History FanFic / FourDeadlySecrets

[[DeadFic Has not been updated since October 5, 2015]].

** One of the Vale Faunus Liberation Movement's soldiers wields a [[GreenRocks Dust-infused]] WhipSword [[ArsenalAttire disguised as a belt]]. [[{{Squee}} Ruby]] refers to it a "Flex-Segmented Dust-Active Blade."

* MixAndMatchWeapon: It’s {{WebAnimation/RWBY}}. Not everything is also a gun, but they all have multiple attack forms.
** Alice Sgathan's "Cheshire Silver" is a two-handed sword which can split into two separate blades or become a Dust-powered pulse rifle.
** Aurea Perrault's "Sole and Luna" is a cudgel (Luna) which turns into a carbine rifle (Sole).
** Venus Carlton's unnamed shotgun tonfas.
** One of the Vale Faunus Liberation Movement's soldiers wields a Dust-infused WhipSword [[ArsenalAttire disguised as a belt]]. A "Flex-Segmented Dust-Active Blade," according to [[{{Squee}} Ruby]].
** Another VFLM member uses a longsword that doubles as an energy rifle, a "High-Energy Rail-Sword."

* NamedWeapons: Averted by the Malachite twins, whose weapons remain unnamed, and used to demonstrate the differences between Hunter culture and that of more normal people.

* {{Squee}}: Ruby makes "a noise like a strangled whimper" when she sees Coco Adel's [[BriefcaseBlaster suitcase]] [[GatlingGood chaingun]], earning her "a strange look" from Miltia.

* AliceAllusion: [[OriginalCharacter Alice Sgathan]] is a young, blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl, clothed in a blue and white dress with rabbit and heart markings. Her surname [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sgàthan Sgàthan]] is Scottish Gaelic for "mirror" or "looking glass," and (being a "Society girl") she is from a "different world" than Ruby Rose. [[spoiler:She wears a silver heart[=/=]rabbit pendant that semi-secretly contains her personal supply of cocaine]].

--> '''Ruby:''' I'm single, my romantic prospects are completely hopeless[...]

* AliceAllusion: [[OriginalCharacter Alice Sgathan]] is a young, blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl, clothed in a blue and white dress with rabbit and heart markings. Her surname [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sgàthan Sgàthan]] is Scottish Gaelic for "mirror" or "looking glass," and (being a "Society girl") she is from a "different world" than Ruby Rose. [[spoiler:She wears a silver heart[=/=]rabbit pendant that semi-secretly contains her personal supply of cocaine]].

* ThatCameOutWrong: Weiss says it almost word for word.
--> '''Weiss:''' Ha, [[SheCleansUpNicely it looks like a success from back here too]]. ({{Beat}}) Oh god, that sounded completely wrong.

* AliceAllusion: [[OriginalCharacter Alice Sgathan]] is a young, blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl, clothed in a blue and white dress with rabbit and heart markings, and (being a "Society girl") is from a "different world" than Ruby Rose. [[spoiler:She wears a silver pendant that semi-secretly contains her personal supply of cocaine]].

** [[spoiler:Weiss Schnee is [not finished] recovering from a habit of abusing champagne and cocaine, recognizing that these led her to act like [more of] an AlphaBitch to Melanie Malachite; Weiss even claims to Ruby Rose that using these is so expected of Society people that enrolling in Beacon Academy cost the Schnee Dust Company 5% of its stock price, twice or more than they would have lost if she had "hypothetically" [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl gone on an indulgence binge]], [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy directly trash-talked her father and the Society scene]], and [[DrunkDriver crashed a car while driving high and drunk]]. Ruby catches her drinking champagne and barely manages to convince her to hold off on the cocaine, pleading with her that [[RealityEnsues the drugs can impair her combat abilities and get her killed]]. Weiss agrees, but demands that Ruby (and Alice) let her quit at her own pace; she notes that, even though [[HealingFactor Aura helps to prevent physiological addiction]], the psychological stress and causes thereof that led to her use remain]].

* InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube: [[spoiler:Ruby Rose's CurbStompBattle against India Tullamarine ends up posted online shortly after the battle; India is displeased to find that Alice's Team AKWA (Aqua) put a screenshot of his OhCrap face on their webpage under a banner reading "Team [AKWA is struck-through and replaced with] Awkward" and tries feebly (and unsuccessfully) to stop Team MAVM from seeing his humiliating defeat]].

* FictionFiveHundred: The "Society" people in general, and Alice says this about her own and Weiss's respective families:

* FirstNameBasis: Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao may understandably refer to Qrow Branwen as "[[CoolUncle Uncle Qrow]]," but other students informed of their relationship to the Signal Academy teacher are also shown calling him "Professor Qrow" instead of "[[LastNameBasis Professor Branwen]]" or "[[FullNameBasis Professor Qrow Branwen]]."

** Alice Sgathan says in Chapter 6 that the "[[DrugsAreBad Society girl special]]" of Vale's high society would be known to Mistral's society scene as "sparkles;" however, when [[spoiler:Pyrrha Nikos, a celebrated Mistral tournament champion, discovers that Weiss is using the special]] in Chapter 15, her third-person narration reveals that Mistral's upper class refers to it as "bubbles." Possibly justified as an in-character mistake, since Alice also mispronounced Pyrrha Nikos's surname as "Nikoh" before Ruby corrected her in the same conversation.

* AliceAllusion: [[OriginalCharacter Alice Sgathan]] is a young, blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl, clothed in a blue and white dress with rabbit and heart markings, and (being a "Society girl") is from a "different world" than Ruby Rose. [[spoiler:She wears a rabbit pendant that semi-secretly contains her personal supply of cocaine]].

** Melanie and Miltia (who is commonly referred to as "Miltiades," the etymological origin of her canon name) Malachite were fired and blacklisted by Junior and enrolled at Beacon Academy after the events of the ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' "Yellow" trailer, whereas Volume 2 Chapter 04: ''Painting the Town'' [[spoiler:retains both in Junior's employ (and he even stops his goons from attacking Yang again)]].

* TheAce: Ruby is to everyone at Signal. She admits that by the end no one could keep up with her and it gave her a cult status.

** [[spoiler:Neo herself has spoken lines in this fic, described as having "a bright and cultured voice]]." In canon, [[spoiler:all of Neo's appearances (from Volume 2 Chapter 04: ''Painting the Town'' to Volume 3 Chapter 11: ''Heroes and Monsters'') have no spoken lines at all (and therefore no voice actress listed in the credits), and even her appearances in ''WebAnimation/RWBYChibi'' keep her mute, only allowing for TalkingWithSigns]].

* DirtyCop: The Vale Police Department officers label their reports of [[EvilVersusEvil crimes between crime groups]] with the acronyms "FCA" and "NFCA." Velvet claims these stand for [[FantasticRacism Faunus Crime Associations and Non Faunus Crime Associations]], but Aurea adds that [[FunWithAcronyms "NFCA" also stands for]] [[BystanderSyndrome Not Fucking Cared About]]. To the VPD, when criminals take each other out, it means less work for the cops.

** Another OC, [[UpperClassTwit Venus Carlton]], comes into conflict with other characters on multiple occasions; two of those times, her company sees that she has bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils, and an agitated edge to her current emotional state, recognizing these as symptoms of drug abuse.

* ItGetsEasier: [[spoiler:Neo suggests the conscience gets "limber" after the first dozen to explain why Ruby isn't overly bothered by the White Fang soldiers she killed]].

** One of the Vale Faunus Liberation Movement's soldiers wields a Dust-infused WhipSword hidden as a belt. A "Flex-Segmented Dust-Activated Blade," according to Ruby.
** Another VFLM member uses a longsword that doubles as an energy weapon, a "High-Energy Rail-Sword."

** [[spoiler:Blake Belladonna is discovered this way twice]], [[PassFail despite efforts to avoid it]].

* OriginalCharacter: Alice Sgathan, India and Venus, Velvet's parents, and various other background characters.

* SiblingYinYang: Despite being too similar to be PolarOppositeTwins, Melanie and Miltia do have some significant differences, canon and [[OCStandIn invented]]. Besides their different dress colors (Melanie's [[WomanInWhite white]], Miltia's [[LadyInRed red]]), weapons (Melanie's [[ArmedLegs heel blades]], Miltia's [[WolverineClaws claw]] [[BladeBelowTheShoulder gauntlets]]), and hair lengths (Melanie has waist-length hair, [[FreezeFrameBonus Miltia has a bob haircut]]), this fic gives them different social-class side employer preferences (Melanie bodyguarded for [[DecadentCourt Vale's Society scene]], Miltia bodyguarded for [[GangBangers Vale's criminal underworld]]), [[spoiler:sexual orientations (Melanie's straight, Miltia's lesbian)]], and even conflict with each other (both are protective of each other, but Melanie doubted Miltia's combat skill after the Chapter 2 incident and dislikes Society girls due to [[AlphaBitch Weiss's influence]], while Miltia doubted Melanie's ability to handle Junior's anger and [[spoiler:dated [[RichBitch Alice Sgathan]] [=[=]and flirted with Ruby[=]=]]] at least partly to needle Melanie).

--> '''[[spoiler: Miltia Malachite]]:''' Do you really want to do this now? [[spoiler:I just asked you to kill someone]], and this is what you want to talk about?
--> '''[[spoiler: Ruby Rose]]:''' No, no, no[.] [[spoiler:You asked me to kill someone ''with you'']]. You think [[spoiler:it's the first part I should freak out about]]?

* StylishProtectionGear: Since [[ArmorIsUseless armor is not completely useless]], several characters wear outfits that provide acceptable protection while still looking quite fashionable, such as the Malachite twins' and Alice Sgathan's [[MiniDressOfPower battle dresses]].

--> '''India:''' You know, suddenly she doesn't seem nearly so adorable.

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: [[spoiler:While revealing the costs of maintaining her weapon]], Ruby says that her scythe's blades are "laser sharpened," and she has them custom-made for her out of stronger alloys than [[AMasterMakesTheirOwnTools she herself is capable of working]]. She uses Crescent Rose to chop up [[BearsAreBadNews Ursai]] in the forest as easily and messily as she slices and dices [[WolfMan Beowolves]] in the ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' "Red" trailer, [[spoiler:as well as breaking White Fang assassins' Auras and cutting them in half vertically for one-hit kills]].

** Junior becomes a mean drunk when he gets into his cups, one who can't quite remember what he did while under the influence. [[spoiler:He actually drunk-dialed Miltia while threatening her with the information he gathered at Roman's behest, causing her to panic and to try to convince Ruby to kill him for all their sakes]].

* ChekhovsGunman: When [[spoiler:Ozpin orders Goodwitch to assemble a team of professional Huntsmen and Huntresses to kill the elder Beowolf in one night, her team includes "a dark man in a dusty cloak bearing a scythe in sable with cardinal trim]]." Later, [[spoiler:Goodwitch informs Ruby that, due to Ruby's successful attack that injured it earlier and "a persuasive argument by one of the Huntsmen attached to the party," Ruby got credit and bounty money for her effort]].

** Hei "Junior" Xiong makes an important mistake while drunk that (after he wakes up hungover) he realizes he'll regret.

* ElementalWeapon: India Tullamarine’s [[GreenRocks Dust-infused]] FlamingSword and a Faunus gangster's [[ShockAndAwe electrified]] [[AnAxeToGrind battleaxe]].

* IconicItem: Ruby's and Blake's [[WeaponOfChoice weapons of choice]] are both so rare that they are recognizable, allowing [[spoiler:Miltia Malachite to know that Ruby's used it to kill before and for Velvet's father to warn her that Blake Belladonna might be linked to the White Fang]].

* JudgeJuryAndExecutioner: Part of Huntsman[=/=]Huntress culture is that they police themselves, including those in training, as regular channels (i.e. the police) are unable to handle such incidences. The only time they ever get a higher authority (i.e. the faculty) involved is if it goes beyond their ability to handle.

** [[spoiler:Ruby Rose successfully defies this in between a fight with Jaws of Menagerie gangsters and a visit to Velvet's family's cafe by chatting up a waitress who was smoking outside. The combination of her preexisting disguise (for looks) and the Dust powder and cigarette smoke (for smell) prevented Velvet]] from recognizing her until it was too late to keep her away.

* PaintedOnPants: In Chapter 3, Ruby's casual clothes are shirts and [[WhoWearsShortShorts shorts]] that she bought when she was twelve, and she hasn't replaced the outgrown clothes because [[spoiler:she spent all of her money maintaining Crescent Rose]]. Weiss says her outfit "looks like something [[GoodBadGirl your sister]] would wear."

* SternTeacher: Glenda Goodwitch, as evident in the dressing down she gives everyone in Chapter 3.

* OhCrap: [[spoiler:India Tullamarine]] has a moment upon realizing [[spoiler:Ruby Rose was holding back her scythe's sniper rifle fire]].
--> '''[[spoiler:India Tullamarine]]:''' ''[[PrecisionFStrike Sweet fuck]], [[spoiler:a sniper scy]][[CurseCutShort -!]]''

* PlausibleDeniability: Alice discusses this with Ruby, claiming that [[spoiler:since Pyrrha Nikos would disapprove of Weiss Schnee's drug habits, other people would look for ways to clue her in to Weiss's problems without Weiss discovering who told Pyrrha]].

* OhCrap: [[spoiler:India Tullamarine]] has a moment upon realizing [[spoiler:Ruby Rose was holding back her scythe's sniper rifle capacity]].

* AccidentalTruth: Weiss suspects that [[spoiler:Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long]] are hiding something from her, and says to them [[spoiler:that "[[OtherStockPhrases the cat is out of the bag]]!", enjoying [[OhCrap Blake's reaction]] without discovering that [[CatGirl Blake really is a Faunus]]]].

* AMasterMakesTheirOwnTools: Ruby planned, designed, and built Crescent Rose, even manufacturing a sizable portion of the parts herself, including all the wiring. She takes great pride in this, but [[spoiler:the blades are also a bit of a problem, though. Ruby used to either make them or make use of [[CoolUncle Qrow]]'s spares, but the current state of Crescent Rose requires blades beyond her ability to make, so she now has to have them specially built for her at great financial cost]].

* AnimalStereotypes: Faunus tend to dislike having these applied to themselves or other Faunus, even if the speaker him-[=/=]herself is also a Faunus. When [[spoiler:Velvet Scarlatina references [[TrademarkFavoriteFood tuna fish]] to indicate [[PassFail her recognition of Blake as a Faunus]], Blake expresses disapproval of the "tuna stereotype," and Velvet apologizes for it]]. Also, after Velvet catches [[FakeOutMakeOut Miltia French-kissing the fox Faunus Sara]], Miltia twice asks Velvet about [[ReallyGetsAround fox girl stereotypes]], and Velvet expresses offense about the stereotype [[StereotypeReactionGag even while claiming that it's true about Sara]].
* AnythingThatMoves: [[spoiler:Yang Xiao Long's previous dates included both boys and girls, both human and Faunus. She tells Blake Belladonna during a trip to the theater that she'd like to share the bed of a movie's male-human[=/=]female-Faunus lead couple, and eventually asks Blake to hook up with her without minding that [[CatGirl Blake is a cat-eared Faunus girl]]]].
* ArmorIsUseless: It's narrated that [[DeflectorShields a powerful Aura is a Huntsman's/Huntress's primary defense]], and that [[ArmorPiercingAttack attacks capable of piercing Auras will likely pierce armor as well]]. This is demonstrated when [[spoiler:Ruby Rose's scythe stab [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impales Miltia Malachite's Aura, battle dress, and torso]]]] in Chapter 2, but it's averted in Chapter 9 when [[spoiler:another heavy attack from Ruby Rose breaks Alice Sgathan's Aura and knocks her unconscious, but [[SternTeacher Glynda Goodwitch]] confirms that the steel lining of Alice's battle dress (barely) succeeded in preventing another serious injury]].

* BadDreams: [[spoiler:Milita Malachite had some nightmares about [[SinisterScythe Crescent]] [[NamedWeapons Rose]] after Ruby Rose nearly killed her with it]].
* BadGuyBar: [[spoiler:Yang Xiao Long's old watering hole is implied to be this]], and Hei "Junior" Xiong's bar definitely is.

* BungledSuicide: Chapter 6 reveals [[spoiler:Blake Belladonna tried to kill herself after her last mission with the White Fang by throwing herself off of a cliff. No one, not even her, expected to survive]].
* CanonDiscontinuity: This fic diverges from canon ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' between Volume 1, Chapter 14: ''Forever Fall Pt. 2'' and Volume 1, Chapter 15: ''The Stray''; the narrative acknowledges that [[spoiler:Jaune killed an [[BearsAreBadNews Ursa]] with Pyrrha's (unrecognized) help]], but differs on [[spoiler:the introduction of Sun Wukong and Blake's CatGirl reveal]]. In addition, certain other elements of the canon plot are altered, such as:

** Melanie and Miltia (who is commonly referred to as "Miltiades," the etymological origin of her canon name) Malachite were fired and blacklisted by Junior and enrolled at Beacon Academy after the events of the ''Yellow'' trailer, whereas Volume 2 Chapter 04: ''Painting the Town'' [[spoiler:retains both in Junior's employ (and he even stops his {{Mooks}} from attacking Yang again)]].
** Velvet Scarlatina is on "Team MAVM (Maven)" with the Malachite twins and an OC, and Team CFVY (Coffee) have different roles (except Fox Alistair, who has yet to appear). She is also portrayed as having a Semblance that allows her to cast Dust spells for both combat and healing, while Volume 3, Chapter 11: ''Heroes and Monsters'' reveals that [[spoiler:Velvet's Semblance is to create temporary {{Spectral Weapon Cop|y}}ies of her allies' weapons by [[CameraFiend taking photos of them]] and then [[InstantExpert wielding the copies with the same skill and techniques]] [[PowerCopying as the weapons' original owners]]]].

** Weiss admits to Ruby during their first practice run that she gets a mean streak after drinking (alcoholic) champagne, and that played a part in why the Malachite twins don't like her.

* CasanovaWannabe: [[OriginalCharacter India Tullamarine]] is always accompanied by [[UpperClassTwit Venus Carlton]], but far less successful at charming any other named female character. He meets with [[spoiler:Weiss and Ruby in Chapter 7, Ruby and Miltia in Chapter 13, and Weiss, Melanie, Pyrrha, and Alice Sgathan in Chapter 15]], none of whom are receptive to his charms.

** One White Fang assassin mocks [[spoiler:Blake Belladonna for fleeing the organization and pursuing peace with humans, but lets her live with an invitation to return to the fold]]. Later, [[spoiler:Team JNPR are surprised to see Neo and Mercury Black, both humans, working with the White Fang]]; [[spoiler:Blake Belladonna is even more shocked (and outraged) to see White Fang Faunus taking orders from [[FantasticRacism Roman Torchwick]] despite him directly [[FantasticSlur calling them animals]]]].

* TheChainsOfCommanding: As the leaders of their group, Ruby, Melanie, and Jaune get dressed down for the fight in Chapter 2. Ruby for her lack of discipline, Melanie for initiating the prank in the first place that nearly got her sister killed, and Jaune for not getting involved when he was in the best position to mediate their hostility and help them in the hunt (due to the Malachites' CripplingOverspecialization).

* ChekhovsGunman: When [[spoiler:Ozpin orders Goodwitch to assemble a team of professional Huntsmen and Huntresses to kill the elder Beowolf in one night, her team includes "[[CoolUncle a dark man in a dusty cloak bearing a scythe in sable with cardinal trim]]]]." Later, [[spoiler:Goodwitch informs Ruby that, due to Ruby's successful attack that injured it earlier and "a persuasive argument by one of the Huntsmen attached to the party," Ruby got credit and bounty money for her effort]].
* ChickMagnet: Ruby tells that she was this at Signal Academy, to the point where she's got a longer trail of broken hearts than Yang. [[spoiler:Considering the examples under LoveTriangle, she's still got it]].
* CoincidenceMagnet: Junior. He comes up with [[TheBigBoard a completely plausible chart]] in Chapter 11 of how [[TheConspiracy all the members of Teams MAVM, RWBY, and JNPR were in the same class and screwed him over]], but the truth of it was that [[OneDegreeOfSeparation it was all a bunch of coincidences]].
* ColossusClimb: Ruby against an ancient Grimm in Chapter 10.

** [[spoiler:Ruby Rose was a ProfessionalKiller to pay for [[EasyLogistics her weapon's tremendous purchase and maintenance costs]]]].
** [[spoiler:Weiss Schnee has a history of [[DrugsAreBad addiction to alcoholic champagne and cocaine]], and [[FunctionalAddict she still uses them]]]].
** [[spoiler:Blake Belladonna was a White Fang "[[DeadlyEuphemism operator]]" ([[ProfessionalKiller elite assassin]]), and they want her to rejoin them]].
** [[spoiler:Yang Xiao Long was a [[GreenRocks Dust]] [[ArmsDealer runner]] for [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters White Fang]] [[LesCollaborateurs sympathizers]], working under Roman Torchwick and with Neo]].

** [[spoiler:Weiss Schnee is [not finished] recovering from a habit of abusing champagne and cocaine, recognizing that these led her to act like [more of] an AlphaBitch to Melanie Malachite; Weiss even claims to Ruby Rose that using these is so expected of Society people that enrolling in Beacon Academy cost the Schnee Dust Company 5% of its stock price, twice or more than they would have lost if she had [[TrialBalloonQuestion "hypothetically"]] [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl gone on an indulgence binge]], [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy directly trash-talked her father and the Society scene]], and [[DrunkDriver crashed a car while driving high and drunk]]. Ruby catches her drinking champagne and barely manages to convince her to hold off on the cocaine, pleading with her that [[RealityEnsues the drugs can impair her combat abilities and get her killed]]. Weiss agrees, but demands that Ruby (and Alice) let her quit at her own pace; she notes that, even though [[HealingFactor Aura helps to prevent physiological addiction]], the psychological stress and causes thereof that led to her use remain]].

-->'''[[spoiler:Ruby Rose]]:''' [[spoiler:My weapon's running costs are huge. These [[AbsurdlySharpBlade blade pieces are laser sharpened]], that costs two hundred Lien each and I wear them down faster than you think. Two hundred to sharpen, mind you, it's two thousand to replace. Every [[DepletedPhlebotinumShells round fired with a battle load of red Dust]] is ten Lien; I went through twenty today, and that was in a quick fight. I have to clean and regrease the moving parts weekly, or after every fight it gets dirty in. That's another three-hundred Lien in costs. And god forbid something happen to any of the motors. The principal barrel-crossbeam mechanism alone costs twenty-five thousand and not a half-lien less]].
-->'''[[spoiler:[[OhCrap Yang Xiao Long]]]]:''' [[OhMyGods Grimm and Dust]], [[spoiler:sis, how have you possibly afforded that weapon]]?
-->'''[[spoiler:Ruby Rose]]:''' [[spoiler:Well, being able to raid [[CoolUncle Uncle Qrow]]'s stockpile for second-hand parts always helped. But part of it was, well, forgoing buying anything else. Free canteen meals at every chance, or eating at home or with Uncle Qrow. And, well, as you can see, not buying clothes for a year or two at a time. Battle dress and Crescent Rose is all I've spent my money on for years now]].

-->'''Saffron:''' Do you have any straight girls in your class, honey?

* FakeOutMakeOut: Milita and a fox-girl Faunus in Chapter 6. It didn't work because Velvet suspected she heard anyway what she was eavesdropping on.
* FantasticSlur: As in canon, [[FantasticRacism racist humans]] often refer to [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus]] using animal-related insults.

** Discussed between [[spoiler:Neo and Junior regarding the Malachite twins. Neo tells Junior that she [[ResignationsNotAccepted wouldn't have let them leave]] if she had been their boss; Junior initially assumes she would have [[BodyguardCrush sexual motivations to keep them]], and Neo counters that Junior should have either kept the Malachites or [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness killed them]] instead]].
* HumiliatingWager: [[CasanovaWannabe India Tullamarine]] (and [[UpperClassTwit Venus Carlton]]) wager against [[GirlyBruiser Ruby Rose]] (and [[AlphaBitch Weiss Schnee]]) that the loser's partner gives a kiss to the winner. [[spoiler:Ruby wins, but Venus is reluctant to follow through; Ruby declines to force her to despite Weiss's protests, but the rest of the Society torment her relentlessly until she finally follows through and shows Weiss a video record to convince her to "call off the hounds]]."

* ICallItVera: Ruby not only named her [[SniperRifle sniper]]-[[SinisterScythe scythe]] "Crescent Rose," she also calls it her "sweetheart" (as in canon). This fic posits as justification that [[spoiler:[[EasyLogistics the tremendous financial cost of creating, maintaining, and upgrading Crescent Rose]], as well as [[ProfessionalKiller the means by which she attained those funds]], makes her as acutely aware of the weapon's value as [[OneManArmy the mind-blowing feats of arms she accomplishes with it]]]].
* IconicItem: Ruby's and Blake's [[WeaponOfChoice weapons of choice]] are both so rare that they are recognizable, allowing Miltia to know full-well that Ruby's used it to kill before and for Velvet's father to warn her that [[spoiler:Blake Belladonna was involved with White Fang]].
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Ruby Rose uses a scythe attack so powerful that it runs Miltia Malachite through her torso ([[DeflectorShields Aura]], [[ArmorIsUseless battle]] [[StylishProtectionGear dress]], and all) and pins her to the ground in the same swing. To save Miltia's life, Velvet Scarlatina has to tell Ruby to slowly remove [[NamedWeapons Crescent Rose]] while Velvet uses healing magic to restore Miltia's flesh (including her right lung) as the scythe makes room. Crescent Rose comes out completely dripping blood (Ruby has to clean it as soon as possible so that the blood won't rust the blade), and Miltia has nightmares about Crescent Rose impaling her for several nights afterward]].
* ImpossiblyTackyClothes: [[spoiler:Junior orders Coco Adel to wear a cream-and-tan-colored version of [[MiniDressOfPower the Malachite twins' dresses]] as a "uniform" to blend in with the [[BadGuyBar club atmosphere]]. While Melanie and Miltia liked their own respective [[WomanInWhite white]] and [[LadyInRed red]] dresses (and so do other people), Coco thinks her brown dress is horrible, and even Miltia thinks of it as "crap-coloured" when she sees it]].

* MamaBear[=/=]PapaWolf: At Velvet's request, her father uses his contacts within local Faunus resistance groups to investigate Blake Belladonna's possible connections to Faunus terrorist organizations. Velvet's mother runs a cafe with a sign that reads "Peace Begets Peace" on the window, but when she glares at Ruby during an incident there, Ruby finds her glare scarier than the inside of a giant Beowolf's maw.

* MySisterIsOffLimits: Yang is well-known for this at Signal and the reason Ruby doesn't tell her about her orientation at first.

* NaiveNewcomer: Jaune is constantly shown to be completely unaware of Hunter traditions and culture, managing to be both completely horrified by the way Huntsmen and Huntresses do things and to completely horrify his peers because he and they don't understand each other's interpretations of their words and actions.
* TheNoseKnows: Faunus can recognize other Faunus by smell. [[spoiler:[[CatGirl Blake Belladonna]]]] [[PassFail is discovered this way twice]].

--->[='=]''The woman is completely unfair'',[='=] [Roman] thought to himself in dismay. [='=]''It's hard enough to match wits with her when you don't want to pin her ankles back to her ears''.[='=] But the infamous Torchwick was a [[GentlemanThief gentleman thief]], and those [[ShesGotLegs goddamned sinful legs]] could do as they pleased, she wouldn't get the satisfaction of knowing it affected him.

* OhCrap: India has a moment upon realizing the giant scythe Ruby is swinging around is [[MixAndMatchWeapon also a gun]].
-->'''India:''' ''Sweet fuck, a sniper [[CurseCutShort scy–]]!''

** Some Faunus characters use "God's Horns" as an exclamation. [[spoiler:Blake Belladonna is the first to use it in the story when she is surprised by Yang Xiao Long, and mentally remembers that "[t]he imprecation was an ancient Faunus one" that she should be careful not to use in front of [[FantasticRacism humans such as Weiss Schnee]]]].

** OCStandIn: Melanie and Miltia Malachite, the twin girls who fought Yang in the ''Yellow'' trailer.

** [[spoiler:Ruby Rose tells Miltia Malachite that this is how she gets all the money to pay for Crescent Rose. Neo is one too, and when they meet, they drop hints that they're both part of a MurderInc]].

** Alice Sgathan says in Chapter 6 that the "[[DrugsAreBad Society girl special]]" of Vale's high society would be known to Mistral's society scene as "sparkles;" however, when [[spoiler:Pyrrha Nikos, a celebrated Mistral tournament champion, discovers that Weiss is using the special]] in Chapter 15, her third-person narration reveals that Mistral's upper class refers to it as "bubbles." Possibly justified as an in-character mistake, since Alice mispronounced Pyrrha Nikos's surname as "Nikoh" before Ruby corrected her.

* SignatureScent: Alice wears a brand of perfume so hard to find that Weiss and Miltia immediately recognize that Ruby's been involved with her when they catch its scent on Ruby.
* SpySpeak: In the form of Sign[=/=]Countersign between [[spoiler:Neo and Ruby]], when they first meet.

* SunglassesAtNight: Junior pokes fun at [[spoiler:Coco Adel]] for wearing sunglasses indoors past midnight, but [[spoiler:she shoots back that [[ActionFashionista she has to make some concession to fashion]] because [[ImpossiblyTackyClothes the uniform is not her style]]]].

-->'''Weiss:''' Ha, it looks like a success from back here too. ({{Beat}}) Oh god, that sounded completely wrong.

-->'''Jaune:''' At some point, we have to be able to work together.
-->'''Ren:''' Otherwise, we'll not only end up dead, but the coroner will sign our certificates with 'Death by Stupidity'. Not how I'd like to go out.
* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: A moment of panic by Ruby leading to [[spoiler:her attempt to kill Miltia]] starts off the plot and gives the first few hints at the eponymous secrets.
* TrustPassword: [[spoiler: Ruby Rose and Neo]] exchange one in spy speak.
-->'''[[spoiler:Neo]]:''' So breathe easy, sister.
-->'''[[spoiler:Ruby]]:''' Free air is easy to breathe, sister.

-->'''India:''' You know, suddenly she doesn't seem nearly so adorable.

* WhatTheHellHero: A good number of people call Ruby out on nearly killing Miltia in Chapter 2.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Neo is of this opinion with regard to the Malachite twins, namely that Junior should either have kept them or silenced them since [[HeKnowsTooMuch they knew too much]].

* AlphaBitch[=/=]RichBitch: Every single Society girl ever seen on-screen. [[spoiler:Weiss rules them all]].

* CasanovaWannabe: [[OriginalCharacter India Tullamarine]] is always accompanied by [[RichBitch Venus Carlton]], but far less successful at charming any other named female character. He meets with [[spoiler:Weiss and Ruby in Chapter 7, Ruby and Miltia in Chapter 13, and Weiss, Melanie, Pyrrha, and Alice Sgathan in Chapter 15]], none of whom are receptive to his charms.

* DecadentCourt: The "Society," the sons and daughters of Remnant's wealthiest families and most powerful businesses.

** Another OC, [[RichBitch Venus Carlton]], comes into conflict with other characters on multiple occasions; two of those times, her company sees that she has bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils, and an agitated edge to her current emotional state, recognizing these as symptoms of drug abuse.

* HumiliatingWager: [[CasanovaWannabe India Tullamarine]] (and [[RichBitch Venus Carlton]]) wager against [[GirlyBruiser Ruby Rose]] (and [[AlphaBitch Weiss Schnee]]) that the loser's partner gives a kiss to the winner. [[spoiler:Ruby wins, but Venus is reluctant to follow through; Ruby declines to force her to despite Weiss's protests, but the rest of the Society torment her relentlessly until she finally follows through and shows Weiss a video record to convince her to "call off the hounds]]."

* SiblingYinYang: Despite being too similar to be PolarOppositeTwins, Melanie and Miltia do have some significant differences, canon and [[OCStandIn invented]]. Besides their different dress colors (Melanie's [[WomanInWhite white]], Miltia's [[LadyInRed red]]), weapons (Melanie's [[ArmedLegs heel blades]], Miltia's [[WolverineClaws claw]] [[BladeBelowTheShoulder gauntlets]]), and hair lengths (Melanie has waist-length hair, [[FreezeFrameBonus Miltia has a bob haircut]]), this fic gives them different social-class employer preferences (Melanie bodyguarded [[DecadentCourt Society boys]], Miltia bodyguarded [[BadGuyBar clubbers]]), [[spoiler:sexual orientations (Melanie's straight, Miltia's lesbian)]], and even conflict with each other (both are protective of each other, but Melanie doubted Miltia's combat skill after the Chapter 2 incident and dislikes Society girls due to [[AlphaBitch Weiss's influence]], while Miltia doubted Melanie's ability to handle Junior's anger and dated Alice Sgathan [[spoiler:[=[=]and flirted with Ruby[=]=]]] at least partly to needle Melanie).

* ValleyGirl: The Malachite twins still have the [[DullSurprise speech tones]], [[LikeIsLikeAComma word choices]], and [[ActionFashionista fashion sense]], but it's noted more than once that they're not to be mistaken for vapid fools; they were successful BodyguardBabes (before [[OneManArmy Yang beat them, and their boss's Mooks, and their boss himself]]) to [[BadGuyBar clubbers]] and [[DecadentCourt Society people]], after all.

* AMasterMakesTheirOwnTools: Ruby planned, designed, and built Crescent Rose, even manufacturing a sizable portion of the parts herself, including all the wiring. She takes great pride in this, but the blades are also a bit of a problem, though. Ruby used to either make them or make use of [[CoolUncle Qrow]]'s spares, but the current state of Crescent Rose requires blades beyond her ability to make, so she now has to have them specially built for her at great financial cost.

* ArmorPiercingAttack: Ruby’s scythe style includes several strikes designed to pierce an opponent’s armour [[spoiler:and their protective Aura]].

** Blake [[spoiler:and Yang for their involvement with the White Fang]].
** Weiss [[spoiler:for her actions as a Society girl]].
* BadDreams: Milita had some nightmares about Crescent Rose after Ruby nearly killed her with it.
* BadGuyBar: [[spoiler:Yang's old watering hole is implied to be this]], and Hei "Junior" Xiong's bar definitely is.

* BlatantLies: [[spoiler:Ruby tells several, and shocks people with her ability to do so [[ConsummateLiar with a pure, honest, and innocent face]]]].
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: Miltia is sent flying by Ruby’s first shot in Chapter 1.

* BungledSuicide: Chapter 6 reveals [[spoiler:Blake tried to kill herself after her last mission with the White Fang by throwing herself off of a cliff. No one, not even her, expected to survive]].

* CharacterTic: Since they wear [[MagicSkirt combat skirts]], the Malachite twins cross their legs when sitting to avoid {{Panty Shot}}s.

* DarkSecret: Every single member of RWBY has one.
** [[spoiler:Ruby was a ProfessionalKiller to pay for her weapon]].
** [[spoiler:Weiss has a history with being a FunctionalAddict]].
** [[spoiler:Blake was a member of the White Fang and a trigger agent]].
** [[spoiler:Yang was a Dust Runner for White Fang sympathizers, working under Roman Torchwick and alongside Neo]].

* DramaticGunCock: In her duel with India, Ruby chambers a round once she stops playing with him, and her opponent barely has time to recognize her scythe is also a gun before he’s out cold.

* EveryoneCanSeeIt: [[spoiler:Weiss' feelings towards Ruby]]; the former denies it, but the latter hopes "everyone" is right.

* FashionVictimVillain: InUniverse, [[spoiler:Junior orders Coco Adel to wear a cream-and-brown-colored version of the Malachite twins' dresses as a "uniform" to blend in with the [[BadGuyBar club atmosphere]]. While Melanie and Miltia liked their own respective red and white dresses, Coco thinks her brown dress is horrible (even Miltia thinks of it as "crap-coloured" when she sees it)]].
* FictionFiveHundred: The "Society" people in general.

* IconicItem: Ruby's and Blake's [[WeaponOfChoice weapons of choice]] are both so rare that they are recognizable, allowing Miltia to know full-well that Ruby's used it to kill before and for Velvet's father to warn her that Blake was involved with White Fang.

* {{Muggles}}: It's mentioned in the fic that many of the police, and presumably many other people, don't have Auras. This is one of the bigger changes from canon where basically everyone, save for the soulless Grimm, have Aura.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Yang had a moment like this in the past when she [[spoiler:attacked her father when he confronted her nine months ago about Dust-running with Roman Torchwick. Ruby barging in and finding she attacked him was a key part of her quitting]].

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Glynda Goodwitch and a team of veteran Hunters set out to kill the Ancient Grimm from Chapter 10, which had lived at least a thousand years. We see none of it, only receiving a notice it was slain later.

** OCStandIn: Melanie and Miltia Malachite, the twin girls who fought Yang in the '''Yellow'' trailer.

** [[spoiler:Ruby tells Miltia that this is how she gets all the money to pay for Crescent Rose. Neo is one too, and when they meet, they drop hints that they're both part of a MurderInc]].

* ReformedCriminal: Blake Belladonna (as in canon), Melanie and Miltia Malachite, and [[spoiler:Yang Xiao Long]].
* ReplacementGoldfish: Miltia is personally outraged when she discovers that Junior not only replaced them with [[spoiler:Coco Adel]], he even gave her a cream-and-brown ("crap-coloured") version of their dresses as a uniform!

* SecretPolice: The RSS, Vale's "secret happy fun-time people," whom you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alleyway.
* SerratedBladeOfPain: [[spoiler:Sawtooth anti-personnel blades have edges like sharks' teeth, full of points specifically designed to overwhelm a human being’s Aura. They are ''very'' illegal because of this]].
* SiblingYinYang: Despite being too similar to be PolarOppositeTwins, Melanie and Miltia do have some significant differences, canon and [[OCStandIn invented]]. Besides their different dress colors (Melanie's [[WomanInWhite white]], Miltia's [[LadyInRed red]]), weapons (Melanie's [[ArmedLegs heel blades]], Miltia's [[WolverineClaws claw]] [[BladeBelowTheShoulder gauntlets]]), and hair lengths (Melanie has waist-length hair, [[FreezeFrameBonus Miltia has a bob haircut]]), this fic gives them different social-class employer preferences (Melanie bodyguarded [[DecadentCourt Society boys]], Miltia bodyguarded [[BadGuyBar clubbers]]) sexual orientations (Melanie's straight, Miltia's lesbian), and even conflict with each other (both are protective of each other, but Melanie doubted Miltia's combat skill after the Chapter 2 incident and dislikes Society girls due to [[AlphaBitch Weiss's influence]], while Miltia doubted Melanie's ability to handle Junior's anger and dated Alice Sgathan [and flirted with Ruby] at least partly to needle Melanie).

* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: A few moments of panic by Ruby leading to [[spoiler: her trying to kill Miltia]] starts off the plot and gives the first few hints at the eponymous secrets.
* TrustPassword: [[spoiler: Ruby and Neo]] exchange one in spy speak.

** Weiss exploits this when Venus and India are trying to provoke her into challenging them.

** In addition to the White Fang, other such Faunus rights[=/=]crime organizations are stated to exist, such as the "Jaws of Menagerie" and the "Vale Faunus Liberation Movement." These groups sometimes [[WeAreStrugglingTogether come in conflict with each other]] as well as [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized with non-members and law enforcement]], as indicated by gang-style graffiti indicative of turf wars.

* AnimalStereotypes: Faunus tend to dislike having these applied to themselves or other Faunus, even if the speaker him-[=/=]herself is also a Faunus. When [[spoiler:Velvet Scarlatina references [[TrademarkFavoriteFood tuna fish]] to indicate her recognition of [[PassFail Blake as a Faunus]], Blake expresses disapproval of the "tuna stereotype," and Velvet apologizes for it]]. Also, after Velvet catches [[FakeOutMakeOut Miltia French-kissing the fox Faunus Sara]], Miltia twice asks Velvet about [[ReallyGetsAround fox girl stereotypes]], and Velvet expresses offense about the stereotype [[StereotypeReactionGag even while claiming that it's true about Sara]].

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: A Grimm that lives for a 1000 or so years rises to enormous heights. The ancient one in Chapter 10 was at least 30 ''stories'' tall.

** Velvet Scarlatina is on "Team MAVM (Maven)" with the Malachite twins and an OC, and Team CFVY (Coffee) have different roles (except Fox Alistair, who has yet to appear).

* CategoryTraitor: One of Prof.- er, ''[[InsistentTerminology Dr.]]'' Oobleck's classes discusses human and Faunus criminals who might have [[LesCollaborateurs taken the opposing side from "their own" in the conflict between the two]], as well as [[PlayingBothSides those who would sell Dust or weapons to both sides in the conflict]]; given the mixed class composition, a heated argument quickly erupts between the students.

* BreakTheCutie: Weiss Schnee has been targeted for assassination by the White Fang since she was 12. After [[spoiler:the recent attempts in Chapters 6 and 7, Blake expected to see Weiss as an ice-hearted Faunus-murderer and was surprised to find the heiress so unnerved and shaken by the attacks]].

* CategoryTraitor: One of Prof.- er, ''[[InsistentTerminology Dr.]]'' Oobleck's classes discusses human and Faunus criminals who might have [[LesCollaborateurs taken the opposing side from "their own" in the conflict between the two]], as well as [[PlayingBothSides those who would sell Dust or weapons to both sides in the conflict]]; given the class composition, a heated argument quickly erupts between the students.

** Most of India and Ruby's duel is just Ruby practicing her defensive stance. When she stops playing around, the battle's over in one blow.
** The Jaws of Menagerie mooks who attack Ruby, Miltia, Venus and India don't put up much of a fight.

* HumiliatingWager: India and Venus wager the loser gives a kiss to the winner against Weiss and Ruby. Ruby wins, but Venus is reluctant to follow through; Ruby declines to force her to, but the rest of the Society torment her relentlessly [[spoiler:until she finally follows through and shows Weiss a video record to convince her to "call off the hounds]]."

** Melanie complements her heel blades with a new set of elbow blades that can coil around her wrists to disguise them.

* TheAtoner: A few characters feel like becoming hunters will give them the chance to balance out what they've done previously.

** [[spoiler:Weiss Schnee is [not finished] recovering from a habit of abusing champagne and cocaine, recognizing that these led her to act like [more of] an AlphaBitch to Melanie Malachite; Weiss even claims to Ruby Rose that using these is so expected of Society people that enrolling in Beacon Academy cost the Schnee Dust Company 5% of its stock price, twice or more than they would have lost if she had [[TrialBalloonQuestion "hypothetically"]] [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl gone on an indulgence binge]], [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy directly trash-talked her father and the Society]], and [[DrunkDriver crashed a car while driving high and drunk]]. Ruby catches her drinking champagne and barely manages to convince her to hold off on the cocaine, pleading with her that [[RealityEnsues the drugs can impair her combat abilities and get her killed]]. Weiss agrees, but demands that Ruby (and Alice) let her quit at her own pace; she notes that, even though [[HealingFactor Aura helps to prevent physiological addiction]], the psychological stress and causes thereof that led to her use remain]].

* DyeOrDie: [[spoiler:Ruby and Miltia dye their hair when they go scouting out Junior's bar]].

* HumiliatingWager: India and Venus wager the loser gives a kiss to the winner against Weiss and Ruby. Ruby wins, but Venus is reluctant to follow through; Ruby declines to force her to, but the rest of the Society torment her relentlessly [[spoiler:until she finally follows through and shows Weiss a video record to convince her to "call off the hounds"]].

* MamaBear[=/=]PapaWolf: At Velvet's request, her father uses his contacts within local Faunus resistance groups to investigate Blake Belladonna's possible connections to Faunus terrorist organizations. Velvet's mother runs a cafe with a sign that reads "Peace begets peace" on the window, but when she glares at Ruby during an incident there, Ruby finds her glare scarier than the inside of a giant Beowolf's maw.

* AMasterMakesTheirOwnTools: Ruby planned, designed, and built Crescent Rose, even manufacturing a sizable portion of the parts herself, including all the wiring. She takes great pride in this, but the blades are also a bit of a problem, though. Ruby used to either make them or make use of Qrow's spares, but the current state of Crescent Rose requires blades beyond her ability to make, so she now has to have them specially built for her at great financial cost.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Those Society girls always ''seem'' like such nice girls…

** Original character Alice Sgathan admits to Ruby in her first on-screen appearance that the former drinks champagne and cocaine, even keeping her own supply of the latter in a pendant around her neck. Unlike other characters in this fic, [[FunctionalAddict she's not shown to suffer significant impairment due to drug use]], though [[spoiler:she does want her friend Weiss to fall OffTheWagon, to Ruby's shock]]. Miltia knows about the drugs, but isn't bothered by it since she used to work in [[BadGuyBar nightclubs full of drug users]].
** [[spoiler:Weiss Schnee is (not finished) recovering from a habit of abusing champagne and cocaine, recognizing that these led her to act like (more of) an AlphaBitch to Melanie Malachite; Weiss even claims to Ruby Rose that using these is so expected of Society people that enrolling in Beacon Academy cost the Schnee Dust Company 5% of its stock price, twice or more than they would have lost if she had [[TrialBalloonQuestion "hypothetically"]] [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl gone on an indulgence binge]], [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy directly trash-talked her father and the Society]], and [[DrunkDriver crashed a car while driving high and drunk]]. Ruby catches her drinking champagne and barely manages to convince her to hold off on the cocaine, pleading with her that [[RealityEnsues the drugs can impair her combat abilities and get her killed]]. Weiss agrees, but demands that Ruby (and Alice) let her quit at her own pace]].

** Melanie complements her heel blades with a new set of elbow blades that can coil up around her wrists to disguise them.
** A Faunus gang member wears a belt which doubles as a dust-powered WhipSword.

** Melanie and Miltia (who is commonly referred to as "Miltiades," the etymological origin of her canon name) Malachite were fired and blacklisted by Junior and enrolled at Beacon Academy after the events of the "Yellow" trailer, whereas V2 C04 retains both in Junior's employ.

** One original character, Sara the waitress at Velvet's parents' (who are also [=OCs=]) cafe, is a Faunus girl with fox ears and a fox tail. Volume 4, [[WorldBuilding World of Remnant]]: ''Faunus'' details that Faunus can have only one LittleBitBeastly animal trait. Furthermore, in canon, Faunus are rarely, if ever, referred to as "[Animal species] Faunus," as they object to [[FantasticRacism being treated as animals]].

* ColossusClimb: Ruby against an ancient Grimm in chapter 10.

* CripplingOverspecialization: The twins' weapons and skills were made for bodyguarding and facing off against other people, so they can't fight armored or otherwise tough Grimm effectively until they get an upgrade.

** [[spoiler:Weiss Schnee is (not finished) recovering from a habit of abusing champagne and cocaine, recognizing that these led her to act like (more of) an AlphaBitch to Melanie Malachite; Weiss even claims to Ruby Rose that using these is so expected of Society people that enrolling in Beacon Academy cost the Schnee Dust Company 5% of its stock price, twice or more than they would have lost if she had [[TrialBalloonQuestion "hypothetically"]] [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl gone on an indulgence binge]], [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy directly trash-talked her father and the Society]], and [[DrunkDriver crashed a car while driving high and drunk]]. Ruby catches her drinking champagne and barely manages to convince her to hold off on the cocaine, pleading with her that [[RealityEnsues the drugs can impair her combat abilities and get her killed]]. Weiss agrees, but demands that Ruby let her quit at her own pace]].

* MamaBear[=/=]PapaWolf: At Velvet's request, her father uses his connections to investigate Blake Belladonna's possible connections to Faunus terrorist groups. Velvet's mother runs a cafe with a sign that reads "Peace begets peace" on the window, but when she glares at Ruby during an incident there, Ruby finds her glare scarier than the inside of a giant Beowolf's maw.

** Alice's Cheshire Silver is a two-handed sword which can split into two separate blades or become a dust-powered pulse rifle.
** Aurea's Sole and Luna, a cudgel (Luna) which turns into a carbine rifle (Sole).
** Venus' shotgun tonfas.
** One of the Vale Faunus Liberation Movement's soldiers wields a dust-infused WhipSword hidden as a belt. A "Flex-Segmented Dust-Activated Blade," according to Ruby.

** OCStandIn: Melanie and Miltia Malachite, the twin girls who fought Yang in the "Yellow" trailer.

* ElementalWeapon: India’s dust-infused fire sword.

* CanonDiscontinuity: This fic diverges from canon ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' between Volume 1, Chapter 14: ''Forever Fall Pt. 2'' and Volume 1, Chapter 15: ''The Stray''; the narrative acknowledges that [[spoiler:Jaune killed an [[BearsAreBadNews Ursa]] with Pyrrha's (unrecognized) assistance]], but differs on [[spoiler:the introduction of Sun Wukong and Blake's CatGirl reveal]]. In addition, certain other elements of the canon plot are altered, such as:

* ChekhovsGun: Ruby’s second blade case turns out to contain [[spoiler:sawtooth anti-personnel blades, highly illegal (it’s a war-crime for the military to use them) and specially designed purely to break Auras.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: When [[spoiler:Ozpin orders Goodwitch to assemble a team of professional Huntsmen and Huntresses to kill the elder Beowolf at all costs, her team includes "[[CoolUncle a dark man in a dusty cloak bearing a scythe in sable with cardinal trim]]]]." Later, [[spoiler:Goodwitch informs Ruby that, due to Ruby's successful attack that injured it earlier and "a persuasive argument by one of the Huntsmen attached to the party," Ruby got credit and bounty money for her effort]].

* DrugsAreBad: Society boys and girls (among others) routinely indulge in alcoholic champagne with party drugs at their events.
** Original character Alice Sgathan admits to Ruby in her first on-screen appearance that the former drinks champagne and cocaine, even keeping her own supply of the latter in a pendant around her neck. Unlike other characters in this fic, [[FunctionalAddict she's not shown to suffer significant impairment due to drug use]], though [[spoiler:she does want her friend Weiss to fall OffTheWagon, to Ruby's shock]].

* AccidentalMurder: Yang killed one of Junior's henchmen when she crashed their club. [[spoiler:Her body count is much higher.]]
* TheAce: Ruby is to everyone at Signal. She admits that by the end no one could keep up with her and it gave her a cult-status.
* AlphaBitch: Every single society girl ever seen on-screen. [[spoiler: Weiss rules them all.]]
* AMasterMakesTheirOwnTools: Ruby planned, designed and built Crescent Rose, even manufacturing a sizable portion of the parts herself, including all the wiring. She takes great pride in this.
** The blades are a bit of a story in this, though, as Ruby used to either make them or make use of Qrow's spares, but the current state of Crescent Rose requires blades beyond her ability to make, so she has them specially built.
* ArmorPiercingAttack: Ruby’s scythe style includes several strikes designed to pierce an opponent’s armour [[spoiler: and their protective aura]].

** Melanie’s new weapon is a set of elbow-blades which can be coiled up and hidden.
** A Faunus gang-member shows a belt which doubles as a dust-powered WhipSword.
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: A Grimm that lives for a 1000 or so years rises to enormous heights. The Ancient one in Chapter 10 was at least 30 ''stories'' tall.

** Blake [[spoiler:and Yang for their involvement with the White Fang.]]
** Weiss [[spoiler:for her actions as a society girl.]]

* BadGuyBar: [[spoiler:Yang's old watering hole is implied to be this.]]
* BifurcatedWeapon: Alice Sgathan’s two-handed sword splits into two separate blades with their own handles. It’s also a gun.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Those society girls always ''seem'' like such nice girls…
* BlatantLies: [[spoiler: Ruby tells several, and shocks people by her ability to do it with a [[ConsummateLiar pure, honest and innocent face.]]]]
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: Miltia is sent flying by Ruby’s first shot in chapter one.
* BodyguardBabes: Melanie and Miltiadies worked as these, both for Junior and other clients, until Yang got them blacklisted.

* {{Bouncer}}: Junior employees several. After firing the Malachite sisters, he hires Coco Adel.
* BungledSuicide: Chapter 6 reveals [[spoiler:Blake tried to kill herself after her last mission with the White Fang by throwing herself off of a cliff. No one, not even her, expected to survive.]]
* CantHoldHisLiquor: Junior becomes a mean drunk when he gets into his cups, one who can't quite remember what he did while under the influence. [[spoiler:He actually drunk-dialed Miltia while threatening her with the information he gathered at Roman's behest, causing her to panic and to try to convince Ruby to kill him for all their sakes.]]
** Weiss admits to Ruby during their first practice run that she gets a mean streak when she drinks champagne, and that played a part in why the sisters don't like her.
* CasualDangerDialog: Ruby, when she and Miltia walk into the middle of a confrontation between India and Venus and a gang of faunus.
* CasualtyInTheRing: Pyrrha tells Melanie about a mishap during her second tournament where the referee misjudged her strength and she broke her opponent's aura, accidentally dealing a deadly blow.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: As the leaders of their group, Ruby, Melanie, and Jaune get dressed down for the fight in Chapter 2. Ruby for her lack of discipline, Melanie for initiating the prank in the first place that nearly got her sister killed, and Jaune for being the neutral party when he was in the best position to reach a compromise between them to avoid this sort of them.
* ChangeTheUncomfortableSubject: [[spoiler:Ruby]] tries this in her meeting with Ozpin over [[spoiler: Miltia's injury]]. He decides [[spoiler:she's]] not going to crack and lets her.
* ChekhovsGun: Ruby’s second blade case turns out to contain [[spoiler: sawtooth anti-personnel blades, highly illegal (it’s a war-crime for the military to use them) and specially designed purely for breaking auras.]]
* ChickMagnet: Ruby tells that she was this at Signal Academy, to the point where she's got a longer trail of broken hearts than Yang. [[spoiler:Considering the examples under LoveTriangle, she's still got it.]]
* CoincidenceMagnet: Junior. He comes up with a completely plausible chart in Chapter 11 of how all the members of MVAM, RWBY, and JNPR were in the same class and screwed him over, but the truth of it was that it was all a bunch of coincidences.

* CombatMedic: Velvet.

* ConsummateLiar: [[spoiler: Ruby.]]
* CoverBlowingSuperpower: [[spoiler:One faunus gang-member was outed by Velvet, Ruby, and Miltia, because she moved far too quickly for a civilian.]]
* CripplingOverspecialization: The twins' weapons and skills were made for bodyguarding and facing off against other people, so they can't fight Grimm effectively until they get an upgrade.

** Most of India and Ruby's duel is just Ruby practicing her defensive stance. When she stops playing around the battle's over in one blow.
** The Jaws Of Menagerie mooks who attack Ruby, Miltia, Venus and India don't put up much of a fight.

** [[spoiler:Ruby was a ProfessionalKiller to pay for her weapon.]]
** [[spoiler:Weiss has a history with being a FunctionalAddict.]]
** [[spoiler:Blake was a member of the White Fang and a trigger agent.]]
** [[spoiler:Yang was a Dust Runner for White Fang sympathizers, working under Roman Torchwick and alongside Neo.]]
* DecadentCourt: The Society, the sons and daughters of Remnant's wealthiest families and most powerful businesses.
* DeliberatelyCuteChild: Ruby ''ruthlessly'' exploits her cute and innocent appearance to pull the wool over everyone's eyes or avoid awkward questions. [[spoiler: Miltia learns to see through it.]]
* DiagonalCut: Ruby performs several on Grimm [[spoiler: and the White Fang assassins]].
* DramaticGunCock: In her duel with India, Ruby chambers a round once she stops playing with him, and her opponent barely has time to recognise her scythe is also a gun before he’s out cold.
* DyeOrDie: [[spoiler:Ruby and Miltia dye their hair when they go scouting out Junior's bar.]]

* EveryoneIsGay: {{Lampshaded}} by Velvet's mother, but otherwise averted.
-->'''Saffron''': Do you have any straight girls in your class, honey?
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: [[spoiler:Weiss' feelings towards Ruby.]]
* FakeOutMakeOut: Milita and a Fox-Girl Faunus in Chapter 6. It didn't work because Velvet suspected she heard anyway what she was eavesdropping on.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: Why Ruby[[spoiler: nearly killed Miltia. She recognized her killing someone before and mentions to Velvet the only reason she survived was because she knew what was going to happen and managed to get her defenses up.]]
* HumiliatingWager: India and Venus wager the loser gives a kiss to the winner against Weiss and Ruby. Ruby wins but doesn't collect since she doesn't want to force it.
* IAmWhatIAm: Alice tells Ruby this. She acknowledges she's a Society girl and enjoyed the decadent lifestyle.
* IconicItem: Ruby and Blake's WeaponOfChoice are both so rare that they are recognizable, allowing Miltia to know full-well that Ruby's used it to kill before and for Velvet's father to warn her that Blake was involved with White Fang.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Ruby never seems to miss with the sniper part of her sniper-scythe...
* ItGetsEasier: [[spoiler:Neo suggests the conscience gets 'limber' after the first dozen to explain why Ruby isn't overly bothered by the White Fang soldiers she killed.]]
* ItsPersonal: The sisters aren't fond of Yang because not only did she get them fired, but Junior also blacklisted them, leaving Beacon as their own choice.
* JudgeJuryAndExecutioner: Part of hunter culture is that they police themselves, including those in training, as regular channels (i.e. the police) are unable to handle such incidences. The only time they ever get a higher authority (i.e. the faculty) involved is if it goes beyond their ability to handle.
* KnowledgeBroker: Hei "Junior" Xiong.

* MixAndMatchWeapon: It’s {{WebAnimation/RWBY}}. Not everything is a gun, but they all have multiple forms to attack with.
** Alice’s Cheshire Silver is a two-handed sword which can split into two separate blades or become a dust-powered pulse rifle.
** Aurea’s Sole and Luna, a cudgel (Luna) which turns into a carbine (Sol).

** One of the VLFM's soldiers wields a dust-infused WhipSword hidden as a belt. A 'Flex-Segmented Dust-Activated Blade', according to Ruby.
** Another VLFM member uses a longsword that doubles as an energy weapon; a 'High-Energy Rail-Sword'.
* {{Muggle}}: It's mentioned in the fic that many of the police, and presumably many other people, don't have aura. This is one of the bigger changes from the show where basically everyone, save for the soulless Grimm, have aura.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Yang had a moment like this in the past when she [[spoiler:attacked her father when he confronted her nine months ago about running with Roman Torchwick. Ruby bursting in and finding she attacked him was a key part of her quitting.]]

* NamedWeapons: Averted by the Malachite twins, whose weapons remain unnamed, and used to demonstrate the differences between hunter culture and that of more normal people.
* NaiveNewcomer: Jaune is constantly shown to be completely unaware of Hunter traditions and culture, managing to be both completely horrified by the way hunters do things, and completely horrify the hunters because he doesn't understand what it is he's threatening to do.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Goodwitch and a team of veteran Hunters set out to kill the Ancient Grimm from Chapter 10, which had lived at least a thousand years. We see none of it, only receiving a notice it was slain later.

-->'''India''': ''Sweet fuck, a sniper [[CurseCutShort scy–]]

* OriginalCharacter: Alice Sgathan, India and Venus, as well as Velvet's parents and various background characters.
** OCStandIn: Miltiades and Melanie Malachite, the two girls who fought Yang in the Yellow trailer.
* PassiveAggressiveKombat: Common between Society Girls.
* ProfessionalKiller: [[spoiler:Ruby tells Miltia that this is how she gets all the money to pay for Crescent Rose. Neo's one too and they drop hints that they're both part of a MurderInc. This explains the various disconcerting tropes in this page with Ruby's name in them, including the highly illegal sawtooth blades.]]
** White Fang's Trigger Teams and Trigger Agents are these.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Yang's eyes turn red when she gets pissed.
* ReformedCriminal: Blake (as per Canon), Miltia and Melanie Malachite and [[spoiler: Yang.]]
* RichBitch: See AlphaBitch above.

* SecretPolice: The RSS, Vale's "secret happy fun-time people", who you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alleyway.
* SerratedBladeOfPain: [[spoiler: Sawtooth anti-personnel blades have edges like sharks’ teeth, full of points specifically designed to overwhelm a human being’s aura. They are ''very'' illegal because of this]].
* SignatureScent: Alice wears a brand of perfume so hard to find that Weiss and Miltia immediately peg that she's been involved with Ruby when they catch the scent on her.
* SpySpeak:In the form of Sign/Countersign between [[spoiler:Neo and Ruby]], when they first meet.
* StealthInsult: Common between Society girls, though they just as often [[PassiveAggressiveKombat don't bother with the 'stealth']].

* SugaryMalice: Any encounter between society girls is filled with this.

-->'''Weiss''': Ha, it looks like a success from back here too. ({{Beat}}) Oh god, that sounded completely wrong.

* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: A few moments of panic by Ruby leading to [[spoiler: her trying to kill Miltiades]] starts off the plot and gives the first few hints at the eponymous secrets.

-->'''[[spoiler:Neo]]''': So breathe easy, sister.
-->'''[[spoiler:Ruby]]''': Free air is easy to breathe, sister.

** India, despite being flattened by Ruby in a single attack, is still shocked when Pyrrha points out he's only alive because Ruby had no intention of killing him, and that she herself is a little nervous about facing her.
--> '''India''': You know, suddenly she doesn't seem nearly so adorable.

* WorldBuilding: Plenty.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: Blake has a hard time accepting that the White Fang have gone from the latter to the former.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Neo is of this opinion in regards to the twins, namely that Junior should either have kept them or silenced them since they knew too much.

* MixAndMatchWeapon: It’s {{WebAnimation/RWBY}}.