#if you think salem wasn’t just as upset—

[bestworstcase]

what ruby says: are we supposed to be mourning jaune’s make-believe friends?

what she means: jaune labeled all the paper pleasers with the names of his friends and then abused them for years, ignoring everything they told him about what they wanted because he decided they needed to be protected from themselves because they were too stupid and crazy to really mean what they said. (<- ruby knows exactly how that feels.) the paper pleasers were not his friends, he didn’t care about them—they were props to make him feel better. they were real people whom jaune treated like toys to play pretend about saving his real friends. the make-believe hero. and ruby’s supposed to feel sorry for him now? because his little toys finally broke free?

what wby+j probably hear: ruby thinks it’s stupid to care about the paper pleasers because afterans aren’t real people.

what salem says: none of that matters anymore! why spend our lives trying to redeem these humans when we could replace them with what they could never be?

what she means: the brothers never had the right to massacre humankind, and now that they have abandoned remnant, abdicated their responsibility as its creators, and sworn not to return until they’re summoned, nothing they say matters at all. these humans did nothing wrong and the gods gave them nothing and deserve nothing in return; trying to ‘redeem’ these humans is a waste of time because there is nothing to redeem. the only person alive who needs redemption before the gods is salem herself, and she doesn’t want it—because to redeem herself is to justify what the brothers did, to say that the slaughter of the whole planet and the millions of years she spent in solitude were good and just and fair, and she knows that isn’t true. the gods want humans to grovel for forgiveness? the gods can burn.

what ozma probably hears: salem wants to kill everybody because she doesn’t think these humans are real people.

[seenoversundown]

For Death Or Glory : Chapter Eighteen

Jake Kiszka x Charlotte (Fem OC)

Warnings: Some vague spiritual mentions, VERY LIGHT spooky theme, yearning, pining (can you tell it's a jake chapter?) anxious themes, slightly tense conversation? (not an argument don't worry) fluff fluff fluff fluff, may cause butterflies, a lot of physical touch type of affection, and certainly important: Jake is the definition of 'if he wanted to, he would.'

Word Count: 6k 🤭 (couldn't stop yapping this chapter)

Summary: Jake has a cute little surprise for Charlotte, which is why he insisted on her spending the night.

Author's Note: FOLKS- this one is fucking cute. The words just kept flowing and I think we're at a point in the story where this is going to be a trend. (We're in the home stretch, which makes me want to cry, but also-there's just so much to say in the chapters, that I don't foresee them getting much shorter from here on out!) I can't wait to see how you feel at the end 🤭 ((I'm sorry in advance, don't yell at me))

Crystal - Stevie Nicks "Like the love that had finally, finally found me, Then I knew, In the crystalline knowledge of you."

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

God, it’s early. 

I managed to carefully slide out of bed without her waking up, which was already difficult because I wanted nothing more than just to stay curled up around her. But I need to be awake for a little bit before I surprise her today.

She told me when she was upset that her best friend and she had a tradition of going to Salem for her birthday every year. She wasn’t super into the spiritual side of things, but she loves Halloween, and with her birthday only being a few days before, she’s a bit biased. 

Unfortunately, this year, they never made it, and my heart shattered watching her tell me that the funeral was just a week prior to her birthday. I’ve never wanted just to squeeze someone harder than her at that moment.  When I had gone and talked to Josh, I had asked if he minded covering the bar that night because she was so upset and I didn’t have the heart to just.. let her be alone after that. But I told him that I would stop by the bar before I came home so I could talk to him about today. Thankfully, he was happy to take care of everything for the day, with the help of Danny. 

I sip on coffee as I figure out what I’m going to wear for the day, assuming that she will probably look nicer than my typical outfits. I know it doesn’t really matter what I’m wearing, but I want to make sure she has a good day and that I can manage not to look homeless sometimes. 

Grabbing a few things from my closet quietly, I sneak back out of my room so she can sleep for as long as possible. I drop them on the couch, deciding to really just go for it today. 

I pull my hair back into a bun, stealing a little more of Josh’s shaving cream, it’s not super grown in, but I may as well. Taking the time to make sure my face is clean-shaven before waking her. Remembering the fact she said I looked cute on Facetime after I shaved reluctantly, but if this is what she prefers, then I don’t mind.  ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

I sit on the bed next to her, just watching her sleep for a minute. She’s curled up with my pillow, which she must have stolen when I left the room. I don’t want to wake her up; she looks so comfortable. 

Softly, I run my hand down the back of her head, and she doesn’t flinch at all. I gently scratched her back, hoping that the contact would help, but still, she didn’t budge. 

I lean down, kissing her temple and then whispering. “Hey you,” into her. Pressing slow, soft kisses into the side of her face. 

“Mmm..” her sleepy little groan made me laugh. 

Peppering a few more kisses against her cheek, mumbling, “Goodmorning.”

It takes her a minute, but she finally opens her eyes slightly and looks up at me. 

I whisper, “There she is.” 

“Why are you up?” She mumbles, reaching her arms out to me. Wrapping her up in a hug, she tucks her little face into me. Maybe we can just stay like this instead. 

“You should get dressed and come with me. I have a few things I need to do,” I tell her, hoping she’ll not fight it. 

“How dressed are we talking?” 

I sit up a little to look at her, “Um.. we’ll be like.. in public.. Does that help?” 

She touches my face, ignoring my answer, “Did you just shave?” 

“Mhm,” I respond, choking back a laugh. “Come on, sleeping beauty, don’t get distracted.” 

”Your face is soft,” she says quietly, as she’s running her hand down my cheek and holding my chin. 

“Just for you,” I giggle before leaning down and kissing her. “I have coffee for you, too.” 

“What are you up to?” She squints at me; there’s no way she’s figured it out already. 

My eyebrows pull together, “What do you mean?” 

“You’re being extra sweet this morning..” her voice trailing off. 

“Am I not allowed to be nice to you?” I laugh. “I can be mean if you’d prefer.”

She laughed with me this time, “I can’t even imagine that.” 

“I don’t think I could be mean to you if I tried.” I would never. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

While she’s getting herself together, I pull on the outfit I had picked out earlier. Cuffing the bottom of my pants so they sit nicely with the boots I’m about to grab. Am I hoping that she’ll think I look nice? Maybe. Opening the drawer of my nightstand, the few rings that I have and my watch sit there. I slide on one of the rings and decide to actually wear my watch today. Staring at myself in the mirror, I feel like I look kind of put together? I don’t think I could tell you the last time I tried this hard with an outfit. 

I’m sitting on the couch, just scrolling through emails, when I hear her walking out of the bathroom. I glance up from my phone as she walks over to me. 

Her voice was so low when she finally let out, “Okay, I’m ready.”

I take her in, her sweater tucked into a little plaid skirt, leaving her legs on display even if they’re covered by black tights. Even with a coat over it, she looks so good. I just quietly stand up, still looking at her but unable to form words. 

“Oh,” she squeaks, looking me up and down. “You look cute.” 

“Hah, thank you,” I can’t shake the nerves from my voice when I say it. “You–” I hesitate, not even knowing how to compliment her at the moment. 

“I’m what?” 

“You just look,” I start, glancing down at her again. “Wow.” 

She giggles at me as I struggle to find words, “Stop it!” 

I shake my head as if it’ll help me refocus. I wasn’t prepared for her to be able to look like this on a whim. 

“Alright, you, let’s go.”  ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Once we’re in the car, I hand her my phone, letting her pick whatever for music. I had already put an address into my maps, just to at least get me to Salem– assuming that she would have something picked out by the time we got there. We hardly make it to the turnpike before I feel her staring at me. 

“Jacob,” she pauses, “Where are we going?”

“Well,” I glanced over at her for a second. “You said you always went to Salem around your birthday and that you hadn’t gone this year because of everything going on so..” 

“Wait- really?” Her voice was small. 

I reach over, resting my hand on her thigh, “Mhm. I figured it’s not fair for you not to do anything for your birthday, and I’m sure you already know some things you like to do there.” 

She leans over the center console, kissing my cheek a few times before letting a small “thank you” squeak out. 

“Of course,” I can feel my face warm, squeezing her leg a few times.  Her hand holds my forearm gently, and the little bit of contact gives me butterflies. 

“I’m assuming you’ve been to Salem?”

“Not in a long time, so whatever you want to do will basically be new to me.” Her eyes light up, and she quickly grabs her phone. 

She’s quiet for a few minutes, just buried in her phone until she holds it out in front of me, “Loook! We could do this!”  I pull it closer so I can actually see; it’s a video of people getting their aura photos done. 

“We can, if you want,” I tell her. 

She’s precious; the way her face lights up when she’s excited makes me want to just give her everything and anything she wants. 

She spent a lot of the drive there finding little things that we could do and excitedly telling me about them. Even if I had to keep reassuring her that whatever she chose was fine. I don’t think she’s used to people doing things for her.  ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Her voice is quiet when she asks, “Can we get coffee?” as if she thinks I’ll say no.

“Mhm,” I hum back. “Just pick where from.” The way she gets shy asking for things makes me laugh to myself. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Mhmm,” I giggle, looking over at her. “Whatever you want, Char.” 

After finding the one she had decided on, I listened to her try and decide which drink she wanted to try; the way she was tied between the two made me laugh.

“Whichever one you get, I’ll get the other one,” I whisper to her. 

Her head whips over, “Oh, you don’t have to do that.” 

“I don’t mind,” 

We finally move up to order; I make her go first so I can order the other drink she didn’t pick. Avoiding looking at her when I could almost feel the wind from how fast she snapped her neck to look at me. I pull out my wallet and quickly pay as her jaw slacks open, staring at me. 

“What?” 

“You just-” 

My eyebrows raise as she hesitates, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Well,” her voice is low, looking at the ground for a second. “Thank you.” 

“Of course,” I tell her, grabbing her hand and pulling her over to a table. “I’ll go grab the drinks; make yourself comfortable.”

I pull out my phone while I wait for our drinks to be made. Clicking on the app for our cameras, which I honestly don’t really look at often. I can just look real quick, so I don’t have to bug them. 

Switching between the few, everything seems normal, but I still feel compelled to check my texts. Nothing. 

Me: hey, if you need anything just let me know okay? 

Me: Also, daniel will be there around like 4pm so you won’t have to close alone

Josh: i know! don’t worry about us just go have fun with your lady! 

‘Jake’ gets called, and it pulls me out of my phone. I grab our drinks and wander back over to the table. Her hands reach out as soon as I get close to her; she’s almost vibrating with excitement over it. 

She sips on her drink, letting out little ‘mmm’s as she does. It’s unfair how adorable she is. Thankful that the drink I chose wasn’t terrible, I finally tried it, realizing that she had her eyes locked on me. 

“Here,” I hand her my drink, her eyes lighting up as she takes it from me. The fact she didn’t hesitate to sip on it gives me butterflies. You would think I’d never kissed her with the way my body reacts to basic things she does. 

Josh: do we have more downeast somewhere or is this it 

Josh: it’s not urgent just whenever you get a second 

Mel: do you want me to go in at all? I can just help out if you don’t want me to make drinks. 

‘Motion Detected’  notifications from Josh opening the bar sit on my lock screen. 

“Hey,” she says, bringing me back to reality. Her hand reaching up and tapping in between my eyebrows lightly, “What’s going on?” 

“Just have a bunch of texts from Josh about the bar,” I tell her, trying not to let my eyebrows pull back together. 

Her eyes look between mine as we sit there, “Everything is going to be fine. Danny won’t let the bar burn down.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” I tell her, sliding my phone into my pocket. “Where would you like to go first?”

“Do you want to see some of the witch trial sites?” She asks.  “Or is it too spooky for you?” Followed with a slight giggle as she looked at me. 

“Oh, don’t start with me,” I laugh before deciding to tease her back. “I’ll hold your hand if you get too scared, though.”  ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

I can tell she really enjoys it here because she can just glance at her maps and then know where to wander off to. She really seems in her element getting to bring me to all these sites. Almost makes me wonder if this is what they would do every year. Telling me about everything that happened in each of the spots. She made sure to point out little details that she really enjoyed. 

My phone has vibrated a few times, and I’m genuinely fighting demons, trying not to look at what it is. Everything is fine. Dan is there. It’s okay. I spend a minute trying to shake the thought and refocus on her as we walk through a little bit of the cemetery. 

“Not too scared yet, are you?” she taunts. 

A slight grin sneaks onto my face, “And what if I was?” 

“Oooohhh, poor baby,” she teases me further, her hand running over my cheek. I know she’s trying to be funny, but hearing her call me ‘baby’ makes my knees weak. The way her lips pouted when she said it also made me wish I could just kiss her freely. 

“I offer to hold your hand, and you just make fun of me?” I let out dramatically. “I see how it is.” Hearing her laugh is worth having to be a bit dramatic. I pout my lip out at her as she giggles at me. 

“I’d take it back,” She starts. “But, you’re cute when you do this.” She taps my bottom lip gently, and I can’t stop the grin that forms when she does. Maybe I am scared. 

“Where else do you want to show me? Or are we just trying to pick up some spirits to bring home with us?” 

She finds a few that she hadn’t been to in a while, leading the way. I would gladly follow her around even if she were lying to me about every single thing. She kept touching my arm when she would tell me things, and it was taking everything in me to stay calm about it. It’s not that deep, Jake. Chill out. I try to tell myself, and then she tells me the history of the next place, and her hand lingers on my bicep for a minute, which makes all the hair on my body stand. 

I can feel my phone vibrating in my pocket as we walk to another spot that she’s excited about. It’s not important. They have everything under control. I try to ignore the feeling and focus on her. But the incessant vibration against my leg is making it difficult. 

Bzzt.

Bzzt.

Bzzt.

For fucks sake, what could be happening? 

I pull out my phone for what feels like the thousandth time, seeing a handful of notifications sitting there. 

Josh: imagine I just get super drunk because it’s slow!! 

Josh: i’m so kidding 

Josh: or am I? the world will never know.

Danny: Please just ignore Josh. He’s cackling like a witch behind the bar so I know he’s being a little shit. 

Josh (in the Caravel Chat) : Hear me out- We just close early today for fun!

Sam: why is josh asking me to come help him lol 

Quinn: Did you leave Josh alone at the bar? 

Danny: Everything is fine I swear.

Sam: actually if you pay me for the night, i’ll do it 

Staring at all the texts that have come in, I can’t fight the way my hand rubs over my face. As I’m trying to decide what to respond to first, I feel her hand grab my arm. 

“Babe,” she says, squeezing me gently. My heart is simultaneously pounding at her casual pet name but also aches at the look on her face. Get off your phone, you dumbass. 

Locking my phone and shoving it into my pocket, I look back at her, “I’m so sorry.”

She gently grabs my chin, forcing me to look at her, “I think it’s wonderful how much you care about your job, but they can handle it.” 

“No, no, you’re right. I’m still sorry, and I promise I’ll stop,” comes out a bit sadder sounding than I expected. She leans up, placing a kiss on my cheek. 

“It’s okay,” she says quietly, “I just want you to have fun too.” 

“I am,” I whisper. “Come on, the aura photos are calling our names.”

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

I pull open the door to the little shop that offers the photos, letting her excitedly go in first. She doesn’t go far, just waiting for me to come in with her. There’s someone already talking to the girl working there, so we just wander around looking at the selection of crystals and stones they have. She’s kept herself close to me while I pick up random crystals to look at them closer. Is she nervous? She has such a strong personality when it comes to her job, which I know is part of the gig for her, but it’s interesting to see how she acts when she doesn’t have to be in charge. The fact she has been attached to me from the moment we walked in is throwing me off. 

Hearing the door chimes ring, the girl behind the counter glances over at us. 

“Hi! Did you have any questions?” her voice was bubbly. 

I feel her gently tap my arm, seeing her stare at me from the corner of my eye. I have to fight the laugh when I realize she wants me to ask.

“Actually, yes,” I start. “Is there any chance we can get our aura photos done?” 

“Oh, absolutely!” She says. “Did you want individual ones?” 

“Please,” I tell her. “If you have time, obviously.” 

She laughs boisterously, “Lucky for the two of you– after Halloween, we die off so quickly! I have so much time; I don’t know what to do with myself.” 

She brings us to the area they have set up, explaining the process and how it works before having Charlotte sit down first. She’s so graceful as she gets situated. So, she carefully made sure her hands were in the right place after adjusting her hair a few times. The girl working here was so friendly and was talking her through it to help make sure that she was relaxed, so she got an authentic reading. 

I don’t know what it is about her that is so incredibly captivating, but the entire time, I can’t look away from her. I stand far enough out of the way that she can’t see me, but all I can think is– she is effortlessly beautiful. The feeling I get when I look at her scares me; my heart races, and the way my stomach turns. The witch trial sites could never compare. 

It only takes a few minutes before we’re swapping spots. She, on the other hand, stays within eyeshot for me. Doing everything I can to focus on the employee and not her, I feel myself calm down a bit. The girl leans down to take the photo, and I can see Charlotte in my peripheral. With the soft smile on her face, as she watches, I find myself unable to hold back the full smile as I hear the shutter of the camera.

“If you want, I can give you guys a little explanation of what your colors mean!” The girl offers, and we have the time to kill, so we obviously take her up on the offer. 

  We follow her back up to the counter, where she slides both of our photos over to us. My eyes go to her right away; our colors are not the same at all. 

“Ladies first,” the girl says, nudging Char’s photo forward a bit. “You have quite a bit of red in here, dear. Red typically represents a passionate, intense, loyal person. Depending on the shade of red, it can also have some romantic representations as well.” 

I glance over as Charlotte is just beaming at this girl while she explains. “You also have a little bit of a deeper purple in there, which means you may have something that is bothering you. Some sort of obstacle that you need to overcome.” 

Oh no. My hand finds hers, lightly tapping just to let her know I’m still there. She so softly wraps her hand around my index finger, squeezing a few times, almost like a ‘thank you.’

“And now for you,” the girl taps my photo forward. “You have majority green, which is usually characterized by the person’s nurturing disposition. You embody compassion and understanding. Since yours is also more of a mint green, you must be someone who just radiates peace and serenity to those around you.”

Charlotte’s soft laugh, “Sounds about right.”

“You’re obviously welcome to look up more about the meanings behind the colors! I just figured I would give you a baseline of what they mean,” she tells us.

“No, thank you so much for that, actually,” Charlotte finally chimes in.

The girl chuckles as she runs my card for everything, looking at me as she hands it back, “You know it’s kinda cute; your aura colors complement each other well.” Shooting me a wink as she glances down at the photos. Why is she trying to torture me?

There’s no way my face isn’t a little red at her comment, and then I glance over at her; the subtle pink in her cheeks makes me feel less insane. But is she just embarrassed, or is she into that? 

“Thank you again,” I tell her as we go to leave, pushing the door open for Charlotte to go out first.  ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

“Where to next?” 

Her excitement is palatable, “Oooo, I have an idea!” 

I watch her as she leads me to another little shop that she likes to look through. My heart feels.. different as I watch her. Seeing her get excited over these things that she looks forward to year after year, the way she just beams back at me like I’m the one who founded this town. She keeps holding my hand, and even when she lets go to show me something, she always finds her way back to it. She walks so close that she bumps into me constantly. Okay so.. I have a crush on her.. But how could I not? 

Her sweet face when she turns to me with something that she’s found. I don’t know what’s worse, the soft sparkle in her eyes or trying to focus on anything beyond how perfectly painted her freckles are over her nose. Her little voice every time, ‘Jacob look!’ she would whisper, made me laugh to myself. 

“Do you want it?” I whisper after she’s shown me just about everything in the store. 

And she’s suddenly shy again. 

“No, no, it’s just cute,” she tries to backpedal. 

I take the dainty chain bracelet from her, “It’s very cute.” Inspecting it closer, knowing I’m going to just hold onto it even if she tries to fight me on it. She can’t just show me a million things and think I’m not going to offer to get one of them, at the very least, for her.

I go to set the bracelet back in its place, “Do you want to keep looking around?”

She nods quickly, grabbing my free hand gently. As soon as she turns her head, I pull the bracelet back to me, keeping it tucked in my hand so she doesn’t see it. 

We spent a few more minutes wandering around with her, continuing the same routine of finding something she liked and turning to show me. 

“We can go,” her soft voice rings as we’re walking towards the front. 

I look over at her, fighting the urge to smile, “Give me like two minutes.” 

Walking up to the counter, I hand the bracelet to the employee, knowing there’s no way she isn’t going to notice. Her hand tightened around mine as they dropped the bracelet into a little paper bag, handing it over to me with my receipt. 

Tugging her behind me as we leave, I turn to her, holding out the bag, “For you.” 

“You’re so–” She starts, but pouting her lip when she’s stumped for words. “Thank you, babe.” 

Please just keep calling me that. If I thought her pet naming me woud be bad, I was severely unprepared. 

“Can you help me?” She sweetly asks, holding up the ends of the bracelet to me. 

I grab them from her, and she holds out her wrist for me. Something about the motion of clasping this little chain on her feels like time has slowed. The look on her face, her skin is so soft, and the dainty bracelet looks so perfect on her. I turn it around to see the little charm that’s on it, just holding her wrist for a second. ‘Crush’ may not be the word anymore.   ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

We spent a little while wandering in and out of shops throughout the little street. As we walk further, the iconic Witch House comes into view. A giant black house with three distinct peaks in the roof, it’s hard to miss, but she still points it out to me. 

“Ooooh! We used to take cute pictures in front of it every year.” 

“Are you saying that you want a picture?”

“Maybe,” She grabs my hand, tugging me along with her. She pulls her phone from her bag, and I reach my hand out, thinking that she just wants me to take it. “No, come here.” 

She pulled me close to her and reached out to take a picture of us. She wants.. a picture of the two of us? My arm wraps around her waist gently as she tucks herself into me; she beams at the camera; her smile could light up a room at this moment. 

“You better show off those teeth, Jacob,” she says, making me chuckle to myself. Smiling but looking at her, I can see her clicking the shutter button out of the corner of my eye. 

“Um, do you guys want me to take one for you?” a stranger quietly interjects as they’re passing by. 

“Oooh, yes!” she quickly hands them her phone. Okay, we’re doing this now, haha, that’s so fine. 

She comes back to me, leaning into my side and letting her hand rest on my stomach. Oh, uh.  My arm pulls her into me, and my hand sits on her lower back; I can feel her staring at me, so I glance over. Her lips pulled into the cutest smile; I swear she could feel my heart pounding. Her eyes dropped to my mouth and then back up, making me fully smile at her. 

“Perfect,” she whispers as she looks over at the person, but I don’t want to stop looking at her. I force my head to turn away from her. I looked over to the camera and felt her leaning against me slightly. It takes two seconds before they start walking back over with her phone. She clicks on her camera roll, quickly swiping through them and thanking the person for helping. She turns to me as she looks through them again. 

“Stop, this one’s so cute,” she turns it to me. They caught me looking at her.. We look like a couple; my stomach tenses at the thought. I... Watching as she sends me a bunch of them, taking a second to favorite a couple of them so she doesn’t lose them. “Oh wait, this one too!”  The one moment of her looking at me, her hand sitting on my stomach and full teeth smile on display, looking right at her– my heart flutters at the sight of it. I hadn’t considered how we look together.. from someone else’s point of view. I look like I’m in lo—.

She cuts me off, “Do you want to get some food? I don’t know how late you planned on being here, but at least then, we aren’t starving on the drive home.”

“Um, yeah, we probably should,” I stumble over my words for a second. “Was there somewhere you had in mind?” ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

We wandered around for a bit trying to decide what we wanted. It probably would have gone quicker if we focused and weren’t talking about all the things in the window displays as we passed them. But the way she hardly let go of my hand the entire time, I wasn’t about to stop her from doing whatever it is she wanted. 

We almost walked past the restaurant she decided that she wanted to try, but I think if you looked hard enough, you would have seen the smoke from how fast she hit the brakes when she realized it was next to us. It was a treat for me to see her so.. joyful. 

The server dropping off our drinks and taking our order, we have time to just stare at each other and I listen to her tell me how she’s been looking at this place on instagram for a while. 

I finally ask, “Was this a good surprise at least?” 

“Are you kidding? Of course it was,” she said, leaning forward with a sweet little grin on her lips. 

“I know it’s not the same, but—“ 

She stops me quickly, “If I didn't think she’d hear me, I’d say it might be even better.“ Don’t tell me that. 

“I don’t know about that,” 

“Hey,” she almost scolds me. “It was very sweet of you– no but’s allowed.” 

I giggle at the tone of her voice, knowing she would absolutely yell at me if I kept going. The server dropped off our food quietly as we kept talking about the little things we saw today. She kept asking what I liked most, and I couldn’t be honest because it was just getting to be with her.  She told me about how she and Cass would always try to find new things every year, but they also just enjoyed wandering through the same historical sites because it was just interesting to see. 

“Are you still panicking over the bar?” She asks, scooting her plate away from her. 

It hits me that I’ve been distracted enough that I hadn’t even looked at my phone. 

“Actually.. I hadn’t thought about it,” I tell her. 

She fakes a gasp at me, “Well, look at that.”

“Growing up so fast,” I giggle.  Or it could be the fact I spent the whole day getting to watch a beautiful girl smile at me for bringing her here. 

“Proud of you,” she whispers with her foot grazing my leg. 

She’s absolutely killing me. 

Our server came over with our bill, and I had just held my hand out for the little black folder. I slid my card in without hesitation and handed it back to them. I quietly let out a small ‘Thank you’ as they took the small folder away from me. I look back over to her, and the pink tint to her cheeks is more noticeable than I’m sure she’d like. What is she blushing over? 

“You okay?” 

“Mhm,” she hums back.

“You sure?” 

“Yes,” she laughs. “..just you.” 

The server comes back with the folder, taking my card out. I can feel her stare as she watches me sign the receipt and slide cash into the folder for their tip. I look up at her and softly ask, “You ready?” Letting her lead the way out, my hand found its place on her lower back, trying to keep her close to me. 

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

“It’s so cute here when it’s dark out,” she says as she’s looking at all the shops lit up now that the sun is set. 

I just watch her take everything in, the pure joy on her face, and my heart feels like it’s melting for the hundredth time today. She slides her hand into mine, leaning into my arm and wrapping her free hand over my bicep as we walk. What is she doing? 

“Thank you for everything today,” She squeaks out. 

I look over, placing a kiss on the side of her head, “You’re very welcome.” 

She stops walking, tugging my arm lightly. I turn around to face her when she closes the gap between us. Tilting her head back slightly as she leans into my chest, leaving a few sweet kisses against my lips. 

“I’ve been waiting for that all day,” she mumbles into me. She’s been waiting? I COULD HAVE DONE THAT SOONER?

“I’m sorry, hun,” I mumble back. “I’ll just have to make up for it now.” Earning the biggest smile out of her, making me laugh at how eager she just got. 

“In that case,” she laughs, wiggling herself out of my arms but grabbing my hand instead. “Let’s go, baby!” 

After a lovely little walk filled with giggles and a few more pit stops that she insisted on just to give me a kiss, we finally made it to the car. I can see her trying to readjust to be more comfortable, moving her legs around every which way. 

I look over at her, letting out a small ‘hey’ before patting my leg. I reach over, carefully grabbing her ankles and pulling her legs out over my lap. We sit in the comfortable quiet for a bit, whatever song she’s chosen playing softly while she just looks through her phone. My hand hasn’t left her since I moved her legs. Rubbing little circles on her ankle or just sliding up the side of her foot. Anything to keep some sort of contact, and she doesn’t seem to mind. 

She reaches over, lightly running her fingertips over my cheek. It’s hard not to smile at it; she’s so fucking cute. 

“Your face is still so soft,” she giggles. 

“I wanted to look nice,” I admit. 

She rebuttals quickly, “You always look nice.” 

“Mmm,” I start. “But standing next to you all day, I wanted to make sure I at least looked half as good as you.”  ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

The drive home felt short in comparison, but the lack of anxiety I felt this time probably helped. We immediately head up to the apartment, surprisingly avoiding the bar.

“Sooo..” I start, keeping my voice low as I sneak up behind her, sliding my arms around her waist. “The bar doesn’t close for a couple more hours..” 

She twists around in my arms to face me, “Jacob, you’re not about to go to work right now.”

“That wasn’t my thought, but thank you for that,” I let out in the most monotone voice. 

“Oh! Are you turning a new leaf already? One day of me pestering you to stop working is all it took?” She teases me with a little smirk plastered on her face. 

“You really don’t have to make fun of me,” I say, letting my hands settle on her hips. “But, yes— maybe it helped.“

Her hands held the sides of my face, “It is nice to just enjoy you outside of the bar.” 

I mumble back, “Is that so?” 

“Mhm,” Her body leans into me. “I don’t have to share you with anyone else this way.” You’re not sharing me in there either, trust me. 

“Are you trying to say you want more attention?”  I question her. 

“From you? Absolutely,” her voice is so sexy; my body feels like it’s on fire. I want quite literally nothing more than to do that.

Pulling her into me, I whisper, “What kind of attention do you want, hun?” 

“Mmmm…” She hums, before her head tilts slightly and with a delicious little smile on her lips. And then she whispers, “You’re full of surprises today; why don’t you decide, babe?” 

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Nineteen

FDOG Master Post | Masterlist | Playlist

Reply or fill out this form to be added to the taglist

Taglist:

@gvfsstardust @myleftsock @mindastreamofcolours-deactivate @dont-go-home-without-me @literal-dead-leaf

@lizzys-sunflower @mackalah @klarxtr @edgingthedarkness @writingcold

@takenbythemadness @earthgrlsreasy @peaceloveunitygvf

@josh-iamyour-mama @anythingforjtk

@broken0mens @whereiskeara @gvf-luna @katuschka @threadofstars @i-love-gvf

@jazzyfigz @smoking-jakelane @gretavanfan @scoreofinfantryvines

@demonrat444 @hollyco @ourlovesdesire

@musicspeaks @wrldabomination @chloeshell1219

@becinabubblegvf @sanguinebats @lallisonl

@nicoleghost18 @lightmy-love @myownparadise96 @cheersdannyx2

[rockstrais]

What are your favorite aspects of Emerald & Mercury’s relationship?

this is a very broad question…. my gosh where do I begin?

I’ll start with how they didn’t choose each other each other by their own accord. emerald initially vetoed against mercury joining their party. it took them a while to actually accept the other’s very existence. em asks merc why he joins them. he says it was fate. cinder and her show up looking for his father the night he killed him? what else could that be except destiny. as we know, destiny & fate are heavy theme in rwby. the characters have to spend time challenging their ideas of that. we see that with pyrrha, ruby, weiss etc… but the thing is whether they were fated to meet… mercury and emerald subconsciously choose one other—despite their own protests. they’re the only people their age (literal seventeen year olds at the beginning of the show) they are each other’s first friends—and perhaps first loves(?) (wishful thinking on my part)

i also enjoy the symbolism around them. they foil and compliment each other nicely.

emerald is the gemstone of the planet mercury! in her concept art for v2, she’s seen wearing gold (linking her to cinder) jewelry. it’s later changed to silver (linking her to mercury).

emerald also has light/day symbolism! and mercury also has night/dark symbolism. every blocking of each scene they are in together has emerald in the light, representing how she’s always been morally good; and mercury teetering into the dark, representing how he keeps getting swept toward morally bad people. figures since he’s named mercury. he’s gonna be the one who is more morally grey than his peer. (haha, get it?) but as we see, emerald will get him to face the light.

their struggles also foil each other too. she projects a pseudo sister-mother relationship onto cinder, since she lacks that familial connection. she yearns for love above all else. it’s why she joined and stayed with cinder for so long. his father raised him to be killing-machine. to be the best of the best in his craft. of course he was never enough. (insert silver medal joke here) mercury craves respect above all else. it’s why he joined cinder. it’s why he accepted salem’s hasty promotion. he wants to be taken seriously very, very badly.

though unknowingly to both of them—they have what they want already!

mercury loves emerald unconditionally as she so desperately desires, you can see he cares for her. He might not show it in the best ways possible all the time, but he does. what is love if not wanting to crack a joke in front of the cute girl you barely know who’s now your partner in crime any chance you get? what is love if not trying to convince your best friend (though you’d never admit it aloud because your dad called it a weakness) to let go of the woman who is not a mother or sister to her whatsoever? what is love if not protecting the only person you give a damn about from some weird freak of a grown man who keeps threatening her?

emerald respects—dare i say admires—mercury as he badly craves. what is respect if not immediately going to apologize for upsetting him when he brought up his terrible childhood and abusive father because you assumed he didn’t know what it’s like to have such love for a parental figure (one who constantly failed you, not that you can admit it)? what is respect if not immediately trusting him with new information you overhead from a prisoner? over your mentor who just returned from the dead mind you. like, of all people, why is he, the boy you didn’t want, your first choice? if you don’t respect him why do you use his fighting style to escape a sticky situation and his favorite snarky insults? if that’s not respect, then do tell me what is?

and notice how i never said mercury wants love—like yes, he does. but not over respect. he wasn’t raised to need love. to be honest, he never makes a huge point about wanting because he already knows what it is. he learned it from emerald; her respect is her love. which is why he is trying to reciprocate that in the only ways he knows how. emerald doesn’t think her respect is love. her respect for cinder is more unwavering, unhealthy devotion. that’s not love. it’s one-sided. her begrudging obligation to give a damn about mercury has sprung into something much more.

both of them are too stubborn to realize it, but they’re getting and giving what they ask for. once they eventually—oh i can’t wait to see the epiphanies and developments that come from that!

anyways this was very long, sorry. you can see that i’m clearly passionate between these two!

[seaside-writings]

Hello, again all you wonderfully, wicked people!

As we know black cats are an essential part of the spooky season as well as an essential part of everyday life! So in honor of that, I made a prompt list dedicated to one of my favorite black cats Salem Saberhagen, who in my opinion had some of the most iconic dialogue in TV history!

I hope you all like this prompt list, and I hope it helps you create! And if you do use it, please credit/tag me so I can check out what you've made!

I hope you all stay blessed and safe throughout your day.

Lots of Love & Wishes: Celia 🖤🎃🕸🔮

P.s. I did change some of the dialogue so it would flow easier when it came to writing for different types of characters.

“You’re the only one who understands me,” “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I care,” - “What are you doing?” “Nothing!” “You’re in a chatroom again pretending to be a woman, aren’t you?” “I like the attention.” - “I have lighted the fuse. Now I just have to wait for the kapowie! Muahahaha!” - “I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you; I just wanted to rule you,” - “You’ll be able to look back on all of this and get revenge,” - “Show me the tuna!” - "I never cared for the name Mildred," - “And let’s give a big warm welcome to sadness,” - “Someone’s gonna end up crying. Probably me,” - “Finally, someone whose life is more pathetic than mine!” - “You don't have to order me a pizza, but make it half sausage, half clam,” - “I need a little fresh air and a latte,”

“As long as you drop everything and stay focused on me, I should be fine,” - “Dogs guard. Cats watch and judge,” - “When I’m happy, I eat! When I’m upset, I eat!” - “Hooray, the toast is stuck! Danger, here I come!” - “They left behind. Be strong. Don’t cry,” - “Still want to take over the world?" - "Cheetos should be served at room temperature, you know,” - “Curse my sarcastic nature!” - “If you misbehave for just one instant, I’ll cut you, man,” - “Dear lord, you picked up a guy at the bus station,” - “It's the 90s, no one eats mortals anymore,” - “I’m rich! Rich, I tell you!” It’s only a few hundred dollars,” “I’m well-off! Well-off, I tell you!” - “Let's destroy everything that's dear to him. Let's indoctrinate him into the cathedral of agony,” “I'm going to write him a very stern letter,” “You're a regular Mad Max, aren't you?” - “A tassel! Don’t you toy with me, you saucy minx!” - “Wow, you must feel like a huge loser,” - “Would you be terribly upset if I threw up in one of your shoes?” - “You laugh, you die,” - “I will not be ignored!” - “All I’ve done all day is eat, sleep, and stare off into space. What an awful existence,” “Hey! I don’t dump on your lifestyle," - “Could you either remove the bandages or kill me?” - “Sorry, thirty waffles is my limit,” - “You think a mirrored ceiling would be too much?” - “Why didn’t you stop them!?” “I was busy,” “Doing what!?” “Playing with my scrunchie,” - “We need a plan,” “How about we weep uncontrollably,” - “I urge you to accept me as your ruler!” - “I’ll be having a quiet weekend, curled up with Memoirs Of A Geisha,” - “Delivery. I want a pizza as fast as possible! And don’t forget the crazy bread!” - “And your face is a bit of a trainwreck too,” - “Tell Elton John he can’t start singing now,” - “I wasn’t always the stud muffin I am today,”

“You owe her an apology. Now! “I’m thinking of how to word it,” “Try 'I’m sorry,'” “Somehow, that just doesn’t feel right…” - “I’d rather be locked in the dishwasher again,” - “Does she know who you are?” “Why does everyone think that’s a necessary part of love,” - “I’m the ultimate bad example,” - “Don’t ask me, I was an English major,” - “Hey, leave the sarcasm to the professionals,” - “Get a real job. And some pants,” - “I’m a cat, I’m curious, so kill me,” - “Still want to take over the world?” “Yes! Wait, no! I meant no!” - “I’d be more nervous if I weren’t so good-looking,” - “Hey chicks, what’s the haps?” - “I’m trying to set the world record for grooving,” - “Sometimes I just like to hear myself talk,” - “You know me any excuse to wear taffeta,” - “Oh, right, I forgot. I’m an animal, I have no self-control,” - “Why am I finding it hard to summon sympathy?” - “Wow, I love a woman who can take charge!” - “I’ll be downstairs creating a distraction,” - “I’m trying to concentrate on expanding my intellectual horizons,” - “Wake up, woman! You’re not a princess, you’re a dragon!” - “Her new obsession is doing wonders for my wardrobe!” - “Please hurry! I’ve been in here for over an hour!” “Why didn’t you call us sooner?” “It wasn’t a problem until I ran out of peanut brittle!” - “So it's true. Taste does skip a generation,” - “I want to say something wise and wonderful right now, but I can't think of anything. Except I love you, and I hope the band knows some Ohio Player,” - “BOO!” “You look ridiculous,” “You were terrified, and you know it,” - “Halloween. Is it just another date on the calendar, or is a state of mind, or is a state of… being?”

[kitkatopinions]

Honestly, I feel like people who say Yang can’t notice Ruby’s behavior are also ignoring she’s literally meant to be protective/overprotective. As somebody who has felt responsibility for a family member growing up:

You’re attuned to the little things. You watch for them. I can list specific examples.

When upset, their texting style changes and uses briefer responses. They’re curt. They try to isolate themself when normally they want to talk about issues. They slip into being passive aggressive at times. They don’t try to seek me out for conversations as often.

I could accept Yang not noticing if she hasn’t been billed as a protective/overprotective sister and if Ruby wasn’t visibly behaving differently. I listed SUBTLE changes I’ve caught onto. So it baffles me people say Ruby was hiding it because she wasn’t. And even if she was, being written as overprotective or protective, YANG WOULD HAVE CAUGHT ON SINCE SHED VIEW RUBY AS A RESPONSIBILITY IM SURE.

Even then it’s insane to act like a family member who has no history of violence will turn violent when expressing angry emotions. Then again, based on what they did to Qrow, I guess that is consistent writing.

I've seen people claim that anyone who has a problem with how Yang was written in V9 is "infantilizing" Ruby.

I don't know how to explain to people that saying "a suicidal seventeen year old in wartime who just lost a friend deserves a little more care than the occasional half-hearted 'are you okay,'" isn't actually infantilizing. It's also a wonder, because if I recall, rwde posters got told that expecting a seventeen year old girl to make the choice to help either the people of Mantle or the soldiers fighting Salem was cruel and horrible and we were all being far too hard on Ruby and nobody should expect Ruby to be able to hold it together under those conditions, but the second we say "Ruby needs a stronger support system from her friends and family" suddenly it's infantilizing, and how dare we suggest that Ruby not be able to get one hundred percent better all by herself, and how dare we suggest that maybe a seventeen year old might need to be taken care of a little bit here and there, and how dare we put all that on poor Yang who has her own life and can't spend all her screentime attached to Ruby.

For the record, I don't think that Yang needs to spend all her screentime attached to Ruby and I don't think that she can't have her own life. I don't even think 'she and Blake should have waited to get together' because like, they were basically forced into it by the world around them (which is a fact that this show absolutely won't take seriously or be interested in examining.) I do think that this "Blake and Yang got together while they were all stuck in chaos-central and Ruby had a breakdown after all the heavy stuff from V8 happened including the death of Penny and it feels like a bad time" thing was a bad writing choice, but that's the writers fault and it could've been avoided if Blake and Yang had been dating in volume 7 instead of them putting it off unnecessarily and/or choosing to make it happen mid-Ruby-breakdown (they could've had Blake and Yang kiss during their reunion instead of just hugging.) But that's besides the point, because the point is, I don't blame Yang the character for getting together with Blake. What I do dislike though is the way that the writers wrote Yang to act towards Ruby. Every moment that she has with Blake can stay the same! The almost hand-hold and making jokes? Although I think the jokes are in poor taste, having them flirt is fine. But then when Ruby and Weiss stop walking, Blake and Yang could notice and stop walking, and turn to try to join the conversation. Blake can still throw herself into Yang's arms when she sees her alive! But then when Ruby comes to after literally fainting from how bad her stress and trauma is, Yang can be super worried and be really hesitant to start moving on. Blake and Yang can still cheer each other on in the chess game! Only instead of Yang just accepting clear deflection and seeming to forget about Ruby's problems the second something somewhat distracting happens, we could've had Yang trying harder to get through to Ruby and pushing her to open up, only stopping when Ruby actually shuts her down and tells her she doesn't need it or want it right now. Blake and Yang can still have their moment on the bridge! Only it can also include them starting that scene with Yang taking a moment to call for Ruby and Blake helping to calm her down and get her to focus on the problem at hand (maybe with a cute "we can find her, but first we have to take it one step at a time, so just focus on me for a moment, yeah?" And Yang taking a deep breath and looking at Blake and being like "Yeah," more calm now and with her voice warm because seeing and hearing Blake is grounding to her.) They can still be caught up in their kiss so much that they didn't even notice the change of environment! Only then after Ruby runs off, Yang can be running after her but unable to keep up, with Blake and Weiss right behind her because they care about Ruby just as much, and they can lose track of her trail of petals and Yang can be like "Dammit!" And Blake can be like "I don't like this, Neo is out there," and Yang could be like "You saw her just now, she - she can't fight like this, she can't go wandering off alone!" We can still have Blake holding Yang while Ruby tries to commit suicide! But then we could also have Yang asking frantic questions about "where has Ruby gone? What happens to humans who ascend? She's not dead, is she?! Oh my God, what if she's dead?!" And we could have Yang have a bigger reaction to finding Ruby in the tree, and we could have given Yang focus when she sees the twisted zombie-like Ruby clones that the Cat conjured up instead of having Jaune's trauma so focused on, and we could've had Yang actually worry about Ruby and not just put her right back in the place of "perfect leader" when Ruby just said she didn't want that.

The problem is that the writers aren't writing Yang to act like a caring older sister because they are bad at emotional depth and they're bad at sensitivity, and they really seem to struggle with letting characters feel without taking them away from plot to do so. I'm not asking for Blake to be removed from Yang's story or to get less focus, I'm just asking for the writers to learn how human siblings usually react when their loved ones are having breakdowns, and improve on how they write characters to express emotions.

It's ridiculously over sensitive that fans can't stand to see any criticism of Yang at all without trying to come up with every excuse imaginable, or deflect like "Ruby can take care of herself!" Ruby is seventeen. I'm in my mid-twenties and two years ago I got roaring sick, and my older sister was concerned and helpful and kind and there for me, and I was like "gee isn't it great to have a sister who is here for me and helps me when I need it," and surprise surprise I was never like "She's infantilizing me!" Ruby the seventeen year old with clear PTSD having a breakdown to the point of fainting who was crying while an adult man screamed in her face and then ran away to sob on her own while an evil murderer was out to murder her... Actually did need support! And care! And attention! Honestly, the way that some people in the fndm have been acting towards Ruby ever since they decided she was a threat to their enjoyment of Yang and their ship is really weird.

[princeblack]

his cell phone is thrown into the passenger side seat and he can see it lighting up from the corner of his eye, unread messages from daphne filling the screen. he was supposed to call her tonight and maybe watch a movie later, but the plans had slipped his mind the moment he got a different text, one from the newest girl at their high school.

salem had moved here recently and she was mysterious in a way, definitely the prettiest girl in the school with her sharp blue eyes and full lips, the face of an angel. she was well-liked and a cheerleader, which meant everyone wanted her, even regulus. he didn't want to admit it, pushing back his thoughts about her because they weren't exactly proper. he was taught that lust was a mortal sin and sex could only be enjoyed after marriage to someone you truly loved. that was supposed to be daphne, eventually– at least, according to his mother, who desperately wanted their families to marry. she’s his current girlfriend but the most they’ve done is kiss a little, their relationship a bit distant and awkward because of his disinterest and the pressure from both of their families constantly watching and controlling them.

but even despite how wrong it is, and how he’s tried to push it back, he’s struggled with desire for the new girl more than once. she bent down in front of him to tie her boots the other day, her top low cut and breasts visible, making him hard. once she placed a hand on his knee during history class, slowly sliding up his leg as she flirted with him. he couldn’t help but wonder how beautiful her hand would look wrapped around his cock, the thought surprising him with how disrespectful it was. he couldn’t seem to stop thinking of her like that, especially during football games when he went to support draco. she was already head cheerleader, getting in on talent and flexibility but also beauty, outshining all of the other girls with ease. he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her, pretty sure it even upset daphne when his gaze was glued to salem as she did a backflip. her skirt was short and her thighs were perfect and thick, her skin so beautiful that he thought about it long after the game had ended. she was like a statue from ancient greece or something; perfect, beautiful curves with an almost divine beauty to them. if it was a mortal sin to lust, then why did she seem to be crafted by god himself? why was she an angel, so easy to admire? it wasn’t like daphne wasn’t beautiful, but salem was something else, almost ethereal in her perfection. it becomes almost impossible not to want her, especially with the way she speaks to him, that seductive purr in her voice.

he was addicted to her and they’d only just met, already exchanging numbers because salem wanted his help with the homework. they had a plan for him to come over and tutor her on sunday night and some part of him is afraid, because if her hand trails up his leg again then he’s going to lose whatever control he has left. his mother is going to be disappointed and daphne is going to cry… but he still can’t help but answer her text as soon as it lights up his phone this friday night.

salem asks him to pick her up from draco’s party, one he had passed up on because he had to study for tomorrow’s AP English exam. she says she needs a ride home because she’s drunk and pansy bailed, so he gets into his car and ignores his girlfriend’s texts, driving over to his cousin’s. it seemed fairly harmless and he genuinely liked her, so he wants to help her out.

he spots her outside of the mansion, standing there looking more gorgeous than anyone he’s ever seen in his life. she has beautiful dark hair that falls in waves down her back, just as stunning as her outfit. she has a black top that’s smaller than anything he’s seen anyone wear, like two scraps of fabric tied together with ribbon. he can see half of her breasts and her stomach, too, her belly button peeking out above her tight black skirt that matches. his heart starts racing before he’s even stopped the car, bumping the curb on accident because his eyes are trained on her. it makes him embarrassed when she opens the door, and the small car is filled with her lovely scent as soon as she steps in.

“hey, are you doing okay? i brought you some water, just in case…” he nods to the water bottle in the cup holder next to her. suspiciously enough, she doesn’t seem very drunk at all (at least in the way she steps confidently into the car) and he doesn’t smell alcohol yet. “i hit the curb on purpose, by the way,” he says dryly. “it was practice for when i hit our english teacher for grading like a hard ass on this exam tomorrow.” of course the truth was that he hit it because he was staring at her tits, but he would never say that out loud. the thought brings a faint blush to his cheeks.

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

Here’s the (one of many) thing that this epilogue fails at; “Where is Salem?” We just had a major upset in the status quo with Salem actually doing something herself and leading a gigantic army, resulting in Ironwood having to make a decision with an hour’s notice. But here, it seems that a good bit of time has past for people to think and plan and such. Why isn’t Salem doing anything. This epilogue completely removes the tension the Atlas’ volumes created AND IT SUCKS!

Everything else about the epilogue had me so pissed off I wasn’t even thinking about the Salem question. Unfortunately it has been a question that has plagued the entire show. Why does Salem wait to attack Beacon until RW/BY is in Beacon? Why does she wait to attack Haven until they arrive? Or Atlas? And now Vacuo? Why does she wait when she has no reason to wait over and over again. The show needs to establish a good reason for Vacuo to be so calm and Salem free right now because logically it makes no sense.

From the epilogue it seems like it’s been five weeks on Remnant and with Salem having the staff….I don’t see why she would wait so long to attack, or why so many people being upset hasn’t brought Grimm to the city. Their is no logical reason for the epilogue to play off as happy and relaxed as it is. As you said it’s sucked the tension right out of the situation and made it seem far less serious then it is further declawing Salem so to speak and turning her from a world ending threat to a minor annoyance which is not a good look for what is supposed to be the big bad villain of the entire show.

Worse from what I’ve heard the epilogue will be an intro scene in volume 19 if it ever happens and I hate it.

[midnightechoes]

RWBY VOLUME 9 EPISODE 7 SPOILERS:

Okay, THAT HURT. Like, really needed, but so soooo painful.

The episode began so cutely, with that cute little village full of sweet paper people. BUT, it quickly becomes apparent just how fucked it all is. Jaune means well, but he’s forcing himself AND the citizens into this awful loop that’s basically trapped him and the little star people into a sort of prison.

Basically, Jaune’s voluntarily forced himself into a role, just like the other citizens of the Ever After. A role that feels like an attempt to make up for what he sees as his failings. He couldn’t save people, and he couldn’t stop bad things from happening. So he’s making sure to save everyone and making sure nothing changes.

And Ruby. Holy shit. This is the episode we’ve been waiting for, the one where she finally breaks. And it happened and it was agonizing to watch. From the obvious reluctance to pick Crescent Rose back up, to her inability to fight, to her having a psychotic break when the Jabberwalker was attacking her and seeing Cinder, Penny, and Salem as it attacked her (which I’m pretty sure wasn’t a Neo illusion thing, I think that was purely being conjured by Ruby’s mind), to finally blowing up at everyone, and then running away.

Ruby took shots at basically everyone, and then Jaune tore into Ruby, and then it all broke down from there. And part of what made that scene so powerful, so well done was that no one was in the wrong. You can understand where Ruby was coming from. You can understand where Jaune was coming from. You get why Blake was trying to bring some optimism to the conversation. Yang’s reaction to Ruby basically dismissing one of the more important events in Yang’s life was entirely understandable.

It’s obvious that Ruby has been hurting for a while. We’ve known that and it’s been apparent since volume 8. And something I mentioned a few weeks ago was that every time Ruby’s started to talk about her emotions, or seemingly work up the nerve to be upset and express it, something interrupts it. That even happened earlier in this episode. It seemed pretty obvious that this was going to be the only way for her to get her feelings out. And they came out sounding like poisonous barbs to everyone around her, to the people she cares the most about.

In a lot of ways Ruby probably feels like they hurt her the most, by not seeing just how much she was hurting. By not seeing that she needed help. 

That’s not true obviously, not entirely at least. We’ve seen Yang trying to comfort Ruby multiple times this season. We’ve seen them all trying to talk to her at points, but again, often things got interrupted.

Ruby’s also complicit in her own suffering. Since volume 3, her reaction to trauma is often to push it down and push forward towards the things she can still do. To an extent, she’s built this assumption and expectation with her friends that she can handle these things.

So now Ruby’s on her own, with only Little to be there for her. I am both excited and terrified about what she might do. 

[multisfabulis]

A Much-Needed Talk

Word Count: 2934

DISCLAIMER: I want to make it clear that, under no uncertain circumstances, I do not support RT. The company has committed many atrocious acts of harm, both to its employees, former or otherwise, and numerous marginalized groups that are utterly reprehensible and completely unacceptable. While I have Things to say about fans that continue to financially support RT via RWBY and RT's other IPs, this is not the place to divulge such criticism. As such, any discourse that potentially crops up under this fic will be promptly deleted. If you continue trying to create discourse or make my fic a hot spot for debate, you will be blocked and/or removed. You do not need to agree with me but I ask that you please respect this boundary. This will be posted on any and all future RWBY fics from this point forward.

I did not think I'd post another RWBY fic for a good long while yet but the autism brainrot hit back in April so I had to do it. Still, what better way to ring in Pride Month than by writing about the Bees?

So the way this came about was that I was SO disappointed by how RWBY never had a scene in which Yang and Blake talked about the events that happened at Beacon and of the aftermath that followed. I had hoped so much that Vol.6 would give me something, anything, regarding these two talking about Blake leaving Yang and the pain that caused her and I got jack. Nothing. Not even a passing mention outside of the beginning. Needless to say, I was annoyed, especially since the angst of that situation was part of what drew me to shipping the Bees in the first place! Like, CRWBY had the opportunity to have these two struggle with this massive bump in their relationship and eventually reconcile with each other and they MISSED it! Thankfully, that's what fanfics are for.

This was actually tough to write. What I wanted for this fic was to acknowledge that Blake wasn't wrong for leaving Yang and she had perfectly valid reasons for doing so but to also acknowledge Yang's pain at that and how she was completely within her right to be upset with Blake for leaving her. I wanted to show the nuance this kind of situation has and how both girls aren't wrong to feel how they did. Whether or not I did a good job at that is up to the people who read this.

I also added some things in here, like Yang and Blake having an argument at the Brunswick farm that ended with the former telling the latter something along the lines of "leaving is the only thing you're good at". I needed something that would get these two together initially and I saw the opportunity to throw in even more angst so I figured why not?

Last thing is that this fic was beta'd by my good friend, whose name I shall not say in this. I normally credit them but due to the fact I have my disclaimer at the top of this and I'm paranoid about the "fans" harassing them because of their association with me, I'm choosing to keep them anonymous (with their permission, of course). Thank you for your work, beta reader!

Read on AO3 | Read on DeviantArt | Support me on Ko-fi!

     Quiet.

     The room was so quiet. Yang could almost hear a pin drop. After the bombshell that was dropped on everyone only an hour ago, it had been unanimously decided that they all would take some time off to think. Yang had chosen to go upstairs and head into one of the spare rooms the Cotta-Arcs had. There were unopened boxes and furniture strewn about everywhere but it suited her needs just fine.

     Honestly, even after all this time, she still couldn’t quite believe it. Salem, the witch responsible for the attack on Beacon and mother to the Grimm, was immortal? And she couldn’t be destroyed?

     The knowledge of that truth drove her to despair. It made her question everything she had done to get to this point. Defending Haven, fighting her mother, taking the Relic; was it all just meaningless? Did trying to stop Salem even matter anymore if she couldn’t even die? Would it be better to just…give up? Accept that nothing she did would change anything and resign herself to her fate?

     Gods, what were they going to do?

     Soft knocking shattered the silence. Yang turned her head to look at the door, wondering who it could be. A second or two passed before there were more knocks, followed by a voice.

     “Yang, are you in there? It’s me.”

     Panic mixed with a dash of guilt ripped through her.

     What could she want?

     The last time they had talked to each other was back at the farm, that hadn’t ended well between them. All it took was one misstep for an argument to ensue and the other girl to walk out in a huff. Yang wanted to apologize to her for it once she’d calmed down enough yet the Apathy had made it so that she couldn’t find it within herself to care. Since then, the two girls avoided being alone together wherever they could.

     But they obviously couldn’t do that forever. If their relationship had a shot in hell of going back to what it once was, they needed to get over this. So, with that, Yang pulled open the door.

     Blake stood on the other side with an expression of surprise on her face. Their eyes met for a second before Blake averted her gaze, her ears drooping ever so slightly. Yang hated to see her act so meek and timid around her, though she could understand the reason why. There were still so many unsaid things between them.

     But perhaps today would be a step in the right direction.

     “Hey, I uh, I just wanted to come check in on you and see how you were doing,” Blake said, folding her arms. “Things got pretty crazy downstairs, so…”

     “Yeah, they did.” Yang forced out a laugh. “But I’m…hanging in there, I guess.”

     “That’s good.”

     “Yeah… How about you? Are you doing okay?”

     “Oh, uh, yeah. I’m…okay as I can be, given the circumstances.”

     “Good! Good, that’s---that’s good… Do you, uh…” Yang started, rubbing the back of her neck, “wanna come in? So we can talk?”

     Blake’s ears perked up as she replied with, “Oh! Uh, s-sure!”

     She walked past Yang into the empty room with slow, careful strides. Yang’s heart pounded in her ears as she closed the door. Psyching herself up, she turned around to face Blake---

     “Yang, I’m sorry.”

     Wait, what?

     “I’m sorry about what I said back at the farm. It was stupid and wrong of me to even imply that you couldn’t take care of yourself and…yeah…I’m sorry.”

     Why was she the one apologizing? Wasn’t Yang the one who blew up at her? The one who hurt her? This wasn’t right.

     “No, I should be the one saying sorry, okay? Yes, I was angry and upset over what you said but that’s not an excuse to then fire back at you, all right? I should’ve just kept my mouth shut and walked away.”

     “Well--” Blake’s lips curled up into a tight smile-- “I think I deserved it. After all, I am pretty good at running away from my problems.”

     The brittle laugh she gave did little to ease Yang’s guilt. It was hard enough knowing she’d hurt her with such a low blow, but hearing Blake basically agree with the sentiment just stung. Was it really possible for them to fix their relationship or were they destined to only harm each other even now?

     Then the smile vanished, leaving behind a frown as Blake continued on. “Still, I should’ve been more careful with my words, so I’m sorry. Truly.”

     “Listen, we both…said things we didn’t mean. Things we wish we could take back but can’t. No amount of apologizing is going to change that so…” She took a tentative step towards her. “I’d say we’re even.”

     “Even. Right...”

     Blake’s eyes fell to the floor as her ears folded downward. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she meant by that. Sure, they were even in this situation but in the grand scheme of things? There may as well be a chasm as wide as the whole of Mistral standing between them. Yang would find this to be inappropriately comical if if weren’t so fucking tragic…

     “You know,” Blake began, peering up at her, “with how everything is right now, I think now’s a good time as any to have a talk…wouldn’t you say?”

     She didn’t know which was worse. Realizing she might die by Salem’s hand or facing the emotions she’d been burying deep down since Blake’s return? Frankly, the former sounded way more appealing to her than the latter. But this may finally be her chance to get some concrete answers, an opportunity for them to close a fraction of the distance separating them.

     This was what she’d wanted for so long. Why was she hesitating?

     Taking a deep breath in to settle her nerves, Yang replied with, “Yeah, let’s…let’s talk.”

     Using chairs they found spread out around the room, they sat facing one another, gazes locked. Time passed as both girls waited for the other to speak up and break the silence between them. Yang, in particular, wasn’t keen on going first, mainly because she couldn’t guarantee she’d remain calm throughout. She didn’t trust herself to not lose her temper as she remembered the months following Blake’s departure and the pain she’d felt during them.

     But she had to keep it reigned in no matter what. Weiss might’ve actually been right that Blake had a good reason to leave them all in the dark. Maybe she felt guilty over what happened, or maybe she blamed herself for it. Whatever it was, Yang needed to meet her halfway, to create a safe environment for her to voice her feelings without the fear of judgment.

     Anything to ensure Blake didn’t leave her again.

     “I guess I should start from the beginning.” Blake folded her hands neatly in her lap. “The reason why I left. Well, actually, there are two reasons.”

     With a deep breath in, she said, “The first was that I needed a break. A break where I didn’t have to think about the Grimm or Adam or anything else that happened that awful night, so I took the first ship out of Vale and went back home to Menagerie. It was the first time my parents and I had seen each other in years and I thought they would be mad at me for leaving them but…They just welcomed me back with open arms, and I’ve never been happier.”

     “Was your trip good?” Yang asked, catching the small smile across her face.

     “Yeah, it was. It allowed me to get my head back on straight and I was able to relax, at least for a little bit. It was good--” her mouth formed a thin line as her ears drooped-- “until it wasn’t.”

     Nothing more needed to be said. Blake hadn’t gone into detail over everything that transpired before her arrival in Haven but it was enough for Yang to understand it had been pretty rocky. She was almost beginning to wonder if she had somehow gotten lucky in having to overcome her inner demons before setting out on her journey. Compared to the rest of their team, she had it easy.

     “The other reason was…him. Adam. We fought, he overpowered me, and…” She closed her eyes, seemingly willing herself to stay calm as one of her hands moved up to where her scar was. “He threatened to destroy everything I loved as punishment for me leaving him. I knew how powerful he was, I’d seen it with my own eyes, so I knew he wasn’t bluffing. Then he heard you looking for me and…well, you pretty much know the rest.”

     The scene from that night was forever seared into Yang’s mind. The instant she saw that bastard pull his sword out from Blake’s body she wanted to tear him limb from bloody limb. It was with reckless abandon she rushed in to save her and it cost her an arm and almost nearly her life. Everything afterwards had been a blur but she couldn’t forget what he had taken from her even if she tried.

     “I thought you’d all be better off without me. I didn’t wanna risk Adam coming after any of you to get to me, especially you, Yang. It’s my fault you ended up getting hurt and I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for that.” Blake’s gaze landed on her prosthetic. “I know I shouldn’t have left you like that, I know, but it was the only thing I could think of to keep you safe. Believe me when I say that no amount of words will ever be enough to express how sorry I am for hurting you.”

     Tears slid down her cheeks before she hastily dried her eyes. Yang wanted nothing more than to comfort her in that moment, letting the things she said chip away at the walls she’d built around her heart. It didn’t erase the months of grief she endured but damn, it was a good start.

     Clearing her throat, Blake continued. “Anyway, it was during my time back home I realized I couldn’t run away from my problems forever. I had to face them and stop blaming myself for things that were out of my control. I needed to stop being a coward.” She met Yang’s gaze. “I’m not running anymore. Not from this or from Ruby or Weiss or you. You’re all too important for me to risk losing again.

     “I swear--” she placed a hand on her chest as if making a solemn vow-- “I’ll earn back your trust and your forgiveness, no matter how much time it takes.”

     She spoke with such resolve in her voice, it made it almost impossible for Yang to not believe her. She’d had people apologize to her before for leaving her and that was usually the end of it. Never once did they promise to earn back her trust and forgiveness, as if they were worth it. As if she was worth it. It was strange.

     Different.

     Yet…nice, all the same.

     Scooting her chair up a bit closer, she asked, “Can I say something?”

     “Yes, of course, go ahead,” Blake replied.

     “I won’t lie to you, I was…angry when I found out you left. Pissed off. I thought that, after everything we went through together, you’d be there for me. But you weren’t. You had just…vanished. Disappeared without a trace. It hurt, Blake. Hurt more than losing my arm did. It---It felt like a betrayal.”

     Memories of that time floated up to the surface. The moments she’d throw books across her room in a fit of fiery rage because they reminded her of Blake. The days she’d turn on the TV and see news updates about the White Fang, wondering if Blake was okay out there. The nights she’d dream of Blake, whether they were of the both of them together at Beacon or of her dead at Adam’s feet. It was truly a wonder how she got through those months without losing her mind.

     “I spent all that time thinking about you and wondering what I’d say to you if I ever saw you again. I wanted to curse you out, hurt you like you’d hurt me. I even had a list in my head of all the things I wanted to call you. I had it all planned.” Then she scoffed. “And it all flew out the window the moment you showed up at Haven.”

     “What stopped you?” Blake asked.

     “Don’t get me wrong, I was still angry and upset at you. But…seeing you there, hearing you call my name, it…it made me want to hug you and never let you go. I think I would’ve done it if we didn’t have more pressing issues at hand.”

     “Yang…”

     “Still, even then, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe you actually came back for us. I was scared, scared of getting close to you, only for you to leave again. So I kept my distance. With each day that passed, I kept expecting you to be gone. That’s why I kept putting this--” she gestured at the space between them-- “off because I wanted to just get used to you just being around again. However, I…I believe you when you say you’re not running anymore.”

     She tentatively put a hand on Blake’s knee, watching her intently for any sign of discomfort. She didn’t dare take it a step further, lest she scare her off with how forward she was being. The ghost of a smile appeared on Blake’s face as she placed her own hand down just before Yang’s. The way they imperceptibly inched towards each other wasn’t lost on her and it prompted her to continue talking.

     “I’m not mad at you for doing what you needed to do. Do I wish that you had told me? Yes! But…I get why you didn’t. I also don’t blame you for what happened to me. It wasn’t your fault. I would’ve done that for Weiss or Ruby if they were in your position so please…stop tormenting yourself with the what-ifs.” Yang brushed her fingers along the side of Blake’s face in an attempt to soothe her. “I really…care a lot about you and I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay with me. You should stay because you want to stay, not out of any obligation you feel like you have.

     “If you need some time to yourself, just tell me or anyone else here and we’ll give you it. Just don’t leave us in the dark again, okay?” She gently took hold of Blake’s hand in her own, feeling her skin against hers. “The least we can do is welcome you back with open arms.”

     They exchanged smiles, though Yang could see a hint of red dusting across the other’s cheeks. The sight of it brought forth a sense of warmth deep within her, a smoldering kind of feeling that coursed through her body.

     Thumb stroking over her knuckles, Yang spoke softly, “I also wanted to apologize for how I treated you back at Beacon. Shoving you against a desk, making those stupid jokes at your expense, it was wrong and I shouldn’t have done that.”

     “Yang, it’s all right, I know you weren’t---”

     “No, it’s not.” She grabbed Blake’s other hand and held it. “Getting physical with you, annoying you with that laser pointer, it wasn’t right. Ignorance doesn’t excuse the fact I still hurt you. That’s why, although I can’t make any promises, I’ll be more conscious in how I speak and act around you.” Her grip tightened. “I don’t want to be like him.”

     Blake’s eyes peered into hers. “I know you aren’t.”

     Hardly a second passed before Blake drew Yang into a hug, her arms wrapped tight around her. She buried her face in the crook of Blake’s neck, breathing her in. She smelled of flowers and salt and the essence of twilight. It reminded Yang of home and it made her want to bring Blake there once things had settled down enough.

     “You’re not like Adam,” Blake murmured, her fingers gripping onto Yang’s shoulders, “you’re better than him.”

     With a hand on the back of her head, she simply answered, “I’ll keep trying to be. And I already forgave you a long time ago.”

     They pulled away a moment later, bumping their foreheads together with a subdued red blooming across their faces. Violet and gold shared tender looks at each other as their hands laid entwined between them and their knees barely touched. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, letting time fly past them just so they could indulge in the luminous joy this brought them.

     It was strange. The world seemed like it was heading towards total destruction due to Salem’s machinations and the only hope it had of being saved rested on the shoulders of Hunters-in-training. She didn’t know what the hell they were going to do but she felt…hopeful. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt since before she left home to search for Ruby.

     Maybe there was a chance they could all get out of this alive.

     Now was the perfect opportunity to gather everyone up. There’d been more than enough time for them to kick their minds into gear so they needed to try and figure out a game plan. Yang wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

     So she and Blake went off to find Ruby.

     Together.

[queeniecook]

"With Arms Wide Open" - Part 1

I got over my upset stomach and hit the popcorn hard. I ate it buttered. I ate it with cheese powder on it. Garlic powder. You name it. I was thinking about giving the darn popper away.

Some neighbors showed up with a kava bowl as a welcome gift. It was pretty tasty. This old lady kept staring at me, but I didn’t care. It was still cool of them to bring it to us. Even though we already had one, but I didn’t tell them that. People on the island were pretty friendly so far.

But Kava juice and garlic popcorn aren’t a good mix, apparently. Because after the guests left, I had an upset stomach again. I barfed in one of our bushes. Classy.

Cleo was either telling me not to drink kava again or she just wanted to sit in the bowl. I think it was the last one. Cat and bowls. And boxes. Ahh, to be that happy with something so simple.

I was feeling better by the time Pak got home and I had brushed my teeth, so I gave him a welcome home kiss. He had been working really hard to get a promotion and was spending time outside of work cleaning up the island as well.

Salem and Cleo had never been pals, but I was shocked when they actually started fighting over the food bowls one day. They had never done that before. They each got a kitty time out in separate bathrooms until they calmed down. I hoped it was a one time thing, but you never know.

My queasy tummy returned after going away for a few days. I was starting to think something was wrong. It worried me.

But it wasn’t always constant. Sometimes I was fine. Sometimes I wasn’t.

“Ugh, run me over.” I whined to Pak, rubbing my stomach.

“I believe that’s called murder.” Pak told me. He seemed nervous.

“Not if we make it look like an accident.” I told him, shuffling over to the table. I plopped down in a chair.

“Maybe you should go to a doctor.” Pak suggested, after he had showered and changed his clothes.

I had remained seated in the same spot the entire time. I didn’t feel like moving.

“Don’t wanna.” I told him, pouting. “I hate doctors.” I added.

“Evie, you need to find out what’s going on. So you can feel better.” He told me.

He was right, but I wouldn’t tell him that. It might give him an ego.

I honestly had planned to call the doctor in the morning to set up an appointment, but then I looked at my calendar and got an idea. I rushed to the nearest all night gas station and made a purchase. Then returned home, extremely anxious.

next ->

[thatanimewriter]

UNDERGROUND.

➳ request: Hello, can i ask pyrrha with a gn mafia boss s/o who is a private person who has a dangerous semblance and hides it from pyrrha due to fear of pyrrha be disgusted by them and pyrrha doesn't knew that s/o is  vale's no 1 underground boss until s/o need to save pyrrha from cinder and told they're underling to fight off the grims and the white fang during the battle for beacon when the battle is over pyrrha ask about s/o's semblance and s/o confess to pyrrha about their semblance and how they become a mafia boss

➳ character/s: pyrrha nikos

➳ warnings: swearing, mentions of death and injuries, spoilers for volume 3 onwards 

➳ notes: thanks for requestinggg @unlikelyturtlelad​

𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 / 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭  / 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 / 𝐰𝐢𝐩 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

──  𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐑𝐇𝐀 𝐍𝐈𝐊𝐎𝐒.

probably was a little bit upset that you never told her

but idk how you were supposed to go

“hello, my love, i’m the most renowned mafia boss in vale with the highest kill count and when i kill someone, i just carry their soul with me forever and i can hear everyone kinda talkin in the background while i do my shit, but i can release them and it’s some serious body horror type stuff and it hurts like a bitch, but it is a good intimidation tactic :))”

...

honestly, that probably is the best way to summarise it but you don’t wanna get into that conversation when you can pretend to be a normal person, yknow???

you have no clue how to break it to her that you’re not actually a villain, even if you’re mafia-involved

all you did was steal something from the schnee family because fuck jacques

n now you’re a public enemy-

and you don’t know how to explain your distaste for ozpin

or ozpin’s distaste for you

ozpin just doesn’t like you cause you know his secret

i guess that’s the one benefit for mafia involvement

but you absolutely hate the whole maiden project cause you know it won’t work against salem but he’s trying anyway

n then pyrrha came to you to tell you about her being the next fall maiden-

and she can safely say she’s never seen you so angry

maybe even a little scary since your semblance started to flair up with your anger

a dark red fog starting to swirl around you and eyes forming from within the fog

she claimed she would be ok, but you knew better than she did this time

but first, she had to make sure ozpin would be ok, because she was 90% you were gonna kill him

this was especially evident when you found out she’d gone after cinder by herself from jaune

with a sigh, you made some hand signals to send your goons to deal with the white fang and grimm in your stead while you went to go find your girlfriend with a hero complex

naturally, cinder is aware of your existence

and she knows very well what you’re capable of

so when she’s nearly about to shoot an arrow into pyrrha’s chest, she hesitates when she sees the thick fog circle around the room, creating a dome shape

now, pyrrha knew about that part

but she wasn’t prepared for your body to warp in ways it really shouldn’t have ever warped

layered screams of agony echoed throughout your little dome as you drew your weapon and promptly forced cinder to aim at you instead of pyrrha

but it’s ok, as fucking terrified as she is, she knows she’s safe 

she thinks-

when things are over

things being cinder’s ass kicked and knocked the fuck out and a pleasant smile on your face after hearing ozpin is dead

which was quickly wiped off when you realised he’d just reincarnate

but surely you wouldn’t have to deal with him again, right??

wrong

but when you’re in the infirmary gettin everyone patched up, pyrrha has some QUESTIONS

you answer them

but answering 1 question leads to 5 more

in the end, she’s glad that she has someone like you to keep her safe

but she never wants to hear the screams of many people in her ears all at once ever again

she tried to ensure that, but you just said

“no promises”

because who knows when you need to use it again in this strange, strange world

and if you ever see ozpin again, you’re gonna want to use it anyway

just for putting pyrrha in danger on purpose and knowing what she was going against but still decided to go through with it anyway

[kirans-wonderland]

*slam tables* Ya say we could ask about your ocs so here i'm! Can we have some lil crumbs about the hauntspir trio? Their design are just so... *Scream into oblivion*

🍞 i don’t have crumbs so here is a loaf <3

I swear I’m working on the others bio pages that give them more backstory (especially for Ozzie)

the crumbs I shall leave here are who I think the crew would be besties and “rivals” with outside their own dorm :D

Jaspar:

Thé most unlikely of friends with Kalim. The parties Kalim throws are what first caught Jaspar’s attention. I don’t think Kalim was put off by Jaspar’s apparence at all. In Kalim’s head : OOO NEW FRIEND NEW FRIEND!!! ✨😃✨

His “rivalry” with Malleus is completely one sided. It’s not that Malleus hates him it’s just…. the boi is a bit ‘threatened’ because he’s not the only tall dark emo boi 🤷 he doesn’t know how to feel

Salem:

Jaspar Jaspar Jaspar He gets along quite well with Jade. They are both calm energies that love plants. Salem is an eager listener as Jade talks about his mushrooms. There friendship might be concerning to an innocent passerby if they overhear the two discussing which plants have lethal poison and how they can be concentrated like it was a completely normal thing. - No one really doesn’t get along with Salem, he doesn’t speak a lot in public but when he does he’s always kind and sincere. Vil is the only one who ‘looks down on him’ with some distaste because of the poorly healed scar on his nose tho. In reality Vil is more upset that it wasn’t/isn’t being properly treated to have the least aesthetic impact. Ozzie:

Sam. It’s Sam. 100% Sam. But if we’re talking students, he has a complicated relationship with Azul. They are both in the business of deals, bets.. swindling if you will. They see each other as competition (Azul more so). Yet respect each others hustle. They’re the type to shake hands as friends but be holding knives behind their backs. :)

[ratbubos]

🌹It’s time to have a very long chat with Salem over some much needed drinks

When I tell you it’s very long.. I’m not lying on this one.

Lucie has already been at Salem’s for a while. And while within that time she has shed a few tears of both frustration and sadness while recounting the events of the last 24 hours, she has yet to sob. Not because she isn’t absolutely, devastatingly heartbroken over the whole ordeal, but because she is severely, utterly ???

Lucie: I’m just so confused about this whole situation. Cause him wanting to marry me all of a sudden is weird right? That would be weird for anyone. But especially Ben. He’s not like a spontaneous person and he has an image to keep up with and he was going to marry me after not even knowing me for a year? That does not make sense! And now that I’m not in it, I’m just questioning everything about him because what the hell? Salem: I mean, that’s a good point, but I didn’t know the guy. I don’t know what’s weird or off for him. Lucie: Isn’t that weird though? Like, he didn’t know any of my friends. He met you in passing and then the only reason he knows Romeo is because he lives across the hall from him. And he wanted to marry me? It just doesn’t make any sense. He wasn’t even a part of rest of my life. Like, he never even once hung out with any of you guys. Like, I don’t even know what I was gonna do when we got married. I would’ve moved in with him and then done what? Go out with him and his mediocre friends? I would’ve had Romeo, but what about everyone else here? I wouldn’t have had a life. God, I feel like I didn’t even think about it for a fucking second. Ugh, I was being so stupid. Salem: Lucie you didn’t do anything wrong. Lucie: Salem, I almost just fucked over my entire life. Salem: No you didn’t. You could’ve gotten out of it if you needed to. I just think you really loved Ben and you can’t blame yourself for getting caught up in your emotions because you can’t control them. Don’t put yourself at fault for shit you can’t control. Cause even if you did marry him, I know that you’re smart enough and you advocate for yourself enough to get out of something that’s fucking you over. I don’t know what the hell Ben was thinking, I don’t know if his intentions were good or not. But his actions are not your fault. Don’t waste your energy thinking about what would’ve happened if you would have gone through with it, cause you didn’t. And I’m telling you if you did, you would have ended up okay. Lucie: ... Salem: But I think you made the right call. After a second, Lucie smiles. Lucie: I think I did, too.. but we should definitely drink more.

From then the conversation continued, albeit a lot less serious. The more they drank, the more they poked fun at the situation and eventually they started talking about other random shit.

Lucie never went too into detail telling anyone about her fights with Ben. Salem just knew sometimes she’d be upset for while. Couples fight and sometimes they fight a bit more than others. Salem had never thought Lucie’s relationship with Ben was a real issue until today. He definitely had his doubts, but they were just dating. Marriage on the other hand, it might not feel serious to everyone, but it’s a lot harder of a trap to get out of and Salem knew that.

He didn’t lie when he told Lucie he knew she’d be okay if she had married Ben. But he didn’t know what other consequences could've come of it.

He’s just glad she walked away.

[parallelsdrawn]

i probably could’ve stayed with salem but also probably not??

I don’t think she could grasp that she had anxious attachment and acted out? like if i were to point it out, it would’ve made her upset because she wanted so badly to be secure but she just…wasn’t? which is fine, anxious attachment is fine, but if you constantly label it as morally negative and try to distance yourself from it, you never learn to be less codependent

i could tell that my lack of interest/numbness would make her worried and upset, again triggering codependency

i like my partners to be confident, but when she was confident it was often feigning confidence to cover up extreme defensiveness, i.e. she just hadn’t come into her own yet

her codependency meant she lied a lot (mostly to herself) about her own intentions, values, etc. (that time she pretended she wasn’t being possessive of her friends when she was)

her mom wouldn’t have liked that i was trans

she said she would’ve liked me as a boy, but she seemed hesitant about it and cared more about her mom’s idea of her sexuality than my actual gender

I couldn’t be physical with her because it’s terrifying to be intimate with your teeny partner who’s much less experienced and vulnerable. I couldn’t tell if i wasn’t attracted to her, or truly just terrified of hurting her

I did love her family and the things we talked about?? it was just really stressful to be physical, and really stressful to deal with her anxious attachment issues when she didn’t work on them herself

[arc-misadventures]

A Simple Request

Jaune: Hello, Ozpin.

Ozpin: Ahh! Mr. Arc, it’s a pleasure to have the famous, White Knight of Remnant here, at Beacon Academy. Please, sit down.

Jaune: Thank you.

Ozpin: So, how are you finding, Beacon Academy?

Jaune: I haven’t done enough snooping around to really get a grasp of the place. Looks nice… But, if It’s about your students however; well, from my experience in the fields, I know you have some fine Hunter’s in the making here.

Ozpin: I am honoured to hear that, perhaps you can take a look at our students later, maybe offer them a word of advice, or two while you’re at it?

Jaune: Hmm… You know, I’d like that. Perhaps after our discussion is completed?

Ozpin: I will notify the staff of your possible visit. Now… There was something you wished to discuss with me?

Jaune: Yeah there is…

Ozpin: Is it serious?

Jaune: No… Well kinda…? I’m just having a hard time finding the right words to say…

Ozpin: Take your time.

Jaune: It’s just allot to explain… Haa… There’s no way to put this delicately… But, could you please leave my wife alone?

Ozpin: …

Ozpin: Wife…?

Jaune: Yeah, my wife, can you leave her alone?

Ozpin: I’m sorry but… you’re married?!

Jaune: Yeah, for quite, quite some time at that…

Ozpin: I’m sorry, I did not expect to hear this… I… Well, everyone’s that you are, or well… were an eternal bachelor.

Jaune: A carefully crafted lie I assure you. My wife, and I prefer our privacy. So, out of the two best ways to keep a secret, the first being: ‘Never tell anyone you have a secret.’ We did just that, and as you can see, no one knew a thing.

Ozpin: I see, a clever ruse indeed. Tell me what’s the second way to keep a secret?

Jaune: ‘Silence those that know your secret.’

Ozpin: …

Ozpin: Grimm, but effective.

Jaune: Thank you.

Ozpin: But, I fail to see how this relates to me; I didn’t even know you are married. Have I ever even met your wife before, what could I have possibly upset a woman I’ve never met before?

Jaune: Oh you’ve met her, but that was a long, long time ago… Ozma.

Ozpin: …

Ozpin: How do you know that name…

Jaune: My wife told me about it, and by extension; about you, Ozma. Or, do you prefer, Ozpin?

Ozpin: You’re married to, Salem?!

Jaune: You are correct my good man! Now, please lower the cane, I came here for a civil discussion. My weapon is sheathed, and by my side. I have no desire to fight, though its not like you could win against me…

Ozpin: I am far more capable then I appear, Mr. Arc…

Jaune: Aye, but you are as old as you look.

Ozpin: Meaning…

Jaune: Your body… Is in its, what 60’s?

Ozpin: 63.

Jaune: Okay, but your mind is… couple thousand years old?

Ozpin: I’m not even sure of that answer myself, but its a good guess.

Jaune: Fair… But look at me, my body is at…

Ozpin: Twenty, twenty-two?

Jaune: Twenty-five, actually. I’ve been twenty-five years old since… before the fall of… Glintstone… Yeah, Glintstone… Its been so long since then, I’d nearly forgotten…

Ozpin: Impossible, Glintstone was destroyed! The entire city, nay kingdom was destroyed over three hundred, fifty years ago! You can’t possibly be that old?!

Jaune: Can’t? But, you, and my wife are far, far older than that. Why do you think it’s impossible for the, Black Wolf to live for that long?

Ozpin: Black Wolf… You’re the Bastard son of House Invictus?!

Jaune: Black Wolf… I never liked that name, my father cheated on his wife, with my mother, so I gain the title of a black wolf instead of a white or brown wolf because of my father’s infidelity? Why was I the one to blame… He probably died cursing me that I wasn’t there when it fell, that I wasn’t there for the. ‘Family.’ Well not my family…

Ozpin: You were there when, Glintstone fell?

Jaune: No, I left long before it fell; I saw the writing on the walls. A dead king with no one to succeed him…

Ozpin: Followed by a succession war that tore the kingdom apart.

Jaune: The Grimm coming at the end of it all were just the final nail in the coffin… The people of that kingdom damned themselves long before the, Grimm arrived.

Ozpin: It does appear that you were alive back then… Most people assume it fell to the Grimm, as everything, and everyone often did, but that doesn’t explain how you are alive? And, why haven’t aged a day since then; were you cursed by the gods like Salem was?

Jaune: No… It because… Its better if I show you really… Don’t be alarmed… well, too alarmed that is.

Ozpin: What are you doing with…?! Oh… Gods…

Jaune: Ya see?! Ow… stabbed myself right through the neck, not even a scratch! I’m immortal!

Ozpin: But… How?!

Jaune: I think you now call it a semblance?

Ozpin: A semblance, really…?

Jaune: More, or less… Can’t think of a better way to explain it.

Ozpin: How did you find this out?

Jaune: One of my brothers sent assassins to kill me… They failed obviously.

Ozpin: How strong is it?

Jaune: You could incinerate me, and I’d bounce back. Please don’t try it, Salem was absolutely furious when that happened…

Ozpin: I see… Speaking of, Salem; how did you two meet?

Jaune: Well, I was… lost, after my home was destroyed, and I found out I was immortal… I just started to wander the world. For about two hundred, or so years I just went from place to place, slaying Grimm, saving lives, and losing my mind in the process. After a while I made my way to the, Grimm Lands.

Ozpin: Why would you do that?

Jaune: I was… angry… really angry that I was cursed with such a thing… So I went someplace I could vent my frustrations. Where else better than in a land filled with monsters? Well, I went through the Grimm Lands until I reached her castle where I met her.

Ozpin: Salem.

Jaune: Yeah… I’m not sure who was more surprised that day, her or me. Me for finding out that someone lived in that hell hole, or her that someone was mad enough to come to her castle. She thought I was a reincarnation of you when we first met. Attacked me out right before either of us even said a word to the other…

Ozpin: Then what happened?

Jaune: Well, that’s where the fun began~!

///

Okay, I’m going to divide this one into parts, otherwise it’ll get really long.

Do enjoy~!

[misstrashchan]

“Maybe there was something there you just weren’t seeing” (Maria to Ruby, regarding Cinder, 6x08)

Rewatching v6 and the scene with Ruby and Maria where they discuss the Silver Eyes, and just being struck after everything we’ve seen in v8 how neatly the pieces are all being laid out for us here:

-Ruby repeatedly being able to hurt Cinder with her eyes because of her Grimm arm, but never killing her.

- Maria very firmly stating that the Silver Eyes are not meant to be thought as a means of killing, but of saving lives

-Every time Cinder is hurt by Ruby only further drives her into pain, anguish, and bitterness, and deepens her fear and hatred of Ruby, and her belief that Ruby is her greatest threat

- The actual fact being that Salem is Cinder’s greatest threat, the obvious parallels being drawn between how the Madame abused and controlled Cinder via the electric shock collar as a child, and how Salem abuses and controls Cinder much the same through the Grimm arm, how she is still stuck in her awful childhood and can never achieve her true desire, never be free as long as she serves Salem. As long as she can control her through the Grimm she is fused too.

- A huntsman named Rhodes, (as in meaning “where roses grow”) who tried to help Cinder as a child but was unwilling to challenge his own perception of her once she broke the law, once his view of her, to Cinder, was looking at her with eyes that perceived her as a villain, as a monster. Irredeemable, someone who needed to be hurt, stopped, contained, punished. Someone who was no longer worthy of help, someone beyond saving, someone who was being treated as a threat that others needed to be protected from

- Ruby purposefully using her Silver Eyes against Cinder with the intent to protect others from her, because of her traumatic experiences relating to Cinder at the FoB having instinctively come to only see Cinder as a threat she needs to protect others from

- Ruby’s reaction to seeing that Cinder is fused to a Grimm after intentionally using her eyes against her, and again having a similar horrified reaction realising that the Hound was a Grimm fused with a human person after intentionally using her Silver Eyes against them as well.

The Silver Eyes are not a force of destruction. They are not meant to kill human lives. They are meant to protect and preserve humanity, all of human life.

Ruby: So, how do I laser beam monsters with my eyeballs?

Maria: First, you stop thinking like that! I want you to think of all the times you've triggered your powers. What did those moments have in common?

Ruby:  I... was scared, and stressed. Is it emotional? Like unlocking a Semblance?

Maria: It's emotional but more focused than that. Think, what is it you wanted?

Ruby: I wanted to protect my friends.

Maria: Precisely! It is the desire to preserve life which fuels the light inside you. And to make no mistake, it is light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or, at the very least, an enemy of destruction. The Creatures of Grimm were made by the God of Darkness, but your light comes from his brother.

 Maria’s advice to Ruby is to challenge Ruby’s initial perception of how she thinks of the Silver Eyes and the way in which they are used, the emotions and motives behind triggering her powers. And Ruby also learns that there are different ways one can use the Silver Eyes, being able to turn Grimm to stone, blind them or vaporise them. But the most important thing to take away is that the different ways Ruby can use her Silver Eyes that she has yet to learn, and how Ruby uses them, is determined by her own personal intent.

“Don’t think about your light as a means of destroying evil, but as a way to protect the people of Remnant”

In the past, the way in which Rhodes and Ruby have both chosen to see Cinder as a threat to be dealt with and refusing to look at the person that is hurting, scared and in need of help, has only driven to prove Cinder’s view of huntsmen and herself, and has only made her more hurt, afraid, and traumatized, and less likely to break out of the cycle of pain in which she endures and inflicts on others.

We know Cinder needs to break free of Salem. We know she’ll eventually realise she has to get rid of the Grimm arm to do that. We know that only Ruby would be able to help Cinder vaporise the Grimm arm and free her from Salem’s control. But we also know that Ruby has used her eyes on Cinder in the past, multiple times, and it’s only served to hurt Cinder, with the Grimm arm still remaining. So, what would have to change for Ruby’s eyes to work to save Cinder from the Grimm instead of hurting her?

She has to learn to see Cinder as a person. She has to see both human and monster. She has to see Cinder, really see her. If she wants to help her, to stop her hurting and her hurting others, to break the cycle, the intent and mindset Ruby has when using her eyes on Cinder has to change. Instead of thinking “I have to protect everyone from Cinder” she would have to think “I have to help Cinder”

Ruby has to realise there was something she wasn’t seeing. And, well, she’s already starting to:

 And it’s just such a fascinating direction for both Ruby and Cinder to go down. Because it would present some of the most difficult personal challenges for them to overcome. Cinder already doesn’t like what the arm is doing to her, she doesn’t want to be a tool for Salem to use, but if she wants to be free of her she’ll have to ask for Ruby’s help. Cinder would have to be brave enough to be vulnerable around Ruby, who she is terrified of because of how she’s hurt her in the past, to trust that she won’t harm her, that Ruby will want to help her, to learn that she, Cinder, is deserving of help simply because she needs it and has asked for it, because her life is of value as much as any other person, because she is a person.

 And Ruby, I think since the v7 finale, truly pities Cinder. After seeing the Hound and the person inside and having a similar reaction, I can’t imagine Ruby would think that anyone deserves such a horrible fate. And the duty of a Silver Eyed Warrior is to protect and preserve life, right? She should want to save Cinder, not harm her, given the opportunity, right? But I think that even after Ruby starts to see Cinder, not as a monster she needs to defeat or defend her friends from, but as a scared struggling human that needs her help in being freed from Salem’s control, that has willingly approached and asked for Ruby's help, (and I do believe the line "Cinder must redeem herself" cements the idea that Cinder would be the one to approach Ruby) I think using her eyes to free Cinder would still be something that Ruby would struggle to do.

I think she’d try to do it, because she’d know it would be the right thing to do, knows that it’s what she should do. But when it comes to using the Silver Eyes, what matters is the emotions and intent behind them. She can’t just decide to save Cinder with the SE because she knows that’s what she should do and disregard or suppress her own feelings towards Cinder, she has to want to do it in order for it to actually work. She has to willingly create that mindset of helping Cinder, and that’s something she’d struggle to do until actually thinking about and addressing her own personal feelings and trauma that are tied up with Cinder, given how Cinder has literally become someone who triggers Ruby’s Silver Eyes.

And it could be such a deliciously complex dilemma for Ruby, struggling between knowing that helping Cinder is the right thing to do, trying to repress her old resentment and anger towards Cinder and force herself to use her Silver Eyes in order to do that, upset and guilty that she can’t make it work, that she can’t just do this because there’s a part of her that doesn’t want too. And realising that she can’t help Cinder until she first helps herself, in overcoming her own trauma.

Not to quote Princess Mononoke or anything, but they both literally have to see each other with eyes unclouded by hate.