he wants to know, and then some.
[] Measuredly- You're still not sure you trust Ozpin. Maybe it's paranoia, but on an objective level, you still have no idea how he'll react to anything- so… keep a few cards close to your chest. Just so you can have them for later.
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