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thecousinsdangereux · 3 years

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the land of race car ya yas

A short little ficlet for @corvophobia who has drawn a bunch of art for the bees racer au of my dreams. This is ALL based on her drawings, so make sure you check out her stuff. Happy birthday, Amber! You are one of my two favorite British children. <3

(Please note that I know nothing about street racing. I've only watched the Fast and the Furious movies. Forgive me....)

“How’d you do that?”

Blake’s used to the question or some version of it, and maybe that’s why she takes in the words before she notices the tone, imagines a scowl (a lowered brow, hands curled into fists, the flash of teeth as the scowl turns into a snarl) with the same instinct that has her shoulders tensing. It’s only mid-turn that she realizes the question is laced with wonder rather than anger, but even this awareness doesn’t prepare her for the sight that meets her. It’s a woman, her smile wide and unrestrained by pesky things like self-consciousness or insecurity, and her eyes are nearly glowing in the low light, purple and bright and full of open admiration. Her black leather jacket, classic in cut, has the sleeves rolled up mid-forearm, revealing a prosthetic of black and yellow, and her grey jeans are tight, showing off a body that Blake has to work to avoid following the curves of. Her hair is long, blonde, curling around her shoulders and down her back, artful in its disorder, down to the single, stubborn cowlick at the top of her head.

In short, she’s beautiful, and Blake stares for longer than she should, feeling heat in her veins.

“Do what?”

She manages a response, but it’s absent minded. She’s just noticed the light dusting of pink on the woman’s cheeks, coloring the spaces in between her freckles, and it has her re-evaluating, pulling her thoughts to the effort she’s put into her own outfit that evening: a cropped and sleeveless hoodie with blocked colors of white and purple, tight leather shorts, and clunky boots that hit just under the knee. Blake looks good and this woman knows it, which makes them even on this particular front, and that's a settling sort of feeling.

“Win,” the woman says simply, her smile growing. “And don’t just say NOS.”

“NOS,” Blake drawls, just because she can, and she’s rewarded by the woman’s laugh, rewarded even more when she steps closer.

“No, but what’s your delivery method? Direct port, obviously, but you had to have used a custom kit, right? I’ve been telling you, Yang, I need to recalibrate yours. Can I look at your car? Would you mind if I just took a tiny peak just to see what you’ve done with your injection site? We really need to upgrade, Yang. A nozzle with less back pressure will give you a better squeeze. I’ve been telling you!”

She hadn’t noticed the other woman, but blinks at her now, a red blur waving her arms about, hoping from one foot to the other, firing out words faster than Blake — an aficionado of all things fast — can keep up with. The woman (Yang?) seems to find the act familiar and reacts with affection tinged with a false exasperation (put upon for Blake’s benefit or maybe as a means of gentle chiding), sighing and placing a hand on the smaller girl’s shoulder.

“And I’ve been telling you, you can’t just ask people to look at their shit!” She turns to Blake now, and this time her eye roll is definitely for Blake. “Sorry about that, I swear we’re not trying to steal any of your trade secrets. Ruby just… really likes cars.”

“It’s so pretty too,” Ruby coos, batting away Yang’s hand and taking a step towards the vehicle Blake had used to push past Yang at the last moment, a fact neither of these women seem to hold against her. “The purple stripes. But I bet the engine is prettier.”

It’s unprecedented, really. Blake’s been on the scene for a while — longer than she would admit to anyone here — first as a tagalong and now as a driver, but she’s never had an encounter quite like this. The unexpectedness of it all has her feeling off-balance, has her reacting without any of her customary cool anger as Ruby stares at her hood (as though if she focuses hard enough, she’ll be able to see through the metal to the parts underneath). Maybe that’s why Blake responds in a way that’s decidedly unwise, without any further thought at all.

“You can take a look. I don’t mind.”

“Really?” Ruby squeals, but doesn’t wait for Blake to confirm, darting around her and flipping open the hood in the span of three seconds.

“Really?” Yang asks, and the word sounds wildly different coming from her, sliding out from behind her crooked lips like thanks or maybe a challenge (or maybe both). “Not worried about my mechanic figuring you out before the next race?”

Blake should be, of course. But.

“Can’t say I am.”

“Maybe not the smartest move.” Yang crosses her arms; the chrome of her right glints under one of the flickering street lights. For the first time, she looks away from Blake’s gaze, eyes darting over to check on Ruby (who’s leaning so far into the front of Blake’s car that her feet nearly lift off the ground) and then to another group of drivers, a good distance behind them, but clearly watching in curiosity. It’s never wise to gather after a race, but everyone always does when it goes well, and for the first time, Blake’s glad for it. “She’s pretty vicious about giving me an edge. I wish I could say it was familial loyalty, but really, she just wants to make the fastest car in the city.” Yang pauses, tilting her head in thought. “Or country. Or world. Not sure when she’ll be satisfied, to be honest.”

“Sisters?” Blake asks. She can’t really see the resemblance, but then again, she hasn’t spent as much time looking at the younger of the pair, even though she should probably be less focused on the elder (the one not pouring over her engine. Sun and Ilia were going to kill her).

“Yeah.” Yang probably doesn’t realize how much her smile grows in the confirmation, saturated with pride and love. “Scary brilliant too. Give her five minutes with a car and she’ll take it apart, put it back together, and it’ll run better than it ever has. But all that means she always thinks it’s the car that puts a driver ahead.”

Blake arches a brow. “And you think she’s… wrong?”

“Well, yeah.” Yang’s closer than Blake remembers her being, maybe because her legs are long, her strides somehow longer, and it only takes a step before she’s close enough for Blake to feel the heat radiating off her body. “I know it’s only the driver that puts a driver ahead. That’s why I’m here talking to you instead of looking at your car.” Her lips twitch and she amends her statement quickly. “Part of the reason, at least.”

The other part of her reasoning is made pretty obvious when Yang’s eyes trace up Blake’s form once more. It should probably bother Blake, but it doesn’t, maybe because she’s done the same to Yang during this conversation (more than once). Still, there are things better avoided, and Blake knows this better than anyone. She does her best to get back on track.

“It wasn’t me,” she says (almost blurts), and then feels her neck warm when Yang looks at her quizzically. “Before, you asked how I won. But it wasn’t me, not really. You could have had it if you hadn’t fired your nitrous early. You were impatient.”

It’s too blunt, Blake knows this as soon as the words leave her lips. She’s backtracked too much, retreated into aloofness as she was wont to do, but Yang only laughs, and the sound cracks through Blake’s go-to defense, a corner of her lips curling before she can stop it.

“You’re right. I used to be way worse, back when I started out, but I’m a lot better now. Usually.”

“So what happened today?” It’s the question Yang wants her to ask, of this Blake is sure, but it hardly feels like a chore.

“Ah, bad luck, I guess. I took one look at the driver next to me and all that impatience came rushing back. All I wanted to do was finish the race and meet her properly.” She winks. Combined with the cheesy line, it shouldn’t work as well as it does (but it does). “I’m Yang.”

“Blake.”

They don’t shake hands, and Blake’s glad for it. There’s something buzzing between them, a tingling sensation at the tips of her fingers, the build up right before a lightning strike, and Blake’s not entirely sure what the contact — however brief and friendly — might do to her.

“Next time, maybe I’ll be a little more prepared.” Yang’s eyes roam across her face, settling once more on gold. “But probably not.”

“Immersion therapy,” Blake quips. “Give it time.”

Yang whistles sharply, and it takes Blake a moment to realize that she’s called her sister back over. (Blake had forgotten about her entirely, though the grease on her hands and face leads her to believe that Ruby had done a thorough dive under her hood, the sort Blake ought to be worried about.)

“Time is exactly what I plan on giving it. A lot of time, if you’ll let me.” Yang nudges her sister back in the direction they’d come from. Ruby waves, offers a wide grin of thanks, but Blake’s stuck on purple.

“Well. Let’s see how you do in the next race,” she murmurs.

“Looking forward to it.”

And Blake, who started racing to get away, who started racing to run, who started racing so she never had to stay in one place for long, finds that she is too.

—

“What the hell is your problem?”

Blake’s used to this question too, or some form of it, and this time, the tone is exactly what she expects. The small, white-haired woman in a vest and tie, however, is not.

“Listen, I’m sorry I hurt your boyfriend’s feelings by being a better driver than him, but you’re only embarrassing yourself now.” Blake takes another look at the woman’s attire; her sleeves are rolled up to her elbows and — despite the country club hairstyle and the heels — the hint of a tattoo on her pale skin, just under the fabric makes up Blake’s mind for her. “Or… Girlfriend?”

“Not quite,” says a familiar voice.

Today, Yang has decided to show off her abs (and she most certainly does have abs) with a cropped jacket of black and gold checks, and Blake can’t quite bring herself to look beyond that for too long, though she catches the black driving gloves, the oversized and gold sunglasses, the oversized cargo pants. In the seconds it takes for Blake to wind her brain back up, Yang grins, cocksure, and continues.

“Though you were right about the gay thing. I mean, look at her.”

“Look at you,” the other woman sniffs, actually physically turning up her nose. “Could you be any gayer?”

“Yeah, I could be wearing a vest and tie,” Yang fires back, but it’s clear the banter is familiar, it’s obvious these two know each other well enough for their back and forth to not contain any real barbs.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Blake drawls, before she’s able to stop herself, and Yang turns back to her with an arched brow. “Good to see you again, Yang.”

“Oh, is it? Could have fooled me!” The other woman’s ire has been refocused, and it’s seemingly stronger than before, the pitch of her words higher, more dire. “Given you nearly killed her just now.”

“Weiss,” Yang sighs, but Blake winces, feeling the sting of the words despite Yang’s quick glance of reassurance sent her way.

“I didn’t realize you’d pull off when I drifted. I thought you’d… lean in.”

It’s not an excuse. They’d been neck and neck towards the end of the race (again), and when she’d nudged the side of Yang’s car — far gentler than she would against anyone else — she’d assumed the woman would give as good as she got, like most every other racer she’d gone against. But Yang hadn’t taken any chances, and it’d cost her the race.

“We don’t do that here,” the woman — Weiss — says, lips pursed to the point of contortion, but Yang only laughs.

“We do that here all the time. I did way worse to Mercury last week.”

“Yes, but Mercury is a creep.” Weiss pauses, considering. “We only do that to creeps here.”

Blake’s hands lift, a show of peace. “Hey, no one handed me the Beacon Street Racing Etiquette Guide when I joined up the other week. Maybe you could loan me your copy.”

This doesn’t exactly smooth things over with the woman, especially not when Yang snickers, but Weiss can clearly see the writing on the wall, and tosses her hair over her shoulder with a huff.

“Whatever. I’m telling Ruby about this,” she warns Yang (or maybe Blake, or maybe both of them), before stalking away, her last words called over her shoulder. “She’s not going to be happy.”

There’s no concern on Yang’s face as she watches her go, if anything she looks amused. “Sorry about that. She’s… protective.”

“I can see that. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve been friends with someone for a while.” It’s a guess (and a probe), but Yang doesn’t correct any of her phrasing, so it must be close enough to the truth.

“Yeah, but I didn’t mean protective of me.” Yang’s grin shows a flash of white teeth. “Weiss bet on me tonight. You lost her money. And that’s the real sin.”

Blake’s surprised at how easily her laugh comes (more surprised how easily the fondness slips through the cracks in her chest). “Oh, I see. So I can kick your ass up and down the streets as long as I convince her to bet on me in the future? Good to know.”

“I’m not sure that’s the message I want you to be taking from this,” Yang drawls, but still smiles, flicking her glasses up to her forehead. “Besides, like she said, Ruby’s the one to look out for. She seemed all sweet and innocent yesterday, but gods help the person she turns her disapproving stare on. I’ve seen people break into tears on the spot.”

From what Blake had seen yesterday, Ruby isn’t the sort that loses her chipper bounce very easily, so despite Yang’s teasing tone, she files the information away as useful. If she were being a little more self-searching, she might question the action, given her tendency to not stick around in any one place for long. (Surely Beacon isn’t any different. Surely she couldn’t know now if it were.)

“Lucky she missed the race today, then.” Her lips curve, a sharp corner that would require a drift. “What, she couldn’t bear to see you lose again?”

“Oh, ha ha. No, she had class. And she knows there’s no skipping for racing; that’s the only hard and fast rule for our household.” It’s not what she expects, the straight answer backed with genuinity, but it strikes Blake as endearing, somehow, especially when Yang continues. “I started racing here so we could pay for those classes, so I think it’s only fair.”

“That’s — ” Kind. Authentic. Surprising. Blake’s not sure which word to use so she disgards them all. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as the type who was racing for the money. Not that… there’s anything wrong with that. Especially in your case.”

Yang laughs. “Hey, don’t mistake me. I started racing here for the money, but it’s not why I race in general.”

“So why do you?” Blake asks, even though she suspects she knows the answer. (It’s not wise to take your eyes off the road, but she’s done it in both of her races with Yang, eyes darting to the side to find the woman speeding alongside her: eyes wild, grin wide, the fervor of the moment all over her face. There’s freedom there, more than there is anywhere else, and Blake thinks she sees that in Yang as much as she does in herself.)

“Same as you, I think,” Yang murmurs, closer now, sliding in when Blake’s distracted once again.

“I’m not sure you know me well enough to say that.”

A bluff, of course, but it gets the intended result.

“Not yet.” From this close, Yang looks taller, and Blake has to tilt her chin to look into her eyes. “But I’m still looking to fix that.”

Blake wets her lips. It’s too much, and she’s not sure she can tack on ‘too soon’ to quantify the thought, make it less tame. If she had to guess, Yang will always be too much, like sunlight after coming out of a room. Blake’s not sure she’ll ever adjust to the rays, or if she wants to.

“Let’s see how you do in the next race,” she says again, and Yang laughs again, totally unabashed.

“Okay, I’m sensing a trend here. What, you’re not going to let me take you out unless I win a race again you?”

“If I say ‘yes’, what are you going to do?”

It’s not cockiness that overtakes Yang’s face then, not exactly. It’s confidence or want or determination or maybe just the flush that comes from the thrill of a challenge. Blake’s setting herself up for something here, she knows, failure or disappointment or something like it, but right then, she doesn’t care. There’s a freedom in this sort of race too, and that she’s come to love.

“Oh, that’s easy, Blake.” Yang leans in a little more, and Blake knows it’s audible, the way her breath is cut short. “I’m going to win.”

#bumbleby #writing #rwby #bees racer au #for #corvophobia #<33333 #just a little something for a birthday treat

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piratelil · 3 years

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So how about that V9 preview , huh? Let’s talk about that!

This is a long post but bare with me.

The point of view:

I was a bit iffy on the first person view when I first saw it.

However, I think it did a great job showing the pressure that was placed on Ruby’s shoulders when Cinder attacked, which is definitely what they were going for. I hope we get to see first POVs of WBY+J as well, maybe in the form of clips/teasers.

Yang:

Holy heck this happened so fast. It makes me wonder how fast Blake was running to catch her. I still see a lot of people arguing that someone could have stopped Yang from falling. There is no way Gambol Shroud could have caught her with how quick it all went down. Not even Ruby’s semblance could have saved her; especially with the amount of shock that girl was in.

Neo:

What a day to be a Neo Stan

First of all-

Petty

Nuts and Dolts, RG,I see you over there. Turning into the people Ruby admires/loves is no doubt traumatizing. Oscar and Yang are two people Ruby probably feels like she failed, due to them all disagreeing and splitting up (also with Oscar getting kidnapped.) I feel like Neo’s allusion of them looking at her with that much hatred is going to cause Ruby to blame herself for everything that occurred and convince herself they’re angry with her.

The last image she has of Penny is choking her. I see a lot of people bringing up the fact that Ruby let go for a second. While this could have been just a regular movement, we also have to remember that Penny is a precious green bean and Ruby has never seen her friend look so vicious. This makes me wonder how she’s going to react when Penny’s body is found.

Mysterious Island:

Here we are on total drama island. Honestly, I wish we got to see a little more of it, but I’m not disappointed with what we got.

When Ruby lands on the island, we get to hear someone say “Ruby!” Three times. I’ve seen people say it’s Penny, Blake, Yang, even Summer Rose. To me it sounds like Blake, who may be searching for her after their fall. RB+N kind of fell in the same perimeter. So, though they were separated, I don’t think they’re too far from each other.

One thing that bothered me was how Ruby awoke in a panic, but stood up like it was nothing. She could have been in shock, but a different facial expression could have sold the fact that what just happened was nerve racking for her.

Final thoughts:

While I’m extremely excited to see what V9 has in store, I’m a little scared. This whole volume is going to be different from what we’ve seen before, most likely making it harder to write. There’s so many different ways things could happen. While I’d like to see bigger conflict and Ruby finally break down, there’s a lot of potential scenes that could come off awkward or opposite of how they’re trying to make it feel. However, it’s important to go about this with an open mind. Who knows, V9 might be one of the best volumes.

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED talk. You may discuss NICELY. We are allowed to disagree here, but we do not come after others for their opinions/theories/hopes.

#rwby #ruby rose #rwby v9 #rwby v8 #neopolitan #penny polendina #yang xiao long #blakebelladonna #rwby volume 9 predictions #rwby volume 9 #weiss schnee #rwby volume 8 #Oscar pine #team rwby #team jnr

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kitkatopinions · 3 years

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do you think bumbleby is problematic/unhealthy?

The short answer: Yes I think it's problematic and unhealthy.

The long answer: Blake and Yang as a ship was legit leading to a healthy and potentially well done dynamic during the course of seasons 4 and 5. I personally would have preferred them to be friends as I ship BlackSun and would've been happier if my ship had been end game, but I could've gotten on board with Blake and Yang, using season five as a jumping off point, and it could've been healthy. But the fairly good set up was tossed out the window and the relationship we got instead has been, overall, weak. I'm going to explain the way I see the ship and how it could've been great, but fell short in season six down below the keep reading. Bumblebee shippers, I'm gonna tag this as anti-bb as heavily as I can 'cause I don't wanna trod on your ship where you can see it, but if it still shows up for you due to this sucky tumblr tagging system, I'm sorry. Please just ignore or block if this is upsetting to you. This is my personal opinion on this ship and I get that other people have read it differently than me even if I don’t agree.

Volumes 1-3 set a bit of (very slight, easily read as friendship) groundwork and though I wish that there had been more to it and that they'd established romantic feelings early on, there's a lot of good to their dynamic. Yang clearly seems more invested in being friends than (and might have a crush on) Blake from the get go, while Blake is hesitant and wary. This is for good reason. Blake not only clearly has trouble trusting and making friends (due to her traumatic experiences and abuse,) but also, it would be impossible for her not to pick up on Yang's incredibly out of control temper. On top of this, Yang also seems careless and go-with-the-flow, which would appeal to others, but might have put off Blake due to her being a devoted, caring fighter who - like Ruby - is trying to be a Huntress to help people. I don't think Yang having a real conversation with Blake about Raven and Blake's self-destructing was the actual turning point in this dynamic. Yes, they danced together, but during their actual conversation, Yang only gave more reason for Blake to think she might turn into an Adam one day - as Yang got angry at her, lashed out, and even got physically aggressive with her 'because she cares.'

I don't think this makes Yang a bad person, but I do think that Blake was still hesitant to really get close to her with good reason partially because of that. Blake (throughout season one and most of season two) seems like she's fine interacting with her teammates casually and even is fine being friends, but doesn't want to get too attached or open up to them.

I think the actual turning point in their relationship as friends that made Blake feel more comfortable with Yang was during the episode Mountain Glenn, where they're camped out and Yang starts up a conversation. This was - I believe - the first time that Blake opened up to her friends about her feelings and about Adam. And Yang opens up to them as well, expressing seriously and even sadly that she's never felt as attached to this job as Ruby. She talks about not feeling like she has a lot that drives her, how she doesn't want to be a hero, she doesn't have all these high ambitions. And yet Yang still talks about what Ruby wants - helping people without asking for anything in return - with open admiration and warmth. I think that, along with Weiss's additions to the conversation, is what made Blake start feeling more able to open up to her teammates and especially to Yang. I think that Blake was hesitant with Yang from the get go because she saw in her some of the things she'd seen in Adam, but in Mountain Glenn, Yang is soft, admiring of virtues like selflessness, but expressing that she herself doesn't actually want glory. She isn't driven, but she's still there trying to help people too. That was probably reassuring and appealing to Blake and probably went a ways towards setting Yang apart from Adam for her.

This all comes to a head in season 3 when Yang is tricked into attacking Mercury by Emerald. When Yang is expressing that she saw Mercury come at her first and would never purposefully hurt him for no reason, Blake is hesitant. This makes perfect sense for Blake's character and because of Yang's characterization. Yang has a huge temper, Yang has been aggressive, Yang is impulsive, Blake has seen all that and it's reminiscent of Adam, who changed over time. But Yang is also torn up, she's confused, she's not the same as Adam, she would never do that. But Yang doesn't get angry when Blake is hesitant, she's understanding. Yang doesn't get angry, she gets serious, she stops crying and looks Blake in the eyes and Blake finds herself able to trust her and believe in her and by God, it might be their scene in the whole show. No guilt trip, no red eyes, no excuses, just Yang telling Blake exactly what happened and Blake finding that she can trust her afterall.

Do I think that Blake had feelings for Sun in the first five seasons? Abso-freaking-lutely. Do I think the Blake and Yang moments in the first three seasons can be read as totally friendship/sisterly affection drive? Yep. But it’s also perfectly valid and maybe even kinda hinted at that Yang had a crush on Blake, and I can see and even support that. And then we get into seasons four and five in which Blake and Yang both start growing. They’re apart from each other, but the growth they undergo in seasons four and five make their characters better for each other. Because Blake started working through her trauma and growing past some of her more toxic traits, and Yang started working through her abandonment issues and some of her more toxic traits. They were doing some of the work of getting better, not to change ‘for their partner’ but because they needed it for themselves. Yang needs someone stable and grounded who can be there for her and challenge her when the need arises, but is still reassuring and is able to trust in and believe in her. Blake needs someone who can balance out her more pessimistic way of thinking, who is understanding and respects her boundaries and her independence, who is strong, but warm and supportive. At the start of the show, it seems like Yang is the opposite of what Blake needs, and that Blake is the opposite of what Yang needs. But due to their growth and especially their growth in volumes four and five, they seem primed to be able to provide what the other needs. Blake at the end of volume five is more stable than ever, much more sure of herself, coming into the role of a leader, and is expressing herself more openly and honestly than ever. Yang at the end of volume five is more measured and careful, more open to hearing others out, stronger in who she is instead of relying so much on the approval and support of people like Raven, and is softer and more understanding with her friends and family. Yes, the two of them are still very different and so there would be conflict, but there’s often conflict in good, well rounded ships because that’s entertaining and feels real. Also volume five was prime Yang, I’m not taking criticisms on that opinion.

I’m a major BlackSun shipper forever and they give me life, but Blake and Yang in volume five are primed pretty perfectly to start a real, clear romantic relationship once they work through the very valid conflict that stemmed from Blake leaving without telling Yang anything about where she was going, and Yang’s feelings about that.

...

And then that wasn’t ever discussed. First strike against their relationship. I’m not saying that Yang accepting her and offering that group hug at the end of volume five was wrong. That impulse makes a lot of sense and I honestly feel like Yang would’ve been kind of cruel if she’d snubbed Blake right then and given her the cold shoulder. But there should’ve been tension regarding Blake having left in volume six that could be addressed and worked through. Because Blake was valid in leaving and trying to get rest while she reconnected with her parents, and she doesn’t owe anyone an explanation for that, but Yang was also valid to be hurt by it, to be confused, and to want to talk that over with the girl we’re meant to think she likes romantically by the time volume six starts. And Blake should have told her friends at least something before disappearing, and Yang should perhaps have been more understanding about Blake’s situation from the get go. They’re both very valid in their circumstances and their emotions and the conflict should’ve been addressed. I didn’t need a blow up or a breakdown or even a real argument, just the issue creating clear tension and then it getting addressed and worked through at least partially. Instead the issue suddenly vanished without Blake ever explaining her side, and without Yang ever expressing her feelings. And that brings me to my next point.

The sudden conflict of ‘Blake feels super guilty about Yang’s arm and is now hovering to try and take care of Yang like she can’t take care of herself’ being pushed instead of just working from the conflict we’d all been waiting for pay off for where both parties were in the wrong is, in my opinion, a bit of a shifty choice. And that conflict as well is solved without them talking through it. To me, this feels like the two of them are bottling things up, feel good about their relationship in moments of trauma or adrenaline, but are letting these problems just brew under the surface because they’re too unsure to express it in moments of calm or down time. Other people just headcanon that they have worked through their problems off screen, but because we don’t really see that, it is just a headcanon and looking at their relationship only as we’ve seen it on screen, it really feels like so far, I just don’t think it reads as healthy. Next problem is that they had Blake swear not to leave Yang? And Yang is just like “I know you won’t.” ???

I’m sorry, but I mentioned that Blake’s independence was important and that people letting her be independent was important, right? Blake is an abuse victim who had a former love interest angry at her for leaving, yelling at her for leaving, punishing her for leaving. Any romantic relationship she has should explicitly include her partner making her feel valid and safe with leaving both to different places, on different missions, and even leaving the relationship (which is what Sun did btw.)

On top of that, Blake is apologizing for something she shouldn’t have to apologize for, and Yang is forgiving her for something Blake shouldn’t have to apologize for. This is why they should’ve talked through the problem, because Blake is unfairly blaming herself, taking responsibility for Yang, deciding that she should’ve not seen her family, not tried to improve her mental health, not tried to go back home, because Yang - who had her family with her, who was able to go back home - wanted her around. Yang was valid to feel like she needed Blake to be there for her, but Yang is not Blake’s responsibility. Blake was a traumatized seventeen year old who wanted a break with her parents, that wasn’t wrong. The only thing Blake should be apologizing for was leaving without an explanation. And instead of Yang just comforting Blake in the moment and then maybe telling her later “hey, you know you... Don’t have to stay with me, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” or anything like that, Yang just accepted it and agreed with an “I know you won’t.” This didn’t read like a love scene or even a friendship driven scene to me, it just felt sad.

And then it just kept going. When Marrow asks them if they ever pair up with other people, Yang gets red eyed and flips on the Grimm she’s attacking, and she and Blake give him unimpressed looks and a cold shoulder, like Blake hasn’t spent a good chunk of her time with Sun and like Yang hasn’t done lots on screen with Weiss, went on a mission with Neptune, has a beloved sister... No, Marrow was wrong for suggesting they ever work with others. And then when they split up on their missions in volume 8, it’s bizarrely treated like they’re in a fight. Yang thinks Blake might think less of her because they’re on separate missions. When they meet back up again, Blake is super apologetic and hesitant and acts like she’s going to be hit because Yang left her. Seriously, Yang is the one who did the leaving and yet Blake acts ashamed of herself, and Yang is ‘comforting and forgiving,’ like... Why? They didn’t even fight, they just went on separate missions, but apparently, even the idea of that makes Yang angry enough to go red eyes. That feels uncomfortably co-dependent.

Plus, the two rarely spend any time apart from season six until they split teams in volume 8. They’re almost always either next to each other, or exchanging glances, talking more to each other than anyone else, by a mile, their characters were focused on each other. Blake feels like she isn’t friends with almost anyone around her because of it, which leaves her feeling isolated. Things like her weird and ‘deep’ conversation with Ruby in V8 feel like they come completely out of nowhere and are shallow because ever since Blake has gotten back to the group, she’s barely interacted with anyone but Yang. Yang at least has the benefit of season five interactions to make her feel like she’s part of the team, as well as the writers letting her grow finally in volume 8, have more interactions with her sister, and have at least somewhat organic interactions with Jaune and Ren. Blake is left in the background, operating strictly as support. So yeah, not only does it feel like their relationship involves lots of conflicts they don’t address, and not only does it feel like a co-dependent relationship, but it feels like a co-dependent relationship where Blake is isolated and feels responsible for Yang’s actions (like her acting ashamed of herself because Yang left to do something else.) That seems unhealthy to me.

It’s not even just that, though. Yang acts more aggressive again, like she did back in volume 1 when she would get mad at ‘too many things happening at once’ and go red eyes on a Grimm for breaking off a tiny piece of her hair. And many of Blake’s personality traits like her feisty behavior (which is something Yang had notably loved in her,) her desire to always take action, her ability to call out both her friends and the other people around her, her responsibility, her passion, and her strong moral code (though misused in the Faunus/racism allegory, a character who has a strict moral code to the point of not even wanting to steal for the right reasons is an interesting and challenging character,) all of that... Just vanished. Along with that, Yang was done a disservice as a character because in the first five seasons, her family is so important to her, and then in seasons six until halfway through season eight, that’s severely lacking. They have Yang grab Blake’s hand and pull her from a room about to be filled with Grimm while Ruby and Qrow are still there, Qrow notably drunk or hungover and not knowing what’s going on. They have Yang draw her weapon on Qrow as readily as Blake and Weiss do because he said ‘hey,’ and half stepped towards them. And like I mentioned, they spend most of their time together. Yang has been featured more interacting with others and being more involved with RWBY during season eight, but the point stands.

Not only does it feel like their relationship involves lots of conflicts they don’t address, and not only does it feel like a co-dependent relationship, and not only does it feel like a relationship where Blake is isolated and feels responsible for Yang’s actions, but Yang also acts easily angered and is insecure about Blake’s feelings towards her, Yang feels like she’s drifting away from the family she’s close to specifically to spend as much time as possible with Blake, and it also feels like Blake is suppressing parts of her personality and making herself smaller, more submissive, softer, ‘more palatable,’ because of Yang. Because Blake didn’t act this way with anyone else. Look, some of this is because all of the writing has gone, some of this is - I believe - because the writers don’t know what to do with Blake and don’t actually like writing for her. But that doesn’t change the fact that just based on what they’ve given us, Blake and Yang as a relationship feels unhealthy to me due to their writing choices.

And the fact that the ship isn’t even confirmed by now and hasn’t progressed at all past the ‘soft forehead nuzzles’ stage since volume six is just the icing on the freaking cake. The ship could’ve been great, and BlackSun might be my biz, but I’m a multishipper, I ship Freezerburn, Yang and Merc, Merc and Whitley, and Whitley and Oscar all at the same time. I would love to like Bumblebee, I honestly think it’d make the show more enjoyable for me and there is good art that I wish I could just feel better about. But I just don’t. The relationship could’ve been great, but instead what they actually gave us was severely lacking and felt really unhealthy to me.

NOTE: I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to dissaude anyone from liking Bumblebee, I’m not trying to make anyone hate RWBY, I’m not trying to kill anyone’s enthusiasm for the ship that they like. I’m just trying to give my own opinion on the ship, what I think about them and how they were done, etc.

#rwde #anti rwby #rwby hate #rwby bashing #anti bumblebee #anti bumbleby #anti bmblb #anti bb #anti blake x yang #anti yang x blake #anti blang #canoncrit bumbleby #I tried so hard bees please have at least one of these tags blocked

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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Recently, I've been watching the voice actress for Aerith playthrough FF7, admiring Aerith's house and garden and I look back on rwby thinking how it has so little of that. Aside from their literal homes, the girls spend so much of the series on the move that none of the locations they visit have much significant meaning to them; from the random, forgotten village where Jaune forged his weaponry with Pyrrha's to Weiss being totally cool with dropping her Atlas on Mantle.

You know, that's a really interesting point. Setting is such a crucial part of experiencing a story and the emotional weight of RWBY's has, arguably, been lacking. Not with Beacon, I don't think. School settings are classic and from the cafeteria food fight to the girls' decorated dorm; Oobleck and Port's classrooms to Ozpin's secret vaults, there was a real sense of lived-in space there. When I think about the home of RWBY, I think of the school, not the literal homes that we only spent a comparatively short time in, split four ways across a Volume. The events of Volume 4 and some of 5 were too packed to allow for much of that character work through the setting. With the exception of Yang having a flashback in her kitchen and Weiss being locked in her room (I do love the visual of summoning this giant knight in her tiny, isolated space) there's not much that had an emotional impact on me in terms of the setting. Certainly not the Haven house that was immediately tainted by the Volume's many problems.

What stands out to me is that none of the characters miss spaces. Nor do they really grieve for them. We don't hear the group reminiscing about Beacon. The one conversation we get, at Haven, is about how much they've grown and moved on from that place. It's not an acknowledgment that this placed they loved is just gone (or at least, currently inaccessible due to grimm). That ability to shrug off the loss of a home is cranked up to a thousand when we see none of them balk at - or even mention as a relevant concern - the fact that using Ambrosius will destroy an entire Kingdom. I agree with Robyn that the people are more important than the place, but that doesn't mean everyone involved in that decision shouldn't respond to it as the emotional decision it is. Volume 7 tried to make us believe that Weiss was standing up to Marrow to defend her home - the home she twice tried to run away from - and then Volume 8 went straight to complete disinterest in its destruction. As you say, RNJR spent all of Volume 4 going through forgettable places. Ren is the obvious exception there, grieving his hometown and the people there, and it's probably why I find it to be one of the better parts of the Volume. Ruby leaves home with just a note. Oscar does her one better by leaving his Aunt, presumably with no idea of what's happened to him. Atlas, prior to its destruction, could have had a new sense of home attached to it, but we kept moving from place to place for short bursts: Ironwood's office, the meeting room, their dorm (only to wake up in a gag montage), out in the mines, out in the streets, at the election party, in three different training grounds, in the hideout, in Atlas HQ, in Amity, in the whale, at the manor. That's the place we spend the most time in come Volume 8 and... that right there is the problem. The middle of the battle was not the time for the group to sit around in a safe, comfortable space and try to develop. The downtime of Volume 7 was actually quite hectic, bouncing the group all over the Kingdom and not allowing them (and the audience) to get attached to one particular place. "It will be just like Beacon!" Penny said. Not in terms of gaining an attachment to the setting it wasn't.

RWBY became a travel story and that's fine. The problem is not that they move around a lot, but that they're not striving for home and they're no longer making meaningful connections with where they've been. Compare Volumes 4-8 to Frodo and Sam, frequently recalling the Shire and using the thought of home to spur them on. Why is the group doing all this? The meta-narrative claims it's for their loved ones (trust love), but the primary text makes no mention of them. Ruby and Yang don't long to return to Tai. Jaune isn't worried about his six other sisters in the world. Hell, he wasn't even worried when grimm attacked while one sister was standing in the danger zone. Blake has no plans to return to her family and pick up with the White Fang. Weiss has no thoughts about the destruction of her Kingdom, is not there for the death of her father, and "dies" after a speed run reconciliation with her mother and brother. Qrow has rejected Raven, Ozpin, and has made no mention of Tai. He's also the one the rest of the group keeps forgetting about, left to be missing, in prison, and then alone in a destroyed Mantle. Oscar, as said, hasn't even made mention of his Aunt, nor has a desire to return to the farm become a part of his struggle with the merge. Ren and Nora are the only ones whose home is solely with one another, yet Nora has rejected that, so... what now? What is everyone fighting for? We're left only with this generic "Kill Salem because she's the established bad guy" motivation. It rings hollow and a part of that may well stem from the group's disinterest in the homes attached to those people. We'll presumably only get a Volume (maybe two) of this island and I doubt the end of RWBY will take place in Vacuo, so we're set to leave two more hastily developed locations behind. Maybe if the group were having a positive impact on these places like they did in Volume 4, it would feel more like these places meant something to them (and us). As it stands, the group is currently leaving only destruction in their wake and they don't seem to care about the untouched homes they should want to return to. They're just wandering on this mission because it's The Right Thing to Do. They have no plans, no desires, no drive, no wants, no motivation beyond "kill the bad guy because she's a bad guy." They feel unmoored from the world they're trying to protect and that makes them incredibly hard to connect to nowadays.

#rwby #mymetas

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starryemeralds · 3 years

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**angst warning: major character death mentions**

I cant stop thinking about RNBW’s reaction to learning about Ironwood’s plan of bombing Salem’s whale. Like think about it: they all have people to lose from this and have unfinished business between them.

Yang is Ruby’s sister. They’ve been through hell and back together; but imagine Ruby’s guilt from thinking that the last conversation she has with her was an argument in which Yang questioned her leadership. I have a gut feeling that Ruby is not going to take Penny’s hacking well, especially considering she was the one who told her that she’d be safer with Petro. If she finds herself in a similar situation with her sister.... just, poor Ruby :(

While the Bees have been flirty in the last couple of volumes, it still seems like the two have things that are yet to be said. We know that Blake is worried about Yang, so imagine her reaction to finding out Ironwood’s plan and how Yang might die without knowing Blake’s true feelings. For extra angst, it is also possible that Blake could recall her promise to Yang. She promised her that she would never leave her, but in the short time that they are apart, Yang comes so close to dying and Blake wasn’t there to fight with her. (let’s not forget that Arryn has tweeted about doing a lot of screaming and crying in the booth,,, oh god)

Similar situation with Ren and Nora. They’re in a confusing spot in their relationship right now and still need to talk (and Ren’s semblance upgrade would be great with this). But even not even looking at them from a romantic perspective, these two have been inseparable for almost all of their lives. They have faced so many battles together and hardships... I couldn’t begin to imagine Nora’s fear when imagining a life without her best friend.

Also, if Jaune and Ren were to die, that would man that Nora is the only member left of JNPR. It hasn’t been too long since Pyrrha’s death, but to lose the rest of her team memebers in that short time frame is a pain I couldn’t ever imagine.

Winter and the Ace Ops have been ordered to deliver the bomb by foot, and judging by Winter’s expression to the order, she sees it as a suicide mission. Weiss has had a complicated relationship with her family, but Winter was someone she always admired. I also am suspecting that with (a hacked) Penny landing in front of the Schnee Mansion, the family is going to suffer from a lot of loss; Winter’s death would just add more pain, especially since she is the one Schnee that Weiss relied on most.

BONUS: while he isn’t with RNBW, Qrow is already out for Ironwood for the death of Clover. Imagine how furious he’ll be to find out that he also is so close to blowing up his niece.

I’m sure that there are more that can be said but it’s past 1:30 am and I’m a little tired; I’m sorry if none of my thoughts are coherent. If you want to add more, please feel to do so and rip my heart out. I probably deserve it. But with this being said, I sincerely apologize for putting angst on your timelines.

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hadesisqueer · 4 years

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I'm bored and I don't care and you most probably don't care too but I don't care about that either, so here it comes: my Blake analysis.

People tend to think Yang is my favorite character. And, although they're not entirely wrong, because she's the character I relate the most to, my actual favorite character is Blake. I just find her so inspiring, and such an interesting character yet flawed character. CRWBY did a great job showing her traits as both the Beauty and the Beast, and I just love it.

Leaving the White Fang and Beacon times

Honestly, one of the things I admire the most about Blake is just how freaking brave she is. Because it takes an incredible amount of courage to be able to realize about your mistakes and seek a way to redeem yourself by learning to help people. And it takes a lot of strength to be able to leave your abuser behind.

Blake leaves the White Fang and gets into Beacon hoping for two things: redemption and a new life. She starts off as the typical quiet, kind of cynical (yet still idealistic), emo and mysterious girl who we knew basically nothing about her. We had basic information about the other three, but nothing from her except that she wore a bow and liked books.

I really liked how she seemed to not want to get close to anyone, but then the interactions with Ruby and Yang came. She, although kind of annoyed because they wouldn't let her read (mood), seemed amused by them, and even awkwardly tried to tell them that it was a pleasure to meet them as they fought and before Weiss came and she gave up reading (mood).

Which is one of the reasons I think she chose Yang as her partner. She was probably looking for a partner who she knew she could work well with. And having being partners with Adam, who was just as much of an offensive fighter as Yang, she knew she could work with that. That and the fact that she also seemed to like her and Ruby the night before, so Blake probably recognised her and followed her around to check if Yang could fight too (also because she was hot okay this is just me shipping). And when she saw she could, she was probably like “Okay, I'm keeping this one”. Which is fun, because Blake was the quiet girl and then she went and chose the most extrovert partner (besides Nora) there was. And actually liked having her around, as anyone could see when she smiled when Yang said something.

And that's the thing: she didn't want to get really close to anyone, but she was really eager to start a new life. Even though she wasn't really sure about Weiss, she had good teammates and genuinely liked them. She joined Ruby and Yang in their idiocy (love those two) from the start and showed to be as much as a dork as them if she wanted. She was relaxed with them and liked team JNPR too (we never really saw her having conversations with them alone but if she sat with Pyrrha in class it meant she was cool with them too) and, if you read the books, she was really good friends with team CFVY as well.

Still, she was afraid to open up about her past, or even tell them about being a faunus to the point that when she slipped and told them when she was mad at Weiss being an ignorant, she ran away. Because after all, she doesn't think they would like her true self. I mean, we're talking about a girl who ran away from the White Fang because she realized it had turned into basically a terrorist organisation -one she took part of, and left her family behind for. A girl who's suffered from abuse, making her feel like she doesn't deserve anything good. It's crystal clear in the comics (though they're vol 4 content), Blake thinks she is poison and ruins everything good around her. And she felt like she'd just ruined it again. Which is why when she sees that they don't care, and that Weiss has decided she doesn't care either (and to me, that's the beginning of her arc of being an ignorant and daddy's girl to “when I see a racist a floor him and fucky you, dad), Blake almost cries.

Then in vol 2 she is literally obsessed with Torchwick and the White Fang. It's understandable: she used to be part of that organisation (goddammit, her own father created it) and she's had to see how it went from believing in peace and equality to becoming more violent to start working with human crime lords in a way that doesn't seem to benefit the faunus at all? She knew there was something big going on, and even if she had to fight her own past, she was willing to if that's what it took to find out what it was. It's funny because I felt like she was the main protagonist in that volume instead of Ruby and it's true: she was the one calling the shots.

The thing is that she took it too far and led her to basically become obsessed with the White Fang, as I said. To the point that Yang had to almost literally slap some sense into her and tell her to chill and go to sleep. And well, it worked. She took Yang's advice and didn't forget her goals, but took her time instead of destroying herself in the process.

In vol 3, she seems more relaxed than we'd ever seen. She doesn't have to hide who she is to the people she cares about, because she's slowly opening up more and they are understanding. They succesfully stopped a Grimm attack in Vale and got Torchwick in jail, so she felt more confident and hopeful. And they were killing it at the Vytal Festival. So yeah, she deserved to chill a little, enjoy herself, to be a little goofy and eat some tuna with her friends. The girl had earned it.

... but it's volume 3, and if it fucked everyone up, it wasn't going to be any different with Blake. Like, for fuck's sake, give the poor girl a break.

It starts with Yang breaking Mercury's leg and Blake not knowing what to think. Because as she said, the whole situation was so familiar. She'd had a passionate and aggressive yet “kind” partner before, one she thought she loved and trusted, and he slowly became more and more violent, and more abusive, and for a long time, she was blind to it. And then Yang does that. Her passionate and kind of aggressive yet sweet new partner, who she may already had romantic feelings for (even if she hadn't realized yet), who even had the same semblance as Adam. Was it all happening again?

Yang and Adam are, after all, foils of each other in a way. They're really similar. The main difference is how they deal with their suffering: Adam used it as an excuse for hurting others and never really got over it, and Yang took meaning from it instead and found the way to move on. Her heart was never driven by hate; she used her pain to become a better, stronger person. After all, just as Blake said, Adam was Spite, and Yang was Strength.

Blake's reaction was understandable. She was a victim of abuse and the situation reminded her of it. And as I said, it didn't help that Adam and Yang were so similar. But deep down, she knew that Yang wasn't Adam, that there was an explanation, which is why she gave Yang that chance to tell her. And she knew Yang wasn't lying.

And then everything gets REALLY fucked up for everyone. The situation couldn't be worse. Penny has died, Ruby is at Amity Arena, Yang is still at the dorms. Blake and Weiss are fighting together at Beacon against the White Fang and Grimm- and also the robots. And getting separated was honestly the worst thing they could have done, but Blake went after that Beowolf. And then she found Adam.

I don't think I have to even explain how I think she felt at that moment, when she saw her abuser right there in front of her eyes, for the first time since she left him. I think the look in her eyes are enough to express how terrified and conflicted she was. And yet, she is brave enough to fight him. And she loses. And then the guy uses “summon love interest” card and Yang appears, and he sees right through Blake. And the thing she feared the most happens. She's ruined it. She's really ruined it.

Vol 4 & 5 or the Belladonnas, Sun and Ilia.

Volume 4 is, without any doubt, Blake's lowest point, and again, thank God for having her parents and Sun around, because the girl was almost suicidal (most of all, when you read the comics). As I said, she feels like she's poison who ruins everything good around her, and this once, the universe has proved her right. Yang, her lovable partner who had been nothing but sweet, funny and understanding since she'd met her, had lost an arm trying to save her. And she knew that Adam wasn't kidding when he said that he'd kill her. So she left because she'd rather have Yang, Ruby and Weiss hating her than risking their lives. And because she couldn't stand the guilt she felt. The poor girl hated herself for what happened.

It took her while to decide to go back to Menagerie, but she did, and I was honestly thrilled to find out about her family. Like, we knew about Ruby and Yang being sisters and later we also find out more about their family life. We knew about Weiss being the heiress of the SDC, that she came from an important family, and later we know that she has siblings and it's implied that her father is a dickhead. But we didn't know anything about Blake's family life. We didn't know if she had any family at all or if she was an orphan, or if she had been abandoned, or if she was poor or rich. I think a lot of people had those headcannons before vol 4. But nope. Those ideas were obliterated.

Her father had created the White Fang, which explained why Blake always took the whole matter so personal: it was her legacy, and it had been taken from her and became corrupted. Not only wasn't she poor: she was some sort of fucking princess and owned a mansion. And not only wasn't she an orphan or an abandoned kid: out of team RWBY, she was the only one with two functional, loving parents. She clearly felt guilty about leaving them as well but both of her parents forgave her without any doubts, and showed her unconditional love. Kali and Ghira were two understanding and forgiving people who loved their daughter more than anything, and really, it was such a relief.

And I have my issues with the whole Sun thing, most of all after reading Before the Dawn. He followed her without permission, didn't respect her boundaries and she got too aggressive with him sometimes because of that (first slap I get it, the other two no). And I don't think he was completely necessary for the whole Battle of Haven thing. But at the same time, I really think having him around actually helped Blake a lot. Because yes, he didn't understand her many times, but I do think that having him around helped her as much as her parents. He had a big crush on her, and Blake did like him back, but never at the same level. After the time-skip, he still liked her but her crush on him had faded. And he took his time, but he realized. Blake didn't need a boyfriend, she needed a partner, a good friend who opened her eyes and made her understand that not everything that happens is her fault. That pushing people away with the excuse of protecting them wasn't helping anyone: she was just hurting herself and others more. And that's what he became. And I love the fact that he never for a second thought that she owed him anything: he helped her because he wanted, not because he expected anything from Blake. He would literally be disgusted with people who think she did owe him. Sun has his issues but he is an amazing friend and a perfect example of a guy without one bit of toxic masculinity, and his friendship with Blake is just great (can't wait to see more of them. Brotp).

Blake got love, forgiveness, support and friendship from her parents and Sun, but honestly, I think that what finally pushed her to stop running away and put an end to this whole bullshit was Ilia's appearance. Her former best friend up until she left the White Fang (who was, by the way, the person who indirectly gave her the idea of using a bow to pass for human).

She had already seen someone she cared about lose his way and turn into a monster. Blake herself had lost her way for a good while, found it back and then lost it again, and was working to find it once more. Seeing Ilia in that situation too made her brain go like “Okay, there's no way I'm letting you end up like Adam”. Blake knew Ilia wasn't like Adam, she knew it wasn't too late for Ilia yet, just like it hadn't been too late for Blake herself. So she gave Ilia the same things her parents and Sun had given her, the same things team RWBY gave her once too: love, forgiveness and friendship. And by helping Ilia, Blake also helped herself. I've done this before in another post, but I'll do it again; as uncle Iroh said once: sometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else.

(I'm not going to get too deep about the White Fang; most of all, because I'd need an entire post just about it. I'll just say that even though I thought I liked most of it, I still have a lot of issues with the White Fang thing and I found the end to be a bit disappointing and rushed).

Back with team RWBY, rebuilding relationships and Adam's end.

I'll never stop thinking that the fact that she didn't know what the fuck was going on at Haven but still joined the fight was hilarious, but still, it really made sense. She's done running away from her fears and her past, and one of her fears was that: confronting her team (mostly, Yang, because of the whole Adam thing) after leaving them. And then they all appear right in front of her eyes.

Past Blake would run away again to avoid the consequences. But she'd grown from that. Instead, she dealt with her own problems with Adam and the White Fang, and as soon as she was done, she went right back into the building and start fighting by Weiss and Ruby's side. And after the fight, while she was talking to her family and Ilia, Sun gave her the final push: he encouraged her to go and actually talk to the team, and she did. She went and told them that if they gave her a second chance, she wouldn't leave them again. Because she knows that leaving them had been one of the biggest mistakes of her life, if not the biggest one. She didn't know if they'd forgive her (a part of her probably still thought they wouldn't, and that she probably didn't deserve it anyway) but she still tried. And Ruby and Weiss accept her without questions. And honestly, the face Blake makes when she sees that Yang is also accepting her back and then they all invite her to the group hug still gets me every time.

She was obviously really happy that they'd forgiven her and that they gave her another chance that it's clear she was really trying to make the most of it. She clearly wanted to make up for lost time, and really make up for leaving, showing Ruby a bunch of times that she was always ready to follow her lead, reassuring Weiss after finding the bodies and... the whole thing with Yang. Because she felt guilty. But don't think Blake was feeling guilty because of the arm thing; at least, not anymore. She had reached a point where she understood that Adam's actions weren't her fault. No, she felt guilty because she left.

Yang had told her about Raven, and Blake knew that the poor girl had some serious abandonment issues (actually, Blake and Raven are kind of similar as well but with many differences, like the fact that they both tend to run away when they're scared, but for different reasons; one leaves by putting people in harm's way to protect herself, and the other because she wants to protect people in the wrong way. Eventually both get called out on that behaviour, and one responds with running away again, and the other with learning to not to run and face her fears. Both are foils of each other in Yang's eyes just like Yang and Adam in Blake's. Okay I'll continue). And Blake knew that when she left Yang, she most likely made said issues worse. Which is why she was trying so hard to make sure that Yang knew she wasn't leaving her again. She even actually tells her over and over again. “I'm not leaving”, “I'll hurry back”, “I'm not gonna break my promise, I swear”. Even during the Bees vs Adam fight, she says “I have people who actually care about me and I promised I'd never leave them again, so I'm not dying now”. That states two things:

1) She wants to fucking live, of course.

2) Blake is telling Yang that she is not going to die, not only because, as I said, she is a normal person who wants to live. But because she knows that, even if she would totally do it given the case, Yang doesn't want her to sacrifice herself for her, because then, she'd be leaving her again. She is telling Yang that she's not going to do that, and that they'd leave that place together.

But the thing is, Blake was trying SO hard to be there for her that she made things awkward, making Yang think Blake believed she was fragile and needed protection, which wasn't the case (I already talked about all this and Yang hating people taking care of her she thinks it makes her weak in the Yang analysis). And which is why Blake corrected herself and said “protecting each other”, as equals.

(Before people complain about how I'm talking too much about Yang in here, let's be clear: you can't make an Yang analysis without talking about Blake. Just like you can't make a Jaune analysis without talking about Pyrrha. You can't make a Salem analysis without talking a lot about Ozma. Or a Weiss one and not mention her entire family. Because that's what happens when you write a complex character with varied relationships with different characters - the relationships shape the character into what they are-. And Blake and Yang's arcs is so intertwined with the others' since the Fall of Beacon that you can't make an analysis of one without talking a lot about the other. Thus, I'm analyzing their relationship too, just like I'm talking about Sun, Adam and more. And yes, I'm doing this from the romantic perspective. Because, in case you hadn't noticed, the relationship stopped being platonic since Heroes and Monsters, and has been showing to be more and more romantic as the show goes on. It's been even confirmed to be romantic. So please, anon, I'm talking to you: if you don't like it stop reading lmao).

Now for the Adam part. Man, I can't even talk about this.

People complain that it didn't make sense that Blake seemed full of confidence at Haven when facing him, and then at Argus, she was terrified. Well, let me clear one thing up: the situation was totally different, dude.

At Haven, she was surrounded by people she knew they would help her: Sun, her parents, damn, even team RWBY. She had a whole army supporting her (and even with Sun's help, she wasn't dumb and she knew better than trying to follow him, because she knew him and knew that that's what he wanted). So of course she was going to feel safer then than being totally alone with that guy who had been stalking her across the world like a total creep. Like, thank God Yang appeared and helped her.

Once again, these three are all together again since the Fall of Beacon. This guy, who maimed and traumatized Yang in a way she will most likely never completely get over (as a person with PTSD, I know it gets better, but it will never entirely go away). Blake's ex boyfriend. A person she trusted and loved, and turned out to be completely different than he made her believe.

Blake's done with running away from him. And she's done with being afraid, because she is. But even though she's afraid, I love how during the entire fight, he tried to get in her head but Blake didn't let him. Because she was done with that. He had abused her, tried to kill her and the people she loved, took her innocence and confidence, even stole her own legacy. And she's not letting him do that again. Not now, and nevermore.

Sorry, I had to.

Blake and Yang give him multiple opportunities to leave. He didn't. We know how that ended for him. And even after that, Blake feels terrible about having to take his life, and feels guilty about it, or felt like she'd ruined the whole “let's steal an airship” plan. But luckily, she had all of her friends reassuring her and being completely understanding and loving, and honestly, I'll say it a million times: that scene between Ruby, Blake and Yang is one of my favorites.

Volume 7

We don't see much Blake during volume 7, to be honest. Yes, we get that great moment with Weiss and Jacques (fuck you). We get to see how she really hasn't forgotten about the whole Adam thing, and how killing him was haunting her in a way. We got to see her and Yang being the ones who reached out for Robyn (people with brains who don't try to take her out and try to make her and the HH allies instead. THANK YOU). We got to see her and Yang kicking some ass in the RWBY vs Ace Ops fight. And of course, we get confirmation (we already knew, but some people are blind and needed more. Some people won't understand until they kiss) of Bumbleby going the romantic way. And I liked that.

But neither Blake nor Yang had much of an individual arc or important stuff to do last volume (and I really hope that changes in volume 8). That annoyed me. But at the same time, I remember that they hadn't had a break since vol 3; Blake had never had one, actually, because every volume found the way to emotionally fuck her up in some way. And after losing limbs, being stabbed, having to deal with terrorists, with bandits, with terrible moms, with abandonment issues, with PTSD and depression, with an abusive exboyfriend they even had to end up killing to survive... I was kind of fine with both of them getting an “easy” volume where they didn't have to deal with big emotional arcs like that, and were just chilling and enjoying themselves for a little while. Still, I want them to be more important, both as a couple and individually, next volume.

Conclussion

As I said, Blake is my favorite character. She is a very flawed person who learns about her flaws and works hard to be better. She is incredibly brave, by far, the bravest character in the series, who overcomes her fears and her abuse and moves forward. Blake's arc, besides taking back her legacy and fighting for equality, is about her finally understanding that she's not to blame for others' actions, that she isn't poison. She learns to finally stop running from her fears and her guilt, to stop pushing others away, and realize that she deserves a second chance, that deserves forgiveness and love and friendship, and to be happy. Blake's entire personal journey is about her finding her path, about overcoming her abuse and trauma, and about learning to love herself. And I love it. I love her.

#rwby #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #weiss schnee #ruby rose #bumbleby #sun wukong #kali belladonna #ghira belladonna #damn this is long #i just love blake so much #rwby analysis #blake analysis

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razorblade180 · 3 years

Note

Overall thoughts on V8? Assuming you didn't answer this already.

I meant to do a volume wrap up review but I got incredibly busy and it fell to the waste side. The thing about me judging RWBY I have to come at it from two angles or I won’t feel like I judged it appropriately. There’s the casual, first time seeing the episodes and seeing this through the lens as a casual watcher who probably only sees the episodes once or twice. But then there’s the other side to that coin. I review these episodes, write aus, theorize, check extended lore, listen to the music, etc; that means I have to go back and watch episodes several times for any given reason and that’s when you start noticing the holes or picking up on things you didn’t before.

As a casual watcher, I’d give this an 8/10. There’s plenty of moments where characters do things that got me excited and plot points I wanted explored. This volume actually gave a decent amount of things I wanted for quite some time and some things I didn’t know I needed. Certainly there are things I don’t like in this but I’m open and curious to see where RT takes their storie because it’s their story.

Okay, now as a someone who’s had to deep dive and take a step back multiple times for a variety of reasons. 6.5/10 maybe a 7/10 if I’m being generous. A lot of my problems with this volume are problems that aren’t new to RWBY and that’s just how surface layer portions of arcs are and how a variety of choices/bonds don’t exactly make sense with what we were previously shown, or they only make sense because the writers don’t want introduce other complexities even though they should be there realistically. I’ll give a couple examples of these and yes, I’m aware what I say doesn’t bother everyone but it bothers me.

Qrow was never angry at or brought up Robyn being the reason their airship crashed in the first place because she started the fight; which aids in Clover dying.

Emerald follows Cinder, not Salem. Even if Cinder is working under Salem, why would Emerald be so willingly to complete shift to the side that actively goes against Cinder? There’s been no grand revelation to make Emerald believe Cinder doesn’t give a damn about her. Leaving made sense because she was about to get tortured. Going full turncoat right now doesn’t. No change happened. Emerald always hated being near Salem but adored Cinder no matter the crimes and the show hasn’t done anything to switch that view point.

I’m happy Whitley and Weiss had a touching sibling moment that implies they’re okay and making/made up, but there was never a conversation about the actual problem and thoughts that had them at odds in the first place. Weiss saving his and Willow’s life shouldn’t be the thing that smooths things over. It would’ve been terrible if Weiss do something to save their life. Whitley helping Penny is okay I guess because he really had no reason to contribute but did anyways. Even so, a person doing a morally correct thing doesn’t automatically warrant the conflict between him and Weiss’s resolved.

We got Cinder’s backstory; it didn’t tell us anything about how she eventually came into contact with Salem. Honestly her back story felt more in line of her main goal through the series was an absolute freedom by the means of breaking down the systems that trapped and didn’t give a damn, rather than her quest for power. Yes you can argue gaining power means it’s easier to maintain her freedom to do whatever she wants but I personally think that’s a little off the mark when you gave her a story that involves her trapped by rules and time rather than being too physically weak to gain freedom.

This show has built up that the Schnee family has suffered various types of abuse because of Jacques and uses Weiss as a medium to build towards breaking free from that. Not just overcoming but confronting the abuse by cementing it’s place below you. We don’t really get that. There will never be a moment where the siblings and mother truly get to break out of Jacques grasps emotionally and then put him in his place because he’s dead! Yeah they never have to worry about him again but even last volume they showed Winter still having turmoil and being able to get strung along by him. We don’t even really know how Whitley perceived his father. It feels so lackluster. Then they care to mention how it’s Weiss’s idea to save him like it’s an empowering moment when in actuality, it would be against her character, values of a huntress, and morality to let a person die in cell when you’re the reason they’re in a cell! Letting him die in there would just terrible. I don’t even know why he wasn’t let out in that scene! He’s a coward! He’d follow their orders to save his skin. All he has to do is shut up and walk through a portal.

Ironwood and Oscar both knew they could remove that staff to use it and Atlas wouldn’t drop immediately. Why did nobody have any kind of compromise with one another since there’s nothing stopping them from using the staff for something and then putting it back? They had this morally gray thing going on which I liked but then they decided to make Ironwood go full evil. I’ve never had to say this before but the song he got in V7 and the character they made him be in V8 just don’t connect. I got upset listening to that song recently because I liked that Ironwood.

Clover’s importance. RT tried making a character who had no more than 9 minutes in the series and one meaningful line of dialogue into the cornerstone of a side plot. Clover is such a nothing character. Vine did more than Clover. They try to make him have such a profound impact to the people around him but we never see him bond with his team; Harriet specifically. We get one scene of Clover telling Qrow the kids are fortunate to have Qrow even if he doesn’t think so. First, I doubt Clover knows Qrow decided to get drunk in a ghost town and the kids nearly died and cellar while he did it so that compliment doesn’t hold much weight for me. Second, We see nothing meaningful between the two. V7 has a time skip and just expects viewers to be on board with Clover being this influential change on Qrow without showing anything outside of a witty remark and Clover flexing his semblance. I would’ve bought it more of Qrow almost relapsed and Clover stopped him then had a real meaningful conversation.

Ruby goes against Ironwood only to then want to do a plan that’s aligned to longer term thinking than even his, talks about how everyone should be working together, but then adds a part in her video to actively antagonize and vilify Ironwood. Afterwards, she wonders where everything went wrong and doesn’t think of a plan or do anything to immediately help either kingdom until the final hour between the ultimatum being made, to everything getting destroyed. The inciting incident was disagreeing Mantle should be left in favor of Atlas but the main character didn’t do anything to help Mantle 90% of the season and hindered Atlas’s safety up until the final plan.

Yang is used to be the devil’s advocate in a bunch of situations, but she’s wrong most of the time or her lines just don’t make any sense. They weren’t doing just fine before Atlas. They almost died every step of the way. The team didn’t beat a Leviathan; silver eyes and a robot take credit for that. Why would Blake think less of Yang for wanting to go save people immediately? Blake was never mad at anyone to begin with. Yang consistently calls out people for following orders as if it’s objectively wrong, but is never called out on the fact she hasn’t followed anybody’s orders but her own and added discourse to every situation. I get RT is making her ask questions because that’s what Raven told her to do, but all she’s really doing is picking fights and disobeying every order. Yang states to Ruby they accomplished more than they expected. That’s false, getting Oscar back is correcting a mistake caused by her own plan that she didn’t even complete.

It took 6 volumes before Yang had anything to do with the Summer Rose subplot again and 7 volumes before her and Ruby had a sister to sister conversations; 5 if you wanna count Yang telling Ruby to leave at the end of volume three. The reason I bring this up is because in V8 , they treat their argument as if it’s a big deal but then have every character say it wasn’t that big a deal; but then have two circle back to that conversation later after having neither character discuss to anybody that the argument actually did weigh on them. Yang doesn’t think about Ruby until she sees her again and the closest we get with Ruby is Blake reassuring her that people need her and how Blake admires her. I like that scene but it’s not the same as Ruby actually airing out the specific point that Yang said something that Ruby found hurtful. Vol8 in general people trying to comfort others but nobody ever actually addresses what made them uncomfortable to start with. Except Ren.

This one is a nitpicking but I’ll say it anyways. Penny getting hacked only served as a purpose to go to the vault, a thing Ironwood already wanted them to do. Nobody got her because she was hacked. You can’t even say her getting hacked is the leading factor to her actually dying because Penny became a vulnerable human afterwards that can’t be rebuilt. Pietro was gone, and already stated last volume he doesn’t have the aura to build Penny again. If she died as a robot then it’s still permanent death. No core, no Pietro, and no aura; hacking her was just to create a Hound reveal situation and make them go to the vault on a different set of terms. I’m not exactly upset with this, but I don’t understand why the extra steps. The Hound was hunting her anyways. I would’ve brought some kind of value if she hurt a friend and it caused them to potentially hinder the plan later on or remove them entirely. Penny could’ve rekt Yang and it only adds value to Yang getting one shot later. I don’t know. I’m rambling.

I think I’ve wasted enough people’s time. Honestly, I do like this volume. I’ve enjoyed a bunch of it. But there’s things that legitimately make me think it’s not as good others and makes V7 even worse.

#rwby #rwby volume 8 #ask me stuff

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redmaneroster · 3 years

Text

Our Home Away From Home, Away From Home

[1] [2] [3] [4-5] [6] [7] [8-9] [x]

PART 10 – Domestication

Yang blinks awake. She wonders why her pillow is so dense until she realizes that she's patting down Jaune's chest. Her hand is dangerously close to his waistband.

She wants to move but can't. Below her, her hands run through the threads of someone's dark red hair. Ruby wriggles at the touch. She'd come back a week earlier. In time for the dance but she'll be gone again when it's over.

It's like her baby sister is slipping out of her hands. She wants to scream and shout. To demand that Ozpin give her back… but he wasn't the one who could make that decision for her. Her dad had made it clear, Ruby is the only one who gets to choose, and she chose Ozpin.

She dreads to think on what Ruby's actually chosen. What she'd picked over everything else. Her friends, her family, her team, maybe even her dreams of being a huntress.

Yang bites her lip. Ruby isn't a huntress-in-training anymore either. She's licensed and fully-fledged. Has jobs and is on record as the youngest to join an academy and the youngest to graduate.

Peeling back her bangs, Yang spots the scar running along her forehead. It's deep and an ugly pinkish-red. Jaune asked where she got it. She'd gotten too close to a behemoth and got clipped trying to dodge its tusk. She'd killed it, somehow. She wouldn't tell how, just that she did. If she really tried, Yang could probably extract the story from her; global secrecy or no. But she can't. Won't.

Suddenly respecting her privacy feels like a vice on her lungs.

Ruby grabs Yang's hand suddenly. She's still and her breathing is rapidly pouring out of her, but then Ruby tugs the arm into her chest and nuzzles into it.

It's like they're eight and ten again, when Yang would spend the day working herself to exhaustion to make sure Ruby had a fulfilling day, only to collapse in her arms. Then and only then did Yang permit her little ten-year-old self to breathe, rest easy, then finally sleep. She recollects it like a blur of sweat and aches she was entirely too young to have, but now that they've passed, Yang can hardly remember what any of those pains felt like.

How differently could things have gone if she'd had a father and mother to tend to them instead. Maybe not long enough to mind Ruby themselves, but at least long enough to rub her hair and tell her she did good at the end of the day.

Calloused hands run through her hair. She looks up to see Jaune spying her out of one eye.

"You're getting that scary, thoughtful look on you again." Not quite the loving encouragement she'd expected, but close enough. "I'd warn against developing some early wrinkles but I can't help but feel they'd look good on you too."

She laughs. "You can't be serious. Were you checking out my mom?"

"Pfft! Sure. Let's go with that." She rolls her eyes. He ruffles her hair. "But in all seriousness, you can't blame a guy for admiring that kind of craftsmanship." His thumb runs slowly down her cheek. "They chiseled you out good. You have all their best parts."

She blushes but pushes the feeling down. "God, Jaune, were you checking out my dad too?" she teases but her eyes widen at his brief pause. "Oh my god."

He waves it off. "It's nothing like that. Despite looking like he could bench-press a truck, your dad still manages to look the least threatening when he's got some alcohol in him. I had thought that the day I'd meet my girlfriend's dad, I'd be most worried about being hated. Instead, I ended up worrying I'd just disappoint him. Like making him sad was worse than getting him angry."

"Yeah, Dad's got a wounded puppy look on him. I think it's why Zwei listens to him all the time. Like he even makes the dog feel responsible for keeping him happy."

"He's a dangerous man."

"I hope the title is hereditary."

"Ha! What was that you said on our first date? You could total a car, or something? I think that qualifies as dangerous."

"Hm… Is that a turn on or does that make you afraid? Both, maybe?"

"I think I'd qualify as crazy if it was both. Do you qualify as crazy if you're still into me after that?"

"We could be crazy together." Her fingers run circles over his abs. "I could live with that…"

Ruby curls up and covers her ears. "Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!"

Yang ruffles her hair. "Good morning to you, too,"

"Sleep well?" Jaune asks.

"Too well…" Ruby grumbles. "I don't think I could go back to pillows ever again. Maybe I'll sleep on Zwei or something… No, that doesn't feel right…"

Yang pulls her head up, inching enough along Jaune's chest to rest her head up against his chin. "I think it's the company. Missed your big sister that much, huh?"

Ruby's nose scrunches. "Yeah, I do." She crawls into them and snuggles in. She takes Jaune's hand and tugs on Yang's till they're hugging her now. "I'll miss you all so much when I'm gone…"

The way she words that digs a pit in Yang's chest. She squeezes her a little tighter. Her chest feels hollow for a little longer.

Ruby pulls out and Yang lets her go, but she jerks back a bit cause Jaune hasn't let go. "Sorry…" Jaune says. He looks like he wants to hold on.

"Don't be." The softness of her hands press warmly over his, and her smile shares its qualities. "I'd miss me too." She means it like a joke but it stops showing on her eyes and a frown worms its way into her cheeks. "I have to go get ready."

She glances over to the rest of the bed. Only Blake is there, her back turned to them. "Pyrrha's probably waiting for me downstairs. I'll see you two tonight, alright?" When she's pulling fresh clothes out of her travel bag, she calls out, "If Blake gets up, tell her we'll see her on the bullheads and grab a bite in Vale if she's late!"

JNPR's bathroom door shuts behind her. The door feels tiny from where they are, on the opposite side of a giant bed in the RWBY dorm room. Its distance echoes with the thrum of the muffled shower.

Jaune pulls Yang up and against him. "Sorry about this. I know you were looking forward to going with me."

"You shouldn't have to feel sorry for giving my sister a good time," she says. He can tell that she means it. "She's going to miss you too, and this might be her last chance to feel like a normal girl for a change. Besides, it's only sophomore year. We'll still have plenty of school dances to go to."

"I guess… Save me a dance?"

"I think I'll need a little more than one."

The distant pattering of the shower is notable when it stops in the quiet of the twin rooms. Jaune eyes Blake and realizes that her bow is on. "Didn't Blake stop wearing that?"

Yang shifts over his stomach and realizes how broad her outline is. "I don't think that's her."

They share a look before poking her in the head.

Ren groans and swats his hand away. He wiggles out and takes off the wig he's wearing, scratching his head.

They snort. "That's a good look for you," they say, realize they've said it at the same time, and high-five.

He groans again. "That's never not going to be weird."

"Not as weird as you in a wig," Jaune says.

Yang notices he's in Blake's pajama top too, sagging off his shoulder since it's so much smaller. "…Or in her nighties."

"It's called a jinbei." Ren shakes his head. "Before you ask, I lost a bet."

Jaune shrugs. "We figured. Not like we expected you to wear that for fun or anything."

He pulls on the delicate fabric. "Aside from the wig, it's very comfortable."

"Oh, I'll bet."

Ren rubs his eyes. "Jaune…"

He throws his hands up. "I'm kidding! … Not really. You want one in your size?"

"…Yes." He blushes which is weird cause Ren doesn't blush. But he does and it's adorable. They snap a picture. He can only summon the energy to scowl for a breath's length. "I should get going too."

"Why are you up so late anyhow?"

He blushes and he doesn't bother answering. They don't need one anyway.

-0-

The echoed bass of this year's dance bounces off the walls of the hallway just outside of reception.

Yang hasn't been on a dance floor in months and now the sounds feel alien. She used to attribute clubbing as a part of her, even as a freshman who could pass for eighteen. Breaking it down, it's clear that she only went out there to have fun. And she's been having a lot of fun elsewhere this year.

"I don't really wanna go in there," Oscar says beside her as they make their way to reception. They're both wearing green, to match hues with her eyes and to contrast his. "I'm starting to get dizzy on just the sounds of it."

"You get used to it," she says. "It's mostly just sensory overload. Just let it sink in and you'll hardly even register the music. It's meant to be white noise anyway so no one has to talk in silence."

"So it's, what, a social tool? Like a distraction?"

"Most of partying is. For all the awkward folks, it means they can hide behind something else while they get their wings. For the rest of us, the ones who've got it down, it lets us keep going. Longer than the night sometimes."

"I never thought of it that way."

She pats him on the shoulder. Even in flats, she's so much taller than him. "Try not internalize it too hard. It's easier when you're letting a conversation happen instead of trying to force any advice you hear into it."

"And if I end up in awkward silence with someone?"

"Then maybe you aren't talking to the right people. Take Ruby for instance." She points ahead of them, at Jaune and Ruby dressed in red together. They're talking and laughing. "You ever have a conversation just stop when you talk to her?"

"Yeah."

"Then she isn't the right people." She catches Ruby's glare but she goes back to Jaune pretty quickly.

"Uh… Oh! You're joking!" Oscar exclaims.

"Whoa! Hey! Don't take me seriously all the time. Half of me is comedy."

"It's often bad!" Jaune calls back.

"Shut up!" Yang giggles. "I have the worst boyfriend," she whispers loudly. Jaune pretends to be wounded by it.

"So…" Oscar rolls his hands. "I'm getting mixed signals here. Is it okay to have awkward silence?"

"Yeah! I mean… I guess had a bad example. It's okay if a conversation stops, but not when it drops."

He squints. "I feel like you're deliberately confusing me."

"I'm just not the most articulate person. Not like I learned to be social on a quotable handbook or anything. So when you talk to someone on something you're interested in, like, say, coffee –"

"-Or milk."

"Or milk. Yeah, let's got with that. Say you like skim milk – you monster –" he laughs cause he does, "then you know you've found someone you can talk to if they don't try to derail the conversation once they find out."

"Cause I brought up skim milk?"

"Cause they're still interested in talking even after you mention it. Someone you can talk to might agree and keep at it, or disagree but wants to hear your side of why you like it so much. Someone you can't talk to will try to change the topic after finding out what you like or not about something."

"I thought it was all about finding things in common."

"I think it's just as interesting if you don't. I hate Seven Rapids cause they're all noise and not even music to me, but that's precisely why Jaune loves them. Jaune and his sister used to be afraid of thunder, so when a storm hit their hometown, it was the only band they could listen to on the same pair of earphones without having to block out the other ear with something."

"That doesn't sound like he particularly likes it either."

"But it's a story I wouldn't have heard otherwise if I switched gears! Now we know each other a little better."

The bass thumps in their ears after they sign on in the registry and come through the doors. Blake is already dancing with Penny, Sun and Pyrrha are expectedly missing, and Nora is a having a subdued moment with Ren by the punch bowl.

"Ruby?" They're instantly stopped by Cardin Winchester of all things. His date, Velvet, trails behind him and crashes into Ruby first.

"You're back!" Velvet cheers. "For how long?"

"Not very," she says sheepishly.

"That big a deal, huh?" Cardin guesses. He continues before she can get uncomfortable. "We missed you at Leadership. Jaune cried."

Jaune rolls his eyes and lets it be… For an entire second. He punches Cardin in the arm and they laugh.

"I missed you guys too. Even the class. Ugh! Can you believe I miss waking up early for class?"

"I miss that feeling too," Velvet agrees. "When you're Juniors and Seniors, you lose half your classes and you're not even expected to attend most of your sessions. We're usually out on the field taking low threat missions. Even a noisy classroom is quieter than the woods."

Ruby rubs the back of her head. "I kind of know what that's like now, actually."

Jaune and Yang trade looks. Oscar tries not to look them in the eyes.

"We should get going," Cardin says, reading the room. "We'll catch up later." Velvet takes him by the arm and waves off.

Ruby, like Oscar, doesn't look them in the eyes either.

"It's okay!" Yang says soothingly, her a voice a titter with a laugh. "We won't pry. Just happy you're here."

"C'mon," Jaune says, taking Ruby's hand, "let's see how well Oscar taught you how to dance."

Ruby slaps a hand to her lips, trying feebly to hide her blush. "The punch bowl first, please. If it's spiked, I can pretend to be good at anything."

"Not a chance," Jaune teases. He kisses Yang on the cheek before leaving her with Oscar.

"He really is the worst," Oscar says, sarcasm bleeding off his cheek. "He's so sickeningly sweet. Wanna trade dates? I'd take him."

Yang slaps him on the back. "Ha! That's the spirit. I can see you're getting more comfortable."

Oscar shrugs. "I think you're just easy to talk to. We should go, too. I'm starving."

-0-

Ruby might have been right about the punch. Nora is loud and all over the place, but Oscar remembers a few stories about her and asks, "Is this how she normally is?"

Ren laughs, it's quiet and patient. He sounds older than he looks. "I don't think she qualifies for normal."

Nora crashes into a few people he doesn't recognize but they laugh and stand her up. They're all friends here. Or maybe Nora just has that effect on people.

"Here." Ren is standing in front of him with a plate of sushi, a black dip of some sort, and what looks like green clay. "Try one of these."

"You ever have these in Mistral?" Yang asks.

"Only the cities. Funny how my first time with it will be in Vale of all places."

Ren demonstrates with chopsticks, expertly grabbing the rolled sushi, dipping, then grabbing a dab of the clay before inserting it into his mouth. "Now you try."

Oscar takes a fork, stabs the sushi, dips it, end curves the fork's teeth into the clay-like thing, and shoves it in his mouth. He can only register Ren's panic when it's already too late.

"You took too much wasabi," he breathes.

Yang is already grabbing a cup from the punch bowl. Oscar's mouth explodes in heat. Then the rest of the night is a blur.

-0-

Ruby was right. Someone did spike the punch.

By now it's too late and they devolve into a flurry of laughter and dancing. No one seems to care that there's suddenly alcohol present, but a cursory glance reveals that the staff isn't even present. Coco does mention seeing Ozpin and Glynda alone in the plaza, and much of the staff was huddling in the dark trying to eavesdrop on them. Seems mischief is ageless.

Jaune and Yang don't dance. Ruby is too important for them to let the night be about them, so they dance with her instead. She's at least thankful that Jaune chose to lead her in a slow dance. She doesn't think she can keep up with him otherwise. Yang, on the other hand, is an expert on matching her pace. She's her big sister after all.

Oscar doesn't get to dance with her either but he's fine with that. What he isn't fine with is being completely hammered by one watered-down drink. Yang thinks its funny how similar he is to Jaune but the similarities end there. He gets swung around by Nora on the dance floor and the alcohol doesn't help.

Remembering this night mostly comes out as a thousand flashes. Their scrolls roll the whole night, and the photos flood the memory banks like they'll struggle to remember this night when it's over. Which doesn't happen because the alcohol doesn't make them drunk. Unlike Oscar, all the alcohol just serves as an excuse for everyone else to let loose.

Joan shows up in a dress and everyone has flashbacks of first year. Ruby jokes loudly about Jaune filling the dress out real well this time and most people momentarily forget that Jaune has a twin sister.

Somewhere down the line, they pour out of the dance and sing off-key in the garden, count stars in the courtyard, and then they're out on the roof where half their class has turned up for a grill off.

Jaune and Nora get so into it that they're scared out of themselves when Cardin shows up in an apron and a grill of his own. Yang remarks that Weiss would have loved the smell.

Oscar kisses Penny and Ruby doesn't know what to do with that. Yang lets her figure it out cause she's growing up and she can ask her whenever she's ready.

Nora's corsage gets caught in the wind somehow and Ruby jumps into action. She weaves through the crowd in a stream of red and rose petals. She's over the railing and she shows no fear as she leaps off the edge and curls over the shattered moon with the pink flower in her hands. Her smile is stunning, her confidence brimming off her cheeks.

Jaune and Yang hold hands at the sight. She's a burst of beauty that steals hearts.

There's a cheer when she effortlessly blurs back and falls into the crowd. She doesn't think what she does is anything special, but it is. She is. And everyone knows it.

And just when their spirits are highest, it rains.

Ruby doesn't leave the roof when it does. Her friends stay with her, Jaune and Yang especially. The look in her eyes tells them that she's barely holding something back.

They stand with her, letting the chipped pieces of them fall apart together so Ruby doesn't feel like she's alone. She tells them she's afraid. They tell her they are too. But fear doesn't get to take residence, it doesn't get to loiter and sink into the upholstery. They'll kick and scream until it's gone cause they never go down without a fight.

It sounds like they're all struggling blindly, but Yang tells her that defiance is only the first step. And that also makes it the most important.

In a moment of solidarity, Ruby screams at the top of her lungs as the rain hides her tears and her friends drown out her pain with defiant roars of their own.

And in the next she's on a bullhead, barely out of her dress, and she disappears in a sea of stars.

-0-

It's the weekend again, and Yang convinces Jaune to come to the apartment for the day. Walking back into it feels like a lifetime has passed him by. There's a layer of dust on everything and he resists the urge to wipe it all down. He can't spend the one day they're here this month cleaning. Maybe next month when he's got the lien to cover his half of the rent.

No, that's an excuse. He could just as easily ask for an advance on his allowance or pick up an extra mission to cover the gap. He wanted to push them both to stay in the dorm, but when Yang pushes passed him with a box full of last night's freshly developed photos, he can see the forced curl of her cheek that's just a little too wide.

Ruby's been again for a week. She might not come back. Yang needs a breather to reconcile with that.

She plops the box down on the coffee table as Jaune sorts out their dinner across the room in the kitchenette.

"Anything good?" he asks.

She waves a photo in the air. "You in a dress!"

"Ha, well… Wait, no, I didn't do that this year! That's Joan!"

"Pfft! Not when I post it and tag you. I expect continued confusion from the campus."

"Yang…"

"C'mon, it's funny!"

He tosses an orange in a basket and reminds himself to eat it later. It's not gonna stay ripe if they leave it behind. In his head, it suddenly sounds like a shitty metaphor. "You're allowed to be sad about Ruby leaving, y'know?"

She chuckles and whips back to him. "So are you."

He doesn't know how to answer that. He spent a lot of that night dreading her leaving but he hadn't expected her to up and go before midnight even hit. It's still jarring, unreal even. Like he could walk back onto campus and bump into her, cause that night was a blur and he might have just dreamt it ending the way it did.

A hip bumps into his, and he drops the pork chops back onto the counter. Yang doesn't look sorry but she hides her face in his chest and he lets her hold onto him.

"It feels like I'm still halfway down a landslide. With my parents and uncle are off to god-knows-where, and Weiss and Neptune fighting for the soul of her company, it felt inevitable that Ruby would just… follow after. And it's a little scary, y'know? I don't know when all of this stops. I don't know if I'm gonna keep losing people." She doesn't cry, but her chest feels tight. "It's like I'm either waiting to see who's next or if I'm gonna crash when I hit the bottom…"

She'd been putting up a strong front, but her bravado feels like it's slipping, and she already feels like it's going to break her. Finding JNPR had stemmed the tide. She even thought she might stop slipping altogether but then Ruby comes and just goes into the night…

Jaune's pulls out his scroll and she can hear him clicking. She only then realizes that his other hand is squeezing carefully on her waist.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding people."

"What? Who?"

He brings the scroll close to his face. There's a call and it goes through almost immediately. It's a voice she doesn't recognize but she can guess who it is. She's already familiar with the stories about her.

"Hey, runt!" comes a woman's voice. "Caught me at a good time. Coral's burning the eggs again and she could use a few pointers from her big brother." Yang can practically feel her wink.

"It's nice to see you too, Sable. You're the eldest in the house now, don't you know how to cook it?"

There's a snort on the other end of the line. "Please. Wouldn't know my way around the kitchen unless I crashed a car into it. And even then I'd only familiarize myself with the quickest exit."

Jaune groans. "You can't keep getting take-out and engorging everything your pit crew gets you. One of these days you're gonna regret never learning from mom. At least Coral's trying."

"Well, Coral doesn't have a job."

"Hey, I totally have a job!" a muffled voice shouts.

"And besides, the track keeps me busy."

Yang mumbles into Jaune's chest. "That sounds like an excuse to me…"

Jaune laughs.

"Jaune… who was that?"

"She's the reason why I called you in the first place." He's already propping his scroll up against a bundle of uneven loaf.

"Ooh! Do we finally get to meet this elusive girlfriend of yours?"

Yang sucks in a breath. It feels like she's stepped into a different space altogether and she's nervous now for very different reasons.

"Girls, this is Yang."

"Hi there." Yang hopes she doesn't sound awkward.

On the screen is a set of huddled blondes all crashing to get a view through the screen. In the middle is the cheeky one she guesses is Sable. Unlike her sisters, her hair is red fading into blonde tied in a braid over her shoulder. "Hey yourself. I'm Sable. I heard you're good with bikes. We should talk. Grease monkey to grease monkey."

Another blonde in a bob cut and glasses pushes into her cheek. "God… hi. You're so pretty. Are you sure you're a huntress? Jaune, please don't let this be a prank." She seems all over the place.

"That's Coral," Jaune supplies. "Don't mind her. She'll make proper sentences when she starts calming down."

A dark-skinned girl with dirty blonde hair is pushed into view. Yang remembers Jaune mentioning having an adopted sister with dirty blonde hair. The dark hues accent her and it's all the more stunning when some of the white strands she has makes it clear that all that hair natural. "Ahem, I'm Dahlia," she says with the tiniest smile. She looks fourteen but she doesn't sound it.

She tilts her head to the side revealing another fourteen-year-old hiding behind her. "And this is Liona."

"Uhm!" Liona nearly screams, "H-hi!"

"Is she alright?" Yang asks.

Sable waves it off. "Oh, it's nothing really. She's just -"

"See?!" Liona points at the screen, looking at the other girls. "It's another blonde! The curse is real!" And she's gone.

Dahlia sighs and gets up. "I'll go after her. It was nice meeting you, Yang."

"She's polite."

Sable shrugs. "Grew up in a strict house. We're still trying to shake it out of her but enough about that, why don't you tell us how you got all that hair to behave? Mine spazzes out if I don't tie it down and there's only so many ways to tie long hair before I have to cut it down."

Yang starts going on about products she uses and Jaune slowly starts slipping away. There's an excitement brimming off her cheeks, a confidence to bury any embarrassment she might have had. It's like she's not even here anymore. She's in Clove with his sisters.

He feels a tightness on his wrist. Yang gives him a dangerous look. "Oh, no way, buster. You're staying here so I don't collapse in on myself." She tugs him in and wraps an arm around his.

They're shocked when another voice comes in. "We'll aren't you two cute," says Helia, Jaune's mom as she peeks over Sable's shoulder.

The afternoon is a blur of conversation. Bikes and Cars are both similar and different enough that Yang and Sable get along quick with always something interesting to add.

Coral has a distinct fascination with Yang's hair and has non-stop questions. It's got loose strands and is the furthest thing from perfectly straight but Yang makes it work somehow and Coral has an intense need to know how. Jaune just calls it Xiao Long magic.

Liona and Dahlia, despite being respectively excitable and largely subdued, ask Jaune and Yang both about being huntsmen. Yang catches the way Dahlia's eyes go a little wide at the excitement and terror of their stories, and Jaune never fails to point out every time Liona chews her lip like she can't decide if being a huntress is for her. He lets her sort it out until she's ready to talk about it.

The only sister Yang hasn't met yet is Cori, the second eldest, and that's cause she's in Atlas. Jaune notes that she's keeping an eye on Weiss and Neptune for them. They stop the conversation when Sable tells her that they're really allowed to talk about it.

Helia – she still insists on Aunt Hess but Yang's still getting the hang of it – reminds them that they promised to have dinner with her and her husband.

And when it's all over and they wave their goodbyes, Yang's eyes are as bright as she remembers. "I wanna meet them," she says when they're on the couch.

"This summer then. I was planning on coming home. Sable might have to run a summer circuit for her sponsors but she'll still catch us. And Cori will be there for a week. We can even get Saph to come join us."

"Yes. That. Please?"

He pulls his scroll off the coffee table. "Alright, alright. Calm down. It's happening. Let me just drop Cori a line so we can figure out when it's best."

She hugs him. "Thank you," she whispers.

"For what? I only called up my sister."

"For this. Them. All of it. I really needed to get out of my own headspace."

"Back to Remnant?"

"Not quite. It still hurts. Just a little. I can't shake the feeling."

He gently pushes her away, grabs her waist, and thumbs her cheek. "Maybe a classic distraction will suffice."

She giggles. Her cheeks are warming up. "I missed this. Just you and me."

They press their lips together. She pulls him down with her against the armrest of the couch.

While he's holding her steady by the waist, her own hands can't seem to settle anywhere. One minute she's clutching the back of his head grabbing a fistful of hair, the next she's tugging on his shirt and stretching the fabric. Now she's on his neck, pulling him in.

He loves the way she tastes. Practically devours her lips until he coaxes her into his biting his.

He gasps and that hungry look in her eyes tells him that wants him to sing for her. His eyes are dangerous in response, pulling away only to bury his face in her neck. She shuts her eyes and expects him to bite, to mark her like they do every time, but he's suckling and her skin feels like it's getting more sensitive.

"Ah…!" She bites her lip. She wants him to keep going but she also wants him to do more. Her fingers curl into the back of his neck. Arching her back to the sensations bursting from his ministrations, she hisses before whispering, "bite me."

She can feel the way hot breath pouring out of his nostrils as she says that. You're a dangerous woman, he'd all but said. And with the look he gives her in the periphery, she can't help but feel him saying it with his eyes. He bites down and her back arcs again. Its soft and he's suckling at the same time. She wonders how that would feel on other parts of her body.

When she's curling into him, she gasps as her limbs act without her consent. Her arms wrap around his shoulders and her legs bend and clasp around his waist. She's already off the sofa and hanging off of him entirely.

"Yang…" he breathes. They pull back enough for her to see the manic look in his eyes. There's nothing coy about it. It's just hunger. Need. And after everything they've been through, she knows she wants it too.

He's looking down at her as he settles his breathing and lays her back on the couch. She doesn't let go, only now his weight is on her. As meek as she looks, he has to tell himself that she can take it, but the innuendo sparks dangerous images in his mind. It doesn't help that she's a hot, sweating mess.

She feels him pull a tent in his pants. It's nothing new. She'd even teased him about it now, but it's not out of place here.

Daring herself to look at it, she spies it in the space between their legs. It feels taboo to even bear witness, but in her half-hearted attempt to look away, she instead finds the tear in his shirt just at the collar. She doesn't know if she caused it, somewhere in all the tugging and moaning, it must have happened. In the afternoon sun, it's a clear sight line from his chest to his stomach. Sweat trails down there too and it drives her wild to follow it down.

His hand settles experimentally on her belly.

She looks up at him. His askance stare and bated breath do not need words. She nods.

It trails carefully downwards, delicate even at the shallow scratch of his nails. It feels like he's uncoiling tension bundled in her abs, and every line is a full, happy sigh sung from her lips.

He can't stop staring at his hand as it seems to go on forever over the valley of her stomach. A hand is on his cheek. He meets her eyes and she seems to dare him not to look away from her. Her other hand wraps around his wrist and guides it till snags at the hem of her shorts.

His breathing betrays him. It's practically telegraphing the tremors dancing in his chest. He doesn't want to scare her. The way she jumped back the first time they got this close still sends the wrong kind of shiver down his arm like he might burn her if he tried.

But she isn't afraid. Her eyes are half lidded, her breath staccatos but its even. Her hand tugs at his wrist again.

He undoes the button.

She gasps.

His finger traces the zipper.

She bites her lip.

A hint of panic settles in cause he needs to see what he's doing but he can't look away from her. She has no trouble staring at him herself. It's like she's in a trance and all she's interested in watching is him. So he swallows his fears and kisses her again. Her lips are welcoming but her tongue is a tidal wave that swallows him whole.

It emboldens him. Lets his fingers push passed the zipper and straight over the thin bit of cloth behind it. The fabric is like his own. Nothing special. Plain and normal, and makes him laugh against her lips and she laughs with him.

Her hand pulls his wrist over her crotch. His fingers graze the unshaven hairs down there. Then she lets go of his hand and trusts that he'll figure out the rest.

He does.

His hand is so much larger than her own. That's what she first thinks when his digits span over her southern hairs and inch its way down. He has to pull his chest away from hers to get an angle that doesn't twist his wrist, but she doesn't stop moaning into his mouth.

A heated line draws sidewards from his hands, like her legs are tugging closed along the path his hand into her mound. She welcomes it. There's no alarm bells in her head. She wants to bring him there and trap him

She's okay with this.

And when his fingers smooth over her entrance and finds exactly where to make first contact, her heart's already ramming into the walls of her chest. She wants it. A bite of his lip. Bodies press firmly together. She's already trapped him down there.

She wants it. She wants it. She wants it!

Yang pulls away. He's shocked out of her nethers. His fingers are still wet.

"Yang… I'm – I'm sorry, I –"

She closes into him and shoves his damp hand into his mouth. "How do I taste?" she asks, voice hot on his neck. Inside, she's screaming because it would have been sexier to taste it herself. Then again, she isn't sure she wants that.

"Like you," he breathes against the back of her neck.

She laughs. "What's a girl supposed to take away from that?"

"Because like everything else about you, it makes me want more."

The hammering in her chest has evened out. "I want this. You. All of it."

"Then what happened?"

"Nothing. I'm not scared. I don't even know why I was in the first place anymore."

"Is that what happened? Did it bother you? Not knowing why?"

She doesn't need to answer. Instead she pulls away, kisses his lips, and tells him, "The Aries."

"My car?"

"Yes. Could you go and get the installment cleared and… maybe grab us dinner? Please?" She doesn't want to have to say that she needs a bit more time to figure this out, but he's already kissed her and is at the door.

"Later?" he asks.

She nods, a giddiness worming its way into her cheeks. "Later. I'll be ready when you come home."

He loves that look on her. He'd kiss her again if he didn't have to go.

-0-

Blake gets a call from Yang. She has to pull away from Ren and Nora on the beanbag. She's barely dressed as it is (Nora's slovenly habits are starting to rub off on her) and she isn't sure she's ready to answer any questions Yang might have about what's going on between them.

"Yang?"

"Blake! Uh… did you just get out of bed?"

She glances at her roommates. Nora's waggling her brows and Ren has that tiny smile of his that is somehow far more embarrassing. "Something like that. What about you? Do I even need to ask about the fresh hickey?"

Yang is silent for a moment. "I almost had sex with Jaune."

Her eyes widen hysterically. "Almost? What happened?"

"I needed to sort some things out." Her eyes narrow. "Look, we're gonna meet again in an hour or two, but before then, I need to bounce the last few months with my best friend."

Blakes gives her a good-natured sigh. "Fine," she says with a smile she can't stop, "give me the whole story."

"It all started on the day I was born."

"Yang!"

"I'm… I'm only half joking."

-0-

It's sundown when he gets home. He half expects scented candles, ambient music, thick makeup, and lingerie. But there's none of that. She isn't even in the living room.

"Yang?" he calls out.

His scroll pings.

"Take a shower in the guest room and come meet me in your room, please?" It reads. He takes off his jacket and pulls off his shirt when his scroll pings again. "If you love me, you'll come in only towel. So please love me."

He sprints into the shower.

Minutes later he's mostly dry and standing in his own living room, staring at his bedroom door like it'll fall on him if he even dares to come in to see his probably barely dressed girlfriend.

He knocks.

A moment of silence, but it is quiet enough to hear her take a healthy breath before she gives him a nervous "I'm ready!"

He expects a mountain of nerves. Maybe even another try at the lingerie with a bit of snide confidence beneath a toothy grin. But when he opens the door, he finds a gentle smile sitting up in an igloo of blankets. There's no put-upon anything here. She's not trying to be enticing, or trying to get a rise out of him,

He can only call that look honest.

"Are you cold?" he asks.

The question shocks her into laughter. Cause he's fresh out of the shower and she's been cozy in these sheets for the better part of an hour now. "No, no, I'm plenty warm."

"Could be warmer," he says. He doesn't intend to flirt but it's already out of his mouth and she's matching the nervous, embarrassed smile on his cheeks.

"Maybe. Why don't you come here and find out?"

With the towel wrapped firmly around his waist, he locks the door behind him and crawls onto the bed. He doesn't get any closer though.

Now that he's up close, he can see the silhouette of her bare legs just between the sheets. One of her hands comes out to pull both sides of the sheet together while the other comes to reach for him.

He takes her hand, bare knees touching.

"Hey," he says. And it's goofy, and so like him that it blossoms something in her chest.

"Hey, yourself." She calms her own nerves again and he loves the way the shape of her straightens like she's conquered something again.

He's staring and he knows it but the moonlight is sinking in through the gaps in the blinds and he swears her hair can put gold to shame.

"I've figured out why I was so afraid before," she says.

"Of getting intimate?"

"Yeah…" Her hands are sweating. Her gaze is locked to their hands. "I've already shown you so much of me. I've carved out my deepest fears and fed them to you like I was trying to stuff you full. Cause I didn't like having them in me. Like mom, and us, and Vytal, and now my team… When I'm with you, I already feel exposed. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with showing you all these sides of me but…"

She looks up at him, and their eyes meet. "I still have secrets." She says it like an apology. "But I'm not about to share my every thought but I find myself speaking my mind around you all the time anyway. I've been open but it's like I can't hide anything from you." She inches closer and her hand on the blankets tightens. "And this? Us? It's like I'm showing you all that's left. I'm no prude. I don't mind showing you a little skin."

He laughs. She doesn't wear much to bed. Not that he does either. "You never really seemed concerned about it, yeah."

"Yeah, but… doing this means I'm giving you something I can't take back or keep for myself. What I'll say or do when we do it will be new secrets and they'll be yours and… I was afraid of that."

Was, she said. He focuses on that.

His fingers run over her knuckles. She fixates on the way his hands are trying to hold her without getting any closer.

"What changed?" he asks.

"You… you showed me that you were just as scared." She remembers the way he was breathing only hours ago, staring down at her like he was scared of hurting her if he kept giving in to what she was offering. "It was like a hundred little things. Adrian, Terra, wanting to ruin your hair like an idiot for me…"

He scratches the back of his head. "I thought I was keeping a brave face on that one."

"Please. I love you but there's no way you were going to be comfortable looking an idiot again no matter how much you say it wasn't going to bother you." She sighs. "It's funny how that made me love you more."

Her smile falls away. "When I was younger, I was used to affection. It was like I had a mom and two dads. They'd dote on me and sing my praises like I could be nothing but spectacular. I couldn't go a day without being smothered by someone's love… Then… Then I lose Summer and dad shuts down. Qrow would try to be there for us and did everything he could while he was around but he always had to go to work. And I kept thinking if I was feeling like this, how did Ruby feel? How much did she feel that she was missing out on? So, I smother her with enough love to make up for everyone else, but every time I did, I was reminded of how much I missing for myself."

"And then we happened and it's not all the making out, or the cuddling, or the hickeys. I was afraid I'd have to give up this apartment cause I was overstaying my welcome, but then you smile at me and… Jaune, do you remember what you said to me that day?"

He's been flush this entire time. "I, uh, no, I don't."

"You told me it was already decided. Like I belonged here and that I never needed to work for it even if I tried my hardest to prove that I did. I didn't need to earn a place here. We were friends and you thought that was already enough."

He squeezes her hand. "It goes both ways, y'know?"

She squeezes back. "Tell me."

"I hated this apartment. When I first got it I thought I'd just bought myself a hole I could hide in while I drown myself." He eyes the walls, and even in the dark he knows where he'd had to plaster over cracks he'd punched into. "And it wasn't like I had anywhere else to go so I couldn't leave. I thought I'd maybe show up at the clubs and find someone else to warm my sheets, but even when I got propositioned, I couldn't dare to drag anyone else into what I'd put myself through."

"Then you showed up and I forgot what those nights even really felt like. It was just you, tearing every sordid, manic page out of my book and putting yourself there instead. It isn't just Terra you replaced it was… everything else. No more cold nights, broken sinks, or empty bottles. Even when things are quiet in the morning, it was nice to remember someone else was there that I had to wake up. It was nice knowing I had to cook for two. It was nice knowing that whenever I had to go out and do something tiring, or frustrating, or stupid… there was always someone waiting for me at home."

He lets go of her and makes for the vanity. A drawer is tugged open. Yang recognizes it as the one Jaune uses to hide the previous tenant's wedding ring box, but that isn't he pulls out of it. It's his flask. He sets there in full view of her. "I haven't needed it in months."

There's warmth against her skin. Even back then he said that she couldn't fill the gap of every torment but there it is. Definitive proof that she has. And it isn't just that she's done it, or even that she's done it for months, but also that she hasn't noticed. That the part of him with doubts has quietly slipped away.

And it's the same for her.

When he's back on the bed, she slinks her hands away into the blanket, clutching its two halves.

She's surprised at how easy it is to pull them apart and show him all of her. That doesn't mean it gets any easier with the way he stares at her. Yang has to resist covering up again.

His eyes trace the length of her arms down to her toned, steady legs. Back up to her abs and the swell of her breasts, to the soft coiling of her shoulder blades into her neck. This woman is built like a brick house and he loves every inch of her.

She'd already been staring at most of him before the towel on his waist slips away. The broad stroke of his arms, the wound tightness of his chest, his abs are pulled taut but his navel looks soft and boyish between the strong ridges. His legs are thin but muscled. She never knew she could appreciate the curve of a calf before but his legs help make him tall and it looks like she can dine on its width.

He crawls towards her and she welcomes his look of uncertainty as if it was her own. She falls back onto the sheets, prepared for him. One hand on her belly, the other pressed firmly over her beating chest. He doesn't move in to kiss her. He's stopped and staring somewhere on her breast. She almost cracks a joke about it but his hand comes up suddenly and runs along her skin.

"What happened here?" he asks.

There's the shadow of a scar beneath her left breast. She's surprised he can even see it in the low light. "Accident. I crashed my bike one night when driving home back to Beacon. It was… it wasn't a very good night. Assholes just drove on by and didn't bother checking in. Everyone sees an armed huntress and they think I can everything handle my own. Never mind that I was bleeding and calling out for help."

His eyes narrow. "People in this city suck."

"C'mon, they're not all bad. That boatman's pretty nice."

"Tackle."

"What?"

He snorts. "Yang, that's his name. Tackle. You're telling me we spent two weekends with him and you don't even know his name? You remember the old guy who sells dust? You meet him every month. His name's Shop and he's Tackle's brother."

She's laughing. Mostly from embarrassment. Mostly. "And how do you know this?"

"I talked to him?"

She shakes her head. "Y'know what, nevermind. I'm lying back here naked and you've got me thinking about old men and their equally old brothers."

"But hey, not so nervous anymore, right?"

He's right. It's so much easier to just talk to him. "Yeah. Much better tha-a-anks~! Jaune!"

His head's below her breast, kissing along her scar. He's doing it so softly that it tickles. "J-Jaune! Ha ha! What are you doing?"

"Kissing it better," he says matter-of-factly.

"Quit it! Ha ha! It tickles!"

He pulls his lips off her and leans over her, resting his forehead to hers. "No more bad memories. I'll rip out everything from before and give you something new everyday."

She nudges her nose to his. "Everyday?" she asks softly.

He shrugs but he means it. "I'm exaggerating but I'll try."

She runs a hand down his cheek. "Why do you always gotta do that?"

"Do what?"

"Just… be real with me? Some guys just stop at the sweeping romantic gesture."

"I think I'm incapable of being anything else with you at this point."

"Scary," she teases. "Jaune Arc, ever exposed. How will I ever contain myself?"

"Shut up."

She shakes her head meaningfully, something beautiful dancing behind her eyes. He tells himself it's love. "I can't. Words are all I have when I can't do anything with my hands."

He kisses her knuckle, its strength softening at his touch. "And why don't you?"

He's flush against her. Her knees curl around his waist. "Because I won't be able stop myself if you let me."

"Don't stop," he whispers. "Show me everything."

Her hand braces against the back of his neck.

He sucks on her lower lip. Then he does the same to the other.

She moans and it's raw and animalistic, but it's a symphony in his ear.

-0-

Yang plops onto the sofa next to him. "If this takes any longer, I'm going to tear my hair out."

Jaune takes a sip of his apple juice and eyes her passed the glass. She's been stressing out all afternoon. "I don't think you've failed enough tests to warrant a failing grade. Didn't you pass the exams?"

"I'm not worried about failing." A pause. She doesn't look at him when she admits, "I need to get a B."

His brow creases. "You only need to not fail to be a huntress."

"Yeah, but they don't let you be a teacher or a coach without at least B."

"You wanna be a teacher?"

She scratches her head. "No? Yes. Maybe. Look, I wanna have my options open."

He sits closer. She can feel his warmth on her hip. "Is this cause of what Qrow said yesterday?"

"Mom, actually. We were talking about how she wishes she was home and worrying about cracking an egg right instead of trying to crack open a conspiracy."

She doesn't need to tell him more. "Yang, our kids will still love you if you're not home all the time."

"But I'd like to be home all the time. I hate the idea of being gone for months and… ugh, look at me. Losing my mind on imaginary children."

"You're thinking ahead. It's what a leader does. I like to think it's what a Xiao Long does too."

Yang rubs her arm. "Yeah… leader." With both Weiss and Ruby officially off the campus roster, Yang had been voted as the new leader. It's strange having to trade teammates with JNPR every once in a while to get teams of three, but they're always all together now anyway. Still, the title hangs over her head and she's trying her best.

"You'll get used to it. Leadership isn't a hard class and you'll only officially start taking it next year."

"But sitting in it makes me think a lot. I didn't think a class with no grades could be so stressful… I mean, maintaining team psychology? I didn't think Ruby had to consider our wellbeing all the time, and now that I do, I feel like we all take our leaders for granted."

He puts a hand on her shoulder. "See, this is why we don't talk about Leadership outside of class. You gotta detox. What would you like?"

She tosses her scroll onto the coffee table. "These grades. I get this out of my system, and I can start worrying about everything else."

He claps his hands and gets up. "Okay, bubble bath, massage oil, scented candles, and cake it is."

She gives him a wiry smile. "Thank you…"

"What kind of cake?" he asks when he's sifting through the cupboards in the kitchen. "I can whip up the chiffon and icing real quick if that's what you're after."

She picks her scroll back up and thumbs through her messages. She goes through a backlog from Ruby. She met up with Weiss a few days back and the photo of them together (and Oscar getting along with Whitley in back) always manages to curl a smile into her. Among the images sent, she finds another with Weiss alone in her room. Neptune's not allowed to get close just yet but she's wearing the aquamarine necklace her got her for the proposal.

"I'm thinking Red Velvet," she calls out to him. "Maybe you can experiment again? I'd love to help you try."

"Nah, not this time. I couldn't get the red velvet to mix right even with Ren's help. I'll need to pick a lesson with mom when we get to Clove so I can get it down."

She gets an image from Blake. She's having afternoon tea with her parents. Ren and Nora are with her. Ren seems right at home with Kali, and Nora seems to have gotten Ghira to laugh. Somewhere in the background, Sun's teasing Ilia about someone on her scroll. She's turned a shade of pink, which does nothing to hide her blush. Looks like Sun managed to find her a girlfriend after all.

"We can do a different cake then," she tells Jaune.

"It's okay, I'll just order again." He already has his scroll up. "But we're getting three little boxes. I'm not letting you engorge the whole thing again."

She snorts. "You can't stop me from snacking."

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Yang, one of these days I'm gonna have to buy a padlock for the fridge."

"Like a padlock would stop me."

His hand slaps the counter. "Okay, no bubble bath, and no massage then."

"Fine. Little cakes. But you know I can just order more, right? It's a joint account after all." It was her mother's idea to help them balance finances between them. It managed to get Helia Arc to talk to Raven. They get along. Yang doesn't know what do with that.

"Please don't do anything crazy with the account. It's the last installment for the car."

"Which I'm helping you pay for. I deserve a treat."

Jaune stops what he's doing and just stares at her. She's not normally this difficult. Or difficult at all, for that matter. "Yang, are you messing with me?"

She peeks back gives him a sheepish grin from behind the couch. "Yes? C'mon, you know I love you. You like eating them with me anyway. You need to get your head out of the rain too." Because their new tub is big enough for two, the massage is always the kind with a happy ending, and she's pretty sure the scented candles are just a silent joke between them at this point.

He comes around to sit next to her again. "I'm not the one worrying about her grades."

"And I'm not the one stressing about his car," she counters. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

Leaning back into the cushions, he loses any desire to argue. "I took good care of it…"

"I know you did, so it's not your fault. Just you wait. The mechanic will be back with a message for you any minute now to tell you it was a nothing issue and they can fix it in an afternoon."

She's on her inbox with Jaune now. They hardly send messages anymore since they're together all the time so instead they send each other the pictures they take so they always both have copies. They had a mission at the ruins of Glenn, a dinner date by the docks, drew on Ren's face while he slept, spent an afternoon hanging photos off strings on the ceiling, visited Cardin in the hospital (he's got a cool scar along his arm and neck now), took a hike in the woods, and there's a dozen more photos of them cozying up in the apartment. These have just been in the last month, too. With summer coming, they'll have enough photos to hide entire ceiling at the dorm.

Jaune leans over. "Why am I Hummingbird in your contacts? I thought I was Vomit Boy."

She snickers. "Well, you know how Blake's books have all those fancy words for sex? Like the word vagina is somehow too crass for 'erotica'."

He squints. "I already don't like where this is going."

"So we got to talking and she mentions how, in her latest book, the vagina substitute is flower, and what comes out is nectar."

Jaune buries his head in his hands. "Oh my god, Yang…"

"And with the amount of time you spend down there…"

"Yang!"

"Did you know that hummingbirds can consume up to eight times their weight in nectar? Those are rookie numbers. They should probably take notes from you."

He grabs her face and presses his forehead to hers, manic eyes meeting hers. "I love you, but if you have an off switch, you have to tell me."

She looks down and up at him again. She points to her lips. "They're right here, lover boy."

He pulls back and looks between her lips and the coy look in her eyes. "I… no." He huffs and crosses his arms. "Not doing it."

This throws her for a loop. "What? Why?"

He glances back at her. She wants it just as much. Now he's the one being coy. "Cause this is funny."

"Fine. Why don't I send Blake a few of these little facts. She's started writing and I'm sure she could use some our juicy details."

"Yang, no."

She's already typing down on her scroll. Jaune crashes into her and they fall back onto the arm rest. For a moment they struggle as Jaune tries to reach for her scroll until Yang decides to slip the device into the back of her sweater. If he goes for it, he'll reach have to reach in closer and their faces are already close enough as it is.

"And it's gone!" she cheers. "I mean, feel free to try for it again but there's enemy territory down here."

He thumbs over her cheeks. "Fine. You win." He says with a chortle. "I swear, Yang, you're impossible."

"And yet you have me anyway."

Their lips press together warmly, making them meld together into a host of mewls and hushed laughter.

Their scrolls ping. They go completely ignored.

-END-

And that’s it! I hope you liked it! There’s a sequel coming down the pipeline but for now I have a major Dragonslayer story to work on elsewhere on my ff.net and ao3 accounts. Maybe I’ll post a link here to it when it comes out.

That said, thank you to everyone who gave this story their love. I would not have made it this far without your support. Thank you. :’)

#jaune x yang #yang x jaune #yang xiao long #Jaune Arc #rwby dragonslayer

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rwby-imagine-fanfics · 4 years

Text

Ruby Rose Fluff Alphabet

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Playing video game! Getting snacks! Honestly Ruby would do anything of your interest with you if it means she can spend time with you. But really enjoys playing video games with you after a stressful day. Could play for hours as long as your with her.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Admires your confidence. Also admires how she would lean on you when she can't. If her s/o isn't a confident person then she admires them just being there for her. Ruby also finds hands beautiful she could kiss them or hold them.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

She crys with you. Occasionally whispering sweet nothings. Won't leave your side unless it's to get something for you. Crushes you into hugs and her shoulder to ready to cry on.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Happens occasionally, she'll be watching you do something and her mind would wonder off, wondering about possibilities that can occur. Doesn't think too far into the future but definitely wants to fight grim and other evil with you as her partner. Also enjoys to imagine what her life would be after Beacon and often would include her s/o in it.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Doesn't really get into many fights, shes someone you can't anger easily. But in those rare moments that an argument does break out shes tries to remain calm. There are times she might spat something, but those are sometimes. She's incredibly panicked when she gets into fights with her s/o, it shatters her heart. If crying occurs she'll immediately apologize regardless of who's at fault. Pretty easy to forgave her s/o, if it was something really bad typically it would take a few hours before she comes to her door was apology snacks.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Everything you do for she's incredibly grateful for. Even just telling her she looks nice she's gonna return the favor with a dozen compliments. If her s/o does something huge for her then Ruby would lost of words and would do anything to make you happy in return. Overall she grateful for everything you do for her.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Is pretty open about everything in her life. She enjoys telling stories her s/o about things she done in the past or ehats she planning to do later. For keeping secrets, if its absolutely necessary to keep it from her s/o wheater it be it can harm you, or put put you in danger she'll be pretty hesitant about it. Really depends on the situation.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

Differently become more conifendt and ambitious to reach her goal. Becomes more bubbly than usual. She started getting into some of your interest and her s/o probably did the same for her. Doesn't change to much just more happy and cheery.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Gets pretty jealous from time to time and could play some insecurities. Really depends who's making her jealous if it's someone on her team then she would shrug it off. If it's someone really close to you as well, she'll be a bit jealous. She doesn't do to much when shes jealous. She trust you and her s/o trust her so she'll let them be. If she reallys jealous she may come over and say hi and occasionally hold your hand. If someone brings up her jealousy, she'll deny it and get all flustered. Then the next second she'll sheepishly admit it.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Prefers to kiss her s/o on the cheek. Likes butterfly kisses and nose kisses. When it comes to lips kisses shes enjoys quick pecks. Tends to kiss you good morning, after class or when you have to leave to do something.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

Invited you to hang out. She tried to make it seem causal but its pretty obvious that she's trying to ask out for a date. The confession happens afterwards. You'll be walking back to Beacon tomorrow talking about class or things that happened earlier that day. Suddenly Ruby would change the subject and would express her feelings shlyly avoiding eye contact. When her crush informs her they return her feelings her mood increases by 100%.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

Similar to dreaming, she wonders of the future. She doesn't think about marriage too much prefers to focus your relationship now. Not say she haven't, there are times she thinks how marrying you especially if you've been together for a long time. Would want her s/o to propose to her, maybe drop some hints of marriage. She and her s/o would plan the ceremony together, incorporating all the things they want. I can see it being on those outdoors ceremonies.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Nicknames vary. She likes using a short version on your name. Also likes using nicknames she got from something you did. Prefers you call her a nickname instead.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

Pretty obvious ngl. Gets really flustered and over exaggerate actions sometimes. Expresses her feelings through compliments. Her s/o would be showered by compliments every day.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Her pda is on a medium. Prefers to get more intimate actions with s/o such as kisses and cuddles behind close doors. All though she wouldn't mind pecking her s/o on the cheek in public or hand holding. Occasionally brags her s/o to others especially before the fall of Beacon.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

A mixture of both. On one hand does research couple activies and related things. But she also enjoys to put her own twist on it , keep it unpredictable. It would also depend on her s/o's interest and hobbies. Not overly romantic but will compliment her s/o every now and then or squeeze there hand. Depends on the situation.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

100 percent!!! Ruby will always encourage her s/o to achieve her goal and would help motivate them if they felt like giving up. Always tells you how she admires you for trying to achieve your goal and that shes proud of you. 10/10

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Shes willing to spice it out. Into trying new hobbies with her s/o. Honestly Ruby just wants to spend time with you. Ruby doesn't feel the need to spice out but does try to incorporate something new once in awhile

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Very understanding. Even when doesn't really know what's going on she'll hold your hand and listen to you. She has a shoulder to cry on if needed. Ruby would never say any thing that could upset her partner in many way. Cinnamon Roll wants to see her s/o smile.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

So important to her. She wants her partner to feel loved. Puts a lot of time to making them happy. To Ruby, her s/o is incredibly important.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

Into sleepovers. Enjoys watching movies, eating junk food and playing broad games. Forts? Pillow Forts! Pillow fights, tickles, etc. Overall enjoys being silly and goofy with her s/o.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

As mentioned before, not really a high pda. However shes enjoys holding hands but quick pecks. A fan of cuddles as well, prefers to cuddle when shes a about to take a nap or go to sleep.

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Uses the power of the internet to communicate with her partner. But if place in a situation where she can't contact her partner she could be pretty moody. Tends to think about them when they see objects that remind her of them. Sends you video messages everyday telling you good morning or good night, waiting for the day you can reply back. Sends her s/o letters as well.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lenghts for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Willing to do anything to make her partner happy. However she is incredibly hesitant if something comes to the possibility harming others or putting her s/o in danger.

#rwby headcanon #rwby imagines #rwby x reader #rwby #ruby rose #ruby rose x reader

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littlemisssquiggles · 3 years

Note

So I have SEVERAL feelings over the gif and am super worried over Ruby's expression, her being separated from her team in the snow, the fact that Oscar's taking her place at the head of RWBY, and the fact that Ruby is aligned with Yang who is mentioned to be "suspicious" AND I AM NOT READY

Hiya Miki-chan. Weirdly enough, despite what the intro GIF teased, this squiggle meister took a more light-hearted reaction to it, to be honest.

I know some folks are assuming that Oscar taking Ruby’s place alongside WBY as a stance on him replacing Ruby as leading the group and…I for one, didn’t really see it that way.

For me, I looked at it as a sign that perhaps Oscar may take a more supportive stance besides Ruby; not necessarily taking her place as leader but more as being a right hand to her---y’know like an advisor to aid her in these troubling times when tensions are high and the overall trust within the team is suffering because of it. For me, I took this as us potentially seeing Oscar help Ruby to mend the broken bonds within their team, thus restoring what they once had.

It made me think back to the Little Prince and the lesson he learnt from the fox---a lesson about love and responsibility. About one being responsible for what you tame. The Fox told the Prince that he was responsible for his rose as he was the one who cared for her, and that what’s made her the most unique to him in a world full of roses.

It is because of this why I always latched onto the concept of Oscar being a support for Ruby and strangely enough, we’ve seen Oscar take a helpful role towards Ruby in the past.

We saw him take this position back during the dojo moment in V5 when Ruby wasn’t being honest regarding her repressed emotions over the events of the Fall of Beacon. We saw Oscar take this stance again in V6 in Argus when Ren questioned the room of a proper plan of action to stop Salem and we see Oscar look to Ruby, who appeared distraught as she had no answer to give. From there, we then saw Oscar try to speak up in a move that gave the impression that he was trying to emulate Ruby in that moment---trying to be a voice of reason and optimism while simultaneously diverting all the negative attention that Ruby was receiving onto himself in a sense.

Consecutively, this is later followed up by Oscar attempting to reassure Ruby of their plan back in Argus when she appeared troubled over Qrow’s behaviour.

Basically what I’m getting at is that, I’ve always liked the thought of Oscar being a “fuel to Ruby’s spark”. Since the forces of evil have threatened to break Ruby’s indomitable spirit and snuff out that light of hers, I liked the idea of Oscar becoming someone who makes it his duty to keep Ruby’s spark alive.

I based it off of this analogy I shared back in my musings from V5. Ruby is often described as possessing an unquantifiable spark. A spark is type of a flame. A flame that burns brightly to ignite the way and guide those lost to the darkness like a beacon in the night. However even the brightest of flames cannot burn forever. Eventually that flames grows weary---starts to dim until eventually its burnt out.

But do you know what is often used to keep a fire going? Wood.

Oscar’s last name is Pine and pine is a type of wood. Therefore, should Ruby’s spark start to dim. Should her spirit slowly start to break from all the pressures placed on her, I love the concept of Oscar being the one to reignite it---providing Ruby with that same burst of inspiration that she’s always provided him. Therefore Oscar becomes someone of great importance to Ruby as he becomes a source of motivation for her. Someone to keep her going and be a beacon of hope to her when she starts to go astray and feel her spark dwindling. A fuel to a spark powered by an unyielding heart of loyalty love and bathed in a golden light as bright as the sun.

That what’s I’m picturing Oscar to become for Ruby in terms of his significance to her. Even if romance isn’t in the cards for the rosebuds, I’d still love for Oscar’s relationship with Ruby to be meaningful and unique to them; just like the bond between the prince and his true rose.

And let’s not forget that…Oscar has already acknowledged Ruby’s vulnerability and understands it. What I mean by this is that that despite Ruby being christened as the voice of hope and encouragement within her group---the one everyone turns to for leadership, Oscar has already realized that this also means that Ruby has a lot of pressure placed on her because of the badge of leadership that’s been put on her by those around. Hence the comment he made to Ozpin back in V5CH5.

“…She really is remarkable, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. She must’ve been one of these best huntresses at Beacon, huh?”

“In some ways yes but in many others, no. She has her quirks. Her faults, just like everyone else. But she also possesses something unquantifiable. A spark that can inspire others even in the darkest of times.”

“…This must be really hard on her too.”

“It’s most assuredly is.”

In the beginning, Oscar reacts the Ruby the same way others who grow to admire her usual do. He is enamoured by her remarkability, as Oz put it. However the instant Oz goes even further into giving his own impression of Ruby and mentions that she is a person of inspiration to others, Oscar’s impression of her changes a little as he took Ruby’s role as leader as her also having a lot of expectations placed on her (like him) and he gets it immediately.

And that’s another reason why I loved the V5 dojo scene. It says so much about Oscar without saying a lot and it’s great.

Ironically enough, it’s AFTER this brief conversation with Oz where I noticed Oscar taking up a more dedicated approach towards Ruby---immediately being one of the first few people to run to her side after she’s hurt by Emerald during the Battle of Haven. Defying even Ozpin---his other half essentially--- and fighting against him to possible protect Ruby from Oz when the ole soul’s desperation to prevent Ruby from using the lamp to uncover the truth got the better of him. And the list can go on.

Oscar understands the weight that Ruby feels and probably will feel even more now as she is basically placed in the same position that Oz was back during the events of V6. When the group turned on Oz, Oscar was pretty much the one to feel the brunt of the ole soul’s emotions after he chose to isolate himself. That being said, I can see Oscar not wishing to see the same thing happen to Ruby so like I said, I’m hoping his position in the opening will hint at him becoming an advisor or crutch to Ruby, standing by her side and working with her to mend everything.

That being said, I’m not saying I’m expecting Oscar to be a blind follower of Ruby, choosing to “follow her lead”. One thing I love about Oscar’s character is that while he may appear apprehensive at times, he’s never afraid to speak his mind and let others know exactly what he’s thinking and he’s not one to sugar coat either.

Oscar is rather blunt but still articulate in the way he expresses himself. It’s never vague with Oscar. He’s quite upfront about his thoughts and fears. While it may take him some time to open up, whenever he does get the courage to speak up, he always does so in a manner that commands the room or practically demands that his voice is heard by those around him.

And another trait I admire about Oscar is that he isn’t afraid to share his opinions even when he outright disagrees with someone’s stance on a particular subject. If he feels as if someone’s actions are wrong or may lead to issues, Oscar doesn’t withhold those feelings. He lets them know as highlighted when he was the first character to oppose Ruby’s decision to deceive the General. He was also quite upfront about his disagreement with the General’s actions towards the People of Mantle and progression of Amity Tower. Oscar even tried to warn the General of the path he was taking and while things still ended poorly, you still have to admire Oscar’s character in these moments.

To me, this is one of the moments that highlighted why I would consider Oscar to be our SECOND smaller, more honest soul next to Ruby. This is why I want to see him step up and be a voice of comfort and wisdom to Ruby in these times. Whether or not Ruby choses to heed his words isn’t really the factor here. I just want to see this dynamic done since this could provide an amazing opportunity to see the friendship that’s been slowly building between the rosebuds for the past few seasons truly start to flourish.

V8 could spark the moment when the Rosegarden bond fully blooms into a beautiful relationship---be it a really great friendship built on trust and understanding or perhaps something more.

Oscar is loyal to Ruby, yes. And he believes in her, yes. He also trusts her wholeheartedly, yes. However if he fears that her actions are leading her down a dark path, he will tell her so. And unlike other characters, Oscar will tell Ruby this to her face---not in a manner that condescends or belittles her---but in his own way. Firm yet understanding (like how we saw back in V5CH5).

Basically what I’m saying here is that I can trust Oscar to always being upfront with Ruby about his concerns and opinions on her actions and decisions which…is something I would like to say for the rest of her team but…I can’t. Not really.

Weiss and Blake may have their feelings and concerns but in the end, they are more or less written off as sheep perfectly content with following the herd led by Ruby as their shepherd (even if that headship ultimately winds them in a den of wolves). And while Yang had been highlighted to not be entirely complacent with her sister’s leadership (as we saw during the events of V7), it still bugs me how Yang went behind Ruby’s back the way she did last season.

It almost felt…uncharacteristic for her to do this considering that Yang has been described as someone who has always looked out for Ruby as both the older sibling and surrogate parent to her. So why have Yang go behind, not just Ruby’s back, but the whole hero team to be an informant to Robyn Hill and then…NOT disclose this info to the rest of the her teammates. Only Blake knew and like I said, Blake is a sheep, fine with following Yang’s lead despite not doing anything herself to inform the others of what the Bees did together.

In reviewing the episode where this essentially took place---V7CH7: Worse Case Scenario---Yang is the one who basically gave Blake the go ahead to inform Robyn of the truth behind Amity when the two cornered her in the alleyway. Yang was even the first to talk and tell Robyn of Ironwood’s plans to send the Ace Ops to detain her.

“…If Ironwood wants me, he’ll have to send more than a couple of kids.”

“He is. Stopping the trucks alerted the Ace Ops. We don’t have long before they arrive so please listen to us.”

Yang spoke first. There is an even a shot in that very episode where Blake goes to spill the beans to Robyn but looks to Yang first for validation and it’s only when Yang nods in agreement when Blake finally shares. Although Blake is the one who told Robyn about the plans for Amity, it was Yang who practically gave her the go-ahead.

So while Blake is an accomplice, I’m going to place full responsibility for this tactic on Yang since she made the first call and also encouraged Blake to reveal the truth. Ruby’s choice to deceive was bad, yes but we cannot ignore Yang’s own choices to deceive in this mix which is also very problematic and could prove more dangerous than one might realize.

And given how there seems to be this talk in the FNDM about Yang being the one to apprehend Ruby for her actions inV7….I'm going to be blunt with you, Miki-chan. If the show does what you think they're gonna do by having Yang be the one who either calls Ruby out for the mistakes she made from her decisions or have Yang be the voice of doubt against Ruby, basically placing her in the same role as she did with Oz back in V6, I'm honestly going to hate it.

Let me explain why I REALLY don’t like this angle. I said this before back in V6 and I'll say it again here, Yang Xiao Long has no right calling anyone out for their deceit or secrets when she is NO innocent party.

May I remind everyone that the only reason that the group ended up needing to transport the Lamp of Knowledge to Atlas in the first place was because Yang boldly told Raven Branwen---the Spring Maiden to leave her with the Relic allowing Salem to come after her and the others as opposed to advising her to seal the lamp back into its respective vault.

“…Yeah I’m scared but I’m still standing here. I’m not like you. I won’t run which is why you’re going to give me the relic.”

“And why would I ---“ “Because you’re afraid of Salem! And if you thought having maiden powers will put a target on your back, imagine what she would do if she finds out that you have a relic. She will come after you with everything she has. Or she can come after me and I’ll be standing there, waiting for her.”

“You don’t want to do this.” “Nope but I’m gonna do it anyway.”

As noble as this was of Yang to do in the moment, it was still HER decision to have Salem target the hero group for the Relic instead of her mother. It was a choice she made of her own accord and it’s a choice she hasn’t disclosed to anyone since the impression after V5 is that beyond Raven disappearing again, Yang hasn’t told anyone else of what was said and revealed down in the Vault of the Spring Maiden. Even when Qrow asked her about it during the V5 finale, she basically told him…well…a half-truth.

“…What happened?” “I don’t know exactly. When I got down there, Cinder was gone and Vernal was dead.” “And Raven?” “Gone.”

The half-truth is that Raven did leave but not before Yang figured out that she was the Spring Maiden and not before Yang told her to leave the lamp in her possession instead of sealing the lamp back in its vault. May I remind everyone that Yang also didn't tell anyone that Raven---her mother---is the Spring Maiden?

And may I also remind everyone that Yang (along with Blake) was the one who went behind the group's back and told Robyn Hill about Amity. A detail that neither she nor Blake disclosed to the rest of the team.

“…This isn’t over yet. We’re with you.” “Are you with me?” “Sir?” “…How did Robyn know about the Global Communications Project?” “We told her. The night of the ambush.”

At least with Ruby, everyone was aware that Ruby made the call to lie to Ironwood about Salem including Oscar who basically sorted that out for Ruby (even though it SHOULD have been Ruby herself taking responsibility for her own actions in my opinion). However no one knew what Yang had done with Blake with Robyn which was why they all seemed pleasantly surprised when Ironwood brought it up. Blake and Yang were the only two members of RWBY who knew about this detail and note that Ironwood didn’t bring up the group deceiving him about Salem.

Again, that part was ironed out thanks to Oscar. But the part about Robyn, that part James didn’t know about. And unfortunately for our heroes, neither did they.

Yet…Yang phrased it as if RWBY had told Robyn when in fact, it was just Yang and Blake who made that call while Ruby and Weiss were clearly in the dark as evidenced by their troubled expressions at the Aces’ and Ironwood’s reactions to the news.

You're seeing my issue with Yang being the one to call Ruby out? If Yang ends up being the one doubtful of Ruby or "suspicious" of her actions/decisions, it'll pretty much be a rehash of V7.

Most of us thought it was mighty hypocritical for Ruby to be deemed in the right for choosing to lie to Ironwood following the group's chastising of Oz for withholding important information (the same info mind you) from them.

So wouldn't it be ultra mega hypocritical of Yang to be the one to doubt Ruby's actions and leadership based on her decisions and mistakes when...technically it was Yang's actions---an action she didn't tell her team---that provided the other end of the final straw that ultimately broke Ironwood and caused him to turn against the hero team.

While what Ruby did started it, what Yang did ended it in a sense because as I’ll point out again, AT LEAST Ironwood knew about what Ruby did, thanks to Oscar. But no one knew what Yang did. Except for Blake.

But her own sister. Their own aforementioned leader didn't know and I'm sorry, THAT needs to be addressed.

While I'm fine with Ruby being called out, Yang needs to be called out too. I will be so mad if Yang is treated as being in the right again while her own actions go unscathed.

It upset me when Yang had the gall to call out Oz for his lies and secrets while sitting on her own and it would bother me to know ends if it is done again for Ruby.

Yang cannot be the "good cop" or sheriff to bring Ruby to justice for her actions. She's got her own skeletons to be unearthed and thrown on the floor, exposed and raw for all to judge and I honestly hope this happens for V8 finally.

Let it be a western style dual. Let both parties draw fire to take out each other. Let it be a case where both Ruby and Yang start to mirror Oz and Ironwood’s dynamic from way back in V2. Both parties don't agree with each other's decisions despite being close allies. Both parties have their own methods of helping the people and believe them to be in the right when in actuality they both end up being the catalysts to further cause more problems within their team; dividing them even further.

Instead of Yang being planted on some high horse and made to be the judge that hangs Ruby for her mistakes while continuing to hide her own, I want BOTH SISTERS be held accountable for driving a deeper wedge between their group only for Oscar Pine to end up having to be the middleman to come in and help repair it all.

And I say Oscar of all characters, not just because I’m a Pinehead and want to see more development for my favourite little prince but mainly because like it or not, Oscar HAS to be the one to be in the middle of this shitstorm since...in essence, this all started with Ozma and was prolonged by Ozpin.

And as Ozma's current heir succeeding Oz, Oscar will probably see it as his own duty to fix everything sparked by his predecessors.

Oscar already has faith in Ruby and if him spending time with Yang down in Mantle could lend to him learning to have faith in her too then this could ultimately lend to him desiring to quell the tension between both sisters that’s slowly affecting their faction, henceforth working to reconcile everything with everyone.

I’ve expressed how much I would like to see Oscar mend the broken bonds within his team and I still want that above anything else to be part of his arc for this coming season.

The hero team dynamic needs a reboot; with everyone being cleared of their past false actions so that they can start anew with everyone on a clean page with one another and a better willingness to trust each other now that they've all experienced what deceit and secrecy amongst allies can do.

I want this so much and I want Oscar to play a big part in making it happen.

I don’t wanna hear “Ruby is our protagonist and she has to fix everything” or “Yang will be our stan queen for V8 to call Ruby out”. NO!

Both girls have fucked up! Everyone has fucked up!

Including my boy. The difference is that at least Oscar knows he’s fucked up. He is AT LEAST aware of his fuckery unlike Yang and Ruby and the rest of the hero team which is why I need Oscar to be the one to pull everyone up for their shit.

Since who better to do it than the person whose shares a body with the man whose made more mistakes than any man, women and child on Remnant, am I right?

Even now as we head into V8, I don’t think Ruby and Yang are aware of the consequences of their own mistakes. None of them seem to be. All the more reason why I think they require the wisdom and guidance of another smaller, more honest soul---one whose seen it from BOTH sides of the coin and can now make a call to better help everyone as a whole.

That's what I'd like to see. Not sure if this changes how you feel Miki-chan but that's how I see it.

P.S. On another note, if it’s any further consolation, I’m not ready for V8 either 8V

Like it still hasn’t quite hit me as yet even when the episode is literally tomorrow. All I will say is that I NEED to see that opening. Based on how things are staged from the teaser, that opening and the visuals that tells what we’ll see for that season will be what gets me into V8.

But we’ll see XD

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

#squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #ruby rose #yang xiao long #rwby volume 8 theories #rwby volume 8 spoilers #rwby theories #miki-13 #squiggles answers

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real-jaune-isms · 3 years

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RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 8 Review/Remix

RWBY finally comes back from a 2 month break, and what does it do? It scares us all half to death and then obliterates the other half with insane new story concepts and body horror imagery. Gods I missed this show~...

We return to this chaotic mess with the scene you might be expecting the least, Qrow and Robyn in their prison cells. Qrow is awoken by the sound of ships and explosions outside, and find that his three block mates are similarly left sleepless. Jacques is particularly nervous, probably because he assumed Whitley would be here to bail him out by now. Qrow picks up on an incoming sound that sounds... different, and indeed a wall is blown down in a fiery explosions that starts sending down rubble. One section of the Hard Light cell walls have been taken down, but before anyone has time to act Robyn notices a crow vehemently cawing at her before some rubble comes down above her. And... that’s the last we see of Robyn or Qrow this episode. He transformed to be a smaller target for debris and she might not have made it out quickly enough even with his disguised possible warnings.

Back to more pressing matters, we take the perspective of... the Dragonborn in the opening of Skyrim?? Wait, no, it’s just Nora regaining consciousness to see Klein has given her an IV and is saying she’ll be on the mend real quick. So that’s some good news after a few months of worry, and hey! The fan theory was wrong, she didn’t go blind from the lightning! Before we can even dwell on her wellbeing for too long, Blake opens the door for Ruby Weiss and Whitley to carry in Penny’s unconscious body. As Blake points out, Penny is leaking a green fluid most likely comparable to blood. They set her down on a cot near Nora, and Whitley is pissed about getting his clothes stained again in the span of 48 hours. But I think robot fuel/blood is at least easier to wash out than red wine. Ruby of course wants to know if Klein can help Penny as well as he has Nora, but his wheelhouse of expertise does not cover advanced robotics. The saving grace is that Pietro made her so close to human so Klein has some idea what can actually be fixed, starting with sewing up the gash in her abdomen. A thunderous rumble is heard in the distance, and suddenly the lights go out. Whitely complains about this too, but it is rather valid. Nothing quite seems to be going right, even Atlas’ power grid is against them... Ruby gets a call from May, and we learn they parted ways so May could go regroup with the Happy Huntresses and save her city. They compare notes and it’s made clear a bombing run took out part of the city’s power, though less clear is who was doing that bombing, Atlas or the Grimm? Ruby apologizes for their current inaction while they tend to Penny, but May reassures her that this may end up being more productive than trying to find something worth doing outside the city. Great googly moogly, it’s all gone to shit, and there’s very little difference a few more huntresses can make to the Mantle efforts. Ruby is left in overwhelmed despair, there’s so many problems and she doesn’t know how to solve all of them. Klein butts in with a sneeze to say she should take it one problem at a time, focus on the most immediate and possible to achieve and work outwards. For one thing, it’d help a lot of they had lights and power.

Willow surprises everyone by showing up in the doorway to let them know about a backup generator on the edge of the estate property. She’s still the lady of this house, and she has enough self respect to not lie around getting drunk in the dark. Whitley greets her with a mix of disinterest and distain, and she notices Klein has returned to the manor and offers an off guard greeting. Weiss backs up her mom’s info drop with the fact that SDC executive members indeed have access to backup power sources if the city ever suffered a power outage like this. She doesn’t like that they have that kind of privilege while other folks suffer, but it’s for the greater good this time. This gets Whitley thinking, and my boy has a full Jimmy Neutron BRAIN BLAST! Since Jacques made him heir to the company, and the man himself is possibly dead under rubble, Whitely has full access to the Schnee Dust Company and all its resources. Since Ironwood put down the Dust embargo in Volume 4, their fleet of cargo ships are sitting empty and ready for use in a hangar. As we saw earlier this very chapter, there are automated drones that answer to the SDC rather than the Atlas military. They can use those ships and drone soldiers to give all the people stuck in Mantle a way out to fly away safely. Fantastic work, young man! You make your family proud... well, the family members who don’t commit war crimes for profit. But to do that they need the power back on so he can use Jacques’ computer, so that’s what Ruby and Blake set out to do. Getting inside the small building outside of the mansion is easy enough, and its just the flip of a switch to get the generator booting back up. In the meantime, the two share a genuinely sweet conversation. Blake reassures Ruby that the fact she’s trying to make things happen is all the world could ask of her, and an optimistic attitude like that is hard to stick with for long in this harsh world. Life in the White Fang and with Adam robbed Blake of her own similar mindset, but she truly admires and looks up to Ruby for how great a woman she is. Sadly, like most things, this moment is ruined by a Grimm. While all the lights are coming back on and Whitley gets to work, a bolt of lightning reveals that the Hound is just outside the window behind Ruby... Willow and Klein are casually sitting around waiting I guess, when they hear the loud crash of glass breaking and Willow reflexively reaches for her bottle of vodka. Weiss checks in on her teammates over comms and they tell her they need some help so she makes sure Whitley will have the business handled before she rushes out to save her friends. Ruby is getting tossed through a fresh hole in the wall, and Blake’s attempt to attack it while she regains her footing is just batted away. Blake assures Ruby that it’s just a Grimm, they can handle it as long as she can stay focused. Blake goes on the offensive again while Ruby tries to get her Silver Eyes going, but the Hound swats the Faunus girl away and tackles Ruby before sprouting its wings again with her in its clutches Blake uses the ribbon on her weapon to do what Ren had earlier in the Volume, though she anchors the other end in the ground as a tether rather than ride along as it leaves.

Weiss finally arrives at the scene of this chaos and reports the Grimm sighting back to Klein. Hearing the news of this beastly intruder leaves Willow so shaken she drops the bottle and glass she was pouring herself. Klein tries to reassure and calm her, but she’s too overwhelmed and runs out of the room... just as Penny reactivates with red eyes. Full on hacked now, and Klein gets shoved to the floor for all his concerns about her being on her feet again. But she barely takes two steps before the real Penny resurfaces and tries to fight back for control of her own body. The struggle is deep enough to summon a whirling wind around her much like Fria had last Volume, but this one is green because Penny. Back outside, Weiss is about to summon something when a couple Centinels burrow up behind her and tear through it. From the looks of it, I think it was going to be the Nevermore from all the way back in Volume 1, so that’s a pretty cool callback to how important that fight was, and the imagery of glowing wings behind her was beautiful while it lasted. The Hound breaks free of Blake’s tether and is about to soar away, much to her dismay, when it sees a bright green glow coming from in the manor, clearly Penny going through her identity crisis. Ruby puts two and two together and realizes why the Hound has been saying “Take the Girl.” The girl is Penny, whose blood is still on Ruby’s clothes so it got a little confused while tracking. She warns her teammates, but the Hound chooses that time to drop her like a sack of potatoes and there goes the last of her Aura. Blake tells Weiss to go back inside and stop the Hound while she handles the Centinels out here, and they split up, but before Blake can reach her leader a new creature erupts from the ground and it’s bigger and more gross than the last bugs. It spits acid that comes up through a tube along its belly, and I’m confident in calling it an Alpha Centinel. Back in the eye of the storm, Klein tries to reassure Penny that she’s okay, which is phrased a little but I assume he means as “you’re in a safe place and your injuries have been treated, you don’t need to defend yourself like this”. The man is just a butler, he doesn’t know what we do about her internal struggle against antagonistic programming and her wrestling with her sense of self. Whatever new orders Watts has given her, she really doesn’t want to follow them. Luckily, there’s someone at her side to comfort her and hold her hand, and that’s Nora. Passing along the comforting words she got from Blake earlier this Volume, she tells Penny she doesn’t have to just be and do what other people expect of her. She may feel like a part of her is making her do what she doesn’t want to, but don’t forget about the rest. She’s more than just that one part of her mind or persona. It’s nowhere near the same situation as Nora’s own identity crisis earlier, but the words have the same positive effect. Penny gains control again and the wind barrier subsides. Weiss reports in that the Hound is heading inside and she’s on her way to intercept, and gets the bad news that Willow fled the room to go who knows where. Well, we know now cuz we see it, she went to what I assume is her own bedroom (god forbid she and Jacques still share a bed after 8 years of the most sour their marriage has been). On her vanity there’s another bottle or two of booze, and her Scroll. She wants to retreat to what she knows best, but hesitates and then gets spooked by the shattering sound of the Hound breaking in through the window above the front door.

It picks up on Penny’s scent from the blood stained on the floor, but by the time Weiss charges in through the front door it’s gone. The next five minutes of the episode have major horror movie vibes, and I love it. Weiss slowly looks around the foyer for any sign of the beast, when Willow screams over her Scroll to look out above her and indeed the Hound drops down to backhand her into a piano. Instead of staying to attack her, it goes to follow Penny’s scent again and leaves Weiss to check in with her mom after that sudden warning. Biggest triumph thus far, Willow threw her bottle against a wall and instead pulled up the feed from her series of surveillance cameras around the manor on her Scroll to track the Hound. It’s near Winter’s old bedroom, and Willow doesn’t seem to understand that it’s tracking a scent like a bloodhound. Maybe she just doesn’t encounter Grimm a lot or they’re just usually not this competent and singularly focused. She recognizes the direction it’s heading next with great horror, and what we see next gives us that same dread. Whitley still has blood on his clothes, and he dismisses Willow’s warning cuz he probably doesn’t think she has anything to say worth hearing after his years of dealing with her drunken state. He’s almost done setting up the automated orders, when he hears the door starting to open and angrily snaps at what he assumes is Willow coming to check on him since he didn’t answer the call. But he is dead wrong and hides behind the desk immediately, because it is indeed the Hound come to potentially kill him. He’s doing his best to hide, but it expands its vocabulary to tell him it knows he’s here. Just as it’s about to round the corner, an Alpha Boarbatusk charges in and pins it to the wall. Weiss isn’t the only Schnee in the house who can summon, and Willow will not let her son die this day. He’s about to bolt out of the room while it’s preoccupied with the summon, but turns back to hit Yes on the computer and get the evacuation plans started. Good job kid, you did more to save Mantle than your father and Ironwood combined. The two sprint down the hall with the Hound in hot pursuit, but get some respite from an ice wall forming between them and the Grimm thanks to Weiss arriving from the opposite direction. She’s out of breath, but assures them she didn’t forget about either of them, most likely as a callback to the conversation she and Willow had last Volume about Whitley being left behind when Weiss and Winter sought independence. The unarmed Schnees express their gratitude and retreat from that wing of the house, and Weiss prepares her summons for combat with the beast breaking through the ice.

Back outside, Blake is struggling with the Alpha Centinel and complains about how gross it is. She avoids its scythe blade-like arms with some clever use of elementally charged shadow clones and begs for Ruby to wake up and give her some backup. But that can’t last forever and eventually it holds her by the neck ready to slice. Before it can, though, Ruby wakes up and bisects it first. She laughs weakly and tells Blake she heard what she was saying. They hear a scream coming from inside the mansion and head inside to meet up with the others. Weiss and the Hound hear it too, and the Hound stops doing its best “Here’s Johnny” impression through the hole in the ice to go chase down this new sound. We see the source of it, and it is in fact Penny losing control of herself again to the new programming. The red eyes stay this time, and she shoves Klein aside once again to stiffly and mechanically walk out to the foyer. As fate would have it, Willow and Whitely are there too, and they naturally question the fact that she’s emotionlessly walking past them when last they saw she was bleeding and unconscious. She responds that she’s going to open the vault, and then apparently self destruct. Not to state the obvious, but we really can’t let that happen so lets hope the power of love will break through to her. Before Penny can even get down the stairs, the Hound arrives to try and grab her and she catches his hand effortlessly, and then the other, so they’re stuck in a shoving match stalemate. The Hound solves this problem by growing a new arm out of its back and using it to grab Penny by the head. It slams her around like a ragdoll, still repeating “Take the Girl”, and holds a claw up to her throat when RWB arrive at the bottom of the stairs. Blake and Weiss are unsure how to intervene, but Ruby goes stone cold serious telling it that’s enough. In the literal blink of her eye, a Silver Eyed blast blinds it and sends it falling out the window behind it leaving Penny to tumble down the stairs unconscious again. They hope and pray the threat is over as they check her body, but the real horror starts now.

The Hound claws his way back up through the window, and part of his head has been blasted away to reveal a dog faunus with one intact silver eye. In a voice likely not used in a long time, he continues to repeat his orders to “Take the Girl...” Ruby is mortified and shell shocked to see a living person within the frame of this beast unlike any she’s known prior, and I’m sure the wheels in her mind are turning to wonder if Summer Rose suffered a similar undying fate at Salem’s hands... and if that’s what will happen to her if she is captured? He begins shambling towards them and they try to carry Penny away from him but end up cornered. Whitley gets an idea and he and Willow start pushing on the knight statue nearest to them. Just as the Hound, whose human portion I have been inspired by a podcast to call Johnny, is about to grab the girls the statue falls down and crushes him to death. A choir chants in Latin as the Grimm fades away... and for the first time leaves behind a skeleton. Ruby seems shaken to her core as she confirms to the others that that was in fact a person they saw in there.

Ending that side of the story entirely for the week, we go back to the rubble in the jail cell to see Cinder has found Watts and the two make a flying get away. So that’s fun, we’ll have to see if they make it back in time to intercept JRY trying to sneak through Monstra. Until then, I’m gonna sleep like the dead. Ciao!

#rwby reviews #qrow branwen #robyn hill #arthur watts #jacques schnee #nora valkyrie #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #penny polendina #klein sieben #whitley schnee #willow schnee #the hound #tw: body horror #horror elements

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danurso · 4 years

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Taming a beast

Today was a good day, Weiss finally managed to unpack everything at her new home, placing all of her belongings on their new places. Winter was also coming to visit in just a few hours for dinner and Weiss had given herself the task of making Winter the best dinner she ever had. Weiss wasn't really a great cook but luckily for her, Jaune and Ren were, and they didn't hesitate to help her to hone her cooking skills.

So now she was standing in her new kitchen, checking the tray in the oven and hoping that what she was preparing for dinner could impress not only her sister, but her boyfriend as well.

Weiss: *sighs, taking off her kitchen gloves and wiping a few drops of sweat from her forehead* okay, i think a few more minutes is enough. Now all i have to do is wait. *takes off her apron and walks to the living room, sitting on the couch and pulling out her scroll.*

Weiss: *staring at her wallpaper, a picture of her in a light blue dress during yang and jaune's marriage, with her boyfriend on a suit holding her close* . . . *sighs* i wonder how long until you come home.

As if for a cue, she heard the door of her home opening and then being slammed shut, the sound was quickly followed by a few footsteps coming in the direction of the living room.

Weiss: *looks back at the doorway as a red haired man walks in* hi adam.

Adam: *ignores her with a scowl, walking to the table and putting down his bags*

Weiss: *gets up and walks to him* adam?

Adam: *finishes putting down his stuff, placing both hands on the table and taking a deep breath* hey.

Weiss: are you okay?

Adam: *rummaging through his stuff* yeah.

Weiss: what are you doing?

Adam: nothing. *pulls out his sword, walking to the door right after*

Weiss: *stands on his way with crossed arms*

Adam: get out of my way weiss.

Weiss: where are you going? And why do you need your sword?

Adam: it doesn't matter.

Weiss: i think it does, can you tell me?

Adam: *clenches jaw* you don't need to know, now get out of my way.

Weiss: yes i do need to now, now tell me or i'm not letting you through this door.

Adam: just get out of my way!!

Weiss: no.

Adam: and why not!? Do you think i'm gonna go after a group of innocent people too!? You think i'm gonna attack humans mindlessly!? You think i'm gonna go on a rampage like an wild angry animal like them!?

Weiss: *staring into his eyes* . . .you do know that's not what i'm thinking right?

Adam: *looks away, taking deep breaths*

Weiss: adam, what happened?

Adam: nothing, i just need to go out and hunt some grimm, that's all. Can you let me by now?

Weiss: only when you tell me what got you so angry.

Adam: im not angry.

Weiss: then why did you just shouted like that?

Adam: did someone already told you that you ask too many questions?

Weiss: try being ruby's partner for six years and you'll end up just like me. now, care to tell me what happened?

Adam: nothing, it's just been a rough week and i have a lot of steam to let out.

Weiss: does it has anything to do with the meeting?

Adam flinched as his jaw clenched, Weiss didn't needed an answer to know she was right.

It's been a tough road for adam since he turned to a new leaf, most humans hated him everything he did, as did most of the faunus. Nowadays he worked with blake, both to help Blake to archive equality and to show to the others that he isn't the same Adam from the past.

Unfortunately, most people didn't saw adam how weiss did, they didn't knew that he had changed since his killer days. Yes, most of his personality was the same and he sometimes gets as scary as his old self, but he doesn't kill anymore and now at least he's fighting on the good side, even if most people didn't wanted to see that.

Weiss: thought so. Care to tell me what happened there?

Adam: for the last time, nothing-

Weiss: if you don't tell me i'll call blake, or even better sun, you know how loose his tongue is, right?

Adam: . . .

Weiss: so, who's going to tell me what really happened?

Adam: . . . *sighs*

Weiss: so?

Adam: . . .they beat me. . .until i could barely hold myself on my feet.

Weiss: *eyes wide* what!? How!?

Adam: i went to the conference with blake, sun and ilia, it was the big day for us, all of our fighting finally gave results and on the next day we would sign the papers along with the council to make so every faunus had the exact same rights as humans, that was supposed to be a good thing but of course, to the humans it wasn't.

Weiss: . . .

Adam: *hands clenched into fists* from the moment we stepped out of the bullhead to the moment we got back to it, we were always surrounded by racist bastards who kept insulting us without a rest.

Weiss: i thought you didn't bothered with insults anymore.

Adam: and i don't, mostly, but apparently being me walking down that bullhead made things much worse, they kept throwing rocks at me, calling me a murderer, telling me to die and how they wanted to kill me. . .

Weiss: a-adam, i. . .

Adam: *jaw clenches* but that wasn't all of course, it would be too easy if it was.

Weiss: what happened?

Adam: at night, one day before signing the treaty, one of the council members called me for a private talk, but when i got there he along with other six people ambushed me. . .they kept beating me while throwing every insult they could think on.

Weiss: *shocked* a-and what did you do?

Adam: nothing, i just took the beating without fighting back.

Weiss: but why!?

Adam: because if i fought back and harmed not only humans but a member of the council, the treaty would probably be revoked and all we fought until now would be for nothing!!!

Weiss: . . .

Adam: *looking away with a scowl* i'm tired of these damn humans! All we're doing is fighting to be seen and treated as equals! But they insist that our place is under their damn boots! I try to change for the better and fight on the right side but the more i fight the more i see how pointless that is!! *grip tightens on his sword* in days like this all i can think about is to go after every single of those bastards and ki-

Weiss: adam!!

Adam: WHAT!?

Adam snapped back at weiss, staring directly her. He honestly expected her to be scared or disgusted with him, but all he could see in her eyes was worry and concern, she was giving him a serious look but her eyes still told him what she was really thinking.

Weiss: are you listening to what you're saying? You're not like that anymore adam.

Adam: how are you so sure of that!? I'm trying my best to change but by the end of the day i'll always be the same person everyone is afraid of! a murderer! a killer!! A DAMN MONSTER!!!

Weiss: you are not a monster.

Adam: why are you so sure!? Everyone sees me as a monster! For all i know i can wake up one day alone because you ran away from me! From this worthless monster everyone hates!!

Adam shouted once more, he was angry, after spending a whole week being target of hatred from humans weiss honestly could blame him, nor could she blame him for not being able to listen to her at the moment, yet, she needed to deliver her message, and if he wasn't going to listen her when she's talking, she would make him listen to her in a different way.

And so, weiss snatched adam's sword from his hand while ignoring his protests, he tried to take it back but she held his hand and dragged him to the couch.

Adam: what the hell are you doing!?

Weiss: just come with me and stop complaining.

Adam: weiss-

Weiss: if you don't wanna listen what i'm saying, at least try to listen to this. *sits down on the couch, pulling him along and resting his head on her lap.*

Adam: just what are you planning to do now? Just let me go already!

Weiss: . . . *slowly inhales and then exhales*

Adam: weiss?

Weiss: Hush your cries 🎶

Close your eyes

Stay with me

Let's just dream

Quietly

Of what might be

Calm your fear

I'll be near

To you, I'll cling

Rest, my friend

Time can mend

Many things 🎶

Adam: why are you singing all of a sudden?

Weiss: I don't know the answers 🎶

Tomorrow's still unknown

But I can make this promise

You won't be alone 🎶

Adam: weiss, what-

Weiss: *stroking his hair* I don't know where we should go 🎶

Just feeling farther from our goal

I don't know what path we will be shown

But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home

Yes, I know that when I'm with you I'm at home 🎶

Adam: *looks away* you're crazy.

Weiss: There's a quiet place 🎶

In my embrace

A haven of safety where

I'll dry your tears

Shelter here

In my care 🎶

Adam: *slowly looking back at her*

Weiss: But even when we stumble 🎶

And someday when we fall

What I will remember

That I had you through it all 🎶

Adam: . . .

Weiss: I don't know where we should go 🎶

Just feeling farther from our goal

I don't know what path we will be shown

But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home

Yes, I know that when I'm with you I'm at home. . . 🎶

Adam: *silently staring at her angelic face*

Weiss: Yes, I know that when I'm with you I'm at home. 🎶

At the end of the song, adam was still silently staring at her face. He might not have realized but while she sang to him his expression slowly softened, and the precious scowl he was carrying was nowhere to be seen anymore, all there was left now was a calm expression, with admiring eyes locked on the white haired angel stroking his hair.

Weiss: so, feeling better?

Adam: . . .maybe.

Weiss: *with a small smile* i think that's good enough for me.

*plim*

Weiss: now if you excuse me, i need to go see the oven. *gets up, walking to the kitchen.*

Adam: . . . *staring as she leaves*

. . .

Weiss: *humming while taking the tray out of the oven*

Adam: *walks in* . . .

Weiss: *with her back turned to him and putting some spices on the tray*

Adam: weiss?

Weiss: yes?

Adam: how. . .how did you do that?

Weiss: how did i do what?

Adam: you know what i'm talking about. Five minutes ago all i wanted was to pounce at the throat of the first human i saw but now i don't care about that anymore, i'm a lot calmer actually. How did you do that?

Weiss: well, i just saw somewhere that music can help to calm down wild animals.

Adam: *narrowing his eyes* . . .did you just called me an animal.

Weiss: *chuckles shortly while placing the tray back in the oven* i called you wild you dork.

Adam: . . .can't say anything about that.

Weiss: yeah, you can't, because you're a wild dork. I know a lot people keep saying bad things about you because they still see the old adam instead of the new one, but i'm not one of the peoples *turns back to him* they might see you as a monster but i know better, and as long as you need me i'll be here for you, so stop thinking about yourself as a monster, you're clearly not one anymore.

Adam: i know. . . *sigh* thank you weiss. And sorry for screaming at you earlier.

Weiss: its okay, no need to thank me, I'm in a great mood since winter is coming to visit.

Adam: . . .

Weiss: Oh, but just so you know, if you ever shout like that to me again. *with a scary smile* i'll show you what a real monster looks like, understood?

Adam: *shivers* y-yeah, understood.

Weiss: good, now come here and give it a taste.

Adam: okay *tasting her food* . . .it's good, when did you learned how to cook?

Weiss: i've been getting classes from jaune and ren, i can't always rely on you to cook for us, specially now that you're always so busier than normal.

Adam: you know i don't mind cooking for us, right?

Weiss: i know, *facing him again* but what's wrong with a girl wanting to cook for her sister and her boyfriend?

Adam: nothing. *with a small grin* you never cease to surprise me snowball.

Weiss: good to know that i don't bore you.

Adam: you never did, life is never boring with you around.

Weiss: i could say the same, although i'm not very fond of the excitement you usually bring me.

Adam: really? Because i can't remember you complaining about it that much, specially when we invaded your father's office just to have se-

Weiss: and thaaaaat's enough! Why don't we forget about the past for now and focus on the present? *turns around and goes back to cooking*

Adam: agreed. *walks closer and hugs her waist from behind* why focus on the past when i have you here right now?

Weiss: *pink* a-adam, now is not the time for thIS!

Adam: *kissing her neck*

Weiss: w-wait *breaks free and turns around* winter is going to arrive in one hour and i still-mhmn.

Adam: *pulls her into a kiss*

Weiss: *melting on his arms*

Adam: *lifts weiss, placing her on the table and breaking the kiss* cooking can wait, i've been out for a week and all i can think right now is making up for the lost time.

Weiss: *red* . . .f-fine, but lets do it quickly, okay?

Adam: not making any promises. *pulls her into another kiss*

Weiss: *wraps her arms around his neck and starts making out heatedly with him*

Bônus:

*an hour later*

Winter: *knocks on the door*

Weiss: h-hey, wait! Stop!

Winter: weiss?

Weiss: let me go! Stop!

Winter: *pulls out her saber and kicks door open* weiss! Are you okay-

Weiss: *naked with a towel around her torso and giggling*

Adam: *naked with a towel around his waist and holding weiss from behind while nibbling her neck*

Winter: . . .can someone tell me what is happening?

Weiss: *freezes* o-oh my god, winter!?

Adam: . . .

Weiss: i can explain!

Winter: . . .i'm not sure if i want or even need an explanation.

Weiss: w-we're just-

Adam: about to go for round four, so if you excuse us. *goes back to bitting weiss' neck*

Weiss: *red* a-adam!!

Winter: i understand, i'll be back in half an hour. *leaves*

Weiss: winter, w-wait!

Adam: you heard her, we still have half an hour left. *goes back to kissing her neck.

Weiss: w-wait, mhmn, stop it already you dork!

Adam: *grinning* no.

*outside*

Winter: *sigh* out of every single man in the world it had to be him, why did it had to be him?

*plim*

Winter: *pulls out her scroll and reads a message*

'after you're done with your sister i'll be waiting at your ap'

-Q

Winter: *taps on the attachment, opening a image of a grinning shirtless qrow who likely just came out of her bath.*

Winter: *red* damn you bad boys! why are you so effective on schnees!? damn you all!!

#rwby #adam taurus #adam x weiss #weiss schnee #frostbite #winter schnee #qrow branwen #qrow x winter #snowbird

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skyechaser · 4 years

Text

Bumbleby: The Musical

She did her best to go unnoticed and yet she was seen She did her best to be the star and and yet she found something better.

This idea has been on my mind FOREVER and I finally decided to publish it. This is what the name implies: a Bumbleby story with songs. Most will be from musicals with some degree of adjustment to match the story. I hope you enjoy.

................

Yang doesn't like reading. All her life she's struggled with books and school work and, to be honest, it hasn't gotten any easier with time. Teachers would tell her she was lazy, one even dared to call her stupid when she refused to read out loud in the third grade. She didn't want others to know how bad she was at it so she learned to play the "I'm too cool for school" card and it made things bearable. Yang excelled at other things though, like lacrosse. She loved lacrosse and lacrosse loved her back. She was good at it, probably one of the best in the whole league.

Ever since she joined the team in the sixth grade, she was considered the star both by the coach and most of her teammates. Now, in her senior year at Beacon High, she had been named captain. It was the best day of her life. Her dad was so excited he took the whole team, and her younger sister Ruby, out for lunch. They had a blast. Even her nemesis, Cinder, seemed to enjoy the evening. She had been jealous of Yang ever since she had joined the team. It was hard to be under the shadow of the "Golden Dragon", as she was known in the lacrosse world, and Cinder was tired of being second best.

She came to understand, as years went by, that getting good grades was not necessary to gain her classmate's respect. Most of the smart kids ended up being bullied in the end. She was cool, she was tough and she had scored the final goal that gave them the championship on her sophomore year. Yang Xiao Long was someone not to mess with. Still, no matter how well she could handle people and sports, she struggled not to fail every single class. She was glad her status as the school’s sports star was appreciated by the teachers, who would always make sure she didn��t flunk their classes, even if she barely made the passing grade. That was until she met her world history teacher: professor Glynda Goodwitch. She was tall, blonde and strict and Yang didn't like her. She'd leave impossibly long homework and made it very clear that the Golden Dragon was to be evaluated in the same way her classmates were. As the first term of her senior year came to an end, professor Goodwitch assigned them an essay that would count as 40% of their final grade. She said they could make it about any topic as long as they could relate it to something seen in class and had at least one actual book in their bibliography. Yang had absolutely no idea what to write about and, to no one's surprise, she waited until the last minute to start working.

The blonde girl was clearly out of her comfort zone in the middle of the school's library. She looked at the book titles, some of them she could read, some of them she couldn't understand. She'd never get how other people could make sense so fast of the ever changing letters that made up the english language. She couldn't even find the history books. It was probably the second time in her life that she had entered the library. The last time it was after school hours with two of her teammates, Pyrrha and Nora, to smoke a joint. Well, Pyrrha didn't touch it, but she was there nonetheless. So, basically, she had no idea where anything was. Yang looked around, trying to find someone to ask for help. The place was pretty much empty except for a couple of freshmen studying and she was not going to ask them. That would be too embarrassing.

She was about to give up when she saw her and everything else disappeared. She had long black hair and yellow eyes and she was reading a book. Yang remembered seeing that girl before in the back of the classroom all by herself. She had transferred from another school that same year and the blonde was pretty sure she had never heard her speak. Still, she was desperate and this girl was very unlikely to tell anyone about her struggle to find books in the fucking library so she went for it. What was the worst that could happen?

"Hey" she said as she walked towards the girl. She didn't even flinch, her eyes still fixated on the page she was reading. "Hello?" Yang raised her voice slightly and yellow eyes looked up into hers.

"Are you… are you talking to me?" she asked sincerely puzzled.

"Well, yeah" the blonde replied. "Do you know where the history books are?"

"Oh, well… they're over there" the black haired girl answered as she pointed to her left.

"Could you… Ehm… Take me there? I don't really know this place a lot" Yang admitted as she scratched the back of her head. She felt embarrassed but something about that girl made it easy to ask her for help. Maybe because she looked at her with absolutely no admiration at all. She was probably unaware that she was talking to the Golden Dragon. It was refreshing.

"I guess so… Yeah" girl replied, still clearly confused about the whole situation. She stood up, leaving the book on the table beside her, and started walking away. Yang followed closely behind her. It didn't take long for them to reach the history section, or so would the sign on top of the shelves imply. "What are you looking for?" She asked as soon as they stopped walking.

"Something for Goodwitch's class?" Yang snickered. The yellow eyed girl seemed genuinely surprised at the statement.

"That's due tomorrow" she said with a straight face.

"Yeah" the blonde replied. "I screwed up" she grinned.

“Have you chosen a topic?” the girl asked again with a defeated tone.

“Not really…”

Silence.

“Get this one” the girl suggested as she picked a book from the shelf. “It has a bit about everything. If you make an effort you might be able to present something tomorrow”.

“Thank you so much...” Yang replied as she grabbed the book from the other girl’s hands. “What’s your name?” she asked. The girl looked down, a light blush on her cheeks. She was adorable.

“I’m Blake”

“Thank you so much, Blake. I’m Yang” she introduced herself for the first time in a while. Most people in town already knew who she was. “See you in history class!” she said in a very inappropriate volume for a library. Yang walked towards the door but Blake called for her, stopping her right in her tracks.

“You have to register with your library card before you can leave”

“Library card?” the blonde said as she turned around. “I… I don’t have one”

Silence.

“You are in your senior year and you do not have a library card” the girl said and it kinda sounded like a question even though it wasn’t.

“I do not” Yang replied “How long does it take to get one?”

“Two days” Blake said, her face still showing disbelief.

“Well fuck” the blonde said a bit too loud. The librarian looked at her over the book she was reading. She had white hair and small glasses and her desk was a few meters away so she more than likely had heard her curse.

“Watch that mouth” she scolded in a cold voice.

“My bad” the lacrosse player replied, her tone more under control.

“I’m so sorry Miss. Schnee” Blake whispered at the woman and then turned towards the blonde “I’ll take the book out for you”

“Will you really do that?” Yang asked with a shine in her eyes that made the black haired girl blush.

“Well… Yes, but you have to promise you’ll return it in two days or my card will get suspended”

“Yes! I promise!” Yang smiled into her words “Thank you so much, Blake!”

“You… You’re welcome”

Blake grabbed the book and walked towards the librarian. The Golden Dragon stared. There was something about that girl that she really liked. She just couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Maybe it was that she didn’t seem to know or care she was the school’s sport star. Maybe it felt really good to be treated like anyone else for once in a very long while. Blake turned around and walked towards her, the book in her hands.

Or maybe she was just really cute.

...........

Yang was pretty sure she had forgotten something. She just couldn’t bring herself to remember what it was. The feeling was there for the whole day but she had a lot going on with the upcoming tournament and dealing with Goodwitch and the fact she didn’t finish the freaking essay. Surprisingly, her teacher had given her one more day to present the work. She stood up all night and had actually finished it. Yang didn’t really know if it was any good (nor did she care) but she was able to finish it and that was more than she actually expected to achieve. It should be enough to get a passing grade. It always was. Glinda Goodwitch looked at her with disbelief as she handed her the essay when her class was over. It was her last one of the day so when the bell rang she made her way out of school. She had done good and all thanks to… The realization hit her like an oncoming train.

“Blake” the girl’s name rang on her head as she ran towards the library. Maybe she could make it in time. Yang made a closed turn and crashed into something. Well, more like someone. “I’m so sorry!” she said as she looked at whoever she had practically ran over. Black hair and amber eyes.

“I’m okay” she replied as she stood up, accepting Yang’s had to help her do so “But you are late. My card is officially suspended for a week”

“I’m so sorry” the blonde said “I so so so so sorry”. Yang, who pretended not to care about anything at all, felt sincerely bad for the girl. She had helped her in a time of need and she couldn’t keep her end of the deal.

“Now I won’t have any books to read at home for a whole week…” Blake said almost in a whisper and the blonde wasn’t really sure she was talking to her.

“Don’t you own books yourself?” she asked, not understanding why an active library card was so important for this girl.

“I don’t” she replied “I left them back home… I couldn’t bring them with me when I… When I was transferred”.

“Today’s friday, right?” Yang said, an idea in her mind. “Let me make it up to you. Let’s go to the mall and I’ll buy you a new book for the week, ok?”

Silence. Blake stared at her as if no one had showed her kindness in a while, her eyes half in shock and half happy. When she realized the face she was making she looked down, her body once again shrinking down, as if she wanted to take up as little space as possible.

“You really don’t have to…”

“Let me” the Golden Dragon said. “Please”.

“I’m not really sure…” Blake whispered, a faint blush in her face. She turned away, not used to other students actually noticing her. She had done her best effort to stay under the radar and yet this girl had seen her.

Something there (Beauty and the Beast)

[BLAKE] There's something sweet, and almost kind But she was late and pretty much absent of mind But here she stands and then she smiles I wonder why I didn't see see this girl before.

[YANG] She glanced away, a blush I saw Something about her makes me stare at her with awe No, it can't be, I'll just ignore I wonder why I didn't see this girl before

[BLAKE] New, and a bit alarming Who’d have ever thought I’d make a friend True, that she’s loud and rowdy But there's something in her that I simply cannot miss.

“So… We going?” the blonde asked with a genuine smile. Blake turned around and stared at her own feet.

“Okay”

“Great! Let’s go grab my bike”

“Your what?”

#rwby #fanfiction #fanfic #skyechaser #bumbleby #yang #blake #yang and blake #blake and yang #musical #bumblebee #bees #yes

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