SAPR

by Scipio Smith

Team Goals (New)

Team Goals

Russel was the first one to enter the room.

Weiss had not been… okay, yes, Weiss had been waiting there for him. She wanted – and intended – to have a whole team meeting where they could, if not start over, then at least put a better foot forward from now on, but at the same time, she was conscious of the fact that the R in WWSR was the member of the team of whom she knew the least; she knew Cardin far better after a single meaningful conversation than she knew Russel Thrush. And so, she had sat almost idle in the dorm room, reading a book on post-war colonisation efforts that she had gotten out of the library.

Mountain Glenn was every bit the tragedy that Professor Port had intimated. Those poor people, trapped underground. It reminded her a little of some of the stories of mining accidents that left the workers buried alive… but on a much, much grander scale.

As Russel came in, she snapped the book shut, only to realise that it might have seemed more hostile than she had intended it to be.

Russel’s dark eyes glanced around the otherwise empty dorm room. “I didn’t mean to disturb you,” he said anxiously. “I can-”

“No,” Weiss said quickly. “Don’t. You’re just the person that I wanted to see.”

Russel’s eyes widened a little. “Why?”

“Please,” Weiss said, gesturing to one of the chairs pushed underneath the desk on the other side of the room. “Sit down.”

Russel continued to look wary, like a rabbit in the presence of a fox; he looked as though he might run for the door any second as he pulled out a chair and sat down on it, the wrong way with his legs spread out on either side of the chair and his hands resting on the back.

“I don’t bite,” Weiss assured him tartly.

“You don’t normally want to talk, either,” Russel pointed. “At least not to me.”

Weiss sighed. “I know,” she conceded. “And that is why… I suppose that I should start with an apology. I haven’t been a good leader to you – to anyone on this team – and for that, I’m sorry. The only other thing I can say is that I intend to do better from now on. For that reason, we’ll be having a team meeting soon-”

“'Team meeting'?” Russel repeated. “Since when do we have team meetings?”

“Since I decided to start taking my responsibilities seriously,” Weiss declared.

Russel was silent for a moment. “Is this about the Cardin thing?”

“The… 'Cardin thing' brought home to me my failings,” Weiss admitted. “What do you think about what happened to him? About what he did?”

“You don’t care what I think.”

“Yes, I do,” Weiss replied.

“No, you don’t.”

“I will try to care, if you tell me,” Weiss insisted.

Russel snorted. “I think that… the people in the neighbourhood I grew up in were worse lowlifes than any faunus I could imagine, so I guess it never made sense to me to treat faunus like they were worse than us.”

“You went along with Cardin’s bullying of Velvet Scarlatina,” Weiss reminded him.

Russel winced. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did. Not because I thought she was a crook or anything.”

“What did you think?” Weiss asked, fighting to keep the disdain out of her voice.

Russel turned his head away from her, his fingers drumming upon the back of his chair. “Is it true what they say, that Sunset Shimmer came back from Mistral and Pyrrha’s rich mom has started paying her money?”

“I believe so, yes.”

“Lucky her,” Russel muttered. “I guess… I suppose I was kind of hoping that if I kept well in with Cardin that something like that might happen.”

“And did it?” Weiss asked.

“No,” Russel said bluntly. “It wasn’t worth the effort pretending to like the guy on the chance that it might.”

“You don’t like Cardin?” Weiss asked, surprised. Another thing I didn’t know.

Russel shrugged. “I don’t dislike him, but it’s not like we have anything in common.”

“I see,” Weiss murmured. “Where do you come from, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Anfield,” Russel said.

“Is that a village, or-?”

“It’s a part of Vale, not far from the docks,” Russel said. “You might have drove through it on your way back from that fight.”

“Possibly,” Weiss said. “I didn’t realise. I’ve never been back there.”

“Lucky you,” Russel said. “You don’t want to go back there. You were lucky to be able to fly in there on a locker, and everyone else who went down there either avoided it, or they got really lucky.”

“Why?”

“Because if you went down there dressed like that, someone would steal your sword off your waist before you knew it, and someone else would have the jacket off your back,” Russel declared. “Bunch of thieving scumbags around there.”

“Really?” Weiss murmured dryly.

“Mhmm,” Russel responded. “That person who stole your sword, they’d have sold it on by the time you realised it was missing.”

Weiss folded her arms. “I can’t help but feel there’s some glorification going on here,” she remarked.

Russel shrugged. “According to my great-grandpa, time was when everybody round Anfield way was employed on the docks or in the shipyards; he was an engineer on the tugboats, himself. Only there isn’t so much work on the docks no more, and folks don’t want to rely on welfare handouts, so-”

“They steal things?” Weiss asked.

“It’s a living,” Russel replied. He hesitated for a moment, before a cheeky grin swept over his face. “Although you may be right, and people round there spend more time talking about how they could lift your hair off your head and they ain’t scared of no cops neither than they do actually lifting stuff. But I don’t know, there must be something to it, I reckon.”

“And you?” Weiss asked. “Have you ever…?”

Russel laughed. “If I had hands that fast, then I wouldn’t be getting tossed on my ass by the likes of Pyrrha and Yang every sparring class, would I?”

He had a point there; nothing in his performance indicated that he was that nimble. Even so, the next question that leapt from the tip of Weiss’ tongue was the obvious one: “So what does somebody from a neighbourhood famed for its criminality want to become a huntsman for?”

“What does a princess from Atlas want to become a huntress for?” Russel replied.

“I’m not a princess,” Weiss replied.

“That thing in your hair looks a lot more like a crown than a hairpin, Miss Schnee,” Russel replied. “I may just be a lad from Anfield, but I know that your dad is the richest man in the world, which makes you a darn sight more princess than probably any of the actual princesses if there are any left; do you get what I’m saying?” He leaned forwards, his chest pressing against the back of the chair. “You’re sitting there asking me all these questions, and that’s fine; you don’t know me. But I don’t know you either, so don’t you think that you ought to answer a few of my questions too?”

Weiss nodded. “That’s fair enough,” she agreed. “But I did ask first.”

Russel laughed nervously. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess you did, didn’t you?” He scratched the back of his head with one hand. “I’m named after my granddad, you know.”

“Is that so?”

Russel nodded. “And so are eight of my cousins. You see, my granddad had nine kids, and all of them named their eldest son Russel after him – and I’ve got a sister named Rousseau; it was supposed to be a sign of respect, but he always used to moan about how hard it was telling us apart. That’s why everyone in my family calls me Bert.”

Weiss frowned. “Why?”

“I don’t know, because grandpa Russ used to, and so they all started doing it, I don’t know where he got it from,” Russel muttered.

Weiss couldn’t quite keep the smile off her face. “So you came to Beacon so that you could be Russel Thrush, and not… Bert.”

Russel snorted. “I suppose that’s part of it; there… there’s other parts of it too.”

“Such as?”

Russel was silent for a while, a silence that stretched out so long that Weiss began to think that he was simply going to refuse to reply, before he said, “By the time that granddad Russel died, he didn’t have no one left but his family, and not even all of that: Grandma Anthea had left him years ago, and Auntie Rousseau asked her granddad to walk her down the aisle on account of she wasn’t too keen on her old man no more. He’d got barred from the pub after he challenged the barman to a fight because he thought he heard him talking about him behind his back; he got barred from the shop because he tried to fight the owner; he didn’t have no friends left because he’d insulted them all – or hit them. He was always a nice bloke to me, and he loved his family, but… when he died, when I went to his funeral, we had to listen to so much bollocks about how well-liked he was, about how many friends he had. I don’t know who she was trying to fool because we all knew it was rubbish. He was a good man, and he worked hard, but nobody cared he was gone except for us. I want… I don’t want that. I want them to care. I want some respect.”

The corner of Weiss’ lip rose slightly. “And I will help you get it, if you let me,” she said. “Just like I mean to see that we all get what we want.”

“Why?” Russel asked.

“Why what?”

“Why any of it?” Russel cried. “Why now? Why should you care?”

“Because I’m your leader, and it’s time I started acting like it,” Weiss said. “And because we succeed when we work together and fail when we don’t. Because walking towards our goals as one is the way that we reach them all.”

“Did you read that in a book?”

“No,” Weiss said. “Professor Port told me.”

Russel’s eyebrows rose.

“When he isn’t talking about himself, he actually talks a lot of sense,” Weiss said.

“I’ll take your word for that,” Russel muttered. He waited a moment. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Come on, I’ve told you my life story; now it’s your turn!”

“Oh, yes,” Weiss muttered. She cleared her throat. “What do you want to know?”

“What’s it like being rich?” Russel asked.

Weiss raised one eyebrow.

“I can dream, can’t I?”

“We had a cake butler,” Weiss said dryly.

Russel blinked. “'A cake butler'? You mean, like, a butler, who just brought cake?”

Weiss nodded.

Russel blinked again. “You’re kidding me! You are absolutely kidding me! You’re pulling my leg because you think I don’t know any better! You’re not serious!”

“Aren’t I?” Weiss asked, her tone giving absolutely nothing away.

Russel stared at her, looking this way and that as though she might have the answer written on her face somewhere if he could just spot it.

“Wow,” he muttered. “Wow. I mean… wow, it must be great having that much money.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Weiss said softly.

“Oh, don’t give me that!” Russel snapped. “Don’t give me that poor little rich girl stuff; whatever it is, I guarantee that it is nothing compared to being actually poor.”

“Everyone thinks they know me because they know my name,” Weiss declared. “And yet, hardly anyone knows or cares to know who I really am-”

“Oh, boo hoo,” Russel interrupted. “You still grew up in a nice big house, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but-”

“And I bet you had all the best toys that you could ask for, and anything else besides when you were growing up-”

“No, actually,” Weiss cut him off, gently but firmly.

Russel frowned. “'No'?”

“No,” Weiss repeated. “My father… didn’t believe in play. He was determined that his children should be… accomplished, and the sooner we started learning, the better.”

Russel boggled. “You’re serious? This isn’t a thing like the cake butler?”

“I’m not conceding anything on that, but yes, this is serious.”

“So… no toys?”

“No toys, no playtime,” Weiss said.

Russel leaned back. “Well he sounds like a complete dick, your dad! Um, no offence.”

Weiss covered her mouth with one hand as a most inappropriate giggle escaped her lips. “That’s quite alright. I… would never say it in that way, but… you aren’t wrong.”

“So what did you do all day?”

“I read, I learned to sing-”

“You can sing?”

“And play the piano,” Weiss said. “And the violin. And the flute.”

“So you did have a kind of playtime, then?”

Weiss gave him an old-fashioned look.

“I was only kidding!” Russel said, holding up both hands.

Weiss sniffed. “And, of course, I practiced my skills as a huntress prior to coming here to Beacon.”

“I’m starting to think you came here just to get out of that house,” Russel said.

He was not nearly as wrong as Weiss would have liked, but she said, “I came here to honour my family’s legacy. There was a time when the Schnees did more than just count their money.” Or drink in the garden. She picked up her scroll from where it sat on the bed beside her. “I’m going to ask Flash and Cardin to join us, and then we can talk about how it’s going to be from now on.”

“How is it going to be?” Russel asked.

“Better,” Weiss said.

Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for both Flash and Cardin to join Weiss and Russel; wherever it had been, it hadn’t been so far away that they couldn’t get back in haste when Weiss asked them to. Cardin sat down on his bed next to Weiss’ own, while Flash, like Russel, pulled up a chair but, unlike Russel, sat in it properly. His back was straight, even as his legs were crossed.

“Thank you for coming so promptly,” Weiss said, getting up off her bed and standing as tall as she could. Fortunately, they were all sitting down, so she was able to look down on them for this part. “And welcome to the first team meeting of Team Wisteria; we should have done these a long time ago.”

“Why?” Russel asked.

“Because on the balance of evidence, it seems that we need them,” Weiss declared. “Because I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m tired of Team Wisteria being considered B-league compared to Team Sapphire or Team Iron. I’m tired of us being put in the same bracket as Bluebell. I’m tired of the fact that nobody rates our chances in the Vytal Festival. I am tired…” – she glanced at Russel – “of the fact that we aren’t respected here. And I know that that is partly my fault. I know that, as the team leader, it’s probably mostly my fault. I haven’t paid much attention to some of you… or any attention to some of you, to be perfectly honest. Which is why, if possible, I would like for us to start over, or at least go forward from now as if we have. I am going to lead you better, and we are all going to work together to the kind of success that I think – that I know – that we all want.” She paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping across the room. “I’m not going to pretend that we’re suddenly going to all become best friends; we’re all too different for that. We probably aren’t going to leave Beacon having become a family, with bonds that will last a lifetime. But I promise you that we will leave Beacon as qualified huntsmen and with a record of accomplishment that we can be proud of. So, are you with me?”

“Always,” Flash said.

Weiss smiled gratefully at him.

Russel tucked both his hands behind his head. “It sounds great,” he said, “but some of it also sounds like a pretty tall order. I mean, sure, graduate with good records, awesome, but cracking the top half of the year? Going up against Sapphire and Iron?”

“You don’t think that we can do it?”

“No,” Russel said bluntly. “I mean, they’ve got the Invincible Girl, they’ve got Yang, they’ve got Sunset and her broken semblance-”

“And we’ve got us,” Weiss declared. “And while it’s true that we may not seem to have so much… natural talent at our disposal, I know that we have the materials that we can make something of, if we work together.” Her grandfather had built the world’s greatest commercial empire from the beginnings of nothing but a pick-axe, some charisma, and an educated guess as to where dust might be found; compared to that, unseating their more superficially skilled rivals from the top of the perch should be child’s play. “Tactics and wit will make up for our lack of talent.” She saw that Russel still looked sceptical, so she said, “You don’t have to believe that it will work, at this stage – I hope to prove to you that it can work soon enough – all I ask right now is that you are willing to try. I know that we’ve wasted a lot of time, but we’re still only first-years, and even the Vytal Festival is still months away. If we work hard, then we can be proud even if we fall short, but if we give up now, then we are certain to fail, and we won’t even be able to be proud of trying.” She took a deep breath, as she thought about how her father would hate to hear her say that, or anything like it. She wasn’t allowed to fail; she was a Schnee, and Schnees did not fail.

Except for failing as a parent, apparently.

“Well, okay then,” Russel said. “Let’s give this thing a shot!”

Weiss nodded, turning to the last member of their team, the one who had yet to speak. “Cardin?”

Cardin sighed. “Yeah,” he said, less enthusiastically than Weiss might have liked. “Like you said, we have to try, otherwise. Yeah.”

“Hmm,” Weiss murmured. “I’m glad to have you all on board, because only together can we move forward; only together, mutually supporting one another, can we all achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves, which brings me to my next question: what is that you want. I’m not talking about your dreams or your ultimate ambitions, I’m talking about here and now: what is it that we can actually achieve? What is it that we can help one another to achieve?” She looked at her three teammates. “Flash, what is that you want?”

Flash was silent a moment, looking down at his hands, which were clasped together in this knee. “Immediately?” he asked.

“Or near enough,” Weiss confirmed. “Something reasonably short term that we can get on with.”

Flash nodded. “Then I want to win tomorrow’s exercise,” he said. “I want to beat Team Sapphire.”

Russel’s eyebrows rose. “You want to beat your ex?”

Flash sighed. “It’s not like that-”

“Isn’t it?” Russel replied. “Kinda sounds like it.”

“It… okay, it’s kind of like that, but only because…” He trailed off.

“You can speak freely,” Weiss assured him. “You all can,” she added quickly. “Although… I suppose that I shouldn’t force you to, if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine,” Flash said swiftly. “It’s just… I went out with Sunset for a while, and I think I’ve got a good feel for who she is. And if I’m right, if she is who I think she is, then she’s laughing at me right now; she’s laughing at all of us but at me, specifically, for being such a chump, for being stuck down here while she’s soaring so high.”

“I think you’re underestimating her,” Cardin said.

Now it was Flash’s turn to raise his eyebrows, and to widen his eyes as well, for that matter. “What did you say?”

“I said you’re underestimating her,” Cardin repeated. “I don’t think that she’s laughing at you. She might hate you, but I don’t think she enjoys your misfortune.”

Flash’s eyes, which had been so wide a moment ago, now narrowed. “Are you sure you haven’t been replaced by a White Fang agent?”

“No,” Cardin said. “I just think… I don’t think she’s vindictive towards you.”

“You remember that she basically just ruined your life, right?” Russel asked.

Cardin nodded glumly. “Can you say that I didn’t deserve it?”

Russel shrugged. “I mean… if it had been one of my cousins that you treated like that, I would have kicked your ass, so… I guess I can see your point.”

“You would have kicked my ass?” asked Cardin incredulously.

“Okay, probably not, but I would have given it a try,” Russel replied. “The point is-”

“The point is that you’re being very sanguine about it,” Flash interrupted.

Cardin sighed. “I made my bed,” he declared. “What’s the point in being mad at Sunset? She didn’t ruin my life; I ruined my life when I came out with all that crap, I ruined my life when I decided to hide who I was from Skystar instead of changing who I was. I ruined my life when I decided to be a dick. I don’t know, maybe Penny was right about the faunus and they really aren’t any different from us. Whether they are or not, it… it doesn’t much matter now. And as for Sunset… when I talked to her… she didn’t seem to be revelling in what she’d done. It was like she was… I don’t know how to describe it except to say that, when I asked what made her better than me, she said-”

“'I got lucky,'” Weiss murmured. “She said the same thing to me.”

“That… doesn’t sound like Sunset,” Flash said. “At least not the Sunset I know.”

“Maybe you don’t know her as well as you think?” Russel suggested.

Flash didn’t reply to that, but his expression became a pensive one, with his brow slightly furrowed and his forehead lined with thought.

“That doesn’t really matter right now,” Weiss declared. “Unless it changes your decision quite radically… even then, it doesn’t matter that much. Not because what you want is unimportant,” she added hastily, lest he should get the wrong idea, “but because beating Team Sapphire and Team Iron in tomorrow’s exercise is precisely the kind of thing we should be aiming for in order to demonstrate our new commitment and resolve. I suppose the question is, is there something else that you want instead?”

Flash took a moment to consider, then shook his head. “No,” he said. “Not right now. Not that I can think of.”

“I see,” Weiss said quietly. “Let me know – let us all know – when or if you change your mind. I intend to hold these meetings regularly so that we can update our goals as we, hopefully, progress them.”

“You can tell you’re a businessman’s daughter,” Cardin muttered.

It took Weiss a moment to realise what he meant. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe. “Yes, I suppose it is rather… yes,” she admitted. “I see what you mean. But it’s better than nothing, don’t you think? It’s better than me ignoring you and leaving this team to rot in the doldrums, isn’t it?”

“Sure,” Cardin agreed. “I just thought it was… worth pointing out.”

“Hmm,” Weiss murmured. She looked away from him and towards Russel. “As far as Flash’s goal is concerned, once we’re done here, I’ll fill you all in on what I’ve learned about the exercise, and we can strategise in advance, and then get in some training in preparation. But right now: Russel, how about you? What would you like to achieve?”

Russel clasped his hands behind the back of his head. “I don’t know; what kind of things do you have in mind?”

“That’s for you to say, not me,” Weiss reminded him. “Or else it won’t be your goal, will it?”

Russel chuckled. “I guess not. But I don’t know.”

“It can be anything,” Weiss urged, “no matter how small.”

“Do I have to come up with something right now?”

“Yes,” Weiss insisted. “Because if you don’t, then you’ll be helping us with our goals and getting nothing in return, and we still won’t be a team. There must be something?”

“I… I’d like to get a decent grade on one of Oobleck’s papers for once, I guess,” Russel said. “I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m a moron.”

“Alright then,” Weiss said. “After we’re done training, we can sit down and see where you’re going wrong and how you can do better.” She swallowed before she turned once more to face Cardin. “And now it’s your turn.”

Cardin didn’t reply. He didn’t even look at Weiss, his face was lowered towards the ground. “I don’t know either.”

Weiss sighed. “You just heard me explain to Russel why this is important.”

“Well, why don’t you tell us what you want then?” Cardin demanded. “What’s your goal that we all have to help you with?”

That was a fair question, and one that Weiss should have seen coming. She placed one hand upon her hip as she thought about it. She would have said ‘beating Sapphire and Iron in tomorrow’s exercise’ except that Flash had already beaten her to it. What else could she do to put Team WWSR back on the map and show that they meant business from now on? Ah, yes, she had it. “I want this team to win a four on four match in Professor Goodwitch’s class.” She was in the top quartile individually – albeit clinging on to her place there somewhat since the arrival of the students from the other academies – but the team had never managed to triumph in an even fight against another quartet of students. If they could turn that around, it would go a long way towards creating some buzz before the Vytal Festival. “We’re none of us terrible fighters, so we should be able to do it so long as we work together. Something else we can work on in our training session, and now back to you, Cardin.”

“You don’t want to know what I want.”

“Yes, we do,” Weiss declared.

“I-”

“Not the time, Russel,” Weiss said.

“I was only kidding.”

“Still not the time,” Weiss replied magisterially.

“Okay, okay, sheesh,” Russel muttered.

Flash leaned forwards, and put a hand on Cardin’s knee. “You want her back, don’t you?”

Cardin nodded glumly. “It’s the only thing I want.”

“Good for you,” Russel said, “but I don’t think-”

“If that’s what you want,” Weiss said. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“What?” Russel cried. “Are you for real?”

“It’s what Cardin wants,” Weiss said simply.

“If I’d known that we could say literally anything, then I would have picked something cooler than a grade!” Russel yelled. “What I really want is a million lien!”

Weiss gave him a slightly frosty look. “Don’t push it, Russel,” she urged him.

“He said it himself; he lost his girlfriend because he was a dumbass!” Russel insisted. “Why should we help him get her back?”

That was not a completely invalid question. It was not exactly their business, and to be honest, Weiss was not without instincts telling her exactly the same thing that Russel was telling her: to leave this alone, to have nothing to do with it, to let Cardin sort this particular problem out himself.

But, as she had suspected, as she had feared, it was the only thing that mattered to him right now.

“Then you had best play matchmaker, Miss Schnee.”

Yes, Professor.

“Because Cardin is our teammate,” Weiss said, “and this is important to him.”

“And if you want a self-interested reason, it’s hard to fight with a broken heart,” Flash added. “Trust me, I know. So if you want the team to do well, then we kind of need to sort this out.”

Weiss smiled slightly. “There, see.”

“You guys don’t need to do this,” Cardin muttered. “Certainly not for the sake of the team.”

“How about for your sake?” Flash asked.

Cardin looked at him. “Do you think I deserve it?”

“I think so,” Flash said.

“Why?”

“Because you told me you did, when you admitted that it was all your fault,” he told Cardin. “If you hadn’t said that, then you wouldn’t deserve a second chance. But you did. So you do.”

Cardin leaned back. “Stop that,” he said.

Flash frowned. “Stop what?”

“Being so… so nice!”

“There’s such a thing as being too nice?”

“Yes!” Cardin said. “And you’re being it!” He hesitated. “But… thanks.” He looked at Weiss. “Thanks.”

Russel huffed slightly. “So how are we supposed to persuade the First Councillor’s daughter to give this bonehead another shot?”

Weiss hesitated. “I…”

“You don’t have a clue, do you?”

“Not yet, no,” she admitted. “But together, I’m sure that we can think of something. We each have a goal before us, a stepping stone on the road to our final goals, our dreams. And so long as we keep moving forward together, then all of our ambitions can be achieved, and all of our dreams can be made to come true.”

Comments

[Web of Hope]

Honestly, they have a decently well rounded team. Funnel people to Cardin and make sure he can wail on them, and you win.

[Kiue Jin]

Honestly, I feel like part of Cardin's redemption should be to have him sit down and ask Blake about the history of Human/Faunus relations. Both to get a different perspective from someone on the other side of history, but also to get a better understand of what caused the White Fang as a movement... and the series of events that caused it to be usurped by people like Adam.

[Adser]

10744285
They have by far the tankiest team, between Flash and Cardin being built like tanks, Weiss being a hard support (that keeps acting like a DPS) and Russel being... I don't know how he fights.

They should be able to consolidate their position and slowly push forward, cornering their enemies. It is an strategy that would take a lot of teamwork, but it is their best shot. They do not have the speed to manage anything else and Weiss going into offensive is a waste of aura, she is just too good as a support for her team.

[Lancerguy]

Team building as only a Schnee can, good on you Weiss. Also, it is clear that there is more to the Sunset/Flash breakup than either is letting on, so that will be interesting to see. Also Weiss, no need to be modest, we know you had 5 cake butlers

[Mastermind4892]

Now this is character development. One of the very few things I was disappointed with the original version of the story was how little time in the spotlight Weiss had, even with such a relatively subpar team. Like I said in the chapter when Cardin lost Skystar, it is when we hit our lowest point that we become open to the greatest change. Look at how much Cardin has grown!

Cardin sighed. “I made my bed,” he declared. “What’s the point in being mad at Sunset? She didn’t ruin my life; I ruined my life when I came out with all that crap, I ruined my life when I decided to hide who I was from Skystar instead of changing who I was. I ruined my life when I decided to be a dick. I don’t know, maybe Penny was right about the faunus and they really aren’t any different from us. Whether they are or not, it… it doesn’t much matter now.

I was practically applauding Cardin at that point! What Sunset did to him was harsh but fair. He deserved it. And just as importantly, she hit him in a way that he would actually learn from. When you want to punish someone and teach them a lesson at the same time, you have to do it in a way that makes it stick. And let’s be honest, there’s no kind of detention from Ozpin that would have made Cardin Winchester rethink his life like this.

And well done to you, Weiss. You’re already shaping up into a better leader than your father.

[RedDog5207]

10744349

Hammer and anvil then? Flash and Cardin are like a phalanx (the anvil) while Weiss and Russel are the mobile cavalry/strikers (the hammer).

[Adser]

10744514
Well, in a duel they already have a wall to push against (the arena limit) so you could have that as the anvil while the entire team goes forward as a hydraulic press.

The issue with letting Weiss go ahead and act as a hammer is that she is fragile, so a move like that is extremely risky for a team that has the advantage in long, controlled fights. I am also ignoring Russel because I have no idea how he fights.

[Hexan Tronic]

This is nice. Good to see Weiss taking this seriously. Perhaps, if their team makes a good showing against Iron or Sapphire, as well as doing well in the 4 vs 4, then maybe Weiss can get some leader advice from Sunset, or perhaps even help for Cardin's goal.

[Christopher28]

And you have created a mini-arc around Cardin flipping Winchester that I am now dying to see to it's completion.

You brilliant bastard.

[Christopher28]

10744285
Unless the person you're 'funneling' to Cardin is Yang, or Pyrrha, or Penny, or Rainbow Dash... or Sunset... or... well, anyone who can one shot Cardin. Because being tanky doesn't mean someone can't kick your ass and send you flying out of the ring. And then your formation is broken.

Flash is a better tank, because his semblance will at least allow him to keep tanking till he runs out of Aura.

[Animatorsnake]

Flash nodded. “Then I want to win tomorrow’s exercise,” he said. “I want to beat Team Sapphire.”

Russel’s eyebrows rose. “You want to beat your ex?”

Yesh Flash, first a Waifu Stealer, now a Waifu Beater, for shame, but seriously though, what was the real reason Flash broke up with Sunset, I need to hear the words from the man himself.

[Animatorsnake]

So let's see here, Russell wants some academic success in one of the classes - and possibly a million lien; Cardin wants Skystar back or at least wants a second chance; Weiss wants to win a four-vs-four match in Miss Goodwitch's class; while Flash simply wants to beat team SAPR. Weiss & Flash's goals are pretty similar honestly, though I wonder if this is how Flash saw Sunset - prior to their breakup or afterwards?

[Snowdrifter]

10863782
I suspect either his mother pressured him to dump Sunset becasue she was a faunus from the poor side of town. Whether Flash's mother was, in turn pressured by someone on the Council or was just trying to keep her nose brown clean (she's the Council's attorney, not a member herself and can be replaced if the Council wants) we don't know.

[Raul]

“We had a cake butler,” Weiss said dryly.

That is one of my favorite recurring jokes in Chibi.

And sweet lord the development is LEAGUES above the original tale. I’m genuinely appreciative of it.