#atlas sees rose struggling MULTIPLE times

[diamantposting]

[rubyinasnuggie]

Random Headcanons No One Asked For:

-Both Ruby and Weiss are left handed

--Yang was 100% prepared to tease them about it when Blake very pointedly uses her left hand to write something

--Blake is ambidextrous

--which makes Yang the only right-handed one on the team

--until the fall of beacon oops

-Ren is fully color blind

--once baby Nora figured that out, she made it her mission to explain to him what colors are based on other sensations (sue me I love this trope)

--she describes pink as the quiet comfort they share in each other's presence

--Ren finally sees color for the first time when his semblance upgrades, and he can finally see the pink petals with Nora

-Blake likes to climb on things and find random nooks and crannies to read

--it turns into a game of reverse hide-and-seek when someone needs her: depending on how urgent it is the entire squad will drop everything and look for her

-team STRQ won the Vytal tournament their first year, specifically Summer was the champion

--Yang was more upset about the disqualification than she'd ever admit, because she secretly imagined Summer was out there somewhere watching the tournament, proud of her babies

-Tai pulled himself out of his depression by gardening: having a routine helped him, so he encouraged baby Ruby and Yang to get similar gentle hobbies

-Ruby raises chickens at home

--she very lovingly feeds them corn and calls them her ladies

--Yang affectionately calls them creatures and cluckers and other such rude things to get a rise out of Ruby

-Ruby deeply wants a cow

--this is her one and only retirement dream

--although honestly she can never imagine herself living past her 20s

-Yang struggled with picking a hobby, she gets bored easily and hates the expected

--its only post-Beacon that she understands the benefits of a routine

--thats why she ends up with a ton of chores, just some structure to help her through the day

-Ruby will drink any type of milk, but Strawberry milk is her favorite

-Sun is allergic to bananas but he doesn't know

--he thinks bananas are supposed to be spicy

-Weiss loves sour apple

-Pyrrha loves chocolate almonds

-Yang thinks fish are creepy, she just generally doesn't love the ocean

--she thinks Neptune is a little clown though

-Oscar gets dressed by putting on his left sock, left boot, then his right sock and right boot

--RNJR made it their mission to interrupt him during this just to see him walk around with one boot on

-Ruby likes to bake, it's one of the few solid memories she has of her mom

--one night Weiss was feeling homesick and Ruby taught her how to make mug cakes

--"its probably not that good compared to your cake butler, but it's pretty simple, and I like them!"

--Weiss secretly makes them at least once a week, even back home in Atlas

-Weiss has taken flight lessons, at one point Ironwood really pushed for her to become a pilot in the military

-Blake has a field journal of the different types of Grimm she's encountered

--team RWBY & JNPR have spent several nights sitting in a circle talking and adding to the journal

--while traveling across Anima, Ruby sketched and took notes on all the Grimm she saw, just in case she ever found Blake again

-Weiss collects rocks

--no, not crystals. actual rocks

--shes rarely spent time in the real outside, but whenever she has, she picks up little rocks and puts them in her pocket before anyone can see

-Jaune never actually stopped writing left and right on the bottom of his shoes actually

-Weiss had never been allowed to paint her nails as a kid, she'd always get weekly French manicures instead

--by the second semester at Beacon, Ruby, Weiss, Nora, and Ren would have weekly manicure nights where they'd paint each other's nails

--there were several times they'd rope the rest of the teams into it, especially during the Vytal tournament where they'd write team names on their nails

--during the singles round they'd write Yang on one hand and Pyrha on the other

--"we couldn't make it fit without cutting one of the R's!"

-Pyrrha and Weiss became each other's default plus one's for fancy events, to the point people began to speculate that the two were dating

--Jaune was somehow jealous of them both and it was very confusing to him since he had poor self awareness

-Yang cuts Ruby's hair, but after she lost her arm she lost the fine motor skills to do a good job, so Blake started to do it

-Blake is always there to help Yang with her phantom pains and residual limb pain

--she helps massage Yang's arm while leaning close and purring

--Yang cried the first time Blake did this because she's not used to being taken care of

-Nora never gets sick and is the designated nurse when a bug goes around the teams

--the electricity incident was the first time Nora has ever been bed-ridden

-Weiss took ballet as a child

-Jaune is actually pretty good at the guitar

-Pyrrha is not musically inclined at all its a miracle she managed to do the iconic JNPR shine dance

--jk but actually she's a decent dancer when she has the steps choreographed for her but she has no natural rhythm

-in the last few months before Pyrrha's death, she and Jaune would waltz on top of the roof together

--there were several almost kisses

--maybe a few successful kisses who knows

-there are occasions (obv extremely rare) when Ren actually takes the bulk of the energy from Nora

--this leads to thrilling game nights where Ren makes multiple 40pt remnant-equiv-of-scrabble plays while Nora naps

-Oscar is the only person who can beat Ren in scrabble, although it's very closely matched

-Oscar is amazing at chess and will play it against himself like a little square

-Yang and Ruby are experts at the tabletop war game they play in the library

--9 times out of 10, the winner is one of them

-Oscar is the only one who also knew about Compost King, which was very exciting for Jaune

--Compost King is a common game night activity while they were in Haven because its so hard to say no to Oscar

-Yang is a straight-A student and has always been

-Blake never had any formal education and she finds a lot of the classes incredibly dull or ineffective at teaching the material

--she's always the one convincing Yang to skip a class and lie in the sun-warmed grass with her

--she still gets Bs easily

-Oscar is a very fast reader and will devour any book he's given

--his aunt would frequently bring home books from town just to keep him entertained

-Ruby has suffered from migraines and nightmares her entire life, post-Beacon they only got worse

-Weiss shops at local dust stores whenever she can, even though she could get shipments for free

--however she does have Ron Swanson's "I know more than you" energy when she's shopping

-Blake and Ren will sometimes take naps together

--not cuddling, just occupying the same general space

--wake them up at your own risk

-if Ruby isn't engaged with something, she can start to scatter and dissolve into rose petals

--its a very slow process and someone has always snapped her out of it before she's fully vanished, but Yang is worried about what would happen if no one caught her in time

-Ren is afraid of horses

-Blake hates being cold

-Yang naturally radiates heat cause semblance duh

-Weiss glued the tiniest gravity crystals to the underside of Ruby's bed to ensure it never falls

-JNPR likes to push their beds all together so they can sleep in one big pile

-Nora can only sleep if she's holding someone's hand

Hope u guys enjoyed! These are in no particular order, sorry that I kinda jumped around a lot 😅

Feel free to reblog and add your own ideas and headcanons! ❤

[aspoonofsugar]

RWBY Chain Of Faves

Who are your top 10 favorite RWBY characters and why?

Hello anon!

Thank you very much for this ask! I love talking about faves!

1) The murder kids aka Emerald and Mercury

I have talked about them here and here and I’ve shared some minor thoughts here and here.

I think their story has yet to enter its climax, so the metas on them are not as finalized as those on other characters. Still, the set-up is all there and I love it. As I say in the metas linked, they are a unit (body and soul, weapon and semblance). They are also two of the characters who mostly explore the cycle of abuse (together with Cinder, who is both victim and perpetrator).

I like how they are given the chance to screw up very very badly (and are given consequences for their actions), but are also always framed as two kids who try to be toughter than they are.

What is more, I love their relationship and their dynamic with Cinder. I think both bonds are very complex and are shown rather than told. This is why Emerald and Mercury’s body language is very effective imo. Their closeness is mostly conveyed through them glancing at each other or how they move around each other. This makes sense because they are in a place where they can’t speak freely.

In particular, I like that their relationship is deep, but not idealized. They care about each other, but are too scared to save each other. This is why Emerald needs the help of an adult (Hazel) to leave her abusive environment. This is also why she is recovering in a healthier environment that also lets her understand the consequences of her actions better. At the same time, Mercury who is instead stuck with another abusive mentor can’t currently escape.

When it comes to each one of them individually...

Emerald’s design and semblance are among my personal favourites. Her semblance especially is at the very top of my list. It has so much potential thematically and flexibility in terms of use (invisibility, transformation, specific illusions fitting a character’s flaw). I hope they use it more and in diverse ways in the future to show Emerald’s growth. For example, how cool would it be if she used it to help another character overcome a panic attack? Or if she helped Ruby enter the mental state to use her eyes with it?

I also really like she has a specific fighting style that fits her thief motif and is very different from others. It is less scenographic, but  very pragmatic and I love it.

I also liked the focus she received this season and I think it needs to be finalized. I am curious on how it will happen.

Mercury’s background is the one which breaks my heart the most. The little we know is horrible :( I also think it is a story that heavily relies on symbolism to convey the idea of abuse...

Marcus took Mercury’s legs, so he can’t psychologically escape the cycle of abuse... Marcus told Mercury he needs no crutches and Mercury is refusing to aknowledge his hurt and to heal... Marcus’s violence messed up Mercury so much he is not sure what he wants and his semblance is missing to underline it.

I wonder if we will discover more about his background or if what we have so far is all. I can see it go both ways to be honest. Also, Tyrian’s interactions with Mercury are interesting and meaningful, but also terrifying. I both want more and I am scared of having more :’’)

I am also looking forward to see how his allusion will be used. As for now, he has the potential to have at least three different motifs going on. The one of Mercury the God, the one of Mercury the metal and the one of Mercury the planet. Curious to see what is done with them!

Finally, I’m the One is one of my favourite songs because it is full of foreshadowing and perfectly conveys what their characters are about. I would love to properly analyze it one day, even if I have used it in multiple metas already :), so I am not sure I have new things to say.

The same can be said about their fight against Coco and Yatsuhashi and their fight with Cinder against Amber. In a sense, those two fights are complementary, since the first one foreshadows their major assets that are properly shown and charged symbolically in the second.

In short, their fight with Coco and Yatsuhashi is how they want to appear:

I'm the one that your mama said 'Don't mess with them or you'll end up dead That type they don't follow any rules'

Their fight against Amber is who they are deep down:

I'm the one That was born in a nightmare a murderer's son

I'm the one Who rose out of filth and was loved by no-one

3) Penny

She is the protagonist of the Atlas Volumes and has my favourite arc so far.

Her arc is contradictive, sad and powerful. In a sense, her whole character is written to hurt :’’’) She is given a happy and enthusiastic personality to hide how tragic her story is.

Penny is an example of how to write a specific kind of tragedy, where the main conflict does not lie in the character’s flaw, but in the environment she is in. Penny wants to be a “real” girl, but others won’t let her. This conflict escalates until she tragically manages to affirm her personhood in death.

At the same time, she is given self-issues that can be seen as a flaw and tie to her environment. She is self-sacrificial and struggles to see herself as a true person. Still, this flaw does not really drive her plotline (others’ control of her does) and, as @hamliet​ has stated, it does not eat everything around Penny.

So, she dies tragically because she never gets the chance, not even to overcome these self-issues, but to properly face them. At the same time, her death is powerful and cathartic because she negates others’ control and manipulation. She negates the mechanisms that had her develop self-issues to begin with.

Is it a happy outcome? Not at all. It is sad and contradictive. It is gray, but this is precisely why it is powerful. It manages to convey and explore complex and contradictive ideas. It does not offer an answer, but only bittersweet questions.

I also really like how Penny’s allusion is used in the story. It is played straight in terms of plot since Penny becomes human as the story goes on. However, it is problematized in terms of themes. It conveys that humanity is about making choices and experiencing both happiness and pain. Finally, Penny’s final scene is an inversion of the original novel.

Penny is not the Blue Fairy’s creation, but the Blue Fairy’s creator:

She goes from Creation (passive, a child) to Creator (active, an adult).

Incidentally, Penny too has one of my favourite songs. Friend is beautiful and it perfectly describes her arc. It conveys how much she loves humanity despite how complex and painful it is. The music starting slow and melancholic to gain more power as it goes on describes Penny’s life beautifully. It is a story that ends too soon (the music interrupts at its most vibrant), but it is still a melody full of love for life:

An answered prayer A chance to Share the world To be a girl Who fin'lly felt alive

4) Cinder

Cinder is probably the most complex and best written character so far.

She manages to make me feel for her and to make me incredibly angry with her at the same time :’’’)

I have written several metas on her, so you can read my thoughts on her background, the focus she received this volume, how I think her arc will end and some minor symbolism.

Cinder is built on an equilibrium between victim and perpetrator. She is both and the narrative strikes perfectly with its framing of her. It is both sympathetic and strict and most of all tragic because no matter if Cinder wins or loses... she keeps spiralling either way and she can’t understand she is fighting a worthless fight.

She is also full of interesting motifs and symbolism. One I would like to explore more in the future (and for it to be explored more by the story itself) is her fall motif.

She chooses the surname “Fall” herself when it is decided her first target is the Fall Maiden. This makes for a nice juxtaposition between her and Winter.

Cinder is born with nothing. Her own name refers a substance almost completely burnt, something with almost no color. It is a very humble name, so she chooses a surname which is important. It is a surname that hints to her role as a vessel of the Maidens.

She is not chosen to be a Maiden... she is not supposed to be one. However, she decides she is going to take the power even if it is not hers. She is taking destiny in her own hands.

Winter is born with apparently everything. However, this is also why everything gets decided for her. She is given the name Winter before she was born. Similarly, Ironwood chooses her as the Maiden even before she discovers about them.

Cinder sees Winter as having everything Cinder deserves. However, she misses how Winter is facing very similar struggles. She might be given what Cinder is negated, but she too has to make that destiny hers. She has to take her story in her own hands, just like Cinder.

At the same time, Cinder’s fall motif is linked also to the idea of falling. She falls and makes others fall. Exactly like she burns and is burnt. The orange of her flames aesthetically calls back to the orange of the falling leaves.

This idea is also conveyed through Cinder constantly mistreating and even killing characters representative of sides of herself.

She abuses Emerald and Mercury aka her child selves.

She kills Watts aka her negative foil.

She kills Pyrrha and Penny aka her Maidens’ foils.

It is clear that all this hurting and killing parts of herself won’t end well for her. I mean, she, not Salem, is the one responsible of the two major deaths in the series (Penny and Pyrrha), so she is bound to receive consequences.

Another thing I love about her is how her intelligence is people focused. She is very good at reading and manipulating others and this is how she wins her major fights. This is both her flaw and her major asset. I like it because I think RWBY is good in showing different kinds of intelligence and Cinder’s one is very coherent with her personality.

Finally, I love how her Cinderella allusion is used. It is a deconstruction of the original fairy tale that is born from a question: “What if Cinderella were not the kind victim of the story, but a bad victim?”. It is also interesting how the key character in Cinder’s allusion is not the Prince or the Stepmother, but the Fairty Godmother who fails her twice (Rhodes and now Salem).

As a side note, I can’t wait for The Truth to be out in its complete version.

5) Oscar

Aka the one who deserves nothing of what he gets :’’’)

I love him because he is an example of how to write a character who is a cinnamon roll, but that also is not boring and has complexity.

His struggle is about his sense of self. He starts the story by wishing to become more than what he is, but he does not like that this “more” turns out to be about fusing with another person. He wants to grow not to lose himself to another entity.

This is his major fear:

Who will you see? There in the darkness When no one is watching Who will you be? When you're afraid And everything changes Will you see a stranger? Feel proud or betrayed?

This is well conveyed also by his relationship with the rest of the group. He starts as the odd man out and others mostly rely on Ozpin rather than him. He sometimes even seems to disappear behind Ozpin. However, as time goes on, he forges genuine bonds and he becomes dependable on his own. He becomes even more so than Ozpin because he has something Oz lost out of cynism. The ability to trust.

In the Atlas volume he is the character that embodies the thematic statement about trust:

Oscar: You want him to trust us? Then trust me.

The point is that to be trusted you should trust first, even if there is no guarantee it will work.

It is interesting because the theme of trust is explored starting with Ozpin, Oscar’s foil, who does not trust others, so our protagonists feel betrayed. However, in Atlas they find themselves in Ozpin’s shoes and must choose if to trust Ironwood or not.

Here, we explore a form of conditional trust. This idea is presented by Ruby, who wants to be sure it is safe to trust Ironwood. So she keeps secrets and studies him until she decides she can trust him... only to discover that was not the case immediately after. This happens because trust can never be completely safe. Actually, in its most negative declination, this kind of trust becomes the control symbolized by Ironwood.

No matter what, trust is always a leap of faith. This is why trust is a risk. Oscar shows this concept well. He decides to still trust Ironwood at the end of volume 7, but it does not work. Still, he does not stop and decides to trust Emerald and Hazel. This time his trust and faith are repaid. He is fred and gains a new ally:

I love Emerald and Oscar’s interactions btw :’’’) It is good that Oscar is the one who is growing closer to her. They escape Salem together and Oscar has not been hurt by Emerald the same way the others are.

Anyway, even if trust is worth it, the exploration of this theme in Atlas actually ends on a negative note. It ends with Cinder who is an enemy of trust because she uses others’ trust and feelings against them.

Anyway, Oscar is a key character and I can’t wait for his story to develop more!

6) Ironwood

He breaks my heart.

He is a an excellent tragic Hero.

He thinks he is the Great Good, but this is precisely why he spirals out of control and falls with his own Kingdom, hated by his allies and forgotten by his enemies.

His downfall stems from his inability to trust, his refusal of emotions, his single-mindness and mostly his convinction he is better than others. This idea is structural of Atlas society and is seen in many of his inhabitants. No matter the social class, we see multiple people thinking they deserve better and that they are above others. This is why Atlas falls and his people becomes refugees in the poorest Kingdom of Remnant.

Anyway, Ironwood thinks he is better than others, so he should be the one deciding for others as well. This idea is flawed and perfectly conveyed through his ideology of sacrificing everything. He feels he has everything, so he can sacrifice what he wants. Still, this is not the case. Others’ lives and feelings are not his. He doesn’t own them.

7) Weiss

I love Weiss. She has one of my favourite designs and one of my favourite semblances and fighting styles.

Her snowhite allusion being played to explore the idea of a dysfunctional family is very good.

In general, I love how much she has grown slowly, but steadily and how she has progressively become warmer. I enjoyed her interactions with her siblings this season. She also gets many moments where she shines for her humanity and intelligence.

She is both Snowhite and the Prince, but also the Huntress that changes and makes others change. She becomes an inspiration for her whole family and since the Schnees are all in Vacuo and she will eventually join them, I am curious if there is going to be more about their family dynamic.

Other than this, I am excited about her Nevermore summon, what is means symbolically and when she will use it.

8) Ruby

I think Ruby’s arc must still enter its climax and that she will shine towards the end of the series.

That said, I love her as a protagonist. She has an interesting set of skills that makes her competent, but not invincible. Moreover, I like how she is important and a participant of the plot, but also does not single-handedly solves everything by herself. She has to learn just like the others. For example, this volume she learns that trust is a risk and the importance of taking risks.

Moreover, she is actually very rarely the protagonist of a volume climax. Speaking of the most climatic volumes, Pyrrha is the protagonist of the climax in volume 3, Yang and Raven are in volume 5, Penny in volume 8.

The climax where she is the most in focus as a character is volume 6 and that is the volume where her eyes are explored and her personal arc is set up. That said, she still manages to be important and to contribute to the action in many ways.

I think her role is to inspire others and I guess that by making that speech this volume she is gonna grow into a symbol even more. If that happens it will be interesting to see what this means for her.

Apart from this, I am curious about her subplot with her mother and if it will tie to her choice to save Cinder with her eyes (since I think this is where we are going). She is going to be both Hood and the Huntsman who kills the Wolf and saves the Victim.

9) Nora and Ren

They are my favourite canon romance.

Their story starts with Ren getting focus (with Nora as a support) and is slowly shifting to Nora developing as her own person (with Ren as a support).

It fits for them to be one of the series main romances because as characters they both explore the concept of emotions and emotional intelligence.

I would say Nora is one of the most emotional intelligent characters in the cast. She is aware of her own feelings for Ren and tries to push their story forwars. She quickly picks up on Pyrrha’s crush and encourages her to make a move. Honestly, she sees herself as a dumb jock, but she is far from it. She is one of the wisest and most sensitive characters:

Nora: You shove people out so you don’t have to feel things that are hard!

Ren is ironically the one struggling with feelings, even if his semblance is all about emotions. In a sense, it is as if he develops it precisely because he struggles with this part of himself.

As a child he is easily overwhelmed by emotions like fear, which goes in the way of his actions. So, when he is under stress he deveops a magical power that lets him control this part of himself. However, as time goes on, it becomes more and more obvious that he should face his own feelings. And once he faces them:

Ren: No! No one is replaceable.

Then he becomes able to see both himself and others more clearly.

In general, both Ren and Nora must overcome their issues if they want to end up together.

Ren’s issue was his fear of being completely vulnerable and to open up with another person. Nora’s is her complete dependance on Ren and how she sees herself as only a part of him, while she is much more.

As a side note, Ren finally confessing his feelings for Nora only to be (temporally) rejected is a great note for his character arc. He was repressing his feelings out of fear, but now he has grown enough to take a risk (opening up, showing vulnerability). Well, this risk does not pay off immediatley. Nora asks him for some time and this is surely not how Ren would have hoped things to go. Still, he understands and supports her. He takes an emotional risk that does not pay off immediately, but he is able to live with it.

In terms of writing, I also think Raven is top notch. Moreover, Winter is a lowkey favourite as well.

I also like some minor characters like Ilia, whose background is built on a very interesting premise that fits her chameleon motif, and Whitley who manages to be helpful even if he is not a fighter. Velvet also has a cool weapon and semblance that tie with her photography motif.

I also love Yang, Blake and Jaune aka the other members of the main cast.

In terms of design, many of my favourites have also my favourite designs (Emerald, Weiss, Mercury, Cinder, Penny, Winter, Ruby, Ren and Ilia).

Other than them, I love Neo’s design, characterization and fighting style:

Finally, I also like Tock’s design and concept, even if she only appears once.

Thank you for this ask! I had fun with it!

[afoolforatook]

Love is Being Scared and Loving Anyway

Chapter two - Something to Count on

(it's only been....364 days.....ooooooops)

If you haven’t read Ch 1 - Step One

If you want to know more about the unique format of this series - Author's note

While it’s not absolutely necessary to have read my Atlas Ball fic One Step Forward (that is a prologue to the main series), Clover’s POV does reference it briefly.

This chapter has 3 versions (which is why it's posted as an individual work)

Clover’s pov is chapter 1 - Lowest trigger warning

Omniscient (Eye to Eye) is chapter 2 - Medium trigger warning

Qrow’s pov is chapter 3 - Highest trigger warning

If you are worried about triggers, I suggest reading in the order they are posted (and checking the extended list here if needed) and stopping at whatever version you feel comfortable with.

If you aren’t worried about triggers I suggest reading in this order :

Omni

Clover

Qrow

(same applies to Chapter one)

Extended Trigger Warning list under the cut

This is a pretty emotionally heavy fic, and one of the reasons I did the multiple versions was so that there could be options for anyone worried about triggers. Each version on AO3 has a short description of the trigger warnings relevant to that version, but I wanted to go into a bit more detail for anyone who wanted it, and didn’t want to put a wall of text in the chapter notes each time. So this is all the trigger notes for each version, as well as a more complete list of general tags for the chapter.

As always, if you feel I’ve missed something, or that there is a better tag for something I have covered, please let me know. :)

CH 2 - GENERALS TAGS

Characters - Qrow Branwen, Clover Ebi, Summer Rose

Relationships - Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, Past Qrow Branwen/Summer Rose

Content - Hurt/comfort, Vent/therapy fic, Fair Game, Hummingbird

Broad warnings - PTSD, Flashbacks, Past canonical character death, Nightmares, *Ch 12 mention, Ch 12 description, Clover death/wound mention, Ch 12 fix it, Ch 12 was Qrow’s nightmare*, Depression, Anxiety, Grief, Loss of partner, Past alcoholism mention, Alcoholism recovery, Dissociation, Trauma, Sensory processing disorder, Intrusive thoughts, Unconscious self, lack of self worth, blood mention, minor injury (Qrow’s)

*Even in the highest trigger level (Qrow’s pov) the ch12 references are relatively short, and conceptual/sensory. There is never any extended or graphic description of Ch12 events in any of the three pov’s

Individual versions

I’m only going to expand on the ones that are a bit loose or less straightforward, so things like ‘Racing thoughts’, are pretty straight forward so explaining would just be spoilers. These, and warnings already explained in earlier versions are listed at the bottom (marked with the version that explains them).

Clover

Blood mention - Pretty minimal in this version.

Dermatillomania/trichotillomania - Not technically/explicitly, but actions that could be triggering

Difficulty breathing - Due to anxiety, or perceived trouble breathing.

Difficulty speaking/Nonverbal - Qrow stuttering and struggling to control his speech

Dissociation - Here, mostly for Clover, for using intentional dissociation as a coping mechanism.

Hyper-awareness/Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)/ Sensory descriptions - Just general over sensitivity, awareness, inability to process during panicked state.

Hypercritical/ Lack of self worth - Overly high expectations of self, perfectionism.

Repressed emotions/needs - Clover continuing to ignore his own needs, some struggling with self worth.

Touch sensitivity/adverse - Qrow not wanting to be touched.

Unconscious self-harm - Felt like this was the best way to put this, but knew some people might not know exactly what I meant. This is regarding Qrow. He isn’t unconscious but rather, during a panic attack he unknowingly hurts himself, and it’s not at all serious.

(I say it this way because this is how I have described similar instances I have had - basically this is “Qrow hurt itself in its confusion” the tag)

Anxiety | Coping mechanisms | Dressing/touching wound | Fear of abandonment/rejection | Grief | Insecurity | Loss of partner | Minor injury (Qrow’s) | Panic attack | Racing thoughts

Omni

Altered perception of reality/ Flashbacks/ Delusions/ Dissociation/ PTSD - All of these really are for the same thing but I wanted to be overly cautious. None of them fit the instance perfectly, but it is generally Qrow misinterpreting things in his panicked state. Seeing, hearing things not as in actual hallucinations but brain still putting everything in the context of his panic/not being fully aware.

Blood mention - Still minor.

Ch 12 mention/ Clover injury/death mention - Vague/minor short mention, minimal visual/emotional description, not graphic.

Hypercritical/ Lack of self worth - Same as Clover’s but also Qrow’s own self hate and worth issues

Anxiety | Dermatillomania (see above in Clover) | Difficulty breathing (see above in Clover) | Difficulty speaking (see above in Clover) | Dissociation (see above in Clover) | Dressing/touching wound | Fear of abandonment/rejection | Grief | Intrusive thoughts | Loss of partner | Minor injury (Qrow’s) | Nonverbal episode (see above in Clover) | Panic attack | Racing thoughts | Repressed emotions/needs (see above in Clover) | Sensory descriptions/SPD (see above in Clover) | Touch sensitivity/adverse (see above in Clover)| Trichtotillomania (see above in Clover) | Tyrian mention (minor) | Unconscious self-harm (see above in Clover)

Qrow

Blood mention/ Body Horror - Very loose usage, mostly sensory descriptions and blood mentions, made worse by Qrow’s panic.

Ch 12 description/ Clover death/injury mention/ Description/Clover’s body (imagined) - Slightly more than in omniscient, longer mention, more visual/emotional description but still nothing outright graphic or extended.

Over awareness of body/ Sensory descriptions/ SPD/ Touch sensitivity - Same as in Omni but more intense.

Altered perception of reality (see above in Omni) | Anxiety | Difficulty breathing (see above in Clover) | Difficulty speaking (see above in Clover) | Dressing/touching wound | Fear of abandonment/rejection | Grief | Hypercritical (see above in Omni) | Intrusive thoughts | Lack of self worth (see above in Omni) | Loss of partner | Minor injury (Qrow’s) | Nonverbal episode (see above in Clover) | Panic attack | Paranoia | Racing thoughts | Repressed emotions/needs (see above in Clover) | Thinking you’re dying (panic) | Trichtotillomania (see above in Clover) | Unconscious self-harm (see above in Clover)

[elizabethemerald]

Dreams of Drowning: Chap 13

AO3

Please Reblog! 

It's finally time, for... The Arcadia Job.

“We understand Jimbo.” Toby waved from the ground. “Go do your hero thing. We’ll back you up if you need it. As soon as the world comes back into focus.”

Toby laid on his back in the middle of the street trying to catch his breath as Jim’s car turned the next corner out of sight. His arms felt like they were full of lead. Even lifting his head took more energy than he had. 

“How does Jim do this magic stuff all the time?” He asked to no one in particular. 

“He’s had his magic longer than either of us have.” Barbara said. 

She was also sitting on the ground not far from Toby, her legs splayed out in front of her. After a few deep breaths she tried to force herself to stand. She got to her feet a little unsteadily. 

“Is anyone injured? I can-whoa.” 

Barbara took one step while she was talking and would have fallen flat on her face had Zelda not dove to catch her. She carefully held Barbara for a moment before lifting her up into her arms in a bridal carry. 

“If anyone is hurt we can heal on our own. You need to rest before you do anything else.” Zelda said as she carried Barbara to the house. 

She stepped carefully over the wreckage of the living room to set her wife down at a chair in the dining room. Toby watched them go, then rose with a groan and dragged himself to the house. Strickler stepped up to him and threw an arm over his shoulder to help him to the door. He kept his phone pressed to his ear with his other hand. 

“Yes I know I haven’t called in forever, will you just listen?” Strickler was saying into the phone. “Angor I’ve got a problem I need your help with. What do you mean you’re not in the country any more? Cambodia! Why are in you in Cambodia?”

Toby zoned out of the conversation as he sat at the table next to Barbara. He rested his head on his arms, Jim’s mom seeming equally exhausted. Zelda was bustling around the kitchen, quickly getting some food for Toby and her wife. When a small plate of food and some tea was put in front of them, Barbara smiled up at her, exhaustion and love showing in every line of her face. 

“Thank god one of us can cook.” Barbara said. “Thank you my love.”

Toby took out his phone while Barbara slowly took a sip of her tea. He fiddled with the phone idly while he thought. Some how he would have to tell Darci about what happened. Tell her that he had magic. Also explain that the truck was probably totalled from Bular flipping it. As he was about to call her he froze. To his right Barbara gasped, her cup slipping from her limp fingers to shatter on the ground. 

“Something’s wrong.” He said. 

“Jim-” Barbara whispered. 

The two of them looked at each other. They could feel Jim’s fear and anger. Then a wave of pain and exhaustion washed over them. Zelda dashed to Barbara’s side as she groaned and steadied her as she wavered in her chair. Toby’s vision faded to a pinprick for a moment as he struggled to stay conscious. 

And then the scream. It tore through his mind, shutting down the entire world. He couldn’t hear it over the scream in his head, but he was screaming out loud as well, his scream tearing its way out of his throat. 

Time stood still. Toby could see through his own eyes. He could see the floor of the Lake-Nomura house where he had collapsed. He could feel Strickler’s arms on him keeping him from hitting his face on the floor. Brilliant orange fire roaring around him.  

He could see through Barbara’s eyes. The navy light that shone from her, was mixed with a neon green light. He could see through Zelda’s eyes, her skin shifting and changing like rocks sliding down a cliff, revealing different skin tones in flashes of green. They held each other while they both screamed. 

He could see through Darci’s eyes. Her magic moved like a whirling wind pulling her dreadlocks. She screamed by herself, alone, on the floor of the Domzalski house kitchen. Her hands were desperately wrapped around her belly, as her magic picked up to what seemed like a cyclone. 

Toby could see through Jim’s eyes. He could see his best friend and first love get pulled slowly toward a pool filled with some strange dark material. He recognized that it was somehow linked to the corrupted heartstone that Jim had been so afraid of. Toby realized he couldn’t sense Claire at all in that moment. 

Time suddenly returned to its regular pace. The fear disappeared like it was swallowed by the sun. Toby struggled to catch his breath. His throat hurt from the force of his scream. His hands were shaking as he grabbed Strickler’s arm for support. He could hear the ragged breathing of the Lake-Nomuras as they too recovered from what happened. Barbara was the first to speak. 

“Is Jim…?” Even though she didn’t finish her sentence the others knew what she was trying to ask. 

“I can’t sense Jim at all now.” Toby said. He stood, expecting to be exhausted, but instead he felt energized. He felt better than he had in years, probably since being a teenager. He flexed his arms and his flames roared to life around him. Strickler took an astonished step back. Barbara was shining with her navy light and beside her Zelda’s skin continued to shift and change like tectonic plates. Each shift was accompanied by a flash of green. 

“We have to go after Little Gynt.” Zelda said. Though her voice currently sounded like Coach Lawrence and her body looked like Strickler’s. Her voice followed her body, slowly slipping into Strickler’s posh British accent, while her body shifted again to look like Toby. “Whatever happened, whyever we can’t feel him, we need to try and rescue him.”

“And Claire.” Barbara said. She let the light fade from her eyes, though it still shown and moved under her skin. “Jim was willing to risk his life to save her, and whatever else we can’t let anyone else suffer these feelings, especially not someone we love.”

Toby snapped his fingers. 

“That reminds me! I have to call Darc!”

He looked to where his phone had fallen when he collapsed. He lifted his hand and orange flames whirled around the phone and brought it flying to his hand. However before he could even dial the phone announced an incoming call. He answered it quickly when he saw who it was. 

"Hey Darc-"

"Is something wrong with Jim?" Darci interrupted. Toby blanched at the tone in her voice. 

"No! There's nothing wrong with Jimbo!"

"Don't lie to me! I can tell when you're lying!" She hesitated and Toby could feel the wind pick up around her as if he was by her side. “I can tell when you’re lying.”

Toby took a deep breath. There was no point in playing around any more. 

“Ok, so Jim lost contact with Claire and went to go check on her. I awakened my magic powers about an hour ago when Bular came to try and kill us again. Now you and Zelda have awakened your powers as well. I can’t feel Jim at all, and we are going to have to go in and save him with only a half baked plan and marginal chance of success. So do you want to come over and kill me yourself before I get arrested?”

Darci was silent on the other end of the line for a few moments. 

“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Toby hung the phone, then stared at the screen for a moment. 

“Good news, bad news time. Darci is on her way, and her magic is awakened as well. On the other hand she didn’t clarify whether or not she was going to kill me when she arrived.”

Several minutes, one hurried explanation and multiple calls later, Darci was up to speed on what had happened and what their plan up to this point was. Toby thought it would take a bit of convincing to get the police to leave, so they weren’t left doing paper work for the rest of the night, but apparently along with being a human lie detector, Darci could now tell any lies she wanted and they were believed without question. Once she was caught up, and the authorities mislead about the gunfire that had been heard, they all left for 49B. 

“Alright, just to review everyone’s jobs one last time.” Strickler said as he drove. Zelda was next to him in the car, while Darci, Toby and Barbara were crammed together in the back. “I’ll be in the car running mission ops. I’ll keep you updated on everything from here. Zelda, you and Mrs. Domzalski are on infiltration. Get in, find out what’s become of Young Atlas and get out. Meanwhile Barbara and Mr. Domzalski will be targeting the generator room that Jim trashed. Apparently its tied to whatever equipment they used to keep Claire in captivity, and possibly now Jim as well. Once the generator is destroyed and we know Young Atlas’s whereabouts we, well, improvise to extract him and his lady fair.”

“Just what I like in a plan. A massive question mark right in the middle of the operation.” Zelda growled to herself, before her body shifted to take on the appearance of an industrial inspector. 

They pulled up to 49B far too soon. Toby cracked his knuckles nervously as he and Jim’s mom stepped out of the car. Barbara wore Zelda’s motorcycle helmet to hide her face. Toby wore a pair of welding goggles and a bandana from his truck. Zelda’s identity was already hidden by her transformation. The only one exposed was Darci. Toby glanced nervously at his already visibly pregnant wife. 

Toby and Zelda stared each other down. “Take care of her.” “Keep her safe.” They spoke over each other, both anxious about being separated from their respective wives. Barbara put her hand gently on Zelda’s chin for a soft second before they both turned away. Toby moved to follow Barbara and he felt a tickle of air flutter around him. He smiled and in an instant all four minds were connected. 

Toby could feel their fear flowing easily, fear of failure, fear of capture, fear of what had happened to Jim. He could also feel the hole left by Jim’s absence. There was a very clear spot where he belonged in the fabric of their minds. A place where his love should be. A place where he would have been able to steady them and encourage them to move forward. The hole ached in Toby’s mind. 

He and Dr Lake-Nomura quickly reached the rear door. He paused for a second, watching in his mind’s eye as Darci and Zelda approached the main entrance. The wind picked up around Darci each time she lied to the guard to get their way in. Then once they were out of sight of the first guard Zelda changed to look just like him as she escorted Darci. 

“Look at the card reader.”

Toby refocused on his current surroundings at Barbara’s words. The card reader that employees normally used to unlock the door had a small burn mark, like it had been shorted out. He tried the door itself and found it open. He pulled his hammer from his back and opened the door slowly. 

There was no one at all inside. They quickly ran down the hallway until they were outside the door to the mechanical room Jim had trashed earlier. He paused, and glanced through Darci’s vision. She and Zelda had just made it to the security office. Zelda had incapicated the guard inside and assumed his form. 

“TP, All the cameras for the facility are already off. They didn’t want anyone to know what they were doing today.” Darci’s voice slipped into his mind. 

“And it looks like all security officers were ordered to avoid the basement level.” Nomura’s thoughts followed Darci’s. “Classified experiment on Entity 001 and Entity 002. Per orders from Gunmar Black.”

“That must be Jim and Claire!” Toby cheered. “We’ll trash the generator then head down to get them out.” 

“Stay safe you too. It’s about to get dark.” Barbara thought. 

The door to the mechanical room was locked, which wasn’t too surprising considering what Jim had managed to do to it last time. However it was the work of a moment to push some of his fiery magic into the key hole and in a moment it was unlocked. He opened the door for Jim’s mom to step in. 

“Would you like to do the honors?” Toby asked, gesturing to the array of recently repaired machinery. 

Barbara hesitated, her thoughts whirling through their shared connection. She wanted to take a small revenge by destroying the equipment, but was terrified of someone getting hurt and wanted to reserve her magic for saving Jim if that was necessary. 

Toby nodded his understanding, putting a comforting hand on her arm. He double checked that Darci and Zelda were safe, they had locked the security office, Zelda sealing it by warping the concrete around the door frame, then he ignited his hammer. 

Orange flames whirled around the room and it only took a few precise hammer blows for the lights to fail again, but that wasn’t enough. He was getting his best friend out of this facility and no one would ever use it to hurt people again. Broken sheets of metal flew into the air as he hammered away. Each piece floated for a second before joining a growing sphere of metal that was forming in the center of the room. 

He focused, putting the full might of his gravity magic to the task. The sphere grew as more metal and debris were pulled to it, then compressed as he forced the material into one solid. Before too long he had a sphere just a touch taller than he was, all of solid metal. He strained, putting more and more magic into lifting the ball up to the ceiling. His arms were shaking, and sweat poured down his brow, only to evaporate in the heat of his magic. Finally when he couldn’t take the strain any more, he slammed the sphere straight down into the floor. 

The floor of the mechanical room gave way like wet paper before the concentrated weight of the sphere. A rumbling crash echoed through the room as it impacted, and passed through the floor below them. 

Toby didn’t hesitate to jump down into the pit he had created, Jim’s mom right behind him. He used his magic to slow their descent. They both landed safely in a hallway that was now completely filled with dust. They both dimmed their magic so they wouldn’t give themselves away prematurely. They froze at the sound of coughing ahead of them. 

“The entities must have outside contacts” A woman’s voice could be heard through the dust. “Get to the security booth! I’ll make sure they don’t break containment!”

They both recognized the voice of Dr. Le Fay, the woman who had imprisoned and tortured Claire and surely orchestrated Jim’s capture. Toby waved his hand in the air and the orange flames of his magic swept forward, settling the dust instantly. Barbara was already charging the woman in gold. 

“That’s my son you bitch!” Navy light shone from her fist as she punched Le Fay in the face. 

Gunmar turned with a growl, but before he could do more to react Toby had cocked his hammer back and threw it with all his might and magic. It hit him right in the chest and blasted him backwards through a wall. 

The rumbling that had started when Toby had dropped his meteor, suddenly picked up again, shaking the whole room. Barbara stumbled as a horrific growling filled the room. The noise seemed to go on and on without stopping, and it was coming from the room Gunmar had just been flung through. As they watched a massive hand burst through the ground. Another followed shortly after. 

Something emerged from the hole. It was massive, had stone skin and incredible horns that swept back from its head. It opened its mouth, revealing huge tusks, and roared. The roar was powerful enough to shatter glass. Toby and Barbara crouched their hands over their ears as the roar rumbled through their bodies. Finally the roar ended and they could both breath again. 

Toby stood, drawing the thing’s attention. Blue eyes glowed in the darkness, and blue flames licked out of the creature’s mouth and nostrils. 

“Jim? Is that you? Jimbo?” Toby called to it, a tremor in his voice. 

“Please Jim, we’re here to free you!” Barbara stood next to him, reaching out her hand for whatever this thing was. 

Instead of answering the creature, that towered over them both, growled, more flames pouring out of his mouth. Toby reacted on instinct, grabbing Barbara and pivoting with her so he took the brunt of the fire on his back, sheltering her. If this was Jim, what had they done to him? If this wasn’t, then they had no chance of saving him. 

[rwby-grimm-guardians]

RWBY Grimm Guardians Arc 3: Separated Union Ch 8

Side Red III: Stories

Welcome back to Separated Union! Here’s Side Red III and here, we learn more about Summer, Evergreen and Anna discuss about Oscar, and Summer and Anna do some catching up.

Also, THIS IS LONG YET AGAIN. Please take your time to read through it. If you need to, take a break from reading it and continue it later. Thank you.

As usual, please give constructive criticism and enjoy.

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

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(We got another segment with “horror” themed elements and themes that some viewers might find disturbing. So, if you see hhhhhhhhhhhh, then that means you are entering or exiting the horror section.)

-hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-

(At the Evernight Castle….)

Ruby blinked. She looked around her, noticing she was in an unfamiliar building. The only thing she knew was that she seemed to be in a...throne room… “Where...am I?” She asked, before finding a mirror. The teenager noticed that she was wearing an entirely different outfit and sporting a new haircut, similar to that of what her mother had now. Short and a bit wild. She was also wearing broken handcuffs. The young leader also noticed scars on her arms and legs, possibly from an escape attempt.

“Was I...a p-prisoner…?” She asked, startled and shocked by her situation. “W-Why would I be…?”

Unfortunately for Ruby, the biggest...and most terrifying surprise was yet to come… There was a thunderous crack and rumble in the air and floor, before yelping in shock as a giant white Grimm-skeletal-armored ARM slammed in the windowed-side of the room, shattering the glass and breaking the architecture. The teenager’s jaw dropped, her eyes widening as she saw that the giant limb belonged to a black dressed woman with ghostly white skin and hair, as well as Grimm-like eyes.

The woman, based on observation alone, seemed to be close to 200 feet.... She also had similar armor on her entire body and was also wielding a similarly styled giant claymore. The woman also seemed to have titanic Grimm-like wings. “What the FUCK…” Ruby whispered, only to have her attention drawn towards the woman’s opponent. Now, Ruby expected multiple things to fight this giant behemoth. Dozens of Atlas airships. A giant robot. EVEN the Gods of Light and Darkness were a possibility.

So when the teenager saw a towering Summer Rose, in the appearance Ruby remembered from childhood and photos, she quite predictably panicked. She instinctively attempted to run, knowing that she wasn’t to be able to defeat something like the armored woman ALONE. However, when she reached the door to the room, the teenager noticed it had been blocked off by rubble from the impact of the giant woman’s arm. “Ah, shit…” Ruby whispered, quickly looking around for an exit.

The air and floor shook violently again as Ruby turned to see her mother’s sabers clash with the giant claymore. Summer let out a furious and uncanny wolf-like growl, before her determined expression turned into one of shock and fear as she turned and spotted the teenager. Using the pause to her advantage, the armored woman grabbed her opponent by the hair and kneed her in the face, before punching her with a left hook. Summer staggered, collapsing to her knees as blood dripped from her nose.

The elder Rose then pulled herself to her feet as she grabbed the building for support, only to get blindsided and knocked back down by the armored woman slamming the hilt of the claymore across Summer’s face. This time, Ruby rushed over to her mother as the white cloaked woman groaned in pain, wiping the blood from her face. “MOM!” The teenager shouted, only for the girl’s mother to turn and groan out, “Run… Go…! You’re...not safe here...!”

“But what about y-...” Ruby’s pleading was cut off as a shadow loomed over the two...and she swore she felt her heart stop beating and her breathing cease. Slowly, she turned and looked up at the armored woman, her blood growing cold as the Grimm-like eyes glared and pierced through the Roses. “Run…now…!” Summer whispered, struggling to stand back up. The teenager felt her body shiver, “B-But…” “Please, Ruby... Go…!” Her mother pleaded, before shoving her daughter away.

With one last smile at her daughter, Summer turned to face the armored woman with a glare. Ruby got up to try and run to her mother again, only to witness the claymore being jammed into Summer’s heart in an instant, before blood gushed out of the wound grotesquely. The young leader felt tears stream down her face, screaming as her mother’s eyes closed and her body went limp… Summer was gone... and if Ruby didn’t get out of the room, she would be too…

Ruby immediately got to her feet and scrambled to the other end of the room, trying to find a way out. “Shitshitshit...come on…!” She whispered, searching for any windows or door she could go through. The teenager found none, before attempting to dig up as much rubble as she could to free the door. The young leader froze as the armored woman’s shadow loomed over her, preparing to bring her claymore down on the teenager.

As the blade came down, Ruby squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the inevitable impact as the room around her shook violently….

-hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-

(1:33 AM at Mistral International Clinic)

Ruby’s eyes shot open as she gasped for air, sitting up with a jolt. She immediately regarded that decision as she hissed and laid back down, feeling the stings from her injuries course through her. “What...the hell was that…?” She whispered. The teenager looked to her side, noticing Summer at the right side of the hospital bed, mumbling in her sleep. From what Ruby could tell, they seemed to be questions… Ruby put her hand on her mother’s shoulder, only to pull it back when the woman groaned.

Rubbing her eyes, Summer looked up at her daughter, raising an eyebrow in minor surprise. “Nightmare?” She asked, receiving a nod from the teenager. Ruby sighed, “A bit…” After a couple moments of silence, Summer walked to the left of the bed, before hopping onto the mattress. “We got some time, so how about we chat for a bit.” She suggested, laying down next to the teenager. “Might help.” Smiling, Ruby laid back down, snuggling up next to the elder Rose, asking, “Who goes first…?”

Summer shrugged, “That’s up to you, really. Though you seem to have a bit on your mind…” A few moments of silence came once more, before Ruby sighed, “I was...in a castle. I looked...a bit older and...much more different.” “I think I was a prisoner there.” She explained, before feeling her mother wrapping her arms around her protectively. Continuing, the teenager said, “There was an...armored Grimm-like woman. She was fighting YOU.” She then felt Summer freeze in place, drawing concern, “Mom?”

“ Merde …” The woman whispered. Ruby looked up at her, “Do you...know her or something…?” Sighing, Summer replied, “I...think? The woman you describe has...shown up in my nightmares. She...calls herself Salem.” “That one will have to wait until tomorrow.” She explained. Ruby nodded, before saying, “That’s it… At least, I think so. The ending happened too quickly.” The elder Rose KNEW that was a lie. However, she nodded anyway, before asking, “Are you going to be okay?”

A moment of silence passed. Then two. Then four, until Ruby mumbled, “I don’t know.” Figuring that talking about herself would help, Summer said, “My full name...is Summer Artemis Rose… I think…” “Remembered something from your childhood?” The teenager asked. Her mother nodded, “I...think. I...was dreaming where I was about your age. I was...in a snowy forest by a...castle.” Ruby raised an eyebrow, “Did you live near any of the old cities in Vale?” “I don’t know…” Summer said, “Maybe...?”

“A blonde woman with silver eyes called out to me…” She explained. “She was very concerned about me. Another woman, with hair similar to ours and a more athletic physique, tried to calm her.” The young leader nodded, “What did she say?” The elder Rose paused, attempting to remember the dream, before saying, “She said I was...naturally adventurous. Wild. A true wolf.” Summer paused again, before admitting, “I don’t remember the meaning of that last part at all.”

“Maybe it has to do with your semblance...or name…?” Ruby guessed. Her mother shrugged, “The name I could see having a connection. My semblance....” She paused once more, before sighing, “I don’t even remember what THAT is either… Even though I know I awakened it at an early age.” The teenager raised an eyebrow, “How early?” Summer tapped her chin, “Maybe...8 or 9 years old…? Give or take a couple months. That’s...about it, I think...”

“How did you...fall in love with Yang’s mom?” Ruby asked hesitantly, knowing that it was probably a sensitive topic. Summer hummed with a small smile, “When I first met Raven just before the opening speech at Beacon, she protected me from someone who tried to...score with me…” “Because of that, I developed a crush on her.” She explained. “Of course, those developed into legitimate feelings for her. Though she also had the same feelings.” The elder Rose smiled, “Even confessed and asked me out first too.”

Her daughter giggled, “Aw, that’s cute~.” “Isn’t it?” Summer chuckled. “She was a nervous wreck, but I managed to help her realize that I also had feelings for her.” She then sighed, “However, we...only reached a friends-with-benefits level…” She then explained, “I couldn’t bring myself to have a relationship with her that could’ve ended in breaking her heart…or losing her.” Ruby figured that her mother’s reasons for the decision were hidden in her days before Beacon.

“So, what about…?” She started, before Summer said, “I...don’t know how we ended up in a relationship with Tai…let alone maintain OUR relationship.” “We both loved him for the same reasons; that being his personality and morals.” She explained. The elder Rose’s hold on Ruby tightened a bit, saying, “I feel like I should stay with him, but I still love Raven with everything that I am… I feel like I should choose, but I...can’t.” Her voice sounded like she was ashamed of loving more than one person.

Of loving a blonde man with a heart that was bright as day who believed she was dead… And a current bandit leader with a dark, yet kind heart who both loved Summer enough to resurrect her...and was also forced to leave everything and everyone she loved. All in order to protect them. Summer loved them both...and yet, she felt like she needed to make a choice between them. ‘ Even though Raven still cares about me, does Tai?’ The elder Rose thought. ‘Hell, do EITHER of them still love me in THAT way?’

“Do you regret it?” Ruby asked, rubbing her mother’s arm. Her mother stayed silent for a few moments, before saying, “We all make decisions we regret for one reason or another.” “But loving Raven, loving Tai, and having you and Yang as my daughters...will NEVER be one of my regrets.” She explained. “I just…” Summer sighed, trying to collect her thoughts as she said, “I want you and Yang to be able to call Raven family...and possibly your Mom as well… I just want to put this family back together...”

“Well…” The young leader started. “I think you might be on the right track… Yang had...issues with her mother prior to you talking about her at Beacon.” The elder Rose nodded, “She seemed like it. She believed Raven abandoned her?” Ruby nodded, “Something like that. Not sure if Dad thinks so… But you helped Yang feel more positive about her mother.” “So, personally, I think you’re getting closer to that goal.” The teenager said.

Summer nodded, rubbing the ring Raven gave her on her finger as she said, “I’d like to hope so.” “Especially since I, and now you and Yang, know how far Raven would go to protect and save her loved ones.” She explained. Raven really was someone who’d go above and beyond to protect her family. Whether it’d be destroying or killing the threat, sacrificing her own happiness and life to protect her family’s, even going as far as to resurrect the dead. Summer knew that last one very personally.

Ruby nodded, now too tired to speak as she let out a yawn. The former STRQ leader chuckled, “That’s enough stories for now. Try to get some sleep, little gem.” The teenager didn’t need to be told twice as she fell asleep not long after Summer said that. Summer fought the urge to laugh, before kissing her daughter’s forehead. “ Beaux rêves , sweetie.” She whispered, before relaxing and closing her eyes as well. Though why did it feel like someone was eavesdropping on them?

Summer decided to worry about it tomorrow, since she didn’t sense any danger. So why did she feel a heavy weight in her chest?

…

She knew why. She wanted to be with Raven again...even though she loved Taiyang just as much. Summer wanted to hold Raven’s hand again. Hug her again. Kiss her again. Hell, she just wanted to see and talk to her again…

‘ Why do I feel like I have to choose? That I have to be with one person…? ’ Summer thought anxiously, before finally falling asleep with one last thought in her mind.

‘ It’s not fair… ’

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(8:45 AM)

The next morning, Anna found them both sleeping peacefully. They didn’t even budge when she walked in. Chuckling, she decided that Ruby’s check up could wait for now, before leaving the room and heading to the coffee room. There, she spotted Evergreen already pouring himself a cup. The former headmaster looked up with a smile, asking, “Would you like some?” The doctor nodded, “Please.” With that, the suited man poured another cup of coffee, before putting the coffee pot down and handing the cup to Anna.

“Thank you.” She said, sitting down. “May we talk, please?” “Sure.” The former headmaster said, sitting next to Anna. “If I may ask, is this about Oscar?” “You’re very observant, aren’t you?” The doctor asked. Evergreen nodded, “I have to be, as a headmaster and mentor…” The brunette attempted to cool her coffee with a chuckle, “I’m not sure if I’d go that far…” The former headmaster smirked, before sighing, “So, what is it about Oscar that we need to discuss?”

Anna sighed, “Well, he mentioned that you’re training him… Correct?” Evergreen sighed. He was afraid that this would be the topic of discussion. He wasn’t sure if he should tell the doctor about Ozma… “Only to protect himself…” The former headmaster said. It wasn’t a lie, as that WAS one of the reasons why he was training Oscar. Though it seemed the brunette knew that it wasn’t the full truth, as she said, “I’d believe you if I didn’t know Summer. She was also trained to protect herself…”

“Though your teachings with Oscar are not just to protect himself.” Anna said. “You’re not just training my son, are you?” Evergreen sighed. He was going to have to tell the doctor about Ozma in a way that wouldn’t make her hate the former headmaster. He tightened his grip on his cup, saying, “So… I fear that he might be…a target for manipulation, so to speak.” The doctor raised an eyebrow, “By whom?” “A woman from Remnant’s ancient history…” The white haired man said. “And maybe a man of the same origin.”

Evergreen sighed, “The former’s crazed and the latter is unable to make the right choice…regardless of his good intentions.” “You fear that one of them will get him killed. Regardless if it’s for the sake of a selfish desire…” The doctor realized. “Or a considerate belief. Right?” The former headmaster nodded, “Pretty much.” Anna nodded, “Then I suggest you continue.” Evergreen raised an eyebrow, “I...don’t think I follow. Are you…seriously asking me to continue training him?”

The doctor nodded, “Yes. Because he WILL have to protect himself one day. It’s better if he is trained sooner rather than later.” She then let out a heavy sigh. “He is also going to need someone to look up to.” She said. “And I don’t mean as a headmaster or huntsman…” The brunette looked at Evergreen in the eye, unfazed. “You promise me that you will be there for him in my stead. And protect him. Understand?”

The former headmaster realized that Anna was asking him to be something akin to a father-figure for Oscar. He nodded, “Yes, ma’am.” Anna looked at him for a few more moments, before sighing with a small smile, “Summer was right about you… You are different then how people portray you…” Evergreen smiled, “I’m flattered. Thank you.” He then sighed, “I wish more people did, honestly… Ironwood-.”

“Is a lying shit stain, as is Jacques… Some politicians and military officers of recent history are, sadly.” The doctor said, cutting the former headmaster off. “Don’t let a military officer or politician manipulate the way the average citizens see you as.” The white haired man looked at Anna, before nodding once more. “Understood, ma’am.” He said. The two then sat in a comfortable and supportive silence as they drank their cups of coffee. Both were a little shocked that they managed to connect in some form.

The two then turned to face a tired, but awake Summer, who just sat down next to the doctor. “Tired?” Evergreen asked, only to receive a grunt from the taller woman. He then looked at Anna, whispering, “I’ll give you two some privacy. You seem like you have a lot to discuss.” With that, he then left the room, the White Wolf looked at Anna, asking, “So, you have questions, right?” The doctor nodded with a smile, sipping her coffee again, “A few. I’m sure you’ll keep it short and to the point though.”

The former STRQ leader chuckled, “True. Let’s start with how I came back, right?” Anna nodded in agreement, giving Summer her full attention. Taking a breath, the taller woman explained, “So, I went on a mission that gave me false information. It was supposed to be a rescue mission, but it was an ambush made by Grimm Sapiens.” “Yes, they exist.” She said. “Raven unintentionally joined me. We killed the Grimm, only to get blindsided by another who was still alive.”

“She aimed for Raven, but I managed to take the blow and kill the Grimm.” Summer explained. “Died...and Raven used a ritual to bring me back as a Weapon Spirit.” Anna nodded, “And you...lost your memories?” The taller woman nodded, “Yeah. I was changed physically. Lost my memories. And was dormant for...11 years, if I recall correctly.” She then sighed, “I began regaining my memories during Ruby and Yang’s time at Beacon, but there are still a bit of gaps.”

“I barely remember anything before MY time at Beacon…” Summer said with a drained expression. The doctor put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, “You’ll get there. You’re already on a good path towards recovery.” The former STRQ leader looked at Anna, asking, “So. How about you?” The brunette took another sip of her coffee, “So, I assume Oscar has told you a few things.” The taller woman smiled tiredly, “Well, obviously you had him.” Anna chuckled, “Yes, I did.”

“I...assume he told you about his dad…” She said, her expression sad. Summer nodded, rubbing the doctor’s back, “I’m so sorry, Anna.” Anna sighed, “It’s...alright. I...think it was his time anyway…” The taller woman raised an eyebrow, queuing the brunette to say, “John had congenital heart disease… He went into surgery and...” The doctor sighed, “I wish I could’ve done...SOMETHING…” She felt Summer wrap her arms around the brunette. “I’m so sorry, Anna…” The taller woman whispered.

The doctor felt a couple tears run down her own face, before wiping them away. “Oscar was young at the time… He thinks his father was killed…” She whispered. “I don’t know how to tell him that John passed on from...something that CAN’T be killed…” Summer just held her old friend tighter as more tears ran down the doctor’s cheeks. Anna whispered as she buried her face into the taller woman’s shoulder, “Despite all that...it still hurts. Still empty. Still lonely. Cold. And fucking unfair…”

The two sat like that for a few minutes, before the doctor got a call. “I’m needed.” She said, gently breaking the hug. Summer placed her forehead on Anna’s, saying, “I’m here if you need to talk. Alright?” The brunette gave a tired smile, “I know. Thank you…” With that, she got up and headed out the door to help another patient. Summer then sat in the coffee room. Alone...and with a lot on her mind now. She felt a weight in her chest again, before getting up to find Qrow.

It didn’t even take her two minutes, as she found the former bandit at the nearby vending machine. “Qrow? May I borrow your scroll?” She asked. “Please?” The red caped man nodded, though puzzled as he handed it to his former leader, “What’s this about?” Summer bit her lip, before clenching her fists, “I need to make an important call.” No further words were said as she dialed a number and waited.

She had a feeling that Anna wasn’t able to say goodbye to John or cherish one more moment with him before he went into surgery. The taller woman heard regret in the doctor’s voice during her story. Summer was going to make sure that she would, at the very least, cherish whatever time she had now with her friends. Her loved ones. Her family. Within a few moments, a familiar voice rang in the taller woman’s ears.

“Qrow? Do you need something?” Taiyang asked on the other end. Summer sighed, “Tai… It’s me. I’m...not Crescent Rose either.” Both Qrow and the taller woman held their breath, before Summer heard Taiyang’s voice cracking, “Sum…?” The former STRQ leader felt her lips quiver into a smile as tears ran down her cheeks. She felt Qrow hug her as she said into the scroll, “Yeah. It’s me… I’m alive...again…” She sighed with a shuttered breath, before saying, “We...have a lot to talk about…”

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And there’s Side Red all finished! I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter and enjoyed the new lore on my AU Summer, as well as lore on Anna! And yeah, Summer FINALLY calls Tai and reveals her identity. Since I didn’t say it, the figure eavesdropping on Summer and Ruby is supposed to be Qrow.

I’ll explain why he did it next chapter.

And I’m all caught up here! Now I’ll be posting all chapters from here on on the same day. Next chapter will be a SPECIAL chapter, Side JNPR. And it WILL be focusing primarily on JNPR and Oscar. And an old friend will be returning.

[evoedbd]

Queer Advice

Summer -  Emily Collins is terrified that Dracula's Brides will need a virgin sacrifice, and she knows exactly who that person would be. Havenfalls finest are LESS than helpful with their brilliant plan to protect their virgin huntress. ((Meshed in Mac having a version of her MC, because she’s the only character who truly NEEDS her MC to reach her full potential.)) *******

“Alright. This is serious business. We’ve found out more of Dracula’s plan and i- SERIOUSLY?” Emily started out seriously, striding into the closed bowling alley with purpose. Once the door swung shut, however, the party lights revealed something that nearly made Emily blow a gasket. A cuddle pile! An honest to whatever god may exist cuddle pile! During what was meant to be a meeting to save lives. Not just A life, but multiple. On a potentially world dominating scale. This was serious business and yet four bodies remained tangled together; a series of semi naked limbs and plaid that became indistinguishable from each other.

 Mackenzie Hunt was the easiest to distinguish amidst the chaos. The Alpha was an absolute beast of a woman, in no uncertain terms. A copper skinned goddess standing at 5.11ft high, with muscles that appeared to be forged from literal copper by an artist of ancient times. Forest green eyes kept careful watch over the bowling alley, even though the gentle smile on her lips betrayed her affection for the others. Her duty as pack leader and town sheriff seemed to weigh her brows down ever so slightly, a fact emphasised by lighter hair against darker skin. Her short, choppy hair was ruffled, suggesting she had been running a little earlier. Or perhaps fingers had been running through her hair, like she now ran her own fingers through Aisha’s chocolate dust locks. Just as Atlas allegedly held the world, Mac supported the tangled individuals on her lap. Even then, she positioned herself so that she could break away and spring up at the first sign of trouble.

 Aisha Collins appeared content enough with her head resting on the arm of the couch. Aisha looked so similar to Emily one might mistake them for twins, with their high angled jaws and blazing blue eyes. Aisha had grown into her grace, keeping her head held a little higher than Emily, which made her features seem finer. Her sharp edges were softened, as if the world around her was constantly caressing them into tranquillity. The cargo pants she wore hid her lanky legs, even as they tangled with another pair of fine legs clad in designer jeans.

 Annabelle Shepard lay facing the other direction; legs tangled through Aisha’s. Her chest rose and fell with the gentle contentment of peaceful slumber. It was easy to forget how fierce the young woman could be when one looked at her soft face. From gentle curves to large, expressive eyes, Annabelle was disarming. When awake, her cheer was almost infectious, yet she held a certain bite to her. An unnameable quality that exposed the truth of the hardships she had faced. That made you respect her without even knowing her. Her lithe arms remained folded against her chest. As always, her arms were covered by long sleeves with buttoned cuffs. The few times Emily had seen Annabelle’s bare arms, she had been greeted with thick, unsightly scars. They were vicious and deep, as if she had been savagely attacked by a rabid animal.

 Damien Ryder took the weight of the cuddle pile. He supported Annabelle’s sleeping form, with his nose tucked into her hair. His arms wrapped around Anabelle, with one of his hands holding Aisha’s legs. The tussles of his signature jacket tickled over plaid and denim, offering something for Aisha to twist around her fingers in her half-conscious state. Looking at Damien, the most striking thing about him was the pain. It darkened his ginger ale brown eyes; dragged on his broody brows. Even in a relaxed setting, his squared jaw seemed hardened and his lips downturned. That along with his shoulder length fawn hair gave Emily the impressions of a western outlaw. All that was missing was the twig of barley for him to chew on.

 “Pack thing.” Aisha sleepily explained, waving her free hand in a dismissive manner. It seemed as if she believed that nobody would understand it, so she did not bother explaining. There was a gentle cheekiness to her tone; a happiness which Emily couldn’t bring herself to attack. It was with a long-suffering sigh she directed her attention towards the literal devil in the room.

 “You just want time off work.” JD accused, a smirk touching their lips as they leaned back against the bar. Jordan Davies was the epitome of teenage angst turned into professional anarchy. Lanky and long, JD was only a smidgen taller than Emily, yet appeared to be half the weight. Beneath the biker’s leather jacket and baggy red singlet, Emily was positive she’d find nothing but a ribcage. That leanness was matched in JD’s youthful face. Mischief twinkled in ember coloured eyes, as always. Nobody could look at JD’s troublemaker getup; numerous piercings, and flame orange hair without feeling as sinful as if they were sneaking out after curfew. Something about the Jersey Devil invited chaos and trouble of the best kind. The kind where you’d wake up hungover, married to a goat and wondering where your trousers were.

 “It would mean you’d have to actually do your job, Jordan.” Razi commented, an amused smile forming beneath his elegantly groomed facial hair. Razi was a picture, with only one stylish lock out of place. With his broad, defined features and luscious dark hair bound into ponytail, it was amazing he settled for a bowling alley in a backwater town. Mythical blue eyes shone; sapphires gleaming against his bronzed skin. As usual, the hunky Djinn wore a silken button up shirt, with the sleeves folded up to his elbows and dark suspenders. The half-popped buttons showed off his defined chest, along with the many hairs curling across his skin. When the light caught those hairs the right way, Razi appeared to glow, adding to his calm mystique. This, along with his dazzling smile, was truly what made Emily think the only way to describe Razi was “An exotic gentleman.” ... yet Razi’s sister called him the ugly duckling. If that was true, Emily doubted the world was ready for the Nassar family.

 “Come on, Razi. Hikari has that locked down.” Aisha called teasingly, her lips peeling into a troublemaker’s grin to match JD’s. Emily could only wince in sympathy as she looked over to the poor demon, who was struggling to rearrange the bowling balls without breaking them.

 Hikari barely passed for human, being half Fae and half, well, Satan. Her soft, youthful features were only hardened by the copious amount of eyeliner surrounding her neon pink eyes. Darkness was a theme for Hikari, with her full, blackened lips and tiny black horns which sprouted from her coloured hair. Her long hair was perhaps the most colourful thing about her, fading from pink to purple the lower one went from her scalp. Two tiny buns sat on top of her head, little spirals of colour that were almost disarming... almost. Nothing could disarm Hikari’s attitude or sharp tongue.

 “Look! This is serious! I was doing my homework on potential rituals which the Brides may preform to resurrect Dracula and it turns out that, aside from me, they may ne-“

 “Wait... don’t tell me. A virgin sacrifice.” Aisha snipped in, appearing awfully amused when she spoke. When the entire group remained silent, powerful blue eyes widened in absolute alarm.

 “Seriously? I thought that was bogus... talk about cliché.”

 “Well, Van tried to correct things apparently, but nobody took him very seriously. If he were around, Vanessa is convinced he’d have a lot to say about the current state of things.” Emily informed, her own brows pinching as she went to speak again.

 “Of all the things to get right, eh?” JD laughed, only to grow silent at the look on their friend’s face. For all JD’s chaos, they knew when someone was hurting, and they knew when their common brand of humour wasn’t going to add to the situation.

 “Not any virgin. The closer to the intended, the better. We already know I’m the intended, with that kidnapping proposal and me being the only human Collin’s woman in town. The virgin sacrifice, well I think I know who that is. I assume it can’t be any of you. Or Diego. I already know it can’t be Grace-“

 “Definitely not Grace. We can both confidently confirm that.” Aisha agreed, causing both her and Emily’s faces to flush furiously. Grace’s prom night had not ended with her date dropping her off, rather with Emily and Aisha chasing a teenage boy out of her room with a mixing spoon and a coffee mug. It was an uncomfortable enough moment that all the Collins women did their best to avoid discussing it, yet none of them could ever bleach it from mind. Aisha had seriously considered trying it once she became a wolf. Thankfully, Mac had convinced her not to test out her new powers. JD also refused to erase the memory, finding it too hilarious to see Emily and Aisha squirming.

 “I don’t get along with any other family members. Don’t have any friends outside of Havenfall. The only other person I am close to is Vanessa. What do I do? She’s already in the crosshairs, if they catch onto this...” Emily appeared to dissolve into panic, her brows contorting. All the way from her shoulders to her hands appeared to vibrate, blurring subtly due to her trembling.

 “If you don’t want her to be the virgin sacrifice, just have her lose it.” JD suggested rather casually before they took a swig of their drink. Emily could only gape, her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets as she did her best impression of a guppy fish. Mouth agape, lips flapping as she tried to find the words.

 “Wow. Just wow. Is sex literally the only solution you can offer, JD?” Emily demanded, almost on autopilot. She was in shock. The idea was ludicrous! Insane! Utterly bonkers! She couldn’t just go up and offer to sleep with Vanessa! The huntress was already so shy about most interactions, given that she had never even had friends, let alone a boyfriend or girlfriend. If a compliment left her utterly flustered, and proximity took her breath away, then what would suggesting making love do? No, it wouldn’t be making love. Vanessa couldn’t be in love with her. It’d be sex. A physical convenience. It’d rob the hopeless romantic Vanessa of her first experience with love if she agreed to it.

 “I’m just saying. A good shag would solve several problems for her.” JD pointed out, once more grinning like a cat who had gotten the cream via nefarious methods. Emily was ready to burst. To smack the demon over the head with a bowling ball. Better yet, ask Hikari to do it. The Scene Demon would probably love to dish out some payback to JD.

 “And who would you suggest we get her into bed with? You? Diego? Razi?” Emily demanded harshly, bringing a hand up to pinch at the of her nose. Her thumb rubbed over the small scar beneath her glasses, which bounced over her knuckles as Emily attempted to purge the images from her mind by rubbing at her eyes. Picturing Vanessa with JD did not bring images of love, only an image of the Huntress kicking a demon’s flaming backside out of her van. For Diego, she could only picture a holy sword shooting out the van to decapitate the vampire, or a stake plunged into his heart. Hardly romantic. Razi... might at least be allowed to speak, but he’d wind up with the door slammed in his face.

 Emily was so caught up in her musings that she missed the look shared between Aisha and Mac, yet she did not miss the words her cousin spoke.

 “Actually... you’re the best candidate.”

 “What? Why me?” She almost shrieked, feeling as if she’d been sucker punched in the gut. Was it because Vanessa was her bodyguard? Did they just assume that it’d be acceptable? Was this how boys felt when paired with their female friends? Pressure? A touch of violation? Great. First it was a girl and boy couldn’t be friends, now it was automatically that if two women were close, they had to be lesbians. Would the clichés and stereotypes ever truly die?

 “You’re the only single human woman here.” Mac pointed out. Ok. Emily could concede to that logic.

 “Huge flaw in that, guys. You’re all just assuming Vanessa is gay!” Emily stated the obvious. Instantly, she was met with various looks of amusement and pity, all of which made her brows feel heavy and her lips ache with the urge to tip into a scowl. Honestly, for a group of outcasts and Queers, their lack of consideration was astonishing.

 “Or kinky. Come on. The leather? The whip?” JD unhelpfully added, miming a whip with their left hand when Emily fixed her glare upon them. The human felt her brow twitch even as she opened her mouth to snap back at the overly satisfied demon. Before she could even utter a single sound, a snort from her cousin cut her off.

 “It’s true. No Straight woman would wear that much leather.” Aisha added, smoothing out the moment with logic.

 “That’s a value judgement!” Emily scolded on instinct. A rather calm, deadpan stare was the only response. It only got worse as Emily felt her cheeks flush a brilliant cherry tomato. A flush which she was convinced spread to her collar given her spike in body temperature. She wasn’t stupid enough to blame it on the room heating up, not when she was the only one suffering. Okay, so maybe Aisha had a point... slash the maybe. Emily had to concede. She’d never met a woman who kept her nails short and wore so much leather who wasn’t somewhat inclined towards women. Thinking back over their interactions, Emily remembered when she had raised the question about dating history. Boyfriends? Girlfriends? Vanessa had stated explicitly she had no time for girlfriends... ok. So that had to be a hint, right? Vanessa had been so flustered even saying it. As if she expected backlash. So maybe she was a little bit gay? A little. But that was only one half of the sexuality equation.

 “She stares at your ass when you walk away. Seriously, she wants a piece. The biggest piece. I can see the gay from across the bowling alley.” Hikari’s voice rung out, drawing Emily’s focus to the approaching Fae daughter of Satan. Hikari had a look of utter condescending disbelief on her face, as if she was utterly flabbergasted that Emily could be so stupid. The intensity of that look sure made Emily feel more foolish than she had ever felt in her entire life, even if she was unsure why.

 “She looks at you like you’re chocolate cake, but she forgot to bring a spoon to eat you with.” Razi continued Hikari’s logic in a much gentler fashion.

 “Are we forgetting the little issue my last partner had? It’s called a penis!” Emily strained the word “little” with her voice and her fingers, thumb and forefinger held apart to depict the size.

 Mark had started out a wonderful partner. A caring man who was decent looking. He had a good job, solid family and had been involved with his church. Early on, Emily had thought he could be the one. Or rather, the best she would ever land with her background. When she had brought him to the bowling alley to meet her friends, however, things had gone south. Fast. Mark had torched his pristine image within minutes by his relentless attack on JD’s lifestyle. Mark exposed a traditionalist streak; which Emily couldn’t overcome. At the time, she hadn’t understood why everyone found Mark’s shouts that JD was going to hell so funny. She’d been busy dumping the tool.

 “Ahha! So you admit it was small.” JD cheered, leaping on the chance to have another dig at Mark. The Demon’s grin was victorious; so full of malicious glee that Emily couldn’t even bring herself to defend her ex. Not that she would ever feel inclined to.

 “So not the point.” Emily groaned, dropping her face into her hands. Maybe if she pinched the bridge of her nose hard enough, she could repel the building shitstorm which was her massive headache.

 “Does it matter?” Hikari demanded in an almost aggressive manner. Shocked, Emily removed her hand and stared at the Fae daughter of Satan. The Faemon appeared impassioned, her neon pink eyes blazing with such intensity it could be compared to a blast of heat straight to Emily’s face. As if she’d stepped from an air-conditioned building into 116 degrees.

 “Like, seriously. Who cares if you’ve only been with men in the past, they ain’t the shit.” The Faemon continued, earning an almost amused snort from Emily. JD smirked, Razi coughed. An actual laugh came from Aisha, whilst the rumble of a chuckle echoed softly from Mac.

 Emily had always known she found both men and women attractive, yet no woman had ever fit the bill of Girlfriend material. Usually because they were straight. Men had always been easier when it came to dating, thus Emily had learned how to handle her foolish crushes and attraction to men. Women not so much. They still left her tongue tied, overwhelmed her thoughts when she found one she deemed attractive. She still couldn’t flirt in any capacity, and she absolutely could not contain her thirst.

 “If you actually connect with Vanessa, go for it. She’s cute, she’s single as fuck and into you. Are you seriously telling me a vagina is getting in the way?” The Fae continued, driving her words home with several firm pokes to Emily’s shoulder. The human could only blink. Hikari had an excellent point.

 Vanessa was gorgeous. There was no getting around that. All lithe muscle in a highly feminine frame. Dark hair spilling down her back; hair which seemed to absorb the light in a lilac black cascade. Breathtaking violet eyes, which shone with every single emotion Vanessa ever felt. Yes, Vanessa was physically stunning, yet there was more beauty to her than just her appearance.

 Vanessa was just so earnest. Everything about her was so sincere and true that is knocked Emily off her feet. Vanessa’s bravery; her capacity to make Emily believe in the impossible with her blistering passion and steadfast loyalty. It was inexplicable. Emily was forever awed by Vanessa as a Huntress, as well as a person. Whilst Vanessa’s heroism was undeniable, so was the woman beneath the legend. The tender concern in Vanessa’s eyes was almost blanketing; a warm comfort in the night. Vanessa’s genuine smiles transformed Emily’s heart into a prism of light, reflecting the warm glow of happiness throughout her entire chest. Watching Vanessa’s wonder as she was exposed to new things was addictive. To Emily, it felt like watching a whole new world birthed from nothingness. The gentle warmth and pride Emily was a constant undertone for her excitement to engage Vanessa. To learn more. Every scrap of information given by Vanessa was a treasure; a clue leading Emily deeper into a labyrinth. The journey alone was worth more than any treasure. Each moment a glistening point of connection that Emily felt content to exist in. Vanessa’s laughter... melodic. An angel’s song. The sound alone made the world fade away and infused Emily with a sense of unequalled joy. Such a pure, sincere sound as a happy Vanessa gave Emily’s heart wings.

 “They sell solutions for that.”

 And with Aisha’s comment, Emily’s joy came crashing down. She plummeted, feathers falling from her metaphoric wings with every flap of logic and confusion tangling around her. One moment there was an argument that just because Vanessa was a woman it didn’t mean Emily couldn’t like her, or even, lord forbid, LOVE her. Then, the next moment Aisha was starting to talk about changing Vanessa? It was in jest, clearly, yet that didn’t stop the violent impulse to shout surging within Emily’s veins. Vanessa was PERFECT the way she was. Why would Emily need a silicone attachment to try to deceive her when... Ok, so maybe she was completely into Vanessa. But with angels song and happiness, why would Emily want to ever leave? Or violate that trust?

 “I wouldn’t tolerate the townsfolk bothering you two, you have my word.” Mac chimed in, noticing the increasing furrow in Emily’s brow. That was enough to break Emily out of her outrage. Mackenzie was being sincere. Worrying for Emily as if she were one of the pack. That was enough to draw a soft smile to her lips, a gesture of gratitude to the Sheriff.

 “Seriously. Humans are so hung up on this shit.” Hikari huffed in annoyance, pausing to blow on her bubble-gum. The bubble grew for a second, then the pronounced pop rung through the silent air. A gunshot before Hikari delivered her perfected opinion on humanity.

 “Losers.”

 “Gods, are all supernaturals Queer?” Emily didn’t even realise her question had been out loud before she noticed the group pause.

 Razi appeared to have been stuck by lightning. His utter shock at the question was reflected by his parted lips when he went to speak. Instead, no words escaped, and his elegant jaw snapped shut. Hikari simply resumed blowing bubbles, evidently indifferent to the question. JD let forth a bark of surprised laughter, followed by a series of eyebrow wiggles at their shocked boss. The Djinn took it in good humour, simply sighing. Meanwhile, Mac and Aisha shared a knowing look; a secret amongst the pack perhaps. Annabelle appeared rather amused as she cast her sight on Damien, who coughed subtly when faced with the weight of his pack’s stare.

 “Most are open. Even the ones in typical relationships.” He strategically answered, his eyes lingering anywhere save the almost smug grins of his pack.

 “Its a small community, we don’t judge.” JD chipped in. If the devil was burdened by the focused attention of the room, they didn’t show it as they leaned against the bar. In response to the silence which followed, they gave an all too casual shrug. That irritating silence was broken by Emily, who let out an unspeakably pained groan as her head to fall forwards into her waiting hands with a rather pronounced thud.

 “This conversation has veered so far off track it’s stuck in the gutter.” Emily’s voice was muffled by the palms of her clammy hands, which were shielding her face. In another universe, the one flashing behind her closed eyes, this conversation had not taken such a turn. They had remained logical and avoided all embarrassment as they came up with the perfect plan to protect Vanessa. There wouldn’t be a literal pile of attractive Supernaturals snuggling on the beaten down old couch. No devilish devils or sexy, well dressed Djinns making jokes. This wouldn’t have dissolved into a discussion about sexuality... and Emily’s temples wouldn’t be throbbing in time with her marching band for a heart.

 “I get it, this topic is uncomfortable. That doesn’t change the fact it would reduce Vanessa’s eligibility to practically zero.”

 Whether Aisha was genuinely trying to help, or was teasing was uncertain. Her deep eyes held the gentle understanding of a mother; matured and nurturing with a underlying protectiveness that was enough to knock an elephant off track. However, the subtle tilt of her lips betrayed amusement. Restraint. The entire wolf pack seemed to somehow snuggle closer together.

 “Look, I’m not about to go up to my friend and be like Hey, so you’re a virgin. Let’s change that so Dracula won’t sacrifice you. That is so tacky, even a porn film would reject that script!” Emily practically exploded, turning to make endless gestures to emphasise her points. Hands and hips became a second language, crudely mimicking out points in a manner equally as explosive as her booming voice. Honestly, the AUDACITY of these people! If Emily had cared a little less or was just a little braver, she’d have already bitch slapped all of them.

 She paused, taking a moment to breathe. Deep breaths. In through her nose. Out through her mouth. Her thumb sought out the small scar across the bridge of her nose when she pinched it, almost as if the gesture could contain the storm about to explode from within her.

 “She deserves someone she wants to share her life with, not just some convenient exchange.” Emily concluded, pouring every ounce of sincerity into her words. It was true. Vanessa was a romantic, behind everything. For such a vulnerable thing as physical intimacy, Emily wanted Vanessa to have the dream. The perfect first time. Candles and romance with the person she was in love with. The person she wanted to spend eternity with. Emily couldn’t even imagine a world where she took that away from Vanessa. A world where duty claimed the last piece of Vanessa; the piece only protected by lack of time. It was Vanessa’s ONE true freedom. The only part of her life that the Order hadn’t dictated or infected. How could anybody ask Emily to take that away from Vanessa? How could they even THINK it?

 “It’s clear you care about her. That must count for something.” Mac’s gentle tones drew Emily out of her internal raging. When Emily turned her gaze to the Alpha Werewolf, she met kind forest green eyes. Mackenzie Hunt understood, at least enough to sympathise with the Collins girl. Mac bore the weight of her power so well that it was all too easy to forget Mac was only a couple of years older than Emily. As far as werewolves went, Mackenzie Hunt was a young Alpha. Barely more than a pup. Yet, she saw Emily’s struggle. Even without a word of it, she offered her full support. Her approval. Even without being a wolf, Emily could feel the power in it. The warmth that emanated from the Alpha’s care.

 “Yeah. A better time.” JD added in a remarkably sincere tone. For a split second, Emily almost believed it. Then, the devil’s lips curled. Moment ruined.

 “I’m not listening. La La La.” Emily announced, lifting her hands in a weak effort to cover her ears. Still, she couldn’t help letting her mind wander. What if they didn’t have a choice? Would Vanessa be willing to accept her? Could she even live up to even a single dream or fantasy Vanessa had? Vanessa’s lavender tinged grey eyes were so expressive. Would those purples tinges darken to black with lust? Could Emily hold her gaze, or would Vanessa’s gaze devour her soul? How would Vanessa’s soft skin feel beneath her lips? Would hardened abs twitch underneath loving a kiss? Would Vanessa even want that? Could she have the patience to allow Emily to truly make her feel divine with gentle explorations and sincerely sweetened words? Or would she be inclined to take the reins? How would those battle forged hands explore if given freedom to do so? What would she want? Maybe the whip...

 “You’re blushing.” Aisha’s amused tones dragged Emily’s mind from such a salacious place. She had to get out of the bowling alley, before things became even more awkward. Before she started imagining things more explicitly. She lowered her hand to her pocket, wiping clammy palms against the coarse material before she pulled out her phone. A lifeline to save her from humiliation.

 “Oh look, I got a text! Gotta go!” She stumbled over her blatant lie in a rush to get the words out. Her phone had not chimed. Without waiting, she broke into a brisk walk towards the door.

 “To ensure Helsing’s safety!” Came a quip from behind her. Emily didn’t hesitate in raising her middle finger over her shoulder, shouting out to the chorus of laughter chasing her into the streets.

 “LA. LA. FUCKING. LA.”

[littlemisssquiggles]

Hello, Miss Squiggles. I just wanted to say that I've really enjoyed your RWBY Squiggle Scripts. You mentioned that you were planning to do two scripts of what happened after the team's departure, right? If so, then I might have an idea on how Ruby would confront Oscar after his out burst. Oscar could plan on leaving Atlas to find out how to stop Salem all on his own, but Ruby does whatever she could to stop him. It a little similar to Axel's confrontation with Xion when she tried to leave XIII.

HelloBlack.Correction fam,I was planning on doing two scripts as a continuation tothis script righthere based on a prompt by @miggy97

Andat the time, I was excited to write this idea, so much so that I had planned onexpanding on it for two more parts. However, that changed once I got wind ofsome negativity involving my script over on RWBY Reddit and I readthe comments on there. They weren’t nice.

Iwas really proud of Script #012 becauseit was my first time writing a script that featured the full JNR_QROWMBY. Itwas a challenge but I was pleased that I got it done. And even more pleasedwhen I saw how much folks liked it here on Tumblr. Thank you so much to theTumblr RWBY fans who liked that script. Your comments were really nice andhelped inspired this second part. However I’d be lying if I said the negativitymy last script received over on Reddit didn’t kill my enthusiasm to continueworking on the scripts I promised. I struggled to finish this second scriptbecause I was concerned by how folks would take it. I went back and forth onideas and dialogue. I panicked over certain lines because I was nervous aboutit being ‘toooverdramatic’ or whatnot. I’ve saidbefore that I create these squiggle scripts for fun. This kind of feeling isnot fun.

Allthat culminated in a script concept that I no longer have the drive to finish. Becauseof this, I decided to scrap the third script all together. But I’m going to atleast share what I had for the second part since you brought it up Black. Thisdoesn’t mean I won’t write other RWBY Squiggle Scripts. I will if I feel up toit. It’s just unfortunate that I don’t feel like working on this particularscript idea anymore so sorry if that disappoints anyone or you Black.

I’mgoing to use this script to answer your question since ironically you and Iwere almost on the same page on how I went about this second script. Almost.  

 RWBY SquiggleScript #017: As You Go

“…The worldI know can hate you,The world Iknow can break you,But as you go, remember I’m by your side

The lovewithin you can heal these tears that burn,And throughit all remember, I’m by your sideAs you go…”

Picture it.  Ruby has had a long day. She just spent the past couple of hours concerned forher friends. For the second time since Argus, the team had fallen apart and fora second time, Ruby was at a loss on what to do. Despite Nora and Yang’smessages assuring her that things were fine, at least on their side with Jauneand Weiss, Ruby dreamed her ventures was just as successful.

Ruby must’ve walked the whole block of Atlassearching for Oscar. He was nowhere to be found. Though she revisited everyplace in Atlas she and her comrades had toured during their stay within thekingdom, asked everyone she thought might know his whereabouts, she couldn’tfind him and for a second time since Argus, Ruby panicked for him.

She didn’t want to lose Oscar. Not again. Notever. She hardly doubt that he left to go shopping this time. No shopping spreein Atlas was going to dispel the terse overwrought note Oscar left the groupon. She had never seen the former farm boy so mad before; not even back at thedojo in Mistral.

This revelation only served to worsen Ruby’sanxiety at finding her friend. So you could imagine her honest surprise whenshe went up to the rooftop of the resident apartment the heroes were stationedtemporarily only to find Oscar up there too.

Ruby had only gone up there as a means ofclearing her head before returning to her search. Who would have thought thiswas where she would discover her missing friend. There was Oscar. His smallboyish form leant against the metal railing, separating him from the edge ofthe building. Hazel eyes, plagued with melancholy, gazed longingly into thedistance as the cold evening air caressed his dark brown hair which appeared fluffier than usual.Probably due to the amount of times Oscar ran his fingers through them insilent frustration as he did right before Ruby’s eyes.

Though Ruby’s face melted in unadulterated relief at the sight ofher friend, Oscar’s greeting towards her didn’t mimic the same compassion.Anger and annoyance, retained from that afternoon’s earlier events stillreflected heavily on his face and lingered in his voice as he sharply turnedtoward Ruby and met her gaze with a scowl.

Oscar: *snappily*If you’ve come up here to try and convince me to forgive your sister,save your breathe.

Ruby: *a mixture of relief and surprise* You’re… here?

Oscar: *passively*You sound surprised. Did I disappoint you?

Ruby: No, of course not!I’m just—I’m just really relieved thatyou’re still here.

Oscar scoffs at this; returning his gaze to theview of Atlas.

Oscar: *passively* Yeah well…don’t get used to it. Tomorrow I’m going to talk to GeneralIronwood. Ask if he’d be okay with probably arranging an airship to take mehome.

Ruby: *incredulously* Ta—Take you…home? Back to Mistral! Why—Why would you dothat?

Oscar: *passively*Well it is where I’m from, right?

He trains his gaze back on Ruby who is still tryingto process the absurdity of his last answer. Her reaction only makes Oscar sneerfurther.

Oscar: You know I had somany chances to leave. I could’ve walked away after the first time Ozpinhijacked my body to fight off Hazel. I could’ve walked away after Ozpin left.No matter where I turn, it just feels like fate keeps telling me that Ishouldn’t be here. That I should’ve never left the farm. I left my family for this! My whole life—my home and for what? To be threatened, blamed for mistakes I nevermade, nearly eaten alive by Grimm on multiple occasions, punched in the face, slammed against the wall, yelled at and of course,let’s not forget the biggest kicker, lied to. Deceived by people who made me believe I was fighting for the rightreasons.

Ruby: But…you are.Oscar, you left home because you wanted to be more than just a farmhand. Youwanted to do more. Be more. Do what you canto help protect humanity and save the world. Do what you can to help the teambecause you’re kind and brave.

Ruby tries toreach for Oscar’s hand but for a second time, he wrenches it out of her reachas he pushes past her roughly.

Oscar: *crossly*Why bother fighting withpeople who don’t care about me?

Ruby: That’s not true.I—we care about youOscar.

Oscar: No you only care about half of me. Because I’m the half that never lied to you, right? At least, notyet.

Ruby: …You don’t mean that.

Oscar: *crossly* Yes Ido!

Ruby: …Oscar…you can’t go. You can’t just…leave!

Oscar: I’m sorry Ms. Rose but that’s not your decision to make.

Ruby: *taken aback*… Ms. Rose?

Oscar: *impassively* Yeah. Why bother with familiarities anymore, right?

Ruby: *imploringly* Oscar…please canwe just…talk. Talk to me.

Oscar: *exploding* There is nothing for us totalk about! I meant what I said when I said I was done! I’m officially done! Ican’t take any more of this! I don’t want to be here! I want to be home with myfamily. My family who loves me and who I can trust. Who would never lie to meever.

Ruby: …Oscar—

Oscar: That’s why I’m up here. To get one last look atthe city. You only get to see Atlas once so might as well soak up as much ofthe view as I can before I—

Ruby: *sharply* NO!

Oscar: What?

Ruby: You’re NOT leaving! You can’t leave!

The coldness inhis eyes was what broke Ruby’s heart the most.

Oscar: *sternly* Like I said, that’s not your decision to make.

Now it was Ruby’s turn to get agitated.

Ruby: Oscar…we have come so far. We’re finally inAtlas. We’re finally safe in Atlas.The Relics are safe. We’re safe. You’re safe. If you go back to Mistral now, whatdo you think is going to happen? You think things are going to be the same? Youthink you could just waltz right back home and return to your normal old farmboy life just like that? As if the last few months never happened?

Oscar: *nonchalantly* Andwhat’s so wrong about that? Forgetting everything.

Ruby: *testily; voice rising* Because you can’t! Salem’s forces know who you are. Chancesare Hazel, Emerald and Mercury already returned to Salem and told her thatyou’re Ozpin. What if she sends someone to attack you? What if she sends theGrimm to attack you?  To kidnap you?

Ruby closes her eyes as memories of the longjourney to Mistral resurfaced and flooded her vision; rewriting her face withnothing but guilt.

Ruby:  *regrettably* …I almost got Jaune, Nora and Ren killed becauseSalem made me her target after what I did to Cinder. Uncle Qrowalmost died protecting me because Salem sent one of her goonsafter me. If you go home now, what would you do if she came after you forOzpin?

Oscar: *tensing up* …Stop.

Ruby: *pressing* Whatwould you do if she went after your family? Ozpin is gone andyou’re still barely a huntsman! You can’t even handle one Grimm on yourown; how would you defend yourself against Salem!

Oscar: *voice rising*…I said stop!

Ruby: *shouting* Howwould you feel if your aunt got hurt trying to protect you or worse, killedbecause of you!

Oscar: *shouting* Stopit!

That did it. Oscar glared; face red in anger. Hisfrustration and annoyance was only rivalled by Ruby’s who stood her ground withher arms crossed.

Ruby: No! You need to hearthis!

Oscar: No I don’t! Why don’t you go lecture your liar of a sister! Save your precious words of wisdom forher!

Ruby: This isn’t about Yang. This is about you.You’re being unreasonable!

Oscar: I am being reasonable! Going back home is the mostreasonable thing I’ve thought of in months. I should’ve done that a long timeago. At least then I could spent whatever time I have left with someone who reallycares about me. At least then I wouldn’t have to listen to you prattle on likeyou understand how I feel! You don’t!

Ruby: *taken aback*…I…I couldn’t understand how youfeel?

Oscar: No you don’t and stop pretending like you do! Howcould you possibly understand how I feel. Any of it? Do you have two souls? Doyou have lifetimes of mistakes to fix and duties to uphold?

No you don’t! That’s all me! Me alone!

Ruby: …Oscar I——

Oscar: You’re constantly surrounded by your friends andyour family. You have your sister, your uncle, your teammates, your friends.You even have Maria—a seasoned mentor who can teach you everything aboutbecoming a Silver Eyed Warrior and provide you with all the answers you need.

But me, what do I have, huh? I have no team.No family here. Sure, Maria might like me but I can’t ask heranything about who or what I’m going tobecome. My mentor—the one who’s supposed to give me all the answers is gone!

Oscar’s fist clenched and it is at this moment hiseyes met Ruby’s, revealing the puddle of tears that had been welding in hiseyes the moment his anger dropped and his true fears started to surface. It ishere where Ruby saw Oscar’s sadness. His pain and it hurt.

Oscar: I don’t want to hurt my aunt. I don’t want herkilled because of me. That’s the last thing I want. But I don’t want to be hereeither. At least at home, I don’t have to be this alone anymore. I don’t wantto feel alone anymore. So if I want to go then please let me go. At least homewill be better than staying here feeling like this!

I’m not even sure I have any real friends. You might say youlike me now but is this really friendship or is it just tolerance? I have no bonds withanyone. I have no one.

And when I change, how much will you tolerate me then, huh? I am alone,Ruby.

*voice cracking* I am…alone in all of this.

Ruby: …Oscar, listen to me. I’m…

Rubystops when she noticed something off about Oscar.He was no longer making eye contact with her. Instead he just stood with hishand on his chest, face scrunched up as he breathed heavily. A little too heavily.

 Ruby: Oscar?

Noresponse. Only heavier breathing. Immediately Ruby inched closer to Oscar. Heseemed a bit unsettled from Ruby’s point of view.

Ruby:  *concernedly* Oscar?

OnOscar’s end, things were disorienting. Oddly enough it wasn’t an unexperiencedfeeling. Oscar has felt anxious before. Onthe contrary often times he would praise himself with how well he was able tohold himself together even in the most hair-raising ofmoments. 

But thisfeeling. This particular feeling was a darkness he hadn’t felt in along time. But now, as his heart thundered in his chest and the world aroundhim spiralled downward as if the very ground underneath him would open up andswallow him whole, he could feel this familiar darkness slinking its darktendrils up his body dragging him underneath its depths. It was suffocating.Suddenly he forgot how to breathe and then…he couldn’t.

Ruby: Oscar, tell me what’s wrong.

Oscar: *hyperventilating*…Crap! I…I think …

Oscarinhales sharply.

Oscar: *breathlessly* I’m having…a panicattack…

Oscarstaggered a bit and instinctively, Ruby placed her hand on his shoulder tosteady him.

Ruby: *nervous but trying to remain calm* Easythere. Okay. S–Sit down? Do you want to sit down or…Oscar doesn’t answer. This time his heavy breathing didn’t permit him to speakso the most he could muster was a frantic nod. Gently, Ruby helped Oscar to sitdown on the ground before seating herself right next to him, eyeing himclosely.

You would thinkthat being an experienced huntress who faced more than her fair share ofchallenges; Ruby would be better equipped to handle any scenario thrown at her.

Unfortunately the does and don’ts of what to do when someone is having a panicattack in front of you was not a lesson Ruby recalled being taught duringBeacon’s curriculum. 

She felt out of her element, unsure of what would be thebest course of action to take next. All she knew was that she had to dosomething for Oscar’s sake. Next to her, Oscar’s breathing hastened; both ofhis hands resting firmly in front of him as he tried his best to catch hisbreath but to no avail.

Ruby: What….What do you need? What can I do to help? Anything.

With a trembling hand, Oscar taps his back.

Ruby: …Your back? You…want me to rub your back?

Oscar nods affirmatively and Ruby complies as shegently starts rubbing Oscar’s back. Back on Oscar’s end, the storm inside hismind kept raging on. But rather than allow it to further consume him, insteadhe did his best to concentrate his focus on the movement of Ruby’s hand as shedrew circles on his back. 

With each motion she made, Oscar attempted to matchhis breathing to the pattern. Eventually it started to work a little and hisbreathing eased to even pants.

Ruby: *hesitantly* Do you…wantme to call someone? Maria? Qrow? Jaune? Weiss? Nora? Ya—I can go call someonefor help.

Oscar shakes his head.

Oscar: *through faint breathes* Don’t leave!

Oscar looks Ruby dead in the face.

Oscar: *gasping*…Please…don’t leave!

Ruby gazed into Oscar’s eyes deeply before herexpression hardened with a look, determined but soft at the same time.

Ruby: Okay I won’t. I won’tleave your side, I promise.

To prove her point, Ruby rested her free hand on topof Oscar’s, rubbing her thumb against his knuckles soothingly.

Ruby: *kindly* Take allthe time you need. I’ll stay with you till you catch your breath. Everything isgoing to be okay, Oscar. I’m here for you.

Ruby then beams, bright and beautiful. Between her comfortinghands and her radiant smile, Oscar felt his once frantic heart finally put atease; like sunshine peeking through the heavens after a tempest. 

Though hestill needed time to regain his composure against the tides, if there was onething Oscar was certain of, it was that the storm was beginning to billow over withour freckled farm boy finally resurfacing from the darkness he’d once fellunder and into the caress of the ruby sunset awaiting him on the other side.

15 minutes. Thatwas how long it took for everything to settle back to normal. Ruby glanced overat Oscar. Though his initial panic had subsided, he hadn’t uttered another wordto her since it passed. In spite of this, Ruby sat patiently next to him, one handstand still rubbing his back while the other held his, every once in a while givingit a small assuring squeeze. Eventually Oscar finally regains his composureenough to speak. With one heavy sigh, he looks up at Ruby, expression solemn.

Oscar: Hey.

Ruby: Hey.*comfortingly* How are you feeling?

Oscar: Better but…embarrassed. *shakes head miserably* I’m sorry about before.

Ruby: Don’t be. You don’t have to apologize for that.I’m just happy you’re ok.

Oscar: *sadly* … But I’m not.

Ruby frowns.

Ruby: Was… that your first time having a panic attack?

Oscar: …No. I…

Oscar pauses momentarily to close his eyes,frowning as the memories of an unknown part of his childhood flooded his mind.A vision of a bloodied figure. A child—a young boy hunchedover bawling his eyes out; his screams as thunderous as the lighting thatroared through the stormy skies outside a broken door. And eyes— red and burning like embers that loomed in the background slowlyeclipsing said child—drowning him in a sea of black until his screams werenothing but a pained whimper. Eventually Oscar brushes these thoughts away withhitched breath.

Oscar: *solemnly* I…used to have them. After…

Oscar paused again. The memories attempting tosnake their way back into his thoughts but, again he rejects them firmly.

Oscar: …I just used to have them. Haven’t had one in ayear.

Oscar makes a face; an expression full of deep regretthat makes Ruby’s heart sink.

Oscar: *awkwardly*… I’m sorry.

Ruby: *reassuringly* No—it’s okay.

Ruby takes both of Oscar’s hands in consolation.

Ruby:Everything’s fine, Oscar.

Rubyflashes Oscar her warmest, more encouraging smile in hopes of gettingone in return. But much to Ruby’s disappointment, Oscar shakes his head glumly.

Oscar: *sadly* NoRuby, stop. Stop saying everything is fine. It’s not! We just spent the last fewminutes screaming at each other. You just saw me have a panic attack right in front of you. This isn’t fine! So… can you pleasejust…stop saying it’s fine.

Ruby opens hermouth to retort but her answer gets caught in her throat at the depressed lookon Oscar’s face. Instead she sighs, patting Oscar’s hand. 

Ruby:*honestly*…Okay. It’s…not fine.Everything’s…a mess, isn’t it?

Oscar: *solemnly*…Yeah.

Silence fallsbetween them and another few beats pass before Oscar speaks again.

Oscar: … I’msorry I lashed out at you earlier. Those things I said, I—that’s wasn’t…me.

Ruby: Oscarit’s….*pauses torethink her response* …Me too. I’m sorry too.

Oscarsighs.

Ruby: *cautiously* Areyou… really thinking of leaving? Going back to Mistral?

Oscar: I—

Oscar runs his fingers through his hair with a longsigh of exasperation.

Oscar:…No. I just… wanted to be mad.

Ruby: What?

Oscar: *frustrated* I just wanted to be mad,okay. I wanted to be mad and allowed to be madabout everything for once!

Ruby: *cautious but supportive* Oscar… you’re allowedto be upset. You can be mad. You can be mad all you want. Youcan scream. You can yell. You can cry. As much as you want. As much as you need.

Ruby gently cups Oscar’s face, making sure that shewas looking directly into his eyes to prove that she meant her next words.

Ruby: You don’t need anyone’s permission to be yourself. Not mine, not Ozpin’s,not Ironwood’s, not anyone.  You don’thave to be anyone else but you.

Oscar: You’re…your ownperson.

Ruby: Hmm?

Oscar: That’s what you saidto me that time. Back when Ozpin first left. You told me that I’m still my ownperson.

Ruby:  *gently strokesOscar’s cheeks reassuringly* Becauseyou are.

Oscar: *gloomily*Am Ithough? Am I really?Because it hasn’t felt like that at all in… months.

Oscargets up and walks away from Ruby. He returned to the railing overlooking theAtlesian cityscape, wind blowing through his hair. Ruby got up too, watchingOscar’s back from a distance. She wanted to move closer but opted for standing ata respectable foot away from Oscar.

Oscar: *solemnly*…Suddenly I feel like my emotions aren’tmy own anymore. That I have to constantly put someone else’s feelings above myown and think like them. All the time. Like I’m supposed to act like someoneelse. Walk like someone else. Talk like someone else. Fight like someone else.Accept the responsibilities, memories and mistakes of someone else. Keepsecrets like someone else. React to problems like someone else. Behave entirelylike someone else and completely forget what’s it like to be… me.Because…how long am I going to be me? How do I know I’m not going to wake uptomorrow and just…be someone else I don’t even recognize? Will I even be able totell the difference? Will I remember…at all? Who I am? Who I was? I…

Ruby: *concerned but cautious* Oscar…

Rubystruggles to find the right question.

Ruby: …Oscar, are you okay? Really okay?With everything?

Finally,Oscar turns around to meet Ruby’s gaze again, face full of tears.

Oscar: *voice breaking* I… don’t know anymore. Idon’t know anything anymore. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore. AllI know now is that… I’m scared. And angry and frustrated and confused! But worse of all, I feel…alone.  I’m…alone.

Oscarlooks down at his hands which were shaking.

Oscar: Jinn said the God ofLight created the reincarnation cycle so that Ozma would never have to bealone. Never have to fight alone. Never have to feel like he had the weight ofthe world only on his shoulders because he shared the responsibility withoutsomeone else. A likeminded soul, he said. So then why do I feel like this? We’re supposed to be two minds. We’re supposed to do this together.How did I end up being the only one trying to fix all of his problems bymyself? How did I end up having to mend his broken bonds by myself? I’m just a kid! I never wanted any of this. I never asked for any ofthis. It’s not fair!

Ruby: Oscar…

Oscar: *voice cracking; tears of frustrationsoaking his cheeks* Ifthis cycle is meant for us never having to gothrough anything alone then how did I still end up alone? Ozpin is gone and Idon’t know if he’ll ever come back again. And even if he does, what would itmatter? No one trusts him! No one wants him here. Everyone turned their backson him and I can’t fix that. Nothing I do can fix that!

Ruby: Oscar…

Oscar: … And when I change,everyone’s going to turn their backs on me too! *gaze turns to Ruby’s slowly* Even you.

FinallyRuby speaks up.

Ruby: Oscar, that’s not true.You have me.I’m on your side.

In an instant, Ruby was before Oscar, takinghis hands again with a smile.

Ruby: I’m here for you.

Oscar: *shakes head roughly* Yeah but…why? Youknow I don’t get you at all. Why do you care so much about me? I’ve been tryingto wrap my mind around why you care somuch. At first I thought maybe it’s because of Ozpin. Then after Ozpin left, Ifigured it’s because you pitied me. You barely know anything about me so…that’swhat it is, right? It’s pity.

Ruby: … It’s not pity, Ijust….

Rubytakes a step back and looks Oscar dead in the face.

Ruby: …You’re right. We’vebeen together for only a few months and there’s still a lot about you I don’tknow and fully understand. But the thing is that I want toknow. I care about you Oscar because I consider you a friend. Someone I woulddo anything for and anything to protect. That’s who you are to me.

Backin Mistral, when we met it didn’t matter to me that you and Ozpin shared a body. I mean I was definitely surprised—it’s not every day youmeet someone with two souls with one of them being the former headmaster ofyour old school. But that’s not what made me seek you out. It never was.

When I look at you, I don’t see Ozpin. I see theface of a boy who was…thrust into a battle he wasn’t prepared for at first,overwhelmed by a new sense of purpose he’s been saddled with. I recognize that face. I know that faceall too well because… it’s same face I wore when I started Beacon. You are nothing like Ozpin.You’re like me!

Oscar: *stunned expression* Like…you?

Ruby: *nodding*You’re just a 14 year old farmhand from Anima. Well, I was just a15-year-old girl from Patch, barely out of combat school. One minute I’mstanding inside a dust shop reading comic books and the next thing I know I’mfighting armed henchmen robbing the dust shop. Even chased their boss up to therooftop trying to stop him from making his getaway.

Oscar: …Wasn’t that a bit…reckless?

Ruby:*sarcastically* Have you met me? *chuckling*You’re right, it was reckless. That was the night I met Professor Ozpin for thefirst time and he invited to attend Beacon. As a girl who’s dreamed aboutbecoming a huntress, I was beyond excited but…on the inside, I was also really,really scared. I was the youngest student back at Beacon. Everyone there wereeither better than me or had more experience and yet there I wastrying to fit in. To prove myself. To prove to everyone that doubted me that Ideserved to be there even though I was just a child. It wasn’t easy but… I gotthrough it because I wasn’t alone.

I would have never gotten to where I am now if Ididn’t have the support of my family and friends. Back at combat school, UncleQrow took me under his wing and taught me everything I know about being ascythe wielder. And Yang helped me to socialize and that helped me to makefriends with everyone. It’s actually kind of funny now when I look back. Tothink, I used to think I didn’t need to make friends.

Oscar: *in disbelief* Really?You?

Ruby: *chuckling softly* Hard to believe right? Itwasn’t an easy change but it was a welcomed one in the right direction. Achange for the better which is why I know it’s going to be okay for you too.

Oscar: …But this is different.*sulks,disappointedly* Change for me means…loss.

Ruby: How do you know that?

Oscar: What?

Ruby: What if you’re wrongabout the Merge? How do you know you’re not going to be just fine? Jinn saidOzma learned the importance of living with the souls he was paired withand…Ozpin did say he’s the one that’s going to change but his memories staybehind.

Oscar: *skeptically*How do I know that’s not another thing he lied to me about?

Ruby: How do you know it wasn’t one of the times he wasactually telling the whole truth?

Oscar: I….

Oscar trails off, head dropping.

Oscar: …I…really don’t knowanymore.

This prompts Ruby to rest her hands on Oscar’sshoulders, urging him to look at her.

Ruby: Listen, I may not be able to tell you the kind ofperson you’re going become after the Merge. I…can’t give you those answers nomatter how much I wish I could.

Oscar: *guiltily* …Ruby…

Ruby: But…*determinedly* What I can dois give you someone you can always count on. WhatI can promise you is someone who would never turnher back on you. I may not have two souls but… when I look at you; Isee a lot of myself. You and I are nothing like anyone else. We both understandwhat it’s like to be young and inexperienced but still carry a huge badge ofresponsibility on our chests. We’re the only ones who can do the things we cando and be the people we’re expected to be. And we both share a power that wasgranted to us by the God of Light. It’s what connects usand because of that, I’ll stand by you no matter what.

Oscar: But… if I change—

Ruby: *firmly* If you changethen I’d still stand by your side. Even if you don’t remember theOscar you used to be, I won’t forget him and you can bet your butt that I won’tlet you forget him either. I’ll be right there to remind you of the amazingperson you used to be and help you to become the amazing person you’re going tobe. Because RubyRose is a friend toOscar Pine and she will continue to be his friend for all ofhis lifetimes.

Oscar’s eyes widened.

Oscar: ….You…really mean that?

Rubylifts Oscar’s chin, flashing him a big smile.

Ruby: *confidently*I promise you that.

Oscar: *laughingly*You’re…not giving me much of choice now, aren’t you?

Ruby: *cheekily*Nope. Afraid you’re stuck with me, farm boy.

This earns Ruby a genuine laugh from Oscar and itwarmed her heart to see him smiling again.

Oscar: So…what are wesupposed to be exactly? What do you call a pair with a girl who can vaporizemonsters with the blink of an eye and a guy who’s both fourteen and over athousand years old?

Ruby taps her finger in thought.

Ruby: *wisely* We’re … justtwo small,honest souls. We may be just kids but we’re also so much more. We’rehuntsmen.Symbols of hope and protectors of humanity. But more than that, we’re our own people who forge our own paths together.

I may be a Silver Eyed Warrior but I’m nothing likethe ones before me. They all lived their lives doing what they can to protectothers but they also lived by their own rules. I am me and I’m learning to dothis my own way even if I might not fully understand everything as yet. Just ashow you’re not Ozpin or Ozma or any of the others before you. You might gaintheir memories and have to shoulder their duties but even if you change, Idon’t think you’ll be anything like them. Never mind that you’re anotherlikeminded soul in a whole line of likeminded souls. You are Oscar Pine. And that’sperfectly okay because from what I know, Oscar Pine is pretty darn great.

Oscar smiles; chuckling slightly.

Oscar: *coyly*…Ruby Rose is pretty darn great too.

Ruby returns the smile, bright and pretty.

Oscar: *skeptically* …Hey Ruby…about Yang, I don’t know if I’m readyto—

Ruby: I know. And it’s okay. This…wasn’t about that anyways. And that doesn’t affect this. I meant what I said when I said I’m herefor you. Us honestsouls got to stick together, right?

Rubyextends her hand for a handshake. Oscar grins and accepts it, looking genuinelytouched by Ruby’s support. However that expression didn’t last long as his facebecame blue again. Ruby stiffened. She could feel Oscar’s hands tremblingbetween her finger tips and at first, she figured he was going to have another meltdownin front of her. But instead Oscar does something he’s never done before. Hecloses the gap between him and Ruby, suddenly pulling her forward as he wrappedhis arms around her neck; embracing her tightly.

Thisgesture honestly surprised Ruby and for a beat she just stood there awkwardlystaring at the top of Oscar’s head. She could feel him burying his nose into hershoulder, his hair tickling her neck. This was surely a first. Not to say that Oscarwasn’t an affectionate person; it’s just that in Ruby’s experience with him, itwas unlike the farm boy to actually initiate physicalcontact between them. Usually that’s her department.

Oscar: *through tears* …What did I do to deserve a friend like you?

Ruby’s initial shock melts into warmth. A smile tugsat her lips as she returns the hug to Oscar’s sobbing form; her cheeks touchinghis hair as she stroked his head soothingly.

Ruby: By just being you. 

And scene.That’s it. That’s all folks. That’s all I got. (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

This is pretty much all I got for this script. LikeI said, I was originally going to include a third installement to thisfeaturing Oscar reconcilingwith Yang. But not gonna go there, guys. Sorry. Will need somedowntime to recharge because I really wish to keep the spontaneous nature ofthis scripts and this one took me too freaking long. And even now that it’scomplete, I dunno what to make of it.

There are elements in there that fit into a favouriteRosegardeningRosebuds headcanon of mine whereOscar suffers a meltdown from all the pressure he’s feeling and Ruby is thereto reassure him that she’s got his back always; making a promise tohim that no matter what happens, she will be there for Oscar. She is in hiscourt.

This is something that I was hoping the main serieswould have touched on in V6, especially since it teased the divide among theheroes and the tension with Ozpin. I was hoping for some scene where Ruby andOscar just talk things out and Ruby makes a solemn vow to be the closeconfidant that Oscar needs. That…didn’t really happened…well kinda-ish.

But not in the immense detail as this. I’m not sureif we’ll see something to this level done in the canon. Definitely not to thislevel of two people talking this much on screen.

But at least it fits into things I would like tosee explored for Oscar’s character and his friendship with Ruby. Not sure whatto make of this script. I’m just glad that it’s finally done and the verdict asalways is up to the readers. Don’t chastise me too much guys. 

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[hypeathon]

RWBY & Cinematography, Part 1 - Establishing Techniques

Animation has for a long time now struggled to crawl out of the stigma of appealing only to a younger audience. Combine that with internet animation in particular being very young compared to other film-making mediums, and you have projects within the platform that need to go through much trouble to make a name for themselves. RWBY is no exception to this, as from the beginning it has faced a lot of harsh ridicule by critics who are fans of anime, the very medium the web-series takes direct inspiration from. And despite having a growing fanbase and the production having come a long way in just five years, there are some aspects of the show that even much of its fans have neglected to refer to. If there’s one growing part of RWBY’s presentation that especially deserves mention. it would be the cinematography.

As stated previously, RWBY has always been inspired by and even aimed to emulate anime. As a cultural medium of entertainment, anime has been the pigeon-holed for its various tropes. The tsundere archetype, beach and hot spring scenes, shonen training arcs, transfer student character introductions, etc. And while the dismissal of seeing some the same tropes in many titles every season, every year is understandable, anime as a visual-storytelling medium has been cultivating itself for the past 60 years. With that much time, many names who have taken the positions of directors and storyboard artists in their careers alone have developed recognizable cinematic techniques. One example is Osamu Dezaki. Most may not have even heard of him due to his passing in 2011 or his works due to how old they are. But one may faintly recognize his techniques he pioneered that are casually sprinkled in many anime. Take the “postcard memories” technique for instance, a way of freeze-framing a shot into a hyper-detailed, sketchy still. It’s something meant to make the subject of such shots feel especially tense, mesmerizing or impactful and it can be seen in various works that some fans today have been exposed to like Sailor Moon, Kill la Kill, & One Piece.

And Dezaki is just one name that uses certain techniques to create a vision in anime titles. There are many others who have gone to either provide storyboards for or direct some shows and films well-known within anime fandom to this day. With Takuya Igarashi, the director of Ouran High School Host Club, Soul Eater, Star Driver, Captain Earth and Bungo Stray Dogs, his works commonly have vivid colors and lighting through windows and characters on symmetrically-opposed sides to convey the contextual mood. Then there’s Shigeru Yamauchi, the director of Casshern Sins, Dream Eater Merry, A Town Where You Live, the 8th, 10th, & 12th Dragon Ball Z films, Digimon: The Golden Digimentals, and a storyboard artist of episodes of many, many anime. Yamauchi is especially known for having whole scenes depict close-up shots of a character’s face or showing half of their bodies and having settings be done in a specific, sometimes monochromatic color schemes that feels like something out of a painting. There’s also Naoko Yamada, a name from studio Kyoto Animation who has developed a resume of directing shows and films like K-ON, Tamako Market & A Silent Voice that, despite them mostly having a moe vibe through the character designs, are deceptively-enriched in scenes shifting from bright, pastel colors to more dull colors to provide atmospheric moods and having characters express themselves not through their faces but other ways such as their legs.

There are far too many names to point to, but even ones who have yet to direct a whole anime, manage to apply their cinematic ideas into episodes of anime. Even something like Dragon Ball Super, a recent installment of a popular shonen franchise that’s often dismissed for having characters mindlessly flying and throwing beam blasts and fists, can be known for having episodes with competent stage direction depending on who is working on it.    

With all of that said, it’s worth bearing in mind that RWBY, like the many anime it takes inspiration from, could also be credible for having and applying cinematic techniques. But this wasn’t always the case. Back in volumes 1 & 2, the process for storyboards would be led by Patrick Rodriguez, who is known for designing various characters in the show like Ironwood, Amber, & Tyrian, with the rest of the team consisting on Miles Luna & Kerry Shawcross, the writer and director of the show respectively and the animators. The problem however was that even with the storyboard team set up this way, scheduling was very tight, to the point where there was either little time or no time to make the boards for the show. Although the first two volumes were not entirely void of enticing shots, this led to needing to resort to basic camera shots and on few occasions, incomprehensible ones. By volume 3 however, this process changed. Among the many changes in the production pipeline, one of them was the overhaul of the storyboard team to be led by Joe MacDonald, an animator during volume 2 who had nearly 30 years of experience in the creative entertainment industry, with a newly established team consisting specifically of storyboard artist. The second was introducing a complimentary camera & layout team, also led by Joe MacDonald with some of the storyboard artists overlapping. Finally, the third was creating a camera bible. To quote from one of the storyboard and layout artist, Rachel Doda, in the volume 3 audio commentary:

“It was mentioned earlier too in some other commentary, but we originally created like a camera bible or at least tried to create like, stage direction in terms of just… hey! Ya know, If it’s a shot of Ozpin, it has to be kind of stagnant because he’s the most level-headed. And if it’s a shot of Ironwood, usually, they just, ya know, it has to be like he’s in power. So the camera has to be low to the ground. Then, ya know, just like all the characters themselves. Qrow has a little hitch to stuff.”  

Since volume 3, the camera served as was a big way to help express the position or mindset of various characters. Take the character, James Ironwood as referred to earlier. Compare most of his shots in volume 2 to his shots in volume 3 & 4, and the differences in his scenes will feel more apparent. Camera manages to communicate when he feels it’s important to be authoritative and when to be more reasonably submissive. And that’s the key word: “communicate.” If Rachel Doda’s words as quoted are of any indication, then multiple elements in cinematography such as lighting, color, transitions, framing, staging, & character posture could be at play to sell and help deeply interpret meaning behind character’s thoughts and intentions.

In the case of volume 3 where this major shift in the show’s direction began, there are several scenes that became very striking to this day. One of the biggest examples is this shot of Pyrrha witnessing the Fall Maiden, Amber in a comatose state in chapter 6. When watching it the first time, one may think that match-cutting from Pyrrha turning away to showing Cinder at the stadium is simply meant to indicate that Cinder is Amber’s assailant. But there’s also a matter of Pyrrha feeling bound to take a risk of having her destiny be Amber’s and not hers compared to Cinder who wants nothing more than to become the very thing the former hesitates to be. Pyrrha feels she can’t avoid any of this and is thus overwhelmed as shown in chapter 8 when she can no longer even attain peace of mind from a simple leaf falling towards her in a burning sunset, all of which from that point on referred to the Fall Maiden in her mind.  

Though as much as volume 3 had its strong sense of visual direction, RWBY’s fourth volume arguably pushed the direction further through a variety of ways. While it has been criticized for spreading its story too thin by jumping between multiple plot points, some scenes in plot points tied to certain characters can contain some strong cinematography. Take for instance Cinder’s training scene in chapter 11, which by itself doesn’t seem to say much. But think about the Grimm she fought. They were a bunch of Beowulves and a Beringel, which are the same creatures of Grimm that Ruby Rose fought in the character short. Although Ruby takes longer to defeat her foes than Cinder, the former is shot to end her fight triumphantly while the latter is shown exhausted and has to catch her breath after her bout. All of this can be interpreted as an inadvertent way of presenting how even more salt is poured to Cinder’s wounds.

Another example in volume 4 are scenes of Weiss in the Schnee mansion in chapters 2 & 11. When comparing side-by-side, the shots themselves are practically the same but with three key differences. The first is the lighting, the second is Weiss’s facial expressions and body language, and the third is the fact Klein is accompanying her in the same shots in chapter 11. These shots show very effectively-opposite meanings with Weiss’s character who is first seen feeling lonely and submissive despite being in a fancy, spacious, brightly-lit home only to be feeling more defiant and at-ease when she has Klein to help her escape the home we learn she hates.

It’s this use to linking shots in different episodes that also sheds light to the context of the song “Mirror, Mirror”, which frankly never made much contextual sense up until this point. How can someone who carries pride in her family name be the loneliest of them all as the lyrics go? Well, this visual direction sums up why. Her father and his business-oriented ambitions created a growing rift in her family and she needs someone she can trust to be empathetic towards what she’s feeling. This is also why she felt hurt when she found out Whitley never really intended to look out for her. Combine these moments with shots of her witnessing the Atlas ships passing by her window in chapters 1 & 7, only to finally manage to leave in one by chapter 12, and you have a phase of Weiss’s character story packed with meaning.

There’s also quite a few cinematic techniques regarding Qrow in volume 4. One of the biggest cases is the use of a low light by his side with whoever he talks to about Salem. In times where connection to other Kingdoms in the World of Remnant are cut-off, Qrow welcomes or advises cooperation with other characters out of necessity. Warm lights such as lamps and campfires help illustrate this. With Qrow and Raven in chapter 4, the lamp on the table is closer to the former than the latter who only wants specific information and will otherwise walk away (or make a portal in her case) towards the darker side of the Tavern. And then there’s chapter 8, where Qrow informs team RNJR with as much information about everything to do with Salem and the fall of Beacon as possible, leading to well-presented shots of Jaune stepping briefly outside of the campfire due to his anger and wavering trust. Even this shot where he bluntly referred to Qrow’s motives as using his teammates as bait is framed to show his stance on who he was looking out for and who he wasn’t. Most interestingly though, is this shot here of Qrow framed to be surrounded by the campfire as he describes his semblance. While the cinematic techniques in some scenes can be admittedly up for debate, this shot was actually confirmed by Kerry Shawcross in the volume 4 director’s audio commentary to have been drawn by Rachel Doda and was highly approved after going through every department in the production.

“We uh, the shot inside the fire, was definitely one of the shots that we had uh, Rachel had the idea to do while we were boarding, Rachel Doda. And uh, I told her, “absolutely draw that! I make no promises that’s going to make it all the way through. But every next department after that I explained the shot and it was like, “no, we should do that!” Um, so yeah, it was one of those things where it was like, it was just such a beautiful shot that everyone wanted to make it happen and everyone went out of their way to make it happen.”

One of strongest cases of visual techniques applied though was in the forest scene in chapter 2. Here, we see Jaune, an often talkative character in previous volumes, be unusually silent and uttering only shouts and out-of-breath exhales as he trains through Pyrrha’s recording. He is mostly alone in the dark forest with shades of dark blue and green and bright, blueish lights illuminating his armor. Most fans who see this scene are struck by the music and Pyrrha’s words and Jaune’s determined, yet saddened facial expressions. Alone, those aspects are effective at the scene being a tearjerker. But there’s one other element, a visual one that can add a whole level of meaning: the fireflies.

In Japan, fireflies are theoretically that of Hitodama or “human souls” drifting in the night when away from their bodies. If we were to apply this motion to the forest scene in chapter 2, then the fireflies could be visually representative of the lives lost in Shion village. Thus what Jaune could’ve felt was not sadness for not being able to stop Pyrrha, but for being unable to do anything about tragedy of the villagers. Now to some, such an interpretation may be considered reading a little too much. While that response is fair, bear in mind that the villages seen in volume 4, Shion, Higanbana, Oniyuri and Kuroyuri are all named after flowers with specific meanings in Japanese, the matter of fireflies being that of human souls may not be that unlikely.

“I’m just tired of losing everything.” - Jaune Arc

If there’s any set of scenes that are arguably as striking in visual direction as in chapter 2, if not more-so, it would be in scenes of Ren and Nora in chapters 10 & 12. There’s the matter of how the reveal of Ren’s semblance after cutting from the shot of the lotus flower is representative of how a real lotus flower can bloom after being submerged in mud. There’s also the shots of Nora desperately holding on to Ren’s hand, one of which is out of fear of being left alone when they were kids while the other is to prevent Ren from risking being killed due to anger and reckless abandon. But probably the most powerful moment of stage direction is of this moment here.

That there concisely explains what Nora means to Ren. Bear in mind, Ren is a very quiet, calm & collected character. He’s the opposite of Nora in that regard, who wears her enthusiasm on her sleeve and openly express how much she enjoys Ren’s company. But up until this point, we hardly seen Ren’s perspective about Nora other than the occasional subtle smile at her antics. It’s not until the scene underneath the house in chapter 12 that we see what Ren sees when Nora is deeply saddened to the point of being in tears, something viewers have never seen her current express before. In his mind, Ren briefly sees the same frightened girl who he first met and swore that they would keep each other safe. He is all Nora has and if he realizes that if he gets himself recklessly killed, then she’ll be alone all over again. And that’s the last thing Ren wants to happen.  

Even after all of this is said and done, there’s still more examples of scenes with visual direction to be unpacked and interpreted in volume 4 alone. But those can be talked more depth another time as they help compliment scenes in the focus of the next subject to be talked about in part 2.