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anticomedygarden · 9 months

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England's got a new queen! part 3

part one | ao3 link

"And here's the room where Nixon told his family he was gonna resign," June says, gesturing into the dark room.

"Lovely," Pez says brightly.

"It's also the room where Nancy Reagan found out Ronald Reagan was shot," Nora adds.

"Even better." He turns to June, and his light purple hair - the hair that he apparently dyed especially for this trip - catches the light. It looks good. "I trust I'm not staying in a room that has anything to do with either of those men?"

"Of course not," June assures him. "You're staying with me."

Pez raises an eyebrow. "Oh? And where are you staying?" he asks Nora.

"Alex's room." When the entire White House Trio is staying at the Residence, she has her own room, but when Alex isn't there, she moves everything in there to the left five degrees. She's up to 20, and he hasn't said anything.

It's exhilarating.

They finally reach June's room so Pez can dump his stuff, and June fires off more texts to Bea, Alex, and Henry in the hopes that something gets through. Nora isn't optimistic.

"Hey, are either of you hungry? It's just about lunchti-"

A blaring alarm pierces through the rest of June's words, and they all jump.

"That's the fire alarm," June says, brown eyes wide.

"Should we not be running?" Pez asks, calm demeanor visibly straining. Nora can't blame him. This was supposed to be safer than his apartment.

"What if it's a ploy to get us all outside and in one place?" June points out.

They all stare at each other, wasting possibly precious time. There's no one else in this part of the building at this time of day, so it's not like they can ask someone what to do.

Just then, the sound of firetrucks and other emergency vehicles makes itself known over the still blaring fire alarm, and suddenly, the whole situation seems a lot more real.

Nora does the math. "Run."

The next day, Henry and Alex don't even consider going back to the trails. They don't even decide what to do with their day until about 1 p.m., an hour after they get up.

They don't mean to stay in bed that long; they're legs just hurt really bad.

At the kitchen island, Henry looks up from his pancakes. "I was thinking we could go swimming today."

Alex nearly groans at the thought of more exercise. "Are you sure? Yesterday was a lot."

Henry nods. "Swimming is good for sore muscles, and there's a pond near here."

Oh god, Alex didn't even think of the walk to get there. It better not be too bad because Cash left a note before they got up that he was already on the trails.

Henry must sense his thoughts, because he hurries to say, "The pond isn't even a quarter mile from here."

Still not ideal, but, "That sounds fine."

Which is how, 30 minutes later, Alex is shucking off his shirt and shoes and jumping into glittering blue water, Henry right behind him.

When he resurfaces, Henry is right next to him, and Alex has the sudden urge to grab onto him and not let go.

Huh. Trauma has a funny way of showing itself, doesn't it? It's not like they haven't been back to the lake house since 2020 or that he can't be around water without getting anxious. In fact, they've mostly managed to work through a lot of the problems that had stemmed from that trip. Maybe it's the isolation leaving no distractions, or the annoyingly fresh air making his mind work faster that's bringing back the memories, or maybe it's the weird/bad feeling that still won't go away.

Whatever it is, he tries to reassure himself that Henry would never leave again, which he knows. That, and he literally can't leave, not without at least alerting Cash and making lots of noise.

Anyway, Alex doesn't even try to resist the urge and pounces on his boyfriend, pulling them both under. They struggle for a few minutes before popping back up for air. Henry may take a knee to the stomach, but Alex certainly can't be blamed under these conditions.

They wrestle for a while longer and then relax while treading water, and they even play a rather violent game of Marco Polo.

By the time they go back to the cabin, they're both pleasantly tired, and Alex can't even remember why he ever felt uneasy in the first place.

All three of them take off running toward the nearest staircase, Nora in the lead.

"Are you sure we shouldn't wait and make sure it's safe? I don't want to be assassinated," June shouts over the sirens and alarms.

"Better assassinated than burned to death by a fucking building fire!" Nora reasons, and is 100% right.

Pez breaks in. "I agree. Assassination means you made it."

"I want a third option!" June exclaims.

If only there was one.

It doesn't take long to get to an exit, and soon they're out on the back lawn along with various staffers.

Oh, and there's Zahra.

"What is going on?" June demands, ignoring the phone pressed to her ear.

Zahra holds up a finger, and they wait for her to finish her phone call.

"Mhm...yeah...yep, okay, love you, bye." She hangs up and faces them. "What do you want?"

"Hold on, was that Shaan?" Pez asks gleefully. He shares Alex's obsession with Shaan and Zahra, and, honestly, it's kinda hilarious. It's become somewhat of a norm for one of them to text the group chat with some stupid update like, "Zahra is reading The Catcher in the Rye," or, "Shaan is sexting Zahra again." Nora wouldn't say it's one of the reasons she gets up in the morning, but...it totally is.

Zahra ignores Pez and turns to June. Good choice. "What do you want?"

"What's going on?" June asks again.

Zahra holds her hands up in the air. "The fire alarm went off."

"Thanks, that's helpful," June deadpans. "Do you know anything else?"

Zahra rolls her eyes. "As of thirty seconds ago, everyone we know that was in the Residence is fine and on the front lawn."

They all breathe a sigh of relief. "Do we know if-"

Once again, June is cut off, this time by Zahra's phone.

"Hello?...Okay...yes, ma'am, they're with me...okay...great, we're on our way." She hangs up and shoves her phone in her pocket, and they wait for her to tell them what's going on. "Good news. There's no fire."

It sounds like good news, but Nora's mind immediately goes to murder. She asks, "Does that mean someone pulled the alarm on purpose, like, maybe to get us all outside in the same place?"

"No, a cook accidentally started a grease fire."

They all cheer. "Yay!"

So much for the murder theory, although they really can't rule it out yet. Still, though, Nora allows herself to relax. Just a little.

Of course, it has to end. All their phones buzz at the same time, and they glance at each other nervously.

It's a news update.

Pipe burst spotted at Buckingham Palace amidst Queen's sudden illness. Royal family remains silent.

She looks back up to see the others' worried faces.

It's practically official.

Something terrible is going on here.

When they get back to the cabin, Henry goes to shower, and Alex goes to start dinner, and he really means to. Really.

But, while he's looking through the cupboards for pots (of which there are none) and pans (of which there are nine), he happens to find a cupboard full of marshmallows, Hershey's bars, and graham crackers.

He can't be blamed if he starts building the fire instead of building dinner. Besides, Cash is right there with him.

"This is damn good," the bodyguard says as he stretches his legs out in front of him. The man somehow isn't deathly sore even after hiking all day. "Where'd you find this stuff?"

Alex grins. "In one of the cupboards. None of it's even expired yet."

"Nice."

A few minutes later, Henry comes out of the cabin followed closely by David who immediately runs up to Alex to beg for food. Alex breaks off a piece of graham cracker for him.

"I thought you were making dinner," Henry says.

Alex waves his marshmallow stick at him. "I did."

Henry just laughs.

Bea Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor is having an absolutely wonderful time. After all, her least favorite person in the world may finally be doing her place justice, Bea and her sister-in-law are bonding for once over the general horribleness of said least favourite person, and she is currently watching her older brother run around like a chicken with its head cut off as a burst pipe that could very well be an act of terror destroys a centuries old palace.

"Then there was this one time before our wedding when she asked me how the weight loss was going," Martha says, rolling her glass through her fingers. "Mind you, I was underweight at the time from stress and could barely keep down crackers."

Bea rolls her eyes in sympathy. She may not have been particularly fond of her brother's chosen person at first, but she has since learned that the woman has depth, particularly since she started working with charities dedicated to lessening the impact of eating disorders.

"That's right, Philip, perhaps some paper towels will fix it," Bea calls when he emerges from the flooded side again with a roll of paper towels tucked under an arm. Martha giggles beside her, mimosa in one hand.

"I was trying to save an antique rug," he snipes. "Besides, I don't see you helping."

"The only thing that can help right now are sandbags and the world's best plumber." She sips her water while Martha questions Philip on the pipe, but Bea imagines the situation is much the same as it was an hour ago when they first heard the boom.

See, the pipe didn't simply burst. It exploded in one of the sitting rooms, creating a small geyser and a massive hole in the wall. Probably millions of dollars worth of old furniture had been destroyed, but thankfully nothing particularly important to history. The bigger problem is that it was still leaking. With minimal staff, it had been up to them to take care of it, and Bea had gladly allowed Philip to take the reins.

Now, though, looking at his damp hair and sad little roll of paper towels, she feels completely justified. It really is a hilarious situation they've gotten into.

She tunes back into Philip and Martha's conversation just in time to hear, "Any news on the Queen?"

Philip fidgets a bit, a sign of deep discomfort in a man made to go through prince training. "Mum said she's getting worse."

Shyly, he looks down, and Bea revisits a thought she had when they were first made aware of Mary's sudden ailment.

Her brother probably isn't taking the news as well as Bea, and he may actually be hurting at the idea of her death.

She swallows her pride and says, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Philip waves her away, face pinched. "You don't have to pretend for me. I'll be fine."

Strangely, Bea believes him, and one look at Martha tells her her sister-in-law feels the same way.

Just then, Princess Catherine emerges from a corridor to the left looking forlorn.

It's still odd for Bea to see her mother being an active participant in anything, and she almost feels bad that this is one of things Catherine has to return to. Her mother has been taking it remarkably well, though, almost as if she had been waiting for it since getting back in the game. Bea is actually quite proud of her.

Back in the present, they all stand, snapping to attention.

"How is she?" Philip asks.

Catherine sighs. "Much the same."

"Is her blood work back yet?"

"No. It seems whatever lab we're using is running every test imaginable, or they just haven't figured it out and don't want to tell us."

Bea decides to break in. "What did you come out here to tell us, Mum?" She's been in with Gran almost this whole time; something must be up.

Catherine sighs again. "An entire PPO team called in sick."

There are three identical noises of shock and outrage, and Bea says, "Do you think it could be related?"

She hadn't really believed the murder theory, but if their security is now partially out, it may be time to consider it.

"I don't know," Catherine says carefully.

Before she can continue, Philip says, "Of course it is. The Queen is dying, security is understaffed, and no one can contact Henry. It can't be a coincidence anymore."

"Not so fast," Catherine says, holding up a hand. "All of the ones that called out were contacted and are indeed visibly sick."

Bea wonders what that means. Perhaps an inspector went to each individual house and waited for them to vomit.

"Is that proof, though?" Martha asks nervously. "Could they not have been nefariously exposed? It seems an awful coincidence that both security and Her Majesty end up like this at the same time."

Bea has to take a moment to appreciate her sister-in-law using the word 'nefariously' in the same breath as calling the Queen 'Her Majesty,' the same woman she had described as an 'arrogant little shithead' not five minutes ago.

Philip nods. "Yes, exactly. If anything, this is just further proof of a plot regardless of the intentions of our PPOs."

This time, Catherine doesn't disagree, and Bea knows that they are well and truly screwed.

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bluekayanite · 4 years

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(SU:F Theories) Pink Steven and Roses

Whew... I struggled a lot with this one, and not because I decided to tackle two subjects at once. XD; Thankfully, I managed to get it done, and BEFORE the next eps came out, so... Enjoy, if you will. =3

EDIT: Added another bit of speculation.

THE Rose is Probably Different

Granted, she obviously would be if she really were Pink Diamond. But as I believe there's more than enough room for doubt, I'm going to tackle the subject as if she were not. (A lot of this may be interesting in either case.)

I'm sure many have noticed by now that Rose has certain features that average Rose Quartzes do not - one that's normally associated with organic women.

(Incidentally, I wonder what the actual odds would be of just getting a Rose Quartz that looks virtually identical to Rose. XD; )

...I will point out that not only did Rose supposedly have the basic shape for them before she'd even met any organic women, but Pearl supposedly suggested that shape.

At any rate, the point is that she's a bit different than usual, and it may not be by choice. Along with her shape, Rose's coloring is different - whereas standard Rose Quartzes all have skin + hair in the reddish-purplish spectrum of "pink," the Rose has more human-like skin, much more in the yellow-orangish range...

In recaps and flashbacks, the narrative seems to be that Pink (more-or-less) swapped her hair and skin colors to achieve the "Rose" look.

(The colors aren't exact, but they're pretty close - particularly with the the Pink hair/Rose skin color.)

...but no clearly-lit shots (or, I'd say, even any shaded ones) of Pink really look like they have Rose's peach-coloring.

...In fact, the only time Pearl clearly remembers Rose having that kind of skin tone is when seeing Garnet's first fusion - otherwise, she looks pink.

One exception to definitely-Rose being peach-colored is in the "Nora" tape... but in that tape,

Greg

is more pinkish, too.

(It looks like they're both being tinted by one of those pink sunsets. =3)

Anyway... sidetracked... compelled to point out inconsistencies with the "Rose = Pink" thing... yadda yadda... While I don't believe that Rose was Pink Diamond, I'm really starting to think that she was specially made. In fact, while I don't think that Rose was the Pink Diamond... I think it's possible that she may have been made as some sort of Diamond-Quartz hybrid. I mean, in Pink's secret room, it looks like she may have been studying the pink stones from a few pieces of rock.

I think it's possible that those stones are from the same meteor/whatever that Pink drew - and specifically pointed out - in her drawing of the other Diamonds, from before she came around.

This said, I've been speculating that the meteor is what Pink may have originally come from (at least supposedly). So if she was studying the crystals that may have come from it, she may have been studying herself... and her composition. And if Pink was planning on making a Gem that shared her powers, it would be a good reason for her to do that.

Heck, it could explain why Rose's Gemstone is different from the other Rose Quartzes.

And even why Pink's form showed up during Rose's/Pink Steven's reformation - part of me even wonders if Pink used a small part of her own Stone, and then healed it.

It could even explain how Blue and Yellow could mistake Steven's aura for Pink's.

...it might conflict with the fact that Steven's aura in reunited has a complete lack of diamond-shapes in it, though. ^_^; (I'm still not ruling out that "recognizing" the aura would be all due to White meddling with their memories.)

At any rate, I've long figured that Pink probably put a lot of herself (maybe too much) into Rose, if not the Rose Quartzes in general. Though now I figure that there's a good chance that Rose may have been intentionally made differently - like how I suspect Amethyst was, except even more so. Maybe she was even made on Homeworld - it would explain why Rose refers to Homeworld as "home."

But most of all, it could explain why Steven is manifesting the kind of destructive powers that Pink apparently had... even if Rose never did.

The New Pink Steven

The main thing I've noticed with the new Pink Steven is that it's... he's? ...that this effect is mostly triggered by anger and frustration - maybe other manifestations of pain, at times. Another thing I've noticed is that said anger is justifiable - at least, in my opinion.

I mean, consider when we've seen the newer Pink Steven, so far:

Not allowing Jasper to talk bad about him (defending self-worth)

Being frustrated about Smokey not having enough time to save the rollercoaster riders (defending people)

Not being able to deal with the idea of Rose/Pink having hurt anybody (defending his emotional wellbeing)

Not allowing Aquamarine and Eyeball to just hurt people - especially his dad - without consequence (again, defending people - also, not allowing blatantly unethical behavior)

Not to say that there's no danger or that he never goes overboard... or loses control entirely. I mean, not only did he end up causing the Reef to malfunction...

(Closest pic I've got. -.-; )

...but he took out a chunk of the forest while fighting Jasper!

(Sadly, no pic on this - I'm a little low on cash, XFinity shows the wrong show right now, and CN only has the latest ep. -.-; And no, I'm not going the YT route or anything like that. >.<)

Still, it looks to me like Steven "powering up" might have to do with righteous anger. The kind of anger that really drives him to try and do something - especially something that has to do with protection. I mean, it doesn't trigger with the anger he's having when Bluebird is beating him up.

And it didn't trigger when he was ticked-off at Jasper for not wanting to join Little Homeschool.

(Again, no pic. -.-; )

So it can't be just any form of anger. There's gotta be some other criteria - like I mentioned, it could be that it has to be the kind of anger that comes from wanting to bring something good... or at least to try and protect something important.

If so, then this could also say something about Pink: it could be that she wasn't just "throwing tantrums left and right" just because she got angry at everything, but rather because she was prevented from doing things that would genuinely bring something good. It could be that - even if the use of these powers led to some destruction - the emotions behind them weren't inherently destructive. I'm not even ruling out that she didn't even throw tantrums that often, but that it's just another case of White altering memories. (Or if she did throw tantrums that often, White may have changed the memories about the reasons for them. XD; )

That said, if the basic trigger is "defending something important," then it is still possible that the powers could've been triggered for misplaced priorities: just because something was important to her doesn't necessarily mean that it was inherently a good thing. XD;

At any rate, there weren't any signs of that kind of power being triggered in the dream sequence of Jungle Moon, despite there obviously being tantrums involved.

...Though granted, one of my theories is that she hadn't grown into her powers, yet. XD;

Still, I'm not ruling out that the trigger for the powers is less about the reason for the anger, and more about the flavor of the anger. It might be exact enough that I'm not sure of the exact word for it, but so far I'm leaning toward something like "fury." XD;

The Moon Prisoner has Likely Seen Pink Steven by Now

I basically believe that the moon showing up is almost-always a sign that someone - who I believe to be Pink Diamond - is watching the scene through the Diamond Base orb, which she is trapped in.

The moon wasn't in the first two SU:F eps, but it was there for Volleyball.

And it was also at the start of Bluebird.

I also believe that the sky being pink will also indicate that the moon-prisoner is watching; the pinker, the more-intensely she's watching, and the sky is INCREDIBLY pink in Bluebird when Greg is being kidnapped.

And is like that through the point where Greg cuts himself free.

Interestingly, even before Steven catches Greg, the sky takes on more of an orange gradient (on the left) - and stays that way until the end of the ep.

Though it’s still largely pink.

I'll note that I noticed that they apparently used the same orange-pink sky for all the backgrounds from the point where Steven catches Greg, onward - not that I blame them; I can say from experience that doing backgrounds can take a LOT of work. (...but I still find it funny. XD)

Still, if they were intent on saving themselves work, then why change the sky at all? ;3 I would guess that the fact that they did change the sky is a sign that it was important. =3

In this case, I would guess that the moon-prisoner was worried about Greg, and relaxed a bit once she realized that he would be safe. But regardless, she continued to watch the whole fight.

If so, then she would've had to have seen Pink Steven fighting Aquamarine and Eyeball.

...but she probably wouldn't have seen his time-control powers, or his sonic scream (which, IIRC, would've been off-planet).

Basically, I've been wondering if Pink's not supposed to know just how much of these powers he's inherited. She may or may not suspect, but depending on what she sees, she might be left not knowing if Steven can do more with this than fly up and smash things.

(...Or wear hats. XDD)

At any rate, I think there's a good chance that she would know about how these powers work, and have some good advice on how to use them. ;3 83

Rose May Have Been Carrying a Secret Payload

...one that she didn't even know about.

This would be one of the ways that Rose would be special... one of the ones that I think she would probably not be proud of, if she knew about it.

In the movie, White had already picked up on a pinkish tinge.

It wasn't there at the end of Change Your Mind.

But in the SU:F opening, she looks REALLY pink. =O

Everyone else's color in that shot seems normal (for being shaded), so I think odds are good that White really is is going to look like that at some point.

But what would make her that way? I doubt she'd do it on purpose... What would've changed to make her that way?

Well, obviously, the biggest pink-(or Pink-)related thing to come into her life is Steven, and I really doubt that Steven would be doing something like this on purpose. XD; So what seems most likely to me is that it was something that Steven did without even knowing it.

I doubt it's simply an effect of gradual exposure to Steven, since 1) he's been spending most of his time on Earth, and 2) if that were the case - and Rose was Pink - I think it would've happened looooong ago, from exposure to Pink. XD So to me, it seems mostly likely to be a one-time thing that Pink put into Rose that would be activated on its own.

Like... a color-changing virus? =O

A logic bomb is a type of malware that will only get triggered under certain circumstances - for example, "on this date, activate a virus" or "if employee X is fired, erase all employee info." I think that Rose was made with a type of logic bomb, just in case White tried anything funny - like, trying to turn Rose into a replacement for Pink.

If so, then it is both kind of amazing that Pink would have that kind of foresight, and saddening that she would think it necessary to prepare for something like that. It would mean that she knew (or at least suspected) that White was the kind to try something like that.

I will note that one of the things about a logic bomb is that, if the conditions for triggering it never happen, then the "bomb" never goes off - if Rose really was made with such a bomb, then it's possible that Pink put it in there with the hopes that it would never be triggered. If White would prove herself, then she would never get hit with the punishment. But if White did do the worst... well, Pink probably figured it was better not to risk it.

One of those "Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it" sort of things. ^_^;

It's also possible that the color-change is meant for more than just punishment, payback, or exposure: it could be meant as a lesson in empathy, to give White an idea of what it feels like to be "wrong" - and/or treated as such.

EDIT: I also think it’s possible that it could be for learning empathy for what it’s like to have a change forced onto you by someone. (Have I mentioned that I believe that White’s been using mind-control?)

Another idea is that Pink may have done it in the hopes that, if anything did happen to her, it could prompt others to try and find out what had really happened - maybe even find her, if White decided not to break her. XD; (Or heal her, if White did. ^_^; )

Though that said, so far, the effects seem to be fairly harmless... and yet not. ^_^; At the very least, the sudden saturation would be embarrassing for the "White" Diamond. Though even if the change itself is harmless, it could have MASSIVE implications for her position as the "flawless" ruler - at any rate, it could be a very good way to catch and expose her red-handed (or pink-handed, as the case may be).

I do wonder if the malware could've affected more than just White's color (though even just THAT could make for a good payback-prank) - maybe it affected her powers, or even her feelings in some way... big or small. Maybe it's the reason why she was even capable of blushing the way she did.

Maybe White's words were more accurate than we thought. XD;

As for what would've triggered the virus... It could be a number of things. I think the most likely one would be "trying to insert being-Pink-related memories/personality traits," but still, there's no rule that says that a logic bomb can only have one trigger... a programmer could put in as many triggers as they want, really. Pink could have put in any number of possible conditions for White to start getting pink-ified. So while I do think it most likely that White using her powers in certain ways would be the trigger(s), it could've also been triggered by, say, White physically handling Rose's Gemstone... or even removing it from whoever Rose's child would be!

(...I could provide visual examples, but I'd rather not in this case. ^_^; )

Heck, she might've even included things completely unrelated to what panned out, just in case a number of different scenarios happened. XD;

Though that said... it's also not impossible that the trigger was also made to remove any inserted memories/traits of the being-Pink-related sort. ...But not restore any lost ones. Which could explain - among other things - the comment about Pink being "gone."

... (RIP Rose. ='( )

...But yeah. All things considered, it looks most likely to me that the idea was to try and bring things to light should White ever try to replace Pink. If anything, maybe that'll lead to the truth getting out, as well as the true Pink.

(And maybe we could get some laughs along the way about White's new look - as well as what to call her. X3)

#su:f theories #su:f #steven universe: future #pink steven #rose quartz wasn't pink diamond #white diamond's mind control #theories

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valkyrieelysia18 · 6 years

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My RWBY Volume 6(and beyond) Wish List

Hello everyone! Sorry to both my Tumblr followers and any who might read my stories. My personal laptop has technical issues and I’m currently doing everything on the home computer. Added to that I do have a college class I have to do work for. Anyway, I decided to do something smaller for this post.

RWBY Volume 5 wrapped up quite a while ago and it was....something. Seriously guys, I’m enjoying reading the fan fiction than I am watching the actual show. Now Miles and Kerry have responded that they are looking at the fans’ responses and are moving with that going forward, but that still doesn’t change what they’ve already done. So, I decided to throw in my two cents, or rather ten points, of what I want to see in Volume 6 and beyond. These aren’t ranked in any particular order and keep in mind these are my personal opinions. If you agree that’s great, if you don’t be polite about it. Common courtesy, you know.

1. Show, Don’t Tell; Less Exposition Please.

One of the biggest complaints of Volume 5 is the overabundance exposition, often with the same information being repeated with little to no visuals to go along with it. I understand exposition is often necessary, but in a visual medium it’s incredibly important to show these things. Show us Faunus discrimination in Remnant, show us the mines of Mantle and how dangerous it can be, show us the devastation of the battles of The Great War and how it still affects the present. DON’T just talk about it and leave it at that.

2. More Care in the Writing and the Fight Scenes

You know it makes sense that I would complain the former, but the fact that I’m complaining about the later is kind of a bad sign. Anyone who has read my writing would know that I SUCK at writing fight scenes and the fact that I find the Battle of Haven’s fights terrible is just sad. I’m not asking for Monty levels of quality (that will never happen), just some more polish and improvement. Also, with Rooster Teeth’s other shows and its new ones, I’m concerned over whether Miles and Kerry can really give RWBY the quality care it deserves. Perhaps they should think getting a professional fantasy/sci-fi writer to help.

3. More World Building

Whatever you feel about Volume 4, the one thing it definitely has over 5 is the world building and that was not just confined to the World of Remnant videos. We were introduced to Menagerie, saw the upper crust of Atlesian society, touched on religion, and we saw how life was like outside of the kingdoms. As for World of Remnant, I actually rather like the series as its a way to give exposition without grounding the show to a halt to tell it to the audience. Volume 5.....not so much. Which is a same because the city of Mistral could have been amazing location to explore and interact with so a lot of missed potential there. For example, most of Mistral we’ve seen seems to based on Central Asia, but Pyrrha was more Greco Roman and explaining this would have made Mistral a bit more complex than Vale is. Or perhaps the group could have taken a break from training to do some shopping, sightseeing, or take in a show and perhaps run into some familiar faces like the rest of team SSSN or team ABRN. It would have allowed us to care more about this city and be more concerned with protecting it. I really didn't care so much about the city so it was hard for me to really get invested in the Battle of Haven. Any good fantasy writer will tell you that your world is just as much of a character as its inhabitants.

4. Give Ruby More to Do

For being the main character, Ruby really hasn’t been doing much to live up to the role. In fact, her adversaries have been getting more development than she has. I mean, she got a small scene with her and Oscar discussing how she’s handling losing Pyrrha and Penny, but we need more than that. She needs to do more than simply going along with things. Have her develop her silver eye powers, let her learn more about her mother and her past role in the conflict, put her in a situation that makes her question if what she is doing is the right thing to do. While the show is technically named after the team, that doesn't change the fact that Ruby is the focus character and needs some serious development.

5. More Oscar, Less Ozcar

Another complaint I have with Volume 5 is how Oscar really wasn’t given much time to be himself bar that one scene with Ruby, mostly serving as Ozpin’s mouthpiece to the group. Which is a shame because it would have been great to see him interact with Jaune, Nora, and Ren. It would definitely allow Oscar to grow and be his own character that way, showing that while he and Ozpin may be like minded souls, they are not exactly the same and they won’t always agree. I’m looking forward to how the aftermath of Ozpin taking over against the farm boy’s will is handled. That is not something that can be just brushed aside and never talk about again.

6. No Backtracking on Renora

For all the issues with shipping in the RWBY community, no one can deny that Ren and Nora are absolutely adorable together. Which is why I want to see their relationship continue to grow and develop. Have them go on dates so they can just be cute or offer relationship advice to the other members with their own possible developing romances Though another thing I feel that needs to be touched on with these two is Nora’s backstory. It was noted in the flashback in Kuroyuri that Nora didn’t look like a native of the town, so how did she get there? Was she orphaned or abandoned? How did she go from a scared quiet girl to the exuberant pancake loving hammer wielder we know today? Also, if the two were originally from Anima, why did they enroll at Beacon? All good questions I hope will be answered in due time.

7. Jaune and Ozpin Talk

This is a talk that feels like a long time coming. While Cinder may have been the one to kill Pyrrha, it’s very clear that Jaune still holds Ozpin and his inner circle partly responsible for his partner's death. As a result, I feel like a talk with him and Ozpin would be a good way for Jaune to be able to vent his frustrations in a much more healthy manner as well as allow him to understand what really happened those last few days before everything went wrong. Perhaps it would lead to a talk on how a leader’s duty is to help as many people as he can and sometimes that means sacrifice. I think that’s a good lesson for our blond to learn as he is the tactician and semi healer of the group. The other thing that I feel needs to be addressed is Jaune’s transcripts. I covered in a previous post on how there’s no way Ozpin didn’t know about it and this would be a great way to address why Ozpin let him into Beacon in the first place as well as reassure that what happened with Pyrrha was not his fault.

8. More on the Schnees

Since we’re going back to Atlas, I’d like to see more from Weiss’ family. Whitely could use some more development beyond “Jacques’ faithful little follower” and I would really like to see their mother make an appearance. Heck, it would nice to hear more about Nicolaus. Winter as a subordinate of Ironwood would play a role in the affairs in Atlas as would Jacques’ position as the head of the Schnee Dust Company. If anything, I would like to see Jacques realize that there is nothing he can do to make Weiss fall in line and have his actions come back to bite him. HARD.

9. More on the Villains

The thing about villains is that it is just as important to develop them as the heroes. While RWBY’s villains have been very good at messing things up for our good guys, their motivations haven’t been as well fleshed out. Now some villains like Roman Torchwick and Tyrion which are delightfully evil don’t need much of an explanation for why they do what they do, but the others do need some development. I have no problem with Hazel’s motivation being a personal one so much as it being a WEAK personal motivation. I mean, a training accident at Beacon doesn’t really translate to it being completely Ozpin’s fault and him being “evil.” I really hope there’s more to this situation. And then there’s the other questions to answer. What led to Watts being “disgraced?” Why did Cinder have such a fixation on power, acting as if she deserved said power by right? What does Adam want to make humanity pay for? Above all, what happened between Salem and Ozpin to cause this all in the first place?

10. Team STRQ

There’s so much on this team that I really want to know. What were their dynamics back before Raven left and everything went wrong? What were Tai and Summer’s weapons? Their semblances? What’s Tai’s feelings on all of this? If Team STRQ was what interested Ozpin, what was Tai’s role? What was the nature of Tai and Summer’s relationship? Is Ruby really just like Summer or are there some notable differences that haven‘t been discussed yet? I feel like we’re due for a Team STRQ flashback some time in the future.

Well, that’s all for me. If you got anything add, don’t be shy. Next time, I hope to do a drabble that involves a head canon of mine.

#rwby #wish list #please Rooster Teeth

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flowerfan2 · 7 years

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Winds of Change - Chapter 1

Stucky, 46k total, A03. Post CACW. This fic is fully written, and will post 2-3x a week.

Bucky’s still got some healing to do after the doctors in Wakanda rouse him from sleep and make sure there are no more deadly triggers lurking in his brain. He decides it should happen where he can have some peace and quiet, as well as a little distance from Steve’s overwhelming presence. When he sees an ad for a “Winter Caretaker” he takes the job, but it turns out to be not so peaceful after all.

Or, how Bucky realized that while he still needs to heal, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for him and Steve to do it together.

Chapter 1

“You may stay here in Wakanda as my guest for as long as you like,” T’Challa says, once the doctors have roused Bucky from sleep and made sure there are no more deadly triggers lurking in his brain, “but I did promise Steve Rogers that I would keep him apprised of your status.” The “it’s only fair” is left unsaid, but Bucky hears it anyway.

“Let me tell him,” Bucky replies. Now, several hours later, he is in his room, staring at the computer screen, trying to figure out what to say.

It has been two weeks since he came out of cryo, two weeks full of poking and prodding both mental and physical, two weeks when the thought of Steve has never been far from his mind. T’Challa has gone along with Bucky’s wish that he be allowed to get through this process without anyone else knowing that he was awake. He wanted to make sure it would work, first; that he would no longer be able to be used as a weapon against his will. Now that part of him, at least, has been healed. He can’t put this off any longer.

Bucky opens up a new email, too chicken to call Steve on the phone like a grown-up.

“Dear Steve,” he begins, the vibranium fingers of his new left hand clicking on the keys as he goes.

It’s me. I’m okay, according to the docs here. T’Challa can fill you in. I’ve given him permission to give you the details, if you want them.

I need to thank you for everything you did for me. I hear things are better between you and the Avengers, which is good. I didn’t mean to come between you and your friends.

I know you are going to want to see me, but maybe wait a while? I need some time to-

Bucky gets stuck on this part. He doesn’t know what excuse to give Steve for why he can’t see him right now. Part of him would love to let Steve drop everything and come get him, as he knows full well he’d do. He thinks about the way Steve smiles at him. How he claps Bucky on the back, eyes full of affection. It would be so easy to let Steve shepherd him around, take care of him through whatever confusion is still haunting his abused mind. But the thought doesn’t sit right with him.

It’s not only that he thinks he isn’t worth Steve’s time, although there’s some of that in the mix. It’s something he can’t really put his finger on. Whatever it is, he knows he doesn’t want to be swept up into Steve’s orbit, not right now. He just wants some peace and quiet.

This is the first time he’s woken from cryo without pain, without more than a momentary twinge of fear. Without someone giving him orders. He’s not sure what he wants, but he wants to be the one to figure it out.

He returns to the email, deletes a few words, and finishes writing. He reads over the end of the message, changes the closing a few times (he finally settles on “yours always, Bucky”) and then, his stomach clenching, hits send.

There’s a shower in his suite nicer than any he’s ever had at his disposal before, so he shuts himself in there, using every ridiculous bath product in the room. He tells himself not to expect an immediate reply back from Steve, he’s probably asleep or out on a mission, or busy with his friends. And even if Steve reads his email right away, he might be too annoyed to write back. Or, worse, he might tell Bucky to go fuck himself.

Bucky drags out his shower for as long as he can, cleaning every nook and cranny. He dries himself carefully, slathering lotion on his body, even the tender skin where his metal arm attaches to his shoulder. Leaving the bathroom he pulls on some of the white lounge pants everyone seems to wear for comfort here, and gets into bed. Filled with trepidation, he opens the laptop and checks his email.

There are two messages, both from Steve.

The first is heartbreakingly short:

Dear Bucky,

I understand.

Steve

The next message was sent fifteen minutes later, and Bucky sighs with relief as he reads it.

Dear Bucky,

I can be an ass sometimes, but you know that already. Natasha told me that if I didn’t send you a better message immediately she was going to beat the crap out of me, and she wasn’t kidding (she says hi, by the way).

I’m so very grateful that you are alive. I can’t pretend not to be disappointed that you won’t let me come see you, but that’s just selfish of me. When I stop to think about how lucky I am that you are out there somewhere in the world, well, that will have to be good enough for now. (You do want to see me again at some point, just not right this minute, right?)

I have so many ideas, so many things I’d like to do with you. But they can wait.

Please keep in touch. I miss you, but I swear I’ll respect your wishes no matter what they are.

Yours always,

Steve

Bucky reads over the message a few times, a lump forming in his throat. Steve is so sweet. It’s not as if he really believed Steve would shut him out. He trusts Steve more than anyone, but then again he has little idea what’s been going on in Steve’s life since he’s been in cryo.

He hates that he made Steve feel sad, even a little bit. Logically he knew it would happen, although it’s hard for Bucky to fathom why he means so much to Steve after everything Bucky did as the Winter Soldier. But Steve’s question about whether he ever wants to see him again is honest, and he’s glad he asked it, even if it stings.

He hadn’t planned on getting into a back and forth conversation with Steve, but there’s no doubt in his mind about the answer to his question.

Steve,

Punk. Of course I want to see you again. Now go off and save the world and let a fella get some sleep.

Bucky

He closes the laptop and sets it off to the side of his ridiculously big bed. Bucky knows Steve will respond, probably with a lighthearted joke, and he smiles in anticipation. He’ll save it for the morning, something to look forward to, before he starts on the gargantuan task of trying to decide what to do with his mess of a life.

*********

It takes Bucky almost two months to make plans. Wakanda is pleasant enough, but he doesn’t want to stay here permanently. For one, although T’Challa is unerringly polite and generous, he’s putting Bucky up out of some good Samaritan sense of obligation, not due to any actual knowledge of Bucky himself. And Bucky’s not always comfortable with how people look at him, knowing his history.

Mostly, he wants to go home.

He realizes this as he hikes one morning through the rainforest. There’s a clearing leading up to a little waterfall, and he stops and crouches down, splashing water on his face. It’s beautiful here, no question. People probably pay bundles of money to travel to places like this. But it doesn’t feel real.

Later that night, he starts looking for a job. Nothing fancy, nothing spooky. Nothing that requires him to speak any language other than the one he spoke as a kid.

Bucky knows he could return to government work – a guy named Phil Coulson offered him a spot in intelligence in whatever group has now taken SHIELD’s place – but he’s not really interested in that kind of thing right now. He’s free to do whatever he wants, and he can do it legally, too, thanks to a presidential pardon, a U.S. passport with his honest to god birthdate on it, and a bank account with seventy-something years of military back pay, which is quite a stack of cash.

(He tries not to think too hard about all the effort Steve and his friends went to while he was under, getting the mechanics of his life in order for him, not knowing when he’d wake up – or if he’d wake up. Yet another good deed he can’t repay.)

Sam Wilson had sent him some links to resources for veterans, and it’s one of those that leads him to the job opening. It’s titled “Winter Caretaker,” and he has to laugh at the fitting irony of it.

Winter caretaker needed for Martha’s Vineyard home. Must be willing to do routine maintenance, snow removal, water plants and care for three (very shy) cats. Car for local use, moped and bicycle provided.

It doesn’t pay much, but then Bucky really isn’t in this for the money. He does some quick research, confirming that Martha’s Vineyard is an island off the south coast of Massachusetts. It’s a popular summer destination, but its off-season population drops dramatically. Without overthinking it, he emails the owner.

Within a few days, it’s settled. Nora, the owner of the house, is an artist who seems to be a little paranoid about leaving her home unsupervised while she travels, and keeps throwing out more reasons why having someone stay there is such a good idea. Bucky is quick to agree with her, as he knows from way too much experience how easily an uninhabited building can be used for something unsavory, although he has his doubts about whether this particular location (“it’s kind of rural, actually,” Nora writes, “the island is bigger than people realize, it can take half an hour to drive from one end to the other”) is going to be in demand for criminal activity.

After Nora assures herself that Bucky is the right person for the job (“you won’t get scared out there by yourself, will you?” is Bucky’s favorite question so far) they plan to meet at the house in two weeks, and it’s done. He may not know where his life is going, but three (“really, they’re ridiculously shy”) cats are counting on him, so off he goes.

**********

Bucky may be many things, but he’s not stupid, and he knows full well that the fact that he is moving back to the U.S. is probably of interest to Steve. Except for a brief email exchange a few weeks ago which sounded disturbingly like something Bucky would have written to his old Aunt Ethel (“Hi Steve – just wanted to let you know I’m still doing fine. T’challa’s docs have tinkered with my arm a bit, it’s quieter now. Hope you are well. Yours always, Bucky.”) he hasn’t communicated with Steve. It would defeat the purpose, he thinks, although he’s not still clear on what the purpose is.

He misses Steve, though. It’s an ache that’s always there in his chest, and as he sits in his appointed suite, duffel packed with his few belongings, he lets himself feel it. He’s flying to Boston tomorrow (by way of Berlin, which makes him squirm with discomfort), then taking a bus to Woods Hole to catch the ferry to the island. It would be the easiest thing in the world to give Steve his flight information and meet up with him for a few hours, or even a few days.

But that’s not the plan, and for better or worse, he’s going to stick to the plan.

He starts typing out an email, biting his lip in concentration. Because not hiding, telling the truth when it matters, is also part of the plan, so he’s got to walk this middle ground, and it isn’t getting any easier.

Steve –

I’m coming back to the states. Please thank Sam for sending me all that info about jobs (and tell me honestly, is he pissed about me breaking his wings? Because I still feel terrible). I’ll keep you posted.

Yours always, Bucky

The response comes after he has gotten into bed, but he’s not anywhere near asleep.

Dear Bucky –

I’m really glad to hear you’re coming back, although I imagine T’Challa will miss your sparkling wit.

You ass, Bucky thinks, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Don’t worry about Sam. As soon as we all kissed and made up Tony built him a brand new set of wings, even better than the old ones. It helped make up for the fact that Tony never got a chance to examine your arm – he’s still convinced that the Russians had help, that there’s no way they could have pulled off something that impressive with their “pathetic lack of technology.” Don’t get me started on how he feels about you having a Wakandan engineered one now. He keeps trying to weasel an invitation from T’Challa but I guess the King has more important things on his mind than a play date with Tony Stark.

But seriously, Buck, thanks for telling me where you’ll be (although don’t think I didn’t notice that you actually didn’t give me much of a clue – it’s a mighty big country, Bucky). I’d love to see you, pal. Hopefully you know that. And if you ever need anything, anything at all, just call - wherever you are, I’ll be there (have you listened to James Taylor, or Carole King? Coulson put them on my list, they’re great. Call me a sap, if you want – everyone else does).

Yours always,

Steve

It doesn’t make Bucky as uncomfortable as he would have thought to know that Steve and his friends are talking about him. He’d actually gotten a long and rambling message from Tony, declaring a “permanent truce” and attaching a file of research on how his father may or may not have been involved with a plan to create more super soldiers. “I still can’t tell,” Tony’s message concluded, “what side my dad was on. But he was in control of his own mind. You weren’t.”

#stucky #bucky barnes #steve rogers #winds of change #captain america #marvel #my fic

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