AN: I have to apologize everyone. The story I said I was writing, Night and Day, will have to go on a hiatus, even though it's not released yet. I've made a few key mistakes whilst plotting out it's story line and general mood, and I'm not sure if it will ever see the light of FFnet. If it does, it will most likely be completely different from what I've previously wrote, and maybe even changed themes as well.
To everyone who actually was waiting for it, I'm sorry. And as a way to make up for it, even though it's not much, I've decided to recommend another story that features a Jaune x Yang pairing. Super Saiyan Cyndaquil, the author of the wonderful story Auburn, has started a new project called Spectrum, which looks to be a RWBYization of one of the cooler animes I've seen, Katanagatari. It's been great so far, aside from a few pacing choices I take issue with, and it's a Jaune x Yang for those who are yearning for that neglected ship.
Now, onto this story.
I decided to take a shot at the Gamer Jaune concept because it just seemed so interesting. I obviously take a lot of inspiration from other authors that have written this concept before, but I can't remember all the names at the moment. If any of those authors read this and notice something they think I pulled directly from their story, and want me to give them a shout out, please just PM me.
I also took the SPECIAL system from the popular franchise Fallout (Fallout 4 hype!), so I give full credit to Interplay and those fine gentlemen who came up with that awesome acronym. I actually learned how to spell the word 'acronym' from Fallout, so there's a fun fact for ya.
Without further interruption, please enjoy...
Jaune felt the warmth of his Aura spread through him. Like a light filling the darkness of his heart, it overflowed and lit up his being with a new purpose. His true purpose: becoming a Huntsman.
"There you are Jaune, all ready for your trip to Beacon." Jaune opened his eyes as his twin sister, Janis, uncupped his cheek and caught her breath after unlocking his Aura.
"Thanks so much for this, Janis. It means a lot." And it did. Especially to him, who felt so ostracized by the rest of his family.
He took a good look at Janis. A more feminine and beautiful version of himself. And, by what the people of his village say, much more talented too. Full white plate armor, and Crocea Mors proudly strapped to her hip. She fit the ideal image of an Arc heiress through and through.
Jaune fingered his own plain sword, the only thing he could afford with the meager amount of money he was able to save for this day.
He had always been jealous of his sister's talent with a sword and shield, but he could never find it in himself to resent her. She was better than he was at fighting, and he was a coward that couldn't stand behind a shield proudly like her, instead preferring to roll with the punches and avoid the blows of blades. It was why she inherited the Arc's knightly title, along with Crocea Mors, instead of him.
But that was just the way it was, it wasn't her fault.
None of that mattered now though. He may have had a somewhat strained relationship with her before, but she was still his beloved sister. They trusted each other with everything, it was the reason why he told her of his plan to run away from home, and the only reason why she actually decided to help him with something so stupid.
She even gave him her old armor! Just a plain white breastplate and a pair of spaulders, but still a way of saying, "Stay safe", without words. In his eyes, she was his one true family.
He adjusted a strap on his shoulder, and let his hand slide across the slick, angled surface of his armor.
"Jaune, you're smiling like an idiot again." Janis snorted at his expression, and Jaune flushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry. It's just so lightweight and sleek. I really like it, Sis." He gave her his best smile in appreciation. She smiled back in return, admiring the armor as well.
"Yes, it is a surprisingly good fit for you." Suddenly her eyes turned sharp. "Just remember: it's not meant to take an Ursa claw straight on. Glancing blows and light strikes shouldn't be a problem, but don't run in like an idiot expecting it to save you." She warned with a stern expression, one which Jaune recognized as the Arc's signature glare. Another thing he didn't seem to inherit.
"I know, I know. I'll be careful, okay?" He put his hands up in a placating way with a gentle smile. After a few decisive moments, Janis' glare dropped as she sighed.
"Just... come back alive." She pleaded. Her eyes shined with concern, making Jaune realize just how much this must have been weighing on her.
Of course it was, Hunters had dangerous jobs. Killing monsters and dealing with dangerous criminals for a living was understandably worrisome for the family members of the people assigned to do such dirty work, even if said family members were Hunters themselves.
Jaune grasped Janis by the shoulders reassuringly, and pulled her into a hug. "I will. I promise I will," he whispered in her ear. Jaune pulled away, keeping her at an arms length embrace as he did so, and gave her a goofy smile. "And who knows? I might bring home a girl." He added offhandedly.
Janis snorted again, this time breaking into full-blown laughter, which only damaged Jaune's feeble pride further. A few people in the Airship Hangar gave them strange looks, making Jaune become even more self-conscious.
"Janis..." Jaune whined, interrupting her giggle fit. She stifled her chuckles, and gave him a not-so-apologetic grin.
"Sorry, Jaune. But you've never been good with girls." Jaune frowned.
"But I've done everything Dad said to do..." He countered halfheartedly.
"Dad had to corner Mom at a bar to confess, Jaune. You should really stop listening to his advice." Jaune's frown deepened.
Maybe she was right. Maybe he should stop trying to be like his Dad. He couldn't hold a shield like him, couldn't swing a sword like him, and he couldn't uphold the family name like him.
He couldn't become a knight like him, or the rest of his family for that matter, and he was basically cutting all ties with them until he proved he could be a Huntsman, so why should he try to be like them?
Well, the answer should be obvious, shouldn't it?
Jaune smiled.
He was going to become his own man, strip away the burdens of his family name and make his own story. His own legend.
That's what this journey was about. He was going to become a hero, training to fight evil at Beacon Academy. He was going to prove to his family, to everyone, that he could become someone great.
Janis separated from their prolonged hug, and pointed towards the Airship Dock.
"The Airship is leaving, Jaune. You should go." Jaune nodded, making sure to memorize the look of pride she had.
"Uh huh, thanks again, Janis." Her lip trembled as he let go of her shoulders, and Jaune turned away just as the first tear leaked through her eyelids. He didn't want to see the pain he was causing her, he wanted to remember her smiling face.
Because he had to do this, for himself. It was selfish, but it has to be done.
And with that conviction, Jaune stepped onto the Airship that would take him to his future.
He was finally on his way to becoming a hero!
Do heroes get motion sickness?
Blaaaarrrrrggh!
Jaune saw the other students back away from him in disgust as he unloaded his breakfast into the nearest trashcan.
It was hard enough surviving the flight to Vale, but then the connecting flight to Beacon had taken them unusually high since the school was on the large cliff above the town, which only made his vision swim faster and his stomach become more violent.
He was lucky he had managed to avoid throwing up on that blonde girl's shoe. That would have made it even harder to make friends. At least he could play this off as an unlucky coincidence without having a nickname like 'Vomit Boy' follow him around because of a ruined pair of shoes' revenge.
With a final dry-heave, Jaune leaned away from the wretched trashcan and headed back to his seat. A raven-haired girl Jaune had never seen before had taken the seat next to his while he was busy regurgitating, reading a book he had never heard of. He would have tried to make small talk, seeing as she seemed to be alone, but he didn't trust his stomach at the moment.
Plus, he was sure she just scooted further away.
Sighing to himself, while also lamenting his weak stomach, Jaune pulled his plain sword out of it's leather sheath. He hadn't taken a good look at it before, since it was the only weapon he could afford, and the appearance or quality wasn't factored into his budget.
It was... fine, he supposed. Not really recognizable with it's plain black metal and double-edged blade, but good enough that he could cut into a stump without chipping or scratching it. He wasn't an expert on weapons, but he was sure he could cut Grimm hide with enough strength.
He heard the girl next to him hum in interest of something. Turning his attention to her once again, he caught her eyes staring for just a moment before darting back to her book.
Did... did she think he wouldn't notice something so obvious? No, she was obviously smart, she was reading a novel thicker than most history books. Did she assume he wouldn't call her out on it then? Well then she would be... absolutely right. There was no way he was going to accuse this random girl of staring at him while he examined a sword, that would make him seem weird.
"Can I help you?" Her monotone and, dare he say, unfriendly, voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he realized she had put her book down to speak to him. He noticed her lips were turned up in an almost unnoticeable, but still obviously mischievous, smirk.
Wait, was she calling him out on staring at her? That was her plan!?
"Uhh... I... uh..." Jaune's eyes darted around as he thought up a good excuse for his staring. They landed on her black bow, and he decided that would do. "Your bow!" She arched an eyebrow. "It's, uh, very cute." Jaune mentally screamed. He was doomed to be labeled a weirdo for sure, a pervert that stares! It wasn't even the first day, either! It was day zero, for crying out loud!
The girl didn't seem to share in his awkward plight, instead looking him up and down, as if she were inspecting him for impurities, before looking at the sword in his lap.
"That's an interesting sword-"
She ignored him?!
"-where did you get it?" She brought her golden-amber irises back up to his own cerulean.
"Oh, uh, I bought it at a pawn shop." Silence reigned as his mind played catch up with his mouth. His forehead started to pour sweat once he realized his mistake.
"A pawn shop?" Jaune, once again, mentally screamed. Huntsmen don't buy their super awesome, one-of-a-kind weapons at pawn shops!
"Uh, yes!" He was crying inside. "My normal weapon broke during training, and I need to make another one. I bought this as a replacement while I attended initiation." Jaune could spot at least three plot holes in that very made-up story, and he was sure she could see five more he didn't.
He was ruined.
On day zero, by a girl he didn't even know no less!
"I see..." Both her tone and stare were scrutinizing, and Jaune waited for her scornful laugh, a look of utter contempt, or some other sign that she saw straight through his lie and was going to turn him over to the authorities for being a fake.
She was going to tell Headmaster Ozpin, and then he would be locked up for forgery and not even get a chance to prove himself to anyone, all because of a stupid, plain, black sword that he bought from a pawn shop in his village! All because he fell for this clever vixen's tra-
"That's unfortunate. Good luck with your new weapon." And just like that she switched modes, returning to her reading without a second glance.
What...?
Jaune was beyond confused, if he were more studious he would say he was floundered by her reaction. He wasn't that studious, so he just drew out the longest 'whaaaaaaat' he could in his mental stupor.
How did she not see through his lie? The lie, that was more transparent than the clear windows everyone was 'ooohing' and 'ahhhing' at behind them, went flying over her head like a Bullhead?
The girl he had continued to stare at, still ignoring him, stood and began walking away before he noticed that they were disembarking. He grabbed his sword and followed her as she weaved through the throng of passengers like some sort of ninja. Jaune was getting lost in the crowd, but there was one thing he needed to know.
"Wait!" The girl stopped just short of the exit and turned to him. He pushed through the last of the people separating them, and placed himself at a respectful distance. "What's your name?" He knew it was an awkward time to be asking that, but he just had to know.
"Blake. Blake Belladonna." He smiled and held out his hand for a handshake.
"Jaune Arc." She seemed hesitant to return the shake, but still began to bring her hand up to meet his. Jaune was excited, he was about to make his first friend!
But, of course, the universe had other ideas.
A passing girl in red sped by them, knocking Jaune off-balance, and he tumbled towards Blake. Being taken completely off-guard, both he and Blake were unprepared for his extended hand to land on her right breast...
They both just kind of... paused to register the situation.
Jaune was the first to recover, immediately removing his hand and recoiling back in shock.
"Oh Oum! I'm so sorry!" Blake held her book closer to her chest, covering the offended breast, and refused to meet his eyes.
"No, it's fine. It was an accident." Her voice seemed smaller and held more emotion than her previous monotone, but not in the good, friendly way he was hoping to get from her. The vulnerable way her voice shook was completely undermining her excusing it as an accident, and that made him very uncomfortable.
They both stood in an awkward silence, Jaune scratching his head in embarrassment, and Blake continuing to avoid looking in his general direction.
"I'll see you later then." Her monotone returned in full force, making him feel even worse, and she left before he could respond.
He held his hand out in a 'wait and let me explain' gesture, but it was pointless. She had swiftly navigated to a clear stone path, and was already opening her book while kicking her pace up to a brisk power-walk to get away from him. All because of a stupid, silly accident.
Such misfortune.
Sighing for the umpteenth time, Jaune disembarked as well. He took a seat on the railing just outside the Airship, putting his head in his hands to stare at his feet.
"Why me...?" He breathed that question into his hands just so the world could know about his frustrations, if nothing else.
Suddenly, he heard a 'blip' in his ear.
What was that?
It sounded like the sound his favorite RPG, Heroes Awakened, made when you got a message.
Was he hearing things now? He must be hearing things.
Jaune wiped his face before opening his eyes and coming face to face with a giant blue box that read "EVENT COMPLETED" in just-as-giant text.
Jaune wanted to scream, wanted to express his shock and surprise somehow, but his mind calmed before he had the chance to.
In fact, he was unusually calm as he stared at the blue box, trying to understand what he was looking at.
Just what was going on?
He examined the box. It was a transparent-blue, like the message boxes in Heroes Awakened, and it had the same font as well. Jaune turned his head to look at it from the side, and the box held in place so he could look around it.
He gasped.
Everyone in the courtyard now had a large box floating above their head with three lines of text. Jaune couldn't read what most of them said because they were so far away, but he caught a glimpse of Blake's as she walked further down the path in front of him.
Blake Belladonna
"Beautiful Beast"
Lvl 5
A... level?
"What is going on?" Just as these words left his lips, another message box replaced the old one, and the same 'blip' noise played again.
Welcome, Gamer! This is your new Semblance!
…The Gamer!
You have been chosen by the gods to wield it's infinite power, would you like a tutorial?
Yes / No
Jaune nearly blanched. He actually would have, if not for the strange way his brain seemed to calm itself despite the completely otherworldly things happening around him.
He read the message again, just to make sure he was understanding it right.
Semblance? He had heard his sisters mention it more than once, things like super strength and telepathy. But you weren't supposed to find it until years after you unlocked your Aura!
"You have been chosen by the gods..."? Was that flavor text? If his... Semblance was copying Heroes Awakened, then it would make the most sense.
Reluctantly, he reached forward and pushed the 'Yes' button. A new window replaced the current one, and Jaune felt instant nostalgia.
The window was the same as the messages before, but now it was an inventory screen exactly like the one in Heroes Awakened. He saw his armor, hoodie, shirt, jeans, and shoes lined up in the clothes/armor slots, and a blank item in his weapon slot.
Before he could question the blank item, another message popped up, followed by the telltale 'blip'.
Welcome to the tutorial, Gamer! We will now begin with the Inventory screen!
This is the screen that shows what you have equipped on your person.
There are slots for shoes, shirts, pants, jackets, armor, weapons, and accessories.
Note: You cannot equip/unequip items from this screen. That must be done in real time.
Sorry!
Continue?
Oooo... kay? So, he had an inventory that organized all of his stuff. Got it.
Satisfied with the information, he hit continue. The inventory screen shrunk into the top bar that held all the screen's tabs, and a new tab was opened.
It displayed:
SPECIAL
S: 5 (0%)
P: 5 (0%)
E: 4 (0%)
C: 4 (0%)
I: 5 (0%)
A: 7 (0%)
L: 6 (0%)
Skills
Swordsmanship Mastery: 15 (0%)
Light Armor Mastery: 10 (0%)
Parrying Mastery: 15 (0%)
The Gamer's Mind (Toggle)
The Gamer's Body (Toggle)
Perks
The Gamer
Jaune didn't even need the tutorial to figure out what this screen was.
This is the Skill screen, Gamer.
Here you will see all of your current skill levels, points, and perks.
Here you also see something special called... SPECIAL.
This is a system that lets you increase your attributes.
The letters stand for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. Each of these attributes will affect parts of your life such as loot drop chances, stamina, damage, maximum Aura, and health.
To gain skill points, you must level up after obtaining a certain amount of experience, or EXP, in that skill.
To gain attribute points, you must do special actions such as exercise or study to obtain experience for the specific attribute that said action is associated with.
To gain perks, you must accomplish special goals, such as quests and events.
That's it!
Have fun discovering your own unique playstyle!
Continue?
Hitting continue, another, smaller screen popped up. He heard faint shouting in the distance, but ignored it in favor of the new, and infinitely more interesting, screen.
Relationships
Blake Belladonna (None): Awkward
Janis Arc (Arc Family): Close Family
Relations
Arc Family: Estranged
Beacon: Student-To-Be
Titles
Vomit Boy
Runaway
Jaune tilted his head in confusion.
'Relationships and Relations? What's the difference?'
The tutorial answered his question immediately.
I'm glad you asked, Gamer!
What a timely Semblance.
This is the Relationship screen.
It shows your relationships with the different people and factions of the world.
The Relationships show how certain individuals feel towards you, and how you feel towards them. Basically, your relationship with them!
The Relations show your relationship with the various factions you encounter.
The most interesting feature, perhaps, is the Title system.
The Title system allows you to gather various titles from special events and quests. These titles give bonuses outside of combat, such as increases in passive skills or special interactions with certain factions or individuals. You do not need to equip these titles for the bonuses to take affect, that feature is mainly for self-expression.
Experiment with the various titles and see what happens!
Note: You can see which faction each individual belongs to, if you have encountered said faction, under the Relationships menu.
Continue?
Jaune hit continue, bringing up an options menu with the audio, video, and controls all grayed out.
This is the Options screen, Gamer.
It's just for show, so you don't have to worry about it!
Jaune facepalmed as the screen disappeared without him even having to hit continue.
The next screen looked exactly like the one that was hovering over Blake's head...
Name: Jaune Arc
Title: Runaway
Level: 1
HLP: 100
STM: 200
ARP: 1000
…except it was WAY more depressing.
This is the last screen, Gamer. The Overview Screen.
This screen shows you a basic overview of your level, currently equipped title, name, and your Health Points (HLP), Stamina (STM), and Aura Points (ARP).
Pretty easy, huh?
Now go out there and save the world!
The screen returned to the Inventory Tab, and Jaune was left with his jaw hanging open. He just got his semblance the day he unlocked his Aura, and it turned his life into a video game.
Well, that wasn't exactly right. It basically just gave him his life in numbers that he could manipulate. He couldn't increase his intelligence with the press of a button, but he could watch his intelligence increase as he studied. Not as cool, but still pretty damn cool.
'If this were a normal RPG, I'd put all of my points into Luck and Agility so I could be an untouchable badass Assassin-type, but I can't exactly do that. I'll need to grind the skills first, and that's going to be hard to do in real life. Plus, how do you increase the Luck skill anyway? Or is it an attribute?'
And why was he thinking so clearly all of a sudden?
That really did strike Jaune as strange. He thought back to when he first started to think more clearly despite having an impossible, physics-and-reality-breaking system thrust into his face. It happened just after the first event message appeared, if he remembered correctly.
When his semblance activated, in other words. So, what happened?
Jaune quickly scrolled through all of the tabs multiple times until he landed on the perks menu.
Perks
The Gamer
'The Gamer?'
Jaune tapped the name in hopes something would happen. Lucky for him, another message popped up.
The Gamer
For completing the intro event, you have been given the Gamer's Body and The Gamer's Mind skills.
These skills make your body rely on HLP, ARP, and STM instead of normal pain and fatigue. The Gamer's Mind also makes you immune to psychological effects, such as panic or depression. Though you must remember, this also affects positive psychological effects, such as happiness or contentment.
Now it made sense. The reason why he was so calm and analytical was because of The Gamer's Mind. Yet... it felt so... empty. He really didn't like that.
He quickly scrolled to the skills and saw the toggle button on The Gamer's Mind, switching it off and having his emotions return.
He was immediately assaulted by his sense of panic and surprise that The Gamer's Mind was suppressing. Followed by his excitement and elation at realizing just how cool his semblance was! He was completely overwhelmed by the various conflicting emotions inside him. So much so that his throat choked up, and he barely stopped himself from howling on sheer instinct.
He gripped his head as if he had a splitting headache to try and reign in his emotions, eventually calming himself enough to hear that same faint shouting in the distance. Whoever was fighting must really be going at it.
As he was recovering, he closed the Inventory window, and another message popped up.
Congratulations on completing the intro event: Awkwardly Humble Beginnings
Your level has increased, raising your Aura to new heights! Would you like to compare your stats to someone on your Relationships list?
Yes / No
He clicked yes, and, with no one else at Beacon to compare himself to, selected Blake from the Relationships list.
Jaune Arc
"Runaway"
Lvl 2
HLP: 100
STM: 200
ARP: 1200
/... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...\
Blake Belladonna
"Beautiful Beast"
Lvl 5
HLP: 500
STM: 1000
ARP: 500
Relationship: Awkward
'Well... that's disconcerting to say the least...'
The only thing he had going for him was his Aura, and that was only because the Arcs had always had larger Auras than normal Hunters. His relationship with her didn't make him feel any better either. He should apologize to her later, and try to show her that he wasn't one of those creeps who groped girls on public transport.
For now though, he needed to find the-
BOOM!
The courtyard was rocked all the way to the docks by the sudden explosion. Jaune nearly toppled over the railing and fell off the cliff, with only his luck saving him.
"What the-"
Blip~
His sentence was once again cut off by another message box.
Luck +1!
He paused to stare that the message for a few seconds, toying with thirteen years of gaming logic in his head.
'So that's how it works...' He understood how to level his Luck up now.
He cautiously peered over the railing at the unending drop to nothing but clouds and certain death, and gulped.
He had to take chances and risks for there to be an increase. That was the requirement. Well, he did say that Hunters had a dangerous job, so he shouldn't have to go out of his way to level it up at least.
Now what was that explosion?
AN: I'm sure we all have questions relating to the plot. Things like: "Why does Jaune not have Crocea Mors?", and "Why is Blake so interested in Jaune's plain, old, boring sword?", and of course "Why isn't Jaune's Semblance overpowered like in all the other Gamer fics?"
All will be explained in due time, I have a plan. Except for that last one, it's obvious an overpowered Semblance would ruin any of the tension and adventurous spirit this fic could have, so I threw any of the overpowered, one-hit-instakill stuff out. For now, at least. You need to level up for those privileges.
Sorry, I'm getting a bit off track. *coughs into hand*
I know where I'm going with this story, for the most part at least, and I'd appreciate any suggestions and reviews, so please do that. But be warned, I may not pick yours if it doesn't fit into the story. I'm a picky guy, after all.
Thanks to my awesome beta, Maxaro, who I think I should mention more often because he's a damn good critic. He even coined a term about me, "DD's pacing magic" (his words not mine), and I have never had a better compliment before in my life. So, thanks for that, it really means a lot.
Was that bragging? Well, whatever. It makes me feel happy inside, so I wanted to share it.
Remember, review and leave me some suggestions for cool game mechanics I can implement or other cool ideas, and don't forget to follow so you get the next chapter in your email.
Thanks for reading, auf wiedersehen!
Svenska är skit: vad tror du vinner i ett slagsmål, en miljard lejon eller solen? (What do you think would win in a fight? One billion lions, or the Sun?)
Somehow, I pictured Yang when I read that. Which is slightly stranger than this question's context. Um, the Sun, I guess. I mean, Icarus didn't even make it to the Sun's surface before he burned to ashes, or melted his wings which caused him to fall to his death, whichever version you prefer. Either way, I think the lions would die if they got too close, or too far away for that matter, from the Sun. We are the luckiest planet in the solar system for that very reason after all.
Oh wait! Unless I mistranslated, and you meant Sun from RWBY. In which case the lions would definitely win, because of sheer numbers. Or did you mean a different Sun? I'm confused. I need to sleep...