#scenic ruby

[captainmartinisblog]

The Last Hoorah!

Thursday 15th December 2022 – Southampton

Last night’s dinner menu included Rib-eye steak, so having had fish every night so far, I rang the changes and had that.

An amuse-bouche of shrimps (or a vegetarian option) and Corn Chowder preceded my steak which, though it was tasty enough, I have had better. The Saffron Poached Pear with Praline Sauce was a refreshing dessert with which to finish.

Today we returned to the Mayflower Cruise Terminal in an extremely cold Southampton, so for my departure breakfast it was Shredded Wheat and hot milk followed by Devilled Kidneys.

Once a staple of the old British breakfast, Cunard is the only line these days that I have found included it in their menu.

Following our priority disembarkation at 8am, we returned home to be greeted by the remains of last week’s heavy snowfall and a reminder that it will soon be Christmas!

The next cruise will be in late January 2023, when we depart for New Zealand and Australia!

If you’re too impatient to wait for my Blog of the next cruise and would like to read about any of my other trips, here’s a link to an Index of Cruises & Holidays

[astraskylark]

OFFICIAL V9 POSTER BY ERIN WINN

[meteorologistaustenlonek]

"#HoraceBrazelton was the first African-American to open a professional photography studio here in Chattanooga.

His specialty: portraits.

Brazelton documented middle-class families and individuals - as well as church, civic and professional groups - from Black communities during the first half of the 20th Century, the era of Jim Crow segregation across the South.

As a photographer, a business owner and a community leader, he empowered those he served.

An exhibit of his work - “Through the Lens: The Life and Legacy of Horace Brazelton” - is now on display at Ruby Falls, through September 15th.

Stefaine Haire - a historic preservation planner - curated the exhibit"

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 200 }

tender love and care.

sylus x (non mc)fem.reader

because you were labeled as sylus’s woman while here at the n109 zone, you were given several special privileges that made you just as powerful (if not, than more so) as sylus solely because you had such a man wrapped around your fingers.

you recall the date that marked your three month anniversary with him, where sylus gifted you a ruby, teardrop necklace with a matching ring as he told you the significance of his gift immediately,

“each time you walk out to explore the city and head out to work when i’m not around, these rubies will be a reminder to others that you are mine. that you’re under my constant protection, and should anyone dare to disturb your life, i’ll be there to teach them a lesson they shall never forget.”

even the memory of the passion in his voice, coupled along with the way he playfully bites down on your ring finger was enough to make you shiver in response.

the fact that you held his heart within the palm of your very hands filled you with a sense of unbidden joy, where you wanted to do nothing more than to litter his face with gentle butterfly kisses and shower him with the type of unconditional love he had been missing from his entire life.

and you had been with him ever since, never once regretting your decision to remain by his side.

currently, due to certain circumstances at work where several people had called out sick, you were forced to work a double shift. you did your best to cover for your missing coworkers as your supervisor gave you a grateful expression. once your shift ended later that evening, he allows you to take the rest of the week off as a thank you for all your hard work. despite the exhaustion you felt, you couldn’t ignore the undeniable happiness that courses through your veins.

as you step out of your workplace, you were immediately greeted by sylus. he was parked directly in front of your workplace building while leaning against his motorcycle. a grumpy expression was seen on his face, painting his handsome features in a scowl as the sight of it all made you giggle in response. all too eager to see him, you stop directly in front of him and allow his arms to automatically encircle around your form.

“i should kill that boss of yours for making you take over.” he growls into your ear, clearly upset. you tighten your arms around him in hopes of calming him down when you admit to him, “hey, there’s no need to be so grumpy. in fact, my boss was kind enough to give me the rest of the week off thanks to my hard work.”

upon hearing your words, sylus visibly relaxes, pressing a kiss against your lips before tossing you your helmet. it was specially designed in your favorite color, and you couldn’t help but smile at it for a moment as you held your helmet within your hands. sylus ends up donning his helmet first before getting on his bike, turning back to narrow his eyes at you, silently gesturing at you to get on.

with a playful roll of your eyes, you wear your helmet and get on behind sylus, wrapping your arms around his front. he places his hands over your folded arms, giving it a brief squeeze before revving up the bike and making its descent out into the city. knowing that he chose to take the scenic route back home, you take a moment to admire how brightly the city lights shone like gemstones beneath the moonlight. giggles were heard escaping from your parted lips, and oddly enough, sylus was able to hear the sounds of your laughter as he briefly gives your arm another squeeze with one hand before navigating expertly across the streets.

quite some time passes before you and sylus return to your shared penthouse apartment. he parks in his usual spot before taking off his and your respective helmets, holding them both in one hand while interlocking his fingertips with yours in the other. despite how you had been with him for close to two years now, your feelings never once went stale for him. you were just as in love and enamored with him as the first day, the day when you had just met him.

while riding the elevator with him to the top floor, you cuddled your body closer to his shoulder, earning a knowing smirk from him as he gives your hands a gentle squeeze in response. when you both finally reach the top floor, you watch sylus as he takes long strides toward the penthouse all while unlocking it with his key.

the moment you enter your shared home. you were immediately hit with the mouth watering scent of your favorite takeout, seeing it all spread out on the coffee table. you were so happy to enjoy all of your favorite foods with sylus that you couldn’t help but lean in to give him a chaste kiss.

“you’re spoiling me, my grumpy crow.” you tell him while framing at his face.

he scoffs before taking your hand, gently biting down against it with his crimson eyes twinkling with mischief and love for you, “anything for you, darling.”

sylus gestures at you to enjoy the meal first, moving to the side to place his keys on the counter along with storing your helmets. with your stomach growling, you take a box and dig in with your fork while settled on the couch, moaning at how delicious everything tasted. a few minutes later, sylus returns back to you with his arms crossed, clearly amused at the way you kept stuffing your face.

“how cute.” he hums before catching you off guard, choosing to pick you up from the couch as he settles you on his lap. your cheeks were felt heating up in response, yet still, you were comfortable enough to cuddle yourself even closer to his chest while continuing to eat.

you both enjoyed the rest of your late dinner, with you spoiling sylus by feeding him bites of your food and vice versa with him as well. by the time you finished your meal, you felt so full that you could barely move, choosing to land against him when sylus places the empty boxes and utensils on the table.

“what’s this? has my princess had her fill?” you cough at how suggestive he sounded, hiding your face within his shoulder as you playfully bit down against it. a low groan was heard coming from him, and you let out a soft, victorious laugh while telling him, “sy, i’m too tired and full to move… can you carry me?”

he feigns annoyance with a huff of your name, but doesn’t deny you of your wishes (he never could deny you). with a grunt, he stands back to his full height while carrying you in his arms, bridal style. you end up giggling profusely at the sensation, burying your head within his shoulder as he leads you to your shared bedroom and opens the door to the master bathroom.

setting you against the counter, sylus helps with taking off your clothes, leaving you bare for him as he does the same. you were given a moment to admire his delicious body, eyes tracing at the muscles that decorate the entirety of his godlike body. he sees your hungry stare and smirks before taking you in his arms once more. he begins to hum an unfamiliar turn, but you bask in this uncharacteristic softness exuding from the leader of onychinus (a side he only saves for you).

while keeping you in his embrace, he fills his luxurious, porcelain tub with warm water, adding your favorite scented bubbles within it before entering it with you. with his back settled against the tub, your own back was pressed against the front of his chest. you let out a soft moan upon feeling the hot waters surrounding you. the sensation of it coupled with the way sylus’s large hands began massaging at your shoulders was enough to make you practically melt against him.

you were dimly aware of his rich chuckles against your ear, dozing off against his gorgeous body. sylus works on washing your form while lathering your hair with shampoo, the sensation of it all earning a series of soft purrs from you.

“heh, is my kitten satisfied?”

you merely let out a hum in response, moving your head to the side as you allowed sylus to give the newly revealed skin of your neck a series of reverent kisses. once he was satisfied with cleaning you, rinsing your body free of any soap suds, he gets out of the bathtub while still holding you within his embrace.

never once does he leave your side. from drying your body with a plush towel, to helping you get into your sleeping clothes, sylus takes spoiling you with care to the next level. and by the time he reaches your shared bedroom while placing you in bed, you were already half asleep.

as you lay beneath the covers, body curled as you remained cuddled to him, sylus takes a moment to admire you. his long fingertips were felt brushing through your damp hair as he manages to capture a wet strand within his grasp, leaning forward to press a lingering kiss against it.

“i bet you have no idea what you do to me…” his gruff whisper was directed toward you, but it was clear that you were so deep in your slumber that you didn’t hear him. with a huff of your name, sylus reaches over his nightstand to pull out a tiny, velvet box. upon opening it, it would be revealed to contain your dream engagement ring.

as his gaze focuses on you, he takes a hold of your left hand with a hum, sliding the ring against your left ring finger before admiring it. a smirk paints his handsome expression when he leans closer to press a kiss against your ring.

“once you awaken… then you’ll know that my promises of forever has always been true and not simply a play on words. i hope you’re prepared to be mine, my darling love.”

and despite how you were in a deep sleep, sylus could have sworn he saw you smiling in response to his fervent promises of forever.

a.n. - don’t mind me, this is just a self indulgent mess that i need in my life. i love sylus so much;;; i need him so badly 😭

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[bonecarversbestie]

The Scenic Route - Elain x Lucien

Chapter 4: Winter

“You look lovely up there,” Lucien said

Briefly, an image flashed in Elain's mind: she saw herself through Lucien’s eyes, sitting atop her horse, wrapped in fur, full lips parted and cheeks flushed, loose curls blowing around her face where they had escaped from her bun.

“Lucien?”

He looked utterly wild as he met her eyes, his long ruby-red hair whipping in the wind, that strange eye whirring as it focused on her.

“You look lovely too.”

Start on AO3 | Read Chapter 4 on AO3

Summary: Elain grows discontent with her role in the Night Court as she grapples with grief for her human life and powers that she does not fully understand. One evening she accidentally winnows to Lucien's doorstep and he agrees to take her back to Velaris via the scenic route(aka on horseback).

This is a fairly slow burn with lots of fluff (canon compliant)

Status: Multi-chapter - WIP ~50k words (this fic is fully drafted and chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays :)

Chapter 4: Winter ~6700 words

Rating: M

Relationships: Elain Archeron x Lucien Vanserra

If you would like to be added to the tag list let me know!

tag list: @the-darkestminds, @crazy-ache, @zenkindoflove, @shadowqueenjude, @slipmerfoot, @angelofl0ve, @little-fierling, @fox-in-flowers, @olenvasynyt, @mr-agent-mulder, @what-about-elvenis

[spahhzy]

Jaune was just enjoying his coffee. He went down to the coffee shop with his friends from Beacon, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren.

Jaune took a sip and let out a satisfied sigh as his team all looked equally content.

*tap tap tap*

Jaune looked behind him to see... a girl his friend Ruby talked about, she was a transfer student from one of the other kingdoms.

Jaune: Hey, uh...Mint? Was it?

The girl, now identified as Mint, just nodded before pulling out her scroll and typing something before showing it to him.

Mint: My friend over there thinks you're really cute.

Jaune just blushed at the message before Mint pointed out to a young lady. She had pink and brown hair that matched with her eyes, but what captivated Jaune the most was that smile.

It was such a beautiful smile that hid something underneath. What that was? Jaune wasn't so sure.

Neo: 👋

Jaune just waved back before turning his attention back to his friends.

Ren: Was that one of the transfers? What did she want, Jaune?

Jaune: Heh, nothing, just saying hello.

Nora: Ah, see your legend as 'Doctor Leader' is making rounds Jaune-Jaune!

Pyrrha: ...

Jaune: You alright, Pyr?

Pyrrha: Yes! Of course! Let's all finish our coffee and go about our day, hmm?

She gets up and leaves without another word.

Jaune raised an eyebrow but didn't protest. He went to grab his thermos but was surprised to see it...crumpled up.

Jaune: Aww man....this was my favorite one.

Jaune just tossed his crushed thermos into the trash and paid the bill before stuffing his hands into his pockets but not before feeling a scrap of paper rub up against his hand. Pulling out the piece of paper, Jaune opened it up, to which it contained number and a note.

'Text me sometime ;)' xxx-xxx-xxxx -Neo.

Jaune just looked up from the note and back to where that beautiful lady was...only to find she had vanished.

Jaune just stared at the note again and let a big smile appear on his face.

Pyrrha: You coming, Jaune?

Jaune: coming!

Jaune stuffed the paper back into his pocket and followed after his friends.

Meanwhile, in a limousine ride...

Roman: You look awfully chipper?

Neo didn't pay attention to Roman, as she just kept her eyes glued to the window as her mind kept thinking about the boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Ah, just thinking about him made her head spin.

He seemed so...familiar to her, though something that would be something she would have to look into...

But, the time for pleasure would have to wait. Work came first.

The vehicle came to a stop outside of an abandoned construction sight outside of town.

Roman: Alright, Kiddo, let's go pay this potential clientele a visit and see what they have to offer.

Neo rolled her eyes as they both exited the vehicle, to which they were greeted with a girl with mint colored hair.

???: Thus, the king of thieves makes his appearance... we've been waiting for you.

Roman: Sorry, I took the scenic route on my way here.

???: Whatever...come on.

The mint-haired girl guided them for a few minutes before coming to a stop.

???: We are here.

Roman: It's just another dusty room?

Neo tensed suddenly not liking the situation they were in.

???: Just for now, Roman...this is after all, just a social call.

Came a voice from the other side of the room as out from the shadows came a black haired woman and a behind her was a man silver hair. The mint haired tour guide took her place at the side of the woman.

Roman: So, you summoned me here in hopes of offering a 'buisness' proposition' and yet I don't even know my partners name.

???: You may call me Cinder, and these are my people, Emerald and Mercury.

Roman: Charmed...now tell me...what kind of buisness do you have in mind?

Cinder just gave a smile, one that didn't reach her eyes and one that made Neo churn with disgust.

Cinder: The kingdom of Vale at our feet.

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Ruby: Not that I'm bored, but why can't we just use an airship to take these supplies out to Amity?

Penny: The components for Amity’s construction are far too heavy. All that weight would require precious dust we should be saving for the launch itself. And the Grimm that will come after.

Ruby: It just makes for a long, very long supply run.

Penny: At least the tundra is scenic.

Ruby: Totally.

Penny: Ruby! I just wanted to say how excited I am to be working with you in a professional capacity. As friends!

Ruby: Me too, Penny.

Penny: Relationships are so interesting. And varied.

Ruby: Speaking of friends. Have you been able to make any new ones? Since, you know...

Penny: Now that I’m the official protector of Mantle I don’t really have a team any more. General Ironwood says I don’t have time for friends.

Ruby: Oh uh… how do you feel about that?

Penny: I feel like I wish I could do both the things I need to do, and the things I want to do. Is that normal?

Ruby: That’s about as normal as it gets Penny.

Penny: Ruby...

Ruby: Penny.

Penny: You first.

Ruby: Uh, okay. I talked to Ozpin the other day. We talked about making you one of the maidens. My team and I discussed how you were probably built with that in mind. I just wanted to make sure it was okay with you, though.

Penny: I understand your worry, Ruby. But I am more than up for the task. Either spring or fall, I don't really mind.

Ruby: Well, okay if you're sure. What was it you were going to ask about?

Penny: I was going to ask how you were with your relationships, Ruby. You asked after mine after all. It seems like something a friend would do.

Ruby: Well what did you mean?

Penny: Well you have had a boyfriend now. What was that like?

Ruby: It was uh good.

Penny: I've never had a boyfriend of my own. I've never talked to the General about it, either. Or my father.

Ruby: I wasn't very good at talking to my family about it either. Romantic stuff that is. It took me forever to tell Yang and by the time I did… well I didn't so much as tell her so much as she caught us.

Penny: Caught you?

Ruby: We were just kissing. I mean, it was going places if I had my say in it but we were just kissing when she walked in on us. She found out that way.

Penny: Going places? Had you and Jaune been places before then?

Ruby: A handful of times.

Penny: Ruby! That was scandalous of you. What happened next?

Ruby: Yang pulled him off of me and slammed him into a wall.

Penny: So… he was on top of you, then. And your sister just ripped you apart.

Ruby: I'd been trying to wrap my legs around him but...And Jaune just sort of stood there looking dazed. It wasn't because of being slammed into the wall. He's fairly robust. He was just sort of out of it because we'd been kissing. I might be a good kisser. You could, like, see it.

Penny: Ruby! Do you mean… his…?

Ruby: Through the hem of his pants.

Penny: Was he… was he large?

Ruby: I think so. Not so much until he was inside. If that makes any kind of sense. Then it seemed like he was huge but in a good way. A really awesome feel good kind of way.

Penny: Ruby!

Qrow: Is everything alright up there!?

Ruby: We're fine!

Ruby: Penny are you… are you built, down there?

Penny: I'm designed to one day have children. If I so choose. With the right upgrades as pregnancy goes on. My father thought it was important.

Ruby: He told you?

Penny: Oh yes. He gave me the talk. He thought it was important that I have the freedom of expression that having children is. The eggs are from donors which were engineered. And I don't quite have a monthly cycle. But other than that things are roughly the same.

Ruby: You don't have a cycle? Brag about it, you queen.

Penny: Ruby!

Ruby: How roughly the same are we talking about here?

Penny: Ru -by ! The same enough.

[rontra]

Tell us about they/them lesbian Cinder with text to back it 👀

askfbhs okay but this post is like 2000 words long

statement one: doing a reading of a text, and then using that analysis to draw a particular conclusion for one's own enjoyment, is largely disconnected from the authorial intents that created said text. it's common for a piece of text to be able to be read in many ways, and for those readings to be able to used as supports for a multitude of conclusions. by no means should this post be framed as a comment on what "the canon text Means", because that is fundamentally not what we're trading in. we're not "proving" anything

statement two: cinder's character is complex, deftly written, and can be mined for a lot of meaning, much like all of rwby. there's a lot going on at all times in this show, and many parts remain to some degree an open question since the story hasn't finished yet. you can draw dozens of readings from almost everything in this work. by the same hand, some parts of this post were necessarily abbreviated for time lmao

statement three: cinder's relationship with gender SPECIFICALLY is genuinely textually interesting no matter where you go with it in the end, so if nothing else, at least enjoy Thinking About It... 😌

the core idea here is actually really simple hahaha. we'll take a scenic route though, to affix that idea into a more complete picture. a Pattern if you will

cinder is very strongly characterized by two linked ideas: the fear of being powerless, and the annihilation of the previous self that was powerless. the outward face of cinder's identity is very unstable because of the latter; a lot of conscious effort is expended trying to erase the cinder fall that once existed--the one that was at other people's complete mercy (and received nothing of the sort). cinder is always in "survival mode", trying to achieve some sense of personal safety and to avoid being perceived as weak and vulnerable. that terror and hunger nipping at cinder's heels is what leads into salem's claws--into a new grip of abuse, of course--because salem promises to solve it and give all the power cinder could want and more. yeah?

the most easy-to-track manifestation of those twin drives is, of course, where they intersect with a major piece of rwby's own thematic language: weapons! in rwby's language, weapons are closely tied to their wielder's identity--"They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us!", famously! (v1e2)

(...which also gives us very funny little unrelated nuggets like the eternally faceless and repressed "i was the machine, just following orders" winter having weapons whose names--if they even have any--we don't know. but that's a knowing smile for another day)

cinder was trained by rhodes to wield two swords, an idea that's later combined with archery into what we consider "cinder's weapon", Midnight. in the flashbacks of v3e7, Midnight is in its earliest and most ordinary form. this Midnight is made of normal weapon stuff like metal lmao and cinder uses it very effectively in taking down amber. HOWEVER, as soon as cinder lays hands on half of amber's power, this version of Midnight is thrown aside and destroyed: the pyre that destroys Midnight is used to demonstrate cinder's power and intimidate the Fang. after this—for the duration of the beacon arc—cinder instead uses glass to form a replica of Midnight. this "imitation Midnight" lasts until cinder is maimed by ruby atop beacon tower (and presumably medevac'ed by one of salem's other guys LMAO)

after 1) suffering this defeat, and 2) obtaining the rest of amber's power, cinder flat out stops using Midnight. beyond this point, cinder solely relies on magic to create an ever-changing roster of weapons as needed. with the completion of Autumn's power, so too is the killing of Midnight completed: as far as cinder is concerned, the "self" that was connected to Midnight no longer exists. the part of cinder's story and identity that was in Midnight has been buried and no one will ever know about it again. preferably everyone would just act like none of it ever existed and cinder has Always been powerful (and did NOT just get rent asunder by a teenager! please and thank you!)

the incremental deaths of Midnight really show the crutch that power is to make cinder feel safer and more confident, and the urge to destroy the past/the version of cinder who was not as powerful. once cinder has the maiden power, Midnight is unnecessary. it's also interesting to see that many of these magic-made weapons are visibly fractured, fragile, and expendable, which i'm sure in the Weapon Symbolism Show doesn't mean anything its fine 😭😂

anyway in this new era of relying completely on magic we start to observe another quirky aspect: rather than drawing on personal identity, cinder will frequently imitate other characters who were in some way "powerful" (or at least "impactful"). see: floating array and miló. cinder imitates people who left an impression of strength or skill; in endlessly chasing "power", cinder is nabbing pieces of what makes other people powerful and cobbling them together, to cover the "flaw" (heavy quotes) that is cinder's own identity.

without you, i am nothing.

still, what does cinder keep falling back on, like a habit you can't shake? the original! and when cinder defies salem's orders in v8, what do we finally see again, for just a brief moment? hey, i thought you were dead! for as much as cinder wants to pretend the past is dead and buried, it sure seems to be Haunting us: right there underneath the paint, as soon as cinder stops thinking about copying someone else, or is defiant of salem's control and has to rely on Just Cinder (god forbid!), there it is again.

"okay, that's fine," you might be saying, a few million words into this gigantic post, "but what does any of that have to do with cinder fall's gender". listen to me. this was all setting up very important context for the funniest thing about cinder fall.

like, anyone that's even half-awake while watching rwby will notice the huge differences between how cinder acts and looks in the beacon arc VS how cinder has acted and looked Since Then. beacon arc cinder is smooth and in control and mature and dangerous. and of course, she's feminine. i've seen people outright call this incarnation of cinder a femme fatale! and i guess i can see why; she has mystery, beauty, a little bit of seduction to sway people. she plays manipulative games. and of course, she's dangerous. cinder in the beacon arc is exceedingly threatening because of how good she is at being the underdog; when she has to use cunning instead of brute force and scheme her way uphill in both directions, she kills it! literally!

--hey that was a lot of she/her all of a sudden. hmm. let's talk about women (audience cheers) NO I MEAN. evil women (audience cheers louder)

cinder's life is strongly marked by two women in particular: the madame and salem. both of them exert an immense amount of power over cinder; when we talk about situations where cinder has been powerless, these two people are the ones that spring to mind. in cinder's world, which is very coldly divided into people who Have Power and people who Do Not Have Power, both madame and salem very much Have Power. they have maybe the Most Power It's Possible To Have, by cinder's math. this also makes them Very Important figures for our examination, because what they are will reflect back onto cinder's malleable self.

madame and salem are both feminine, both older, both powerful; examine these two and suddenly you start seeing the pieces being stolen. the mature shade of red the madame wears. salem's levelheaded control paired with her distance and mystique—(trying not to say "and her cleavage")... v8e6 even places explicit focus on the sound of the madame's high heels as a herald of incoming danger.

their bearing, their ways of navigating the world, the way they dress. their… oh my god… their gender presentation!!!

the thing about cinder fall is that the mimicry of power does not stop at weapons. this is a Pattern that extends BEYOND merely "doing the floating array trick". the entirety of beacon arc cinder, including gender presentation, is mimicry. because in cinder's mind at this point, the most powerful thing a person can be is a mysterious older femme.

to cinder, ideas traditionally associated with femininity, specifically the femininity of adult women, are explicit markers of power and threat; and these things can be picked up and worn and imitated. these things can be performed. but there's never a sense that cinder owns these things or is particularly attached to them (i mean, beyond cinder's conception of Power). furthermore, cinder doesn't fully understand how these two women operate, and (being far younger) lacks the experience to fully embody them.

(--the way cinder handles emerald in particular is very revealing of this disconnect, as the dynamic shown as early as v2 is a clear attempt to wrangle her the way salem does her own minions; but cinder fails to understand and execute the crucial part, which is tapping into what emerald actually wants. because cinder, living in their own "survival mode" priority list, can't understand or relate to what emerald wants from them. the attempts made to replicate salem's affectations only push emerald away and strain her loyalty.)

but goddamn if cinder doesn't think power is stored in the gender!

it's interesting, then, that after the beacon arc blows up and a huge L is handed to Femme Cinder, they gradually drift further and further away from this; the illusion has broken. in lockstep with their drift from salem—cinder's exile, then intentionally testing the ice to see how far salem will let them stray—the further they go, the more they assert themselves, the further they also stray away from those "markers of power" associated with salem and madame. in the era of the blink-and-youll-miss-it flash of cinder's own identity, of Midnight, we also witness the ever-increasing straying from the performance of femininity that the beacon arc cinder clung to. huh!

so, let's see, we have a very intentional and consistent streak of cinder attempting to annihilate their own identity and replace it with something else (something strong) (something no one can hurt); this theme is visible both in their armory and wardrobe. cinder is terrified of who they'll be without these masks, because that person has been victimized, betrayed, and abused by every person who had power over them. the solution cinder has in their mind is to Become So Powerful that no one can do that to them ever again, no matter what they have to do or sacrifice to get there. and a lot of that conflict is slathered in this layer of Gender Stuff! this is INTERESTING!!!! no matter what people take from this post i at least hope you can find this aspect interesting, especially if you hadn't really thought about cinder's mimicry before...

anyway the very Gendered tension in their character comes bearing down twice as hard when considering that madame verbally invokes ideas about "being ladylike" while she's abusing them, reinforcing this mental link between Being Ladylike = Having Power, Not Being Ladylike = Not Having Power (= being crushed under the (high) heel of those that Do). cinder's femininity is ungenuine at best and coerced at worst; in my opinion, that much has been gestured at pretty overtly

from here, you can draw whatever conclusions from it that you please; e.g. would cinder LIKE to claim femininity for themselves in a genuine way, or would they not? do they feel attached to it, or not? in the Midnight glimmers of cinder's own real human self—the one they try so desperately at every turn to kill and bury, by directly coöpting pieces of other people they think are powerful—what do you see there? that's a conclusion for you to draw, of course…

you've no doubt twigged by the pronoun heehoos happening in this post that i'm quite fond of they/them cinder lol. i like my non biney lesbian struggler (the lesbian part Specifically i don't have a whole post locked and loaded for, that's just because im a lesbian and i like it<3). i rotate the disconnect between cinder and their identity and their performance in my mind and go "huh! your gender is Lesbian. congrats sweet prince" well anyway i think salem shoulda been cool FOR ONCE and offered to give them top surgery when she was gluing them back together after beaconSJHBHBNSDHB

of course, there's a myriad of ways to take this and make it serve whatever gender and pronouns headcanons you like, so i'm not saying it definitely means exactly what i personally like. like i said at the start, i'm not interested in "proving" anything or whatever. i'm just observing that it's interesting, and then im applying it to beef up headcanons i personally like... so you do as you will, too 😌

but to me, no matter what final conclusion is drawn, gender is a performance and cinder fall is trapped on the stage! goodluck up there!

[bestworstcase]

[most predictable man in the world rn] do you think neo is gonna come back at some point and if so, is she going to be neo, or someone else entirely? i know you put on your bingo card that she's just taking the scenic route home but it felt very...final to me. also i cried over the cat. i wanted to see the little baby come to remnant :((

what’s striking to me about neo’s send off is—well, a whole handful of things:

1 - through roman’s simulacrum, she states a very clear and specific emotional desire (“to have what they have, huh? what a thing”) and this is what incites her decision to ascend—right after he says this, she goes to the edge of the platform to consider, and roman again vocalizes what she’s thinking (“so… that’s it, then? …yeah. i know. i’m not real.”) so that’s a really, really overt narrative statement of character intention. neo ascends because she wants to find real connection, real love, not the empty facsimile she’s been clinging to, and team rwby is her model for what that looks like.

2 - this is paired with multiple beats of ruby pausing to turn back for neo, including one where ruby clearly does not feel Great about leaving her crumpled on the ground, and ruby is also the one who affirms that neo can find herself and deserves that chance. so neo’s dawning realization that she wants to be loved the way ruby is loved coincides with ruby realizing this sympathy for her and being hesitant to leave her. (and ruby has also just had this very healing experience in the tree herself; “she’ll find herself” is grounded in that experience).

3 - neo cannot get what she wants in the ever after. she wants human connection. she craves the kind of love team rwby has for each other. the ONLY place she can get that is remnant.

4 - the way neo gestures before she bounces read VERY STRONGLY to me as “you haven’t seen the last of me yet.” that emphatic point at ruby with hush? neo does that exact gesture to convey violent threats (at least once off the top of my head, to cinder in 8.13, but i’m fairly certain that’s not the only time). but this time she does it as a preface to the curtsy, which reverses the threat into a promise.

and 5 - all of this occurs in tandem with the parallels between neo and alyx being brought to fruition via neo being the alyx that jaune COULD protect. helping neo heals the wound of failing alyx. alyx chose to stay behind because she wanted to set things right before she went home. but she did still want to go home. what this says to me is neo, like alyx, realizes that she cannot go home yet. there’s things she needs to fix, first, and the first step is facing herself honestly. she also knows that the tree can help her do that, because she can plainly see how it helped ruby. and if neo is the healing of alyx’s story, the setting of the broken fairytale… it follows she’s going to get the ending right, too. fix what’s broken in herself, perhaps make amends with the cat and the jabberwalker, and then return home to finish her journey.

there IS a certain finality to the scene, but it came across to me as the ending for neo’s character as she existed up to this point—a send-off for neo-the-villain as she chooses to open the door to the neo who looks at team rwby’s embrace and thinks i want that. i know what i need to do to get it, and i’m ready to change.

we’re also two for two on characters from remnant ascending whilst still alive and returning as themselves, memories intact, which is a pretty strong point in favor for thinking the same will be the case for neo; certainly she’ll change a lot more significantly than they did, but we’ve already seen the shape of that change. she lets go of roman, she lays down her petty quest for vengeance. her ascension is about affirming and settling those choices so that she can grow into them.

i think there’s also a pretty decent chance that neo will come back accompanied by the cat. alyx broke the cat’s heart by breaking her promise -> the cat tried to twist neo into the fulfillment of that promise by using her as a vessel -> neo kills the cat (thus sending the cat to the tree where they can finally heal) -> neo decides to let go of vengeance and find herself before returning to remnant -> neo completes the healing of the broken fairytale by fulfilling alyx’s promise to the cat. yeah? it all tracks.

[spartanblacksmith]

The Forges of Remnant

Chapter 2: Destruction and Restoration

Vital Coliseum, Vacuo. 4th month, 2nd day of Year 5028

Yang had been gently driving down the streets of Vacuo, taking the scenic route around Menagerie. As far from their house as possible. Yang’s colossal blond hair was within her helmet, if only so her wife behind her could see. Blake was still wearing her camouflage scout uniform, and Yang was wearing her brown biker clothes.

Blake had traveled for 3 and a half weeks on a hoverbike, living life in the wild. Yang figured she could benefit with a nice view of civilization, and she knew just the place.

She arrived at the parking lot of the Vital Coliseum. Putting it in park, she and Blake stepped off the bike.

“Just this way, kitten.” Yang gestures to the giant arena with a curtsy.

Blake raised an eyebrow at Yang. “The Coliseum? It's closed, isn't it?”

“Yes, but as of today, it's closed forever, so who cares?”

“Still the wild woman, aren't we?”

“Says the wild ranger, scavenging berrys and hunting the apocalypse.” Yang said with a wink. Yang then turns towards the Coliseum to see the progress of her plan.

That gets a chuckle out of Blake. “Observing the apocalypse.” Blake then hugs Yang from behind, nuzzling her face in Yang's back. “You do the hunting, my bright sun dragon.”

“I do the slaying. You do the hunting.”

Blake laughs and she takes Yang's hands in hers. “Are we going to debate the definition of those words or are you going to show me in?”

Yang, looking up, fingers tapping on Blake's hand, swaying back and forth, says “Onnnnlllyyy fffooorrr aaaaaaannnnoootttthhhheeeerrrr mmmmiiiinnnn-” She sees a cloud of rose petals fly away from the 3rd tier of seats, Ruby giving her a thumbs up as she zooms away. “-ute.” Yang opened the side gate. “Right this way.”

Blake goes to walk in, but Yang picks up Blake in a princess carry. She then waltzes inside with her raven haired beauty.

“You've done enough hard work. Imma take us there, myself.” Yang reaches the interior of the arena, and Blake wraps her arms around Yang's neck. Yang then starts super jumping from the dugout to several tiers of seats. Her huntress training really pays off in times like this.

She hops from the 3rd tier to the roof of the seating, a large rectangular area with a fence surrounding the perimeter. Yang landed upon it, and there was a surprise waiting.

It was what appeared to be a picnic blanket laid out and everything neatly arranged. 2 baskets, probably full of food. 4 plates and silverware. A salad bowl full of greens. 2 square cushions, a plush sleeping bag and a tent roll. There was even a pair of lit candles and fresh dinner rolls.

I texted Ruby only an hour ago for an emergency picnic, how did she get all this?

… A little on the nose there, with the rolls still steaming and the fresh lit candles. *Internal gasp* Those rolls are covered in cinnamon butter, that's Penny's rolls! Thank you Robo-angel!

Yang sets Blake down and opens her arms towards the picnic. “So, what do ya think?”

Blake tip toes up to kiss Yang on the cheek. “It's perfect. Thank you so much, love.”

“Aw, shucks.” Yang pats the back of her head, blushing a little.

They go to sit down, and Yang sees three of Ruby's petals sitting next to the blanket. When Blake isn't looking as she's sitting down, Yang quickly scoops up the petals and sits on her own cushion.

“So, what shall we eat first, my little ranger?”

“Let's see.” Blake opens the first basket to find grilled fish seasoned with lemon pepper. “Oh, Weiss's fish. Thank you.”

“Uh…”

“And we should probably thank Ruby for making all this for us.”

Yang was quiet for a moment, then tries to bluff. “Ruby? Nah, I made this and brought you here so we could enjoy it.”

Blake simply smiles and raises her hand, opens it, and reveals three of Ruby's rose petals. Yang checks her own hand and the petals she had are gone. “Whoa, you're slick.”

“I suppose.” Blake says, a new sullen look on her face as she watches the petals dissolve into thin air.

“... I can't hide anything from ya, can I?”

“Sadly, no. I’ve spent most of my life as a huntress and a thief, and you're a bad liar.”

Yang shrugs her shoulders. “Being confident and truthful suits me better.”

Blake rests her head on Yang's shoulder. “They do.” A moment of silence passes. “So, what were the protesters saying this time?”

“Not important.”

“Yang.”

“... They were accusing your father of being “in” with Adam during the Beacon Incident.”

“Ugh. Why did I ask? Why would they-”

Yang put a finger to Blakes lips. “No. Don't even think about it.” She lowers her hand.

“But I can't. We have a responsibility to answer-

Yang puts her finger up to Blake's lips again. “No. They're not like the protesters you hung out with before the White Fang got violent. Those guys had a good reason, a just cause. Like I said before, these guys are simply trolls with nothing better to do, hoping to get a rise out of you, Ghirra, or worse, Kali. All for some gossip.”

“Wait, why is mom the worst?”

“Don't you remember that one guy with the bat wings who tried to throw a swing at you last year?”

“Oh, yeah. Mom clocked him real good. And tossed him down the street.”

“And the reporters haven't let her forget it. There's even a chef who opens a ‘Kung Pao Kali’ in all the Vacuo cities.”

Blake laughs at the memory. “Yeah. It's not bad food either. A nice spicy taste, they've got.” She leans down and lays her head on Yang's lap.

“We still have a responsibility, love. After all, I don't want them to go down the wrong path. To end up like the White Fang, and me.” Blake intertwines her fingers with Yang's metallic digits resting on her belly. “And prevent them from making the same mistakes.”

Still beating herself up over what Adam did to my arm? Oh, my poor kitten.

Yang could only lean down and kiss Blake on the forehead, trying to comfort her wife. “Blake, it's been 10 years. I think you can forgive yourself for being associated with them.”

“You're right. Still doesn't change the past, though.”

“Then let's forget it for a night and let yourself enjoy the night with your wife.” Yang leaned down again, and this time, kissed Blake on the lips.

Yang rose up, and continued speaking. “Perhaps you'd like the news? Or the gossip?”

“Gossip, please.” Blake requested as she reached into the basket and started nibbling on a roll. “Mm, Penny's sweet rolls.”

“Well, first, we have Coco and Velvet. You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”

“What about them?” Blake asked, contemplating the Guardian Clan leader and her wife, the rabbit faunus lieutenant in the Silver Clan.

“Velvet’s pregnant.”

Blake almost choked on a bite of her roll. “Really? Coco knocked her up? When? How?”

“Yeah. Their W.A.S.P. failed its .1% rate on Velvet's birthday, and she got Velvet pregnant. They're keeping it, and they're already writing baby names. We have a pool going for the 20 they’ve thought of. I got $10 for Strudel.”

“That's great. Though Ruby needs another skirmisher now.” Blake finished the roll and grabbed another.

“Yeah. She's promoted Arslan Atlan to fill Velvet's shoes. And she promoted Reese Chloris to co-scout with Neon.”

“The bare-handed fighter and the skateboarder?” Blake asks as she feeds Yang her own roll.

“Yeah!” Yang says. After chewing, she continues. “Have you seen Arslan crush a Beowolf’s head with those fists? And Although Reese ain't exactly stealthy, what with her fluorescent green hair and bright clothes, her skateboarding skills almost beat Neon's rollerblading.”

“And Arslan will have Velvet's sergeant, Dew Gayl. She'll love Dew’s crowd controlling winds.”

“Oh, yeah. Reese will still be under Arslan, but she's doing fine.”

“Well, Ruby's in good company. Although, I think she'd love yours the most.”

Yang waved it off. “Ah, you and I both know she’d love the ‘Angel of Atlas’ being back in the Silver Clan.”

“I'm serious, Yang. As great Weiss is, Ruby would love for her sister to be back on the team. Those doctors don't know what you're capable of. I daresay you fight just as well as during your Beacon days.”

“I… I know.” Yang caressed her lover's smooth black hair. “But I can't make a fuss about it. Those old toadies will always oppose prosthesis using hunters from being in Silver Clan without the Pint Strikers. And besides, my sister does well in the spotlight, and I much prefer my Ember Celica Unit.”

“Yang…”

“I'm fine, love. I am.” Yang put on a smile and kissed Blake on the cheek.

I don't know if I can fight on foot. And I'm scared of slowing Ruby down. This is for the best, Blake.

Blake caressed the luscious blond hair of her lover and returned her affectionate kiss, on the lips. She sat up a little to make it easier for Yang.

After a minute, they stop. “Yang…”

“Sorry, it's been a month, darling. You always leave me wanting more.”

Blake ran her hand over Yang's cheek. “My poor girl.”

“Speaking of which, I really should tell you about Nebula.”

“Nebula? What about her?”

“Has she told you anything in Botanical class?”

“No. Why?”

“Not about her being Sun and Neptunes new girlfriend?”

“*Gasp* What? When? How?”

“Neptune spilled the beans to Ruby when he blurted it out during practice. The three have been together for two months.”

Yang continued her explanation as Blake ate her fish with a spoon. “Sun and Neptune were performing maintenance on their weapons. Then Nebula comes to do hers on her crossbow/sword thing. She helps Neptune enhance the shock on his glaive. Then Sun helps with her weapons extension. And accidentally stabs him in the shoulder as it was too good.”

“Oh, no. Was he okay?” Blake asks, her mouth full.

“He was fine, only a flesh wound. As an apology, she offered Sun coffee and breakfast as he healed up. Badda bing, badda boom, three person polycule.”

“I can't imagine that. After Neptune's been shamelessly flirting with her entire team for years and the whole “shocked them all during the Vytal Festival” would have put a damper on things.”

“Yeah. Sun told me she wanted to wait until the next party before she brings both of them as dates.”

“Wait a minute. Sun and Neptune? I get Nebula, she's a catch. But haven't Sun and Neptune been best friends since forever?”

Blake proceeds to feed Yang spicy noodles from the second basket. Through bites, she explains “Well, at first, it was really her dating one and the other. But after she suggested a threesome, and then Sun and Neptune kissed, it became a proper poly couple.”

“TMI Yang. But I'm glad it's Sun and Neptune. They're nice people.”

“They are. And totally bi.”

Blake cups Yang's cheek in her hand. “You're nice people too.”

“Aw, shucks.”

“I mean it. My strong, *kisses Yangs cheek* lovely, *kisses Yangs nose* kind…” Blake stops talking to kiss Yang deeply.

Yang returns the kiss and runs her hands through Blake's hair.

Thoughts of the food getting cold crossed Yang's mind.

I’ll make a fire if it gets cold. I'm not stopping this.

Yang grabbed the sleeping bag and rolled it out onto the rooftop. Opening it, she picked up Blake and set her inside. And Yang followed suit, continuing where they had left off. “I love you, my moonlily.”

“I love you too, my sunflower.”

And kissing her lover once more.

Their affections didn't stop there, and the picnic had all but been forgotten until a few hours later, where Yang had to make a rooftop fire to heat the food again as Blake set up the tent to sleep the rest of the night inside it.

—----

Plains of Woe. 4th Month, 3rd day of Year 5028.

Squad 12 was watching the Horde from the ledges of the mountain, just next to the fabled Plains of Woe. Outfitted in their camouflage gear and long sight visors, and their bikes parked under tarps on the plateau above them, they’re sure they remained undetected.

The Horde was still moving towards the Remnant Tribe. All 40 of the pitch black armored Leviethains, their 5 smaller Ursa, and their 4 War Forges were looking to pass through the same valley the tribe went through 3 months prior.

A good thing really. The less that happened next to the time when the tribe was set to move, the better.

Lieutenant Geoff hadn't seen anything strange happen for the 4 days he had been put on watch duty. But it always ran a shiver up his spine when he looked at the War Forges of the enemy. It looked so similar to the Tribes Forges, except for the dark armor. But he knew it couldn't be more different on the inside.

His sergeant, Gus, kept looking through the binoculars mounted on a tripod, sitting as he ate a sandwich, ever vigilant.

“Are you eating that through your helmet?” Geoff asked, sitting back to a boulder, his feet up on a backpack.

“Yes.” Gus said, not turning away.

“Why?”

“Helps the chewing.”

“Dumb function really.”

“I like it. This place is dusty, and the helmet keeps it out.”

“It's the outdoors, on the side of a mountain.”

“Still dusty.”

A moment passes between them.

“Say, Gus?”

“Yeah?”

“You ever wonder why we're here?”

“Gee, that's quite a question. Why are we here in this infinite cosmos? Why are we to fight these ever menacing monsters?”

“No, I meant why are we in these mountains. The Sky Clan can watch the Horde better than we can at this point.”

“You just say that because you're lazy.”

“We're Shadow Clan. We can be as lazy as we want. We just watch, record, and ride into the sunset.”

“Don't let Blake hear you say that. She takes this job super seriously.”

“Hey, I do my job well, I'm just-” their conversation was interrupted by loud steam sounds coming from the Horde.

The squad of 7 stopped what they were doing and watched from the ledge. The War Forge, Hazel, opened its hatch on top to release its Nevermore. A gigantic Crow Mech with anti gravity tech allowing it to fly. Armed with 2 dozen 105mm cannons, and a wingspan as wide as the Forge, it stands from it and takes flight.

“Well, there it is.” Geoff looked at his wrist monitor. “We were expecting a Nevermore, but it's early. Sky Clan is gonna be buuuuuuuuuuusssssssyyyy, uhhhhh…”

Geoff looked back to see the largest horde of Beowolves he’d ever seen emerge from Salem. They swarmed down the exit ports on the side and dropped from under Salem, and all the squad could see was a mass of dark steel of death. And they saw multiple Alphas, Pack Leaders, and worst of all, a Hound to join and assemble in the center.

“Oh, crud.”

“Geoff, uh, that's bad.”

“Of course it's bad! That's a massive swarm! With a Nevermore! And a Hound!”

“Yeah.”

“Get Ruby Rose on the radio. We need Silver Clan out here to intercept them.”

-----

Plains of Woe. 4th Month, 3rd day of Year 5028.

The meat stares at us brother. They watch from the mountains.

Don't worry, brother. They don't see. My pack can't be seen. They take the caves underneath the land, as the Leviathans hide our entrance. Though they are of the Shadow, the meat forget the caves. The meat always forget.

Good brother. Good. Then I take the pass. I bring to them the fight they expect.

And I, the fight they don't.

Then this is goodbye.

Until we meet in the Queens embrace, together brother.

Together. Now, you must go. Kill them, we will.

Yes. Soon, we shall spill the blood of meat. Soon…

---------

Middle point of Mountain Pass of Glenn. 4th month, 4th day of Year 5028.

Alright, mental checklist.

Crescent rose? Check.

Blade? Sharp.

Ammo? Stocked.

Red Cloak? Fabulous.

Black boots? Tied.

SnowGear? Ready.

Time? 4 a.m.

Distance from Remnant? 200 miles.

Sky Clan transports in a holding pattern? Check.

Sky Clan fighter Air Support on standby? Check.

My squad of 20 warriors? Check.

Sun and his squad of 20, ready and waiting for orders? Check.

Fox and Cinder waiting in the Pint Strikers behind us, awaiting signal to provide heavy fire support? Check.

Arslan and her squad of 18, ready and waiting for orders? Check.

My Red, Blue, and Green wedding ring? Check.

Reese and Neon with their report, waiting.

Ruby and her regiment of Silver Clan warriors await the pair of riders and their scouting report at the top of the plateau halfway up the mountain. Some of the men were having a poker game behind one of their gathered boulders, others were having a push up competition.

Flynt was playing some soft jazz music on his trumpet and many of the women were either vibing to the music or having small talk amongst themselves. Others were sharpening their weapons and counting their bullets.

Ruby knew Fox was meditating and Cinder was torching paper birds she was folding, next to their Pint Strikers, an Atlesian Paladin but piloted. Neptune was napping. Ruby, she was watching the mountains, covered in her red cape, keeping a bored vigilance.

Sun, in his beige pants and open white shirt, approaches Ruby, who's laying down on the edge of the cliff. “Anything?”

Ruby doesn't look away from the horizon, but replies “Nope.”

“Then chill out, will ya? The team's on edge, both figuratively and literally.” Sun says as he looks over to see some of his guys hanging off the edge to entertain themselves.

“Ugh, fine.” Ruby closes her eyes and rolls away from the edge. “But it's so boring up here.”

“I know. I know. I have plenty of places I’d rather be too.”

Like with Nebula and Neptune? You rascal. Don't say that out loud. Don't smirk.

“Why can't these Beowolves just come out already? They're rarely sneaky like this. And avoiding Remnants trail? They usually like their suicide charges into our ranks.”

Sun merely shrugged, his monkey tail forming a question mark. “Maybe they really do have a Hound this time?”

“Ugh.” Ruby rolled facedown in the grass in disgust of the thought. “A Hound? Like I believe that. I think Geoff was wrong and mistook an Alpha for one.”

“I don't know, he may be lazy, but he can be accurate when he wants.”

“But Salem hasn't sent one in a thousand years. Why now?”

Sun sat down and peeled a banana. “Word has it that it has to do with that Oscar kid.”

“Oscar who?”

“The kid Blake found in the wild. Said he was looking for an ancient A.I. from the days before the Shattering.” Sun says as his tail tosses the banana peel down the mountain.

“Oh, yeah. The kid Yang was talking to Qrow about over the scroll. I doubt that's it.”

“Aren't we putting the cart before the horse here?” Arslan says as she joins the conversation. Wearing her loose yellow robes but a bandage shirt and sleeves, it confused Ruby as to how her style looked good yet was unconventional. Well, unconventional in a Clan who dressed casually, even for battle. “Reese hasn't even returned with her report.”

Ruby raised her head. “Yeah, we aren't even sure there is one. But she's late.”

“She’s always late.” Arslan tossed her… Blond? Platinum? White? Ruby couldn't tell the exact color of her hair. Anyways, she tossed her hair to the side as she said this. “A habit she hasn't shaken from her Haven days.”

Ruby nodded, knowing Arslan was Reese's team leader when they went to Haven academy together. “Right. We can only wait.”

Sun sat down on a rock next to Ruby, still facedown in the grassy patch on the plateau. “So, tell me, Arslan. How's the new promotion to lieutenant, leader of your own squad?”

Arslan crossed her arms and nodded at Sun. “Not bad. Velvet definitely left some big shoes to fill, no rabbit pun intended. Not too different from our days at Haven, actually. It's only filled with more children.”

Ruby just waved her hand. “Aw, they ain't that bad.”

“Have you seen Sun’s sergeant, Neptune? He’s afraid of water! He squeals like a girl when he has to go through the rope swing on the obstacle course!”

Sun pointed a finger up. “In his defense, he’s always been afraid of water, and the obstacle course moat scares him, as it's 4 feet deep.”

“Then there's Flynt, who had just beat everyone in my unit at poker yesterday and cleaned them out of their week's pay. I had to reverse such action to prevent tensions from getting worse.”

Ruby scratches her head. “Yeah, there's that.”

“It's those sunglasses. He got the poker face of a rock, I tell ya.” Sun squinted in annoyance as he recalled the 1 vs. 1 poker game he had with Flynt last month. Well 4 vs. 4 if you count the Doppelgangers both were using to hold more hands of cards. “He can't have 4 straights in the same pot, no one can!” Yelling to make sure Flynt could hear.

“Yes I can.” Flynt shouted back in response. Sun simply shook his fist and Flynt returned to playing some jazz.

Arslan shook her head. “Nonetheless, I’ve been handling it as best I can. Thank the Brothers for Dew. I don't know what I’d do without her.”

“Righhhhttt. Dew is greeeaaat.” Ruby says, staring intently at Arslan, tapping her fingers on the ground.

The fighter simply raises an eyebrow. “What is it, Captain Rose?”

“... So no weapons at all?”

“Ha, we’re back to this subject.”

Ruby shook her head and sat up on the ground. “It's not that I don't doubt your ability. But everyone has a weapon. Sun has his Bostaff/flintlock pistols. Neptune, his Glaive/rifle. My sergeant, May Zedong, has her sniper rifle/axe. Your own sergeant, Dew Gayl has her, uh, magic staff thing.”

Arslan chuckled. “Wind Dust Staff. I’m telling you, I'm fine, Captain."

Ruby continues, with concern. ”I’ve seen you rip a Beowolf in half, but don't you want a knife at least? Maybe a sidearm? I’d be more than happy to make you one. Heck.” Ruby pulls two large caliber pistols she named ‘Snow’ and ‘Gear’ out of the twin holsters on her belt. “You can borrow one of mine for this battle. But, uh, return it afterwards, cause they're special.”

Arslan simply laughed and pushed Ruby's 3rd anniversary presents back to her. “No, no. I am more than fine with the guns I got.” She says as she flexes her arms. “Besides, I was never a good shot, anyways.”

It was Ruby's turn to raise an eyebrow. “Velvet told me you speared a Wyvern in the eye with a javelin at 500 yards.”

Arslan rotated her hand, explaining “Not a good shot, with a gun.”

Ruby was going to protest more, but not another minute passed as they heard someone approaching. Reese and Neon were riding up the mountainside to the Silver clans plateau.

They ride up and over, doing a pose and a flip, and then landing on their feet in classic extreme sport style.

Ruby rose to her feet. “Yay. You're here. Whatcha see? Whatcha hear?”

The rainbow colored Neon answered first. “Nothing good. We found them entering the mountain range towards this pass, as Shadow Clan said.”

Reese continued “There's over 500 Beowolves down there. All very coordinated too.”

Neon chimed in “Yep, but we have to beware worse things. There's 500 Betas, yes. But there's 10 Alpha's, 3 Pack Leaders, and a Hound as well.”

Everyone on the cliff side gasped at the revelation.

So Geoff was right. Crud.

Beta Beowolves were your standard monster, and Alphas were slightly bigger, smarter, and rare, but word has it, manageable. The 500 were expected, given their lack of activity lately, and 10 Alpha's were a mild surprise.

But Pack Leaders? They were Alpha sized, but scary smart. They usually are in charge of War Forge and the Horde’s defense. They've never been seen leaving Salem's Horde. If Ruby wasn't careful, she’d lead her warriors into an ambush and be slaughtered.

And the Hound. A Beowolf, but a Pint Striker's size. It had the strength of an Ursa and the intelligence of a human. As if that wasn't scary enough, it had an Aura of its own, something only seen in Hunters like the Silver Clan Warriors and living creatures, a personal force field protecting them from harm.

One has not been seen in over a thousand years when it assassinated and killed a Head Chieftain, Dustin Schnee, one of Weiss's ancestors. Salem only sends them out when she really wants something dead. Ruby knew she'd have to take this one herself or risk the trail of bodies of her warriors in its wake.

“Alright then. We stick to the plan. Only I’ll be targeting the Hound. Arslan, Sun, the Pack Leaders are yours. Cinder, Fox, you're laying down fire on the mass of Betas as Sun’s squad kills them.” Ruby turns to her sergeant, May. “You and the squad are killing the Alphas. Arslan’s squad is holding back in case the Hound has any surprises for us. And we strike when Sky Clan attacks that Nevermore.”

The Clan nodded their heads and accepted the new orders.

“Ready? Break.” Ruby claps her hands and leads her squad to their positions.

“Good. Neon, Reese, rejoin the others, we got work to do.” Arslan said as they began their own preparations.

Sun shouted to his men. “Alright guys, we got work to do. Neptune.”

Neptune jolted awake from his place by the rocks. He gets up and runs over to Sun. “You called?”

“We got boulders to move. I’ll fill you in.”

*One hour later*

Here they come.

The pack of Beowolves was moving through the mountain pass, a mass of metal limbs and bladed claws walking together, their jaws constantly opening and closing, making sure they didn't rust shut.

Ruby could see the Hound in the middle of the pack, surrounded by Alphas. It was an intimidating monstrosity. But Ruby had seen worse things. As she and her squad watched the horde from their positions above in the rocks, she glanced to the side. Seeing Sun’s team a few hundred yards to the side, and Arslan's team opposite of her’s in the mountain pass, as well as Cinder and Fox waiting on the plateau they were on earlier, she knew everything was in position.

Come on, little dumb monsters. Come on, you don't see us. Yes, right into the trap zone. You don't have your Nevermore here to protect ya, do you?

Did they send it ahead? Distract us here to let it attack the tribe? Shoot, it may have. We should attack the horde now and go after-

May got Ruby's attention. “Captain Rose?”

“Yes, May?”

“Cinders on the radio, she needs to talk.”

Ruby took the microphone from May and spoke. “Ruby?” Cinder asked over the radio.

“Yes, Cinder? What is it? We're about to start.”

“We have a problem.”

Oh no. “What is it?”

“The Nevermore. It's far in the sky, hiding in the clouds, but it's there.”

A surprise attack from the Nevermore. Man, I can't even see it from here. If we had attacked, we would have been squashed. The Hound almost got us before we even engaged it.

“Great spotting, Cinder. I’ll get Sky Clan on it.”

Ruby switched radio channels to Maria’s.

“Death's arrow, this is Red Knife, how copy?”

A voice over the radio answers. “Read ya loud and clear, Red Knife. This is Death's arrow. What do you need?”

“We have the Nevermore escort over the Beowolf horde. We need air cover.”

“Roger, fighters moving to your position. Eta, 2 minutes.”

“Roger that. Over and out.” Ruby looked back to the horde. She switched to another radio channel. “Sun, Arslan?”

“This is Sun, what's up?”

“The Nevermore is in the clouds. We launch the attack as soon as that Nevermore in the sky gets lit up by Maria and her fighters.”

“Once what?” Sun and Arslan go quiet for a moment to check the sky. “Oh, there it is. Right there in the cloud. Roger that, waiting on the signal.”

Ruby put the radio away, and readied Crescent Rose in her sniper rifle form. Looking down the scope, she dialed in on the Hound’s ugly face. She whispers to May “Can I get a second shooter on the big one? He’s got tough armor.”

“Yes, Ma'am.” May sets her sniper rifle up and dials in as well.

2 minutes pass in agony, Ruby hoping the horde doesn't go too far. But luckily, they're right below the Silver Clan. Ruby hears a loud thrum in the air as Sky Clan approaches. The Nevermore's crows deafen the sky as missiles and large caliber bullets hit the side of it. It flies into battle against the Sky Clan fighters and the horde below looks upwards in astonishment.

Ruby takes her chance. She and May fire at the Hound. Their bullets fly out and zoom towards the large beast. The impact staggers him, and visibly damages his Aura. But he's still standing.

Racking a second round quickly, Ruby and May fire again. They hit the Hound before he knows where he's getting hit from.

A third round. Ruby can hear Cinder and Fox spin up their guns. Ruby and May fire again. This time, the Hound grabs an Alpha, and uses it as a shield to take the hits. Although the Alpha was dead now, it kept holding it up.

Cinder and Fox start firing their weapons. Their Pint Strikers were small versions of the Port Strikers, meant for Beowolf hunting. Carrying 4 Gatling guns, 2 shoulder mounted and 2 arm mounted, where some would say ‘Overkill’, the Silver Clan says ‘not enough’. So they load them with explosive Fire Dust rounds.

The 8 Gatling guns tear through the horde, turning dozens of Beowolves into scrap metal. The monsters then start to climb the sides of the mountain to charge their attackers.

Ruby gives the call, her voice sounding through the valley even above the fire. “All Squads, Attack!”

A war cry sounds out in the mountain pass as all the warriors push dozens of their prepared boulders down the mountainside. They crash and crush any monster unlucky enough to be under it. Once the boulders reach the bottom and stop moving, Ruby yells out “Hit it!”

May reaches behind her and clicks the detonator on her utility belt. The explosives attached to the boulders activate, and turn air in the pass into dust, smoke, and flying pieces of Grimm. The smoke clears quickly from the wind, and they see a second wave is on the way up.

Ruby yelled out once more. “Silver Warriors! Fire!” And they all light up the valley floor with bullets. Tearing apart the horde as they climb.

Then, even though all that, the Grimm continues their climb. As they near the warriors positions, Ruby gives out another command. “Ready! Set! Charge!” And hops over the side to start slicing up the enemy.

Another war cry sounds out as Sun’s warriors jump the side and crash into the Beowolves, tearing them apart. The blond faunus led the charge with 4 of his own Aura Doppelgangers.

Neptune was slicing through several of them where Sun wasn't looking and shocking many more with his Glaive.

Arslan's own warriors were supposed to hold back, but as the horde was trying to reach the Pint Strikers, they had to hop into action and hold the line below the plateau they were standing on. Arslan can be seen ripping Beowolves apart, palm striking them to pieces and using a dead one as a club to knock others down the mountainside.

Dew and Flynt was tossing Grimm down as well with their strong winds, tornadoes, and weaponized jazz music. Arslan's warriors fought furiously, holding the line.

Ruby's own warriors jumped down the mountain, carving their way through the swarm. Their targets were the command beasts.

May and the rest of Ruby's squad went to assist Sun’s squad, as the Alphas and Pack Leaders had charged their way. But Ruby went straight for the Hound, still sitting in the center of the Horde.

Beowolves tried to swipe at her, but her semblance “Petal Burst” allowed her to swiftly dodge their attacks at high speeds or simply turn to rose petals and avoid it altogether.

She flew through the horde, reaping nearly 6 at a time with her scythe/sniper rifle, Crescent Rose. Carving through to the center, there she was.

Ruby was standing in front of the Hound. Converting her sniper rifle into Scythe mode, she locks into combat.

You look angry. Let's boogie, big guy.

The beast swipes once, twice, and a third time. Ruby dodges all three. She gets a slice on its leg, its Aura still holding. It picks up a bystanding Beowolf and chucks it at Ruby. The beast knocks Ruby over, but slicing it in half, she regains her footing quickly and charges the Hound again.

You grunt throwing butt head!

The Hound tries to slam its fist into the ground right into Ruby's head. She explodes into Petals before it connects and she reappears above the fist. Its second fist though connects a strong swipe, raking Ruby with its claws. Ruby is sent flying again, her own Aura at 60%.

Okay, new strategy.

She does a backflip and lands on her feet. She dashes at the Hound again. Several beta Beowolves charge at Ruby to protect the Hound.

But Ruby surprises them. The Rose family has a strange, hereditary semblance linked to their silver eyes. On top of her Petal Burst, she can activate an E.M.P. area attack to knock any Grimm mech around her down.

The 20 Beowolves around her fall to the ground around Ruby and the Hound falters a bit as it hits him. Surprised he didn't die like the others, but unfazed, she continues her charge.

It swipes high, expecting a jump. But Ruby slides under it, hooking its leg and pulling it out from under the beast. It falls over and Ruby quickly jumps on top of its chest as it lands on its back. She draws Snow and fires its Ice Dust bullets into the beast's face, turning most of his head into a block of ice. She holsters it again, proud of her wife's gift.

As it starts to beat its own head to break the ice away, Ruby nimbly changes Crescent Rose in its rifle form and reloads with her Fire Dust bullets to blast away at the Hounds chest. Racking round after round, pounding away its heavy Aura.

Finally, the tell tale signs of Aura breaking away shatters over the monstrous mech. But it also finishes breaking the ice away.

It grabs Ruby by the torso and squeezes. Ruby feels the wind knocked out of her, and can feel her Aura slowly being depleted.

Crap, Crap, Crap! I can't breathe. Quickly, now! I can tell I'm at 40%, no, 30%!

Before she's taken down, she changes her weapon into Scythe mode. Tilting the head back into a spear form, Ruby stabs the blade into the Hounds chest. It pierces and she feels it hit dirt on the underside. The beast falters, and Ruby can breathe again. She tilts it back into Scythe mode where she can fire again and blasts the Hound's head off.

Its arm falls away limp. Ruby is victorious.

Yeah. Take that, ya big dolt.

Ruby pulls the weapon out of its chest and she takes a look around and sees the horde around her. More Beowolves start charging at the exhausted girl.

Oh, right. I'm surrounded. And I’ve used my Silver Eyes for the moment. Weiss is right, I am the dolt.

Then the charge is halted by a hail of bullets. The Beowolves around Ruby melt away in a sea of fire. Ruby looks up to see who it was. It's none other than her sister-in-law, flying down in her Pint Striker with its jetpack.

Cinder lands next to Ruby, and launches a circle of fire from her mech. Ruby dives under it, and the fire turns multiple beasts into slag. Cinder's guns begin firing away into another group. “Need some assistance, oh fearless leader?”

Ruby hops up to stand on the mech's head. Although it's quite loud. “Thanks for the save. How are we looking?”

Cinder continues to mow down the horde. “Pretty good. The Alphas are dead, the Pack Leaders too. You just killed the Hound, and the others are almost finished.”

And she was right. For as Ruby looked around again, there were only a few dozen Betas left, being chased by her warriors. Barely a scratch amongst them. Not a bad day.

“Yeah! We Rock! We Kicked Their Metal Butts! Wooo!” Ruby cheered as she jumped up and down on Cinders head.

“Calm down. We still have to hunt down the stragglers. Don't want them messing up the move.”

“Right. Hunt first, party later." Once Ruby catches her breath, she flies away in a cloud of petals, ready to slice up some more Beowolves. Cinder followed, throwing more fireballs and bullets.

Not noticing the blood bubbling from the Hounds chest wound as they left it behind.

—----

Exit point of Mountain Pass of Glenn. 4th month, 4th day of Year 5028.

Grut was fuming. He looked into binoculars and saw that his reinforcements had just been slaughtered by the Silver Clan. “That red haired bitch. Ruby freakin’ Rose. She just killed all my monsters.”

Grut was sitting on top of a mountain, as he was supposed to be observing the horde of Grimm to help him get the boy, Oscar. A big raid on the outskirts of Menagerie, then Grut grabs the boy and gives him to the Hound. But now with it bleeding all over the ground and its forces dead, Tyrian’s Plan A was sunk.

“Just great.” He watched as the Nevermore fell to the ground in 17 different parts a few mountains over. “Now what, ya bag of bolts?”

“Don't worry, my friend.” Behind Grut, a Hound was holding the side of the peak, also observing the battle. Its voice was deep and mechanical, but all too clear. It looked at Grut with its red eye. “My brother's sacrifice will not be in vain.”

Grut was confused. “Sacrifice? Uh, Fennec, weren't they, ya know, gonna attack Remnant?”

“They were, but Tyrian's second spy informed him that the boy doesn't have Jinn. He still needs to be caught. But it's unnecessary now. So I was given different orders. A plan B, if you will. Apologies that you were not informed of the change.”

“So this whole battle, you losing all your beasts was…?” Grut waves his arms over to the hundreds of dead Grimm, hoping for a clear answer.

“All part of Her Majesty's plan. This was not all of them. My brother, Corsac, took half, and got the attention of their ‘Shadow Clan’ to hide my half. Now, as we speak, my Pack travels under the mountain range, to intercept Remnant on their way to the Coastal Plains. And the Silver Clan is none the wiser.”

“Ohh.” Grut then scowled. “Then what am I supposed to do now?”

“Patience will be rewarded, my friend. Watts is sending you your own team of Hybrids. Await them in Vacuo, once Remnant has abandoned the cities. You will have your day, we promise.” The Hound turns and hops down the mountain, sliding all the way down to its base, to return to its pack.

“You better.” Grut says, even though no one is around. “My blood is itching for battle. My circuits are thirsting for carnage.” Grut packs his stuff. Once he's done, loads up his backpack and fiddles with the back of his head, his hair tangled again with the data port and black steel panel installed there.

“They will know my name. They all will.”

—----

Vale Forge. 4th month, 4th day of Year 5028.

Mmm, I don't know how Penny did it, but her shoulder is so comfy. I'm so tired. If only I could stay here, resting with her. And if only Ruby wasn't out hunting. She’d be with us, lazing about, her head probably in my lap.

*Sigh* Why am I so lethargic recently? I love work, or at least, I’m driven. So why am I wishing to stay home and shower my wives in affection more often recently? Or am I just greedy and wanting to steal more of my wives time? Not sure which is better or worse.

Weiss was laying her head down on Penny's shoulder as the car and their convoy escort was driving down the dirt road towards the Vale Forge, the sun setting behind them. She had already made 3 trips to see the others that day.

Sienna Khan of the Menagerie Forge, Vernal of the Mistral Forge, and Allison of the Vacuo Forge. Now she was about to make her 4th to see Amber of the Vale Forge.

Charles, their driver, pulled up to the side of the colossal constructor, where the robotic Atlesian Knights were waiting. “Master Weiss, we’re here.”

Weiss didn't respond, playing asleep. Penny, in her cute yellow sundress, nudged Weiss awake. “Weiss love, we’re here.”

Weiss slowly lifted her head and looked outside. “Can we have five more minutes?”

“Sorry, snow angel, we have to do this last errand, and then there's the council meeting. But I promise, you can sleep afterwards.”

“Okay.” Weiss takes a moment to yawn. “Let's go.” She exits the car with Penny and smoothes out her long light blue dress. The two of them go to meet the Knights.

“Hello, Master Weiss. You're 3.4 minutes late.” Said one of the 8 knights in a woman's voice.

“Hello to you too, Amber.” Weiss said with a slight sarcasm, not knowing if Amber was being sarcastic or serious in noting such a small tardiness. “We’re here to instruct you on your new orders and inspect the Core.”

“Yes, right this way.” They gestured, and a door leading to an escalator stairway opened from the side of the Forge. It would lead all the way to the top.

Led by 4 of the knights and followed by the remainder, Penny and Weiss ascended up the escalator. It was going to take a minute.

Weiss looked out the viewing port to the interior of the Forge. It was always impressive, filled to the brim with massive mechanical construction arms and tools, workshops, the city being built, and whatnot. No organic personnel were allowed, save for the Schnee family for the inspections and the Atlesian Knights.

The Atlesian Knights. The footmen of the Forges. If there was something that needed hands to be done, the Forges A.I. would control a Knight to do it. They were quite versatile, as construction and maintenance crews, defenders of the Forges, and supplementary security support in the cities.

Each Forge A.I. could control thousands of them at a time, and each was color coded to know who was who. Along with their white armor, like the Forges, Amber's knights had, well, amber stripes along them.

The group reached the top floor, and kept going through the corridors. After a few twists and turns, they arrive at the control room. They found 4 Atlesian Paladins, outside the door, these hulking, heavily armed mech soldiers making sure none enter but Weiss and Penny. After scanning the girls, they step aside to let them in.

The door opens, revealing a series of computer stations along the wall, a large hologram showing the status and future architectural plans for the next Vale, and at the far end of the room was the A.I. Core.

The Core itself was largely not surprising as you’d expect, but not many know about the storage capsule attached to it.

Inside was an amber haired woman with amber eyes. She was the personal body of Amber, dressed in explorer clothes, much like how Penny was the body of Atlas.

Nicolas really should have been more creative with poor Amber's color scheme…

The capsule opens and Amber rises out of it. “Hello. Pleasure to see you again, Master Weiss. And Sister Penny, glad you could join us. The Workshop's not busy today?” Amber proceeds to step out of the capsule and approach the pair.

“Nope. I finished all my maintenance duties. Even finished Ember Celica ahead of schedule. Now, I am keeping Weiss company.” Penny grabbed Weiss's hand and smiled her beautiful smile.

“Good, good. Glad to see your lover making you so happy, Sister Penny.”

“Ha, well, thank you, Sister Amber.” Penny says, blushing a little.

Amber nods and turns to Weiss. “On to business. What's our next destination, Ma’am?”

Weiss went over to the hologram display, with Penny still in hand, and pressed a button to change the display to Map mode. She scrolled until she reached what she was looking for. “Here. The Coastal Plains. Good distance from our current position, plenty of fish this season, easily defendable.”

“Ah. My old stomping grounds. Very well. I will make plans and set a route. When will we set out?”

“Tomorrow. 10 a.m. sharp. I will contact you if anything changes.”

“Great. I just need Glyph Confirmation.” A panel in the wall opened to reveal a large scanner.

Glyphs. The Schnee families hereditary semblance that was passed down from parent to child. It was considered the most versatile, and debatably the most powerful, of all semblances of the warriors of Remnant. It could cast all sorts of powers and abilities, depending on the dust used and capabilities of the warrior.

Weiss used it to make a big, intricate glyph, even more so than usual. She put it to the scanner, and it glowed green. This semblance was used to authorize actions and commands to the Forges.

“Glyph accepted.” The panel closed. “I will prepare for tomorrow.”

Weiss nodded. “Good. Now, for the Dust Core Inspection.”

Amber nodded as well. “Right this way.”

Weiss followed the well treaded path to the Dust Core of Vale. A door to the left of Amber's chamber opened to reveal an elevator. Weiss, Amber, and Penny stepped inside.

The doors close, and Weiss leans into Penny for a moment, and Penny wraps her arm around Weiss's shoulders. They ride in silence, a smile on their faces.

Once they reach the Core Room, the door opens. A small walkway extends out, but only a few meters. In the center of this massive room was a Dust Core Crystal, this one named Amber, glowing a bright, uh, Amber. Slightly smaller than the room itself, nearly 100 feet tall, nearly 70 feet wide, in the shape of a diamond.

Dust. A strange, naturally occuring substance, like a rock but grows like a plant. It came in many elements, such as fire, water, ice, earth, etc. It could be plucked right from the ground and be utilized. Little is known about its origins, but everyone knows it's extremely useful. Weaponry, medical supplies, semblance enhancements, and most importantly, fuel. It powered the cities and their vehicles.

Oddly enough, there were still undiscovered things about Dust that people don't know. For example, the Dust Cores. Nicholas Schnee found 5 of them in a mining dig ages ago, and created the Forges with their almost unlimited power. They had no element to them, just pure energy, and they required rest to recharge. Not many know where humanity would be today without this discovery, and they still don't know how to create one themselves.

Amber, Weiss, and Penny stood upon the walkway as the elevator closed behind them. Weiss, reluctantly, let go of Penny's hand to float up to the Dust Core using her glyphs.

Hmm, there's a crack here. Another over there. The beginnings of one here. Better get started.

Dust, unfortunately, breaks down over time with use, but the Schnee family's semblance’s strange connection to Dust was able to reverse this. Weiss began to create mending glyphs to run over the damage in the Core and close the cracks. She flew one way and another, casting her glyphs and repairing the Core until it was as new as the day it was installed.

After 28 minutes, she was finished.

Weiss floated back over to the two androids on the walkway, and Penny gave her a pat on the back. “Good job, Weiss.”

Amber gave a quick bow. “Apologies there was so much damage this time, Master Weiss.”

“No problem, Amber. That's nothing. Although Mistral's and Vacuo’s were undamaged, you should have seen Sienna’s Core. Almost double the cracks.” Weiss said as she shook her head, looking a little sad. Then she became concerned for the Menagerie Forge. “She's been pushing herself a little too hard lately. She didn't mention why her Core was like that.”

“She's just a hard worker.” Amber explained. “And trying to alleviate the faunus’s stress with more amenities in the city. The White Fang has been attempting to recruit members into its ranks recently, and she wants to avoid that. Thankfully, from what I’ve heard, they've been unsuccessful on all fronts.”

Once more, Father's Race War haunts me. Damn it.

“Wonderful.” Weiss said, sarcasm heavy in her voice. “The White Fang’s return. You’d think they'd fold into Ghirra’s Blue Fang by now.”

Penny gently holds Weiss's hand again.

Amber replies “Adam really did a number on the remaining members. Tricking them, lying to them, making them accomplices in the Beacon Incident. But I assure you, they aren't a threat to you or the Faunus.”

That remains to be seen. One person is a lot more powerful, and dangerous, than most give them credit for.

As they enter the elevator, Weiss sighs in fake relief. “That's some good news. Blake will at least sleep a little better tonight when I tell her she has nothing to worry about.”

The trio exit the elevator back into the Control Room.

As Weiss passed the holographic projector, she gave a curtsy and said “Good day, miss Amber.”

Amber returned it with a bow “Good day, Master Weiss.” And returned to the storage capsule.

Weiss and Penny left the control room, Penny waving widely at Amber as she walked away. Amber waved back. Through the many corridors, and down the escalator, they were outside again.

Charles and the other escorts and drivers were standing by their vehicles, chatting, standing guard, one secretly reading a book. When they saw the Head Chieftain and the engineers captain, they reentered and readied their vehicles as Weiss and Penny entered the car.

Once they were in the back seat, Weiss laid her head down on Penny's shoulder again. “Ugh, I don't know how you walk so far and not get tired. That had to be at least 2 hours we walked.”

“Indeed. One hour to the Control room, half an hour during your repairs, one hour back. Although, I have robotic legs and you have human ones.”

“Ugh, something must be wrong with me. I need to get in better shape.”

“Weiss, you are in top shape. The doctor's visit last week showed nothing wrong. But you have been up and working for 16 hours now.”

Weiss jolted a bit. “Has it been 16 hours?”

“Yes. The sun “'is” setting behind us and you were in your office at the crack of dawn.”

“Oh.”

“And you were deliberating between the cities and the councilman for 15 and a half hours yesterday. And you were supervising the packing of supplies all day the day before. And you were doing paperwork for 18 hours the day before that.”

“Ohh.”

“You are not lethargic, you are tired. Not taking a day off for so long has taken its toll. You need a four day weekend.”

“I can't, not so close to the move. I’ll take the time off once we get settled in the new Vale.”

“Don’t be silly. That's 2 months away.”

“Well, we’re set to travel tomorrow. What can I do?”

“You could take me up on my offer.”

“No, I will not be carried the whole way. I can walk. I need the exercise anyway.”

“You already maintain a great workout schedule, as well as keeping in top huntress shape with Myrtenaster.”

“Fair. But no. We walk together.”

“Okay, Weiss” Penny then kisses Weiss on the head. “Whatever you say.”

Weiss’s scroll rings in her pocket. She checks to see who it is, and it's Klein. Weiss answers “Hello. How are you doing?”

“Hello Master Weiss. I have news.”

“Oh? What news?”

“Master Ruby and her warriors have all returned and will be able to attend the Council meeting.”

Weiss's face brightens and she hugs Penny. “Good. She's been gone for 7 days. We miss her.”

“We do.” Penny says as she hugs Weiss back.

Weiss tilts her head, giggling a little. “Ya know, you can drop the ‘Master’, Dad.”

“Oh, was I saying it? Sorry. My old habits die hard, Mas-, uh, Weiss.”

“I know. But you married Mother 3 years ago. You're my father now, not my butler.”

“Do not worry, Weiss's Father, I too still sometimes call her Master Weiss by accident.”

*Internally Screaming*

Weiss, blushing furiously, says “Penny. Remember what I told you?”

“Not to tell people that since we're married, and they might take it the wrong way?”

Klein clears his throat, “Don't worry, I didn't take anything weird from it.”

Penny tilts her head to the side, confused. “Weird? I mean I sometimes call her that in-”

Weiss hurriedly interrupts Penny. “Okay, that's enough of that.”

“Okay. Whatever you say.”

“Haha, well, I’ll let you love birds back to your trip to the council.”

“Thank you. Love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too, Snowflake.” Klein hangs up the phone.

“Now, um, Charles, may we have some privacy?”

“Of course.” Charles then rolls up the partition between him and the couple.

“Now, for your maintenance, Penny.”

“Oh, uh, um” Penny looks side to side, blushing a little. “That can wait until we get home.”

Weiss wagged her finger. “Oh no. I’ve done maintenance on 4 massive Dust Cores today. I'm not waiting to do maintenance on the most important one to me.”

“... Very well, Weiss.” Penny turns her back to Weiss. She then lifts up her shirt to allow Weiss access to her back. A quiet internal command has her back opening in a series of retracting panels, until it shows Penny's Dust Core inside. About 6 inches tall, 3 inches wide, and glowing a bright green.

“Tch, tch, tch. Penny. You have a crack right here. You should have come to me sooner. It's because you pushed yourself to finish Ember Celica, isn't it?”

“...Maybe. I knew you'd say that. No need to bother you with something unnecessary like this.”

“*sigh* My sweet firefly, you and your sisters need to bother me more with this stuff.” Weiss begins to mend Penny's Dust Core with both hands on the glyph. Once she's done, she decides to tease Penny a little.

Mirror, Mirror, A heart can turn to stone. But it's by no means a cold stone. It's a very warm, loving stone heart.

Weiss leans down and kisses Penny's Dust Core, a harmless static shock passing through her lips.

Penny gasps at the contact. “Weiss, you crook. You can't just kiss my heart like that.” Penny says, turning back towards Weiss, blushing.

Weiss giggles and Penny joins in, the two laughing together.

Closing her back and tucking her shirt back in, Penny sits back into the seat, letting Weiss lean back into her.

“Go ahead and nap. I’ll wake you up when we're there.”

“Ok. *Yawns* Love you, Penny.”

“Love you too, Weiss.”

“Aw, you two are a sweet couple. Makes a man diabetic from witnessing it.” Charles says from behind his partition.

Weiss, embarrassed, covers her face with Penny's arm. Penny giggles as they head towards the Council tower in Vale.

[captainmartinisblog]

Captain & Cruise Dictator - Far Side of the World

Wednesday 15th February 2023 - London Heathrow and Home!

Our 4-hr layover at Abu Dhabi Airport soon passed in Etihad’s huge Business Lounge. There was the opportunity of a shower and a change of clothes, as well as more food and drink options!

Our aircraft for this last leg homeward was a Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’, though I can’t say I did much dreaming on it! The Business-class seating was yet again slightly different and if I’m honest, I didn’t like it that much; I was fortunate to have a window seat and at first glance, it seemed to give more ‘elbow room’ but I found the arrangement so open that it provided very little privacy at all.

The service was of course impeccable, the Pink Champagne a feature of the Etihad experience and the food menu pretty good. With a take-off at 8.30am local time, it suggested ‘brunch’ but my body was telling me it was already late afternoon Sydney-time, so I chose the sweet potato, lamb merquez and goats cheese tart, which proved delicious.

However, given the option, many passengers chose to have their meal served much later in the flight, which meant that passengers like me who had eaten earlier and were trying to have a sleep, were disturbed by the clattering of plates, cutlery and the general hubbub of locker-latches being slammed shut. At one point, a stewardess even dropped an entire tray! So, if I slept at all, I awoke tetchy!

We made our approach to London over Docklands, with the Thames winding its way through the city. The time locally was approaching 1pm on Wednesday, whereas my tetchy body-clock was telling me it was already nearly midnight in Sydney and we had been on the go for 27 hours. Still, at least all our luggage had followed us safely and there were no further issues in our final journey home.

The next cruise is in less than 4 weeks’ time around Japan!

However, if you’re too impatient to wait for my Blog of the next cruise and would like to read about any of my other trips, here’s a link to an Index of Cruises & Holidays

[chaikachi]

in Perrault's version of Little Red Riding Hood, she takes a detour down the scenic path and frolics in the forest full of trees and flowers and other pretty things. Losing track of time and otherwise enjoying herself.

If I say Oscar Pine (🌲) does have an allusion in Ruby's og fairytale, not as the dark scary woods, but the part of the forest she calls home, am I onto something or have I completely lost it? 🥰

[ereana]

Alhaitham/Cyno - as a distraction

“It seems not even the indomitable General Mahamatra is immune to the effects of overworking.” Alhaitham drawls as he falls into step beside Cyno in an otherwise empty corridor. He should be heading home as his contracted work hours are done for the day, but he’d spotted Cyno walking in the other direction and his feet had moved before he could stop them.

Cyno glances at him sourly, clutching the stack of files closer to his side.

“The exit is in the other direction Acting Grand Sage, unless your planning on taking a scenic route through the records room.” Cyno’s voice drips with sarcasm making Alhaitham’s lips twitch with the threat of a smile.

Perhaps he would have allowed it if he hadn’t been so focused on the dark bags under ruby red eyes which makes his temper spark with frustrated concern.

“Cyno you’re exhausted.” Alhaitham says plainly forgoing their verbal sparring match to strike at the heart of the matter. “As busy as the Matra are you cannot expect me to believe that there is no-one who is available to help you with your workload.”

Cyno snorts, shooting him a look that would be considered intimidating by most people. Alhaitham is not most people and the idea of him believing Cyno to be truly frightening is laughable at best. His opinion on the other man veers sharply in the opposite direction.

“And here I thought you delighted in disparaging my officers. Aarav will be pleased to know you actually consider him capable at his job considering your words towards him during the Siraj debacle.”

Alhaitham clenches his hand to stop himself reaching out to trace the curve of Cyno’s smirk with his fingers.

“I stand by my argument that there is a significant difference in quality between you and the other matra. There is a reason you hold the position you do now. A position which has the benefit of letting you delegate so that you aren’t running around on errands after the day has ended.”

The sound of their matching footsteps echo down the quiet of the hall.

Alhaitham plays his trump card.

“If you insist on taking cases home with you, which I very much suspect you are, then I insist in my position as your friend to tell other concerned parties about your determination to drive yourself into a sick bed.”

Cyno freezes and Alhaitham’s stop beside him. He’s prepared for the scorching glare that turns to meet him as they face each other, but he will not be dissuaded. 

“I’m sure Tighnari would be most interested to learn about it.” Alhaitham says blithely. “I wonder what Lord Kusanali would say if you weren’t able to carry out your duties effectively due to your exhaustion.”

Alhaitham takes it as a sign of their improved relationship that Cyno doesn’t immediately stab him with an electro-covered claw. Though the way his fingers flex around the files is admittedly a little concerning.

“Resorting to blackmail now?”

“If it gets me what I want then yes.” Alhaitham admits easily enough. He scans Cyno’s face for any hint as to his feelings on the matter. All he finds is resignation badly hidden behind a flickering spark of irritation and a dash of wonder at Alhaitham’s concern.

Cyno closes his eyes and lets out a deep sigh. The kind that shakes one’s bones as it rises from deep within the lungs. 

“There are nights…when it’s easier to work than it is to rest.” Cyno confesses quietly. The magnitude of his words is not lost on Alhaitham, the weight of trust in them presses down on his shoulders as shards of worry implications fall into his hands.

He will hold them tightly even if they cut his skin to ribbons with their sharpness. 

They are still a gift from Cyno after all.

“You need a distraction then?” He surmises, briefly losing himself in the images his mind conjures up of Cyno working long hours in the dark of night, alone. 

Cyno nods, averting his eyes. As though ashamed of his confession and the vulnerability at the root of it.

Perhaps it is time for Alhaitham to move things forward a little earlier than planned. 

 “I may have a suggestion if you’re amenable to the idea.” Despite the calmness of his tone his heart races in his chest with all the panic of a beast caught in a hunter’s trap.

Cyno meets his gaze once more, curiosity dances with his eyes. How easy do people forget that Cyno is as much a scholar as any academic who roams these halls and is not immune from the siren call of the unknown,

“What is this idea of yours?” Cyno says, leaning forward in anticipation.

Alhaitham moves carefully, slow enough that Cyno can pull away if he wants to.

Hands cradle a scarred neck.

A thumb strokes a steadily blushing cheek.

Alhaitham lowers his head and Cyno meets him halfway.

It’s not the first kiss he had planned but Alhaitham is a firm believer in seizing an opportunity when it presents itself.

There’s a vast difference between reading a theory and putting it into practical application.

But given the sound of case files hitting the floor Alhaitham can allow himself to believe that he’s doing a reasonable job.

At least he would if he could think about anything beyond the soft feel of Cyno’s mouth against his and the nip of teeth that send his thoughts scattering amidst a rush of heat.

[riftclaw]

another little piece of V and @wereh0gz‘s Ruby now that the most recent @sonic-oc-showdown poll is over. i meant to have this done within a couple hours of the poll’s ending but i got a little overambitious with the idea, oops

i think Ruby’s a fantastic character, and they’re very fun to draw, so i wanted to do something a little more dynamic/scenic w them. it’s so cool seeing another buff character in the sonic fandom at all, especially one that’s also nb and with such an intriguing backstory.

[sleazyjanet]

CONTACT via dms or per email : agachorabik@gmail.com

you may also support me on my ko-fi

payment strictly via PAYPAL

[ID: "NEW YEAR NEW COMMISSIONS" in black and red ink

a girl, sansa stark, being licked by her direwolf, lady. there are no colours. it's just a sketch. under her, the words read:

COLOURLESS SKETCH

• portrait : €15

• bust : €20 (example)

• full body: €26

+ €5 per additional character

next to her two people: a tan, brown-haired man, davos seaworth and a small, black-haired girl with greyscale on the left side of her face, shireen baratheon. under them, the words:

COLOURED SKETCH

• portrait : €22

• bust : €25 (example valid for one character)

• full body : €32

+ €8 per additional character

NO BACKGROUND available for these two options.

then another picture, same words pictured above and then a drawing of a large family, most of the starklings and their mother, catelyn. all except one girl have auburn hair, round faces and pale skin like their mother. arya has a long face, brown hair and darker skin than the rest. all are wearing rich clothes of fine fabric and with details upon them. under them the words:

CLEAN LINES BUT NO LIGHTING

• portrait : €28

• bust : €35

• full body : €40 (example valid for one character)

+ €10 per additional character

another drawing next to them of the starklings minus rickon. they are illuminated by a sharp light behind them. they're wearing fine fabric. two of them are laughing, jon and robb, while sansa looks annoyed and bran and arya are play-fighting with arya sitting on robb's lap while bran is climbing jon's back. under them the words:

CLEAN LINES + SCENIC LIGHTING

• portrait : €32

• bust : €39

• full body : €48 (example valid for one character)

+ €12 per additional character

+ €7 for background, should it be required

next picture, same words above and then a drawing of cersei lannister, pale and fair with green eyes and a crown with emeralds in it, wearing a spiked choker from which red ruby tears fall. her hand is at her chest, showing off rings. her smile is calculated. under her, the words:

LINELESS BUT NO LIGHTING

• portrait : €38

• bust : €44 (example)

• full body : €55

+ € 12 per additional character

next to her another drawing, this one of a man, beric dondarrion whose one side of the head has been caved in. he's missing an eye and has a large rope burn on his throat. he's holding a flaming sword, the light of which illuminates his face while the rest is in the shadows. under him the words read as follows:

LINELESS + SCENIC LIGHTING

• portrait : €45

• bust : €50 (example)

• full body : €65

+ €15 per additional character

+ €10 for background

END ID]

[artisticlegshake]

MINI FEMALE BEST DANCER TOP 25:

Cydnee Abbott - CDC

Keringtyn Spencer - DWDE

Rylie Borden - DANCE UNLIMITED

Emma Bassel - NEW LEVEL

Isabella Zhong - VLAD’S

Ellary Day Szyndlar - CLUB

Ruby Baneck - ARTISTIC EDGE

Amaya Rodriguez - DANCE UNLIMITED

Anita Rodriguez - STARS

Camila Carmona - MIAMI DANCE COMPANY

Ella Venerio - DANCE UNLIMITED

Mila Simunic  - LEGACY

Amelia Burres - 3′ N MOTION

Camila Giraldo - STARS

Belle Marie Arauz - DANCE TOWN

Avery Altobelli - EPIC DANCE

Lily Hackney - NEW LEVEL

Dakota Casteel - SPOTLITE

Sylvie Win Szyndlar - CLUB

Olivia McLaughlin - CDC

Kaylin Jacobs - YOUR HAVEN

Ashley Otano - STARS

Ansley Matchack - SCENIC

Sienna Depietro - THE NINE

Elizabeth Pugach - EDX

*Top 13 in bold!