#Pre-Nuts and Dolts

[ssarkosghost]

A Penny Ahead

Alright well here is my gift to @golddragon387 for @remnants-of-rwby-exchange day. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this and hope you enjoy it to. It was a blast to write again on here and I look forward to putting more out😊. Here we get Penny dealing with knowledge from the future since she was awoken and trying to keep it all on track, as she attends the Beacon Dance for the Vytal Tournament. Wish her luck.

Bright lights and the upbeat tunes of music flowed throughout the converted hall, as the students of all four academies mingled with one another. Jokes and stories were traded, as the various refreshments were consumed. It was a joyous occasion as many enjoyed the party atmosphere, with several busting some moves on the dance floor.

Well except for one party-goer. Penny Polendina, who though outwardly was having her systems do a little jig, was inwardly barely holding it together. Ever since she had…awakened, her mind was flooded with memories of the future, past? Never mind that, whenever she thought and tried to rationalize what had happened to her, well that was no longer a major issue for her.

No, instead it was trying to implement her new, past, knowledge. She had so many conflicting points, her father, General Ironwood, and all of Atlas were in danger. Originally her focus had been trying to prep for the oncoming storm, but her status as an experiment left her few options. Anything too hard and she could see the worry on her father’s face, too soft was simply brushed aside by General Ironwood. She was trapped between being a daughter and a weapon, a fact that hindered her in other ways in Atlas too.

She couldn’t get close to anyone; she couldn’t make a friend that deep down she so desperately needed. The loneliness she now experienced was overwhelming, especially as she tried to keep up her façade of being the obedient girl. Sure, she could reach out to her father, but he would just keep pulling her back, to the false safety of his home. No, she needed someone to be willing to listen to her, to let her say what she needed to say.

Her new memories had pointed to one such individual, a person who prompted her to stick to the old/normal routine. A person that caused her to freeze over and over again. Someone that she had to see in this life to see just what these memories of her were about.

Ruby Rose, a name, and face that did the worst torment to Penny as she processed everything she had in her head. Sure, the deaths she saw came with their feelings of pain and terror, however, those paled compared to the fact that the fair-faced dark-haired girl in her new memories always made her soul yearn. At first, she only had a vague idea. The memories explained much but there was no way she had these feelings, at least until she met her again.

Penny had tried to model the first encounter as close as possible; she still froze when she gazed into the silver eyes of Ruby.  Even with the awkward first words, Penny could see why her past/present self had fallen for the young huntress. Ruby was just so kind, and she saw her as someone to talk with. The following evening had Penny trying to cope with her own feelings for Ruby and detangle the ones coming from her own memories. After all this Ruby wasn’t that Ruby right, it would be unfair…right?

So, she had continued just following the steps her memories laid down, except when they found the criminal Roman Torchwick. Penny would not distract Ruby from that man and instead had moved to deflect Roman’s sneak attack. The rest of the night was a blur as Penny ripped through the White Fang’s airships without even a glance. Instead, her mind had focused on how Ruby looked at her, in wonder and excitement. Sadly, before she could move to talk, the security detail from Atlas bundled her off the scene at the docks.

For weeks she was kept within the hotel as the head of her detail, her father, and General Ironwood berated her for engaging in such a public space. It was grating, and yet she knew she had to take it less they send her back. That was something she couldn’t risk, not when she was so close. Still, she did have to sneak out once, if only to meet Ruby again, to give her side of the incident of course.

However, unlike the time in her memories, Penny was much more careful, staying away from the potential patrols of Atlas personnel. She really didn’t want to cause any issues for Ruby, especially since she didn’t have much information for her. Instead of a harrowing chase and reveal, Penny instead got to listen to Ruby for a while. It was sweet, a nice calming moment that just felt right.

It was a moment that Penny wanted to keep going on forever, but she knew she had to get back. For a moment she almost asked if Ruby would save a dance with her, but she hesitated. She wasn’t sure if it was right, as due to her caution, there was no need to run, no incident with a truck almost hitting Ruby, and thus no reveal that she, Penny Polendina was…was built instead of born.

So, Penny packed it away and waited patiently for the dance to arrive, there she would ask Ruby. Or at least that was the plan. However General Ironwood was still concerned about her movements, and as such Penny found her protection detail being doubled for the night. Sure, she was annoyed, but the greater issue was that things were changing, becoming different from what her memories had shown her. She had accounted for slight variations at this stage, but these drastic measures by General Ironwood worried her. If too much changed, she couldn’t strike Cinder Fall’s plans at the exact—!

Cinder Fall, she would strike tonight targeting the CTTS Tower, and more dangerously confront Ruby. Her mind was a wash of the probabilities, with too many being unacceptable. A shift in priorities was needed. So, she made her opening.

“Excuse me, may I be escorted to the restroom?” she asked the corporal in charge of her detail, giving the man a brilliant smile. She knew they didn’t want to be here, guarding what they assumed was someone’s kid. As such it was easy for her to get reasonable requests, especially since she had stayed in her hotel room for the past few weeks. The corporal nodded and, in a few minutes, Penny found herself alone in a nearby girls’ restroom. Quickly she located a vent and scrambled into it. The blueprints of Beacon Academy were relatively easy to acquire for her. With a path selected, she hustled toward the tower.

The next few minutes were the most harrowing for Penny as she tried not to over-analyze what she knew of this incident. Time frames, potential attacks, and disastrous outcomes all rushed through her head. No matter how hard she tried to focus on her task her thoughts always seemed to track back to the fact that she was racing against time. If she was too late—

Penny shook her head as she finally managed to find an exit. Slipping out she hit the ground running, regretting not pressing her father for the jet boots her previous/future self had. Still, she filed that complaint for later, as she deployed her blades. She knew Cinder Fall was not someone to hold back on. A first strike would—

“Penny?” a familiar voice stopped her as she reached the entrance, and she turned to meet the concerned and armed form of Ruby Rose. “What are doing here?”

“Ruby it's fine, please return to the party, there is no need to worr—hic!!” Penny felt her eyes go wide at the startled hiccup that came out of her mouth. Ruby’s eyes narrowed in concern as she stepped closer.

“Penny is something wrong, I saw someone sneaking��”

“It's nothing—Hic!! No, it is just a HIC!!” Penny was not prepared for the rush of emotions as she tried to assuage Ruby that she didn’t need to get involved just yet, she didn’t need to be a target of Cinder. It would just be her Penny that would earn Cinder’s wrath, it is what she was designed for it was her purpose for being built. She—!

Her panicked thoughts stopped when Ruby stepped forward holstering Crescent Rose and brought Penny into a quick hug.

“Penny breath it's fine whomever she is we can—”

“No!” Penny quickly jerked back, wide-eyed, “I mean Ruby please you can’t she’s dangerous.” She pleaded as she stepped closer to the main entrance.

“If she is that dangerous then I can’t let you go alone Penny,” Ruby pressed, subtly swearing as her heels caused her to stumble on the bottom steps.

“I…I’ll be fine, this, this is what…” Penny felt her words stop in her non-existent throat, as her internal computers churned through vague explanation after vague explanation.

“How Penny what possible could, make you…fine,” Ruby trailed off as Penny turned her back to her, and the light shimmers of the thin lines that connected her blades revealed to be going directly into her. “Penny, what—!?” Ruby’s question was stopped as Penny had an auxiliary charge port at the base of her neck.

“I, I was built Ruby, I, can be rebuilt,” Penny answered as she turned back around, with a sad smile. “I can sustain more damage than a person and still fight,”

“What, but that just doesn’t mean you can do this alone, who knows just what that person is—”

“I am well aware of her combat capabilities Ruby,” Penny declared, as she interrupted Ruby’s questions before she gave her friend a small smile.

“How!? There’s no way that…” Ruby trailed off as her face scrunched in thought, which she quickly shook off. “No matter I’m still coming with you.” Ruby declared as Penny began to fidget. She knew it was a long shot, her memories told her as much, but perhaps there was a way.

“Ruby please,” Penny started again as she entered to door frame of the CTTS Tower’s entrance, in the attempt to block Ruby’s access as she tried to push forward.

“No Penny, it doesn’t matter that you're mechanical, you are still my friend, and I won’t just stand by and let you do this alone, now we can stand here arguing till whomever this woman is leaves or you can let me follow you.” Ruby promptly declared.

“You are my friend, Ruby,” Penny started, “but I—”

And with an impulse she never expected Penny bent down and gave a quick peck on Ruby’s cheek shocking said girl. In a flash, Penny had stepped back into the tower proper and immediately locked the entire building down. She knew Cinder would have already dispatched the guards, and most likely had one of Dr. Watts’ viruses in the computer systems. However, the lock-down protocols were easy for her to find and set to maximum. Penny then hustled toward the stairs. There would be questions, but it would all be worth it, as long as Cinder Fall did not leave this building alive.

“I promise you Ruby,” Penny whispered to herself, “I will ease your burden.”

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

FUN FACT!: During one of the noncanon VTubing streams, VTuber!Ruby, while playing a BlazBlue game, replied to one of Ragna's pre-battle remarks in the story mode with "I have a robot girlfriend and she's pretty cool".

This, combined with how much Nuts and Dolts gets pushed in Chibi, implies that we are meant to see the bond between Ruby and Penny as a romantic one.

I saw that!! It was very cute :)

I like them as queerplatonic or romantic so it’s nice to have a lil bit of validation for that

[princess-of-the-corner]

The one fic ive seen where Jaune is cooler than canon without being a self insert is “Black Rose Blooms Silver.” Honestly its my fav rwby fic. Besides the fact that most of the villain characters aren’t villains by law of pre-canon divergence (I think only Roman, Adam, and Salem), and having my favorite ship (Nuts and Dolts) it feels like it is something that could have happened in rwby as everyones in character.

The plot is started by, what if when Yang and Ruby got attacked by Beowulf’s as kids, Qrow was a bit late? The answer. Ruby’s partially a grimm bc silver eyes stopped a hound from asimmilating her

Its really fucking good. (The other notable ships are Weiss/Blake/Yang, and JNPR polycule)

Ohohoho?

[it-me-butts]

FrosenSteel week 2021 day2 - Childhood friends

[aerisleis-fics]

Special [Nuts and Dolts]

“what if ruby did meet penny again after all shes been through“This is a Christmas Gift for the wonderful @myanimebullshit​

It’s not the longest piece Ive ever written but it’s the first time I’ve tried to write Penny in any extended form so :x I hope you enjoy it!

Bonus edit: (it’s rwby concept art)

Penny had had to leave almost immediately after their first meeting, and then they’d been arrested and the rest of the night was practically a blur, even with Penny’s excited tour of Atlas, but in the wake of everything calming down, and a good night’s rest, Ruby found it was still difficult to come to terms and really grasp the fact that Penny was back, Penny was okay.

She’d dreamed of Penny and Pyrrha last night, of the horrors of Beacon’s fall. Her team was still asleep. Ruby didn’t blame them any, they’d had a long night.

Quietly she rose from her bed and padded around the room, grabbing her clothes to dress for the day and leaving a quick note in case one of her teammates woke up while she was gone.

The first thing on the list was a hot shower. Then… maybe a meal. It was on the way to the cafeteria that she ended up running into Penny again - and suddenly her plans for the morning were changed.

“Hey Penny!” She greeted with a flash of a smile.

Penny looked at her for a second, grinning, before hugging Ruby tightly - though much less dramatically than she had the night before.

“I’m still so happy to see you.” Ruby whispered.

Penny let her go then and stepped back slightly, tilting her head fractionally to one side. “I missed you too, Ruby.” She said in an earnest tone. The robot frowned after a minute. “Are you … okay?”

“Oh! Yeah I’m fine. Just … I missed you, like I said. Sorry.”

“Don’t be! I just thought you looked … upset for a second.”

She probably had, Ruby acknowledged mentally, but she didn’t think telling Penny that would serve any purpose.

Penny frowned. “It’s because of what happened, at Beacon, isn’t it?”

Sometimes, Penny was very oblivious to human emotions. And sometimes she was very perceptive. But Ruby had said something about it the night before, however briefly.

Instead of deflecting, Ruby nodded. “Yeah. But it’s okay, it’s a good thing to have you back. Just… made me remember that night.”

“Do… you want to talk about it?”

Did she? Instinctively Ruby wanted to say no. She hadn’t spoken about it so far, and she didn’t really want to start now. On the other hand… this was Penny, and maybe talking about it wouldn’t be so bad.

“I…” Ruby trailed off. “I don’t want to be a downer.” Was what she said finally.

“Oh, Ruby.” Penny’s fingers wrapped around her wrist. “You never could be! I want to listen to you, if it would help.”

“Thanks, Penny.” Ruby smiled, this time it was a lot more genuine. “Why don’t you show me the rest of what you meant to last night? I know we had to cut things short because we were so tired.”

Penny wasn’t sure she liked the idea of brushing passed the way Ruby had looked, but she did want to make her friend happy. And so she smiled brightly in answer and nodded. “Okay! Come on!” Penny led the way down one of the side halls, fully intending to show Ruby some of the training rooms and then maybe the office where her dad was working on the new weapons.

That was something Ruby would like, right? It seemed like it. Penny remembered Ruby mentioning she’d designed her weapon all by herself at school.

It was such a casual thing, slipping her hand into Ruby’s as they walked side by side. It felt right, and she didn’t have anything to hide from Ruby. They had a lot to talk about, but maybe it didn’t have to be right now.

Maybe they could just enjoy being friends for now.

Yeah, Friends. Ruby was still the first friend she’d ever made. She’d always be special, to Penny.

She remembered the way Ruby had been shocked, had teared up the night before as she saw Penny for the first time since Beacon, and Penny thought that maybe she was special to Ruby, too.

[tumblezwei]

As the resident nuts n dolts enjoyer, do you know of any songs in the rwby soundtrack that relate to Penny? For some ungodly reason I can't think of any Penny songs rn

Friend is a Penny song! The only one that I know of, but it sure is a Penny song

I do like to associate other romance songs in RWBY with NND tho, like Dream Come True and Not Fall in Love with You

They're so dorky and fun and I think they fit the vibe of pre volume 3/8 so well

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

top 5 favorite ships for each of the girls in team rwby?

I have been stuck on this ask for days because I just generally don't have many ships for any individual character because my brain is just an asshole like that, but also in general the mains kind of drive me insane now. But if I rewind the clock back to pre volume 7 I can have some fun with at least a few ships because RWBY is the first time I have found myself multi-shipping.

Ruby:

-Rosegarden - They have some cute moments together and are all awkward around each other is pretty cute and my boy Oscar deserves all of the happiness in the world.

-Nuts and Dolts. While they're both cute ships, I generally prefer Nuts and Dolts (Volume 2-3) cuz Ruby showing Penny she is a real girl and deserves to live her life and be happy? That is just *chefs kiss* In this house volume 8 never happened.

Weiss:

-Shneekos just the way Weiss was so eager to be Pyrrha's partner and certain they would do well together and how star struck she was makes shipping brain go brrr.

-WhiteRose - I do really enjoy Weiss and how she grows and becomes a better person in part thanks to Ruby and who she is. A bright and sunny character shinning a light for a character who has been through hell and trying to find themselves? I like it.

Yang:

-Freezerburn - these two just have such good scenes together and just have so many good moments of connection together I honestly love it.

Blek I mean Blake: Uhhh IDK therapy? I have to go back to volume 3 honestly to like her with all the crap she pulled with Sun like I can only ship BlackSun back in volume 3 after that? She slapped any enjoyment of her character into the ocean.

.....uhh sorry that got RWDE in the end their hehe ^^;

[whitleyschn33]

Whitley for the Ask game? (If someone's already asked for them, then Ruby?)

Someone else asked for Whitley, so Ruby it is!

What are my top four favorite non-romantic relationship dynamics for them?

Pre-V6 Qrow: I will never not love Ruby’s reaction to seeing her uncle in a fight with Winter being “Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!” No questions, no concern, just “kick her ass!” Their relationship, especially in V3, is just incredibly adorable on every level. Her tackling him to say hi, eagerly asking for stories about being a huntsmen, bragging about what she and her team have been up to and being “almost huntresses themselves” - and one of my favorite jokes from RWBY is “they don’t give out medals for ‘almost’”/“They do and they’re called silver!” Like, objectively that’s not the most hilarious thing, but it had great timing and always makes me smile when I think of it. Ruby modelled her very fighting style after Qrow’s, and it’s clear to see that she adored him and really looked up to him as a mentor figure and family, despite not technically being related. I really wish we had gotten to keep that relationship going forward, with Qrow training with Ruby at Haven, the two of them having more fights together and showing off their student/teacher relationship, and Qrow acknowledging Ruby’s skills and how she’s grown, even recognizing when she’s reached his level in the very far-flung future, but that ultimately Ruby is always going to be his pipsqueak niece.

...We don’t talk about their relationship in V6 and beyond.

RNJR: I’m just going to cheat a little here and say the group dynamic of Team RNJR as a whole because damn it, I love found family. Ruby and Jaune already have a really strong relationship built on being two awkward kids that ran into each other on the first day, talking about their struggles as leaders, just generally being a really supportive and cute pair, but Ren and Nora only add to it - Ruby worrying about Ren during Kuroyuri, Nora being protective when Tyrian shows up, all three of them instantly going on their guard when Oscar shows up asking about Ruby. It really makes them feel like they’ve bonded a lot between the end of V3 and mid-V5, and I would really enjoy seeing their closeness again. We almost had it in V7 with the rally with Penny thrown in for added bonus... but then Renora drama happened. Damn.

Oscar: Look, it’s ship-baited all the time for a reason. It’s cute as fuck, two awkward kids that clearly like each other and both being in positions of leadership, though not voluntarily in Oscar’s case but still has others looking to him like he should know what to do. I don’t ship it romantically, not because I have any problem with it, I’m just more invested in Pre-V7 Nuts and Dolts and have lost all respect for Ruby as a character currently, but I do find Ruby’s supportiveness of Oscar in V6 endearing and their talk about Penny in V5 interesting. I would like to see more of that.

Yang: LET THEM ACT LIKE SISTERS, DAMN IT. Tbf, I’ve heard decent things about their talk on the stairs in the episode I just didn’t watch from Volume 8, but I really miss their earlier dynamic. Play fighting at Beacon initiation, Yang looking super proud of her sister as a leader and cooing at how pretty she looks at the dance, Ruby knowing exactly what’s going to set her sister off in the Vytal Tournament, that little “I love you” as Ruby walks away after the Fall, the way Ruby suddenly looks so scared and anxious about leaving Yang behind when they reunite only to be hugged - give me more of that, please.

What season were they at their best and why?

Oooh, that’s a hard question. I think I’m going to have to go with Volume 1, though, since it’s just the season where she has the most going on. She’s a girl that suddenly gets skipped ahead two years and doesn’t really know how to make friends, and wants to prove that she belongs there, making her a bit reckless. She’s also given a position of leadership over her own sister and a girl that won’t recognize her authority at first, and has doubts about if she’s suited to the role she’s been given. There’s a lot of things to work with going forward with Ruby developing from an awkward weapons geek that can rush into things to a confident leader that’s earned the respect of her older classmates.  Honorable mentions would be V3 and the Apathy episodes of V6 - I really liked her characterizations there.

What season were they at their worst and why?

V8 - is this even up for debate? I could rant for ages, but this has already taken me too much time between classes. To squish it down - this girl refused to let thousands of people, two of the four objects needed to bring about the end of the universe, and one of the keys to said items get out of the way of the immortal space witch on the premise that they couldn’t just leave a few thousand people that Salem ignored anyway to die... and then didn’t do anything to help those few thousand people or the thousands of trapped people, instead sitting in a comfy mansion for hours letting hundreds of other people fight and die in her place trying to protect the people she wouldn’t let leave. And she’s supposed to be the hero. Fuck that.

How would I rank their outfits from worst to best?

Ruby’s outfits are probably the most consistently good across the field - like, I don’t think there’s an outfit of hers that I outright dislike. Remind me if I’m forgetting a major outfit, but from Worst to Best, I would probably say V4, V7, V2, and then V1 as my favorite~

Which Hogwarts House would I sort them into (optional; what would their wand be?)

Gryffindor is really the only option for her house; I could see her being a Quidditch star as either a Chaser or a Seeker, putting her speed on a broom to the maximum effect. As for a wand... my gut impulse is to say Red Oak with a phoenix feather core, though I could also see Larch and English Oak.

What do I think this character would be like if they were on the opposite side (good characters are bad, bad characters are good)

V8 already gave us that though

I’m creatively bankrupt and honestly can’t think of much, but I would love to see her lean in more on the Grim Reaper angle - maybe as an assassin or a Torchwick-like gang leader? It could be fun~

If I suddenly had control of RWBY, what would I want to do with this character after the events of V8?

Have it turn out that the last two volumes were some kind of horrible nightmare she had on the plane to Atlas and immediately start rewriting the Atlas arc.

Honestly, I’m not really sure if her character can be salvaged after just how much the past two volumes have beaten her down in terms of likability for me. I don’t really want anything to do with her anymore - if I watch V9, it won’t be for her, it will be for Vacuo. Maybe have her be confronted with an objective outside view of her actions, have someone lay it all out and hit her with just what she did and the chaos and death she’s arguably responsible for. Let Ruby realize that’s she’s made mistakes, that she was wrong. Let her realize that, and try to be better. Let. Ruby. Grow.

[instantbee]

In retrospect it is absolutely insane how hard RWBY V7/8 have turned me into a Nuts and Dolts shipper. 

Pre V7 I wasn’t like, anti N&D or anything. It was cute, I liked Penny, it was fine and if others liked it that was cool too. But I was all in on Whiterose. It was like honest to god the closest thing I’ve ever had to an actual “OTP” as much as I dislike the term. And I don’t love Whiterose any less now. I still think it’s great, I still love the art, I still read the fics, I love Whiterose just as much as ever. 

But holy Cats! V7/8 walked into my life with a baseball bat and just clocked me in the face with Nuts and Dolts. Like utterly tied with Whiterose. I have 2 ships on Tier 1. I have 2 OTPs. Go fuck yourself that’s how it works now. I love them. I love them so much. They consume my life just as much as Whiterose ever has.  

I’ve even turned into a Frosensteel shipper almost as hard. I think I just love Penny that much. She’s legit my favorite character and I just love them all so much. 

[narwhalish]

I have my new Nuts and Dolts charm up for pre-order!!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/915254259/pre-order-rwby-nuts-and-dolts-acrylic?ref=shop_home_active_1

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

If you’re still doing nuts and dolts requests . Penny being a trans girl and coming out to ruby would be really cute

Sorry for the long wait!  My fanfic writing time depends on my schedule, so it varies a lot.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy <3

.

A Real Girl (And Always Has Been)

The lightbulb in the overhead light of the pharmacy backroom flickers.  Penny mentally writes herself a note to go out and purchase a replacement the next time they decide to take a break.  She wonders if Ruby would like to join her.  It’s a short walk to the convenience store at the end of the block, but perhaps Ruby could be convinced to go to the one a little further away?  Just so they have more time to talk without having to think about categorizing all these files.

Penny does understand her father’s decision to keep hard copy versions of his patient and project files.  Paper is harder to hack and it’s easier to let something slip under the radar (like a patient not having either insurance or funding to properly pay for a prosthetic) without a digital record.  It just frustrates her how little effort he seems to put into keeping them organized on a day-to-day basis.  It would certainly make for less work now, at the yearly end-of-year tidying session, if he did.

Then again, if he did, she and Ruby wouldn’t get this extra, non-huntress mission time to spend together.  Penny glances over at her dear friend, whose sitting in the middle of a cluster of boxes, taking papers out of them, looking them over, and putting them in pre-determined stacks.

Penny frowns.  It’s been a while since Ruby last gasped or exclaimed out loud, which is a little odd, since she assigned Ruby all of the inventions and projects files to do.

Technically speaking, Pietro is a doctor with doctor-patient confidentiality between himself and anyone who seeks treatment from him, so he can’t just let anyone look at those files.  He does most of those himself, or trusts Penny with them, now that she’s been sworn in as an official ‘assistant’ to his practice (with her own confidentiality status to boot).

Well, that and it’s just plain fun to listen to Ruby get excited when she reads over a particularly interesting project of Pietro’s.  The flare of pride Penny feels toward her father and the joy she experiences over getting to witness Ruby be incredibly happy make for a very nice emotional mixture.

“Ruby?  Is something the matter?”  Penny probes gently.

Ruby’s head jerks up.  “No!  No, I, uh…I’m not sure I should have seen this?”  She passes some blueprints over to Penny without making eye contact.

Penny takes the blueprints and looks down at them.  “Oh.”  Her circuitry seizes uncomfortably when she realizes what they are.  She hasn’t seen them, thought about them, in years.  They haven’t mattered since…since the very beginning really.  It was one of the first things, if not the very first thing, she knew about herself.  And, of course, Pietro had been more than willing to create her a new body to properly reflect her identity when she came out to him.

“Were you supposed to have a brother?”  Ruby asks softly.

“No.”  Penny chews on her bottom lip.  Her innards (metaphorically) twist with fear.  Back then, with the first scientists outside her father she’d met, the ones who knew what was on this specific set of blueprints, it had been hard.  They’d made compelling sounding arguments.  Ones that denied her herself.  She was designed a certain way, they’d said.  Her aura was a transplant from her father’s, so therefore it proved she wasn’t really what she knew she is, they’d said.

Yet, Penny knew.  She knew herself, and Pietro had supported her (and swayed Ironwood), and that had been all that really mattered.  Up to now.

Ruby had never given Penny any reason to believe she’d think along similar paths to those scientists, but still.  There’s a chance.  It’s why she always hesitated in telling Ruby.  Sure, Ruby had handled her first secret surprisingly well, but that didn’t necessarily mean she’d handle the second one the same way.  What if she didn’t?

Ruby accepted Penny as a girl now.  Penny had decided that was all that mattered.  An old secret could remain an old secret.

At least until it accidentally came to light during a tidying session.

“You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to,” Ruby tells Penny gently.  “It’s none of my business.  Seriously.”

Penny takes a breath.  She looks down at the blueprints in her hands.  Now, that they are out in the open, she kind of does want to know Ruby’s response?  She’ll wonder about it otherwise.  Does Ruby genuinely support her or is she just politely not saying anything?  That’s happened in the past too and, frankly, Penny prefers people to be upfront.  It’s way more draining to continuously guess someone’s intentions than to know where they stand and interact with them accordingly.

“When my father first designed me,” Penny begins, and then stops.  She gulps.  “It, um, wasn’t as a girl.”  She looks down at her hands, rubs one thumb over the palm of the other.  “This was before I was…” ‘Born’ really isn’t the right word for her.  It’s never felt like it to Penny.  But how to explain the moment she first gained consciousness, awareness, to someone who came to life a very different way than her?  Penny sighs.  She doesn’t know, and this conversation is making her apprehensive enough as it is.  “I had to learn a lot, in the beginning.  Like a baby.  I mean, I wasn’t a baby, but I, um…” she looks at Ruby, pleading with her eyes for Ruby to understand.

Ruby offers her a small, but comforting, smile.  “No one knows everything at first.  We all have to learn.  Human, Faunus, robot, alike.”

“Yes.”  Penny exhales the breath she didn’t know she was holding.  She checks in with her internal fans to ensure her temperature is at its normal setting (she doesn’t usually have to resort to breathing unless she manually has to cool herself down).  “I…my father taught me a lot of things.  Gender included.  I realized I was—am a girl.  We changed my designs.  The new designs went into my official file and these ones…”  Penny shrugs.  They’d needed to keep them because they held some of Pietro’s original concept work and who knows when or if they’d need that again (Pietro had when he rebuilt her after Beacon, but he’d also assured Penny when she woke up that he’d ignored everything that wasn’t the bare, functionality necessities from them).

Finally, Penny looks to Ruby.  “Is that okay?”

Ruby maneuvers around the piles of boxes and papers strewn across the floor (the way she did a wiggly crab-walk would have made Penny laugh under different circumstances).  Ruby settles next to Penny.  “Of course it is.”  Ruby goes in for a hug, pauses, her expression asking Penny for permission, and then hugs Penny as  tightly as possible when it’s granted.

“You’re a real girl, Penny.  Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.”

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Hawkeye #1-4

September, 1983

Listen to the Mockingbird

Now for something completely different.

-OR- Further justifying why the posts are titled Essential Avengers when I’m just going to put a colon and then an Avengers to get Essential Avengers: Avengers. Its because sometimes its not Avengers!

Sometimes its Hawkeye.

Since I’m doing four issues in one post, I’m not going to go as in-depth as I usually do.

So, last times on Avengers as related to Hawkeye: Hawkeye was cut from the Avengers due to a limited roster. He eventually got a job as the security chief at Cross Technological Enterprises with the same lack of restraint that got him a job with the Avengers. He’s been doing that for a while, since pre-200. Recently the Avengers needed beef up their roster and Cap and Iron Man convinced him to rejoin, which Hawkeye has done while also keeping his security chief job.

During an Avengers mission TO RESCUE THE PRESIDENT, he broke his leg and was put on medical leave from the team. He got one of the CTE people to build him a rocket-sled that he could putt around in. Judging by the lack of cast, his leg is better but he’s still using the cool rocket-sled.

And that’s where we are. Hawkeye has a cool rocket-sled and is actually holding down an actual job at Cross Technological Enterprises. He’s seems to still be on leave from the team despite his leg being better.

The miniseries starts with Hawkeye congratulating himself on getting a cool rocket-sled, even though it cost all of his money.

Hawkeye: “‘Bad guys beware -- Hawkeye’s in the air!’ Hmmm, not the worst slogan an aerial archer could have... but close.”

At least he’s self-aware. Some days that’s all you can ask of Hawkeye!

He spots three suspicious characters suspiciously sneaking and swoops down on the rocket-sled, taking them out with ease with his totally sweet trick arrows.

Hey, note to comic makers of our modern day. Trick arrows are sweet. I don’t need to see people getting shot in the eyes with arrows when I can see like a net arrow or whatever.

The three suspicious characters are actually CTE employees that Hawkeye asked to come in on their off time to help him get a hang of archering from the rocket-sled. Including the scientist, Jorge, who built it for him!

Wow, Hawkeye!

Jorge at least was happy to do build the thing because he feels like his talents are wasted at CTE and Hawkeye encourages him to go into business for himself.

Which is probably the kind of thing that’s going to get Hawkeye a reprimand but hey, good looking out, Hawkguy.

One of the other CTE employees asks why Hawkeye uses a bow and arrow instead of... a gun. Why not just shoot people with a gun.

Hawkeye: “The bow is quieter, more versatile, and in my hands the deadliest weapon in the state. Or hadn’t you noticed, Howie?”

He doesn’t mention that its also more believably non-lethal than if he were going around with a gun. Because Hawkeye says its the deadliest weapon in the state but he’s also a huge proponent of “superheroes don’t kill!”

But point being, you can buy a comic book guy pinning people to walls with arrows or using trick arrows or shooting weapons out of their hands without killing anyone way more than you could if Hawkeye was just using a magnum.

Also, this:

I believe he is literally flexing on that dude.

CTE’s new public relations lady Sheila Danning shows up for a date with Hawkeye because I guess there’s no rule about dating co-workers. Or at least if they’re not in the same department?

Having a woman showing positive attention to Hawkeye is his cue to have a little internal monologue that’s a little bit sad.

Hawkeye: Man, this is the life! A ridiculously high-paying job, a fast machine between my legs, and a foxy lady who’s nuts about me. What more could a guy want? Until Sheila came along, I thought I was put on this world for women to dump on. Women... like the Black Widow and Scarlet Witch. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t get them to care for me like I did for them. Sheila’s different. Even though we’ve been seeing each other for only a month, what we have is special, real, like nothing I’ve ever known.

I don’t want to ruin his good times but I will remind the audience that he once rage-quit the Avengers because Scarlet Witch didn’t want to kiss him.

Anyway, Hawkeye is pretty enamored. He’s even thinking maybe it’s time he settles down.

He takes her back to his place and they start dancing to some Mantovani as he recaps his entire backstory to her.

In fairness. In faiiiirness. She asked.

But you should know the drill. Clint and Barney ran away from the orphanage to join the circus. Swordsman saw potential in Clint and trained him in archery and Clint began seeing Swordsman as a father figure so threw himself into training in hopes that Swordsman would be proud of him.

Which is funny in an odd way because there’s some same-face going on and Swordsman looks just like Tony Stark!

I wonder if Clint ever slipped up and called Tony dad and had to cover it up by continuing into a daddio.

Anyway, he caught Swordsman with stolen money and Swordmaster left him in a broken heap and skipped town when Clint wouldn’t promise to keep quiet.

Later, he saw the adulation that Iron Man got when he flew over the circus and thought wait I can do that. Got a costume and tried to become a hero. Oops, tripped into being a supervillain and enemy of Iron Man. Annd then joined the Avengers.

Hawkeye: “I’ve done many a stint with my Avenging buddies, but I think I’m finally ready to wing it solo for good. Much as I like ‘em, they cramp my style a bit too much.”

Sheila: “Fascinating story, Clint. Looks like I’ve got a real self-made man. How about if I try to unmake you a little?”

And then they’re about to do sexy times when Clint’s emergency beeper goes off. Because somehow the emergency always knows when you’re horny or mid-ablution.

Hawkeye has to suit back up and head out back to work

Hah.

But anyway, he catches a lady in a very sleevesy costume prowling around and during some back and forth and further back and forth pinned you no pinned you action, she introduces herself as Mockingbird, an ex-shield agent and freelance crimebuster (I think that means superhero?).

Some underworld contacts of hers led her to investigate Cross Technological Enterprises under suspicion that CTE is manufacturing mass mind control technology right under a certain Avenger slash archer’s nose. I.e., Hawkeye.

She wants him to lead her to warehouse 10 but their conversation is interrupted by a security night shift who rush in and surround Mockingbird despite Hawkeye ordering prior to the action scene to let him handle it.

They cuff Mockingbird and take her away but oddly claim that they thought Hawkeye sent the signal for them to charge in.

Hawkeye is perplexed and vexed wondering if there’s anything to Mockingbird’s story. He doesn’t know the full extent of what CTE manufactures and there was some shady business in Marvel Fanfare #3 where a vice-president was using CTE facilities to manufacture a bomb.

Mockingbird’s story bugs him so much that he returns home to Sheila and tells her that there’s something he has to take care of and sends her home in a cab.

He returns to Cross on his sweet rocket-sled and investigates warehouse 10, finding it empty but with a lot of fresh tracks in the dust, like something was moved in only the past hour or so.

Also, a bunch of security staff show up and point guns at him.

That’s also a red flag.

When reminding them he’s their boss doesn’t settle them down, he rolls to the floor to shoot out the lights like a cool action guy and then starts taking them out in the dark just by shooting whenever he hears one of the idiots make a sound.

But one of the guards has Sheila hostage even though she was supposed to have gone home so Hawkeye has to surrender.

The guards toss him into a pit with Mockingbird. Just an oubliette that CTE has on premise, as ya do.

Hawkeye demands to speak with Sheila so he knows she’s alright and whoops she’s in on it.

Sheila Danning, heartbreaker: “Barton -- you stupid fool! Why did you have to be so conscientious? It was my job to keep you distracted so you’d have no time to notice the operation Cross had been contracted for -- a very costly, deadly operation.”

Hawkeye, heartbroken: “What are you talking about, Sheila? Are you saying they paid you to -- to --”

Sheila: “Yes, they paid me. I was pretty convincing, wasn’t I? You never had the slightest idea that I could sooner love a dog than a cornball Romeo with delusions of adequacy like you.”

Hawkeye: “You can’t mean that! They must’ve brainwashed you, poisoned your mind against me! Or -- or maybe you’re not Sheila at all, an imposter, or a robot -- !”

Sheila: “Don’t kid yourself, Barton. I’m the one and only. The woman who could barely keep from snickering when you told her your carnival story this evening.”

Ouch.

I like to mock Hawkeye because he deserves some light ribbing but ouch, she slipped a knife right between those ribbings.

That poor dolt was thinking about proposing and she was paid to distract him by feigning interest. Oof ouch.

Anyway, since CTE has suddenly become Bond-esque, they start dumping liquid industrial waste into the pit to drown and/or melt Hawkeye and Mockingbird.

The stuff is like acid but Hawkeye is kind of wallowing in being dumped and doesn’t care.

Hawkeye: “I ain’t moving. All my life I’ve been dumped on. I’m beginning to enjoy it.”

Mockingbird tells him that if he lets himself be melted by industrial waste because he feels sorry for himself, his ex wins. But that doesn’t move him so she has to mock him into action. This is what she was named for!

Mockingbird: “So this is what they taught you in the Avengers? What a bunch of jerks! They should see you now. I’ll bet you let them down in a pinch, too. Whenever your feelings get hurt.”

Hawkeye: “SHUT UP! I’m gonna get us out of here, lady. Then I’m going to kill Sheila for what she did to me. Then you’ll get yours, too.”

Mockingbird: “Sure, sure. Get us out first.”

Hah, I like Mockingbird.

And I like Hawkeye too. He makes good use of what he has to escape this Bond-esque trap. He doesn’t have his bow or his arrows but he keeps a fifty foot length of cord in his boot and spare arrowheads in his tunic. He calls his rocket-sled with the remote control, ties the cord to a spare rocket arrow-tip and rockets himself and Mockingbird out of the pit and up to his rocket-sled.

Then Hawkeye says he has to go attend some private business and Mockingbird is like cool, I’ll wait for you and hops onto a roof.

Hawkeye rams the rocket-sled through the window of Sheila Danning’s office and jump kicks the guards she has with her and confronts her.

Hawkeye: “You hurt me, Sheila... More than anything ever hurt in my life.”

Sheila: “Stay back, Hawkeye! I - I --”

Hawkeye: “I could kill you for what you did to me. But I won’t. I... can’t. I just don’t care anymore... about you or about whatever scheme Cross is up to! Give me my bow and quiver back and I’ll go.”

Tangentially, like an anime, his shirt is a lot flimsier than his pants and melted off in the acid while his pants are tattered but intact. If only they made shirts out of pants...

And if only they made any outfit out of lady outfit. Mockingbird’s outfit has a few holes and tatters but her whole top didn’t dissolve like Hawkeye’s did!

Sheila does give Hawkeye his archery stuff but warns him that he Knows Too Much and Cross will come after him.

Kind of a weird flex to pull on AN AVENGER WHO KNOWS THOR but you do you, Cross Technological Enterprises.

Hawkeye just takes off on his sweet rocket-sled without responding, zooming past where he left Mockingbird who has to jump onto the moving rocket-sled because he does not slow down for her.

Mockingbird: “Got your business taken care of, sport?”

Hawkeye, crying a little: “Shut up, just shut up. If you hadn’t shown up, none of this could have happened.”

Oof.

That’s the hurt speaking buddy. Ignorance wouldn’t have been bliss here because as soon as Cross didn’t need to distract you any longer, Sheila probably would have found some excuse to dump you.

Also, their scheme was asinine! They don’t have other facilities? Just build the mind control doohickey somewhere else instead of paying someone to distract Hawkeye with horny!

October, 1983

POINT BLANK!

So after having his heart broken and wallowing in some acid sludge in the last issue, Hawkeye is in a bad place. Emotionally. And also geographically.

He’s standing on some abandoned railroad tracks under the West Side Highway and shooting arrows at a bullseye he crudely drew on a cement block.

And Good Archer Hawkeye has not hit a single bullseye because of all the emotional turmoil. Also, since he’s shooting at concrete, he’s breaking all of his arrows.

He’s also wearing his no-shirt acid-tattered costume.

And he’s been here for 42 hours without sleeping, eating, or managing to hit a bullseye.

He’s in a bad place.

So he passes out and he’s eventually found by some random street toughs who recognize him as an Avenger (although they think his name is Nighthawk womp womp) and decide ‘hey lets kick his ass and do him a murder maybe.’

Hawkeye comes to, as one might when people are kicking them in the head, and manages to nail three bullseyes on the three toughs he didn’t kick unconscious.

Hawkeye: Three bullseyes. Two kayos. Five sleezos in dreamland. Thanks, creeps. You gave me a reason to go on living. I’m just not sure what it is!

But now Hawkeye is at a loss of what to actually do. He refuses to go to the Avengers for help because blah blah blah muh pride. He can’t go and “mooch” off of them. So he decides to go check out the apartment he had through Cross Technological Enterprises and see whether they’ve cleared him out or not.

They have.

Everything he had to his name except the clothes on his back and bow in his hand gone. Arrow-making tools and spare costumes gone too.

But he also finds Mockingbird waiting for him.

Mockingbird: “Hello, Hawk. Can I buy you some breakfast?”

Hawkeye: “MOCKINGBIRD! Lady, you’re not one of my favorite people, but I know a good offer when I hear one.”

A free breakfast is a free breakfast.

Mockingbird takes Hawkeye back to her apartment and apologizes for blowing up his life but also says that it would have happened eventually anyway even had she never come along.

Which, yeah, you can only pay a person to pretend to love someone they hate for so long before the mask slips.

She also offers to mend his costume. Not sure how she’s thinking. Its not torn. Its half gone.

Hawkeye says yeah sure but hey why don’t you narrate your ENTIRE BACKSTORY.

So Mockingbird introduces herself as Barbara Morse, Bobbi to her friends.

She was a biology whiz at Georgia Tech and went with her favorite professor when she signed on to a government project to recover the super-soldier serum that made Captain America so super.

SHIELD was one of the sponsors of the project so Bobbi got to know several SHIELD agents and realized ‘hey being a spy sounds AMAZING’ and signed up with SHIELD’s spy school.

She graduated top of her class and was sent on a mission to track down Ka-Zar who SHIELD wanted to hire.

Mockingbird: “I found the jungle man all right. Even got involved with him, if you know what I mean. But things never quite worked out between us.”

Oh my god, what a power move to brag about nailing discount-Tarzan while recapping your life story.

Later, she investigated SHIELD itself at the request of a Congressman under the identity as the Huntress. But not the crossbow one. But because of her actions, she gained the reputation as a traitor to SHIELD.

So she changed her name to Mockingbird and took the evidence of corrupt agents to Nick Fury. And got shot a couple times in the attempt.

She had to spend six months recovering and after turned down a SHIELD promotion to go solo.

Mockingbird: “Not that I had anything against S.H.I.E.L.D... I just got used to operating alone. It wasn’t long after I got back into circulation that I came across the lead that took me to Cross Tech and I bumped into you. So that’s my lifestory in a nutshell, Hawk.”

I don’t know why I thought Mockingbird debuted in this series because she has a lot of backstory here. She showed up in Astonishing Tales #6 unnamed, was introduced as Dr. Barbara Morse in Astonishing Tales #12, was introduced in her Huntress (but not that one) identity in Marvel Super Action #1, and even Mockingbird debuted in Marvel Team-Up #95! Geez, Bobbi!

Annnnnd then Mockingbird realizes that Hawkeye fell asleep on her while she was recapping her entire life!

Bobbi doesn’t hold it against him, realizing how exhausted he must have been.

She tucks him in and heads off to go pick up some supplies to fix his costume.

Later, someone picks the locks to the apartment door and silently comes up and puts a gun to the sleeping Hawkeye’s head.

Perhaps it is instinct -- a survival sense honed in hundreds of life-and-death struggles... But somehow Clint Barton feels the cool gun metal at his temple, instantly recognizes it for what it is -- and reacts.

(We actually see a hint of this dingus at Hawkeye’s apartment when he meets Mockingbird there. Implying that he somehow followed them from there to Bobbi’s apartment. Somehow. Even though Hawkeye and Bobbi took Hawkeye’s sweet rocket-sled. Good tracking, this guy.)

Hawkeye manages to dive away from the guy’s gunfire and hide behind one of those tables that looks like a giant spool. He weirdly realizes that the assassin’s gun isn’t making any sound when he fires and the bullets aren’t making any noise when they hit.

He’s in a tough spot unable to reach his bow in time when Mockingbird comes back to save Hawkeye, flipping the assassin and telling Hawkeye to grab his gun.

The assassin jumps out the window rather than deal with the both of them (Bobbi speculates its because she’s not on his hit list).

Hawkeye tests the gun after and discovers that its not silenced which means that the silencer was all in the guy’s suit, muting all the sounds he makes.

He dubs the guy Silencer and he has a pretty neat gimmick but doesn’t seem to ever appear again after this issue.

Shame. Imagine this guy against Daredevil.

Anyway, Mockingbird also managed to make Hawkeye a new outfit while she was gone.

Mockingbird: “Here -- better put this on. Half-naked men with guns make it hard for me to concentrate.”

Hawkeye: “Sure.”

God. Hawkeye’s non-reaction to that blatant flirt makes me laugh. He may as well have Saitama meme’d.

So the new outfit.

The blue is a lot darker now. The dangly part of the tunic is a lot less dangly now. And the outfit has some asymmetrical sleeves. Also, its not entirely clear on this shot but the gloves are weird. They don’t cover the sides of his fingers. I don’t know if that’s an archery thing or what and I don’t know if that’s going to be a detail that lasts once other artists start drawing this costume.

All in all, not a bad looking new outfit. Its better than that time he didn’t wear pants.

Later that night, Hawkeye figures that they need to return to Cross and figure out who hired them to build that mind-control thing. But, they’ll need help getting back into Cross.

(Hey, I just realized. Hawkeye was double Cross’d by his employer. Hah.)

They go to visit Jorge Latham, the guy who built a sweet rocket-sled for Hawkeye so probably the guy he trusts the most now.

Jorge: “What happened to you, man? We got a memo two days ago that you were fired for incompetency, and I haven’t seen you since!”

Aw man, insult to injury! They told everyone that Hawkeye was fired because he sucked too hard!

Hawkeye tells Jorge the story, in brief, about how Cross is up to something, gets information on where the special projects are done, and tells Jorge to maybe get his resume in order in case he accidentally shuts the whole company down in the course of blowing this thing wide open.

Jorge is a lot more chill about learning he might be unemployed soon than I think a lot of other people would be. Although he had already expressed he wasn’t really satisfied in his job.

Hawkeye: “The info he gave us is going to save us a lot of hassle. Sure is good to have a few folks you can trust.”

Mockingbird: “You still don’t quite trust me, do you, Hawkeye? Even after I saved your life.”

Hawkeye: “No offense, lady. But it’s going to take me a while before I can fully trust any woman again.”

Geez, really hope that doesn’t last. He already teetered into disrespect of women without becoming a full-on misogynist.

Drink your respect women juice, Hawkeye.

The two return to Cross Technological Enterprises and Hawkeye uses his electronic security neutralizer arrowhead to neutralize the security on a window so they can jimmy it open and get inside.

.... Why do you need an electronic security neutralizer arrow? The way he uses it is tracing the circuit in the window and I don’t think you could shoot an arrow in a way that did that. And if you did shoot an arrow at a security system in a window, I think you’d break the window and set off the alarm?

What a mystery.

Hawkeye has never been in the special projects department but it doesn’t take a genius to find some filing cabinets.

Mockingbird: “Locked, of course. It also doesn’t take an electronic gizmo to open a locked file. Just a hairpin. See?”

Hawkeye: “Showoff.”

This would be banter if Hawkeye didn’t look so somber.

But Hawkeye gets to be useful too when he pulls out his....... penlight arrowhead?

WHY WOULD YOU EVER NEED TO FIRE A FLASHLIGHT? WHAT PURPOSE DOES THAT SERVE??

Mockingbird: “I just don’t know how I ever got along without you and your handy tools, Mr. H.”

DON’T ENCOURAGE HIM

The Silencer guy sneaks up on the duo as they’re snooping the files and something cues Hawkeye in to swivel around and fire an electro-stun arrow. Couldn’t have been a sound so lets say air flow?

The electro-stun doesn’t stun the Silencer so him and Hawkeye end up grappling right out the window. Because that’s the kind of life Hawkeye leads.

Luckily the rocket-sled (although he’s changed the name to sky-mobile by this point) was hovering right outside so the two wind up grappling on it as it rockets around the CTE compound.

The two wind up falling off the sky-mobile and onto a smokestack... God, its starting to be like one of those giant chicken fights...

Anyway, the Silencer catches the edge but Hawkeye misses and goes plummeting into a smokestack, hopefully not to find a Spider-Man skeleton.

The Silencer drops his guard to try to figure out how the heck he’s going to get down from here and Hawkeye reemerges, yanking the Silencer down and pulling himself back up.

Not sure if the implication is that Hawkeye killed him. Hawkeye is famously vehemently ‘Avengers don’t kill!’ and the Silencer isn’t confirmed dead but also never shows up again.

Hawkeye summons the sky-sled (the caption changed the name on me again) and rockets back to where he left Mockingbird and in the meantime she’s found all the information they need to find who hired Cross to build the thing.

Hawkeye: “Run into any trouble?”

Mockingbird: “Not really.”

Hah. Apparently she beat up a room full of guards while he was gone. Good on you, Mockingbird.

November, 1983

Beating the ODDS

Pretty neat cover.

Also, pretty neat logo. I didn’t mention it earlier but yeah you have a neat logo, Hawkeye.

Mockingbird and Hawkeye return to her apartment after breaking into Cross Technological last issue.

Something that they may have done well to ponder is whether maybe it wasn’t a safe HQ anymore if that Silencer guy was able to track them there.

What I’m getting at is that there are two more assassins - Oddball and Bombshell - watching from an adjacent rooftop as the heroes head inside.

And then the apartment explodes.

Hawkey and Mockingbird manage to escape the explosion though because Mockingbird never sweeps and noticed footprints in the dust and Hawkeye used a thermite-tipped bomb-sniffing arrow.

... Okay, that gimmick arrow is valid.

Mockingbird watches her apartment burn “in increasingly sullen fascination” for two hours before Hawkeye suggests maybe coming back after everything is cooled down.

Alas, the sky-mobile was destroyed in the explosion. Alas, alas, we barely knew ye and now you’re gone.

Mockingbird has an odd sense of what’s romantic because she decides that her apartment burning down and losing all of her possessions is.

Wow, she’s been friendly and flirty with Hawkeye but she’s downright into the lug. Right during the one period in his life when he wouldn’t enjoy that. How’s that for bad timing?

Also, someone is clearly shipping these two.

Mockingbird has assorted appearances before this miniseries so I wonder who got the idea to throw her together with Hawkeye. I’ve heard rumors that it was to copy the Green Arrow/Black Canary pairing. I don’t know if that’s true or just an assumption.

Anyway, Hawkeye also finds an 8-ball in the wreckage which is odd and a clue because Mockingbird didn’t have one of those.

The two heroes realize that Cross obviously sent more hitmen after them so they got to figure out this plot before they get got.

Mockingbird withdraws the rest of her money from an ATM (only $97. Freelance superheroing just doesn’t pay...) and Hawkeye insists on spending some of that money on some arrows since he’s down to his last one.

Mockingbird: “I thought you needed specially made arrows.”

Hawkeye: “My new modular arrowheads fit on any target arrow... get ‘em at any sporting-goods store.”

This issue is a gift.

And since they now don’t have enough money to take a cab to where they’re going, they get on the subway.

Where in one of those amazingly contrived comic coincidences, Steve Rogers Captain America happens to be riding the same car!

Cap recognizes that Hawkeye is on a mission and offers to drop everything to help him.

You’re a cool guy, Cap.

Hawkeye has concerns.

Hawkeye: Aw, no. Cap is Mr. Avengers himself. I know I’m at the end of my resources, maybe way out of my depth, but if I let Cap in on it, he’ll wind up running the show... and I’ll end up on the sidelines again, just like it was back in the Avengers.

Pride goeth before something, Hawks.

Although, knowing vaguely what I know is soon upcoming, its a very timely time for Hawkeye to worry about running the show.

Hawkeye: “Ah, it’s nothing I can’t handle, old timer. Just the same old bopping the bad guys stuff.”

Cap: “I read you, soldier. Anyway, you know how to reach me if you get in a jam.”

You’re a really cool guy, Cap.

Hawkeye and Mockingbird get off at the next stop and Mockingbird grills Hawkeye about the hunky stranger, recognizing that he was probably in the superhero biz. Adding some context to Hawkeye not wanting Cap involved perhaps. Although its still a lot of dumb pride.

Hawkeye: She meets Cap in his civvies and is bowled over. No wonder I always looked like a piker around him. You know, I never realized how second rate Cap makes me feel. I’ve just go to solve this whole mess on my own. If I don’t, I may never be able to stand on my own two feet.

Anyway, then an 8-ball rolls and bonks into Hawkeye’s feet and he sees one of the assassins lurking around the corner doing him a taunt.

This issue is a gift for out of context panels. I swear.

Hawkeye realizes Oddball is baiting him but also is the exact kind of impulsive person who takes the bait. So he runs off after Oddball.

Oddball is..... apparently a juggling based assassin. Dunno why that’s such a common thing in comics. But here we are. He’s a juggling based assassin.

Hawkeye runs on ahead after Oddball and Mockingbird gets ambushed by a nun as she follows.

Its that kind of book, I guess.

Also, the nun is the other assassin Bombshell.

She’s got a Black Widow style wrist launcher for incendiary charges.

Hawkeye and Oddball get into an archery vs juggling based standoff, yes really, and then Oddball jumps onto a subway train, further luring Hawkeye. Who should really know better but ignores the part of his brain that some call common sense.

Oddball, by the by, is somewhat of an oddball. He’s just giggling and joking his way through this mission to kill an Avenger. He’s definitely following the maxim that if you do what you love, you don’t kill for money a day of your life. Or something.

When he jumps on the train he goes with “We’re having fun now, all rightee! Care for another shot, sport? I’ll match my speed to yours anyday and twice on Sunday. Time’s up, gotta go. Ta-ta!”

Hawkeye jumps onto the back of a departing subway train to keep up the pursuit and you know what, he seems like he’s having a good time too?

Hawkeye: Man, there’s nothing like a good chase to make me feel great about myself again. Wonder if Oddball would consent to be my regular sparring partner? Cap’s got the Red Skull, Iron Man has the Mandarin. Me, I never had anybody all my own.

He must be feeling some chemistry with this dude if he wants to make him his archnemesis after only one fight.

Although after this

Hawkeye decides that Oddball is way too much to be his nemesis. He’s got standards, dammit!

Oddball runs off the train, pursued by archer.

Oddball: “I could pick him off any time I want. I know I can throw faster than he can shoot. But I’m having just plain too much fun to cut it short.”

Sure, guy.

Oddball and Hawkeye wind up having a stand-off in the rafters of the subway station because that’s the kind of guy Oddball is.

Hawkeye manages to pin the guy down with an arrow to his throat but while he’s been chasing an oddball, Mockingbird got her ass kicked by a bombshell.

So a distracted Hawkeye gets knocked out via bomb to the back of the head.

Bombshell catches Hawkeye as he falls from the rafters and Oddball wonders why not just let him die.

Bombshell: “I just got a call from [the boss]. He wants these two birds brought to him to use in some kind of experiment.”

And so the third issue ends with Hawkeye and Mockingbird being carried off to the perpetrators which saves some time but being brought in as prisoners is less than ideal.

Shoulda taken up Steve on his offer, Clint.

December, 1983

“TILL DEATH DO US PART...”

I guess Hawkeye fuckin’ dies.

He sure has a lot of friends but Johnny Storm looks like he’s annoyed that he has to attend. ‘What the heck, I barely knew the guy!’

Anyway, between issues, Oddball and Bombshell have dragged Hawkeye and Mockingbird to a place and strung them up on a thing.

The place is apparently a mortuary.

And they’ve been strung up for hours judging by how their limbs feel.

The man behind it all shows himself and guy knows how to make an impression.

Not necessarily a good one.

The cross shaped codpiece is killing me.

As is Oddball juggling in the background to remind us that he is a juggler.

Crossfire: “I am Crossfire -- master subversive, brainwasher, and entrepreneur.”

Credit where its due, that’s a funny line.

Crossfire: “In the typical fashion of someone who holds all the cards, I’m going to divulge to you more than you will need to know about me and my business...”

I want to question this but he’s too self-aware about how stupid it is. I have no room to operate here.

Here is something I WILL make fun of.

Crossfire’s real name is William Cross. He is related to the guy that founded Cross Technological Enterprises. So them screwing over Hawkeye was like a family activity.

But he’s using Cross in his codename. Like if Hawkeye was instead Bartonman. It’s a choice.

Anyway, Crossfire was a CIA agent but when he realized that his real interest lie in fomenting disorder for profit, he decided him and the CIA weren’t on the same path.

Which. Guy. Dude. Fella. No.

Crossfire also realized that superheroes would eventually get in his way so he decided that his first goal is to eliminate all costumed superheroes.

Moon Knight and the Thing thwarted a prototype over in Marvel Two-in-One #52 but Crossfire managed to get away to refine his plan.

(For bigger)

His plan is pretty ingenious actually.

He’s going to kill Hawkeye. So far so good. Then dump his body in Central Park where it will be easily found.

The Avengers will find out about his death and have a funeral for him. And Crossfire made sure they’ll use Restwell Funeral because it has the best name! But more seriously because its the funeral parlor the superheroes used for Whizzer’s funeral and because Crossfire will make sure every other mortuary is booked.

HE’S PLANNING EVERY ANGLE.

Then at the service, he’ll activate the Undertaker machine which will send a subliminal RAGE signal to all the superheroes and they’ll fight to the death.

Crossfire: “Yes, I fully expect my lovely chapel to be thoroughly demolished. Don’t worry -- insurance will cover it.”

This is such a hilariously mundane concern.

Anyway, probably the whole funeral party won’t kill each other but it’ll thin the numbers, the survivors will forever be traumatized at what they did, and the government will crack down on superheroes.

And as for why he chose Hawkeye?

Crossfire: “I would think it was obvious, Hawkeye. You are the weakest, most vulnerable known costumed crimefighter in town.”

Ouch.

There’s planning to kill a guy as part of a larger scheme to kill all his friends and then there’s just being hurtful.

Further insulting injury? Crossfire is not just going to kill them. He’s going to make Hawkeye and Mockingbird kill each other by testing the Undertaker device on them.

That settles it. This guy is a dick.

The Restwell mortuary has a super sealed room for testing the device. Twelve inch thick concrete and steel walls and a door sealed with electronic lock. It would take even the Hulk some effort and Hawkeye and Mockingbird don’t even have their weapons.

Plus, there’s three cameras watching the room and the Undertaker speakers are hidden and durable.

Alas, Crossfire wouldn’t make a good Bond villain. He’s too not leaving a blatant way out of his death trap out of arrogance.

Hawkeye and Mockingbird get up close with their backs to the camera so they can whisper and make a plan.

Unfortunately, they can’t really think of a plan other than ‘try to resist brainwashing I guess?’

Mockingbird knows some SHIELD techniques and Hawkeye just promises he’ll try really hard to resist.

Hawkeye: “I really don’t want to hurt you. In the last couple days, I’ve actually kind of started, well, liking you.”

Aw.

Aww.

But Crossfire is a dick still and activates THE UNDERTAKER right after they kiss.

They try to resist but yeah that plan wasn’t a plan and wasn’t even a concept. They start fighting to the death. Ironically, Bobbi “I know SHIELD techniques” Morse throws the first kick while Hawkeye is still trying to resist.

And Mockingbird is a lot better at martial arts than Hawkeye whose muscle memory keeps tripping him up into using a bow that he doesn’t actually have.

This issue is a gift.

But yeah, Mockingbird beats the crap out of Hawkeye. Not that he doesn’t get some hits in. He even manages to surprise Crossfire who was heavily betting on Mockingbird to easily trounce his ass.

Also, during the fighting, Mockingbird manages to kick one of the cameras, jarring it so it points at the ceiling.

And then double kicks Hawkeye in the dick.

Oof.

Watching two people fight to the death, Oddball has a question. How long does the brainwashing sound effect last after being turned off?

Crossfire decides hey actually that’s an interesting thought and turns off the machine to see. Plus, for dick reasons, giving them a brief respite will “make their plight all the more poignant.”

What a dick.

The brainwashing ends almost as soon as the sound does and the two heroes stop beating the crap out of each other to be disgusted by what they were doing.

In desperation, Hawkeye finally comes up with a plan.

It’s not a good plan but he had only a couple seconds and its impressive that he has a plan at all in that brief period of lucidity.

Hawkeye huddles into the corner that the jarred camera no longer covers and goes through his spare (mispelled as space for some reason, shrug) arrowheads and finds a hypersonic arrowhead.

And if he puts the arrowhead in his mouth and activates it, it will be really loud and drown out the ultrasound! Also, shooting hypersonic frequencies INSIDE HIS SKULL will probably be bad for his hearing but what can ya do.

Crossfire reactivates THE UNDERTAKER and Hawkeye activates the mouth arrowhead with his tongue. Which feels like a “dull knife lacerating [his] brain” but at least he doesn’t want to murder all the time.

That’s something!

(Also, it’s a neat touch but the EEEEEE of the hypersonic arrowhead covers the NNNN of the ultrasonic signal. Good SFXing.)

With his wits about him, he can actually beat Mockingbird by using his strength advantage, closing in, and not letting her use her fancier jumpy techniques.

After beating the shit out of Mockingbird and feeling like shit for having to do it, Hawkeye tosses her to misalign another camera, and then feigns that he collapses from exhaustion.

Crossfire thinks that there’s no way that Hawkeye could play dead under the effect of the RAGE NOISE so he’s really down. He sends Oddball and Bombshell to retrieve the two heroes to examine.

While being carried like a potato sack, Hawkeye grabs one of Oddball’s odd balls and knocks out the juggler and then bonks Bombshell unconscious as well before she has a chance to react.

Then, he runs to get Crossfire before the guy has a chance to figure out what’s going on.

Except, Crossfire has cameras all over the dang place and knows what happened and decides that Hawkeye is such a resourceful, worthy foe that he deserves to die by irony.

(Hawkeye has no idea what the guy is saying because he can’t hear a thing after sticking a hypersonic arrowhead in his mouth)

Crossfire tries to kill Hawkeye with his own bow but whoops, remember when Hawkeye was flexing on that guy earlier about his bowstring having an absurd draw weight?

Yeah.

The dingus got irony’d by his own ploy at irony.

Hawkeye ties up Crossfire, grabs his bow and arrows because they make him happy, and runs back to check on Mockingbird.

Hawkeye: “Mockingbird -- ? You with me, sweetheart? We won. I beat them. Every last bloody oen of them. Mock -- ?” She’s not breathing. I - I killed her...!

Mockingbird: “Those tears for me, sport? Aw, shucks.”

Even beaten to hell, Mockingbird gonna sass.

And then they kiss. Which strikes me as... not a good time for it? Her face is all bruised up and she’s got a little blood going on. Ah, whatever.

Awww.

An hour later, the police show up to arrest Crossfire, Oddball, and Bombshell. Presumably Mockingbird called them as Clint still cannot hear a single thing.

Which is unfortunate because Mockingbird comes over to talk and Hawkeye is like ‘geez what is she saying right now? I hope it’s not important’ and decides to get out of the conversation ASAP before she finds out he’s gone deaf and gasp pities him!

Mockingbird: “Look, I’m not much of a joiner or anything. But I must admit that the two of us made one heckuva team. I was thinking... maybe we ought to become an item, you know what I mean? After all, you are one of the cutest --”

Hawkeye: “Yeah, well, see you around then.”

Hawkeye, you absolute fool.

THANKFULLY

Thankfully, Mockingbird isn’t the type to just go ‘wow what a jerk’ without going and ripping a person a new asshole, verbally.

So she did do that. She ran after Hawkeye and ripped him a new asshole, verbally, forced him to explain himself, probably rolled her eyes, and then dragged him to get a hearing aid.

And one week later, they’re married and relaxing in a heart-shaped tub!

Wow, they operate fast!

I mean, in fairness, we knew Hawkeye was like that. He’d known Sheila Danning for like a month before he was contemplating marriage. And we can assume Mockingbird was like that too considering she knew Hawkeye like a minute before waggling her eyebrows and insinuating sex at him.

Mockingbird: “You owe me, pal. Sure, you saved my life. But what I’m going to do to your life is more than just a one-shot deal. I’m not just talking about helping you get a hearing aid. Or the blood test, or the license, or even arranging for a quaint little cottage in the woods. I’m talking about the rest of your life, and the difference having me around is going to make in it. Maybe eloping was my idea, but I’m going to see to it that for the rest of your life, you believe that it was the best idea you didn’t quite hear.”

Hawkeye: “I hear you, Mrs. Hawkeye. I hear you.”

Awwww. They’re a cute couple. And I do like their chemistry.

So that was the Hawkeye limited series. And it was pretty good!

It introduces some lasting changes like ‘being deaf’ and ‘being married’ to the character. Of course, because comics, both of those things will come and go. And in some cases come back. Lets enjoy them while they last.

Next time on liveblogging: something a little different.

Follow @essential-avengers​ because I just covered a miniseries. And then I had to redo the fourth issue in just an hour because tumblr didn’t save it. Please reward me. Also, like and reblog if you’d like to reblog.

[littlemisssquiggles]

i now a lot off ppl n the fndm dont like rg caz they think there a big difference btween a 15 year old an a 17 year old but i think that ppl overlook that oscar smart 4 his age and i wouldn't be shocked if like ruby he got to skip a few grades but i get the feeling other would still see rg as a problem even if oscar was the same age as ruby or even if it was 2 year age gap and it was just a year or a few months

*insert the world’s longest exasperated groan right here* With all due respect anon-chan but…I really don’t want to get into the whole 2 year age difference with Rosegarden topic again since, pardon my language here, but I am honestly fucking tired of seeing it as a legit popular complaint against the ship.

Mind you, this has nothing to do with you, fam. I’m not lashing out at you personally.

It’s just that regarding the topic at hand, I’m just REALLY, REALLY fed up of seeing this dead horse being beaten repeatedly by all the antis who make it their mission to constantly harp on Rosegarden and its shipping community for it.

Oscar and Ruby are two years apart. If Ruby just turned 17 as of V7 then surely Oscar is on the cusp of turning 15 at some point, probably closer to V9 or so. If we’re looking in terms of grades---well I’m from Trinidad and Tobago and our education system actually reflects more of the British school system where instead of grades with pre-school, elementary school, junior high school, high school and then college/university, what we have is pre-school, primary school, secondary school and then university will be our tertiary form of education, more or less.

At their current ages from the show, if Ruby and Oscar were in my country, they will both be in secondary school. At age 14 going on 15, Oscar will be in Form 3 (and entering the stage where he is supposed to be choosing subjects for CXC exams) whereas Ruby will be in Form 5 (getting ready to take the CXC exams).

Either way, Oscar will be in Form 3 and Ruby will be Form 5. Ruby will be two forms higher than Oscar. That still doesn’t erase the fact that they are still only two years apart. Just 2 and ONLY TWO.

Do you want to know why I absolutely despise the two year age gap argument against Rosegarden anon-chan? 

Because it’s all completely hypocritical. It is hypocritical that certain-certain folks take such strong issue with the 2-year age gap when it comes to the Rosegarden pair but are perfectly fine with it when it comes to the more FNDM-favoured pairs such as Whiterose, Lancaster and Nuts and Dolts. Particularly Whiterose since that is the ship that people seem to THINK Rosegarden is fighting a shipping war against when in actuality, as a Rosegardener, I could care fucking less about entertaining any foolish nonsensical shipping war with anyone. 

Again, pardon my use of profanity here. That’s just to express how much I am done with this shit and hearing about it when it comes to my favourite RWBY ship.

While Ruby may be two years older than Oscar, she is also two years younger than Weiss, Jaune and Penny. It’s the same age difference no matter how you spin it. Yet it’s a case where the age gap is only problematic for one ship while being fine for another and that’s the contradiction that irks me.  

And y’know what else? You’re actually right about your last statement. The problem that certain-certain folks have with RG ISN’T even about the age difference. It isn’t the real issue and don’t think for one millisecond that it is. Because regardless of whether or not, Oscar was only one year younger than Ruby or one year older than Ruby or even the same age as Ruby---it wouldn’t really matter to certain-certain folks since the issue isn’t really about the age of the characters.

The REAL issue is that certain-certain folks just don’t want Ruby to end up with OSCAR. These people ship Ruby with someone else particularly a certain-certain snow angel, who according to them, has known Ruby longer than Oscar and therefore is entitled to end up with Ruby over him.

Yes, I shit you not, that is an actual claim that I’ve heard against Rosegarden in favour of another certain-certain ship…despite the show never really portraying that particular relationship to be romantic of any kind.

Bottom-line, certain-certain folks feel threatened by the RG ship since the showrunners seem to kinda, sorta, maybe, most likely want to develop the relationship between Ruby and Oscar beyond a friendship or at least they wish to hone in on pushing Ruby’s connection to this our little freckled farm boy to be a lot deeper than the relationship she has with other character and to those certain-certain folks, that’s a problem for them because in their heads, they want the showrunners to only focus on Ruby hooking up with their favoured partner for her…regardless of the series never really portraying that relationship they like to be romantic of any kind.

And THAT is the TRUE conundering conundrum we are in as Rosegardeners. Dealing with these certain-certain folks and their shit.

I’m sorry anon-chan but for future reference (and that goes for anyone else who might be reading this response post) do you mind not bringing up the so-called age gap issue with Rosegarden to me please ^^);

I’m fine with other topics just not this one since I’ve had enough. In the past, I’ve answered similar questions and inbox messages on this same topic and I’ve honestly reached a point where I no longer wish to discuss it at all on my blog.

It’s nothing against you or anyone else who may still wish to talk about this subject. This squiggle meister and squiggly Rosegardening Pinehead just doesn’t want to anymore since…how many times as a Rosegardener do I have to repeat the same information and set the record straight for the same none-troversey as Red Letter Media would put it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Rosegarden pair and wanting to  see them be endgame as an adorkable young couple. Certainly not because of their age difference. 

Because if Ruby and Oscar can’t be an “alleged” couple because they are two years apart then neither can Ruby get together with Weiss, Jaune or Penny since the gap is the same.

I don’t even want to hear anyone dare mention the Ozpin issue since that’s been debunked too in the show in the Lost Fable episode from V6. So really there are no real arguments that anyone can make against RG that hasn’t already been debunked by a) the fans who pay more attention to the development of the pair in the story than the antis, b) the showrunners and/or c) the actual story in the series. 

So the people who keep making a hullabaloo about it---making the same ole noise over the same ole things honestly need to stop. They are embarrassing themselves at this point and it sickens me to see their half-hearted arguments and claims against RG pop up on the tags on social media when I’m trying to enjoy my ship.

Or rather, I’d just need to stop listening to anything the antis say which I have. Or at least I’m trying to. This round for V8, I don’t know about other Rosegardeners, but I want to avoid the discourse like Neo in the Matrix.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

[sphericalrainbowfanfictions]

Introduction Post!

Hi! I’m Avery, 19, gay. I write fanfiction! I’m gonna use this blog to post updates and even some behind-the-scenes stuff on my stories! Here’s a link to my stories individually (just fanfiction.net rn, I’m still working on getting my AO3 ready):

Vocaloid Dynamic Duo: GumiKu. On a short hiatus right now but will likely come back up soon. Troublemaker x cinnamon roll really. Music competition turned gay. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13314400/1/Dynamic-Duo-Gumi-s-Story

Room for Two: more GumiKu. Miku gets out of a bad relationship and goes to her best friend for comfort overnight. Fluff, but angst. TW homophobia. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13586836/1/Room-For-Two

Pokemon

Doom-Bringer: Little girl named Lily moves to Fortree City, Hoenn and hears of a monster named Absol, when she learns the real monsters are the people around her. Angsty. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13298070/1/Doom-Bringer

RWBY

Match Made in Atlas: Vol 7 timeline, Bumbleby. How the club scene should have gone if they weren’t interrupted and if we saw what happened. Lovely gf @sparrowhawk-station made the lovely art <3 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13664185/1/Match-Made-in-Atlas

One Thing: Neo/Roman but not really romantic. Very angsty though. Includes theories on their backstories. Based on Neo’s theme “One Thing” and about the aftermath of the Fall of Beacon. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13656512/1/One-Thing

Pillow Fights and Movie Nights: A silly Bumbleby fic where Ruby and Weiss are gone for the night, so Yang decides she wants a sleepover since it’s just her and Blake. Pre-Fall, very short but cute and fluffy. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13655039/1/Pillow-Fights-and-Movie-Nights

Void: More Bumbleby, but AngstTM (I wonder what my OTP for RWBY is huh). Vol 7 timeline. Yang has nightmares and good gf Blake goes to check on her. Also kinda short. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13665543/1/Void

I have two more RWBY works being tidied up/started! Stay tuned for yet another Bumbleby fic and a Bumbleby/Nuts and Dolts fic!

[wallyeetwest]

me pre v7: bumblby! whiterose! renora! nuts & dolts!

me now: ironqrow! fair game!! what is happening!!

[multifandomtrashpanda]

Day 4 of nuts and dolts week!

Combat ready!

@nuts-and-dolts-week

…………………………………………

Keeping in shape was a lot of constant and repetitive work but Ruby couldn’t really afford not to be ready for any sort of conflict thrown at her especially not now that she was looking after the relic. Most of team RWBY and JNR+O had a set workout time and routine not that the work the ace ops had them doing wasn’t already a workout in itself.

Ruby had just gotten to the training area at Atlas academy, she placed her water bottle and towel down on one of the side benches and started her pre-workout stretches. She kept repeating the stretches in her head as she did them. Leg stretch, jog on the spot, lunge, downward dog. As she did them she relaxed and got lost in her own little world.

Penny had recently been upgraded by her father, he had recalibrated her swords and given her some brand new thrusters for her feet. She happily skipped her way to Atlas academy’s training area to test them out before she had to use them on some grimm. As she skipped down the hall towards the training area she began thinking about some new moves she could try. She approached the training area slowing down and walking in with a big smile on her face, only to crash right into Ruby as she finished up her downward dog stretch.

“Oh, Ruby I’m so sorry i was just looking to test out some new upgrades I got earlier” Penny rambled.

Ruby stood up with a blush as red as her emblem, “Penny, uh it’s alright i was just about to start training, uh, I could train with you if you’d like”.

“What a fantastic idea Ruby, I’d like to see how much better my swords preform now they’ve been adjusted!” Penny said dragging Ruby off towards the centre of the training room. Ruby smiled and readied Crescent Rose as Penny prepared to test her Floating Array.

They’d be combat ready in no time.