#am I overthinking this? yes. am I too over focused on the maidens and how the inner circle manages them/keeps tabs on them? definitely

[sailorboo]

Sorry about hijacking this post OP, but after reading how Qrow was the scout/spy (i.e. finding missing/unidentified Maidens) of Ozpin’s inner circle, and how that makes him more likely to know the current identities of the Maidens and their whereabouts over Oz’s other ‘eye’ (i.e. Raven), it got me thinking…

It makes sense for Ozpin and—by close association with the leader, and his role in the inner circle— Qrow to know the identities and whereabouts for all the maidens, but what about the other members? Like you’ve said with Raven, there’s no indication that she has any knowledge on their identities or whereabouts (totally agree that she’d be more fit for an ‘assassin’ role, in that she was tasked with handling Salem’s followers. 'Who hunts the hunters' is very astute OP. 🔪😵), but what about the other Headmasters, or even Glynda? Do/did they know about the other maidens outside of their respective Kingdoms?

I’m not including Tai or Summer since a) we don’t know how closely intwined Tai is/was with Oz’s inner circle or if he was even apart of it, and b) while we know Summer was part of the circle, we don’t know her role in it.

What we do know is that Ironwood knew about Amber, but we don’t know if that knowledge was shared before she was attacked or after. He may have been made aware after the fact, as he could have been consulted on finding a solution to preventing the transfer of the Fall Maiden powers due to Atlas being Remnant’s main innovating tech giant, but that’s just an assumption.

During the Mistral Arc, he is focused on Atlas maintaining its tight borders and the Dust embargo. Mind you, we only see him when he’s interacting with Jacque, who is a civilian, so it makes sense he wouldn’t disclose about trying to find the Spring Maiden with him. On the other hand, we know that prior to Atlas removing their troops from Mistral, Winter was stationec in Anima on his orders and relays information to him that foreshadow the Haven attack. We also know that Winter is made aware of the maidens and Salem sometime after the Fall of Beacon, so who’s to say that she isn’t also looking for the Spring Maiden on Ironwood’s secret orders?

But what has me really concerned is the implication that if all the Headmasters, i.e. Ozpin’s trusted lieutenants, know each of the current maidens and their whereabouts, then what does that mean about the Summer Maiden and Headmaster Lionheart?

We know Lionheart turned traitor some years before the Fall of Beacon, worked with Salem, and readily gave up the information of the Spring Maiden’s whereabouts not long after he was made aware of the fact. If each of the Headmasters do know the other maidens identities, outside of those who reside in their kingdoms, then who isn’t to say he hasn’t already spilled the beans to Salem about the identity of the Summer Maiden?

However, on the other hand, I think considering Ozpin’s secretive nature and assumed past experiences with betrayal (“You think Leonardo was the first?”), he may have a contingency plan in place so that only he and Qrow (and maybe Glynda) are the only ones aware of ALL the maiden’s identities, while the Headmasters are only aware of their respective maidens in order to prevent this very scenario from happening. It feels like something he would do.

Plus, we know from Before the Dawn that Headmaster Theodore is said to be more cautious then the other Headmasters, even keeping them in the dark about Vacuo/Shade, and is stated to be protective of his students... even if he has a funny way of showing it—*coughre-initiation/teammixup/notquestioningprofessorrumpoleschangeinbehaviourcough*—so perhaps he’s been mum on the Summer Maiden’s identity/status to the other Headmasters too?

But then again… Tyrian and Mercury were heading for Vacuo before Monstro exploded, and then there's that throw away line from Vol 6 about how Ironwood calling on aid from Vacuo would result in a loss for Salem and her forces… so who knows?… 🤷‍♀️

it's 2am which is perfect time to purely speculate on stuff like "did raven and qrow have different type of missions despite both being spies for ozpin?" based on miniscule details like how they talk about the tribe.

because, okay, so. raven's the one who reveals they were sent to beacon to learn how to kill huntsmen and she doesn't frame it particularly in a negative way, which is contrasted by qrow calling the tribe murderers and thieves and very much being against that kind of life.

on the other hand, qrow's the one who brings up the tribe's scouting parties, which lines up with his spy work and looking for maidens when their locations are not known—and when they are known, he knows who the maidens are and what their status might be. at the same time, he doesn't seem to exactly know who salem's followers are despite being aware that they exist, but raven does. however, and while this is more of a "lack of evidence isn't evidence" type of deal, so far there has been no indication that raven knows about the identity of other maidens that much.

which... kinda would make sense? ozpin knows that the maidens are constantly under threat, and while it wouldn't be the worst case scenario if a maiden dies and the powers transfer to raven, he would still be down a spy. with qrow that wouldn't be a problem, so sending him to follow and seek for the maidens makes sense.

but that brings me back to salem's followers and the whole killing business. ozpin also knows that salem sends her followers not only to hunt down maidens but also silver-eyed warriors... but who hunts the hunters? so perhaps that's where raven came in; she has no qualms about killing people (that we know of) and she knows more about salem's followers than qrow, so if it so happens that some of them are up to no good, well... things might get a bit stabby.

though as hilarious as i might find the image, i doubt ozpin would have sent raven to specifically eliminate someone. it's more about thinking ahead and accounting for every possibility, and sending the twins on different missions based on that.

[kitkatopinions]

I’m probably over thinking/over complicating things but Ironwood and Penny have been really bothering me. It because prior to the moment that destroyed Penny’s arc the show and Ruby were really pushing that Penny not matter her body was human and that’s a very positive I like that especially when it comes to characters of Penny’s nature.

So my problem kicks in when I think of Ironwood. Namely this part in his song:

“What if it's true as they say

That I don't have a heart

That I'm more a machine than a man?”

Like wtf. I mean I “get it” especially with that dumbass line of Winter. But when it’s talked about Ironwood it was always in reference to the fact that his body is half robotic and there for we are meant to see the correlation between his body and his character.?

Put next to Penny’s message that really bothers me. Even more so since Penny gets a “reward” of becoming human, but the writers push that Ironwood sacrificing his arm to stop Watts and replacing it (a medical decision that could be debated given that he wanted to be up and able immediately to handle things not to mention that fact that nerves and muscle are severely fucked up) with a new (uncharacteristically uncovered) prosthetic means that he’s moving away from humanity. This thought has been driving nuts for a week.

I don’t think you’re overthinking at all. The writers have been pretty blatant about what they think of disabled people.

On the topic of James, 1. They wrote their triple amputee character to be coded as losing his humanity. This is suspect from the get go, but writers imo need to be especially careful and sensitive when they display things like villains with prosthetics. CRWBY is not careful and sensitive. 2. They specifically connected the loss of his limb to the loss of his humanity outside of the show, and as you said, his new prosthetic is uncharacteristically uncovered as well, and there were some pointed shots showcasing his arm and emphasizing it before showing Ironwood doing something wrong as well as a shot that particularly bothered me of them having James fall to Winter when his aura broke and then them immediately flashing to a fallen, broken robotic soldier. Tying the loss of someone’s humanity to them losing a limb / gaining a prosthetic in any way is wrong imo. There are better ways to display someone’s loss of humanity than villainizing the loss of his arm, and I don’t care what justifications people have for ‘they just meant to say that he was too impatient to-’ Idc. Tying the loss of humanity to the gaining of a prosthetic is wrong. 3. They never once treated Ironwood’s clear PTSD, history of mental health problems, and trauma with any sympathy, instead spending their time ragging on him for not wanting to feel his pain anymore and condemning him for... Trying to control his emotions. 4. CRWBY also gave him a semblance and explained how it worked by saying he hyper focused, talking about how James’ passive semblance that he can’t control forces him to focus on one single goal and fixate. I’m not disabled, but I do hyper fixate. It’s not something I can control, and to see it used as a justification for evil (in one of my favorite characters in the series who reminded me of my father lol) and being treated as something bad... It doesn’t feel good. I can’t imagine how other people must feel who are much more affected by this than I am. 5. As you say, the writers go out of their way to reference his metal body as being more ‘machine than man’ and make lines about him being heartless. And yeah, I get that he’s an allegory for the ‘Tin Man’ from Wizard of Oz but ffs the Tin Man had always had a heart and I honestly thought that was what they were going for in V3 with Qrow commenting that sometimes he thought James didn’t have a heart and the audience seeing Ironwood’s actions as questionable, only for the entire show to tell us repeatedly that he actually is a caring and good person who’s willing to destroy all the forces he was proud to show off if it means saving lives and was actually pretty freaking blameless in the Fall of Beacon and was super kind to the kids and when the chips were down, Qrow and Glynda both absolutely knew without even questioning that James would never ever willingly hurt the world or fully betray them and had absolutely no hand in the Beacon attack. Like, I’m sorry, but between Penny and Ironwood, season eight is the season of taking well done character allusions and throwing them out the window for the exact opposite moral done incredibly poorly. And anyway, getting off of that rant, making a ‘more machine than man’ sentiment tied around a triple amputee character is incredibly harmful and hurtful to people with disabilities and only propagates the real world stereotypes against people like James.

So, yes, their treatment of Ironwood, his mental health, and specifically his disabilities was so badly done, harmful, incredibly insensitive, and frankly, appalling that it came from grown adult writers in 2019-2021! But, as you point out, it’s not just Ironwood. And here’s where things really get bad for CRWBY. Because Ironwood alone is enough for me to say they were ableist - unintentionally or otherwise - and ought to apologize for the hurt they’ve caused their fans. But when you get into the rest of their treatment of characters with metal prosthetics or non-flesh elements to their body, it becomes a pattern.

Penny’s entire body is removed from her on threat of death, with the justification that it’s hurting her and that her body is just a machine and not part of who she is, contradicting Penny’s earlier themes of self-acceptance and validating her humanity in the body she already had. She then dies by assisted suicide in a way that feels unneeded, after having asked to be killed earlier in the narrative. So many people have talked about how destructive her story became in V8 and how it personally hurt them, especially non-binary people, trans people, autistic people, or disabled people who saw themselves in Penny or saw in her arc something that they could relate to, only to have Penny’s differences stripped away from her, having her conform to normal body standards and have her previous body type invalidated by her friends, and then they had her killed via assisted suicide in an unbelievable way, insisting as well that she never made a choice before she was a flesh-person and couldn’t feel things right. It’s all horribly done, but it’s important to remember that while Ironwood is accused of losing his humanity as he loses a third limb and gets a third prosthetic, Penny’s earlier validation is taken away and is instead only granted and she is only justified as a person when she loses all her ‘nuts and bolts’ and becomes a flesh person. And then she’s killed anyway.

Yang’s prosthetic is the least ill handled, but it is still dismissed as ‘just extra’ despite her former fairly strong arc of coming to terms with her disability and making it a part of her. She casually justifies what’s happening with Penny despite Penny not being in a position of adequate consent. Yang’s trauma and PTSD also vanished when Adam died at the end of season six and in my opinion, that situation was handled very badly.

Maria and Pietro, two other disabled characters, disappeared, left when Amity fell and were not even mentioned iirc since. Not even when Penny is awake, not even when they’re evacuating, not even when Penny is choosing to die. She never brings up her father. And Ruby’s supposed ‘mentor’ who never had an actual narrative role that couldn’t have been filled by Qrow and has had nothing to do since season six even past that is also forgotten out in the tundra and not mentioned again.

The writers go out of their way to have Winter say that because she was just following orders (a statement that contradicts her previous character imo) and pushing down her emotions, she was the real machine, whereas Penny had been human underneath her apparently easily tossed aside and destructive previous metal body.  And I don’t know if this means anything, but in that scene where she and Penny meet when Penny is dying and transferring the maiden powers to Winter, Winter is in her V7 character design, instead of wearing her assistive brace. Like I said, I don’t know if I’m reading into that, but with everything else, it feels like an iffy choice.

So yeah. In the past season CRWBY specifically cultivated a pattern of disrespect, dismissal, and villainization of any non-flesh attributes in my opinion. It seems pretty intentional and clear to me, but I’m willing to accept that maybe this was just a wildly bad uneducated mistake. Here’s the thing about that, though, after the Faunus/Racism allegory, the CRWBY writers should’ve learned their lesson and not touched on any real world topics that they weren’t willing to do the research on and treat with the sensitivity and care and respect the topics needed. Their Faunus/Racism allegory was harmful and hurtful and frankly could’ve sunk them in the water, they should’ve learned to put much more care and effort into their work or stayed the hell away from anything that could further spread the negative stereotypes surrounding real world people. But they didn’t learn their lesson and they’ve continued to push harmful narratives with no awareness or sensitivity. I don’t think you’re over-reacting at all, I think this is something that - intentionally written or otherwise - the writers should be called out on, or they’re just going to continue writing harmful narratives.

Also, I am not disabled, many of my opinions on the treatment of these characters comes from posts I’ve seen from many disabled or neurodivergent RWBY fans (or former RWBY fans,) or other people more affected by these narratives - minus the thing I said about Winter appearing without her brace when she talks to Penny, as it was something I just noticed while typing out this post. Since I’m not disabled, I’m not the best person to talk about these things, so if I got anything wrong in this, anyone more affected, please know you can let me know and I can edit and fix.

[dekinswritings]

L1-L1 WH80 - Chapter 5, Beer

"Traditionally brewed beer has become a luxury, but this one's pretty close to the real deal..."

VA-11 HALL-A AU. HonoUmi. NicoMaki.

Word count: 5.9k

[Ao3] [FF.net]

“Umi-chan, you’ve been starin’ at the counter for a whole minute now. If you just wanted my company that badly, you could’ve just asked.”

“S-Sorry.” Had it really been that long? Umi had asked Nozomi for a word as they finished opening the bar tonight, but now words failed to come out of her mouth. Where did she even start? Umi did not know about relationships, crushes or anything at all regarding love. Just thinking of the word made her heart run at a marathon pace and her cheeks turn red like Adelhyde.

“Clearly we’re not getting anywhere if you can’t focus, so concentrate and gimme a Mercuryblast,” Nozomi said as she swiped her card for the transaction.

“Right, Mercuryblast.” Nozomi was right, her train of thought was somehow going through several different rails at neck-breaking speeds. A Mercuryblast, one Adelhyde, one Bronson Extract, three Powdered Delta, three Flanergide and two Karmotrine. All on the rocks and blended. Umi stared at the blue mix as she poured it into its glass. Hadn’t Honoka ordered one of these? She even tried to make a dumb joke about it too. The blue also kind of reminded her of Honoka’s eyes, but the color was not quite right, it should be a deeper tone. Why was Umi suddenly so aware of this drink? And not to mention that-

“Umi.” Nozomi’s voice snapped Umi out of her thoughts and handed the drink to her boss. “So, what did you want to talk about?” Nozomi asked as she swayed her drink in a circular motion.

“I-I figured that you might have… more experience about this sort of topic,” Umi started and, to keep her hands from trembling, grabbed the first glass her hands found and started to clean it, the cloth wiping it faster with each stroke.

In other circumstances, Nozomi would have poked fun at the fact that Umi had ran out of dirty glasses and was simply occupying her hands out of anxiety. Instead, she put down her drink and listened intently.

“And even if you don’t have that much experience on it, even a little bit would be sufficient. I-I myself have not experienced it before, and I consider you a good friend and someone I can talk about this. N-Not like Rin isn’t a good friend either! But… this requires a bit more subtlety and I’d rather not have her talk about this to every client she serves and…”

Nozomi simply listened, and she considered a pretty good listener at that, but Umi had started rambling and dodging whatever she wanted to talk about. “Umi,” she called out for the second time.

Hearing her name again almost made her jump. “D-Did I start ramble?”

“Are you gonna have sex? Is this what this is about?”

If the glasses provided by the BTC had not been made as sturdy as they were, Umi’s grip would have certainly cracked and broken the glass she had been wiping right in her hands. “N-No!” Umi yelled, startling both Nozomi and Rin, who was standing on the other side of the bar. “It’s not about sex!”

“Well, what’s got you so worked up then?”

“It’s Honoka-!” The words slipped out of her mouth before she could catch them. Instead of being met with a smug and playful grin from Nozomi followed by a teaseful joke, Umi found a gentle smile on Nozomi’s smile.

“Honoka, huh? So you finally put the pieces together?”

“T-The pieces? What are you talking about?” Umi put down the glass, knowing that it would eventually crack if she kept it in her hands.

“That you like her.”

Umi managed to keep her mouth shut and only made a muffled scream that was tame enough to not make Rin think that someone was getting murdered inside the bar. Thinking about it made her cheeks red, but hearing it from Nozomi heated up her entire face. “Y-Y-Yes, that… was I wanted to talk about.”

“So, what’re you planning to do?” Nozomi asked as she gently poked her drink.

“W-What do you mean what am I planning to do? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!” Umi was starting to regret asking Nozomi for help. Was she not supposed to be wise, or at least a little bit knowledgeable about these kind of things? “I’m at a loss,” Umi said defeatedly.

“Well, do you wanna go out with her?”

“W-Well…” Umi blushed at the fact that now she was imagining Honoka, walking with her hand in hand. Embarrassment turned into a smile when she pictured Honoka smiling. “Y-Yes, I would.”

“Then just tell her,” Nozomi said curtly and began to drink her Mercuryblast.

Had all the time running a bar with marginal profit finally gotten to her boss? Or was she always this crazy? “I-I can’t just tell her!”

“And why not? I thought you wanted to go out with Honoka.” Nozomi only stopped drinking to talk and immediately continued with her Mercuryblast.

“Because what if she… what if she rejects me?” The thought stung much more than what Umi would have liked. “I… I don’t wish to make things uncomfortable. A-And she has a girlfriend already...”

“Oh, does she?” Nozomi raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“W-Well… I wouldn’t say I’m completely sure she has one, but that designer did seem to be her girlfriend,” Umi explained and sighed.

“Umi-chan, oh Umi-chan. You’re lookin’ at your cup half-empty again,” Nozomi shook her head. “A maiden in love shouldn’t be brooding! She should be gleefully happy, with butterflies in her stomach.”

“I do feel like I’m going to throw up,” Umi mumbled.

“Cheer up, Umi-chan. You’ve got nothing to worry about, you’re just overthinking yourself to death as per usual. You don’t have to tell Honoka, but the more time you let pass, the more it’ll gnaw at your head and the worse those butterflies in there will get,” Nozomi explained before getting up and offering her worker the now-empty glass. At least she now had something to actually clean. “Chin up, we’ve got a customer coming. I’ll be in my office,” Nozomi bid her farewell with a smile.

“And hey, if you really want that relationship, in the long run it really is about sex!”

Nozomi had taken refuge in the confines of her office too quickly and the steel shaker bottle that Umi threw in a blink of an eye panged against the office door instead of her boss’s face.

Umi glared at the door for a few moments before sighing and walking out of her station to pick up her shaker. Even if the conversation had seemed short and even moot, Nozomi was right: Umi would eventually need to talk to Honoka about this, her feelings were not going to simply disappear.

Once back in her station, Umi wiped the shaker as she began to ponder. She needed to come up with a plan. First, she should clarify what was the relationship between Honoka and Kotori. As much as it pained her to think that there was one in the first place, it would certainly put a quick end to this ordeal. There are plenty of people out there in Neo Tokyo that Umi had yet to meet after all. Going out to meet them seemed like a pain though, and none of the people who came to Lily White shone as bright as the police officer. Umi cursed internally, she was still overthinking everything like Nozomi had said, and she was not getting anywhere. She was in dire need of a distraction, something to clear her mind. More than ever before Umi cursed the lack of customers in the bar-

“Hello?”

Umi had lost count how many times she had failed to notice people in front of her tonight. Looking up, Umi saw Maki sitting in front of her, her designer clothes halfway hidden by contrastingly white coat she wore over them.

“Oh, um, welcome to Lily White,” were all the words that Umi managed to mutter out. With the way things had gone last time Umi saw the doctor, she was certain that she would not come back ever again.

“Uh, yeah,” Maki seemed almost as distracted as the bartender as she looked around the bar. “Has that Lilim come back?”

“E-Excuse me?” Maki’s sudden question caught Umi off-guard. “Do you know Hanayo?”

“Wha- Hanayo?” The doctor repeated in confusion before shaking her head. “No, I meant the idol. The singing robot.”

“Oh, Nico,” Umi should have realized sooner. “No, you made sure to scare her off.” The memories of that night were still fresh in her mind, of how unnerving it had been to discover that Lilim could be that upset.

“O-Oh.” Maki raised one hand to one of her bangs and started to twirl it. She was not sporting a ponytail this time, Umi noticed. In fact, all of her appearance seemed less taken care of, her clothes had wrinkles under the coat and even her makeup did a poor job to conceal the dark eyebags on her face. “A Sunshine Cloud, please.”

Umi nodded and began to prepare her ingredients. As she poured the halves of Adelhyde and Bronson Extract, Umi decided it was for the best to keep the client sober and refrained from adding any alcohol. “I presumed you wouldn’t be coming back,” Umi commented as the drink blended.

“Work’s been more stressful than usual, so I needed a drink,” Maki explained once the blending process was over.

“It has been getting colder, so I'm guessing more people come in with a cold,” Umi chit chatted as she finished preparing Maki’s drink.

“It’s a private hospital, people don’t come to us just for a cold,” Maki denied Umi’s idea as she took her glass. “I’ve been having problems focusing and concentrating.”

“And you thought coming for alcohol would help you with that,” Umi deadpanned.

“Yes,” Maki agreed and was about to take her first sip before slamming her drink onto the counter. “No, wait, no! That’s not what I came here for!”

Umi was impressed: she had not even started to drink and she was stammering already. “Why do you come to a bar if not to drink then?”

“T-That’s none of your business,” Maki mumbled before starting on her drink.

Umi had never been as good at reading people as Nozomi but years of experience had taught her enough to see through the red haired doctor. She had probably come to offer an apology, to her if not to Nico. It was a shame that the idol never came back, as annoying as she was. She did seem to genuinely care for the things she loved, like her family. Umi had not picked it up at first, but thinking back on those previous days made her realize the small changes in the Lilim’s demeanor when she talked about those things.

“So she really hasn’t come back?” Maki asked again, her glass lying empty on the counter. Her voice showed a cocktail of feelings, one too familiar for Umi when she had to deal with people who had tried to drown their problems with booze, but Maki was completely sober.

“Do I have a reason to lie about it?” Umi asked as she inspected Maki’s expression. It seemed vacant at first glance, but Umi knew better. “No, she hasn’t.”

Maki took a deep breath and let it out with long groan. “Great, I made sure to come early tonight in the hopes of finding her and apparently she’s been long gone. I won’t be able to concentrate fully in my work, I’ll probably have to put off some appointments and…” Maki’s rant grew quieter until her words her an inaudible mumble for Umi. “Grizzly Temple.” Her voice picked up just to order another drink.

Umi could not remember when was the last time someone had ordered a Grizzly Temple without a hint of irony in their voice. According to many, Umi included, it was one of the worst drinks in the BTC menu. Three Adelhyde, three Bronson Extract, three Powdered Delta and one Karmotrine. All blended. Once poured into its glass, Umi handed the order.

“Look, if you really want to apologize,” Umi started as she dug her phone out of her pocket, “she gave us her contact details.” Under normal circumstances, Umi would have never shared private information of her clients to other clients, but she did not want to witness another fight like that again. At least not in the bar.

“W-Who said I wanted to apologize to her,” Maki mumbled defensively before sipping her drink.

“So you don’t want it?” Umi took out a pen and was ready to write on a piece of paper. Taking a sneaky glimpse, she saw Maki staring intently.

“I-I never said that, just give me the number.”

Umi managed to control her eye roll and simply shook her head as she began to write Nico’s contact information.

“Officer Kousaka Honoka, presenting for duty!” Honoka’s loud announcement of her arrival made Maki jump in her seat as she pocketed the scrap of paper. The police officer cheerfully walked to the empty seat next to Maki and waved at Umi. The doctor eyed the officer for a brief moment before going back to her drink. “Evening, Umi-chan,” she greeted with a smile.

“A-Ah, Honoka.” Umi found it difficult to keep her face straight when she felt her cheeks flushing. “H-How are you?”

“Hmm, well, I guess I'm fine. Had a scuffle with a guy who didn't want to take his parking ticket.”  She crossed her arms and shook her head disapprovingly. “The nerve of some people!”

“There's a fair share of people who'll refuse to pay additional fees,” Umi pointed out, “money can come short when basic necessities become more expensive every once in a while.” Umi knew better than anyone else about the importance of saving.

“A parking citation is basically pocket change,” Maki chirped in offhandedly before sipping her drink.

“Wow, you must be some kind of rich doctor.” Honoka’s joke only got a raised eyebrow from Maki. “A Beer please! Oh, and I’m Honoka, by the way.”

Maki inspected the officer once more before presenting herself. “Maki,” was all she said.

“Well Maki-chan, it’s a pleasure!”

“Wha- hey! Who told you you can address me so casually?” Maki asked defensively.

“Well, you only gave me a name to work with.” Honoka laughed and scratched the back of her head. “Would you prefer it if I was rude to you?”

“What’re you saying? You’re making no sense,” Maki mumbled and tried to take another sip before realizing her drink was empty. “Another Grizzly Temple, please.” Umi nodded and started to prepare Maki’s order as she finished Honoka’s.

“Yuck, Grizzly Temple, Beer’s definitely the way to go,” Honoka said to herself as she took her Beer and swayed it side to side like an excited child.

“Excuse me?” Maki turned to Honoka and glared; the doctor frowned even more when she saw how Honoka was too busy happily drinking her Beer to even notice her. “What’s wrong with a Grizzly Temple?”

“Hm?” Honoka put down her drink and looked at Maki in confusion. “What do you mean? It’s pretty awful-tasting, bitter and bland.”

“And you-”

“Here,” Umi interrupted Maki before things got out of hand and placed her order on the counter. “And you should stop,” she said and glaring at Honoka.

Honoka could only laugh nervously under Umi’s piercing eyes. “Sorry.” Honoka’s apology was vague enough to be directed to both the bartender and the doctor. Maki still looked unconvinced but went back to her drink. Umi was just glad she defused the situation before another fight blew up in front of her.

Umi took a deep breath and started to think. She needed to clear everything with Honoka so she could finally sort out her own feelings. Perhaps not in front of the doctor; hopefully she left before Honoka did.

“Oh hell no.”

Umi looked up to see that Nico had just entered the bar, any pretense of a grandiose entrance gone and replaced by a scowl directed to the doctor.

“Oh, Nico,” was the only thing Umi managed to say. Honoka gasped loudly while Maki looked back at Nico and visibly failing to not scowl back.

“The feeling is mutual,” Maki snarked as Nico walked to the counter, taking a seat next to Honoka. Well, rather than next to Honoka, it would be better described as taking the seat that was not next to Maki’s.

“Well, Nico managed to get a day off so she had planned to wrap it up on a happy note with a couple of drinks! So…” Nico flipped one of her twintails and with a mocking smile she looked at the doctor, “why don’t you just leave?”

“Hi! I’m Honoka, big fan-”

Maki frowned and her finger once more began to twirl with her hair. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to see you-”

“Well, Maki-chan! If you wanted to see Nico sooo badly, why don’t you just lift that mug of yours to look at a billboard or something?”

“Excuse me? I go out of my way to come here to apologize and-”

“Oh, now the oh-so intellectual redhead wants to apologize to Nico! Yeah, and while she’s at it, I’m sure she wants to insult her family, just like she did to her career!”

“Umm.. Umi-chan…” Honoka could not help but to have shrunk her shoulders as the women at her sides began to yell.

“Hey! Take that back! I-”

“Well, where’s my apology? Nico’s waiting-!”

“Enough!” Umi slammed her hands on her mixing station loud enough to silence Nico and Maki. “If you’re going to fight, do it outside. Your pointless bickering is scaring the other customers.”

“Pointless bickering? She’s the one who started it!” Maki huffed and turned away from Nico.

“I-It’s fine, Umi-chan.” Honoka laughed nervously and she slowly sat back up.

“Please don’t kick out Nico? She’s really sorry for getting into another fight with a dumb woman,” Nico apologized before glaring at the doctor.

Umi audibly groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. If this kept on going, she would have to remove both of them from the premises and that would certainly kill any sort of mood for talking with Honoka.

“Um… Maki-chan said she wants to apologize, so why don’t you just let her?” Honoka asked Nico.

“Because she insulted Nico! And she’s so arrogant and full of herself-”

“So what? She came here to apologize. Isn’t that good enough for now?” Honoka pressed on.

“N-No! Because-”

“Because what?” Honoka pressed on. The genuine curiosity in Honoka’s gaze made Nico and her pride falter. Nico tried to come up with something to say but nothing would come out of her voice receptors.

“F-Fine, okay! Nico gets it!” Nico threw her arms in the air before turning away and crossing them. After an annoyed sigh, she turned back to Honoka and Maki. “Fine, Nico’s all ears.”

Honoka turned around to look at Maki, who looked back at her from the corner of her eye before turning away. “And?”

“I-I’m not going to apologize to that robot.”

Nico gasped offendedly, but before she could say anything in return, Honoka interrupted her. “Hey! That wasn’t nice. You said you came here to apologize, so why are you insulting her again?” Maki simply huffed in response. “You’re just giving her an actual reason to be angry now, you know? And then she’s going to leave, then you would’ve come here for nothing, and then you’d feel bad for insulting her again and how you’ll never see her again and-”

“Fine! I get it!” Maki quickly turned around and covered Honoka’s mouth. “Shut up, will you! I’m sorry!”

Honoka leaned back and took a quick glimpse at Nico before going back to Maki. “Sorry to me or her?”

“To her! A-And to you too, I guess,” Maki mumbled as she started to twirl her finger in her hair once more.

Honoka looked at the Lilim, and under her gaze she gave in once more. “Fine, okay. Nico accepts your apology.”

“There! Was that so hard?” Honoka asked with a smile. “Bartender! A round of Beers for everyone!”

“I shouldn’t, but fine. Just this once.”

“Nico won’t say no to a free drink!”

Impressed would be an understatement of how Umi felt about Honoka; she had managed to calm both women and reconcile them despite how stubborn prideful they were. She had been planning to talk with Honoka but she found herself at a lack of words again.

“Three Beers,” Umi mumbled as she placed the three glass mugs on the counter.

Nico looked at the beer curiously, inspecting it from side to side and even lifting the mug to look at its bottom side. “I’ve never had a Beer that wasn’t canned.”

“Canned beers aren’t that bad, but these ones are way better!” Honoka lifted her drink and waved it, spilling a slight bit of its contents.

“In comparison to the ones I prepare, canned beers are watered down,” Umi explained.

“Craft Beer’s better,” Maki mumbled before taking a small sip of her Beer.

“Oh, you’re just full of unnecessary comments, aren’t you?” Nico glared at the doctor for a second before starting to chug her Beer.

“Whoah! That’s the way to go, Nico!” Honoka cheered on the Lilim as she petite girl kept chugging and chugging until the mug was empty. “You’ve got spirits, Nico-chan! That’s what I love about you!”

“Oh, you’re a fan?” Nico was all too pleased of having impressed another fan and smiled. She flipped her hair once, took out a marker and placed it right above the empty mug. “Do you want my autograph?”

“Oh, no no no, I couldn’t-”

“For free! For being such a good crowd for Nico’s Beer drinking.”

“No, I couldn’t have it on Umi-chan’s glass. It’s not mine,” Honoka clarified. Nico was left with her mouth wide open, not in her lifetime had she had an autograph declined for a reason like that. “Oh, you could autograph my phone!” Honoka suggested as she pulled out her phone from her pocket.

“Sure, love! Can Nico get your name?” Nico asked before jotting down her signature in Honoka’s phone. Before handing it back, Nico unlocked the password-less phone, something unfitting for a police officer, Umi thought, and activated its camera. “Wanna take a photo?”

“Oh, yeah! You bet I wanna!” Honoka nodded with excitement and placed her fingers just like Nico did.

“Hey hey, redhead! You too, pose! Get in the shot too, Umi!” Nico commanded rather than asked and the sparkling joy in Honoka’s eyes made it difficult for either of the two women to say no. To get everyone in the shot, Nico got off her seat to get a better angle and Honoka wrapped an arm around Umi’s shoulders to pull her close. Umi could feel the heat rise up to her ears and could barely move to do the Nico’s hand pose or even face the camera. Maki reluctantly put her hands like Nico before the picture was taken.

“Wow, thanks!” Honoka said with excitement as Nico handed back the phone once she made sure to send the picture to herself.

“Don’t mention it.” Nico grinned and patted Honoka’s shoulder. “And you, Maki-chan?”

“W-What?” Maki asked with slight suspicion and put the mug of Beer between her and the Lilim when she approached her.

“Gimme your phone number.”

“What? Why would I do that?”

“So I can send you the photo too, duh.”

“Who said I wanted it?” Maki glared at Nico who seemed unfazed by her defensiveness.

“Stop being so stubborn and give it to Nico! And maybe you can invite Nico somewhere to apologize properly and not in some shoddy bar in the middle of nowhere.” Nico finally glared back.

After a few moments of staring down at each other, Maki sighed and pulled out a card and a pen from her purse. Writing down something on it, she began to wave it at Nico. “Here, take it or leave it.”

Nico snagged the card and began to read it “Dr Nishikino Maki… Nishikino Medical Center… wait, this is a business card!”

“And all of my contact information is there,” Maki pointed out and turned back to the counter.

“You’re gonna have the great Nico Nii book an appointment?!”

“I wrote my phone number on the back of the card, idiot.”

Nico flipped the card. “Oh, and so it is,” Nico mumbled and pocketed the card. “Fine, well, Nico got a free drink and a pretty girl’s number, she’d say it’s been a pretty successful night.” Maki choked on her Beer when she heard Nico’s comment. “Well, Nico should leave. She needs to scout out for a nice and expensive restaurant~,” she cheerfully said her farewell and skipped out of the bar.

“I’m going to regret doing that,” Maki groaned and rested her head on the counter.

“Well, at least you’re not gonna regret not apologizing anymore!” Honoka pointed out and gave Maki a thumbs up.

Maki smiled a little bit. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Umi couldn’t help but to wonder how Nico and Maki’s first interaction would have gone if Honoka had been there.

“Ugh... I need to go,” Maki said as she slowly pulled herself up from the counter. “I have work tomorrow and I hadn’t even planned on drinking too much tonight.” Too much, she says. “It was a pleasure, officer.”

“Please, my friends call me Honoka,” Honoka corrected her and smiled before offering Maki a hand to get up. Maki blushed a little but was drunk enough to swallow her pride and take the help, even if she did not need it.

“It was nice meeting you, Honoka,” Maki said once more and waved at Umi. “Um, thanks for the drinks. They were as good as I remembered them.”

“Thanks for your patronage.”

“Bye bye, Maki-chan!” Honoka waved goodbye at the doctor and turned back to Umi once she was gone. Taking out her phone, she gleefully stared at the autograph. “Man, what a night.”

“You could say that again,” Umi mumbled and, without realizing it found herself staring at Honoka. If only more people could be like her the world would be a much better place.

“I got a selfie with Nico! And her autograph too!” Honoka hummed happily. “I’m glad she didn’t ask me to name some of her songs because I don’t remember any of their titles.” Umi would have laughed if she was not the same, but in her defense she had only heard Nico’s songs once.

Now that the two of them were alone, ignoring Rin on the other side of the bar, Umi had to steel herself for now was her chance. Her chance to find out about everything and if it all went well she could have something to look forward to beside Lily White. All she had to do was clear up all the things Umi did not know about and ask Honoka about her relationship with Kotori. What could be the worst thing that could happen-

“Hm? My relationship with Kotori-chan?”

Umi froze. Had she been thinking out loud all this time? The confused look on Honoka’s face was all the confirmation she needed and this was probably the worst thing that could have happened. How much had she even said? Her thoughts were scrambling to remember anything but the pit that she was suddenly feeling in her stomach could not let her think. Was the bar always been this stuffy? Umi could not breathe no matter how air she tried inhale.

She could only hear faint sounds of Honoka as she stepped away from the counter and out the door to the back alley.

Umi just had to ask. How hard was that? Apparently too hard because everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong. Nozomi and Rin were right, she overthinks everything and now that had screwed everything up. At least out here she could finally breathe fresh air. Well, at least as fresh as it got in Neo Tokyo, certainly fresher than inside the bar. Umi pressed her back against one of the alley’s wall and slid down just before touching the ground. Hugging her legs, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh night air. Fresh and cold air. Temperatures had been dropping with each day and tonight had gotten to the point where one could see their own breath. Umi left her coat inside, but going back to get it right now… Umi could stand in the cold for a couple more minutes. Going back in there after leaving Honoka like that would be-

“Umi-chan? Are you okay?” Honoka walked out of the bar’s back door and into the alley.

“H-Honoka?” Umi quickly stood up and dusted the rear of her skirt. It was not like she was sitting on the floor, but a fetal position was not one she wanted to be seen in. “W-What are you doing here?”

“Your co-worker told me you went out for your break, and when I asked if I could come out here she insisted I gave you a few moments and then gave me your coat too. Here,” Honoka explained and handed Umi her coat. The bartender stared at it dumbfounded for a few seconds before taking it. “Do you have panic attacks frequently?”

“U-Um… no. Last time I had one was before a BTC test back when I was in training…” Umi said as she put on her coat. She felt a slight shiver from its unworn coldness but it was better than not wearing it. Back then, Rin and Nozomi had helped her calm down in time to take the test she had forgotten to study for and in the end she breezed through the test, something she still felt embarrassed about.

“How are you feeling now?” Honoka asked before pressing her back on the wall too, next to Umi.

Umi took another deep breath and watched her breath dissipate in front of her. “Better. Thanks for asking.”

“Hey, don’t mention it.” Despite the cold temperatures, Honoka’s smile warmed Umi as always. Out in the alley actually felt warmer.

Neither spoke another word, falling into a comfortable silence. Only the faint bustling of the city reminded them that there was a whole world out there.

“Thanks for checking up on me, Honoka. A-And sorry for leaving you like that,” Umi apologized.

“It’s fine, it happens to the best of us.” Honoka’s comment made Umi smile. “Kotori-chan has had them sometimes when she stresses too much.”

Kotori again. It felt like a pang on Umi’s insides, but even so, now was the best time to ask her. Finally be able to cope with her feelings.

“U-Um, Honoka?” Honoka looked at Umi with such attentiveness that it almost hurt to make such a strong question. “W-What is your relationship with Kotori?”

“Kotori-chan?” Honoka repeated with a confused look. “Well… we’ve been friends for a long time. We’ve been through a lot of things together, highs and lows, we've known each other since we were little kids. She was even my first kiss!” Honoka reminisced with a blush and a chuckle.

Oh. Somehow, it hurt so much more than Umi had been expecting. She supposed that deep down she hoped that there was no relationship at all between the two, as awful as it sounded.

“But…” Honoka continued, looking down at the ground and kicking a littered can, “it really didn’t work out, we only dated for like a week or two. Thankfully we’re still friends and hang out a lot. Truthfully, I don’t have much going on my life so having Kotori-chan as a friend has helped me out a ton.”

Oh. Umi had never felt such a whiplash of opposite emotions in a such a short span of time, but leave it to this police officer to make it happen.

“What’s up? Are you interested in her? She’s pretty cute! She cooks the most amazing sweets, has a lovely voice, always looks out for you, she will pretty much give you free clothes if you date her…”

Umi was not sure at what point she had stopped listening, instead having focused on taking a deep breath and steel herself once more.

“No, the one I’m interested in is you, Honoka.”

“And then one time-” Umi had managed to silence Honoka. Whether it was a good or a bad signal she did not know but she tried to not let it get to her. Not now. “I uh… r-really? Me? Not Kotori-chan?”

“I don't know why you keep thinking that I’d want to date her. I barely know her, but I know that these complicated feelings I’ve had since you showed up are about you, and that… t-that I want to… d-date you.” Umi did her best to power through the embarrassment of her words.

“Well, because Kotori-chan is so much better than me. I’m clumsy, dumb, trusting to a fault, and-”

Umi shook her head and took hold of Honoka’s hand tightly. “Then, please, trust me on this. On my feelings. I… I like you, and if possible… w-would like to date you.”

Honoka could not help but to swallow some of her doubts when Umi’s gaze was as serious as it was. She felt heat crawl up to her ears, growing self conscious of how much Umi was staring at her. “Kotori-chan only managed to up with me for like a week, you know?”

“I’m not Kotori.”

“Then… I think I’d like to see you more often. Outside the bar.”

“Are we… not outside the bar?” Umi asked, confused. She could not help but to look around the alley. “Or do you mean-”

Honoka interrupted the bartender by giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I meant on dates.”

It took a couple of second for Umi to realize what had just happened, her face flushing red. “H-Honoka!” she yelled and pushed Honoka away.

“Y-Yeah?” Honoka laughed heartily, seeing Umi’s face as red as it was.

“T-Tell me if you’re going to k..! To…! To k-kiss me,” Umi’s roaring voice quickly turned the meekest Honoka had ever heard Umi talk.

Honoka laughed some more, much to the bartender’s dismay. After wiping away a tear, Honoka took a deep breath to compose herself. “Umi-chan, can I kiss you?”

Umi’s blush only got worse, something neither of them were aware was even possible. “A-Actually being asked is worse. Please don’t ask if you can kiss me.”

“Then… I can?”

After another deep breath, Umi sighed and nodded. “Y-Yes… you can.”

Honoka smiled, and despite her embarrassment, Umi smiled back. Honoka took hold of one of Umi’s hands, their fingers entwining as she leaned closer to Umi. Closing her eyes, Honoka kissed Umi on the lips, this time savoring the moment, her other arm pulling Umi closer.

The sudden noise of the back door sliding open startled both girls, breaking the kiss to find Rin staring with her mouth wide open.

“Oh! Sorry, keep going!” Rin waved at them and backed up. “Nozomi! Umi-chan and the cop were making ou-!” As the door closed, the soundproofed walls of L1-L1 WH80 cut off the rest of the cat boomer’s announcement.

It would also soundproof Umi’s pending fury upon her co-worker.

“Umi-chan, could we stay like this for a bit?”

Well, all of that could wait. She knew that if a police officer ever asked her something, the best course of action would be to simply agree with them.

A/N:  And it's done! Thank you so much for reaching this finish line alongside me. This is my first multi-chapter fic that I've managed to finish, and honestly, it feels pretty great. It also feels like I've lifted a huge weight off my back and can now guiltlessly write other thingies. Some actual Christmas ideas and prompts have taken the back seat this past week so I could finally finish this. All the feedback that I received was a huge motivation to continue this AU I came up with half a year ago, so I truly appreciate all of you.

L1-L1 WH-80 is done! This last chapter came out as the longest one yet (actually each chapter got progressively longer) and I think this is chapter alone is my longest piece yet, coming out at almost 6k. A number not too impressive when compared to others but this is a new benchmark for me, hopefully one that I'll surpass one day. If the ending was disappointing, I apologize for not living up to the expectations. I always wanted to finish it up in the back alley, a setting that was also present in VA-11 HALL-A. The only one I couldn't get a chance to recreate was Jill's apartment, but I didn't want to take the story outside the bar.

Oh hey, and apparently I took so long a VA-11 HALL-A sequel was announced. Yikes!

I would love to revisit this AU and explore other characters and other parts of this setting, so look forward to that at some point in the future :)

I’d like to thank @bcheddar13 @saberin @master-thief-gray-shadow and @grayneigh for helping me out a ton by beta-ing this project for me.

Hopefully I'll get to post something before the 31st, but if not, happy holidays everyone.

[kaikeidou-backstage-blog]

Kaikeidou Ibun: M.c.s. - Tale of Sea Searching, Part 10

BGM: A Festival Orchestra that Ends Today ~ Climax Benefit.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO- OOOOOOOOOOOO- OOOOOOOOOOO!!"

 Tenpyou's piercing shriek fills the room. As she yells, the party around us stops dead, its energy vanishing into thin air. The previously-bustling atmosphere is as dull and bleak as a festival's closing day. In fact, even the fairies that had been flying in all directions are no longer anywhere to be seen.

"No! S-Stay away! NOOOO?! Ahh, waaahhh...!"

"T-Tenpyou...?!"

 Tenpyou thrashes in Kyouga's arms, like she's trying to run away from something terrifying.

"This one's still got a long way to go. She's far too susceptible to any threats against her. We sisters of Kai have no place for such a foolish sibling as this."

"Wah-aaahhh.... nooo~..."

 Tenpyou wrests back and forth in Kyouga's grasp, tears spilling from her unfocused eyes. Unable to stand watching this for another second, I yell as loud as I can.

"KYOUGA-SAN! What on EARTH did you do to her?!"

"Hm~m? Why, you're the 'incarnate god of Awakihara,' aren't you? Can't you manage to figure it out by yourself?"

 Thus prompted, I ask Nakatsu-no-Watatsumi-no-Kami. They immediately reply that she's using some kind of... hypnosis, that induces terror.

"Hypnosis...? Why would you--"

"Oh, my. So you really could figure it out? I'd expect no less from the power of a god. Y'know what? Why don't we use Tenpyou here as a test subject to figure out just how far you're able to see.....?"

 At Kyouga's joyful-sounding suggestion, I feel something inside of me once again snap.

"...Kyouga-san."

"Mm? What's the matter?"

"Reverse the hypnosis you put on Tenpyou, immediately."

"Why?"

"Just do it. Put her down. Now."

"Hoho, what a refreshingly absurd demand. And? If I say no?"

"If you don't, then I am going to exterminate you right here and right now as a youkai who brings harm to humanity."

 I call forth my ōnusa, which I'm now well-practised with over the course of all this, and thrust it towards Kyouga.

 This "Kyouga" is dangerous. I don't know the details of her ability, but at the very least, she has the power to induce mortal terror in people, and she's got a mentality that lets her use it as casually as she likes... And she talks to Tenpyou, who stuck with me in coming all the way up here-- to her own sister-- so callously. She called her own family member a test subject. I can instinctively tell that out of all her sisters so far, she's the one who I most have to avoid underestimating.

"A sense of justice like a frog in a well, who knows nothing of the vast ocean... I can't say I dislike that. But this is still just a matter between us sisters, isn't it? ...Are you tellin' me that you're still gonna butt in?"

"Yes. Absolutely. I may not be able to say why, but-- I feel like I absolutely can't let you get away with this."

"HAH! I think I find that directionless justice of yours wonderful! As for how you're going to challenge me, I can certainly hazard a guess, but... well, let's try not to overthink things too early."

 She says that with a wide, haughty grin. It's a suspicious expression; I can't stop a nervous tension from running down my spine.

 Right in the middle of all this, with the room feeling like a powder keg about to go off, Tenpyou's shrill, trembling voice reaches my ears again.

"Tsukushiiii... where are youuu....?"

"Whoopsy."

 Tenpyou forces her way out of Kyouga's grasp, and starts calling as if she's looking for me. It seems like she can't tell where I am; she walks blindly in my general direction, waving her arms out in front of her.

"Tenpyou. Tenpyou, I'm right here, it's okay."

"Tsukushi...! Tsukushi-hiii... *sniff*"

 I take Tenpyou's hand. As she realizes I'm there, she pulls herself closer to me along my arm. ...She's not looking at me. I imagine that the hypnosis is still affecting her eyes somehow. Kyouga looks over at Tenpyou for a moment, then slowly straightens up and mutters while scratching her long hair.

"Well, I'll be... it's not any of us sisters, not that person, but you who she's calling for help... You're a rather popular one, aren't you, lassie?"

 Kyouga speaks with evident emotion. And then she continues:

"If this is anythin' to go by... it seems like our plan to make you into this place's new shrine maiden will go pretty well."

"Your new... shrine maiden.....?"

 With that, I can practically hear the sound of my memories from the past few hours snapping together like a puzzle.

 A test of strength, six sisters, letting victors pass through, their knowledge of my identity, a shrine maiden.....

"Well, we can save all the talk for after your fight with me. There's no way that you'll let me get away with this, right?"

 Kyouga's jeering brings me out of my thoughts, and back to reality. Right. The debriefing can wait until after this... first, there's a pack of youkai mermaids living in seas of my real world, threatening people... no, even more importantly than that. Right now, right in front of me, there's the insane leader of the Kai family, who's grinning without a care in the world while toying with her own little sister...

"...Quite right. That was a very interesting phrase I just heard, so I'll include all that in my list of things to resolve after beating you."

 I take a deep breath, and clap my hands over my cheeks to get myself fired up. --Don't worry. I'm still quite calm. Lord Watatsumi did briefly speak with me out of concern, but I'm fine. I'm just going to get a little serious for once, that's all.

"And there we have it! SHUNKEI!"

"Yes'm~!"

"Whip us up a crowd, an' make sure to get all the fairies who were skipping party duty a minute ago! In fact, call everyone out in the thoroughfare too, why don't you!"

"Heh heh. This sure is going to be fun. Roger that, cap'n!"

 After Kyouga and Shunkei-san's quick call-and-response, Shunkei-san once again whips off her outer cloak and hurls it up to the ceiling. Just as my vision is focused on it, the festival plaza is suddenly replaced with an even more spacious area-- like a vast sports arena. There's a torii gate and a pair of stone lanterns standing in the distance, and the space around is is packed with a massive crowd of fairies like spectators in a stadium.

"T-There's so many of them...?!"

"It seems like you didn't clue in at the time, but Shunkei's power is making waves. An' the swell of excitement rippling through a crowd-- a human wave, if you will-- is within her ability's scope, too."

"Aw, shucks."

 I think back to my fight with Shunkei-san. That makes sense; the reason she didn't use her ability on me is because she was spending all her energy on gathering the crowd and hyping up the fight. In that case, that fight's outcome is...

 ...Not any easier to accept, thank you. The fact that I couldn't exploit that ability by directing it at myself still shows that I'm inexperienced.

"NOW! The audience is assembled. You, lassie, have more than enough reason to take me down. And you have the power with which to fight me. I, meanwhile, have my duty to fulfill as the eldest Kai sister!"

 It's time for my dramatic battle with Kyouga. Provoked by her words, I feel a heat rising up from somewhere in me, and I respond to her declaration in kind-- as I feel, in the back of my mind, that this marks the end of this whole uproar.

"I'm going to resolve all of this. The end of the marine incidents, Tenpyou, the truth of what's going on here-- I am going to take all of them from you, and then return to the surface! This is humble Tsukushi Awakihara, hereby...no, you know what. This is--!"

Watatsumi's incarnate god, Tsukushi Awakihara... The eldest "Sea" sister, Kyouga Kai...

NOW HUMBLY DEPLOYING! NOW HUMBLY DEPLOYIN'!

[angstandhappiness]

Interesting

it's 2am which is perfect time to purely speculate on stuff like "did raven and qrow have different type of missions despite both being spies for ozpin?" based on miniscule details like how they talk about the tribe.

because, okay, so. raven's the one who reveals they were sent to beacon to learn how to kill huntsmen and she doesn't frame it particularly in a negative way, which is contrasted by qrow calling the tribe murderers and thieves and very much being against that kind of life.

on the other hand, qrow's the one who brings up the tribe's scouting parties, which lines up with his spy work and looking for maidens when their locations are not known—and when they are known, he knows who the maidens are and what their status might be. at the same time, he doesn't seem to exactly know who salem's followers are despite being aware that they exist, but raven does. however, and while this is more of a "lack of evidence isn't evidence" type of deal, so far there has been no indication that raven knows about the identity of other maidens that much.

which... kinda would make sense? ozpin knows that the maidens are constantly under threat, and while it wouldn't be the worst case scenario if a maiden dies and the powers transfer to raven, he would still be down a spy. with qrow that wouldn't be a problem, so sending him to follow and seek for the maidens makes sense.

but that brings me back to salem's followers and the whole killing business. ozpin also knows that salem sends her followers not only to hunt down maidens but also silver-eyed warriors... but who hunts the hunters? so perhaps that's where raven came in; she has no qualms about killing people (that we know of) and she knows more about salem's followers than qrow, so if it so happens that some of them are up to no good, well... things might get a bit stabby.

though as hilarious as i might find the image, i doubt ozpin would have sent raven to specifically eliminate someone. it's more about thinking ahead and accounting for every possibility, and sending the twins on different missions based on that.