173.1 Masterweaver, masterofgames
[-]
Parental Sacrifice
Ruby bit her lip as she walked over to the bench. "Hey, uh, Penny-"
"Oh, Ruby!" The gynoid gave her a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm sorry, I've just been looking over my loop memories."
"Penny, I-"
"It's a bit odd," Penny continued. "You know how sometimes the loop gives me unusual origins? This loop, my father had to give up part of his aura to make me. I mean, variants can be strange, but-"
"It's not a variant."
Penny froze, staring at her.
"We... we hit an expansion. Seventeen loops ago, for me, but this is the first one you've been Awake for..." Ruby sat down next to her. "There's a lot that happened-doctored footage of you during the massacre, Robyn stealing supplies from the tower project for Mantle, Nora yelling Ironwood down from declaring martial law... a couple other things, but this, I felt you needed to know this first."
"He..." Penny looked down at herself, a hand to her chest. "I thought... he actually...?"
"He... said that every time he rebuilt you, he had to give a little more. He was worried that he wouldn't-I mean, I offered to give some of mine, if it's needed, I can-"
"Is... is that why he can't walk?" Penny blinked, looking at her. "Ruby, am I... am I the reason he's dying?"
Ruby took her hands tightly. "Penny, no. Never, ever think like that. He is your father. He is giving this for you, because he loves you. That's what parents do, that's what family does. He..." She took a moment to consider her next words. "...maybe taking parts of his aura out has an adverse effect, yes. Or maybe he was just old already and thought he could afford to... well, whatever the case, it doesn't matter. Because he made that choice. Not you. He made that choice so you could exist. And... and it's his choice to make. You shouldn't feel guilty for something he did willingly."
"But... I only just recently, he only just now stabilized in the loops," Penny managed, her voice wavering. "I didn't... I can't-"
"I know. I..." Ruby took a breath, bringing the gynoid's knuckles to her lips. "Penny. If you need to spend time with him, I understand. You should. He's here now, and no matter how many loops we have, now is always precious. I know you don't want him to suffer for you, I know... I know you're scared about what expansions will bring."
"Ruby, I..." Penny swallowed. "I... I-"
She flung herself forward, wrapping Ruby in a tight hug and taking a shaking breath. Ruby held her close, running her fingers through her hair as she choked back a sob of her own.
Just then, Yang walked up to them, wearing lederhosen and clown shoes.
Nobody spoke for a moment.
"Is... this a bad time?" Yang hesitantly asked.
Ruby nodded. "Juuuuust a little bit, yeah. Come back in thirty, maybe forty minutes?"
"Fair enough."
"Also, do I even want to know?"
"Probably not, but I'm roping you into it anyway."
[-]
173.2 Masterweaver
[-]
Feathers, Frost, and Fortune
"So." Winter cleared her throat. "Qrow. I feel there is a matter we... need to discuss, which may have significant impact on our relationship going forward in the loops."
"This is about Clover, isn't it."
"He might be the instigating factor for this particular bout of introspection, yes."
Qrow sighed. "Winter, you know I would never-"
"We may need to consider an open relationship."
"...what?"
Winter folded her hands together formally. "Qrow, our... our relationship has never been normal. Quite aside from the physical age difference and our baseline antagonism, we started... this... mostly out of a sort of relief that somebody else was in the time loop. I don't regret what we grew into, don't get me wrong, but at the same... time..."
"...At the same time, we were friends with benefits for a long time," Qrow said. "And even when we decided to make it official, we still... have hangups."
"Fights."
"Every couple fights."
"Not... well. Every couple argues. We..." Winter pinched her brow. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that while we do have romantic rendezvous, we're still not... as interlocked..."
"Are you trying to convince me?" Qrow asked. "Or are you trying to convince yourself?"
"...A little bit of both, if I'm honest."
"Look, if you're not comfortable with the idea-"
"The idea itself I'm perfectly fine with," Winter admitted. "I mean, after that chibi expansion where you and Taiyang acted like an old married couple, I was a little... protective. But I'm looking at the thing with Clover and I'm... less so?"
"I don't understand."
"I don't either. Maybe it's because it's less abrupt, that he's... easing himself in, starting the relationship, instead of suddenly just happening like it did in that chibi loop." Winter shrugged. "And maybe it's because I know that baseline Qrow isn't dating baseline Winter."
"And maybe you have a crush on Clover yourself?"
Winter tilted her head thoughtfully. "...I wouldn't say crush. The military is my family, though. I am... more comfortable sharing you with Clover than I am sharing you with Taiyang."
Qrow smirked wryly. "What about Ironwood's extended chest bump?"
"Please do not flirt with my father figure."
"Heh. Well... Look, I don't know how I feel about Clover myself," Qrow admitted. "I mean as a looper. I've kinda... not been ignoring him, so much as trying to help out everyone else through their own issues with the expansions. He's nice to talk to, nice to look at, but... right now he's just eye candy. I could wind up with him maybe, if we decided to make an effort, but..." He shrugged.
"I see." Winter bit her lip. "How are we going to react if he starts dating you in baseline? Or if he starts looping?"
"...We'll deal with that when it comes."
"Right."
"...Course, if you want this to be an open relationship," Qrow mused, "I'd have to ask-you got your eyes on anybody else?"
Winter coughed. "There are some loops where my unawake self might have had a teenage tryst during my education at the academy with one, ahem, Robyn Hill..."
"Huh. You shoot high, don't you."
"I'll admit it's unlikely. But May Marigold has a cute face too."
"You've got a thing for people in rough clothes, huh?"
Winter sighed. "Yes... well. Ahem. So... us, open relationship...?"
"...Look, why don't we just get through this bout of expansions and talk about it afterward?"
"I suppose that's fair," Winter conceded. "I just... felt it best to address this before, ah..."
"Before you had a reason to become jealous and go on a rampage?"
"...Mmnnnnnyes."
"Yeah, I... didn't really know how to bring it up either," Qrow agreed.
The two of them sat quietly at the table.
"...So what if we don't tell the other loopers we had this conversation," Qrow suggested, "and pretend to be deliberately not talking about it so we can vent our actual awkward stress into sitcom shenanigans?"
"It says something about the nature of Yggdrasil that I am entirely on board with this plan." Winter nodded. "Shall I begin by staring pointedly at Clover whenever he enters the room?"
[-]
173.3 Masterweaver
[-]
The Multiverse (and the Internet) can be a very strange place
"Mnnnnrgmmmnnnngmmgnrmphmmrfmmmmm."
Weiss quirked an eyebrow.
"MRRrrmfnrnnfgmfnnnfrfm."
Weiss continued to allow her eyebrow to remain quirked.
Ruby, finally, lifted her head. "Tried going Floram three loops ago. Turned out Hanahaki was a thing."
"Ah," said Weiss. "Say no more, say no more. I'll leave you to your pillow grumbling."
"Thank you." Ruby buried her head back into her pillow. "MMMMMnnnrggmmmhrgmlrgmgrrrr."
[-]
173.4 Tetradrachm
[-]
[RWBY/Star Wars]
A Fine Addition to her Collection
Ruby ran one hand lovingly along the edge of one of the staggeringly massive docking bays of the Supremacy as the ship exited hyperspace above Kuat. This was her first Loop into the Branch since this expansion had brought this beautiful behemoth of a ship into existence and she was planning on taking full advantage. She'd killed Snoke a few days ago, used some Atlesian holographic tech to create a facsimile of the old creep, and immediately used it to order the ship back to one of the few docks in the galaxy that could hold it. As soon as it landed she'd get everyone to evacuate the ship, she'd Pocket it, and have a new crown jewel of her weapons museum.
"Oh, I don't think so," said a voice that seemed to come from all around her. Immediately in front of her, a blue shape materialized out of the Force itself—but not the one she expected.
"Hey! You used one of Obi-Wan's lines!" she accused him.
"It seemed fitting," Anakin Skywalker said, shrugging, "but I meant what I said. You're not Pocketing this ship today."
"Uh, why?"
He seemed to ponder the question deeply for a moment. "It'll bug you," he finally answered.
"Heck yeah it will!" she cried. "What kind of good reason is that?"
"I'm bored, and bugging you would be entertaining. Is already entertaining," he corrected himself.
"But...you're dead! Shouldn't you be, you know, at peace and everything?"
"Been there, done that a thousand times. Being at peace and one with the Force and all wears on you eventually. Now when I Wake Up dead I hang around and pester people. Man, this one time I haunted the Millennium Falcon for a dozen Loops straight. You shoulda seen the look on Han's face each time I showed up, it was great!"
"I get being bored, buuuuuuut I think I'll just Pocketthisshiprightnowinsteadandkickeverybodyoutlater!" she cried in rapidfire, swiping at the wall only for her hand to bounce off with a blue glow. "Hey!"
Anakin leveled her an impressively unimpressed look. "You really thought it'd be that easy?"
"I was hoping..." she admitted. Suddenly, an alarm light overhead started blaring red, and there was a sound of machinery clanking inside the walls. "Uh...what did you do?"
He grinned. "Just a slight ventilation malfunction, with a little Force push." Suddenly the whole hallway turned into a makeshift wind tunnel as massive fans descended from the ceiling and blew at her. She immediately tried and swarmed her chibis out and away, but the wind was too much, and worse the walls seemed to be coated in the Force to keep her from gaining any traction. Within a few moments every single one of her chibis was blown into a ventilation duct at the opposite end of the hallway, and from there shuffled through a series of tubes that all too soon ended with a direct ejection into space. As soon as she had left, the entire ship glowed with the Force and then vanished into hyperspace.
"May the Force be with you," Anakin's voice taunted her in the void.
"Nooooooooooooooooo!"
[-]
173.5 Shimmer712
[-]
Unfair and Jealous
"Whoa!" Clover yelped, diving to one side as the glowing form swiped at him. He vaguely wondered what sort of Grimm it was. It didn't look like anything from any reports he had read, never mind actually encountered.
Winter followed up with a slash from her sword, a glowing armoured form flanking him as she attacked.
Clover evaded her sword but not the blow from the summon. "Oof!" He let the momentum roll him across the floor before slamming a hand on the ground and using the momentum to slide into a crouching position with ease.
Winter's eyes narrowed and she started calling forth another summon. One that looked big. Clover tensed, ready to move.
Gleaming white wings unfolded and revealed a draconic head. Clover narrowed his eyes, planning his next move. Wait for it to commit to an action, see how fast it was and then aim for its master.
"Specialist Schnee," a voice called across the room. "I need to have a word with you."
Winter blinked her eyes before shaking her head slightly, dismissing her summons and standing up straight. "Of course, sir," she responded.
General Ironwood nodded at her. "I'll see you in my office," he said before turning to Clover. "My apologies for the interruption." He turned and walked off briskly, Winter following him.
Clover stared after the two, feeling as though he had missed something.
"Winter, I'm sure certain developments in the expansions have been a bit of bother to you," James began.
"It's fine, sir," Winter interrupted.
"Winter…"
"Really, I'm fine," she reassured him with a faint smile
James sighed. "I will be bringing this up again," he warned her. "And I'll be talking about it with Qrow."
Winter nodded. "Understood," she said. "Is there anything else?"
James shook her head. "Not really," he said. "This loop, Fria is diabetic so keep that in mind when you see her."
Winter nodded. "Of course," she said. She turned and walked towards the door.
"Winter," James called from behind his desk.
Winter paused and looked over her shoulder. "What is it?" she asked.
"Please, don't hesitate to talk to me if something is bothering you," he told her.
Winter gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine," she insisted, before walking out the door.
James sighed once the door closed. It was obvious that Winter was not happy with the developments between Qrow and Clover in baseline. She kept glaring at the Ace-Ops captain, she had been picking at every possible flaw or mistake, even if things turned out well. And this loop, the first thing she did on Awakening after sending a Ping was track down Clover and ask him for a sparring match. A sparring match in which she had been bringing summons from other branches. Which was fine while she was sticking to lower-level ones. No harm in giving someone experience in fighting unfamiliar creatures since Salem could create new types of Grimm.
It was not fine when she had started to bring out a Bahamut summon.
"Maybe approaching Qrow would be a better option," the general muttered to himself.
Winter sighed as she leaned against the door to her quarters before crossing the room to sit on her bed.
She had to admit, privately, her match with Clover hadn't been entirely to fuel the shenanigans she and Qrow had going on regarding Clover.
"Jealous," she muttered. "I really should know better."
It wasn't that she hated Clover. He was kind, capable, and very nice on the eyes. Some of her more recent Hub Loops had her finding some nice, tasteful pictures of him with Qrow and she had to admit, the two of them made an attractive image, both together and separate. Which gave her some nice images to think about sometimes.
It was just… how many loops did it take for Qrow to start confiding in her? Not just about professional concerns like what Salem was up too but personal matters? How many years before Qrow was comfortable sharing pieces of himself with her? How many years, only knowing each other as a possible confidant regarding these endless repeats, did she and Qrow spend building the trust that Clover seemed to get so easily?
Clover already had Qrow sharing his semblance, which Ruby apparently hadn't known until Oniyuri, after the fight with Tyrian.
Winter groaned, tilting her head back. "It just doesn't seem fair," she complained to herself.
It would be so much easier, she decided, if everyone involved could just talk it out. But that wasn't an option, because only two of the three involved were looping. Clover wasn't. So while she and Qrow could sort things out between the two of them, they couldn't quite nail things down because they couldn't talk to Clover. Just work out a way to work around him.
"No more spars with Clover," she nodded to herself. "Not if I can get out of it." She paused. "Maybe some harmless pranks," she muttered. "Like leaving some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans in his room. Or just filling it with ping-pong balls."
[-]
173.6 Black Omochao
[-]
Roman Junior
"Well, this is a bit odd…" Roman Torchwick commented as he looked over the orange-haired girl who stood before him.
Roman 'Neo' Torchwick Jr. simply responded with a smirk and giggle, doing a twirl and flipping her hair.
Roman smirked back, crossing his arms. "I mean, this isn't the first time you've been my daughter in a Loop, biological or otherwise, but it usually doesn't come with a change in appearance…" He placed a hand over his eyes. "And what in the world was I thinking naming my daughter after myself?"
Neo shrugged, twirling her parasol around.
Roman smirked again. "You know what… I have an idea how we can spin this, but I'm going to need some hair dye."
Neo's smirk widened…
.
"Alright everyone, let's have some good, clean fun, try not to get too many people hurt when you get the dust," Roman commanded his goons as he lead them down the street, his daughter at his side. "We don't want Red to get too mad, now do we...?"
"Um… I guess, whatever that means…" The lead goon gave a questioning look towards his boss. "What's… um, with the new look…?"
Roman gave an amused smirk, slicking back his pink, white and brown hair. "What, don't like it? I thought it was time for my image to get an update is all."
Neo gave an evil smirk towards the goons, silently telling them what would happen should they have anything unpleasant to say about her father's new look…
"Uh…" the lead goon gulped, the others standing back and remaining silent, "It… looks great."
"That's what I thought," Roman smirked. "Come along Neo, expendables, let's get to work."
Neo giggled as she followed along.
"Wait… what did he call us?" one of the goons questioned blankly.
[-]
173.7 RandomRex6
[-]
Serious Boop
"I'm glad you agreed to talk."
"I couldn't in good conscience say 'no'."
Having found a rare moment of quiet, Nora had whisked Ren away to a private location. To most of the loopers, this wouldn't raise any eyebrows, but Ren saw through it. This wasn't about shenanigans. It was about the expansions.
"I'm worried, Ren," Nora admitted. "And not just about Atlas maybe falling, but..."
"You're worried about me," Ren finished.
"Yeah," the redhead replied. "Is that dumb?"
"You're a lot of things, but not dumb," Ren reassured her. "I'm... not the most in tune with my Baseline self. It's not as prominent as back in the Volume 4 expansions, but... he's... shutting down, I think. Emotionally."
"I just don't get it," Nora lamented.
"Again, it's not a problem for me, but, some people feel the best way to deal with a situation is to just operate based on reason and logic. Feelings... they get in the way of that."
"But that doesn't work!"
"Again, we know that," Ren explained, "I think Ironwood's dealing with the same problem."
"If I only had a heart..."
Nora's brief musical aside brought a smile to Ren's otherwise sullen visage. "Luckily you have enough for both of us. If you're ever stuck with baseline me, you're free to nudge him out of all that."
Nora began to ponder this. "Really...?" she asked with a wicked grin.
Ren grew panicked. "I said 'nudge', Nora."
Nora scoffed. "Fine. No pancake sloths. But I do have some ideas."
Ren smirked. "I look forward to hearing about them. Also..."
"Hmm?"
He took her hand in his. "I'm really proud of you. Your Baseline self... she's really grown."
Nora blushed. "What do you...?"
"Calling out Ironwood, me, looking for loopholes in Jinn's answers, seeing the writing on the wall for Bumblebee," Ren listed off, "I think you might be the wisest of us all."
Nora smiled, "'Bout time you figured it out."
They stayed in their private space for a while longer. There wasn't much more talking.
[-]
173.8 Shimmer712
[-]
Tinsel Itch
Clover scratched at himself. The specialist had not been amused to find tinsel covered all of his clothes excluding underwear. And by covered, he meant sewn in with tiny, tight stitches so he couldn't just pull the tinsel off. And it wasn't just his uniform. Everyone only had one set of clothes that wasn't tinsel free. He was the only one with no spares.
And to top it off, whoever was responsible had also hit the supplies so he couldn't just go and request a new uniform because there weren't any that were tinsel free!
And the tinsel was so brothers-damned itchy!
"Are you okay?" a voice asked curiously. Clover turned to see Qrow looking at him
"I'm fine," Clover assured, inwardly pouting at being caught scratching himself like a kid with a rash.
"I can't believe they got every uniform you have. Everyone else had a spare," Qrow commented, looking over his tinsel bedecked form.
"I can't either," Clover groaned. "Why am I the exception?"
Qrow shrugged and stepped forward to examine the uniform. Clover worked hard to keep the blush off of his face.
"Looks like it's easy enough to remove," Qrow remarked, studying the stitches. "Just time-consuming."
Clover sighed. "Think I could get a hand?" he asked hopefully.
Qrow shrugged. "Sure," he said. The pair went to the Ace-Op captain's room. Qrow raised an eyebrow. "I had figured you the sort who would keep your room tidy," he commented, looking at all the clothes on Clover's bed and the floor.
Clover winced. "In my defense, I spent a lot of time trying to find a shirt that was tinsel-free and by the time I gave up, there was only time to get dressed and go."
"If it makes you feel better, I've seen worse," Qrow told him. The huntsman plucked a shirt off the bed and sat down in one of Clover's chair. His hand slipped into his pocket and he pulled out a small leather case. Opening it he grabbed his quick-unpick and started pulling out the stitches.
"You have a sewing kit?" Clover asked.
"Just a simple one," Qrow said. "I can do basic patches and simple stuff like that but that's it."
"Oh, cool," Clover nodded. "So what's that thing called?"
Qrow paused and looked at him. "You know nothing about thread-work, not even the basics stuff I can do, do you?"
Clover winced. "Sorry?"
Qrow rolled his eyes, amused. "It's called a quick-unpick. It's used to unpick stitches, like this," he explained, gesturing to the uniform. "I've got a second one you can use."
The pair settled down to remove the tinsel from Clover's uniform.
"At least I don't have to wait for the people in laundry and requisitions to remove the tinsel in order to have something to wear," Clover muttered. "They were already swamped when I went to try and get an extra uniform from them."
"Pampered little soldier boy," Qrow teased. "Too used to having people assigned to specific jobs to do the chores yourself." He chuckled. "Although I would imagine they're very happy they don't have to go out and fight Grimm so I guess it's a fair trade," he added.
"Guess so," Clover agreed, unaware of blue eyes watching.
Winter sighed and put the mirror down. It was something she had picked up when she had replaced Bell in the Disney loops. It was one of those variations with multiple Disney Princess loops together so she still wasn't sure who the Anchor in that loop had been. Either Snow White or Ariel although before the loop ended, she had heard about China fending off an invasion so Mulan was a possibility too.
"I really should know better," she said to herself, looking at the mirror. She hesitated and pick up the mirror again, looking at the two men. They do look cute together, she admitted to herself, her expression softening. She had to admit, in Baseline, Clover was a good influence on Qrow. Baseline Qrow was developing a more healthy mental state. And they did seem to just click naturally.
"Which is my biggest issue with him, I guess," Winter muttered, still a bit resentful that she had Qrow had built what they had so slowly while Clover seemed to be taking a short cut.
In the mirror, Qrow laughed at something Clover said and Winter found herself smiling at the image of the two men.
Clover was a good person and if she had share or lose Qrow to someone, he was definitely one of the better options.
Winter wasn't going to drop her shenanigans though. She was having fun.
[-]
173.9 Shimmer712
[-]
A Simple Talk
"Hello, James," Taiyang greeted the general.
"Good afternoon, Tai," James responded.
"Taking some time off?" Taiyang asked.
"I guess," James chuckled to himself.
"Got any plans to Vytal Festival this loop?" the blond asked.
"I woke up after already bringing the troops here so I can't just send them back without causing a fuss," James pulled a face. "When I wake up early enough, I usually bring a much smaller force so that there isn't as much damage when Cinder hacks them while still assuring the council that I'm taking possible threats seriously."
"I guess it must be a delicate balancing act," Taiyang commented.
"Indeed," James nodded. The two sat in silence for a while.
"We really don't have much to do with each other, do we?" Taiyang mused. "I'm normally in Patch, you spend most of your time in Atlas. Heck, if we interact in baseline, it's only briefly while I'm getting Ruby and Yang after Beacon's Fall, and most of the time, the Loops have Qrow bringing them home to me instead of my going to get them."
"I wonder if my baseline self even knows your name," James muttered.
"Maybe I can manage to join Yang when she goes after Ruby one loop," Taiyang mused. "I mean, yeah I have my job but I can arrange for a Sabbatical for a year."
"And meet up with your ex-wife," James pointed out.
Taiyang pulled a face. "Good point. Wouldn't be too bad if she's Awake too but meeting up with Baseline Raven like that would be way too awkward," he said.
"I can imagine," James said dryly.
The two men looked over at the screen where Yang's match with Mercury was showing.
"Does Yang have any plans for Mercury this loop?" James asked curiously.
"She said that the easiest way to screw their plans is to just not attack and give him a dirty look instead," Taiyang shrugged. "Although she also added it's not as fun so maybe she is doing something with him."
"Or planning to wait until afterwards," James pointed out.
Taiyang paused. "Good point," he admitted. "Anything that happens in the match will have people looking at even if it's only for a little while but anything that happens well after has a much smaller connection to her that people can see so she's more likely to get away with it."
"And it gives her more flexibility instead of limiting her to things she can pull off in the ring so she has a wider range of ideas she can choose from," James mused.
"Of course, I wouldn't put it past her to just go dragon and spend a few hours chasing him just for fun," Taiyang commented.
"Is it a bad thing we approve of a teenage boy being tormented by an immortal time-traveler?" James wondered idly.
"A teenage boy who is an assassin and whose response to an invasion of Grimm is to film the whole thing for entertainment," Taiyang pointed. "I mean, I get he has a messed-up back story and sometimes, his father didn't just take his semblance but also took a piece of his soul but that is still pretty screwed up." He considered. "Although yeah, taking petty entertainment value in his suffering is a bit screwed up too."
"Such are the loops," James agreed.
[-]
173.10 SAXiao
[-]
Through the Other Side of the Looking Lens
[RWBY/LC]
"Ruby, where'd you get... that?" Yang was curious as to Ruby's latest weapon acquisition, even as the others toured some of her new collections added to her museum.
"Oh, this?" She smirked and held it up, the flintlock in one hand and the folding scythe in the other. "It's called Crimson Scar, and I got it while I was a mercenary someplace else."
The words of her being a mercenary drew some other attention, particularly from Qrow and Raven. "You, a mercenary? That seems a little hard to believe, if I may be honest," the Bandit Queen stated, a few others agreeing with her.
"Well, her story wasn't great to begin with... and being kept in a cell as a living battery didn't help her mental state too much, either." Nor did it do any good for mine, she intentionally left out - not that such a thing would've gotten past Weiss.
"A living battery? That's disgraceful," Pyrrha replied. "Which place could do such a thing?"
Ruby scratched her head while jogging through an eternity's worth of memories. "Someplace called... Lobotomy Company? Corporation? Something like that?"
"... not a pleasant place to be," Cinder added, knowing of the place herself. "Spent a Loop there as Scorched Girl. Had to get used to not walking around with a giant match impaled through me afterwards." She then turned around and backhanded Roman, who was about to reply surely with something filthy.
[-]
173.11 Shimmer712
[-]
We need to talk
James Ironwood looked at his notes. Through the loops he'd been Awake, he'd noticed certain abnormalities.
Tinsel covered uniforms. A room full of ping pong balls. An anonymous gift of candy that tend out to be Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. Someone rigging everything in a personal fridge to explode when opened. A shower running with honey instead of water. And several more incidents.
And all of these pranks were aimed at one person.
And there was also the same person Awake each time they occurred.
Thankfully, none of them had the potential to be dangerous like messing with Clover's weapon or slipping him spiked foods and drinks. But still…
It was obvious despite her claims otherwise, Winter was bothered by the developments between Clover and Qrow in baseline.
James huffed. And of course, any attempts to talk to her about it would have her deflecting and excusing herself.
Thankfully, Qrow was Awake this loop. It was fairly early, they were still in the middle of the Vytal Tournament but he could easily take the chance to talk to Qrow and ask him to do something about Winter's antics.
This was not looking promising, James decided.
"Look, I get that Winter has issues but she can work them herself," Qrow told him. "Besides, if there was a big issue, she would say something. She knows her limits."
Well, at least I know he has faith in her, James reflected.
"I'm glad to hear you trust her," James began.
"I should hope I trust her given everything," Qrow muttered.
"But I really believe you're underestimating how she feels about this," James finished.
"And I believe you underestimating Winter," Qrow responded before walking off.
James groaned. "So much for that," he muttered. "Maybe I should pull someone else in?"
Qrow shook his head. He knew that Winter pranking someone consistently wasn't really her normal, and he knew she was more bother by the whole thing with Clover than she let on. But he liked to think she wouldn't cross the line and that she would speak up if it got too much for her.
He hoped. She had seemed a bit anxious during some of the more recent meetups.
But for now, he'd wait and see. Winter had her pride. If it looked like it was getting too much, he'd talk to her. But for now, there was no harm in trusting her to know what she can and can't handle.
[-]
173.12 Shimmer712
[-]
A Quiet Hammock
Winter happily snuggled down in the hammock, listening to Qrow's heartbeat.
"This part of your Pocket is nice," she remarked out loud.
Qrow blinked down at her. "It's just a bunch of plants I stuck in randomly and left to their own devices," he pointed out.
"Yes, but they are lovely plants," she pointed out. "Like that one there," Winter gestured towards a tree glittering in the light. "Where did you find a diamond tree anyway?"
"Oh, looped into a fairy tale loop a while back," Qrow told her. "The one with the dancing princesses? That Cinderella girl was the Anchor. When I followed them underground, I slipped off, pocketed several trees that were away from the path then flew after them. Did that each of the three nights so I got a good number of them. Got more of the diamond ones than the gold and silver ones since they had different colored diamonds growing. And I think they crossbred and got even more colours growing."
"I see," Winter murmured, eyeing the forest around them. While she had her own share of plant life in her Pocket, she didn't have anything that could be called a forest. She tended to keep her Pocket neat and tidy whereas Qrow had sections where he didn't bother with organization. Like this forest. He let the trees grow wherever, resulting in a more natural beauty to the wilder parts of his Pocket.
That's not to say he didn't have any organization in his Pockets. He had some cabins, workshops, and gardens. Qrow just didn't keep his pockets as organized as her.
"How about you?" Qrow nudged her. "You loop into any fairy tales?"
Winter thought about it. "I looped in as the Snow Queen from Andersen's tales once," she said. "I picked up that ability to have magic snow animals as guards." Winter frowned. "Although, given they glow, it looks a lot like my summoning semblance."
Qrow blinked. "What, does that mean your fairy tale motif is the Snow Queen?" he asked. "The lady who just up and kidnapped a kid and was close to freezing him to death when his girlfriend rescued him?"
Winter pulled a face. "Ugh. I hope not." She shook her head. "Although I have pulled off the kidnapping thing before."
"Really?" Qrow arched an eyebrow. "Didn't know you were the criminal sort," he teased.
Winter lightly slapped him. "It's not like that," she scolded. "It's mostly getting Whitely away from Jacques."
"Mostly?" Qrow looked curious. "Who else did you grab?"
Winter smirked. "You."
"Me?"
Winter shrugged. "Occasional variant where you're still a kid living with the Bandit Tribe." She pulled a face. "There's usually at least neglect or emotional abuse going on so grabbing you was for the best."
"Fair enough," Qrow agreed.
Winter smirked at him. "Maybe one day I should just kidnap you for the fun of it," she suggested.
"Would it really be kidnapping if I go willingly?"
"Did I say it would be Awake you?"
Qrow chuckled. "Unawake me would be so confused why some random Atlas Specialist is looking to grab him. Especially if it's at the point he knows you're not on Salem's side."
Winter just laughed.
[-]
173.13 Masterweaver
[-]
It's just too easy
"So I heard team FNKI's going to be picked for the Vytal tournament," May said casually.
Robyn quirked a brow. "You mean the team with quote audacious and unprofessional attitudes unquote?"
"Yep, the troublemakers." May sliced open a sabyr with her staff. "I thought it was crazy too."
Robyn shot a manticore out of the air and sliced through a beowolf on her backswing. "Maybe ol' Ironwood is actually starting to loosen up."
"Sure. And maybe Weiss Schnee will start schmoozing with Menagerie nobility."
"It's more likely than you think!"
Robyn and May turned toward the new speaker, a red whirlwind of destruction that was scattering the stygian flesh of the Grimm leaking through the wall to the winds. It resolved into a small girl in a scarlet cape, casually leaning on a scythe twice as tall as she as she smiled up at them.
"Course, a lot of things are more likely than you think," she pointed out idly, brushing aside a lock of her blood-red hair. "Oh, but where are my manners! I'm Ruby Rose. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Hill!" She stuck out a hand with a grin.
Robyn glanced back at May, who shrugged helplessly, before giving the girl a once-over. Her smile seemed genuine-and very broad at that-but there was an odd gleam in the girl's silver eyes, one that wasn't quite as innocent as the rest of her face.
With a shrug, she took the girl's hand and shook it firmly. "Well, you're certainly a skilled huntress, pipsqueak." She tried to let go then, but found that Ruby's own hand was wrapped tightly around hers.
Ruby continued smiling, her eyes narrowing in challenge.
Robyn frowned for a moment, before rolling her eyes with a melodramatic sigh. "Alright, alright, one party trick." She wrapped her fingers back around Ruby's hand, triggering her semblance. "What do you want me to know?"
"I'm a billions-year-old multiversal traveller trapped in a time loop due to reality breaking," Ruby replied without missing a beat.
The aura covering their arms flashed green.
"...what?"
"And yes," Ruby added, "I am telling you this just to screw with your head."
The aura flashed green again.
"What?"
Ruby slipped her hand out of Robyn's grasp. "Catch up with you later! Toodles!" With a grin and a two-fingered salute, she rocketed off in a trail of rose petals.
"What?" Robyn said again.
"...Ooooooookay, that happened," May managed. "Uh..." She pulled out her scroll. "Hey Fiona? Can you be sure there's a beer or two waiting when we get back?"
"Sure? What's going on?"
"...some kid broke Robyn's brain."
[-]
173.14 Shimmer712
[-]
It's a Bet!
"Well, I can see Weiss being a sure bet," Winter nodded. "She has appointed herself as our psychologist and will probably trap me in a counseling session until she was satisfied I was fine. So naturally, she'll catch on."
"Actually, I meant that she was your sister and therefore would take personal interest in anything that might involve you like this thing with Clover," Qrow said, taking a sip of his slushy. "But you've got a good point too."
"Of course I do," Winter said primly, sticking her nose in the air before chuckling slightly and settling in a more normal position. "But why do you expect Ruby to figure it out?" she asked curiously. "
"Anchor, thus more opportunities to notice some plus, she can be weird about family so she'll definitely take interest regarding your antics towards Clover and investigate herself or just bug Weiss until she gets an answer," Qrow said matter of factly.
"Fair enough," Winter decided. "I think the general will figure it out too."
"Jimmy?" Qrow raised his eyebrow. "I dunno, Winter. He's pretty worried about how you're taking things. So he might not catch on."
Winter frowned. "I think Ironwood knows me well enough to figure out I'm playing up the jealousy bit."
"And I think he's too close to the whole thing and cares about you enough that his worry will stop him from realizing," Qrow responded.
Winter considered. "Not a bad reason for doubting him," she concluded. "So, we have a bet for him? I think he'll catch on and you don't?"
"Sounds about right," Qrow agreed, scribbling it down on the whiteboard. "What about Oz? He's spent enough time manipulating people's perceptions that he might figure it out."
Winter frowned, drumming her fingers. "I'm not sure. If it was you pulling the pranks and acting, I would say yes. But he and I aren't as close and don't spend as much time around each other so he could be fooled."
"So that's another bet?" Qrow asked. "You think he won't, I think he will?"
"Sure," Winter shrugged. Then frowned. "…Do you have any ideas for the stakes?"
Qrow considered. "A separate stake for each bet?" he suggested. "Like, say, I put one of my diamond trees up for the Ironwood bet but I can't do that for any of the other bets and have to use something else?"
"I think that would work," Winter agreed.
[-]
173.15 Shimmer712
[-]
Pokemon Gender Reveals
"How did you convince me to agree with this?" Qrow wondered.
"Shut up and watch the Pokemon movie with me," Raven told him. "Besides, aren't you curious about the Pokemon you looped in as?"
"Not really," Qrow said but dropped into a seat next to her.
They watched the movie, making comments.
"Oh look, it's Team Rocket chowing down," Raven noted when the trio appeared during the intro.
"I remember them."
"Wait, did we even run into them as Latios and Latias?" Raven asked.
"No, but that wasn't my first time looping into the Pokemon branches," Qrow shrugged. "I just didn't bother going out of my way to learn about most of the Pokemon, just the ones I ran into."
Raven rolled her eyes.
As the movie progressed, Qrow frowned. "Wait a minute," he muttered, staring at the screen intently. Raven watched him with a grin until he turned to her, eyes narrow.
"The one I replaced is normally a girl, isn't it?" he demanded. "That's why you were so amused!"
Raven burst out laughing. "Indeed she is," the bandit queen smirked. "And she gets a crush on Ash too!"
"Well, I can tell you that didn't happen when we were there. This is the real reason you wanted to watch the movie with me, isn't it?" Qrow huffed.
"Yep," Raven nodded with a wide grin.
Qrow childishly stuck his tongue out. Raven returned the gesture.
"We watching the rest?" Qrow wondered.
"Why not?" Raven asked.
With that, the twins settled down to watch the film.
[-]
173.16 Ryanidious
[-]
(RWBYxMiraculous)
A Miraculous Mantle Wake-Up
Marinette Woke Up in an unfamiliar situation, she was discussing running for a seat on some council with Rose with sheep ears for some reason. Who responded to her confusion with slight irritation. "You have wanted to run for the Atlas council seat to represent the people of Mantle ever since General Ironwood's embargo and recent closure of the boarders really started hurting them economically Marinette?" she explained.
Marinette's loop memories finally kicked in revealing she was on Remnant. "Oh this must be the new expansions the Remnant Loopers were talking about last time I came through here" she exclaimed to the Happy Huntresses who resembled her friends from Paris.
"What are you talking about?" they all confusedly exclaimed!
"Well, uh it's kind of complicated." She admitted before confidently exclaiming "But just know that my commitment to find justice is constant in whatever circumstance I find myself in!"
"While that's reassuring to hear it still doesn't explain anything!" the one that looked like Alya pointed out. The rest of them muttered their agreement.
"It starts with a tree called Yggdrasil…"
Marinette sat across from General Ironwood who seemed to be the only local Awake, with their drinks of choice in hand. "So looks like you finally got firm details in your newest expansion up here in Atlas," she said to the Headmaster of Atlas academy who nodded in response for her to continue. "Including the hopeful politician whom I am replacing for some reason known only to the tree."
"Yep, Robyn Hill. Quite the interesting character who is quite willing to do whatever she thinks will get the job done. I think we would get along in Baseline if our goals weren't opposed," he noted with a sip before continuing. "The only reason I can think of why is that you share the same voice Actress in the hub."
"I guess that makes sense," she replied.
"Speaking of expansions, how have yours been going?" he asked curiously.
"Well it's a long story…" she began.
After a while of chatting they decided to part ways and choose what to do for the rest of that loop before it ended in a few months. "I'll do my best to avert our baseline problems with what I can still do at this point," he told her as she gathered her possessions and the two headed for the airship docks to get her back down to Mantle "What are your own plans for the rest of this loop?"
"Well I plan to see how much good I can do in the role I've been placed in this time," she replied.
"You don't always have to, you know?"
"Yeah but I want to. Besides this is far from my first time around this branch and this whole expansion is brand new so I want to experience at least a version of it," she explained. "So, see you around this loop." She bid him farewell as she stepped onto the transport back down to below.
[-]
173.17 Shimmer712
[-]
Bloody Hands
Winter blinked as she Woke up, looking around her surroundings. She was in a cave somewhere. Not in Atlas, it was too warm for that. A glance down at herself showed she was in her Atlas uniform, although it was a bit tattered.
Winter frowned at the old. faded blood splatters across her shirt and covering most of her gloves. What…?
Winter paled as the loop memories hit. This loop, her unawake self had not been happy about Clover showing interest in Qrow and had reacted… badly.
As in murdered Clover badly. This loop, she was wanted for murder.
"What the hell, Yggdrasil?!" she shrieked. Yes, she had her issues regarding Clover and his interest in Qrow and the increasing likelihood they would be a baseline couple but she didn't want the man dead! Especially when the opportunity for murder was because he had noticed she was bothered about something and had wanted to talk to her in private and see if he could help.
Winter bared her teeth. In this loop, Clover had died simply for being a good person. There had been loops where her unawake self had been hostile towards Clover, even aggressive and violent but this took it to a new level. She stood up and marched to the cave mouth to glare at the sky.
"I get it," she snapped. "I have a problem with this whole…" She waved a hand. "…Thing…" Winter shook her head. "I already know that." She rubbed her temples. "But I'm not going to go this far. Ever. I know better. I mean, yeah, he'll be fine next loop, but that's not the point." She sighed. "I get that this is the worst way my jealousy can end up but it's not going to happen. I won't let it. And Qrow and the others? They won't either. So just stop rubbing it in my face."
Winter took a deep breath, threw one last glare at the sky and retreated into her Pocket. She didn't know if the outburst would help. In fact, she was inclined to think it wouldn't. But it did make her feel a bit better to vent.
[-]
173.18 Awesomedude17
[-]
That Weird Time Of Doing a Weird Thing Because Weird People are Weird, Weirdly
Weiss woke up surprisingly early and looked out into the cool night sky slowly entering dawn. She pondered what sort of things were going to happen once Remnant was done expanding and became complete.
That musing ended when she overheard a soft noise. She rushed inside and found a light emanating from the kitchen. She soon realized that this would turn out incredibly stupid and lo and behold.
"Ruby, why are up this early? It's four in the morning?"
Ruby turned around with full cheeks, her hand grasping shredded cheese.
"Nothing..." Ruby replied.
Weiss glanced at the cheese, and replied with, "Nothing?"
"Yep..."
"...You're buying the replacement cheese."
Ruby poured in annoyance.
[-]
173.19 Black Omochao
[-]
Sleeping Dogs lie, Wolves speak the truth…?
[Fairy Musketeers/RWBY]
"Robyn, I think we might have a problem…" Fiona spoke carefully as she approached her leader, who was preparing for their next supply truck raid.
"What?" Robyn Hill questioned, turning to the sheep faunus with a raised brow.
"This dog won't stop following me," Fiona said with an unsure expression, gesturing to the large, blue-and-white-furred 'dog' that stood only a short distance behind her, glancing around the area with intelligent eyes. "That might be an issue, wouldn't it…?"
Robyn let out an annoyed sigh, walking passed Fiona and looking down at the 'dog.' "Shoo," she waved her hand for the canine to leave.
The 'dog' remained firm, staring up at Robyn with narrowed eyes.
Robyn felt strangely uncomfortable with the animal's glare, waving her hand again. "Go on, shoo! Leave!"
The 'dog' kept staring, before it sat down, raising one of its front paws.
"Huh…?" Robyn blinked.
The canine gave a bark, holding its paw up towards Robyn.
"I… think it wants to shake…?" Fiona offered, looking between her leader and the furry creature with blank eyes.
"What the… this is getting ridiculous!" Robyn groaned, glaring at the 'dog.' "Get out of here! Go on!"
The offending animal remained, raising its paw again.
Silence filled the room, before the leader gave a loud sigh of defeat. "Fine! But you better leave after this!" Robyn Hill extended her hand, taking hold of the animal's paw.
The satisfied smirk came to the 'dog's' muzzle. "Thank you. That wasn't so hard, now was it?"
Both Robyn and Fiona froze with their eyes widening.
"Yes, yes; I talk, let's get that out of the way," the blue-furred canine chuckled. "I do suggest you activate your Semblance now, if you haven't already, because I have some more mind-blowers than that for you!" he nodded, before continuing. "Alright, so first of all; my name is Val–or Cain, if we're talking 'birth names,' but I prefer Val–I am in fact not a dog, but a wolf, or more specifically; a lycan-human hybrid. I can shift between the forms of a human, wolf, and anywhere in-between, but I prefer to remain in this full wolf form. You keeping up with me so far?"
Robyn and Fiona both remained silent, but the flashing of green indicated the Activation of Robyn's Semblance, and confirming Val's words as truth.
"…I'll take your lack of a response as signal to continue!" the wolf declared brazenly. "Anyway; I'm from another world; the magical one of two worlds that were once one, but was split into two by a god whom feared the potential of magic and science being used together, with the other world obviously being the science one. The fact that Remnant is a world with both science and magic is fascinating to me, but that's not important right now. What is important is that I am the adopted brother of the girlfriend of the robot girl you all think slaughtered innocent people and attacked you, while she was really only trying to protect you!"
Robyn seemed to be ready to give a sharp response to that in spite of all her shock, but the green flash of her Semblance once again going off caught her off-guard. "Y-You… you're really telling the truth!?"
"This is all too much to take in…" Fiona muttered, her ears drooping.
"And I'm not even done!" Val smirked again. "To continue; despite me technically being younger than my adopted younger sister, I am still an older brother, and inclined to help her out… even when it's not any of my business! But the main point of me showing up here and blowing your mind with all of this is to say; THINK THINGS THROUGH!"
Robyn flinched at the tone in the wolf's voice, releasing his paw before managing to glare at him. "What are you talking about? I've thought very– "
"NO!" Val nearly growled, his previously calm expression morphing animalistic snarl more expected of his physical form. "You obviously haven't thought things through, or you'd be questioning things like; why would Penny call out your name in warning if she was trying to attack you!? Why would she be surveying the surrounding area for threats when the lights came back on if she had just performed said acts of violence!? And if you really think Ironwood had somehow planned it; why in the world would he incriminate himself in a way that is so obvious, that it could only logically be a frame-up!?"
Robyn remained silent through the canine's questioning, though she did seem to be considering his words.
Fiona just looked between the two with an unsure, fearful expression.
Val sighed, shaking his head. "I mean… I'm sure some of those things must have at least crossed your mind, right…?" He let out a small chuckle, looking towards the ground. "Omph, I'm probably going to a get an earful if it gets out that I came here on my own, this really isn't my business… but; take it from someone who's led a rebellion against a tyrannical dictator multiple times; Ironwood's no Jed!"
"What… does that even mean?" Robyn questioned slowly.
Val blinked, scratching his ear with one of his front paws. "Oh, sorry; inside joke!" he held out the front paw again, inciting the huntress to use her Semblance once more.
Robyn seemed unsure if she even wanted to take the paw once more but decided to take him up on it.
"Jed is my half-brother–by blood only –whom hated humans to the point that he killed our father after he married a human and conceived me, taking over the lycan kingdom and undoing all our father had done to make the lycan be seen as more than monsters by the worlds' other races, and drove my mother and myself out of the kingdom." Val's eyes narrowed. "Of course, driving us out wasn't good enough for him, my existence was so offensive to him that he needed to hunt us down and burn the village we lived in to the ground in his attempt to kill us…" The lycan shook his head, letting out a calming breath. "And… that's all I'll say about that…"
A green flash again indicated the truth, Robyn and Fiona both grimaced.
"This is still a bit hard to believe, but… you have my sympathies," the lead huntress offered, releasing the paw and lowering to the wolf's eye level.
"Thank you, but the point I am making is; Jed was a monster, Ironwood is not," Val sighed, "I have been in shoes similar to Ironwood as well, and I have several friends from my own world whom would know the position even better. It is hard being the leader of a kingdom, a nation, or even a mere city. You have to make many tough decisions, you have to decide not only what will help in the immediate, but what will be best for the long-term. You don't always know whom you can trust…" Val spoke seriously, moving around the room, circling Robyn and Fiona briefly. "Do not jump to conclusions, Robyn Hill, do not think you understand the mind of a man whom feels he carries the world on his shoulders, and do not be manipulated by the deceptions of those that wish to bring chaos…"
Robyn seemed to be on guard in response to the wolf circling the room, standing up and speaking in a firm tone. "What exactly do you want me to do? What you say about Ironwood and his robot might be true, but he has still given us nothing! And you are not offering much more; did you come to this world only to fill my head with doubt, and to provide no true answers?"
"The answers are not mine to give, but I do not mean to simply confuse you, Robyn Hill," Val admitted, stepping back into the position in front of the two huntresses, eyeing them carefully. "I just want you to think about these factors, and maybe to reconsider your current view of the situation, and how you can go about getting those answers…" The wolf smirked. "And maybe a bit of revenge for the part you played in making my little sister's girlfriend upset, but who's to say?"
Robyn seemed annoyed with this response, letting out a small scoff, but nodded. "I'll take what you've said into consideration… alongside everything else about your appearance I need to think about. But for now; could you leave? I do have a mission to get to!"
"Very well, I have things to do as well," Val nodded, but before he exited, he turned his focus on Fiona, "Oh, and one more thing; you."
"M-Me…?" the sheep faunus questioned nervously.
"Yeah, this probably isn't likely, but I'd just like to say…" Val's expression suddenly turned vicious, showing razor-sharp fangs, and his eyes sharpening to those of a predator, "If it turns out that you are a 'wolf in sheep's clothing,' for lack of a better term, I will personally bring my wrath down on to you the first chance I get!"
"W-What!?" Fiona looked terrified by the way the wolf was looking at her.
Robyn moved into a defensive position in front of the faunus, "Hey! You can't just– "
"Bye!" Val waved with a paw, before he vanished from view.
Robyn and Fiona both stood, frozen like statues.
"Was… Was any of that real?" Fiona asked after a moment, a dazed expression on her face.
Robyn seemed unsure of how to answer, shaking her head, "Never mind that for now, we still have a supply truck to catch…"
.
"Alright, that's taken care of…" Val muttered to himself, standing atop one of the towers surrounding Atlas Academy, the wind blowing through his fur. "Good to get all that off my chest… but I really hope me sticking my nose into that doesn't get out," he shuddered a bit, "I doubt the locals aside from my sisters would take too kindly… and even then…" he shook that thought out of his head, "Putting that out of my mind for now, what else was I going to do today…" the wolf's ears twitched a bit as he thought, "… Oh right, there was that thing I'm gonna do with Blake!"
"Guys! There's a dog standing on one of the towers! Are any of you seeing this!?" Marrow shouted as he looked out one of the windows of Atlas Academy, motioning for his teammates to come over, only to blink in surprise when he looked out the window again, "Huh… where'd it go…?"
[-]
173.20 Shimmer712
[-]
Accidental Peep
Winter pulled out her magic mirror. Things had been a bit odd between Qrow and Clover this loop. She didn't know why but given how well the pair went together normally, she just wanted to make sure everything was alright.
Winter didn't believe that Baseline Clover was a traitor and double agent like Lionheart but maybe he was in this loop and that was why things were a bit off between the two men this loop. Admittedly, she had no idea what she would do if that was the case this loop. Winter wanted to avoid Qrow being hurt which may be a bit foolish since if Clover was a traitor this loop, it was unlikely he would be exposed before the loop ended. And besides, it wasn't her Qrow, the looper.
But she was still a bit protective regardless.
It was late so Clover was probably alone in his quarters. Given that an operative's quarters were their personal space and you did not go into someone's quarter's uninvited, it was pretty much guaranteed that he would be alone unless he had invited someone over. Making it the perfect time for a traitorous operative to make contact with the enemy. Straightening her back, Winter fixed her mirror with a glare and willed it to show Clover. If this loop's Clover was a traitor, she would deal with him, for both Qrow and baseline Clover. The mirror's surface shimmered and Clover's bedroom appeared. His very occupied bedroom.
Winter's eyes widened and she stared for several minutes before flushing and putting the mirror face down on her dresser
"Well, that would explain why things a bit different between them," she managed to get out. "I'm sure they're not that intimate in baseline at this point." She rubbed her bright red cheeks. It wasn't like she hadn't seen Qrow in such a state before. Branches, Winter had put him in such a state herself several times.
"Maybe it's the fact that someone else is responsible that has me flustered?" she mumbled. Which prompted her mind to focus on Clover. And his very nice arms. And…
Winter shook her head and resisted the urge to pick up the mirror and look at the image on the glass. The very nice image of…
Crack! Winter slapped herself.
"No. No peeping or violating their privacy. Bad Winter," she muttered. "People are not for your personal entertainment and it is bad to act like they are!" She Pocketed her mirror and went to settle in bed.
"Maybe I shouldn't have yelled at Yggdrasil over all the hostile-to-Clover loops..." she mumbled, closing her eyes. And tried to direct her mind away from certain thoughts.
[-]
173.21 Masterweaver
[-]
Hedging your Answers
On the one hand, Ruby supposed, the fact that expansions were not simply extending forward, but rather sideways and even backwards, was a sign of Yggdrasil's slow but growing recovery granting options that had not been possible earlier in the relative metatime of the loops. And for the most part, firmer timelines felt... not better. But not worse. More... fulfilling? She'd have to think on that.
But later.
The point was, overall having these little details fleshed out, even if it wasn't in a typical expansion, was something she liked. But sometimes the tree threw a heck of a curveball. And this...
She didn't even know what to think of this.
"And you're sure it's okay if I go through the garden," she asked again. "Even if I'm not a patient-"
"This is a place of healing," assured the woman walking with her. "Sometimes that means surgery, sometimes that means rest... some rests, longer than others. And sometimes, it means a walk alone." She adjusted her glasses with a knowing smile. "But you've walked this garden before, haven't you?"
"Yes," said Ruby. And then, "Well actually, no. It's-it's complicated and-"
"There are some youngsters who dare each other to steal flowers from this place," the woman mused, a knowing smile tugging at her lips. "Their perfume is intense, after all."
Ruby opened her mouth... and then shut it, quietly. "That's... a reasonable explanation you're offering, madam Xahn."
"Mmm. Well... a bush can have many flowers, after all. So long as it is kept alive." The woman gestured toward the entry of the hedge maze. "Perhaps this time, you will find new growth."
"...Perhaps." Ruby stepped forward, but glanced back at the woman for a moment. "So... any last moment cryptic words of wisdom?"
"Don't reuse needles," madam Xahn replied with a small grin.
"A-huh."
Bracing her shoulders, Ruby wandered into the garden. Would it be as she recalled? Unlikely... this was far earlier then when she had come in baseline, and none of the concerns of then existed now. But she was pursuing a different question, this time. Her self-worth was assured, after all, after everything she had been through...
Everything...
Her fingers trailed the green leaves on one side, rubbing against the petals of the flowers. Was it possible for her to just take one and inhale? No... no, forcing this, it wouldn't bring the answers she wanted. She had to wander...
Her footsteps
meandered through the odd hedges, turning
left and right as she came across each inter
section. There were the occasional dead ends, that set her turning back, and she kept herself
calm as she could
the point was to
wait.
Wait.
wait...
"I know you're there," she muttered. "I just... want to know what you are."
The bushes seemed taller... or perhaps she was shorter. Perhaps she was a child again... was she?
Something rustled in the bushes.
"Is that you?" she breathed. "Are you... are you here, physically?"
Her hand reached out, brushing aside the branches, and she found... a small nest, guarded by a red bird. It peered at her, warily, but did not move beyond that.
"I think I recognize you," Ruby managed. "You... gave me the bead? In baseline. What does that even mean? Are you-are you what I'm looking for, or just part of it?"
The bird looked at its nest for a moment, before taking off.
"Hey! Hey wait!" Ruby rushed after it, chasing it down the hedges of the maze-
-and only two minutes later, when it flew beyond her vision, did she realize she was thoroughly lost.
"Great." She huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Maybe this was a dumb idea. You're not going to tell me what you are, are you?"
"Why are you so interested in what I am?"
The voice was familiar, in the same way any voice in a dream would be familiar. It could have been her mother's, or her sister's, or her own... she recognized it, but couldn't figure out what it came from.
"Mayhap I am a spirit, mystical in origin," it whispered. "Maybe I am your own doubt, given form by the flower's scent. Perhaps I am the garden itself. It might be that I am one of the healers, whispering from just outside of vision. Or, somehow, this could all be a waking dream. You wish that I explain myself, what I am, and yet you know that any explanation will be rendered useless your next journey through."
"...Useless does not mean pointless."
"And what is the point then, little bird?"
"You..." Ruby frowned for a moment. "You... helped me. I was listless and lost, and... you came to me."
"And so I shall again, whenever you wander this garden."
"I..." Ruby sighed. "I guess... it was silly of me, wasn't it. To expect you to just answer me straightforwardly. Remnant likes its secrets."
"Perhaps. But while I will not answer your question, I shall provide an answer. You may not be able to care for all you would wish, yet that which you care for you may care for deeply."
Ruby turned a corner, her eyes taking in a lampost, with a map attached midway up its height. Off one crossbar hung a birdhouse, and off the other was a small palm leaf.
"Beacon, Atlas, Haven, Shade." She sighed. "This will make more sense when I reflect on it, right?"
There was no reply.
With a shake of her head, she wandered
out
of the garden.
[-]
173.22 SAXiao
[-]
Pets and Why You're Not Allowed to Have One
[RWBY/LC]
"Cinder no," Ruby and Weiss emphasized. Emerald was nearby, paralyzed with fear - too overwhelmed to move or speak.
"Cinder yes," Neo 'spoke' with a sign, a bloodthirsty grin adorning her face, her excitement rising at the prospect of fighting Cinder's latest acquisition.
Qrow looked to Winter, asking for her to hit him upside the head once, just to ensure he wasn't drunk to the point of hallucinating. She complied, and after shaking his brain loose and getting it warmed up, he looked at the... thing that Cinder collected. Qrow, Roman, and James looked at each other once, nodded once, and they all subsequently fled into Roman's pocket to sit this one out.
"That thing is going to go berserk here! You know how many people on Remnant die every single day?!" Raven was unnerved looking at its many 'faces'.
"I wanted to see how it would compare to a Grimm," Cinder admitted. Admittedly, pocketing the Mountain of Smiling Bodies may have not been her best idea yet.
[-]
173.23 Shimmer712
[-]
General and Bandit and Frosty Concerns
"Don't see you drinking often," Raven commented, dropping onto the stool next to James, drink in hand.
"Hello, Raven," he grumbled into his beer.
"So, what has you all the way out here getting drunk?" Raven questioned, propping her chin in her hand.
The general groaned. "Winter."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "What about her?" she asked curiously.
James pulled a face. "You are aware of the developments around your brother in baseline, right?" he asked. "The ones involving a certain someone?"
"One loop, I attacked Clover with my Maiden powers for ogling my brothers' ass," Raven said casually. "So yeah, I know about them."
James took a deep breath. "Winter…is taking it poorly," he admitted.
"Oh?"
"She keeps glaring at him and Clover is always targeted for pranks whenever she is Awake," James explained. "None of them have been the sort that could be potentially lethal like tampering with his equipment but still…"
Raven blinked. "I never saw her as the pranking type," the bandit queen admitted. "Seems out of character for her."
"I tried talking to her," James said. "But she says she's fine and then deflects or leaves. And Qrow says if she's really bothered, she'll speak up. He's trusting her to know what she can and can't handle. But this isn't exactly the type of situation she's experienced before."
Raven nodded. "I think the only loopers that would be are me and Tai," she mused. "And Qrow due to his proximity to us and his own in loop memories. Which is probably why he isn't as bothered as Winter. He's used to the idea of a non-monogamous relationship on a personal scale, even if he isn't in it whereas Winter always had more distance."
"Hmm…that could be it," James said thoughtfully. "In that case, maybe she'll calm down once she has adjusted to the idea?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Raven shrugged. "I hope this doesn't end badly," she frowned. "My brother's been happy with Winter. If she can't handle the baseline developments…what does that mean for them?"
"I don't know," James muttered, staring at his glass.
Raven shook her head, tipped back the rest of her drink and stood up. "Guess I'll be seeing you later," she commented, sauntering off.
James sighed glumly. "She has a point," he mumbled. "This really isn't like Winter at all."
[-]
173.24 BIOS-Pherecydes
[-]
R&R
"Slumber party! Wooo!"
So saying, Ruby proceeded to zip rapidly around the room Blake's parents had lent her and her friends for the evening; grabbing every pillow in sight (as well as several from her Pocket) and setting up a fairly impressive fort with them. "Fear me, puny mortals! Bow down before my magnificent fortress of fluffyness and pledge allegiance to your queen, and I may consider granting you my favor."
"OH, IT IS ON! Ren! Siege tower assault mode go!"
Sighing in goodnatured acceptance, Ren proceeded to lift Nora onto his shoulders as she brandished a paper towel tube like a saber. "Forward trusty stud, er steed! To victory!"
Watching from the sidelines, Blake chuckled. "This was a good idea. After the last expansion, and with the upcoming 'dinner' at the Schnee estate, we really needed something silly to relax with."
Yang wrapped her arms around her wife from behind and rested her head on Blake's shoulder. "It's been a while since I've seen Ruby so upbeat like this during an Expansion. I'd almost forgotten how optimistic she used to be, even when things were as bad as possible and somehow still getting worse."
Blake leaned into Yang's embrace with a contented sigh, nodding absently as Penny stepped up to defend her girlfriend's 'castle' from the invading army of Ren and Nora; wielding a dozen cardboard tubes to Nora's one. "Her relationship with Penny is definitely a big part of that I think, but I'm pretty sure the biggest change is her reabsorbing the Salem chibis and Weiss' therapy sessions."
"Definitely. Speaking of, we really need to get Weiss a shrink of her own. Ever since the big thing with Penny and Ruby's breakup minisode, she's been running herself like crazy to make sure she doesn't mess up again. That, plus all this new stuff with Atlas? She's gonna have a breakdown if she doesn't take a break. Which makes this sleepover idea twice as good. Good job thinking it up."
Blake just smiled as she watched Nora's overdramatic 'death' scene. Lying on her back, her 'weapon' lying broken beside her, she threw one arm up over her face in a stereotypical swoon.
"Oh cruel fates! I am defeated! Ren! Avenge me!" Pulling Ren down by his collar, she stared him dead in the eyes. "Avenge me. Bleugrh."
"While I would love to fight to the death for your honor and/or amusement, I'm just here to bring you your things. Ghira's orders. Girls and boys sleep separately."
Nora crossed her arms with a pout. "Spoil sport."
Ren smirked. "I'll make it up to you later."
Nora quickly grew a matching grin. "You better. And don't even think about backing out buster."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Ren replied with a chuckle. Pulling Nora back to her feet, he gave her a quick kiss before leaving.
Sighing, Nora looked around. "Where's everyone else?"
"Weiss volunteered to help with the dishes from dinner, so she'll be here as soon as she's done with that," Ruby answered, patching up the damage to her pillow fort from Nora's siege.
The door opened to allow Ilia and Emerald to enter the room, followed by Cinder.
"And that's three more accounted for," Blake added helpfully.
Ilia quirked an eyebrow. "You guys doing a headcount?"
Penny nodded happily. "That is correct! Have you seen the rest of our friends yet? I am bursting with excitement and cannot wait to begin the traditional sleepover activities with you all. Our last sleepover was not since Volume 3, and there are so many new Loopers now. I have made certain to buy enough varieties of nail polish to ensure all preferences are accounted for, so you need not worry. I am girl's night ready!"
Ilia blinked slowly at the eagerly smiling robot girl's torrent of words, but hesitantly smiled back. She and Penny hadn't really interacted much, so she was still fairly uncertain how to deal with her unique blend of experience and optimistic naivety. "...Sure. Anyway, who're we missing?"
Yang frowned in thought. "Well, Glynda, Raven, and Winter declined, and Kali's doing the hostess thing, so it's just Pyrrha and Neo now. Although Maria said she might pop in as her younger self at some point."
Ruby's head perked up at that, and she frowned. "Why her younger self?"
"She said she didn't want to 'cramp us youngin's style' by showing up as an old lady," Yang answered, making exaggerated air quotes at the appropriate point. "And also, now that she finally figured out how to switch back to her Reaper body, she wants to 'test if the pipes still work right.'"
Ruby made a face at that, and quickly retreated back into her fluff palace; dragging Penny along for the ride for the sake of snuggles.
Cinder sighed disdainfully. "And I would be willing to bet any amount of the currency of your choice that Neo is offering to 'help' with that."
Emerald snorted. "Yeah, that's a suckers bet. No matter what Maria decides, it'll probably be a while before Neo shows up. So we should probably just count her out for now. Which means it's just Pyrrha missing. Anyone know where she is?"
Nora shrugged. "Probably doing something with Jaune before they have to split up for the night," She smirked at a sudden thought the previous topic brought to mind. "Or more like doing something to Jaune."
Ruby sighed from her place in Penny's lap. "It's gonna be that kind of night then."