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shadyruinskryptonite · 7 months

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Titan Bending, Chapter 3

Warning: Violence consistent with cannon, NSFW so MDNI, language, major character death (both consistent with canon of both AOT and ATLA as well as diverging from canon), so much trauma literally everyone is so traumatized, very much slow burn, a little enemies to lovers, SO MUCH ANGST, hurt/comfort, hurt and delayed comfort, AFAB reader

Chapter Warnings: Language, violence and implied violence, Levi being a dick, please let me know if I missed anything

WC: 2600

Previous Chapter, Next Chapter

Masterlist

I’m given no formal introduction to the soldiers, but Hange does take me around. I’m trying so hard to pay attention to what she’s saying because I think I could be friends with her, but I find myself zoning in and out of the conversation.

“You’ll technically be on Captain Levi’s squad but much like Eren you’ll be running a lot of experiments with me,” Hange says.

“Wait, hold on. I thought we agreed that I was allowed to kind of be my own free agent? What’s this about squads and experiments?”

She waves me off and says, “yes, yes, you have your independence still. But for the sake of our strategy and planning, we have to know roughly where you’ll be located. And as for experiments,” I swear I see her vibrate with excitement, “we also need to understand your abilities and how we can best utilize them.”

I’m still a little apprehensive but I ultimately nod. Eventually, I quietly mumble “I refuse to call that little shit ‘Captain’ though.”

Hange bursts into laughter, so uncontrollable that it starts to draw the attention of other people milling about. Once she collects herself, she says “I can’t wait to see you two interact more. You’re either going to be his favorite or he’s going to hate you with every fiber of his being.”

“That’s…reassuring,” I say wholly unconvinced.

Our tour around the barracks comes to a close at the mess hall just in time for dinner. I join Hange in line and continue to listen to her describing the quality of food. “It’s not the best but it’s not the worst either. They do what they can with what little resources they have. We don’t often get meat though so I hope you’re not strictly carnivorous,” Hange laughs at her own joke and I smile.

“Honestly, a hot meal that I don’t have to hunt or catch myself is a welcome change,” I lament.

“You said something similar about sleeping in a bed even though the dungeon beds leave much to be desired. If you hate living out there so much, why did you choose to live out there?” she ponders.

I smile again as food is added to our trays and we slide along. I don’t know what a lot of the items are so I just pick up all of the same things that Hange does. As we look for seats, I explain, “Well, truth be told this experience wasn’t exactly what I was anticipating. When I’ve lived on my own previously, I had the option to go into villages and I did so a few times a week.”

She sits down and I don’t pay much attention to our surroundings as I finish my story. “Sure, I was completely self-sufficient before but what I liked was that life seemed so simple. I did odd jobs for people, made art, and played music when I needed extra cash. I was expecting the same thing here but obviously that’s not what I got.”

Now that we’re sitting, I take my first bite and nod in contentment. Hange was right - it’s not great, but I’ve certainly had worse. It’s only now that I take a moment to look at the people near us and realize we’re being stared at. Before I can get too self conscious though, I notice the boy that I treated on the cart is sitting just up the table from us.

I grin, happy to see a familiar face, and I wave enthusiastically to him and say “Armin! It’s nice to see you again!” He seems embarrassed so I just turn back to keep talking to Hange.

We finish eating and she shows me where to return my tray before changing the subject. “Okay!” she says with a clap. “Now I just need to show you to your room!”

The surprise must have been evident on my face because she laughs again and says “What, you thought we were going to make you sleep on the ground?”

I snort and respond, “no, it’s not that. I honestly thought I’d stay in the cell or be put in some kind of communal housing. I’m surprised I get an actual room.”

The humor drops from her tone as she says, “we did consider that, but both for your safety and that of the other soldiers, we decided it was best to keep you on your own.” I let her words sink in and I nod knowingly before she continues. “Plus, your room is right between the Captain’s quarters and my lab, so we can keep an eye on you.” When she says this, she almost seems like she feels guilty for not trusting me.

We stop in front of a door and I turn to her, trying to reassure her. “Hey, I get it. You guys have been really accommodating as it is, I totally understand that you’ve gotta watch me. I’ve said it before, but in your shoes I know I certainly wouldn’t trust me either.” With that, her smile returns and she opens the door to an admittedly very small room.

Hange sheepishly says “it was converted from a storage closet so it’s-”

“It’s perfect,” I say with a smile, cutting her off before she says anything negative. “Whether it’s a closet or a cell or a blanket on the ground, I’m honestly just grateful that you didn’t opt to execute me.”

The backpack I took with me as I left the forest is sitting at the foot of the bed and there’s a small chest of drawers with a lamp on top. It’s not like I have a lot of things as it is, so this is more than enough. I open my bag and begin to put things away, and Hange’s voice cuts through my thoughts, “Even though your room is situated among the officers, you will still have to use the communal bathrooms and showers that the enlisted use. Sorry about that.”

I laugh, saying something similar to my previous responses, “I’ve been bathing in a river and rubbing flowers on myself so I don’t smell like a dead turtle seal. If it’s water and soap, I have no complaints.”

It seems like she has a question, but she just turns to walk out, only adding “I’m experimenting with Eren in the morning, so I’ll plan to see you just after lunch. Captain Levi and I want to test the extent of your abilities.” I nod and bid her a goodnight, hearing her mumble to herself as she closes the door, “what the hell is a turtle seal?”

When I wake up, I can barely make out what’s on the clock. I have no concept of time because my little closet doesn’t have a window so I flip on my light and instantly regret it. As my eyes adjust I see that I’ve missed breakfast so I decide to shower before I start my day. I fold my clean clothes over my arm and grab the towel and soap from the bottom drawer. As I walk towards the bathroom, I see what looks like a field of kids training.

Wow, Armin was right, most of them do look like they’re only about 15.

I shower quickly and peacefully, getting dressed before I step in front of the mirror to braid my hair. As I’m standing there, a girl with jet black hair walks in. I glance at her from the corner of my eye and recognize her as someone that was sitting with Armin the previous night. As I’m about to greet her, I realize that she’s merely glaring at me so I quickly decide against it. Walking back to my room I also realize how strange it would be to introduce myself to someone in a bathroom.

To kill a little bit of time, I go for a quick run to get my blood pumping for the day. It seems like everywhere I go people are staring at me.

This will be hard to get used to.

I cut my run off early when I came across Hange running an experiment with who I’m guessing is Eren. As I approach she spares me a glance before doing a quick double take.

“Are you wearing the same thing you wore yesterday?” she asks, now looking at Eren again.

I glance at my outfit before looking at her and blinking slowly. I answer with my own question, “you wear a uniform every day, does that mean they’re the same articles of clothes you wore the day before?”

“Touche, but you’re a civilian, why do you have more than one of the same thing?”

“Because I like it?” I say, a little perturbed. “It’s comfy, I can fight in it, and it’s all black so it’s good for concealing myself.”

“Okay, okay. I appreciate how early you are! Your enthus- wait! You are early right? I didn’t miss lunch again did I?!”

I chuckle a little, “relax, yes, I’m early. I was just going for a run before lunch. You didn’t miss anything.”

She heaves a noticeable sigh of relief and returns to her work. I decide to make myself comfortable and watch.

As I’m watching the scene unfold, I hear one of the only voices I’ve come to recognize.

“Oi! Y/n! If you’ve got time to sit you’ve got time to train,” Levi calls to me.

I sit up straighter, but I don’t look at him, afraid that if I do I’ll just lunge at him. I take a deep breath before I slowly turn to look at him. His expression is stoic as ever. I take one more calming breath before yelling back, “I train on my terms, remember? Plus, it’s almost lunch anyway.” I turn back to Hange and Eren and see him crawling out of the titan’s neck.

Holy shit, so there’s an actual person in there.

Once he’s been pulled out and the two start to head towards me, I offer the exhausted looking kid a smile.

“I’m Y/n, and you must be Eren.” I stick out my hand but his big green eyes only look at it before looking back at my face. Somewhat coldly, he says, “yeah, I know.”

Rather taken aback, I slowly lower my hand and opt to look straight ahead as I offer a weak apology, “sorry, I didn’t realize you don’t shake hands with people when you meet them for the first time here.”

“Oh no,” Hange quips and I turn to her. “We do, he’s just being rude.”

I open my mouth to say something but I’m too stunned for any words to come out. At least she told me the truth. I hear Eren mumble something about not being rude under his breath and I realize I recognize his voice too.

Before I can stop myself, the words come flying out, “Oh! You’re the kid that I could hear whining when you were in the woods the other day!” As soon as I say it, I want to suck the words back in but Hange laughs and, like a ghost, Levi seems to appear on the other side of Eren and snort too.

I can see the kid’s temper flare as he yells back at me “Oh yeah?! Well you’re the freak that uses magic bullshit to ‘heal’ people! I think it’s a crock of shit and I think you’re dangerous!”

I smile at his outburst as we enter the mess hall. The four of us get in line and I can see that he’s flustered by the fact that he didn’t get a rise out of me. I shrug and say, “Well, you’re at least partially right. I am dangerous, but I have no intention of harming you or anyone else here,” I wink at him as he stares blankly. “There’s nothing ‘magical’ about my waterbending though. I simply manipulate water the same way people have done for thousands of years.”

My dismissal seems to shut him up. I see that he grabs different items than Hange and so I try to copy him. When we sit down, Levi disappears again and this time some kids sit with us, I’m guessing friends of Eren. Armin sits directly across from me and I grin at him again.

Hange can’t sit quietly for long, so she starts in “you say people have been bending water for thousands of years? Who was the first water bender? How did people discover they could do it? How did the first people learn?”

I smile as I listen to her questions and take a bite of my meal.

Hm, I think I like Eren’s picks better than Hange’s. I’ll have to remember this.

I look up, about to start, when I see multiple pairs of eyes on me. I chuckle and begin answering Hange’s questions.

“Well, it’s kind of complicated. Each of the elements learned from what we all call the ‘original benders.’ For earth benders it was the badger moles, for fire benders the dragons, and for air benders it was the flying bison. Water bending is weird in that the original bender isn’t an animal but rather the moon. People learned to water bend by mimicking the push and pull of the tide and since this is controlled by the moon’s pull on the earth and the ocean, people were basically just copying the moon. For that reason, water bending is actually stronger at night and strongest during a full moon. Conversely, I lose the ability to bend at all during an eclipse.”

When I look back up, everyone looks at me confused. “Okay, which part was unclear? I can explain something better depending on what you don’t understand.”

Hange answers immediately, “Y/n, nothing you said made sense. It sounds like you were speaking a different language. Dragons aren’t real and what the hell is a ‘badger mole’ or a ‘flying bison?’ And once you explain that, do you mind telling us what a tide is?”

Before I can start, Armin excitedly speaks up, “A tide is the ocean water hitting land! I’ve read about it! Are you saying you’ve seen the sea?!” His childlike curiosity makes me grin again.

“Yeah, you’re exactly right. And yes, not only have I seen the sea, I’ve been swimming in it more times than I can count. I’m from the Northern Watertribe. It’s the farthest North you can go…or at least, that’s what people from my world think. We also think the Fire Nation is the farthest West you can go but I ended up here somehow so clearly we don’t know as much as we think we do.

“Anyway, badger moles are basically these big blind idiots that live underground. They use earth bending to feel their way around and it basically acts as their eyes. Flying bison are almost extinct, but the one that’s left belongs to my friend. His name is Appa and he’s probably as big as this room. He’s extremely fluffy and has six legs and a tail that can generate as much wind as a tornado.

“As for dragons, they definitely do exist. It was thought that they were hunted to extinction by firebenders at the beginning of the 100 year war but my friend Aang - the same person that owns Appa - encountered and learned from the last two dragons in the world.”

It seems like I’ve managed to mesmerize these kids and even Eren seems to have completely forgotten his anger towards me from moments ago.

With a slap of her legs, Hange declares, “Alright! Enough talking! Y/n, you ready to show us what you’ve got?”

And with that, we stand up and head to the training field.

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youngcollectedtired · 4 months

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Me as a Hero | Hawks x Gen Z!Hero!OC

[Facing the Public]

So I came up with this idea or concept that I really want to just have fun with. It's me as a hero but also as gen z and this series will more than likely include just different things, I think would be funny or interesting to explore in the MHA world. Season 6 really opened a lot up for some of these ideas so I'm really excited to see where this series takes me. For now, I've tried writing this with head cannons, but it is not an x reader until I can get my format together. This is going to be very unserious and kind of a word vomit, but I think it's a cool idea so yeah. I'm mainly using this as an excuse to write small ideas into a short story to get me back into writing :))

Hope you enjoy :))

Character Info

Hero Name: Atlas

Quirk: Atlas Moth

Physique: Chubby, 5'5

I personally pictured her as black/mixed. So do with that what you will.

Little background: Atlas became a hero very young. She graduated high school (UA) early due to the hero commission. Her moth wings give her flight, durability, and silk weapons that stem from her wings. As part moth she is naturally chubby due to her quirk Atlas Moth taking after the largest moth in the world. She faces daily criticism but does her best to ignore it. She met Hawks shortly after graduation and because of the similarity in their quirks they teamed up often and now work alongside one another as partners. She works at UA part time and is close with Class 1a. There will be very brief mentions of season 6 (not in great detail) just if you've seen season 6 you'll know what I'm talking about.

We find Hawks and Atlas after saving daycare students from a villain, but they were unable to prevent the substantial damage that was done to the school and the surrounding buildings.

A group of kids had walked by thanking Hawks and I profusely for everything we had done. I turned to Hawks and was not surprised to find him already looking at me.

"What?" He asked.

I just gently smiled, "that's why we do what we do. For them, for us." And a smile also reached his face.

Because of the work we'd both done I knew there was quite a bit of media coverage. A reporter in fact had walked over to us both, a mic in hand and a camera following.

Keigo grabbed my hand, and I knew exactly why.

The reporter seemed nice enough, giving a quick hello before starting with: “So Ms. Atlas civilians are confused about your original mission statement that you made when you first became a hero at 17. 'You promised us we’d be safe however the damage you’ve left behind shows otherwise.' Some people say. What do you have to say in regard to that?”

Hawks gripped my hand tighter, and I looked at him for the corner of my eye. He was shaking his head.

I know what he’s thinking. And I’m not going to listen :))))

Atlas: Well I’d say, “are you a hero?"

Reporter: Excuse me?

Atlas: Are you any of your critics out there heroes?

Reporter: I’m not sure I take your meaning.

Atlas: Well let me spell it out for you. A lot of you civilians have a lot to say about how a heroes job should be done but I don’t see any of you out here. Did you go to hero school?

Reporter: *Shocked and Silenced*

Atlas: Do you see this *points to fresh scars* or this *points to hawks fresh scars* if you can’t see it or just refuse to its blood. Blood, we spilled trying to protect all of you. Which should tell you SURPRISE we’re not perfect.

Hawks: Okay thank you so much, we gotta go Atlas, you know more bad people to put away.

Atlas: Wait wait I’m not done one more thing.

Hawks: are you gonna be nice?

Atlas: of courseeeee

Hawks: *rolls his eyes because how much worse could it get*

Atlas: Everyday you look at a hero and you think we’re more than you and that we’re better. But we’re human just like you, which means we’re all equals, and I can still beat your as-

Hawks: OKAY time to go. Thanks for the interview *grabs my hood and drags me away* We have got to work on your publicity!

Atlas: *screaming one more time* and if I hear one more person say something about my boy DEKU OR CLASS 1A ITS ON SIGHT!!!

Reporter: okay uh back to you at the station.

Later at UA

Class 1a was spread out in there dorm common room around Hawks and I. We'd brought treats for them as usual. They knew me both as Hawk's hero partner and there HR instructor (ironically).

Kirishima: I know we’re supposed to respect the public and all that because that's what you taught us but WOW ATLAS THAT WAS SO MANLY

Aizawa: I should be scolding you but I can’t lie. I’m proud of you.

Bakugo: Heh them idiots had it coming!

Atlas: See hawks it wasn’t all that bad

Hawks: Atlas, you told the civilians that you can still beat them up and you told them they could catch your hands?? What part of what I just said is not THAT bad?

Midoriya: Thanks Ms. Atlas but you didn’t have to ruin your reputation for me.

Atlas: Don’t worry Izuku I’ve just been waiting for the right time to speak my mind. Besides you shouldn’t have to take all there crap. You’re doing your best and that’s all that matters. All of you. Just because they’re the people you’re meant to save doesn’t give them the right to talk bad about you. Any one of you could have become villains and then they’d really have something to say but you didn’t. All of you choose the high road. For whatever reason.

The class soaked in your words.

Atlas: Now me personally you know being a chubby hero with a cute quirk I’m already publicly criticized so I could care less what the public thinks of me. But you know that’s just me. Each of you will have to decide how much of the public life you’ll let dictate how you live your life. But that’s your decision and yours alone. Okay now I’m off my soap opera.

Hawks: Don’t worry. It was a pretty cute one watching you get all passionate.

Atlas: Shut up Keigo

Girls of class 1a: aweeee

Hawks and I finished the night as we usually did, me in the kitchen cooking dinner for everyone with Sato and Momo. And Hawks losing a game of uno.

I won't even lie to you I've been wanting a way to voice my frustrations with the civilians from season 6. In all movies and shows I've always personally disliked the civilian's reactions when the hero makes a mistake (examples; transformers dark of the moon, Captain America civil war, Batman Vs. Superman). While it is realistic it still pisses me off.

Anyways that was super fun. I'm excited for other ideas I have. Next one will more than likely be x reader because it just flows better that way.

Thanks for reading my ideas byeeeee :)))

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professorspork · 3 years

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If you're accepting non-superhell prompts, I'd love to see a conversation between Nora and Emerald! I've been REALLY loving these microfics, I've subscribed to you on Ao3, I'll read whatever else you write

[Gahhh that’s so nice you’re so nice!! thanks for being patient on this one, finding my Nora took some doing]

It’s occurring to Emerald that she’s never had a close female friend before.

You say that like you’ve ever had any friends before, the voice in her head that sounds suspiciously like Mercury needles her, but she brushes it aside. Like—okay, yeah, she’ll concede the point when it comes to Cinder. In hindsight, whatever they’d had going on between them may have been... super intense... but it probably had never been friendship, in the usual definition. But she and Mercury were friends, no matter what the judgy little shitstain version of him who lives in her head has to say about it. They’d always gotten along. Told each other stuff. It’s not like there’s more to it than that, right?

It had always been like that. Been—instinctive somehow, with guys. Before Cinder, on the street, it was always the men who’d been easiest to manipulate; who would empty their pockets for a smile and a sob story. And then she and Merc had been two sides of the same coin for so long, and then... well, Hazel’d liked her enough to die for her, apparently. (Which—that’s a door that she keeps closed, thanks. She shuts it firmly again, now.) Oscar seems fond of her, in a sweet, uncomplicated sort of way that she really doesn’t know what to do with, seeing as he shares headspace with like a trillion year old man and the idea that anything to do with that kid could be “uncomplicated” is batshit. Ren vouched for her once, and then again, and now he keeps doing it, like it’s habit, like she should just be used to the fact that people are going to have her back, to ask her if she’s eaten, to turn to her with a raised eyebrow in conversation like her opinion would be constructive.

Anyway.

Now that she’s noticed the pattern, it seems like the kind of thing she should probably… work on, or whatever. And Nora seems like an obvious place for Emerald to start. They’ve been thrown in together a lot, lately, Emerald and Oscar expected to fill in the gaps of what’s left of the old JNPR by default. Not that they’ve ever really had a conversation about it—Emerald can’t think of the last time Nora said two words to her that weren’t combat warnings like “more Grimm coming” or “on your left,” but. That’s probably just because things have been tense. She remembers Nora being friendly, on the whole of it. Off-puttingly friendly, even, back at Beacon.

How hard could it be?

The answer, it turns out, is absurdly hard. Nora’s barely ever in the temporary barracks they’re all living out of, instead always checking on the refugees, going on supply runs over esoteric requests, volunteering for extra patrols. Emerald used to find that kind of dogged do-goodery gag-inducing, but now that she’s been the helping hand herself a few times, she’s starting to see the appeal. The way people look at you when you’ve been of service, it’s—nice. Really nice. But Nora works utterly thankless jobs, the kind most people don’t even notice, let alone appreciate. And when they have their insufferably long leadership meetings and they’re talking about distribution of resources or whatever, Nora’s a fierce debater—jumping in to advocate for the people from Mantle sometimes even before May can. As far as Emerald can tell, she does this stuff just because... she believes in it. Because it’s the right thing to do, and someone has to.

She can’t imagine what it would feel like, to have the attention of someone like that turned on her. She’s craved it from the wrong people for so long, but now that she has her pick of options... she’s letting herself actually want the right kind, for once. She thinks.

Which is all to say that largely through no fault of her own, Emerald unexpectedly finds herself sitting with a profound, fervent desire for Nora Valkyrie to think she’s cool.

She hates that.

Fighting with Nora is easy.

(—er. Alongside. Fighting alongside Nora is easy. Emerald’s done fighting with these people. Very done.)

It’s weird, because Emerald’s finding working with a full team to be a real adjustment. When battles get big enough to merit it, she’s used to keeping to the sidelines to use her Semblance for nefarious purposes, or, in a jam, used to having Mercury’s six—literally, because all the forward momentum from his feet-first style always left his back wide open. Figuring out where to put herself so that Oscar can use her shoulder as a fulcrum as he dodges, or trying to aim for the Grimm Ren isn’t already shooting (ugh)—it’s taking work.

But somehow, it’s not work for Nora. Nora seems to anticipate with perfect ease how Emerald will move or what she’ll be doing; Nora bobs and weaves around their ragtag little band with her war hammer like it’s breathing.

It doesn’t bother Emerald until it does, and she means to bring it up casually but there’s never a good time. So it just… stews, and stews, until she can’t keep it bottled up anymore.

Which means that instead of the earnest question she intends it to be, it comes out like this:

“Okay, seriously? It’s creepy how you do that.”

It’s just the two of them, plus the handful of dweeby Atlesian tech-types they’re escorting back from their foray installing some fancy hydro-filtration modules on the outskirts of the camp. And it’s not like Emerald had felt outmatched by the half-dozen Ravagers that had decided they looked like lunch—she can shoot Ravagers in her sleep, at this point—but still. The way Nora had moved around her, it was like they’d been fighting side by side for years.

Nora just cocks her head to the side. “Do what?” she asks, like she hadn’t just basically read Emerald’s mind in front of the water nerds.

Emerald does a complicated gesture with her hands, wrist over wrist, and then flicking two fingers—trying to evoke the way Nora had flipped over Emerald’s back and then kicked off, just trusting Emerald would reel her back in with a chain in midair before a Grimm could fly away with her sorry ass. “That.”

“Oh!” Nora laughs and rubs at the back of her neck, looking sheepish. “It’s nothing. I guess it’s just not a big deal for me? Like—I was there when Ren built StormFlower. The cables are newish, but we practiced so much back in Atlas… I dunno. It’s just reflex, when your weapons are so similar. Fighting with you, it’s almost like fighting with him. I don’t even have to think about it.”

Nora swallows, then, and makes a face Emerald can’t interpret—disappointed, maybe, or ashamed. Which: good. She probably should be, taking things for granted like that.

“Well—just—” Emerald’s not even sure what she wants to say. Ask, next time? Don’t? “You shouldn’t make assumptions. I’m not your boyfriend, okay?”

The venom she puts behind the word is directed more at herself than Nora—frustrated, again, that she’s put herself in the position of wanting so desperately to be liked.

Pathetic.

Nora just nods, looking glum.

“Yeah,” she murmurs, cheeks pulling in a bitter smile. “You’d think I’d be able to keep that one straight, huh?”

She says it with such pointed irony that for a second Emerald wonders if she’d gotten it wrong somehow, but like—Nora and Ren are a thing, right? That’s—everyone knows that.

“Hey, what—?”

“Let’s just go,” Nora says, and Emerald automatically falls into line behind her.

They make the rest of the walk back in silence.

Sometimes at night, when she can’t sleep, Emerald likes to climb up to the roof of the barracks and look out over the refugee camp.

It’s—peaceful, is all. A good reminder of where she is; how far she’s come. The night sky in Vacuo has more stars than she’s ever seen, and being able to watch over all these people who have somehow become her responsibility… well.

A part of her will always be standing on the rooftop at Beacon, looking down on pure chaos as a queasy, frightened sensation twists in her gut and its noxious voice whispers you did this, you did this, you did this. What did you think was going to happen, you stupid little girl? You don’t get to feel sorry for it now.

But she does.

Weird how the only thing that’s helped is actually doing something about it.

She hears a scuffling noise over her shoulder, and she’s got Thief’s Respite drawn and ready before she can even really register what she’s heard. She relaxes when she sees it’s Nora at the other end of the barrels, unarmed and hands raised—a funny little smile on her face, like yeah, fair enough, I should have known better than to try and sneak up.

“Just me,” she says, unnecessarily.

Emerald holsters her guns. “Can I help you?” she asks, and—what is it about her voice, that makes sentences that would be nice if any other human said them come out straight-up hostile?

Nora shrugs, hands dropping to her sides. “I was hoping we could talk; I figured you’d come up here if I waited long enough.”

Well, see—what kind of lesson is she supposed to take from that? She’s been hoping for Nora to talk to her for weeks, and acting like a bitch is the thing that gets her what she wants? Good guys are supposed to know better.

And there’s the way she said it, too. Like everyone knows Emerald comes up here to brood; like it’s a big open secret. The knowledge sits uncomfortably in her stomach, makes her feel watched. Even now, even here, she can’t get a moment alone. Not really.

“What, so you’re spying on me now?”

Nora’s eyes narrow. “I have a pretty bad track record when it comes to losing people. Makes a girl want to put in a little hustle when it comes to keeping tabs on her friends.”

And Emerald would snark at that, or maybe apologize, or something, only—

Nora thinks they’re friends?

“Well, take a seat, I guess,” she mumbles, scooching to the side as though she needs to make room on the massive, empty roof.

Nora walks over and joins Emerald on the asphalt, letting her legs dangle over the edge. Seemingly unsure of where to start, she stares at her hands. Emerald stares too, but her eyes can’t help but wander—tracing the way scars, silvery in the moonlight, spiderweb up Nora’s bare wrists and forearms to fetter her shoulders, clavicle, neck. Like cracks in a pane of glass, right before it shatters.

(Only that’s not it at all, is it? It’s not a sign of weakness, but a warning of strength. I care this much, her scars announce to the word. You wanna try me?

Hazel’s arms always looked like that.)

Emerald doesn’t want to be the one to break the silence, sure that whatever she’d say would be incredibly stupid.

Luckily, Nora has no such qualms, and opens with: “I really admire you, you know?”

Emerald stares, jaw slack, certain she’s heard wrong. “I—what?” She’d say something defensive, like yeah right or you don’t have to make fun of me, only Nora’s eyes are so wide and so guileless they don’t leave any room for argument.

“I mean it,” Nora adds. “I know we don’t know all that much about each other, but… here’s what I do know: I can’t remember a time I saw you without Mercury right behind. Just like me’n Ren. And the way you fought for Cinder…” Nora smiles a sad, private little smile. “You don’t fight like that unless it’s personal; unless someone means something to you. Just like me’n Ren. And now you’re here. All on your own. And you didn’t have to be. That’s—don’t you think that’s crazy brave? I sure do.”

Of course she fucking doesn’t. Crazy brave would have been walking away the first, tenth, hundredth time she had a flash of panic about what she was doing. Or, better yet, doing something about it. Crazy brave is taking thirty thousand volts to get to your friends; it’s flooding your veins with pure crystalline power and saying Go, I’m doing what Gretchen would have done, it’s—

She closes that door.

“It’s not like I really had a choice,” she sighs, dodging the question.

“Oh, you know that’s not true,” Nora scoffs dismissively, tilting sideways to nudge Emerald with her shoulder.

And Emerald jolts, because—look, it’s not like no one touches her. They have to manhandle each other all the time in battle, and… and Oscar gives her high fives sometimes, which makes her embarrassingly pleased. But what Nora’s offering now, that kind of buddy-buddy casual contact…

… it’s been a while, is all.

“So, why did you want to talk to me?” Emerald asks, overwhelmed and suddenly desperate to find a way to get this conversation over with. She feels like she’s sprinted five miles; like she’s had the crap kicked out of her and she has to go somewhere to lick her wounds. Too much, too fast.

Nora laughs—a chuffing, cynical noise that doesn’t sound at all like her. “Looking for pointers? See, I’m trying this thing where I do things on my own, but I just—I suck at it. Like today; you saw. Even when I’m not with Ren, all I do is… is act exactly the same way I do when I’m with Ren. Like I literally don’t know how to exist without him, whether he’s actually there or not. And I know that’s not fair to anyone; I didn’t mean to treat you like—” She shakes her head, biting her lip. “You’re not just some stand-in. It’s not you at all. I’m just—broken, or something. One trick pony.”

“No, hey—”

“But you figured it out,” she barrels on, which is good, because Emerald doesn’t actually have a clue what she would have said there. “You don’t have anyone and somehow you’re just, like—good to go!” Nora says it cheerily, like it’s a compliment, but has the grace to balk a little when she hears how it sounds. “…sorry. That’s—sorry.”

Emerald shrugs, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her chin there. She feels like an idiot; building it up for weeks like spending time with Nora would solve all her problems when, surprise surprise, Nora’s just as fucked up as she is.

“Hate to disappoint you, but I don’t have any hot tips,” she mutters into the crooks of her elbows. “I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. Like—you want to know the really sad part? I was just following your lead.”

“My…?” Nora can’t even finish repeating it, which: Emerald can’t blame her. It’s so dumb. “Huh?”

“Come on. You know.”

“I don’t,” Nora says, voice thick with exhaustion. Like she’s sick of herself. “Ask anyone—I’m not the brains of the operation.”

Hearing Nora talk about herself that way makes Emerald’s chest feel tight; like her ribs have locked in place so her lungs can’t expand. She doesn’t know how to explain it; not without sounding like a starry-eyed fangirl or a moron with a crush and that’s not what this—it’s only that—

She chooses to start a different way.

“You wanna know why I switched sides? Like, really why?”

Nora softens, and reaches out to touch the back of Emerald’s left hand, where it dangles over her knee. “Sure,” she says, but Emerald barely hears it; it’s taking all of her concentration not to clench her fist or pull away in response.

“I overheard Oscar—or, Ozpin, I guess, I don’t know—talking to Hazel about Salem, about her goals. And… listen. No one joins under Salem because they’re trying to kill the world, okay? I mean, no one but Tyrian, anyway. We were all just trying to… find ways to get by. And when Cinder found me, she—” Emerald swallows, hard. This cuts too deep, too close. It’s not something she can just say. “I wasn’t trying to be some big villain, or something. I was just—looking out for the people who were looking out for me. And why wouldn’t I? No one else ever seemed to think I was worth it.”

“Of course you are,” Nora cuts in, quiet but vehement. “Everyone is.”

“See, the worst part is that you mean that when you say it,” Emerald grumbles, scrubbing at her face until smears of color kaleidoscope behind her closed eyes. “I figured people like you didn’t exist, and then Cinder and Merc were glad to prove me right, and—I let them. You know? And maybe if I’d just held out a little longer…”

“You’re not the only one here who’s ashamed of her past. Harriet tried to blow up Mantle, like, a month ago.”

“That’s not—forget that. I’m talking about you. Nora.” It’s the first time she’s ever said her name like that—addressing her, in conversation. It feels… astonishingly intimate, for so small a thing. Emerald powers past it. “Every day, I see you do something ridiculous, like double back on a patrol because you forgot you promised some kid a candy bar, or something, and that—matters. To me. It’s so stupid, but it’s not, because… argh! I want—it’s—” She tries to get her mouth to form the words, that’s the kind of person I want to be, but they stop in her throat.

Still, Nora seems to get the message. Her eyes seem suspiciously shiny for a moment—but when she blinks, it’s gone. “I… thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Emerald grumbles. Saying it like she means it: seriously. Don’t mention it.

“I understand what you mean, though. For years, the only person who looked out for me was Ren. And if he’d said…” Nora trails off, then, cocking her head to the side as she works through something. “Huh.”

“What?”

“Nothing, just. I remembered something. I was about to say that if Ren told me the only way for us to get by was a life of crime, or something, I would’ve taken his word for it, but—the opposite happened. We decided to enroll at Beacon. And that wasn’t his idea; it was mine. I always wanted to be a Huntress. To… to be the one strong enough to help people, instead of always needing the help. He wasn’t sure if we would make it, but I was. We were together, right? How could we lose?” She chuckles, a little, shaking her head at herself. “Get a load of that. He followed me.”

They smile at each other, then. Like they’ve figured out something profound. Maybe Nora has; Emerald hopes so.

“I’m glad you’re here, Emerald,” Nora says, and—there it is again. The frisson of electricity that comes with being referred to by name.

Of course, then Emerald ruins it by blurting out:

“Of course you are, all your other friends are dead.”

Which—“Fuck!” she sputters, because she didn’t mean to say that. What is wrong with her? “Sorry! Sorry.”

Nora only grins at her, feral and incisive. “Yeah, well. Yours are evil, so. Pick your poison. At least I’m proud of mine.”

Touché.

“Still glad I’m here?” Emerald jeers, because her first instinct is still to press on the bruise to see how much it hurts.

Nora laughs, and gets to her feet. “Believe it or not, yes. If putting your foot in your mouth was all it took to get booted from Hero Club, I’d have been kicked out a long time ago.” She reaches down to offer Emerald a hand; Emerald takes it, letting Nora pull her to standing. “Now go and get some rest, huh? None of us can ever sleep when you’re up here thinking so loud.”

“That an order?”

“Advice. Friends give it, from time to time.”

And—yeah. Maybe they do.

#typeoneninja #emerald sustrai #nora valkyrie #rwby #emerald and nora #fic what i wrote

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rachetmath · 3 years

Text

Lancaster vs Rosegarden

Oscar: Jaune!

Jaune: Oh hi Oscar.

Oscar: You think you better than me?!

Jaune: Wait what?

Oscar: You think just because you're tall, muscler, an awsome semblance, and cool armor that'll make Ruby yours. Well too bad buddy, she's mine.

Jaune: I'm sorry, my mind is wondering where are you going with this.

Oscar: Ruby is mine. She will be mind.

Jaune: Okay. But what does this have to with me.

Oscar: I'm not an idiot Jaune. I see everything.

Jaune: What are you-?

Oscar: The train.

Ruby’s scroll.

Argus

Atlas.

I know what you're thinking and trust me she will soon know that chocolate is better than vanilla.

Jaune: Look Oscar-

Oscar: I'm the goat here. I've gone through shit. I do more for this group than anyone.

Jaune: Okay. Noted. Now Oscar just hear me-

Oscar: I'm better than you in every way.

Jaune: Okay but-

Oscar: I'm-

Jaune pimps’ slaps Oscar across his face. The hand was so strong it almost threw Oscar off. However, once Oscar recovered a little, Jaune slaps him again, knocking the drool off him.

Oscar: Ow!

Jaune: You good? A-are you done? Can I finish?

Oscar: Yeah.

Jaune: Thank you. Now let me tell you something um Pyrrha is dead.

Oscar: Okay, so what? What does she... oh.

Jaune: Yeah, she was reckless, she didn't think and she burdens everything on herself. Does Ruby not do that herself?

Oscar: Um..

Jaune: Okay then shut up. If you like Ruby that much then tell her. This has nothing to do with me. We are not even like that. We're just friends.

Oscar: *feels bad*

Jaune: The only girl I seem to have a relationship with is Yang. And it's not even a romantic one, its playful and sisterly. I mean have you seen her with Blake.

Oscar: True. Wait what about Nora?

Jaune: ... ... ...

Oscar: ... ... ...

Jaune: Teammate. A bit of a sister. Nothing less. Nothing more.

Oscar: Wow. That's low.

Jaune: Now, you are better than me but guess what that ain't much. Like what have you done? What sacrifices have you made? What are your reasons?

Oscar: Um I told James the truth about Salem. I saved everyone at Heaven. I helped in the battle with Cordovan. I saved everyone from Salem.

Jaune: Okay. Ironwood shot you. Cordovan was insane and did not deserve to live or have a job after her recklessness. Plus, Ruby stopped her. You were on a plane. And Ozpin helped more than you in Heaven. And if Hazel didn't buy you any time you would have died. In fact, Hazel is the reason you’re alive.

Me: And the reason your journey started.

Oscar: Well I persuaded him to join the good side.

Jaune: Really, how so?

Oscar: By telling him how to use the lamp. Then he freed me and made me do it myself.

Jaune: So, Hazel just let you go because he didn't believe you?

Oscar: Yep.

Jaune: So, if Hazel called Jinn's name and she appeared, what would have happened then? Like would Hazel have freed you then? Or would he had killed you and just let that be the end?

Oscar: ...

Jaune: So Hazel just showed you pity or you guilt tripped him into helping.

Oscar: I helped with James.

Jaune: Who we jumped.

Oscar: The evacuation.

Jaune: The worse plan we ever made.

Oscar: Oh man.

Jaune: Now, I need to say this, STOP being random. Like first you suck for some reason then you start being cool. Like what the hell?! Oscar, I don't know why I should be wasting my time trying to help you, let alone worry about you if you're somehow going to prove how irrelevant that is. Like I could've been helping Mantle instead of helping you. I could've been trying to talk to James instead of helping you. But no, you're my friend so of course I'll help you.

Oscar: But I'm your partner.

Jaune: No. No you are not. I'm the healer. I'm everybody’s partner.

Me: Basically the brother or the father of the group. No, wait a minute, maybe the mother? Still.

Jaune: Now, for your reason. Why are you here? What is your personal goal?

Oscar: To finish this. This fight with Salem needs to stop. I need to stop the cycle of reincarnation.

Me: Bra, that has nothing to do with you reincarnating. Ozma's mission. Remember?

Oscar: Oh.

Jaune: Basically, until the gods show up and we pass, you have no choices here so... you're here because Ozpin and I fucked up. Mostly me.

Oscar: Oh my brothers.

Jaune: Yeah. Now, listen. Ruby has been going through it. Ask her out. Trust me, you'll be making her day. Believe me. Please, enjoy what little life you might have left because in all honesty you barely have one. Considering your just a mini version of everything I was supposed to be.

Oscar: I'm sorry what?

Jaune: Later. *leaves*

Oscar: Um RatchetMath.

Me: What?

Oscar: Do you hate me?

Me: Yes and no.

Oscar: Why?!

Me: Oscar, I’m not going to lie but in all honesty you should not exist.

Oscar: …

Me: Like I’m not going to cap. You’re just Jaune but with everything else.

Oscar: How?

Me: How? Bra, let me tell you something, have you ever notice how you and Jaune are similar? Like coming into a field with no experience whatsoever. You were getting bullied by others. You were in need a pip talk.

Oscar: But I’m black.

Me: Bra, I’m light skin and I don’t even care for you. I’m fine with black representation but I prefer Ilia over you.

Oscar: What why?

Me: Bra Ilia is black. From a poor neighborhood. Her parents worked in low paying jobs. Her parents are dead. She literally went and lived in Atlas, so she has more awareness of what’s going on there. Plus, team RWBY has one faunus and team JNPR doesn’t. Especially if the said faunus is rich and has some nobility.

Oscar: Shit.

Me: And to be honest Jaune looked like Ozpin. He even looked like Ozma. Other than that if Jaune was Ozpin reincarnation then everything would be some levels the same. Hazel hates Ozpin so will Jaune because what Ozpin has done so far. He sees Ozpin’s life and he would have been even more furious cause none the events needed to happen if Ozpin- no Ozma wasn’t trying to get laid like many so-called heroes. He gets out-casted like he was back at Beacon except Pyrrha’s gone. See where I’m going with this?

Oscar: Yeah.

Me: So, in all honesty Oscar you are just black Jaune Arc. You are just a mere shadow of Jaune’s character. Hint to why I like you. And you know what it’s our fault because we didn’t want Jaune to overshadow Ruby. Even though the sad truth is everyone overshadows Ruby. Plus, our writers refuse to give him a purpose or a character.

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theseerasures · 3 years

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RWBY V08C14 reaction post

haven’t done something like this for this fandom yet, but the finale was so much all at once that i could not muster any level of critical thinking the first go-around. my thoughts have...settled somewhat with a second rewatch. still nothing conclusive (obviously), but at least coherent enough to be written down.

in rough chronological order:

i am very into it, of course, but i’m still not quite sure what to make of the fact that this finale very explicitly pivots around Winter Schnee, to the extent that the episode (sans prologue and coda) are bookended by her. she begins the episode charging into a fight, and ends it the same way. even putting aside that her in-universe presence has increased by magnitudes, that we end a season where she has mostly been a sparse supporting player with THIS has implications i can’t suss out for her narrative role going forward.

going into the finale i thought that Ironwood vs. Winter would turn out to be another RWBY Flagship Fight (ie long and flashy and indulgent in the best ways), but i pretty much knew that wouldn’t be the case once the fight began in earnest and they immediately started talking to each other.

for what we did get i’m happy to say that the Core Dynamic of the fight was exactly what i predicted: Winter rushing in to melee and not giving Ironwood enough time to fire, Ironwood trying to make room by shoving her away and using his cannon as a makeshift club--even down to breaking the cannon formation BACK to dual wielding to give himself an edge.

i will say that for Winter to have blocked him head-on--this is James Ironwood, who once stopped an Alpha Beowolf cold with one bionic hand, and now he’s got TWO--with her broken noodle arms is...incredibly cool. stupid! but cool.

Ironwood doing the double pistol whip while screaming about how no one is grateful has i wouldn’t have to be doing this if you just behaved all over it.

in retrospect i’m not sure why i expected a RWBY Flagship Fight when just about every fight this season has been extremely different. the camera work is always fucking frantic, we’re often cross-cutting between different simultaneous fights, and there are far fewer shots where both combatants are clearly shown and evenly matched. about the only fight we’ve had resembling that is AceOps vs Penny waaaaaaay back in Strings--even the low-stakes triumphant JNPER + Winter vs. Ironwood fight in Creation was extremely short and crosscut with BRA vs. AceOps.

case in point: the showdown in Grand Central takes up pretty much the entire episode, but combatants are continuously entering and exiting, the setting’s physical dimensions feel wonky and surreal, and the fact that half of the people fighting have flight capabilities means we’re relying on wide shots and oners to figure out what the fuck is going on. it’s a war now, and even though we follow only a handful of characters in it the fights carry that grander and more desperate tone.

Cinder relies twice this episode on just fucking nova-ing herself to overwhelm her Maiden opponents. it’s different from how she usually fights, which is still fireballs and conjured swords/projectiles--she’s learning to use her Maiden powers to wreak havoc on a larger scale, which a) reinforces what we already know of Cinder, but b) complements her recent relearning of subtlety and manipulation. still a tenuous balance of extremes that can and will shatter, though.

Weiss got to save everyone during the fight, and none of it mattered in the end.

the thing about priority one is that they all planned for this. they all went in planning for the contingency where they don’t make it out, where they have to watch others not make it out.

Weiss plucking Penny out of the air and Penny pleading to make the sacrifice play is an EXACT recreation of what happened in Enemy of Trust, down to the saved looking up at the savior while the savior is looking onward. she’s just swapped places with the Schnee in question, and...they are the priority targets this time, unfortunately.

Cinder smugly flipping her hair out of...her eyepatch...she really is living her best life and she knows it

Blake made the right choice, and it didn’t matter at all.

Qrow ending the last episode with a berserker charge at Harriet and then immediately pulling back here and trying to talk her down really got to me, as did him trying to block the bomb with his body. the man is so desperately trying to be better than he was, and it doesn’t take a lot anymore for him to realize the right path.

Elm and Vine--

the thing about Elm and Vine is that both their powers boil down to getting attached. so watching Elm hold Vine in place while Vine holds the two airships together, everyone in this little world, it’s...everything i could ever want, out of how the story of the AceOps would end.

Anairis Quinones for dark horse MVP. why can’t you just let me do my job, delivered in the way that it was, is the perfect encapsulation of Harriet Bree desperately trying to outrun her personal feelings and the grief it has given her.

Elm tells Harriet that she’s their friend, to stop her from killing a part of herself as she tries to kill others. it’s the first time this happens in the episode, but not the only time.

Penny saved Blake so they could save Ruby together, and it didn’t matter at all.

our heroes have GOT to stop falling for the “watch the thing flying in the air! OH WAIT I STILL HAVE A WEAPON IN MY HAND WALLOP WALLOP” trick. it happens multiple times in this one episode.

Harriet, who has the fastest Speed Semblance known, says there’s no time to make it out of the blast range. she doesn’t try to outrun it. she just...stays put, and admits that she brought them all here, to this. i’m sorry.

here’s the thing: they’re soldiers. they were prepared for this eventuality, where they don’t make it out. that’s why Elm let Vine go grab Harriet; because she thought they were all going to die, and if that happened she wanted Harriet close enough to reach.

but--just like with Team Hero--some of them do make it out. they just have to watch.

Vine and Hazel sacrificed themselves in the same way in the end: pulling their loved ones close wasn’t working, so they threw themselves around the thing trying to kill them instead.

Ruby was clever, and pragmatic, and brave. it didn’t matter in the end.

Cinder letting Neo fall as soon as she gets a chance proves that she still lacks patience, and that’s going to bite her in the ass.

the Penny-Blake fastball special and the fall; Penny crying tears for the first time, but not moving immediately to rage, as she had last episode, when Yang fell.

Weiss’ shaking hands around Gambol Shroud, crying berserker tears as she tries, desperately, to pull off another miracle. it’s another role reversal in a way: her sister’s the Riza Hawkeye, but she’s the one emptying useless clip after useless clip into an enemy she can’t kill, because her heart has been ripped in two.

the last time Nora Valkyrie saw Jaune Arc, they clasped hands, and their eyes met with determination, and hope.

it figures that a Schnee would be the last one standing, letting all her friends die first. she was right, but again: wrong Schnee.

Weiss diving past Cinder’s blind spot to slice the Grimm Arm, to save Penny--the same script, but the wrong player. and too late.

at Haven, Jaune went from trying to do harm to unlocking his Semblance, and realizing that he was meant to heal. here, he goes from trying to do what he is meant to do, what he has made peace with, to...

it will take a long time, i think, for him to learn to live with himself, even with Penny reassuring him that this is what she wants. to go from wanting to harm to being the one who does no harm, to being forced to acknowledge a person’s right to die, and carry out the deed himself. it’s a new variation on what he’s always had to wrestle with since Pyrrha’s sacrifice.

Weiss managed to outlast Cinder Fall without an Aura WITHOUT getting her entire body broken, Winter

the boundary between material worlds is made of darkness. the boundary between souls is made of light, and there is no danger of falling.

where...what is this? of course Winter doesn’t know. she never would have, even if she had gotten the powers, because she would have used the Transfer machine.

i thought of you, and here we are. that was all it took. the last time Penny saw Winter, Winter was still loyal to Ironwood. she’s only known abstractly, secondhand from Weiss, that Winter was on their side again and trying to help save Mantle, for about an hour. and yet: i thought of you.

and in the face of this thought that is love, Winter averts her eyes. tries in vain to hide her face, because she knows she is unworthy. she doesn’t deserve this.

but here’s the thing: no one deserves this. Penny. are you...the one? even Penny herself wasn’t sure.

you were my friend. the second time it happens this episode. friends save friends from themselves. friends transform what would have been murder into sacrifice.

remember what Penny said to Cinder, shortly before Cinder killed her? you wouldn’t know anything about friends. she’s right. it wasn’t Cinder’s choice, but she’s right. and now Cinder has learned how to use that.

i’ll be part of you. it is, of course, something that’s been brought up repeatedly this whole season. but it’s also what Winter said to Penny after Fria died: she’s a part of you now.

and i do love this yoking together of arc words. Winter is of course the firstborn Schnee, but Winter is, more broadly, The Firstborn in this new generation. so here we have something similar to the chain that begins with Winter letting her sisters go, through Penny letting Emerald go, through Emerald helping Oscar escape, to Atlas’ however ephemeral victory over Salem. what Winter begins--haltingly and with resentment--becomes transformed into radiant grace in the hands of her younger siblings. and she gets to be the direct benefactor this time. the prodigal daughter returns to her family.

during Enemy of Trust we watched from the outside as Oscar fell and Penny rose, as one set of eyes closed as another opened. during The Final Word, we watch from the inside: one set of eyes close. another opens.

Winter’s leitmotif plays on the piano for the first time since the previous season as she comes back to the world. it makes sense. the piano version is for her sisters, and she just left one of them.

here is the apotheosis of Winter Schnee: she gets back up. she falters and sways but she gets back up, and then she, the person who once managed to convince herself that so long as she could make peace with someone else’s choice it meant she too was choosing, tells the man who has been choosing for her for years: you chose nothing. and she rises.

in the end James Ironwood was finished by his petard thrice over. Atlas had defected against him. his greatest creation had become the Maiden and unshackled herself from him. and there is of course, the cannon: a literal petard, in the other words, which he fires at Winter, and Winter reflects back upon him.

Jaune Arc used the heirloom that his family has held for generations to kill a defenseless girl. he took the blade and sunk it in deep, because Penny trusted him and he had to be sure.

and then it shattered in his hands.

there’s something here in the second fight between Maidens, about Cinder having a named weapon and forsaking it for what she can make on the fly, and Winter insistent on using a weapon with no name at all, but i still can’t put my finger on it.

Winter never got to see Weiss try to Summon her Nevermore.

the thing that gets me about how it turns out is: Winter was winning. she’d managed to get her hands on the Staff, and even with Cinder’s immediate counterattack she managed to get the Staff away from Cinder. but then Cinder saw Jaune and Weiss, and she remembered a few days ago, when Penny saved Winter instead of going after Cinder, when Winter attacked Cinder to save Penny.

so Cinder attacks Weiss and Jaune instead of racing for the Staff. and Winter--

this is Winter Schnee. she saves people despite herself. she runs toward them, despite herself. and it has always, always been what saves her.

not anymore.

last time it had been Winter who was in mortal danger, and Weiss who, with Ruby’s help, drove Cinder off. same script, wrong player. and too late.

Weiss falls and for a moment, the camera makes it seem like Winter is falling too.

she wants to. no one deserves this.

the thing you have to ask when characters leap for the exit and fall just short is: is it about faith, or friendship? in Jaune’s case it’s both. his faith broke with Crocea Mors. and the portal is one-way, so he had no friends to grab him from the other side.

but Nora was still trying. they clasped hands. she promised.

the first time Winter sees her family--really sees them, after years of separation--she averts her eyes. she hides her face from them, because how can she tell them that Weiss is gone? how can she tell Penny’s friends that Penny is a part of her now, when Penny is just a part, now?

there are people all around her looking to her. there are voices within her. she has never been more alone.

(Winter Schnee has never met Pyrrha Nikos, and Pyrrha Nikos never became Maiden. because Pyrrha Nikos never became Maiden. Cinder Fall did that, too.)

this is what Winter Schnee thinks, as she screams and charges, as she kills Grimm faster than they are drawn in by her despair: in the fairy tales, eldest siblings never win.

i failed you again, master. master, but not queen.

Cinder won this. the heroes tried and tried and tried and none of it mattered, and she won this. but here’s the thing: Cinder won because she was LUCKY, and because she made her own luck. that she was able to pin things on Neo and Team Hero depended on things going exactly as planned, and some things going better than planned. and the reason she’d even made it that far was because she cheated, with the last use of a divine relic. it doesn’t take away her from her victory, but what i do know is this: this is her finest moment. she will never win as completely ever again, and she will fall farther than she has ever feared. (and that will save her, in the end.)

and that’s checkmate. i said that i wanted Atlas to fall the same way that Amity rose, but of course they did it like this. of course it would horrific yet unspectacular, with its General slumped in defeat, unable to fire a single shot from his gun. with the city in the sky falling onto Mantle, in Mantle’s palette. from the Dust from which it arose into Dust again.

as below, so above.

#rwby #helen writes meta

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bssaz97 · 3 years

Text

2021 Lancaster Week Day 3: Text Chain

After a long day of huntress work, and a shower, Ruby lays prone on her bed trying to unwind and relax. Her hair was still slightly damp but it was nothing traditional air drying could fix. Also Yang held the hair dryer at the time, no one was getting that away from her.

With nothing else to do, Ruby takes out her new scroll, the one provided by General Ironwood, and scrolls through her transferred contacts. While she was happy with this new scroll, she was disappointed that her messages and chats from the previous device were unable to transfer. Nearly two years worth of memories were no longer there and this made Ruby feel slightly bummed out.

While scrolling through her contacts, she notices something that caught her eye. Upon looking carefully at Jaune’s contact icon, gone was Jaune’s old Beacon face, replaced with his Huntsman license picture with current Atlas hairstyle. She did her best to stifle herself from laughing.

Smiling, she taps on Jaune’s contact and opens a chat with her fellow leader and friend.

Ruby: Hey Jaune.

“New scroll, new memories,” Ruby chants to herself. She shifts on her bed, not sure when Jaune would reply to her message. May take a–

Vomit Boy: Hey.

–or he could respond instantly. This works as well.

Ruby: Like your new profile pic!

Ruby: It looks professional. ^_^

Ruby waits for his reply, hoping Jaune was in the mood to talk.

Vomit Boy: Thanks! I’m still processing that we’re technically Huntsmen now.

Ruby: I know, right?

Ruby: It’s so cool!

Vomit Boy: What are you girls up to rn?

Ruby: We got back from a mission, so we’re all pretty tired.

Ruby: You?

Vomit Boy: I’m beat, so are Ren and Oscar. Nora is …well, Nora.

Ruby: lol

Vomit Boy: But we’re good.

Ruby: Nice!

Ruby is glad to hear that Jaune, Ren, Nora and Oscar are settling in nicely. After traveling two continents together, she had established an attachment with everyone on Jaune’s team, so to hear that they were doing well made her happy.

Ruby: Hope you aren’t mad about us leaving you to babysit all those kids.

Vomit Boy: Ha. You don’t say?

Vomit Boy: It’s alright though, I don’t think any of you minus Ren and your sis knows anything about kids.

Ruby: Hey Weiss has a younger sibling!

Vomit Boy: Isn’t he the reason she’s not an heiress anymore?

Ruby: …

Ruby: Fair.

Vomit Boy: Anyway, I took some pictures during the first day of the job. Wanna see?

Ruby: Sure!

Ruby happily kicks her legs back and forth, she’s gonna have some new photos in her gallery, new memories!

Vomit Boy: *shows the front of a elementary school, called “Mantle Elementary”*

Vomit Boy: Here’s the school!

Ruby: I see! Cool!

Ruby knew it wasn’t all that amazing, but it was Jaune’s first day as a huntsman so she wants to support him. He deserves that and more.

Vomit Boy: *shows a group of children waving at the camera*

Vomit Boy: Here are the kids who I was escorting.

Ruby: Aw! ^v^

‘So these were the kids that Jaune looked after as a traffic guard, they look like a good group of kids. Hopefully they didn’t give him too much trouble,’ Ruby ponders while looking at Jaune’s proud face.

Vomit Boy: *A selfie of Jaune… shirtless, fresh from the shower*

Ruby’s face flushes at the sight, nearly dropping her scroll from her hands.

Vomit Boy: CRAP!

Vomit Boy: I didn’t mean to send that!

Vomit Boy: Ignore that picture! DX

That was something Ruby could not do, her eyes were glued to screen as she observes the results of Jaune’s countless night training sessions.

Ruby was no stranger to seeing muscular guys, there were many shirtless men during the first night she spent at Beacon. Seeing her friend shirtless, his chest bare and his abdomen exposed on her scroll screen, it made her cheeks glow as bright as her namesake.

Especially since she was starting to become aware of her budding attraction towards her fellow leader.

Her fingers twitch and hover over her scroll’s key pad, not sure how to reply to this little accident.

~ ~ ~

‘Crap! Crap! Crap! Why didn’t you delete that photo earlier,’ Jaune thought, chiding himself in his head.

He truly didn’t mean to send that embarrassing photo, he misclicked and absentmindedly sent his shirtless frame before he realized his mistake.

How could he fix this? Ruby is an understanding person so she possibly may just brush it off as a simple accident. But the next time they meet will no doubt be awkward.

As he was cursing himself his scroll pings, signifying that Ruby finally responded to his message.

His eyes shift down to look at his chat on this screen.

Crater-Face: You’re ok.

Jaune lets out a sigh of relief, nothing was awkward, at least he still hopes that is the case. Either way, it’s one disaster that was avoided.

He didn’t know what he would do if his long time friend, one that he admires and holds in high regard, found him to be weird, sending mixed signals.

He’s about to type a message of thanks when he sees that Ruby was still typing something.

‘Was there something else she wanted to say?’ Jaune asks himself. He shakes his head dismissively.

‘She probably just wants to make a joke about the picture, like how my hair looks like bananas or something,’ He concludes as he waits for his fellow leader’s reply.

He soon eats his own words quickly, for just as he receives her message though, his jaw dropped.

Crater-Face: *picture of Ruby in her pajamas in her dorm’s bathroom, her hair still damp and shining in the light. She even makes a, shockingly, less than adorable pouting face while her silver eyes star at the camera*

Crater-Face: You should be careful who you send those kinds of pictures to, mister VB. I’m all flustered now. >3<

Jaune was at a loss for words. Had Ruby– was she flirting with him!?

Crater-Face: Well?

Crater-Face: How do I look?

Jaune pauses then pinches himself to make certain that he was not hallucinating– “Ah!” –Nope, he was awake.

This was real. This was his long time friend and newly found crush texting him a selfie and asking for validation.

His validation.

Jaune’s fingers tremble over his scroll’s keypad.

~ ~ ~

Ruby sits down on the counter awaiting Jaune’s reply, nervously twiddling her finger. She really hoped that she wasn’t too forward, it took a lot of tries and effort on her part to get it just right. Nervously angling and posing for the picture she just sent, and even still that was the fourth one she had managed to take.

She feels her scroll ping, he replied. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, she looks down to see what he said.

Vomit Boy: You look amazing. <3

Ruby lets out a shaky laugh, next thing she knows her face is flushed again. Only this time, it’s accompanied with giggles of elation.

In the next room over, Jaune was having a similar reaction. Smiling ear to ear at the “heart” he got in reply.

Crater-Face: ^v^ <3

— Fin.

@knight-of-lancaster

#lancaster week 2021 #ruby x jaune #rwby jaune x ruby #ruby rose #rwby ruby rose #rwby ruby #rwby jaune #rwby jaune arc #rwby lancaster #lancaster rwby #rwby ruby x jaune #jaune arc #text chat

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ofstarsandvibranium · 4 years

Text

Flowers for Spencer

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Spencer Reid x F!Reader

Summary: Spencer starts receiving flowers from a secret admirer. A different one each day, a different meaning.

A/N: It’s 2am and I decided to write a spencer reid oneshot because i’m completely soft for this man. enjoy.

A white carnation sat on Spencer’s desk when he arrived to work. Just a single flower with no note or indication of who it was from.

He picked it up with an intrigued expression on his face, gaining the attention of Emily and Derek.

“Whatcha got there, Reid?” Emily asked as she set her things on her desk.

“Dianthus caryophyllus, also known as a carnation. Different colored carnations represent different meanings. For example, a white carnation represents something being sweet or love.”

Derek snorted, “Someone in love with you, Reid?”

The young doctor shrugs, “I don’t know. I might be looking too much into it. Someone probably just picked a random flower and placed it on my desk.”

Emily cocked her head to the side and looked at Spencer curiously, “No, I think that flower was given to you for a reason, Reid.” Her eyes widened and she stood up from her desk, pointing at the flower, “I bet someone has a crush on you and they’re trying to tell you through the flowers!”

“That’s creepy,” Derek retorted as he took a sip from his coffee.

Emily rolled her eyes, “Well I think it’s sweet.”

“What’s sweet?” you ask when you approach Spencer and Emily, handing them their respective to-go cups of coffee.

“Our good doctor here has a secret admirer,” Derek points out with a grin.

You look back at Spencer with a soft smile, “That so?”

He shyly smiles back and shrugs, “It could be nothing. But it’s nice. Never received flowers before.”

“Well whoever it is, that’s very sweet of them. Anyway, JJ said to meet in the briefing room in five. I just gotta grab some files to I’ll see you guys there.”

____________

The next day, Spencer found another flower on his desk. This time it was a

“Bellis perennis, known as the common daisy.” Spencer states when JJ, Derek, Penelope, and Emily gather around him as he holds the flower in between his fingers.

“And what does this one stand for?” Emily asks.

“Innocence and purity.”

Derek nods in agreement, “I mean, I think that sums you up perfectly, Reid.”

Spencer looks at him confusedly, “Thanks?”

“Okay, okay. Do we know anyone who has a particular fondness of flowers?”

The small group stand in silence for three seconds and proceeded to shake their heads, “Nope. Not a clue.”

You approached everyone with files in your arms and a curious look on your face, “What’s everyone standing around for?”

“Our adorable Doctor Reid received another flower from his secret admirer. They think he’s innocent and pure.” Derek chimes in, answering your question.

“Which I don’t understand, at all.” Spencer retorts.

“I think it’s cute,” Penelope states, “Guys often don’t receive flowers and I’m glad it’s you, Spencer.”

“Thanks, Garcia.” he replies shyly and then looks back at you, “Do you have any idea who it might be? Have you seen anyone hanging close to my desk lately?”

You give him a shake of your head, “No, sorry, Spence. But I think it’s nice of whoever it is for them to do this.”

He hums in agreement and sits back down at his desk once everyone disperses, “Oh!” his face lights up, “I just remembered, the new edition of Agents of Atlas series released today! If we have time, you wanna come with me to get it?”

“Sure! Maybe afterwards, we can go to the pizza place down the street from there?”

“Sounds like a plan!”

“Great!” you say enthusiastically before following JJ to her office.

Derek, who witnessed the interaction, rolled over to Spencer’s desk with a smirk on his face, “You and Y/N?”

Spencer already gives him a disapproving look, “We’re just friends.”

“What if she’s your secret admirer? It makes sense right? Ever since JJ hired her as her assistant, you two have been connected at the hip! You’re into the same nerdy stuff, she always listens to you go off on your tangents. She’s sweet and pretty and-”

“And we’re just friends,” Spencer said again with a pointed look, “I don’t-” he paused and let out a sigh, “I don’t think she sees me like that, Morgan. She’s-She’s too good for me.”

It was Derek’s turn to give him a pointed look, “Reid, she’s perfect for you. But fine, whatever. Instead of yearning for some mystery person you have your dream girl right in front of you.” he then rolls back to his desk, getting back into the zone of looking over case files.

_________

It’s been almost two years since you were hired to be JJ’s assistant. She was an amazing and efficient woman, but she finally caved after she realized that work was consuming her and she needed help. That’s when you stepped in and it was the best thing to ever happen to you. Sort of. Sure, you had to read through some really violent and cruel files, but you also aided in helping save lives. Not to mention, you grew close to the one Doctor Spencer Reid.

On your first day, you two immediately hit it off. He noticed your Star Trek pin on your bag, quoting a Spock line to you that made you grin from ear to ear.

You two shared a lot of the same interests and your personalities were fairly similar. Derek had complained that now there were two Reids he had to work with, but you knew he meant it jokingly.

Getting to know Spencer and growing close with him was something you enjoyed. You loved spending time with him, listening to him ramble and go on random tangents. Everything he said was so remarkably fascinating, you wished he would never stop talking. You grew to like him more than a friend.

Eventually, you realized that your small crush you harbored had grown into something more and you didn’t know what to do. Spencer was the best friend you’ve ever had. He understood you so well and not to mention you two got along fantastically. You just didn’t want to put your friendship at risk.

So what did you resort to? Leaving him flowers to express how you felt.

______________

“Is that lavender?” Penelope asked, sniffing the air when she entered the bullpen.

Derek nodded, “Yup. Another gift from Spencer’s secret admirer. Apparently this one means admiration.”

She looked at Spencer in awe, “Wow. A flower every single day this week, Spencer. This person must really like you! You got an idea who it is yet?”

He shook his head, “Nope.”

That made her confused, “But you’re a profiler. Can’t you figure it out? Oh! Wait! I can hack into the cameras and figure it out for you!” she began to rush towards her office, but Spencer called out to her.

“Please, don’t. I-I don’t wanna embarrass whoever this is.”

“But don’t you wanna know who’s gone sweet on ya?” she asks with a friendly smile.

He shrugs, “Yeah, but-I don’t know. I want them to build up the courage to reveal themselves to me. Plus...I like the attention. No one’s ever given me flowers before, let alone shown this much interest in me.”

Penelope wanted to say something, something that she knew but also didn’t know. She had a hunch, but she didn’t want to rile Spencer up with the risk of her being wrong. So instead, she gave him a smile and a nod, and said, “Understood.”

____________

It was late and everyone had left for the night. A case still in progress, but Hotch ordered everyone to get a good night’s sleep to rest their brains.

You were the only one left, wanting to finish up some tasks that you haven’t been able to complete since the case had emerged.

When you were finished, you exited JJ’s office and peered into the bullpen. Empty. So you quickly and carefully pulled out the flower that you planned on giving Spencer.

You rushed over to his desk, placing it at his workstation, a soft smile on your lips.

“You should tell him,” the voice made you jump with a gasp. Heart on your hand you turned around to see Hotch standing in the doorway of his office.

“I thought everyone left.” you murmured.

“Just had some things to finish up.” he closed his office door and walked towards you. He stood before you, stuffing his hands in his pockets and nodded towards Spencer’s desk, “You should tell him.”

“I will just not right now. I just-I don’t know how to tell him. And if I do, what if he rejects me? Then our entire friendship is washed down the toilet because I couldn’t control my feelings.”

“He likes you too, Y/N.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m a profiler. It’s my job,” he says with a smirk. He gives you a soft nudge, “Lemme walk you to your car.”

You sighed and agreed, following him out of the bullpen with a plan brewing in your mind.

___________

“Ranunculus,” Spencer’s head shoots up when he hears your voice and sees you staring down at him, “Means you have charm and you’re attractive. But I’m sure you knew that already.”

He clears his throat and sits up more, “Yeah,” he looks down at the flower in his hand and back up at you, “So what do you think of all this? It’s been a week and a half and my secret admirer still hasn’t revealed themselves to me. Should I just treat it as a case and start profiling them?”

A part of you wanted to reject that idea completely, but you had to remain cool. So you shrugged, “Don’t know. Maybe they’re just trying to buy a little bit more time.”

“I think by the end of the week, if they don’t reveal themselves, I’ll just go looking for them instead. Do you think that sounds like a good idea?”

“It’s your life, Spence. You do what you want. My opinion shouldn’t matter.”

“But it does. Your opinion matters a lot to me,” he says softly, a shy grin on his face, one that you came to love.

You hear someone clear their throat and you turn around to see JJ, “Sorry, Y/N, but I need some help.”

“Right, sorry!” you give Spencer a wave and head back to JJ’s office to assist her.

________________

It was the last day of the week and Spencer was disappointed to find his desk lacking a flower.

His coworkers all peering at the surface, frowns matching his own.

“No flower?” Emily asked.

“Guess not.”

“Maybe someone took it and threw it away?” Derek asked.

Spencer shook his head, “No. No. I think-I think that means they’re gonna come clean. My secret admirer is going to reveal themselves to me today.”

Cue the group discussing who it could possibly, chattering among themselves sharing their own respective theories. All the while, Spencer plops into his chair and begins to take out a file and notebook from his bag.

When he hears someone clear their throat, he looks up, eyes catching yours briefly before landing on a single red rose in your hand.

“Hi,” you greeted him mousily. Nervous butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

“Hi,” Spencer murmured softly, standing to his feet, “Whatcha got there?”

You look down at the rose, finger delicately grazing along its petals, “For you,” you extend it to him and he takes it, “It’s me. I’m your secret admirer. And if you don’t feel the same, it’s okay. i just-I dunno. You’re kind and smart and funny and wonderful and an amazing friend. I’ve never met anyone like you, Spencer.”

“How long?”

“Hm?” you look at him now and you see the softness in his eyes.

“How long have you had feelings for me?”

“Three months after I started working here.”

He chuckles in disbelief, “Almost two years and we could’ve been dating during this entire time.”

You look at him confusedly until realization struck you, “You-”

“Yeah,” he says with a smile, “For just as long.”

“Oh,” you say with a shy grin.

“Score!” Penelope and Derek high five, breaking the sweet moment you and Spencer were having. JJ and Emily were digging through their wallets handing over the other two money.

Realizing what was happening, both you and Spencer looked at them in shock, “You bet on us?!”

“Not necessarily,” Emily murmured in dismay.

“We all made bets on who we thought the secret admirer was. Morgan and Garcia bet it was you.”

“And I did as well,” Hotch added with a smirk on his face as he reached out to collect his winnings.

You scoffed, “That’s not fair, Hotch! You already knew!”

The group looked at their boss in surprise and disappointment. He shrugged, “I caught her placing a flower on his desk last week when everyone left.”

“I’ll be taking that!” Spencer plucked the money out of Hotch’s hands.

“And what’re you gonna use that money on?” Derek asked.

Spencer looked at you and smiled, “A date.”

#spencer reid x reader #criminal minds #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid

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angelsunflowers-fanfics · 3 years

Text

[Borderlands] Rhys Strongfork x Female!Secretary!reader x Timothy Lawrence WIP

Genre: ?

Linktree

~~~~

It had been 7 years since Handsome Jack’s death; the first time with the vault hunters and the second with Rhys having to rip out his cybernetics. It’s been hard for everyone, all the trauma and stress that they’ve been through.

Not to mention the nightmares that Rhys tended to get from time to time. But luckily for the new CEO of Atlas, he had (y/n), his secretary and best friend of multiple years.

He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get through everything that he had from the last 6ish years without (y/n). That’s for certain. And it didn’t hurt that she knew a thing or two about fighting.

But currently, Rhys had a very important meeting.

He didn't want to scare (y/n) about who was currently on his way right now. Though, Rhys didn’t exactly know of (y/n)'s vault hunting past.

She did try to tell him on more than one occasion, but he always thought that she was joking.

Even after saving Rhys multiple times, he still had an urge to protect (y/n).

"Okay, that's it. What's going on? You've been looking nervous all morning… Well, more so than usual," (y/n) said with worry.

Rhys frowned at the comment but still kept the identity of his meeting a secret. Instead of answering (y/n)'s question, he idly sipped on the coffee she just brought to him and waited.

"Someone's coming, and I need you not to freak out." Rhys said, as he tried to be discreet with this information. (y/n) rested a hand on one of her hips and gave Rhys a playful glare.

"You mean like what you're doing?" She questioned as she leaned in close to him, too close. He could smell the vanilla scent on her skin and felt just how warm she was.

Just the thought of (y/n) being so close to his own body made Rhys rethink the entire meeting.

Of course, he always had an infatuation with her. How could he not?

(y/n)'s soft and sweet but at the same time knew how to kick some ass if needed.

But before he could either kiss her delicious lips or cancel the meeting altogether, the elevator stopped on the final floor.

Rhys glanced at his monitor and saw the person he's supposed to be meeting with. His hands shook with nervousness. Rhys never thought that he would have to deal with someone like him again.

Like Handsome Jack, but it wasn’t not Jack. He died, twice. Rhys made sure of that.

Seeing that Rhys was in his little world and that he wasn't going to answer them, (y/n) continued with small tasks around the office while Rhys anxiously waited for the person on his monitor to walk to his office.

As (y/n) started to hum a tune to calm down Rhys, she decided to make a cup of tea for him in hopes of relaxing his nerves before this big meeting.

But then (y/n) heard a voice she’d never thought she would ever hear again. A voice that is eerily similar to that of Handsome Jack’s but just a twinge of nervousness and anxiety: Timothy Lawrence, the man that (y/n) loved when they used to work together. Though, that kind of love never truly disappears.

(y/n) didn't want to say anything in the case that this doppelgänger could be someone other than Timothy, her Timothy.

Rhys tore his gaze from his ‘guest’ for a second and saw a look he could only describe as hope cross (y/n)’s features. His eyebrows narrowed in confusion. He can’t understand why (y/n) would express any emotion except fear for the man only ten feet away.

But before Rhys could casually tell (y/n) to leave, before anything happened, (y/n) dropped a packet of sugar on the ground thus alerting her presence to the doppelgänger.

Timothy felt his heart skip a few beats at the sight of his beloved from what felt like a lifetime ago. (y/n), his partner in more than just vault hunting.

“(y/n)?” Timothy almost whispered her name.

Without being able to help herself and fully well-knowing that the doppelgänger in front of her very eyes was the one and only Timothy Lawrence, (y/n) ran straight into him. She barely gave him any time to register the extra weight added onto him as she launched herself into his arms, happy to finally see the man she had presumed dead years ago right in front of her own eyes.

“I-I can’t believe you’re here. I thought you were dead,” (y/n) mumbled, her face nuzzled into the crook of Timothy’s neck as she tried to soak in everything new about him to compare what she knew of him 7 years ago.

While the two ex-vault hunters were busy embracing each other and catching up, Rhys slowly stood from his desk: shocked. He wasn't aware of how the two knew each other.

Timothy let his real hand caress the side of his old lovers’ face. He didn't know what their relationship was anymore, it had been too long to possibly know.

“… You thought I was dead? You don’t think I blame you, do you?” Timothy questioned her, eyes trained on her for any visible signs of emotion that he could pick up.

(y/n) bit on her bottom lip in guilt. Timothy always could read her like a book.

She did feel guilty of not looking too deeply for him. But it wasn't like Jack was going to tell her anything.

“I mean, I would. I wanted to look for you but… there weren’t any leads or a trace to where you were…” (y/n) explained.

Timothy slowly set (y/n) onto her own feet before he grabbed both of her hands in a gentle grasp, wanting his point to get across in the best way, “There wasn’t anything you could do. You of all people knew how Jack was.”

Timothy was true to his word, he couldn't blame her for Jack’s wrongdoings. It wouldn’t make any sense.

Now that (y/n) was in front of him instead of right in his arms, Timothy could get a good, long look at her. His eyes slowly raked over her circle skirt that rested around her waist and the cute professional long-sleeved she was currently wearing. Timothy had never seen (y/n) wearing something like this. But it would be a lie to himself if he said that he didn’t adore her in that outfit.

One of his hands released its grasp to trail the fabric, his fingers grazed against her waist which caused (y/n) to shudder lightly though this was not Timothy’s intention. He slowly rubbed his fingers around the fabric, trying to understand her new life in every aspect.

“You look amazing,” Timothy complimented.

(y/n) toyed with her skirt lightly, this was the outfit that she normally wore, but she never pictured herself in it if she were to ever meet Timothy again.

“I never thought that you’d be the secretary type, but it suits you,” Timothy elaborated from his previous comment.

Before overthinking and backing out, Timothy leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. He didn't want to outright kiss her properly if she wasn't ready or in a romantic relationship with someone else.

(y/n) opened her mouth to continue talking, perhaps about their relationship, but Rhys finally decided to intervene as it seemed the two completely forgot about why they were all there. Rhys cleared his throat a bit obnoxiously, he had been standing there for the last few minutes watching them embrace each other.

(y/n) realized that she should probably formally introduce the two as that is kind of her job, "Timothy, this is the CEO of Atlas, Rhys Strongfork." (y/n) turned to Rhys for the first time in 5 minutes and caught the expression on his face before he was able to cover it with a mask: Confusion and perhaps jealousy. But she continued, "Rhys, this is Timothy. We were partners in vault hunting… and lovers." Rhys felt his heart drop. He knew that look in Timothy's eyes, it was the same way he looked at (y/n) every day.

He should've figured everything out the second (y/n) leapt into the doppelgänger's arms like that. And the way she was smiling like she didn't have any more worries anymore… Rhys had never seen her smile quite like that before.

“(y/n), can you go get breakfast for me and our guest, please?” Rhys politely ordered (y/n).

(y/n) quickly snapped out of her gaze with Timothy before she smiled at Rhys and left the office as soon as she’s able. Though she did shoot Timothy one last flustered glance on her way out. Timothy takes a few deep breaths to calm the flush on his face and the beating of his heart.

Everything happening was so unexpected. Moxxi did say that there was a surprise at Atlas, but he thought she was just talking about a new hand, not his lover from nearly a decade ago.

Though after 7 years of being trapped in what Timothy could only describe as hell, it seemed fitting that the universe would gift him something like this.

"I’ve never seen her that happy before…” Timothy shook himself out of his daydream at the sound of the CEO’s statement. Timothy wasn't sure of what to say, so he stayed silent for the time being. But luckily, Rhys continued, "Look, I know you were together, but I'm in love with her as well." There was a beat of silence as Timothy pondered over Rhys’ words.

He knew something was going on but not this. Timothy scrambled his head for something to say. Should he

#Rhys Strongfork #Rhys Strongfork x reader #timothy lawrence #timothy lawrence x reader #Borderlands #Borderlands x reader #wip #Wips

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thebigqueer · 3 years

Note

👉👈 if you wrote the whole I just delivered a baby feel my hands interaction from Will's perspective I would love you forever

okay, i specifically had to read this scene again and let me tell you, i high key cringed because i just remembered how kinda bad the ending of blood of olympus was alskjskfdkfsd

anyway, i hope you love me forever because i will definitely be granting your wish. thanks for the prompt, and i hope you like this!

and, as always: i usually do minimal editing on these, so please don’t judge my writing too much alskjjlkdf

Will will admit, the morning has been quite an adventure in itself.

It started when his cabin awoke with the cries of a distressed Clarisse, who slammed open the door of the Apollo cabin at exactly 3:43 AM and screamed at the top of her lungs, while also banging pots and pans, “THE BABY IS COMING! THE BABY IS COMING! William Andrew Solace, GET your ass over here!”

In all his life, Will’s cured lots of sicknesses and injuries. But never has he had to take care of a woman giving birth.

All in all, he thinks he did pretty well. Save for the almost-fainting part of the birth, he got the baby delivered perfectly healthy and relatively easily (although he’s sure Mellie would disagree), and Coach Hedge was there to even see it.

After handing over the child, the exhausted son of Apollo, savoring the sweetness of the new family’s moment, smiles and excuses himself. He's sure he is going to pass out any moment from both tiredness and excitement, and he is ready to recount all of the past two and a half hours to Cecil and Lou Ellen.

He steps out of the infirmary, surprised by how much lighter the sky has become. The sun rises, spreading its golden glow over the camp, and he has to shield his eyes from the brightness. Despite the beauty, though, there’s a dread that’s settled over the camp, a nervous electricity that has demigods buzzing left and right.

Demigods trudge to Half-Blood Hill, decorated with armor over their bodies. Will frowns, his own heart thudding faster. He can’t quite believe there’s another war about to happen, in just a little bit, after just barely surviving one last summer.

With a jolt, Will remembers the lives lost, the people who’ve slipped from his grasp in the last battle. His face burns with the shame of losing them, of failing them. Why couldn’t I have done better? he scolds himself.

With the prospective battle, he feels an even larger weight on his shoulders, the mass of stress crushing him. He feels as if he is Atlas, carrying the bulk of the universe on his body, doomed to serve this job for the rest of eternity.

The pressure of tears and anger presses against his throat, threatening to let loose. He swallows, trying to suppress it, but he can feel himself failing at doing so; his body shudders, his fists clench. He wants to drop to his knees and sob right here, right now. He’s so useless to everyone here. He’s failed so many people. How many will he fail today?

A voice calls his name from the distance, and for a second, Will stops thinking about all the horrors he’s seen. He turns his head in the direction that he heard the voice, but he can’t seem to find it. He frowns.

“Psst!” the voice calls again, and this time Will realizes it is clearly feminine. He swivels his head to the bushes in front of him, and almost screams when he sees eyes peering at him through the leaves.

For a second, he doesn’t recognize the faces that stare back at him. Only after he rubs his eyes does he realize that it’s Lou Ellen and Cecil. A shaky smile wavers on his lips. “Hey, guys. What are you doing?”

The two wrestle out of the bushes, shoving twigs aside. They rush over to the son of Apollo, excitement plastered over their faces. “Wanna help us scout the enemy?” Lou Ellen asks, her voice rising with enthusiasm. A mischievous sparkle twinkles in her eyes. “I’m practicing my Mist-controlling powers, and I think I’m getting pretty good.”

Will looks at Cecil, who nods in encouragement. “Come on, dude. You’ve been in the infirmary all day. I’m sure delivering a baby is probably more exciting than us, but...” He shrugs, and a sadness envelops his face. “I guess we just don’t know how much longer we have. Don’t you wanna spend it together?”

Will’s heart clutches and his skin prickles with goosebumps. He looks at his two friends, people he’s known for so long. He realizes that Cecil’s right; they don’t know how much longer they have with each other. The realization hits Will right where it hurts.

Taking a deep breath, he nods. “Alright, I could use a break. Let’s do it.”

~~~

Fifteen minutes later, Will, Cecil, and Lou Ellen are clad in black clothing, giggling in the bushes on the outskirts of camp. They watch the enemy wander around, setting up their equipment, shouting to one another. Peering at them, a spark of confusion consumes Will. They look like normal demigods; why are they warring, anyway? Who decided on this? Why can’t they just get along, share their similar stories? The entire thing is pretty pointless and sad, Will thinks, since they could have been friends. But instead, the two camps decided only on warring, setting their differences first and foremost.

It’s a little disheartening, to say the least. Will knows that this is the nature of humankind, that people tend to only see differences. But they are demigods; aren’t they a little above humans? Shouldn’t they know better?

But even then, they still have humanity in them. And as ugly as humanity can be, it’s still humanity. This is what humans are like. People must learn to accept. Will only sighs at this thought.

As he mulls this thought over, Will, Cecil, and Lou Ellen skitter over to Thalia’s pine tree, hoping to get a better view of the Roman demigods. Their faces brighten under the rising sun, illuminating their faces. The warmth seeps through Will’s skin, sinking into his bones. He want to keep that warmth there, absorb the light. He’s afraid of the darkness that might come after the war.

As they reach the tree, Will almost stops in astonishment. Because standing righ there, in a ridiculously bright Hawaiian T-shrit and black jeans, a Stygian sword at his side, stands Nico di Angelo. Will almost trips over himself.

For a second, Will stumbles. What on earth is he doing here? Didn’t he leave camp? Didn’t he go rogue? Didn’t he leave Will here, in the very same place, on a morning much like this one, just a year ago?

Cecil and Lou Ellen stop with him, confusion spilling over their features. “What’s wrong?” Cecil asks, nudging Will. “Dude, we’re in the light. Let’s go.”

Will only shakes his head in response and hurries over to the son of Hades, a strange feeling sparking in his blood. Is it resentment? Is it relief? He’s not quite sure. All he knows is that he never thought he’d see Nico again, and especially not dressed like that.

When Will reaches him, the son of Hades doesn’t seem to notice he’s right there. His dark eyes are also focused on the Roman demigods, peering over them, oozing hatred.

“Nico?” Will whispers, his voice quiet in the morning. Lou Ellen and Cecil crouch by Will, peering over at him in surprise.

Nico whirls suddenly, a look of fear in his eyes. He snaps his sword in their direction, just barely missing Will. The son of Apollo stumbles a bit, trying to jump past it.

The son of Hades’ eyes focus, clearing up as he stares at the three demigods. His face betrays a series of emotions: first confusion, then shock, and finally irritation. He opens his mouth to speak, but Will snaps first. Gesturing to the sword, he hisses, “Put that down! What are you doing here?”

Nico blinks, surprise written over his face. Then he shakes his head and frowns at Will. “Me?” he asks, eyebrows furrowing. “What are you doing here? Getting yourselves killed?”

Will’s blood boils with Nico’s tone. Their first time meeting in over a year, and that’s how he’s going to talk to Will? The son of Apollo scowls. “Hey, we’re scouting the enemy.” Spreading his palms, he assures, “We took precautions.”

A dark eyebrow rises on Nico’s face, a look of doubt painting his face. “You dressed in black with the sun coming up. You painted your face but didn’t cover that mop of blond hair. You might as well be waving a yellow flag.” He rolls his eyes.

Will’s face feels warm, the heat of humiliation coursing through his nerves. “Lou Ellen wrapped some Mist around us, too.”

The two looked over at the girl, whose eyes were widened in surprise. Suddenly put on spot, her own face turns as red as Will’s. She greets Nico and tells him that the demigod next to her is Cecil, a son of Hermes.

A moment of hesitation burns between the four demigods, waiting for the next move. Nico’s eyes switch over the three of them, deciding what to do, testing how great they are. Will puffs out his chest, a look of determination in his eyes. You know me, he wants to say. Don’t play this way.

Finally, Nico kneels and asks about Coach Hedge and his arrival at camp, whether he got here safely. Despite his irritation earlier, Will allows a smile to come over his face at the mention of the satyr. Lou Ellen giggles, and Will nudges her, though a bout of elation envelops him, too. He smiles at Nico, assuring him that the satyr is fine.

Nico asks about the child, a look of momentary excitement passing over his face. The smile on Will’s face widens despite himself, elated to talk about the new baby. “He’s fine, too,” Will promises. “A very cute little satyr boy.” His skin crawls again, but this time with the memory of the birth. He’d never seen such terrifying yet beautiful scenes in his life. A shudder echoes through him. “But I delivered it,” informs the son of Apollo, grimacing. “Have you ever delivered a baby?”

Nico frowns, a look of confusion and disgust rolling over his face. “Um, no.”

Will shrugs and tells him that he just needed the fresh air; the mission with Lou Ellen and Cecil would help him. A grin takes over his face again as he announces, “My hands are still shaking.” He holds out his palms and blinks at them. “See?”

Without thinking, Will takes Nico’s hand. In hindsight, he probably should have considered how Nico would react, and how strange this interaction might be after not seeing each other in months, but he isn’t quite thinking. With the baby’s birth, the potential battle, and with Nico’s sudden appearance, can anyone blame him for feeling frenzied and dazed, with having practically no brain functionality at such an early time in the morning?

A buzz echoes through Will’s palms, electrifying his nerves. His bones resonate, hum, emanate energy. He isn’t sure why this is happening; it’s as if being with Nico again, feeling his fingers in his, he’s unlocked something. For a second, Will sees and feels and hears nothing but the son of Hades. But then, just a split second later, he feels it: a cold, empty darkness, seeping from Nico’s hands. Will’s not sure anyone can quite feel darkness, so this is quite the strange interaction for him. He feels void, alone, as if no one is around. He almost pulls away when Nico does it first.

“Whatever,” he grumbles. “We don’t have time for chitchat. The Romans are attacking at dawn, and I’ve got to-”

Will frowns, but what else did he expect? Of course Nico’s going to want to move straight ahead. A buzz of annoyance echoes in him. He doesn’t like that he’s talking to them as if they don’t understand the seriousness of the situation. Before Nico can continue, he snaps back, explaining that they know what’s going on. He raises an eyebrow at Nico. “But if you’re planning to shadow-travel to that command tent, forget it.”

A look of rage passes over Nico, darkness roiling in his irises. “Excuse me?” he growls, eyes glaring. Will feels that he’s pushed too far, too much, but he stands his ground. Nico just got back to camp; he’s not going to risk his life just for this.

Will holds his chin high. With a look of determination, and as much bravery as he can master in front of the son of Hades, he informs him that Coach Hedge was very descriptive in his warnings of Nico and his shadow-travelling. “You can’t try that again.”

Nico’s jaw clamps hard, anger pouring in bouts. He watches Will daringly, as if saying, Watch me. “I just did try it again, Solace. I’m fine.”

Will almost scoffs. If that darkness he felt just moments ago was any indication, the son of Hades is not fine. Rage boils over in Will’s body; why can’t he just understand that maybe there are people here who actually care that he doesn’t risk himself again? Why is he always the one to put himself in danger?

And yet, he feels a connection to Nico. He knows what it’s like to want to push yourself to the extreme, especially if it means that you save the ones you love. And for this reason, he finds himself even more irritated in Nico. If they’re so alike, then Will finds him just as equally annoying as he finds himself.

He rambles to Nico about how he can feel the darkness oozing from him, the risk he’d be making if he makes that jump one more time. As he does, he watches the son of Hades raise his eyebrow, not surprised, as if he knows what this jump could mean. With a jolt, Will realizes that maybe that’s what Nico wants - to not exist anymore. Red hot tears push against his throat, but he grounds himself. “You are not shadow-traveling. Doctor’s orders.”

Nico opens his mouth and starts streaming excuses about the Romans, but Will won’t have it. He’s not losing Nico after only just now seeing him again. The son of Apollo assures Nico that they’ll take care of them, that it’ll be fine. Lou Ellen even has the Mist to control; they don’t need Nico risking his life.

Nico looks as though he wants to argue, say something, but he chooses wisely to keep his lips sealed. Instead, he stares at Will, dark eyes bearing into blue ones. There’s a depth to them, Will realizes. It’s as if he’s seen terrible, dark things. He looks shattered; broken; cracked. Will’s body relaxes with pity, with remorse, but he stands his ground.

Will’s been begging the gods for Nico to come back for months. He left with barely an explanation, leaving Will at the summit of Half-Blood Hill so many months ago, wallowing in his confusion. He won’t let Nico escape his grasp again, not when he’s only now returned.

A fiery hot tension stretches between the boys as they stare each other down. Will knows Cecil and Lou Ellen are watching them, surprised. The boys hold each other in this strange staring competition, trying to get the other to relent.

But Will’s stubborn, just like Nico is. There will only be one winner in this battle.

Will won’t let Nico slip away again.

Nico sighs in exasperation, throwing his hands up. “Whatever,” he grumbles, and a wave of white hot elation washes over Will. Relief consumes him. He won’t be shadow-traveling, Will thinks, relaxation taking over his body.

Nico continues glaring at Will, but the son of Apollo doesn’t even care. Nico juts his chin forward, and dark wisps of hair fall into his eyes, fluttering over the dark brown irises. “You’ll follow my lead.”

Will smiles, relishing the win of the silent argument. He spreads his hands in a placating gesture. “Fine. Just don’t ask me to deliver any more satyr babies, and we’ll get along great.”

#wow that took me like an hour and a half to write whoops #anon tag #asks #fic prompts #nico di angelo #will solace #solangelo #heroes of olympus #hoo #blood of olympus #boo #solangelo fanfic #solangelo fic #nico x will #will x nico #rick riordan #riordanverse #riordanverse fanfic #riordanverse fic

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hutchhitched · 4 years

Text

Screw West

Written by: @hutchhitched

Prompt 137: Friends to lovers road trip au! Katniss wants to take a summer off to explore the country, Peeta volunteers to go with her. Bonus points if one of them is an absolutely oblivious idiot. [submitted by anonymous]

Ratings/Warnings: T

A/N: I’m continuing to post the nine @everlarkficexchange prompts I took and then sat on throughout the early months of the pandemic. Usually, I travel a lot during the summer, but not so much in 2020. Instead, I wrote this story for you. Enjoy!

___________

Peeta Mellark sifted through a stack of notes and sighed in frustration. “None of this makes sense anymore,” he grunted. “I thought the point of planning this was to have a, I don’t know, plan or something.”

Katniss Everdeen, his best friend since their freshman biology class a million years ago, looked at him in amusement and rolled her eyes.

“I thought you were supposed to be the spontaneous one in this friendship, Mellark” she laughed. “I promised you a road trip, but only if you’ll help me figure out some kind of time frame for when we’ll be back. I have lesson plans to write for the fall, you know. Some of us actually have a schedule. I know this was my idea, but you did agree to join me.”

Peeta grinned at her mischievous smile and shrugged. He’d been hopelessly in love with her since forever, and she had no idea how excited he was that she’d agreed to him accompanying her on her trip. The fact that she’d told him she wanted to take the summer to explore the US, and he’d called in every favor he could at his job to make this happen was something he’d never admit. He’d had to lobby his editor pretty hard to convince him that Peeta could write his column remotely and that doing so from different tourist destinations would actually strengthen his following rather than diminish it. Haymitch Abernathy only budged when the newspaper’s owner, Effie Trinket, pressured him to agree. Peeta wasn’t about to question Haymitch’s approval. With orders to keep the costs to a minimum and turn in his stuff on time, his boss had told him to report back after Labor Day.

So, he’d broached the subject with Katniss, hoping she hadn’t been joking when she said she wanted to head out and see all the things she’d never had a chance to in her childhood. He’d been absolutely ecstatic when she’d hugged him hard and thanked him for being her road trip buddy across America. The problem was they had no idea where they were going, no concrete plan, and absolutely no idea how to make a firm decision.

“Maybe we could start on the East Coast and work our way south first,” he suggested, but she shook her head.

“I think I’ve done that. I mean, we both grew up in the Appalachians. Didn’t you see about as much of the eastern seaboard as you’ve ever wanted to? I haven’t been to Florida, but it seems kinda similar to the outer banks in North Carolina and the Low Country in South Carolina and Georgia. I’ve definitely been there.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but it seems like a waste to head due west when we’ve got the time to ramble a bit.”

“Screw west? What?”

“Due, Katniss. Due west.”

“Ah. That makes more sense.” She nodded thoughtfully, but then made a note. “Maybe we can swing back through the South on the way home later in the summer?”

“Sounds good,” he agreed. “So, we’re going north first?”

“Maybe just west like you said? I don’t know. I want to see what’s on the other side of the mountains. I’ve never been further than Pittsburgh that direction, and that’s just kind of sad.”

“So, we’re going to drive through flyover country.”

“Exactly. Something’s gotta be there, huh?”

“I guess we’ll figure out why everybody calls it that, anyway.”

Katniss flipped through an outdated atlas for a few minutes and finally shoved it to the side. She turned her body toward him, and he looked at her, desperately trying to hide his affection. He felt like a heart eye emoji every time she was in the same room.

“I think we ought to just pack for every situation we can fathom, get in the car tomorrow morning, and start driving. We’ll figure it out then. And we’ll be together, so it can’t be that bad, right?”

“Right,” he breathed, his heart caught in his chest. “I guess I better go home and pack. Pick you up at 8:00 tomorrow?”

She leaned over and gave him a hug that made him want to bury his face in her neck and press kisses there until she moaned his name.

“See you then.”

He left shortly afterward, walking to his car with a pang in his stomach. He was headed out on an unplanned road trip with the love of his life, and she had no idea how he felt. He had only one thought as he started the car and headed home.

“I am so screwed.”

****

Bleary-eyed and anxious, Peeta pulled into the Katniss’ driveway at 7:58 am the next morning and honked lightly on the horn. He knew she was up since she’d texted him three times asking him if he was awake and on the way and, oh, would he stop by their favorite coffee shop and pick up pastries and espresso? If he wasn’t half in love with her (okay, completely in love with her), he would have turned off his phone and gone back to sleep.

Except he wouldn’t. He’d jump out of bed every single day just for a glimpse of her, and that was more truth than he ever wanted to admit when it appeared she had no interest in him outside of their very close friendship.

Heaving a sigh, he climbed from the car and bounded up the steps to her door to knock three times in rapid succession. It opened, and Peeta had to bite the inside of his right cheek not to embarrass her by telling her how gorgeous she looked. Because she did. She was sleep rumpled, but her face was lit up with excitement. So excited she was practically wiggling, she flung herself at him for a massive hug and then motioned him inside.

“Are you taking all that?” he asked when he spied the mound of luggage by the door. Or a pile of random stuff was maybe a better way to describe it. There were a couple of boxes, a cooler, a duffel bag, a backpack, and two grocery bags stuffed full of shoes and what looked like swimming paraphernalia.

She shrugged and walked down the hall to the bathroom. “I packed up some snacks and things I thought we might want, and I have my electronics and some books, and we agreed to pack for any occasion, so I’ve got swimming stuff and a couple of jackets if it gets cold in the mountains, and who knows how hot it’ll get? And hiking boots. I want to do everything, Peeta. Ev-er-y-thing!”

And could he help it if that shot straight to his dick? Because he wanted to try everything, too, except he wanted to try it all with her. Naked and in bed. Kissing and rubbing together and—

“I’m so screwed,” he whispered before grabbing her backpack and cooler and stalking out to the car.

****

Katniss hopped into the passenger’s seat with a wide smile and bounced a few times before fastening her seatbelt. She turned to him, glanced at the backseat to make sure she could access everything they might need in the new few hundred miles, and crowed, “Road trip!”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. It was adorable—she was adorable—and he was suddenly flush with eagerness to spend the next few weeks with her. They hadn’t really decided on how long this would go, just that they would be together and make it up as they went along, but he hoped he had at least three weeks since he had the okay from work to be gone the entire summer. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could stretch it into a month or more. Like Katniss, he hadn’t seen much of the US past the Appalachians, and he was looking forward to discovering what the nation had to offer.

“So, where are we headed?” he asked, his foot on the brake and hand on the gear shift. She laughed and leaned into his shoulder. He gulped and swallowed hard at the feel of her soft skin against his arm.

“I thought maybe we’d head out of town first,” she teased.

He shot her a wry smile and rolled his eyes. “Yes, thank you. Very informative, as always. Which highway?”

She turned fully to face him and tucked her left leg up on the seat. Her eyes sparkled, and she leaned toward him as she wiggled in her seat.

“Where have you always wanted to go?”

“Anywhere with you,” he said softly and then snapped his mouth shut. He hadn’t meant to say it, but she was so adorable. She’d never understood the effect she had on him, but he was powerless to resist her pull. Whatever power she had over him had only grown over time, and he wanted to spend every day of the rest of his life with her. If not that, then he wanted to freeze this very moment in time and live in it forever.

“So kind,” she scoffed, “but I’m serious, Peeta. I’ve never been further west than Pittsburgh, unless Nashville counts. What’s out there, anyway?”

“I have no idea,” he murmured, but that didn’t matter to him. What he wanted was right in the car with him, even if she had no idea how he felt, or how he’d felt about her for the past ten years.

With a shrug, he put the car in reverse, backed out of her driveway, and headed for I-64. After all, it took them due west.

****

Peeta glanced over at the woman sitting in the passenger seat and asked for what felt like the hundredth time, “Okay?”

Katniss nodded, the ghost of a smile twitching on her lips. The windows were partially down, and a breeze blew through the locks of hair that had escaped from her braid. They were somewhere in central Kentucky, and he felt like he’d won the lottery.

Lush forests of deciduous trees graced the sides of steeply sloped mountains that fell to a valley in which the interstate bordered a swiftly flowing river. Wildflowers sprung from cracks in rock along the side of the road, and the air smelled fresh, a little like spring and also a bit similar to a summer barbeque right before a thunderstorm. It was humid and sticky, but the circulation kept them from sweating too much. Besides, they were saving a shit ton of gas by not running the air conditioner.

“Want me to drive?” she asked, and he glanced over at her. Her cheek rested against the headrest as she looked at him, and his stomach dropped to his knees. She was so beautiful.

“At the next stop, sure,” he managed and shifted in his seat. If he left himself, he’d start imagining scenarios that would only get him in trouble—some in which she leaned over and did more with her mouth than talking, and that seemed disrespectful to his friend.

“How much longer do you want to go today? I mean, the whole point of this is to see what’s out there, and we won’t be able to when it gets darker.”

“Is there some place you want to stop? Anything catching your eye?”

“Not really. This is pretty, but we don’t have to stay on the interstates if you don’t want to. They make the trip faster, but that’s not really the point, is it?”

He nodded and watched the signs for a few miles before signaling and exiting. He needed to use the restroom, and he wanted to take a look at the map and figure out where exactly they were in relations to a place he’d gone with his family when he was young. They were in the general vicinity of somewhere that held special memories for him, and he wanted to make some new ones with his best friend.

Once they were back in the car, Katniss in the driver’s seat this time, he handed her the keys and suggested they head south on the highway instead of getting on the entrance ramp. When her eyes sparkled, he knew he’d made the right suggestion. They’d been traveling for over five hours, and they’d done nothing more than watch the scenery pass outside the window. It was time to be part of it.

It took another 45 minutes or so until he saw the sign, and he directed her to the second exit into Daniel Boone National Forest. Back when he was younger and his parents still pretended to like each other, they’d taken a family vacation and stayed at the park for a few days. He and his two brothers had hiked and played happily for hours, and that time was still one of his favorite memories from when his family was together.

“It’s beautiful,” Katniss gasped as she pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car. “We’re going for a hike, right?”

“Yeah, sure. I mean, if you want to. I came here with my family when I was younger, and that trail has a little waterfall at the end, if I remember right.”

They changed quickly into their hiking boots and set off through the woods. It wasn’t a tough hike over slightly sloped and fairly wide space. They met other couples and families, many holding hands, and Peeta yearned to reach for Katniss and walk with her hand folded against his. They got to the waterfall by late afternoon and took the time to sit quietly and listen to the wind in the trees. Visitors popped in and out, but they didn’t mind the intrusions. Eventually, each left, and they had the place to themselves for a little while before another group stumbled into the clearing to see the falling water. Eventually, though, the sun dropped further in the sky, and Peeta suggested they head back to the car, find a place to stay for the night so they could shower, and then grab dinner. The snacks they’d had in the car during the drive just wouldn’t satisfy him after such a long day.

It took a little while, but they finally stumbled upon a small mom and pop hotel in a tiny out of the way town. Peeta offered to get their luggage while Katniss checked them in, so when he followed her to room 415, he wasn’t prepared for what faced him. Katniss worked the key (an actual key, not a keycard) into the lock and opened the door. Her surprised, “oh!” should have been enough for him to figure it out, but he still gaped when he stepped into the room and saw…

There was only one bed.

Flustered, he offered to ask for another room, but Katniss waved him off like it didn’t matter. She reminded him that they’d fallen asleep on the couch together dozens of times since they’d known each other.

“This won’t be any different,” she insisted and grabbed her toiletry bag and some fresh clothes. “I’m going to shower, and then you promised me dinner.”

Peeta watched her retreating back and sank onto the lone bed. Bouncing a little bit on the firm mattress, he looked to the ceiling and whispered, “I’m so screwed.”

****

Dinner was lovely, if Peeta said so himself, and he did. It wasn’t much, really just a local family diner with a menu focused on home cooking and large portions, but it left them both full and satisfied. Better than that, they’d talked a lot. It probably helped that they were facing instead of sitting next to each other in the car. He was grateful for the laughs and intimacy over the meal, but now he sat on the edge of the mattress, his leg shaking as he waited for Katniss to finish in the bathroom.

Because, did he mention? There was only one bed.

The bathroom door opened, and he shot up to standing. Katniss tossed him a distracted smile as she crossed the room. She wore ragged sweats and wrinkled t-shirt he’d seen her in a hundred times, so at least he didn’t have to worry about her wearing some sort of lingerie (not that he would have expected that since they’d always planned to share a hotel room, if not a bed).

“I’ll just…” He trailed off and waved toward the bathroom, and she nodded while scrolling through her phone.

He stared at himself in the mirror and berated the image there for being so awkward. This was Katniss. They’d been friends for forever, and he loved her deeply. This wasn’t that big of a deal. She’d camped out on his couch dozens of times, and they’d woken up together with no problem at all. There was no reason to think this would be any different.

The light was off in the room when he emerged from the bathroom and made his way to his side of the bed. Carefully, he pulled back the covers and climbed in, careful to keep himself on his half. When he was settled on his back, he glanced over at Katniss to see her back to him.

“G’night,” she murmured, and he returned the sentiment before nestling below the covers and falling asleep after several long minutes during which he cursed his overactive imagination.

He slept dreamless until just before waking, when he envisaged driving a car through a red-sanded desert. The car sped down a hill, and he pressed the brake a few times before admitting to himself that they weren’t working. Panicked, he looked to his right to see Katniss with a smile on her face as the wind blew through her hair. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back as they charged toward a rock wall.

Bolting upright in bed, he gasped and shook at the vividness of the dream. Katniss still slept next to him, her hair splayed around her head on the pillow and her legs tangled with his. She remained on her side of the bed otherwise. She hadn’t cuddled into him overnight, and he wondered if he should be relieved or disappointed. He decided to allow himself a little of both and quietly untangled himself from her and made his way to the bathroom. The last thing he needed was for Katniss to wake before he could get his anatomy under control.

Once the door was closed behind him, he breathed out for several seconds. His morning wood was uncomfortable, so he spent a few minutes attempting to quell it. Unfortunately, his mind continually flitted to the image of Katniss lying in the bed, her face angelic, and her hair fashioning a halo around her head. After a few minutes, he turned on the shower and stepped inside. Cold water should do the trick.

A few minutes later, he was clean and completely unsatisfied but in control ready for breakfast. Katniss sat on the edge of the bed, bleary-eyed and grumpy. When he greeted her, she grunted and stumbled to the bathroom without a word.

“So, further west today?” he asked when they had checked out and snagged a booth at the local Waffle House. He’d forgotten how good and cheap the breakfasts were there, and he inhaled a stack of pancakes and some ham while she picked at an omelet. He studied her over his coffee and then stole a sip of her orange juice. When she didn’t protest, he nudged her foot with his. “What’s wrong?”

She shook herself and managed a wan smile. “Nothing. Just tired. I didn’t sleep great last night.”

“We don’t have to go as far today. We can take it easy.”

“Sure. That sounds good. I’ll take the first shift.”

She drove silently, while he studied the map, both physical and on his phone. He guided her back to the interstate and then pulled out his laptop and typed a few notes. They helped him organize his thoughts and gave him an excuse to stay quiet.

“What’s there to see in Paducah?” she asked, startling him from his bubble.

He shrugged and typed the city into his phone. He glanced at the map for a few seconds and then offered, “There’s a local brewery. We could check it out. Stay there tonight. Not in the brewery. In Paducah, I mean.”

That turned out to be the perfect plan. They checked into a hotel (two beds this time) and walked several blocks to the brewery where they found a table and ordered. The beer helped them both relax, and it wasn’t long before they were chatting and laughing like normal.

“So, Paducah’s now the furthest west you’ve ever been. Feel any different?”

“Totally. My life is complete.” When he laughed, she continued, “I mean, no. It doesn’t feel much different. What does feel new is this trip at all. I’ve never really done this—strike out on a whim and let the road take me where it wants to. It feels good to let go of all that control. Thanks for giving me the chance to do that.”

“Of course. I’d do anything for you. You know that.”

“Uh, I hate to tell you this, but there’s a woman over there that looks like she really wants to do a few things to you,” Katniss said and pointed her half-empty glass over his shoulder. He glanced behind him and gulped.

“Wow. She’s undressing me with her eyes, isn’t she? That’s bold, since I’m here with you.”

“Yeah, but you’re not really here with me, are you? I can make myself scarce if you want to…” she trailed off suggestively, and he fought to keep his face blank. He didn’t need another reminder that she didn’t see him as anything more than a friend, but here it was. God, it hurt. Every single time she expressed her lack of interest, it broke his heart a little bit more.

“I really don’t.”

“You might not have much of a choice. She’s headed over.”

Panicked, he gulped his beer and beseeched her, “Feel free to be my girlfriend. Save me!”

She snorted just as the woman appeared at their side, and the stranger dismissed Katniss with a disdainful glance before speaking to him. “Hey, there, handsome,” she drawled. “I’m Glimmer. Can I buy you a round?”

“Uh, well, I—”

“Excuse me,” Katniss said and slid off her stool. He watched helplessly as she made her way to the restroom and left him alone with his unwanted guest.

“Now, that we’re alone,” Glimmer purred and ran her hand over his forearm. She settled into the vacated stool and smiled widely. “So, what’s your name, honey?”

If he wasn’t already head over heels in love with his best friend, he might find this woman and her southern accent charming, but that wasn’t the case. He didn’t want this washed out version of a companion. He wanted Katniss. He hemmed and hawed for several minutes, attempting to discourage her without being rude, but she was more insistent than he liked. He caught Katniss’ eye as she stood by the bar ordering a beer and shot her a pointed look. Thankfully, she seemed to get the point. She paid for her two beers and threaded her way back to him.

“I got you another, babe.”

He grabbed the glass and thanked her, but Glimmer still didn’t take the hint. He introduced the two half-heartedly and watched with humor as Katniss studied Glimmer and thanked her for keeping Peeta company while she was gone.

“I think he’d like me to stick around,” Glimmer said pointedly, and Katniss turned to him.

“Is that so?” And then she leaned in to kiss him.

Shocked, Peeta didn’t know what to do at first. The kiss remained chaste for a few seconds, but his mouth opened involuntarily. She didn’t hesitate to sweep in with her tongue. She pressed into him, and he let go of his beer to cup her face as he tangled his lips with hers.

Suddenly, Katniss broke away and grinned at him while he gaped at her. “You’re welcome.”

He blinked a few times and realized Glimmer was gone. Katniss resumed her seat and calmly took a sip of her drink and then suggested some options for the next day. Peeta ducked his head and pretended to listen. Now that he knew how she tasted, he had no idea how he was going to be content remaining friends. After a few minutes, he excused himself so he could regroup in the bathroom. There he faced himself in the mirror and whispered his road trip mantra.

“I am so screwed.”

****

The next day they crossed the Mississippi River and stopped briefly in St. Louis to visit the Gateway Arch and eat, even though the barbeque was different than what they were used to. Both preferred the vinegar base and coleslaw of the Carolinas, but what they had wasn’t bad either. When the waiter asked for feedback, he suggested continuing on I-70 and comparing what they’d had for lunch with that in Kansas City.

“It’s sweeter. Almost caramelizes on the meat. You might like it, and it doesn’t hurt to try different styles if you don’t really have an agenda.”

That was how they ended up in an upscale hotel near downtown Kansas City and eating ribs and burnt ends for the second time that day.

“This is definitely better,” Peeta groaned through a mouthful of pork, and Katniss agreed.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” she mused. “We’re pretty deep into the Midwest, and nothing really looks much different, right? I think we should slow down. We’re halfway across the country, and we’ve been gone three days.”

“I’m okay with that,” he agreed.

“I vote for staying here for a few nights. Relaxing, sight-seeing, swimming, maybe putting together a little more of a plan. Eventually, I want to make it to the west coast. Drive up and down the Pacific Coast Highway, maybe see the redwoods, but there’s about a zillion national parks between here and there. Can we go? Please?”

“Of course, we can. We can visit whatever you want. I told you I’m all in before we started this thing.”

A smile split her face, and she threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Peeta.”

He gathered her to him and held her to his chest for several minutes before she pulled away. He didn’t even bother to say it out loud this time. He simply closed his eyes and internally chided, “I am so screwed.”

****

A week later, Peeta wanted to die. If he’d thought he loved Katniss before, he was irrevocably, head over heels, undyingly in love with her now. Waking up with her day after day, sometimes in the same bed, sometimes just in the same room, was excruciating. She was grumpy and irritable in the morning, but it was absolutely adorable. He loved watching her let loose and enjoy herself more than he’d ever experienced back home in Virginia. They shared more than they ever had and dug up memories he hadn’t even remembered until she punched something loose in the back of his brain. Before long, it seemed like she knew, not just his mind, but his entire soul.

It was so easy with her. He felt like his best self with her, and his writing was flourishing. She talked through lesson plans and ideas about how to arrange her classroom and shared her thoughts about moving into counseling as a better way to help her students. They talked about their families, their current lives and what they imagined for the future, and she told him about her past boyfriends and asked about his girlfriends.

Sometimes, Katniss looked at him while he drove. He often wondered what she was thinking, but he didn’t have the guts to ask. He relished the feel of her skin under his fingertips when she handed him snacks from the vastly depleted stash in the backseat, and he gave himself a bruise pinching himself when she wore one of his t-shirts the day they stopped to do laundry in a small town in eastern Colorado. He drove where she suggested and snapped pictures of her in front of breathtaking scenery and took selfies of them both when she asked. When she shivered in the mountains in Colorado, he shielded her from the wind by holding her against his chest, and he groaned gratefully when she rubbed his tight shoulders at the end of the day. By the time they made it to Wyoming, they’d stopped correcting the hotel clerks who automatically booked them to single rooms. It saved money, and neither of them minded that there was only one bed when they got to their room.

“This may be the most beautiful place I’ve ever been,” Katniss announced when they stopped in the Grand Tetons. They’d agreed to spend a week exploring Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park, and neither of them regretted it. The views were spectacular, and the weather was perfect.

“It’s gorgeous,” he agreed, but he wasn’t looking at the view. He tried to shift his gaze when she turned to look at him, but he was frozen, unable to tear his eyes from hers.

He could tell when she figured it out. Awareness dawned on her face, and he held his breath. Terrified, he shifted back and forth and tried to wave it away, but she stepped toward him and grabbed his wrist.

“Peeta?”

“I’m s-sorry,” he stammered. “I didn’t mean— I, uh— See, I wasn’t—”

She waited quietly when he ground to a halt, but his stomach and heart were both ripped open wide. She didn’t feel the same way. He’d always known that, but now she was going to say it, and he wasn’t prepared.

“Can I try something?” He was too dismayed to answer, so he nodded and held still. “I just want to see.”

A soft breeze ruffled his hair as she stepped toward him and tugged him down by his shirt. His face was an inch from hers, and she studied him carefully before closing the gap and kissing him softly. He breathed through his nose and allowed her to lead, but she pulled away before it deepened. Disappointed, he couldn’t help comparing it to the one back in Paducah in the overcrowded brewery with Glimmer as a witness.

“It’s really beautiful here, but I’d like to be back to the car before sunset. Can we go? Don’t want to get caught in the park by mistake,” she asked, her voice cool and detached.

“Sure,” he agreed. He followed her as she started down the mountain, trailing far enough behind that he could shield his regret. He’d always held out a little bit of a hope that she’d return his feelings someday, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards. She was as unaffected by their kiss as he was destroyed by it.

Making sure she didn’t hear, he hissed, “I’m so screwed,” at least five times through the ache in his chest.

By the time they got to his car, he was barely holding it together. He started the vehicle, backed out of the parking spot, and headed to their hotel. The thought of sleeping next to her that night was almost more than he could bear, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Sighing, he turned up the volume on the radio and concentrated on driving since the steep, winding roads necessitated more attention than usual.

A few miles from their hotel, the radio faded into static, and he reached to change the station before resting his hand on the gear shift between the seats. When they pulled into the hotel lot, and he shifted into park, he was shocked when she covered his hand with hers. Twisting his palm, she tangled her fingers with his and stared at them for long, tense moments.

“Katniss?” he croaked. She didn’t respond at first, but then she squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

“Let’s go in,” she said softly.

He swallowed hard and studied her face. “Are you sure?”

She nodded and unfolded herself from the car. She was already to the door of their room before he could move. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she slipped inside. A second later, the curtains closed and the door cracked open again. Peeta watched as her hand emerged and hooked the Do Not Disturb sign on the handle.

“Oh, God,” he breathed and scrambled from the car. “I am so screwed!”

#everlarkficexchange #springtime edition 2020 #prompt 137

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wu-sisyphus-gang · 3 years

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Motion Sickness Chapter 47

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Argus was beautiful. The Mistrali architecture blended and contrasted nicely with that of its Atlesian half. We rode a tram through the city streets and felt the quiet security of the place. There was a humble peace here, one the Black-Out day panic hadn't touched.

I sighed.

It was nice. The environment was relaxing.

Especially after the train ride had turned stressful for me.

My Jaune's semblance was like Blake's Adam's. That meant something. They were similar. They had to be. That's how semblances worked. They were about the soul and that meant Jaune's soul, his very essence, was like Adam's.

That was scary. I'd heard of Adam by now and seen the harm he brought my sister. He'd planned to bomb Haven. He'd set the Grimm loose at Beacon.

Jaune had once described using the Grimm as a weapon as a genius move. Was the difference between him and Adam smaller than I thought? The way Blake told it, it was possible. It was possible enough to make me doubt my own memory of things.

Like when Jaune had killed for the first time. A beat of blue light and the other man fell into two halves. Or even the second time, too. He was drenched in blood. He'd been so casual about it, he was even joking around a little. It made me wonder if it was the second time or just the second time I knew about.

However, Blake's Adam was an obsessive creature, that was the portrait she painted of him, and maybe Jaune was too, but obsessive was the polar opposite of traitorous. It didn't match up. If Jaune was like Adam, he should have been killing for our cause, not turning on us. That's what didn't add up about it. It's why even with Blake's story I was willing to stick to my guns, so to speak.

And Jaune was obsessive.

He was crazy about Cinder and getting his revenge. The only thing that held him back from jumping her at Haven was me and his similar obsession for me.

Salem did something to Jaune. She must have. It was the only way Blake's story lined up. It was the only way Jaune's personality matched his actions. No matter what he was offered he would have said ‘no.’ He would never turn on us intentionally. Something else must be at work.

I brushed my hair back and rubbed the smooth handle of Crescent Rose. I listened to our cart troll along, bumping against the smooth road.

Jaune was out there. He was waiting for me to save him. There was nothing in this world to stop me from worrying about him. He was somewhere, maybe bringing the relic to Salem. Soon he'd be even further in her clutches and here I was going away more and more.

I missed the sound of his voice, the deep baritone. I missed his arms around me. I missed his plans, his mind. I missed his aura, a comfort that nothing else could replicate and replace. Nothing else delivered on that.

We moved towards the military base, a distant part of the city. A reminder of Atlas's strength but far enough away to keep it out of the denizen's minds. They didn't need to be reminded constantly about war and the power of the gunships. Just the occasional touch would do to secure the place mentally.

We approached the gates to the place. Two guards in Atlesian drab met us at the entrance through the bars.

"Hey we need to secure passage to Atlas." I began. "Can you help us?"

"I know Ironwood, we work together."

"Impossible. Besides-"

"The borders are closed," one guard continued.

"No one in or out of Atlas."

"Come on, you didn't even hear us out." Yang shook the bars.

"Our orders are clear."

"The Mistral-Atlas borders are closed."

"Please have a good day."

"But-" Yang began.

"A good day," They said in unison.

"Hey if you don't want to believe that I'm friends with Ironwood-"

"-General Ironwood."

"Right. General Ironwood." Qrow continued. "But look we've got Weiss Schnee with us and we're trying to get her home safely."

They cocked their heads and said together. "Approach."

Weiss gave us all a helpless look. Blake managed an encouraging nod.

They examined Weiss for a long pause. Making sure she was indeed Weiss, probably. She was Weiss so they leaned back and shared a glance.

"Very well-"

"-You may speak with our commanding officer."

"We will fetch her at once."

They marched away in synchronization. With a "Hup-hup-hup-hup-" never let it be said that they didn't take their jobs seriously.

"They were kind of-" Blake began.

"Super weird?" I finished. "Uh-yeah."

"Keep it together. This may be our best shot at getting into Atlas."

"Ms. Schnee, you remember the code phrase you're supposed to give James when you see him?" Ozpin asked.

Weiss nodded.

"Very good. Qrow is correct. You stand the best chance of passing a message along to him. It is likely the rest of us will have to remain here. We will see about finding lodging after meeting with this officer."

"Introducing-" we tried back to the young men working the gate. "Special Operative Caroline Cordovin!"

They stood aside to reveal a short elderly woman with a metallic glint in her eye.

"Hello Operative Cordovin. I'm Weiss Schnee." Weiss gave a little curtsey as she introduced herself.

"Indeed? I've seen the special report informing us to keep an eye out for you. Plus you look ever so much like your sister. We're both Special Operatives so I know her."

"Is that so…" Weiss trailed. "It is imperative that I speak with General Ironwood and secure passage for myself and my companions into Atlas."

"If I may ask, why must you speak to the general?"

"I have a special message for him. His ears only."

"I see… well I'd be happy to secure your transit into Atlas. I've even been ordered to do so given the opportunity but I have no orders for anyone else. I'm afraid your companions will have to stay here until I receive directions to the contrary."

"Very well. If I could just speak to Ironwood I'm sure that he would allow them special passage."

"Unfortunately communication between here and Atlas is limited. He trusts me to run things as I see fit." She looked over the back of her fingernails as she humble-bragged.

"Just me, then. How soon can you have an airship ready?"

Caroline nodded to her men and they opened the gate for Weiss. They closed it behind her and I watched her go on, alone. My heart ached for her but we knew it might come to this. It would be fine. Just for a few days.

I was still worried about her. I knew how much she would hate being alone but she was a big girl. She could tough it out. Besides, the fate of the world was at stake. I'd see her again.

"Well that's settled," I said. "For now at least."

"Come on kids, let's find a place to spend the night." My uncle turned on mechanical legs and strode down the street.

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We marched through the city, searching for an inn we could stay the night at. We rounded a corner and that's when they jumped us.

They came down off the roof in unbelievable unity. Three girls, in masks and balckware came out of the night.

I spun Crescent Rose into it's full form before me. Just in time to block the slash of a knife in my directions. She backed away and fired a gun at me twice. Dagger and gun, she somersaulted through the air at me. She fired the pistol in my face and lashed out with the knife at the last second.

"Where's the relic?" She demanded. Her voice was soft and urgent. She couldn't have been much older than me. She was probably a shade younger, in fact. That or she was incredibly lithe. I struck out at her with Crescent Rose but she-she sort of ate the attack against her body. Her aura flashed with red and blue flames. She grunted with it, a sort of moan.

I fired a shot into her body and she rolled with it. Purple aura flaring over the site of the attack.

She lashed out at me with her knife, trying to slash me. She did a rolling side-flip with it, bringing it around her body and trying to cut me. She tried to breach my range but I disappeared and reappeared a few steps back.

They attacked all of us together. One had a sword with two parallel blades. The last had a set of gauntlets with knives attached to the tips.

They were fast, strong, and skilled, flipping over us and taking us by surprise. My uncle rotated his weapon into play and clashed with the sword user who flipped between him and Oscar. The last engaged Blake and Yang simultaneously.

They all had blonde hair tied up and their masks revealed blue eyes like crystal.

It all seemed incredibly familiar.

I lashed out again and she ate my attack with her aura once more. The blue and red flames wreathed her and burnt at me. It made me take a step back and yelp with pain.

She sort of floated in place as she took two shots at me with her pistol. Her other hand coming up to stabilize with the knife underneath.

She lashed out with the knife as she got closer and I had to say she was good at getting into my guard with her narrow flips and small attacks.

She came up to me and did a sort of kick flip right in my face that nearly connected with my chin. She jumped and kicked at me again with her narrow feet and forced me backwards away from the lashing limbs.

I hit her with the back end of Crescent Rose, knocking her to the asphalt, but she just jumped back to her feet. She jabbed at me two times with her knife, ultra fast, and shot at me again.

I slashed, twirling Crescent Rose at her and bringing my body with it in a whirlwind of attacks. She flipped end over end away from me and I realized she was trying to draw me away from my friends and I held firm. I took a few potshots at her but was careful shooting in the middle of a city. A missed shot could kill a bystander easily.

But then a ghostly specter of red and blue appeared around her body. It lashed out in time with her kicks against me, increasing the force and bashing me back. It had strength beyond her small body. It flared blue and red around her. It didn't seem to keep her safe from harm.

She flipped at me, knife in hand and a crescent of red followed it as the specter which hovered over her, lashed out, overlapping her attack with it's own claws. Instead the monstrous ghost was augmenting her attacks. It was nearly eight feet tall and was a menace of red and blue light.

The girl with the sword flared purple with soft lightning as well and her speed seemed to increase as she flipped through the air, lashing out against Oscar with her blade before leaping back to deal my uncle a blow. She twirled in the air with grace.

She caught Oscar's cane between the blades of her sword. She swung it away and Oscar's cane went clattering down the street. The girl with the sword jumped and slammed both feet into Qrow's chest and knocked him to his knees. He was still unsteady on his new legs.

Blake and Yang seemed to have the situation under control the most. They dealt their attacker a rapid team attack that slammed her against a brick wall. Yang's fists were bared and at the ready. Blake vanished into shadow and let Yang hit through where she used to be to knock her against the wall again.

Yang lashed out with her fist and the girl only narrowly ducked under it. Blake slashed at where she was going and caught the girl on the side. It knocked her to the ground.

Blake tossed Yang the ribbon of Gambol Shroud and together they clotheslined the girl.

The lead girl jumped and lashed out at me with her legs and the hovering ghost attacked in time with her. Increasing her strength immensely. Hovering behind her and beating against my defenses in perfect time with the girl in front of me, the specter was hard to keep track of and I swept my blade through it and it did nothing.

"Where is the relic!?"

"We don't have the relic!" I shouted. She knocked me off my feet and down to the ground. The disembodied pressure of the specter floating behind her disappeared as she went to help her fallen compatriot.

"Blake look out!" I called.

The girl I'd been fighting dealt her a staggering blow with the spirit in tow. It must have been her semblance, that glowing specter that reinforced her attacks.

She rocked Blake back and slammed her against a wall.

"They don't have it on them, sister." The girl with the fisticuffs said as she was pulled to her feet by the girl with the dagger and gun. "The relic isn't here."

The girl with the dagger and gun growled. She took shots at us while they backed off. Using team attacks and surprising maneuverability to cover one another as they made their way back to the roof tops. They hopped off the walls of one building like ninjas and made their way to the top.

The girl with the dagger and gun stretched a hand down and hauled the girl with the double sword over and onto the roof. Then, as quickly as they appeared, they were gone.

I rushed over to Qrow and Oscar.

"Are you two alright?"

"We're fine. Who were those girls?" Qrow breathed.

"I don't know."

"They looked a little familiar, though." Blake said, she held her hands on her thighs and panted.

"They were looking for the relic." Oscar said. "She kept asking us where it was, over and over again."

"Do you think they worked for Salem?" Yang asked.

"I've never seen or heard of agents who match their description before." Oscar said in an Ozpin like voice. "But it is possible. Perhaps even likely."

The police arrived to the sound of gunshots and we gave them our story. How we were attacked and the real culprits escaped into the night. We spent the evening down at the police station repeating our story over and over again to the local authorities.

"What did they mean by 'relic?'" I was asked by a local cop.

I had to tell him I had no idea. I hated lying like that but what choice did I have?

"They weren't making any sense, officers," Yang said. "They sounded hysterical."

"And what are you trying to do in town?"

"We delivered Weiss Schnee to the Argus military base. Maybe that's what all this is about." I lied.

"If I call up Caroline Cordovin will she corroborate that story?"

"She should. She took Weiss from us. I have no idea why she wouldn't." Qrow muttered.

"And where are you ladies and gents staying in town, in case we have more questions and need to get ahold of you?"

"We're not staying anywhere yet. We were looking for a place when we were attacked." Blake explained. It felt like she was saying that for the dozenth time.

"Why don't you give me your scroll numbers? Then we'll let you go on free."

We handed over our numbers and were let out into the very late night.

"Aw man, we're never going to find a place to stay now." I said.

"We should just be glad everyone made it out of that fight okay." Blake murmured. "It was a good thing they were so focused on the relic. They operated like a strike squad. In and out with a non-combat objective."

"But that doesn't make any sense. Why would Salem be trying to take the relic from us. She should know we don't have it." Yang said.

"Unless she doesn't," I said.

"What's that mean?" Yang asked.

"I'm not sure. But it should be a good thing. It means she doesn't know where the relic is."

"You mean she doesn't know where Jaune is? How could she not?" Blake asked.

"It is curious." Oscar or maybe Ozpin put his hands on his cane and leaned on it. "Enemy disorientation is a good thing. I should like to capitalize on it but I'm unsure how. We are missing many details that would set this all straight."

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-WG

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much-obliged-timothy · 3 years

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So I was reading a fanfic for a different fandom where a character ends up the single father of an oops baby and...

Anyway, here’s a totally self-indulgent “what if Tim accidentally had a child” fic ft. Rhys accidentally befriending the kid and being very panicked about it (and yes I will be more than happy to write more of this weird AU if anyone wants to read it)

Rhys paced his office nervously. “Zer0, did I make a mistake? Oh my god. I can’t believe I agreed to employ a doppelganger of Handsome Jack.”

The vault hunters had contacted him with an absolutely bizarre story. While invading Handsome Jack’s casino, they’d found his sole surviving doppelganger, a man named Timothy Lawrence. Timothy had been all too eager to get out of the casino once they’d claimed it for themselves, but had nowhere to go and, they’d warned, was lacking a bit in his social skills after seven years of being locked in a casino where almost everyone wanted him dead.

Still, the man had apparently proved highly adept at business when they needed help getting issues for the casino sorted. Moxxi thought he’d be an asset to Rhys, appearances aside.

Rhys had them send over a resume and some examples of Timothy’s work, and was surprised to find that Tim was actually highly skilled at business negotiations and research. He had experience helping Hyperion develop new weapons and other various tech, and had worked as a vault hunter for Jack at one point, giving him valuable combat experience.

So Rhys had agreed to take him on, at least on a trial period to see how things went. Today was the day Tim would arrive, and Rhys couldn’t stop fretting that Tim would be too similar to Jack to bear.

“He helped Jack rise to power, they said,” Rhys babbled, his anxiety growing. “What if he’s just like Jack? I don’t think I can take that ego again. This is such a mistake!”

Zer0 watched him pace, but offered no comfort. He didn’t seem to have any concerns over the situation.

There was a knock on the door and Rhys froze, shooting a look at Zer0. Zer0 touched his gun then gestured to the door, a silent assurance that he would handle it if things got out of hand.

Rhys didn’t enjoy the thought of anyone being shot in his office, but he enjoyed the thought of being protected from Handsome Jack 2.0. “Come in.”

The door swung open and in came Handsome Jack. Rhys stared at his face for a long moment before shaking himself. Tim’s hair was longer than Jack’s, the mask on his face cracked. He had a cybernetic hand that was fidgeting with the visitor badge pinned to his jacket. He certainly had Jack’s sense of how to dress for the job; he wore jeans and a hoodie with a jacket over it instead of anything dressy.

Tim noticed Rhys eyeing his clothes and shifted awkwardly. “Uh, sorry. No money to buy anything nicer right now. I’m Timothy Lawrence. I know the mask has to go, too, but I’m arranging to have these stupid clips removed with it.”

Rhys processed his words, but only distantly. When Tim had shifted, he’d revealed that he wasn’t alone.

Tim again noticed where Rhys’s gaze went, and fidgeted more with his pass. “So, the job? Moxxi got me set up with a place to live nearby for now. I just moved in yesterday, so I’m ready to start whenever you need me to.”

Rhys continued staring. He had not been informed that Tim wouldn’t be coming alone.

Tim sighed quietly and nudged the little boy out from behind his legs. The boy stared distrustfully at Rhys, clutching a tattered teddy bear with the Hyperion logo on its stomach to himself.

“This is my son, Phoenix,” Tim explained. “I, uh, don’t exactly have a sitter. Hard to have contacts when you’ve been locked in a casino for seven years.”

Obviously Tim had found a way to pass the time. The boy couldn’t be any older than five or six, with skin a few shades darker than Tim’s, messy, ruddy hair, a splattering of freckles over his cheeks and nose, and hazel eyes. His left eye had a familiar strip of blue amongst the hazel.

“You said I get my own office? Can I see it?” Tim said, shooting Rhys a pleading look.

“Oh, um, right, yes,” Rhys said, fixing his already straight tie.

“Hey, stay here. We’ll be right back,” Tim said.

The boy’s eyes widened in terror, but Tim smiled and ruffled his hair. Phoenix clutched at Tim’s jacket.

“I’ll be right back,” Tim repeated. “That guy there? He was a vault hunter, just like I was. He’ll keep an eye on you for a few minutes.”

Phoenix looked over his shoulder at Zer0. His curiosity seemed to win out over his distrust as he eyed Zer0.

Tim took the opportunity to slip out of the room, Rhys following. They walked in awkward silence until they reached the office Rhys had secured for Tim.

“Okay,” Tim said, shutting the door as soon as they were inside. “Look, I kinda had a, uh, thing with a friend named Ember. We’d been stuck in that casino for a while at that point and everyone was trying to kill me and we just- got careless a few times. Phoenix was born in that damned place. He lived his whole life in there, hidden between me, Ember, and a friend of Ember’s from the vice district. Ember told me to take him with me to Promethea so he could experience life in the real world. Not that this shithole planet is fancy living, but-” He stopped and groaned. “Sorry, injected with Jack’s DNA. Anyways, please, he’s scared to be alone.”

No one had warned Rhys that in addition to getting a traumatized employee, he’d be getting the man’s traumatized son as well. But what was he going to do? Turn him out onto the streets?

Rhys sighed quietly. He hated kids, mostly because he had no idea how to talk to them and they frightened him.

“He can’t go into meetings with you,” he said at last.

Tim looked so relieved that Rhys didn’t even regret the decision. “Thank you. Really, thank you. Oh, finally, a CEO who isn’t an absolute dick. He’s no trouble, really. He’ll stay in my office with me, and he thinks everyone wants to kill him so it’s not like he’ll go bothering anyone.”

At Rhys’s startled look, Tim grimaced. He touched his mask and shrugged.

“Look, I’m not going to lie. My kid is…” He cursed softly. “I didn’t want that for him. But I had no choice. I started teaching him about guns when he was three. We taught him how to hide, and not to trust anyone. It was the only way we could keep him safe. It’s going to take time to break him of all that. B-But I’m a good worker! I won’t make you regret this! Well, I mean, the occasional Jack moments probably will, but other than that, no regrets. I hope.”

This was too much to handle right now. “You need to go get fingerprinted downstairs. Then we’ll get you settled and go over your schedule and duties.”

Business. He could do business. He couldn’t do a traumatized Handsome Jack doppelganger with a paranoid son.

“Right, let me just go let Phoenix know,” Tim said, opening the office door.

“That’s a cool name,” Rhys said as they started along the hallway.

Tim shrugged again. “Ember wanted something with fire. I guess we thought it was fitting, since he was born in the wake of Jack’s death and my, uh, sort of freedom. I mean, I still had a bomb in my face and was trapped in a casino. But no more Jack ordering me about.”

He at least didn’t sound bothered by Jack’s death, so Rhys took some comfort in the fact that Tim appeared not to hold any loyalty to his former boss. Moxxi had claimed Timothy hated Jack, but Rhys was still worried after everything he’d been through with the AI Jack.

They stepped back into Rhys’s office, and Phoenix was immediately back at his father’s side, clutching Tim’s jacket in one hand and his bear in the other. Tim squeezed his shoulder and gently pried his hand off.

“I need to go get fingerprinted, Phoenix,” he said. “I’m just going to be right downstairs.”

The kid looked torn. Rhys felt a flash of pity.

“It should only be fifteen minutes if they’re not busy,” he said. Maybe knowing how long Tim would be gone would calm the kid.

“Fifteen minutes,” Tim said, smiling. “That’s nothin’, pal. I take longer in the shower.”

“You take forever in the shower,” Phoenix said, but grabbed Tim’s jacket again.

Once again, Tim gently pried his hand away. “Fifteen minutes, pal. Then I’ll be back.”

Phoenix watched his father leave the room and began to pace silently, keeping Rhys, Zer0, and the door in view as he did so. He was rubbing the band of a watch strapped to his wrist, far too big for him. Rhys realized it was a digistruct watch, and sat down in the hopes he wouldn’t spook the kid into summoning whatever was stored in there.

Phoenix kept shooting a look to Rhys’s cybernetic arm, looking like he wanted to say something. He kept snapping his eyes back to the door, but his gaze would drift back to the arm.

Rhys finally held it up. “It’s, uh, it’s an Atlas cybernetic. State of the art.”

“Dad has one,” he said, holding up his hand. “He lost his hand in the casino.”

“That’s because Handsome Jack is a controlling asshole,” Rhys said, then snapped his mouth shut. Shit, could he swear in front of kids? Was that legal?

But Phoenix stared at him, slowing his pacing. “You knew him?”

“Sort of,” Rhys said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We...worked together? Sort of? He tried to kill me. Not a good time.”

The distrust on his face evaporated a little. “He locked my mom and dad in the casino. Dad said he’s a freaking asshole. But I’m not s’posed to call anyone else that word.” He pointed to his eye with the sliver of blue in it. “Dad said that was Jack’s last ‘screw you’.”

Rhys stared at Zer0 for help. He hadn’t expected to shit talk Jack with a little kid today, and wasn’t sure what to do now that it had started.

“Much more lively now/He must like you a lot Rhys/You have made a friend,” Zer0 said.

“You talk funny,” Phoenix said.

“He speaks in haikus,” Rhys explained. “Well, mostly.”

Phoenix frowned. “I dunno that language. My mom speaks French.”

Rhys laughed in surprise. “Oh, no, it’s not a language. It’s a type of poetry.”

“Oh,” Phoenix said, then shrugged in a movement that perfectly mimicked Tim’s.

Rhys couldn’t help but stare a little as the boy resumed his pacing. He wondered if any of his features had been inherited from Tim’s original appearance. He wondered if it was hard for Tim to look at his kid and see both himself and Jack in him.

Rhys busied himself with paperwork to keep from staring any longer. However, as fifteen minutes passed, and then another five, and then even more, Phoenix’s pacing grew faster.

He rubbed at the band of his watch more, eyes locked on the door. He looked terrified, checking the time yet again and hugging his bear tighter.

“They were probably just busy,” Rhys said, because as much as he didn’t like kids, he felt bad seeing one break down right in front of him. “He’s okay.”

“What if he’s dead?” His voice cracked a little and he paced even faster, clutching the bear so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Rhys got up and slowly approached. “Hey. Hey, Phoenix. It’s safe here, okay? No one here will hurt him. I promise.”

“But he looks like that freaking asshole!” Phoenix said, pointing at his eye again.

“I know, but I warned my people he’d be coming today. They all know he isn’t really Jack. No one is going to hurt your dad,” Rhys assured. Phoenix still looked scared and frantic, so Rhys tried a different approach. He held his cybernetic hand out and let an image come up in his palm. “Have you ever seen a skag before?”

Phoenix nodded his head, looking torn between watching the door and looking at the holographic image. “Uh-huh. But just one.”

Rhys let the holograph play out. “Look how they run! I got stuck on Pandora years ago, and these things were scary.”

“Pandora?” He tugged at the ear of his bear. “Dad said it’s a shithole. I’m not s’posed to say that, though. Mom gets mad and says dad has a dirty mouth.”

“It kind of is a shithole,” Rhys agreed. “Promethea is much better. I think you’ll like it here. You and your dad can explore this weekend when he’s not working.”

His eyes shot to the door again. “But he’s not back!”

“He’ll come back,” Rhys said. “I won’t let anyone hurt him while he’s here. I promise.”

His eyes widened and he looked at Rhys. He seemed torn between distrust and hope.

The matter was settled as Tim reappeared in the room, looking out of breath. “Sorry. Some freaking idiot down there couldn’t find her ID and held up the whole line. I- Umph!”

Phoenix launched himself at Tim, wrapping his little arms around Tim’s waist tightly. There were tears silently rolling down his cheeks.

“Hey, hey.” Tim knelt down and hugged him, kissing his head. “I’m okay. I’m right here, pal. I’m okay. I’m sorry I took so long.”

He stood up with Phoenix in his arms, running gentle fingers through his messy hair. Phoenix nuzzled his head against Tim’s neck, wiping at his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Tim said, kissing him again. “I have shitty time management skills. Oops, don’t tell your mom I swore again.”

Phoenix put an arm around Tim’s neck to hold onto him. “Dad, this guy showed me a skag. On his hand!”

“‘This guy’ is my boss,” Tim said. “A skag, huh? Can’t say I missed Pandora’s brand of cannon fodder creatures.”

“You and me both,” Rhys said, standing up.

“Can you show dad?” Phoenix said, pointing to Rhys’s hand. “They look so stupid.”

Rhys brought up the image again. With his dad safely back with him, Phoenix was much more interested, peering at it with curious eyes.

Tim wiggled the fingers of his cybernetic hand. “Yea, mine doesn’t do that. Cool, though.”

“One of the vault hunters who saved us had a skag,” Phoenix said. “And a...a...something else.”

“Jabber. You saw their jabber,” Tim said. “Shit-flinging, obnoxious beasts.”

Phoenix tightened his hold on Tim. “You’re not s’posed to swear, dad.” He gave Tim the hint of a grin. “Gotta shut me up.”

“Ice cream it is,” Tim said with a long sigh. “After work, though. I’ve got to earn money to afford to bribe you, pal. So, let’s get on with it, Rhys.”

Rhys took Tim and showed him around a bit before bringing him back to his office. As Tim had assured, Phoenix was quiet the whole time, just clinging to Tim. When they reached the office, he sat in a chair in the corner, playing with his tattered bear and not bothering either man as they went over Tim’s schedule and duties.

“Well, I’ll leave you to get settled in and do the basic paperwork,” Rhys said, shaking Tim’s hand. “If you have any questions, you know where my office is. You’ll be primarily reporting to me.”

“Hey,” Phoenix said as Rhys headed for the door. He was clutching his bear tightly again, glancing from his dad to Rhys before blurting out, “Can you tell me about Pandora sometime?”

“Oh,” Rhys said in surprise. “Yea, sure. I mean, a lot of my experience involves me being in fear for my life. But, sure.”

“Hey, been there done that on Elpis, kiddo,” Tim said. “Phoenix, let him get back to work. You can help me get some papers organized, if you want.”

Phoenix hopped off the chair. “M’kay, dad. See ya, boss guy.”

Rhys left the office and stared at the door once he’d closed it. Today had not gone as he’d expected, not at all. And he had a sinking feeling he’d accidentally made the kid like him.

Great. He’d been so worried about dealing with a Handsome Jack doppelganger, and now his bigger problem was a small, curious child. Rhys wondered if life would ever let him catch a break.

Part 2

#borderlands #timothy lawrence #borderlands rhys #rhys strongfork #borderlands au #borderlands fic #My writing

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toooldforfandom-liveblogs · 3 years

Text

RWBY V08E05 - Amity

Amity! A return to the adventures of RWB? With no Penny sadly. I doubt we'll get so many visual puns again but who knows, maybe they'll make friends with Whitley or at least have a cordial chat with him without killing each other. I have no idea, so let's do this!

Wow, great start. Poor Pietro, got copypasted there with no regard for his feelings.

I'm very glad I was wrong about no Penny.. Even if every second she's on screen increases the chances of something bad happening to her.

Why does the HUD look like someone used the wand from photoshop to extract it from a white background?

Wait, are they going to blow up the Dust to launch amity into space?

Penny is right, that doesn't seem like a good idea but it's also incredibly in-character for the show. Now even caves are a gun.

Someone at Rooster Teeth really likes the idea of little old ladies riding huge robots, and honestly? Can't disagree.

hmmmmmmmm not a big fan of pietro at the moment

oof, my heart

Maria continues to be the voice of wisdom. Sadly, I doubt Pietro is going to listen to her.

In the original tale Pinocchio ends up learning by making bad choice after bad choice. Penny doesn't seem to have that much in common with her inspiration but if she hasn't ever been able to make a choice at all, would it be surprising if the first time she makes a choice it ends up being a bad one? It wouldn't surprise me if this is setting her up to fly away from Amity (against Pietro's wishes) once she notices something went wrong with everyone else (making her vulnerable)

Welp.

look at that poor girl

Aaaa, that's the same expression she used when Ruby said Penny was still the Protector of Mantle. "my feelings don't matter, conceal, don't feel, don't let them kn— wait, never mind

but yeah, she's used to putting everyone ahead of her (because as a robot she supposedly doesn't know better, there's a reason that was her first thought when she was talking with Winter in last season)

aw poop

Cinder was moving so fast she left her shadow behind.

Great deranged expression and voice though. Did she bring both Neo and Emerald or just the latter?

Penny yes

Hey, 9 blades! For a second I thought they wouldn't remember that she lost one.

no, no, no, time for what? aaaaa

Now that we have more context, Cinder using her own experiences to know where to hurt people is * chef kiss *

Intentional reference to the PvP fight?

okay, I didn't expect badass Maria to actually fight using her robot but I blame my own lack of imagination

now I'm hyped, it also gives something the other two something to do.

I think the main problem here for the good guys is that if Pietro gets threatened there's no way Penny is not going to surrender. Although, maybe he gets kidnapped? That'd make him get "swallowed" by a whale... hm. Another possibility is that they threaten Pietro and Penny gets hacked "just in time"

you can't lie to me, subtitles, I know she was going to say bitch

lol at crashing the entire ship into maria to get her out of the way

bad mistake to hurt one of Penny's friends in front of her

Did anyone give a job to poor Emerald? I can almost see Cinder telling Neo to distract people while in the ship with Emerald sitting in the back seat trying to get noticed.

C'mon Neo, leave the old lady alone

…of course she wouldn't leave her alone, she's Neo, she likes playing with her victims

I wonder if Neo has a deeper plan than "killing this old lady while looking like her protege would be incredibly cruel and extra and therefore worth doing"

If the drifting was an accident, where did Emerald go?

waiting for the RWBY shmup

I understand why she's leaving Amity (to prevent their fight from destroying it by accident) but leaving Pietro alone feels like a bad idea.

…this HUD is a lot cleaner, I don't get it, it should be the same png overlay

anyway, took the screenshot to write "wow, Cinder is actually capable of thinking through her rage these days, good for her" but now that I think about it, I'm not sure if she's ever been fooled.

booo

I wanted more evil Ruby

Also, I'm literally loling at Maria yoda-ing Neo.

ah yes, neo, so graceful

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

mmmmmmm

mmm

oof, looks like that was a direct hit. And the worst part is that the second James hacks into Penny, I assume it'll will work that way. Probably her worst nightmare.

Yeah, no, this worked for spiderman because his nemesis wasn't right in front of him.

I like the idea of this shot but for some reason the execution looks weird. Maybe it's just awkward positioning, it's hard to tell the angles.

lmao

* cough *

I mean, yeah, saw that coming.

For a second I thought she was melting her face but then I remembered the one reason Cinder has that arm.

I'm going to need a diagram to know what Emerald was doing.

Yessss, no need for swords if you can make your own

I really need to know what she was doing inside because right now it feels like that was the worst excuse ever to get her out of the fight until the last possible second (and maybe make it another reference to PvP when Ruby exits the corridor?)

Did she finally see Pietro?

Emerald has so much faith in Cinder, sigh

I wonder if before the end of the show Neo will get to stab someone with her umbrella. Maybe it could even be Cinder

First time she gets knocked out?

Cinder with a long spear only means one thing. Someone is getting stabbed

Huh.

I hadn't thought about this until now but before this second I'd have said Emerald's semblance shouldn't work on Penny. Like, what part is she affecting to make Penny see the duplicates? But I guess it does work, somehow. Maybe reality gets processed through Aura.

Fire spear vs laser, who wins?

Giant laser wins

Glad that Penny is confirmed as the most powerful character in the show.

Poor Emerald, two lines this episode and they are both "CINDER"

Damn, she looks done with their crap.

And now she looks absolutely feral. Loving this.

I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. If she gets hacked now, Cinder still wins. She wouldn't get the maiden powers but at least she'd stop the transmission.

aaaaa

Emerald breaks my heart. So much love for someone who couldn't give a hoot about her.

At least Cinder seems to know her place with Salem, but I can't tell if she started like Emerald and got her love beaten down or if she just had different priorities after getting saved from what seemed similar circumstances.

Ah, Neo. Now to add to her resume that she beat a granny only because she got distracted.

oh, shut up, Pietro

Is this it? Is this where Penny "rebels"?

Even after all that fight, I think this is the best animation of the episode so far. It conveys so much resignation and annoyance.

I think this is the first time this season RWBY makes me teary-eyed. She finally said it!

This is too cute for this world.

Remember when I said that hug with Ruby felt like a goodbye? Well, this is much worse.

Wooo, she succeeded! (I hope, they did mention the message was a couple of minutes long)

But I'm also even more worried now because it feels like the one last thing she had to do.

They are back!

I wonder if the one character I miss the most will also get a shot.

Pensive Whitley? more likely than you think

He has a lot of potential, especially now that Salem -> Cinder -> Emerald are a thing, making cyclical abuse more of an explicit theme. Not sure if there's enough time to do him justice though, considering he's not much of a character.

"we don't want to reveal Vacuo yet, what do we do?" "put them in the desert"

Yessss, Ilia got a cameo!

Are they pulling her back from voiceless purgatory?

Holy shit, wow, really didn't expect to see her.

Literally a pet. I wonder where the hound falls in the hierarchy

...why is she so happy? She's not supposed to be happy!!

siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh

yeah

was expecting this

Poor guy, I wonder if this is the first news he gets from her daughters.

Taiyang made me realize they didn't show Yang's team. Huh.

Oh, fuck you rooster teeth.

Fuck oofffff (RT, not you, Pietro)

Is Winter end up doing the right thing? She's obviously affected by seeing Penny's sword there.

Also, I wonder if her new armor is just that or if it's a bracing system to help her move so soon after getting beat. But I guess that wouldn't be necessary if her aura helped her heal.

Hopefully, if Watts escapes and tries to get everyone else to help (since I doubt he can beat all the guards on his own), Qrow shows he learned his lesson about trusting the enemy.

ah, there you go

Okay, this is an amazing reveal. Is Salem transforming Mantle into another land of darkness? Because that'd definitely explain why she was so unworried about the broadcast.

What a way to end the episode. A brief moment of hope completely destroyed, twice.

Penny has been raising so many death flags that her inevitable hacking lacked some impact. I'm still sad (and annoyed at RT for poor Penny being a magnet for suffering) but Watts being Watts maybe he did a bad job just to prevent Atlas to escape? And Penny seemed able to resist? aaaah, I don't know. Now that the hacking finally happened all the foreshadowing is over, anything could happen.

The worst part of the hack is that it modified Penny's thoughts. It wasn't a complete takeover, like with Pietro, it was a lot more insidious. Literally making true what Cinder told her. Ugh.

Looking back at the screenshots, wow, a lot of the episode was just them fighting, but there were some fun moments, like Maria kicking Neo's ass.

Very curious about where it's going. Both the Penny plot (there's absolutely no way hacked Penny doesn't fight Ruby, there's probably a rule written in the universe about having mind-controlled people fight their loved ones) and the river of Grimm which was an excellent secondary gut punch. Really, loved that reveal. "You thought things were bad? lol"

I think that's all for now, until next time!

#rwby #rwby liveblog #rwby v8 #rwby v8e05

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voltrontranscript · 3 years

Text

VLD S8E7: Day Forty-Seven

Season 8 Episode 7: Day Forty-Seven

Transcript by @dragonofyang

Summary: Kinkade and Rizavi film a vlog that follows a relatively normal day on the IGF-Atlas with its humorous moments and the stress of battle.

[Google Doc]

Kinkade: Hello. This is Lieutenant Ryan Kinkade, MFE pilot. The time is 0600 hours. It’s day forty-seven. And this is a glimpse at day-to-day life aboard the IGF-Atlas.

[Cut to Kinkade brushing his teeth as the camera floats over his shoulder.]

Kinkade: Last night, I unpacked my video gear and decided to document the crew. I know it seems strange, but before Earth was attacked, I didn’t go anywhere without my camera.

[Cut to Kinkade running on a treadmill.]

Kinkade: Back home, people asked me why I liked recording things. They also asked me why I didn’t talk that much. To both of those things, I’d always say… [grunts]

[Cut to Kinkade doing pull-ups.]

Kinkade: Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.

Romelle: You’re recording? Why?

Griffin: Kinkade has always been, uh… an individual who’s most comfortable observing and reflecting on life. Being a fighter pilot was actually his backup plan.

[Cut to Kinkade wearing a blindfold as he works on his blaster rifle.]

Kinkade: It’s true. I learned how to shoot with a camera before I learned how to shoot with a rifle. I guess filming is just a small piece of the larger puzzle that makes up the picture of who I am. Hm.

[Cut to Kinkade turning the camera on once more and walking to a fighter jet.]

Rizavi: So you’re really shooting another documentary? Please tell me this is going to be more exciting than that project you did for Mr. Pollard’s biology class about yeast.

Kinkade: That was actually about the process of fermentation. Yeast converts carbohydrates into carbon diox--

Rizavi: Boring! Okay, look, if this little documentary is how history will remember us, I’m gonna help you spruce it up! How many cameras do you have? What’s your visual effects budget? Do you have any smoke bombs?

[Cut to Keith and Pidge facing the camera as it focuses on Pidge directly.]

Kinkade: Okay. We’re set.

Rizavi: So, uh, catch us up on what’s going on.

Pidge: Right. Well, the Atlas is headed to the Grei-Aye system where we’ve identified the remains of a disabled robeast.

Rizavi: Oh! Those things are pretty dangerous, right?

Pidge: Do I need to explain that the robeast was one of the ones used in Honerva’s intergalactic ritual?

Rizavi: No, it’s fine.

Pidge: Okay. Um, so, once the Atlas arrives in orbit around the planet, the other Paladins and I will head down to the surface to secure the robeast and hopefully find its Altean pilot.

Rizavi: Ugh, okay. Keith! Why don’t you tell us about the dangers of this mission?

Keith: Well, every mission has some inherent dangers. For this one, we have to be especially diligent about the robeast. Even if it’s not fully functional, it can still pose an extreme threat. Combine that with the hostile Altean that’s probably still in the vicinity, and you’ve potentially got threats on multiple fronts.

Hunk: Hey, guys. What’s up? You making a movie? Cool. Can I be in it? Now, wait, if this is an action movie… is it? I don’t wanna be in it.

Rizavi: Hunk, we’re trying to do an interview here.

Hunk: Oh, sorry. Yeah, my bad. I just came by to see if you wanted to try this new recipe I’ve been experimenting with. This is just the first pass. The final version of it will be coming soon. No, Bae Bae! Not for you! I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’ll make you some doggy treats later.

Kinkade: What’s the recipe? Can we watch you work?

Hunk: Well, yeah! Yeah, this’ll be great! I’ve secretly always wanted my own cooking show.

Rizavi: What? No! Keith was just telling us about the mission and all the dangers! We’re not losing that to document cooking.

Kinkade: But, I like cooking.

Rizavi: It’s like you’re trying to make this boring.

Hunk: Whoa, first of all, cooking is not boring, okay? And it can bring people together. Some of the best times of my life were spent breaking bread with loved ones.

Keith: So, is this interview over?

Rizavi: No! Great, now the talent’s getting restless!

Iverson: Everyone, report to your battle stations immediately! I repeat… battle stations immediately! This is not a drill!

Rizavi: The camera!

Kinkade: Leave it! We need to go!

Rizavi: But this is gold!

Kinkade: Come o--

Iverson: MFE pilots, report to hangars alpha-bravo! Scrambling fighters in five! Paladins, stand by for launch.

[Scene change as Bae Bae finds the fallen camera and carries it around.]

Shiro: Where did it come from? Veronica, get me eyes on it!

Coran: That thing just appeared out of nowhere!

Shiro: Iverson, fire when ready!

Iverson: Target acquired! We’ve got lock! Wait. No… we lost it! Target has gone dark!

Veronica: Electromagnetic radiation from that planet is overloading our radars.

Shiro: Voltron, do you have a visual? I repeat, Voltron, do you have a visual?

Keith: Not yet. We’re going in now! Stand by! We can’t see a thing in here!

Griffin: Copy that. We have zero visibility as well. We need a visual.

Curtis: Roger. Trying another avenue. Scanning for biometrics. Visual acquired!

Coran: Incoming!

Iverson: Recharging all starboard cannons!

Curtis: Sensors are offline!

Iverson: What is that thing?

Coran: It’s massive!

Shiro: Iverson, open fire!

Coran: Direct hit! It’s coming back around for another shot!

Shiro: Veronica, prep shields!

[Scene change as the camera falls down a vent into Sam and Slav’s workstation.]

Sam: Whatever hit us just knocked loose the gravity generator! Grab the flaxum assembly!

Slav: I can’t do that! It’s red!

Sam: Is this one of your crazy probability, reality things?

[Scene change to a hallway as soldiers float through to their stations.]

Shiro: All crew, report to stations and prepare for Atlas transformation--

Atlas Crewmember: Go, go, go!

Shiro: --in T-minus thirty seconds!

[Scene change as Bae Bae finds the camera again and carries it.]

Colleen: Bae Bae, what are you doing out here? And what’s this in your mouth? A camera? Come on, girl.

Shiro: All crew, prepare for Atlas transformation sequence in five… four… three… two… one!

[Scene change as the camera dies, then powers on again facing Kinkade once more.]

Kinkade: Camera’s fully charged. We’re good to go. The time is now 0900 hours. We just experienced a minor mishap aboard the IGF-Atlas, but we’re back on track. In the future, we’ll hopefully be avoiding creature-occupied gas planets.

[Cut to Kinkade floating through a hallway.]

Kinkade: Hey, Seok Jin, where you headed?

Seok Jin: I’m transporting these samples back to Earth. Commander Holt thinks it can help with the recovery efforts there.

Kinkade: Well, they couldn’t have picked a better man for the job. Take care, man. Hey, Seok Jin… we’ll miss you, buddy.

[Scene change to the camera looking into the mess hall, where Vrepit Sal is cleaning tables and then rotates to face the hallway.]

Rizavi: There you are! Tell me this thing was recording during the attack! That was so intense! Oh, this documentary’s gonna be awesome!

[Cut to Kolivan sitting in a small office facing the camera.]

Kolivan: I believe our heading readout en route was 92254739.275. Wait, no. It was 9.265. Yes. That was our heading per our readout just prior to our deployment.

Rizavi: [mock snoring]

Kolivan: Our teams vary in size. Often we use the three-person unit, but it’s not unusual to have a four- or a five- or perhaps even a six-person unit. Seven seems rare, but... it could happen.

Rizavi: Okay, I like everything you’re telling me, but let’s just try it a little less like you’re reporting the facts to your commanding officer and a little more like you’re telling your friend an exciting story in the gym. You understand?

Kolivan: Yes, understood.

Rizavi: Okay, good. Why don’t you tell us about your last mission?

Kolivan: Our last mission took place on planet K-V Exus. The Blades divided into three four-person teams and we escorted approximately twelve rescue crafts to the surface. I believe our heading readout was 359.222--

Rizavi: Thank! Thank you! Okay, I think we got it!

Kolivan: But I wasn’t done.

Rizavi: Yeah, you nailed it. Yeah. We need to get someone more exciting in here.

[Cut to Coran leaning into the camera as it slowly attempts to focus on him.]

Coran: Then the Atlas started firing with everything it had! And don’t forget the white hole is swirling right next to us the entire time! Oh, no, it’s about to close! Meanwhile, not one, but two, yes, two, robeasts are attacking! Shiro’s shouting out orders. “Coran, get closer! Iverson, open fire!” Beams of quintessence energy are converging from all over the galaxy! Ah! You know, you could just imagine it.

[Scene change to Rizavi turning the camera on in Slav and Sam’s workspace.]

Sam: Welcome to the engine room. What you see here is just a tiny part of what keeps the ship functioning.

Rizavi: Slav, you’ve created some incredible technology. What do you think of the Atlas?

Slav: I can respect any engineering that extrapolates for transmutation, but I wish the writing was in Altean.

Sam: He’s mentioned that a few times.

Rizavi: So what are you doing now?

Slav: Right now we’re about to adjust the gravity generator, which was fractionally increased during our last battle.

Sam: Yes, our gravity generator is actually a fluid system, ever-changing depending on the specific needs of the location, so it requires recalibrating from time to time. Okay, adjust gravity generator back down to .12.

Slav: Copy. Adjusting now.

Sam: What did you press?

Slav: I don’t know! Which one is the two again? I can’t read these weird symbols you call numbers! Hey, big guy, toss me over! Oh, no. Directly on a crack!

Kinkade: Weird.

[Cut to the camera focusing on some juniberry shoots in a pot.]

Colleen: Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s an Altean juniberry. The first one to bloom in nearly ten thousand years. I managed to get it to grow by resequencing the genetic code of a similar plant. I wanna give it to Allura. These are our fertilizers. We have fish emulsion, worm castings, Kaltenecker manure. Just so much great recycled poop! And this is our lighting station. I like to say our lighting array is literally out of this world! You know, because we’re, you know, on a space ship.

Rizavi: Can I take a shot at this?

[Cut to the camera panning across the crops in the grow room.]

Rizavi: Welcome to extreme space harvesting! Where we have plants and crops and super fertilizers all under one roof! Meet Colleen Holt, the botanical genius behind it all.

[Cut to Colleen sitting in a chair in the grow room.]

Colleen: I guess I just liked plants all my life. I’ve done a lot of research, but I know I have much to learn. I guess… I like… the challenge. I’m sorry, where am I supposed to be looking?

Rizavi: Without Colleen, all life aboard the ship could perish. One bad crop, the introduction of one foreign pest, and it’s all over.

Colleen: I just like plants.

Hunk: Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something again? I just--I just came in to see if Colleen had a very specific type of yeast.

Kinkade: Yeast? What for?

Rizavi: Oh, no.

Hunk: It’s that recipe I’ve been working on. I think I got the topping down, but I’m still trying to figure out the sweet bread.

Colleen: Well, I have so many strains of yeast, it’ll make your head spin. I got AB972, S288C. I even have O unilateralis. Don’t mess with that one.

Kinkade: Are you getting this?

Rizavi: Unfortunately, yes.

[Camera cuts to Kinkade and Rizavi floating through a hallway.]

Rizavi: The time is 1200 hours. We just got word that we are in the Grei-Aye star system. The Paladins will be heading down to the surface of the planet any second now.

[Cut to the camera facing Allura, Lance, and Keith in the hangar for Black Lion.]

Rizavi: Lance, how are you feeling about the mission you’re about to go on?

Lance: Oh, hey. I’m feeling good, I guess. Maybe a little tense. Maybe a lot tense. I don’t know. Why’d you have to ask me that question?

Allura: I think what Lance is trying to say is he’ll be fine. We all will.

Keith: Let’s move out.

[Camera cuts to Kinkade and Rizavi standing a ways away from Blue Lion as it launches.]

Rizavi: Right now, we’re headed to the situation room where we’ll be monitoring the Paladins in real-time.

Kinkade: By the way, you know we’re not gonna be able to bring our camera into that meeting, right?

Rizavi: Says who?

[Scene change to the situation room where Veronica, Coran, Sam, and Shiro are all facing a screen showing a no-signal symbol.]

Sam: Come in, Pidge. Are you reading us?

Pidge: Okay, we’ve just touched down on the surface.

Keith: We’re at the crash site now.

Pidge: That’s the robeast. It looks disabled, just like our intel reported. The Altean should be nearby.

Shiro: Paladins, brace for incoming!

Hunk: I didn’t know it could do that!

Keith: Take cover!

Shiro: Paladins, report! We’ve lost visual. Bridge, lock onto that ship now!

Curtis: Yes, Captain. Adjusting to long-range parameters. Locked on!

Shiro: Light it up!

Curtis: Direct hit!

Lance: Nice shot, Atlas!

Hunk: Yeah, thanks for the cover!

Shiro: Bridge, stay on alert.

[Cut to the Altean viewscreen of Pidge’s point of view through her helmet.]

Allura: Stand by, Atlas. We’re approaching the ship.

Hunk: Guys, there doesn’t seem to be a pilot inside.

Keith: Hey, guys. Over here.

Pidge: Keith’s found something. Let’s go! Give me a second. Just reconfiguring to this barrier’s isometric frequency. There! That should do it.

Keith: Atlas, our target is acquired.

Overlapping voices: Yippee! Alright! Yeah!

Shiro: Great job, everyone!

[Cut to Kinkade and Rizavi floating through another hallway.]

Rizavi: We just got word that the Paladins have returned from their mission. Maybe we can catch a glimpse of this new Altean.

Kinkade: This’ll be the sixth Altean pilot we’ve recovered from the powered-down robeasts left behind after Honerva escaped Oriande. Allura keeps trying, but she hasn’t been able to get any information from them as of yet.

[Camera cuts to Rizavi standing outside a room marked “Authorized Personnel Only”.]

Rizavi: Commander Shirogane said you two were needed on the bridge. We’ll cover your station.

Woman: Yes, Lieutenant.

Rizavi: There! Oh, man, I think we missed the beginning.

Romelle: Tavo, please. You and I grew up alongside one another. You must trust me. We’re here to help.

Tavo: We were told you are a traitor, and I can see now that it is true.

Allura: I’m done talking with him. I’m done with all of them.

Kinkade: Uh, what are you doing?

Rizavi: Sh! I got an idea.

Lance: Anything?

Allura: No. He was just like the others. A true believer in Honerva, and there’s nothing I can say that would make him think otherwise.

Lance: I’m sorry.

Allura: No, I am. These Alteans are the key to unlocking Honerva’s plan. They’re my people, but they won’t speak with me. You have no idea what it’s like to find out after ten thousand years that you’re not the last of your kind… only to be rejected by them.

Lance: I don’t. But I wish every day there were something I could do to change it all for you. You’ve suffered more than anyone should in a thousand lifetimes. But still you persist. Through the pain, you inspire. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you.

Kinkade: No, that’s private.

Rizavi: Kinkade, what are you doing? That was our love angle!

[Camera cuts out, then focuses in on Romelle’s face.]

Kinkade: Please don’t touch that.

Romelle: Oh, sorry.

Rizavi: So, Romelle, you know these Alteans from your time on the colony?

Romelle: Yes, I lived alongside them for many decaphoebs. They are good people.

Kinkade: What do you think would make them join forces with Honerva?

Romelle: I don’t know. But you must understand, my people were hunted nearly to extinction. They’re afraid. And this Honerva… she’s turned that fear to aggression. If there was just some way to get through to them.

[Cut to the mess hall.]

Griffin: I’ve never seen anything like it. All those tentacles… so nasty.

[Cut to the kitchen where Hunk is stirring something purple in a pan.]

Hunk: Oh, hey. You’re just in time. I was just about to add the yeast Colleen gave me. No, Bae Bae! Bad dog!

[Cut to Kinkade and Rizavi sitting at a table with Allura.]

Kinkade: First off, thanks for doing this, Allura.

Allura: You’re welcome.

Rizavi: Maybe we can start with the Alteans we have aboard.

Allura: What about them? They’re on the wrong side of this war and they refuse to speak with me. There’s nothing else to say.

Rizavi: So, you’re frustrated?

Allura: Yes, I am. Oriande was destroyed, Lotor is back, and we aren’t any closer to tracking down Honerva. She’s out there, right now, planning something, preparing, and growing stronger. And we’re here flying around in circles, searching for Fraunhofer lines that don’t appear and scanning for wormhole signatures that don’t exist!

Rizavi: Do you think we’ll ever find Honerva?

Allura: No. I think she’ll find us.

[Camera cuts back to Hunk in the kitchen, this time wearing oven mitts.]

Hunk: Okay, it’s been a long day, but I’m finally done.

Kinkade: What is it?

Hunk: It’s an authentic Altean dessert! I’m gonna give it to the Alteans. Coran helped me with the recipe, but I think his memory was, like, a little bit fuzzy, so, you know, I did some improvising. No big whoop.

Kinkade: You did this for them? Why?

Hunk: Well, I don’t know. Because food has a way of reminding people of moments in time. That’s why I made a dessert. Usually, when you eat dessert, you’re pretty happy, right? Who knows? Maybe this’ll help those Alteans remember some moment that made them smile. Something before all this madness. That could go a long way in building a relationship. Well, that’s just what I think.

[Cut to the Alteans in a holding cell as the camera zooms out and pans to face Hunk.]

Hunk: Please, eat. Look, it’s good! Mm, really!

Tavo: You made this? It reminds me of home.

Hunk: Well, I had a little help from someone born and raised on Altea. A-and I know you don’t wanna talk with them, but Allura and Coran know more about your homeland than anyone alive. They were on Altea until its final day. They both would’ve stayed and died to protect it if Alfor hadn’t sent them away. That’s how much they loved it.

Tavo: I heard Altea was one of the most beautiful places in the universe. Did your Alteans ever tell you about the zyo crystal springs outside of the capital? The stories say those cliffs were more beautiful than all of the stars combined.

Hunk: They never told me about them. But I’m sure they’d love to tell you themselves.

[Scene change to Kinkade sitting in casual clothes facing the camera.]

Kinkade: This is Lieutenant Ryan Kinkade, MFE pilot. The time is 2300 hours. Day forty-seven aboard the IGF-Atlas is officially done.

End.

#vld #voltron #transcript #hunk #pidge #tavo #allura #lance #keith #shiro #curtis #sam holt #slav #romelle #colleen holt #james griffin #ryan kinkade #nadia rizavi #coran #iverson

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nerdybookworm25 · 4 years

Text

Rambling about Katara and Zutara

Ok so I’m going to kind of just put my two cents out there on this stuff. I joined the ATLA fandom this past summer and just started watching TLOK (my brother and I just finished Book 2 yesterday). This is a hot debate and I just want to ramble on about my opinions on this stuff. A lot of this will focus on Katara’s perspective because I can understand her better than Zuko or Aang due to personal experience. Im just... gonna... get into it now...

I’ll give you some background on me so you guys can understand where I’m coming from. I’m a 15 year old girl with abandonment issues caused by multiple deaths of close friends and family at a young age (my uncle when I was 4, a grandmother like figure when I was 7, my dad’s mum when I was 9 or 10, my great grandma when I was 11, a close friend of my dad’s when I was 13 and many others). I also am the Mum Friend (my friends literally call me “Mum”). I’m the caregiver of the group- the glue, the harmonizer, the therapist, the teacher, the good advice giver etc. (This stuff actually hot me in trouble as a kid and it kind of messed me up). My friends who have seen Avatar have compared me to Katara on multiple occasions and say I’ve got the temperament of a waterbender. You can kind of see where I’d relate, you know?

I do ship Zutara. My brother turned to me during the Book 1: Water- Episode 9~ The Waterbending Scroll and asked, “What if Zuko becomes a good guy and ends up with Katara?” From then on I was on the Zutara hill and I’ll probably die there. It limited ships that I loved from childhood and I thought it would hav been really cool- it would have fit the themes of the show, it would have been a cool thing to see grow and blossom, etc. It had nothing to do with Katara and Zuko being attractive at all- not in the slightest. It also wasn’t me projecting onto Katara. I didn’t really care to notice any major similarities between us until Book Three: Fire- Episode 7~ The Runaway. It was this exchange that changed Katara from my favorite character to someone I could heavily relate to.

Toph: [Sarcasically.] Oh really, Mom? Or what are you gonna do? Send me to my room?

Katara: I wish I could!

Toph: well you can’t! Because you’re not my mom, and you’re not their mom! [Extends her arm at Aang and Sokka, who are sitting on a ledge.]

Katara: I never said I was!

Toph: No, but you act like it! You think it’s your job to boss everyone around, but it’s not! You’re just a regular kid like the rest of us! Stop acting like you can tell me what to do! I can do whatever I want!

I remember bursting out laughing when I heard this. My brother asked me what was up and I paused it and explained that that was a lecture I revived so regularly when I was younger. It really really ended up messing me up. It’s not like I tried to mother anyone- it just happened. I wasn’t controlling it. I didn’t notice I was doing it and I got in trouble. Now things are different and I’ve embraced the fact that I am the designated Mum Freind. Still working on getting over being told off about it in therapy though. Anyway, I think you now can understand where I’m coming from with this “analysis.” Now I’m going to get into it (for real this time lol).

I think I’m going to start with the caregiver stuff. Katara’s mother died when she was very young. It was a very traumatic death. We can infer that Katara blamed herself for this death because the Southern Raiders were looking for the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe- her. That’s a lot for an 8 year old to try to process. Here’s the kicker: I don’t think she ever fully processed it until after Book 3: Fire- Episode 16~ The Southern Raiders. She almost immediately helped her grandmother take up the roll as the woman of the house. She probably didn’t feel like she had anyone to talk to about what she was feeling however true or false that’s what she most likely perceived this to be. When Hakoda leaves for war with all of the men of the tribe, Kanna might be the matriarch and help raise Sokka and Katara but even Sokka admits that Katara became a pseudo-mother for him. Taking care of others doesn’t leave a lot of time to deal with your own issues. Sometimes it feels easier to help others face their demons than face your own.

We continue to see Katara become the glue of the Gaang as the series progresses. She keeps them together in the Si Wong desert after Aang leaves her, Sokka, Toph, and Momo. She’s always the one cooking, cleaning, and mending not because she wants to, but because she knows no one else will do it and it needs to be done. We see her try to coax Toph into helping out around camp when she firsts joins the Gaang. It doesn’t work and this conflict continues for most of Book 2 and the beginning of Book 3. All of this time, she’s making it a point to take care of everyone. When the adults show up after the Boiling Rock, she’s still the one making the dinner and probably does a lot of the other chores as well (except for tea making- this will come into play later).

There’s a running joke about Katara being “Momtara” within the ATLA fandom (more the Zutaraians in the fandom than anything else but it’s a pretty well known concept). We continue to see this when the Gaang is on Ember Island. She brings them all drink during training sessions, watches said training sessions in case someone gets hurt and they need her, wrangles Sokka to the best of her ability, and just generally looks out for everyone regardless of age gap. It’s her natural instinct to be motherly. She retains this quality even after she finds Yon Rha. (Getting closure on her mother’s death doesn’t mean losing what had become a major personality trait).

Let’s unpack that now, shall we? Kya dies and Katara thinks it’s her fault. She doesn’t really talk to anyone about it. A few years later, Hakoda leaves to fight in the war. The Southern Water Tribe recives no letters or news about what happened to their warriors at all. Katara felt like she lost another parent. She nearly says as much during Book 3: Fire- Episode 1~ The Awakening.

Hakoda: You’re taking about me too, aren’t you?

Katara: How could you leave us, Dad? [She attempts to wipe away the tears.] I mean, I know we had Gran-Gran, and she loved us, but we were just so lost without you.

Hakoda moves to comfort her as she turns away.

Hakoda: I’m so sorry, Katara.

Katara: [Embraces Hakoda.] I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way? I’m so sad and angry and hurt!

The thing that sets off this exchange is Aang running away for the third time since Katara has known him (the fourth time in Aang’s lifetime). The other times he ran were when confronted by the rude fisherman in Book 1: Water- Episode 12~ The Storm, then again during Book 2: Earth- Episode 11~ The Desert. Aang has a, for lack of a better word, chronic running away problem. I’m not mad at him for it. It makes him an interesting character and shows that he too has flaws (even if they aren’t always addressed but that’s an issue with Bryke). When Aang flys away after waking up during 3.1, Katara is distraught.

Katara: He left.

Hakoda: What?

Katara: Aang. He just took his glider and disappeared. He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone, that it’s all his responsibility.

Hakoda: Maybe that’s his way of being brave.

Katara: Its not brave, it’s selfish and stupid! We could be helping him and I know the world needs him, but doesn’t he know how much we need him, too? How can he just leave us behind?

Katara feels abandoned by Aang. This is completely understandable. She has every right to be angry at him and feel sad that he flew away. He comes back every time but I feel like if I were in her position, as much as I’d hope my friend would come back and I’d tell everyone that I knew he would, I’d still be afraid that there was an off chance that he doesn’t. This is a natural human reaction to this situation. People were seemingly constantly fading in and out of Katara’s life and that just wasn’t good for her mental health. It couldn’t have been. This also raises the question of if someone has a very serious fear of abandonment, would it be healthy to be in a romantic relationship with someone who consistently leaves? Personally I don’t think so. Be friends? Sure. Date? I don’t know. It doesn’t quite sit right with me.

Katara probably feels abandoned by Zuko too. During the Book 2 Finale: Crossroads of Destiny, Katara and Zuko bond in the crystal catacombs under Ba Sing Se. They relate over their shared fear of being abandoned by those they love (yes I think Zuko has abandonment issues too- among other issues/fears). When he turns his back on her, she doesn’t live him (obviously). She has cared about him enough up to that point to offer to use what is arguably her most powerful possession to heal his scar. She cares. Because she cares about him then, she is downright livid when he betrays her. (Of course the difference between Zuko and Aang with this is Zuko leaves once and comes back and he doesn’t leave again. Aang leaves and comes back over and over and over again).

Katara: I thought you had changed!

Zuko: I have changed!

Katara carries the weight of his betrayal on her mind until she and Zuko go on their life changing field trip to confront the man who killed Katara’s mother. This was her time to finally get closure. She had probably had these feelings bottled up for 6 years and didn’t act on them. When she finally had the chance, her best friend and brother tried to stop her. She lashed out.

Katara: We’re going to find the man who took my mother from me.

Sokka pauses and stands up, surprised.

Zuko: Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who did it and I know how to find him.

Aang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

Katara: [Shakes her head in dismay.] Ugh, I knew you wouldn’t understand. [Begins to walk away.]

Aang: Wait! Stop! I do understand. You’re feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?

Zuko: She needs this, Aang. This is about getting closure and justice.

Aang: I don’t think so. I think this is about getting revenge.

Katara: [Angrily.] Fine, maybe it is! Maybe it’s what he deserves!

Aang: Katara, you sound like Jet.

Katara: Its not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he’s a monster.

Sokka: Katara, she was my mother, too, but I think Aang might be right.

Katara: Then you didn’t love her the way I did!

Sokka: [Hurt.] Katara!

Katara gets a lot of flack for this interaction. She says Sokka didn’t love their mother like she did and Sokka I’d understandably hurt. It doesn’t excuse what she said, but people do lash out when they are feeling a lot of emotions and they get defensive when they feel like they’re being ganged up on or attacked (I myself am guilty of this sort of thing). What Katara said was wrong but I have no doubt in my mind that she didn’t apologize to Sokka when he and the rest of the Gaang arrive on Ember Island later in the episode. She is seen walking over to him after she hugs Zuko.

Zuko and Katara go after Yon Rha anyway. For once in her life, Katara is feeling emotions and no one is trying to get her to stop or to push them aside. She doesn’t have to be constantly taking care of someone so she can focus on herself. Katara trusts Zuko more than I think she realizes. I mean she trusts him with a lot and he follows through on a lot of unspoken/subconscious agreements and promises.

Zuko is looking out for her. Zuko has her back. Zuko is allowing her to feel all of these emotions and work them out of her own accord. Zuko isn’t telling her to feel one way or another. Zuko isn’t going to judge her for whatever she decides to do when they find Yon Rha or what she does in order for them to get to that point. Zuko ensures she gets the closure she feels she needs.

When he sees her bloodbend, he’s surprised, but he isn’t appalled. When he thinks she’s going to run Yon Rha through with a giant shard of ice, he doesn’t try to stop her. He lets her be her. He sees a dark side of her in a way that no one else in the Gaang has seen. It’s strangely intimate. Clearly it has enough of an impact to make her forgive him. She knows he isn’t going to abandon betray her and her friend again.

Once they become friends, and even before that, Zuko starts to help out with small things here and there. We see him making tea for all of the kids at dinner. He tells jokes to make them laugh. He teaches Aang firebending. He goes with Sokka to the Boiling Rock to make sure he doesn’t get himself killed or in a prison cell for the rest of his life. With all of this, “Dadko” is born.

If you strip away Zuko’s anger, he just becomes the awkward-turtleduck-first-time-father that we all know and love. There’s more balance in the Gaang with him there to help and become an “authority” figure with Katara. They become the parents of the other members of the Gaang. It’s an interesting shift in their relationship- enemies to unsteady acquaintances to enemies to frenemies to friends. They’re close enough that they show small signs of physical intimacy and they tease each other.

Also if you look close enough when the Gaang walks into the “seedy Earth Kingdom tavern,” Zuko and Katara appear to be holding hands and are near each other from then until the finale episodes. They are clearly just great friends by the end of the show. I mean Zuko also takes a bolt of lightning to the chest for her...

Zuko doesn’t leave when his life gets difficult- not after he joins the Gaang. He made that mistake once and he won’t make it again. Aang was always part of the Gaang but continued to leave (again, I’m not mad at him for it but he never seems to realize the effect it has on the people around him- especially Katara). Zuko also doesn’t all but forget Katara and continue to run around the world. When Zuko fully decides to stick around, you best believe he is sticking around.

This works really well for Zutara. They’re both each other’s rock. They support each other and help each other in times of trouble. Do they argue? Yes. Is that a normal part of a healthy relationship- romantic or otherwise? Yes. Do they take care of and look out for each other while also not smothering or suffocating each other? Yes. I don’t know about you but this sounds stable and healthy to me. They balance each other out so well (I’m not going to get too into that because if you’re reading this you probably already know with the whole Tui and La, Yin and Yang, Oma and Shu thing).

Now, this is a big deal for me and it makes me furious, but Katara is forgotten by history. She has no statue. She is reduced to a housewife and healer- things our wonderful water feminist was afraid of becoming as an adult. I mean this girl

This girl

THIS GIRL

She becomes nothing but a housewife stuck in a healing hut who gets forgotten by the world and left behind by her family just... let’s all of that happen? Yeah that’s pretty unrealistic. I think about this frequently and with starting TLOK I have formed even more opinions and have a little thingy (I don’t know what to call it) for what happened to her.

Kya II is everything Teenage Katara wanted to do and be before settling down. Old Katara is everything Teenage Katara was so afraid of become reduced to/becoming.

It’s an interesting way to think about it and I thought I’d share. Now if Katara was Fire Lady, she wouldn’t end up like that. She’d have the power to change the world and continue to fight for what she believed in. She could have helped with the trail with Yakone. Katara has so much potential to not be forgotten or brushed aside and somehow it happened. It makes me so sad. The potential Zutara had to make sure Katara had a genuine legacy was right there at their finger tips and they didn’t use it. What a shame. What a shame.

With all of the things I’ve talked about, I just feel like Zutara would have been better for Katara than Kataang was. I think that’s more Bryke not developing the relationship well enough and instead choosing to be sloppy and selfish in the way they structured the relationship. Yeah this is my rambling on about the issue. Hope it was mildly entertaining! If you want me to write something about how Zuko would have benefited from Zutara, let me know!

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