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chronicparagon · 3 years ago

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One Piece AU: Harmony the Wing Less

Warning: This AU has content that may be disturbing to some readers. Triggers include blood, death, child death, child slavery, and torture.

Art by Rina-Ran

(Note: I know this is art of FF7 Harmony but I felt can be applied for this AU too)

Harmony Halcyon

Tribe: Shandian

Occupation: Mercenary (but also works as a barmaid when jobs are slow), formerly a crew member of the Sea Warriors

Age: 19 years (before time skip) 21 years (after time skip)

Backstory

Harmony’s life began with the Shandia tribe. Though the war existed through most of Harmony’s life, she would be among the people who had no part in the fight, but suffered the consequences. Her name was given by her parents who wished for peace but they did not know that it may never come for them. Things became worse when a stranger called Enel came to the land and proclaimed that he was their god. Enel’s domination aggravated the constant war with the Skypians and it would worsen from there. Many people of Skypiea became slaves shortly after with women chosen as his servants.

As Harmony was becoming a teenager, her parents feared she would be next. They couldn’t bear the thought and joined those where were brave enough, yet foolish enough to stand against Enel and his soldiers. If only they knew then that choice would end in failure and seal their fate.

These defectors and their families became prisoners, tortured for the twisted amusement. To make matters worse, Harmony’s parents were forced to watch their own child be used as part of their punishment. Harmony was only thirteen. Thirteen years old when men pinned her down, stripped from the waist up. How they laughed as they wielded torches and knives, standing by until their master gave them the signal.

Harmony’s screams fill they air as blood splatter the ground along with her feathers drifting down, turning from white to red. Pain seared into her bones as it tears her wings off her back. Cutting, tearing, ripping, and burning into her back. Harmony tried to fight back, only to earn severe burns on her right arm. Her parents begged them to stop. Her mother wept and her father screamed for their child to be spared. Their pleas fell on deaf ears. They pulled on the shackles, desperately reaching for their daughter.

“STOP THIS! STOP! DON’T DO THIS TO MY GIRL!”

“MY BABY! GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY BABY!”

Blood chilling laughter masked the heartbreak.

Once all that was said and done, the girl was left shaking, tears streaming down her face as she laid in her own blood and feathers. It was then that Enel decided that her parents have seen enough and ordered their execution on the spot. The last thing Harmony’s parents saw was their own child crawling toward them, wanting to save them. But she could not get to them on time. There was nothing she could do. Such a pitiful sight.

The young girl begged for their lives as well as the other defectors who knew they were mere moments away from their own demise.

So, so pitiful.

A child’s cries mean nothing to a god who lusts for blood and power.

So, so sad...

On this day, the Shandians learned that their own was sentenced to death and their bloody wings posted as a warning, a sign that any rebellion would be met with their last moments filled with terror. A warning to not disobey their new god.

Many of the Shandians escaped and sought refuge in a village where Enel could not find them shortly after. It was best to find safety and face the new tyranny on top of this bitter war against the Skypians. The defectors were nothing more than traitors. It was best to leave them for dead than risk their own families.

As for what happened to Harmony? She was not the only child who lost her family because they stood against Enel. There were several others. The boys who did not die right away from the torture were killed off. Best to eliminate any possible adversaries. Better to be safe than sorry. Only the girls were spared as they could be useful as they reach adulthood. Yet the treatment they received was not much better. Most of the girls passed away from their injuries. Several more succumb to infection caused by their own wounds. All of them cast aside like the adult defectors, forever forgotten by enemies and their own kin. Harmony was deemed unattractive by her burns. “Damaged goods” as what her captors said, but may have some use as they learned she survived.

Despite everything, Harmony refused to die. She couldn’t surrender. That is never an option. That’s just how she was raised by Shandian warriors. She beat the odds set upon her, fighting with all her strength, just to survive another day. But she knew she may die if she stayed under Enel’s rule. Her time was running out when he or his minions could demand more from her. The girl can’t bear the thought of what may happen from the horrors she witnessed here. Though it was dangerous, the teen knew she must escape. It is better to risk it for freedom than die as a slave.

One night, Harmony decided to act on a plan she concocted. She managed to slip away, hoping to make it out to Angel Island. Sadly, there was a snag that alerted security and there was hell to pay. At that point, all that mattered was her attempt was an offense. She was lucky to be alive and serve, but she threw it away by trying to run away. Death was the only solution to this. Enel’s gift in attacking others with lightning broke her makeshift raft and she soon found herself swept away, clinging to a remnant of the raft as the harsh current shoved her to and fro, just barely escaping the god’s attacks. She was swept away and it was thought that she drowned.

But fate had other plans. Harmony’s stubborn nature kept her alive as she held on to the large piece of wood that wa sleft of her raft. She climbed on when the current calmed as she drifted further from Skypiea, unsure where she was going and if she will live. Soaked to the bone and shivering, the teen laid there, hoping and praying that she made the right choice as she left her home and entered a world like no other.

She would have passed away if it wasn’t for a pirate ship catching sight of her. A ship belonging to the Sea Warriors, a fierce crew led by Captain Bjørn the Berserker. Though he was a ruthless man known to strike fear into the hearts of men, he had weaknesses to women and children. Though some people may jeer at Bjørn for being kind to women and children, his wrath will have them not dare chuckle at his actions. He was not called the Berserker without reason. Upon seeing Harmony, he had pity on the child and ordered his men to bring her onboard. It was there that he ordered his crew to never harm the child or he will have their heads. Harmony was afraid at first, vaguely remembering the stories of pirates and what they are capable of. But over time, Bjørn slowly gained Harmony’s trust and she quickly won the hearts of others on the ship for her kind heart. Bjørn saw her like his own child and treated her as such. He taught her how to fight, use the gun and sword, though she preferred the former. Harmony called him Uncle Bjørn and lived with the pirates.

Though she is still embarrassed by no longer having her wings, and the scars still made people cringe by how ghastly they appear. There are nights when the phantom pain her wings torment her, just like the nightmares of Enel and how he took her family and her home. How she missed Skypiea and her own tribe. She longed to go home and be with her people again, but she knew it isn’t easy.

Her parents were defectors and though the Shandians strive to remain out of Enel’s reach, they may reject Harmony for what her parents have tried to do. She feared they will reject her for her old burns and the loss of her wings. feared she would be rejected by her people.

Her fear was so powerful, she dreaded the thought of returning to Skypeia. Though they were liberated from Enel’s tyranny and the four hundred year war against the Skypians ended, she cannot bear to return for the memories and heartache are too strong, just like the fear of being deemed an outsider instead of being one of the Shandians. And so, she remained with the pirates until she became an adult when something that bothered her became more intense.

But, she feels she must do more than live the sheltered life on this ship. Yes, her needs are met, and she is safe for the most part, but there is something within her. A calling to see the world. She knew it was a harsh and cruel place as she has seen it firsthand. Yet, she did not abandon the kindness she carried since her birth. She wondered what would happen if she went out to see what this place has to offer. Could offering light and kindness in this dark world make a difference? At least a little bit? Perhaps it is wishful thinking from a foolish heart, but the desire to make a difference and put an end to the ugliness of human nature gnawed at her. It became too much to ignore!

Her wanderlust grew stronger by the time she was nineteen. She came to Captain Bjørn requesting to leave the Sea Warriors as she craves for adventure and finding herself.

Though Bjørn was reluctant to let her go as he knew the cruelty that existed in thei dangerous world, he agreed. He gave her a small fortune from his treasure and his prized pistol before seeing her leave the Sea Warriors. He made sure to remind her that if she ever changes her mind, search for the Sea Warriors and they will welcome her back.

Harmony gave her guardian one more embrace, tearfully thanking him for everything before she set off from the ship before it left her behind on an island that she chose to start her journey. She recalls some sniffles and a few men hiding in the shadows to weep. The Sea Warriors became a family to her. A rowdy one, but they all cared for her and grew attached to the child they watched grew up to a woman. One who is ready to see the world and find herself.

#new AU #One Piece AU #it's a bit rough but I'll edit it as I develop the story more #blood tw #torture tw #child slavery tw #death tw #left in the dark

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 years ago

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Pluralistic: 12 Mar 2020 (No health care for part-time TSA screeners, Akil Augustine on Radicalized, Wendell Potter rebuts Joe Biden, best Covid-19 explainer, Boeing's self-inflicted wounds, EU Right to Repair, virtual classrooms)

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Pluralistic: 12 Mar 2020

TSA boss doubles down on taking away health care from part-time screeners: They're touching your junk with diseased hands.

Akil Augustine on Radicalized: My book's Canada Reads champion lays out the case for Radicalized.

A former top Cigna exec rebuts Joe Biden's healthcare FUD: Wendell Potter is the prodigal corporate villain.

Ars Technica's Covid-19 explainer is the best resource on the pandemic: Beth Mole has outdone herself.

Boeing is even worse at financial engineering than they are at aircraft engineering: The $43B they incinerated through stock buybacks would sure come in handy about now.

Senate Republicans kill emergency sick leave during pandemic: Sick leave is cheaper than pandemics, but pandemics generate cost-plus contracts for the donor class.

The EU's new Right to Repair rules finally come for electronics: Snoods cocked at Apple and other US Big Tech monopolists.

How to run a virtual classroom: Masterclass from the 14-year-old Stanford Online High School.

This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

TSA boss doubles down on taking away health care from part-time screeners (permalink)

TSA agents handles the personal belongings and touch the bodies of millions of fliers. Part time agents don't get health-insurance. If they think they might have Covid-19, they might not be able to afford to seek care.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/politics/tsa-health-care-part-time/index.html

TSA chief David Pekoske told Congress that the Trump administration's decision to take away health-care from part time TSA employees was a good one: "I have no intention of restoring health care coverage for part-time workers. I think that was a good decision."

About 100 TSA agents have been sent home after it was believed they came into contact with Covid-19. The TSA will not try to track down passengers who also might have come into contact with sick people.

Akil Augustine on Radicalized (permalink)

My book Radicalized is a finalist for the Canada Reads national book prize. Each of the five finalists is defended by a Canadian celeb: my champion is the amazing and articulate Akil Augustine.

Akil just appeared on the @CBC's Canada Reads podcast to give us a preview of his defense, which he will field during several nights of nationally televised debates next week.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1708600899815/

He did an OUTSTANDING job! Here's the MP3:

https://cbc.mc.tritondigital.com/CBC_CNDAREADS_P/media/cndareads-3NLwEPaV-20200309.mp3

A former top Cigna exec rebuts Joe Biden's healthcare FUD (permalink)

In a recent and important essay, Maria Farrell wrote about the road-to-Damascus conversions that ex-techies are having in which they recant the damaging product design work they did and begin to campaign against their former employers.

https://conversationalist.org/2020/03/05/the-prodigal-techbro/

Farrell noted that these techies had missed an important step in their transformation from venal attention mercenaries to noble attention freedom-fighters: they had yet to hit bottom, to truly repent their earlier sins.

They skipped like stones over the waters of privilege, and never sank, unlike so many of their victims.

Contrast those journeys with that of Wendell Potter, the former Cigna exec turned whistleblower, who has devoted decades of his life to revealing dirty tricks and lies. Potter campaigns tirelessly – and shrewdly – for Medicare for All, and is always at pains to point out that the anti-M4A talking points his adversaries parrots were all developed by him, when he was on the wrong side of history.

Take this thread, rebutting Joe Biden's FUD about M4A, delivered in the midst of a pandemic that has been worsened by the 77 million un- and underinsured people who can't get care or screening and disproportionately work in food-service and cleaning.

https://twitter.com/wendellpotter/status/1237438497218105344

As Potter points out, Biden's assertion that M4A costs $35T is just a lie. Once you factor in the savings of not paying for private healthcare, M4A SAVES at least $450B/year.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)33019-3/fulltext

Biden's plan to cap premiums on a public option at 8.5% of your income is more than double what M4A would cost you. The corporate plans Biden lionizes shackle good workers to bad employers, and put millions at risk of having their care arbitrarily withdrawn or limited. And, of course, private care doesn't cover much. Surprise bills, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-pockets… Our plan – a blue-chip employer's top-of-the-line Cigna plan – costs us $24K/year.

We're rationing our family's health care because in addition to the $20K/year we're paying out of pocket, Cigna refused to cover a pain procedure that my doc – the most-cited pain doc working in California, who runs a major university pain clinic – says I would benefit from. That procedure might let me get a good night's sleep for the first time in 15 years and allow me to live a more normal, pain-free life. But because Cigna won't cover it, it would cost $55K, which we do not have. So I'm foregoing it.

Ars Technica's Covid-19 explainer is the best resource on the pandemic (permalink)

I've been reading Beth Mole's outstanding science journalism for many years and I've always admired it, but even by the high standards of a Beth Mole explainer, this soup-to-nuts Covid-19 explainer is just spectacularly good work.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/03/dont-panic-the-comprehensive-ars-technica-guide-to-the-coronavirus/

Mole's calm and comprehensive coverage relies on the most reliable sources and turns the results of our best evidence-based studies into a coherent narrative, from the disease's origins to its spread to its symptoms to its resolution.

Just this symptom-by-symptom breakdown was enormously informative and filled in a huge gap that I had previously mentally signposted as "flu-like".

According to data from nearly 56,000 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients in China, the rundown of common symptoms went as follows:

88 percent had a fever

68 percent had a dry cough

38 percent had fatigue

33 percent coughed up phlegm

19 percent had shortness of breath

15 percent had joint or muscle pain

14 percent had a sore throat

14 percent headache

11 percent had chills

5 percent had nausea or vomiting

5 percent had nasal congestion

4 percent had diarrhea

Less than one percent coughed up blood or blood-stained mucus

Less than one percent had watery eyes

The sections on transmission, self-protection, and care during a social distancing lockdown or quarantine are likewise levelheaded, clear and informative.

This is a tab you should just keep open in your browser, IOW. Mole's updating frequently, too.

Boeing is even worse at financial engineering than they are at aircraft engineering (permalink)

Boeing is experiencing a potentially terminal slump. Between losses due to its 737 Max scandal (a self-inflicted injury), and the dropoff in travel during the pandemic, it has had to draw down its entire line of credit and institute a hiring freeze.

https://wolfstreet.com/2020/03/11/boeing-crashes-as-43-billion-in-past-share-buybacks-turn-into-existential-threat

Obviously, Boeing can't be blamed for the pandemic.

But you know what is absolutely the company's fault? Its financial engineering.

Since 2013, Boeing squandered $43 billion on stock buybacks, whose sole purpose was to goose its share-price.

As Wolf Richter writes, Boeing, this "master of financial engineering – instead of aircraft engineering – blew, wasted, and incinerated $43.4 billion on buying back its own shares."

The company just had to borrow $13.825B. Its shares are down 46% since March 2019.

The entire company – a jewel of American industry – might not survive, because it focused on short-term enrichment of shareholders, rather than safe aircraft or financial prudence.

Reality has a well-known anti-capitalist bias, part MMMLVII.

Senate Republicans kill emergency sick leave during pandemic (permalink)

Senate Republicans have killed emergency sick leave legislation, a move that will force millions of low-waged cleaning and food-service workers to choose between homelessness and potentially spreading Covid-19.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/coronavirus-paid-sick-leave-us-republicans-block-senate-bill-new-york-washington-a9395821.htm

The GOP says that paid sick leave will endanger the fragile bottom lines of employers and also that the feds have no money to pay for such a thing – despite finding it easy to blow $2.3 trillion on tax-cuts for the super-rich.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/28/tax-cuts-trump-gop-analysis-430781

They also found $20 BILLION in the senate's sofa cushions to give to the Pentagon, an agency whose auditor found more than a trillion dollars in off-the-books transactions in its financial records.

https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2019/12/19/pentagon-finally-gets-its-2020-budget-from-congress/

Refusing to help poor Americans stay fed and sheltered isn't just cruel, it's lethally reckless, and it demonstrates the moral hazard of oligarchic capitalism. Subsidizing sick-leave would merely afford survival to millions of Americans, after all.

Whereas the crisis that this will produce – a pandemic that is made worse and longer – will cost billions more, but that money will go to the donor-class, the Beltway Bandits whose cost-plus, no-bid contracts will transfer even more money from the poor to the wealthy.

It's disaster capitalism at its worst. The Senate GOP is dooming you and everyone you love to the risk of disease and death because preventing that risk would help millions of poor people, whereas creating the risk helps a handful of ultrarich people.

The EU's new Right to Repair rules finally come for electronics (permalink)

The EU Commission's latest "Circular Economy Action Plan" has enormous significance for Right to Repair and electronics.

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/new_circular_economy_action_plan.pdf

In addition to a host of eminently sensible, long overdue measures (bans on single use items and the destruction of unsold goods), there's a renewed emphasis on electronics, through the "Circular Electronics Initiative".

https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/11/european-lawmakers-propose-a-right-to-repair-for-mobiles-and-laptops/

The initiative mandates that components be reusable, repairable, and upgradable, and requires long-term software support to keep IoT devices useful for longer. These mandates – also long overdue – show that the EU is finally willing to ignore the priorities of Apple and other US Big Tech companies in favour of Europeans' rights to the long-term enjoyment of their property and the right not to drown in e-waste).

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/08/ghost-flights/#eurighttorepair

How to run a virtual classroom (permalink)

For 14 years, Stanford Online High School has been running fully virtual classrooms, with continuous, ongoing improvements in their tech and methods. They've just published a new guide to "the essential steps for preparing to teach online in a short period of time." They're also conducting a series of webinars on the subject.

https://ohs.stanford.edu/how

(I just realized that I've got a decade-old mail rule that autodeletes anything containing the word "webinar" that I probably need to turn off now that the term is being used by people other than hustling spammy grifters)

This day in history (permalink)

#10yrsago Leaked UK record industry memo sets out plans for breaking copyright https://craphound.com/BPDigitalEconomyBillweeklyminutes.pdf

#5yrsago Portland cops charge homeless woman with theft for charging her phone https://news.streetroots.org/2015/03/06/homeless-phone-charging-thief-wanted-security

#5yrsago How Harper's "anti-terror" bill ends privacy in Canada http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2015/03/why-the-anti-terrorism-bill-is-really-an-anti-privacy-bill-bill-c-51s-evisceration-of-government-privacy/

#5yrsago RIP, Terry Pratchett https://web.archive.org/web/20150312202353/http://www.pjsmprints.com/

#1yrago Security researcher reveals grotesque vulnerabilities in "Yelp-for-MAGA" app and its snowflake owner calls in the FBI

Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: Slashdot (https://slashdot.org), Naked Capitalism (https://nakedcapitalism.com/).

Hugo nominators! My story "Unauthorized Bread" is eligible in the Novella category and you can read it free on Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/

Upcoming appearances:

Museums and the Web: March 31-April 4 2020, Los Angeles. https://mw20.museweb.net/

Currently writing: I'm rewriting a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I'm also working on "Baby Twitter," a piece of design fiction also set in The Lost Cause's prehistory, for a British think-tank. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel afterwards.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last month, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs"; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: A Lever Without a Fulcrum Is Just a Stick https://archive.org/download/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_330/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_330_-_A_Lever_Without_a_Fulcrum_Is_Just_a_Stick.mp3

Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020.

"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a very special, s00per s33kr1t intro.

#pluralistic

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musesoftheminds · 7 years ago

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The Crossover Review

Well, It’s been a while since i’ve been on tumblr but I can say that I am completely and utterly moved by this crossover episode that discussed racism, social reform, family and second chances.

Second Chances:

As i’ve discussed thoroughly on twitter with my reviews. The major arch of this final season is redemption. We’ve seen our protagonist plunge into the darkness of life and just when all hope seems lost she emerges clearly damaged but alive. This is where we find Olivia Pope.

Olivia is physically and metaphorically ‘suiting’ up to combat the day just like she use to when she was a gladiator and Chief of Staff only she’s clearly burdened by her past but nevertheless she faces herself in the mirror something she has failed to do much of this season. This moment echoes Olivia’s own desires to face herself in the mirror and for once not be frightened by what she sees.

As I was discussing Olivia’s moment with herself @cj_tvguy brought up an interesting tidbit that I caught, this parallels to Defiance, only this time the outcome is far more severe and real. Their is no family, no gladiators, no job, no jake -there are no obstructions this time to excuse Olivia’s behavior or inability to work within. It’s been over a couple of months since Olivia left the white house and finally for the first time we see her alone. Interesting thing about karma is that David was fired after defiance and became a school teacher, oddly familiar to Olivia’s own circumstances but the good news is that David went on to become The Attorney General.

Annalise came to Olivia Pope (The Gladiator, The Fixer, The Powerhouse) for help on changing this world and Olivia clearly struggles with agreeing to this fight as she feels she is no longer the person Annalise needs her to be, but after viewing each case thoroughly, Olivia looks into the person behind the lawsuit and finds Annalise’s extensive history. Because this show always does best by displaying Olivia’s thoughts through her clients we see Olivia refuse Annalise and call her a ‘hot mess’ because of her past she refuses to give to Annalise a chance but midway through the hallway of Annalise’s hotel room she turns around and goes back to her room and tells Annalise she will help her under one condition.

Why does Olivia agree to help Annalise? Because she sees herself in her? Because she would like a second chance if someone offered it to her? Maybe those improperly imprisioned deserve to have a second chance?Perhaps it is all of those things that drove Olivia to agree. Now, while Olivia projected and was the harshest to Annalise (herself) she did agree to help and that requires being active, no longer hiding in the darkness of one’s fear. Taking on this lawsuit requires facing her past, her present and her future- Olivia will have to encounter those she loves and those she’s wronged in order to do some good.

The first person Olivia goes to for help is Fitz. As I said, Fitz was cold and emotionally distant from Olivia keeping obvious boundaries with her, rightfully. Olivia has to understand the ramification of her actions; consequences that has went unattested too. Boundaries had to be placed in order for Olivia to understand the damage she has done, and for this I commend Fitz for helping and supporting Olivia but remaining at a safe distance.

The White jacket is a reminder to both Olivia and Fitz of their shared value to save the world. Changing the world is something fundamental to Olivia and FItz’s core values-it was how they first connected and fell in love~ by this calling to help and scope the world into something real and true. Olivia wearing white is her subtle way of trying to be the person Fitz fell in love with but the problem is that Olivia is no longer that person and Fitz is no longer the same man. Shonda has effectively destroyed our preconceived ideas regarding olitz and has created something with a possibility of a real future.

This episode was a testament to Olivia’s strength and will to not simply survive but to actually and finally live. No one trusted or believed Olivia to be sincere when she began fighting for this social reform lawsuit, those who claim to know her all saw this as a tool to once again regain power. Mellie, Jake, Quinn, Abby, they all looked at Olivia’s past (the same way Olivia looked at Annalise’s) and saw that she was once again aiming to reclaim her throne, they judged Olivia not based on her actions or merit but her sins and past.

Every step Olivia made was a step towards reform. Agreeing to help Annalise was a form of helping Olivia as she had to confront pieces of her past (mellie, quinn), her present (annalise ) and her future (Fitz and Ophelia)

Past:

Olivia knew agreeing to help would require humility and facing those she’s wronged. Olivia meets with Fitz first and though he’s distant he supports and agrees with Olivia and sets up a meeting with Mellie and of course, Mellie made sure to have Jake’s trifling ass in on the meeting, but Mellie quickly refuses to support this case with a lame excuse of it not being the “right time.”

Olivia holds a private conversation with Mellie and ask that she reconsiders and not punish innocent people because she has wronged her but Mellie refuses and tells Olivia that if she goes up against the white house she will now be an ‘adversary’ to the white house. Olivia remarks that it wouldn’t be her ‘first time’

Olivia could have easily left with her tail between her legs and went back to her teaching gig but she opted not too instead she chose to make an active decision to remain firm in her beliefs and in many ways prove them and herself wrong but man did they put baby girl through the ringer. Mellie calls her dog to use QPA to destroy Olivia and leak that she was actually fired, in other words the more Olivia tried to do the right thing the more resistants she had.

With Jake going to Quinn on help of ruining Olivia for good, I felt much anger and annoyance but then again Quinn has a right to be upset with Olivia considering she could have killed her and her child and not to mention the innocent lives she took. But Quinn and everyone else has been so focused on Olivia that she’s forgotten the person she once was, what QPA’S mission statement was about. With Quinn clearly in opposition of her, Olivia faces Quinn and reminds her about why she took over QPA. As Olivia walks away from Quinn she’s clearly shaken by the encounter but it doesn’t deter her from continuing to walk this path. It’s coming down to those final moments where Olivia must decide, who she is, where she is going and who she wants to be.

Present:

Do you see how toxic that white house is? How toxic mellivia is? It’s a clear juxtaposition of Olivia and Annalise’s scenes and melivia. Mellie only liked what Olivia did for her which goes back to what Maya said ‘why are you worried about Mellie, she isn’t worried about you?’ Olivia and Annalise are a true representation of black girl magic and sisterhood; you call each other out on the others hypocrisy but you also uplift and encourage the other to excel. When Annalise was at her lowest, Olivia was at her highest, like the gladiator she is, Olivia took off her shoes and got on the floor with Annalise. Olivia has no idea how inspirational and powerful she truly is. When Michaela told Annalise about the women with power and who has a seat at the table, chills formed over my body, and I was as giddy as Michaela when she saw Olivia Pope. That’s the thing about Olivia, she has no idea just how valuable and magically she is, young black girls look to her as inspiration, someone who represents them in the world. I just wish Olivia knew how profoundly remarkable she is.

Olivia and Annalise were complete and utter magic to watch on my screen. Truly breathtaking capture of two alpha females both equally accomplished and fatally flaw, claw and scratch to reach the pinnacle that is the Supreme Court. Like many we judge others based on their outside appearance, and Olivia did the same to Annalise. In regards to Annalise, Olivia was most ruthless as Annalise created the perfect mirror to Olivia’s self.

The salon scene is a powerful moment of tv, just real brutal honesty. And for the first time we are seeing Olivia act like a person, with big rollers in her hair she’s vulnerable, with her armor off she’s laughing and conversing with the black hairstylist and Annalise until her secrets out and now she’s exposed to Annalise that she is in fact the reason why Mellie refused to support them. Both women read the other and Annalise scalped Olivia as she highlights Olivia’s own wealthy upbringing (rowan remarked this his daughter went to school with kings and queens) and attempting to think they are the same because she has black skin when Olivia has had every advantage to excel when others like Annalise had to work. But the conversation is true and real, black people and particularly black women are the most cruel to one another as we find each other to be our competition instead of seeing them as an ally. And we all have encountered a black person who acts superior to others of their own kind. Olivia is siddity and arrogant and we often criticizes Fitz’s upbringing for being rich, wealthy and white but we don’t acknowledge others own entitlement *mellie*

I thought I lived but watching Olivia Pope channel her Whitley Gilbert was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. She is so unapologetically bad and bojuee that I simply can’t. Olivia disrespected the mega bus, and bragged about her siddity ass unlimited platinum credit card and called Anna Mae a ‘broke ass’, my ass trying not to laugh at Olivia’s disrespectful ass

Why is she like this? Why do I love her as much as I can’t stand her? I just...I don’t know. Did anyone notice that this was the only time we really saw Olivia spit fire with fire? The fight was beyond brutal yet what Olivia needed to see and know about herself. Shonda is unraveling the very fabric of Olivia Pope and leaving only her core. Well done Shonda.

Olivia had no idea who Annalise was, Marcus spoke so highly of the top defense lawyer of Philly and Olivia knows nothing of her or about her. What Shonda has done is actually truly brilliant as she has exposed the parts of Olivia character that are questionable and has forced not only Olivia but ourselves to view how we treat one another and ourselves. Do we know about our black brother and sisters making the country better, or the discoveries black people have found? Marcus paints the story clear, we must come together and support one another otherwise we all fail.

Projection and deflection are powerful tools Olivia has in her arsenal that she uses in times of strife and difficulty, every time Annalise opened her mouth, Olivia would judge her and say all the things she wishes to say to herself, yet as the episode progressed we saw Olivia listening more and acting less. When Annalise recommended that she be a part of the interview and Olivia opted to share the spotlight, yes. There’s enough room for them both to shine and excel, Olivia learned a thing or two about humility and while the world was targeting her and those she loved were rooting for her to fall she soar. Olivia didn’t lie, she wasn't spinning, she owned her truth as it is her greatest weapon and changed the story back to what matters~those improperly imprisoned.

Future:

Our past is everything we was. Our present is everything we are. Our future is everything we can possible be.The more we run from our destiny the closer we are to it.

Olivia and Annalise’s first time meeting was near identical to how Olivia and Fitz first met. And as Annalise saw through Olivia’s crap, Olivia became enraged and swarmed to FItz’s office venting about Annalise and how she needs to return back to Philadelphia almost eerily similar to how Fitz told Cyrus to fire Olivia for exposing and seeing through him. Or the countless times Olivia attempted to handle and fix Annalise with Annalise mirroring FItz’s own words when Olivia tried to handle him. While this episode reintroduced us to Olivia it also reintroduced Olitz in a way that has my heart fluttering and my stomach bubbling at the possibility of them.

The more Olivia fought she failed; Mellie, Quinn, the media, “Annalise” (herself) all attempted to break someone who was honestly trying to do the right thing. Broken and down on her luck she’s clearly conflicted and upset and questioning why she even agreed to help until he walks in.

When Fitz begins to ask Olivia what’s wrong she shuts him down and he moves to leave but Olivia begins to speak and it’s there that she tells Fitz that she’s trying to be someone she no longer is, that she is no longer the person he ‘loves’ but Fitz differs again questioning Olivia as to who she is? And more importantly where in the hell is Olivia Pope?

Once again paralleling when she asked Fitz the same question (2x11). Being an outsider isn’t new to Olivia, she’s been hated by the media and others and she always sailed through the storm yet this time she can’t because she feels ineffective without her white house, and her gladiators. Those customs were such important pieces of the Olivia Pope armor that she doesn’t know how to define herself outside of them. She’s anchorless, simply floating without a sense of direction until Fitz reminds her of the person she’s always been.

When Olivia first came to Fitz for help, she told him that she needs his help to change the world and that he created this institute to make a difference and while it seemed as though Fitz wasn’t listening he very much was as he uses Olivia’s own words to inspire her to fight and remember who she is.

Saving a person doesn’t always require an emergency event. Sometimes a person just needs to see someone with a gentle heart, a pretty smile and a dash of hope to remind them of who they are. Power does not define a person’s ability to achieve. The white house is the biggest illusion power, the levels of deception of personal gains that come with acquiring that office is not something to be proud of or to gloat about. Olivia was always strong and powerful, she made the white house, the white house did not make her~it is why Mellie, Jake and Quinn worked so aimlessly to bring her down. One black woman is more fierce than an army of men. The trauma and emotional suffering she endured were not to prove her worth and strength, it was a warning. With the guilt and regret weighing heavily on her, Olivia was never truly herself until Fitz dusted her off and encouraged her to continue this pursuit of justice. That’s the thing, sometimes we don’t get what we want but we always end up getting what we need, and what Olivia needed was faith that all of this wasn’t for nothing, and that she wouldn’t have to do this alone.

Olivia tries to maintain her poise, but it has proven more difficult with each passing. Their eyes met and you can see her heart breaking and healing at the realization that despite everything she has said and done, he still sees her. For the first time in a long time, Olivia felt a tangible sensation she swore was lost long ago.

Hope.

When the time came for Olivia to meet the supreme court judge, she had the envelope to blackmail him into submission but she didn’t. With the folder in her hand Olivia gave the judge everything she had on his file, this time Olivia’s going to be honorable with hopes that the judge will be as well.

Ophelia and Olivia:

Annalise, bringing her family to D.C to watch and support her was an honest and true representation of family and more importantly of a black family something Olivai hasn’t felt nor seen since she was twelve. When their practice got cut short because Ophelia wanted Annalise to eat, Olivia saw the moment as ‘weak’ and a ‘distraction’ from the real goal but Annalise calmly and effectively told Olivia the importance of family. What is the point of this without sharing the glory with those who love and support you? This is something Olivia needed to see with her own eyes; representation, family. Rowan’s hold on Olivia is so deeply embedded in her DNA that she viewed a parents joy and happiness for their child as a sign of weakness...It’s honestly sad.

While Annalise was busy fighting the supreme court, Olivia too was fighting her own demons; family. Something she has denied herself for years. Ophelia accidentally spilled her soup on Olivia and quickly took her to restroom to help Olivia clean up the mess physically and metaphorically, call it mothers intuition but Ophelia looked at Olivia and saw right through her facade, how she’s on the tv cleaning up the man president’s problems and the female president’s problems but while cleaning everyone else’s mess she forgot about herself. Ophelia’s words mirror Maya’s but Olivia wasn’t ready at the time and she didn’t view Maya as being a mother. Clearly moved by a mothers love, Olivia grabs Ophelia’s hands and tells her ‘she’s just being a good mom.’ Take care of you first; Olivia has been the mother taking care of everyone else that she has neglected herself and now like Ophelia she’s the one with the mess.There is an attention to hope, restoration and redemption that is radiating.

By no means is Olivia magically healed, baby girl still has more work to do on herself as we all do, but as the episode comes to an end, I believe Olivia and Annalise took something from the other that rings true to the value of black girl magic. Olivia began to listen and see human contact as a strength and Annalise learned to find strength within to overcome.

As the episode comes to an end we find Olivia with her back turned talking to Fitz on the phone, we haven’t seen her smile and laugh this brightly in some time and notice the subtle change in wardrobe as the story progressed. Though Olivia has her work cut out this was mostly certainly a promising first start as Olivia begins to repair herself and her relationships.

My heart is still soaring from this episode.

Until Next Time...Muse

#scandal #olivia pope #Fitzgerald Grant #Olitz #my heart #my OTP #oh scandal you fucking with my emotions

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nezzfiction · 5 years ago

Text

Team WISE Chapter 5 - Iris (Part Three)

Series Synopsis: Ten years have passed since Team RWBY disbanded. Remnant is in the midst of its Second Great War. And while the Kingdoms wage battle and destruction against one other, a darker, more ancient threat grows in its shadow. Only a select few are willing to set aside past differences to see the greater danger Remnant faces. Only those who possess the wisdom to seek out the truth in the dark—those who are truly wise. To that end, Weiss Schnee assembles her private group of covert operatives.

This is the story of Team WISE.

Links to read the series: Ao3 or FF.net

Or hit the jump below:

Iris (Part Three)

They honor Graves.

They decorate the Royal.

And they reward the Faithful.

It was approaching night on the Saharan Front of Vacuo.

The sun was setting, and the sky dimmed a darker hue. Waving hills of sand lost their fluorescent gold, and faded to purple. And as the last rays of daylight retreated over the horizon, so too did the forces of Vacuo’s Southern Faction withdraw from the battlefield.

The Northern Tribes suffered a surprise attack during the afternoon. It was an unforgivable mistake, and their defenses paid dearly for it. To make matters worse, when they finally recovered enough to launch a counterassault, night was falling and the Southern Faction’s White Fang kited back. The Northern Tribes were at a disadvantage due to their lack of night vision. And, of course, there was the possibility the Southern Faction, which listed many Faunus in their ranks, set up an ambush should they recklessly pursue.

In the end, the Northern Tribes could only watch as their enemies retreated safely and leisurely over the hills. Defenses would have to be rebuilt, draining on what limited resources they had. There was also the body count, which received a huge blow. Their numbers, growing more and more difficult to replenish with each hit and run by the opposition.

From atop the ridge of a tall dune, a heavily cloaked figure monitored the progression of the entire battle. He purposely took caution in hiding his appearance, very few being privy to his actual whereabouts. But it was him, who commanded his forces to exhaust their enemy than fight the fair fight.

The leader of the Southern Faction’s White Fang.

Adam Taurus.

As he watched his forces retreat and glanced at the still burning remnants in the enemy settlement, a sadistic smile curled his lips.

“Have our forces rest four hours on returning to base,” he relayed his orders to his comms officer. “We’ll attack them again at night.”

The White Fang soldier nodded, and began speaking to the corresponding leaders of each division.

On their way back to their outpost, Adam continued to evaluate the strategy and the condition of the civil war as a whole.

The assassination attempt on the Northern Tribes leadership went comparatively well yesterday. They were able to eliminate some key threats with only the sacrifice of a few minor chieftains. It was a shame Sienna Khan survived. They could not have accounted for Blake and her lieutenants acting as bodyguards incognito.

Adam’s forces were performing well on the Saharan Front. They wounded the enemy and bled their enemy’s resources, while his army remained relatively unscathed. If they were lucky and their adversaries were incompetent enough, which was the case most of the time, the enemy might draw upon their exhausted forces from the Mojave Front to reinforce this position. Maybe then, he would reveal himself to Blake—and kill her once and for all.

While the idea brought some joy in its anticipation, a foreboding lingering stalked the back of his thoughts.

The current tactic was cruel and efficient, but his projections for the war were falling behind. The main reason for that was…

“Have we received new provisions from Mistral yet?” Adam asked his Logistics Officer.

The White Fang member checked his clipboard, then shook his head.

“No, sir. No shipments today either. Should I send another request?”

“This will be the fifth time already…! Remind them that if they want Vacuo as an ally, they have to make sure I win it first.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Hmmm…” Adam grunted.

What is Cinder Fall doing?

He realized thinking about it wouldn’t do much at this juncture. The man could make a big deal out of it if his requests were delayed this time. Until then, he had to maintain his army’s harassment.

“What’s the status of our forces?” he asked the returning comms officer.

“Tired, sir. Some are wounded, but most are exhausted. Especially with the surprise attack this morning and afternoon.”

“…You have something more to say?”

“They could…use more rest.”

“…Have them ready for the night raid. Four hours rest on making camp,” Adam ignored the consultation.

“I understand,” the officer nodded uneasily.

After some time passed, Adam’s army returned safely to base. Their usual small village of tents were erected on the spot around an oasis.

Tired soldiers tried to finish their remaining duties, so they could collapse onto their sleeping bags as quickly as possible. Bleary-eyed sentries took positions for first watch. Some seemed to choose to forego eating altogether, and postpone it until they woke.

…

And above the encampment, a certain cloaked airship treaded the sky.

“How are they looking, Fox?” Coco asked an update from her teammate.

The man sharpening his forearm blades replied,

“—Tired.”

It was vague, but after having worked with him so long, his teammates were able to interpret his meaning. The Aura levels of the army below them was low. Incredibly low, in fact.

Fox was Team CFEN’s radar, in a simple sense of the word. Due to his blindness, he was forced to develop a particularly high level of Aura Sense, in which he used Aura to discern his surroundings. It also allowed him to track the energy levels of others, even letting him evaluate their health conditions to a fine degree. And it was this skill, which he applied to the countless soldiers below them, that told him one other thing…

“Soft.”

The second word assessment by Fox came like the word of a hunter—or maybe, a predator.

His other teammates reacted to it with a knowing smirk.

“—Alright, brain trust,” Coco snapped, before tossing a digital map tablet to Neo and Fox. “Get to mapping their positions. I want us hitting them the same time their precious heads hit the pillows.”

She turned to Yang, who was taking apart her prosthetic to clean it. Then, putting it back together.

“The ice queen really sign off on this gig? We’re gonna leave a pretty big footprint on this one.”

“Well, if we don’t leave anyone alive, no one will ever know we were here,” Yang answered coldly.

“…”

“…Full operational impunity, Coco. Even if they did ID us, our team doesn’t work directly under Atlas anyway. Not officially.”

“True. Not like we can take the HVT without the mayhem. So, no blowback on our people?”

“Small blessings,” Yang grinned.

“That’s what I like to hear.”

At that moment, Neo handed Coco the digital map tablet. On it, an accurate layout of the camp with marked soldiers displayed on its surface. And in the center of the formation, was their main objective signed with a red skull.

“Alright, then,” Coco called her team’s attention, while mentally making custom small changes to their plan. “No major discrepancies from the drawing board. We run it like rehearsal. Get ready, get evil.”

“We drop in five.”

X X X X X

In the main officer’s tent, Adam had barely closed his eyes for a second. Then, all of a sudden, chaos sounded all around him.

He exited the door flap to see what was going on, only to find soldiers rushing in every direction.

The night sky was full of high sparkling flares, which lit up their encampment like it was day. There were fires and explosions all around the perimeter. And as if the surprise attack wasn’t causing enough disorder, there was also a high frequency ring that caused consternation to their Faunus soldiers. Also, a foul-smelling gas permeated the air, which did a number on those with keen noses.

Adam coughed with tears in his eyes. His heightened senses were assaulted on every front.

What the hell is going on?!

He tried to get a hold of one of his officers in charge, but found their communications jammed.

Damn it!

They know what they’re doing, whoever the hell this is!

Adam began shouting to his soldiers nearby, trying to bring order to his subordinates’ panic.

…

From a distance away, laying prone in the sand, a dark group of individuals peeked just over a sand dune. Their binoculars focused on the settlement ripe with chaos.

The leader of the pack went quickly to identifying the perpetrators of the attack. A certain woman seemed to blink in and out of the air, driving an icepick thin blade through key officers. A man made quick work of some figures, spilling their intestines on the ground or opening their esophagus. Another woman switched between several heavy weapons to fill bodies with bullet holes. And a particular individual, smashed through several armored stations with nothing but her fists, leaving a swath of destruction in her wake.

There were only four in all, and an impressive amount of damage caused between. They joined together, executed combos interchangeably, then split apart with perfect precision. It was a hybrid performance of both solo and coordinated movements. A deadly flow only few teams in the world could probably pull off.

Mercury Black hailed his allies through a relay of secure communication lines.

“—Mercury, report,” Cinder Fall’s voice came from the other end.

“They’re here. The White Queen’s favorite pipe-hitters, including the one-arm wonder,” Mercury said.

“I see. So, the one called Ember is finally getting here revenge after all these years. I knew Tyrian would break.”

“What should we do, boss?”

“……The status of Blake Belladonna?”

“She disappeared for a day, came back around the afternoon. No other changes.”

“Hm.”

Mercury could hear Cinder tapping on her desk in thought.

“…It seems our joint enterprise with Adam Taurus has reached a most disappointing conclusion.”

He understood what the statement meant.

“Copy that,” Mercury shrugged indifferently. “And the surveillance on Belladonna?”

“She returned, you said… Resume recon. In the instance she disappears again, do try to keep track of her this time.”

“Easier said than done without being seen.”

“That will be all. Keep monitoring the situation, and report the aftermath.”

“Roger that.”

The line went dead, and Mercury gave a tired sigh.

“Hahhh, what a slave driver.”

The man continued to peer through his binoculars, once in a while gnawing on a food ration snack. He watched the massacre, like he was watching one of his favorite shows. And then, a depraved smile appeared on his lips.

“Sucks, buddy. But sometimes, when you gotta go—”

“—You gotta go.”

X X X X X

On Adam’s right, the soldier had his chest cavity opened with a cross-slash. On his left, a woman’s head was blown clean off with a single shot.

One White Fang lieutenant moved in front of the leader, probably trying to shield him from what came next. His body was large and the chainsaw in his hands was massive.

“—Hollow Point.”

On Coco’s order, a blazing yellow figure dashed in front of the giant Faunus. Neo laced Yang’s fist with pointed glass, while she entered the man’s guard.

The lieutenant swung his rippling chainsaw across, but Yang dipped her head below it. Then, with her crystal encrusted fist, snapped a vicious liver blow to the body. On piercing the skin, the glass shattered, sending countless shards tearing through inner organs. Some of the shrapnel cut so sharp, blades popped out the other sides of the body.

The White Fang lieutenant collapsed to his knees first, then his face hit the dirt.

The flares in the sky gave out. Nothing but the fiery remains of the army and their tents gave visibility to the four figures before Adam.

The man stepped inadvertently back.

“—Hey, asshole,” Yang greeted casually. “Long time no see.”

“You…!” Adam gritted his teeth with recognition.

“Yeah, me. Shoulda killed me when you had the chance~♪”

“……Coward. This is the only way you Humans can fight. Always underhanded, without a speck of honor!”

To the insult, Team CFEN only stared as if to say, “Like you have any right to talk”. They glanced to each other, before focusing on the one whose vendetta this belonged to.

“Well, I guess that’s true. We did kinda do him dirty,” Yang brandished an easygoing smirk. “So, let’s do this nice and fair. Mano-e-mano. No help, no handicaps.”

Adam had to fight down the smile from showing in his face. His opponent took his bait. But then, there were also the woman’s teammates to watch out for.

Fortunately for him, the rest of Team CFEN took some steps back. Even Neo postured herself on the dead corpse of the White Fang Lieutenant. The other three all but communicated their intention to simply let the duel proceed without interruption. Something Yang probably requested beforehand.

Adam lowered his body into his signature iaido stance. A menacing bloodlust leaked from the stillness of his sword-drawing form.

He recalled Yang’s data and Semblance. Adam’s technique was its perfect opposite when applied correctly. He wouldn’t give Yang the chance to build her energy from his attacks. The swordsman would end it with a single move, one fatal swing of his blade.

Yang cracked her knuckles challengingly. The previous glow of her hair was nonexistent, giving muteness to her Semblance. But the red of her eyes seemed to glint something hungry.

The woman lowered into her own fighting stance. Her boots ground into the rough sand and dirt. The right of her armed prosthetic drew back, while the left stretched out to lead.

All was still in the tense atmosphere. Every crackle of fire was like thunder in a brewing storm. The contest of wills built until its pinnacle moment.

Then, a burning tent collapsed under the strain, giving signal to their duel.

Simultaneous explosions occurred as both combatants kicked off the ground. They pulled the triggers on their respective weapons, which propelled them with a shock and a bang. The space between them was a mere ten paces, but it served as enough momentum for their clash.

Despite the great force produced by both, only one side would bear the suffering of catastrophic ruin.

The moment Adam drew his sword barely out from its sheathe, a few trace flames licked up and down Yang’s arm. The woman’s gold mane burned a scorching crimson.

At the same time Adam was caught off-guard by the surprise appearance of Yang’s Semblance, the boxer bypassed the man’s sword range. Her arm pitched forth like a howling star, connecting her knuckles with Adam’s own.

Caught between burning steel and the hilt of his blade, the swordsman’s hand was crushed. The impact of the clash sent him crumpling to the ground. His katana flew through the air with some parts of his crushed fingers.

“GRAAAGGHHH!!!” Adam painfully sprawled in anguish, grasping his twisted appendage to his body. “How…?! How did you—”

“My Semblance hasn’t worked that way for a loooong time,” Yang gloated, swaggering towards him with a triumphant strut.

With an uncanny movement, Adam picked his sword off the ground with his remaining hand, and swung it…

But Yang caught it with ease. And with a violent motion, ripped it from his grasp like taking it from a child.

“Okay, this is getting pathetic.”

“I’LL KILL YOU!!!” Adam frothed. “I SWEAR, I’LL KILL YOU!!!”

“Huh, no wonder you lost. Should’ve known you never had it in you—not the real stuff anyway.”

“I WILL DESTROY YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU LOVE! My rage will never stop! You’ll never escape me!!!”

“HAHAHA!” Yang cackled. “Your Rage?”

She used Adam’s sword to peel off the man’s White Fang mask. The scar of “S.D.C.” branded on his eye was revealed.

“Your cause, your beliefs?” Yang continued. “They’re nothing but an excuse for you to throw your tantrum,” she growled low. “You think you own Rage? Adam… Your hate doesn’t even burn.”

The woman strode to him with ominous steps. Adam felt his soul culled, as he struggled to crawl away. But an unforgiving hand clasped hard around his throat, forcing him to turn around.

“Look at me…!”

Above him, was the crimson inferno of hate personified. Yang bore down on him with eyes of accursed stars. Her hair stoked with unfettering embers.

“My Rage is my Semblance. It lets me run cold, and it also burns me from the inside out,” she breathed, with plumes of flame. “And I saved a lot of it, just for today…”

Adam tried to look away again, but Yang smacked him across the face one way, then back the other. She hoisted him up, single-handed like a dangling ragdoll.

“Any last words?” she asked.

“………Please…!”

“Nope.”

Yang sank a fiery fist through Adam’s heart, and rested it there. With a violent twist of her wrist, she unloaded a special thermite charge, which sparked a conflagration in the man’s chest. His insides began to melt like lava, while Yang’s Semblance burned, slow but sure.

“I owned my scars, but you tried to hide yours behind a mask,” she muttered disappointedly. “My anger could never lose to yours.”

As the lights dimmed in Adam’s sight, he remembered something told to him long ago.

“I pity you,” the voice said. “One day, your so-called Rage will fail you. Because you don’t have it. The fire that comes from a pain so hard and so deep, it defines you.”

Adam tried to reach out to that person. The only one who could possibly save him.

“Pray the day never comes,” Raven Branwen said, over her shoulder. “This is farewell, my old apprentice.”

…

The remnants of Adam’s body collapsed. Nothing but ash and dying embers at the end of Yang’s outstretched hand. And with a violent swipe of her foot, scattered the remains of his existence into the desert winds.

“A coffin’s too good for you, Adam. I already forgot who you were,” Yang spat.

Suddenly, a voice came over her in-ear radio.

“—That was certainly dramatic.”

“You were watching? That’s naughty.”

“…We’re on a private channel,” Weiss cautioned. “Tell me how the others are reacting.”

“Hm?” Yang wasn’t sure the reason, but did as she was told. “They look the same as ever,” she whispered, while glancing at her teammates. “Why…was someone supposed to stop me?”

The line went quiet for a second.

“……I’ll explain later. Keep a close eye on them, report any changes. Withdraw immediately.”

“Alright,” Yang grunted. “On our way back.”

After the line cut, the woman could only imagine what that private conversation was about. But for now, she wanted to take a little peace in what she just finished. It’s not everyday someone gets to settle a decade-old grudge after all.

“—You done savoring the moment, hot rod?” Coco asked, with a roguish grin.

Yang inhaled and nodded.

“Moment, savored. Let’s bug out, and get plastered.”

Coco tapped her radio.

“Penny, we are ready for pickup. I repeat,”

“Get us out of this sandbox.”

X X X X X

It was early morning the next day, when a small party was held in Team CFEN’s private hangar. The members drank, talked, and played a few games. It was a tradition they enjoyed after completing missions, especially satisfying ones. And the successful assassination of Adam Taurus counted among that.

“Oh!” Coco responded to the vibrating scroll in her pocket. “It’s a message from Vel.”

Fox and Yang perked up at that.

“How is she today?” Yang asked.

“She’s doin’ alright. Rehabs still a bitch. Wondering where I am and what I’m doing, always worrying.”

“Aw, cute.”

“Shut up.”

“Winter said we’re doing a cycle in Atlas. Good time for us to pay a visit?”

Coco smiled wryly, appreciating the sentiment itself.

“Thanks, guys.” She instinctively included Fox, who was giving her the same look as Yang. “I…just don’t know if she’s ready for it yet.”

“No problem,” Yang nodded with understanding.

“Hey! Speaking of babes, Neo! You gonna show us some pictures of yours, or what?”

The silent woman took out her scroll, and began showing a number of pictures proudly to her team. Laughter and awe sounds cascaded the walls of the hangar.

Meanwhile, watching the gathering below, two figures leaned on the railing of the second-floor walkway.

“—They’re impressive. Team CFEN,” Ruby commented, with her own drink in hand.

“They’ve been trained to manage much bigger threats and combat more formidable enemies than Adam Taurus,” Weiss replied.

“Like the Maidens and Salem…”

“Yes.”

“And Relics, and tougher swordsmen, like Raven Branwen.”

“Yes…”

Ruby stared at her partner a little.

“So why do you need Team WISE?”

“…”

“Weiss?”

Weiss suddenly took out her scroll, which notified her of something.

“…It looks like Iris has arrived. I wonder what might have brought this on so soon after she left,” she feigned amusement.

The doors to the hangar opened, and a dark figure came stalking through the room. Her shoes falling hard on the metal surface, making everyone known of her arrival.

“WEISS! YANG!” Blake shouted with anger.

“Oh, geez. Party pooper’s here,” Yang drunkenly chuckled with her nth beer in hand.

As Blake was about to run at her, a scarlet cape fluttered between them. Ruby started holding her friend back as much as she could.

“It was you, wasn’t it?!” Blake accused, while trying to get through. “Your team was responsible for the attack last night! You were the ones who killed Adam!”

“—Uh, you’re welcome?” Coco tilted her head quizzically.

“Am I supposed to be grateful?!”

“Kinda expected it, yeah, to be honest. Also, long time no see, kitty cat.”

“YANG!”

“—Mmm… Am I drunk enough to do this?” Yang eyed her beer bottle, and chugged what remained. “Yup. I’m game.”

As the woman was about to engage from the other side, it was Weiss who dropped in her way.

“I won’t allow any fighting like this,” she stopped coolly.

“Serious? Come ON, it’ll be fun—”

“No. That’s an order. Stand down.”

Yang traded death stares for a second, before casually knitting her hands around the back of her head.

“Boooo~!”

“—Damn it!” Blake still struggled to free herself from Ruby. “You can’t just come here, doing whatever you want, taking things into your own hands!!! There are consequences!!!”

“Yeah, like getting a loud complaint from the fun police…”

“If you just solve everything this way, you’re no better than Adam!”

“I don’t even know who that is.”

“YANG!!!”

“—Enough!” Weiss’s voice pierced them both.

Her calm and frosty demeanor enforced her stance.

“This is what we do, Blake. We see the wisdom in the moves to be made, and we take the measures which need taking. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“That can’t justify everything…!”

“It justifies enough.”

“You know the long-term problems you’ve caused! The Southern Tribes aren’t going to give up just because Adam is dead! You turned him into a martyr!”

“Vacuo’s civil war will end.”

“The Kingdom is more divided than ever! More Faunus from the North are converting to the South by the second!”

“And with enough unrest, Vacuo will have no choice but to split into two separate states.”

“…!” Blake shook her head in disbelief. “You planned for that, too…”

“Somewhat.”

“You left the Kingdom worse than it was! It’ll take years to recover, maybe even centuries before they’re willing to unite again!!!”

“We stopped them from self-destructing, and from you dying with them.”

“You’re still trying to recruit me…! After EVERYTHING you’ve done?!”

“Join and add your counsel.”

“What?!”

“If you hate what we do so much, help us do better. Join the team. Otherwise, there’s no grounds for your opinion to be heard.”

“…I don’t have a choice, do I…?!” Blake growled with displeasure. “You’ll keep interfering with Vacuo.”

“With or without you. But with you, we can intervene only as you deem fit.”

Blake finally stopped trying to push Ruby out of the way. The rising and falling of her shoulders slowed. Her glare still fixed on the silver-haired woman, the target of her righteous ire.

“Congratulations, Weiss,” Blake seethed with her forging pact.

“…”

“You’ve become everything you ever hated—but at least, you have your team.”

“…”

“Your sister would be ashamed of you.”

Immediately, Team CFEN tensed and moved from their passive spectating. Ruby shoved Blake back, upsettingly shaking her head, like the woman had gone too far. And Yang particularly, burned with the fierce Aura of her Semblance, readying to throw a punch.

But all hostilities ceased, when Weiss raised a hand to stop them.

“I see,” she gave a short reply. “Welcome to Team WISE—”

“Iris.”

X X X X X

In Weiss’s private chambers, an angry Yang pinned her against the wall.

“What the hell are you thinking…?!” she snarled.

“I’m thinking, I successfully recruited the last member of our team,” Weiss simply answered.

“Blake is the last person we need! And again, I find myself wondering: Why do we need Team WISE? CFEN just kicked ass, if you weren’t paying attention—except you were, ‘cause I heard you in my ear after I turned Adam into grey mist. So, what the shit?!”

“…Team WISE is essential to our operations going forward. Blake is essential to Team WISE; thus, the logic follows.”

“Bullshit!” Yang punched the wall. “You don’t keep me on the outs! Tell me the real reason NOW!”

“…”

“I deserve to know. I was there for everything. Suddenly, you’re going to start keeping secrets from me?”

“I was planning to tell you tomorrow, when you were more sober, but I can tell you today if you like.”

“Now’s good.”

For a moment, Weiss closed her eyes in thought. Her chest expanded and shrunk with her exhale. Yang’s gaze dropped slightly, before righting again.

“I intercepted a coded message from someone with access to the team’s private network,” Weiss explained. “It was being sent to Cinder Fall.”

“……Someone on the team is a spy?”

“Yes. Now, you know.”

“That’s why you had me read the others, after I dusted Adam.”

“It was a test of sorts.”

“You had me bait a trap.”

“I knew whatever happened, you would survive.”

Yang made an amused expression, while Weiss returned a heavily diluted version of it.

“Hahhh, that is a reason not to lean on Team CFEN, I guess,” the woman admitted. “But how sure, are you?”

“I’m sure,” Weiss flatly confirmed.

“Any ideas on who it is?”

“I have my suspicions.”

“…Don’t we already know? It’s kind of obvious, right?”

“Things aren’t always what they seem. It could be any of them. The only one I’m sure it isn’t, is you.”

“Aw.”

“Shut it.”

They both went silent. Weiss planned to let Yang take as much time as she needed to process. A few times, a hissed word of “shit” escaped her.

“Okay…” Yang worded slowly. “But even if Team CFEN is compromised, you and I could always take up the work. We’re more than enough.”

“We are not. That is why I am recruiting,” Weiss disapproved.

“Right! Because we’re going to be SO much more effective with Blake Dysfunctionallona on our team.”

“…That wasn’t your best pun.”

“I’m still a little drunk. Sue me.”

“Blake Belladonna is a commander of the White Fang and has led her armies to victory against impossible odds.”

“I read the file…”

“Ruby Rose is the youngest Vice Headmaster Beacon Academy has ever had, and is a veteran Huntress, who’s slain some of the deadliest Grimm to roam Remnant.”

“That’s up for debate.”

“Inform me, Yang. Who else can we trust, recruit readily, and who possess the same pedigree as those two?”

“………Fuuuuuuuuck~”

“I’m relieved you see my point,” Weiss crossed her arms, signaling her victory in the argument.

“Everything’s gonna really suck now, isn’t it?”

“The most trying times are to come. Building this team took long enough. We must start operating as soon as possible.”

“After our shore leave in Atlas, right?”

“…”

In response to Weiss’s dead stare, Yang covered her face in her hand.

“We have work in Atlas?! Ahhh! Well, my buzz is killed.”

“I’m so sorry that’s the case,” Weiss replied in monotone.

…

As Yang’s mood worsened, she pressed her head into Weiss’s shoulder. From there, she began nibbling the other woman’s exposed neck and collar.

“No.” Weiss’s cold fingers went to block Yang’s lips from going any further. “This isn’t the time.”

“How? We’re on autopilot for what’s supposed to be a two-day flight, at least. How is there not time?”

“Despite what your assumptions may be, fulfilling the roles of brigadier general for the Atlesian Fleet and running our teams’ operations is a time-consuming effort.”

“Aren’t you just afraid of Ruby finding out?”

“About, what? Our fling?”

“A fling? Is that what you wanna call this?” Yang questioned.

“We took comfort in each other during a vulnerable moment. It’s hardly more than a one-night stand.”

“Yeah, except one-night stands don’t last more than one night.”

“…”

“Or a few years.”

“…”

“Or semi-current until you shipped me off for that undercover prison op.”

“…Do you have a point to make?”

“…”

Yang slid her arms down and held Weiss close.

“You really mean that?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t have said it, if I didn’t mean it.”

“………Okay.”

Yang let go abruptly, and left the room. A few seconds later, Weiss heard a loud bang come from outside the halls.

…

Alone in her chambers, Weiss felt sadness seep in. No matter what walls she tried to erect to keep them at bay, the sorrow and regret seeped through. Weiss had half a mind to go after her.

“Yang…”

Then, pain wracked her thoughts. Memories which didn’t belong to her threatened to drive her mad. Countless screams and a collapsing world harassed every shred of consciousness. Her Aura fluctuated as if to consume her from the inside.

Remember…

Remember…!

Don’t forget!

WINTER!

X X X X X

It was a day since the Nautilus docked at one of Atlas’s secret hangars.

While many of the team members went their different ways, spending their shore leave however they liked, one did not do so easily.

She descended the spiraling staircase on her floating Glyph. A place deeper than anywhere in Remnant swallowed her up. Down and down she went, like falling slowly into the endless abyss.

When she reached the bottom, Weiss could sense a presence in the pitch-black darkness.

“—Adam Taurus’s passing was rather untimely,” a voice called to her from the shadows.

Weiss knew this person heard echoes from the outside world, despite their isolation. Regardless, it was still a disturbing feat.

“…His death was a necessary one.”

“Hm. A wise course of action,” the old woman commented. “Though I can’t imagine you did Vacuo any favors by ending him so prematurely.”

“Time is of the essence.”

“It always is, isn’t it?”

“Where is the Spring Maiden?”

“Wouldn’t we like to know?”

“Where is the Spring Maiden?!” Weiss pressed harder. “Where is her Relic?!”

“Follow the bread crumbs… But what bread crumbs, when they’ve all been eaten away?”

Weiss lost her temper, and cast light from her Myrtenaster. The sword’s shine illuminated the chained figure, as she grasped the prisoner’s hair.

“Where is the Raven Branwen?! Answer me, Salem!!”

The decrepit Witch only laughed madly in response. The oversized chains binding her neck and limbs jangled unpleasantly loud.

“Where is the Relic?!” Weiss bared her emotions.

“Where is Famine?!”

#rwby #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #Blake Belladonna #ruby rose #rwby fanfiction #rwby au #freezerburn #Team WISE

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texanredrose · 8 years ago

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Based off a suggestion from Salty Crusader on the RarePair Rave discord. (@cass-burger, could you blease send him the link? Thanks!), with our monochrome duo on a partner swap mission where things go awry. Consider this the ‘governments actually use anti-virus software’ AU, where Cinder’s plan is thwarted by the mundane, routine check of Atlas’ systems and nothing big and bad happens. (Also, yes, I’m aware I probably have a few mistakes in this; I’ll clean it up when possible.) Honestly, this is just Blake being a dork and Weiss being extra, as usual.

Blake bit her lip, trying her hardest to bite back and swallow down the question on her tongue. However, despite how many times she'd already asked, it left her lips once again. "Weiss-"

"For the last- urk- time, Belladonna- hmph- I'm not- huh- I'm not leaving you- shit- behind!" Every labored breath grated on all four of her ears and made her chest tightened as she did everything in her power not to move. The last thing she wanted to do was make things more difficult for the young woman carrying her. "That’s- ugh- final!"

The Faunus sighed, ears straining against her bow as they tried to lay back against her skull in contrition. Three years into their Huntress training, one would think she'd have the foresight to keep better track of her position when dealing with a bed of King Taijitu, but her concentration had slipped ever so slightly. Before she knew it, her right leg was clamped between one head's powerful jaws and she was thrown about, knocking into trees and boulders, wearing down her already depleted aura.

Their week long mission through the Emerald Forest, clearing out the Grimm that had encroached on Vale's boarders in preparation for the first years' trial in a few months time, had put both of them through the wringer, with the infestation much worse than it had been in years past. As an added challenge, the third year students had swapped partners, putting their skills to the test in a fashion they seldom exercised during their usual classes. For the most part, this didn't upset the balance Team RWBY had established over their time together; Yang's brute strength coupled with Ruby's speed made the sisters a deadly pair, and Weiss and Blake had learned to move to a new rhythm together, their swords sailing through the air as two halves to a whole threat.

However, they'd run into trouble early on with a pack of alpha Beowolves, and the combination of greater numbers with more cunning adversaries meant they couldn't recuperate, couldn't replenish the energy nearly as quickly as they expended it. Add to that a split second of distraction- really, if it hadn't been for the white Nevermore Weiss summoned, Blake would probably be much worse off than a simple broken leg and some bruised ribs.

Careful not to hinder the woman's trudging pace in any way, Blake looked down at her wounded leg, bound in a makeshift splint by wood and fabric ripped from the formerly white jacket Weiss wore, now soiled almost beyond salvation by dirt and the smokey remnants of downed Grimm. More strips from the woman's jacket were wrapped around her arms, staunching the bleeding that resulted form being tossed around without her aura to protect her- dull aches but nothing life threatening. Moving on her own, though, wouldn't be possible in her condition, and she'd tried her very best to argue that Weiss should leave her in the cleared out cave, where she could at least deter any wandering Grimm from a decently defensible position.

Apparently, she must've hit her head as well, because she honestly thought she could win an argument against the resident heiress of Beacon.

"A break?" She suggested, feigning that it was her intention initially to ask that. "Is a break too much to ask?"

Although it took a moment, the woman's gait slowed until she finally came to a stop, allowing Blake to feel the trembling in muscled far overtaxed with exertion. They were still at least a click from the extraction point with no signs of their teammates or anyone else. If only their scrolls hadn't gotten damaged during that first ambush, if they hadn't stubbornly thought they could complete the mission without the communications devices in hand- so many fleeting regrets that wouldn't serve them any good now.

"Fine. A break." Changing course, Weiss managed to make it to a large tree, carefully shifting their combined weight until the Faunus could get her good foot under her, the iron grip on her wrist released so they could disengage completely. Being carried slung across the woman's shoulders wasn't dignified in the slightest, but it kept a hand free for each of them, which meant Gambol Shroud and Myrtenaster could both be brought to bear, were they to encounter trouble.

Although she could probably managed just fine on her own, Weiss helped her sit down with her back to the tree. Truthfully, aside from the change in position, sitting down didn't offer much benefit. Her leg throbbed angrily with the change in direction, radiating from the point of the break despite the immobilizing splint, but she didn't suggest the stop for her sake. Instead, amber eyes fell on her teammate's form as the woman paced around a little, trying to subtly work out the cramps in her legs and back. It also helped hide the faint tremble, her muscles obviously fatigued- Blake grimaced at the thought of how sore the woman would be once this was all over.

Their relationship had changed drastically over the course of their years at Beacon. At first, they were more enemies than friends, arguing and fighting until the fateful day she'd spoken without thinking, revealing her heritage to the stunned young women in their dorm room. A few days and a completely thrashed shipyard later, Weiss acted like their previous differences didn't matter at all, that they could be teammates. She hadn't quite believed a few words were all it took to wash away years of bad blood, but she was willing to try. And to her surprise, it went much better than she could've imagined; after the docks incident, Weiss did almost a complete one-eighty- well, by her standards, of course, because there weren't enough good intentions in the world to dull the bite of her cutting replies- and either supported or questioned the Faunus on anything regarding her people, absent the clear disdain she'd shown just before their first appearance in the Vytal tournament. She still made mistakes from time to time but she got better, more open, and Blake, in turn, learned a bit more about the woman's home life. She'd always assumed that the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, the most powerful corporation in Remnant, would want for nothing her entire life.

She was very wrong.

"It shouldn't be too much farther now." Blue eyes scanned the horizon, picking out the distinct jutting of the cliff in the distance that served as their only landmark. "A quick rest and we'll be on our way."

"We're close enough now," she said, bracing against the sharp look leveled at her. "If you go on ahead-"

"Blake Belladonna, so help me Maidens, I will find a way to glyph your mouth shut if you make that suggestion one more time." Weiss scowled, glancing at the cliff briefly. "We began this mission together and we will end it together. I'll not have it said that I left- that I left a teammate behind. Am I clear?"

Well, that went about as well as every other attempt to make the suggestion, so she couldn't even feign surprise. Instead, she leaned her head back against the tree and sighed, eyes closing as she tried to mentally work out whether reaching the rendezvous point was even feasible, considering their condition.

"Blake." She opened one eye to see the woman as she took a step forward, crouching down until they were on eye level with each other. The Faunus could see something glinting in her teammate's eyes, words she wanted to say but wouldn't. "How's your leg?"

That wasn't it but they both silently agreed to pretend like it was. "Still hurts, but I guess that's a good thing."

Carefully, Weiss checked the splint and the bandages- thankfully, she'd somehow avoided a compound fracture, but she probably wouldn't be able to move around without the aid of a crutch or cane for a week at best- and stood, nodding to herself.

The whole while the Faunus watched, she could feel the sour tint to her mood worsen. Even if she wasn't in the best condition following their run-in with the lats batch of Grimm, she could plainly see the cuts and scrapes along Weiss' skin that she'd purposefully held back her aura from healing. They were both running low on energy and strength and the fact she couldn't return the favor, ensure the woman's wounds were as inconsequential as she suggested, burned her.

Reciprocity, it turned out, proved to be the foundations of their bond as teammates and friends. The more Blake spoke of the early days of the White Fang, of the mines and the camps, of leaving Menagerie and joining Adam, of rejecting his methods and her struggle to survive until Beacon, the more she learned about the Schnee heiress, the perfect princess who grew up in an expansive, cold castle with nothing more than impossible goals to keep her company, facing down tests and trials of her own. Because if the man who currently sat at the head of such a corrupt company could be so cold and cruel to an entire people for the sake of his pocketbook, what really made anyone think he would be kind to his own flesh and blood? But she never tried to compare or liken her childhood to the plight of the Faunus- she'd learned her lesson in that regard. A difficult childhood, she'd said, produced a difficult child, but she aimed to 'grow up' and thanks Blake for her help in that matter. But it went both ways; even if most humans at Beacon didn't outright discriminate against Faunus, few stood against it vocally or visibly the way Weiss started to towards the end of that first year. She seemed determined to go out on her terms, if she ended up not being able to return to Beacon at all.

When Weiss was cut off from the family accounts during that first tournament, the entire team thought things might change dramatically. After all, what would the woman do without the one constant she'd had her whole life? And the ultimatum that followed didn't bolster their confidence any, especially after seeing how abrasive Winter- eldest of the Schnee children- could be normally. But they'd underestimated just how stubborn Weiss could be and how much she emulated her elder sister, who diverted from their father's path and found her own way in the world. After the break following their first year, Weiss returned to the school grounds with just a single suitcase and her sword. No more cold mansion, no more demanding father, and no more money, but Blake vividly recalled the smile on the woman's face when she'd seen her teammates and proudly announced herself entirely divested of the title 'heiress'.

They'd spent that second year bonding even further as a team, growing closer on missions and while trying to stay awake during classes, bent over homework or cleaning their respective weapons. Free of the burden of her family's name, Weiss blossomed into a much kinder- if still blunt and occasionally narrow minded- person. Likewise, the Faunus liked to think that, without the weight of hiding her past and heritage from her closest friends, she'd become more open with them, less inclined to deflect or hide away what she felt and thought.

Of course... that didn't quite apply to everything.

"Blake?" She looked up as Weiss hurried over- well, nearly stumbled would be more apt. "Are you alright? Have you lost too much blood?"

"No?" She raised a brow. "Why do you ask?"

"You're sitting there with a broken leg and a smile; I'm fairly certain those two things are mutually exclusive in all but cases of severe blood loss," the woman replied, a worried crease to your brow.

Now that she'd mentioned it, the pain had lessened, either from her brain blocking out the nerve signals or numbness. She couldn't be sure which. "I was just thinking of a happy memory. No cause for alarm."

With suspicion shining brightly in her eyes, Weiss shook her head. "We need to get moving again. You need the medical attention."

She wanted to argue some more, maybe bait the woman into a rant, but it would do neither of them any good at this point. Especially with Myrtenaster's tip pointed at the ground, a familiar glyph appearing a few short feet away. In a flash of light, Weiss' summoned knight appeared, kneeling down to acknowledge the woman before turning its sights on Blake.

"Weiss?" Although an extremely useful skill in battle, the summoning of former enemies was still a new aspect to Weiss' fighting style, having only truly manifested towards the end of last year. That didn't make it any easier to accept the ten foot tall, gleaming white knight that stood and walked over to the tree, kneeling beside her. The pinpricks of blue set deep into the visor always worried her, because the light there seemed more than just a projection, as if it was... alive, in a way.

"We were too far away before; I wasn't sure I could maintain the summon." The knight reached out with its unoccupied hand while Weiss came around to help her move into leaning against the summon's arm. "This should make the remainder of the trip much quicker."

Amber eyes darted to the sky, beginning to tinge orange with the setting sun. "Good idea."

Seated in the crook of the knight's elbow and pulled tight against its chest, Blake grabbed onto its breastplate and it stood and turned, heading towards the cliffs with Weiss trailing behind them. Despite the knight's cumbersome size, it could move at a surprisingly quick pace, the looming cliffside drawing closer with every step.

Unfortunately, this meant the Faunus couldn't see Weiss, nor could she heard the woman's softer gait over the knight's heavy tread.

Blake bit her lip, debating on calling out to ask for her teammate to walk beside the summon or in front- somewhere the Faunus could see or hear her moving. It would be foolish, though; Weiss and her summons always shared a bond, moving as if they were one entity. Without the knight setting the pace, they wouldn't move as quickly, and she could imagine every point and counterpoint to exist in that impending argument, which she would lose simply because she couldn't think of nearly as good a reason to request the change as the truth, which she couldn't say, either.

Surreal as it seemed, Weiss wasn't the cold, spoiled brat she appeared to be when they first met three years ago, and she wasn't the same jaded Faunus, either. They'd grown together, relearned how to trust, and while their respective partners were big factors in that development, it didn't deepen the bonds the partners shared quite as much as between the former ideological enemies. When Blake wanted to unwind with a book, she could count on Yang to try and coax her out into the city- a park somewhere, which would be outdoors enough for the blonde but not as quiet as the Faunus preferred- on Ruby to try and either get invested in the book as well or leave her to her own devices, and Weiss to exist in the same space without making too much noise and engrossed in her own quiet task. Coexisting with the woman, after their initial unpleasantness subsided, was easy as breathing, and they shared many interests if not the same taste.

Lately, Blake had started wondering if, perhaps, there was a reason for that. Her mother asking if anyone caught her eye during her days at Beacon probably contributed to the thought that maybe... well, Weiss was intelligent, with a quick wit and a sharp tongue, and while her outlook on several issues had changed and evolved over time, her core beliefs remained as solid as ever. Graceful when she fought, thoughtful in her interactions, able to switch between a cool placid lake and a fiery volcano in the blink of an eye, and just...

The Faunus sighed, slumping slightly against the knight's arm. She quite possibly had developed a bit of a crush on the woman in the past several months. There really existed no better explanation for why she got so excited about a simple partner swap assignment in the Emerald Forest, or why she'd gotten surprised by the King Taijitu in the first place- she'd gotten distracted, watching as Weiss wove her way through the four lunging heads and slicing into them with the same ease as one might cut through butter wielding a hot knife, making the whole battle seem like a dance. Even tired, dirty, and drained, Weiss looked stunning, poetry in motion- she'd never seen anything half as beautiful.

Suddenly, the knight shifted, the hand holding its longsword switching to a backwards grip and allowing the tip to drag through the dirt.

"Weiss?"

"Just... marking the path." She could hear the slightly breathless quality to the woman's voice, as if the exertion of the day was finally catching up to her. "That bed might become a hot spot next time. Easier to find this way."

Reluctantly accepting the explanation- she had seen Weiss summoning the odd glyph now and then earlier, and summoning more glyphs would likely break her concentration- Blake settled back against the summon's arm, noting those pinpricks of blue light watching her for a moment before looking forward again. Honestly, aside from the strange sensation of the... light... that constituted the knight's physical form pressing against her, like electricity barely contained behind glass, she might be able to fall asleep to its gentle and steady pace. Everything hurt, a dull throb that radiated from her leg and seemed to bounce around every joint, calling her to sleep- she might've even drifted off, briefly, but found herself startled wide awake when the knight's stride faltered.

It caught itself and kept going, dragging its sword and carrying her without difficulty, yet she could sense something was wrong. It didn't feel the same as before, as if the energy was fading, and a glance up proved that little flakes of the summon were breaking off and drifting away, disappearing into nothingness. She'd seen enough of Weiss' summoned allies disperse to realize the knight wouldn't remain a physical construct much longer, but rather than be concerned by her impending fall, she called out.

"Weiss?" She struggled, trying to get a grip on the smooth white armor to no avail, unable to turn her hips enough to use her good leg for leverage. "Weiss?" No answer came from behind the knight as it started to stagger. "Weiss!"

"Blake!" She turned, catching sight of the rendezvous point and several of her classmates standing around, waiting for the missing members of their teams to return. Of their number, she could pick out Yang and Ruby easily, running towards her in the orange glow of the setting sun. Her partner was the one to call out, a wide smile on her lips that could be seen even from the several meters between them as the summon staggered out of the brush. "You okay?"

"Weiss is hurt!" She yelled out, trying to motion around the knight's bulky frame. "Keep going! Find her!"

Yang slowed down, brow furrowing in confusion, but Ruby heard loud and clear, turning into a red blur as she raced past the collapsing summon to find their missing teammate. The knight had the presence to kneel down, extending its arm so she could be transferred to Yang before more of it broke off, turning into little white specks. The blonde grunted when her shoulder collided with the woman's chest a bit more forcefully than any of them intended, but she managed to keep from hitting the splint when she curled her arms up, taking the Faunus' weight away from the summon as it dispersed entirely.

"Whoa, Blakey, you two have a rough time or what?" Worried lilac eyes looked her up and down before the brawler turned on heel, marching back to where the others stood, confusion turning to startled shouts for medical attention.

"Yang, we have to go back, Weiss is out there-" Once again, Blake tried worming her way out of the arms holding her, but she simply lacked the strength at this point.

"Ruby'll find her." Four people rushed past, looking to follow the line left by the knight's sword. "And Team JNPR will bring them back, safe and sound. They've got this and you're in no condition to go yourself."

"Yang!"

"Blake!" The blonde smirked. "See? I can do that, too."

"This isn't funny." She growled, tempted to try finding just a little bit of leverage- she couldn't overpower her partner, but she could out maneuver her nine times out of ten- but the teachers rushing over effectively killed that plan. Outmaneuvering Yang might be easy in comparison, even with a broken leg, but outrunning Doctor Oobleck was out of the question.

"Hey," her partner said, waiting for amber to meet lilac before she continued. "I know, alright? But you know as well as I do that if you aren't on your way to the infirmary by the time they bring her back, none of us will hear the end of it for years." Her lips quirked up into a small grin. "She wanted to make sure you got back safe, so when we bring her back, you can be the one to give her an earful, deal?"

Blake fought the impulse to argue further, bow crinkling once again as her ears laid back in frustration. "Deal."

With that, she stopped struggling, hoping they would find the woman passed out along the trail they've carved and bring her back, sore but no worse for wear.

If something happened to Weiss while she was out there... she'd never forgive herself.

Laying in the infirmary with her leg set up in a proper cast was the purest form of torture she'd ever known. No scroll to distract her, no news from her team, drugs to help her aura recover so the bone would heal quicker robbing her of focus and entirely coherent thought- she could've laid there for days, staring blankly at the ceiling without noticing the time. Luckily, she heard the click of the door, her head lolling so she could look in the direction of the sound. To her immense relief, the first person through the door was Yang, both hands wrapped around the handles of a stretcher.

"Hey, Blakey. Brought you a present."

The Faunus pushed herself up, sluggishly rising just enough to watch as the sisters entered the room with Weiss on a stretcher between them, looking far too still and pale, despite the dirt and grime on her face. "Is she-"

"Oh, she's just sleeping really hard." Their team leader piped up, obviously just as relieved as Blake. "Total aura depletion can really take it out of a person and they also had some emergency medicine down at the rendezvous."

"Both of you will be out of commission for a while." The blonde continued, giving a wordless count off before the sisters lowered their teammate in tandem. "You for the leg and her for the drugs to wear off." With her burden deposited, Yang turned and looked at her partner, hands on her hips and head cocking to the side. "Must be a helluva fight for both of you to be in this condition."

Threaded between the words lay half a dozen unspoken fears as the brawler did everything in her power not to come off as the mother hen she could be at any given moment. The woman had a big heart and cared deeply for her teammates, so Blake consciously opted to not make light of her concern. "We'll tell you the story when she wakes up. I... made a few mistakes, and it cost us."

"It happens to everyone," Ruby said, offering an encouraging smile. "I'm sure it was just a fluke! No reason to beat yourself up about it."

The Faunus chuckled. "Isn't that more of a Weiss thing?"

"I think it's very much a 'you two' thing." The blonde looked back at her sister. "Wanna help me transfer her to the bed."

The younger of the duo looked down at her partners legs, a frown on her lips. "Uh... where do I... grab?"

"Don't worry about it, was just askin' anyway." Yang knelt down. "Say, how about you head down to the cafeteria and grab them some real food? They'll both need it."

"Ice cream and cookies, got it!" The team leader joked, rushing over to Blake's bedside to throw her arms around her slightly larger frame. "I'm glad you're both okay."

"Thanks, Ruby," she replied, returning the hug with one arm before letting the younger woman head out, closing the door behind her while Yang scooped their teammate into her arms and put her on the bed, finding an extra blanket to tuck her in with before turning lilac eyes towards the Faunus. Before she could really think about it, the words left her tongue. "I'm sorry-"

"Are you apologizing to me or her?" The blonde sighed, shaking her head and crossing the room. "Blake, look, we're all just glad you're okay, and you're crazy if you think Weiss won't agree with that."

"But she's the one lying there unconscious-"

"And you have your leg in a cast." Yang waved a hand, dismissing her next argument. "Look, we can nitpick this to death or we can just agree- both of you need to talk, and the sooner the better." The only person she could possibly entrust with such a secret as her confusing, growing feelings for Weiss was her partner, and the blonde had obviously seen straight through the entire situation without an explanation at all. "I know Frosty over here would go to the ends of Remnant for any one of us, but she went above and beyond for you, Blake. I really think that means something."

"We didn't have much of a choice." She looked away, a blush rising in her cheeks as it always did whenever they actually talked about it. Having a crush was bad, having a more-than-likely unrequited crush was worse, but compounding that was having a best friend who seemed intent on getting to the bottom of it all. "She wouldn't leave me there-"

"And she had half a vial left of red dust." One brow raised up. "Why didn't you two just hole up for a bit? She could've set an acre on fire with a flick of her wrist, and there's nothing in the Emerald Forest capable of doing that so quickly." She paused, grimacing. "At least, nothing that wouldn't take half of us to bring down. Everyone would've known to converge on the smoke, anyway."

Blake blinked slowly, her mouth hanging open just a little. "We... didn't even think about that."

With a sigh, Yang sat down on the edge of her bed and gave her a pointed look. "You honestly think little Miss 'I-am-always-prepared-for-everything' Weiss, Miss 'here's-a-specially-design-magazine-with-special-dust-infused-rounds' Weiss, Miss 'I-read-an-article-six-years-ago-on-Vacuon-binding-practices' Weiss, Miss 'I-ace-every-test-without-studying-but-study-anyway-with-color-coded-notes' Weiss, didn't think about a signal fire?"

"Well... I didn't think about it." She muttered, slumping back against the bed.

"Nah, of course not; knowing you, you told her to go on without you and get help, right?" The blonde chuckled, reaching over to untie the bow binding her ears, giving the right one a playful flick. "And she said nuts to that and insisted she have her knight carry you back, and you were in too much pain to really argue like you usually do. Am I right?"

Blake frowned, her ears drooping in tandem. "She carried me, actually. Until she couldn't anymore."

"Whoa, no wonder she's exhausted." She shrugged. "Point still stands, Blakey. You two are more complex than Crescent Rose, but it doesn't take Ruby to figure out how each of you operates. Weiss definitely thought of a signal fire, and then decided she couldn't just sit and wait for someone to come. It would've driven her insane being so helpless with you in pain."

Biting her lip briefly, the Faunus looked up at her partner, not giving her request half as much thought as it deserved before she spoke, still too loopy from the medicine to properly censor herself. "Yang... could you..." Amber eyes flicked towards Weiss' bed. "Please?"

"Say no more." The blonde got up, grabbing two chairs from the corner of the room and dragging them over to their teammate's bedside, setting them up across from each other and parallel to the bed itself. She then came back and, with a little clumsy help, picked up Blake and carried her over to the chairs, ensuring the cast got propped up.

Honestly, the chair was uncomfortable on her lower back, but she managed to smile rather than grimace at her best friend. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now, I think I'll go see what's keeping Ruby." She started towards the door, throwing a wink over her shoulder. "Ya know, make sure it takes double, that sorta stuff. Keep an eye on Frosty for us, won't ya, Blakey?"

With a fond shake of her head, she waved her friend off, leaning back in the chair and sighing. Amber eyes traced up and down Weiss' body, her vision slightly blurry but at least clear enough for her to make out the steady rise and fall of her chest, which mollified the Faunus a little. She could already imagine how cross the woman would be when she woke up and saw Blake out of bed but, well, some things were more important, she thought, a small smile on her lips.

"I can't believe you sometimes," she said, her voice soft. "One minute, you're on the rest of us about taking care of ourselves, eating properly, going to bed at a decent hour, studying... and then the next, you're throwing yourself into the first danger to rear its head." Her gaze slid up, landing on her teammates face, peaceful in slumber despite it not being a natural one. "Sometimes, I ask myself why- why you do it, why you keep doing it, why you won't let one of us share that burden. You're so selfless." A sigh escaped her then, gaze dropping with her shoulders and ears. "I've always admired that about you. I wish I'd told you that sooner. Or... at all." She looked away, as if that would somehow hide the blush rising to her cheeks, doubly ineffective since the only other person in the room happened to be unconscious. "Listen to me- I sound like this is one of those dramatic, near death scenes in my books, where the whole chapter makes you fear the worst... but you'll be good as new in a few days. If that, knowing you."

A low grunt caught her attention, ear flicking towards the sound before she looked back up, breath catching in her throat. Weiss had flinched in her sleep, her brow furrowed in some unknown emotion and tension running through her frame, breathing coming quicker. Blake had seen this before, though rarely; one of the woman's nightmares had taken hold, dragging her through some unknown, unpleasant place that usually ended with her sitting bolt upright in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Right now, though, Weiss needed to sleep and recoup her energy, so the Faunus reached out, searching under the covers until she could find her teammate's hand, clasping it in hers.

"Weiss, listen to me. You're safe, you're okay." She reached out with her left hand, cupping the woman's cheek. Twisting around so her leg remained on the other chair wasn't exactly comfortable but, at this point, she could honestly care less about her personal comfort. "Wherever you think you are, you're not there. Go somewhere happier. You're safe here, with me."

Blake waited, hoping she could get through; usually, she awoke to the sounds of her teammate's erratic breathing and flinching, remaining in her bed until she heard the woman wake up and go to the bathroom to splash water on her face. Then, she'd pretend she woke up to the noise of someone leaving the room, ask if Weiss was alright, and if she needed anything. The response she always got was a tight lipped smile and a 'I'm fine' before they'd both return to bed. She always kicked herself, wishing she would actually go and wake the woman up, but then she'd open herself up to the inevitable questions- did she always wake up, why didn't she say anything, it wasn't intentional- and the anxiety kept her listening during those infrequent nights when the shadows lurking in Weiss' mind got the better of her.

Eventually, the woman's breathing evened out, the crease to her brow fading back into a peaceful expression. The Faunus let out a sigh of relief, though she couldn't find it within herself to draw away just yet.

"You know, if this was one of my books... this would definitely be the part where I kiss you." A chuckle slipped passed her lips, the absurdity of the sentence striking her. Not that it wasn't true, of course, but rather because she'd never actually manage to say something so ridiculously sappy to Weiss. Despite her love of romance novels- and 'romance' novels- her ability to be romantic was often hindered by a fierce blush and an inability to think coherently when she needed to most. "It'd take away the nightmares and you'd wake up, eyelids fluttering as you sat up, strong as before and free. Or so the stories go. True love's kiss is pretty powerful, they say."

"Given how awful I feel, I'd be willing to try it." Blake's shoulders jumped, her gaze snapping to the woman's face as a small grin lifted one side of her mouth. "Not sure about the sitting up part, though. The kiss would have to be quite exceptional-"

"You heard all that?" She cringed, realizing a second too late how dumb the question was, all things considered. "I mean, I can explain-"

"Blake?" Apparently summoning all her strength, Weiss opened her eyes, blue orbs meet her gaze for a brief moment. "You utter dolt. If you're about to take all that back, you might as well start hobbling away now." That seemed to be the extent of her recovered strength, though, as her eyes closed again and she let out a sigh. "Did the knight make it back? I... can't remember..."

"Yeah, it did." Risking the lecture that would follow were she caught, the Faunus pulled her broken leg off the other chair so she could turn and look at the woman more comfortably. "You got me back to the rendezvous point."

"Good." A few deep, long breaths followed, and she almost thought the woman had fallen back asleep until she spoke again. "So... this true love's kiss... I hear there's different types of love. Platonic, familial... romantic." The hand still clasped in hers twitched slightly, fingers curling around hers on the last word. "If this was one of your books, which type of kiss would this be?"

Blake froze, many words trapped in her throat while she remained entirely unsure of which words, exactly, they were. It... it really couldn't be, could it? That Yang was right, that Weiss returned her feelings, that they might actually have a chance- her silly crush was just that, wasn't it?

"Well, if... if it were up to me," she said, the poor attempt at stalling followed by her clearing her throat. "If it were up to me, I'd say... romantic."

Weiss squeezed her hand, her grin broadening into a full fledged smile. "Good. We're on the same page, then." She cracked one eye open. "I think that's a pretty important part of the kiss working."

"It is."

"Then, what are you waiting for?" Her eye closed again, voice becoming thick as sleep called her back to the depths. "I don't bite."

"Shame," she replied, thankful that Weiss couldn't see her in that exact moment as a blush lit up her cheeks.

"Well, I'm always open to learning new tricks."

Shaking her head, Blake carefully lifted herself out of the chair and leaned over, brushing their lips together in a soft kiss. When she drew back, mindful to keep her weight off her right leg, the Faunus could honestly say she felt lighter than ever, a smile spreading across her face. "I can't believe you carried me five clicks until you literally passed out from exhaustion for a kiss. I can't imagine what you'll do for a date."

"I'll fight to stay awake." Weiss cracked her eyes open again, a faint flush rising in her cheeks. "At this point, that seems to be a nigh insurmountable task."

"I'd rather you rest for now." Noting that Yang had accidentally- or, perhaps, very intentionally- placed the woman more to one side of the bed than the center, she hobbled around to the other side and laid down, careful to put her injured leg down on the bed gently. She'd prefer laying with the cast on the outside of them but, considering her teammate- girlfriend?- could hardly move, this seemed like the more pragmatic answer. "We can discuss heroic deeds and wooing once we can both move around without assistance."

"Sounds reasonable."

She couldn't be sure if the words were a last ditch effort at remaining conscious or an acquiescence, but Weiss slipped back into slumber a moment later, their shoulders just barely touching. A kiss and closeness while they convalesced- it wasn't much but, after how far they'd come, it felt wonderful knowing they still had much further to go, and Blake closed her eyes and slipped into a peaceful slumber.

#Monochrome #Monochrome Monday #TRR writes

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peepingtoad · 6 years ago

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masshirohebi:

@peepingtoad Something tugs at the vipers patience about this scene before him, and maybe it is a build up of many inconvenient and aggravating details. The way Jiraiya leans against the tree, mocking the vipers reflective yet pitiful action of clutching its wooden frame for support. The way his former comrade laughs, yet lacks any ability to make it even half genuine. The way he still offers unconditional help, the way he still itches to rescue the damned, those who don’t deserve saving to begin with. The way the viper himself has no ability to reject it, a position of vulnerability. And maybe the serpent would have felt better had Jiraiya taken advantage of this weakened state. But the sage never does, why, the viper believes it never even crossed his mind. But the serpentine Sannin has been taught the world is cruel, that to survive, one must be crueler, more ferocious than the beasts that try consume mortal bodies. To be met with kindness… it’s out of balance, it’s a challenge to his beliefs. And when one gave up everything for a certain belief, having it questioned by an act of good will can be stifling. Golden eyes, a shade or two duller from the fatigue he finds himself battling with, seek out the dark onyx pair. And he wonders what genetic coding has made the two of them so very polar opposite. The sun and the moon, the good and the bad… hope and chaos. Their fate was always to be divided, for the world had placed them on extreme opposites, only the blindness of childhood innocence had left them by each other’s side. When that blissful veil had been removed from their eyes however, so had any chances of this relationship. That was the vipers thought of course, Jiraiya hadn’t given up. Not yet. “To assist in the rescue of a missing nin and rogue, is that not treason dear?” So the viper pushes for betrayal, pushes to find the chink in the mans moral and righteous armor. How much better he would feel if he could validate his past crimes by revealing that even those deemed heroes could have dark secrets, and were no different. For the viper was the type to pessimistically cry the bridge would break, before setting off to jump on it, endlessly until it did just that.

But as of now, whether he trusts the man or not, he is no position to reject an offer of medical treatment. Blood loss is starting to make the world seem fuzzier, a shade more grey. “That doesn’t surprise me in the least,” the viper states, hardly put off by having his criminal status reduced by badder rogues, “with the way Konoha handles itself, I’m sure the list of formidable enemies is rather endless for you. Either way, despite my inconsequential actions as of late, here you are. Wasting time on my trivial deeds, rather than focusing on those more important adversaries hm?” At the reminder of help, the shorter Sannin finds his body less obliged to stay supported. The tree no longer a good enough crutch. He could have kept his snippy comments of the Leafs poor political climate to himself, saving it for a day where he had more hours on the clock. He can’t quite bring himself to ask for help, far too proud, how Jiraiya must know this all too well. So instead, he finds his back slipping down the trees trunk, leaning against it for balance while he sits. No words of acceptance, but a gesture that could be read as that instead.

For even on deaths door, the viper holds his pride as if life force and it were connected.

The irritation in the other is palpable. It’s certainly more readable to Jiraiya now than it once was, for he'd been raised with the quiet boy whose demeanour hid varying depths of emotion with its many masks. Always it seemed he had a knack for provoking these subtle spikes in him, intentional or not... but just because he'd learned to detect it certainly didn't mean he comprehended any of it. He never had done, and that is a truth that holds fast in the present.

But hope blindly dictates that it's his unerring kindness that stirs Orochimaru thus; that way Jiraiya can be justified that his actions aren't utterly misguided, even as the rational mind screams at him to burn all bridges. Unfortunately, above all, he wishes to protect his friend. It's this inescapable truth that keeps this painful affair going no matter the disparity between them or the level of betrayal.

Any confirmation that it’s specifically his challenge to the serpent's grim worldview that rattles him so would put Jiraiya in real danger of risking everything to salvage him, for memories of that small and vulnerable child hunched over the grave of his parents are too pervasive to ignore. Even if that boy, now grown, doesn't realise it, Jiraiya has always watched after him... but here, now, he can only regret that he'd not been a better friend sooner despite seeing the terrible environment Orochimaru had grown up in.

In thinking himself too weak and stupid to make any difference, he'd essentially proven the fact--and it had stuck with him for decades.

And now he can't give up.

"I should think that taking it upon myself to raise a trio of shinobi from an enemy state was also treason," Jiraiya begins his response, finding the grip of those eyes all too familiar. Although he remains casual in posture, his fingers grip around folded arms as he continues firmly, "I should think, too, that Hiruzen-sensei letting you leave was--and again when I’ve relinquished you on various occasions."

Orochimaru seems to have forgotten that within every person lies a unique heart, even while being the most loyal of Leaf shinobi. When it concerns an individual to whom Jiraiya is loyal, over whom he feels protective, he simply cannot reduce himself to a killing drone, even if that individual did commit atrocities too vile to mention.

The toad sage sighs wearily, bowing his head as he is further called out for the neglect of his duties. It seems redundant for him to point out that he'd rather be living life for its pleasures than have to deal with any of this--and too telling to say he'd been doing exactly that at every opportunity. All that aside, the current situation feels like a chance for Jiraiya to finally show, in terms other than a scrambling plea, that he cares. It's a simple sentiment, but one he's utterly failed to articulate with words thus far.

So it is with new resolve that, upon seeing that slender body slump weakly down, Jiraiya makes a leap to his old friend's side and opens up his garments without ceremony. A deep wound has split him across the abdomen, and it's a wonder that he doesn't simply repair using his White Snake jutsu... but that's a question for later--though hoping for casual conversation might be too optimistic, even for him.

From his pack, Jiraiya produces a poultice which he proceeds to daub heavily onto the flayed flesh. He won't mention that it was crafted by Tsunade's hand from a blend of rare ingredients infused with her own chakra, nor that he isn't likely to get his hands on more any time soon.

Again, a conversation for later. Or never.

Placing his hand over the wound, he provides a quick surge of chakra, enough to activate the healing Senju power within and knit the damaged tissue together. Within minutes muscle and flesh is made whole once more; despite the effectiveness, however, Jiraiya is uncertain whether or not this will compensate for such heavy blood loss.

The backs of his fingers, trembling somewhat, touch to porcelain brow. There, they brush some errant locks of hair back from where they stuck to sweat-veiled skin before recoiling in an instant--but still, he remains crouched by him. He’s going to ensure the effort hasn't been a waste, and while he’s reluctant to physically assist Orochimaru without being asked first, his eyes fall upon that familiar face with thinly-concealed fondness.

"How are you feeling?"

#masshirohebi #{setting:gamasennin}#{long post}#such long post ;o;#your responses are gorgeous and challenge me in the best of ways!#dokuhebi #{verse:captive | dokuhebi}#{thread:captivemain}

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