#Atlas being so careful to get everything just right to look cool... never once considering Kay might be doing the same thing.

[yvesdot]

Hi, yves.. It's me, yves.. I'd really like to write something in a coffee shop with Atlas (you know what I am talking about), so could you do me a favor and write it? And then tag it for the bingo, if you don't mind, and don't forget to update the bingo sheet! Thanks. (-yvesdot)

Well, yves., I sure can! You know, I just had this idea, and I knew absolutely nobody deserved to feel as though they had spawned it with an innocent request, and then here you come with this ask... sometimes it's like we're the same person.

Warnings for misgendering, deadnaming, and one count (two counts?) of female-presenting... well, you know, but it's really brief and the overall piece is not remotely sexual. It's just that Atlas is Atlas.

(THE ONE AND ONLY UNIVERSE OF KAY RAINIER)

ATLAS - COFFEE SHOP

Atlas feels like trying something fucked up and unfortunate, so he walks into the nearest coffee shop and looks for their seasonal menu.

There's something with cranberries. Something with cinnamon, and something with peppermint bark. Should he try to aim for a drink he might actually enjoy, or should he go for something he's certain he'll hate in hopes of really testing his limits? He doesn't even know whether he likes cranberries. For that matter, he's forgotten how this place measures their cups. He examines the cups at the register from a distance, hoping to ascertain something. As usual, the effort is hopeless and demoralizing. Atlas supposes it wouldn't be the same if he knew any of the words to use when ordering. He sets himself to memorizing the first drink name he sees, which has TMs and Rs all over it, including in places Atlas wouldn't expect corporations to interfere, like 'whipped cream' (TM) and 'cran' (R). He's wondering whether you can really do that or if they're just pretending when one of the straight white girls at the table by the door shushes the other one. Then, obviously, he gives both of the girls his full attention.

The shushing one is blonde, and wearing a white coat with real fur around the top. She has absolutely enormous brown eyes, almost comical; and thin, symmetrical red lips. She wears, incredibly, knit fingerless gloves; Atlas has only seen those in pictures of white women. Her friend is dark-haired and wearing that poser style of eyeshadow; the kind where it's dark and overly large but clearly working very hard to be purple or blue or something else peacock-associated and definitely not black, to remain fashionable and so extremely status quo. Atlas doesn't hold it against her, partially because he feels sympathy—she clearly wishes that her hair was curlier than it is, and it never will be. Atlas gets in line, conveniently right in front of them.

"He took me bowling two years ago," the blonde one is saying now. "I can't."

"You are so welcome to tell me about your better options," the dark-haired one says, and the blonde one scoffs and sits back in her chair. "Lottie."

Atlas takes another glance and decides that Lottie does not look like a Lottie. She looks like an Abigail or a Jane, maybe, something simple and modern and elegant. Atlas feels sympathy for her, too. And for himself, because the person in front of him in line is trying to make exact change.

"Okay. So...." Lottie draws out the so... in a perfect California drawl. Atlas grins. "What's your suggestion?"

"Call him up, say something nice. Say you've been thinking about him. His... Give me something to work with."

"Soulful eyes."

"Well, don't say that. I don't know. Is that what they say?"

"I have no idea what they say," Lottie says. "What we have in common is that both of our parents spend a lot of money on clothes. That's not true. We’re both pretty."

Atlas is living for this.

"It was so stupid. I mean, I was totally head over heels, ready to get engaged, you know, crazy stuff every day, clearly the best option I've ever had, and then he was giving me the break-up talk. And he so obviously cared about me, and he was trying to be nice to me. He's so nice." Lottie sighs in the way girls do in old black and white movies and leans her head on her hand, looking out the window. "Oh," she says wistfully, "Kay."

Atlas is not living for this.

He almost turns all the way around to be sure that that was actually what he heard. Specifically, he was under the impression that it was only him and Kay's mom who got to call Kay 'Kay'. Not that it matters. But this is a random blonde girl, and also, Atlas is remembering that Kay had that fiancée whom she insisted was out of the picture. And clearly she is out of the picture. Because Atlas has never met her. And Atlas would know. If she mattered. At all.

"Let's go back to the beginning," the dark-haired one is saying. "Bowling. You're on the date. Sell me the guy. Sell me the two-year pining."

"I'm not pining. He was very nice." Lottie giggles. "And every time he missed a pin, he looked embarrassed."

Atlas cannot imagine Kay looking embarrassed. Can't imagine her missing anything, either. It's somehow crushing—he can imagine himself insisting, no, really, it's somehow better that he's never seen her embarrassed, hasn't known her long enough to see her fail at anything; actually, it means... what? That he likes her more? That she likes him more? Either way it seems like a pretty weak argument. He's about to sink into total depression when he finally hears the cashier telling him to order something or get out of the line.

"Um," Atlas says, trying to keep the conversation in his ears while delivering output from his mouth. "The seasonal drink."

"There are seven."

"There are—really? I only saw three on the sign. Seven? You don't think that's excessive?"

"I don't think anything. I get paid $7.50 an hour." The cashier looks like they want to be holding a cup, so Atlas hands them one. This worsens things.

"Whichever," Atlas says, "and whatever size. Put whatever you feel like in it, too. Piss in it, for all I care."

He doesn't have cash on him, so he can't even leave a worthwhile tip for the cashier getting paid $7.50 an hour and standing behind a counter too low to encourage peeing in cups. Whatever. Atlas will come back next week and make it rain. None of this is as important, though, as Lottie's opinions on Kay. Atlas loiters by the counter.

"...married to a Victorian for the rest of your life?" the dark-haired one is asking now, which is a very good question.

"Oh, I don't know. I don't want to marry some guy from the golf club, that's for sure." Lottie grips the table. "Look at me, Olivia! I'm a spinster!"

"By his standards? I bet. Who says he's not already married?"

"According to every other girl who's tried, he's a closet case." Lottie buries her face in her hands. "I'm telling you—he likes girls. I know it! I just feel it."

A tragedy! Atlas thinks. The first straight girl to have functioning gaydar, and she's cursed with no other brains at all.

"Call him," Olivia suggests, and when Lottie gives her a look, she adds, "or I'll call him. Give me your phone."

"I'm not giving you my phone. Olivia!" Lottie cries, as Olivia snatches her bag. "Liv! Give it—"

"Hm, hm, Sam From Class, Olivia Best Friend—oh, that's me—why am I scrolling like this. Look! Kay Rainier." She hits the big button in the middle of the flip phone's keyboard and holds it to her ear, humming quietly. The panda keychain on Lottie's phone swings in the air as Olivia takes a sip of her drink. Lottie herself hangs over the table in shock. Atlas picks up his drink and moves to sit across from them at an empty table, eavesdropping so closely he accidentally uses his magic and can hear the phone ringing on the other end. One sip of his drink and he nearly chokes to death, which is convenient, because the next thing Olivia says is, "Is Kay short for Constantine?" and Atlas would have had to disguise his laugh anyway.

"He has a house phone," Lottie stage-whispers, and Atlas presses his hands over his mouth to keep from making any sound.

"May I speak to Kay?" Olivia asks now. "Oh. I'm Charlotte’s friend. I'm like the operator. Is he there?" She nods thoughtfully, listening, then snaps the phone shut.

"...well???" asks Lottie.

"'Caelus,'" Olivia says, doing a terrible impression of Constantine's mopey voice, "'is out.'"

"Kay is what?" Atlas asks, whipping around, and both of the girls jump. Sometimes he forgets he is muscular. Or goth. Or the rest of it. "Out where?"

"How would I know?" Olivia asks. "Who are you?"

Atlas groans, burying his head in his hands.

"How fucking hard is it!" he asks the room. "How fucking hard is it to stay inside. Constantine says, watch Kay. I say, sure! Kay says, watch me walk out the fucking door and nearly get stabbed at the library. Where is Kay," he asks, and now his eyes go black and the coffee shop disappears. It's a good thing he doesn't think too much about how people perceive him.

Kay is not in the surrounding one mile she is not in the surrounding two miles she is not in—she is at home. Atlas blinks. Kay is at home. In fact—he focuses just a little bit—she is heading up the stairs. Back up the stairs, probably, after being downstairs. Constantine is in his office, and his pathing goes straight there from the phone.

"Kay is at home," Atlas says, in surprise. He looks at Olivia. "Constantine just lied to you. Why?"

"How do you know that?" Olivia asks, giving him her hardest straight-girl look, as Lottie collapses on the coffee shop table.

"Magic," Atlas says.

"You know Kay?" Olivia asks, crossing her arms.

Biblically, Atlas wants to tell her.

"Yes," he says, instead.

"Is he very pretty?" Olivia asks, and Lottie absolutely moans.

"Like you would not believe," Atlas says, and he takes another sip of his drink, and coughs. "Don't tell Kay I told you this," he says to Lottie—she brightens immediately—"but give up."

Lottie deflates like an air dancer.

"Sorry," Atlas says, but he isn't. He figures he does not even slightly look it, and that is fine with him. He would love to detail to this girl what each of Kay's nipples feel like in his mouth. He may not know what Kay looks like bowling, but hey, in bed with her he's yet to strike out...

"Not a totally lost cause," Olivia reassures Lottie. "Constantine is, what, his dad? How old can he be?"

Atlas spits some of his drink back into his cup.

"He's in his forties," Lottie mumbles.

"Me-ow," Olivia says, in a complete deadpan. Oh, how Atlas loves straight girls. He wipes at his face with a napkin. It's a shame they don't really love him back. Him and his bowling lesbian sex puns.

"I'm not going out with his dad," Lottie says, now maybe crying a little bit. Atlas composes himself and turns back around.

"I'll tell you this," he says. "You're blonde. You're wearing fur. You've been sitting in this coffee shop for, like, an hour, talking about dates from two years ago like you've never had a problem in your life. I was briefly jealous of you, and then it passed and will never return. Go out and find a guy."

"A guy?" Lottie echoes.

"A guy," Atlas confirms. "Literally any guy. It'll solve your problems, and also mine. Have this," he says, and he hands her the drink. "It's terrible."

And Lottie sits there, holding the drink with Atlas's spit in it in her little gloved hands, as he knocks the door open and walks out, ringing the coffeehouse bell in his wake. He's heading home now, to Kay in her room, and looking forward to seeing her naked. In the next half hour, probably. He spends the rest of the walk thinking of niche questions to ask Kay about bowling, and then imagining just when to say it, what position he should have her in, so he can shock her just enough that she'll lose control. So that he might see her embarrassed.

ko-fi | Patreon | all writing | book

#txt #important writing updates #Wow the commentary I could give on this. #Atlas being so careful to get everything just right to look cool... never once considering Kay might be doing the same thing. #The intimacy in failure. #Atlas is a good person but a bad person. #I've had enough thinking. Glad to finally write Lottie; there's no way she'll ever turn up in the story. #Hope you enjoyed! In my twisted diseased way! #writing #wtwbingo

[breeeliss]

i heard some people don’t know about the Taang/Kummi theory

So this was originally supposed to be a response to an ask I had gotten about this ATLA theory, but because Read More links on Tumblr asks seem to break once you edit them, I’m reposting so that people can actually see the post lol 

For anyone who wasn’t a part of the Toph x Aang LiveJournal fandom in the early 2000s, buckle up, because this bugged me out as a 13 year old. 

Remember the end of “The Swamp” (Book 2, Episode 4)? We find out the swamp isn’t haunted, Huu was just protecting it the whole time, and then he explains to Katara, Sokka, and Aang why the swamp is so mystical and sacred.

The swamp is just one big banyan grove tree that’s grown out over miles and miles. All the branches and trees they see are connected because they’re one big breathing organism. And that extends to life as well. We’re all living beings. We all share the same roots. We all are from the same tree, even if we don’t act like it. Everything is connected! Cool stuff.

But when Katara asks what her seeing her mother and what Sokka seeing Yue meant, Huu explains that “in the swamp, we see visions of people we lost, people we’ve loved, folks we think are gone, but the swamp tells us they’re not. We’re still connected to them. Time is an illusion, and so is death.” So Katara never really lost her mother and Sokka never really lost Yue because the connections we make in life transcend death and time. They’re not gone. They’re still a part of us. The swamp reminds us of this.

Now, to keep in theme with this, we probably would’ve expected Aang to also see visions of people he’s lost and loved before (Gyatso, the other Airbenders, his culture, etc.)

But for some reason, Aang sees...Toph. Someone he doesn’t know.

Huu doesn’t really give Aang an explanation for this, he sort of just lets Aang figure it out for himself. And what we’re left is “okay well if time is an illusion and this isn’t someone I’ve made a connection with yet, it’s someone I will make a connection with.” We’re made to accept that as viewers, but why was Aang’s vision so different? Was it really just to lead him in the direction of his Earthbending Master so that he can continue on with his destiny?

Or was it because, unbeknownst to Aang, Toph actually was someone that he had loved and lost before? Just not in this life. In another life. A past life. When he wasn’t Aang, but rather Avatar Kuruk, the Southern Water Tribe Avatar that came before Avatar Kyoshi.

✨Basically the theory is that Toph is one of the reincarnations of Ummi, the southern water tribe woman that fell in love with Avatar Kuruk and had her face tragically stolen by Koh, the Face Stealer.✨

Stay with me, because it gets way deeper.

Who are Kuruk and Ummi you ask?

We formally meet Kuruk during “Sozin’s Comet Part 2: The Old Masters” (Book 3, Episode 19) when Aang is appealing to his past lives for wisdom with regard to what to do with Ozai. Kuruk was a “go with the flow” (lmao) Avatar and sort of just let things play out and it seemed to work for him. He met a girl named Ummi, they fell in love, they were gonna get married, cool.  

According to the comic books, Koh I guess was kinda off-put by Kuruk’s arrogance? So as punishment this spirit straight up abducts Ummi on their wedding night and steals her face (ultimately killing her). He blames himself, saying if he’d been more attentive and active he could’ve saved her. He tried to kill Koh out of revenge over it, but could never do so. Koh alludes to this when Aang visits him in “The Siege of the North Part 2″ (Book 1, Episode 20) and shows Aang Ummi’s face. All in all, super tragic.

The Avatar never really “dies.” He’s constantly being reborn. The reason Aang is able to consult his past lives for wisdom is because all of his past lives are him. If the point of the swamp is to get you to understand that death is an illusion, then the swamp understands that the separation between Aang and Kuruk is also an illusion. They’re different people but also the same person all at once. They’re still connected.

So, assuming that Aang was no different from Katara and Sokka and was also seeing people that he’s loved and lost in the past while in the swamp, maybe Toph really is someone he’s met and known before. He just lost and loved her in a past life that neither of them remembers back when they were both completely different people.

But wait, what’s the proof that Ummi is one of Toph’s past lives?

This theory hinges on the assumption that the Avatar isn’t the only one who is capable of being reincarnated. So if you keep with that assumption, there are a few moments highlighted by the theory that connect Toph and Ummi.

The most obvious of which is that Toph is blind. Seeing as how Ummi lost her face when she was a human (and Koh still has it), it would make sense that her future reincarnations would potentially have some kind of loss of their senses attributed to, you know, getting your face ripped off. BUT, another detail that is, in my opinion, a little more interesting is one of Aang’s anxiety nightmares from “Nightmares and Daydreams” (Book 3, Episode 9). Specifically the part of the nightmare where Toph is featured looking like this:

(so creepy ;A;) But why does Toph manifest in Aang’s dream this way, devoid of life and devoid of a face of all things?

This dream that Aang is having is over his anxieties/fears over losing his friends. Sokka, Toph, and Katara all succumb to some sort of horrific end in this dream and Aang is unable to save them. It seems like his anxieties over losing Toph manifested through showing us Toph as a lifeless husk with...no face. Maybe when Aang was having this nightmare, some of the fears and anxieties felt by his previous lives were bleeding in. It would make sense that Kuruk’s greatest anxiety/fear would be losing his loved ones as well, after he failed to protect Ummi from having her face stolen.

And if we assume that Toph actually is Ummi (i.e. a reincarnation that Aang subconsciously remembers), it would make sense that Aang would see Toph standing there in the darkness. Her face stolen. Helpless to save her.

And then in “The Avatar and the Firelord” (Book 3, Episode 6), after learning about Zuko’s lineage and Avatar Roku’s relationship with Sozin, it’s Toph who remarks, “do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?”

It’s interesting that Toph would be the one to ask this. And it’s interesting that Aang is the one that reaches out to hold her hand first and tell him that he doesn’t see why that can’t be possible. Because these connections that transcend lifetimes aren’t limited to just the Avatar. They’re apparent in everyone’s lives, no matter who you are. And the fact that Toph and Aang were able to share that brief moment and give each other that reassurance makes sense if you consider that, several lifetimes ago for them both, they were a lot closer than just mere friends.

And are there other connections between Taang and Kummi?

The theory supports some interesting parallels between Kuruk and Ummi’s relationship and Toph and Aang’s relationship. Kuruk and Aang are very similar in that they both avoided their Avatar duties. Kuruk because of his lackadaisical nature and Aang because he was afraid.

Ummi ultimately ended up being Kuruk’s punishment for not being able break from this passivity and actively pursue his responsibilities as the Avatar. But, by contrast, Toph ended up being Aang’s greatest asset with regard to helping him break from his passivity and learn to face things head on no matter how impossible they may seem.

The Earthbending portion of “Bitter Work” (Book 2, Episode 9) is exclusively about this. Aang is passive by nature, hence why Earthbending is such a hard element for him to master. As Toph so eloquently put: “You had a perform stance, and a perfect form, but when it came right down to it you didn’t have the guts.” The whole episode she’s goading him into being strong and firm. She mercilessly lays into him for not being direct. For being a pushover. For not facing his problems. For not standing up for himself. For being passive. The very thing that was Kuruk’s downfall.

But the pushing works because Toph unlocks something very powerful in him. Toph taught him how to be active. To face his struggles head on. To not flinch before responsibility or danger. That moment where Aang stands up to the moose lion and promises Sokka that he won’t leave him alone (that he will be there to protect him, and he’ll stand staunch in the face of danger) is a really important emotional milestone. It’s a role that’s very different from the one that Katara plays in Aang’s life, but it’s no less important.

Katara has always been someone who cared deeply for Aang’s emotional needs, who understood the reasons why he was afraid, why he wanted to run away, why he wanted to avoid responsibility. But Toph was very much someone who took a much rougher approach to Aang. Because Aang needed it. Because Aang’s inactivity also threatened to be his downfall in this life because it got in the way of him mastering the Earth element. Toph and Aang became a victory instead of a tragedy. Toph wasn’t used as a way to hurt Aang, like Ummi was used to hurt Kuruk. Toph was one of Aang’s greatest sources of strength.

And it was their connection to each other -- their connection that transcended lifetimes -- that brought them back together as friends.

And maybe more if you feel like adding a ship to your repertoire.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #taang #toph beifong #aang #god this was like one big flashback to my youth #how scary #this ended up being so long lmao #but it went DEEP MAN #every shipper thought aang and toph were starcrossed lovers #me included lmao

[atlabeth]

transferred part twelve - atla smau

masterlist | part eleven | part thirteen

this takes place about 2 weeks after the last chapter

summary: trying to run from your past is hard, but falling for your brother’s roommate is even harder. little do you know that he’s falling for you as well. 

wc: 3.6k 

a/n: i’ve been writing bits and pieces of this since the start of this series so. enjoy. that’s all im gonna say lmao 

warning(s): cursing, mentions of familial death, mentions of abuse, some angst but also some fluff. this is kind of a heavy chapter because both zuko and y/n talk about their past, but there is fluff at the end. 

~~~~~~~~

You pushed your hair out of your face and tried to blink the sleep out of your eyes, catching a glimpse of the time on the corner of your laptop. 

3:23 AM. 

You should’ve been asleep a long time ago, but all of your professors had decided to schedule tests in the same week so it was one of many, many late nights you had had lately. You thought that they would cool down because midterms were coming up, but BSSU professors kept proving you wrong. Late nights like these were becoming a regular occasion, and right now you just needed a break. 

The tea dates with Zuko were the only things keeping you sane. But could you even call them dates? 

It was the two of you, together, sitting and talking over tea for hours, and they were happening multiple times a week. In fact, you and him had gotten tea together exactly 9 times in the past two weeks — and that wasn’t even counting all the talking during your shared shifts. 

Katara, Suki, and Toph told you that they were dates, you wanted them to be dates, but there was a part of you that was so incredibly scared that you were wrong — that moving past that bridge would ruin the friendship that you cherished so much with Zuko — that you kept things solely platonic. No matter how much you wanted to kiss him every time he gave you that smile. 

But thinking about the complicated relationship you had found yourself entangled in with Zuko wasn’t a break, no matter how many times you had pondered over it before falling asleep in the wee hours of the night. 

You closed your laptop and grabbed your jacket that had been carelessly tossed on a stool at the kitchen island, making sure to sneak out of the apartment as quietly as you could. You opted to work in the living room, choosing to camp out on the sofa whenever you had to stay up as late as this, just so you wouldn’t wake up Sokka. Your brother had no idea how much you did for him. 

The cool breeze hitting your face and the shining stars in the sky were a welcome change of scenery from the lifelessness that was your apartment at night and your computer screen that you were sure was going to cause you eye issues later in life with how bright it was. 

You took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling the crisp night air, and started to walk. You were sure you looked like a mess. You were wearing some flannel pajama pants, a BSSU tank top, tennis shoes, and Zuko’s jacket.  He had never asked for it back after that night at the party, and when you had showed up to one of your hangouts wearing it, he told you that you could keep it — “it looks better on you anyways” — so you did. 

There was something calming about the atmosphere. You knew that a lot of women were anxious about going out at night, especially alone, but that was why you had taken self defense classes. Being friends with Suki was a self defense class in its own, and it was very much appreciated. You allowed yourself to get lost in your thoughts, trying to give yourself the break that you deserved, when the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. 

“You know, it’s not safe to be out alone at this hour.” 

You let out a scream at the unexpected voice and whirled around, your fists already up to defend yourself. When you saw who it was, you laughed, completely shocked, and hit your hands against your legs, trying to calm your rapidly beating heart. 

“Holy shit, Zuko, you can’t just sneak up on someone like that!” you wheezed. You had no doubt that he only had good intentions, but for a second you thought someone was going to try and kill you. You had to admit, the scare was worth it to see the mix of horror and embarrassment on Zuko’s face.

“I’m so sorry!” His hands were held up placatingly in front of him and he let out a nervous laugh as well, but it did nothing to cover up the wide eyes he stared at you with. “I am so sorry, I didn’t even think about that. I- I was just up studying too, and I heard you leaving so I thought you could use some company- I swear, I wasn’t trying to scare you or anything!” 

You shook your head but couldn’t stop the smile on your lips, gesturing for him to come closer while you caught your breath. “It’s fine. Come on, walk with me.”

He fell into step beside you and the two of you walked in silence for a while, the only disruptions being the occasional car that drove by. It was eerily quiet, but with Zuko, it was nice. 

“So-”

“So-” 

Both of you laughed when you each interrupted the other, and when you motioned for Zuko to go first he shook his head. You paused for a moment, the question on the tip of your tongue, before you decided to take the plunge. 

“I’ve been wondering since I got here; how did you end up as friends with—” You gestured around with your hands. “—this whole crew? It’s kind of a weird combination of people, so I guess I just wanna know how you became a part of it.” 

Zuko sighed and ran a hand through his hair, causing your eyes to widen a little bit as a stammered apology came out. “You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to-” He gave you a tight smile and shook his head. 

“No, it’s fine. You should know about my life if— if we’re going to keep living together.” He knew the moment he met you, the moment he agreed to let you live with all of them, that he would have to explain his past to you. Hell, your siblings might have already told you some of it — he could only hope you’d still want to be his friend after he was done. 

“”I.. I wasn’t the best person in the past. I was a horrible person actually, and I consider myself extremely lucky that I was given so many chances to change. I hurt people. Bullied people. Got into fights just because I could. I was just- horrible is the only way to describe it. But your siblings, Toph, Aang? They were all people that decided to give me one of those chances, and they’re a huge reason that I am who I am today.” Zuko spoke slowly, and you could tell that this was something he didn’t open up to many people about. You smiled softly at him and nodded, letting him know that he could go on. 

“I don’t know how much you know about my father, but he’s the CEO of our family company. He’s been this huge presence in the business world for as long as I can remember, and he’s responsible for all the wealth and fame that our family has today. And when I was younger, I idolized him. I thought he was the greatest man in the world, that he could do no wrong, and I just followed him blindly. He was the most important person in my life, but.. I was nothing to him.” 

“He didn’t care about his friends, or- or his family, he only cared about power. My mother left when I was young, we haven’t heard a word from her since, and- and I don’t even know if he cared. My father would do whatever it took to become as powerful as he could, and that meant—” Zuko’s voice was getting louder and he cleared his throat, trying to keep his cool. There was a certain hollowness behind his eyes, and it tore you to pieces. “That meant hurting anyone that went against him. Including his children.”  

“I have a sister, Azula. She’s a prodigy in every sense of the word, and my father used it, used her. She was clearly his favorite, and it drove me insane. I mean, I did everything for his approval, but he only cared about Azula. We had a good relationship when we were younger, but my father molded her into the kind of person he wanted her to be, and— and I was jealous of her. He used that against us, purposefully staked the fire of our competition, one that I thought I could somehow win. But we had both already lost the second we started fighting against each other.” 

“It took me a long time to realize that.. that he was abusing us. I mean, he gave me this scar all because I spoke out of turn, and— and I still thought that I could earn his favor, that he deserved to earn my favor! He threw me out of the house when I was thirteen, and I went to live with my uncle. It took an even longer time, but with his help, and the support of your siblings and their friends, I was able to break the cycle. I was horrible to them at first, all of them, and I hated my father for what he did, but it was probably the thing that saved me.”  “And Azula.. leaving her will always be my biggest regret. My biggest mistake. I should’ve forced her to come with me when I was kicked out, I should’ve done something sooner, because maybe she wouldn’t have turned out the way she did.” He swallowed hard, his voice strained. “I came back for her once I was stable, and I helped her get out. I helped her get a therapist. It’s been a long process, but she’s getting better every day. But not a day goes by where I don’t think about what I could’ve done to help her more.”

You instinctively reached out for Zuko’s hand, and to your surprise, he took it without question. You gave his hand a small squeeze and led him over to a nearby bench — without realizing it, the two of you had entered a public park that was near the complex. When you sat down together, you moved so that one of your legs was crossed in front of you and the other was hanging down so you could face him. 

“Zuko.. I am so, so sorry. I don’t think any amount of apologies will be able to get how I feel across, but.. you didn’t deserve to go through that. No one deserves to go through that.” You took both of his hands, thankful for the warmth they provided. “Listen to me. Are you listening to me?” 

He gave a pained smile and nodded. “Yes, Y/N. I’m listening to you.” 

“You are not who you were in middle school. You are not who you were in high school. Okay? Your father is a horrible man, and you wouldn’t have done any of those things if it wasn’t for him. What you did when you were younger wasn’t okay, but the fact that you have so much remorse for it today proves that you’re a good person. Zuko, you are a good person, one of the best men that I’ve ever met in my life, and I’ve only known you for a few months.” 

You were subconsciously rubbing calming circles into the back of his hands —  hands that were still holding yours — while you talked, but it was all Zuko could think about.  “I know you feel guilty about leaving your sister, but you did what you had to do to get out. You came back for her, and you’ve helped her get better. She’s grateful for it, Zuko, I know that much.” 

“Everyone else has forgiven you,” you murmured, staring deep into the fire he held in his eyes. “You deserve to forgive yourself.”

The silence that passed while you gazed into each other’s eyes felt like it lasted an eternity, when really it was only about a minute. Zuko was the first to break it, clearing his throat and looking everywhere but at you as his words tumbled out. “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to dump all of this on you at once.”

“It’s okay, Zuko, really. I understand; sometimes you just need to talk to somebody. You don’t know how much it means to me that you trusted me with all of that. And.. if we’re still baring our souls to each other, then I guess I have some things that you should know as well.” 

You bit the inside of your cheek; were you really about to tell Zuko about what happened? Most people knew that your mother was dead — killed in a drunk driving accident when you were ten — but you had never told anyone, not even your father or your siblings, about the full effect it had on you. But his eyes told you more than he ever could, and in that moment you knew it would be okay. You could trust him with something you had never trusted anyone else with.

“I’m sure you know that my mother died when I was young.” He nodded and you swallowed, trying to get rid of the sudden dryness in your throat. “It was.. hard. Really hard, on all of us. It was just so unexpected that we didn’t know what to do. We didn’t really have any money to spare, so my dad had to keep working, and I had to take care of Sokka and Katara. I was only eleven, but I basically had to take over the ‘mom’ role. Our grandmother came down to take care of us so we wouldn’t just be a bunch of kids living on our own, but even with her and Katara’s help, it was still hard. Sokka and Katara had to grow up much faster than they should’ve, even though I tried to shield them as much as I could.” 

“It was.. a lot. I won’t lie to you, it was a lot. Maybe too much.” A mirthless laugh hung in the air and you had to blink back the tears threatening to spring. “My mother was.. amazing. She was the only one who truly got me, you know? She was just this— this beautiful spirit in the world, and she brought light wherever she went. And when she died, it left this.. huge, gaping hole in my heart, one that I’m still trying to fill. I- I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fill it. I thought as I got older it would be easier, but i-it’s not. The three of us joke around by calling Katara mom because of how she is, and they sometimes do it to me, and I know that’s all they are, jokes, but some part of it still hurts.” 

You were rambling now, spilling your soul to Zuko, going into the most mundane details that you had never told anyone. You had taken away the dam that had been holding back the waters of your emotions for so long, and now Zuko was going to drown in them. But you couldn’t stop.

“It’s the reason why I didn’t drive for so long. I didn’t want to, I was terrified of it because of what happened to my mother, but someone needed to be able to take Sokka and Katara around. And- and as I got older, and I started going to parties and people started drinking, I never did. I couldn’t, I was always the designated driver, because I couldn’t leave that in someone else’s hands. I had to be in control, because if I let someone go, then it was like I was killing my mother all over again, and it’s the reason why I always have to be the one driving—” 

You paused to take a deep breath, and as you looked down at your hands, you realized they were shaking. Not just your hands, but your entire body. What the hell were you doing? You let out a tearful laugh, covering your mouth with one hand and shaking your head. “God, I am so sorry, I— I don’t know what got into me.”

Zuko’s eyes never left yours, his own glassy, and he shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize. Like you said, it helps to tell someone. A-and— I know how you feel, what it’s like feeling like you have to give up the world for your siblings. But you have to take care of yourself too. You’re not just what you can give to other people. You are your own person.”

He was thankful that you trusted him enough to tell you something like this about yourself, something that your own blood didn’t even know, but it also made him realize that you had always trusted him. 

Your point about driving. You liked to be in control so that if something did go wrong, there wouldn’t be any thoughts of what you could’ve done. If something happened, it was because of you and only you. And on your first day of classes, and many trips since, you had let him drive. It was something so small, so insignificant to anyone, but to you it was a sign of trust. 

You trusted him. 

“You’re shivering.” Your voice snapped Zuko back to reality and he shrugged, the smallest smile playing on his lips. 

“I wouldn’t be if someone had given me my jacket back,” he joked. You elbowed him in the chest and stood up, holding out your hand for him to take to help him up as well. Zuko took it and you ignored the butterflies that erupted, setting a steady pace as the two of you walked. 

“We should get back to the apartment. It’s late, and you need to sleep,” you chided. 

“You have bags the size of baseballs under your eyes. I think you need sleep just as much as I do.” 

“I’m special,” you shot back with a grin.

Yeah, you are, Zuko thought. 

The walk back to the apartment was shrouded in comfortable silence and intertwined hands, something that neither of you made any move to change.

~~~~~~~~

Soon enough you had gotten back to your rooms — such a small apartment meant that they were right next to each other — and as you turned on your heel to face him, a shy smile played on your lips. “Thank you. For, uh- coming after me. For listening to me.” 

“Of course,” he nodded. The two of you stood in silence for a while, and then Zuko reached out his hand. Your breath caught in your throat as he brushed a loose strand of hair behind your ear, and the close proximity combined with the surprisingly intimate act caused your cheeks to heat up once more. It was like you were caught in a trance.

Your gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips for just a moment, and you could’ve sworn that he did the same. The air between the two of you was crackling with unseen electricity, and before you could question yourself you were leaning forward. 

You felt him lean in as well as your eyes fluttered shut, and his lips ghosted over yours. Your eyes snapped open and you stared at him, your lips slightly parted in disbelief — he just kissed you. Zuko just kissed you. It was like time had stopped — and then it all came crashing down. His lips came back to yours with an intense fervor, cupping your face in his hands to get as close to you as possible.

It was bliss in the purest sense. You reciprocated immediately, tangling a hand in his dark hair, letting out a soft gasp as your back hit the wall. Despite how many times you had imagined this moment, nothing could compare to the real thing. It was passionate but gentle all the same, and the warmth that spread through your whole body was familiar — it was Zuko. 

Your mind was a jumbled mess. It was split a million different ways; one part suddenly very worried about how your hair looked, one hoping that Sokka and Aang couldn’t hear you, another that didn’t care, but most of them were just screaming about how oh my god you were kissing Zuko.

You knew your whole face was flushed when you finally pulled away, and the warmth of his lips lingered as the two of you stared at each other, breathing slightly labored. You tentatively reached out your hand and softly, carefully traced your finger over a part of his scar. He flinched at the contact instinctively, but you felt him relax and even lean into your touch. It meant more than you could ever say, especially knowing what you knew now. 

“You’re so beautiful,” you murmured, your touch impossibly soft against the cracked skin of his scar. “And you’re stronger than anyone knows. Than you know.” 

You kissed him again, shorter and sweeter than the first but just as tender, trying to memorize the feeling of his lips against yours as he returned it. You smiled at him and pushed your door open behind you, equal parts nervous and exhilarated about what just happened. “Goodnight, Zuko,” you whispered, shining eyes never leaving his until you closed the door.  

As soon as you were in your room you turned around and leaned against the door, smiling to yourself like an idiot. Your hand ghosted over your cheek, the spot where his hands had been, and you sighed dreamily. You had no idea how you were going to be able to finish studying. 

This was definitely more than a small crush. 

~~~~~~~~~~

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#avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla #zuko #atla smau #social media au #zuko smau #zuko x reader #smau #atla fic #zuko fic #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #avatar fic #avatar the last airbender fic

[kitkatopinions]

I know alot of people thought this volume was Weiss time to shine but her contribution has been marginal at best. Now she's in the same situation as Blake and Yang then their arcs were ended in volume 5. This means when can we expect her to be shipped with someone and be mostly useless?

The way that Weiss was benched this season and the way her seasons-long story was just glossed over is confusing and frustrating. I was really looking forward to seeing Weiss not only interacting with her family in meaningful ways, but seeing her - the Atlas born and raised girl who’s used to how everything works there - not considering things as big of a deal as the others, being something of a celebrity, coming up with solutions only an Atlas born person might know, her having a full arc with her brother Whitley, her interacting with her team more and relying on them for strength instead of being mostly a support character. Instead, Weiss’s arc with her family not only is resolved like it’s easy, and Weiss doesn’t have to grow at all to get it, but it also barely involves Weiss’s friends at all. Also was Weiss treated like a celebrity? Or recognized by the people of Atlas or Mantle? As the very public singer-celebrity daughter of Jacques Schnee? And also, Weiss has spent the past volume acting like Ruby’s sidekick, barely doing more than throwing in some quips and taking four minutes or so to talk to her brother, and then the rest of her story in volume eight is just, being an extra fighter, making the appropriate faces when the creators want us to be shocked or sad or smug. Her last thread with Whitley and Willow has been tied off in a very unsatisfying and weird way...

And oh gosh, you’re right, this sounds really familiar.

Caution, this post isn’t super kind to B//umbleby or the characterization of Blake in particular. Bees I’m sorry if this shows up in your tags, I tried my best and used filterable tags. This is all just my personal opinion.

As soon as Blake’s arc, which was tied up in the problematic White Fang/Faunus racism plot was mostly solved in volume five, the quality of her character started going down, but there was still something there for her until they killed her abuser, and then her whole character was more or less stripped away and she was left hinting at her past in awkward dialogue, doing nothing but emoting in the proper way, occasionally patting Ruby or the others on the back, and being one half of a non-developed ship. Blake has had two moments in the past two seasons that seem to even somewhat include real fleshed out character, and that’s when she decided to trust Robyn, convincing Yang to go along with it, and now showing anger because Neo ‘killed’ Yang. Both of these are framed - and taken by the fans - as ‘bees moments’ though, so it’s still all tied up in her romance.

Now we’ve had some of the same sort of thing for Weiss. Her arc was also tied up in the problematic White Fang/Faunus racism plot (considering her family’s history that Weiss was originally trying to ‘reclaim’ despite her own racism never being fully called out and addressed in a meaningful way.) Once Weiss had broken away from her abusive father and thus at least somewhat solved her arc by volume five, then her quality of character started going down in volume six, and then she had a couple moments with her family in volumes seven and eight - although again, solved in fairly unsatisfying ways. Outside of only a couple of semi significant scenes in the Atlas arc, Weiss has been regulated to emoting in the proper ways, occasionally patting Ruby or the others on the back, and being an extra fighter in the group.

It is possible that she’s going to get some kind of romance and then kind of just... Fall into the same kind of stuck position as Blake and Yang - CRWBY won’t commit to them enough to give real confirmation or make them grow their relationship in significant ways, which means that in order to get across that their is a relationship, they keep the two mostly together, have them seem to revolve around each other and care about each other more than anyone else, and diminishing the connections the other characters have with both people in order to make Blake and Yang’s connection seem clearer. To be completely fair to CRWBY, Yang has been allowed to branch out and have real and natural interactions both with villains (taking on Salem, protesting Emerald’s involvement) and teammates (arguing with Ren, talking with Jaune, acting like Ruby is her close little sister again!) This season, Yang has started to act like her own character again, but Blake hasn’t been allowed much growth. I’d say Weiss would more likely to wind up in the ‘Blake’ position than the ‘Yang’ position as far as being allowed to grow, especially because we’re already seeing her character start to kind of falter now that they’ve tied up her arc in a messy bow, and especially if she wound up with Ruby or Jaune, who I think are the most likely romantic partners for Weiss at this time. But there’s also the possibility of them starting to force a relationship between her and literally anyone else, including any of the three boys waiting in Vacuo, or Emerald, or Marrow.

As a quick note, please keep in mind that this is all speculation for fun and it really might not amount to anything. It would be kind of funny and frustrating both if CRWBY repeated how they’ve done Blake with Weiss, but it’s possible that they’re going to give Weiss a more significant arc and growth in season nine, put more focus on her relationship with Whitley and Willow once things cool down a little after all of season eight was equal parts ‘a crisis mode’ and a ‘sit around and wait for the plot to come around’ storyline. This post is kind of running on in length pretty badly, but here are a couple of ways I think Weiss could really shine next arc.

1. Have her and Yang trapped in the void together without Ruby and Blake. I’ve talked before about how Ruby’s ‘protagonist’ framing swallows up her friend group before, and how Blake and Yang’s relationship tends to swallow up one or both of them, as well as other characters having to be a bit more diminished to try and make bee moments more significant, and I think splitting up the team between Weiss and Yang, and Blake and Ruby could make Weiss grow more significantly and have her and Yang interact meaningfully again (which we haven’t gotten since season five.) In an ideal situation, I’d personally throw Jaune into the mix as well, since I’ve started to enjoy both the concept of him and Yang as friends and the concept of him and Weiss as friends. I think it’d really speak to Weiss’s character and show growth if she made the choice to go in after Yang, since Ruby is needed more in the world immediately (because of her Silver Eyes,) Penny is needed too (because of her Maiden powers) and Blake is needed at least somewhat (since she’s the one with the connections to the reformed Faunus group and Ghira and Ilia and all.) This could add a layer to angst, with Weiss proclaiming herself the least important, but also make Weiss’s character seem much more selfless, as she’s willing to risk her life and is willing to risk being alone in the Void herself even though her whole thing is loneliness, in order to save Yang. Jaune then surprising everyone by going with Weiss, and having an emotional moment where Ruby and Blake realize they have to trust Weiss and Jaune to do this and try and force themselves to still fight and work while they wait and panic and worry... That’s some good stuff! Of course, that would unfortunately bench Weiss’s relationships with her family, but I’d still be very happy with this outcome.

2. Have Weiss go on to Vacuo and not go after Yang, but be the one to rally the people, help them all to the city, deal with Theodore, etc. If Blake and Ruby went after Yang, or Blake, Ruby, and Jaune went after Yang, or just Ruby and Jaune, I think there could be some interest there. Not quite so much for the Void Team, but for the Left Behind Team. Having Weiss have to deal with being thrown into a leadership position when she’s not a leader at heart would be really interesting. Having her trying to hold it together and not let any grief, worry, or panic take her over so she can focus on her mission would be really interesting. We could have at least one member of Team RWBY facing the consequences of their actions and taking the brunt of it, while defending their choices and trying to find a place for millions of refugees. Once again, this could play into Weiss’s themes about loneliness, and Weiss could maybe even wind up resenting her team for leaving her and knowing it’s unfair and knowing they did what they had to do, but it would still create tension when they come back. And this sort of arc could also really push and flesh out her relationship and interactions with Whitley. There’s a lot that CRWBY could do with their relationship in this sort of scenario, but I would love it if Weiss’s themes of loneliness played a part in the early episodes of the volume, with her kind of secluding herself because she doesn’t have her friends and she thinks she’s alone, but then getting closer and closer to Whitley and realizing that she’s not alone, because she has her little brother who she loves. Idk, I just think it could be really good and sweet.

So... Yeah. Those are the ways I think Weiss’s character could grow and be fleshed out. Currently, I’m not happy with how she’s been, but there’s still hope for her. However, I will laugh so hard if she gets some romance and starts being one half of a pairing. XD

#rwde #anti rwby #rwby hate #rwby bashing #anti-bumbleby #anti bb #anti bumbleby #anti bumblebee #I'm trying really hard to make sure this doesn't wind up on the bb tags #anti blake belladonna #anti blake x yang #rwby criticism

[skye-huntress]

RWBY V8 Finale “The Final Word” Reactions

Thus concludes the first Volume I get to watch as it airs week by week, and react to it

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW! SERIOUSLY IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE EPISODE YET AND FOR WHATEVER REASON STILL SEE THIS EVEN WITH THE SPOILER TAG, CONSIDER THIS YOUR LAST WARNING

Sooo, I cannot not talk about this big one first because it gives me personal feelings. Penny is a character that is very precious to me, always has been. I binged the show up to Volume 7 last year so I didn’t have to go through years of new episodes knowing she was gone and then when she came back and throughout Volume 8, she cemented herself as one of my favourites, right up there with Ruby and Weiss. I even warmed up to Frosen Steel. I honestly did not think nor did I want to think that the show would kill her again, even knowing this was going to be a rough volume for her being the central figure in the whole conflict. The only consolation I have is that she died on her own terms.

While we’re on this note, my sympathies to Jaune for having to be the one to send her on her way. My sympathies to a lot of characters because whether or not Nuts and Dolts is platonic or romantic, she was particularly special to Ruby who once again was not there to save her.

Penny finally got her song, and it hurts

I could tell from the beginning that the Ace Ops were overrated. They seemed cool on the surface and as individual fighters they were probably up there, but I’m also sceptical of the ones that everyone (including themselves) called the “best” at anything. The reality is that they were a mess, they told to bury their feelings, and told to always accept their Jimmy’s judgment over even their own. Clover died a meaningless death because he ignored his own better judgment. That said, for Vine, the least expressive of the whole bunch to not only talk Harriet down but make a sacrifice for his team friends was not something I would have called. And yet I remember how he tried to comfort Elm, and how when Marrow was nearly killed how expressive he was in his shock and fear. Honestly, I should know better, as someone who isn’t able to express the full depth of my emotions very well, I should have known that Vine was probably the one who cared for his friends more than they ever realised.

Qrow was actually lucky for once. I have a theory. If Ren’s semblance can evolve from masking emotions to sensing them, maybe Qrow’s semblance could evolve so that he could change his or others’ fortunes for the better and not just for the worst. At the very least, rubbing the pin made him believe he could in fact be lucky, maybe that’s all he needed.

Harriet has a lot of issues to sort through, but maybe now without the toxicity of the military and Jimmy, she and her remaining friends can allow themselves to feel, grieve, heal and grow.

So we have Robyn, Qrow, Harriet, Elm and Marrow on a transport leaving Solitas through conventional travel. They probably can’t fly their transport straight to Vacuo so they may have to make some stops on the way, probably at Argus or Vale.

As for Ironwood, what a fitting end. He always saw himself as the hero of Remnant, the one with all the answers, the one who was always right, and who would save the day. But in the end, he wasn’t anyone even worth killing. To the villains, he was always a joke, someone to be used, and right when he is finally face to face with his greatest enemy, she never even looked at him once. In the end, neither he nor his precious Atlas proved to be very relevant or impressive.

Neo thought she was clever but she was a fool. That’s what happens when you let anger and vengeance consume you, it warps your judgment. Cinder was always using her, to get what she wanted, and as a means to get her own vengeance on Ruby.

Speaking of not letting not letting vengeance consume you, Blake. She saw how close she was to losing everyone else she cared about she switched tacts. I’m proud of her. And she risked the fall to save Ruby, unfortunately this risk was too great for her.

My WhiteRose heart cheered when Weiss went to back up Ruby. I assume Blake knew the partners could assist each other better than she could. It hurt that she had to watch the rest of her team family fall, to be the last one standing, using Gambol Shroud. And then she fell right in front of her sister.

Ruby really needs more practice with her eyes before she faces Cinder again. It was impressive though how she goaded Neo and knocked her over the edge. Unfortunately, there was more than one person there who really wanted her dead.

As for Ruby’s mental state, she never really had time to process anything that had happened, she was in survival mode the entire time. Falling into the same place as Yang did might give her hope that her sister is still alive and if she fell with Blake, all the better, then she won’t be alone. But like I said, Penny was very important to her, and this is the second time she has lost her. Just imagine though, if Penny’s body falls into the void with them and Ruby finds it, that’d be all the worse than just hearing about it from Weiss or Jaune.

Now, Winter, she is the MVP of this episode. Winter is now the Winter Maiden, not because Ironwood chose her to be or because she actually chose it herself but because Penny chose her. Penny believed in her friend. My love of Penny gives me a lot of conflicting feelings for this and the implications but it was satisfying to see Winter own Ironwood and hold her own against Cinder. And now she is the champion for Atlas’ refugees, but failing Weiss and Penny is going to have a significant impact on her. At least she’ll allow herself to feel and she still has some family left.

Now for the weapons. When Crescent Rose fell, it was like watching an entirely separate character fall as well. Gambol Shroud and Neo’s umbrella fell on their own, too. And Jaune’s weapon that was reforged with Pyrrha’s ruined weapon was destroyed by none other than Cinder. So basically the only ones still completely armed are Weiss and Yang, but of course the latter also has a concussion.

It wasn’t the complete victory she wanted but it was decisive. I figured a victory for Cinder would be getting both relics and she did. But I knew she wouldn’t get the Maiden powers, that’s always the part she fails at again and again. She tries to syphon a Maiden’s magic only to be interrupted. Every. Single. Time. Seriously, Cinder will just never learn from this mistake and its why she will likely never have more than one Maiden’s power at the rate she is going. But as decisive as this victory was, it will cost her in the long run. She needed help from Jinn, Neo and Watts in order to beat Team RWBY but they’ll come back stronger, smarter and more pissed off and Cinder won’t have all of that help next time. If anything, she might have put herself back on top of Neo’s shitlist.

Watts’ end is also rather fitting and also completely expected. Like Jimmy and Jaques, he represented a lot of what was wrong with Atlas, particularly the elite. How annoyed would Ambrosius be with Cinder though? “More fire, that’s it? This is my cosmic karma for being annoyed about being used by the same kids twice in a row.”

Atlas fell as I always knew it would, after all the relics exist to help humanity and a flying city did nothing but fuelled the egos of those who lived on that floating rock. Mantle was something to be proud of, but Atlas was a lie. Now Remnant’s “greatest kingdom in the world” reduced to ruin and it’s people refugees in a land their ancestors made a wasteland. This will have dire consequences.

So in the end, no help came for Atlas. Not surprising in retrospect. Atlesians didn’t have the best reputation to begin with, then Ironwood made a series of terrible decisions (that everyone around him strongly advised against), destroying Atlas’ relations with the other Kingdoms. Then came Ruby’s broadcast out of nowhere where she dropped some insane bombshells and then her message was cut off and global comms went down again. Few can vouch for Ruby’s character and even fewer can verify anything of what she said. I still believe it had an impact and we’ll see it as we visit other Kingdoms again, but the full pay off won’t be for quite some time. As I said before, the message was just the first of many, many small steps to uniting the world against Salem

So now for the detour, and that cursed image of Crescent Rose alone, slammed into the ground. It’s likely Volume 9 will focus mostly on our girls, Jaune and Neo, surviving in this strange environment and finding a way home.

Was that everything? Probably not. Now the mourning period begins as I try to process all of that.

#rwby #rwby8 #rwby8 spoilers

[seyaryminamoto]

this might be a rather silly question but I was just curious as to how often you read other sokkla fics at the moment. I'm only asking since you have been writing it for so long and your life already seems pretty busy xD. I'm pretty new to fanfic in general, but it's pretty surprising seeing a so-called "crack-ship" for a show this old to still have a decent number of longfics/oneshots still being published! Y'all for sure made this my OTP though, thanks! P.S - about your modern AU sequel...? :P

Awesome to know we’ve caught your attention, anon! :D and that Sokkla has become your OTP! May it continue to reign supreme over our hearts for as long as possible xD

I don’t read too many at the moment, it’s true. I’ve seen there’s a lot of new stories both on FF.net and AO3. In fact, that Sokkla has more fics on AO3 at this point in time than a much more strongly-hinted near-canon ship I have in another fandom utterly blew me away the other day. I mean, that other ship has a lot of haters who probably deter anyone from making content about it, but I never expected Sokkla to outdo it by that much X’D 

Anyway, I’ve seen a lot of stories, I’ve occasionally delved in archives to read some that caught my eye, particularly if they’re recommended to me. I read @deaddirector‘s War and Laughter recently, a pretty cool AU with an aged-up ATLA cast, and it’s been a great canon divergence so far, feels like it only gets better and better with every chapter. While scouring AO3 out of sheer curiosity over those 200+ fics that suddenly seemed to show up there x’D (I legit remember there being like... 30? 40? the last time I looked in AO3? XD), I also bumped into @middleofnowhere92‘s I’ll Take Care of You, a Modern AU, college-aged in this case, and it’s been a pretty great story so far. I’m usually not easily sold on first-person narrators, but this fic hooked me pretty easily. As for other stories I’ve read recently, all of the Sokkla Saturdays stories were great, and I do believe/hope I read them all! I more or less took a break from working on Gladiator during those months and focused mainly on this event. It was a lot of fun, and we got so many great new stories :D definitely can recommend them, if you haven’t read them yet. There’s also some new oneshots from the past week, The Blizzard, The Safe Word is Papaya (this one’s pretty explicit so if that’s not up your alley probably don’t try it xD), and (Not) A Perfect Day, all of which were awesome to read.

But... there’s just so MANY new and big stories that I can’t really keep up anymore xD back in the day I actually tried to read everything and I mostly managed, but these days it’s impossible to do it while handling Gladiator at the same time. I’ve seen a lot of new names, lots of long fics that seem to have good premises, new writers who seeem to be top-notch, and I just know I’ll love their stories once I have the time to read them all, but I don’t right now, sadly. It’s true for both AO3 and FF.net, I’ve seen new things popping up on FF.net for years and thought to myself “I’ll check that out one day” and... then there’s more. And more. And so much more. And I just don’t have enough time to read that many stories unless I want to risk neglecting Gladiator more than I ever should x’D there’s also stories I’ve ended up losing track of, such as @madamezuki​‘s With Or Without You, at one point last year I was internet-less, couldn’t read any of the chapters that were being published at the time and then there were so many new chapters that I lost track of which was the one I’d last read, so I couldn’t catch up and keep writing my own work simultaneously. I intend to get back to that one eventually, but it’ll probably be a while before I can anyway.

So... in short, I actually consider it a grand blessing for this tiny ship and community to suddenly have had an explosion of content to the point I have this much trouble keeping up with it xD I’ll always look back to 2012-2013, when the sokkla tag would have like 1 new post per month, more or less, and be deeply grateful that, across about 7 years, we’ve managed to create well over TWICE as much content as was available for the ship since the show aired. I don’t even think it’s my place to be proud of the Sokkla community... but I am anyway xD I hope you continue to enjoy the surging amounts of Sokkla content the fandom has been producing, and if you have any favorites among new content, feel free to rec any stories :D I’ll do my best to give them a shot whenever I have the time to do it!

EDIT: the... modern AU sequel. Part of it is already posted, but I haven’t finished the full thing yet @_@ one day, I swear, I shall make it work, but for now... here’s what’s been posted for that story so far, if you haven’t read it yet >.<

#anon #sokkla fics #there are so many #which is something I never really thought I'd say #but there are and it's a blessing #that's the truth of it

[razorblade180]

interdimensional Dads 3

Jaune:Alright, you’re up Blue. Tell all about a world where we manage to get our Beacon crush. That’s how I know you aren’t lying when you say there’s magic in your Remnant again.

Jaune:Magic had nothing to do with it! It’s called time and life. Also I told her I was going to cut my hair and she felt appalled so I didn’t. She told me how much she loves it a little shaggy.

...

Jaune:What?

Jaune:(Did cutting my hair really change my life that much?) It’s nothing, continue.

Jaune:Okay? Well, where to start? I guess the magic is as good of a place as any. Not much on the surface has changed. The climate seems to be a bit more intense though. The gods are back as well, but no one knows exactly where.

Jaune:It’s not on any map?

Jaune:No, apparently it’s constantly changing. Those who get close to finding it usually get turned around by something. Even Oscar doesn’t know.

Jaune:Oscar is still himself? Oz didn’t take over?

Jaune:Why would be? We saved the world and he got to move on. Oscar does however still have all the memories and experience. Not to mention the one hell of a fighter. Though these days he prefers using all that knowledge for counciling.

Jaune:Good for him.

Jaune:He’s a therapist? Huh, yeah he’s definitely been through hell and back in all of our lives. I never really stop to think how crazy it all was.

Jaune:He’s also married to Penny.

Jaune:Penny is back!?

Jaune:Your world is kicking my world’s ass.

Jaune:It’s pretty wild for sure. Yet it feels vaguely normal. Most of my time is spent still doing huntsman work. I take bodyguard missions mostly these days since they normally aren’t as dangerous. Saving towns from grimm is something I have to leave to the others like Ruby. Weiss gets a little anxious otherwise; even more than the kids do these days.

Jaune:Now for the good part, gushing about your kids.

Jaune:*smiling* Nicholas and Summer Schnee, my little Twin Snowflakes. Both sixteen and quite the handful.

Jaune:You know of any of us needed to have twins, I’m glad it’s the one who married into wealth.

Jaune:Well you’re sorta right. However, Weiss was cut off for years until her father wrote her back into the family on his deathbed. So she’s become financially savvy from having to live in Argus for years. That includes the kids when they were little and even a pet dog. I’d like to think we’ve both grown up through the years but she’s definitely changed more than me.

Jaune:I think that might be true for all of us.

Jaune:Hehe, I got a feeling you’re right.

Jaune:Yeah my Weiss has gone through some shit and took it strides as well.

Jaune:Anyways, being rich is nice but we did pretty fine before it. Yeah we had to work constantly but it’s not like there wasn’t anybody we couldn’t ask for help. I say by far the craziest thing about my world is team RWBY is now a connected on the family tree and then some.

Jaune:Wait...that would mean- who married a Schnee besides you! Qrow married Winter and that’s it right!? Right!?

Jaune:*smiling* Is someone a little jealous of thinking about a world where Ruby married Whitley?

Jaune:...A little.

Jaune:I guess I can spare you those details then. Just know they’ve done some real good for Remnant.

Jaune:That, I didn’t doubt for a second. It’s just a little weird hearing she isn’t with me.

Jaune:You named your kids after Weiss’s grandfather and Ruby’s mom?

Jaune:Nick is the future heir and Summer got her name because....sigh

....

Jaune:It was the right thing to do.

The other’s didn’t probe that avenue any further. Without saying anything, they already knew.

Jaune:Ruby must really appreciate that.

Jaune:Yeah. She might not realize it but she shows a little bias to Summer because of it. Not that Nick particularly cares. I think he might enjoy not being on someone’s radar for once.

Jaune:Let me guess, Mr. Popular?

Jaune:President at combat school, runner up in regionals, gold in figure skating, future heir, master of promoting various events and hosting parties. Kid has it made, and yet...

Jaune:He doesn’t seem to be having fun? I think we might’ve found a similar thread between our kids.

Jaune:Makes sense. Nick has the same problem I still have sometimes.

Jaune:Overthinking?

Jaune:Taking the blow for others?

Jaune:Burdening himself for no reason.

Jaune:Yes....

Jaune:Oh...

Jaune:He’s the kind of kid who finds a way to finish work quickly so he can finish other work faster; in a never ending loop. All for the sake of making others lives easier. This also causes him to tunnel vision sometimes and not really ask what that person wanted in the first place. That, or he puts himself in a position where he doesn’t get to enjoy being a teenager. It’s partly the reason why Weiss and I don’t give him too much slack whenever he does something for the fun of it.

Jaune.Even in a time of peace, someone like him is taking a lot of responsibilities. Not sure if that’s an Arc thing or a Schnee thing.

Jaune:Trust me, it’s both. He seems to be handling it well though. Weiss really gets on him about taking time to just be himself. Honestly it feels like there’s a couple times he’s even trying to put on a face for us instead of cameras. Fortunately people like Valerie and Veronica seem to cut through that act.

Jaune:Oooh, lady friends?

Jaune:Valerie is Ren and Nora’s kid. He has a giant crush on her but I sort of think he tries too hard and should consider looking elsewhere.

Jaune:That’s ironic coming from you.

Jaune:That’s how you know it’s bad. Me, the guy who wrote a terrible song just to get a date to the dance. To be fair he’s not that bad but I feel like he’ll end crushing his confidence. I mean Veronica would be nice. Blake and Yang’s daughter has a thing for him that’s just as obvious for his crush on Val.

Jaune:(Huh, that’s two sets of different kids from the same parents now. I guess some relationships are harder to change than others.) Nick sounds like a fine young man. I bet things will workout. He seems bright.

Jaune:Yeah, I just hope nothing blows up in his face. As for Summer, she’s practically the spitting image of her mother except with my eyes and light blonde hair. She’s pretty timid and a really kind girl. Smart as a whip too! Definitely got that from her mom; as well as her singing.

Jaune:She performs?

Jaune:Yeah, Atlas loves her music. She has good range, learned guitar from yours truly, tops the charts sometimes in other kingdoms, and genuinely seems to enjoy the life of a singer.

Jaune:But she’s timid?

Jaune:Yeah. Off the stage, she tries to get by life like a background character, but still wants to hang around Nick who’s always in a spotlight! When she was younger she got into a incident with dust that severely injured her. Thankfully she lived but now Summer has several scars over her body that she can’t stand. Also...that wasn’t all she got. Scars are least of her problems. The dust mixed with her cells in unexpected ways.

Jaune:Over exposer, did she get some sort of chronic illness or deficiency?

Jaune:Honestly, we don’t know what to call it. Whenever she gets too cold, Summer changes. Her hair goes white, eyes look like mother, and her personality does a 180. More than that actually. It’s more like she’s been possessed and what’s nothing more to rule everything. We call it Shiva. We have it under control mostly after ten years of dealing with it but there’s still scares now and then. Whatever Shiva is, she’s strong and capable of terrible things. Thankfully no casualties yet, but plenty of close calls and extra scars for almost everyone involved. The mental strain it puts on Summer almost seems crippling. I...don’t really know what to do about it at this point. She’s been distant, and I feel like she isn’t telling me something.

Jaune:....

Jaune:Well...you haven’t lost anything yet right?

Jaune:Huh?

Jaune:Don’t look so bummed. Ten years and nothing too tragic to show for it. Maybe it’s luck, or everyone is way stronger than this problem after all. Including your daughter. Trust me, daughters are way stronger than what father’s give them credit for.

Jaune:Ha, you know he might be on to something with that. You heard my story. Yujin was keeping things together for a long time. That being said, they’re still our little angels and can only go so far. Eventually they’re gonna wish to see someone like their dear old dad to to lean on. That’s our job after all.

Jaune:Yep. You’ll figure it. Like you said, you’re not alone.

Jaune:I might have a daughter but I know a thing or two about distant kids. Take it a step at a time, and let them know you’re always there.

Jaune:...*smiles* Thanks guys.

Jaune:No problem!

Jaune:I wonder what’s up with those two right now? Probably training for their tournament no doubt.

xxxx

Training is putting it lightly. The cold Argus air is filled with smoke as a fire burns in the forest. Nick kneels with his sword stabbed int ground. His body trembles from exhaustion and sweat runs down his face while his hands still grip the blade handle til his palms bleed. Surrounding him is Apathy as pale as ghost with ghastly blue eyes that make them look like they’re right out of horror movie.

Though he’s tired, he manages to lift his head up and see his sister on her hands and knees, not as roughed up as him but more drained from the grimm. Summer looked at her brother with eyes that constantly flickered between shades of blue before turning the shade of their father’s. Summer fell forward, all motivation to move taken away.

Nick:You okay...?

Summer:Y-Yeah...thanks. Sorry.

Nick:Next time....we’ll bring Ruby just in case.

He found the strength to walk towards his sister and carried her on his back. The summoned Apathy keeping a certain range around them like a dome as he walked. Summer found whatever strength she had to raise her right hand up and snapped her fingers. A cool wind came off her finger tips and snuffed out flames before it got out of hand.

Summer:Can’t have this place burning down right?

Nick:You’re gonna get cold again.

Summer:She’s tired...and I’m spent. Even if she comes out, my body can’t move so...zzzzz

Nick:Sigh, saw that coming.

Nicholas walked as fast as his body let him. Abandoning both of their swords in favor or retrieving them later. They’d gotten lucky, the sun was out and he had handled the situation before Shiva could find her stride. Warm clothing also did its part.

He felt Summer shift around on his back and started moving faster. He hated this part.

Nick:I don’t wanna talk to you.

Shiva:That’s no way to treat family.

Nick:But an icicle to the leg is?

Shiva:How else was I supposed to slow you down? You’ve gotten stronger, dodging it the way you did. How unpleasant for me. I’ll aim higher next time, I’ll make sure not to rough up that money maker of yours though.

Nick:Next time I’ll throw you in the fire so you’ll be too tired to talk. Your days are numbered. It must be a pain dealing with me and trying to keep control. Sooner or later you won’t be able to do anything but lose until Summer snuffs you out. Then you’ll be nothing more than a bad dream.

Shiva:....Hmmm aha!

Shiva:I’ve decided then. I guess I’ll just have to kill you first before that happens.

A chill went down his spine as he could feel her ice cold breath hit his ear as she whispersed...

Shiva:Let’s see if I’ll be a bad dream them.

Nick looked over his shoulder and saw nothing but his sister’s sleeping face. Not a sign of anyone or anything else; just peaceful slumber. The boy continued walking in silence. He was still sweating, still trembling, but no longer from the cold. Exhaustion crumbled to adrenaline. He started going back to the sight of their training to grab his sword. After all, who knows what could happen on the way back?

Part 2

Start reading Twin Snoflakes?< Part subzero

#rwby #rwby au #the void #jaune arc #rwby twin snowflakes #summer schnee #nicholas schnee #rwby knightshade #rwby whiteknight #rwby lancaster #rwby dragonslayer

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

Rose Puppetry Ch3: Grimm

Summary:

A century ago or so, Atlas set out to conquer the world.  Penny was built to be a spy, an infiltrator meant to find weaknesses in Vale’s defenses before the invasion.

She did.  Then she fell in love.  And rebelled against the kingdom that had created her.

Ch1.  Ch2.

.

No thick, pollution smog billows over Atlas.

As they emerge out from the service tunnel onto the streets, Penny and her team stop to gaze upwards.  They don’t have the time to spare, but they can’t help themselves.  It’s not often they get to see the sky like this, sprawled out above them like some great, sapphire painting.

Penny grimaces.  Beautiful as it is, the sky is a reminder of all that’s been taken from her too.  Even after this mission, even if it’s successful, she won’t be able to simply relax and enjoy a peaceful, sunny day.  Not so long as she has to always look over her shoulder for the Atlesian Military.

At least she’ll have Ruby back, Penny quietly reminds herself, so, perhaps, being haunted by the ghosts of her past won’t be so horrible.

Setting a determined, brisk pace, Penny leads her team down the street.  She glances at each and every person they pass.  Sure, they have a well-prepared cover story for why they’re there and what are likely some of the best fake IDs in existence, but those things were attained for the eventuality of them being stopped and questioned.  They do nothing to prevent that happening in the first place.

The first pair of eyes that avert their gaze when they accidentally look in Penny and her team’s direction she doesn’t think much of.  The second, and then the third, though, indicate a pattern.  No one wants to notice them, Penny realizes.  She observes as fancily-dressed Atlesians see them, and then abruptly cross the immaculate street.  Businessmen in finely tailored suits push past like Penny and her team don’t exist.  Elegant ladies in silky dresses huff and avert their gaze as if coming marginally close to resting their eyes on maintenance workers will sully them.

Penny and her team are invisible.

It shouldn’t bother her.  It makes traversing the streets of the city unchallenged that much easier.  Still, an uncomfortable feeling settles in Penny’s gut.  She remembers a time, long ago now, when she was treated like an object.  A robotic toy with no mind of its own that simply did as instructed.  One that could be flaunted like a trophy.

Maybe not today, because today she needs to be focused and covert, but one day, one day, Penny will make sure they see her.  They really see her.

Atlas Academy rises above the rest of the city, a verifiable stronghold of sleek, ivory towers, unmarked by the dirt and grime of the world that sustains them.  Originally, the academy was meant to be a symbol of brilliance at the heart of Atlas.  The crowning jewel of the flying marvel itself.  A declaration of all the greatness that Atlas encourages its people to aspire to.  

To some, namely the heirs and heiresses of the wealthy elite who can afford to enroll them as students, the academy remains so.

Maybe once the less fortunate believed in the school, too.  But then, the gates were closed to them.  Access to the hallowed halls where so much knowledge lies in wait restricted, unless they first enlist and fight in Atlas’s war of conquest.  After all, the wealthy elite fund the academy.  Why should the mostly the poor of Mantle be given the same privileges, without offering something in return?

A small handful of such hopeful, would-be students lived through their tours of duty and were granted a place at the academy for their service.  Many more did not.

Stories are told in Mantle, of the ones who don’t come back, and the hardships faced by the ones who do.  Very few make the attempt anymore.  Not that the General King needs them.  Years have passed since he ordered the first unit of Atlesian Knights.  The Atlesian Army is far more robotic than man these days.

Penny and her team stop in a forgotten library.  Tomes of their kingdom’s history before Atlas rose sit in wait, gathering dust around them.  Seeing these books makes Penny sad.  Since joining the Rebellion, she’s met so many who would be eager to come here, read them, and learn from them.  She doesn’t have much time to ruminate on the books, though.  They’re only here for a brief stop, a final preparation before their move to infiltrate Watts’s laboratory.

Penny checks her connection to each of the daggers she has on her person and their battery charges.  All of them, as expected, are primed and ready to go.  The daggers are far smaller than the blades Penny uses as part of her main combat weaponry system, but far easier to conceal and faster to activate if the need should arise.

Penny thinks back to that last night with Ruby, and how her swords had been far away, on the other side of the room, useless, during the attack.  She forged her daggers at the first opportunity she got after joining the Rebellion, and seldom takes them off her person.  Never again will she be caught off guard without means to protect herself and the ones she loves.

Once everyone is ready, they set out for the laboratory.

Contrary to the mental image Penny created for herself, the building housing the laboratory of Arthur Watts looks like any other on the Atlas Academy campus.  Penny knows this, has always known this in fact, but, since Ruby’s capture, she’s started to think of it as a darker, more sinister place, similar to the villains’ lairs she’s read about in storybooks.  A looming castle-esque fortress with intimidating battlements and twisted gargoyles.  Not a squat, clean, whitewashed building lording over an out-of-the-way courtyard.

They make their approach, careful not to let the security cameras capture a full view of their faces.  Inside the building, there’s a small reception area with a front desk, which an automaton is stationed behind.  They hand over their fake IDs, the robot makes an affirmative sort of noise and directs them to an elevator bay.

It’s when they’re riding down, waiting for their lift to finally arrive at their destination, that Penny truly begins to worry about the ease of it all.  Sure, Watts’s lab has never had as much security as other sensitive locations at the Academy.  The idea anyone would break into a place where, if they were caught, they’d be left at the scientific mercy of its master, has long been considered unbelievable.  But, Penny doesn’t think it should be this easy either.  They planned for so long, gathered so much intel.  To just walk in, find Ruby, and get back out, it doesn’t feel right.

As the elevator dings its arrival at the laboratory level, Penny switches her daggers to ‘combat ready’ mode.

No one’s there when the doors open.  No soldiers, robotic or otherwise.  No lab techs or assistants.  Not even Watts himself.  No one prevents them from approaching the heavy steel double doors of the laboratory.  Their loud, echoing footfalls go unheard.

Penny stops when she reaches the door.  The others stand behind her, waiting for her to make the final decision.  She stares at the doors’ gleaming handles, sucks in a sharp breath she doesn’t necessarily need, wraps a hand around the cool metal, and tugs the door open.

The laboratory, surprisingly, is in a state of utter and immaculate cleanliness.  Penny blinks at the space, reseting her optical receptors to ensure they’re working correctly.  She expected something grittier.  Bloodstains splashed across surfaces.  Pieces of horrific experiments left out to rot.  Something to indicate the gruesomeness of what goes on here.  But there’s nothing.  It’s as if Watts simply packed everything up and neatly stored it away.

Well, almost everything.

At the very back of the laboratory, pushed against the wall is a throne-like seat.  Given its location in such a place as the lab and its resemblance to the other stools scattered about, it wasn’t built to be of great importance.  Someone had gone through the trouble of attaching a back and armrests to it, as well as acquiring thick, deep scarlet, velvet cushions for the person upon it to sit comfortably.

The only indication that that person doesn’t have the power most would assume belongs to someone in such a seat are the clasps firmly locking her wrists and ankles down.  Her helplessness doesn’t seem to bother her.  The person—a young, recognizable girl—doesn’t try to fight or break free of her bindings.  She simply sits on her throne, with her eyes closed, her breathing slow and calm.  Waiting.  Like a puppet whose master has put its strings to rest for the time being.

Upon her head is a pitch black crown of mechanical spikes and thorns.  It is this that Penny’s eyes go to as she approaches, and the blood red ruby precisely centered in it above its wearer’s forehead.  The jewel could have been an amazing, priceless treasure, if not taken and used for such a horrid-looking device.  Now it is naught more than a cruel mockery.  Beauty taken and warped into something deeply unpleasant.

Penny reaches out.  Her hand trembles as it closes the distance to Ruby’s cheek.  She hesitates, gulps, and then allows her fingers to touch her beloved’s cool skin.  The moment Penny makes contact, the spell holding her back breaks.  She lets out a relieved, little laugh.  She cups Ruby’s cheek fully in her hand and affectionately runs her thumb across it.

“I’m here,” Penny tells Ruby.  “I came for you.  I’m so sorry.  I’m going to get you out of here.”  She reaches for the clasps keeping Ruby in place.  Before she can touch them, Ruby lifts her head up and away from Penny’s touch.  Slowly, almost mechanically, Ruby opens her eyes.

The denial Penny has been able to drown herself in these few, precious moments dissipates completely.  She looks into Ruby’s eyes.  Rather than the friendly, loving silver she knows so well, bloody crimson irises in a sea of charcoal black gaze back out uncomprehending at her.

“Ruby?”  Penny’s voice wavers.  She barely manages to keep it from breaking completely.

#rwby #nuts and dolts #ruby rose #penny polendina #whirls writing

[rainbhrts94writes]

Tephra 03

Hello! Here’s the next thrilling instalment, hope you enjoy the banter as much as I do! :)

POV: Taehyung Warnings: None this chapter Word Count: 2.7K Rating: PG

Master List

Tephra 03

Namjoon had been acting weird, and not his usual weird, weirder than normal weird. Since he had started looking for that girl from the landslide, Joon had become hard to get ahold of, or when Taehyung had managed to find his brother, he always had somewhere to be. Taehyung hadn’t thought anything of it, though, until he caught sight of his brother breaking the curfew, not once, not twice, but three times. Sure, he wasn’t exactly abiding by it either, but for Joon not to follow the rules, something had to be going on, so Taehyung did what any good brother would do. He followed him.

It was that awful time of year where it was cold when you woke up and warm as classes let out for training. He never knew how to dress, but Taehyung had always hated being hot, so tonight he was wildly underdressed for the weather. As wonderful as his trusty flip flops were, it was moments like this where he wished he had inherited fire magic instead.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Taehyung kept up with Namjoon as he headed towards the training grounds. After-hours training, specifically unsupervised after-hours training, was one of the worst rules you could break; anyone who was caught was expelled. This had to be important for Namjoon to be risking expulsion.

Taehyung watched curiously as his brother knocked on the large wooden doors to the grounds; he didn’t get to see much, though, immediately encased in stone in his hiding spot. He had been caught.

“You are literally the least conspicuous person I’ve ever met.” A voice poked fun at Joon.

“I’m not sure I follow.” He could hear the confusion in his brother’s voice.

“Gods, you’re just lucky he cares about you enough to follow you instead of telling a teacher.” The voice sighed, clearly exasperated as the earth shifted beneath him.

“Oh.” When Namjoon turned around, he looked stunned, and it took everything for Taehyung not to laugh.

“Hi, Hyung.” He smiled. “Hello, Hyung’s friend.” he recognized her from the landslide. At least Namjoon found who he was looking for. What were they both doing out past curfew, though?

“YN, you can call me YN.” She introduced herself. “I believe we’ve met before, briefly.”

“The landslide,” Taehyung confirmed with the shake of his head and a smile. “Thanks for taking care of him.”

“All part of the job.” She bowed slightly and shifted, so her badge hit the light. That explained why she hadn’t been in any of the classes. Though Taehyung was still confused, what was Joon doing out past curfew?

“Friendship isn't supposed to be considered a job.” Namjoon finally piped up.

“It is if you’re going to get yourself followed here every other night.” YN laughed, “Technically, it is still my job, though, friends or not.”

“So, uh, as comfortable as I am. Is there a protocol for this situation? Am I in trouble? Do I pretend I didn’t see anything? Can I come in for snacks? Do you even have snacks?” Taehyung asked the now bickering pair.

“I, crap, give me a second.” Without waiting for an answer, YN jogged back into the training grounds shutting the door behind her.

“I didn’t peg you as the illegal activities sort of guy.” Taehyung poked fun at his brother.

“I can have fun too.” Namjoon countered, looking a little peeved. “What about you? You had to be out past the curfew to have noticed me, let alone follow me here.”

“See, I AM the illegal activities sort of guy. I was just sitting on the roof admiring the sky when I noticed my plucky older brother wandering somewhere he shouldn’t be wandering.” Taehyung enjoyed watching his brother bristle.

“Taehyung, you are a member of the Atlas royal family now. How many times do you have to be told there are rules we have to follow.” Namjoon’s words were staccato, even though his eyes didn’t match the harshness of his tone.

“Technically, I’m only legally royal. The minute they find out if our younger sister can use magic or not, I’m immediately less important.” Taehyung tried to shrug, but his shoulders got caught on the rock surrounding him.

“Just because you're last in line for the throne does not mean negative actions on your part don’t affect the family.” Namjoon sighed.

“I’m not so sure about that; I’m not related to the royal family by blood.” he relaxed against the cool stone. “I’m sure they’d just disown me and move on. Reese would take my place in line with her legitimate magic and all that. I could write to my mom, maybe find my sister?”

“You make it sound like you’ve planned this out?” Namjoon questioned, now obviously warry.

“Not in an, ‘I’m going to do something illegal and get kicked out of school and the family,’ kind of way. I’ve always prepared myself for the possibility that I’d be removed from succession if someone questioned my lineage enough, though.” Taehyung said honestly.

“Just because you’re not related to us by blood doesn’t mean you’d be so willingly discarded,” Namjoon spoke, clearly trying to reassure his brother. “Besides, father had your old estate searched for any remains years ago. They never found anything; what makes you think your sister made it out alive?”

“They never found anything.” Taehyung’s voice grew serious. “That whole estate collapsed and was burned to the ground. They found my dad; why wouldn’t they have found her?”

“I don’t know Tae; I wouldn't get your hopes up about that. Even if she was alive, wouldn’t she have tried to find you by now? Or at the very least, your mom?” Namjoon tried to sympathize.

“What if she can’t?”

Before his brother could answer him, the stone surrounding Taehyung disappeared, and the large wooden doors swung open.

“Okay, you’re clear. He says you can come in.” YN skipped over towards the two of them. “There’s some ground rules though, before you do.”

---

Taehyung had never been one for rules, but technically by following these rules, he was breaking some pretty major ones. So he let it go. The entire situation was odd; not only were there a few hundred people from families just like his, the Academy was willingly training these people against the law. It was badass. If Taehyung had any shot at finding his sister, he could start here. 

Yoongi had explained when he was brought in that this needed to be kept under wraps. None of the instructors from Atlas knew about what was happening when the bells rang, and it needed to stay that way. Joon had basically signed his life away to the Min family by agreeing to keep all of this a secret, so Taehyung followed suit. He was distantly related to Yoongi after all; maybe if his life came crashing down around him in the future, this interaction would win him favor and refuge in the Adiyan Empire. That’s where his dad was from, so he had always wanted to visit.

“Hello, Earth to Taehyung.” YN’s hand waving in front of his face snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“There he is.” She snickered before continuing. “Does this all make sense? Do you have any questions?”

“I’ve always got questions,” Taehyung responded with his favorite boxy smile.

“Do you have questions we can answer?” Yoongi sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

“Probably not.” Taehyung shrugged as he drummed his fingers on the desk.

“Okay then, you can come by whenever you want, or never. It doesn’t matter as long as you don’t get caught by professor Rittenhouse.” YN spoke plainly. “I’m on nighttime guard duty for a week at a time, once every month, but I frequent the grounds during the day when I’m off duty if you ever need me.”

“How is that off duty?” Namjoon asked the question Taehyung had been thinking.

“If I see something stupid, I can get someone else to deal with it.” YN chuckled. “I’m more of what you’d call reserve forces.”

“Still have no idea how making rounds during the day is considered off duty, but maybe I'm not understanding something right.” Taehyung joked.

“He’s got a mouth on him, doesn’t he?” YN smirked as she deferred to Yoongi.

“Runs in the family.” Yoongi mentioned nonchalantly.

“What? Is everyone at this table related to each other?” Namjoon smoothed the wrinkles out of his forehead. “You should find a better joke.”

“Nah, I kind of like it.” YN continued, poking at Joon’s arm.

“Of course you do.” Namjoon rolled his eyes.

“All that aside, you’re free to join us on training days.” Yoongi offered. “They rotate through instructors from Adyia, Cordelia, and the Arribellian Alliance. So we get a pretty interesting training regiment.”

“Do you spar with each other?” Taehyung wondered aloud.

“We do, unlike the other classes here, we’re a healthy mix of people from all nations. So we work with what we’ve got.” YN stated proudly. “You may come to find that the style of magic students here use differs greatly from what you see in your field training and exercises, though.”

“Sounds like fun; when can I start?” Taehyung sat up a little straighter in his chair.

“We start in about twenty minutes. This one here was coming early to spar with YN.” Yoongi pointed to Namjoon.

“Before you even ask, YN is part of the Academy’s night watch and Head Mistress Cecilia’s personal retinue. She is plenty skilled in non-magic based combat arts.” Namjoon boasted.

“So she can teach me how to use a sword,” Taehyung asked in excitement.

“I could, but that’s definitely the face of someone who shouldn’t have a sword.” YN laughed out loud as she answered his question.

“But I’ve always wanted to use a sword. If not a sword, what about a lance? Or something stealthy like assassin knives.” Taehyung’s voice grew with his enthusiasm.

“Again, yes, but also no.” YN’s eyes crinkled as she smiled.

“I’m more concerned about your choice in weaponry.” Namjoon sighed, shaking his head.

“Eh, they’re pretty standard choices.” YN shrugged. “I’m just glad he didn’t ask about a broad sword. Those things are heavy, and I’d hate to be the one to break the news to string bean over there.”

“Hey!” Taehyung shot out of his seat. “I’m perfectly capable of lifting a broadsword! I can manipulate metal, too you know.”

“Oho, big man on campus.” YN straightened herself and gestured towards the door. “Let's see what you got then.”

“I’m not getting trained tonight, am I?” Namjoon whispered to nobody in particular.

“Nope.” Yoongi shrugged and followed the pair out into the ground to join the other students. “Should’ve thought of that before you got her all riled up.”

“I didn’t rile anyone up!” Namjoon argued.

“No, but you brought dumb to dumber, so it’s sort of your fault.” Yoongi smiled to himself “Do you wanna train or talk?”

“Train, I want to train!” Namjoon spoke as he ran after Yoongi.

—-

It’s not that Taeyhyung thought they had been lying, just that he didn’t expect the training courses to be so different. He’d been exposed to magic at a young age, and had the privilege of learning from a private instructor for most of his life. Sure he wasn’t the best, but he didn’t expect to be this covered in dirt, let alone panting after one day of new exercises.

“You ready to tap out?” YN asked from across the field. 

“Never!” Taehyung smiled, straightening himself and preparing for another round of attacks. 

Once the ground started flying his way he threw up a shield, hoping to deflect a majority of debris. The problem Taehyung had always had with the style of magic taught to most earth mage’s was it was way too defense heavy. Sure you could take a beating, but unless you were fighting against another earth mage it was difficult to take an offensive position once you began defending. 

“I keep telling you, you’ve got to redirect, not deflect.” YN spoke beside him and Taehyung felt his soul leave his body. 

“How did you get that close that fast?” Taehyung asked, bewildered. 

“I made a tunnel.” YN shrugged and took a stance in front of him. “Now, stand like this.”

“Isn’t that a water mage stance?” Tae asked.

“Good eye.” YN only paused briefly before continuing. “Water mages have exceptional offensive and defensive capabilities.”

“You’re sure that’s not just because it’s easier to see through water than it is earth?” Taehyung asked. 

“That may be a part of it, but not all of it. Watch Nik.” YN pointed at the tall, dark haired male working with the other earth mages. “When you use water magic, it’s about fluidity. Part of that is being able to take the momentum of your assailant’s attack and use it against them. Taehyung watched carefully as YN mimicked Nik’s movements, it was almost as if they were dancing. Not shy he joined in, carefully matching YN step for step. 

“That’s good, just like that.” YN encouraged. “Watch your hands though, they look like limp noodles and that’s not gonna redirect anything.”

“You don’t know that.” Taehyung stood up, placing his hands on his hips.

“I do, but if you don’t believe me we can have you try for yourself.” YN smiled and took a few steps back. 

“You know, I’m starting to think you’re the reason they tell people who smile like I did earlier that they can’t have swords.” Taehyung snickered as he took the new stance.

“Perceptive.” 

Taehyung didn’t have time to respond before YN started with another round of projectiles. Her control over the earth was astoundingly good, so he had been surprised when YN had mentioned she wasn’t very good with metal based magics. He’d never met someone who could move the earth that efficiently who couldn't at least utilize metal magic. Something was very weird about YN, but he couldn't put his finger on it, not that she left him much time to think about it now. 

The first few flying rocks were deflected, mostly out of habit, until Taehyung remembered what the point of this exercise was. Redirect. Switching his feet he moved into an unfamiliar position and did his best to remember the new movements.

It was messy at first, and the few stones that made it through stung as they bit into his uncovered arms. Eventually though, one of them moved right. Sort of, the projectile spun around Taeyhung like it was caught in some sort of orbit, before careening off to the side in the opposite direction of his target. 

“You need to relax! Use your momentum!” YN called as she sent another round of rocks.

Taehyung took a deep breath and let the tension in his shoulders leave with the exhale. When he opened his eyes the projectile YN sent was nearly there. He was sure it wasn’t graceful looking, but despite the awkwardness of his movements, when his hand made contact with the earth he spun it around and launched it back in her direction. Even though YN caught it without hesitation, Taehyung couldn’t help the elation that bubbled up and out of him.

“Yes! That was it, wasn't it?!” 

“It was,” YN smiled at him proudly and gave him a thumbs up. 

“Again, let’s do it again!” Tae took his stance matching YN.

The longer the exercise went on the larger the flying rocks got. Taehyung was enjoying the challenge YN provided, and when he knocked her down he whooped.

“Nice shot!” YN laughed as she rolled onto her stomach. “You’re fast.”

“Of course I am.” Taehyung wiggled his eyebrows at her and gave her a boxy smile.

“You two are having too much fun.” Namjoon commented as he and Yoongi walked over.

“No such thing.” YN smiled up at Joon as he offered her a hand.

Taehyung watched the pair, the tiniest pangs of jealousy bouncing around in his ribcage. That made no sense though, he’d only just met this girl, why would he be upset?

“YN!” Taehyung called to get her attention. “Can I help you with your metal magic?” 

She blinked at him in disbelief, “You can try.” She answered.

“I like a good challenge.” Taehyung expressed as he jogged over to join the other three.

“You may be in over your head.” Yoongi grimaced.

“You don’t have any earth mages here right?” Taehyung asked, knowing the answer. “Maybe I can help fill the gap?”

#tephra 03 #BTS au #bts fantasy au #bts reader insert #bts taehyung #bts yoongi #bts namjoon

[kuviras-eyeliner]

I keep seeing your ATLA and LOK matchups and they’re so cute so here I go I guess 🤷🏼‍♂️ I’m a 17yo trans dude, pansexual, 5’3.5” but I round up to 5’4 😎 Capricorn, airbender, equal parts ravenclaw and gryffindor, infj-t. I love the colour green, baking, musical theatre, anime, plants, cute video games, and any music genre. Lactose intolerant and v political (leftist). Very Italian but white as *heck*. I’m a digital and traditional artist, and planning on going into animation. First chair alto sax who gets all the solos, hybrid of class clown and teacher’s pet - top in every class but cracking jokes the whole way through. Very competitive and confrontational, but also the overly empathetic people-pleasing therapist-parent friend. I act showoff-y and narcissistic to overcompensate for how insecure I actually am 😅 and I have a stupid cowlick that sticks up when I dry my hair.

toI CAN’T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I SQUEALED WHEN I SAW YOUR ASK, YOU AND A FEW OTHER BLOGS WERE THE ONES THAT INSPIRED ME SO THANK YOU AJAJAJAJJAJAJAJ

*exhales*

Alrighty, thank you for letting me scream :D!! And your ask made me laugh so hard, you literally sound just like one of my best friends. I’d like to think that we can all get along smoothly ^U^

Now, without further ado, I ship thee with...

Sokka!

Okay, alright, jeez! Stop hitting me, virtual self. I know a lot of people are thinking: Right, so you think it’s okay to put to crackheads together? No.

...YES.

ABSOLUTELY, Y E S.

Call me crazy, but when I saw this ask I decided, “Yep, that’s it. We’re doing Sokka, and no one can tell me otherwise. Yep. Okay, thanks a bunch kiddos, Imma head out-” xD Your ask was so amazing and it showed so much expression and the way you act in just a few sentences! It was very spontaneous and different from other asks I have had, so let me just say, I had a lot of fun writing this one. Now, with Sokka! If you know from before, I’m a huge, huge fan of the headcanon that Sokka is a theater kid. And the moment I saw that you wrote theater kid and that you can play an instrument, I kinda just stared into a wall and thought, “it must be fate,” and then continued to write. I think that Sokka, although he’s extroverted, also has his own downfalls. We see that although he can be described as the comic relief, I feel like almost everyone forgets that Sokka’s human, too. He obviously has his own down days, and overall, no one’s there for him. And as sad as life may be, it’s true for so many more people in this world. I think that Sokka, considering his personality type, is really good at reading people: so whenever he even sees your smile falter for even a second, without hesitation, Sokka will literally yank you to the side of the room and ask, “What was that?” When he sees that you’re forcing a smile on a bad day, he might not be too big on the physical contact and give you hugs every twenty seconds, but he’ll talk you through it. Without a single word of negativity and whatnot, he lets you know that he’s there, and he’s there to listen because he genuinely cares for you and your wellbeing. The fun part about this is that he thinks it’s so amazing that you can still remain competitive, hilarious, sweet, and yet you’re still the top in every class. Sokka can also be pretty smart because he devises so many plans, so he really admires you for that. Sokka will also never underestimate you, and he’ll make sure that you know every second of every day that you are valid, and he’ll make sure no one ever hurts you. On awesome days, Sokka might even take you outside on a balcony and blast Guns and Ships or something from Dear Evan Hansen and just let you jam out with him. Sokka doesn’t care about your looks at all, because as long as you’re okay with yourself, no matter what happens, he’ll never leave your side.

I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THAT TYSM

Next up, we have:

Bolin!

OKAY, OKAY, and no, it is not because of your profile picture and whatnot! This is something that actually and physically (well, maybe not physically. I’m not sure if that’s possible yet xD), but like with Sokka when I read yours, I straight up threw my laptop and said, “WELL NO HECKING WONDER WHY YOU LOVE BOLIN SO MUCH,” and then started writing again. You and Bolin, yes, yes, yes absOLUTELY! It’s not just with personality and whatnot, but allow me to elaborate. A lot like Sokka, Bolin is usually seen as the comedic relief who always makes people laugh mid-battle or is the one cracking jokes and only cries literally animated waterfalls. But honestly, I don’t think many people realize that if Bolin was actually in real-life, imagine just how helpful and loved you’d feel if you were going through a tough, mental battle, and Bolin just cracks this precious and small joke that makes you laugh in an instant? Bolin probably thinks that it’s really cool that you’re capable of doing so much all at once, and that you always somehow find the best way to get across any problem. He loves to give you hugs and is a bit more physical than Sokka. He also takes whatever chance possible to say anything that can make you smile-- all he wants is to have that with every word he says, to make you grin. He’s absolutely in love with just how persistent you are with everything. He loves that you’re always trying your best and you do everything in your will to help those around you. Bolin also doesn’t mind how you look, either, because if you’re okay with yourself, he is, too. And if you’re not, trust me: Bolin can and will understand. He’ll try to ask you whatever he can without pushing too far, and pull you into the warmest hug ever. He’ll make sure the day after that you’re feeling okay, and he’s okay with you being a Lil’ vulnerable around him. He loves that you’re always so positive and sweet around everyone :D

I had such a great time writing this one!! Thank you so much for asking :] Sorry about the delay, but I’m just glad I got this one in ^^ Thanks for supporting me!! I can’t tell you in words how much I appreciate it. 

(REQUESTS ARE OPEN :D)

HUGS AND SHOULDER PATS ARE OPEN AS WELL!!

#THANK YOU SO MUCH #bolins-forehead-curl #that username #I LOVE IT #hugs!! #bolin #bolin x reader #lok #lok matchups #lok x reader #atla #avatar the last airbender #sokka #sokka x reader #sokka avatar #the last airbender #legend of korra #the legend of korra

[rwby-nwbe]

Just Finished RWBY Volume 4...

...and I actually liked it?

[Spoilers Ahead, Y'all Know The Drill]

I mean, from what I've heard the Volume gets a lot of flack but honestly? I don't think it deserves it.

Yes, this is the first volume without Monty, and yes, the fights lost a bit of their momentum compared to earlier volumes, but aside from that... it's actually pretty good?

Alright, let me give you the play by play character style.

Ruby Rose

There goes my baby... off to destroy evil.

Ruby hasn't changed much, at least to a noticeable degree, compared to the rest of the cast. Actually, no, that isn't true, she just hasn't changed in a way that would force her overall character to noticeably shift. And I think that's fine. She's still a child at times, and is still really optimistic. But the thing is, she has matured. She doesn't immediately jump head first into danger like she used to, and it's clear she's still trying to process what happened at the Fall of Beacon. And yet, she's pressing on, and I'm glad that she and the rest of Team RNJR have each other's backs.

My only concern is what will go down in Mistral...

Weiss Schnee

Welp, Jacques Schnee, congrats! You've joined Cinder and Adam on the hit list I'm writing up!

The a-hole aside, I really like how Weiss played out this volume. According to what I've heard, volume 4 took place about 6-8 months after Beacon, so I'm kinda sad that Weiss was stuck home for all that time. On the bright side, we get a look at her progress on her summons, which looks to be coming along quite nicely. Then we see the concert, and ooh does that make my blood boil. I'll get to Jacques in a bit, but personally, I'd have no qualms watching him burn, figuratively, or literally.

Fly, Weiss, fly from the coup. Give your bastard of a father the metaphorical middle finger he deserves! (P.S. Klein is best dad.)

Blake Belladonna

Oof. I hurteth.

So Blake tends to stay away out of fear that she'll hurt her friends (i.e. some alternate version of survivor's guilt). In order to make amends from her point of view, she heads home to Menagerie. And once again, we're reminded on why humanity sucks sometimes!

Humans: Here, have this desert island for your large spanning species that covers just as much ground as we do.

Faunus: But... but it's so small!

Humans: Is it? Oh well, we can't have everything!

Me: Y'all LITERALLY have several freaKING CONTINENTS-!

*Ahem* That said, Sun came along! And we met Blake's parents! But first, Sun; I'll admit, I had mixed feelings about him being there at first, but that was mostly because Blake was being angsty and despite Sun's best intentions, virtually nothing he did help. Although, towards the end of the Volume, he managed to help Blake realize why her way of thinking was wrong, so props to him for that. Uh, Sun, could you maybe knock like a normal person? Wait, Blake, DON'T SLAP HIM FOR IT!!!

Ah, Kali, you're just as chaotic as Sun, oh dear... Ghira, never change, man. Never change.

Yang Xiao Long

Oof. I hurteth again. (ADAM!! LET ME DESTROY YOU, DANGIT!!!)

So Yang has been... adjusting to life after Beacon and without an arm. Oh, and Adam gave her PTSD! Isn't that just swell?

[When the find your corpse it'll have Wilt running through your spine and your skull severed with bullet shots from Blush I swear-]

Luckily, Yang gets a prosthetic from Atlas. I was afraid she'd reject it, but it's actually kinda nice to see that she takes to it rather well. And after seeing Oobleck (YAY!) and Port again, it's cool that she's just trying to find her footing. Though, Tai, you might wanna consider NOT flying to close to the Sun Dragon, capiche?

And all this culminates in Yang finally getting back out in the end of the Volume, hoping to find some answers. Hopefully she takes Tai's words to heart.

Jaune Arc

IT'S BIG BOI SWORD HOURS!!

But seriously, it was... kinda off-putting to see Jaune act so... morose. Granted, we all know why (PYRRHA!!!), but still. I'm glad his team is looking out for him and that he's slowly starting to recover like everyone else. His conversation with Ruby in Kuroyuri was also really touching. Come to think of it, didn't Blake have a similar conversation with Sun? The PARALLELS!

Also, that upgrade, tho. CUT THAT NUCKELAVEE INTO DUST, MY DUDE!!!

Nora Valkyrie+Lie Ren

You can't talk about one without bringing up the other.

Guys, this was as much a Renora volume as it was a RWBY-Post Beacon volume. The Fall triggers some odd behavior in Ren, but we figure out why pretty quickly once we reach the Kuroyuri episode.

First, young Ren and Nora... adorable!

Second, I was NOT ready for when Nora had to talk Ren out of charging blindly at the Nuckelavee. The slap. The way Ren sees young Nora and then sees current Nora. Nothing could prepare me. Nothing.

They are so SOFT together, it's just... <3

New Characters (and Old ones, too)

Lightning round, baby!

Qrow Branwen. So Qrow serves as the inside man. He knows what's been going on, and he fills the rest of us in. We also know why he tends to keep his distance, because his semblance brings bad luck to allies and enemies alike. The poor birb. Glad he managed to survive Tyrian!

Jacques Schnee. Egotistical manipulative piece of garbage whom I will not feel sorry for once he's put in his place. 'Nuff said.

Whitley Schnee. Mixed feelings. Mixed feelings everywhere. 'Cause on one hand, I've seen plenty of the fandom's takes on his character putting him in a positive light, but on the other he starts getting kind of unbearable after Weiss loses her title as heiress. Then I have to remind myself that Whitley is the "Fawn" reaction to trauma. Weiss is "Fight," Winter is "Flight," their mother is "Freeze," and Whitley is "Fawn." Stuff like that helps me contextualize that when Whitley says things about their dad like "It's foolish to not do what father asks," or "It's barbaric. It's beneath me. Beneath father," Whitley's not just saying that 'cause he's a bit of a brat. That's his coping mechanism to the abuse Jacques put him and the rest of his family through, and it's probably been a long time that he's been telling himself stuff like this so he can keep in his father's good graces and not risk getting a slap to the face like Weiss, while also trying to deal with the fact that Weiss and Winter get a freedom that he never had a chance to get. And you have to remember that Winter and Weiss were abused to, and that trying to blame Whitley's current condition on the two of them doesn't make things any better. They're not obligated to care about Whitley just as much as Whitley isn't obligated to care about them. It would be nice if either one of them could get through to him, but they were all trying to combat Jacques in one way or another. Whitley was just the odd one out. And if you really think about it, the biggest brain play you can take from all this is to blame it solely on Jacques. I swear, when I get to Volume 4 in my NWBE AU, one of my top priorities will be getting Whitley the ever loving hell out of that accursed mansion alongside Weiss, mark my words.

Klein Sieben. Ladies and gentleman, the only valid man under the Schnee roof! And a Seven Dwarves reference no less. Thanks, I love him! Glad he helped Weiss escape his father's clutches.

James Ironwood. Oh boy, boss man is starting to lose his grip on things. Granted, he's trying to do the right thing, but it's clear his paranoia is getting to him. You know crap is getting bad if the most valid person in all of Atlas simultaneously needs to be told to get a grip from Jacques of all people (especially if he's making a point). Hope this doesn't trigger a downward spiral...

Ghira and Kali Belladonna. Ghira is done and Kali just wants to have fun. I love their dynamic and interactions with Blake and Sun! It was a nice wind down from everything else going on, though I don't think that'll last for long.

White Fang. So we got three more WF members: Fennec, Corsac, and Ilia. The Albain brothers are sleezeballs already, since they're working with Adam and all. Ilia's working with them too, but I'll have to withhold my judgement since she appears to have an as yet undisclosed connection to Blake, but I don't want to get my hopes up since she already stabbed Sun, so... Low expectations, but still expectations.

Salem's Group. Yup, Salem's a villain alright. I'll be keeping my eye on her, she just reeks of trouble. Cinder apparently lost her voice... eh, probably for the best. Emerald, Mercury, get the ever-loving FRICK outta there, you're clearly out of your element! Hazel, you're... fascinating. Neutral Evil, perhaps? Watts, you're on my radar, especially with the last episode of the Volume. And Tyrian... well, he's clearly beyond the point of no return, entirely devoted to Salem, and his psycho-sadistic tendencies are enough to freak Cinder of all people out. Needless to say, I hope something or someone takes care of him before the damage becomes irreversible.

And for now, I'll wrap this up with Oscar Pine. I'll admit, it was interesting how they set up Oscar's character as a slow burn this Volume. We learn he lives a quiet life with his aunt in a barn, and at first we're wondering "Who the heck is this kid?" But then Ozpin shows up and suddenly everything is like "Oh... wait, WHAT!?" So yeah, Ozpin just brought another child into thia conflict. At least they're both not happy about it, and hey, they met Qrow! Hopefully that keeps things from getting too crazy down the line. We still need answers, after all.

Well, those are my thoughts. Sorry they took so long. Hopefully Volume 5 won't be so hard to complete. Well... cheers!

-Mathewton, the RWBY Newbie (15 May 2020)

#rwby #rwby volume 4 #rwby volume four #rwby vol 4 #team rwby #team jnr #team rnjr #cinder fall #emerald sustrai #mercury black #tyrian callows #hazel rainart #arthur watts #jacques schnee #whitley schnee #klein sieben #james ironwood #oscar pine #rwby ozpin #rwby salem #qrow branwen #i just realized i forgot about Raven #yeah... she ain't a good mom #and i question her motives #if what tai said was anything to go off of... we might be in trouble #taiyang xiao long #liveblog #rwby liveblog #kinda #rwby-nwbe

[rwbyremnants]

Warning: tiny gore, mostly implied

=Chapter 29

Weiss's stay in the hospital felt like it took an eternity. Nearly two weeks had passed since the incident before they were confident enough to release her into her mother’s care - and even then, she was to return for regular check-ups and would not be allowed to participate in any vigorous physical activity for another two. That was fine, except for…

“UGH!” Yang burst out as they rode home in the back of Kali’s car. Her mother was in the front, alongside her new best friend. “You know what that means, right?”

“Don’t remind me,” Weiss sighed, rubbing over her stomach through her blouse. She had been doing that on a regular basis ever since they took the bandages off; she was so used to having something blocking her there that now it was fascinating to feel her tummy directly again.

“How are we gonna…” Glancing at the front seat, she then cleared her throat and attempted, “How will we play tennis anymore?”

Trying not to laugh, she answered, “Oh, you’re right. Between your shoulder and this wound, playing tennis would be a little unwise. Maybe we shouldn’t play tennis for a while until we’re all healed up.”

Kali called behind her without even turning around, “You two aren’t fooling anyone in this car.”

“About what?” Mrs. Schnee asked. “Tennis? I didn’t even know Miss Yang played.”

“I stand corrected,” she laughed, and Yang and Weiss laughed along with her. Though she felt a little guilty that her mother was left out of the conversation, perhaps it was best that way.

Still, after a minute or two, Yang seemed to feel differently. She scratched the back of her head before commenting, “Hey… Mrs. Schnee, um… I gotta say, it's been really great that you've been so… accepting.”

“What do you mean, dear?”

“Well, with me and Weiss. Kind of expected you to flip your lid.”

The woman fell silent for a moment as she thought about that. Then she shrugged her shoulders. “I can't pretend to understand what my daughter is going through, what she feels. We've both understood all our lives that people like you are sinners. And yet… it's my own husband who's done the most harm to my daughter. You make her happy while the man I used to trust more than anyone else hurts her. Seems to me like… all the rules have changed, I suppose. Something like that.”

Though Yang had no response for those words, apparently Kali did. “I won't try to pretend I've ever been religious. But isn't your god supposed to be one of love and acceptance? If he can't accept the love in this backseat, then he isn't much of a god to me.”

“That's…” It almost sounded like Willow was about to argue. Then she simply sighed and slumped down in her seat. “Maybe so. I don't know.”

The rest of the ride home was a little bit uncomfortable, but Weiss felt some satisfaction that at least her mother seemed to be doing some deep thinking on the subject. Everything would be fine in due time.

Once Willow was safe and sound in Atlas Heights, the other three returned to the Belladonna home. Without having selected another fallback location, that was still to serve as their headquarters for the immediate future, and they had much to discuss.

“I'm trying not to lose my cool,” Yang confessed as she rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans. “What if she wants to kick you out because your dad's been making threats and stuff? I'm going to have to argue with her, and I'd rather not do that if I don't have to…”

“Then don't,” Weiss told her simply, as if that settled the matter.

“But I'll have to. I mean, you're my girl, right? I'd throw myself from a train for you. If I can't even stand up to Salem, then I don't deserve the title of ‘Weiss's girlfriend’ at all.”

The paper-shaker reached over to squeeze her hand as they pulled onto Blake and Kali's street. “You deserve it if I say you do. And that's that.”

“Oh boy,” Kali sighed onto the steering wheel. “Look at all this…”

She was referring to the dozen motorcycles parked in her driveway, partly spilling into the backyard. It was bad enough that she had no room for her own vehicle and had to park on the street, which probably rankled. Of course, the Duchess took it all in stride.

“Chins up,” she whispered as they walked up toward the front door. “This is our first big meeting since the fire, but it's not our first meeting ever. We'll be fine.”

“It's my first big meeting!” Weiss insisted. “I'm a baby Dragon, remember?”

Yang slid her arm around Weiss's back, squeezing probably a little bit harder than was strictly necessary. “Don't sweat it. I'm going to be right there the whole time, okay? Just… stick to the truth. That your dad has lost his marbles and you have nothing to do with it. Easy peasy.”

“I hope you're right…”

They had never seen the Belladonna living room quite so full. In fact, several Dragons had to sit in the dining room, craning their necks to see everyone else. Salem laid claim to what had probably been Mr. Belladonna's easy chair as if it were a throne; Weiss expected nothing less. Sienna was nearby, ready and willing to assist in any way needed. Blake seemed to be flitting around and helping Vernal freshen drinks - something not quite in character, but probably expected of her as interim host until her mother returned.

“About time,” Salem grunted from under the hem of her hood. “Thought they might have changed their minds about discharging the girl.”

Weiss swallowed, eyes sweeping the room to look at all the faces gazing back at her. Vernal, Blake, and Coco were there, and Velvet was perched at Coco's side. She was the only one who smiled and waved at Weiss, which she appreciated more than she could say in that moment - both because she was nervous, and because she knew pleasantries would have to wait until after business had been taken care of.

“She's going to be fine,” Kali told her, hand still lingering on Weiss's shoulder. “And now that your Warlord and Duchess are here, shall we get started?”

Salem gestured with one pale hand to the rickety looking folding chairs off to one side. Where they had come up with so many folding chairs, Weiss couldn't say, but it looked like someone had raided a church basement. Kali took the one closest to the High Dragon, and Weiss and Yang took the other two.

“This meeting of the Vale Dragons has come to order,” Sienna announced with a few claps of her hands. “Please join us in the credo!”

Weiss felt the tingling a fear in her stomach - what credo?! Before she had a chance to ask any questions, everyone else in the room was saying in one strong voice, “Strength! Loyalty! Unity! Sorority!” Even Velvet. It felt awful to be the least informed member of their ragtag family, but she knew it was going to take time for her to get caught up.

Then it was Salem's turn to talk. She didn't stand or otherwise call attention to herself; she didn't need to.

“Sisters, we have a problem.” A few of them nodded, and there was a sharp bark of laughter from somewhere that Weiss couldn't quite pinpoint. “One of our own has betrayed us.”

“Oh no,” Weiss couldn't help breathing. The whisper didn't go unnoticed.

“It isn't little Princess Schnee. No… another is our turncoat. Selling inside information to the highest bidder. Someone none of us would have expected in the slightest.” Her inflection scarcely changed as she called out, “Neo, come forward.”

It took a great effort of will for Weiss to suppress the urge to ask who in the Sam Hill she meant. Not that it was necessary; the instant Salem finished speaking, a few of the Dragons stepped aside to reveal a smallish girl with two-tone hair that matched her eyes - one brown, one pink. She had never seen anyone with eyes like those before. The girl's eyebrows hiked up at being addressed, but an instant later, she stepped forward as she had been commanded.

“You cannot answer for your crimes directly; I understand this. Most of the questions will be simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.” The girl nodded. “Did you set the fire?” She shook her head vigorously, leaning forward very slightly as she did so. “Did you drug Sustrai?” Another shake. “Did you help someone else do either of those things?”

This time, the girl didn't look quite so confident. Such a long hesitation set off a ripple of gasps around the room. Weiss found herself completely shocked; how did Salem know all this? How could anyone have figured out the culprit was this tiny slip of a girl that she had failed to notice at all?

“I'll need a name,” the High Dragon pressed, ignoring the way the target of her interrogation began to tremble. “You may write it down and we'll take it from there. If you do, the consequences for you will be far less dire than if you withhold that information.”

Only a few seconds ticked by as the girl considered her situation, looking around the room at all of the outraged faces. Weiss's was not the only one a mask of complete shock, but several others, including Yang and Blake, were full of pure fury. Then she reached into the pocket of her leather jacket and produced a tiny notebook and a stub of a pencil. The scratching of it upon a scrap of paper barely lasted a second or two before she tore it out and passed it over to her leader.

Salem's eyes were shadowed by her hood, and therefore it was impossible to know her true reaction to reading the name. Her fist curled around the scrap and she straightened to look at the accused.

“I would ask why you have betrayed us, but given your condition, it would require quite a long amount of writing. You may present that to me when next we meet. For the time being, you must choose your punishment. Lashes… the mark of betrayal… or banishment.”

Even though the traitor had looked anxious and frightened up until that point, this was the first time true fear set in. She glanced around as if hoping for help from another Dragon, but found none. She fell to her knees in front of Salem and pressed her forehead to her knee, but one of Sienna's boots raised to shove her away an instant later.

“You are not worthy to touch our leader!” she hissed at her through clenched teeth. But Salem raised a hand to forestall her from further reprimanding the accused.

“That will be all. What is your choice?”

Instead of answering directly, Neo shivered with the force of her silent sobs for a few more seconds. Weiss had been expecting her to write down her decision, or finally speak up, but instead, she merely began to remove her jacket.

“In the backyard,” Salem ordered. “No reason to get blood on Kali's pristine carpet. Who will witness?”

“I will,” Yang volunteered, raising a hand.

“And I,” said another woman Weiss didn't know. She felt like a stranger at an ice cream social with all of the unfamiliar Dragons crammed in there. That would have to change if she were truly going to be part of the organization.

“Very well. See that it is done.”

To her surprise, it was Sienna who got up to escort the girl out. Weiss had been expecting the girl to say something, and she did - but it wasn’t quite what she expected.

“Hnanhu.”

Her brow furrowed at the sound. What was she hearing? Did this girl speak some other language - was that why she had been so quiet? Had she taken a vow of silence as part of her Dragons initiation?

“You’re welcome. Do well to remember this kindness.” Only now, she noticed that Salem was taking great care to look directly at Neo whenever she spoke. “Take her.”

As the four of them left, she looked toward Kali as the wheels continued to turn. “Is she… a deaf-mute?”

“She's hard of hearing, yes.”

“Oh.” Her eyes turned toward the door through which they had disappeared. “Do you think… I mean, shouldn't we have-”

“Whether or not Neo is capable of hearing or speech has nothing to do with the grief she has caused the Dragons,” Salem said in an even tone of voice. “I do not believe it was done with any malicious intent toward us, but rather was motivated by selfishness - or misplaced loyalty to someone else. Either way, she will receive the punishment she deserves, and hopefully that will be the end of that.”

The others nodded their agreement… but Weiss couldn't help feeling sympathy for her. Salem made it sound like she got paid to somehow arrange for Emerald's drugging, which did anger her on a personal level, but she had no idea what her life would be like if she was hard of hearing, unable to interact with the larger portion of the world the same way. Being able to hear was such an integral part of her life! Maybe in exchange for her betrayal, Neo had been paid money that would have helped her cope somehow - not that she knew how. Deafness was an issue she never had to seriously consider before.

Salem clapping her hands brought her attention back around. “To business. There may be Huntsmen ties to the arson, and the stabbing.” A ripple of gasps went through the room, but she pressed on, “Not corroborated. A suspicion and no more. This name is from someone among their number, but as much as I detest Watts… I can't readily believe they're behind this. Neo’s accomplice may have gone rogue.”

“I agree,” Kali put in, inclining her head slightly. “Our current ‘cease fire’ is beneficial to everyone. Why would they risk that in this way - what's the draw?”

“Salem?” Weiss attempted. The woman didn't speak, but did turn to look at her, waiting patiently. “I m-mean, High Dragon. Do you think… my father could be behind it? He pretty much admitted he was behind the fire already. What if he did this, too?”

To her surprise, Salem favored her with a cold little smile. “I'm sure of it. We just need to follow the money.”

“Oh.”

“We already knew Neo’s been seen on Huntsmen turf,” Blake said, arms and legs crossed as she glared into the corner. “But that's not a crime. Well… not really. I've listened to records with Sun and Neptune while checking in on him after… the bike race.”

“But it is suspicious,” her mother added, and Blake nodded her agreement. “We'll have to implement a strategy for monitoring…”

As Weiss tried not to fall into a pit of despair, the others continued to discuss the situation and where they should go from there. She was having trouble focusing. How could her father, her own flesh and blood, sink this low? It was as if instead of a great man with a few flaws, he had always been a terrible man underneath a paper-thin veneer of respectability and moral high ground. All it took was deciding his daughter needed “correction” for that facade to fall away, revealing a true monster.

Beyond that, she also couldn't help worrying that her new life in the Dragons was going to get her killed - or get someone else killed, like Yang. But she mostly agreed with her mother's sentiments. For all the ways that her life had become more frightening, it had also changed for the better. She didn't want to give it all up now - especially not Yang. Not without a fight. She simply hoped that fight wasn't one she would lose.

She didn't snap back to reality until the three returned, the shivering and shaking Neo suspended between Yang and Sienna. Her shirt was in place, but red was seeping through the light pink fabric where it stretched over her back. Weiss wanted to cry. But Neo’s eyes were curiously dry; she looked as if she were crying during the lashing but had stopped before being brought inside.

“Neo Politan, you are hereby pardoned of your sins,” Salem declared without preamble. This time, Weiss could definitely tell she was taking extra care to form each word with her lips, and that Neo was watching them move. “Forgiven, but not forgotten; the High Dragon never forgets when her girls are wronged. Do your best to prove yourself worthy of trust again.”

The girl nodded, shaking so much that it almost looked like a spasm. Sienna glanced at Kali. “Your restroom?”

“Upstairs on the left,” she told her, and she pulled Neo along. To her credit, she didn't put up any fight; she was simply numb from the cruelty of the punishment. Her legs dragged occasionally but she was picking them up most of the time.

The room was only quiet for a moment before Salem asked, “You don't approve of my methods?” Weiss was horrified to realize she was staring at her.

“I… yes, High Dragon. Wh-what I mean is, I do approve! But I'm… she's so small…”

“Not much shorter than you,” Yang pointed out. “And you took the branding like a champ.”

“Cinder always said she could count on Neo to watch her back in a fight,” Coco said in a quiet voice. “I mean… maybe not after this, but yeah, she's a scrappy little thing.”

Salem cleared her throat and folded her hands neatly in her lap, waiting for the understandable rise of chatter to settle again before she spoke. “That takes care of our primary business. What of our hunt for a new sanctuary?”

-----------------------------

From there, Weiss lost track of the conversation somewhat. Many potential sites to rebuild Shopkeeper's were proposed, and the pros and cons of each debated. Yang even suggested the abandoned train depot, leaving out that she used it as a hidden make-out spot; it was dismissed as too old and decrepit to renovate. Weiss pretended not to notice how relieved her girlfriend looked.

In the end, it was decided their temporary plan would be to clear the debris from their haunt and see if it was worth restoring to its former glory. The meeting was adjourned with Kali expressing distress at the mess her house was left in, but also obviously resigned to her fate of clearing it away.

“Don't worry, we'll help,” Weiss promised her with a small smile as the dozens of bodies filed out of the tiny home. “Won't we, Yang?”

The blonde looked more resigned than enthusiastic about pitching in, but she still nodded. Velvet was able to pester Coco into staying, as well, and the four girls helped Blake put the living room and dining room right while Kali focused on the kitchen. Most of the efforts needed there were on rinsing out drinking glasses, of course.

“That could have gone worse,” Velvet piped up.

“Really?” Yang snapped at her as she finished wrapping the power cord around the vacuum cleaner. “Like how?”

As Velvet recoiled, she went on, “W-well, I… turned out not so awful in the end, right? We have someone to blame, and… and Neo says she won't do it again…”

“I still had to watch her get lashes. With a whip. Don't like watching friends get hurt like that, no matter what by. Even if they brought it on themselves.”

The poor, mousy girl went back to cleaning. After a second or two, Weiss followed Yang as she stowed the vacuum in the hall closet.

“Did you have to come down on her like that? She's just trying to be positive.”

Shaking her head, she leaned against the closet door and stared off toward the living room. “Yeah. Nothing to be positive about as far as I am concerned.” Weiss only stared evenly at her, so she eventually threw up both hands and hissed, “What do you want me to say? That I'm glad I had to watch a girl get her back ripped up all over? I'm not. Makes me sick to my stomach. But I get that there's a reason we had to do it.”

“None of that is Velvet's fault. You know that. She was just trying to look on the bright side of things, and… sure, I guess it's a little naive, but doesn't she have enough stress in her life right now? She might have to leave the country, leave us! And Coco!”

“Well…” Yang squirmed uncomfortably for a second before sighing, her shoulders slumping downward. “I know. Probably wants all her last memories of America to be good ones. But I can't act like a Dragon getting whipped is good, no matter why it happened.”

Weiss wrapped her arms gently around Yang's middle, laying her head on her shoulder. Hands found the center of her own back to return the gesture, and she allowed her eyes to close for a moment, simply drinking in the nearness.

“I understand. But Velvet needs friends right now. Just tell her… tell her you're sorry you were so short with her, because you're upset about having to watch the whipping.”

Squirming a little, Yang said, “I'm, uh, not so good at feelings. You know that. But I'll try.”

“Thank you.”

“What do I get as a reward?” A slight gleam crept into her violet eyes.

“The satisfaction of knowing you did the right thing, you big ape,” she snapped at her, and Yang chuckled aloud. “Come on.”

The apology was met with flustered assurances that it wasn't necessary, which of course made Yang insist, and eventually Velvet thanked her and bowed her head in mild shame. Weiss and Coco shared bemused smiles as the audience of this exchange, both thinking their girlfriends were awkward squares and all the more adorable for it.

“So about you and Velvet,” she asked her as they hauled sacks out to the trash cans on the curb.

“You want another lesson?” When Weiss's face paled by several shades, Coco laughed and slapped her on the shoulder with her free hand. “Okay, okay. What do you want if it's not that?”

Shaking her head out to rid it of strong mental images, she went on, “Someone mentioned that you also have a fella you're going steady with. Does he know…?”

“About Velvet? Of course.”

“And he doesn't mind? No jealousy, nothing like that?”

Shrugging, she took out a cigarette and lit it as they gazed back at the Belladonna home. Weiss tried her best not to be offended by the acrid scent of smoke. “Nope. We have an understanding. Besides, he's… Fox is… we are definitely not like most couples. We’re more like friends who occasionally go to bed together. I’d marry him for the social arrangement, and because we’re comfortable with each other.”

Almost dreading the answer, Weiss asked, “And Velvet?”

“It's different,” she said with an uncharacteristic tenderness in her voice before taking another drag. She didn’t need to hear any more to know exactly how she meant that; the way Weiss felt about Yang.

“Y-yeah. Well, I mean, I guessed that; you two seem really close.” Coco nodded. “Would you… I mean, what if you moved down to Australia with her?”

“Where would I go down there? What would I do? Even though I- a part of me wants to, wants to follow her to the ends of the Earth, the rest of my whole life is here. She would have to take care of me, and that’s not how Coco wants her life to go.”

Hunching her shoulders against the light chill on the breeze, weirded out by how she referred to herself in the third person, she asked, “Then why not just break up with her now? Don't make her wait for it to happen.”

“Because now is all we have, Schnee.”

Something about the pure bitterness in that statement made Weiss think better of continuing the conversation. Coco's eyes were hidden behind her aviators, as usual, but she had to wonder how haunted they would look if she could see them. In absence of knowing what else to say and feeling helpless, she rested a hand on her shoulder to offer her a moment of meager comfort before returning to the house.

Everything taken care of, Kali was already whipping up something tasty in the kitchen, Blake at her side. Coco and Velvet took their leave, which meant Yang had to set the table all by herself - once Weiss left to help with dinner, feeling it was more pressing.

“There's really not much left to do,” the elder woman assured her with a gentle smile. “It's just a simple stew. Matter of fact, I was thinking about leaving to pick up Willow to join us once it's on to simmer.”

“Oh,” Weiss said with a small, pleased smile. “Okay. I could help stir it until you get back.”

Blake narrowed her eyes at her. “Why do you look so thrilled right now? Like Christmas came early.”

“No reason.”

“She's just happy that her mother isn't languishing in regrets and Merlot,” Kali told her daughter while patting her on the shoulder and leaning over to kiss the side of her head. Blake pushed her away, but there was no real force to the push. “Mind the store for me?”

“Sure, Mom.” The woman took her leave. As Blake turned back to the stove and took up the wooden spoon, she said, “Could you cut that out?”

“What? Cut what out?”

“Trying to set our moms up with each other.”

Weiss blinked in surprise, hand falling away from the silverware drawer. She had been about to get a spoon to test the flavour of the stew before she was extremely distracted.

“Admit it,” Blake went on as she stirred, barely glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. “I definitely haven't been the one pushing them together. And you’re always into everyone’s business, you busybody.”

“Busybody?!” she burst out, fists on her hips. “How can you say that? Sure, I like to know what’s going on with the Dragons and with Pyrrha, and Ruby, but I’m only concerned about my friends; I don’t stick my nose in otherwise!”

Tossing her hair slightly, the cook’s daughter stirred a little more vigorously than was strictly necessary as she snapped, “Yeah, the one who keeps demanding to know what’s wrong between me and Yang, and grilling Coco and Velvet about their relationship - I overheard you,” she offered before Weiss could ask.

“Better a busybody than some, some… eavesdropper!”

“Hey, I can’t help it if I have excellent hearing!”

“Girls, will you keep it down to a dull roar?” Yang said from the doorway, the elbow of her good arm leaning against the frame. Not that her other arm was “bad”, but she tended to favour it slightly while it was still healing. “Seriously, what’s the crisis?”

Fists vibrating at her sides, she told her girlfriend, “This germ is insinuating things, Yang!”

“Things that are true!” Blake protested, having abandoned the stew for the moment.

“Yeah, yeah, I overheard. There’s something I don’t get, though.” When neither of them responded, Yang shrugged and added, “What’s so bad about them spending more time with each other? Maybe they’ll move in together. Then you’d both have a sister. Why’s that such a horrible thing?”

Blake didn’t respond at all, simply breathing hard and staring down at the linoleum. But Weiss thought she knew why. This may have still been related to her issues of jealousy over Yang. Not that she expected her to admit as much, even if confronted. It also probably had a lot to do with Kali focusing more of her attention on the Schnee family lately; she would probably feel the same way if her relationship with her own mother were closer than it had been for the past several years.

“Blake, I'm sorry,” Weiss attempted in a more even tone. “I can honestly tell you that I haven't been encouraging them in any way. But I also haven't been discouraging them; I think it's healthy that they each have a friend now. Don't you? I mean, my mother has been trapped in the house for years, only really leaving to go to church and the Country Club. And my father kept her on such a tight leash that she barely even got to do that!”

“What about my mother, huh? She has the Dragons, and her job - and she has me. So what does she need with a… a replacement family?” The instant Weiss raised a hand as if she were going to pet her consolingly, Blake bristled and turned away. “Save it. I need some air. You can handle stirring the stew, right? Can't you, Weiss Belladonna?”

Before either Yang or Weiss could say a word, Blake fled the room and headed for the driveway. They still hadn't spoken to each other when they heard her motorcycle roar to life and fade into the distance.

#princess and the dragons #freezerburn fanfic #rwby fanfiction #rwbyremnants #1950s au

[archdukecaleb]

Freezerburn Week 2020 — Day 7: Free Day

Word Count: 1545

Yang Xiao Long was at the top of the food chain. She was the most popular girl in school, had tons of friends, and was the captain of the volleyball team. Everyone loved her because of her kind heart and willingness to help others. There was a running joke within the walls of Beacon High that compared her to being “the mom of the high school,” all because of how much she genuinely cared about everyone’s wellbeing.

She was superb at making new friends and being the light that brightened up everyone’s day. Her best friend, Blake, and her sister, Ruby, always said she could have whomever she wanted from the school if she would only show interest in them. Yang always thought they were exaggerating, greatly.

Regardless, Yang did not just want anyone from the school. She wanted the right person for herself. Someone special that was complex and interesting, who has more to them than can be seen initially. She believed she knew exactly who that person would be after first meeting her at the beginning of this year.

No one could say they were surprised that she managed to make nice with the infamous Ice Queen of Atlas. Yang always hated that nickname.

It was not the poor girl’s fault she was a little shy; aloof, even. Just because she never spoke to anyone and kept to herself, she had gained the reputation of being a cold loner. Rumor has it she curses everyone’s name behind their backs and has been plotting against them ever since she transferred from Atlas Academy for Girls.

Yang had debunked these rumors early on. She had never believed them to begin with. After talking to the girl for a few weeks, she had learned much about her. She learned she was not a hateful person with a personal vendetta against everyone, but a normal, teenage girl who was trying to find her place in the world like the rest of them. And her name was Weiss Schnee.

But, despite knowing more about Weiss, she still remained as mysterious as the origins of that scar over her left eye.

Yang could tell, ever since they started talking, that Weiss had a hard time growing up.

She would always try to change the subject when their conversations steered towards that time of her life, and she always became really uncomfortable when the topic of family was brought up.

It was after that when Yang decided to make it her personal mission to make Weiss laugh at least once a day. Many days, she was successful, but there were still days where she could only try her best. She was almost certain she was Weiss’ only friend, even after the several months they have been in school so far.

That broke her heart.

Such an amazingly complex person like Weiss deserved more compassion in her life, and Yang wanted to help as much as she could. As time went by, she found herself spending more time by Weiss’ side. She would feel happy when Weiss was happy and sad when she felt forlorn.

Soon, the signs showed themselves and Yang realized what was happening. She had developed a massive crush on Weiss.

Recently, Yang had become awkward around Weiss, which was completely foreign to her. She was always confident in everything she did, but this? The strange feeling in her stomach and sharp increase in her heartbeat were two things she was not used to.

She wanted so badly to delve deeper into Weiss’ story; to be there for her when no one else has, and she knew just the way to get started.

“I’m going to do it, Rubes,” Yang huffed as she walked down the hallway with her math textbook in hand, “I’m going to ask her out.”

Ruby grimaced, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not trying to burst your bubble or anything, but have you ever considered that maybe Weiss actually is as nasty as everyone says she is?”

“Have you actually talked to her?” asked Yang.

“No,” Ruby rolled her eyes, “But only because she refuses to speak to me. I’ve been her lab partner for this whole semester, and I still don’t know what her voice sounds like.”

Yang stopped and faced her younger sister, “That’s just because she’s… reserved.”

“Yang, you could’ve had literally anyone! Why did you have to choose her?”

“I just really like her, okay?” Yang pouted, “Can you just trust me on this one? Please?”

Ruby bit her cheek and sighed, “If you really think Weiss is a nice person… I’ll trust your judgment.”

Yang smiled and patted Ruby’s shoulder, “Thanks, Baby Sis,” she said as they resumed walking, “Now… What the heck do I do!?”

“Can’t you just, I don’t know… ask her out?” Ruby asked, “Just be straight up with her.”

“No way,” said Yang as she shook her head, “Weiss is classy. This needs to be something special, or it won’t work.”

“Um… Give her a flower, too?”

Yang sighed and dragged a hand over her face with a loud groan, “This isn’t going to work, Rubes.”

“Man, when you said Weiss was different, I should’ve believed you,” Ruby chuckled.

“This isn’t funny, Ruby. I want to be with her so bad, but I don’t know if she wants the same with me.”

Ruby pressed her lips into a thin line, “Yang, you are the strongest person I know. Whenever you set your mind on something, you can get it done. If what you said about Weiss is true, she’s just like any other person. For all you know, she could be building up the courage to ask you out too. You just have to shoot your shot, and take that leap of faith.”

Yang let her sister’s words sink in as a wide smile found its home on her face, “Wow, Ruby. That… actually made me feel better. When did you get so good with words?”

Ruby shrugged as Yang let out a chuckle.

“Okay! It’s settled then! I will ask her out!” said Yang, triumphantly as she spotted Weiss organizing things in her locker, “Tomorrow!”

Yang swiftly turned on her heel as the anxious tension in her chest began to expand exponentially.

“Yang,” called an angelic voice from behind her.

Ruby snapped Yang a swift salute and disappeared with the crowd.

Yang cringed and turned around with a toothy grin on her face, “Hiya, Weiss!”

Weiss closed her locker and smiled as she walked the short distance to Yang, “You didn’t come to my locker before first period today. Is everything alright?”

“Oh! Yeah, everything’s cool,” Yang chuckled nervously as her hand instinctively combed through her hair, “I just hit snooze on my alarm too many times.”

Weiss giggled as she reached into her bag, “My calc teacher gave us some candy today. I’m not really a fan of sweets, so I thought I’d take some for you.”

“Oh, cool! Thanks,” smiled Yang as she accepted the candy.

“No problem,” Weiss smiled back, “I have to head to chemistry. If I don’t see you later, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait!” Yang blurted, causing Weiss to turn back, “U-um… Before you go, I just wanted to ask you… something.”

Weiss looked up at Yang with a curious twinkle in her eye, “What is it, Yang?”

Yang chuckled nervously as she timidly placed her hand on the back of her head, “I was just wondering if… If you would— um… If you would maybe want to go with me… on a date… on Friday?”

Weiss’ mouth fell ajar as she scrambled for a response, “Oh! Um. Uh…”

“Y-you don’t have to say ‘yes.’ I completely understand if you don’t want to,” Yang added a little too quickly.

“No!” Weiss nearly shouted, “I mean yes! I do want to go on a date with you… But I can’t.”

The brief spark of joy in Yang’s heart was snuffed out.

“Oh… Okay,” she mumbled as she turned to leave.

“Wait!” Weiss called out this time, “Are you free on Saturday? Could we do it then instead?”

Yang’s eyes widened for a moment, “I think we could… Oh, wait. No, I promised Ruby I would watch her track meet on Saturday.”

Weiss looked at her shoes, “Oh…”

A thick fog of quiet formed around them as the rest of the students in the hall flooded into their classrooms.

“Well… Are you busy today after school?” Yang asked.

Weiss flinched, “Um… No, I’m free for the night.”

“Great,” Yang chirped, “So… I’ll pick you up at seven?”

A wide smile slowly formed on Weiss’ face, “That works for me.”

“Awesome,” Yang grinned, “It’s a date!”

The two girls laughed together as the bell indicating classes have started rang loudly.

“Uh oh. I should probably get to class now. I’m already late,” Yang chuckled.

“Yeah, me too,” said Weiss as she tucked a lock of her white hair behind her ear.

“Okay! I’ll see you later!”

“Bye…”

As Yang turned to walk away, she made sure to wait a few moments before leaping in joy.

“She said yes!”

Little did she know, her date had heard her cry, and could not contain the smile that it enkindled.

#freezerburnweek #@freezerburn-week #rwby #freezerburn #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #weiss x yang

[somedayonbroadway]

Looking at your Newsies AU list, I'd love to see that Now You See Me idea. These fellas strike me as the Robin Hood con artist type

Absolutely I can!

Now You See Me AU

Characters

Jack Kelly- J. Daniel Atlas

Katherine Plumber- Henley Reeves

David Jacobs- Merritt McKinney

Racetrack Higgins- Jack Wilder

Obadiah Wiesel- Arthur Tresler

Joseph Pulitzer- Thaddeus Bradley

Bryan Denton- Dylan Rhodes

Hannah- Alma Dray

Jack Kelly (The Lover)

Jack is an illusionist.

He’s a bit of a ladies man and nows how to get what he wants while also being a complete and utter control freak.

He’s been practicing magic since he was four years old and the last thing he received from his biological parents was a book on magic tricks

He grew up in the system with his little brother, Charlie

He was abused most of his life and used his magic tricks as a way to cheer up his little brother and himself when things got bad

He begins preforming on the streets when he’s fifteen, just to make a little extra money.

At age twenty he is one of the worlds best illusionists.

His little brother gets really sick when Jack is sixteen. Charlie is twelve by then. Bone cancer.

Since they’re in the system and his foster family gives them up so that they don’t have to deal with it, Jack finds a lot of the pressure on himself to provide for his little brother and keep him alive.

The system splits them up, placing Jack with a Mr. Snyder and Charlie with a Miss Medda who promises to help

Jack has to run to avoid getting killed by his foster father. But he still sneaks over to the hospital to see Charlie once a week. And he steals for the orphans he left behind in that boys home.

Medda knows he’s there but never calls him out.

Charlie survives but is not truly out of the clear. Jack visits him whenever he can.

Jack lives on the streets doing magic until he’s eighteen. He buys an apartment and starts doing actual shows with his assistant, Katherine Plumber.

Jack Kelly actually begins to become fairly famous. Him and his assistant are proud. They make good money before they split up when Jack was around 22.

Jack gets his card when he’s 24. His card to join “The Eye”.

He’s doing a street show, just for fun.

He does a card trick for a young, beautiful, drunk girl who he ends up taking home that night and almost sleeping with before he sees it.

He kicks her out of his apartment and immediately gets ready to go on his way.

Katherine Plumber (High Priestess)

Katherine is an escape artist.

Katherine had a relatively normal childhood. Mom, Dad (who worked all the time). 

She was an only child. 

When she’s little, she learns about this magician names Harry Houdini

Baby Katherine is fascinated 

Growing up, she’s a bit of a loner, the only people who really talked to her being teenage pricks who wanted to get in her pants. 

Her father was a great magician too. She wanted to be just like him. Except, when she was around seventeen, he quit, instead choosing to depict the illusions rather than perform them.

Katherine left home the day after she graduated high school, running off to join some magic act where she meets the famous Jack Kelly.

Yes, they sleep together. Several times. But their quest for fame gets the better of both of them and things don’t quite work out at first.

She leaves Jack when she’s 24 and starts her own shows and acts, doing magnificent escapes and tricks

She gets her card when she’s 25

She’s doing a show for a paying audience. She does a morbid trick that involves chains, a glass box filled with water and flesh eating piranhas.

She finds the card floating in the large tank after her show.

David Jacobs (The Hermit)

David is a mentalist.

This means many different things.

First off, he can hypnotize people easily. He is self taught and very good.

Second, he can read people easily, causing people to believe that he’s psychic or can actually read minds.

Third, he’s overall just very smart and takes information in easily, which helps him out a lot in his career path.

David grows up poor, with his father and his mother and his little brother. He has to start working when he’s sixteen and he does mentalism on the side which actually brings him a lot of cash considering he kind of shakes people down by threatening to give up all their secrets that he gets out of them

He’s very smart.

The most important person in his life is his little brother

His father can’t work after he breaks his leg. It never fully heals.

It’s David’s job to support for his family.

David’s mentalism career takes off when he’s about 23. He does a couple tours around the US. But all of his money goes straight to his family.

His career dies down when his father dies and he has to go take care of his mother and baby brother.

He gets his card when he’s 26.

He’s doing a street show for some tourists where he meets a couple.

He figures out that the husband is actually cheating on his wife with his wife’s sister and he forces the husband to give him everything in his wallet in order to make the wife forget she heard it.

He does it to a lot of people that take their family for granted.

Racetrack Higgins (Death)

Race is a sleight of hand. More well known as a pickpocket.

He is also very good at throwing cards and using them as weapons.

He has anxiety.

Race grows up as an orphan.

He’s put through a lot of homes and is taken advantage of a couple of times by some foster parents.

Eventually he lands in a boys home run by a mister Snyder.

He’s about ten when he lands there. He never meets Jack officially, only sees him a couple of times at the window, passing around some food and blankets to the littles.

The kids are like vultures. They grab for it even though Jack asks them to share. None of them know him since he ran before all of them got there. They just know him as the boy who brings them gifts.

Only once does Race get to talk to him. When Jack realizes he never gets any food or blankets. He makes a point to give Race some.

Race looks up to Jack so much even before he really knows him.

Snyder is cruel to Race.

Race is loud and likes to talk back so Snyder constantly locks him in closets or in the basement. He starves him and makes him do chores before locking him up again.

Race gets sick of it fast. So he teaches himself how to pick locks. He teaches himself how to lift things off of people like food and wallets and anything he can just to survive.

When he’s thirteen he runs away. He wants to be just like the mysterious boy who helped him and the other boys out for so long.

But he’s too scared to go back.

Eventually, he finds the boy who helped him. Jack Kelly. He’s a magician. And Race is his biggest fan.

Race starts teaching himself how to do magic after he sees his hero do it so easily and confidently.

Living out on the streets, Race gets amazingly good at pickpocketing and sleight of hand tricks. He also gets very good with cards. Throwing them, of course.

He gets his card when he’s seventeen.

He’s doing a trick on a ferry ride, promising that if someone could figure out how he bent a spoon with his mind, he’d give them a hundred dollars.

One man figures it out, but the second he steps up, Race slips his wallet off of him, giving him a hundred from the man’s own wallet and taking the rest.

Then he runs and jumps off the ferry as it pulls away.

He finds a card in his pocket only a couple minutes later.

The Four Horsemen

These four magicians meet at an apartment building, all believing they were the only ones chosen to be apart of a group called the eye — the cards being their invitation. (The eye is an exclusive group that defends and protects magic, just to sum that up real quick). David arrives first, finding that the door is locked and waiting to see if it will be unlocked.

Only moments later do Jack and Katherine find each other in the streets and immediately recognize each other. Jack tells her to wait outside while he takes a look, trying to protect her or be the gentlemen when she immediately pushes him away and walks up to the apartment first.

The minute they get there David laughs and shakes his head, disappointed that he wasn’t the only one chosen. He immediately does a read on Jack, concluding that he is an artist as well as an illusionist and a control freak who may or may not have an OCD problem in every aspect but his art. He pretends to know Katherine’s name, but Jack quickly points out that it’s on the coffee cup she’s holding because he doesn’t like Davey all that much right off the bat.

David hates that Jack calls him Davey.

They start to argue a bit while Jack tries to open the door, when they are interrupted by the last member of the future crew. A teenager who sees Jack and freezes for a moment. Race recognizes Jack. Jack does not recognize him.

Race goes fully into fan mode, telling Jack how he’s seen every trick Jack has ever done and how all of it was so impressive and cool. And Jack would thank him and shake his hand David would ask if he got a card, at which point they would reveal all of theirs (Lover, Prietess, Hermit and Death) and Race would ask why they were all standing around and they’d tell him the door was locked, in which Race would reply that nothing was ever locked and he’d pick the lock and let them all in.

That’s where they’d find plans. A lot of plans. A years worth. It would be hidden by some effects. Water and dry ice and lights.

A Year Later

These four magicians are books out in Las Vegas where they are doing a spectacular magic show. At the end of which they promise an audience member that they are going to rob their bank. They do. And they give their audience 3.2 million dollars.

That’s when the FBI is tipped off.

Agent Bryan Denton of the FBI is put on this case which he calls stupid and low profile because the people they were trying to catch were magicians. He goes to their hotel with a small team and arrests them. The four horsemen (as they call themselves) are smug and not at all concerned as they are led away in handcuffs in front of a cheering crowd.

Denton easily notices that the group is a bit tight knit. He notices that Jack gravitates towards Race a bit when they are arrested, like he wants to protect him a bit more than the others.

When Denton goes into interrogate them, he’s told that Interpol will be assisting them on this case. That’s when he’s assigned a temporary partner. Hannah Dray. He doesn’t appreciate the help and constantly tells her she’s not needed but brings her into interrogation anyways. But she is the one that connects with the people they interrogate, beginning with the man who was chosen to have his bank stolen.

It is revealed the man was hypnotized during the show and a trigger word will make him believe he is a violinist playing in an orchestra.

Denton and Dray interrogate all the magicians, where they are told by Jack that they have no ground to arrest them because if they did it would be like the FBI was admitting that they believed in magic and they couldn’t possibly do that.

In the end, the four horsemen are released.

Denton immediately questions that decisions where his coworkers ask him what changed and he says he met them.

One of the other agents rushes up to tell Denton that someone recorded the entire show. A Joseph Pulitzer. A former magician who now reveals tricks in TV specials.

Pulitzer meets with them and takes them down to Vegas where the trick was done and shows them how it was pulled off, consisting of the four horsemen targeting the man in the audience and hypnotizing him to believe he is actually in Paris when the truth is They’s robbed a Paris bank prior to the trick.

The four horsemen get on a plane to go to their next show.

Their benefactor, mister Wiesel is traveling with them to New Orleans for their next show. The horsemen joke around with him and Jack, to show Davey up, tries to get a read on Wiesel by simply looking at him and fails miserably.

The FBI and Pulitzer attend the next performance, conveniently taking place during Mardi Gras. The four horsemen start their show and explain that they have four separate acts that they are going to make work together.

It’s a spectacular performance.

Prior to this, the FBI figures out that Jack is a pretty big control freak. He puts trackers on the entire team. Not just the horsemen, but stage hands as well.

What they don’t really know is that it’s more to make sure they’re all okay at all times.

At this show, the horsemen admit that every audience member was a victim of hurricane Katrina and they were tricked by their insurance company. Wiesel insurance.

They rob Wiesel and the Denton immediately runs up to arrest them, showing “freeze” as Jack waves to him, only to be tackled to the ground by hypnotized audience members.

Hannah, Denton and Jack eventually end up in a chase through the crowds of New Orleans. Hannah catches up to Jack for a second, holding him at gunpoint, but letting Jack slip away, not shooting on account of him not having a weapon. Denton gets irritated and chases after him again. Jack eventually loses them with the help of Race who plants Jack’s tracker in Denton’s own pocket.

Denton questions Hannah’s motives later that night and Hannah tells him she’s just doing her job. Eventually she tells him about the eye and some tricks that she had to look so far into the past to figure out.

At some point during their chat, Denton realizes that they planted a bug on him, leading him to discover that Jack had lifted his phone off of him during their interrogation and had planted a clone on him instead.

Denton tells them to leave the bug in the phone, believing themselves to finally be ahead of the horsemen.

Meanwhile the horsemen are panicking back at their hideout in New York where the FBI now knows they are. Jack destroys Denton’s phone as they scramble to execute the plan they were given perfectly.

Race in particular is frantic.

He keeps telling them all that he doesn’t think he can do this and that he doesn’t want something to go wrong. He sees his card. Death. He doesn’t want to die.

Jack eventually lashes out and tells him that if he wants they to stop treating him like he kid and more like an adult, then he needs to start acting like one and just do this. Race is taken aback and almost starts crying, which is when Jack tells him to stay and burn it all, only offering him a small pat on the back as a sort of comfort.

Jack feels bad about it but doesn’t have time to offer Race much else.

Davey, Katherine and Jack all leave Race to destroy the evidence in the apartment they met at.

Denton finds him.

Race tries to sneak away, trying to avoid the FBI, but is forced to engage in a fight that ends up being another epic chase. Race uses his sleight of hand techniques to trap another FBI agent, as well as disgusting his voice to sound like Denton to ward off the rest of the FBI and then fighting by throwing cards, pulling disappearing acts and eventually rushing out of the apartment and sliding down a garbage shoot.

He lifts the keys to an official FBI vehicle where Hannah, who wasn’t allowed to go inside on account of jurisdiction, catches sight of him. He drives away and she commenders a car where her and Denton end up chasing him onto the Brooklyn Bridge where Racer ultimately crashes and dies in a big fiery car crash.

Denton tries to pull him from the burning wreckage, only able to grab onto the plans the kid had been trying to hide from him before the car explodes.

Pulitzer calls Denton up after the whole thing, asking Denton how much he trusts Hannah. Denton then questions her place there once again, accusing her of being the mastermind behind the four horsemen.

Only a day later, the remaining three horsemen release a video on YouTube, where Jack tries to explain that they will be having one more show in Race’s honor as he tries not to cry. Davey has to finish for him.

Denton is all over it, feeling guilty over having a teenager die like that and wanting the horsemen to answer for it.

The FBI use Race’s papers to find the next planned crime scene, where they stop the safe from being driven away and put it on full time guard. Pulitzer shows up and tells them to open it, where it is revealed to them that the safe they have is full of balloon animals and magician’s props.

The FBI heads to the horsemen’s show, Hannah and Denton stay together and try to figure out the horsemen’s play. The horsemen DONT truly gives a show, instead saying goodbye to their audience when the show had hardly even begun and managing to jump off the roof of the building they were on, showering their audience with fake money that had their faces on them.

The FBI finds all the stolen money overflowing out of Pulitzer’s car. They arrest him.

Pulitzer waits in a cell until Denton comes down to visit him, where Pulitzer explains to him that he was framed and that he knows how the horsemen did it. He tells Denton that the safe never left the building it had been in and that someone had planted a mirror in the room to make it look like the room had been empty. And while the FBI had gone after the fake safe, someone broke into the warehouse to steal the money.

It was Racetrack Higgins.

Denton said that that was impossible. That Race had died right in front of him. But Pulitzer would explain easily. The other three horsemen had been on the bridge waiting for him. Davey drove a bus, Jack drove a cab and Katherine drove van. They got Race out of view of the FBI for a second where Davey let an identical car lose and had it crash, a cadaver from the mall at the wheel. Race made it out just fine.

Denton asks Pulitzer who put it all together. Pulitzer says he doesn’t know but it had to have been someone on the inside.

He turns around for only a second to think.

When he turns back, Denton has disappeared. Pulitzer then realizes who had been behind it all.

Meanwhile, Jack and Kath and Davey make their way to Central Park where they find the gate locked only for one Racetrack Higgins to come up and tell them that nothings ever locked.

Jack pulls Race into a hug and apologizes for yelling at him and Race holds on a little tighter than he means to.

This is the only real family he’s ever had.

They make their way to the center of the park towards the carrousel. That’s when they see the mastermind.

The one and only Bryan Denton.

Denton tells them that they did phenomenal and are now apart of the eye.

About a week later, Hannah is back in France at her regular job where she sits on a bench to read the paper. She finds an article from twenty years ago stuck in the middle of it.

And Denton sits down next to her.

He explains that his father was a famous magician who had been called a fraud by Pulitzer who revealed all his tricks. He explained that his family had been tricked out of their money by their insurance company, Wiesel insurance. He tells her that he is the fifth horsemen.

And she tells him that some things are better left a mystery.

I wanna write scene from this. What scenes should I write?

Thank you, Anon! For more AU’s, check out my list!

#newsies #now you see me #jack kelly #katherine plumber #david jacobs #racetrack higgins #bryan denton #newsies live #newsies musical #1992 newsies #anonymous #anon #anon response #magic #magicians #modern day robin hood #theives #j daniel atlas #henley reeves #merrit mckinney #jack wilder #illusionist #escape artist #mentalist #sleightofhand #much love #newsies au #hannah #joseph pulitzer #obadiah wiesel

[ma-lemons]

“he had to go”

@happyhedgehogren had an idea: Ruby finds out Oscar was killed by Ironwood. Angst.

——————————————

Ruby sighed. She shifted towards the right so her head was resting Penny’s shoulder. Penny, the Winter Maiden. Her friend was silent, only turning her hands over and over again, as if she couldn’t believe what had just happened to her. Weiss was lost in thought, presumably because of her sister. The way Winter had looked at Weiss, cold and hard—Ruby could never imagine Yang looking at her like that.

Jaune, Nora and Ren were seated on their benches, all of them with difficult expressions. Jaune wore a face of guilt, and Nora... Ruby had never seen Nora look so distraught. Heartbroken. Ren was turned to the side, his fingers trembling. What they had went through with Neo, no one had any clue. Now Oscar was gone and it was hitting them hard.

It was hitting her hard too. Oscar told JNR he had something he needed to do, and that was the last they heard of him. Ironwood was a tyrant, Oscar was gone, Neo had the lamp and Uncle Qrow—

Ruby shot up. “Uncle Qrow!” She looked around at her friends as their heads perked up. A forlorn Blake glanced around. Yang’s eyes widened in realization.

“Where is he?” Ruby asked quietly.

“Last we heard, he was with Robyn and Clover,” Blake muttered.

Clover.

The arrest warrant had been made for her uncle too. Had Qrow been arrested? If he hadn’t, where was he?

“We can’t leave without him,” Ruby stated.

“Do you want me to land this thing?” Maria asked, exasperated.

The Huntress turned to the door. “No. Turn around and I’ll drop off at the Academy. I’m finding Uncle Qrow.” And Oscar too, she promised to herself.

“I’m coming with you,” Yang resolved, standing up. Blake nodded, and Weiss glanced at Penny before standing up too.

“So will we.”

Ruby turned back, her eyes flashing. “No! Stay here. I’m not losing anyone else.”

Silence echoed through the room as Ruby’s words left her mouth. It was colder in the airship. She had said I’m not losing anyone else, not we.

Her voice was firm and unwavering, her eyes steely, yet her body shook, as if she was on the verge of tears.

Yang wouldn’t take no for an answer. She wasn’t leaving her sister alone with an enemy. “I’m coming with you. We’ll find Qrow, together.”

Ruby’s patience with her sister was running thin, but she wasn’t trying to cause a scene. The ribbons tied around her heart were slowly loosening, and if they all snapped, she’d snap as well. She felt overly warm, her body wasn’t keeping cool like the rest of the ship. She was upset, she knew it. But losing her head wasn’t going to help them find her uncle or Oscar.

Ruby turned back to Yang, her face inscrutable. Willing her hands to stay unclenched, she met her sister’s violet eyes. They held sincerity and they held concern. But right now, she didn’t have time for either of those.

She knew everyone’s eyes were on her as she spoke her next words. Fine.

“Yang...”

“Okay, what if I stay at the entrance? I’ll only come in if you need help,” Yang cut in.

Ruby considered this. Her sister was more than capable of taking care of herself. But Ironwood still had warrants on them, and there were more Atlesian Huntsmen than the AceOps to face out there. She blinked twice.

“... Okay. Let’s go.”

Weiss grasped Ruby’s hand on her way to the door, and Blake told them both to be careful. Ruby immediately regretted sniping at them, and murmured a tight “I’m sorry” in passing.

Maria, who had quickly turned around, didn’t hesitate to press the button for the hatch door to open. The blistering wind filed the room, but Ruby didn’t feel cold. The ship hovered a little ways from the Academy, but she knew depsitw the wind, she’d have little difficulty landing where she wanted. Crescent Rose was attached to her hip, she was fully loaded with Dust... and a new attitude. Enough negotiation. The general had no idea who he was really dealing with.

Ruby eyes her sister, who simply greeted her with a cocky smile.

“Ready when you are, sis.”

Her spirits lifted a little as she turned back to Jaune, Nora, Ren, Maria, Pietro, Penny, Blake, Weiss.

“We’ll be back. That’s a promise,” she declared. Her arms spread open, like a bird through the skies, before she made her exit.

———————————————————————

At the entrance of the Academy, Ruby gave her sister an apologetic smile.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to be get upset with you, I... I’m just ready to leave this place,” Ruby said, holding her shoulder.

“It’s okay for you to be upset. I’m not blaming you,” Yang reassured her. “But if you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m coming after you. And that’s non-negotiable.”

Ruby nodded in affirmation before busting through the doors of Atlas Academy. She was sure that the Academy housed a temporary cell for certain inmates before they were transferred to the actual prison. That’s where her uncle would be.

She rushed passed the entrance, and past the area where the defeated AceOps bodies had disappeared. That was quick. Too quick.

Her eyes darted around the room, checking for any signs for an ambush. The same doors ahead of her were still pried open. Had Ironwood returned to his office? Did he know she would be coming?

Fingers grasping her weapon, Ruby braced herself before squeezing into the hole she made earlier that day.

The room of stars was dimly lit, a stark contrast to what it was hours before. A shadow of a man stood, facing the window. The general.

“There’s still an arrest warrant out for you. I should be apprehending you right now,” Ironwood spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion.

“We already defeated your Ace Operatives. I wouldn’t try that,” she spat out coldly. “I’m here for my uncle. I know you have him in custody.”

The general turned around, and if Ruby weren’t so angered, she would I’ve gasped at the sight of him. Whatever light was previously in his eyes had vanished.

“Your uncle is right where he needs to be. In prison.”

“He’s innocent, he didn’t do—“

“Your uncle killed Clover Ebi, the leader of the AceOps,” he murmured.

Ruby froze, but only for a moment before recovering. “He would never. He wouldn’t kill Clover.”

Ironwood shook his head in disbelief and held up his scroll. There was a picture of her uncle’s bloodied weapon.

“Then why was Clover found dead in the middle of the tundra, Qrow over his lifeless body?” Ironwood roared. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you!”

“Trust!” Ruby exploded. Her face was a dark shade of red, and her fingers were itching to swing Crescent Rose at his neck. “Trust!”

“You asked for our trust, and you wanted us to put our faith in you! And we did! We helped you, we trained with your soldiers, we were helping your kingdom!”

“You lied about the Relic, you lied about Ozpin—what trust? You defeated my men and killed one too! Who’s to say that you weren’t planning to kill me as well?” the general sneered.

He was off the deep end. Whatever wisdom, sense, compassion the general once had... was gone.

“You can’t speak about trust,” Ruby uttered, “when your men first came after us and then arrested us. We put our faith in you, even when you and Uncle Qrow didn’t see on the same page. Even when we didn’t see on the same page. We thought you were better. But you’re just another Leo.”

At that, Ironwood crushed the scroll in his hands. The thin piece of technology, nothing but a palmful of wires and metal. His body trembled, and he took a deep breath before saying, “Don’t compare me to him. Leo was a coward. Leo was weak. My men arrested you because you stole an airship. We had no reason to trust you. But we did anyway.” Ironwood turned back to his window. “A foolish mistake.”

“And we trusted you, despite you dehumanizing Penny and neglecting Mantle. The things you said, the things you did... everything about you seemed so heartless”, Ruby whispered, shivering. Her anger had subsided momentarily, but now she was very aware of the gun Ironwood had laid on the table. Her aura wasn’t depleted, but she didn’t have as much energy as she thought she did. She would have to be careful.

“Then I guess we cannot trust each other. I certainly couldn’t trust your uncle around my soldier.”

Ruby cringed inwardly; Qrow wouldn’t kill without a reason. Especially Clover. It could have been self-defense or....

“Wasn’t Tyrian on the ship?”

Ironwood stilled, and turned back to meet her stare.

“Wasn’t Tyrian on the ship?” Ruby repeated, her tone growing cold.

“Tyrian had escaped when we found them.”

“Then... couldn’t Tyrian have killed Clover with my uncle’s weapon?”

“That doesn’t matter! The evidence showed that it was Qrow, not Tyrian, who killed Clover!” Ironwood roared, his eyes flashing, his fist slamming on the table.

Ruby swallowed. There was no way to convince the general to let her uncle go. At least he was somewhere with Robyn—and he could take care of himself. She didn’t like the idea of being away from her uncle, especially after he had been with them since their journey began. But he was more than capable of handling himself, and Maria had to get the ship away from Atlas soon, before Ironwood struck it down, or did something equally as drastic.

She wondered if it was cowardly to leave Uncle Qrow behind. Should she have brought Yang and the rest of her team to force the general to give him back?

Oscar. Her mind flew from person to person, and then she remembered Oscar.

She looked back to the general, who was muttering to himself, frantically.

“... Salem’s here, and he’s gone. Finally...”

“Who’s gone?” Ruby asked, eyebrow raised.

Ironwood barely spared her a glance before staring at his gun. “He’s gone. And you won’t find him.”

“Who is gone?” Ruby asked again, her voice laced with venom. Her heartbeat accelerated, and the fear that something sinister had happened in the Academy was growing larger.

“He’s dead. He’s finally dead.”

“Tell me, who are you talking about?” Ruby shouted, her voice unwavering.

Ironwood met her gazeand smiled. Not a warm, inviting smile. But a weary smile. “Ozpin is dead. His soul isn’t in that boy—he’s somewhere else. But he’s not here to get in my mind. Finally, I’ve rid of him.” He seemed unstable, like Tyrian, but not at the same time. No one could quite tell what was on Tyrian’s mind. Ironwood’s intentions, on the other hand, were a bit clearer. He saw everyone who hadn’t been trained under him, who didn’t respond to his every beck and call, as the enemy.

Ruby, however, was focused on something else.

Ozpin was dead.

Ozpin was dead.

Oscar was dead.

Ruby didn’t hesitate, didn’t think, didn’t breathe, as she unleashed Crescent Rose and charged towards the general. Within seconds, her scythe was placed at the base of his throat. His body was pressed up against the window, Ruby’s agitated motions pinning him against it, harder and harder.

Ironwood was seeing the girl, her cheeks flushed, her eyes constricted. It was the expression of a wild, untamed loss. And this was a girl who had been through loss so many times. This loss was not moved by sadness, however. It was propelled by her rage. Never had he seen her look so feral. Ruby Rose, the poster child of innocence, had her weapon held against a top politician’s neck. If the world could only see her now...

Ruby wasn’t sure what to process first, the fact that Oscar was dead, or that the general was the one to kill him. Either way, she couldn’t help but push the top part of her scythe further into his neck. Not enough to draw blood. Not yet.

All her feelings were rising in her throat, threatening to spill out. The thoughts of Oscar, her friend, and so much more being dead... no, no, it couldn’t be.

“What the hell did you do to him?” she growled. Ironwood made no effort to push her off, he only closed his eyes and said, “I shot him. I had to. He had to go.”

“Explain from the beginning, what happened,” Ruby snarled again. Her brain felt as if it was going to explode, and her body was burning up.

“He came down to talk to me,” Ironwood choked out. “I was at my wits end... I had to do it. He went off the edge. He’s gone.”

Ruby, now hearing the truth, could only imagine a sad pair of hazel-ish eyes staring at her. Oscar, a noble soul from the very beginning. She had only known him for a short while, but it felt like much longer. She hiccuped, and bit her lip to keep from crying.

Then regaining her composure, she strengthened her grip on her weapon. The general’s skin cut, and blood bubbled up, spilling onto the silver blade.

“Heh... I’d never imagine you of all people to kill so easily.”

“Shut up,” her harsh voice echoed. The taste of iron filled her mouth. Dammit. She bit too hard. She was still weak, still too small. If only... if only she was strong enough to just end—

“You wouldn’t dare kill me. You don’t have it in you. Unless, you’re more like your uncle than I anticipated?” Ironwood jeered, a sick smile plastered onto his face.

At that moment, Ruby’s limbs fell slack and she released her grip off her weapon. What the general did was like a blow to her stomach. He used that opportunity to actually kick her in the stomach, sending her flying across his office.

Ruby barely had time to register what had happened with she heard the sound of the general cocking his gun.

Flying to her feet, she sucked in a breath and gazed at the man in front of her. His gloved hand wiped the blood off his neck.

“Never... never speak about my uncle that way again. The only murderer here, is you. I’m not letting you get away with this.” Heavy breaths; she was struggling to keep her breathing even.

This is for you, Oscar.

Ruby made her resolve. She wasn’t sure if she could bring herself to kill the headmaster, but she sure as hell wasn’t letting him go unscathed. Part of her felt thrilled seeing the blood bubble from his throat. The panic that flashed across his face. In that moment, it didn’t feel so bad. But to kill Ironwood wouldn’t make her any better than... Watts, Cinder, or Tyrian, for instance. Was she just holding back? If she gave into this craving, this desire for justice and revenge, would she become just like them?

She shivered at the thought, and recovered herself. No. If Oscar were here, he’d tell her that she was more than Cinder. Her sister and friends would tell her she was more. When Tyrian was going after her uncle, she didn’t hesitate and did what she needed to do. She knew her worth. And she knew who she was.

Ironwood picked up his gun and directed it at her. Ruby grit her teeth and held Crescent Rose.

“For Oscar,” she murmured.

Ruby watched Ironwood pull the trigger and bolted to the side, allowing her time to transform her weapon into its gun form and shoot it at him. Flames shot out of the gun, and Ironwood barely missed it.

“You and I both know that Ozpin was nothing but a manipulator. He lied to you, he lied to me, he lied to the world!” Ironwood spat. Ruby didn’t hesitate and fired another shot at him. His aura trembled, and Ruby knew that it had not been fully restored. They were now at opposite sides of the room, Ironwood near the door, and Ruby on his desk.

“You shouldn’t have killed him,” she murmured.

Her mind told her that he was dead, but her heart told her she needed to believe he wasn’t. Ozpin could have returned and saved them. Oscar’s semblance could’ve been activated. Anything could have happened between that ledge and what lay below it. Oscar could be alive.

“I know the boy was fighting alongside his teammates. He’s good as dead. There was no way he survived that fall.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. Without hesitation, her weapon was a scythe again and she flew at the general. “His name, is Oscar,” she bit back, his name almost getting stuck in her throat.

Her weapon shattered his aura and it dissolved. Now would be her chance. The perfect opportunity.

“Ruby!” Her sister’s voice broke her concentration. The Huntress’s eyes flitted to the gap between the door. Ironwood took that opportunity to slam into them and escape. Ruby went after him, swinging her weapon as she went along.

Outside in the main foyer, Ironwood was in the middle of the hall, pointing his gun at her.

Dammit.

“You wouldn’t dare.” His teeth grit, his eyes ferocious.

“I would,” she replied simply.

Yang’s voice echoed throughout the school again, until Ruby spotted her blonde locks from the corner of her eye.

“Ruby, what are you doing?” It was momentary, but Ruby tore her gaze away from Yang, back to the general, who was turned to shoot at her sister—

“No!” And she once again was speed. Despite how fatigued she was, she broke down into the same bloodred petals and funneled herself to the general, tackling him onto the ground. Now she was over his body, his arms pinned down. He could easily overtake her. But he didn’t.

“You will never hurt anyone I love again,” she promised. Her eyes were getting wet again. She dug her fingernails into the general’s coat and wished she could just, just rip off his arms.

Now she was cold. Earlier, her body was warm, was hot, had burned up. Now the Huntress was colder than the evening wind that tore through the school. Her heart was beating, beating, beating, irregularly.

“You-you broke... through my aura... if you want to kill me... go rig-right ahead,” Ironwood coughed. His lips still had that faint smile that she wanted to wipe off ages ago. He was still waiting for whatever came next.

All it would take is one move and he’d be done—

“Ruby, don’t!”

Suddenly, she was held in an embrace. She looked down and saw her sister’s hands wrapped around her shoulders, her chest. Ruby’s eyes widened, and she looked in horror at where her hands were placed. As if they had moved of their own accord, they were placed so close, so close to the general’s neck.

“Ruby...”

The Huntress allowed her sister to pull her off the general. Yang had one fist directed at him, in case he tried anything. And rather than fighting back, he scampered away.

Her bones suddenly felt very weary, her muscles weak. All the tension building up on her, she had to let it go.

Oscar...

The tears pooling up in her eyes brimmed in the corners. She allowed them to fall, to spill, to make streams down her cheeks. One drop after the other until each one was no longer discernible.

Yang held her as the soft tears broke into loud sobs and gasps and hiccups. She shouted Oscar’s name, refusing to quiet down. Her heart was broken. Yang assumed the worst and shed some tears of her own.

The day he had met her, he had noticed her eyes.

She was interested in him, even after finding out Ozpin had reincarnated into him.

She finally told someone, him, how she was feeling about the fall of Beacon.

They had sparred together. They were both horrible at it.

He had came to her defense at Haven.

He had her back in Argus.

He wished her good luck before their last mission with the AceOps.

He was always there, always supporting her. She cared for him, genuinely and truly. And now, there was only a gaping hole in her heart, that his presence had filled.

It was disheartening to think that she didn’t realize how much his friendship meant to her until he was gone. She always thought they would have a lifetime of shy smiles, awkward laughs, and sparring sessions together. She had his back, he had hers. Who had Oscar’s back when Ironwood shot him? Who was there to save him?

Feelings of guilt, heartache, grief—she couldn’t begin to fathom any of it. Never mind that Ozpin had probably found a new host—and could take months to find them, her friend was dead. And all it took was a little bullet to send him over the edge. Right into his heart.

She didn’t want Ozpin to find a new host. She didn’t need another Oscar, another life to get used to. She didn’t want to meet another boy, man, whoever, another person who would help them on their mission. She wanted the boy who had walked into their home with her drunk uncle and had shyly asked for her. She wanted the boy who blushed and turned away every time her gaze lingered on him a little too long. She wanted to hug Oscar and laugh and cry with him. She wanted to think it was all a joke and he would walk into the room right now, and Ruby would thank her lucky stars while threatening to beat Oscar up to a pulp. She wanted one last goodbye, at the very least, a moment to tell him how she really felt. But that chance was gone. Ironwood had made the Academy Oscar’s grave.

Ruby shook and shuddered underneath her sister’s warm cocoon. She was enveloped in love, but it felt so distant in the moment. It felt so dim and dark.

She let out another piercing cry, and Yang frowned. She had not only come into the building to check up on her sister, but to remind her of what lay ahead. But seeing how she was so crushed, so melancholic, she couldn’t bring herself to do so. The dark, thunderous clouds had started to make their way into Atlas’s atmosphere. They swirled with reds and blacks and yellows. The air reeked of Grimm. Salem was here, and the ship was still waiting for them. Though she knew how much of a threat the immortal witch was, seeing her in this condition, Yang couldn’t bear to tell her sister the bigger threat to come.

So even if it was for a moment, the older sister let her younger one bawl in her lap, let her cry a little longer.

————————————————

after.

in this scenario, Salem didn’t actually show up in Atlas, rather, she can project a physical copy of herself if she gathers enough strength. somehow our heroes overcome, and this is after the fact, when atlas is plunged into darkness and mantle is still suffering.

Ruby’s skin was paper thin. She glanced in the dirty mirror, the dim lights barely giving her what she needed to see. Hollow, sunken cheeks looked back at her. Her eyes lacked the shine they once had. Her hair had grown out to her shoulders, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care to trim it, to take care of it, she just let nature take its course.

She didn’t want to call it depression, she refused to call it such. She was still mourning, was all. They had held an impromptu funeral for the boy weeks after the attacks, and Ruby could only stare into the hole where the his body was supposed to be.

“Ruby! Our rations have arrived; come get yours before it gets too cold!” Nora’s voice ripped through her thoughts.

Rations, that’s what they had to rely on. Seemed like what eveyeone had to rely on these days. But she no longer felt like eating.

During Salem’s siege, Blake and Weiss managed to help Qrow and Robyn escape. Robyn pretty much put herself in charge, as Qrow hadn’t gotten over Clover’s death, and got angry whenever someone brought up Oscar’s.

There was questions about their next steps. Salem only sent a replica of herself and in seeing all the havoc she had wreaked, who knew how much more damage could be done when she actually arrived. That was her final threat before retreating.

Mark my words, I will be back. I will be back, just as I know Ozpin will be. And it doesn’t matter who he reincarnates in. I will kill him over and over and over until there’s no hope for humanity left in him. Until he realizes that the fight he thought he was fighting, was never one to begin with. How can there be a fight when I am already the victor?

“Ruby! Come on, Jaune’s threatening to eat your food!” Nora yelled, knocking loudly on the door. At that, Ruby jumped, her heart thudding in her chest.

“I’m coming,” she muttered. Splashing water on her face, she switched the lights off and left the bathroom.

The others were gathered around the table. Robyn, Penny and her father, Maria, JNR, her own team, her uncle. All banned from Atlas, sent down to Mantle to figure out what to do next. Did they wait for Ozpin to reincarnate and hope he would get to Mantle soon? Did they find the Summer Maiden and head to Vacuo? No one was quite sure what to do, and secretly, everyone wished to succumb to the darkness that overlooked the skies, and simply, give up. The others were on the roster of volunteers who passed out rations, occasionally going out to give citizens cans. People were so desperate for food that they didn’t mind that Ironwood hadn’t communicated with Mantle in weeks nor that the wall still wasn’t finished. Atlesian Huntsmen were so preoccupied doing... whatever they were doing up there, that it was up to Ruby’s group to dispense justice and ward off the Grimm. It was cold, it was dark. However, Grimm attacks were the least of anyone’s problems at the moment. Especially Ruby’s. After Salem’s departure, she didn’t touch her weapon, only glanced at it in passing.

Ruby sat on her stool within the cramped dining room of the hovel they were staying in, and scooped a chunk of beans into her mouth. If she forced herself to eat, her sister wouldn’t pester her about it later.

“How are you today?” Weiss asked her. Weiss always asked her this question, just to make sure she hadn’t went too far gone. Ruby appreciated the sentiment, but that question was getting redundant.

No, she didn’t mean that. She loved Weiss; and was grateful she cared.

The yellowish lights buzzed above them. Ruby answered Weiss half-heartedly, chewing her beans and lost in thought. She then remembered a time when Weiss and Oscar tasted her cooking, when she had put lima beans in her rice for “flavor”. Needless to say, it wasn’t very good. The look of disgust he had on his face...

“Heh.”

Yang’s eyes widened. “She laughed,” she murmured. Everyone else seemed to agree, all looking at Ruby in bewilderment.

Ruby, stared back at them, equally confused. “What? What did I do?”

Qrow, who sat next to her, gave her a small smile. “You laughed a bit. Saw that old Ruby spark come out of you.”

Old Ruby spark, huh.

Ruby went back to eating her beans, her eyes wandering over to the sitting room, where Crescent Rose was propped up against the wall.

She hadn’t touched it in weeks. She missed its smooth finish, the feel of the trigger behind her finger. The thrill of fighting. All of those desires called to her, to the more familiar side of herself, the one that had retreated into her heart.

“He would’ve wanted you to keep fighting,” Penny piped up.

Ruby and everyone else turned to Penny, whose dish was empty, since she didn’t get hungry much.

“W-what?” Ruby asked, her voice hushed.

“You look at Crescent Rose with longing. He would’ve wanted you to pick it up and do what you loved doing most. Wouldn’t he?” The girl looked around the table, looking for someone who would disagree with her.

Ruby didn’t reply, but chewed thoughtfully. She missed Oscar terribly, and his death had only been a catalyst of the worst to come. But was Penny right? Would it be better for her to continue fighting, even if she wasn’t sure what for anymore?

No one pressured her to answer, only returned to finish the scraps of the food they had remaining on their plates.

Her eyes flitted back to her weapon, which was in gun form. Maybe, maybe if she held it for even a few seconds, she would be struck with the drive to fight again. The resolve to finish what she had started.

When Ruby had first met Oscar, a single rose bloomed in her heart. Over time, that rose became part of a larger garden, a rose garden. When he had died, the previously red roses hs blackened and shriveled away. But as she looked back at Crescent Rose, she was reminded of something bigger than herself, something worth fighting for.

For Oscar, for my mother, for the dead, for Remnant, for my friends and family, for me.

And with that declaration in mind, a little seed that was planted in her heart began to sprout and take root.

————————————————

Thanks @happyhedgehogren for the beautiful idea! I hope I executed it okay. I just keep thinking about how amazing it would be to see something like this played out in the actual show.

*also, I figured that Ruby might go through something that really breaks her spirit, and I feel like if she goes through that, she be lifted up eventually. Not all protagonists have to be dark and cynical, I like Ruby and her optimism, despite the tramua she’s faced, but seeing her break down (I know it sounds awful, like what we saw in vol7 with salem) was great.

also @remnant-roses posted some angsty Ruby and Oscar art a few days ago... it’s too good.

#rosegarden #ahaha #god #rwby #ruby rose #oscar pine #lowkey wanna do a part two where oscar is in the tundra and he tells oz that ruby’s gonna kick his ass when he comes back #and oz is like RUBY? what about nora??? #this can be platonic or romantic either way #fanfiction

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Remarks: Oscar’s Talk with Ironwood (RWBY V7 CH7)

This isn’t going to be like one of my usual posts. Let’s just say that this squiggle meister really, really loved the scene between Oscar and General Ironwood from today’s episode---RWBY V7 Chapter 7. I enjoyed it so much that I’m going to be that nerd and quote all of it in this one post for future analysis and reference because that’s how much I loved it. I’ll also share some of my thoughts on this particular moment since…as I’ll reiterate, it was REALLY GOOD!

 (Oscar and Ironwood down in the Vault of the Winter Maiden)

 Ironwood: It’s right behind that door.

Oscar: The Staff of Creation.

Ironwood: I hoped bringing you down here might jog some memories; after all it was your idea to use the staff to life Atlas off the ground.

Oscar: I thought gravity dust kept Atlas afloat.

Ironwood: That’s the public story. But with the staff, we have a constant, seemingly limitless energy source. Ozpin speculated it could take us as high as we wanted. To tell you the truth, that served for the inspiration for the Amity Project. Get a communication tower up in the sky, higher than the Grimm could survive so we never lose contact with each other again.

Oscar: But…you’re not using the staff to raise Amity.

Ironwood: The staff could only be used for one purpose at a time. We’re going to have to do Amity the old fashioned way. Dust and all.

Oscar: Feels strange; knowing a part of me helped come up with all of this.

Ironwood: You’ll get used to it, I’m sure. Eventually, you won’t even know who’s who anymore.

Oscar: …Right.

Ironwood: We…didn’t always see eye to eye but…I wish I could ask Ozpin what he thought of all of this.

Oscar: Well, I can tell you what I think. The path you’re heading down, where you’re the only one with the answers, where you do the thing you think is right no matter the cost, it’s NOT going to take you anywhere good.

Ironwood: We have to stop Salem. Nothing matters more.

Oscar: Some things matter more. I think. Keeping our humanity. It’s what makes us different from her.

Ironwood: Sometimes I worry that’s her greatest advantage. Without humanity, does she still feel fear? Does she ever hesitate? When Salem hit Beacon, even with all my ships, all of my soldiers, I was no match for her. I’ve never felt so helpless, the way she told me she was there.

Oscar: It’s okay to be afraid. You can’t just let that fear control you.

Ironwood: I am not going to end up like Lionheart. Do you believe in me?

Oscar: I do believe in you. But not only you. I think the best thing you could do is sit down and talk with the people you’re most afraid to.

Ironwood. Now you are starting to sound like him.

Some Squiggly Thoughts on This Scene:

 “I do believe in you. But not only you.”

Gosh I f***ing love that line and I love Oscar even more for saying it! Tell ‘em my BOY!

As a matter of fact, I love this whole scene. Tattoo it on my back. It’s that good, well at least in my opinion.

“Now you are starting to sound like him.”

…Jimmy, my boy you couldn’t be anymore wrong:. 

Oscar is something else. He’s different from Ozpin. Different from all the other wizards and I believe even more now that his perspective on things will make his experience as the new Wizard a whole lot more spectacular. 

Sorry to waste a post on this but I needed to caption this entire conversation. Not just for future analystic reasons  but because I loved it so much. There is so much to gather from this one talk and it’s sad I can’t muse on it right now.

But what I will say from what I’ve gathered is my concern for Ironwood. Fear really is his Baobab like I had theorized and if he doesn’t remove it soon; it’ll lead to him losing his humanity. 

With the exception of Glynda Goodwitch, I believe, each member of Ozpin’s Inner Circle---at least the men---- had a particular qualm about them that they succumbed to, based on the Oz character they draw inspiration from.

Qrow, I guess in his depression over learning the truth, succumbed to his alcoholism which you can say is a habit of his carelessness. Sometimes people who act careless commit foolish acts and we saw that with Qrow last season in V6 where he spent most of his time drinking himself into a stupor instead of banding together with the children to come up with a better solution. 

I guess in a way, this shows that Qrow is no different than the kids? Qrow was only a child---no older than our young heroes---- when he met Ozpin and he spent most of his life following in his wisdom and guidance. 

And after Oz “disappeared”, Qrow was left without a voice to guide him too like a scarecrow without a brain.

Lionheart succumbed to his fears. And now, Ironwood is at the risk of losing his humanity which is synonymous with the tin man needing a heart. 

I don’t wish to imagine how James would be if he didn’t act with empathy and compassion. The irony is that you can sort of say that he is  doing this already---sure he’s been looking out for the People of Atlas but he hasn’t even considered what his actions are doing to the People of Mantle. 

Imagine what it would be like if James just stops caring about anyone all together and the only thing that mattered to him was stopping Salem. 

I think this is what today’s episode is alluding to. At some point, I believe James will fall prey fully to his Baobab and will plot to go stop Salem---not even thinking about how the consequences of his actions might affect EVERYONE.

In the end, no one will matter to James. Not Winter. Not Penny. Not Pietro. Not even the People of Atlas. Not even the People of Remnant for that matter.

I think his goal of stopping Salem will become his main focus and all the humanity that he once had where he cared about people and trusted in others---all that won’t matter to him anymore. It’ll be all what he thinks is right. 

 This now makes me wonder what will happen if ‘this version of James’---a one driven into his own paranoia of one primary goal---one primary programming to stop Salem at all costs---how would he feel when he learns that the thing he’s been obsessing over to the point of losing himself to it, is all for not?

How would James feel after realizing that he can’t stop Salem at all…especially after he’s given up everything---meaning his humanity---to stop her?! 

I’m actually REALLY FREAKING INTRIGUED AND EXCITED by this now.

And we wouldn’t have gotten this conversation if it weren’t for Oscar lending his insight. Speaking of, can I just reiterate again how much I loved this episode particularly for this scene---this talk between Ironwood and Oscar.

I think I’ve said it a couple of times before, right? 

THIS is what I’ve been wanting for the longest while! This is what folks who often criticize Pineheads like myself who want Oscar to have more focus in the series don’t understand.

When I say I want RWBY to focus on Oscar, I’m not just asking for the Writers to give him more screen time or have him do cool things or just act cute for the entire episode. While any moment with Oscar is great, that’s not really what I’m looking for as a fan of his character. It’s fine if that’s what other Pineheads want but speaking for myself mostly here, I look for more than just the small “breadcrumb moments” for Oscar’s side of things, y’know what I mean?

When I say “CRWBY please give Oscar more proper focus”, I’m NOT asking them to kill off all the other characters in the series and quote, unquote, “Make Oscar the main character of RWBY”.

Honestly, I don’t know where some folks get the impression that “focus” is tantamount with being the main character of something. Not every character in a show has to be the main character just to have focus. As a matter of fact, I often find myself being impressed by shows that are able to provide good writing and development for its side or supporting characters just as much as the main ones. But then again, that’s just me. 

In the case of Oscar, this is what I mean when I say FOCUS ON HIM. Allow the audience to see and hear what he’s thinking when the story demands it. Allow him to challenge other characters on their perspectives with his own and let the audience see all of that rather than have it happen off-screen and Oscar has to then tell us about it in a later scene while no one really reacts to what he’s saying. *coughsV6CH9coughs* 

This is what I have personally been wanting to see. I want Oscar to talk to other characters and give his own opinion on things and let the plot focus on that because when it does, that’s when we get the gold, people!

Gold comes out of this boy’s mouth every time the story allows him to and no I’m not just saying that ironically because Oscar’s name is synonymous with the colour gold.

But you just know when the story focuses on Oscar in the right way---meaning let us see and hear how he feels---it’s good. Better than good. It’s freaking great and this is why I clapped for this scene with Ironwood. 

This scene was my favourite scene from the episode and probably my best moment with Oscar for V7 so far.

Oscar’s talk to Ironwood reminds me so much of his V5 Dojo Scene with Ruby. I actually think I like Oscar’s talk with Ironwood more since we get to hear more of what Oscar is thinking and see Ironwood react to it. This moment was GREAT, you guys. I cannot stress this enough. 

Oscar was really, really great in this episode and his stance with Ironwood made me feel so proud of him as a fan of his. Having Oscar spend more time with James---I was worried about where that was going to but I’m glad that this is the direction they went with him---showing Oscar being the opposite side to go toe to toe with Oz. He is like Ozpin in this manner but at the same time. he’s also his own person because Oscar is advicing James from a person who saw where Oz’s path eventually took him and how he’s doing his best to guard people he care about from walking down the same path.

Oscar was talking more as himself in this scene and....I LOVE IT.  I hope there is more.

I want more moments of Oscar talking to people. This is what I want to see above anything else. More than any Rosegardening Rosebud moments he’ll have with Ruby. More than him even unlocking his semblance. I want to hear Oscar’s thoughts on things that happened to and around him within recent times and I want to see him challenge other characters with his ideals and see how they react to what he’s saying.

I still want to see Oscar challenge Ruby on her stance with keeping the truth from Ironwood. I think Oscar has a greater incentive to do so now.

That line---that piece of advice that he gave James about “talking to the people you’re most afraid to”, I don’t think that advice was just for James. I wonder if we’ll have Oscar approaching Ruby again and the two resuming their talk from V7 CH3? I think it will happen soon, especially with how things are shaping up for James.

That Baobab man. It’s going to consume him. Not unless the little barn prince convinces the little red rose withholding secrets to help him remove the tin man’s baobab seeds before it’s too late. At least that’s what I’m thinking.

That being said, I’m curious to see where Oscar and James will be for the next episode. Will we go straight into the dinner? Overall, I am hyped for CH8. I don’t think I’ve been this excited for an episode to come for this season.

I just want to see how everything is going to play out. Especially for James and how Oscar is going to react to it. I’m sure Oscar will be watching James very closely for the next episode to see if he will take his advice. I doubt Ironwood will take Oscar’s advice. As a matter of fact, I think CH8 will be the first sign of Ironwood’s Baobab completely taking over and….it’s going to result with him having bad blood with not just Jacques Schnee or the Council (because I think we might see them too since Ironwood will be fighting for his seat on the Council) but everyone.

I think Ironwood will take the step towards losing his humanity next episode and I’m curious to see how Oscar will react to it. Maybe he might approach Ruby again on the subject matter and after James…dips…Oscar might look to Ruby who might finally come to the realization of what she had done. Because ironically, Ruby isn’t the only one walking Oz’s path for this season---James is too. The really, really bad one and maybe seeing James might help Ruby with her own qualms.

I dunno. Like I said, I am so excited for next episode!

 ~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)  

#rwby #rwby remarks #oscar pine #general ironwood #rwby volume 7 spoilers #rwby volume 7 theories