#enough of this 'boys will be boys oscar's just a child while ruby is a mature young woman' nonsense

[gatheringkeepsakes]

if i have to see one more post infantizing oscar before 2024 ends i'm going to turn into an oyster

[bestworstcase]

#Not to absolve Ozpin of any blame for his choices and their consequences#But OP's argument smacks of trying to apply our morals and ethics to a setting that does not match our modern world#Sure child soldiers are wrong from our perspective but we don't have an endless horde of shadow monsters that want to kill everything#Is there a better way of fending off the monsters?#Very likely but this way at least means that if any of those teens finds themselves point blank with a monster they can defend themselves (via @viscen-vas-arlesburgh)

i would point out that the reason it's a point of discussion at all is that salem is really mad about his use of children to fight his war. she's also not the only character to remark on this; ironwood does it too, albeit obliquely ("do you really think your children can win a war?"). cinder also makes the implication, in her v3 speech, that training children as warriors is perhaps not as good or commendable as the huntsmen academies would like everyone to believe.

so while i agree with the general point that expecting modern ethical perspectives out of a fantasy world is often silly, in this case i do think there's a pretty strong textual basis for this being a question that the characters themselves are thinking about; it's one of the fault lines defining the central conflict of the story.

and... there's also a rather significant difference between training people to defend themselves as a matter of course and what the huntsmen academies do.

oscar is the perfect illustration of that difference. in v5, ruby asks him if he's really never had any combat training before, and he says (paraphrasing) "no, just the occasional small grimm, but nothing like this." very casual. so... oscar is a fourteen year old boy with no formal combat experience who, prior to his arrival in mistral, had never trained with his aura before and didn't even know what a semblance was, and he talks about fighting off "the occasional small grimm" like it's not a big deal.

which—blinks.

jaune, also a civilian prior to his enrollment at beacon academy, had never heard of aura before. every time we've seen grimm get into a city like vale or mantle, the civilians flee in screaming panic. in v4, the mayor of that small village—which is not noticeably destroyed, and where everybody seems to be quite relaxed—goes "that geist has been plaguing our village for weeks" (WEEKS!) about a grimm large enough to wear whole tree trunks for armor and which gave three top huntsmen-in-training a run for their money. the mayor is, like oscar, incredibly casual about this.

in v2, when ozpin questions blake about her background, she says that she grew up outside the kingdoms, where "if you can't fight, you can't survive."

now blake has an unusually high degree of training for someone who did not attend a combat school—that'd be thanks to the white fang—but her basic point stands: oscar grew up outside the kingdoms, and he thinks killing grimm without having a defensive aura up is not a big deal and not something that qualifies as "combat experience." the unnamed village in v4 isn't fussed about that great big geist bothering them for weeks. people who live outside the kingdoms, away from the huntsmen academies, don't act like the grimm are some ever-present, terrifying existential threat.

and that is because everyone who grows up outside of the kingdoms grows up knowing how to deal with 'em. which is good! if you live in bear country, you gotta know how to deal with bears!

compare this to the huntsmen model: a small group of elite warriors trained to stand as the bulwark between the grimm and hundreds of thousands of defenseless civilians who receive no training whatsoever, of any kind. this is a bad system for EVERYBODY: it's bad for the select few warriors expected to be the first and last line of defense against the grimm, and it's bad for the civilians who will die if they encounter a grimm without a huntsman or huntress close by.

what really should be happening instead is defensive aura training and basic self-defense as a core pillar of public education, available to everyone, from childhood through to adulthood, and then have the huntsmen for things like escort through grimm territory or crisis response in the event a large number of grimm attack a settlement all at once. but... the actual situation is that huntsmen seem to be the only people in the world who are trained in aura at all.

so the idea that the huntsmen academies as they exist in the show are justifiable because the children who attend them will be endangered by the grimm in any case, might as well train them to fight, isn't really sound, because the vast majority of people in this world aren't trained to use aura, and within the kingdoms the only people who are even taught to fight are... kids on the huntsmen track who attend combat schools.

aaand the reason for that is that the huntsmen academies don't actually exist to protect anyone from grimm; they exist to act as heavily-guarded fortresses defending the relics. everything else about the huntsmen system is tacked on as a secondary objective. it all sounds very noble and high-minded on paper until you get to the record scratch that nobody else who isn't a huntsman or in training to become one has access to training in aura or even basic self-defense. oh, and it's unlawful for civilians to defend themselves from the grimm in mantle—that's why rwbyjnor get arrested at the beginning of v7, "unauthorized use of weapons by unlicensed huntsmen," which has the practical purpose of making it illegal for ordinary people to fight back if grimm enter the city and attack them.

all of this is intentional and narratively meaningful—it's contrasted against the very casual way people born and raised outside of the kingdoms talk about dealing with grimm, and quite a lot of the narrative right now is about examining how traumatizing this system is for the children inside it.

the story is in part about finding a better way to deal with the grimm, because those better ways exist and we're given glimpses of them throughout the story: both in the small villages outside the kingdoms but also in menagerie, which is the most densely populated city in the world and yet doesn't weather a single grimm attack in all the time that blake is there in v4-v5. (in fact, grimm are never even mentioned as a concern by any menagerian characters, so whatever menagerie is doing to keep the grimm away clearly works extremely well, assuming it isn't just a case of "grimm don't attack faunus.")

leans out a window. it is not salem’s fault that oz uses child soldiers to guard his fortresses. it’s not her fault that he made a deliberate strategic choice to recruit children into a war they didn’t even know they’re fighting. (and it certainly isn’t her fault that he’s been getting kids killed in training for decades before she made her first move!)

he has been trying to destroy her for thousands of years while salem lived in exile, not fighting back, until one of those grown-up child soldiers found out the truth and gave her something to fight for. if your defenders are all children because you set up your fortresses to masquerade as schools, if you for decades continually made the choice to use children as unwitting human shields then you don’t get to blame the enemy when children die on the front lines. YOU PUT THEM THERE.

[whitleyschn33]

Not Everything Can Be Wiped Away With A Hug

Or why I’m not happy with Weiss and Whitley’s reconciliation. 

Whitley and Weiss haven’t had a great relationship. From the first time we see him, the two are shown to not be comfortable with each other. Weiss’ tone when they meet is one of dismissiveness and wariness, even if the conversation ends on a technically hopeful note. As the show goes on, every interaction the two have is riddled with tension. Weiss accuses him of wanting her loss of status, Whitley gets angry and bites back. Whitley stops by her room to ask if she wants anything and twist the knife, Weiss asks if he’s jealous and slams the door in his face. When Weiss comes back at the party, she does everything she can to brush him off, clearly annoyed, while Whitley talks about what he’s been up to since she’s been gone. Weiss laughs when Whitley gets splashed with wine, Whitley storms off in a huff. Then Weiss comes back during the... siege(? I don’t know what to call this failed attempted at a Fall), commanders the house, shoves a weapon in Whitley’s face, sends him to his room like he’s a child, and then doesn’t acknowledge him again until he calls Klein. At which point she hugs him and all tensions disappears from their relationship. 

See what’s missing here? We have point A of massive hostility between the two with both parties having grievances with the other and point B of both parties having found a balance in their relationship. What’s missing is a strong connection between those two points. What’s missing is the meat of the actual arc, something between set up and pay off, and that’s ultimately the problem with their reconciliation. It wasn’t worked for, at least on Weiss’s end. There was no effort for any of their grievances to be addressed, talked about, and worked through. There was no point where they took the grievances that had been brought up and had the characters discuss or react to them in any meaningful way. It just fell into their laps - or rather, it fell mostly into Weiss’s lap. That’s the short version, anyway. Let’s discuss the long version.

In Volume 7, Weiss and Whitley’s relationship is tense, Weiss clearly annoyed and dismissive of her brother for being a snot towards her, and Whitley angry that Weiss ignores him and abandoned him to their neglectful/abusive parents. In episode 7, though, Willow flat out tells Weiss why Whitley acts the way he does to her. Willow gives us Whitley’s motivations - that he’s hurt and resentful towards Weiss. This is the set up for a reconciliation; Weiss has been given insight into Whitley’s point of view (had it literally shoved in her face), and has the chance to contemplate it so as to be able to find common ground later. 

Plot stuff happens, and the two are separated as Weiss deals with all that until Weiss needs a place to lay low. Armed with new information on Whitley’s disposition, Weiss... 

Whitley: Oh, you’ve picked a fine time to--

Weiss interrupts by pointing Myrtenaster at him, and he looks at the blade in fright.

Weiss: Not. Another. Word. We’re coming in.

Whitley steps aside and groans as Ruby���s group walks into the manor.

...threatens him after saying 7 words. Not even words of “you can’t come in” or anything to suggest he won’t let them in but, “oh great, this is a wonderful~ time to drop by”, venting frustration. Weiss doesn’t try anything else before shoving a weapon in his face (the face of an unarmed, defenseless, civilian minor that physically can’t stop her from coming in anyway) and forcing her way inside. 

Whitley: Things are already bad enough after what you did to father, now you want us to harbor fugitives too? Our family has a reputation.

He crosses his arms in annoyance. Blake, having set Nora down on the floor, looks at him.

Blake: That’s what you’re worried about? Your reputation?

Whitley: I’m just saying that we’ve already lost all the house staff, and Mother locked herself in her room.

Weiss: Maybe you haven’t figured out what’s going on, Whitley, but we’re busy trying to save Atlas.

Whitley continues to vent his frustration. Jacques, Whitley’s only source of familial attention, has been taken away by Weiss (”what you did to Father”), the staff has all vacated the estate (most likely a combination of their employer being carted away in the back of a military truck and then all hell breaking loose in Mantle and Atlas airspace), and Willow, the only other human being in the mansion, has locked herself in her room for several hours, up to almost 24 hours (I’m honestly lost on the timeline of this volume with how much it flip-flops between night and day, and I can’t be bothered to rewatch these episodes). 

Whitley has been left completely and utterly alone, and Weiss comes back not for him, but to use his resources to hide herself and her friends, all of which are wanted by the military. I don’t know what Atlesian policy is, but harboring fugitives is a crime punishable with prison sentences in the US, dependent on what the fugitive is charged with. She’s forcing him to risk being arrested and imprisoned for her crimes, after destroying his family’s reputation with Jacques’ arrest and causing everyone to vacate the manor and leaving him utterly alone (the way he follows up Blake’s response with “I’m just saying we’ve already lost all the house staff” makes me think he’s tying those two things together. With Jacques’s arrest, their reputation is falling, and everyone’s jumping ship, starting with the house staff. Any other family allies the Schnees might have legally and politically are likely to follow suit to save their own skin (ah, societal politics of the rich). Harboring fugitives and Whitley and possibly Willow arrested as well? The Schnees are sunk, dead in the water. They’re not getting out of that, they’ll be left to the dogs.). And how does Weiss respond?

Weiss: Maybe you haven’t figured out what’s going on, Whitley, but we’re busy trying to save Atlas. 

How in the absolute hell is he supposed to come to this conclusion? No, really, tell me. He knows two things: one, he knows there’s some kind of Grimm threat in the heatless Mantle and hovering around Atlas based on the news - maybe; we don’t know how much the news has reported about how bad it is outside of that one Mantle broadcast and how much Whitley has kept up with the news (he seems the type to absorb in as much information as possible, but he may not have been watching every waking second) - and two, he knows his sister and her friends have pissed off the military and are marked as fugitives. There is no way for him to know that the group of fugitives are doing anything to help Atlas, especially when he has no way to know what’s going on and what Weiss+co are up to. Weiss’ comment does nothing but imply that he’s too wrapped up in his own stuff to see the big picture, when he doesn’t have the knowledge that there’s even a big picture to look at. Rather than trying to reach out and reason with Whitley, Weiss snaps at him and treats him like he’s being self absorbed and shallow. His life is falling apart, he’s been left behind again by staff and his mother, and Weiss doesn’t just not respond to it, she gets mad at him for it. It’s Ruby that has to step up and tell him that they just need a place for their friend to heal and then they’ll leave (which turns out to be a bold-faced lie, but that’s another post). 

Whitley relents then, and asks what they want him to do. Weiss then tells him to “go to his room”. Let’s set this up - we don’t know how old Whitley is, but we can guess based on Weiss’s age. Weiss is 19, and Whitley is likely 2 to 3 years younger, as he seems a bit older than Oscar but most likely more than a year younger than Weiss. That makes Whitley at least 16 years old, possibly 17. Whitley is either just a year younger or the same age as Ruby, the girl Weiss is blindly following as a leader. Whitley is not a child. A minor, probably, but not a child (I consider “child” to be 12 and under, and minor to be 13 - 16/17 (depending on what the age of maturity is in Remnant, which I’ve always considered to be 17 based on Beacon admission ages) btw to clarify). Yet, Weiss tells the boy that she has no legal or emotional authority over that’s about the same age as her leader to go to his room, treating him like he’s a petulant child. She doesn’t want to have to deal with him, so she shunts him aside - makes it clear that she’s not going to break his isolation, she wants him out of her way. Alone.

The relationship between Weiss and Whitley was already tense and hostile, but this pushes that to the next level. Before, it was hurt feelings and snipping - valid hurt feelings on both sides - but this has escalated it. Physical threats of violence, forcing him into committing a possible felony, and then dismissing him like he’s a child shows a lack of respect for Whitley, and is the exact opposite of working towards reconciliation. I wouldn’t be surprised if Whitley’s anger and resentment towards his sister grew after this; that would be my reaction. 

“But wait!” You might be thinking. “That’s not really fair to Weiss - she’s worried about Nora who’s possibly dying and about being followed by Atlas’ military. She just wants to get under cover as fast as possible and then get to helping Nora! She’s stressed and tense, it makes sense that she’d be brusque to Whitley; we shouldn’t judge her so harshly.” To which I say - character is the choices you make under pressure, not when everything is just fine. Weiss resorting to the threat of violence immediately against someone she knows is no threat when faced with a tense situation where some diplomacy and respect would go a long way, it’s not a good look for who she is as a person. But alright, let’s play that game. Weiss is too worried about Nora to deal with Whitley at the moment. She gets Nora to bed, starts treating her as best she can, and then... 

Nothing. Weiss doesn’t speak to Whitley again until he calls Klein for Nora, presumably a day later (once again, I’m not entirely sure. They arrive at what I believe is sunset, Amity happening that night, then the sun rising or setting in Midnight (?) and in War it’s night again as Klein arrives, so I think that this has  to be the next night but it’s extremely difficult to tell and causes a crap ton of plot holes, thanks a lot CRWBY (I might skim through each episode to put together just how broken the timeline is)). That’s 24 hours where Weiss didn’t decide to ask Ruby or Blake (who I would have thought would be the one to have the most first aid knowledge of the three with her militia group experience) to watch over Nora for a few minutes while she seeks out Whitley to talk to him. 24 hours where she didn’t choose to apologize for threatening him, or go to talk to him about what’s going on, or follow up on Willow’s request, or ask if their mother is even alive still if she’s been locked up drinking for over a day, probably 2 (again, the timeline is fucked up). That’s not “I’m rushing and being harsher than I normally would out of concern for my friend”, that’s “I don’t regret or care about how I’ve treated my brother; I don’t see any reason to reach out to him” (And as side note - if Weiss had gone to see Whitley earlier, letting him know just how bad of shape Nora was in, Whitley might have called Klein earlier. By talking to her brother, Weiss could have gotten Nora the help she needed sooner, but she didn’t).

This is the next conversation Weiss and Whitley have after she threatens him and sends him to his room. I know I spent far too long breaking it down, but that was just one incident, the only one between  between Willow telling Weiss to not forget Whitley and their hug.

Weiss: You called Klein?

Whitley: That girl needs a doctor. (turns away from Weiss) I didn’t do it for you.

Weiss: I know. That’s why it means so much to me.

Whitely gasps as Weiss steps forward to hug him. After some hesitation, he sighs and embraces her back. Weiss gasps when she and the others hear an explosion from outside.

That’s it. That’s their reconciliation. After this point, Whitley shows no anger towards Weiss or brings up his issues with her, so we’re meant to think that this is it, the Weiss-Whitley reconciliation is over.

Now, on Weiss’s side, I could see this putting Whitley in her good graces (maybe). Weiss’ grievances with Whitley boil down to hurt feelings over him being a snot about her loss of inheritance and being annoying. Whitley was being a jerk about it when he came around in V4E9 to twist the knife, but we know why he did that (he was pushing his own situation in Weiss’s face, a “see how you like it, being stuck here alone like I was” type thing), Weiss does get an explanation for it later from Willow, and at the end of the day, that’s all he did. He didn’t betray her, act against her, try and get her in trouble with Jacques - he didn’t do anything to her. Gloating at the role reversal is petty, yes, but it’s not like Weiss doesn’t attempt to fire right back, and it’s not like she wasn’t plenty rude to him when accusing him of wanting it to happen. Weiss mentions “you never liked me” in V4E7, but we never get anything more specific than that, and implies that he was just bitter and snippy with her like he is in V4E9. Theoretically he could have been an absolute terror before, but since we’re never shown any of this or given any examples, it’s difficult to factor in anything Whitley may have done before V4 as a piece of Weiss’ attitude towards him. Point is, since I’m starting to ramble, is that ultimately Whitley hasn’t done anything but hurt Weiss’s feelings, and him calling a doctor for Nora purely because Nora needs one feels like it might be enough to put Whitley in Weiss’ good graces, even if it raises some uncomfortable implications - that Weiss only extends her love and affection when Whitley does something she likes and can revoke it if he does something she doesn’t (like make a light joke).

On Whitley’s end, though, this scene is an absolute mess of an ending. At the end of Volume 7, Whitley is angry and resentful towards Weiss (and Winter) for abandoning him to abusive and neglectful parents, and then arresting Jacques, taking away his only source of attention and dealing a huge blow to their family’s status. In Volume 8, Weiss comes back, threatens him physically, dismisses his concerns, treats him like a child by sending him to his room, and leaves him alone again until he does something she likes. At no point does Weiss do anything that would make his attitude towards her shift to the better; in fact, she does things that should only further alienate him. Why is Whitley no longer mad at her? Because she gave him a hug? That doesn’t change that she still (from his point of view) abandoned him without a second thought, blamed him for things he didn’t do, threatened him with a weapon, forced him to harbor them, and then talked down to him and pushed him aside when she didn’t want to deal with him - abandoning him again. Weiss has done nothing to make Whitley any less resentful. She hasn’t acknowledged how she’s hurt him, they haven’t discussed why he was so hurt by her leaving, there’s been no attempt for the rift between them to be mended. Weiss just hugs him, and somehow that makes everything better. I didn’t realize that Whitley was so completely starved for affection that a hug makes him forget everything leading up to it - a hug that he initially backed away from.

He has his hands raised defensively, he starts backing away, and his expression is completely shocked. His posture is completely stiff, his arms falling to his side and hands clenching into fists. He’s clearly not comfortable with this initially, before giving in with a sigh and hugging Weiss back - giving in and giving Weiss what she wants. 

Weiss is happy with him now, so Whitley can’t be upset. Weiss gives her approval, Whitley has been useful to her, so Whitley is “redeemed” in the eyes of the characters and the audience. What Whitley wants, what Whitley feels, what motivates Whitley? They don’t matter now that Weiss cares about him again. They aren’t discussed, they don’t continue to effect how Whitley acts and views Weiss, Weiss has forgiven him, so Whitley isn’t allowed to still be pissed with Weiss. Weiss didn’t have to do anything to reconcile with her brother, she doesn’t have to be humbled or acknowledge her own role in this dysfunctional relationship. She got to treat him with violence and like a child, and then hug him and act like everything is forgiven when by all reasonable logic, Whitley should be pushing her away, repeating that he didn’t do this for her and to back off.

Weiss didn’t work for this; Weiss didn’t earn this. Whitley’s own emotions and motivations were stripped away to let her get her brother on her side without her having to confront her own mistakes, because RWBY refuses to let its main girls make mistakes.

This isn’t the first time this has happened in RWBY, far from it. This isn’t even the only example of this happening with Whitley. Next episode and a few later, they do the exact same thing with Whitley and Willow! Whitley starts episode 8 rightfully pissed at his mother; she’s left him completely alone for two days straight to drink in her room, being less than useless, straight up neglectful. This anger carries on when she tries to call him, him turning to the door as the Hound approaches with anger. During the Hound attack, Willow grabs onto him, and he lets him. That makes sense, both of them were extremely frightened by this Grimm unlike anything they’d ever seen. What doesn’t make sense is that in episodes 11 and 12, Willow is still hanging onto him. I haven’t watched episode 11 for personal reasons (RWBY’s pissed me off), but I’ve seen the screenshots.

Willow’s holding onto him like she’s showing him off with pride. It’s a cute image - but why is Whitley allowing it? Why is Whitley not pulling away? Whitley was rightfully angry at his mother for neglecting him, for leaving him emotionally and mentally, right up until the Hound attack. Now, I know what you’re thinking; Willow saved his life. They killed the Hound together. Something like that, it can being people together. I agree - and I would even buy that being the spark for Whitley giving his mother another chance if there had been any kind of scene or even conversation on screen where we get to see this transition from rightfully anger at a drunk neglectful mother to a son giving a proud mother another chance at being his mother. It would have been incredibly easy to slip in, too! Like, and I’m just spitballing here -

Willow after the Hound is killed: Are you alright, Whitley?

Whitley: Oh, so you suddenly care. That’s nice to know.

Willow: I have always cared -

Whitley: Then you haven’t ever shown it! Whitley gets visibly angry. You’ve done nothing but leave me alone in this house with him while you drown yourself in your wine. You haven’t cared about me since I was 7 years old! Stop acting like you’re my mother! Whitley starts walking off. 

Willow: Whitley - ! Willow reaches out for Whitley and stops him I - she deflates - You’re right. I have been a horrible mother. I’ve left you alone, all this time, and if I had been even slightly more drunk tonight, you might have been killed.  ...I might have lost you for good, and it would have been my own fault. I’m sorry...

Whitley: He pauses, and falls silent. 

Willow: ...Please. I almost lost you tonight, and I don’t want to lose you to something I can fix. Is there anything I can do? Can I... Can I get a chance?

Whitley: .....he turns back to Willow, taking a deep breath, and looks up at her. ...One chance. You can’t - You can’t fix all of this, but... Whitley looks away ...I’ve wanted you back for 9 years. I don’t want to lose you either if I might get you back.

Willow: Willow looks surprised, before giving him a weak smile and pulling him into a hug. Thank you, Whitley. And I am so, so proud of you.

Whitley: Whitley stiffens with surprise, looking at his mother with shock, but returns the shaky smile and hugs her back.

One minute for this conversation, and I would be completely on board with Whitley and Willow seeming to reconcile as well. The same goes with Weiss, except a longer conversation.

If Weiss and Whitley had had even one talk where they both admit their faults and failings, apologize to each other, and agree to try again, I would be all on board with this Schnee family reconciliation. As it is now, though, with how it’s been written in the show, neither Weiss nor Willow have had to work to repair their relationships with Whitley; Whitley’s anger has just been wiped away. They set up the potential for reconciliation between Weiss and Whitley, between Willow and Whitley, acknowledging why Whitley is angry with both of them, but rather than have any of the characters take that knowledge and use it to reach out to Whitley, the writers skip all of that and let the characters treat Whitley however they want until they end up reconciled with one act. A single summon is treated like it makes up for years of neglect. A single hug because Whitley was useful to Weiss is treated like it makes up for abandonment, disrespect, and threats of violence. They don’t, and the lack of respect the writers’ have for the emotions of a male abuse victim sickens me.

[secret-engima]

So I started RWBY (thanks for that, it’s all from you), and I gotta say I love Yang. So are there any Dragon!Yang rambles you have? What about lunweiss too?

It’s been a while since I enjoyed a show like this, it’s nice

Hi!!! Welcome aboard!! And not to taint your opinions but just- idk I feel obligated to warn you that while I 100% recommend V1-V5, V6 is emotionally hard (and has plot points I am Not Happy With) and V7 is just ... a train wreck. A wonderfully animated, woefully badly written train wreck. And I’ve yet to watch v8 so I have no idea what’s going on THERE beyond Oscar being a Suffering Sunshine Boi.

But yes! Headcanons!!!! Also apologies for any spoilers I mention for the show in these? I don’t know where you are in the show and I’ve already talked a lot of spoilers I’m sure XD.

Dragon Yang:

-Yang is excited to go to Beacon actually. Nervous and dreading it, but excited. She’s learned over the two years since returning to Remnant how to manage her strength and limit her lethality, how to hide the worst of her ... odd behaviors. She wants to make new friends, and she’s hoping to see Velvet there (Yang transfers to Velvet’s combat school in this AU and makes friends with her by accident). But she’s also dreading the “living in dorms with strangers” thing.

-Then she learns Ruby is getting to join early and she oscillates between HECK YES SIBLING TEAM HERE WE COME to MY BABY SISTER IS NOT READY FOR THIS. PROTECC. Of course, she’s been training Ruby these last two years too, because she’s afraid of her own strength but she’s more afraid of Ruby being unprepared for the dangers of the world. Ruby will never be a STELLAR hand to hand but she can fight mean and run away and her parkour skills have reached ninja levels even without her Semblance.

-Now she just has to get on the same team as her sister.

-She’s honestly ... highly amused by the initiation exam? Like- yeah sure fling the DRAGON SLAYER off a CLIFF and expect her to be alarmed. Psh.

-She means to track down Ruby and is will on her way to doing so when she runs into Blake first. That’s ... a little annoying. She doesn’t even know this girl’s name (Yang never dragged Ruby off to make friends during the pre-initiation sleepover thing in this AU) but it’s not Blake’s fault so.

-Also, on the note of Blake lemme just sidetrack to point out something interesting in Yang’s mentality. She can tell the moment she smells Blake that Blake is a Faunus.

-She still doesn’t think of her as a Faunus. Because- to Yang, she genuinely doesn’t .... really understand the difference between Faunus and human? To her everyone is human, some of them just have extra bits and more useful senses. And this is a TOTALLY UNCONSCIOUS MENTALITY from back when she was living on Earthland. Because in Earthland, people can look really, really weird (especially in the magic community) and yet they are all still called “humans” and are still treated perfectly normal. Like this girl from canon Fairy Tail show-

That tail and those ears are 100% real, they move and react like actual limbs in the anime, but they weren’t always THERE. When that character was teeny, she looked like a “normal” human, but her magic is feline oriented and so over the years those traits GREW on her. And literally NO ONE BATS AN EYE IN THE SHOW. Not even the people who knew her when she was tiny non-cat human child. She’s far from the only example, but she’s the easiest to think of especially in regards to the Faunus thing.

-So yeah, Yang smells feline traits on Blake and just- doesn’t even react. Doesn’t mention it to anyone because her brain skips right over “cat ears = Faunus” in this world and goes straight to “ah yes, my new 100% nonmagical human teammates. My Sister, Ice Child, and Girl With Decent Hearing Thank Goodness”.

-So while Blake thinks she’s keeping her Faunus traits a secret from her whole team, her partner Yang is just vibing off to the side, perfectly aware that Blake has cat ears but still thinking of her and every other Faunus as regular ol’ humans.

-Yang doesn’t abandon Ruby at the entrance to Beacon either, so Weiss made a ... bad impression on Yang very quickly for yelling at Ruby’s sister for an accident. Yang shut that whole thing down pretty fast, but Ruby was still feeling humiliated and nervous and Weiss was prickly and embarrassed by Yang’s blunt opinions.

-Yeah it’s a good thing they can bond via Nevermore killing because otherwise this team would be way more dysfunctional than it is in the first few days.

-Yang has mixed opinions on Team JNPR. It is painfully clear Jaune has no idea what he’s doing, but frankly she has her hands full with her own team atm and no time to try to gently bully this boy into proper training. She makes a note to do it later. Pyrrha smells lonely and she’s a sweetheart. Nora is wayyyy to prone to getting into Yang’s (and everyone’s) personal space. Ren is nice. He has manners and he smells of tea.

-There’s a scene early on where this guy called Cardin bullies Velvet for her ears by grabbing them and pulling them and I’ve never like how none of the main characters or anyone else try to hELP.

-Ergo, when that scene happens, Yang promptly gets up, twists Cardin’s wrist so that he lets Velvet’s ear go, then picks him up by the back of his shirt and flings him right through the farthest cafeteria window she can aim at from this angle. When his team of fellow bullies take it poorly, she proceeds to throw them through other windows.

-Her only defense when taken to the Headmaster’s office to face down Glynda and a very bemused Ozpin is that 1. at least she didn’t break their jaws or bones like she did the first time she caught someone bullying Velvet, 2. Professor Goodwitch can fix the windows with telekinesis to it’s not like the school was actually damaged and 3. if the Headmaster can fling people off cliffs for initiations, she can fling people through windows for being moronic bullies that needed spanking when they were five and spoiled but never got it.

-Goodwitch is not amused. Ozpin, on the other hand, is highly amused by trying not to show it. Yang can smell it and sense it in his magic tho.

-Yang, later in the dorms, more to herself then anyone, “So Velvet was born with one more pair of ears than most humans have, that’s no reason to be a jerk. I mean come on, he was born with a dumb face but I left him alone until he made the first move.”

-Blake: *vague staticky brain noises of confusion* “She’s ... a Faunus.”

-Yang: Gesundheit.

-Yang meeting Ironwood is gonna be-

-Fun.

-Because she first meets him in v2/v3 when he shows up for the Vytal Festival and brings an army with him and it makes Yang’s instincts SCREECH. This is OZPIN’S territory and this random general man is stomping all over it, bringing his army with him like some kind of power statement and she is immediately ready to Throw Hands with this man on Ozpin’s behalf just out of PRINCIPLE. So when she goes up to visit him at one point and finds Ironwood already there, she ignores the conversation she interrupted by arriving, points at Ironwood and goes, “Is this guy bothering you, Headmaster? Should I through him out the window? Or down the elevator shaft?”

-Ironwood is stunned that a student just- SAYS THAT. Ozpin, who has already gotten to know Yang enough to know that her social default setting is “subtle as a brick that’s been dunked in gasoline and set on fire”, sighs, “I’m fine, Yang. This is General Ironwood from Atlas.”

-Yang clicks her tongue and cracks her knuckles, “I know who he is, he’s the guy who showed up and cluttered up your skies with those rattling junk heaps he calls an army. It’s why I asked if you wanted me to throw him.”

-Ironwood, truly aghast, “Excuse me?”

-(ngl I DO like Ironwood and feel like they did his character dirty in v7 and likely v8 but, especially in v2/v3 he does have a bit of a arrogance problem)

Lunweiss:

-Weiss probably confuses so many people at Beacon. She is a Schnee, so while people are expecting some measure of dignity they are also expecting snobbery or brattiness and instead she’s just- the sweetest, mildest person under her reserve?

-Jaune still has a huge crush on her, she firmly but gently informs him that she’s just not interested. When he is slow to take the hint she gets upset, but that just means she withdraws in on herself.

-Yang, activating her Big Sister instincts: Yo, Jaune. I like you, you’re a good friend. But if you don’t drop it then I’m going to drop kick you off the top of Beacon Tower.

-Jaune: o.o yes ma’am.

-Lunweiss has had ... something of a deprived childhood in both lives. I don’t mean physically, because of course as Oracle and then as Heiress she had the best clothes and finest foods, but just- in the ordinary Teenage Life Experience. Things like video games and board games, carnival food, shopping with friends- she doesn’t have any real experiences like that? So obviously, as soon as Team RWBY realizes this (aka the day they’re lounging around the dorm and Luna asks what “these” are, “these” being Yang’s and Ruby’s collection of video games), they set out to do All The Fun Things with Weiss. Even Blake gets in on it when she comes to the somewhat stunning realization that the life experience even she, the Faunus activist, took for granted, is stuff Weiss has only ever heard of distantly in books and film.

-Weiss, bemusedly attempting to play a video game while Yang and Ruby lean on either shoulder and coach her on the buttons: ...What is the purpose of this?

-Ruby: *initiates lore dump about the video game plot and characters and emotional story beats*

-Yang, yanking Ruby’s hood over her head so she sputters to a stop: To unwind and have fun with friends.

-Weiss: I thought that was what ‘sleepover night’ was for?

-Ruby: People can do more than one ‘fun’ activity, Weiss.

At one point Blake reluctantly takes Weiss book shopping because Ruby, as Team Leader, has organized an entire schedule of “who does what fun thing with Weiss” and this was hers: So this is my favorite book store, the fiction genres are that way, non-fiction is that way, and comics are over there.

Weiss: *looks incredibly, hopelessly lost* Ummmmm

Blake: ... let’s start simple. What kind of books did you read as a kid?

Weiss, a little helplessly: whatever the tutors my father hired deemed proper for my education at the time and whatever books I could sneak out of the library without being caught and told to put them back because they were either “too young” for me, “too old”, or “not proper for a young lady of my standing”. Grandfather had a lot of books that my father put in that latter category and eventually he just- locked the doors to the library entirely and bought a new copy of whatever my teachers or tutors said I needed.

Blake: *listens to this and slowly has an internal crisis that the ‘spoiled’ Schnee heiress has never been allowed to read her own choice of books aka Blake’s favorite childhood activity*

Blake, a little desperately: Are there any books you remember enjoying as a child? Even if they were assigned?

Weiss combs through her memories, decides that’s not productive, and goes all the way back to her Luna lifetime before tentatively admitting: I ... enjoyed reading mythology and other tales set in historical eras with little evidence of being actually true, but entertaining nonetheless, especially since they often had a moral component woven in.

Blake runs that through her internal Weiss Translator: Fairy tales. You like fairy tales. Okay, I can work with that.

[youare-mysonshine]

unsteady || oscar diaz

Summary: Cesar and Oscar get into a fight and the reader lets Cesar know just how much his brother has done for him.

Requested: Yes

Hi, a request where Oscar and Cesar get into a fight after who knows what and Cesar says some really hurtful things to Oscar. Reader is watching doesn’t usually get involved in fights but Oscar walks off after Cesar says the hurtful things and reader get involved telling Cesar that he should be lucky he has Oscar, that Oscar has risked a lot of stuff for Cesar, etc. Then reader goes to the bedroom to see Oscar crying softly and she comforts him by kissing his tattoos and reassuring him.

A Oscar x reader where it takes place after his dad leaves again and he tells Cesar. So he finally opens up to you about everything later that night when he goes over to your house crying in your arms. After her tells you that he loves and to never leave him because you heal him. Lots of fluff for my man please he needs it

Pairing: Oscar Diaz x reader

Warnings: contains spoilers from s3 ep5, so if you haven’t watched the latest season or haven’t gotten to the fifth episode, keep scrolling. cussing, angst, fluff at the end.

Word Count: 2.5k

A/N: my heart broke. I just wanna hug Oscar okay. I know he done some shit but they ain’t gotta do him like they did him this season. LEAVE OSCAR ALONE. But anyways lmao, I combined two requests that I got. I just thought they fit well together, so I hope that whoever requested them enjoys this and finds it to their liking. I obviously changed some stuff but tried to keep it as original to both requests as I could. Enjoy!

—————

It was around 8-9 pm when Cesar finally got home from the funeral in Brentwood. You had been sitting on the couch, flipping past the channels on the t.v, though you weren’t particularly paying attention. It was more so something to keep you occupied. Oscar was sitting at the dining room table, hand around a beer bottle, eyes focused intently on the hard wood table.

You could practically hear his thoughts, see his mind racing. The entire day, he’d been like that. It had been a rough day for him, and you had done your best to be there for him, but nothing could prepare either of you for when Cesar finally got home.

Oscar had been crushed once again when Ray walked out of their lives, but he had been through it once before. Did it make it easier? No. Did it make the anger he felt lessen any less? No. But knowing his baby brother wasn’t a baby anymore, knowing he had to tell him their dad walked out on them again, that’s what was eating away at him. The first time Ray left, Cesar was too little to even remember him. That’s the only positive side - Oscar carried the burden. Dealt with the anger and sadness of their dad leaving, not Cesar. But this time? This was something he couldn’t protect him from.

Cesar walked through the door and flashed you a smile in greeting.

“Hey.” He spoke, shutting the wooden door behind him. Oscar, hearing the front door open and shut, stood up from where he was sitting, eyes locked on his brother as he finally came into view. You gave Cesar a small smile, returning the greeting. You grabbed the remote control and shut the t.v off, it being the last thing on your mind. Now noticing Oscar standing up, slowly walking towards him, and you looking at him with what he could only describe as sadness in your eyes, Cesar grew concerned. And that’s when he noticed it.

All of Ray’s things were gone.

Given that the house was relatively small, Ray had taken to sleeping on the couch. And since he had arrived, the living room had been rather unkempt, his things had been strewn about on the small coffee table in front of the couch.

“What’s going on? Where’s Ray? Where are his things?” He asked. Oscar’s face was hardened, but you could see the emotion in his eyes. He was hurt. Angry that his dad had put this all on him. That his dad had basically sent him to hurt Cesar and deliver the news.

“Cesar, come sit.” You patted the spot beside you and for a few seconds, he did nothing except look between you and Oscar, before finally relenting and occupying the space beside you on the couch.

“Where is Ray?” He asked again, looking up at his big brother. Oscar was looking at the ground, mouth set into a thin line. A few seconds went past before he finally spoke.

“He left.” There it was. The words Oscar had dreaded to say to his little brother.

“What? What do you mean he left? Left where?” Cesar asked, his face falling.

“He packed up his shit and he left. Didn’t say where but I’m guessing Bakersfield.” Oscar answered, voice deep and gruff.

Cesar was incredulous, not wanting to believe it was true. His heart was racing, you could see, that just like Oscar, his mind was going a mile a minute. His hands clenched at his pants, his knuckles turning pale white. He shook his head, eyes on the coffee table before looking back up at Oscar.

“He wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.” Your heart broke. You had been pissed when you found Oscar sitting on the living room couch, looking like a lost and fragile child, only for him to tell you that his father had bailed out again. From the get go, you understood both sides - Oscar was older than Cesar, thus he remembered more. He remembered the hurt and anger when Ray first left. He had to shoulder the responsibility of raising his baby brother, he had to be a father all while still a child himself. But you also understood that while Cesar may have looked at Oscar like a father figure, he, of course, desired to have a relationship with his actual father. You couldn’t fault him for that. And you had hoped with all of your heart that Ray wouldn’t do what he did again, that he wouldn’t hurt Cesar and Oscar more than he did already. But it was wishful thinking.

“He did.”

Cesar jumped into defensive mode, eyes and face hardening. He stood up off the couch and you had a bad feeling. The brothers had gotten in plenty of arguments and fights, you had been with Oscar long enough to witness some of them, but you had always chosen to not get involved - they already worked on their shit and figured it out.

“What did you do?” The younger Diaz bit out, getting in his brother’s face.

“I didn’t do shit.” Oscar answered.

“Exactly. You didn’t do shit. You could have helped him find a new job or something. But instead you chose not to.”

“I don’t have that kind of power.”


“Oh bullshit! I bet this makes you so happy.”

“Happy? I’m your brother. For most of your life I’ve been your dad. If you’re gonna be mad at someone, be mad at him. He’s the one that up and left. Again.”

It was when Cesar shoved Oscar back that you finally stood up and made a move toward the young teen.

“Okay, that’s enough. Cesar, stop. Stop.” You had tried to no avail, Cesar ignoring you and shoving Oscar again. Your boyfriend waved you off, not wanting you to get involved or get hurt. Then he focused on the hurt boy, calling his name, trying to get him to calm down.

“Cesar. Ces-“

“Monse was right. You are cursed. Everything bad that has happened to me is because of you.”

The room went silent. You could hear nothing but the crickets chirping outside. Oscar’s face visibly fell. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. His eyes had taken an emotion that you could only describe as hurt, sadness.. heartache. It absolutely shattered your heart. And it made you angry more than anything else. Oscar didn’t do or say anything. He just turned around and walked down the hallway. You could hear the bedroom door open and then slam shut.

Cesar was breathing hard, panting, eyes angry and hard. But you certainly weren’t gonna let him get away with his behavior, no matter how angry he was at his brother.

“What the hell was that, Cesar?” You asked, eyes blazing as you focused your attention on your boyfriend’s little brother.

“All of this is his fault! He made Ray leave, he-“ You cut him off, holding a hand up.

“First of all, no - it’s not his fault. You’re forgetting that this isn’t the first time Ray has walked out on you, Cesar. You were too little to remember it back then, but he left you once before! Oscar didn’t make Ray do anything he didn’t want to do. That man left on his own free will. I get that you’re angry, but what you’re not gonna do is blame Oscar for something your dad did. Twice.” You said.

“And second - Oscar raised you. When your dad left, when your mom was gone or high - he raised you. He didn’t have to, but he did. He gave up opportunities. He gave up hopes and dreams just to stay here and take care of you, and don’t you forget that. I get that the shit with Latrelle shooting Olivia and Ruby started because of him, I get it. I’m not saying that he’s innocent but you don’t know how it eats away at him - that shit’s with him everyday. He thinks about it everyday. He lives with it everyday. Oscar has done way more for you than Ray ever did. I get that you wanted a relationship with your dad, but who was more of a dad to you? Ray? Or Oscar? You should be lucky that you have Oscar because there are people out there that have no one. If he was somebody else, he could left you here. He’s made mistakes, he’s paid for them. He’s still paying for them. You don’t know half of the shit he’s done or has had to do just to keep you safe. To keep you and your friends safe. It’s so easy to paint him as the bad guy, but don’t forget - he’s your brother and he loves you more than anything. Don’t take your anger out on him.”

Cesar stayed silent through and after that, not saying a single word. His eyes fell to the ground, hands clenched in fists. You had never raised your voice Cesar - you chose not to get involved in arguments with Oscar and his brother, but this time you could stay silent hearing the way Cesar was talking to himS You’d be the first to after that Oscar wasn’t perfect - he made mistakes, grave ones, but you had also seen how much he carried on his shoulder to ensure the safety of not only Cesar and his friends, but the entire neighborhood. He didn’t want anymore innocent people getting hurt, especially if it was because of him. But it was like Cesar and his friends couldn’t see that. They only say and focused on the bad. You couldn’t change everyone’s opinion, but you didn’t want Cesar having that opinion of his brother. You needed him to know just how much Oscar did for him, how much he loved him.

With one final look at Cesar, you walked away from him, heading down the hall towards the familiar door that led to the bedroom you and Oscar shared. What you saw when you opened the door broke your heart into a bunch of pieces.

Oscar was sitting on the bed, hunched over with his face in his hands. His shoulders shook softly and you could tell that he was crying.

“Oh, Oscar..” You shut the door behind you and immediately walked over to him. You gently removed his hands from his face and coaxed him to look up at you. When he did, you heart broke even more if it was possible. His cheeks were wet with tears, his eyes were slightly red, and his bottom lip and chin wobbled as a fresh set of tears came.

“He hates me.” He sounded like such a vulnerable and fragile child. His voice was broken, soft. Unlike the usual tone in which you heard him speak on the daily. This was someone who was hurting inside, and you desperately wanted to make the hurt go away. “He hates me and it’s all my fault.”

With your hands cupping his cheeks, you wiped away the free tears that had fallen, shaking your head. “No, baby. He doesn’t hate you. He’s angry, he’s hurt but he doesn’t hate you. When Ray left the first time, he was too young to remember. But now? This is something entirely new to him. He doesn’t know what to think or what to feel, and like you, the first thing he can think of is anger. Rage.”

“It’s all my fault. Latrelle, Ruby, Olivia.. Monse was right. I am cursed.” Oscar lowered his head and his shoulders began to shake again as he cried quietly. You sighed softly, closing your eyes so the tears that had welled up in your own eyes wouldn’t fall.

“Look at me, papas.” You had spoken softly once you composed yourself. You pressed a kiss against his head and coaxed him to look at you once more. You wiped away the tears once more and leaned in, pressing the tiniest kiss against the teardrop tattoo under his eye.

“You’ve made mistakes. We all have. But it’s not all your fault. You’re not cursed. Cesar doesn’t hate you. I see you, Oscar. The real you. I see all that you do to protect him, to keep him safe. I mean even with all that happened today - you were more upset about Cesar having to go through this, about having to tell him Ray left. Why? Because you just wanted to protect him, the way no one protected you when you were growing up. The streets raised you and you raised him - you’ve done so much for him, and I just told him that right now. He loves you, baby.”

“I never wanted him to have to go through that. I never wanted him to have to grow up with the hurt that I did when he left. It fucking.. it hurt so bad. When Ray left today.. I felt like a little kid all over again. Like it was the first time. And then I remembered that Cesar is older now, that he’ll remember this and.. fuck..” His voice cracked, but you stayed silent, letting him finish and get all that he needed off his chest. “I’ve messed up with him. Badly, after that shit that happened with Ruby getting shot and Olivia dying, kicking Cesar out - I fucked up. I know I did. I chose the Santos over my own brother.. I’ll never be able to make up for it, but I want to try. For him. Everything that I do, everything I’ve ever done is for him.”

Oscar’s hands, which had gravitated down to your hips, tightened slightly as he pulled you closer, looking up at you from his seated position on the bed with such an intense and vulnerable gaze that you couldn’t bring yourself to look away, even if you wanted to.

“I do it for you too, you know. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I just..” He paused, trying to find the right words. “You heal me, Y/N.” He said, and your eyes watered again. “You make me want to be a better person. A better man. I never ever want to lose you. I can’t lose you. I love you.”

With a tear drop falling down your cheek, you bent down ever so slightly. You leaned in and kissed his neck, specifically the Santos cross. You worked your way up, peppering little kisses against his jawline. It wasn’t sexual in the slightest, you just needed him to know that you were there. That you were there and you weren’t going anywhere. You worked your way up to his cheek, then the tear drop tattoo once more. There, you rested your forehead upon his. You locked eyes with your boyfriend, staring deep into them and hoping that you were conveying the love you had for him.

“I’m not going anywhere, Oscar. You’re stuck with me. Now and always. I love you. Good and bad. Nothing you can say or do will ever scare me away, okay? You’re a good man. You’re an amazing brother. Shit, you’re an amazing dad to Cesar. You raised him. You did and you alone. You did and do so much for him. I see all that you do, and I’m proud of you. I’m proud to be your’s.”

[nottoxicfr]

On the RWBY side of things, is the Shadow war still going on since Salem is still there? What about the maidens?

The series has progressed the same until the Beacon Arc, so the Shadow War is still going on between Salem and Humanity. Things like the Maidens and Magic, the next Oz-carnation, all still apply in the world of Remnant. However, Beacon’s Fall doesn’t happen (mostly) which changes how things unfold.

I don’t want to say that the war with Salem came to a screeching halt when she heard about l’Cie, but I do think she was kind of like, “Whoa, hold on, let’s go figure that out” to her henchmen. After all, the Fal’Cie and l’Cie are stories from when she was a child, so I think she understands that this could potentially be a big deal. 

Salem and Oz also see themselves as a sort of pseudo-l’Cie, as they’ve both been cursed by the Gods with a task to complete and a deadline. In that way, Salem is hoping to use the new l’Cie to either break her curse of immortality or to seize the relics.

I haven’t talked about what Cinder and the gang are up to while all of this is happening, but they’re basically the secret third group chasing after the l’Cie. While they’re doing that, they’re also masterminding similar events to what happens in the canon series. For example, in the Atlas Arc, Atlas begins to fall onto Mantle. In this case, Vulcan, the Fal’Cie under Mantle, catches it and puts it back in place using magic.

Another thing I want to note about Salem’s role in the story is that she’s actively being disrupted by the Fal’Cie as they awaken. The Fal’Cie were made to maintain the world and protect Humanity. Currently, the Grimm are hugely overpopulated in relation to the number of humans, so the awakening Fal’Cie tend to kill off large amounts of Grimm. It’s giving Salem a hard time, and she has to rely more on her human servants.

...will the silver eyes sort of nullify the Grimm attracting effect of being a l’cie or is it something akin to the relics where the attraction to it overpowers the repellant that are SEWs?

Being a Silver Eyed warrior protects Ruby a bit from the attraction effect of the l’Cie brand. When she’s alone, Grimm tend to avoid her unless they’re directly seeking her out with orders from someone. However, when she’s with Oscar (or any other l’Cie), the attraction effect overrules the Silver Eyes. Basically, if there’s more l’Cie than Silver Eyed people, it doesn’t work very well.

In terms of fully unlocking her powers of Silver Eyes, I don’t know if she will. I definitely want to have her use light-affinity magic, which could be seen as an extension of her eyes. However, since her main enemy isn’t Grimm, she doesn’t have anything to fully unlock them for.

Does Oz just stay at Beacon the whole time?

Oz stays at Beacon for the most part. He’s got a day job that he has to attend to, and the Vytal Festival is still supposed to happen! It remains to be seen if the accumulation of terrorist crimes the l’Cie are accused of will cause it to be canceled…

I want Ozpin to enter more directly into the story at the end of the Atlas arc though. He, Oscar, and Ruby have a brief encounter over the phone because they have to sneak into Ironwood’s office

He, Oscar and Ruby have a brief encounter in the middle of Atlas over the phone. They have to sneak into Ironwood’s office to get a security key and he’s on a conference call (Ironwood had to leave due to a distraction). After speaking, unsuccessfully, he ends up arriving in Atlas just after the l’Cie board a ship to Vacuo. Then he has to straighten everything out with Ironwood, Atlas, and Mantle, so he’s lagging behind the l’Cie. He recognizes this whole situation has gotten out of hand and it would have been simpler if he just took the time to speak with them directly. 

Are we also initiating Dadpin in the case of the dearest farm boi? 

No Dadpin though, at least not notable enough to tag. They definitely have a connection, but there isn't enough contact in the story to let that really take hold. Oz definitely offers Oscar a place at Beacon after this is all over though, so maybe in the future?

They have a bond built on bearing the wait of divine tasks given to them, so I think that's a good foundation.

So…

*steeples fingers*

FFXIII Rosegarden. I must know the inspiration aside from FFXIII being AMAZING (and my childhood) and also RWBY for the same reasons.

Scratch that, I must know everything. This is a crossover I never knew I needed.

I’m sorry this took so long! Seriously, my bad. If you have any questions, please tell me. I promise I won't take three months to answer this time

This will be long.

For inspiration, the short story is that I have a lot of Final Fantasy-RWBY AUs, for basically all the Final Fantasy games I think of regularly (7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) and even in the scope of Final Fantasy 13, I have a 13-1 and a 13-2 and a 13-3LR AU. I also have a KH AU I've been working on.

This'll just be the Final Fantasy 13-1 AU, though I’ll link the other story details when I post them.

Just to run through a few things, just to set a baseline of how the world works. This is a Remnant where the world increasingly reveals elements from Final Fantasy 13, rather than a true crossover.

For example, the l’Cie and the Fal’Cie are the same idea in concept. The l’Cie are branded servants of the Fal’Cie, mechanical deities serving the Gods themselves. However, in this story, the l’Cie are a fairy tale to even Ozma, which means he only has a strange idea of what they actually are. Only l’Cie really knows what being a l’Cie entails.

A l’Cie is:

Someone who has been branded with a tattoo by a Fal’Cie, essentially the sign that they’ve been given a quest and a vision (a Focus) of what they have to accomplish

The tattoo slowly grows, setting a time limit for their quest. As it grows, the l’Cie also gains the ability to harness magic

However, if they fail to accomplish their task in time, they will be transformed into a monster, a Ci’eth

Someone who is branded naturally attracts Grimm to them, which makes traveling more difficult

Oscar is aged up here a bit, just a year younger than Ruby, and this takes place during a pseudo-Beacon Arc time period.

Oscar is the first l’Cie of the story. His brand is on his neck, under his bandage wraps. His Focus, his quest, is to awaken the slumbering Fal’Cie hidden around Remnant. They were put to sleep when the Brothers left Remnant and, for some reason, they’ve judged it time for them to awaken.

Outside of being a L’cie, he’s just a regular guy at this point and that makes it hard for him to get where he needs to go. For this reason, he hires Ruby to help him get to Forever Fall Forest, which is where he thinks the Fal’Cie he needs to awaken is.

The first arc takes place in Vale, where Oscar’s tremendous bad luck causes a trip that should only take a few hours take several days, which pushes him up the edge of his time limit. Naturally, this puts him in a bad mood, which makes him and Ruby have some friction between them. The situation is somewhat smoothed over when Oscar shows Ruby some magic and he vaguely explains that he needs to get to Forever Fall soon or he’ll die a miserable death.

Ruby distracts him for a little while by talking to him about her Team and asking him about his life. He worked on a farm for most of his life, his aunt died recently, and he’s always wanted to see the world. They fight several packs of Grimm as they hike and Ruby contemplates calling in reinforcements because, for some reason, Oscar insists he’s on a time limit.

They arrive in Beacon where they meet up with WBY and Team JNPR briefly, only to hop on a wagon heading to Forever Fall. Oscar is, at this point, seemingly kind of sketchy. To be fair to him, he’s basically dying.

The arc resolves when Oscar and Ruby plummet down into a sinkhole and find the sleep Fal’Cie of Forever Fall, Behemoth, who brands Ruby simply for being nearby. Now, aside from being paid, Ruby has been dragged into this race to awaken the Fal’Cie, much to the frustration of Oscar. He doesn’t feel comfortable with that, but there’s not a lot he can do but beg an uncaring Fal’Cie to unbrand her.

On the upside, Oscar is given an extension of his time limit and a new vision. He needs to go to the floating city in the sky (Atlas) next, which is where he needs to find the twin Fal’Cie sleeping there.

Ruby is branded as the second l’Cie. She has a brand at her collarbone, hidden under her shirt. Her Focus is to awaken the slumbering Fal’Cie as well, although she also catches further glimpses into the future that put an emphasis on encroaching darkness.

This starts the second arc, Atlas, or the journey to Atlas.

It kicks off when Ruby essentially runs away without telling anyone, under the assumption that once Oscar and her finish their quest, she’ll come back and explain everything. It’s not a very good plan, but she’s understandably occupied by everything that’s going on with her life right now. Ruby and Oscar try and fail to rent a car because they’re both underage. Following this, Ruby tries to buy them tickets directly to Atlas, which doesn’t work because travel to Atlas has suddenly jammed up. Instead, they have to take an indirect route from Anima (the Mistal continent) to Mantle, which takes a few more days but that’s fine.

Yang is, understandably, incredibly distressed that her sister seems to have given up her dreams of being a Huntress to chase after a boy she met three days ago. She reports this to Qrow, who tells Ozpin, who tries to get an understanding of what happened. Yang tells Ozpin about the weird stuff that she heard Oscar and Ruby talking about before, which entails something about Fal’Cie and l’Cie and the Kingdom of Atlas. 

She suspects Ruby has joined a cult and is, again, incredibly distressed.

As stated before, the words l’Cie and fal’Cie are like myths to Ozma. They’re messengers of the Gods and assistants to their angels and, most importantly, they’re almost synonymous with great change. Not good or bad, just big changes in the world. This rings alarm bells in Ozpin’s mind, though not to the point of overreaction.

Ozpin asks Yang to take Team WBY and go after her sister, just to make sure she’s alright and to try and bring her and Oscar back. Ozpin wants to speak with both of them over this supposed l’Cie business. Qrow says he’ll do some scouting ahead to search for them, hopefully, to wrap this whole thing up quickly. He’s not too fond of the idea that some kid swept Ruby away from Beacon.

Ozpin informs his inner circle about all of this, just to keep them updated. It seems like Ruby and Oscar are headed to Anima and then to Atlas, they’re talking about l’Cie stuff which is crazy because, etc…etc… He wants Leonardo to investigate Oscar Pine, he wants Ironwood to try and bring them both in and most importantly, Ozpin just wants to talk.

The lack of details makes Ironwood have a bit of an overreaction. The l’Cie are agents of change in the world and, with the Vital Festival on the horizon, it seems more likely to him that these “l’Cie” are probably going to cause a negative effect. He mobilizes some of his elite forces to capture Ruby and Oscar, as well as putting out wanted posters on Scrolls that these two people are wanted for questioning. It’s a bit of an overreaction, but in his mind, it’s better to be cautious when it comes to mysterious things that haven’t been heard of since Ozma was a child.

Leonardo reports this to Salem soon after, having defected to her not that long ago. Just as troubled by this reappearance of a fairy tale from her childhood as Oz was, she tells Cinder to go find them. She can kill one of them, but she needs the other one to question about what’s going on.

To summarize:

Yang, Blake, and Weiss are chasing after Ruby and Oscar from Vale. Qrow is also looking for them as a bird.

Ironwood told Winter and some of her troops to go to Mistral and cut them off. He also made wanted posters for them.

Salem told Cinder to go find Oscar, who told Roman to spread the word and find them.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Oscar’s air ferry to the port crash lands because, apparently, l’Cie magic disagrees with technology. They have no idea they’re being chased until Ruby sees a wanted poster on her Scroll, detailing that Oscar is a potential terrorist and Ruby is either an accomplice or a hostage. This causes Ruby to freak out and summon her Eidolon, essentially a summoned spirit meant to assist a l’Cie in the quest. She and Oscar have to subdue it before it attacks the people on the crashed ferry, because a freshly summoned Eidolon is naturally berserk.

Her Eidolon is Carbuncle, which basically takes the form of a giant wolf-cat when it is going berserk and is much smaller after being tamed. It has the ability to produce elemental dust from a gemstone in its forehead and is, generally, more of a support Eidolon.

They have to run now because Carbuncle managed to destroy a hefty part of the ferry while it was attacking them, which upgrades them from potential terrorists to probable terrorists, even if it’s only on accident.

This is as far as I’ve written properly because I’ve also been writing a dozen other things. As I said before, I have a lot of Final Fantasy AUs. However, I do have vague details on how things progress from there.

Ruby and Oscar run into Yang, Blake, and Weiss just as they arrive in the port town where they have to board a boat. They end up getting into a fight, Ruby verbally and Oscar physically, because of the miscommunications involved. It’s hard to explain being a l’Cie to someone who doesn’t have the context of apparently sleeping Gods under Remnant. For the most part, Oscar’s part of the fighting ends up being running away and casting magic, which baffles all three of the Huntresses (because of genuine magic) and ends up casting a Thunder (Thundara) spell too close to Blake. This knocks her out.

They board the boat, just barely managing to escape from Ruby’s teammates and there’s a climactic moment where Yang has to watch the boat depart without being able to chase after them. WBY makes plans to keep up the pursuit as soon as they can, with Qrow flying ahead to Mistral.

When Ruby and Oscar get to Mistral, where they’ll board another ferry to go to the north and then get on a boat, there’s a scene that plays out similarly to when Snow rescues Lighting and Hope in FF13.

Winter corners Ruby and Oscar in a plaza with her troops, putting handcuffs on Ruby, only for Yang to show up on a motorcycle and rescue both of them. Blake and Weiss provide supporting fire and they all escape to the rooftops to get away. This puts Mistral on high alert, which shuts down the air ferry, complicating matters significantly. Still, Ruby and Oscar are grateful they weren’t captured. At this point, Ruby’s brand is halfway developed.

They all talk things over and, although WBY don’t necessarily believe everything they’re saying, they decide to help them get to Atlas. Yang also frets over Ruby’s tattoo-brand, which feels relaxingly normal to the group.

While all of that is going on, Cinder begins to make moves towards Atlas, planning to take advantage of the chaos the l’Cie are causing to damage Atlas and capture them. Salem is contemplating what to do about the awakening Fal’Cie, who is purging the overpopulation of Grimm in the world.

Oscar summons his Eidolon, Pegasus, which can turn into a motorbike with wings.

Ruby falls off of Atlas, but is saved by Oscar in a Bullhead.

When they get to Atlas and awaken one of the Fal’Cie there, WBY gets branded as l’Cie. It’s kind of like a spreading curse, and eventually, it will reach JNPR too. That comes later on though.

One of the Fal’Cie is located under Mantle, Vulcan, and the other one is located on the under side of the island of Atlas, Venus. WBY is entirely branded by Vulcan, and Winter and Penny are branded by Venus (though this isn’t something RWBYO is aware of).

There’s only one more Fal’Cie to awaken after this, which is located in Vacuo.

-Oscar awakened the Mistral one

Ruby and Oscar awakened the Vale one

Ruby, Oscar, Yang, Blake, and Weiss awaken Vulcan, which awakens Venus

The last one is in Vacuo. JNPR and Oscar will end up awakening it by falling into a ravine (Woo!)

The final stage of the story reveals that the Fal’Cie want to harvest the collected souls of Humanity so they can use that power to evolve into a God themselves and follow after their creators. They despise Humanity and resent having to serve the inferior creations of the Brothers. Everyone takes a stance on what to do about that, though the main characters decide to fight that. This goes against their final vision, which tells them they are meant to assist in harvesting the souls of Humanity. This is called Humanity's Fall!

Pyrrha does get stabbed in the process and possibly dies, which relates to the RWBY x Final Fantasy 13-2 AU. I love interconnecting these things.

I love talking. If you have any questions or ideas about anything, please ask. Please. Again, my bad. It's been a rough few months.

[miss-writes-a-lot]

Ozpinweek2021 Day 7: Free Day : Happy birthday Professor Ozpin!

(@ozpinweek day 7! Didn't get them all but I got some of them! Hope this was entertaining or something. Happy Ozpinweek everyone!)

One Spring morning, Nora had gathered teams RWBY, CFVY, SSSN, and JNPR in the common room and announced that she had apparently found out that Professor Ozpin's birthday was the next day and they were going to throw a surprise birthday party in his office.

Now every single one of them were sceptical of this proclamation. Very few people knew when Ozpin's birthday was. Uncle Qrow never disclosed the date because Ozpin apparently didn't like to celebrate his birthday and would have much rather celebrated other's special days. But - Nora was sure in her knowledge and somehow had convinced the group to help her out.

The plan was perfect. Team RWBY knew that Garnet would have to go to her monthly treatments in the bunker for a good chunk of the morning, and Oscar and Maylea didn't have school so they would be joining them as well.

So, they would sneak into the tower around the time they would all head down to the bunker and set up inside of his office. Ren made the cake - Nora argued that a pancake cake would make a much better choice of cake but quickly changed her tune once she saw the many layered cookie cake.

Pyrrha, Fox, and Velvet kept watch outside until they were certain they were in the clear. Once they were, they snuck inside with the supplies and got to setting up.

Yatsuhashi, Sun, and Sun's clones hung the banner, Nora, Velvet, and Blake blew up the balloons (Weiss supervised Nora so she wouldn't pop or suck the helium out of the balloons) Jaune, Yang, and Coco hung up the streamers while everyone else stuck party games and other decorations from the discount bin at the bargain market.

Ruby squealed happily as she looked around the room, "This is gonna be so cool! I hope Professor Ozpin likes it!"

"I'm sure he'll enjoy it, " Pyrrha said, "Though I still feel uneasy about all of this. "

"Well if anything goes south, we can always use Ruby's super speed before we get caught. " Neptune said.

"Relaaaaxx you guys!" Nora exclaimed, "We're not gonna get in trouble!"

"Easy for you to say. How do you even know if he even wants a party? Or that it's even his birthday?" Weiss questioned, crossing her arms.

"Come on, Weiss. Have a little faith in Nora!" Sun exclaimed, "She's doing this for a good cause!"

"Yeah Weiss. Have a little fun!"

Weiss rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to speak but being cut off by the sound of the door of the office opening. Everyone froze in place.

'Oh no! He's here early!'

A heavy boot stepped in, followed by a pale hand, and then a pale face. It was Garnet.

Everyone sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank the brothers. It's just you, Garnet." Pyrrha sighed.

"What are you doing?" The youngest Pine asked, scanning the room.

"We're setting up for your old man's birthday!" Sun said.

Garnet raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

"Ozpin! His birthday!"

"It's not his birthday."

The room fell silent. Everyone exchanged a look with one another.

"...what?"

"His birthday is in the fall. Some time in the third week of September or something."

The color drained from their faces. Weiss whipped around and shot an icy glare at Nora, who ducked down behind a table.

"Crap!" Yang exclaimed.

"We have to take this down before they get here," Coco said.

"They're actually coming up the elevator now -"

"On it!"

"Wait, no-"

Ruby took off, flying around the room and sucking everything into her tornado of petals.

The teams began to lift off the ground and fly into her petal burst along with her.

"Ru-u-u-uby! Put us do-w-w-w-wn!" Weiss yelled.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Jaune exclaimed.

"Don't you dare, Vomit boy!" Scarlet yelled.

"RUBY! STOP!"

The red head finally took notice and stopped, making a not so smooth landing on the office floor.

"Ugh...never...never again." Blake moaned.

"I'm seriously going to be sick…" Jaune added.

"Sorry guys…" Ruby said, rubbing the side of her head.

The door to the now destroyed office clicked open. It was too late to run. Ozpin, Qrow, Professor Goodwitch, General Ironwood, Oscar, and Maylea all entered and all taking in the destruction around them.

"What in the world happened here?!" Glynda shouted.

"Ah! We're sorry, Professor - er, Professors! We -"

"It was Nora's idea!" Yang exclaimed.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"What is happening right now?" Maylea asked.

"I have no idea." Oscar replied.

"Enough! Ms. Rose-" Professor Goodwitch pointed her wand at Ruby, "Explain."

"Weweretryingtoplanabirthdaypartyfor-"

"Slowly."

Ruby took a breath. "We were trying to plan a birthday party for Professor Ozpin, but we got the date wrong and when I tried to clean it up, this... happened."

Ozpin stepped forward, picking up the plate that once held the now smashed cookie cake.

"We're so sorry, Professor Ozpin. We'll clean it up! Right guys?"

"Y-yeah!"

"And we take full responsibility for what happened here."

Ozpin said nothing. He continued to examine the plate.

"Uh... Professor Ozpin?"

"September 23rd."

Everyone exchanged a look of confusion.

"Uh, come again?"

"My birthday is September 23rd. A day or two after the first day of autumn. It's... it's not something I tell many people. Doesn't have positive connotations. It's…" Ozpin paused, a small smile tugging at his lips, "It was nice of you all to do this. I appreciate it. I mean that."

Ruby beamed, "You're welcome, Professor Ozpin -"

"That being said, I'd appreciate it very much if you all put the same effort into fixing my office."

"There it is."

"There's a sizable custodial closet in the main building. Should have everything you need to get started."

Everyone groaned. "Yes Professor Ozpin…"

"Good. Now, come along now, Garnet. Let's get you home."

"G-give me a minute…"

Qrow sighed, going to pick up the disoriented child. "C'mon Nettie. A good nap'll fix you up."

"Ugghhhh…"

Qrow chuckled. "Let's go home."

"Wait! Uncle Qrow! Take us with you!" Yang pleaded.

"Sorry, rules are rules."

"You said you were allergic to the rules!"

Qrow shrugged. The others followed him out, Glynda stomping ahead of them in frustration. Ruby looked back at Ozpin. He smirked as he followed the others to the elevator. She smirked back.

Overall, it wasn't a bad party.

[coweggomelet]

volume 5

im so sad please do funny things

i know what’s coming though so

i’ll be crying while i laugh

- i love how qrow walks he looks like he has back problems

- oooo pretty waterfall

- ruby gushing over weapons is my favorite thing

- ahahaaaa frozen background gays that’s representation babey

- oh shit he just wanted to finish the job and go home 😢

- wait are all the academy headmasters characters from the wizard of oz? like ironwood is the tin man, lionheart is the cowardly lion, oz is...oz. who’s the headmaster of shade? the scarecrow? dorothy? i am 100% sure that people have already connected these dots but that just occurred to me

- oh ilia you poor little lesbian

- ahahahaaaa qrow “i did it!”

-uggghh the new intro i need my babies to be back together

- ew watts don’t smile with your teeth like that it’s creepy

- oh yeah cinder can talk now! gimme that fun ominous banter-y dialogue pleeeaase

- floating islands babeeeyyy

- ooooh i love this pilot! he’s so nice and funny and he works well with weiss. so sad he dies in a couple minutes

- adam you are such an asshole siena was SO COOL

- AAAHHHHH he’s got dad reading glasses!! i love ghira

- i would DIE i would lay down my little life for oscar and ruby the BABIES

- fuck yeah yang!! you stand up to her!!

- WE GOT TWO OUT OF FOUR GANG TWO OUT OF FOUR

- awww hugs

- of course you’re more scared than you've ever been, oscar, you are a CHILD who worked on a farm!! it’s okay to be scared!! it’s okay to have to adjust!!

- SHE SURE IS REMARKABLE OZPIN

- uh oh ilia doesn’t wanna kill blake i smell a gay

- hehehe awkward backpedal

- ooohhh man the kid... fuck, all those people are just... gone. and we can guess what happened to them, it’s pretty obvious but we’re never told exactly what happened and it’s so sad and scary

- awkward tea time with mom

- ugh raven shut up you SUUUCK

- THREE OUT OF FOUR BABEEEYYY IM GONNA CRY

- they all love each other SO MUCH this is ILLEGAL

- yesssss arm wrestleeee

- ooooo the ticking clock is so ominous

- she’s gonna come back, yang, don't worry

- weiss i love youuuu you’ve grown so much i’m so proud!!

- oh ilia you poor thing

- oh boyyyy here we gooooo!! the fake out of the century!!

- mercury. shut up. you’re a good fighter and people underestimate you. but. you’re a kid. and there’s some real big players now. no one’s afraid of you. you’re not that scary.

- god this plan is so goddamn smart. raven wears her helmet. vernal keeps her eyes closed the whole time. so fucking clever. jesus. also?? vernal’s subtle showmanship?? amazing. great detail

- aang??!!?

- i really wanna know how oz hid the vault at beacon. there’s gotta be something about it other than he’s just old and powerful, there’s gotta be some shenanigans there

- god i love this theme it’s so good. casey really just gives it her all every time and i’m so grateful to her

- oh boy the fuckin lobby here we go

- siblings amirite

- boys and girls? really cinder? let’s be more inclusive please

- surprise y’all they’re murder teens sorry you had to find out this way

- fuck i forgot how much jaune’s lil speech hurts. he’s still just so sad and he’s breaking down a little cause he’s so good and can’t understand why or how someone could be so bad. god i love my lil sweet boy he’s breaking my heart

- qrow i think the time has passed for everybody to be cool. cinder’s already talking smack. there’s no going back buddy

- “who are you again?” CINDER ILL STAB YOU. but also… good— good line. absolutely devastating

- emerald’s like “gotta protect my mommy girlfriend”

- shut UP mercury

- siblings amirite part 2

- THATS MY BOOYYY GO OSCAARR

- ooooohhhhh this muuuussiiiicccc

- ope there’s an aura break oh FUCK weiss gets stabbed in this episode doesn’t she and JAUNEY BOY DISCOVERS HIS SEMBLANCE i love him

- AHAHAHAAAA fuck her uuuuppp ruby

- ohhhhh shit here it comes oh god oh no

- god with pyrrha’s spear too. cinder’s really got a taste for dramatics doesn’t she

- oh god and the spear dissolving like pyrrha did i CANT

- when i say i LOST MY SHIT i said no fuckin way they kill weiss right now NO FUCKIN WAY and my friend had the AUDACITY to say “just watch”???? RUDE

- oooohh GET HIM oscar

- HES DOING IT MY SWEET BOY I LOVE YOUUU

- ohhh the tree of knowledge! i just got that

- there’s the grimm elastigirl arm

- SIKE CINDER THERES NO POWER TO TAKE FROM HER YOU JUST KILLED HER FOR NO REASON

- GOD WHAT A REVEAL

- again i lost my shit

- the amount of times i lost my shit and my friend had to tell me to be quiet was… a Lot

- NORRAAAA I LOVE YOUUUU

- oh hazel. can’t wait for your Growth

- THERE SHE IIISSS MY GIRL WHAT AN ENTRANCE BLAKE

- uh oh hazel is disheveled that means he’s unhinged

- oh FUCK yeah blake you’ve LEARNED i’m so proud of all my babieeesss

- WEISS what a power stance!

- THE LOOK they’re so GAY

- ooooo i love this fight it’s maiden vs maiden babey

- poor vernal. she spent the last moment of her life helping a woman who probably manipulated her and used her, and she helped her try to kill someone who didn’t even end up dying. vernal deserved better

- OH HERE WE GO RAVEN ITS YOUR DAUGHTER BITCH AND SHES HAD GROWTH

- oooo get him blake

- ooof the shoulder check. raven she fuckin nailed you on the head and did not hold back and knew EXACTLY what to say and you did EXACTLY what she said you were gonna do— run away. she is SO MUCH better than you and you will never recognize that and that is so heartbreaking

- uh oh the clicky orb thing. you’re gonna die lionheart

- oh emerald my baby. she relied on cinder so much, was so dependent on her, that she was powerful enough to make that in like 8 brains at once. that’s grief babey

- it took them. TWO WHOLE VOLUMES. to all get back together. this is illegal. and also i’m crying

- this is not ALLOWED they can’t look at each other like that my heart can’t take it

- awww qrow’s default really is just taking care of kids. good guy

- i’m always so exhausted at the end of a volume

[yespleasetommyshelby]

Temporary - Oscar 'Spooky' Diaz Imagine Part Five

Previously...

"Good, you deserve better than that pendejo." He smirked as he lent back against the couch, his eyes meeting mine.

"I know." I smiled, holding eye contact, my heart starting to race as he winked at me before a banging on the door rang throughout the house.

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

"What, man?" Oscar frowned as he opened the door, one of the cholos from earlier appearing behind it.

"We got uh, we got that thing." He muttered, scratching his head as he looked over to me briefly.

"Take Johnny, I got shit to take care off." Spooky shrugged, closing the door and making his way back over to me without waiting for a reply.

"You know you don't have to babysit me right? If you've got things to do, I'll be okay." I smiled slightly as he dropped back down to his seat besides me.

"Nah, it's all good, nothin' they can't handle." He shrugged before focusing his attention solely on me. "So tell me, what exactly has Ruby told you about me?"

"Other than you being the most feared gang leader in Freeridge? Not so much." I smirked with a laugh as his mouth turned up slightly.

"Most feared huh?" He chuckled as he rubbed his chin briefly before leaning back and stretching his arms across the back of the sofa, his left hand brushing my shoulder slightly.

"Apparently so." I shrugged, watching as he reached onto his shorts pocket and pulled out a pack of cigerettes. "Although so far you're definitely not living up to expectations." I told him with a laugh as he threw an unlit cigerette hitting me square in the forehead.

"He tell you anything else?" He asked, lighting his own cigerette before leaning over and lighting mine, also known as the one he threw at my head.

"Uh, you've been looking after Cesar for a while now, a little about the Santos, and that you've just got out of prison." I trailed off, not sure whether I should have mentioned the last part. I frowned slightly as Oscars eyes drifted to the floor, a deep scowl on his face as my words hit his ears. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it, if it makes you feel any better there's no judgement on my end." I said softly, catching his attention as he raised his head to look at me. "I didn't know you then, before I mean, I know you now, and that is how I'll judge you." I smiled, a sense of relief washing other me as Oscar chuckled slightly before nodding his head, a slight glimmer in his eyes.

"Oh!" I continued excitedly. "And I'm pretty sure him and Jamal are absolutely terrified of you." I laughed thinking back to earlier. "They almost lost their shit at the school when I called you Oscar rather than Spooky." I smiled, the younger boys terrified faces flashing in my mind briefly.

"Spooky's a different person." Oscar sighed, rubbing his head. "You don't wanna be around me when I'm him." He muttered, stubbing his cigerette out on the ash tray on the table.

(Okay so I completely forgot that they was smoking, bare with me guys!)

"It's okay." I shrugged following his actions. "I'm more than happy to just know Oscar." I said sincerely, smiling to myself as a small smile graced his handsome features.

"Where is she?"

"Where is who?"

"My daughter! Where is she?"

"I don't know who your daughter is señora."

Shouting from outside took our attention away from each other and instead focusing on the voice that was drifting in through the closed door, my confusion dispersing as the voice clicked in familiarity.

"You've gotta be kidding me." I groaned as I rubbed my face before standing up from my spot on the sofa.

"What?" Oscar asked as I made my way to the window, him following suit.

"That's my mother." I muttered, pulling the curtain back slightly so we could both see the older figure stood with her hands on her hips with Diego behind her as she attempted to get my whereabouts out of the cholos in the yard.

I watched in confusion as Oscar chuckled to himself before striding over to the front door and swinging it open, leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed as all eyes moved to him.

"Can I help you?" Oscar called as he stood watching my mother and Diego with a smirk on his face.

"My daughter, where is she?" I heard my mother's voice as I took another quick look out of the window, Diego's smirk dripping slightly as he looked over at Oscar.

"I dunno señora, I got a lot of hyna's if ya know what I mean." He shrugged slightly, making me laugh quietly. He turned his head to me slightly raising an eyebrow making me smirk and raise my hands in mock surrender.

"Amelia Perez I know you're in there!" My mother shouted as her eyes scanned the windows, only just missing me as I quickly stepped back and out of sight. "You come out here right this second and apologise to your man!" She yelled making me shake my head with a sigh. Always on his side. I thought to myself.

"No disrespect, but I don't see no man over there, that cabrón ain't even a boy, señora." Oscar chuckled causing Diego to look up at him with a scowl on his face.

I sighed as I watched my mothers face twist in further anger, her fists clenched by her sides as if she would actually allow herself to throw a hit. Deciding that enough was enough I sighed and moved to stand beside Oscar in the doorway.

"Finally!" My mother exclaimed dramatically as her eyes landed on me. "Come on, you and Diego need to sort this shit out." She sighed motioning for me to go to her, her eyebrows raisin slightly as I made no attempt to move.

"There's nothing to sort out mami." I shrugged helplessly. "There's only so many times you can convince me to go back to him, I'm done with it." I shrugged again, not knowing how I could make it any clearer for her.

"You need to fight for what you have hija." She said in her 'motherly' voice, the one she would use to discreetly scold me when there was company around as a child. "You two are perfect for each other, you know this!" She smiled as though that one sentence was all it was going to take to change my mind.

"Perfect?" I scoffed. "You mean how he goes out of his way to make me feel worthless? How you both expect me to be the perfect little house wife, waiting at home for him to get back? Perfect as in the way he stops me from seeing friends? I've got nobody left because of him!" I raised my voice in frustration, my fists clenching in anger by my side.

"You have Jess!" She said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms over her chest as she smirked in satisfaction.

"Oh whoopdy-fucking-do mami, one person. One. The same one who's been telling me to leave his sorry ass since day one!" I yelled, pointing over to Diego was looking amused at the situation infront of him. "The same one that noticed the weird thing that's always seemed to be going on between you two!" I added, looking between the two in disgust.

The feeing of a hand on the bottom of my back made me jump slightly, turning to see Oscar looking down at me with a small frown on his face. Sighing I looked over to the cholos who were awkwardly watching, even if I had forgotten they were even there. Taking a deep breath i turned back to face the two unwelcome visitors.

"I'm not gunna be his punching bag anymore." I sighed, the fight leaving me until Diego opened his mouth.

"Just listen to your mother Amelia." He smirked, his arms coming up across his chest so he was in a matching stance with my mother.

"Fuck you." I smirked as his face dropped, a frown taking over his own smirk. "You know what mami, he's all yours." I raised my hands in surrender and stepped back into the Diaz household, stopping just over the threshold as my mother's final attempt reached my ears.

"If you leave now don't even think about coming back to Geny's!" Her shrill voice echaed through the empty house.

Hesitating slightly, I looked back to Oscar, sending him a small smile as I shrugged and walked in.

"Guess were all sorted Señora!" Oscar grinned as he tucked his hands into his front pockets, me watching from my space on the couch. "Now get off my property." He growled, all traces of a smile wiped from his features as he stared down at Diego and my mother.

Without waiting for any type of reply he nodded to his Santos in the yard and walked back inside, closing the door without a second look as he came over and plopped down on the couch besides me.

"I'm sorry." I sighed after a few minutes of nothing but silence, him frowning down at me in confusion. "For, I dunno, everything since I first met you, and especially for bringing my shit to your doorstep." I shrugged looking down as I fiddled with my hands, until another pair covered mine.

"Hey, you ain't gotta apologise, that shits on them, you don't deserve to be treated like that." He said quietly, our eyes locked together as he scooted slightly closer. "You should be treated like a Princesa." He smiled slightly making me giggle.

"Oh yeah? And who's gunna treat me like that?" I whispered, my eyes focused on his and nothing else.

I could feel the space between us closing steadily, unsure whether it was me or him leaning in, my eyes trapped in his as he glanced between my own and my lips. The thumping of my heart rushing to my ears, so loud I'm surprised he couldn't hear it himself. The thought of Diego and mother being outside was pushed to the back of my mind, the only thing I could focus on was wanting to know how Oscars lips would feel against mine.

My eyes fluttered shut as his lips touched mine, soft, tender and short lived as the front door flew open making us pull away quickly, I moved away slightly putting slightly more distance between us as Cesar, Ruby and Jamal came in.

"Uh, Lia, why did I just pass your mum storming away with Diego trailing behind like a dog?" Ruby asked as his eyes landed on me before swiftly moving to Oscar besides me. "Also, why are you here?" He asked as his eyes continued to flicker between me and the Santo.

"And what happened to your face?" Jamal asked with wide eyes, as he looked at what was once the red mark under my eye which had now changed to a blue/purple bruise. "Was it that douchebag Diego? Need me to go and sort him out?" He asked looking at me with a hard stare making me laugh.

"Come on Jamal, we all know you couldn't fight your way out of a wet paper bag." I snorted causing the other two younger guys to burst out laughing while Oscar let a small chuckle slip as he got up and made his way over to the kitchen, grabbing a beer and leaning against the counter as he watched the rest of us.

"You know what, I'll leave you to deal with your own issues." He muttered as he dropped down in the available seat besides me.

"My issues are sorted, kinda." I added as my eyes flickered over to Oscar, who smirked as he looked down at his beer.

"What did you do?" Cesar spoke up, looking over at his older brother with a knowing glint in his eyes.

"What? Why you gotta assume it was me?" He asked as he put his beer besides him on the counter and folded his arms over his chest as he looked at the younger Spooky in disbelief.

"I mean, that's what Los Santos are right? They sort issues people have?" Jamal tried to add his point before I elbowed him in the ribs with a 'what the actual fuck' look. "I'm just saying." He shrugged, shrinking back into the couch as I shook my head and looked back over to Oscar.

"Anyway, it wasn't me who basically told my mum and boyfriend to go fuck." Oscar chuckled as his eyes met mine, a blush rising up my chest and neck as he winked at me.

"You did what?" Ruby and Jamal scream in unison while Cesar just laughed and shook his head just as my phone dinged.

"And you guys say I'm the weird one." I muttered as I pulled my phone out of my shorts pocket. "Welp, guess I gotta find somewhere else to stay now." I sighed as I read through.

Mami: I meant what I said, don't come back here until your ready to sort it out.

*Deleted*

Diego: That cholo ain't gunna treat you any better Amelia.

*Deleted*

Geny: I heard what happened with Diego, for the record, you mother is definitely out of order there, you're welcome to come back at any point just let me know. X

Geny: Also, if you see Ruby tell him I need him home to sort out his room for Olivia as you won't be using it. X

"Ruby, your mum wants you to go back and sort your room for Olivia since me and Diego aren't staying there." I told him, smirking as his eyes widened.

"Olivia, Olivia? As in my mums friends, daughter?" He asked slowly as though I was teaching him the basics of rocket science.

"Yeah, that one, he parents are being deported or something, so she's staying with you guys." I said remembering overhearing geny and mum mentioning it at some point.

"Oh my god! How's my hair? How's my breath? How do I look? What about my outfit?" He rambled 100mph as his hands frantically tired to sort his hit and straighten his clothes all at once.

"Who's Olivia?" Cesar asked as he watched the paniced boy in amusement.

"She's like my cousin, well, not actually my cousin, like blood, not like Lia is but a family friend that you'd call cousin, you know, so no inbreeding and that." Ruby muttered on, making me laugh slightly." At his flustered state.

"Rubs, chill, her parents have just been deported, I'm pretty sure a romance would be the last thing on her mind right now." I shrugged, and while I've never actually met Olivia, I know it would the last thing on my mind.

"Hey, you could invite her to the dance!" Jamal exclaimed with a wide grin, as though he had just uncovered the secrets to infinite youth.

Oscar apparently seeing that as his que to leave sighs dramatically as he pushed himself away from the counter. "As much as I love listening to you pendejos bitching about, whatever, I got shit to do." He muttered as he picked up his beer and walked towards the front door putting his brothers shoulder on the way. "Hey Lia." He paused as he opened the door, turning to look at me over his shoulder. "You can stay here." He nodded to me making me frown in confusion.

"What do you me-" I started before I was interrupted.

"You need a place to stay yeah?" He asked, pausing while I nodded in agreement. "You can stay here, take my room, I'll take the couch." He shrugged as though it was no big deal, narrowing his eyes at me as I opened my mouth to reject his offer. "Okay?" He asked, well, more stated.

"Okay." I nodded with a smile and a laugh. "Thank you Oscar." I smiled sincerely, my eyes focused on him as the other people in the room faded into the background.

"De nada princesa." He winked before stepping out into the yard, a chorus of 'spooky!' coming from the Santos as he closed the door behind him.

A cough from beside me brought me back to earth, turning to see three sets of eyes on me, Ruby and Jamal looking as though I'd killed somebody right then and there and Cesar with a knowing smirk on his face.

"What?" I asked innocently.

-------

I know it's terrible, I'm sorry, but I'm determined to finish this, at least so I can have a tiny portion of my brain that is obsessed with OMB back 😩😆

[tanakavox]

Look into the multiverse

This is being crossposted from fanfiction.net. my react fic. This chapter reacts where done by @hasbrobear (sorry for tagging you two times in a row dude.) Enjoy. The rest will be up here soon.

Are you sure this is the right place?" Mercury asked as he, Cinder and Emerald were walking into a theater. In front of them Salem lead the group.

"Yes, it is. The coordinates are correct from Watts machine." She said as they entered and was met with another group. And a rather large one.

"RUBY!" Cinder said as she raised her bow and pulled her arm back and Emerald and Mercury got ready to fight as Salem sighed.

The other group consisted of Ozpin, Oscar, team RWBY and JNR. Who got in front of the two and pulled their weapons out. Then suddenly all their weapons vanished out of thin air.

"What the!?"

"My Weapons!"

"MY BABY!" Ruby yelled looking for Crescent Rose.

"My legs!" Mercury fell and Emerald started to laugh and covered her mouth while Cinder ran at Ruby who then raised her arms up to fight her. Then before they could reach each other, a light barrier comes between them. "What the!?" Cinder yelled as she roared and punched it. It just glowed.

Then the large screen begins to start, and the groups look at it. Both in confusion and curiosity. Salem decided to tell them. "Look, we have been all brought here o watch these…. Images of ourselves, why and how? I do not know, so unless you want to be forced out, you'll sit down and watch." She said as Ozpin said the same thing and they all sat to watch the large screen.

The scene starts start with Cinder Fall in a library, reading a book. A voice speaks out to her, but she doesn't turn to look, continuing to read the book.

"Cinder its you." Emerald said as Cinder merely looked at her other version, momentarily cursing herself as she looked better there than she did now.

Though the other side were more concerned about why Cinder was there, she could possibly be somewhere that can give her more power, and cinder with more power leads to more concerns.

"So, you're looking for the book of ancient Legends. The tale of the Dark knight warrior known as Ozma?"

"Ozma." Ruby said recalling the story that Jinn had told them about, she looked back at Salem who then looked at her their eyes connected, and she gave ruby a seething glare that made her yelp.

'Ozma as a dark knight huh? Rather flattering title.' Salem thought, just imagining her once love becoming an agent of evil, she shivered a little inside before looking at the screen more.

While Ozpin was more than intrigued about his other self, he had to keep a close eye for any key details in the screen that could help him better understand it.

The speaker steps into the light revealing Raven Branwen, her face having odd look marking on the side.

Cinder still does not turn to look at Raven and closes the book.

"Mom…" Yang said as she lightly glared at the woman, still mad about what happened at the camp, and at Haven. But she was wondering what those markings were as she narrowed her eyes.

"Hmmph, so this was the woman who supposedly slew you." Salem said checking if there were any key things on Raven, so far those markings were the only concern.

Cinder seethed looking at the branwen, wanting nothing more than to kill her.

"That's not what I'm looking for" She replied, placing the book back on the self. "Leave me."

'What is she looking for then.' Ozpin wondered as he was a bit curious about why Raven was there, and what Cinder could possibly want.

"Then what are you looking?" Raven asked, paying Cinder request no mind. The older woman frowns a bit.

"A Demon, that impregnates a woman, who then bears twins. A boy and girl. That is the story isn't it?

Cinder pulls her Kanata from its sheath and points it at Raven, still not having turn her gaze at the older woman.

"Ew…" Nora said a little grossed out about a demon actually doing it with a woman. Though in her mind she imagined it to be some sort of freaky Grimm creature.

Seeing her reaction Cinder raised a brow and so did Salem, it brought some suspicion to her character in the screen. They both had the same thought that this Cinder could be the twin daughter.

"Hmm not bad." Ruby said seeing Cinders Katana, She didn't like the woman, and seeing her weapon didn't like her much more, it was basic in her eyes.

"Leave me." She speaks softly. "I won't tell you a third time."

Some of them were getting a bit pumped and excited for a fight, like Nora and Mercury, though the others wondered what would happen between the two, they were both strong and in their last match Raven came out on top, could she do it again though.

There is a bit of silence as Raven look at the blade, seemly not affected by Cinder's actions. She grabs the blade with two of her fingers.

"People inherently fear evil. However," Raven began as she walked toward the young woman, not caring that the blade sliced her finger. Blood began to drip on the floor.

"Occasionally, a Person may become seduced by evil."

After Raven finished speaking, Cinder finally turns and looks at her, the amber eyed woman , her expression unreadable.

"Uhhh That's… Creepy." Nora commented as she saw how Raven was unfazed by cutting her finger on a long blade. Especially when she saw the blood drip down.

"That's… that's not what your moms like, right?" Blake asked a little frightened by the woman on the screen.

"No, but now I kind of glad she's like how she is." Yang replied while Cinder narrowed her eyes a bit, the raven on the screen must've been like her in a way. Wanting more power.

"What are you getting at?" She inquires, placing her blade back in its sheath.

"What!? No fight scene, no slicing or any action!?" Nora yelled as she wanted to see two enemies fight each other and hoped that Cinder on the screen would fall.

"Calm your beast Ozpin, some of us are trying to watch." Salem said smirking as she saw Nora's glare. She was easy to anger in this situation.

"Its alright Nora just ignore her." Ren said as Jaune nodded and calmed Nora down by patting her shoulder. The Valkyrie sighed and pouted as she sat in her chair.

Raven smiles a bit before responding.

"First… You must share with me the story of Ozma."

"Is anyone else confused, or is it just me?" Oscar asked as he had no idea what was happening in the screen, the others thought the same thing and were utterly confused, even Salem, and Ozpin didn't know what was going on, and one of them didn't like it.

The scene cuts and transitions to a shot of the moon. The sound of blade clashing against each other and as the scene continues there are two figures fighting on top of a large roofless building. As they fight Yang's voice is heard.

"You heard of it haven't you? The legend of Spadra. My father used to tell the story to my sister and I when I was young..."

Ruby and her group were surprised to heard Yang's voice come out and apparently it turns out that Ruby herself was also involved in the story as well.

As she speaks, the two figures continue to fight as it rains.

"Long ago in ancient times, a demon rebel against his own kind for the sake of the human race."

One of the figure's attempts to jab the other with their greatsword, the other parry and attack with a downward slice aimed for the shoulder with their blade. They jump out of the way.

"With his sword, he shut the portal to the demonic realm and sealed the evil entities off from our human world. But since he was a demon himself, his power was also trapped on the other side."

Yang's voice chuckles before she continued.

"I never believed it. I thought it was a child's fairy tale."

"Yeah. We thought fairy tales weren't real too." Jaune said as team RWBY and his team agreed. Ever since the Maidens, and other stories were actually real, they didn't know what to believe now.

The two opponents slice and swipe and each other landing the blows. Blood spills to the ground and is washed away by the rain as the two keep going despite this.

"But I discovered that this so-called legend wasn't a myth. Ozma existed."

Yang's voice wavered as she said it, as if she still couldn't believe that it was true.

"How do I know? Well…" She trailed off.

The two were lock in an exchange, sparks flying as the sound of blade clashing once again appeared. The one of their face's where finally shown and one was Jaune Arc.

"Hey look jaune, its you!" Nora said as she looked at her leader who was mostly confused about this,

"I met the children of Ozma… Both of them."

The second figure face was also shown. It was Cinder Fall from earlier.

"Though the blood the same blood of their father flowed through their veins, the two battle each other fiercely like arch enemies.

Cinder and Jaune's clash of blades became faster and fiercer to the point where their blades could not be seen as anymore but blurs. The two of them move fast enough that it seem like the rain had come to a standstill. They smacked their blade into each other and the shockwave from it made a small slash from the water on the ground. They were lock against each other, staring each other dead in the eyes.

Everyone's eyes widened when they saw and heard what Yang was talking about. "No way." Nora said as she realized that Jaune, and Cinder were siblings in this.

"Your kidding me." Cinder said as she looked at Jaune who just looked more annoyed and confused about the ordeal.

"It seemed as if they derived some sort of twisted pleasure from this sibling rivalry."

And true to Yang's words, we see that Jaune and Cinder are enjoying the fight as they both has smirked at each other. But then with a flick of her wrist, Cinder sends Jaune's sword flying away. And in that moment take her chance to impale her brother with her blade, driving into his abdomen a bit before yanking it out. Jaune begins to fall to his back.

"But in the end…"

Jaune lay on the ground of his back and Cinder runs her fingers through her hair, trying to dry it off.

"Only one was left standing"

"What!?" Ruby said as she saw that Jaune had apparently died. She like her other friends were pissed and gave cinders glares, while the fall maiden was passive about it.

Cinder goes to pick up Jaune's sword and walks away. As her brother tries to get up, she turns around. The scene cuts once again and is on a black screen. The only noise that can be heard is the sound of a telephone ringing. It then shows a room. There a drum set in one corner, a pool table in one, a jukebox in near a door that leads out outside. In the middle of the room was a desk and it had the ringing phone as well as a box of pizza. A shirtless Jaune shows up drying his hair as he walks toward the desk, he kicks the chair up to its legs, and as he sits down place his feet on the desk hard enough for the phone to launch up. He catches answering the call.

"Hey, look guys he's alive! Jaune your alive!" Nora said excitingly as she shook her leader and made him yell out as she and the others were glad their friend hadn't died. Meanwhile Cinder let out a groan seeing that he wasn't dead.

Though as they were relieved one girl among them had her cheeks dusted red when she saw Jaune's toned body on the screen and looked at the original before blushing more and turning to see what else would happen.

"Sorry, not open for business yet." Jaune throw the phone back on the stand, ending the call. He sighs and grabs a slice of pizza

"I haven't even picked a name for this joint and I'm already getting calls."

Raven enter the shop to see Jaune eating his pizza. The blonde stops eating to look at the red eyed woman.

"You a customer too?" He asked, looking annoyed. "Well, if you wanna use the bathroom help yourself. The toilet's in the back."

"I don't think she there for that." Nora pointed out while Yang focused on what she would do.

Raven pay him no mind and walk around the room, almost like she was a vulture waiting to strike.

"Is your name Jaune? Son of Ozma?"

Jaune turns and glare at the woman.

"Where did you hear that?" He questioned.

"Guessing he's still pissed about the stab."

Raven smirks and walk up to the desk with her arms behind her back.

"From your sister." She looks down and see the neckless Jaune was wearing. Raven look at it for a few seconds before continuing.

'Why was she look at the necklace so much.' Salem and Ozpin thought as they focused on her and the item of interest.

"She sent this invitation for you." She said. "Please accept it."

After saying that she flips the desk over, Jaune jumping as soon as she does. He lands on his feet and pulls out a pistol to shoot her, but she had all but disappear. The son of Ozma places his gun away, walking forward and catching the pizza box in his hand.

Yang groaned and crossed her arms annoyed. "She ran away of course."

"This jaune is very acrobatic" Blake noticed and said while Ruby drools over the guns, and more than just one.

"Invitation huh?" He mutters to himself. The demon hybrid goes to take a bite out of a slice of pizza but suddenly, several creature's wielding scythe appear and impaled the young man on them. Blood spilled on the floor.

"GAAAHHHH!/JAUNE!" Nora and Ruby screamed thinking jaune had died while the others on their side looked in shock.

Jaune then thrusted his palm forward, smacking the creature away from him killing it. The creatures look up to see the Son of Ozma twirling the mask that their ally wore on his fingertips. Jaune walks forward, with blades in his arms and legs, dragging along one of the creatures for a ride. Seemly not bothered by the implement. He goes over to the to his jukebox, kicking the demon he dragged along and grabbling a slice of Pizza. The Blonde rip a blade out of his chest and toss it up at one of his celling fans, causing it to fall on top of a few demon.

Everyone was shocked that Jaune is still alive and kicking. While Ozpin and Salem think that Jaune might be immortal like the grimm queen herself.

"This party's getting crazy! Let's rock!" He cheers and goes to turn on his jukebox, but it's doesn't work. He tries a few more time before slamming his fist into the jukebox hard enough to dent it and music starts to play, tapping his foot in tone with the music. Jaune goes on to take down the demon with ease, using the blades on his arms and legs to kill the demons. Using his guns Evory and Ivory to shoot them to bit, using one of the demons as a skateboard as he shoots the others while pass by. Grabbing his sword and flipping his pool table to shoot one pool ball and having it collide with all the other to smack the demons it the face. In no time the demons were defeated. Jaune look over his office with a frown.

They laugh at Jaune's attempts to turn on his jukebox. Jaune slumped a bit while yang smirked and patted his shoulder.

Then everyone Expressed their surprise that that how well he's able to fight while Ruby drools a bit over his gun skills and his sword.

"Damnit. Already wreck the place up and I haven't even named it yet. Cinder better pay up."

He smiles however and grabs his jacket.

"Well Cindy. I can tell this is gonna be one hell of a party!" He shouts kicking down his door.

Then as he moved the screen turned off. "'WHAT!? It can't end there!" Nora said as Ruby let out her own groan at the action being stopped.

The viewers in the theatre do take notice to the screen turns back on and a song plays. It seems like another is going to play.

[nikosarc]

break my soul in two looking for you (but you’re right here)

hello here’s a silent knight drabble because i’m weak. pls be nice i’ve never written for neo and the last time i wrote for jaune was a thousand years ago, it’s not good but i did my best dammit. title comes from the song coney island by taylor swift.

It was getting a bit too crowded in the belly of this demon whale for Neo’s liking. Salem’s faction had already been larger than the mute girl had been anticipating. That in itself was irritating – going from Cinder’s partner to another cog in Salem’s machine, an “asset” didn’t sit right with Neo. Then came the young boy Salem called “Ozma.” Neo had to shut her ears and eyes to his torture on a daily basis. She’d give the kid this – his will was strong.  

Next one of the guys she’d fought when she’d stolen the relic – which she still hasn’t gotten credit for by the way - the one with black hair she’d tricked by turning into the ginger girl. That had been entertaining for a brief moment, but he’d been alone so it made for an easy takedown. He was being held elsewhere – alive, for now as incentive to make the boy talk, but that could change given recent developments.  

Recent developments being the newest addition to the whale. The blonde one. For some reason she’d pegged him as being smarter than his teammate. Neo was perceptive, it was her specialty, actually. She could tell the black-haired boy was weak mentally, emotionally, that was why she targeted him, and it was why, she’d wager, he came here impulsively looking for his kidnapped comrade and perhaps the relic.  

She didn’t think anyone else would be stupid enough to follow, not alone anyways, but then came this one. He’d put up a better fight, but he couldn't take on even the lowest of Salem’s underlings, not by himself.  

And she was his babysitter. Mercury was watching the other one and Hazel was probably keeping an eye on the child, probably eagerly awaiting his next approval to beat the kid to a pulp. And maybe they were delighting in their tasks, but Neo was bored. She couldn’t exactly tease or mouth off to him. Well, she could, but it wasn’t like he���d understand her. So they just...stared at each other. Or rather, she stared. He’d glance up at her with eyes full of contempt every so often but for the most part he seemed content to stare up at the ceiling or down in his lap. But she studied him with watchful eyes.  

He was quiet, pensive. Probably thinking of an escape plan for himself and his comrades. He was a smart guy, surely he realized Salem didn’t need two reasons to convince the kid to talk. Kill one while he watches to show him her threat is serious; Oscar would be willing to do anything to protect the one left alive. Their window was closing fast, and he must realize that, but Neo also knew these boys had plenty of other friends who could come to their aid if they were stupid enough.  

And attachments certainly had a way of making people stupid.  

He was still as a statue for the most part, the only subtle movements he made every so often occurred when he rubbed the fabric of his scarlet sash between his fingers. The bright red stood out against the darkness of the rest of his outfit and the pristine white of his armor like a sore thumb. The longer she stared at it, the more a memory itched at the back of her mind.  

A girl with fire-engine-red hair and a sash around her waist to match. She’d carried her team throughout the Vital tournament, Neo remembered, though she’d never gotten the pleasure of fighting her. She’d been Cinder’s pawn, the spark that would be used to ignite the world. She’d met her fate – her destiny – that night.  

He was one of her teammates, the sash must have been hers. Neo wasn’t the only one who lost someone when Beacon fell, it seemed, and she wasn’t the only one who still carried a piece of them with her. The thought was enough to make the small woman unconsciously reach up, her fingers ghosting over the velvety brim of her hat – Roman's hat. She frowned, the color draining slightly from each of her heterochromatic eyes, and when she looked back up she was horrified to learn that the tables had turned. He was now staring at her. If the realization in his cerulean eyes was anything to go by, Neo would wager he’d put two and two together.  

She glared at him, color and intensity returning to her eyes. She didn’t want his pity, and he sure as shit wasn’t getting any from her.  

“You really cared about him, didn’t you?” His voice was hoarse – with emotion, misuse, or weariness, she couldn’t tell, nor did she care enough to find out.  

Believing he wouldn’t understand her anyway, she answered via sign language. “He was my only friend” her scowl deepened as she went on. “And your friend killed him.”  

His deep blue eyes shifted from moderate compassion to confusion to anger in a matter of moments. She didn’t register what that must mean until after he’d already said “Guess that makes us even, then” in a bitter voice.  

Neo froze. A moment passed before she shook off her surprise and signed, “You understand me?”

Some of the anger left his eyes as he replied calmly, “My sister taught me a little.” He didn’t elaborate, and Neo found herself wanting to ask, but first she felt the need to defend herself.  

“Cinder is not my friend.”

“Coulda fooled me.”  

Neo frowned. “She’s not. We just want the same thing.”

He was silent for a moment. She could see him translating in his head but even after that there was a noticeable pause. “Revenge.” He nods, and Neo bristled slightly at the idea that this guy thinks he’s got her all figured out. “It won’t change anything. It won’t - won’t bring him back.”

Neo glared daggers at him. Maybe not, but it’s all I have left. She didn’t dare sign those words, but the look on his face told her that he was reading her like an open book, and she quickly looked away, not wanting to see the sympathy in his eyes. She didn’t want it – didn't deserve it. When she went to sleep at night, she had dreams about murdering his friend, why on earth would he look at her like that?

“And even if it did, Ruby didn’t kill him.”  

She gave him a sharp look at that, and if looks could kill he’d already be dead. Did he think she was stupid? Some dumb little girl that didn’t know how to enact revenge properly? Ruby was the last person to see Roman alive before he died. Whatever happened up there, it was her fault he was gone.  

“I know she’s my friend and I’m sure you think I’d say anything to defend her, but you can trust me when I say Ruby’s not like that. She’s all about protecting life, she’d never kill anyone.”  

She scoffed at that. Trust me. Neo didn’t trust anyone – the only person she’d ever extended that courtesy to was dead. What had this golden-haired stranger with his earnest ocean eyes and sincere voice done to earn her trust?  

There was silence for a moment and then, “From what she told me,” he began, sounding, for all accounts, like he was simply thinking out loud. “He got swallowed by a grimm.”  

That statement hung in the air for a moment, the implications of that fact not lost on either of them. They both knew who controlled the grimm, and they both knew who was there that night that served her.  

Neo had no reason to believe him – or Ruby. But an annoying voice in the back of her head reminded her that she had no reason to believe Cinder, either. She’s been here long enough to see how things – these people – worked. Salem wrapped her followers up in her honeyed words and grand promises. She was manipulative and Cinder was molded in her image.  

Neo huffed and turned away from Jaune before crossing her arms. She didn’t want to think about this. She was fine where she was, she was on her way to getting what she wanted, who did this boy think he was to come in here and put doubts in her mind?

She could hear him shift behind her, getting up from his place on the ground she’d wager. She tensed, wondering if he was going to try and fight his way out again, but then he spoke gently. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, Neopolitan.” He called, and she uncrossed her arms, some of the anger leaving her.  

She didn’t know what compelled her to do so, but she turned around and signed. “Just Neo.”  

There was a pause, and he looked like he was thinking before he signed “I’m sorry, Neo.”  

Neo blinked in surprise. All this time they’d been able to communicate because he understood her language – and that in itself was rare – but here he was reaching out to her using her language. The last person who’d bothered to do that for her was Roman.  

What is this guy’s game?

He was playing her, he had to be. She’d thought he was planning an escape, and this must be it. Get inside her head, plant doubts so she’d slip up and let him go while he left her with the fallout when Salem inevitably found out. Well, Neo wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it. She marched up to him, her eyes vibrant and defiant as they glared at him defiantly. She stopped maybe a foot from him, glaring up at him, he was well over a foot taller than she was, but she didn’t care. “I know what you’re doing and it’s not gonna work.”

His eyes looked sad then, and she realized much to her chagrin that he felt sorry for her. “I can’t tell you what to do, Neo,” he said sincerely, and suddenly Neo could feel the fight leaving her. She deflated; her glare retreated leaving eyes that looked almost as sad as his. “But I can tell you that you deserve better than this place and these people.”  

Their eyes met once more before he turned away from her, leaving Neo alone with her thoughts again.  

Except the only thought that came to her was whether or not his inevitable escape attempt would be successful. Why she felt a tiny glimmer of hope in the back of her mind that he would be, she couldn’t say. Or didn’t want to.

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Pairings: None Yet

Word Count: 1,583 Words

Summary: Maria and Mercury tell stories of the pasts.

Warnings: Self-Deprecation Mention, Abuse Mentions, Child Abuse Mention, Amputation Mention, Death Mention, Weapon Mention, Food Mention, let me know if I should tag anything else.

Shadows Are Made Of Light: Chapter 3

Mercury was amazed while Maria was telling the story of her past. The most powerful Silver Eyed Warrior and someone he looked up to as a child, he respected her. But the story also infuriated him on her behalf. How dare they take her eyes like that? Is that what Salem would do to him if she found him?

"But I wasn't. I went into hiding soon after." Maria explained.

"I can't believe it. You. You're the Grimm Reaper. You were a legend. And then you disappeared." Qrow looked startled, shocked, appalled. It all made Mercury nearly laugh at him. He behaved like a obstinate child in front of his idol.

"How exactly does a legend disappear?" Oscar asked.

"You never used your name, never showed your face. Lots of us thought you were just laying low. Eventually we came to accept that you were probably dead. But the stories about you, I based my weapon off of yours. I wanted to be as good as the Grimm Reaper." Qrow spouted.

"Well, I'm nothing but a disappointment. So you're well on your way." She announced with a huff.

"How can you say that?" Blake asked. Mercury shook with rage. His idol, sitting here, criticizing herself.

"Child, a huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end. But after I lost my eyes, I only ever looked after myself. Even after my surgery, I was too afraid to fight, afraid someone would find me again, finish what the others started. You shouldn't aspire to be like me, especially when some of you are clearly stronger already. It's comforting seeing that your generation seems up to the task of inheriting this world. I'm just sorry I didn't do more to leave it in better shape."

Maria wistfully looked out over the ground they were passing over. Mercury felt rage subside slightly, she was scared, he understood that. That was exactly why he'd run after Beacon, run away to hide in Mistral only to find out that Lionheart was a traitor and he had to run again, to a place with no primary headmasters like Argus.

"When I was thirteen, I found a little girl when my father took me on one of his missions. Pretty young, a baby no older than her first few months, couldn't even walk yet. I named her Chrome because she didn't have a name. Father called her my sister but I cared for her more like a parent to a child, she was my daughter by all account. He didn't like my attention being drawn off elsewhere besides him so he only got worse toward me and her." Mercury looked at the pitying looks on the faces of team RWBY and Oscar and Qrow, even Maria looked sad.

"One day, I decided to run away from him with her. I managed to get to the next town over and I gave Chrome to a group of training huntsmen that were visiting the town from Atlas who promised to take care of her and I and take us to Atlas, since they were returning to their homeland that night. I knew he couldn't get to Atlas, so Atlas was the safest place to put her. That was until his friends found me and dragged me back home. He took my legs that day for defying him and getting rid of his only chip left to bargain for my obedience. He eventually got mad after about a week that I could no longer act as his personal maid enough that he gave me metal legs to replace the ones he took but, when he did that, I ended up killing him." He kept his composure. After all, Maria hadn't lost her cool when she was explaining.

"I would have hid too, probably found Chrome again afterward if Cinder hadn't found me there, looking for him. I would have run away and hid just like you did if she hadn't threatened me with knowing about Chrome. Because there's nothing wrong with hiding after something bad happens. It doesn't matter what you promised or who you promised it to. When you're hurt or scared and you want to hide, you do it because the person you need to save also has to be yourself sometimes."

He refused to look at the pity on their faces anymore. But he could feel the tension in the air loosen somewhat. Maria gave a little laugh.

"Thank you, Mercury." She looked at him smiling.

"Thank you for sharing something that personal, Mercury." Oscar whispered.

"I also have happier stories if you depressing bastards want something happier." He smirked.

"I think we could use happy after stuff that heavy." Ruby told him.

"Well, there was this one time Chrome decided to braid my hair as practice for her own. My hair was in tiny braids for over a week while I tried to get them out." He laughed.

"I can imagine that, that's the worst part." Yang cackled from the front.

"The great Mercury Black with dozens of tiny braids in his hair for upward of a week." Ruby chuckled. And, even if they were laughing at him, he was happy that the tension was gone now. The heaviness left in the air from those nightmares in Brunswick Farms was finally gone.

"Oh, I was thinking, Maria. Maybe you could teach me to use the Silver Eyes the way you did?" Ruby asked.

"Given I'm already training Mercury here for that same thing. It shouldn't be hard. I've always looked for other Silver Eyed Warriors to train, to teach the next generation of Silver Eyes and give hope back to this world." Maria smiled.

"You have Silver Eyes?" Ruby asked.

"How did you think we got out of that basement?" Mercury asked.

"I thought it was me?" Ruby seemed confused.

"You did the first one. The one where it got those nightmares away from Blake. I did the second that gave us time to get out." Mercury told her.

"Silver Eyed buddies then." Ruby lightly punched his shoulder.

"Hey, don't go stealing my metal limb buddy." Yang joked.

"I'm not. I'm not." Ruby stuck her tongue out at her sister. Then Ruby's scroll beeped and she brought it out. "It's Jaune!" Yang even stopped her bike.

"How?" Yang asked.

"The city?" Ruby asked. "Wait." She took the scroll from her ear and looked toward the direction that Yang was driving to find a path that led up a mountain. Argus. Yang made quick work of getting up the mountain to announce they'd arrived in Argus. Finally, this nightmare was over. They were safe.

Once there, Yang locked Bumblebee in a storage garage for vehicles. While the others waited for...something. Mercury didn't know what. He was just hoping they'd planned out a place to sleep at.

"Cute boy Oz!" Mercury looked toward the sound only to see a streak of pink as something tackled Oscar, though he helped steady them from falling on the ground while everyone else greeted team JNPR or, well, JNR. Mercury got a pang of guilt again. He had been part of the plan orchestrated that resulted in Pyrrha's death.

"Wait, who is this?" Nora asked.

"Mercury." Yang smiled proudly.

"WHAT!?" Jaune snapped.

"I've defected. I ran away. Salem would have killed me."

"Why would she kill a henchman besides you being expendable?" Jaune took out Crocea Mors, intending to use it against him.

"Because I have Silver Eyes. She kills people with Silver Eyes so I ran away and hid in Mistral. I left on the Argus train after Haven Academy was shut down." He told him.

"Why should we trust you?" Jaune asked.

"I have a daughter in Atlas. I'm trying to get to her. She should be turning six in a week." Mercury told him.

"You have a kid? A real kid?" Jaune asked, putting Crocea Mors away but laughing in his face.

"Yeah. I have her picture if you don't believe me." he angrily snapped.

"Yeah sure." Mercury pulled up the few pictures of Chrome he'd managed to get over the time he had his scroll.

"She looks just like you." Jaune hummed.

"I know, surprising considering she's adopted." He smirked.

"Alright, we can keep the stray you guys found." Jaune told them.

"Hey!" Mercury wanted to feel insulted but, honestly, it was kind of funny being referred to as a stray like he was some cat they'd found on their journey. They went onto the transit and Mercury just followed them around to Jaune's sister's house.

Mercury would absolutely not fawn over the baby Saphron had. He totally wasn't. Nope, not at all. He absolutely wasn't and no one had any proof that he was soft toward children, no sir. Mercury did take the food offered to him by Nora.

"C'mon, eat up. You can't be passing out on us." Nora shoved the sandwich into his mouth to stop his argument. It was then he realized he was actually really hungry.

He listened to their discussion this time while he ate. He wanted to know what would be happening. He wanted to make sure he could help at least. Mercury had a bad feeling, like something bad would happen to impede their journey like those damned nightmares.

"So we kinda already tried that and it didn't go super great." Jaune admitted.

"Come on, it couldn't be that bad." Yang laughed. Mercury had a feeling that she would regret saying that.

[youllneverknowrac]

Oscar Diaz-Kiss

Written for a follower on Wattpad

You were sitting inside by yourself, not really in the mood to go to the carnival with the group. You wanted some alone time, something you regretted as soon as Oscar walked out of the door. You got insanely bored and just wanted some company, anyone’s company. You reach for your phone and click on Oscar’s number, deciding that he’s been gone long enough.

*Where are you :(*, you type out before hitting send.

*Fixing to bounce nena, I got Monse and the other chick with me though. They’re fucked up, Ima give them a ride back to the neighborhood. Trying to get them in the fucking car.*

*Lol, good luck with that. Just try to hurry, okay? I miss you and I’m lonely.*

*Hello?* You double text after getting no reply

*Be home in 10...aye you better not be watching our show.* He reply’s a few minutes later

*Get home and find out.*

Oscar doesn’t reply after that so you occupy your time by cleaning up the small mess you made in the kitchen a while ago after you had decided to bake. As you’re throwing away the now empty bag of flour you hear your boyfriends car pull up. The sound of the doors slamming shut followed by raised voices grab your attention, causing you to look out the window.

“Hey! Take it easy!” Oscar yells to Monse

“Don’t tell me how to take it!” She fires back

“Go home. You’re drunk.”

“You just want me to go home so I don’t say the things that I have to say. But I have things to say and I’m not going home until I say them. So do you ever think about Cesar and how you’re ruining his life? You got screwed and now you’re screwing him up. ‘Cause I got to follow the rules of the streets. Look at me and my muscles. I got a dumb teardrop tattoo, but I don’t cry cause I’m a big man. Toxic masculinity! Look it up!” Monse lectures, you couldn’t help but smirk as you take notice of Oscar trying not to laugh. However if she continued to talk down on your man you would definitely be stepping outside to come to his defense, even though he could defend himself with no problem. Just in case you open the widow a bit more so you could hear better.

“You done?”

“You know what? Everything bad that has happened is because of you. You jumped Cesar into a gang, you tasked him to kill Latrelle, and now because of that, because of you, Olivia is dead, and Ruby will never be the same. You masterminded taking down the Prophets, and we got kidnapped. Now we have to find someone who is impossible to find, and if we don’t...I don’t know what’s going to happen, but whatever it is, it’ll be because of you!” Monse rants, getting cut short as she checks her phone that has been going off,”It’s my mom.”

“Lady in Brentwood? Cesar told me how it all went down. Pretty messed up.” Oscar says seriously, staying calm after the teenagers little meltdown.

“Yeah. Yeah it was. And you know, even after all of that I still reached out. I sent her a letter, but she never wrote me back. Now she’s calling, I don’t get it.” She cries, causing you to feel sympathetic for the girl.

“I know why. It’s for her, not for you. She just wants to clear her conscience. She disappears, comes back, and just expects you to welcome her with open arms? Now she wants to be a parent? Seems like a hell of a lot easier when you don’t actually have to raise a child. Screw that. If I were you...I wouldn’t call that bitch back. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.” Oscar tells her solemnly, his face saddening which causes you to grow sadder as well.

“You’re right. She doesn’t deserve it.” Monse agrees before messing with her phone,”She’s dead to me.”

You glance away momentarily as you take in the scene in front of you, not knowing if it was okay to be spying as she spills her emotions out. They stare at each other for a moments before Monse begins to sob. Oscar awkwardly and unsurely pulling her into a hug. As soon as Monse picks her head up and looks into your boyfriends eyes, you know what she’s going to do. You can’t look away now as their lips press together for not even a second before Oscar takes a step back in shock.

“Hey this never happened.” Is the last thing you hear him say before you walk away and sit down on the couch. Not sure how you felt in this exact moment. You weren’t necessarily angry because Oscar did step away and you didn’t want to be angry at Monse after hearing what she had to say. Plus the fact that she was drunk off of her ass. I guess you’d wait to see it Oscar would actually tell you about the little moment between the two of them before you decide what emotion you were going to go with.

“Nena?” Oscar calls out when he steps inside

“In here!” You call out after clearing your throat

“I know you seen all that. I could feel your eyes burning on the back of my head.” He says after joining you in the living room, walking over and kneeling down in front of you,”You know I didn’t encourage that. It was out of no where.”

“I know.” You smile sadly as you reach out to gently play with the cross that dangled from his chain,” It’s still not something I want to see though. I don’t think any girl would want to see her man kissing another girl....if I didn’t see it though...would you have told me?”

“Of course I would. I tell you everything, don’t I? Besides it didn’t mean shit, she’s just drunk and in her feelings. She probably would have kissed Jasmine if she was right there.”

“Yeah.” You chuckle lightly,”It was just weird to see...cause if it was any other girl I would have been in jail already.”

“Aye if it was any other girl I wouldn’t even be looking in their direction. I only got love for one hyna.”

“Oh yeah? Who’s that?”

“Hmm she’s sitting right in front of me.” He smirks as he leans forward to try to kiss you.

“Ah ah.” You say as you fall back against the cushions so he couldn’t reach you,”You’ve have enough kisses for tonight. Go clean your mouth.” You tell him with a laugh, not to found of kissing him right after Monse touched his lips.

“Mami.” Oscar groans as he lets his head fall on your lap.

“Sorry, give me a little time. It keeps replaying in my mind.” You admit as you cradle his head and lightly scratch the back of it. The two of you stay like that for a few minutes before Oscar begins to squirm, his head nudging your belly before biting down on your thigh,”Excuse you.” You yelp as you look down at him,”What are you doing?”

“You didn’t say anything about kissing you down here.” He says, glancing up at you before his fingers hook into your shorts. You’re about to object, until Oscar’s pushing your legs apart and pulling you toward the edge of the cushion.

“You’re right, I didn’t.” You moan as you relax, your hands going back to his head as he works on bringing you pleasure. This sort of ‘kissing’ was one hundred percent okay with you. As long as Monse never did it again, everything would be good in the Diaz household because you already knew the two brothers were going to have a talk about this. Luckily Cesar was a understanding boy and you knew he wouldn’t think to much into it, much like you didn’t. You’re suddenly pulled from your thoughts as Oscar stops his actions.

“I’m down here you know. Am I doing something wrong? You’re checked out.” Oscar says confusingly since you were usually much more appreciative while he pleased you.

“What? No, I’m fine. Shut up.” You breathe heavily as you push his head back down,”Keep going.” You softly demand, letting your eyes shut as Oscar works his tongue on you. This time making sure to let him hear just how good he was making you feel. Which wasn’t hard to do, especially when you knew you’re the only girl that’s ever going to get this treatment from him.

[kitkatopinions]

The baby boy himself, Whitley!

(for the ask meme)

Whitley is so my baby, I love my child so much. I’m realizing I say ‘I’m really excited for this one’ for like every character I get for this ask game, but it’s because I’m having so much fun! These take a bit to write, but they are honestly so interesting to me, so as an fyi, if anyone does have any character they want to ask my about, but thinks they might be too late, or I might be uninterested, I’m still totally interested! It just might take me a bit to answer. :)

My top three ships for the character

Whitley/Oscar is my top ship for this in canon currently. It works best if Ozpin could somehow be separated from Oscar (which is theoretically possible I guess,) but yeah. Farm boy vs rich boy, they look cute together, their personalities could vibe, and they’re both snarky, but at heart caring and compassionate. Whitley/Mercury. I mentioned this in my Mercury ask, but I was writing a fic with @why-i-hate-rwby-now where Whitley and Mercury were thrown together and had to work together to escape their abusers, and I just kind of started shipping them while writing it. O.O Also Whitley/Penny is cute as heck and I could totally see her grounding him and also making him loosen up, while Penny thinks he’s funny and interesting.

My three least favorite ships for the character

Whitley/Blake. I don’t understand this ship, Blake just feels like more of an adult atm compared to Whitley - a literal child. (Yes, I realize I ship Whit with Merc, but A. I thought Merc was sixteen while I was writing that fanfiction and he acts kind of on the young side, while Blake has been acting ‘as an adult’ and being treated ‘as an adult’ for two seasons at least while directly talking to Whitley, and has always been more of a mature character for her age anyway.) But on top of that, Blake seems to treat Whitley like an in the way child and is kinda judgey to him, while Whitley barely seems to notice her. Whitley/Henry Marigold just feels bad. And Whitley/Yang. Again, Yang has been written as a nineteen year old demanding to be treated as an adult (though I wanna say she’s less mature than Blake) but also Yang is a hotheaded character and has been acting pushy lately, and that’s fine as a character flaw, but I feel like it just puts me off her for Whitley especially.

My biggest criticism for the character

He’s treated like he’s not a victim??? Like, his abuse and neglect and even his struggles are just... Not really gone into or acknowledged very much, Weiss acts like he has to prove himself before she can show him the slightest bit of sympathy or affection when she’s his big sister, his relationship with Jacques is glossed over and he isn’t given closure there, Willow’s neglect isn’t really acknowledged seriously, Winter seeming totally disinterested in him doesn’t feel like it even matters, Weiss is treated as blameless in her and Whitley’s problems. And the writing kind of frames Whitley as having gotten a redemption, when the worst things he did was be a bit of an asshole while in an abusive situation as like a fourteen-fifteen year old with no aura or glyphs or fighting ability. Emerald and Whitley’s volume 8 arcs should not be comparable! Emerald is a full on murderer and was still willingly working with Cinder to attack people as a nineteen year old woman, and yet she and Whitley are treated very similarly by the narrative (helping one person and then that ‘making up for’ their ‘past mistakes’ and then them just being on the good side and carrying the team’s actions until the pathways arrive and they both go to Vacuo. To be clear, I think this framing was too much for Whitley since he never even needed a redemption at all imo, and not enough for Emerald, the literal murderer of Penny who was just recently willingly helping Cinder try and murder Penny once again.) Whitley should’ve been treated as the child he is, he should’ve been treated as the victim he is.

My favorite thing about the character

His potential dynamics, but specifically with Weiss. He and Weiss both had almost the exact same upbringing, only Weiss actually had more support, but guys... The way the two of them coped had similarities, but were also very different. Weiss hid behind anger and sternness, Whitley hid behind peppiness and smiles. Weiss copied Winter, Whitley copied Jacques. Weiss was always afraid of people putting on acts around her, Whitley was constantly putting on acts as a means of survival. Each of them are plagued by jealousy, pettiness, judgmental behavior, and they both have good qualities that are similar, but they both are too prejudice against each other to see those good qualities and need to learn to understand where the other is coming from. Weiss is a fighter, but a follower, while Whitley seems to have a bit of a ‘fawn’ tendency, but plans and enacts schemes under the table (even if it doesn’t have to be, like with Nora! Whitley’s instincts were to just figure out how to help Nora and then go off and do it alone without telling any of the obviously antsy people with guns what he was doing - after he was spying on them lol.) I just love the possibilities that exist with two characters that are so similar, but so fundamentally different. Also I’d love to see him resentful of Winter and snarky and passive aggressive with her, and Winter not really getting the problem, and Weiss having to mediate between them. Idk, there are so many possibilities of amazing interactions and connections Whitley could have with the others, and he could be a really new, good viewpoint if he was allowed to flourish. And maybe became kind of a ‘guy in the chair’ more permanent part of the team. Like, I know we don’t need more character bloat, but let me dream!

A headcanon I have about them

Before Weiss lost her inheritance, Whitley was sort of tasked with learning everything but being head of the company, like he was learning the financial side of things, the technological side of things, ordering, inventory, scheduling, all about Dust and mine operations... And Whitley’s naturally academic and a fast learner, so he absorbed a lot of it. But yeah, I think Jacques was trying to train Whitley up to be a sort of always available PA of Weiss’s that could handle anything she didn’t want to do / was too busy to do, and that was something Whitley really resented too. His skillset was essentially being crafted around helping Weiss, but never learning how to actually manage the company itself and severely lacking in the social side of things, like he’d never be able to make a proper speech. Also, like pretty much everyone I think he plays piano and writes his own music compositions (which in my headcanons he subconsciously writes to include vocals only for him to then get bothered that even his music seems influenced by Weiss. XD) Also I know this is three headcanons, but if he had been trained to fight, he would’ve used duel pistols and would’ve eventually developed a ‘born out of trauma’ semblance.

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

I’d just allow his status as a victim to be recognized and for him to have the sympathy I feel his character deserves. I’d have him and Weiss both framed as having contributed to their bad relationship, but Weiss - as the sister four to five years older than him - would be the one who makes the first moves towards repairing it, proving she has changed enough to put aside her pettiness and be there for the brother she does truly love. I’d also get Willow away from him, or at least let Whitley be angry and distant and not have their relationship fixed over the course of an in-universe day. This is why I say there should’ve been another Atlas season, which I think is what I’d do when it boils down to it. With every plot point coming fast and then being pushed on the back burner for the next plot point, there’s no time to focus on any of it or to give the character’s sufficient growth from it. So then things like Willow having her hand glued to Whitley’s shoulder feels very ingenuine, because their ‘growth’ was so rushed. So yeah, I’d really just add an extra season and let Weiss recognize that Whitley is also an abuse victim, make her be the one to start making steps to be there for him, and let things like his relationship with his mother come slower and not be an easy fix. Also I’d have Winter acknowledge that she has a brother more regularly and have her actually care about him, even if she hasn’t shown it well at all.

What I I think of their character allusion and what (if anything) I would change about it

Whitley has no assigned character allusion and his name doesn’t offer very many hints, since it literally just means white meadow/field snow, but it’s easy enough to assume that like Weiss and Jacques - Snow White and Jack Frost - Whitley’s character allusion has something to do with the cold. I agree with the general opinion that he’s connected to ‘the Snow Queen,’ and is likely meant to be Kai, a once kind hearted boy who gets a piece of a magic mirror in his eye that only lets him see the bad in people and gets kidnapped by the snow queen. His best friend Gerda goes on a quest to save him - encountering a land of eternal summer and a talking crow amongst other things - and temporarily forgets him due to an enchantment, but then finds him almost frozen over and saves him by crying on him and through the power of her love that literally makes people and nature bend to her will, Gerda rescues Kai and dislodges the mirror piece from his eye so that he can be cheerful again. Pretty in tune with how the writers wrote things. I don’t mind this, but if Whitley is meant to be Kai and Weiss is meant to be his Gerda, there were two missed opportunities here that could’ve been great. One, Gerda is reminded of her love for Kai whenever she sees red roses, and Ruby and Whitley have a few similar mannerisms and kind of similar coping through their ‘cheery exterior’s’ even f Ruby’s lost all her sass and Whitley’s never had her spazzy, dorky, rough around the edges traits. I think it would’ve been cute and make for a more interesting dynamic if Weiss had mentioned to Ruby in volumes 1-3 that Ruby reminds her of her brother, and if it had made Weiss both harder on Ruby (since she and Whitley are estranged and he does drive her crazy a lot lol) but it also made Ruby all the more endearing to her and is one of the reasons they could be friends fairly fast despite Weiss’s early animosity (since she loves her brother and the traits he shares with Ruby compliment hers.) The next missed opportunity I can think of is that everyone thinks Kai is dead in the Snow Queen for a bit, but Gerda doesn’t believe it and goes looking for him instead. You could easily fit this into a narrative where everyone else has given up Whitley as a lost cause, but Weiss won’t believe that and is determined to help and to get close to Whitley again, which is what I think I’d want to go with. But also, a Whitley death fake out? That could be very good and very emotional. And it’d be easy omg. Weiss could think the Hound has killed him sometime during the fight (even if just for a moment,) but also if Whitley had been the first one to fall in the void instead of going through to Vacuo O.O 

Idk if we’ll ever get his character allusion confirmed, but if it isn’t someone from the Snow Queen, I feel like the whole fandom will say “What?!” at the exact same time. XD 

[azapofinspiration]

The Princess and Her Knight

Summary: It's been declared that Princess Ruby's hand will go to whoever wins the tournament, as the regent wishes for her to be at least engaged and comfortable with her partner before the time to take the crown comes.

Unfortunately, Ruby's heart is already set on the court minstrel, Weiss.

And yet, at the same time, a mysterious White Knight can't help but draw her attention as the tournament continues.

White Rose Week Day 7: The Princess and Her Knight

@white-rose-week

[AO3] [FF.Net]

“You know, most people would be flattered to have so many people fighting over her.” Yang bluntly said, ignoring Ruby’s pout.

“Easy for you to say,” Ruby grumbled. “You got to marry the love of your life.”

Ruby knew that Yang was in a different situation. After all, she and their father had married into the royal family so she wasn’t the heir despite their father having taken over as regent after the death of Ruby’s mother. She had a lot more flexibility when it came to her choices.

And if the love of her life was the daughter of Menagerie’s chief and their marriage helped secure an alliance between their kingdoms then that was merely a happy happenstance. If their dad had said no, Yang would’ve just run away with her probably.

But Ruby was the heir to the throne. Within a few years, she would have to step up and take the crown, and her dad wanted her to at least be engaged and familiar with her partner by that time. And according to the laws, which he had tried to change but was shot down by the council, she had to marry either another royal or a noble.

So now a tournament was being held, with nobility and royalty from their and the surrounding kingdoms. The winner would receive Ruby’s hand in marriage.

It didn’t matter that Ruby’s heart was set on another.

“They don’t want me. They’re all here for honor or glory or status or…other stuff.” Ruby gestured at the armored contestants milling about. “Even if they know me, none of them really know me.”

“What? Like Weiss?” Yang’s voice had softened with sympathy, even as Ruby’s heart gave a discordant twang.

Yes, Weiss actually knew her. She was Ruby’s best friend.

However, Weiss was just the court minstrel.

Weiss had arrived in their court right about the same time Ruby had begun her training to become queen. She could play pretty much any instrument presented to her and her voice was akin to that of angels. Ruby had been intrigued by her from the start. After all, it wasn’t everyday you encountered a girl with hair and skin as white as snow, much less a girl with a scar marring her face. Some would call it ugly, but if anything, Ruby had always thought it made her even more beautiful, showing her will to survive despite getting slashed open right over her left eye.

Yang suspected that Weiss was to some degree of noble birth, given how her manners rivalled those of the haughtiest lord or lady of the court, but Ruby found that to be unlikely. Though those manners and sense of propriety may have been why Weiss had tried to keep a certain distance between herself and Ruby at the beginning, despite Ruby trailing after her like a puppy in her free time.

Weiss could be sarcastic and distant, but as Ruby had watched, she noticed the kind and caring person underneath the chilly veneer. And before they knew it, they’d gotten closer and closer until Ruby could hug her and call her her best friend and only get a roll of the eyes instead of a gentle push away and a lecture on proper etiquette.

Then somehow, without even noticing it, Ruby had fallen in love.

Ruby desperately wished to tell Weiss her feelings, but she wasn’t about to risk her most precious friendship. Besides, even if her feelings were returned, they wouldn’t be able to marry due to Weiss’s commoner status.

It wasn’t fair.

And Weiss wasn’t even here at the moment!

“Yeah…” Ruby mumbled, slumping in her seat despite her mental Weiss lecturing her on her posture. “Why did she have to leave and attend family business now of all times?”

Shortly before this tournament’s announcement, Weiss had received a letter that apparently urged her home for some emergency. Ruby had been upset at the time, though understanding as she of all people knew the importance of family.

Now she was despondent as by the time Weiss got back she’d surely be engaged and unable to ever reveal her feelings.

“It sucks, but that’s how it is.” Yang shrugged but gave her an understanding smile. “I’m sure things will be fine when she gets back.”

“No they won’t. I’ll be engaged.”

Yang sighed. Ruby could understand that she was trying to cheer her up, but it just wasn’t happening. “Let’s at least check out the competition, shall we?”

“Fine.” Ruby sighed and she cast her gaze over at her potential suitors.

Jaune Arc was from a large noble family with a history of turning out fantastic knights. Jaune himself was fairly decent but Ruby would never be able to get over her first impression of him where he vomited right on her shoes as she trained with her family’s knights. Overall, he wasn’t the worst person she could get married to, but there were plenty of powerful contestants.

Pyrrha Nikos, for example, was a strong contender. She was considered to be one of the strongest fighters on the continent, the Gladiator from Argus. She could probably trounce every single person here, but Ruby already knew that she wouldn’t as she was just participating out of obligation and she was sweet on a certain knight who was prone to blowing chunks when nervous.

Penny Polendina was someone that Ruby was fairly familiar with. She was one of the best knights that served the Ironwoods, the royal family of Atlas. She and Ruby trained together during a diplomatic mission in Atlas several years ago and they had kept correspondence since. Ruby was sure that she could count her as a friend. Maybe not necessarily one of her closest ones, but a friend all the same.

Oscar Pine was currently being trained by one of the most powerful mages in the world, Ozpin, but he did some knight training as well. He always seemed nice enough, but Ruby really didn’t consider him to be romantic interest material.

Neptune Vasilias and Ilia Amitola were both knights from Menagerie and close friends of Blake’s. Ruby knew them more by reputation and Blake’s stories than personally interacting with them. Neptune was a bit of a flirt but usually pulled through when it counted while Ilia was more serious and quite stealthy in her work, able to slip in and out of situations easily. Ruby figured they’d be okay partners if it came down to it.

Mercury Black on the other hand was a hard no. He served Lady Cinder Fall, who was herself known for her devious and power-hungry tactics, having married into the nobility and her husband almost immediately dying under mysterious circumstances, and Ruby did not trust him a bit. She didn’t like the sly looks he kept throwing her way. He was only allowed because her father had made this an open invitation so they couldn’t technically turn him away.

And the eighth participant…

Ruby frowned as she took them in.

The eighth participant wore white armor and unlike everyone else who was getting in their last fresh breaths before the tournament started, they already had their helmet on. They stood next to their horse, feeding her a sugar cube as they inspected their lance. They weren’t that big, probably even shorter than Ruby, and had a slight figure. A rapier was at their hip, clearly their weapon of choice.

Ruby had no clue who they were.

She was familiar with most of the royalty and nobility, as one in her position as heir to the throne should be, but she didn’t know who the White Knight was.

She glanced at the knight’s standard and felt her eyebrows rise.

“Huh.” Yang said, clearly also noticing the symbol. “Well, what do you know.”

A white snowflake on a blue background.

The Schnee insignia.

Ruby narrowed her eyes.

The Schnees were one of the most powerful noble families in Atlas. However, ever since the Duchess, Willow, had taken ill years ago, her husband, Duke Jacques, a former commoner, had mostly taken over control of her duties. And there was not much good to be said about how he ran things while she continued to be indisposed. He was a merchant at heart and still conducted his business, tying it into the Schnee affairs, and he was as cutthroat as the worst of them. Ruby had frequently heard of him and King James butting heads before coming to begrudging agreements. The family never came to events, isolating themselves with usually only Jacques emerging to conduct business.

The Schnees had three children. Ruby had only heard talk of the eldest and heir Winter, mainly because she had chosen to take a knighthood from the Ironwoods. The Schnees were infamous for their skills in magic, making them highly desirable in courts, so everyone had been jealous of Ironwood snagging one of them despite the family’s isolation. Jacques had been insistent on the family relying on only their own power, so now they took on no knights and had no mages, members of the family undergoing rigorous training and tutoring within their castle walls. So Winter had caused quite the scandal with apprenticing herself out, though given that the Schnees served the crown just as much as anyone else, there had not been much that Jacques could do.

Ruby knew that the other children were a girl and a boy, but only rumors were whispered about them. They said that the middle child had been maimed by Jacques and shut up in a tower for daring to disobey him. Or that she’d been left in the woods to die after refusing to marry who her father had picked to secure more power. Or her father had tricked her with a rigged test of skills and she was long dead, though no one knew for sure. They said that he’d tried to make the boy the heir after Winter left and the other daughter was silenced, but the king’s council had stopped him. It was hard to tell what was true with how little the family was seen in public. It was all too easy to imagine horrors behind the doors of the coldest noble family in the world.

And yet, here was a member of that mysterious family, vying for her hand in marriage.

“D’you think it’s the girl or the boy?” Yang asked as she sat up and squinted at them. Her eyes flickered over to where King James and his entourage had set themselves up, Winter Schnee clearly by his side as she was rumored to always be. “Which would you prefer?”

Ruby scowled. “Neither.” She firmly said.

A Schnee was a fascinating prospect, but given the head of the family’s reputation, it did not bode well for one of them to be participating.

Yang hummed, tilting her head to the side. “Well, this should be interesting…”

“What should be interesting?”

Ruby glanced over as Blake took her seat at Yang’s other side. She too was glancing over the competition, and her gaze eventually settled on the Schnee. Though surprisingly, she didn’t look too shocked, which stuck out to Ruby. The Schnee business ventures had a lot of dealings with Menagerie, mostly to Menagerie and the Faunus’ detriment, and Blake was well known for her low opinion of Jacques.

“So you noticed the Schnee, too?” Yang pointed out the obvious. “We were just talking about them. What sort of scheme do you think Jacques is up to, trying to win Ruby’s hand?”

“Not much probably.” At Ruby and Yang’s surprised blink, Blake continued. “You haven’t heard? New evidence was brought forth of all of the Duke’s underhanded dealings and presented to the king. He’s been arrested and is still awaiting trial.” Blake took a sip from her goblet, ignoring Ruby and Yang’s slack-jawed expression.

“Holy cannoli…” Yang muttered. “So is this one of them trying to regain the family’s honor or something?”

“Considering it was the second daughter and the Duchess who provided the information, I think they’ve proved that some people in the family do have honor.” Blake dryly replied. “Apparently Jacques had been drugging the Duchess for years to take over her duties?”

“Whoa…” Ruby breathed out, impressed despite herself. The second daughter did sound pretty awesome, but then again, as she glanced back at the White Knight, there was no guarantee that this was her. It could just as easily be the son, and rumors said he took more after his father than either daughter. “Still, that doesn’t mean they’re not suspicious.” She crossed her arms and fixed her pout on her face. “They probably aren’t really interested in me, just like more than half of the others participating.”

“You’d be surprised.” Blake muttered, taking another sip and rolling her eyes at Yang’s attempt to steal her drink.

Before Ruby could ask what she meant by that, the trumpets sounded to signal the tournament’s start.

It proceeded much as Ruby thought it would once the bracket’s were announced.

Pyrrha wasn’t able to go all out on Jaune, clearly holding back, but she still easily won. Likewise, Penny won out over Neptune, and poor Oscar hadn’t stood a chance against Mercury.

Ruby kept a close eye on the bout between Ilia and the White Knight, but the Knight proved to be the superior of the two. Though Ruby was impressed by the Knight stopping to help Ilia up after it was over, showing a kindness she didn’t expect due to the Schnees’ reputation.

In the second round, Penny just barely won. She and Pyrrha had to resort to hand-to-hand combat to determine the winner, and in the end, Penny’s throwing knives allowed her to stay out of the range of Pyrrha’s spear.

On the other side, Ruby was sure that Mercury had tried some tricks, as she saw Mercury approaching the Knight before their bout and whispering in their ear with a sly smile all too similar to his mistress’s. Given the way they’d jerked back and she could practically feel them glowering at him through their helmet, it certainly sparked Ruby’s curiosity. However, Mercury ended up getting knocked out without too much trouble.

And that left for the final round…

“So who do you want to win? Penny or Mystery Schnee?” Yang asked as she snacked on some treats. Ruby had been so caught up in the fighting that she hadn’t even noticed her leaving to get food.

Ruby sunk back into her chair as she looked over at her final two choices.

Penny was her friend and Ruby cared for her dearly. But she was just a friend. Ruby had never thought of her in a romantic or partner-type way. Sure, Ruby could probably marry her for the good of the kingdom, but…

And the White Knight, the Schnee seemed to be pretty alright. As much as one could glean personality from someone who they’ve only seen fighting and is wearing a helmet besides. At the very least, it’d be fun to spar with them. Which gender they were wasn’t really a factor to Ruby, as usually actually knowing someone was what really made someone attractive to her, which is why…

This wasn’t what she wanted.

If she had a choice, she’d choose Weiss.

But Weiss wasn’t an option.

Yang sighed and ruffled her hair a bit. “Yeah, I know.”

“Hey!” Ruby smacked her hand away and scowled at her. She quickly fixed her hair but paused as she felt the prickle of someone’s eyes on her. She turned her head to see the White Knight facing her. She blinked a bit in surprise, but they quickly turned away.

Blake chuckled. “It might not be as bad as you think.”

Yang glanced at her, eyes narrowed. “Do you know something?”

“No.”

“I think you do.”

“Well, even if I did, I wouldn’t say anything.”

“Well - “

“Shush!” Ruby finally interrupted their flirting. “It’s starting.”

Penny and the White Knight were well matched. They kept on coming out even after each run until finally it came down to hand-to-hand. The White Knight drew their rapier and Ruby couldn’t help but be slightly impressed by their skill. They clearly were someone who relied on technique and skill and they still managed to do so even with the bulky weight of full armor.

But Ruby knew Penny was one of the strongest fighters she knew. This match was already decided before it began.

It was as much a surprise to her, as it was to the rest of the audience, when the White Knight managed to evade the last of Penny’s knives, knock off her helmet, and held the tip of their rapier to Penny’s throat.

A clear victory.

Applause thundered around her, but Ruby could only stare in shock.

All her preferences aside, she had thought that Penny would win. And she would’ve accepted it, despite her misgivings, but now…

Ruby didn’t know what to do with this.

Her dad, Taiyang, stood from where he’d been seated on the throne to watch the proceeding and ignore his daughters’ chatter about the events. He’d been surprisingly quiet, not even joking around with Uncle Qrow during the tournament like he usually would, and Ruby had forgotten that he was even sitting beside her this whole time.

“Congratulations, champion!” Her dad’s voice boomed over the waning applause as the White Knight collected their horse and came to stand before the royal box. “You have bested your peers and proven yourself a knight capable of protecting the royal family. As per the rules of the tournament, you have won the hand of our fair princess Ruby. Do you accept your prize?”

The White Knight was silent for a moment before reaching up to take off their helmet.

“I will gladly take her hand - “

Ruby’s breath caught in her throat as the White Knight spoke. That voice -

“But only if she gives it of her own free will.”

As the helmet came off, long white hair came tumbling down from the high ponytail on their head, blue eyes shone as they gazed up towards Ruby, and a slight smile tugged at the scar going through their left eye.

“So,” Weiss smiled up at Ruby, as smug as the cat who ate the canary, “what do you say, your highness?”

“Weiss?!” Ruby erupted in shock, just as her face exploded in red.

“Holy crow…” Yang muttered, just as surprised as she was.

Blake continued eating, completely indifferent. “Are you going to answer her or not?” She flatly asked.

“Oh, uh,” Ruby floundered a bit more as Weiss just chuckled a bit, “yes!” She shouted, before recovering her royal composure. “I mean, yes. Of course, I would love to give you my hand.”

She extended her hand to show her sincerity and Weiss took it. Weiss clasped her hand before bringing it before her face and giving it a light kiss.

“Gchk!” Ruby practically choked as she felt her face heat up even more if possible.

Weiss smirked, eyes dancing with mirth over her reaction. “Then I guess we’re engaged.”

“Yep.” Ruby’s father grinned as well, before projecting to the audience once more. “It is now official! Her highness, the Crown Princess Ruby Rose, is engaged to the White Knight, Lady Weiss Schnee of Atlas.”

The crowd roared around them but Ruby was feeling faint from the whiplash of everything that happened.

How were you supposed to feel when one minute you’re about to be locked in a marriage you don’t want and the next you’re getting everything you want with the person you want?

She felt a slight tug on her hand. Ruby looked down to see the teasing expression gone, replaced by the concerned look on Weiss’s face. “Are you alright?” She frowned a bit. “It’s fine if you don’t want to do this.”

Ruby’s heart skipped a beat. “I do. Trust me, I do.” She smiled at her and squeezed her hand back. “But an explanation would be nice.” She admitted.

Weiss nodded. “Of course.”

Somehow, Ruby knew this was going to be a doozy.

.

“Your dad tried to have you killed?!” Yang’s jaw dropped and Ruby felt hers dropping right with hers.

They’d gathered in the library as the feast celebrating the end of the tournament and Ruby’s engagement began to wind down. It was the place they had always hung out together, but for once their meeting was a bit more urgent than usual.

Weiss hummed, much too at ease with such a horrific fact. “I should’ve thought there was something suspicious when he said that if I managed to complete the quest I’d be allowed to leave the manor as I wished. As it was, I did complete it and I managed to have my sister secretly arrest my attacker, but I didn’t come away unscathed.” Like she didn’t realize she was doing it, her fingers lightly traced her scar.

“So it was better to have him think me dead. Part of the reason why I wanted to leave was to become a knight like my sister and to restore our family’s honor that my father had tarnished. The attack made me realize that simply doing good would not be enough, I had to take out my father as well.” Weiss continued. “So I fell back on my other talents. Music has always been a passion of mine, one that my father actually encouraged, so becoming a minstrel was an easy task. No one looked twice at me, allowing me to gather all the evidence I needed. Only King James, my sister, and my family’s loyal head butler knew of my task back in Atlas, and of course, I did inform Regent Taiyang when I ended up here.”

“And you knew this entire time?” Yang rounded on Blake.

She didn’t even blink. “The Faunus and Menagerie have been the victims of most of her father’s crimes. Well, most of the ones not done to his own family.” Blake glanced over at Weiss before returning to looking at Yang. “I was aware of all members of the Schnee family, so of course I recognized her right away.”

“Blake has been invaluable with my investigations.” Weiss shot her a smile before catching the disappointed frown on Ruby’s face.

“So the important family business?” Ruby prodded.

Her expression softened. “I’d finally gathered all that I needed, but I had originally intended to wait to confront him. I wanted to reveal the truth to you first, but I received news from Klein that my father had been acting more suspicious than usual so I had to go after him much sooner. He was making alliances with factions that sought to overthrow King James and later attack the other kingdoms. Unfortunately, even with my intervention, his conspirators escaped.” Weiss scowled. Ruby knew that she was always harder on her own flaws than anyone else, and this untidy wrap-up of the incident was most likely weighing on her.

Ruby took in her sister’s thoughtful expression as they both mulled over this new information. Truthfully, it was a lot to take in. Ruby was almost overwhelmed with how much she had learned about Weiss in such a short amount of time.

Weiss was a noble, of the infamous and powerful Schnee family.

Weiss was not only a musician and minstrel, but also a knight.

She could almost be considered a spy, given that she’d somehow been able to go undercover to investigate her own family, her own father.

Weiss was somehow even more talented than she had ever imagined.

Yang clapped her hands together. “Well, that’s good enough for me.” She smiled as she apparently recovered all the revelations. “Blake, how about we give the lovebirds some alone time?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Blake returned the smile as she took her arm and led the way out.

Weiss sputtered, her composure finally broken. “We’re not ‘lovebirds!’”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Yang waved at them as they left. “You guys just got engaged. The honeymoon period’s officially started.”

“Yang!” Weiss facepalmed once more before turning back to Ruby. “Ugh, Ruby, your sister - “

“Weiss.”

Weiss blinked at her. Her eyes searched hers for a moment, looking for something, though Ruby didn’t know what. “Yes?” She cautiously replied.

“I just - I just wanted to know if - “ Ruby paused, the words tripping from her mouth. “I know you said that you wanted to tell me, but was everything else just - just - “

“Oh.” Luckily, Weiss understood her better than she knew herself. “Ruby, I may not have told you about my family or about my personal mission, but it wasn’t a lie.” She hesitated before taking Ruby’s hand in her own. “I know why you may think that, but I never tried to hide who I was or tried to get close because I thought it would benefit me.”

“If anything, you tried to push me away.” Ruby chuckled and Weiss joined her.

“Yes.” She smiled. “Now that all of my family drama is over with, I can now focus on other things.”

“I know you asked me if I really wanted this, but do you?” Ruby couldn’t help but ask.

“Ruby, I only joined the tournament for your sake.”

Ruby looked away, feeling a blush rise once more in her cheeks.

“Your father even ensured that I was knighted before I joined. The moment I returned he told me what was going on. And I knew that I at least wanted to protect you from those who weren’t actually interested or those who were interested but for all the wrong reasons.” Weiss scooted a bit closer as she said that until their knees were touching. “And now that we know that this is what we both want…”

Weiss held both of Ruby’s hands and brought them up, squeezing them tight. “Ruby, I promise to protect you to the best of my ability. I will follow your lead wherever you go and my sword is yours to command. I want you and I love you. Will you have me?”

Ruby felt herself getting a bit teary-eyed. “Of course,” she replied, “but isn’t it a bit too soon for the wedding vows?”

Weiss huffed and looked away, her face a bit flushed, “I just want you to know how I feel and assure you that I’ll be here for you. Is that such a crime?”

“No,” Ruby laughed and then she leaned in and pressed her forehead to Weiss’s, making her freeze in place, “just as long as you know I’ll be here for you, too.”

Weiss was full out blushing now, and while red was usually Ruby’s favorite color, she found this to be her favorite shade yet.

“May I kiss you, my knight?” Ruby asked in a slightly teasing tone.

Weiss smiled. “You may, my princess.”

And as they finally came in for a kiss, Ruby couldn’t wait for the ballad that Weiss would surely write about them.

The Princess and Her Knight.

Ruby liked the sound of that.

.

AN: KNIGHT WEISS! KNIGHT WEISS! KNIGHT WEISS!

I know that Weiss is set-up (by both her circumstances and her fairy tale analog) as the princess-type, but as the series continues Knight Weiss has truly begun to rise. I just love Weiss in the role of the knight. It's great so that's what I did here.

When I originally thought up this fic, I had it ending after Weiss's reveal as the White Knight and her asking for Ruby's hand only if it's willingly and Ruby accepting. Typical fairy tale ending, right? But as I re-worked it and added in elements, like how the Schnees fitting into this AU, their role (like at one point they and the Ironwoods were the dual rulers of Atlas but I decided to just make the Schnees like top-tier nobility instead), and how Weiss fits into that (plus her supposedly still being on family business was a good excuse to not be by Ruby's side like she would've been otherwise), I realized that I probably should explain what was going on with that and I ended it on a note that was just as sweet.

Oh, and as mentioned, the Schnees, including Weiss, do have magic in the form of their Glyphes in this world. Ruby remembers this fact at like 3 AM the next morning and burst into Weiss's room to ask if she had magic as well and promptly gets magicked out, as Weiss can do that to the princess now that they're engaged and she hates being woken up.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! I know I didn't do as many fics this year, but I had fun with the ones I did do.

[eddieismypimp]

Shouldn’t have done that.

Oscar x plus size black reader (gotta show love to my QUEENS)

Summary: Oscar and "Y/N" have been fighting all day, it gets a little out of hand and he buys you a puppy to make up for it.

Warnings: I NEVER KNOW HOW TO END THESE SHITS SO THE ENDINGS ARE ALWAYS STUPID. Cussing, little bit of violence, yelling, arm grabbing, if that freaks you out please please don't read this. Also, I hate writing shit about fighting because I come from trauma and I always take it to far because thats what I'm used to so I'm sorry lol <3

A/N PLEASE PLEASE READ: I DO NOT support any type of abuse IN THE SLIGHTEST BIT even arm grabbing but I put it in this story and I'm so sorry if any of you who reads this is going through abuse or anything like that. With everyone being quarantined and kids being at home with their parents, there's a possibility that they are in actual danger and it terrifies me and hurts my heart to even think about that. Please dont be afraid to ask someone for help if you're in that situation. You can text me anytime if you need a friend and we can just talk. I pray for the babies who are in bad situations right now. I love you all.

                                      Y/N POV

"Just drop it y/n." Oscar said sitting at the kitchen table sipping his coffee. "What I decide for Cesar isn't your concern."  Wow.... that shit HURTED. ''I know I haven't been around since the very beginning but that doesn't mean that I don't care about you and Cesar." I said. "That doesn't change the fact that you weren't the one that raised him since he was a little child." He said standing up and walking to the kithcen. I followed him, not ready to finish this conversation yet. He wasn't gonna win this time. He needed to see my point.  "I had to give up EVERYTHING to make sure there was food on the table and he was taken care of." He said getting a little loud. "Baby, theres no need to get loud." I said. "I know you have given up a lot for Cesar and I think you're amazing for it.... but do you really think Cesar wants this life?" I asked. He didn't say anything. "I know you just want him to be protected but is this really the best way to go about it? Is there really no other way you can protect him without getting him involved in this shit?" I asked again. "It's not to late.. for either of you. I know you think it's to late for you but you can still get out baby you ca-." I was cut off by Oscar slamming his cup on the counter. I flinched and gasped. He turned around getting in your face. "Don't speak on shit you know nothing about." He said it calmly but I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. With that he walked away and I stood there dumbfounded.

                            -time skip-

It's been about an hour since Oscar and I had that argument and I've been sitting in the living room watching Coco. That movie always makes me feel so much better. Miguel is the cutest! I was  singing along to Un Poco Loco when I seen Oscar walking towards the door. "Where you goin?" I asked him worried. He looked at me. "Cesar needs me." "I'm coming with you." I said getting up and turning off the t.v. I slid my Nike slides on and walked out behind him getting into the car.

                            -another time skip-

"Why is Cesar in Brentwood?" I asked looking at Oscar. "Him and his friends were trick or treating." He said not taking his eyes off the road. "Oh." Was all I said as I looked out the window. We finally pulled up to this house party and I seen Cesar standing in front of this white boy. We got out the car. "Oh so you think you're hard?" I heard the kid say. The fuck is goin on? He better not be comin at my little baby crazy! I thought to myself. "No... but he is." Cesar said pointing at Oscar. Oscar walked up on the boy with me right behind him. Ope- this kids in for it now. The kid looked at me. Oh Christ. I internally rolled my eyes. "Well.. look at you. Aren't you beautiful." He said which disgusted me to my SOUL. I had an idea though. I faked a smile and pushed past Oscar. "Thank you." I said caressing his face. "You're not to bad yourself." Which was an absolute lie. The kid looked ROUGH. He also had a fake tear drop tattoo and it was very obvious he was trying to look like a cholo. I was gonna end it there knowing Oscar was already jealous as shit and we would have some bomb ass makeup sex later but when I turned around, I felt a hard slap on my ass. "Yo what the fuck!?" I said turning around and slapping the kid in the face. Before anyone could say or do anything else, Oscar gently pushed me outta the way and grabbed the kid by his shirt. "Aye, don't touch my girl homie!" Oscar got all up in his face. "I'm sorry man, she came onto me." The kid said clearly terrified.  Oscar saw the fake tear drop and got noticeably more angry. If that was even possible. He licked his thumb and wiped it off the kids face. Then wiped his own tattoo, which didn't come off. "This shits real." He said. "Please, what do you want?" The kid asked with tears in his eyes. I laughed a little to myself. Who's tough now, pussy? Oscar let go of his shirt and tilted his head at Cesar telling him to come over. As Cesar was telling the kid what he wanted, Oscar turned towards me grabbing my arm and leading me to the car. I got in and he did too shortly after. We waited in silence for Cesar. Him and Monse walked up to the car and I got out to let them in. Once they were in you sat back down. "How is everyone else getting home?" I asked looking at Cesar. I can't help it, I worry about everything. "Ruby's abuelita is taking them." He said. "Oh okay." I said facing the front less worried. Oscar started driving as we all sat in silence. It got a little to quiet so I grabbed the aux cord and started playing my favorite song. I knew Cesar and Monse liked the song to because they were in the back straight vibin. I was playing the song get back by pop smoke. (r.i.p papi) That song was a straight bop. Oscar showed no emotion though. He just sat there in silence. focusing on the road. I gave a slight frown thinking my plan didn't work but put my focus back on the song.

                               -time skip-

It was like that the rest of the car ride. Me playing bomb ass music while me, cesar and monse jammed out and oscar just sitting there with literally no emotion. We finally got to Monse's house and I let her and Cesar out. Cesar was gonna stay at her place tonight since her dad was out of town. Which actually worked out perfectly, now me and Oscar will have the whole house to ourselves. I internally smirked thinking about what could go down tonight. I was excited. We finally pulled into the driveway of our house. Oscar got out without saying anything and went straight to the door to unlock it. What the fuck? I thought. I got out and walked in the house. "Oscar, what's the matter?" I asked wrapping my arms around him from behind. "You haven't said anything since we left Brentwood." "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He asked coldly. That threw me off and I backed up a little as he turned around to look at me. "What?" I asked genuinely confused. "You think you can just pull that shit and I won't get pissed?" He asked. I started giggling realizing that my plan did work. "So you think the shit is funny now?" He raised his voice stepping all up on me. My smile left my face quick as shit. "Wh- no.. I-" I was cut off by Oscar grabbing my arms pretty harshly. I gasped. "Why you out here actin like a whore?" He asked, his voice still raised like I wasn't right in front of him. "Oscar, you're hurting me." I said. I was kinda shook right now because I didn't think he would get mad enough to actually hurt me. "I don't give a fuck." He said tightening his grip. I had tears in my eyes now, this is starting to scare me a little. "You're supposed to be my girl... not touchin up on some fools right in front of me." He said, still not letting go. "Oscar, I only did that to get your attention. I didn't think you'd for real get mad." I said struggling to get my arms out of his grip. His eyes softened a little and he finally let go. I rubbed my wrists backing up. "Mama... I'm so sorry..." He said trying to pull me into a hug but I backed away. I looked at him for a moment before turning around and walking to our shared bedroom locking the door and falling on the bed crying. A few moments later I heard the front door close and the car start.

                              Oscars POV

Why did I let it get to me like that..? I love y/n with my whole heart. Why would I ever hurt her? "What the fuck do I do?" I asked myself. I parked my car in a park so I can think of ways to make it up to my little baby. "Okay Oscar.. think... Something that will make her happy..." I finally got it. A fucking puppy. She's been asking me for one for like two months now. I only knew one pet shop that was open this late so I started my car and drove there.

                               -time skip-

I got there and I looked for about 20 mintues before I found the perfect one.I picked him up and brought him to the worker. "This is the one I want." I said. "Okay," She said taking him from me. "I'm gonna have you pick out a collar, a leash, dog food, and food bowls for him." The lady said. I nodded my head going to pick the shit out. I got all the stuff and went to the counter. She rang up all my shit and then gave me some papers to sign. "What do you want to name him?" She asked me. I had to think for a minute. What's a name y/n would pick...? Oh wait.. I can name him Miguel. Her little ass loves Coco and thats her favorite character. I told the lady what I wanted to name him and she wrote it down somewhere on the paper I just filled out. She bagged up my stuff and handed me Miguel. "Have a nice night!" She said smiling. "Thank you, you too." I took all my stuff and walked out to my car.

She's gonna love him. I thought. I put all the stuff in the backseat and got him settled in the front seat. I took a picture of him for memories. Then I started driving home.

                             -time skip-

                        Still Oscar's POV

I finally got home. I stayed in the car for a minute trying to figure out the right words to say. I hope I can fix this. I love her so much. I took a deep breath and got out of the car. I grabbed the bags from the back seat and then grabbed the puppy. I opened the front door as quietly as I possibly could. The lights in the living room and kitchen were on and so was the t.v. Of course she's watching Coco. I didn't see her on the couch tho. Shes probably in the kitchen. I sneakily walked over to the couch and sat everything down including the puppy. I walked toward the kitchen to see if she was in there but she wasn't there either. Right when I was about to walk to our bedroom, she walked out of the bathom and we almost bumped into each other. She didn't say anything, and she tried to walk past me. "Wait, baby.." I said.

                             Y/n POV

I tried to walk past Oscar but he wouldn't let me. "Wait, baby.." He pleaded. "Please just listen." I sighed but decided to listen to what he had to say. "Okay Oscar." I said quietly. He let out a sigh of relief. "Baby, I am sorry." He said taking a step closer to me. I took a step back. Not because I was scared but because it was my natural instinct. He had a pained expression but he continued. "I love you and I don't know why I acted like that." I just sood there. "I would never hurt, and I'm sorry.. I took it way to far. It'll never happen again." I was staring at my feet but I could feel his eyes on me. "Please mami. Please forgive me." He pleaded. I couldn't stay mad at him for long. "Okay, Oscar. I forgive you." I said. "Oh thank God." He said pulling me into a hug. "I love you so much." He said kissing me all over my face. I giggled. "I love you too papi." I said smiling at him. "Come here boo, I got something for you." He said grabbing my hands and leading me into the living room. I was mad confused until I saw the most beautiful puppy I have ever seen. I gasped SO loud. "Oh my goooooood.... Oscar, is he mine?" I asked looking at Oscar. "Yes ma'am, all for you." He said smiling at me. I smiled back at him as I went to go pick up the puppy. "Awwwww,babe. I love him." I said cuddling the puppy. "Whats his name?" "I named him Miguel." He said proudly. I melted. "I love it boo. He's perfect." I started to tear up. "Aw baby, don't cry." Oscar said hugging me. Everything was quiet for a while until I heard Oscar sniffling. I looked up at him and he had tears in his eyes. "Babe.. what's wrong?" I asked worried. "I'm so sorry, I never wanted to hurt you like that ever. I know buying presents isn't gonna make up for it, but I just want you to know i'll never hurt you again." He said kissing my forehead. "You don't have to cry baby. We both did stuff we regret tonight. But it's okay, we can talk it out and work this out and become better than ever." I said, planting kisses all over his sweet little face. "This is why I love you." He said. The rest of the night, me, oscar and our new puppy cuddled and watched Coco.