History Fanfic / TheSecondTorch

** Roman goes to the pharmacy to get cold medicine for Neo, forgetting that his presence in public will attract police attention owing to the bank robbery he just pulled and took public credit for.

** Roman has is on moment, however, as he doesn't try to fight Ruby for very long when she interrupts his robbery of the Dust store because he doesn't think he can beat her without killing her, which would make him the target of every Huntsman and Huntress in Beacon. He also later vetoes Banesaw's proposal to execute Ruby on video partly for this reason, and partly because being a child murderer doesn't fit the image of charming rogue he's going for.

** Roman's bank robbery begins with attempts to elicit an appropriate response from the bank teller to his presence, ultimately culminating in him exasperatedly telling her he's robbing the place, leading her to trigger the bank's security measures and inadvertently catching his weapon Melodic Cudgel's tip in the steel shutters (which weren't something banks had when he started out). When he orders the bank's customers to get on the ground and hand over their valuables, one of them points out that he, with his weapon stuck, has nothing to threaten them with, allowing them all book it. He manages to free Melodic Cudgel from the shutters so he can use it on the vault door, but fails to consider how the pressure of the bulletproof shutters may have damaged it; sure enough, the Dust round explodes in the barrel where the shutters had warped the metal. Roman then tries to blow up the vault door by using the remaining Dust in Melodic Cudgel as an improvised explosive, from which the vault door emerges unscathed (as it wouldn't be very good protection if a relatively minor explosion could break it), and only manages to get in because the surrounding walls were less sturdy then the door. Upon entering, Roman and Neo discover only a few thousand lien in cash, because most banking is now done online and the vault is more of a prop to impress customers. When the police pursue the pair during their getaway, he decides to make things more glamorous by exchanging gunfire with his pursuers while leaning out the window, telling Neo to take the wheel, overlooking a) she's currently buckled up in the passenger seat and not in a good position to take the wheel and b) when she does manage to clamber into the passenger seat, her 4'10" (in heels!) frame leaves her too short to ''simultaneously'' see through the windshield and reach the pedals. The chase ends with Neo driving into the ocean and their ill-gotten loot lost.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Roman goes to the pharmacy to get cold medicine for Neo, forgetting that his presence in public will attract police attention owing to the bank robbery he just pulled and took public credit for.

** Roman in particular is infuriated by how stupid Ruby was being when she let herself get caught: not only did she not take her weapon with her when she left her group in an area filled with Grimm, she didn't even use her Aura to tank any hits from the White Fang, and didn't even think to turn on her scroll's tracker so the others could find her more easily. As he puts it, she's his nemesis now, so she has to be smarter than this, as he will ''not'' tolerate an idiotic nemesis.

** As part of the fic's comedy, Roman Torchwick is significantly goofier and less self-aware than his conniving, street-smart and vicious canon self. He acts like a bumbling dad to Neopolitan, his solution to Neo being slightly under the weather is to feed her a ''cocktail of every pharmaceutical drug he could nab'' under the assumption that one of them would do the right trick, and he can't ever tell that Neo's subsequent "gestures of adoration" at him during the fic are frustration-fueled attempts to throttle him.
** Team RWBY are played as reckless idiots who [[LeeroyJenkins rush into situations without thinking and inevitably make things worse]], similarly to some of Coeur's [[Fanfic/ARabbitAmongWolves previous]] [[Fanfic/KnightOfSalem fics]].
* AttentionWhore: Roman naturally seeks the spotlight out but as he realizes that Vale doesn't see him as a threat anymore he has take this trait [[SerialEscalation up to eleven]] with a desperate and ill-planned bank heist which only gained him some temporary spotlight and poor Neo a cold, a sunken car, and unflattering pictures.
* BaitAndSwitchComment: When Perry asks about how Neo can be discreet with her distinct appearance, Roman says she has a trick up her sleeve. Then right as she's about to show off her Semblance, Roman reveals that trick is the fact that she's too short to be seen in car windows. Cue comedic anger.
* BankRobbery: To gain back his prestige and help his ego, Roman plans to rob Vale Central Bank. Except that he didn't plan on any changes to the bank's security nor the escape plan beyond, "drive away".

* CouldSayItBut: Knowing he's on a time crunch and there's no possible way the captured and demoralized Ruby could get all the information naturally, Roman leaks her the White Fang's plan and his own motives by angrily taunting her that she'd ''never'' figure out their plan to use bombs on a train to attack Vale, ''never'' figure out the exact things to do to stop the plan, ''never'' expect specific obstacles that would need to be dealt with to stop the plan, and ''definitely never'' consider that the whole plan is totally out of character for a fame-seeking thief so there ''must'' be something else going on above him.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Roman goes to the pharmacy to get cold medicine for Neo, forgetting that, having recenlty ostentatiously robbed a bank, he's back on the most wanted list and therefore his presence in public will attract police attention.
* DisappointedInYou: During his lecture to Ruby about how badly she fumbled things to be caught by his White Fang "allies," he expresses this sentiment... with Ruby ''actually feeling chastised'' as a result.

* PragmaticVillainy: Roman doesn't try to fight Ruby for very long when she interrupts his robbery of the Dust store because he doesn't think he can beat her without killing her, which would make him the target of every Huntsman and Huntress in Beacon. He also later vetoes Banesaw's proposal to execute Ruby on video partly for this reason, and partly because being a child murderer doesn't fit the image of charming rogue he's going for.

* PragmaticVillainy: Roman vetoes Banesaw's proposal to execute Ruby on video partly because being a child murderer doesn't fit the image of charming rogue he's going for, and partly because doing so would make him a target of every Huntsman and Huntress in Beacon.

* DisappointedInYou: During his lecture to Ruby about how badly she fumbled things to be caught by his White Fang "allies," he expresses this sentiment... with Ruby ''actually feeling chastened'' as a result.

* PragmaticVillainy: Roman vetoes Banesaw's proposal to execute Ruby on video partly because being a child murderer doesn't fit the image of charming rogue he's going for, and partly because doing so would make him a target of every Huntsman and Huntress in Beacon.

* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Roman reflects on how much notoriety he had in the past when he made his GentlemanThief debut, he was on the new constantly, his name was well known and women swooned over his rouge-ish smile and good looks. At the time of the fic, Roman Torchwick's legacy is in the dirt with his infamy so forgotten that he could walk into a heavily surveyed bank and had to announce it was robbery.

* GentlemanThief: A well-dressed rouge who looks more at home in posh society than robbing store, at least when he was younger.

* LighterAndSofter: In comparison to some of Coeur's more serious and darker words like ''Remnant Invictus'' and ''Null'', ''The Second Torch'' is much more light-hearted with an emphasis on comedy.

* AdaptationalDumbass: As part of the fic's comedy, Roman Torchwick is significantly goofier and less self-aware than his conniving, street-smart and vicious canon self. He acts like a bumbling dad to Neopolitan, his solution to Neo being slightly under the weather is to feed her a ''cocktail of every pharmaceutical drug he could nab'' under the assumption that one of them would do the right trick, and he can't ever tell that Neo's subsequent "gestures of adoration" at him during the fic are frustration-fueled attempts to throttle him.

* [[Fanboy]]: Perry reveals himself to be a fan of Torchwick upon meeting him, much to the thief's amusement and Neo's dismay.

* ButtMonkey: As Roman works to reclaim his lost fame/infamy, Neo ends up suffering a lot of comical abuse without him intending to. From coming down with a sickness after an ill-fated bank heist to being force-fed a bunch of pharmecuticals, Neo does not have it easy in this fic.

* LoserProtagonist: His infamy and reputation DeaderThanDead, Roman starts the story as this with determination reclaim his glory at poor Neo's expense.
* PovertyforComedy: The dire state of their financial situation and other circumstances lead to the sobering realization for Roman Torchwick that he's a washed up criminal now.

* AttentionWhore: Roman naturally seeks the spotlight out but as he realises that Vale doesn't see him as a threat anymore he has take this trait UpToEleven with a desperate and ill-planned bank heist which only gained him some temporary spotlight and poor Neo a cold, a sunken car, and unflattering pictures.

* HowtheMightyHaveFallen: Roman reflects on how much noriety he had in the past when he made his GentlemanThief debut, he was on the new constantly, his name was well known and women swooned over his roughish smile and good looks. At the time of the fic, Roman Torchwick's legacy is in the dirt with his infamy so forgotten that he could walk into a heavily surveyed bank and had to announce it was robbery.

* LoserProtangonist: His infamy and reputation DeaderThanDead, Roman starts the story as this with determination reclaim his glory at poor Neo's expense.

* AttentionWhore: Roman naturally seeks the spotlight out but as he realises that Vale doesn't see him as a threat anymore he has take this trait UpToEleven with a desperate and ill-planned bank heist which only gained him some temporary spotlight and poor Neo a cold, a sunken car, and unflattering pictures.