#little balls of feathered hate hahaha

[inikavulpixelreviews]

Let’s Talk About Pokemon - The Rowlet Family

722: Rowlet

Only 11 reviews in, and we're FINALLY at a Grass starter.

And pardon me. You guys should know I like to keep the swears to a minimum in these reviews but

HOLY

FUCK

...Was the day Sun and Moon's starters got announced like Christmas morning. I love me a majority of the Grass starters. And I love me owls, my top favorite kind of bird and one of my favorite animals period. But an OWL GRASS STARTER?! WHO would've seen that coming?! And I couldn't have asked for a more adorable bird companion. This little owl chick is so positively rotund its rotundness is constantly memed about. Baby owls are already plenty known for a lot of them being big balls of fuzz until their finer feathers grow in. But Rowlet's roundness only comes from wanting to look so darn presentable! Look at that adorable little leaf-bowtie!

Having an avian for a starter is a surprise. Especially with Rowlet winding up with a Grass/Flying typing like you'd figure. It's only really a surprise because of how almost all other starters are mono-type. (The sole exception being Bulbasaur, funnily enough.)

Rowlet's also a ton more expressive than a lot of other starters have been up to this point. Namely, I just love how in perfect cartoon owl fashion that this thing's head turning 180 degrees just looks like an action figure with a swiveling head. That's just hilarious.

Just. Oof. I dunno guys. I think this is my favorite out of all the Starters first-stages. Rowlet's gonna be such a tough act to follow up on. Like. How ARE they ever gonna top Rowlet for me? It can't be done. It's a GRASS-STARTER that's also an OWL for Pete's sake! They'd have to make a kitsune whose tails grow out into a garden or something. But also have it be a Grass starter somehow. Rowlet is just objectively the perfect friend. Perfect roundness therefore perfect boy.

Personal Score: 10/10

723: Dartrix

I swear at this point they're just embracing the fact that the Starers middle-stages often get called awkward teenage phases. But is nonetheless playing up the eventual spectacle of the final evolution, so I can't be too miffed about it. I may not like Dartrix nearly as much as its other family members but it's still funny to get a fancy hero-type barn owl with leafy bangs making some fanciful hair and have it be very full of itself. Always carefully preening its feathers, and even hates it if you touch its hair in Pokemon Refresh. This thing has plenty of personality, even if I'm a bit less keen on its design.

To play up its personality, it also plucks some of its feathers to use them as throwing darts. Hence its name! It's plenty a fun take on a woodland owl sort of creature.

Personal Score: 8/10

The design itself can simply be chalked up to “just not my thing.” But its personality carries it plenty!

724: Decidueye

But for all that heroism and ego-inflating, your owl friend still meets a gruesome end... somehow! Because Decidueye turns into a Grass/GHOST type! WHAT?! ANOTHER one?! I had been wanting that type combo since the Gen 3 days and now I'm not only getting TWO super-halloweeny monsters out of the typing, but also a GRASS STARTER that's also an OWL?! Dammit. How did they KNOW?!

To get my nitpick out of the way first, it doesn't necessarily look like a Ghost type, does it? It could look a bit more ethereal, but again. Just a nitpick. You could just say it's Ghost type because it uses supernatural powers, along with mostly being part of Decidueye's flavoring.

True to how owls have feathers specifically designed to make their flight produce as little sound as possible, Decidueye is a silent nocturnal hunter that flies to a vantage point before forming a bow out of its arm and one of its hood's drawstrings, and firing arrows made of its feathers. This is such a cool concept and a really neat way to execute it in an unexpectedly elegant and natural-looking way. And of course, like a hoodie's drawstrings, it can tighten them to close its hood up when it's anxious. Awww!!

But hold on. Every Grass starter has been based on an extinct animal up to one point or another. But Decidueye's very clearly an owl, as opposed to several of the other Grass starters being based on dinosaurs, a limbed snake, and even a glyptodon. Was it all just a coincidence?

Not quite. It's easy to draw a parallel between Decidueye here and a stilt owl. An owl once native to Hawaii but Polynesian settlers came over, bringing over foreign species like pigs and rats, eventually leading to the bird going extinct. Its physical appearance almost had been wiped away from history, with only a few written accounts of its existence barely surviving. It's clearly the most relatively recent extinct animal to get turned into a Grass starter, but the theme is preserved nonetheless. This is also likely where inspiration to make it into a Ghost type came from too!

Personal Score: 10/10

It feels great to be this excited to talk about Grass starters again, hahaha.

Overall:

Like I said. I don't know if this one's gonna get topped as my favorite starter of all time. It’s such a specific tailoring to my tastes between typing, animal, and affinity for Grass starters, my sole conclusion can be that I came up with this thing in my sleep and then Gamefreak personally came to my house and infiltrated my dreams to steal it from my subconscious. There can be no other conclusion to draw here. That’s exactly literally with no exaggeration what happened.

[Archive]

[explosively-psycho-a]

((Last Fic in the house hunt. It took way longer than I wanted. I crashed creatively halfway through this whole project. But it’s done, this is their place. This is where they will spend their weekends, where I’ll be hosting some threads, and where they can go as a couple. 

I wanna thank @crxckedxce and @moonsmultimuse for allowing me to write their muses during this project and event. Here’s one easter egg, I wrote myself as their landlady. I didn’t lie about myself at all. I think I gave myself a rather cool quirk.

Enjoy!))

Toshi turned the car off at the next place, he needed a break. This was the fifth place of the evening and he wasn’t the best shape anymore to go on these long drives. The last house had been rather taxing for them all and the back seat had fallen eerily silent for the last bit of distance. The outrage the pair felt most likely gone and faded away like a bad headache. Sunken in eyes cast back over the seat to check, finding the pair in silence for sure.

Blonde hair tucked under the chin of the other man as fingers sat laced together in the middle of them. Toshi cleared his throat, causing crimson eyes as well as mismatched eyes to look up. Both pairs looked a little red and puffy. The old retired man smile, “We’re here...last place. Looks…”

He looked out the car window, seeing a small glowing window aside a newly painted front door with a small step in. Aside the door was small flowering pots of soft pink-white flowers with crinkled petals. The small mailbox at the front of the door opened at the top with a roll of paper sticking out, the local paper.

“Sweet. Sweet and peaceful.” He finished at last as he glanced back once again. The two in the back moved to look out as well, seeing the small flowers and silent door. Whispers came and went from them. Toshi couldn’t help but know the feeling of the knot in their guts from the last place.

Doors opened and the two filed out, hands laced together tightly with a new resolve. Don’t go in if the landlords didn’t like this fact first. There was no point going in with the wrong idea, get it out in the open right off the bat. Toshi took in a breath seeing them, Shoto stepping in front and taking a lead...walking with shoulders set, a protective stance to the blonde behind him. He’d really come into his own lately as a hero, looking to put himself out there for others...to take the brunt of the world’s force, for good or ill.

And here’s where things seemed strange to the older man, the blonde...Bakugo, normally so headstrong, so full of fire, and so willing to charge right in palms blazing...was taking the back seat to the young man in front of him leading him softly by the hand. His bottom lip caught between his teeth as he was tugged along, brows knitted up and shoulders stiff. His free hand balled into a fist at his side.

Long legs didn’t take long to catch up once the button was pressed and the car beeped. He caught up just as Sho raised a hand to tap knuckles against the door and wait, Katsuki still at his back and chewing on that bottom lip. He was done for the day after this...even if this place didn’t work out.

“Second!!” A voice filtered from behind the closed door and someone seemed to stumble and curse till the door was yanked open. “Hi there, hahaha. Sorry sorry, please come in, come in.”

At the door was a short little chubby woman with wavy brown hair...who was very out of breath. She motioned them in all the same, nearly tripping over the step inside the place as well. She cursed again, glaring at the little step before smiling at the three that came inside. “Forgive the little mess, I wanted to make the place a little...more comforting? I was almost late really and  just…”

“Is that Soba?”

He paused looking to where the mismatched man pointed. Indeed on the table was a small bowl of store bought ready to eat soba along with a few other containers. The woman smiled and leaned back on her feet to breath in deep. “YUP! Why, want some? You can have it. I know it would make you feel better.”

“That’s rather kind of you, miss. But that wouldn’t be all that becomin’ of my stud--”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. He can have it. It will make him feel better. I bought it for that.”

“Bought it...for...that?”

“My quirk told me to get it. You see, I can see the mood auras of people that are coming to visit me. You three are rather...umm, pissed? Or Melancholy, that the damn word for it. Fuck if I know.”

Three sets of eyes met and look at each other. “That’s rather...interesting.”

“You think so, I hate people normally. Refuse to work with the public. Nothing like trying to help people and seeing the exact second someone is done with your shit. ANYWAY, who’s hungry or do you wanna see the place?”

Bakugo couldn’t really hold it in, he snorted. She was blunt. He was bringing a hand up to his face to cover the growing smile as he tapped his hand against his hip...Sho’s hand still wrapped in his own. He snorted again watching the woman wave her hands in at them, fingers fanned out as if to draw an answer from them. “...Yeah, uhh, let’s see the place first unless this mess can’t be reheated.”

“It can be reheated! It’ll just taste like rubber.” But she was game to let them see the little apartment first. Motioning to the room they were standing in. “This is the main living space that’s NOT a bedroom. Small entrance way with a shoe cabinet, shelf and doorbell with a screen. I installed that myself…”

He motioned with one arm to the door just to the left along the wall, “Toilet, next door is the shower room with sink and washer. No tub, sorry. And along the wall behind you...if you look with your eyes is the kitchen. Not a full kitchen, there’s no fish stove. Three burners and full sink. Enough counter space for rice cooker and mini oven. There is a full-size fridge, it’s about a year old.”

With that explained she turned, waving a hand again for the three to follow as she pulled open the only door left in the place. “Bedroom, enough room for a decent size bed for a couple. Window facing the back street and it does open...but I don’t have a screen on it yet. Use it like a fire escape or something.”

Inside was a desk with a single wooden chair, a wardrobe and a small wall mounted AC unit. “Warning, the AC is rather loud. I kicked it once and it stopped for like...an hour but…”

Again the blonde as Sho’s side had to hold back something. The small woman could only sigh, “Glad I’m amusing. Well, that’s all of it. The whole place, it’s not big at all but perfect for a couple kids and a…uhh…”

“Teacher. It’s complicated. These are a pair of my students, yes, but they are different.”

“They are dating, I get that.”

All three men froze on the spot. All three waiting for the worst, waiting for the ‘get out, you’re not welcome’ after the last place. But they got nothing, nothing they were expecting. Just for the small chubby woman to push politely past the old retired hero and start unpacking shopping bags on the table. The table that was to come with the place. Each item set between four table settings.

“Best friends don’t hold hands like that or have connected mood auras like that. You might see a small bit of bleed between people like that, or even twins but...lovers? They are like a set, two colors mixing in the middle to create one smooth circle. I knew the second I opened the door.”

Sho let his guard down, feeling his shoulder slack and the grip he held on the other man’s hand going looser. The hold becoming more casual than protective. It felt like the ball of worry and ready anger just passed...like he’d finally swallowed a weighted lump in his throat. At last, he wanted that soba on the table for real...and not for politeness sake.

It was a little strange, sharing a store-bought dinner with some stranger that you were looking at the house of to rent. But the longer they hung out, the longer they talked and asked questions the more they felt at home. At some point, Toshi had excused himself to check out the toilet and shower room. He came back with a small thumbs up and a smile. The new landlady had pulled out a small tube like object connected to a box...a vape, and started to blow sweet smelling mist after their smell meal.

“Seems you three are happy enough with the place. I wanna talk price for this rental agreement. I know I listed one on the site but that was a little high just to run away the riff-raff. Call me picky or whatever, I don’t want just anyone living under my roof.”

“Completely understandable. So the price too low or?”

“Too high, for high school kids, I’m willing to come down some just to give them some room to grow. Even if they have part-time jobs or something, they are gonna be living on pocket change.”

The idea of a discount without real cause made Sho sit forward, nearly opening his mouth to protest. But a large hand came up to hush any protest as the old man smiled and nodded. “You’re a reasonable woman, they are just kids even at this age. I’m sure we can all work something out that works.”

“Ha..ha...you call me reasonable now, you just wait. That might change, I’m no hero. Never had the mind to be one...We’ll work something out. Just keep in mind one thing, don’t lie to me. I can see it, literally.”

***

Toshi had tried to talk the pair out of signing anything before they had a chance to sleep on it, but Bakugo wasn’t having it. He’d liked the place, had sat silently during dinner and thought it over. All the while holding Sho’s hand still under the table. He wanted the place, he wanted to move in that night, he swore he was ready.

It didn’t help that the new landlady seemed really good at ruffling the right feathers here and there on all three to get pen to paper. The old mind gave out after seeing the smile that came to the younger pair’s faces after things were set in stone. Nor could he fight his own set of butterflies as one of the pair let out an almost inhuman noise the moment they were out the door. Watching as arm circled each other and both men were pressing faces together in contained joy.

They did it, their first steps out. Their first place, their first real home. Something they had, just them. The drive home was filled with chatter and warm giggles. Full of ‘what if’s and ‘can we do’ this or that questions.

“I can’t say what you can and can’t do, young men. This is your place. You make all those choices now.”

“Holy fuck....it...it really is!”

“Gorgeous.”

“IT’S OURS, SHO! OURS!!”

[lumiereswig]

Please do the ENTIRETY of Forgotten! Hahaha I’m joking, pick your favorite part because that fic is v long 😍

happily, this gonna get l o n g

“The ball was flawless. In the garden, the roses continued to reach to the sky, and the storm brushed away; the lights shut off in the palace, one by one, and the music faded to silence. The prince went to bed with one or two or three pretty women he wouldn’t care for by the next day. Up in his room, Lumiere popped open a bottle of champagne.”

I set the opening to take place almost immediately after “Lit By The Sun,” though this time showing the evening Lumiere and Plumette never got—the stolen croquembouche up in their bedroom, the sharing of champagne among the servants. In the original timeline, obvs they didn’t get that—they got fire and feathers instead—but yeah. I am totally alluding to my own goddamn fics.

Plumette, lighting the candles by the bed, grinned at him over the flames. He laughed and raised his glass.

It’s not a lumiereswig post if there’s not a fucking fire reference.

“He’s turning just like his father—the prince’s father was like this, too,” Mrs. Potts explains to the musicians, who know nothing about the palace or its politics. They nod and move closer to each other on the bed. “We don’t know what he’d do without us. He’ll be fine, though; we try not to intervene. D’you only have wine up here, Lumiere? I could use a cup of tea.”

Foreshadowing of future bullshit, and also reminding the readers that Garderobe and Cadenza WERE NOT PART OF THIS PALACE-POLITICS SHIT. They did not deserve to be cursed!! fuck you agathe!!!! #justiceforgarderenza2k18

“If you cannot take a little sparkling wine, get yourself to bed, grandmother,” laughs Lumiere, and she swipes at his arms and makes him laugh. He eases into a seat between Cogsworth and Plumette and throws his arms around them.

Really trying to remind everyone how fucking close the staff is. The fam. Also, fuck you bill condon for not letting lumiere hug cogsworth every .3 seconds

“Think how long it has been!” he says. “Forty years for you, Cogsworth, but most of my life for mine. Why, I came here as a teenager—imagine me, only a little older than Chip! Fresh out of Paris and still reeking of the apothecary shop.” He grimaces, thinking of his father’s dusty store in a side-street of the city. He had fled, then, looking for the glamor his missed; in his room in Paris he had practiced dance steps, reveled in fashion, adopted the graceful movements of the court as rebellion against the bourgeois facts of an ordinary existence. He had come to this palace, and he had lit into life; dancing and feasting and glowing like gold made Lumiere’s heart sing.

EYYYY IT’S A HEADCANON I TOTALLY MADE UP

but tbh it makes sense to me (and has always made sense to me) that for all his glamor-gold, courtiers-and-candelabras bullshit, lumiere is not from an upper crust background. he’s too extra to have been born to it. That level of golden eyeliner and tequila has to be aspired to.

“We met in this palace, do you remember, mon trésor?” Plumette is close in his arms; her scent—fresh and light, like candy and macarons—right beside him. “I was only fourteen, and I loved you right away.”

“I loved you before I met you,” murmurs Lumiere. “I could never forget.”

Lots more foreshadowing, and also backshadowing. Gotta remind the idiots in the audience which motherfuckers in this story are in love.

The next day is their day off. It is their one day off in the year.

honestly this makes no sense (one day off a year???) but it’s adam. pre-curse adam. i can write him to get away with pretty much any bullshit and be like “””*shrug* uhhh he’s a beast, dudes, of course he banned puppies and kittens from the palace and hates daisies and sunshine”“

also tbh i hate the whole adam dialogue sequence, it’s really badly written

Adam stands in the lonely, empty halls. If he stands in the tower, he can see them weaving their way through the forest and down to the village, to spend their day in the company of each other, in Lumiere and Plumette’s case, or with loved ones, in the case of Mrs. Potts. No matter what, all the servants have each other. And Adam has nobody.

casual evermore references whenever we can’t get in a flame pun

….after all, at least when he yelled they looked at him.

someone told me this line broke them and i am forever pleased. yes mofos!!! relish my very slipshod, mostly shite grasp of the english language!!!!! revel in my poor grasp of human psychology!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Lumiere! The night grows old.”

 The crone grows young.

to make up for the shit in the previous chapter, I really enjoy this bit. the whole bashing-between-the-palace-and-the-village nonsense just makes me happy.

Belle wakes up to a jolt in the road, and the rough wool blanket on her face, and the smell of cheese and paint and horse and wind clinging to her skin. She rubs her eyes and tries to wipe away the sleep. They’re in the wagon, again, and Maurice is hunched up in the bench, encouraging Philippe to trot faster. The contents of Belle’s entire life are jammed in around her, a moving nest of drawings and gear-boxes and packets of cabbage-seed.

aaand we’re with belle. I had to rewrite this chapter about five million times because it wasn’t working—I had planned it out too much in advance, you know, and was just like regurgitating the writing rather than writing it—but I’m happy with the textural detail of this bit. Again, sometimes it pays to use the words around what you’re going for rather than the literal sensation; in this case, cheese and paint and horse and wind, and that rough wool blanket. Home, but also chill, and travel, and being uncomfortable, and the 18th century equivalent of going on a road trip and eating crackers in the backseat while dad’s up front and the crackers making the seat all gritty and reading books in the light of the passing streetlamps, ya feel?

Lilles, Reims, Amiens

i don’t understand french geography

A tiny, delicate gesture from his long fingers; it is a surprisingly sophisticated movement for a man in a yellow peasant’s vest, with candle wax creased in the dirt between his fingernails.

this whole chapter is slightly hard to read because it’s clearly trying too hard, but i hope i got across (or at least, whacked you across the forehead with) the bits i felt were important: lumiere’s current emptiness, but the last imprints of who he ought to be hanging around. i also tend to mention the peasant’s vest too many fucking times, just because the image of lumiere wearing anything that’s not satin & silk is fucking devestating. also, it will be important later, and i need yall to remember that LUMIERE DOESNT LOOK LIKE HE NORMALLY LOOKS

“I am nothing now,” says the man, in a flash of vehemence so sharp it is like seeing a flame in the middle of the forest. He looks up to her—his face broad, and white; and it is an empty face, and beyond the fire in his words there is nothing there at all. It is as if someone washed out all his color, and left him only with his yellow vest.  

you can tell, again, this is a lumiereswig fic because suddenly the language is all about fires and flashing and flickers and flames and there’s probably going to be a reference to the sun fucking setting at some point

also, honestly, this was hard to write because i was seeing it as a fucking movie in my head, and transcribing ‘ewan mcgregor lies on a village stoop looking fucking dismal’ is not what literary writing is made of

He welcomes her to the stoop with the flick of a wrist and a tiny nod with the pipe,

just to remind everyone once a-fucking-gain, Lumiere Is Not Normal, And You Can Tell Because He’s Not Being Very Welcoming. like honestly if you don’t say hello by doing a song and dance what the fuck are you doing

“I knew someone once who treasured books that way as well,” he says, and a smile drifts across his face, homeless. Something in him is sparking up at the story: dim, and faint, but laughing. “He once made me read the whole Odyssey—”

ok yes thank god the fic is finally getting good again

Sorceresses turning people to pigs, and the lily-eaters forgetting their homes, and Penelope undoing the days until her husband returns

ON. THE FUCKING. NOSE

also if i make a literary reference in a fic i am almost 100% of the time trying to make an obvious as fuck connection between the two

Deeply, deeply frightened. Not of the man on the stoop—she has never seen anyone more harmless, to be quite honest; he is such an empty man, with such silent, lifeless limbs—but of the thing inside his eyes when he speaks of his past. It is Other—a thing not rooted in a Parisian background, or the empty face, or the subdued soul. It is a large streak of gray inside the man’s blue eyes, a gray empty and unnatural and as hollow as cold ice. Staring at his eyes, Belle finds herself clutching her arms with fear.

ahhhh fuck subtlty has gone totally out the window. yall are kind and see what i was going for, but i swear this could be better done if i knew shit

It is obvious to Belle that this is a practiced ritual, the sharing of the secret wine.

in retrospect this fic would be sadder if cogsworth or lumiere weren’t friends, but uhh…i just couldnt bring myself to it.

“Oh là là, he acts as if the French accent is difficult,” says Lumiere, puffing smoke….

LIKE YOU CAN SPEAK FRENCH ANYWAY, YOU SCOTTISH DIPSHIT.

“Get off my stoop!” yells the woman. “D’you have wine down there, Lumiere?“

“If you cannot take a little cheap wine, get yourself to bed, grandmother,” calls Lumiere.

and that’s called taking yourself too seriously and referencing your own fic from a few chapters ago

“Mrs. Potts, the crockery-man’s wife,” says Lumiere, and takes a large gulp of the wine. “I barely know her. Thank God.”

PROBABLY THE BEST LINE IN THIS FIC SO FAR. fucking love the simplicity that does so much more than every labored reference to emtpy fucking limbs or colorless eyes beforehands. one simple line and we’re all fucking realizing THE EXTENT OF ALL THIS SHIT

i gotta head off now but i’ll do the rest later tonight

[send me one of my fics (or a bit from a fic) and i’ll do director’s commentary on it—ask here]

[you-will-always-be-my-king]

So since Teen wolf is ending i decide to put my top CLASSIC STEREK FANFIC REC

This is fanfics that i always loved, and go way back I think all of then are from 2012-2013? i dont remember the name of all my favs, because i didnt have an ao3 account and was terrible with names, but here it is:

Gravity's Got Nothing on You

“Three weeks,” Derek says.

“Still don’t want to,” Stiles says.

“I’ll pay you,” Derek says, and that… that has Stiles interested. Alf’s Antique’s may be a great job, but it’s not a high-paying job, and half of Stiles’s tuition is coming from financial aid, so…

“How much,” Stiles asks, “are we talking here? Because I know your family, dude. And it’ll be kind of awkward after.“

“My family thinks you’re some sort of fucking gift to the world,” Derek seethes, like he’s jealous, “they’ll probably be pissed at me when we break it off, so don’t worry about that. Five hundred bucks.”

“A thousand,” Stiles says, because screw ethics. Also, the Hale family is loaded. Derek can deal.

- This one was my first long fanfic that i enjeyd, it is so worth it, and fake pretend relantionship

There is a Brotherhood   

So far, college has taught Stiles three things:

1) Eight am classes are cruel and unusual and should be avoided at all costs, even if it means having to enroll in something truly hideous instead, like Econ 101.

2) Dorm security is just as tight as Stiles’ orientation leader had promised it would be, and the dude guarding Scott’s dorm in particular does not respond well to bribes.

3) Mrs. McCall clearly had no clue what she was talking about when she’d insisted that Scott and Stiles needed to branch out and room with strangers, so it’s all her fault that Scott ended up with a total dick of a roommate and Stiles got stuck all the way across campus with some guy who has a girlfriend two towns over and is thus never around.

Or, the one where pledge brothers Stiles and Scott start a prank war with Derek Hale's fraternity.

- This is just one of the funnist fanfics i ever read

Just Act Normal

If someone had told Stiles back in high school that he would be an Oscar winning actor by the time he turned 25, he would’ve probably told Scott to punch them. The thing is, though…they would’ve been right.

Which makes returning to Beacon Hills, center of all that is supernatural and better left avoided, all the more awkward.

- This one i toke some time to read, because i didnt see stiles was an actor but it always showed up in rec lists and i give up and read and OMG it is so great, actor!stiles totally became a headcanon

Fly a Little Faster  

Everyone knows when you go back in time, you shouldn't step on an ant, just in case you accidentally kill your own grandparent or something. But what happens when you go back in time and, uh, accidentally interrupt the one event that apparently made the Grumpiest Alpha in Town into a ball of mindless manpain?

Well, if Marty McFly can do it, so can Stiles Stilinski. All he has to do is get Derek and Paige to fall in love before he gets pulled back to his own time. And before he makes anything worse. That's easy as pie, right? Right?

-This fits canon so well that it is amazing, and the speed that mirrorkill took to post this alway amazed me

Permanent Fixture

Derek is Scott's older brother. Stiles is Scott's best friend. Derek is falling in love with Stiles. This is a bit of a problem. 

- This is another one that took me a while to read, because scott and derek brothers wtf? BUT I LOVE IT, and those who like doctor who it is mandatory ;)

Cupboard Love

He’s carefully balancing the sandwiches and the two biggest tupperware containers he could find that both had functioning lids when the front door opens and he almost drops everything right there in front of the stupid fountain.

If that’s Derek Hale, he’s definitely not a mountain man.

- Cute and adorable, what more can I say

Fireman Derek's Crazy Pie [Cheeseburger Baby]

“He can't blame me for the fact that I live in a building full of people united in the singular effort to ogle Hot Fireman as often as humanly possible."

Laura laughs, loud and echoing in the empty restaurant.

"Hot firemen can make a girl do crazy things," she agrees, nodding towards her brother's name on the menu. "Derek won't let me date anyone from his company, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the eye candy."

"Send them my way," Stiles suggests, finally loading up a forkful of pie. "Apparently I'm incompetent enough that I need to be babysat at all times, because it would be cheaper than dispatching a truck every time I try to use a kitchen appliance."

- This one is super funny and adorable

Sourwolf Candy    

When the Sourwolf Candy franchise offers a $10,000 annual scholarship to the school of the winner's choice, Stiles jumps at the chance to enter. It doesn't matter that the other prizes are a day with one of the Hales and a lifetime supply of Sourwolf Candy. The sacrifices are worth it, because if there's one thing that Stiles hates more than Sourwolf Candy, it's Derek Hale.

So of course he has to spend a day with the guy who made the catchphrase 'Don't be such a Sourwolf' popular: Sourfaced Derek Hale himself.  If he doesn't, he doesn't get his scholarship money.

Derek just wants a little sugar.  Or a lot of sugar, as the case may be.

A whole case of sugar.

(He stress-eats sugar, ok?)

- Stiles has the biggest crush of the universe, really babe

Hello, Heartbreaker

It’s a popular joke among Alphas: fuck an Omega, get heartbreak on your hands. Omegas are fragile little emotional things, needy and whiny. Stiles refuses to become that, or to believe that he’s anything like that.

Stiles and Derek have been fuckbuddies for a while when Derek loses his memories of the past three years - and them - in an accident. (Also - everyone's a werewolf, and everyone's alive.)

- First fanfic i ever heard about Mpreg, it is just mentioned, but it was a shock hahah

hope is the thing with feathers

Stiles is ten when he saves the Hales from their burning home and Derek from a wolfsbane bullet, and this establishes a pattern that seem to continue indefinitely.

"Then he's facing a burning home, and he wraps the hood of his sweatshirt around his mouth before he pushes the door open and steps inside. There's Mr. Hale asleep - he hopes asleep - on the couch, next to - Stiles thinks that's his brother but there are so many Hales, who can keep track. He rushes over and starts shaking him, can see the rise and fall of the man's chest so he knows he's alive, but he's not waking up. He shoves away his hood so he can shout, "Mr. Hale! You have to get up, there's a fire! Mr. Hale, get up!" Nothing, he's not even twitching, both of them taking in deep even breaths like they're having the most peaceful of rests, and Stiles is going to cry. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" There's a moment, where all Stiles can hear is the blood rushing in his ears and not the roar of the flames or the creak of wood, then with a violent, silent pop it's all back and both of the men are gasping awake, eyes open and jumping to their feet. "

- Dorks, these two are dorks

Honorable mentioned:

You Belong With Me  

Ever since the new neighbors moved in, Stiles and Derek had been best friends for as long as they could remember. Over the years, Stiles fell in love with the boy next door and watched as his best friend dated, wishing to be the lucky person who got to say that 'Derek Hale is my boyfriend'. Alas, he was overlooked and settled for being the best friend and pined from afar. 

- Dorks pinning, but this one is from 2015, so not that old, or is it? hahaha anyway this is really funny and cute

[surveysonfleek]

478.

5000 Question Survey Pt. 22

2001. Can you believe that we have only gotten through two fifths of this survey so far? i guess. it’s taking forever lol. 2002. What is your opinion of Dave Coulier? no opinion, i just remember him as the comedian on full house. 2003. If you were to a write a Choose Your Own Adventure book, what would it be about? a mystery. gone girl style. 2004. What was your best find from a flea market, garage sale, ebay or thrift store? an analog camera i bought last minute for a project at uni years ago. oh and board games lol. 2005. What do you not have enough money for right now? a vacation.

2006. Do you believe that Teras for Fears were right when they said, "Everybody wants to rule the world?" not really. some people are happy conforming. 2007. What is the design on your beach towel? pink stripes. 2008. What stirs something deep and animalistic inside you? i get really shitty easily at rude people. 2009. Have you ever cross dressed (even as a joke)? nope. 2010. Do you own anything with a rainbow on it? probably. i’ve always wanted those rainbow nike vapormaxes but i’ll never get them, they were limited edition. 2011. What would be the worst object for a child to take on a long car ride with you? any musical instrument. 2012. What's the Best Beatles song in your opinion? i don’t have a fave. 2013. Why do you suppose that diary sites are more popular with females than males? i don’t think they’re popular at all now. 2014. What do these color combinations remind you of: orange and pink: summer. pink and green: watermelon. green and gold: australia. purple and gold: lakers. gold and red: a throne. red and white: where’s wally. blue and grey: the ocean. 2015. What is one selfish thing you tend to do? make everyone i love drive me around. i hate driving. 2016. When do you think technology will catch up with the Jetson's? possibly within my lifetime. 2017. What made you laugh today? people at work. 2018. Do you ever stick your entries in any of the diary circles? no. 2019. Can you freestyle rap? no. 2020. Are you: stylish? not really. shiek? chic? nah. smart? i’d like to think so. 2021. Do you find you self only buying brand name products? i do but not all the time. i’m the type of person that likes to try all brands and see what works for me. 2022. Would you ever want to buy an article of clothing or an acessory because you saw a celebrity wear it? yeah. 2023. What song do you feel the sexiest dancing to? pony - ginuwine haha. 2024. Who do you know who looks silly when they dance? my boyfriend’s brother. 2025. Sweaty sex or clean sex? both. 2026. Which is more important to you: being kind or being right? being kind, but only to people that deserve it. 2027. Can you do any special dances like swing, tap, or ballroom? nope. 2028. Are you scared of monsters? no. 2029. Who would you like to remind people of? no one. 2030. Do you walk to school or do you bring your lunch? i don’t go to school. 2031. Rate your skills from one to ten (10 = you are the best at it): socializing: 7. making friends: 6 unless i force myself to be more social. working with computers: 6. arts: 5. crafts: 5. depends what it is. dancing: 3. skating: 1. talking other people into things: 9. writing: 3. living life to the fullest each day: 3. cooking: 5. gardening: 1. cleaning up after yourself: 7. playing poker: 7. surviving in the woods: 1. managing your time: 9. attracting the opposite sex (or same sex if you prefer)? 2. 2032. Have you ever been to an indian reservation? no. 2033. What is going to happen tommorrow that you can celebrate, even if it's a little thing? it’s halloween tomorrow. i won’t be celebrating though. 2034. Do you save things for special occasions or is everyday a special occasion? i save things. 2035. What is one thing you are terrible at: saving. 2036. What's your favorite: rap song: money ain’t a thing: jermaine dupri and jay z. country song: idk. industrial song: idk. cover song: all i ask (adele cover): bruno mars. punk song: i’m real: the starting line. odd song: bodak yellow: cardi b haha. 2037. What do you get your teacher or your boss for the holidays? nothing. 2038. Do you like to read books by Virgina Wolfe? never read any. 2039. What is your favorite tv show from when you were a kid? arthur. 2040. What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake. What do you imagine? the future. 2041. What has been passed down through at least two generations to you? a gold necklace. 2042. Do we live in a particularly bad age for romance? not really. 2043. Have you ever cheated on someone? no. Do you believe that once someone is a cheater they can never be trusted? in my mind, yes. 2044. Have you ever gone: christmas caroling? no. pumpkin picking? no. on a hay wagon ride? no. on a romantic valentine's day date? yes. to a new year's eve party? yes. to a memorial day parade? no. to the Macy's thanksgiving day parade? no. to search for gold coins on st patrick's day? no. 2045. Have you ever done any modeling? no. 2046. Would you consider yourself to be psychologically damaged? no. 2047. How aware are you of the reasons behind your actions and words? pretty aware. 2048. What is the sickest you ever drank or drugged yourself? i haven’t had any really bad experiences tbh. it’s always a shitty time when i’ve thrown up from alcohol but i’ve never blacked out. 2049. Would you prefer it if clothing was optional? no lol. 2050. What is one interesting fact about you: i collect nail polish and perfume. 2051. Are more people depressed because they are alone, or are more people alone because they are depressed? the first. some people could be surrounded by a lot of people and still be depressed. 2052. Have you ever gotten a mug, t-shirt, key chain, etc. that was personalized with your picture? yes a key chain haha. oh and my uncle made me a t shirt with my face on it hahaha. 2053. What was the last thing that you experienced for the first time? i honestly can’t think. 2054. If you were going to die tomorrow and you were leaving a postcard for someone to read after you were gone what would it say? not sure. probably just saying how much i appreciate them and to pass messages to other people i care about. 2055. If you were about to be executed what would your last request be? hug my family and boyfriend. 2056. What kinds of people do you find intimidating? people with power i guess. 2057. How much conviction do you have in your feelings and beliefs? quite a bit. 2058. In your house where is the: crazy glue? the cupboard above the fridge. flashlight? same ^ 2059. Out of everyone you know who has the most personality? ahmad. 2060. If you could go back in time to experience a musical movement or era, which one would you choose to live through? jazz. i don’t listen to jazz but i think it would be cool to live through its birth. 2061. Do you suffocate people with your love? not enough. 2062. Do you feel your life is charmed? no. 2063. What character do you identify the most with from Winnie the Pooh? eeyore haha. 2064. When do you do your best thinking? just before i sleep. 2065. What motivates you? nothing right now. 2066. Look back at all the people you've dated. Has there been a pattern? no. 2067. Things change but what will always remain the same for you? my personality i think. 2068. Is divorce something you would ever consider or do you feel that marriage is permanantly binding? if the marriage is that bad i would consider it. 2069. What's the strangest movie you ever saw? idk. 2070. If you could go into virtual reality and set up your life there to be perfect and it would seem real but not be real would you trade your life now for the virtual life? no. 2071. Does it seem like life is more difficult for you than for anyone else? no. 2072. What are you grateful for? everything i have. 2073. What was a choice that you didn't want to make but you had to? idk. 2074. Have you ever had dental surgery? no. 2075. At what point exactly are you grown up? when you start having actual responsibilities and do things without people’s help. 2076. If there was a weightloss procedure that would destroy your ability to taste food so you wouldn't be tempted by junk food, would you have it done? no thanks. i love food. 2077. What is one thing that happened that you never expected? idk. 2078. If you called one of your friends and they said "It's nothing personal but I don't want to talk to anyone right now," would you take it personally? i wouldn’t, but i’d be really concerned as to why they’d say that and offer help. 2079. What is your favorite girl's name? sierra. 2080. Do you ever feel guilty for being more fortunate than others? yes and no. i’m happy to help anyone that needs it. 2081. If you had to wear a shirt with one word on it for a year, what word would you choose? hi. lol. 2082. What is evian spelled backwards? naive duh. 2083. You drop 10 pounds of feathers and a ten pound bowling ball off the top of the same building. Which will hit the ground first? both, they weigh the same. 2084. Even though you may never get what you want, are you happy because you're trying? i’m not trying though. if i was then yeah i’d be happy. 2085. If you started a petition what would it be about? idk. 2086. When was the last time you asked someone to do something and they said no? idk. 2087. Do bad things happen to you on friday the 13th? not that i know of. 2088. What's your favorite: Madonna song? like a prayer. John Lennon song? none. Michael Jackson song? you are not alone. Doors song? idk. Rolling Stones song? idk. David Bowie song? idk. Elvis song? idk. 2089. If you had started a relationship with someone and they said that it would be best if no one knew about it just to see how it goes, would you be offended? it depends on our situation. if we were on the same level, i wouldn’t be offended. 2090. Do you know any self defence? i did karate as a kid but i forgot everything. How about CPR? nope. i should really learn. 2091. If you had to look into a mirror and see your naked soul stripped of all delusions and pretenses (Never ending Story style)could you handle it? no. 2092. Are you a genius? no. 2093. How did you find out that Santa Clause wasn't real? i got a letter from ‘him’ and the handwriting was the same as my mum’s lol. 2094. Which is your favorite tarot card? idk. 2095. Does the internet seperate people or connect them? both. 2096. Have you ever written a letter to a soldier? no. 2097. Does pain and fear make you feel alive? eh, i wouldn’t pinpoint it to that. 2098. Are you: good looking? i wish. thin? no. happy? sometimes. successful? no. confident? no. 2099. Are you decisive or wishy washy? in between. 2100. Do you feel pop stars should be morally responsible to set a good example for their fans? it’s nice but they shouldn’t be obliged to. we’re all human.

[nezzfiction]

Team WISE Ch. 2 - Ember

Series Synopsis: Ten years have passed since Team RWBY disbanded. Remnant is in the midst of its Second Great War. And while the Kingdoms wage battle and destruction against one other, a darker, more ancient threat grows in its shadow. Only a select few are willing to set aside past differences to see the greater danger Remnant faces. Only those who possess the wisdom to seek out the truth in the dark—those who are truly wise. To that end, Weiss Schnee assembles her private group of covert operatives.

This is the story of Team WISE.

Links to read the series: Ao3 or FF.net

Or hit the jump below:

.

Ember

.

They are the remains of a dying fire.

Or the lights of a new flame.

Both, hand in hand, one and the same.

Like new and old feathers of a phoenix.

.

.

The air whistled as a curved blade almost took her head off. Fortunately, she read it ahead of time, and ducked just below.

“Tsk!” Yang gave an annoyed click of her teeth.

Her opponent didn’t stop his motion. Instead, they rode the momentum, and repeated the strike lower. It wasn’t as much as a weapon, as it was a scorpion tail that almost cut a poisonous gash through Yang’s abdomen.

“Damn it!”

The boxer was forced to break her stance, and back away.

“Come on~” Tyrian Callows taunted. “Where did all the usual bravado go? Don’t tell me your afraid♪?”

“That’s rich, coming from the guy who’s been ducking me for weeks.”

In the gladiatorial arena, the audience around them cheered with depraved cries. Each and every one of them, wearing black and white striped clothes. A cheap fence was all that separated the ring from its spectators, who watched from multiple levels. A prison within a prison, where people were little more than caged animals tearing each other apart.

Yang was on the verge of bum rushing forward, when cooler voices counseled the move.

Come on, don’t rush it.

She watched Tyrian’s scorpion tail whip back and forth in readiness.

He wants you to make the first move. You’ve seen how he fights.

He likes to talk smack, but he’s crap at taking it.

Yang hocked a spit to the side, and braced her fists under her chin.

Easy does it. Bait him in, like the sap he is.

It felt like she exercised more patience in the last few months than she had in her entire lifetime.

The time’ll come. You already learned this. Just ball up the hate for now.

Yang remembered that fateful day, her harsh reminder that curbed her attitude.

Don’t want to lose another arm. Don’t play his game. Play yours.

Her feet began to shuffle back and forth. Slow at first, then faster in succession. She backed around the perimeter of the ring, as if provoking her opponent with her nimbleness. A daredevil’s smile trailing her façade.

“You know, for a joint that brags about keeping Mistral’s hardest criminals, you guys are actually a bunch of softies!” Yang smirked. “And you’re supposed to be the sharpest shiv in this clink? What a joke.”

“You won’t be smiling for long,” Tyrian hissed. “When I’m done with you, I’ll rip out your tongue, so you’ll never breathe another word again! And then, I’ll—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Something about intestines, and whatever other cannibal fetish fantasy. Heard worse from people who actually matter? Let’s dance, scrub!”

Tyrian’s anger reached its boiling point, as he pounced with an inhuman-like agileness. At the same time, Yang banked her body down into a forward dash.

Just as Tyrian’s tail stabbed from above like a curved dagger, the boxer swerved right. The stinger cut through a few locks of her hair, arousing her rage and her Semblance.

Don’t lose yourself, Yang reminded.

Channel it, control it, own it.

Don’t let it own you.

Her hair set ablaze and her irises dyed a bloody red, but she maintained her temper. Like sinking her emotions below the ocean’s surface, she focused her attention elsewhere.

Fake the entry.

Yang feigned a resumed dash into Tyrian’s guard.

It’s what he wants. You know what’s going to happen next.

Tyrian’s lips pulled into a wide grin. His tail flicked up instantly, like he expected the miss. A second, more deadly strike, came down. Its point drove right atop Yang’s skull.

Too easy.

The attack was deeper than the first. It struck the ground, as Yang dodged left. She finally let her rage go. Her boot stomped the tail at an angle, preventing Tyrian from pulling it back.

Yang watched the shock on her opponent’s face with grim satisfaction. Her elbow drew a wide arc, right before letting loose a sweeping downward punch.

“GRRAAAAAHHHHH!!!” Tyrian shrieked, as his tail was blown off in the middle. “YOU BITCH!”

While her opponent cursed, Yang didn’t pause for a second. She went immediately into Tyrian’s body. Short pummeled bursts crunched out from the boxer, repeatedly jamming her fists into the man’s ribs.

Should be careful, Yang reminded herself with reluctance.

As much as I’d love to induce organ failure…

…Still need him alive.

The moment Yang stopped her assault, Tyrian bent forward from the pain of having his ribs pound to dust. Right then, the knuckles of Yang’s gauntlet cracked the side of his head. His ear went completely deaf on that side.

“Man, that was really exciting. You had me worried there for a bit,” Yang breathed a long yawn down at him. And then, grasped the back of his ponytail.

Seeing the match finished, she turned her gaze to the crowd. Her fellow inmates were cheering uproariously. Unintelligible chanting and slurs cascaded the rounded walls. When they coalesced, she heard the singular word like the voice of continuous thunder.

“Death.”

“Death.”

“Death.”

“Death.”

As per the fighting arena’s tradition, the audience liked to chant the desired fate of the defeated. And it was rare, if ever, they chose mercy.

Yang glared condescendingly at Tyrian still keeled over on the ground.

“You hear them, right? With your other ear, I mean.”

“…Do it!”

“I could,” she paused. “Or maybe, you can give me something to convince me otherwise.”

“…? He..hehe…hehehehahaha! So that’s what you’re after!”

“Not so loud, dumbass, or I might just change my mind.”

“I wondered why you were down here.”

“Adam Taurus, Qrow Branwen, Raven Branwen. I want intel.”

“Hahaha! Sure! I’ll tell you whatever you want!”

In the face of Tyrian’s demented smile, Yang could only snarl in disgust.

“Great.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

Hovering about one kilometer above Mistral’s underground max security prison, was a stealth flight airship. The swordfish-like vessel tread the night sky. Its reflective coating made it blend in with its surrounds. And just aboard, its two passengers made preparations to deploy.

“Alright.”

Weiss entered a few keys into her scroll, before holding it out. Holographic layers of the prison luminated for her and her partner to see.

“Our target is located at the deepest level of the structure. Here.” A red beacon flashed at the bottom of the cylindrical facility. “According to our source, breaking into the prison won’t be difficult. It’s breaking out, which will provide the most challenge.”

“It’s a prison. Of course, they made it harder to break out.”

Ignoring her partner’s remark, Weiss proceeded. “The moment the target is brought above the floor they are assigned, her location tracker will trigger the prison’s alarms. And considering the deepest levels are reserved for their most dangerous criminals, a full lock down of the entire facility will commence.”

“Did she have to be at the bottom level?”

“…Apparently, she thought it was a necessity, but that’s beside the point. That is where the target is, and that is where we have to retrieve her from.”

“Just like any bungee jump through twenty-seven levels of high security. What goes down, must come up. Shouldn’t be all that hard,” she said sarcastically.

“The two of us are more than capable of accomplishing this feat. Are you ready, Scarlet?”

“I really wish you wouldn’t call me that.”

“Are you ready?”

Ruby sighed.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

The two made their final weapons check and preparations to drop. Weiss tucked her hair into the collar of her cloak and donned a White Fang mask. Ruby threw her a sideways look, while hesitating with the mask in her own hands.

“It’s only smoke screen,” Weiss added. “There’s no reason to think too deeply about it.”

When they finished, Weiss turned to the ship’s cockpit, which had no pilot in it. There, the control console was operated by the woman’s personal AI.

“Penny. Circle the area until I signal for pick up.”

[Yes, Ma’am.]

The side-doors of the aircraft slid open, and the two Huntresses dropped into freefall. The night breeze blew them back and forth in their descent. Course corrections were made along the way by shifting their drag.

Once they neared the gate doors, they timed their entry with the arrival of a descending transport ship. With the prison practically a vertical drop pit, an aircraft was what the workers used to travel up and down the levels.

By the time Weiss and Ruby were reaching groundside, the ship was already through, with the gate shutting just behind it.

“Scarlet,” Weiss called.

No response from the girl falling beside her.

“Scarlet!” she called again.

Still, nothing.

“RUBY!”

The red Huntress’s cloak expanded to the size of a parachute, before engulfing them both. Then, like a crimson specter, the fluttering cloth spilled into the thin slit of the gate just as it closed. The width of which, could not be wider than a few inches.

In Ruby’s cloaked form, her and Weiss dropped past the prison transport ship, and into the lower levels. A bed of vine and roses spawned to cushion their fall, when they made contact with the bottom floor.

The sound of the impact surprised prisoners wandering the near vicinity. But upon looking to what caused the noise, they saw nothing—save for a thin red blur at the very corner of their eyes.

Within the shadow of her partner’s cowl, Weiss tracked their positions on her scroll. The distance from her and the target was closing.

“Right at this corridor. Left, and then, another left,” she instructed along the way.

While they traversed the labyrinth with ease, Weiss couldn’t help but be impressed with Ruby’s abilities. She had studied them, of course. Trained through multiple sessions and simulations in order to familiarize. But experiencing it in a live situation, with the sensation of being spirited away, was something else entirely.

She could only wonder what else her partner was capable of…

And also, whether their fight at Beacon was actually Ruby’s version of “serious” or not.

But that was a thought for another time.

“We’re here. Past the door on your right.”

On Weiss’s instruction, Ruby’s cloak swept through the bottom slit of a locked door. The red cloth exploded in size for a brief moment. And then, like drawing a curtain, their two figures revealed on landing. A reappearance similar to the end of a magic trick.

Before them, was their target. A woman facing a bloodied-up man, tied in chains and hanging from the ceiling. Her gold gauntlets dyed in crimson from the obvious use of physical torture.

“…Yang?” Ruby muttered with a hush. “What… are you—?”

“—Ember,” Weiss called to the target and stepped forward. “The timetable for your exfil has been moved up.”

“…I know,” Yang answered, without turning around. “I got the message.”

“Then, why didn’t you respond or meet us at any of the contact points?”

“Needed more time. I wasn’t done getting our info. That IS why you sent me down here in the first place, remember?”

“I told you, we have more urgent matters for pulling you out,” Weiss huffed. “…Did you get the relevant information?”

Yang lightly shoved the near-corpse of Tyrian, like a beaten-up punching bag. Him swinging helplessly, and dripping blood all over the floor brought her a small sense of joy.

“Part of the intel,” she answered. “He lost conscious midway through. Freakin’ pillowcase.”

“We need to go, now. It won’t be long until the prison systems detect an anomaly.”

“There’s still more I can get out of him. Can Scarlet take him with us?”

Ruby stared at her sister, who she barely recognized. A Yang so cold and callous, it made her question if this was really the same person she shared her childhood with.

“—Scarlet,” Weiss prompted beside her.

“No,” Ruby shook her head. “No, we can’t take him. I can only carry two other people in my cloak.”

“Hmph, well, that’s a bummer,” Yang scoffed.

With that, she buried one more fist into the Tyrian punching bag, before turning to leave. As she passed Weiss, the woman grabbed her arm.

“Was this really warranted?”

Yang shook the woman’s hand off her prosthetic.

“He pissed me off. So, yeah. He had it coming. Now, are we going, or what?”

She then, shouldered past Ruby, and out of the room.

…

“Focus on the task at hand,” Weiss answered the blank look Ruby was throwing her way. “The issue with Ember we can wait until later. Right now, the priority is to leave this place before—”

Just then, alarms began to sound. All lights in the prison shut off, except for the flashing of red strobes.

“—That. Happens.”

“Huh. I heard they added new motions sensors,” Yang commented.

“And you only thought to mention this NOW?”

“I said, ‘I heard’. Didn’t know if they were true. Maybe, I should’ve mentioned it if it meant stalling you from coming.”

The three maneuvered through the maze, and arrived at the center yard. They looked up to where Weiss and Ruby made entry, and saw a number of gates closing overhead.

“So much for going out the way we came,” Ruby squinted.

“When the prison shuts down, it gates off a section every seven floors,” Yang told them. “So, we’re looking at four in total.”

Weiss projected the prison’s holographic map on her scroll.

“Scarlet’s Semblance doesn’t allow us to ascend at that steep an angle, especially with those shields in the way. Which means, this is our only route.”

She indicated on the projection, an arrow that circled the circumference of the cylinder like an upward spiral.

“Uphill fight. WAY uphill…” Yang grimaced. “It’s always the hard way with you.”

“As if you aren’t used to it, by now,” Weiss replied. “How many HEIT charges do you have?”

“Five. Didn’t have to use a single one while I was down here. Good thing I saved them.”

“Yes. Considering, I can’t rely on my Semblance openly. No one is to know I was down here.”

“Right,” Yang chuckled, and tapped Weiss’s White Fang mask. “Cause your Glyphs basically broadcast who you are every time you use them…”

“I’ll provide us backup support. Scarlet will move us to each gate. Ember will breach. Are the assignments clear?”

“Crystal clear, Winter.”

The two then, turned to Ruby for a response.

“…Yeah. Alright.”

At that moment, smoke canisters were being fired all around them. The prisoners along the walls began choking and vomiting profusely.

“Oh, yeah,” Yang smirked. “Did I not mention in the intel I sent you, that in the case of a full lockdown, the prisoners in the other sections get beaten to shit by the prison guards…”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’,” Weiss rested a hand on her hip.

“BUT the prisoners on the lowest levels get teargassed THEN, get beaten to shit by prison guards.”

“Hmph. How barbaric…”

As another wave of canisters launched into their closer vicinity, Weiss drew a circle around them with her Myrtenaster. Extremely cold mist concentrated to snuff the fuse triggers within each, effectively disarming them. She then, conjured a thin layer of armor to protect her group’s skin and face.

“That should do until we escape this section.” Weiss nodded to her partner. “Scarlet.”

I wish she’d stop calling me that…

Ruby expanded her cloak once more to envelope Yang and Weiss. Following her leader’s direction, she whisked them through the labyrinthian circumference of the prison. Her wraith form weaved between the chaos of other prisoners and guards, under the cover of tear gas. She slipped through tight spaces that would stop any normal-sized person.

After flying through several floors and up some staircases, the team met their first real obstacle. They reached one of the four airtight section gates. But, as if presenting the exact solution to their problems, Yang launched from the cover of the crimson cape.

A large caliber round clicked into the firing chamber of her prosthetic. The trigger was pulled, and the afterburners lining her forearm and elbow, thrust with a piercing roar. Yang’s right punch rocketed her towards the gate.

The five guards lined up to guard the stairway hatch opened fire. Unbeknownst to them, each shot Yang absorbed fed into her Semblance, making her more powerful. Her hair ignited like a blazing sun, growing brighter and brighter with every ounce of damage converted into energy.

As soon as her fist made contact with the ceiling, a plume of hellfire erupted. The steel layer, which was several feet thick, warped through the point of impact like melted foil. And Yang’s burning gauntlet carried her through to the other side.

Where she landed, she ejected the spent shell of a bullet with a satisfying clink.

One gate down, three more to go. Plenty of HEIT to spare.

After a moment, Yang looked down the hole she created, curious to where her allies were. The fluttering of Ruby’s cloak revealed the severely singed guards caught in her wanton destruction. Her little sister glared up accusingly at her.

Yang only shrugged coolly, as if to say it couldn’t be helped.

“YAN—!”

“Scarlet!” Weiss stopped her partner, and applied a simple cold treatment to the guards’ burn wounds. “This isn’t the time nor the place. We need to keep moving.”

“Grr…!”

Again, the group proceeded to the next section gate the same way as before. There were more guards and prisoners this time. Parts in their ascension could not be slipped through without interference.

To make enough room, the three dashed out of Ruby’s cape to make quick work of those standing in their way. Yang peppered a number of vitals to crumple bodies to the ground. Weiss performed a quick succession of thrusts to disable a few limbs. And Ruby summoned a nest of thorned vines to bind and cut any who remained.

As they came to the next stairway hatch, Ruby rushed ahead of Yang to disable the guards. By the time the elder sibling was throwing her punch, the younger had drew the guards out of the blast radius. Another begrudging glare from Ruby towards her older sister followed.

“—Do you think you could use your Semblance without causing unwanted casualties?” Ruby confronted.

“—I could, but I won’t,” Yang narrowed her eyes back. “Sorry, teach.”

“—Rein it in! The both of you!” Weiss ordered. “If you have the energy to argue, save it for the rest of the climb up!”

“…”

“…”

Her two teammates gave her the silent stare for a moment, but nodded their acceptance eventually. Just as they were proceeding to the next floor, Weiss grasped Yang’s shoulder and spoke in her ear.

“Minimize the blast radius of your HEIT charges. I don’t want Scarlet wasting her Aura saving people we don’t need to.”

Yang seemed to sigh dismissively, but consented to the order all the same.

Weiss continued to navigate her team, issuing instructions as the situation changed floor by floor. Even without her Semblance, she was a force to be reckon with. In some cases, her swift movement dispatched marks before her other two teammates could react.

She kept a close eye on Ruby and Yang’s statuses. Managing their stamina and Aura reserves was vital. There were moments, when she had to take the task of clearing almost an entire floor on her own. But it was thanks to that efficiency and control, her team reached the last section gate.

The steel reinforced barrier burst like a miniature volcano, sending pieces of shrapnel everywhere.

As Yang shot through the shaft she made, she took a moment to deeply inhale the fresh night air. Her eyes scanned the open skies with a sense of wonderment. It was her first taste of freedom in a while, and she wanted to enjoy it.

Weiss and Ruby joined her shortly. Weiss immediately speaking into her scroll.

“Penny. We are ready for pickup. LZ is hot. I repeat…”

All around the three, a small army of prisoner workers painted them with laser sights from their guns.

“LZ is hot.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

In the darkness of her government office, a woman viewed the footage of one of Mistral’s prisons recent break outs. Her eyes scrutinized the video feed, replaying key frames on her terminal.

The assailants’ faces were hidden by White Fang masks. Hoods obscured their appearances, and the skills they displayed matched nothing in the Kingdom’s data banks. Also, the prisoner who escaped was catalogued under what was obviously a cover name.

“Ember Branwen…”

The woman played with how the name sounded on her lips.

“Hm. Things might be starting to move very quickly going forward.”

She brought up enhanced screenshots of the other two, and laid the three side by side. Even if the software couldn’t identify a match, and the perpetrators did well in hiding their true fighting styles, the woman could tell.

After all, she and her team studied them very closely once upon a time.

They could mismatch their movements as much as they liked, but the core of their techniques was still there. Their abilities much more developed than she had last seen, but there was no mistake.

The woman pressed a button on her desk to summon her team to the office.

Not a minute later, two figures entered.

“Did you need something, Cinder?” Emerald asked.

“Prepare to mobilize the Third Armada,” she ordered. “Mercury, I have a special job for you.”

“Who’s getting AMFed this time, boss?”

“Strictly force reconnaissance—for now. I need you and a squadron of the best of your family to infiltrate Vacuo.”

“So, we’re keeping this hush from Adam?”

“Better he remains unaware.”

“Anything I’m looking for specifically?”

“If my intuition serves me right, you’ll know when you see it.”

Emerald and Mercury stared at each other for a moment, before turning back to their leader.

“It’s happening, isn’t it?” Emerald questioned. “The End of Remnant…”

“Hm.” Cinder knitted her hands thoughtfully. “I’m not quite sure what to make of any of this yet. But there is one thing I am sure of…”

“The White Queen is making her moves.”

.

X  X X  X  X

.

It was late at night, when Team WISE returned to their covert base of operations on the island of Vytal.

Weiss was in her room, going over her notes and making future preparations for their next op, when a knock came at her door.

For a second, she thought of ignoring them.

“Don’t ignore me! I can hear you thinking about it!”

A long sigh escaped her, as she reluctantly operated the electronic panel. The entryway slid open on unlocking.

“Something I can help you with?”

“Just wanted to chat,” Yang grinned. “Can I come in?”

Weiss didn’t move, only continuing to glare up at the girl.

“You have an opinion you would like to share?”

“Hah…yeah.” Yang scratched the back of her head. “To be honest, I didn’t expect you to be the one to come get me, much less her.”

“Scarlet.”

“Sure. But seriously, I expected MY team to be the ones to break me out.”

“We are your team.”

“If you say so, Winter.”

The use of her code name, outside of operations, made her twitch. Weiss was going to yell at the woman, but knew that was exactly what Yang wanted. Instead, she controlled her temper, and decided to let her teammate say her piece.

“So, why’d you have to pull me out so quick?” Yang asked.

“There have been new developments.”

“Oh, yeah? Like, what?”

“…One of the Relics has been discovered.”

Yang’s eyes grew wide at that.

“Crap.”

“Yes. My thoughts exactly. Its location and who is in possession of it are unknown. But it is in transit.”

“Isn’t that a all-hands-on-deck kind of deal? Don’t tell me we’re going in this small?”

“We cannot stand to divert more personnel or make larger movements at this juncture. The quieter, the darker, the better. At least, for the time being.”

“…Still, did it have to be—Scarlet?”

“She is an invaluable asset to this team’s operations. We need her.”

“Are you sure, you just don’t mean you?”

Weiss locked Yang in a steely gaze.

“You only told her the bare minimum, right?” the other continued. “She doesn’t know anything about what you and I have done.”

“…No. Of course, not.”

“Hmph,” Yang scoffed. “And if she’s on the team, don’t tell me…”

“The next operation will be taking place in Vacuo.”

“…To get Adam, right?”

“No.”

“Arrrggghhh!!! Come ON, WEISS! Are we really going to recuit—”

“Yes. As you so accurately surmised, we will be proceeding to Vacuo to collect the last vital member of our team.”

Yang exhaled a long, groaning sigh of exaggerated lament. After a moment, she composed herself. The girl’s irises taking on a deathly kind of glint.

“—And, Adam? You read the info I got out of Tyrian, before you and your partner so rudely interrupted my interrogation.”

“…”

“You promised me this, Weiss.” Yang leaned her hands against the edges of the door frame. “Don’t tell me I don’t get to make that prick pay for what he did to me.”

“……What do you need?”

“I need MY team—the team that puts bodies in coffins.”

Weiss closed her eyes in thought, weighing the best choice actions versus potential fallouts.

“Team CFEN will be sorted for deployment,” she answered. “But only after Iris has been acquired. Just so you have your priorities in order.”

“Fine!” Yang banged her fist on the doorway. “We get Iris first. Then, I get Adam.”

“Agreed.”

The two teammates shared a tense silence. Yang still felt some blood rushing to her head, but was able to quiet the rage threatening to boil. Instead, she was struck with the urge to let out her pent-up stress.

“You know…I was in prison for a while. And a girl has needs.”

“…”

Seeing her leader stay silent, Yang could only grin in resignation. Just as she was about to make her way back to her room, Weiss stepped back from the door.

“Well? Are you coming in?”

Yang let a chuckle escape her.

“You sure? Ruby is here, after all. Bet you haven’t told her anything about our little arrangement.”

“…”

“…Get inside.”