#like yeah he was terrible and selfish in what he did to Nora but at the end he did what she wanted

[danny-chase]

Finally read Mr. Freeze One Bad Day, and just... awwwww, Dick's optimism vs Bruce's pessimism, and Dick taking a chance to hear Mr. Freeze out at the end and the research having been something Nora would have wanted just... my heart

#it was weirdly sweet #like yeah he was terrible and selfish in what he did to Nora but at the end he did what she wanted #also HHHDHDHD did you rent out a lexcorp lab cuz you knew he would trash it? #anyways i like that it wasn't as simple as Victor is either redeemable or irredeemable it was he's capable of doing both bad and good #and he's making selfish choices while doing the right thing in a way you don't expect

[razorblade180]

It takes time

Weiss sat comfortably in her bed at home. Who would’ve thought how nice home would be after all the tragedy in it? It was nice to unwind, then Ruby came walking in. The reaper looked like she was caught in the worse state of limbo. As if she saw a ghost. Weiss knew that face. That was the same face she made whenever she accidentally walked in on Nora and Ren.

Weiss:What’s wrong? What’s today’s chapter in “Ruby’s rollercoaster of a life.”

Ruby:I don’t appreciate that name. If anything my life is an extremely long road trip with minimum bathroom breaks and people get left behind whenever the RV finally does stop.

Weiss:You’re avoiding my question.

Ruby:I’m fine.

Weiss:1.....2....

Ruby:....

Weiss:Don’t make me get to three.

Ruby:Fine! Gosh, you’re so aggressive when you wanna help people. You’re just as bad as Whit-

Ruby tried to stop herself but it was too late. Weiss’s eyes became focused on the girl. Of course it was a Whitley problem. The two have been dating a few months though she loved her brother, he could be an idiot. Not that Weiss was any different, or Winter for that matter. All of them were emotional hazards when it came to romance.

Weiss:What happened between you two? You both were doing so well after what happened between him and father.

Ruby:Oh it’s....nah, it’s stupid.

Weiss:2.5.....

Ruby:Stop counting!

Weiss:Then out with it!

Ruby:I told him “I love you!!!”

Ruby turned bright red and put her hood up. The fearless team leader then bellyflopped onto Weiss’s bed, her face landing in a pile of pillows. Of all the things Weiss was expecting, this wasn’t one of them. It’s true that’s it’s been a few months and Ruby was definitely the kind of girl to wear her heart on her sleeve. That knowledge alone told Weiss what most likely happened next.

Weiss:He didn’t say it back, did he?

Ruby:I feel like such an idiot.

Weiss:Let’s take a few steps back. How did this even happen?

Ruby:We were-

Weiss:Get out of the pillows. It’s already hard to understand you when you’re worked up.

Ruby:*flips over* We were watching tv, just talking. Then a stupid commercial came on for that blind date show. The one you like to laugh at even though you clap when the couples work out.

Weiss:Mmmhmm, unnecessary to add but continue.

Ruby:One of the people started talking about love at first sight. It got me thinking if Whitley believed in that kinda stuff, so I asked because of course I did.

Weiss:At least you’re self aware.

Ruby:He told me that sort of thing seemed like a work of fiction. So then I asked him what would he call our first meeting.

Weiss:Oh no...

Ruby:He didn’t say anything at first, then asked me what I thought it was. *red* Th-Then I told him that for me, I wouldn’t know what else to call what happened that day. I ended up kissing him and telling him I loved him. Then....I waited to hear it back. Waited, waited, and I kept waiting as he wasn’t sure what to tell me. I got the hint fairly fast. Gods, I felt so embarrassed and stupid that I tried leaving as fast as I could. He grabbed my hand to try to and stopped me. But then I made things worse by asking him directly if he did love me. Again, nothing but lip flapping. I dashed away after that. Ugh, why did I ask such a stupid thing!? Was it too soon? Am I the only one who-

Weiss:Stop...

Ruby zipped her lips. Weiss looked down at her with concerned yet welcoming eyes. Weiss grabbed her partner’s shoulders and sat her up.

Weiss:My brother stood up to my father in order to date you. Questioning his feelings for you is a thing you should never have to do.

Ruby:Then why-

Weiss:Four months.

Ruby:What?

Weiss:It took me four months to tell Jaune I love him after he told me. One day he sort sprang it on me like you did, and just like Whitley, I couldn’t say it back. And just like you, Jaune was hurt by it. He understood why I said nothing, but of course it didn’t make things feel any better. In fact, the two of us got a little distant for a while. A piece of me honestly thought that I had ruined my first real relationship, just like that.

Ruby:Why...why couldn’t you say it back? You two have been a thing for awhile. Actually I sorta remember when you two seemed to talk less.

Weiss took a deep breath and looked around her old room. How many nights was she in by choice? How many times did it feel like this room, this house, would be the only world she knew? The world built by her father.

Weiss:As much as it angers me to admit this, our father will always be this terrible, looming presence in the back of our mind. Even while I was at Beacon I found myself acting and saying things in a way that wouldn’t get me in trouble. I envy you Ruby. Your house, I’ve never been there but I can tell it was full of love. That’s not this house. That’s not my parents. The love in this place ran dry so long ago and Whitley had the least time to enjoy it. I doubt he actually remembers it for real. When Jaune told me he loved me I should’ve felt so happy in that moment, yet I was so terrified I could barely speak. Was I allowed to love? Would he change his mind one day out of the blue? What was the price to pay for that love; I even thought briefly that he was lying.

Ruby:I...had no idea.

Weiss:When a Schnee loves something, it goes away, or has a catch. Unconditional, genuine love feels like a fairytale. Saying “I love you too” made me feel like Jaune was going to disappear or worse. I couldn’t shake the feeling of his feelings being just another trap. I couldn’t let myself be happy, not like that. However, he was patient with me. He still said it from time to time but didn’t expect to hear it back and never pressured me. I actually did say one time within those four months. He came by really late at night to try and clear the air. Honestly I still feel a little anxious when I do say it, but I can’t help but get this warm feeling when I see the look on his face when he says it back. *red* He means it.

Weiss couldn’t help but smile as she looked in the mirror. Odd, has she ever done that before? Her complexion looked healthier than the last time she looked. Was it the light, or was Weiss glowing for the first time in awhile. This room might be the same, but it finally felt like a room. A place she could belong even. Weiss turned back to Ruby to see the girl in tears.

Weiss:What the!? You’re crying!?

Ruby:How could I not!!! I had no idea how much effort it took for you to feel like love was something you could have.

Weiss:I’m sure if you asked Winter then she can tell you a similar story between her and your uncle. There’s no doubt in mind Whitley wants to say it; he’s just scared.

Ruby:I feel terrible now. I didn’t even give him a chance to really explain himself or his feelings. How selfish can I be?

Weiss:Don’t be such a dunce. Now isn’t the time for a pity party. Give him a little time and then talk to him again. I’m sure he has a lot he wants to say.

Ruby:Thanks Weiss. You’re getting really good at this comforting thing.

Weiss:I learned from the best.

Ruby:Awww

Weiss:...

Ruby:You meant Jaune?

Weiss:It’s a team effort. Don’t sell yourself short. *hugs her* I love you too you know?

Ruby:*gasp* Would you say that-

Weiss:I’m not calling you my BFF, but yes, you would fill that spot.

Ruby:Good enough for me. I love you too.

xxxx

Later that day, Ruby decided to poke her head into the media room again. Unfortunately there was no sign of Whitley. There was however the sound of a smoke alarm going off in the kitchen. Ruby petal bursted all the way there to find a pan of something charred black and Whitley holding a fire extinguishers, baking ingredients covered his face and blue apron. He silently stared at his girlfriend before blasting the pan again for good measure.

Whitley:Hey....

Ruby:Hey. You uhh, you tried cooking by yourself.

Whitley:Emphasis on tried. I forgot to butter the pan. Also I think I needed more milk for the apology cookies.

Ruby:You know I’m positive this house has a cool book for people to- apology cookies?

Whitley:Yeah I uhh, I hurt your feelings, again. Sorry.

The boy put down the extinguisher and looked at his baking failure. He let out a long sigh of defeat and took a seat on a stool. Ruby opened up a window and wet a cloth, walking over to wipe is face. The cookies might’ve turned out well if the ingredients ended up in the bow instead of on his sad, cute face.

Ruby:I should be the one apologizing. I swept you up into my feelings and didn’t take the time see yours.

Whitley:You talk to Weiss? I heard you shout earlier.

Ruby:Oh...can you pretend you didn’t hear that?

Whitley:Only if we pretend I didn’t ruin chocolate chip cookies. I bought those Hershey Kisses for nothing.

Ruby:Those don’t melt properly in an oven or microwave unless it comes in a baking package. They burn and warp things.

Whitley:Who would make chocolate that doesn’t melt normally? Baking is stupid.

Ruby:*smiles* Hehe, it’ll take time but you’ll get it.

Whitley:Maybe in a hundred years.

Ruby:Eh, I’ll wait. I will umm...I will wait for anything you need time with; patiently. S-So don’t worry. About pushing yourself that is. Take your time, okay?

Whitley reached up and took Ruby’s hand. It was so warm compared to the cool rag in it. Their faces became flushed as icy blue met piercing silver. Whitley slowly leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against Ruby’s before seperating again. If it was up to her, Ruby would’ve made it last just a few seconds longer. For someone who’s only kissed one girl in his life, Whitley was surprisingly good at it.

Ruby:That’s a really good way of saying thank you.

Whitley:I care about you. You...mean a lot to me. I’ll try not to make you wait long.

Ruby:Don’t rush it. *leaning in* I’m fine with this....

She couldn’t help but go back in for another kiss. The words could wait. His gestures, the way pressed his lips on her own, it said more than what those three little words could do on their one. No point in rushing them. The love was coming through loud and clear. Weiss couldn’t help but spy on the two with Jaune for a second before leaving them to their moment.

Jaune:You did a good thing.

Weiss:I didn’t do anything that wasn’t going to sort itself out. Just being a good friend and sibling.

Jaune:Caring, another reason I love you.

He bent over and kissed her head. Weiss elbowed him lightly before pulling him down a little further for Jaune to kiss her properly.

Weiss:Yourself, all the reason why I love you.

#rwby #jaune arc #weiss schnee #ruby rose #whitley schnee #schneeblings #rwby wild rose #rwby whiteknight

[kitkatopinions]

If RT approached you and said you were in charge of volume 9, what would you do/how would you salvage the mess that the last volume was? (Personally, I’d run for the hills, but let’s say that wasn’t an option.)

Okay, that’s a pretty tall order, V8 was such a mess. But... I’ve already gotten way too interested. Tbh the reason it’s taken me this long to answer, Anon, is because while I was speculating on what I’d do, me and another criticism blog that I write fan fiction with started talking, started working on a base outline, and that started spiraling into a script. 😳

I’m so far from a professional, and I’m not super good at finishing things, so no promises that anything will come of it. But if we get something we like, we might end up posting it in some form eventually.

What I can currently give you is a few base ideas.

We would split the screen time between the Island (with Blake, Yang, Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, and Neo) Vacuo (with Nora, Ren, Oscar, Winter, Emerald, Mercury, Tyrian, etc.) and Qrow’s group (with Qrow, Robyn, the Ace Ops - maybe temporarily - and James.) Salem will have a couple scenes, but take a backseat for now.

1. Qrow would dive into the Mantle/Atlas wreckage to try and find Ruby, Yang, and the others. He’d find Ironwood instead, and despite clearly still being furious and upset, he saves him with the help of Robyn and the Ace Ops, despite Robyn really not wanting it. When James wakes up, he’d be back to the old pre-shooting-Oscar James and explains about his semblance (with some slight modifiers.) Qrow and Robyn don’t believe him right away, but she uses her truth semblance to prove it. James starts down the road of... I don’t want to say redemption, exactly, because of his semblance, but yeah. (I know this would feel like a retcon, but oh well. I’m not leaving James’ character in the lurch and unlike the RWBY writers, I could trust myself to bring him back without dragging him through the mud.)

2. Five year time skip Yang on the island. The others would still be nineteen/seventeen, but Yang herself would be around twenty four, helping to lead the other people who had fallen in during Cinder’s attack. Yang would have gotten more mature and hardened during the five years spent apart from her team and has a lot of regrets. Despite knowing of a possible way back to Remnant, it’d be a very big risk that might not result in a way out. Ruby and the others would convince her to try, but they’d also be learning lessons and have to work to figure out the safest way possible to get back to Remnant instead of jumping head first into something that could backfire terribly. Idk right now whether any of the villagers outside of Yang eventually would decide to come back with them.

3. Everyone in Vacuo would already be panicking and many of them would be starting to blame the Huntsman Academies as well as any ‘magic’ like what Ruby mentioned. We’d see that the state of her broadcast had a really bad impact on the rest of the world already, put Vacuo in a worse state, and (as we’d see with Qrow’s group) launched Argus into a bad state as well.

4. Jaune would clearly be deeply affected and traumatized by Penny’s death, but sort of bench himself during Volume 9, shutting down to some extent and just going along with whatever is going on - including agreeing with Yang and deciding Ren was right and that all their group really did was make everything into a bigger mess. This sort of behavior would probably start getting better, but wouldn’t really get much focus during Volume 9, with Ruby’s own grief taking more of a centerstage and her being the driving force behind their choices and growth.

5. Theodore would want to help the refugees from Atlas/Mantle, be more than open to working with Oz, and prove himself a strong, but still somewhat faulty leader. However, the Council in Vacuo would be much more hesitant and make a lot of trouble for the refugees - which wouldn’t be helped as Tyrian and Mercury realize their own plans are wrecked, don’t know what happened to their allies in Atlas, and throw caution to the wind to try and salvage ‘setting the stage’ for Salem whenever she returns, leading to some disastrous effects 

6. Once she’s within the city of Vacuo, Emerald would ditch the heroes to try and find Mercury and convince him to leave Salem’s group. Idk yet where this would go exactly, I just know that I wanted her redemption arc to be more full and nuanced, and with her having used the heroes to escape to Vacuo as quickly as she could to get to Mercury, she���d seem much less ‘sudden good guy’ and prove that she’s still a grayscale character with selfish tendencies.

7. Neo would switch targets from Ruby to Cinder. But she would not be on Ruby’s side, and would still cause trouble and be violent and selfish as she tries to escape back to Remnant herself and maybe do some stabbing and thieving and identity stealing to try and do it. Her behavior would confuse Ruby, who tends to still see things as ‘Salem’s side’ and ‘the good side,’ but Neo would be just as concerned with her own objectives as ever, and willing to cut down anyone who stands in her way, only this time her energy would be directed towards Cinder, the appropriate target.

#this post contains some #rwby criticism #rwby critical #anti rwby

[greekletters]

insert clever title here..

honestly, I was going to try to bait you all with a better title, but this is all I got..

not really a prompt, but more of a topic... 

The Kissing Booth

When you had imagined college life, you had always thought about late nights studying in the library, or parties where you would go out drinking with your friends, or complete isolation and last minute study sessions in your dorm as you prep for exams.

Having to run the bottle ring toss stand for the dorm hall's charity event wasn't even anywhere near your college to-do list. But here you are. Carefully standing up about forty glass bottles on a table.

You always hated this game. It was completely rigged. The rings you had to toss were always smaller than the bottle tops they were supposed to fall on.

To make matters worse, you had found out that your roommate and love of your life would be running the kissing booth. Of course, Weiss Schnee had no idea that she was the love of your life. But that was a minor detail.

Luckily for you, Weiss' booth had presale tickets. So you may have bought some, just in case. What you hadn't anticipated was her booth being right next to yours.

"Oh hey Blake, looks like we are going to be booth buddies." You look up to see Weiss setting up her sign and placing a plastic bag of some kind on the shelving behind the booth.

"Yeah. Looks like it."

"Did you get stuck doing the ring toss again this year?" She tilts her head to the side and gives you a small smile.

"It's not that bad. I just hate when people, well, really when the kids don't win. It's totally rigged. I usually just give the kids the prize tickets anyways." Shrugging, you set about five more bottles on the table.

"Well that's very kind of you. They said my tickets sold out this year. So I'm a little nervous."

"I mean, why wouldn't they?" It falls out your mouth before you can stop it.

She looks away, smiling. Probably because you're blushing like an idiot because you've totally embarrassed yourself. Not like the two of you have to share a room for the remainder of the school year.. oh wait.

By the grace of God, when you stand up you see Pyrrha making her way towards you, purposefully.

"Hi ladies! Are you ready to go? We are about to open everything up!"

"It's as good as it's gonna get." You mumble as you place the little plastic rings along the counter top of your booth.

"As enthusiastic as always, Blake. Weiss? How about you? You have the only booth to sell out of tickets before we open."

"Really?" There's a slight crack in her voice.

"Most definitely. Yang is quite upset that her booth didn't sell out first."

"I mean, who would honestly pay to arm wrestle her? You're already going to have to pay for your own medical bills when she breaks your arm or wrist." Weiss giggles into her sleeve, and it makes you smile.

"Now, now, that's not fair to say. I asked her to behave and participate fairly."

"Well hopefully she listens." Weiss says as she hops up onto the stool behind her booth.

"Alright, it's go time. So I have to head back up front and make sure Nora and Ruby don't eat all the food. Or set something on fire."

"Wouldn't be good to have a repeat of last year, would it?" You say, and Pyrrha looks at you clearly unamused by the smirk on your face.

As soon as Pyrrha is gone, Weiss leans over towards you.

"Remind me, what happened last year?"

"You mean you really forgot that the two of them tried to deep fry every kind of food they had at the concession stand and the wall caught fire?"

She doubles over in laughter, slapping her knee.

"No, no I didn't forget. But it never gets old. The two of them smelled like corndogs for a month afterwards. Pyrrha was so mad."

The first group of kids approaches your booth and you take their tickets, handing them each three rings.

"And yet, even after the concession stand bonfire, Pyrrha thought it was a good idea to throw the same kind of fundraiser again this year."

None of the kids get any rings on the bottle, but you give them all a prize ticket anyways, and they walk off.

"Yeah, especially since half the money we raised ended up going towards the damages."

"What booth did you run last year? I forgot." It was true. You just know it wasn't the kissing booth.

"Face painting. And I was terrible at it. It was more like a 'Picasso painting in five minutes or less on your face' booth. Kids kept asking for animals or super hero masks and it was just a mess."

"Oh yeah, I asked you to paint a flower on my cheek and it looked way more like a jellyfish than a flower." She grabs one of your rings off the table and throws it at you.

"Who did the kissing booth last year?" She asks, propping her chin in her hand, looking off pensively. But she answers her own question. "Coco. How could I forget? She got in trouble for… how did Pyrrha refer to it?"

"Aggressively trying to suck face with every willing participant." Your air quotes are only to emphasize the ridiculousness of Pyrrha's word choice.

"Poor choice of words, considering it was Coco, so everyone that wandered by was willing."

"You aren't wrong. Still funny though."

Another five or six groups of people come and go from your booth. Weiss' booth still remaining unvisited. But for some reason, she seems unbothered by the lack of people.

"Have you started studying for Goodwitch's exam yet?" When you stand up from picking the rings up off the floor, you face her direction.

"I finished the readings and taking notes but I haven't started studying yet, no. You?"

"Not really. I started to color code my notes but then I was just too distracted."

"Too busy worrying about running the kissing booth, huh?"

"Actually, yes." It surprises you. Weiss isn't the kind of person to let certain things distract her from school work.

"Good news," you look both left and right from your seat, "doesn't seem like you're as busy as you thought. So not much to worry about after all."

"Right? So much for a sold out booth. I even went out of my way to figure out a way to not actually kiss people."

"Wh-what do you mean?" The nervousness in your chest building exponentially.

"Well, I didn't really want to kiss anyone in the first place. So I had to figure out a way to get out of it, without just quitting. So I got these." She leans over and places the plastic bag on the counter top of her booth.

"Hershey kisses. You bought a bag of chocolate?"

"This way, I can technically still give anyone a kiss, but not have to physically kiss them." She dances a little bit on her stool. Clearly proud of herself for coming up with the idea.

"That's kinda smart." It's all you can think to say as your brain comes to realize how much money you just spent on carnival tickets for basically no reason at all.

"So imagine my disappointment when there are no visitors to my supposedly sold out booth." She huffs in defeat.

"More good news, we have less than an hour left, so it's almost over. And you get to keep the chocolates for yourself."

"Still somewhat disappointing."

Suddenly, from around the end of the aisle, Jaune appears, with an armful of tickets.

"Speaking of disappointment." You mumble,

"Those tickets better not be for me." The look of terror is plastered on Weiss' face.

"Hey guys!" He's always so chipper. It's exhausting. "There's only like half an hour left of the carnival so I figured I needed to come drop these off if they plan on getting used."

"Oh God no, please God no." Weiss repeats a few times under her breath.

"And these are…?" You ask him as he lays them across the entirety of your booth's counter.

"Your tickets." He says to you like it's obvious. "You know, all the tickets you bought for the kissing booth. At first when Pyrrha said you had bought them all, I was a little confused. But she told me to just be quiet and bring them here for you. I still can't believe you bought every single one. That's like, over eighty tickets!"

If it were possible to die from embarrassment, you would be six feet under.

"Thanks, Jaune. I'm sure Pyrrha will be delighted to hear that I have received every single one of my tickets, right now, standing here. Now, please do me a favor and leave so I can die in peace."

"Alright then. You two ladies have a good night!" With that, he wanders off back the way he came.

When you finally turn to the right and look in her direction, Weiss is propped up on her forearm and leaning against the booth. Her eyes narrowing as she looks at you. This certainly hadn't been how you thought this would go. You had been hoping she would never find out.

"Just when exactly were you planning on telling me that you bought not one, not two, but ALL of the tickets to my booth, Blake Belladonna?"

"Never? Probably. Maybe eventually?" You fidget nervously.

"Why would you do that? How much could that have possibly cost? Over eighty tickets? You shouldn't go around wasting money like that!"

"It wasn't a waste." You mumble as you begin to start cleaning up your booth, placing bottles back in their boxes under the table.

"What do you mean? Of course it was."

"Selfish maybe, but not a waste." You take a deep breath. "Because maybe I didn't want to spend my night watching other people kiss you, over and over while I supervised the ring toss." Folding the legs of the table, you slide it back against the wall. "It was for charity too, so I didn't waste my money."

You don't really want to wait for her to say anything back. You already feel like your heart had arm wrestled Yang, and lost. So you start cleaning up all the tickets Jaune had left scattered on the booth. Habitually, you count them as you fold them into rows.

"How many?" Her voice almost seems far off, or like you're hearing it through a wall.

"I'm not letting you pay me back for the tickets, Weiss. I'm not sad or feel guilty that I bought them" You dismiss any notion similar to that as well.

"Blake Belladonna, how many tickets did you buy?" Her voice a little more stern this time. Rolling your eyes, you look over at her.

"Eighty four. There are eighty four tickets." Humiliated. You feel humiliated as you hear her shoes scuffing along the floor as she walks over towards you.

"Hold out your hand." You glance up at her suspiciously.

"Why?"

"Just do it, please." She lightly stomps her foot. So you stick out your left hand, palm up.

She reaches up and places a single chocolate kiss in your palm. And you just stare at it for a few seconds.

"Only one? I mean, technically I bought eighty four, so shouldn't you give me the whole bag-"

Before you can finish saying anything she grabs your face and pulls you down, pressing your lips together. If you weren't dead before, you were now.

"Took you two long enough. It was getting painful to watch after three years." The addition of another voice startles the two of you into separating.

Looking over, you see Pyrrha standing at the front side of your booth, holding a box full of supplies under one arm.

"And I'll be taking a few of these, as payment for my continuous pain and suffering that you have caused me over the years." Reaching her hand into the candy bag and grabbing a handful before she walks off.

"I can't believe she took my candy." You say as your eyes follow Pyrrha around the corner.

"I guess you're just going to have to redeem the other eighty three tickets the old fashioned way." Weiss says as she rips one ticket from your collection.

#rwby monochrome #rwby checkmate #rwby fanfiction #blake belladonna #weiss schnee

[rwbyvein]

Arkos: Forgiveness

He wasn't sure how he could have been so foolish. Okay, yes he was. He was legitimately that foolish. That petty, that selfish, that ignorant... and it was like a dagger sticking into his heart with every single beat. She had always been there for him. From the very moment they saw each other... to the point it seemed as if she did nothing for herself.

How could he have been that foolish?

The pain in the heart threatened to burst from his chest. He did not know what to do... No... he knew what he had to do. He had to accept all the devotion she had given him... but how? Did he just have to talk to her? Was that it? Should he get something for her?, for the girl who seemed to want nothing... but time with him.

How could he have been that foolish?

Jaune: *sigh*

* * *

Jaune: *sits on the roof as the sun set*

Pyrrha: *walks onto the roof*

Pyrrha: Jaune?

Jaune: *points to the ground*

Pyrrha: *kneels on the ground*

Pyrrha: Jaune?

Jaune: *breathes deeply*

Jaune: We need to talk.

Pyrrha: Oh, what do we need to talk about?

Jaune: You.

Pyrrha: *breathes deep*

Jaune: Me.

Pyrrha: *looks about nervously*

Jaune: Look at me.

Pyrrha: *forces herself to look him in the eyes*

Jaune: That's the Pyrrha Nikos I know.

Pyrrha: And which one is that?

Jaune: *stares into her eyes with a steely gaze*

Jaune: The one that loves me.

Pyrrha: *tries to look away*

Jaune: Look at me.

Pyrrha: *looks him in the eyes*

Jaune: What were you trying to say.

Pyrrha: *momentarily looks away but quickly looks him back in the eyes*

Pyrrha: As a leader... friend...

Jaune: *breathes deep without breaking his gaze*

Jaune: That's maybe the first time I have ever heard you lie.

Pyrrha: *looks away*

Pyrrha: You... didn't... give me... much of a choice.

*pregnant pause*

Jaune: I suppose I didn't it. But I couldn't ignore the goliath in the room. You mean too much for me to punish you this way. I'm just happy to finally realize how foolish I've been... and how I've hurt you...

Pyrrha: You've... done... nothing...

Jaune: That was the problem.

Pyrrha: I mean it wasn't your fault.

Jaune: Look me in the eyes.

Pyrrha: *locks her eyes on his*

Jaune: It caused you pain, even if you choose to do it. I cannot stand to see you in pain.

Pyrrha: You couldn't... you wouldn't... you shouldn't... just because of me...

Jaune: Just because I could not fathom someone as amazing as you loving me. To tell the truth, I still can't.

Pyrrha: You have to believe me, I... truly... madly... maddeningly...

Jaune: I believe you, doesn't mean I can understand why. I don't know what you see in me...

Pyrrha: You care more than...

Jaune: Shh.

Pyrrha: *pauses*

Jaune: You are a goddess come down to Remnant...

Pyrrha: I am... no... I mean...

Pyrrha: *tries to look away*

Jaune: Look me in the eyes.

Pyrrha: *looks into his eyes*

Jaune: If you want me to believe you, you have to believe me.

*pregnant pause*

Jaune: You are the best thing to ever happen to this world.

Pyrrha: *makes to protest*

Jaune: As far as I believe.

Pyrrha: But, you have to...

Jaune: Shh. I believe you. Now you...

Pyrrha: Have to believe...

Jaune: I practically worship you. Any slight I have given you was because of my own insecurity... my own... self-worth...

Pyrrha: Jaune...

Jaune: And I am sorry for it.

Pyrrha: Jaune...

Jaune: If you will let me...

Pyrrha: I will let you!..

Jaune: I will never take you for granted again. All of this time, the only thing you've ever wanted... was to help me. I can't believe I was so blind.

Pyrrha: I wanted to help you... not burden you...

Jaune: Maybe... at the time... you would be right... but now...

Pyrrha: Now?

Jaune: Now I'm sorry for all the time I have thought of us as just friends. We can never be just friends.

Pyrrha: Please tell me?!..

Jaune: We are far more than friends. Being with you has been the highlight of my day... somehow without me noticing. Will you accept my apology?

Pyrrha: Only if you will accept mine.

Jaune: *breathes deeply*

Neither of them was willing to concede that the other was at fault, which left them with only one option.

Jaune and Pyrrha: I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I forgive you.

Jaune and Pyrrha: *laugh in unison*

* * *

Nora: My leader-sense is tingling.

Ren: Uh?..

Nora: Something big is happening with Leader. We should go check it out.

Ren: Something good?.. or bad?..

Nora: Something epic! Changing! We will never be the same!

Ren: Good... or bad?..

Nora: Or, maybe we should be there for him?

Ren: Does your Leader-sense tell us if he needs us? Or should we maybe wait until later?

Nora: Good question. Trick question. We need pancakes!

Ren: *eyes flash wide before narrowing*

Nora: I promise not to eat any of them until they arrive.

Ren: That will suffice. The least I can do for Leader's momentus occation is make pancakes.

* * *

JNPR's door opens, with Jaune and Pyrrha walking in, hand-in-hand.

Nora: See! I told you it was epic!

Ren: I concurr that it is suitable epic. I have made pancakes to celebrate the occation, which Nora has so far managed to not consume.

Nora: So, you want to tell us what happened?

Pyrrha: We forgave each other.

Nora: Okay?..

Pyrrha: For not taking each other's feelings into consideration.

Jaune: And this.

Jaune: *hand leaves hers and quickly wraps around her waist, pulling her in for a powerful and passionate kiss, as if it were the sum total of the months they had been together.*

Ruby: *appears in the doorway*

Ruby: I heard Nora shouting. OH-MY-GOOD-GOD!

Ruby: *disappears*

RWBY: *appears stacked in the doorway*

Yang: Way to go, Vomit Boy.

Weiss: I'm just glad Pyrrha finally made her move.

Jaune: *let's Pyrrha go*

Pyrrha: *looks around the room in a daze*

Pyrrha: *breathes deep*

Pyrrha: *takes a moment to collect herself*

Pyrrha: Truthfully, Jaune is the one who made the move on me. We both felt terrible about not taking each other's feelings into consideration.

Yang: And what does that mean?

Blake: That they can finally admit they are in love. They are like a pair of adorable... armoured... lovebirds...

Pyrrha: I couldn't imagine him without his armour.

Weiss: Presumably you do see it every day.

Jaune: Nevermind the sexy sashay of cuisses over thigh-high-stockings. It's like heaven wrapped in bronze.

Pyrrha: *looks about with a full-face, and then body, flush*

Yang: Maybe we should leave the... armoured... lovebirds... alone.

Jaune: No! We want everyone with us to celebrate!

Yang: Never took you for being so bold.

Jaune: Perhaps not exactly what I meant.

Weiss: *pulls away*

Weiss (from the hallway): I shall get us reservations, post-haste!

Yang: Who even talks like that?

Weiss: My family, obviously, and if you don't mind.

Yang: Yeah, yeah. You're doing wonderful snowflake.

Weiss: *lets out a noise halfway between a scoff and a whine*

Yang (quieter): Everything about her is wonderful.

Jaune: *pulls Pyrrha in for another powerful kiss*

Ruby: *faces starts to glow red*

Yang: A little too hot for you, sis?

Ruby: *steam starts coming from her*

Yang: Blake?

Blake: *pulls Ruby back and away*

Yang: We'll see you armoured lovebirds later tonight. We are going to have a bangin' time. Or should I say a Yangin' time.

Yang: *snickers*

Yang: Tough room.

Ren: Perhaps not the best time to upstage the leading pair?

Yang: You have a point. Well, later.

#rwby #arkos #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos

[fast-moon]

Noragami Chapter 81-2 Spoilers Text Translation

So, low-quality images of the chapter were posted earlier and I used  them to get a rough translation finished for the official release Friday. The spoiler scans seem to be missing a page since the page numbers get off by the end but I’m not sure where the missing page is since only a couple of the pages are numbered.  In the meantime, here’s the text:

1 Chapter 81-2: "Alone"

Nora: "What are you doing?"

Yukine: "Nora...!"

Yukine: "Where did you go?!  Don't you know I was worried about you?" Nora: "I was just hiding since the god of poverty and Takemikazuchi kept coming around.  So... what are you doing?"

Yukine: "Heh heh... I was just checking these in the off chance there was something about me in here." Yukine: "You know, like an article about the death of a boy my age or something."

2 Yukine: "I just really want to know about myself."

Yukine: "I mean, if I was involved in a crime or an accident, there'd be something about it in the paper, right?  I thought it might be good to check the nationwide memorial columns, too.  .... Oh!  You think I should go to the library?!"

Yukine: "It's so silly, huh?  Why did I never think of any of this before?"

Yukine: "H, hey, what are you doing?!"

Nora: "Didn't I tell you not to get too close to the past?!"

Yukine: "Oh!  Right... sorry..."

3 Nora: "... You didn't talk to anyone else about this, did you?  Like asking 'How did you die?'..." Yukine: "Ah..."

Yukine: "I did ask Daikoku-san and Kiun-san..."

Nora: "So now the god of poverty's gone, too..." Yukine: "They haven't been back for a few days.  I wonder what's up?"

Nora: "Because you're infectious, Yukine."

Nora: "So now you've... been abandoned, too."

4 Yukine: "... It's so bad that it would make her cry?  What do you mean, infectious?  I haven't stung Yato or become an Ayakashi!"

Nora: "This infection is stronger and more dangerous than either of those things.  It's your desire to know about yourself."

Yukine: "W, why?  Is wanting to know about myself really so bad?  Look at this!  There's so many articles written about wanting to know the truth!"

Yukine: "I was honestly surprised that I'd never thought about something so fundamental.  This is my own self we're talking about...!"

Yukine: "Where I was born, what kind of life I had... I just want to know about it!"

5 Nora: "No means no, and that's final."

Yukine: "You say that like you know something... Do you know something?"

Trash Dad: "Mizuchi died a terrible death."

Yukine: "Could it be... our masters..."

Yukine: "Know about our pasts...?"

6 Nora: "Dunno."

Yukine: "You're lying!  Aren't you!  Nora!"

7 Yukine: "I may be dead, but I don't think that should make me miserable!  I'm happy that there was a time when I was alive!!"

8 Yukine: "I want to meet... my mom and dad!"

9 Yukine: *sob sob*

10 Ami: "Hiyori, are you really not dating anyone?" Hiyori: "Ugh... you're talking about that again?!  That was the teacher's mistaken impression!"

Yama: "But there IS someone that you like, right?  I never heard a denial~"

Ami: "If it's not a guy from our school, then where did you meet him?!"

Hiyori: "Thank you for your service." Yama: "Oh, how devout, Hiyori. (even though you're still so young)." Ami: "I know!  We can ask the gods!"

11 Ami: (saying something in the page crease I can't make out)

12 Hiyori: "Th, they're ignoring me."

Hiyori: "No, that's fine."

Hiyori: "Me hanging out with the gods up until now is what's actually weird."

Hiyori: "I chose to stay on this side.  It's fine this way."

Hiyori: "This way..."

13 Ami: "Wah!  Are you okay?!" Yama: "And she'd gone so long without doing it..."

14 Trash Dad: "Ah, there there.  Hiyori-chaaan, you need somethiiing?"

Hiyori: "You're smiling.  And it bothers me."

15 Trash Dad: "Well that's too bad.  And here I was just being worried."

Trash Dad: "Yukine has finally started wondering who he really is."

Trash Dad: "You should know.  You've been curious about it, too, haven't you, Hiyori-chan?  It's only natural."

Hiyori: "Yukine-kun, why... (did you die) ... did you become Yato's shinki?"

16 Trash Dad: "But shinki have absolutely no desire to know." Yukine: "Dunno.  I just woke up like this." Trash Dad: "Hearing passing questions from a human isn't enough to interest them.  It's just noise coming from the other side of a wall."

Trash Dad: "But when those questions come from THIS side, they start wanting to look over that wall.  And that's how it starts."

Trash Dad: "That's why the master seals their memories and name from their past life inside their own hearts.  So it will never be revealed."

17 Yato: "That's so..."

Trash Dad: "Poor thing.  Now Yaboku's lost all of his friends."

Trash Dad: "My boy's come in contact with a lot of people.  And now that Yukine's succumbed to it, that makes the infection that much easier to spread around.  And here my cute little girl was about to throw in the towel this time."

18 Trash Dad: "Oh!  What's this now?"

Hiyori: "Why do you take everything from him?!  He's been trying so hard!  So why?!"

19 Trash Dad: "Hahaha, you're scary when you get serious!"

Trash Dad: "You've been corrupting Yaboku and making him too selfish.  I'm just correcting that, okay?"

20 Trash Dad: "Which of us is the one actually hurting Yaboku?"

21 Hiyori: "Ack..."

Ayakashi?: "Is this all right?" Trash Dad: "Yeah."

Trash Dad: "Let's leave it at that."

24 Trash Dad: "We'll keep her alive in order to teach Yaboku the reality of the world.  It would be nice if one of these days he learns how to just leave well enough alone.  That and unlivable despair."

#noragami #chapter 81-2 #spoilers

[killervibe]

Pls write something extremely very sad having to do with Cisco, Caitlin, and Lia. Ages and relative temporal proximity all up to you :D :D D

**WARNING ANGST ALERT DON’T @ME YOU ASKED FOR THIS.**

Cisco had five projects to approve and three deadlines to set up before six. He liked working, honestly he did, but he was getting excited to wrap up all this extra stuff so he could hurry on with retirement. He needed a vacation. He was thinking the Bahamas, but his wife wasn’t the fondest of sand.

Cisco paused to crack his knuckles, and swiped closed his holographic eisle. His eyes flitted to the right side of his home desk, and the corner of his mouth tugged upwards. He picked up the picture frame, rubbing his thumb over the glass to activate the live photo.

“Honey,” he said, thinking about the last time they’ve all been together. It’s been a while. “We should update our family portrait. This one is ancient.”

Caitlin came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her pants. “That’s a good idea.”

He looked up and passed her the frame. Caitlin was still so beautiful. At sixty-three, her powers have preserved her youth, and she began to purposely dye some hair silver at the roots only to keep up appearances.

She studied the photo. “I was always particularly fond of this one though. The two of you are laughing at the same time.”

“Yeah,” Cisco agreed. “We can ask the next time Lia comes home. Did she say when?”

Caitlin nodded, fiddling with her arm tech. “In three weeks, she sent me an audio.”

She pulled it up and they both sat back to listen to their daughter’s rambling message.

—Which is why Nora is so keen on catching him. Oh, and tell dad that I’m waiting for his turn on Jelly Crash. I’m on level six hundred and I need him to send me more lives. Shrap, gotta jet. Love you mom. Bye!

Cisco leaned back in his chair, sliding his reading glasses up his forehead, and running his hand through his silver streaked hair. “She really seems to like Central City.”

“She loves it,” Caitlin replied, putting the frame back. She began massaging her husband’s shoulders. Cisco reached up and placed his hand over hers, looking up at where she’s standing behind him, watching her toy with something in her mind.

“What is it?”

She gave his right shoulder a small squeeze.

“Have you ever thought of telling her?”

Cisco sighed. “I don’t know how to anymore. But yes. I’ve thought of it. I thought it plenty. I wish we did.”

Caitlin removed her touch, choosing instead to sit next to him in his spare chair. She looked out the window of their house, watching the scenery. Green hills and their little pond with the ducks that seemed to make their home there. “Do you think we were bad parents?”

“We have good relationships with both our children, Caitlin.”

She kept looking away. “You know what I’m talking about.”

Cisco went quiet. “I don’t know. I didn’t agree with Iris’s choice until we had Lia. But she’s an adult now. And so independent. She probably would’ve been fine with the truth.”

Caitlin sighed herself, then turned from the window, meeting his gaze. “Central City isn’t any safer than it was when we were there. With Lia working for CCPD now,  I think we should let her know.”

Cisco silently agreed. He was afraid though about how she’d take it. He was so close to his daughter, and she looked up to him so much. It was terribly hard on both of them when she decided to move away, leaving her job at Ramon Industries to live with her best friend and pick up the empty job position there at CCPD.  He was afraid of what this might do, if this would taint her love for him.

Maybe that was selfish. He was her father. It was his job to prepare her for the world, but she didn’t even know half of what she was capable of. They were honestly lucky, that she hadn’t stumbled upon her powers herself.

“Okay,” he said. “In three weeks. No more family secrets. We tell her everything.”

Caitlin smiled, pleased, and it had been years since she let her frost show, only being very subtle with keeping their ice cream cold and being notorious for not boiling to death during heatwaves, but the eyebrow raise and smirk she gave sent chills down Cisco’s spine, reminding him of his wife’s long neglected alter ego. “Maybe not everything.”

“No,” Cisco laughed. “I’m cutting out half the embarrassing things I’ve done. I’m not living through schrap about that vacuum cleaner again.”

Their front door opened, and a voice called out. “Mom? Dad? I’m home! Can we eat now? I swear I’ve been dreaming about vegan pollo y arroz all day.”

Caitlin got up, sharing an amused look with Cisco. “He’s how old again? That’s my cue to set the table. Think he’d make dinner himself one of these days if he’s so hungry.”

“Twenty, but if you subtract ten, you get how old he wants to still be,” he joked. He pushed back his chair, dropping his glasses on his desk. “I’ll help.”

~.~

Cisco was helping himself to coffee in his home office after dinner, sending all his work through the cloud when his arm beeped.

Incoming call from Nora West-Allen.

Cisco excused himself from a virtual conference, accepting the call.

“Hey kiddo, how’s it holding up down there? Is Lia around? Can you put her on? I’ve been trying to get a hold of her all day. I sent her those lives on Jelly Crash she was complaining about.”

The other line was silent.

“—Nora? …Nora?”

A ragged breath and then a burst of high pitched sobs.

Cisco’s heart stopped. “Nora? What happened?”

“…”

“Are you hurt? Is it your mom?”

“I ran as fast as I could—Please forgive me, I tried to save her—I—please.”

She ran? Cisco leaned against the wall, sliding down in a way that made his joints burn.

“Nora. Who?”

His face twisted with pain, tears blocking his vision. Because Nora wasn’t answering him, only sobbing harder, and why would she be calling him and not Wally if it was Iris and not—

“Lia?” he choked out.

No please. Take away his brother and his mother and his best friend but please, not his daughter.

He covered his mouth with his other hand, trembling.

“How?”

“Godspeed—His hand—It just went — It right through, and—I didn’t even have time to—I couldn’t even —say goodbye.”

“Nora,” he whimpered.

“I’m sorry,” she broke off, and it went quiet again.

“Nora?” Cisco panicked, “Nora! Nora, no! Wait!” But the line went dead. He redialed with shaky fingers, his chest heaving, but she wouldn’t pick up.

“Caitlin!” he screamed, his voice tearing out of his throat, opening a breach in his house for the first time in years because he couldn’t walk, he could barely stand, collapsing into her arms.

“Woah,” she said, teetering with him. “Cisco—What?”

He held onto her, burying his head against her neck, hiccupping where it was soft and smelt like her perfume, the one Lia bought Caitlin last Mother’s Day.

“Cisco?”

He looked up at her, and saw the realization seep into her eyes.

“No,” she whispered, horrified, pulling away to look at him. “Did you vibe it? When? Tomorrow? Tonight?”

Cisco suddenly understood Nora’s horrible silence, unable to speak. Unable to utter the words out loud, and he cupped her face in his hands, begging her not to break.

Caitlin’s hands flew to her mouth, stepping back like a scared animal,  her eyes flickering brown to blue and over again, losing her twenty years of control.

Their son walked into the living room with his EarPods in, pausing at the scene alarmed. He yanked the things out of his ears.

“Dad—?”

Caitlin’s hair was now full on white, clutching the frozen counter.

“Mom?”

Dante Stein looked between the two, then stuck on the ice.

“Lia’s dead.” Their son swallowed, looking into his father’s eyes. His face crumpled and so did Cisco’s. “She’s dead. Isn’t she.”

Caitlin wailed and their kitchen turned into a storm.

#tkv fic #angst #the flash #killervibe #lia ramon #5x18

[echodrops]

Noragami 78 Notes

Okay, I put this off long enough (I was busy grading; life is hard).

Here are just a few brief ha ha almost fooled you into thinking I could be brief for a second there thoughts on Noragami chapter 78 under a cut to avoid spoilers.

95% of what I have to say boils down to:

Calm down.

Hey remember that time Yato went off a life-threatening journey and the only thing that saved him was us NOT sitting around waiting for him to come back?

...Yeah, me either. HE’S EVEN WEARING THE SAME OUTFIT AS BACK THEN.

I don’t want to say that Yukine has whatever is coming coming... But when this is how he responds to threats, he sort of has whatever is coming coming. Yukine knows for a fact that Yato’s life is constantly in danger, that he has dangerous enemies, that he gets into trouble at the damn drop of a hat... And he’s still being lax here. This is a prime example of not learning from past mistakes, and that classic Noragami karma is about to smack him hard as hell for it. The manga is literally sending glaring warning signs: You should be with Yato. WHY aren’t you with Yato? What happens after this is going to absolutely be a product of the failure on both sides--Yato’s failure to stay with those who are important to him, and Yukine’s failure for not fighting harder to stay with Yato. Hiyori got smacked already at the end of this chapter for forgetting Yukine and going off on her own to chase Yato, a selfish decision that she paid for with her happiness.

The manga is setting up a very purposeful parallel here, I think:

Just as Bishamon and Kazuma become lost the moment they are separated from each other, Yato’s sense goes out the window the moment he’s separated from Yukine and Hiyori. Noragami repeats this lesson over and over again: We need each other. We need to rely on others. We need to have guidance, and trust, and support.

And Yukine and Hiyori’s failure to do that over the last couple chapters--as well as Yato’s failure to accept their closeness--is going to send them all straight into another crisis. I’ll eat my own post if things aren’t about to go from bad to downright terrible again, with this issue of failing to rely on each other at the very heart.

How much of Nora’s “emotionlessness” is a result of this line of thinking? If she doesn’t think that she should behave like a living girl, does that allow her to think and act in ways that other shinki, who cling to their human lives, can not? Is her ability to transform potentially linked to her casting aside humanity? I am interested to see how far this dismissal of being alive impacts a shinki’s abilities.

Iwami and Kiun are other shinki who might share this mindset to a certain extent, and we certainly know that Kiun is powerful...

Is it just me, or doesn’t this scenery looks very similar to:

The scenery we saw on the page where Father was holding his dead lover/wife/whoever Freckle Girl was to him?

Is it possible that that’s her body? That he didn’t even bury her but went right on living right next to her corpse? JUST HOW MESSED UP IS FATHER? Veryyyy interesting.

Also, the fact that Mizuchi says there were only three people in the beginning implies that she never met the Freckle Girl and that Freckle Girl was not around at the time that she and Yato existed.

Father was only “playing house”--to replace the real home and happiness he lost?

The concept of “playing house” in Noragami is very interesting. It only comes up in the context of gods and humans; we’ve seen it three now in the context of (what is likely) a god playing house with a human: Kofuku hurt Daikoku by trying to “play house” and raise a child; Bishamon hurt her shinki (and was hurt by her shinki) for trying to foster a motherly relationship with them; and Father pretended at kindness and care for his “children” while they were all aware of the real truth.

You could argue that one of these things is not like the other--both Kofuku and Bishamon did what they did out of love, while Father is evil--but I wonder if the third case is really that much different than the first two. Why did Father raise Mizuchi and Yato like his children? Was this a one-sided endeavor in which he bought their loyalty with occasional moments of kindness? Is that all there is to it? Or is there something else going on here?

How much of Father’s “playing house” was pure cruelty... and how much of it might stem for a desire for the very thing Heaven denied him?

Let’s see where this goes, hmmm!

It might be too early to call it, but I’m going to put this out there right now: Mizuchi is a child who died without ever being named.

She’s not affected by god’s greatest secret because she has no human name to remember. Father never said that she knew her name, only that she knew her own last moments. This is why she acted so surprised when revealing Sakura’s name turned her into an ayakashi--Hiiro did not understand the power of names back then because she had no human name of her own for reference. Her power to inflict Liberation on others stems from the fact that she has nothing to tie herself to the Near Shore. She was an unwanted child in her human life and continues to feel like an unwanted child in her life as a shinki.

Holy shit Adachitoka, COULD YOU NOT??? I mean, I don’t know if this is right but it FEELS right and nnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhh I don’t want this; it hurts.

(By the way, the top two leaves fluttering in the wind appear to be gingko leaves, a powerful symbol of endurance and duality in Japan.)

An innocent symbol of child-like play with three people in the boat to represent the family she longs to have but never will? Just kill me now, okay? Just kill me now.

Although this is interesting because we see her first boat fall apart and the people tumble away as she’s talking about playing house. So either this is a second boat, or she put the first one back together sometime during her talk with Yukine. So perhaps this second boat represents a new bond, such as between she, Yukine, and Yato? Mmmmm, who knows???

I’m glad that I was right and Yato chose not to name Kazuma. It was the right choice, even though I’m sad we didn’t get to see what Kazuma would look like as Yato’s shinki. (Well, then again, there’s still time, isn’t there?) We got trolled hard by Scissors-kun, lol.

The line up there is very interesting, isn’t it--because it’s such a Father way of thinking! This is Father’s exact ideology, that humans have no reason for loving the gods and yet they do anyway, accepting the cruelty and abuse of Heaven without question. Kazuma is tripping over the same issue from a different perspective--instead of having something taken from him by Heaven, he’s suffering because of something Heaven is not capable (or perhaps willing) to give. It’s a dangerous line of thought that leads down a dark path. This is honestly the scariest thing Kazuma did all chapter to me!

Is he thinking of Hiyori when he says “people like me” here? Or is he implying that Yato has hurt him in ways similar to Bishamon? The ambiguity of the references here is worth noting. Also worth noting: Yato has no idea what Kazuma is talking about here. Yato doesn’t share his father’s mindset and he doesn’t share Kazuma’s either. I don’t think that Yato sees a huge divide between the love gods can give and the love humans long to receive. He knows they’re not the same (maybe they’re not the same), but I don’t think he would let the issues that Kazuma is dealing with separate him and Hiyori... Or perhaps I’m just too hopeful. XD

All right, all right, now to the thing everyone is freaking out about...

Why are y’all so anti-Kazuma??? He’s not attacking Hiyori out of cruelty--he’s trying to protect her.

He even says it himself--he recognizes the signs of Hiyori’s infatuation. He sees her inability to avoid getting tangled up in the calamity that surrounds Yato. Who the hell do you think he’s really talking about here? He’s not just talking about Hiyori--he’s talking about himself.

The suffering that he has felt from loving Bishamon and not having that love returned is a pain akin to a curse. It’s enough to drive him to want to die, to fill him with such deep despair that he is willing to forsake all of his morals, his name, his “life”‘s meaning, everything he stands for. Since falling in love with Bishamon, he’s faced catastrophe after catastrophe, seen and dealt with things no human should ever have to face--witnessed friends murdered and murdered a friend, betrayed Heaven, turned his power on literal gods... There is NO DEPTH Kazuma will not sink to out of love for Bishamon, and that’s agonizing. He’s in pain, guys.

And he sees the whole damn cycle about to start again. He sees Hiyori’s feelings. He sees her love... And he sees how much Yato is ruining her life. He sees her forgetting her human family, ignoring their concerns, ignoring day-to-day human activities, being exposed to all the risks that Yato brings along with him, actively suffering at Father’s hand because of her involvement with Yato...

Kazuma sees that Hiyori is going down the exact same path of suffering, of “playing house” that he’s been on for hundreds of years, and so he does the only thing he can do to try and dissuade her: he tells it exactly like he thinks it is. He’s not lying to her here. He genuinely thinks what he’s saying is the truth. He genuinely believes that gods cannot return human feelings in the way that he and Hiyori desire, and that her pursuing Yato will only end in sadness and pain for everyone involved. He’s not wrong to want to stop that by separating them from each other forever.

The problem is, Kazuma STILL thinks that he’s always in the right. He only confessed with “vague words” and yet seems perfectly certain that Bishamon--who has never exactly been a pro at picking up signals from others--totally understood him and rejected his feelings of amorous love.

It hasn’t occurred to him that perhaps his vague words just didn’t reach Bishamon the way he wanted them to, and that she doesn’t understand that he loves her in a way different from just a normal god and shinki loving comradeship. That perhaps all this time she did have more love she could have given, if only she’d known it was needed or wanted. He’s her guidepost, but in this he didn’t guide her.

Maybe Bishamon does know, and maybe she did reject his romantic feelings. Maybe he’s right and gods really can’t love humans. (Kofuku and Daikoku are over here in the corner waving frantically though.) OR... MAYBE Kazuma is being a giant freaking idiot like always and leaping to conclusions he should never have drawn based on incomplete information and “vague words,” and passing his pain and suffering on to others, mistakenly believing he’s doing the right thing while actually just screwing everyone else over hardcore.

One of these two things somehow seems more likely than the other...

Not sure why anyone is freaking out about Hiyori’s tail? He missed (he was only trying to scare her anyway, it seems pretty clear, because if Kazuma can hit lightning in the sky, I think he could hit a target five feet in front of him)--the white stuff around her tail is snow spraying off the roof.

ANDDDDD here we go!!

So Hiyori admits she’s in love with Yato, finally. AT WHAT COST. I hope this didn’t really take anyone by surprise, since it really has been in the works for some time now.

I actually discussed how I felt Hiyori’s feelings were changing and how she was slowly coming to accept her feelings for Yato more than a year ago, in this post: http://echodrops.tumblr.com/post/164900791646/ive-read-different-opinions-on-whether-yatos

Adachitoka did a fabulous job of building up to this moment, very slow, incremental changes in Yato and Hiyori’s relationship. From the moment that Hiyori flashes back to here, where she told Yato she wanted to spend more time with him, to the Capyperland crisis where she envisioned Yato beside her instead of Fujisaki, then actually going to Capyperland and telling Yato that she wanted to be with him longer, to the scene where she allows Yato into her room while she’s undressed, to calling Yato her family to Fujisaki’s face, to seeing her plaque tied to Yato’s--making them soulmates--and NOT rejecting that or demanding Kofuku untie them... I mean, especially that last one.

Like I mentioned last year, Hiyori has spent at least a couple in-series weeks now living under the impression that she and Yato are now soulmates, and the moment she didn’t freak out about that and demand to be set free from that just screamed it to me that, deep down, she was okay with the idea of being in a relationship with Yato, even if she wasn’t quite willing to express her feelings out loud yet.

But now she’s over it. And theoretically, things should get better from here.

EXCEPT LOL JK, IT’S NORAGAMI; NOTHING’S EASY.

Yato and Hiyori are gonna have to WORK for their happy ending.

But you know what? I think it’s coming. Now, more than ever, I think a happy ending is coming.

Calm down. Deep breaths. Have faith.

#Noragami 78 #yatori #Noragami meta #Noragami spoilers #Yato #Hiyori #Kazuma #WHO DID NOTHING WRONG EXCEPT BE AN IDIOT #Mizuchi #Nora #Noragami #I got spoiled like hell on this chapter from the flood of desperate asks #I was laughing pretty hard #I was like What bullshit happened now in Noragami??? #I hope some of these theories end up true though #especially that one about Mizuchi

[hopevalley]

5.7 Heart of the Matter (Thoughts, Part III)

NOTE: Tumblr is messing up formatting with readmores on the dashboard. Please click the readmore below to read this on my blog.

And last but not least!

Elizabeth & Greta | The Kids | The Bank Fiasco (Part I)

Bill & AJ (Part II and III)

This part is wholly just a character discussion that picks up right where the last part left off, so without further ado, have some Bill & AJ meta.

4.) Bill & AJ (Character Motivations and Analysis)

AJ’s feelings are literally always getting hurt in this episode, and it stops being amusing pretty fast. Bill is so harsh with her that it’s cringey at some points, but at least it feels like a real response coming from him. And it makes sense if you really think about it.

I haven’t talked too much about this, because I feel like the first conclusion most people are going to come to regarding the whole relationship concept with AJ is the idea that it’s a forbidden attraction and he doesn’t want it. Yes, definitely! That’s at least half of it. He’s definitely attracted to her. She frustrates him but he also likes her quite a bit. She’s the poster child for Mixed Feelings, at least for Bill, who probably finds her ability to keep up with him attractive as well as her persistence—when it’s not aimed at him in a negative way, anyway.

But there’s another layer to this that I want to talk about briefly, and that is the fact that he feels like he’s being played. Maybe even just used.

AJ kissed him once, he responded a little bit, it lasted two seconds.

She was turned the heck on by that kiss, nothing will ever convince me otherwise. That little “wow!” blink she does after he lets her go tells no lies. And uh, neither does that shuddery sigh she lets out once he’s moved away from the cell door. That kiss made her feel a few things. And she’s convinced it made Bill feel a few things, too.

But for all intents and purposes, Bill doesn’t know that she felt anything from it. In fact, he probably thought she kissed him as an attempt to keep him from locking her up. She waits until he’s about to lock her up and starts trying to butter him up: “Maybe it was just me but I thought I meant something to you. I thought there was something between us.” Bill’s slightly delayed response of: “There is, they’re called bars” was, of course, brilliant…but expected. For the longest time I was like, “Man, why did she say that? Why did she kiss him?”

When you think about the fact that she spent the last two episodes trying to get away from Bill and stay out of jail, it’s easy to assume her reasons for sweet-talking him and kissing him were to aid in her escape somehow. Like, “maybe if I flirt he’ll let me go.”

I feel like for the time she was around, Bill found it a bit charming, in a cute kind of harmless way. He’s not dumb enough to fall for her flirting, and anyway, she busted her own way out. She’s clever and didn’t need him and he can appreciate that. He even hoped that she’d stay safe. Almost says it wistfully, like he was gonna miss her.

But then she shows up and commences with the flirting again which is only going to tell Bill that she wants something from him. So she’s here to get something out of him and instead of just asking and being straightforward about it, she flirts and tries to act like there’s something there between them, a romantic inclination or connection—tries to act like she feels something for him and wants him to admit he feels something too—just so that she can use him to get what she wants.

So in Bill’s mind, everything she’s saying isn’t true. It’s just to reach a higher goal. He can’t admit he feels anything even though he does because she’s only saying it to get something from him. The second she gets what she wants, she’ll throw his feelings back in his face and make him look (and feel) stupid.

It wouldn’t be a big deal for Bill if he didn’t feel something, though. He might be annoyed, but he wouldn’t make jabs. I feel like a Bill who truly felt nothing for AJ would flat-out just ignore everything that came out of her mouth. But this Bill does feel things for her and so her flirting hurts his feelings and he retaliates in kind to put her down and make her feel bad.

When you rewatch the episode with that in mind, it’s kind of painful. They’re both idiots. AJ should just come out and ask for what she wants. Bill should just tell her he doesn’t believe anything she says.

She wants him to believe she’s a new person but this AJ is still flirting with him to get what she wants and he doesn’t appreciate it. It doesn’t feel genuine.

And look, Bill married Nora out of obligation. It’s likely their marriage wasn’t ever very affectionate or pleasant and just…kind of functioned and existed in its own way, at least until Martin died. It instantly fell apart after that and Nora didn’t want anything to do with him. Nora didn’t break his heart, but it probably did hurt to not even be able to turn to his wife of 20 years with the hurt he felt over their son, thinking she would understand him better than anyone! Then he found out she never really felt like Martin was his son. Even though Bill raised him and loved him all those years.

Talk about painful. This man is going to be careful with any feelings he does have. AJ showing up again acting exactly as she did when she left (but persistent in a different way) reads to him as a giant falsehood. He’s being lied to, she doesn’t care if she hurts him, she doesn’t care about him at all. She just cares about herself. She isn’t loyal, she isn’t honest. She’s selfish.

So every time AJ says something at him pointedly, it probably hurts him. He knows she doesn’t mean it but there’s probably a part of him that wishes she did. He’s human and like anyone else probably wants to be liked and cared about. And maybe that kiss with AJ really was good for him, too. Felt physically pleasant, made his heart beat a little faster… He did kiss her back, and considering his obligation marriage and awkward kiss with Abigail? That definitely means something. If Bill didn’t want to indulge a little he’d have shoved her off of him so fast her head would have been spinning.

But again, he knows that kiss didn’t mean anything to her so he’ll be damned if he lets it mean anything to him.

Yeah, it’d be nice if things were different but they’re not different and he won’t let himself pretend they could be. That would just get him hurt when she inevitably proves she was just using him.

Meanwhile AJ probably doesn’t know how to ask Bill for help, and thinks the only way he’d even consider it is if he liked her enough. She knows he kissed her back and she definitely felt something so her best bet to get through to him is to try and express a romantic interest. Except that keeps backfiring on her and she doesn’t really have another plan.

I think, too, if she said she wanted his help and he said no, it would somehow hurt more.

Besides, how do you ask the person who arrested you for help? He kissed her back, ergo...he is the only person she feels might be willing to help her. If she can get him back to that point where he might want to kiss her back..?

That is literally her thought process.

AJ knows what she wants: she wants to start over. She wants her old life back, but in a new place. She’s tired of looking over her shoulder all the time, tired of sleeping in terrible places, tired of bumming her way around because she can’t do anything or stay anywhere for too long without risking someone turning her in. She knows Hope Valley is a decent place and she likes Bill so that’s what she wants: to start over there. Somehow. She’s maybe unsure how. Bill is the law, so maybe he has an idea. Or will.

But instead of asking him she tries to get him to admit he liked kissing her because she thinks if he does she can say, “Well, we could be together if only something could be done about my status as a fugitive” and then he can somehow… help that disappear. And then she can have everything she wants, including him.

Or something. I don’t think even AJ knows what to ask of him. But it’s sad, whatever it is. 

She’s trying to get him to admit he likes her because she thinks that’s the only way she has a chance of starting over, and he won’t because he’s convinced the things she’s saying and doing mean nothing to her, that she’s just using him to get the fresh start she wants and will then immediately throw him away.

So Bill’s unwillingness to cave in to her baiting + the fact that his feelings/attraction to AJ might also be something he’s ashamed of (on two levels: the first being that she’s a fugitive and the second being that she’s a user, both of which mean he shouldn’t have feelings for her) take us to a Bill who lashes out a lot. He probably doesn’t know what else to do and he just wants to make her stop lying.

He’s good at confronting a lot of things but confronting AJ’s dishonesty is, for some reason, not something he wants to bother with. So instead he tries to carefully call her out on her bullshit by taking her cutesy flirty lines about developing all of her senses and turning them into something hurtful to make her feel bad, which he may interpret as her feeling guilty for lying instead of her actually having hurt feelings.

It’s clear by the end of the episode that AJ is losing steam in flirting with him. She does it at the saloon but it’s not the same as earlier in the episode. It’s this kind of resigned…admission that she wanted to see him get bent out of shape over her doing something he told her not to do (more or less), but he still rejects her thoroughly and later doesn’t believe her story about Texas enough to not check it out before he warns Mr. Jenkins.

And look, she knows he’s attracted to her. She knows.

But I think toward the end of the episode she knows that that’s not enough. He’s attracted to her body but he doesn’t want her. I don’t think Bill could make it any clearer with the way he intentionally removes her hands from his person every time she touches him and comes back with every flirty line she gives him with something honestly kind of mean, starting right at the start when he says, “I’d call you a lot of things but loyal isn’t one of them.”

And she kind of laughs at that, thinking maybe the ol’ banter is back...but it’s not.

He doesn’t send her things to bounce back at him.

He just shuts her down.

And AJ’s pretty persistent but she’s going to get tired of feeling hurt after a while.

She’s also almost out of time. She stands trial very soon and it would be a miracle if she was allowed to walk. She knows that. It’s why she went to Bill. It’s why she didn’t turn herself in anywhere else. She wants his help. She needs it. 

She just. Has no idea how to ask for it, or if he’ll be willing to give it to her, so she tries to make things favorable so that he’ll offer, I think, or so she feels comfortable asking (because if he likes her too then it’s not weird to ask a favor, right?) and...it blows up in her face every single time. 

And Bill’s just thinking...she will do literally anything to get what she wants.

What a mess.

Personally I find it hard to believe that a rattlesnake bite will neatly and thoroughly resolve this disaster, but...you never know. Maybe Hallmark will surprise me.

#when calls the heart #aj foster #bill avery #bill x aj #character studies and information #season 5 shenanigans #season 5 spoilers #analysis and meta discussion

[wandering-thoughts-lost-voice]

Under Mechanical Hearts

Chapter 3.0

Last Night...

"Who throws a party for someone who died?" I muttered to myself. I was sitting on a couch on the roof of that said party with a sprite in my hand and yes you read that correctly. Some people were rich enough to have patios on their roof while I struggled to find enough quarters in my wallet to buy a bag of chips from the vending machine at school. Anyway, back to me being at the party I was complaining about, hypocritical I know, but it was either this or having my thoughts torture me all night. I mean, the deceased was my best friend.

"Leave it to you to find a hideout," Dylan joined me on the couch, a fresh smile on his lips. "I was starting to think you went home."

"Trust me I thought about it," I sighed, "But this beats the alternative."

"Yeah..." he trailed off before things fell completely silent between us. Childish Gambino's 3005 filled the heavy quietness. I'll be right by your side till 3005, hold up. There was never a day I thought this song could bring me such gloom, but it did.

"Why did you throw this party?" I slouched down on the couch, making myself more comfortable. I could never keep my cool around Dylan for long, I liked to think that making my heart do summersaults was his superpower. "Doesn't seem like something you'd do."

Mirroring my actions, he slouched down too, "I didn't plan any of this, it was Nora."

I rolled my eyes, "Nice to know she's empathetic."

I could see him shrug from the corner of my eye while he brushed his hand forward over his hair. "She said it was to celebrate Maci's life."

"Are you sure it wasn't just an excuse to get wasted on a school night?" I turned to look at him. "Does she even know how Maci died? She was heading home from a party just like this one."

"Nora has good intentions," he defended her. "I've been doing pretty bad lately and she just wanted to cheer me up."

"Okay, but do you think this is what Maci would want?" I countered.

"I don't know what Maci would want and neither do you," his eyes found mine. Sounding annoyed he told me, "It makes no difference anyway because she's not here."

I rested my laced fingers on my stomach, changing my focus to the stars above, I said, "You're right."

"I'm sorry," he exhaled. "I didn't mean to--"

"No, you're right," I cut him off. "I obviously didn't know what she wanted if I didn't see her suicide coming."

"Reese," he called my name. "No one saw it coming. Not my parents, not me, no one."

"But I was her best friend, Dylan," I sat up, peering over at him. "We told each other literally everything." I could feel my heart hurting with each beat, "She never said she was unhappy, but I should've known, I--I should've been there to stop her." The calm before the storm passed and eventually, I felt it. I heard my mouth thunder with sobs, my heart lightninged with pain, my eyes rained. "I messed up. I--"

"You didn't mess up," concern twisted his mouth into a frown. "There was no way you could've known," he inched closer to me, wrapping me in his arms while his voice softened, "I may not know if Maci wanted this party or not, but I know she wouldn't want her best friend crying her eyes out."

Eventually, he released me from the hug and examined my eyes. "I know it's hard, but you're not alone," he wiped my tears with the long sleeve of his shirt. His eyes stayed locked on me for a while as he searched my face for any more signs of sorrow. Meeting my eyes again, he smiled weakly, but it disappeared just as it came. I could feel myself holding my breath because things suddenly felt monumental between us.

Gently, Dylan's hand rose to my cheek. Fall was already here, and even though there was a chill in the air I was burning up. Gazing into his eyes, I noticed that there was a void behind them, a void created by Maci's absence. My heart broke all over again in that moment because the last time I saw Dylan cry was at Maci's funeral about a year ago. I wondered how he coped with things, how he went home and passed Maci's room every day without falling apart. I lost my best friend, but he lost his little sister.

A fresh tear escaped down my cheek, but Dylan brushed it away with his thumb immediately. Leaning closer, he shut his eyes and I followed his lead until our lips met. The kiss was light and brief, a simple graze of his lips against mine, but the feelings it stirred up was immense.

He broke away for a moment, registering the huge act. Then, he plunged towards me, kissing me with more force. Holding onto the collar of his shirt, I kissed him back. His hands found their way to my hair, and my heart found its way to its grave. I only imagined what it would be like to kiss Dylan Russell, but I never thought it could actually happen.

Maybe because Maci was 100% against it. Guilt began to tug at my conscience at the thought and even though I didn't want to, I had to back out.

"Dylan," I breathed his name, my eyes were still closed, our foreheads resting against each other. "Wait." He planted a few more soft kisses before he finally pulled away. I felt terrible for ending one of my childhood dreams, but I couldn't sit there and kiss my best friend's brother. It was selfish and wrong on so many levels. Just because she was dead didn't mean Girl Code died along with her. "As much as I--"

"Dylan?" I heard a voice call from the double doors behind us. "Dylan? Where are you?"

I noticed Dylan move back to the other side of the couch, yanking the collar of his shirt back and forth to cool down.

"Dylan!" A very drunk Nora shouted when she found us. "I've been looking for you like everywhere!" She climbed over the couch clumsily falling into the empty spot between us. I cleared my throat as she rested her feet on v my lap. Squinting her eyes, she studied me until she realized who I was, "Reesie Peesie!" She shoved her red cup of beer into the air, "To Maci!" Dropping the drink all over my boots, Nora passed out with her head on Dylan's shoulder.

"Reese..." Dylan trailed off. I had that uncomfortable feeling of stepping in something wet with my socks on and moving my toes around in my beer-soaked black ankle boots made it worse. Standing to my feet, I shook my head at Dylan who sat there frozen. "Hold on," he gently lifted Nora's head to free himself.

I, however, was already on my way back inside.

"What are you still doing here?" Fabian questioned as he snapped a few pictures of me. He was casually hanging out in the hallway, "I thought you went home."

"Can you move out of my way?" I bumped my shoulder against his.

"What's your problem?" He followed behind me taking more pictures. "Who pissed in your cereal this time? Couldn't have been me, I barely saw you tonight."

I turned around, grabbing the lens of his camera, "I will drop this to the floor and stomp on it."

"Well, I hope you can cough up thirty-five hundred," he smirked, taking another picture, "and that doesn't even include the lens."

Rolling my eyes, I began to push through the crowd to find the bathroom. It was almost 2 in the morning and people were still bumping and grinding to the music like half of them didn't have exams to take in the next couple of hours. The second-floor bathroom had no line and even though it seemed suspicious I took a chance and opened the door. Covering my nose from the acrid smell, I slammed the door shut right away. I probably should've covered my eyes too because it was never a pleasant sight to see someone's vomit spewed all over the sink and toilet.

"Oh yeah, don't go in there," I heard Fabian's voice. "Someone's stomach exploded."

"Thanks," I clenched my jaw, walking away from him and down the stairs. The line for the first-floor bathroom was looking horrendous and I was contemplating whether or not I should just go home.

"I know where there's another bathroom," Fabian's annoying voice was in my ear. "But that's only if you promise to be nice."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" I folded my arms.

"Because I've been here a few times," he shrugged. "Who do you think takes Nora's bomb-ass Instagram pictures?"

"Fine," I caved. I was frustrated with having him follow me around, but if I got to the bathroom, hopefully, I could save my boots and be on my way out, never having to run into him again for the night, "Show me."

Finally making it to a bathroom in a part of the house that was deemed off limits, I washed off my boots with soap and water. I was hoping that if it didn't get rid of the beer smell, it would at least reduce it. I dried them as best as I could and removed my socks before placing them on my feet again.

When I exited the bathroom, I found Fabian taking a selfie with a statue in the hallway. I walked past him as I tried to return to the side of the house with loud pulsing music. I could hear his footsteps behind me as I walked down the long hallway, "You miss her, right?" He broke the quietness.

"Yeah," I replied, softly.

"Me too," he said. "I thought of her as a big sister, y'know? I can't believe it's almost been a year already."

"Can we not do this?" I turned to face him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Do what?" He furrowed his brow.

"Have this heart-to-heart about Maci," I answered, " and how much we miss her and wish she was still here."

"Sorry, I--I thought you'd wanna talk about it considering she was your best friend and all," he responded. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"Thank you," I about-faced and began walking again.

"Y'know there was this one time--"

"Fabian," I warned him.

"Oh, you meant like no talking at all," he said. "Gotcha."

#wandering-thoughts-lost-voice #creative writing

[razorblade180]

Rosebud prep 12

It’s the day after Ruby and Jaune return. The sun is still rising above the Vacou sand dunes but rays still pierces through their window. A ray lands on Jaune’s face and the light stirs him awake slowly.

Jaune:Mmmggh Ruby? I think we need better blinds.

....

Jaune:Ruby?

His hand moves around to try to find her. Reluctantly he opens his eyes ti see his wife wasn’t on the couch anymore. Most of her clothes were still on the floor where the fell last night. ‘At least that means she’s still here, hopefully.’ His shirt was missing however. Fine by him. Jaune wasn’t even in the mood to wear pants right now but for the sake of her absence being potentially bad, walking around in boxers could end badly. “Ruby? You still here?”

“Just upstairs. Don’t worry, still here.” Her voice reassuring him, given recent events . “You don’t have to come up here though if you don’t want to J-”

The sound of footsteps cut her off. One by one they grew louder until suddenly, it stopped. Ruby couldn’t see him yet but she knew he right outside the doorway. A slow inhale followed by an exhale reached her ears. This had to be difficult for him. Jaune pushed open the door and saw Ruby standing in the middle of the room wearing his shirt that was comedically oversized on her. Too bad they were both too down to smile about it. Jaune walked behind Ruby and wrapped his arms around her waist; the comfort loved immensely for the both of them. Her hands raise up to meet his and holds them in place.

Ruby:You didn’t have to come in here with me you know?

Jaune:I’ll never let you go through something alone. That’s what it means to be a partner right? Not to mention your husband. Guess that makes it double, no, triple my priority.

Ruby:Triple?

Jaune:Am I not your best friend?

Ruby:Weiss might feel someway about you saying that.

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. Silently they looked around nursery everyone spent so much time building. The burgundy walls the connected to the soft purple carpet they spent forever installing. Blake’s old book shelves filled with children’s books and was next to the playpen Weiss bought. Some toys Ren and Nora generously donated from their orphanage. The crib Jaune and Ruby spent hours picking out......

Ruby’s grip on Jaune tighten ever so slightly. A piece of her wanted to drop to her knees but she refused to allow it. Not just for Jaune either, if she cave into sadness again then who knows when she’d get up again? Jaune felt Ruby lean more into him and he depended the embrace. There was always something about the way he held her that Ruby couldn’t explain. Whatever it was, she was thankful for it. Life seemed a little more manageable with it; Ruby felt a little stronger each time.

Jaune:You okay?

Ruby:I will be. One step at a time, things get better. They always do with enough time.

Jaune:Keep talking like that and someone should make you a headmaster.

Ruby:Sounds stuffy and boring. I like the field.

Jaune:I would hope so. The Storyteller, very majestic.

Ruby:So you heard?

Jaune:Maria has told everyone about her handy work. She’s very proud of the nickname, and of you.

Ruby:You know me, I am to a please. Speaking of which, last night was nice. *red* Really nice. A years worth of attention in one night is....

Jaune:Intense?

Ruby:Numbing. That’s worth a story in its own right.

Jaune:Well, it is important you don’t forget to create your own while trying to help others with theirs.*kisses her cheek*

Ruby:Trust me, no way I could forget. Too many important people wouldn’t stand for it. Besides, I tell plenty of people just how great the people in my life are. I’m not the only famous person on Remnant ya know?

Jaune:Wouldn’t mind meeting them if I got the chance. All the people you saved.

Ruby:.....Let’s do it.

Jaune:What?

Ruby:Let’s take a trip around Remnant. Just the two of us; like a second honeymoon. We can explore, see some sights, meet some people, reconnect.....a year without you is big regret. I won’t to make up for lost time. *interlocks fingers*

Jaune:A second honeymoon huh? Hehe, only you come up with ideas like this.

She flashes a smile before looking around the room again. A resolve in her dim eyes trying to break its way through.

Ruby:One day, we’ll fill this room with a child’s laughter, but no need to rush. Right now, healing with you is what matters. I know you said you weren’t upset with me but I can’t help but feel like I should tell you again that I’m-

Jaune’s right hand removes itself from her grasp and raises to tilt her head up. Just like that, her words were cut off by another kiss. Not like she minded. This was her favorite way for Jaune to tell her to shut up. Ruby’s free hand went to his hair and slightly tugged it; silently asking him to lean down a bit more for a longer kiss. Instead he uses his other hand to hook around the back of he legs and the one on Ruby’s flushed face went to the center of her back. She got the message and hopped into his arms. The entire time they never separated from each other from the simple and passionate kiss. Finally Jaune pulled back which led to a bit of Ruby’s frustration. She almost leaned in for another but managed to control the impulse.

Jaune:Let’s go take a bath.

Ruby:Okay...

xxxx

One week passed before the two set off on their journey. In that time, things already seemed to get a tiny bit easier. Smiles lasted longer, sleeping wasn’t restless, and the air itself, it felt less tense. Then a month passed; now the two sit on a boat that travels the known seas. Jaune watched the ocean hypnotically while Ruby laid back in a chair; eyes closed in serenity.

Ruby:You know, I kinda forgot what it’s like to just sit down and let things....drift I guess is the word? No destination really planned. We’re simply going.

Jaune:Yeah. Last time we were on a honeymoon though, I don’t remember packing our weapons too. Not that I’m complaining.

Ruby:Better safe than sorry. Not to mention the public has gotten in a habit of running up to me and asking for help. Most of the time it’s legit. Also kids like to get picture of me with it. So be ready for that.

Jaune:No worries. You look sexy when you’re working anyways. At least that’s what rumors say.

Ruby:Your opinion?

Jaune:Well.....*smiles*

Bzzz!! Bzzz!!

Jaune:Your scroll is ringing.

Ruby:Hold that thought, it’s Yang. *grabs scroll* Hey sis.

Yang:H..hey Ruby.

Ruby:You okay? *stands up* You sound a bit weird.

Yang:Y...Yeah! Just....

Ruby:Yang?

Yang:.....Promise you won’t get mad, or upset? It’s just, I really want you to be the first to tell you this but I’m not sure how things might turn out. I know you’re in a sensitive time in your life but-

Ruby:*pulls up face time*

Yang is caught off gaurd and jumps as Ruby looks at her; noticing that the blonde girl is wearing a night shirt and sweatpants. Her skin is practically glowing but her face screams anxious, yet exhilarated.

Ruby:.....So you took the next step?

Yang:.....*nods* I’m....pregnant. Hehehe *tearing up* For almost a month.

Ruby:*grins* Congratulations, I mean that.

Yang:Really? I...I was really scared to tell you. I’m also scared that maybe...something.... what if comes back?

Ruby:Don’t worry. I’ll-

Jaune:We’ll won’t let that happen.

Yang:Jaune?

Jaune:*walks into view* I promise. We’ll help you every step of the way. Clothes, medicine, talks....

Ruby:Extra food, room building, the day of the birth, we’ll help however we can. It’s what good Aunts and Uncles would do right?

Yang:....*crying* You guys are so....so...*sobbing*

Ruby:H..hey! I don’t remember hormones kicking in that fast for me.

Yang:It’s not that! It’s....why couldn’t I do that for you!? I care about you both and I was so excited to be the coolest aunt ever while still being your big sis. But when it was all said and done.....I let that slept through my fingers. I couldn’t run fast enough.

Ruby:I never blamed for that day. You did the best that/

Yang:It’s still infuriating! Jaune understands.

Ruby:*looks at him*

Jaune:I don’t know if you ever knew but, Yang was rushing up the building and made it to the roof too. So did Weiss.

Yang:She hasn’t said anything much either but she’s still frustrated over that day too. *sniff* Ruby you’re the world to us. Blake still chastises herself for not noticing any kind of clue. So to hear you say that you’ll be there for me when I failed so hard......I’m so sorry.

Yang’s hand covered her mouth and tears kept flowing like I broken dam. Ruby could only watch from the other side of the screen as her own heart started to break. Has everyone been carrying this pain? Why didn’t she see it before? Would Weiss and even her own uncle have a similar reaction to her sister? After all this time of thinking the only people struggling to progress was her and Jaune, was that wrong? Did everyone feel stuck in some way. That had to be true to some extent; which meant Ruby couldn’t help but feel terrible. ‘Have I....been being selfish this whole time? Did going it alone hurt everyone?’

The thought made her stomach feel like a knot. Their happily ever after really was a long way to go, and she had been a contributor to that. Ruby’s lip started to quiver but the feel of Jaune’s hand grabbing hers pushed away the bleak thoughts. He looked at her with a soft smile that said everything she needed to hear without a word being uttered. Ruby nodded and looked back a Yang who was still torn up over her own guilt.

Ruby:Yang, listen to me. You’re still the best sister I could ask for.

Yang:....

Ruby:I don’t know if my words will reach you but I hope they do. You’re someone, that deserves the world; all of you are. Not because you want to help me as much as possible, but because people like you, Blake, Weiss, you try your damnedest with anyone in need. Life though, it gets the better of us. We fail when we don’t want to. And I know it feels like we shouldn’t have failed with Dustin but..*tearing up* we did. It happened. He’s gone.

........

Ruby:Let’s learn from it, and makes sure it never happens again. Down but not out. I learned that from watching you. So please, don’t waste tears on me. Grow with me instead.

Yang finds it in herself to look Ruby again. Her little sister’s eyes are clearly fighting back their own tears and the brilliant silver shine still remains clouded. Yet, they never looked more determined. Yang wiped her face and nodded.

Yang:Can you by any chance, stop by a visit? I really want to hug you.

Ruby:You couldn’t stop me from showing up anyways. We’ll be there as soon as we can. I love you. Now stop putting stress on the baby. Leaders orders. I gotta go. Also tell your wife the good news! You’re having baby! Be excited.

Yang:*takes a breath* Yes ma’am. Ruby, I love you too. *hangs up*

Ruby:......

Jaune:How are you feeling right now?

Ruby:Honestly? Like shit. I should probably call Weiss now. Who knows just how rough she’s feeling.

Jaune:You know, crying is still okay Ruby. If you wanna take a moment to process.

Ruby:*fidgeting with scroll* That feels a bit wrong. All things considered. I can manage.

Jaune:*cups her face* This isn’t about managing Ruby. It’s about allowing yourself to go through the sadness. There’s strength in tears. No need to rush grief. I’m not.

Her heart felt like it skipped at those words. Ruby’s entire body trembled and her jaw clenched. Tears managed to leak out despite her desperate attempt to fight them back. She could feel instinct to just run off; to not be seen like this. There was nowhere to go however, and Jaune knew that. He slowly pulled her into an embrace that he could tell was hard for Ruby to accept. The poor girl’s mind weighed down with still so much frustration.

They stood like this until finally, a whimper. Then the whimper gave way to more tears. Ruby’s arms went up to hold Jaune tight and it was all over from there. Mournful wails echoed through the air and tears stained his shirt. If Ruby had been a bit quieter then Jaune’s own sniffling and pain might’ve been heard. It was hard, taking steps together. But not as hard as doing it alone. One day everyone would come out on the other end fine, but for right now, they stood in place and just simply cried.

xxxx

Blake:Hehe, is it weird I’m not used to see you both so much anymore?

Ruby:*rubs head* Is it bad I get lost getting to your house now?

Blake:You’re fine. *hugs her* I’m glad your here. Both of you.

Jaune:Would’ve been here sooner but had to find another boat, grimm attack, more grimm. It’s been an interesting two weeks.

Ruby:He’s slightly out of shape is what he’s saying.

Jaune:Hey! I’m getting my groove back. Oh! Congratulations by the way. We probably should’ve lead with that.

Blake:*smiles* Thank you. I’m still kinda in shock about the whole thing. My parents have already gone full grand parent mode. I can barely keep up.

Ruby:It’s not over yet. Dad told me he sending a bunch of gifts this way so be ready for that hurricane. Where’s Yang?

Blake:*steps aside* getting cozy.

Ruby and Jaune walk in and hear snoring coming from the other room. “I know that snore anywhere.” Ruby peaks around the corner and sees her sister knocked out on the couch. Drool drips onto a black and yellow pillow and a bit on her arm. Yang is completely spread out on her back. Ruby looks at blonde’s stomach and sees the baby bump.

Jaune:Damn, this makes me wish I took a picture of you during this time. I could swap the heads on them and it would be the exact same photo.

Ruby:Rude. I slept gracefully.

Blake:You snored and drool all throughout Beacon.

Ruby:*red* Well....yeah.

Blake:Weiss drops by when she’s can. She’s super excited about all this; probably more than anyone else. We can call her and try to set up some plan or something for whatever might happen. It might calm her nerves about the whole thing.

Ruby:Actually, right now I got something I want do.

xxxx

Yang:*waking up* Mmmm, Blake, what time is-

Ruby:*sleeping next to her*Zzzzzz

Her breath slightly tickled Yang’s nose. The girl had snuggled up right next to her and held her close like she used to do all the time. Yang reached over gently brushed a few red strands of hair away from Ruby’s face. She looked so...peaceful. Time had made Ruby older and definitely into a beautiful young woman, but the face of the little Yang loved and cherished was still there plain as day. She planted a kiss on her forehead and raised a giggle out of her. Ruby opened her eyes smiled.

Ruby:Hey sis.

Yang:Hey yourself. Whatcha doing?

Ruby:Oh you know, trying to make everything okay.

Yang:So the usual?

Ruby:That is the usual, isn’t it? I’m sorry we weren’t able to talk about what you were going through sooner.

Yang:Can we make a promise right here? No more apologies. I think we’ve had more of those than actual conversations at this point. Between us, we will always be good.

Ruby:Deal. So, what happens next?

Yang:Nothing. I’m keeping this moment for as long as I can.

Ruby:Sounds like a plan. Your baby sure is going to be lucky to have you.

Yang:So will your next one. Never be afraid to start again.

Ruby:I know. I’m just waiting for something. A feeling or a spark.

Yang:With Jaune?

Ruby:No, there’s plenty of fireworks there. Those might actually be stronger than before and I didn’t think that was possible.

Yang:*wiggles eyebrows* I bet there’s been a lot of “apologizing.”

Ruby:*red* Shut up dork. I think I’m just waiting for some gut feeling to jump back into that process. Not counting the ending, my pregnancy was a bit rough; definitely painful. I have to steel myself for that again and just feel...man it’s hard to explain.

Yang:You’ll know it’s time when it happens. I can understand. Well when you are ready, I’ll be there to support you.

Ruby:I know you will. You’re my awesome big sister. I love you.

Yang:And I, love you. *kisses forehead* The original duo. Now and forever. The energetic strawberry to my sunrise.

Ruby:I prefer gold and silver sisters.

Yang:Ooooo that’s pretty good. We starting a new legend.

Ruby:Please, we always were one.

The two of the smile before dozing off again. Both revitalized. Both finally finding their groove again.

Part 11

#rwby rosebud #rwby #ruby rose #jaune arc #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #bumblb #bumbleby #rwby lancaster #rwby ships