Author Notes for Not this Time, Fate

**Coeur's Notes**

Here we are, a new story – el gasp.

Welcome to, "*Not this time, fate*" – a tale which has been in the planning stages for like… seven months? A long time, anyway… I just never got round to starting it due to having so many other fics on hand.

So what will this be? Humour like *Professor Arc*, pure serious-ness like *Stress Relief*? It will be… more of a mix, something I don't want to categorise with a genre. There will be humour, it will make you laugh when it happens. But there will also be very serious moments, and maybe even times when you "aww." We'll see.

Update schedule is every 2 weeks currently, and our beta for this story is College Fool – who you may know for a number of stories, or just from a propensity to drag flying vehicles from the sky at any moment. Worry not, no Bullheads were harmed in the making of this chapter at least.

Pairing is SECRET – but *again*, no harem. It is a 1 - 1 pairing, and yes, it has been decided… and I suppose I'll throw a bone and say it's also not a pairing I have written before. I like to try out different pairings, as opposed to being that guy who just writes one thing.

So here we go, I'm never very good at first chapters – call it a curse. This was more a case of setting the scene, and importantly, showing what effect a life of repeats and death has had on Jaune as a character. What adaptations he's had to make, both in terms of personality and actions.

Anyway, I want to answer a question I'm sure nearly 100% of readers who still want to see more chapters of this are probably asking.

"How long will it be before Beacon?"

Well, normally I wouldn't say – but I don't think it's spoilery to say when.

Chapter 5 SHOULD (capitalised for a reason here) be when he arrives at Beacon, though he'll start interacting with some canon characters next chapter – the main cast will start to play in chapters 2, 3 and 4. So don't worry, we're not going to have ages of Jaune in a pre-Beacon life. Most of it will be handled with time skips, but stopping every now and then to show important parts in his development.

### Chapter 2

**Friday, March 18**

**Coeur's Notes**

Hey all, second chapter here. A lot of comments on the last chapter, including a few people pointing out what they believe are plot holes. Obviously not much has been covered yet, but have a little faith. This story has been carefully planned and what many are suggesting are holes, are actually important plot points . Simply put, they're important - just not explained yet. Delve deeper, think on them... ask why - don't just assume they're wrong, because you might be on to something intentional. I get that a lot in my other fics too, where people say "you've made a mistake here because..." and I'm thinking "You noticed something I did on purpose, I just wish you'd think on it and dig deeper, instead of assuming it's a mistake."

And then those same people ask other questions and I'm like "Argh... but you had the answer right there! You just assumed it was wrong!" xD

Anyway, this chapter might answer a few, while also explaining why Jaune is in the current situation he is in. And for those commenting that the summary doesn't match the content – i.e. the summary suggested a holiday, but he isn't taking one. Well, before he can take a holiday – it needs to be shown why he "needs" one – but also why he would "take" one, in a way that doesn't make him seem out of character. Story will match summary, don't worry.

Anyway, enough shenanigans – enjoy this ridiculously long chapter. Oh, and as always, got to love the pairing theories, which have sprung up already. Some have raised valid points, including the fact that yes, indeed I have said on my profile that I won't be repeating pairings. Hmm… da theory-crafting.

My Beta College Fool - who really does a lot of work helping me - is also going to add some comments at the bottom too. Hope you'll check them out.

Holiday taken and accepted. The story won't suddenly lose all seriousness, but you can no doubt see that it can now match the summary. Author notes shouldn't really be this long again - there's just something to address in them on this chapter, sort of a disclaimer of sorts.

Hoo boy, this is a long chapter. About to get longer through notes, welp. So yeah – a lot was covered here, and Jaune officially takes his holiday. As you can see, this makes a little more sense given his character and personality. I thought it would be more than a little OoC for him to wake up and just go "balls to this, screw my friends, I'm out!"

We've also covered some – but not all – of his early life of repeats. So, to answer those who asked, yes – Jaune *has* tried a wide array of things. Loads of different things, over and over… we all think about that when it comes to these kind of stories, don't we?

Because they all end on the second or third, when someone finds a new way of doing things and it all just goes well. But what happens when it doesn't? What happens when fifty or sixty repeats later… it's still not working? Do you give up?

What else is there to say? Oh, I know.

Yes, some may disagree with the results of alternate loops. "There's no way Ozpin wouldn't accept his time travelling!" or "If he talks about Penny, Ironwood would have to believe him!"

We'll all have differing views on these things, of course we will. I am of the firm belief that there's no way this could ever work out. Ironwood and Ozpin (as just one example - but this holds true for other random repeats) are both in this huge subterfuge battle with Cinder, before Beacon even starts (since Fall Maiden attack happened before it we assume) – so both are aware of spies, and looking for them. Then this "time traveller" shows up, spouting state secrets? State secrets he knows either due to time travel, or being a spy... when they're already *looking* for a spy? I know which I'd believe.

Again, if you disagree – let's agree to disagree. But I can't see them buying it. It shouldn't influence the enjoyment of the story *too* much anyway, since it's in the past. If you want, just take it as "for the purposes of this story, no earlier solutions Jaune tried worked out." Basically, I don't want to get into arguments with people who fully believe that "Pyrrha would believe him!" or something. Maybe you think there's a password he could use on someone... something infallible... but I'm not sure there's any that couldn't have been found through more mundane skills, like hacking - or interrogating someone. You think that, I don't - let's just not worry about it and not argue about it! :D

Like I said, not bashing on anyone who "does" this kind of stuff. Even if I dislike it when people *instantly* accept or believe time travel – I mean, at least make it grudging, or require *serious* proof… but hey-ho. I dislike harems too, but others enjoy them. It's all subjective, and we like different things.

**College Fool's Notes:**

Yo.

I'm College Fool, and I'm Coeur's muse/Beta for Not This Time, Fate, and I am not a crook. Usually.

In case you think that You Too can win the privilege of being Coeur's Beta by contributing to Coeur's , I'm sad to say that's not how I got this privilege. After all, if I patronized Coeur with anything more than words, I'd insist he write those backlog fills for Writer Games. [/badum-tish] I'm here since I was Coeur's muse for this since about... has it really been 9 months ago? NTTF is an old idea that came well before Season 3 even started, and I'm pleased it can be read by an audience with the right frame of reference.

Is the premise is a no-sell for you? Can't accept countless losses by Our Hero, or uninterested in jumping well past a character's initial character development? Shame, thanks for trying, hope you have a good day. For the rest- I bet more of you will enjoy it than not. A lot more people, and a lot more enjoyment. NTTF is going to be a good length story, and dare I say it, a great experience. Something that will (hopefully) keep you entertained for the rest of the year, more or less.

There's been a lot of thought into this story, and so I'll sign off just recommending each and every one of you keep an open mind and patience. If you think you've already seen the critical flaw that undermines the premise and invalidates the story... eh, you probably haven't. Chances are if it's not inconsequential- it's deliberate.

Till next time,

C.F.

## April 2016

### Chapter 3

**Friday, April 1**

**Coeur's Notes**

April fools, it's not a chapter - it's a 13,000 essay on my nasal hair...

Double April fools, it's not that, it's actually a chapter... err... okay...

Right... yeah, moving on.

Hey guys, a fair warning; this chapter will include a bit of time skipping. In that sense I am going to try and make it so that every line break is a time skip – so that it's easier to read. That will mean however, that within the timeskip moments themselves, there might be some cases where there is a PoV switch "without" a line. What I've done in those cases is to use -

/-/

-to represent a break in the PoV. Honestly it should only really come up in this chapter, and a tiny bit of next chapter – as the timeskips will end there.

Hope you all enjoy, thanks for the many constructive reviews – I especially love all the crazy time travel mechanical discussions. It's one of those Freudian things that no one can prove or disprove in any way, so anything is possible. But that's what makes it fun I guess.

Long chapter is long. You know what, I hate timeskips, I really do. I just could not see a way out of them here. I'm sure a few people might say they could have read two years' worth of chapters – and they probably could. Some people like that kind of thing… I kinda do as well – so long as I don't have to write it xD

But the plan I have does not include 20 chapters of him growing up. I tried to give a sense of time here – these are all a few months apart, and it ends three months or so before Beacon. I've tried to show in what ways he is developing here, but hey-ho – I think there will be some who worry Jaune is becoming OoC.

All I can say is… make your own call. You can trust that I have a plan and give it a go, or if you don't like it – ah well, that's life I guess. This fic will not be a harem – I will state again. Jaune has had sex with women, it's not the same as being married to them. People have sex, but that's all it is. Nor is he some kind of lady-killer, as I tried to explain in the chapter - he just from all his repeats who will and won't. Consider it the results of his experimental stage early on.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it – and remember; everything here, happened for a reason. There are always hints to be had if you dig deep and ask why. ;-)

Also I hope you don't think Jaune felt under powered at the end there. He doesn't have aura or training - yet he was still able to kill a Beowolf with nothing more than his bare hands. I mean he broke his fist on it, reset it, splashed steam in its face then tore a pipe off a wall to beat it to a pulp. 0.o - that's pretty badass.

**College Fool's Notes:**

Spoiler Alert- Jaune dies next chapter!

Psh, yeah right. Least believable April Fool's ever.

It's hard to put say too much about this chapter because most of my thoughts really have to do with the next chapter, or much later, so here's some writer tips of betaing.

One of the fun parts of being beta- making little suggestions to hit The Feels here or set up chekov's guns there- is mixed by the tension of not spoiling those setups that will pay off in the distant future. Being a beta is a bit of a wrestle- you have to challenge someone's ideas, but no when not to press- but for anyone trying to do that, here's the tip. If you're a beta making suggestions, always have a reason for what you suggest. And if you're a writer, always have a reason to refuse (even if that reason is, sometimes, 'I don't feel like that' or 'that's not the story I want to tell'). That's the sort of mutual openness and respect that do anything from small tweaks like Balloona Mors versus Crocea Balloon (Balloon Death versus Yellow Ballon- which would you want for a weapon) to avoiding plot pitfalls (which of course Coeur would never, ever do... right?) Having a beta to bounce idea off is what turned this story from a vague idea to a credible outline with Themes and Plotlines and Stuff. Always good to have a rough idea of what you want to write before you try writing it.

But what's also charming about being a betas, even if one of is a filthy casual hobbiest and the other is Coeur Al'Aran, is the occasional little nod that sneaks in. There's an entire joke segment here Coeur put in as a nod to something he beta'd for me- a one shot that's just gone up today, actually. If you want to know what it is, check out 'A Talk Worth Having' by yours truly- a nice bit of cheer to offset this chapter's end.

Cheers,

College Fool

### Chapter 4

**Friday, April 15**

**Coeur's Notes**

A lot of people taking part in the theory-crafting, asking good questions and such – I'll always endeavour to answer those if I can. But I prefer to do so in a chapter to be honest. So you might find some answers to questions posed by many in this chapter.

That little Aura-unlocking thing from Nicholas, btw… it's something I would love to bring into more commonality in the fandom. We only ever hear Pyrrha doing it in the show, so a lot of people assume that it would always be the same (like a standardized chant). I like to think it might be different though… aura is about the soul, so if one person is going to use THEIR soul to unlock another's, then maybe they should be saying something deeply personal about themselves or their views.

So I like to slip different ones into my fics. In Professor Arc we hear Roman's, in this fic we hear Nicholas'. Again, I'm not saying it "changes" anything – but it would be a nice bit of extra character building, and specifically some for Pyrrha too. Since it would mean her quote is her specific views on the responsibilities of a Hunter, etc…

Hope you all enjoy – and thanks for all the thoughts and feedback.

Oh my, hello Blake – I wonder if anyone saw this coming? I shouldn't need to say this by the way… but I will, just in case people somehow got the wrong idea. Blake is not in lust for Jaune… nor was her flushing and blushing a sign of attraction. I know in a lot of fics blushing = love, but here she was merely flustered and put off-guard by Jaune's nudity. Nothing else.

And there is of course a vast difference between reading smut, and running around with a guy whose penis is waving around between his legs.

Also… yes, here comes one of the first points at which I can fully imagine someone going "PLOT-HOLE… explains reasons" at a point where I have actually *purposefully* done it. It's not a plot-hole, it has reasons which will make sense much later.

I'm glad to see people are liking the fic, I'm doing my best to take what could be a tired premise (time-travel) and give it some more life, specifically without turning Jaune into some kind of Edge Lord, or unrecognisable character. I'm working to keep him in-character and as believable as can be.

True words. Also remember that both people are humans and thus prone to mistakes, emotional outbursts and passion. The author may feel so passionate about a piece that they refuse to change an aspect, while the beta might consider that a foolish mistake. The trick is in finding a balance. Not every change is a good idea, and sometimes they might have knock-on effects that weaken a core idea the author has for much later.

**College Fool's Notes**

Beta Tips and Advice, Mk 2:

In my view, there are two primary roles for Betas in writing. There are mechanical betas, who focus on the mechanics of a story to make sure it reads well (punctuation, grammar, that sort of thing), but don't question the premise of the story itself. Then there are muse betas, who help flesh out ideas, develop themes, and have a responsibility to help keep a story on track if they see something that feels off.

So what should a beta do when their recommendation is rejected? Keep calm, chive on, but always remember who's story it is.

(Hint- not the beta's.)

It may surprise you, but Coeur and I don't always agree. In fact, we just had our first significant disagreement over NTTF. The cause may seem trivial- it's honestly about how far in advance this chapter starts from Beacon- but our arguments in support of our positions... teeth were gnashed, thousands of words were written, and counter-argument essays considered. Anyone who's been in an argument over fiction knows how passionate it can get.

So we stopped. We didn't let it run wild, we put the disagreement in context, and in the end we agreed to disagree.

When you're a beta, that's what you need to be prepared to do. Even if you think you're right, you always need to remember that it's not your story. I give Coeur my thoughts, and Coeur's taken a lot of input from them- more than I have any business expecting. But at the end of the day, my advice is just that- advice- and Coeur is free to take or refuse them as he sees fit. Even if I helped develop the story's idea, it's not my story. The story belongs to the person writing it- and if the Beta is so certain they're better, they can write it themselves. But it's not worth serious fighting over.

Sometimes you have to take a stand for quality and make your position known. When you do, be damned sure you can calmly and rationally support it down to bullet points of supporting arguments. But remember to keep perspective on what's important, so you can know when such a stand isn't called for. It may be that I was right and reviewers will remark on what I thought was a niggling feeling is not-right. It could very well be I was totally wrong and no one will care.

But you know what? Neither of us 'wins' either way, because it's not a contest between us. It's a collaboration between a writer and a beta.

So young writers, take that as your advice on how to handle disagreements in a mature fashion. And betas... know your place. :p

-C.F.

### Chapter 5

**Friday, April 29**

**Coeur's Notes**

Whaaaaa! Hi.

Thanks for all the kind reviews, I'm really enjoying writing this story so far – even if the word count on each chapter is a *real* nightmare. I know that a lot of people have been PMing me recently for advice and such, rest assured I always try to answer when I can. But I'm going through the summer period at work, which is a heavy time for us – so I won't always have time to write these, answer and do my normal job.

Not saying I won't respond, but please don't become upset if it takes me a few days (or even a week) – I really do have a lot on my plate and writing all of these fics isn't easy. I know some people say I'm talented or incredible, but it's honestly just plain old hard work. Hard work still requires a lot of time however, no matter how experienced you are. So yeah, forgive my delays – I will do my best to answer people seeking help on writing if I can.

That said, I can't really `read my fic and help me improve` as a lot of people ask – especially when they are sometimes 40-100k words. That would take me hours, so please if you want my help try for a more specific question. Sorry if that sounds rude, but I don't want to keep disappointing people and I do get over 20PM's a day sometimes. I'm only human.

Welp! Some things change and some stay the same. You're still going to be vomit-boy it seems.

So this chapter got me thinking about things… mainly because I had to watch the white trailer for the first time ever (no joke), I honestly was worried about how to write a robot fight into this. Thank god it was just a flashback – but that still got me thinking! First of all… aura, so poorly explained. It's a forcefield, yet Weiss could get cut like that?

That's fine though, I like the mystery. But the other thing… the white trailer makes quite a big deal of her scar, which then goes NEVER mentioned for the rest of the series. I wonder if that was an oversight by RT, or whether they never saw a point to it. I'm not saying everyone should have gone "SCARRRRR!" But a few instances of her running a finger down it, trying to cover with makeup – or hell, a conversation or plot point around it. Maybe a chance to show more of her character through it… but it's just never covered. Weird eh? It strikes me because as a writer I love Chekhov, I use a lot of his advice – and his most famous is Chekhov's Gun – the principle that anything that isn't necessary should be removed. If there is a gun in the room in chapter one, it must go off at some point. It may seem pedantic but they made a big point of the scar in the trailer, then to see it never utilised feels pointless to me.

And the scar just feels randomly uncared for. I think in a recent chapter of another fic I also used the example of Blake and dust. So dust is this substance that they use for all electronics, it's sold in convenience stores and Weiss is the daughter of THE biggest supplier. All seems fairly legit…

It also gives Blake super-powered elemental clones. Okay, still sounds alright. They then go through all other fights never using any… including a tournament that one would *really* think Weiss would want to win – and thus suggest dust for. I mean, do they even care!? Blake fought Adam sans her biggest weapon because… reasons?

Maybe it's expensive, maybe Weiss was cut off from her father, etc… but it's still a substance which apparently powers everything in the lack of fossil fuels. How could a household substance be impossible for them to get, if Weiss already went and got some for the train fight?

I dunno… pointless rant but still… feels random to me!

I feel like I should point out that the original plan relied on a few other factors, just in case some people clamour saying it would have been better ;). In this case Jaune's visit to Vale is under worse circumstances, so getting drunk *with* Yang would be opposite to what he's been trying to do all chapter. It wouldn't really make sense, given his stress, for him to relax and play with Yang. He wants her to ignore him.

**College Fool's Notes:**

So, story ideas change. And normally you, the reader, would never know. But how about a glimpse behind the scenes for something that was dropped?

When Coeur first started musing about this idea openly, it wasn't what you see today. Coeur sold it as comedy- pure comedy, and snark, and epic trollage. Some of that still applies, but the drama and trauma and underlying angst? I won't say it was all me, but I would say I had an effect on Coeur. Something about how countless loops of failure and misery and death might not be that funny...?

Crazy, I know. And so things changed, maybe for the better. But one thing I do regret- one thing I do miss- was this final scene with Yang.

When Couer and I batted ideas about, I was big on bringing in the cast early. The rough idea was that this arc would be the RWBY trailers, with Jaune encountering the girls during their trailer moments. I didn't win it all- couldn't sell Coeur on Jaune encountering Ruby while on a family winter vacation- but you've seen the results, we both agreed that the Yang trailer was important. Except... it wasn't this.

The 'original' Yang scene, back when it was straight comedy, was for Jaune to be a bystander and witness to the fight, and to be dodging the chaos and raiding the bar while Yang fought. Might not sound so funny now, but Coeur had an idea, and a punchline- in which Jaune entered (and ended) the fight by cracking a bottle of booze over Junior's head, giving a drunken 'I helped!' to round it off. Cue offering Yang a drink, laughs, and the two being too drunk to resist arrest when the police came. With consequences that basically parallel what we see next chapter.

But Coeur went with this. Different, not worse, but nowhere near as funny. Same narrative role, same plot function, but... well, stories change.

I will miss that image of Jaune and Yang cheerfully drinking eachother other under the bar, though.

## May 2016

### Chapter 6

**Friday, May 13**

Coeur's Notes

Another two weeks pass, another chapter released – I hope you all enjoy.

Thank you for all the reviews and comments, I especially love hearing your suggestions and predictions for what is going to happen. A few people asked for a timeline of ages for the sisters, so there's one right at the bottom. You can skip it if you're not interested though, it really doesn't affect much. It's just there for those who were curious.---

**Not much to say, hope you enjoyed it! I know a lot of people called the recruitment, it was kind of obvious – but I hope it surprised you in how it was handled. Except for one plucky reviewer who literally guessed it all, right down to Yang being used as collateral... wow, good job.**

**I also know a few will be disappointed he is going to Beacon. I know some people wanted an entirely original story in which he goes off and does his own thing, but this was planned from start to finish in advance, so I'll be sticking with that. Don't worry though – this won't be a mere repeat of canon. Things will be *very* mixed up.**

**Thanks for reading another ridiculously long chapter, please let me know what you thought.**

To explain further on CF's example – because it is a good one. Why doesn't Jaune just commit suicide at Beacon and go do it all again? Because it wouldn't be the same… because he does so one day into Beacon, he would go back one day before… to a time where he has already run away from them, where all these bonds he forged are broken. That's why he doesn't just off himself.

**College Fool's Notes**

So now that we've got to the point that- spoiler!- Jaune's actually going to Beacon anyway, I can mention one of the cooler things about the brainstorming process- trying to define the mechanics of how Jaune loops.

It might seem an odd question- he dies, he goes back- simple, right? But it wasn't. How far back? Why? What does he keep with him? Coeur knew he wanted Jaune to go back and try different things, but there was no clear goal post of when and where Jaune would go back to. A fixed point too close to Beacon wouldn't allow for training. A fixed point too far back had other problems, such as Jaune spending most of his time each loop outside of Beacon rather than inside it.

The rubber band mechanic came about by confronting a pretty important question- why doesn't Jaune just kill himself to get out of being trapped to Beacon? Coeur and I argued about this, but one of the key things is that Jaune can't be 'trapped'- he can always kill himself, relatively easily, and if the alternative to killing himself is more painful, then killing himself to loop out approaches a good idea.

Coeur made one point that I'm not sure got communicated clearly- if Jaune dies in this loop, he'll go back to the 'canon' timeline rather than back in the context of NTTF. He won't still be in the timeline that he's gotten close to his family in. But that doesn't stop him from running away and being a minstrel without them- which was also an idea.

What the rubber band mechanic does is provide Jaune a goal to work towards (survival and progress), with an incentive for success, while also deter throwing away any given loop. If Jaune went back a fixed amount of time, it wouldn't matter as much. But with a rubber band mechanic, if Jaune shams and kills himself out of convenience, he only goes a short time back- which is inconvenient, since it not only removes him from the loop he'd rather stay in, but hinders his ability to do anything the next loop and that he'd have to live without them. Add to the fact that not even Jaune knows what would happen if he died before the 'zero' point- and call that the real fear of death you saw with the Beowolf- and the worst point for Jaune to die is right at the start.

Which is fine- Jaune's plan of running away to survive for years as a minstrel applies no matter if he's in a loop close to his family or not- but it is inconvenient. Which, aside from emotional appeals that he's already trying to resist in a timeline in which he's aiming to run away and leave his friends to die, is the only real way to make Jaune do anything he doesn't want to do.

Which you shall (eventually) soon see. Mwahahahaha.

### Chapter 7

**Friday, May 27**

**Coeur's Notes**

One thing to note here, I usually don't like pointing things out, as to the majority of readers it was obvious, but some didn't seem to get. Jaune wasn't "tricked" into attending Beacon, nor did he care about the jail time for himself… he as good as *said* that in the chapter. The reason he accepted was all for Yang. The exact same reason as when he went back to save his mother from the Beowolf, despite that also being unnecessary. As she would die anyway when the repeat ends, he still did it because he cares for her. The same happened here…

One or two people seemed really worked up over it while a few others were just genuinely confused. They seemed to think Jaune was going full idiot mode, somehow forgetting that he can die and repeat. That's not the case. It's easy to *say* you are going to let your best friend (or mother) die or go to jail… harder to actually go ahead with it. I think it would have been very OoC for him to have been fully okay with being the sole factor which determines that Yang will go to jail and suffer alone, which (as I said in the chapter) would also condemn the rest of RWBY (and JNPR) to suffer in various ways.

I thought I might as well explain it to those who didn't grasp it.

For the majority who understood that, sorry for the pointless AN.

Wow, what a chapter this has been – I will admit, I got caught up in playing Total War : Warhammer, which is the main reason why I had to rush this. Forgive meee, for I was weak. I actually don't get much time to play games nowadays, because I want to keep writing and I have to work my 9-5 too, so I'm unpractised on how to fit playing into the system. Eh, it's just early release day excitement, it will fade in time.

So, here we have it – one half of Jaune's team has been cemented, it's Weiss and Jaune, now who will be the second pair? It's also fun to mimic things in the show so well and subvert them in tiny ways… the scene where Jaune is stuck in the tree, a mimicry of when Weiss discovers him stuck to a tree by Pyrrha. The only difference? Jaune didn't flirt with Weiss.

That was all it took. So her bad impression of him hasn't happened… yet. Poor Ruby too, I feel like I'm bashing, but I'm not – I love them both. Just that like it or not, Weiss was a bitch to Ruby at this point.

[On the Arc family]

Oh, and because people wanted it. I wrote a small summary of how Nicholas and Juniper Arc first came together. It's just their background, and yes it's weird. You didn't think a family like that would be normal, did you?

**The Story of the Arc Family – A Summary**

Nicholas Arc was a disillusioned scion of a famous family, forced into attending Beacon by his parents – he accepted more to escape them than for any other reason. His life at Beacon was easier than home, even if he bitterly hated the idea of becoming a Hunter he still made strong friendships with his team and other people.

It was on his second year at Beacon that his team took him out for his eighteenth birthday, getting drunk and having a dinner at a ratty diner in downtown Vale. It was there that he met Juniper White, a young waitress who ended up serving them. Juniper claimed to be 18 but was in truth only 16, an orphan from the Mt Glenn disaster – unnamed and given the moniker White as hundreds others were at the time. She had lied about her age in order to secure a job for herself after running away from the mass-filled orphanages. That she both looked and acted older was enough to convince most people of her age.

Nicholas developed a crush on the girl after meeting her the first time, dragging his team back there on multiple occasions – despite the trash food. It was only ever a distant admiration from a young man too uncertain to ever approach her, but it was enough to draw the teasing attention of his team. Juniper in return noticed it, but instead played with his feelings in order to generate more tips for herself. She barely earned enough to get by, and needed the job to continue being able to pay rent on her apartment and get enough food to live was through this flirtation and teasing from her that the two got to know each other a little more.

Things carried on like that for a year or more, with Nicholas still dragging his team to her diner whenever they were free, and coming alone when they weren't. Juniper continued to encourage it, the venue relying on constant custom and her on tips to get by. When Juniper became seventeen however, she finally gave in to some of his approaches, namely to go out on a date. In what turned into a drunken night out she decided to both let him down gently, but also take him for a ride anyway. She never expected to get pregnant from it, and neither did he.

Nicholas immediately asked for her hand in marriage – something she rejected quite vocally in the middle of a crowded café where she had taken him to break the news of her pregnancy. She then rebuked him for embarrassing her, despite him feeling humiliated on one knee. On the other hand neither were willing to go through with an abortion. Nicholas being the most vehement, and immensely relieved when Juniper turned out to feel the same. Sapphire was born naturally nine months later, with Juniper drawing on some level of support for single mothers from the Vale Council, and also her maternity pay from her job - which she continued after giving birth.

Nicholas, still being a student of Beacon, obviously couldn't raise a child – but was desperate to be involved in his daughter's life any way he could… despite that, he was worried that Juniper might not want him in their life at all. He was surprised when Juniper encouraged it, however. It was only then that he learned her life as an orphan and how she didn't want her child to go through that. He also then learned that she was only 17 to his 20, leading to much ribbing from his teammates. They raised Sapphire together, with him visiting in evenings and spending time with her every weekend (his team also helping out when she needed to go work her shift, a veritable squad of aunties and uncles happy to do whatever they could) – and by the time Sapphire was 2, he had been such a constant presence in Juniper's life that she slowly began to fall for him. Not for the bumbling, amorous teen that always watched and admired her, or the shy man who asked her out - but a kind and laughing young adult who doted on his daughter, who made mistakes and got baby vomit on him, but laughed it all off as part and parcel of life. A reliable person.

They were married a year before Nicholas left Beacon. In a small and private ceremony attended only by his team and some civil officials who could recognise it. And, when he graduated, Nicholas cut ties with his family and built a small house with Juniper out in Ansel (land outside the walls being dirt cheap due to danger). Coral & Sable came a year after that, with Juniper joking that it must have happened when they were "breaking-in" the house.

Jade & Hazel came soon after those two, another pair of twins that came without any complications. And though the family was beginning to grow large, Nicholas was gaining some reputation as a powerful Hunter and thus life was comfortable. Juniper though, desired a son, if only because after living a life without family – she now wanted to surround herself with it.

Jaune was to be that son.

Lavender actually came about as a result of the two celebrating the birth of their son a little too happily, Juniper conceiving barely a month after giving birth. This pregnancy however, was filled with problems…

It was touch and go for a while, with doctors not knowing whether the child, mother or either of them would survive. At just seven months they decided to operate, bringing forth a child that was both weak and dying – only just surviving thanks to the fast response from the hospital, and the vast amounts of lien Nicholas was able to throw at what might have been a fool's chance. Against all odds, Lavender was able to survive.

Juniper and Nicholas decided not to risk it any more after that. Already so drained and broken over the fear of losing their littlest girl. She was weak and needed constant care, along with medical check-ups and such. The Arc family was big enough, they felt… let's not risk anyone on another.

Then Amber happened four years later… whoops.

So as you can see, not a perfect family in any sense of the word - they were irresponsible, but they were teenagers from difficult backgrounds. The important thing is that both were willing to do their best for the people who really mattered - and eventually - found love with one another. Obviously the event with Sylver Arc did happen among that, but I left it out for the sake of focussing on Juniper and Nicholas. You know how that happened from previous chapters.

And now we can all see the origins of "All you need is a little confidence, son."

And imagine Juniper rolling her eyes so hard she nearly knocks herself out.

**College Fool's Notes**

This chapter was a hard one for Coeur and myself to get behind. The broad beats were known for some time, but the specifics? The jokes? That's harder. And that was part of the tone change. In the Lighter Happier Concept (TM), this section was pure laughs and Jaune trolling. Now? Different, not worse, but a bit harder to get through to the points Coeur really has in mind.

Still, even as tone changed it was still fun. I remember laughing when Coeur suggested Jaune and the parachute- it's just that sort of little call-back to canon that makes time-looping fanfiction a fun subgenre in and of itself. Even if this chapter might not be the funniest, there's a number of things Coeur has in here that are good stuff from the insider perspective. Look forward to it playing out over time.

## June 2016

### Chapter 8

**Friday, June 10**

**Coeur's Notes**

Ahh initiation, bane of my writing. There are things that just need to be done in a story in most cases and this is one of them. You can't really skip it, not unless you start your story *after* it. But after writing about it so often, I do start to despise it.

Just need to get it out the way so I can move onto the better stuff. This chapter may start off a little jumpy as a result, mostly my attempt to get through it at a decent clip. I mean hell, I think it took up like… 3-5 episodes?

I wonder if it might just be a case of me personally having written one too many initiations.

Argh, I hate these events so much… there's very little you can do in making them original or new – yet they still need to happen. All I can say is that I'm looking forward to having more freedom come next chapter, much of which is already planned out and in my opinion looks better already.

So there we have it, the teams as they stand. Deciding it was not a case of going "Oh, let's just switch one person around" but actually me sitting down months ago when I shared the idea with College Fool, and asking myself "Which combination of characters best serves the plot, while also creating problems for our poor little protagonist?"

I considered breaking every single person up, with no preferences as to keeping any of the partnerships together. Ultimately, however, it just came about that Yang and Blake would be best. And you can probably see why. Nora and Ren are just too passive, too accepting. They would allow Jaune to fade into the distance if he wanted to, hell, Nora would *encourage* him with acting out to get in trouble. Meanwhile Pyrrha as a partner would not be confident or aggressive enough to try and stop him. Ruby also has too much influence on him because reasons... this is the perfect balance in my eyes.

Oh, and btw, Jazzberry and Rubine are technically colours, yes. The RWBY lore is a little inconsistent at times… we know last names can be used in the letters due to Sky Lark using L in Cardinal. Plus, as one reviewer pointed out to me, Team SSSN isn't a colour at all – but a celestial body. Either way, I stuck to colours for the sake of being careful ;)

### Chapter 9

**Friday, June 24**

**Coeur's Notes**

One or two people have asked, "is this serious or comedy? It seems to go back and forth…" Well, it is a serious fic with comedy, but I would often call it black comedy. The jokes of the previous chapter, the amusing instances in the future… they are there to be laughed at, but they also hint at deeper, darker things. Weiss' obstinacy in the previous chapter in having Jaune as her partner was played for laughs, but it's true that to Jaune – this could mean his death in the long run.

So yes, this is a serious fic, but it also has comedy in it as well. It is meant to be a meshing of many genres, and honestly there has always been a little comedy – interspersed with darker moments, as will continue to be. It isn't meant to be slapstick or school-life comedy, though it may at times feel like it. I suppose the only thing I can say is to think of the reasons behind why Jaune is acting in such a manner. And that should drain it of some light-heartedness.

Birth of a team, eh? Well, not all births are without their complications, lol.

Well there we go, another chapter of NTF. It's a longer one once more. Just to let you all know, I do try to make sure all chapters are a decent length, but that doesn't mean I will drag them out if it serves no purpose. Last chapter was 10k words simply because that was where it came to an end. I could have added 5k easily, but it would have diluted the story and served no purpose. Similarly, I could have taken the first 5 from this and slapped it on the end, but then it would have ended at a weird spot. Like after one lesson, then just ending.

It made sense to end it after initiation, as that was a big event coming to an end.

On another note, yes I am changing lesson plans around a little. In the show we naturally see barely any lessons, but since a lot of this will revolve around Jaune settling in, we will see more of them. That means things may be in different orders, though it's nothing big. I literally mean tiny things like Oobleck's lesson being on a different day to Port's when in the show, I can't remember if they were meant to be on the same day. And in this chapter, Weiss meeting Port in his office instead of on a balcony.

Minute little details.

## July 2016

Chapter 10

**Friday, July 8**

**Coeur's Notes**

So I thought I might answer a query or two some have raised. Last chapter I pointed out that the story is still serious despite the comedy, so long as you look at the reasons *why* Jaune is acting in such a way. This time I thought I might mention why the PoV has switched to feature Jaune so sparsely – compared to say the first five chapters which were all about him.

Essentially it's a design choice by me, in which this allows us to see the actions of Jaune from the outside. His PoV would actually be fairly angst-ridden, with every little thing he says or does analysed within his own mind. It would rob a lot of the mystery from "why" he does things, while also making it a chore to read. This is the reason why I mostly have been writing from the PoV of people from outside looking in.

As the series progresses, it will start to inverse a little, slowly becoming more Jaune PoV centric. But yes, it was a decision choice by me.

Another chapter, another week – I hope you enjoyed. So about Jaune, aura and pain... I realise that people can ignore pain in life-threatening situations, because the feeling is pushed back by the body in favour of survival. But in training, I don't think so. There's a lack of "certainty" of death that would keep you fighting past exhaustion and agony. So yeah, Jaune is still a human… his mind may go back each time, but his body does not. Certain tolerances he may have built up (including his drinking) are unfortunately reset. As such, yes, getting knocked about by Weiss and Cardin *does* hurt him. A lot. Thus there is incentive to avoid it.

He can push through with mental discipline, as he did here in letting Weiss continue to wail on him. But that doesn't mean he won't end up feeling and regretting it. He is not an invincible tank; he just has more skill and knowledge than just about any other student. His weakness is conditioning. Hopefully you'll notice I used the word "instincts" instead of muscle memory too. Obviously, he has no muscle memory.

A personality switch with the girl, it's a hint at how he has tried so many different things. It's not that he is or isn't that kind of guy. It's that he knew the exact words and way to act to get what he 's almost a nod to how he has acted in previous lives.

## August 2017

### Chapter 50

**Saturday, August 5**

Here we are yet again, a chapter of NTF as we move on towards the climax.

Well… I like to think of myself as a brave man, but let's see the response this gets, eh?

Probably plenty of rage. We'll see.

### Chapter 51

**Saturday, August 12**

**Coeur's Notes**

Here's the chapter. Just to note that it is long, and in a way, it might also feel like it would have been better split into two chapters. I'm not going to bother with that, but for those thinking of writing their own books in time, it's worth pointing out that this definitely *isn't* just one chapter. I'll even include a little sign in the fic of where the chapter transition would occur if it was split up. I just find it easier not to.

Basically, where it says /-/ C-E /-/ that is where one would imagine the chapter ending, and a new one beginning.

I'm sure some people will cry about a Deus Ex Machina, but did you expect a story about time travel to *not* have an ending that was resolved by time travel? I mean, that would kind of ignore the elephant in the room.

I don't really have much to say here, due to some personal things going on at the moment.

Just for those wondering, the story would never have worked as a pure comedy, which is why the change to being a serious fic had to happen. There are actually quite a few "time traveller decides to mess around and have fun" stories, but they never get finished. That's because sooner or later, the author has to face the issue of "what concludes this". What fulfilling ending can there be when the main character has ignored the story? Sooner or later time will catch up – and the original future he's ignored MUST happen again. How fulfilling could it be when the fact they have ignored the impending disaster causes it to strike again? It would end as a tragedy, with the moral of the story being that you can't ignore terrible things (which is a pretty sad story ending!)

Most of those fics never get finished because of that. Not unless you just run off in a random direction and change the canon story entirely, in which case it almost stops being a time travel fic anyway.

The next fic will be released in three weeks' time. As people know, I normally have a two-week break after a story ends, basically an empty update slot with which to plan. I need that here as well, but I'll also be taking an additional one to set some personal things in order on my side.

Also, this could have easily been two separate chapters too, so it should be fair. You get two now, but an added week with no update.

All my other fics will continue as normal. Two fics will replace this one; "The Beacon Civil War", and "A Hunter or Something." Sorry for the extra week, but it should help with quality, and will at least stop something shitty being written because I'm too busy feeling miserable to write properly. The release dates are as follows:

*The Beacon Civil War*: 2nd September

*A Hunter or Something*: 9th September

Thank you for reading this story, and a thank you to College Fool for being there to work with me on such a demanding project.

**College Fool's notes**

Howdy. College Fool here, beta for this formidable fic, with some final beta-like thoughts for posterity.

Some game developer once said that game designers always have a bit of shame about their product on release, because they can see or remember all the things that got cut or changed in the creation process. To a content creator, everything that was good often gets cut out, and it's a surprise when people like what remained. That's definitely the case here. Not This Time, Fate, is nothing like what Coeur and I first started conceiving it as.

Would you believe that, at the start, we talked about it as a pure-comedy story? That Coeur had no idea how the time loops worked, or what Fate was aiming towards? That even the pairing of Weiss and Jaune was in no way central to the premise, despite Weiss being the only character in a time-travel story to be able to manipulate, well, time?

All true. All things changed. And sometimes, that was for the best. Drama was/is kinda necessity for time-travel loop fiction, because without drama or some sort of objective... what's the point? Where's the plot? Time loops got worked out pretty early, but some elements only got finalized at the very end. For about 9/10ths of the story, Fate's motive wasn't set in stone. Weiss as a pairing... well, I'll alwayse regret the dropped plot threads of Jaune's previous-loop paramores causing him guilt (once upon a time, Ruby was Really Important), but I'll also remember how the Weiss romance arc in many respects went from 'When are we going to start it, Coeur,' to thinking 'damn that's going fast.' Plans are fine and all, but sometimes you have to be flexible on the fly for what works in context.

If that sounds like we made it up as we went along... that might be half-right. Things change in the process of creation. Some plot threads get dropped for whatever reasons, and some good ideas come that are worth including. Then there's the simple practice of writing. Coeur went through a number of iterations of how he approached each chapter- different word targets (fixed word count to big word count to flexible), pacing experiments, and so on.

But then there are the things that aren't really making it up as you go along. They're not arbitrary, per see- just part of the conceit of the genre you aim for. Time travel fiction where the time traveler isn't readily believed. An interventionist entity of Fate, who balances somewhere between fallible but also 'But Thou Must.' A timeline structure of, as one mediocre video game once put it, 'variables and constants.' Sometimes, those are frustrating. Sometimes, fiction can be frustrating when things don't make sense/people are stupid/who do people forget the laws of conservation of energy or thermodynamics or anything else 'real.' But if you can accept them, and go with the ride, you can have a good time.

And in the end, I guess what I'd like to say is... this was an experiment, for both Coeur and me, and one that we hope you (mostly) enjoyed. Or at least relished the misery. Coeur tried writing continuous drama. And long chapters. And god damn can that be a slog to not just ready, but try to edit or remark on. And thus we get to things like pacing, and accelerating plot arcs, and so on. Coeur learned some things about writing drama, including that big chapters suck for it and that the last note you end on is always the strongest. I learned some things about being a beta, including burn-out and actually raising uncomfortable thoughts. And hopefully you all learned some things too- if only about how much of a troll Coeur can be. Better keep that in mind for the future, yo... but don't get too comfortable, cause one day he might NOT give you a happy ending.

But today there was one, and I hope you enjoy it. Give credit where credit is due, and Coeur the accolades he's due.

(Accolades, I said. Accolades. Constructive criticism if you prefer. But the people who sent death threats over last chapter should chill out and stop taking fiction so seriously.)

Cheers,

C.F.