#peace at sea rwby

[archester-creations]

finally decided to do this with peace at sea

@rwbyrarepairs

[idontknowwhattocallthisanymore]

a just-for-fun rwby rarepair tournament poll featuring only my favourite ships. who knows maybe ill do something for the winner. adorable art by @rubyneo

i dont know if you'll want it, but if you do @rwbyrarepairs

[howdoyoudothedew]

Rated: T

Pairing: Peace at sea (Dove Bronzewing/Neptune Vasilias)

Word Count: ~1k

A/N: "Hey we hooked up last night and it turns out you are my child's teacher" au ft. sex-repulsed asexual Neptune

“All alone?”

Neptune looked up, then slightly down because the person was short and he’d overshot. Maybe the alcohol addled his brain more than he thought. Eyes dark like the night sky looked at him from behind a blonde fringe. “Yeah.”

“I’ll join you,” the guy said and did just that. Neptune blinked as the guy sat in the seat next to him. There were dark circles under the guy’s eyes. They weren’t real dark ones, like he had a history of bad sleep, but lighter ones like the bad sleep was just this week. He had a collared button up on, the top three buttons all unbuttoned.

"Why?" Neptune asked.

"You seem lonely," the guy said and took a drink from his cup. Neptune didn't realize the guy ordered anything. Nor had he seen the bartender appear. "Not that it's really any of my business."

Neptune shrugged his shoulders, because the guy was right. He was sort of lonely, in that late night kind of way where he wanted intimacy, closeness. But it was something he more or less learned to live with. It was hard to trust anyone with the level of intimacy he wanted without the fear of them being mad about him not being able to give anything more.

The guy– Dove– ended up being funny in a dry sort of way. He was easy to talk to, too, and maybe the alcohol fueled his actions just a bit as he confessed everything about his loneliness in a way he's never told anyone. And when Dove paid for both their drinks and pushed away from the bar, asking Neptune if he wanted to spend the night with him, Neptune stood up to follow.

Dove hadn't lied. Not once throughout the night had Neptune been pressured to do anything he wasn't comfortable with. It was sensual and intimate, but not sexual. It felt like Dove could read everything Neptune did and didn't want. And he'd honestly enjoyed it. It was nice to experience that level of intimacy with someone without feeling worried. Dove even made breakfast for him the morning after. Neptune kind of wanted that again. Okay, Neptune really wanted that again. Except he didn't know the guy's last name or phone number. Something that Neptune bemoaned plenty over the next few days, as was befitting letting quite possibly the man of your dreams get away like an absolute idiot. And he was planning to continue bemoaning today while his daughter was at school since it was his day off, until his daughter reminded him her history teacher wanted to speak with him after school. He dressed as quickly as he could, nearly putting on mismatched socks and shoes and stumbling while he did. Then he left to pickup his daughter and meet the teacher.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Neptune apologized as he entered the room the woman at the front desk directed him to. There was a short man at the whiteboard, writing up what Neptune assumed would be for the morning’s class. He caught the words ‘Great War’ in large print and blue marker. The only indication Neptune got that Mr. Bronzewing heard him come in was a held up finger, a sign to wait as the teacher looked from his notes to what he was writing. Neptune stood awkwardly somewhere between actually in the room and in the doorframe.

The marker was capped and placed on the tray at the bottom of the whiteboard. “I want to move your daughter to my honours class," the teacher said in a voice that felt like it should be familiar to Neptune, but his mind was more stuck on the words.

“But she’s failing," Neptune said.

“I know.” Mr. Bronzewing walked over to lean against the desk, and the second Neptune saw his face he knew why his voice sounded familiar. Suddenly all he could think about was that night. His daughter's history teacher– because that's who he was pining for apparently– didn't show any reaction when their eyes met. “She’s bored in this class. I think she’d do better in the more advanced one. It’s smaller and more involved.”

"You…" Neptune sat down in one of the desks. His legs didn't fit properly in it, so he couldn’t do anything about the way they stuck out the bottom as a clear tripping hazard.

"Truly think she can do it," Mr. Bronzewing– Dove– said, though that wasn't the actual ending to Neptune's sentence. Somehow Neptune had the clear impression that Dove knew that too. Which meant, despite the lack of reaction, Dove remembered too. Neptune tried to swallow around a tongue that felt suddenly too dry.

"If you think she can do it, I'm willing to move her," Neptune said, and Dove's eyebrows rose slightly in a pleased sort of surprise. And Neptune was surprised himself that he could apparently read this monotone man who he only spent one night with so clearly.

"I'll have to ask her as well, of course," Dove said.

"Of course." Neptune nodded. "Thank you for moving her, instead of just giving her up as a lost cause."

Dove nodded slowly and this time Neptune felt like he was the one who could read all the unspoken words.

Or most of them.

"Now," Dove said. "Should we get her and go get dinner?"

Neptune's eyebrows raised in surprise. "I- What?"

"Dinner," Dove said with a slight smile. Neptune swallowed again and it was a little easier in the face of it.

"I'd like that," Neptune said. "Just let me go get her and I'll meet you at the front?"

Dove grabbed his keys and bag and nodded. Neptune tried not to fall as he extricated himself from the desk. This time he vowed to get Dove's number by the end of the date.

[violentlyscreaming]

I grabbed these from ao3 tagged rare pair and a Reddit post. I’m very sorry if I didn’t hit your favorite Rarepair- I tried to pick ones I didn’t think would be super popular?

[pilot-boi]

I am *begging* on my hands and knees, please give us the reactions of team RWBY to Tree Jaune. I'm an angst fiend and haven't been given a hit in so long.

It can’t be Jaune, it just doesn’t make sense

Weiss was the last to fall, she’s sure of it. Jaune is with his team in Vacuo. He’s holding them together, holding everyone together, like he’s always done. If Ruby is their soul of their little family then Jaune is the heart, and he HAS to be in Vacuo waiting for them

She didn’t see him fall. Winter was still there, she wouldn’t have let him fall. The twin crescents glint mockingly from the shield half embedded in the tree’s trunk. Her hand traces the emblem and doesn’t notice when the mark blurs not from time but from tears.

Blake’s fingers brush the bark of the tree. Gnarled and cracked as an old pine, but with the leaves and coloring of a birch. White and gold, strong and steady. How can it possibly be him?

The Rusted Knight was always her favourite character. The hero she dreamed of living up to. For him to be Jaune is incredible, for the Rusted Knight to come to this is unbelievable. But Jaune to be so hopeless he was forced to this is unthinkable

Yang picks leaves and berries from her hair. Blue as the sea, as tears, as his eyes. A burden so heavy he gave up completely? A loss too great for his spirit to bear? A pain so great he had to flee from sentience to protect himself?

The cat must be lying. And how DARE they. Jaune wouldn’t just give up like that. Her friend is the most stubborn person she knows, sometimes to his own detriment. He never gives up when the going gets tough, he just shoulders it and keeps moving forward. She can feel all too familiar anger bubbling in her at the cat’s audacity

Ruby kneels at the foot of the trunk and her gaze rests on the too-familiar blade. Embedded halfway up the blade and with a pair of roots wrapped around the blue leather hilt. Standing ready for battle even now

A branch of yellow leaves brushes the top of her head. She can almost feel his hand on her shoulder. A burden too heavy to bear and he was elevated to this state of peace.

Why does she feel almost jealous?

[bestworstcase]

Out of curiosity (and some confusion), how do you think Faunus came about? Unless I'm misremembering (in which case this would be pretty awkward) Faunus didn't exist in the First Wave of Humanity, and given that the two creation myths we're presented with (not even by an actual Faunus) disagree on almost every point I'd be surprised if there was an actual answer-

you’re remembering correctly that the faunus are unique to remnant. also tonight has been one of my periodic episodes of being unhinged about this so here is some Background Reading.

of the two faunus creation myths one is explicitly a very old faunus oral tradition and the other reads to me very strongly as a syncretism with the (human) brother-cult, in that the earlier conceit of freely chosen, joyful transformation and liberation by a wild but benevolent trickster god is retained but presented within an explicit framework of divine judgment and moral imperative to be peaceful and harmonious or else bring about self-annihilation through conflict. which is exactly the sort of cultural evolution that you’d expect to get from refracting ‘the shallow sea’ through the eschatological prism of ‘the two brothers’ and the doctrine of the brother-cult generally.

(for a real historical exemplar of this sort of shift occurring, see the cultural remapping of ambiguous deities in many pre-christian polytheistic traditions onto the christian idea of The Devil; this is fairly ubiquitous but the most generally accessible case is the popular conception of hades as an evil god and hades as hell, whereas in actual practice hades was the god who ruled over hades, which was where everyone went when they died and encompassed a variety of different areas raging from very nice to okay to unpleasant.)

see also: ozpin’s commentaries on ‘judgment,’ which gestures at exactly this phenomenon. “faunus always cast their god as a wise and noble figure, while human stories portray the same god as a trickster, not to be trusted.” he identifies both tales as faunus in origin (& certainly the characterization of the god of animals in ‘judgment’ is more ‘wise and noble’ than ‘trickster,’ although i think ozpin is also showing his own biases here because the god depicted in ‘the shallow sea’ is a trickster who is also very wise, honest, and fair. so ‘wise and noble’ vs ‘untrustworthy trickster’ is something of a false dichotomy, but also one that maps perfectly onto the gods of light and darkness as depicted in brother-cult doctrine.

<- the way rwby Handles religion is really excellent

anyway. i have a theory.

it’s lightly implied that grimm and faunus came first, humans second. (per WOR: there has never been a time in human history without grimm, and faunus have been around as long as humans “if not a little longer,” and there was a historical period when faunus were more numerous than humans.)

which is incongruous with the faunus’ own creation myths, both of which hinge on humans choosing to be transformed into something new by divine power.

salem squares that circle. salem was the last human of the old world, all that remained of humanity, and by extension she was also the first person of remnant. if faunus came to be before humans were revived, and salem embraced the faunus as her own people as discussed in the background reading post, it’s perfectly cogent for the faunus to be older than this humanity whilst understanding themselves as a people who came from humans, because for the very oldest one of them that was true.

which explains the myth, more than the factual history, but i do think it probably gets at the factual history too, because…

mechanically speaking.

what did salem do when she jumped into the pool of grimm? she combined the waters of life (pure creation) with the waters of grimm (pure destruction) into a new kind of being (herself, a grimm-person) in the same pattern as before (herself, a human-person with free will and a dualistic nature).

that’s, uh, how the brothers created humankind. and the jabberwalker. and the cat by combining their magic (dark’s fire, light’s smoke) into new kinds of beings modeled after themselves.

what did salem hope to achieve by rebelling against the brothers? she wanted humanity to “claim the powers of their creators and perfect their own design.”

and she failed but also succeeded in the end because she Did That—in the very literal sense. salem Remade Herself in the pool of grimm; jinn’s framing of the story through ozpin’s point of view elides salem’s agency at every step and implies an uncomplicatedly suicidal motive for jumping into the pool of grimm, but—i mean–

—the blacksmith has been right under our noses this whole time because she’s the form that salem gives to the idea of remnant’s souls. the lore put forward in v9 recontextualizes and clarifies a lot of what happens in the lost fable, not just in terms of the interpersonal history with the brothers but also the reason certain things unfold as they do and (most importantly) where the missing pieces might be.

the god of light’s understanding of balance is wrong. death as permanent unconscious stasis is not the natural order of things, it’s an arbitrary rule the brothers made up, and they themselves are beings from a place where death is a moment of rest and healing before rebirth as yourself again. they made humans in their image. balance is something that happens when things are given the time to figure themselves out.

what happens to the nature of life and death on remnant when the brothers remove themselves from the artificial system they created? it’s not balanced. it’s like a ball perched juuust at the upper rim of a ramp after you pull your hand away: it might not start rolling right away, but if you leave it long enough then something will eventually give it a nudge, whether the wind or the vibrations of a truck passing by or tiny imperceptible movements of the earth, and then that potential energy will be released.

the “death is when you stop and don’t change, forever” system was a ball sitting on a ramp in a room with someone who both really wanted to get the ball rolling and had absolutely nothing better to do than figure out how to give it that nudge. for millions of years.

yeah? here’s salem telling ozma “our souls transcend death.” that’s a surprise tool that will help us later.

the natural order of things, in remnant as in the ever after, is change. changing, it rests. ascension is just how it is in the ever after, meaning it’s in balance, meaning it’s the rhythm the ever after kind of settled into over time. the ball is on flat ground down there, jabber and all.

but the ever after didn’t begin the way the brothers’ world did—it wasn’t created ex nihilo with a specific prescription for how life/death were going to work, it was cultivated into a garden from wilderness. (ascension is the cycle of the harvest: when you have finished, when you are ready, the tree calls you back—you’re reaped—and then the seeds of you are sown and you begin again. this is a life/death system that developed through gardening!)

so it’s silly to imagine remnant’s balance will necessarily look exactly like the ever after’s balance. different beginnings, different variables, different environment. neither the ball nor the ramp are identical, so why in the world would the outcome be the same?

here’s pyrrha chanting that it is in passing we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death, i release your soul. that is also a surprise tool that will help us later.

but we can look at the ever after to get an idea of what the “lowest energy state” for the rolling-ball of a life/death system is, practically speaking, because—like i said—ascension is a cosmic repetition of how the ever after was made. the garden is populated by living fruits and blossoms of the tree who are reaped and sown in a continual cycle. the proverbial level ground is a pattern that wears in some grooves for the changing to follow. rivers, to change up the analogy a bit, don’t go flooding around everywhere all the time; the water flows through its channels, generally.

so, what patterns has remnant got, potentially?

death either takes a really, really long time (because it was dammed up for so long, the reservoirs is deep) or happens really fast, in a flood (what happens when a dam breaks?)

dying once makes you infinite (salem drowned in the fountain of creation, and became immortal)

dying twice unbinds you (salem drowned again in the pool of grimm, and remade herself into something new)

the “really fast” way of dying can maybe bind you to someone else, changing both of you in ways you may not like (ozma’s soul is continually recombined with another and he is changed against his will)

penny ambrosius bootleg ascension (i hope ambrosius enjoys his probable eventual new role as the chthonic god of remnant’s very complicated afterlife. he cannot possibly do worse than the guy who built the dam.)

however ozma’s curse gets resolved is likely to complete or alter the existing pattern(s)

gestures at the maidens. that’s a “really fast” way of dying that follows both the ozma pattern (the maidens cleave to new hosts) and the unbinding salem pattern (maidens choose themselves and also do not compromise the free will of the host or corrupt or take over the host’s conscious mind or identity)—maidens are twice-dead because they were cut out from ozma’s soul (<- spiritual death) and their cycle began with the deaths of the first four women who were given this magic.

gestures at whatever the hell is going on with silver-eyed psychopomps and the white liminal space between life and death. ruby’s eyes make her a conduit of some kind for that passage through the void; she hears pyrrha’s and penny’s cries for help (and pyrrha’s last words) after they die, and in the ever after she is haunted by penny’s sword. and the light motivated by her desperation to save people she cares about appears to be the white light that fills the void where life and death both part and come together again.

if death is a reservoir behind a dam and it happens either quite fast or very slow, what—or who—are the floodgates? [checks notes] the biological children of the “really fast” pattern-maker absent the interference pattern of salem. obviously.

notably, ozma’s influence as a pattern-maker is constrained to specific things with a direct spiritual or biological connection to himself, which tracks because his reincarnation sitch is relatively new. (likewise, i expect the penny ambrosius bootleg ascension deal will not have far-reaching effects any time soon; there are much older, deeper patterns at work here.)

salem, on the other hand, is two fucking hundred million years old. probably. on account of plate tectonics. which means that she has a much greater gravitational pull, so to speak, and is most likely to be that pattern that life/death on remnant ‘wants’ to fall into. the ball rolls down; water will flow into the deepest available channel.

so she died and became infinite and then died again in a manner she hoped would “take [infinite life]” away from her (TAKE AWAY FROM AN INFINITE QUANTITY AND AN INFINITE QUANTITY REMAINS. WAS SHE SUICIDAL OR DOING MATH.) and so remade herself.

salem wandered the face of the planet alone, awaiting a death that would never come. then she jumped into the pool of grimm. then ???. then the god of light pulled ozma out of stasis and told him “mankind is no more, but in time they’ll come back” and also he’ll kill everyone again if ozma doesn’t make them obey teach them to live in harmony with each other and stop demanding things from the gods :). THEN ozma comes back and there are human civilizations everywhere and all the faunus he encounters are in cages.

remember how the faunus are older than humankind? tha-at would be our “???” gap between salem crawling out of the grimm pool and light digging up ozma. probably.

you’ve got grimm. there have, as it’s said in ‘the shallow sea,’ always been grimm. they survived the moonfall.

you’ve got faunus. they were created when salem remade herself—the infinite life taken away from her brought them to life, in her image, just as original humans were brought to life by the brothers’ power in the brothers’ image (and of course the power salem has now was the brothers’ power and is now hers). this is maybe not what she was expecting to happen but she’s not alone anymore and, unlike humans of old, the faunus can coexist peacefully with the grimm with salem to mediate.

you’ve got the god of light taking a peek to see if perhaps salem is ready to grovel in repentance yet and going HEY WHAT THE FUCK THAT’S NOT ALLOWED…

…and hastily attempting to get the situation back under control by arranging for the “right” creations (he and his brother’s) to crowd out the ones salem defied him by making (WHEN WILL SHE LEARN HER LESSON!) and for good measure sending her beloved to punish her (SURELY THIS WILL MAKE HER SEE THE ERROR OF HER WAYS. BECAUSE SHE’S DEFINITELY THE ONE WHO’S WRONG.) because he is the god of the sunk cost fallacy first and foremost.

of course, the mere fact of allowing mankind to rise again achieves nothing but completing the “very slow” pattern—humans were dead for a long time and now they’re alive again. whoops! this is what happens when you meddle with forces you don’t understand.

anyway i think probably everyone on remnant reincarnates very slowly, not the way ozma does and also not the way ascension happens. i think when you die in remnant a part of you stays behind—infinite—to wander the face of the planet until it finds a way to guide the rest of you back home, in whatever form that takes. (BUT AS A BABY PROBABLY.) ’cause that’s the salem pattern.

points at the autumn leaf dancing around pyrrha’s memorial statue that guides jaune to see her so he can meet her mother and say goodbye. That’s Actually Pyrrha For Real. maybe. probably. a sliver of her soul left behind to find her way. i think faunus have the same cycle but it’s a bit smoother for them because they were never stuck in the old artificial death-as-stasis system and also this is why faunus genetics are so FUCKING weird, it’s because if you’ve got cat ears the first time you have cat traits forever even if in one of your lives your parents are, like, a crab faunus and a tortoise faunus. possibly children of interracial couples are more likely to be new, hence the more genetically logical outcome of usually inheriting the faunus parent’s animal.

but yeah i think the faunus like popped into existence as a consequence of salem grimming herself. that was my working theory prior to volume nine on the basis of mechanically how humans were created but in light of the v9 lore it’s quite literally the most thematically coherent explanation.

[haz3-daz3]

Platonic!Team RWBY x Reader Part 2

Part 2 lets gooo @muses-are-red

Part 1 can be found here

Blake Belladonna

The plan was to blend in, be normal, be human. Just…belong. That was what she intended, that was what she promised herself. She can have friends, talk to people, but she told herself she would *never* let anyone in. Not anymore. Not again. Never again.

And yet here she was, at the pier with a classmate who was clearly upset, and while Blake fancied herself a person who is detached, she’s not as callous as to leave a person all alone. Even if she barely talked to them.

“Um…are you okay?” Blake approached, careful with her steps, she knows it was a redundant question, but she had to start a conversation somehow, right? Yang always did mention that people always respond to a question or something along those lines…

The person in question flinched, quickly wiping her face, tears Blake reckoned but she didn’t mention it. It wasn’t her business, not hers to pry, yet every fiber of her being told her to stay rooted in place and wait. Be there.

You turn to her, puffy-eyed, desperately trying not to shed more tears in front of an acquaintance. In front of cool, collected Blake who always had that aura about her, one that told you she’s way out of your league. Strangely, the aloof, bow-wearing Huntress-in-training waited for you. It’d be rude not to reply, right?

“Y-Yeah, well no, but…”

You panicked, blinking rapidly, fidgeting with her clothes as you looked down, avoiding Blake’s amber-hued gaze, shoulders slumping.

Perhaps a bit of prodding would do, Blake thought. Digging into her pocket for a lilac handkerchief, her low heels making the wood creak as she came to you and offered said handkerchief.

You stared, unsure if you’re hallucinating or not, but your hand hesitantly hovered over to hers, the slightest touch, your fingers curling around the fabric as you fully held it. Delicate. “A-Are you sure?” You asked too late, your fingers weakening as you attempted to hand back the cloth to Blake, but her other hand clasped yours, her touch soft as she guided you to take the handkerchief.

“It’s okay, don’t worry.”  Blake replied, a smile gracing her usually deadpan face, slowly walking—gliding really with how smooth she was—going down to sit on the edge of the dock. The air cool and tinged with sea salt scent, stars winking in and out of the dark of nothing. The moon, fractured, yet hauntingly beautiful as its light danced along the waves.

Blake looked back at you, patting the space beside her. Gladdened when you took her invitation.

And then…silence.

But it wasn’t the unpleasant kind, more like…peace after the storm, everything is still wrecked, true, but at least you still draw breath. Hope still alive.

“I don’t know you very well, and I don’t know what’s gotten you sad, but whatever it is, it will pass,” Blake said after a while, saying your name softly as she looked at you. “I’ll be here for a while with you, if you’re okay with that.”

Maybe the detached girl who always has her nose stuck in a book wasn’t so coldhearted after all…

“My friends were supposed to call today. They said they would after they forgot the first time.” You said, comfortable enough to share your troubles with the aloof girl who was listening, waiting for you to continue. “It’s my birthday, you see. They never called though, even when I messaged them earlier. I guess they’re busy…”

Blake gave you a long look, processing. Frankly, her birthdays were celebrated with her parents, friends? Well, not many, but at least she was with people who cared for her. So the fact that there’s someone here who’s crying on a day when you’re supposed to forget your burdens was…well, it didn’t sit right with her. Not at all. Stranger or not, no one should be sad on their special day, is what her mother Kali would say.

Blake stood up, offering her hand to you.

You blinked, the moonlight framing her face perfectly, her amber eyes radiant against the night.

“Let’s celebrate your birthday.”

You took her hand in a heartbeat.

Yang Xiao Long

“AWW YEAH!”

Yang’s on a roll, she beat up some guys in a club again (yes again) she’s maybe went a bit overboard but it’s good it’s good, no problem at all!

After she’s went back to Beacon Academy and parked her bike, Yang decided to go the rooftop, it’s not that late yet. It’s just 4 AM yo. Okay maybe it is too early.

But finding someone else in this hour was something not even her drunkenness could conjure. She doesn’t the person, but they looked like a girl, uh, (H/C) hair? Huh, probably from one of the classes Yang and the others took since she remembers a girl with that hair color sitting in front.

“Uh, you doing alright there? It’s late.” Yang asked, trying to keep her voice at a not-so-loud volume so as to not startle you. And yes, she was up late partying too but that’s besides the point.

You turned around, seeing a wild, gold-haired beauty with amethyst eyes standing there.  Radiant even in the blue haze of nearing dawn.

Yang’s lips formed a small “o” her naturally friendly eyes lighting up in recognition. “Y/N? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you still be sleeping?”

Yang recognizes you? The Yang Xiao Long? The one with friends from almost all the classrooms and teams?

“I…yeah, just…I couldn’t sleep.” You mutter, looking at your Scroll for nth time, not at all still hoping for a message. Even if your birthday was hours ago.

Yang studied you for longer, noticing the slight bruised look under your eyes, the redness indicating you did more than just stay up too late. Shoulders slumped. Occasionally glancing at your Scroll, and the pajamas…

Yang won’t lie, she’s reminded of that one time when Ruby accidentally broke a glass cup and was terrified of being punished, already crying out before Yang or Tai even found out. That was years ago, but it still rests in the back of the golden beauty’s mind. Resurfacing every now then.

“Is something wrong?” She prodded, walking to stand by your side, leaning on the railing but still facing you. Yang’s trying not to pressure you into talking but she’s willing to listen, a sympathetic expression on her face.

You hesitated, conflicted. Wouldn’t she be bored? But you can’t really just turn her away when she just means well, right?

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me,” She said, noticing you were having a hard time deciding, the way your name rolled off her tongue was pleasant though.

Mustering your courage. You told her of your predicament, how you’ve been waiting for your friends from your previous academy to send you a message, you were still in the group chat but since you were the only one in Beacon and the rest of them are in Haven, they rarely mentioned you specifically, mostly, it turned to you just…being the spectator.

And today, well, earlier in the previous day. They forgot your birthday. Just like last year.

Honestly, you don’t know why you’re still hoping they would call or message you, you’ve been talking to them privately but the most you get was either a “Sorry, I’m busy right now.” Or just be left on seen.

Yang furrowed her brows the more you spilled your guts, feeling genuine anger at your “friends”. Sure, she didn’t know the circumstances but how hard is it to send a happy birthday message to someone you know, right???

“You know what? Let’s do a belated birthday celebration instead.” Yang huffed, taking your hand and dragging you with her, her grip was firm but she made it a little loose so if you don’t want to come with her then she’ll drop it.

But you didn’t.

You blinked, a little confused, a belated birthday celebration? But…you’re in your pajamas and the jacket you wore, boots replaced by fuzzy indoor shoes and not to mention you look like you’ve been tumbling around on the concrete floor.

Yang led you to her bike, the sleek ride matching the gold of her hair as she told you to hop on. Once you did, she went fast, maybe as fast as Ruby’s Semblance.

“Is this safe?!”

“Probably!”

Yang laughed, racing on the streets, expertly maneuvering to avoid any parked cars or bikes or really, any obstacle. Zipping past buildings that were startling to merge together in your vision.

But…you cracked a laugh, louder and louder, until suddenly your chest doesn’t feel so tight anymore.

You guys were heading out of town, on the hills, and once you reached the top, Yang parked her bike near a tree, hopping off.

“Hey, c’mere, I wanna show you something.”

Just over the horizon was the rays of light, running across the rolling seas, slowly rising, the dawn-blue being replaced by pink hues and then gold. Yang looked at you, her hair catching the light. The wild mane looking like it was enflamed thanks to the sunlight, like how it goes when Yang’s eyes turn red and her Semblance activates.

The cool air, juxtaposed by the warmth of dawn, was not unpleasant. It was a mundane everyday thing, one you’ve neglected to appreciate in day to day life.

“Not a bad view, huh?” Yang asked, shooting you a smile. Patting you on the back. “Happy birthday, well, belated, but you know.” She giggled to herself, at ease now that you didn’t look as sad as earlier.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

[sir-adamus]

hey so just a heads up to the rwby fandom at large

don’t spend three years anonymously harassing people over ships you know they don’t care about

you don’t look like the moral victor, you just look like an asshole and a coward

[lunatriense]

Just an observation, but 'For Every Life' makes so much more sense when you read it from the perspective of Ironwood, FNKI, and the Atlesian military.

We said goodbye to all the things we loved

Gave up our lives just to find that it was not enough

(Not enough, not enough)

We leapt in faith, left our solitude, our carefree peace

What we thought would change the world was just a childish dream

They gave up lives of peace and comfort in the safest, most luxurious, most advanced society on the planet and put themselves in danger to make the world a better place.

[Pre-Chorus]

We failed to stop our own demise

The tragic end's before our eyes

Hope has no place here

Maybe the path that leads our way home will finally clear

Maybe the end we tried to avoid is already here

RWBY+ brought doom to their doorstep, a doom against which there is no hope of victory. But maybe, just maybe, there is a path clear in Ironwood's plan.

[Chorus]

Some roses will never bloom

Some dreams will rot on the vine

Some lives will end much too soon

Some evil will never ever die

Some wars will not end in peace

Some heroes choose the wrong side

Sometimes it's worth it all to risk the fall

And fight for every life

Ruby, but also the trust she and her team should have in Ironwood et al

Both the Amity Project and evacuating Atlas above Salem's reach

Everyone who died fighting the battle RWBY+ brought to them

Salem of course

Salem vs humanity, but also RWBY+ vs Atlas since the former refuse to be reasonable

RWBY+, Penny, and eventually Winter and Marrow

All the soldiers and students valiantly defending their home against the attack that's been drawn to them for as long as they can to save as many people as possible

Continued from above

We tried to rise, defeat the hate through love

Keep hope alive, trust our hearts and somehow soar above

(Soar above, soar above)

We sacrificed, pledged our souls and gave up everything

But in the end there's only failure, only suffering

The Atlesians — especially Ironwood — did everything for RWBY+. They trusted them with secrets, gave them new gear and licences, trained them, housed them, worked side by side, gave them access to military systems, kept them informed of everything. Even when signs of betrayal and sketchiness were there, they still gave RWBY+ the benefit of the doubt and trusted that they were good people. In the end, all it brought them was suffering, it cost them everything.

[Pre-Chorus 2]

Our plans of triumph torn apart

An endless sea of broken hearts

Strength's not victory

All that remains, the end of a tale is worse than we feared

All that remains, collapsed in the void, drowning in tears

Ironwood's plan to defeat Salem was destroyed — she can't be defeated conventionally, and RWBY+ didn't share that vital information until it was too late to formulate a new strategy. Standard military strength won't bring victory, and it left no time to develop an alternative, only a woeful end for a great kingdom, an army and a people sacrificed for nothing.

[Chorus]

Some roses will never bloom

Some dreams will rot on the vine

Some lives will end much too soon

Some evil will never ever die

Some wars will not end in peace

Some heroes choose the wrong side

Sometimes it's worth it all to risk the fall

And fight

See above

[Bridge]

For everything we loved, for all we've ever known

Maybe it's just fantasy, a foolish goal we can't achieve

This battle's near the end

We're falling faster every day, the path to victory fades away

The finish drawing near, will this be the day that we've always feared?

The army, FNKI, and so on at the front lines watching their comrades fall, realising they're going to lose, that everything they've tried to protect, everything they've cared for, will be crushed by the Grimm horde.

[Chorus]

Some roses will never bloom

Some dreams will rot on the vine

Some lives will end much too soon

Some evil will never ever die

Some wars will not end in peace

Some heroes choose the wrong side

Sometimes it's worth it all to risk the fall

And fight for every life

See above

[dameschnee123]

You know, as much as I love RWBY there’s one thing that will always bug me. Sienna. She had a lot of untapped potential and with her dying so soon, it felt wasted

I’m not the first to say this, and I’m not going to sit here and beat a dead horse don’t worry.

Instead I thought I’d share a couple headcannons about Sienna, Menagerie and how I think she lived her life there. Edit after finishing, it ended up being more of a rewrite

Under the cut, it’s long (there’s also a piece of art by the one and only @kinschi for this AU/headcanon/rewrite thingy)

I wrote this super late so it’s prolly not my best work, don’t grill me too hard please

CW: for mentions of murder, racism and me being inconsistent as fuck with my tenses

@fishyfod thought you might like this, commentary would be greatly appreciated

Menagerie is a religious place. They speak if the Gods and rever them. Children are rocked to sleep with stories of these beings, always cast as wise and noble figures. We see statues and paintings, small shrines where the Faunus pray, for good weather, for protection, for their children. Some nights a fisherman gets lost, or a child wanders off and when they come back they swear a God guided them home. Some believe this, some don’t. The fact remains, Menagerie is a religious place.

There’s a church close to the coast, tended by an old priestess who built it so her people would have somewhere to worship in peace after the Faunus Rights Revolution. Not many people come by there these days. Noami isn’t bothered by this, preferring to sit in silence and watch the sea. She has her thoughts, books and a few other priests for company. People would eagerly welcome her in the city, but she can’t bear leaving the only place she’s ever called home. Some people do come, seeking advice, healing or merely stories. That’s all the Gods seem to be these days, stories.

One day a priestess who’d been summoned in the city came back to the church desolate and holding a newborn babe. Her mother had come to Menagerie from Vacuo but died soon after birth and with no relations on the island, the priestess had taken the baby to raise. Noami listened, gave the distressed priestess a hot mug of tea and took the baby inside. Well, she wasn’t too old. And these youngsters will need help so she opened her books and scrolls, rocked the baby and asked a priest to go out and see if there were any women with babies of a similar age willing to feed the infant. Once this all was said and done, only one thing had to be done. Naomi named the little tiger Faunus Sienna, and Khan was her own last name. It meant leader. How appropriate.

Sienna grew up in the church, raised by priests but it was Naomi who despite an achy back took the little girl out on the sands and taught her to walk. She taught her to speak and when the girl turned three, Noami dusted off the books of legends and taught her to read. She proudly watched the toddler grow into a child and had to wipe a tear when it was finally time to stop stalling and take her to school. Naomi often had said that having a child around had given her a second youth, more seriously than in jest. Privately, she thought the Gods were giving her this gift to thank her for her faith and good service to the people of Menagerie. But that she never shared this with anyone.

Sienna knew Naomi wasn’t her mother per se. She’d been told. But she never cared. To her, the old goat Faunus was her mother. Once she was older Naomi started taking her around the city, giving medicine and treatment to those who sought it. It was there she first learned of how cruel humans were to her kind. Old miners who could hardly take two breaths without coughing, ears with holes in them, tails or horns that had been cut, wings with patches of feathers rubbed off. She could’ve stopped coming but she was stubborn, and Naomi needed help. So she swallowed her nausea and helped, learning how to heal and learning more about the world.

She grew older and honed her skill in healing, as well as another skill which will set the course for her life. Sienna had been offered to go out and join the Academies but she first hesitated and then refused. She’d heard too many things about the other kingdoms to want to leave her home. The White Fang is instated and she joins them with no hesitation with encouragement from Naomi who believes everyone should strive to make things better and help how they can. Sienna first became a healer, and while working often spoke to people trying to find out their troubles and talk to Ghira and see if he could ease them.

People liked her, they like the charming young woman who seemed to always have time to talk and offer some words to embold someone. An ear to listen to their plight and some words spoken with wit were all that was needed for the new healer to become liked by everyone and after she proved her combat prowess in a scuffle, Ghira also noticed her. He brought Sienna into his fold, after all he could use someone like her who knew what the people needed. There she heard the first few complaints that they weren’t doing enough. People were talking about taking action and after all, why shouldn’t they ? Sienna suggests violence and while most of Ghira’s inner circle thinks this is too much, a few are open to it.

Years pass and Sienna’s charisma, intelligence and combat prowess help her climb up the ranks quicker than most. The suggestion of violence caught on quickly and it turns out many people want change. They may not believe in her vision, but they believe in her and that’s enough. She’s still on good terms with Ghira. For all his flaws they share many ideals, and she’s good friends with Kali. He’s no spring colt and may be set in his ways but still when he steps down to become chieftains there’s nothing but congratulations and wishes of good fortune. She can at least sympathize with him wanting to focus on family, with a baby on the way and all.

She takes on a young injured man named Adam and quickly sees that they’re cut from the same cloth. He’s just as driven and full of passion for justice as her and despite his injury is good in combat and is good at rallying the crowds. Meanwhile the people of Menagerie almost sing them praises, finally someone is doing something ! The Faunus they rescued from mines rever Sienna as if she were a folk hero and she thinks for a moment of the legends Naomi used to tell her. The old woman was now dead, having passed peacefully in her old age. Sienna mourned and often taught of the priestess who mothered her. She wasn’t sure if she believed in the stories of Gods, but hoped Naomi was in her heaven, wherever that was.

Time passes, some people are sckeptical of their methods. After all Sienna and Adam both had little qualms about killing during their missions. Mine supervisors were all monsters anyway so what was so wrong ? They hardly gave Faunus any consideration. Besides, they’ll come around once results began to show. Faunus were receiving more respect. Though there was a line and Adam was starting to cross it. Sienna chided him and kept him close, trying to tell him that whole desire for vengeance was justified, there was their cause to think about. And she was decidedly against killing innocents. He almost killed humans who did nothing to get in their way or harm them. That boy had to get his anger under control...

Blake had left and Sienna secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t know much but suspected someone had been harassing her niece. She quiets the sharks and remarks that “cowardice runs in the family” and punished those who said such things by making sure they got the worst patrols and chores. Adam was getting reckless, and he was always challenging and treading on her feet. Gone was the bright young man who looked at her with admiration. What had she done wrong ? What did he want for ? Was the fact that she loved him like a son not enough for him ? She sighed and got back to her work.

No, nothing had been enough, nothing would ever be enough. Adam had been planning this for months and yet, he hesitated. As she looked up at him clutching her side the man hesitated. He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t deal the blow that would end her life. Maybe he pitied her, maybe his anger with her and thirst for power (power, not justice) was satisfied with just turning her out but regardless he’d left her alive. With the order to never return. She didn’t want to, she’d failed. Maybe Adam hadn’t killed her but she was already dead. Everything she’d accomplished meant nothing if her own son thought she was better dead than alive. All that was left to do, was go home.

She left for Menagerie, having missed her island. The pleasantly cool breeze, the smell of salt, the clear waters. How could she have stayed away so long ? Her wounds still ached, and her robes hang loosely but she didn’t care, she knew where to go. Sienna quietly stepped off the ship and walked, to a little church by the coast. As she sat there watching the sun create colorful spots on the floor through the stained glass windows she could see why people believed in the gods and heroes of old. The same resin they’d believed in her. In such a dark world, sometimes you needed help to have hope. You needed someone to look up to.

She sat there in the sunlight for a moment. Soon she’ll need to go find Ghira and Kali, apologize and seek to make things right but for now... no one would blame her if she sat in the church for a little while.

[ayoalex]

RWBY and what visions they would have if they where in Genshin.

Been wanting to do this for a while but since my favorite lesbian loser is getting a rerun tomorrow/Wednesday I decided to finally do it today.

This is kinda a character superficial analysis with the vision elements analysis and while I think they would get that vision, if y'all want to participate in the comments is absolutely fine!

Let's start!

Ruby- she would get an Anemo Vision.

Those that have an Anemo Vision have their own view and value about freedom and what it means to them personally.

From the Anemo Archon to the lastest Anemo character, Sayu, we see them wanting to have free will, experience freedom and basically calmness. That does not mean these characters don't suffer.

There's a recurring meme in Genshin fandom of how all Anemo characters have a tragic backstory/a death friend. I think this nails Ruby perfectly 💀

Ruby fights for the people free will, to live in peace and harmony and that's exactly what Venti did back then when he was just wind without a body till the modern times of his nation.

Weiss- it will sound stereotypical but she would have a Cryo Vision.

Those with Cryo Vision seem to suffer from a type of identity crisis, even the youngest of them, Diona!

Most of them grow up not knowing what to present to the world, who they actually are and what they actually want to be, fighting inside their heart of what they should choose to be.

A very popular example is Kaeya, a character from a falling Nation that is send to Mondstadt to infiltrate and destroy it but in the process ending up loving his new home, his new family and his friends. Having a turmoil inside his heart because of his past and heritage is a big deal in his characterization and it's kinda what made him get his Cryo vision while fighting Diluc after their father's death where Kaeya tells his brother the truth of his persona.

Weiss is basically this and more, during the series we see her struggle with her identity of what it means being a Schnee, the power her dad has on her and the abuse she went through.

While trying to figure out who she was, what she wanted and how she wanted to present this to the world, Weiss fought herself a lot in the process.

Blake- while Weiss struggle with her identity, this was never the case with Blake. She always knew who she was, the problem was society in general and the abuse she suffered by Adam's hands.

She would have an Electro vision.

Those with Electro Visions seem to despise society, they kick society ass basically. They are rejects, the weirdos, the ones that society tell you to not be friends with.

From Ei herself (Electro Archon) to Razor (national treasure and wolf boy), they have rejected what society imposes.

Keqing is not your typical Lady from high society, she gets her hands dirty like any other worker.

Razor, a human raise by wolves.

Sara, a Tengu that lives in the city and works as a General.

Beidou, a pirate crown as the King of the Sea but it's in fact the most endearing character of the game.

Blake is a Faunus in Remnant, she was born with this rule already but is how she rejects everything society wants from her that makes me feel she would have an Electro Vision.

Yang- unlike popular belief... She would have a Geo Vision.

Geo vision holders were seen as this grande type of characters, so perfect, so grand... But then Itto was created.

Geo Visions holders are hard workers with an iron determination and a goal in mind.

From Noelle wanting to become a Knight to Ningguang growing up poor and working to the point of becoming the richest person of Teyvat.

Yang constantly works hard during the entire series with such a big determination, raising Ruby, being someone that does martial arts, wanting to be an huntress, the way she tackles being a huntress.

While she's fun and has a lot of passion to the point of being fiery, I think Yang is tons like Itto, overlooked their hard work, goals and determination just because of that passion and explosive personality they love to show.

I'm gonna finish the post here, will probably do a part 2 and maybe even 3 cuz I want to about Oscar, Penny, Qrow and Emerald too!

[archester-creations]

Easy as 1-2-3

@rwbyrarepairweek day six: dancing

There's something to be said about being taught to waltz by someone shorter than you. Especially when they're the one person in your partner team that still kind of intimidates you. Really, Neptune didn't even want his help. Didn't exactly want his help? Bottom line was that Neptune was okay with not being able to dance. Who cares if he just stayed out of the way during the dance? And really, there were people on his actual team that knew how to dance so did Scarlet really have to ask Dove to teach him and force him into going to the lesson?? Friends were supposed to help you stay away from people you didn't like. Not plan dance lessons for you with them!

What did ‘it'll be good for you’ even mean??

Needless to say, Neptune was Not going to have a good time. But he was a nice person, so he stayed quiet about it. And he let Scarlet lead him to the empty classroom. Scattered complaining dipping off the closer they got. As long as Dove didn’t hear him, the complaining was fine. So he made sure he stopped before the door. Though not without a last glare to Scarlet. One the other boy completely ignored.

As he stepped (read: was pushed , Scarlet) into the room a part of him wanted to scream. Usually he was fine with people. But Dove was different . He still made Neptune feel all weird inside. Like insects were crawling under his skin. And he felt warm . Like someone scooped all his insides out and put them inside an oven just long enough for them to get gooey before putting them back. It didn't help that sometimes Dove spooked him so much it felt like his heart would beat right out it’s cage.

Just like now. The second Dove looked over at him, eyes almost black in the light of the room, Neptune’s pulse skyrocketed. He'd never had a heart attack before. But he thought the start likely felt like this. Maybe he should just leave. After all, it was for his health. Then Dove raised an eyebrow. And it felt like a challenge.

Let it be known, Neptune didn't really do challenges. Sun did and so did Scarlet. Even Sage did, occasionally. And he'd definitely seen Russel and Sky both offer and partake in their own share of challenges. Personally, he'd just never had the desire. Maybe it was his status as the youngest of four. But they really didn't interest him. He felt no need to be competitive. When Jupiter and Juno tried to be, he really only felt annoyed. It was better when his friends were being competitive. They wouldn't drag him unnecessarily and forcefully into their shit. Thankfully Pluto never actually got into the competitions. But he was the oldest by a few years and, to Neptune, always felt like the maturist by a few decades.

Now, though? This short boy staring at him with dark eyes and a single tawny brow raised? He could feel the desire to not let him win well up in him. Which sucked . Because that meant he couldn’t run away like he very much would like to. Instead he forced his feet to step farther into the room. At least they were both in casual clothes. So he wouldn’t feel even more awkward trying to work around Dove’s armour. And if he did good enough, he’d be able to get away faster.

Which meant he had to pay close attention. That was fine, though. Dance was just movement. He could handle that. He moved everyday!

  For the most part, Dove was the type of person who went with the flow. Teaching a blue haired idiot from another team how to dance because his teammate begged him to- and he knows there's a scheme there, he just doesn't know what - after said teammate’s boyfriend asked him to wasn't really a place he expected that to apply to. Especially given said idiot would hardly get within ten steps of him. But after enough begging, yeah he'd finally thrown up his hands. Somehow he’d make it work.

At the very least, Neptune didn't look like he'd bolt in the next ten seconds. Go figure, dealing with Sky as a leader- yes he'd accepted it, but that didn't change that Sky was a lot to deal with. Though he'd gotten better. They all had. And Dove had no problem admitting team sssn had been a great help with that- actually came in handy elsewhere. He hadn’t actually taken Neptune for one who would rise to any form of competition. This was pleasantly surprising. Of course, Neptune was still a bit too slow for him. The other boy had only taken a few more steps into the room. Suppressing a sigh, Dove decided to handle the rest.

He walked closer to Neptune, moving carefully to not spook him. Because Neptune always seemed to freeze up around him. Especially after their teams joint weekend at the beach. Though he didn’t know why . For a little while that weekend they even seemed to get along.

… it was a lie, of course, not knowing why Neptune froze around him. His semblance was a lot subtler than most of the others around him. Combined with that, it was an active semblance. So only his team knew what it actually was. Sky jokingly called it lie detector and while he'd taken that on as his semblance name, it was much more than that. The heartbeat was open to him. Each stutter, each stop, each speed up, all clear as day. Often he wondered if one day, when his semblance progressed, he'd be able to hear the blood pumping through major arteries and veins.

Right now, he could hear the way Neptune’s heart sped. How it thumped unsteadily against his ribcage, like it did anytime Neptune was anywhere near him. Or whenever he was in the other boy’s sight. Most people would probably get embarrassed at how clearly ‘ crush ’ was displayed. (Because it wasn't fear- Dove knew fear.) But really, it just made Dove feel the need to suppress another eyeroll. It wasn’t that he was annoyed Neptune had a crush on him. No, what did annoy him was Neptune’s stupidity. Either the boy was bad at hiding his interest or he was actually completely blind to it.

Suddenly the scheme hit him and Dove had to close his eyes. Because if that was the scheme, it was the latter. And because that meant Russel and Scarlet were meddling . Usually Dove thought their antics were quite amusing. Usually they didn't involve his own life. He thought they never would. Apparently he was a fool. Though he guessed he couldn't blame Russel too much. This was likely mostly Scarlet's plan. Russel was good at reading certain things, but not romantic interest in anyone outside his brother. Any meddling was definitely informed by Scarlet.

There was once a point where Dove probably would’ve ignored all of this. That he blamed Russel almost fully and exclusively for. Because before he met Russel- and by extension the rest of LDRS and SSSN- his mind was focused completely on becoming a huntsman. Do the work. Do the training. Be top of the school. Graduate and get his license. None of this nonsense included. No friends. No beach trips. No tutoring. No apparent crushes back on idiot boys with blue hair and an inability to read their own emotions. He sounded like a high schooler and he hated it. And there was no small annoyance at the way his eomma’s voice chuckled in the back of his head that ‘you are a high schooler’. Because high schooler adjacent or not- he was more mature than this. Even if the more time he spent with these people the less true it felt.

Finally, with a sigh, Dove held out his hands. “I’ll start you with a box step.” When Neptune didn’t move again after a minute, instead only going frozen, Dove took Neptune’s hands in his own. It didn’t really help Neptune’s state. Dove could hear Neptune’s heart restart and go crazy. But this had to get done. He held Neptune’s left hand up, his arm out, like it was supposed to be and placed Neptune’s other hand on the small of his back. As he placed his own hand on Neptune’s shoulder he could feel Neptune’s heart start double time.

There was music in the background already. Dove began to count along to it once it hit the top of the next measure. “1-2-3 1-2-3.” On each number he pushed and pulled Neptune. The other stumbled at first, and continued to stumble and stumble as the song ran its course. But after the first few steps his eyes went to their feet, and he did stumble less. If he were honest, Dove would say he was pleased. But he's only fully honest in his own head. Outside he simply nodded. His hands loosened their grip just slightly. And eventually, he stopped directing so forcefully. Whether or not Neptune understood didn't matter. He wouldn't translate. (If Russel knew about that, he'd likely get another earful.) Strong outward emotions just weren’t something he showed. The people close to him could read his subtle ones, anyhow. That's what mattered.

Part of him wanted Neptune to be able to read them, too.

  Neptune bit his lip as he followed along. Sure his eyes hadn’t left their feet. But at least he hadn’t stepped on Dove’s toes. Which meant it had to be ruined. Because of course it had to be. If Neptune was asked later what Dove did to get his attention, Neptune would not be able to answer. But he got him to look up. He got him to look up and Dove’s eyes were right there, so very dark with just the barest flecks of lighter blue he could only see with their proximity. Suddenly it was like he could only stare. Like he was in a trance. Trapped in miles of dark, dark blue. Had his heart stopped ? Oh, oh no. That was definitely not good. They took the next turn. He stumbled. The other boy’s eyes closed on a flinch. Finally he was able to look away.

“Sorry.” He took a step back, but didn’t get far. His one hand was still in Dove’s and the grip on his shoulder had tightened.

“Russel’s done worse,” Dove shook his head.

“Has he?” Neptune asked.

“He almost broke my foot.” The way Dove said it, it couldn’t have been a joke. Though it was in the same half monotone as always. At the beach he'd heard a few jokes in that monotone. His brow pinched. Was it the same? Something in the way Dove looked almost made Neptune think it was. Enough so to get him to snort. A singular burst of amusement. But Dove’s lip quirked up just slightly and Neptune suddenly felt his heart do a single pound and once again he was thinking about that heart attack. You could totally die of fear. Scarlet told him so. And Scarlet knew, like, everything . 

Neptune took a breath in and let it out slowly. He couldn’t just leave the lesson. Well, he probably could. But Scarlet and Sun would find him…. and then mock him. … Maybe he needed better friends. Not Russel, though. He was cool but he was with Scarlet. There had to be another team with a fun, plucky character in it. Somewhere. A squeeze to his hand brought his eyes back up. His focus back in front of him. The look Dove gave him was… unusual. It was a flat, almost exasperated, concerned look that Neptune hadn't actually been aware anyone could make. Anyone not Pluto, that is.

And that… clicked something in him. Because he knew his eldest brother. Despite everything, Pluto wasn't great at showing his emotions. He had strong ones. Neptune knew he did, because he could see him. But he'd grown up with him. And that was the thing. The difference. Anyone else didn't really get that. Didn't get the kinda monotoness of his voice or the subtle changes to his face and body that, to him and his other siblings, clearly showed his mood changes. The thing was, Dove could be the same. Was likely the same. He'd seen him during the beach trip. Interacted with him, seen Dove’s team interact with him.

“I'm fine!” Neptune chirped on instinct. An eyebrow rose. But past that, there was nothing. No actual questions. Dove just nudged him back into moving. And he followed. Not that the other boy probably would've given him a choice. Move or be moved.

Together they got back into the groove. Feet moving back and forth. A steady box, shifting just a little each time to circle the room. It took a bit, but Neptune got surprisingly comfortable. Like he could do this all day. Just twirl slowly with Dove’s hand in his. Then the impossible happened- a spin. He stumbled slightly as Dove led him through it. At Dove’s raised eyebrows, he clumsily copied the action.

“Try again,” Dove hummed. So Neptune did. Again and again and again until he was sure Dove had to be dizzy. Until Dove seemed pleased enough. By the time Dove finally brought them to a halt his feet felt sore. All the nervous energy he’d had was gone, too. Well, most of it. His heart still gave a valiant effort of a leap when Dove’s eyes caught his. There was a pleased glint in his eye. Dove nodded. “Not bad for today.”

A compliment. It made him feel good. Better than when Sun complimented him. By a rather large margin. But those compliments weren't a rarity. Sun doled them out liberally. They weren't any less sincere for it. He really meant what he said. This, though, felt like a rarity- and Neptune beamed at it. The words made him feel like he won. Only then remembering the challenge from earlier. Perhaps he had won something. He'd won and the compliment was his reward. Heat singed through his skin. “Thanks, Dove.”

“You still need more work.” Dove said, stepping back. He hadn’t realized they were still so close. “Come again sometime, maybe without Scarlet forcing you into the room.”

Heat flooded his face. Despite his team, he wasn’t actually that used to being caught off guard. Well… unexpectedly caught off guard. At this point he expects it from Sun and Scarlet. So it makes it easier. Relatively. About 64% of the time. It’s harder to act cool in front of people you share a room with, anyhow. Not that’s he’s not cool. Cause he is . “You saw that?” The other simply raised his eyebrows. Neptune sighed. Of course. “I just… really don’t… dance.”

“It took you a while to get your sea legs,” Dove said. Neptune blinked at him.

“Did you just make a pun .”

There was no answer. Only a curl of the lips. Then he was shooed away. Neptune pouted ineffectively before making his escape. Because that’s what it was. Since he’d wanted to leave before he even entered the room.

  … he’d consider the extra lessons.

[idontknowwhattocallthisanymore]

Neptune: I’m an expert at romance. I recognize love every time I see it

Sage: Not toward yourself

Neptune: Yes I do. Love expert. None of it escapes me

Sun: Dove’s been in love with you for years

Neptune: Dove’s what?

Scarlet: He flirts with you constantly

Neptune: He what??????

[womenofwonder]

Option on RWBY ships:

Btw, I don’t usually ship characters. Romance is usually the least interesting part of the story for me so expect a lot of meh.

Arkos: obviously I love this, it’s perfect

Blacksun: ehh, it’s cute. I started out feeling kinda meh, it was sweet but not really interesting, but now it’s growing on me. Ironically the same thing is happening with Bumblebee, although I still like Blake and Yang better platonically

Bunanas: so this is a ship between Velvet and Sun, and it’s honestly really cute to imagine even if it is completely random. I like it better then Blacksun…I think?

Candy Cane: this is just weird. I can’t imagine Nora being anything but a older sister to Oscar. The age gap makes it creepy too, not the four years is much of a gap, but when your teenagers it’s a big gap.

Chocolate Arc: this is hilarious to imagine but obviously yeah, Coco isn’t going to fall for someone like Jaune

Cinnabun: I barely know anything about Yatsuhashi but he and Velvet are cute, I guess? Still like her better with Sun

ClockRose: heck no!

Coconuts: again, can’t see Sun doing anything but annoying Coco. I really don’t like the whole ‘badass jerk of a girl falls for goof ball trope.’ It always ends up feeling sexist in several ways

Combat Boots: honestly outside of an AU I can’t see Yang ever forgiving Mercury much less falling in love with him. Also Mercury just doesn’t deserve her

Combat goggles: I feel like Yang and Neptune would have fun causally dating each other and slowly realizing they actually like (Blake/Sun/Jaune/whoever) and become each other’s wingmen. That fanfic better be lying around somewhere

Crimson Lotus: okay, if I didn’t love Renora and Rosegarden so much I’d probably ship this. It’s really cute

Crimson Sun: this feels like an excuse to write lemons of the two hottest characters

Crimson wings: look I understand most of the shipping heroes with villains because they’re both hot and the villain/hero dynamic is always fun. But Cardin…he’s not even hot. He’s not even interesting. And yet people ship him with Ruby? Why?

Daddie Issues: you know I see where this is coming from but they would just end up murdering each other.

Dairy Farm: obviously this is downright creepy in cannon, but in an au where Neo isn’t evil and both are closer in age, this would be adorable. I feel like Neo’s main problem is she’s incredibly lonely—other then Roman no one bothers to understand or talk to her. If Oscar reached out to her, and she began to protect him…it would be perfect. In way even better then Rosegarden because I think Neo would still be a bit of pycho even when good, and it would be fun to see her lose it when Salem hurts him.

Ilia/Adam: I just want to say I am forever grateful the show went out of its way to avoid this obnoxious, cliche ship from being canon

Dragon slayer: I see why people ship Jaune and Yang, I really do. They’re both the team mom/dad of their team, they’ve got the whole goofball/badass thing going (which is a trope I do like when the badass isn’t a jerk), they both have a good sense of humor, etc. But I just can’t see them as romantic. It feels really weird. I can’t even explain why. I understand shipping them but I really can’t ship them myself.

Emercury: I really love this ship, but I also don’t mind at all if the show decides to make them platonic. I enjoy their relationship in general and it works either way.

Oscar/Emerald: again, feel creepy. I love the idea of a sibling relationship and can’t see them possibly being romantic even without the age gape.

Cinder/Qrow: yeah again. Both are sexy and good for angsty lemons. I’m not into that stuff so I don’t ship them

Fall Stinger: I just don’t know why anyone would ship Tyrian with anyone. Unless it was Salem and even that is super creepy

Firerobber: I like villain relationships but Roman already has Neo and Cinder is a hot mess. Literally

Firewall: I don’t know why anyone would ship Watts with anyone. He’s even worst less ship-able then Tyrian

Footloose: I don’t actually ship it but just imagine Mercury and Melanie bonding over weaponized feet.

Freckles: Yeah this is just painful. The two most adorable characters (Penny and Oscar), who go through the worst things imaginable. It’s endless fluff, angst, and whump, and I love cute romance and tragic romances, so this is definitely something I ship.

Frostbite: seriously, this is so weird and toxic. Having Adam fall for Weiss or vice versa. Maybe it would work in an AU or something but it’s just too creepy

Funky Beats: it’s cute, I ship it.

Gelato: yeah I love healthy villainous relationships! Neo and Roman are freaking adorable, and I’m sad that we didn’t see more of them together.

Grandmasters: I obviously don’t ship Salem and Ozpin because that’s just creepy, but I do like their romance. I like tragic romances, and this probably the most tragic one in existence

Greek Lotus: I don’t see the chemistry and crashes two of my favorite ships so…

Green Knight: well, she kinda helped kill his last girlfriend so…unless it’s AU this isn’t going to work. Even if it is an AU. This feels like another ship made solely for lemons

Velvet/Cardin: yeah, a bigot changing his mind when he falls in love with a minority isn’t cute. Isn’t sweet. It isn’t romantic. I don’t even excuse lemons that use this trope. Even porn ought to be above that

Weiss/Cardin: WOULD EVERYONE STOP SHIPPING CARDIN WITH PEOPLE

Hummingbird: it’s hard to ship something when you only know one character, but I was interested in the theory that Qrow was actually Ruby’s father. But then in season 7 Qrow’s description of Summer made me rethink it, and it didn’t sound anything like how you’d describe a romantic relationship. So I don’t really like that theory anymore

Iceberg: this is just cliche and boring. I get them dating but it wouldn’t last that long

Flynt/Weiss: I really love this one, it’s my favorite ship with Weiss. I don’t want it to actually happened in cannon because that would be random, but I feel like it would be fun for both their characters. And they both share an interest in music. I’m imagining an AU where he gets her into jazz and she starts singing it at all her concerts to the horror of Jaques.

Iron Maiden: honestly what. Why. Gross

Iron witch: well I definitely see why people like it. I actually wouldn’t mind it being cannon, It’d be a good combination of funny/tragic and I’d like to see Glynda mentoring Winter

Jailbirds: this just feels forced and also Qrow is probably too old for her. I like their relationship and don’t want it to be romantic

Knight fall: lemon ship. Moving on

Knight Life: I feel like Jaune just gets shipped with everyone but this is cute I guess

Lancaster: it’s cute, but I can’t ship it because it feels cliche. I was worried that Jaune was going to be her love interest when they first met and was relieved to see him with Pyrrha instead. It just feels forced and boring to have him end up with Ruby

Pyrrha/Mercury: this really popular for some unfathomable reason. I like Mercury but Pyrrha deserves better

Marrowgold (May/Marrow): I just don’t see it

Nikong: Pyrrha and Sun would be cute together, but I don’t really love this ship. It’s kinda meh.

Nora’s Arc: no. Just no. It technically would work but their platonic relationship is way too good to lose

Old Silver: this is Maria/Pietro, and I think it’s adorable. They both strike me as really flirty for their ages and both are very good mentors. They can be the crazy grandparents of the team

Ozglyn: just don’t see it

Phoenix: yeah Raven was a horrible girlfriend/wife. I don’t ship her Taiyang

QuickSilver: Ruby deserves better than Mercury.

Rehab (Qrow/Glynda): the fact that this is called rehab explains why I don’t ship it

ReNora: yeah, this is probably my favorite ship. I don’t think I have to explain why.

Robotic Knight: I briefly shipped this but now disagree

Rosegarden: I really love Rosegarden, they’re just too adorable together, though the whole Ozpin does make it a little awkward

Rosewick: I can’t see this happening, even in an AU

Coco/Fox: I don’t know enough about Fox to really ship them, but the fact that Coco canonically slaps his butt during battle definitely makes me want to

Mercury/Neo: I could see this working. It would be pretty cute

Silent Knight: again, it would have to be an AU and even then I don’t see it working

Snowbird: so at first I really liked the idea of Qrow and Winter being ex’s, but now that I think about it he has to be at least twenty years older then her. Also, I have to say that while they have chemistry I think they would just end up killing each other

Speakeasy (Flynt/Coco): I got to say I like this ship and could see them having a lot of chemistry together

Strawbanna: I just can’t see Ruby and Sun together. It feels weird

Sunflakes: Can’t see it working

Sunflowyr (Ren/Yang): don’t see any chemistry. Again this just seems random

Tauradonna: this is obviously as toxic as you get.

The Hunt (Cardin/Blake): stop shipping Cardin with anyone!

Mercury/Cinder: Mercury is way too young, and even if he wasn’t this would be really weird. Also Cinder makes him look like a stable, peaceful person, so also no.

Toxic Petals: I swear I’m done with this. No more Cardin, Tyrian, or Watts ships. They too gross

Velveteen Knight: Aw, they’d be cute together

White Knight: I really hate this ship. It’s so obnoxious and boring, and nearly falls into the jerky badass/goofball trope I hate

Winter Soldier: ew, no, Ironwood is like her dad

Wise Dragon: anyone care to explain why this is so popular? Sage barely has any character to him, I can’t ship him with anyone

Yellow rose: Yeah, I kinda ship this, but again, it’s difficult when you barely know one character

IronQrow: I understand why you would ship this but I just don’t see it. Guys can hug without being gay you know

Martial arts: why?

Noah’s Arc: why?

Sea Monkeys: again I understand why you could ship it but I don’t. They’re obviously just friends to me

Shovel Knight: like most Oscar ships it feels weird. Jaune is obviously a big brother to him

TaiQrow: As funny as it is for Tai to sleep with every member of his team, I don’t ship it.

Fair game: I really can’t stand Clover so again, don’t ship it

Achilles heel: Cinder literally kills Pyrrha, why would you ship them?

Baked Alaska: lemon ship

Black glass: annnd, another lemon ship.

Blood Mint: yeah I don’t see Emerald and Ruby ever being a couple

Catmelon: I found Ilia’s crush on Blake kinda cringy and I can’t see them being a couple

ColdMurder (Weiss/Cinder): even in an au I don’t see it working

Cold Steel (Penny/Winter) eeewww, they’re practically sisters

Cream Machine (Neo/Penny): I mean…if she wasn’t evil…and wasn’t so much older…it might work? Maybe?

Crosshares: cute but I feel like Velvet is too much of a doormat for Coco

Digital Clock: Ciel obviously didn’t care much for Penny, and she was barely a character at all. I don’t see it

Pyrrha/Nora: don’t see it, and also can’t stand the idea of breaking up the two best ships

Falling Petals: I get that Cinder is hot, but can we stop shipping her with the kids she’s trying to murder? Because I can see several things wrong with that

Freezerburn: again, for no reason that I can think of this ship just doesn’t work for me. Much like Dragonslayer it just feels weird

Gingersnaps (Penny/Nora): that would be chaotic. I can’t really see them romantically though like most Penny ships it would be cute

Guilty Conscience (Bree/Winter): oh please no. They really don’t have any reason to be together

Ladybug: I just can’t see Blake with Ruby at all. Blake feels way to old even though she’s only older by two years.

Milk and Cereal (Ruby and Pyrrha): I guess it would work but I just don’t any chemistry

Mint chocolate (Emerald/Coco): if Coco managed to forgive her for everything that happened at Beacon I could maybe see this happening. There is some chemistry

Mommy issues: Nah, can’t see this working out.

Monochrome: Blake and Weiss have never had any romance chemistry despite plenty of opportunity to have it, so again, I see them as strictly platonic and shipping them feels almost like incest. I know that doesn’t make sense

Nordic Winter: I can’t see Weiss handling Penny, but again, any Penny ship is pretty cute

Nuts and Dolts: I would ship, but I like them together platonically too well. Definitely understand the ship, though I find it funny that Ruby, who insist she likes weapons better then people, would fall in love with a personified weapon. I know that’s probably racist against robots

Overheating (Penny/Cinder): I take back what I said about every Penny ship being cute

PennyWeiss: but this one is pretty cute

Pink Lemonade: can you imagine the chaos of Yang and Nora dating each other? They both need someone with a cooler head to keep them in check

Scheenoks: with Weiss’s fangirling I can definitely see were this is coming from, but Weiss is too mean for Pyrrha

Steadfast: I really don’t ship any of the ace-ops with anyone. I found them all boring and annoying except for Marrow

Strawberry Shortcake (Neo/Ruby): not seeing it

Sugar Rush (Ruby/Nora): Again, too much chaos. They both need chill partners. And I love Rosegarden and ReNora too much

Thunder cat (Blake/Nora): don’t see any chemistry between them

WhiteRose: I can see why this is shipped and I don’t dislike WhiteRose shippers. I just prefer Rosegarden, and find Weiss and Ruby working better together romantically

Bumblebee: again, I see this working better platonically, not romantically. It kind of annoyed me at first, but it is growing on me, much like Blacksun. I still like Blacksun better though

Enabler: No.

[itsclydebitches]

Please stop putting Rwde in the main tags holy shit. Blocked tags dont work on trending tags

Okay, today we're going to have a talk about curating your own content online. This isn’t the first time I’ve had an anon, somewhat angrily, demand that I stop using the “RWBY” tag and I’m sure it won’t be the last. However, my answer remains the same: No. Sorry. I’m not going to stop. Why?

Because my posts are about RWBY.

In case the above isn’t answer enough, let’s do a quick FAQs.

Why are you using the “RWBY” tag when so many of your posts are critical?

Because, as said, my posts are about RWBY. That’s the subject. I’ve been in the RWBY tumblr fandom for over five years now. I want all my RWBY content accessible in one place on my blog, not divided up between praise posts, critical posts, fanart, fic, etc. If an easy division between the first two is even possible (which it's not). It’s just all RWBY and, oddly enough, when I started reblogging and posting here, I tagged it with “RWBY.” Because that’s the show. My tagging system is far from complex, but I’m not about to re-organize or switch up 228 pages of content.

But we decided a long time ago that critical posts shouldn’t go in the main tag.

That’s ridiculous. People realize that’s ridiculous, right? I mean, I know we've all mostly agreed to observe this self-imposed rule, but that doesn't mean I haven't been raising an eyebrow at it since it first came up. I’ve been in a lot of fandoms and I’ve never seen another that insisted only praise could go in the main tag. When you come on tumblr and want to look up RWBY posts, you expect to get everything about RWBY—any post that deals with that subject. I would stake a great deal on the assumption that there are other posts in the main tag that you dislike, anon, simply because that's how people work. We all don't like the same things and, indeed, in a long-running show with a massive cast, there's going to be stuff we hate too. Ships you can't stand, takes you think are awful, that character you’re just so sick of seeing… yet we don’t exclude other, major subjects from the tag just because certain individuals dislike them. If we did, there would be no “RWBY” search because no one would ever agree on what is and is not allowed.

You have “RWDE” though.

We do! And as evidenced by the post you’re upset with, I use it when I think it's warranted. Here’s the thing about “RWDE” though: no one can agree on that either. Some fans think “RWDE” is solely for the angry, curse-laden posts. Others think it’s only for posts that are 100% critical. Others think it’s for ranting critical posts, not analysis critical posts. Still others think it’s for posts that say anything bad about RWBY, no matter if other parts of the post are complimentary or neutral—with "bad" ranging from "Actively insulting aspects" to "I didn't praise this enough to the individual's liking." It's so subjective as to be almost useless, to the point where "RWDE" posters are currently upset that others are posting critical takes about "RWDE" takes. Where do we draw the lines then? Your guess is as good as mine. But the one time I tried to post solely in “RWDE,” I was getting different anons going, “Omg stop posting in rwde this isn’t rwde!” So… my posts are apparently too critical for “RWBY” and, often, not critical enough for “RWDE.” Fantastic.

Just create your own unique tag then.

On the social media website where we post specifically to have other people interact with our work? You may not like my posts, anon, but other people do. “RWBY” is useful in part because it allows like-minded people to find me. If I only used a unique tag, I’d never come up in searches. Besides, I already do have a unique tag: “mymetas.” Every critical RWBY post of mine has that attached. Thus, it’s your job to blog “RWDE,” “mymetas,” or me entirely.

I tried that though and tumblr’s blocking system didn’t work for [insert reason here]

I really am sorry to hear that, it sucks, but tumblr’s shoddy system is not my fault—nor my responsibility. And now we come to the part about curating our online experience. Sometimes it’s not just about blocking everything because the system itself is flawed. Often you have to go further by scrolling past.

I'm going to say that again because people really need to practice it more on tumblr: scroll past the content you don't like.

If you don’t like a post, don’t read it. If you start reading a post and realize you don’t like it, stop and go find something else you enjoy. Being a responsible fan online often means going, “Huh. I hate that” and moving on, not coming into the author’s inbox to demand that they—impossibly—ensure that you never have to see something you hate ever again. Anon, you spent more time with something you claim to dislike by coming into my inbox to write and send a message demanding that I stop using "RWBY" than you would have by simply ignoring my post and moving on. That tells me you care more about controlling others' online experience than you do managing your own.

But we don’t want to see critical takes in the “RWBY” tag! We come on tumblr because we love the show and it sucks to see people dragging it all the time. I just want to enjoy the show in peace.

A valid stance… and one that doesn’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to RWBY. Between the time I posted about the teaser and the time I saw this ask, two hours had passed and a hundred and four new posts had appeared in “RWBY." I know because I took the time to count. The RWBY critical community is absolutely miniscule compared to the rest of the fandom. There are maybe 2-7 new “RWDE” posts a day, max, and those are coming from a few key blogs that focus on analyzing the show. There is no scenario in which there are so many critical posts that it’s ruining your RWBY time on tumblr, simply because that amount of critical content doesn’t exist. And if seeing a single critical take from my blog—or even 2-4, because that's my own max per day—honestly upsets you to the extent that you can't just move on, you shouldn’t be on a website known for its diverse content and incredibly iffy blocking system. My posts exist in a sea of RWBY excitement, praise, and celebration. It is your job to scroll past, anon, not my job to play a subjective, rigged game to ensure you never brush past a single bit of seaweed in that massive, ever-expanding ocean.

What this argument comes down to is, “You’re not allowed to tag RWBY content with RWBY because I don’t like what you have to say.” Sorry, but that just doesn't work for me.

[rwby-necro-au-archive]

Ozpin: *peers out over the horizon* …….it would seem that dawn has arrived.

Clover: everyone ready?

RWBY & Co: *nods*

[ The morning is cloudy, different hues of grey scattering the skies, no doubt from the pollution of Atlas’s factories. ]

[ The group stands atop a tall, cold, concrete building, its appearance is nothing special compared to that of the buildings around it, but it has a perfect and clear view of the wall and the horizon that perfectly splits the sky from sea. It’s cold, far too cold, the stinging temperature enough to cause each of the member’s faces to grow rosy in color. The wind is blowing hard. ]

[ This is what Atlas always looked like, today, was seemingly ordinary, nothing new or different. But today, would signal the start of something truly horrifying and awful. But it must be done. ]

[ A noise from Clover’s scroll is heard, notifying the other songbirds to set off the explosives. ]

[ The air is quiet for a while, besides the sound of the cruel wind blowing. And all seems to be completely still. ]

[ It’s almost peaceful. In some twisted, gut wrenching way. Like how life seems to cease before a storm comes through to wreck everything in it’s path and leave nothing behind. ]

[ Perhaps this wasn’t much different from that of a storm. But this storm would be different. ]

[ … ]

[ BANG! ]

[ A series of over several giant explosions ring out, thousands of smaller explosions join it’s destructive symphony. ]

[ Red, Orange, Yellow, and White coat the wall and it’s surrounding area, being the only colors visible among the monotonously colored and cold concrete city. ]

[ The ground shakes violently in response to the action, the air smells of smoke and debris, and soon, the sound of giant concrete chunks hitting the frozen ground beneath the wall are heard loud and clear. ]

[ The wall, was completely destroyed. Leaving nothing but it’s horrific concrete remnants as evidence of its existence. ]

[ And arriving on the horizon, are ships, aircrafts, and soldiers with the Valian and Vacuan emblems labeled on them. ]

[ The time for war has begun. ]