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tequiilasunriise · 10 months

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"Blake, are your parents dating my mom?"

"...Meow."

@min3nc's post about Snowleopard ripped open the Pandora Box that is some of my headcanons about this throuple (and the subsequent Bellaschneeblings interactions in my post here) so sit tight y'all this list is gonna be long because I absolutely adore this healthy bi4bi4bi poly pilf couple that foils whatever the fuck Divorce Mcgees Summer, Raven, n Tai had going on (don't get me wrong, I adore str-crossed lovers, especially whatever the fuck Rosebird had, but cmon you could power a small nation off of their Divorce Energy alone)

-They have zero in-canon interactions but the thought of Willow slowly healing and learning to love again from two characters shown to be incredibly sweet and patient and understanding and oh so gentle and tender and earnest? Guys this alone should sell you on the ship like!! LIKE!!!

-WILLOW HEALING FROM HER ABUSIVE MARRIAGE TRAUMA WITH THE HEALTHIEST COUPLE!! GHIRA AND KALI TAG TEAMING TO VALIDATE AND SMOTHER THE SHIT OUTTA THIS ENDEARING MILF WITH SO MUCH LOVE AND SUPPORT!!!

-Takes a deep breath. Wowie. Do y'all get it though do y'all understand the vision?

-I need me vulnerable Willow asking the Pilfadonnas fer parenting advice and the pair to be more than happy to help their girlfriend just so eager to help!! They're so reassuring and tender with her, making sure she doesn't feel like a terrible shit fer asking fer help about this like, "Oh, oh sweetheart. You've been through so much, and it's a good thing you're fighting fer your second chance to be the mother your children need and deserve. It's alright, darling, we're right here with you."

-Furthermore, Willow would feel so much guilt eating at her for her ex-husband's crimes against the Faunus as a whole and the Pilfadonnas, the leaders of the Faunus themselves, would help talk through her guilt and affirm that Willow is not to blame fer bullshit Jacques pulled and help her with the process of finding a good therapist like like like!!! There's so much shit here guys!!!

-"It was by marrying me that Jacques gained access to the resources tied to the Schnee name and carved out the world. I didn't do anything to stand up to him and stop him from ruining my family's name, and so by doing nothing I'm a part of his sins."

"....Babygirl we love you so much but there's SO MUCH wrong to unpack here."

-Also Willow deserves to be bisexually panicked by two hot cat people bc I said so she just deserves okay trust trust trust

-Anyways, the Schneeblings are mad sus of the Pilfadonnas at first because they ALLLLL know what kinda abusive bullcrap their mom went through in her dead marriage with Jackass Schnee but all eventually coming around to really love Ghira's and Kali's seemingly endless unconditional love (Weiss was the quickest to adapt, then Winter, and finally little Whitley)

-The Pilfadonnas are so sweet and loving to their new kids and see 'em as their own straight up but don't pressure any typa connection and respect the Schneeblings so much like, "I would prefer just Kali, but if calling me Ms. Belladonna makes you more comfortable then go right ahead sweetheart" LIKE THEYRE JUST THE BEST STEPARENTS EVER SO MUCH VALIDATION AND PATIENCE AND SWEETNESS!!!

-"Chieftain Ghira, sir, it's good to see you."

"Winter, while I won't stop you from calling me by that title if that's what makes you the most comfortable, you don't have to be so strict with yourself. There's no need to address me like you're a military subordinate, sweetheart."

"...I would die for you, sir."

"Oh! Um! I'm very grateful for that, but, uh, let's also not huh? Wouldn't want you dying anytime soon ahahahaaa."

"You're right, sir, the Maiden powers should not be so carelessly tossed around."

".....Alright so we're going to go find you a good therapist and start working on your sense of personhood-"

-The Pilfadonnas introduce the concept of therapy and healthier coping mechanisms to all of the Schnees REALNESS

-"But OP wouldn't Weiss already have learned that from her super supportive friends?" Weiss' found family is incredible but healthy coping mechanisms are NOT part of that package deal holy shit hypertraumatized child soldiers left and righttt baby

-Anyways, one time Whitley slipped and accidentally called Ghira "Hey dad-" and everyone FROZE before Whitley rushed his question and then ran the f u c k off as Ghira started wiping tears with Kali holding him close and Willow being so emotional at the her son finally has a solid, good father figure in his life oMG HES STARTING TO ACCEPT THE PILFADONNAS!!!

-Eventually, the Schneeblings graduate to calling the Pilfadonnas just Kali and Ghira (and Blake calling Willow by her first name was already established back when she was crashing Schnee Manor in V8 so we chilling) but Whitley, oh my heart, sometimes slips with a 'mama' or 'dad' to his stepparents and down the line he even stops getting embarrassed over it and GOSH does it melt the Pilfadonnas' hearts everytime he calls 'em that it doesn't matter if it's the tenth or the hundredth time they're sosossooo soft

-One time Weiss was practicing her fencing stances and didn't realize the Pilfadonnas were watching her, and then when they started to praise how amazing her swordsmanship is? Babygirl actually starts to cry a little because it was always, "You need to be faster, Schnees aren't supposed to be so slow" and "What would your grandfather say if he saw such sloppy forms? Again!" and never, "Oh, Weiss, honey, you were wonderful out there! You must have trained very hard to be so good!"

-If you give any of the Schneeblings a fucken shred of unconditional praise they will crumple faster than a stale cookie. On a daily basis, Weiss jokes and asks Blake how the FUCK did she not end up more well-adjusted (she knows about the bullshit with Adam but Weiss also knows that Blake is aware she's just messing around)

-So we've established some headcanons of the Schneelings interacting with the Pilfadonnas, but hear me out awkward as fuck Blake and Willow interactions bc Willow has NO IDEA how to interact with her daughter's teammate turned stepdaughter???

-Because, you know, "Oh uh hey my ex-husband exploited and abused the shit out the Faunus for years on end and you were one of the people heavily affected to the point where you, as a literal child, turned to a life of vigilante terrorist justice as a form of fighting back for your own basic rights"

-Blake, like her parents, completely understand that Willow had nothing to with Jackass' cruelty and instead gives her new stepmom an easy smile and starts talking small talk about Weiss' adventures with Team RWBY and!! Yeah!! Willow genuinely wants to know what's been going on in her daughter's life since she was so absent from it during her alcoholic days

-The pair bond over a shared loved of Weiss, and at one point Willow says, "If it isn't overstepping, can I just say I am truly fortunate that Weiss has someone like you in her life to support her" and Blake chuckles softly and replies, "It wasn't easy at first, but yeah, I'm glad she's in my life too" AND ARGAGRGRHRH THE BONDINGGGG

-Speaking of bonding, imagine the Pilfadonnas vibing with Klein and bonding over tea together, and seeing their adoptive dad figure Klein vibe with their new steparents may or may not have sped up Whitley and Winter warming up to the Pilfadonnas justttt a litttttlleee

-When Kali and Ghira see their stepkids flinch at loud voices or innocently raised hands, when they notice the low self-esteem Winter still carries or Whitley's facade of maturity so that adult figures actually acknowledge him, in front of the kids they're very respectful and apologetic of accidental triggers without being patronizing, but when they're alone? Straight fucking murder in their eyes. The Pilfadonnas are fucken e n r a g e d they're fucken seething because how dare Jackass Schnee hurt these sweet kids so fucking much

-They make sure neither the Schneeblings nor Willow are around when they let out their furious vents to each other absolutely slandering Jackass' name with clenched fists and bared fangs because they don't want their anger to trigger anyone but yeahhhh. Yeah, if Jacques is still out there we're adding two bisexual cat pilfs to the waiting list fer ripping his head off

-ANYWAYS, on a lighter note, can y'all imagine the Belladonnas are vibing and purring together all comfy and shit and the Schnees see them and are like, "Shit man they're so HEALTHY and FUNCTIONAL what the HECK??"

-Blake groaning, "Dadddddd!!" when her dad pulls up with family albums to talk about his precious daughter's childhood and, "Not you too mom!!!" when Kali excitedly joins in. As Blake is play wrestling with her parents to get the photobooks away, the Schnees are just witnessing this in various levels of amused but also kinda like, "Damn wow is this what a healthy family's supposed to look like dannggg that's crazzzzzyyyyyyyy"

-Vacations to Menagerie where the Belladonnas playfully make fun of their sunburnt as all hell white family members, and even though some Faunus are wary of the visiting Schnees, others are more open to giving these guys a chance and hey!! Turns out the SDC is actually going to be a good company after the shit Jacques Schnee pulled. Imagine the healing between Faunus relations and the Schnee family name when Willow and her kids pull up to help wherever and however they can

-I'm just saying family dinners would be so healthy and healing fer Willow and her kids after years filled with so many isolated, lonely, suffocating as hell dinners when Jacques still walked these halls. Instead of stiff etiquette and barbed questions throw their way by a spiteful bitchass with a clip-on tie, there's warm laughter and jovial banter thrown about; genuine inquires about their day/interests that lead to invested conversation and freely given praise; large, beaming smiles from three dark color-schemed people who radiantly glow like the sun. It's like the Belladonnas breathed back life into the hollowed out Schnees who barely survived all the different ways jackass had hurt them, and that's just so fucken lovely to think about

#please go check out part two with the bellaschneeblings interactions shit was SO FUN to write #also!! yall feel free to reblog with ur own hcs!! the more the merrier #snowleopard came outta nowhere and absolutely rotted my brain like theyre actually so good???#crwby u cowards give me the healthy old ppl polycule they would be so fucken good #Qrow n Willow would be recovering alcoholic bros- much to Winter's chagrin- but its to these two loving cat ppl that Willow comes home to #rebuilding vauco through the power of good parental figures therapy and bisexuality #rwby #rwby snow leopard #kali belladonna #ghira belladonna #willow schnee #pilfadonnas #schneeblings #winter schnee #weiss schnee #whitley schnee #blake belladonna #rwby snowleopard

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snow--witch · 11 months

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Part 2 from my Rage of goddess + loyalty path, high respect final

Ratan and Amala married and are traveling the world together, Amala works at a import company in London and she don't want anything to do with India anymore.

Best. Final. Ever. ♥️

I didn't like very much the kindness of goddess final because I don't support religions that commit atrocities in the name of a god, so screw India, the dozen, Kali and all this shit

This final with my man as human in London was perfect ♥️

Edit: lI'm talking about fictional India in this book, not real India, and yes, although I love ancient cultures I don't approve killing people in name of a god/goddess, sorry but I'm not sorry

I had to explain It cause someone got mad with me for this 🤷‍♀️ people are so sensitive about a game lol

#romance club #rcbookclub #rc kali call of darkness #kali call of darkness #rc kcd #rc amala #amala basu #rc ratan #ratan vaish #ratan x amala

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i-love-sweet-william · 2 years

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in light of the recent demand for unhinged Will, allow me to share a dream I had of a much more brutal Will getting stuck in the body/timeline of a very smol very not yet traumatized Will

in his original timeline he was part of a group that went around identifying and killing (ex)lab workers (it was basically what Kali was doing but like. a little worse) so he can recognize the faces of some people that Aren't Yet lab workers. he encountered one while out shopping with Joyce.

prior to this, Will was just trying to absorb the Good Vibes of this calm timeline. enjoying seeing his old house intact, enjoying his mom (and Jonathan) not yet affected by supernatural bullshit, enjoying his dog being alive. and then when he notices the future lab worker, he is filled with immediate hostility

goes from 😄 to 😡 real fuckin quick

here he is, a happy little bab, not a concern in the world, radiating love and respect for his amazing living mom...and it is ruined in a split second seeing a future lab worker just out and about, being a normal citizen. he even dares to verbally greet Joyce and Will can't have that. nah this guy has to Go. so while Joyce is briefly distracted by something, Will slips away to have a Confrontation

and this dude doesn't know he's gonna become a piece of shit in the future and has no idea wtf is happening but out of nowhere he gets knocked on his ass and suddenly there's a pint-sized child hovering over him trying to be quietly threatening like "Never talk to my mom! don't even LOOK at my mom!! I'll beat ur fuckin ass!!!" (he doesn't know that this Will really could beat his ass. small body aside, this Will can use powers. he's still carrying all the necessary trauma to fuck some shit up)

anyway it doesn't take long for Joyce to notice Will isn't next to her anymore and as soon as Will hears her calling for him he brightens up like "I'm right here, mommy! ♡" then he goes back to glaring a hole through the guy's head and does the *I'm watching you* hand movement while slowly walking backwards away from the very confused and mildly scared citizen

#stranger things #will byers #my post #art #dreams

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valkyrie-of-the-rising-sun · 2 years

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Hey guys. Been down in the dumps these past few days, so I’m gonna talk about Hauyne, my Interceptor OC, to cheer myself up.

Also totally not because I’ve been seeing people post about their own OCs and me wanting to hop on the bandwagon. Nope.

Some facts about her: - Hauyne is not her actual name. What her real name is, no one knows except the person in question.

- She is originally from the same world as we are, being a player of the fangame itself, who got summoned into Aevium because she had the metaknowledge needed to fulfil the role of the Interceptor. Like, seriously. If someone’s gonna change the fate of the world, they might as well be given knowledge of every possible outcome so they know which is the best option to take.

- Before coming to Aevium, Hauyne does competitive battling and a shit ton of challenge runs as a hobby. While it does make the transition into actual battling easier, it still took her an embarassingly long amount of time for her to wrap her head around the fact that Pokemon battling is now a tangible, multi-dimensional activity rather than an abstract concept behind a screen.

- She can understand Pokemon (like N, if you want a reference). Because of this and her general dislike for people, you’re more likely to see her warm up to a Pokemon faster than she does with a person. Most of the rejuv cast are the exception to this rule.

- Unlike her friends who specialise in one or two types (e.g. Venam with Poison and Aelita with Fighting/Flying) or have their team composition revolve around a specific theme (e.g. Erin), Hauyne doesn’t have a preference for any types. Though, she does have a thing for taking in “weak and useless” strays and turning them into juggernauts just to spite their ex-trainers.

- She has a habit of naming her Pokemon after concepts in real-life mythology. The only exception to this is her starter, a female Delphox she named Altissia.

- As a follow-up to the previous point, her main party consists of Kali the Zeraora (her ace), Altissia the Delphox, Vedrfolnir the Sceptile-Haxorus hybrid, Muninn the shiny Corviknight, Shiva the Alolan Ninetales and Triton the Swampert. She has other Pokemon on rotation in the PC, but these are the ones she used the most.

- Has an incorrigible sweet tooth and secretly keeps a hidden candy stash on her. Don’t even think about touching it; she will wreak absolute hell upon anyone who dared to steal from her stash. Venam learnt this the hard way.

- Is quite knowledgeable about medicinal properties of plants. She even makes her own potions, salves and antidotes using ingredients she collected on her travels.

- Abysmal with musical instruments. No one knows how it happens, but she’ll somehow ruin every instrument that makes its way into her hands. For some reason, she’s alright with handling her own flute (possibly a Celestica Flute, though no one can say for sure) though her skills with it leaves a lot to be desired.

- On the flip side, she can sing extremely well. Just that her stage fright makes it seem like she couldn’t sing at all.

- Does she like the sea? No. She loved it. She grew up in a fishing village who... aren’t the greatest fans of her and/or her family, so she often spends her time either in her room or in a nearby hidden cove to avoid the discrimination. The sounds of the waves never fails to calm her down whenever she had a crappy day.

- It may not look like it because of her demure and complaisant disposition, but she’s a mad genius when it comes to Pokemon battling. A “fucking monster” in battle? Psh, Venam. You’re making the understatement of the year. Have you seen that feral, downright manic smile when she’s about to go for the kill? She fights like a demon straight from the ninth circle of hell, more like. *shudders*

- When she decides that she likes a particular person, she’ll draw a portrait of said person in her sketchbook. The number of drawings she made for a person is directly related to how much she likes them. And she’s a pretty good artist, all things considered... for some reason a lot of it are of a certain white-haired Archetype bearer in various casual poses

...Well, that’s all I can think of. I’ll add more later.

#pokemon rejuvenation #original character #Interceptor pokemon rejuvenation #hauyne (my interceptor oc)#ramblings #idk if anyone will read this #but i hope you enjoy it as much as i did

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takeheartlucia · 1 year

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happyyyy valentine's day, my oc's last name is valens, which sounds similar enough to valentines for me to justify talking about him :)

So his full name is Damien Valens (not his real last name lol) he's originally from County Kerry in Ireland but moved to Toronto Canada when he was a teenager and has pretty much had his permanent residence be Toronto ever since.

He has a twin sister (she's older) named Bonnie-Merry they do not get along <3, mostly because he stole her cool demon spear that was also kind of her girlfriend? Scholars remain divided.

ANYWAYS, in continuing with messy relationships, he has an ex-girlfriend named Kali, they are soooooooo in love but also fucking hate it each other. He broke up with her because he was making a lot of bad decisions at the time, happens to the best of us! They still keep in contact but if he wants any info from her then he has to buy her stuff.

Uhhhhhhhhh, so the demon spear has a name, her name is Beryl, if you're familiar with devil may cry's concept of devil arms, it's basically that. She's a demon who turned herself into a spear so she wouldn't die, she can still project an apparition of herself. Her and Damien have a contract, which lore-wise works a little differently than others, usually when a human makes a contract with a demon most of the benefits go to the human, like being able to do magic and shit. HOWEVER, because of some weird stuff including Beryl kind of not having a physical body at the moment, she's the one getting the benefits, basically just siphoning off all of Damien's energy so she can hopefully once again have a physical form. Don't worry they fix this and Damien only dies for a little bit, he's fine, don't worry about it.

I don't feel like talking about stuff that actually happens in the story because like 90% of it is constantly changing. But I will say that despite him being the first character I ever made for this story, he doesn't really have much prominence in the first instalment, he's one of the antagonists really (although he does have some playable sections) and he doesn't really get much of the limelight compared to Beryl, Jason, and Vera. That does change in the second one though (he also gets a sick skateboard!)

Ummmmmm, actually I guess I can talk a little bit about what happens in the first instalment? It's the most 'fleshed out' at least, like I said above Beryl is leeching off his energy right? The thing is, this makes Damien really really sick, he is literally on the verge of dying almost the entire time he is in the first instalment (still can kick your ass though), he's mostly problematic for Jason and Vera (our protagonists) mostly because they keep getting in his way. I guess I should briefly explain the setting, basically it's set on a fictional island off the coast of France where thousands of years ago Beryl fought against an army of demons that wanted to conquer the human world, she ended up sustaining massive injuries and turned herself into a weapon so she wouldn't die. So Damien and Beryl decide to travel back there to try and find anything that might help her retrieve her physical body, along the way they meet Jason and Vera who are here on a job because there's been reports of demonic activity happening on the island. Conflict ensues. He dies. Gets better. Don't worry about it.

That's pretty much as far as I feel comfortable digging in story-wise. I'll just say some other random shit about him now that I couldn't fit anywhere else.

He's 6'5

He's half-Japanese

He's trans

He listens to Evanescence

He does have a crush on Amy Lee

Other crushes: Vergil devilmaycry and Mileena mortalkombat :)

idfk????

Anyways. That's it. I think?

#damien #specialest guy in the whole world. to me.

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linearsystem · 2 years

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am i too late for the introject ask game?! 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 15, please? i had dia in mind when i picked these but anyone can answer who's around!!! <3

Let's just share 'em (and hey, hope ya're well. been thinkin' of ya). I'll answer 'em all, whoever else wants to chip in, chips in. Color coding for ease of reading.

5 . What do you think of your source's fandom?

R: Eh. It's not too big, but I don't like how most people depict abnos.

Y: You really can't escape shipcourse unless you flee outside the western sphere... it's kinda terrifying >,< Fandom should really just be you and the friends you made along the way!

6 . Do you have any sourcemates in your system?

R: Kali. We don't really see each other as belonging to a canon or anything like that, but she gets my abno specific shit.

Y: Technically, Eve and Birdie! We tentatively say they are splitrojects and one of their sources is the same as mine? I love them anyway <3

7 . Have you ever met any sourcemates outside your system?

R: Yeah. Don't really talk to anyone though, 'cept you.

Y: We sure have seen a couple floating around on tumblr, but... nuh uh! Talking to anyone would be terrible, if they are bound to hate me! Or any of the others! I don't wanna go through that kind of thing!

8 . Have you ever posted/sent a sourcecall anywhere? Did it help you find sourcemates?

R: Nope.

9 . What do you think are your biggest differences from/similarities to your source?

R: For sure my mindset. I am a lot less... laser focused on shit, now. My emotions are a lot more whole and less overwhelming. It can get pretty intense, but I can more or less function like humans do, now. As for biggest similarity... fashion sense :v:

Y: I look different! And can change my appearance! And I'm ageless! And I also go by Licorice, which is a different name!

E: I'm bound to be different from both my sources because of having two sources =3= My usual name is neither Sora nor Pars (though I would accept either >3o) and I guess I'm more... immediatly mentally ill? I also look different in headspace than either source.

B: I am on the same boat as Eve. I think being older than either source character sets me quite apart from them- it allows me a different view on things and a particular mindset that is more given to positive actions than canon. I look very different from Good Sky, as well, and like most of us, go by a different name. A true Theseus Ship of identity, held together only by the fact that the ship was never corporeal to begin with. Maybe, then, in that sense, the real similarity to my canons is a "metaidentity" that simply marks me as "being" such and such, with no need for extra characteristics to join the fray.

11. What's your favourite thing about your source?

R: Iori, next question.

Y: The sense of belonging!! That is so important... knowing that we aren't here for no reason, but because we are meant to be together, go together, lovingly, melting in, swirling to be just one... that's worth the world. My favorite thing is then, love, love, love!

E: ~Me~

B: The exploration of suffering and affection, war and friendship and the cruelty anyone can exhibit as their environment fosters that rather than any measure of gentleness. Am I talking about Yugioh or Good Sky?

15 . What other role, if any, do you have in the system?

R: Dunno. I guess I am still a co-host, specifically for going out to places that might be stressful.

K: Manager.

Y: I help Kali! And I greet and meet everyone new that appears and help build relationships!

E: Symptom Holder for a bunch of stuff~

B: Caretaker for Eve ^^

#.Red #.Birdie #.Eve #.K #long post #ask game

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dl-kans-log · 2 years

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Dl Kan’s personal log: entry 10

My first real Dl Kan’s log! Well technically this is a personal log, so not really… But I’m finally truly in command of my ship! Oh my, there was a whole ceremony for our launch, broadcasted to every single Xenodi on Koyak! I had to do A SPEECH! They did not tell me I had to do a speech. To make matters worse, Kalis tried to give me a pep talk about the speech, but when he pat me on the back he accidentally brushed against my Mak’di! Oh my fuck, that was a fleeting moment of pure euphoria, followed by extreme panic. I think everyone behind me saw my Mak’di swell up, good thing the whole world didn’t at least! At least I think they didn’t… shit…

Also, I woke up with a sore shoulder and a nasty headache this morning. There was a tiny scab there too, like I had been jabbed. It’s probably just a coincidence, but I’ve felt like my bodies’ been changing. I’ve had strange mild spasms, random cramps, and weird intrusive thoughts. Dokin chocked it up to nerves, but I still think something’s up.

End log

#star trek #star trek fanfiction #captain’s log

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osleyakomwonkru · 4 years

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The Octavia Blake Guide to Surviving Lockdown (and What Comes Next)

So it’s been six weeks in isolation. I think? Time has long since become irrelevant. The world is stressed. I’m stressed. Not so much about the coronavirus itself, but everything else surrounding the situation. The isolation. The uncertainty. Society losing its shit. What the world will look like when it is all over, because everything will change whether we want it to or not.

You know, all that fun stuff our favourite characters on The 100 deal with each episode.

Which brings me to this post. What Would Octavia Blake Do?

I mean, she’s got the experience. Sixteen years of isolation in a single room, followed by a year of isolation in another room, then about six months on the ground, followed by six years locked under the ground... she knows better than anyone how to survive these sorts of trying times.

So here we have it - famous Octavia quotes and how to apply them to our current situation. Mostly serious, part irreverent, all of it a homage to the fact that stories matter and can help us figure out how to deal with this messy thing called life.

“A warrior doesn’t worry about what she can’t control.”

This is a mantra I repeat to myself many times a day. Sometimes I believe it. It’s hard. But it really is the only way to keep yourself sane these days. The world has turned upside down, but you can’t control it. You can only control yourself.

I can’t control that 75% of my income earning potential vanished overnight. I can control how I budget the remaining 25%, credit cards and looking into new income streams.

I can’t control that I’m stuck in a country I was supposed to leave this week for however long this continues to go on. I can try and learn to love it again, because we’re going to be spending more time together.

So what else can I do to keep myself healthy and sane? Let’s look at what Octavia does.

Train. One of the first things I started doing as soon as the lockdown started in mid-March was set up an exercise plan. Now, I don’t typically “exercise” in my normal life. I just walk everywhere I need to go and call that good enough. But now that I’m not really doing that, I have to find a way to do so indoors. I started out with three half-hour Zumba sessions per day, and now I’ve worked my way into more specific and targeted workout sessions. YouTube is a godsend. Every type of exercise you could think of, in any time length you want, you can find there. I’m doing abs, arms, more squats than I’ve ever done in my life, kickboxing, etc.

Read. See all those books on your shelves collecting dust? Yeah, read them now. I haven’t been following this advice as much as I should, but I’m making an effort to get better. I have so many unread books and I really should read them. If you’re one of those strange people who don’t have unread books, embrace the opportunities that sites like Project Gutenberg provide and read all the classics online for free. Octavia loves the classics.

Eat healthy. I hadn’t eaten at home for six months before this all started, so I had to refill my pantry and remember how to cook. Keeping your body healthy is important. Get your fruits and vegetables. Also ensure a protein source. Don’t go full on prepper, don’t hoard, but if shit hits the fan and you want to avoid the Dark Year happening in real life, make sure you have a few jars of peanut butter and/or a few packs of beef jerky stashed away for a rainy day. Your neighbours will thank you.

“Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim.” (Get knocked down, get back up)

At the beginning of this year, no one could have predicted what the state of the world is right now. People made plans. People started putting their plans into action.

Enter coronavirus.

Everything changes.

I actually had a plan for this year. I was going to leave here this week, go back to Canada for six months, then move to Spain. Well... I don’t know what’s going to happen now. And because of the uncertainty, I can’t know. This has made me so mad, because for the first time in years I had a strategy for the changes I wanted to make in my life, and now they’d all been shot to sunshine.

Some days you have to just scream. (Or cry and spend the day eating quesadillas in a blanket fort. True story.) But then after that happens, you have to brush yourself off, get up again and keep going.

Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim.

I’m not making any plans further than today. I know that’s an exercise in futility right now. All I can do is focus on what I can control (see above point) and continue to focus on that and what I can do for myself until there are things that I can do in the world again.

Moral of the story: Yes, there are going to be shitty days. You’ve probably already had a bunch of them. But you have to pick yourself up again and keep going when they’re over. You might feel like you want to give up. Heaven knows Octavia’s felt like that a lot of times. But she still kept going. If she stubbornly fought through a cliff dive with a stab wound and a quicksand pool of Orbeez, we can handle some uncertainty and delayed life plans.

“The sword doesn’t care what you meant, it just cuts.”

Time to step onto a soapbox for a bit.

Some world leaders and governments have done admirably with dealing with this crisis. Some have done okay. Some have done so fucking awful at their jobs and continue to spout nonsense from their podiums that it is going to cause real people to die. (Not naming any names, but I’m sure you know what I mean.)

Octavia is the only character on this show who understands that when you’re in a tough situation, what your intentions are doesn’t matter, it is only the results that do. This is applicable to our situation today in a twofold manner.

Point One: We can only control our own actions. That means being a responsible citizen, following public health guidelines. Stay home. If you have to go out, practice social distancing and any other recommendations set out by your public health authority. You might say you’re young and healthy, you’re not concerned about if you get the virus, but it is not about you. You could be asymptomatic and not know it. You might not mean to get someone else sick - someone who is more vulnerable - but it could still happen if you don’t behave responsibly. So take ownership of your actions and do what you can to minimize the spread.

Which brings us to Point Two: You can’t control other’s actions, but you can hold them accountable for them. Which in this situation mostly means your country’s leaders. Do not forget how they responded to this crisis. Remember. Remember when it is time to vote. Did they do a good job or did they do a bad job? How many people lived or died because of what they said? Did they follow the advice of medical experts? And so on. This isn’t a time for party politics, this is a time for “can we rely on this leader to do what’s right for the people of this country when we’re in a crisis?” If the answer is no, vote for somebody else.

The same applies to non-governmental leaders - leaders of business and charities and everything else that you can think of. Remember who stepped up and helped people when and how they needed it. Remember who didn’t. Remember who actively made lives worse. Budget your money accordingly.

“Kom folau oso na gyon op.” (From the ashes we will rise)

This will pass.

When, we don’t know. How, we don’t know. But all we can do is work on ourselves and make ourselves as strong as we can for whatever the future brings us.

Some people are optimists, believing that this will usher in a new world where more people understand the challenges that others have always faced with things like mental health or physical disabilities and issues of accessibility and so on. Where more people will be aware of the dangers of climate change. Where people who are now coming together online and building hope and change will continue to do so in person when we can leave our homes and meet up with others again.

Some people are pessimists, believing the world will collapse and we’ll enter into a post-apocalyptic scenario like The 100 or any of the other dozens of post-apocalyptic media offerings out there. Where it’ll be every person for themselves and panic and destruction will reign supreme.

You don’t have to speculate on the different scenarios. That’s not helpful right now. All you can do is work on yourself and make yourself ready for whatever the future will throw at us, and do your part in making a positive one.

This could be the point of lockdown where you’re starting to move out of the panic phase of ensuring survival, and are able to move into higher-level brain function again. If you’re not, that’s okay, it could still take some time. If you’re struggling, don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are people out there who can help. Just remember that this is a process, a process of so many different emotions, sometimes on a loop, sometimes all at once in a flurry of chaos, and that’s okay.

Take care of yourself. Survive. Find a new normal.

Octavia’s journey in season six was about shedding the pain and trauma of her old life, and finding a new one to believe in. Until she did that, she didn’t have to worry about the greater plot nonsense that was going on. That’s our journey now too. The world is changing. How, we don’t know yet. But take this time to make yourself strong for whatever is to come, because whichever scenario wins out, a strong you will always be beneficial.

Ste yuj. (Stay strong.) Because humanity is resilient. And from the ashes, we will rise.

#the 100 #coronavirus #covid-19 #octavia blake #kali talks real world shit #fandom matters #stories help you relate to the world and make sense of it #that's why stories exist

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mugasofer · 3 years

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It seems like many, perhaps most, people historically believed in some immanent apocalypse.

Many philosophies claim that the world is passing into a degenerate age of chaos (Ages of Man, Kali Yuga, life-cycle of civilisation), or divine conflict will shortly spill over & destroy the Earth (Ragnorok, Revelations, Zoroastrian Frashokereti), or that the natural forces sustaining us must be transient.

Yet few panic or do anything. What anyone does "do about it" is often symbolic & self-admittedly unlikely to do much.

Maybe humans evolved not to care, to avoid being manipulated?

Many cults make similar claims, and do uproot their lives around them. Even very rarely committing mass suicide or terror attacks etc on occasion. But cults exist that don't make such claims, so it may not be the mechanism they use to control, or at most a minor one. "This is about the fate of the whole world, nothing can be more important than that, so shut up" may work as as a thought terminating cliche, but it doesn't seem to work that strongly, and there are many at least equally effective ones.

Some large scale orgs do exist that seem to take their eschatology "seriously". The Aztecs committed atrocities trying to hold off apocalypse, ISIS trying to cause it. Arguably some Communist or even fascist groups count, depending on your definition of apocalypse.

But even then, one can argue their actions are not radically different from non-apocalypse-motivated ones - e.g. the Aztecs mass-executed less per capita than the UK did at times & some historians view them as more about displaying authority.

I'm thinking about this because of two secular eschatologies - climate apocalypse and the Singularity.

My view on climate change, which as far as I can tell is the scientific consensus, is that it is real and bad but by no means apocalyptic. We're talking incremental increases in storms, droughts, floods etc, all of which are terrible, but none of which remotely threaten human civilisation. E.g. according to the first Google result, the sea is set to rise by 1 decimeter by 2100 in a "high emissions scenario", not to rise by tens or hundreds of meters and consume all coastal nations as I was taught as a child. Some more drastic projections suggest that the sea might rise by as much as two or three meters in the worst case scenario.

It really creeps me out when I hear people who confess to believe that human civilisation, the human species, or even all life on Earth is most likely going to be destroyed soon by climate change. The most recent example, which prompted this post, was the Call of Cthulhu podcast I was listening to casually suggesting that it might be a good idea to summon an Elder God of ice and snow to combat climate change as the "lesser existential risk", perhaps by sacrificing "climate skeptics" to it. It's incredibly jarring for me to realise that the guys I've been listening to casually chatting about RPGs think they live in a world that will shortly be ended by the greed of it's rulers. But this idea is everywhere. Discussions of existential risks from e.g. pandemics inevitably attract people arguing that the real existential risk is climate change. A major anti-global-warming protest movement, Extinction Rebellion, is literally named after the idea that they're fighting against their own extinction. Viral Tumblr posts talk about how the fear of knowing that the world is probably going to be destroyed soon by climate change and fascism is crippling their mental health, and they have no idea how to deal with it because it's all so real.

But it's not. It's not real.

Well, I can't claim that political science is accurate enough for me to definitively say that fascism isn't going to take over, but I can say that climate science is fairly accurate and it predicts that the world is definitely not about to end in fire or in flood.

(There are valid arguments that climate change or other environmental issues might precipitate wars, which could turn apocalyptic due to nuclear weapons; or that we might potentially encounter a black swan event due to our poor understanding of the ecosystem and climate-feedback systems. But these are very different, as they're self-admittedly "just" small risks to the world.)

And I get the impression that a lot of people with more realistic views about climate change deliberately pander to this, deliberately encouraging people to believe that they're going to die because it puts them on the "right side of the issue". The MCU's Loki, for instance, recently casually brought up a "climate apocalypse" in 2050, which many viewers took as meaning the world ending. Technically, the show uses a broad definition of "apocalypse" - Pompeii is given as another example - and it kind of seems like maybe all they meant was natural disasters encouraged by climate change, totally defensible. But I still felt kinda mad about it, that they're deliberately pandering to an idea which they hopefully know is false and which is causing incredible anxiety in people. I remember when Greta Thurnberg was a big deal, I read through her speeches to Extinction Rebellion, and if you parsed them closely it seemed like she actually did have a somewhat realistic understanding of what climate change is. But she would never come out and say it, it was all vague implications of doom, which she was happily giving to a rally called "Extinction Rebellion" filled with speakers who were explicitly stating, not just coyly implying, that this was a fight for humanity's survival against all the great powers of the world.

But maybe there's nothing wrong with that. I despise lying, but as I've been rambling about, this is a very common lie that most people somehow seem unaffected by. Maybe the viral tumblr posts are wrong about the source of their anxiety; maybe it's internal/neurochemical and they world just have picked some other topic to project their anxieties on if this particular apocalypse wasn't available. Maybe this isn't a particularly harmful lie, and it's hypocritical of me to be shocked by those who believe it.

Incidentally, I believe the world is probably going to end within the next fifty years.

Intellectually, I find the arguments that superhuman AI will destroy the world pretty undeniable. Sure, forecasting the path of future technology is inherently unreliable. But the existence of human brains, some of which are quite smart, proves pretty conclusively it's possible to get lumps of matter to think - and human brains are designed to run on the tiny amounts of energy they can get by scavenging plants and the occasional scraps of meat in the wilderness as fuel, with chemical signals that propagate at around the speed of sound (much slower than electronic ones), with only the data they can get from input devices they carry around with them, and which break down irrevocably after a few decades. And while we cannot necessarily extrapolate from the history of progress in both computer hardware and AI, that progress is incredibly impressive, and there's no particular reason to believe it will fortuitously stop right before we manufacture enough rope to hang ourselves.

Right now, at time of writing, we have neural nets that can write basic code, appear to scale linearly in effectiveness with the available hardware with no signs that we're reaching their limit, and have not yet been applied at the current limits of available hardware let alone what will be available in a few years. They absorb information like a sponge at a vastly superhuman speed and scale, allowing them to be trained in days or hours rather than the years or decades humans require. They are already human-level or massively superhuman at many tasks, and are capable of many things I would have confidently told you a few years ago were probably impossible without human-level intelligence, like the crazy shit AI dungeon is capable of. People are actively working on scaling them up so that they can work on and improve the sort of code they are made from. And we have no ability to tell what they're thinking or control them without a ton of trial and error.

If you follow this blog, you're probably familiar with all the above arguments for why we're probably very close to getting clobbered by superhuman AI, and many more, as well as all the standard counter-arguments and the counter-arguments to those counter arguments.

(Note: I do take some comfort in God, but even if my faith were so rock solid that I would cheerfully bet the world on it - which it's not - there's no real reason why our purpose in God's plan couldn't be to destroy ourselves or be destroyed as an object lesson to some other, more important civilization. There's ample precedent.)

Here's the thing: I'm not doing anything about it, unless you count occasionally, casually talking about it with people online. I'm not even donating to help any of the terrifyingly-few people who are trying to do something about it. Part of why I'm not contributing is, frankly, I don't have a clue what to do, nor do I have much confidence in any of the stuff people are currently doing (although I bloody well hope some of it works.)

And yet I don't actually feel that scared.

I feel more of a visceral chill reading about the nuclear close calls that almost destroyed the world in the recent past than thinking about the stuff that has a serious chance of doing so in a few decades. I'm a neurotic mess, and yet what is objectively the most terrifying thing on my radar does not actually seem to contribute to my neurosis.

#x risk cw #futurism #we live in the future #long #rambly late night posting #history #religion

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thedevilsruby · 2 years

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Love on the Set (Clierra multi chapter fic)

Sierra Rossi, or Sunset Lace, is a well known adult movie star throughout the internet. She has it all: Fans, money, fame. But her world changes when a new actor, Cliff joins her on the set.

Chapter Eight: Possessive

Arlo sipped his coffee as he boredly started editing the new takes.

That was boring until he noticed Sierra in another girl shoot. They were putting her in a lot of girl on girl shoots ever since that incident with Satin Flame.

Thinking back, Arlo remembered it. Wasn't Sierra supposed to do that shoot with Kane? What happened to that?

And now that Satin had a taste of Sunset Lace, it seemed she wanted more. Not in a romantic way, but in a way that Satin had grown to idolize Sunset. Arlo had heard Satin talk about how great Sunset was and how she deserved nothing but respect.

"Well," Arlo said, chugging the rest of his coffee and standing up, throwing his empty coffee cup into the trash. "I have questions that need to be answered."

"Good night, Sierra!" Kali called out to Sierra with a wave as she walked out the door.

"Bye, Kali!" Sierra called back, smiling. She grabbed her coat and was ready to walk out herself until she heard a voice.

"You and Satin are getting close, huh?"

Sierra whirled around to see Arlo leaning in her doorway, smirking. She rolled her eyes. "It's not what you think. We're just friends."

"That shoot you did with her says otherwise." Arlo rebutted. "Why else would you push her off Kane? You were supposed to do that shoot with him after all, were you not?"

Sierra blushed and looked at the floor. Ugh, Arlo was not going to let it go, was he?

"Ugh, it just pisses me off ok!? They keep having him set up with all these girls, if I didn't do it, they were going to give him to Kandi! And Satin was all over him and it burned me up! So I made out with her to get her away from Kane and-" Sierra stopped herself. Shit, she had said too much!

"Oh my stars." Arlo gasped, a grin forming on his lips. An impish grin at that. "You have a thing for Kane!"

"SHH!" Sierra hissed, making sure no one heard him. "Are you insane?! It's not like that!"

"I knew you had a thing for a guy you accidentally hurt, why didn't you tell me it was Kane?!" Arlo asked.

"Arlo, tell ANYONE I said any of this, you won't live to see your future child's first birthday." Sierra snarled, bunching her hands into fists.

"You would kill your own best friend? Shame on you, Sierra Anna Rossi." Arlo put a hand to his chest dramatically.

"Don't you use my middle name!" Sierra growled.

"But...I can't say anything, not even to Kane?" Arlo asked, his impish grin returning.

"You little-!" Sierra grabbed him into a headlock, but couldn't help but laugh. Arlo joined her, getting himself out of her grip.

"Come on, let's get outta here. I got a date with Elara soon." He chuckled, stepping out of her dressing room. Sierra followed, catching her breath.

But Arlo picked it up once more. "Still, the mighty Sunset Lace having a crush." He said. "Never thought I would see the day."

"You can call me by my real name." Sierra rolled her eyes as she made sure her door was locked. "We're best friends and you're not on camera or online."

"Still, 'Sierra' having a crush isn't as fun." Arlo grinned.

"You're so lucky you're my only friend."

"Well, someone has to tolerate your crazy ass."

"I'm not as crazy as Kandi." Sierra laughed.

Little did they know, someone overheard their conversation. Cliff looked over and saw Sierra laughing with Arlo, who was smiling right back.

"The fuck is the little guy?" He raised an eyebrow. A boyfriend of hers?

For some reason, that burned him up. Only he should be making Sierra laugh. Faking a smile, he walked over to them. "Hey Sierra, what's so funny?" He asked, eyeing Arlo. "And who's this?"

"Oh hey you!" Sierra smiled, shooting Arlo a quick warning glance as he grinned. "This is Arlo, my best friend. Arlo, I'm sure you know Cliff, or Kane as he's known."

"I've heard your name around here." Arlo smiled up at Cliff. "Nice to match a face with the name."

"Nice to meet you too." Cliff said, trying not to crack his teeth with how hard they were gritted.

"Ar, we're on for coffee tomorrow?" Sierra asked, pulling her car keys out. Arlo nodded. "Good, see you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Arlo called back as she walked away. Right as Arlo was about to walk away, his shoulder was roughly grabbed and he was forced to face Cliff.

"Listen, I don't know what your game is, but stay away from her." Cliff snarled. "She's mine."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Arlo demanded, pushing Cliff's hand off him. "What game?"

"I mean Sierra is mine and I don't want anyone thinking they have a chance with her." Cliff growled. "If you think-"

"Hi baby!" A new voice chimed in. Both looked to see a girl with long black hair and a black and red uniform rush in. The red bird circle on her shirt and hat signaled Cliff she worked for Valor Mystic Instinct Industries.

The girl hugged Arlo and kissed his cheek. "We on for the movie? It starts soon!"

Arlo smirked at Cliff's dumbfounded face. The girl looked at Cliff and smiled. "Hi! Do you work with my husband?" She asked.

Husband?

"Yeah he does, sweetness." Arlo chuckled. "Cliff, this is Elara, my wife. Ela, this is Cliff. He's new."

"Hi!" Elara chirped, holding her hand out for Cliff to shake.

"Uh...nice to meet you." Cliff said sheepishly, shaking her hand.

"Meet me out in the car, beautiful." Arlo told her before nuzzling her. As if to prove his point, he gave her a swift smack to the ass as she walked off. She squealed, giggling as she walked out.

"You were saying?" Arlo asked, crossing his arms.

"I...uh...sorry..." Cliff mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

Arlo shrugged. "If I had feelings for Sierra, I'd be possessive too."

Cliff's face burned as he glared. "I do not have those kind of feelings for her!"

"Explain the blush and your reaction from me just standing next to her." Arlo rebutted.

Cliff opened his mouth for a response but found he didn't have one. Arlo smirked once more.

"That's what I thought. But heads up, if you wanna be with her, you're gonna have to trust her and watch your temper. It's bad if you don't trust her not to cheat. Buh-bye!" Arlo waved and walked out to meet his wife.

This left Cliff to his own thoughts. Did he have feelings for Sierra. Yes, hanging out with her off camera was fun, and what they did on camera was even more fun. But did he have feelings for her?

He decided to just go home and overthink there. At least he would have some privacy.

Huge thank you to the wonderful @whatsupwithjinx for helping me with this chapter! You're amazing and I love you!

#pokemon #pokemon go #leader sierra #leader cliff #leader arlo #trainer elara #team go rocket leader sierra #team go rocket leader cliff #team go rocket leader arlo #cliff x sierra #sierra x cliff #clierra #elarlo #whatsupwithjinx

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itsonlystrange · 3 years

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It’s late and I feel like talking about ST characters trauma

I feel like most people only focus on Will’s or El’s (which both are very valid ! ) but I think we both need to remember that:

1: characters exist outside of their trauma. If you believe that all a single character is is their trauma, and that they deserve no further character depth, you’re psycho

And 2: all characters in this fking show are traumatized. All. Of. Them. At this rate, I think Lucas is the most unscathed mentally, yet he ALSO has so much trauma! Which nobody ever talks about!

I love Will and El, however I feel like other characters (especially the females) deserve more expansion on the sh!t they’ve been through.

I WANT TO ALSO SAY:

This isn’t me narrowing down characters with the “most trauma” as I simply cannot put every character in this post and go on a full analysis rn as its 4:00 am. And also, trauma isn’t a competition. I am sick of people saying “so and so is more traumatized than so and so.” Or “so and so is the most/less traumatized.”

All trauma is valid.

People will trauma of any kind know that it doesn’t matter if someone lost 2 legs and half their brain, but you only broke your foot. That’s still gonna be painful! Mentally and physically! It isn’t a race. I don’t want to see ANY of that anymore. It’s disgusting and undermining other characters traumas to benefit others. All characters trauma is V A L I D. It all is! There is no “well so and so is the most traumatized so the others don’t get to complain.” NO! NO NO NO! That’s not how it works! This isn’t a game!! And don’t ever feel bad about not having gone through as much as your friend, your trauma is yours and all experiences are valid.

ALSO REMINDER: characters exist outside of their trauma and ab*se and I know that! This isn’t me belittling or shrinking down people to only a component to their trauma. It’s me pointing out their trauma rather than having their trauma he their whole character. I just think we need more people to talk about other ST characters, especially right now.

Now, without further a do:

MAX:

Max’s dad left fairly early on from what we’ve seen, however she still had some contact with him for at least a few more years as she seems to remember him and miss him quite a lot. We don’t know much about Mr. Mayfield, but we do know Max mises him a great deal. We also know that she has most likely witnessed a lot of physical and verbal ab*se from her stepfather. It’s never stated if Max is a handle to this ab*se either, but she’s definitely witnessed it. Which is why I believe she pushes people away, she’s afraid to get latched on. Because If she does she’ll start to care, and then they’ll just leave like almost everyone else, like her old friends and her father. She puts up walls and feign strength and a somewhat high ego to keep up the hallucination that she doesn’t care about what others think, when she really does. Not to mention she literally witnessed Billy die right before her eyes. Do you know how traumatizing that is? She’s also seen multiple others die aswell, making it worse. Now with Billy gone, Max will most likely be the center of Neil’s ab*se, and Will distance herself from everyone, and will probably spiral into a severe depression. She acts all tough on the outside when in reality she just wants to be loved and accepted, by her friends and family. She gets critiqued quite a lot, especially for being a girl, and you can tell she definitely has gotten the short end of the stick most her life.

KALI:

Do I even need to explain this one? She was literally ABDUCTED AS A CHILD, then adopted, then her adoptive family DITCHED HER, she was forced to see others get hurt or to hurt others for experiments, she’s seen multiple people d!e, and she feels like the only way for life to get better is by k!lling people. Although she’ll never show it, she feels so alone in the world. With no real family, and only her friends, she has nobody to turn to. Kali was so hated upon, which in a way, I understand. I don’t entirely agree with her morally but I do see where her intentions lay and I don’t think she’s as bad as a person as everyone says she is. She’s just a broken girl that deserves to be loved. And she’s so distant from love because she’s afraid of getting hurt. But she deserves happiness, and I wish the Duffers would allow her that happiness, too.

JOYCE:

Nobody EVER talks about Joyce’s trauma as much as they talk about Will’s or El’s (which I’m not invalidating either of theirs I’m just pointing out Joyce’s)

Joyce is said to deal with frequent panic attacks and anxiety. She was verbally and probably physically ab*see by her husband leaving her with severe trust issues. For awhile the whole town thought she was crazy, and we’ve seen her be treated like an outcast. She doesn’t fit in. Back in the 80’s, single moms were looke down upon. Will is constantly referred to as “Lonnie’s Boy”, because that’s what people see him as, even when Lonnie ditched Will and hurt him more than Joyce ever could. Joyce works/worked multiple jobs, and had to keep up her family of two boys. It got so bad even Jonathan had to get one or two jobs just to keep a roof over their heads.

Joyce really deserves happiness. She’s always alert now and her anxiety has only gotten worse. She’s constantly looking for things that aren’t there and although she may have been right about the magnets, it’s worrying that she saw a pattern there, anyways. Her life has given her the short end of the stick multiple times. She’s seen multiple people d!e, her son get possessed, her son get exorcised and be in so much pain, the love of her life (Bob) die right in front of her, the other love of her life (Hopper) die right infront of her, she’s been losing herself since season one, and knowing it’ll only get worse in season 4 scares me so much. She deserves to settle down and find a happy family. She deserves love and support and therapy. And she deserves support system that will listen to her and be there for her. Joyce is so strong in so many ways, she has always percerviered through the thick and thin, and life has ever gone in her direction yet she stays there, for her boys, and doesn’t give up. She is so kind and loyal, she took El under her wing, she was there countless nights when Lonnie was screaming, protecting Will. She was there, staying up all night to make sure Will went to bed safely. She worked two jobs and has tried to get enough money for Jonathan to go to college, and yet life has never given her anything back. This woman has been through hell, she deserves to be loved with no consequences. She deserves to be happy without it backfiring. Joyce is such a dimensional character. She’s had her ups and downs, and she’s somehow always found ways to keep on pushing forward past where most people would break. THATS Queen shit

NANCY:

Now, it looks like Nancy had a fairly peaceful upbringing. While I don’t think she has as much trauma as Mike, I feel like a lot of people over look her and her existence and immediately write her off as “selfish” or a “brat”. And while I do agree that she does have some selfish or self centered moments, she’s always grown from those. Character development, people!

Nancy, the oldest of 3, definitely got the most love from her mother. I don’t think her home life has ever been bad. Although Karen and Ted aren’t the perfect happy couple, they don’t seem to fight much, and they seem pretty peaceful. So I don’t think Nancy’s home life is bad necessarily, and from the outside it could almost be described as “perfect”.

However, there is so much beneath that.

Nancy was stuck in a loveless relationship for about a year. She did the best she could at school to fit in or “be popular”. She wanted to stay with Steve because that seemed like the most logical option. He was popular, rich, he’d be the perfect guy to settle down with. But her heart was telling her to go else where. Jonathan was poor, unpopular, and isn’t necessarily the perfect guy to settle down with financially. Her parents put pressure on her to be the perfect housewife (more so her dad, I don’t think karen did as much.) so when Nancy falls for someone the exact opposite of what she should be going for, she’s in denial. She’s torn between the two. She had a perfect life ahead of her. Great friends, popularity, a loving boyfriend, but she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to settle down and living a boring life just like her parents.

Besides all that, she’s been pulled into an alternate dimension, she’s seen multiple people d!e, she’s nearly been k!led MULTIPLE times. She’s had to k!ll people for her own safety. She’s had to watch her boyfriends brother get excorcised, and also stab her boyfriends brother with a flaming hot rod. She’s had to live with the guilt of Barbara, her best friend, dying while she was sleeping with Steve. She feels so much guilt, survivors guilt, for not doing anything that night. She’s had to live with the fact that her bestfriend since she was little passed on right outside where Nancy was, and Nancy could’ve done something about it, which is the worse part. She’s been harassed by misogynistic coworkers for the fact that she’s a female, lowering her self esteem. And it seems that whenever she does something good in the world it always backfires. She feels like an outcast even though she has so many “friends”, or so it seems. She has the perfect house at the end of a culdesac. What can she possibly be sad over? Her life seems seamless. Yet there is a lot buried under there. She seems like she’s in denial over a lot of things, and constantly in a stage of grief. Nancy deserves to not feel ridiculed. She deserves to be a winner, and to prove those misogynistic @ssholes wrong. She shouldn’t have to fit this cookie cutter ideal. She’s a badass. She’s experienced way more than I feel like most people realize, and has been put in the center of absolute insanity yet still was able to come out of it intact. She deserves to live the life she wants to live, without Survivors Guilt, without the feeling of being an outcast, without low self esteem. Nancy is such a strong young woman in more ways than one, and I feel like so many people hate on her solely because she isn’t doing what most of these girl next door characters usually do. She subverted her own trope. And most people are angry that she isn’t this cookie cutter girl the way she’s “supposed to be”. She gets overlooked, and most people prefer the men of the cast, over her. And yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion, however I’ve seen people hate on Nancy for stupid misogynistic things, which isn’t a valid reason to dislike a character. And most people assume she’s just a spoiled, self obsorbed, ditzie girl, but she really is just someone trapped inside a box trying to get out. Nancy is a baddie. She’s always defended her friends. She’s always defended her brother, and has fought interdimensonal demons before. SHE IS SUCH A BADASS! She learned how to use a gun at the age of 16, despite most woman in the 80’s not even slowing themselves to touch a gun. She grew independent and learned to work for herself and not for others. She cracked a major story at the Hawkins Post, and even when people didn’t believe her, she still pursued it, and was right! She doesn’t give up, and people should be looking up to her and aspiring to be her. She literally beat up someone with a fire hydrant while playing a game of Marco Polo. Why does nobody talk about that! She will kick your ass into the next dimension. THATS Queen shit.

That’s all for now. I will touch back up on this later with some more characters traumas (probably Mike’s, Dustin’s, Lucas’s, and more.) but this is it for now. I really think we should pay more attention to the woman in the ST cast and their characters. A lot of focus is usually on the boys, which is understandable, but I wanted to point out how strong all these girls are and how much I admire them. I love Will and el as well, but I’ve already made several posts talking about them and how badass they are, lol. I wanted to shine light on more people that usually don’t take the spotlight very often. I’ll be back with more, later! As I said above, I’ll totally touch on some more people’s trauma as well, as there’s a lot beneath the surface I feel like most people don’t pay attention to.

SORRY FOR SUPER LONG POST

PS: I began writing that at 4:44am, then fell asleep. It’s 11:45 am now.

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #st4 #nancy wheeler #joyce byers #kali prasad #max mayfield

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jadekitty777 · 3 years

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On Your Six, Chapter 8

You’re going to be offended when I tell you I’m still not done. How did this happen? How did this end chapter get so long that I have to break it in half and I still have not finished it?

Oh right, I wrote myself into a corner and had to get myself out of it in the most outlandish way possible. Yeah that checks out.

For now please enjoy chapter 8 of what is now a 9-chapter story. Because I have no self control.

Day 8: Free Day for @taiqrowweek

Rating: T for this chapter, M for overall

Words: 6.5k

Summary: Qrow was what most of society would call a small-town criminal. But to those oppressed, he hoped only to be a healer. In an effort to make a change in the world, he moves from kingdom to kingdom, searching for branded omegas in need. His goal? To turn the derogatory words the reformatories forced them to bear on their skin into works of art.

Then one day, his past catches up to him in the form of Taiyang, his former best friend, with a brand of his own stained onto his skin and a plea for help in his eyes. Qrow has no choice but to answer, even if it means he’d have to face his mistakes once and for all.

[An ABO-style universe in a modern-day style Remnant. No Grimm, because people are the real monsters in this one]

Ao3 Link: Hang...

Qrow was thirty-two when it finally happened.

He was working out of Mantle on the cusp of winter. The bustling, compact metropolis had become a bit of a mainstay for him over the years, thanks to his connections with the Omega Alliance. The political party had formed half a decade ago, heralded by none other than Robyn Hill. The movement was quickly becoming a worldwide spectacle, with more factions forming in every major city of the four kingdoms almost every week. With the main branch strategically close to Atlas though, it had become a media-struggle to both stay in the spotlight and to silence the oppressed.

It was just the kind of thing that might turn the tides for omega rights once and for all.

However, for Qrow, the Alliance had become a bit of a safe haven. The group had welcomed him in with open arms and encouraged him to continue his work, with the stipulation the Alliance would be endorsing the rebranding efforts in their press conferences and rallies. In turn, he was given a ‘secret nesting spot’ no matter where he seemed to travel to and a donation fund that kept him so well off, Tai stopped trying to measure his waistline with his eyes whenever he came to visit. All the while, his anonymity was kept intact and his clientele full.

It seemed like an eternity since he’d been able to live so comfortably.

Which led him to where he was that fateful day. The Greenleaf Inn was a well-sized, three-star hotel that always conveniently had its mini-suite open whenever he was around. The bed alone was worth its weight in lien, but the mini-bar fridge and spa tub made him feel like he was a king. The extra space also allowed for more pleasant accommodations for his clients.

That day, he was working with a young journalist by the name of Forest. He was a chatterer and a bit of a political enthusiast, his support for the Alliance borderline fanatic. Most of their time was spent discussing current events.

“Vacuo’s press conference is all in an uproar. Pride leader Kali can’t even get a word in edgewise; no one’s listening to her. It’s all looking pretty bad – then her Alpha gets to his feet. He’s like a monster of a man – wider than a truck and tall as a house. Everyone shuts up when he clears his throat and says his mate has something to say. Then he just sits down and lets her talk. Sienna reported that Kali turned into a real lioness and took charge!” Forest mimicked the swiping of claws. “It was spectacular! But of course, the headlines are all about what Ghira did and Kali’s performance is just a side note. It’s always about the alphas – uh, no offense.”

Well maybe discussing was too strong a term. “None taken.” Qrow replied offhandedly from the floor, more concerned with getting the arch of the fox’s face just right where it curled over the shin bone. He wasn’t even sure Forest heard him anyways.

“Suppose the end result is what matters though. Vacuo was the last agenda we needed to be on. Now we’re ensured the UFK really starts discussing omega affairs this winter. And I think-”

He never did find out what Forest thought – because a rapping on the door cut him off. Qrow turned off his pen, wary as he got to his feet. It wasn’t typical he got visitors out of the blue.

Then a voice shouted from the other side. “Harbinger, hurry up!”

“May?” Forest sat upright.

Qrow was already across the room in two strides, throwing open the door. The blue-haired omega was in a state, her scent bleeding panic as she cut right to the chase, “You need to get out of here! The police are in the lobby, looking for you!”

“What?!” He barked, heart rate skyrocketing. “But how?”

May pushed him back, hurrying inside. “Don’t know. Joanna’s trying to stall, but we only got a few minutes at most before this place is crawling. What do you need? Forest, you too, get up!”

The reporter seemed to snap out of his daze, jumping to his feet. “Why don’t we just hide in another room?”

“That might work for you, but not him. They’re gonna raze this place from the ground up.”

“Then hide him. I’m going down the stairwell.” Qrow insisted, having already thrown his kit back together and snapping the case closed. He got to his feet, pulling his scroll from his pocket. “Here. Destroy it.”

She looked from the device to him, uncertain. “But I can help-”

“No.” He barely withheld the growl. “You’re a lead member of Atlas’ branch. They see you helping me and the kingdom’s gonna run with the bad press. You don’t need that, especially not with the UFK assembly so close.”

For one long terrible moment, he was certain she was going to keep arguing. But any bluster was blown out with a heavy sigh and a helpless, “Good luck.”

He was going to need it.

“Shit.” Qrow cursed as he caught a gander of the lobby floor from the little window in the stairwell door. The place was crawling. He could already see a pair of officers at the elevator doors. There was almost definitely one at every exit point as well.

He backed up, trying to think. There was no way he was getting out undetected and the moment they started questioning him or asking for identification, he was going to be in trouble. He thought about reconsidering Forest’s idea – but even if they played a game of Scooby Doo chase with the cops, it wasn’t going to be long before they caught sight of him. He couldn’t just go up to his room and wait for the inevitable either.

He was trapped. His only hope was if he spontaneously learned how to fly.

Unless… He tilted his head up, looking at the flights of stairs. Which went all the way up to the roof.

The buildings weren’t that far apart.

It was crazy. But, it might be his only chance.

Qrow shoved his tattoo kit underneath the last stairwell, pushing it in the corner until the black case was hidden in the shadows. It would be too heavy to take with him. He’d just have to hope no one would be able to find it in the meantime. Appeased, he rushed up the stairs, trying to take several at a time. He was about halfway up the third when he heard the first-floor door open. He froze.

“You really think he’ll come down this way?” A voice, high and reedy, floated up from below.

The other voice was gruff and masculine. “You heard the chief, Viola. She wants all exits covered.”

“Just seems excessive Taylor. All of us for a guy not even hurting anyone.”

“Rookie, I’ll give you some advice: the judgment calls are for the courts. We just need to do our jobs. And yours right now is to get to that top floor in case our perp makes a break for the roof, capeesh?”

She sighed. “Got it.”

The first footfall hit the steps.

Qrow thought about it for half a second – and then he bolted.

Surprise was on his side, because it took the officers a precious few seconds to understand before their shouts rang up and they started chasing after him. He could hear Taylor fumbling with a radio, calling for backup. By that point, Qrow was bypassing the second floor and heading toward the third.

“Stop! Police!” Viola’s voice cracked on the yell.

He felt kind of bad, scaring the newbie. Had he had any breath left, he might have shouted back an apology. As it were, all his focus went onto the stairs in front of him, trying his best not to fall as he climbed five… six… seven… eight-

Bam!

The roof access door swung open and hit the brick. He paused long enough to scope his options –apartment complex to the left, half a story lower, flat rooftop; warehouse to the right, higher, guardrail fencing on the perimeter – before he made a decision and skirted left. The ground underneath him was slippery from rainfall that had frosted over with late autumn’s crisper temperatures, so he struggled for traction, preparing to jump.

“Don’t do it!” Viola yelled just as he did it.

For a moment, as he leapt over ten feet through the air, nothing below but a sharp drop to the alleyway, he felt weightless and free. He really was flying.

And then realty was rushing up to meet him as his feet hit the opposite roof, slipped on the ice, and slipped again when his hands weren’t enough to catch him. The impact, mostly taken on his right side, was jarring and left him a little breathless and aching. Still, he was able to stand a few moments after, turning back to look at the officers staring down at him across the gap.

“Ha! Better luck next time turkeys!” Qrow saluted them before he strut towards the roof hatch. Now all he had to do was-

Wait.

Why was everything spinning?

The distant sound of cars was fading, and as he lifted his hand to his face, he watched it double before his eyes.

Shit. He was gonna-

The ground rushed up to meet him a second time, having just enough consciousness left to land on his back.

He watched the sky above him until the last star blinked out.

She’d been staring at him for the past five minutes.

He could just barely see her above the pages of the newspaper he was pretending to read. He figured she would eventually go and pester her dad, just one room over and making quite a racket in the kitchen as Tai no doubt overdid it in trying to be the perfect host (and would only try harder if Qrow told him it was no big deal). But the longer he tried to wait her out, the more it became obvious his niece had a mission and he was part of it.

Eventually he folded – both the newspaper and his resolve – and turned to her, trying not to be appear as intimated by a mere child as he actually kind of was, “Something wrong?”

Yang lifted her chin up high, stomped her way over from the staircase to his little corner of the couch, and slammed a box of markers down on the coffee table. “Make me pretty.”

“Huh?”

“Like daddy.” She said with great exasperation. She climbed up beside him and with the lack of shame only children could have pulled off the shirt of her PJs and turned so her back could face him. “I want to be pretty too.”

Understanding slowly dawned on him. “Shouldn’t we ask your dad first?”

“I did, he said it was fine.” She hadn’t but Tai thought it was too adorable to be mad about it.

“Alright then.” Qrow turned, pulling a blue marker from the box. But when he turned back to face her, the pen was now black and Yang was two years older. “What do you want this time firecracker?”

“A motorcycle!” She shouted, bouncing excitedly.

He laughed, draping her long hair over her shoulder. “A motorcycle? Now what would a girl like you want that for?”

“I’ma get one when I’m older. Daddy said! I can get a real motorcycle when I turn eighteen.” She told him.

He uncapped the marker. “And that’s what you want, huh?”

“Yep.” She nodded. “He said I could get a real tattoo too, as long as I think really hard about it since this one won’t come off in the bath.”

Qrow started to outline the wheels. “That’s right. You want to make sure it’s something you want forever.”

“Once I decide, you’ll do it for me, right?”

The words halted him momentarily, overcome by the sudden fondness filling his heart. “’Course I will.”

“You swear?” Yang turned her head, trying to look serious but only managing to look adorably pouty. “Even if they pop out your eyes?”

The snort of surprise burst out of him. “It’s scratch out your eyes – and yes, even then.” And just so she could know that he meant it, he crossed an X over his heart.

“Good.”

He pressed the marker back to her skin, moving onto the bike’s frame, when Tai called out to him, “Qrow, look!”

He rose his head, looking out across the yard to see the omega holding a square, plywood board between his hands. As he gave the nod, Yang didn’t hesitate to bust her fist right through it.

“Looking good!” Qrow called back, before turning back to Ruby. Draped over his lap so she could reach her toys, she was making little action noises with her mouth as she crushed Bastinda underneath Zwei’s massive paws. He was just adding the color to the fur of the corgi version on her back.

A sharp movement had Bastinda flying down the porch steps and a stripe of white going all over her back. Luckily, six-year-olds weren’t picky.

“Bye, bye mean witch.” Ruby waved before she started taking her wolf on a walk along his side. “Uncle Qrow, who’s your favorite?”

He wrinkled his nose, trying not to think of the shoddy reboot that was slowly destroying the integrity of the original. Still, he answered honestly, “Rosette.”

“Why?”

“’Cause she was the big hero.” He explained. “I wanted to be just like her growing up.”

Her eyes lit up. “And now you are her, right?”

He quirked a brow. “What do you mean?”

“Daddy told me that’s why you’re gone so long, ‘cause you’re out making the world a better place.” Another stripe went down her back. She blinked curiously. “Why’d your face go all red?”

“Ah, nevermind that! Hey, you know what this needs?” He looked away, grabbing at the pink marker.

It was the same color his cheeks had been by the time he was turning back around, no longer outside but sitting up in Ruby’s room, consoling the sniffling ten-year-old the only way he knew how.

As he added to the growing chain of roses growing along her shoulder blades, he said, “Don’t let them get to you kid.”

“But it’s not fair! I’m way faster at running bases than Cardin, but they made me sit on the bench the whole time! I didn’t even get to play.” She swiped angrily at her eyes.

If Qrow listened real hard, he could hear Tai’s voice rising from downstairs. The phone call didn’t seem to be going well. “You’re right, it’s not fair at all. Do you know why your teacher did that?”

“Because,” Ruby buried her face in her pillow, the rest coming out muffled, “I’m going to be an omega and omegas don’t do great things.”

He was glad she couldn’t see his scowl. “Who told you that?”

“Everyone knows that.”

“I don’t.” He capped the marker, setting it aside before shifting on his knees, brushing back her hair with his fingers. “Because I’ve met omegas from all over the world, and so many of them are doing great things every single day. Dangerous things even, all so that they can make things more fair for everyone. They’re some of the bravest people I know.”

She rose her head. “Really?”

“Really. But you know what the big secret is?” He lent back, tapping his scent gland. “It doesn’t matter what’s here.” He tapped his head. “It matters what’s in here. As long as you put your mind to it and work hard at it, then there’s nothing you can’t do.”

Ruby considered this, asking, “You’re not just saying that?”

“Hey now, take it from the alpha who can draw. I know my stuff kiddo.”

It earned him one of the few things she seemed to share with her dad – a bright, beautiful smile. But as she went to a respond, a knocking on the door drew his attention.

Qrow blinked blearily at the cell doors where the guard was banging his nightstick against the metal. “Branwen, up! You got a visitor.”

Gingerly, he pulled himself up, his healing ribs screaming in protest at the movement. It took several moments longer before he could actually stand and shuffle his way out the door, following the guard down the hall. He kept his head down, not wanting to meet eyes with any of the other prisoners.

Since he was injured, he was being kept in the protective custody side of the prison. It had its bonuses – he didn’t have to share a cell or run through the motions the general population side did. He also didn’t have to cuff up when they let him out of his cell, mostly because they couldn’t get them on around the sling. The downside was the PC side of the jail was also where the most violent criminals were kept. There was one inmate in particular who-

“Oh little bird, you’ve come fluttering my way yet again.” Tyrian jeered.

-particularly got on his nerves. Qrow didn’t look up, but that didn’t stop the fierce growl from leaving his throat. The serial killer only cackled at his display.

If this was what it was like in here, he wasn’t entirely sure how he’d survive once he was reassigned into GP. A whole room full of alphas, all of them constantly competing for dominance, was a disaster waiting to happen. Not for the first time since he’d arrived, did he start wishing he’d presented differently. He’d have better chances in an omega-beta prison.

So preoccupied he was by his anxious thoughts, he’d forgotten entirely why he was out of bed in the first place until he was walking into the visitor’s area. The section was marked by a row of doors, each one leading into a small room that had nothing more than a few chairs and a wooden counter separated in half by bulletproof plexiglass. There was a metal, slated ring in it to allow the two parties to talk.

The guard unlocked the rightmost room, saying, “You’ve got one hour,” before swinging open the door.

Seeing a familiar face, even if it was only Clover Ebi’s, filled him with so much joy he could have cried.

The soldier was all smiles for him, though the cursory look over he gave him left a twist of worry at the corner of his eyes. “Hey Qrow. I’m so relieved to see you. You look… rough.”

“What gave that implication? The fractured wrist or the three broken ribs?” He replied tightly, delicately sitting down. “Suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you know my name either.”

“’Fraid everyone does at this point. You’re all over the news.”

He grimaced. “Internationally?”

“If I said no, would it make you feel better?”

“Not if I know you’re lying.” Gods, Tai was probably having a heart attack right now. And the girls… he wondered if they even fully understood what was going on. He raked a hand through his hair. “Fuck.”

Clover’s expression was one of sympathy. “Hey, it’ll be alright. Now that I’ve found you, we can get you a good lawyer, rather than the pro bono one they appointed you to. Robyn’s already running rallies in the streets of every kingdom and donation rings to hire the best in the business. And Fiona’s calling about a dozen firms a day. She’s already got-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Qrow cut him off, disoriented. “Slow down trigger. I get I’m not in a great position, but isn’t that a bit excessive for a small end criminal court case? And anyways, it’s not like I’m going to trial tomorrow.”

His flippancy only seemed to make the omega more agitated as he lent back, running a hand over his face. “Oh shit. They didn’t assign you a counsel, did they?”

“I’m not that depressed.”

“A legal counsel Qrow!” He scoffed. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Okay, now he was so off-track he wasn’t even sure he boarded the train. “Am I… missing something?”

With a deep breath, Clover schooled his features, resting his arms along the tabletop to lean forward. “Qrow, your crime is being considered as a global offense. They’re expediating your case through the process so you can be tried at the UFK.”

Realty cracked and shattered around him.

“W-What?!” He squawked, panic setting in immediately. “Are you fucking serious?!” When the other could only offer him a solemn nod, Qrow withdrew, dropping his head onto the table and curling his one good arm around his face, as if it would be enough to shield him from the future. “Oh Gods. Oh fuck.”

He was screwed. Utterly and royally.

The UFK, or United Four Kingdoms, assembly was a yearly session of the kingdom’s four heads of state and their councils. Mostly it was a peace gathering, a way to discuss the improvements or needs of each kingdom and provide support or discuss any eco-social changes that may need addressing. It was why the Alliance had been so prominent in recent months; so that the four heads might talk about potential alternations to omega rights. A discussion that had not been gaining enough, if any, traction in the past few years. That was why Robyn had organized the ‘Prides’ – a central team in each kingdom whose sole job was to attend the national press conferences and make a loud enough roar that the council would have to take notice. Each one had done a fantastic job, and the news channels had been bustling with stories about how this year’s session would absolutely have to focus on the matter of omega equality.

And in one fell swoop, Qrow had ruined that.

Trials weren’t unheard of at the UFK, but they were extremely rare. In the eighty years the assembly had been convening, there’d only been three prior cases that had gone to court there and each one had had a huge impact on universal laws. If he was tried and convicted, there was no telling what impact his case would have.

A tapping on the glass made him look up tentatively.

Clover’s jaw was set with determination. “It’s okay, Qrow. We’re here to help you.”

“No!” He sat up, gritting his teeth around the pain it caused him. “None of you should get involved! I can’t drag you down with me.”

“Qrow, think for a minute – do you really believe your arrest was just a coincidence?”

That drew him up short. “I…”

“Face it, you’re not exactly impossible to locate. Someone’s probably known where you were for a while and they were just waiting for the perfect moment to bring you in.” He indicated the air around them. “And this is it. The absence of counsel, the lack of prep time, keeping your whereabouts classified. It all adds up. They’re trying to turn you into a scapegoat.”

It was hard logic to beat. Qrow wasn’t exactly uninformed on just how messed up the legal system could be – and the more involved he’d gotten with his work, the deeper the rabbit hole just seemed to go. But to have it be twisted onto him in such a way, like he was merely everyone else’s plaything, made him feel violated.

He wondered how his mother would have felt, seeing him like this.

“So now what?” Qrow finally asked.

“Now, we fight back.” Clover replied assuredly. “Your case could be a gamechanger for omegas everywhere. We aren’t just going to lie down and watch it happen.”

He snorted. “So you’re turning the scapegoat into a martyr.”

“No.” The soldier declined, then added with a quirk of his lips, “We’re turning you into our harbinger.”

It took Qrow a moment to get it. Then he laughed.

A harbinger of change. There might just be some hope left after all.

Three days later, he met his defense attorneys.

Pietro was a kindly, wheelchair-bound beta with thirty years of experience. The minute the man started talking, it was obvious he knew his stuff as he lined out what to expect for the court process and what laws that may entangle them from certain kingdoms they might have to prepare for. Things Qrow hadn’t even considered, like operating a business out of a building with only a residential grade fire system – a law the more wildfire prone Mistral took very seriously.

His understudy was named Rhodes. Also a beta, as all lawyers were, the man had only a few years on Qrow himself, but he had a sharp wit and passionate aspiration for justice. He spent most of the time keeping a detailed note log on the things being said, explaining it would help them decide on the best strategy to use when they were in front of the UFK.

“The most difficult thing we have to contend with is time.” Rhodes affirmed. “Unlike most high-profile cases handled in the courts, the kingdoms aren’t going to allow the hearing to go beyond a single day so it doesn’t interfere with the other agendas they have to get too. That means limited evidence presentation and witness testimonies. We’ve got about eight hours to prove you’re an innocent man, which means every second in that room is going to count.”

Qrow swallowed hard. “What about the jury? They on a time limit too?”

“No. The jury are the councils.” Pietro explained. “The members of each kingdom’s council board will give their verdict, and it’s the majority vote of each council that decides their verdict. As long as you get a unanimous majority, you’ll be given your verdict. So, our focus will need to be on swaying each kingdom individually.”

Yeah. No pressure.

Rhodes tapped the end of his pen on the desk between them. “As you can see, it’s a bit of a balancing act. Ideally, our witness testimonies need to come from all over. If you can get us even just a moderate list of people from each kingdom you believe would be willing to speak for you then we can scope out the best choice from each one.”

“Perhaps.” The elder beta intoned, rubbing his chin. “Though Vale may not need any pushing. Our focus should truly lie in targeting the kingdom’s core values.”

“We also need to make sure to address the issues with improper due process.”

“A fine point.”

“I hope you both know I’m barely keeping up with this.” Qrow admitted.

Pietro smiled forgivingly. “Don’t worry your head about it, my boy. Just focus on giving us everything we can possibly work with to keep you out of jail. Do you have any family or friends who might speak on your credibility of character?”

There was only one person that came to mind – and there was no way he would even dare suggest Tai to spill his whole story for millions to hear.

“No.” He replied shortly.

“Not even-”

“Really. No. My old man’s a deadbeat. I haven’t seen my sister in over a decade. And unless these things come with a séance, my mom ain’t gonna have much to say either.” He lent back, shrugging his good shoulder. “As for friends, I haven’t exactly been living stably to form many close relationships. ‘Fraid I won’t be much use on that list either – never kept a detailed record to keep my clients safe. But, I know someone who just might be able to rally up a few.”

Pietro nodded. “Then let’s start there.”

Thankfully, that was the last time they asked him about family.

One day short of a week later, he was visited by someone other than his attorneys.

This time, the sight of a familiar face did actually make him cry, even if Tai immediately laid into him.

“You jumped off a roof?! What in the Gods’ Realms were you thinking? You could have died!” Tai smacked his hand on the table for emphasis. He wasn’t even sitting, too agitated to. Had the glass not been separating them, he was pretty sure he would have been in for the ear pinching of his life. “Are you okay, or did the fall knock out what little brain cells you have left?!”

Yet, the omega’s worry was so strong, Qrow could scent it through the little holes in the metal ringlet. It was familiar and more comforting then even a single second locked up in this awful place could even marginally hope to feel like. So, he broke down harder.

Tai sighed and gave up, dropping his forehead against the glass. Qrow struggled to reign himself in, but the days had been too long, too awful and too terrifying to stop the broken dam. The most he managed to get out was a wobbly, “m’sorry.” As he curled himself over the desk.

They hovered there, in silence.

Then, for the second time in his life, Tai purred at him, “I‘m here. You’re okay.”

It was like being draped in an extra soft blanket or pulled into an exceptionally warm hug, something he felt from the inside out. The shakes started to fade and the tears slowed to a drizzle, and then even that went away.

When he lifted his head, Qrow could almost pretend the outburst hadn’t happened at all. “Sorry, meds I’m on just make me emotional.”

“Sure they do.” Tai let him lie, finally taking his seat with the heavy gracelessness of someone who just got off an overnight flight.

While there were at least a dozen questions he wanted to ask, the most prominent came forward first: “Where are the girls?”

“In the waiting room. Ruby got scared. Somehow she got it in her head you’d be crippled.” He gave him a disdainful look, “Can’t imagine why she’d think that.”

He hid his grimace behind a smile, “Shoulda just told her birds my age can fly.”

It was the wrong thing to say as Tai scowled. “Don’t joke! Seriously, I can’t believe how idiotic that was. You’re lucky that little stunt only resulted in a few injuries.”

“Well, I ain’t feeling very lucky.” He snapped back. “Seriously what did you want me to do?”

The omega threw up his hands. “Not try to kill yourself! Do you know how terrified I was?! And then I couldn’t find you no matter how many jails and hospitals I called and I thought-!” His shoulder dropped. “I don’t know what I thought.”

But Qrow knew. He knew exactly what kind of worst-case scenarios must have played through his head when suddenly Qrow was all over the headlines after he tried to escape police arrest and was transported to a nearby care facility for his injuries, only to then disappear completely, the system deliberately hiding him to secure him for the big case. It wasn’t until he’d started meeting with Pietro and Rhodes that he’d learnt just how many infringements of his rights there’d already been. He wasn’t even supposed to be in a prison without being tried first. They were trying to work it into his case.

“If it weren’t for Robyn I never would of even of found you.”

Qrow’s confusion spiked. “Wait, how do you know her?”

“I don’t. She called me off your scroll.” So much for destroying it. “Once she got me in the loop, I took the first flight over I could.”

He didn’t know whether to feel thankful, or violated.

Wait.

He sucked in a sharp breath. Robyn was the one he’d directed his attorney team too. “She didn’t tell you anything else, did she? About the trial?”

“She just told me you were going in for it soon and that you could use some support.” Tai replied. “They aren’t really letting anyone in to see you if they can’t show that they’re family. I had to bring Yang’s birth certificate just to get in here.”

(Qrow might have cited Clover – if he wasn’t fairly certain the man could get himself into anywhere on badges and charisma alone.)

Still, relief swept through him. By whatever graces of the Gods there were, it sounded like Robyn had played him straight on this one. She must have figured out why he’d chosen not to disclose that information himself – and of that he could be grateful. He’d rather spend a hundred years in jail then let any of his family take the stand.

Now he just had to make sure Tai didn’t screw the pooch instead.

“Just be careful with that little tidbit. If the press gets a whiff of it, they’ll be all over you.” He warned.

If anything, Tai seemed insulted. “I’m not afraid of some headliners. I can handle it.”

“Can the girls?” The statement drew the omega up short. Qrow felt bad, playing that card, but it wasn’t like reporters had a moral compass. “Just being realistic. This case isn’t exactly coasting quietly under the table, and the last thing I want is my family being dragged into it all ‘cause of my mistakes.”

“They’re not mistakes.”

“Renegade behavior then.”

“You-!” Tai sighed, running a hand down his face frustratedly. “Stop that. You’re not a joke, you know?”

It was Qrow’s turn to draw up short, heart catching in his throat.

Tai barreled on, unconcerned with his organ transplant. “I’m proud of what you do. More than that, I believe in what you do. You make a difference, every day, even if it seems small. You wouldn’t have risked so much, if you didn’t think that yourself. So will you please try to trust in that, so you can tell those judges where to shove it?”

Still stuck in limbo, his heart pressed insistently against his voice box, willing him to say those accursed three words that desperately wanted to burst out. Instead, all he managed was a wheeze of laughter, and a quiet, “I will.”

“Good.” Satisfied, Tai got to his feet. “I’m going to go get the girls, okay?”

“Okay.” He watched him head for the door, calling just as he opened it. “And Tai?”

“Yeah?”

“…Thank you.”

For supporting me.

For being here with me.

For always knowing just what I need to hear.

He couldn’t decide on what was most important to say, so it all got stuck just like before.

Tai smiled like he’d heard them all regardless. “Anytime.”

“Are you ready, my boy?”

Qrow looked away from the airship window, where the Amity Tower was looming, to Pietro’s kind smile. It did little to calm the storm in his stomach. “Pretty sure no one’s ever ‘ready’ for this. My whole life’s about to be decided by a bunch of rich assholes who’ve probably never used the word ‘struggle’ in their lives.”

“Then I suppose it’s up to you to define it for them.”

He scoffed, falling back against the glass. “Hate to tell you this wheels, but English was my worst class.”

That at least earned him a hearty laugh. “You know there’s a saying among us lawyers: You don’t cry until it’s all over. So for now, keep your chin up and fight hard.”

Would be an easier fight if it didn’t feel like he was armed with only a pocketknife going against a trove of machine guns. Still, he couldn’t deny the weight of that sentiment. Especially knowing there was so much more to this fight than just what would happen to him.

Momentarily, as he shut his eyes, he could see Ruby. Coming home with tears streaming down her face after being told she wasn’t good enough to play baseball like the other kids. What if her fears were realized and she did present omega? What if she didn’t and, beyond all expectation, Yang did instead? What if one day, someone decided to throw either one of them into a reformatory and he wasn’t there to overwrite the wrongs?

The idea made him sick inside.

He rose up, facing Pietro once more. “Alright then, let’s do this.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Qrow tried to hold onto that feeling of confidence as long as he could as he continued to watch Amity Tower draw near. Like a beacon welcoming travelers to its side, the building stood alone on the seaside of the most northern part of Sanus. It wasn’t really a tower – it was more akin to a concert hall in size and shape. But it got its name from the spire that shot up in the middle of the roof. The decorative piece was meant to mimic the communication towers that each kingdom built to allow for scroll communication across the nations. A display that proclaimed this place would always be a venue in which the kingdoms could speak freely to one another.

As they began their descent towards the airstrip, he finally noticed the crowd. Circling Amity like a school of sharks were dozens upon dozens of people. They were spilling out along the grand front steps and thickly congested across the massive lawn area to the point barely a patch of green could be seen.

“What in all realms is going on?” Qrow breathed. He’d expected a few news reporters, sure. But nothing like this.

Before he could answer, Pietro’s scroll began to ring. He was quick to answer it. “Ah Rhodes, got here safely then? How are the witnesses doing?”

“Everyone is settled and prepared.” He replied assuredly. “Heard you guys were touching down, so I figured I’d warn you about the protest group.”

“Group?” Qrow echoed. “That’s an army. What are they even protesting?”

“Your arrest.”

His head snapped around; eyes wide.

Rhodes continued, unaware, “They’re all omegas or omega supporters from every nation in Remnant. They’ve been gathering here for days.”

“Incredible.” Pietro declared, adjusting his spectacles. “In all my years, I’ve never seen something quite like this.”

The rest of the conversation faded to background noise as he turned back towards the window, something unexplainable but good lifting him. Somewhere inside of him, he knew they weren’t really here for him, but what he represented. He was a loose cog in the machine, a shift from the system, a shield against the onslaught of endless ammo. Or, as Clover had jokingly coined, their harbinger of change.

Yet it didn’t stop him from feeling overwhelmed with support as the doors to the airship opened and the roar of cheers started up. It was a massive, thunderous noise that shook him to his very core then solidified there like an unbreakable diamond, giving him strength he hadn’t had just minutes ago.

Even as he was led out in cuffs, barred between two officers, he found himself walking tall. Like land making way for a river, the crowd parted for them. Some were carrying signs that said things like ‘Justice for Qrow’ and ‘Branwen can win’. There was even a really ridiculous one that said ‘Uncage our bird!’, complete with an illustration of a crow in a birdcage.

They made him smile, as did the few encouragements that he managed to pick out from rumble of hollers trying to reach him.

“You got this!”

“We’re here with you!”

“Your story’s not over yet!”

He carried it all the way up the stairs and through the entrance. Yet, as the large ornate double doors swung closed behind him, it muffled most of the noise.

Silenced once more.

#qrow branwen #taiyang xiao long #Taiqrow #taiqrowweek #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

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warsmith-38 · 3 years

Text

How I would do RWBY pt.4

World Travel Arc.

Season Four.

Cinder was found by Salem after fall of Beacon.

Missing arm and eye.

Salem helps her and even rewards her.

She accomplished her goal of shooting Ozpin with the arrow.

It didn’t take, sure, but that’s not Cinder’s fault.

Arm is replaced with grimm arm.

An eye was also offered but Cinder refused because she wants a visceral reminder of her failure.

Translation: Because chuunibyou.

Cinder spends her time training to compensate for and overcome her new disabilities.

Has massive grudge against Ruby.

What should have been two easy wins were stolen from her by sheer dumb luck and circumstance.

She has made it her goal to prove that she is more powerful than Ruby and will do so by tearing her heart out and turning it to ash.

Salem decides that Ruby will be an issue to her long term plans and sends her best assassin, Tyrian, to kill her instead of Cinder.

Just like Summer.

She doesn’t want to send Cinder on the grounds that she thinks that homegirl REALLY needs to chill.

Ruby is full murderhobo.

Killing grimm and taking whatever freelance bounty money she can on her way to Mistral.

Fuck if she knows what she’s going to do when she gets there but she hasn’t planned all that far ahead.

She just wanted to not be stuck at home again.

Finds JNR, who had volunteered for general assistance in the areas around Mistral.

JNR says that there’s both a grimm issue and a bandit issue in the area.

Ruby wants everything to do with it.

Blake is on her way back to Menagerie.

Encounters SSSN who are on light duties and are being sent to putz around in Menagerie.

Sun asks her ‘what the fuck is your plan?’

Blake says that the only place for her in the world is back home with her family.

Weiss is also back home with her family but is far less into the idea.

Dad is distant and detached.

Mother is drunk and miserable.

Winter is the only one she properly interacts with, training and sparring to keep herself in shape.

Winter offers a position in the military, a cushy one at that (Can I get an amen for nepotism?)

Weiss ignores the offer, is depressed, misses her friends.

Yang is stuck at home, also depressed, dealing with deepening abandonment issues, and constantly fiddling with the trinket Raven gave her.

Having Ruby run off only made things worse. Combining her abandonment issues with the feeling of letting her sister down when she needed her most.

Tai barely pays attention to her outside of his constant worrying about Ruby but eventually sees the trinket and tells Yang about Raven.

Is very clearly bitter about the whole thing but is pretending he isn’t.

VERY rose (ha) tinted glasses about Summer.

Not that she was secretly a piece of shit or anything, but to hear Tai talk about her she made saints look like goatfuckers.

Ironwood shows up and gives Yang robo-arm as an apology for saying he’d help her after the fight with Mercury and then letting her down.

Ironwood helps break Yang out of her funk, offers some military style counseling, helping her work off the muscle atrophy, even teaches her some spec-ops chokeholds and the like.

Yang says it’s nice to have an actual male role model/father figure in her life.

Ironwood rips Tai’s shit in for being such a bad parent to Yang.

Tai has no real counters to what Ironwood is saying.

He realizes that he’s been a neglectful asshole and starts helping retrain Yang too.

Weiss makes a scene at an event her father is putting on.

Jacques sits her down after it and says that they’re going to have a completely frank conversation.

Topic shifts to their viewpoints and life choices.

He’s fine with his daughter disagreeing with him, he just wants her to understand him and he her.

Weiss calls him out on the blatantly bad shit the SDC has done.

Jacques defends his points, saying that he tried to make things better for the faunus and the White Fang just made everything worse for everyone.

Weiss tells him that passing the buck is bullshit.

Agree to disagree.

Jacques gives her a spiel laced with double meanings about freedom and making your own path.

Weiss leaves that night. (keikaku doori (Translation: All according to keikaku (Translators note: Keikaku means plan)))

Jacques might be a dick but he does want his family to be as genuinely happy as he can make them.

Blake gets back home.

Gets royal reception on the grounds that she’s the daughter of the chief of the kingdom.

Sun sends SSN to get on with their mission, he’s gonna be a while, faunus business.

They understand, they’re hip to this sort of thing, and tell him that if he needs them they’re just a phone call away.

He calls Blake out for being one of the most privileged faunus alive while lecturing others on said topic.

Blake and Sun walk in on White Fang people trying to recruit Ghira.

Notices Blake in the process of telling them to leave.

Ghira shoves everyone out of his way to embrace his long believed dead daughter.

Emotional reunion.

Sees Sun, makes joke about ‘Adam’s cheerier replacement’.

Blake gets sad.

Ghira assumes Adam died or something and doesn’t press the matter.

Calls for a royal banquet to celebrate the return of his daughter.

Sienna is present.

Sienna is overjoyed to see Blake alive and well.

Blake is happy to see ‘aunty’ Sienna but is apprehensive to talk that much with Sun glaring at them both.

Ilia is there (as head of local White Fang cell) and is happy to see her old friend is alive.

She already knew but has to keep up appearances, especially after The White Fang was seen at Beacon.

Very poor publicity to be seen operating at a place like that.

Ilia had been reassigned to Menagerie before the fall happened so she’s not guilty of taking part.

Later has small meeting with Blake, Sienna, Ilia, Sun, Ghira, and Kali.

Sienna tries (again) to bring Ghira into the White Fang.

His joining would bring all of Menagerie and the connected resources into the conflict.

This is opposed by everyone else present barring Ilia.

Ghira says that he has washed his hands of the problems in Atlas and has local stuff that he believes is more important in the long run.

Supporting Wild Call is how he helps the rest of his people.

Kali’s been running Wild Call since Ghira stepped away to run Menagerie.

Sienna talks about how faunus are treated in certain parts of the world.

It really is nowhere near as bad as she says it is.

Blake brings up terrorist acts in places completely innocent of any faunus abuse.

Sienna ‘condemns’ these acts and blames them on ‘bad apples’ like Adam, citing the fall of Beacon.

Says that Adam was acting alone and without official endorsement.

She’s lying through her fucking teeth, but the only other one who knows that for sure is Ilia.

While taking part in the fall was technically unsanctioned, Sienna knows all about Salem and was okaying Adam’s efforts working with her.

Ilia suddenly feels very guilty for some odd reason.

Ghira is very confused, doesn’t keep up too much with world affairs, generally too busy.

Blake rounds on Sienna for trying to shift the blame to Adam, cites all of the bullshit attacks she was involved in, letting it be known that she herself was in the White Fang.

Ghira and Kali both become enraged at Sienna, who told them that Blake was killed years ago at a protest gone south.

Sienna tries to make excuses for the cause.

Is escorted with Ilia from the palace at gun point.

Kali and Blake reconnect as Ghira has a sit down with Sun, telling him to tell him everything he knows.

Weiss is stowed away on airship bound for Vacuo/Mistral (doesn’t really matter which, ship gets taken down either way).

Ship gets attacked by grimm and gets splashed.

Weiss makes it to shore and travels southward, realizing that maybe she should have planned this a little more than not at all.

Wonder who she picked that up from.

Ends up surrounded by bandits who see the pretty girl from Atlas who might just be worth a lot of cash.

Weiss kicks the shit out of them.

Raven shows up.

Weiss loses.

Yang decides enough of her sulking and gets ready to set off to find Ruby and either 1. Bring her home 2. Look after her and keep her safe on her personal quest 3. Kick her ass for running off and making everyone worried 4. Some combination of the above. (Maybe hit up where Raven’s map leads along the way if she gets the chance)

Tai acknowledges that he can’t always protect his girls.

Tells Yang to not be too hard on Ruby, realizing that she would never have been happy with a calm, sheltered, life.

Summer was the same way.

He also apologizes for neglecting Yang for as long as he did.

Yang gets a hug from Tai, a salute from Ironwood, and a slobbering from Zwei.

Yes, the dog is still here. He’s a good dog. Every story could use a good dog or twelve.

Gets to the continent that Mistral is on. (I do not care about the name)

Starts biking in the direction that the conflict zones are, hoping to find word about Ruby along the way.

Gets accosted by bandits along the way.

Kicks the crap out of them.

Raven shows up saying that she expected nothing less from her daughter.

Yang realizes that she is indeed around where the map was pointing her.

This was supposed to be a test to see if Yang was resourceful enough to track her down.

Didn’t really mean to come this way just yet, but sometimes things just work out that way.

Raven happily takes her daughter to the main camp.

Yang is apprehensive to get comfortable and seems a little disappointed that her mother is just some asshole bandit.

Raven gives her a speech all about survival of the fittest and might makes right and all that jazz.

Yang wants to know why she left her in the first place and why she is suddenly wanting to be back in her life after all this time.

She’s got a lot of questions and Raven has very few answers.

Raven avoids Yang’s questions and says that she’s always been watching her from behind the scenes.

Yang actually dislikes that even more because it means that she could have been there for her the whole time, yet wasn’t.

Raven continues by saying that if Yang’s so weak that she couldn’t beat a pissant like Neo then she really needs mama to teach her what’s what.

Offers Yang a position in the tribe and even offers to make her second in command.

Yang then sees Weiss in a cage.

Raven explains that she’s going to be given to Salem to use as a hostage in Atlas.

Yang had already given up on getting answers and was already going to tell Raven to eat shit but now...

Demolishes the camp, takes Weiss away on the bike, and leaves the trinket Raven gave her in the dirt.

Would have taken the time to kick the shit out of Raven, but she needed to get Weiss out of there.

Raven is livid.

In Menagerie, Ghira and Kali have very upfront conversation with Blake.

They are upset with her that she ran off with terrorists but are happy she’s alive.

They also admonish her for running/taking the easy way out of every problem she’s had.

Blake is exasperated that the last place she could run off to is calling her out for running off so much.

Adam is all like ‘what up bitches, imma kill ya’.

Has sizable team of White Fang commandos with him and some grimm Salem sent.

Ilia shows up with her own commandos to counter his.

Both sides duke it out with the Belladonnas (Nightshades technically) getting pissed and telling all of them to get off their lawn.

Blake fights Adam.

Starts losing.

Sun calls SSN in for the assist.

They help but not all that much.

Sienna shows up to break the stalemate.

Starts kicking the shit out of Adam’s posse.

Officially denounces and attaints Adam for his crimes.

Adam leaves and swears vengeance, telling Blake that if he can’t kill her, he’ll kill RWY and make sure they know it was her that sent him to them.

Blake finally learns her fucking lesson.

Start to pack up to stop Adam before he kills RWY and, either afterwards or in the process, find and reconcile with RWY.

Takes the time to actually explain why she’s leaving this time.

Ghira understands.

Sienna takes partial blame and offers Blake the last known location of a red hooded huntress with a big fucking scythe her spies found.

Blake thanks her, but refuses an escort, hitching a ride back to the mainland with SSSN.

Ghira and Kali thank Sienna for the help but still tell her to get the fuck out and that the White Fang and their war are both not welcome in Menagerie.

In the name of their past friendship, they don’t just shoot her.

Blake has parting conversation with Sun about justifications and personal growth.

She and Sun amicably part ways.

SSSN go back to their usual shit and Blake starts hunting for Ruby.

Her logic is that, as far as she knows, Weiss is surrounded with SDC security and Yang is probably somewhere safe-ish, while Ruby is actively in a dangerous locale and ripe for predation.

Speaking of…

Ruby and JNR are clearing out local grimm around Mistral as expected.

Include sad scene or two there they find the ruins of Nora’s home village, destroyed by bandits.

Tyrian is all like ‘what up bitches, imma kill ya’.

Ruby is actually very eager for a fight against one of the important bad guys.

That excitement is curbed when Tyrian lets her know that he was the one to kill Summer.

Ruby is now more scared than anything.

R+JNR fight him and get their asses handed to them.

They try running but Tyrian isn’t giving up the chase.

Turns into cat and mouse game.

Jaune is pushed to his tactical limit against an incredibly intelligent and just as unpredictable enemy.

Everyone is scared out of their minds.

The cat (Tyrian) is just playing with his food (R+JNR) at this point.

Could have killed them at any point but he’s a sadistic animal that gets off on this shit.

Nora flies into a fury, bellowing that she will never lose anyone close to her ever again.

This creates an opening in Tyrian’s style.

Jaune’s planning manages to exploit this enough so Ruby gets a good hit on him, severing his tail.

He is very unhappy at this development.

Decides that he’s done playing with his food.

Wrecks R+JNR.

About to kill Ruby when Qrow ex machina runs him off.

Jaune discovers his semblance is healing and uses it on everyone that needs it. Which is everyone.

Qrow is annoyed that Ruby ran off on her own but understands.

Says that there’s an abandoned chateau that can serve as a pit-stop.

Been in the Branwen family for ages.

They abandoned it after they lost their fortune and it got overrun with grimm in the past.

Grimm have since moved on but the building is still there.

He’ll explain everything he can when he knows they’re out of danger.

Raven contacts Salem and tells her which direction Yang and Weiss are going.

Salem barely cares about what one of her least important agents is up to.

Notices that Ruby is in the same area and gets wind that Tyrian failed.

Sends Cinder and company to meet up with Raven and get hunting.

Salem makes a point of ordering Cinder to let Tyrian take on Ruby and not get involved against her.

Cinder just happens to ignore that order.

Blake does a little extra tracking but heads in the right direction.

Yang and Weiss hear about a red hooded huntress with a big scythe and follow the rumors.

Everyone converges at the chateau at the same time.

It’s a very all over the place scene.

Ruby is happy to see Weiss and Blake but is a little wary of Yang after how their last conversation went.

Yang is eager to make things up with Ruby but more than a little scornful of Blake.

Blake is scared of everyone’s rejection but understands their anger and is more than willing to work through it if they’d have her.

Weiss is happy to see everyone but her happiness and excitement is curbed by how everyone else is reacting to each other.

The tension explodes when Cinder and co. arrive.

Ruby and Cinder lock eyes.

Ruby goes quiet for a moment-

And then goes completely Broly BERSERK!

Group of boss fights.

Ruby madly charges Cinder in a rage.

JNR, Qrow, and Weiss begin fighting Emerald, Mercury, Tyrian, and grimm they brought.

Blake fights Adam. (again)

Yang fights Raven, constantly calling her on her shit.

Abandoning her and Tai to be some asshole bandit, siding with Salem, being a coward, et cetera.

Says that she has figured out that the reason Raven left was because she’s just a chicken shit coward who can’t deal with the world.

All of her issues and traumas have manifested into a sort of nirvana of wrath that gives her a one-time, ‘fuck you, mom’, power up that puts her at Raven’s power tier level.

Ruby vs Cinder takes them away from the others.

Ruby is in berserk, adrenaline filled, wrath fueled, fugue state, taking hits that should be stopping the fight but aren’t.

Cinder is also not fighting at her best due to A. missing eye, B. her grimm arm having a built in weakness to Ruby, and C. the fact that she had no idea that Ruby would go fucking mental like this.

Ruby eventually knocks Cinder down a pit and promptly passes out from blood loss.

Blake beats Adam and tells him to fuck off, saying that she will not stoop to his level of murder.

Yang overpowers and beats Raven, but barely.

JNR is busy with the grimm and Qrow is busy with Tyrian, who has a freaky grimm tail now.

Weiss is fighting both Emerald and Mercury.

Is losing pretty hard.

Yang shows up to fight Mercury.

WY have their first proper rival fights against E+M.

And proceed to lose.

Raven has heel-face turn and bails them out.

Tyrian is killed at the same time. Small justice for Summer.

Qrow reunites with Raven.

The Branwen siblings intimidate E+M, faking not being fuckoff exhausted.

Dare they stand against this deadly alliance?

Nope.

Emerald and Mercury cheese it.

Raven explains that since Yang beat her, Yang is now in charge of the bandits.

Raven says how proud she is that her daughter is such an ass kicker.

Yang is about to tell her off but then realizes that Ruby is still gone.

They find her in a widening pool of her own blood.

Jaune heals her.

Everyone wonder just what the fuck that was that Ruby did.

It’s not its own power or a sub-power of her new semblance.

She was just that fucking angry at seeing Cinder.

RWBY has a big ‘we beat the middle to high tier bad guys’ group hug.

Ruby affirms that she senses that Cinder is still alive but accepts the hug anyway.

Raven says that Salem’s next target is Mistral itself with Adam’s White Fang hardliners.

Yang says thanks for the info and then tells her to do what she does best and fuck off.

Literally everyone mirrors the sentiment.

Raven leaves in a huff but starts to question her morals.

RWBY is now reunited as a team.

They’re not quite back to normal, but they’re all together again.

Reunited RWBY, JNR, and Qrow now on course to Mistral proper to recoup and make new plans.

Season four done.

#RWBY #does this count as rwde?#Ruby Rose #Weiss Schnee #Blake Belladonna #Yang Xiao Long #Taiyang Xiao Long #Raven Branwen #Cinder Fall #Tyrian Callows #Salem #Team JNPR #but without the P #I regret nothing #Qrow Branwen #How I would do...

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myinconnelly1 · 3 years

Text

A Life Unlived: Life Goes On Pt 4

Masterlist / Previous

Word Count: 1708

A/N: Season 4 - 5 good luck don’t murder me Emily.... don’t fucking murder me; this is the end of Life Goes on

Warnings: smut, themes of cheating, canon gore, angst- oh so much angst, implied character death (canon), misuse of god/goddess from other religions (canon)

June 2009

“Dean? Where’s Sam?” Myin asked as she opened the motel room door to see the beaten down hunter. “Did you find him? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Dean said, not moving from the doorway. I found him, but I was too late. Myin I failed. I didn’t stop him.”

“The Devil?” Myin whispered before pulling Dean in the motel room and hugging him tightly. “I don’t think you were ever supposed to succeed.

“Fuck destiny!” Dean shouted causing Myin to let go and take a step back. “Sorry. There is more,” He said quieter. “The horsemen of the apocalypse came with the devil from Hell.”

“Wait,” Myin said looking around. She seemed unphased by the news of the horsemen. “Where’s Sam? Is he…”

“He’s alive,” Dean said realizing the Myin had started crying. He pulled her against his chest and held her there. “After killing Lilith I don’t think he thought the other hunters would let him live. He left, he’s hiding. Oh,” Dean pulled a letter from his pocket. “He gave me this for you,”

“So what now? Are you going to hide too?” Myin asked as she put the letter in a drawer by the bed.

“No, I’m going to keep hunting. I can’t stop now that Lucifer is out in the world free to raise hell,” Dean flopped unceremoniously onto the motel bed. “Can I stay here with you?” He asked quietly as the bed dipped and he rolled next to Myin.

“For as long as you want,” She replied and kissed his hand before holding it tight to her breast.

Dean would come and go often for hunts, but Myin was flexible with her life. She had always planned everything out in the past with Jay, and then with Sam. But now, she wasn’t going to hurt herself by doing things the way she always had before. She often wondered why Castiel freed her from her agreement with him, and if it had anything to do with her and Dean getting together, but regardless their relationship had been a byproduct of the situation.

Dean would stay with her at the motel when she was working at the hospital and he would come and stay with her and her kids when she was off from work. They both new that the relationship had been rushed, but neither of them really cared, and both found it very comfortable. Dean had a way with Dani and Penny that put her mother in law at ease, and their relationship seemed to flourish despite Sam’s non-arrival after his disappearance.

August 25, 2009

“Myin?” Dean called from the motel room.

“I’m in the bathroom,” She responded quietly.

“Listen, I know things have been going pretty well for us,” Dean said sighing and leaning his head against the wall of the bathroom door. “But I had a dream- Zachariah zapped me to the end of the world, well after the end really. I have to go… Myin I can’t stay here. I have to find Sam. I have to stop him. I can’t let the Devil win.”

“I understand,” Myin said, without leaving the bathroom.

“I’ll come back when it’s over. Please keep the girls safe?” Dean said before walking out the motel door.

“I’ll keep everyone safe,” Myin said staring at the two pink lines on the pregnancy test in her hands. “Well, kiddo, I don’t know what we’re going to do right now, but we will get through this.”

November 2009

“Myin, have you heard from Dean or Sam?” Castiel asked as his wings fluttered into her office at the hospital.

“Christ, Castiel, you scared me!” Myin exclaimed from behind her computer. “Dean or Sam, no I haven’t heard from them in months. Why? Are they okay?”

“They went to Ohio, but I haven’t heard from them in a few days and I was hoping they had called you or something. You and Dean were close last time I saw you,” the angel said looking at her with a knowing look.

“No, I haven’t talked with them, since Dean’s encounter with Zachariah. He was supposed to call me when they were safe,” Myin said looking at a picture of her daughters on her desk.

“Sorry to bother you,” Castiel said before disappearing. Myin looked around her office before sitting down to type a letter for her boss.

“I have to leave, you can send me on an extended sabatical or I can resign,” Myin said as she handed her letter to her supervisor. “I’m sorry to say that I won’t be able to give you two weeks notice, but everything is in order that this location can run itself for almost a month with very little maintenance from me, and you already knew I was going to be leaving in a few months.”

“I will accept your resignation under the stipulation that you will come back to work for me when you have your affairs in order,” Her boss said. “I’ve never had someone that fit in as well as you did.”

“Thank you, I hope to see you soon,” Myin said exhaling.

It weeks for Myin to track the brothers. She started in Ohio, after settling things with her mother in law and her daughters, and finally caught up with them in Massachusetts after Christmas.

“Sam?” Myin asked as she caught him at a bar in a small town called Housatonic. He was drinking a frozen fruit drink with a look of astonishment and playing with his hair in the mirror behind the bar. “Sam?” She had to walk over to him and put a hand on his arm to get his attention.

“Oh hey, sorry. I was uh… distracted,” He said looking down at her awkwardly.

“Are you and Dean okay? Castiel was trying to find you, and we were all worried,” Myin asked trying to get him to look her in the eye.

“Oh yeah we’re fine, totally and completely fine. No need to worry about anything,” He said nonchalantly.

“Uh huh, so you and Dean worked things out then? You’re okay with me and him. He told you about the baby?” Myin questioned, finally seeing his eyes. She knew they weren’t Sam’s.

“Oh yeah, pfftt,” He threw his hand out to brush off her statement physically. “Why wouldn’t I be okay with it. You guys were made for each other,”

“Right,” Myin said. “Where’s Sam?”

“What?” The fake Sam said eyes going wide. Myin’s phone rang, distracting her from her interrogation.

“I’ll be right back,” She told fake Sam firmly. “Don’t leave.” She walked out of the bar to answer the phone call from Bobby.

“Would you like to do the sex with me?” Gary asked the beautiful blonde sitting at the bar near him, and was able to convince her to leave with him.

“Shit, Bobby. I just found Sam what’s up? What do you mean I need to get out of here?” Myin said looking around before realizing the uncomfortable feeling she’s had since she got to this town was the same one she would get when her father would cast magic. “Alright old man, I’m out of here, don’t be so cranky.”

March 2010

~I don’t know what, something just isn’t right. It was pouring rain as Myin sat in front of her computer messaging an international friend.

~remember how I told you that you worry too much? Myin scoffed at way that Emily dismissed Myin’s danger. She couldn’t blame the woman. She live in a different world, and it wasn’t like Myin could tell her it was all true. She rubbed her baby bump wondering for the millionth time if Dean was going to call her that night. But as the hours crept on, she was starting to feel like it wasn’t likely.

~you know that feeling when someone is there but can’t be real? Myin typed and sent before feeling power unlike she had ever felt.

“I’m taking pity on you mortal. Normally, I wouldn’t care what happened to someone like you. But your friend is very dedicated in her prayers,” A stunning woman of Indian decent stood in Myin motel room.

“Who are you?” Myin asked as she stood and dropped her laptop on the floor in favor of a pistol.

“Kali, now put that down before you make a mistake,” The goddess gestured to her firearm. “The Winchesters are going to face off against the Devil. Their plan is foolhardy but it’s the only chance they have.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Myin asked, holding her belly to soothe the squirming child.

“Let’s just say I owed someone a favor, and I didn’t want it to linger. You need to protect yourself and your children. Stop looking for the brothers. And don’t trust any angels.” She handed Myin a piece of paper with a weird symbol on it. “Put this up in ever corner of your home and stay there. Nothing will come inside that isn’t invited.” Kali glanced at Myin’s computer. “She’s wrong. You don’t worry too much. You should be thankful to have someone like her in your life.”

“Wait what about-” Myin looked around as the goddess disappeared from her home. Then flopped onto her couch and pulled the laptop back on to her lap.

~What the correct way to thank a goddess for saving your life? Myin asked her Hindu specialist. She needed to give Emily a hug, the woman couldn’t possible know how much she had just saved her neck.

May 2010

Myin stared at the message on her phone as Jody sat and cooed at the new born baby girl.

~We won, I lost. I won’t be back. Dean

Myin wasn’t sure how she was going to get back on her feet now that Sam was dead and Dean was gone. Jody brought the baby over to her to nurse, and Myin cuddled her daughter knowing in her heart this was the safest thing for her child. If no one knew that her father was a Winchester that was better.

“What are you gonna name her?” Jody asked sitting down near her.

“Jenny,” Myin said, keeping her obscure Disney name trend going to keep suspicions low. “Jenny Connelly.”

@waywardbaby @destielhoneybee @snffbeebee @deangirl7695 @spnbaby-67 @maddiepants @ladywinchester1967 @woodworthti666 @miraclesoflove @tumbler-tidbits @emilyshurley @akshi8278 @mannls @wendibird @bobasheebaby @theoneandonlymelol @chelsea072498 @donnaintx @justsomedreaming @supernaturalenchanted @kalesrebellion @prettydeaneyes @emoryhemsworth @laphirablack @dontshootmespence @its-a-spn-thing @vicmc624 @idreamofplaid @anaelsbrunette@winchesterxfamilybusiness @kickingitwithkirk @wayward-mikaelson @electraphyng @mariekoukie6661 @ @deanwinchesterinthedarktower @katelynw93

#supernatural #series #Sam x OFC #Dean x OFC #Sam x Myin #Dean x Myin #OFCs #Kali #Gary #Season 4 #Season 5 #canon character death #self insert

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shkspr · 4 years

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i’m very attached to the K and all that it stands for (pun intended) so my theory is this: trans icon martin blackwood spent a long time trying to find a name that Fit (”sorry, sorry, i just wanted to try it out”) and when he went to change his name legally he couldn’t commit to a middle name, so his legal name is just martin blackwood. he always knew he liked the sound of a k in his name, it made for a good middle initial, but he couldn’t land on one name.

and i think, for all his faults, jon has always been vocally accepting and supportive of his colleagues when they get a bit personal on a night out or something; he’s a good man to talk to about gender and sexuality feelings because he listens and he always has the dry rational angle covered to combat whatever strong emotions his friends are feeling about their crises. but he is still openly disdainful of martin, so it’s a unique balance.

so it’s sometime in season one, or maybe even pre-archives, when martin “tells jon his middle name.” they’re all together, the two of them and tim and sasha, and it’s not something martin would usually just offer up in casual conversation, but he’s just changed it again and he really likes the sound of this one and he wants to test it out aloud to see how it sounds and how it feels. so when sasha jokingly calls him “martin jeremiah blackwood,” he says “that’s not my middle name,” and she says “no, it’s tim’s, i just like the way it sounds with any name”

and jon says “what is your middle name, martin?” and martin has a moment of panic because jon doesn’t usually ask him questions, jon doesn’t usually show an active interest in his life, but then he remembers that he has recently changed his middle name (in his head because that’s the only place he has a middle name) and he actually wants to tell them, to test the waters. so he says “kalidasa,” and they all look at him for a second just to be sure he isn’t joking. and he isn’t, or at least he isn’t copping to it, and it’s at that moment that jon has to leave, always a stickler for the rules, not willing to go over his scheduled lunch break time.

and then when he’s gone, sasha says “that’s a really nice name. what’s it mean?” and martin explains, because the meaning is the bulk of the significance: it means “servant of [the hindu goddess] kali” and it was the name of a classical indian writer whose work is very important to martin personally. there was a single hardcover book with no dustjacket on a low shelf in his home on the day, months after his father had left, when his mother finally decided to get rid of all his things. just one book, that’s what eight-year-old martin managed to squirrel away while his mum directed moving men to take his dad’s boxes away, and so he cherished that book, a slim volume of classical sanskrit poetry.

martin recites a bit of it from memory, his eyes going a bit fuzzy as he stares off into the distance and murmurs, “look to this day: for it is life, the very life of life. in its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence. the bliss of growth, the glory of action, the splendour of achievement are but experiences of time. for yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision; and today well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. look well therefore to this day; such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn.”

sasha and tim don’t let on that they’re aware he picked the name himself, nor do they make any derisive comments or poke fun at him. they know where to draw a line, they know martin’s sensitive about anything to do with his dad, and they know it’s just generally a dick move to make fun of someone’s name. sasha smiles and tells him that’s very touching, and then she says “my middle name is josephine, after my mum’s aunt,” and that’s the subject easily changed, and they move on as normal as anything.

martin lasts about two weeks before deciding he hates “kalidasa” and he hates himself for picking it, it sounds stupid and pretentious and everyone already thinks he’s trying way too hard, he doesn’t need to go and make it worse. but it never comes up again like that, with all the shit that keeps happening, so he never gets the chance to set the record straight with jon. he tells tim, at some point, what he’s thinking of changing it to now, and tim is very supportive. but jon goes several years thinking his name is martin kalidasa blackwood, and martin is painfully aware of that fact at times.

so. when jon becomes post-apocalyptic google and martin asks what his middle name is... well, he’s not quite sure what he expects. he’s stuck with the same middle name for a while now, since around the time his mum died. they didn’t always get on perfectly, but he loved her; he’s not in denial, but that doesn’t mean he has to let his every memory of her be tainted. anyway, he was getting sick of his last middle name, and he wanted to honor his mum. iris was her name, it means rainbow.

and despite their rocky relationship, she gave him his faith, which has so often been a source of comfort and community when he had none, and he’ll always be thankful for that, he’ll always cherish that. it all sort of fell into place, really, it seemed to fall into his lap that the hebrew word for rainbow happens to start with a k. so he’s been martin keshet blackwood for about a year, give or take an apocalypse, and he doesn’t anticipate changing it anytime soon, and not only because he doesn’t have the time to think about his name while he’s trying to fight the world.

that’s it, he thinks, this is as permanent as things get in this world, so he figures that’s what will pop into jon’s head, but it doesn’t and that’s fine. nobody knows how any of this works, and so jon gains the knowledge that martin doesn’t have a middle name in any legal or official capacity. and jon says “i actually believed you! that’s ridiculous, i thought, that’s not a real name, but he wouldn’t lie to me!” and martin feels a tiny little warm flowers blooming in his chest at that because - well, because jon thought of him, back then, asked him a question and then ruminated on his answer after the fact and concluded that martin wouldn’t lie to him, and that’s a sight better than where he thought he’d stood at the time.

there’s some guilt, too, of course, because he was lying to jon at the time, and he felt bad about it at the time and he feels bad about it now but they’re so far past that, aren’t they. and he clears it up, later. the next lull in their journey, the next quiet moment that they have to just talk to each other, he clears up the whole issue and explains the whole story and jon laughs, because it’s funny. and then he says something awful sappy, something like:

“the journey to the man you want to be is one that i will gladly travel, too. whatever name you choose is fine with me, so long as it’s a name that pleases you. keshet is lovely, for that’s what you are: a burst of color in a dreary sky, a ray of hopeful beauty from afar, a comfort from the ever-present eye, your smile a pot of gold i treasure so. each color leads me deeper in this love, to places inside you i’d like to know, to all the little things that you dream of. if one day soon you find you wish to change, your life and name are yours to rearrange.”

martin cries, of course he does, and he gets a little indignant through his tears - “it’s not fair that you can just spin that off the tip of your tongue; poetry is supposed to be my thing; i try so hard, and here you come, just spouting rhymes like nobody’s business” - but there’s no real rancor in it, only fondness and warmth and the affirming knowledge that even here, they can learn new things about each other; even here, they can be together in a way that feels like home to them; even here, they have their love, and they won’t let it go.

#tma spoilers #tma s5 #ok to rb #mag164 #i've been sitting on kalidasa for a while now bc i don't think he'd keep it but he would definitely try it #under a cut (assuming the cut works) bc it got looooooooooooooong #optma #meta #jm

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