#sorry op for putting my miss penny on here but

[manicdragondreamgirl]

As a person with a miss penny, can confirm….

i love asking my cat 'what's up?' or 'what is it?' or 'what do you want?' and getting that fancy feast stare back at me. girl has no idea what she wants or what is going on she's just experiencing it

[just-pineapple-responses]

Just curious, how many shower thought (response) blogs are there? I just dived into this side of tumblr (not gonna make any posts its fun to read though) and I'm already losing my mind

Well there is

The. Literal. Sun.

Plasma...

S p a c e

ALL HAIL THE LIGHT

The void. It shall consume ALL.

A typewriter incase anyone wants to write their will before they die

Also some ink, not related to the typewriter

Also some words, I wonder who'll use them

A hat with no maker and a maker with no hat

The pen is mightier than the sword. It just so happens that this one is evil. Luckily I can summon multiple

Anyone order some coffee?

Ooo, an author

The literal embodiment if of fanart

A fork, nom noms

B҉ r҉ o҉ k҉ e҉ n҉ 

Soap

Soap(for hair)

Toothpaste

🄵🄰🅄🄲🄴🅃

Towel

Bath mat

Washcloth

Bathtub

Bathwater

𝔹𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕓𝕠𝕞𝕓

Bubblebath!

One (1) bath boi

Some M͓̽o͓̽l͓̽d͓̽ (anybody got some strong disinfectant?)

Nvm, the mold has already caused a plague (gettit?) (although user misspelled it)

Nevermind, there's already a parasite here

Mirror

Door!!!

Some curtains

A denim jacket

Blackout

Rainbow

✨ Magic ✨

*Tree poses to assert dominance*

Coconut

(obviously me)

I think popeye dropped a tin of spinch and it became sentient?

Tost

Hummus. dip tost?

Criss Cross applesauce

Wibbly wobbly Wibbly wobbly jellyo

Mmmm océan s o u p

Some poison, a great addition for my soup

Smol bean

Potat

Shower magpie who I haven't seen in a while

Bird (brain)

Frog(×2:Electric Boogaloo)

An axolotl!

Ferret

*looks at smudged writing on hand. Squints. * a raccoon

Stinky bastard man (I just had to put the two next to each other)

Rat.

Becometh crab 🦀 (x2: Electric Boogaloo)

Nya~

Edgy Nya~

Tripod of dog

Brain

Nina i found one of your neurons (if you understand this reference, good job you)

A rotted brain, keep it away before it infects us all, I only have 2 braincells left

Did... Did someone drop their spinal cord?

The almighty binch

The titanic

Narrator

Water based introspection

Existential crisis

Dumbass

Also a pacifier (get it because they're also called dummies and their name is dummy)

A foolish thought to say a sorry sight join the shower community (as you can tell we did Shakespeare in English so many times i pretty much can recite everything lady macbeth said)

ADHD

Ominous

Anonymous

Anxious 🥺👉👈

Some edgy bastard

A person of culture I see (although obsessed with tweed for some reason)

1 Dapper boi

Sarcastic

nice

All smiles and sunshine

HAPPY! (why isn't there yellow 😔)

Affection (Derogatory) (I'm sorry I just felt like it)

~Petty~

Idiot

Disaster

Chaos and Order

Comebacks

'vanishing'

Defences

Threatened

Op is on drugs

All the F s

And F-general

Get out of the shower

Shower responses

Dry

The horny and the simp

Shower sins

Thower shoughts

I take quick showers

Shower thots

Last responder *countdown music*

You have shower thoughts?

Your shower thoughts are stupid

Wtf shower thoughts

Another shower responder

MORE

Just shower responses... responses

Response shower

NO SHOWER! only thought (×3)

Mmm, showery

Penny for your thoughts?

Hello darkness my old friend...

Llawyer

Beepbeep

Prussia

Haywire!!!

furry OwO

A Pigeon got in through the door, who left it open?

I'm feeling devious

You're looking glamorous, let's get mischievous, and polyamorous

Gay is stored in the ass

Gay

Trans

*opens door and walks through with you exaggeratedly* Fellas we got the whole LGBTQIA+ community right here

Enby

Hahaha gender go brrr

Lesbian

Lesbian-thot

Lust

Someone who thinks it funny to clown around

Joker (derogatory)

Haha straight

Dead inside

Some supervillain idk

News. Literally a shower news style responses

r

I cannot believe that I forgot Her Greatest Majesty, the Queen. All Hail Royal

Isaac newton?

M megamind?

Fiftieth

Crackhead

Some Phoenix Wright kinnie

What is a Dean Winchester and why does he have a tentacle fetish?

Well well well, if it ain't a homestuckian

Did someone kill/rob The Doctor or something, their TARDIS was left behind and its blocking my pretzels that I left in the shower

Mined crafts uwu

Well well well, if it ain't- *accidentally makes eye contact and is then killed by some unknown shadowy creature holding what seems to be some sort of cube of dirt*

GOTTA GO FAST

Mishamishamishamishamishamishamisha

Gen Z and ready to throw hands with OP

Not puki

Nom noms

Dip dap

Kensa

B͓̽u͓̽n͓̽g͓̽e͓̽r͓̽ ..........

Someone broke their space bar or something

It's time to d-d-d-d-d-dshower

The magical deity of sleepovers

DON'T FALL ASLEEP. NO MATTER WHAT THEY TELL YOU-

The muffin man genuinely left drury Lane for this

Txmblr

Moonlit nights on a winters day, stars glimmering gently

A child?

🟥

The fae. Just all of them. Every single one.

Crocus? (What on earth does that mean)

*sings* baba blacksheep have you any wool? Because if not you will be killed (this fits the tune perfectly. If not I have failed in everything)

The theatre itself is here... Somehow

Ahoy-hoy

boo

REEEE- *epic geometry dash gameplay to DanTDM's old intro music*

Yardale, not to be mistaken for riverdale and differs to lawn ale or front porch ale or even meter ale

I'll finish this list later

It's gonna be a long one folks

I'm including a ones that haven't spoken since ages ago because

Boy howdy there's new ones tell me who I'm missing now

Please stop thank you very much this is too many i keep having to add to this any new responder must kill a responder to continue the purge shall claim y'all as I will win i recently started watching Danganronpa

Seriously though everyone after mirror must have a battle royale it's too much i doubt all of you will even last longer than today also happy birthday me -dated:28th- do you even realise what sort of commitment you've made to sell pieces of your soul for entertainment and ability to make such epic retorts each and every post?! I sacrifice many souls DAILY to be throwing such bangers into this stuff y'know?

We have a tap guys we can finally wash our hands of all the blood of our enemies

Seriously though who left the door open I don't want a Pigeon pecking at me (the mishapocalypse got them lol)

So many responders so little time before the end of the world

If I'm missing someone please tell me very thank

There are not enough colours for me to assign a different one to each person 😔 also, wtf is on there twice on purpose

WorldHealthOrganisation IS MISSING (note: you may have a joke in place of name or under a category of names)

So there's lore without me?

ALL HAIL THE LIGHT *moth noises*

Okay now there's alternate timeline versions of responders for the benefit of myself they ain't going on the list bud

There is an incorrect role play blog quotes blog and I am crying. Not of laughter. Just wiuwhdhsjhshjxjabjsjdhdjsj

If any new people join I will go back to causing shower wars for the sake of killing you all I'm done I have snapped my laptop is updating 3 times in a row

I will commit crimes.

Does being a shower responder or role-playing seem encouraging to people to join this "community"? Because I'm pretty sure it's the latter

[rachetmath]

Why I love team JNPR

You know the usual. This is in my opinion. If you like it, reblog it or both that’s your choice. If you have questions, or want to add on to this then comment.  Read at your own time and will.

Ren and Nora compared to Yang: Yang had a mother. May not be by blood related but by relationship. Her mother died while she was young, but she still had her father and uncle to raise her. She had a social life in school, and she was trained by her father and uncle. Ren and Nora on the other hand, have no parents, only watched after each other and were trained by a bunch of strangers or by themselves. So unlike Yang, Ren and Nora would have a hard time relating to some people than Yang would.

Pyrrha compared to Weiss: Weiss was born and raised in a rich family. True, she was always cautious when it comes down to others using her for their own gain. But she takes her title way too seriously and it made her arrogant and cocky. Pyrrha doesn’t take her title too seriously, but she was overwhelmed by it. She hated how everyone only saw her as a tool or a weapon they can use for battle, and not as a person. She tries to welcome anyone into her life, but they always reject her, mainly feeling unworthy of her. Because of this Pyrrha felt truly more alone than Weiss. Unlike her, Pyrrha made her way to the top, she wasn’t born into it nor took the easy way to get there.

Jaune in comparison to Ruby and Blake: Jaune had nobody! Jaune had no uncle, no best friend, no teacher(sensei), NO SUPPORT to help him become a hunter. Jaune literally unlike Ruby is way out of his comfort zone. And unlike everyone he had no aura or training to help him. Jaune unlike Blake was treated, like a faunus, as a huge literal joke. This guy has literally had more reasons to be a villian than any of his teammates do. Plus, he has more things in common with the bad guys than he does with the heroes. He lost his partner and best friend due to the heroes, and Ozpin’s actions.

I liked team RWBY in volume 1-3, mostly because it made sense and was reviling each character’s problems and goals and was setting up the conflict of the story. But in volume three I started liking team JNPR more, because how they are not like the other teams. Everyone knows Pyrrha Nikkos, and believes without her, team JNPR is nothing more than failures. And you can’t blame them considering Jaune only became a leader because he was assigned to be one, and Ren and Nora were a bit too relaxed and into to each other to be leaders at all. And now with Pyrrha gone, they must prove that even without her, they can still be a great team. While defying the so-called “destiny” Cinder described as well.

In volume 4, we see Jaune does miss Pyrrha, and that he trains at night to her video message. He does feel sad that he lost her and that he couldn’t even express his feelings towards her as she did to him. And when he realized the truth, of course he was suspicious, his friend would have died either way by Amburn’s soul taking over or being a target for the rest of her life. Ren and Nora not only had to be there for each other still but now they had to be there for Jaune like Pyrrha did. (Even though they were completely horrible at it considering their flashback and action in volume four.)

In volume 5, (oh my gosh, this one is the reason I hate the show sometimes because of time constants) we learned the whole reason behind Jaune’s actions, which is revenge on Cinder. Team JNR were first to see Oscar before Ruby. Oscar was place under Jaune’s care do to the fact he was also a underdog (even though Oscar can just learn from muscle memory like Ozpin said) but Ruby takes that role for some reason and we are expected to take it. When the battle arrived, when Jaune had Cinder right in front of him, he did not hesitate to fight her. This backfired and one of his friends got hurt. He acknowledged that he missed up, that it was not suppose happen, and by doing so, he got his semblance. (Even when that makes no sense considering Cinder was after Ruby and Jaune’s secondary reason for coming along was keeping Ruby safe. At least I hope it was.)

In volume 6, could’ve better, Jaune made Oscar question himself even further, which is good. Because, one, Oscar is fourteen, and unlike Ruby he doesn’t have much of a clear idea on why he came along on the journey in first place other than Ozpin telling him to. When Jaune heard Oscar ran away, unlike Qrow, who punched him by the way, and don’t say it was for Ozpin because they share the same body, Qrow still hit a child, Jaune helped in the search and apologized to Oscar for his behavior. He gave Ruby an option when she couldn’t think of anything then she takes charge over it. Also, Ren and Nora admitted that they love Jaune and would not want to lose him just like Pyrrha. (Again, they were completely bad at that, considering they didn’t talk about that on the train, nor called Jaune out on his actions, completely ignoring him and etc. Really Jaune needs new friends.)

In volume 7, here’s the thing, Jaune had no reason to hate the General because he already worked things out with Qrow. How and when? We don’t know. But that shouldn’t mean he should flat out trust James with his life unlike Clover. Why you may ask, first, Qrow told him about the maiden powers. I mean, he wouldn’t leave out the people who knew about them like Ozpin, Good-witch and Ironwood, right? No. So Jaune has a reason not to trust James, not because of Pyrrha but Lionheart, the general’s actions so far and how the truth almost torn them apart mainly himself. Plus Jaune, and his team work more in Mantle, than RWBY, so they would have more run-in times with happy huntresses than team RWBY would on a regular basis. Then it’s how Mantle and Atlas situation is affecting their team with Ren and Nora butting heads over who’s right and who’s wrong, whether their ready to be hunters or not, and more importantly questioning their relationship and loyalty to not only each other but their friends. Image Ren, taking it too far where he could say something he’ll regret. Or by finding James to be right, he would sell out his friends believing it was the right thing to do. Image Nora having to choose between Ren or Jaune, which will be devasting more for Ren than Jaune because of how close they are to each other.

In volume 8, (Even though I highly doubt that team JNR will ever have a scene to themselves and now preview.) Jaune will feel bad because he not only lost the relic, he lost Oscar even though he’s alive. Now, how would this disturb him? Well, even though Nora would have to decide between him and Ren, in volume 4, there was a scene with Jaune going with Ruby and Nora going with Ren. It would feel obvious that she would follow Ren anywhere, even if it means leaving her friends behind. That could leave Jaune broken because he lost not only Pyrrha and Oscar but his teammates, making him the official Qrow and Raven of the group. This could cause Jaune to further out cast himself from everyone, trusting less in others and undoubtably make more horrible decisions than he already has before. That could also make him more of a target for the villains themselves. However, Jaune’s will to still protect the people and his friends will be the what keeps him sane and less brainwashed like Salem’s forces or the Ace Ops. (Or call team RWBY out on their mistakes.) But who can save him from a self-destructive path?

Many of you will say team RWBY might be able to help since their the main crew. Well, sadly, I disagree. Do to the fact that none of them tried to talk to Jaune after the Cinder and Ozpin incident. And there are multiple characters who have gone through a similar process or are wiser, than the main cast. The only ones who I feel can make an impact on him are maybe Maria and Penny. Penny may be android, but she seems more human than the RWBY girls put together. She is kind, friendly and mostly very supportive towards her allies. Maria may not have had many friends or levels of companionship as others, but she does know about how it feels to be powerless and scared of what’s to come. Maria would basically remind Jaune that being afraid and sorry for himself isn’t going to make things better. Penny would try to keep his sanity alive until he could once again maintain it on his own. However, the final person who I believe can help him is Qrow or even Oscar (Ozpin). Qrow would just remind Jaune on how far he has come, and for him to understand that nothing will play out as he planned. He would even tell him more about his team, mainly Raven and himself and how their decisions affected their family. Same goes for Oscar (Ozpin) but telling him how many mistakes he has made during his lifetime. He might even tell Jaune he knew about his fake transcripts, just didn’t care much about it if Jaune was willing to work and improve.

I know many people love team RWBY due to them being an all-female cast or for other reasons I cannot explain. But sometimes, there are situations that they cannot relate to. And even if there was, team RWBY does nothing to resolve it. For example, Jaune was sad about Pyrrha and trains under her videos. He wanted revenge on Cinder and Weiss almost died for it. And though he was asking appropriate questions, he went about it the wrong way, causing Oscar to feel unwanted and run away. Yet, none of his friends, bothered to either call him out on it, nor done anything to cheer him up or reason with him. Ruby who literally saw Jaune committing every one of those transaction, and has a dead relative, said nothing. Yang who lost both her moms, whose uncle was a constant drunk and had to take care of Ruby while her worthless dad is busy, said nothing. Weiss who has a somewhat of a dysfunctional family, said nothing.  Blake who is supposed to be an escape victim of a one-sided relationship, who seen how friends change or show their true colors with time, and literally seen more death than her team members and blames it on herself, said, nothing. Basically, Jaune overcame some of his problems on his own along with the help of the Red-Haired Women (and she barely mattered). And even though Ren and Nora talked to him, he already had reinsurances he needed to move forward. The point I’m trying to make is the reason I like team JNPR is that they are more real than team RWBY. They have weakness, they have arguments, nothing goes their way and when something bad happens they face the consequences.

That is why I love JNPR better than RWBY. Jaune, he was just a normal person until he made a chose to leave his old life behind for something greater, only to have his character taken by Ruby and Oscar, who just ruins it, and to never improve. And we still know nothing about him. Pyrrha who should just stayed alive because no one has learned from her death. Ren and Nora are just to be a better ship than Bumblebee. I hope these characters get better, but I highly doubt it.

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness Chapter 84

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I watched my hand tremor.

It could have been caused by so many things. The meds, Mother's influence on me, or something else entirely.

My hand still shook.

I clenched it into a fist. I wanted to draw my weapon but there was nothing to slay. I was sick. And what was the best I could hope for in terms of recovery? Nothing in the longest term. Maybe even nothing on the shortest term view, either.

Ruby and Weiss were all I had to keep me going. And they did after I ran into my sisters. That had been hard. It had been difficult to see them. It had jarred me more than a little to see Lavender, Violet, and Saphron. I could only imagine what seeing the others would do to me. And I was doomed to run into them eventually.

I could feel them on the surface of my mind. Crawling around on the surface of my skin.

"Launch is in two months," Ironwood debriefed. "And I have more to share with you. However…" he leveled a look at me. He wasn't sure if he could share it with me. Everyone else, sure. But me, the possible traitor, it was harder to tell.

"We can trust him, James. He brought the relic to us after all," Oscar tapped his cane against the ground in an Ozpin like fashion. "And he killed Tyrian. Who knows what damage he could have caused in the city if Cloud hadn't stopped him."

"Very well. It concerns the winter maiden. She passed. Winter Schnee is now the winter maiden."

"Is she well…?" Weiss trailed off. Concerned for her sister. I watched Ruby give her hand a comforting squeeze from my position closest to the door.

"She's recuperating," Ironwood informed her. "The process of transferring the power is not entirely easy on a person. Fria is gone, however."

The winter maiden is dead. Long live the winter maiden.

"Should be easier to hide this way. The bunker was a bit conspicuous," I muttered, arms crossed by the elevator. "I was able to find out what was in it. There's no reason Cinder wouldn't have been able to learn about it too."

"I should hope that trade military secrets are harder to come by than that and that you are the exception rather than the rule," Ironwood returned.

"Then be disappointed and surprised. Cinder was able to find the fall and spring maidens. Then she killed them. She's dangerous and resourceful," I shot back. "Why wouldn't she be able to find winter?"

"We'll be doing everything we can to keep Winter safe while she learns how to use her powers. In the meantime we will be relying on you and Ace Ops to hold off Cinder when she comes. Or to take her down," Ironwood calmly stated.

"She's in town according to my criminal contacts." Qrow gave me a look at that.

"You built up a network? Earned some favors?" He asked.

"Pretty much."

"How good is it?"

"It's decent but it's got holes in it. My sisters were able to dodge detection and attack us. Three of them. The same three that attacked you all in Argus."

Qrow nodded but he eyed me warily enough. Which was fair I suppose. I deserved to be watched. I needed to be watched. Who knows what might come roaring through the cracks in my psyche. At least Qrow was watching me. He was onto me. That was good news. I trusted him to do his duty when it came to me where some people like Ruby or Weiss might falter. He'd kill me if he had to. Or try to, at least. I wasn't sure where we would come up these days in a fight.

I might still have an edge on him. But he still had decades more experience than I did. I had more combat time relative to my time alive than anybody else on the planet except maybe Penny and I was pretty sure I had her beat in that department.

"What about Robyn winning the election?" Yang asked. "Are you going to tell her about the tower?"

"She knows," I said. "She found out from the same source I did. I was there."

"I need to jam these leaks…" Ironwood muttered. "Though that explains why she's been leaving the supply trucks alone and hasn't brought up changing their course anymore. How long did she find out ago?"

"Maybe a week before my voluntary incarceration. So like three or four weeks ago."

"I've got a meeting with her about keeping my council seat. I could use every edge I could get. Do you know anything else, Mr. Strife?"

"Not really. She's got a lie detection semblance."

Yang let out a low whistle. "That's handy."

"The range is short but it works. I saw it in action."

"I already knew that. Do you have anything else for me?" Ironwood asked.

"One of the members of the Happy Huntresses has the ability to make an invisibility field. That's about it for me, though."

Ironwood blinked. "I didn't know about that."

"I can do some more digging around. All my contacts owe me a big helping of favors."

"Do it," Ironwood ordered. "I want to know all of the Happy Huntresses' semblances."

"I can go with," Qrow grunted.

"If you insist," I returned. "I'll probably mostly just be making calls on my scroll. Not even sure if I'm headed into town but if I am I'll shoot you a message."

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I made my calls once the meeting was adjourned down in my room. I'd just come back and meet with Ironwood before the meeting he had with Robyn Hill.

"Bisque here."

"Hey Bisque. It's Cloud. I need to know about the Happy Huntresses' semblances."

"Calling in some of your favors, I see."

"Don't even start. You owe me a blank check after I pulled your asses out of that fire."

"Well you already know about May's semblance. The invisibility field. But Fiona Thyme's got this wicked matter absorption semblance. It's touch based but she can just snatch up a whole plane if she needs to. Figuratively putting it in her pocket."

"Is that all of them?" I asked.

"Not quite. They have another member. Joanna Greenleaf. Her semblance is more combat oriented. It's super strength."

I typed a note of all that in my scroll so I wouldn't forget it.

"I'll give you a call if I need anything else."

"You're all business, Cloud. You could stand to relax," Bisque voice came through the little speaker a touch teasing.

"I relax all the time. Just not with you. Nothing personal."

"Who do you relax with?" He wondered. He sounded actually curious. Too bad. I wasn't about to tell him it was my two girlfriends.

"None of your business. Is that all you can give me on the Happy Huntresses?" I asked. Ironwood would want to know more if I could get it.

"Pretty much. Maybe there are a few details I'm forgetting but that's about it," he answered. "That's the important stuff. Their semblances. They all use crossbows. Including Hill herself. The others use these staves."

"Tell me about the weapons."

"They're crossbow staves. I don't know." I could imagine him shrugging. He really was clueless. He needed to be taking in these kinds of details. It could save his life against hunters.

"What kind of bolts do they fire?" I pressed him further. "Are they magnetic accelerated rounds? Do they use dust bolts?"

"They're not magnetic or anything like that but the bolts can probably be modified with dust, yeah." He said. "A lot of weapons are like that. Easy to modify with dust. My new gun is like that too."

"How big are the bolts?" I demanded.

"Coin sized. Maybe, one tenth piece. Then they're a few inches long. Four or five. Hill's weapon has these blades on it too. It's like some kind of fan or accordian. It's got blades to either side of it. But it's a crossbow as well," he answered.

"Thanks. Keep an eye out for the people on my list and contact me as soon as you hear anything. It's important," I returned. "People could die."

"I'll let you know if I run into anything on them. Taurus hasn't been by again. He must be laying low. Not everyone has an illusionist like you do. Some of us lowly people have to play hide and seek with the law."

"Boo hoo," I deadpanned. "I feel so sorry for your terrorist asses. Just let me know about the list. These people are bad news on a good day. They don't care about faunus rights. They actively want good people to die."

"Alright, alright. We'll keep an ear to the ground. See you around, Cloud," he began to wrap up the conversation.

"Laters," I hung up on him.

I shot Ironwood a message. He fired one back almost instantly with his implant. He didn't have a scroll. He had a thing in his head. The orders were to kick back until he got some free time. He was a busy guy, after all. I practically just left one meeting with him. I just hoped it wouldn't be too late before his meeting with the leader of the Happy Huntresses. My information could give him an edge.

"Hey kid. We headed into town?" Qrow asked me.

"Doesn't look like it. I got what I needed. Just off the one phone call."

"We haven't had the chance to talk," Qrow said.

"Sorry. I guess we both were busy. Don't tell me you missed me."

"Don't give me that snark. I'm not sure I like you around my nieces. Knowing what we know now. You turned on us. Even if it wasn't on purpose. I'm not sure I like the idea of you and Ruby alone."

"Ruby keeps me sane," I defended. "I need that in my life. I'd lose it without her. I'm pretty sure she likes being alone around me, too."

"Kids don't always know what's good for them. That's when an adult like me has got to step in."

"I can't help but notice you're talking to me alone about this rather than with her. What? Do you know she wouldn't take it well?"

"Come on kid. You can't tell me you think you're good for her. Do the right thing."

"What the fuck is the right thing?" I wondered. As though this asshole knew what the fuck the right thing was.

"Staying away from the people you could hurt. I did it cuz' of my semblance when I was younger. Hell, I did it my whole life. It was the right thing to do," he lectured gruffly.

"So I should leave again? That would break her heart," I argued back.

"In the short term. But she would be alive. Or doesn't that matter to you?" He asked rhetorically.

"It means the world to me," I countered. And it did.

"Then do the right thing. Stay away from her. Even though it hurts you. Even though it might drive you mad. I've been there. It sucks but it's what things like you and I have to do." He didn't call us people. We didn't deserve to be called such.

"I can't. I just got her back."

"Damn it, boy! It's what you should do! She'd move on eventually. Even if you never do," he was shouting at me in my room now.

"Uncle Qrow?" There was a small but firm voice from behind him. It was Ruby. Her eyes were fierce. "Leave him alone."

Qrow sighed. He shook his head but he left. He knew he couldn't beat her. It was what she wanted.

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"Cloud?"

"Ruby," I answered.

"Do you think you'll have kids?" She asked. She laid on my chest in my Atlas Academy bunk. She was so small. She fit comfortably on top of me and I traced small circles on her back with my fingers as we lay together.

"Probably not. I hate my father for consigning me to this." I waved my free hand down at my body. "It would be immoral for me to have children. To do the same thing to somebody else. It would be selfish," I responded.

"What if Salem was gone?" She pressed on. Her palm flat against my chest. I needed her to understand but I didn't want to break her big ol' Ruby heart.

"Well… maybe. That's a big if, though. I've never really thought about it. Where's this coming from?"

"I've always wanted a big family," she returned. "And I want you."

"Gotcha…" I was quiet for a long time but it seemed like she was content to wait for me to speak again, her big silver eyes looking up at me. Something large in them… so I thought about it. Mostly aloud but I gave it some thought. "I don't know what to tell you, Ruby. What if I'm just passing along the worst parts of my life? The mind control? I can't do that to somebody. I wouldn't wish that on my enemies. Let alone my own children."

"What if you're not? It would be a new life. It would be something wonderful." She put her chin on my chest and looked up at me while I held her in my arms. I paused in tracing shapes on her.

"Another big if. At least to me," I confirmed.

"Do you want kids, though. Do you want them? You've just been bringing up reasons you shouldn't have them."

"I really don't know. I hate my own parents. Like I really hate them for doing this to me." I gestured at my body like it meant something. "It's hard to imagine my own children not hating me. I don't want that, couldn't live with myself that way."

"We might never know unless we try."

"Could you do that to someone that you love? Could you do that to your children? Experiment with their life like that?"

"It was always going to be an experiment. That's what having children is."

"That's fucked," I said. "A baby would have no defense against Salem. We'd be raising Saphron or any of my sisters again."

"What if you already destroyed her body so much that she wasn't capable of that. What if you got the ideal scenario."

"We don't even know if that will work…“

"So, ‘no.’ You don't want kids."

"I don't want to shut you down. Not if it's something you always wanted. You could always find somebody else. Especially after I'm dead."

She hit my chest with her tiny fist. "I don't want somebody else. I need you."

"I don't know what to tell you. I might not be long for this world. I want you to be ready for that."

"I don't want to lose you. I can't imagine my whole life without you. Like that last month. It sucked. It hurt so much. I can't imagine that for years and years."

"Ruby… I will die from this," I leveled it against her. The raw truth.

"Stop saying that," she protested.

"Ruby…" I trailed.

"I don't want you to go," she dropped a nail in my coffin with that. It felt like she took years off my life by saying that line.

"I've got to go." I returned gently. "You'll still have Weiss," I reminded her softly. I kissed at her but her lips didn't move against my own. I drew back after a moment. The kiss was sad and passionless. I planted another on her forehead soft and reassuring as I could make it.

"I need you both. I told you that," she fired back.

I squeezed her close to me. She let out a little groan as I did, it was practically a squeak.

"I don't want to die either. I'd rather stay here with you," I sighed. "But this is the burden of my life. The curse of my birth. One of them at least."

"Sometimes it doesn't seem like that. Sometimes it seems like you want to die."

"Sometimes I do. Maybe a little. Can you blame me?"

I realized Ruby was crying. Soft silvery tears falling from her eyes like mercury. I brushed them away as best as I could. It left my thumb and her cheeks wet.

"Rubes…"

"I don't want you to go. I'll find a way to save you."

"I hate to see your heart breaking over this. Over me."

"You're worth it. You know that, don't you? You're worth getting upset over losing," she pleaded with me.

I was human garbage. Why couldn't she see that? I was trash and I was meant to be thrown away. That's what I was supposed to do and be. It's what would happen, too.

"Stop. It." She snarled up at me. She hit me again. Fairly hard. It was like she could read my thoughts. She surprised me. I looked down at her in shock. Her fury surprised me. It was raw and full of power. I could taste it on her aura where before there had been sadness and melancholy there was a touch of rage now.

"Rubes…"

"You're worth it. I won't abandon you. I'll not leave you, my loved one."

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

-WG

[taziidcvil]

My Thoughts on RWBY’s new intro and chapter 1

This is going to be long so is there’s someone or something specific you want to read, I’d suggest using ctrl+f

WHITLEY

ngl i just want to start with my boy bc I’m so glad to see him back. Half of this is speculation and theorizing with no real merit ngl, but it’s something I’ve been thinking of for awhile

First of all this is a,,, very uncertain and conflicted look on his face here. He has his arm wrapped around his stomach and he looks very pensive. imo, Whitley’s going to be faced with a choice, one with no easy answer for him. And an answer that

might not bode well for the schnee family

Those clouds are, of course, Salem’s. Which makes me fear that Whitley may fuck up badly, and end up siding himself with the wrong people and it is likely going to be up to Weiss to bring him back.

Whitley isn’t a fighter. and if Whitley does cause the downfall of the Schnee family, he wont be at use for long. And once Whitley outlives his usefulness, there is no reason for her to keep him around.

But there’s a line that has been in my head for the last couple days. Namely Whitley’s line of ‘what could one huntsman do that an army cannot?’

Again, Whitley is no huntsman, but what it boils down to is ‘what can one person do?’ And I think Whitley is going to have to answer that question himself. 

I do think that Whitley is going to have to act at some point. Do something that puts him out for the greater good. I don’t expect him to suddenly join the fight, but I do think he will have his Pacifica moment. Where there’s something that he is physically capable of doing, but emotionally and psychologically it’s a mountain to him. Something only he can do, and Whitley will have to be the one person who changes the outcome of something dreadful. And most likely, i do believe it will involve Weiss

NORA & REN & RENORA (but mostly Nora)

ngl i am STOKED for this divide here

I love renora. it is one of my favourite ships. probably my third favourite i have to admit. 

what I don’t like is how its been going lately. while i do have the initial shipper reaction of ‘YES’ to the kiss, nora forcing it on ren sits wrong with me. Even more so their song last volume. It’s a bop of a song, true, but so much of it is nora telling ren to tell the truth only for her to tell him to love her. and while i’m sure he does love her, nora’s forcing it out of him and assuming is not healthy for either of them. Ren needs to come to terms with his own feelings, and these two need a wedge between them for a moment to develop separate from one another. 

and while i think ren will come to understand and accept how he feels

i think nora might give up on the pursuit and will put their mission above her feelings

But I do absolutely love the focus on Nora and I hope that’s a sign we are getting her backstory this volume. Nora is going to be a major piece in all of this and I personally cannot WAIT

I will say tho that I think her siding with Ruby’s plan is a little,,, strange to me. She was all gungho for protecting mantle last volume and i find it odd that she’s not on team ‘protect mantle first’. i get that she needs to be in that group because of what is shown in the trailer, but personally i would prefer her reluctantly forced into that group because of her usefulness. to keep the devive, that would mean ren would need to side with the ‘protect everyone’ but I don’t think it would have been that hard to spin his mindset that way

I’ve seen some talk about winter maiden nora and, while i personally would have preferred it, giving the power to penny only to give it to nora next volume is a little,,, cheap to me. ignoring the fact that it would likely mean penny would have to die and i am not about that life

i still think penny shooting lightning bolts at nora to power her up would be OP as FUCK tho

CLOVER

NO I AM NOT USING THE ONE SCREENCAP OF CLOVER THIS VOLUME YOU CAN’T MAKE ME

WARNING: Talk about dead bodies. Both fictional and real.

now i won’t lie, i am avoiding that shot like the fucking plague so I’m working mostly from memory here

I have seen bodies hours after someone has passed. Unless the body has something what effects the colour, here’s a greyness to the skin. Yes, this includes all skin colours. there’s also a distinct blue colour to the lips though clover doesn’t,,, exactly have distinctive lips. 

But seeing his body gave me the same nauseous and horrified sensation as seeing a long dead body. Of course not nearly as strong as he’s fictional and it’s animated, but it was the same. that sick greyness I’d expect from a body. ngl that shit,,, i wont say it triggered me, but it got damn close. it brought back memories and left me feeling very sick. It’s obvious he is very dead.

but even with that feeling, that didn’t stop me from being very fucking confused when I realised where the body was.

Now there’s a number of reasons that clover’s body would be there

They could have tried to save him and failed. They’re in a state of emergency and all the doctors are brought to one collective spot to deal with the potential rise of people needing medical attention. Maybe Atlas just works this way who the fuck knows. Most likely, they just wanted the Ace Ops to witness James and having Clover there just makes it easier to do that. but jfc if you’re going to have bodies in the medical area can you not install curtains??

ngl if i was at the hospital and they had a dead body uncovered and in full view of my room i would be 

I didn’t want to go back and see that image again, so i poked around the clover tag to see what people were saying in case i’m dumb and missed something. but i think if they were trying to bring clover back, they’d make it more obvious. and they sure as hell wouldn’t have coloured him that way. but I don’t blame people for being confused about if he’s dead or not when they literally put him in with people getting medical treatment and give him a patient number

but talking about Clover fuck i miss you so much brings me to

THE STAFF OF CREATION (with mentions of ‘that’ theory)

Ozpin: [mentions that using the staff will make Atlas fall]

Joanna: [talks about plans to move mantle citizens into atlas’ crater]

While it is debatable what the staff will be used on, I think we can all agree this bitch is coming down. Personally I think it’s how the volume will end. with the staff used, and atlas dropping. It’s a fantastic cliffhanger but fuck imma be so mad if that’s really where it ends. 

let me,,, get to that theory first. we all know which one i mean.

I’m not going to lie, i haven’t read much into it. mainly because i’d rather not get my hopes up and be pleasantly surprised than get my hopes up and be disappointed. Do i think it’s plausible? Well... after steven universe i think anything is possible. If it has even the slightest merit behind it I wont rule it out.

Do i think it will happen? debatable. i don’t think it was their plan but i also wouldn’t be surprised if they added it after the reaction to clover last year. but i’m not holding my breath. i’m leaning far closer to ‘no’ but i’m open to being wrong Do i want it to happen? god yes i fucking miss him okay i’m sorry i’m selfish i love my dumb fisherman himbo

the problem though is, if it can be done, there needs to be some form of payment. I know there’s been talk about a life for a life, and these are the options that come to mind: James: Don’t like this. James is a character rooted deep in the story and I think trading his life for Clover’s is,,, questionable. idk something about this doesn’t sit right. Especially when he has far more history with qrow than clover did. Tyrian: this feels cheap. trading a villain for a hero? that’s not even a payment, that’s hitting two birds with one stone. I do believe Tyrian wont survive the series, but this way is,,,, very cheap Qrow: pppppppppffffffttttt honestly this would just be a dick move that’s some monkey paw shit right there

either way, reviving clover would drop atlas and put both the people on atlas and under in danger. so the question is, is reviving clover worth it.

ethically, no. it’s not. one life will never outweigh thousands.  but would my selfish ass rather risk thousands of lives for one comfort character? you bet your sweet ass i would. it’s fiction, see if i care. storywise tho, we probably shouldn’t

But there’s nothing in the OP to suggest that Qrow is after the staff. and while it could be left for volume 9, i don’t see this volume lasting without dropping atlas after this volume started with the reminder that’s what would happen.

but ruby is shown reaching for it. (also is it just me or do those look like nuckelavee arms?) which makes me wonder just what she could want it for. Sure, she could be reaching to protect it, and that’s highly possible. but if we’re already talking about bringing characters back, i would not be too surprised if ruby considers the same idea. Namely with summer (though pyrrha is also an option). If she does consider that though, I don’t think she’ll succeed. and I doubt she’d really try if she knows atlas would fall. 

though if she wants to use it to save the world, if there’s something she can make with it that will stop salem, then i might believe she’d risk it. but even then i have a hard time believing she’d risk peoples lives.

but who else could and can get her hands on the staff?

PENNY

our sweet and dear penny, who has already suggested giving herself over to salem. and who is shown divided and framed opposing the team

While her being hacked is an option, and one i think james would consider letting watts do, from a story point I believe it’s far more interesting if penny is the one to decide this for herself.

Penny is a protector. And she wants to protect everyone. And one way she could possibly do that is by cooperating with salem. And with that gd whale having docking stations and a whole damn room inside it, penny going to salem fits with the whole ‘being eaten by a whale’. 

and if penny is the cause of atlas dropping, that girl is going to be dealing with even more guilt than she already has.

JAMES

me: okay, i know james shooting oscar was a big dick move, but james has done so many good things too. imo it’s questionable writing, but james’ stance is understandable. he’s still a good person-

listen. listen. listen. I... i don’t know what the fuck the writers are doing with this one. it would have been just as easy to arrest him but we just... gun happy i see. but james being gun happy makes me very nervous for qrow and that ‘if you were one of my men, i’d have you shot’. qrow’s out for james’ blood, but I don’t think qrow could ever actually kill him. and normally i don’t think james could try and kill qrow, but these are,,, not normal circumstances, and james has a semblance that will absolutely help him pull the trigger

i still love james. and i still understand both sides of the fight. and i still believe james is a good person. there’s so many good things james has done, but fuck if the writers aren’t trying their hardest to make the fandom hate him. and for the most part, it’s working. my gf already hates him lol

when all is said and done, there’s a lot that james is going to feel guilt for, but it’s guilt he’s willing to bare

while i understand the reason behind making james the bad guy, i will admit that i’m bitter about it. namely because in volumes 2 and 3 there were so many people expecting james to be bad, only for him to prove himself as a good person. and now the story is doing its best to take that back

THE ACE OPS

Again, one of the main reasons i think they put clover there and confused the fuck out of people. I think there’s going to be a divide in the ace ops, and i think we see which side people fall on here

harriet and vine are going to be harder to turn, but i think this moment just planted some uncertainty in elm and marrow. I dont think it’ll be an instant thing, but this isn’t something they’re going to forget. this is going to bother them for a good long while. yeah, the writers are trying to turn the fandom on james, but storywise it’s planting the seeds of betrayal and giving the ace ops a reason to switch sides. but i don’t think they’ll come into fruition until the end of the volume

And while we’re talking on betrayal, Winter is edging herself closer too. but while i think she’ll turn faster than the ops, i also think she’ll be the most understanding and caring of james of them all. 

Yang vs Ruby

pitting them together is honestly a good thing for yang’s character. they still love each other. they’d still fight for each other.

they may see things differently, and they may go their own paths, but there’s no animosity. they can work together and have each others backs, even when they don’t agree. 

and that’s something team rwby/ornj and friends and james/aceOPs need to work towards

Yang was never happy with Ruby keeping secrets, and personally i think it’s good for her to voice it and go a path she sees as right

Tyrian (and nuts and volts)

we’ve seen a lot of tyrian’s smiles. he is a very animated person who broadcasts his emotions. in fact, the only time he ever quiets down is in front of salem

this smile is the most ‘you bitch you’re lucky mum is here’ smile ive ever fucking seen on this man grhueiorfubgnjfroe

look, i don’t think tyrian and arthur are romantically involved. but i do think tyrian is fond of arthur. whether that’s romantic or platonic is up for debate, but tyrian has always spoken foldly of arthur. tyrian obviously does not like cinder or her crew, though he does love picking on them while i dont think he has that level of dislike for hazel, hazel is the sort of person to not like unnecessary killing, so i don’t see them getting close. Arthur crafted him his tail, and he organized a plan where tyrian got to murder often. out of the bunch, i think it’s rather obvious arthur is the person closest to him, and I also think he’s absolutely looking forward to seeing arthur again

Emerald/Mercury/Neo

first of all, FUCKING FINALLY! MY KIDS HAVE NEW OUTFITS! now there’s things i like and don’t like about mercury’s. personally, i like his old outfit better, but he NEEDED new clothes so i don’t miss it! Emerald is looking GOOD!! i don’t give a fuck what anyone says, she looking fine as hell

hazel tho, what the FUCK did they do to your hair?? who the fuck did this?? how DARE YOU

that’s all i have to say about hazel bc boy is quiet but WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?? while we talking about new looks, winter is looking FIIIIINE too

Neo is, very obviously, finding this whole situation fucked up. i know a vast majority of us thought Neo would turn on Cinder, but at this point i believe she was content with finding a new reason to live. but the more cinder brushes her aside, and the more she gets to know salem, she’s looking more and more disturbed and annoyed with it all. 

emerald is an obvious turn. with her whole Aladdin tale, i wont be surprised if she takes the lamp from salem and uses the last question. (i’ll admit though that i’m curious what salem’s question(s) is). now i still think neo will want to kill ruby, but i don’t see her staying sided with salem and cinder.  i will say tho that I find it fucking HILARIOUS that salem has no fucking idea who she is. how much of cinder���s plan did salem even know? did she know about roman? did she know about mercury and emerald before they went to pick up her silver eye’d ass? Salem cut Cinder down for ‘acting without salem’s say so’ but how much of that has cinder already been doing before now pffffttt

but mercury’s the only one that isn’t showing that much hint to turning. and personally, that makes sense. Mercury’s been shown plenty of times being disturbed by it all. he’s always stood beside emerald, equally frightened or distrusting. but if salem is calm and mercury’s in no real immediate danger, mercury has always tried to play with the big boys. he has a better poker face than emerald and neo, but he doesn’t belong there nearly as much as he pretends to.

but mr pokerface isn’t perfect. the moment he notices cinder, his attention goes back to emerald, and he watches her. he’s told her before that cinder doesn’t care for them. he’s tried to break that to her, and when they come to face cinder he’s not happy. less so when emerald instantly runs back to her. he knows emerald’s goiing to get hurt, and while he’d like to think he’d be the type to say ‘i told you so’, he’s not going to take pleasure in seeing her hurt

but one think about emerald is that she reminds me a lot of nora. they were both starved and homeless, and were ‘saved’ by someone else. but cinder is no lie ren, and emerald’s gone a very different path. not to mention her ‘saviour’ came much later in her life, and nora is on equal footing with ren and has saved him right back. but nora has been shown to empathise with mantle and its condition. which makes me wonder if emerald will too. she described the attack on vale as ‘sad’. So emerald, how will you feel when you take in the situation in mantle?

CINDER

i’ll be honest, i don’t like cinder. I’m sorry ;n; she just never interested me. she has a nice design, but other than that i just,,, never clicked with her. but i am happy we’re getting a backstory for her. mostly because it’s damn well due, and for her fans. y’all enjoy your food

that is,,, where i’m going to leave it. it’s late and i need to sleep. there’s probably things i missed, and if there is i’ll add to it in the morning. but these are the immediate thoughts that come to mind.

please feel free to discuss. and remember these are just personal opinions and thoughts, many of which probably will lead to nothing. 

[sneezehq]

Shelter

The girls recover after the fight with the ace ops. Volume 8 spoilers.

Got this idea in my head and figured I'd go ahead and write it before I watch next week's episode and have to wrestle with how noncanon it is. Set directly after Volume 8 Episode 3, and includes minor elements from Episode 4. It's not entirely canon compliant as I have not seen the episode in it's entirety. Enjoy!

The rest of the trip to the Schnee manor passes in silence, with the driver and passengers of the airship either focusing on navigating, lost in thought, or in Nora's case, unconscious. The redhead hasn't so much as stirred since she collapsed, and little flickers of electricity keep sparking off her like static shocks. It's not exactly an encouraging sign.

They might have succeeded at getting the code that they needed, and sent Penny on her way to secure the launch, but looking at the face of her unconscious friend Blake can't help but feel that they haven't really accomplished much.

"We're here," Weiss announces, snapping Blake out of her reverie. Glancing out the window, she realizes that she must have zoned out for longer than she thought, long enough for them to arrive at their destination. The looming shape of the Schnee manor towers above them, intimidating even in the absence of its infamous patriarch.

"Let's get inside," May says, hoisting Nora into her arms. Weiss and Blake reluctantly follow, Ruby trailing behind them. Even without the presence of Weiss' overbearing father, it hardly seems like a welcoming place to stay. Still, it's not like they have a lot of options for refuge these days.

Ruby has been quiet since Penny departed, and Blake had figured that she was just tired and missing her friend. But she drags behind the rest of the group as they approach the house, and then proceeds to collapse as soon as they've crossed the threshold.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelps in alarm. Blake manages to catch her before she cracks her head on the floor.

"She must have overdone it with her semblance earlier," Blake muses, carefully arranging Ruby into a sort of awkward bridal carry in her arms. "I don't think she's ever used it on so many people before."

Biting her lip, Weiss nods. "There should be a spare bedroom just off the hallway where we can hole up for now. It's the first door on your left."

They settle both girls down on the bed. Blake pulls off Ruby and Nora's shoes, tossing them in the corner with the rest of their stuff. Outside, they can hear Weiss talking to someone.

"Who's there?" a young male voice asks. Whitley.

"None of your business," Weiss responds, tone sharp with annoyance. "Now, why don't you go to your room and stay out of my way."

May stands. "I'll go check to make sure that we don't have any more surprises out there waiting for us. You look after them."

Blake nods. She makes her way over to the bed to check on her friends.

Ruby is pale and warm to the touch, but her breathing is steady and she just seems to be deeply asleep. She probably just drained her aura by overextending her semblance. With a little rest, she should be fine. Nora, on the other hand . . .

Nora is burning up, her skin ghostly pale and her breathing erratic and shallow. And they probably won't know the full extent of the damage until she wakes up. If she wakes up . . .

No. She can't afford to think like that. Blake shakes her head, trying to banish the gloomy thoughts. She spins around in surprise when the door creaks open, but relaxes when she sees that it's Weiss.

"Just me," Weiss says, holding up her hands. She looks over at Ruby and Nora and swallows hard. "How are they looking?"

Blake decides to start with the good news. "Ruby should be okay with a little rest. She's just exhausted from using her semblance like that."

"And Nora?" Weiss is unusually quiet.

"She's not looking good, Weiss," Blake says with a sigh. "I don't think that there's anything we can do about those scars, and she's burning up."

"I could get a wet towel or something for her," Weiss offers, eager to do something to help. "There's a bathroom across the hall. I'll be right back."

Left in the silence, Blake tries to think of something to do. The last time they were here, the place was full of people and noise. Now, it's just unnervingly quiet. Blake just wants to hear a reassuring voice, to not feel so alone.

Before she can think better of it, she takes out her scroll and dials Yang. Her partner picks up on the first ring. "Blake! What's going on?"

"Yang." Blake swallows hard past the sudden lump in her throat. "I'm not sure what to do."

"Blake, what happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. We're hiding out at the Schnee manor right now. We got the code that Dr. Pollendina needed, and Penny is on her way to Amity tower for the launch." Maybe if Blake sticks to just the bare minimum details, she can keep herself from crying.

Yang is quiet for a moment. Behind her, the door opens. Weiss comes back in, damp towel in hand, and lays it over Nora's forehead. "I'll go see if I can find something to eat," she announces, before leaving again.

Keeping busy in order to avoid your own feelings of helplessness. Blake can appreciate that.

With a jolt, she realizes that Yang has started talking again. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said, it sounds like you guys have been pretty successful then. So, what's wrong?"

Blake looks at Ruby and Nora, unconscious on the bed, and feels anything but successful. She's quiet for a long moment.

"We ran into the ace ops while we were in the facility," she says finally.

"Did you guys have to fight them again?"

"Penny did. She was holding her own, but they managed to take one of her swords. We're not sure why. Nothing good, probably."

"What else happened?" Yang knows her well enough to know that that can't be all she's upset about.

Blake bites her lip. "During the fight, we got separated from Penny. Nora," she takes a deep breath. "Nora, she used one of the electrified doors to charge up her semblance. It worked, but. But it was way too much electricity even for her to take. She collapsed, and she hasn't woken up since. I don't know what to do, Yang."

"Nora's tough, Blake. I'm sure she'll get through this."

"You didn't see her," Blake says, shaking her head before remembering that Yang can't see her. "She looked really bad, Yang, and the scars." Her voice breaks. "I wish you were here."

"I wish there was more I can do to help. It sounds like we'll just have to wait it out for Nora, and hope that she surprises us. How are Ruby and Weiss?"

"Weiss is fine. Unhappy about being back here, but fine. Ruby overdid it a bit with her semblance, back at the base, so she's sleeping it off, but she's okay."

"What was she trying to do?" Yang asks, sounding worried.

"Well, Penny figured out a new trick for Ruby's semblance, which was really helpful, but took a lot out of her. She'll be fine with some rest."

"A new trick, huh? Wish I could have seen it."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to show you once we're all back together again. And you should see what May can do with her semblance. But never mind that, how are you guys doing?"

"Blake, are you talking to Yang?" Ruby's sleepy voice comes from behind her.

"Oh good, you're awake." Blake sits down on the bed next to Ruby. "Yes, I'm on my scroll with your sister. How are you feeling?"

Ruby squints up at her, then shrugs. "Uh, tired and sore, but okay, I guess. Especially compared to—" She cuts herself off, looking over at Nora. "Can I talk to Yang?" she asks, her voice small.

"Of course," Blake says immediately, handing the scroll to Ruby. She checks on Nora while Ruby talks to her sister. She's still deathly pale and way too warm, but her breathing is steadier.

When she looks back over at Ruby, the younger girl is out cold again, slumped on her side and still clutching the scroll to her ear. Smiling fondly, Blake gently extricates the scroll from her grasp and pulls the covers over her.

"I'm afraid you put her to sleep."

"Good," Yang replies. "Hey, thanks for that, by the way."

"Of course. I know that you two miss each other."

"You have no idea. Thanks for looking out for her, by the way."

"What are teammates for?" She'll never take Yang's place, but she can try her best. Blake wouldn't want anyone else watching her back. "So, how are you guys doing?"

Yang sighs. "Not great, unfortunately." She tells Blake about their efforts to help the refugees evacuate, and their encounter with the strange Grimm that took Oscar. "We're going to go after it of course, but we've got no idea how to fight it."

"I'm sure that you guys will figure something out," Blake tries to reassure her. "Jaune's an amazing strategist, Ren is a great fighter, and well, I wouldn't want anyone else watching my back besides you."

"Thanks, Blake," Yang says softly, her tone fond. "Well, as much as I'd love to keep talking to you, I should probably go check on the boys. Stay safe out there, okay?"

"You too," Blake replies, disconnecting the call. She smells food, and turns around to find Weiss in the doorway, holding a plate full of sandwiches.

"I got us some food," Weiss announces unnecessarily. "You doing okay?"

Blake smiles at her. She's still worried, but after talking to Yang, it feels like a bit of the weight has been eased off her shoulders. "I am, actually."

[chaoslordjoe]

#BlackSunWeek2020 Day 2 - Resurfacing

“Fuck this heat…” Nora Valkyrie whined, carrying herself on Yang Xiao Long’s back as Yang took a mental note about how that would’ve been her line.

If escaping Atlas was littered with red tape, then flying (relatively) safely to Vacuo was like duct taping yourself to a revved-up chainsaw. 

There were no AK droids or shell-shocked lumberjack-looking General headasses (seriously James, take your court martial like a man) to drag them into anything they were all just through a month ago into the war.

Still, being escorted to the city by a bunch of Vacuan mercenaries was probably more merciful than whatever haircuts or puffy outfits they were given from their time from being conscripted by Ironwood, probably without authority from the Council (General James “fuck-you-I-have-two-seats-on-the-Council” Ironwood) in the gang’s whole black ops stint.

All things considered, this was a lot more welcoming than being drafted into the “Greatest Kingdom’s” side of the war with how they weren’t so great and hiding how much their leadership sucked at communicating with one another.

Politics. The brass. Martial law. Friendly fire incidents. Good times.

Ruby trudged ahead of the group, with Qrow trying to save the water in his flask while he was surprisingly adamant in pushing forward through the dunes. It was a good thing that he sobered up in time for this trip, knowing how it would be hell on dehydration.

“At least we’re not…Having to face any AK droids for a while.” Weiss thought out loud.

“Come on, Weiss-cream.” Yang grunted. “Maybe we’ll get you a new manicure by the time we arrive at Shade.” She joked.

Weiss shook her head.

“She might need more than a manicure.” Ren interjected.

“No-no, she’s right.” Weiss mentioned. “Heiress or no, I think we could all use a touch-up.” She concluded, wincing at the idea of sand going down her dress.

“I hate sand.” Jaune spoke next. “It’s coarse, rough, irritating and it- -“

“DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE.” Yang warned.

“…And it gets everywhere.” Jaune taunted.

“I’m gonna smash your balls when we get home.” Yang said with a glare to him.

“How do- -How do you know I’m not into that?” Jaune remarked.

“Guys, can we please argue about which trilogy had the worse writing later?” Ruby begged.

“Much as I would like to learn about movies outside of my homestead, Ruby’s right.” Oscar spoke. “We’re almost there, then we can relax before meeting Theodore.” He added.

Qrow looked over, thankful that at least Ozpin insisted that they still act like teenagers in between all the missions and such. One thing he certainly got right.

“Hey, buddy.” Qrow said to the caravan leader. “How much further?”

“Almost dere, Mr. Branwen.” He spoke, inspecting his weapon behind his shades. “Ya don’t wanna get eaten by a mole crab, do ya?”

“Not exactly.” Qrow grunted.

“Den sit tight, we gonna be dere in no time.”

Soon as they arrived, Professor Theodore had granted the group a hotel to stay at before meeting with her on the Shade campus.

A rare sight this type of hotel was in Vacuo. Let alone something with this many accommodations. Soon as the gang arrived, a cold shower was in order followed by orders from Theodore to relax before the big meeting.

QROWBYJNR sat in the hotel’s pool area, finally being able to catch a breather along with some cooling off in the drink. Oscar stood at the corner reading one of Ozpin’s journals away from the group.

Blake decided to accompany him in the reading with a copy of <i>Zaibatsu Unlimited</i> she had meant to continue reading for a while now. Sort of a corporate espionage thriller about a power struggle between Mistral’s corporate elite in a deadly arms race on the stock market.

Ren sat with Weiss and Nora, figuring a tan wouldn’t hurt with how they were gonna be here for a while. Jaune got to work on a game of pool volleyball teaming up with Ruby, while Yang and Qrow played against them.

Oscar looked up with a cocked eyebrow, observing his friends finally being able to relax for the time being. He looked back at the Ozpin journal that he retrieved from the Atlas vault, then back and forth at the gang while he spoke to Oz privately.

Penny for your thoughts. Oscar spoke.

As long as you are all rested for this whole journey. He said.

Oz. How do you feel about reunions after living for so long? The host asked.

You are asking me? The wizard replied. Well, I suppose apart from all the betrayals and twists/turns I’ve been part of lately, I would say that reunions are best saved for when you can savor the moment.

Yeah. Oscar thought. If Theodore is in on it, feels like we gotta make it on our own. Did you miss Theodore?

”Missing” would imply that I would be welcoming to the Headmistress. I am not easily welcoming on the inside, Oscar. Perhaps I am the wrong person to ask about this.

Oscar squinted.

I get that we have to be more careful and not trust anyone, but you could at least act like you care. Your former students could be here too.

I suppose. Ozpin said with a sigh. Perhaps you are better equipped for this since only a select few people know that we are one at this time.

Because I’m a teenager like the others here? He interrogated.

No, I just feel that you are a more appealing individual in your age group. The wizard answered. Just so nobody else is out to kill us.

“Wow.” Oscar scoffed out loud, briefly catching Blake’s attention. Just put an arrow above my head of how cute I’m supposed to be while you’re at it.

Ruby roared, banking the volleyball around Yang. But Qrow briefly shifted into a bird, headbutting the ball right between the team leaders who dodged it.

“Hey, that’s cheating!” Jaune barked.

“Oh yeah?” Qrow said as he shifted back into a man. “Well, you’ve got banana hair!” He said as he shrugged at his blonde niece.

Weiss raised her sunglasses, squinting at the Huntsman’s remark while she turned around onto her stomach to tan her back next.

Jaune retaliated, by throwing the ball back in an attempt to get Yang to tilt by punching the ball open. Nora looked up from her seat, seeing her boyfriend meditating as he and her finally got a form of that beach day that she wanted so bad.

“I believe that Qrow has run out of remarks from Mr. Xiao Long’s joke book.” Ren observed.

“Feh.” Nora said with a shrug. “Just let him ramble, Renny.”

Ruby tried to Petal Burst her way around the net, only to create a cyclone which nearly sucked in Jaune. Qrow’s misfortune kicked in, causing the ball to hit Ruby in the side of her head at whoever tried sending it back.

“Oww, dang it!” Ruby cried out as she regained her footing the water. “Watch where you’re throwing!” She argued.

“Now who threw that?” Weiss inquired, raising her shades, and stopping at the familiar face before her.

Said familiar face had winced at his shot with Qrow attempting (and failing) to casually avoid the scene while Jaune carried Ruby out who rubbed her head.

“Sorry!” The familiar face shouted. “I didn’t mean to- -Sorry, guys!” He spoke.

Blake looked up at the voice, who wore yellow/blue swim trunks and had a noticeable monkey tail. She immediately got up, tackling her former squeeze from behind who yelped.

“Sun!” She cried out in joy.

“Blake!” Sun Wukong had called in return, setting her down and attempting to give his love interest a hug. 

Blake however, used one of her Shadow Clones to fool him and give the Huntsman an actual embrace after being away for some time.

Weiss sat up, greeting Neptune as well. A nervous meeting on her part due to how little they spoke during Vytal. But Nep was more than willing to let bygones be bygones in showing off his red speedo. Weiss blushed in hoping that she would be the one to clear things up.

Blake and Sun let go from their embrace, as she had never been more alive to see him until now.

“I know it hasn’t been that long.” Blake said first. “I know you pointed out that I didn’t need you anymore, but…Well, considering how poorly Atlas went, I kinda needed to see someone like you.” She sheepishly admitted.

“That bad, huh?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Blake sighed. “I know my hair isn’t properly rendered, either.” She muttered.

“Huh?” Sun asked.

“N-Nothing.” Blake retorted. “Though I imagine you’d probably come up with a better name for it than Yang. Called it the “bi bob” or something.”

“It’s a working title!” Yang argued while busy ogling Sage and Neptune.

“Ruby? Jaune?” Coco Adel asked with her teammates on CFVY not far behind. “What the hell are you guys doing here?” She inquired with lowered shades.

“He-hey, Coco.” Jaune said in an attempt to be suave while healing Ruby’s volleyball-shaped bruise. “See, it’s a funny story. We were called here by Theodore to investigate some Grimm trouble. Like you were…I think.” He flatly stated.

“Heh, great to see you guys too.” Coco spoke. Velvet stood by her side with her hands down. “I’m guessing you could use some lessons on team leadership from me and Sun?” She assumed.

“We are 100% fully functional on being team leaders, thank you.” Ruby argued, having just regained her vision.

“Yet you can’t watch your back at volleyball. Not the best aim there, luv.” Velvet joked. “Right, how about your focus on that Zaibatsu copy compared to Sun's arse and muscles, Blake?” She joked to her cat friend.

“Oh, HA-HA!” Sun angrily replied, blushing.

“It was just a kiss on the cheek, Velvet.” Blake retaliated with an eyeroll.

“I believe ya.” The hare said. “Of course, Sun worded it differently.” She fibbed.

“No he didn't, Bun.” Coco said while giving her friend a skeptical glare behind her shades. Had it not been in public with their First Year friends, she would've given Velvet a stern talking to about who pulled that off better.

While the two lovely ladies of Team CFVY bickered as to who would/wouldn’t get the ball gag, Blake grasped her arm anxiously while Sun awaited her response.

“You, um…Wanna get lunch to make up for lost time?” She hesitantly asked.

Sun instantly beamed, knowing how much of a relief they both needed from Remnant going down the tubes.

“Hell yeah!”

[itsclydebitches]

This is me sort of rising from the briny depths of an extremely salty ocean but re: the Penny framing I actually wonder if the whole purpose was to justify that little line Ironwood has at the dinner where he maintains that the robot is under his control. Because imho they had already sort of derailed Penny in her v7 reintroduction from a curious and rebellious girl [1/4]

I feel like my brain is rebooting after reading these asks because that is a damn good point. I’d honestly forgotten how much of a rebel---or at least a ‘child chafing against strict parental control/expectations’---Penny was characterized as in the early volumes... but you’re right. She’s someone who: 

Tackles a girl for calling her “friend” even though she’s supposed to be keeping a low profile/not interacting with people much

Continues to prioritize Ruby’s safety over hiding that she’s a robot (attacking Roman, stopping that car) 

Straight up told Ruby about her not human being even though that absolutely went against her orders 

Running off to have fun with Ruby instead of doing whatever it was she was tasked with 

Continuing to hang around when Blake went missing despite being told to get lost

Trying to ditch Ciel and not wanting to keep to whatever schedule she has planned 

Getting a magnet stuck to her head and just casually hiding it with a hat. Who needs to deal with something that would blow your secret when there’s fun festival stuff to do? 

Clear discomfort with the expectations put on her to save the world 

In contrast Volume Seven gives us a Penny who 

Apparently never tried to contact Ruby after her resurrection. If she disagreed with the (presumed) order to keep he identity quiet outside of Atlas/Mantle she never expressed that

Immediately goes off to do her job despite being reunited with Ruby. Sorry, responsibility takes precedence over friendship now

Showcases great pride in those responsibilities---the Protector of Mantle, being in Ironwood’s inner circle---as opposed to the previous discomfort 

Accepts the fact that she shouldn’t be making new friends, even if she doesn’t like it. Whatever she learned in Volumes Two-Three didn’t stick in the face of what she’s learned while back in Atlas 

All of which isn’t a bad thing (minus the idea that she shouldn’t make friends). In fact, I’d argue that our whole main cast needs to start balancing responsibility with personal desires more and doing things they don’t always want to because it’s their job/the right thing to do/The Power of Friendship doesn’t always hold in a logical, complicated world. Penny had that balance down decently well. Penny grew. The problem is we didn’t see that growth happening on screen and it was never acknowledged later. We could have easily framed this all through the lens of ‘rebuilding a robot = changing her personality somewhat,’ but we didn’t even get that. Penny is suddenly much more loyal to different people, much more responsible, much more confident in what she wants out of life, much more meek about accepting the things she doesn’t agree with... and we’re shown neither how nor why these changes took place. 

Worse, Penny is another victim of the “Ironwood is now illogically evil” volume ending because this new characterization means that she SHOULD be loyal to him with the same intensity that Winter is. Because she has been loyal! Because she’s been demonstrating a nuanced understanding of why you do hard things for good reasons all volume! She doesn’t, for example, throw a fit about sitting out on her Mantle duties post-framing because she gets that being among the people right now isn’t what they need, no matter how unfair that is to her. Penny post-resurrection is someone characterized as putting her job first and thus she should have been agreeing with Winter during that hallway conversation, not pushing back when she knows there’s currently no better option. She’s been Team Ironwood for the last year (at least) so why the sudden, “Hmm... I don’t know if he’s right”? An unexpected view Penny maintains even after Winter re-explains the logic of the situation, if we choose to read Penny taking the Maiden powers as a deliberate betrayal against them both. You shouldn’t have this power, I (Team RWBY) should. Her new characterization---unexpected as it is---sets her up as someone who would be thoroughly AGAINST Team RWBY’s flimsy “plan” of standing their ground and not following orders, so why in the world does she end up on the airship with them? Hell, we could argue that given the time jumps and depending on how long it took for her to be rebuilt, Penny has known/spent far more time with Ironwood than Ruby, so we can’t even fall back on a generic, “She’s closer to Ruby and therefore instinctively loyal to her.” 

Literally the only thing we get, as you point out, is Ironwood’s comment at the dinner and Penny’s comment in the truck. Two very broad hints about how friendship is (supposedly, I don’t actually think Ironwood is arguing this here) bad so yeah, poor Penny. Of course she would go side with the Good Guys who realize the simple lesson that Friendship is Good. A reading that’s bolstered by the whole Ace Ops situation. That’s another moment where a character, Harriet, insists they’re not friends---implying that Ironwood doesn’t encourage them to be friends---but showing us the exact opposite. They are friends. That’s clear to see in literally any scene where two or more of them interact. Now here’s Penny, insisting Ironwood doesn’t allow her to have friends, even as he lets her hang out with/work with Team RWBY every moment possible. At no point do we actually see Ironwood pushing against friendship and the need to work together. We see the opposite, with him planning license parties for them to chill out and running after Qrow to hug him. Volume 7′s really just out here insisting that Ironwood and his allies think friendship is unnecessary, despite us not being shown that, and then using it as justification for why a bunch of teens beat the most elite huntsmen group we’ve ever seen and why a previously hyper-loyal ally took Maiden powers and jumped on the airship with them. Because Team RWBY are the intrinsic heroes who believe in friendship and Ironwood is suddenly the bad guy who believes in nothing but power... even though that is 100% not the characters they wrote. 

It’s... yeah. That’s all pretty bad lol 

[teethhunter]

A Hundred Breaths

Rosegarden Prompt Completion 

@whatthebuck1​ suggested post V7 angst, Ruby reaches her breaking point and Oscar helps her pick herself back up. Here ya go! Also on AO3

When Ruby is scared or upset, she counts to one hundred and then moves on. 

She’s done that since she knew how to count. 

If she stayed upset too long then Yang would think she was failing to take care of her, or her dad would spend another week in bed, or uncle Qrow would disappear for another month off on some mission or just on a binge.

 If she counted to one hundred and smiled again, Yang would smile back, sometimes her dad would get up and take Zwei on a walk with her, uncle Qrow would stay and play video games with her.

If she swallowed down all those bad feelings and just kept pushing on, everything would be alright. 

There was a high pitch ringing in her ears and an ache right behind her eyes ever since Salem said those awful words to her. 

If she closed her eyes all she could see was her mother’s sad face on a stormy day, or Pyrrah’s death, or Penny’s– even after Penny was rebuilt that memory haunted her.

Ruby kept pushing forward, trying to hold back that feeling. It worked too– they beat the Ace Ops, they escaped. It was in that moment of peace that the darkness crept back up on her. It wasn’t a true victory after all. There was still much to be done; Oscar was missing, the lamp was missing, and everyone was exhausted. They landed the airship off in the tundra, not far off from Mantle. The whole group needed a moment to catch their breath and think. 

In this stillness and silence, the feelings Ruby pushed down crept back up her throat as burning, sour bile. She moved to flee the airship, she needed to be away from all her friends, they 

couldn’t see her like this. 

Yang grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

“Where ya going sis?” 

 And oh couldn’t it have been anyone else? Anyone but her sister that looked at her with such sincere concern. 

Ruby puts on a smile, she knows how to feign one that doesn’t look too forced. 

“I just need some air, I’ll be right back don’t worry!” 

There was doubt in Yang’s eyes, but she let her go. “Okay but.. Don’t go too far okay? We’ve got to come up with a plan here eventually.”

“Of course, this is just to help me think anyways. See you soon.” Ruby could taste the metallic tang of blood mixing with the other unpleasant taste in her mouth as she bit the inside of her cheek. 

So Ruby headed out, walking until she couldn’t see the airship anymore, then walking a little bit further just for good measure. Then she let out a held breath and let herself feel everything she had been holding back. She closed her eyes and focused on the terrible images that flashed behind her eyelids. 

Soon the Grimm came, tantalized by the strong wave of negative emotion. That was exactly what she wanted. They were all minor Grimm, Beowolfs for the most part, all ones she could take out easily with one swing of her scythe. She waited until they surrounded her before she opened her eyes again. In one fluid motion she extended her scythe and took off, slashing one Beowolf in half easily. She began to count to one hundred again, counting the number of Grimm she killed. 

After one hundred everything would be okay again, she would be okay again. 

Her vision started to tunnel at about twenty. 

She lost count somewhere around seventy, but just kept going. 

Her throat felt raw from screams she was hardly aware she was letting out. 

The snow muffled the noise anyways, and no one was watching. Or so she thought. 

Oscar had not stopped walking since he fell from the sky. He needed to get back to Mantle, find the others, figure out a plan. He hadn’t expected to find a swarm of Grimm out here. Curiosity got the better of him and he crept nearer.

That was when he caught sight of Ruby. 

It was impossible to look away. 

At that moment she was something both terrible and beautiful. 

She mowed down Grimm with deadly efficiency and with cries that might scare off even the most evil of creatures. The pack of Grimm was starting to dwindle, and Oscar was both too captivated by her and too afraid of what might happen if he stopped her to intervene. 

Ruby only noticed Oscar after she shot the last Beowolf through the head. All at once she froze there, staring at him staring at her. She had a feral look in her eyes, like a cornered animal deciding whether fight or flight was the better option for survival. Neither was an option as she sunk to her knees, breathing heavily and shaking too much to hold herself up. Oscar was knelt in front of her before she had the chance to process the fact he’d moved at all. 

This close up he could see bruises forming and blood slowing dripping from small gashes Ruby had gotten. How long had she been fighting with her aura drained? Another thought occurred to Oscar before he could even think what to say to her, and he was shrugging off his jacket to wrap around her. His own aura was depleted, but he had the backup of Ozpin’s magic that seemed to be keeping him warm enough despite the freezing temperature. 

Ruby hadn’t even realized her aura was drained. She hadn’t felt the pain or cold until right now. It hit her all at once, her bones ached and she couldn’t stop shaking. 

She just wanted to stop shaking.

Or maybe she wanted to disappear. 

No one was ever supposed to see her like this. 

Oscar put his hands on her forearms, gently pulling her forward against him in another attempt to keep her from freezing to death. She might not want anyone to see her like this, but Oscar was warm and that simple touch was so grounding to her, she leaned in to make it a somewhat awkwardly positioned hug. 

“You- I’m...  you shouldn’t have seen this, sorry.” Ruby mumbled, her voice squeaky from her abused vocal cords. 

“I don’t know what’s going on exactly, but you’ve seen me at some pretty low points too.” He remembered when her seemingly unwavering positivity had made him so angry he’d yelled at her for it. The look she’d given him when he admitted how scared he was, he realized, wasn’t one of pity but of understanding. He readjusted her arms to make it a more comfortable hug. 

“You are amazing, Ruby.” She almost wished she couldn’t see his face when he said that. The sincerity and awe in his expression made her eyes burn. How could anyone see her like this and still think so highly of her? 

She shook her head. “I’m not, I should be back with my team, I should be coming up with a plan, I should keep moving forward.” 

“If you always keep moving forward, you might run right off a cliff. Did you think less of me when I told you I was scared of all of this?” 

“No, of course not.” Ruby answered immediately.

“Then do you think everyone would think less of you if they saw you like this?” 

She tensed, shrinking in on herself in his arms. He didn’t expect an answer from her, just waited long enough for her to let out a slow breath. “We really shouldn’t stay here, it’s too cold, and you’ve got some injuries to take care of.” Oscar pulled away to stand, helping Ruby to her feet as she swayed, unsteady. 

“It’s nothing big, they’ll heal right up when I build my aura back up.” She put an arm around his waist, not even pretending that she’d be able to hold herself up properly right now. 

“Yes, but it’s still not a good idea to leave wounds uncovered like that. I’ve got some band-aids in my bag.” Oscar stumbled slightly at first, trying to support Ruby’s weight and walk in the snow. Later he could think about how close they were and get flustered, but there wasn’t time for that right now. 

Ruby snorted, her eyes a touch brighter. “I haven’t used band-aids since I was eight!” 

“Yeah well, some of us weren’t raised to be huntsmen. I’m still learning to always keep my aura up, and paper cuts are the worst. So band-aids are handy, okay?”

She felt lighter already as she rolled her eyes at that, pointing in the direction of the airship.

[ryvswb]

@proximio-5 Asked: What happened to team JNPR?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Bloodgulch guitar jingle plays as the camera pans trough the corridors of Atlas academy, stopping at the Ace Ops bored and idling around in they're communal room*

Harriet, arms crossed, leaning against a wall: Marrow?

Marrow, standing next to her: Yes Harriet?

Harriet: Why are we here?

Marrow, pensively: ...I don't know Harriet...why are we here? I guess its one of life's greatest mystery huh?

Harriet: No you dumbass! I mean't why are we here twidling our tumbs while the general as a meeting with these weird color coded soldiers??? We were under attack by grimm only a few hours ago and now they're all just GONE!

Vine, playing cards with Elm: I heard the general say something about some kind of space time anomaly, I tried asking but he said it was classified.

Elm, putting a card on the table: Hey speaking of things disappearing, what happened to those Beacon brats? Last I remember they kicked our lights out but now they're nowhere to be foun-AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

Nora, busting trough one of the walls with her hammer knocking every Ace Ops on the ground, absolutely enraged and sparkling with pink electricity: WHERE IS IRONWOOD!?

Pyrrha, entering the room through the hole Nora made, Ren and Jaune at her side, cringing at the damage Nora caused: WE'RE SORRYYYYY!

Jaune, gesturing at the Ace Ops, whom are dazed and scattered around the room: Pyrrha? I'd like to introduce to the Ace Ops. Ace Ops? This here is- actually you know what?

Jaune, pulling a middle finger at them: Go fuck yourselves you should be honored to even be graced with Pyrrha's presence.

Pyrrha: Jaune...aren't you being a little mean to them?

Jaune, putting a reasuring hand on Pyrrha's shoulder: Ok. Ok. Hear me out. I know the Ace Ops LOOK nice, but they're what we call class traitors. Also they're asslickers...except Marrow. Marrow's cool.

Jaune, happily waving at Marrow, all the while Nora violently rampages through the room: Hi dude whats up! This is my gf Pyrrha! She's uhhh, supposed to be dead but we don't really have time to unpack all that and I was wonderi-

Marrow, weakly raising his hand in a tumbs up from under a small pile of rubble as Jaune continues to ramble in the background: H...hello...miss Nikos....pleasure.....to meet you....big fan...

Pyrrha, giving Marrow a polite knod, as Nora slams Harriet through the ceiling with a pool table: O-oh! I didn't know I had fans in the military! The honor is all mine sir!

Ren: Ummmm shouldn't we reign Nora back before she actually kills someone?

Nora, slapping the shit out of Elm: WHERE.

*SLAP*

IS.

*SLAP*

IRON.

*SLAP*

WOOD!?

*YEETS ELM THROUGH A WALL*

Vine, visibly sweating in fear despite keeping a straight face: If you have business with the general...then you can find him in his office but-

Nora, walking up to Vine, stopping mere inches away from his face, narrowing her eyes: In his office huh? You better not be lying to me twig boy.

Nora, busting down the wall right next to Vine and walking through it, the rest of JNPR awkwardly following her one by one: COME ON TEAM! IRONTWAT'S LEGS AREN'T GONNA BREAK THEMSELVES!

Marrow, rising from the rubble snd dusting himself: You ummm, you ok Vine? You're looking kinda pale there buddy.

Vine: I am physically unscathed, but I am, however, screaming on the inside...

Clover, running in and stopping his momentum with the doorframe, panting heavily: GUYS PREPARE FOR COMBAT NORA VALKYRIE IS-

Clover, as Harriet comes crashing back down trough the ceiling, awkwardly taking in the state of the room:.....after the general....

Marrow, casually: Yeah its a little too late to tell us that boss.

Clover, leaning his shoulder on the doorframe while massaging his temples: *sigh* You know what? Fuck this.

Clover, putting on a fishing hat he pulled out of his pocket and unfolding Kingfisher: Ya'll can have the day off. I'm gonna go fishing.

Clover, his voice echoing through the hall as he walks away: Tell the general it was nice knowing him!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carolina, in Ironwood's office with Sarge, Lopez and Church at her sides: And thats pretty much all we know about the anomaly that fused our two worlds sir. We're just as in the dark as you are.

Ironwood, Winter and Penny behind him: This is indeed concerning...but at the very least it stopped Salem's invasion.

Sarge: Yes yes immortal demon witch queen blah blah blah. Can we go back to the real reason we came here?

Carolina, exasperated: Oh goddammit.

Church, as Ironwood and Winter look at them in confusion: Sarge for fuck sake we aren't-

Sarge, interupting Church and taking a step forward: Good sir. Aren't you tired of being blue? Don't you just want to unleash your inner RED!?

Ironwood, exchanging a confused glance with Winter: Ummm, I don't think I understan-

Sarge, slamming his fist on Ironwood's desk then pointing at his tie: OF COURSE YOU DO! Look at your tie! Its RED! But confined and drowned out by all this BLUE! Your subconscious is giving your inner struggles physical form THROUGH YOUR CLOTHES!

Carolina, in a scolding tone: Sarge. We've been over this.

Sarge: WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN THE RED ARMY AND UNLEASH THE RED WITHIN YOURSELF!

Church: He's already the leader of his own faction you dumb old fuck! HE'S NOT GOING TO JOIN YOUR SHITTY ARMY.

Penny, tilting her head in confusion: "Unleash your inner red"?Aren't meat people supposed to keep the red inside their body?

Lopez, in spanish: Please ignore him Penny, nothing he says or does ever makes any logical sense.

Ironwood, awkwardly clearing his throat to bring everyone's attention back to him: I ummm, appreciate the offer seargeant however um...the kingdom of Atlas would preffer to remain neutral in this......"conflict"...

*Building rumbles*

Ironwood, standing up and on alert: What was that!? Schnee the cameras!

Winter, pulling her scroll to look at the security feed, a confused look plastering her face once she sees Nora rampaging through Atlas academy on her screen: Huuuuuh.....sir? You might want to see thi-

Nora, through Winter's scroll: WHERE ARE YOU WOODY!? DON'T THINK YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO MY BABY BOY!

Winter, raising an eyebrow in confusion, as Ironwood's eyes widen in realisation: Baby...boy?

Penny, chirping cheerfully as Ironwood wipes the sweat from his forehead: I did not know friend Nora had a child!

Nora, busting into the office, the rest of JNPR standing awkwardly behind her: KNOCK KNOCK.

Church, exasperated: Oh no its another color coded fighting girl with a transformy weapon.

Carolina: Holy shit what did you do to piss this girl off?

Ironwood, pulling his collar: I ummmmm-

Oscar, poking his head into the room, speaking in a casual manner: He shot me.

Church: Where the fuck did you come from???

Carolina, glaring at Ironwood: You shot a child!?

Oscar, crossing his arms and staring at Ironwood with a smirk on his face: Yup. Off a bridge too.

Sarge, flatly: I don't want this guy in my army anymore...

Ironwood: Now I know what I did was wrong but, I'm sure if we all calm down we can tal-

Nora, slamming Ironwood trough the floor with her hammer, causing him to fall several floors down: VIBE CHECK!

Carolina: Oooooo I like her.

Sarge: Hands off blue. I saw her first.

Carolina, looking down the hole Ironwood fell through: Do you think he's dead?

Ren: No, his aura must've saved him.

Church: Seriously!? Jesus this aura crap is bullshit!

*awkward silence*

Pyrrha, breaking the silence: Sooooo want to go do more comedy segments?

Carolina, turning to face Pyrrha: Sounds lovely. You....have a very nice voice by the way.

Pyrrha, blushing: O-oh thank you! Your voice is very pleasant as well!

Lopez, in spanish, as everyone else leaves the room: Come on Penny lets blow this joint.

Penny, following Lopez out of the room: With pleasure friend Lopez! But I must ask. What joints shall we be blowing?

Ironwood, after everyone leaves the room, his voice barely audible from down the hole he fell into: Hello? Winter? Anybody??? I'm still stuck down here! Hellooooooooooo????

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veemo's notes: This one took me a long time cause I didn't know how I wanted to end it. Sorry for the wait! 🙏😔

[araniladin]

The One Bed Trope is Happening

She hung in the air, framed by the moon. Team RWBY and their friends all looked up in shock.

Ruby’s mouth hit the floor, not believing what she was seeing. That red hair, the green dress, it couldn’t be.

She landed with a heavy thunk, turning towards the other huntresses and huntsmen. Her eyes focused on Ruby and widen in surprise and excitement.

Ruby’s heart started to beat faster. It couldn’t be. “Penny?”

“Sal-” she said, crouching low.

Panic settled in Ruby.

“-U-”

“Oh no no.” Ruby looked left and right, but there was nowhere to run.

“-tations!” A flash of green fire and she closed the distance.

Ruby managed to engage her Aura right as Penny impacted her. She was pretty sure the tackle hug only bruised her ribs instead of breaking them.

“It's such a pleasure to see you again!” Penny said. She held onto Ruby’s hand after helping her to her feet.

“Penny...I thought...I thought you died.” Ruby wiped tears from her eyes.

“I mean, technically she did,” Pietro said, walking up to them. “But we found her core intact when Amenity Arena finally arrived here.”

“I’m as good as new!” Penny said.

“And no more accidental shredding,” Pietro said. Penny knocked on her head with a fist, a metallic drum sound. They both laughed.

“That is…” Weiss started.

“...surprisingly wholesome,” Blake finished, both of them smiling.

“That sounds like Penny,” Yang added, joining in on watching her sister reunite with Penny.

“We have so much to catch up on,” Penny said, pulling Ruby into a hug. “I cannot wait!”

In the distance, another alarm sounds.

“It looks like it has to wait.” Still holding onto Ruby, Penny launched them both into the sky.

Ruby, trained huntress and master of aerial combat, wrapped her arms and legs around Penny.

“Meet us back at the house!” Pietro called out after them. Penny turned around in the air to snap off a salute before flying away.

“Penny,” Ruby asked as they flew through the city. “Are you sure this is okay?”

“Everything will be fine.” Penny patted Ruby’s head. “I’m the protector of the city. Plus with you here, I have backup.”

Ruby bit her lip. “I’m not licensed, and it seems like Atlas is pretty strict on that kind of stuff.”

“Oh,” Penny said, sad before perking up. “Don’t worry about it!” She hiccupped.

That made Ruby worry more.

As they cross over a section of the city bathed in red light, Ruby saw the Grimm.

“Do you know what a speedball special is?” Ruby asked, judging the distance between the Grimm and them.

Penny’s eyes faded for a second before brightening. “I do now! Let’s do it!”

Braking in the air, Penny lifted Ruby over her head. Snapping out Crescent Rose, Ruby prepped herself for the throw. “NOW!”

Spinning forward to build up momentum, Penny launched Ruby at the Grimm.

Her impact sent the tiger-like Grimm into the air. Penny’s lasers flashed out and turned them into little specs of evil dust.

Knowing that Penny held air superiorty and had awesome lasers, Ruby tossed the Grimm into the air.

Ruby set them up, Penny knocked them down. No other partner Ruby worked with synchronized as well as Penny did. 

Soon the area was clear of Grimm and Penny landed next to Ruby.

“That was so much fun!” Penny hugged Ruby, and Ruby worried if her ribs would ever be the same.

Suddenly, Penny let Ruby go and grabbed a cable out of the air. It wrapped around her arm, but did nothing to imped the robot girl.

“Halt! You are in violation of Atlas law!” A tall, very handsome man jumped down, landing in front of Ruby and Penny. Behind him, four other people jumped down. One carried an odd gun, most likey where the bolos came from. They all wore matching uniforms, blue, white and red of Atlas special operations.

“We are not!” Penny said, pulling the bolos from her arm and placing it on the ground. “You know who I am, Commander Ebi.”

“I have no idea who she is,” Commander Ebi said, pointing at Ruby. “We cannot have unauthorized weapon use in our city.”

“She’s my partner,” Penny said, taking Ruby’s hand and standing between her and the spec ops team.

Commander Ebi frowned, pulling out his scroll. “Is she licenced to hunt in Atlas?”

The glow in Penny’s eyes faded again, dull for a second before coming back. “Yes!” She hiccuped. “Her name is Ruby Rose.”

The scroll in his hand flashed up a picture of Ruby, from back before the fall of Beacon. He peered at the date of licencing, but e couldn’t find anything wrong with it.

“My apologies, Miss Polendona and Miss Rose.” Commander Ebi tucked his scroll away. “This is not the only case we need to investigate, have a good evening.” The ops team leaped into the buildings and disappeared into the night.

“What was that?” Ruby asked.

“The Ace Ops, General Ironwood’s elite police force,” Penny reached down to take Ruby’s hand again. She leaned into her. “They are nice people, but my father says they are doing the wrong thing for the right reason. He says it’s okay if I bend the rules.”

“Wait, what do you mean, bend the rules?” Ruby said. “Wait, did you hack his scroll to tell him I was a licensed huntress?”

Penny blushed, grinding her toe into the pavement. “I didn’t hack his scroll…”

“Oh, good,” Ruby said, sighing in relief.

“I hacked the Atlas licensing servers and backdated you into the system.”

“PENNY! That’s illegal!” Ruby looked around, panicking. If they found out she was illegally licensed, she would go to jail and never speak to Ironwood.

“I know, but it was for a good cause!” Penny shrunk down. “They would have taken you to Atlas, and processed you, and I wouldn’t be able to see again for six to eight weeks, if they didn’t deport you for being a non native huntress in Mantle.”

“Penny…” Ruby leaned into the other woman, conflicted.

Penny pressed her forhead against Ruby’s. “I’m sorry for lying, Ruby.”

She shook her head. “I’m not upset you lied, I’m just not sure how to feel about all this.”

“Well, mabye we should also go check on your team, I believe they might be the second task Commander Ebi was referring to.” Penny looked back the way they came. “Although my father says they are in the safe house and thus are safe.”

Ruby shot up. “Oh no! Yes, let’s go!” She turned to start running before stopping. “Can… can we fly there?”

“YES!” Penny said.

“Just, do you have another way of carrying me?”

Penny nodded, and picked Ruby up bridal style. “Let’s go!”

Ruby was pretty sure Penny took the scenic route back, not that she complained. Penny assured her team was safe, the Ace Ops were off making sure that some miners didn’t strike, and Penny could fly. It was one of the coolest things Ruby ever did.

That and it was Penny. Since the Fall of Beacon, she always felt anxious, felt that she could do more. That everything was horrible and she couldn’t do anything about it. But seeing Penny again, she felt that hope again.

That and a few other feelings. The blush across her face was from the cold and not being so close to Penny again.

The safe house turned out to be deep in the slums, another clinic run by Peitro. Penny landed on the roof, although still carrying Ruby. She paused at the door, puzzled at finding her hands occupied. Ruby noticed that Penny’s face was very red, and she wondered how an android would suffer from the cold. 

“Uh, Penny, want to put me down?” Ruby asked, although she didn’t, not really.

“No,” Penny said. “But I think I have to.” She dropped Ruby to her feet. This time, Ruby grabbed her hand as they entered.

In the kitchen, Nora and Ren cooked. Jaune had wondered off to the room he was sharing with the rest of his team. Maria, Peitro, and Oscar conversed at the table.

“Is there anywhere I might be able to change or freshen up a bit?” Ruby asked.

“Your team took a room down the hall,” Maria said. “Although Weiss went to try contacting her sister again. Blake and Yang should be in there.”

Peitro glanced at Ruby and Penny holding hands and smiled.

Leading Ruby to the room Maria said Team RWBY staked out, Penny burst in.

Blake straddled Yang, kissing her as she pinned her to the bed. They both looked up at the interruption before Blake hissed.

“I am so sorry!” Penny pulled the door closed and pushed Ruby into the hallway.

“Well, my room should be free, want to use that?” Penny asked.

“I think it might be safer for me to just stay the night there,” Ruby said, pulling out her scroll. “And someone should warn Weiss.” She shot off a short text.

“YES!” Penny hugged Ruby. “Although it’s not really my room, since my actual room is up in Atlas, but my father always let me have the highest room in the building. Come on!”

Up the stairs they travelled again, but Ruby didn’t care. Penny’s excitement bled over to her.

“Welcome to my-” Penny opened the door before slamming it shut. “Wait, it’s messy, let me clean it up.” She hiccuped before disappearing into the room

Ruby blinked. What she had peeked, the room looked spartan, two beds and a shared dresser drawer.

The unmistakable sound of an old window opening added to the confusion. The scraping sound of someone shoving something heavy across the floor, grunts as they lifted said heavy object before the unmistakable sound of something falling out the window. There was a loud crash, and Ruby heard Weiss yelling.

“What the fuck?! Is that a bed?! What is going on up there?!”

“Sorry Weiss!” Penny yelled back, and the sound of Weiss yelling back quieted as the window shut.

“Come on in!” Penny said, opening the door.

The room now had one bed, a dresser drawer, and the dusty trail of one person flinging the other bed out of the window.

“Penny…” Ruby said, unsure what to say.

“Sorry there is only one bed, but I’m sure we can manage.” She hiccuped and Ruby wondered which part of what she said was a lie.

Smiling, Ruby reached out and hugged Penny. “I am so glad you’re back.”

Penny wrapped her arms around Ruby, and did not crush her ribs this time. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Tear stains appeared on Penny’s top and Ruby realized it was her. She squeezed her friend harder, and didn’t let the tears stop.

Penny cradled her as Ruby cried. All the feelings of the past year, it broke. Ruby wasn’t sure how long she cried, but Penny hugged her, whispered encouragement into her ear, and mostly just made sure Ruby felt safe.

Sitting up, Ruby wiped the snot off her face. “Do you know where the bathroom is? I..I just want to clean my face and put on some clean clothes.”

Penny placed Ruby on the bed, and grabbed a large shirt out of the dresser drawers. “Will this work? The bathroom is just down the hall.” Looking down. “And I can get another bed, if you don’t want to share…”

Taking the shirt, Ruby kissed Penny’s cheek. “I think it would be splendid to share a bed with you. Although I’m big spoon.”

They both laughed and Ruby went to clean up. She changed, brushed her teeth with the stuff on hand, and went back.

Penny had turned off the lights, although the city glowed through the window. Penny had also changed into a sleeping shirt. She grinned at Ruby. “How you feeling?”

Ruby walked over, tilted Penny’s chin up, and kissed her. “Much better, and very tired. Thank you.”

Penny blushed, but did not pull away. “Than lets get some you some sleep.”

“Wait, are you not going to sleep?” Ruby frowned.

“I’m an android. I’ll just shut down for a bit.” She laid on the bed, scooting over so Ruby could spoon her. “And don’t worry, I’ll make sure you aren’t cold.”

“Oh, okay,” Ruby said, unsure but willing to do it. She laid behind Penny, hugging her to her chest. The android was surprisingly warm, and Ruby let it drag her into sleep.

Till Weiss kicked open the door. “Fucking Blake and Yang, they should hang a sock-” She stopped seeing, first only one bed, and two, Ruby and Penny sharing the other one.

“...are you two going to be fucking?”

Ruby blinked, and Penny shook her head.

“Good, move over, I’m tired.”

“Uh….” Ruby and Penny shared a look, but Weiss laid down behind Ruby.

She nuzzled into Ruby and was soon asleep. Ruby, trapped between the two of them smirked and just went with it.

“Tomorrow, I’m the middle spoon,” Penny said, and the other two giggled.

[littlemisssquiggles]

Any thoughts on the episode 4?

I’m going to be bluntly honest with you here; anon-chan. Chapter 4 is my least favourite episode of RWBY V7 thus far.

Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t an entirely bad episode. On the contrary, it was another solid episode.  It reminded me of last season’s fourth episode—the aftermath of one chapter where a lot of action and excitement took place. Compared to the events of the last three episodes, CH4 felt almost kind of boring in a way. But again, it wasn’t a terrible episode. It left details and reveals that should be noticed like the ending reveal where Watts was shown to known Jacques Schnee personally. 

Watts and Jacques:

That to me was the best part of the episode. I mean I’ve heard other RWBY theorist point out the possibility of Watts and Jacques possibly being related. Like I can recall RWBY Youtuber: Cailayx sharing a theory video about Watts and Jacques secretly being brothers.

Personally I didn’t really buy into that theory although I do get why folks could come to that deduction. And since this episode highlighted that Jacques and Watts know each other, perhaps they are indeed related. If not by actual blood brothers then perhaps—half-brothers.

Perhaps…they’re even cousins? Or perhaps they’re just old acquaintances who helped each other get where they are to this date.

Either way, Watts knowing Jacques got me super interested since it answers my theories shared in this musing post. Watts is going to help Jacques win the elections. More than that, Watts is going to help Jacques overthrow Ironwood’s place on the Atlesian Council. I had a strong feeling this was going to be the case and after seeing the end, I’m excited to see where this all goes.

I’m especially interested to see how this development in going to affect Whitley. It makes me wonder if Whit is going to possibly inform Weiss about what he learnt about Jacques and Watts. 

After all, when James and Jacques were having their disputes in Jacques’ office back in V4, Whitley was the one who told Weiss before she saw  their father. Who’s to say that this isn’t going to happen again? 

Whether or not, Weiss will believe Whitley after what happened the last time the two saw each other—who knows. But this episode dropped some juicy breadcrumbs for the Schnee Family Affairs and the Crimes of the SDC side of the V7 narrative and I’m definitely excited to see where it all goes, especially for Whit.

At least one of my sons got some screen time this episode. Speaking of sons…alright, time for me to address the Mammoth Grimm in the room like I always do.

Oh Where, Oh Where Can My Smol Farm Boy Be?

Like I said, this episode was a solid episode. However, me being me, I couldn’t help notice that  certain freckled little barn prince was absent from this entire episode and words cannot begin to describe how much that seriously bothered me.

If I may rant here for a few paragraphs—You mean to tell me that our heroes—JNR_RWBY all officially got their huntsmen licenses.

As of now, they are no longer students anymore. They are officially certified huntsmen and huntresses qualified to work in the field. It is treated as a big commemorative moment with cake and possibly other refreshments. 

You mean to tell me that we have this awesome celebratory moment with the WHOLE TEAM together to revel in this grandiose achievement after everything they’ve all suffered through these past few seasons since Beacon…andOscar wasn’t present at all for any of it?

Are these Writers SERIOUS right now?    

They couldn’t even be bothered to have Oscar come down from Atlas with Ironwood or Winter or even Penny to join in the festivities and be there to congratulate his friends on the success of their first mission with the Aces and becoming official huntsmen.

What excuse do the Writers have for NOT having him be there? 

I mean @miki-13 mentioned a good possibility of Oscar not being there since he and Ruby are kind of avoiding each other at the moment (perhaps they had a fight during their talk before the mission with the Aces that left things tense between them).  

While that it is a great deduction, I’m not sure if that was the case in the show. As a matter of fact, not only did we not get to see the rest of the Ruby’s conversation with Oscar to know how that concluded but this episode, doesn’t even mention Oscar at all.

His presence was non-existent this episode and after coming off of an episode like CH3 where he was at least mentioned despite not being there with the others, to go from CH3 to this…I’m sorry, I am beyond annoyed by this episode.

As a Pinehead, it’s moments like this that kind of irk me because it makes me feel as if the Writers aren’t serious about giving Oscar any development. I’m not just referring to his own individual growth as a character outside of his story with Oz. I’m also talking about his relationship with the other heroes and his overall presence on the team.

Oscar is supposed to be a part of the hero team too but it’s hard to believe this when you get episodes like today’s. 

Last volume, the Writers had the audacity to have characters like Jaune say things like ‘This team isn’t the same without Oscar’ in that abysmal V6CH9 episode. And now here we are again with a big team moment and he’s not there. 

Everyone is present—Penny’s there. Winter is there. The Ace Ops are there. The gangs all here EXCEPT OSCAR. And what made it worse wasthat he wasn’t even mentioned.  Nor was he even missed.

And what bothered me even more was there was no narrative reason for Oscar to not be there with everyone. You can’t even use the excuse that Oscar was busy training with Ironwood since Ironwood was there too!

Everyone who was present in his office for V7CH2 when the plans for the AmityTower were being discussed was there EXCEPT OSCAR!

Like…how the f*** could you forget him. 

I just…I CANNOT with these Writers anymore. I know it’s just one episode but…not again. Not to sound overdramatic here but, I’m upset. 

And the more I think about it, the more upset I become. Thank you CRWBY Writers for rekindling my disbelief in your ability to keep your word about treating Oscar better for this volume.

Looks like it’s going to be business as usual and I just…*long frustrated groan*

Again, I know they only neglected him for episode but…after V6CH9; I’m not falling for this shit again. This episode left me hella salty and I’m honestly starting to feel less excited for CH5 now because I have a feeling that Oscarmight not be in that episode either. 

I mean, if we’re lucky, CH5 might be Oscar’s training with Ironwood. Now that the mission with the Ace Ops portion is complete and our heroes will probably be off on missions around Mantle and Atlas, I’m hoping next episode will focus a bit Oscar’s own training with Ironwood. He has some catching up to do. The others are certified huntsmen now.Which makes me wonder if Oscar is going to eventually get certified as well?

Unlike the others who chose to become huntsmen, Oscar was roped into it through Oz. So what is going to be Oscar’s goal? Is his goal only to become Ozpin’s replacement? I sincerely hope not. I hope the show takes some time to flesh Oscar out and finally show a bit more on how he’s been handling all of this. But then again, not going to get my hopes up here especially after today.

With our heroes officially certified as huntsmen, it gives me the impression that the heroes will all be busy on missions and it feels like they won’t even be sticking in teams anymore.

Drifting Away?

One point that was highlighted in this episode is our heroes going off and doing their own thing and not necessarily sticking together. It doesn’t seem like friendship plays a role in being a huntsmen. At least not in Atlas? As we saw with the Aces, just because they all work together and get along well in the field, outside of the job, they’re nothing more than colleagues. They’re not even friends which actually saddened me a little bit.

I understand it comes with the job and it’s a reality that Ruby and the others have to deal with, still didn’t make it feel any less bummy to hear especially since we know that a core part of what made our heroes so great is their comradery with one another.

As Weiss rightfully told Jacques (when she put him in his place FINALLY), our heroes aren’t just teammates or even friends. They’re family who have been through alot.together.

So I’m curious to see if being certified huntsmen might change this. After being together for so long, I’m wondering if Atlas will cause everyone to start drifting apart. That’s what I’m wondering.

Summer Rose

Summer was mentioned in this episode. It was done in a nice little moment with Qrow and Ruby. In spite of my annoyance of the lack of Oscar in this episode, I am glad we got to see Ruby and Qrow have this moment together. Especially sine it finally got Ruby to ask about her mom since she rarely ever talks about her…in the series.

It was a pleasant moment and I liked it. 

Overall…

All in all, like I said, today’s episode was a bad episode. I just…didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the last three episodes. It also kind of sucker punched my hopes for Oscar being treated better this season.

Sorry if I’m acting like a drama queen with this matter but…as I’ve said many times before, Oscar is my favourite character in RWBY. His story and development is the one I’m most excited to see fleshed out. And after the way he was handled for the past two seasons, especially in V6,, I was really, REALLY worried for how the Writers were going to treat him for V7.

So far for these last three episodes, they were doing very good with him and I was actually starting to feel hopeful that V7 might just be Oscar’s best season yet. But then this episode came along and I feel like I’m back to my previous skepticism

I’m hoping that this episode is the only episode of V7 where Oscar is omitted. I hope next episode the story focuses on Oscar a litle bit. CH5 is slated to be the longest episode for this season so far at nearly 20 minutes.

So hopefully the little barn prince will be back from his hiatus this episode. I especially want to know what happened between him and Ruby. Something about how they left off their conversation from last week bothers me. There is more to it. I just want to know when we’ll get the rest. I guess we’ll only know moving forward.

Anyways, that’s all I got to say for CH4. Thanks for asking anon-chan.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019) 

[laulink]

A different Time Travel!AU

A.N. : In which Weiss from the future was sent back to the past because of an item supposed to stop time malfunctionning and instead throwing her sometime in the beginning of V7. She was knocked unconscious and is not aware that this is the past... yet.

*Team QRWBYJNOR was in a meeting room with the Ace Ops, Winter, Penny and General Ironwood, all looking at the live feed of a camera placed in a room next to theirs. The room contained nothing but a bed, a table and two chairs and on the bed rested a woman, seemingly in her forties, with white hair and a scar over her left eye. Her jacket bore the crest of the Schnee family.*

Ironwood : ... Well... After many searches through all of our data bases, the only person we could find who matched this woman’s physical features is Miss Schnee. But obviously there can’t be two Miss Schnee and this woman is older. Any idea about what could have happened ?

Penny : Maybe she’s a clone ? That was aged artificially ? Though I don’t know why someone would do that.

Winter : Maybe the person who did it wanted the clone to reach adulthood faster, but miscalculated.

Ironwood : But her aura is exactly the same as Miss Schnee’s. That is unheard of, even between identical twins.

Nora : *gasp* Maybe she comes from the FUTURE ?! That would be so AWESOME !

Weiss : Time travel isn’t possible though.

Yang : You said the same thing about magic and 30 seconds later my mom turned into a bird.

Weiss : *opens her mouth as if to retort*... *closes her mouth, grumbling*... Ok, fair.

Ironwood : *noticing the woman in the room stirring and reaching up with a hand to massage her forehead, as though she had a headache* Well, looks like we won’t have to wonder for much longer. I’ll go interrogate her. Everyone stay here and observe. Be on your guard : she might be an enemy and try to escape. *pointing to his left ear* You can talk to me if you notice something suspicious.

Everyone : *voices their agreement*

*Ironwood walks out of the room, knocks on the bedroom’s door and enters after hearing a muffled invitation*

*The unknown woman is sitting up on the bed, still massaging her forehead. She looks up to see who entered the room and recognition flashes in her eyes*

Mystery Woman : James. It has been a while. Why are you here ? Where are we even ? This doesn’t look like the Manor or the Military Hospital.

Ironwood : *taken aback by the woman’s familiarity and her voice, almost exactly the same as Weiss’* You... are in an unoccupied teaching staff bedroom in Atlas Academy... *taking a second to think, adding tentatively* Miss Schnee.

Mystery Woman : *a scowl taking over her face, her eyes turning as cold as the glaciers hidden in the tundra* Mrs Belladonna-Schnee, James. I know you and my wife have your disagreements, but that is no reason to act as though she doesn’t even exist.

*Everyone in the meeting room is taken aback. No one moves, no one makes a sound.*

Ironwood : *taking a second to let it settle in* *takes a deep breathe and joins his hands in front of his face in a praying gesture* ... Will you please let me be the one to tell Jacques ? Please. I beg of you.

Winter : *through Ironwood’s earpiece* Sir, I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. Family has priority. I will tell Jacques about this.

Ironwood : *putting a hand to his ear to reply, not caring that the Mystery Woman would see it* Winter, you rejected that man years ago, don’t you “family” your way into this.

Winter : I don’t care. I call dibs. I’ll tell him.

Ironwood : Winter, I am your superior officer, I order you to let me tell him.

Winter : No can do. But don’t worry, I’m sure Whitley will end up a disappointment to our Father as well, one way or another, as there is no pleasing this man, so I’ll let you tell him when the time comes.

Ironwood : WINTER ! Do I not mean anything to you ?! This is the chance of a lifetime to see that bitch’s soul leave his body !

Winter : You got your moment when I joined Atlas Academy and we signed the adoption paper. Now it’s my turn. Sorry dad.

Ironwood : *betrayed* WIIIIINNTEEEEERRRR !!!

Mrs Belladonna-Schnee ??? : ... What the hell is going on.

[fairy-writes]

So I binged RWBY season 7 today and made notes. Here are said notes and thoughts on the episodes!

So my notes will probably not be in any particular order because my brain hops from point to point and forward one and back three so sorry if it’s confusing!

Ep 1: 

Qrow’s voice actor gave me a heart attack, I forgot they changed his voice actor. I honestly thought I was watching Darker than Black or My Hero Academia with his voice.But I like it! Jason Liebrecht is one of my favorite voice actors!

James Ironwood makes me so sad because I love him and he’s trying his best.

I had a problem initially with the animation of the fight scenes, I think they just seemed too… smeared? I can’t quite place it but I had a hard time keeping up with what moves the characters were performing.

I wish I could have seen the tuning of Maria’s eyes! I was getting serious FMA vibes with automail and whatnot but I didn’t get to see the procedures Doctor Pietro performed!!

Oscar getting to fight was probably one of my favorite scenes, I love my farm boy and I’m hoping Ozpin comes back at some point!

I’m… conflicted on Penny returning… I mean, it makes sense that she would be rebuilt, but as something that had an impact on Ruby in the past with her being destroyed… they kind of just… brushed it off…

Ace Ops! I like them already! I got a request for someone from Ace Ops and I’m excited to get to know them all!

Also, I would have preferred it if RWBY went with security in the beginning (IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT EASIER), but they have to be rats and not do that so meh.

Also, Weiss is worried about being sent back to her dad. Call me dumb, but isn’t she a legal adult and doesn’t have to live with him if she doesn’t want to? Like? Legally she has a say?

Ep 2:

I have a feeling the Ace Ops are treated like pit bulls, have a bad rap and people either hate them or are terrified. But they are intensely loyal and are actually good people.

Ok ok ok, they want to see Ironwood, illegally mind you. By breaking in and sneaking in to see him. But the second they get caught (RIGHTFULLY SO, YOU ARE SNEAKING INTO A KINGDOM) and are taken to see him legally… they get all mopey and sad. JUST OBEY THE LAW PEOPLE

I don’t know why I’m so focused on the detail in everyone’s shoes. But I am.

Winter is in the right for being upset at Weiss. I WOULD BE TOO.

I AM SUPPORTING AND TRUSTING IRONWOOD, JUST SAYING THAT NOW

Ironwood’s plan makes sense, I do believe the people should know about Salem.

Also, why is Qrow all buddy buddy with Ozpin again? He was talking about him like he missed him, but I was under the impression that he hated Ozpin after learning his background.

WHY ARE YOU LYING TO IRONWOOD RUBY?! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU DIDN’T WANT WITH OZ. I can tell Ironwood knows something is off but he can’t tell what.

Not sure when to put this, but i hope they bring up everything with Adam, like I hope it is part of Blake’s and Yang’s character development.

Qrow getting a hug from Ironwood makes me happy, he needs some happiness and friends in his life!!

I like the Ace Ops, the guy with the wolf tail is going to be one of my favorites I can tell But I’m biased and like anything to do with dogs.

Ep 3:

UPGRADES TO THE WEAPONS YES

This leader of the Ace Ops is really cool, I like him but I can’t really get the image out of my mind that he probably plays soccer or something. Like a soccer dad or something.

The initial designs or Team RWBY looked cool in theory, but I don’t think they translate to the animation style very well. I’d have to say Ruby’s is probably my favorite, except for her hair. She looks like a duck. It looks like they were almost going for an Edward Elric or Meliodas style cowlick but it didn’t work out too well.

Again, wolf faunus guy is going to be my favorite.

The zippers of Blake’s costume is bugging me, just a note.

And Oscar bringing up the lying is great and I love it.

Not going to lie, Blake getting attacked by the Haunter looking grimm or whatever it was, gave me a big jump scare.

Centipede grimm… what’s 1000-7 anyone? No? Okay I’ll shut up.

I want Qrow and the leader of the Ace Ops to be friends, Qrow needs friends.

I LOVE THE ACE OPS ITS OFFICIAL

ALL OF THEM ARE MY CHILDREN

Also it’s really nice to see graduated huntsmen in action, working as a team and all. We really only have seen Qrow by himself but it’s cool to see a team in action!

Another speed semblance is awesome and I love it!!

Clover has a good luck semblance? Why is that so funny to me?

Also watching Marrow parade Ruby around is the epitome of cute.

DAMN IT TYRIAN DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THAT

Also, did they ever explain why his eyes turn purple?

Ep 4:

I like that the Ace Ops are civilized with each other but don’t act like best buddies. It’s a really cool change from the buddy buddy attitude of RWBY and JNR.

I’m still hating Jaune’s hair cut.

Yaaaaaaaaaaay murder!

I’m also not sure how I feel about Qrow’s outfit, it almost makes him look like a toy soldier.

And yaaaassss Ironwood bashing Jaques is one of the best things ever.

Also I think they’re forgetting the fact that Weiss is a legal adult?

And Papa Schnee is gaslighting Weiss, I hope people call that out.

He’s also threatening military personnel and Ironwood at that. You know that talk about the noose and stuff… Isn’t that illegal?

I can tell Penny is going to bug me, I really believe that she could’ve been written out.

Really dumb, but can Yang feel pain if she disconnects her arm? How does she move it? Is it like Fullmetal Alchemist’s automail?

I think Ozpin does trust others with the whole truth, not just himself. I think Qrow is lying to himself to make himself feel better.

I 100% believe Summer would have trusted in Oz and pressed on with what he had planned. But hey, that’s just me.

It still throws me off when Watts talks because he’s also All Might and those are two very different people.

I feel like they are trying to build tension by ending every episode with the villains, but that’s starting to get old and I’m only on episode 4

Ep 5: 

Ruby is a morning person and it’s already wearing me out.

This almost slice of life scene is really nice!

I like that it shows that team RWBY and JNR are really adept at fighting and all, but it also shows that Ace Ops are superior.

Nora riding her hammer like a Mario Kart is awesome

YAY NEON’S BACK

Also Neon, Oscar is like 14, back off

Ren is being sad boy and it makes me sad too.

Qrow and Clover having a minute to be friends is nice!

And how easily did Qrow give up drinking? That’s not really something you just… give up?

Robyn (Robin?) makes a good point, Mantle does need help and they aren’t getting it. But she’s going about it the wrong way.

Pipsqueak and 5 o’clock shadow are excellent nicknames.

Training between Winter and Weiss is really cool! I like the little sisterly bonding scenes are really sweet!

Weiss makes a good point, everyone is doing what they think is right, even if it doesn’t look like it.

I don’t like that they are keeping the Winter Maiden almost as a prisoner, but I can also see why he’s doing it the way he is. And the fact that Winter is accepting it the way she is is such a breath of fresh air from a classic hero’s arc she could’ve been put down.

I still trust Ironwood! That’s all I’m saying!

I also believe that Yang and Blake should branch out and work with others, not just each other. It isn’t healthy. Especially if the writers aren’t TALKING ABOUT ADAM.

PLEASE TALK ABOUT ADAM, THAT’S A HUGE TRAUMATIZING EXPERIENCE THAT THEY AREN’T TALKING ABOUT

Ep 6: 

Nora’s bringing up a point that is really important!! Maybe Ozpin couldn’t beat Salem but maybe someone else can! Maybe Ruby can once she gets a hold on her silver eyes!

Marrow is still my favorite, I love him so much.

The little sheep faunus that follows Robyn around is so cute. Her weapon is not so cute. But I love her anyway. I LOVE FAUNUS OKAY

I feel like Rooster Teeth is trying to push the subtle message of getting registered to vote and I’m lowkey cackling.

Okay, serious thing here. I love that Renora is a ship that sailed. Really I do, it’s probably my favorite RWBY ship. (though I like to think it sailed a while ago) But I feel like we didn’t really earn that kiss? Like I feel like it would have been better if they hadn’t argued and like it was a last ditch effort to stop said argument. I don’t know, I have a lot of feelings about it.

Watching Tyrian in action is super cool! The way he was animated is so fluid and mesmerizing and I really love it! Great job Rooster Teeth!!

Also Watts almost looked like a conductor and if that’s what Rooster Teeth is going for I applaud them. But also, on the funny side, it looks like he’s waving his arms around like a maniac.

Penny being framed is really neat, but why do I feel like it’s going to be brushed off?

Marrow telling everyone to stay is hilarious to me and I love it.

Papa Schnee pledging to serve while Grimm are attacking is a really cool parallel.

According to the end credits, I’m taller than Ruby… For once I’m taller than an anime character other than Edward Elric!

Ep 7:

Penny’s head pat is so cute.

I understand why Ironwood put the ban on assembly and the curfew up. It makes sense while they’re trying to catch Tyrian.

Also the semblance that gives someone the ability to turn things invisible?! Dude that’s so cool!!

Everything Ironwood and Ace Ops are saying makes sense. I can see how his mind is working and I can tell he’s just trying to keep everyone safe.

Also, where has Maria been? What has she been doing?

“Why can’t people do what they used to and fight to the death?” Maria I love you.

Blake being Batman over here, my goodness.

Blake using Dust with her semblance again! Finally!

Hahaha cutting off swearing is probably one of my favorite tropes.

James wanting to ask and talking to Ozpin hurts my heart. I just want Ozpin back!!

Seeing someone still messed up by the Fall of Beacon is really nice, everyone else seems to brush it off.

Ep 8:

I hate dinner parties… I have a feeling this won’t go well…

“Sir, with all due respect, you’d have to pay me.” OMG Winter I’m dead XD

I hope Weiss has a song in this like “This Life is Mine” I really really hope she does.

Also THIS IS THE PERFECT CHANCE TO HAVE FORMAL WEAR

I WANT TO SEE THEM IN FORMAL WEAR

Awww I liked Klein :(

Qrow and Clover’s friendship is so nice, I like it :)

Part of me wishes Whitley had a wardrobe upgrade. It would have been a nice change of color!

Oscar eating in the background is me in any social situation.

Why does every rich businessman have a long ass dining table? Seriously? Why?

Ren looks so proud of himself, also seeing Whitley doused in wine is hilarious. Also, purple really is his color!

Guys? Please let Ironwood talk? You want to know why but you keep interrupting him before he can get a word out.

YAS WINTER GO OFF ON HIM

It’s also a nice touch that all the people on Papa Schnee’s side has wine while everyone else has water, I don’t know if it was intentional but I noticed it and thought it was cool!

Weiss’s mom is very pretty! I’m also really glad to see Weiss actually talking to her mom. And seeing her mom trying to talk some sense into Weiss is really cool too. 

Ep 9: 

Ok ok, PLEASE STOP INTERRUPTING IRONWOOD! DIDN’T ANYONE TEACH YOU BETTER?!

Question about Robyn’s semblance, would it work with Ironwood’s prosthetic side?

“You are under arrest! Can I do that?” One of my favorite quotes in this show.

Please Winter, just sock Papa Schnee in the face.

Yes James, Robyn knows. Because people who CAN’T KEEP A SECRET TOLD HER

I forgot how much I love the designs of the bigger grimm, I mean. The other ones are fine. But the giant ones? Masterpieces

I’m starting to ship Robyn and Ironwood, they have the potential for ‘enemies to lovers’ kind of fanfictions.

“You aren’t alone.” OKAY RUBY HOW ABOUT YOU TELL HIM YOUR SECRETS?!

Stupid question I started thinking of, how much do Huntsmen get paid?

“Ugh kids” I feel you Marrow, I feel you

Please give Ironwood a break, he needs a vacation. Petition to give Ironwood a vacation!

The music, I keep forgetting how much I love the instrumental music in RWBY.

Aaaaaaaaand Neo and Cinder are back… no one saw this coming… BECAUSE IT WASN’T SET UP BEFORE

Writers of RWBY… please set up things like that little by little! Even if it was just something small, like a glimpse or something! Not just throwing them back in the story because of the potential conflict it would cause!

Ep 10: 

Yesssssss big strong queen on the Ace Ops!

The slow piano during Ironwood’s speech is really pretty. It’s giving me goosebumps!

Ironwood’s speeches are some of the best anime speeches I’ve ever heard, the music choice really helps make it so much more impactful.

“Our tin soldier’s heart has lost his mind.” Nice tin man reference!

“The timeline has changed.” Cinder are you a time traveler now?

HELL YEAH I’VE ALWAYS WANTED SOMEONE TO HAVE A BAZOOKA

Also, I think people forget just how terrifying elephants can be until they are RUNNING RIGHT AT YOU

Ruby this would be really nice if you would use your silver eyes right about now

Penny looked legit like someone out of Dragon Ball Z and it’s making me cackle.

The whole thing with Robyn, Qrow, and Clover vs Tyrian is something I’ve heard very vague things about and I’m not looking forward to it.

SUPERHERO LANDING BITCH

All Might vs Ironwood… I’M READY!!!

Ep 11: 

FINALLY AN IRONWOOD SONG

I’ll have to look at the lyrics after, but it’s really cool to see Ironwood in action!!

I mean we saw him in action back at the Fall of Beacon, but this is against another human being!

A detail I wish was added was Ironwood’s punches landing differently with half of his body being metal and the other half being flesh.

Also Ironwood… Please be okay, please don’t lose an arm…

The fight between Tyrian and the three was very short but very clean and nice!

Ironwood falling into paranoia is out of character in my opinion. But you know, just my opinion, the writers don’t seem to care about him much.

OH SHIT SALEM

“Set the stage for me.” You and what army?

RIGHT THE FLYING MONKEY ARMY I FORGOT

Summer Rose and the screaming is messing with my head.

Apparently it’s messing with Ruby’s too…

I don’t know why they’re so worried about Ironwood doing what he’s doing. It does make sense. And team RWBY’s choices are finally coming to bite them in the ass, it makes me happy!

Except for leaving Mantle to die, I think that’s the only thing I don’t like. But casualties are always a part of war.

Okay RWBY… you guys are a bunch of kids, and what’s your plan? You don’t have one! Ironwood came up with a plan against Salem! It does mean people are going to die and yes it’s sad, but people die a lot and more are going to be killed if you try and do something stupid and reckless.

But I’m anticipating that RWBY and Co. are going to win because of their protagonist powers.

Ep 12: 

Children children don’t fight. Though Tyrian is making me laugh.

I wish they all talked about it like civil adults, but I suppose Robyn is a bit too childish.

I want Ace Ops to win, but they won’t because protagonist powers and it kind of pisses me off.

You know, all Marrow has to do is use his semblance right?

As gross as it is, it’s kinda cool seeing how Tyrian got out of his restraints.

OK WHY IS HE TEAMING UP WITH TYRIAN?! It makes no sense? It would’ve made more sense if they both teamed up on Tyrian and then fought after, maybe they wouldn’t have had to fight because Qrow genuinely found a friend in Clover so he’d give up so he can also get to Ruby.

Also Blake and Yang probably broke her back.

Seeing Ruby go toe to toe with someone and only won because Weiss intervened was cool.

Aaaaaaaaand Ace Ops is down and I’m pissed.

AND NOW CLOVER IS DEAD?! YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING ASSHOLE!!

TEAMING UP WITH A SERIAL KILLER AND EXPECTING HIM TO NOT KILL HIM IS LIKE EXPECTING SOMEONE NOT TO BREATHE.

Clover just wanted to trust Qrow. THAT’S ALL HE WANTED.

But not gonna lie, seeing Qrow cry still makes me upset. 

It seems like the writers are taking away anyone who either gets shipped with Qrow, or whoever he has a relationship with that isn’t RWBY. Ozpin? Gone. Ironwood? Pretty much estranged and not seeing eye to eye anymore. Tai? Who knows what’s happening with him.

Ep 13 (Finale): 

I’m not excited for the finale.

I’m really not.

But starting it off with a fight with Neo is a cool idea.

Seeing her fight using her umbrella is always one of my favorite things about her character.

And now a fight with Cinder vs Winter and Penny.

“It just makes us hungrier and I refuse to starve.” Really cool quote! Even though Cinder is probably one of my least favorite characters.

Winter using her summoning thing to make a manticore was super cool too!

Penny saving Winter, please tell me they become friends after this.

“My life doesn’t matter!” “I disagree!” Okay okay Penny gains one point in my character list for this quote.

Seeing Neo as Nora was cool, though I don’t understand why Ren was hesitating to attack her. They’ve surely spared before right? Like he shouldn’t hesitate that much? 

But him crying is really really sad.

YAS BOSS ASS BITCH WINTER MAIDEN OLD LADY

I really wish we could’ve seen her personality more, she seems really nice.

Though I gotta say, her exploding with power was really epic.

Ren please don’t scream, it hurts my heart.

Please don’t make Penny the winter maiden. If she becomes the maiden then I’m going to riot.

DAMN IT SHE’S THE MAIDEN

That pose Oscar, you’re becoming Ozpin. And I miss my wizard. I want him to come back.

Him using the cane as an actual cane because he’s injured is really cool. Plus the fact that he draws so much comfort from Ozpin’s cane is so sweet.

Ironwood is going down a dark path because the writers want him to and it’s pissing me off to no end.

SHOOTING OSCAR ISN’T IN CHARACTER FOR IRONWOOD OKAY?!

Winter cutting off Cinder’s arm is one of the best things in this episode

OZPIN IS BACK AND THAT’S ALL I CARE ABOUT

Now Ruby decides to use her silver eyes?

OZPIN IS BACK BITCHES

Literally all I care about is Ozpin coming back, though the song is pretty I guess. 

Part of me is happy Qrow is arrested.

Winter forcing Weiss and Co to run is really sweet and touching in her own way. She just wants her sister to be safe.

Cinder ticks me off, she’s very childish and if that’s supposed to be the point it’s working. She’s not really all that intimidating

Now Salem has a flying whale? Is this a reference to the whale that swallowed Pinocchio? 

OSCAR HAS MAGIC

OZPIN IS BACK

I WILL NOT STOP FREAKING OUT ABOUT THIS

That’s all my thoughts on this season of RWBY! Thanks for reading if you got this far! And my requests are OPEN for male rwby character x reader requests!

fairytailwzard over and out!~

[shadows-twilight]

RWBY Volume 7 Chapter 2

Sorry it's late (work is a pain), but here are my thoughts and opinions on Chapter 2 of RWBY Volume 7, "A New Approach"

SPOILERS BELOW:

While my initial reaction to the new theme song was just as lukewarm as the last three were, I can already feel it growing on me. Excellent.

I guess it wouldn't be Nora if she wasn't going feral on her handcuffs. I wonder if all of the Rooster Teeth animations are in the same universe and she's not distantly related to Camp Camp's Nikki.

I didn't even realize that there was someone else in the carriage with them last episode. He feels like a random (if somewhat comedic) one-off, but the credits name him as "Forest", so perhaps we'll see him in the future.

Oh come on, Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses? Are Miles and Kerry even trying to be subtle with the character allusions anymore?

Woah, now THAT is a beautiful reveal shot of Atlas. Really shows the scale of the place.

Ooh, Atlas Academy looks swanky.

Geez, Winter, I'm sure asking nicely or even phrasing it as an order would have done just fine. Though I suppose that is an appropriate reintroduction to your character.

Wow. Ironwood's office is huge! It's like he took one look at Ozpin's and said "There is no way I'm letting him have this"

Of all of the reactions I expected Ironwood to have to the heroes stealing an airship, mild amusement was not one of them.

Adorable hugs is starting to become one of Weiss's signature moves and I am all for it.

Not gonna lie, my initial reaction to Ironwood telling them about the Relics and Salem wasn't too in favor of it, but the more I thought about it, was it really too different from Qrow telling Team RNJR about it in Volume 4?

Why do I get the feeling that the Staff of Creation is not safe inside the vault? I mean, I believe that Penny thinks it is, but it totally isn't, right?

Hmm, so the Winter Maiden is some old woman? I guess that squashes any theories about it either being Winter or Willow, since I'm sure they would have made a point to mention that by now.

"I needed to ensure that Salem couldn't infiltrate Atlas" Yeeeeeaaaaaah, about that.

Hmm, turning Amity into Remnant's first global communication satellite? I like it. Not sure how well the whole "out of reach from the Grimm" part will work now that Salem's got her flying monkey's. Though I suppose they aren't the first airborne Grimm, so there's nothing to say they can reach higher than the others.

Hoo boy, there's a lot to unpack here. On one hand, I can see where Ironwood's thinking is going with this plan to tell everyone about Salem. With Grimm being the number one problem of the world, banding all of Remnant together against her isn't exactly the most outlandish of fantasies. That being said, I imagine that there are scores of people like Tyrian, Watts, Hazel, and Cinder that wouldn't have any problems with joining her, and with Salem exposed, she would have ample opportunity to spread her own message of a brand new world and recruit such people to her cause. Eventually, it would turn into an all out war between Salem's now sizable faction against the rest of Remnant. If anything Ironwood's plan would really only help Salem's plans in the long run. I'm also suspicious about Ironwood's plan to come in and "help out"other kingdoms once he tells them about Salem. It sounds to me like a scheme to get back into everyone's good graces after every single stunt he's pulled since the Fall.

To quote Blake from the previous episode, Ironwood's reaction to Oscar's identity is strangely wholesome.

Hmm, Ruby's lying to Ironwood not unlike Oz kept things from them. Can't say I blame her. Ironwood hasn't exactly proven himself to be trustworthy in the past, and while I like a lot of the things he's selling, I'm getting the feeling that he's keeping plenty from them. Still, after their reactions to Ozpin's secrets in the previous volume, I wonder if this is going to lead to some small arc where Ruby and the gang grow to realize the position he was in, and later apologize to him when they next speak to him. That would certainly be nice.

I wonder what kind of weapon upgrades we might be seeing. We've seen Gambol Shroud getting repaired, Yang's arm getting buffed, and the OP showed off Jaune's shield getting a hard light enhancement (Jaune is slowly becoming Felix), but I wonder if anyone else will be getting upgrades as well.

Ok, now we get to meet the the Ace Ops (which I can not believe I missed as a pun on Aesop's) properly. Thankfully, the credits gave us their full names, so here we get: -Elm Ederne (who I believe to be the Plane Tree. My quick search didn't bring up too many fables about trees, and she doesn't seem arrogant enough to be the Oak from The Oak and the Reed). She seems really friendly, if a bit overly energetic. I can't wait to see more of her. -Marrow Amin, who is either a dog or wolf faunus (hopefully dog, Aesop tended to cast wolves as villains, which would not bode well here). To put it simply, he's a tsundere. Moreso than Weiss ever was. Dear lord. -Clover Ebi (obviously based on A Fisherman's Good Luck, considering his weapon and numerous good luck charms). Seems rather generic for now, but we'll see how he develops. -Harriet 'Hare' Bree. Oh, come on guys. I'm trying to feel really clever figuring this stuff out, which is very hard when you just give it to us like that. From her competitive tendencies to her Flash-like effects in the OP, clearly this the Hare from easily one of Aesop's most famous fables, The Tortoise and the Hare. Side note, I like that they gave forwent the obvious route in making her a rabbit Faunus (unless there's a cottontail we're not seeing) and instead simply gave her rabbit-ear-like bangs. It's a nice creative touch. -Vine Zeki (not a clue). He looks like Zenyetta had a weird robo-love-child with ABLE from gen:LOCK.

Oh my, I can hear the Ironqrow shippers screaming for joy.

It just occurred to me that Penny probably doesn't get tired. Gawd it's great to have her back.

Damn, Watts looks sharp as hell in that coat.

Or should I say, Dr. Arthur 'No Fucks Given' Watts.

Listening to Tyrian murder someone as he casually complains about moving around is highly disturbing.

Ooh. That's a lot of blood. Hope it wasn't originally inside of somebody we know.

[tb5-hellbound]

here is a long ago conversation about talented amateurs, between me and a much better writer

if it’s of interest to anybody, here’s a long ago conversation I had with a very dear friend (and the best writer I know), about this story and the shape of it. it probably would’ve taken place around November of 2018, which is wild to remember. My daughter was 3. I was in the middle of moving house. TAG still hadn’t aired S3. I came to know so much about this story that it’s surprising to remember that I didn’t know when I wrote the first chapter that it even WAS a first chapter.

and not featured here, but still necessary to thank personally for putting up with similar ramblings over the course of the past two years are @space-baegel, @scribeofred and @drdone. 

Anyway. Here’s a behind the scenes glimpse at what I knew in November of 2018. Thanks for reading <3

Prelude 9:27 pm also i have another 2k in TA Kate 9:27 pm and you do not have enough hours in the day Prelude 9:27 pm and they are about to have a Big Talk Kate 9:27 pm OOOOH KHNDFKLVGERUILG i just got SO excited Prelude 9:27 pm no and I have a small person sitting on my lap yelling SUPER JUMP SUPER JUMP and not finishing her pizza Kate 9:28 pm hahshaaha she is my spirit animal except i would have finished the pizza in the first 30 seconds Prelude 9:29 pm hahaha yeah she got distracted by puppy games on her phone Kate 9:29 pm oh well then that is understandable Prelude 9:30 pm the problem is she still sits on my lap and she weighs forty pounds she is 3’6" and people think she’s a six year old Kate 9:31 pm she sounds exactly like my cousin sam she’s going to be TALL Prelude 9:31 pm oh yeah freakish Kate 9:31 pm are you and hubby tall? Prelude 9:31 pm oh yes Kate 9:31 pm both? Prelude 9:31 pm I’m 5’9", he’s 6’1" Kate 9:31 pm ahhh yess Prelude 9:32 pm I’m the shortest member of my family, although that may have changed Kate 9:32 pm but good height comparison between the two of you Prelude 9:32 pm My sister tells me she’s 5’7" I do not believe Kate 9:32 pm i would like to be 5’7" or even 5’5" Prelude 9:32 pm oh no kate are you tiny i write Penelope as very very tiny Kate 9:32 pm yes, i relate like in TA when you wrote that bit about gordon hovering above her i am her height Prelude 9:33 pm ehehehehehe Kate 9:33 pm so i could completely visualize it Prelude 9:33 pm niiiiice i love me a good height difference Kate 9:33 pm i mean anyone can visualize it but i mean i have been there lil lol i like guys at like 5’10" Prelude 9:33 pm Not Too Tall Kate 9:34 pm the 5’9" or 5’10" is great for my height YES EXACTLY Prelude 9:34 pm She wears like crazy high heels also like she’s wearing platform stilettos half the time. Kate 9:34 pm right i used to, i miss heels Prelude 9:34 pm i love a girl in Good Shoes Kate 9:34 pm i like opportunities to wear heels i haven’t in like a full year ME TOO! Prelude 9:34 pm (spoilers gordon is going to discover that he has a bit of a Shoe Thing) Kate 9:34 pm OH YES I AM READY Prelude 9:35 pm hahahahaha you just sit on the sidelines and cheer everytime I say these sinful things about this very good boy Kate 9:35 pm because i am the biggest, biggest fan of said sinful things Prelude 9:35 pm good, you keep me going Kate 9:35 pm really, just the biggest fan Prelude 9:35 pm It is very helpful Kate 9:35 pm i will be your cheerleader i am that peron person that wants the gritty stuff i want the details Prelude 9:36 pm bless your heart but also like I don’t think I’ll ever get to SMUT territory Kate 9:36 pm keeps me going Prelude 9:36 pm I just like writing like Kate 9:36 pm right Prelude 9:36 pm passions Kate 9:36 pm not that i would expect you too Prelude 9:36 pm not that I couldn’t either Kate 9:36 pm but you tow the line like where you are with TA is Prelude 9:36 pm I walk that tightrope Kate 9:36 pm perfect Prelude 9:36 pm the artful cutaway Kate 9:37 pm b/c then it’s really all left up to the imagination to fill in what you please yes! Prelude 9:37 pm the “oh by the way I can hold my breath for four minutes and I played clarinet in highschool” like Kate 9:37 pm i like that more than actual smut Prelude 9:37 pm subtle yknow Kate 9:37 pm LOL Prelude 9:37 pm see, you get it 😉 Kate 9:37 pm but you say things like"fuckfest" and it makes me happy b/c the deed was done, but again your imagination fills in the details Prelude 9:38 pm exactly and honestly the hardest thing about writing this stuff is writing what they’re both actually doing because I can’t just have the pair of them lying there but i’m very bad at visualizing I need like a pair of very bendy barbies artist doll things Kate 9:39 pm i like it when it’s right there, right at the edge, but then you (as the reader) take it there b/c we all have our own ideas and interpretations of events and what should happen and the way it happens Prelude 9:39 pm yeah! Kate 9:39 pm lol right Prelude 9:39 pm like, i will give you all of the bricks and all of the mortar you fit 'em together Kate 9:39 pm yes, love it! Prelude 9:40 pm ahhh but also like Kate 9:40 pm aw dang now i need more, prelude Prelude 9:40 pm well I mean also like, talking about the terms of their relationship and the fact that they’re going to have a relationship or at least see what happens Kate 9:41 pm i need it okay Prelude 9:41 pm oh man kate if I keep it going there’s gonna be So Much drama with Scotty Kate 9:41 pm like romance is also my New Thing okay like WAIT WAIT WHAT ABOUT DRAMA WITH SCOTT Prelude 9:42 pm oh yeah Kate 9:42 pm TELL ME MORE Prelude 9:42 pm if Gordon gets Penny pregnant, Scott is gonna rip him the fuck in half Kate 9:42 pm BUT LIEK like i don’t care i need it i need to see how it shifts the dynamics for all of them Prelude 9:42 pm oh yes it’s gonna be like, to the point of massive overreaction, almost for a Reason Kate 9:43 pm but that fits with scott i would expect that from scott does it have to do with age Prelude 9:43 pm well, i think for Scott the thing is that he like got a girl pregnant when he was in high school Kate 9:43 pm with scott stepping into dad role OMG YES keep going i am so excited Prelude 9:43 pm and she didn’t keep it, and that was for the best Kate 9:43 pm there are 5 boys in this family you can’t tell me an oops didn’t happen at least once Prelude 9:44 pm But he hates himself for being so irresponsible and stupid and impulsive and young Kate 9:44 pm yes yes yes the scott/gordon dynamic i am fucking HERE for it Prelude 9:44 pm me too But this is also just such a huge thing for Penelope because like her whole life and this was just supposed to be a sort of “well we’ll see” kind of a thing and the first impulsive night they have together, the unthinkable happened and of course she’s not on birth control, she hasn’t been in a serious relationship in a couple of years now And why would he have brought condoms to his grandma’s birthday party and they both should’ve thought about the potential for this consequence, but there’s such an afterglow and it seems more important to think about their relationship and neither of them figured this could happen Kate 9:46 pm right right and passion is like a real fucker that changes everything Prelude 9:47 pm no pun intended Kate 9:47 pm HA Prelude 9:47 pm and they were both looking forward to that courtship phase like Kate 9:47 pm but passion is a fickle bitch, it’s all about the moment she comes for even the most sensible Prelude 9:48 pm the thing that’s going to happen in this chapter is that she’s going to say “okay, let’s do this right. would you rather I took you out for valentine’s day or for your birthday?” “And would you rather go to Paris or Nice?” Kate 9:48 pm oh man grabby hands i’m super excited for the scott parts of this like i love the g/p part too obvs but what scott would go through would be a big Thing he is very emotitonal Prelude 9:49 pm oh yeah Kate 9:49 pm emotional Prelude 9:49 pm I think like Gordon doesn’t know about Scott’s thing And like john or somebody sort of has to take him aside and quietly explain Kate 9:50 pm also, you may not have ever even gone here, but due to my recent obsession, that then makes me think of virgil and kayo if they’re messing around too to be careful shit happens any of them, really, i guess Prelude 9:50 pm oH yeah Kate 9:50 pm i wanna be inside scott’s head when the news comes out Prelude 9:50 pm no they are fanatically careful and they are like Kate 9:50 pm so they are like straight up doing it though? Prelude 9:50 pm no, they’ve been doing this for like a year and a half No one knows Kate 9:50 pm like they are THERE Prelude 9:50 pm Oh yeah They are total fuckbuddies Kate 9:50 pm OH WAIT really? that long?! Prelude 9:51 pm oh yeah Kate 9:51 pm wow, that’s even ebtter better Prelude 9:51 pm no, they have a Thing They have a System Kate 9:51 pm also, i am super impressed that they kept it quiet for that long Prelude 9:51 pm Oh yeah Kate 9:51 pm which makes sense considering kayo Prelude 9:51 pm Yeah, entirely Kate 9:51 pm is special ops or whatever Prelude 9:51 pm I think Virgil’s just like I mean Kate 9:51 pm but like, i dunno, i love it Prelude 9:52 pm I think he’s the place where everybody else goes with secrets Kate 9:52 pm and i kinda like looking at the various dynamics Prelude 9:52 pm but he’s insanely good at keeping his own Kate 9:52 pm of what is and what isn’t YES i’ve always headcanoned virgil that way too Prelude 9:52 pm I think Somebody might know about Virgil hahahaha I also kind of I mean like Kate 9:52 pm wait tell me about the system Prelude 9:52 pm there’s a place I wanna go with Virgil Kate 9:52 pm i am sorry Prelude 9:52 pm haha I don’t know much yet Kate 9:52 pm i hijacked this conversation Prelude 9:52 pm but it’s like no no, it’s cool Kate 9:53 pm from pen and ink to virgil Prelude 9:53 pm No, I gotchu fam Kate 9:53 pm and kayo lol but i have thought lots about the first 2 Prelude 9:53 pm I think they have like Kate 9:53 pm and v/k is new and exciting for me lol WAIT THIS PLACE TELL ME MORE Prelude 9:53 pm hahaha well like I mean, it’s meant to be sort of an overall examination of relationships in the family Kate 9:53 pm yes yes Prelude 9:54 pm and how some of them know some things about each other and some of them know other things and some things are secret Like, Scott/Jane have a secret relationship, but I think like Alan knows or something Alan also still kind of has a thing for Kayo, but he’s aware that it’s dumb and he needs to get over it but he’s still gonna be really hurt if he finds out about her and virgil Kate 9:54 pm awww yeah Prelude 9:54 pm And then like I waaaaaant like Kate 9:55 pm poor ala alan just in general Prelude 9:55 pm like, there’s sort of two major ships with Virgil are V/B and V/K. and I kinda wanna go both places. I think Virgil is bi, but people tend to assume he’s gay. And I think maybe for a while he and Brains were kind of a thing, but also with that same sort of secrecy, and not like, in the fuckbuddy kinda way. I think they did more like traditional dating, just out of curiosity. But that hasn’t been a thing in ages, and they basically came to the conclusion that they’re happier as friends. Kate 9:57 pm hmmm would you try to explore both within this universe? Prelude 9:57 pm I think so. Kate 9:57 pm like the TA universe? wow! girl, you’ve got your work cut out for you! Prelude 9:57 pm Mostly just because I want Gordon to get mad as hell at Virgil, for having fooled around with the only two people on the island that they’re not related to, “you enormous lumberjack slut.” like, i want FIGHTS Kate 9:58 pm hahahahahha Prelude 9:58 pm “you beefy plaid whore” Kate 9:58 pm i don’t know why, but i have a hard time seeing brains in any sort of relationship with anyone Prelude 9:59 pm Yeah, that’s fair Kate 9:59 pm maybe it’s because i never formed an attachment to him? Prelude 9:59 pm I hear you Kate 9:59 pm or because he’s always like WORK SCIENCE OOPS Prelude 9:59 pm I mostly like the idea of Virgil being secretive about his personal relationships to the point that people assume he doesn’t have them. Kate 9:59 pm but also i LOVE the insults from gordon you beefy plaid whore HHAHAHAHA so virgil/kayo would end up coming out? Prelude 10:00 pm “you flannel strumpet” “there are two people on this island you don’t share dna with and you fucked both of them” (he didn’t, actually) (also scott knew about virgil/brains being a thing and this is why he thinks virgil is gay) Kate 10:00 pm like a total accident? how would gordon know? i wanna see this fight Prelude 10:00 pm Oh yeah, they’re in better shape than anyone else Kate 10:00 pm hahahaha Prelude 10:00 pm I think it comes out in one capacity or another Kate 10:00 pm hahahhahahaha the insults are amazing how would scott feel about that? Prelude 10:00 pm Either Virgil owns up for some reason, possibly to keep Scott from really tearing into Gordon Kate 10:00 pm with his whole secret jane thing oooh you know that is EXACTLY what virgil would do try to reason Prelude 10:01 pm i think there’s a massive blow out Kate 10:01 pm ooooh no i’m getting even more invested in v.k now Prelude 10:01 pm and Virgil grabs John and is like “okay, I’ll take Scott, you take Gordon.” Kate 10:01 pm like, what happens from there OOOH OOOH Prelude 10:02 pm i think V probably goes to Kayo and says “okay, i think I need to talk to Scott about us” Kate 10:02 pm KEEP GOING TELL ME MORE Prelude 10:02 pm And she’s like “MMMMMMM NOT SURE I DIG ON THAT, THERE IS LITERALLY A SMOKING CRATER WHERE GORDON WAS STANDING” “yeah but that’s why we gotta” I think John’s a bigger factor for Gordon vs the whole potential parenthood thing because I’ll always write him as aro/ace But he’s also the person with the closest analogue to a child, in EOS Kate 10:04 pm okay okay although, scott too Prelude 10:04 pm Oh yeah Kate 10:04 pm kinda assuming father role Prelude 10:04 pm Oh totally Kate 10:04 pm oh man oh man sarah Prelude 10:04 pm “I’m just telling you what Dad told me when I did this” Kate 10:04 pm you have no idea the kind of feels i have right now OH OOOH MAN Prelude 10:05 pm Gordon being like “excuse me, I did not knock up a cheerleader I’d known for three weeks in the back of Grandpa’s truck when i was seventeen” Prelude 10:06 pm “if the great state of kansas had an age of consent any younger than sixteen, what you did would’ve been statutory” then probably there’s some punching Kate 10:06 pm ooooh shit lol yeah yeah, there’s definitely some punching Prelude 10:07 pm hahaha oh man i just wrote a line Kate 10:07 pm OH DID YOU NOW Prelude 10:07 pm “Not much for sleeping late, then?” she inquires, curious more than she is critical. “Personally, I’ve got a terrible fondness for a good lie-in.”

“I get nervous when I don’t know what time it is,” he admits, a little sheepishly. “I mean—it doesn’t matter. S’just…I dunno, I’m all hungover. And we’re supposed to be outta here by noon. And—and I don’t mean to keep coming back to it, but my entire family, Penelope. Right outside your bedroom door. My grandmother. We weren’t supposed to get her anything, but like…happy birthday, Grandma! I slept with our London Agent.”

“Well, if it helps, it was well after midnight before anything of consequence actually happened.” Penelope tilts her head slightly (adorably), and seems bemused by the concept. “But then, it does beg the question—is that something she would consider a gift?”

Gordon shrugs. “There’s a reason Grandma rhymes with drama.”

On the topic of drama, her answering sigh is exaggerated, but tolerant. “Yes, because you’re an American and you pronounce everything incorrectly.” Kate 10:08 pm lol penny but seriously, i LOVE this and i love the direction it’s going and i love everything i know about the overall shakeup for the family Prelude 10:09 pm oh yes I’m very excited Kate 10:09 pm i can’t describe to you how excited i am for all of this!!! Prelude 10:10 pm hahaha good! motivate me! Kate 10:10 pm how?!?! i’ve done LOTS of screaming!!! lol Prelude 10:11 pm hahaha i mean you are! you are super motivating me Kate 10:11 pm YAYAYAYAY!!! i’m a sucker for relationships and analyzing them throwing wrenches into them lol Prelude 10:11 pm yeah! also Gordon and Grandma and “grandma i fucked up” and just like Kate 10:12 pm OH my gosh yes!!! Prelude 10:12 pm being so upset at how this changes what he thought was goign to play out like, he wanted the chance to fall in love with her i mean, more in love with her but like, to do it Right Kate 10:13 pm right, follow kind of the natural course Prelude 10:13 pm and to have to figure out how to make their relationship work out between their respective jobs because I also think she’s like “I don’t want an abortion” Kate 10:14 pm and the added pressure of distance Prelude 10:14 pm I kind of don’t think that’s in her nature Kate 10:14 pm or how to come together like at least v/k are on the same island Prelude 10:14 pm yeah, exactly Kate 10:14 pm i would assume too, for penny, there’s some sort of expectation of how things should be like, from a social standpoint from a name standpoint Prelude 10:15 pm Yeah, exactly she’s just like staring down the barrel of this scandal and like she’s run into a crumbling south american temple without batting an eye but this scares her Kate 10:16 pm yes that makes perfect sense things are going to change moving forward, forever but there’s really no way of knowing how things will play out Prelude 10:16 pm And their family is so private like so incredibly private she’s lived her whole life in the public eye and he just hasn’t aaaaaah and like man Kate 10:17 pm yesss there are so many factors at play Prelude 10:18 pm he wants so much to do right by her, and like, he already loves her enough to marry her but now he doesn’t know if he should ask or what she’d say if he did or if she wants that Kate 10:18 pm and emotions are so high that i’d think that’d impact a lot like as far as asking for marriage Prelude 10:18 pm also preggo hormones yeah, exactly and like Penny being told that she can’t do that secret side of her job any more she has to be just a socialite Kate 10:19 pm and i’d think maybe this might challenge the nature of their jobs? for anyone involved? Prelude 10:19 pm oh yeah Gordon’s gonna get benched Kate 10:19 pm yeeeep good thing they don’t need him for things like deep sea rig explosions Prelude 10:20 pm wELL not like Penny can do it either Kate 10:20 pm right but that’s what i mean they both do these kinds of things Prelude 10:20 pm exactly Kate 10:20 pm but now adding a child brings in a whole lot more to think about and i am thrilled to see how it plays out!!! Prelude 10:20 pm and now they both have each other on the sidelines Kate 10:20 pm ahhhhhh!!! Prelude 10:20 pm yeah!!! i gotta!!! write it!!! Kate 10:20 pm on the sidelines YES and the virgil/kayo Prelude 10:21 pm “go have a tea party with penny or whatever it is she does” oh yeah Kate 10:21 pm i hope you know you’ve created a monster and i will NEVER let this go even if it takes YEARS AND YEARS Prelude 10:21 pm I think v/k going like “…well should we try and be a thing now? like a real thing? like stuff is changing, should we take that opportunity?” Kate 10:21 pm i’ll always be there, whispering in your ear HAHAHA Prelude 10:21 pm “…what if we don’t work as a thing?” Kate 10:21 pm YES YES and it would be virgil that makes the proposition, yes? Prelude 10:22 pm Oh yeah oh man Grandma taking Gordon aside and being like “the only reason your mother and father got together was because Scott was conceived in a hayloft when your dad was twenty-one, he can get off his high-horse.” “And there are five of you and your parents loved each other more than anything.” Kate 10:22 pm was it intiially like, one of them that said ‘let’s just keep it where it’s at’ or like, very adamantly keep it as fuckbuddies on the dl Prelude 10:22 pm “this doesn’t have to be a disaster” Kate 10:23 pm YES Prelude 10:23 pm I think Kayo is a little bit scared to be caught keeping another secret from the boys. Kate 10:23 pm GRANDMA FOR THE WIN Prelude 10:23 pm and also being like “your dad never meant for IR to be your entire lives” Kate 10:23 pm at least she has virgil in it with her and if anyone is sensible in that family, it’s virgil yes 😔 ir really is literally everything Prelude 10:23 pm “you’re meant to have partners, you’re meant to have your own futures, you’re meant to grow up and learn how to make this a part of your lives and not the totality” And like Kate 10:24 pm impacts ALL areas of their lives Prelude 10:24 pm the core of the reason why any of them keep these secrets at all is because they’re afraid of how it would impact IR and Dad’s legacy Kate 10:24 pm oh my gosh sarah i am fucking here for it and fucking pumped!!! Prelude 10:24 pm and none of them want to be the guy to ruin that. hahahahaha ily kate you complete me Kate 10:24 pm <3 Prelude 10:24 pm i am down to talk about this always Kate 10:24 pm ME FUCKING TOO cuz see, you’re looking at what comes next, and what happens later, not just right now and i fucking APPRECIATE THAT Prelude 10:25 pm oh yeah I am a Big Picture Person and I am very much about the interplay of all these relationships Kate 10:25 pm ugh me too Prelude 10:25 pm and how these different connections form and also like Kate 10:25 pm YES Prelude 10:25 pm unexpected connections Kate 10:25 pm and they’re all getting older Prelude 10:25 pm Like Kate 10:25 pm and things change Prelude 10:25 pm exactly! like it’s so significant that Gordon goes to her intially because he’s like “i need to start getting over you” Prelude 10:26 pm and she’s like “well first you’re gonna be under me for a bit” Kate 10:26 pm and if they’ve found someone that they could make a life with, it’s important that those things happen Kate 10:26 pm b/c of fulfillment and everything Prelude 10:26 pm exactly! and like This is the break scott’s been waiting for, even if he doesn’t realize it And he’s gonna be in this massive funk and he’s gonna be like “I’M GOING OUT FOR SOME AIR” Kate 10:27 pm YES! KEEP GOING KEEP GOING Prelude 10:27 pm and he’s going to fly across the globe to whatever airport Jane is spending the night in and be like Kate 10:27 pm GOOOOO KEEP GOING Prelude 10:27 pm “my fucking little idiot brother knocked up an english socialite” Kate 10:27 pm omg omg Prelude 10:27 pm “let’s get MARRIED.” Kate 10:27 pm i love this Prelude 10:27 pm “that’ll teach him.” Kate 10:27 pm this is literally what i live for omg ahhahahahaha scott Prelude 10:27 pm “he’s not the only stupid impulsive idiot in the family” Kate 10:28 pm hahahaha i love it omg Prelude 10:28 pm And Jane’s gonna be like “slow your roll, babe 😃 " “ily but you’re dumb as hell when you’re mad.” like that Scott’s found someone outside the family who does what Virgil does for him in IR in like an emotional capacity Kate 10:29 pm YESSS omg beautiful i love love love these things Prelude 10:29 pm saaaaame Kate 10:29 pm and like, above all else, these boys DESERVE this Prelude 10:29 pm yeah!!! Kate 10:29 pm they deserve love and something to indulge in and get that ultimate fullillment outside of what they know Prelude 10:30 pm and also I want Penny to go to John first with the news that she’s pregnant because bffs and also I think he’s just who she calls when she’s in trouble Kate 10:30 pm that makes sense and i thought she would cuz bffs hahahaha Prelude 10:30 pm well and also because that was where she went when she first kissed Gordon Kate 10:30 pm right follows patterns Prelude 10:30 pm and i live for callbacks yes also i just like Kate 10:31 pm yes i’m like in my glory right now thinking about it all Prelude 10:32 pm really love that she would trust him and would be correct in trusting him and that he’d be the person to say “well, I will help you handle this however you want to handle this and no one else has to know” “but also please don’t keep this from Gordon, because if he ever finds out any other way he’ll literally die.” “i cannot explain the degree to which this would hurt him and i know you don’t want to hurt him.” Kate 10:32 pm yessss yes Prelude 10:32 pm also parker is going to be Furious Kate 10:33 pm ooh i never really even thought about parker! Prelude 10:33 pm yeah, I keep remembering him at the last second Kate 10:33 pm there are so many players involved and so many lines to follow so many people impacted Prelude 10:33 pm yessssss i live for that shit hwd is like that Kate 10:34 pm like, nothing anyone in this family does only impacts that person Prelude 10:34 pm so complicated so many relationships Kate 10:34 pm or that couple there are repercussions for EVERYTHING any of them do that impact EVERYONE else Prelude 10:34 pm Exactly and deep down at the core of it, it’s just that they all want to protect each other Kate 10:34 pm yes comes from a good place and i’ll never think they’re in the wrong for wanting something more Prelude 10:35 pm and also none of them can BELIEVE that they’ve all been keeping these sorts of secrets with varying degrees of success Kate 10:35 pm i did laundry today and i missed one half of 6 pairs of socks lol Prelude 10:35 pm hahaha Kate 10:35 pm right!?!?!?! Prelude 10:35 pm skillz Kate 10:36 pm like, the kayo/virgil one is kind of mind blowing based on sheer length and thought that goes into it and keeping sage safe Prelude 10:36 pm oh yeah Kate 10:36 pm and secret like shit Prelude 10:36 pm they’re both just like I think they almost get more satisfaction out of the secrecy of it than any other aspect Kate 10:36 pm it’s kind of daunting lol Prelude 10:36 pm Like the sex is fine and great and whatever But what’s almost more fun is that they’ve gotten away with it for so long they’re both kind of competitive and they work really well together as a team and Virgil likes getting one over on his brothers and Kayo feels incomplete if she’s not keeping SOMETHING secret like it probably started up shortly after they found out about her uncle like Kate 10:37 pm oooh Prelude 10:37 pm if that’s the way the context of their relationship changes like that whole sort of “well, at least now it’s easier not to feel like we’re the only family you have” Kate 10:38 pm oooh yes yes yes dude there is so much to explore Prelude 10:38 pm I knoooooow Kate 10:38 pm also like how the hell do they keep quiet? in the literal sense Prelude 10:38 pm it’s a big island Kate 10:38 pm on an island eh true i bet they have A Place Prelude 10:39 pm little huts on the beach TB2 is Pretty Big Kate 10:39 pm but also like, if something really tough happens, do they sometimes just NEED tht touch, that reassurance i think they got the best end of the stick Prelude 10:39 pm (hahaha Gordon: “IN THE CO PILOT’S SEAT. I SIT THERE.”) Kate 10:39 pm they’re both right there HAHAHAHAHAH hahhahaha i love it so much Prelude 10:40 pm “ALAN’S SAT THERE.” “YOU’VE TAINTED OUR BABY BROTHER.” Kate 10:40 pm i don’t understand how my laundry piles up so quickly HAHAHAHAHAHA gordon questioning literally everywhre Prelude 10:41 pm “in MY POOL.” “DRAIN THE POOL.” Kate 10:41 pm hhHAHAHAHA this is my favorite part of that relationship everyone else finding out and gordon with his insults SO ENTERTAINING and i wonder if virgil keeping that sort of secret, in light of gordon seeking him out for a similar type of secret, would lead to some hurt feelings or if he’d be like, i gotchya bro Prelude 10:42 pm oh man i think the thing with Virgil is that like everybody trusts him but he also tells Kayo everything Because couples just do that. Kate 10:42 pm right, which she even told gordon LOL Prelude 10:43 pm exactly and so the thing with Virgil is going to be less that he kept his own secret and more that he didn’t keep anyone else’s. Kate 10:43 pm and like, even if they’re calling it ‘just a thing’ if it’s been a year and a half, like, they’re invested Prelude 10:43 pm oh yeah no, more than either of them realize Kate 10:44 pm that’s the shit i am 100% here for gawd i’m a total slut for that shit Prelude 10:45 pm ehehehe man and like the idea that maybe the secrecy was the only thing that kept them going Kate 10:45 pm also like, friends with benefits is great in theory but i really think it’s more of a short term thing Prelude 10:45 pm I think he’d probably try to argue that they haven’t ever been that. they’re definitely more than friends Kate 10:45 pm and when you don’t see them super often Prelude 10:46 pm like, her being really vulnerable to people knowing something so personal about her Kate 10:46 pm yes yes i think so too that’s a super vulnerable position to be in to even open yourself up to someone that much and put that kind of trust in them Prelude 10:46 pm and him being like “we’re still your family, you can still trust us” “nothing’s going to change about the way they feel about you” and her being like “literally everything will change about the way they feel about me.” Kate 10:47 pm right and more than friends i think has a really high probability of leading to more over time i think it was bound to happen Prelude 10:47 pm yeah, entirely Kate 10:47 pm they’re both right Prelude 10:47 pm I think the best place she could get to by the end of it would be “willing to try with a high hope of success” Kate 10:47 pm but like not in the way they expect, i think Prelude 10:47 pm yeah for sure Kate 10:47 pm i mean, this is just me thinking about it obvs Prelude 10:48 pm no totally, I need thinking about it Kate 10:48 pm also, i had a friends with benefits thing that turned into something more and it was a fucking mess so Prelude 10:48 pm Ooh see like Kate 10:48 pm that kind of impacts, for me, the way i see this playing out Prelude 10:48 pm the thing with me Kate 10:48 pm also Prelude 10:48 pm is that i have been in one (1) relationship Kate 10:48 pm why i am so attached to this idea of v/k and it just happened to be with virgil Prelude 10:48 pm and it has lasted for 14 years and we have a kid Kate 10:48 pm but like, the relationship itself is what got me hooked right, which by the way is fucking amazing!!! Prelude 10:49 pm hahaha thank you we got very lucky Kate 10:49 pm from my experience, and that that friends have had, it’s never easy, and it’s rarely clean Prelude 10:49 pm entirely Kate 10:49 pm even if the agreement is made at the beginning that it’s a ‘whatever will happen’ feelings change damn, memories lol you did get very lucky i think, i am also at the age, the ripe old age of 28, where these things are making a much larger impact on me like, the idea of finding someone or something as the next step 28 is a Year, man Prelude 10:51 pm oh yeah what the hell you’re only 28 you baby you infant Prelude 10:53 pm I’m 29, and I’m going to be 30 so I can say these things Kate 10:53 pm i was about to sya i am pretty sure you are not much older than me lololol Prelude 10:53 pm no, i am not but like I think that’s where Scott’s at I think he had a FWB thing with Jane but it turned into “well, now you’re the person I want to talk to at the end of every day” “even if you’re on the other side of the world” “and even if this is the least physical relationship I’ve ever had” “And usually I rely on that more than I rely on the other thing” Prelude 10:56 pm I think Scott’s been waiting for his moment for like this big reveal and whatever and he thinks that “I have a secret girlfriend and today is our six month anniversary” is going to be a big deal but possibly Gordon swipes that out from under him with “I got Penelope pregnant.” Kate 10:57 pm yes yes, that was one of my first thoughts, actually i feel like, scott’s secret is actually the last on the OH SHIT reveal list like, in order: Prelude 10:58 pm oh yeah Kate 10:58 pm 1: pregnant 2: 1.5 years sneaking around IN THE SAME HOUSE 3: 6 month relationship, not so physical Prelude 10:58 pm but like! the shame of it is, Scott’s so damn proud of himself because I think they started out as like Kate 10:58 pm right!! Prelude 10:59 pm she was just someone he’d bootycall occasionally and then it just got to be more Kate 10:59 pm and it’s good for him to have found that anchor Prelude 10:59 pm and his relationships don’t usually get to the “more” stage I think that was the mistake he made in highschool Kate 10:59 pm it is all very exciting Prelude 10:59 pm like he was seventeen and ready to marry this stupid girl Kate 10:59 pm but even with him, there are more complications Prelude 10:59 pm and her parents were like “NOPE.” Kate 10:59 pm b/c they do not live near each other so as far as more goes that can be hard, i’d imagine! Prelude 10:59 pm yeah, entirely I mean, I did the LDR thing for a few years with the husband Kate 11:00 pm dude and he (scott) totally would have Prelude 11:00 pm entirely he was young and stupid and he thought he was in love it would’ve been a dISASTER though Kate 11:00 pm aww poor scott lol yeah he wouldn’t be where he is! Prelude 11:01 pm no! Kate 11:01 pm and like the dynamics of the entire family would have changed!!! Prelude 11:01 pm and he would’ve had a horrible marriage that lasted a terribly short time and would’ve ended in a messy divorce because he cares way too much like, the way it worked out is still the best way it could’ve worked out but like, he also got a vasectomy as soon as it was reasonably possible (aaaaugh but also Grandma and Gordon sitting side by side at the edge of the pool, and he is just DEVASTATED.) (because Scott came down on him so hard, and even in spite of everything there’s this tiny tiny tiny little part of him that wants to be excited) (that thinks this is new and amazing and wonderful and maybe it means something) (and maybe it could be okay) (but like, Scott pulled the roof down on his head and made him feel like a bad person) (for something that was a mistake/accident) Kate 11:04 pm yesssss yes i see all of that Prelude 11:04 pm (and grandma being like “you know, you remind me very much of your brother and very much of your father right now, because I have been right here with both of them, and Scott was the cause of one of those situations and the result of the other. so don’t worry kiddo. it all works out.”) ('i’m going to have a very very pretty great grandbaby. those creighton-wards have some excellent genes.”) Kate 11:05 pm hahaa yes Prelude 11:05 pm (“and don’t tell your brothers, but you’re the cute one.”) Kate 11:05 pm i do love grandma tracy HA HAHA Prelude 11:05 pm (“best possible baby. let me get my phone, let’s look at your baby pictures.”) Kate 11:06 pm hahaha yes the comedic relief that is very much needed Prelude 11:07 pm For sure Kate 11:07 pm but also proof that things will be okay or that they can be okay that it can work out