#anyway ruby goes for the legs because yang asks nicely

[faunusrights]

remember when i said i'd draw what ruby looked like in crime au and then just... didn't? well here she is

she's patch's last line of defence against the gangs of vale who'd love to move into xiao long turf, but most people make the mistake of thinking yang's the most dangerous kid from patch. au contraire; ruby is an absolutely insurmountable opponent, if only because she's good enough with a rifle to take out your kneecaps from halfway across the strait. it's why yang is willing to let people get as far as the ferry across, because they won't see the other side :)

[nevervalentines]

(went looking for) a creation myth [read on ao3 here]

With the Vytal Festival just weeks away, Yang is left looking for answers to questions she is too scared to ask. 

***

Yang and Blake, before. 

[7k words of a speed run enemies-to-lovers, roughhousing with bladed weapons, and sexually charged hair washing]

Blood is seeping through the fabric of her top, and her tan jacket is gritty with dust. It’s enough to staunch the tacky, rust-colored stain, but only just, and the cut stings with sweat and friction as Yang raises her forearm to run it across her brow.

She slicks her bangs out of her eyes, and reloads her gauntlets with a tight punch at her side, bracing her arms for the recoil as the shells drop into their chambers. Ember Celica is overloud in the sudden quiet of the clearing. Moss-dampened and studded with new spring growth, Emerald Forest is surprisingly silent, as if Yang hadn’t been booking it for her fucking life thirty seconds before.

Then, just there, through the trees – she sees it. Yang’s heart drops, and she risks a step forward, eyes scanning the mulchy cover of dead leaves and underbrush for a trip wire. There’s the potential for anything, from a steel-jawed bear trap to a cartoon-esque snare and net. She really wouldn’t put it past them.

She sees nothing and raises her eyes to scan the trees, finds only the pale underside of the arcing canopy and the gnarl of tangled vines. Grinning, she feels an early flush of victory, a rush of satisfaction that pounds like a second heartbeat. She might actually win this thing; the others be damned.

Bleeding side forgotten, fists held loosely at the ready, she is about to take the final steps toward her target when the metallic click of a safety releasing freezes her in place. Yang winces her eyes closed, breathes out shakily. She feels the mouth of a pistol nuzzle in between her shoulder blades.

Yang knows who it is without turning around. Which is to say: the worst-case scenario. She swallows, hard.

“You don’t want to do this,” she says. At a firmer nudge of the gun against her back, she raises her hands, obedient.  “You can just pretend like I was never here.”

“And why would I do that?”

She turns slowly in place, arms still raised above her head, and finds herself face to face with her captor, finds narrowed, golden eyes, Gambol Shroud pointed squarely at her chest. Blake is wrinkling her nose in the way that means she’s biting back a laugh.

“Because you love me?”

Blake bites at her lip, considers. Shrugs. “Maybe. But not enough to let you take our flag.”

“I was so close,” Yang whines. She pivots her head over her shoulder, pouts in the direction of the blue fabric hanging from a flagpole just a few yards away.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Blake says, stepping closer, until the heat of her thigh presses against Yang’s, “you really weren’t. Pyrrha’s had you in her sights since you crossed the creek.”

“Have you considered,” Yang says, flattening her hands against the back of her head in a way that she knows pushes her chest out, in a way that, without fail, means Blake’s eyes will flick down to her cleavage, “that I was just a distraction?”

Blake hesitates for just a second, but it’s a beat too long, and Yang lashes out her leg, timing the strike perfectly with Weiss’s rush from the trees on the far side of the clearing, darting from glyph to glyph, a lightning-crackling Nora close on her heels.

Yang and Blake go down in an undignified heap, and Pyrrha’s shot spears the space she was in just moments before.

The scramble at the base of the flagpole dissolves into an all-out brawl. A petal-blurred Ruby drops from a tree and gamely tackles Weiss, and her subsequent shrill scream makes an entire flock of birds flee their roost from the above canopy.

More players from both teams race into the clearing, skidding through dead leaves and debris, pant legs flecked with creek water and mud, more roughed up than a 50-minute long, single class period game of capture the flag has any right to make them.

From her spot on the ground, the sky wheeling overhead, Yang distantly hopes some people stayed behind to guard their own flag, but the odds aren’t looking good.

At the edge of the tree line, Juane trips one of the exact traps Yang had been wary of, something rigged so quickly and neatly it has to be Ruby’s handiwork, and it hoists him overhead by his ankle. He dangles, looking resigned, sword sliding out of its scabbard and thunking Cardin squarely on the top of his head.

Cardin goes down like a brick.

Juane cheers.

They’re on the same team, but no one seems to remember the red/blue delineations at this point. The flag all but forgotten, Weiss and Nora are facing off against an odd match-up of Ruby and Ren, and Yang tries to clamber off the ground, ready to provide back-up.

But in the split seconds it had taken the feverish mob to descend, Blake has twisted on top of her, and is driving the hilt of Gambol Shroud down towards Yang’s face. Breathing hard, knees hugged tightly at Yang’s waist, she’s all lithe and muscle – completely unlike close quarter sparring with Ruby.

Yang catches her wrists and squeezes, and Blake drops the blade and scabbard, until the two of them are grappling like teenagers, pressed too tight for Yang to feasibly use her gauntlets, just adrenaline-flushed and tangled limbs, Blake’s eyes flashing, mouth open in an unexpected grin.

“If you wanted to wrestle,” Yang says, twisting on her back in the dirt. “We’ve got beds back at the dorm.”

Blake cuts her off with a forearm to her windpipe, presses down. “I want to do it here.”

Yang knows Blake can be playful – has seen her gloat after a long-fought evening of board games, or loopy with lack of sleep after a few too many all-nighters, pulling dry jokes that make Weiss cringe.

But this – the full weight of her levered onto Yang’s chest, bursting into a laugh as Yang’s hips jump, hands and legs meeting in a mishap of strikes and punches that would make Glynda weep – feels so young. It’s like the tether that tugs at Blake, forces her eyes over her shoulder, knots her brow with worry, has been cut free. Like just for a moment, just for now, it’s only the two of them tangled in the sun-dappled clearing.

They manage to roll to their feet, and Yang shakes her hair out of her face, cocks her fists loosely in front of her chin. Gestures Blake forward.

“Let’s see how nicely you play without your toys, Belladonna.”

Blake’s mouth pulls tight, and she drops into a crouch, leaving Gambol Shroud half-buried in the leaves.

Despite the weight of it, Yang barely remembers Ember Celica exists. It’s been an extension of her own body since her first years at Signal, but suddenly she’s much more preoccupied with how to best get both of Blake’s hands back on her.

“Yang,” Blake says. She flashes teeth. “Stop stalling.”

Behind them, Ruby and Ren are gamely losing, and Pyrrha melts out of the trees, cutting Juane down from the branch with a smile and a well-placed spear throw, catching him before he can hit the ground. All the partners had been split onto opposing teams, but Pyrrha leverages him gently to his feet anyway, backing up a few steps before gesturing for him to challenge.

Cheek smushed into the forest floor, Cardin has begun to drool.

With the full weight of Blake’s attention on her, Yang feels that same second-heartbeat-flush, better than any almost-victory. It’s a feeling she has been careful not to examine too closely for fear of what she will find.

They’ve been partners now for almost two full semesters, and she’s spent too much of it avoiding stating the obvious – avoiding the thing building in between them as if averted eyes will stop the pot from boiling over.

The few slip ups she chalks up to chance, to hormones, to a laundry list of excuses that Blake’s own silence seems to affirm.

It’s working, she tells herself. It’s working, it’s working.

Hair a tousled ripple down her back, Blake’s black cravat had dislodged at some point during the game, leaving her neck bare, skin shining with sweat, glistening in the hollow of her throat. She flicks her bangs out of her eyes and tenses under Yang’s gaze, firming her jaw until the muscle pops, half-smiles.

If Yang didn’t know any better, she would think Blake is enjoying this.

Blake moves on the offensive first, and it catches Yang off-guard, forcing her to step back to dodge a flurry of quick jabs before taking a fist squarely to the jaw. Blake flinches harder than Yang when she lands the hit, immediately backing off.

“It’s okay,” Yang murmurs. Her aura absorbs the punch, and she can feel her semblance simmer, heat lighting under her skin like the kiss of a match against a gas burner. “You can even go harder next time.”

Blake rolls her eyes, but acquiesces.

Even sparring, Blake is careful not to touch her hair – and part of Yang wants to tell her to stop taking it easy, to grab it, pull it. She wants to know what it feels like when Blake plays dirty.

Inevitably, always, Yang comes out on top, breathing hard, the both of them breathless with laughter – unsure what to do with her victory. She knows both of their aura levels are sinking, and Ruby – all but fleeing from Weiss across the clearing – has dropped dangerously low.

When a shrill whistle interrupts the scramble – the flag still dangling untouched, she and Blake immediately deflate, the fight going out of them as easy as it came. Yang heaves a noise of exasperation, drops her forehead onto Blake’s chest. When she lifts her head, Blake’s arms have wrapped loosely around her back.

“Call it a draw?” Yang says, digs her chin hard into Blake’s sternum. “I pretty much had you.”

“Nice try,” Blake says. Her words reverberate in her chest, and Yang feels every moment of their conception, the slight intake of breath into her lungs, the buzz of them as they carry through her throat.

Professor Port’s voice is like a bucket of cold water. He’s standing at the edge of the wood, brandishing a silver whistle, looking at them with ill-disguised exasperation.

“Class,” he says, “I believe the directive was to steal the other team’s flag, not to scrap like children on a playground.”

“Who won?” Weiss pipes up. She’s scraping her hair back into a neat ponytail, standing over a prone Ruby who must have fallen, and has wisely chosen to stay down.

“Everyone lost,” Port says, cheerily. “Back to the school. After that display, I don’t trust you all out here after dark.”

Despite the game’s failure, he seems in good spirits, clapping Juane on the back, and chiding Pyrrha about helping the opposing team mid competition. As punishment, Juane is saddled with Cardin, likely concussed, and directed to help him back to the infirmary.

Hauling herself off the ground, brushing clinging soil off of elbows, picking leaves out of her hair, Yang reaches for Gambol Shroud without thinking. It’s half-submerged in the close-knit groundcover, and she untangles it from curling tendrils of green, robotically sheathing the blade back into the blunt scabbard.

Only after, does she freeze, halfway to her feet. It’s an unspoken taboo to handle other huntresses’ weapons, certainly not without express permission, and here she had done it so casually, tactless.  

But Blake, one arm stretched over her head, shoulder muscles rippling, doesn’t bat an eye. She accepts it from Yang gratefully, fingers brushing as it passes between them. She slings it over her back, and reaches toward Yang, pulls a twig free of her hair.

Wordless, they head toward the group, Yang trying to gauge if she’s going to have to piggy-back Ruby to the dorm room. Still lying prone, Weiss is poking at her with the toe of a boot.

It’s only then, so brief she almost misses it, that Blake reaches between them, brushes her fingers over the cuff of Ember Celica. It feels like the answer to a question Yang hadn’t known how to ask, and the last of the fight, the tension she didn’t know she was carrying, coiling at the top of her spine, ebbs entirely.

They fall into step easily, automatically, and together reach down to help Ruby off the ground. Like a top-heavy punching bag, Ruby lists once she’s on her feet, limbs weighted with exhaustion.

Though Yang reaches out, it’s Blake who steadies her, one hand brushing Ruby’s bangs out of her eyes.

“Reunited at last,” Yang says, laughs at Weiss’s pinched expression. “Can’t believe that game had the audacity to tear us in two.”

“Shut up,” Weiss grumbles, but she’s smiling, and half-heartedly accepts Yang’s high-five. Yang bullies them into a bear hug before they join the others, an eight-legged jumble of girl-sweat and protesting laughter, leaning so hard on one another that when they begin to fall, they topple in turn, like dominoes.  

***

After Port’s dismissal, they troop back to the Beacon dorms leisurely. They have an hour of free period before dinner, and no one in seems to be in any rush to get to the dining hall, content to nurse bruises and grievances, ribbing each other good naturedly, flags forgotten.

Ren is quietly chastising Nora about what looks suspiciously like a human bite mark wetting the sleeve of his tunic, and Juane brings up the rear of the group, quietly sulking, a blessedly out-of-it Cardin’s arm slung over his shoulder.

The wooded forest bleeds into a scrubby grassland, and they wade through waist-high wheatgrass as the spires of Beacon come into view, dodging prickly burs and seedpods that cling stubbornly to their socks and hemlines.

Yang presses her palm to her side. It comes away tacky with old blood, and she grimaces. Her aura had strained to heal it, skin stitching together to staunch the flow, but the last of the fight had drained her reserves, and it reopened easily in the struggle. Catching the movement out of the corner of her eye, Blake grabs for Yang’s hand, frowns down at her skin like a disgruntled palm reader.

“How did that happen?”

What she doesn’t say, plainly written on the landscape of her face in a language Yang is just learning to read is: is that from me?

“My own fault, actually,” Yang says. “We really don’t need to get into it.”

She ignores the stinging pain in favor of Blake’s fingers, stroking carefully over the dips of her knuckles.

“She fell out of a tree early in the strategizing process,” Weiss says. She’s snuck up on them, appearing at Yang’s elbow, face drawn with disdain. Her voice lilts, obviously mocking. “Oh, don’t worry about it, Weiss. I’m just getting the lay of the land, Weiss. Those branches aren’t too thin, Weiss.” She sniffs. “You could have broken your neck.”

“See,” Yang says, slinging an arm around Weiss’s shoulder, pulling her against her side, “she does care.”

“I didn’t say it would be a bad thing,” she says. But Yang doesn’t miss the way she turns her face into her casual embrace, her hand coming up to tug at the back of Yang’s jacket affectionately, clumsy, like it’s an action she’s unfamiliar with.

Blake smiles, ducks her chin. “Don’t say that. I like having her around.”

Yang quiets her internal rejoicing to a silent cheer. She feels, helplessly, like a child picking petals from a wilting stem. She loves me. She loves me not.

She beams, bumping her shoulder against Blake’s. “From Blake, that’s practically a marriage proposal.”

Cheeks flushing, Blake tucks a strand of hair behind one ear, looks away. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Who’s getting married?” This from Ruby, fending off an assault from Weiss who is trying to pat down a stubborn cowlick in the tangled mess of her hair.  

“No one,” says Weiss. “You need a haircut.”

“Me and Blake,” Yang says, cheerfully. “She was the one to propose and everything, it was super embarrassing.”

“Congrats,” Ruby says, batting at Weiss’s hands.

“Long time coming, really,” Yang says. She smiles at Blake. “I’m picturing a summer wedding.”

Blake rolls her eyes, but smiles. A rare one, with teeth. Yang almost stops walking, just to take it in.

Clearly over their antics, Weiss lengthens her stride to catch up with Pyrrha, Ruby trailing behind.

It leaves Blake and Yang alone, shoulder to shoulder, picking their away along the muddy, tire-rutted path that meanders toward the eastern portion of the Beacon grounds. In the distance, the colorful, striped tents of the Vytal Festival fairgrounds are just visible, the encampment half-pitched in preparation for the festival, mere weeks away.

The skeleton of a mostly-assembled Ferris Wheel crests over the treetops, like the pale, bleached bones of a Goliath, its mechanical frame at odds with the verdant landscape.

“Excited?” Yang asks. She bumps her shoulder against Blake’s, jerks her chin toward the pennants lethargically drooping in the stagnant spring heat.

“Hardly,” Blake says. She peeks at Yang out of the corner of her eye. “The tournament might be interesting, at least.”

“All the people, the spectacle, the fried festival food,” Yang reels off, ticking up her fingers, “it sounds like your –”

“—worst nightmare,” Blake says.

Yang laughs. “Maybe so, but,” she shrugs, “meeting new people, smashing their faces in, it’s the huntress way.”

“Now that,” Blake says, “I can get behind.”

Ahead of them, Weiss seems to be trying to engage Pyrrha in an in-depth analysis of the capture of flag bout, looking seconds away from pulling out a notebook and taking notes on every one of Pyrrha’s absentminded observations.

“This is painful to watch,” Yang says, gleefully. “If Pyrrha touches her, she’s going to –”

Pyrrha sets a hand at the small of Weiss’s back, guides her around a rock pitting the dirt path.

“Oh, there it is,” Blake says. She’s actually biting her lower lip to hold in laughter, eyes squinting with mirth. “Someone check the girl’s pulse.”

Like this, sun-lit and flushed, wearing her in-on-the-joke smile, Blake is radiant. She’s a little roughed up from the fight, ribbon a dark, striped wreath around her forearms, her top mud-streaked, the single button of her vest undone.

Yang is enamored. She offers her an arm to use as a crutch, and Blake leans into, buries a laugh in her shoulder.

Ahead of them, Weiss seems to be staggering her way through a conversation about semblances, ponytail swishing. She only comes up to Pyrrha’s shoulder, and when Pyrrha pauses, blithely rubbing at a scrape of dirt on Weiss’s cheeks. Yang can see Weiss’s face blush and burn, even from ten feet away.

Ruby, lagging a few steps behind, looks chuffed to be the most intelligible person in the vicinity.

“Why don’t you look at me like that?” Yang murmurs. They’re winding their way through a spindly grove of peach trees, the last surviving vestiges of the orchards that used to grow on Beacon’s loamy, river-rich soil.

Unkept, the trunks fork and spur, rough bark splitting like over-risen bread, papering off in grey-brown patches. This early in the season, the fruit is small and green, but Blake pauses under the heavy boughs anyway, tilts her face upward.

“What?” she says, studying the waxy, canoe-shaped leaves, veins bleeding from the midrib in furrows. “Like I’m going into cardiac arrest?”

“No,” Yang says, teeth parting around a laugh, “like you adore me.”

Blake gestures Yang forward, touches a palm to her cheek, guides Yang to look up to the branches above where, inexplicably, Blake has spotted a single ripe peach.  

Without needing to be asked, Yang knits her fingers at her belt buckle like a basket, offers it to Blake who leverages herself up to grasp a branch, just high enough to pluck the peach from the stem. She lands lightly on her feet, offers it first to Yang, who cups the fuzzed, sunrise-bodied fruit in her palms.

“Maybe you’re not looking hard enough,” Blake says.

Reaching out, she lifts Yang’s hands, brings the peach to her own mouth, and takes a bite. Juice dribbles from her lips, wets Yang’s knuckles, the vessel of her palm. Blake does not meet her eyes.

A world away, the dinner bell clangs on campus, and the sound reaches them across the grounds. From just ahead, Ruby yells for them to catch up.

**

Yang’s sweating again by the time they enter the Beacon courtyard, the sun creeping west across the sky. Already, the moon, in fragments, hangs low over the horizon like a coin toss, illusory and half-spun. Heat shimmers off the gray cobblestones, a sun-stoked haze that blurs the geometry of fountains to a mirage, and she wriggles out of her jacket, stripping down to her orange tank, hissing when the rotation of her shoulder pulls at her side.

Blake looks at her, and immediately cuts her eyes away. Looks back, lingers. She has an affinity for Yang’s freckled shoulders, has said as much, and Yang exposes them around her as much as possible.

Between them, Blake’s fingers brush the back of Yang’s hand. She thinks, for a moment, that Blake might take her hand in her own, and the idea alone leaves her with a wanting so keen it embarrasses her.  

It’s compulsive, chemical, that Blake’s presence pulls her attention like gravity.

A touch curls at the inside of her elbow, and Blake tugs Yang gently toward her, sidestepping a water feature that looms, overlarge and obvious.  

“You were about to walk into a fountain,” Blake murmurs. One of the loops of her bow flicks, a smile ghosts the corner of her lips.

Yang jerks her chin up, begins to apologize, and Blake shakes her head. “As fun as that might have been, I don’t want to miss dinner because I’m drying you off.”

“I think I could have handled it on my own,” Yang says, leans into Blake’s touch.

“What kind of betrothed would I be,” Blake says, releasing her elbow and moving toward the mouth of the dining hall, “if I left you wet and alone in your time of need?” She only spares Yang a glance before stepping out of the final slash of the sunlight, into the shadow of the doorway.

Frozen, Yang roots herself into the flagstone – tries to parse apart if Blake could have possibly intended that as – if she would have ever said something so – and no, right? No.

“Blake – ” she says, helpless. But Blake is already disappearing inside with a light laugh, leaving Yang to flounder in her wake.

In the early evening sun, buffered by classmates on either side, Yang stares after her, desperately trying to do the math, imagines petals shedding like snowfall.

**

It’s Blake who offers, which surprises each of them, but most of all Yang.

They’re scattered around the dorm room after dinner and a short stint in the library, Weiss pulling her pajama top over her head, Ruby dangling upside down from the top bunk, while Blake smooths a bandage over Yang’s ribs.

In just a sports bra, sitting on the edge of her desk, Blake’s hands trailing over her side, Yang feels like she’s lost control of the situation. Blake mistakes her shuddering breath for pain, and winces in sympathy.

“I’m sorry.” She presses down the adhesive of the bandage with her finger gingerly, nails skirting the rungs of Yang’s ribs, prodding the skin as she checks for inflammation. “I’m almost done, I promise.”

“All good,” Yang says, strained. She’s trying to decide if flexing her arms, like, only a little bit, is going to be a dead giveaway. “Take your time, really.”

Across the room, Weiss scoffs. Yang tries to pin her with a glare, but Weiss evades, busies herself tidying her discarded clothes from the day. Weiss must be the only person in the world who folds her shirts before she puts them in the dirty clothes hamper. It causes Ruby endless amusement, and she swivels her head to watch.

Blake’s hands are cool, and Yang can smell the citrus-perfume of her soap, the soft cotton of her t-shirt rubbing against Yang’s bare shoulder as she leans closer to survey her handiwork.

“I think you’re going to live,” she says. She meets Yang’s eyes glancingly before her gaze drops down, hovers somewhere around Yang’s mouth.

Ruby clambers from the top bunk and comes up on her feet, shaking her hair out of her eyes. Weightless with static from the thick, wool blankets, it frizzes and wisps, too short for a ponytail, and too long to do anything but make her look like a disgruntled miniature pony.

Pulling away from Yang’s side, Blake turns to Ruby thoughtfully. Yang, immediately missing the warmth of her, falls back onto the desk, her muscles popping gratefully with the pull of the stretch.  She examines the pulpy, drop-tile ceiling studiously, trying to calm her heartrate, embarrassed at the rush of longing Blake always seems to leave in her wake.

“You know, I could cut it for you, if you wanted,” Blake says. This to Ruby, whose eyes go wide, a little shy, a little pleased.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Yang turns her head, grinning again, shrugging the melancholy off like shedding a second skin. “Now this, I’ve got to see.”

***

Blake drags a desk chair from the bedroom, positions it in front of the sink. She’s spinning a small pair of silver scissors on her pointer finger when she ushers Ruby into the bathroom, and Yang and Weiss troop in as well, like it’s a given.

With the four of them crammed in the tiny bathroom, it’s a tight fit, and Yang leans with her back against the door, Weiss perched on the edge of the tub.

“I didn’t realize I would actually have an audience,” Blake says, quietly, but she isn’t successful in hiding her smile, mouth turning up at the corners.

The sink is running, and she dips two fingers under the flow, waits for it to warm, flicks water in Ruby’s face just to tease.

Shoulders relaxing, Ruby barely grumbles as Blake pushes her gently down into the chair, tilting her head back until her hair wets under the faucet’s flow.

“Too hot?” Blake asks. She cups water in her palms, diverting it until it wets Ruby’s hair to its roots, slicking her bangs out of her face with careful fingers.

Ruby shakes her head, bare feet swinging over the tiles. “S’nice,” she slurs, lashes fluttering against her cheek. “Mom used to do this, remember?” This to Yang, one eye cracking to look at her before closing again.

Arms crossed, Yang nods. “I do.”

Her voice sounds strange, swollen, even to her. She clears her throat, looks to Blake who is looking back at her, gaze soft and steady. The mirror over the sink is fogging with heat, and Yang is stupidly glad not to see her own expression reflected in the glass.

The memory is blurry with overuse, and she feels selfish for hoarding it, something she and Ruby talk about so rarely – the short window of domesticity, the four of them, together.

Blake must sense her discomfort and leans over Ruby, carding through her hair gently, warm water swirling down the drain.

“We’ll just do a trim, okay?” She tilts her head, considering. “Just enough to get your bangs out of your eyes.”

From her spot on the lip of the tub, Weiss is watching the them with open interest, dressed in her slouchiest pajamas, hair loose around her shoulders.

Blake looks back at her. “What do you think?”

Weiss looks surprised to have been asked to weigh in, and shifts unsteadily, pinning her hands under the backs of her thighs, lips tucked into her mouth.

“It will look nice,” Weiss ventures. Then, unsteadily, like she’s unsure if that’s the right answer: “Fine, I mean. It will look fine.”

“Weiss thinks I look nice,” Ruby says, dreamily, eyes still closed.

Yang laughs. “Anything to stop you from going into fights blind should do the trick.”

Blake is methodical and careful, her movements practiced, and Yang watches her hands closely, fascinated by the routine of her gestures. Her long fingers are sure as she brushes out Ruby’s hair, fixing the lengths of hair between two fingers, snipping, tendrils of dyed red spiraling to the bathroom tile.

“You’re good at that,” Yang says, careful not to pose it as a question, even if her curiosity is clear.

“After I left home,” Blake says, tilting her head to frown at Ruby’s hair, thoughtful, “there weren’t places where – well, there weren’t many places that would be willing to serve Faunus, let alone cut our hair.”

Focused on her task, Blake fits two fingers under Ruby’s chin, lifts until she’s staring straight ahead. She hums, approving. When she began to talk, Yang, Blake and Weiss each stilled, incremental, like curious children unwilling to startle a flighty bird.

It’s rare for Blake to offer much from before, even after all these months, and Yang squirrels away every piece of information she manages to glean, coveted closely in a well-hidden corridor in her chest.

“It was a necessity at first, we were moving around a lot, but I like it now,” Blake says. “It’s soothing.” She scrubs her hand under the fall of Ruby’s hair, appraising her work. “I wish we had some clippers, you would look really good with a, like, undercut.”

Tilting her head to look back at Blake, Ruby grins. “Yeah?’

“Oh, yeah,” Blake says. “Very edgy.”

Ruby’s eyes flutter closed again and she leans back into Blake’s hands, accepting the easy touch, pleased.

Watching her like this, the baby round of Ruby’s cheeks, her deep-set eyes, so like Summer, Yang’s heart pangs and pulls. She looks so young, and it’s been so long since she’s seen Ruby find comfort and closeness in groups like this. At Signal, she was always worlds apart.

Too young to hang out with Yang and her friends, and too buried in her comics and starry-eyed dreams of far-flung heroism to mesh easily with the other kids her age. Weiss is watching, too, almost hungry. She is starved, Yang has come to realize, in similar ways – for family, for acceptance, for the way Blake look back to ask her opinion, listening intently when Weiss ventures an answer.

“Okay,” Blake says, steps back. “All set, I think.”

Ruby pops up out of her seat, swipes a hand through the mirror’s condensation to look at her reflection, tilting her head this way and that, before grinning, bright.

“It’s perfect.” Then, shyly, “thank you, Blake.”

“Anytime,” Blake says. “We can pick up dye next time we’re in Vale, recolor the ends.”

Yang groans. “Don’t get her started, she’s been threatening more drastic dye jobs since grade school. I’ve had to talk her out of lime green more times than I can count.”

“The red suits you,” Weiss says, pushing off of her perch to more closely examine Ruby’s bangs. Ruby obediently stops fidgeting, submits to Weiss’s hands, but not before shaking her wet head like a dog, sending water droplets flying.

Aghast, Weiss hisses a chastisement, but cards her hands through her hair, all the same.

“I could cut yours,” Blake says to Weiss. Appraises her, head tilted. “It’s getting long.”

Weiss looks shocked at the sudden kindness, turning a gradient of shades, from a light pink to a dark red the longer Blake looks at her.

“Oh, no,” she says, haltingly. “I have a standing appointment at an Atlas salon but,” she trails off.

Blake nods, that tiny smile still evident on the puzzle-box mystery of her mouth.

Ruby looks on with interest, pokes at Weiss’s cheek, but knows better than to comment.

With a final thanks, the two of them troop out of the bathroom in a snippy caravan, Weiss already haranguing Ruby about an assignment due in the morning, Ruby loudly asking Weiss if she’ll brush her hair before homework, anyhow.

Their departure leaves a vacuum, a pocket of silence, just Yang and Blake, who both seem to realize how close they are standing at the same time, all excuses having fled the room on the heels the others.

“Thank you for doing that,” Yang says, quietly, she reaches out hesitantly and takes Blake’s hand, rubs her thumb across her knuckles. “It’s nice not to do all the mothering, for once.” She shakes her head. “I tried to cut her hair once, must have been about 13. Dad almost had to shave her whole head.”

“She would have loved it though,” Blake says. She doesn’t pull her hand away.

Yang laughs. “Yeah, probably.” She steps closer, emboldened by their hands clasped between them, by the way Blake tilts her whole body toward her, magnetic.

“It was really nothing,” Blake says. “Ruby restitched, like, four pairs of my leggings last week, anyway.”

“It was sweet of you to offer a trim to Weiss, too.” Yang lowers her voice, though the other two are well out of earshot, having closed the bathroom door behind them. “I don’t think she was ready for you to send her into a full-fledged sexual identity crisis.”

Blake throws her head back in a laugh, exposing the long line of her throat, cheeks dimpling. “Oh, no. That’s what Pyrrha is for.” A beat. “I don’t think I’m her type anyway.”

“How?” Yang blurts, clumsy and unthinking, tries to amend it with – “I think you’re everyone’s type,” which really just digs the hole deeper.

Blake looks at her steadily, in that awful way she does, and shoves a little bit at Yang’s shoulder, bullies her toward the chair.

“You should let me do you next,” she says. She must misinterpret Yang’s expression – which flatlines at an alarming speed, elevator music starting to play behind her eyes – and hurries to correct herself. “I mean, not a cut. I know how you feel about your hair, but I could wash it?”

“Wash it?” Yang looks at the sink, back to Blake. The air in the bathroom seems to be getting thinner, and she can’t stop looking at Blake’s forearms, the flex of them as she toys with the scissors, running her thumb lightly over the tapered point.

“You’ve still got leaves in it from earlier,” Blake says, words taut with amusement, “and if you lift your arms over your head, you’re going to undo all my hard work anyway.”

The cut is mostly healed, barely a pale scar at this point, and they both know it. Yang wonders how long they will continue to run round these excuses.

It’s working, it’s working, it’s – “Let me touch you,” Blake says. She presses down on Yang shoulder, guides her toward the chair. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

The chair creaks under Yang’s weight, and her outstretched legs butt up against the opposite bathroom wall. To maneuver around her, Blake has to step between her legs, her hips pressed tight against the inside of Yang’s bare thighs.

Unsure, Yang leans her head back, feels the porcelain cold against the back of her neck. “Like this?”

“Just like that.”

Blake turns on the faucet, and the lull of running water, the warmth of it, is enough to make Yang drowsy and pliant, hands clasped obediently on her lap.

“I love your hair,” Blake says, quiet, confessional. She runs her hands through it, pulls gently, the sensation sending tingles to Yang’s scalp. Yang’s eyes close, and she breathes out through her nose, shifting unsteadily in the chair.

She hears the plastic click of a shampoo bottle, and lavender perfumes the air. Yang thinks of gardens, of soft-petaled flowers, of sunlight and checkered blankets.

“We should have a picnic,” she murmurs. Her muscles feel putty-soft, and Blake’s hands, slick with water and suds, are drawing tiny circles under the fall of her hair, thumbs pressing ecstatically into the corded muscle at the base of her neck.

There’s laughter, barely hidden, in Blake’s voice. “Come again?”

“A picnic.” Yang doesn’t open her eyes. “Just you and me.”

“Did I knock you too hard in the head today?” Blake asks. “Give you a concussion?” Her fingers slip up to prod at Yang’s temples before her fingers firm, massaging there. Yang groans. For her sake, Blake pretends not to hear it.

“I’m not concussed,” Yang says. Against the back of her eyelids, there’s a constellation of color. Blake sluices warm water through her hair, washing out the last of the shampoo. Yang’s hand ventures from her lap, hooks her fingers in the soft cotton pocket of Blake’s shorts. “I just like you.”

She still doesn’t open her eyes, worried that if she does, reality will solidify, transport her away from the dreamy-liminal of this unspoken space, Blake’s hands in her hair, Blake’s body warm against her thighs.

“I like you, too.”

“Actually, I think you said you loved me earlier.”

Blake laughs. “I didn’t. You said I loved you.”

Yang does open her eyes now, finds Blake startlingly close, her gold-flecked eyes, the laugh lines that crease the corners of her mouth like the seams of a love letter, folded over, then folded over again. She steps out of the bracket of Yang’s legs to fetch a towel. Yang reaches to take it, but Blake pushes her hands away, preferring to towel at Yang’s wet hair herself, leaning across her body, her chest pressing against Yang’s shoulder.

Embarrassed now, Yang squirms, but submits to the attention, lets Blake dab away beaded water at her hairline, droplets dripping into her ears, wetting the shoulders of her t-shirt.

“But you were right,” Blake says, so matter a fact, Yang almost doesn’t understand her meaning. Comprehension pales in comparison to the sheen of water on Blake’s hands, her wrists, as she wipes them dry, her hair spilling long and dark around her shoulders, the ends wet where she had leaned over the sink. Blake tosses the towel underhand toward the hamper behind the door, reinserts herself between Yang’s legs. “I do love you. I really do. And yes.”

“Yes?” Yang asks, dazed, still stuck halfway inside the feeling of Blake’s body, pressed up firmly against her own.

“Yes to the picnic,” Blake says. “Just the two of us.”

She loves me.

Yang shifts to prop herself upright against the body of the sink and frames Blake’s hips in her hands, guiding her firmly into the V of her legs. Blake concedes, arms wrapping around Yang’s neck, petting through damp hair. The hem of her shirt scrunches under Yang’s fingertips, slipping up to reveal the unblemished hollow of her hip, the skin of her sides, goosepimpling under the duress of Yang’s touch.

“We should do that thing again,” Yang says, a wish, a confession. Said aloud, she’s worried, like memory, she’ll bleed away the magic of unspoken things, but it only seems to strengthen the energy between them, the accumulated weight of all that they never talk about.

Blake plays dumb, but she’s smiling, ducking close even as she asks, “what thing?”

Her breath is warm against Yang’s ear, and she presses her mouth just there, against the round of Yang’s cheek.

“Close,” Yang says. She exhales, grip tightening.

Blake drags her lips to Yang’s jaw. Then to the dimple of her chin.

“Closer.”

Blake kisses her, proper, all it takes is a tilt of her head, nose nudging into the plush-round of Yang’s cheek. They both breath twin sighs of relief, like the pressure of playing coy has been alleviated in a single moment. Blake’s hands knot in Yang’s hair, fingers threading.

Yang smiles, murmurs: “just like that.”

It isn’t their first kiss, but it’s close. New enough that Yang still isn’t used to the shape of Blake’s mouth, the rhythm of her kisses, or the taste of her breath. New enough that this alone is enough to alight a heady, perfect rush, the thrill of two whole, perfect things slotting into place.

Her hands slide to the small of Blake’s back, splaying wide across the ridge of her spine, and Blake whines low in her throat, tilting her head until their mouths catch in full, her teeth scraping against Yang’s bottom lip.

Blake swings her leg over Yang’s hip, then the other, settles on her lap. The warmth of her body like a weighted blanket, her chest pushed flush to Yang’s. Pulling back, breaths ragged, they survey each other, eyes bright.

Blake drops a kiss on the bridge of Yang’s nose. Again, on her mouth. Yang tilts her chin up, submits. Nods lazily into another kiss, rolls her tongue into Blake’s mouth.

They don’t talk about it, but they never do.

In the crowded, humid heat of the bathroom, the silence is enough, both smelling like the same shampoo, like lavender, trading kisses until their mouths are slick and pink, until Blake has a strawberry bite under the collar of her t-shirt, and there is no excuse they can make to Ruby and Weiss to explain the lost time.

Exiting the bathroom feels like stepping through a portal – the air of the bedroom is stale and cold, and tastes like the bitter-metallic spit of the cranky window unit that churns, futile and constant.

They shouldn’t have worried. Ruby and Weiss are passed out on Weiss’s bottom bunk, tilted into each other, Weiss’s head leaned up into Ruby’s chest, a textbook open on her lap.

Blake smiles at them, soft, and Yang presses a finger to her lips. Sound asleep, neither stirs when Yang removes the book or when she shifts both of Weiss’s legs to the bed, pulls the lip of the comforter up over their bodies.

Weiss does move then, but only to turn her face into Ruby’s throat, fingers curling into the sleeve of her shirt.

Across the room, Yang watches Blake walk through the final stages of her night time routine. Removing her rings, one-by-one, setting them into a china bowl at her bedside. Toeing off her socks – because anyone who sleeps in socks is a serial killer, yang – and turning back the cool underside of her covers.

Yang, suddenly shy, mythical, waits for an invitation.

“It’s only fair,” Blake whispers. She shifts over to make space against the hollow of her body. “Turn off the light.”

Yang does, the room plunged to darkness, and she feels that little-kid thrill in the few steps it takes her to cross to the bed. By the time she reaches it, she fears Blake will already be gone, leaving her only with under-the-bed monsters and grasping hands.

She shivers into the sheets, and it’s Blake’s warmth that accepts her, slinging a long, bare leg over her hip, claiming her cheek with a warm palm, stroking her bangs out of her eyes.

“We need to talk about it,” Yang whispers.

She can see Blake’s eyes gleam in the darkness, a flat sheen. Yang swallows, wriggles closer until she can insinuate her thigh between Blake’s legs, suddenly desperate to be close. She would swallow her whole if she could, sink themselves inside of one another, like nesting dolls, like palms cupped in prayer.

Yang’s eyes adjust in the half-dark in the time it takes Blake to answer, moonlight shredding through the parted curtains. When Blake opens her mouth, the wet of her mouth refracts light, the uncurling of her tongue.

“I know,” Blake says, voice small.

Their hips-stomach-breasts bully into one another, until every breath is a part of a cycle.

“If we don’t, we’re just going to keep colliding until something breaks.”

“I know,” Blake says, again. “There’s just so much I haven’t told you yet.”

Yang runs her hands up and down Blake’s side, slips her palm under the hem of her shirt to feel the blanket-heat of her bare skin.

“We have time,” she hushes. She tilts in, her lips find the corner of Blake’s mouth, press there. Retreat. “After the Vytal festival, then. We can have our picnic. We’ll talk about all of it.”

Blake nods, nose pressing into Yang’s. She giggles, readjusts, turns her mouth into Yang’s cheek. “Okay. After the festival.”

Pinkies twined under the covers, they seal it with a kiss. Blake nods more kisses against her mouth, slips a tongue behind her teeth, until the taste of her lingers well into Yang’s dreams.

Yang won’t remember falling asleep.

[doctor-plagueis]

RWBY Booty Tier List

Hi I said it would happen so now it's gonna happen, time to rate asses and explain why I gave them that rating...

(also they are in order from flattest to phattest)

[This took way too long (T-T) ]

Starting with D TIER Aka Flat as fuck

Raven: Ya go to the lowest tier in D tier ya all-tits-no-ass having ass, you deadbeat fucko (I really don't like parents who leave their children, how'd you guess?).

Weiss : Sorry girl but even with all your dance training, your Sperm donor's DNA is in you, if it was just your mom's DNA you'd rocket up to A TIER, still more ass than Raven tho, which says a lot about Raven since Weiss is as flat as a wooden plank (sorry @naughtyweiss your girl has no ass).

All of team NDGO: these bitches show up once or twice, and, in the novels they do something bad? I didn't read it, but they like sacrifice some people to the Grimm or something? Anyways they have almost no ass too little to actually matter.

C TIER Aka Too much muscle

Pyrrha : Sorry unbeatable girl your life style is just too healthy, with all her exercises and no fat foods she has no cushioning, I'm sorry Pyrrha you just have too much muscle.

Reese : With all her skating she must have some muscle in the back, like literally, her muscles are trained to keep her on the board during combat so her ass is super firm, but that's a bit of a downside since it's too firm, kinda hard actually like really hard.

Also she gives me party animal girl vibes, that doesn't affect anything just thought I'd mention it.

Elm: Have you seen how tall and beefy that girl is? Now does this affect her backside...mmm...kind of? Her ass is just and, I mean just muscle which is bad because no cushioning.

But her thighs tho mm~mm delicious.

Yang : Yang is all about her upper body, she's proud of her tits and her arms, she is Miss "punch first ask later" after all, so i can actually see her skipping some leg days, like Reese her booty is alot of muscle but not so much cushion, sorry Yang.

Arslan : Like Yang, Arslan is all about working out and honing her body to peak physical fighting ability, however, this girl has genetics on her side, her tits aren't as big as Yang’s however, she make up for having a tentsy little bit of cushion for the pushin' not really enough to be B TIER though.

B TIER Aka Now were gettin' good

Penny Ver.2 : Penny Version 1 was pure metal (at least in my headcanon) so she was all legs no butt, however, Penny Version 2 (again in my headcanon) had synthetic skin, now I'm not saying Pietro is some weird pervert giving his child a fat ass, but he was "generous" which was inaccurate as...

Penny (human) : Penny as a human never had the chance to exercise [fuck you RT (T-T)], so her booty was a little lacking but it was still bigger and rounder than her robot body.

Ruby: Now you and I both know that with all the sweets Ruby eats she isn't exactly thin, good thing though is all the fat goes to her ass, Ruby has that fatty y'all!

Neo : I'm sure people will question this one but, Neo's height is a detrement on her ass, since she's so short her ass has to be proportional to her actual height, so for women her height she has so much ass but compared to the others in this list it isn't as much.

Coco: Coco takes care of her fashion and her body. She does squats often and keeps a balance between fat and firmness. Unfortunately genetics gave her a cute face but not a phat ass, sorry queen.

Summer: Same as Ruby except she has that MILFY boost to her hips and booty (she also has bigger tits but, oh well this isn't the Titty Tier list so...).

Winter : Training for the military helped null the taint of Jacques DNA in her, so she took a bit more of her mother’s blessed genes, her ass isn't exactly impressive like the girls in A TIER but it's nothing to scoff at either, unlike her sister (sorry Weissey).

Miltiades "Miltia" : both sisters wear heels, however, Miltia has bigger boobs than her twin while Mel has a bigger booty, still wearing heels and being as acrobatic as they both are requires a lot of lower body training, and also since they work at a club as security they do know how to seduce people, and that did affected their rating.

A TIER Aka Nearly perfectly fuckable

Harriet : Now to be one hundred percent honest Harriet has more thighs than ass, however, with her focus on speed and the training she does, she must have a nice fuckable ass, not the biggest or roundest but really, really nice.

Melanie: Both sisters are guards for Junior's club, but, I like to think that Mel also works as a Stripper or Lap dancer (Hooker if you got enough to buy her services and have a dick big enough, she's a bit of a size queen), so she worked on making her already fat ass even better and also took the time to hone her sex appeal, those being her twerking and lapdancing.

Velvet : Bunny gal has some phat Bunny Buns if ya catch my meaning, like go back to volume 3 and get a good look at her costume, girl's got hips and ass like she was bred for it!

Willow: Have you seen her in the newest volumes?? She has a chance (admittedly small) against the legendary bellabooties Gahtdayum!

Too bad she wasted it with a nearly sterile fucking shit pile of a human like Jacques, ugh... (How he managed to have 3 children baffles me, must've taken half the world’s supply of Viagra)

[Side note our favorite Schnee femboy took after his mom, if he was on the list he'd be just below Harriet hehe].

A+ TIER Candidates for the Bubble Booty Brigade (BBB)

Glynda : Glynda is a professional huntress, she is a teacher and she's decked out in dominatrix gear, can I make it any clearer?

Salem : Salem is the original MILF, the thiccest witch of remnant , and also, she has magic and is technically a monster girl sooo... that gives her extra points (who would've guessed I like monster girls hehe).

The next entry might be blasphemous for some and for that I apologize but...

Blake and Kali : I'm sorry kitties, even though the belabooties are know world wide they are not yet in the BBB. Blake has the firmer booty because of her time in the Fang but Kali has the MILF bonus.

Because of their similarities and their diferences they tie for top of A+ tier.

S TIER The BUBBLE BOOTY BRIGADE

The three heavenly asses of remnant, only three girl stand a top the mountain of the perfect Bubble Booty and they are in order...

May Zedong : May has been depicted by the fandom as being really curvy, especially the cow udders she calls breasts, however she hides her curves under her clothes. The same applies to the fucking badonk she hides in her baggy pants, so much so in fact, that May should be number two of the BBB but because she's so shy about her body she's demoted to number three, still, being a member of the Brigade is a blesing of itself.

Emerald Sustrai : As stated in the previous entry Em should be number three, but because May is so shy and Emerald isn't they swaped places. Em is number two because of one singular thing, she knows her ass is her best atribute, and she fucking flaunts it, she knows she can make men and futas pitch tents, and make women stare like horndogs just by walking past them. Not only that, but she wear clothes that accentuate her ass from short shorts to miniskirts, she knows how to make anyone undeserving cream themselves just by swaying her hips a little and winking. Her seduction skills boosted her above everyone else except one.

NORA VALKYRIE THE ONE TRUE BUBBLE BOOTY OF REMNANT

Every single step a jiggle, every single jump or tiny hop and the world stops to stare, every time she passes by jaws hit the floor, every man woman and futa either wants Nora or wants to be Nora.

Nora's voluptuous cheeks are legendary and the worst part of it all is: She does know the effect she has on people, and she gives zero shits about it.

Because no one is worthy of her divine ass cheeks, except for two men: Jaune Arc and Lie Ren.

She's found her studs the ones who care for her, love her, give her the world AND the ones who have huge bitch breaking cocks to fuck her into the sheets like rutting animals.Every.Single.Night.

Every day of her life is one big teasing session for her studs, she purposefully wear skirts just short enough to see the glorious bounce, she always finds excuses to bend over, she sits on their laps as often as possible.

Just so she can have the mind blowing three ways she has every night.

All hail Booty Queen Nora Valkyrie.

Now everyone thank you for being patient this was something i spent a few days writing (like 3-4 days) and I only wrote this for that time so I hope y'all like it.

Some chacters are missing I know, but I really am comfortable with how it is now.

As always this SHOULD NOT AFFECT YOUR WRITING.

This was a thought experiment of mine, and like I always say in this sort of thing WRITE HOW YOU WANT TO WRITE I hope this was clear.

Thanks for reading and please if you so desire share it with friends.

But for now see ya!

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: “Gravity”

Good lord, folks. Buckle your seat-belts because we’ve got a lot to get through this episode. I think this is my longest recap to date, so settle in.

Episode Eleven’s “Gravity” starts out simple enough, focusing on the two fights we’d set up during “Out in the Open.” First up, Ironwood vs. Watts. Overall this fight does a really excellent job of showcasing their different fighting styles. Right from the start Watts is pointing his gun forward to take a clear shot at Ironwood, whereas Ironwood points his backwards to use as a surge of momentum.

He’s going to do this frequently throughout the battle, constantly using his gun to maneuver in the air, slow falls, regain his balance, and change directions, a much more complicated series of choices than the one-off shots we see Ruby use with her sniper rifle. This is partly because Ironwood seems to have a much larger supply of bullets---some sort of energy/dust ammo---than Watts does. His steampunk-esque gun holds only nineteen bullets, requiring him to keep track throughout the fight. Which is always a fun trope but sorry, Watts, you can’t compare to the king.

Thus, with limited weaponry available to him, Watts is forced to get creative with the arena itself. We see him manipulating gravity, shooting up columns of water and fire, and making use of his own pathways between platforms, all in an effort to throw Ironwood off and catch up unawares. However, Ironwood is, frankly, the much better fighter. He was right last week to assume he could handle Watts even though he sent three off to tackle Tyrian. He’s able to recover much more quickly and learns from any mistakes, as evidenced by his ability to hit Watts dead on while in the air the second time he takes out the gravity. When they come together in hand-to-hand Ironwood easily dominates, no doubt thanks not just to his military training and huntsmen lifestyle, but also in large part to his prosthetics which I would assume grant him more speed and power. Throughout the course of the fight we see Watts consistently take more damage to his aura and he’s unable to sense when Ironwood is sneaking up on him. After that little maneuver, Watts (presumably) grows reckless and lets off his last three or four shots in a random barrage. All of them miss.

This emphasis on emotion continues when they land back onto the main stage with Watts shouting, “You never appreciated my genius, James! You just stood atop it and called yourself a giant.” Oh, did Ironwood actually do something horrendous in the past? Is there something juicy that would explain---though not excuse---Watts’ turn towards villainy? Nah. He quickly follows that up with, “You chose that fat imbecile over me!” referring to Pietro. So... nice one, Watts. Crazy arrogance, willful ignorance of Pietro’s own, clear genius (anyone who can create Penny is no slouch), as well as a bit of fat-shamming on top of it all. No sympathy from me.

This moment emphasizes how unhinged Watts is becoming though as the fight turns against him. Even when he manages to setup a head shot Ironwood reveals, “You’re smart, but you’re not the only one who can count,” referencing that Watt’s emotions got the better of him, leading to him wasting his last bullet before it could be of real use.

...except not. I’ve got to admit, I was very pleased when all of this---or at least this particular moment---was merely a plan to get Ironwood to let his guard down. Watts is way too smart a character to be done in by the “You got too emotional and that made you sloppy” trope. So kudos there (even if it remains to be seen whether that Pietro comment was really his motivation, or just another part of the plan). Instead, he uses Ironwood’s confidence in his victory to trap him with the rings that control the arena, essentially pinning Ironwood’s non-prosthetic arm through the energy shields he’s been using. We can immediately see that the parts that have touched Ironwood already have horribly burned the skin.

And that ends up being Watt’s downfall. Not stupidity on his own part, but his lack of understanding of Ironwood himself. He assumes that this truly is a trap for him, rather than another sacrifice. After all, what fool would ruin their one remaining arm to stop him? Watts himself wouldn’t. Don’t pull, he cautions Ironwood, not “unless you’re hoping to add more metal to that body of yours.” Watts goes so far as to turn his back on Ironwood who then makes the sacrifice we all knew he would. One burned, useless arm later and he’s free.

I would like everyone to keep this moment in mind. Namely the utter devastation of it. I’d go so far as to say it’s as bad at Yang losing her arm in Volume 3. Despite seeing it bandaged later, Watts at least thinks it will be a complete loss if Ironwood sacrifices it. He’ll need to “add more metal,” AKA replace his arm, so though he obviously still has it in the following scenes, we don’t know if it will ever be functional again. Just as important, Ironwood had to choose to do that to himself. That wasn’t a horrific, but ultimately clean cut done in a moment of surprise. That was a conscious decision, a slow pull through all that pain, and then having to finish your fight immediately afterward. It’s a very different kind of psychological trauma, no better or worse than having someone take your arm from you by force. Throughout this volume I’ve seen a lot of fans being critical not only of Ironwood’s main decisions, but just his overall attitude as well. Too strict, too stern, doesn’t smile enough, yells sometimes, etc. basically associating someone who isn’t all sunshine and smiles with someone who is “bad.” Ignoring for the moment that we can say the same thing about many of our group---notably Yang---I have little doubt that I’ll see similar posts after this episode. Writings in the vein of, “Ironwood is unhinged! I can’t believe he yelled and hit his desk like that!” So everyone just keep this moment in mind and ask yourself how calm you’d be if you’d sacrificed your arm like that all of half an hour ago. And then found Salem’s calling card on your desk. And then came to the realization that the allies you trusted have been lying to you from the start. And then Salem herself appears to mock you. And then your city is about to be overrun. Basic summary of the rest of the episode: holy shit. So yeah. If Yang is allowed to be angry and upset after losing her arm, or just angry in general like she is in the later half of “Gravity,” I think we owe it to Ironwood to let him be angry too. I have a lot of feelings about the utter insanity he’s been forced through with little to no support and if he wants to take all that out by hitting his desk once, by god I’d say that’s a good coping strategy given the circumstances. Both the writing and the fans tend to erase trauma once you’ve passed age 25. The girls have every right to be upset, to break, to not trust people because they’ve been through a few months of hardship, but Ozpin isn’t allowed the same after a couple thousand years of that. We’re going to see the same hypocrisy later in this episode---the group can be upset about lies but Ironwood is not---and I’m hoping (against hope) that the fandom doesn’t make that worse by sweeping this injury under the rug. It’s horrific and absolutely has a bearing on his inability to keep his cool with the group immediately afterwards. We’ve long passed Ironwood owing them endless reassurances and calm responses. 

Anyway, Ironwood still manages to finish the fight because his remaining arm is his robotic one, giving him the strength to easily drag and raise Watts into the air one-handed. He dangles him over the edge of the arena, announcing that he will “sacrifice whatever it takes to stop [Salem].” A clear bit of foreshadowing for his decision at the end of the episode. Watts responds that he hopes he does.

We then move to the Tyrian fight which, on the whole, I don’t think was done quite as well. Granted, there are a lot of enjoyable and badass moments. I like that Clover’s first act is to announce that Tyrian is under arrest, maintaining the law that Atlas (and Ironwood) works to uphold. It doesn’t matter that Tyrian is a crazy serial killer in league with an immortal sorceress hell-bent on destroying the world. Even crazy serial killers have rights and are given the option of surrendering, even when everyone present knows there’s exactly zero chance of that happening. It’s the principal of the thing and the ability to say, “We gave him a chance.” In a world overrun with inequality, this is a small but important attempt to level the field. If you do something wrong you face legal action and those rights are announced to you. Same for Tyrian. Same for Team RWBY. But we’ll get to that.

For now, we see Qrow attack first and like back in Volume Four he and Tyrian are pretty evenly matched. The tide doesn’t turn until Robyn and Clover come into play. Throughout this exchange we see a lot of cool combos among the three of them. Tyrian will block an incoming arrow with his tail only for Clover to snag it with his hook. Robyn can get another arrow to perfectly bounce off the walls and then Qrow’s scythe, hitting Tyrian dead on. Clover can dive between Tyrian’s legs, giving Qrow the opening he needs to attack. It is, as said, pretty badass... almost a little too badass. Personally, I would have appreciated them messing up once or twice. They’re all professionals, yes, but Qrow and Clover have only had one fight together. Robyn, meanwhile, wasn’t even allied with them until an hour ago. This is a situation where skills shouldn’t really trump, “We’re three very distinct people who don’t know each other’s fighting styles well, trying to attack one guy in very close quarters.” There should have been some screw-ups. Especially when we take semblances into account. What, are we supposed to assume here that Clover’s semblance just conveniently overrides Qrow’s? That no mistakes---let alone anything bad---will happen in this fight despite the fact that it’s an extreme parallel to Volume Four? That whole battle emphasized, “Don’t come closer!” because when people fight near Qrow bad shit happens. Now, he fights with two other people in a narrow alleyway and there’s not a single repercussion. Based on their travels looking for the geist, I don’t buy that Qrow’s semblance is just conveniently inactive while near Clover. Even if I did... that’s not a very good writing decision. To me, it’s just more evidence that Rooster Teeth doesn’t understand its own rules/doesn’t know what to do with an ability like Qrow’s. It causes problems only when they explicitly want it to. Then, miraculously, it’s no longer in effect.

Still, we’ll acknowledge that RWBY had a lot else it wanted to accomplish in this episode, so the need to power through this fight is somewhat justified. I personally would have had the entirety of this episode be the two battles---I was shocked when both ended just eight minutes in---but I’m obviously not the one writing the show. Thus, instead of an episode devoted to both the action and the emotion of confronting our two main villains this volume, Tyrian loses his cool after getting punched in the gut, manages to catch Robyn’s arrow in his teeth... 

But it’s a bomb. 

Down he goes. Fight’s done.

Which leads us into the second half of the episode. I want to preface this with a short acknowledgment before we go any further.

Did these last ten minutes give me what I’ve been looking for since the beginning of Volume Six? No. It’s easy to assume it did because all the pieces are there. Ironwood is finally angry about the secret keeping. The Ace Ops are criticizing the group left and right. Surely this is the “The group is capable of making mistakes and they should be called out for it!” that I wanted, right? Not really. For the simple reason that there is a massive difference between:

A story that acknowledges mistakes as mistakes. The characters either grow from this lesson or dig in their heels and are painted as being in the wrong for that decision.

and

A story that takes what the audience (me) perceives as mistakes and frames them as justified choices. The characters do not grow because they’re 100% sure they’re in the right and those who would criticize them are painted as in the wrong. 

“Gravity” is so far into that second option I don’t think the series can come back from it. Does the group face criticism? Yes, but every single time the writing insists that it’s undeserved criticism. It paints the group as the underdogs facing unfair odds, rather than equals---with all the responsibility that comes with that---facing criticism that they need to own up to. Absolutely nothing in this second half implies that the group is going to learn from their mistakes because they, and the writing, still insists that they weren’t mistakes. Which is precisely what we’ve gotten before. Cordovin might criticism them, but Cordovin is in the wrong. Winter might criticism them, but Winter is in the wrong. Every time a character goes, “Hey, you shouldn’t have done this” the group responds with, “Yes we should have!” and the story backs them up. Yes, you should have attacked Argus. Yes, you should have stolen an airship. Yes, you should have lied to Ironwood and spilled the secret to Robyn. Yes, yes, yes. That’s the takeaway every single time. The group is never in the wrong. Others just think they are and those others are painted as cruel, militaristic, unhinged characters.

It’s not at all what I was looking for. Just more of the same.

So that’s the preface. In terms of what we actually get, Ironwood returns to his office with his arm bandaged and in a sling, carrying Watts’ bag, only to drop it when he sees the queen piece on his desk. He calls Winter asking, “Was anyone caught entering the school grounds while I was away?” and when she says no Ironwood has her race off to the Winter Maiden, unknowingly leading Cinder there in the process. “Now show me where you’ve been hiding her.”

We then cut to the group where the trouble begins. They’re not just curious about why Ironwood is recalling them with Mantle still in need of evacuation, they’re actively questioning it. This is the attitude I simply don’t understand. The group acts as if Ironwood is deliberately screwing everyone over when they know better. This is no longer the beginning of the volume where they thought he was some horrific dictator hell bent on destroying his own Kingdom. This is just an hour or so after, “We should tell Ironwood!” and the happy-go-lucky ‘We trust him now’ moment. Even less time after Ruby stared up at him in awe with, “He’s doing it.” They had reason to trust him before they even made it to Atlas. They were given even more reasons in the form of Ironwood sharing his secrets, early licenses, and being allowed to work on the tower. They then still waited until Ironwood was doing everything they wanted before giving him some of that trust back... but the moment he stops doing precisely what they want---we want to keep evacuating Mantle---he’s deemed suspicious again. 

I mean seriously, is the group that dense? Are they incapable of thinking to themselves, “Wow, something must have happened if Ironwood is recalling us before evacuations are complete,” which is precisely the case. The scene tries to frame it as “Group Good�� and “Ace Ops Blinding Obeying Orders Bad” but that aspect doesn’t even come into play. There’s nothing blind about it. It simply takes two seconds of critical thinking skills to realize that something really awful must have happened back at the Academy that trumps what you’re doing in Mantle. This is what I mean by the writing being biased. Before we even reach the fight in Ironwood’s office it’s trying to paint him as potentially cruel, potentially suspicious, potentially abandoning his people, look how worried our heroes are about this secret decision he’s made... when all that requires ignoring some really basic deduction in order to reach those assumptions. Remember that intelligence is a plot device in RWBY. If they want Ironwood forced to spill his secrets, he’ll randomly start talking about them in front of his enemies. If they want Ironwood painted as the villain, the group will randomly be incapable of realizing that maybe, just maybe, something went wrong on the home front and you’re needed there.

Things just get so much worse from then on. The group splits with JNR going off to find Oscar and, admittedly, I was shocked we got that at all. I mean yeah, it’s setup for the final reveal at the end of the episode, but the fact that anyone remembered Oscar was missing---let alone happily went off to find him---was still a surprise. So only Team RWBY heads back to Ironwood’s office where they find him (rightfully) panicking over the queen on his desk. Weiss tries to baby him, acting like he’s freaking out over nothing, when all these characters should recall precisely what Ironwood himself points out: the last time we saw this symbol it was a message that Beacon had fallen. He’s not paranoid here. He’s entirely justified in his panic. Ironwood likewise points out that they may have been duped into bringing thousands of people into Atlas as easy targets and Vine agrees, setting up that the Ace Ops are on Team Ironwood throughout the course of this conversation. Not out of blind loyalty, but because he’s right. That is a concern. That may be the plan. We do need to try and do something about that. Team RWBY, however, isn’t convinced.

That is, until Ruby realizes that the chess piece is made of black glass. Which means Cinder left it. Normally I’d congratulate her on that deduction---it is the one smart move we see Ruby pull this whole episode---but I just hate what follows. Namely that Ruby and Ruby alone controls her team’s opinions on a situation. Again. We saw it back in the snow, then again when Blake announced in the elevator that they’d do whatever she wanted. Team RWBY is the one who blindly follows their leader, not the Ace Ops, the only exception being Blake and Yang going rogue in regards to Robyn, but we see that hive-mind mindset here again. Ironwood brings up a good point? Nothing. Ace Ops support that point with more logic? Nothing. Ruby supports it? Oh, suddenly Weiss and Blake are taking this seriously. Suddenly Yang is fired up and ready to do whatever is necessary. Ruby controls the room. It’s only when she’s on board that her teammates decide this is worth getting riled up about.

Which, as I’ve said before, is a horrible way to write a diverse group. Especially when the writing is trying to paint the Ace Ops as mindless soldiers. For all their claims that they just have to follow orders, they’re the only ones parsing through this situation and coming to their own conclusions. It’s just that their conclusions do end up aligning with Ironwood’s which is the “bad” take in this scene. Team RWBY, however, waits until their leader makes a decision and then simply rides her cloak tails. The day that Blake, Yang, or Weiss legitimately disagree with Ruby---not a token “Are you sure we should keep secrets from Ironwood? We’re not actually challenging this. Just checking in”---is the day the writing will disagree with her. AKA, no time soon.

Blake tries to give some bland reassurance about them all being with Ironwood to which he responds, “Are you with me? How did Robyn know about the global communications tower?” Thank you! Thank you for giving us Ironwood’s characterization back and acknowledging that he has no reason to buy their generic ‘Got your back’ statements when everything they’ve done this volume has proven otherwise. They don’t support Ironwood, only themselves and their own teams. The minute he does something they don’t like he’s chucked under the bus. Too bad the writing doesn’t acknowledge any of this and instead continually paints the group as being justified in their decisions. It’s that hypocrisy again. When the group yells at Ozpin for keeping secrets we’re supposed to be on their side. When the Ace Ops yell at the group for keeping secrets we’re... still supposed to be on their side.

Weiss tries to diffuse the situation with “None of this matters right now!” which is real rich when they were just complaining about Ironwood not telling them why they were called back. They get to worry over that, but Ironwood isn’t allowed to worry about them outright betraying him? “Loyalty always matters!” he shouts back and he’s right. Why should Ironwood trust them to have his back in this crucial moment when they’ve never had it before? I’m already seeing more of this hypocrisy among the fandom. When Ozpin kept secrets and told lies the group was given a whole volume to be pissed about that and fans still, to this very day, insist that it hasn’t been enough time for them to get over it, to regain even a portion of that trust. But now that Ironwood has been lied to and betrayed in the same manner? People are annoyed that he’s not just shrugging it off. How dare you not get over in thirty seconds what our heroes got weeks to work through. His inability to just suck it up, as it were, is used to make him seem irrational here. I don’t see anyone, characters or fans alike, acknowledging that his anger is as righteous as the group’s was out in the snow. That there is the disconnect.

Of course, something has to break the tension. Drawn by all the fury and fear, a grimm pops out of Watts’ bag. A fail-safe for if he was defeated and captured. Salem immediately takes control of the grimm and kills it, using its form to appear before them. She reveals that it doesn’t matter that her men were captured. They were just there to “set the stage,” which they’ve done. Still doesn’t explain the random Penny side plot to my mind (seriously, why did the story bother to resurrect her when she has done nothing plot-wise or emotionally?), but whatever. Much more importantly, the stage is set for Salem herself. She’s approaching with the grimm army we saw her amassing which is... iffy.

First off, why? Why after a thousand years has she suddenly changed her MO from keeping to the sidelines to a full-on attack? Again, what’s the catalyst for that massive change? We don’t know. Meanwhile, from a writing perspective, I’m hesitant about having our Big Bad thrown into the mix before the finale. We know there are plenty of volumes left in this series, which automatically undermines any battle they might have with Salem. Will they win?? Of course not! Because RWBY isn’t over yet. Granted, this could all just be a ruse of some sort. Maybe Salem just wants them to think she’s approaching with an army, which would be much more up her alley in terms of long-distance manipulation. But if not... seriously, what’s the point of that?

Here’s hoping it’s a bluff.

Speaking of manipulation, we get a fantastically creepy moment where Salem tells Ironwood to “simply accept the futility of your situation” while smiling like a kind mother. That’s the Salem who is truly dangerous. Ironwood reaffirms that he won’t give up the relics and Ruby pips up with, “We don’t have to kill you to stop you.”

Hey wait. I’m gonna give you all another graphic.

This is Ozpin’s stance! This is his plan! His version of hope! We spent all of Volume Six having the cast beat on him for, “Omg Salem is immortal?!” and with the exception of Nora’s comment, no discussion of this in Volume Seven... but now suddenly Ruby is making this announcement? The group came to this revelation sometime off screen which we a) don’t get to see and b) once again created no scenario in the form of, “Wow! Ozpin was right all along! Maybe we should go talk to him...”

I’m just... wow. The number of times the writing takes what the group and the adults do, the exact same perspectives and decisions, and twists it so that the group comes out looking like heroes and the adults look like misguided, unhinged fools who need to be put in their place... I’m really over it at this point. And by extension the group themselves. Their characterizations have been so badly mangled at this point I legitimately don’t like them as people. I don’t care if they say they want to protect Mantle, or if they say they’ll support Ironwood, or if they say they’re unsure about their choices. All their actions claim otherwise.

Rather than grappling with the huge revelation that the group is apparently no longer obsessed with Salem’s immortality (or rather that Ruby isn’t. The rest of the group doesn’t actually matter. As established, they sync up with her beliefs the second she announces them), we return to Summer Rose. Salem goes, “Your mother said those words to me” and Ruby... loses it? What? I would have been 100% on board with this if we’d gotten it last Volume because then we saw Ruby losing her cool periodically. The smashed alcohol bottles. Chucking her scroll. Screaming at Qrow. That was all building to something. But then we had a year and roughly twelve episodes of normality. Ruby jumps into her fight with Cordovin and has been fine ever since. Hell, she’s been bubbly and confident, goofing off with Penny in one episode, then giving strong orders to her team in another. The one time we see her falter was in her conversation with Qrow and he reassured her completely that she was both doing the right thing and in no way comparable to Ozpin. Now, suddenly, one line from Salem and Ruby collapses? Full on incapacitated? I could buy the crying while still standing strong, I could buy a collapse if we’d kept her characterization going from Volume Six, but this kind of reaction in this context just felt so extreme. Doesn’t help that I really wasn’t sold on the voice acting here. Those cries sound less like devastated sobs and more like weird hiccups. Not to rag on Lindsay. On the whole I think she does a really excellent job as Ruby, it’s just this particular moment didn’t read right to me. I didn’t feel Ruby’s supposed grief here.

So that was... a lot for one line from Salem in a volume of otherwise confident and cool-headed Ruby. We also don’t see it amounting to anything, as per usual with RWBY’s writing. Ruby isn’t out of commission for the rest of the conversation or anything. She pops right back up after a second in Yang’s lap, just as confident and go-getting as before. There was no lead up to this and there are no consequences for the breakdown. Rooster Teeth honestly seems to think they can just chuck random things into the story---Ruby needs to show emotion at some point!---and then just leave it at that, entirely disconnected from everything else around it. Would we have known that Ruby just had her first breakdown of the series a minute later while once again betraying Ironwood? Nope.

Finally, this scene shows us again that the Argus battle was a bunch of nonsense. Ruby’s eyes nearly activate when she’s grieving for her mother, imagining---or perhaps seeing via Salem?---a sad Summer, not a smiling one. Just like her eyes activated while seeing Pyrrha die. Just like they activated when Blake was nearly killed by the Apathy. They activate now while thinking about her mother’s death. The montage of happy moments in lieu of the sad ones not working last volume was entirely out of place.

Salem finally leaves. Now everyone is panicking about this army. Elm points out that they’ll know if anything approaches. Vine checks and realizes that Watts took out their perimeter. Either that or Salem has already destroyed everyone and everything out there. It’s impossible to know. During all this Blake asks if the Amity tower is actually finished and we get more nonsense about how Ironwood is evil for telling a lie, but the group is always justified in telling theirs. The writing really tried to compare Ironwood telling Mantle---who I guarantee 100% does not care about whether a communications tower is finished while they’re getting attacked by grimm---a lie to lure out one of their biggest threats to Blake and Yang going behind Ironwood’s back to tell a potentially non-trustworthy outlaw about said tower, risking that the information would fall into the wrong hands and doom the project before it could be completed either way. Those are not in any way comparable situations, yet the writing really has Weiss going, “General Ironwood?” in a ‘How could you betray us like that?’ tone while Yang continues to look pissed.

And as if they didn’t know! How is this a personal betrayal? They were all helping to build that tower. Surely they’d know it it was that close to being done. Again, critical thinking skills, people. Anyone with two brain cells and their insider information should have looked at Ironwood’s announcement and gone, “Oh, that must be a bluff. Just a few days ago we were arguing about whether to continue taking resources from Mantle. No way is Amity ready. He’s going after Watts. Who is indeed the much bigger threat. Considering that he has control over the entirety of our technology and there’s literally no downside to telling Mantle about a finished tower when they’re getting devoured by grimm.” This is another, “But lying is wrong!” in the face of “But lying kept us alive...?” 

Does everyone get what I’m saying here? How RWBY takes these situations and tries to paint them in an absolutely ridiculous light, expecting the audience to blindly accept this perspective despite everything else they’ve seen for themselves? Like, two episodes ago? I swear I’ve never encountered writing that treats its audience this badly. Scene after scene relies heavily on the viewer having no ability to think for themselves. Just accept that Ironwood is a horrible person for lying about the tower even though there are no repercussions for that and we JUST watched him defeating Watts as a result. Like, five minutes ago. That just happened. In this episode. 

Ironwood then drops the bomb that Winter has gone off to claim the Maiden power. Interesting development. I wonder what that means exactly. Is she just going to lock herself away until the Maiden dies naturally? Do they have her on some sort of life support and is there an agreement to pull the plug if necessary? Are they going to use a machine similar to the one Pyrrha was in and try to force the change early? Or is this just a misleading comment and Winter is merely off to protect the Maiden, no intention of taking the power now? Who knows. We’ll have to wait until next episode to find out.

Ironwood likewise announces that the staff and the lamp need to be locked away now that they’re compromised, even though they’ve been compromised since they first saw Tyrian in Mantle. Insert another [this scenario is so stupid and contrived] explanation here. It’s made worse by Ruby’s childish “You said we could keep it.” Excuse me? What, did you think the lamp was your personal property now forever and always? Is Ruby really sitting there arguing that something Ironwood told her weeks ago trumps the obvious logic of putting the relic where it’s somewhere safe? That’s the characterization we’re going for, a leader who cares more about, ‘But you said we could have it!’ over the fate of the world? What even is this? The fact that Ironwood has to explain to them that the situation has changed just reinforces the group’s overall attitude. That is, one of arrogance and importance. They literally need to be told why putting the relic in a nearly impenetrable vault is better than letting them have it just because they want it. Plus, you know, they lied about the lamp from the start. So there’s that too.

Finally, Ironwood reveals that Amity was originally a plan of Ozpin’s but he didn’t push it far enough. Instead, he intends to use the staff to lift all of Atlas instead, hopefully taking two relics and a Maiden far out of Salem’s reach. Ruby wants to use the tower for its designed purpose instead, which is only a valid option in her mind because the writing was stupid last week. If there had actually been any logic there---if people had been allowed to react naturally and in a variety of ways to the Salem announcement, rather than a super convenient “Yeah! Let’s all work together!” across an entire, panicking city---she wouldn’t be quite so eager to tell the whole world. But we all know at this point that logic bends to the protagonists’ whims, so Ruby wants that same perfect ending across all of Remnant. She stands her ground, as does her team. Obviously.

Meanwhile, the Ace Ops aren’t just following Ironwood’s orders like the writing wants us to think via Harriet’s earlier comment. Rather, they’re each thinking through the situation for themselves and making very good points. If Salem has taken out our perimeter than we know our tech and people don’t stand a chance against this army. We just finished up the fight in Mantle and none of us are in a position to start another. Notably, Harriet brings this up, the one whose aura took a massive hit while nearly getting crushed underfoot. Vine points out that sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war, but Team RWBY, to be blunt, simply doesn’t care.

I’ll be blunt myself here too: I don’t have an easy solution to this particular scenario. I don’t know what the “right” or the “wrong” choice is. Weighing starting a fight with VERY high stakes you’ll lose against abandoning the people of Mantle is just a straight up horrific decision. Like so much of what Ozpin faced, there is no clear-cut, good answer here. Do you stand by the people and risk the world, or work to save the world and doom the people? I don’t know and I do commend Rooster Teeth for writing a difficult choice... just not in giving each side the weight it deserves. Because as said, we’re meant to root for Team RWBY, always. Theirs is presented as the “right” choice every time, despite the fact that, as established, this is far from a black and white decision.

What frustrates me the most is when faced with all of these logical and very important considerations (we might not have backup, we’re in no position to fight, if Salem gets the relics and another Maiden the world is screwed) the group won’t even acknowledge these things. They’re so set in their own perspective they won’t even give these HUGE concerns the time of day. Rather, Yang shoots back, “You can’t just back down from a fight!”

That’s it. That’s the group’s problem in a single line.

This is what got Pyrrha killed.

It’s something the group should remember. She also insisted on fighting when she should have retreated and, since this was back during the days when characters actually faced consequences for their actions, it cost Pyrrha her life. Granted, going after Cinder was a truly useless endeavor. Pyrrha achieved nothing with her sacrifice. Here, Team RWBY hopes to save the people of Mantle, adding a clear justification for their insistence on fighting... but this is nevertheless indicative of that larger “punch it until it stops moving” mindset. It’s not that they decide to fight instead of retreating that’s the problem, it’s that to their mind fighting is the only option. Ever. This is what led to them attacking Cordovin and destroying Argus’ mech, drawing a massive grimm in the process. When faced with the option of backing down, Team RWBY doesn’t consider that an option at all. Which is heroic when up against an actual enemy, far less so when you’re facing an ally and the choice to fight has serious repercussions attached to it. Hell, the group doesn’t even consider compromises. They could have easily acknowledged that collecting the relics, the Maiden, and getting the staff to work on Atlas will take time. You do that while we focus on evacuating the rest of Mantle to the city. But no, even the concept of a compromise simply isn’t possible. You just always fight. Straight up. Anyone who suggests anything less isn’t a true huntsmen. “We’re loyal to the people!” Ruby shouts, as if “the people” doesn’t also include the rest of the world that Ironwood is trying to save and that they’re endangering by keeping the relics and Maiden within Salem’s reach. 

That is one messed up perspective to tout in a story infused with the complex and the morally gray.

The real kicker though? Ruby’s ‘My way or the highway’ attitude obliterates a solution that fell straight into her lap. Jaune calls and says straight out that they have another situation. If Ruby had listened to her teammate for just three seconds they all would have learned about Oscar, thereby undermining Ironwood’s plan. He can’t keep the lamp safe if he doesn’t know where it is. You look for it while, again, we evacuate Mantle. Then we take everything out of Salem’s reach. Win-win. Instead, Ruby blasts her way through the situation. Literally, dodging Ironwood and hiding behind his desk shouting a highly bias version of his plan in the hopes of getting everyone on her side. And it works. 

Because those like Clover don’t get to hear any of that context. Like how the perimeter is gone, there’s an army potentially coming, no one is in a position to fight, we’ve already lost a relic... they just here a Ruby’s version of events that paints Ironwood as the callous man Robyn thought he was---oh my god he’s abandoning Mantle for no good reason!---and people will react accordingly. Ruby likewise doesn’t care that shouting such information over all channels does things like, say, clue Tyrian into their plan. She just wants to do things her way, right now. Pausing to think (because thinking isn’t fighting) simply doesn’t happen.

I used to adore Ruby as a hero. Someone who was intrinsically good, hopeful, and wickedly clever in her ability to come out on top. Now she’s stubborn, arrogant, at times cruel, and charges in headfirst like her sister, refusing to consider any perspective other than her own. And her team endlessly supports that. The writing endlessly supports that. This isn’t our hero working through her flaws, but rather a flawed character that the writing refuses to acknowledge is flawed. When Ruby flies behind Ironwood’s desk the music rises triumphantly, just like it did when she attacked Cordovin’s mech. When Ironwood announces that they’re under arrest, Ruby spits back, “We won’t just let you take us” and we’re supposed to cheer.

Which brings us back to the question of whether the group really faced consequences here. Let me give you all a random, non-RWBY example of two scenes. Scenario One:

Parent: You punched her?

Teen: She insulted me!

Parent: I understand that, but that doesn’t mean you were justified in attacking her.

Teen: Oh, I was.

Parent: Maybe you were, maybe you weren’t, but you can’t solve all your problems that way.

Teen: I... I know that, okay. Back off. I just get so angry...

Parent: I know. We’re going to work on that. You’re grounded this weekend. We can discuss this more then.

Teen: [sighs] Fine.

vs. Scenario Two:

Parent: You punched her?

Teen: She insulted me!

Parent: I understand that, but that doesn’t mean you were justified in attacking her.

Teen: Oh, I was.

Parent: Maybe you were, maybe you weren’t, but you can’t solve all your problems that way.

Teen: Screw you! It worked didn’t it? I think a good punch goes a long way.

Parent: That’s not... okay look. You’re grounded this weekend so---

Teen: Like hell I am. [Proceeds to run off]

Teen: [Later to friend] ---and then she tried to ground me? Can you believe that?

Friend: Holy shit what an asshole.

If we put aside my own iffy dialogue for the moment, Scenario One acknowledges the complexity of the situation while likewise pointing out that the teen didn’t handle herself well. RWBY has achieved that here: the ethics of this scenario are acknowledged as complicated, but the group did things they shouldn’t have, as evidence by Ironwood’s anger and the Ace Ops’ criticism. However, Scenario One goes on to let the teen acknowledge that mistake, thereby validating it in the first place. A consequence is set, grounding, and they accept that, thereby further validating that their behavior needs work. They accept the consequence because both they and the writing acknowledge that the consequence is deserved. It takes what was previously two subjective stances---they say I’m wrong, I say I’m right---and encourages the audience to find the middle ground. Neither was totally wrong or right. The teen might be justified in some respects, but still made mistakes in others. She needs to improve. 

RWBY, however, steers firmly into Scenario Two wherein the teen (Team RWBY) insists points blank that they never made mistakes in the first place, thereby encouraging the audience to question whether Ironwood and the Ace Ops (the parent) is right to be calling them out at all. We see no humility or guilt, only confidence. Ruby shouting “No!” at Cordovin when she’s told to surrender. Yang keeping silent after admitting that she and Blake told Robyn, not bothering to apologize or admit that this might have been a breech of trust. They challenge the validity of the claim that mistakes were made and by virtue of being protagonists encourage the audience to challenge it too. Finally, we see them reject the consequence because they will not admit that it’s deserved. The teen will not accept a grounding. Ruby: “We won’t just let you take us.” We’re then told by others that this rejection was warranted. The friend reinforces the view that the teen was right to run because that punishment is undeserved. The message is, “You never did anything wrong in the first place.” The plot of RWBY likewise reinforces the view that resisting Cordovin’s arrest was right by having her randomly let the group go. The consequence is replaced with a reward and, presumably, we’ll have a similar situation wherein the group either defeats the Ace Ops or is released by them. The consequences never take hold because the writing doesn’t think there should be consequences in the first place. Team RWBY isn’t going to be arrested here. They’re certainly not acknowledging that on some level they deserve to be. We didn’t see that humility while they were cuffed on the airship---that most basic acknowledgement of, “Did we make some mistakes? Could we have done something better? Is Ironwood right to be this mad?”---and there’s none of it now here, either. The tone is pure, “How dare you try and arrest us? We’re the good guys here!” 

This remains as pro-protagonist as it has been the last two volumes. There are no consequences, only another hurdle for the group to overcome, painted as heroes for doing so. It’s Team RWBY vs. The Ace Ops and there’s no confusion about who we’re supposed to be rooting for. The Ace Ops because the group should rightly be stopped from hindering Ironwood’s attempts to keep the relics and a Maiden out of Salem’s hands, for their own lies and secret keeping that endangered them all this volume? Nope. It’s Team RWBY as the presumed heroes, facing off against soldiers who (supposedly) prioritize orders over what’s “right.” 

And yeah, Oscar is gone. There are a number of dismantled robots and blaster fire in the room where Neo presumably took him. So unless they do a flashback we don’t get to see if/how Ozpin reacted to this initial attack. I hope they do provide a flashback because otherwise that’s another crucial scene of Oscar’s that happened off screen...

Can’t wait to see what else we’ll end up with next week! Until then, 💜

[antman-56]

The Day We Meet Again Pt. 4

Blake (angrily mumbling) : I CAN’T believe he did that!!! TO HIS OWN DAUGHTER!!!

Blake dropped to her bed, falling face first into her pillow.

Blake : Maybe he was right about me. That I am a princess.

??? : Well you kinda are.

Blake turned to the source only to smile upon them.

Blake : Ilia.

Ilia : Sup.

Blake : How did you get in here? And how did you know I was home?

Ilia : Adam’s best operative. Remember And the fact that your famous helps.

She walked towards Blake and the two hugged.

Ilia : Now enough for formalities. What’s got you down?

Blake : My dad.

Ilia : What did he do?

Blake : He doesn’t want to tell me what exactly the Faunus have suffered.

Ilia : But you know what we have suffered.

Blake : Not everything apparently.

Ilia : Well you know we were treated like property, slaves basically.

Blake : I know that, but I want to know exactly everything we have gone through so that our future well never have to suffer it.

Ilia : Well what do you wan to know?

Blake : What Adam saw when he was an enforcer for the White Fang.

Ilia face changed. And it didn’t go unnoticed.

Blake (hopeful) : Ilia do you know what he saw?

Ilia : Blake.... Their is a deference between knowing and seeing.

Blake : I know that-

Ilia : No you don’t. Blake I love you and will follow you to the end of Remnant but you need to drop that idea.

Blake : No. I won’t. 

Ilia : Then if you’ll excuse me.

Ilia walked to her window and left.

Blake sighed. This was going to be a difficult task.

***Morning***

When Blake woke up she was greeted with a warm breakfast and a note.

Note*/* : DON”T YOU DARE ASK THE PEOPLE EITHER!!!!!

Blake sighed. She agreed with the note. To ask them to remember the darkest part of their life would be asking a PTSD soldier if they killed someone.

Blake ate breakfast and did her morning routine, when she left she found most of her team was in the living room talking to a more relaxed version of her mother.

Kali : And that’s how I met Ghira. He made me feel special than anyone and he still dose.

Nora, Weiss, and Ruby were fixated on her story as Jaune, Ren, and Yang were sparring with the guards.

Kali (excited) : Blake your up.

Blake : Mom.

Kali : What’s wrong sweety?

Blake fought the urge to lash out on her mother.

Blake : Other than the fact that dad called the guards to escort me and my friends to their rooms nothing much.

Kali dropped her facade.

Kali : Blake your father has his reasons on what he did. I have to ask tho. Would you beat your father if he refused to answer your questions or if he asked you to leave the room would you’ve?

Blake : Then let me ask you.

Kali : Blake the answer is no. I never saw what Adam reported to your father. He only gave it to him and I don’t know if he has them or destroyed them.

Blake groaned in anger and stomped away.

Nora : How come he won’t tell her?

Weiss : Yeah, she is the future leader of the White Fang so why keep secrets from her?

Ruby : I mean she won’t expose them immediately. She would do what Sienna Khan would do. Don’t you trust her?

Kali : Girls. I love that you support Blake but understand this. What the Faunus have suffered through is a tale as old as time itself. We are treated as less than humans and more than animals. Yes, she should know what we suffered but whats the point of bringing up the past. The facilities that treat us that way are one of a few things that the Fang pursued. 

Ruby : What dose that mean?

Kali : Nothing. Now if you’ll excuse me I think the crumpets are done.

***Outside*** 

Saber and Jaune were exchanging swords while some new recruits, Yang and Ren watched.

Saber (struggling) : Your good kid, but not good enough.

Jaune (also struggling) : Same to you.

It was at this moment that Saber noticed Jaune was unbalanced and kicked his right leg.

Jaune fell to the floor with a thud.

Saber : Not bad kid. You actual gave me more of a challenge than the girl.

Yang : HEY!!

Jaune still on the floor grabbed one of Saber’s legs and pulled.

Saber was caught off guard by the sudden sneak attack and fell next to Jaune. The sudden display made the audience gasp in a mix of excitement and horror. 

Jaune (smiling) : You left your guard down. 

Saber laughed.

Saber : Kid you really are something.

They both got up and began to drink water.

Saber : It’s nice to see new faces here in the island especially the young who consider us equals.

Ren : My motto is “Give respect and if none is given, leave”.

Saber : A good motto.

Yang : Anyway. I got to ask the elephant in the room.

Saber : About Abu?

Abu : WHAT!!!

Yang : Not him!! What happened last night!!

Saber : Never mind!! What do you want to ask?

Yang : Would you have fought us if we resisted?

Saber : Without hesitation.

Jaune : Why?

Saber : Ghira saved my family. My mother. My sister. I owe him my life.

Yang looked at him with confusion while the boys nodded their heads

Yang : What did he do?.

Saber (looks at clock) : Oh look at the time. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to train some kids into men.

With that he took his leave.

Yang : That wasn’t as helpful.

Ren : He just gave us the reason why he would fought us if we resisted.

Yang : But he never really met us until now.

Jaune : Would you trust a person you just met?

Yang : Still... What would have happened if he got hurt?

Ren : Let me ask, Let say Ruby was kidnapped and was about to tortured and you didn’t know who took her. Lets say someone who knows about it saves her and brings her back to you. Wouldn’t you be grateful?

Yang : Yes but to give them your life.

Jaune : Let’s say after they save her she is traumatized, never wanting to be a huntress ever again and you can’t console her but they come up and do it for you. Now Ruby is back to being her cheerful self again. And then gave her a job where she would be comfortable in and love. Would you be more than grateful?

Yang : Alright I get it. I would owe them my life.

Ren : Now you understand. For us if anything happened to Nora and I couldn’t do anything. I would hate myself, but if someone saved her for me. I would be forever grateful. And if they asked for my help then I wouldn’t even hesitate.

Jaune : Same goes for my sisters. I love them all and if someone saved them when I couldn’t then I would give them my enteral service. They just need to call and ask.

Yang : Is it just different for guys and girls when it comes to life debts?

Ren and Jaune : Yes.

Jaune : If it involves someone who has a huge significant part of your life then yes.

Ren : It’s why Ghira has the respect of almost everyone here. And the reason he is getting more recruits to help repel the insurgency.

Yang : Huh. I never would have put it that way.

Ren : Well you see giving kindness as common knowledge so when we took care of Ruby you didn’t say you owed us anything really. It was just us helping a friend.

Jaune : Yeah, the people here probably didn’t get to see your version of life. They were put to work till death and were expected to love it. So, when they saw selflessness...

Yang : They saw a hero.

Ren : Exactly. And when he gave them purpose her in Menagerie ...

Yang : They saw a savior.

Jaune : It’s like when Pyrrha helped trained me. She gave her spare time to help me improve being a huntsman and a better purpose to become one.

They just reached their destination to see the girls eating crumpets.

Nora : This is close to pnacakes~

Ruby : Next to cookies~

Weiss : Miss Bellodona what is the recipe?

Kali : Family secret. And i’m glad you girls like them.

Yang : Is it snack time.

Yang ran up the group to the tray of crumpets.

Nora (seeing Ren) REN TRY THESE!!!

Ren chuckled and walked over to them. He stopped himself when he took a step and saw that Jaune had yet to move.

Ren : You coming.

Jaune : Yeah, I just...

Ren gave him a look. And Jaune smiled.

Jaune : NORA DON”T EAT THEM ALL!!!

***Elsewhere***

??? : My brothers and sisters. We have failed, but it is not the end. Ghira may live but we leave him a mark of our cause. He rose to stop our hero, our savior Adam from reaching his goal. Some claim him a coward but what is a man to do if the enemy is your friend? The people you swore to give equality, FREEDOM!! My brothers and sisters the Belladonnas stopped him because they feared him. They feared the truth that he was right. That we have suffered enough and deserve equality by any means necessary. He did it for the Father, the Mother, the Brother, Sister, the Lover that we had to drag and bury as slaves!!! The Belladonnas don’t know what we suffered but Adam did. He was with us, not in a MANSION but in a mine and was marked by the cursed SCHNEE’S. We will not stop for him for us. When the Panther falls we will rise and give back what the humans gave us. WE WILL RISE!!!

With that a roar of cheers filled the mine and it wasn’t alone.

All around Remnant, a mix of large and small cheers roared with them.

This was only the beginning.

[laulink]

Monochrome idea (slightly canon divergent at the beginning, then VERY canon divergent as we progress into the thing because basically Watts doesn’t do shit after Jacques’s election so our girls don’t have to deal with that) :

Weiss and Blake are in the Schnee family mansion because boring meeting with Jacques and Ironwood or whatever and they’re walking down one of the many hallways, looking at the portraits and all that. Weiss casually mentions how Jacques has cameras in every hallway for “security reasons” (but he actually just always wanted to know where his children were and what they were doing) and will surely make snide remarks when they come back if they so much as breath the wrong way. This gives Blake an idea.

She takes Weiss’ hand to make her stop walking, then when Weiss turns to look at her Blake goes into full seduction mode with bedroom eyes, low voice, making sure to accentuate the sway of her hips with every step she takes to get closer to Weiss and when she’s close enough, like 2cm away from Weiss’ face, she asks :

“So... how about we give him a real reason to get angry ?”

And Weiss catches on immediately and goes into full seduction mode right back at Blake, leaning into her, standing on her tip toes to get closer to Blake’s face, winding her arms loosely around Blake’s neck and lowering her voice too to ask “Oh ? And what exactly did you have in mind ?” and Blake understands it’s her green light to go further so she (gently) pushes Weiss against a wall, right in front of one of the cameras she noticed earlier, and presses closer to Weiss, one leg between Weiss’ and her hands wandering from Weiss’ waist to her hips.

Now that could have been enough to make Jacques angry, but why stop there, huh ? So, after getting Weiss’ mumured consent, Blake kisses her and one kiss soon becomes two, then three, then turns into a full-on makeout session.

By this point neither of the girls are really thinking anymore and Blake’s hands go down to Weiss’ thighs, eliciting a muffled moan from her, which only encourages Blake to do more. So Blake picks Weiss up, Weiss’ back still against the wall and her legs now circling Blake’s waist. They break apart to catch their breath, but Blake uses the opportunity to bring a hand to the clip of Weiss’ jacket, undo it and start kissing Weiss’ throat, making Weiss moan and hug her closer.

“You ok with me leaving marks ?

- Go wild.”

So Blake starts kissing harder and sucking on the porcelain skin, making Weiss tremble against her. Weiss starts gently scratching the base of Blake’s cat ears to see what it’ll do, which earns her a moan and a bite. Once Blake is satisfied with the string of love bites and hickeys on Weiss’ throat, she goes back up to her lips to kiss Weiss again (this is starting to get addicting), then goes down Weiss’ jaw and the other side her throat to mark it as well. But, as Blake does so, Weiss’ eyes wander off to the other side of the hallway, where she sees-

“ Yang ?”

Blake didn’t really hear Weiss, too focused on her task, and Yang starts running so Weiss has to tell Blake to stop and push her back while also calling out to Yang and asking her to wait and Blake finally gets it and is like “Oh Shit”. Both her and Weiss start running after Yang and they catch up to her in the gardens. They explain that it was all to anger Jacques, but Yang is still hurt and doesn’t want to listen to them (and ok, fair, she has a pretty big crush on Blake and thought that maybe her feelings were returned so obviously she’s hurt, this hurts as hell) so she tries to get away, but Weiss tries to hold her back, look her in the eyes to explain some more and say they’re sorry and Yang just can’t take it so she swings her (right) arm to get Weiss away from her and hits Weiss. Hard. Blake cries out, scared for Weiss, and runs to her side, 3m away from Yang because her hit was just that hard and Yang is still angry, but she also feels guilty and terrible and sorry and sad and she doesn’t know how to say all that, but Weiss looks ok, she says she’s ok when Blake asks, so Yang just books it because she can’t take all these feelings.

When everyone goes back to the car (Jacques hasn’t said a thing to Weiss and Blake, probably hasn’t seen the video yet), Yang sits as far away from Weiss and Blake as she can, all of team JNPR between them, and refuses to look at either of them. No one says a thing when Nora asks about the marks on Weiss’ neck and the rest of the car ride is deadly silent.

The next day they have to choose their next mission and Yang doesn’t even really look at the board, she takes the first mission she sees, grabs Ruby and goes. Weiss and Blake, who weren’t able to talk to her at all, decide to give her some more time and take another mission together.

The mission was supposed to be basic intel gathering, but they learn that the arms dealer they were supposed to learn more about would make a big deal at a fancy party held in the next hour or so, which meant no time to call for backup or organise an operation, so Weiss and Blake decide to get there and stop the trafficking themselves. They ambush two party-goers, steal their clothes and get changed, Blake in a white suit with a black button-down shirt and black shoes and Weiss in a blue dress with a cut on the right side to show off her right leg and her hair let down to go better with the style of the dress and when they see each other they’re just like “Holy Shit” because honestly, they’re both hella sexy.

The party involves dancing, so they dance to give them a reason to move around the room and listen to the conversations to find out where the arms dealer is. Blake isn’t so good at first, but Weiss moves her hips against Blake’s to guide her, forcing the two to stay very close, and Blake is just like “Holy Fucking Shit, the prettiest woman in existence is in MY ARMS and we’re DANCING and oh Gods she smells so nice and- SHIT, Belladonna, don’t be a CREEPER” but honestly, who can blame her, huh ? Certainly not Weiss because she’s basically in the same state, if not worse, about Blake’s strong arms and how good she looks in a suit and- oh shit she’s gay.

Anyway they find the arms dealer and manage to take him down with nothing but the weapons they had at their disposal, which means furniture, broken wine bottles and a dagger- wait, a DAGGER ?! Yeah, Weiss had a dagger strapped to her thigh, just out of view even with the cut in her dress, and Blake thinks it's very sexy of her. Especially when she notices that said cut in Weiss’ dress is even bigger now after the fight and “Oh Gods damn it THESE LEGS” and Blake had never been so aware of how GAY she is. The dude she’s putting handcuffs on until the police arrives whistles at the sight and Blake just DECKS HIM and he’s out until the cops throw him in the truck.

In the meantime, Yang’s and Ruby’s mission is over, so they’re back at Atlas Academy and Yang is just... punching training dummies in the training room, Ruby and Penny watching her from the side when Winter walks in and asks if everything’s ok.

“She’s just angry because she had a pretty big crush on Blake but she saw her and Weiss making out the other day to piss your dad off.

- RUBY, you didn’t have to TELL HER.

- ... Oh. I see. Uhm... Well then, would you like to spar with me instead of just punching these things ? I find that a real fight is usually better for the nerves than punching dummies. Also I want to see what my sister’s teammates are capable of.”

And so Yang takes Winter up on her offer both as a way to let stress out and because, well, if Winter wants to see what Yang can do, Yang WILL show her. But Winter is much stronger than Yang anticipated and the fight, consequently, much harder. By the end of it, there’s no clear winner and both women are out of breath. They sit down together to drink some water and compliment each other’s fighting style and moves. Yang realises she does feel better and turn to Winter to thank her, but stops at the view : Winter taking off her tie, opening up the first two buttons of her collar and letting her hair out of her bun, shaking her head to get the hair to fall down in waves past her shoulders. Yang is like :

“Oh My God. If I didn’t know I was gay before.”

And then Winter looks at her and smiles and Yang’s heart skips a bit and she feels her cheeks heat up from something other than the heat of the fight.

“It’s been a while since I fought like that. We should do it again sometime.

- Huh... Y-yeah, sure, I mean, of course, it would be, uh, it would be my pleasure- I MEAN-”

Winter chuckles and “Oh Fucking Shit how can someone’s laugh be SO DAMN CUTE ?!” and tells Yang she gotta go but they could talk more later and Yang can just nod while she tries not to scream in gay.

Penny and Ruby are still on the side, watching, and Ruby is trying so hard not to laugh and Penny doesn’t really get what’s going on.

“Ruby, why are you shaking ?

- I think Yang’s broken heart is healed.

- Well, that’s great !

- I also think these two are gonna get A LOT closer in the next few days.

- I’m glad ! I think they’d get along well.”

And Penny just lays her head on Ruby’s shoulder while smiling, happy that everything seems to get better, and Ruby stops laughing IMMEDIATELY because “Oh Gods her head is on my shoulder, gotta stay still, gotta stay still so she’s comfortable, oh my Gods-” and Ruby suddenly feels a little more sorry for her gay mess of a sister because she is ALSO a total gay mess when Penny’s around.

When Weiss and Blake finally come back Yang decides to talk to Blake at last and they both explain their feelings and apologise and promise to be the best friends they can be from now on.

Then they hear Weiss calling for them and when they turn, she’s standing next to Winter, both still with their hair down, Weiss back in her usual attire but without the jacket and only one belt around her waist and Winter still didn’t button up her shirt or put her tie back on.

“Everyone’s waiting for us to start eating. Are you coming ?

- Uhm... Yeah, sure, just, huh, in a minute.

- Ok, don’t take too long.”

Both sisters leave, Blake and Yang look at each other and they just go :

“The Schnee sisters, am I right ?”

And share a moment of gay understanding.

[zerolympiustrife]

Jaune Arc Future Family AU, but with the children bonding with their grandparents/aunts/uncles (such as Taiyang, Winter, Kali, Ghira, Raven, Jaune’s sisters, etc.)

Hoo boy, this is gonna be a long one!

A very, very, VERY, long one.

————————————————————

Anonymous asks: Jaune Arc’s Future Family AU Spin-off series: Extended Family Edition!

Also, for this particular AU, I’m gonna bring Summer Rose and Roman Torchwick back from the dead. Why? Because I brought Pyrrha back from the dead in my previous miniseries for the sake of giving her an Arkos Future Family AU.

————————————————————

~~~>Lancaster

Summer (holding Lily): Does Lily love granny?

Lily (smiling): I love granny!

Summer (hugging her): And granny loves you~!

*Lily giggles*

Tai: Does Lily love grandpa?

Lily (turns to him): I love grandpa!

Tai (hugging her): And I love you too, Lily.

Qrow: Does Lily love grandpa’s half bro?

Lily (running up to him): I love mommy’s uncle Qrow! *Hugs his leg*

*Qrow chuckles, pats Lily on the head, and Jaune, Yang, and Ruby are watching this scene from a distance*

Yang: Y’know, vomit boy, I’ve had my doubts about you at first, but I’ve never been more happier to be proven wrong. Welcome to the family! *Grabs Jaune and ruffles his hair*

Jaune (struggling): Agh! Yang! Don’t call me that!

Yang (lets go of him): You’re right. I’m sorry, vomit man. *Snickers*

*Jaune glares at her, but Ruby grabs his arm, pulls him towards her and peck him on the cheek*

Ruby (blushing): I love you, my knight.

Jaune (blushing): And I love you, my rose.

Summer: Is there anything else you love, Lily?

Lily (loud and proud): I love cookies and milk! I love red roses and fancy weapons! I love mommy and daddy and my awesome auntie Yang!

*Yang, hearing this, smiles and blushes*

Lily (smiling): I love grandma and grandpa and my mommy’s uncle Qrow! I love my whole family!

Tai (chuckling): What about grandma Raven?

Lily (still smiling): Nope!

*Ruby’s eyes widened, Jaune spits out his drink, and Yang covers her mouth to muffle her laughter*

Summer (shocked): W-What do you not like about grandma Raven?

Lily (pouting): She never shows up for any family events! Last week, she promised me that she’d be here, but she never came! I hate her!

*Tai and Qrow’s eyes widened*

Ruby (walking over to her): Hey, hey, hey! Maybe the reason why she isn’t here is because she’s super busy right now. But I’ll tell you what: Next time I see her, I’ll make her keep her promise to hang out with you one day. I’ll even go as far to have me and daddy drag her over here. And I won’t take no for an answer.

Lily (hugging her): You will? Thank you, mommy! Can I have a cookie?

Ruby (carrying her): You’re welcome and of course you can! Actually…I think it’d be better if you tried granny’s cookies. They’re out of this world!

Lily (gasping): G-Granny?

Summer (giggling): Of course, sweetie.

Lily (smiling): Yay! I love you, granny!

*Everyone laughs, but little does everybody know, Raven is hiding behind a door, contemplating on her granddaughter hating her*

Raven (frowning): …Hearing that hurts me more than anything. N-Not that I care or anything… *Starts to shed a tear*

————————————————————

~~~>White Knight

Frost (yelling): Uncle Whitley! Aunt Winter! Butler Klein!

*The two Schnee siblings and Klein stand at attention*

Whitley/Winter/Klein: Yes, my niece/lady Frost?

*Frost walks over to Whitley*

Frost: Uncle Whitley, I’ve heard you were attempting to pull a hurtful prank upon mother. Is that true?

Whitley: N-No.

Frost (angrily): Oh, is that so? Because I heard from my servants that you placed a cold, hard, steel bucket over an open door that would’ve given mother a concussion!

Whitley (internally): …Oops.

Frost (glaring at him): Is this how you repay her after she and father saved your life from a group of bandits the other day?!?

*Winter and Klein’s eyes widened, gasp, and turn to Whitley with a glare*

Klein (eyes turn red): Whitley! Is this true?!?

Whitley (muttering): Yes, it’s true.

Frost (angrily): Speak up!

Whitley: Yes, it’s true!

Frost (points to the ground): On your knees, uncle!

*Whitley groans and obliges, as Frost takes a glove and slaps him across the face with it*

Frost: We do not repay kindness to our loved ones by pulling hurtful pranks! Do I make myself clear, uncle?!?

Whitley (rubbing his cheek): Y-Yes, my niece.

Frost (crossing her arms): Good! You are dismissed.

*Whitley walks away, and Frost walks in front of Winter*

Frost (calming down): Aunt Winter! It appears you have, what my father calls, a “secret admirer”!

*Winter’s eyes widened, and her face turns slightly red*

Winter (blushing): W-What makes you say that, my niece?

*Frost snaps her fingers, and a couple of servants brings her a bottle of alcohol with a heart-shaped card*

Winter (internally): Goddamnit…this isn’t a good time, Qrow…!

Frost (reading the card): “Roses are my niece, violets are your sis, one night with me, and you’ll get more than just a kiss”?

Klein (eyes turn pink): Oh my~! *Starts fanning himself*

Winter (holding her face in embarrassment): Oooohhhh noooooo! *Falls down to her knees*

Frost (surprised): Hm! I wasn’t even going to demand you to get on your knees. Is everything alright, aunt Winter? Should I get mother and father to solve this issue?

Winter (puts her hands down): Th-Thanks for the concern, Frost, but…this is more of a personal matter. I appreciate the offer, but I can handle this.

Frost (crossing her arms): Hm, very well. You are dismissed.

*Winter leaves, and Frost walks in front of Klein*

Klein (eyes turn yellow): What can I do for you, lady Frost?

Frost: Butler Klein, kneel. *Points to the ground*

*Klein obliges, then Frost starts patting him on the head*

Klein (surprised): W-What is this for, lady Frost?

Frost (smiling): For being the most wonderful butler my mother’s ever had. For that, I wish to repay you in kindness by doing what my father would do to me. *Continues to pat his head* I thank you dearly.

Klein (eyes turn pink): Oh, i-it’s nothing, my lady! All in a day’s work, as they say!

Frost (stops patting): You are dismissed.

Klein (eyes turn yellow): Thank you, lady Frost! *Leaves*

*Weiss and Jaune watch this from a distance*

Jaune (chuckling): Heh. That Frost… 

Weiss (blushing): I can’t help but feel a little embarrassed by our daughter acting like a queen.

Jaune (pecks her on the cheek): Shouldn’t that be you?

Weiss (blushing more): D-Don’t do that all of a sudden!

*Jaune giggles, then feels something hit his leg*

Frost (hugging his leg): Father! Do I make a good ruler?

Jaune (picking her up): You make a wonderful queen. Moreso than your mother.

Weiss (offended): H-Hey!

Frost (confused): Mother? Is this true?

*Weiss starts making angry tsundere noises, while Jaune giggles and Frost still looks confused*

————————————————————

~~~>Knightshade

Kali (squealing): Kyah~! She’s so cute! *Eskimo kisses Melanie*

Melanie (giggling): Granny! Your nose tickles!

Kali (kisses her nose): Mwah!

*Melanie purrs, this freaks Kali out (in a good way)*

Kali (blushing madly): Aaaaahhhhh~! Blake! Sweetie!

*Blake and Jaune enter the room*

Blake: Yeah, mom?

Kali (cuddling with Melanie): She’s so precious! She’s too cute! I feel like I’m going to be slain by “cuteness overload”, as the humans say! You’ve made me so happy, Blake!

Blake (chuckling): You’re welcome, mom.

Kali (hands Melanie over to Ghira): Honey, isn’t she adorable?

Ghira (smiling): She is! Ah! *Melanie tugs on his shirt and starts climbing all over him*

Melanie (climbing him): Grandpa! Play with me!

Ghira (laughing): Ahahaha! Ok! Ok! I’ll play with you! *Melanie sits on his right shoulder*

*The three laugh, and Jaune and Blake huddle together watching this*

Jaune: Well, looks like you’ve made your family very happy.

Blake: Correction: WE’VE made our family very happy. I can’t take all the credit.

Jaune: Heh, good point. I was scared of your father for quite some time ever since you told me you were pregnant.

Blake: Worry not, my love. My parents couldn’t be more happier to have a grandkitty to play with.

Kali: Jaunie~!

Jaune (walks over to her): Yes, Ms. Belladonna?

Kali: Oh please, call me mom. Anyways…come closer.

*Jaune leans in closer to Kali and she whispers into his ear, then his face turns red*

Jaune (blushing): I- Wha- Um- Huh?!?

Melanie (confused): Huh? What is it, daddy?

Ghira (confused): Something wrong, son?

Blake (raising an eyebrow): What is it, honey?

Jaune (blushing): …Kali wants another grandkitty.

*Ghira laughs, Melanie still looks confused, and Blake’s face turns red*

Blake (blushing): MOM!!!

Kali: I’m just saying, it’d be nice if Melanie had someone else to play with in this household. And someone else for me to spoil.

*Blake groans loudly*

Jaune (changing the subject): Aaaaaaaaanyways…anyone up for some chicken or fish?

*Ghira and Melanie stand up, all excited*

Ghira/Melanie: Yes, yes, yes!

Kali (leaning in closer to Jaune’s ear): Remember. Second child. I want more grandkitties.

*Jaune’s face goes red again and Blake facepalms hearing this*

————————————————————

~~~>Dragonslayer

*Raven, who’s hands are on her hips, and Yin, who’s crossing her arms, are glaring at each other in a DBZ-like fashion*

Raven: You’ve been glaring at me for quite some time now.

Yin: …

Raven: You’re gonna put wrinkles on your face the more you do that.

Yin: Look who’s talking.

Raven: What’s your problem?

Yin: Apologize to mom.

Raven: What?

Yin (getting angry): Apologize to mom!

Raven: And if I don’t?

Yin: I’ll punch you.

Raven (raising an eyebrow): You’d punch your own grandma?

Yin: You left my mom when she was a baby!

Raven: I had a tribe to look after!

Yin: Who cares about your stupid tribe?!?

*Both continue to glare at each other, and Yang, Jaune, Ruby, and the rest of the family are watching this from the sidelines*

Ruby: Sheesh, Yin seems more angrier than usual.

Summer: Hm…

Yang: Honestly, it’s my fault. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her the stories of her grandmother.

Tai: Hey, it’s alright. We all make mistakes.

Qrow: But at least you’re not like your mother, Yang.

Jaune (wrapping his arm around Yang): Hey, hey. It’s alright, honey. I’m sure your mother has a good reason for being here.

Yang (sighing): I have hopes in- huh?!

*Yang sees Yin punch Raven in the stomach, and she holds her stomach in pain*

Yang (runs over to the scene): Yin! Why’d you do that?!

Yin: Because she asked for it.

Yang: What do you mean “because she asked for it”?!

Raven (coughing): Yang…calm down.

Yang: Huh?

Raven: It’s true…ahahaha…I told her to punch me as hard as she can. I wanted to test out how strong she is…

Yin: And did I disappoint you like mom did?

Yang: Yin!

Raven (chuckling): Quite the opposite, actually…that was quite a punch. *Slowly gets up* I like you.

Yin: Flattery will get you nowhere, grandma.

Yang: YIN!!!

Yin: What?! She left you, mom! I-I was only trying to defend you…

Yang (sighing): …I appreciate you defending me, sweetie, but…

Raven: Yang!

Yang: Huh?

*Raven holds out her hand, Yang grabs it, then Raven pulls her in for a hug*

Yang (surprised): Whoa! Mom?

Raven: Ssshhhhh…I’m proud of you, Yang. You and that boy have come a long way, and given birth to a strong, little dragon.

*Yang doesn’t say anything but frowns a little*

Raven: I’m not expecting you to forgive me when I say this, but…I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leaving you. I’m sorry for leaving you and your father for the sake of my tribe. I’m sorry leaving you two because I’m such a selfish, stubborn, cynical, hypocritical, cowardly individual!!! *Starts to tear up*

Yang (tears up as well): O-Oh…mom…

*Both women start crying, and Yin looks conflicted upon seeing this*

Yin (softly): …Mom…? G-Grandma…?

*Jaune and Ruby walk over to Yin*

Yin: Dad? Aunt Ruby? I…I don’t know what to feel about this…

Ruby (patting her back): I think we should give ‘em a moment to reconcile.

Jaune (ruffles her hair): Yeah, what say we go inside and prepare a more warm welcome to grandma?

Yin (looking down): Um…I…I don’t know…

Jaune: Alright, how about we stay here and wait for them to stop sobbing?

Yin (contemplating): Hm…hm…alright, dad.

*Jaune and Yin stay in place, Yang and Raven stop crying, and Raven properly introduces herself to her son-in-law and granddaughter in a more friendlier manner*

————————————————————

~~~>Arkos

*Jaune’s sisters - who are now aunts - are currently playing with their little brother’s sons and daughters*

Perseus (groaning): Dad! Tell my aunts to stop pinching my cheeks!

Athena (groaning): If I gotta suffer, so do yo- Ow! Not so rough!

Arc Sister 1: He’s so cute!

Arc Sister 2: I wanna dress him up!

Arc Sister 3: I wanna braid her hair!

Pallas (giggling): Dada!

Apollo (giggling): Ababa!

Arc Sister 4: Ah~! She’s so adorable!

Arc Sister 5: Thanks for letting us play with them, Jaune!

Arc Sister 6: I’m happy for my little bro right now. Married a hottie and she pops out a cutie!

Athena (running away): Stop! Please!

Perseus (running away): Run, sis!

*The Arc sisters give chase and catch them, all the while giggling*

Athena: Nooooo! Somebody save us!

Perseus: Mom! Dad! HELP!!

*Apollo and Pallas giggle some more as the Arc sisters dress them up*

*Meanwhile, downstairs, Jaune and Pyrrha are bonding with Jaune’s mother, father, his sister Saphron, her wife Terra, and their son Adrian, who’s now older. Also in the room are Jaune and Pyrrha’s third daughter and son, Jeanie and Jamison, who are infants*

Mama Arc (cradling Jamison): I couldn’t be a more happier grandmother, son.

Jaune (embarrassed): Mom…

Papa Arc (cradling Jeanie): What can we say? Our son knows how to pick a woman!

Jaune (hiding his face): Oy…

Saphron (giggling): Seems you went a little overboard, baby bro.

*Jaune glares at her*

Terra: Saphron, please. I think we’ve teased him long enough.

Jaune (rubbing his eyes): Yes…thank you, Terra.

Adrian: Grandpa? Can…can I carry Jeanie?

Papa Arc: Only if your uncle Jaune and aunt Pyrrha are okay with it.

*Adrian looks to the duo, and both nod*

Papa Arc (hands her over): Alright, here ya go.

*Adrian cradles Jeanie, he smiles, and Pyrrha sighs while clinging onto Jaune*

Jaune (smirking): …Happy?

Pyrrha (nuzzling her face into him): More than that.

Jaune (smiling): Well, if you’re happy, then so am I.

*Mama Arc kisses Jamison on his forehead, and he coos happily*

Mama Arc (fawning): Eee~! I love you, my little angel!

*Jeanie giggles, causing Adrian’s grin to grow bigger*

Papa Arc (grinning): Is there anything that could make this day more better than it already is?

Pyrrha (very fast): JauneI’mpregnantagain.

Jaune (head piques up): …What?

————————————————————

~~~>Blackguard

Whitley: You’re so cute, Frost!

Winter: Yes, she’s adorable!

*The Schnee siblings are playing with Frost, who’s giggling happily, while Jaune and a 6-month pregnant Bleiss are watching from the sidelines*

Bleiss (pouting): Hrgh…

Jaune: What’s wrong?

Bleiss: I don’t like the fact that my siblings are stealing my little girl away, darling.

Jaune: They’re not stealing her away. They’re just playing with her, is all!

Bleiss: Looks more like stealing to me. Now, get me a custard tart, darling. The baby inside me demands it!

Jaune (throwing his arms): Ok, ok! Sheesh. *Goes into the kitchen*

Bleiss (glaring at her siblings): Hmmm…

Whitley: Frost, who do you love more, mommy or daddy?

Frost: I don’t have a favorite! I love both mommy and daddy!

Bleiss (fawning): Aahhhh~…that’s my girl…

Winter: Whitley, ever noticed that Bleiss has gotten slightly happier ever since Frost was born?

Whitley: I don’t know, Winter…I feel she’s currently in the middle of her mood swings because she’s pregnant again.

*Whitley looks over to Bleiss, who’s giving him a VERY hateful glare. Whitley shudders in fear upon seeing this*

Whitley (shaking): Sheesh…if looks could kill…I’d be dead right now…or be turned into an ice statue. *Looks away*

Frost (confused): Huh? *Looks over to Bleiss, who gives her a warm smile* Eee~! I love you, mommy!

Bleiss (blushing): Mommy loves you too, sweetie!

————————————————————

~~~>Silent Knight

*Inside a small room*

Roman: Alright, Neo! What’s our next target?!

*Neo holds up a picture of a fat, ugly middle-aged man*

Roman (confused): Really? This is our target? He doesn’t look like someone who’s keeping all the Dust.

*Neo nods*

Roman (baffled): Um…alright! Let’s plan this heist with caution! There could be more cops around his presence…and…and…I’m sorry, WHY are we going after this man again?!

*Neo makes a bunch of gestures*

Roman (raising an eyebrow): “It’s confidential”? C’mon, Neo! You can tell me anything! So what’s the real reason why-

*Vanilla, covered in food, barges in and runs up to her mom*

Vanilla (hugging her): Mommy, I’m home! Oh, hi, uncle Roman!

Roman: Oh, uh…hello, Vanilla.

*Neo makes a bunch of gestures to her daughter*

Vanilla: What am I doing here? We got home early!

Jaune (walking in): It’s true- Oh, hey Roman.

Roman: Hi, Jaune. So…you got home early, huh?

Jaune: Yeah. From what I was told, there was a large food fight going on at the cafeteria, and it escalated so badly that the teachers had to call all the parents to pick everybody up.

Roman: Hm…that explains why your daughter’s covered in food.

Vanilla: By the way, mommy…did you find that guy who was mean to me the other day?

*Roman looks confused, while Neo looks nervous*

Jaune (grabbing Vanilla): Vanilla, sweetie, I think we should let mommy do her business while you take bath to wash all this off.

Vanilla (pouting): Hm…Ok…bye, Mommy! Bye, uncle Roman!

*Jaune and Vanilla exit the room, Roman looks at Neo with a suspicion squint*

Roman: So…what’s the REAL reason why we’re going after this man?

*Neo sighs in defeat, then makes a long series of gestures while Roman nods his head in response*

Roman (pondering): Hm…alright. So let me get this straight: This guy threw your daughter’s ice cream to the ground, yelled at both you and her to stop eating sweets, made insulting offensive comments about how women shouldn’t be in charge to look after children, let alone those who can’t speak, then walked away?

*Neo nods in response while looking angry*

Roman (sighing): …We won’t get Dust for doing this, but…alright, I’ll help you kill this son of a bitch. Just for you and your family. *Smirks*

*Neo smiles and claps happily*

[rwbyremnants]

So uhhh one of my reviewers was right; I had posted chapter 23 as chapter 22. I told you guys my brain was smooshed and I needed a break! This is the same chapter 23, but chapter 22 is correct now if you guys want to go back and read it (for the first time). I'll also be editing chapter 24 to post today or tomorrow. Hope everybody's having a good Fall <3 

Also I just made us a Carrd if anybody wanted to apply to be a beta or submit fanart, or donate or whatever!

=Chapter 23

Raven had thrown a small fit when she saw what had become of her daughter’s room. The other four’s insistence that they would clean it all up themselves mollified her, and she got out of their way to let them handle it. Yang went straight for the shower once Weiss promised to bring her some clean clothes, so the other three got to work.

“I really do feel like a blockhead, though,” Ruby said, obviously in higher spirits due to Yang’s begrudging acceptance of her. “I was even thinking to myself, ‘Don’t drop it, don’t say anything dumb,’ and all I did was say dumb things and… well, y’know.”

“What a klutz,” Weiss sighed, though she was smiling as she reached over and mussed up Ruby’s hair. The girl stuck out her tongue through her grin.

“Don’t underestimate the value of a moment like that,” Kali reminded them as she searched for some dishrags in the kitchen drawers. Raven had vanished into the rest of the house so she would be of little help. When they only looked confused, she explained, “You broke the ice. Now Yang can see past what you represent - losing her father, all that old pain - to who you are as a person.”

The grin grew wider. “Really? Me being so square did all that?”

“Yes, sweetheart. All that.”

She was still grinning when Raven returned with a long-sleeved blouse and a dress that was a bit old-fashioned, tossing them onto the back of a chair. “There.”

She had already taken a step toward the hallway again when Weiss asked, “There, what?”

“There,” she answered through gritted teeth, “clothes for the runt to change into.” When they only stared at her, she rolled her eyes in annoyance and disgust. “She got malted on her, too, didn’t she? It’s going to stink. Milk stinks as it goes bad. Are you this slow on purpose?”

“Thank you, Raven,” Kali said very firmly to cut off any rebuttals from Weiss. “We’ll finish up the cleaning while Yang showers.”

Once they were alone again, Weiss whispered, “I think I see what you mean. She keeps doing nice things while acting really mean - like the soup. It’s strange.”

“She’s always been like that, to a lesser degree. Just got worse after Tai left her. Oh-” Smiling a bit wider, she held up a stack of washcloths. “Perfect.”

By the time the bedclothes were changed, Weiss had built up enough confidence to not only bring Yang her clothes, but wait for her to get out of the shower. When the Dragon pushed the curtain aside and saw she was no longer alone, she blinked a few times, then allowed a smug little grin to flit across her lips.

“Soooo.” Reaching out a hand for a towel, expression aloof as if she were royalty, she waited for Weiss to hand it to her before she continued, “Wanted to get a good look at the ol’ chassis, huh? You’ve already seen it’s in tip-top condition.”

Blush already starting, Weiss forced herself to remain calm. When Yang took a step out onto the bathmat, she stood her ground instead of stepping back - so that they were nose-to-nose. Yang blinked at the suddenness of the proximity.

“I wanted to see all of you - without pressure from a gaggle of mean Dragons this time. So thank you for the, um… demonstration.”

Yang bit her bottom lip for a moment, then looked down at her own body and back up. “So, all bragging aside… I know I look pretty good. But you don’t have to prove you’re interested in women if you don’t want to. I’m fine with just taking things slow.”

“You don’t live slow, Yang. I know that.” Her hand drifted up to pet along her hip and waist. “I’m trying to get more comfortable around you like this. It’s… well, I’m still a lot more nervous about it than you are, but it’s better. I’m better.”

“Good. I like it when you’re better. I like seeing that you’re not scared to death my body’s gonna gobble you up.” Her voice dipped a little lower. “Unless you want it to.”

Shivering from those words that sounded like a promise, she whispered, “Maybe I do. Maybe… it’s my turn.”

“Your turn?” Yang’s eyebrows went up, and she grinned. “Ohhhhh, okay. Then maybe you should get rid of my stupid sister and Mrs. B and we can really- OW!”

“You deserved that!” Weiss hissed, letting go of the skin covering Yang’s ribs. “And there’s another pinch in it for you if you insult Ruby again!”

“What did I say?”

“That girl wants to be your actual sister! Not just someone who’s related to you through your father, but… honestly, do you have to call her ‘stupid’?”

Frowning and still rubbing the pinched skin, she turned away as she finally began to dry off. “I didn’t really mean it. Just being… I don’t know. But she’s not my sister. I barely saw her growing up because of how Dad handled things. How Raven and Summer did after he left. They could have kept us together, or at least let us play together, but we barely ever did. And then she dies, and I thought maybe Ruby would move in with us, but… nope. Uncle Qrow gets her, and they hate each other as much as our moms. Worse.”

The silence deepened as she watched Yang angrily scrubbing the water off her skin. It was a little painful just to be watching, so she couldn’t imagine how much worse it was to experience.

“Can’t you see Ruby loves you?”

“Stop, okay? This isn’t your business.”

“No, Yang. It is now. Because you’re my…” She only had to gulp once to get it out. “M-my girlfriend. If I were a boy, we’d be engaged, or pinned or something. And then Ruby would be my future family.”

“Weiss-”

“So it’s important to me that you two get along!”

“Weiss, drop it. I’ll…” When she glanced at her and saw the deadly serious expression on her face, Yang’s softened. “Alright, alright. She did come all the way over here just to bring me a dumb malted, didn’t she?”

“Not just for that. She wanted to see if you were alright. And I stuck my neck out and said you would want to see her, even though you’ve been treating her like a… a wad of used chewing gum!”

Such a comparison made Yang snort in amusement. “Really? As bad as all that?”

“YES!”

“Really?” she asked again, the smile disappearing. “I didn’t… come on, I never hurt her or anything. I may not hang out with her, but that’s because I’m a Dragon. I have my own friends, and she has hers. Didn’t think she would want to keep playing hopscotch with me after so long, anyway. Besides, like I said, Raven and Qrow don’t get along, so it’s just… easier to leave each other alone, right?”

Impatient, Weiss walked over to her and pressed a hand into the small of her back through the towel. “You’re her half-sister. I’d give anything to have Winter here while I was going through all this with my parents! A sister is a friend for life.”

“Friend for life, huh?” Glancing at Weiss and seeing she was serious, she sighed as she patted her hair dry, then turned to cup her cheek. Her heart fluttered, despite the gravity of their conversation. “Alright, enough already. It’s… I’ll give it a try. No promises, but I’ll try.”

“Thank you,” she told her earnestly, gripping the back of the hand to keep it close.

“You like her, don’t you? My sis.”

“She’s sweet. And… well, I feel a little guilty for only talking to her when I’m worried about you, or talking about you. So I made a promise to myself and to her that I’d be… nicer.”

Yang was quiet as she thought about that for a moment. Then she propped a leg up on the sink as she began to dry it off. “That’s pretty cool of you, though I don’t think I’d like it if it were me. Being a charity case.”

“Not for charity! I really do like her! I mean it!”

“Why? What’s so great about her?” When Weiss frowned, she winced. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Really, tell me about my sister.”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“No, I’m not going to do your work for you. Go out there and learn about her first-hand.” Then she took the towel and began to dry off the leg for her, still speaking in a brisk, businesslike manner. “Just forget she’s Summer’s girl, or about divorces or anything like that, and get to know who Ruby is. Okay?”

After the first few seconds, Yang began relaxing into the motions as she listened. The towel passing up and over her rear got her to chuckle, “Okay. I mean, you’re probably right. Besides, I can’t say ‘no’ to you.”

“Good. Now, I want you to stand on your head and pat your belly.”

“Actually, turns out I can say ‘no’. And I’m sayin’ it now.”

“Oh? But if you stood on your head… I could probably reach something fun very easily.”

One eyebrow raised, Yang turned her head more fully to gaze into Weiss’s eyes. “While I’ve been laid up, you got even bolder. What have you and Kali been up to?”

“Hey! I don’t appreciate you saying things like that!” Though they were both laughing. Weiss rubbed at her hindquarters a little more firmly. “I have been pretty lonely with you laid up.”

“Me, too. Hanging around in my room is driving me stir crazy.”

“Well, it’s only a few more days. But you still have to take it easy for another month, okay? Promise?”

Pouting, Yang turned and lowered her leg again so she could slide her hands around Weiss’s trim waist. She moved her arm pretty confidently, despite the injury; marked progress. “But I want to lift you up onto the sink and drink you down. Right now.”

“O-oh…” Her pulse skyrocketed, but she forced herself to clear her throat and take a step back. “But you won’t. And you won’t put me on your motorcycle, and you won’t punch anyone out. Nothing like that until your shoulder is better.”

“Okay, okay, Mom.”

“And don’t do that! It sounds creepy!”

As they were laughing, there came a harsh knock at the door. “HEY! I said to cut that out in my home, you two!”

“Cut what out, Mom?!” Yang half-shouted, still grinning.

“Don’t sass me or I’ll come in there and deck you one! And I don’t care what I’m interrupting!”

“Mrs. Branwen?” Weiss began. “I was just helping Yang dry off and keeping her company. That’s all, I promise.”

The reasonable response seemed to fluster the woman more than an outraged or angry one might have done. So they heard nothing else but receding footsteps.

“Wow, I can’t believe that worked.”

“Neither can I,” Yang whispered, smiling at her. When Weiss began to rub at her stomach, she said, “Um, a little lower, please.”

Weiss only narrowed her eyes instead of capitulating.

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

When they returned to her bedroom, they found that Kali and Ruby had done a fantastic job of cleaning up. Yang surprised them all by immediately striding up to Ruby, who was now wearing Raven’s old clothes and looking awkward about having been standing by her window.

“So,” she said with a somewhat-false cheer. “What made you want to drop by today, Rubes?”

“Um… Weiss? She said Mrs. Belladonna could help me get past Raven, so I thought… I mean, hey, why not give it a try? And if you threw me out, I would get over it.”

Shrugging as if it was no big deal, she said, “Well, the malted’s gone, so I guess now we just talk.”

“Right! Talking is good!”

Everything fell silent. As Kali nudged Weiss, both sisters said “Sooo…” in such a similar way that they had to laugh at themselves. Then she noticed Kali was trying to get her to help gather up the dirty bedclothes and take them out, so she obeyed, trying not to be conspicuous.

“I think it’s going to go a lot better from this point forward,” Kali whispered.

“Really? I didn’t make the world’s biggest mistake in bringing Ruby here?” They shared a brief smile as they edged into a small laundry room off the kitchen. “That’s good. I had a feeling all they needed was to talk for more than a few sec-”

They both froze when they saw Raven working on the laundry, box of detergent clutched in her hands as she glared. After a moment or two, she sighed and finished what she was doing, then tried to push past them.

“Wait,” Kali attempted.

“No. This doesn’t change anything. I still don’t want you back in my life, and I don’t want to be ‘best pals’ with the girl dating my daughter. Or with Summer’s little runt. Everybody just leave me alone.”

The problem was, Kali and Weiss were blocking her escape. She could have slipped out the back door and into the yard, but that would have been a truly desperate way to dodge an uncomfortable conversation, and Raven seemed to think she was at least above that.

“Do you know why we’re where we are right now?”

“It’s my house,” she fired back immediately. “Why you’re here is because you can’t help meddling.”

“We’re here because you can’t accept anyone else’s help, or anyone else’s viewpoint. It’s all-Raven, all the time. I loved you both, but Ghira treated me more like I deserved to be treated. Still deserve that.”

“Shut up.” The voice was dangerous, and Weiss felt dread welling up in her at the sight of the fists curling at the woman’s sides. Kali was pushing and it didn’t seem like a wise decision.

“Why? Afraid of the truth?”

“You don’t understand. I’m… none of this matters anymore. Get the hell out of my way before I make you.”

The woman’s elegant Italian features were completely unimpressed. “No. This has been a long time in coming. Your behaviour is so poor that it’s affecting everyone around you. I wouldn’t bother telling you if I didn’t think you could change it. You can. And you’re an adult now, so I think you should.”

“Really?” she laughed harshly, folding her arms over her chest. “You think I’m still in love with you, and if I ‘be a good girl’, you’ll take me back? Is that your plan? Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Of course not. I’m sure you despise me more than you could ever despise anyone else. Even Summer.”

“Then what is the point of this conversation?”

“That you should stop taking out your frustrations on Yang. She’s not her father.”

Stunned by that turn, Raven took a step backward, features slack and completely incensed. “I’m not… what? Don’t you dare. Don’t you DARE accuse me of such a disgusting- who do you think you are?!”

“Someone you used to trust,” Kali sighed, not lowering her gaze but looking as if the fight were finally bleeding out to be replaced by sadness. “I don’t care if you do anymore. Well, that’s a lie; I do care, but I can’t bring myself to be upset about things I cannot change. You’ve made your choices and your judgments, and I’m just old news to you now. But Yang and Ruby, and Weiss here… they need adults in their lives who will treat them with kindness and warmth, and try to guide them without damaging them any more than necessary.”

“Get off your high horse, Belladonna. As if you never did anything that made Blake hate you. Never hurt her without meaning to.”

“I have. Many times. But I’ve never sent her to school limping from injuring her myself.”

Finally, Raven lost her cool - she flew at Kali with both fists raised, aiming to harm. To shut the woman’s mouth so no more accusations could flow forth. The attack was easily dodged, and it was Kali who had Raven pinned against the wall this time, arms gripped so that they squirmed in the small of her back. Completely incapacitated.

“You ever strike Yang again,” she growled menacingly, “and I’ll make sure you can’t anymore. Are we clear?”

“Get off me! She’s my girl! She has to know how hard the world is - has to be… be shown- OW! I can’t let her get soft!” It was probably a combination of the physical and emotional pain, but her eyes began to leak as she struggled to get away fruitlessly. “This world will chew her up and spit her out if I don’t toughen her up! And nobody else will do that for her! The Dragons? HAH! Salem just wants lackeys to do her bidding - not real strength! Why do you think I got out with Tai?! But Yang thinks they’re her ‘family’! I want her to be strong, so she can lead them her own way someday! And wiping her little ass for her like you do ain’t gonna help! So you can take your Sunday School lesson and sit on it!”

The words shocked Weiss a lot more than they did Kali. Maybe she had heard them before, or heard similar from someone else. But the Schnee heiress had never considered for a moment that Raven had struck Yang to help her! Twisted as her logic was, it definitely made a lot more sense than simply not caring about her own daughter. But Kali didn’t take more than a few seconds to respond.

“I know you love her. Even through this terrible attitude, I can see it. But you’re wrong. Beating Yang whenever she gets out of line won’t make her strong; it just makes her hate you, and makes it hard for her to trust anyone else, or respect authority that doesn’t beat her.”

“I don’t care if she hates me. If it works, that’s all that matters. Nobody’s ever gonna take advantage of my Yang. Ever.”

“Raven…” Sighing, she let her go, standing back from the woman. “Fine, be stubborn as always. But my promise remains in place. I can’t stand seeing any more children abused. I won’t stand for it. Don’t make me hurt someone I used to love to stop her from hurting people I currently love. Please.”

For a brief instant, it looked as if Raven was going to argue. But she only looked between Kali’s grim determination, and the bandage on Weiss’s cheek, still mulling the words over for a long time.

“You never loved me,” she finally whispered bitterly.

“I did.”

“You never said it.”

Swallowing hard, she turned away to gaze at the washing machine. “I know. I was afraid that if I did… you would think you had something worth fighting for, and you and Ghira might have torn each other apart. It was the only thing that would have been worse than how things wound up.”

“You’ve never given me a second thought in all those years apart. Admit it.”

“Are you kidding? I’ve thought about you every day. But that changes nothing.”

The room stayed quiet for a few seconds. Suddenly, Weiss couldn’t take it anymore, and she whispered, “Mrs. Branwen?”

“What do you want?” she sneered, annoyed at her thoughts being interrupted.

“I love Yang. And you do, too - and so does Ruby, and Kali, and Blake. Maybe it’s hard for you to see that because… you don’t know us very well.”

“I know Kali too well.”

“But couldn’t you just… give us a chance? Let us disappoint you before you assume we will?”

Raven shook her head, even though the fight had gone out of her. “I can’t. No more chances left. Over and over, I got dumped, and betrayed, and… and I made a vow no one would ever do that to me or my daughter again. Sticking to it.” She took a step toward the door before pausing. “I already said I wouldn’t stop you from coming over to see her anymore. Don’t make me regret that decision.”

“What about Ruby? Can she…” Her throat tightened, but she forced herself to finish. “Can she feel safe coming over by herself?”

“What?”

Exasperated, Weiss squeaked, “You tried to stab her!”

“I protected myself,” she snapped, though without any true bite. “Always find out what people want before you let them in. Good policy. But…” Groaning, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. I know the runt doesn’t pose any threat, so I won’t do that to her again.”

“You’d better not,” Kali put in warningly. Raven only nodded before taking her leave.

“Wow,” Weiss breathed as they slowly came back to life. They had to collect the sheets from the floor, since they had been dropped at some point that she couldn’t even recall. “That was…”

With a long sigh, Kali helped her stuff them into the washing machine with the other clothes. “I know.”

“She does love Yang. I thought she didn’t, since she was acting like my father, I… and I don’t understand how any parent can love their child and still hurt them.”

Choosing her words carefully, the older woman said, “I can understand it. I just can’t abide it. Every child has a right to feel safe and secure when they’re with their own parents, and… and if Yang can’t feel that way with Raven…” Swallowing hard, she slammed the lid shut. “I’ll take her in. I don’t care if it’s going to be difficult, or if she fights me on this. She may not be blood but she’s family.”

“You’d do that?” she breathed in surprise.

“Raven gets one last chance. I think that if she has us around to show her she’s doing things wrong, maybe she’ll change. I certainly hope so. Because if the Raven I used to know is still there, buried under all her bitterness and self-pity…”

But she cut herself off. The thoughts seemed too painful for her to keep focusing on them, and Weiss had no desire to make her endure further pain. Her hand pressed into Kali’s back as they left the clothes to be washed, and Kali spared her a weak smile that faded very quickly. It was nearly as sad as if she had never smiled at all.

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

The rest of their visit was much more amiable. Ruby and Yang seemed to be getting along a little better now; Yang would still say some things that came across as harsh or abrasive, but she had begun to notice that on her own and apologise. Kali hung back and said very little, sipping at the mug of green tea she had prepared for herself. Weiss tried to follow her example, only speaking when spoken to.

Raven didn’t reappear. When Weiss took Kali’s teacup to the kitchen, she could see her outside hanging up the washing to dry through the little window in the backdoor, but otherwise they didn’t encounter her again. It was another instance of seeing that Raven did care. She just often showed it in such a terrible way that it was dangerous.

When dinnertime began to approach, Raven did stop by to shoo them away. Kali smirked while she offered to whip them up something and stay even longer, knowing full well she would be turned down; Raven didn’t disappoint, threatening to grab a broom and literally sweep them out the front door if they dallied.

As a last-minute decision, Kali took them by the grocery store and picked up some ingredients, then drove over to the Schnee estate. Weiss’s mother was glad to see them, though initially confused about who Ruby was. Pyrrha dropped by while they were still preparing dinner, having seen the foreign car in their drive, and stayed to help both make and eat the pasta and garlic bread they had prepared. She also had a bottle of grape juice, which made a sad little laugh come from Willow as she poured them all glasses.

It was a lovely time. Weiss watched the two parents closely for any signs that they were drifting yet closer, but saw no such moment come to pass; maybe she really was imagining things. After all, her mother wasn’t that sort of person! Then again, she didn’t think she was herself, either, and now she was dating Yang.

Whitley was oddly silent all the while. Sometimes, he would look at the two family members at the table with resentment, and other times he simply seemed sad. Never said a word to the guests. Eventually, he asked to be excused and went straight to his room and never re-emerged.

That night, once all the guests had gone home, Weiss caught her mother in her father’s study, running one hand over each item with tenderness, a handkerchief pushed into her lips and nose. It was too bleak a sight for her to ignore.

“Mother?”

“Oh,” she blasted out, so startled she knocked a crystal paperweight from the desk. It broke in two. “AH! Oh dear, that wasn’t- Jacques loved that thing…”

Stooping to pick up the pieces for her, she set them on the desk before turning to look at her. “Um… dinner was nice. With Mrs. Belladonna here, and… Ruby and Pyrrha. Wasn’t it?”

Haunted as her eyes were, her mother did smile. “It was. I owe Kali a debt of gratitude; she’s been so kind and considerate. A real gem.”

“Should I expect that she’ll be welcome around here more often?” Weiss asked with a hopeful smile. “And maybe we could drop by the Belladonna home now and then?”

“Of course! Oh, I wouldn’t dream of refusing an invitation.” Sighing, she gazed down at the broken paperweight, fingers brushing over the facets. “It’s funny… I really thought I would be more devastated than I am by Jacques being taken away. But instead, I feel… I don’t know.”

“Free?”

“That’s not what… well…” Her eyes widened very slightly in mingling alarm and recognition. “That’s it. Weiss, you found exactly- I feel free. But that isn’t right, is it? He’s my husband.”

“He hurt you. And he hurt me. Kali’s been teaching me about this; she says it’s not alright for a family member to hurt another like that. And… well, I think I agree.” She felt terrified, since these things applied to her father and to Willow’s husband, but she forced herself to continue. “Maybe we can forgive them, and try to do better. Or maybe we can’t. But we can’t just let them keep hurting us. It’s not fair, and it’s unacceptable.”

The woman’s other hand came up and caressed Weiss’s cheek, then gripped her chin to gently lift her face and get a better look at her eyes. She could see her mother’s were haunted but clearer than they had been in years, and at least she was smiling.

“How did my little girl get to be so wise?”

“I’m not so little anymore, Mother.”

“And when did she stop calling me ‘Mommy’?” They both laughed. “Oh… I love you, my angel. My sweet, brave little angel.”

The embrace was enough to erase almost all of the hurt from the previous weeks. Though it had happened in such an unexpected way, she would have traded a dozen of her father just to have her mother back in her life again. Luckily, she didn’t have to.

[real-jaune-isms]

Volume 7 Chapter 3 Review

My first time with this, it’s probably gonna be longwinded and awkward...

Starting off with 3 scenes basically happening at once is interesting. The airship flying them in to start the mission, Ruby and Jaune getting briefed on it, and the whole crew getting their gear upgrades. The briefing conversation plays over shots of them all getting their personal briefcases of stuff, and of some normal soldiers fighting smaller Grimm in the tundra. The new clothes scene is most important though. We see: Their happy faces, Blake and Jaune both pondering haircuts while Jaune runs his hands over the sash he kept from Pyrrha (ow my heart), Yang attaching her arm upgrade, and Ruby getting at a new cape before Oscar approaches her. Oh, and on the briefing screens RWBY and JNR are registered as civilian Huntsmen. They have their licenses!!!!

Let’s talk about the cape for a sec. Her red cloak has been an heirloom she’s kept for 6 volumes now and about 17 years. The last vestige of her mother. So is it really such a good idea for her to get a new one and just go with it? Is that abandoning the sentimental value and very essence of the original cape? It’s been worn and weathered since Volume 4, so an replacement or a stitch job would be good, but the latter would be ideal. I don’t really mind the new one so much because she asked for it and clearly she had a reason for that. It’s the exact same in every visual way as far as I could see, and she’s keeping the old one. The message is still alive in her wearing it, and times must change. It’s better to get a new one than risk damaging the original any more.

Anyway, after we see the few shots of them prepping for this mission, a very old Geist possessing a bunch of ice and hiding in a Dust mine, the airship doors open and we see the team in all their new glory. They jump out accompanied by the Ace Ops, and all make stylish landings. Ruby only uses her pogo gunshots to slow her descent, and Blake swings her weld fixed Gambol Shroud to Spider-Man swing around the buildings to land. But Weiss and Yang use their semblances to do it, and the aura percentages on Blake’s scroll later represent that accordingly. Good attention to detail. And we hear from Weiss that using your Aura can keep you from freezing, a good reason why they can all wear such stylish clothes and not die of frostbite.

After Clover checks in with all the groups about keeping in contact and keeping an eye on Aura levels, Blake catches Yang staring and they have an adorably awkward exchange about Blake’s haircut and how Yang likes it but doesn’t know how to express that. Marrow seems annoyed he has to watch a high school love story unfolding in front of him, but Harriet teases him about being childish and that shuts him up. They head toward the mine entrance, but Team RWBY hangs back to discuss how uncomfortable they all are with having lied to Ironwood last episode about Salem and the lamp. But Ruby reasons that they don’t know if Ironwood is in the right mindset for that bombshell right now and they WILL tell him soon. Fair enough. A flashback to Oscar’s interruption earlier reveals he’s pretty torn about it too since it’s exactly what they hated Ozpin for doing to them. Either way, they enter the mine and a comment about the path being blocked leads to a chilling realization. This is the mine that caved in and killed Ilia’s parents. This is why her life went so terribly, and it’s a major reminder of the awful relationship between humans and Faunus and how bad things can get. That prompts Weiss to try and apologize for her own bad attitude about it all in Volume 1, and some harsh truths from Marrow about complacency with injustice for the sake of living free of making those hard moral choices. Wise words, a lot to think about with this world and even our own.

But there’s no time for thinking about changing the world’s prejudices, they need to send Blake through a dark opening in the rubble to see if it’s safe for them to blast a hole big enough for everyone or if there’s any nearby Dust they might agitate. I get the whole faunus seeing better in the darker area of the cave thing but... couldn’t Marrow have done it too? Or was he too big and thicc and they had to send the lithe teenager? I tease, I tease. Height and muscle mass may be the legit reasons, plus her weapon is also less bulky. Before she goes in, both Blake and Yang see the SDC logo printed on some discarded boxes, likely a reminded of the last place they saw it: branded on Adam’s face. Not a good memory to recall in a tight situation, but it shows they’re still dealing with that. Good news is, when Blake goes through there’s no Dust on the other side. Bad news, the Geist gives a legitimate jumpscare that literally makes Blake jump back in surprise and pull her weapon to shoot at it. That of course clues the others in that she found something, and we see Harriet’s weapon as she deploys mechanized armor to go over her arms and boost her punching strength. Reminds me of the controls for a mech, fake arms you wear and move in the cockpit to move the real giant ones. But these have plenty of power all on their own and bust open the wall of debris. Makes sense to boost her upper body strength to counterbalance the power in her legs.

They chase the Geist into the mine until they encounter the new Centinel Grimm burrowing up from the ground. Team RWBY gets to show off their weapon upgrades/new moves as they dispose of them: Blake does a lot of slashing and stabbing as usual and Weiss does mostly the same plus shooting ice at the bugs and using glyphs to stop them from lunging. But the real stars seem to be Yang and Ruby. Yang added sticky bombs to her gauntlets’ arsenal, and Ruby can now spin Crescent Rose’s blade 180 degrees to slice a severed centinel half on her backswing. Cool. But Marrow shows off his own party tricks with his rifle that becomes a large blade edged boomerang and the ability to stop two Grimm still with nothing but a snap and the word “stay”. Clearly a reference to dog obedience training and possibly showing the power words can have, a reference to The Boy Who Cried Wolf, which I still believe he’s based on. All that kid had to do was say the word and the entire town came running to face a supposed threat. However, I’ve also heard that his inspiration is actually “A Dog and it’d Shadow”, which might suggest he’s going to go down a bad path for the sake of his own benefit... Regardless, Harriet zooms up and tosses the centinel against a wall, which seems to stop it. They report sighting the target and engaging with further hostiles to the others, who take that as a cue to speed things up. When next we see them, Harriet runs past Weiss and Ruby to take down the last Centinel with a single punch before Ruby had time to even take a shot at it. Instead of being petty about a kill steal, our little rose goes gaga over Harriet having a speed semblance like her, while the Hare of course boasts she seems to be faster based on Ruby’s reaction time. They suddenly hear Clover announce he’s fighting the Geist with Qrow, and when it eludes them too everyone converges in a central cavern.

Now let’s talk about JNR’s section of the mission until they meet up with the others. They make their jump too, Jaune having added Hard Light Dust to his shield and using it like Link’s paraglider in Breath of the Wild to float down gently, and then gravity Dust from the central crest to negate the final impact and bounce into a flip landing. Stylish~ We don’t see how, but Ren and Nora landed fine too. And their accompanying Ace Operatives Vine and Elm give rather indirect compliments, much to Jaune and Nora’s annoyance. As they walk through an ice tunnel and Vine reports its stability and their approximate time of convergence, Nora gushes about how exciting it all is before turning her enthusiasm on Ren. He handles a direct compliment about his new outfit about as well as Ren handles any show of emotion... he does not. He just tries to redirect the topic to the mission. Annoying to all the Renora shippers, absolutely, but also kinda his MO. His semblance, his very nature since the tragedy of Kuroyuri is to not get emotional because that can get them in trouble if it’s at the wrong time. He still needs to learn there are plenty of right times to have emotions, LIKE WHEN YOUR UNOFFICIAL GIRLFRIEND WANTS YOU TO RETURN THE COMPLIMENT!!! He better learn from that mistake... But at least there’s dense as a rock Jaune to compliment Nora instead and miss the point of what she was doing. The good boy is trying his best to be nice.

When they hear RWBY’s squad announce the fighting has started they start booking it and slide down an icy slope that’s revealed to have Centinels emerging at the bottom. Vine uses his semblance to stretch out and grab hold of the walls and Elm uses her’s to root her feet in the ground, both so they can stop moving toward the enemy. But that’s not JNR’s style, so they charge right into the Grimm and take them out quickly. A gravity burst shield bash from Jaune, new grappling hook mode for the blades on Ren’s guns, and Nora just bashes some skulls. This approaches earns another indirect compliment before they took finish the journey to the main mine cavern.

Meanwhile Qrow is with Clover and looking very cool in his new digs. They head in and discuss Qrow’s history of teamwork and how he doesn’t really do that anymore... cue sad STRQ vibes. Also he almost trips and Clover catches him, a perk of having someone at your side. After he gets the rundown from Elm, we don’t hear from thes two until they’re chasing down the Geist. It reaches its icy armored body, and gathers extra pieces from the walls around them. Qrow notices one bit it’s trying to get will pull down a support beam and warns Clover to stay back... just in time. The Geist gets away, but in its wake the two men share a conversation about Semblances. Qrow reveals his misfortune and how it burdens him to solitude or else situations like that one could go way worse. But Clover surprises him with the fact that his own Semblance is, of course... generating good luck.

The look Qrow gives him... a lot of people say it’s gay panic as he falls head over heels for this charming military man who can balance him out. I’ve come to see it a bit differently thanks to another post I saw. It’s regular panic. Panic and self-loathing, because he sees his perfect mirror image. Clover is sober, charismatic, a good leader, doesn’t ruin things with his very presence, and has skill and wisdom beyond anything Qrow has been able to demonstrate. This is everything he wishes he could have been for the kids from Volumes 4-6, the kind of huntsman he wants to have been at Beacon... a version of him who might have been able to keep Team STRQ together. But it might also be him getting a crush on a charming guy who balances him out. Regardless, they call everyone to meet up in the middle.

And meet up they do, the various types of Dust in the large central chamber having such effects as floating the dirt their boots kick up and evaporating a drop of Jaune’s sweat when it hits the ground. Cool set piece, though they need to be careful with how they fight otherwise they could set off the Dust and ruin the Amity Satellite launch site... and kill them. The Geist is hanging from a giant piece of ice jutting from the ceiling, and when the teams spot it the big boy dramatically drops down to fight them. Ruby panics upon seeing it added Dust to it’s body so they’ll have a harder time fighting it safely, but the Ace-Ops kick into action almost immediately. Elm and Vine use their Semblances to keep it in place and expose the Grimm joints between its ice limbs, which Marrow throws his weapon to sever. But that leaves some Dust crystals falling through the air, so the Flash gets the lightning in his eyes and speeds in to catch them before they hit the ground... Oops! I mean Quicksilver does his Days of Future Past thing to move around the falling debris at superspeed and grab the Dust... DAMMIT! I mean Harriet gets the lightning in her eyes and pulls a Days of Future Past to move around the falling debris at superspeed and grab the Dust. But the boomerang cuts another part of the arm and knocks more Dust off out of her reach. Lucky for them, Clover is there to catch it just in time. He passes the crystal to Qrow and jumps into the action.

The Ace-Ops continue to run around the Geist and to distract and disorient it, and they get the other arm off. With a flick of his lucky charm, Clover jumps up and loops his fishing line around the Geist’s mask face, and it actually hooks. What comes next brings a look of astonishment to Team RWBY’s faces. He pulls the Geist out of the ice by its face, and Harriet runs up its torso to give a jumping Shoryuken with her mech fists to kill the Grimm. But that leaves a lot of Dust crystals falling through the air, and the Ace Ops scramble to grab all of them. One remains and Harriet runs to get it... it’s a close call... and Ruby beats her to it. Who’s faster now?~ But much to Ruby’s surprise, upon seeing her in action Harriet claims Ruby’s Semblance is unlike any speed Semblance she’s ever seen, that there’s probably more to it than she realizes... or we do for that matter~ I can’t wait to see what they do with that. Yang points out that Ruby has an awful lot more going on in terms of power than Harriet realizes, earning a grin from Weiss and a very cute giggle from Blake. Regardless, mission accomplished and Qrow and Clover have a little banter over if Ruby’s catch was luck or talent. Glad to see the Atlas MVP’s acknowledge our Team has some skill of their own. Even happier to see Elm effortlessly put Ruby on her shoulder and carry her around to celebrate while Yang and Nora start dancing.

Next thing we know we’re back in Mantle as the police ship drops Forest off. He goes into an alley, where Tyrian suddenly appears under a flickering light to creep us all out and kill a short lived fan favorite character. RIP, good good protest boy. 

And that’s pretty much it. Sorry it took a while.

[razorblade180]

Lasting Embers pt21: Wariness of battle

[Menagerie]

*Blake still on the phone with Yang. Sun and Ilia are in the room.*

Sun:So, what’s the situation?

Yang:Nora got attacked in the Emerald Forest by what looked like to be at least fifteen cult members. They new when to get her, what time to take out Mercury and Emerald, and also knew about Tenzen despite them being out of the fight for so long.

Ilia:Are Mercury and Emerald okay? Those two aren’t the kind to just simply go down easily.

Yang:They were ambushed and said before they could really do anything they were overwhelmed by grimm. If it wasn’t for Tenzen then this story would have a pretty horrific story. He’s the only reason we even know about the attack; the only reason we made it in time.

Blake:Where is everyone now?

Yang:We’re all at my dad’s house recuperating. Emerald wounds were bad but not life threatening while Mercury is currently bedridden. He got pretty roughed up but he’ll pull through. Nora is up and active thanks to Jaune. Tenzen however, he’s unconscious. Things got dicey for him at the very end. I’m told he’ll be fine. Everyone should pull through.

Sun:Blake, this seems to be way too coordinated to be the acts of a dying cult. Whitley, Jacquelyn, now Nora. I hate to say it but-

Blake:We missed something huge; something detrimental.

Yang:I hate to ask but it would be really nice to have you here. Ruby’s is on edge about this and frankly so am I. Weiss already said she’ll head out as quick as possible.

Blake:As much as I would love to hop on a airship right now I can’t. The festival here is in honor of my return and I have to attend; honestly everyone knowing I’m back is gonna make everything from here on out difficult for me. I’ll show up first chance I get when it’s all over though. I’m technically not in power again yet.

Sun:That role is still on me miraculously. *making a call*

Ilia:Who are you calling?

Sun:All these attacks on families yet I’ve heard nothing from Neo in Argus. It has me concerned.

Yang:Don’t you mean “text?” Last time I checked she wasn’t really chatty.

Ilia:Oh she’s pretty chatty these days. Adam’s eye wasn’t the only thing the creation relic was used for. Neo can talk and next chance you get you should tell Mercury to roll up his pants. Seemed like a fair trade for working in our organization.

Yang:I can see why you were a team leader; you’ve been busy.

Sun:Just making the most of crappy situations.

*a hologram pops up with Neo standing there waving. There’s blood on her clothes*

Neo:Sup boss, I was just about to report in actually. The Arc family was attacked yesterday.

Ilia:WHAT!?

Blake:This just keeps getting worse...

Neo:Relax, everyone is fine. Adrian had a construction job and thought one of the buildings listed seemed a bit off. He notified me about it and sure enough 45 members using it as a place to hide until they captured everyone.

Sun:Why am I hearing about this only now!?

Neo:I’ve been busy being your top operative that’s why!

Ilia:You’re ranked number three; only behind myself and Adam because you’re a bit.....of a wild card.

Neo:Regardless, I’m arguably the best around; especially with assignments like these. My report is late because I moved the entire family to a safe place on the Atlas base then made an identical copy of their house for the cult to raid with my semblances. Shit like that takes time that can’t be wasted.

Yang:*shocked* 45 members? That’s extremely excessive and more than a few stragglers.

Neo:They were all basically fodder. The only reason for their numbers so high has to because either they wanted the family captured in one fell swoop, or they thought that would be enough to stop me. I guess they might’ve feared the military being close by too.

Sun:Where are the members now?

Neo:They walked into the decoy house only for it to be an abandoned building with me inside. All of them fought their hardest but ended up the same; tortured for information and killed. Now they’re buried deep under rubble because it “just so happened” that building was set for demolition and destroyed by Adrian. Simple as that.

Blake:You tortured and killed 45 people....

Neo:infiltration and information gathering is why I’m ranked so high. Not to mention I did it all alone. I’m a wild card for sure. I’m sort of a badass.

Sun:Focus Neo, what did you learn?

Neo:Nothing important; like I said they were fodder. Given orders by some boss they don’t even know the name of. I thought they were bluffing but annoyingly they were all just pawns. Not even an actual member here looked like they could lead for a second or even the grimm using type. Now someone like that might know something of use.

Ilia:What are chances any of your assailants are still alive Yang?

Yang:Surprisingly, exactly one. He lead the attack and Jaune wanted answers to. He isn’t saying anything though; he’s been trained real well or still in too much pain from his broken legs.

Neo:I bet I could get him to sing like a bird if I had a moment with him.

Yang:More than welcome to try. Frankly I’m tired of looking at the guy and I don’t have the stomach to do what you do.

Neo:Well you might have to because unless you ship him over here I can’t leave. The Arc family is safe for now but I don’t them alone.

Ilia:They won’t be, I’ll take your spot and you can go to Atlas to catch a ride with Weiss to Vale.

Sun:Are you really okay with that? You just got back.

Ilia:Eh, this is very important. Besides, festivals were never really my scene anyways. *smiles*

Blake:I guess it’s settled then. Let’s keep everything about this between us for now. That includes Adam; I don’t want him involved in this if I could help it.

Ilia:You’re the boss. Well, former boss. *leaves* I’ll pack my things and head out.

Neo:I’m gonna go clean up. Blood takes forever to get out. *hangs up*

Sun:Sigh, this sure kills the festive mood a bit. I’m gonna triple check all set ups and just make sure everything stays peaceful for tonight. *kisses Blake and leaves*

Yang:You want to keep Adam out the loop?

Blake:You can call me soft or sentimental but I don’t want him wondering around the world more than he needs to. His family really missed him.

Yang:I know how that goes. This whole thing is gonna blow over right....?

Blake:We can only be so lucky. Be safe alright?

Yang:You too Blake, I’ll call back later. *hangs up and starts walking through her childhood home*

Despite the countless years, things remain the same. From the scuffs on the wooden floor to the photos on the wall leading to her old room.

Yang:*slowly opens the door to peak in on Tenzen.*......

Tenzen:*laying in her old bed asleep. A purple bruise across his nose and on his left cheek. Bandages across his bare chest and slightly bruised ribs*

Yujin:*sitting by his bed on the floor. Placing the bracelet he gave her back into his hand and holding it tightly* I think you need jade dragon luck more than I do right now....

Yang:Sigh.....

Jaune:*behind Yang* She’s not gonna leave his side until he wakes up you know? Hopefully it won’t take too long.

Yang:Can’t you help speed up the process a little? I mean the kid still has some pretty bad bruises.

Jaune:Tenzen’s semblance and mine don’t really compliment each other. I’ve done all I’ve can for now; natural rest is the best thing for him now.

Yang:How’s our special guest?

Jaune:See for yourself *gestures outside*

*Jericho tied against a tree as he’s propped up on the ground as the remaining friends and family of Yang rest outside*

Nora:*watching him like a hawk*......

Jericho:You know is this really necessary? *looks at his crippled legs* I couldn’t escape even if I wanted to. You worried I might almost kill you again.

Ren:Talk to her again and I’ll snap your neck.

Jericho:That would make you really bad at interrogation. I guess your mind has gotten weaker with your body.

*Before Ren gets the chance to walk over to him he’s stopped by Nora. Quelling his anger and preventing him from doing anything he’ll regret*

Jericho:Honestly both of you are a little disappointing. I thought huntsmen where supposed be honored by civilization and feared by villains. I don’t feel very afraid of-*cresent rose wraps around the tree as the blade presses against his neck*

Ruby:If you’re gonna talk then it better be about something valuable. Otherwise I’d recommend you keep quiet.

Jericho:So the Red Reaper finally speaks. I’ll admit that you are the only one that’s worth being afraid of around here. After all, you’re the only one here with nothing to lose. *smirks*

Ruby:*adds more pressure, cutting his neck slightly*

Jericho:Ooo did I strike a nerve?

Tai:Don’t let him get to you Ruby.

*Jaune and Yang finally come walking out the house. Jaune’s sword drawn and ready to strike*

Jericho:Someone looks a little-AH!!

Jaune:*stabbing his leg* I can understand a lot of things like attacking people who are actively going after you. But please explain why the hell I was just told my family was almost murdered?*digs the blade in*

Jericho:*grits teeth* Hehehe so I guess that means they screwed up the job. How *spits blood* unfortunate.

Jaune:Honestly what the hell is wrong with you bastards!? Why rope kids into this? Why go after distant relatives and people who don’t know anything about how the world really works.

Jericho:Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one? Can you truly not grasp the simple concept of our warfare? I know one of you probably gets it as clear as day. *looks at Raven*

Raven:....Sigh, it’s psychological and emotional torture. However, I’ve never known anybody to commit to that kind of tactic for over a decade.

Jericho:True but what choice do we have? You’re all too damn strong for your own good. No well we could move the way we want to when you people are at your best. So we use fear.

Ruby:*stares him down* No one here is afraid of scum like you.

Jericho:Mmmm such hate in those eyes. We aren’t trying to make you afraid of us my darling, you’re fear lies in living another day knowing things will never be the same.

Everyone:......

Jericho:Does it haunt you often? Knowing tomorrow is another day without the intimate love you once had? The mentor’s warm embrace you grew up with ripped away from you? Are you even sure how they died?

Ruby:*eyes slightly soften as she takes a step back* What are you going on about.

Jericho:It’s a simple question I know you’ve had to talk about. I bet you like to think it was as painless as possible but that’s impossible to know. The screams of your late husband as he burned alive, or maybe it was quiet gasps as he crushed by the debris of your burning home.

Ruby:Shut up.....

Jericho:Did your Uncle put up a valiant fight and almost won? Not likely, he probably screamed as the grimm ripped him apart and dragged him into his flames! Both of them wishing you were there to save them. I bet silver eyes would’ve saved them!!!

Ruby:I SAID SHUT UP!!! *she drops to her knees crying and covering her ears*

Yang and Tai:Ruby!!! *rushes to her side*

Jericho:Oh she looked so dangerous just a few minutes ago and now look at her; far from her best.

Jaune:.....

Jericho:Loved ones, children, family, and friends. It doesn’t matter how strong you are when you have these ripped from you. Knowing that you’ll never see their face again eats away at a persons mind. Awake, asleep, everyday life, or on the battlefield of war. Even just a close call messes with people’s head. *looks at Ren* ever wonder how much your wife might blame herself for your condition? Seeing you in pain everyday thinking how she should’ve been better.

Nora:*stares at the ground clenching her fist* Someone shut him up already please.....?

Jaune:*walking over to him*

Jericho:Have a said too much? Hehehe I didn’t even get started on how this involves all of your kids.

*Everyone freezes in place for a moment*

Jericho:You do everything for them, including leave them. Believeing it’s the best option to stop people like me. Praying you don’t come back home to find them dead and not even by us. Ten years is a long time, any natural disaster could’ve happened. A simple car or mugger is all it takes and next thing you know is the person you fought ten years for died seven years ago. These plans all of you make are simply the works of people clinging on to what little hope they have. Stop us all you want; when the fighting is over you gotta live with what you lost until you die and-

Yang:*picks him up and slams him against a tree. Her eyes a deep blood red* You can stop spouting all of your crap now. You’ll have plenty of time to talk later when our friend gets the information we want out of you. Then all of us can finally move on from this nightmare!

Jericho:Are you *cough* sure you want to know how many of us are left? It could be 50 or it could be 500. Do you think you can take another indefinite journey; I wonder how your daughter would feel about her mom leaving again?

Yang:.....*drops him*

Jericho:HAHAHAHA! Oooo boy! If she doesn’t hate you now then she’s definitely going to after that! So much for coming home to loved ones; if you both live long enough to see each other that is!!! HAHAHAHA- *knocked out by a punch from Jaune*

Jaune:The moment he wakes up....knock him out again. I don’t wanna hear his voice for the rest of my life. *looks around at everyone*

Ren holds a crying Nora in his arms to comfort. Both of them obviously shaken by the man’s words. Raven proceeds to hug her daughter who’s eyes still haven’t calm down her body heaving out rage and fear of the future. Then there’s Ruby, wailing and trembling on the ground until she can barely breath. Tai holds back his tears as he holds his youngest daughter close to him. The sun is finally going down but nobody seems to care. It helps hide the pain on their face. So Jaune doesn’t say anything; he just walks back upstairs to Yujin.

Jaune:*peeks through the door*.....

Yujin:*Fast asleep and still clinging to Tenzen’s hand*Zzzzzz

Jaune:*picks her up and places her in bed* sleep tight*

Yujin:*barely awake* Dad? Hey, how is everyone doing?

Jaune:They’re....they are doing just fine. Gets some rest okay? *kisses her forehead*

Yujin:Alright dad; feel bad though. Not like I’ve been doing much. *yawns* at least.....it’s almost over....*passes out*

Jaune:........*tears well up as he leaves the room* Damnit *sniff* stay strong Jaune. You have to be the strong one right now. You have to keep things-*looks at his wedding ring*.......

*he slides down the wall and just sits on the floor*

Jaune:For crying out loud *tears finally start running down his face* she’s gonna leave again isn’t she?

[tigerstripedmoon]

In response to the 'Send me a fic' you want me to write:' (during V6) Ruby decides to sit Oscar down and ask to talk to Ozpin - not taking no for an answer from either of them. I'd love to see a pretty frank conversation between these two - they've both got some legitimate grievances to talk out (Ruby asking the question, Oz not trusting them, either to say 'this is highly personal, leave it' or about the other stuff). Maybe she asks him if he has advice for dealing with Qrow toward the end :)

I don’t see this quite going down the same way you do, but here goes....

The problem with Ruby was that she’s persistent as all hell.

Oscar tried explaining that he couldn’t force Ozpin to show up for them - that he had tried, several times, to no avail - but she’d simply smiled, hands on her hips, and grinned at him.

It wasn’t entirely a nice grin.

“That’s because I haven’t tried.”

Well, she was trying now, and it was while poking him and singing her sixty-seventh off-key round of Vale’s national anthem (at three in the morning, when an already sleep-deprived Oscar was becoming absolutely desperate) that a hand shot out and grasped her wrist mid-poke.

“Please, Miss Rose,” a weary Ozpin said. “That’s quite enough.”

He wasn’t looking at her. He wasn’t looking at anything, really, just sitting up on the bed cross-legged. Ozpin let her go as if he’d touched fire and wrapped his arms protectively around himself, hunched over.

Ruby suddenly felt very, very uncomfortable.

“We need to talk,” she said, sitting down a little ways away from him. He snorted.

“Talk. I suppose that’s what you do mean, given the lack of the rest of your teammates.” She pursed her lips, wanting to retort, but the vision of Yang screaming at him in the snow while they all watched came back and she sighed instead.

“... why didn’t you trust us?” she began instead.

That made him pause. Ozpin did raise his head then, and the look in his eyes was almost frightening in its intensity. “Do you know,” he began, “that before I met you and and the others in Mistral, there were exactly nine people in the world who knew about Salem? Who knew the Maidens, about who and what I am? The headmasters of the schools, the Maidens, Glynda and Qrow. That’s all. The Maidens have to know because of what they are and what they hold. The others... they are all people I knew for decades, people I trusted with my life.” 

A shadow crossed his face; a shaky breath escaped him, his shoulders bowing a little more. “And then I met Qrow in Mistral and discovered he told you almost everything. I didn’t have a choice in that moment. So I decided to trust you - you, four students, children I never intended to involve in this war but you planted yourselves there anyway.

“So I prepared you as best I could. And the rest of your team came, accusing me of hurting two people I-” Another pause. Another shaky breath. “There is no one in this world I trust more than your uncle, Ruby. No one.”

“Even now?”

“Even now.” Ozpin shook his head. “I trusted the rest of your team as well, because how could I trust you and not them? Teammates must be able to share things between them, to hold each other up. So I trusted you all, with secrets I would rather never share with anyone.”

Ruby had been chewing her bottom lip the whole time, listening. And - it hadn’t seemed like such a big deal then, when he’d told them. It’d seemed exciting, even. Knowing such an important person, being part of something so heroic. Saving the world, like a fairy tale.

But fairy tales weren’t real. She knew that now.

“Why did you lie about the relic, then? If you trusted us so much?”

Another snort of laughter, devoid of humor. “It draws Grimm as much as one upset person does. If it had been more of a draw, Oscar would have drawn-”

“No. About the questions.”

Ozpin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Well,” he said, his voice cold. “We’ve seen what happens when you’re allowed to ask them, now, haven’t we?”

Ruby felt a bit as if she’d been punched. “We didn’t know-”

“No. You didn’t. I hope the answers were to your satisfaction.”

“You’re being cruel!” she cried, heart stung by the accusation in his words.

He laughed, a terrible hiccuping sound. “Am I? Was it not cruel of you to force me to relive the worst moments of my life? Being brought back and torn apart again and again because the gods needed a new toy to argue over? My own stupidity and arrogance? Being betrayed and-” 

His voice caught; Ruby could, she realized in horror, see fresh tears sliding down his cheeks. “My children,” he choked, and fell silent.

She didn’t dare touch him. He was too silent, too terrible in his grief.

“And you - all of you,” Ozpin whispered after several long moments. “Every one of you who have ever found this out - that Salem is as immortal as I - you all turn. Give up. How many times have I lost friends - allies - my life to the people I loved because you cannot see beyond that one godsdamned thing!”

Ruby jerked back, silver eyes wide. “But if she can’t be-”

“Can the Grimm ever be completely stopped? They existed long before Salem and I ever walked this planet, and they’ll exist long after we’re gone. Does that mean fighting them is a waste?”

“It’s not that simple!”

“No,” he sighed, and curled back into himself again. “it’s not, and yet it is. Because life is precious, Ruby. It is a gift. Humans live and love and change the world and that is what I have been fighting to protect all these millennia.” He flexed his fingers in front of him, eyes gone soft and immeasurably sad. “That world would hate me if it knew who I was. You’ve proven that. But I still love it so.”

Ruby looked at her hands and felt terribly, terribly small.

“When will you come back, Professor?” she asked softly.

He huffed a little laugh. “Not for a little while yet. Let the others calm their tempers first. Remember why they’re here. The relic must be taken care of.”

She nodded and made to get up when a small hand caught her wrist again. “You might,” Ozpin said gently, “remind Qrow of a mission he had back when you and your sister were very little. I believe he saved you both from a pack of Beowolves?” When her eyes went wide, he continued, “He’d saved a village before that. Diamant. It still stands today, south of Vale. You might want to remind him of it, and of your love for him. I think he needs it.”

“He needs you too,” she said, and regretted it as soon as his face fell.

“We’ll see,” he said, voice choked.

She made it to the doorway before turning around; Ozpin was still sitting there on the edge of the bed, framed in moonlight from the window, somehow both towering and yet so very small and frail and terribly, horribly human. “Do you regret trusting us?” Ruby asked, fingers curled around the doorframe.

Ozpin bowed his head and laughed silently, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “Yes,” he said. “Good night, Miss Rose.”

[kingfubuki92]

RWBY Volume 6: The Concept of Trust, Futility, Anger, and Justifications

It honestly astounds me how many opinions have been formed after the last few episodes of RWBY, both because it means the show generated enough critical thinking to cause the formation of such opinions, and the variety of opinions I’ve come across.

RWBYQ is in the right and Ozpin is the devil

Ozpin is a sympathetic man who did nothing wrong and RWBYQ are insensitive jerks

Salem isn’t a bad guy and was dealt a shit hand by the gods

Salem is a manipulative monster and the gods can’t be held to human standards

Qrow is justified in punching Ozpin

Qrow is an absolute monster for hitting Oscar, a child.

Thing is, it seems a lot of people are unable to grasp the bigger picture. That picture being: they all have a point.

Lets start with arguably the simplest topic.

Morality of the Gods and culpability of Salem

This is arguably the easiest topic in that both sides are ultimately at fault, but both sides have reasons for their actions. Salem did manipulate people but all to gain Ozma back at first. Thing is though, Salem has the emotional maturity of a child. To quote the Fridge section on Tv Tropes:

Salem's Start of Darkness is more than just Love Makes You Evil. As the archtypical Girl in the Tower, she had probably been raised with very minimal social experience, while being waited on hand and foot. A nice guy finally breaks her out...and then dies. Of course she wouldn't have the emotional maturity to handle it, nor would she probably have anyone else to help her through this difficult time.

Salem doesn't even seem to consider Together in Death with Ozma until after such a choice is denied to her. She wanted things to be the way she chose and would settle for nothing else, much like how a child will throw a tantrum if not given what they wanted.

After failing to kill herself in the God of Darkness' domain, Salem seemed perfectly content with hiding herself in a small woodland cottage, scaring anyone away from confronting her. She effectively returned herself to her former conditions of being alone, but this time of her own volition and in a place of her own design, much like how an angry child would run to their room and desire to be alone. Its only when Ozma returns does she leave the cottage, for she had been given what she wanted. And when Ozma tried to leave with her daughters, she responded by lashing out in a rage and wanting to see Ozma burn, much like a child would get angry when someone takes their toy and start to hold a grudge.

She couldn’t handle Ozma’s death because she’d never had to experience something like that before. After trying and failing to die only to be made into a being of infinite life with a thirst for destruction, she kept to herself, and only became a false god when she finally had Ozma back. Now this behavior doesn’t excuse her actions, it makes them understandable. Salem was unable to grow up properly, and its very likely she would not have grown this way had she grown up properly.

As for the Gods, they did kill everyone and treat us more like an experiment, but its similar to how we would treat an Ant Farm. We don’t care for the feelings of the ants. To quote Father from FMA Brotherhood:

“When you notice an insect on the ground, do you stop to consider it a fool? The life of an insect is so beneath you that it would be a waste of your time to even consider judging it. That would be an accurate summation of my feelings towards you humans.”

This doesn’t excuse their actions however. Just because they are above us doesn’t make their actions alright, for they slaughtered all of humanity in an act of rage, even when not all were guilty. The brother gods may be our creators, but they are not our judge, jury, and executioner. They are not like YHWH. They are more akin to the Greek Pantheon. To us, their actions and behavior is monstrous. To themselves, its no different than putting down a dog.

Next, the most harmful topic

The Pain of Qrow and the harm to Oscar

I will not defend Child Abusers, but I don’t consider Qrow one. To start off, Qrow I feel sorry for in all this.

Qrow is someone already heavily mentally unbalanced to begin with, his alcoholism being a coping method for his shitty life. To have the one person he felt truly knew him, made him feel he was worth something, reveal that everything they've fought for, the lives he's had to see fade, ultimately meant nothing, he would understandably be pissed.

That doesn't mean he is completely justified though. His disregarding Oscar and only focusing on Ozpin is a clear sign of him unraveling, as is his much larger reliance on his flask after. Qrow is in danger of breaking permanently. One of the only pillars in his life (Ozpin, Yang, and Ruby) has shattered before him in his eyes. And a table can't stand upright on only two legs, each one cracking already. The past month itself has been hell for Qrow too, his sister and Leonardo betraying him, nearly dying thanks to Tyrian and being forced to relive something from his past in a dream, generally feeling aimless without Ozpin to lead them against Salem, and learning most of his friends in Mistral were murdered.

Just remember the opening, of the Grimm Claws dragging Qrow down after he goes for his flask. Qrow may very well be raising a death flag, and not out of being killed by the Grimm, but being too broken to bother fighting back.

That isn’t to say I don’t feel just as sorry for Oscar. Oscar didn’t ask for the pain, as it was Ozpin/Ozma who deserved their ire. However, as cruel as it may sound, Oscar isn’t a child anymore.

At this point, the moment Oscar began to fight alongside the others, he unofficially began to follow their path of being a huntsman. Something he acknowledged when fighting Hazel.

“Did she know the risk of being a Huntress? She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself! So do I.”

Oscar may be 14, but he isn't really a child anymore. He's an unofficial huntsman like RWBY now. And while yes, they can still be abused like Weiss is by Jacques, they aren't children anymore. They're growing up faster than most kids their age, so to treat Oscar as if he's a defenseless child, when we've seen him fight Grimm like the Manticore on his own, is disrespectful.

He didn't ask for any of this. The fact he's still with the group rather than wanting to go home, shows he is committed. He isn't Ozpin, Oscar is doing this because he feels he has too.

Next, the biggest of all the topics:

Ozpin v. RWBYQ

This right here is the biggest point of contention in the FNDM at the moment. However, in my opinion, both are right, and both are wrong.

Yes Ozma had a very tragic past, yes he is locked in a situation he does not like in the slightest, yes he has been forced by the gods to either make Remnant a Utopia or let it face genocide again, yes he is sympathetic.

BUT, a sympathetic backstory doesn't excuse the fact he has been doing all this with no long term plan, and that as far as we know, his war with Salem amounts to a massive game of keep away. He took a Grimm magnet onto a civilian transport, without telling the others, knowing they’d object for the sake of traveling faster, and that in turn put all the passengers in danger, got Dee killed, and required more than half of the Argus Limited to crash, when he could have easily told them this, and they could have found another way. He told them no more lies and half truths, and did it anyway. He may have trust issues, but he can’t expect people to trust him if he is not willing to give trust. He has had numerous people die under his watch as they believed they could either make a difference or stop Salem, when really, he thinks there is no way.

​But that doesn't mean there truly isn't. We, as an audience, know that Jinn could easily have used the Exact Words trope, meaning only Ozma specifically couldn't, not that she couldn't be destroyed period. Even without this knowledge though, Ozma must not give up. By admitting he has no plan and retreating into Oscar's mind, he has given up. He needs to be proactive again though. When he was the father, he pulled himself together and fought the Grimm himself, built the cane Ozpin and Oscar would use, and left plans for his next self. But when said next self learned Salem can't be destroyed, he fell into a rut. That's what Ozma is in right now, a rut. But a kick in the pants like this is what he needs to get out of it. Jinn can't answer the future, so if a way to destroy Salem doesn't exist now, he can still find one. He just can't give up.

​Yes, RWBY and Qrow have a right to be mad at Ozpin for leading them into a war that in their eyes is unwinnable, yes they are tired of Ozpin's lies in general, yes Qrow has just learnt the one person who made him feel like he had worth was ultimately leading him aimlessly leading him to spiral out of stability, yes they are somewhat justified. They are also heavily stressed out, Yang suffering from PTSD, Blake being tormented by visions of Adam, Weiss having to face returning to an abusive home she just escaped from, and Qrow has had to deal with all the shit I listed above.

BUT, they must realize that Ozma, and by extension Ozpin, was never this infallible leader. He's human like the rest of them, and can make mistakes. His past may not excuse his secret keeping, but it does paint him in a more understandable light, that of a man so broken by his experiences, he can't do anything else but keep Salem away. They may be under the belief this war is unwinnable, but they can't turn back now, after all they been through, the people they've lost like Pyrrha and Penny, they've come too far to give up. They need to realize, for all his mistakes, Ozpin is still on their side, and they don't have to follow him, but work with him.

And there is still hope of that. It's only natural after learning all this information, that humanity has faced genocide, that the gods are assholes, that Salem can't be stopped, that Ozpin has been leading them to think she could be stopped, that they would accentuate the negative. Especially while dealing with their own hangups, and having just learned all this in rapid succession. Given time to calm down however, they can more easily go through the information and think more rationally. Ruby, Weiss, and Blake themselves never tore into Ozpin, only Yang did. The three of them only looked at him in frustration. They need to simply calm down and realize, even if they don't like what Ozpin has done, they still need to work with him, and not give up hope on stopping Salem. Even if she can't be killed, they can still find a way to stop her.

While I’m happy that the episodes are getting people to talk and form opinions, I’m not necessarily happy that people are picking sides. And that these are intent on whitewashing one side while demonizing the other.

This situation is not black and white, nor is it light and dark. Its gray and grey. The characters, even Salem, are human, and not to sound misanthropic, but humans are beings of chaos, contradiction, and most importantly, emotion. We are ruled by it, and it can both help us, and destroy us. Even the Gods are just as human as their creations. That’s why they are more like the Greek Gods than YHWH, as they are human in all but status.

I only hope this post can shed some light on the subject and have people realize that this conflict has no demons and angels, just humans. We don’t have to like the actions they do, but to demonize them or glorify them is just wrong.

[zwei-the-penguin-with-a-pen]

‘Little Talks’

Lindsay and Ruby

"It's nice to see you again! How's Michael? OHMYGOSH IRIS IS THE CUTEST BABY EVER!!!" Ruby asked Lindsay, squeaking the latter at the height of her voice. "I saw your photoshoot the other day. She's adorable."

"Yeah, she's amazing. I think we're doing pretty well. How's everything on your side?"

"Killing monsters, saving the world from a maniac, trying to get some alone time with Weiss... you know, the usual." Ruby chuckled. Her expression turned dark just as Lindsay was going to laugh. "I miss Penny. A shame she got put off the show. I need to visit her in Atlas sometime. Have you heard her new music?"

"I actually haven't," Lindsay raised an eyebrow. "I thought the Mechanical Girls stopped writing songs."

"They had for awhile, but they got back on it and made a whole new EP. It's pretty great. There's a lot more brass this time, and you know I'm all about that brass." The two of them shared a snicker.

"Gods, look at the time! I've got to get back to the studio. They want me to run some lines for Camp Camp today."

"That's right! I hope the new season goes great! I have some errands to run for Weiss, and I'd like to get them finished before she decides she's mad or something. I don't want the cup of ice incident again..." She faked a scared face, but her laughter destroyed it. Ruby and Lindsay hugged and parted ways.

\/\/\/\/\/

Kara and Weiss

Weiss beckoned the waitron and requested another lemonade. Kara munched on her food, complimenting the waitron as she sped off to grab Weiss's drink.

"So, how's the new job going?" Kara asked between bites, sipping her smoothie. Wiess had just bitten into a forkful of noodles.

"MMH!" She started to speak, realizing she still had food in her mouth. Thankfully for the server's swift return, she sipped her new lemonade for a moment. "Gods, that's good. Anyway, so it's going pretty well. Poor baby Whitley realized he couldn't manage with the big bad Beowolves his daddy used to deal with, so Winter stepped in and passed me the reigns." Weiss grinned, still to this day pleased with herself.

Little Shitley had run home with his tail between his legs once Winter and Weiss appeared.

"Incredible. I know you're doing great things with the SDC. Speaking of who, I need some Gravity Dust. Is there a good retailer I can visit, or should I just buy straight from you?"

"Well, we don't deal with Gravity too much, as it's one of the more difficult to come by, but we do have a healthy supply at the moment." Kara smiled at Weiss's words.

"Finally! I've been looking and asking around forever, it seems. I would have asked sooner, but you're so crazy busy these days."

"I imagine you are, too! Is the gig still going well? It's a shame you left RT, but bigger and better things are never a bad choice." Weiss was thrilled that Kara still did a little voice acting, but she also loved Kara's animation work. These two could talk for ages.

"It's pretty great. I still like voice acting, but I feel like I'm getting more accomplished at this studio." The two of them chattered away as they ate, both thankful for a bit of time away from it all. Weiss and Kara each gave the server a remarkable tip, as she'd taken great care of them. The two of them said their goodbyes.

\/\/\/\/\/

Arryn and Blake

Arryn kept the treadmill at a brisk pace while Blake curled some dumbbells. Workout time was always a good time, especially when they had the gym to themselves. They shared their music since both of them enjoyed it and no one was around to stop them. That took away the sound of headset microphones bumping and thumping.

"Look at you, getting all ripped and chiseled," Arryn mentioned. Blake laughed it off. "Seriously, you'll have better arms than Yang if you keep that up."

"You aren't looking so bad yourself. I don't know why you bother, but I guess you have your reasons." Blake winked at her. She couldn't tell if Arryn was blushing or already red from the running. It was nice to work out with someone besides Yang or Sun. Blake tossed the weights onto their rack and made for the leg machines.

"Oh geez, you're doing legs too?"

"Everyday is leg day. Then again, when you're sharing a gym with Yang, you do everything every day." Blake smirked as she pushed her legs. "This Bellabooty doesn't maintain itself." She joked, Arryn laughing hard as she stole a drink from her water bottle.

"I bet Yang loves leg day! Or rather, you love when Yang does leg day!"

"You shut your face!" Blake retorted, but she could hardly help but smile. "Well, Yang doing legs is better than Sun doing upper body stuff."

"You work out with Sun, too?" That surprised Arryn.

"Well, I don't really choose to. He just never stops working out. Every speck of his free time not devoted to shagging Neptune is spent in the gym. Yet Yang still has better abs." They both chortled at that. Blake wasn't wrong, Arryn knew.

"Well, I've seen Yang do squats while holding you on her shoulders, pushups with you on her back, basically use you as a weight." Arryn shot back, changing over from the treadmill to a rowing machine.

"It's nice to actually work out instead of being a prop sometimes." Blake giggled. The song changed and Blake grinned. "This is my jam."

\/\/\/\/\/

Barbara and Yang

"This suit is pretty itchy..." Yang complained, hoping the sequence would be filmed soon enough. Doing motion-capture was fun, to be sure, but after a while, the getup felt pretty nasty.

"Just one more time, ladies!" Miles called from behind one camera. Kerry was manning another one.

"You're just blowing off steam because you know you have to throw the fight," Barbara snickered.

"The only thing blowing in here is your mouth, Blondie!" Yang snapped, the crew getting a nice laugh. The jokes were all in good fun, and they passed the time between takes.

"I don't blow anything! I have BD, after all!" Barb shot back. Yang shook her head.

"Sweetie, that was bad... Even for you. Like, that just killed the mood. I can't hang... or should I say I can't Yang!" That earned a groan from everyone within earshot.

"Goddammit Yang..." Kerry muttered.

"HA! For once it wasn't me!" Barb jabbed. Miles called for them to start the scene again, and the two blondes stood at their marks and waited for the starting call. Once it came, the two of them began their pretend scrap. They threw missed punches and just-shy kicks at one another. Gods, MoCap was almost as fun as actual fighting.

Yang wondered how it would feel to actually fight Barbara. She was a lot smaller, but she certainly had some strong arms. Barbara didn't seem like much of a fighter, though. Yang only had a taste for it because it was part of her job.

The last 'strike' of the fight came, and Yang pretended to take the hit and fall over. "CUT!" She heard from off to the side.

"THAT'S THE ONE!" Kerry added to Miles's call. "Wonderful job, ladies."

"Finally I can get out of this suit!" Yang started tearing her way out of the MoCap suit. She realized she'd only worn under-pinnings underneath, so she scooped up her bag and shuffled over to the restroom.

"Yeah, let's not give the kids a show, Yang." Barb nicked.

"Nothing they wouldn't enjoy, Barb!" Yang called back as the door closed behind her.

\/\/\/\/\/

\/\/\/\/\/

\/\/\/\/\/

Day 23: CRWBY Member

I don’t know, I just imagine the VA’s being friends and hanging out and doing cool junk with their characters. Some fourth-wall breaking in a couple of places.

I have two nights off work, so I might get caught up again. Given that the next prompt is RWBY Chibi, I can just write some sketchy shenanigans and get on with it.

[ruffsficstuffplace]

And The AWRD Goes To... (Part 23)

The bathhouse was a very different place on Wednesday mornings. With the first years generally having it as a free day, and the upperclassmen already having sailed off all over Mistral on missions earlier or even yesterday evening, it was quieter, less crowded, and less busy.

On Wednesdays, students and staff could just relax and take their sweet time, no competition for the stools in the washing up area, the personal lockers, and the limited space in the baths. On Wednesdays, you could reflect, soak, and perform all the beauty regimes you wanted in peace. On Wednesdays, you could slow down, maybe even stop altogether, notice some things that might have escaped your attention during the rush to get ready for class.

Things like the ancient but sturdy wooden floors, carefully varnished and maintained over the centuries; the well-worn, smooth, and sturdy rocks that lined the baths; the minimal amount and unobtrusive placement of modern amenities like vending machines, and how even they were designed to look like wood or traditionally used metals like brass.

Things like the elaborate murals on the wall, depicting tranquil forests, blue skies, and sparkling lakes populated by blooming plant life, exotic animals, and divinely beautiful figures.

Things like what exactly your teammates looked like completely naked.

“How…?” Weiss whispered as she stared at Ruby, taking off her clothes and putting it in a basket.

“Hmm?” Ruby said as she laid her short shorts on top of her skirt. “Did you say something, Weiss?”

Weiss blinked, wondering if maybe this was some sort of sleep-deprived hallucination and her brain was simply superimposing Yang’s frequently bared muscles over her sister’s in a moment of confusion—their skin tones were close enough, right?

Then Ruby removed her underwear, and Weiss had to reckon with the fact that no, she did not have anything remotely close to that in her memory, real or imagined, which meant that everything she was seeing in front of her was all probably the same thing everyone else in the bathhouse saw.

“You need some help, Weiss?” Ruby asked.

Weiss blushed. “W-What? Help with--” she looked down at herself, frowned. “Oh, right, undressing, sorry—really out of it right now!” she said, blushing as she hurriedly undid the buttons of her uniform’s jacket.

“You sure you want join me down in Mistral, Weiss?” Ruby asked. “I think not getting much sleep last night and all those times you passed out earlier this week might have made you sick”

“What makes you say that?” Weiss asked as she unbuttoned the back of her skirt.

“Your face is all red, and you’re acting really weird and distracted.”

Weiss winced. “… Okay, you’ve got good points! But I’m sure a nice, long dip in the springs, then some fresh air and sunshine down in the city will go a long way to making me feel better!” she said as she pulled off her undershirt.

Ruby looked skeptical, but nodded. “Alright... but we’re definitely getting milk after, and breakfast, too!”

“Whatever you say, Ruby!” Weiss said as she put the last of her clothes in the basket, took some towels, and headed off with her to the ladies’ washing up area. The two of them sat next to each other, the space between them and the next occupied stool so great that they may as well have been alone there.

“Isn’t this really nice, Weiss?” Ruby said as she took the wooden bucket hanging off her faucet, started filling it with hot water.

“What is…?” Weiss asked, her hands trembling as she fumbled about trying to pick up her own bucket.

“The bathhouse here in Haven, silly!” Ruby said as she turned off the water, picked the bucket up in both hands.

Splash!

Ruby shrieked with delight, shook her head, and brushed some of the wet locks of hair off her face. With ever wider eyes and redder cheeks, Weiss’ watched the water drip and pour down her skin and around her well-defined and toned muscles, Weiss’ knuckles turning white from 0how hard she was gripping her bucket.

Ruby opened her eyes again, Weiss wrenched her face away, shoved her bucket underneath the faucet, fumbled about as she tried to turn it on. “The ones my family could afford were really bare bones,” Ruby said, oblivious. “It was all concrete, cheap tile, and rubber non-slip mats, and sometimes they didn’t even bother to replace them when they got broken or ripped up!

“What were the bathhouses you’ve been to like, Weiss?” Ruby asked as she picked up her hand towel.

Splash!

Weiss shrieked as she dumped freezing cold water all over herself, conking herself with the tub after her arms reflexively over her chest to hug herself. She whimpered as she started shivering, and shakily rubbed the new sore spot on her head.

Ruby stared at her, clutching her hand towel tightly and close to her chest. “Uh, Weiss…?”

“F-Force of habit!” Weiss lied through chattering teeth. “I usually just took baths in the stream by our house, where the water’s icy cold all year round!” she said as she hurriedly brought her tub back under the tap, frantically turned the hot water knob. “Great for waking up, and my whole family swears by the health benefits of freezing cold water!”

She shut off the water after the tub was full, brought it over her head, and very, very carefully poured it over herself, yelping at first until, shivering in pleasure by the end.

“So you just bathed out in the woods all the time?” Ruby asked as she put soap on her hand towel.

“Yep...” Weiss muttered as she put her tub down. “Hoshiko was a good distance away from our house, about a long bike ride through the woods, and their onsen was really small and the only one in town, so there wasn’t a guarantee that there would even be space by the time you got there.”

“Did you ever worry about Grimm?” Ruby asked as she cleaned her arms.

“Barely at all, actually,” Weiss replied as she picked up her own hand towel and followed suit. “Even before I started training for combat school, it’s hard to worry about getting attacked when basically everyone in your entire family is a huntsman or a huntress, and goes out on extermination missions on the reg.”

Ruby’s eyes brightened up at that. “Your whole family...?”

“Yep!” Weiss said. “Grandpa and Grandma are obviously teaching, though they still deploy if the Council asks them specifically; Winter’s active all over Remnant, as you already know; myself and my little brother Whitley are in-training, with him still in combat school; while my mom is officially in temporary retirement to take care of my brother, but takes care of security and missions in and around Hoshiko nonetheless,” she said, moving onto her legs now.

“Our whole house basically looks like a mix between a hunting lodge, a field laboratory, and a remote storage facility for old records and equipment, and that’s not even getting into all the exterior facilities my grandpa and grandma have built over the years, like our training grounds...”

“Can we go see your place and meet the rest of your family sometime?” Ruby asked as she soaped up a leg.

“Of course!” Weiss said, smiling at Ruby. She her mouth slowly fell open, she blushed, and quickly turned back to herself, scrubbing her skin with renewed intensity. “I mean—you know—with Akko, because we always go back to Hoshiko together, and maybe even Diana if she wants to go, to!

“Ah, it might be really cramped in the house since we already have so many people living there at once, but maybe we can just go camping outside by the stream? It’s really nice and peaceful there, and there’s already a cooking pit we can use to roast marshmallows and cook dinner, and like I said, my whole family are basically huntsmen and huntresses, so there’s little to no chance of us getting attacked and killed by Grimm while we’re sleeping!”

Weiss stopped in the middle of scrubbing her leg, now turning red from the friction. “… That didn’t come out right...” she muttered as she switched to the other.

“I’d actually really like that, Weiss—the camping, not the Grimm.” Ruby replied. “You think we can invite Yang, dad, and Uncle Qrow, too? They’re all basically training, current, or teaching huntsmen and huntresses, too, so they can take care of themselves.”

“Sure, sure! Just get your own sleeping bags, and maybe food, too—there’s only so much wild game and produce in our garden to go around.” Weiss said. “… And, now that I think about it, tell Qrow to bring his own alcohol.”

Ruby chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry: Uncle Qrow will do that, whether or not you asked him to!”

Weiss smiled, before she started working on her chest. “So, by means of deduction, I’m assuming your father’s a teacher at an academy somewhere?”

“Mhmm! Same school me and Yang studied at, and Uncle Qrow used to be a teacher for before he went back to the field: the Bunker!”

Weiss blinked, and stopped. “… Huh.”

“It’s okay: it really IS full of functional nutcases,” Ruby said. “You’d think the stories about tinfoil hats were a joke, but they’re really not...”

“Ah… I see, Ruby!” Weiss said nervously. She opened her mouth, before she quickly shut it again.

Ruby noticed. “It’s actually really nice once you get past the weirdness.”

“So I’ve read!” Weiss said. “It’s really admirable, actually, what they do in the Bunker, taking in students with all kinds of disabilities—and helping them adapt to normal life, too, I didn’t mean that in--”

Ruby put a soapy hand on Weiss shoulder, she tensed up. “Weiss… it’s fine.”

Weiss relaxed, if only a little. “Sorry… it’s just that...” she tensed up again. “… I know how sensitive those kinds of issues are, with huntsmen and huntresses, I really don’t want to cause offense.”

“It didn’t feel like you did anything wrong, Weiss,” Ruby said. “Anyway, you want to wash each other’s backs?”

Weiss blushed. “E-Excuse me?”

“You want to wash each other’s backs?” Ruby repeated. “I thought I might offer since you and Akko did it for each other yesterday, and Yang always complains when she has to do it alone.”

“O-Oh, sure, that’s very kind of you, Ruby!” Weiss said. “You know what, how about we do you first...?”

“Sure!” Ruby said as she rinsed off her towel under the tap, then put some new soap on it. “Ready when you are, Weiss!” she said as she held it out, and bent forward, smiling at Weiss.

Weiss swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat, before took Ruby’s hand towel from her, and dragged her stool behind hers. She looked at the expanse of wet, glistening back muscles in front of her, and felt herself began to sweat.

With shaking, trembling hands, she held Ruby’s towel up in both hands, and started slowly bringing it to her skin…

Meanwhile, in team AWRD’s dorm, Diana was busy at her desk, correcting factual errors, spelling mistakes, and sometimes commenting on the incredibly creative if bizarre analogies and comparisons Weiss made in her notes and drafts.

She hadn’t really been paying much attention to Akko’s experimenting on the far side of their room, adorning their wall with all manner of papers and materials from Nick’s office, but she couldn’t help but notice when Akko’s murmuring and talking to herself suddenly stopped.

Diana looked up from her scroll, saw Akko standing still and looking wary.“Is something the matter, Akko?” she asked.

“I have this gut feeling that Weiss is in trouble...” Akko said as she turned to Diana.

“Has she sent a message of any sort?” Diana asked. “I’ve got my scroll on Focus mode.”

“No, but you know what they say, when you’ve known someone for a long enough time, you can form a kind of connection with them?” Akko said. “Well, it’s like that.”

Diana nodded. “I’ve heard and read about that phenomenon, yes. Do you think it might be anything that requires immediate investigating?”

“No, not really…” Akko looked down. “I usually feel worse when Weiss is really in trouble, life-or-death bad. This is like, ‘Couldn’t or didn’t study for an important test’ sorta bad.”

“Then I suppose we can ignore it and get back to work,” Diana said as she turned back to her scroll. “Ruby is with her, isn’t she? If your instinct is correct, I’m sure the two of them can handle it together,” she said as she put her hands back on the keyboard extension.

“Hrrm… yeah, I suppose you’re right...” Akko said, turning back around to the mess of papers on their wall. She stared blankly at it for a moment, before put her hands to her head and cried, “Kuyashiiiiii…!”

Back in the bathhouse, Weiss was in a similar state of distress, but for a very different reason.

“You okay, Weiss?” Ruby asked as knelt behind Weiss, washing her back now.

“I’m fine...!”

“Really? Cause you’re suddenly REALLY tense.” Ruby paused, and looked up over Weiss’ shoulder and at her reflection on the mirror. “Oh, and your face is all red, again too... do you feel sick...?”

“Nope!”

“Alright...” Ruby frowned before she returned to washing Weiss’ back.

Soon enough, the two of them were shampooing their hair, Ruby’s sticking up in wild, random spikes from when she’d worked in the shampoo, Weiss very carefully working it down the base all the way to the tips.

“Sure you don’t want me to help with your hair, Weiss?” Ruby asked. “I help Yang’s with hers all the time, and I only need to let my shampoo sit for a while before I rinse it off.”

“Nope, nope, I’ve got this!” Weiss replied. “Sorry, Ruby, there’s only a handful of people I trust to help me with my hair—it’s really important to me.”

“Okay…” Ruby said, before she peered at Weiss’ hair, so long it almost hit the floor. “I guess you’ve been growing it out for a really long time, huh?”

“Ever since I started being in control of my haircuts! Little over a decade, if I remember right.”

Ruby nodded. “You know, I’ve always wanted to pull off long hair like yours and Yang’s, but I could just never do it—it just always got in the way of things, and I never figured out how to keep it back!”

“It’s definitely got its many pitfalls, and requires a lot of effort and maintenance beside, yes,” Weiss replied. “But, I could help you grow it out and how to fight with it, like I did with Akko! She used to cut have it cut short, too, until she decided she wanted to grow it out like mine and Winter’s.”

Ruby brightened up, before she relaxed. “Hrrm… thanks, but we probably can’t, Weiss; Uncle Qrow said every scythe wielder he knew had to have short hair because of how the weapon and all its techniques work.”

“Why not try growing it out anyway?”

“Eh, I’ll probably end up chopping it off during training again, and have to cut my hair SUPER short so it doesn’t look weird,” Ruby replied, before she sighed. “I guess I’m just going to be stuck with short hair like this for the rest of my life...” she said as she picked up her tub, and started filling it again.

“Hey, it’s not like you aren’t already pretty cute!” Weiss said.

Beat.

“I mean, your hair! You aren't—I mean, you are already pretty cute with short hair like that! It looks great on you, honest!”

“Weiss…?” Ruby asked she shut off the water.

Weiss tensed up. “Yes…?”

“You’ve got some shampoo about to run down your left eye.”

“Oh.” Weiss closed it, felt it drip over after. “Thanks, Ruby.”

“No problem!” Ruby said as she resumed lathering her hair. “Oh, and Weiss?”

“Yes?”

“You look really cute with long hair like that, too,” Ruby said. “Kind of like one of those princesses from the fairy tales that have people traveling miles and miles just to see how beautiful she is.”

Weiss made a noise.

Ruby frowned, and peered at her. “… You okay, Weiss?” she asked.

“Yes.” Weiss replied, her voice barely a whisper, her face burning red.

Ruby picked up her tub “I think you should give your voice a rest, and just spend some time soaking in the bath; I think you really are getting sick...” she said, before she rinsed herself off.

The two of them spent the rest of their time in the bathhouse in silence, Ruby humming to herself as she soaked, Weiss silently sitting next to her, taking long, deep breaths, and letting them go slowly, taking advantage of all the hot, soothing steam in the bathhouse.

“Haah!” Ruby sighed happily as she put down her empty bottle of strawberry milk on the counter. “Man, nothing beats ice cold milk after a hot bath!” she said to Weiss, smiling and unaware of the pink milk mustache that had formed on her upper lip.

Weiss tensed up. “… I hear it certainly is refreshing!” she replied, before she brought her freshly opened bottle of plain milk to her lips and started chugging it. She gasped for breath as she pulled it away, coughing as she set the almost empty glass back on the counter.

“Woah—you okay there, Weiss?” Ruby asked, reaching out to touch her arm.

“Fine!” Weiss said, raising up her other hand and stopping her. “Totally fine… okay, maybe a little dehydrated from soaking too long...”

“Hmm, we should probably get some water to go while we’re still here in Haven,” Ruby said, before she turned back to the barista behind the refreshment counter.

“On the house,” the barista said as they pulled up a four-liter bottle with a handle. “Your friend there looks like she could really use it...” they said with a sly smile.

Weiss’ eyes widened, before she glared at them, Ruby was oblivious. “Oh, hey, thanks!” she said as she took it, before the two of them made for the exit.

They picked up sandwiches at the dining hall, before they were riding the elevator back down to Mistral, Ruby at the front of a bright red bicycle, Weiss riding in the cart attached to it, sitting on a sleeping bag with an umbrella above her.

As the gears started turning and the platform started descending, an important question occurred to Weiss: “Hey Ruby, how low into the city are we going, anyway?”

“Oh!” Ruby said. “Sorry I forgot to mention, we’re going down to the lower levels; it’s the only place my family can really afford, and our budget, too, probably.”

Weiss eyes widened.

“Ah—would you rather not go that low?” Ruby asked. “I can always try finding some other stores up at the mid-sections.”

Weiss shook her head. “No, no need to, Ruby!” she said as she began to relax. “It’s been a long while since I’ve been there, and the city’s a big place, too; I think it’s a pretty safe bet that they don’t even remember me anymore.”

They did.

Note: Majority of the Bunker’s students tend to be PWDs, have learning disorders, have mental health issues, are at-risk youth, or many other traits that might make conventional education in mainstream schools like Sanctum and Atlas CA (Combat Academy) difficult, if they hadn’t already tried and found it wasn’t a right fit for their needs.

However, they also have a sizable population of non-disabled students who simply like the smaller class sizes; the atmosphere of innovation and unconditional acceptance of everything that isn’t directly, unquestionably harmful to others; and especially their emphasis on using technology to make many aspects of life easier, coupled with some of the most generous research grants at the Combat School level.  

Ruby and Yang so far are the only ones who went there; Akko, Weiss, Sucy, and Jasminka were all from Sanctum (it’s a VERY big school), and the others were from overseas, or took the Hunstman’s General Competency Degree (GCD) to get into Haven.

To give you an idea at what life in the Bunker is like, a common question among professors holding practice matches for the lower levels is, “What do I need to do to give these children an equal-opportunity deathmatch?”

[nerdgasrnz]

part 2 of this post

“So... you haven’t actually fought Grimm for yourself before?” “Well... no. I’ve always seen them talked about- scary stories, pictures, descriptions... but Sanctum isn’t quite as.... hands on as Beacon is...” Pyrrha mutters, “The only thing I really know how to fight is people. And even then...”

Jaune chuckles, “That’s fine. We are kind of in a time of peace right now, it’s okay if you haven’t gotten in a fight with one. In fact, you should feel lucky,”

“I... hear that a lot.” She laughs nervously, “So... how do you fight these things, anyway? Like, what if we get surprise attacked?” “You’ll know when they’re nearby, trust me.”

(read more)

“How?”

Jaune gives Pyrrha the spiel about being able to sense Grimm. Etc.

They continue on their way, looking for the relics.

“Do you think this is it?” Pyrrha asks. Jaune glances at the cave markings on the side. But she seems set on going in anyway.

“Pyrrha, I don’t think this is it...” “Jaune, I went through the trouble of making a torch, we can at least investigate for another 5 feet.” “If you say so...”

You can imagine how the rest of this goes.

“JAUNE, IT’S NOT THE RELIC! IT’S NOT THE RELIC!!!” “Okay, Pyrrha listen to me, just stay calm! And whatever you do, don’t let-” “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” “...go.”

He glances at the giant Death Stalker before him. Smiles sheepishly and waves at it- then makes a break for it.

BAM.

Pyrrha slams into Ruby in midair, and they land in the tree.

“I’m sorry!” “No worries- oh, and um... hi! I’m Ruby,” “Pyrrha.” Pyrrha extends her hand. Ruby shakes it with an awkward smile, considering their situation (and Pyrrha’s weird position.)

Pyrrha when she gets onto the branch on her feet, she sees Weiss falling in midair. “Weiss!”

She springs into the air, catching Weiss in her arms. “Thank you!” “No problem!” Pyrrha says before glancing down, and remembering that gravity is a thing. “Oh God.”

BAM.

And to think, she was eager to be teamed up with this girl in the locker room not that long ago. “My hero...” “My back...!”

Between Jaune bringing a Deathstalker with him, and Ruby making the Nevermore mad, and Nora riding in on a now dead Ursa, a lot of confusing things are going on.

Jaune gets knocked onto his back, in front of the other 7 people present. “Great, the gang’s all here,” Yang says, “Now we can die together!”

And after Ruby’s show of bravado trying to take on the Death Stalker, and she and Weiss “making up,” Pyrrha makes note: “Um, everyone? That Nevermore’s circling back, what do we do?” “There’s no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us.” “She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things,” “Run and live?” Jaune smirks with relief, “That’s an idea I can get behind.”

And we sort of know how this next part goes. While Pyrrha is helping Ren and Blake fight off the Death Stalker, Pyrrha realizes as she fights that with the new abundance of aura she has, she’s having a better time fighting than what she’s used to- though she’s still having a bit of struggle.

“They need our help!” Jaune says, glancing down at the wide gap, “Can you get us over there?” he asks Nora.

This scene’s pretty much the same, except Jaune is better at landing. “You didn’t have to hit me, you know...” he mutters once they arrive.

When Pyrrha throws her javelin at the Death Stalkers eye, and manages to hit it, there’s a look of immense surprise on her face, as she glances at her hand, wondering where her newfound accuracy came from. But while she’s preoccupied in wonder, the Death Stalker nearly attacks her but Jaune blocks it’s claw with his shield.

When Ren’s knocked out from the fight, Jaune asks Pyrrha if she can hit the stinger, and Pyrrha hesitates slightly before doing a throw- again, she’s taken by surprise when she manages to accurately land a hit on the Death Stalker.

“Nora, nail it!” Jaune says as he moves into position. “Heads up!”

Jaune manages to steel himself well enough to boost Nora, with the stone flooring shattering under the force. Pyrrha stares in wonder at the maneuver, before being taken off guard by the stone foundation actually crumbling when she takes it down, and Jaune yells “Let’s move!” prompting them to hurry before they fall.

Jaune manages a roll, Nora lands on her bottom, and Pyrrha, though her landing seems unsteady, she actually manages to land on 3 points. And Ren of course, walks over, exhausted, and plops to the ground.

When they watch team RWBY take out the Nevermore, they are all in awe. “Wow.” Jaune says.

--

“Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren. The four of you found the white rook pieces- from this day forward, you will be team JNPR: led by Jaune Arc.”

Jaune humbly bows his head, looking at his teammates with a smile. Pyrrha, impressed by the designation, gives Jaune a bump on the shoulder, but he’s taken off guard by her strength and knocked completely over. Pyrrha blushes not realizing how much power she put into it, but Jaune laughs as he gets back up, putting her at ease.

--

Now here’s where the ordering of things gets a little different.

Oobleck’s History class. Jaune is asleep. This scene goes practically the same.

“Binoculars... nice once Jaune,” Nora laughs. “Har har- look, ironically, History is not exactly my favorite subject.” “Ironically? What do you mean, Jaune?” Pyrrha asks. “Well because- eh, never mind, it’s really not important right now.” Jaune murmurs. “Well still, sorry you have to stay after class- you sure you don’t want any help? Especially with Cardin messing with you?” “Yeah, I’ll be fine!” Jaune replies. “What’s the worst that bird brain can do?” “Well, there was that time he knocked down all your books...” Ren said. “Psh...” “And that time he opened your shield in the doorway to class-” “So?” “And the time he shoved you in a locker and sent you flying-” “Ren- it’s fine! Besides, it’s not like I landed far from the school. I needed the jog! Look, don’t mind him, alright, his family has had beef with mine for like... well, for ever. I’m an Arc- and that means I can take it! Really.”

“I know what would solve this once and for all,” Nora said, “WE COULD BREAK HIS LEGS!” Nora says with sudden gusto, almost scaring Jaune and Pyrrha. Ren seems unfazed. 

"Listen, it’s better that he only messes with me than any of you. I don’t want him trying to hurt the rest of you. He might be a really horrible person, but he’s clever and he’s stronger than you think. Just be careful, okay?” “Jaune, I know that you’re our leader and all, but that kind stubbornness of yours will get the better of you one day,” Pyrrha said. “Look who’s talking,” Jaune stuck his tongue out at her, making her laugh. “Pretty bold of you to stand up to him like that, especially in front of the whole class- and I know he didn’t like that. You’ve got guts, Nikos!”

Pyrrha smiles and looks aside.

“If Cardin hassles you, send him to me, no questions as- ACK” Jaune doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before Cardin shoves him to the floor, angry that he has extra work to do.

Jaune stands up, takes a breath, raising a finger as if trying to collect himself- but he winds up tackling Cardin to the ground and punching him in the face, starting a fight between them.

“Alright, alright break it up you two!” Oobleck shoves them apart. “I know that your families have a long history of bad blood, but here at Beacon you’re comrades. Do you understand me?”

“Yes sir...” Jaune muttered, not minding the black eye he just got while it heals. “Pff, whatever.” Cardin also muttered, sporting a few bruises that go away quickly.

“Any more confrontations like that and I’ll see what Professor Ozpin would prefer to do about both of you. Now get going. Both of you owe me quite the essay that’s due tomorrow.” Oobleck says before he darts off at high speed, and Cardin walks off. Cardin thinks that he can get a free sucker punch, but Jaune, with a blank expression, has his white Aura shields him, reflecting the pain of the punch onto Cardin, making him yelp. Jaune smirks with satisfaction.

“I’ll get you one of these days, Arc.” “You say that every time. Later pigeonhead.” Jaune said as he walked off with his team.

Cardin stares angrily at Pyrrha- and Jaune was right, he didn’t like when she stood up to him.

Cue the lunch room, with Nora (and Ren) telling Yang the story about the recurring dream she had.

"Everything alright Pyrrha?” “Um, yeah! I just... someone stuffed my locker with pictures of me from the cereal boxes... they had pins and horrible writing with threats on them. It kind of took me off guard.” “Sounds like Cardin to me.” Jaune grumbled, looking at him and his team hassling Velvet. Yang looked on sullenly, commenting how hard it was being a Faunus, while Blake seemed to be seething with anger. Jaune began rolling up the sleeves of his hoodie. “Jaune, please, I don’t want you getting in trouble for my sake. It’s okay-” “It’s not, Pyrrha.” Ruby said in return, “He’s a bully, and if he has his sights set on you, we have your back.” “No, I don’t want any of you dealing with him. I mean yes, he’s atrocious and the worst kind of person, but we have to be better than him.” “And what other way to be better than him in a fight?” Jaune commented. “Tomorrow is a Vytal tournament pretest, and I wouldn’t mind bashing his face a second time on legal grounds tomorrow. All I have to do is volunteer, Goodwitch will let me pick my opponent, and I wipe the floor with him.” “I like your style, Jaune!” Yang grinned, “Show him who’s boss!”

Little did they know though, is that Cardin was looking on, overhearing their conversation.

“Do we have any Volunteers?” Glynda asks, scanning the auditorium. Jaune begins to politely raise his hand- “Yeah, I’ll do it!” Cardin shouts for her to hear, waving his arm casually. “Okay then, Mr. Winchester. Do you have an opponent in mind?” “Yeah, I do, actually,” He grins wickedly, as he stared at the ponytail redhead. “I’d like to take on Pyrrha,” “Alright then! Miss Nikos would you like to take the floor?” “M-me?!” Pyrrha was dumbfounded, glancing at her teammates- especially Jaune. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. “Well Miss Nikos, I’m sure that a 4-time tournament winner such as yourself would be a perfect volunteer for this exercise- unless I’m wro-” “N-n-no! I’m sorry, it’s fine! I um... it would be a pleasure.” She chuckled nervously, smiling half-heartedly. As soon as the attention was off of her, she sank. “Pyrrha are you sure about this?” “It’s fine... Someone has to stand up to him.” “Remember what I said yesterday? He’s not just a bully. He’s smarter than you think and he’s strong. Don’t underestimate him, okay?” “I remember...” She looked aside. “Look, I’m sure you’ll do fine. Weiss and Goodwitch said you’ve won a tournament for 4 years in a row. Knock ‘em dead!”

Even though Jaune’s words were comforting and made her feel better, she still walked towards the stage with reluctance. She looked at the ground on her way up.

“Fighters, ready,” Goodwitch announced as the lights of the auditorium dimmed, and the aura levels showed on the display above them. “Please place your scroll on your person so that you can see your aura levels, that’s what today’s exercise will be covering.”

Pyrrha placed her scroll on the inside of her forearm, where she usually held her shield. She took out her weapon, in its Xiphos form- she was used to how it behaved before- but after Jaune unlocked her aura, she had performed unusually well. Maybe she could actually do this.

Both of their auras were very close to the same level. Goodwitch observed Pyrrha’s fighting more than Cardin’s, and with higher scrutiny. Jaune made note as well, as he watched her fight. She was good: powerful and agile, that much was true. But her swordsmanship was a bit sloppy, and her defense with her shield was less than desirable. Every reflex Pyrrha had always seemed to be a bit late, either blocking only in the nick of time, or not in enough time and getting hit. She wasn’t anticipating far enough ahead- but she still held her own through what seemed to be tenacity and strength.

When Pyrrha appeared she was going to get the last hit for the win, Cardin surprised her, by grabbing her ankle, causing her to trip. He quickly got up, and by grabbing with both hands, he threw her on her back, into the ground with all he had. She was fortunate to have as much aura as she did, or else she’d be completely out of it, if not unconscious.

“Say your prayers, Nikos,” Cardin said. “Over my dead body,” She spat at him with venom in her voice, standing up and charging at him. She was too predictable with this maneuver though, and she took a forceful punch to her stomach from him, the wind getting knocked out of her, and she fell to the ground, wincing. Team RWBY and JNPR were all sad and shocked as they looked onto her heaving form on the floor, as Cardin seemed to be going in for one more blow with his mace-

“That’s enough,” Goodwitch intervened. “As you can see, Miss Nikos’s aura has fallen into the red. In an official tournament setting, she would receive a loss, and be removed from the fight. And on the actual battlefield, this would be a very important time to retreat.”

Pyrrha sat up- her pride was hurt more than anything, especially as she looked onto her friends, and at her scroll as well, confirming what Goodwitch said.

“Not all of your opponents will fight fair Pyrrha- even with tournament rules in place, it would serve you well to try and think 3 steps ahead of your opponents, and fight more defensively at times. After all, we wouldn’t want you getting mauled by a Beowulf.” She said- the last sentence seemed almost condescending, as she seemed to be less than impressed. Pyrrha’s head bowed low in defeat.

“Speak for yourself,” Cardin laughed as he exited the stage.

--

“Pyrrha, I want you to come with me,” Jaune said, grabbing her hand after he handed his paper to Oobleck for his earlier mishap.

“Wh? Jaune, where are we going?!” She asked with confusion.

Jaune extended his hand as if offering her the view as they stood on the roof of their dorms, close to the edge. She didn’t seem to notice, as she peered over the edge.

“Um, Jaune, I know my fight with Cardin today wasn’t the best, but I’m not that depressed... I can always give up on the Huntress thing and live on the Pumpkin Pete’s royalties, or something...” “Wh- NO!” He exclaimed, clamoring as he pulled her from the edge.

“Pyrrha, I’m trying to say that we can spar up here! Just the two of us- no audience, no teachers- we can have time to ourselves to brush up on our skills.” “You think I need help...?” “What- no, I mean-” “It sounds like you’re telling me that I need help.” “Pyrrha, even the best of us need a little support from time to time, you know? And we’re at Beacon- the best Hunter Academy on the face of Remnant? You earned your place here, and that means a whole lot. It’s a lot of pressure, but I want to help you.” “Ha... haha! You think that’s pressure?” “...Pyrrha?” “You, the guy with just a sword and a shield hand-me-down, think you know what pressure is?” She scoffed at him, digging her finger into his chest, “You know what it’s like to draft the blueprint of the weapon you want when you’re 8 years old, and suddenly everyone starts singing their praises about how brilliant and smart you are? Do you know what it’s like to just have fun with track and field one moment, and suddenly, your parents decide that you need to be a Huntress because anything else is a waste?”

“Pyrrha... I, I didn’t-”

“No, I’m not done!! You know what pressure is?! It’s getting signed up for contracts because you’re a little good at something you like- and suddenly being treated better than everyone else when you haven’t earned it! It’s having no friends because suddenly they think that you’re too good for them and don’t ever want to approach you! Pressure is winning tournaments on a FLUKE, just so that you don’t disappoint the thousands of people and your parents watching- and winning with a lucky hit even though you hate crowds and cameras and you just want it all to STOP!”

The last word with her voice rocked all the metal structures on the roof, and hit Jaune, almost knocking him off the building. He caught the edge before he flew too far, but didn’t want to press his luck when he was in just his school uniform. She gasped seeing what she had done, tears welling in her eyes as she ran away.

“Pyrrha!”

She covered her face in the hallway, crying as she tried to collect herself. She nearly just knocked Jaune off of a stories high roof, and she didn’t even know how or why it happened.

“Well well well, I didn’t know Miss Cereal Box was so sensitive!” Cardin said mockingly as he approached her. “Cardin!” “And on top of that... a polarity semblance? That’s quite the spectacle- and very handy. I’m sure that an investigation into a semblance that can manipulate metal wouldn’t bode well for someone who won a regional tournament four years straight,” “I- I don’t know what you’re talking about?!” She panicked. “You said it yourself- you won those tournaments on a fluke, even when it seemed like you didn’t deserve to. Maybe you’re right! And maybe Goodwitch wouldn’t appreciate information like this if she found out you cheated- she might even send you back home, and then you’ll have to explain to your family why you-” “No! No, no, no, please, no!! I’ll do anything, please just don’t tell Goodwitch! I can’t- my parents...” She choked through her tears. “Alright then- let’s start with you doing my paper for Oobleck for me, because I can’t be bothered- I have things to do, places to be- all that stuff.” He grabbed her head, under his arm- more forcefully than she was comfortable with. “Thanks, Nikos, you’re a real pal!”

[play-read-write]

HIT On

Fandom: RWBY Characters: Team RWBY Words: 1922 Description: A student new to Vale meets team RWBY and it goes less than well when they see what he has in mind.

The music blasted through the club, not loud enough to condone shouting, but enough to drown out anything more than a couple feet away. Sight was impaired as well, most of the lights colored and focused on the dance floor, with only a few normal lights scattered above the tables along the walls. Amongst the mass of people were two students seated at the bar, nursing drinks and catching up.

“So, how are you liking Vale?” One of the young men asked, just loud enough for his friend to hear him over the din of the club.

“Pretty sweet.” The other student replied, taking a sip from his drink. “Nice club, good music.” He said before looking over the club and adding with a smirk “Better girls.”

“Ha, yeah, we got a few lookers around here. Even the great Pyrrha Nikos.”

“Damn. Maybe I should transfer.” He said, turning his chair completely around to observe the club. His eyes found a small group of young women who had just entered making their way to a table nearby. He nodded in their direction “There we go, you know them?”

The beacon student followed his friends gaze and his eyes got wide. “Oh yeah, everyone knows them.”

“Really? I’d love to be a part of everyone then.”

“Not like that dude. That’s team RWBY.”

“That supposed to mean something?”

“Yeah, their one of the best teams of first years at Beacon.”

“So they are Beacon students. Good.” He said with a grin.

“Why is that good?”

“Tells me a few things. They’re of age, they’re fit, and they got stamina.”

“Alright, I’m telling the bartender to cut you off if you try going over there.”

“If I go over there, I’m not coming back anyway, know what I mean?” He asked with a wink. “Even think I’ve got one picked out already.”

“I don’t want to, but I have to ask, who? Please say it’s not the Schnee.”

“Wait white hair over there is a Schnee? No wonder everyone knows them, and no, not her.” They were both looking at the table of girls now. “What about the other ones, names?”

“Blake Belladonna is the black haired one, she’s like a ninja. Ruby Rose is the short one in the cape; she’s a lot of energy in a little person. Yang Xiao Long is the blonde one with the big rack. Let me guess, her?”

“Nope. She does seem to be helping me out though.” He said as Yang appeared to be attempting to drag Blake onto the dance floor. It took a few minutes but she finally succeeded.

“Wait a minute. Not Schnee, and Xiao Long helped by dragging off Belladonna… No.” the Vale native said in surprise, and seemingly a hint of fear. “Dude, no, no, no. Do not try this you don’t know what you’re doing!”

“You said she’s a ball of energy right? That could be fun. Plus she seems shy, I like shy.” He said, downing his drink and standing up to walk off.

“Don’t do it! Man, she’s only fifteen!” the man left behind said, but his friend was already too far away to hear him over the music. “Shit, he’s gonna die.” He turned around back to the bar, “Well at least he’ll deserve it.”

The visitor to Vale moved through the club, stopping near the table with now just two women at it, taking a moment to prepare. Then he heard opportunity knock, or rather, ring.

“Oh, that’s Winter. I have to take this, Ruby, I’ll be right back.” Weiss said.

“Please don’t leave me.” Ruby said back.

“It’ll just be a moment.” Weiss responded before walking out of the club to get away from the noise.

Seeing his chance, the out-of-towner moved towards the table. “So, looks like you’re friends ditched you, huh?” He said casually, leaning against her table. He noticed she was drinking something with an umbrella in it and a strawberry on the side of the glass. He smiled, knowing how the fruit often hid a lot of alcohol.

“Uh, yeah.” She said, stirring her drink with the umbrella. She looked down, grumbling, “First they dragged me here cause I don’t ‘get out’ enough, now they run off.”

“I know what you mean. I’m new in town, my friends show me this place, and then they all start dancing on the floor. Don’t even think of me.”

“Heh, guess we both got kinda left behind then.” She said, still looking down.

He chuckled a bit at her shyness, thinking it matched well with someone so petit, especially for a Beacon student. “Suppose we could join them out there if you’d like. Show them we don’t need them to have a good time.”

“Huh?” Ruby questioned for a moment, and then realized what he meant, “Oh, no. I’m not really a, um, dancing kind of girl.”

“Alright then. Mind if I sit with you at least? So we don’t get lonely without them?”

“I- I guess you could. My friend Weiss will probably be back soon though.”

“Thank you.” He said, sliding into the booth. “Wait, Weiss? Surely you don’t mean you know THE Weiss Schnee?”

“Oh, uh, yes actually. Do you?”

“No, not personally. But everyone from Atlas knows of Weiss Schnee. You’re very lucky to know her.”

“Yeah, I am. She’s really great.” Ruby said, getting a bit more animated. “Like, she yells a lot, but just because she cares. She’s really smart and a great fighter. You said you’re from Atlas too, are you a student? Weiss likes talking about how different it is there.”

“Yes I am, second year. How about you, a student here at Beacon?” He asked, already knowing the answer. She seemed to be opening up though, so he was gonna keep going with this.

“Yeah, first year. I’m actually here with my team; team RWBY. Yeah, that does get confusing sometimes.”

“Confusing how?” he asked, again already knowing the answer but having to feign ignorance.

“That’s right, I didn’t tell you my name. I’m Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY.”

“Leader, wow. You must be pretty good. I’m Jared, leader of team JERK.” He said, then after a moment added “We didn’t pick the name.”

“Hehe, yeah, I’d guess not. So, what kind of weapon do you got?”

“Uh, weapon?” he asked misinterpreting her question at first. “Oh, I use a claymore, it’s also a rifle.”

“That’s cool. Wish I could see it.”

“Well,” he said leaning a bit closer, “Maybe I can show you some time.”

A new voice broke into the conversation now, “And just WHAT is that supposed to imply?” Weiss said, standing by the table.

“Hey Weiss, how was Winter?”

“Fine, she just wanted to check up on me. Now what is going on here?” She asked, glaring at Jared.

“He’s from Atlas, like you. His friends were busy, so we started talking about weapons.”

“Yeah, just a bit of pleasant conversation. Figured we could keep each other company while we were alone.” He said, “And what an honor it is to meet the Weiss Schnee. Never thought I’d see the day.”

Weiss shifted her weight to her back foot and crossed her arms. “Yes, the honor is all yours. Now if you could leave, since she’s clearly not alone anymore?”

“But we were just getting started. Your team leader is quite interesting. Lots of good things to say about you as well.” He said, trying to calm the clearly irate young woman.

Another new voice joined this time. “Weiss, can you try and tone it down, I can hear you over the music.” Blake said, coming up behind her. “And who are you?” She added to the man in her spot.

“I’m Jared, nice to meet you.”

“Blake. So, why are you sitting with Ruby?”

Weiss narrowly beat out both seated people in answering. “He was hitting on her. Can you believe it?”

Blake’s eyes narrowed at him. “Really now?”

“N-no, of course not. Just keeping her company.” He said, starting to panic as the more forceful teammates had him figured out.

“Wait, what?” Ruby asked, looking between the three of them.

“Well, I guess I don’t need to keep her company with all you here.” He said, standing up. Blake stepping in front, cutting him off while Weiss stood her ground on the other said.

“How about you stay for a moment longer. I’m sure Yang will want to meet you.” Blake said calmly.

He swallowed nervously, trapped between two clearly dangerous women and the table. He only had to wait a moment before the final member showed up.

“Hey guys, I got more drinks. Who’s the guy?” She said as she showed up.

Blake stepped to the side, out of Yang’s way. “We found him here. He was hitting on your sister.” She said.

“Is that so?” She said, her voice terrifyingly calm as she set the glasses on the table behind him.

“N-no, not at all. Is Ruby here your sister? You guys look nothing alike. I wasn’t hitting on her though, just talking.” He rambled, starting to sweat.

“He said he wanted to show her his ‘weapon’.” Weiss said.

Yang took a step forward and grabbed him by the collar. “Really? How about I show you mine first?” She said, Ember Celica extending out. Her eyes turned red and he tried to scramble away, but had nowhere to go.

“N-n-no thanks. I-I’m good. W-we were just talking. What’s a bit of talking between two consenting adults?” He asked with a feigned smile, desperately trying to talk his way out.

“Adult?” Weiss asked, “She’s fifteen you jackass.”

“F-fifteen? But she’s in Beacon, team leader.”

“I, uh, I skipped my last two years at Signal. They let me in early.” Ruby said, speaking for the first time in a bit. She felt kind of sorry for him, but there wasn’t anything she could do now, so she just sipped her drink.

“Oh, is that right? Good for you.” He said, and then looked back at Yang, then Blake and Weiss. “I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

“No,” Blake said, “You’ll just wish you had.”

Ruby winced as her teammates closed in on the man. She pulled out her phone and flicked through it as a distraction.

Jared returned to his seat on shaky legs. A black eye was the only visible marker of his ordeal, aside from a ghost white face and a look of shear and absolute terror.

“I tried to warn you dude. You didn’t listen.” His friend said.

The bartender poured a drink, then on seeing the shaken man poured another for him. “You look like you need this. What happened?” he asked.

“He tried to hit on Xiao Long’s little sister.” The beacon student said.

The bartender grabbed the drink he had just poured and dumped it out, replacing it with a glass of water, then adding a couple of painkillers next to it from under the counter. “You’ll need this. You’re cut off though.”

The panicked man took the pills and the water, spilling a bit as he downed both. Risking a glance over his shoulder he saw Yang and Weiss appearing to comfort Ruby while Blake simply stared at him. Then the other two looked up at him and he flinched, turning away from their harsh gaze, even if he could still feel it.

“I don’t even feel sorry for you, you earned that.” His friend said. He simply nodded in reply.