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hadesisqueer · 4 years

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How do you feel about Yang and how she’s summarized in Vol. 8 as suspicious and emotional?

Late, but better late than ever. I've been waiting for this one. It's probably the longest because as I said, I make either two lines or just an entire character analysis lol. And I'm going to do it properly this time.

Okay, I straight (gay) up don't know where to start. I love Yang. I truly love Yang. She's not perfect, she has many flaws, but that's what I like the most about her. I can't help but laugh when some people say she's a Mary Sue.

Childhood, first volumes.

Yang starts the series as the funny blonde hot girl that goes around punching people. And I liked that, but I also like how she wasn't just that, as I said with Nora being the comic relief. Like, there's so much more in Yang than that, just like Weiss turned up to be much more than just the bratty tsundere.

Yang's mother abandoned her. Her other mother disappeared. Her sister was a toddler that didn't really get what was going on except her mother being gone, and her father was so depressed that for a good while, he wasn't even able to raise her daughters. Can you imagine being in that situation? I imagine she was, at most, six when that happened. She was forced to become Ruby's mother figure at six. She was forced to become the fucking adult in the house at six.

Damn, you can even see the difference between how Qrow talks to Ruby and how he talks to Yang, at least at the begining. He talks to Ruby as her uncle, as her mentor. He may tease Yang a little because she's still his niece, but when he talks to her, he always talks like she's an equal. Like, Tai still considered Yang a kid, but Qrow treats her like an adult, and knows and expects her to be the mature one. Because he saw her all those years, being forced grow up so fast. He trusts her to protect and take care of Ruby, and she trust him to protect her as well.

And damn, all of this really explains her behaviour when the series began. As Ruby got older and started to be able to take care of herself, and Tai eventually started to be functional again, Yang had more freedom. Her personality and eagerness for adventure and parties and all of that - is just her trying to make up for her sacrificed childhood. But even then she still was, out of all the girls, the most mature and nurturing of team RWBY. She is the party girl, yes. The hot headed one that will break legs. But she's still the adult of the group.

And then volume 3 happens. She gets framed in front of the entire world, two of her friends die, Beacon falls, she loses her arm in the most traumatic way possible; Weiss, her friend, is basically taken away from her and Blake -her partner, the girl she probably already had feelings for at that point- left, triggering her abandonment issues. And of course, PTSD, because she isn't fucked up enough already. She's so fucking destroyed that she can't even talk about Weiss, about Blake, about what happened. She doesn't even want talk to Ruby, because she can't stand the thought of her little sister seeing her at that state. She is not used to be the one people have to take care of, and it becomes more and more obvious in the next volumes.

Disability, recovery, abandonment issues

I like how volume 4 treats her recovery. I mean, I wish her storyline was longer, but I also like the DC comics. Now, the thing is, she isn't really recovered. In vol 4, she learns to live with her disability, she learns how to use her new arm, she learns how to fight better than she ever did before. It's about physical recovery. But is she okay? No. She hates being taken care of. She forced herself to be okay, or at least pretend she was, so Tai would let her go with Ruby. And in vol 5, she's anything but alright. She is pretending to be for Ruby's sake, because she is her mother figure and Ruby can't see her like that. She has to face her abandonment issues, she still has PTSD, and she is just not okay. Weiss notices right away, and tells her that it's okay if she is not okay. She noticed how hurt she was about Blake leaving. She just could see through the façade because if Weiss knows about anything, is about loneliness and pretending.

Her conversation with Raven at the end of the volume is just one of the best scenes, because you can just see how much Yang has grown. That scene deserves a post of its own because it's just amazing. But she finally faces one of her fears -her own abandonment issues, though they probably will always be there- and sees right through Raven. Because just like her, Raven just puts a façade to hide her own fears and insecurities, and the moment her own daughter isn't just taking any of that shit, she just starts crying. Because Yang is right. And deep down, she doesn't want to let Yang take the lamp, but she isn't just strong enough. Deep down, she wants to be in Yang's life, wants to protect her, and I think Yang knew that. But it was just too late.

More abandonment issues and relationship with Blake.

Now, to Yang, Blake coming back was huge. Not only in the terms of shipping, but as a whole. In her mind, Blake left her, just like Raven, just like Summer (though Summer didn't do it in purpose), and technically, just like Ruby, though she knew why Ruby did it and understood. But she's probably wondering “what is wrong with me that everyone always leaves me”. And she always has to be the one looking for the person who left her.

Not with Blake. After that talk with Weiss (bless the wingwoman), Yang was able to understand Blake's perspective better. But she didn't think Blake would actually ever come back, because no one ever does. But she did. Not only did she come back; literally, all Blake cared about once she entered the room and saw Yang was her (for once, someone is prioritizing her). And later, she was the one to walk and talk to the team, and tell them she didn't plan to leave again if they accepted her back. She didn't have to look for Blake because she was already looking for Yang. She was the one who made the effort, not the other way around. And to Yang, even though they still had issues to work through, even though she was still afraid at that moment that Blake would leave and break her heart again (All That Matters), that was enough to forgive her. Or at least give her another chance.

Now in volume 6 they clearly have issues. Like, Blake is very nurturing to the entire team because she feels like she has to make up. But mostly, she is trying to make up to Yang. She still feels guilty because of Adam, and she knew that Yang had already abandonment issues before she left and she probably made them worse. She was just trying so hard to be there for Yang so she could understand that she would never leave her again that she made things awkward. Yang is used to be the one who takes care of people, not the other way around. She thought that Blake “protecting her” was her seeing her a weak when actually, it was just Blake just genuinely caring about her but with the wrong words. Blake understood after that, and she changed the phrasing in the fight against Adam. Protecting each other. Equals. It really applies to the Bees relationship as a whole. “You're taking care of me, yeah, but I'm going to take care of you as well, no matter what”. For once, Yang is allowing someone to take care of her (well, except Tai, but again, she wasn't completely sincere with him, so technically she wasn't really allowing him to fully help her). And that's what I love the most about their dynamic, and why I ship it.

PTSD

Now (I'm sorry I'm taking so long), I've seen many, many people saying that Yang's PTSD is poorly written, or that the writers messed it up in the fight against Adam. Now, I have to ask those people: what the fuck do you think PTSD is?

If a Great WriterTM reads this and tries to tell me I'm wrong, or that I don't know what I'm talking about and I don't know anything about good writing and blah blah blah: I have PTSD myself. Diagnosed. So yes, I acknowledge there are many things I'm ignorant about, but I'm quite familiar about this topic. Yang's PTSD is, at least by my point of view, very well-written. It isn't perfect, but it's still far so much better than most PTSD portrayals I've seen in TV, along with Korra's. And I've seen people saying that Korra's portrayal was so much better. Well, let me tell you, it isn't, or at least I don't think it is. It's just different, because the worst thing about PTSD (and what makes it harder to treat) is that it's different for every person; sometimes it can be really severe and obvious, sometimes it seems “light”. Damn, sometimes it doesn't appear until years after the event; mine didn't trigger til I was like sixteen, and the event took place when I was around five or six. And yes, sometimes I have nightmares or flashbacks about it if something triggers me, but it isn't the whole time like some of you apparently think it is. I'm not scared 100% of the time, what the fuck.

When it comes to the fight with Adam, saying it didn't affect her: did you watch the fight? First of all, at that precise moment, Yang was so full of adredaline and too busy keeping Adam from killing Blake that I don't think her brain even realised he was the cause of her PTSD. Second of all, when he triggers it, it does affect her; she starts shaking, he's able to land hits on her that he couldn't before. But PTSD is different in every person, and is a defense mechanism, not a freezing mechanism as some people think. If I see the cause of my PTSD in front of me trying to hurt me again, I'm not gonna freeze; I'm gonna do whatever it takes so they don't ever hurt me again. Same goes with Yang: some people think she should have completely freezed during the fight, like “oh my god this guy fucked me up really bad and now he's gonna do it again and there's nothing I can do oh my god”. No. As I said, PTSD doesn't work like that, at least not always. She's not thinking that, she's thinking “alright this guy really fucked me up once but there's no way I'm letting him do that again”. Again, PTSD is a defense mechanism. A fucked up one, but it's what it is. And the writers handled very well.

Yang being suspicious and not completely trusting someone.

Now, I'm not lying when I tell you that I have no idea about what this could mean. Well, it could be her disagreeing with Ruby and having a bad argument, and that would really break my heart because I just love those two sisters so much. It could also be about Ozpin; she's teaming up with Oscar and hearing Ozpin is back could bring some problems. Or maybe Raven just appears there and she's like Hell Naw. I have no idea.

Conclussion.

I love Yang. She's not perfect at all. She's a bit of a hypocrite with the whole Ozpin thing because she's keeping Raven's identity as the Spring Maiden a secret as well (or maybe she did tell them off-screen? Honestly clear that up already). But she's over all a really good friend and person, an amazing older sister and just one of the most inspiring characters in the show. I see part of myself in her, and I don't see that often in a character. I just love her.

Damn, sorry I wrote the Bible but my girl deserved that.

#yang xiao long #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #ruby rose #bumbleby #rwby #qrow branwen #ptsd mention #raven branwen #summer rose #taiyang xiao long #rwby analysis

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shera-dnd · 3 years

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IT'S HERE! A whole week late, but I finally finished the last prompt for Rosebird Week. This time it's AU day and I decided to go with an AU no one expected or really wanted.

IT'S MATRIX AU TIME! LET'S GO!

Summer sat in her bed, head pressed back against the metal wall, and eyes closed, just allowing herself to feel the vibrations of the hovercraft as it flew through the complex hive of tunnels beneath the earth. It was strangely peaceful, and it helped ground her in the real world. It also let her listen to the steps of the rest of her crew.

She heard a set of them approaching her room and pausing at the door. It took a moment for her crewmate to actually open it and step in, but when she did Summer didn’t need to open her eyes to know who it was.

Raven quietly closed the door behind her and walked up to Summer’s bed, sitting next to her. Neither of them felt the need to greet each other, both just wanting to enjoy this silent moment, away from the constant barrage of information that was The Matrix.

“Hey, Raven,” Summer eventually spoke. It was a quiet call, a whisper just for her friend, “can I ask you something?”

“You wanna know if I believe it,” Raven answered, fully aware of the doubts that had been plaguing her, “if I think you’re The One.”

Silence returned to the room.

Yes, that had been Summer’s question, a question that had been at the back of her mind since the moment Ozpin called her by that title. It felt like unearned praise, and she couldn’t help but feel the weight of humanity’s survival resting on her shoulders.

“Yes,” she whispered back.

“I don’t,” Raven answered bluntly, “I think this whole chosen one deal is just absolute horseshit.”

That took Summer by surprise. She opened her eyes and turned on her side so she could look at her companion. Raven looked so different in this world, older, more tired, less composed. She liked this version more, it made Raven feel more human, more real.

“Then why do you even follow Ozpin in the first place?”

“Because as full of crap as he is, he’s still doing good work,” she explained, “we’re still saving people.” Raven turned too, meeting summer’s gaze. Her eyes were a dark brown, not the red they were in The Matrix, “we saved you, didn’t we?”

The two shifted ever closer, eyes still locked on each other in the peaceful silence of Summer’s chamber.

“I believe in you, Summer,” Raven added, so close to Summer that she could feel her breath on her lips, “chosen one or not.”

Before they could drift any closer than that, the door to the room was slammed open as Taiyang cheerfully declared, “come on, it’s about time our girl took a trip to the Oracle.”

~~~

That trip had gone as horribly as it possibly could. Lionheart had betrayed them, half their crew was dead, and Ozpin had been captured by the agents. Leaving Summer, Raven, and Qrow, with only two options. Killing Ozpin themselves before the agents could extract the information they wanted from him, or diving in to fight near impossible odds in a suicidal mission to save him.

In the end the choice was obvious.

The metal detectors in the building blared as Summer and Raven stepped in through the front door. One of the guards tiredly stood up and walked up to Summer, asking her to remove all metallic objects. She opened her white long coat and the man’s eyes went wide as he saw the amount of weapons she was packing.

A well placed punch sent the man flying off, and announcing the start of the gunfight. The guards in this room outnumbered, and outgunned them, but tied down as they were to the constraints of the Matrix, they never stood a chance.

Summer leaped from cover to cover, firing at them in mid air as their bullets tore the entire room to shreds. Raven didn’t have any firearms on her, but that didn’t render her harmless in the slightest. She would fly out of cover in the form of a raven, fly through the gunfire, and return to her normal form just in time to slice their throats open with her sword.

Soon enough they were the only ones left standing in the destroyed room.

Raven took the bag they brought in and together they marched into the elevator.

“You still haven’t told me how you do the bird thing,” Summer commented, casually despite the seriousness of the mission they were in.

“The same way you made your eyes silver,” Raven explained as she dropped the bag to the ground and started arming the bomb they had hidden inside, “you override the Matrix through your own self perception. Me and my brother just took it a step further. We change how we perceive ourselves on the fly, and the Matrix changes our form to match it.”

“So you see yourself as a bird, and then the Matrix turns you into a bird?” Summer asked, hitting the emergency break button on the elevator.

“Yeah, like that.”

Summer couldn’t keep herself from snickering as she pushed off the emergency exit on the roof of the elevator, earning herself a confused look from Raven.

“So you and Qrow are bird furries?” Summer asked playfully.

Raven groaned and finished arming the bomb. “Just shut up and focus on the plan.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

~~~

Copious amounts of gunfire, and a catastrophic helicopter ride later, the three of them found themselves in a cramped phone booth down by the subway. Ozpin was bleeding heavily and was far too exhausted to stand on his own, but he still laughed deliriously.

“Do you believe it now, Raven?” He asked between his bouts of laughter.

Raven shook her head and picked up the ringing phone, handing it to Ozpin.

“We can talk about faith all you want once we’re out of here.”

The crazy old man put the phone to his ear and disappeared, his mind returning to his real body. Summer put the phone back in place and gave Raven some space.

“You go next,” she offered.

“Right,” Raven nodded, but there was still something in her mind. Her fists clenched as if she was trying to steel herself for something, “Summer, once we’re out of here, there’s something...there’s something I need to tell you.”

“More reason for us to get going,” she replied, just as the phone began to ring, she gestured towards it with her head and smiled, “come on, wouldn’t want to keep you waiting.”

Raven smiled back and took the phone, she barely had time to put it to her ear before the sound of gunfire rang through their ears. She was gone before the bullet could have hit her, but the phone itself was destroyed, taking Summer’s escape route with it.

“Ms. Moore,” greeted a voice behind her.

Theresa Moore. Summer hated that name. She hated to hear it used like this, because it wasn’t hers, not anymore. And there was only one person who still used it, the man that had interrogated her, the man that had captured Ozpin, the man that now had a gun aimed right for her head.

Agent Ironwood.

“You’ve been creating quite a lot of trouble for us lately,” the agent continued, “I think it’s time we put an end to that.”

Summer dodged the first bullet that came her way, quickly returning fire as she dashed for him. That speed that had felt like a fluke when she fought that other agent now came to her naturally, easily allowing her to dodge his gunfire, until she was up in close quarters with him.

They both put their guns to each other’s heads and pulled their triggers.

Empty.

Agent Ironwood threw the first punch, his fist somehow faster and more terrifying than any bullet could. She parried the blow with more difficulty than she expected, and hit back for no real impact.

Damn it, she had to be faster, stronger. This was the Matrix, the only limits on her body were those her mind imposed on it, she had to forget those limits if she had any chance of surviving this. Each attack he threw her way became ever so slightly easier to avoid, and every one of her strikes came back with just a little more force.

It was a lucky blow, but a good kick managed to crack his sunglasses in half. She could do this, she could actually win this. Maybe Raven was right, she didn’t have to be The One in order to make a difference.

That was until she was put through a wall, and then launched into the train tracks.

“Just surrender, Ms. Moore,” the agent spoke, jumping down to the tracks and pinning her to the ground, “let me put an end to this and it will all be over quick and painless.”

Summer could hear the train approaching, she could hear her own end right at her doorstep. But she couldn’t care about it right now, all she could think was how much she hated this man for using that stupid name.

“My name,” she began, pushing back against the agent until she was standing up again, “is Summer Rose.”

The train ran over both of them and Summer’s conscience scattered into countless white petals. For a moment her mind was gone, left to the whim of whatever program was responsible for controlling the winds of the Matrix, but slowly they began to gather again, the data that formed her body coalescing once again in the form of a woman.

Summer took a long shaky breath. That had been terrifying in so many ways, but it saved her life. In that moment she swore to herself she would never, ever try anything like that again. It was best to leave the shapeshifting to the twins.

Unfortunately she wasn’t given much time to recover, because a certain agent had just stepped off of the train, looking very angry.

She didn’t have it in her to keep fighting this time, so she ran as fast as she could. Dashing through the streets, Summer grabbed the first cell phone she could find and quickly dialled up the Beacon.

“Mr. Wizard, I need a way out!” She yelled into the phone.

“We’ve got your back, Ms. Rose,” Ozpin replied calmly on the other end, “let me guide you through this.”

She ran up and down buildings, out windows and back doors, pushing away people before they could be turned into more agents. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, her mind racing as much as her body as she chased the sound of that ringing phone.

It was right there. She could feel it. She just had to open the door and--

Bang!

~~~

The monitors inside the Beacon blared out a warning as Summer’s brain activity completely ceased.

“No!” Raven screamed as she ran to Summer’s terminal, “no no no no no!”

She climbed onto Summer’s seat, straddling her and holding her face in her hands.

“No! You can’t die too. You can’t!” Raven begged, tears falling onto Summer’s face, “the Oracle promised me! You can’t!”

Summer couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t. Raven refused to believe that.

“She said the woman I love would be The One,” she said, hands shaking, “so you can’t die here!”

Her breath was weak and shaky, her vision blurry from all the tears.

“I believe it, Summer. I believe in you. I believe whatever it takes to keep you alive.”

She didn’t know what else to do. Maybe there really was nothing else to do, but she refused to accept that, refused to sit there and let Summer die. So she did the only thing she could think to do. She closed her eyes and leaned in.

~~~

Summer’s eyes shot open. Instinct told her to suck in a deep breath and refill her lungs, but there was no air around her, there were only codes and programs to simulate it. She stood up, the ground beneath her just textures, sensorial information, and some physics related code. She could see it, the seams on the fabric of the world.

The Matrix.

Bullets were fired her way and she looked at them with almost curiosity. Their code was as clear as day, so easily read, so easily altered. She rewrote a portion of it and the bullets exploded into white rose petals.

Then came that program, Agent Ironwood, shouting as he tried to strike her down. It would have killed her, but she was faster than him now, she was as fast as she needed to be. With one hand she stopped every attack he threw her way, her face showing no sign of focus or exertion, simply the almost amused look of someone who finally got a joke they heard so long ago.

She had already won.

~~~

Her eyes opened once again, this time for good. After what felt like hours in The Matrix her eyes struggled to adjust to the light inside the Beacon, so for a few moments all she knew was that there was a dark shape standing over her, and that her face was somehow wet.

A hiccuping sob above her made clear what had happened while she was gone.

Summer reached for the woman above her, her thumb wiped away those tears, and she smiled.

“Thank you, Raven,” she spoke, as softly as she did in those quiet moments in her chamber, “thank you, for believing in me.”

#rwby #rosebird #rosebird week 2021 #rosebirdweek #summer rose #raven branwen #the matrix #matrix au #fanfic

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radiantroope · 4 years

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Lonely Heart || Rafe Cameron

Introduction

chapter summary: You’re overjoyed after being accepted into your top school until Rafe drops a bomb. The two of you have an emotional discussion at your going away party.

warnings: nothing really, maybe a swear or two, lightly edited

word count: 1.8k+

author’s note: the suspense was killing me and i couldn’t wait to post so here’s the intro chapter :)

series playlist | series masterlist | main masterlist

You’d been in shock all morning. You’d just gotten your acceptance email from the University of California, Los Angeles. Your parents were away on business and weren’t answering their phones, presumably stuck in meetings. You called the other two people closest to you that you couldn’t wait a second longer to share the news with.

“Hey, are you home?” you asked into the phone pressed between your ear and shoulder as you squeezed into your sneakers.

“Yeah, why?” Rafe replied on the other end.

“Great! Don’t go anywhere. I’m gonna call Janelle and I’ll be there in ten,” you avoided his question and hung up before he could reply.

You and Rafe had been friends since you were five. Your father and Ward were long time friends and now business partners. You practically grew up at one or the other’s houses and had countless family dinners together. It became a weekly tradition, Sunday nights were for Cameron-Y/L/N dinners. If you missed one, you never got to hear the end of it. Being an only child, you loved it. Sarah and Wheezie were like sisters you always dreamed of having. You would say Rafe was like a brother to you, but typically you didn’t have a massive crush on someone who was supposed to be like family.

The two of you met Janelle when you were ten. She had just moved to Kildare and you spotted her sitting alone at lunch one day. Rafe had started walking to your usual table with Kelce, but you stopped at the raven haired girls table. You asked if you could sit with her, to which she shyly nodded and avoided your gaze. The two guys had given you confused looks until you waved them over to sit with you and the new girl beside you.

Janelle had agreed to meet you at Tannyhill and you hopped in your car, taking the short drive through Figure Eight to the large mansion. You parked behind the truck and hopped out, making your way through the front entrance and into the quiet home. You called out the brunette boy’s name and heard him holler faintly from outside.

You walked through the living room and out the open french doors to the backyard. You found him sitting by the pool, facing the waterfront. He looked over his shoulder at you and you smiled widely.

“Y’know, it’s kinda hard to properly tan with a polo on, Cameron,” you teased, plopping down beside him on the sun lounger.

“Shut up,” he responded with a roll of his crystal blue eyes. He turned to look at you, noticing the glimmer in your eye and raised an eyebrow. “What was so important you had to come see me?”

You opened your mouth to answer when a loud, familiar voice interrupted, “What the fuck is so important you couldn’t say it over the phone?”

You and Rafe turned to see Janelle making her way towards you with a smirk on her tan face. Her nearly black hair was tied up in a ponytail and her electric green eyes glimmered in the reflection of the pool water. She sat down on the lounger opposite you and Rafe and raised one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows.

“Jesus, you two are like the same person,” you muttered.

“Spit it out, Y/L/N, since you corralled us all here,” Janelle insisted, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands, staring at you intently.

“Sooo, I got an email this morning,” you started, biting your lip to hide the grin spreading across your face. You quickly continued, not able to leave your friends on the edge of their seats, “UCLA. I got in!”

You squealed and fell back in the lounger, hands clapping and eyes squeezing shut in excitement before you bolted back up to a sitting position. You turned to Rafe and immediately started rambling.

“I know it’s not Berkeley like we always talked about, but it’s only a couple hours difference! Well, five or six to be exact, but we could visit on weekends! I could drive up for one, you can drive up for the other. It’ll be a little different than we planned but I think we could make it work!”

Rafe and Janelle at in silence as you continued on your rant about getting into your dream school. They shared a look and the dark haired girl gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Y/N,” Rafe’s voice interrupted you, causing you to fall silent and turn to him. He had his head down, avoiding your gaze as he softly said, “I’m not going to Berkeley.”

You glanced at Janelle, who also avoided your gaze and wrang her fingers together in her lap. You let out a small, disbelieving laugh before asking, “What?”

“I’m going to UNC, Chapel Hill, like my dad wanted.”

You felt your heart drop into your stomach, a sickening feeling settling inside of you. Ever since you and Rafe turned thirteen you both said you would go to Berkeley together. You’d take on college together — like you had everything else in your lives. It was all the two of you talked about for the last five years. You only applied for UCLA because of your major and the fact that your mom went there and pushed you to. You never thought you’d actually get in. You always figured your plan with Rafe was set in stone.

“What happened to wanting to walk your own path? What happened to hating Ward setting up your future for you?” you stood up, staring down at him disbelievingly.

Rafe ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He closed his eyes and grit out, “Things change, Y/N. I don’t want to go to Berkeley. I want to stay here.”

You felt your throat closing up, eyes brimming with tears. You didn’t want to go to a college on the other side of the country by yourself. You wanted your best friend, the love of your life, by your side, how you always dreamed it would be. Now he’d sprung this change of plans on you without warning and you didn’t know how to take it.

You glanced at Janelle, who had her eyes trained on Rafe. He was bouncing his knee and biting the inside of his cheek like he often did when he was uncomfortable. She glanced up at you and shrugged once, leading you to believe she had no idea he was feeling this way. Slowly, you sat back down beside your best friend.

“Okay.. So you’re gonna stay,” you said softly and reached out, taking the brunette boy’s hand, giving it a small squeeze. Rafe looked you in the eye, forcing a smile to his face. He leaned into you, wrapping you into a tight hug.

—

Your going away party was rough. Everyone congratulated you and wished you good luck but your mind was elsewhere. Rafe had barely said a word to you when he arrived with his family. It was like every time you walked into the same room as him, he’d get up and leave. You’d try to go after him only to be pulled into a conversation with one of your parents friends. You entertained them all, wanting to please your parents who were giving you everything. You were forever grateful to them, as they were paying your monthly rent in your Los Angeles apartment and insisted that you didn’t work. They were giving you a monthly allowance for groceries and a little free spending. You swore to them that one day you were going to pay them back for it all.

“Hey,” you whispered to Topper who had been snacking on a fruit tray in the kitchen, “Have you seen Rafe?”

Topper looked down at you then glanced around at the other guests in your house. He bent down to whisper back, “Saw him head upstairs. Go, I’ll cover for you.”

You nodded and slipped away quietly, avoiding running into anyone as you climbed your stairs quickly. You peaked into the game room, then the media room and lastly your bedroom. Rafe sat on top of your bed and stared at the wall that used to hold hundreds of pictures. It was now bare, all packed away in cardboard boxes ready to go with you to California. His eyes traveled around the empty room before finding yours where you stood in the doorway.

“I’ve been in this room a thousand times and I hardly recognize it,” he said softly, hand smoothing over your wrinkled comforter.

You didn’t say anything, walking over and sitting beside your best friend. He held out his hand, a warmth spreading through his body as your fingers intertwined with his. He eyed the boxes stacked in the corner of your room and sighed.

“I’m not leaving forever,” you whispered, leaned over to rest your head on the brunette’s broad shoulder. “I’ll still be there for our family’s Christmas trip to Colorado and the Spring break trip to the Bahamas. I’ll be home during the Summer. You’re not losing me completely, Rafe.”

“It feels like it. How am I gonna go from seeing you everyday to every few months?” he asked, squeezing his fingers around yours. The words he wanted to say were on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed them down. If he said it, you wouldn’t go, and he couldn’t let you give up your dreams because of his selfishness. He had to let you go.

“I’ll call you every chance I get. We can have Facetime dates on the weekend,” you promised, tilting your head to look up at him. His eyes found yours and the pain in his azure irises made your chest ache. “You’re still my best friend, Rafe. That’ll never change. Right?”

Rafe gave you the best smile he could, one that didn’t meet his eyes. You frowned and reached up to cup his jaw, stroking your thumb over his cheek slowly. His eyes closed in fear that you’d see he was on the verge of breaking. You fought the urge to press your lips against his and show him how deeply you cared for him. You couldn’t jeopardize your friendship that way when it felt like it was already falling apart.

“Hey,” the two of you jumped at the sound of Kelce’s voice, turning to the doorway. He gave you both a sad smile and pointed his thumb over his shoulder, “Topper sent me to find you. Your mom’s looking for you.” he disappeared down the hall after that, leaving you and your best friend alone once again.

“C’mon,” Rafe muttered, standing from the bed and tugging you up by your hand.

You pulled on his arm once you were on your feet and wrapped your arms around his waist. His arms wound around your shoulders and squeezed you tightly, holding you as close as he could. Your face was buried in the fabric of his grey button up as you mumbled, “I love you, Raffie.”

Rafe chuckled at the nickname, a shortened name for giraffe because you always insisted he was too tall. He placed a chaste kiss to the top of your head and shakily whispered, “I love you too, mini.”

tag list (if you want to be added, shoot me an ask or a message!): @starlightstarkey @pink-meringues @thirstystarkey @k-k0129 @solllaris @taiter-tots @jjmbanks @fttayla @ilovejjmaybank @jjmaybcnks @drewswannabegirl @diverdcwn @royalmerchant @sortagaysortahigh @queenk00k @ims0golden @girlsru1eboysdroo1 @obxmermaid @anxietyspacetart-15 @butgilinsky @kindahavefeelingskindaheartless (please let me know if you want to be removed)

#obx #outer banks #obx fic #outer banks fic #rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron fic #rafe cameron series #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron oneshot #rafe x reader #rafe x y/n #lonely heart #chyna writes

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oscar-lime · 3 years

Text

Evil Oz / Salem reincarnates AU?

I'm not super sure what to call it yet... info under the cut because I've been planning this one for awhile now.

Feel free to ask me any questions about it!

• The rules for immortality are different. Salem maybe ends up in a soul different from hers that is meant to help her learn and grow. Maybe Ozpin has to live forever to learn a certain lesson as well (trust? Honesty? Just based on something he is known for doing wrong... I'm not sure on this one yet.)

• Instead of a merge, the more dominant soul in the body will eventually gain most of the control. The other will start to struggle to be in control at all until they are just a voice in the back of the other's mind.

• Salem took control of most of her lives by force... she hated not being in control. Oscar was her youngest host, and she ended up thinking back on her children... so she is now trying to make sure he is himself, and trying to make sure he ends up the body's main soul for a change. Even a heartless monster sometimes feels bad when she realizes her next life is a child.

• Oscar can control grimm, but it takes time and practice. Salem's magic is also extremely powerful, so he struggles to hold it in now since he does not know how to control it at all. (She just really wants him to hit the point where he can control the hound.)

• When using Salem's power to control grimm, Oscar's veins temporarily turn red/black (it's a gradient of both colors)

• "Hello Oscar, I'm Salem. Now leave this sad little farm and go to my castle." "*loud screaming*"

• Hazel is the one to realize Oscar is the next Salem. He has her inner circle. She gained them in slightly different ways in her past lives.

Hazel: Ozma sent his sister into another kingdom, then staged her death and made it appear to be a murder to cause conflict between the kingdoms.

Tyrian: Salem wanted someone ready to kill and cause destruction when she needed it. So she offered him the opportunity to kill whenever he wanted (as long as he followed her orders and didn't kill any of her allies.. she always provides him with grimm or prisoners to harm) and for her to hide him away from the law.

Watts: He could make whatever he wanted and she would provide the materials, but in return he had to help her with technology anytime she requested.

Cinder: She was offered revenge. Salem explained what huntsman and huntresses truly are to her, and offered to help her become strong enough to take revenge on the ones who ignored her when she needed help the most.

Emerald, Mercury, and Neo all still followed Cinder.

Roman was actually hired by Ozma for that whole thing with the trains, along with Adam and the White Fang. Ozma chose to destroy his school like that KNOWING it would cause conflict.

• Ozma is immortal. His inner circle is not actually aware of what he is planning. He wants to watch humanity tear itself apart.

• Of course even if they learn of Salem's existence and unite, it still benefits him since they would be fighting against her, and he could use the tension to draw in more grimm and doubt between the nations

• Oz is ALWAYS subtly feeding Ironwood's paranoia. He hopes James will cause a war for him amongst humanity.

• STRQ originally, like every other huntsman and huntress, believed they were doing good. They had no idea Ozpin had been manipulating all of humanity and the academies just to do his bidding. Some "criminals" are truly innocent. They just stood against Oz in someway so they were wanted dead or alive. If he gets them alive he makes sure to make them regret even daring to stand against him... and of course he doesn't want word spreading.

• Raven left when she found out Ozma's true intentions.

• Tai just settled down with his family and is staying out of it. He figures he has time before the world ends, Ozma can't work that fast right? His kids would totally have time to grow up. (He was heartbroken hearing them say they want to go to Beacon)

• Summer actually discovered Ozma's plans, and was killed for trying to fight against him. She wasn't aware of Salem, so she stood up to him on her own.

• Qrow couldn't believe Oz was bad, not after everything he'd done for them. So he stayed around. Ozma has his inner circle tricked into believing he is saving the world.

• Oz still gave out his magic. Two watchbirds are very helpful after all. The maidens are human, the potential they have to cause chaos and destruction is amazing! Plus then the relics are hidden, so Salem CAN'T summon the gods.

• Jaune died. Pyrrha found out something was fishy when she was supposed to be getting the maiden powers, so she got out of the transfer machine with her semblance when she and Jaune realized. She started out fighting Ozpin, but Jaune ended up taking her place because he had the big shield and told her to go warn the others about what was going on.

• So after the fall the group still travels on, just now they want to get the relics AWAY from Oz and to a safe place. They join up with Oscar + Salem's crew eventually

The lamp is the reason Qrow turns against Oz. When they ask what he is hiding the backstory reveals how he began to hate humanity with time, and the joy he took in watching them fight and destroy each other. Qrow is shattered by the truth since he was supposed to be the one hunting the kids down, but he then decides he has to protect them... and apologizes for not believing them.

Oz still has the upper hand though. Salem only has the fall maiden (the one with the hardest to find relic anyway), some henchmen, and a bunch of children. Oz has humanity already starting to argue and nations not trusting one another, plus the academies at his command. Atlas is going nuts because Ironwood is much more paranoid since Oz has been feeding into that.

• Leo did actually still have connections to Salem. His family was sent to live in her castle for their protection, and in return he snuck her team into Beacon. She gave the orders in her old vessel from her castle. But she made her way there around the fall because she wanted her team out safely. It's not always easy for her to find new minions after all, and she didn't want to lose the fall maiden.

• She had a team in the school to try and figure out what Oz is planning, exactly how he tricks the students, and where the relic might be hidden.

• Leo ends up killed by Qrow (poor bird man), as he is one of Ozma's most loyal followers before he turns and considers what Leo did a horrible betrayal.

The Atlas arc goes EXTREMELY different. Penny is sent to actually hunt down RWBY and co at first, but when she sees it's them she doesn't fight them very hard. She doesn't want to take them... they get away, and encounter her again when they head to Pietro for Maria's eyes. She prepares to fight them, but Maria and Pietro quickly stop both sides. After a long explanation of everything, Pietro and Penny are on their side (since Pietro already could see something was fishy just from his work on the inside)

The happy huntresses recongnize the main cast as fugitives right away and absolutely love them. They weren't sure what these kids did, but placed more blame for the main groups criminal status on authority instead of the kids. The group was happy to have allies to stay with and work with behind Ironwoods back.

Monstra pulls up (Atlas was raised, unfortunately) and RWBY, NOPR, and Qrow are like "Yeah that... that is our ride."

There was definitely still some bloodshed in Atlas. Qrow almost convinced Clover of the truth... buuuut then Tyrian happened and Qrow had the same reaction...

Now the group can't leave Atlas because Mantle is struggling and Qrow and Robyn got arrested.

Oscar is kidnapped by Ozma. He is trying to learn what Salem is planning, where she is hiding the relic of knowledge, and where she is keeping now her two maidens. Out of Oz's inner circle, he chooses to trust Glynda to do the right thing since for obvious reasons, Hazel is not torturing him this time around.

Oscar's outfit is different this time. Orange is his main color, so he keeps the orange. Maybe he gets some sort of cape, but with long sleeves for the cold he tosses over his farmer outfit. He could be influenced by Salem since she is a part of him without realizing and maybe change the gloves to red, and have some red (or red and orange) on his cape. I'm not sure the exact colors yet. Basically though his little cape thing is a jacket that just... doesn't really go past the sleeves. It was the only thing I could think of that wasn't just another hood, and the cape seemed fitting because of Salem's subtle influence. (Oscar does not want to kill people, Salem has no problem killing people. She will forcibly take control of him if she feels he is in danger.)

Silver eyes work a bit differently here. They are basically angels, and their power works best on grimm. However, if they begin to truly believe a human is just as bad as a monster or see them in the same light (even without realizing) they can do a bit of damage to them as well (Maybe turn a bit of them to stone, blast off part of them, badly burn them, etc.).

#please go easy on me if i missed anything... this is the first time i put so much work into an au so i definitely would have missed things #rwby au #evil ozpin #evil ozma #is that a better tag?#rwby #oscar pine #oscar pine au #rwby volume 8 #rip jaune #sorry this is a bit hard to read... it's long and i just pasted it here

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rwby-grimm-guardians · 3 years

Text

RWBY Grimm Guardians Arc 4: Re-Bonding In Mistral Ch 8

Welcome back to Re-Bonding In Mistral! Here, Blake and co arrive and we start the duel between Cinder and Raven.

As usual, please give constructive criticism and enjoy!

Also I apologize for this being short. I was VERY busy and it fucking killed a lot inspiration….

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

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(Outside of Haven...)

To say that Blake was on edge was an understatement.

Even though she had managed to stare her abuser down and make his own followers begin to realize he was absolutely crazed, she felt like her heart was going burst. “Are you alright, kitten?” Ghira asked, rubbing his daughter’s shoulder. The cat faunus sighed with a shaky nod, “For now…” Kali looked towards the academy, before smiling, “Seems like Sum has remembered her semblance.”

Blake raised an eyebrow, before she pointed at a giant wolf. The cat faunus wanted to panic. “Ms. Summer….is able to transform...into a giant wolf…?” She asked, her voice quiet and disbelief. Ghira and Kali nodded, with the elder woman grinning, “Think of her as a giant version of that adorable corgi.” “That’s not even remotely close to what she is….” The former chieftain clarified with a face of shock.

Blake KNEW she was going to regret this. “I’ll….try to tell her that you’re here….” She said, before walking towards the academy. Seeing Summer as a giant wolf was probably one of the SCARIEST THINGS she had ever seen. The cat faunus could begin to imagine how dangerous the former STRQ leader was in her prime.

“You know she’ll recognize us, right?” Gambol whispered telepathically. “She’s not gonna harm us.” Blake sighed, “I know…. It’s just…..unexpected….” “That’s an understatement….and a valid one.” The panther faunus agreed.

As Blake entered Haven, she watched as Weiss dragged a tanned and burly man into the hall. The cat faunus quickly grew concerned when she spotted the blood stains on the heiress’s dress.

However, given that the heiress was moving as if she received no injury, the younger Belladonna attempted to relax….

“Blake?”

Or she would have if she hadn’t been spotted by Yang. The cat faunus and blonde looked at each other, with the former feeling her heart beat with adrenaline and potential worry.

Blake barely had time to say anything as Yang immediately walked over and hugged her tightly, causing the cat faunus to relax completely. As Ember and Gambol materialized and began hugging each other, Ruby quickly noticed the two Belladonnas and headed up to the two couples. “I apologize for the forced relocation of our reunion.” Blake said as her leader hugged her. “Blame the assholes who planned to attack this place.” The red cloaked teenager said tiredly. “This is already a long day.”

Weiss hummed in agreement, walking up to her teammates, briefly hugging Blake. “I assume those are your parents?” Yang asked, pointed at Ghira and Kali. Gambol chuckled, “That’s correct, kiddo. Introductions can wait for now though.” Willow walked up to the group and gave Blake and Gambol a warm smile, “Good to see you two are safe.” “Thank you, Ms. Willow.” Blake said.

“Why haven’t the bombs gone off yet?” Ruby asked. The panther faunus sighed with a growl, “I have a feeling Blake and I might know….” “It was most likely disarmed by someone who….we’re not too happy with.” The younger Belladonna explained, trying to keep herself calm.

The group jumped as Vampier crashed into a couple pillars, before reverting back to her human form. Qrow immediately rushed up to her, planning to behead her, only for the Bat Queen to kick him out of the way. Summer stepped in front of the group, reverting back to human form and helping Qrow up to his feet. “I see the bitch is back from Hell.” Gambol snarled, glaring at Vampier.

The former STRQ leader nodded, “Unfortunately. As much as I want to catch up with you two, it’ll have to wait, sadly.” “I assume you’re with your parents?” She asked. Blake nodded, “Right outside with Sun dealing with the White Fang…”

Summer nodded, making a mental note to speak with them after this was done...

Vampier looked around, before smirking. “Thank you for clearing my way.” She sneered, before running off. “Where is she going…?” Ruby asked. Summer’s eyes widened, “Fuck, she’s going to the Vault.”

“We split up for now.” She said. “Qrow, help Kali and Ghira.” The former bandit nodded, before rushing outside. “Gambol, Ruby, and I will handle the rest of the White Fang in here.” Blake said, before said individuals nodded in agreement. Willow and Ember looked at each other, before nodding as Willow said, “The rest of us will handle Mercury, Emerald, and anyone else.”

“Understood. Leave Vampier to me.” Summer said, before the group began proceeding with their objectives. The Silver-Eyed warrior managed to catch up with Vampier in no time, before witnessing her jump down the elevator to the Vault.

Without hesitation, Summer followed suit, hoping that Raven was still safe. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Meanwhile, in the Vault of Haven…)

As Raven, Vernal, and Cinder entered the Vault from the elevator, the tribe leader was on guard. She knew that the Fall Maiden was going to attempt to backstab them and take the Relic, so the fact that she HADN’T yet was enough to make Raven anxious.

But now they were at Haven’s Vault, where rested the Relic of Knowledge.

Raven watched as Vernal began reaching for the chamber containing the Relic, before her eyes widened. “Move!” She shouted, attempting to shove the young woman out of the way, only to be frozen in place by Cinder. Sighing, the Fall Maiden walked up to Vernal, saying to Raven, “I must say, your skills in observation are impressive. To think you actually saw this coming.”

With that, she ruthlessly stabbed a shocked Vernal in the abdomen with her Grimm arm. Cinder grinned as she watched the tribe leader’s face twist in shock and horror, while Vernal’s was frozen in fear and pain.

A second went by. Two seconds. Three. And after a full five seconds, the Fall Maiden glared at the bleeding Vernal in confusion.

“Why? Why the fuck do you not have any of the Spring Maiden’s power in you?” She asked, beginning to grow furious. “Unless….” Unless she was manipulated into thinking that the brunette was the Spring Maiden.

Cinder then jumped at a sudden tearing noise, turning to face Raven as the tribe leader freed herself out of pure anger and rage.

“YOU….” Raven growled, red energy erupting from her eyes. “Will regret EVER harming the people I care for.” Cinder felt her jaw going slack as she stared at the tribe leader. ‘This old hag….’ She thought in shock. ‘IS THE SPRING MAIDEN!?’

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Yeah, didn’t expect Raven to be that selfless for her fellow tribeswoman, did ya?

Next chapter is the duel between Cinder and Raven, as well as the aftermath.

Afterwards, you’ll be getting a couple special chapters that will reveal some things and resolve others.

#rwby #rwby au #grimm guardians au #rwby ocs #rwby fanfiction #ruby rose #weiss schnee #Blake Belladonna #yang xiao long #Summer Rose #qrow branwen #raven branwen #ghira belladonna #kali belladonna #willow schnee #Gambol Shroud #ember celica #cinder fall #Vernal

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thepancakeboi · 4 years

Text

60. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong, and don’t try lying to me.”

Divergence AU Part III

Previous | Next | AU list | Prompt source

Fanfic under cut

11/16

“Hey, you okay?”

I glance up from the drink I’ve been staring at for the past five minutes, meeting Ren’s inquisitive gray eyes. “I’m fine. I was simply listening to the song.”

Ren doesn’t look convinced. “Akeppi-”

“I told you not to call me that in public,” I interrupt in a hushed whisper. Granted, we’re the only patrons currently in the jazz club, but still. I don’t even know why he calls me that. He just randomly said it after our fight in Mementos a couple of weeks ago and has continued to use it since.

“You’ve barely said anything since we left Penguin Sniper. Are you sure you’re fine?”

“I...have nothing to say.”

That’s a lie, of course, and Ren knows it. So much has been on my mind the past month. During our first foray into Sae’s Palace, I had hesitantly told them about the plan to kill Ren. I also told them about my identity as “the man in the black mask”, but only because Makoto and Morgana had figured it out and confronted me about it. I still can’t believe that I’m working with them like this. They...accept me, to some degree. I hadn’t expected them to completely trust me, but they’re all naive enough to not condemn me for what I’ve done. Even Haru and Futaba, the two people who should hate my guts, aren’t hostile to me. They should be, though.

I have so many things I want to say, but...

“Goro?” Ren sounds worried. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” I say, dismissing his concerns with a wave of my hand.

“It isn’t ‘nothing’. You can tell me.”

“It is,” I snap, my friendly facade breaking for a brief moment. It’s become harder than ever to keep the mask on, to hide what lurks beneath the superficial nature I present to the world. “You needn’t concern yourself over the bastard son of a rotten father.”

“Who’s your father?” Ren immediately asks.

“What?”

“What’s your father’s name?”

A strangled laugh escapes my lips. He doesn’t even realize it yet. How would he, though? My father and the man we’re currently after are one and the same. “Why would you care? He’s not important to our current mission.”

“I want you to be happy. Isn’t that enough of a reason?”

“It’s a foolish reason.” I go back to staring intently at my drink as if it’ll give me all the answers I need. It won’t, but at least I won’t have to look Ren in the eye as he tries to get me to open up to him. I don’t need his help.

He hums as he continues to look for a clue to solve his own questions. “That’s not what’s bothering you, is it?”

“Of course not.”

“So there is something wrong.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you didn’t say nothing’s wrong.”

He’s right. I should have denied it. With a huff, I chug down the remainder of my drink and stand up, stalking out of the jazz club without a word. This was a waste of time. My thoughts are still there, like a tumultuous storm clouding my judgment. Maybe what I need is a solid blow to the head to knock me out for the next several days. Then I wouldn’t have to...

I stop, turning around. Ren stands a few feet away from me. He must have followed me out. “What are you doing?”

“We weren’t done talking.”

“Well, I am.” Of course, when I go to leave him behind yet again, Ren doesn’t seem to get the hint. I whirl around, nearly about to smack some sense into him as he grabs ahold of my wrist. “What the hell do you want?”

“I want you to tell me what’s the matter.”

He doesn’t even seem fazed by my reaction, a reaction so out of character for detective prince Goro Akechi. He still has that damn concerned look on his face. I try to pull the pieces of that fake personality back together, but my words ring hollow as I respond, “Look, all I need is some time to myself. Just leave me be.”

“That hasn’t been working for you, has it?” No, it hasn’t been. “I told you I’d always be there for you. I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong, and don’t try lying to me.”

“Ren, I’m fi-”

“Do you trust me?”

The question is completely unexpected. “I...I want to.” But I don’t know how...when I barely even trust myself.

“Then let’s go to Leblanc and we can talk this over.”

I shake my head. “That would take too long.”

“It doesn’t have to be Leblanc. Wherever you need to go to feel comfortable talking to me.”

I can only think of one place other than Leblanc, but...would it be weird to...? “Would you be okay with coming with me to my apartment? It’s not too far from here.”

“Sure.” He nods, though why he’s smiling I have no idea. Maybe it’s because I’m confiding in him after all.

We walk to my apartment in comfortable silence. As we weave our way through the streets, Ren slowly slips his hand from my wrist into my hand. I side-eye him curiously. Why is he doing this? It’s not like I’m trying to actively lose him in a crowd. I don’t object to it, though. For some reason, I almost...welcome his hand in mine. Even when we arrive at my apartment and find ourselves sitting side by side on the futon, he’s still holding my hand.

And I...don’t want him to let go?

Damnit, I must be more emotionally compromised than I thought.

I don’t even know when I started giving a shit about Ren. I’ve been spending more and more time with him than I ever had during the summer. He never refuses me. He’s spent all of today with me after school ended for him. It doesn’t make any sense. Why would he ever want to spend any length of time with his future murderer?

That’s the root of my problems, isn’t it? The counterplan the Phantom Thieves have come up with is daring, reckless, and honestly is one huge gamble. I don’t normally doubt myself, but it’s going to take a lot of luck for Ren to get out of this alive...

“Goro?”

The way he says my name, gently prying to find out what’s been occupying my thoughts, nearly breaks my composure.

But I can’t let him know my doubts...my fears.

Yes, I’m afraid. I’m afraid I’m going to shoot him in the head, for real. That Ren Amamiya, the second year at Shujin who so quickly enthralled me and became my antithesis, will die in an interrogation cell all because he got caught up in a plot where he can’t even begin to see the full picture.

“I don’t...want you to die.”

“I won’t die.”

“How can you be sure about that!? You’ll be completely defenseless, and I-” My words catch in my throat, but I force myself to say them regardless. “I have to pull the trigger. I won’t be able to prevent that. There won’t be a second chance if we fail.”

“We won’t fail.” He sticks his free hand in one of his pockets. When he pulls it out, he has my glove in his hand. “We still have a promise to keep.”

“I can’t believe you have that stupid thing.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

I have no response to that. Instead, I respond with, “And you just so happen to have it with you.”

“I’ve had it with me since you gave it to me. And do you wanna know why? Because it’s from you.” He gently squeezes my hand, a lopsided grin spreading unbidden on his face. I had forgotten that he’s still holding my hand. “You’re my treasure.”

My eyes widen. “I’m your...what?”

“I mean it. I may be a Phantom Thief, but you’re the one who stole my heart.”

My stomach clenches. I try to ignore this feeling, for now. “Was that supposed to be a pickup line? If so, that’s the cheesiest one I’ve ever heard. And trust me, I’ve heard some extremely stupid ones.”

“What if it was?”

“I’d chastise you for your timing since you could be dead in four days.”

“I’m not going to die. I still have stuff I need to do.”

“Like what, fight a god?” I ask with just a touch of sarcasm.

He laughs at that. “No. But maybe I will just to prove to you that I can.”

I laugh as well, although mine is forced and devoid of any mirth. This time, I make sure he can hear my sarcasm as I reply, “Oh, that’s just brilliant. You’re going to fight god because you can.”

“And win, just for you,” he says with a wink, grinning at the prospect. My first thought is “what the hell is wrong with this boy”, followed immediately by “I think I love him”.

Oh.

So, that’s what this feeling is. How did I not realize sooner? It’s painfully obvious in hindsight. He’s the one person I’ve taken an actual interest in for a long time. Life always feels better when he’s around. But does he feel the same? No, he couldn’t. He can’t love someone as rotten as me. My heart refuses to listen to logic, though. Tentatively, I ask, “You’d really fight a god for me?”

“Yup!” Ren answers almost immediately. Yawning a little, he leans back against the futon and arcs his back for a moment. The motion almost reminds me of a cat. “Hey, Akeppi?”

There’s that dumb nickname again, though I can’t say we’re in public this time. “What?”

“It was a pickup line.”

I try to laugh it off as a joke. He cannot be serious. I don’t care if I hope that he means it; it’s not possible. “Surely you jest. I’m sure you have girls falling head-over-heels for you.”

“I may be Joker, but I’m not joking about my feelings towards you.”

“I lied. That is the cheesiest pickup line I’ve ever heard.”

“Is it working?”

I’m silent for a while, unsure of how to respond. I can’t deny that I feel something for the raven-haired boy sitting next to me. It’s complicated. Everything about him, from the way he looks at me with those beautiful gray eyes to the way he plays with his bangs when he’s lost in his thoughts to even the hum he makes when he’s thinking, it’s all so...perfect. I don’t deserve someone as special as him. I don’t. Yet here he is, willing to give me a chance. But, there’s no time for this silly romance cliche between us, not until Ren is decidedly not going to die at my hands. “Let’s just focus on surviving the rest of this week first.”

“Okay,” he replies. He doesn’t seem upset, which is a good sign. “Are you going to be okay tonight? If you want, I could stay the night.”

I shouldn’t even be surprised that he’s the one who suggests that first. “I...I suppose...but don’t you have school tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but I’m sure Kawakami’ll cover for me.”

“I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you-”

“Don’t worry, you aren’t,” he immediately interjects, taking the opportunity to lean against me.

We must have managed to fall asleep there, because the next thing I know, it’s morning. Ren is still resting comfortably against me. People say that seeing someone sleeping makes them look more adorable, and now I can see why. His hair gently falls into his eyes, his lips parted ever so slightly as he dreams. Hoping not to disturb him, I place a soft, little kiss on his forehead. He continues to blissfully sleep. I don’t know if I’m imagining it or not, but I swear his lips twitched into a smile for a brief moment. I can’t help but smile wistfully back, even if he doesn’t see it. My voice is barely a whisper as I give words to the thoughts in my head.

“I love you, Ren. Please...don’t die.”

#akeppi writes #p5 #persona 5 #goro akechi #akechi #ren amamiya #akira kurusu #akeshu #shuake #writing prompt

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pikapeppa · 4 years

Text

Felassan/f!Lavellan: Questions

Chapter 12 of The Love That Grows From Violence (Felassan x Tamaris Lavellan) is posted!

As the title implies, in which I dip my toe into lore. Just one toe, though. 😭

~4060 words; read on AO3 instead.

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Over the course of the next few days, Tamaris and Felassan settled back into their routine of mana retraining, overhauling the house, smoking on the roof and eating the delicious food that Felassan prepared for them both. They played cards together and chatted idly about their lives, and they kept ripping on each other for fun just as they had done before.

There was one very significant difference, however: Tamaris felt much more at ease now that she’s spoken more openly to Felassan about her relationship with Solas. She wasn’t thrilled that he’d witnessed her falling apart like she had, but the benefit of no longer feeling guilty or wary or just plain fucking uncomfortable was so much of a relief that she almost wished they’d talked about it earlier.

That wasn’t to say her emotional landscape was by any means perfectly repaired. Explaining her qualms to Felassan was only the first step to getting her mind around the wound of mistrust that Solas had unwittingly left behind. But for the first time since Solas’s departure, Tamaris was starting to believe that the wound might actually heal. She still felt uneasy at times when Felassan touched her tenderly or when his soft gaze lingered on her for too long, but mild unease was better than panic.

Felassan occasionally asked more questions about her relationship with Solas, and although her immediate response was to put up a wall and block him out, she forced herself to reply. She would never have imagined that talking candidly about her ex-lover with her current lover would be helpful instead of terribly awkward, but the truth was that it really seemed to help. In fact, as the days went by, Tamaris started to feel the way that Cole had described easing people’s pain: like something tangled inside of her had been loosened and was slowly being smoothed out with every day she spent in Felassan’s company.

With Tamaris’s greater comfort came another very enjoyable consequence: she and Felassan spent considerably more time indulging in their sexual appetites, which were just as great as their appetites for the scrumptious food that Felassan made. By the fourth day after their talk, however, they still hadn’t had sex again yet, or even done anything more than kiss and touch as much as they could through the barriers of their clothing. Their mana-training sessions now ended every time in a torrid clinch that left both of them breathless, and Felassan joked that the promise of Tamaris’s lips was the main driving force for his magical progress. They continued to sleep in their separate bedrooms, but Felassan kissed her every night before they retired to their rooms — that is, if ‘a kiss’ was what one could call it when Felassan pinned her against her bedroom door and ground himself into the cradle of her hips while she hungrily licked his tongue. Every night when he stepped away from her, she would stare at the blazing glow of his eyes and the rise and fall of his collarbones as he panted for breath, and an invitation for him to join her in her bed crept closer and closer to the tip of her tongue.

But she kept the words to herself, and Felassan didn’t push. And so they continued to fall together into increasingly ravenous embraces as the days went on, embraces which always ended in them breaking apart and grinning stupidly at each other while they tried to breathe through the lust that was swelling over them with all the delicious weight of a summer thunderhead.

Tamaris wasn’t sure what exactly had made them both decide not to push their physical relationship back into sex just yet. They hadn’t explicitly talked about waiting, yet both she and Felassan would stop themselves when her grinding against his lap got right to the point where one or both of them was nearly ready to burst, or when his fingers started playing over the laces of her bra or her breeches. Maybe Felassan could sense that she wanted to hold off for a bit before launching back into the sex that they both so clearly wanted. Or maybe Tamaris could see that he was trying to gain more control over his urges. Either way, the tension between them continued to grow — in a delicious, mutual way that was not at all like the demon that Felassan had so colourfully described — and it wasn’t long before Tamaris became convinced that what was really happening was an unspoken game of who-gives-in-first. Was Tamaris going to give in and tell Felassan to fuck her again? Or was Felassan going to be the one to turn those delicious pleasured moans of his into an actual plea for her to join him in his room?

Neither of them could say, and neither of them was ready to cave. And yet, without speaking about it, Tamaris knew without a doubt that Felassan was enjoying – and cursing – the torturous pleasure of their fully-clothed trysts as much as she was.

Aside from their more physical pursuits, a more intellectual one also came back into play; Felassan started reading This Shit Is Weird with more focus, as he seemed determined to get to the part of the book that mentioned the Inquisition’s encounter with the Titan. When he finished reading about their ordeal at Adamant Fortress and their tumble into the Fade, however, the resulting discussion took most of an afternoon.

Felassan wanted to hear as much from Tamaris’s perspective about what had happened and how Solas reacted. When Tamaris explained how the Nightmare had tried to unnerve everyone by picking away at their greatest fears, Felassan raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t suppose you remember what this Nightmare demon said to Fen’Harel?” he asked.

“It was something in Elvhen, so I don’t really know,” she said. “It said it knew him, though, which I just chalked up to Solas making weird friends in the Fade. But Solas did also say he’d never been to that sector of the Fade before…” She rubbed her forehead. “Fuck, I wish I remembered.”

“Shame,” Felassan said. “I would have liked to know what a demon would use against him to unnerve him during the time that he was with you.”

“I can tell you the three main things that unnerved him,” Tamaris said dryly. “Killing archdemons, Morrigan getting stuff wrong at the Temple of Mythal, and tea.”

Felassan’s face went slack with surprise. Then he barked out a laugh. “I may fall over from that onslaught. Morrigan — she was with the Inquisition? You were at the Temple of Mythal?”

“Yeah, we — oh, you haven’t gotten to the Halamshiral part of the book yet,” she said. “Morrigan joined the Inquisition after the whole shitshow at Halamshiral. Solas was less than thrilled with her, especially when we got to the Temple of Mythal. They were like cats and dogs.”

Felassan stared at her, then snorted a laugh. “You were at the Temple of Mythal with–” Another little snort cut him off. “–with Mythal’s alleged daughter and Fen’Harel who was trying to pass as a simple apostate…” He guffawed.

Tamaris couldn’t help but smile. “When you put it that way, it is pretty funny.”

“Funny!” Felassan exclaimed. “It’s the makings of a farce!” Another burst of laughter spilled from his lips. He dragged in a breath and patted his belly. “I can only imagine the steam that must have been coming out of his ears.”

Tamaris chuckled. “Yeah. You should have seen him when that Sentinel guy Abelas came out. He almost lost it.”

Felassan’s face went slack once more. “Abelas? Abelas?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Tamaris said with a roll of her eyes. “Don’t tell me you knew him.”

“Huge tall warrior, gold eyes, white hair, very stern?”

She raised her eyebrows. “He was wearing a hood so I don’t know about the hair, but the rest, yeah.”

A grin lit Felassan’s face, and he let out another rolling belly laugh. “Fen’Harel faced Abelas and lost his composure. He… fenedhis. It’s…” He slapped his palm on the table and continued to laugh. Tears of mirth were leaking from the corners of his eyes now, and his laughter was becoming loud and uncontrolled.

She shifted closer to him. “Hey, take it easy. You need to breathe or you’re going to pass out.” She held out her hand.

He grabbed her hand and dragged in a breath, then let it out in an explosion of hysteria. Tamaris squeezed his hand. “Come on, brat, look at me.”

He chuckled wheezily and met her eyes, and Tamaris smiled at him. “Okay, let’s breathe. Come on.”

He exhaled another chuckle, then breathed in hard through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. “I need to read more of this book,” he said. “I can’t wait to devour that chapter.”

“No kidding,” she said dryly. “Should we go back to talking about the Nightmare then? Save the Solas-bitching-at-Morrigan stories for when that part of the book comes up?”

Felassan nodded and exhaled another slow breath. “Yes, let’s.”

“Okay,” she said. She released his hand. “What did you want to know next?”

“I have a question for you, in fact,” he said. “What did the Nightmare use to unnerve you?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Well, that’s a personal question.”

“Yes, it is,” he said. “ And I believe you still owe me a secret.”

His smirk was mischievous but somehow also soft. Tamaris scoffed. “That’s how it is, huh?”

“It certainly is,” he said pleasantly.

She gave him a chiding look, then sighed. “Fine. It…” She looked down and rubbed at the tiny dent in her prosthetic arm. “It mocked me about breaking promises.”

“Breaking promises?” he asked.

“Promises to… protect people who need help protecting themselves,” she muttered.

Marin being dragged away screaming by the Templars. The memory flashed across her mind, and she looked away from Felassan and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. The Nightmare’s sealed away, so fuck it.”

“You’re thinking of Marin,” he said quietly.

She clenched her jaw, then forced herself to look him in the eye. “Yes. So what?”

Felassan tilted his head. “She who dances with fire,” he said quietly.

She snorted and looked down at her metal fingers. “For whatever good that does.”

“An entire novel’s worth, at least,” he said. He gestured at This Shit Is Weird. “I’m certainly compelled by the heroine of this novel. I imagine I would throw myself at her feet if ever we were to meet.”

She rolled her eyes at his irreverent tone. “Shut the fuck up.”

He chuckled, then leaned back in his chair and lifted his feet onto the table. “I have to ask: did Fen’Harel comment on the Black City at all?”

“He pointed it out,” she said. “He seemed excited to see it. Well, he was excited about everything, even though we were in a really gross weird part of the Fade.”

Felassan nodded slowly, and Tamaris frowned. “Felassan, tell me something. What is the Black City?”

“What do you think the Black City is?” he asked.

She gave him a flat look. “I’m sure you already know what most Dalish think. It’s where the Creators were trapped by Fen’Harel. I didn’t really have any reason to question that before the Breach happened. But… I don’t know. It’s strange. Corypheus said the Black City was empty and tainted already when he and his evil magister buddies got there, which is counter to the Chantry story about those magisters turning it black and creating the Blight.” She narrowed her eyes. “But here’s the thing. The Black City is in the Fade and only in the Fade, which seems to imply that it’s not a so-called ‘real’ place, right? At least not if things in the Fade are just a reflection of dreamers’ minds or what spirits build from the things they see. But after visiting the Vir Dirthara, knowing that some places could be made from the real world and the Fade, it stands to reason that some places could also be made from just the Fade.” She looked askance at him, and her belly did a pleasant flip; he was smiling broadly at her.

“Go on,” he said.

She took a deep breath. “The Black City is actually Arlathan, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” he said. “What the Chantry calls the Black City is the remains of ancient Arlathan.”

Tamaris’s eyes widened at the confirmation. “Holy fuck. So… so wait. Wait.” A buzz of unreality was starting to raise her pulse. “If the Black City is Arlathan, then it can’t be the kingdom of the Maker if Arlathan is Elvhen and the Maker is Chantry bullshit.”

If possible, his smile grew even wider, and Tamaris’s belly swooped with amazement. “Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Felassan.”

“Yes, Tamaris?” he said cheerfully.

“There is no Maker, is there?” she breathed.

He casually linked his fingers behind his head. “There isn’t, no. The Maker is a figment of human imagination and nothing more.”

She gaped at him. The sense of vertigo in her head was growing as the enormity of this fact thudded in her ears. The Maker isn’t real. The Maker doesn’t exist. The humans were wrong.

She burst out a laugh. “Oh shit. Oh fuck.” She dragged a hand through her hair. “This is amazing. And horrible. I can’t decide whether to laugh because I fucking knew it, or — I mean, I knew it but I couldn’t prove it.” She laughed again and shook her head. “Can you imagine the fucking mess it’ll make if this becomes common knowledge?”

“It would, wouldn’t it?” Felassan said pleasantly. “The irony is nearly funny, until one remembers that the progeny of our people were crushed under the heels of humans in the name of a being who doesn’t exist.”

Tamaris sobered. “Fuck.”

He smile faded slightly, and he gave her an apologetic look. “I regret to point out as well that you don’t actually have proof that what I’ve said is true. So this is probably not something that you should go running through the streets of Val Royeaux to advertise.”

She wilted. “Ugh. Yeah, you’re right.”

“An unfortunate curse of being so old and clever,” he said complacently. “But you can continue to bask in the satisfaction of being correct, if you like.”

She huffed. “Feels kind of macabre to gloat about it now, but thanks for the offer.”

Felassan nodded graciously, and Tamaris sighed and propped her elbows on the table. “So everyone’s religion is a bunch of incorrect bullshit. We’re all together in that, at least.”

He raised his eyebrows. “That’s an optimistic outlook for you. Sort of.” He smirked. “In a charmingly cynical sort of way.”

“It kind of is, isn’t it?” she said wryly. “How nice to have something all in common. We can all swim in bullshit together.”

He smiled at her without speaking, and she lifted an eyebrow. “What?”

“It’s at moments like this that I can imagine why your followers literally sang your praises,” he said.

She couldn’t quite decide if he was being sarcastic or not, but she rolled her eyes regardless. “And the rest of the time they probably wondered how the fuck they got saddled with such a ham-fisted bitch as a leader, right?”

“No,” Felassan said seriously. “I am certain that the rest of the time, they found you formidable and fearsome.”

Her ears started feeling hot. She looked away from him. “Uh-huh.”

He chuckled and idly waved one of his bare feet. After a brief pause, Tamaris glanced at him thoughtfully. “You don’t have any other questions about our little trip to the Fade, then?”

“Nothing more at this moment,” he said.

She nodded slowly. “I have another question for you, then. Why was Solas so angry about the Grey Wardens trying to seek out the archdemons and kill them? He would never explain that to me. He always just… talked his way around it.”

Felassan’s pleasant expression instantly sobered and sharpened, and her heart skipped a beat in alarm. When he shifted his feet to the floor and turned to face her, her pulse kicked into an anxious trot.

“That is probably the most important question you have asked me,” he said. “And I’ll tell you now if you want — as much as I know, at least, which I regret to admit is actually not everything.” He tapped This Shit Is Weird. “But I would prefer to finish reading this book first.”

“Why?” she said nervously.

“The answer will be easier to explain if I know first what you know.”

She frowned more deeply, and Felassan leaned toward her. “I am not trying to dodge your question, Tamaris. This is not an attempt to deceive you. I will tell you now if that’s what you want.”

He had that look on his face again: the look of ineffable weariness and melancholy that she now associated solely with elves from ancient Elvhenan. Tamaris studied him with a growing writhing of worry in her gut while she mulled over his words, then finally shook her head. “It’s okay. I can wait.”

His eyebrows lifted slightly. “Are you certain?”

A pang of fondness poked at her heart. He was clearly making an active effort not to prevaricate like Solas had always done. “I’m certain,” she assured him. “It’s just… now I’m scared of what you’re going to say.”

He smiled faintly, but somehow the smile only made his face more serious. “When the world looks the way it does, being afraid is the only intelligent response,” he said. “Only fools will tread through these days without caution.”

His words made her gut twist a little more, and she wrinkled her nose. “Well, that’s grim of you. Someone needs to cheer the fuck up.”

His sad little smile warmed to something more genuine and Felassan-like. “Not grim. Just realistic. And that was unusually optimistic of you, for the second time today. Have you been nipping into the deep mushroom without me?”

She huffed in amusement. “No. The felandaris, on the other hand…”

He laughed heartily. “Nice try, but you’d be frothing at the mouth if you were nipping into that without my help.”

“Good to know,” she said. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time you wake me up at the crack of dawn.”

His smile curled with mischief. “Then I’ll be sure not to drink anything you prepare for me anytime soon.”

She returned his smile, then eyed him speculatively. Something strange had just occurred to her — something that she had just assumed, but had never actually asked him.

He leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the table again. “Ask, avise,” he said warmly. “I can practically see the questions flitting through that lovely ebony-haired head of yours.”

“I was just wondering,” she said. “Do you miss it?”

“Do I miss what?” he asked.

“Arlathan,” she said. “Your time. All of it.”

His smile faded, but this time in a pensive way. He was quiet for a moment, and when he finally spoke again, his tone was somber. “The time when I was born was both more and less than the Dalish could ever imagine,” he said. “Spirits did not just walk alongside us; they were us. Magic infused every structure that we built and every footstep that we walked, potent and tangible as the blood that flows through your veins.” He let out a wistful little laugh. “We had these gardens: beautiful wild gardens bursting with flowers of every size, in shapes and colours that have no words in this language. And yet, despite the beauty, it was rotting from the inside out. The equality and cooperation that the Dalish imagine did not exist. We could be petty and power-hungry and short-sighted. We had great capacity for creativity, and we squandered it on competitions and power struggles like any human nobles from this time.”

“You’ve mentioned this before,” she said gently. “But that’s not what I asked you. Do you miss it?”

His expression blanked with surprise for a brief moment, just the way it did every time she asked him specifically about his feelings or his thoughts. A sudden rush of affection filled her chest, followed by the usual instinctive feeling of vulnerability at how much affection she bore for him already.

She swallowed hard to try and relax. Felassan, meanwhile, was frowning thoughtfully at his feet. “There are things I miss,” he said slowly. “Those gardens I mentioned, for one. The food, for another; some ingredients are just impossible to find in this time. But I think what I miss the most is… knowing who I was. Knowing my purpose, and knowing that everything I did was a step toward that purpose, even if my steps seemed convoluted or indirect. Always intentionally, of course, in keeping with a slow arrow,” he added with a sly little smile.

Tamaris nodded silently. Then Felassan sighed. “If there is anything I truly miss, it is knowing who I was. I was the slow arrow of Fen’Harel. I was the silent strike that they failed to notice until it was too late.” He met her eyes. “I am not sure who I am now.”

“You can still be a slow arrow, if that’s what you want,” she said. “You just need a new target.”

He gazed at her silently for a moment, and Tamaris watched with an increasingly erratic pulse as his pensive frown morphed into something undeniably tender.

He slowly lowered his feet to the floor and leaned toward her, and when his hand rose to carefully cradle her neck, her breath hitched with excitement and just a hint of fear.

He brushed her jawline with his thumb. “I want to kiss you,” he murmured.

She nodded dumbly, and Felassan smiled before lowering his lips to hers. He kissed her carefully, his lips pulling at hers in a series of slow and infinitely gentle kisses that kicked her pulse into a faster beat while also lulling her into a sense of dreamlike contentment. It was a clear contrast from the scorchingly passionate kisses they usually shared, and by the time Felassan pulled away, her heart was pounding her ears and her throat, and she couldn’t quite decide whether it was panic or pleasure or something more tender — and far more terrifying — that was kicking her heart into such a rapid beat.

His smile was so warm and his eyes so meltingly soft, and she wasn’t ready yet to accept everything that they implied. She took a tremulous breath and dropped his gaze. “Felassan, I’m — this is…”

“I know,” he said gently, and he released her neck and leaned back. “But it was a good kiss, wasn’t it?”

She smirked at him despite her nerves. He was such a smug brat. “It was passable,” she said dismissively.

He barked out a laugh. “Passable! You cut me deeply, avise. Fortunately for you, I don’t hold grudges.” Then he stood up and chivalrously offered her his hand. “Come. We have so much wallpaper to strip from the study and so little time to do it.”

She playfully smacked his hand away and rose to her feet, and they continued to tease each other good-naturedly as they made their way to the study. But as Tamaris carefully peeled long strips of ugly gold-striped paper from the walls, she couldn’t help but worry about the question she’d asked Felassan about Solas and the archdemons.

She couldn’t help but wonder how much trouble the answer would bring – not just to the cocoon of peace she and Felassan were building around themselves, but to the entire world at large.

She forced herself to put the worries aside for now. For now, she had a mansion to strip of all its gaudy gold trappings, and she had a handsome companion by her side to strip it with.

And maybe soon, when the time was ripe, some stripping of a more pleasurable kind would happen as well.

#felassan #save felassan #felassan romance #felassan/lavellan #felassan x lavellan #felassan/inquisitor #felassan x inquisitor #the love that grows from violence #pikapeppa writes

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calliecat93 · 3 years

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One of the biggest criticisms of Volume 4, if not the biggest criticism, was it usage of multiple plotlines. While an ambitious idea, the balance was really off which really affected the pacing. It felt like everything was scattered around and like things were being dragged out, or not even given as much attention as needed. But it looks like with Volume 8, CRWBY is getting a chance to try it again. One advantage is having all the relevant characters in tow main groups so only two major plotlines to focus on. This chapter focuses on RWBNP as they break into the Atlas Military Facility. How will it go? Well... since this is late you already know, but I’m gonna blab anyhow. Enjoy~

Overview

Team RWBNPM have made it into the military compound and Penny has located where the terminal is. They’re able to wonder around the base undetected via May’s Invisibility Semblance and Penny is able to use Pietro’s credentials to access the doors. They eventually reach an area that even with May’s Semblance, will be too difficulty to get through without being spotted. Penny, however, has a solution. You remember how Harriet pointed out Ruby’s Semblance was more than she thought in V7? Well Penny actually breaks it down here. Ruby essentially breaks down her mass and is able to more or less teleport herself and others before reforming, so Ruby should be able to do this with all of them.

Meanwhile, remember when Watts got taken by security last chapter? Well it’s because Ironwood is now forcing him to work for him, having a whole squadron ready to shoot him to death if he doesn’t comply. What does he need Watts to do? We’ll go into that later. Until then, Watts points out that Pietro’s credentials have been used, causing Ironwood to raise the alarm. This means that the team has to hurry, so they trip a worker with coffee as a distraction. As the guy's co-workers yell at him, RWBNP move past via Ruby’s Semblance as May goes to commandeer a ship.

Eventually, RWBNP reach the terminal. It is a VERY highly secured area with the door being guarded by some powerful electricity. It’s so secure that no humans even work in there. Penny allows Pietro to take over manually to begin the process of green lighting Amity. During this, Blake expresses concern about ruby and Yang’s fight, though Weiss assures her that sometimes sisters just disagree. Nora also tries to help by pointing out that Jaune, Yang, and Oscar should be fine (haha...) but noticeably leaves out Ren. It’s here that Nora expresses how upset she was about their argument and how just when things look up for them, it goes right back to zero. Even worse, without Ren, Nora doesn’t feel like she even knows who she is aside form the strong girl who hits stuff. Blake and Weiss point out to her that Ren is only a part of her, the rest however also matters and that maybe she can use this chance to discover more about herself.

The process is completed and Penny can now launch Amity. But despite wanting to resume helping Mantle afterwards, both Pietro and the girls believe that it’s best for Penny to remain with Pietro and Maria in Amity once it launches. This disappoints her. As the group gets ready to leave, they are confronted byt he Ace-Ops. Vine tries to reason with the g4roup, but they continue to refuse. it doesn’t help when Harriet and Elm essentially blame Penny for Winter’s condition and accuse her of stealing the Maiden power, nor does Harriet threatening to lock up Ruby alongside her uncle. To no one’s surprise, the group refuses, so the Ace-Ops trap RWBN in the room, leaving Penny to fight on her own.

Penny is ale to hold her own, even managing to make good use of her Maiden powers. However, the Ace-Ops are able to match against her and eventually Marrow is able to use his Stay power on her. RWBN try to break through the door, bot nothing is working. Nora, staring at the electric door, decides to do what she dos best be strong and hit stuff. Using her hammer and Semblance, Nora absorbs the electricity until she’s powered enough to blow the door off it’s hinges. However, even for Nora, this was far too much as her body gets some ugly scarring. She collapses, her Aura breaking.

Seeing the fight, Watts suggests that the Ace-Ops get one of Penny’s swords. Ironwood orders this, and they bandage to rip one off of Penny before retreating, though Marow noticeably is hesitant. WBNP reach a hangar where May has gotten an airship. They escape, but Nora is still passed out and seriously injured. After this, Penny agrees that she needs to remain in Amity and it’s time for her to go. She and Ruby hug one more time, promising to see each other again before Penny flies off for Amity. Meanwhile, the Ace-Ops turn over the sword to Ironwood. Why did they need this? The same reason that Ironwood recruited Watts: to hack into Penny and turn her back onto their side.

Review

Ah, action, emotions, and spilt coffee. All the things I love in a RWBY episode~

Let’s talk about Ruby’s Semblance first since I’ve seen some debate about it. IDK how scientifically accurate Penny’s explanation is... but Ruby is a girl who can trail rose petals behind her, so I’m not all that concerned about accuracy here. But this just more or less confirmed what I’ve been thinking for a long time now. I, as well as others, have pointed out that her Semblance doesn’t really appear to act line a speed-based one. Heck as I said, Harriet pointed it out just last volume. Now we know that Ruby’s power is essentially a slow-formed teleportation. Considering I always assumed that Summer’s Semblance had a similar breaking her body down function, this makes a lot of sense to me.

I’ve seen some complain about how Ruby didn’t know this... but really? That’s perfectly in-character for her. She’s a clever girl, but she’s always been one to act more than give deep contemplation. She knows the basic function of her Semblance, to move fast compared to normal, and that works for her. Heck remember last volume when she used her split apart trick. Oscar asked how long she could do that, and she answered that she had never really thought of it. Sure Ruby HAS carried people with her Semblance before (Penny in V2, Nora in V4, Weiss in V6), but that was with a single person. She had never tried it with a group before. It fits into how Semblances evolve over time and I’m really happy to see Ruby grow more. I get the feeling that she needs all the happy development she can get before things really go off the deep end.

Speaking of though, the chibi art accompanying Penny’s explanation? Both cute and hilarious. It reminded me of Ruby’s imagine spots back in Volume One. This chapter had quite a few funny moments. Weiss pulling Nora’s ear for last episode, Nora pushing all the elevator buttons. Blake clearly hating all forms of unconventional transportation, and while I feel it clashed with the tone a bit the coffee guy tripping up was great. The crude poster of a Shark Grimm (when do we get that?) especially got a giggle out of me. Like I said last review, it’s nice to have these bits of levity. I love it when Ruby gets feelsy and serious, but I don’t want it to divert form fun and light-heartedness all the time. They’ve gotten a lot better at keeping a balance and transitioning us from one mood to the other. I feel last chapter did it a bit better, but this was still well done.

Now lets talk about Penny. It was nice to see her act like her usual perky self a bit with her Semblance explanation and the direction to the terminal. But still, it’s clear that things are still haunting her. She’s still reminded of her robot identity with May’s comment, which no IDT May was trying to be offensive or anything, after all Robyn uses nicknames like that all the time and she DID use Penny’s name after the correction. But even past that, we have Pietro manually taking control of Penny. Now it WAS done with permission and there’s a good reason why, but my reaction to it was the same as Ruby’s. You ca tell that Penny wasn’t looking forward to it since it one more emphasizes that she is a robot. We all know she’s more, but Penny is still trying to figure out her new place.

This is especially evident in her reaction to remaining on Amity. Of course she doesn’t want to do that. She still considers herself the Protector of Mantle. She is now the Winter Maiden. She wants to help people. She wants to be out there doing good alongside her friends. But unfortunately with the target on her back from both sides, it’ simply too dangerous. She not only puts herself at risk, but those around her. We already know that ironwood will now go to any extreme to get his way, including work with an evil scientist and have a firing squad ready to fire. Salem... do I need to explain any further? The safest thin is for Penny to remain in Amity, but it still clearly pains her even after accepting it as necessary. And with Watts now having a piece necessary to hack her AND the episode showing us how it can be done... yeah, pray for Penny folks.

She DID however get to kick ass with her Maiden powers. While we had some Grimm fights last chapter, this was the first major fight of the volume, and it was awesome. Penny, even after just getting her power, uses it to great effect. Not as much as Raven or even Cinder, but is clearly more than capable of controlling it. But the Ace-Ops do manage to match her. They aren’t holding back now, they are going in for the kill and all of them (save Marrow, I’ll talk about him in the CH4 review) seem to be on the same wavelength. I think this helped the complaints about the Ace-Ops losing to RWBY (ones I don’t agree with, but still) and shows how even with Clover dead, they are still a capable force. Harriet and Elm’s words were still overly cruel, but I can’t deny that they can fight. Oh and we also FINALLY got to see Vine’s weapon, so there’s that. It was a fun action sequence~

But now we get to the star of this episode for me: Nora. Now... I have made it no secret that Nora is my least favorite character of the main group. Why? There’s two main reasons: her lack of development compared to the others and her character largely revolving around Ren. I won’t lie, some of the over-exposure and her portrayal in Chibi also contributed, but those don’t really affect her character in-show. While I feel that she has slowly improved, last volume especially being a step up, I still felt like she was the least developed. So going into Volume 8, I was very curious about hat they would do with her now that she and Ren are divided and she is on her own.

I have to say... I am very happy with her in this episode. It addressed my complaint about her and Ren being co-dependent as far as their portrayals in-show went. They outright existed more or less to fill out Team JNPR, and they spent Volumes 1-3 as comic relief to focus on Jaune and Pyrrha. I miss Pyrrha to this day, but her death DID allow the two to finally grow as characters. I don’t like it when the focus of a character is mainly on their relationship with another, hence why shipping gets on my nerves a lot. It was a HUGE issue I had with Renora until they became fleshed out. Here we have Nora expressing how upset she is about Ren, how every time it looks like they’ve gotten closer something comes in to ruin it (Volume 4 for example), and now that she’s without him for the first time in who knows how long... she doesn’t really know who she is. This has been something that I’ve wanted the show to go into since at least Volume 4, and it is FINALLY happening.

I love how the ones who talk to her are Blake and Weiss. Blake struggled with separating herself from a previous attachment, and knows how hard it is to remember that that’s only one part of yourself. Weiss has struggled with carving her own identity which while not in the romantic context, is still relevant as her family name is only a part of her, not the whole thing. It’s a dynamic I never knew I needed, but I am SO glad we have it now! I think as hard as it is, Nora needed to part from Ren for now. She needs to remember to care about herself and know that she is more than just the girl who likes Ren and hits stuff with a hammer. She’s funny, she’s caring, she’s loyal, she’s fun to be around, she can get carried away with things yet it’s always entertaining when she does. She is Nora Valkyrie before everything else. And in the end, she more or less sacrificed herself to break the door and save Penny. IDK if she knew that the electricity would be too much, but she still made the choice by herself. Now we just need to hope that she recovers... and that when Ren finds out, he doesn’t snap...

In the intro, I talked about how V8 seems to be a second attempt at the split teams plot in Volume 4. While I find V4 underrated and a nice character development/world-building volume, the handling of the split plots... did certainly cause pacing issues. The biggest issue was cramming essentially six storylines into the volume, four of which were vital, and not being able to give them all proper attention. Essentially, it worked fine when binged, but going week by week it could get tiresome very quickly. This time, we have the entire team split into two groups with the side plots being the villains and Ironwood’s forces. This only leaves two major plotlines that need the main focus and allows for unique character dynamics, like Nora with Weiss and Blake.

So far, the pacing with these two groups has been done very well. While we don’t see JYRO in this episode, last chapter did enough that we already know what to expect when we get back to them. Nothing feels out of focus or like one plot is getting more attention than the other. It feels balanced. It feels like both plots matter and I want to see what happens. The writers have clearly learned and improved over the years, with this being a clear example. It’s been really fun (and scary) so far and I’m really excited to see more of these different group dynamics (and since I’ve already seen Chapter 4, they are delivering!), though hopefully we will get the team reformed before long. But for now, I’m loving this~

Chapter Stats

Favorite Character: Nora Valkyrie Favorite Scene: Nora, Weiss, and Blake talk Least Favorite Scene: Coffee Guy Favorite Voice Actor: Samantha Ireland (Nora) Favorite Animation: Penny going Winter Maiden against the Ace-Ops Rating: 9.9/10

Final Thoughts

Three chapters in, and already this volume is looking to be one of the best. Some nice humor, great character dynamics and focus, an epic action sequence, and a lot of heart and emotion put in especially with Penny and Nora. This was a fantastic episode that gave me everything that I was hoping for! If the quality stays at this pace, the this is absolutely going to become a great one! And considering what happens next chapter, we haven’t strayed from that yet. But that review is for another day, for now I’ll say that this chapter was great~

#rwby #rwby8 #rwby spoilers #rwby reviews #rwby musings #callie reviews

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

Note

(1/4) As always, great analysis. You bring in some strong points and it's always great to read! You know what frustrates me the most? Now that we HAVE the Summer lore… Qrow’s anger has even less weight. I’m not saying the blow to his personal self-esteem is anything to shrug off, but I felt if Qrow was going to have such an extreme reaction, then something more was going on in his head – the only conclusion I could come to was the effect it had on his family.

(Never worry about length. I’m the biggest chatterbox around :D)

But thank you! I’ll be honest, a huge part of me is relieved that they didn’t go the ‘Summer died on Ozpin’s orders’ route just because the backlash against him is already so heavy. If the characters and fandom react this badly to things legitimately outside of his control (like the gods screwing him over, Salem abusing him, Raven telling lies, Pyrrha making her own choices, etc.) I hate to think what it would be like if they introduced a Legit Bad Choice into the present day narrative. Something way heavier than, ‘I kept information secret from a group who, in a few days, will decide that is actually the best course of action.’ His character never would have had the chance to recover because Summer is a ghost. In the figurative sense. As a dead mother, she exists as the perfect martyr; as a dead character, she exists as the perfect, blank canvas for whatever the fandom chooses to imagine for her. She can do no wrong because she’s not here and therefore she’ll always be above the man who is forced to continue living and, by default, keep making mistakes. The living can’t compete with the dead like that.

(Although, we can admit the opposite as well: the characters and the fandom hate Ozpin so much when he’s presented as no better or worse than the rest of the cast, if they’d given him that Legit Bad Choice in regards to Summer it might not have made a difference. People throw him under the bus whether he’s responsible for things or not, so...).

I’ll say though that you’re right. This severely undermines a lot of the assumptions for why characters, Qrow in particular, are reacting to Ozpin with this degree of coldness. At every turn the narrative undermines the reasons why people are supposedly justified in hating him:

He’s secretly evil! Oh no wait, “The Lost Fable” killed that theory.

He got Pyrrha and Hazel’s sister killed! Oh no wait, we all saw Pyrrha make her own choice. The choice that directly contradicted what Ozpin told her to do. We’re likewise shown that Hazel is delusional with grief and can’t accept that his sister chose a dangerous career.

He drove Qrow’s sister away! Oh no wait, Raven was always a shady character who snuck her way into Beacon, gained Ozpin’s trust, and then (unlike Qrow) betrayed him. Also she abandons her daughter and murders young women for power so... not convinced losing Raven is a downside here.

He cast horrible magic on the Branwens and kept is secret! Oh no wait, it’s not horrible at all. And Qrow kept it secret, not Ozpin.

He told lies and kept other secrets! Yeah. So has the rest of the cast. And they’re now telling the exact same lies and keeping the exact same secrets. That’s an ongoing thing.

Now: He got Summer killed! Oh no wait. He didn’t. No one knows how Summer died.

It’s the biggest disconnect between showing and telling I’ve ever seen. At every turn the story shows us a flawed but ultimately good man, someone who, to be frank, did really well considering the impossible situation he was thrown into. Yet every time more information is revealed, instead of reacting to it appropriately the cast (and fandom) keeps insisting that Ozpin is the Worst Person Ever. He’s a scapegoat, plain and simple. The worst part is that as a human being Ozpin has made mistakes. And as a 1,000 year old abused and tortured human being his sense of his own responsibility has been completely warped. Ozpin has reached a point where he’s so tired and so grief-stricken that he’s no longer able to accurately look at a situation and say, “No. That wasn’t my fault. Not fully, at the very least. I am not responsible for every horrific thing that has ever happened to you.” His abuse at the hands of the gods, Salem, and others around him has resulted in the belief that he is responsible. For everything. So when the likes of someone like Qrow goes, “No one knows how Summer died... but Ozpin could definitely be responsible” he’s not there to speak up for himself (thanks, @missroseyred) and even if he was he doesn’t have the confidence or the mental health required to call out that undeserved blame. That’s why he left. The group said, “You’re the worst thing that ever happened to us” and Ozpin responded with, “You’re right.”

Frankly, idk how the story is going to come back from this. If it even can. Because we’ve been given SO MUCH that shows us how good Ozpin truly is and the characters have flat out twisted or ignored it all. Ozpin himself isn’t in a position to speak up for himself and change minds. No one else wants to. Maybe Oscar will, but he doesn’t have to social power or the confidence to refute such a deeply embedded belief. It really just feels like we’re stuck with a show that has everyone insisting Ozpin is The Worst even while everyone is shown otherwise, providing no justification for that contrast, having the characters embody his beliefs and choices, and then not acknowledging that hypocrisy either. It’s pro-protagonist in the extreme.

So... yeah. “Why are y’all angry again?” It would be great if RWBY would actually force the cast to answer that question and not let them use faulty logic, undeserved blame, or ‘But we’re different’ as answers.

#rwby #rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 7 spoilers #mymetas #long post #jadekitty777

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robiness · 4 years

Text

Qrow was meant to be a punching bag (theory, V7CH12 spoilers)

tw: depression, one brief mention of suicide at the very end

Many are upset about the literal and narrative butchering of two beloved characters in RWBY V7E12. The initial and probably most popular argument against what happened is that it doesn’t make sense, why would these characters do what they did. And honestly, that reasonable reaction to the injustice was mine, too.

But now that I’ve “calmed down”, meaning I’m finally not in a whirlwind of blind rage, indignation, and devastation, I started thinking about “Why did they do that?” with some level of depth.

The answer I found is still unjust and disgusting, but at least it fell in line with something resembling logic.

Qrow enthusiasts have been complaining about his endless heartbreak. Why can’t be be happy for once? What’s the whole point in his recovery arc this volume if they’ll just scrap it? It’s like they put random tragedies on a dart board and the writers just started throwing.

Hear me out - they meant all of this. Every instance Qrow suffered is intended. They didn’t throw away his recovery arc because he was never meant to recover.

I think that they’re going to make him an antagonist at worst, or a man driven to the ultimate tragedy at best.

At this point, you’re probably like. What. Lol no. You’re as silly as the writers are.

But again, let me explain. I used to have that mindset of Qrow always being best but sad boy. A hero who just needs a chance.

There was NO way this man will ever go dark:

he probably thinks he lost summer to salem

his nieces are actively hunted by salem and her forces, and RWBY for sure ain’t changing sides

he’s always believed in the principles he has, and he’s always applied them. he’s a good Huntsman who cares, and knows his path

he believes in ruby’s determination and ability to probs save the world

But that’s the thing.

He’s ALWAYS stuck by the principles he learned from Ozpin. Betrayal after betrayal, he was crushed but managed to somehow bounce back.

This volume, he was on a good track. A good mind space. His kids are great, but then he met an equal - someone with literal plot armor against his Semblance. Misfortune is the reason why he stays away from the people he loves, why he blames himself for a lot of things, why he feels like baggage.

A person his age who could be a friend, or more. Huntsman of equal ability and maturity.

Queerbaiting aside (I’m sorry I ever used that phrase, I hate them too), Clover was a possibility. Here was a potential team partner, friend, lover, whatever, but the point is he was finally free to explore what a developing relationship is like because here’s a guy who kinda got him, and probably won’t be harmed by staying close for an extended period of time.

I think the chemistry in their fights solidified this too. Clover was someone who didn’t get in trouble by being at his side (except the first time in the mines, and Clover took it in stride and still succeeded).

Even better, Clover actually vocalizes that hey, it’s okay.

He doesn’t dismiss Qrow’s semblance, but he encourages Qrow to let go of the guilt a bit, that he’s worth more than his bad luck, and can continue to work around it.

Qrow was nowhere near full recovery, but he was definitely on the way with a bit of Clover’s help. Later, my precious man finally smiles for real... not his smirk or sad smiles to Ruby. He’s smiling for the enjoyment of the moment and things are looking up!

(slightly sorry for the gif below)

(V7CH12 gifs would be appropriate from here on, but I am NOT doing that to myself)

So what’s the point, Robiness? We all know how THAT story goes. Qrow gets trauma because it’s shown to him, yet again, that his Semblance fucks up the good things, that even someone with the most potential to be safe ISN’T. Not around him.

The whole crash was OOC, rushed and bad writing, whatever. But why did it happen?

Qrow is basically the poster boy for mental health in this show. He’s depressed, and to him AND to the outside world, he’s right in thinking he’s only going to hurt people. He’s been proven right, many times, that he is bad luck.

What’s different this time?

He didn’t have hope, the other times he was let down. He had hope for humanity, yes, and that he can somehow contribute to saving it.

But he’s never had hope for himself, that he could be more than his Semblance. Clover’s character gave that to him. He was already trying to quit drinking, but that was for Ruby and the other kids, and by extension their mission, but not for himself.

When CRWBY killed that hope, it killed anything inside of Qrow that could’ve thought that he could be a hero. Or even simply better than he was before.

He’s crushed, his mind is clouded. As Clover died, he wanted to kill Tyrian, then he wanted James to fall. The legal type of justice wouldn’t be enough to assuage his need for vengeance.

And he’s alone. Perhaps about to be arrested, I don’t know. But every other time he’s been crushed, he had the kids around to divert the attention even a little bit. But this time, there’s no one to help him process and move past this. No positivity from Ruby, no scolding from Yang to keep it together. No one.

If you’ve ever had mental illnesses, you could probably imagine being alone in that fragile state of mind.

And you know who’s the most likely to know where the heck he is and that he’s going through something? His sister, Raven, because of her Semblance.

Details have been important in how RWBY is told to the audience (though they retract when convenient lol). Sometimes, this includes release dates. February is the last month of winter, slowly turning into spring. Yes, I mean the Spring maiden.

Let’s talk about Raven.

She’s angry at her brother, also for feelings of betrayal. He betrayed their tribe, their values, everything they stood for. He left her, his sister. He chose Ozpin’s mission over her, even though their original plan was to just infiltrate Beacon to learn how to kill Huntsmen better.

This means she remembers a boy that had the same ideas and supported her and their family. I don’t think she can accept that this Qrow, the one we know, is her actual brother, how he should be. When it comes to Qrow, I think what matters to her the most is proving that she was right all along, that they should’ve just stuck together and kept to their practices.

And Qrow, regardless of the spring bit, if he encounters her as he is now... could easily believe that she was right. After all, the facts to him are:

He can’t escape his Semblance, ever.

He needs vengeance for Clover, because his death was his fucking fault. His attempt to deescalate the fight (leaving Harbinger in the snow) didn’t matter, because his bad luck won in the end.

A plausible 3. Doing things “the good way” “the right way” is never going to cut it for him because he is walking misfortune. Something will always go wrong.

So why not drop all fucks and go ahead full-force?

His mind isn’t in its best state right now, and all his decisions will of course be emotional.

We’ve known Qrow from point A depression to point B somewhat recovery to point C the last fucking straw. I think it’s something to consider that we’ve never heard anything about his youth, except that he used to believe in the brutality of their tribe. He never mentions it, and we don’t know anything about the circumstances that made him change, beyond “Ozpin gave him a place”.

He gave up his heritage just to be proven that brutality would have protected his loved ones better.

So yes, the punching bag theme, the endless misery, Clover’s death - all these are most likely building up to that shift in his character. We thought the eventual character shift would just be his recovery, but since that was scrapped, the only other way that makes sense is that he’s going to regress into someone that cannot be saved.

He’s not going to switch sides. He’s not going to stop loving his kids. He’s probably never going to join Salem.

But his methods will be more ruthless now, driven by heartbreak and rage and self-hatred. God knows how he’ll deal with anyone in his way. He’s not going to fucking listen. He listened to Clover, and where did that get him?

This way, the violent, straightforward way he used to know, this would protect his kids more efficiently, even if they don’t want him to go down that path. He’d probably leave them to protect them, and to be unhindered in his corner of the war.

He’ll think that this - to be a rage-filled killing machine - would be the best case scenario for him and the rest of the world. Kind of like how he followed RNJR from a distance, killing all the Grimm that could get in their way.

We thought he was a broken man before, but this has been escalating. It’s been probably planned out since before.

If you’re not convinced yet, remember:

RWBY loves literature parallels.

Leo Lionheart changed, and gave in to fear. The Cowardly Lion.

James Ironwood, the Tin Man, has proven that he’s thrown away his heart.

Qrow Branwen, the Scarecrow, was always fucking destined to lose his mind.

I don’t know what will happen after, what kind of sick tragic death he’ll end up with. Since they’re romanticizing his suffering so much, he’ll probably end up killing himself after his work’s done.

I have no idea how the details will go, but I’m pretty sure this is the path the writers will take. There is just no other reason I can fathom as to why they keep hurting my man. I want to be wrong, but I can’t think of anything else, unless some deus ex machina shit happens in the finale, but hell if I’m ever trusting CRWBY again.

And yeah, as a depressed person who relates to and loves Qrow, the idea of the message of “it’s never going to get better” fucking sucks.

#rwby #rwby theory #qrow branwen #clover ebi #i havent stopped being angry its just that im less incapacitated and more directed in my rage now #fair game #meta

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rideboldlyride · 4 years

Text

Part Two of One Final Question.

I’ll link part one at the bottom and part three when I’m done writing it.

****

As in a blink of an eye, the gate crumbled as quickly as it had sealed. The feeling of dread she began to feel settle in her belly had barely hit, before hope reared again. Uncertain of why or who opened the gate, she shifted quickly to the side, weapon still in hand. But as the last remnants fell away, she peaked around the corner, to spot only a young man standing at attention, speaking to the dark.

“I’m surprised. Jinn would not be mistaken unless something changed since she spoke with you.”

Another voice responded, a very familiar one, despite sounding weary. But it couldn’t be...

“I don’t know...”

Slowly she emerged, peering into the darkness, weapon still at the ready. She took in a good look at the young man, and she saw the ghost behind his eyes.

Silver eyes narrowed, and she lined her weapon up with him. She had heard of mirage Grimm, and it wasn’t fully out of the realm of possibility that Salem would use it, or send minions, after being betrayed by Boq.

“Who are you?”

A small smile pulled at his lips, and it was familiar.

“My name, Miss Rose, is Oscar Pine. However, you may be more familiar with my previo—“

“Oz.” Slowly dropping her weapon, the huntress drew herself up even as some of the impact of the knowledge struck her.

Oz was reborn. Something happened to Ozpin. It was a young man, so as long as this was just the first reincarnation since, maybe it wasn’t so long? Oz had been a middle age man at the time she last remembered, so either something had occurred to him young, or more time had passed? Nodding, she swallowed hard and met his eyes steadily.

“How- how long, Oz? How long was I in there?”

His mouth opened, shaking his head to deny, then caught himself. Taking in a deep breath, he matched her gaze.

“16 years.”

The affect of his words hit bodily first, and rippled through, and her weapon fell to the floor. A gasp escaped the clasped hands at her mouth. As her eyes filled with tears, a sob tore through her. Eyes wide, she turned her gaze back to the open gate and the almost-forest beyond it. Stumbling away, she fell back on to the floor, and drew her knees to her chest. Abstractly, she heard shuffling of feet, but spotted Oscar raising a hand to pause them.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Rose.”

Breathing deeply, she steadied herself. As her breath slowed, she tested her voice with the only things that were left in her thoughts.

“Ruby? Oz, is she...”

“She’s fine. She has grown into a fine huntress.”

“Huntress? I thought you said 16 years....”

“Yes, well... many things have occurred.”

A little more steady, she swallowed hard, more concern over the next question- she knew what he did for a living, and had a feeling she knew how he would have reacted to her disappearance, and she begged to hear good things. Tearing her gaze away from her deceptive prison, silver eyes pleaded with the young man and the eldritch being that shared his body.

“... Qrow? Please tell me he’s ok, Oz. Please...”

Steps from the dark behind her drew the young man’s eyes away, and he nodded once. The boot strikes rounded her, and she felt her breath hitch as she spotted the familiar gear. Stopping in front of her, she took a moment to take him in. The tears that had started to dry on her cheeks started again, as he stooped before her.

Shakily, she rested a soft hand on his cheek, gently running her nails across the stubble. She attempted to try to start, to say anything, and her mouth opened and shut multiple times. Tears had gathered at the corners of his eyes, and he reached for her empty hand, cradling it in his. Willing herself to say anything, she swallowed hard.

“You changed your gear.”

His head dropped, and a tremor rippled across his shoulders. Worried, she moved to touch his shoulder, until she heard his laugh.

Raising his head, tears fell freely, even as he laughed.

“16 years. 16 years, and that’s what you have to say?!”

She gently pushed his shoulder, but his balance was precarious, and he fell back on to his backside, still laughing. Pouting her lip, she couldn’t help but share his giddiness, and was soon giggling with him. Both unaware, Oscar moved to close the gate, and took his leave, allowing the two their privacy.

Cocking her head to the side, she took him in, rolling on to her knees, a soft smile on her lips. Gently, she traced the lines of his face, even as her tears slowed. Closing his eyes, he turned his cheek into her palm. Reaching forward, he pulled her close, holding her tightly.

“I still can’t believe you’re alive.” His voice was heavy and broken, traces of the laughter from moments prior disappearing. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of this. Of seeing you again.”

Her hands slid through his hair, and she brought her forehead to rest against his, and he sighed. For a long while they sat in silence, soaking in the moment. Summer broke it first.

“I’m sorry, Qrow. I should never have left, let alone without telling you.”

“Yeah, you should have told me.” He met her eyes, a twinkle in them. “But you would have done it anyway, even though I would have told you not to.”

“But you would have at least known where to look.”

“Ah, well,” he forced a shrug, “that’s true. But it’s also 16 years ago. You’re here now.”

“To you, it was 16 years. To me, it was yesterday.”

Eyes bright, she pulled back to take him in again. “I honestly didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“You either, Shortstack.”

Running her hands through his hair again, he smirked.

“Yeah, age happened.”

“It’s hot.”

Her eyes grew wide, and a blush spread across her cheeks quickly. His laughter bounced around in the cavern.

“Didn’t know you had a thing for older men, Sum.”

She slapped his shoulder playfully, but leaned in, a devious smile pulling across her face.

“Only when they’re, oh, about 6’2, mischievous, wield a scythe, turn into a bird, and are married to me.”

His laughter died down, but the smile on it stayed. Cupping her jaw, he drew her closer, stopping a breath away.

“Gods, I’ve missed you, Summer Rose.”

Her answer was on his lips, soft and tender. Chaste and gentle as the kiss was, warmth spread from her chest, and she leaned into him, longing desperate to be sated. Pulling her onto his lap, she clung to his lapel. Playfully, she ran her teeth over his lip, and she felt him smile softly against her. Qrow broke away, eyes sparkling as he met hers. He whispered against her lips.

“Later. Promise.”

She growled slightly.

“You better keep that promise.”

He smirked, as his hands wandered.

“I plan to.”

Gently, he placed a soft peck on her lips.

“But, there’s a few people waiting to see you.”

Silver eyes wide, she pulled back.

“Is it...?”

“Well, she’s a huntress now. I can’t tell her to stay home anymore.”

****

Hand in hand, they entered the ponderous elevator alone. Comfortable in silence for the moment, she leaned against him.

“Ya know,” she interrupted the quiet, “everyone who doesn’t know better is going to think you got yourself a young thing.”

He turned a mischievous smirk to her, but he was quiet, and his expression was preoccupied. Playfully, she bumped him with her hip.

“Hey.”

He jumped slightly, and he turned to her. “Yeah?”

“What’s got you so distracted?”

With his free hand, he rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Listen, Summer, there some things you need to know before we get up there to everyone.”

She raised a quizzical brow. Taking it as a sign to continue, the lanky man sighed.

“I - I don’t quite know where to start. Uh...” Breathing in deeply, he turned to her.

“When you were gone- when we all thought you were dead- I, well...” he sighed again, before looking away, “Ruby just recently found out that I’m her father. And Yang even more recently. So as you can imagine, they're not the happiest with me currently.”

Gripping his hand tightly, she tried to pull him to face her.

“What?” Her voice was soft, not like he was expecting. If she could just be angry, scold him, he could handle it. But instead, she sounded... worried.

“Why? Why would you do that Qrow?”

"I didn't... Know what had happened to you. What could have killed you. And for what it was worth, I couldn't even keep you safe."

He refused to meet her eyes, and as he spoke, his voice broke.

"Add in my semblance, and... She was just safer with Tai."

Silver eyes searched his profile, pleading for him to look at her. As he spoke, the implication of his words hit her almost physically. It was obvious that he was ashamed of his actions, but felt no other option was safer. Sorrow etched her face.

"You removed every variable- starting with yourself."

He flinched from her words, but didn't contradict them. She stepped before him, a hand on his cheek, trying to have him focus on her words.

"Qrow, you have never-" her words were broken by the sound of the elevator opening. As the bright light flooded over them, a young woman's voice echoed in the chamber.

"Mom?"

Blinking away the light, Summer Rose tried to piece together it's origin, only to be tackled by a younger doppelganger of herself.

"Ruby?!"

As she wrapped her arms around her daughter, holding her tightly, she noticed the lanky huntsman stalking away, hunched over, and moving straight for a nearby balcony. A blonde young woman stopped him. Summer would have recognized Raven's daughter in a heartbeat.

"Where are you going?" Her arms crossed, her irritation with her uncle was palpable.

"Fresh air." He mumbled as he went to move around her. She placed a hand on his chest.

"Let me guess, drinking is going to be okay again now that Summer's back, right?"

"Listen, Yang, this is not the time. I don't want to get into this with you."

"Get into what? Another lie you've thrown at us our entire lives?"

Ruby moved to get between the two, her brow furrowed.

"Yang..."

Qrow's eyes sparked, but just as quickly died down. He reached into his back pocket, and pulled out his flask. Shoving it into the blonde woman's arms, he rounded her and pressed on.

"If you're that worried, you keep it. You're driving me to want to drink again."

Yang's eyes glowed as she rounded on him, yelling as he left.

"You still hold on to your flask? Have you been drinking all along??"

He growled as he exited out the door, choosing to continue the discussion no further.

The elder Rose turned to her daughter.

"I'm sorry, Ruby, but I... need to try to fix this."

Yang glared after her uncle, and started to move to the door, only to have Summer grab hold of her arm.

"That's enough, Yang."

Her voice was calm, but there was no doubt of the iron under her words. And while the anger was still there, the blaze became more of an ember.

"You don't know, Summer. He's an alcoholic! Supposedly recovering- but still carrying around a flask? If he hid all this about you and him and- and Ruby, what else is he hiding?"

Gently, Summer took the flask from Yang, eyes sad. With certainty, her hands worked at the leather lacing of the grip around it.

"It seems you have inherited an unfortunate trait from both of your parents, Yang. The inability to see the grey in life. You hear of a secret kept from you, they must be keeping every secret. They're a recovering alcoholic, and they're carrying around a flask, they must not be recovering."

The leather grip released, Summer handed it back to Yang. She moved towards the door, speaking over her shoulder.

"Sometimes you need to look below the surface."

As she slipped on to the balcony, the younger woman looked down at the flask, removing the loose leather grip.

Next one's on me.

~ Shortstack

***

Part One / Part Two / Part Three

#rwby #hummingbird #flown north #qrow branwen #qrow #summer rose #summer is summer maiden #summer rose is alive #hummingbird au #ruby rose

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idealistic-imaginings · 4 years

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(Pictures: 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9)

Your Friendly Neighbourhood, Wizard. (Alex Russo/Justin Russo Fanfiction)

Prologue

Pairing: Superhero! Alex Russo x Justin Russo, Slowburn.

Genre: Action, Humour, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Romance

Warnings: mild/explicit language, Injuries, sisterxbrother.

Set: After Season 4x10 "Wizards Vs. Angels" (Which is somewhat heavily involved in both Alex and Justin’s separate storylines.) + “Back to Max”.

Est. Length: 8 Chapters.

Summary: After defeating the dark angels, Justin continues to teach his delinquent class unconsciously suppressing his guilt over the ramifications of the moral compass. Simultaneously, Alex unconventionally stumbles into a superhero gig. Inept and unprepared, great power and an even greater burden is placed on her shoulders. Bothered by his sisters reoccurring absence, Justin determinedly investigates her distant behaviour. Meanwhile, Alex is forced to face a truth she’d always buried, discovering it unwillingly from a formidable powerful being she will have to defeat.

Disclaimer/Author's Note: I’ve been brainstorming this fic probably since quarantine started. It’s mostly inspired by Spiderman! Into the Spiderverse, Holland! Spiderman and Garfield! Spiderman. As well as the looks and feel of DC Comic’s Raven and Marvel’s Scarlet Witch. Other inspirations include music from Birds of Prey, On My Block, Euphoria. All of which I do not own. In addition, I sadly do not own Wizards of Waverly Place.

However, Alex’s origin story is wholly my own that I personally thought up myself (so let’s hope it’s believable) and if it correlates with any other superhero storyline it’s purely coincidental. The OC’s are also obviously my own creation.

“Do you know why you’re here, Alex Russo?”

“Ummm…” Alex backed up at the man's intense stare. She was pretty sure he was going for intimidation, but it fell short landing right on uncomfortable. “Not really…”

“Well, young lady,” His words were layered thick with haughtiness. Alex had just met the man today and she already knew she disliked him. “It seems you were part of a riot in central park.”

“No…” She narrowed her eyes at him, shook her head, even elongated the word in an attempt to get it through his thick skull. “I was trying to get home.”

She was actually trying to find her wand, but he didn’t need to know that. The wand that Rosie and Gorog decided to fling off the dark realm tower. The detailed image of it glowing magic in the night sky as it twirled to its doom stayed seared to the front of her mind. She could even hear her own cry for it as everyone watched it go. My wand.

“So what were you doing in Central Park?” Right after returning the moral compass she searched Central Park assuming it had landed there. Key word: assuming. It was hard to calculate where objects falling off towers landed. For her, it was hard to calculate in general.

“A girl can’t go to one of New York City's finest parks just for the fuc- fun of it.” She replied with a smile, catching herself before she swore. It was just her luck to get the arrogant, novice, goody-two-shoes, by-the-book cop. They didn’t enjoy it when she did that.

“And you just happened to be hanging out with an enraged mob?” He asked mockingly. Okay so...she did get mixed up in a riot. Which wasn’t her fault. She was too focused at the task at hand to pay any attention to the crowd of screaming people she had walked through. What was more concerning was that one of those fuckers was stepping all over her wand, or worse one of them had already snapped its cherry redness in two.

“I wasn’t hanging out with them-”

“Yeah, instead you were disturbing the peace and provoking assaults.” Alex had to stay low to the ground for any sign of her wand which perhaps caused a few people to accidentally trip over her. There was also a minor possibility that her assertive bumping into others unintentionally started some fights. This all lead to Richard here (according to his desk tag), cuffing her and bringing her to the NYPD Central Park precinct. Meaning her wand had been left behind, defenceless against the grimy boots of crabby New Yorkers...if it was even there to begin with.

“How do you disturb the peace in a riot?” Alex fired back.

“Ms. Russo, you’ve had a record since you were twelve.” He said, abruptly switching topics and ignoring her. Rude much. To prove his point he made a show of flailing her folder around. It was a decent size for her age, Alex inwardly complimented herself. The first crime listed there was in summer 2004, when she sold those fake broadway tickets to unsuspecting tourists. That summer was a blast: hundreds of ice cream sandwiches and magazines.

“This behaviour is to be expected.” He finished. Alex suppressed an eye roll, this dude was getting on her nerves. Yes, she had a few run ins with the cops, but that didn’t mean she was always guilty of doing something vaguely illegal. Ever since she became a wizard, she'd barely caused any trouble with the mortals, Alex commended herself. Her last record was a good year ago, with a little vandalism and conning going under the radar but that was it. In their eyes, she could have set herself straight since then. Which she did.

What happened to the benefit of the doubt, what happened to believing people could change. Screw him and his patterns. And screw her wand for not being in Central Park. Now she’d have to buy a new one she sulked, slouching lower in the hard chair.

“I don’t like your attitude, Missy.” He said, noting her behaviour. ”Kids these days, not respecting the police.”

Oh my gosh, I just wanna go home. Richard Owens (what a lame name) continued typing at his computer, probably adding ‘riot starter’ to her record. He’d been holding her here for an hour now, still trying to gather evidence and witness accounts to file in her record. So far he had zero, zip, nada, not a single thing. Since everyone's memory seemed to be fuzzy, which she guessed was due to the moral compass.

Alex was annoyed at him and his cockiness. Annoyed at this hard chair that was making her butt fall asleep. Annoyed at the amount of people in this room, and how overly hot it. Would it kill them to crack open a window or turn up the air conditioning.

“Is that you, Alex Russo?” A woman said, approaching the desk. Oh finally her saviour.

“Wassup, June!” Alex grinned up at Song Namjoo, or June, as Alex called her. Much to Namjoo's displeasure. Not so much the name as it was Alex being an annoying little shit.

“What’d you do now?” She asked, placing a hand behind Alex’s chair, leaning forward to scan over the computer. The woman had her hair pulled down into its signature low bun, not a hair out of place. Her pristine police sergeant uniform was pressed to perfection with not a single crease, something Justin would greatly admire.

“No way, June you passed your Police Sergeant Exam!” Alex exclaimed. “You look dope.” She nodded in approval.

“Yeah.” June modeled for a second, before straightening her posture. “Passed about six months ago.”

“Well congratulations.” Alex smiled, genuinely proud. June was her life saver, and lowkey pain in her ass. Wherever she caused a ruckus (exclusively non magical) June would shortly be there. June had stopped a lot of unwanted things from going on her record, and also had a way of calming down Jerry and Theresa when they threatened to send her to the military. On the other hand, it's like she had some sort of Alex specific third eyes always managing to catch her in the act. Plus, her lectures were lengthy and boring and she didn't even allow Alex the option to sleep through them. In a way, she was Justin, if he were in the police force and was, you know, a Korean woman.

She shivered at the thought. Sure, Justin saved her a few too many times but that was because he was her brother. June was altruistic, she held herself with poise and grace. Like a cool aunt who'd let you off the hook halfway then let you decide for yourself the rest of the way. Besides, June was high-key a badass and Justin still cried over 'Mantooth'.

She felt a light pinch on her arm, automatically ready to shout 'POLICE BRUTALITY!' catching herself as she connected eyes with June.

June subtly raised an eyebrow in question towards Alex as if to say ‘What did you do now?’ Alex shrugged in response, her face saying ‘I’m innocent I swear’. June in turn gave her a half believing/ half disbelieving expression, before rolling her eyes. Which was always code for ‘Fine, I believe you’. After knowing June for a good 5 years they'd learned to read each others facial expressions pretty well. It helped with her record, it definitely helped with the parents.

“Okay really Richard a riot starter.” June stared at the man with clear judgement on her face. “Leave the girl alone. We have bigger things to worry about then a riot starter.”

“Oh, like what, June?” Richard goaded. First he disrespects Alex, and now June. Alex doesn’t know a lot of things she will admit, but she picked up on workplace professionalism. To begin with June was a higher ranking officer meaning she was above him. And Richard said her name without its formal title, displaying a lack of respect. Alex watched as June’s expression turned perplexed, or more accurately her ‘bitch, what did you just say?’ look. Alex wished she had popcorn now and a comfy chair.

“First of all, that is Sergeant Song to you Richard. Secondly, maybe you’ve been on desk duty for too long but we’re dealing with a lot more than riots.” June started. This was gonna be good. “There have been innumerable cases of aggravated assaults, burglaries, thefts, property crimes, arsons, and attempted murders. The crime rate has exponentially increased on this day alone. It’s worst than the 80s, Richard.” As the venom dripped from June’s mouth, Alex was quickly realizing what truly happened this night. “Every precinct in New York is packed to the brim and every hospital too. There are more citizens than staff members. And to top it off, a lot of these people had no previous record before this night. No explanation why they would do this and barely any remembrance of what they did. Not even a full moon could explain this utter fuckery!” She exclaimed, motioning around the precinct.

Alex cringed, knowing exactly what had caused this, or more accurately who. She didn’t realize how serious turning that moral compass was. It had only felt like a game of tug a war with her brother like what they did as kids. She even played around with him, tricking him into thinking he had broken the thing so she’d gain the upper hand. When they were flying above the dark realm tower, pulling and pushing they felt so far removed from the world. It was literal child’s play, no throwing punches, no broken bones just like a high school grip test.

But, she could see the damage they caused now. The place was overfilled with people. At each desk, in the cells, standing around. Some bleeding out, others with lost expressions on their faces, the ones she couldn’t even look at were the people crying. All these people had done something bad or suffered because of it. All because that moral compass pointed in the wrong direction a little too long.

“And out of everyone in that riot you chose the person farthest from the action, a clear bystander.” Alex wanted to laugh bitterly at that, if only these people knew just how involved she really was in this. If only they knew their desire to do good relied on a floppy arrow on a disk. But, she’d never tell them this, she’d let people continue to believe they had a bigger choice in their lives. That’s what she had to do as a wizard. As long as it saved her ass. As long as it didn’t affect her.

“So yes Richard there are bigger things than a 17 year old girl.” June finished. The room was completely silent, all eyes staring at Richard. It was so quiet Alex could hear the sound of Richard’s ego deflating like a balloon, saw his face turning as red as a tomato until he resembled a sheepish boy who had just been scolded by his mom in front of all his friends. She couldn’t even take pleasure in his pain, now faced with her own mistakes.

Ha, take that dick. She tried to lighten her spirits. Cause like dick is the nickname for Richard. It didn’t work that well.

And…

Richard let her go, with no new record of ‘inciting a riot’, all thanks to June and how she completely dragged him through the mud.

June walked her to the front door of the precinct, stopping at the door.

“Okay bye Alex. I wish I didn’t have to say this…” June said, taking a deep breathe and closing her eyes to ground herself. “See you soon.” She gave a fake smile.

“You know me so well June. I’ll be sure to bring my best stuff next time, though.” Alex replied back keeping her humour up. She was still a little unsettled at the amount of people she saw on her way out.

“Aha.” June laughed drily, clearly not amused. “Stay in school, kid." And then she was pushed out of the building.

Just as Alex took her first steps away from the precinct, "Hey! The streets are worse tonight, stay safe Alex.” June shouted before shutting the door.

Alex looked back, a sigh heavy on her lips. She composed herself, her mood quickly lightening at the prospect of going home. Which meant her bed, which meant lying down, which meant sleep.

She wouldn’t walk of course. Use magic, definitely. If someone thought she was gonna walk home, they were sadly mistaken.

Looking around to see if anyone was watching she backed into the nearest alley.

“Woah, watch out kid!-”

She was pushed with brute force into the alley wall. Are you kidding me? She smacked right into the bricks, her elbows preventing her face from getting smashed. Hadn’t she been jostled enough today. She stiffened as she felt a bolt of magic graze past her, causing the hairs on her arms to stand up.

Wait a minute… Magic? There was a wizard.

She turned around to see a woman in a Kevlar black suit push a man further into the alleyway. The woman threw a punch to the man’s face, a crackle of blue magic extended through her fist causing the man to crash into the wall.

“What the fuck.” Alex whispered. She must have actually hit her head because this couldn’t be real.

The woman turned to Alex, her dark blue boxer braids swinging with the movement. A mask covered half her face, but all Alex could see were her eyes glowing blue in the dark, as if rimmed with the magic. “Leave, now-“

“Watch out!” Alex screamed back, seeing the man getting up already. A bright pulse of white magic extended through his fingertips towards the masked woman, who quickly ducked dodging it, giving a swift kick to the man's stomach.

He was thrown off balance, long enough for the woman to turn to Alex shooting a burst of blue magic into her direction.

Alex brought her hand in front of her as if to stop it. Was this woman trying to kill her? She closed her eyes, ready for impact.

Then opened them to silence and a vast space of whiteness. She was in the wizard portal. The masked lady had teleported her here.

So, the blue magic lady was a wizard and a superhero…and people were still being bad even after the moral compass was returned.

Alex thought about it for a moment. Then with a shrug of her shoulders she brushed it off, beginning to walk to the lair.

Frankly, Alex was exhausted: her back hurt from flapping those wings, her knees were sore from all of the heavy landings she endured with the wings, her arms ached from that tug-a-war contest she had with Justin, her butt was sore from that hard chair, her feet ached from all the walking she did and she nearly got zapped in the face with magic. On top of all of that, she still didn’t know where her wand went.

Alex sighed in relief when she finally got to the lair. All that walking was making her even more tired. She pushed the door open, determined to get to bed and collapse. But her steps faltered when she was greeted by the sight of her brother looking down at a white feather.

It didn’t take a genius to realize the feather was Rosie’s. Alex was worried at the sight of him, grasping a feather from another lost love wasn’t a good sign. And more than that he hadn’t been himself for the past week. She’d barely talked to him for the past week, so she was nervous to see how he was after everything.

“Justin…” She began, confusion laced in her tone. He turned at her voice.“What are you doing still up? It’s late.” And also past his appointed bedtime.

“I stayed up because I owe you something.” He began. Her cherry red wand in his hand. Her glorious cherry red wand she’d been looking everywhere for. Finally, reunited with what had been plaguing her mind all night her eyes immediately brightened at the sight of it. She grasped at it with both hand, smiling down at her wand.

“I found it in Washington Square Park.” Oh, Washington Square Park. Damn she really did suck at calculating. Nevermind, the fact that it was in the complete opposite direction. “A two-headed dog had it. Pretty sure he didn’t start out that way.”

So her wand was chilling in lower Manhattan with a two headed dog as she searched the grounds of upper Manhattan, tripping people over and starting fights, and getting caught by the police. She giggled at that, amused with what her night turned into.

“Thank you.” She genuinely meant it. “What about your wand?”

“I, uh…” He held his wand up, inspecting it for a moment just to show her the sad state it was in; snapped in half with duct tape barely holding it together. She laughed at her brother’s antics. Secretly, relieved to have her brother back. Him and even his humour. Yup, he was still Justin. “I’ll find a spell to fix it.”

He set his wand down and turned to face her, an earnest expression on his face. Alex was taken aback by the swift change in atmosphere, the room suddenly feeling more serious. “And I owe you something else.”

He came forward. Her eyes flickering at his movement. Oh, And we’re hugging.

His arms wrapped around her, bending down to rest his chin on her shoulder. He quietly uttered, “Thank you for saving me.” while comfortingly rubbing her back as he always did. Ever since they were children, it was a soothing motion he always did when he hugged her. A distinct movement they could focus on together to calm down. She nodded slightly, silently appreciating the moment.

“It’s for all the times that you saved me when I wasn’t so good.”

Countless images were brought to mind, most prominent of all: a campfire in the rainforest. She began to feel nostalgic and a bit anxious. Not fond of the emotions, she quickly lightened the atmosphere. “And for a couple more times in the future, so we’re even.” She finished with a smile, satisfied with her little joke.

“No, we’re not.” Justin replied, coming to sit down on the desk beside her. “You saved the world today.”

She studied him for a moment, silently disagreeing with his words. She was only trying to get him back, everything else, saving the world was secondary to that.

She’d never admit how anxious she felt seeing Justin so unlike himself: stealing flowers, using magic in public, and stomping on people's groceries. Overall being a jerk. The worst of it was when she revealed Rosie's true nature, he still chose her, a girl he’d known for less than a month than his own sister. A dark angel, whose values would never align with his own. And when she tried one last desperate time to get him back he still chose darkness. Only turning good because of that girl. It hurt more than she thought it would.

But Alex had to remind herself of something very important: that Justin was the one influenced by dark angels. That he wasn’t himself at the time and that scarily some powers are greater than her connection to her brother. So she’d keep it to herself, shove it in the back of her mind like she usually did with all of her emotions, and ignore it, until she’d be forced to confront it.

Instead, she focused on the reassurance she’d gotten when Justin finally came back. How happy she was when he immediately told her to put the moral compass back, in that commanding voice he used when he would clean her messes. The ease she felt now that he was once again right beside her. Like a puzzle piece clicking back into place (and screw him for making her think of boring puzzles). This is where he was meant to be.

She would never say that out loud so she said, “You gave up a girl to protect it” instead.

She watched a faraway expression take on his face, familiar to the one he wore in Transylvania when he lost Juliet. He’d lost Rosie now, and a few weeks ago she'd learned she wasn't meant to be with Mason. It’s like they were both cursed to never have a happy ending. Only ending up with the comfort of each other.

She didn’t think about how established this felt. Or the strange notion that perhaps this was how her happy ending was supposed to be.

In an attempt to stop herself from wandering too far back in her mind, she asked him. “Why do we have to keep dealing with stuff like this?” He was Justin and he always had the answer. She could always count on him.

“We’re wizards.” And it was like that was the be all, end all. “I don’t think we have a choice.” The plain and simple answer.

It was horrible how that answer alone made complete sense to her. How she’d just thought about it in that overpacked precinct. All of her mistakes and losses were always tied into being a wizard.

So, maybe she was past the point of caring, past sadness and moving into delirium with a little sprinkle dead tiredness because she smiled instead. She smiled up at him and he caught her before she turned away. He bumped her with his shoulder, bouncing her away and back to him.

They were settling back into their pattern. Just the two of them: Justin and Alex. She sighed contentedly and a little tiredly resting her head on her big brother's shoulder, feeling his head rest on hers.

For all her mistakes and all her losses at least she always had her Justin.

And she hoped he knew for all his mistakes and all his losses he’d always have his Alex.

She closed her eyes, fully ready to sleep.

“We’ll be okay, right?” Justin quietly asked.

Alex yawned, furrowing her brows slightly at the unexpected question. Maybe they should have been more aware in this moment, appreciated it more. Maybe she could have helped him better if she’d paid more attention. Maybe, he could have protected her better from darker things than angels.

“Yeah, we’ll be fine.”

For Alex would soon face a burden so great it would compromise her relationship with those around her. After all, with great power comes great responsibility.

#Wizards of Waverly Place #wowp #Alex Russo #Justin Russo #Jalex #Fanfiction #Alex Russo x Justin Russo #Justin Russo x Alex Russo #Alex x Justin #Justin x Alex #mystories #wizards of waverly place fanfiction #wowp fanfiction #myfanfiction

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littlemisssquiggles · 4 years

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After seeing the latest episode of RWBY... Could it be that Robyn will be the next Winter Maiden? I think Winter is way too obvious, since she has officially been set up. If RT goes like that, it would be very untypical for their current style of writing. So... I can see this happening in one of two ways. Either Robyn is related to Fria in some way and that is why she gets the powers. Or Winter dies and passes the powers on to Robyn. They seem to agree on some stuff. Robyn nodded at Winter.

Umm…sorry Mizu but this squiggle meister is gonna have to disagree with you on this theory of yours. Given how the show had built up her story thus far, I doubt Robyn will have anything to do with the Maidens or their magic.

Sure I can see her learning of the existence of the Maidens and their connection to the Relics once the truth about Salem comes out. I can even see Robyn potentially learning this information beforehand courtesy of Yang and Blake with their little alliance from the seventh episode. However that’s as far as I believe Robyn will go in that regard.

I think the PLOT is more setting up Robyn and her Happy Huntresses to be unlikely allies to our heroes and Ironwood especially in this current time where the story seems to be heading in the direction of the Fall of Atlas and the possibly the brink of a Second Great War of Remnant lingering the air.

However that’s as much as I can see Robyn being. An unlikely ally. I don’t think she will become a Maiden. If anything, my assumption is that Robyn will become a founding leader to the next generation of Atlesian and Mantlese citizens after working to rebuild Atlas and Mantle kingdoms and reunite them as one kingdom once.

Based on what I’ve seen thus far, especially from the sneak peek clip of CH9 that was teased today in #FRWBY, it seems like the PLOT might be leaning towards the decimation of Mantle. Possibly. And once Mantle is taken care of,the next kingdom to surely fall will be its brother kingdom in the skies: Atlas.

I think the Writers may be setting us up for both Mantle and Atlas to cease no more by the end up of V7 and V8 and once both of these kingdoms are gone, the next step would be rebuilding them from the ground up with both the People of Mantle and Atlas coming together for the first in centuries to restore what’s left of their kingdom together. And at the helm ofthis revolution and new chapter in Solitas history would be Robyn Hill.

The more I observe her development, the more I can see Robyn potentially becoming a great leader for Atlas and Mantle. One who would stand, fight and continue to look out for the sanctity of both kingdoms. I think Robyn’s destiny is to be a kingdom leader. Not a Maiden. So yeah, I don’t think she will have any connection to Fria at all. Sorry for disagreeing with you but I just don’t see this development in the cards for this character.

I do agree with you, however, on the thought of Winter being unsuccessful inbecoming the Winter Maiden.

Given how the Writers tossed us that red herring with Vernal and the Spring Maiden back in V5, it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s done again for the Winter Maiden. However if I were to expect anyone else to become a Maiden in Winter’s place, my second choice would’ve been Penny Polendina.

In my opinion, Penny becoming the Winter Maiden would’ve been interesting. Penny is already such a unique character in terms of her story—an artificially intelligent sentient being powered by the soul of the loving father who gifted a part of himself time and time again to create his beloved daughter.

If Penny doesn’t wind up succeeding Pietro (in the event of his untimely passing)then I could’ve easily seen her becoming a Maiden somehow.

While I understand that the Maidens and the transference of their powers comes with their own set of rules, I’ve always been curious of how these rules would apply to a being like Penny. I mean technically Penny identifies as female. She’s young and she has a soul—a soul that was partially made from her father’s but…it’s still a soul. In spite of anything else, Penny is more than just a machine. She’s a person. Her own person and that makes her worthy of becoming a Maiden if it was possible. I’ve always wondered that should Penny be chosen as Maiden, would the power go to her. Would it work? That’s the curious question.

Let’s say …at some point down the line after becoming Maiden, Winter Schnee is blindsided by the enemy (Neo and Cinder) and becomes mortally wounded. And in her dying moments, she reaches out to Penny as her choice to become the next Maiden after her. After all, Penny was made to be a protector.

Apart from being the keys to the Relics, the Maidens have always more or less been young women who used their powers for the greater good of helping others when they are able to.

Well…at least they were in the past with the exception of the current generation of Maidens minus Summer. That’s another thing I don’t wish to see repeated a third time. I don’t want another example of a Maiden being murdered and having their powers forcibly transferred to their killers.

It happened with Cinder and Amber. It happened with Raven and the former Spring Maiden before her. I just don’t want to see it happen again for the Winter Maiden. I think it could be a cool twist if the PLOT sets it up that way again—perhaps Fria isn’t horribly murdered but passes away peacefully in her sleep and Winter successfully becomes the Winter Maiden as Ironwood had planned.

And this all happens by the end of V7 so that the next time Weiss sees her sister, she finds her already as a Maiden. We then spend the next season with Winter being a target for her Maiden powers by Neo and Cinder once they learn of her succession. And let’s say…for whatever reason, Winter is badly hurt trying to protect someone she loves. Like maybe that’s how she was lured out to be killed. Weiss is kidnapped by Neo and Cinder and used as bait to lure out her sister and once Winter arrives, Neo disguises herself as Weiss to force Winter to let her guard down a little bit long enough for Neo to try and kill her.

Let’s say…Winter had brought Penny along with her as backup since she feared Neo and Cinder may double-cross her as warned by Ruby. But in spite of this, Winter still gets injured protecting her little sister.

So we have this scene where Weiss is cradling her dying sister in her arms (maybe Neo and Cinder has escaped at this point)— Penny by Winter’s side to and during this moment, Winter turns to Penny informing her that she was going to give her powers to her because she trusts her to become a great protector to Atlas and Mantle or something along those lines.

Though it’s been small, we’ve received one or two decent examples of the show pushing a small friendship dynamic between Winter and Penny for this season that I honestly didn’t expect going into it. While it’s not as close as Winter’s relationship with her sister, if the Winter Maiden powers were to be stolen from her—even in her final moments, I don’t think Winter would chose Weiss.

She’ll probably think of someone who she could trust with being a better fit for Maiden than her and she would think of the only other person than herself who would make a great Maiden—Penny.

But that’s just my opinion. Honestly it’s anyone’s game at this point on who could become the Winter Maiden. Somehow my headcanons of how that storyline might end has been flip-flopping. I always had a feeling that Winter was going to be groomed to be Ironwood’s choice for Maiden. That part was as obvious as you said.

But in the event of it not being Winter, my second choice was always Penny since I liked the idea of an artificial being with a soul making for an interesting Maiden character. I saw Penny becoming a Maiden via the magic of the original Winter Maiden as symbolic as her fairy-tale counterpart of Pinocchio being turned into a real boy by the Blue Fairy.

However I’ve recently also pondered on the possibility of Nora becoming the Winter Maiden or…at least being considered as a potential candidate against her will?

Like it’s a scenario where we discover that Nora is the last living relative of Fria and as Fria is on her last lap, she confides in Winter that the last thing she desires before she passes away is to be reunited with her daughter who she was forced to give up years ago after she was appointed as Maiden.

That daughter somehow wound up in Mantle and grew up to become the mother of Nora Valkyrie who eventually passed away. So it’s a case where Fria never got the chance to see her daughter again but Nora is last remnant of Fria’s daughter and as it turnt out—in true RWBY fashion—Nora is the spitting image of her mother and the closest person to her that Fria has left.

The last person Fria wants to now see is Nora however Nora is denied the chance to see the only family member she had left since Ironwood fears that if Fria sees Nora, she might end up picking her as her candidate instead of Winter as he had been grooming her to be. So it’s this complicated thing where Winter, having grown to care for Fria wants to abide by her wishes but can’t out of her duty to the General.

Not to mention that Nora is conflicted about it too—perhaps we can have some conflict where some folks believe that Nora should be allowed to see her grandmother and become the Winter Maiden since it’s her family and birth right and not Winter’s, no matter how much Ironwood tries to control that.

The other side to that is that Nora doesn’t want to become a Maiden or have anything to do with that and after learning that a family member of hers is still alive, she becomes unsure of whether or not she wants to see them at all.Perhaps…Nora even ends up blaming Fria for her and her family’s hardships in a way because the last memories that Nora has of her mother were ones where she was always struggled to take care of her down in Mantle while dealing with the depression over the memories of the mother who abandoned her. In the past, Fria didn’t want Nora’s mother so why should Nora want to see her just because she’s dying?

As I said, it’s a complicated scenario which I think could’ve made for an fascinating story especially for Nora’s side of things. While I figured Nora becoming a Maiden would’ve been cool for the obvious nod to the Norse God of Thunder she’s inspired by, the more I pondered on it, the more I realized I like this headcanon more for angle of what it could’ve done for Nora’s own character development and backstory.

We have yet to have a JNPR subplot that focused heavily on Nora as yet. We’ve had for Jaune (V1) Pyrhha (V3) and Ren (V4) but nothing for our veteran goddess of the thunder thighs. So I really want Fria to be related to Nora just so Nora can have her moment of focus. But that’s just me.

And last but certainly not least, there’s Neopolitan becoming the Winter Maiden and using her newfound abilities to dupe Cinder Fall and pilfer the Relic of Creation for herself as I described more in depth in this previous answer post.

At this point, I really am torn on where the Winter Maiden subplot could go. If anything, my final hunch is that the Winter Maiden Arc could possibly revolve around Winter, Penny, Nora and possibly Neo.

Winter as the current candidate via Ironwood’s choice. Nora as Fria’s only living relative and successor to her power by blood and familial connection. Penny as Winter’s choice for candidacy in the event of her untimely passing and Neo via murdering the last Maiden and stealing her powers just like Cinder. Anythingcan go. But then again, these are all mainly my theories in that regard.

But all in all, what this mostly boils down to me saying is that I can see these young women more sharing a connection to the Winter Maiden story than Robyn Hill. Hope that answers your question Mizu.

Again, sorry if I might’ve burst your bubbles there. It’s not a bad theory,I just have a different stance on it.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

#mizuike #winter schnee #penny polendina #nora valkyrie #neopolitan #robyn hill #rwby theories #rwby volume 7 theories #rwby volume 7 spoilers #squiggles answers: rwby

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yangingaround · 5 years

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one thing that annoys me is people going but team rwby are traumatizied when the same thing could be said about ozpin ozpin was a like an old war vet who had ptsd and trauma . ozpin had every right to keep secrets I am sick of people trying to paint ozpin as a bad person or manipulative because he kept some secrets which needed to be kept secret due to many betrayals and if they go out it will only help salem like the relic if info is leaked to salem it will help her. ( lionheart 1/2

“Anonymous said to yangingaround:

was his friend and he just betrayed him to salem a short time ago and he has been betrayed many times in the past so why should he immediately trust team rwby who he doesnt know as well ( and given how they reacted to salem being immortal saying it was pointless it shows ozpin was right in keeping salems immortality a secret the entire reason they kept salem a secret was to prevent the loss of morale ,feeling it was pointless etc )(not to mention yangs hypocrisy 2/2

Anonymous said to yangingaround:

I am sick of the whole oz kept secrets so we cant trust anything he says ignoring that team rwby have kept secrets and told lies many times and they like to pretend its different when its not . ozpin isnt at fault for summers death her dying on a mission is not oz’s fault . ( oz protected humanity this attempt to paint oz as a manipulator or like dumbledore or taking away peoples choices ( check itsclydebitches tumblr she made a post on that ) is bs ( and salem always blames other people ½

Anonymous said to yangingaround:

for her actions like going the deaths of the people who fought against her are somehow oz’s fault or claiming ozpin is a coward for going away after just seeing the worst moments of his life and his friends turning on him and what qrow did to him he was stressed out and needed to go back inside giving qrow what he wanted he was crying and the claim that this was cowardice is utter nonsense he needed to escape from the abuse so he left the only way he could 2/2

Anonymous said to yangingaround:

also the claim that ozpin never tried to unite humanity is complete and utter bullshit his entire plan was to unite humanity and by rwby v1 he was close to achieving that goal the closest he had ever been ( ozpin was the king of vale)

—

okay, briefly coming out of semi-retirement on here because this just dropped in

this was kinda the wrong blog to send this to, because none of the mods are on Oz’s side

but let’s start from the top:

Oz had no right to keep secrets when those secrets were endangering lives (keeping the fact that the relics attract Grimm put hundreds of innocent civilians in danger for no reason because the heroes weren’t prepared), and he was purposely leading the heroes to on a pointless suicide mission rather than be straight with them that he had no plan

on top of that, he’s millennia old, so the fact that he can’t get over his thousand year old hurt feelings is literally not anyone else’s fault but his own, and he’s endangering lives over it - he’s had multiple lifetimes to get over it, and it’s made clear from Jinn’s description of things that for the most part he just moped and did nothing

second, Ozpin is manipulative, we see that in how he interacts with Pyrrha, coercing her into becoming the Fall Maiden by taking advantage of her nature and ensuring it by presenting it as an ultimatum - “become the Fall Maiden or the bad guys win” isn’t a choice, no matter how many times Qrow and Ozpin insist otherwise

it’s not just the keeping secrets thing, though that is part of it (oh, and FYI, his claim that he only keeps secrets and lies because he’s been betrayed in the past? was a lie, the first thing he did when meeting Salem again after reincarnating was lie to her, and he had far less sympathetic reasons to lie to her than she did to him - she was afraid of being judged by the one good thing her life ever had, he was lying to her because the God of Light told him she couldn’t be trusted. and we have confirmation from the writers that the gods are heavily based on Greek mythology, and those gods were assholes), he’s manipulative for far more than that

(oh and maybe Lionheart betrayed Ozpin…. because Ozpin lied about the mission… and Lionheart got scared because he couldn’t trust Ozpin… wild concept but maybe Ozpin is the mastermind behind his own destruction)

and no, Ozpin wasn’t right to keep it secret, because they still found morale after that initial despair, but here’s the thing, if they’d known from the start, shit wouldn’t have hit the fan that hard - knowing how bad things are from the start is a lot better than thinking you’re in a better position than you really are; because when that truth comes out it’s a lot further to fall

Ozpin demands trust but never reciprocates and then acts hurt when he’s inevitably betrayed over it, that’s his fault, no one elses

and funny you should mention Yang’s ‘hypocrisy’ because that’s a brilliant sticking point that would have entirely made your argument if it wasn’t top of the line, absolute Grade A horseshit

Yang keeping a single secret about Raven over a very personal issue when that secret no longer has any value to the rest of the group (they already have the Relic and the Vault is already dead, the Spring Maiden no longer holds any value to Ozpin as Relic’s already out and Salem doesn’t have much reason to pursue Spring knowing that the Relic is out of the box) is not the same thing as Ozpin lying to the group by keeping information from them that could get them killed. so show me where the hypocrisy lies here because i’m not seeing it. acting like one small, harmless act is comparable to thousands of constant lies

when RWBY keep secrets, it’s because they have to, they never do it simply because and have never done anything to intentionally endanger lives while Ozpin does it without a thought

oh and here’s a shocker, by being the person sending Summer on mission, Ozpin was knowingly endangering her, so yes, he actually does hold some responsibility for her death - that’s how the chain of command works

and ‘Oz protected humanity’, interesting. did he? let’s see what Jinn has to say:

“Thus began a long and painful cycle of death and rebirth for Ozma.Some lives were spent in mourning, many were spent attempting to forget it all.”

yeah, sounds like to me, he spent most of his time running away from the problem, so his current behaviour is on brand, at least (also this scene reveals that he lied about the whole “i merge with the next guy i reincarnate into” thing because it’s made clear that until very recently he just suppressed them; and drank at least a couple to death, so add everyone he’s ever possessed to his body count - and the people he jumps into don’t have a choice but to get involved because he can take over whenever he likes)

and i’ve already addressed that he did take away people’s choices, because he doesn’t give them choices, don’t tell me to read someone else’s post and not argue the point yourself, i pay attention to the show, okay? i can understand what’s happening in it - Pyrrha, ultimatum. the rest of the gang after Yang and Weiss arrive, ultimatum (by not so subtly hinting at Raven’s cowardice as a negative quality they should shy away from). all the people he’s ever possessed, only recently did they even get autonomy and that’s only because he lets them have that. every student who has ever attended the four main combat academies - the entire premise of the schools is a false pretense. it’s not to train warriors to protect the world (hell, the very concept of Huntsmen and Huntresses being the sole defenders of the world is almost propaganda in quality because they’ve only been around for less than a century - humanity got on just fine without them before that), it’s so there’s an ever-rotating array of meatshields to protect his god-summoning paperweights. which puts the deaths of the likes of Gretchen Rainart on him too (as well as the fact that as Headmaster he has a duty of care and he tries brushing those deaths off like “they made their choice” which is a disturbing detachment from responsibility)

and yes, Ozpin is a coward for running away, because this is his fault, and he decides to hide himself away than deal with the consequences of his actions - he’s not a child, he’s not some scared little boy who needs his mommy to hold his hand - he is a millennia old asshole who is very much responsible for the mess everyone is in right now, or did you miss the part where Salem was peacefully holing herself away where no one could bother her? or that he was the only good thing in her life and by stabbing her in the back first by running away with the kids instead of talking to his wife when she got a liittle too edgy (which, by the way, wasn’t even her fault because the only reason she was like that by that point was because she’d tried to kill herself and didn’t know this result was a possibility, and that’s one slip after a near decade of happy marriage) and taking the first hope she’d had in so long away; of course she’d snap

that’s what Ozpin does, he builds people up on lies so they don’t know how far the drop really is - just because his goal is ostensibly noble doesn’t mean he is, especially when his actions are anything but

“needed to escape the abuse” holy shit. okay, this is a joke right? it’s a joke?

being called out on your bullshit is not abuse. people getting angry at you because you lied to them, manipulated them and were planning on letting them die for a cause that you know to be pointless is. not. abuse.

i don’t care if he was crying, that doesn’t mean anything - “oh look at the poor sad millennia old wizard, he’s upset that people are angry at him for the blood on his hands which he has no problem sticking his hands back into”

and i wouldn’t call what Oz did in the Great War ‘uniting’ humanity. considering what that amounted to was forcing the other reining monarchs to kneel to him after he beat them up (as well as the Queen of Vacuo, who was his ally), dismantled their power structures to replace it with the council system (and destroying any remaining semblance of real governance that Vacuo had, leaving it a chaotic hell-pit wasteland) and built the schools (which were meant to not answer to any of the Kingdoms) as a front so he could stay in power and control across reincarnations

yeah, some unity - all that demonstrates was that he never really had a problem with the “beat people up to make them do what you want” plan he and Salem had the first time

Ozpin is a very old, very pathetic coward - he doesn’t learn from his mistakes, he repeats them over and over again then acts like it’s someone else’s fault. he refuses to trust people yet gets angry when they refuse to trust him, he lies to people constantly but tries to dodge out of it than take responsibility, when his secrets endanger the lives of others, instead of acting like a fucking adult and facing the consequences for his actions, for the god knows how many lives he has damaged, ruined, destroyed, how he willingly endangers lives rather than tell the truth for no good reason, he runs away and leaves everyone else to pick up his mess

he’s a coward and RWBY and the others have every right to call him on his bullshit. they’re a lot younger than him, they have more room for mistakes and growth

he’s had literally all the time in the world to be a better person, and all he’s become is a lying, weaselly coward

-Mod S

also, read the rules:

#rwb/y #yangalysis #long post #not a comeback #someone decided to rant in this askbox #i decided to rant back #Anonymous

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kinetic-elaboration · 5 years

Text

July 30: Murven, Wasted/Wasting Time

Murven, Modern AU, ~1100 words, for @clarkesablake

90s/2000s song inspo: #15, Hold My Hand - Hootie and the Blowfish

On the one hand, what is a 90s playlist without Hootie and the Blowfish? On the other hand, writing a Murven ficlet to this particular piece of music was, uh, not easy. So I kind of ended up free-associating and then ended up here, at a prequel to my Murven Road Trip fic. Since it’s a prequel, it’s not necessary to read the other parts. But they’re on the tag “murven road trip” if you want.

Also I have a lot of feelings about Murphy’s kitchen as pictured in this fic.

Currently taking requests for 90s/2000s inspired fics; send me a pairing and a number between 1 and 217 and I’ll write a scene based on a song from my Nostalgic Childhood Music Playlist

My tag list: @ciewill @dealingdreams @shadowheron2013 @julyrubyrose @wonderland-promises @hanav @rycewritestrash @thelittlefanpire @musicnote902 @stonybnatural @earthgay2052 (lmk if you would like to be added to or deleted from this list)

On the first warm evening of summer, Murphy drags the standing fan into the kitchen, sets it up to the right of the doorway and turns it on, then climbs up onto a chair to open the only window, a long, narrow rectangle set into the wall above the kitchen table. It's a casement window, and the handle always sticks. He has to balance carefully and put some effort into shoving it out and up, but when he does, it lifts with a satisfying force and a low shush of sound, and lets in a burst of fresh, sweet early-season air, evening-cool and clear.

The window doesn't look out on much, only the slanted roof of the garage, and, from the right angle, a hint of sky, now a slowly deepening blue: the sort of view that makes him feel like he's underground, without any of the pleasure of actually crawling down into the dirt. On the windowsill are arranged three hardy cacti, housewarming gifts from Monty. The only plant, Murphy had joked, that he probably wouldn't accidentally kill. He almost knocks one over when he opens the window, scratches his hand on one of its spikes as he saves it from falling just in time.

"Careful, Murphy," Reyes says, from where she's sitting in the other kitchen chair. "Don't want to stab yourself." She's leaning back so the chair's front legs lift off the floor, though not far enough to run any risk of falling back against the fridge.

"Who says I don't," he answers, deadpan, and hops down to the floor again. His boots thump on the linoleum, and Reyes pretends she isn't smiling.

It's not much of a smile, anyway, which doesn't surprise him, because she's been sullen and quiet all night. Hanging out, eating leftover takeout on his couch and watching bits and pieces of old movies on tv, and then instead of leaving, settling in his kitchen, drinking his second to last beer, because she knows he won't kick her out or because she wants his company, or maybe needs it, he doesn't know. Now she tips the bottle back and he watches the light from the overhead glint off the glass, and then watches her face, the moment she sets the bottle down and briefly closes her eyes, and for that second she looks distant and—flick of tongue across her lips, breathing out through her open mouth—a little sad.

He walks over to the fridge and grabs a bottle for himself. The sucking sound of the door opening, the shade of the light and the cool uncurling of the air inside are a distraction, slight interruptions to the silence.

"Your plants are looking a little dry," Reyes says.

Murphy closes the door again, slumps down into the chair across from her. "They're cacti," he reminds her, working his thumb beneath the cap of his beer. "They're supposed to be dry. Watering them too much," he adds—cap flipping off, clattering down to the tabletop—"is worse than not watering them enough."

"Idiot proof plants," she jokes. Bit of a genuine smile on her face, at least, and this is the sort of comment she wouldn't make if she really meant it, so he's not mad.

"Ha, ha. They also don't like bad jokes though, so maybe you shouldn't try to be funny."

Through the open window: the steady, riotous hum of insect-sound, a sure sign of summer, already building. Raven doesn't answer, but after a few moments, the half-smile fades from her face. She holds the bottle by the neck and runs her thumb nail up and down the glass, like she's picking at an imperfection that only she can see. Murphy's tired, and every time the fan cycles to the right, it rocks briefly on its base and then turns left with a predictable, high, creaking sound, and he's not sure how many times he'll have to hear that noise before he just asks her why she's here. Why she's still here, why she's here with him, instead of someone else. Her other hand is sitting, palm down and fingers slightly curled, on the tabletop, and maybe he'd like to reach for it, maybe he'd like to hold it in his own.

"I think I might be going down to Florida," she says, then, after a while. She flicks her gaze up at him beneath her lashes, like she's waiting for some big reaction. Or any reaction.

"Florida? Why?" His tone dismissive, borderline disgusted, but alarm bells in his head, hoping she's talking about a trip or a visit and not some permanent moving-away thing.

She takes a deep breath, like she's going to be serious with him. But only answers: "Family shit," like whatever it is, it's beneath her.

But she doesn't talk about her family much, ever, and he can see every tensely held angle of her body, how she's leaning in across the table, crossing her ankles, biting her lip. He tells himself that she'll talk when he's ready, then reminds himself that she is talking, she is ready.

"Yeah, so how long are you going to be down there?"

She shrugs. "Not too long. Maybe a week. I was thinking of driving down—"

"In your car?" Truly amused this time, he barks out the question without thinking, but doesn't back down when her gaze snaps up and she glares at him. "Your AC won't make it." He knows she's about to argue, so he sits back and shrugs and says, "Just use mine."

Her hand is still sitting on the table. He thinks again about reaching for it, trying out the comfort of touch, but then she might think that he's out here with an ulterior motive, that he wants something from her, when instead all he feels is the very rare and very odd and slightly uncomfortable, true-blue genuine desire to help.

"All the work you put into it, it's half your car anyway," he adds. And that makes her smile. Small and real, bringing a softness to her face.

"I guess that's true. But hey—" She slides her arm across the table, and her fingers briefly graze against his wrist—as if she needed any help getting his attention. It's already fixed on her. "If you're up to it, you can come."

If he's up to it? He'd mock her for this invitation that might be a curse, roping him into Reyes family shit when he's just trying to be nice—but he feels warm with something other than the warm air through the window, the stuffy, narrow kitchen in June. Warm with something he can't yet name. So he just curls up the corner of his mouth in a smirk and says, "I'm there."

#the 100 #murven #murven fanfiction #raven reyes #john murphy #murphy x raven #mine #my writing #the year 2019 #2019: answers #2019: free write #murven road trip #nostalgia songs #yes that first sentence is too long but oh weeeeeeeeeelllllllll

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