[X] Take the form of the Stranger and explain about how you met your Killer/Betrayer/Destined Adversary/ Savior/ that Stranger. Hint at something more.
You look at Glynda more closely that you ever did, judging in your heart how you will explain your seeming contradictions. You arrive to the conclusion that you will let her see a glimpse of your entire story, in a way that will almost certainly leave her with more questions for a time, but that will leave her with more pieces of the puzzle. This done, you nod to yourself and begin with a slight warning:
"Glynda, I'm willing to explain more of my history to you, but the best way I have will leave you a little disoriented by the end. You should sit down."
She considers you a moment, to see if you are serious, then do as you asked. As soon as she is ready, you change into the Stranger for the first time in this world. Your departure from the more normally humanoid forms you take seems to interest her, but she is still waiting for you to begin.
So you do, from a moment to the next, reality fractures, and when once you were five in one body, there are now five of you in front of five different Glynda. Every single one as real as the others, every single one at the same place and time, but none of them the same.
The first one of you is clad in white form head to toe. Her movements ethereal and her face painted so as to resemble a skull.
The second one is clad in pink. She is visibly excited and smiling as if everyday was the best day in her life.
The third one is clad in green. Sitting down with her hands on a blade, not willing to let go.
The fourth one is clad in Orange. She is taller than you are normally, with more muscle mass. She seems ready to fight at any moment.
The fifth and last one is unstable. Her dress changing hue at all times. Her mannerisms looking like one of the four other one moment, then another the next.
You barely let Glynda open her mouth, probably to ask what you are doing, when you begin your tales. Each reality speaking at the same time, each reality telling how you got one of your five gifts.
"The first time I met my Killer/Rescuer/Betrayer/Destined Adversary/The man that didn't come, I was stuck in the basement of a cabin in the woods for a long time. I didn't know anything of the outside world. I didn't even know if it existed. My whole world was the shackle on my wrist and the stone walls with a tiny window to let starlight in. Then he came and Simply killed me without word/Cut me out, before something took control of him and forced me to kill him with his own blade/Decided to talk with me and pretended to rescue me before stabbing me in the back/Began trying to kill me. Then hesitated by asking if we could talk before continuing, leading to a mutual kill/Nobody came, I was alone until the end, not even aware of my own existence. Then, the world reset, and I was back in the basement of the cabin. A different one, changed by his perspective of me."
Glynda is looking at you with wide eyes, you can see how her movements are uncoordinated, one of her beginning something but another finishing it. Still, you continue.
"The second time I met him, he was seeing me as a Person that was already dead, making me a Spectre/Damsel he had to help/Witch that would do anything to leave the cabin/Worthy Adversary/Stranger, that could be anything. When he came to me, we talked about Why he killed me/How he would rescue me/How he regretted what he had done, and told me he was controlled by another/Some things or others, I have no idea why he wanted to talk instead of fighting like we were supposed to/Lots of things, with him telling that every questions he asked made a new me for some reason."
It seems Glynda has resigned herself to not being able to be as coordinated as she wants, and is listening attentively now. Good, you are reaching some of the most important parts.
"But talking was never going to lead to the end of our journey, so we stopped talking. Then, he Let me possess him so we could leave the cabin together/Removed my small and delicate hand from the shackle easily. He asked some questions about what would make me happy before stopping fast. We began walking towards the cabin door together after that/Gave me his Pristine Blade. When I approached him to ask what he thought would come next, he told me I was beautiful. I stabbed him in the heart and he let me do it/Tried to flee. I had to corner him before fighting, and even then, he barely offered resistance/Did everything he could do at once, reality crashing around us in response."
At that, the first two of you say the same thing: "Then we left the cabin, and a piece of me rejoined my true self, making us one step closer to our awakening. The cycle began anew to create new perspectives that I could claim."
At the same time, the third and fourth say this: "Then the world reset once again. And once again, I was in a new basement."
The fifth smiles at Glynda while saying her part: "And at last I was complete, the perspectives I hadn't yet seen joining me on their own. Me and my other half talked. I wanted to leave as we were, he proposed an alternative. You know the rest, as he convinced me and we went to Vale right after."
Their pieces said, all the yous other than the third and fourth fall silent. Those two continuing with the end of their own journey.
"When we met for the third time, my love was seeing me as A problem he would have to thread the Eye of the Needle to solve/A woman beset by the Thorns of her own thoughts, hurt and needing help, still clutching the blade she had killed him with. Our final encounter was short but full of meaning. He Baited me outside, and used his better speed to beat me once and for all/Talked with me until we reached an understanding. I gave him his blade and he cut me out. We kissed, then walked outside hand in hand."
You take a final breath, and finally reach the end of your explanation.
"Our journey finished, a piece of me joined my true self and the cycle began anew."
Now that your work is done, you let reality collapse in one once again. You are five in one body once more, and Glynda is recovering in front of you. You let her, she will have questions, and you, answers.
"That… definitely was a thing. You do know this put into question everything about what you told to become a teacher here, right? Does Ozpin know about this?" She says after a little time.
"Ozpin knows this, and more. We showed him our full self." You ponder on revealing more for a moment, then decide that she will likely deduce it herself anyway. "Of all the persons we have met, he is the only one we think can take it easily. Our meeting with his confidants earlier wasn't because we showed promise and he wanted to introduce a potential new ally you could turn to. It was because we divined his true age, and he wanted to introduce us to those he trusted with it. His experience gave him the perspective to understand our whole being."
"You make it sound as if seeing your entire self would drive me insane or destroy me." She skeptically answers.
You simply rise an eyebrow on all your faces and add: "Are you not still recovering from our story? This form is but a shadow of the whole. We are so much bigger than it."
"That much worse?" She pales and nods. "Ok, point taken. Now, I have an important question for your future here. I get Ozpin trust you, but you just told me you never learned psychology, why shouldn't I expulse you right now? Your whole identity is a lie." She looks you in the eyes at this, waiting for an answer.
"But Stella Panoply is real. You and the students made her so."
"What do you mean by that? This whole past is not real, you just told me that… wait… made her so? The stories you told had you become what Sable thought you were, does it mean?"
You smile at her. "Exactly. We never learned to fight. Sable thought we could so we did. In the same way, you thought our story was true, so it was."
You turn back into Stella at that to make your point.
"I am what you thought I was. I even have the memories of it. My qualifications are real, even if they didn't happen. There is, however, a very important point I have to add about my changes: When I was in the cabin, I had no control at all. The vessels my love met had empty minds, always changing from moment to moment based on what he thought. I am whole now, and able to direct it at least partially. I can keep taking a form that is not the one people think I am., as evidenced by my use of it right before. I want to be Stella Panoply, I will keep being her. And even if I stop being her at some point, it is likely I will return to her form in the future once the reason I stopped is past."
Before you or Glynda can continue to debate, you are cut by her yawing.
"I think this is enough for today, don't you agree? You need sleep." You jab at her.
"As much as I would like to disagree, you are right. Especially since there is an important information we didn't have time to give you before. There will be a raid on the Grimm Fang tomorrow. One of the few things I managed to get from Blake was the place they made their camp in. We already sent some of our best scouts, but we will have to act fast." She stops and yawn once again. "I will want to talk more about you later. I didn't say it yet, but thank you for coming clean. Good night."
"Good night to you too, Glynda."
With that, you leave her and go back to your love to explain what happened. You make sure to recover mentally, you will need to be strong for Blake and the raid.
The next morning sees you quite busy. First you get a message from Ozpin telling about a CCT conference with Blake's parents at the beginning of the afternoon. He would like you to evaluate Blake's mental state before that.
So you do just that, when the girl finally awakens, you have a message for her asking if she can come to see you. She does shortly after. The next hours are simple questions about her feelings and other methods to break the ice and learn more about her.
You soon enter Ozpin's office with your love in tow. Glynda is already there and seems to have recovered from the night. You wait in comfortable silence for the Belladonna's.
When the conference call begins, your first impression is that it is of lesser quality than one with any of the four kingdoms. A consequence of the worse coverage by the CCT on Menagerie. Then you look at the ones in it, and they both seem exhausted but hopeful.
"Now that everyone is there, we can begin the conference. Ghira and Kali Belladonna, these two." Ozpin indicated you and Sable. "Are two future teachers at Beacon, Stella Panoply and Sable Vault. They are there mostly because of Stella, who is going to be our new counselor starting next year and just finished talking with Blake."
"How is she? Is our daughter well?" Kali cuts Ozpin. "Please, we need to know, we haven't had any news for years."
"Slow down dear, I'm sure she was going to tell us." Ghira reassures his wife. Putting a hand on her shoulder in comfort.
You smile at them while getting closer to Sable. "Your husband is right, Miss Belladona. I was going to tell you." You begin in a reassuring tone. Then, you turn serious. The news you have asking for a more professional attitude. "Now, Blake is obviously in a very bad state right now. She saw Adam Taurus as a savior and the man has spent the time he had with her to reenforce this impression. If it hadn't been for her hearing him talk about plans to increase his activities, including some parts she hasn't told about past that they made her begin doubting their cause. She wouldn't be there today. She has expressed a desire to be a huntress…."
"Absolutely not!" Kali interrupts. "We have already spent years fearing the worst, hearing that she is alive just to see her take such a dangerous profession is out of the question!"
"Miss Belladonna, calm down, I only said what she expressed. You don't have to fear this anyway. After a morning with her, I can tell you that while she probably has the fighting abilities, she doesn't have the strength of mind required. It is not that she is weak." You quickly add when you see Ghira begins opening his mouth angrily. "But that the recent events have sapped her self-confidence. Which is normal. Anyone would be this bad after spending years being mentally abused then being called a traitor and worthy of death by the man you loved when trying to leave. She spends most of her time blaming herself for not seeing the signs or for leaving, and most of the rest blaming herself for other things. The girl is currently a Grimm magnet, and I can't in good conscience have her join a team of first years that aren't ready for a constant stream of Grimm converging on their location everytime they go on a mission. Not to mention that she needs to get out of her constantly combat ready state, and Beacon is not a place where it is possible."
You look at Ghira and Kali all the while, making sure they see you as a professional. Your tone expresses no negative judgment of their daughter, just the conclusion that someone is in need of help.
"Besides." You continue to explain to the Belladonnas. "It is not as if becoming a huntress would help her actual goal anyway." You smile at them at that. "She said she wanted to be one because she wants to help the cause of Faunuskind. She can only think of this solution due to the control of information Adam had on her. But there is a better way right there, isn't it?" You indicate Kali at that. "You, are the leader of the White Fang." Then you turn to Ghira. "And you, are the chieftain of Menagerie. Both very important posts for this cause, and you are her parents. We will have to work on it, she fears that you hate her for what she did…."
"We would never!" For once, it is Ghira who talks over you.
"…Because Adam wanted her to be alienated from you." You continue without even acknowledging the interruption. "With some time to prove that wrong, and her consent, of course. I am sure that she will come back to you to learn to be in truth what Adam was telling her he was."
You come to a resting position after this, clearly indicating that you are finished and someone else can take the stage. You can feel your love's body heat next to you, as always. You don't have to look to know he is proud of you, right before you left the cabin, you wouldn't even have been able to really see mortals as individuals with needs. Now you are there, helping a pair of parents potentially reconnect with their long-lost child. Ozpin is inscrutable as ever when it comes to normal senses, but the impression of you he has is also one of pride, a being that wants to understand mortals instead of dismissing them like the gods he knew. Glynda is analyzing you from her place at Ozpin's side. No doubts thinking on what you said last night. As for the Belladonnas, it is almost as if years were just removed from them.
Slowly, haltingly, they ask other questions about the daughter they haven't seen in years. How she was found, what she told about Adam, the glimpses of her life in the Grimm Fang's camp you can give without betraying her trust. Glynda offers her own insights when necessary, and Ozpin and Sable are content to look.
More than an hour later, the greatly reassured Belladonnas say their goodbyes and leave the call.
You take a little time to take your bearings, while Ozpin calls in the rest of those that will go to the raid that will soon happen.
You will be with Glynda with the goal of luring Adam out and helping her not be overwhelmed by numbers. Ozpin expects Adam to want to dispatch Glynda personally, but to know that she is stronger than he can take on alone based on their recent fight, hence your presence. Everyone is strongly reminded that most of the Grimm Fang is made up of people who were victims of manipulation by the leader. If possible, you should make sure they stay alive so that Menagerie can take them to judge them themselves. As they are their compatriots.
In what form will you do this?
[] The Eye of the Needle. You will have to hold yourself back a lot, but you will be a giant distraction that can't be ignored.
[] The Stranger. Given the number of targets, multitasking will help.
[] The Specter. No non-lethal offensive abilities, but plenty of distraction potential.
Write-ins allowed, within reason, no Damsel here, and your five gifts will have strong priority. If the form that most voted is not one of them, I will go to the next if it doesn't have a vast majority and repeat till I get one of those.
A/N:
Blake will probably still have some work shown on screen with you before she leaves. Not entirely sure.
The part about her dream of being a huntress not actually helping her goal is born of my personal belief. Though season one actually contains a part where it is pointed out, at Glenn, when she is asked why she choose that path, she is unable to give a satisfactory answer. I have to admit it stuck with me.
Why would becoming a huntress help her help Faunuskind actually? They're heroes, don't take me wrong, but racism won't be beaten by a single person beating monsters. If it worked like that, it would already have disappeared long ago, it's not like Blake is the first or only Faunus Huntress. She might benefit from becoming headmaster of an academy, but then again, Haven already has a Faunus as the headmaster. While the guy is a coward, his position still led to absolutely nothing, Mistral is as much if not more racist than Atlas. Meanwhile, well, the white fang's right there, they are already working on exactly that problem, and she has links to it. It makes way more sense for her to go there to actually help. It's even more true here than in canon, as the White Fang is not the bad terrorist antagonist of canon.
Don't worry too much about losing here, there are enough of Beacon's teachers present for that to be basically impossible. Most of the vote is about what form you want to see fight.
Please don't go as the base form again? It was interesting and all and made sense, but I want to write something else this time. Thanks. (Going as Stella Panoply is officially vetoed in fact.)
Hm, we could vote for going as the Adversary instead of the full Eye, perhaps? Being an intermediate form should mean it wouldn't be too hard to go with, and could always be scaled up to the Eye if needed.
I want to go with spectre, a ghost of a human, haunting terrorists would while the Sable Vault turns into a vaguely bird-shaped blender to hunt them down.
[X] The Specter. No non-lethal offensive abilities, but plenty of distraction potential.
[X] The Stranger. Given the number of targets, multitasking will help.
Hm, we could vote for going as the Adversary instead of the full Eye, perhaps? Being an intermediate form should mean it wouldn't be too hard to go with, and could always be scaled up to the Eye if needed.
Available, not as easy as one of your gifts, but easier than most others.
This is also true of the Witch.
Basically, since these two are forms that you didn't keep to the end but did have for a time, that makes them closer to the surface of what you can take. But they are not ones the Princess would prefer as base.
I kind of like The Adversary here. She is a good mix of offensive power and restraint. Or, well, she lacks the pure power of the Eye. So it should be easier not to have this turn into a bloodbath unless desired.
Then again, being Glynda's support means Specter and Stranger would work wonders to keep attention off her. Adversary is more of a battle buddy than an actual distraction.
Eye is so big and likely to scream at full volume she will allows Glynda to practice Malfean Stealth. (Which means, *they can't see you if they're blinded by the giant explosion!* kind of Stealth.)
But there is a better way right there, isn't it?" You indicate Kali at that. "You, are the leader of the White Fang." Then you turn to Ghira. "And you, are the chieftain of Menagerie.
Is this an AU and I missed it? I thought the entire impetus for Blake splitting from her parents was Siennas takeover, that she wanted to stick with it when they didn't?
Is this an AU and I missed it? I thought the entire impetus for Blake splitting from her parents was Siennas takeover, that she wanted to stick with it when they didn't?
This close contact with them also allows you to learn about some parts of the history of Remnant you didn't know about. You learn of the White Fang and the Red Fang, two related organizations for the defense of Faunus across the world. You learn of Menagerie, formerly a place used to send *dissidents* (in actuality unwanted Faunus) that recently was taken back by said dissidents to form a new kingdom where Human and Faunus are equal. There is apparently a movement to change the name of the place in the works.
The White Fang, led by Kali Belladona after her husband left the post to concentrate his time on his role as chieftain of Menagerie, is a nonviolent organization that organizes protests, boycotts and meetings with politicians to help the progress of equality.
The Red Fang, led by Sienna Khan, is a more violent organization that works in close cooperation with the White Fang and Menagerie to directly attack the most racist places in the world, in the interest of protecting Faunus against their oppressors. They are particularly disliked by the Schnee Dust Company, who condemn them as terrorists., due to the number of *allegedly not slaves* they have freed over the years.
You also frequently hear words of an *Adam Taurus*, who the most racist members of the force think is Red Fang but all of the tolerant ones, as well as all of the Faunus you ask, tell you is actually being investigated by Menagerie and the Red Fang for several kidnappings, acts of terrorism, and several other crimes, including against Faunus. From what you gather he is the head of a cult named *Grimm Fang*, after the Grimm masks they use. The last sighting of him places him in the vicinity of Vale.
Blake didn't leave due to Sienna's takeover there, as there was no takeover.
She was convinced by Adam that she should follow him to his new group that would save the Faunuses instead.
Of course, it actually was a sect with a cult of personality around him, and a tendency to attack Faunus *traitors* which is everyone Adam doesn't approve of, and he's not tolerant.
Blake becoming a huntress actually makes sense. She was disappointed in the White Fang, but this does not mean that she immediately accepted the point of view of her parents, so she could not simply return. It makes sense for her to seek both personal power and reputation to be able to advance her vision, even if she is not yet sure what it is. After all, hunters have a significant reputation, people are more likely to trust them and listen to their words, both humans and fauns. Of course, this will not solve the problem in itself, but it will provide more opportunities for solving the problem.
It wasn't necessarily the only or best path to Blake's goal, but it wasn't a stupid or illogical choice.
[X] The Specter. No non-lethal offensive abilities, but plenty of distraction potential.
This will cause funny reactions and is a valuable asset when working in a team.
[X] The Stranger. Given the number of targets, multitasking will help.
How easily can we reject or accept changes? If we used, say, the Adversary, but wore a Grimm Fang mask, could we influence them into thinking we're a traitor, thereby gaining knowledge of their tactics and weaknesses? Or would the presence and perceptions of our allies preclude such? Or would the Grimm Fang be too small for such an unrecognized traitor to be believed?
Mostly I'm just spitballing ways to rack up new forms.
How easily can we reject or accept changes? If we used, say, the Adversary, but wore a Grimm Fang mask, could we influence them into thinking we're a traitor, thereby gaining knowledge of their tactics and weaknesses? Or would the presence and perceptions of our allies preclude such? Or would the Grimm Fang be too small for such an unrecognized traitor to be believed?
Mostly I'm just spitballing ways to rack up new forms.
Organization is too small, plus you will come in with a significant number of Beacon Teachers who know you as Stella Panoply anyway.
Fully taking new forms is too long/too involved a process too. If I allowed every single little thing to give you one, you would get one each update, and that would quickly get more annoying than anything.
If you want a truly new form, and not a continuation of The Huntress, your best bet would be to go to some place you aren't known in, and act completely differently than Stella does.
The process is not set in stone, I do it by feels, because it is done by feel in universe and because I work like that anyway. Most of my calculations are in the background in my mind.
So what's the general skills of the Stranger, Adversary, and Spectre?
Of the three, Adversary seems the most "normal" so Stella can fly under the radar. But she doesn't need to do that, she can pick whatever form is good for the situation and feels good to her. And the Adversary is the least distracting, perhaps the most "boring" partner in combat. The Stranger may reveal some non-human nature, the Spectre would straight up show that she has some workarounds around death.
Idk if Salem is keeping tabs on the teachers of Beacon but Stella could get on her radar.... that actually sounds funny.
Stranger is multitasking. Five actions at the same time. She is also more adaptable, the forms can be different, not as much as a true new form, but they can have a different fighting style and even a weapon.
Adversary is brute force, wants to fight, really don't like holding back. To note, she does prefer fights to the death, and consider the concept of a spar boring. As you didn't finish on that path, you do not have the *The Princess cannot die* effect that can be obtained in her route (but finishes it on her). She is very simple in how she works otherwise.
The Eye, that is the form you do have as a gift, not the Adversary, that is only the way to her, is basically Adversary 2.0. Stronger, bigger, faster, Berserkerer. She is unmatched in pure physical strength, but is even worse when it comes to wanting a fight to the death.
Spectre technically is very lethal, as she can directly remove organs from people. Problem is, you don't want lethal here, so she has to rely on the fact she cannot be hurt at all to distract people. She also can do possessions, but only if they consent, making it worthless against ennemies. Since the game has the Long quiet act as if he was under a lot of weight when it happens, I don't think it would make a good tactic with allies too.
Of the three, Adversary seems the most "normal" so Stella can fly under the radar. But she doesn't need to do that, she can pick whatever form is good for the situation and feels good to her. And the Adversary is the least distracting, perhaps the most "boring" partner in combat. The Stranger may reveal some non-human nature, the Spectre would straight up show that she has some workarounds around death.
Frankly, given how strange Semblances can get, most of your allies would react to any one of those with a shrug and a *Semblances, what can you do?* reaction.
Stranger? Well, she clearly has multiple personality disorder, case closed. (this isn't even completely false at that.)
Eye of the Needle? Oh, great, another berserker Semblance, must be a day that ends in Y.
Spectre? Ok, that one is a little strange, but that's clearly astral projection, ghosts don't exists.
Some of the most interesting reactions you could've had to individual forms are dependent on ones that weren't chosen at the start, and thus more difficult to use.
Nightmare and moment of Clarity in particular would get some double takes.
Tower would make some people uncomfortable.
You strangeness is less in individual forms, but in the fact that you have all of those, and that you can develop new ones in some conditions. Glynda is barely scratching the surface with your last confession, and she is already beginning to wonder about the fact that you all but told her you can do anything as long as people believe you can.
Spectre technically is very lethal, as she can directly remove organs from people. Problem is, you don't want lethal here, so she has to rely on the fact she cannot be hurt at all to distract people.
She is a woman after their hearts, accept no compromise.
The way she does it is by planting her hand in you then solidifying once there, it is very, very easy to end up getting their brain if you tried their wisdom teeth, and that's before you take into account the possibility of internal bleeding.
She also has the *problem* that she completely ignore aura, and people tend to use aura breaking as an indicator of when to skedaddle in this world, so she removes that too.
[X] The Stranger. Given the number of targets, multitasking will help.
I guess if she went Specter... Easy peasy she removes people's feet/heels, or cuts their achilles tendons if she's precise? If people can't even walk or run anymore.. That could work. There's no vital organs at the feet although I think there must be arteries around there.
She is a woman after their hearts, accept no compromise.
The way she does it is by planting her hand in you then solidifying once there, it is very, very easy to end up getting their brain if you tried their wisdom teeth, and that's before you take into account the possibility of internal bleeding.
She also has the *problem* that she completely ignore aura, and people tend to use aura breaking as an indicator of when to skedaddle in this world, so she removes that too.
Soo is it actually good for the Grimm Fang fighters to run away (if they're capable of it after the Spectre solidifies in them), or be captured and sent to Menagerie? I think the less forces they have the better.
As you didn't finish on that path, you do not have the *The Princess cannot die* effect that can be obtained in her route (but finishes it on her). She is very simple in how she works otherwise.
This is why I was sad when I saw that we got the Eye instead of the Adversary when I found this quest. LQ and Adversary in an endless fight as immortals is one of my favorite endings, and I always prefer that to the Eye endings.
[X] The Eye of the Needle. You will have to hold yourself back a lot, but you will be a giant distraction that can't be ignored.
[X] The Adversary
[X] The Eye of the Needle. You will have to hold yourself back a lot, but you will be a giant distraction that can't be ignored.
Is this the right tool for the job? Probably not, but we've spent too long not turning into a giant dragon lady and much like the Eye herself, I am tired of waiting.
