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onewomancitadel · 2 years

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Hey it's me again, sorry for the late response, life and depression happened and prevented me from being in the right state of mind for it. Anyway, to the important things. I've actually read all your knightfall fics, not just skimming eye. Wet fire and wingspan of a dream are both really fun too imo, but I've enjoyed the others as well. There is something I, embarrassingly, just recently noticed that I'm pretty sure you know already, but I haven't seen a post about it (sorry if there is one and I'm just blind), but I really want to share it anyway just to be sure.

It's the same, well similar, hairstyle, but mirrored. Two halves to make a whole, two kids wanting to be the stronger, but go about said problem in pretty much opposite ways. Two people who end up broken in a way that only the other can fix.

Maybe I'm just reading into this and making a fool of myself (I probably am), but I just wanted to share it in case you haven't noticed them having the same hairstyle but mirrored, because I know for a fact it took me forever to see that.

I hope that wasn't annoyingly long or annoyingly wrong in your eyes and I hope you have a nice day

No worries about a late response, it's lovely to hear from you again.

I imagine that you probably missed the pigtails post because I think there are two on my blog but they're from a while ago (first post). I also didn't spell Sapphron's name correctly because I thought they could be normal for two seconds and spell it Saffron but they went hard on the Sappho connection.

Neither posts are tagged Knightfall, either, because back then I was embarrassed about putting all of my nonsense in the tag, so I would expect nobody to remember it.

Obviously not that useful in retrospect.

It feels like a really weird decision to mirror their two childhood hairstyles like that, particularly when both are bullied and finally Jaune's bullying arc makes sense.

What I think is very structurally weird is that V6 does the pigtail thing, introduces Sapphron (Sappho, making Jaune Sappho's brother), introduces Ozlem (with the scene of Ozlem mirroring Jaune/Cinder's confrontation at the end of V5, with additional scenes of Cinder's fall through the water mirroring Salem's... and on and on), and then gives Cinder the top-half silhouette of Salem's first outfit in The Lost Fable, and then V7 gives Jaune the top-half silhouette of Ozma's outfit in The Lost Fable, and then V8 gives flashback!tinybaby!Cinder pigtails like Jaune.

Pray tell, what the fuck is up with that.

I mean, I think maybe they had some inclination of it early on, because there's a lot that adds up even about the first couple of volumes beyond Knightfall (that is, speaking Jungian storytelling), but if I had to tell you when I think they began to make the foreshadowing more overt to people like me it was definitely V5 and beyond (add in those Ruby/Oscar and Jaune/Cinder parallels lol).

But yes, the pigtails are a sweet, mirrored nod, and oddly seem rather intentional. It's no secret that Cinder's post-V3 hairstyle is a mirror of Ruby's - which makes sense as her Shadow (though I think she will begin to differentiate herself more once integrated) - so I think the mirroring of Jaune in childish youth (and idealism?) is there as a linkage to anima/animus. Or, again, just a linkage of ideals and maybe someone redeeming them.

Or just a neat visual connection.

Although if you follow my thinking in that linked Ugly Duckling post, well, the two of them looking like each other when they're ducklings and finding each other as swans makes an odd amount of sense.

[D]espite some popular interpretations, it’s not that the ugly duckling becomes beautiful, it’s that the ugly duckling was really a swan. [...]

Funnily enough in Jaune’s case, like in the original fairytale by Andersen, the ugly duckling throws itself at the beautiful swans, for it considered it better to die by their hand than continue suffering...

Only to realise that the ugly duckling was actually a cygnet/a swan.

I don't think this post is all that well written in retrospect because it's clouded in doubt and embarrassment but basically I think Jaune throwing himself at Cinder in V5 to die does weirdly fit that and also links them as both being swans (needing to realise who they truly are together), which is even weirder once you introduce the crane imagery, so I don't know what's going on.

Anyway, they're cute little ugly ducklings who grow up into beautiful swans together, there you go.

I've actually read all your knightfall fics, not just skimming eye. Wet fire and wingspan of a dream are both really fun too imo, but I've enjoyed the others as well.

That's very sweet of you, thank you! Wingspan of a Dream and Wet Fire are two I really like but figured no one would lol. <3 <3 That's delightful.

Not a fool at all and you're not reading into it, imo, I think the visual parallels are really deliberate in the show (except in times where for instance Raven and Neo share the same necklace accessory - so extentuating circumstances), the problem with this kind of thing is just establishing what it's supposed to be saying. What I find frustrating about the angle that one is reading into things is that I think that's generally a bit of a thought-terminating criticism, because most things are intentional, and if they're not intentional there can be subconscious influence you can explore, and if they're stupid, they still probably have logic to them (just maybe not the one that would be ideal).

So I think this is evidence that they're thinking about Jaune/Cinder linked narratively, it's just a question of whether that means romance, and what that linkage really should mean (since it's a deliberate childhood parallel). If anything the way they both respond to bullying is enough of a parallel to support this. You can see Jaune gets help and Cinder doesn't, that's the difference between the two of them.

The fact that we get visual parallels in non-romantic contexts - that foiling, paralleling, etc. doesn't necessarily equal romance is a hard pill to swallow for fandom that's been taught foiling = romance - means that parsing this sort of thing can be a little more difficult. I think it's part of the mounting evidence that Jaune and Cinder answer questions in each other's character arcs and I think the organic conclusion to that is romance.

I really don't think there's a way you can write a storyline with someone compromising the side of Good and everything everybody else is telling them to do to reach out to the second-most evil woman in the story without that coming with romantic undertones - for adult characters. If Cinder were a child, it would be different (the same way it's all parental figures that let her down in her childhood, like Rhodes - the people who said Rhodes is Prince Charming need to stop, what the actual fuck). I also know there are people who would say it could just be platonic and I doubt that Jaune is going to help Cinder with romantic intentions, it's just going to be a natural consequence of it, but I really feel that 'epic romance' works here more than anything. Jaune-Cinder's relationship should be like nothing else.

That was a lot of writing to justify pigtail mirroring.

Thanks for your ask, and I hope you have a lovely day (or rest of your evening). It was fun of you to bring this topic up again, because the esoterica really does build up, doesn't it? And well done for noticing it! I think it's more effective visually if more people actually notice it. <3

#seraphina's asks #user: andromedasysstuff #knightfall

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bloodyshadow1 · 4 years

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since there are a bunch of theories about the hound being someone, Summer, one of Ozma and Salem’s daughters, I though I’d plant a flag for a theory.

I think that the Hound might be Gretchen Rainart, Hazel’s sister. There’s not a lot of evidence except for crazy conjecture and that can be the most fun. The Story of Hansel and Gretel is a story about two children lost in the woods and they stumble onto the witches hut that’s covered in candy which they eat. When the witch finds them, she locks them up, planning on eating them and enslaving them. I know the stories differ but I remember mostly the version that is that Hansel is being fattened up for a meal, while Gretel is the witch’s slave cleaning her hut and all that.

Salem is really the only witch that we know of and we know that she was known as the witch in the woods back during Ozma’s second reincarnation. It’s plausible that since she’s so old and powerful Salem fulfills multiple roles in the fairy tales characters are based off of, ex the evil fairy godmother for Cinder, while being the wicked witch of the west for Ozpin/Ozma’s wizard, it’s not insane if she’s also the witch in Hazel and Gretchen’s story. Ozpin and Hazel think that she’s dead but who knows, Salem has weird freaky powers and the idea of her turning someone into the Hound grimm is a popular fan theory, why not Gretchen? Additionally, the idea of fattening Hansel up as a meal spiritually similar to feeding Hazel his hatred of Ozpin to make him her weapon, something useful. At the same time Gretel being chained up to be used as a slave could be reminiscent of experimenting on Gretchen to make the Hound, her own special grimm that is more powerful, smarter, and more dangerous than all the others she seems to have direct control of.

And on a small note, Hazel is the most sympathetic of Salem’s people. He’s not malicious or violent, with Ozpin/Oscar being his one blind spot, he does what he believes he has to but tries to refrain from killing people. He’s helpful to strangers when he didn’t know Oscar’s identity, he takes responsibility for things that weren’t his fault so Mercury and Emerald wouldn’t get blamed and hurt by Salem. He is evil, but he’s the blinded by pain and rage evil that has a chance of a redemption arc or at least a change of the colors to sacrifice himself for someone. He’s not petty like Watts or slavishly devoted to Salem like Tyrian, he just wants the immortal wizard who he blames his sister’s death on to be killed, because he genuinely believes that the world will be a better place with him gone forever. He’s a hypocrite, but in a tragic way, and a way that I can see him changing sides. And while I would prefer it if Oscar could get through to him through conversation or empathy, I wouldn’t be super surprised if Gretchen is being used by Salem as her attack dog and that would get him to at least shift his anger toward Salem instead of Ozpin.

* The only problem that I can see with this theory, aside from it being a crazy conspiracy theory throwing spaghettis at the wall and all that, is that it sort of removes Ozpin’s culpability for his past actions, and make it all Salem is the one responsible for all the world’s evils. I like that Ozpin is irresponsible and causes problems despite his best wishes and taking something like this away from his responsibility would annoy me. Still, this is me planting a flag so I don’t really have to worry about much more.

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby speculation #salem #ozpin #hazel rainart #gretchen rainart #rwby meta

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graegrape · 4 years

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A closer look at Team OJQG

Hey!! It’s been a while since I last updated the info on my RWBY AU regarding Ozpin’s inner circle, so I thought I’d dump the profiles I’ve written so far here. I’m currently working on the general storyline and the side characters including Team SKRW (Summer, Kali, Raven, Willow), so stay tuned for that!! :]

OZPIN SMARAGDINE

- Ozpin is the son of a middle class family, the Smaragdines, from Vale, and is sent to Beacon in order to become a freelance huntsman. He himself also wants to attend Beacon in order to find out more about himself and his recent fusion with Ozma's and thus the late King of Vale's soul.

- He's often a quiet, smart young man - and a chaos enabler at the same time. He only acts all wise and cool, though a piece of it still remains. He wants to help people.

- He hasn't been able to regain all of the King of Vale's memories and struggles with the fact that he's just another life of Ozma's.

- He distances himself from his teammates in order to not involve them with whatever is happening to Ozma - he later on learns that he can't carry all of this on his own.

RELATIONSHIPS

- Glynda Goodwitch: Ozpin and Glynda used to be childhood friends, but lost sight of each other. Reuniting at Beacon, the two of them start to reconnect - Glynda is worried about Ozpin, though. He's changed a lot, and Ozpin is aware.

- James Ironwood: Ozpin is sceptical of James's decisions and brute force solutions at first. He slowly warms up to him after the big confrontation in V2, however. He enjoys his company, even if the two may not see eye-to-eye sometimes.

- Qrow Branwen: Ozpin isn't sure how to feel about Qrow. With time, though, the two really hit it off and Ozpin finds secret enjoyment in Qrow's schemes.

- Summer Rose: Oz and Summer don't interact much. They're pretty good friends, Summer can open up to Oz and occasionally worries for him. Big brother/younger sister relationship?

- Raven Branwen: Oz is mostly neutral on Raven. Their relationship only develops after V4, and they're a bit hostile towards each other. Ultimately, the two of them become allies - not friends, though they do open up to each other from time to time.

- Kali Belladonna: Kali and Oz share similar views and get along pretty well with each other. Good buds!

- Willow Schnee: Oz slightly worries for Willow due to her quiet nature, even if they aren’t good friends. They’re allies.

GLYNDA GOODWITCH

- Glynda is an ambitious young woman from Vale, and aims to become a famous huntress. Her semblance manifested very early on and set great expectations for her due to its power. She attends beacon in order to not let her family down.

- She's rather stern and doesn't like unproductivity. Even though she may seem like she has a stick up her ass, she does sometimes find pranks and the like funny. She rolls her eyes at a lot of Qrow's mischief, then lets it slide.

- Over the course of the story, more and more pressure is put onto her, plus additionally having to worry about everything, until she snaps. She realizes that she's grown similar to Ozpin before his development and deals with this in V4.

RELATIONSHIPS

- Ozpin Smaragdine: Ozpin and Glynda used to be childhood friends, but lost sight of each other. Reuniting at Beacon, the two of them start to reconnect - Glynda is worried about Ozpin, though. He's changed a lot. What could he be hiding?

- James Ironwood: Glynda isn't fond of James's methods. She's on a similar wavelength to him about mischief, the only difference is that James is way more vocal about his dislikes. She sometimes ends up seeing him as a child as a result.

- Qrow Branwen: Glynda rolls her eyes at Qrow's schemes occasionally. She thinks his snarky and uncaring attitude could definitely be dropped, and so could his constant fights with Ironwood.

- Summer Rose: Glynda gets along pretty well with Summer. Good friends!

- Raven Branwen: Glynda doesn't really like Raven. Mutual respect is the result.

- Kali Belladonna: Glynda likes Kali's upbeat attitude and doesn't mind spending time with her!

- Willow Schnee: Glynda gets on really well with Willow. Her quiet nature allows her to be a lot more laid-back in conversation, and Glynda values that.

QROW BRANWEN

- Qrow is a scheming young man from the Branwen tribe who was sent to the academy with his sister, Raven, to learn to kill the huntsmen the tribe hates so much.

- He's foul-mouthed, playful and likes to ignore every single rule presented to him. He doesn't care about people who are up their own ass about their ideas of what's just and what isn't, instead relying on his own sense of 'just do what's good enough for yourself.'

- His arc revolves learning that he needs to care about other people, as well. He needs to accept that not everyone will share his views and the views that the tribe has forced on him. His team helps him grow as both a person and a fighter.

- ADDITIONAL: In this AU, the Branwen family has the inherited ability to turn into Ravens. It’s similar to the Schnee-inherited semblance, but it’s not.. a semblance in that sense. It’s complicated.

RELATIONSHIPS

- Ozpin Smaragdine: Ozpin and Qrow get along fairly well after a rocky start. Qrow trusts Ozpin to not be as stuck-up as any others and thinks he's a nice guy.

- Glynda Goodwitch: Qrow thinks that Glynda is a bit too strict and enjoy teasing her, but overall the two get along.

- James Ironwood: Oh boy, do these two fucking despise each other. Qrow hates James's attitude and basically everything he stands for. The two fight a lot, even with weapons. Their relationships comes to a climax in V3 and they slowly work past their differences.

- Summer Rose: Qrow likes Summer a whole lot. She's a bit of a brat, and that's what makes it fun to him!

- Raven Branwen: Qrow and his sister aren't close. Their views of their past grow to be different. Qrow values emotional bonds to his now-friends more and sometimes even sees Raven as a coward due to her actions.

- Kali Belladonna: Enjoys her upbeat troublemaker personality and likes hanging out with her, doing foodfights and the like when the oppurtunity presents itself.

- Willow Schnee: He does not like Willow, but they don't interact much. To Qrow, she's just another Atlas brat.

JAMES IRONWOOD

- James is the son of an upper class Atlas politician and is sent to attend Beacon because his father wants to make it clear that he, in fact, 'cares about the other kingdoms as he should.' In reality, his father couldn't care less. James is there to boost his public image.

- James is uptight and headstrong, often resorting to solve problems with brute force and power. He's cold, analytical, and values rules over all. Despite everything, he tries his very best - he does enjoy interacting with other people, even if he isn't great at it.

- In his arc, he comes to terms with his privilege, battles with prejudice against lower class citizens and Faunus and confronts his beliefs about his father's true intentions.

- ADDITIONAL: James, at the start of the show, has one metal leg, due to his fathers extremely painful training.

RELATIONSHIPS

- Ozpin Smaragdine: The two of them don't bond very well until V2, after which they start to enjoy each others' company more.

- Glynda Goodwitch: To James, Glynda is one of the few people who shares similar views with him... which isn't exactly right. He sees her as mature and, even if she may express her dislike at times, they ultimately still care for each other.

- Qrow Branwen: Mutual hatred for each other. James hates everything about Qrow. His uncaring nature, his attitude towards rules and order, you name it. To James, Qrow is just another runt. Their relationship comes to a climax in V3 and they slowly work past their differences.

- Summer Rose: He isn't exactly fond of her, but doesn't mind her.

- Raven Branwen: James and Raven do not get along, end of story. Put them in a room and you'll end up with a very long speech or a dead body.

- Kali Belladonna: Not sure what to think of her. Doesn't mind her.

- Willow Schnee: James relates to her, considering the whole 'way too high expectations' stuff. He empathizes with her and sees her struggles. The two of them bond, although they aren't really friends.

Annnnd that’s it! Reblogs are very appreciated as always, and thank you for reading. If you have any questions/want to share ideas, don’t be scared to send me an ask!!! :]

#rwby #rwby au #team rwby #team ojqg #ojqg #ojqg au #ozpin's inner circle #professor ozpin #glynda goodwitch #james ironwood #qrow branwen #long post #young ozluminati au #team sgbi #fate of a songbird #team srwb

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rwvby · 3 years

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i'm genuinely curious as to why you don't like salem's original design,,, it's one of my personal favorites in the show. i'm also not really sure why you think she needs to look younger to have a narrative about eternal life, can you elaborate on that??

putting this under a cut because it once again got insanely long. i am so sorry. there is just sooo much i had to say

the thing about salem is that her design of her younger self in volume 6 SLAPS. it really gets across that sense of spoiled, naive elegance- down to the way they animated her moving, she looks like she's dressing up as a mature, experienced adult. but she isn't one! and i think you still get this same sense in some of her behavior even now that she's much older. she's not interested in teamwork despite her claiming so, she wants yesmen who will see her as all-knowing and never question her. by all means, she and ozma are now the closest thing remnant has to real, living gods, and i think while both of them have grown arrogant because of this, salem has bought into it much more, entirely unwilling to put herself on the same level as the people she associates with for even a second.

a good character design will reflect these core traits and ideals of a character, and salem's flashback design does this. her current design (both v7-present and the one before) tells me nothing about her except that She Is Evil. both of salem's more modern designs feel like a first pass at creating a better one.

first off, i do actually like the bones on her arms. i love the idea of incorporating features of the grimm into her design, but the fact that this is the ONLY place this is done makes it feel clunky, over-complicated, and unnecessary. the amount of detail on her upper half in general makes her feel top heavy and graceless, because it isn't matched in the rest of her outfit. a lot of her design points look like they're meant to flow down in an interesting, sort of liquid way, and having something as an interruption to that would be good! - but again, the bones don't do that for me. had they given her an additional mimicry of grimm-like ribs on the dress, i think it would have added some further stability and cohesion without continuing to overcomplicate her top half.

the silhouette her dress gives her is very fun to me, very elegant evil queen, but the top half is again too complicated and they must have been unconfident in that silhouette, because she is, for some reason, wearing that cape.

even from a side angle, this cape looks super weird and clashes with the long train of her dress. if this cape was also long enough to flow, it would be a lot less of a problem to me, but because it doesn't it ends up looking like a cape they added just because Evil People Love Capes! if they were worried about her ability to contrast with her surroundings, they should have invested more time into making her surroundings contrast her. i mean, oscar in this same scene is wearing red himself, but since his outfit is primarily green, he appears as the primary focus of the entire image. and he is- but so is salem, and she feels like an afterthought. your eyes are drawn to him, away from her. (also the entire set of the whale is awful, don't get me started on this damn whale LMAO)

back to her long train, though, I love it. the way it hides her legs to give her movement an unnatural glide, the way it gives her the appearance of melting into the ground- hello, WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST! it's EXCELLENT.

but it's rarely onscreen. it's once again distracted from by her cluttered top half, back to that- what the hell is with this whole thing?

the slightly open neck? it being held together by this weird ugly clasp because if every girl in this show doesn't have a boob window the whole staff will die, i guess? these random sleeve hole that exist to show off her weird spider veins? i get that it's cartoon fashion and not meant to be realistic, but it's so ugly. the boob window on her first dress actually did something for the design- it matches and lines up with the rounded diamond shape on her forehead. but this one feels both gratuitous and useless.

this is more of a problem with rwby's general design and is not in the least exclusive to salem, but i feel the need to point out that her eyes being such a dark red against black scleras makes it very difficult to read her expression if the shot isn't right in her face, her eyes aren't angled a specific way, and the lighting is bright enough that there's heavy contrast on her features.

I could definitely go on forever about every tiny detail i hate about this design, but i want to end this here:

why, and how, is salem meant to look like a jellyfish?

it's pretty clear, to me, that her and the seer grimm are meant to have similar design cues- even moreso for her v7 design. the hairstyle being one large bun with the pieces that jut out and match the bones on the seer. her pieces of hair that flow downwards and the red lines on her v7 dress are clearly meant to be jellyfish tentacles, it's a cool idea- but why? why is salem represented by jellyfish? what does this tell us, in-series, about her? i don't think i can recall a single mention of jellyfish in the entire series. are we meant to go research jellyfish facts on our own and draw a conclusion for ourselves? jellyfish don't really have easily recognizable narrative meanings in media. it's not really symbolism if it doesn't exist anywhere else in the show.

salem looks more like a spider than a jellyfish. the legs, the thorax, her narrative role. she manipulates people into trusting her, and then ensnares and destroys them. it's a much stronger theme, if a little overdone.

to close i'll answer the last question you had about making her look younger because tbh i completely forgot that was part of this- salem was given eternal life at a very young age. i think because of this, it makes no sense for her design to age her, and it does rub me the wrong way a little bit that the only older women who are allowed to actually LOOK older than 20 are maria, a character who keeps me up at night because she is so useless, that old lady in the mech who hated maria whose name i literally don't know, who, again, WHY IS SHE HERE? and salem, the MAIN SERIES ANTAGONIST, granted eternal life when she still looked like this.

it plays better with her theme of being a spoiled, closed-off young girl acting like a mature woman despite not being one for her to look younger, and it's already been touched on that salem's eternal life causes her suffering and there's a possibility her real motive for getting the relics is to finally be allowed to die. having something in there about her never being allowed to age despite having been a mother, her entire family growing while she stays eternally young, beautiful, and utterly trapped, could do her character a lot of good.

#SORRY THIS POST IS SO LONG. im NUTS i tell you #long post #rwby #rwby salem

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littlemisssquiggles · 4 years

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I'm just absolutely sick to death of how the main character couple always seems to get together at literally the last minute in everything, and I'm so worried that's how it's going to be in RWBY with rosegarden. I just wanna see my adorable cinnamon rolls be an awesome battle couple One Time, is that really too much to ask???

…Hmmm…I don’t know about that anon-chan. While I’ve always favoured and been a firm advocate for the possibility of a Rosegarden romance given the focus and development that the pair received over the volumes, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Rosegarden will be endgame and Oscar will ultimately grow to become Ruby’s partner in love.

I don’t even know what the final payoff of Rosegarden is going to be anymore. Outside of a potential romance, I initially pegged that the main reason why Rosegarden was pushed so much over the last few seasons was because I expected at some point for Oscar to be captured and taken prisoner by Salem with Ruby being the one to lead the charge to rescue him---mirroring Dorothy Gale who led a rescue party to save Princess Ozma after she was kidnapped in the Lost Princess of Oz.

I thought this was what the showrunners were building up to with Ruby and Oscar but as we saw of this season---while we got Oscar being Salem’s prisoner, Ruby was left out completely from that storyline (despite her connection to Oscar and her own connection and history with Salem who formerly targeted her because of her silver eyes in the past).

Instead we got Jaune Arc being the one to lead the charge to save Oscar…despite the fact that prior to V8, Jaune was never really the one to look out for Oscar before. At least not until V7 following Argus in V6. Up until that point, it was mostly Ruby always looking out for Oscar’s well-being and that aspect of their friendship remained consistent even up till this season. But as of this season, Ruby was omitted from Oscar’s side of the story with Salem which I felt was completely off.

Even episodes in, it still bugs me to no end how Ruby was kept away from the Salem side of the PLOT on Monstra for V8. This was done despite her being a target of Salem back in V4; despite her connection to the wicked witch regarding her mother’s death and despite what we know about the Hound in respect to what Salem did to Silver Eyed Warriors including Summer Rose.

Here I was banking on the showrunners using Ruby’s bond with Oscar to give her another incentive to pursue Salem and finally confront her face to face in the flesh. But no. Salem was in Atlas and instead of Salem targeting Ruby too---she only targeted Oscar and…Penny???

Instead of watching Ruby confront Salem over Summer, we got Yang encountering Salem and being the one to call her out for Summer’s death…despite the fact that up until this point, Yang has not spoken of Summer since V2????

Heck, the last time Yang spoke of Summer Rose in V5, she addressed her as “Ruby’s mom” instead of her mom too. This is why I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated with the writing of RWBY. The inconsistencies in some of its most important character and plotline details are so maddeningly bothersome at this point.

But going back to the Rosegarden dynamic----yeah I was expecting Oscar to be made into a martyr to force Ruby to come to Salem. However; as I’ll reiterate, Ruby was completely left out of any subplot for this season involving meeting Salem.

So if all the development between Ruby and Oscar from the previous seasons wasn’t leading into a confrontation between Salem and Ruby for Oscar’s salvation then…the question I ask now is what was even the point of pushing the Rosegarden dynamic in the first place for all of those seasons, huh?

As this volume stands, I genuinely don’t know what the showrunners are doing in respect to the Rosegardening pair anymore. I don’t know what the payoff of the Rosegarden bond is going to be anymore. While I still would love a love story to blossom between our two smaller, more honest souls (since I’d imagine it’d be no different than their budding friendship---wholesome , unique in a meaningful way and absolutely precious with every bit of teenaged innocence as one would expect from these two as they are the youngest members of the team with the most weight on their shoulders in spite of their young age), I’ve been trying my best not to bank too much on that possibility given how the showrunners developed the BlackSun friendship for five consecutive seasons before dropping it in favour of Bumblebee without giving that pair even an ounce of the proper fleshing out that they did for BlackSun.

At this point, it doesn’t even matter to me anymore if Rosegarden becomes a couple in the canon or not. As I mentioned in a previous post, I don’t just like Rosegarden ONLY for the shipping side of it. My admiration for the bond between these two beans stemmed from how much I adore Ruby and Oscar both individually as characters since they are my favourites in RWBY. Thus I’ve been excited to see what the final payoff of their budding bond would be since they met back in V5 as I’ve been observing the show highlighting it over the seasons especially in relation to Oscar’s side of the story.

Now I’m just confused.

I don’t want the showrunners to play games with Rosegarden like how they treated BlackSun. That would honestly hurt me as a fan of both the characters and their dynamic. The Rosegarden hug interruption still bothers me even after the episode long passed.

Some fellow Rosegardening Pineheads and Rosegardeners have urged me to remain optimistic since they’re anticipating Ruby and Oscar’s actual hug moment to come from a very important “meaningful moment” for them to clock off Oscar’s arc for this season---y’know a moment like Oscar unlocking his semblance to save Ruby or something like that.

And as much as I’d love to see that…I dunno. So far V8 hasn’t hit any of the Rosegarden story beats I was expecting. I was expecting Oscar to become Salem’s prisoner and be saved by Ruby since she has always protected him over the seasons AND has her own beef with Salem. That didn’t happen. Instead Ruby spent the majority of the season cooped up at Schnee Manor and was totally left out of this subplot despite all the opportunities that it had for her story and character and that hurt me a lot.

I was expecting Ruby and Oscar to at least share ONE nice heartfelt reunion hug. That’s all I wanted. Just ONE hug between these two beans ESPECIALLY after Oscar returned from being tortured for hours on Monstra and…that didn’t happen either. Instead the showrunners felt it best to have that reunion be the one and only hug to be interrupted and they even framed it nice and pretty to make sure that we the audience got that that hug moment was interrupted. And that bit hurt me a lot too.

I don’t think my poor fragile shipping heart could take another disappointment with RG. Outside of his conflicting feelings regarding not being ready for the merge with Ozpin, the only other thing to look out for with Oscar is him possibly unlocking his semblance for the finale. If Oscar doesn’t unlock his semblance because of Ruby …even though she’s been the character pushed to be of importance to him for several seasons and was the one he even discussed unlocking his semblance with back in V7…

If THAT is not done then…I don’t know what else to say anon. I want so much to remain optimistic for the continued growth of my favourite pair; whatever it may be---friendship, romance, something else or between---I dunno. I want to remain hopeful like I always have but these showrunners are playing games with my beans for this seasons and this squiggly Rosegardening Pinehead just…isn’t having fun anymore =( I’m sorry.

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

#squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #oscar and ruby #rwby rosegarden #rwby volume 8 spoilers #Anonymous

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rwby-grimm-guardians · 4 years

Text

RWBY Grimm Guardians Arc 4: Re-Bonding In Mistral Ch 6 (Part II)

Here’s Part 2 of Chapter 6.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(The next morning…)

As everyone was having breakfast, still absorbing the conversation from last night, the youngest of the team leaders went to the living room.

“Yang…” Ruby called out. Her big sister hummed from the couch, turning to face the younger of the two with a raised eyebrow. The red cloaked teenager bit her lip. She knew she shouldn’t ask this... But she wanted to try and help. “Do you...want to talk about Blake and...our other mom…?” She asked with hesitation. As expected, the blonde sighed, “Blake, yes. Mom...I’d like to wait for now.”

“She didn’t come back with Mom...did she?” Ruby asked, sitting next to her big sister on the couch. Yang shook her head, “No, but I get why. Stepmom gave Mom a choice and Mom alone has to decide if she’s ready to return.” “She’d do the same with us, if we were in that position.” She explained. “It’s just…” The blonde sighed, racking her fingers through her hair.

“I just...wished this was an easy choice for her.” She said. “I get it. She wants to protect us and proud of her for that.” Ruby nodded in agreement, before asking, “But you want her to do it where you can spend time with her. Right?” “I know it’s a bit hypocritical…” Yang said. “But, unlike Blake, I’ve been without Mom my whole life…”

“I can’t talk to her the same way I can speak to Blake.” The blonde said. “I…still don’t know Mom well enough for that.” Her younger sister nodded, “I get that. Also, unlike our other mom, you and Blake have a more effective means of staying in contact.”

Yang nodded in agreement as she rested her head on Ruby’s shoulder. “I know you’re questioning your thoughts. I am too…” The younger of the two said. “So, trust me. We’ll both get answers soon enough. I’m sure...”

“She might be anxious over Dad’s possible reaction too.” She explained. Yang nodded, before shivering, “I don’t want to know how bad THAT might end up.” Ruby nodded in agreement, “We’ll see how it goes... and support them in the best way we can.”

The blonde nodded, before the two rested on the couch. As the morning went on, they watched Jaune spending time with Pyrrha, while Ren spent time with Nora. “Those two pairs are cute together.” Yang chuckled. Ruby grinned, “Aren’t they?”

Weiss then sat down next to them, with Ruby saying, “Your mom looks WAY different now.” The heiress gave a soft chuckle, “Yeah. It’s almost unbelievable.” “But it’s nice. I’m happy with it.” Weiss smiled. “She...finally feels better about herself.”

The tallest of the three sighed, “Speaking of parents, will Blake and Gambol’s like us?”

Weiss sighed, “I hope so. I don’t want to be judged based on my father’s actions.” “From what Mom said since our virtual meeting, they seem really nice and understanding.” Ruby said. “We might be good in their eyes, if they believe Blake.”

“Speaking of Blake, she texted me earlier.” Yang said. Her sister and Weiss turned to look at the blonde, to which she said, “We’ll need to be careful. White Fang’s gonna attack Haven soon.” “Shit…” Ruby whispered, to which Yang nodded. “Yeah.” The blonde replied. “How long do we have?” The heiress asked. The blonde sighed, “Approximately two weeks. They could attack earlier. We’ll need to hurry and be cautious.” “Blake and her family will be coming to help us out.” She explained.

Ruby and Weiss nodded. That was, at least, one good sign.

The three noticed Evergreen comforting Oscar in the kitchen. “Seems like last night made him feel worse about himself.” The youngest of the three said. Yang nodded, “It was Ozma, not him.” The heiress nodded, “Though it seems he’s struggling to see the difference.”

The sister pair nodded in agreement. Qrow entered the living room with a mug of coffee, before looking at his nieces. The two just each gave him a reassuring nod, before he gently combed their bangs out of their eyes with a chuckle.

“Guys…?”

Everyone turned to face Summer as she entered the room, before Ruby, Yang, Qrow, and Evergreen’s eyes widened. As the former STRQ leader stood before them, she was in the EXACT appearance she had prior to her death. She was shorter, had no scars, had longer hair, and had her black dress again.

Yang immediately sat up, before she and Ruby began standing.

“Sum…?” The former bandit called out, covering his lips in shock as he almost dropped the mug. His former leader nodded, shaking, “Please...tell me I’m not DREAMING. Please tell me...that I’m still here.”

Immediately, the former bandit realized that his former leader had triggered her strongest ability. Her unique semblance: Transformation.

Putting the mug on the table, Qrow walked up to her and racked his fingers through the woman’s hair, before holding her. “I’m SO proud of you…” He said, a smile forming on his face. “You remembered your greatest strength.” Something in the former STRQ leader cracked as she broke into tears, burying her face into the now taller man’s shoulder and holding him tightly. “It’s okay, Sum. It’s okay.” The former bandit whispered. “This is real. You’re not dreaming. You’re still here.”

Yang and Ruby, without hesitation, immediately rushed up to them and hugged their mom. Qrow gave a weak, yet genuine chuckle as he said, “I’m so proud of you…” Summer finally pulled back a bit, wiping her face dry and sniffing. “Sorry…” She mumbled, referring to the stain on Qrow’s shoulder. The former bandit smiled, “Don’t be. You know I’d sacrifice a dry shoulder for you, Rae, Tai, and the kids any day.”

The now shorter woman nodded, before holding her daughters...or at least attempting to, given that the two had wrapped their arms around her waist and abdomen from behind her.

As the two teenagers released their hold on the former STRQ leader, she let out a sigh. “I’ve missed this…” She mumbled with a tired smile, before pointing at the stubbled man in front of her. “Doesn’t mean you get to use the height jokes, Qrow.” The former bandit gave a fake pout, “You’re no fun.” Summer gave a genuine chuckle, “And even though I’m shorter, I’m still a can of ass-kicking. I told you that ages ago.” Qrow smiled, raising his hands with a nod, “Yes, yes. You did.”

The two stood like that for a few moments, before Summer once again tightly hugged the taller man. “Easy, Sum…” The former bandit said with a smile. “I got you.” He felt his former leader nod, tightening her hold on him.

Summer began to wonder if this was what it was like. To love yourself.

…

She believed that this was probably ONE way to love yourself. If so, she’d take it with every bit of joy in her. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Some time later…at Haven Academy…)

Finally the group had arrived at the academy. And as they entered, the headmaster, Leonardo Lionheart welcomed them. “Why hello. Thank you for...coming.” He said with a nervous chuckle. “There seems to be...more of you than last time.” Everyone raised an eyebrow, before Qrow said, “Well, the more the merrier, as they say. What’s going on with the council?” “Why did you...bring your weapons?” Lionheart asked.

Once again, the group was confused by the headmaster’s nervous tone…

As well as getting suspicious…

“We’re huntsmen, Lionheart.” Evergreen said, before giving his fellow headmaster a concerned expression. “Is everything alright?” The bearded faunus nodded, “Yes, of course! I apologize.” “Haven’t had my evening coffee yet.” He explained.

Summer and Evergreen knew THAT was a lie and a half.

Suddenly, Summer felt Yang gently tugging on her sleeve as she whispered, “Mom’s here.” The former STRQ leader knew Ember heard that...and probably Ruby and Qrow too. The tallest of the group turned towards the balcony Yang was now pointing to, revealing a black bird on it. Nodding, she then said, “Raven… If you could be polite and come down here, please.”

The group watched as the bird flew from the balcony and landed in front of Summer, before transforming and revealing Raven, removing her mask...and still wearing Summer’s cloak. “You are too observant for your own good.” She said...with a noticeably somber tone.

That alone made Yang realize that her mother didn’t want to be at Haven. Qrow went up to the two, asking, “The hell are you doing here…?” Summer continued to look at her former partner in the eye, before whispering, “You’re not here by choice… Are you?”

The tribe leader sighed, whispering, “Bribed. Salem’s brats want the Relic.” The twins could hear the uncanny wolf growl from their former leader. “And Vampier?” The taller woman asked. Raven closed her eyes, “She’ll be here too.”

Summer sighed, “Very well then. I can make her beg for mercy again.” “I know you will.” The elder Branwen whispered with a small smirk. “Plan is to trick them into fucking up.” The taller woman chuckled, “I’m glad you still got that clever side of you.” The twins smiled, before noticing their former leader grinning as she said to them, “Better make this convincing. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The Branwens whispered, obviously a little anxious by how willing Summer seemed to go along with this plan. The three then backed up from each other, before Summer whispered in each of her daughters’ ears. As she did that, Qrow successfully managed to distract Lionheart by asking Raven in a convincing angry tone, “There’s only one reason you’d be here. You got the Spring Maiden, right?”

Unexpectedly, the elder twin gave Qrow a noticeable flinch. His jaw nearly dropped in shock. ‘Oh fuck, do NOT tell me…’ He thought to himself in worry. Summer paled, realizing that Qrow didn’t know that Raven was a Maiden...and she was certain the tribe leader was internally panicking. ‘Those two need to play their cards VERY carefully right now.’ She thought. ‘Or we’re so fucked…’

“I do.” Raven said...and as expected, Qrow was even more shocked. ‘Fuck…’ He thought, before saying, “Okay… Then help us by letting her join us…” “Not that simple, little brother.” The tribe leader said. “You know as well as I do that fighting Salem is just a LOSING battle.” Her little brother sighed, “Rae, we’ve been over this. We can stop her. She’s not invincible.”

“She’s right, Qrow.” Summer suddenly said in a monotone voice, drawing a lot of shocked reactions towards her. “Nearly...died ONCE...against Salem.”

The twins and Evergreen looked the most horrified out of everyone present. Against her better judgement, the elder Branwen asked, “Then why are you still fighting?” “Not. Just...protecting you all…” Her former leader said, once again in a monotone voice. The twins felt like their hearts SHATTERED when they heard that. Raven could tell that Evergreen seemed very guiltful over this. Summer’s fingers twitched, before she said, “Can’t kill HER. But her TOOLS, on the other hand…”

“Kill off...or defeat her support? She’s alone.” The former STRQ leader said. “We can, at least...make her fail.” She then perked up, looking around her, as if she had forgotten where she was. Summer then cleared her throat, before saying, “Sorry… That was...something I needed to get off my chest...for quite some time.” “I think…” She mumbled. The group and Raven assumed that the taller woman just had a flashback and whatever thoughts that were still buried decided to show up.

Raven seemed to know very well as to what Summer was talking about earlier.

“As much as I’d like to continue this discussion...and be proven wrong....” The tribe leader started. “This group won’t let me waste anymore time.” She then half-heartedly swung Omen down, opening a portal. A fireball and an energy blast launched out, both hitting Summer to little effect. She had dashed in front of Ruby...and as the smoke cleared, the former STRQ leader glared into the portal. “I see you got a new toy to play with.” She said as Vampier stepped out.

The Bat Queen grinned smugly, “Yeah. Do you like it?” “A...friend of mine has a new toy as well.” She said pointing at the portal as Cinder stepped into the room. The teenagers paled as their eyes widened in shock.

“Thought you saw the last of me, brats?” The red-dressed woman grinned. She and Vampier then looked at a now-furious Pyrrha. The Bat Queen raised an eyebrow, “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

It was taking a lot of strength from Jaune, Ren, and Nora to make sure the armored redhead didn’t rush in and get fatally injured again. Cinder looked at Ruby, who looked like she saw a ghost. “Did you like my gift?” The Fall Maiden asked with a grin.

“How…?” The red cloaked teenager asked, shocked that CInder was standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. Her mind almost flashed back to her nightmare as the red-dressed woman sighed, “Salem’s QUITE generous. Gave me a new arm, new ability…”

“And freed me from my FEAR of you damn brats.” She emphasized with a grin. She then snapped her fingers and soon, Mercury, Emerald, and Vernal had entered the room. “Ah, if it isn’t the assholes who tried to make us look bad.” Yang smirked. “Now we can kick your asses without feeling guilty.” Ruby managed to ignore Cinder as she looked at her sister and Ember, “You two want my scythe?”

The taller blonde ruffled the younger Rose’s hair, “Thanks, kid. But we’d rather punch their teeth out.”, before going into Yang’s gauntlet. The blonde teenager looked at Ruby, obviously concerned as she whispered, “Are you going to be okay?” The younger of the two shook her head, “I...really don’t know…” Weiss put a hand on her leader’s shoulder, “You understand that you have us to help you. Right?”

Ruby gave a small smile and nodded, before jumping as Willow shielded them from another fireball. “What’s the game plan?” She asked Summer. The former STRQ leader narrowed her eyes, before saying, “Vampier’s mine.” She then looked at the teenagers, “Can you take on Cinder and her brainwashed children?” After a few moments of silence of looking at each other, both teams nodded. Summer smiled, giving them a reassuring nod.

She then looked at Qrow and Evergreen, “You two and Willow try to take on Raven and Vernal.” “At least to make this somewhat believable to Cinder…” She whispered. The three adults nodded, before Qrow and Summer noticed a brief, but thankful smile on the tribe leader’s face. “Do me a favor and don’t hold back, brawd.” Raven said. Reluctantly, Qrow nodded, “If that’s what you want, chwaer.”

Cinder formed a flame in her hand with a grin, while Vampier charged her new pistols. “If we’re all done with this chit-chat…” The Fall Maiden started. “Time. For. Some. FUN!” Summer immediately pulled out her sabers, before everyone began charging at each other. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- God, this was hard, but I hope it was good enough.

College is a pain in the fucking ass and some personal shit with anxiety had also prolonged this.

Now, Transformation works like this: Summer can transform into things that represent her or her bloodline (for example: A giant gray wolf, a legit giant, a Beowolf Grimm, herself prior to her death or during Beacon, and...something else that will be revealed in the future, hopefully). She can partially transform into other creatures, but it’s difficult to do so. Also, she prefers not doing it with other things.

Of course, these forms (excluding the mysterious one (for reasons not yet set in stone) and her appearances prior to her initial death (because it's just a cosmetic change)) all have their own benefits and flaws.

Naturally, her wolf forms can allow her to communicate with canines, like Zwei for example. As her Beowolf Grimm form was granted by the Grimm blood now inside her, she’s able to communicate with Grimm.

The next three chapters will ALL be about Haven’s fall. With a LOT of differences.

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roz-ani · 4 years

Text

Day 3: Magic eyes. Promise me.

Warning: If you don’t want to see our babies cry, maybe you shouldn’t read it XD

- Sooooooo… you’re not really a party person too, huh?

- Well, I like parties, but… - he turned around to look at a giant ballroom filled with people – Not the fancy ones, I’m afraid.

Ruby chuckled. It felt good, having someone to talk about struggles of not liking parties and other sumptuous events. Especially the dancing part. Well, Weiss said Oscar was a surprisingly good dancer. Not as good as she, Jaune or Ren, but still good… Definitely better than Blake. Ruby kinda wanted to see him dancing. She wouldn’t ask him to do that, not mention being his partner. She was just curious.

- Yang said you don’t like dancing? Is that your biggest problem?

- You saw me on practice today, right? – she asked mockingly

- It wasn’t that bad!

- … - she looked at him reproachfully

- What?

- You hesitated.

- No! No I-

- UGH! – Ruby buried her face in her hands while Oscar turned away, a little embarrassed - I just hope Jaune’s okay…

- You did step on him…

- I told Weiss this practice was a bad idea! And I can’t believe my own sister made me wear these again!

Oscar looked down. He could only imagine what she was going through. She looked pretty though. Well, Ruby was pretty. She only looked taller which, considering his height, wasn’t really that good. He just caught up to her!

- I’ve seen him dancing with Nora earlier. I think he’s fine. Besides, you can take them off, you know?

- Huh?

- You’re not dancing right now and – he looked around the snow-covered balcony – we’re the only ones here, so…

- Oscar, you’re a genius! – she shouted happily and immediately started taking off her shoes – I mean, they are only suitable for throwing them at someone! I just have to take a swing and-

- Woah, easy there! I surrender!

They both burst out laughing. Not too loud, they didn’t want to attract the guest’s attention.

- Yang told me she actually met someone who fought using heels!

- Seriously?! I guess anything can be a weapon nowadays.

- No offence, mister, but you’re basically fighting with a wooden stick.

- You’d be surprised what this thing can do! - he pulled out the collapsed cane - I’m pretty sure I’d be dead withou-

He stopped and looked at Ruby. She was smiling slightly, but he noticed how her silver eyes started filling with tears.

- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t-

- No, no! I-I’m fine!

- I’m sorry. I know you’ve been worried…

- You explained everything. There’s no reason to-

A loud laugh from the ballroom interrupted her. They immediately turned around, but there was no reason to be alarmed.

- It sounds like they’re having fun.

- Yeah, fun…

- What’s wrong? - he asked worriedly

- No, it’s just… I don’t know how to say it.

- You know you can tell me everything – he said calmly and got close enough that their shoulders touched slightly.

- Should we even have this party?

- W-Well, we won. Isn’t that a reason to celebrate?

- But at what cost?

- Ruby, we knew people would die. You saw Salem’s army. It was inevitable.

- But we could have saved them! - she replied furiously, moving away from the railing.

- Don’t tell me you’re still blaming yourself.

- I’m not! – Ruby took a few steps away and turned her back on him.

She was crying. She sounded mad, but she was crying. Oscar, though worried, remained calm.

- But you sound like you do.

- I’m a huntress, Oscar. I have Silver Eyes. I was destined to save people and I failed! I failed at Beacon, I failed at Haven and I-

- You didn’t – he walked to her and placed his hand on Ruby’s shoulder. Oscar tried to get a good look on her face, but she turned her head every time he tried to do this – You petrified a Wyvern and a Leviathan. You saved everyone at the farm. You won at Heaven. And what you did in Atlas…

- Exactly! I was lucky! Every single time. It was luck, not me! I can’t use them properly. I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me - she drowned out her last words covering her mouth with her hand.

- Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. You just have to give yourself some credit. You’re a great leader and an amazing friend.

- I’m not… I’m not like my mom…

- I didn’t say anything about your mom, I-

- You think I don’t know what you all expect from me?! – she turned to him furiously. Her eyes flooded with tears - Ever since I was little, everyone has told me how similar I am to her. I have her hair, her smile, her laugh, her way of speaking, her… I have her eyes! I’m sure Ozpin accepted me to Beacon only because of that…

He didn’t know what to say. He felt, deep down, she was right, but he was also sure she was wrong. No one thought about her like that. He certainly didn’t.

- You’re saying that because of Salem.

- What? – she asked, clearly shocked by his words

- I know what happened in Ironwood’s office. I know she was there. What she told you.

- Of course you know… Of course – she moved her head again.

- Ruby… You have to talk with your teammates.

- NO I DON’T!

The sudden flash of light and Ruby's scream surprised Oscar so much that he immediately pulled away. But no one beside him noticed that. Everyone was focused on music and dancing.

Ruby started blinking and breathing heavily. She tried to apologize, but she couldn't say a word, choking on her own tears.

- Ruby…

- Don’t! – her eyes glowed again

- It’s okay. Calm down. Hey, look at me. Just… Look at me.

She couldn’t. She tried to concentrate, but her eyes kept glowing. She couldn’t control it and Oscar didn’t know what to do. Ozpin was silent.

- I’ll go get Yang.

- NO! – she clutched his arm tightly and her eyes glowed again – You can’t! No one can see me like that!

- But you need help!

- I don’t- I don’t need it! – she pulled him away from the entrance as far as possible – That happened before. I-I… I just need to calm down…

- But you can’t! If not Yang, I’ll get Weiss or Qrow, or Jaune…

- No! No one, I said! I can’t worry them… And you… You shouldn’t see me like this…

She fell on her knees, still holding Oscar’s arm. He sat next to her, not knowing what to do.

- Ruby… Ruby they’ve seen you like that already. They are already worried… I’m worried.

- No… I didn’t… I’m a leader-

- Ruby…

- I’m supposed to be strong! I can’t let them-

- They know. You hid it from them, but they know. Deep inside. You have to tell them…

- That wouldn’t change anything! If I don’t know how it works, how are they supposed to… They won’t understand… - she took her hand from his shoulder.

- But I do.

Ruby looked at him. Pity. The only thing she didn’t wanted to see. Pity. His hazel eyes filled with tears… Because of her.

- I know we’re not as close, but… We both play bigger role in all of this. Me as the next Ozma, you with your Silver Eyes… Actually, - he chuckled - my eyes…

- W-What about them?

- They… They glow too, don’t they? They turn gold… For a second, when he…

- Yes, yes… Very… I like when it happens… It’s very pretty.

It was hard for both of them to speak. Ruby’s eyes weren’t active, but she couldn’t stop crying. Oscar too. However, he was more worried than sad.

- The thing is, I’m never alone. Even when he was gone, he was still watching. You can’t be alone in moments like this one…

- But-

- No. You can’t. Even if it’s only me, you need to have someone with you.

She threw her arms around his neck, almost knocking him over. At first, he was taken aback, but quickly embraced her.

- Please, don’t tell anyone about it - she whispered through tears.

- Ruby-

- Please. I’ll tell them. Someday, I will… But please, not now. Promise me you won’t tell them.

- I… I can’t promise you that.

- Please, Oscar! I’m begging you…

- …

- Please, – she grabbed his jacket – promise me that…

- I… I won’t tell them.

- Thank you! Thank you so much, Oscar!

- Yeah… You’re welcome – he replied sadly.

He hated lying.

#rwby #rosegarden #rosegardenweek2020 #oscar pine #ruby rose #mine #roz writes #i finished it!#sorry for any mistakes #I'm still learning #I only worked on it for 5 hours #took longer than I expected #but I'm proud

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its-a-branwen-thing · 5 years

Text

On Qrow: Part II

Back at it again with the white vans an over-analysis of one of my faves! In my last post on Qrow, I focused a lot on how legacies play into his character. How he’s slowly becoming a character who can leave a legacy, but that the journey there is still ongoing. And it always is.

Disclosure, as always, this is all pure speculation, enhanced by my personal opinions, and for fun! :)

Legacies play into all of these characters. RWBY is about stories. Especially in regards to our heroes: specifically Ruby, Yang, Oscar, Juane, and Ren. All of them have character legacies that inform who they are today. Summer, Raven, Ozma, Pyrrha, Li Ren. These are all characters that we know had/have their own motivations, destiny, and ideals--and those echo through the narrative in such grand ways.

Mementos are a big part of these characters’ stories. While not all of these are explicitly physical items that serve as reminders, there are stories behind these shots and the objects or focus of them. Ren killing the Nuckelavee with his father’s dagger, Ruby’s mother and their shared silver eyes.

That’s why taking a look at a particular spot in V4 sparked a new idea:

Qrow is also a part of legacies. But this is one he was upholding. In V6 we saw his realization that his own followed legacy was in jeopardy--the one thing he’d staked his life on--and that continues to inform his faith in his nieces and the younger generation going forward. Because it isn’t Oz’s path he’s following, but theirs. Even if it is is hard letting them go it alone.

Qrow chooses his path at the end of V6, and it’s to help uplift this new generation, so that they can create their own stories in honor of or in spite of the ones that were left for them. It’s subtle, but it illustrates that Qrow’s growth has been in doing the things he believes is right, which is why he cautions James on so many of his decisions, why he seems to hang back, to lash out less, why he seems...well, softer. He’s not drunk, for one. And two he’s not as worried for his proteges. They’re taking fine enough care of themselves. Which is why the emphasis on his connection to Clover is so fundamentally important. Because if I look at it from a storytelling standpoint, we see these two characters express very similar ideals with completely different views of how to follow them. But it’s the story Clover has, the one where he’s a beloved leader and soldier, that impacts Qrow’s future the most.

It’s also between them that we witness one of the most brutal death scenes in RWBY.

My knee-jerk reaction to this scene was that it was the beginning of the Scarecrow “losing his mind”, so to speak, because it has been the pattern of the Oz generals to fall by the thing they were seeking in their allusions. But every time I followed this thought I couldn’t realize why it felt so wrong to me. I thought for a bit that Qrow might turn, the he might really and truly go crazy, but I honestly can’t see it. Why? Because if I’m reading Clover’s character right, we see that the fundamental differences between him and Qtow are what the story’s been pointing to all along: one is part of a legacy he never questioned, while the other has no tethers to his old legacies. Qrow’s placing his faith, quite certainly, on the future. (Also, if you wanted to make a point about the cruelty of reality, you could do it elsewhere. RWBY hasn’t really been that kind of show). And what really hit me as an important factor in this is the final shot of Qrow:

He isn’t angry. He isn’t gunning immediately for Ironwood. He looks heartbroken. He looks as he has all season--quiet, but in control.

He’s also holding onto...that’s right, a memento.

Yeah, back to talking about mementos, I am.

In seeing what was said about their relationship by the writers (communication not being 1:1 with writing/animating--also, again, not looking to discuss the implications of that at the moment, I understand and sympathize), I think I’m beginning to see some of Clover’s decisions, as they’re written, in a completely new light.

He’s cocky. He’s proud. But he’s a good guy. He encourages Qrow. He obviously likes him as a person. And this whole season we’re rooting for them to be good partners why’d you sneak in all that sexual tension though, yo, in whatever way that is. But then it’s made clear that Clover and Qrow both prioritize entirely different things until E12 when Qrow nods to Tyrian and...you know what I won’t even....no, I’m not even gonna poke that. The same different things that ultimately split team RWBY and the Ace Ops up. It’s even in their fights. If Qrow is the “Clover” to RWBY, Clover is the “Qrow” to the Ace Ops. Both the oldest and wisest of the de facto teams. Those fights are set up like that for a reason. Even them sharing shifting focus in E12 is significant. And RWBY wins because the Ace Ops don’t “care” about each other as they do, that’s the whole point that I can see. And so Clover shares his teams’ fate...but, like, way worse.

Clover knows when his orders seem harsh but he doesn’t question them. He’s never been shown to do so. He hesitates, sure, but so does Marrow. And unlike Marrow, Clover isn’t a new addition. He’s older. He’s their leader. It’s his charge they’ll follow. He’s not a character easily changed. We knew who he was the moment he swung in to arrest our heroes.

(Side note: I used to think this was a conspiratorial look that they were planning something. But I think now what I see is Clover noticing and then ultimately ignoring Qrow’s concern. His look hardens back to Ironwood with what I can now see as resolve. It’s why Qrow looks down. It’s almost like he’s hurt.)

So when we encounter this duo in the tundra, after their plane crash, and we see Clover’s character attempt to negotiate with Qrow, we see Qrow’s resolve harden. He isn’t going to follow Ironwood’s orders. He finds them wrong. But Clover is Ironwood’s right hand, he can’t listen to any personal feelings he may have, as Qrow and Robyn do. He even parallels Marrow in his conversations with Robyn, in that they both advise her to follow the law on two separate instances, and she makes it abundantly obvious that she thinks the law is rubbish. But Clover is the law. He’s supposed to uphold that trust. Because he’s entirely loyal. He’s a good person upholding a man he trusts. We don’t know his history, but I assume as the elite of the elite he earned his position. He spent years earning Ironwood’s trust (as Winter says--”You can’t buy loyalty you have to earn it”). And he isn’t a disingenuous character with sneaky ulterior motives. He’s how he’s presented. Point blank, heart presumably on his sleeve. I thought he’d turncoat to join our heroes, but now I see why he didn’t. (Then again, not having all the information is...testy)

Which is why this hits so damn hard.

“Sometimes the right decision is the hardest to make. I trust James with my life! I wanted to trust you.”

I wish I could emphasize that last line more. Clover is making an extraordinarily hard choice. He’s choosing loyalty to Ironwood over his partnership and relationship with Qrow. Because he trusts Ironwood more. This isn’t a character failing, it’s just tragic.

And with that last line I think he feels that Qrow betrayed Ironwood as well and, by effect, him. Because if Qrow had just listened to Ironwood’s plan and given himself up, none of this would have happened. But now that Qrow’s gone rouge, so to speak, he has to see him as an enemy. He has to use tactics to lure him to cooperate. Clover wanted to trust Qrow too. And at the end, like a lot of other trusting partnerships this volume, it ended in a loss of that trust. Also Qrow breaking Clover’s aura after the Ace Op has Tyrian on the ropes is SO. GODDAMN. PAINFUL. And when Qrow sees that Clover’s willing to follow these orders, he probably thinks he’ll follow any, and likely why he sees this as a betrayal. Because he’s used to that which i will discuss next time thank you.

What makes this scene so poignant, what makes me realize Qrow’s next arc is going to tie into what Clover left for him, is because Qrow likely understands exactly what Clover was going through. Once upon a time he defended Oz. He ran Oz’s missions. He put those priorities first. He bet his life on this fight. And in the end he didn’t even know the truth of what he was fighting for. Oz lied to him (Yes, I understand why). Meanwhile this whole season has been built on the prospect of lies. Qrow knows the cost of blind trust. He’s trying to tell Clover to listen to his conscience, not silence it. He’s trying to tell him to do the right thing.

And at the end, Clover seems to do just that by telling him, infuriatingly, “good luck.” Not just in the broader sense, although what an absolute madlad. But in the sense that he understands why Qrow chose that path. Why Qrow made that decision to refuse arrest although I’d be hella pissed about him teaming up with Tyrian! tho Why you done did me like that, bruh?!.

Clover’s telling him, really, to do what Qrow thinks is right. It’s the final note of evidence for my theory. Clover’s spent this season prepping Qrow to have faith in himself, and now it’s Qrow’s turn to realize that potential. It’s a blessing, really, that he gives him. To finish what he started.

And Qrow clearly keeps Clover’s charm. Because he’s carrying on Clover’s legacy too, and the mistakes that may have been made along the way. He has to remedy them. And this isn’t the only instance of a “baton pass” between these two. If Qrow is in search of a new legacy (which, truth be told, might involve bringing Ironwood down), then he needs a new team to do it with. And, as it’s been stated countless times by this show, he isn’t the waste of space he say he is and it is a damn shame he doesn’t have a new team yet.

Which brings me to my final desperate reach point.

“What would you guys do without me?”

#awe yeah carpal tunnel #rwby #qrow branwen #there will be a part III!#one day....#rwby meta #long af sry #im so flexible now ive reached so much #look i want qrow to also join the happy huntresses but i want him to interact with the ace ops too #savvy?

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winter-chill · 5 years

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RWBY 7 - 3 “Ace Operatives” Thoughts

So thoughts...

BOO!!! they didn't work on stuff themselves.. although if it was Pietro and not just random scientists, I'll let it go :) And i'l give him props for using the Amity fights footage (i'll talk more on weapons later)

Oh, dust mines, launch site... ghiest, oh that's gonna bring back some memories

God Nora being so giddy about her stuff puts a smile on my face

and the Blake/Yang nod, the first of so many bumbleby touches this ep

They're really trying to hit hard again with Jaune and that sash, though it was a good set up for his hair cut (since I wouldn't really think of cutting it now when he's in a cold climate ideal)

Another very slight, but nice detail about having Yang be actually armless, not just fixing it while it's on her. We need more points like this, or maybe i just like the idea of it, but having those details shown off and not forgotten is nice. Also that's a beefy arm, though I swear it looks larger in the intro?

Again, having Blake have an onscreen notice of her hair leads well into why it's cut (though not showing it on screen? nor how/why her weapon's fix being gold... missed opportunity , truly)

WAIT??? Ruby got a NEW cloak? BOO, I would have thought her current one was still the original, has she been swapping it with each outfit? but, all the cuts and tears, the detail and history from her past fights, lost :(

I'll talk about the Oscar scene when it shows up, not here

Again, lovely intro to their new looks, but... could have been more. Showing them actually zip things up, buckle them in, cutting their hair themselves. Just lots of little details that would have added so much

I'll say it again, I think Yang's new glasses look weird.. too anime for the actual show style, but, I guess they 'work' ?

Also they all look to Ruby, this is her mission, her shot to call, she's back with her team (just rwby) for the first time so it's good to see them keeping the team dynamic, she was leader for a reason.

OH THIS SONG IS A BANGER!!!! also, totally a Weiss song (it said mirror)

Bunny hopping Ruby :D adorable

SUMMON SWORD SURFING!!! Finally

Blake really making the use of that ribbon, a little detail they again seem to forget about during most of 4-6 until it's necessary (running from adam in V6)

And... yep, no nonsense Yang sticking with the classics, recoil (( I take it back, Yang's arm is the same as the intro, though I still think it somehow got bigger than when she put it on ))

And end it all on an amazing pose shot

Okay Ace ops time. Harriet, let me see what that little backpack thing do. But for serious, rolling only stops you from getting hurt on small drops, not several hundred foot... Marrow though taking a similar root to Ruby, seeming to ride it down, but he's doing some troll physics there, "stand on chair, jump off building, jump off chair at last moment, you only actually fell 2 foot"

Also, boomerang, gun? Honestly I kind of dislike the generic gun looking form, would have been cooler if it didn't change, but just had a little barrel pop out an end when he needed to shoot.

And now JN- OMG ELM YES, Loving the attitude. Oh Vine what's that on your back? you wielding an expanding throwing star (three pronged)

erm, right... JN_R

so, we got, some sick new looks, Ren's ponytail especially. Jaune's hair (i was one to hate it at first) in motion looks great, the concept art didn't do it justice. Also holding his sword on his arm..... kind of reminds me of @kumafromtaiwan's design for Jaune

"okay Jaune, you got this, it's not gonna be like Beacon all over again"

Oh, is he gonna use his shield like a plow, smashing through rocks, or maybe as a wing and glide do............................

DID JAUNE JUST FORTNITE PARACHUTE SHIELD HIS ASS TO THE GROUND?

Moving on though, yep, Hard light dust was a genius move he would have stuck in his head from Argus, and opens up the question of adding (what i'm dubbing) Shield Shield, with his V4 Nuckelavee Sword Sword, to make hard light blades.... SWORD SWORD SWORD???

a quick little peak at his shield, the emblem lighting up as he shoots a blast to bounce him from hitting the floor, that better be used later too.

And another amazing pose shot!

Oh Elm, you really need to work on your social skills. Actually maybe all the Ace ops do?

POUTY NORA!!!

and, good luck bad luck duo for the final team, this'll be fun.

NEW SCROLLS! Love them, slim and cool, and with new team icons (c'mon girls, smile for your picture)

and that detail on how Ruby zoomed, Weiss had to summon, and Yang had some energy stored up, so their aura is down a bit, but Blake is 100%

THE EARS, THEY SENSE BEES

Oh Yang, adorable goof

Oh Blake, also an dorable goof!!!

And Marrow is indeed the baby of the squad, you said it well Harriet, if a tad harsh?

Weiss no, this is a bad place for your name, but you're here to make it a better one, to fix that remember!!

Has.. has no one taught Ruby to project her aura to keep her warm, or at the others just dealing with it better? Either way, same Ruby, i hate the cold

Okay, yes, Oscar chat time

I don't know what to say, I agreed with it the whole time. Atlas is in a mess, there are good and bad times to tell people, and it's nice that Ruby has her intentions, but this may have been the same path Ozma first took, hiding things "for now" but never finding a chance to tell the truth later... they just need to keep it in mind.

And Oscar, please look after the Relic, I can already see red flags over your head the moment you took it, be that from Ironwood doing shady shit, Watts/Tyrian stealing it, or Ozpin popping back up to use it's last question.

OH, Clover, hitting a man hard with that, bringing up STRQ :/ all those fanfics of Qrow ('s semblance) being behind Summer's death, they all feel more realistic

I almost forgot, Qrow's looking snazzy too, those cross buttons, the eye/feather emblem embroidery in the sleeves. No... no necklace though?

Oh god Qrow's getting shipped with everyone this volume it seems. Good catch Clover.... I MEAN LITERAL CATCH

Halfick? Halphr... what did he say? Don't bullshit me captions, that wasn't alpha

REN!!! PAY YOUR GIRLFRIEND SOME ATTENTION!!!!!!!!!!!! Jaune you dork, nice try?

Another great Bee moment, Yang too can sense a disturbance in the force.

Weiss this is great, but can you keep your emotional daddy issues and the racial discrimination of a whole people a little more separate. But it's nice to again see you trying to make some amends and distance yourself from being.. well, 'Jacques' and his actions

OOF, Marrow coming in, hitting hard, and then acting like he's.... a millennial "I'm just a teen who does research, what do I know, boomer"

this scene though. Issues and history of faunus oppression, followed by a Schnee apolagy, and a faunus using her traits to help fix the past for a new future... that's some symbolism

Oh, a jump scare, good thing about Blake's semblance there too

HARRIET YES!!!! BIG FISTS, JUST WHAT I WANTED!!! PUNCH THAT ROCK

And RW_Y right behind already running before the rumbles settled to help their girl

I LOVE THE GRIMM IN ATLAS. don't get me wrong, Deathstalkers are still top tier, but these things are awesome too

and now we get to upgrades!

Nice, so Yang has some trigger-able explosives, so she doesn't have to rely on her semblance to protect her when she's using his shotgun blasts

A subtle little thing there, Weiss being able to shoot an icle, not doing so from a glyph, but from the gun part of

Myrtenaster directly

Okay yes, this bugged me for so long. A scythe is a big weapon, the weight is in the blade as much as it is the handle, so having to turn it around all the time would be unwieldy and difficult in combat, so just a tiny upgrade like this is both smart, and amazing for Ruby to have realised she needed

Although I still don't get how shotting a bullet down the barrel, can give her swings an initial boost of speed........

Marrow really out here flying though the sky like he's on a zipline? though the buzz saw boomerang is, again, brilliant

Oh................ So the boy who cried wolf, can pause time? I erm- actually hold on, I need to figure out how that's logical......

I'm just gonna guess it's more "Harriet is moving so fast, he did this for dramatic affect XD

JN_R once again, taking a moment, a little nervous but willing and--- now they're very much not nervous, doing their thing, never first to run in, but never first to run away either.

Also, Vine has a stetchy arm semblance, and Elm has rooting feet semblance. Ye they make a good team (i ship them)

THERE'S THAT PURPLE SHIELD BLAST

And finally StormFlower is getting some love. I don't think they look different, but having those blades be used in more various ways... grapples were a great idea

and again, Nora using that spiked back of Magnahild for more than a place to stand when she launches herself, loving it!!!

Oh Jaune, being nervous dorky, Nora a little ashamed? or ready to be.. and Ren, quiet as ever (i think he's kind of looking up to Vine honestly) don't worry though, you kids did good

OH Harriet... you don't wanna be left out of the action do you :) RUBY YOU DORK! And that little back+forth was actually hilarious

Hmm, I was always wondering how a fishing rod could be a weapon.. i guess pulling a grimm in works, but what was your plan then, to punch the Ghiest?

OH MY GOD THAT ANIMATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

again, what are you doing Clover? At least Qrow knows his semblance, acting all "i'm gonna look around, things could easily go wrong here"

Good luck bad luck eh? OH MY GOD Qrow don't make that face, the people are gonna ship you two even harder now!!!

And the hammer duo charging in first... ye Elm/Vine is just Atlas' Renora, and I love that dynamic

oh, weird dust draft from Ren stopping, sweat boiling on the rocks... this room is gonna be interesting, mess things up a bit? fluxuating gravity, hot and cold spots maybe??? Ah yes, dust energy... makes sense

And Marrow in the background while we hear him on the coms, just a great little look at how Vine seems to be "distant" from the moment, doing the whole, Ren style of vague-speak

Ye it is kinda empt-- oh. Also good work having not just the face move, but the whole midsection being rotated... kind of as if, the face is stuck to that one position... COINCIDENCE?

Erm, does this one seem bigger than the V4 Ghiest?

And now we see Ruby trying to act as leader, pause to think, to come up with a plan, where as the Ace (while more experienced) seem to have both a plan on how to take it out, and might also be a little to reliant on Clover, knowing his semblance will fix any little issues

Oh that trumpet, a very self-knowing victorious tune.

And again, Vine and Elm doing a whole of semblance work, shame we don't see them use their weapons a bit more here, same with Marrow though not using his semblance (whatever it is) at all.

HEY WAIT. those black parts weren't there earlier, nor did they appear on the V4 Grimm until it needed them to pull toge- oh... they stretched the limbs to force both a space to cut them, and for the grimm parts to sort of 'be revealed'

And another eye colour semblance indication. Loving the runners pose Harriet does too. She's not time-pausing fast... (I take back what I said about Marrow's semblance earlier?) but things do act slower, even while she's running quicker than we'd see as normal in that moment. It's not time-pausing, but it's very very fast. And the motion blur trail!!, just a tiny effect, but it adds so much detail

Marrow really is the child of the squad, he's the one to make a mistake, but again- kind of had to rely on Clover there.. Interesting to see how things pan out when he's inevitably killed, or trapped, or just isn't there

Little details here and there. Vine using his semblance not just to grab, but to push the grimm back. Harriet taunting it to get it's attention and then getting out before it can hit her (but late enough that it keeps it's attention on her and really slams it's fist down). Elm again sticking to her name, rooting that fist down, being basically an anchor in all her actions. And Marrow... throwing his boomerang

UGH.. that little medallion touch pisses me off somehow, it's so pretentious? but anyway, he had a good idea, pulling it out by it's mask, kinda really relying on his semblance to get between it and the ice chunk without bouncing off anything. Again, very semblance reliant group

Erm... she punched the grimm.. but i wouldn't say it's dead.. are we gonna ignore that??? IT'S GONNA RETURN LATER I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT

Vine again grabbing dust, would have loved to have seen Elm basically kick one to stick it to her feet instead of just catching (or pinning herself to a wall to catch it, as if it was too high to jump and catch)

And Harriet going in for the catch, only for....oh.. that's the first thing RWBY or JNR did this fight? (also no weird dust affects, i feel upset)

But ohhh, her semblance isn't speed. I had this same issue in last volume, that her semblance early on was supposed to be speed, and yet she uses it to fly, to separate into several for moments, and she can 'merge' with others to carry then, when like for Nora in V4 her reaction speed should have been way too slow to really be ready for when she was basically thrown at the previous ghiest

AY yep, I'm shocked if Ruby has control over her eyes, she never tried to flash them off during this whole scene... but again, after Maria's story, hiding them from people we don't fully trust is better

And another little bee moment, Yang flirting with them puns

Omg! Elm carrying Ruby, Yang and Nora dancing, love this group dynamic

Hey, it's that guy from last episode, why are we... Robyn?

huh, kinda spooky... flickering lights... Robyn, watts, or...

TYRIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! why are you not wearing your coat, it's cold remember! but that entrance, reminds me again of that "Cheshire cat inspiration" people first thought of back in his V4 reveal

HIS EYES!!! So whatever he does that triggers them is still apparent, and his stinger either still uses his own venom, or it's semblance related

And that line. He's here to mix things up... either he's finally gonna kill someone and let the police find out (unlike last ep when his victim was in a building, it'll take time till that's discovered... oh wait, blood) or he's here for info maybe?

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mystech-master · 5 years

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RWBY Shadows

To go with my BBTAG stuff, I wanted to think of what kinds of Shadows the RWBY characters could get. I will not be thinking of Personas though because that also depends on other factors, and also some characters might continue to reject their Shadow and thus not get Personas, like Mitsuo did.

I’m taking the characters from their Vol 2-3 timeline as shown in BBTAG

Blake Belladonna

Seems appropriate to start this off with the girl who’s theme is called “From Shadows”

There are two things I have in mind for Blake, but one of them is kind of solved by Vol 2′s ending and Vol 3′s beginning.

1. Blake being worried that her status as a traitor to the White Fang might result in her new friends being dragged into her mess and being killed. It’s what she was so stressed about during the Dance arc in Vol 2. But on one hand, in Vol 3′s beginning she was very much more chill and Oz and everyone assumed that the Breach was the big evil plan, but on the other hand even with Roman captured Adam is still out there.

2. and this is more headcanony. Blake is more like Adam than she thinks. THis comes from 3 ideas: 1. In BBTAG her Astral is VERY much like Adam’s Moonslice, 2. Her and Yang killing Adam in Volume 6′s climax, and 3. a little oneshot idea ft. Blake and Kokonoe where Kokonoe calls Blake a coward for not taking off her bow and facing the Faunus discrimination.

Like, Blake saying she wants to be judged by her actions, not her species. To which Kokonoe would reply that by that logic, she thinks that if a faunus stands up for faunus then she’s whining. But if a human stands up for faunus then it’d be true. It’s like a Black person pretending to be white and trying to tell his/her “fellow” white people that it is wrong, since they won’t listen to the discriminated minority that they are currently beiung racism towards.

Then, Kokonoe might theorize that the reason she hides her ears, why she runs, is that she’s afraid that if she’s pushed to the edge she will snap and kill and be no better than Adam, she and the Faunus just want to be left alone and are tired of being pushed around. And we all know what happened the last time someone just wouldn't back off in current canon.

Not too sure on the coward part in option 1, but the killing monster in option 2 might be a beastial cat creature as part of her Berserk form.

Yang Xiao Long

This one is kind of simple. Her Shadow would be part of her abandonment issues. Constantly wondering what is wrong with her that made Raven leave.

Is she not pretty enough? Not smart enough? Not strong enough? Not cool enough?

These subconscious questions are why A. Her semblance could be linked to her hair, and why she gets all pissed when her hair is messed with and when Neon calls her top heavy, B. Why she is a decent student (I recall a few posts where Yang is said to be a good student/pretty smart and I will link them if I find them), C. Why she tries to be the strong juggernaut of Team RWBY, although this is also out of protective insincts towards Ruby.

Before anyone says that this isn’t something she hides, 1. I don’t think telling one person about something means your open about it and ready to change, and 2. Yang said to Blake in Burning the Candle that she does want to find her mom and why she left her, she never opened up about any self-loathing or anything like that.

not really sure what kind of monster you could make out of this.

Ozpin

Of course, the guilt he feels for all the people that have died under his watch not only as a headmaster, but in his fight against Salem.

Who says that the current Ozluminati are the only people he’s had that have helped him, and like he said in V6Ch2 “Do you think Leo was the first?” Not just the betrayal, but betraying because Salem’s power is just so unimaginable. We don’t know if Raven and/or Leo learned of Salem’s immortality or are just scared of her power.

All the people who gladly died for Oz’s cause in their fight against Salem most likely died thinking that their death would be a stepping stone for the next generation to win. But since Oz i just interested in playing defensive and not trying to actually win, all those deaths and sacrifices meant nothing. True, they allowed humanity to survive and live another day, but they died believing that it was one step closer to stopping Salem. And now it isn’t.

Maybe the Shadow is o.g. Ozma wracked with guilt, along with all the other lives he’s lived.

Penny Polendina

Also simple, the fact that she isn’t real. Just a weapon to be used by Ironwood and the fake face she wears is just meant to not be scary to the people.

Kind of simple and almost a resash of Labrys’ shadow but it’s all I got for now.

Shadow is obviously some robotic mosntrocity.

James Ironwood

This I got the idea for from a long post talkign about Ironwood beign close to a dictator.

One must remember, a Shadow is one’s represed thoughts that they don’t want to show others or admit they have.

Ironwood’s Shadow would be a sort of Warrior King, beleiving Ozpin’s peaceful defensive apporach isn’t right and expecting evil to fall before the Might of Atlas’ military and technological power is the way to go.

Him bringing his fleet to the Vytal Festival is part of this, as is his idea to send in a full assault to Mountain Glenn before Ozpin suggests to send “the Scouts”. Of course this all bites him in the ass once Cinder’s plot is in motion, but his systems then get messed with by Watts in Vol 7, where he also plans to use military might to defeat Salem once he unites the world.

The monster form could be a reference to the Greek Titan Atlas, a giant robotic figure holding a globe on it’s shoulders, either struggling (referencing the weight on his shoulders that he thinks justified this behavior) or only needing one hand to hold it (showing how easily he thinks his military might and power will defeat Salem). Remember this is all before he learns of Salem’s immortality.

Raven Branwen

Let’s look at Raven’s life shall we:

She and Qrow were a part of the Branwen bandit tribe, they lived by the “Strong ones Live, Weak ones Die” rule.

They were sent to Beacon with hopes to get the skill to kill Huntsmen rather than just Grimm. But during that time Qrow, who was most likely not popular with the tribe due to his bad luck semblance, was accepted by and made friends wth Taiyang Xiao Long and Summer Rose, which led to him being good friends with them.

We don’t know what Raven was like during her days at Beacon, if she was emo edgelord or if she actually did have fun back then. Either way she did end up married to Taiyang and eventually became pregnant with Yang. But sometime before or during this she and Qrow, after they had been given their bird powers by Ozpin to be his info gatherers, learn of how powerful Salem is and Raven considers how much she may be in over her head.

Qrow, wanting to repay the people who accepted him and gave his a purpose, continues to fight. But for Raven, whatever love or hope she may have had for anyone in her heart, became muffled or eclipsed by the fear in her heart. And once she got rid of the “baggage” that was a child, as she couldn't just run away while pregnant and raise Yang with the tribe because that would be even more problems down the line, decided to bolt back to the tribe where things were simpler, none of this Salem garbage, and unlike Qrow she didn’t have any problem with the tribe because she wasn’t the living jinx.

She does love those three (Qrow, Yang and Tai), but it is all beign eclipsed by her fear. She tries to call herself strong and that what she did was the “smart” choice, because hey, not runnig towards the thing that’ll kill you is usually the SMART thing to do. Since her tribe is all about the strong surviving over the weak, this may mean that both versions of “Stength”, both the good “endure and fight for love and hope even when things are bad” strength and the bad Darwinistic Might makes Right strength that her tribe works under, are both traits that Raven doesn’t have.

To which, the Shadow would claim that “Chicken Branwen” is much more appropriate for her. And come on, a giant black chicken as Ravens Shadow would be kind of funny right?

Some minor Shadow things:

Since I wanted to make Adam how he was before Volume 3 started to slowly turn him into a yandere ex-boyfriend, he’s going to be more focused on his mission in my idea. BUT, maybe the Blake obsession can just be something on the back of his mind, and his Shadow would be the Volume 3-6 Adam. SO we can have Old Adam vs new Adam, with old Adam being disgusted at this, or maybe acknolwdhing this but then cutting out those feelings because they get in the way of his true mission.

Jaune’s self-doubt might be a thing, but I feel like he’s aprtially over it after improving with Pyrrha. If Pyrrha were to die should I choose to go as far as the Vytal Festival and Fall of Beacon in my idea and he gets that “It doesn’t matter if I die so long as the important ones live” thing he says in Volume 5′s climax gets in his head then maybe he’d have this. Or maybe some self-entitlement on beign a hero, but after Pyrrha gave him a talking to and the Bully Arc in Vol 1 he should be over this, or maybe not if him getting in Weiss’ face for the dance is anything to go by, but just like in Vol 1 , he seemes to have gotten over that.

Emerald’s loyalty to Cinder isn’t really a thing she hides, so I guess her desperation for a mother figure would be it, but that might also be shown in her lotalty to Cinder. Same with Mercury, his shit with his dad isn’t really a part of himself he ignores, it’s a personal part of his past. He’s pretty open about his assholeness.

Qrow also doesn’t seem to be hiding any issues except for all the stress on his life. Unless we want to go the easy road and just make it his general self loathign and angst over his sister leaving, one of his teammmates dying, and his brother-in-law being a single father and Qrow is unable to help due to his Jinx.

It’s most likely he was just a teacher at Signal just ot teach Ruby, like how Gran Torino was to All Might in MHA.

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themadauthorshatter · 4 years

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I'm going to try my hand at a Dorothy Must Die fanfic, and Nox is the lucky pick of the day. I'll try to do his narration justice, I promise!!!!!

"One more time!"

I rolled my eyes as I kept walking.

The newer charge just followed, limping and hissing all the way.

"Nox, let's go one more time! I'm getting better!"

"Barely," I pointed out.

The charge, a girl from Gillikin Country, raced infront of me. The top of her head barely reached my shoulder. Despite Glamor's best attempts, her hair was still as messy as mine, but it fell slightly rather than stood on end- look, we're like Glamora and Glinda! she said at dinner as she rested her head on my shoulder.

I was this close to breaking her neck that night. I don't think Mombi would've stopped me, but Gert and Glamora would have.

She's simply a child.

Children need to grow up and smell the poppies, whichever are left.

"Ryley," I growled, "we're done today. Go to the spring and heal for tomorrow."

Ryley shook her head, red hair flowing and smacking her. "I want to go one more time! I've got your technique down."

"I've been fighting you for over an hour and all you've done is lose every single time!"

She lunged at me, fist raised and both feet off the ground.

An easy, if not embarrassing, opening to grab her and throw her down, my knee on her stomach.

"Go. To. The. Spring."

"You're just pissed because you want a boy to kick around," she groaned.

I rolled my eyes and let her up, missing the moment when she threw a knife down at my shoulder, the tip of the blade just denting my training uniform.

"Gotcha!" Ryley cheered. "Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha!"

I took her knife and pushed her back. "Don't think you'll get lucky like that again. Luck won't save you all the time."

"It helped you, didn't it?"

Not even once, my mind sighed. "I don't know what you mean."

"Well, when Mombi saved you from-"

I blanked out for a second, only seeing red as I grabbed her by her collar and slammed her against the wall. She stifled a yelp, but still had the guts to hold my gaze.

I'd never wanted to hit someone so badly in my life.

"How did you know that?"

"It's not hard to figure out," Ryley groaned. "You and Mombi have this respect, mother-son, teacher-student relationship, you get nervous when you hear about the Lion, and you get really anxious when you do something she doesn't like. Your thing's combat. I'm good with people."

I let her go and backed away.

How did she figure it out? The only ones who knew that were the witches, Melindra, and me. For a second, I wondered if she was reading my mind because a grin formed on her face. Should I tell the witches? Should she even be in the Order? Was she really a spy for Dorothy and I'd have to kill her?

My stomach flipped at that last one. My charges have died, and I was the one to train them. I can barely handle being guilty over that alone. How would I handle it if I was the one to kill her?

Ryley suddenly burst out into laughter. "Holy crap, Nox, you make it too easy sometimes!"

Suddenly, the idea of killing her felt more inviting.

"Mombi's scary as hell; I've seen Glamora zap somewhere rather than pass her by."

"I'm going to drown you," I snarled.

"But where's the fun in that? I'm a wonderful swimmer." She hobbled passed me, waving a hand to follow. "Besides, if you do kill me, it's your head for breakfast tomorrow morning. Can you imagine Larkin's excitement? 'Finally! No more Mr. Asshole!'"

I rolled my eyes and followed her. "Don't be childish. Melindra would take my place."

"After she's done crying over your death," Ryley mused.

I groaned as we entered the spring. Ryley stopped and stared at me.

"Think you can turn around? I like this uniform."

I bit my lip and turned, letting her slip out of her dirty clothes and into the water.

I like this uniform.

It's all the same uniform. A fresh one would be waiting for her in her room.

"So what do you think will happen when we defeat Dorothy?"

I turned to stare at her eyes and she stared back, arms across the edge of the spring.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what will happen? To Oz? To the people? To us? The Order?"

I eyed the floor and folded my arms over my chest.

What will happen.

"I can't exactly say," I said with a shrug.

"Because you already know, but don't want to tell me in case Dorothy captures and tortures it out of me?"

The things she didn't know made me laugh, but the things she actually knew made me really annoyed. At least it's all coming from Ryley and not Holly or Larkin.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt this weird constriction in my chest. I was close with the witches enough to attend what they called "council meetings," but not even I got all the information. The better for if the worst were to happened.

"Because I barely know more than you do. And if I did, like hell I'd tell you, Ryley."

Ryley sat up and held a hand to her bare chest.

I guess having a catatonic father, seven brothers, four male cousins, and a blind mother came in handy.

"I'm hurt, Nox. I'll have you know I am one the most honest people ever."

I glared at her. I've put up with enough of her nonsense already, and now she was just trying to get under my skin.

Now that I thought about it, it reminded me-

"Why are you like this?"

Ryley smiled and held up her fingers. "Seven brothers, four cousins-"

"A paralyzed father, and a blind mother, I know," I spat. "I meant, why are you like this?" I gestured to her whole being. "If you were to get captured, you wouldn't even live to see your own interrogation. And why are you even here?"

Ryley suddenly glared at me and held herself up against the edge of the spring. "Same reason as everyone else, Nox. I lost everything, just like the rest of you, but I have one more thing left to lose. And I'll be damned if I die without it."

I crouched down and narrowed my eyes. "You can use that attitude here all you want, Ryley, and, trust me, you absolutely will die with it."

"I don't mean that, Nox." She lowered herself back into the water and stared at the ceiling of the cavern. "Oz won't be in a war forever and Ozma has to come back eventually. Who knows, Dorothy might just either abuse all the magic she has or just drink herself into her grave. Either way, when all this is over, what then? We technically conspired against the crown. Won't that land us in prison for life?"

"Why are you so worried?" I sat down and stretched out my legs. "I thought you wanted to see this war end."

"I do," Ryley admitted, "but...," she trailed off.

"But what? You hope it's what you're expecting? When does anything in Oz meet someone's expectations without defying them?"

"I want it to be worth everything we've fought for," she sighed, sliding into the water until only her head was visible. "Someday, when all this is over and I'm married to a bigger asshole than you, someone who's a little smarter and can actually take my jokes, I want to be able to look back on all this and then look at what I have because of it, and say, 'I fought for this, and I'm glad I did.' I think I want that more than anything else, the idea of being with someone and telling them who badass I was when I fought for our freedom."

I'm not one for emotions; It's not a good idea to go into a battle when all you can think about is what you're feeling and how you came to feel that way.

That didn't stop me from wanting her to say more, to paint a picture of what Oz could be.

But that wouldn't happen, not if we stayed here.

I was getting hungry, anyway.

"Come on," I said as I pushed myself to my feet. "We're going to miss dinner of we saty here, not to mention what the others might start thinking."

Ryley smiled at the ceiling and held her arms over her head. "Can you pull me out?"

I shook my head and stifled a chuckle, but helped her out all the same.

"What would I do without you, Nox? You're like my best friend."

"I shouldn't be. You shouldn't-"

"Shouldn't trust you or the witches or anyone else both out there and in here," Ryley recited as she put her uniform back on. "Regardless of whether it does or doesn't work out with Melindra, I still hope the girl you meet has patience, and lots of it, if she has to put up with 'don't trust me, I'm a brick wall with no emotions, I don't feel love in the empty void my heart should be' all the time."

For the first time in a long time, I laughed into my hand. "And, just like that, you're right back to childish."

"Good." Ryley stared me dead in the eyes as she walked backeards. "At least I'm not a pompous brat or a know-it-all asshole."

That time, I did chase her, and she ran, cackling the entire way.

"You'd better pray I don't catch you," I dared.

"And you'd better pray I don't snitch to Mombi!" Ryley laughed.

If I'd known it would be one of the last days we'd joke around like that, I would've told Ryley how beautiful her idea of the future was.

"Nox? Nox!"

I snapped out of my thoughts and saw Amy standing over me, short blonde hair and all.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Pay attention. I was saying my mom will be home tomorrow."

"Spending time with what's-his-face again?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

"Jake," Amy corrected as she sat next to me. "Apparently they want to spend 'quality time' together."

I gagged and she swatted my shoulder.

"Grow the hell up! You're no better," Amy snickered.

For a second, her hair was red-orange-ish.

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"So what do you want to watch next?" Amy asked as she held the remote- I think that's what she called it?- infront of me.

I crossed my legs and shrugged. "Whatever you want. I'm not from here."

"If I learned how to use magic and kill a person in the name of a land that shouldn't exist, you can learn how to live here."

"Alright, have it your way," I sighed as I looked for something to watch, something to take my mind off of Ryley.

She's gone.

It still hurts, remembering her messy hair and childish smile.

Childish, I thought. That was the only thing I thought you were actually good at.

I didn't notice how blurred my vision had gotten until I saw Amy leaning infront of me.

"What?" I bit my tongue when my voice broke.

"Why are you crying?"

I rubbed my sleeve over my eyes. "Nothing. The movie was really sad."

"What's so sad about the movie Dumb and Dumber?" Amy pointed out as she tilted her head. She held my hands in hers. "Tell me what's wrong."

I've already told you about my students. You know about Melindra and Annabel and Lanadel. How do I tell you about someone who had more hope and innocence than anyone? Someone who pissed me off and made me laugh at the same time?

We've been together for a long time, so I wasn't too surprised when Amy's gaze turned sorrowful. I wish it didn't.

"You're thinking about Lang?"

As much as I missed Lanadel, who had become Langwidere, it wasn't her I'd been remembering.

I shook my head slowly, avoiding Amy's gaze. "You wouldn't have known her," I admitted. "Don't worry, I wasn't in love with her either."

Amy sat next to me and held one of my hands in both of hers. I'm pretty tan for someone who spent most of his life in a cave, so of course her skin looked pale next to mine. Despite it, her touch was warm, calming.

"I know," she replied quietly. "Just let it out."

Let it out.

I leaned my head against Amy's shoulder.

"There was a girl I used to train, a long time ago," I explained. "I don't know why I'd been so hard on her. Well, I do, but I don't know if that justifies calling her stupid and a child." I chuckled bitterly. "She was such a pain in the ass. Never stopped trying to get under my skin." She was good at it, too. When no one was looking, she'd threaten to throw food at me by flinging it off her spoon or fork. I used to gesture back with a knife. That didn't stop her from getting up and calling me her twin, which still wasn't because of how different we looked.

I gripped Amy's hand tightly as I continued. "She was so bad at training, but she was getting better." I buried my head into her shoulder. "She had a lot of reconnaissance missions, and those she wasn't too bad at, but she still wasn't ready for a real mission."

Amy replaced her hand with the other and wrapped her free arm around my shoulders.

I let her pull me closer.

"I always fought with the witches about whather or not a charge was ready for the field. She was so scared when I told her." I'd never seen a charge look as scared as she did that day. "She was sent to spy on Glinda." My hands shook when my viuce broke again. "She wasn't good with combat, but... she tried. Every day she'd want to practice for just a little longer. One more duel, one more review."

"It wasn't your fault," Amy affirmed. "You couldn't stop them from sending her out."

"Even then, I still tried to tell them she wasn't ready. She was just a kid."

Amy didn't say anything to that. Instead, she just wrapped her arms around me, a little too close for comfort, but I was glad, nonetheless.

I let hold me as I wrapped my arms around her, crying as quietly as I could in her shoulder.

Sorry if I did Amy a little dirty in this and I'm sorry if Nox seemed a little out of character! Either way, hope you guys enjoyed!!

#dorothy must die #angst tw #first dorothy must die fanfic

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the-crippled-god · 3 years

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Ys: Memories of Celceta

This is the first SEVENS engine game I've finished. I played about 5 hours of Ys: SEVEN on the PSP, and didn't enjoy the combat system much. That carried through to this game, at least for the first half. It's too button mashy, and the AI partners are useless.

However, once you start getting skills, and enemies get tough enough you actually have to dodge/block it starts to be fun. Really wish the AI was a bit smarter, but I ended up enjoying the system none the less.

It really feels like you can break this game in half if you found a reliable way to farm gold and abused the weapon upgrade system. Only shame is that bosses are immune to all status effects.

As a general rule, I was struggling to get through this game up until I got to the Primeval Lands, then the story actually kicks off and the combat gets good.

As far as complaints, here:

- This is a PC port of a PS4 port of a Vita game, and you feel it. Everything works, but certain aspects of the controls, and all of the interfaces and menus, are designed for a touch screen. It's never really a problem, but it looks ugly. They tried to make the game look better with shaders and AA, but the models are really low poly and the textures are pretty low res, it looks fine most of the time, but sometimes cutscenes look really rough.

- The game is about creating a map. But the map you're trying to fill in is offset from the terrain, so to get those last few percentages you need to hug the walls in certain areas, and it really feels like they should've either caught this in QA, or patched the game when they ported it from the Vita

That's pretty much it. Other complaints are a lot more subjective or petty (combat starts a little too hard, but becomes too easy, gold feels too scarce up until you no longer need it, etc.).

Story wise, this is a lot beefier (or at least wordier) than previous games, so I'll skim just the important bits, and bit I found charming:

- The framing device of the series is finally made explicit: What we're experiencing are re-tellings (from several centuries later) of travelogues left behind by Adol, and that Adol was a legendary adventurer who brought about the 'Age of Discovery'

- Adol finally has a personality: He's inquisitive and curious to the point of it being a character flaw, he can't help but stick is nose into everything and constantly hound people with questions. He also really likes lame jokes. I found him actually charming, which I wasn't expecting.

- The era of the world is much more clear: It's less medieval, and more early age of conquest type stuff, large empires are sending armies and explorers to frontiers in attempts to map and rule the enitre world.

- Duran is a fun companion, if only because he gets to be the butt of every joke. The twist with his background is a good way of giving the character depth when he's also the only character without his own arc in the story.

- Karna is boring. Maybe this is just because I read the (5 chapters available in english) of the Mask of the Sun manga and she's much more fun there. Her and Remnos's story just being a redo of the Fact brother's story from Origin didn't really help. I like Remnos though, which he had more presence in the story.

- Ozma is also boring. He's just kind of a type or character I don't like. The whole one with nature / compelled by sacred duty thing always feels tedious to me. He also has the least personality, he never really has conversations with the other compansions, he's just kinda there.

- Calilica is adorable. Precocious and snarky and thinks she's way smarter than she is? Fun. Every scene with her in it is a good scene.

- Frieda is cool, but the game doesn't really give her enough time to shine. Her snarking at Duran and fooling with Adol is good, and her fairy embarassing her is also good, but there's just not quite enough of it. I'm assuming both her and Duran come back in another game, because boy do they leave a lot of open plot threads lying around in Danan.

- I get that the game is trying to portray Eldeel as benevolent, but he's so weirdly patronizing in how he treats humanity that I wanted to kill him before he turned evil.

- Griselda also needs more screen time, for such a cool design it's a shame she's relegated to only a couple inconsequential scenes.

Okay, very quick high level story summary (mostly just the bits that matter to the over all series):

At the start of the game Adol has lost his memories, he's already been through the Great Forest once, but doesn't remember it. The new Governer General of Casnan/Celceta (okay this is confusing, is Celceta just the ancient kingdom, or is it also the new one run by the Ronoms? Casnan is certainly the city, but characters are inconsistent on the name of the country), Griselda, arrives and sends Adol and Duran on a quest to map the Great Forest. They set out to map the forest, and see about recovering Adol's memory. They evenutally meet Ozma and Karna, and help them with some problems their respective villages are having. In solving these problems they encounter a beast tamer and a magician, who are up to no good. Reporting on map progress to Griselda, and trying to work out where to go next, Adol runs into her new aide, Gruda. Duran recovers a journal Adol wrote before losing his memories (spoilers: presumably recovered from his grave by Frieda), that hints at how to cross the rives and reach the Primeval Lands. Upon reaching the Primeval Lands Adol and company encounter Adol's own gravestone, and the village of Highland. Highland worhips the 'god' Eldeel, who lives in a tower nearby surrounded by storms. Adol was brought there previously by one of Eldeel's apostles Leeza. Highland is surrounded by a barrier field that causes anyone who leaves it to forget anything about it. This is how Adol lost his memories. The people of Highland found his belongings at the foot of a waterfall, and assumed he drowned. Adol had previously met with Eldeel and been given something. Eldeel is a god who imparts knowledge onto various humans in order to guide civilization, because although people forget highland upon leaving, they'll eventually be inspired by the knowledge he gave them, and believe they came up with the ideas themselves. The example he gives is granting the losing side of an ongoing naval war access to a more advanced ship design, evening the odds. The game aggressively skims over how that likely just massively increased the death toll of the conflict, but don't worry Eldeel is a good guy, promise.

Here's where the game gets a little odd. Eldeel is blatantly the same race as Reah and Feena. Adol I guess doesn't talk about this because he doesn't remember Ys? You eventually get memories back of Dogi, but never any of what happened in Esteria. Just seems weird to me that even after you recover all your memories, you can't ask Eldeel about where he came from.

Eventually we work out that Eldeel is sick, and sneak into his tower to check on him, there we find evil Eldeel, who demands that Adol return the Mask of the Sun, something Eldeel gave to him the last time they met. We now know how Adol lost his memories. Eldeel gave him the Mask, for some reason (I think to destroy it, but we'll get to that), the his sickness took over, turning him bad, where upon he chased Adol down and knocked him off a waterfall. So, the Mask should be in his grave, right? Nope, we already investigated the grave for other reasons, and found it empty.

Upon returning to Highland we find it under attack by Ronom soldiers, specifically Gruda, the soldiers are using strength enhancement masks that was being trialled on people from Karna's village. Karna's brother Remnos, also appears to be working with Gruda (along with the two shady people we'd already encountered). Gruda is also looking for the Mask, and his team quickly take control of the tower while Adol and co. are distracted saving the town. Soon after, we find that Gruda and Eldeel have both fled the tower, headed for the ancient kingdom of Celceta.

Somewhere in here we learn the purpose of the Mask of the Sun: it enables the wearer to read the Akashic Records.

Eventually our journey takes us to the hidden city of Danan (Dana? Unclear, map calls it Danan, so), Danan is populated by descendants of people who betrayed the gods 800+ years ago. Eldeel brought them here and forgave them, but the people of Danan continue to maintain records of forbidden knowledge in order to keep the world safe. Duran (and Frieda) is an agent of Danan. Duran saved Adol and brought him back to Casnan at the beginning of the game, intending to leave him, but ended up helping him out. Frieda also recovered the Mask of the Sun from Adol's grave, and it's being kept in the village.

Leeza shows up and takes the mask (believing she can use it to save Eldeel), she has a giant mech, so we can't exactly stop her. The mask is quickly stolen from her by Gruda. This is where we learn that Gruda is also from Danan. He became obsessed with forbidden knowledge a few years back, and left Danan, taking up the old (disgraceful) mantal of the Danan people, calling himself a Darkling. When he left, Frieda's fiancee also left with him, pursued by his younger brother (I'm assuming this will come up in another game).

We chase Gruda and Eldeel (now basically fully evil) to the Temple of the Sun, where the Akashic Records are stored, however we can't follow them inside because it will only open for the wearer of the Mask.

Through the Roos/Roda Tree we learn of the existence of a second (less powerful) mask, the Mask of the Moon, and seek it out. While hunting down the mask we learn some stuff about water dragons that makes Ozma happy, and learn that Remnos was just pretending to be evil (no duh) and save his life. Later we meet the ghost of the old king of Celceta, and learn that Leeza is his descendent. He explains that we can use the Mask of the Moon to surpress Eldeel's dark side, at least for a short while.

We enter the Temple, fight Eldeel, use the Mask of the Moon to make him good again (temporarily), and pursue Gruda (who now has the Mask of the Sun) into the Akashic records. We eventually kill him, but destabilize the records as a result. So, we take the Mask of the Sun and throw is into a volcano (this section is so obviously LotR that it's not even funny), destroying the Akashic Records (and thus freeing humanity from it's pre-written history) forever.

Everyone lives, and Eldeel goes off to kill himself, remarking in much the same way Feena/Reah did in Ys II, that Humanity is much better off than they were in the age of the gods.

So, a few good hooks in there for stuff to come later. The Danans obviously have a lot more going on. There's details about Eldeel and the kingdom of Celceta that hint at the same incident as Ys Origin did (a people betraying the gods, etc.). The confusing piece to me is timelines. Ys fell 700 years ago, Celceta fell 800 years ago, when Celceta was founded, Danans already no longer called themselves Darklings. So, where was Dalles and crew from? Is Eldeel actually one of the God race? Or is he like Reah and Feena, among the betrayers, but stole technology from them in order to help humanity? What's the difference between these betrayers and the Darklings? Hoping the next couple games will answer some of these questions.

Up next is the only Ys game I'd already beaten before starting this. Ys: The Oath in Felghana. I remember really enjoying this game (it's what got me in to the series), and not finding it too long or difficult. Which is weird, because looking it up, it has the repuation for being the most difficult in the series. Let's see how it is on the revisit.

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dietaku · 5 years

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Amazing Quest 2: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Going Back to School, or How I learned to not worry and love Diamonds~! And, since my associate didn't really explain this, here is PotatoCanon1171 once more, with this excellent analysis on Kylie's abilities. “Kylie is my favorite character in 2, not only for her flexibility, but also because her origins, which we learn later, show one of the earliest hints to the origins of Chimerae and the Puddings themselves. The important thing to remember is the armor sections, Head, Body and Legs, are the important bits for Kylie. True, her tail is important, but it doesn't affect her skills any, just increases her stats like weapons do for other characters. To acquire skills, you have to experiment with combinations until something comes up. As said earlier, any gene can be placed in any slot, so, experimentation is key here. For instance. Head: Womanticore Body: Munchkin Legs: Jelly nets you the excellent Wabaru Wabaru skill, or “WoblBobble” in English, which hits for regular physical damage, and ensures a counter attack if hit in the next round, and costs nothing. However, should we rearrange these same genes.... Head: Munchkin Body: Jelly Legs: Womanticore We get Blue Sweaty Spurs, a magic attack that deals non-elemented damage, but also has a high chance of inflicting Drunk. Apparently, Kylie can get venom glands filled with booze. More importantly, it's worthy to note that not only the gene combinations are important, but also the order. Once you find them, you can retain skills by meeting their experience costs. Once you're accumulated enough exp in battle with those genes, you'll retain that skill no matter what genes Kylie has equipped. ...” And since my dear friend, PotatoCanon doesn't give any gene combinations for skills, I'll throw you, dear reader, a bone, and give you some to get you started, but I also feel like PotatoCanon is on the money here, and the real fun with Kylie is experimenting to find what you can. Anyways, here they are: Head: Munchkin Body: Womanticore Legs: Ostrich Nets you the SktrScatter Skill, which allows you to run from any non-boss fight. Head: Tyrazaurus Body: Frog Legs: Ostrich Nets you the Jeffbirdr skill, which deals massive physical damage, but also cuts your LP by 33% of what its current value is. Head: Jelly Body:Frog Legs: Jelly Nets you the Spnfl Sugar Skill (Called “Roll with the Changes” in Japanese), which grants you LP regeneration and the one I'm sure you're begging for, you little power-gaming schmucks Head: Tyrazaurus Body: Jelly Legs: Munchkin Nets you the terrifying “Beam Gaze” skill, (Burning Smile in Japanese), which allows you to use the Beamchisaurus' from AQ1's eye beams, dealing massive light-based damage to all enemies. However, the trade-off is this skill sucks MP harder than your gamewatch does batteries, haha! “But where do I get all these genes?” I hear you ask. Return to the Coliseum area, and now that July is dead, there is a merchant to the left which offers the Munchkin, Frog, Ostrich, Jelly and Tyrazaurus genes. The latter will cost you some serious currencies, but it is very much worth it. If you want to get one more, return to the usher, and he'll mention that the fights are starting up. If you join in, you'll be pitted against three random encounters with just Kylie, and if you beat those, then, you'll be allowed to move on to the next boss.... Announcer: And, the opening match in the newly re-opened Coliseum, reigning champ Balzac versus....some girl named Kylie! Dudu: Hey! We won that fight! Balzac: The International Monster Girl Battling Judges deemed the fight invalid due to the sponsor being a demon, so I keep my title! NYAKNYAKNYAK! Enki: Now, I know we're all feeling a little tense now, but, we need to remain calm and collected. But, Kylie.... Kylie: Yes? Enki: I'll give you a candy bar if you win. Kylie: (Eyes glowing) Roger, MA'AM! Dudu: Whoa! Even Enki's fired up! --Boss Fight!-- Cat-Oblepas LP: 1800 MP: 600 Balzac must've been main-lining her energy drinks since you fought her last, as she's much tougher. She still has her Cat Eye skill, she also has the Cat O Nine Tails, which deals 1-9 hits of light physical damage, and her Cat Man Du skill allows her to heal. Ugh, deal with her as you will. If you have even the most basic genes, you ought to find some way of dealing with this Cat-astrophe of a boss. --Boss Fight!-- Cat-Oblepas: Meow you did it! You scratched my hand! Ballzy~! I can't fiiiiIiiiIiight! Balzac: Wha-HUH? We've been training and practicing? How did they beat you! Kylie: A diet of candy bars and masochism. Also, about 5k in monster girl genes. Announcer: You heard it here, folks! Eat whatever you want and spend money to become a champ, just like KYLIEEEEEEE! Kylie: Thank, you, thank you! Balzac: Oh, fuddly, I guess I ought to try to rank up in Southfort Monster Girl Monster Association Kylie: But that spells out-- Announcer: SHOW'S OVER FOLKS, GET OUT! Now, you can go to the OTHER attraction in Corset, the Magic School! The students here are probably why the Coliseum is able to stay afloat, financially speaking, as many of the magical lessons you can listen in on concern magic for seduction, magic to make yourself more attractive or the infamous “Magical Group Tactics” classroom, where a nondescript female professor describes in increasingly uncomfortable lengths tight formations, long combined thrusting assaults, and other various innuendo. That classroom is, thankfully, empty. Remember it, though, as it is important later. Anyways, once you're done horsing around, head to the large office on the third floor. There, you'll find an old man sighing loudly. Indeed, he even has a snuffly MIDI sighing effect with his sprite. Dudu: What's the matter, old guy? Enki: Dood! Erm, Dudu! That's not polite! Um, sir, are you alright? Old Man: Oh, hello, children and homonculus, I'm sad. Kylie: We can see that. Anything we can do about it? Old Man: Well, maybe about my sadness. You probably can't do anything about what's CAUSING me to be sad. Enki: Ah-huh... Old Man: See, I'm the Headmaster of Corset Magical Academy, and therefore responsible for the Academy's fine wealth of magical treasures. However, I got this letter with my tea, and it's ruined my entire day thus far! I'm not sure if I can even muster up the strength to teach my afternoon ,” Use Magic to Increase your Beard Power” class. Dudu: Wow! Magic must be amazing! Enki: Let me look at this letter. “Dear Mr. Bearderson, I am the infamous cat thief known throughout the land, and I will be vising your Academy this evening. I'll be stealing your most precious pieces in your collection, the gemstones known as “Queen Ozma's Tears.” I'm sure they'll go well right next to my Nu Waa Egg and Philosopher's Stone. Cheers, Genki Sake. “ Ooh, that's awful! Dudu: Yeah, if only there were some people who could help you.... Headmaster: That's it! You all clearly have nothing better to d—I mean, are surely expert anti-theft personnel! You could ensure Genki Sake can't get to the jewels! Enki: And how do you propose we do that? Headmaster: I dunno? Traps? I gotta go. Oh, thanks, kids! I feel a lot better now! (The Headmaster walks off, whistling) Enki: DOOD! SERIOUSLY! Dood: I'm sorry, Deliost! Kylie: Wait....Those aren't your names... Deliost: Eh-heh, well.... (Deliost comes clean) Kylie: I see. Well, that's a lot to take in, but I can't very well abandon you now. Plus, you helped me get stronger. So! I'll stay with you and protect you, at least until you go back to your families! Deliost: Thank you, Ms. Kylie! (The two hug, and Kylie gives Deliost a peck on the forehead, as Dood looks on, mystified) Dood: Is this...Love? Kylie: What? I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. We need to get to work! Dood: Okay! You now can wander the halls of the school, finding items that can be used as traps. You have ten minutes of real-time to find items and set them up after talking to the Headmaster before a new scene interrupts your child-like whimsy of domestic terror. (A black shadow zips through the halls, past the traps, moving like a flash, laughing in a flute-like voice.) You now have to hunt down the intruder. Be wary, though, the traps you put up will now trigger, inconveniencing you. Looks like setting up traps willy-nilly wasn't the smartest plan, eh? While this seems like a fool's errand, you can ascertain what level the intruder is on by the fact that she'll laugh in her flutey voice if you're on the same floor as her. When you manage to catch up to the dark shadow... Dood: Hey! Give it up, thief! (The shadow disappears into nothingness) Deliost: Magic? Dood: We need to check elsewhere! (He turns around, running right into a white-haired woman in a catsuit. Since Dood is so short, he runs right into her cleavage, with comedic “Boing” sound effects.) Cat Burglar: Oh, my~. Such a bold gentleman! I think I might fall in love! Deliost: Dood! Are you alright! Dood: UWHAAAA! COULDN'T BREATHE! Kylie: Excuse me! But that's highly irresponsible! Adults shouldn't fall in love with children! I'm sure there's some lovely man out there for you, Miss. Or woman, if you're into that, I guess. I really don't know you, so.... Cat Burglar: Oooh, and the Chimera nanny thinks she can lecture me when her pups are out and about so late? Kylie: I'm a womanticore. Cat Burglar: Eh? I don't care if you're Queen Toruble herself! I won't let anyone get in the way of my elegant burglary! --Boss Fight!-- Genki Sake LP: 2100 MP: 700 Genki is fast, so the first course of action is to lower her speed. If you have it, WoblBobble works wonders here, as does the GluShoe spell that Deliost can learn at level 12. If you can lower her speed, then she's not much of a threat. While she does have “Mana Staple” skill which cuts your LP whenever you use spells, focus on regular attacks to bypass this situation ally punishing move. --Boss Fight!-- Genki: Urgh! You may have beaten me, but I still have the jewels! Now, I, Genki Sake, will bid you cute kittens and a slightly older kitty, adieu! Dood: Excuse me! Do you mean these? (He presents two large aquamarine gemstones) Genki: (Her face turns white with shock) How did you get those? Dood; Your shirt is zipped down so low, they fell into my mouth when you bumped into me. I guess we won, AND we got the jewels. Genki: URGH! (She teleports away) Return to the Headmaster in his office, who is smoking a bubble pipe. Headmaster: Aw, you return. Tell me, did you catch the thief? Dood: No. We beat her up and got these, though! (Dood presents the gems) Headmaster: Oh, I see! Well, good work, my boy! The Tears of Ozma are a great treasure indeed. However, I wish to give them to you all, for a job well done! Kylie: Is that really okay, Mr. Headmaster? Headmaster: Of course! They have no intrinsic power themselves, and all they seem to do is attract evildoers seeking to steal them. Therefore, my best option is to pawn them off on some su--, I mean, give them to pure-hearted people, like yourselves! Deliost: Thank you, sir. We'll take care of them! Headmaster: Yes, yes, now, run along, I have a seminar I need to attend on the Seventh Space Fold. Kylie: ...Let's go, children.... Dood: Is he going to be alright? Kylie: As long as he doesn't eat his own beard during his trip, I should think so. (The party exits the Magic Academy, as Genki Sake reappears) Genki: I heard everything! Dood: UWAGH! Deliost: So, you're back to steal the Tears of Ozma, are you? Genki: Non! I'm merely here to help! You all are on a journey across the world, are you not? I could help you! I have many skills that will assist you! Kylie: I'm not so sure... Genki: I heard you speaking to the children. A caretaker who is but two years old? How dreadful! Why wouldn't you want the help of someone who is old enough to drink in most countries? Dood: Aw, she's okay, Kylie! She was just grumpy from being too hot, before, right? I mean, why else would you have your shirt unzipped so low? Genki: Oui! You are truly a intelligent boy! Dood: Hehe, she said I was a tent! Deliost: … Genki Sake joins! She is fast, and has a variety of ninja skills and tools to assist you! I found that, with her, Deliost has much more time to focus on healing, as Genki can assist with her elemental prana skills. With her in the party, head east from Corset to the sleepy town of Geed Wulld. There, you can see a large church, along with a rather expansive inn. Apparently this is a pilgrimage site for a new religion. (A rather large man in a priest's alb appears, bowing to the party) Priest: HELLO, MY LITTLE LAMBS AND LICHENS! THE CHURCH OF ST. SETHAN IS OPEN TO ALL! DO YOU WISH TO GAZE UPON THE VISAGE OF ST. SETHAN? Kylie: Um, no, thank you. We do require a place to stay the night, though. Priest: THE INN THERE IS QUITE THE REPUTABLE ESTABLISHMENT! TELL THEM PADRE SLAB SENT YOU. THEY WILL SURELY ASSIST YOU AS THEY CAN! Deliost: Thank you, sir! Slab: TAKE CARE, MY SLABOTRONIC CHILDREN! Sure enough when you mention to the innkeeper that Padre Slab sent you, you get to spend the night for free. The party eats and drinks their fill, well into the night, until you can hear a knock on the door, and Genki's face turns sheet white when she sees who enters... (A pair of beavers in blue suits with black glasses both enter) Beaver 1; 'Ullo, Miss. I had heard through the duckvine that a certain no-goodnik thief-lady was spending the night here, yup. You wouldn't have seen her, would you? Beaver 2: She upset our poor, undeserving superior, you see, and we, being the upright beavers we are, yup, we cannot let this stand, yup. (Genki slowly hides behind Deliost, as the party stares at her) Deliost: What did you do? Genki: I may have sort of been hired by the Beaver Mafia to steal the Tears of Ozma. Now, they probably think I stole them... Kylie: So, you tricked us to help you hide from them? Genki: ….Yes, but I really do like you all! (The beavers slowly amble to the party) Beaver 1: We can see you, Genki, yup. Beaver 2: Yup, yup! You really shouldn't hide behind a young girl when you're a full grown woman! Just hand over the gems, and we can be on our way! Dood: Haha! She can't do that! Because she doesn't have them! I do! Also, even if she did, then Genki could escape by flying away! Genki: (Kneads her brow) That's a stereotype, Dood! I can't fly! Deliost: Dood! That's not nice, please apologize! Beaver 1: That's right, apologize to her, now, boy! Beaver 2: Yup! That way, we can kill her all proper, yup! Kylie: Let me get this, straight, though, Mr. Beaver. Racism is bad in your book, but murder in the name of your Don is-- Beaver 1: A-OKAY, YUP! Kylie: Oh, I see (Sips her tea thoughtfully) Genki: Can we PLEASE just fight them off now? --Boss Fight!-- Beeba LP: 2400 MP:340 Beebo LP: 2400 MP: 230 This fight isn't so hard if you're strategic. Beeba (The tall one with a hat) is fond of brute force attacks, using both his regular attacks, Waffle Iron, and Qualer to stomp his opponents, while Beebo (The shorter one with a pompadour) is fond of status magic and healing, raising Beeba's attributes and healing him as necessary. I recommend taking out Beebo first, as he can drag out the fight with his healing. --Boss Fight!-- Beeba: Ugh! This is no good, yup! We need to get more help, yup! Beebo: Good thing we set fire to that church beforehand, yup! Dood: Eh? (The party rushes outside as the Beavers flee, finding Padre Slab unconscious in front of the church, which is now a giant bonfire) Dood: Mr. Slab! Is he okay? Kylie: (Bends over him, as her tail feels his neck for a pulse) He's still breathing, although, I recommend wee take him away from the fire! Genki: Look! (A figure rises from within the church, eyes glowing far greater than the fire, as a smile spreads across its face.) Deliost: I smell evil magic within that building. Oooh, I can't take it! Dood! Please, do something... Dood: I...I....I... (A new scene where Dood sees this scene, and turns, to see a horned girl in front of him, where she pokes his forehead) Horned Girl: Be the hero I know you are, Dood. Remember, both in body and soul! Deliost: Dood! Dood! Are you alright? Dood: (His body erupts into a brilliant white light, growing into a powerful white pudding form) GO! PUDDING THE GREAT! Figure: So, it happens once more. HAHAHAHA! Come! Show Alpbara, the Herald of GeoTerror, your progress, Pudding Saint! --Boss Fight!-- Alpbara, Herald of GeoTerror LP: 5400 MP: 1000 This fight might seem daunting, considering his masive LP count, but it's really there to show how overwhelmingly powerful Dood's pudding forms are. His default form the Vanilla Angel Food, is the form he's using, and has a passive LP regen, so even if Alpbara's cornucopia of flame and darkness attacks manage to hit, they won't do much to him. Finish Alpbara as you see fit. I'd also be remiss to mention that Dood's theme song, “GO! The Pudding Saint Overflows!” Blares throughout this fight to pump you up. --Boss Fight!- Alpbara: I-Impressive! But know that GeoTerror has you in his palm, boy. Nothing, not even the legacy of your blood and that damnable traitor will save you! Deliost: Dood! You did it! You beat that demon! Alpbara: (Explodes) Dood: I...Ooops... (The entire party is blasted away, to the far-off kiwi woods, on the far continent. What will they find there? Find out...NEXT CHAPTER!)

#Adventure #fiction #fantasy #science fantasy #writing #infrequently asked questions #Amazing Quest

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forkanna · 5 years

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This is it! Wow, I can't believe I've been posting this fanfic for... wow, I started edging close to two years. Not the longest it's taken me to complete one but not the shortest, either. Thanks to all of you who stuck with my little yarn of Oztopian romance, especially given how infrequently it was updated. This one was one of my more ambitious attempts, to be sure.

I thought a nice little flash forward would tie this story up nicely, and I hope most of you (if not all) agree.

Until we meet again, Jessica X

~ EPILOGUE ~

"Melena?"

The cupboards were all silent as the boy picked his way through them, listening for any small noise. A pin dropping. A cough. Anything. He squirmed, beginning to worry. Where had everyone gone? They had only been playing for a few minutes, so he had been sure that they wouldn't get far. It was completely unacceptable for them to have vanished.

So he tried the pantry. Nobody there, either. This was getting frustrating. If he kept poking around, one of the kitchen staff would get onto him for being underfoot. Growling under his breath, he ran out of the kitchen-

And found himself running face-first into a wall of golden fur.

"OOF!"

"Slooow down," said the Lion as he smiled down at the boy, who jumped back in fear. Even if nobody else felt any kind of fear around the great beast, he always had; only a little, but more than nothing. "Where do you need to be so soon?"

Ignoring the question, he said, "Have you seen Melena?"

"No, I haven't. Not in an hour or so. Sorry, my boy."

"Thanks! I'm gonna keep looking!" Without waiting for a response, he ran off.

But he quickly tired of the game. When playing it together, it was fun, but long periods of searching without finding anyone just made him feel bored and lonely. So he made his way back to the suite that he normally called home.

When he pushed open the door, he saw a sight that had become so common for him that it was mundane. Dorothy Gale and Ozma Tippetarius, Princesses of Oz and something like aunts to him, were sharing a kiss. The sight made him gag, but he had learned long ago that if he gagged aloud and made a fuss, he would get admonished by all the women nearby, so he kept the noise to himself. The long, elegant brown braid down Dorothy's back was quite pretty, but secretly he always wanted to try swinging from Dorothy's braid. That would get him shouted at even worse, he was sure.

"Oh, hello," said Ozma as they parted, freckle-decorated cheeks bunching with her smile. Sometimes, they called her the "Daddy" instead of the "Queen", which made him confused. Girls couldn't be daddies; it was a rule. "Where did you come from?"

"Noplace."

"And what did we tell you 'bout knocking?" Dorothy said gently. She was always the nicest when it came to scolding him; he almost didn't mind it when she did it.

"To," he muttered. Then he piped up, "Have you seen Melena?"

"Not recently. Go on and wash up, though; it's time for supper soon."

Kicking at the ground, he muttered, "Don't wanna."

"Imagine your mother is here, telling you to wash up," Ozma said reasonably, one russet eyebrow raised above a glittering green eye. "What if she told you to wash up? Because she will if she catches you coming to the dining hall looking that grubby."

"Which mother?" he stalled, already knowing it wouldn't work.

"Either one."

Sighing, he turned and left them alone, trying to ignore their giggles at his expense. He was still annoyed with the others for not hiding anywhere that he could find them. After a while, he did pop into the washroom and got himself cleaned as well as he cared to and scampered along to the dining hall. If he didn't, they would hunt him down, and Auntie Ozma always seemed to be able to find anyone in the whole Land of Oz. He didn't know how, only that it was true.

When he burst into the dining hall, he paused just inside, staring in surprise. Then he stomped over to the table and said, "Hey, no fair!"

"Nyehhh!" Melena sneered, sticking out her tongue at him. Her dark eyes only seemed to sparkle when contrasted against her pale skin, but she was always smirking like that. Too clever.

"Mom!" he complained loudly. "Melena's making fun of me!"

Both Elphaba and Glinda Throppland looked up from their place settings, which they were adjusting in anticipation of the food. After a glance at each other, Glinda was the one to stand and cast a stern look at him. "Liir?"

"Yes?"

"What did we tell you about tattling? If you have a problem with Melena, talk to her about it."

"Melena, quit it!"

"Make me!" The girl started when she felt a rap on her knuckles. "OW!"

Nessarose returned the spoon to her place setting and barely batted an eyelid toward her. "Don't be a pest. You know Liir is sensitive, so I don't understand why you pester him so badly."

"He's a boy, Mama," she said, as if that explained everything.

"And boys are people, too. Technically." Ignoring the snort from Elphaba, she pointed to the seat. "Stop standing in your chair and get ready to eat. You sit, too, Liir."

He looked like he might protest for a moment. But with all three women staring him down, he knew he didn't want to get yelled at again like Melena was, so he took his usual seat and settled into it as best he could. The water glass was already there, so he tried to pretend he was very interested in drinking from it to give himself something to do.

"You alright?" Glinda asked him more gently now.

"No."

"Why not? Come on, out with it, grumpypants."

"My pants are not grumpy."

"Liir…"

Sighing, he set the glass down again, poking at a bead of water that had fallen onto the tablecloth. It vanished into the fabric, and he felt annoyance and disappointment. "Dumb Melena and dumb Scraps wouldn't play the dumb game right."

"They aren't dumb," she corrected. "And what did we tell you about calling her 'Scraps'? That isn't nice."

"Grownups ask you what they told you a lot," he observed.

"That's because you need to learn things." Her hand came up and began to comb through his hair affectionately, which annoyed him most of the time, too. But sometimes it was alright.

As a member of the royal kitchen staff brought out some fried tamornas for them to begin munching on, Ozma and Dorothy joined them. Another girl, just a bit taller than either himself or Melena, skipped over and perched on her chair as if she couldn't possibly have done anything else. Her dress was the most alarming network of mismatched patches that could be made into clothing; even though they could afford any band new, pretty dress, she could always be seen sporting something that ludicrous. Each one was a completely different colour, and some were patterns while some were solid. At least it matched the vividness of her brilliantly red hair, made yet more vivid by being pulled into multiple little braids, each tied off with a different coloured bow in proper rainbow order.

"Frances Angeline," Dorothy sighed.

"Huh?"

"Manners…?"

The girl's red head tilted very slightly in thought. Then she squeaked, "Oh! Good evening, Miss Elphaba, Miss Glinda, Miss Nessa."

"Good evening, Frances," Elphaba told her with a slight bow of her head in her direction. Glinda merely waved with a bright smile. "How are you this evening?"

Opening her mouth, she piped up, "Fine as fine can be, is the state of me! I'm really so fine, that if I had nine, I might have six more than three!"

Immediately, Liir and Melena groaned and rolled their eyes. Then they seemed to remember they were mad at each other, glared at the other for having the same reaction, and turned away with a harrumph and a grimace. The adults always somehow found the way Scraps spouted such weird things to be endearing, even though it was obviously an attention-seeking behaviour that should be stopped at any cost.

"Very good!" said Glinda, clapping for the girl. Her pleased expression was as genuine as the one on Dorothy's face as she gazed own at her daughter. "But don't make up any more rhymes while we're eating dinner, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed without protest. At least she wasn't going to do it anymore.

The first true course came out shortly thereafter: a thick soup that didn't make Liir want to keep eating it. So after a few spoonfuls, he went back to sulking and watching his parents chattering in quiet voices, and Nessa wiping Melena's chin. A member of the royal staff came in to talk to Ozma, and she stepped away from the table for a moment to see to whatever queenly matter had come up.

Finally, when he hadn't smiled or laughed, or even tried to join in conversation throughout the entire meal, Glinda got up from the table. She was a bit rounder than Dorothy or Nessa, even though they had all had children, but still very lovely, to hear his other mother talk. She walked along the table until she could crouch down next to her son.

"Alright, buddy, old pal," she murmured into his ear. "What's going on? What's this, what's happening?" Her finger poked at his frown, and he tried to shrug her off but she did it again, and then he laughed. "There's my boy."

"Don't. I'm mad."

"Why are you mad?"

"Because… they didn't wanna play the game right. And I had to play it by myself, and you can't play hide-and-seek by yourself."

Her frown was a little exaggerated as she cooed, "Awww, my poor baby."

"I'm not a baby."

"My poor grandpa."

"Not a grandpa, either, Mom!" She laughed at him, which made him feel even more sullen. "Don't."

"I know," she sighed, tousling his hair. Which he also hated. "But they can't help it; they're young girls, and all they want to do is run around and be free. You're not like them, are you?"

"I like to run around," he hedged.

"Not as much as them."

Shrugging, he picked at the tablecloth as he said, "If they say they wanna play, they should play."

"Crybaby!" Melena piped up. Another little "ow!" could be heard a moment later.

"You're right, Liir. A person should always honour their commitments. But little girls and boys sometimes forget to do that. And that's okay!" Sliding her arm around behind his shoulders, she jostled him just a little. "Don't be so mad about nothing. Because if you do, when you have to be mad about something, you'll be all out of mad. And that's bad."

"No mad is bad!" Scraps added with a big grin.

"Shut up!" he snapped, and she blinked at him in surprise.

"I told you to be nice to her," Glinda warned him. "Frances is a very special girl, and it's not nice to be mean to someone who isn't being mean to you. You don't want a time out, do you?"

"No…" Sighing, he looked back down at his plate. "Fine, I'll be nice."

"Good. Let's finish dinner and then I'll tell you a story, alright? Or I can read you one at bedtime if you want to go back to playing."

So Liir Oscar Throppland ate, and he thought about things. He thought about how he never got to do anything fun outside the Royal Palace, like his parents did. About how it always felt like Scraps and Melena could do whatever they wanted and it would be fine, and he was always in trouble. On the other hand, Nessarose did smack Melena across the knuckles, and that had been funny. He also tried to think about what it meant that Scraps was "very special", but he never could figure that part out; he only knew that she was always acting strange, and sometimes he thought it was funny but other times it was annoying. Of course he did love his half-sisters. That didn't mean he had to like them much, but they were family and you had to love family. It was a rule.

Once dinner was over, he hopped out of his chair and went to his mothers. "Story?"

"You really want one?" Glinda asked, smiling at him.

"Story, story! A glory of a story!"

"Quiet, Scraps," he snapped, not that she minded he had. "What story?"

Shaking her head, she pulled him up into her lap and lashed an arm across his belly to hold hiim in place. "Did I ever tell you the one about the Lion, and the Hungry Tiger and the Lavender Bear?"

"Oh my," breathed Dorothy in her usual gentle tones. "Before bedtime? Maybe you'd better save that story for later, Miss Glinda."

"It's not that close to bed," Melena protested crabbily. Liir wanted to kick her, even though he agreed.

"Fine, fine. What if I told you about how Nessa, and Elphie and I first met?" The children all shared a look of uncertainty. "No? Didn't I tell you before?"

"I'm not very familiar with that one, either," Ozma said easily as she slid back into her seat, accepting it readily when Frances popped into her lap as if she had been waiting all along for that very thing. "If you would, Glinda…?"

"Oh, very well. So! Our paths first crossed at school. But you must understand, this was a long time ago, and we were both very young…"

"Dear old Shiz," Elphaba reminisced in a soft voice. Her wife had paused, probably trying to think of how to best phrase the next part of the tale. Liir looked at his other mother, at how much adoration was in her eyes every time she looked across at her wife.

"Mom?"

Glinda looked down at him. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Was Mother always so smart? With spells and stuff."

"Definitely, she was! Saved all of Oz from old Horrible Morrible, as she was known then. And she flew us away from her and the Wizard, and helped your Auntie Nessa to walk, and a lot of other things. She's a powerful witch and a true hero!"

Of course, Elphaba couldn't let that claim stand, cheeks flushed to forest green as the talk had made them. "I did have a little help from good friends."

"Bright as a silver shoe," Nessarose confided, causing her sister to roll her eyes and wave a hand, the way she always did at any fuss being made over her. Ozma and Dorothy managed to suppress their laughter into warm grins of bemusement.

"That's right," Glinda Throppland told her son, even though her eyes were only for Elphaba at that moment. "Positively phosphorescent. That's my Elphie."

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

#The Coven of Oz #forkanna writes #wicked fanfiction #wizard of oz #Coven of Oz #jess the writer #happy birthday to me #not that anybody will pay this much attention to these tags lmao #but yeah it's my bday and i'm spending it updating this fic #i did have a fun time last night #but the actual day will be mostly quiet self reflection #forkanna babble

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