#ruby rys

[lovingdabeessss]

You think Taiyang has a favorite child?

💖If it isn’t my favorite tagger back again💖

Thank you for asking this, this is actually something I’ve been desperately wishing for an excuse to talk about because my defense for it isn’t great

Anyway back to the question sorry

Yes I do 100% believe he has a favorite

There’s no doubt in my mind it’s ruby

I think he loves them both of course obviously but he FOR SURE favors Ruby

We know from his interactions with Yang he tends to project onto her things about Raven that aren’t necessarily true for her the way he talks when they spar like her whole thing is anger and strength and that focusing on that is her biggest weakness, which is true for Raven, however yangs problem is her self sacrificing nature and obviously he sees Raven in her even more cause they look similar and it’s just.. she’s not someone tai has purely positive feelings for considering all the betrayal and abandonment not that he doesn’t still love her at all but you know

He definitely projects things about himself onto her as well and considering NONE of the fucking STQR family likes themselves ESPECIALLY not taiyang “11 year long depression nap” xiao long and so he’s got that against her and then she got herself abandoned putting more fuel to that particular fire

And I think while they were dealing with the death of summer when Yang started taking on roles she was too young to take he just… let her… and then eventually those things were just her job as the oldest and a lot of things became her job and he kinda slipped into seeing her as more help with Ruby then someone he was supposed to be raising

And like even when he recovers he had to get back into parenting which is hard so he probably started out just doing stuff that were already needed, and Ruby was her own problem cause she needed stuff but only really accepted getting help from Yang at least emotionally depending on how bad you believe tai’s shut down to be and otherwise she’d get things from qrow whenever he wasn’t on missions from Oz so she was just hard to get to accept anything from him

Yang despite being very supportive of the idea of him recovering and finally someone helping her out a lot and having a parent at all again… she is incredibly independent and doesn’t really seem to need anything that he knows how to give and she also genuinely probably just doesn’t know how to have a parent anymore, she’s so used to being the parent and she doesn’t remember getting to really be the kid

So she’s just kinda reduced to third parent

There’s also the fact that Ruby looks exactly like summer who he did leave off with good positive feelings for and then she’s all that’s left of her

AND Ruby’s the youngest speaks for itself possibly got that “guest in the house” treatment youngest sometimes get where they aren’t treated as much as part of the family and more of a guest which is nice but isolating even if she tried to help Yang with chores Yang would get in trouble for having her do it kinda thing

However I do think that tai would’ve wanted Yang to back off of raising Ruby so much so he could be her dad and she would maybe accept him as that more hence like the Ruby queendom things of how she won’t be there for her forever but Ruby doesn’t want him to and Yang doesn’t fully trust him to

IDK THO just messy unorganised family dynamic thoughts

IN SUMMARY!!!:

I think Ruby’s his favorite I think he loves them both but is struggling to parent in wake of the lose of his wife and struggling to relearn how to do it after his recovery and Yang struggles to even be parented and they speak NONE of these emotions to each other cause they’re allergic to talking about their feelings ever

[silenthilllz]

I forgot I had these

[mariahryry]

Mariah & Rubi Rose 🌹

[oneof-1]

Well well well

[luxcruor]

i'm getting emotional about this song again

( psa. pls plsplsplspls listen to this song ;-; idk how but it SOUNDS like petal bursting at the end ( 4:30 )

[notmaplemable]

Ruby: Hey Weiss, can you buy us some of those rich people chocolates?

Weiss: Rich people chocolate?

Ruby: You know, those ones with the nuts that have gold wrappers.

Yang: Oh yeah, I love those things. We could only afford to get a pack at Christmas though. Can't remember what they're called though.

Ruby: I think they were called ferrari rockets are something.

Weiss: ...Do you mean ferrero rocher?

RY: Yeah!

Blake: You know you can buy those at most grocery stores, right?

RY: ...

[howi99]

Jaune: *drinking coffee from a thermos* God my head is killing me these days...

Ren: ...

Ruby: Well, if you didn't drink that much coffee and actually sleep, maybe you'd feel better?

Jaune: *eyes flickers* Mis- i mean Ruby, my consumption of coffee doesn't impair my faculty whatsoever. In fact, i can taste that someone switched my favorite brand with decaf. You wouldn't know anything about it would you?

Ruby: *gasp* Slanderous! I would never!

Nora: *smiling* She totally did.

Ruby: Traitor!

Ren: ... Hey Jaune? Can i talk to you for a minute?

Jaune: *eyes flickering back* Yeah sure, wassup?

Ren: Alone, if you don't mind.

Jaune: *shrug* Aight.

_____

Ren: Jaune... You are acting weirdly lately.

Jaune: How so?

Ren: Jaune, for god sake you never drunk coffee before! You switch your attitude on a dime and yesterday when we fought grimm, you were acting like you were some sort of seasoned huntsman.

Jaune: ... Maybe Pyrrha's training is finally getting along?

Ren: Jaune, stop taking me for an idiot.

Jaune: *getting frustrated* I don't know Ren! I honestly don't fucking know, ok!? It's like... I am co-piloting my own body. Not all the time, but it happens a lot when I'm stressed or in danger.

Ren: *thinking* You think it could be your semblance?

Jaune: Maybe? *Sigh* Sometime, i feel like i have information i shouldn't have. I believe Ruby's uncle might know something but..

Ren: Yeah, he had to go see general Ironwood and was sent on a mission...

???: ...ry. ....so..y.

Jaune: ? (A voice?)

???: Ne... mo... Time.

Ren: Jaune? You there?

Jaune: Sorry, i was distracted... *Scratch the back of his head* I might not have an answer for what is happening yet, but Lionheart might know something?

Ren: Why would he?

Jaune: I mean, he is a headmaster, can't hurt to ask him? We are planning to ask him about Cinder anyway.

Ren: ... Fine. But don't strain yourself, ok?

Jaune: I won't. (I really need to ask someone about that voice... And why i find it familiar)

[bonnibellexox]

Let’s Talk About Caught Red-Handed (Spoilers)

With this recent chapter, I’m seeing a lot of people criticising the way I’ve written Jaune. Weak, push-over, coward etc are all ways he has been described. And while I do agree that his inaction has run its course (which is why this chapter is the end of that arc for him) I do think these critisisms come from a place that may be unfair.

Jaune (in this story) is a r*pe victim and is being abused by a very broken Ruby. This is fresh, having only happened a week ago in the timeline. He, through no fault of his own, has been sucked into an abused girls life and as a result, she wanted to take out everything out on him. She doesn’t do this intentionlly, which lends itself to his self-blame as he feels she isn’t rying to hurt him. It’s not her fault.

It starts with her withholding affection and information. She presents herself as an untouchable, desirable girl with a twisted side he desperately wants to understand. Every time he gets close, sees some genuine emotion in her, she slams the door Hard, leaving him treading lighter next time. Without this emotional depth, he, like many of you, is left to percieve her as a 2D caracature. As a result, he objectifies, sexualitises and idolises her.

Next, she hides something big from him, something he knows is scaring her. He is simultaniously made to comfort her, while also not being good enough to know what he’s soothing away. He tries to stop playing games, but she ends up birsting into tears and voicing an identity crisis. She finally lets him in, lets him have something she’s held out of arms reach for so long, but disappears immediately after without a word of explanation.

As you can imagine, this starts his spiral of selfdoubt. He worries he did something, percieved everything wrong, that maybe she was right to be so guarded. She lies and says it was all fun and games, refusing to acknowledge real connection and intimacy.

Eventually, she baits him. She uses her own suffering as a barganing chip, luring him out with promise of affection and tranparency just to use him for comfort. They get close, he relaxes, he solidifies the idea that she’s worth fighting for and that being alone is unbarable, before she rips away again without explanation.

Having enough, he follows her and finds out that for a long time, she’s been getting blackmailed. She spends her nights being tortured and r***ed. He gets close to intervening, to violently attacking the people responsible, but a friend, someone he knows Ruby genuinely trusts in the way he so craves, warns him that it will only make it worse and risk her safety.

He tends to her wounds but she abandons him again, so he confronts her, ashamed of the anger he feels at being lied to for so long. During their conversation, he offers advice and in exchange, she gives him more affection. He desperately needs a sense of control and influence over this situation, so when she tells him that he “makes everything better,” it forms a new identity for him. One that needs to help in the few ways she will allow.

Then she realises that he can bring comfort and catharsis in a darker way. Manipulating him again and again, she uses small moments of honesty to condition him. She r*pes him, she projects all her hatred onto him, and finishes it off with just enough love that he wants to believe its worth it. But they also can’t help but hate each other, resent each other. They want to hurt the only people they can get their hands on and in a moment of dispair, she taunts him into beating her badly.

From there, he starts to realise how bad things are and wants to put an end to it. But confiding in others feels like putting a target on his own back. He is toxic too, he is abusive too, he is letting her suffer because he is frozen in place. Every movement to save her rips them apart, every kiss is met with a bite, every extended hand is flinched away from.

Jaune Arc isn’t like this in the show because this Jaune Arc was crafted to be insecure, scared, starved and emotional raw. He is an abuse victim. Give him that credit before you say he isn’t tough enough, the same grace you all seem to give Ruby.

[xxxnightcorequeenxxxv3]

The Curse of Magical Girl AU

So as I mentioned before I talk with some ppl on discord and we might see more Robins. As I said, I was open to add more Robins if ppl had ideas and followed the design conceptions of the AU. You all are free to add more as long as the ideas are talked about and communicated so no overlap happens. Draw and design away; alternative form for the ones I've done too is okay too. I know someone is working on; Mia Mizoguchi AKA Robin Morganite | Robin Mort | RM and I think jar juggling is one of the weapons considered. I got provided video proof of how sick it is. If you wanna know the design conventions, they are: They must have 3 forms. One is base form, and the second is alt, aka princess/prince. And last is the lethal mode. They gain a white streak in their hair after a stroke with death. Shown in Jay's example. Babs will gain one after her tango with Joker to, just wanted to show what she og looked like. They all have an individual style R with a gem * as it's a play on a contract clause. R* Their weapon transforms, but it's generally good to keep it close in function/appearance to keep them on the theme. Only lethal for may use a deadly weapon. Weapon for Normal and Alt mode must be an item a person can perform with that could be considered acrobatic. Hence, the reference vids. All hololigth details but for the glasses must go into the weapon in lethal mode. The undersuit is always the darkest and lightest of the gem colors. One Guy and Girl will have matching details, such as bows, as they are dance partners and can do a unique combo move together if they dance. Notably Babs & Dick, Stef & Tim. My plans for the rest are as follows: Jay & Cas, Harper & Duke. Dami is doing solo, but I have Carrie in mind for later, possibly. Each of them has A full hero name: Robin Gem-name. One shortened version, that's a "fake name" using Robin as a last name. And the first name is the derivative name of either the initial name or the gem. Robin Gem or Robin Argi. RG is the initial name. Robin is first on the fake name cuz it mimics Anime naming conventions to refer back to the maho shojo genre and the naming tradition of anime's home country. For nontransparent gems, you can color pick from other gems of the color. The gem's name is something they chose not to be called Robin. So, they chose a gem most people are more likely to recognize. So Babs decided to go by Jasper when her Gem colors are lifted from a Citine Gem. Hair must change in some way; making it longer or shorter is up to you, regardless of Sex. Robin gets gender swapped by the curse. If a person is intersex, the curse will get confused and only transform the outfit and hair but leave the body alone. As it's based on bio-gender and not what gender one identifies as. The curse is not that smart to figure that out. The OG Robin Bracelet is always safe in the music box, but phantom versions appear in the Robins, so they can summon weapons out of it. They can be present one moment and be gone the next; think nanotech transforming. I have on hand a list of possibilities (But there is no way I'll make the whole alphabet alone)

RA, Amethyst (Purple) RB, Beryl (Idk got options) RC, Celestite (Denim) RD, Diamond (White) RE, Emerald (Deep Green) RF, Fluorite (Idk got options) RG, Garnet (Idk got options) RH, Heliodor (golden chapange) RI, Iolite (Indigo, Blue-Purple) RJ, Jasper (Orange) RK, Kunzite (Pinky-Purple) RL, Lazulite (Blue-Black) RM, Morganite (Peachy) RN, Nephrite (Super pale mint) RO, Onyx (Black) RP, Peridot (Grreen-Yellow) RQ, Quarts (Light-Blue) RR, Ruby (Red) RS, Sapphire (Deep Blue) RT, Topaz (Yellow) RU, Ulexite (Eggshell, White-Yellow) RV, Väyrynenite (Brigth Pink) RW, Weloganite (Soft Yellow) RX, Xonotlite (Super plale blue) RY, Yugawaralite (White-Gold) RZ, Zircon (Brown)

[choicesficwriterscreations]

CFWC F/AotW - April 7 - 14, 2024

✒️ = Fanfic | 📱= Text Fics/Edits | 🎨 = Fanart Ⓜ️ = Mature Content 18+ | 🔥 = Explicit/NSFW 18+ 🏳️‍🌈 = LGBTQIA

BLADES OF LIGHT AND SHADOW

Back on Vacation 🎨| Imtura Tal Kaelen, Nia Ellarious, Valax, MC - @myautumnrose

BLOODBOUND

Five of Cups ✒️| Gaius Augustine - @thosehallowedhalls

The Sock Giveaway ✒️| Adrian Raines x F!MC - @thosehallowedhalls

CRIMES OF PASSION

A Begining ✒️| Ruby Webster, F!MC - @thosehallowedhalls

Movement ✒️ | m!Trystan Thorne x F!MC - @thosehallowedhalls

Second Language (Series) ✒️| m!Trystan Thorne - @inlocusmads Chapter 1: "What's that song you sing for the dead?"

DESIRE & DECORUM

Annabelle Parsons Fanart 🎨by @artbyalz

Ernest Sinclaire Fanart 🎨by @storyofmychoices

THE ELEMENTALISTS

Cloud Watching ✒️| Beckett Harrington x F!MC - @storyofmychoices

THE FRESHMAN SERIES

The Press Secretary (Series) ✒️| Chris Powell x F!MC - @eadanga Chapter 12

HIGH SCHOOL STORY

Aiden Zhou x MC Fanart 🎨🏳️‍🌈 art by @callmebeem (C: @cadybear420)

IT LIVES SERIES

Lincoln Aquino x MC Fanart 🎨🏳️‍🌈 by @weetlebeetle (C: @storyofmychoices for @abelflints)

Noah Marshall x MC Fanart 🎨🏳️‍🌈by @payroo

LAWS OF ATTRACTION

Uncharacteristic ✒️| Gabe Ricci x F!MC - @thosehallowedhalls

MULTIPLE STORIES

Bloodbound/Nightbound

Disembodied 7/8 ✒️| Adrian Raines x MC, Nik Ryder x MC - @mynotsohealthyobsession

TRR / RoE / TNA / CoP

Isle of Misfits ✒️Ⓜ️| Multiple Characters - @tessa-liam Chapter 9: Inconvenient Truths

NIGHTBOUND

Bound by Fate (Series) ✒️| Nik Ryder x F!MC - @ladylamrian Chapter 3: The Unknown

OPEN HEART

Complete Open Heart List - Week ending April 13th

THE PRINCESS SWAP

Prince Clarke x MC Fanart 🎨 by @bri1234

RED CARPET DIARIES

Comfort ✒️| Thomas Hunt x F!OC - @thosehallowedhalls for @storyofmychoices

THE ROYAL ROMANCE

Behind Closed Doors (Series) ✒️Ⓜ️🏳️‍🌈| Maxwell Beaumont x MC, Liam Rys x Maxwell Beaumont - @angelasscribbles Chapter 1: The Invitation

A Bird in Hand ✒️| Liam Rys x MC - @angelasscribbles

Catch & Release ✒️Ⓜ️| Liam Rys x MC, Drake Walker x MC - @dcbbw

Dance Under the Rainbow 🎨🏳️‍🌈 | Hana Lee x MC - @uselessgay10101

[littlelewdmable]

Trouble, Make It Double

Ruby: So shark teeth is your faunus trait?

Jaune: Yep.

Yang: Dang it.

Ruby: What?

Yang: Nothing. I was just... hoping for a different trait is all.

Jaune: Well, I do have a secondary trait if it make you feel any better.

Yang: Really?

Jaune: Uhm. It's a mutation.

Ruby: Well, what is it?

Jaune: Well... you promise not to laugh?

Ruby: Of course!

Yang: Duh.

Jaune: Well okay. *Drops pants*

RY: You have shark dicks!?

RY: ...

RY: You have two dicks!?

[goldenamaranthe-blog]

Angry Mob outside of RWBY safehouse.

Vacuan: Schnee Scum!!! You never should have come back!!!

Atlesian: Who would have thought that Ruby Rose would associate herself with a Faunus?! Unbelievable!

WB: (sitting in their little depression corner)

RY: (burst into the room with cigarettes and sunglasses. They kick the door to their safehouse open) Be right back, Honey Bunches/Babe!

-Mark Henry theme plays in the background-

Weiss: (sighs) I love her.

Blake: (flutters lashes) I do too.

[howlingday]

The One With The Insecurities

Blake: I have a question. Of everyone here, who would you consider dating?

Ruby: Who would you pick?

Blake: Honestly? I wouldn't mind dating Yang again.

Yang: Aw! Thanks, Blakey! But if it's someone other than you, then I don't know.

Ruby: Yeah, me neither.

Nora: Ruby.

Blake: ...

Yang: (Visibly shaking)

Ruby: ...Huh?

Nora: ...I don't know. Me neither.

Blake: (Scroll buzzes) I gotta go. That's Sun needing help with his "pet project".

Nora: You mean his boy band?

Blake: I'm coping with his decision my way. (Leaves)

Nora: Alright! Just us now! What do you guys wanna do?

Yang: I, uh... I gotta go to the bathroom.

Nora: Alright, well, I guess we'll just wait 'til you get back.

Yang: Yup, yup, yup! (Walks into bathroom, Muffled) FUCK!.

Nora: ...

Ruby: ...

Yang: (Pokes her head out) Uh, we're out of hand soap. (Re-enters)

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

Yang: HEY~!

Ruby: Oh, you're back!

Nora: Really had to go, huh?

Yang: HAHAHAHA! Back and forth you two! Yeah, you two sure do make a cute couple, don't you?

Nora: Uh... What?

Ruby: Yang, you were in there for an hour. Are you okay?

Yang: Yeah! Yeah! I'm just fine! Just peachy! Just havin' fun like we were earlier! You know, when you picked my sister over me? HA! Wasn't that funny?

Nora: Eh, yeah, I guess it was kinda funny-

Yang: NO, IT WASN'T! Why would you do that?! Why wouldn't you pick me?!

Nora: ...

Nora: ...Alright. You asked for it. I picked Ruby over, by just a teeny, TINY bit over you because you act like a party girl, but you're just a little controlling for me! Okay, who wants lunch?

Yang: I am not controlling! And you are not going to lunch until you tell me what makes me so controlling! Then we're going to sit down and discuss it, even if it takes all night!

Nora: ...Yeah, no, I was totally wrong. There's NO WAY you're not chill and laid-back. You're just not AS laid-back as Ruby. She's just more flexible and mellow!

Ruby: ...W-Well, I mean, people are different, right?

Nora: Yeah, Ruby is always willing to do whatever you want! You can just walk all over her!

Ruby: W-What?! Are you saying I'm a pushover?! I'm not a pushover!

Nora: Aw, it's okay, Ruby~! You're not a pushover~!

Ruby: You think I'm a pushover! Well, watch this! I'm going to lunch with my sister WITHOUT YOU! How's that for being a pushover?! (Walks out)

Yang: (Points) And clean this place up, too! (Walks out)

Yang: (Huffs) So, where are we eating?

Ruby: Hm... Ooh! How about that sandwich shop downtown?

Yang: Ugh! No! That place has moldy bread. We're going to the noodle place next door.

Ruby: Okay, Yang. Whatever you want.

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

Ruby: Nora! We have something to say to you!

Nora: ...Okay?

Yang: Okay, so maybe I am a little controlling. And maybe Ruby is a bit of a pushover, but that's okay. Because we know what you are.

Ruby: Mhm! Yup! Sorry to tell you this but you... are flaky!

Yang: HA!

Nora: ...Huh. Yeah, I guess I am flaky!

Yang: ...

Ruby: ...So you're just okay with being flaky?

Nora: Yeah, it sounds right to me.

Yang: Fine! Then I'm okay with being controlling!

Ruby: Yeah, and I'm okay with being a pushover!

Nora: That's great! Good for you guys!

Yang: ...I AM NOT CONTROLLING!

Ruby: I AM NOT A PUSHOVER!

Nora: WHO SAID YOU WERE?!

RY: YOU DID!

Nora: Oh, I'm flaky! I'll say anything!

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

Sun: Thanks for helping out, Blake.

Blake: No problem. Things were getting boring, anyways, so I came up with a dumb question to kill time.

Sun: What was it?

Blake: I asked the girls out of the four of us, who would they date?

Sun: Who'd you pick?

Blake: Yang.

Sun: Yeah, I figured. I would've picked Neptune.

Blake: Hm, I figured, too.

Sun: Let me try. Hey, guys!

Jaune: Yeah?

Sun: If you had to pick a dude here, who would it be?

Whitley: I can't answer that.

Jaune: Me neither.

Ren: Jaune. (Everyone stares at him) Er, I meant to say, I can't answer that. Me neither.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Meteor Shower (Part 4)

Hearing their new song is worse the second time around. Hidden under so many layers of distortion and slowed considerably, Icy finds that she doesn’t like the sound of her own voice. Perhaps because she can barely recognize it. “I don’t like it.” She folds her arms across her chest as she vocalizes her distaste. 

“Don’t like what?” Stormy asks. “Which part?”

“The whole thing. First of all, I don’t like how my voice sounds…”

“Well that’s a relief.” Darcy chuckles. “I was wondering if you’d ever get tired of hearing yourself talk.”

“A am so not in the mood for this.” Icy hisses, a scowl creeping its way onto her face. 

Darcy lifts her hands, “sooor-ry!” She draws her sarcastic apology out for an added touch of annoyance. “I could have sworn that we were the type of friends who could take jokes.”

“I could have sworn that you used to know how to read a damn room!” She leans back in her chair and crosses one leg over the other. “I also could have sworn that we used to know how to make a good song. I mean what is this shit!?” It’s so repetitive. A lazy loop of over-synthesized sounds. They’ve definitely achieved the generic sound of a radio hit. 

“This is our first attempt at witch house music, it’s not going to be a masterpiece right away.” Stormy points out. 

“See that’s the thing, Stormy. We shouldn’t have attempted it at all.” She rubs her hands over her face. “We were fine as a deathrock band.”

“The numbers say otherwise.” Darcy points out. 

“Right. The numbers…” At this point she would rather lose each and every view that they have. What’s the point in beating the faeries if they are just going to end up sounding just like them by the end of it all? She shakes her head. “This is ridiculous.” She gets to her feet. 

“You are being ridiculous!” Stormy exclaims. 

“I’m going out.”

“Where are you going, Icy?” Darcy groans.

“Since making new music seems to be a waste of time, I’m going to find us a fucking opening band!” 

Really she just needs some air and some space. That room was beginning to feel terribly small. If, along the way, she happens upon some sorry garage band looking for a place to get a start then that’s lucky for all of them. But right now it doesn’t matter if she does. Right now she has the most horrible headache and a queasy feeling. 

She hasn’t felt this ashamed of a song since…

Well it has been years. Many liquor-laden years since she has felt embarrassed by a song.

Those feelings need to remain where she had put them; buried deep as bones in a casket.

.oOo.

Her outfit, her hair, her makeup. They looked so much better off screen. She looked better off screen. That is her curse, Kyanite thinks. She is not photogenic in the slightest, television and photoshoots never do her justice. Sometimes they outright do her a disservice. Diamond looks fantastic on magazine covers and in music videos. Nobody ever tells her that, “oh my gosh! You look so much better in person!” They mean it as a compliment but it makes Kyanite’s stomach queasy. 

“Oh my gosh!” Chalcedony squeals. “We look so super cute! Look at us!” 

Kyanite cringes, she would like to do anything but look at them. At herself, rather. She loves staring at Chalcedony, Goldstone, Ruby, Topaz, and Diamond. Mostly at Diamond. Sometimes she wishes that she could be Diamond. 

Diamond in her super short dress with the low cut neckline that she wears so well. When she slowly traces the outline of her body with her hands, the dress twinkles and glitters. And when she twirls into her walk and retreats away from the camera, the silvery chips and sequins on the dress seem to do the winking for her. 

And then Chalcedony and Ruby take their turn; they step forward with exaggerated steps and hip sways and then slide away from one another, ending their brief dance move by throwing their arms into the air, an exaggerated pop that transitions into a half turn. They to retreat from the camera. 

Topaz and Goldstone are next. The motion is the same aside from the duo sliding towards one another instead of away. 

Kyanite is up last with a poor imitation of Diamond’s moves. She finds herself squirming in her chair with a tickle in her throat and tummy and a burning sensation in her cheeks as her own face appears on the screen.

She doesn’t know why the studio had picked her to feel down the length of her curves, why they put her into that dress. The record label and their band manager had never asked her to do so before. So why now? 

Ruby is their lead dancer and yet they’ve sidelined her so that Kyanite could make a fool of herself pretending to be sexy in that ridiculously tight dress. 

It was Valtor’s influence, no doubt. He has been whispering things into the ears of the studio executives and MeTor’s management team. Perhaps slipping them cash, betting money on his rising star. 

If Ruby is resentful of having her talents sacrificed and gone to waste in this video, she has yet to mention it.

And maybe it is because she takes the lead again in the next scene when they are all dancing together. This time Kyanite dances to her left just a little behind her instead of the far back, nearly in the background of the shot. Diamond is to Ruby’s right with Topaz behind her. Chalcedony has a place behind Kyanite and Goldstone, known for being the group klutz, takes her place on a diamond tree trunk where she begins her vocal solo.

“Look at you go, Ruby!” Goldstone claps. 

Ruby stands up and gives a dramatic half-bow.

“We all look so amazing!” Topaz grins.

“Totally.” Diamond agrees. “Absolutely fantastic. I think that this is our best video so far!”

The focus falls back on Diamond when the second chorus begins, starting with a zoom on her eyes, in which a galaxy twinkles. And then the camera zooms out and she continues her dance under a steady fall of artificial snow. 

The same faux snow that clings to Kyanite’s lashes in her close up. It zooms out and Kyanite turns her attention to the background details; the crystal trees against a cosmic backdrop. Diamond branches with smokey quartz and sapphire leaves reach up to dip their fingers into a deep blue inkwell of stars. But that doesn’t keep her from catching glimpses of her dance. 

And then camera angles and zooms so that she takes up most of the screen and there is nothing else to focus on but herself. Nothing but the halo of light that they outline her figure with. And, goodness, she wishes that they wouldn’t. She looks so much bigger on the television screen, more so when there is backlighting to accent the width of her figure. 

She grits her teeth, her cheeks growing rosy. She is both glad and horrified that their eyes are glued to the tv screen. They don’t notice her flushed cheeks but they are watching that mess of a dance.

Finally the camera pulls back and the video transitions back into the wide shot where they all dance in unison, kicking up sparkling puffs of false snow and gemstones. By the end of shooting that scene, all of them had been covered head to toe in the stuff. Kyanite had been finding glitter in her hair and her bathwater for at least a week after. And Ruby still complains of having a glittery pillow.

Finally the video comes to a close with one last swirl of glitter that dashes across the screen like a shooting star and a twinkling sound effect. At the darkening of the screen the girls begin to cheer. Topaz leaps up from her chair with a hearty, “wooooo hoooooo!” 

Kyanite wishes that she could share their enthusiasm. 

But her mind wanders back to that dress.

Wishes that she could share their sense of pride. 

Her mind zooms in on that thin silver belt that they had fixed around her waist, how eye catching it was with its glints and flashes. How it didn’t look right squeezing her. 

“I didn’t realize that you were such a promising dancer.”

Kyanite shrugs. “I don’t know, Diamond. I think that Ruby would have been better suited for it. I already have my solo career, shouldn’t someone else…” She sighs. “I don’t want all of you to hate me for stealing the spotlight.” 

“Oh, Kya, we’re not angry with you.” Chalcedony promises. Sweet, kind Chalcedony. Kyanite supposes that she will have at least one friend left by the time Valtor is done with her. 

“Even so I just…I don’t know why they gave me such a prominent role in this video. I’ve always been a background dancer and that was just fine by me.”

Diamond rolls her eyes. “Oh, please, don’t be so coy. If you didn’t want the attention then you wouldn’t have gone solo.”

“Dia!” Topaz grimaces. 

“What?” Diamond shrugs. “I’m just getting tired of this shy innocent act. Chalcedony is supposed to be the innocent, sweetheart of the band.”

“You guys are angry!” Kyanite accuses. 

“We are not.” Chalcedony insists at the same time as Goldstone says, “maybe Diamond is.”

“You guys are angry and jealous.”

“Oh. Puh-lease.” Diamond offers her a second eye roll. “There’s nothing to be jealous of; you only got that part because Nebula is proud of you for finally losing weight. It’s like a reward for achieving something that the rest of us already have!”

The whole apartment goes silent enough for them to hear her swallow. Reflexively Kyanite wraps her arms around her middle. She and Diamond had always shared at least a little tension but she has never taken a jab like this. And maybe she knows it. Her expression changes as quickly as Kyanite springs to her feet. It is a cringe and a flash of regret in her eyes that comes with knowing that she has crossed some type of line, touched a particularly sensitive subject.

She opens her mouth but Kyanite is already more than halfway through the door. And by the time she manages an, ‘I didn’t mean…’ the door is already open.

“Kyanite, wait!” She hears Ruby call as the door settles back into its frame. 

She doesn’t know where she is going she just knows that she has to get herself together and get back here by three-o-clock when their premiere party starts.

[raayllum]

changing the POV so this paragraph / parallel from the next chapter of TMHTNTBL is getting cut, but I still wanted to share

She grasped at his fingers, each one much bigger than hers, and gently squeezed. “What’s wrong? If you’re worried about the sun ruby, I managed to—” Callum’s brows rose like he’d forgotten the whole reason they’d gone into the caves in the first place, a look of surprise that reminded her of how he’d been in the boat after the Banther Lodge a lifetime ago, grateful and dumbfounded that she’d retrieved the rune cube after all his jerkface-ry.  “It’s not that,” he said, puffing out a breath. “Although it is good that you—it...”He sighed, looking at her properly. “I was so worried the whole time we were in the caves. That Claudia would...”

[hsm-sapphic-selfship-fanfiction]

2008-prom night

I made sure to park my 1996 Rover Mini 1.3 (Alright one cylinder less and with Hydragas suspension, so more like 975cc and based on a MinKi) off to the side of the long Evans driveway so as to not get in the way of the Limousine that Shar had no doubt ordered, some Lincoln or Cadillac or something similar. I stuffed my breast pads into my ball gown as I rang the doorbell. Sharpay’s mother opened up “Hi Josefina! So lovely to see you!” Thanks “y’know, it was very sweet of you to offer our daughter to go to prom with her, she’s never been popular” can’t imagine why “No problem, it’s my pleasure Mrs Evans” as soon as I was welcomed in I ran upstairs to see Sharpie’s progress, bumping into Ryan on the way in his… good Lord he was wearing Mushroom Grey somewhere “oh hi Josi” he exclaimed “hi Ry” I replied “we got a plan for tonight?”

“Oh yeah, we go to Prom, stay until 10 and then ditch for Albuquerque Pride” Ryan cheerfully explained

I thanked him and went into Sharpay’s room, where she was in a blue strapless dress with ruffles “Oh hello Gorgeous, which lipstick should I put on “Ruby, or Scarlet”

“Scarlet”

“Correct, I see Martha’s given you colour theory lessons inbetween cheer practice” I giggle, in truth it was a coincidence that I had chosen pink and purple colour scheme “Yeah, she was very helpful, now are you ready to put high school to bed?”

“Ooh, and you know what you want” she felt me up, and I held her hand saying lustily “I know that I want you”

Before anything else could happen the deafening horn of a 600 Grosser bellowed out

“Whipped shots before we go?”

“Whipped Shots before we go”