RWBY 1. I, Ironwood

**Author's Note: Okay, so I just had this quick litttle idea and figured I would post it just because. A sort of non-humorous variant on the 'Diary of Glynda Goodwitch' concept, except that what we're going to have here, in essence, the personal manifestos of various characters, based upon the characterization that they have received up to the end of Volume 2 and _possibly _some speculation which I believe to be reasonable (primarily dealing with any backstory that may be necessary). Perhaps General Ironwood is an odd place to start, but he's the one I thought of first, so before this author's note gets longer than the content, I'll just let you read. As with all my other work, any feedback you care to leave is appreciated.**

I, Ironwood

I, Ironwood, do hereby swear to maintain and uphold peace, justice, and order wherever such may be required. Thus I swear upon my honor, and in the name of Atlas, whose might is Remnant's single greatest shield against the howling dark beyond our walls. I refuse to stand idly by while there is _action _that may be taken, and I shall not falter in my vigil over those whom I have sworn to protect and serve.

The world we live in is a dangerous one, and I cannot abide the thought that it there is nothing to be done. The Grimm are many, and they are mighty, so we _must _be mightier still, and though the blackened jaws of night which lust eternally for our blood find strength in their limitless malice, human strength comes through _discipline. _If we are to survive, then there must be cohesion among us and unity of purpose behind which all may stand; Grimm will not tolerate humanity, so why then should we tolerate them? They, the senseless hordes which cry ever louder for our blood in the night, they, whose teeth and claws grow ever sharper as their innate hatred is honed upon the passing of years, they, who are _without purpose _but to rip and tear and kill… For this I cannot stand.

And yet there are those who, knowing all of this full well, would conspire against the kingdoms and people of Remnant; to disrupt order, conspire against the _peace _that our forefathers fought so hard for – or in error fought against. That there exist those who would even _conceive _of breaching a kingdom's walls makes it manifestly evident that I have already failed – and that the necessary lessons of history have clearly not yet been learned. The time for waiting is at an end; justice must be served, and I will stop at nothing to see that the guilty are punished, and the safety of Remnant's people once more fully restored.

Thus I Swear,

James Ironwood.


	2. I, Goodwitch

I, Goodwitch

I, Goodwitch do here affirm my commitment to the education and training of Remnant's next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses to stand vigil against the darkness beyond the walls. I do this, because for every Grimm which I may slay in open battle, I may train the students of Beacon to slay thousand more, but only if I impart upon them the proper discipline, because it is in discipline that our strength as Huntsmen and Huntresses is found. Any fool can see why our work is necessary, but fear of the Grimm is not enough – it is detrimental even in the practice of our craft – for fear, while a powerful motivator, leads to hasty and sloppy action. Fear has its place, of course, but it cannot be allowed to govern our choices.

We live in a time of peace, this much I still believe, but I would deceive myself and do a disservice upon those whom I have sworn to protect if I were to deny that recent events have… shaken my faith in in foundation on which our peace is built. As we have lived for decades now in a time of peace, I fear that we, as a people, have grown soft; many have come to lack the rigor imparted by a healthy fear of the darkness beyond our kingdoms. If vigilance is the key to our survival in a hostile world, then complacency may be our undoing if we allow it – and how much more so when there are those who would compromise the walls and _lead _the Grimm to fall upon the helpless people of Remnant? I am thus grateful, if begrudgingly so, that our brothers and sisters in Atlas have never… _lost sight _of the threat which hangs over us all, but by the same token, an over-eagerness to call up the martial force at their disposal – albeit even for good – troubles me.

I seek to train the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses because I believe that the use of power such as we wield – while necessary for the world in which we live – but be guided by calm, reasoning minds, lest we become the architects of our own destruction, and have no further need of the Grimm.

This I believe,

Glynda Goodwitch


	3. I, Torchwick

I, Torchwick

**I, Torchwick, need another smoke. **

**You know, the trouble with these soldier-types is that they're all just too damned serious all the time – They all oughta lighten up once in a while; have a drink, smoke a cigar, find a pretty girl maybe – but no, Sergeant Screwball **_**always **_**has to be **_**serious **_**about guarding the prisoner. Ha. Bastard needs to take the **_**stick **_**out of his ass is more like it. Just think about it; there's a **_**whole kingdom **_**full of people like **_**that… **_**Can you even imaging how **_**God-awfully boring **_**it must be up there in Atlas? The Vale Council should give me the key to the city for keeping things **_**interesting **_**around here… **

**But yeah… still ain't got a smoke… Strongest military power my ass – the **_**esteemed general **_**had my cigars confiscated - 'for my own good' – as if. I'd say it's **_**probably **_**in everyone's best interest if I choke on the smoke in here – mine most of all – It's too damn boring in here. I shudder to think how much money I could be **_**misappropriating **_**if I weren't stuck in here. Crazy **_**bitch **_**better know what she's doing – Roman Torchwick is **_**nobody's fall-guy!**_

**Ah, screw it, I'm probably gonna be here a while, may as well get used to it. I'll get out of here eventually – that damned **_**witch **_**ain't the only one with a few connections – and when I **_**do **_**get out, the **_**first thing **_**I'm gonna do is get another **_**hat **_**because those **_**damned androids **_**flattened my last one! Can you believe that? The **_**second thing **_**I'm gonna do though… I think another heist might be in order… maybe make some actual **_**money **_**on this one instead of just **_**stockpiling **_**the haul for God-only-knows what. Bitch never **_**did **_**tell me what the endgame was… Eh, whatever; toy soldiers on one side and dumb animals on the other, and all of them hate me, so screw them all. They can kill each other all they like while I'm stuck in here. I'll get out eventually, and war is good for business. **

**Wait and see, **

**Roman Torchwick**

Author's Note: So it was time for a villain, and who better than Roman Torchwick – to me at least, he represents an interesting counterpoint to both Ironwood and Goodwitch, plus, I had that first few words playing over and over in my head, so I just _had _to start it off like that. As for the next one though, I'm not sure _exactly _who to do; I'm kind of waffling between Oobleck, Adam, or taking a crack at Neo; if any of those appeals to you, or if you have an alternate suggestion, feel free to leave it in a review.


	4. I, Neo

**Author's Note: Okay, so here's Neo – and fair warning before you read, given that I've really only got two scenes to go on… I speculated – Hopefully it's interesting. **

I, Neo

I, Neo, wonder if everyone bleeds red… Such a shame really – there simply isn't the time to find out… It's such a beautiful color really – and I say that as a connoisseur of beautiful things – the way it wells up from the smallest little pinprick… The same lovely shade of crimson no matter how you look at it… I love it….

But of course, I am a woman of refined and _varied _tastes – and I am not so without self-control that I cannot enjoy the more subtle things in life – there are so many wonderful ways in which one can enjoy the little shades of anxiety and_ frustration _on a person's face. Particularly when someone isn't used to losing… First, there's the surprise when they find that _they can't touch me unless I want them to; _I let them _just _close enough to let them _think _that they might be good enough – but they're always fooling themselves; they can never touch me.

And then comes the _wonderful _frustration. They _see _the futility, but they don't want to _accept it – _so instead they get angry… It always gets _faster _after that – and _so much more fun… _It's a whole new level of fun. When people get angry, they get _sloppy, _and the sloppier they get, the angrier they get as they realize that it was never a _fight _to begin with – they've simply been performing for my amusement…. And then we get on to the _best part… fear. _

Fear is the most _delicious _flavor of them all; that one, _indescribable _moment when the silly, silly fool fully realizes that they're going to _lose – _the false hope and the anger make me smile, but the _fear _when they realize that I've been in control the _whole time… _God, do I enjoy that… _That _is the time when I like to finish a fight… and then we get to find out if they bleed red too… Isn't it a fun game? I think so – It's just a damn shame that everyone else doesn't agree – too closed-minded…

Everyone's beautiful on the inside after all,

Neo


End file.

RWBY, Angst, Drama