#the teacher still told me i was basically wrong at the end of my presentation. btw

[moonssugar]

all this oppenheimer discourse reminds me of that time in middle school they had us write and essay and make a slideshow about whether bombing japan was necessary with the implication that they wanted us to think it was necessary and made sure that everyone’s essay said it was necessary at the end by always contradicting anyone who said otherwise until they fell in and agreed on presentation day. i mean going around critiquing anyone who was having second thoughts ‘well yeah but the prevention of prolonged war and death of us solider??’ they showed interviews of people from hiroshima and nagasaki who described in detail how they watched their children die under rubble and how people were burned and how people slowly died of radiation poisoning but still felt comfortable ending the class with “it was necessary because the deaths of american soldiers etc etc etc”. even after showing us that. i remember being the one of maybe two or three kids who never yielded to it. propaganda begins early

[exaflux]

How good is BTAA Scarecrow at therapy really? (An analysis) (Part 1)

So I naively thought that this'd be a laugh. Take the unethical psychiatrist, analyse his techniques, highlight what he's doing in real world contexts and give him a rating. After hours of working on this though I unintentionally managed to construct a theory on how BTAA Jon might approach therapy. Oop.

This part contains- a breakdown of some psychological approaches in therapy settings, character analysis/theory of Jon (in the conclusion), Jon being awful

Disclaimer- I am not a trained psychologist or therapist or anything of the like. I did study the topic under a teacher who was a trained psychologist though, and I still very much like psychology, so that basically makes me an expert in this field. This is a joke. Do not take my word as gospel. This post was written for fun and will probably have a mistake somewhere.

Harvey and Two-face will be referred to seperately in this analysis, but if referring to both Harvey will be used as default. Jonathan is Jonathan.

A-Level psychology don't fail me now 🙏

Session one/"two"-

The following all takes place in S2, Episode 5

The first section of our analysis takes place on March 4th and the time is 2:02pm, surprising no one as Two-Face is present. Jonathan begins the session by setting up a recording and going through standard legal procedure, following the “Code of Medical Ethics” (0:15) of Gotham. He also makes note that the first tape was destroyed, again probably for legal reasons. Good start.

Being that it was Harvey that destroyed the last tape machine due to a mishap of it not being the first session and Harvey refusing to perceive the number one, Jon asks him to elaborate- “tell me more about that” (0:56). Asking for more info on something a client has said often shows interest, which helps with relationship building, and on the mental health professional’s end would help build an understanding of the client. It has been established at this point that the session is for “introductory psychoanalytic examinations” (0:24), so that latter point is especially important. Killing two birds with one stone, very efficient. Whether Jon actually shows interest towards Harvey’s fascination for the number two though is a completely different matter. 

In addition, throughout all this Jon also gives terse responses, “I see.” (00:49) (1:11), to Harvey’s statements to indicate he’s listening and doesn’t try to weigh in. One-sided conversation such as these allow the client to speak as much as they need to, the sessions are for them after all.  

So overall, Jonathan is being very professional so far. 

At 1:21 of the episode is when Jon finally decides to give his thoughts (after Harvey has finished talking) stating that "The best way for [him] to help [Harvey] is to establish a bond of trust between [them]” (1:26), something that Harvey agrees to. Truthfully, another thing that is important between client and mental health professional, so his approach isn’t wrong.

Upon Harvey agreeing to this, Jon promptly demands that he be given the coin, something Harvey doesn't want to do. At being told that he isn’t comfortable with that, Jon points out that "it's not up to [Harvey]" (1:46) and takes the coin anyway through it's infallible decision-making prowess and the full knowledge that Harvey relies on the coin for all his decision making. He successfully gets the coin, Harvey is unhappy, and trust is established. But not really because Jonathan didn’t respect Harvey’s personal feelings nor wishes. Which is a breach of ethics. Horrible decision really. Jon places the coin on the table, presumably in a place where both he and Harvey can see it, and he declares aloud that it's on the table. In any other context this might have actually been a good way to maintain trust while seperating an item of emotional importance from a client, but such actions should only be taken with the consent of said client. 🚨 JONATHAN IS BEING UNETHICAL HERE. 🚨

Afterwards Jonathan reopens the session, “We meet again for the very first time” (2:06) as though everything said and done previously never happened. He goes on to ask the pair to reintroduce themselves. He notably sounds more casual here and upon hearing that Two-Face is older asks “Harvey was here first, wasn’t he?” (2:21) in a tone that doesn’t sound genuinely surprised. The question was most likely asked as a method to fish for confirmation or another elaboration.  

He then moves on after Two-Face is done speaking, very obviously not caring about the reasoning given for Two-Face's origins, to say that he heard “a horror story” (2:58) referring to the courtroom incident. Despite Two-Face's response being a positive one, claiming “That day set me free, like it was in the beginning” (3:11), Jon instead believes that the incident “found [Two-Face] in [his] hiding place” (3:17) and that he was hiding because he was, and still is, “afraid of what [he] would do without Harvey” (3:27). Jon weighing in should have ideally been avoided here. Therapy is normally approached with a mentality akin to teaching a man to fish, where the point is to teach a client how to identify and analyse their own feelings.

Instead of stating why a client thinks/feels as they do, a mental health professional will tactically ask questions in an effort to get a client to reflect. Jon asks some of these questions- “Do you ever wonder what if that acid had taken more than half of your face that terrible day? [...] What if when the acid had done its business, there wasn’t enough of Harvey left to do the serious work?” (3:30) which, in a way, counts. There is still criticism to be had here though as wording can passively influence how a client thinks. Describing the day that Harvey went through his incident as being “terrible”? Probably made Harvey view a day considers favourably as something more negative. Likewise, stating that Harvey could have somehow been lost that day from the acid in all certainty no doubt might have instilled some sense of unease in Two-Face. You should avoid making clients uncomfortable. Bad therapy moment.❌And then Jon follows these questions to Harvey up with another explanation, "You won't let it [cross your mind] because it frightens you [...] the thought of being alone." (3:50).❌❌

“Let’s try something. Bear with me” (3:58) Jon says next, reaching for the acid he inexplicably keeps in his draw. Upon being asked what he’s going to be doing with it by one (two?) Two-Face, Jon retorts with his own question, “What are you afraid I’m going to do with it, hmm?” (4:18) before pissing around with the acid and wanting Harvey to “Tell [him] about the fear” (4:29). This is an example of Jonathan being unethical again. Remember gaining the consent of clients of a therapeutic activity you want to do together is of utmost importance. Likewise, then Jon clarifies that he thinks that Harvey is scared of the “other” (5:05) attribute he acquired that day that wasn’t just the acid damage. Believing that tapping into this fear would cause emotional distress, he proceeds to dunk Harvey’s coin into the acid, destroying it. 🚨JONATHAN IS BEING UNETHICAL AGAIN, DO NOT DELIBERATELY CAUSE MENTAL DISTRESS TO CLIENTS OR DESTROY THEIR PROPERTY. 🚨 According to Jonathan himself he considers his actions “aggressive intervention” (5:30), but Jonathan’s judgement for considering this necessary can be called into question. 

Finally, after everything is said and done and Harvey has in fact been reduced to “a puddle of quivering terror” (5:10) like Jon predicted, Jon is again back to asking Harvey questions about his feelings and acting like a good mental health professional. He even reassures Harvey that he understands! Creating an environment of understanding and lack of judgement is important in any therapy setting. And, further playing his role as a psychiatrist, Jonathan in all his understanding of Harvey’s inability to make decisions anymore prescribes him with meds of his own creation. He explains what the medication does positively, in fluffy terms rather than anything technical, and gets Harvey to take it. While Jonathan is allowed to prescribe medication like this being a psychiatrist rather than just a psychologist, the fact that he starts tooting his own horn about how good the meds are, neglecting to talk about the potential side effects, and then makes Harvey take them anyway is, again, unethical. Informed consent should always be taken from clients before prescribing and a therapy session is an inappropriate setting to advertise your products.

In conclusion:

Jonathan takes more Ls in this session of therapy than he has moments doing his job in the proper way, and his approaches to psychological methods indicate that he takes those Ls not from any amount of ignorance on his part but from a blatant disregard for the well-being of his clients. He plays nice and uses correct therapy techniques consistently only up until he establishes a "bond of trust" by removing Harvey's coin, despite Harvey's feelings. After, Jon can be observed descending more and more into ignoring basic therapy practices; providing his own viewpoints on events, outright stating why Harvey feels as he does, refusing to explain what he's planning to do, eventually getting to the point where he's talking more than the clients during the session. All this happens until Jon permanently rids Harvey of the coin for good, leading to an emotional breakdown in the clients and a subsequent administration of drugs.

If I didn't know any better I'd say that during these events, Jonathan goes from setting up the session like any mental health professional would to gradually steering the session into the direction he wants it to go. Even moreso if one regards how he brings up the court room incident of his own volition completely unprompted (2:50) which then leads that into bringing up the topic of fears. Which eventually leads to dropping the coin into acid... Now this idea is insidious enough as it is, right? I'm sure this Dr Jonathan Crane is a well meaning psychiatrist, I mean he's following Gotham's Code of Medical Ethics! So here's also a slightly different perspective to all this:

Jon is speedrunning therapy.

I mean think about it- not even two minutes into the session and Jon basically forces Harvey into "trusting" him. This is only the second time that they've had a session together mind and trust is a thing that often takes months or even years to form between a mental health professional and a client. The chosen method of building trust was to remove a valued item from Harvey and one that he relies on, again something that takes multiple sessions to build up to and- as had been stated- is a valid trust building technique. After taking the coin Jon still leaves it in a place where Harvey knows where it is, just like you'd expect in a therapy setting. Jon even asks the pair to introduce themselves before deliberately steering things into talking about the court room incident which is the nexus point for why Harvey relies on the coin as far as he's concerned. Even him outright telling Two-Face what his fears are could be interpreted as him not wanting to spend months doing the standard therapy approaches that aren't even a guarantee for any progress.

In fact, Jon doesn't even attempt to destroy the coin either until the following happens in order: he tells Two-Face he thinks the court room incident found him and he was hiding out of fear of what he'd do without Harvey, he then asks Two-Face if he's ever thought about what he'd do if Harvey was unable to do much of anything anymore, then outright tells Two-Face he's afraid of being alone before then saying "Let's try something" (3:54) as though he's about to demonstrate his point, forcing Two-Face to acknowledge it.

"I think we had a breakthrough" (5:36) indeed. Breakthroughs are when a client successfully identifies something about themselves, like where a thought or feeling or bad habit stems from. A client having a breakthrough is the point where therapy can progress. And, hey, Harvey probably did make a breakthrough from losing his coin, though it was forced. This breakthrough led to being given a special drug. Which is something to be explored in a later part.

Of course though none of this really matters. Therapy is about treating a person as a person and "teaching a man to fish". Apparently Jonathan doesn't care about fishing.

FINAL SCORE FOR THE SESSION:

🎊 3/10 🎊

Jon is definitely not lacking in skills when it comes to psychology or therapy techniques, in fact he seemed decent enough for the first chunk before the session metaphorically drove off a cliff through his driving- intentionally no less. He simply lacks regard for the feelings of his clients and is a walking ethics breach. Likewise he took deliberate control of the session, and whether the end result was intentional or not this is definitely not something to do in a therapy setting. His approach to "therapy" may lead to breakthroughs, making his clients recognise the things he identifies, but it's not in the true spirit of therapy. It's doubtful that a client under him would ever learn the techniques they need to overcome whatever things they might struggle with.

...And this isn't even getting into how much enjoyment he seems to get from making his clients uncomfortable.

[khaleesiofalicante]

hi dani <3

please tell us another childhood story

Okay, this is one is basically dani lore.

They still bring this up every time my family gathers together and I'm sick of it. It's called "The Child Who Ran Away" (yes the story has a name and they tell it to our little cousins to scare them lmao).

It happened in 2005, April 26th. Yes, I remember the specific date. I was in fourth grade and I was 9 years old.

It was the first day of school after the New Year holidays (our new year is in April). In SL, when school closes before the break, we get our report cards with all the exam marks and when we come back, we have to bring it signed by our parents and present it to our class teacher.

Now leaving your report card at home is not a big deal, right? Surely, you can bring it to school and show it to your class teacher the next day? WRONG.

My class teacher (who was a nun btw) was the absolute worst person. She literally physically and verbally abused us (once banged my head with another student's head until I felt dizzy!) and one pushed a kid down the stairs...So, anyway, I was TERRIFIED that she was going to punish me so I made a plan to get my report card back

Instead of asking someone to call my parents and ask them to bring the report to school...I decided to walk home by myself...grab the report card...walk back to school. My house is around 12 kilometers away from my school and it takes about 2.5 hours to walk to my home. It would've taken me close to 5 hours to walk to and back from home - by which time everyone would've noticed that I was missing.

I go ahead with my plan and I walk out of the front gate (the security didn't notice because the kids and coming and going out at the time since school was just about to start). I walk from my school for about 3 kms - following the path we drive up to school every morning (impressive right?) and then I come across a junction and kinda get confused about which side to go. Remember, I am nine.

By this time, everyone is giving me weird looks. Because it's a very small kid in a school uniform walking around the main roads with no adult company and I am not carrying any bags with me. People on the road kept asking me if I was lost.

I ended up near a hospital and I found a pay phone there. I decided to call my dad. But I had no money to call him. There was a man trying to make a call on the payphone but whoever he was calling wasn't picking up, so his 5 rupee coin kept bouncing back. I walked to the man and I was like

He gave me some odd looks but gave me the 5 rupee coin anyway. I call my dad (I only knew his number) and he picked up! He was like 'omg where are you?' and I said 'how do I get home I need to get my report card' and he was like 'where the fuck are you' and I said 'hospital' and he was like 'what hospital???' I didn't know the name, so I put the phone down for a bit and ran far away so I could read the name on top of the hospital (I was small so I had to run far away to read it) and when I came back the call was already disconnected because my one-minute duration had passed. All my dad knew was I was not in school and I was stranded in some hospital

Now I walk up to another man, this taxi driver by the hospital, to ask him for another 5 rupees so I can continue my conversation with my dad. This man, very old btw, starts asking me all kinds of questions. He eventually asked me where I lived and I told him my lane name (because I only know my lane name not the full address) and he was like 'omg I live near that lane??' and I was like ' wow really???' and he said 'yes i'll take you home' and I was like 'yay okay!'

But it turns out, this old man actually did live next to my lane and he took me home! When I went home to grab my report card, my mom was in the garden and she went 'wtf are you doing here?' because my dad didn't inform her about my shenanigans.

I told her I needed my report card and I asked her to sign it and then I climbed back on the same taxi and asked the guy to take me back to school (my mom just let me go for some reason???). But when I go to school, my dad is already there...with the police.

Basically, I left my school bag when I went home so they knew I came to school (Also my sisters knew I came to school) so everyone was looking for me and then my dad (after I called him and freaked him out) went to my school with the police and yelled my principal (amongst others) for letting a child escape...

I don't remember a lot of what happened after that, I think everyone laughed about it and decided not to make it a big deal, and I am forgiven (I think?) and then then they let me go back to class. Now I am terrified that my scary class teacher is going to actually kill me after she found out I caused all this chaos but guess what I found out when I went to my class...She was absent on that day.

Ever since that day, they kept calling me 'girl who ran away' and it kind of became a joke as well as a cautionary tale. Mostly people were just impressed that I didn't get kidnapped.

But no one realized (to this day) how scared I must have been of my teacher to literally run away from school, also when my teacher came back the day after she found the whole thing hilarious...

The end.

PS - What is crazier than the random taxi driver living next to my home (my mom said it was my guardian angel in his form...) is the fact that the hospital I was stranded in is the hospital where I was born...

[someone-gyu]

he's cool

doesn't everyone have red flags, but what's the line ??

"he" is my classmate that i have gotten closer to this year. last year we didn't talk at all. he doesn't really talk to anyone else other than his friends. this year ig it's our last knowing each other so we just got a little closer. this doesn't mean we're friends. would he count us as friends? do i care? he's not Him, but he's still cool. i know that i don't like him. i dont like the fact that i always have to ask myself if i like a boy or not the moment i start talking to them. why is it automatic.

talking to him feels wrong because he's my friend's "ex" (i think). but i don't like him but talking to your friend's ex feels wrong. he's also a big homewrecker. i won't get into it but a lot of girls in under 3 months. i know i wont get attached though. (im lying. i got attached to everyone in my class)

i just think that i cry whenever anyone does anything nice to me.

we're taking a high level class that's supposed to give us better opportunities for the future. we just completed an in-class essay that were waiting to be graded. Science class finished and the ELA teacher came in. She wasn't happy with our writing. she gave our tests back and i got a 70. not bad for a hard class like that, but i can't say i was satisfied. he sat right next to me so i saw he got 85. really good.

he turns around to ask me what i got and i tell him i got a 70. he tells me that "it's okay".

i think i'm really bad at saying how much appreciated this. but he's really smart and i basically admire him, but he denies that he isn't admirable. i think he admires a trait of mine as well, although i dont see it either. we both know how much grades mean to each other and how perfect we both strive to be. how much i care about school and how much he cares about school.

but it took all that i had in me to not start bawling my eyes out when he said it. he said it so nicely as well. so softly that at first i wasn't able to pick it up.

i will never forget the day that he told me that he admired me for being so organized, smart, and put-together. i hope he never forgets the day i told him that i admired his confidence and how smart he was as well.

is this what having a present older brother feels like??

dotdotdot

i can leave things like this because i know that he'll never end up on tumblr, let alone the depths of it.

[the-banana-0verlord]

1, 2, 21, 23, 25 for the oc ask meme!!!!

Thanks kei! You didnt say which ocs so im gonna do them all (when i have ideas) >:D

1.What memory would your OC rather just forget?

Lilian: it's easy, she forgot everything before nrc 😂

Marcus: it would be every memory of his parents congratulating his brother for something while he got a scolding.

Raphael: it would be when he saw hist first animal die. It was very painful when he realized his hair could not heal it.

Andric: it's when he got told he could not model again. He still regrets his freak accident.

Walter: it's (almost) his entire life. He got anxiety like that and overthinks

Dahab: he prefers to live in the present, embracing every one of his memories. After all, they shape who he is today.

2.What's something about your OC that people wouldn't expect just from looking at them?

Lilian: Honestly, looking at how small and generally noodly she is, people DEFENITELY don't expect she survived and helped defeat seven overblots, including the one of one of the strongest mages on the planet.

Marcus: Seeing how much he acts like a bully and a thug, people couldn't possibly assume he's the most straight A student who follows rules to a T(except in the terms of like. be respectful lol)

Raphael: I don't think someone would guess how pained and introverted he is deep down. He always appears with a bubbly smile, but he is way more mature than he lets on.

Andric: tbh this one is layers. he looks responsible, acts vain, but is still very much responsible. Depends on if you're observant enough.

Dahab: its not easy to guess how gentle he is with small creatures when he looks so intimidating

21.Does your OC have any illnesses or disorders? How do they handle it?

Lilian is amnesic, Andric has a limp and hip pain from a freak accident(he walks with a cane) and Walter has diagnosed anxiety.

Lilian handles it pretty well, but she has some identity crisis once in a while.

Andric's accident put an end to his model life, which caused him a lot of pain, but as a doctor physically he handles it perfectly.

Walter? He tries to stop his anxiety as much as he can. He sees a therapist once a week and has a lot of breathing techniques for his panic attacks.

23.What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express?

Lilian: I would say hatred. Lilian is a naive, trusting person who tries to see the good in people. It takes a lot to anger her, and even more to make them hate you. And when she expresses it, it's mostly by ignoring the person.

Marcus: Genuine regret and saying sorry lol??? Dude is pure spite and is NOT self-aware.

Raphael: Like Lilian, he's a naturally good-willed person. While he wishes to be alone most of the time, he doesn't hate easily. He rather resignates himself.

Walter: Honestly, he has trouble with genuine happiness. His anxiety always come to hunt him down and make him overthink, so he's very closed off.

Dahab: Dahab is extremely stubborn, so making him admit he was wrong is difficult. He will struggle to show remorse because he thinks all he does is right.

25.What is your favorite thing about your OC?

Lilian: Honestly, she's my first twst OC and my self-insert, so I'm way more attached to her. I think I like how she's basically me but better.

Marcus: i like to picture him as a tsundere boyfailure i love this side of him.

Raphael: I think i like the hobbies i gave him and his aspirations clashing with what people expect of him. It adds some depth.

Andric: second first twst oc, i like how ive made him into a father. Also he's basically the most reliable teacher in NRC.

Walter: I like his unique magic. Imo its the most original of the bunch.

Dahab: i find his tendency to bury himself hilarious. Like you could trip and think its a rock or something bur no its his head.

Tagging: @iabsolutelylovedragons @xen-blank @thehollowwriter (please tell me if you want to be added or removed from the tag list!!)

[littlewalken]

Dec 21

I've been catching up with Your Dinosaurs Are Wrong so the whole the time between Stegosaurus dying out and T-Rex evolving is longer than the time between T-Rex and you just makes the mind do things.

Autistic kids should see the YDAW guy because he took his special interest and combined it with other interests, he's the animator of the videos too, and has found a way he's comfortable with to share the knowledge with the world.

You don't discourage special interests, you find ways to adapt them in to ways the interest holder can use them to engage with the world.

We'll never know what I could have done if I even had one decent art lesson book, like Fun With a Pencil, instead of having to kill every teacher who told me not to draw in class and punished me because my dysgraphia made it difficult to write letters. And the whole girls don't have autism and Little Walken is just doing EVERYTHING ON THE GODDAMN CHECKLIST for attention.

~gets time machine, starts with fourth grade teacher by poking her eyes out with a pencil I'm holding 'wrong', tells next teacher it's called stimming while twisting her hair around a pencil then pulling it out, strangles final elementary school teacher with my best in show art ribbon while repeatedly telling her to stop drawing in class~

If I ever do find a Faceboot for my old elementary school my first post will be 'guess who has autism' followed by some kick ass art work and proclaiming every teacher who told me to stop drawing in class better be rolling in her grave. Then a basic update of where my life ended up going.

Still rewriting the boy band story, should be finished this draft in another day or two, then it'll rest again. It's not running out of steam or anything it's just... I don't know if it's not quite ready or it'll work its self out when I start to type it in, or what. But this draft and its revisions still need to be finished.

I'll open the Kwami advent calendar today, I got it several days after the first and then decided I wanted to put the whole thing off until I needed a pleasant surprise to open. I also have a present to myself to open on the 25th.

The search for a new place to live is... Fortunately the outside of the construction site is finished, no landscaping or driveway yet, because we're in the middle of rain and it's right at the foothills of the rain shadow mountains.

I feel like for the rest of the year I'm just going to give up, not in a succumbing to the darkness way because there's still s3 of Good Omens and we might get more staged and I still haven't seen Umbrella Academy or...

Just in a with everything shutting somewhat down for the rest of the year there's not much benefit to looking, aside from taking a drive to a general area of interest when we need to go out for the sake of going out.

[fictionkinfessions]

(Warning: this post contains mentions of homophobia, transphobia, bullying, and emotional neglect, as well as general issues with ahistoricism and cultural ignorance within the fictionkin community. Also, this only applies to sources that are meant to take place in a relatively realistic setting or are based on a real-world reigon/time period! If that's not you, feel free to ignore this.)

Hm... I was scrolling around and saw an ask from a really long time ago, and it made me want to say something.

Obviously I'm okay with people using whatever labels and pronouns they want for their kins! It's their kintype, so it's their business, sure, fine, all cool with me. However, even if you do remember being LGBTQ+, you have to take the time period and location into account.

For example, hello, I'm Kennith. I was born in 1969 in an average suburban town in Michigan. Nowadays, in this life, I'd say that I was demigreyromantic, gay, genderfluid, transmasc, and generally gnc, and I would've used he/they pronouns.

However, back when I was still alive as a teenager in the 80s, I knew the word gay and... yeah, that really was about it. If you had asked me then, I would've described the rest of that stuff as "I'm not really that much of a romance guy" and "I'm a guy who was born as a girl and hated it, but I still don't mind looking like a girl sometimes", and I used strictly he/him back then since "I'm a guy and that's what you call guys", because again, I was a teenager in the 80s, and I had no idea any of this stuff was even an option.

And, quick reminder, this is a relatively modern time frame, and it's in the United States. You may have all of these really cool microlabels and neopronouns to describe yourself now, and there's nothing wrong with that! It's never too late to discover who you truly are/were. However, you have to realize that you sure as hell weren't using those labels as, say, a member of ancient Japanese royalty. In terms of both the time frame and the language itself, that's just not how that would've worked.

Also, not to get overly negative, but chances are, if you are from sometime back in the day, even if it's as relatively recent as I was, people would most likely have not been accepting of you. I know people weren't accepting of me. I was bullied ruthlessly in school by nearly everyone for being gay and presenting myself femininely despite being transmasc. "Pretty Boy" was actually the tamest of the awful names they would call me, and it didn't even stop at insults. They would deliberately misgender and deadname me at every opportunity, bump me into walls and shit like that, and I even remember them beating me up a few times. My teachers and counselor did absolute jack-shit, and basically told me that I deserved it since I was so "different" (which is the word they used instead of calling me slurs! fun!). My parents were never much help either since A: I wasn't out to them, and B: they never gave a shit about literally anything else. The only people who respected me at all during that time were Stephanie and Greg, but I was barely able to see Greg outside of the gas station he worked at, and I've already gone into what ended up happening with fucking Stephanie... ugh.

Anyways, once again I say, this was in the United States in the 1980s. If people didn't accept me there and then, the chances of people accepting you for who you in another place and/or an earlier time are next to nothing. I'm sorry, it fucking sucks that it had to be that way, but it's true. I'm obviously not saying that you're not valid if you did have people who accepted you, I'm just saying that it's highly unlikely, given historical context.

I'm sorry for ranting once again, and I'm sorry if I said anything hurtful. The last thing I want to do is invalidate anyone. This is just something to consider, I guess... Ah well, who am I to tell you guys what you can and can't do? If I was still alive I'd be like 54 years old. Old Man Yells at Cloud.

-Kennith Simmons

[electrosair]

OMG HI!!! GOOD EVENING DEAR! I hope i'm not late for these match ups? Because i'm requesting for one if you don't mind? <(-∀-)>

SOME BASIC INFOS...

i'm a she/her, ISTJ or INTJ? i don't know honestly i'm having trust issues with personality quizzes. huhu

ambivert (introvert lean), and a bit of gay. HAHDNSNDN 10% of gay and 90% straight. (so yeah i prefer guys. favs btw is short boys squad: Venti, Kazuha, Albedo, Lyney!!, Wanderer, Heizou, Xiao, and the list goes on.)

Nation: Sumeru and Fontaine!!

Vision/Element: Dendro and Anemo.

Personality: Imagine that we're in our first day of school and have to do the introduce yourself again, the way I introduce myself is a masked enthusiasm. Masked because I look confident on outside but if you took a glimpse of my hands are shaking, i'm getting nervous talking to people in the inside. My thoughts are unorganized and I hate the fact where I try to say something but ended up not saying it because I don't know what is the accurate word of that subject or my though suddenly went empty when the person I talked to is waiting for my reply. With that, I stuttered a lot. I'm pretty distant when you meet me in person but I will open up when someone gets along with my antics.

I'm really shy, yes. But I do wanted to take an action if I thought of something. It's like a fight or flight situation. Like telling my concerns to the teacher rather than just go with the flow and not mind the discomfort.

Conversations is clearly not my forte. So I really need a friend or someone who shares his or her thoughts and understood my concerns on communicating.

I'm having a hard time to understand feelings in a deeper level or to know what is right or wrong. Such as when someone suddenly told me that she does this thing even though she knows it's unfair and then I thought it's bad for me to be upset (she's my friend btw so I got guilty of being upset.) Relationships too! I'm still taking my time understanding them... Btchless since birth indeed. I'm not academically smart since I tried finding things that would balance my personal happiness and school.

I got concerned when my friends is acting differently. Even they brushes their heavy feelings off, I don't want to leave anything that I see. Trying to consult them with their problems if they open up and I gave reassurances that i'm here for them of they don't.

I mind my own business when my thoughts are clouded.

I'm observant when I try to.

My gut feeling comes in random moments...

.

Free time: I do reading books! Fiction or non-fiction. My favorite is Sherlock Holmes by the way hehe. I do singing, cosplaying, sketching, listening musics, sometimes writing, watching anime or movies, and I... Sleep. I love to sleep anywhere and I desire of someone to be my pillow.

Random Facts:

Actions speak louder than words. I rizz someone with actions by suddenly grabbing their hand and dancing waltz with them or the kabedon thing for fun.

My intrusive thoughts sometimes won so...

I wanted to go out either alone or with someone. Then I go home drained even it's a minute walk outside.

I mentioned sleep in my free time but when my thoughts are too heavy to bear or my feelings, I sleep it out.

I'm a Sherlock Holmes enthusiast and I got talkative if I see an inspired S.H. story. Anime, movie, or a series.

All you know about me is i'm always tired yet wanted to go out and communicate with others.

(That's all dear and thank you for taking your time reading this. Have a good night!! <333)

Venti!

This guy would come into your life to show you a side you didn't know. He would present himself in an energetic way and encouraging you not to be so shy with him, always trying to bring the most out of you in conversations and pushing your limits.

When he sees that you really start to get overwhelmed when talking to someone you don't know or to himself he would give you a break, taking the reins of the talk himself.

He would appreciate very much the capacity you have for caring for your friends and worrying about them so much. It's something that Venti also does, perhaps because of becoming more nostalgic as time goes by.

For him, a bard, words and the way he uses them are very important, so seeing your more physical than vocal way of interacting would make something in him even more interested in you and your personality.

[i-cant-stop-fandoming-help]

Another Vent Fic methinks

It was going to be accompanied by some art but it won't let me post if it has art, so I'll post it separately.

tws: overdosing, s//cide, self hate, suicidal thoughts, mentions of periods, and small talk of religion, as well as mentions of COVID. and throwing up. As well as the situations with a certain b named person, and animal death(no animals died its just referring to a fear), parents fighting, abandonment issues, self harm mentions, and idk what else to warn yall for.

Uhh yeah look at the tws. They were put in bold so you would see them. There's a lot so I probably won't be able to tag them all. Tell me what tws to add and I will add them.

Because I thinking about the event from my perspective causes me to become ✨ pathetic✨(by that I mean physically gag and curl up and whine), I am going to write about it from my sona's perspective. I am not completely my sona, because I am Mika and my sona is Happie. Named that because I want to happy, she's carried that name ever since I got into Splatoon (about the end of 2020)

It will talk about what I went through in may-june of 2020, and how this all is now affecting me. It will also make references to things that I do believe are at fault for my depression and anxiety.

Also, note: the first part of the story took place before my mom became a teacher.

So, yeah, look at the tws.

The family was only a few hours into their trip when it went bad, horribly bad.

Happie rubbed the tears in her eyes, her knees to her chest. 

Her brother was yelling at her again. She could barely hear his words through her own gasps, her own hyperventilation, her own sobbing.

She was a pathetic mess. She hated herself. She had just recently gotten out of the inpatient unit, but it didn't help. She still wanted to die, she still hated herself. 

Her parents insisted on doing prayer and reading the bible, all whilst she was trembling and whimpering and choking on her own tears. Happie was scared of the church. She had panic attacks whenever her parents forced her to go. She clawed at the wall and sobbed and hyperventilated and tried to get smaller and smaller so her mom couldn't hug her and say "it will be alright. The church will help all your bad emotions go away."

Even though everyone at church scared her. She didn't want to go there and be judged. Everyone seemed to bear their eyes towards her for not looking like a proper lady, for having short and messy hair and eyebags.

She was always told she would go to hell if she broke any of the commandments. Happie grew a fear of doing anything wrong. It meant she would go to hell.

Her grandma's passing was her fault, she had done too much wrong and now everyone was being punished because of her.

She didn't like thinking about that. She tried to snap back to the present. But the verses were still being read. Happie knew that prayer would come soon.

Her brother said the prayer. It was quick and basic.

She said she would sleep in the living room. She didn't want to be sleeping in the same room as her brother. He would just yell at her again. She didn't like yelling.

Happie waited for everyone else to leave, looking at her notebook and pencils. Her plan had been come up with pretty quickly, but she knew it would likely work.

She began by writing a note.

She admitted she had been dating one of her classmates before COVID hit. Not even one of her male classmates- a female.

She admitted that she hated going to church, that she hated the bible and she hated scripture study.

She admitted that the inpatient unit didn't work.

And then she placed it on the table.

And went to the room she and her brother shared and grabbed a bottle.

It was a bottle of midol. It originally had 50 pills in it, but she had taken one earlier in the day to help with her period cramps.

Happie went back out to the living room, grabbing a can of rootbeer and cracking it open. She then opened the medicine bottle.

She began by taking two pills at a time. Then three. Then four. When the can of rootbeer was empty, Happie got herself a cup of water.

Five, six, seven pills at a time.

Swallowing 49 pills until the bottle was empty. 

The white bottle with a blue label, round at the edges and holding a child proof circle as it's lid.

Only then did she realize, she didn't want to die. She was scared. 

She ran to her and her brother's room, begging him for the phone they shared. A flip phone.

He got mad and asked why. Happie could only tell him to read the note on the table. She told him that she didn't want their parents to know, that she just wanted to call for an ambulance.

He told their parents. Happie's sad told her to make herself throw up or else they would take her to the ER. She didnt know how to make herself throw up.

Her parents got her in the car, quickly rushing her to the nearest hospital. She was put into the emergency room.

A bunch of wires were attached to her, and there was an IV in her arm.

A nurse came in with something that looked like a toothpaste tube, and squeezed the dark gray contents inside a small foam cup. The nurse then put a straw into it and gave it to Happie. "Drink it," the nurse instructed, "it's liquid charcoal and will clean your system of the medicine."

Happie gave it a reluctant sip and immediately pulled away. It was bitter, dry, salty, and it made her gag.

She gave a few more sips but not enough to finish the cup.

"Drink it all now or else we'll put a tube down your throat and pour it down." The nurse threatened.

Happie was terrified, so she drank. While she did so, the blood in her arm was drawn once again.

Her mom was in a chair in the infirmary, and it was the first time in Happie's life that her mother gave full attention and worry to her. More often than not, her mother was more worried about work, and paid more attention to TV shows. 

How odd. Her mom only seemed to care whenever Happie's life was on the line. But was it because, if Happie died, her parents couldn't continue to play "perfect Christian family"?

She had gotten to the hospital at about 11pm, and now it was 6am. 

The doctors originally thought she would be able to go home with her parents, but the spike in her Tylenol levels that had just showed up made them call an ambulance to drive her to a hospital in her home state.

She threw up a few times in the ambulance ride, and each time it was gray in color.

Her IV was still with her, but her mother wasn't. Her mother was driving home with her father and brother.

She didn't have a stuffed animal or a familiar blanket, she was alone.

 When she arrived, they carried her on a stretcher to the mother's ward. All wards except inpatient were clogged up because of COVID.

She stayed in that ward for about 4 days, occasionally getting visits. One from her grandma, one from her dad, but the majority came from her mom. Her mom visited almost daily.

Happie couldn't tell if it was from actual care or if it was so that she'd look good to her family and the hospital staff and the church.

After her stay in the mother's ward was up, she was moved to in inpatient ward- the one for 17 and under people. 

The room she was given has sanded windows, so she couldn't look outside. The bed was more like a gym mat, and the desk was small. The door to the bathroom had big gaps at the top and bottom. And the bookshelf was completely empty.

She could only call her parents, they weren't allowed to visit.

She felt trapped. She made friends and wasn't allowed to keep them- it felt like they were abandoning her whenever they were able to leave. She didn't like being abandoned.

By the end of June, she hadn't harmed herself of even thought about ending her life. That was nice.

-

She had lost a friend, but she was happy. Just like her name.

Happie's so-called friend wasn't a good person. That much she knew. She was terrified of this friend. 

She had mutual friends with this friend, and she was worried that this friend would begin spreading lies about her if she said anything against what she was told.

Happie worked hard to become likeable enough to make these friends. Making friends has always been hard for her. They always ended up hurting her or abandoning her.

So she made as many as she could to make sure she wouldn't be left in the dirt once one friend grew tired of her.

When Happie finally realized how bad of a person this friend was, it destroyed her. She told only one of their mutual friends, and then three friends who didn't exactly know who this person was.

Then another mutual friend told Happie that this person had turned on her and went back on their word. 

Her trust had fallen on crashed like a Jenga tower. She shouldn't have trusted a new friend so quickly, but she did. And it hurt.

The following weeks hurt. She began to attempt to investigate. She was given the user of someone who this person had hurt, and decided to interview them. Then she read through two Twitter threads. Then she contacted someone else that this person had lied about.

She made the posts. Finally speaking up. 

She was terrified of her friends yelling at her and telling her that she was being petty and abandoning her. She had prepared herself for that.

She didn't prepare herself for the oncoming wave of support she received. For people to DM her and tell her their stories. 

But that didn't mean it didn't still hurt. She beat herself up and called herself names, she had a hard time sleeping because she could be doxxed.

She had a hard time sleeping because she was worried that the person would somehow show up at her house and kill her dogs.

Happie hated herself. She hated the people on her side who has told Brady to off themselves. She hated the people who seemed to ignore her until she needed something. 

She tried to show that she could be confronted if something rubbed someone the wrong way, but she was terrified of that too.

Mentally, she was still a pathetic little girl, hugging a white and gray blanket close and sobbing as she listened to her parents yelling and screaming at eachother. She was still a little girl who didn't ever get love shown to her with packed lunches with little notes, or thought out birthday gifts, or nightly hugs.

She was only hugged when her parents were upset and needed comfort.

She was still just a little girl playing with friends to avoid home, to avoid the screaming and the yelling and the crying. Still just a little preschool girl who played with her oldest sister's friend's puppies whenever she could.

Still just a little girl who read a series about cats fighting so she could be buried in a world where the good guys always win, and the cats in the sky would still communicate with the living through whatever.

Still just a little girl who wanted to believe happily ever after could exist.

But she was still the same little girl who started developing boobs in third grade, who got her first period the summer before fifth. The same little girl who learned what sex was in fourth, the same little girl who had cut herself in sixth.

She was the little girl who had matured early, physically and mentally, and never got to hold onto childish joy for long. The little girl who would tell her mom to go to her room to calm down, and her brother to go to his room to calm down. The same little girl who had been through four therapists by seventh grade.

Actually, no matter how much Happie wishes, she isn't a little girl anymore. She never will be a little girl again.

[ghostflowerhotpotch]

To be honest I am fine with him being bad at the theory because is really bullshit.

Hi, Spanish is my first language and I learned back home, being in a school back home until I move when I was an older teen.

But here is a funny story, when I moved to Canada I only did the last two years of high school, and in my last year I didn't have enough credits in almost all of the classes for my grade, so my own ESL teacher suggested me getting Spanish because that was a class I would be able to attend regardless of credits. I ended up doing it because of a lack of options.

I didn't get a 100%, or even that close, why? The theory part continued tripping me over. Ask me the difference between pretérito perfecto and pretérito imperfecto with a gun pointing at my head and I will be dead.

Want to know the difference? Is basically verbs in the present tense and past tense, and I never remembered because rather than just saying that, they put names that weren't indicative of what they do (At least not for anyone speaking colloquially at this time, maybe this made sense a few centuries ago.) You technically can just ask someone to do X verb in present/future/past, but there are formal names that we were taught both in Spanish classes here in Canada and the ones we had back home.

And no one ever remembers.

No seriously, once my family started making fun of me for not having a 100% at the end, I ask them how many of them remembered these details, like participios (aka the -ing at the end of a verb, because spanish works differently we have more than that,) and other stuff, and then everyone shut up. My own mother, who was a teacher for over 30 years; told me she also couldn't recall most of these details, and she taught classes from kindergarten to high school.

Again, I am only one latine person, and we have a big community, but if I am honest I think if I ask at random about any of these details to any of my friends who speak Spanish as a first language, they wouldn't remember.

The point with all of this is that you can functionally speak Spanish perfectly, even having good grammatical skills, use of the language, and so forth, and still be tripped by the theory because of technicalities.

So it would make perfect sense for Miles to go to a test, have the test ask to separate the participios regulares e irregulares, and have him flunking the test because the question was using such obtuse terminology his mom may not even know what the question is about, and I say this because neither of my parents could answer this question without some explaining and juggling their memory.

If I am honest, the difference in how they teach Spanish in English-speaking countries vs the Spanish I learned back home wasn't really that different? Yeah, there was some different way to conjugate things and some words, but no teacher in their right mind would disqualify Miles' way of speaking Spanish unless they were asking for VERY specific things.

You can even have him trip for things that actually defy the grammar because those words are exceptions and the only way to know is remembering them.

For example, in Spanish rather than having "The" we have "El" and "La", these are normally assigned by what the word ends up in.

La Casa.

El Coche.

(There is obviously more to this but this is the idea.)

Simple enough, right? What would you use for the word "Dentista"? If you said La, that's wrong! It's actually "EL Dentista."

How do you know that? Well you memorize it, there is literally no other way.

Hope this doesn't come as a rant or anything, I understand that Miles speaking Spanish (which while the pronunciation is accurately a bit wonky, is pretty good btw,) is really important not just for the fans, but to remember that he keeps his roots dear to his heart,

This was really just me wanting to talk about how honestly the language can be pretty dumb anyways and if people whose first language is Spanish are forgetting this crap I don't want to imagine someone who speaks it as a second language and also missed 6 classes.

So believe me, is entirely possible to speak this language perfectly and still do the classes poorly regardless.

I prefer the theory that Miles has a B in Spanish because the Spanish they teach in schools is different than the Spanish he speaks at home more than the theory that he’s just bad at Spanish

Also, I’m getting tired of how people keep portraying Miles as more and more terrible at Spanish, like even if he’s not better at home, a B is still good!!

I know it’s mostly just jokes, but I swear it’s gonna cause a ton of people to just believe that Miles is just horrible at Spanish and refuse to give up that characterization, we’re gonna be watching in real time as a fanon version of a character gets popular and unavoidable

[incensuous]

Fam I… *DEEP BREATH*

Ok so I have this friend whom I’ve known for most part of my life. Meaning we were comfortable around e/o families and basically felt like extended families at one point. Now idk if its just me projecting but I had a crush on his older sis, and from a lot of their interactions throughout the years I was convinced he did too. Now here’s what makes me think maybes I’m just not projecting- he didn’t know about my crush and I noticed he acted towards her the same I did, but not to his other sisters?? They did come from a toxic family and I supposed that kids from such home environments learn to stick together as a survival tactic of sorts and to stay sane. Now y’know how teen guys are especially and our friends used to talk about all sorts of stuff related to girls. Idk who it was but someone once shared an (accidental) incest story that was now in hindsight PROBABLY meant as a cautionary tale against looking for premarital sex and especially against using criminal methods. While I forgot about it soon after, this friend was almost obsessed with the story. He even wanted to tell her sister it, but I thought it was really weird and talked him out of it. One more thing, she loved reading but was possessive of her books (ngl I just thought she read dirty books and didn’t wanna be found out lol. I was partially wrong) and he used to “borrow” them without her knowing and read them too bc the forbidden attracts ig? He used to let me read them too sometimes when I wasn’t feeling too guilty about reading her very cool novels without permission. So, at around her 17-ish bday, her friend gifted her a book as a bday present. She wanted to wait till finals were over to really enjoy it, and my friend took his chance knowing he had plenty time. He read it before her and… there was a lot of surprise incest in it. I don’t think her friend had known because nothing of that was mentioned in the book description/summary at the back. It literally came as a shock to the reader. I became a lil concerned when my friend became obsessed with those parts, talking about them and how insane it was that someone would write two siblings doing it. I thought it was crazy too but like I wasn’t as interested or obsessed as him. Honestly, I found his obsession a little creepy.

There were other instances too, like for example once our macho male teacher who all the guys loved told a dramatic story of rescuing a pretty girl, and ended it with girls know intuitively how someone’s looking at them. If you’re staring at them with bad intentions or dirty thoughts, they’ll know (and come on that’s bs… right? Definitely sounds like it. But this idiot, my friend, he gleefully told me the next day that it worked because he’d tried it on his sister. He didn’t tell me what he was thinking of when he’d stared at her from a hidden spot but he said she got a scared look as until she spotted him before angrily asking why he was staring.

Long story short, we’re all adults now, and I think he’s ashamed of how he used to act or the thoughts he used to have. He has a gf he refuses to call a gf but goes on dates with. And she. Is the opposite of his sister. In all aspects, looks, voice, dressing etc. And I don’t wanna think he’s just using her but I do think now that he’s older and thinks all that is unforgivable and is dating someone the complete opposite both as guilt and to show himself that he’s moved on. I hope he has. Especially because the bastard made me interested in incest couples 😭 Lmao the irony. And uhh I wouldn’t ship them how they were back then bc I still think the way he acted was creepy, but now, that he’s gentlemanly to her and tries to be protective without the creep factor, I’m shipping them a lil. Huge tmi I know, but sorry! I saw them yesterday and ig the memories were triggered. Tc!

... HOLY CRAP, NONNIE

OMG

i agree with you, i don't know all the nuances of your friend and his sister when they were kids, idk how close they were. i think even him reading her books without her knowledge or permission would have annoyed me, no matter how small it is in the big picture. i wonder if his sister felt uncomfortable with that, but i'm glad he's grown up and tried to move on. i agree, now that he's matured i'd find the idea of him and his sister cute, especially if he's pined after her his whole life. but unclear with how the sister reacted or if she noticed at all.

thank you for sharing, nonnie!!

[waheelawhisperer]

So I saw a thread on reddit discussing how the Beacon Academy teachers stacked up against the rest of the cast earlier, and while it was full of, uh... interesting takes, it did get me thinking. RWBY doesn't exactly fit into the same strict powerscaling as a lot of other anime/animesque action-oriented shows, but I do think it's possible to separate characters into broad tiers, which is what I'm going to spend this post doing. I'll be analyzing characters based on their performance against human (or at least intelligent humanoid) opponents, so characters like the Hound, Salem, and Penny (who, while she is very much human, don't get me wrong, also has specific combat attributes afforded by her robot body and was initially conceived at least partially as a weapon) still count. Obviously, a lot of things go into a fight beyond pure power levels, so for the purposes of this post, my default assumption is going to be that any character mentioned will be facing a hypothetical opponent in a one-on-one duel where the environment does not specifically favor either fighter, the characters have full access to their respective toolkits, and no outside factors like luck or teammates will influence the fight. I'll also be assuming that no one gets the jump on anyone else unless their fighting styles specifically revolve around ambushing unprepared opponents. I will be drawing my evidence mostly from the following sources: what we actually see in the show (including trailers and character shorts), what we're told in the show (also including trailers and character shorts), and what's listed in the various supplemental materials, including, but not limited to, the official companion book, the Myers novels, and the Amity Arena mobile game card information. As a result, this post will contain spoilers, so read at your own risk. Bear in mind that I don't have access to all supplementary material and thus may miss something from, idk, a livestream that took place five and a half years ago or whatever.

Characters will be listed in rough order within a given tier, but realistically, I feel like any characters I place within the same tier are close enough in combat effectiveness that I could see fights between them going either way, barring specific matchup advantages (e.g. Pyrrha having an advantage against characters that rely on metal equipment).

EX:

Salem

This tier is for the absolute bullshit, namely our Big Bad. Her absurd healing factor alone is enough to let her win basically every matchup purely through attrition, and just in case you thought you could "win" by just tying her to a post and leaving to go do something else, she also comes equipped with actual, literal magic* (an advantage very few people in the world of RWBY have access to, and by "very few" I mean the current number is in the single digits) and is strong enough to overpower both Yang and Hazel, both of whom are at or near the top of RWBY's scale when it comes to purely physical strength, in direct physical combat. She restrains Yang with one arm while Yang uses her whole body to resist and then throws her at another protagonist, all with minimal effort, and then promptly trounces Hazel a moment later, treating the fight almost like an amusing diversion until the very end. It takes a magic nuke to even slow her down, and all a weapon capable of destroying a giant flying sperm whale the size of several city blocks does is... force her to spend some time regenerating. On top of that, Salem can control the Grimm, giving her extra usage in teamfights and an environmental advantage throughout much of Remnant, though I didn't factor that nearly as heavily into my analysis.

The Gods probably also fit into this tier, but since the narrative presents them as capable of doing whatever the hell they want to, without any real, meaningful restrictions, I figured it wasn't worth the bother to try doing any real analysis.

*There are a number of powers in RWBY that function in a similar fashion to magic, but those have defined in-universe rules and limitations. Aura (essentially a soul-powered forcefield) protects its user from damage, heals minor wounds, and reduces the impact of extreme climate. It can be projected through tools and equipment and is, essentially, the resource that allows characters to use other powers, like Semblances and Dust. Semblances are unique manifestations of a character's soul, fueled by Aura, and provide the characters with their individualized power sets. Powers granted by Semblances vary widely, and include anything from super speed to telekinesis to the ability to sense the emotions of others. Dust, on the other hand, is RWBY's generic elemental magic.

S

Raven (with Maiden powers)/Hazel/Raven (without Maiden powers)/Qrow/Tyrian/Clover/Professor Goodwitch/Theodore

Basically, these guys are Remnant's elite. All of them have years of experience and some of the most dramatic feats in the series. You don't take them down without bringing either one of the other characters in this tier or ganging up on them with other high-level fighters.

Raven with the power of the Spring Maiden is probably the strongest human or near-human character we've seen in the show, to the point where her one serious fight ended with her dunking on another Maiden after getting caught by surprise. In her one significant on-screen fight, she's only ever at a major disadvantage once, when hit by an ability designed specifically to counter/steal the Maiden powers, and even then her Aura runs out at the same time Cinder's does, despite the fact that she was previously facing another S-tier fighter while Cinder took on a group of teenagers. In fact, she doesn't seem overly respectful of Cinder in general during their fight, stopping to lecture her while Cinder's obviously vulnerable and having a literal "mine is bigger than yours" contest in the middle of the fight. Raven's fast, smart, adaptable, and willing to make use of the environment, making her a formidable fighter even without the Spring Maiden's powers. Her Semblance (the ability to open portals to people she has an emotional bond with) isn't overly useful in a duel, but it's great in teamfights, allowing her and her allies to reposition at will.

Hazel's next on the list. He's not really all that technically skilled relative to the others on this list (in fact, as a purely technical fighter, he's probably the lowest character on this list and arguably lower than a number of other fighters in lower tiers), but he's also eight feet tall and impervious to pain, so it evens out. Hazel is what you get when you take the stat stick to its logical extreme: in terms of pure baseline physical strength and durability, he beats out probably every (human) character we've seen so far, and on top of that, he has the reach that comes with being 8 feet tall and a Semblance that allows him to block out pain, which in turn lets him inject Dust directly into his body, something noted in-universe to be excruciatingly painful and dangerous under normal circumstances. He also recharges his Aura faster than any other character in the show, meaning that you need a lot of burst damage to put him down. Hazel's favorite spells are Fist and Fireball, and he likes to cast them both at the same time.

In terms of feats, Hazel is somewhat difficult to quantify because we don't see him fight too much outside of the battle of Haven, which was, in general, poorly plotted, managed, and choreographed, outside of a few decent moments. That said, he kicks the crap out of Ren and Nora and knocks Qrow around a bit, so I've slotted him above the Branwen twins, but realistically I could probably make a case for putting him anywhere in this pool. He does get impaled by one of Weiss's summons and just kinda... walks it off, so props to him for that, I guess, though Ozpin seems to have the advantage against him after he takes over for Oscar. Hazel and Tyrian also kill a bunch of Mistral's Huntsmen, which indicates that both of them are pretty strong, but all of it happened offscreen, so we don't know whether they just won straight fights, ganged up on their opponents, ambushed them, etc.

Qrow is the best point of comparison to use for this tier, given that he's the one we see fight the most often. The narrative frequently makes the point that he's an elite Huntsman (member of Team STRQ, noted to be exceptional during their time at Beacon, the best Huntsman Academy on Remnant; one of Ozpin's elite operatives; Tyrian, Salem's hitman, is excited to fight him; only person besides Ruby to use a weapon that's extremely dangerous and difficult to master, etc). I ranked Raven (Maidenless) above him because she's said in Volume 5 to be roughly as strong as he is and gains a brief advantage over him with the use of kicks at Haven, but these two are really, really close. I put Qrow above Tyrian and Clover because he was the one who consistently had the advantage, however slight, in their fights. During their fight in Volume 4, Tyrian is the one on the defensive more often than not, and Qrow is the only one who gains a significant advantage before Auras are broken (the sequence where he shows off his hand-to-hand ability). Sure, Qrow has help in this fight whereas Tyrian doesn't, but his Semblance means that he's arguably better off without it. In his fight with Clover, Qrow's advantage during the sequence between him and Clover before Tyrian joins is hardly decisive, but he does land a kick and a couple scythe hits vs. Clover's singular punch, despite having just facetanked a plane crash that Clover was able to avoid. He's also the one putting in most of the work in the Qrow/Clover/Robyn 3-v-1 against Tyrian, while Clover and Robyn mostly play support roles, striking from afar or binding up Tyrian so Qrow can get a hit in. Finally, Qrow gets points for having one of the most versatile weapons in the series. Between the sword, scythe, tonfa, and gun configurations, Harbinger gives him an option for any range and makes his combat style extremely flexible.

Tyrian, for his part, is a serial killer who killed multiple Huntsmen within Mistral and was apprehended by a joint operation between Mistrali and Atlesian authorities. It's worth noting that the Huntsman who helped arrest him, F. Pickerel, insisted that additional security precautions be implemented even after his capture and was later found dead after Tyrian escaped. On-screen, he's been built up as Qrow's rival, fighting against him 3 times in total and killing someone close to him. As best I can tell from their fights, he's slightly weaker than Qrow and slightly stronger than Clover, though the difference is minimal in any direction and the evidence is hardly conclusive. In fact, I could probably argue that Clover is the stronger of the two based on the Qrow vs. Clover vs. Tyrian fight at the end of Volume 7, though it's worth noting that Tyrian had had the crap beaten out of him previously and had, like Qrow, facetanked a plane crash prior to the fight. Also, Tyrian was the one Salem assigned to hunt down the Spring Maiden, though it's not clear whether he was meant to simply locate her and then phone the gank squad or if his assignment was to just straight up waste her. Either way, it implies that he's at least powerful enough to survive a fight vs. someone with a broken powerset.

Clover is built up throughout volume 7 as Qrow's equal and Atlas's best Huntsman, and his feats throughout the volume certainly seem to bear that out, though there's not a whole lot of data to work with compared to some of the other characters. His final fight of the volume shows that he can go toe-to-toe with both Qrow and Tyrian in a duel, though he actually seemed to have a better showing when the two teamed up against him, putting both of them briefly on the defensive at different points despite repeated attempts to flank him. Clover's also very good in teamfights, the range of his fishing rod... thing... allowing him to restrict opponents' movement and pull them off balance, creating openings for his allies.

Professor Goodwitch has one of the most broken Semblances in the show, capable of large-scale destruction (according to the CFVY books, she can lift large chunks of buildings) unequaled by really anyone we've seen without Maiden powers or some other form of magic. She fights evenly with half-Maiden Cinder in volume 1, defeats the generic mooks even more easily than most of the other notable characters, and is the combat instructor before the Fall of Beacon, which by anime rules means she's also one of, if not the strongest teacher in the school. She hasn't really gotten a big marquee fight like some of the others on this list, but from what the narrative tells us and what little we see in the early volumes, she's clearly a top-tier Huntress.

Basically everything we know about Theodore comes from the CFVY books and his existence has been mentioned, like, once in the show proper and maybe once or twice in Amity Arena, so I can't really go into too much detail, but he's referred to as "the strongest headmaster" or something along those lines, so I've tentatively placed him here.

A

Winter (with Maiden powers)/Cinder (with Maiden powers)/Penny (with Maiden powers)/Winter (without Maiden powers)/Cinder (without Maiden powers)/The Hound/Elm/Taiyang/Ironwood/Maria (young)/Neo/Pyrrha/Penny (without Maiden powers)

This tier represents high-level, experienced fighters that are close to the top of the power scale that haven't quite reached the elite tier yet, but could potentially get there fairly quickly and is where I start to get a bit less confident of my placements. Characters in this tier can be trusted with highly dangerous, challenging, and important missions and typically have gotten at least one good fight designed to show the audience what a badass they are.

The Maidens top the ranks, and honestly I wasn't sure whether to put them at the top of A or the bottom of S, since I think they can go either way, just based on how absurdly broken the Maiden powers are compared to every other power set available in RWBY. All three are competent fighters, but I put Winter above the other two due to her excellent showings against Qrow and Ironwood (during their first fight). Qrow is clearly a cut above Winter during their fight, though Winter is actually the one who lands more meaningful hits, so I didn't rank her in S Tier, but she gets a number of fights against high-quality opponents and acquits herself well in all of them, despite frequently fighting under adverse conditions. Winter hard carries the Ironwood Gank Squad in Volume 8 (seriously, after she joins that fight, she sets up every meaningful event: Nora's hammer blow, setting up everything Oscar does, and then hitting Ironwood with whatever the hell that freaking anime finisher was), is referred to by Watts as "Ironwood's top fighter" (admittedly, after Clover's death), and seems to have a slight advantage over Cinder in the extremely brief Maidenbowl at the end of Volume 8. She does struggle pretty hard against Cinder in V7, though it's worth noting that she was engaging in utterly Maidenless behavior at the time and that the fight started in an enclosed corridor, not really the place you want to fight someone who can throw fireballs, and Cinder caught both her and Penny with an explosion when Winter was trying to close the door. Winter makes very limited use of glyphs during that fight, presumably to avoid risking harm to Penny or Fria, and we see Cinder display a slight advantage in purely melee combat. After that, Cinder takes the battle outside, where Winter is at a distinct disadvantage due to the fact that she can't freaking fly (without use of a summon). Winter also later survives fighting Cinder in melee despite her Aura being depleted, even though Cinder has both her Aura and her Maiden powers, though she gets the crap kicked out of her in the process. My reading of her fights is that Winter would beat Cinder in a fight where neither has a Maiden advantage and the terrain/circumstances allow both of them to use their entire toolkits, so I've put Winter higher on the tier list, especially given the fact that her Semblance is actually like 3 different Semblances in a trench coat.

I would like to emphasize that it is my belief that No Bitches Winter/Cinder are still the best "normal" fighters on this list, given that Winter is, again, "Ironwood's best fighter," and Cinder is clearly intended as her rival throughout the Atlas storyline. I'm not entirely sure how either one of them stacks up against the Hound, which is clearly intended to be a major threat as long as there isn't a convenient statue nearby, but frankly, I feel like the fact that they both have ranged options is enough to put them above it on the list. As for the Hound itself, it has the advantage every time it shows up against the heroes and requires groups of people working together to put it down, but we don't actually see it fight against top-tier competition and it's treated more like an arc villain for the first half of Volume 8 than a significant long-term threat, meant to present the possibility of Grimm Summer and others like her rather than establish itself as a major villain in its own right. I put Elm over the rest of the Ace Ops because her Amity Arena card description says that she's "an excellent agent with a peerless track record" and "the pillar of the team and only second in performance to Clover". She also has to go below Winter, so this is where she wound up.

Taiyang is honestly kinda hard to place. Team STRQ has been hyped to hell and back and Tai trained Yang, but we haven't really seen him fight outside of, like, 1 spar with Yang. If I had more to go on, I'd probably put him up there with Qrow and Raven, but Ruby's dialogue at the beginning of Volume 3 implies that he's been spending more time teaching and less time actively fighting than either of the Branwen twins, though that same dialogue also attributes a great deal of Yang's skill and development as a fighter to him, and he is also positioned as a mentor figure to Yang in Volume 4, so clearly there's something there.

Ironwood is also somewhat difficult to place, given that his main big fight is with Watts, who is... not primarily a combatant, but the fight does take place in an arena where Watts has all the advantages and Ironwood still comes out ahead, despite the fact that Watts outmaneuvers him with the Hard-Light barrier at the end. His Volume 3 fights make it clear that he's a skilled, powerful, and experienced Huntsman, but nothing I've seen from him makes me think that he's on the level of Qrow or the other S-tier characters. His fight with Winter (both Round 1 and Round 2) are hard to get much useful data out of because the first one involves the heroes rolling up with a 6-man gank squad and the second involves both of them fighting while beat to hell (Winter is busy doing her best Commander Shepard impression if Shepard spent all her time in a body brace, has been in combat essentially since the moment she recovered enough to walk without passing out, and hasn't had proper rest since the dinner party in Volume 7, while Ironwood's Aura was already broken once within the past few hours and he opened up the invasion by first flaying the skin off his own arm and then straight-up chopping it off, so neither of them are really in peak condition at that point). Every fight Ironwood's in makes it clear that he's a major threat in close quarters, and Due Process makes him surprisingly maneuverable, but he isn't as versatile as some of the other characters. Ironwood is relatively straightforward and practical by RWBY/anime standards, which fits with his characterization as a soldier, but this comes with pros and cons. The lack of flash that characterizes RWBY combat in general means he leaves fewer exploitable openings in his form (his mindset is another story) and his sheer determination means he's still in a fight as long as he can move, but he also makes minimal use of Dust and his Semblance doesn't really add another dimension to his fighting style, it just makes him better at what he already does and comes with some nasty weaknesses (e.g. tunnel vision) on top of that. Ironwood also drops a minimum of 1 tier whenever he brings out the Gun^3, because sticking 2 guns inside another gun to make a bigger gun is both entirely on brand for Volume 8 Ironwood and the stupidest possible interpretation of the "it's also a gun" meme to ever make it into canon.

The narrative sets Maria up as the premier Huntress of her generation, but a common theme in RWBY is the new blood surpassing the old guard (Qrow mentions Team RWBY being stronger than Team STRQ at the same age, Maria points out that many members of the group have become stronger than she was already, etc.) and Maria struggled a bit against Tock and her gang, who didn't really look like they were on the level of the highest-end fighters in current RWBY during the one time we saw them fight. Taking all that into consideration, I put Young Maria in this tier, but I'll admit the data points are limited and my opinion could potentially be swayed.

Next up, Neo, who, unlike many other characters, actually has a number of significant data points to work with. She opens up by trouncing Yang, who we've already seen punch a robot through a concrete pillar by that point, and then immediately flees from Raven in terror, which tells us that she's: A) a serious badass who's above Team RWBY's Beacon-era level by a fair margin, and B) clearly below the Qrow-tier characters. Later on, we see her take out a whole ship full of soldiers and Ruby's clearly outmatched during their brief clash on top of that airship, but Neo had Roman for backup in that instance. She also had a clear advantage during her rematch with Ruby throughout the fight, effortlessly handles JNOR with the exception of that one punch Oscar lands on her after taking several seconds to run the length of a hallway, and fights evenly against an unarmed Cinder in Volume 6, though it's clear to me that Cinder is holding back during that fight. I think Neo's fairly placed at the lower end of this tier, as we consistently see her win vs. characters placed lower and struggle against characters placed higher. It's also worth taking into account the way she gets cocky and takes her time to savor a kill, which has bitten her in the ass no less than 3 times so far (twice against Ruby and once against Yang).

Pyrrha is in this tier based on the combination of demonstrable strength/skill, experience, and a Semblance that gives her a massive matchup advantage against nearly every other character in the series. That said, she's no slouch without it, since she managed to win the Mistral Regional Tournament 4 years in a row and graduated top of her class at Sanctum Academy with such minimal use of her Semblance that its properties weren't widely known despite her being enough of a celebrity to have her face on a cereal box. In addition, her Amity Arena card bios describe her as "A gifted warrior born and raised for greatness" and "an accomplished marksman", something Rifle Pyrrha's bio notes is often overlooked. She's also noticeably willing to fight without weapons at all, given her tendency to work in throws, either unarmed or assisted by her weapon (see her fights vs. Cinder and CRDL). Not only will she dazzle you with her swordplay and marksmanship, she'll just yeet you across the damn arena if she feels like it.

In terms of on-screen feats, Pyrrha qualifies for the Vytal Festival as a first-year student (and makes it to the singles rounds), defeats Team CRDL (themselves strong enough to both qualify for the Vytal Festival and make it to the doubles round) in a 4-v-1 spar without noticeable difficulty, and fights evenly with Penny with minimal use of her Semblance (and, of course, literally rips Penny to pieces once Emerald makes things worse on purpose). She also holds her own against Cinder for a while at the end of Volume 3. While that fight ultimately goes against her, she makes a credible showing and demonstrates what her Semblance is capable when she really cuts loose. Frankly, I've put her here based mostly on her actual stats and technical fighting ability, rather than the power of her Semblance, and I think she could move up in this tier fairly readily if we'd gotten a good example of her fighting without hiding her abilities that wasn't against a Maiden.

Penny was designed as a weapon and her 1.0 version fights evenly against Pyrrha, regularly wrecks airships, and curbstomps whichever mostly-forgettable members of Team CRDL she ends up fighting in the Vytal Festival Tournament. Her 2.0 version is even stronger, adding flight (which is a massive tactical advantage all by itself) and bigger laser beams, and, most importantly, bigger hair. On top of that, she comes with a top-of-the-line sensor suite that lets her avoid sneak attacks on at least 2 occasions (her fight with Cinder in Amity Colosseum and when the Happy Huntresses are sneaking up on the truck she's guarding), and, as a robot with a soul, gets all the benefits of Aura with the additional bonus of the ability to repair or replace any damaged non-critical body parts without too much difficulty. She's also designated the official protector of Mantle, and is apparently at least good enough at fending off frequent Grimm incursions over a wide area that Mantle's populace views her in a positive manner.

B

Harriet/Adam/Yang/Vine/Marrow/Oobleck/Port/Robyn/Vernal/Mercury

This tier is for the fighters who are strong, but are clearly presented as having either a lower ceiling or more room to grow than the ones who should already be considered elite in some capacity. The remaining Ace-Ops are all in this tier and are more-or-less interchangeable in terms of placement, though I gave Harriet the nod over Vine due to Vine being the first member of the team to fall at the end of Volume 7, whereas Harriet generally makes her opponents work for it, and Vine the nod over Marrow due purely to experience, since Marrow's the newbie of the group. That said, I'm not exactly married to these rankings, seeing as the Ace-Ops in general have pretty forgettable showings and have a fairly mediocre win/loss record due to being positioned against the heroes on the few occasions where they actually get to fight human opponents instead of Grimm.

I'm sure some people (the ones who haven't been paying attention to the show) will probably be surprised to see Yang this high, but I'm firmly convinced that she's one of those "naturally talented with room to grow" fighters that simply lacks the experience against intelligent humanoid opponents to maximize her potential at this point in the story. Her fight versus Neo makes it clear that she isn't truly elite yet, but she's clearly the best of Team RWBY, given that she's the one they picked to advance to the singles rounds of the Vytal Festival Tournament, consistently does the bulk of the work in teamfights (to the point where Blake's entire fucking fighting style is just "support Yang" at this point despite Blake being a legitimately talented fighter in her own right. More on that later...), and has the best overall win/loss record of any of her teammates. Certain segments of the fandom like to call her the dumb brute force fighter (I have my own theories regarding the reasons why, but I'm not going to go into them here. It's certainly not because these people are good at breaking down fights or have a strong understanding of pattern recognition, strategy, or tactics), but she's actually very technically skilled and tactically adept, on top of having a very powerful Semblance and being hella maneuverable compared to your average tank/bruiser. I could write a whole-ass post (and probably will) on how Yang is far, far smarter and more skilled than even some of her supporters give her credit for, but this post is longer than a Kal'tsit monologue as it is, so that's a problem for future me.

I put the teachers in this tier because during the point where they're relevant to the show, they're clearly presented as stronger than the students, given that Port and Oobleck clear out an arena full of Grimm that were giving even strong students trouble and Oobleck wastes a bunch of Paladins, whereas basically all the named students had to bust their asses to take down 2 Paladins at Beacon and the one in Painting the Town needed all 4 of Team RWBY to defeat. That said, we don't have a whole lot of data and these two were nearly non-factors after the narrative departed Beacon, so I'm not entirely sure how they stack up now. I think Yang, at least, is stronger than they are at this point, but I'm not 100% sure about her teammates.

Vernal is here mainly because she performs some Kobe-level dunks on Weiss during the Battle of Haven, but she does precisely fuck-all otherwise, and Weiss literally fights as stupidly as possible the entire time, so idk how useful any of that is. The fact that she's Raven's clear second-in-command in the Social Darwinist Bandit Collective implies some level of competence, but the bandits are such ass at doing anything useful that she doesn't exactly have to clear a high bar to earn the position. I think she's meant to be fairly good in-universe, but also close to her ceiling, and I could easily justify dropping her to the tier below.

Robyn is an odd one and hard to properly rank, to be honest. She's so heavily specialized for long-range combat that her effectiveness goes up exponentially when paired with a tank (case in point: the utter destruction of Tyrian and the brief shot of her fighting alongside Qrow vs. the droids in Volume 8. She stays very close to him in Volume 8 specifically and lets both his body and the reach of his scythe protect her from anything closing while she takes the mooks apart, while in the fight vs. Tyrian, she picks her moments carefully and is damn near always positioned so that her tank line is in position to intercept Tyrian if he tries to go after her*, pulling off Doublelift Lucian jukes and bouncing her skillshots off her own allies, thus demonstrating within a singular fight that she has more actual testicles than every other ADC main in history despite being a woman), but she's repeatedly shown to be vulnerable in melee in comparison and thus isn't someone I'd view as particularly effective in duels. That said, her brief skirmish with Yang and Blake shows that she's competent enough in melee to adequately defend herself against a couple of strong opponents who, to be fair, were trying not to seriously hurt her. I'd go more in-depth about that skirmish specifically, but 2 minutes of googling gave me one video that was lower quality than the average line of Fate/Stay Night hentai prose and a bunch of clickbait videos and reddit posts whining about how Ironwood deserved better and I'm too lazy to actually find and watch the episode on Rooster Teeth's website.

*When she isn't, it's because her tanks are actively CCing the enemy, so she's as safe as she can realistically be as long as she doesn't walk into melee.

Finally, Mercury was trained by a notorious assassin and then killed that assassin, which is presumably a pretty solid baseline, and then on top of that is specifically recruited as the muscle for Cinder's group and fights well enough versus Yang that he came very close to beating her during the Vytal Festival tournament. My interpretation of the fight is that it was a legit victory for Yang, since Emerald could easily have pulled the same trick if Yang lost to obtain a very similar effect and Mercury has an "oh, shit, I'd better take this seriously" moment when Yang almost wins by ring-out, but I don't know whether it's ever confirmed that Mercury outright threw or not, so I could easily be wrong. On top of that, he absolutely handled Coco and Yatsuhashi, two students who are implied to be pretty damn strong themselves.

C

Blake/Torchwick/Weiss/Nora/Ren/Emerald/Coco/Yatsuhashi/Sun/Ilia/Ruby/Sienna/Fox

This tier is for combatants who are honestly pretty damn good by the standards of Remnant at large and are clearly powerful relative to your average student and even some licensed Huntsmen, but are still a bit lower on the power scale relative to the experienced combatants who serve as major heroes and villains who represent the growth trajectory and potential of the protagonists. I'm going to go on a little bit of a tangent here to discuss how Team RWBY stacks up in comparison to both their age group and the population of Huntsmen in Remnant overall, using the Vytal Festival as an example. The show does a lot of work, both in the background and the foreground, to build Team RWBY up as a group of prodigies. Ruby gets into Beacon 2 years early, Weiss is apparently top of the class at the time of the Vytal Festival, Blake was going on combat missions before she was old enough to get a driver's license, and Yang, as l've already established, is a better fighter than any of the aforementioned three. Iirc one of the CFVY books specifically note that Team RWBY impressed the student body by taking down the giant Nevermore during initiation, and while my memory is fuzzy, that's entirely plausible to me, given the way we see the same types of Grimm that Team RWBY absolutely shred on a regular basis giving serious trouble to the "average" students during the Battle of Beacon, to the point where a number of those students straight-up die.

On top of that, Team RWBY qualifies for the Vytal Festival Tournament as first-year students. The tournament has only 32 slots (calculated based on the number of rounds we see on-screen) and is open to students of all age groups, meaning that Team RWBY not only managed to beat out students nearing graduation to qualify, but also reached the singles round in that stacked field. To give you an idea of what the "average" Huntsman/student level is like, consider the following fact: Team CRDL, who are a group of first-years who are presented as decidedly inferior to the protagonist group (Pyrrha trashes them in a 4-v-1, they run from an Ursa that fucking Jaune manages to kill after Pyrrha ghosts him through it, and they notably don't try to start shit with anyone they think will fight back), not only qualified for the tournament, they made it into the doubles stage. Yes, I know the real reason for their appearance was because someone needed to lose to Penny and they presumably already had the models, but in-universe, they have legitimate accomplishments. Later on, we see the protagonists consistently outperform actual licensed Huntsmen (e.g. Dee and Dudley, although it must be said that those two are down at the bottom of the barrel), so despite the way Team RWBY sometimes look weak in the Maya era, it's mostly because they're throwing hands with and alongside the absolute best fighters on Remnant.

Anyway, I put most of the remaining protagonists at the top of this tier. I view Blake as the best fighter in this group despite her absolutely atrocious showings in recent volumes because she: A) demonstrated some serious skill earlier in the series, like when she trounced Torchwick on the train, and B) at least successfully plays the support role very effectively and works fantastically with Yang. I have no actual proof of this, but I hypothesize that Blake's on-screen feats have suffered because the choreographers/animators have a hard time figuring out what to do with Gambol Shroud and don't use it as creatively as Monty did early on (watch the Black Trailer, she pulls the goddamn ribbon to fire the gun to redirect the blade, of all things. Early Blake was fucking wild). Even so, she has more serious combat experience than most of the others in this tier and is extremely slippery on top of that. Her physical strength is impressive enough to let her yeet Yang like a MLB fastball and swing around like goddamn catgirl Tarzan, and even her clones pack a punch when spiked with Dust.

Weiss has a fantastic toolkit, but hasn't been great at using it on screen because she's been the designated Renji for about half the series and has jobbed to hell and back starting as early as Volume 2. She's gotten better about this as she's gotten more real-world experience, culminating in her solo win vs. Marrow in Volume 7, and it's clear that she was the most sheltered of the main 4. Frankly, Weiss has the highest ceiling in teamfights out of anyone in this tier by a fair margin, given the absurd versatility of her Semblance and her aptitude for Dust manipulation, but she struggles a bit with conditioning early on and her lack of experience hurts her. Her performance has gone up as she settles into a support role, and I honestly think she's the fighter on her team with the most room to grow.

Ren and Nora seem clearly in the "really, genuinely talented and skilled, but weaker than RWBY" category, but their experience gives them a solid edge vs. most of the others in this tier, especially since unlike Coco and Yatsuhashi, who are talented and experienced themselves, they aren't specifically specialized for either range or melee.

Ruby's a bit lower than the other protagonists because she clearly optimized her build for fighting Grimm and consistently struggles against human opponents. Her lack of hand-to-hand combat skill is shown as a weakness in Volume 2 and then brought up again in Volume 5, and she's the only member of her team who doesn't outright defeat her opponent during the fight against the Ace-Ops at the end of Volume 7, but she successfully outsmarts Neo twice and is probably the best on her team at taking on Grimm, as well as the one with the best leadership skills.

Torchwick is high on the list because he fought well against Blake and Sun in Volume 1 and then smacked Ruby around in Volume 3, but Blake crushed him in their rematch and iirc he never even unlocked his Semblance. That said, he's apparently Vale's biggest criminal and a genuinely competent fighter, so I think this is an appropriate placement for him.

As for the rest, I kind of just lumped them together because they've all shown that they're better than the average student, but most of them have very few actual fights/screentime to go off of, and I was too tired to spend several minutes trying to figure out which minor character was slightly better at fighting than other minor characters.

D

Jaune/Ghira/Neptune/Scarlet/Sage/Team FNKI/Team CRDL/Team ABRN/Team BRNZ/Team NDGO/Albain brothers/Watts/Melanie/Miltia/Dee and Dudley

This is the tier for people who have combat training but aren't impressive enough to end up in a higher tier. Jaune has made great strides, but he isn't really exceptional yet, and Ghira is basically about as dangerous as you'd expect a 7-foot GigaChad beefcake with panther claws to be, but that's really not as big of a deal as it sounds in the world of RWBY. Really, anyone with some level of Huntsman training or combat experience that hasn't truly distinguished themselves should fit in here, and as such the tier has the highest range of variance since a whole ton of minor characters can fit inside it.

Mook Tier

Branwen Tribe/White Fang goons/Atlesian robots

Basically anyone who can be a threat to your average civilian who lacks training or Aura, but otherwise mostly exists to give the heroes or villains someone to beat up.

Civilians

The majority of Remnant's population, approximately as dangerous as any randomly selected group of people from Earth. Lacking in training or any kind of superpower.

There are a few characters I didn't rank on purpose, and probably several I forgot, but at this point it's late and I'm tired and I don't want to write much more, so I'm just going to go over Summer, Oscar/Ozpin, and Velvet and call it a night.

Summer should probably go in either A or S based on the fact that she's a member of Team STRQ and her family clearly considers her a great Huntress, but we know so little about her that giving any sort of accurate evaluation of her combat abilities is impossible.

Not really sure where to put Oscar/Ozpin since Ozpin's capabilities depend at least in part on his host body and drawing a line between Oscar and Ozpin is getting harder and harder as time goes on due to the nature of the merge, so I just left him out. If I absolutely had to commit to a ranking, I'd stick them in the EX tier and be done with it, but I admit that comes with problems, which is why I didn't do it.

Velvet is just straight-up impossible to rank because her combat effectiveness changes drastically based on what photographs she has available and thus what fighting styles she can effectively mimic, and I don't think we know a whole lot about her base capabilities, so I thought about her placement for about thirty seconds and then threw up my hands and gave up.

Anyway, this is my first big post on this website, so I hope the format is at least legible and hope that I didn't mess anything up this badly. Thanks for reading if you've stuck with it this long, and please feel free to dunk on my bad takes or just share your own if you want. I'm open to discussion, especially since I feel like a lot of these character placements were hard to pin down.

[sn3ka]

Shouta Aizawa (alpha) x GN!Reader (omega)

So I'm like actually really nervous posting this since this is my first fanfic and my anxiety keeps tell me its horrible but I still wanna share!!!! Its mostly just like filler? Fluff? At the end it mentions the readers 'heat' so soft lewd but I wanted to post this first to see if it was even worth it to continue working on it

Also there is like multiple ways to spell his name and my brain can't handle it--

I also didn't give the reader a quirk and I couldn't decide what Aizawa should smell like so you get to pick I guess lol

I guess I'll take suggestions/requests??? But I do have a right to reject any I don't feel comfortable doing (I'm also very busy)

__________

You were a teacher aid at UA and mostly was in Aizawa's class, you did occasionally help with teaching but you were mostly there to help any students having troubles understanding the work and you offered tutoring after school hours mostly in the dormitory lounge area but occasionally at cafes with students that were more shy about getting help.

Aizawa's demeanor clashed with yours, he was stern and reserved, while you were usually 'perky' though you were relaxed. There were times when even you gave a death glare that definitely made everyone shut up and pay attention, luckily you didn't have to use it often.

Shota was secretly proud of your progress as a teacher aid since at first you were very timid and would get nervous when a student needed help which made you subconsciously give off a slightly sour smell even with the scent blockers you were taking he could still get a small whiff of your anxiousness.

He wouldn't admit that he liked being in your presence and liked your sweet scent that you released when you were content/proud with yourself but to the other teachers they could see his slight favoritism towards you when having a teacher aid (mainly because he only let a few teacher aids assist before stating whether he would accept them or not and you were the only one he accepted, of course no one had told you this)

He also seemed to be softer around you which Yamada Hizashi (Present Mic) noticed almost immediately and would tease him about when they were alone

It had been a normal day basically a routine, you get up, take a shower and get dressed, have a quick breakfast, take your scent blockers and then leave your complex after checking you had everything while you lock your door and ride your bike to work.

Once you got at UA and confirmed you were a employee with a small badge you were let in and you quickly lock up your bike heading into the school going to the staff room and sat down before you realized that you had forgotten to pack lunch, you involuntarily let out a small whine very softly only Aizawa looking up from his desk giving you a raised eyebrow

You blush a bit realizing what you did and laugh it off and started to help grade assignments for class. You left notes on some papers of encouragement and some helpful feedback for when someone got a answer wrong.

You weren't quite done with grading while you heard someone calling your name and you look up seeing Aizawa "Y/N it is almost time for class" you nod smiling and trying to push down your urge to breathe in his lovely scent as you get up grabbing all the papers that have graded and also the ones you haven't

Shota say you picking up your papers and sighed to himself as his alpha desperately wanted to take them from you and to show his strength

"I'm ready Aizawa-sama!" You smiled brightly at him before he starts to walk to the class and you follow closely behind, he wanted to tell you that you could call him with a more friendly tone but decided not to

You both had desks by each other and you waved to what students who were already filling the classroom shortly after you two walked in. You decided to take the upgraded papers from Shota's desk and focus on them while he taught class and let Iida make sure the class stayed focus while he went into his sleeping back laying down. You always giggled to yourself whenever you say him do that but switched your attentions back to your grading silently as the classroom was filled with small chatter.

You didn't notice that it was lunch until you saw students leaving and that Shota was sitting in his chair now calling to you

"Hey Y/N"......"Y/N?"

"H-huh? Oh sorry I was focused heheh what do you need Aizawa-sama?"

He grunted a soft displeased noise as he ,secretly wishing you paid that much attention to him, said "take a break already its lunch" it took you a few minutes to process what he said and you just shyly look away and nod softly

"Sorry I guess I got caught up didn't I?..." before he could respond your stomach growled and you were immediately flustered while he just stared at you thinking about how cute your were and how he couldn't wait to make you his omega

You both had a small understanding of each other about appreciating the quiet. He shot you a glance "aren't you gonna get your food?" He had pulled a snack out of one of his desk drawers "ah... I uh....." he waited patiently for your response as he suddenly smelled a soft scent of distress which his alpha immediately wanted to jump to you and calm you down with purrs but Shoto resisted the urge as you quietly mumbled "I forgot to pack it...." he thought to himself about offering some of his snacks as his alpha wanted to prove himself by providing for you

You smiled as you mostly went back to your normal scent "its okay though heheh I'm not that hungry anyway so I'm just gonna get something from a vending machine" you explained while you got up and left the classroom but Aizawa had noticed that you were off all day and that you probably took more than your normal scent blockers but decided not to think about it while he ate his snack

You where really hoping no one had smelled your pre-heat at the moment and your mind rushed wanting to make a nest back at yourself home but you knew even if you did that it would feel like it was missing something...... it would feel uncompleted unless you had something that Aizawa had scented, being embarrassed by your own thoughts of wanting to have your long term crush finally scent you and gave you some much needed love. You decided to let your omega have a small victory by getting a sweet snack from the vending machine

Walking back you saw you were getting some strange looks and you were confused until a particular cocky student tried to flirt with you and thats when you realized oh shit they could smell it

You were surprised that they could smell it even with your scent blockers but you immediately BOOKED IT to the classroom quickly eating your snack as you ran in

Shoto was surprised to see you rush into the classroom but kept his poker face but soon realized that you were distressed by the overwhelming sour scent. He began to walk to you but not before you hid under his desk and let out a distressed chirp, his alpha was screaming at him and he increased his own scent in the classroom to hide yours and calm you at the same time

Crouching down he gave you a headpat calming you down "sorry just I am uh...." you don't think you could look at your crush while you were getting the courage to tell him that you were in preheat

You let out a surprised chirp when you saw him lean in and you immediately wanted to kiss him but you blushed when he leaned towards your scent gland (on your neck) and sniffed it you subconsciously moved your neck so he would get more access to it shutting your eyes nervously biting down on your lip

"You are close to your heat aren't you?" It was hard to control himself and keep his calm demeanor while your sweeter than normal scent filled his nose all the while his alpha wanting to help you with those needs thinking to himself no wonder you were off al day

You nod softly and looked at him to see what kind of face he had and you couldn't lie that you had been happy to see a small tint of blush on his cheeks

"I forgot to keep track sigh I only realized because I was getting stares from some of the stronger alpha students"

He immediately wantedto bring you home so you could nest and be protected but then realizedit might be too far away...."How close is your home?"

You mumbled quietly "not that close" which wasn't a complete lie it wasn't the closest place to the school but it was closer than most teachers

Aizawa had to think to himself, would you be okay at his place? Did he even have enough nesting materials? While he was pondering he never stopped head patting you forgetting about how close you two were until you couldn't control yourself from your encouraging omega saying go for it so you shamelessly moved your head into his chest clutching his shirt tightly hoping he wouldn't be repulsed by you and which how could he? You were just so cute but he still froze up for a split second by the sudden contact before wrapping his arms around you patting your back now instead and released comfort pheromones all the while you just breathed in his irresponsible scent (more so than before)

He practically whispered into your ear "I'll bring you to my home and keep you safe Y/N"

_________

I hope you enjoyed!!! If not I'm sorry???

[brittledame]

Characters: Ushijima Wakatoshi, Tendou Satori, Yamagata Hayato, Reon Oohira, Semi Eita, Shirabu Kenjirou, Kawanishi Taichi, Goshiki Tsutomu

Word Count: 5.7K

Tags: SFW, gender neutral reader, first date nerves, fluff, ages not specified

Notes: I did this instead of working on the other projects bc I wanted some fluff and here it is!

Ushijima:

On a visit with his grandmother is when he’s told about a local pottery masterclass happening the following weekend, piquing his interest

After some research, he comes to learnt that pottery is the perfect relaxing hobby with the added benefit of fine tuning his dexterity

It didn’t take much else to convince him to go

It was only after talking to a friend that he realises he should probably invite someone to tag along

After his grandmother politely declines, he follows her coy suggestion of inviting someone he likes

He invites you seemingly out of the blue

You’ve known him for a great deal of time and done some activities with him that could be construed as “romantic” and only started dating when Ushijima stated your relationship status to his team nearly a month ago

The look on your face when you found out at the exact moment as his team was priceless

After that, Ushijima left your relationship status on no uncertain terms and practically broadcasted it in his own unique way

This pottery class serves as another way to spend more time with you

After a few minutes of the pottery teacher painstakingly going through the motions to make a basic pot, a whirring noise followed by wet splattering steals your attention away from the clump of clay that is slowly taking form.

You glance over to find Ushijima looking at you, nonplussed at the mess of what was his pot now decorating his mock and forearms, his face is not left unmarked with the few splotches painting his cheek

You gape at him as he blinks as if coming out of a daze and looks down at the poor clump of clay and murmurs a small, “Oh.”

You didn’t mean to laugh, not really, but the utter surprise in his tone topped you over

After a mild scolding from the teacher and a new clump of clay, the two of you were good to go once again

The both of you took longer than most of the class, you with fussing about the tiny bumps you just couldn’t seem to smooth out and Ushijima with his second try

The class seemed to have unlocked his innate mastery of the ancient craft, as the pot looked near store-quality, you note with an ounce of envy

The group takes a break over some snacks and drinks as the pots are loaded into the kiln

Ushijima meticulously picks through the various glazes they had to offer, seeking your assistance after you picked your own out

You suggest the purple as homage to Shiratorizawa, where you two met, and the dark-rich brown, claiming it reminded you of his eyes

He considers you for a moment, a long enough pause for you to think over your words and begin to regret them before he nods decidedly and proudly presents the glazes he picked to the lady

With the class wrapping up, the lady running the class pops up as you two inspect your creations.

“Do you mind if I take a picture to post on our social media?”

Ushijima shakes his head as you answer, “We don’t mind.”

She flashes a wide smile and aims her phone in your direction. “Great! Say ‘pottery’.”

On cue you plaster on smile and brandish the clay creation as the camera clicks.

The lady, who is somehow even more dirtied than Ushijima, inspects the picture.

“You two are so cute together!” She fawns over the two of you. “I hope you enjoy the rest of your date together.”

She disappears before either of you can correct her.

You blurt out, "Is this a date?"

A pause. Then a hum, "I suppose it is."

A shared smile, you leave the studio with linked hands.

When you get home, you prowl through the studio’s page and find the picture and break out into gut-clutching laughter at the almost-pained looking smile Ushijima makes, tiny pot perched in his large hands adding a comedic effect.

After you recover, you end up saving it and making it your screen saver.

Tendou:

For all his casual confidence, you’re the one to ask him out and he’s the one to officially declare it the “big” first date

The plan was to go manga/book shopping and eat at the in-store cafe

It sounded like a pretty cut-and-dry standard date but with Tendou anything can turn into an adventure

Ecstatic is an understatement on how excited Tendou was for the weekend

He was nearly berated a dozen times for not paying enough attention to what he was doing and almost caused a small fire at one stage

You didn’t fare much better, either

The pair of you got a great deal of laughter from relaying it to one another in the late night hours before meeting up

Although underneath it all lurked the residual anxiety he tried to fight away, so he reminds you during the call, just to check that you didn’t regret inviting him out

As much as he despised the thought, the dark voice whispering at him that you would stand him up were quickly silenced when you show up with a bright smile and his name on your lips

Tendou reckons it’s the sweetest noise he’s ever heard, right after your laughter that he coaxes out with the little melodies he sings to himself as the two of you make way to the popular bookstore

After arriving, you wonder apart to check out separate sections and end up meeting at again the in-store café with books in hand

Over the chocolate cake slice Tendou brought to share, you take turns to gush over the selected choices spread across the tabletop

“I mean it isn’t that over done.” You argue, popping another forkful of the overly-sweet cake into your mouth.

Tendou throws his hands into the air. “Are you serious? Hero meets bad guy, then they fight a whole bunch, bad guy kills a bunch of people and the hero never kills the guy because he ‘doesn’t want to stoop to their level’,” You don’t mask your laughter at the overexaggerated deep voice Tendou imitates. “It’s not fair to the people that the bad guy goes to hurt later on.”

“Oh, I entirely agree with you there.” You take a moment to wonder how Tendou has eaten nearly half the thing to himself already, you’ve barely been seated for longer than a few minutes. “When done wrong, the whole ‘taking the high ground’ troupe is really tacky.”

Tendou blinks at you like he didn’t expect you to respond. You raise a brow at him as a toothy grin spreads over his face, a slight pink painted across his pale cheeks.

“What?”

“Nothing. I like talking to someone that knows their stuff, is all. Don’t get me wrong, miracle boy is great company, but I can only try to convince him to read more than the ads they run for so long before I go insane.” He chuckles under his breath, words heartfelt enough that a matching heat spreads across your cheeks.

“I enjoy this too.”

A wide grin overtakes his face at your admittance.

“Well then, let’s not stop!” He offers, stretching his hand towards yours. You clasp it, feeling delicate against his larger one. “I still have to tell you about the whole ‘boy is given power he doesn’t know how to control and needs to find a grumpy mentor’ troupe next!”

You squeeze his hand. “I’d love to hear your thoughts on that one.”

Tendou clicks his tongue and wags his finger at you. “It’s not necessarily about my thoughts, it’s the conspiracy I think the troupe ties into.”

The seriousness in his tone made you pause, looks like you were in for a long one.

Amongst him linking the heroes journey and the innate desire for power over others, you marvel at the way his whole body comes alive when talking about something he loves.

It’s much later on, when he’s introducing you to his friends at a reunion, that you notice the bubbly and animated way he presents you to his friends, love evident in each and every word.

Semi:

Now you would think he’d be the calm and collected one after knowing each other for half a decade and dating for a month

Nope.

He's the type to plan to ask you at the perfect time, and will be in a pissy mood if he misses the "perfect" opportunity to ask

When he does finally pose the question, you’ll say yes and he’s ecstatic

Though, he will play it cool and be like, "Ok I'll text you the details later." And flash you the biggest smile that has you melting inside just a little

When he's trying to sleep that night it finally hits him

Oh shit he has to plan a date with the girl he’s been hopelessly pining for

After one text from you confirming you don’t mind where he picks, he’s both relieved and more stressed because now he has to analyse every little thing he knows about you and eventually starts doubting himself

In the end, he decides to play it safe and go with the popular, family owned cafe that plays live music Saturday afternoons

It was perfect, the music act would be quiet enough to still talk if you two wanted or serve as a mediator to break any awkward silence should it pop up

It is honestly the perfect date, in his mind

Comes the day and he swings around your place after agreeing to walk to the café together

The walk is characterised with the brisk autumn wind and catching each other up on what’s been going on during the week

The conversation doesn’t stop from there – something Semi could cry happily over

After ordering and grabbing a seat close to a stage set-up to the side, you note how bright and talkative Semi is and vow to yourself to see this more often

As he takes a sip in the middle of explaining the difference pick positions affects plucking sounds, you comment on his excitement

Even with the flush on his cheeks, he holds a suave facade and merely says that it’s hard to unwind when his friends can be so chaotic when they get together

From there he starts opening up and imparting little facts about himself that you commit to memory

You come to learn that his favourite colour was corn-silk yellow before he went to Shiratorizawa, now it’s royal purple. He loves tekka maki and boasts his mum’s hand-made ones to be the best in the world and offers to share it with you next time she makes them

All of these things slot into what you know about Semi, filed alongside the nuance’s you’ve noticed yourself.

When he’s unsure or embarrassed, he tousles his hair. And when he talks about something he’s passionate with, his hands start gesturing all about the place

You could’ve spent the whole afternoon like that, in the intimately-lit café, hidden amongst the dull chatter of the surrounding patrons, just listening to Semi’s soothing timbre

But life had other plans

The lights on the stage brighten as someone wearing comfortable clothes strolls on and perches up on the stool set-up in front of a lone microphone. She didn’t give off any signs of discomfort at being stared at as she sets up her guitar, giving a few testing strums before introducing herself and launching into her music.

It was only then that conversation broke and ushered in a lilting voice floating on gentle notes.

“They’re amazing.” You breath, eyes not leaving the stage until the musician dismounts from the stage.

“That’s what I want to do one day.”

You turn to him. “Really?”

“Yeah.” The corner of Semi’s lips quirk up a bit, a secret shared unto himself.

“Why?”

Genuine curiosity spurs you to ask, to know. While you could picture Semi perched on the same stool with a guitar all too easy, you never really thought Semi would pursue a career in the industry.

Semi finally turns to you, a fire in his eyes that was normally caused by volleyball and a good challenge. “I want to make people happy and sad - all the emotions really. I want someone to look at me like you did to that girl.”

Tilting your head you say, “Looking at her like what?”

Semi audible swallows. “Like someone that loves the music I make.”

Reaching over the table, you run your thumb over the backs of his knuckles, a comforting gesture. “Semi, I already love talking to you and hanging out, so why wouldn’t I like the music you write?”

The resultant blush on Semi’s face was answer enough to that, even though he tries to hide it behind his cup.

After that, meeting up at the café ends up becoming a weekly occurrence, an oasis that you both look forward to in the midst of life’s chaos.

Yamagata:

Yamagata actually is the smoothest out of them all

After a two weeks of dating, he bounces up to you after a particularly hard day and offers to take you somewhere fun the next day

Your definition of ‘fun’ varies from his, as you soon find out

Where Yamagata believes the best way to get to know someone and have fun simultaneously is putting them through challenges, whereas you believe sitting down and chatting to be the most optimal method

Unfortunately for him and fortunately for you, the paint ball range is closed

Amusement park it is

He leaves it as a surprise and doesn’t tell you until you question the sign of the park he visited frequently as a kid

Overall, you have an absolute ball with him, never a dull moment

Especially after the ferris wheel when Hayato goes to reach for his phone to check the time and finds it missing

The only reason he had it out in the plastic swinging booth was to take a sneaky picture of you looking carefree and relaxed as you gazed down at the park – not that he admitted to that when you asked just how it escaped his pocket

Obviously, it was a very slippery phone since this was the third time this week alone he lost it

After tracking it down with the help of the kind but tired ride operator, the two of you were on your merry way to the next ride, but not without a few light-hearted digs at Yamagata’s forgetfulness

You get to learn a lot about each other personally while waiting in line and over lunch after recovering

At the end of the day, your cheeks ache from much smiled

“I don’t remember it being that crazy as a kid.” Yamagata says, looking pale and breathing shallowly, as if to keep himself from being sick.

You couldn’t blame him, the rollercoaster he convinced you to go on under the guise of “This was my favourite one as a kid! You wouldn’t deny a man from reliving his childhood, would you?”

And like a fool you caved under the pout like a badly cooked soufflé. Now you wished you put up a bit of a fight against going on it. The screams of the riders before you were not exaggerated in the slightest.

“I don’t know how they allow kids on that.” Is all you supply, feeling a little green as well.

Yamagata directs you to the nearest bench and you follow his lead and slump into the seat.

“I don’t know how I forgot how much that thing threw me around. I must’ve just about fell off as a tiny kid. Remind me to thank my dad for coming on with me.”

You try not to laugh at the image of a tiny Yamagata ecstatically cheering as the ride swings around corners at full speed as his dad frantically tries to keep his clueless son from getting tossed out of the cart.

“Your dad is a brave man to go on that thing wilfully.”

Yamagata grimaces. “Brave is a nice way of putting it. I’d call it being insane to put up with me wanting to ride it eight times over.”

This time you do laugh.

“It must be hard saying no to your own kid, though, so cut him some slack.” You joke, knocking your elbow against his side.

He playfully pushes you away, widely grinning once again. The heat from the sun blaring ahead suddenly floods into your cheeks. The sensation of your heart feeling too large for your ribcage seizes you.

And the feeling doesn’t leave, it sticks with you as he laughs, as he drops his ice cream and pouts like a child. It intensifies as a dreamy look enters his eyes as he recalls a fond memory associated with a ride.

You hope that one day that he makes the same expression when he recalls this day spent with you.

Reon:

For some reason, Reon seems like the kind of guy to be inherently talented with gardening

He’s the resident green thumb alongside Ushijima, people pass their dying plants into Reon’s hands for magical resurrection

So it was a no-brainer for him to take you to the local botanical gardens

Rife with both native and exotic flora, there were many scenic walks available, thus was the perfect place for a first date to Reon

Reon meets you at the gates with a soft greeting and an outstretched hand – you two walk through the park with your hand intertwined like that for the rest of the day

Throughout the walk, he points out flowers and gives you their common name and their meanings, along with the meanings he gave them as a kid

It was entirely too cute for your poor heart

“And those are yellow carnation.” He points to a patch of bright yellow flowers with soft-looking ruffled petals. “They represent dislike and disappointment towards the person you give them to, but as a kid I thought they meant that she was my sunshine because of the colour. My mum got quite the kick out of it when I gave them to her for her birthday.”

You burst into laughter, unable to smother it even with Reon’s apparent embarrassment at the event

If your allergies start to play up too badly, Reon will take you to his favourite part, a densely packed section of the gardens filled with trees, concealing a secluded tiny red bridge stretched across a large koi pond with the largest and most colourful koi you’ve seen

Everything within you wanted to stretch this moment out, you could easily live in this moment forever. The buzzing of cicadas in the distance, the grass blades tickling the palms of your hands from where you sat, the soothing rumble of Reon’s voice – this is your personal slice Elysian peace

You did not want to give this up

It’s there that he finally unlinks your hands and brings out the packed lunch he made.

“You made all this?” You gape, taking in the diverse range of food he brought out of his bag.

From seared fish placed neatly atop seasoned rice, to perfectly rounded onigiri. In the next box he opens sat seasoned chicken and beef slices that made your mouth water. Not to mention the salad of rich greens, reds, and yellows that called your name.

Reon chuckles at your awe. “Yeah, I did. I thought it would be nice to eat something home-made while out here, but if you wan to grab something else-“

You cut him off immediately. “Definitely not! This looks and smells amazing. It would be a crime not to eat it.”

The corners of Reon’s eyes crinkle as he smiles, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I did try not to burn it, so I hope it tastes nice.”

“If it tastes even half as good as it smells, you’ll have to fight me to stop eating.” You reply, accepting the plate he holds out and give thanks as he starts loading your plate.

“I’d never stop you from eating,” he clicks his tongue in false sternness, to which you grin at. “If you’re hungry, I’ll feed you until your happy.”

“I’m happy right now, but I definitely still want the food.” You cheekily fire back.

Reon shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Well then, eat to your heart’s content.”

Taking a bite, you startle Reon with your enthusiastic reaction.

“This tastes better than I imagined.” You gush after swallowing, immediately scooping up another forkful and eating it.

Reon brushes off your compliment in favour for leaning forward and brushing some crumbs off your face. The proximity as your breath stalling in your throat as he lingers for a heartbeat longer, then withdraws.

“I hope we can do this more often. This is the most fun I’ve had in a while.” He quietly admits, the mood taking an intimate turn even with the shouts of kids playing in the distance.

“Me too. I don’t want this date to end.”

Shirabu:

This man prides himself on being observant and not oblivious like how his friends are

And yet, contrary to this, it takes him several trips to realise that he’s been on what would count as a date with you

You'll talk about needing a new jumper for winter and Shirabu will ask to tag along. You wanted to watch a movie? Shirabu is coming too. Like having someone besides you while studying? Shirabu was your go-to study buddy, whether in silence or as a conversation partner when your brain was overloaded

Out of the blue, he asks with no certain amount of panic, "Were those trips I went on with you dates?"

"I never really gave it much thought…” You match Shirabu’s expression as you consider his question. "I didn’t want to be presumptuous and assume that they were, and you never brought it up, so I left it be."

"Let me have a re-do." Determination flares in his usually guarded eyes and you couldn't refute.

“Gladly.”

Shirabu glances away from your face, unable to bear looking at the fond expression you wore for too long without his heart suffering. “I want to take you somewhere nice.”

“Everywhere I go with you is nice, Shirabu. It’s less about the place and more about the person.” You rebuke.

Shirabu looks away before you catch the full extent of his blush at your words. “No, I mean I want to take you somewhere that can become special for the both of us.”

You catch his hand in yours, tugging it for him to turn back towards you. Gone was the characteristic impassive façade, now replaced with a tenderness that makes you near melt.

Your first official date with him is a picnic in a park on top a hill to watch the sunset

Something he thinks is extremely cheesy and overdone but the look of excitement on your face immediately silenced his rebuttals

There was no way in hell that he was going to be the reason for your disappointment if he can help it

As such, he went all out

Hiring the gazebo and ordering food to be delivered from a restaurant he knows that you’ve wanted to try out for the longest time

Not that he actually tells you, but it wasn’t hard to deduce his excitement when he waits for you at the gazebo with a small smile, dressed nicely in pressed slacks and a dress shirt with a bundle of flowers

Upon the wide-eyed stare he receives from you, he spends the first minutes of the date describing what the florist thought best for him

A bunch of camellias ranging from a deep and vivid red to the first blush of love pink to the innocence of white gathered in a golden ribbon. He doesn’t exactly tell you their meanings other than a short, “Flowers are flowers, all I want them to show is that I love you.”

What he didn’t know was that the florist had the foresight to hide a card detailing the meaning of each flower amongst the paper holding them

White camellias meaning “You’re adorable” to red camellias meaning “You’re a flame in my heart” (something you blush at in the security of your own home) and the pink one representing longing

As the meal arrives and the two of you eat, the conversation drifts from current events to bits and pieces of everything and anything

The highlight of conversation was Kenjirou’s answer to the question “What do you think you’ll see first: a ghost or an alien?”

Apparently Kenjirou was secretly a space-lover

From the lecture he launched into about the statistics of it all and you come away from that conversation with more knowledge of possibility of E.T's versus spectres than you would’ve thought

The afternoon starts fading into dusk quicker than you realised, too wrapped up trading short anecdotes of your respective families

Shirabu only realises the fading light once the fairy lights decorating the space become brighter, and it is only then that Shirabu like a gentleman, brings out a blanket and escorts you to the grassy knoll besides the gazebo

Laying out the blanket, you notice it’s the perfect position to watch the sun set and you can’t help but give him a quick hug in gratitude before you sit down and make yourself comfortable

It floored you how much effort and consideration he put into this one afternoon amongst all his classes and assignments – it made you feel incredibly warm against the cool night air creeping in

As you shift to get comfortable, your hand lands on top of his. You’re just about to whisk it away, but he shoots you a soft smile and twists his hand in your grasp and gives it a squeeze

Your hands stayed intertwined as the blues faded into pinks and oranges, then into purples and the deep satiny blue of the night sky

The sunny photos with matching smiles from that afternoon soon decorate your wall

Kawanishi:

Unlike the others, Taichi really doesn’t care about being seen as “basic” for taking you out to watch a movie and grab dinner afterwards

He asked you out so casually, you agreed without it even hitting you that it was a date until he grinned at you and cheekily replied, “Great, it’s a date then.”

The movie in question was one you’ve been waiting forward for its release and Taichi was interested in it as well, so really it was an excuse for the both of you to watch the movie together instead of alone.

It went great, asides from the old couple staring the two of you in line, not so quietly reminiscing their first date

Embarrassment aside, Taichi was sweet throughout the entirety of it

Arguing to pay until reluctantly splitting the bill when you argued that it wasn’t fair

Waiting outside for it to start, Taichi and yourself bide the time by guessing what the other movies were about by their posters and making each other laugh

Once the movie starts, the chatter between you two dies down, yet the casual intimacy doesn’t fade in the slightest

Sharing an arm rest, the both of you exchange glances at one another throughout the movie, and bump elbows when something interesting or funny happens

It was a far-cry from the intimacy of the other’s dates, but it was perfect for the two of you

By now, the two of you have been friends much longer than you have been dating

Neither of you wanted to rush things, happy to take it as it comes and retain that familiarity from years of friendship stay untainted from the innate awkwardness of new love

Coming out of the theatre, Taichi is the most talkative you’ve seen him yet as he offers his opinion on the film

You avidly listen without a word of complaint

It was nice to hear what went through Taichi’s mind when he always kept his emotions close to his heart, you felt damn-near jubilant over him coming out of his shell – even after all the years of friendship

He offers to grab dinner and after a mild debate over which place is better, you end up flipping a coin and grabbing some fast food and eating it at a near-by park

Eating the meal in relative silence, it was only broken to point out the ducks and giving them names. It was laid-back and you were enjoying yourself, yet Taichi remained stiff by your side.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry if this isn’t exactly the most romantic date.” Taichi rubs at the back of his neck, avoiding your eyes.

You quirk a brow at him. “How isn’t this a romantic date?”

Taichi finally looks at you, although in confusion. “Because I should’ve taken you to a nice, fancy restaurant for our first date.”

“I work on the belief that anywhere is romantic if you make it so. It depends on the company.” You shrug.

Taichi’s mouth curves into a smirk. “Oh? So you wouldn’t mind having our next one at a cemetery?”

You dig an elbow into his side and roll your eyes at the performance he puts on.

“That’s not what I meant, smartass.”

Taichi stops the pouting and slumps into the seat. Hating the sombre mood he’s in, you curl your arm through his and tuck into his side.

“Besides, you can always make it up to me in the future. I want the place to be so expensive that the proportions are baby-sized.”

Taichi’s rich laugh rumbles through you. It was a losing battle against the rapid thrum of your heart and the thoughts of warmth that consume you with his proximity.

You also didn’t try to fight the urge to cuddle further into his side, something he gladly accepted as he wraps his arm even tighter around you.

“I promise.” He sighs, a happy noise as he rests his head against yours, two bodies becoming one whole on that one spring afternoon.

Goshiki:

Not everything in life is a competition, yet Goshiki couldn’t thrive without it

Besides, if he thought too long and hard about it (which he did) an arcade date was the best option

It presented the perfect chance to show off his skills and impress you

When he finally works up the courage to ask you, it had been a while since you’ve been, so you were more than happy to accept

Goshiki deflated with relief because a back-up option didn’t exist

Even after dating for over a month by this point, this would be the first official date he’s taken you out on

After worrying that it was too childish or not at all romantic for a first date, you spent the better half of the afternoon before it convincing him otherwise

At the arcade, Goshiki takes your hand and guides you around the place, pointing out games he bested as a teenager before finally settling on war-cross-zombie two player shooting game

With the growing win streak, the two of you continue playing the game until Goshiki accidentally gets his player killed

Pouting, he suggests a different game to soothe his bruised ego

The pout disappears as he finds a different game he’s decent at, tickets flying out as the points rack up

He glows as you praise his skill

It was too easy to bait him into playing hoop games, which he surprisingly sucked at

You discovered him to be especially gifted at reflex games, where the both of you won the most tickets

With each claw game he stubbornly refuses to “eat his hard-earned money”, he proudly passes off each plushie to you

Goshiki wins whatever prize your eyes linger over, no matter how frustrated it makes him

With each one, you promise to keep and inwardly muse that you’ll have to install a new shelf for them

A few hours deep, you had managed to win him an eagle. It’s the only prize you had won big enough to portray the amount of affection you held towards the bowl-cut male.

It was a bit mishappen and looked more fit to be the mascot for a horror game than a children’s show, however you still offered it to him.

His eyes grow wide. “Really?”

“I mean, I can get you something better if you give me a few minutes…” You frown at the plushie as Goshiki holds it up. It’s even uglier in the light. Why the hell would they have this as a prize?

You reach out to grab it from him and Goshiki snatches it away from your grasp, pressing it into his chest and curling around it protectively. “No!”

You stand there, stunned, as Goshiki flushes at the looks he got from the shout and starts stumbling over his words.

“I mean, it’s fine and not creepy at all – No, I mean it’s cute,” he unconvincingly amends at your wince. “It’s something that you worked hard to get. I’ll treasure it forever, I swear.”

The conviction in his voice was enough to ease your concern.

“I could get you a better one, though. One that’s less creepy.” You offer, gesturing towards the wide array of claw machines boasting figurines and cuter plushies.

“No thank you. I like this one.” Goshiki is stubborn and you should’ve expected that.

You sigh, lips unsurely pulling upwards. “If you’re sure?”

Goshiki gives a sharp nod, and you know that that’s the end of that. He would not budge.

Yet you couldn’t find it within yourself to be exasperated at the awe-filled look he gives the plushie as you two leave the arcade, holding it like it was made of expensive finery instead of cheap thread and fabric.

Months later you got to see the monstrosity again, tucked up on the shelf above his bed, proudly sitting between medals he’s won through the years.

[v4mptsuki]

tutoring (k. tsukishima x reader)

genre: fluff

warnings: none

tsukishima was always an observer. he liked to analyze people, understand them. it was almost a hobby of his. especially when the people around him were intriguing. such as the strange girl who was in almost all his classes. he knew she had to have been smart, considering she was taking the same classes as him, but it never seemed like she tried very hard.

she would walk into class just as the bell rang, take a seat near the back, and zone out all period. he barely ever saw her take notes. it drove tsukishima insane. how had she not dropped down classes yet? so naturally, he did a bit more observing. the next time the teacher passed out test grades, he subtly peeked at hers. infuriatingly enough, she had gotten a better grade than him. how in the world did she manage that when she barely paid attention?

his curiosity led tsukishima to observing her outside of class too. he would find her in the hallways, and at lunch, and walking into school during the mornings. she seemed to have a group of friends, but through his observations he deduced she was more of a tag-a-long to the group. he could see it in the way she would be rambling to the girl next to her at their lunch table, before being brushed off in favor of the others. honestly with friends like those she'd be better off sitting alone.

it was only a matter of time before tsukishima and her were paired up on a project. 

it was science, and the teacher announced they'd be doing partner labs. a week long project that involved experiments outside of school, and a big poster board presentation at the end. tsukishima wasn't worried about it, until he was paired with her. there was no way tsukishima would stand for her leaving this project in his hands to complete.

he walked over to her desk when the teacher told them to get started, and sat down in the now empty seat next to her's. her eyes were trained on her phone as she scrolled through social media, and tsukishima was already envisioning asking the teacher for a new partner. it was like she didn't even notice him sit down. tsukishima cleared his throat, causing her eyes to glance up at him.

"yeah?" she asked, sounding quite bored.

"we're partners," tsukishima replied, his eyes still locked with hers.

she nodded and clicked her phone off before twisting a bit in her seat so she was facing him.

"i'm y/n, you're tsukishima right?"

so she knew who he was. tsukishima was a bit surprised, since he'd doubted she paid much attention to anyone in their classes. he nodded though, and she nodded back once.

that was the start of tsukishima and y/n's unlikely friendship. they worked everyday after school, usually late at night because of volleyball, but y/n never complained about having to wait up for him. even more surprising to tsukishima was her participation. she always seemed bored with the work, but she never suggested a bad idea, or gave a wrong calculation.

"is this work boring to you?" tsukishima asked one night as they sat in his room, both working on the calculations for different trials of their experiment.

y/n raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was asking a literal question. when tsukishima didn't add anything else, she just shrugged.

"i mean sure. school's always boring," she commented.

tsukishima pursed his lips, "but not challenging?"

she shook her head, "nope."

then, it began to make more sense. her wandering thoughts in class, and general disinterest in school. it was easy for her. tsukishima then also realized, that as much as he enjoyed observing her, he liked knowing her a lot better.

the day of their presentation, tsukishima could see their poster board wobbling in y/n's hold. that explained why she sat in the back of class. without saying anything, tsukishima took control of the presentation. he gave the general explanation of their experiment, and answered all the difficult questions the teacher asked. he let y/n read the data, and made sure to give her credit for the calculations she did, so she would get a good participation grade.

the teacher thanked them, and they both walked back to their seats together. tsukishima had started sitting with y/n near the back. she gave him a small smile once they were seated, and tsukishima felt a strange sense of pride in himself. he noticed her discomfort, and made it better. clearly y/n was pleased with him, since that was the first smile he'd gotten from her. it made him feel accomplished. that day after class, tsukishima waited with y/n as she packed up her things.

"thank you," she said quietly, her eyes pointed downwards as she piled notebooks into her bag.

"of course, i couldn't have you messing up the presentation with your nerves," tsukishima replied, obvious teasing in his tone.

y/n rolled her eyes, another hint of a smile on her face as she kept her gaze down. she swung her bag over her shoulder and looked up at tsukishima.

"still, i appreciated it."

tsukishima just nodded, not sure he would be able to keep his cool demeanor if he said anything else. he parted ways with y/n at the doorway, and headed off to volleyball. just as he was thinking about seeing her after practice, it hit him. the project was over. there was no need to see y/n after practice anymore, which sent a surprising amount of disappointment through his chest.

luckily for him though, practice revealed that hinata and kageyama needed tutoring, and who better to help him than y/n, the smartest girl he knew. he promised the team that hinata and kageyama would pass their exams, and that night he texted y/n to ask for her assistance.

tsukishima felt his face heat up at her last text. he quickly shut his phone off and placed it on his night stand, trying to push the overly analytical side of his mind down. he couldn't stop himself though, and he began to overthink. what did that smiley face mean? he fell asleep with his mind on her, and the next morning he woke up excited to see her again.

they had science together last period, so tsukishima, as always, waited for y/n to grab her stuff before she left.

"hey tsukki," y/n started as she collected her pens off her desk.

"yeah?"

"could i stay during your practice? i won't if i'll be in the way, but i just thought it might be easier for me to wait than to come back up to school afterwards. if it's alright though, i don't wanna overstep any-"

"it's fine y/n. i'm sure they'll like having an audience to show off for," tsukishima said,  interrupting her nervous rambling.

the more tsukishima got to know y/n, the more he began to understand the reasons behind the behavior that intrigued him so much. she wasn't as detached from school as she looked; she actually seemed to be overly worried. tsukishima didn't understand that. why would it matter what people thought? he didn't say this to y/n though, since clearly it was a topic that bothered her. he didn't want to do anything to upset her; he liked her company too much.

"ok, thanks. i'll try not to distract your team too much," y/n teased as she pulled her bag onto her shoulder.

"not much you can do about that," tsukishima replied, before realizing what he'd just implied.

y/n's cheeks flushed, but thankfully she didn't comment on it. the two walked to the gym in comfortable silence as tsukishima's mind ran on overdrive. he couldn't believe he'd basically just admitted he thought she was pretty. it was true, but it seemed so embarrassing to admit. he didn't want y/n to get the wrong idea about their friendship.

tsukishima swung the gym doors open, and let y/n walk in before him. he followed right after her, and immediately regretted not giving her a bit of a warning when tanaka and noya spotted her. the boys rushed forward, their eyes wide with excitement.

"hi!" noya exclaimed, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"what's a pretty girl like you doing here?" tanaka asked, his voice too loud and excited to come off as creepy.

y/n looked like a deer caught in headlights though, and tsukishima mentally cursed himself for not taking her anxiety around people into account before bringing her here. he stepped up behind her, placing an arm over her shoulders protectively.

"give her some space idiots," he chided the other boys, whose eyes widened further as they looked up at tsukishima.

"tsukishima brought a girl?" tanaka asked, obvious shock in his voice.

tsukishima just rolled his eyes and led y/n over to the bleachers.

"don't mind them," he muttered, hoping to take away some of her nerves, "they're easily excited."

y/n laughed lightly, and tsukishima felt himself relax. she wasn't upset with him. y/n sat down and tsukishima stood by her as she pulled a book out of her bag. she started to read, but glanced back up at him before she got too far along.

"shouldn't you be doing warm ups or something?"

tsukishima shrugged, "i'm keeping the dogs at bay right now."

y/n peeked around him and saw almost all the boys in the gym watching her. her face flushed again and she ducked her head down.

"have these guys ever seen a girl before?" she muttered, making tsukishima let out a small laugh.

"apparently not," he replied.

then, tsukishima was called into practice, and the group's attention shifted to volleyball. every couple minutes, tsukishima would find himself looking over at y/n, just to see what she was doing. yamaguchi caught on quickly though, and pulled him aside during a water break.

"what's up with the girl tsukki?"

tsukishima choked on his water, and let out a quick cough to cover up his shock.

"nothing. she's gonna help me tutor hinata and kageyama."

yamaguchi grinned like he was in on some kind of secret.

"so, how do you know her?"

"she's in a few of my classes. we did a lab together. she's really smart," tsukishima answered, once again glancing over at her.

she was still reading, looking completely lost in her book.

"aw tsukki! you should see the way you look at her," yamaguchi gushed.

tsukishima gave his friend a cold stare, and yamaguchi stopped talking about her.

practice seemed to go on forever, and all tsukishima could think about the fact that y/n was watching him play. those thoughts ran even more rampant when he glanced over and saw her watching him. then, he found himself trying harder than normal. he didn't want to look weak in front of y/n. after a particularly well done receive, he looked up and met her eyes. she gave him a quick thumbs up, and tsukishima turned back to practice before his face could heat up.

by the time daichi wrapped up practice, it was dark outside. that never seemed to bother y/n though. hinata approached him as soon as they were released, a huge smile on his face.

"is it time for tutoring tsukishima? is that why you brought a pretty girl with you? is she going to help us too? or was she here just to watch you?"

questions came out of hinata in a rush, and tsukishima found himself fighting a blush off his cheeks.

"calm down dumbass," he snapped, "get changed out of your practice clothes, and then we'll start."

hinata nodded eagerly, and rushed into the locker room with kageyama on his tail. tsukishima followed after them, but not before looking over at y/n again. she was watching him intently, a soft look on her face. tsukishima ducked into the locker room before he could think of anything to say. he changed quickly, and found himself putting on his grey hoodie just because he liked how it looked on him. stupid y/n. he never thought about things like that before.

"bye tsukki," yamaguchi said with a wave as he began to exit the locker room.

some of the other boys filed out after him, and tsukishima took his time carefully gathering his school things after putting away his practice clothes. he heard some chatter coming from the main room, and almost immediately caught y/n's voice in the mix. he sighed again, and grabbed his bags to save her from whichever boy was talking her ear off.

tanaka, noya, and hinata were crowded around her while kageyama stood a distance away. tsukishima walked over, and caught some of their conversation.

"why do you like tsukishima?" hinata asked, his voice levels louder than y/n's.

"what?" y/n replied.

"he's so mean!" hinata exclaimed.

"and scary," noya added.

y/n furrowed her brows in confusion, "he's not scary at all."

hinata's eyebrows raised, "he doesn't scare you?"

then, he noticed tsukishima approaching, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"why are you nice to her and not us?"

tanaka and noya copied his pose, while y/n gave tsukishima a wide-eyed look that said, wow these guys have a lot of energy.

"maybe if you three were as smart as y/n i'd be nice to you too. speaking of which, don't we have tutoring to do?" tsukishima responded.

"ha! you've got it bad tsukishima, my man," tanaka exclaimed clapping him on the back.

then, he scrambled out of the gym before tsukishima could clap back over that remark. noya just wiggled his eyebrows at tsukishima before chasing after tanaka.

"have fun losers!" noya exclaimed over his shoulder as they left.

tsukishima rolled his eyes, and the study session began. kageyama joined them on the bleachers, and they started with math. y/n's favorite subject was math, so he let her take the lead. her eyes seemed to light up as she worked out the problems, explaining them with just enough patience that hinata and kageyama understood easily.

then, they moved on to the other subjects. whenever tsukishima started to get frustrated with hinata and kageyama, all it took was for y/n to make a comment, or laugh at their antics for all the frustration to leave tsukishima's mind. the boys seemed to notice it too, and while they were packing up, hinata just had to mention it.

"i see why you like tsukishima now y/n. he's nice around you!" hinata commented.

y/n shook her head, "you have the wrong idea hinata. but yeah, he's nice."

hinata looked between y/n and tsukishima with a raised brow.

"wait you two aren't dating?"

"hinata shut up!" kageyama hissed, swatting at him.

hinata moved out of his way and glared at kageyama.

"what? it's a genuine question."

y/n shook her head quickly as she shoved her books back into her bag. tsukishima could tell she was getting nervous with everyone's attention on her.

"stop being so nosey hinata," tsukishima snapped.

he walked over to stand by y/n, and he helped her climb down the bleachers to leave. she waved goodbye to hinata and kageyama before following tsukishima outside. the sun was completely set, and the only light came from the lamps lining the sidewalks around campus.

"sorry about them. they're all dimwits," tsukishima apologized once they were a fair distance away from the gym.

y/n shook her head, "it's alright. they seem very different from you though. how do you manage to play together?"

"they're good players. we make it work," he answered.

they walked in silence for a few more steps. then, they reached the exit of the school's grounds. both of them paused their walking, and y/n glanced up at tsukishima to find him looking down at her.

"well, thanks for letting me watch your practice. you're better than i would've guessed," y/n said with a teasing grin.

"i'd like to see you try to play, i bet that would shut you up," he teased back.

y/n laughed and adjusted the strap of her bag.

"so, it seemed like they got the concepts i taught."

tsukishima nodded, "you're a good teacher."

"thanks," y/n said, a proud look on her face.

"you could still come by tomorrow if you wanted to though," tsukishima offered, trying to keep his voice steady.

he was far too nervous over such a simple offer.

y/n's face lit up though, "really? to tutor them again?"

tsukishima nodded, "sure, if you want, or you could just watch practice. whatever you want."

"i'd like that tsukki," she replied, a bright smile on her face.

"alright then. let me walk you home; it's late," tsukishima offered, his nerves running too wild for him to just stand there looking at her any longer.

y/n nodded, accepting his offer, and reached out to loop her arm through his. tsukishima fought off another blush as they started the walk towards her house, and a thought settled into his mind that this was going to become a new routine for the pair of them.

[lilacmeadows]

Made For You pt. 2

Omg you guys thank you so much for all the support! Part 1 was my first fic and you guys were so sweet. I had to get started on part 2 right away. If you want to be on my taglist, just let me know! This is just leading up to the next few chapters that’s just gonna be FILTHY. I needed a bit of backstory to be satisfied, but now that the boring part is out of the way, I’m gonna go research other names for genitals. Hope you enjoy! -Savvy

BUCKY X READER

Summary: Hydra had just finished training you to be the Winter Soldier’s perfect mate when the Avengers saved him. But what’s going to happen to you now that Hydra has deleted your old life and left you with nothing but a soldier that needs to learn to love himself before he can love someone else.

Part 1    Part 2     Part 3

WARNINGS: explicit sexual content, explicit language, underage reader (nothing sexual happens underage), stockholm syndrome, mentions of family death, eventual dom/sub dynamics, mentions of captivity and kidnapping. violence- guns, mutual pining, eventual smut, fluff, angst if you squint (must be 18+)

WORD COUNT:  2.9k

“Make the Soldat happy. He is my mission.” 

When she was first taken, of course she was scared. She didn’t know why, where she was going, if she’d be rescued. It was a painful adjustment, and some days it was as if the tears would never stop. It’s not like she was worth anything to anyone who mattered, her family wasn’t rich. Just her mom and brother. They lived a happy and normal life. 

She’d guess it didn’t really matter. At the age of 10, y/n was old enough to understand basic concepts, carry a conversation with adults, and she had strict teachers in school, so she knew how to behave. 

What she didn’t know was how to be a wife. Or a ‘life-partner’. None of the Men would ever call her a future ‘wife’. She was training to be a mate. Someone the Soldat could own and connect with so he didn’t fly off the rails if things got out of control. If he got out of their control. Every morning, a watcher would wake her up at 8AM so she could stretch, eat, and meditate. By 10AM, her first trainer of the day would come in and teach her the schooling she was missing. Just basic math and reading, a little German, and a little Russian. Not enough for her to eavesdrop on their plans, but enough to understand her Soldat if he didn’t feel like speaking English. 

At 1PM, another trainer would come and bring her to the small kitchenette down the hall. They had no intention of domesticating the ‘couple’, but she was learning to be a woman- of course the Men would have her start in the kitchen. She would learn very simple meals that could feed a fully grown man, and usually had something light for lunch herself. The men brought her the other 2 meals a day. At 3PM she would have lessons on ‘Womanhood’. At least that’s what she called it. A trainer would come in and teach her a never-ending list of rules that she had to follow in order to be a ‘lady’. It reminded her of an old Barbie movie she would watch when she was little. There was a song called ‘To Be a Princess’, where a poor girl learned how to act proper. Once she started seeing herself as that princess, the days got a little easier. Some days, they would go over how to sit and lie down like a lady. Others, they would walk laps around the halls open to her, reviewing how to walk on the balls of her feet. She learned to talk in short sentences with excellent manners, and how to brush her hair, so she could look more presentable for her Soldat. 

Over the years of compliance, the trainers softened on her just as the watchers had. Of course, they were still horrible people, but they knew she was a kind girl at heart and wouldn’t cause trouble. Some days, she would be made to sit perfectly still with a stack of books on her head, while her trainer would tell her something silly happening outside the walls of the building that became her home. She learned little bits of information about their lives, music, art. But never anything political or having to do with who the Men even worked for. That was strictly forbidden. They would let her color in her free time. Sometimes a watcher would bring a book from his home for her to read, and when she was old enough, she was given a few colors of yarn and started knitting sweaters and scarves on plastic needles. She didn’t have a clock, but she would learn by the rotating shifts of her watchers what time of day it was.

There were children whose lives sucked more than hers. And for that, she was grateful.

When she got older (let’s say 18), the training started to change. She never knew what day it was, or even what year. She had stopped keeping track so long ago, but the changes were made gradually. She would be made to read books on intimacy, and then watch videos of men brutally ravishing ladies about her size. She had to learn what to do to please her Soldat, without being taught physically. This made her happy. The thought of any of the watchers or trainers doing that to her made her sick. And everyone thought it was in her best interest to be completely innocent to the touch of a man when she has her first encounter with the Soldat.

Which turned out exactly as planned. But on the day Steve and Sam plucked her out of her bedroom, she was not expecting the Soldat to be sitting right in front of her. In all his glory.

The quinjet was eerily silent for all of seven seconds before Clint had the audacity to continue the conversation he started.

“You make the soldier happy?” was the best the shocked man could come up with.

“I haven’t met him yet, but I’m ready. They made me ready for him.” y/n said with bright, hopeful eyes. Her words flowed so easily, they sounded rehearsed.

“Do we tell her?” Tony asked Steve, who was getting greener by the second. He couldn’t believe he just got his best friend back, not two weeks ago, and now he has to worry about a girl who’s obsessed with said best friend.

“I don’t think we really have a choice.” Steve replied, taking a deep breath. The whole quinjet looked like they were holding their breath. y/n still didn’t know the names of the three men on the opposite side of the quinjet. Two of them standing together, pausing their conversation, and the brooding man, who everyone keeps looking at.

“y/n, meet Bucky.” Steve said, pointing at the man across from her. But ‘Bucky’ went completely over her head- the name being unfamiliar to her.

“Hello, sir. Pleased to meet you.” She said, offering a genuine smile, but clearly not picking up what Steve was putting down. Clint chimed in again, wanting to be out of his confused misery.

“Wait a second. Y/n. You mean the soldier, as in the Winter Soldier?” Y/n immediately nodded at hearing that name. She knew her Soldat went by that name. “As in that guy right there?” 

Her eyes went wide at the realization. He was sitting right in front of her. Staring at her since the minute she stepped onto the plane. And he was gorgeous. Long hair, thick thighs, piercing blue eyes, and a jaw that could probably cut glass. But he looked upset. Pissed really, and that scared her. She had one job: Make the Soldat happy. And there she was, barely presentable. She hadn’t even addressed him properly, how she was taught. With all the eyes on her, she felt a blush rush through her whole body at the embarrassing thought. But she had to. He wouldn’t like her if she didn’t follow the rules she grew up with.

Y/n daintily stood up and walked until she was right in front of Bucky. He held her eye contact the entire way, still not having said one word during this whole exchange. She gently knelt down until she was on her knees in front of him. 

“I hope I can make you happy, my Soldat. I am a gift from the Men who take care of us, and I am entirely yours.” Bucky’s jaw twitched. He hadn’t said anything this whole time, but his mind was moving at lightning speed. He watched this gorgeous, barely dressed girl sit across from him, and was already in awe. But then that girl got on her knees and declared her loyalty to him? In front of everyone he knows? He couldn’t lie to himself, he’d never been more turned on. But everything about this was wrong. She was just a Stockholm Syndrome’d girl who wanted to follow orders. But her orders were to make him happy. He finally broke eye contact with her to see Tony’s shocked face looking over at Bruce and Thor, to make sure he’s not hallucinating this. 

“Y/n, you should stand up.” He said to her in a hushed tone. Probably harsher than he meant to. He could see her visibly take a breath at the sound of his voice, his eyes followed the gentle slope of her neck down to her breast. She dreamed for years about what his voice would sound like, and it just rolled over her. But she quickly obeyed and stood in front of his seat. He expected her to say something else, but she was silent then. Her previous outburst was one of the few exceptions to her ‘only talk when spoken to’ rule. “What do you want? Where is your family so we can take you home?” He asked her. She could feel the tears well up in her eyes. He didn’t want her was all she could assume. She was made for him, so why was he turning her away?

“I want to make you happy, sir. It’s all I want. Please let me be good for you. I promise, I’ll be so good for you.” Begging was familiar to her from her studies. She didn’t expect to be begging for her to be able to please him, but she would do whatever it took to get him to keep her.

“No. Y/n. This isn’t right. You were being kept there, whatever Hydra told you to do is over. You’re free now.” The tears flowed freely down her cheeks and it broke his heart. She tried to cover her face with her hands. He didn’t want to see her cry, nor did he want to turn her away, but he also couldn’t just let her be his sex slave. It wasn’t right. 

“Please don’t be sad. This is for the best-” He tried to reason with her, but when he took her hand off her face so she would look at him, the contact only made her sob harder. This was all she wanted. 

“Buck, I think we should just let her sit for a minute. Can you grab her some water? Tony and I will try to figure out where she was from.” Steve said to Bucky- trying to end this painful and awkward situation. Bucky stood and walked to another area of the quinjet. He was grateful to be able to use this time to think.

“Y/n, we’re gonna need your help to get you home okay. What’s your last name? How old are you?” 

“Y/L/N” And then she went quiet. It never occurred to her that she didn’t know how old she was. Of course, she remembered her birthday, but she couldn’t tell the weeks and months apart, so she hadn’t celebrated it since she turned 10 in 2006. “What year is it?”

“When did they take you?” Steve asked gently. Being a man from another time, he could remember well the day he woke up in 2011 when it was supposed to be 1944. He knew how jarring it was to discover all the time that’s been lost, and wanted to spare her that grief.

“2006. I was 10.” She looked at him, and she could tell it’s not just 2008 by the look on his face. She knew her body went through changes over her time with the Men, but between the ‘dietary supplements’ they gave her, and the fact that she wasn’t looking in a mirror- much less shopping for clothes- she didn’t realize she had fully completed puberty. 

“Y/n, it’s 2016. You’re 20 now.” And that made the tears come harder. But she wasn’t so upset about the 10 years of her life. She was mad at 20 years of her life wasted. Since Bucky didn’t want her, all of the training was for nothing. She knew living for him made her the definition of a broken person- she wasn’t dumb. The idea of her Soldat was what grounded her all that time. When she was lonely, she’d think about the man the Men always tell her about. They told her how he was their ‘greatest asset’. And she often fantasized about if he would fall in love with her. So by the time she met him, she had already been in love with him for much longer than she’d care to admit- which makes the heartbreak of rejection hurt that much more.

Unfortunately for Bucky, his heart was heavy too. He tucked away into the tiny bed area on the jet after quickly handing Steve the water to give to y/n. It was too much. Being in that room with her, she looked at him like he hung the moon. But he most certainly had not. He was a murderer. Tony’s father was a scientist during the war, and Bucky knew him pretty well through Steve. And he killed him. He had scattered memories of hurting dozens of people, so why would she be so willing to be with someone like him?

Part of him wanted it. After almost a century of not owning anything and not having a choice, he was given the opportunity to have something that belonged only to him. A gift from the men who take care of us. If it wasn’t cruel, he would have laughed in her face. Maybe she was taken care of, but he most certainly wasn’t. She was brought in young enough to still be under the impression that Hydra wasn’t evil, just strict. He imagined for a minute how things could have turned out for the two of them if he hadn’t gotten free. If Hydra really was planning on giving him a gift. He didn’t like the last gift they gave him in the shape of an arm, but y/n was perfect. She was the perfect size for him- although his broad frame could dwarf most women. And her smile pulled at his heart.

He wanted to kiss her the minute he saw her. He knew he wanted to make her his.

And that was bad.

He rubbed his hand over his face and decided to rejoin the group in the middle of their conversation. Thor and Bruce decided to stop being passive members of the conversation and introduced themselves. Y/n was very confused at Thor’s proclamation as ‘God of Thunder’, but with all that was happening, she didn’t feel it was her place to question it.

“- a good thing we have spare rooms at the compound. You can stay as long as you like.” Tony finished speaking to y/n just as Bucky was walking into the room. “We’re gonna have a new house guest MC.” He waggled his eyebrows at the man who caught the back half of that conversation.

Bucky’s jaw dropped. This would only make the situation much harder than it needed to be. He looked to Steve for an explanation. The blond stood up and made his way over to Bucky.

“Look, Hydra scrubbed her records off of every database and-” He took a deep sigh, “Her family is dead, Buck. They probably killed them after they took her.” 

Then it was Bucky’s turn to sigh. He knew the right thing to do was to help her, but he also knew how much he wanted to feel her soft skin in his hands. And that made her dangerous to be around. 

What nobody knew was why Hydra took the 10 year old from Georgia. In 2006, the Winter Soldier was sent on a mission to kill a scientist that lived there. Of course the poor guy didn’t have a chance when the Soldier was sitting in his house, waiting for him when he got home, but what the Soldier wasn’t expecting was a little girl to be coming inside with him. The scientist looked sleazy and didn’t have any children, so who knows what would have happened to her if the Soldier didn’t get there in time. She screamed and cried. The comm in his ear commanded him to kill the girl for being a witness. But the part of the Soldier that was still Bucky wanted her to be safe. He shushed the little girl and asked her for her address. When she recited it to him, he rubbed her head and told her she was a good girl, before he dug his metal fingers into the child’s pressure points and she fell limp into his arms. y/n woke up in her bed, crying at the bad dream she must have had- her mother not even home yet. That was the first act of defiance Hydra ever experienced from the Winter Soldier. First sign of humanity and compassion. They knew if the mind control was getting weaker, he would be harder to control next time they unfroze him, but his protective nature of the girl would make her an asset to them.

Her capture was arranged before his heart was fully frozen in the chamber. Neither Bucky nor y/n remembered this- Bucky only remembering parts of his time under their control, and y/n never thinking about that bad dream again, but the connection was still there as strong as it was that day 10 years ago.

Part 3