What Happens Next (Slay The Princess/RWBY)

[Evaunit02mark1]

[X] As you are now. (will it be enough?)
-[X] First, introductions are in order. They were told your name, it is only proper manners that these prospective students of yours give you their own. Use your authoritative presence and emphasis on referring to them as students to give a strong impression of the experienced Grimm fighting teacher you're acting as.
-[X] Stand your ground, seemingly unconcerned as you invite the biggest looking one to strike the first blow against you. Then do everything you can to dodge his attack while making it look effortless. Once you've made them think you outclass them, you've won. Take them out one by one while using your improved expertise to give critiques and advice on their performance.

The first act is always a base form fight, it's only after the first exchange do you break out the transformations.

There are rules you see.

 

[Nyarky]

You can only gain so much fresh perspectives from the endless repeating loop after all.

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That is, in fact, a plot point that leads to one slightly hidden ending.

For those that don't know, as long as you haven't yet met the Shifting mound by finishing a path, you can turn away in Chapter II, that will have you end up in the Long Quiet where the Shifting mound tries to take her vessel... and ends up with you instead.

She tells you that you should not do that and that this thread is gone, then send you back to Chapter I, if you continue doing the same thing of leaving at Chapter II, she will go through the five stages of grief and reveal that there is only so much thread to be woven in this place, urging you to stop as doing it too much will make your escape impossible.

Do it five times, and you get the ending *Just as you once were nothing*, stuck in the construct with the shifting mound for eternity.

The question I am asking myself is more if you will gain separate new vessels from the interactions, or if it will make you a new sorta default vessel you will be in normally, as in, you would be Stella Panoply, former huntress in *truth* as a default.

 

[Kornuptiko]

[X] As you are now. (will it be enough?)

any new perspective should have MASSIVE meaning behind it. be it because a LOT of people see you that way and/or someone really powerful (multiple Ozpin powerful?), or a mixture of them both.

I believe the fall of Vale would be a prime location for a new perspective depending on the path we take

 

[kaillll]

Very likely, To me, the shifting mount changes quickly because the environment is controlled and that she can only get her perspectives from one person.
In this reality where more than one person can give perspectives, if enough people believe that this new role she is having is her, she might just get a new one.
It is what the people of this world sees from her, It is perspectives inprinting onto the shifting mount.

 

[Evaunit02mark1]

The question I am asking myself is more if you will gain separate new vessels from the interactions, or if it will make you a new sorta default vessel you will be in normally, as in, you would be Stella Panoply, former huntress in *truth* as a default.

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Well to be entirely fair are we not?

As far as I can tell our true form is the Shifting Mound who's main truth is that there is no main truth. So long as we chose for Stella Panoply to be our default that is our default.

It's no more true than any other form was. No, on reflection it is more true if only because it's a truth the Shifting Mound has chosen for herself (if only because she was goaded by her lover) instead of one forced upon her by circumstances beyond her control.

If anything it's a sign of her freedom, clothing chosen (and picked by her lover no less) instead of rags forced upon her from lack of material.

 

[Nyarky]

And these last comments are exactly why I asked, more heads give fresh perspectives (hey) and more ideas!

You definitely are more stable than in the Construct right now, combination of having more directions you are pushed in simultaneously, and the you in the cabin at the heart being more stable than the whole of the Shifting Mound.

One thing:

I believe the fall of Vale

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If it happens, I am not one for *station of canon* and you are perfectly allowed to throw canon out of a cannon if you find a way to.

Just do it IC, no metaknowledge, and you can shank Cinder before she does anything all you want.

 

[kaillll]

Shank her is too easy...
How about a lie?
After all, we have the specter.
We just need her to agree.
No need to tell the truth.

 

[Kornuptiko]

If it happens, I am not one for *station of canon* and you are perfectly allowed to throw canon out of a cannon if you find a way to.

Just do it IC, no metaknowledge, and you can shank Cinder before she does anything all you want.

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its your right as a fanfic writer to throw out canon.
I was talking in the hypothetical. "IF the fall were to happen, it COULD be a prime location" would be more clear in that regard.

Shank her is too easy...
How about a lie?
After all, we have the specter.
We just need her to agree.
No need to tell the truth.

Click to shrink...

that's the way it iiiis~ (sorry, the way you wrote your comment brought "if you wanna be my lover" to my mind)

 

[Nyarky]

its your right as a fanfic writer to throw out canon.
I was talking in the hypothetical. "IF the fall were to happen, it COULD be a prime location" would be more clear in that regard.

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I did think you probably were telling in that vein, and my comment was to make it explicit.

Sorry if I sounded offensive doing it.

Part of it is that I would love it if more fanfic writers followed that philosophy, I read lots of worms' fanfics, and some of the recurring problems in the fandom are readers telling *but how will the last big bad be killed without the exact set of circumstances that happened in canon?* without seeing that it is an arbitrary restriction, and writers killing their fics with the resident story killers (Leviathan and the slaughterhouse nine) because *they came to Brockton Bay in canon, they have to come here too, right?*.

I now tend to stop reading fics that make choochoo noises as a result.

 

[Evaunit02mark1]

I now tend to stop reading fics that make choochoo noises as a result.

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It's a fair criticism.

Honestly it's kinda the problem a lot of fanfiction has in more "action" oriented settings because the big bad usually can't be taken out by any other means since they run on playground logic.

It's hard to claim the main character "won" if there's still a bunch of world killing assholes running around and it's hard for them to not be because they're world killing assholes running on "infinity plus 1 armor" bullshit.

The only way to do it is to narrow your scope, which works sometimes if the character themselves fit in a narrowed narrative.

Spider-man doesn't have to fist fight Galactus with the Infinity Gauntlet because the Fantastic Four and Avengers are around, and they don't have to deal with the Goblin because Spider-man handles that sort of thing.

But if you're in a setting like worm Spider-man has to fight Galactus because the Avengers are too busy being the Illuminati and the Fantastic Four are all either dead or disbanded.

Of course this is all academic if the goal of the narrative isn't to "win" the setting but instead for the main character to achieve some other type of goal.

Sometimes it's enough to just save yourself, the world be damned.

 

[Nyarky]

The good stuff

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The approach you are telling about narrowing scope is indeed one that absolutely can work, and in fact can work even in worm.

If the author wants to do a street level fic without involving Scion, one advantage of the playground logic you told about is that you can say *and Scion also committed suicide in the background thanks to Eidolon or something* and you are in your right to do so.

For this fic (may as well return to on topic discussion), that means that you are not forced to confront Salem to *win*, you absolutely can, let's be honest, she is no god and well… you are. But if what you want is to live an uneventful life at Beacon teaching the new generations, you can, I doubt the voters will go that way, but you can. It will require stopping the fall of Beacon though.

Also, one thing I have remembered and wanted to say now before I forget:

@General_Hatvenom, you told that using the Stranger only with your own body made you think too much of Blake's semblance, so let me tell you that you don't have to worry about that, the two aren't working the same at all.

The main words that would be included in any fight where you use the Stranger to show how different it is from Blake's cloning are these: *Reality fractures in five*.

Of course, I am ok writing all the currently written plans, this is not so much an endorsement as it is correcting a potential misunderstanding.

 

[NaanContributor]

Well one advantage of choosing to act as teachers instead of joining the cast of main characters as peers, is that if we perform our role well, we don't have to feel as obligated to directly solve all of the setting's and incoming plot's problems ourselves. We can still get involved in different events if we want to and it makes sense IC (or if the butterflies we've caused necessitate it).

But otherwise the plucky band of teenage shounen protagonists who presumably would've saved the world without our interference are still around, and going to be mentored by us. We can just better prepare them for the trials to come, so they can get through it with fewer mistakes and losses than they otherwise would've.

 

[Nyarky]

You can also join the Ozluminati, or decide that Cinder is cool and work for her (doubt it, she sees herself as the smartest woman of the room and everyone else as stupid).

You also aren't forced to teach combat, when the time comes, I will have a vote between several things you can do. There are already ideas for it I planned for. How would you like to help with teamwork building, particularly in the domain of trust?

All in all, you have ways to develop right now.

 

[Archivist Grim]

I like this plan
[X] The Stranger, you are an unknown, a shadow of many things and could have beens. What could have been a great village is now a waste, and you are here to hopefully teach. Teach these young ones about strangers and unknown semblances. For Goodwitch, you are a huntress who taught, of course you have a strong semblance useful for teaching and fighting
-[X] Alpha Bitch: Manifest as a Purple Coco, alpha bitch vs alpha bitch, utilize her weaknesses against her
-[X] Broken Bird: Yatsuhashi in Yellow, if you start forgetting who you are, then that'll be best, you are a pitiful fake after all
-[X] Deadpan Snarker: Manifest as a Green Fox, he's already blind, let's make him deaf with snark
-[X] Nice Girl: Pink Version of Velvet, She likes copying others, lets see how she likes it
-[X] Token Evil Teammate: You look great in red, sneak in some good hits, seperate them, force them to fight as individuals

 

[Evaunit02mark1]

Cinder is cool and work for her (doubt it, she sees herself as the smartest woman of the room and everyone else as stupid)

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The Tower would literally step on her, and not in the fun way. ( I swear this game made me realize things about myself I am not exactly proud of...)

 

[Nyarky]

The Tower would literally step on her, and not in the fun way. ( I swear this game made me realize things about myself I am not exactly proud of...)

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The Tower would never sully her feet with such an undignified act, she is too good to walk on the floor, she is not going to step on anyone. She would just ask Cinder to kindly go bury herself, or something.

On the other hand, seeing Cinder meet someone with a god complex that not only makes hers seems puny, but also is justified would be hilarious.

But you don't have the Tower, maybe you can make her die of disgust at how saccharine you are as the Damsel?

Now, for all I like to do jokes about the Damsel's combat potential, or more exactly the lack of it, she is actually a great form when it comes to social, as well as a way to disarm enemies.

 

[Paloneia]

[X] As you are now. (will it be enough?)
-[X] First, introductions are in order. They were told your name, it is only proper manners that these prospective students of yours give you their own. Use your authoritative presence and emphasis on referring to them as students to give a strong impression of the experienced Grimm fighting teacher you're acting as.
-[X] Stand your ground, seemingly unconcerned as you invite the biggest looking one to strike the first blow against you. Then do everything you can to dodge his attack while making it look effortless. Once you've made them think you outclass them, you've won. Take them out one by one while using your improved expertise to give critiques and advice on their performance.

 

[Nyarky]

This is your 24H warning before I close the vote.

I am also using this post to point out that I am adding the RWBY AU tag after some reflection, as I do intend to make some changes to some of the problematic elements of canon (White Fang and Jaune are the most likely to be affected, White Fang because Canon is a horrible representation of a protest movement, and Jaune because I am sorry, but a guy asking *what is Aura?* when there is a tournament each year that shows it is public knowledge, as well as managing to somehow have his false documents pass scrutiny is absolutely nonsensical).

 

[Nyarky]

Adhoc vote count started by Nyarky on Dec 13, 2023 at 10:49 AM, finished with 34 posts and 9 votes.

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  5 people have voted

  [X] As you are now. (will it be enough?)
  -[X] First, introductions are in order. They were told your name, it is only proper manners that these prospective students of yours give you their own. Use your authoritative presence and emphasis on referring to them as students to give a strong impression of the experienced Grimm fighting teacher you're acting as.
  -[X] Stand your ground, seemingly unconcerned as you invite the biggest looking one to strike the first blow against you. Then do everything you can to dodge his attack while making it look effortless. Once you've made them think you outclass them, you've won. Take them out one by one while using your improved expertise to give critiques and advice on their performance.

  • NaanContributor
  • Lepidoptera
  • kaillll
  • Evaunit02mark1
  • Paloneia

  2 people have voted

  [X] The Stranger, you are an unknown, a shadow of many things and could have beens. What could have been a great village is now a waste, and you are here to hopefully teach. Teach these young ones about strangers and unknown semblances. For Goodwitch, you are a huntress who taught, of course you have a strong semblance useful for teaching and fighting
  -[X] Alpha Bitch: Manifest as a Purple Coco, alpha bitch vs alpha bitch, utilize her weaknesses against her
  -[X] Broken Bird: Yatsuhashi in Yellow, if you start forgetting who you are, then that'll be best, you are a pitiful fake after all
  -[X] Deadpan Snarker: Manifest as a Green Fox, he's already blind, let's make him deaf with snark
  -[X] Nice Girl: Pink Version of Velvet, She likes copying others, lets see how she likes it
  -[X] Token Evil Teammate: You look great in red, sneak in some good hits, seperate them, force them to fight as individuals

  • General_Hatvenom
  • Archivist Grim

  1 people have voted

  [X] "I reccomend you to surrender now, what comes next isn't going to be pretty." She laughs a truly dainty laugh, and reacts. If they choose to pursue the fight turn into the Eye of the Needle, and focus, on trying to cripple them, through two methods. One using our partner as a way to restrain ourselves not wanting to look terrible to our partner, and also through sadism, they can't suffer if they're dead after all. So simply pin them to a wall.

  • goable

  1 people have voted

  [X] As you are now. (will it be enough?)

  • Kornuptiko

And to the surprise of absolutely no one, you go fight as yourself.

On a slightly different note, how many of you imagine the Princess and Long Quiet as still being greyscale?

Because I'll admit, I do, and while her skin will have gained some colors from being out of the construct, I am going to say that your clothes are still grey, which some people may remark upon.

There was once a color war, after all.

 

[NaanContributor]

On a slightly different note, how many of you imagine the Princess and Long Quiet as still being greyscale?

Because I'll admit, I do, and while her skin will have gained some colors from being out of the construct, I am going to say that your clothes are still grey, which some people may remark upon.

There was once a color war, after all.

Click to shrink...

I mean, grey is still a valid color. Nobody made any comments about Mercury having a grey color scheme, so there shouldn't be any comparisons made between us and the bad guys of the Great War here either.

On the one hand, I'm pretty sure that the Narrator described color at least a couple times, even if it was just the red of blood. On the other hand, it did seem to be a purposeful visual choice to have the real world outside of the Construct be represented by psychedelic colors, in contrast to the pencil sketch art style of the rest of the game.

Honestly, a figure as changeable as the Princess feels like the color palette that she uses to express herself should be equally as shifting. Maybe her default form of Stella the Huntress can use neutral tones of gray and white, while each of her other aspects has different colors associated with them?

Thorn: Greens
Damsel: Pinks, obviously
Specter: Pale Blues
EotN: Reds
Stranger: Rainbow kaleidoscope

Maybe have white be the shared secondary color to give the set a unifying constant?

 

[Nyarky]

Snip

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Hmm, you are right nobody remarked on Mercury, though he has grey and black, where you have grey and grey and grey. Part of the remark would be on the fact you are unicolor, not even a secondary one.

The choice of having the only color in a world of grey, white and blacks be red is something I have already seen in othercide so I didn't think about it, it is there because it is the color of blood and that's it.

For the forms having their own colors, maybe?

The problem of white as a constant is that the Princess' garb is quite uniform in color, I don't see where I could put some white.

 

[NaanContributor]

The choice of having the only color in a world of grey, white and blacks be red is something I have already seen in othercide so I didn't think about it, it is there because it is the color of blood and that's it.

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While red does seem to be the only other color in the presentation, it's not just because of blood. I double checked to make sure I wasn't misremembering things, and the flowers blooming in the ruins of the Cabin in the Thorn route are actually colored red too, even though no one comments on it. Between that and some of the Narrator's minor descriptions, like the Princess' hands whitening as she tightens her grip, I'm pretty sure that they're experiencing color normally in-universe.

It's still your call on saying that her princess dress is uniformly grey of course, since it's never given a defined color. (TBH I went into the game assuming it was pink, just based on the stereotypical trope of it.)

 

[Nyarky]

While red does seem to be the only other color in the presentation, it's not just because of blood.

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I didn't explain correctly:

The red used is specifically *blood red* in both cases I saw of this kind of splash of color (Slay the Princess and Othercide), there can be other objects that have this color (The roses of thorn's route as you say and scarfs in othercide, the scarf being even more tied to blood/life due to the fact that they become white when loosing health), but I think it is chosen because it is the color of blood.

Though the roses may be about love.

TBH I went into the game assuming it was pink, just based on the stereotypical trope of it.

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The damsel absolutely is going to be pink, I am keeping the base form as grey partially because it allows for a nice contrast when taking new forms.

The base is just a base you can paint on, the vision that gives you new forms are a splash of color on it that changes the character from being nothing/anything to being this precise thing.

By the way, you gave colors for the forms chosen and I mostly agree, except for Stranger, who has a dress that changes color every time you look elsewhere, and if a crowd was asked what color she was at the exact same moment, they would all give a different answer.

Other forms colors that I thought of:

Wraith is black (duh)

Nightmare/Moment of clarity is stygian blue (an impossible color that is a blue darker than pure black, google it if you want to see it)

Tower is gold.

Apotheosis is self luminous red (another impossible color, this one a red brighter than pure white)

Beast is brown.

Witch is a traitor… I mean green. But where Thorn is plant green, witch is frog green.

 

[NaanContributor]

By the way, you gave colors for the forms chosen and I mostly agree, except for Stranger, who has a dress that changes color every time you look elsewhere, and if a crowd was asked what color she was at the exact same moment, they would all give a different answer.

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Yeah, it was either depicting the Rainbow concept like that, or the colors of multiple different dresses overlapping and stitched together. The changing version is definitely the more refined way. Well I guess if we're talking about the others…

Prisoner is Royal Purple.

Razor is metallic silver/steel (another "duh" one).

I actually saw Beast as the tawny yellow of the lioness she resembled, which I guess The Den would also be. Then that would free up the color brown for Witch to help distinguish her from Thorn (the mud and earth that the plants subsequently grow from, not to mention the roots that her surroundings are made from).

Fury actually has the most obvious claim to Blood Red, so I guess Adversary and EotN need at least different shades. Maybe something more orange?

I honestly have no clue what the Wild should have.

Either version of The Grey would be, well, grey. Would be hard to distinguish them from a default grey.

 

[Nyarky]

I actually saw Beast as the tawny yellow of the lioness she resembled, which I guess The Den would also be. Then that would free up the color brown for Witch to help distinguish her from Thorn (the mud and earth that the plants subsequently grow from, not to mention the roots that her surroundings are made from)

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Good ideas taking notes.

Fury actually has the most obvious claim to Blood Red, so I guess Adversary and EotN need at least different shades. Maybe something more orange?

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Hmm, I'll have to search for aggressive colors that aren't red for these two….

I honestly have no clue what the Wild should have.

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The nerves are nerves, white.

Wounded version is green, brown and red (bark, plant and blood).

Either version of The Grey would be, well, grey. Would be hard to distinguish them from a default grey.

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The greys are actually white (for burned) and black (for drowned) no need to change that, their dresses are different enough from the base to allow for overlap with wraith for the black color and wild (nerves) for white.

Their symbolism doesn't really allow for any other colors for them (burned is a bride in her wedding dress and drowned is a widow in a funeral veil).