#How to build a human cell atlas

[stevetonyweekly]

SteveTony Weekly - September 3rd

 HERE IT IS! The long list that I promised because I am healthy and managed to read quite a bit this week. Enjoy my dears, and be sure to leave comment/kudos for the fic and podfic you enjoy! 

~*~ 

Told You I'd Be Back by BurningCold

Just cause Tony was back doesen't mean that everything is completely back to normal.

Or in other words, a bit of missing scene fic for S4 reuinion.

Atlas by nanasekei

They don't hear each other.

You Know Where To Find Me by a_sparrows_fall

After an Avengers mission goes awry, Steve takes a leave of absence from the team, and he and Tony part on bad terms. But then Steve gets turned into a werewolf, and he finds his shapeshifting linked to his feelings about Tony, who’s had a terrible accident. If Steve never sees Tony again, will he be stuck in wolf form forever?

Leaping to Conclusions by Sineala

Basketball games. Lunch in the park. Evenings at the movies. Tony and Steve are longtime Avengers teammates and the best of friends, and Tony's been pining away for Steve as long as he's known him. Tony knows Steve's straight, but if Steve were going to date a guy, it would be him, wouldn't it? Everyone knows that. Unfortunately, no one told Steve. And when Steve decides to keep trying online dating after the Lover's Leap fiasco, Tony is shocked and heartbroken to learn that Steve's new boyfriend is none other than... Batroc the Leaper! But for the sake of Steve's happiness, Tony must put aside his own feelings about Batroc before it costs him Steve's friendship -- or worse.

So Wrong, So Good by tinystark616

Steve and Tony are on vacation with the team and are forced to share a room. The problem is that Steve can't resist touching himself while Tony's asleep.

Of course, Tony wakes up and catches him.

talking sweet and looking fine by meidui

“I haven’t dated since god knows when,” Tony says with a little shake of his head, almost self-deprecating. “This is one of Hill’s friends, actually. A civilian, not caught up with all this. I didn’t know she had those, to be honest.”

“Right,” Steve says, like this isn’t the softest, most unwitting way Tony has ever broken his heart.

Just for the Conversation by msermesth

Tony's fine. He's back on the Avengers, Steve seems to have forgiven him, and he’s building Resilient to change the world.

Then why is he so jealous of Steve’s new boyfriend?

(Or: that awkward moment when you realize you are in love with your old best friend while having a three-way with him and his boyfriend, who just happens to be your counterpart from another universe.)

What Was It You Wanted by sheron

"C'mon, a kiss from Captain America is not so terrible."

According to the alien custom, Steve had to kiss each teammate on the mouth, and some kisses come with more aftermath than others.

The Love Spell by Annie D (scaramouche)

Loki gives Amora a spell that will turn her into whoever Thor loves and is completed devoted to upon her request. only thing is she turns into someone unexpected.

Prisoner's Dilemma by AvocadoLove

After taking the airplane down in the Arctic, Steve wakes to find himself imprisoned as a human test subject. With no idea where in the world he is, his only ally is a fast-talking inventor in the cell next door. Something’s off about Tony that Steve can’t put his finger on, and it’s obvious Tony doesn't fully trust him either. But to escape they may not have a choice…

Inner Spirit by AvocadoLove

t's his fault.

In order to get Tony back, Steve will have to do more than just move heaven and earth. He'll have to expose a portion of his soul.

Standard Deviation by viklikesfic (v_angelique)

“Well… I guess all it would tell me is a name and some other medical language, right? That doesn’t seem to mean much, compared to what I already know about how my body works.”

“And if you need to elaborate on that,” Tony grins, pushing a kiss against Steve’s jaw, “I’d be happy to help you out with an experimental approach. Hint, it’s going to involve a lot of tongue.”

“Tony, all your plans these days involve a lot of tongue.”

Standard Deviation by jennagrins, karengrins

Okay, so maybe Steve isn't Professor Stark's biggest fan at the start of term but first impressions can be mistaken.

Now Steve doesn't care what Clint says, Tony is not his boyfriend.

it's taking everything, it's taken everything by starvels (dinosaur) 

The pollen makes Steve and Tony do a lot of things to each other's bodies that they never asked for. Tony’s working on working through it.

It’s harder than it looks.

Running With The Wolves by KandiSheek

Everyone knows that the running of the wolves is rigged. So Steve isn't surprised when he is chosen as this year's sacrifice after offending Lord Hammer at the ball. The lycans guard their secrets well, so in the end Steve won't even know which one of them will end his life during the chase.

What Steve doesn't know is that he has already caught the eye of one of the lords. And that a lycan protects his own until the day he dies.

grey november (put me in a bad light) by Areiton 

Dark eyes drift over the city and find him, dazed and dull and nothing like the sparkling happiness that he saw that night, standing next to a painting that made him feel naked.

It's terrifying and for the first time since he came back to New York--he feels like maybe. Maybe. There's someone who understands a little bit of his own grief.

"I know you," he mumbles and Steve nods.

~*~

Two broken people try to heal and maybe even fall in love--there's just one hiccup:

One of them isn't telling the truth.

Some enchanted morning [PODFIC] by Opalsong

Tony wakes up to the cold touch of bare toes on his ankle.

[PODFIC] A Secret Revealed by where_thewind_blows 

Iron Man reached up, and Steve was confused for a moment before he realized that Iron Man was taking his helmet off.

Steve quickly turned around. "What are you doing? I thought your identity was a secret!"

[podfic] I Always Have to Steal My Kisses from You by Annapods 

Okay, so Tony probably hadn’t realized what he was doing. He’d just had a near-death experience, and the kiss had been a way to . . . reaffirm his life. Deal with his emotions. Release some steam. Something like that. Nothing to be concerned about, and it’s doubtful that it’ll happen again.

The fact that they risk their lives on a regular basis isn’t worrying at all.

[podfic] More Than Skin Deep by AudioSilks (WhenasInSilks) 

Tony can just about accept the fact that he and Steve were kidnapped and replaced by Skrulls for three months. But what he can't figure out is why none of the Avengers noticed. And what he really can't figure out is why none of their teammates will tell them what the Skrulls did while they were gone.

***[Podfic] take my hand, take my whole life too by only_more_love 

"Tony stands in front of the mirror and nervously adjusts the cuffs of his bespoke suit. He fiddles with the cufflinks shaped like the atoms of the element he created (a present from Rhodey for his forty-something birthday) and tries to breathe in slowly and calm his nerves. This is his fifth and probably last date with Steve and he wants to commemorate the moment with his most polished look. The suit is his armor and it’ll carry him through to the bitter end."

***[Podfic] Nor An Evil Tongue Bewitch by M_Samro 

The thing about kisses is that they always come at the end of the story.

Steve's life has had an awful lot of endings.

[Podfic] Mutually Assured Infatuation by only_more_love

When Steve gifts Tony a teddy bear to help him get better after he’s injured on a mission, Tony decides he can’t let it stand.

[Podfic] Jurassic times call for Jurassic measures by only_more_love 

Podfic for "Jurassic times call for Jurassic measures" by fluffypanda. Recorded as a gift for Neverever as part of the 2021 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange.

A trip to the Savage Land goes very, very wrong.

[Podfic] Nothing You'd Find on 4Chan by viklikesfic (v_angelique)

“I don’t want to talk about sex with you. And not because I’m not some sort of pure, virginal fucking flower, Tony… no one should know the kind of weird shit I think about, and I’m trying to protect both myself and others through staying celibate, and you just keep pushing.”

“Uh.” Tony takes in a breath, stares for a moment. And then, because he can’t help it, he opens his mouth. “What kind of weird shit?”

Reverberation by mistbornhero, Neverever

Steve grew up in a world in which you hear new sounds when you've met your soulmate. He wakes up the future and he has no idea if he'll ever find his soulmate because the future is noisy and loud, especially Tony Stark.

All Better, by FestiveFerret and SirSapling (podfic) by cookiemom6067

The first time it happened, Steve almost clocked Tony in the face.

Nothing You'd Find on 4Chan by viklikesfic (v_angelique)

“I don’t want to talk about sex with you. And not because I’m not some sort of pure, virginal fucking flower, Tony… no one should know the kind of weird shit I think about, and I’m trying to protect both myself and others through staying celibate, and you just keep pushing.”

“Uh.” Tony takes in a breath, stares for a moment. And then, because he can’t help it, he opens his mouth. “What kind of weird shit?”

[darkseraphscorner]

The Hollows

The Clockwork Herald sat on his.... Well he wanted a throne, but the best his minions could do was get him a recliner... And stewed.

He was coming across problems with his building army.

The first problem was storage, he was running out of room to hide his clockwork army.

The second was a problem he never saw happening, money. His deals with the Vazhilock and Cricle of Thorns had resulted in a growing pile of shoe boxes full of money. The mess was annoying him... That and a streak of paranoia. His minions where loyal, but he could all to easily imagine one of them going rouge and rubbing him blind, or one of the local gang or homeless breaking in and stealing from him.

Getting up from his chair, he grasped his Nemesis staff, feeling stolen power flow through him. He needed... A connection to the human world, as much as he hated to admit it, he needed some legitimate connections.

Heading downstairs, he moved into the make shift cells where he kept those ready for clockwork conversion, moving from cell to cell, looking at the refuse of humanity, looking for one that could be usefully.

Stopping, he looks into one cell, a woman sat there, her clothes where better quality than the other prisoners, dusky skin, purple hair, cracked glasses frame her face as she sits there listless.

Opening the cell door, he steps in and looks at her. "Rise." He commands.

She slowly gets to her feet, her eyes empty of emotion as she looks up at him, grabbing her jaw, he reaches into her mind, reading it like a big ok.

Twili Shimmer, an A grade student at the University of Croatia, academic genius.... But lonely, bitterly so.... Depression plauged her, so much so she had snuck into the Hallows in hope that something there would kill her.

"You will do." He say, his eyes glowing as he sets to work on her mind, cutting and moulding, carefully removing the depression, giving her a drive for life, but most importantly, an iron hard loyalty to him.

As he finished up, he let her go, Twili stood tall, her face more lively, her eyes shimmered with a desire to serve him. "Follow me." He commands, heading out of the cell, Twili trotting after him.

Atlas Park First Bank of Paragon.

The Herald tugged his disguise as he watched Twili with one of his more bulky clockwork servants where depositing duffle bags full of money. It was fascinating watching how much effort was put into this, guards came back and forth, paper work was double checked, even if his clockwork looked rediculous dressed in clothes like some low paid muscle. 

As they finished up, Twili walked over with a smile and handed him a folder. "Your papers sir, everything is set up for you to make future deposits, will you still need me or am I to be disposed?"

He looked over the paperwork, adjusting his hat as he smiled, everything was in order.... But this would not be the last time he would need to interact with the human world. "Continue with your life, I will summon you when needed."

She bows at the waist. "Yes your highness." She happily walks off.

Highness.... He Clockwork Herald found himself warming to the title...

[rnomics]

Researchers combine scRNA-seq and snRNA-seq to build a human skeletal muscle aging atlas

The first comprehensive cell atlas of ageing human muscle reveals the intricate genetic and cellular processes behind muscle deterioration and mechanisms to counteract it. How muscle changes with ageing, and tries to fight its effects, is now better understood at the cellular and molecular level with the first comprehensive atlas of ageing muscles in humans. ... https://www.rna-seqblog.com/researchers-combine-scrna-seq-and-snrna-seq-to-build-a-human-skeletal-muscle-aging-atlas/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[jaws-and-canines]

Morning Routine

A Growing Pains story.

---

ATLAS-types are able to maintain body temperature more effectively than unmodified humans. Unfortunately for them, Lieutenant Weeks had made them leave their coats indoors, despite him getting wrapped up in his full winter uniform. Angelo is chilly.

With the rain dripping down his back, grey shirt and blue tracksuit bottoms soaked, Angelo brushes a hand against the outer fence of the Firebreak as he runs. The inner fence is electrified. Control sits at the top of the building within, encircled by the Firebreak, a kill on sight zone. It's just blank tarmac, nothing interesting, but it's a key security feature of the Facility, enabling divide and conquer riot control.

The other thing is, the path around the outer edge of the Firebreak is the longest single path in the Facility. Which is why Weeks has them running laps of it, around and around the big loop.

Angelo does not like Weeks all that much.

He passes the hulking grey cell blocks. Even though the majority of the prison is underground these days, the oldest parts are still above ground. He passes E&A - Education and Administration, where Miss Dee is standing outside, greeting each of the ATLAS-types as they jog past. She has a long white dress on and a purple umbrella. Angelo knows how to kill a man with an umbrella. He asked Miss Dee if normal humans could kill each other with umbrellas and she said some, but her umbrella was not for killing with. It was for standing out in the rain in the morning.

"Morning, Miss Dee," says Angelo, with a nod. She smiles back at him. "Good morning, Angelo."

He does like Miss Dee. She teaches music and art to the prisoners and she teaches the ATLAS-types social skills.

He reaches the old building that the Atlas Annexe is in and comes to a halt. Weeks checks his stopwatch. "Slow, Morrow."

"Yes, sir, sorry, sir," says Angelo.

"Get upstairs, get into uniform and have breakfast."

"Yes sir." Angelo takes the stairs two at a time, grabs a towel from the communal showers, puts soap on the mirrors in a smiley face shape and dries his hair. He slicks it back and then grabs his uniform from his bed and gets dressed into the blue and black Northwall Detention Staff uniform with the orange triangle on his sleeve to mark him out as an ATLAS-type. He hooks his pager over his top pocket, his beret over the other and laces up his black boots.

"Angelo," says Lucky, coming up to his bunk meekly. Like a little lost rat. "Angelo."

"What?" asks Angelo flatly.

"I don't want breakfast."

"Don't have breakfast then." Angelo smiles and shrugs on his coat, clapping the young ATLAS-type on the shoulder. "This isn't Southglade. You follow orders and anything else is up to you. Have something to drink, you don't have to eat." The new ones are always like lost deer, not having their lives micromanaged anymore. Southglade, as all hospitals do, like to control as much of the environment as possible. Northwall, on the other hand, is comparably just plain controlled chaos.

Angelo walks into the communal kitchen, takes a raspberry nutrient shake from his cupboard shelf and makes it into a mug before putting it in the microwave.

"You're disgusting," says Fives, lounging on the battered sofa with today's newspaper.

"You can talk," says Angelo simply, and takes his raspberry shake from the microwave, cupping it in his hands. "Don't pretend you can understand half of that, Fives." He gestures at the newspaper.

"Unlike you, Angelo, I can read." Fives looks at him, disdainful.

"Unlike you, I can enjoy myself," says Angelo, and sips from his mug of hot raspberry shake. "Have a bit of fun."

"No," says Fives simply. "I grew up. You didn't."

[invictus1997]

Technologies For a Better Future

Recent advancements in technology are having a noticeable impact on our daily lives, and I would like to share some that you should be aware of.

BRAIN MAPPING

Neuroscientists have worked for decades to better understand how the brain functions. Recent advances in brain mapping technology have made that ambitious task easier. An international team of researchers at the Human Brain Project have created a three dimensional atlas of the brain. The maps resolution is fifty times better than previous efforts. The atlas creators digitally stitched together thousands of brain cross-sections. The map shows details up to 20 micrometers in size—the estimated size of many human cells. While this is a huge advancement, scientists still aim to create a map that shows details at 1 or 2 micrometers, rather than 20.

Source

ENERGY-PRODUCING ROADS

Roads could work as solar panels and produce electricity for street lights, households and even the cars driving on them. This bold vision led Solaroad to build the first energy-generating bike path.

Their main technology challenge was the top layer of the road: it had to let as much sunlight in as possible while remaining strong and damage resistant. A “SolaRoad Kit” lets you build 10m² of SolaRoad, which produces enough electricity to cover the yearly electricity needs of an average household.

Source

5G networks

Telecommunications companies began rolling out 5G networks this year. 5G offers faster connectivity at lower latencies and lower power consumption. That means mobile connectivity is faster than most wired broadband in the U.S. I believe it will fuel innovation in the internet of things, smart homes, augmented reality, virtual reality, health care, media, cloud services and more, which will create tremendous business opportunities across many industries.

Source

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

The next exceptional technology trend - Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), and Extended Reality (ER). VR immerses the user in an environment while AR enhances their environment. Although this technology trend has primarily been used for gaming thus far, it has also been used for training, as with Virtual Ship, a simulation software used to train U.S. Navy, Army and Coast Guard ship captains.

In 2022, we can expect these forms of technologies being further integrated into our lives. Usually working in tandem with some of the other emerging technologies we’ve mentioned in this list, AR and VR have enormous potential in training, entertainment, education, marketing, and even rehabilitation after an injury. Either could be used to train doctors to do surgery, offer museum goers a deeper experience, enhance theme parks, or even enhance marketing, as with this Pepsi Max bus shelter.

Source

3D printing

I think 3D printing will be a catalyst in American manufacturing. We can start making several small items like toys, logos, gift items and others using 3D printing in our houses. 3D printing makes it easier to make a prototype and test it, instead of spending several thousands of dollars to make a prototype. I see a future where retailers start doing 3D printing for consumers as well.

Source

Follow Ajith Prakash for more content.

[razorblade180]

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.

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain: Chapter 707: Briar Patch:  Part III/III

The airship landed in the clearing, dwarfing the one already there. The back opened and a line of Atlasian Knights stepped out, followed quickly by General Ironwood. Soon after appeared Taiyang and Raven.

"Dad!" Ruby exclaimed, and Petal Burst to her father.

"Uh, dad?!" Jaune shouted, as he walked up.

"Heyya, kiddo!" Tai replied, waving at him with his free arm.

"Raven." Yang said.

"Yang." Raven said.

"Couldn't you?.." Taiyang tried to ask Yang, but quickly gave up.

"She's made her choice," Raven said, "and I respect that."

Taiyang looked at her nervously, but it did sound like genuine respect.

"So?," Raven asked, "I'm here to guard Cinder?"

"Yep!" Ruby shouted. "We'll be a family again!"

"You maybe didn't think this might cause some problems?" Yang asked.

"I know you two haven't been getting along," Ruby said, "but..."

"Ruby?" Weiss asked her.

"Yes?" Ruby asked, and Weiss leaned in to whisper into her ear. Ruby developed a full-face blush and hid under her hood.

"Ahhh, young love." Raven dejctedly said, and then turned to Taiyang, "Remember when we were like that?"

"No." Taiyang replied, which caused Raven to start snickering.

"Alright, so, when we get there, where are we going to keep them?"

"We have a dungeon!" Nora exclaimed, "It's really spooky, though we couldn't find the ghost."

"I had a feeling..." Ironwood stated.

"Oh?" an intruiged Raven asked.

"It came with the castle." Jaune stated.

"I'm sure nothing kinky happens there." Raven stated.

"Well," Yang said, "not now that we have prisoners." This caused Weiss to let out a loud, drawn out scoff. "What?" Yang asked, "Oh, shit!"

"I know you're an adult now," Taiyang said to her, "but you don't have to swear."

"And you can be as boring as your father." Raven said to Yang.

"You don't swear, either, Rae." Taiyang said to her, and she developed a wicked smile.

"I find swears imprecise."

"And you know," Taiyang sensually said to her, "I can keep your attention."

Raven nervously looked about.

"Alright," Blake stated, "this is going all kinds of places, but we're here for a reason."

"Jaune's an Earl!" Nora exclaimed, "Or something."

"Pardon?" Ironwood asked, and Jaune pulled the Letters-Patent from behind his back and showed it to Ironwood. "The?, Black Hart?" Ironwood asked.

"Did I hear that right?!" someone called out, and then turned to see Oscar with glowing green eyes and spinning his cane as he stepped down the ramp from the airship.

"Ozpin?" Ironwood asked.

"Oz will do." Ozpin stated, "Is it true that this letter is from the Black Hart?"

"You know about it?" Ironwood asked him.

"He is older than the earliest Humans." Ozpin stated, "Older than even the Grimm. He is the beast of the Woods of the Beast, and has so far kept Humans out of his realm. It is unthinkable for this to occur." He walked up and read the paper, "Indeed. The Black Hart has endowed him with a lordship."

"Told you!" Nora exclaimed.

"Ther is a problem." Ironwood stated, and crossed his hands behind his back, "Other than the fact he was given it by a being we didn't know existed, we no longer have nobles."

"We could still take this as recognition of the land." Ozpin stated, "the Brothers know that no one else could use it."

"The Atlas Council..." Ironwood tried to say.

"And who?," Weiss asked, "unprecedentedly, has two seats on the council?"

Ironwood stared at her with an unemotional face. "And exactly what am I going to tell them?" Ironwood asked.

"Perhaps?," Ozpin asked, "that castle you gave them came with the surrounding land, as most castles do."

Ironwood stared unemotionally at Oscar, and then the paper, and then Weiss. "I'll see what I can do."

"Now, dad," Ruby stated, "where's Uncle Qrow?"

"Soon to be at your castle." Raven stated. "When he gets there, we'll..."

"Open up a portal!" Ruby exclaimed.

Ironwood looked at the paper before looking back up at the collected. "Did you want me to stay around?"

Everyone just stared at him. Ren waited until it was apparent no one else would speak, "The question seems genuine." Another pregnant pause followed.

"I'm sure," Weiss said, "having two seats on the council, he has more than enough to occupy his time."

Ironwood handed the paper back to Jaune, "Enjoy your new forest." He turned back to the airship, and the Knights started filing back in. Oscar's bearing changed.

"Hey, little buddy." Jaune said to him.

"Hey, Jaune." Oscar nervously said to him.

"How's it going?" Jaune asked.

"We're talking a lot more." Oscar stated, "It's really helping me to come to terms with what's happening."

"I'm sorry..." Jaune said to him.

"I know." Oscar stated, "But it's not your fault, it's not Ozpin's fault, it's not my fault. This is what The Brothers did to us. But I'm not going to die. Every generation of Oz is different from the one before. We'll join together and become a new Oz." Oscar said, and then shrugged. "It's not like I have a choice, but I can already feel us growing together. His lifetimes of wisdom... takes a lot of getting used to. But, you guys are married now, and," he said, and looked at the kneeling CME, hands tied behind their backs, "yeah. I really don't know what to say to that." He then looked back at Jaune, "If you want, I could ask Oz."

"You've got more than enough to worry about." Jaune stated.

"You don't know how much he worries about you." Oscar stated. "But at this point, all we can do is have faith in you. He has lots of that."

"Well, that's good to hear." Jaune stated, "I guess."

"You are one of the shining lights the world has left." Oscar stated, "Sorry, it's just that he has seen a LOT of things not work over the years, and really doesn't have much left to rely on."

* * *

Raven opened up the portal. "Alright," Jaune said to CME, as they stood up, "When you get to the other side, tell Qrow to step out of the cage."

"Does he really expect us to do that?" Emerald asked.

"If we ever want them to trust us, I think we have to." Mercury replied.

"Now-now." Cinder said to them, "We need to be on our best behaviour."

"Ehn?" Yang asked, and they looked at her, "You might want to aim a bit higher than that." Emerald gave her a sour look, Mercury smiled, and Cinder had a weak smile.

* * *

The portal opened into the dungeon, with Cinder, then Emerald and Mercury walking through. Cinder then augustly turned to Qrow. "They wanted you to leave the cell." Cinder said to him. Qrow turned into a crow before hopping through the bars and looking at her quizzocally. Another portal opened, with Raven, then Taiyang, followed by Jaune, RWBY, NR, Ilia, and Aurora.

"If you would excuse me?" Aurora asked, and Jaune nodded. Weiss stood at attention in agreement.

"Got somewhere important to be?" Yang asked her.

"I have shopping to do!" Aurora excitedly stated.

"She was interupted." Blake stated.

"Yeah," Yang sarcastically said, "not like anything more important happened."

"You are combatants," Aurora said to her, "It is my job to support you to the best of my abilities."

"Let the little bit go." Jaune said, and Yang looked at him with a bit of an angry look.

"Jaune can call me that." Aurora said with a smile, and then turned to Raven, giving her a sour look before turning to walk up the stairs. Raven watched as she climbed up the stairs.

"It's rare to see a woman so fiercely determined." Raven stated. "I can see what you like about her." She then looked at Yang.

"She is like REALLY good at her job." Yang said, "I'll give her that."

"I hate to interrupt," Cinder stated, and all eyes pointed at her, "but now that we're in our cells, what do we do next?"

"Are we really going to stay here?" Emerald asked.

"It is a prison cell." Mercury said to her.

"Dungeon." Cinder corrected.

"The plan was for them to earn our trust." Ren stated.

"And?," Emerald replied, "how do we do that?"

"That, I'm afraid," Ren said to her, "is beyond me."

"Trust takes time to build," Cinder stated, "so why don't we just settle in and see what happens."

"And what do you know about building trust?!" Nora asked her.

"I'm good at exploiting it." Cinder stated.

"So?!," Nora asked, "how do we know you are not going to, uh?"

"Exploit us?!" Ruby asked.

"I am." Cinder stated, "I made it clear what my goal is, here. But the advantage you guys get with me here is that you don't have a Maiden throwing fireballs at you."

"Did she really say that?!" Yang asked.

"I did." Cinder said with disturbing glee.

"Perhaps time is exactly what we need." Ren stated.

Raven stared at the cell, and Qrow stepped up to talk to her. "I'm pretty sure we'll hear if they break out of their cell." He then turned to RWBY + JNIR, "So, by the way, where is the key?"

"What key?" Ruby asked.

"The key to the cell?" Qrow continued.

"We've been here a few days." Jaune stated, "Did you think the dungeon was going to be the first thing we worked on?"

Qrow looked at Yang. "What?" Yang asked him.

"Two people on watch at a time." Jaune stated, and shrugged. "Who wants first watch?"

"Oh!" Nora said, and eagerly lifted her hand.

"I suppose I will stay as well." Ilia added.

"I don't know about you?" Weiss asked, "But that battle has made me perhaps a bit famished."

"That does sound like a great idea." Yang said.

"And then," Ren said to her, "You can show your parents around the castle."

"I'll show Uncle Qrow!" Ruby eagerly exclaimed.

[aros001]

Going in blind: Watching season 2 for the first time. Random thoughts.

Huh. Only 7 episodes. Not complaining necessarily. For series with an ongoing plot I've definitely become more in favor with their seasons only having as many episodes as they need rather than them having to stretch themselves out to full up a certain number of episodes, which can lead to padding and just bad character moments.

Episode 1: Jeez. Catra visiting Shadow Weaver's cell just to rub her success in her face and verbally abuse her back for once. It's like a twisted version of Zuko and Ozai from ATLA. Catra's upbringing under her was abusive but this is far from a healthy way for her to deal with it. She's basically deliberately swimming in her resentment.

Episode 2: It's not that I'm rooting for her but by-golly was it fun to watch Catra act like just the absolute worst she could while she was Glimmer and Bow's captive.

I touched on this in season 1 but part of the drama of the heroes feeling guilt over leaving Entrapta behind is kind of lost on me a bit simply because it was her own fault it happened. She deliberately went back into the purge room because of her machine obsession, which then closed on her and erupted in flames. It was more than reasonable to assume she was dead and no one but her was to blame, so I'm not really able to be invested in their guilt over it.

That said, weirdly enough I do like that her "abandonment" doesn't seem to be even a blip on the radar for Entrapta herself. She hasn't joined the horde because she resents the heroes or felt left behind, she simply is so obsessed with machines and experimentation that she'll be on the side of whoever lets her do the most of that. Like, it's selfish and irresponsible but it's very in-character and I'd far rather have a traitor motivation be based in that over something stupid like a misunderstanding.

Episode 3: I love the mental image of Shadow Weaver thinking up princess-themed ghost stories to tell Adora as a child.

So, if the previous She-Ra Mara separated Eternia from the other realms/planets/whatever she did and that's what cut off the She-Ra line for 1000 years, I'm guessing Hordak may be from the time before that happened, thus his drive to create portals and calling Eternia a backwards world. Either he's naturally long-lived or his technology is extending his life.

Episode 4: You know, you could maybe argue it was vague enough that it could be taken other ways but I'm definitely getting some vibes here that Scorpia is crushing on Catra. She literally refers to the two of them as soulmates at one point. I know she says she's trying to be friends but this feels a level beyond that.

Fun little reference to the original She-Ra cartoon thrown in there (and maybe Cowboy Bebop...? James Bond...? What was Glimmer's art style supposed to be?). I like how it is more like just playful ribbing than anything outright dumping on the original. Again, I've never seen original She-Ra but whenever remakes/adaptations go out of their way to trash to the original I always kind of wonder why they bothered doing an adaptation if the original is just that bad? Also, I was having trouble sleeping so it was about 2am when I watched this episode and the very Eartha Kitt Catwoman Catra made it very difficult for me not to lose my **** and stay quiet. With how much of a contrast that version is from the one in this series, that was hilarious. Bonus note, it's a nice touch that Frosta's version of Catra is a pretty crasher in that sweet suit, since that's the only impression of Catra she's ever had.

Adora being a chosen one is definitely elevated up simply by how much the pressure of what she's supposed to be is getting to her. I'm likely going to keep making Avatar The Last Airbender comparisons throughout the series but that's partly because I went into this series figuring it'd be at least structured similar to ATLA (season 1 being more episodic and a little more kid-friendly as it builds up the world before getting more serious later). Adora and Aang are interesting to compare here. Aang's worries early on were less apparent because he was more in-denial/choosing not to think about his problems that much, which fit with his character as a free-spirited Air Nomad. While Adora is much more military-minded. She can't keep herself from thinking about her problems and trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario. And jeez, that idea of who/how Catra is in her mind. Not only beating her but making her watch as she takes everything she cares about away. Not Shadow Weaver, not Lord Hordak, but Catra. That whole Lion King Mufasa/Scar moment between them in episode 11 and their fight in the S1 finale really did a number on her mental image of her old friend. Not reasonably so.

Minor note: I'm sure I'm the only one who got this impression but by the look of it, the way the robot's eye moved, and the music, after getting the soda spilled on it that little spybot gained sentience for half a second and then immediately died. It was so darkly comedic I had to laugh.

Episode 5: So that red disc is basically She-Ra's Red Kryptonite, having an effect on the mind rather than the body. The drunk Adora joke doesn't really do it for me but it did get some nice interactions going between Scorpia and Sea Hawk, two characters I certainly wasn't expecting to bond. I did really like Catra's panic when berserker She-Ra nearly beheads her. The implication is that is Adora really wanted to kill her Catra would already probably be dead. It's a thing I like about powerhouse characters like Superman or Aang, who could just demolish everything around them and don't simply because they're a good person...which in turn makes them the scariest person on the planet when they're well and truly ticked off. I'm not going to lie, I do kind of want to see a She-Ra version of Aang when Appa was stolen or when Superman fought The Elite.

Also, Catra's line of "I have control over Adora. I'm not giving that up for anything.". There's a lot to read into there.

Episode 6: I guess my prediction was sort of right. Shadow Weaver became basically a magic parasite and while it did increase the power she's capable of the implication seems to be that she needs a constant fix of magic to keep herself going, thus her attachment to the Black Garnet.

Have we seen Micah before? Given how long ago the flashback seems set, the fact that Shadow Weaver didn't kill him and thus he probably becomes someone important later in life, I'm guessing he's Glimmer's dad and the queen's late husband, since I think he's the only important male character whose face we haven't seen yet. Also, he's voice by Ezra from Star Wars Rebels and that cracks me up for some reason. It's the exact same voice and a relatively similar character.

I compared Catra and Shadow Weaver with a kind of twisted version of Zuko and Ozai and that definitely still fits here. Both Catra and Zuko confront their parent and call them out for the inexcusable abuse they put them through but while that moment was the start of Zuko's upwards journey this and SW's betrayal seems like it's going to cause Catra to spiral even further. Makes sense why Adora leaving affected her so much. She's probably the only one Catra's ever had that she could consistently trust and rely on, even if she did somewhat resent her.

Not surprised Hordak is getting along with Entrapta. She's not socially aware enough to be scared or intimidated by him, so she'll speak frankly, and since all she wants to talk about is the machines, experiments, and how they could get them to work Hordak probably doesn't take much issue with that. She's producing results, which is what he cares about, thus also why Shadow Weaver and Catra started losing favor with him. I wonder if Catra is going through imposter syndrome? Shadow Weaver had that line that Entrapta earned her place next to Hordak and, if you think about it, Catra hasn't really "earned" anything. We saw that she didn't really take her training or studies that seriously, showing up late to combat practice and even getting partial credit for what Adora beat. She wasn't promoted to Force Captain because of her own abilities but because Adora had defected when she was supposed to get that title. She's come close to a few victories but never really had any except for Glimmer and Bow's kidnapping...whom she then basically let escape when she returned Adora's sword to her. She doesn't have the slightest clue how the horde's bureaucracy works when trying to get things done, like simply getting troops armor. Given how much better than her Adora always was and how little she herself has to her name, I wonder is subconsciously Catra believes she doesn't deserve her current position and thus why she's fretting so much over trying to prove herself.

Episode 7: Am I mistaken or did Bow's parents say that he's the youngest of TWELVE siblings? I was going to ask whether Bow was adopted or if his dad's used a surrogate or if maybe there's even just simply magic in She-Ra's world that allows two people of the same sex to have a child together but now I'm just focused on the 12 kids thing. I get nervous just imagining myself having more than one. You should see me when I'm with two cats. I have to pet both of them because I'd feel like I'd be making one feel left out and like the other is the favorite. I'm a mess with kids.

The dad with dreadlocks (Lance?), his design looked familiar to me and I finally realized it reminded me a of a fanart design for a human Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Very different voices between those two characters though.

I wonder if there's any significance to the robot protecting the crystal having the same design as those in the artic in episode 5? Obviously both have the connection to the First Ones but the robot in the forest who was also protecting First Ones' tech had a more insect-like design over these more worm/Graboid ones.

I'm kind of curious what Hordak would have done if Catra had told the truth. Given his interactions with her and Shadow Weaver he doesn't seem like the time to tolerate failure but I suppose the implication here is that he at least would respect those who own up to their failures. Or I suppose more simply he was just testing to see if she would lie to him and since she did there's little merit in keeping her in a position of authority anymore where she could lie about important things again.

Season 2 verdict: Still enjoying it. Another person on this reddit recommended I view seasons 2 and 3 as one since they are basically just one season split in two. I was going to do that but this ended up longer than I thought I would, so I'll just do 2 and 3 separate to keep them semi-organized and easier to read.

I think overall Catra is my favorite character since she has the most interesting backstory, interactions, and just general path through the story out of everyone. She's like Pearl from Steven Universe or, well, Zuko. There's just so much baggage there that she's trying and kind of failing to deal with. I'm always invested in whatever's happening when she's onscreen. Hordak so far is a good big boss villain for Adora to face but Catra is a good archenemy for her.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/o027y3/going_in_blind_watching_season_2_for_the_first/

[jcmorrigan]

I saw the tag- I am gonna ask you about the crossover universe- (omg I’m literally gushing about this)

OH, IT IS TIME!

 So you can find a lot of this on the “What is the WHAM ARMY?” page on my blog – I’ll try to remember to link it; I’m drafting this in a word processor first so I don’t use it. Essentially, this is the universe I’ve created for my fanfic “Taking Back the Crown,” which is about…basically my favorite villains all moving into the same house and trying to take over the multiverse. And then it got lore. And more lore. Because I cannot write anything normal. The fic is nearing its 150th chapter and I’m nowhere NEAR exhausted of all the ideas I want to put in it – it’s just my big playground for hyperfixation fun. Anyway, here’s a rundown of the major points of it!

 THE CAST

 The main characters are the eight villains who are the founders of the WHAM ARMY. The faction name is an acronym of their first initials. They’re my ultrafaves, the villains I always get fluttery heart for, and probably the biggest collection of losers you can imagine. I’ll put them in order of the acronym and give you some background on how each entered the team.

Wuya (Xiaolin Showdown) – So the connecting factor between these people is that Mozenrath (his name is a few slots down) is their team leader and the one who decided to build a team in the first place. Wuya was recruited when Mozenrath found her puzzle box in an ancient vault. This is set post-series for XS (and Chronicles is not at all canon), so what had happened is in the big Showdown right after Raimundo was named team leader officially in the finale, the Xiaolin Monks won ALL the Shen Gong Wu to their side and stuffed Wuya in the box. So Mozenrath found her and let her out so they could be pals. A magic potion let her regain human form fairly early on, and her power isn’t even nerfed either the way Chase Young would’ve done.

Huntsman (American Dragon: Jake Long) – ADJL is also post-series in this timeline. Mozenrath has the power to resurrect people from the dead at will because he’s memorized an ancient and incredibly complex ritual that he can execute mentally (note that this means you can remove this ability from him by tampering with his memories). The Huntsman was resurrected so as to show Mozenrath around the old Huntsclan vault (which is where they found Wuya’s puzzle box). No other Huntsclan member survived the purge except Rose (and 88 and 89, but they don’t count and aren’t in this story), so the Huntsman is starting from square one.

Ayam Aghoul (Aladdin: The Animated Series): Basically just got sick of losing. He’d teamed up with a few other rando Aladdin rogues to try and pick a fight with Maleficent, and she sent him packing. So he ended up finding one of the few residents of the Seven Deserts who was powerful enough to match him AND had a similar grudge against Maleficent.

Mozenrath (Aladdin: The Animated Series): The man of the hour and the creator of the entire team. He starts the fic by crashing Maleficent’s KH Disney Villain alliance and trying to add himself to it, but…ends up being such a disrespectful nuisance that Hades just drags him straight down to the Underworld. That moment inspired him to get his OWN band of friends and start making a name for himself.

Archibald Snatcher (The Boxtrolls): Met Mozenrath in the Underworld after his death in film canon. Annoyed Hades one too many times by claiming that he wasn’t actually supposed to die, seeing as he isn’t allergic to dairy (he is), so Hades threw him in the same cell as Mozenrath and…

Roman Torchwick (RWBY): I started writing this fic in 2016, immediately post-V3, so it’s canon-divergent after the last episode of V3 (but I got all the later-game characters to show up eventually). Which means Roman is ALSO dead at the start of this fic. He ALSO comes storming up to Hades insisting he’s not even supposed to be dead. At the same time as Snatcher is already pestering him. Which is how Mozenrath, Snatcher, and Roman end up in the same jail cell in Tartarus and get the idea that maybe they should break back into the world of the living and try to build something BETTER than what any of the three had beforehand.

Mad Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone): Mozenrath, immediately after breaking out of the Underworld, attempted to take over Arthur’s kingdom by just walking in and throwing magic around. It backfired horribly when Merlin showed up. But then Mim showed up to counter Merlin and realized that maybe she had a potential friend here who was as blackhearted as she.

Yzma (The Emperor’s New Groove): Post-TENG, no KNG or TENS (but I reference things from TENS every now and again). Merlin turned Mozenrath into a rat, so Mim brought him to Yzma’s Secret Lab to change him back. There, they found Yzma as a cat, and she so desperately wanted out of her living situation that she added herself to the team. She was also restored to human form shortly thereafter.

 There is a potential ninth member of the core in the form of Vexen (Kingdom Hearts). KH is canon-divergent after DDD and basically ignores almost every game that comes out after Fragmentary Passage. Vexen, as Even, was trying to integrate into life as a hero in Radiant Garden, except everyone annoyed him way too much, so he decided to go be with people that would give right back any insults he dished out. And then realized he was much happier being on the evil team and doing mad science with no ethics. However, he will not be promoted to the upper ranks because 1. it would spoil the acronym and 2. he is unanimously agreed-upon to be the biggest wet blanket of the group and nobody wants him at the founder parties.

(Imagine my disbelief when the actual canon arc for Vexen was THE REVERSE ONE IN WHICH HE JUST DECIDES TO GO LIVE AT RADIANT GARDEN AND NOT BE ANNOYED BY ANYTHING and that’s why JC doesn’t like Kingdom Hearts III)

 Anyway, this crew is a bunch of silly friends who enjoy partying, singing, dancing, drag, indulging in vices, causing mayhem, taking over cities, arranging for mass murder, piecing together smear campaigns…but they’re all pretty much ride or die for each other. And that goes double for the ships of the set: Mozenrath/Huntsman, Mim/Aghoul, Wuya/Yzma, and my favorite ship to end all favorites, Roman/Snatcher (RedHatBlackHat is the ship name).

From there, you have a B-Squad of, like, seventy other people based on my faves. Nonnie, I know you saw this because of Vincent Edgeworth, Victor Blake, and Albert Krueger, and they are three of COUNTLESS examples. It’s a found crime family that keeps getting bigger as I get more fave villains and there’s hardly a rhyme or a reason. Currently, they live in a floating fortress designed when they stole Terra Cyclonia (Storm Hawks) and hefted it out into the aether between worlds with crystal technology.

 They have a rival hero faction in the form of the Cinnamons: a gathering of people who they’ve wronged who turned out to make pretty good friends themselves. While the WHAM ARMY are the villain-protag team that you feel slightly bad loving the escapades of, the Cinnamons are the rainbows, fluff, sunshine, (secret crippling depression and anxiety), and pep-talkers of the multiverse. They’re the deuteragonist team as opposed to the “villains” of the story. They also have eight “leaders,” but they were picked up a little less quickly than the WHAM ARMY founders, instead coming together over the span of a much longer quest. These people are:

Sora (Kingdom Hearts): Heart of the team and the person who pulled them all together, because Sora loves everyone. He, Riku, and Kairi witnessed the WHAM ARMY wreaking destruction on both Radiant Garden and Disney Castle, and Sora decided no one gets to treat his homes-away-from-home like that and get away with it! Between Mozenrath and the still-looming threats of Maleficent and Xehanort, he’s now collecting pals from all worlds to fight against evil and do as much good as they can do! (While having sleepovers.)

Ruby Rose (RWBY): Before she, Nora, Ren, and Jaune could get into Mistral, Sora interrupted them on their path and directed them right back around to Vale with the news that Roman Torchwick was back in action. After an incident involving the Destiny Trio and Team RNJR having to team up and actually kill the massive Grimm unleashed in the V3 endgame, they all headed out to Radiant Garden together to continue their mission.

Papyrus (Undertale): Sora found him while exploring worlds and they clicked immediately as pals. Then the WHAM ARMY, who was living in Mt. Ebott at the time, sparked an anti-monster racist sentiment through the town, and Papyrus was advised to leave the world for his own safety, so he went traveling with Sora.

Stork (Storm Hawks): Maleficent, who is also an active player in this game, made a power play by destroying the Condor with the entire Storm Hawks team onboard while they were on the Far Side of Atmos (post-series). Stork, believing himself to be the only survivor, attempted to take his own life – only for Sora to show up just in time and offer him something better: hope that his friends survived, and new friends to tag along with until they could prove either way.

Jasmine (Aladdin): The Cinnamons came looking to Agrabah for more information on Mozenrath. When Jasmine heard he was causing chaos, she decided to get personally involved.

Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender): Post-ATLA, no LoK. Sora made a trip to the Fire Nation to see if he could head off the WHAM ARMY’s latest scheme, and ran into the Gaang along the way. After helping Katara, Aang, and Zuko protect the Fire Nation from a very near miss, Sora invited them to come travel with him. Only Katara accepted at first, the other two wanting to clean things up on their homeworld.

Kazuichi Soda (DanganRonpa): Post-SDR2, no DR3. Xehanort requested Izuru Kamukura be used as a vessel, and Kazuichi went in Izuru/Hajime’s place so his buddy didn’t have to. But the first chance he got, Kazuichi turned and ran from the Castle That Never Was…where Sora had just crash-landed. Kazuichi patched up Sora’s ship, and immediately became part of his crew. (Worth noting: in this AU, the Remnants of Despair were never brainwashed and were completely aware of what they were doing. Kazuichi is basically a redemption story, trying to be a better person to make up for the hell he caused. Also, while on the Despair side, he’d hacked off his leg to sew Junko’s in its place, disabling himself – that leg goes through an arc regarding what prosthesis is in its place.)

Rapunzel (Tangled): After the Vardaros arc of S2 of Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure. Rapunzel was targeted by the WHAM ARMY because she was essentially a living MacGuffin for one of their spells. Sora showed up, and Rapunzel decided to go along with him for safety AND fun, leaving Cassandra to continue the pilgrimage to the Dark Kingdom. (Wrote this before KHIII was out. And before the Evil Cass twist.)

 And just like the WHAM ARMY, these folks have a huge B-squad that lives in the Radiant Garden castle and helps them deal with the various tragedies they have to clean up after. Riku, Kairi, and Jaune Arc in particular get a decent amount of stage time.

 As you can see, Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty/Kingdom Hearts) and her forces are another big set of chess pieces on the board! After she sent Mozenrath to gay baby jail and it didn’t stick, she’s been trying to continue plans for domination as usual but ALSO wipe the WHAM ARMY off the face of the multiverse. She, Jafar (Aladdin), Ursula (The Little Mermaid), and Hades (Hercules) all came straight here from KH. But I’m working to model that team’s inner circle on the team in “Quite a Glittering Assemblage,” the sister fic by gavillain (it’s basically this premise but Maleficent gets a team to start instead, but similarities end there, his is a whole different, fresh, and fun flavor). I’ve just gotten all these characters intro’d instory, but the other biggies are Loki (Marvel – I based him in the Cinematic Universe but he’s kind of just an amalgamation of Lokis), Dr. Doom (Marvel), Captain Hook (Once Upon a Time), Russell Edgington (True Blood), and Fish Mooney (Gotham). Currently, they operate out of the Forbidden Mountain in the Enchanted Dominion.

 There’s also a very new addition as of the 140’s chapters: the Heathens. This is a squad of villains with moral lines in the sand (and some antiheroes or corrupted heroes). Basically, these aren’t your killers for fun. These are the people who steal candy from the gas station and think they’re slick, but the point is they’re enjoying themselves so just let it happen. The four founders of this one are Harley Quinn (DC – based on The Batman but an amalgamation of Harleys that leans sympathetic), Yang Xiao Long (RWBY), Giovanni Potage (Epithet Erased), and Velvet Crowe (Tales of Berseria). Currently, they operate out of the old mansion in Twilight Town.

 The Xehanorts are here, and that team is largely who you think it is – though I stripped away Vexen, Demyx, Marluxia, Larxene, and Luxord in order to replace them ALL with Xaldin. More crossover shenanigans to come on this front. This team isn’t very active – they’re waiting for the Keyblade War – but they’re operating out of the World That Never Was.

 There’s also another side villain faction: the Morbians, led by Mirage (Aladdin: The Animated Series). These are the demons of fear, the stuff that lurks in your nightmares, and…the villains I really like but who I don’t quite think fit in with the WHAM ARMY or any other more prominent group. But to give you an idea of what the flavor of this team is, she’s recruited not one but TWO Boogeymen – Pitch Black (Rise of the Guardians) and Oogie Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas).

 There will be more villain factions to come, and I kind of want to splinter the Cinnamons to multiple bases as well. Obviously it’s easier to split villains up because they’re fun to write at war with each other – when I have hero teams come up against each other, usually they end up becoming best buddies instead of fighting, and that’s how I like it, but that’s why there’s just ONE BIG HERO TEAM as opposed to the many villain squads rattling around.

 THE SETTING

 So as you have probably gleaned, the multiverse setup is largely based on Kingdom Hearts, which is one of my favorite things (in the KH1 through Fragmentary Passage era anyway). There are many worlds that can be visited either by Gummi Ship or Corridor of Darkness. Basically any evil-aligned sorcerer can use Corridors in this ‘verse – they’ve opened their souls to Darkness and have magic, so they can do so.

 The implication is that every world represents a separate “story” or part of one. As in if it’s a work of fiction HERE, it’s a world THERE. Some characters are actually savvy enough to know they’re fictional (e.g. Megavolt from Darkwing Duck, Xayide from The Neverending Story). Most of them aren’t built to handle the news, though, and just shrug it off if told. (No, really, the cosmic order prevents them from taking that news seriously if they’re not from something that regularly leans on the fourth wall anyway.)

 But sometimes, things get AU’d in without their full worlds. I was inspired by how Final Fantasy is treated in canon KH, and once I started bringing in more FF stuff by the same method, I felt motivated to do that with MORE fandoms if I felt the characters could be divorced from their settings and histories easily. I’ve done it for most Disney Channel non-animated properties as well as Satellite City (ain’t that the worst combo you’ve ever looked at). I’m planning to do it for Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn because I’m coming up on a location I want to delve into the civilization of but don’t have many canon characters for, so guess what, you get the FE cast now.

 Major worlds or relevant locations in play are the Cyclonian warship, Radiant Garden, Twilight Town, and occasionally the Enchanted Dominion, but we move from plotline to plotline with journeys to many, many, MANY worlds of things I want to play with the settings and casts of. Also, the Cyclonian warship is about to get replaced with another WHAM ARMY base; we’ll get there.

 THE STORY

 For the first major “book” of TBTC, the WHAM ARMY has found a spell that they think will let them conquer the entire multiverse by giving them control over Kingdom Hearts itself. All they have do to is collect a bunch of MacGuffins that correspond to twelve elements: fire, water, earth, air, light, darkness, life, death, time, space, entropy, and aether. In order to do this, they visit the worlds of KH, RWBY, Avatar, Storm Hawks, Okami, Undertale, Wakfu, The Legend of Zelda, The Neverending Story, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and many many more. The Cinnamons catch wind of what they’re doing and start assembling. Meanwhile Maleficent is on the hunt for the Book of Prophecies and starts hiring villains on her team as well. After many madcap adventures and some devastating tragedies near endgame, the Cinnamons accidentally put the Book of Prophecies in Maleficent’s hands at the same time that Maleficent finally captures Mozenrath and gets him under heel. The WHAM ARMY and Cinnamons both launch attacks on Maleficent’s forces, and each walks away with what they came for. This is also the part where we slowburn up to the four major WHAM ARMY ships and many Cinnamon ships. In the end, the WHAM ARMY actually gets all the ingredients for their spell, but what they don’t know is it will actually cause the DESTRUCTION of the worlds. So an outside force intervenes (Discord from MLPFIM, who later joins the WHAM ARMY because he wants friends who actually appreciate him as a villain and won’t make him change) to stop them, and the next thing they know, they’re starting from square one.

 We’re now in the second “book” of this story. The Cinnamons are gathering up all lost friends – the rest of Team RWBY, the Gaang, the Storm Hawks (who did in fact survive the explosion), the lost KH characters. The WHAM ARMY, on the other hand, is gathering up more villains to bolster their forces for a new evil plan: to conquer the worlds one by one, starting with Atlantis (Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire) and using portals to link to other territories of interest. While the WHAM ARMY is essentially working through a to-do list of what they need before they can launch such a massive invasion, the Cinnamons are finding strength in numbers because the writing’s on the wall that between Mozenrath, Maleficent, Mirage, and Xehanort, things are going to get worse before they get better, and as evil builds, good will need to rise to protect the innocent. As for Maleficent, she’s no longer able to chase the Book of Prophecies, and so, because she’s got Hades, Loki, and Salem (RWBY) there and they’re all like “Even though we’re pretty godlike, we are not that happy with how the gods we knew have run things,” Maleficent’s new goal is to slaughter the gods of all pantheons (minus those in her care) and replace them with her allies.

 Anyway, as I had said in the post you saw, Anon – I basically take everything fictional I love and shove it into this AU for daydreams because it lets me imagine my faves having CROSSOVER INTERACTIONS and doing cool epic stuff on a multi-world scale. (But as much as I’ve talked up the epic aspect, a lot of it is just…like…people fucking around and hosting karaoke nights.) Anyway, I hope this gave you a good sense of the madness, and I hope it serves as a reminder to everyone that they can and should just. Make a daydream and/or fanfic universe that’s indulgent as hell. Just do it.

[real-jaune-isms]

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!

[huntsman-ash]

RWBY V8E2 LiveThoughts

And now, for episode 2; same deal as last time, spoilers for this weeks episode. 

RT getting a wee bit too real with the “curfew in effect” sign on the side of that building in the opening. Least here its a visible noticeable threat and not Corona. Still.

Oh, heh. “Hope has no place here.” Always did love that line. But that might just be the grimdark fan in me.

Overall Im not a huge fan of this seasons opening, it doesnt sound as melodic as the last couple ones. More...chaotic. I think thats intentionally but Im still not a fan.

Dude, Qrow, thats unsanitary. Seriously, clean that shit off. You’re gonna get like, tetnus or something.

And Robyn complaining to Qrow. I mean shes not WRONG but at the same time SHE was the one who decided to pass out during the crash. Dont go throwing blame around Hill, you were just as useless and dumb as everyone but Tyrian in that whole section of last season.

Correction, shes talking to Jasque Scnee who is SOMEHOW in the same prison as they are. Additional; hardlight cells with no visible emitters, no toilet or other commodities. This must be a holding cell of some kind. Unless the bed they all have is ALSO a toilet. Ew.

Yeah you sure about that Schnee? Indirect murder is still murder.

Whh...WATTS IS IN HERE TOO?! WHAT THE FUCK IRONWOOD. You dont have a maximum security like, ICEBOX lock up? Dude this is just ASKING for trouble.

Watt’s black eye is still there. Maybe there is something to him not having his aura fully unlocked. Or...something else. Im really confused about that.

Odd cell structure. Impromptu? Or is this whole room just modular. Cause its WAY too big to house just this many prisoners. Im getting the feeling this is impromtu, yeah.

Schnee thinks hes getting out, sucker. 

Mad props to the Atlas soldier for the brutality. NOW HIT HIM AGAIN.  Robyns smirk gives me life.

And Qrow suggests Operation Valkyrie. Im down. Ironwoods proven useless at this point, maybe his replacement will be more tactically viable.

Alright, Atlas has pulled all military forces out of Mantle. Guess that means Ash and CAMO would be out too. Officially anyway. Making note for future threads...

Cute about the news guy, but I LOVE the fact you can hear the former masculinity in May’s voice here, like she isnt fully finished transitioning. If its intentional, bravo. If not, still cool.

“Its time to show your teeth, Mantle.”  HELL FUCKING YES THATS THE KINDA SHIT IVE BEEN WANTING TO HEAR!

Ah and there’s the hoverbikes from the teasers. I really dont get why they’re so goddamn big. Surely you can miniatruize hovertech...right?

They’re big enough to have weapons installed IMO. They should have.

Ah okay here’s the rest of the trailer

Hey look more lesbians. Boy that one on the left is MAD.

I cannot believe these Grimm are dumb enough to not go AROUND the dropwall (and Im going to call it that until I get something else, its literally the equipment from Halo Infinite’s release trailer). I get Grimm are dumb but damn bro.

Ah okay, THATS the split. All the faunus live in the slums down in the crater. Mantle proper is the mid-level, and then Atlas is humans for the most part. As far as I can tell anyway. Literal stratification. 

Ugh, that whole conversation was so expositiony. Jesus fucking christ.

Holy shit this crews moving slow. Like, good fucking lord.

Personaly headcanon; that tiny fox toy Oscar rides past on his bike is later retreived by Ash. That is actually his bootprint on it too oddly enough.

Unity in this situation, Ozpin? Not likely. What you need is miltiary intervention and firepower.

Still not sure why there’s smokestacks in Mantle if everything on Remnant runs on Dust. Maybe its steam vents for the heating system.

So the Crater is literally a divide. Like a circular diamond mine or one of those “rabbit hole” gold ones. Literal wall holding its outside. 

Snowshoe Shipping. New company. Full autonomous workforce from the looks of it. SDC related of course. And its still running despite everything. The drones here are literally AKs. Motherfucker, I think I know where the idea for them came from. SDC literally just weaponized its fucking worker robots. 

And apperently Dust is refined in the Crater. Okay that makes sense. Does it come from outside or are they still mining it there I wonder.

Oh pnumatic elevator. STEALING THAT

“That isn’t relevant at the moment.” WAY TO DODGE THE QUESTION RT. YEAH BECAUSE THERES TOTALLY NOT OTHER COMPANIES OUT THERE RIGHT?

What the fuck happened to Penny? Did becoming the Maiden make her emo?

Lol yeah people are gonna die, its WAR Penny, eat shit and get over it. Fucking weaklings...

Your the maiden. Get over it. Go kill some people, you’ll feel better. Relish in power.

And Weiss is now dead from either pressure shock, thermobaric style lung implosion, forceful impact, or just being crushed flat. Oh, and asphyxiation.  Seriously that was the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life. REALLY NORA.

Oh hey, a banjo in the crater. It really is hicksville.

Fire dust crystals right into a metal container to keep it  going. Holy shit it only took us 8 seasons to see Dust used physically again...

Sheep nom map. Nom nom. 

Wonder who this Crimson she mentioned is.

Lil hops. Oh no shes too cute.  Also it seems Mantle is divided into sectors. Useful information. Wonder what designates them.

Hahahah Fiona’s uncles a mole XD

And good to know “crap” is a swearword on Remnant.

Sounds like Crimson is a person with the Huntress’s. With his accent Im going to personally imagine his a grizzled former veteran, like Sergeant Stacker from Halo.

Note; the map says “Mantle City”. Interesting. Wonder what the other option is. Crater?

Ohhh and a spudmasher. Wait...no thats not a grenade. Some kind of gravitational surge thing. Again. Okay seriously RT is it so hard to just make a FUCKING WEAPON? Nothing fancy, no special features, just something that kills the fucking enemy. 

Okay...what the hell. Those Grimm cleared out like they got a retreat signal...

Ohho whats this now...this thing looks a LOT more interesting. And SAVAGE. Damn, its beating the SHIT out of Oscar! I think I like this one.

It transforms. Like the Zeta Gundam. FASCINATING. So it must have a rapid transport/assault form of the original dog one then changes to this new one for close in? Or carrying I guess, its stealing Oscar. This must be the thing that Salem sent.

Yeah kinda looks like a werewolf.

Soooo why were they just standing there watching this thing beat up on him? It was open for a couple of seconds. Surely it cant be they were worried about Oscar, the best thign to do if an enemy is grappling your friend is to get in and take advantage of it. 

Its smart too, used Oscar as a meatshield. Apperently just long enough to distract Yang and then yeet her. 

Its got ONE HAND with Oscar in it you idiots, hit it all at once! Go for the legs and the other arm, knock it down, blow its head off. COME ON, its OBVIOUS.

Oh hey it talked. Good. That means it can probably feel pain.

There is no way those legs should work like that. They’re too small and its torsos the wrong shape. This things breaking physics. 

The arms are also way too long.

Also why are you just standing there watching it grow wings? Kill the fucking thing already.  Gotta admit the movement and screaming makes me think it feels pain. Interesting. Good to know.  That or its just body horror/squick.

And thats the episode. I like how Fiona calls them “kids” though shes probably about their age. 

[ofhoneyblood]

BRYCE ATLAS WINSLOW

pronouns: HE , HIM , HIS

age: THIRTY - EIGHT

species: HUMAN

nationality: IRISH , ITALIAN , AMERICAN

sexuality: PANSEXUAL / DEMIROMANTIC

sign: AQUARIUS SUN , LIBRA MOON , VIRGO RISING

occupation: OWNER & BOUNCER @ RED HOT PUSSY LIQUORS

+ traits: INVITING. FAIR. FUNNY. OPEN-MINDED. TOLERANT.

-- traits: GUARDED. DETACHED. DESPERATE. SELF-DESTRUCTIVE. 

faceclaim: MILO VENTIMIGLIA

soundscapes: HERE

aesthetic: HERE

yo yo you yo , it’s lydia ( yes , that’s my real name ) here with my noble beast bryce winslow ! i have had bryce as a muse longer than any other and it’s been literal years since i’ve written him so i’m extremely excited. this is the first time he will be milo though and i’m super hype to get things going ! i have headcanon after headcanon for him , so hit me up if you want to do something bc i am ready to do some shit !! again , i’m lydia ( or nary , nettle , snottie , etc. ) and i love a good name change , twenty five years old , pansexual demigirl ( she / her & / or they / them ) residing in the central timezone.

this is THIRTY-EIGHT year old BRYCE WINSLOW , the OWNER OF & BOUNCER AT RED HOT PUSSY LIQUORS BURLESQUE AND BOOZE who uses HE / HIM pronouns. he grew up in DUBLIN , IRELAND but came to pleasance in JULY 2006 ON HAPPENSTANCE AND TO RUN AWAY FROM HIS PAST and now enjoys spending his time at FOR KEEPS AND RED HOT PUSSY LIQUORS. BRYCE is written by LYDIA.

PERSONALITY

element: air ruling planet: uranus — planet of originality body part: ankles good day: communicative , original , open-minded , fair , logical , inviting , tolerant , funny bad day: guarded , detached , self-destructive , out-of-touch , irrational , desperate , lonely favorite things: dancing , teaching , team sports , anything with a cause or mission , independent films , working out , baths , animals , preserving plant life / flowers , reading least favorite things: injustice , drama queens , feeling isolated , owing money or favors , having to choose just one thing , personal questions , gossip , cigarette smoke secret wish: to experience total freedom how to spot him: a cute smile lighting up a tired face , quirky movements , tired eyes , long legs , big hands , flannel , old beat up truck where you’ll find him: backpacking or hiking , protesting , coaching a team , revolutionizing the industry he works in , the gym , red hot pussy liquors , alone at home , working on a project , taking a walk by northwood lake keywords: friendliness , eccentricity , teamwork , humanitarianism , technology , groups , avant-garde

first thing to know about bryce winslow is that he’s a free-spirit that prizes individuality and plays well on a team. he has been known to do things his own way , moving on a path different from everyone else’s. some call him eccentric , others appreciate his cutting-edge originality and authentic style.

one of the many ways that the irishman is a paradox ? he’s highly individualistic , but also an amazing team player. he might look like the fresh-faced guy next door on the outside , but inside he marches to his own beat. naturally popular , as he’s vibrantly social and loves to be among people , telling jokes and introducing thought-provoking conversation topics.

people truly do make his world go round , and he can become friends with the most random strangers. can be a bit of an alien — a little “ out there ” in his approach to different things. not that he cares about offending anyone ! loves a good casual connection , bryce can disengage as quickly as he connects. in fact , platonic pals sometimes get better treatment than romantic partners. 

while he can be a bit unsentimental on a one-on-one level , he can be moved to tears by the plight of animals , the environment or other social justice issues. yes , this big irishman is a bohemian at heart in some ways , but he also gets the job done. as a tenacious aquarius , he can be quite hardworking when he devotes himself to a goal. 

a competitive ( and lesser-known ) type a streak can emerge when he really wants something. nothing turns him on like progress , especially in the name of his grander ideals ! playing hard to get REALLY works on him lol

philanthropic and objective , bryce is in a lot of ways innovative and avant-garde. from experimental electronic music to community-oriented living , there’s nothing that this man hasn’t or won’t explore. as someone who loves being a part of a good group or team , bringing people together is also one of his specialties. 

intense bryce energy is cutting-edge , “ out there ” and even a little strange at times. a total nerd for all things futuristic , science fiction and wacky inventions. no topic is too cutting-edge with this irishman: extraterrestrials , stem cells , cloning , robots taking over the earth…yup , bryce will go there. 

while he likes to influence rebellion and detaching from reality ( c’mon bryce , back to earth ! ) , he likes to help others see possibilities they wouldn’t otherwise. the essence of his true energy is: community-oriented , original , open-minded , fair , logical , humanitarian , connecting , and inviting. 

the negative expression of bryce’s energy can be: guarded , detached , destructive , out-of-touch , irrational , and desperate.  reluctant to express emotions — the irishman prefers rational reasoning and cool-headed logic to the messy tapestry of the human feelings. 

one of his favorite authors is ayn rand , founder of the objectivist movement , and that’s pretty much all you need to know. objectivism has been a major influence on the libertarian movement , which has a real bryce flavor. it’s an organized system that also preserves individual freedom and limits government intervention. it’s very “ fringe ” and mainstream all at once , a fascinating paradox and something that really intrigues him.

playful gusts and a social butterfly whirlwind combines into a gale force of humanitarianism for all. bryce is a visionary , dreaming up quirky utopias and alternative realities that can shake up the status quo.  emotional detachment , unpredictable energy and rebellion are major factors in the irishman’s personality. not going to lie , he can be “ type a “ and totally quirky all at the same time ??

a stabilizer — the one who sets up a solid goal or foundation then starts building. bryce can take the enthusiastic idea that someone else sparks and craft it into something real. he picks up the ball when another passes it , running the distance to the goal. 

the trustworthy type who likes “ to-do ” lists and fancy titles. if a friend says , “ let’s go on vacation ! ” he’s already calling the travel agency , booking the tickets and hotel , and sending everyone a list of what to pack.

true believer in friendship and teamwork , so bryce tends to be more focused on a group than an individual. freedom is important to him , which is why he likes to keep things light on an interpersonal level. that way , he won’t feel bad about running off to the opposite corner of the world at a moment’s notice. 

at times , this nomadic strategy backfires , leaving him lonely and disconnected. in truth , the irishman is uncomfortable with too much intimacy. this free spirit belongs to the world and feels off-balance giving his considerable energy to just one person. 

while bryce’s friends get first-class treatment , family and lovers see a different side of him: moody , brooding , anxious and neurotic. he may pick one ( and only one ) person to open up to , getting attached to the point of obsession. 

learning to accept and express his emotions would help him avoid the massive freak outs and anger flashes that come from pretending everything’s cool when it isn’t. bryce appreciates a quirky or eccentric twist , enjoying colorful characters and people with counter cultural personalities.

BIOGRAPHY

bryce atlas winslow was born into a very straight lace , play by the rules , catholic family.  his father , matteo winslow , was an italian military man and his mother , deirdre winslow , was a cold irish homemaker. matteo was every bit the ‘ man of the family ’  and bryce grew up only answering to his father. deirdre would only every answer a question with ‘ ask yer da ’ or  ‘ dija’ ask yer da ? ’

she was a mostly spineless , god fearing woman that was afraid of her own shadow and that’s what made her such a good puppet for matteo. bryce’s father was a stern , angry man that only grew angrier when drunk , no one dared put even a single toe out of line with him around. 

( TW: implied child abuse ) with bryce being the first born and only son he was expected to be perfect , from a very young age he felt the pressures of that. it was like walking on eggshells , always afraid of making a mistake or displeasing his father. he did not have the fun , happy-go-lucky innocence a child should expect of their early years ; instead for bryce winslow there was not much more than discipline , hard work , and punishment.

for the most part , bryce succeeded at being the perfect son his father expected him to be — a robot more than an actual living boy. nothing more than a machine , a machine being bred for war. 

it wasn’t until the beginning of his secondary school , when puberty and hormones began blossoming , that things became precarious. voice cracks , uneven patches of hair…. oh , and a sudden sexual desire for the same sex. 

( TW: suicide ment. ) now , the winslows were catholic - extremely devout catholics - and bryce grew very self-loathing and afraid in this confusing time. he contemplated suicide , all because ‘ homosexuality was wrong ‘ and ‘ you go straight to hell ‘ if you engage in anything associated with it. it didn’t matter how good of a son you were , because ‘ man shall not lie with man. ‘  he kept it hidden for years , he also managed not to act on it until well into the last year of secondary school. 

despite bryce’s fears and shame , when he was sixteen he fell in love for the first time. first loves can be explosive , dangerous even and this one was nothing short of just that. the boy kept his forbidden love a secret from everyone , his family and father above all others.

all good things must come to an end though or so they say , for the boys it came far sooner than later. matteo , bryce’s father , happened upon a note from the boy bryce was seeing , cian , and in said note was all sorts of information including a meeting spot. as you can imagine , matteo flew from the house in a drunken rage in search of his “ sinner “ of a son only to catch him red-handed. 

( TW: assault , child abuse ) bryce managed to save cian from his father’s wrath , taking the brunt of the attack. cian watched as bryce was beaten , begging and screaming for the man to stop , that he was killing him. the drunken bigot was turning on the younger boy when bryce told him to leave and never come back , so that is what he did. 

( TW: implied abuse ) to this day , he has never laid eyes on his young lover and that was probably for the best. after his father had tired himself out and satisfied his rage , he left his son there in the dirt and the beaten boy didn’t bother moving. 

( TW: suicidal thoughts , conversion therapy ment. ) will to live depleted , too tired to go on , pain too much to endure — he just slept there until the next morning. he was awoken with a kick of dirt in the face , his father telling him that he was being sent to a ‘’ special ’’ facility where they would get rid of his ‘’ ailment. ’’ 

( TW: conversion therapy / facility ) time melded in the facility , but he estimated nearly a year of his life was wasted away in there. resistant and defiant for most of his time there , it wasn’t until his father visited him , the one and only time . that things changed. 

( TW: suicide ment. , homophobia ) his father brought news that his mother had killed herself but this was a vicious lie , a last ditch effort to get bryce to change his ways and boy , did it work ! hardly a month later , the young man was discharged from the facility only to find his mother was indeed very much alive.

matteo up and moved his entire family to england after bryce got out of the facility. his father gave him nonsense about wanting to get away from the bad memories , starting over new , and ‘ lead not into temptation ‘ by sending him back to school with ‘ sinners ’ and ‘ sodomites. ‘ 

so , bryce finished out the remainder of his schooling in england and went straight into the forces as per his father’s wishes. sadly for him , he would never become what he so longed to be. he had just finished boot camp and life had just started to seem somewhat normal - if you can call anything the winslow’s had normal - when he lost it all.

( TW: eye injury ) the young man was honorably discharged after an accident that left him legally blind in one eye , when he returned home after his short stent in the defense forces there was no longer a place in the family for him. his father quite literally disowned him all for something he had no control over , a mere accident , but there was nothing more disappointing to matteo than a son that was ‘ kicked out ‘ of the forces.

( TW: gang ment. , human trafficking ) fast forward a year , bryce had found himself in a gang. this part of his background is the most unresolved seeing as it’s not part of his original backstory. long story short , he was involved with the gang until he was twenty three but it all became too much for him after his boss tried to involve him in human trafficking. 

( TW: gang ment. , suicide , death ) when you join a gang you don’t usually do it thinking someday you might one day retire or quit said gang , but then as you get older you realize you’re not as tough as you thought. bryce was twenty-three when his mother finally really did ‘ commit suicide ‘ , the first time his father spoke to him since he returned home from the forces was only to blame him for her death. 

( TW: death ment. , implied murder ) honestly , it was just the straw that broke the camels back. bryce wasn’t allowed at the funeral or anywhere near it , he’s almost certain his mother’s death wasn’t by her own hand or an accident but he’ll never truly know. after he was certain she was in the ground , bryce fled to america in the hopes of outrunning the gang and getting lost in the melting pot. 

once in the land of opportunity , he got his hands on the cheapest ride he could find first and just started driving. it was well after his twenty-fourth birthday , right smack in the middle of a hot ass summer in ‘06 ,  that he found himself in pleasance of all places. he never had any intention at all to grow roots there , it simply happened.  

other than that , the man busies himself with drying and preserving flowers , taking baths , working out , and playing with his dog.  he parades around like this big , tough hard ass when in reality he’s quite the domestic goofball type.

ETC.

has a dog ,  it’s a beagle named shiloh literally 

a big hobby of his is preserving flowers in his spare time , he keeps a small book of pressed flowers and plant life on him a lot of the time in the chance he comes across something he wants to preserve

can play guitar and doesn’t have a bad singing voice either

legally blind in one eye , but doesn’t wear his glasses often

has a younger sister that he does keep in contact with , but not very well ( WC ? )

a guilty pleasure of his is taking baths ; he enjoys adding bath salts , flowers , and other so-called ‘ feminine ‘ products like bath bombs , etc. to them and honestly takes one nearly every day

he was born and raised mostly in dublin , ireland and has a thick accent that only gets thicker when intoxicated or angry. he does use a lot of uncommon terminology to american’s ( yes , i own the feckin’ book of everything irish. . . it’s that serious ) but i’ll lyk in the tags what it means unless i forget

@phqextras​

[marithlizard]

First impressions of RWBY v8e12, “Creation”

I should wait till I have more time to watch this, but the episode title is just too alarming.  (One of the many differences between Remnant and Discworld: nobody is ever going to sit around making up verses of  "A Relic Staff has a Knob on the End".)

All the airships that don't have plot armor are being divebombed by chibi Kevins that cling to the cockpits with their talons.   Very consistent attack patterns there.   I’m trying to imagine Salem training Grimm, or glorping them into existence with pre-implanted instincts based on type.  

Ironwood, that's a dorky-looking gun.  Seriously. It's not heavy enough to need to be braced against something or mounted on something, so it doesn't look THAT threatening,  but it's occupying both your hands so you can't gesture dramatically during the imminent confrontation.    -10 style points.

I'm pretty sure he plans to bomb Mantle anyway, out of petty resentment against the heroes.  

Harriet still committed, Vine and Elm not seeing a way out.  Hi,  Winter.  You're looking distinctly  more chipper now that you have a Plan.

...You DO have a plan, right?  You were just making one last halfhearted overture to a man you used to respect?

Oh, the dorky thing is a scanner?   Something Penny-specific?   ....Or it was just there to be menacing until the handcuffs are on Penny?  Because handcuffs will somehow stop a Maiden? I keep thinking "but these characters aren't THAT dumb", and having to remind myself this is just what RWBY's like.

BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHA good job Emerald.  And you only had to fool two minds because the Ace Ops very conveniently left.

Fight!  Will Ironwood be surprised to see Oscar? I'm guessing no, he knew who had to have blown up the whale.

YEAH Winter and Nora teamup!  Lots of good dramatic moments here.   Winter and Oscar charging on a summon! And Oscar rebounding off of a glyph like he's practiced  it a zillion times. But that wasn't Winter's glyph, was it?  She looked pretty occupied. Can she just cast them mentally while multitasking a completely separate attack?  Or is Weiss here somewhere?  (EDIT:  Apparently Winter *is* that badass.)

What was that strike?  That didn't look or sound quite like a normal Aura break. Some sort of stunzap from Winter's sword?  Or  just a little reminder that Ironwood has been running on his Mettle semblance for months now, and it's all that was holding him together?  (Which was never mentioned in the show, I saw it as something explained in I think Amity Arena.)

Excuse me, did you say "drop Atlas", Robyn?   Is THAT the plan?  Lower Atlas safely,  then use the staff  for something else?  That...doesn't suck as an idea, on first listen.

This was meticulously planned, especially considering the two groups (RQWM and everyone else)  didn't have a chance to meet up before hand or rehearse anything.   Let's see how it happened.

Winter explaining the facts of life to Marrow,  good.

Yeah, we all knew who was in that elevator.   (Wouldn't it be nice to get a Qrow-Winter conversation to close out their animosity?  But I expect that like most conversations it will have to wait for fanfic.)

The what now.

The STAFF has a Jinn-equivalent?  I guess it's logical that all the relics would have spirits, but it honestly hadn't occurred to me.    And he wants blueprints.  Interesting!  Well, they have local wifi and all the knowlege of Atlas, that should help.  

Before, Oz-using-Oscar's-voice  sounded pretty distinct.  Now not so much. The two of them are sounding quite a bit more similar.  

Whitley continuing to contribute!  I think he's going to do fine running the SDC.

Whitley *and* Willow along with the second party, that does surprise me. I wonder what part Klein is playing, or if he's on standby as a medic.

Looking at the architecture around the Vault now, it's distinctly weird.  All that open space, stairs and bridges over yawning abysses.  It doesn't look very secure. More like a Star Wars setpiece for a climactic  battle.  (Has anyone done a clip of the v7 confrontation with Ironwood announcing that he's Oscar's father before shooting him?)

Eeeee, that's a plan with a LOT of assumptions and very little time.  Oscar and Oz aren't there. The Penny party doesn't know how to use the staff. Will they have to talk the spirit into helping her?  How does "creation" as a power translate to "remove the virus from this android body"?

And behind the Vault door is what looks like another pocket dimension. With overmanicured lawn grounds.  Has the spirit been golfing in here to pass the time?

Time stopped when Ruby touched the staff.  So that's not a Lamp-specific thing either. And she even didn't have to say a name....it'd be very useful just as a time stop artifact.

Ironwood is getting the cell next to Jacques, hah.   Now that's  a conversation I don't mind if the show skips.

pffft Hi, you're overdramatic and underdressed. I kind of want to know what nickname Robyn would give you.  

Two  lines in and I can already tell Ambrosius and Oz did not get along at ALL.

I wonder if there's any limits on how often the power can be used, as with the lamp, or if the limit is provided by his personality?

Ooh, they DID think this request out well.  I'm not clear on if the new Penny will be an android along the same  lines, or a  sort of golem, or what,  but  she'll end up as herself with a working body and that's what matters.

You planned everything out *except* the speech to the panicking populace, I see.  

Oh no, Watts has diabolical timing and is sniggering somewhere right now.

Just shut up, Jacques.

She gets a much more humanlike body! I'd say a human body, but it was built from robot parts so it can't be, can it?  And the Maiden powers will stay with Penny, because they're tied to her soul.

The soulless husk of Penny's body shorting out and dying is quite a disturbing sight even when you know it's no longer her.   (And I'm sure will be used as a clip without context to scare people. )

Okay, we're just going to handwave the details and it's a human body. I like Penny so I'm not going to be too pedantic about it.  

Using the Vault as a refugee camp??   They *are* creative. Oh, no, huh, they're sending everyone to Vacuo?  They had coordinates prepared, presumably - but they haven't been able to contact Vacuo so thousands of people are going to show up in a place not ready for them.   A desert place.  

I mean, there's not a lot of *options*, they had to send them somewhere, but now that I think about it, why Vacuo and not Mistral or Vale? Are they assuming - hoping - Vacuo still has decent Kingdom defenses and an economy that can take in the entire combined population of Atlas and Mantle on no notice?

Gosh, I hope the nation Qrow said was full of "thieves and murderers" handles refugees seeking asylum more humanely than most Earth countries.

Ambrosious said he was disappointed at how thorough they'd been.   Does he enjoy it when the things he builds have unanticipated consequences that upset people?   That's not very benevolent.   Jinn seems like she actually wants to help (relatively speaking).

We don't say thank you or goodbye to spirits, I see.  I thought at least some of these girls were raised on fairy tales!  Politeness to supernatural entities is important.  (But then, Oz has straight-up ignored Jinn twice now, and he's a fairy tale expert.  I'm still mulling over that as a plotbunny.)

"Do Not Fall"   Well!  I guess we know what'll happen to Ruby now!

Cinder in the crowd.  Did Watts and Neo not go through? They must have been quite surprised to have whatever their clever evil plan was interrupted by the sudden appearance of magic doors everywhere.

A very unexpected episode all around!    Most of my guesses this season have been wrong, and pleasantly so.    Two more episodes for the unknown horrible shoe to drop. Final random thoughts:

 I was thinking Ruby, but what if all of RWBY falls, leaving the others to go on to Vacuo thinking they're dead for most of volume 9?    

Where Pietro and Maria at this point? Drifting slowly downward in Amity,  I think, unless  they were able to stabilize it.   A few episodes ago I was sure they wouldn't  make it out of this volume alive, but now I have no idea.

I expect the entire population of Atlas and Mantle will go through the doors to move the plot along, but realistically speaking, a lot of people would be very reluctant to go through mysterious one-way portals with no explanation.   Even when the alternative is plummeting with Atlas or freezing/starving/being eaten by Grimm in Mantle.

[selfcontrolbuilders]

Self-Control Story - Chapter 1: Doubt

N04H stood before him, almost broken to the point he had already voiced out his last will. Hammer in hand, he was disposed to comply his last will. He lifted it, ready to swing it at the remains… But the hit never came. The hammer slipped his hands and tears slipped down his face.

“-Hey! How could you do this to me!?-Malroth’s voice sounded in his head.

-Forgive me, Malroth. Anessa has convinced His Majesty that you are too dangerous to walk free, and I cannot refuse a direct command from my king-the voice of that hypocrite and traitor sounded.

Truth to be told, Ice had been quite resented for what Warwick did. To the length of kicking him where it hurt the most before starting the fight.

-I’m not talking to you, stupid. Why, Ice? Why would you build a dungeon for them to throw me into? Just because they asked nicely?

That stung. He didn’t do things just because they asked nicely. While it is true he didn’t ask for an explanation, he had enough gears in his head to create a reasoning as to why they needed it, especially in Moonbrooke. In that kingdom he had been so cautious he had started throwing suspicion even on the king. Anessa was a suspect because of Warwick’s saying, then Warwick was suspicious for throwing such blame on her, the rest of soldiers… Well, Gerome had indeed manifested himself against his beliefs. Zara had been with the deserting soldiers, who had come from the outside, so she was under suspicion too.

-Listen, Malroth, nobody had-he was cut by his best friend turning around so he facing his back.

-I don’t want to hear your excuses. I don’t even want to see your face.”

Why? Why did he say that? He understood he had felt betrayed that time, but…

“The key fit in perfectly, meaning the only traitor was Warwick. He opened the door and neared his friend.

-Malroth…

-Oh. It’s you-he said with such indifference and disgust Ice felt as if his entire reality would turn into that one nightmare he once lived-So, you’ve finally decided to let me out, have you? What’s happened?

-Well, I built a huge tower weapon and… Atlas, the Major General of monsters wants to destroy us all… And is coming over for a visit-Ice said looking at the side, if Malroth was this resented then he’ll probably make a fuss over the weapon.

-…Huh. So you’ve built a massive magical cannon, and now the Major General of the monsters is on his way over to destroy us all. Ha ha ha! Are you serious? There’s a big, bad baddie coming, so now you decide to let me out of my cell?

-“Malroth, please, it’s not my fault that we live in an absolutist system…”-was what he’d wished to say, but hesitance pushed him back.

-You leave me locked away here-never even dropping by to say hello-and now that you’re in trouble, you come to me for help?

-“They didn’t let me anywhere near the cell! I would have passed by to say hello and have even a one-sided conversation!”-another answer that he wanted so badly to say, to scream at him… But he couldn’t, he just couldn’t.

-You’re disgusting, Gelius-Malroth spat like his name was poison.

He went out of the cell without bothering to look back. Ice was left alone trembling, but not from cold or fear. Malroth’s rejection and hatred stung so badly… It was as if somebody had been poisoning with a slow-working venom of those that really sting you. He tightened fists he hadn’t noticed that had formed. A shadow cast on his face, Ice cursed Rubiss for the first time in his whole life. He’d never been a religious person, in fact, he’d built the church because he knew the others were believers that needed a guide. He only built it because of the request that had formed by those who follow Rubiss. He hated the Goddess now with every cell of his being. Pure hatred that also targeted Hargon and his whole army. He hated everything now, every monster and human who believed things would go well, because, for him, things weren’t going well at all. A tear slipped and fell to the floor, shattering, for it was frozen.

-I hate you, Rubiss-he muttered when he’d anticipated the light glow trying to reach him-Don’t you even dare speak to me or I’ll go and seek for a way of destroying you, make you suffer. Haven’t I already proved vengeful enough for you to be cautious? Aren’t I that cursed child even his family rejects? Give it up, will you? I don’t care if it’s Erdrick’s or the Demon Lord’s blood the one that runs through my veins, I don’t care about wielding a sword to fight for a destiny that never belonged to me.”

There was no way Malroth would have ever wanted to see him again after he got thrown into the cell. That was bothersome for Ice. Build a castle, Lulu said, it will culminate our kingdom.

-“You can go burn in hell, Lulu”-he thought-“Did the thought of me being in the right mood to build a castle ever pass your head? I may have imagination, but back then I would have drawn a gigantic fortress with several weapons, like Cantlin.”

He didn’t even pay attention to whatever were Anessa and the others building. He couldn’t have cared less. Yowies? Snow fields? Those were already noted down by somebody else in the book. Traps? He was born in a giant fortress with weapons hidden everywhere. He would’ve loved to create the Cantlin Shield, though.  In his mood, so stressed and mad over what had happened in the Kingdom, how a friendship that lasted three islands went to waste in less than a second. Sure, the thing about Ra’s mirror was another thing Malroth was angry about, but he had made sure to point out he had used the mirror on everyone, even the king himself, that he could have built a whole fortress around the Isle of Awakening with such traps not even the ship could’ve survived. Had he had a bit more of time…

“-Malroth, wait-Ice said after having gained back his composure, putting a hand on his shoulder.

-What? What else do you want?-he snapped turning with a harsh glare.

-Malroth, plase, I didn’t intend to imprison you, and I couldn’t decide even whether to-he was cut off by the red-eyed man again.

-Shut up! Okay? Just shut up. I’ve had enough of your excuses.

Tears welled up in Ice’s eyes. He’d already had an open wound with Malroth’s snappy behavior, and now it felt as if Malroth had thrown salt on it.

-Oh, for crying out- Anyone’d think you were the one whose best friend betrayed them…

-Malroth!-Anessa called.

Ice stopped listening at that point, looking away from Anessa. He didn’t want to show himself weak after slaughtering so mercilessly all those monsters, screaming and cursing each one of them as if a demon had possessed him. He’d even joked about doing an exorcism… Before Warwick and Anessa discovered the true nature of such an animalistic blood-thirst. Half human, half monster. Rejected by humans for being part monster, rejected by most monsters for being part human. The only creature that had accepted him as he was had been Malroth. His somewhat sassy and slightly rude behavior slightly reminded Ice of himself, when he was in Cantlin people often mentioned how he looked and acted like his grandfather, a very sassy and snappy builder with a great talent, merging Tantegel into one city, teaching the builders in Cantlin and becoming a modal builder in all of Alefgard, and Erdrick’s only cousin. The one that forged the Sword that the Prince of Midenhall used to slaughter the evil priest Hargon and his Master, whose name had been locked up inside his memories, no matter how many times he’d heard it.

-Hey, Gelius-calling him by that name was the part it hurt the most. He’d told him to call him Ice instead of Gelius, since “Ice Crystal” was the name his mother gave him, Gelius being his grandfather’s name, which had been passed down on him-I’ll help you beat Atlas. But after that, we’re done. You built a dungeon to lock me away and only let me out when you needed my help. That’s low.

Another critical hit. His soul’s HP seriously needed those medicinal herbs he carried around, or a healing spell at that matter.

-I suppose it makes sense, though. Why would a builder like you care about a guy like me who can only destroy stuff? I thought we could be friends, but I guess I was wrong. You and me, Gelius-we’re through.

“Since when were we a couple?” was the first thought that crossed Ice’s mind. Then, he processed the sentence’s meaning, which actually made him feel like his soul had been ripped by the Master of Destruction himself. Ironically, he eventually discovered Malroth indeed was the Master of Destruction, so he added this situation to the ones where irony made such a hurtful effect it was painful even to remember.”

His origins was something he kept a secret to everyone. The fact he had the legendary Erdrick’s blood running through his veins and at the same time monster blood also ran through said vessels made the irony even more accentuated whenever he thought of his destiny here. He had thought of the irony of it all when the king of Moonbrooke told him the blood of the hero ran through his veins and his knowledge about a certain secret that it seemed to also have been passed down in his family when he saw a very old and dusty blueprint about the Kazapple Cannon.

“Peace. How ironic. The world may be at peace, but his world was crumbling, falling apart. Anessa celebrated it, along many others. They even made a feast and a firework show. Ice couldn’t care less about shiny exploding things by then. He felt as if his soul was tearing itself apart, which would eventually lead to either multiple personalities or his own death. He went to talk with Malroth, sure, but only because the king asked so.

Perhaps he really was like Malroth had said. Doing things just because they asked for them nicely.

-…Huh? Oh, Gelius, it’s you. How long have you been standing there?

-“Good question, Malroth, I even lost track of time during the feast, so I wasn’t conscious I’d made it here until you said so, I could’ve fallen from the wall and I’d still be walking was it not for you and your little question.”

-That Kazapple cannon of yours is really something. Guess you won’t need me around to beat up the monsters any more.

-“Actually, I can’t make more than that one… Though if you saw how I’ve been in battle lately…”

-You build thing, I mash monsters. But you don’t need me any more-and I don’t need you-“Stop playing tough”-Once we get back to the island, we can go our separate ways.

The rest of the night was just a fuzz of lights and noise. He had been fond of exploding things once when he was about twelve. The Master Builder had to stop him before he blew up the Tantegel’s center with fireworks and wrecking balls. That had been left behind once his sweet friendship with Malroth had broken. Not even chips had he eaten in the feast, and it was by far his favorite food that could be cooked with Moonbrooke’s resources. Had it been for him, he would have gone to his room and stayed inside for the rest of the night.”

Malroth had left it clear enough: he didn’t want to see him anymore, let alone have a friendly conversation with him. He had stated clearly he didn’t need him, that they should take separate paths. So why was he insisting on intertwining them again? He surely was now BFFs with his oh-so-devoted follower Hargon, why would he need him now? N04H and the others, one the other hand…

By now tears were streaming down regularly through his face, eyes watery and watching N04H’s remains. He couldn’t stand it. Why was he trying to get to Malroth even? To make others happy? To fulfill that promise he’d made before their friendship teared apart? Why not care about the ones who were truly at his side, and not turning tables whenever they wanted? He was fed up of traitors, lies and all that crap. All he wanted was a happy family with a nice life, was it too much for the Goddess herself to give her favorite family a happy ending?

He hugged the pile of nearly useless metal.

-I’m sorry, I can’t do it-he cried onto the machine’s “chest”.

Hellen watched sorrowfully how the scene evolved. She had anticipated this. He’d shown himself a little too attached to very simple things such as that oaken club or the car he had so badly named. Affection was the problem this child had. He grew too attached to things, even knowing they could break so easily…

-Ice, there’s no doing it, either you do it or we do it-she said, though she had no intention of destroying the broken robot any time soon.

-No! I’m not going to! And I won’t let you! Who cares about the forsaken Master anymore!? Who cares we used to be friends? My friends are here and waiting for me to return back at the Isle! Screw Malroth! He’s as rotten a god as Rubiss!-he blew up-If he doesn’t want to see me, then be it! I don’t want to either!

Adamn growled. A direct insult to the Master of Destruction could cost him a high price.

-Ice, be reasonable! Didn’t you say you never broke your word? What about the promise you made back then?-Hellen said, containing Adamn by extending an arm.

“-Ice… If-anything-were-to-happen-that-led-me-to-my-end, I-want-you-to-promise-me-you-will-carry-on-my-last-will-N04H’s metallic voice called him.

-Sure, of course, after all, you almost didn’t live to tell it before, so I’m ready to accept it whenever it comes-he coolly said with an expression of pure seriousness-And I never break my word. I swear  in the name of my bloodline I will carry on with your last will.”

Ice growled, glaring at the priestess. The Children of Hargon surely knew how to attack where it hurt the most. His tail popped up again and it threw itself at Hellen like a whip.

-And I will! But not here and not now! Not when the Master is menacing us all, let’s go! Whitebones, turn the engine on!

Everyone looked at the builder astonished. Surely he wasn’t planning on leaving another friend out there, right?

-Ice, weren’t you so determined to rescue Malroth?

Ice looked at Hellen, a cold stare.

-That was until someone died to reach my targets. I’m not like them. I’m not like the disgusting humankind. I’m not like my family… I’m not like Allen or Hargon. I wouldn’t fall so low as to take profit of others.

Something in the back of Hellen’s mind triggered when Hargon was brought to the conversation like that.

-Hargon wasn’t like that. He’s not one to break his word easily, like you used to be-she argued with a serious tone.

-How do you know? You’re not real, remember?-he said, his look turning into a dark one-Who cares about an illusion anyway? All this world is fake, isn’t it? Then let it be destroyed, I’ll be the emissary of destruction in the real world. Those who believe will be saved, those who don’t… Well, let’s just say salvation will be beyond their reach.

Ice started walking to the place Whitebones was, commanding people around. He spoke to him about the journey between worlds, a topic they both shared an interest.

Hellen scoffed, as if he knew a thing about reality and illusion. The child was already far beyond what this illusion could bring, talking to himself in a lively conversation being enough proof. She thought of the day she earned her title, back in Furrowfield’s council. How the screechy voice of the high priest had given a name, which turned out to be hers… How she learned the true nature of this world and her own self. It wasn’t easy to accept you were a mirror of Hargon’s memories, locked in the back of his mind while the illusion was created. A mirror of a person, specifically, a dead person.

In the half-in-ruins castle that towered over everything else in Malhalla, a bored high priest was resting on his throne resting his chin on his hand, the elbow of the arm of said hand resting on the throne in turn. He looked at his right, then his left, then at the front again.

-For how much more are we going to wait for that accursed builder, Malroth?-he voiced out loud for his Master to hear.

-Just a little more… I’m sure he must’ve figured out how to fly around here by now. It’s a matter of time he comes-he replied in Hargon’s mind.

-Honestly, do you believe he’ll even show up? I mean, he knows his place is not fighting us, and believe me, you could have already destroyed this world five times already.

-Just a little more?

-It’s been five months already!-Hargon screeched, the sentence echoing through all of the castle, then back to them-How much more are you going to wait until you realize they have no intention of coming?!

Hargon’s outburst shocked Malroth. In fact, the priest had been asking every five hours how long did he intend to wait, but he had been patient until now, which made him shout the harsh truth.

-I tolerated it the first months. Figuring out a way to move around here is as difficult as learning master-class spells without having cast the basic ones once before. When is it going to get through your thick skull? The builder is not coming!

-Then I’ll go find them-Malroth said appearing and crossing all four arms.

Hargon sighed.

-Honestly, you never know when to stop, do you?-he said bringing a hand to his forehead-I’ll go with you. Sometimes you need someone who isn’t the size of a two-floored house to call other people for them not to run away screaming for help.

With a nod, Malroth crouched and Hargon jumped on his back, arms crossed and a grumpy expression on his face.

-Go-he simply said before taking off.

They flied through the whole place, searching for them before Hargon caught a glimpse of something yellow.

-I could have sworn that our buildings were dark green… What is that?-he mumbled-Malroth! Over there! Check it out! But… be cautious, we don’t know if they have weapons.

-Sure-Malroth said before turning to fly in the direction that yellow building was.

Malroth, being the careless monster he was, one that used brute force, took the ark’s wall with two of his arms and peeked inside like it was a toy box.

-Hellen! There’s a massive green lizard trying to take over the ark!-Arisplotle called the priestess-Can you bring along Adamn and Zebadee?

-What kind of lizard do you mean, chi-she started and looked at Malroth-Oh.

-Fear not, my disciples-Hargon said jumping down onto the ark-the one you labeled as “massive green lizard” is our Lord and Master, Malroth. He has come to seek a slightly tall human with light blue hair, a backpack with a giant book and traveling clothing who says to be a builder.

Every monster in the crew looked to each other. After hearing Hargon’s ominous voice through statues, the Trinity had grown to think he would be an ominous character, but he somehow did look familiar. Perhaps it was, indeed, the high priest.

-I think the one you speak about is me-said Ice coming out of the kitchen with a deadly serious expression-I do not wish to hear what you have to say, Hargon, I am not like the family of heroes, I have been taught not to listen to evil creatures such as you.

Hargon looked at the builder from head to toe.

-Inspecting you closer, you do resemble the one that initiated your linage of builders. I have seen him enough times traveling through Torland to dare say that. It’s almost disgusting that Malroth grew fond of you, knowing your origins.

-Hargon-Malroth growled-We haven’t come for that and you know it.

Hargon scoffed. He’d found the builder, now what? What does he intend to do now?

-Hargon… It has indeed been a long time since I last heard of you-Hellen said-I am Hellen, the one you labeled as one of the three priests in the Trinity.

-I know who you are, could you do me a favor and shut up for now? Malroth has something to say, if I am not mistaken-he said.

-Oh… um… yeah… Ice… I… I’m sorry for what I said, can you come over so we can catch up?

-Now you come crawling at my feet to apologize, huh? Maybe Allen was right about you monsters…

Malroth could feel a tight knot in his stomach, wasn’t Allen the one Hargon had spoken like he was a bloodthirsty monster in a human body? Was Ice now resented and willing to follow the steps of the Prince of Midenhall?

-But I guess just by saying that we’re even, so… I guess I won’t take his words seriously-he said cracking up an evilish smile.

Malroth and Ice high-fived to celebrate it. They were friends again.

-So… Now that we’re friends again, can we go back to the Isle and…?

-Malroth, look at yourself. There’s no way you fit in your room in any way. You’re… Let’s put it this way, a twenty meter long giant winged lizard with fangs as big as me. Do you think the villagers are going to take this… normally?

-They took your thing fairly easily.

Ice furrowed his brows. By that time Hargon was sitting on the floor with his arms crossed, this was going to be a long, long talk.

-I am a half-monster with the regular human blood running through my veins… You, on the other hand, are the incarnation of Destruction and a giant lizard with four massive arms with which you can break anything.

-I can breath fire too-Malroth added.

-That does not help. We would have to shrink you or something, you don’t even fit inside the pyramid!

-Huh? I don’t? I thought that thing was huge.

-It is, but you’re even more huge.

Hellen was glaring daggers at Hargon by then. He had referred to her so rudely…

-I’m sorry-Hargon mumbled.

-What?-she asked.

-I’m sorry-he stated more clearly-I didn’t intend to snap like that, it’s just… I’m not in my best mood. I’ve been waiting for five months for this child to show up and he now asked me to find him so that they may be friends again. I’m… tired to say the least.

Hellen giggled. Hargon sure got worked up for something really silly.

-Um… I forgot to tell you, the rest of the Trinity is here… He’s Zebadee-she said pointing at the priest in charge of the Court of Chaos-And Adamn, the Inquisitor-she said pointing to the archdemon.

-Ah, yes. I still remember assigning you the charges back in the day… Happy times those where all I had to worry was travel around the world. Now I have to babysit Malroth because for some reason he acts like a teenager. Anyway-he said getting up-I must go, the world isn’t going to destroy by itself. Malroth! That’s enough! If you want to keep your friendly encounter take him, we’re leaving.

-Oh…

-Wait, you’re taking Ice with you!?-Hellen exclaimed.

Hargon turned around and signed something in monster language. His face was like saying “I’m fed up”, and his foot was constantly tapping against the ark’s floor.

Hellen gasped when she understood what was he saying, probably something very rude. Adamn wasn’t bright enough to understand it, he’d never been a coded language monster, but Zebadee understood it and his staff illuminated like when he was about to cast a spell. Hargon noticed this and pointed his own staff at the priest and it shone brightly.

-Hargon, stop-Malroth said picking Ice up with one hand-We’re about to go.

-You aren’t taking that child anywhere!-Hellen said angrily-Now put him down and stop whatever it is that stops the End of the World as We Know It.

Malroth didn’t understand anything, and so did Hargon. Why did the Trinity of Hargon want Malroth to put down his friend?

-Oh, I get it now, you have fallen for his tricks to, haven’t you?-he said looking at the bell-Truly, and here I thought you all were brighter than the rest… This bell is the sign of our archenemy! How dare you let him put that in front of our sacred place?! You have been building too, haven’t you? Can’t I trust my own Trinity? I chose you because your faith was genuine!

Hargon sounded betrayed in Ice’s ears. He had the exact same tone Malroth used in Moonbrooke’s fight. He felt sorry for him, he knew that even he had the right to feel betrayed, as evil as he was. Everyone had feelings… except for Rubiss maybe, that was clear enough. Words of trust, charges… They all had been entrusted with something and now they were following the exact opposite doctrines of those he had taught. He lowered his head in what he hoped was something like an apology.

-Let’s go, Malroth-he said, he sounded like he was trying to contain something.

While they were flying back Malroth asked Ice something very curious.

-Do you think it was the right choice to come and find you?

Next Chapter

[irishdarkcrazy]

The awakening

“We need support in the northern sector, we’re being overrun with Beringels!”

“Teryx are breaking through the western blockade, requesting backup!”

“We’ve got Nevermores coming in from the south, is there anyone able to respond!?”

“May-day, May-day! this is the Brynhild, the large unknown Grimm is closing in on us and seems to be charging some kind of...”

Ironwood could only watch in despair as one of his capital ships exploded after being struck by some kind of sound-based attack from the massive Grimm. The beast flew through the smoke left behind by the explosion and continued on to the next ship, the attacks from the smaller vessels doing nothing to slow it down or change its course.

This wasn’t how things were meant to be. Atlas was meant to be safe, out of the reach of Salem and the Grimm. But now it was trapped and under siege on all sides. Damn Ozpin and his followers. Why didn’t they understand that this was all for the best? Did they think he wanted to sacrifice everyone in Mantle? Did they think he wanted to be a monster? Why couldn’t anyone understand that this was the only way to survive?!

“Because you were a fool” James froze. Every cell in his body knew only fear and dread at the very sound of that voice. “And you played right into my hands, like a good little tin soldier”

Stepping out of the shadows, flanked by a pair of Sabyr, looking like some dark goddess out of a fairy tale, was Salem herself. She glided across the floor with unnatural grace and elegance that did little to hide the dark aura surrounding her. 

“General, so good to meet you face to face” Her smile did little to lessen the dread gripping James’s heart. “Though I must admit the welcoming committee you had for me clearly isn’t up to par”

She turned away from the general to watch as another capital ship was lost to the monstrous brute in circling the city. “But then, what can you expect from a fool”

“You dare...” As he moved to draw his weapon, James quickly found himself pinned to the floor by the Sabyrs. One came within inches of opening his neck with its razor-sharp saber teeth before it stilled at a simple hand gesture from its mistress.

“No need for that. I still have much to discuss with the good general” Salem turned back to face Ironwood. “Would you like to know why you failed, general?”

Salem frowned when she received no answer other than a look of hatred. “I see, you don’t wish to play along. Very well” She walked past him towards the vault door. “You failed, general because you chose isolation. Atlas is but one tiny piece of a much larger whole. If you had chosen to seek aid from Vacou, things might have been different”

She raised her hand up to the vault door and closed her eyes in concentration. Dark magic coated the hand as she tried to break the seal on the door. After several minutes, Salem pulled her hand back with a look of frustration on her face. “Very clever Ozma. Not even my magic can breach the sanctum. No matter, it is only a matter of time before winter maiden’s power is mine”

“I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible” James tried to keep his voice as calm as possible while also staying as still as he could, so as not to provoke the two Grimm keeping him down. “The power of the maiden has already passed to a new host and she is long gone from Atlas”

“What?!” Salem crossed the distance between the door and Ironwood in the blink of an eye. The two Sabyr quickly backed away to allow their mistress access to their prey. With a swift hand motion, she pulled the general off the ground and suspended him in the air. “What do you mean she is gone!?”

He glared down at the witch before letting a smirk appear on his face at the knowledge he managed to get once over on her. “She left Atlas along with several other huntsmen and huntresses. You will never get her or the power”

Fury covered Salem’s face and dark magic poured out of her body in such intensity that caused the Grimm to recoil in pain. “I hope the small joy you got from telling me that information was worth it. Because your death will be a slow and agonizing one”

Her hand was just about to make contact with Ironwood’s chest when a green bubble surrounded him and broke Salem’s hold as well. “Salem!” Both of them turned in the direction of the new voice and were shocked to find Oscar Pine standing nearby with his hand outstretched towards Ironwood.

“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting a reunion for soon, Ozpin” Salem looked amused at the young man. “My that is quite the younger model, isn’t it. Are you sure this is a fight you want to get into in that state?”

“I assure you, Salem. The young mister Pines and I are more than ready to face you” Slowly he manoeuvred himself closer to Ironwood, but never once did he take his eyes off of Salem.

This she found to be quite humorous and even laughed at the sight. “Really? You are going to defend this man who not only betrayed you but was willing to throw away countless lives to save his own skin?”

“That I am. Because no matter what, I will always do what I can to protect the people of this world” Holding out his cane, Ozpin was more than ready to fight should Salem make a move. “You need to call off this attack, Salem before it is too late”

“Oh? and why should I do that?” She swept a hand out towards the aerial battle taking place around them. “Unless it has escaped your notice, Ozpin. I have won. Only one kingdom remains and it will stand no chance against me on its own”

“Because if you do not stop, then Vacou will be the least of your troubles” Ozpin took a step forward and lowered his weapon. “We both know that you are not the only master the Grimm have. The others are merely sleeping, waiting for the right time to awaken and this attack, the amount of Grimm you have brought, it is only a matter of time before...”

“I am the only master of the Grimm” Salem cut him off with a furious display of power. “I am Salem, mistress of all Grimm, the most powerful mystic on Remnant and I bow to no man, woman, Grimm or God!”

A deafening roar filled the air and silenced the battle. The earth beneath Mantle began to heave and quake before a large portion of the city collapses in on itself, disappearing into the very earth itself. Those on the ground who managed to escape the collapse could only look on in horror at the gaping maw that was once a proud city. But that was not the end, air rushed into the cavern as if it were some giant lung taking in a breath followed by the crackle of lighting. 

What emerged first from the depths was a massive tail with a spiked club, it was followed by a draconic head which shook off any ice that was clinging to it, then a second tail with a scythe-like tip and finally two more heads rose up with the one in the centre of the three releasing a shrill screech of a roar into the sky. One massive wing crashed down onto the lip of the crater and was used as leverage to pull the rest of the titanic body up to the surface. Now out in the open, the beast was able to stand up tall and spread out its wings to their fullest. Though it retained the bone like head mask and spikes of a normal Grimm, it appeared to have lighting dust crystals growing out of it, to such an extent that the skin was more gold then black.

The three heads moved around separately, each one taking in the sights around them. Left seemed to focus its attention on the battle in the sky, its eyes tracking the massive beast that circled above. Right kept its gaze upon the city of Mantle, it seemed quite interested in the tiny creatures running around in fear. The central head was focused entirely on Atlas, its eyes locked on to the floating city.

Left gave a sudden roar of warning that drew the attention of the other two heads seconds before a blast of concussive energy slammed into their body from the air. The force knocked them over, crushing the buildings that it landed upon. A deep bellow came from the whale-sized Grimm as it turned in the air to line up another attack on the creature, the glow in its massive head grew more intense seconds before it unleashed another wave of destructive sound.

“Well Ozpin, it seems you were wrong” Salem would never admit it, but the sudden appearance of the Grimm titan had taken her by surprise and if she was honest, it had frightened her. But the sight of her pet easily dealing with the best was enough to restore her confidence. “I had nothing to fear from this so-called Grimm master”

Three beams of lighting came screaming out of the dust and scorched deep wounds into the side of the beast, causing it to howl in pain and crash into the ground.

Raising from the smoke and dust, body glowing bright yellow as the lighting dust crackled and sparked all over, the titan pounced atop the downed beast, crushing it into the earth before angling all three heads down towards it and unleashing its lighting once more. The city was bathed in golden light and filled with the agonizing screams of the Grimm as the lighting tore through its body and reduced it to ash. 

With its opponent defeated and no other challengers in sight, the titan spread itself wings and leapt into the air. As it rose into the sky, all three heads turned as one to the location of the vault and somehow they managed to lock directly on to Salem, who stared back. An unseen battle began as they locked eyes, a battle of wills and unfortunately for Salem, the tiny part of her that was still human, the ability to feel emotions, to feel fear, chose that moment to make itself known and that was all the creature needed to win. 

With a scream, Salem grabbed her head in pain and dropped to her knees, her aura of dominance and control was gone. Sensing this, the two Sabyrs rejected whatever loyalty they had for the witch and lunged at her, only to be quickly dispatched by Ozpin’s cane. With the threat removed, the young man threw down his weapon and rushed to Salem’s side. “Salem? Salem can you hear me?”

“Oz...ma?” Her voice, once confident and strong was now reduced to a weak and pitiful whimper, so similar to how it was when the two first met. 

“I’m here, Salem. I’ve got you” A voice, filled with love for the woman that once was, spoke for the first time in countless centuries as he helped the woman back to her feet.

“I’m sorry, I should have listened” She tried to weakly push away from the aid. But Ozpin held firm. “I’ve doomed us all”

Up above, the creature landed on top of Atlas, causing the city to sink lower. It spread its wings out and all three heads roared into the sky. As the roar echoed across the land, Grimm came pouring into the city while those in the air circled around their new master. Salem once more screamed in pain and dropped to her knees, despite Ozpin’s efforts to keep her standing. While somewhere in Mantle, Cinder Fall also dropped to her knees, holding her head in agony.

Those who managed to escape the city could only look back in horror at the sight. The once might city of Atlas was now nothing more than a throne for a new threat to all of Remnant.

Salem was right, she would not bow to any man, woman or god. But that did not include a devil with three heads.

[timespanner]

“The Great Khan owns an atlas where all the cities of the empire and the neighbouring realms are drawn, building by building and street by street, with walls, rivers, bridges, harbours, cliffs. He realizes that from Marco Polo's tales it is pointless to expect news of those places, which for that matter he knows well: how at Kambalu, capital of China, three square cities stand one within the other, each with four temples and four gates that are opened according to the seasons; how on the island of Java the rhinoceros rages, charging, with his murderous horn; how pearls are gathered on the ocean bed off the coasts of Malabar.

Kublai asks Marco, 'When you return to the West, will you repeat to your people the same tales you tell me?'

'I speak and speak,' Marco says, 'but the listener retains only the words he is expecting. The description of the world to which you lend a benevolent ear is one thing; the description that will go the rounds of the groups of stevedores and gondoliers on the street outside my house the day of my return is another; and yet another, that which I might dictate late in life, if I were taken prisoner by Genoese pirates and put in irons in the same cell with a writer of adventure stories. It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear.'

At times I feel your voice is reaching me from far away, while I am prisoner of a gaudy and unlivable present, where all forms of human society have reached an extreme of their cycle and there is no imagining what new forms they may assume. And I hear, from your voice, the invisible reasons which make cities live, through which perhaps, once dead, they will come to life again.'

The Great Khan owns an atlas whose drawings depict the terrestrial globe all at once and continent by continent, the borders of the most distant realms, the ships' routes, the coastlines, the maps of the most illustrious metropolises and of the most opulent ports. He leafs through the maps before Marco Polo's eyes to put his knowledge to the test. The traveller recognizes Constantinople in the city which from three shores dominates a long strait, a narrow gulf, and an enclosed sea; he remembers that Jerusalem is set on two hills, of unequal height, facing each other; he has no hesitation in pointing to Samarkand and its gardens.

For other cities he falls back on descriptions handed down by word of mouth, or he guesses on the basis of scant indications: and so Granada, the streaked pearl of the caliphs; Lubeck, the neat, boreal port; Timbuktu, black with ebony and white with ivory; Paris where millions of men come home every day grasping a wand of bread. In coloured miniatures the atlas depicts inhabited places of unusual form: an oasis hidden in a fold of the desert from which only palm crests  peer out is surely Nefta; a castle amid quicksands and cows grazing in meadows salted by the tides can only suggest Mont-Saint-Michel; and a palace that instead of rising within a city's walls contains within its own walls a city can only be Urbino.

The atlas depicts cities which neither Marco nor the geographers know exist or where they are, though they cannot be missing among the forms of possible cities: a Cuzco on a radial and multipartite plan which reflects the perfect order of its trade, a verdant Mexico on the lake dominated by Montezuma's palace, a Novgorod with bulb-shaped domes, a Lhasa whose white roofs rise over the cloudy roof of the world. For these, too, Marco says a name, no matter which, and suggests a route to reach them. It is known that names of places change as many times as there are foreign languages; and that every place can be reached from other places, by the most various roads and routes, by those who ride, or drive, or row, or fly.

'I think you recognize cities better on the atlas that when you visit them in person,' the emperor says to Marco snapping the volume shut.

And Polo answers, 'Travelling, you realize that differences are lost: each city takes to resembling all cities, places exchange their form, order, distances, a shapeless dust cloud invades the continents. Your atlas preserves the differences intact: that assortment of qualities which are like the letters in a name.'  The Great Khan owns an atlas in which are gathered the maps of all the cities: those whose walls rest on solid foundations, those which fell in ruins and were swallowed up by the sand, those that will exist one day and in whose place now only hares' holes gape.

Marco Polo leafs through the pages; he recognizes Jericho, Ur, Carthage, he points to the landing at the mouth of the Scamander where the Achaean ships waited for ten years to take the besiegers back on board, until the horse nailed together by Ulysses was dragged by windlasses through the Scaean gates. But speaking of Troy, he happened to give the city the form of Constantinople and foresee the siege which Mohammed would lay for long months until, astute as Ulysses, he had his ships drawn at night up the streams from the Bosporus to the Golden Horn, skirting Pera and Galata. And from the mixture of those two cities a third emerged, which might be called San Francisco and which spans the Golden Gate and the bay with long, light bridges and sends open trams climbing its steep streets, and which might blossom as capital of the Pacific a millennium hence, after the long siege of three hundred years that would lead the races of the yellow and the black and the red to fuse with the surviving descendants of the whites in an empire more vast than the Great Khan's.   

The atlas has these qualities: it reveals the form of cities that do not yet have a form or a name. There is the city in the shape of Amsterdam, a semicircle facing north, with concentric canals--the princes', the emperor's, the nobles'; there is the city in the shape of York, set among the high moors, walled, bristling with towers; there is the city in the shape of New Amsterdam known also as New York, crammed with towers of glass and steel on an oblong island between two rivers, with streets like deep canals, all of them straight, except Broadway. 

The catalogue of forms is endless: until every shape has found its city, new cities will continue be born. When the forms exhaust their variety and come apart, the end of cities begins. In the last pages of the atlas there is an outpouring of networks without beginning or end, cities in the shape of Los Angeles, in the shape of Kyoto-Osaka, without shape.”

– Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities