180.1 Shimmer712
[-]
No One New?
"Ruby, why have you been vanishing regularly after the expansions ended?" Weiss asked while the group were in their dorm at Beacon.
"Yeah, sis," Yang piped up from where she had her head in Blake's lap. "Spill. What's the deal?"
"Well," Ruby shrugged, "the expansions are over so I'm looking for the new loopers. Looper. Whatever."
"Oh, did Marianne say we have new loopers?" Yang asked.
"No," Ruby admitted. "It's just..usually when a set of expansions ends we've gotten new loopers. So it makes sense we'd get new ones now, doesn't it?"
"We used to activate in pairs before Marianne turned it off since there were enough loopers for stability," Blake pointed out. "So maybe we're no longer getting new loopers with every set of expansions and there are no new loopers to find. Maria didn't activate because of the last set of expansions, she activated because of the whole Crisis thing."
"She has a point," Yang agreed. "If we're stable enough to not need the paired activation system, maybe we're stable enough to not get any more loopers? Or at least not with every expansion"
Ruby paused. "I honestly don't know how to react to that. I mean, one hand, it means no struggling to keep in touch with a larger number of loopers. On the other hand... I kinda look forward to new loopers and stuff. It means new members of the family and all that."
"Can Marianne even stop loopers from activating?" Weiss wondered. "Or does that just happen on its own when a branch is stable enough?"
She got a bunch of shrugs in return.
"At any rate, the most likely place for any new loopers to appear is Atlas at this point, so it would be better for Winter, Ironwood and Penny to look out for them," Weiss suggested. "Since they'll be in a better position to notice them than us."
"So stop ditching us," Yang ordered her sister. "We're gonna have a slumber party tonight! With pizza."
Ruby pulled a face. "Are they all going to have anchovies, pineapples and barbecue sauce?" she asked.
Her sister sighed. "No, I'll only get one or two with those toppings. I don't know why you don't like that combination."
"It tastes ick."
"It does not!"
"Yang, Ruby," Blake cut in. "Just because you're sisters doesn't mean you have to like the same foods. Now stop squabbling. Yang won't make you eat her pizza, Ruby, but let her have it for herself, okay?"
Ruby huffed. "Fine. I'll go get the pizzas. What ones are we getting?"
After sorting out how many pizzas and what toppings, Ruby sped off.
Blake looked at her wife. "Does Ruby really hate that pizza of yours so much?"
Yang shrugged. "She dislikes it. I just think she exaggerates how much just for fun. Sisterly squabbles and all that, you know?"
Blake giggled and leaned down to rest her forehead on Yang's. "And how long has this slumber party been planned?"
"Since I mentioned it," Yang admitted. "It was just a spontaneous thing."
"So, we just eat and gossip?" Weiss asked. "Catch up with what loops we've had recently and all that?"
"Yeah, a good ol' girl talk session," Yang nodded enthusiastically. "I mean, we haven't done that for a while!"
"Maybe some spooky stories?" Blake mused. "Those are a classic for sleepovers."
"Yeah! Great idea!" Yang nodded gleefully. "And how about some Truth or Dare?"
"Oh boy," Weiss muttered, already picturing the types of dares Yang would come up with or throw herself into carrying out. She wondered if she would find the upcoming night amusing or mortifying.
"This is gonna be great!" Yang cheered.
[-]
180.2 Wixelt
[-]
Defying Physics for Personal Comfort (and Other Bemusements)
"Soooo..." Yang hummed idly. "Any bets? I'm thinking rabbit loop."
"Not likely," Blake shrugged to her wife. "This isn't the behavior of cautious fear. This is straight-up catatonia." She lifted a hand, briefly counting on it before noting any past occurrences were likely irrelevant. "My best guess? Something more unique. Giant cookies who eat Rubys or something just as personally scarring, given that, as far as I noticed, the expansions are over now."
"Eh, fair." The blonde nodded, then shifted glances to their resident psychiatrist. "Weiss? What've you got for us?"
"I'm off the clock if you recall, so to be perfectly honest? Absolutely squat." Weiss Schnee frowned deeply at the sight before them. "Even if I weren't taking a sabbatical, she didn't exactly give me a lot to work on. Just..." she gestured emphatically. "...Woke up mid-step, said she needed a time-out and then... this!" The heiress grumbled. "We're lucky this was in the middle of the dorm and not somewhere magnitudes more public. Moving her alone would be complicated to explain."
"You think we can talk her out of it?" Yang asked, before immediately slapping her own forehead. "I mean, stupid question, but..."
"I was about to say," Blake quirked a level eyebrow at her other half, "Ruby isn't that fragile, so this is probably more of an in the moment reaction she needs to get out of her system than anything else."
Slowly, the trio turned to gaze at the Anchor in question. Or what they could see of her, at least.
Several feet away, hovering around half a meter from the dorm room floor, a small, densely packed sphere of fluttering red rose petals floated serenely, flowing gracefully as if it were liquid. Now and then, sparks of Speed Force energy arced through the structure, the only real sign of Ruby's emotional state. Other than that, it seemed calm enough.
Of course, with Majin physiology at play, that wasn't saying much.
"So, if none of us can or should get to her..." Yang pondered, scratching behind her own ear. "Then I guess that means-"
She was interrupted by a bright flash of emerald light.
"I'm here!"
The Second and Thirds of Remnant unconsciously stepped aside to make way for the newcomer. Her arrival had been anticipated, if somewhat delayed.
"There she is." Yang cocked an eyebrow. "What took you so long, Penny?"
"Mostly getting the teleporter set up." The green gynoid frowned deeply. Her feet shuffled in anxiety. "I… wasn't expecting to get called on this early in the loop. Usually Ruby finds me before I can find her…" her gaze shifted to the flickering ball of red that was her other half, then looked back to the others. "Rabbits?"
"Ha!" Yang grinned. "Called it."
"It was just a guess, love." Blake rolled her eyes.
"Not alone, though."
"If that's how you'd like to take it…" Weiss pinched her brow, focusing herself. Shaking her head, she looked across to Penny with a small, hopeful lip quirk. "Do you think you can get her to talk?"
"I'd hope so." Remnant's first and only robotic looper nodded, mirroring the expression. Slowly, she crouched down in front of the orb, missing Weiss glancing away. "Ruby?"
The sphere seemed to twitch in recognition. Penny smiled.
"Ruby…" she lifted an arm, stretching her hand out towards the sphere. "I'm here. Do you want to talk?"
There was an audible silence. It wasn't entirely clear whether this was thought or rejection. All present assumed the former, however, even if at least one present momentarily contemplated the latter before slapping herself within the confines of her own mind.
Penny, for her part, was patient and serene. She maintained her open hand, smile unwavering.
Abruptly, a pale, familiar hand shot out of the sphere and grasped hers, squeezing it lightly for comfort. Penny's smile widened.
"Okay, now if you want to-" the gynoid began before, with a yelp of surprise, she was lifted from her feet by a sudden yet gentle tug.
The other three members of Team RWBY watched as Penny disappeared headfirst into the red orb, vanishing right up to the tips of her toes into a space that shouldn't have fit her. The sphere flickered slightly more than average for a second before settling, size unchanged. Occasional flashes of green and orange were now visible within.
Those still present stared in bemusement for a moment.
Eventually, Yang coughed.
"Well," she laughed dryly. "That was a thing."
"I…" Weiss gazed on with eyes wide open. She gaped briefly. "I suppose it was."
"When you need a hug, you need a hug," Blake opined, giving the shapeless mass of loopers one last look before turning away with a warm expression. "I think we can safely call this matter settled beyond asking Ruby what was bothering her once she's done needing to snuggle."
"Yeah, but…" Yang began, before shaking her head and following her wife when the woman in question shot her a look. "Okay, okay. There's easier ways to get your girlfriend to hug you, though." A smirk. "Not like Penny would've said 'No'."
"She didn't even Ping," Weiss considered, gaze lingering on the blob of relationship a little longer than the others before she forced herself to fall into step behind them. "She may have wished for Penny to come to her if she was feeling that awful, or simply didn't know she was Awake before she shut herself in."
"Still. Kinda dumb," Yang deadpanned.
Back in the dorm room, the sphere, or one aspect of it, seemed to twitch in offense, before another aspect soothed it.
[-]
180.3 Shimmer712
[-]
Blondes and Cards
"Hi, Yang," Sun moaned, stumbling into the door frame and clinging to it, looking pale.
Yang paused mid-bite of her pizza to look at the other blond. "You okay?" she asked, putting the slice down.
"You know how I've been working on Cards against Yggdrasil, Remnant version?"
"Is there another version out there besides the original Cards Against Humanity?" she wondered.
"I dunno. I just assume so," Sun shrugged. "Anyway, I was doing great with the Work-Safe version, that you and Blake could play with your parents, no awkwardness involved..."
"That's why you were making two decks?" Yang interrupted. "Thanks, appreciate the thought."
"You're welcome. Anyway, that deck, going great. The not-safe-for-work one, not so good. It was mostly toilet humor. So, Neo got wind of it and figured she would help..."
"Oh no," Yang breathed.
"Anyway, me, her, and Roman were just trying out her deck with Junior and some of his goons," Sun explained, shuddering. "And I don't think I'll be playing with her hyper-deck too often."
"Hyper-deck?" Yang blinked.
"She made two decks too. One has sexual humor and stuff like that. Her hyper deck... let's say it takes the not-safe-for-work label to traumatizing levels." Sun rubbed his face before looking at her pizza. "That's not anchovy, pineapple and barbecue sauce pizza? I thought you liked that one?"
"I do," Yang agreed. "But it's not my favorite. I just tend to order it over my favorite just to mess with Ruby. She hates it." Yang paused then gave a grin. "Although I think she exaggerates how much she hates it."
"Ah," Sun nodded. "Sisterly antics. Got it. I'd ask if I can have a slice but after that game and seeing some of the combos Neo came up with, I don't think I can handle it. I'm just gonna go lie down for a bit."
"Have a good rest," Yang said, picking up her pizza. "And thanks for the warning about Neo's deck. I'll pass it around."
"Thanks."
[-]
180.4 Masterweaver
[-]
A Slow But Steady Increase Of Bakauerels
"The simple fact of the matter is, Alucard had no right to bring up my purely theoretical romantic affections in that session."
Vernal blinked. "What?"
"It was utterly and completely unprofessional," Weiss stated firmly. "In fact, it was entirely irrelevant to the discussion. A matter that absolutely did not have to be addressed!"
"Uh-"
"Let us suppose for sake of the argument that I was pining for Ruby Rose and in denial about it," she continued. "Let's say, in some strange manner, that that was an issue-it isn't, but let's just say it is."
"Okay, sure, what are you talking about?"
"Now the other matters he addressed I must, reluctantly, admit might have some significant grounding," Weiss allowed. "Our reactions to baseline. My own selection of duties and roles. The sheer divide between looping and nonlooping selves. The way we all missed-not just me, all of us-missed how we were letting it warp our thinking."
"You know I don't have context for any of this right?"
"Addressing those issues at the time was perfectly acceptable, even if I was rather offended by Alucard's insistence and reticent to discuss it. They are all well-entangled issues and they have been having a deleterious effect on my psyche, minor though it may be!"
Vernal put a hand on her hip. "Okay, I'm getting the feeling you're just talking at me rather than with me."
Weiss blinked, focusing on her. "Oh. Sorry, that is... a little true. I just needed to vent about this-I still do. You don't mind, do you?"
"You're in a cage surrounded by bandits that have kidnapped you and you're talking about... some guy bugging you about your hypothetical love life?"
"Oh, yes," Weiss said as if just recalling. "Right, well... this might be a little awkward to admit, but I don't want to discuss this with most of the people I trust since they'd inevitably tease me about it. I can at least trust you lot to keep quiet."
"Wow." Vernal shook her head. "Really? You trust bandits more than your own friends?"
"Eeeeeenh..." Weiss waggled a hand. "I trust you not to gossip, anyway."
"...fair enough." Vernal rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever, I've got nothing better to do."
"Right... where was I..."
"Something about entangled issues?"
"Yes, thank you." Weiss cleared her throat. "As I was saying, those issues were entangled and quite possibly formed a combined issue that needed to be addressed, I can admit to that much, but my own purely theoretical romantic leanings were tangential at best to the problem at hand!"
"Oh wow," Vernal deadpanned, "that's terrible."
"It's unprofessional and crass! Addressing unrelated issues defocuses the therapeutic process and can lead to the patient refusing to acknowledge the issues that need to be addressed out of spite!"
"So what you're saying is you're refusing to think about your crush on Ruby-"
"My purely theoretical crush on Ruby!"
"Right, because this A-card guy brought it up at the wrong time?"
"Yes-no. No, what I'm saying was that it was an unexpected and undeserved declaration-"
"Are you sure this crush is theoretical?"
Weiss opened her mouth, paused, and then scowled. "That's it! That was Alucard's game, wasn't it?!"
"Uh-"
"He brought up the manner in as deliberately crude and direct a manner he could, just so I would be offended whenever I even thought about it, thereby making me play into tsundere tropes increasingly often and causing everyone, including myself, to question the sincerity of my refusal to address the nature of my affections toward Ruby!"
"I'm just going to assume your leap of logic makes as much sense as anything else."
"Why else imply I was sexually attracted to her? Ruby doesn't even like sex!" Weiss exploded. "That vile, devious, scheming eldritch abomination of a vampire thought he had one over me but no, nooooo, I'm not an idiot, I'm no fool."
Vernal hummed noncommittally.
"If, and I stress this is hypothetical, IF I decided I was romantically attracted to Ruby, it would NOT be because of my denial, it would be because of my acceptance!"
"...riiiiiiiiiiight," Vernal drawled. "You want my diagnosis? You're insane."
"Well yes," Weiss agreed readily, "but I am stable and refuse to be emotionally manipulated by a piss-poor excuse for a gentleman."
"...Ooooookay."
"Oh, and tell Raven Jacques would never pay the ransom," she added as an afterthought. "Too much of a flintheart."
"Sure, yeah, I'll do that." Vernal shook her head, walking toward the large yurt. "What a crazy bitch..."
[-]
180.5 Masterweaver
[-]
Simpler Times: Ruby Rose
There were loops, and there were loops.
Most times, everything was baseline-well, at least until the loopers decided to actively alter the timeline. Sometimes, Yggdrasil misremembered things, and the loopers had to handle a few scrambled details. The semi-common fused loop was, always, a fun experience.
And then... there were loops like this. Where a looper Awakened not in their baseline body, but beside it. Mini-me loops, they were called, where the elder time travelers could talk with their non-time-traveling selves.
After calming down their local selves, team RWBY had, by unspoken agreement, agreed to split up to talk with their counterparts. Ruby and Ruby remained in the dorm, ostensibly so they could negotiate sleeping arrangements.
Of course the real reason was so Ruby could squeal over Ruby.
"You're really me from the future!"
"Not exactly, there's..." Ruby waggled a hand. "Let's say I'm you from a future. A bunch of futures. But not your future. I know a potential-"
"Oh my gosh if you're from the future you must know a lot of things! Like, uh... hmmm." Ruby rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Oh! I know! Who wins the Vytal tournament?"
Ruby winced. "Okay, can you accept there are things I want to change about the future before I tell you anything about it?"
"Uh... sure? Wait." Ruby crossed her arms. "It's not team CRDL, is it?"
"No. Team CRDL doesn't win."
"Then who does?"
Ruby sighed. "Nobody. The tournament is called on account of sabotage and Grimm invasion."
Ruby's jaw fell, her expression aghast. "What?"
"Like I said, things I want to change." Ruby smiled confidently, ruffling Ruby's hair. "And don't worry, I know exactly how it was 'supposed' to happen, and I can stop it all from happening this weekend."
"Really? Can I help?"
Ruby hummed thoughtfully. "Hmmm. Hmmmmm. Hmm. Hm. Well... no, hmmmm. Hmmmmm."
"Really? Nothing?"
"Nothing I want you involved in."
Ruby crossed her arms. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Heh. Well..." Ruby sat down. "From my perspective, you're basically my younger twin sister. Which means I have this sort of need to... to make sure you can live a happy life. Maybe not a safe one, you're a huntress after all. But the best life I can give. I didn't get to finish my schooling-I went through some serious hands-on training and experience and... and a lot of horrible things happened. Things I can stop, this time around. I know you're going to worry about it, about me, but... at the same time, you get a chance I never did. You understand?"
"...Sort of. But you did just tell me that Grimm are going to invade-"
"No no, trust me, that one's an easy fix."
"Really?" Ruby put her hands on her hips. "How?"
Ruby cringed. "...it... involves neutralizing specific individuals."
"Neutralizing."
"Yes."
"By which you mean killing."
"...Usually," Ruby admitted quietly.
"Usually?"
"Some loops, they can be talked down. Or handled... another way. But usually, the people behind this are too goal-oriented to give up."
"Oh."
"Yeah, this sort of heavy stuff?" Ruby gestured. "This is what I don't want you to deal with. I want the biggest stress in your life to be your grades, who you date, not how to kill a psychopath."
"Because you have to deal with that?"
"Yeah."
Ruby nodded slowly. "...so... do we date anybody in the future?"
Ruby waggled a hand. "We're not dating anybody in baseline, if you're asking. But me, as a looper, I'm dating another looper. You haven't met her yet."
"Huh. Funny, I... kinda thought Weiss..." Ruby blushed. "I mean, if Weiss isn't-"
"Let me stop you right there. I, Ruby the looper, am not dating Weiss. That does not mean that you, Ruby the new Beacon student, cannot date Weiss. We may be the same person, but we're not the same person. You get me?"
"Yeah."
"Good. That said, this early on Weiss is pretty closed off for a reason, so I'd suggest being her friend first and anything that happens, happens..."
[-]
180.6 Shimmer712
[-]
Lollipop Road
Roman cringed as he walked across the room, listening to the sticky sound of his footsteps. Neo pulled a face.
"Such a waste of perfectly good candy," Roman muttered to her. "Why did someone think this was a good idea?"
"I wonder what Ruby thinks of this?" Neo mused.
Standing at his office window, Oz watched Ruby in the courtyard, twitching as people walked across the candy footpaths.
"While I have indulged my daughters in many ways, making all roads and footpaths out of candy is a new one," he commented out loud. "At least my Unawake self convinced them using cookies was a bad idea since they would go soggy when it rains."
"Too bad he couldn't come up with a way to keep our shoes from getting sticky," Glynda grimaced, looking down at her feet. "Do you know how often these have to be replaced because the candy ruins them?"
Ozpin blinked and looked at her. "Why don't you just hit them with a cleaning charm?" he asked curiously. "That's what I do."
Glynda blinked, then glared at him, throwing an itching hex at him. "Shut up," she said before stalking off.
Ozpin wisely pretended not to notice her casting a cleaning spell on her shoes.
[-]
180.7 Masterweaver
[-]
Smashing Together Textbooks
[RWBY][Kingdom Hearts]
"It's a terminology conflict," Cinder explained. "Kingdom Hearts 'soul' is more equivalent to our 'aura', but without semblances. It's just raw life force. What we think of as 'soul' is more akin to the Kingdom Hearts version of 'hearts'."
"But for us our soul is inextricably bound up with our aura," Pyrrha pointed out.
"You'd think that, but Penny's maidenhood disproves that."
Pyrrha tilted her head. "But Penny only has a soul because her father gave up part of his aura."
"Yes," Cinder agreed, "but her soul is not his soul. It's powered by his aura, true, but she's different enough to not be 'Pietro but in a teenage robot girl body.' In Kingdom Hearts terminology, he built a heart and body, powered it with his own soul, then when her body was destroyed her heart couldn't contain the soul, so Pietro built a new body around the same heart and used more of his soul to reboot it."
"...I think I understand," Pyrrha said, forcing back her confusion. "So... how does this tie back to the Grimm?"
"The Grimm are not Heartless. Heartless are hearts consumed by darkness, but the Grimm don't have hearts. They do have bodies, but instead of being fueled by soul-in Kingdom Hearts terms-they are fuelled by darkness. Or maybe made out of darkness." Cinder shrugged. "The metaphor breaks down after a bit, we are dealing with two separate forms of metaphysics."
"Blame the gods?"
"Blame the gods. Anyway, so what I'm trying to do is see if I can turn a Heartless into a Grimm and vice versa."
"And you're doing this in Hollow Bastion."
"Seemed appropriate."
"While Maleficent is busy with the princesses of light upstairs."
"As long as I'm not betraying her or in her way, she's usually pretty okay with me doing whatever."
Pyrrha pinched her brow. "Cinder, you know I came here with Sora's crew, right?"
"Yes, yes, dramatic heroics and all that. Look, I'm not after Kingdom Hearts, it's safe to ignore me."
"Cinder..."
"I wonder what happens if I try to make a Grimm out of light?"
"Cinder."
"It's science, Pyrrha! Perfectly reasonable science, and the only ones who suffer are creatures of darkness anyway!"
Pyrrha sighed, pulling out her shield and spear. "For the record, if I die here to fulfill my baseline 'story,' I will be very annoyed."
"Fine, fine, we can fight, just let me lock down the lab first..."
[-]
180.8 Masterweaver
[-]
Penny's Other New Dress
"Wow, uh..." Ruby tried to hide her blush. "You... you look good in blue, Penny."
Penny twirled, letting her new dress ripple for a moment. "Yeah, I felt like gussying myself up for this. And this time," she added with a teasing smile, "it's tailored to my new frame."
"I like the yellow bows, they really complement the... uh... okay," Ruby admitted, "I'm bad at this. You're just too pretty all the time. How am I supposed to compliment you if you look so nice my brain refuses to work?"
Penny giggled. "Isn't Yang supposed to be the gay disaster?"
"It must be a family thing," Ruby quipped back. "Seriously though... why blue?"
Penny's smile faded for a moment. "Fria... didn't get much time to exist in baseline," she said quietly. "And honestly, even with the loops, there's not a lot we can do for her, since she's stuck in the hospital. I just felt like honoring her somehow. And, well, the blue fairy is probably her template, so..."
"...I think she'd love it," Ruby assured her quietly. "I mean, I know I do."
"Heh." Penny took her hand. "Thanks. And you... you look really good in that tuxedo."
"Really? I mean, I tried to make it look good, but I'm not sure the jacket goes well with my skirt and the bowtmnph!"
For a good five seconds, the only sound was the birds chirping around them.
"Uh... okay..." Ruby pulled back with a happy blush. "Wow, uh... right. RIGHT! Right, let's get this valentine's day started right, right? Right."
"Right," said Penny with a grin.
"Right," Ruby repeated. "Uh, right. I got us reservations at some fancy restaurant, so, yeah, it's, it's this way, also I love you, also happy valentine's day, also I think my thoughts are a little jumbled? Sorry if I'm not, uh, you know-"
"It's okay," Penny assured her. "You're always cute, but you're really cute when you're flustered."
[-]
180.9 Masterweaver
[-]
It's kind of impressive though
"JINN GET YOUR SMOKY BUTT OUT HERE OR I SWEAR TO YGGDRASIL I WILL USE YOUR LAMP AS A BUG ZAPPER!"
The ornate lamp dangling from Ruby's hand hovered into the air, dissolving and reforming into a giant blue woman with jewelry. "Greetings, mortal. I am Jinn-"
"I'm stuck in a time loop I know the schpiel, here's a pamphlet that explains things, and now I need you to explain EXACTLY what the HECK you were thinking last week."
"Last... what?"
Ruby frowned. "Last week," she repeated. "When you flipped Atlas upside down."
"I... don't recall-"
"You are literally the spirit of knowledge look into the past and find out."
Jinn coughed into her fist. "Ah. One... moment..." She suddenly started blushing. "Ah... well, ah..."
Ruby crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently.
"That is a secret not meant for mortal ears-"
"Then it's a good thing I'm an immortal time traveler."
"But as an immortal time traveler you might not qualify to ask me-"
"Ozpin's immortal and you answered him."
"Are you still human, though?"
"I was not joking about the bug zapper thing."
Jinn opened her mouth, paused, and shut it. "O...kay. So... the spring maiden came and got me, we... went on a date, it was going well, I got inebriated and she started talking about Atlas and how her brother had a bad time there and... one thing led to another..."
"For-of course it's Raven's fault." Ruby pinched her brow. "Every time she actually manages to hook up with somebody..."
"Nobody died," Jinn pointed out. "And I just now realized how bad that sounds," she added meekly.
Ruby sighed. "Right. Well, we're handling this derail pretty well, all things considered. I just... gah. Anyway, sorry for bugging you. I know you like being asked questions and all. Just... I don't know..." She slumped as she left the vault. "Now I've got to fix THIS mess..."
[-]
180.5 (con't) Masterweaver
[-]
Simpler Times: Weiss Schnee
"So..." Weiss glanced around the roof, rubbing her arm and not quite looking at the girl who brought her up. "This is still baffling and bizarre. And, well, I'm not sure what to ask."
Weiss chuckled. "Oh, I know. You think my story sounds impossible, try living it."
"I... is that an option? Can you actually-?"
"No, it was a turn of phrase."
"Oh. Okay." Weiss's eyes turned to the left. "Soooooo. I get that, you know, you'll be changing things. But... was there anything that was supposed to happen that you would be looking forward to?"
"Mmm, well..." Weiss kept looking out at Beacon, hiding her sly grin from her counterpart. "There is that time where we arrested Jacques for treason."
Weiss's eyes snapped to her. "Wait, what?"
"Well technically it was only rigging the council election. But he did that by handing his access codes to a thought-dead scientist, who used them to arrange for murder, the shutdown of Mantle's heating grid, and the invasion of Atlas by the secret sixth kingdom that the public doesn't know about. Suffice it to say the arrest was the high point of the night." Her gaze fell somberly. "It was... all downhill from there."
Weiss swallowed. "It... it would have to be. My god..."
"Of course," Weiss reminded, "as us loopers are aware of how it quote should have happened unquote, we can prevent it from happening."
"That... doesn't mean you didn't live through it," Weiss pointed out. "That's all horrible. You... you seem so calm for having lived through that."
"The thing about looping is that not only do you get a chance to change things, but with infinite repetition you get chances to... consider. To contemplate." Weiss turned around. "One of the things I've chosen to do for the loops is learn to help maintain the health of hearts and minds. Others and my own... though," she admitted with a sardonic grin, "it's easier to help friends then it is to help myself."
Weiss frowned for a moment. "I would have thought pushing myself to be better would be easier. Well, easier than trying to force a child to grow, anyway."
"Ah, yes, the arrogance of youth..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Weiss tittered. "Oh, I'm sorry, it's just... 'What's that supposed to mean' is practically our catchphrase."
"...It is?"
"Well... no, actually. We don't use it that often, come to think of it... just when it's crucial to use it. Still, I suppose those moments stick in my memory." Weiss shook her head. "Anyway, I suppose I can give you this lesson a little earlier than you would ordinarily receive it. Though... hmm, how to phrase it..."
Weiss crossed her arms. "Are you going to say I'm too prideful?"
"No, no, there's a difference between pride and arrogance. I would say... you're proud of the wrong thing."
"What's that-" Weiss frowned. "...I really was just about to say it, wasn't I?"
Weiss smirked.
"Uuuuugh. Fine. 'What's that supposed to mean,' there, I said it, stop teasing me."
"Pride is... the happiness from knowing something is done well, is excellent, and that we are a part of that-be it by effort or mere association. Arrogance is pride that blinds, where we see excellence and ignore fault." Weiss's smile dropped. "I would hope, at least, you are not ignoring your faults. A problem unacknowledged is a problem unsolved."
Weiss shifted awkwardly. "I'm... aware of my issues."
"Some of them," Weiss replied diplomatically.
Weiss opened her mouth, paused, and slowly shut it. "Alright. So I'm 'proud' of the wrong thing. Which is...?"
"Your legacy, I would say. Or... no, actually, I misspoke. You're not proud of the wrong thing, so much as you are not proud of the right thing. You can be proud of many things, you know."
"Are you just spouting words to sound wise?"
"Are you proud of team RWBY?"
Weiss snorted. "Proud of-? Not yet, no, I'll admit that. Ozpin put Ruby Rose in charge, despite her being a spastic and inexperienced individual, and Yang is her sister so she's going to coddle her and-and I'll admit I don't know much about Blake... maybe we'll become the best friends on the team-"
"With Blake," Weiss deadpanned.
"Yes. She reads a lot, so she's clearly well educated, and she seems to carry herself more elegantly than... uh... then the other... two okay seriously why are you looking at me like that."
"It's not my secret to tell," Weiss replied. "Suffice it to say, I think you've misjudged your position in the team. You are not there to improve them. They are there to improve you, so that you may help them when they need it."
"Are you suggesting that I'm the immature one?"
"...Mmm, yes."
"How dare you!"
Weiss laughed out loud. "I said the same thing! That's... oh, that's hilarious."
"S-Shut up!" Weiss stammered, blushing. "I have half a mind to report you and your time-traveling cadre to the headmaster!"
"...we intend to do that anyway," Weiss replied, quietly. "But Ozpin..." She trailed off for a moment.
"...Ozpin...?"
"...Our mother took to the bottle for, well, protection," Weiss began slowly. "Her initial reason was entirely valid, even if her actions were not. Were she able to moderate herself, perhaps, a small drink here and there would help ease the suffering... but she has not been able to do so, and so inflicted greater pain on both herself and those around her, and so retreats to the comfort of the bottle, and the cycle continues."
Weiss glanced away. "...that is... blunter then I would have stated it, but... yes. I'm... not sure what this has to do with the headmaster, though."
"In much the same way, and for much the same reasons, as our mother is addicted to alcohol, Ozpin is addicted to conspiracy."
"What... do you mean by that?"
"He keeps secrets. Many, many secrets. He is... he feels a need to wrap things in hints and riddles even when direct communication would be better. There is... a wound, in his past. To explain it would be to delve into the secrets that I agree should be kept, for reasons both grand and personal. But..." Weiss shook her head sadly. "It's funny. You can trust Ozpin, right up until he starts trusting in you. Because then some part of him is constantly wondering if you will be... twisted away, so he feels a need to keep some cards close to chest just in case, to make choices without explaining."
"...Is he... is he a good man?"
"Undoubtedly. He's even aware of his issues on some level, even if he struggles to fight them. But... he's still just a man." Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well, not just a man, but you know what I mean."
"I see. Maybe I should have gone to Atlas academy-"
"No," said Weiss sharply.
"...No?"
Weiss took a breath. "...The greatest weakness of Atlas, as a military, as a city, and as a kingdom, is the lack of empathy both with others and with ourselves. An inability to understand how other people feel, and a tendency to ignore our own emotions till they overwhelm us. James Ironwood is, currently, a good person. The general, however, is the heart of Atlas's problems-not the source, but the one that allows them to circulate. And when James doubts, it is the general that steps forward." She looked northward, her brows furrowing quietly. "James is currently a good person. With any luck, us loopers will keep him from... falling as he did. You made the right choice to come here."
"You... speak so harshly of our home," Weiss managed hesitantly.
"...Problems unacknowledged go unresolved," Weiss explained quietly.
[-]
180.10 Masterweaver
[-]
How to Have a Happy Huntress
Waking up after the Fall of Beacon was always stressful.
Oh, it had nothing to do with the guilt of Baseline-well, alright, maybe a little, but the stress came primarily from either being put in a house with That Man, on the incredibly dangerous and eventful round trip round Anima, or most recently in the slowly growing oppression of the general's increasing need for control. Weiss had grown more cognizant of the stresses of baseline ever since Alucard pointed out how much control they were affording it-and she still wasn't entirely sure how to shake them off. It wasn't something that had happened, it was something that was happening. Even if she knew what to expect...
Still, Weiss did have the benefit of experience and outside context knowledge, even in null loops like these. Yes, she was still being forced to participate in the mockery of a wake, where the guests were likely to boost their own ego rather than actually care about what happened to Vale, but that didn't mean she couldn't change things around. A different song, helping Ironwood with his unrealized trauma, maybe a speech better suited for the arrogant of Atlas... there was a lot she could do, and that was without preparation. The latest expansions, for all the stress they had caused, also provided her with more options.
Four of which were staring at her in varying degrees of disbelief.
"Your father wants us to come to the shindig he's throwing?" Robyn asked in disbelief.
"Correction: I want you to attend an event that Jacques happens to be hosting, on the grounds that your presence might make it tolerable and actually remind the other guests what the purpose of the gathering is supposed to be."
"Oh, wonderful," Joanna deadpanned. "The princess is using us for her teenage rebellion."
"I believe I would be a countess, at the highest. Possibly a marchioness, I'm only two generations removed from Nicholas Schnee."
"That's not... really the point," Fiona said quietly. "It's just... well... your father has a reputation."
"I can assure you," Weiss said very calmly, "that when Jacques says he treats his employees exactly like his family, he means it."
May snorted. "He doesn't respect his employees! He works them as far as he can without breaking human rights laws and gives them just enough to live, all so he can boost his own ego, wealth, and power!"
Weiss's eyebrow ascended with the grace and majesty of an eagle, unfurling into a wry arc that projected her response as loudly as though she had shouted it through a megaphone.
"...Oh," said May quietly.
Robyn cleared her throat. "Well. As... interesting an argument as you make-"
"I'm being told I'll have to sing at the event, and am willing to take suggestions as to what musical rendition I get to shout at the Atlesian wealthy elite."
"...Well, that certainly-"
"It's my understanding that General Ironwood will be there," Weiss continued, examining her fingernails. "Bringing up the similarities of Mantle's current situation to that of Vale prior to the fall might have an impact."
Robyn narrowed her eyes. "Are there any other temptations you want to dangle in front of me?"
"Oh, there will be free food, the chance to verbally spar with wealthy idiots, perhaps roast May's cousin if he bothers to show up-"
"Hmmm," May said thoughtfully.
"-and that's all just at the party itself. Obviously the mansion is large, and we can't keep track of every party guest-especially after they all supposedly depart." Weiss sighed dramatically. "It's not uncommon for things to go missing; silverware, the occasional bottle of wine, maybe a couple of important documents that Jacques doesn't want released to the public, a chair or two..."
The corner of Robyn's lip quirked up. "Well now, that sounds terrible. Maybe you do need some good Mantle folk to make sure things don't get misplaced."
"I would suspect you to be experts in such forms of security. Unfortunately, I cannot hire you officially for bureaucratic reasons, but arranging an invitation is well within my ability."
"I've got a question," Joanna said. "What's the dress code?"
"Fancy and formal. I'm not even allowed to bring Myrtenaster to the stage. It's unlikely anything resembling weaponry and not held by a military officer would be allowed in if it was seen."
Fiona hummed thoughtfully.
"On an entirely unrelated note, I appear to have lost the four thousand-lien cards I came down to Mantle with," said Weiss, absently putting down four cards on a crate beside her without sparing them a glance.
"...wow." Fiona shook her head. "You're really not subtle, are you."
"I can be."
"Mmmhmmmmm..."
Robyn and Fiona shared a look. Robyn glanced at Joanna, who shrugged, then at May, who gave a one-handed gesture of 'well why not?'
"...Well, ladies, I suppose we should check our schedules." Robyn gave Weiss a pointed look. "I do hope this will be as enriching as you're promising."
"I will be indebted to you no matter the end result," Weiss replied, bowing formally.
[-]
180.11 Masterweaver
[-]
Idle Hands...
"So, like..." Nora stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "What's to stop us actually wearing clothes made of food?"
"The more edible something is, the more likely airborne microbes would eat it. Your clothes would become moldy at best and rotten at worst."
"Hmmm." Nora nodded. "When you put it like that, it makes much more sense."
Ren smiled to himself quietly.
The clock ticked away for a few seconds more.
"Sooooooooo... I know we're kind of waiting," Nora admitted. "For, you know, Pyrrha and Jaune to get back. But... you want to do anything?"
"...possibly. I have a vague urge to... juggle watermelons."
"That a euphemism?"
"No, I was being literal."
"Hmm."
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
"Wow," Nora mused. "I really don't have any ideas."
Ren tilted his head slightly. "None?"
"Nope. We're just sitting here staring at the ceiling."
"Hmm."
"...We need to get some shenanigans going. Like regular, scheduled shenanigans."
"Yep."
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
WHAM.
Ren sat up as Nora pulled her fist from the desk. "Nora?"
"I'm going to blow up Salem's castle now," she said calmly.
"That sounds like something to do."
"Yep. You want to come with?"
"Sure."
[-]
180.12 Masterweaver
[-]
Logic? What's that?
[RWBY][MLP:FiM]
Ping, Ping, Ping, Ping...
The first few seconds of every loop were always taking stock. Where am I know? a looper would ask, followed by Can I ping? and then usually How many pings have I heard? Going over loop memories generally happened in the first few minutes, after a looper had made sure they hadn't Awakened into a dangerous situation.
Cinder ran through the usual loop-opening check with ease born from eons, not even breaking stride as she walked down the streets of Vale. Twelve pings, well well well. It was tempting to stealth, just to see how everyone was handling... well, everything. Idly, she let her sith abilities extend, reaching out through the Force to sense what the other loopers might be feeling-
-and then she halted, her eyes widening as it brushed against something ancient and familiar.
She was here.
Her force senses snapped back to a bubble around her as Cinder broke into a run, rushing toward the hideout her pre-awake self had set up. It didn't matter that she was using looper powers openly, no, she just needed to shut everything down as fast as she could-
-and three minutes later, she burst into the room, catching her breath. "Emerald, change of plans-"
"I'm Awake and loopy-"
"-Good, she's here, you know the drill, get Mercury and-" Cinder paused for a moment. "...wait. Where's Mercury?"
"He, ah..." Emerald cringed. "He headed out. Said he was going to buy some food, but he was acting like he does when he thinks he doesn't know he's Awake-"
"What?!" Cinder grabbed her shoulders, her panicked gaze looking into Emerald's eyes. "Mercury's Awake?!"
"I'm pretty sure? You know he doesn't Ping because of-"
"Oh no. Oh no no no no..." Cinder broke off, leaning against a wall. "Nobody's warned him about her, have they?"
"Just to clarify, by her you mean Pi-"
"SHhhhshhshshsh don't say her name!"
Emerald put a hand on her hip, one brow raising sardonically. "This is like Ruby and rabbits, isn't it?"
"Maybe we can find Mercury before she does," Cinder muttered as she began to pace. "I mean it's not likely they'll run into each other, and it wouldn't be obvious he was looping anyway, and Mercury would probably not let details about the loops slip to a random girl he met. I guess she could recognize him, but he's low on the list of her priorities, so we might still have time, right?"
"I mean you two are in a club together," Emerald pointed out. "Looping sith ladies. And she's intense, sure but I'm pretty sure P-" She rolled her eyes at Cinder's glare. "That she whom you fear to invoke isn't nearly as scary as you're making her out to be."
"Emerald," Cinder said slowly, "I realize that you haven't done anything to really attract her ire. As somebody who has, though, I can safely say this panic is entirely justified."
"Riiiiiight. Anyway... take a deep breath or two, okay? I'll go out and find Merc, and we can meet up at, I dunno, Higanbana? Sound good?"
"Right. Right, that should be far enough that there'll be time to plan."
"And relax, alright? The odds of Mercury running into 'The Impossible Color' are pretty-"
[-]
"Well hey," Mercury drawled as he sauntered up to the girl with poofy magenta hair. "That's a lot of sweets for a single cute girl."
"Yeah, but I've got a wacky metabolism." The girl jammed a large scone into her mouth, locked her lips shut, and proceeded to move her jaw like a jackhammer for ten seconds before swallowing.
"Wow. You're a regular food processor, huh?"
"And your pickup lines could use some work," the girl replied with a grin.
"Fair enough. I'm Mercury, by the way. Mercury Black."
"My name is Pinkimena Diane Pie!" Her grin grew sly. "My friends call me Pinkie though."
"Well, Pinkie," Mercury said as he sat down next to her, "you want to know a big secret?"
"You're looping and telling each of your friends that they're the only one that knows you're looping because you think it's funny to keep them in the dark and manipulate them for blackmail and also you want to know where you stand with each of them before coming out and admitting it?" Pinkie rattled off brightly.
"...uh..." Mercury blinked. "...Well... I... was actually going to say something like I know Ozpin-"
Pinkie's grin started to spread. "Waaaaaaaaait. I just realized... you haven't had a welcome to the loops party yet!"
"Uh-"
"OH THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT!" she exclaimed as she rocketed out of her chair. "I've got to invite everyone and set up a venue and we're going to have SO MUCH FUN come on let's get started on the biggest reveal party yet!"
Mercury, his arm clamped in Pinkie's hand, found himself swept off his feet quite literally as she zoomed out the door and down the road.
[-]
180.13 Masterweaver
[-]
Not So Happy Valentine's Day!
"It's a lovely day, isn't it?"
Weiss very deliberately ignored Neopolitan as she slid into the seat next to her.
"The sun's shinin', the birds are squabblin' over property rights, not a Grimm to be seen..." The ice cream girl smirked, leaning back into the chair. "Single's awareness day couldn't have come at a better time!"
Weiss continued to deliberately and pointedly ignore her, focusing entirely on her own meal.
"Course, that don't mean I ain't happy fer the peeps what got themselves a pair," Neo said. "A full half the loopers here! Man, I'm telling you, we lucked the hell out."
The New York affect was grinding enough without what Weiss was sure were deliberate grammatical errors peppered throughout, but she retained enough presence of mind to not show any reaction.
"Still, though, all that fancy-schmancy drama, you know? Arkos has Pyrrha's constant sense of bein' left behind and Jaune's guilt over that, Boop is just a regular whirlwind of the guy ignorin' his heart to not get hurt, Snowbird is a total mess no matter how you look at it."
Prick, slice, bite, chew, swallow. Prick, slice, bite, chew, swallow. Weiss's world was her fork and her knife and nothing else.
"And don't get me started on the bees," Neo continued, almost casually. "The shit the two of them have gone through, that's just nuts. I guess Kali and Ghira have a stable relationship," she added as an afterthought. "And Emerald and Ilia, who would have thunk it?"
She was going to bring it up. Weiss just knew Neo was going to bring it up, just to get under her skin. Well, she wouldn't give her the satisfaction. Not this time.
"All in all, it's soooooooooooo great being unattached," Neo drawled, kicking up her feet on the table. "Love's nice and all, but it just comes with way too much. Singles, we got no expectations. We have our pick of the crop for whenever we want a fling. Amazing, right?"
She turned toward Weiss, who did not so much as glance at her big, toothy, shit-eating grin.
"And I mean, Sun is stupidly hot. Or Glynda, if ya swing that way. Even with half of us locked up, there's plenty of options if we want to go fishin', ya know?"
Alucard put her up to this. Okay, no, that was too conspiracy theoryish, but Weiss would not be surprised in the slightest.
"I wonder what Ruby and Penny are up to-"
"Just because I'm a jedi doesn't mean I can't strangle you," Weiss snapped.
Neo gasped, a melodramatic hand over her face. It was only when her lips curved into a knowing smirk that Weiss realized she had slipped up.
"...Ya know, they're probably on a picnic blanket somewhere. Ruby's leanin' in onto Penny's shoulder, and the both of them are just watching butterflies cause they're sappy like that-"
"I liked you better mute," Weiss grumbled, sinking into herself.
[-]
180.5 (con't) Masterweaver
[-]
Simpler Times: Blake Belladonna
Blake glanced over the edge of her book, looking at Blake casually lounging on one of the armchairs they'd found in a corner of the library.
Blake, for her part, continued to read her own book. Her eyes met Blake's briefly, and she gave her nonlooping counterpart a small smile, before turning back to the pages.
"...so..." Blake considered for a moment. "...you... are going to change things for the better, right?"
"Mmmhmm, we are."
"Do, uh... the others... know about-"
"The other loopers know so much about our past that I have, in previous loops, taken them home to meet our parents," Blake replied. "Yes, even Weiss."
"Weiss Schnee."
"She is a good person, once she's been... deprogrammed." Blake shook her head. "Atlas did not do her any favors... but saying anything more would be diving into her personal issues."
Blake's eyes drifted away contemplatively. "I... see."
The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes.
"So..." Blake cleared her throat. "How... do Mom and Dad see us?"
Blake put down her book, looking her right in the eyes. "They will always love us and welcome us back. They're not ashamed of us-worried for us, sure, hoping we don't go too far, but never ashamed."
"...Okay." Blake ducked behind her book, sniffing a little. "Okay... and... okay, give me a minute."
"Take your time."
Blake wiped a few tears from her eyes. "...so. Um. Do we... do we, uh... ever make up for... what we did?"
"That... is a little complicated," Blake admitted. "I'd like to say yes. Mostly, yes, we do, but..." She sighed. "...but the things I lived through, I don't want you to. Okay? So... look, I haven't done anything this loop yet, but to keep things from getting... too bad, I have to take certain actions."
"I-I can help."
"...you can," Blake allowed. "In some places. But..." She sighed. "Adam's too far gone. We tried to walk away, but he..."
Blake glanced away. "...he can't be saved."
"He needs to be put down."
Blake's eyes snapped back. "What?"
"Adam Taurus is Spite manifest," Blake said quietly. "Not justice, not vengeance, spite. And, unfortunately, his very presence poisoned the White Fang to a point where, in baseline, the entire organization had to be dissolved."
"He's just one man!" Blake protested.
"He is almost directly responsible for the rise of Sienna Khan... and if I don't do anything, he will kill her and take her place."
"But-"
"And then order an assassination attempt on our parents."
Blake swallowed.
"And also try to-" Blake paused. "Hmm. Actually... no, wait, even if that hasn't happened yet Yang's still your partner so yes, he'd still try to cut off her arm just to-"
"Stop! Just-just... stop."
Blake sighed. "I... I'm sorry. For me, this is... old scars. For you, it's fresh, and I... I shouldn't have brought it up like that."
"He really... does all that?"
"He said he'd destroy everything I loved." Blake huffed a mirthless laugh. "Damn well tried, too. Never quite succeeded, though."
"I..." Blake's bow folded back. "I..."
"Hey." Blake got up, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What he does is not your fault. What I have to do... is not your fault. And... as much as he's responsible for, handling him is only one thing that needs to be done. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone but yourself, but if you do want to help there are other things you could do."
Blake sighed. "I... I don't know if I'd be any use. I'm not like you, I... I haven't lived through these loops. I'm just a coward."
Blake smiled. "Oh?"
"Yes, I-I run away from everything."
"I wouldn't say you run away," Blake replied.
"It's true! My semblance-"
"Our semblance," Blake pointed out, "lets us dodge hits that would take us out, and see things from another angle."
"But-"
"Are you thinking you ran away from Adam? Back there, on the train?"
Blake looked away.
"You distanced yourself," Blake said gently. "From his views, from his poisons, and came here to Beacon. Sometimes you have to help yourself before you can help others, Blake. And sometimes," she added with a wry smirk, "that means accepting the help of the older version of yourself that has come back from the future for complex universe-breaking reasons."
Blake sighed. "You... see me as a younger version of you, and that's true, but... that doesn't mean I can be you, specifically." She looked up at Blake. "I mean, you... even if you're right, even if this, what I'm feeling, isn't real... it feels real."
"It does," Blake agreed. "And, even knowing that Adam twisted your mind, even knowing how he did it... I know that just telling you isn't going to fix it. But I can promise you this-even if you never become me, you can still heal. You can still grow. And you can still be the best version of you that you can be, and I will always be ready to lend a hand."
Blake smiled.
"Well... almost always," Blake amended. "Sometimes I'll be too busy making out with Yang."
"Wh-What?!"
"Oh yeah, we're married-us as loopers, I mean, it's not baseline yet but-"
"Uh, wow, I don't-"
"Which doesn't mean you have to date your Yang, mind, I'm just one possible version of-"
"Okay, wow, stop, quick, stop!" Blake shook her head. "That-"
She caught sight of Blake's smirk.
"...Wow. You..." Blake shook her head. "You went there."
"Yep."
"...are you two actually married?"
"Happily and actively."
"O...kay then." Blake nodded. "You know what...? I'm... going to have to spend some time processing that."
"Take all the time you need."
[-]
180.14 Luna 2
[-]
What do you do with a General when she stops being a General? (Temporarily)
In a corner of Ruby's Pocket, two chibis in uniformed versions of her clothes stood talking to each other, as vast divisions marched through the bustling staging area, some wearing Ruby's normal attire, others a uniformed variant of it, moving in and out of existence as they left or entered the Pocket to change shift, the whole operation controlled with military precision.
"You got your promotion to Captain. Congratulations," said the first, a Corporal.
"Well thanks," the second, Captain Ruby, replied slightly hesitantly, "but I'm not really sure I deserve this."
"Of course you do! The amount of time you've been on the front lines - you heard what the Commander said, 'you're an inspiration to all other Rubies at the front', and now you get the chance to help with veterans readjusting to a society without the added sugar privileges or battles of frontline service."
"Yeah. I suppose," the Captain replied, "and now that the expansions are over, we're no longer on a war footing, so the action's not going to be any more intense than normal tours of duty…whatever normal is."
The Corporal nodded. "So, today's assignment is to meet this Brigadier-General Ruby – to help her with demobilizing."
"Probably." The Captain's brow furrowed. "But... We haven't really been given any direction. What do we know about her anyway? And why is she being demobilized? I know they're temporarily resting up lots of chibis now we've got a chance to breathe… but why her? The top commanders never get demobilized like this normally."
"Beats me. Her reputation is incredible though."
"Her reputation?"
"You really don't know about her?!"
"No. I've not tended to follow the news when I'm away from the front, and when I'm there I usually just concentrate on my sector."
"Well. Some of it's classified, but they say she rose rapidly through the ranks from being the bravest frontline soldier to one of the top officers managing various special initiatives-"
They suddenly snapped to attention and saluted as a figure approached. "Welcome General," the captain said. "We are here to assist you".
The Ruby standing before them wore a Brigadier-General's variant of Ruby's uniform, the main difference being the rank insignia and the hat, as well as having lots of medals and ribbons on her chest, but only carrying a simple trooper's satchel over her shoulder. She returned the salute and smiled.
"Hi. It's been a long time… Captain."
The Captain looked genuinely puzzled as she rapidly racked her brain for an answer to that. She had never met a chibi commander like this before. Why would she be greeting her so warmly… it didn't make sense… except...
Captain Ruby eyed the ribbons on the chest of the newcomer… realizing suddenly that one stood out from the rest of the uniform. A ribbon that no serving chibi should be wearing, especially not one so highly ranked. A ribbon only now referred to in their history books.
Member of the Sisters.
The Salemified chibis, whose existence had faded when Ruby Prime reabsorbed Chibi Salem.
The Captain suddenly saw the scene replay before her eyes - a memory of when she was first briefed with lots of other new recruits - a Ruby who had only just fissioned, who talked to her… asked audacious (and naïve) questions… and who took the unthinkable step of volunteering to join the Sisters, which had earned her expressions of shock from her peers and a salute from The General briefing them.
She hadn't seen or heard what happened to that bold (some would say foolish) Ruby after that. And now here she was, a Brigadier General, with more ribbons and medals on her chest then any soldier she had seen… but still looking and smiling like any regular chibi Ruby.
[-]
The two chibis sat across from each other. The Corporal had gone to sort out the paperwork, so they had retreated to a nearby eatery designed to serve chibis changing shifts, eating through a selection of sugary snacks. Brigadier-General Ruby had hidden her jacket in the satchel; too many adoring fan chibis had noticed who she was as they walked there and almost caused a scene.
"So," Captain Ruby spoke up, "it is you isn't it?"
"Yes," said General Ruby. "I'm the overeager chibi who talked to you back then, liked extra sugar and fighting on the frontlines, and took the crazy step on day 1 of volunteering to join the Sisters."
The Captain gave her a flat look. "Ok. So, how exactly did…" She gestured at the partially hidden jacket with its medals. "…this happen?"
General Ruby finished the snack she was eating and looked sheepish. "I really don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I know the events, it's just a struggle to understand it." The General shrugged. "Well. To start off. I joined the Sisters. They weren't exactly the friendliest, but I got used to that. Funny thing is, while I adapted to their fighting styles, I always stayed as a regular chibi in both personality and appearance… that darker part of them never rubbed off on me. I really stood out from the crowd… not that they formed a crowd that often.
Normally you serve particular tours of duty, but I kept volunteering continuously across different sectors, and because I was a Sister nobody said no - they figured I was special to be part of them but still a regular chibi. And, unlike the Sisters, the officer chibis still treated me as a regular when drawing up their records, so I had proportionately longer service and combat than any other regular at the front, which meant I kept being promoted faster through the original command structure. To be honest, I didn't want to say no when they offered - it meant extra sugar and more fighting…it felt like good exercise, so I just kept fighting, and, before long, I was a Captain.
Then…Chibi Salem was reabsorbed. And that was huge. Suddenly the Sisters were gone, and all chibis had to adapt. You remember that?"
"Remember it? Everyone does," Captain Ruby recalled. "Those sudden added feelings of grief and hate and terror. Parts of our society were thrown into chaos. Some frontline troopers had real problems with handling it at first and got hospitalized or demobilized for their own safety. With everyone more on edge, some even started whispering crazy stuff about the breakdown of society as we knew it - no way that was going to happen, but it still made people nervous. But then they started distributing these special guidelines to help all chibis readjust – I remember a lot of others saying they were really popular and helpful."
"I know. I wrote them."
"What?!" the Captain looked at her counterpart with a startled expression.
General Ruby sighed. "I was the only regular chibi who had joined the Sisters. No one else really understood them the way I did. I had been with them for so long while remaining myself. So, when they all suddenly disappeared or re-formed as regular chibis, those soldiers around me saw me cope so well that they started talking to me for advice. Then they kept reporting it higher up the chain of command. Before I knew it, I was asked to write the guidelines. It was just common sense to me, but it worked out really well… so they promoted me, gave me a staff and put me in charge of the Salemified Inclinations Re-Integration Program. The SIRIP, bad acronym, I know. They had me opening and commanding frontline bases to help chibis adjust to those new emotions and remain effective in their jobs. Most of the time I just ended up giving lectures, doing fighting demonstrations or sharing my experiences with others. And somehow, even though it was just common sense, it really worked for them. People praised me, I got another promotion, and the Council up in the Head kept showering me with extra sugar, honours, and congratulatory messages."
Captain Ruby just listened silently as the General continued.
"Then, during one of the recent expansions, I happen to come up with the idea of breaking into waves of chibis and launching massive coordinated swarm 'hug' attacks on difficult opponents. It was a joke I was sharing with another officer. They thought I was serious and started yelling that I was a genius for coming up with an idea that would be a powerful weapon, but also help with the psychological health of all chibis while involving them in some degree of frontline service... I think she was just a bit too excitable. Next thing… the First Guard hear about it from them, love the idea, and ask me to draw up plans to attack the Ace-Ops with it as a demonstration, and for me to co-ordinate the thing. All the chibis were so thrilled with how it worked and made them feel that no-one really reflected on the fact that it was a pretty obvious idea that any of us could have come up with… and so they praised me even more and promoted me to Brigadier General, in charge of Secret Projects and Future Warfare Planning." She let out another sigh. "Didn't plan for any of that. I just kept volunteering or saying yes when they asked me to do something, because it came with the promise of more sugary snacks."
Captain Ruby stared, eyes growing wider with every passing sentence. "So… if you achieved all that… then why could they possibly want to demobilize you?"
"They didn't want to. They demobilized me for the sake of my health. Someone in the First Guard realized that I've been in non-stop active service continuously since I first signed up. I've been surviving on sugar rushes and adrenaline, and I'm probably breaking the rules I drew up about R&R. I also think that..." She paused and her face fell, her silver eyes shimmering slightly. "Even though we don't talk about it that much... everyone in the Head is still a bit nervous about making sure that we're all alright. What General Ironwood ended up doing in baseline... had a real effect on how some of them view civil-military relations in our society. It's not that anyone of us would ever do something opposed to Ruby Prime's wishes... but... they want to be sure as they can that our commanding officers are given enough time off to stay stable and not become paranoid, since it might affect the stability of everyone around them."
She shivered briefly at the thought, then ate another cookie before continuing.
"The latest expansions are also over, which means there's less activity in Future Warfare Planning, and Secret Projects will jog along at whatever pace the First Guard and Ruby Prime want them to, so… my role isn't as crucial right now. At some stage I may be remobilized, meaning I've been told I need to get full value out of my downtime. So, where do we start? What should we do with a General who has (temporarily) stopped being a General?".
The Captain facepalmed at the butchered song lyric, while General Ruby just gave a beaming smile.
"Where do we start?" The facepalming Captain just shook her head before looking up. "I'm sorry ma'am I… I want to help but… I'm not equipped to do this. You're a General. You've lived in a completely different world… I've been around as long but I'm just a Captain. How can I possibly help you readjust to chibi society when I can't even begin to compare my experiences to yours?" She sulked.
"Why do you think I chose you for this assignment?"
"You…chose me?" The Captain looked confused.
"You are highly regarded in your unit as a hard-working and trusted officer and soldier who looks out for everyone under her command. But more than that…" The General smiled warmly. "You were the only person who talked to me before people started knowing who I was. You were my first friend. Even if you thought I was naïve or foolish, you were still willing to talk to me. If I'm going to adjust to 'normal' life as a chibi (if that's even a valid term), I don't need people around me who hero-worship me for what I've done… I need a friend who knows what it's like to be…'normal'."
Captain Ruby smiled back.
"So. What's 'normal' after this…friend?"
"Well. Once the paperwork's finished up, you want to join the Corporal and me for some video games and then a movie with cookies?"
"Yep. Sounds good."
[-]
180.15 Masterweaver
[-]
Take a breather or else
"WEISS ULRICH SCHNEE!"
Weiss turned around as Pyrrha stormed up to her. "Ulrich? Why Ulrich?"
"I agreed to pick up the slack during your forced vacation," the redhead continued, "and that meant asking around to figure out your general appointment schedule."
"I mean, german with two syllables, sure, but out of all the names you could pick-"
"And do you know what I found?" Pyrrha asked. "Do you know what I figured out, Weiss?"
"Hold on, I'm still stuck on Ulrich."
Pyrrha pointed at her scroll. "You PACKED your weeks! Packed them! Bi-weekly sessions at a minimum, weekly for some, with four patients a day on average and little time between them-"
Weiss had pulled out her own datapad and was scrolling through it. "German, from the old word Odalric... odal means heritage, ric means mighty ruler-"
"-and you didn't. Tell. ANYBODY?! It's no wonder you were constantly on a hair's edge! Even taking weekends off, that is way too much attention and work for a single person!"
"I guess Ulrich could be seen as a compliment, sort of..."
"And worse, you got everybody used to it! I've been having to turn down sessions and coordinate with Zwei to cover some people I can't."
"But do I really want to be known as one whose heritage is mighty and powerful? I'm more about honor then power, after all."
"I mean I get that we have a LOT of problems, and yes I contribute to them myself a bit, but..." Pyrrha sighed. "Look. If you're going to pick this back up at any point, I am going to have to insist you stick to Tuesdays and Fridays and take all other days off."
That caught Weiss's attention. "Wait, no, hold on-"
"You were overworking yourself so much that I'm overworked just trying to keep the boat stable," Pyrrha insisted. "And you know what? Even if you start up again, I'm going to keep going. No more taking on more than you can handle, okay?"
"Pyrrha, you can't just-"
"I know we've said it a lot before, but I mean it this time." Pyrrha crossed her arms. "If I hear you're going too far, I will bring Ruby in to puppy-dog eye you into submission."
"Pyrrha-"
"Zwei too. And Jaune, I know he can do that."
Weiss sighed. "You're over-reacting-"
"I. Am. Not. I'm giving you reasonable restrictions as part of my job as a mental therapist, which I may consider lifting or altering if and when I determine your workaholism is no longer harmful to you or those around you."
"But-"
"Don't," Pyrrha growled. "Just... don't, Weiss. Okay?"
"...okay," Weiss mumbled. "Fine... I'm still on vacation, but... fine..."
"...Good." Pyrrha took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I apologize for being so forceful about this."
"No, I... I can be a little bit... difficult," Weiss admitted reluctantly.
"...would you like to have a little shopping therapy now?"
"Sure," Weiss replied, a sardonic grin starting to form. "Let's go indulge the stereotype."
The two of them walked down the hall.
"...But seriously, ULRICH?!"
[-]
180.16 Luna 2
[-]
Games within Games within Games
Cinder's manic laughter seemed to echo around the sky itself as she looked towards the horizon, eyes shimmering, juggling her favourite gaming dice in her hand.
That she was standing on top of Atlas Academy while doing this, seemingly unaware of most of the fleet of Atlas military airships surrounding her at a distance, was entirely coincidental (it would later be claimed).
The only thing preventing the pilots from turning the top of Atlas Academy's tower (and unwittingly also themselves) into the biggest fireworks display in their history was Ironwood's Awake status, and the fact he knew she was also Awake but hadn't yet done anything hostile, hence the strict orders for no one to fire.
Nearby, said General stood on the bridge of an Atlesian vessel, flanked by Winter.
A flurry of rose petals zipped into the room, reforming into Ruby and Emerald.
"Alright, so… what's she done so far?" Ruby asked.
"Well…" Winter put down her binoculars. "Scared Atlas air traffic control and the radar operators half to death, attracted a few Grimm – Penny's taking care of them – and, since flying in, she's been standing on top of Atlas Academy, just… laughing. Apart from that, not much." She shrugged.
"She Pinged in response to ours… but her behaviour was… unexpected… we didn't want to move until we knew more about what had happened," Ironwood continued, looking at Emerald. "Do you know anything about this?"
Emerald sighed. "She just had a Hub Loop and ran into me in Vale to tell me the moment after she Woke up. Blurted it all out, then took off at speed and shattered all the windows in the street." She rubbed the side of her head. "Apparently… Rooster Teeth are planning to make a RWBY D&D TV show. They're talking about the possibility of creating Remnant-themed campaigns, so…"
Winter facepalmed, Ironwood raised an eyebrow, and Ruby's look was somewhere between quizzical and a sense of wonder as she said "Oh".
"To be honest. I'm not entirely sure how she took it. Excited? Definitely. But, from what she was talking about, I think there's also an element of wondering what it means for her own gaming identity, not wanting them to steal her thunder, that whole meta issue of being the gamer or part of the game… or something like that. There was also some garbled talk about a magnum opus or something before she took off?"
Outside, Cinder continued her laughter as the light in her eyes danced at the prospect, a tangled myriad of emotions… and anticipation.
[-]
180.17 Falloutman-101
[-]
Queen meets King
"Why do you play the villain?" Cinder Fall asked, as she sipped her tea while eying the chessboard in front of her and sparing a brief glance at the beautiful, normal, campus grounds outside, a sight for sore eyes after spending untold years upon years around Beacon.
"Castles as schools are overrated."
Her thoughts turned to the man in front of her, contemplating his next move and perhaps the context of her question. He was quiet for a man with a reputation of famously (or Infamously) looping into the various villain's bodies, taking their roles and showing no mercy to any when most would have given up and made a peaceful loop. The only other claims to fame he had as a looper however, was his genius strategic intellect and 'interesting' looping glitch.
"Why do you ask?" the Anchor who sat across from her inquired, as he moved a pawn forward.
"Oh' so he wants to play that game," Cinder thought as mentally her eyes narrowed and she upped the ante. "No real reason," she casually replied, "just call it personal curiosity, after all, why would an anchor be committing such acts if not for a reason? The only other option would mean you have Sakura Syndrome."
"I see," he replied as his starkly violet eyes glanced up at her calmly before he continued. "That question is deeply personal in nature. However, what makes you think I could possibly have S.S.?"
"Another deflection," Cinder thought as she responded as bluntly as possible. "I don't believe it needs stating."
"No, It doesn't," the raven-haired man stated with a slight look of exasperation, as he finally looked up at her. "Contrary to whatever some individuals may think of me I am not a Sakura," he stated, "as while I have killed countless nonloopers and loopers in my capacity as a villain, I still acknowledge them as the same worth as all others including my own in the terms of life's worth."
"But why be the villain at all?" Cinder asked, her eyes glowing in curiosity as she moved a piece on the board.
"Because the purpose of life and being a 'hero' is overcoming adversity in the face of hardship, so the ordinary must not have to suffer them and to help prepare those 'heroes' for those hardships I shaped myself into the ultimate obstacle for them to overcome. It does nothing but help those people improve their skills; it doesn't matter if they love me for it or not. It also doesn't help that my own nature pushes me to do these things," he replied, as he moved a knight to take her bishop.
"Nature?" Cinder asked him quizzically.
"Nature" he repeated, before asking, "Tell me Cinder, what do you think my nature is?"
Cinder paused, before glancing at her opponent. She took in everything she had known about him, coupled with what she could read from his appearance; the man who sat across from her was about her age physically, with raven hair and striking violet eyes that could pierce your soul atop a spindly frame. His face was handsome and his aura radiated a type of natural 'charm' that drew followers and could easily turn others to his views; it would make most question if it was natural or a looping ability, although she knew enough to know that it was quite natural...
"A shame, he would make a great vampire," she thought, as she reached a conclusion.
"It's in your nature to gravitate towards conflict," Cinder replied, as she moved her queen across the board and continued. "And despite your genuine desire for a better world of peace you are the type of man to enjoy the strategic challenges of a worthy opponent to the point where you would be somewhat miserable without the challenge, so in short you also play the villain to fuel your own desire for a challenge and avoid boredom."
He gave a smile and replied "You're right, though I wish it were otherwise. Although you left out a small detail; I swore many years ago to myself I wouldn't let myself be caught up in the lies of the world and wouldn't let myself be a product of other's environments."
Cinder slowed as she watched him move a pawn and asked, "So, you become a villain to hold power over destiny?
"Yes, just not my own," he replied as he watched a rook move before continuing. "I make my own destiny, it's only those around me who aren't strong enough either in power or the will to do what's necessary to win that I fear for, destiny or otherwise. My sister for example."
Cinder's mind flashed to Ruby and she realized his meaning. "I can get behind that."
He gave a slight nod as he moved his King to which she raised her eyebrows.
"Why?" she asked simply.
Lelouch Vi Britannia gave her a smile and replied, "If the King does not lead how can expect lead how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"
Her mind instantly came to two conclusions as those words where said; fate indeed had a sense of humor, and her loop replacing Kallen Kozuki was bound to be 'interesting'.
[RWBY][Code Geass]
[-]
180.5 (con't) Masterweaver
[-]
Simpler Times: Yang Xiao Long
"...it's not just that they can hear quieter sounds, but the way the noise interacts means that certain things modulate differently for people with four ears. Like, some songs, the musicians play their guitars a certain way and the notes mix together differently then they would for humans."
"Huh. Yeah, I guess they would, wouldn't they?" Yang nodded thoughtfully. "You know, I never really thought about that."
"Yeah, going to level with you? Not thinking about things tends to be our biggest weakness."
"Hey!"
"No I'm serious," Yang said firmly. "I'm not saying that we're stupid, I'm saying we're impulsive. Usually, if we take two seconds to think-two seconds, Yang!-we can handle anything thrown at us. Punching things with explosions is easy, but it's also very easy to counter."
"Hmmm." Yang nodded. "You've got a point, I guess."
"Yep."
"How'd you figure that out, though?"
"Lost my arm."
"Ha! Lost your..." Yang's smile faded. "You're... you mean in one of the loops, right? You made a stupid mistake and-"
"Baseline."
"Oh. Oh god. Lost your arm. Which means I-"
"-don't need to worry about that," Yang assured her quickly. "There was a very specific chain of events that led up to it. Us loopers are going to handle that over the weekend."
"...if you're sure."
"Yep. Dude that did it won't do diddly doo down here due to dudette's decisive doing of deeds that derail dude's dastardly decisions definitively."
"Dang, that didn't do drat to deflect the doubts dancing directly down my dumb dreams, and I dare deem the declaration a disaster for the direction you decided."
"That's fair, for I forgot to frame the facts in a format free of fragility, but I feel forced to forwarn you that friends will fortify your focus."
"That..." Yang snickered. "Okay, okay, yeah, I can't keep that up forever! But yeah... yeah. I know, I've got a team now. Two teams, apparently."
"Yep."
"So... hey." Yang cleared her throat. "We uh... did we ever find out about... Mom?"
"...So I still don't know definitively why she left," Yang began. "History is damaged and that detail... hasn't been repaired. But... I learned a lot about her, what she does, who she is, and... I can hazard a guess."
"Yeah?"
"Yang, look, this question is important," Yang said seriously. "I get it. Of course I get it. But trust me on this: you don't want Raven in your life."
"What, is she a bitch?"
"Yep. Also a bandit queen."
Yang quirked an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
"Yep. Pillaging her way across Anima." Yang chuckled darkly. "And that's not going into the top-secret crap she's part of."
"Top secret?"
Yang considered for a moment. "...Right. Okay." She glanced around the courtyard carefully, eyes lingering on some of the trees, before leaning in close. "Okay, big mind-blowing secret: Magic is real."
"Huh." Yang leaned back with a contemplative look. "No foolin'?"
"Totally legit. Of course, the academies control and suppress knowledge of magic-because you know, wars were fought over the stuff, and it is actually pret-ty dangerous stuff."
"Okay... so Mom got involved in magic somehow?"
"Yep."
"That's... nifty, I guess." Yang frowned. "So... what, is she a witch?"
"No. Well..." Yang considered for a moment. "...maaaaaaybe? She's not a witch witch, she... okay, back when she was still with team STRQ, she and Qrow got the ability to turn into birds."
"Turn into birds."
"Yep."
"...Black birds?"
"With red eyes," Yang confirmed.
"So that bird that I keep seeing out of the corner of my eye-"
"Yep, that's Raven."
"...why?" Yang asked softly. "Why does she... why does she do that?"
Yang sighed. "Raven... best I can figure, she's in denial about being a horrible person. Her tribe raids villages and that's okay because the weak die and the strong survive. Keeping away from Dad isn't her fault, he's just too caught up in Ozpin's web to see the truth. She didn't abandon us because she's watching us in secret. Obviously it's all complete bullshit, but..." She huffed a mirthless laugh. "Well, a person can become completely different when in the grip of fear. And Raven... Raven, I think, has to justify herself to herself, because otherwise she'd have to see who she actually is. She's not delusional, mind you. She doesn't blame people for things they don't do, she doesn't say anybody makes her do what she does. But she is... in denial."
"God... with that description I don't know whether to hate her or pity her."
"I'd go with pity. Hate is a dangerous thing."
"I guess..."
Yang shook her head. "Look. If you want to talk to her yourself, if you want to actually confront her about all this, I can make it happen. But... the one thing that I can actually say Raven ever did as a mother is try her very best to make sure we didn't get caught up in any of the shit she did. And... honestly, as much as I don't like how far she took that, I can agree with her that you're not nearly ready for it. I know this has been a focus of your life for a while-"
"-obviously-"
"-obviously, but right now... you have another focus. Your team. Ruby's going to need her big sister helping her handle the load of leadership. Weiss is going to need somebody willing to call her out when she goes too far. And Blake... Blake's going to need somebody she can trust, somebody to open up to."
"...Well you loopers already know all the stuff we do-"
"Yeah, but we're too convenient," Yang explained. "Some parts of growing, you're going to need to do without us. Because otherwise you're just going to be asking us for answers to everything."
"...True," Yang admitted. "Alright... alright, alright! Fine. I won't ask about Raven."
"Good."
"But the moment you think I'm ready," Yang said firmly, "the moment you think I'm... I dunno, mature enough to go talk to her-"
"I'll tell you. Not a second before."
"...I'm holding you to that."
[-]
180.18 Masterweaver
[-]
Ring Around the Rosie
"Hey Ruby? What are your thoughts on trigonomous relationships?"
Ruby leveled a flat look at Penny. "This is about Weiss, isn't it."
"...tangentially," Penny replied, not quite looking at her. "But you know... there's the not uncommon team STRQ polycue, which may or may not include your uncle..."
"Right." Ruby took a breath. "Okay," she said again. "You know I'm a big shipper. In love with love? If love between multiples fit, then sure." She narrowed her eyes. "If it's just a way to head off drama by providing a convenient alternative and there isn't any genuine affection in the relationship then I have to ask questions."
"And what if, purely theoretically, the thought was kicked off by a moment during an expansion?"
Ruby crossed her arms. "Penny..."
"Alright, alright, alright." Penny sighed. "I'll admit this is partially-BUT ONLY PARTIALLY-fueled by the closeness you have with Weiss and my resultant... uh... you know..."
"Jealousy?"
"mmmmmmnysBUT!" Penny held up a finger. "But, but but but, but but! I do recall that in baseline, I called Weiss's hair wonderful once."
"You..." Ruby frowned for a moment. "...huh. You did, didn't you? Wow, with everything that happens around that time I completely forgot."
"Yes, I will admit that looking for Blake took precedence. Still, it's a thing that happened. And Weiss was the one to knock me over that one time-"
Ruby held up a hand. "Let me stop you right there, Penny. As a veteran shipper, I know that it's tempting to accept any evidence given, but you have to allow for the totality of evidence. You can't just ship people because they kissed one time, there has to be a cumulation of details."
"I see."
"Also, this case would be less theoretical than most. Can you look me in the eye and say you are feeling any sort of actual attraction toward Weiss?"
Penny looked her in the eye and said "I am feeling any sort of actual attraction toward Weiss" in a calm monotone.
Ruby threw up her hands.
"But... in all seriousness," Penny admitted, "it's kind of... complicated."
"Really."
"I mean, I feel like I should be, in baseline, feeling a bond with Weiss," Penny admitted. "After spending so much time with her sister and... and what happened in the finale, it sort of feels like there's a seed there that would grow, you know? And it's not as though I don't like her, really, I mean the jealousy thing I have is just sort of... there. It flared up during, you know, my breakdown, but it's not something that really influences my heart. I really do like Weiss as a friend. And..." She managed a wry grin. "No matter what else, I think we can agree she does actually look very pretty."
"...I guess she does," Ruby admitted.
"Ruby... uh... do you think..."
Penny rubbed her hands together.
"...do you think," she tried again, "that if I hadn't died during the Vytal festival... you and Weiss would be together already?"
"What?"
"I mean, I hate to say it, but the fall of Beacon was emotionally devastating for you and your team. And maybe you kind of, both baseline and the loops, decided to put aside extreme bonding for some time...?"
Ruby shook her head. "Penny... are you blaming yourself for me not falling in love with Weiss?"
"Well technically I'm blaming Cinder, since she arranged for my murder, but-"
"Look, even if that is true, you don't have to step in to fix it. It's not like, you know, it's this big thing that's holding me back. Some problems need to be fixed, and some... some just heal over time. And I have had plenty of time."
Penny nodded. "Right. Okay."
"Right."
"Yeah."
"...I love you, by the way." Ruby took her hand. "And... I guess I'm grateful you're willing to share these worries with me. That you trust me with them."
"I know. And I love you, and I'm thankful you always take the time to listen to my worries... and reaffirm what I mean to you."
The two of them leaned together, resting their shoulders against each other, and watched the butterflies buzzing through the flowers.
[-]
180.19 Luna 2
[-]
Gigantschlag
A giant skywhale grimm sailed slowly through the air above a frozen wilderness, heralded by dark storm clouds and lightning. Soon it would be approaching Atlas, and then, Salem thought, nothing could stand in her way.
Then an enormous hammer came out of nowhere and hit the skywhale grimm, which started falling rapidly towards the ground, the force of which crushed other smaller grimm flying alongside.
The giant head of the hammer was connected to a very long and spindly handle, reaching all the way from the sky down to a ginger-haired figure standing on the frozen surface.
"Cracked it!" Nora beamed, admiring the work of Magnhild's Gigantform, the air punctuated by the skywhale disintegrating…and by someone yelling.
"DO SOMETHINGGGGGG!" Mercury wailed as he was flailing around while falling through the sky.
"Oh. Now you want to me do something?!" Emerald snarked from her completely relaxed and cross-legged position while falling.
"YESSSS!"
Emerald sighed, before grabbing Mercury by the arm and slowing their descent to a gentle hover in mid-air.
Mercury cried out, pointing at Nora who had flown up to join them. "Next time check who's on a skywhale grimm before you HIT IT!"
"I already did!" Nora shouted back, "And next time don't sunbathe on a skywhale grimm above a frozen wasteland! What are you, crazy?"
Mercury had no answer for that, while Emerald just roared with laughter.
[-]
180.20 Masterweaver
[-]
Brother at Beacon
"Penny?"
"Yes Weiss?"
"Why," Weiss said slowly, "is my brother hauling your luggage?"
Penny gasped, so dramatically it had to be faked. "Your brother? I didn't know! I thought he was an ordinary bellboy!"
"I told you multiple times-"
"I suppose he does look the part," Weiss conceded. "Oh, well, if he made it all the way to Vale then I must look to his well-being."
"Of course! Because you are a caring big sister, yes?"
Whitley scoffed.
"Certainly, Penny." Weiss put a hand to her forehead. "Alas, I do not have the affordance to set him up in a hotel, so for the time being he shall have to share a dorm with me and my team, which may very well result in situational comedy."
"Oh no!" Penny cried, clasping her own cheeks. "Not situational comedy!"
"Alas and alack, yes."
"I must make amends! Perhaps by keeping the authorities uninvolved so it does not become a legal quagmire?"
"Did you two plan this?" Whitley deadpanned.
"Yes," Weiss said. "Yes we did."
"...really."
"There is no way in hell I'm letting you stay under Jacques' thumb longer than I have to," Weiss said firmly, grabbing his arm. "Now come on, I'm going to introduce you to our new family and Ruby's going to bury you in cookies."
"What?!"
"Not literally of course, you'll be half-buried at the most. Oh, and Yang's going to want to mother you, and Blake's going to try to give you educational books and 'educational' books but I think she won't give you educational books just yet-"
"Goodbye Whitley!" Penny called after them with a wave. "Thanks for helping me with my things!"
"-and Nora's a little over-energetic but she will back off if you need it, and Jaune can help you with a lot of emotional things, and Pyrrha will definitely want to mother you on occasion, and I'm pretty sure Ren will be more than willing to talk fashion-"
"What is going on?!"
[-]
180.21 Masterweaver
[-]
Complex Simplicity
"Okay, Ruby, what's got you twitchy this time?"
"Twitchy?" Ruby snorted. "I'm not twitchy. Who says I'm twitchy? Don't say I'm twitchy, I'm not twitchy, you're twitchy! Sorry, you're not twitchy. Nobody's twitchy. There's no twitching going on. None."
Sun Wukong quirked an eyebrow.
"...curse my habit of falling back to cartoonish behavioral patterns when nervous," Ruby grumbled.
"That's a very specific thing to curse but," Sun quickly cut off Ruby's reaction, "also tangential to the point. You've got that sort of energy about you where you're expecting something to happen but don't know when it'll happen and you don't know if pushing for it to happen will make it happen sooner or make it happen later."
"That is... a very specific energy for me to have," Ruby managed. "Do I really do it that often?"
"Well, it's usually during expansions, but I did notice you doing it a lot in the loops before Yang and Blake's wedding."
"Huh. Weird that nobody's ever mentioned it."
"It doesn't come up in conversation often."
"I mean you'd think at least Weiss would bring it up. Are you sure you're not projecting?"
Sun considered for a moment. "I might be, but you seem to be aware of it on some level, so..."
"ARRRRGH! Fine!" Ruby threw up her hands. "Fine! It's stupid, fair warning."
"I doubt you'd be as twitchy if it weren't."
"Maria and Mercury still aren't officially on the family tree!"
Sun crossed his arms. "Mmmhmmm."
"And I mean I know I can't force it," Ruby admitted, "and I know it's really sort of ridiculous to think everyone would be on board and it's really just a silly sort of web of relationships that we don't actually need, we can support each other without having to say 'oh she's my sister's daughter's robot twin' or whatever and it's complicated enough as is especially after Penny adopted Winter as a sister-"
"Have they actually made that official?"
"-and I'm really mostly blowing it out of proportion because hey, why not, but somehow this is actually bugging me and I didn't think I realized how important the family tree was to me until just now because beforehand it all just sort of evolved naturally but now there are Remnant loopers that aren't on the tree and intellectually I know it shouldn't bother me but maybe it's become this sort of engrained coping mechanism-"
"You have a lot of those."
"-which I need because I'm the Anchor and I have a lot of lonely loops but I don't like to bring it up because then everyone feels guilty about me which ruins all the fun times and I like the fun times and also there are no new loopers yet and am I getting too obsessed with meeting new people because that would be ironic because in baseline I was this socially awkward weapons geek-"
"I'm just going to let you ramble and pace," Sun decided. "I don't think I'll be any help until you're done."
"-and sure my baseline self grew up a lot but I've grown up differently but the same way because of the loops and am I even still me I mean of course I'm me but am I me me not the me that isn't me I don't even know what I'm saying anymore but the point is this thing I sort of expected to happen soon hasn't happened yet and I can't force it because I'm reliant on other loopers to do it and I just know if I try Maria is going to do something outrageous like attach herself to the tree as Salem's cousin because that's the most distant relation on the tree right I don't know does she even know about the family tree has anybody mentioned it to her is it right to bring it up and then there's Mercury and I don't even know where he'll fit in it's really all up to Cinder I suppose maybe Emerald and this is an utterly ridiculous thing to worry about I know but it's something that's just bugging me and it's unfair to bring it up and I think I might be going around in circles on this and also literally and Sun why are you eating popcorn."
Sun paused, one kernel of popcorn halfway to his mouth.
"Sun." Ruby put her hands on her hips. "Why are you eating popcorn."
"Snack," Sun said.
Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Sun," she repeated firmly. "Why are you eating popcorn."
"It's just a snack! Don't read too much into it."
"Are my breakdowns really that entertaining?" Ruby asked in a dangerous tone.
"...You want some popcorn?" Sun held out the bucket. "It's unsalted."
Ruby, still glaring at him, took a single piece of popcorn out of the bucket and slowly, threateningly, put it into her mouth.
"Look, Ruby, Maria activated almost right before the expansions," Sun pointed out. "And Mercury activated during them! With all that's going on, they're still feeling out their place in the loops. Buuuuut now that the expansions are over, you can focus in on them, and help that along."
"...You know something?" Ruby nodded. "You're right. To get what I want, I need to help them get what they want!"
"That is not what I said at all but okay."
"It's time," she giggled. "It's time for shenanigans! NO MORE DRAMA! Until it inevitably occurs anyway. I WILL HAVE MY FUN! AND IT WILL BE FUN! FOR! EVERYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!"
She ran off with a maniacal giggle.
"...So did I make things better," Sun asked, "or worse?"
[-]
180.5 (con't) Masterweaver
[-]
Simpler Times: Team RWBY
Ruby looked up as the other members of her team cycled back into the dorm. "Did we all end our conversations on a serious note?"
"We did," Weiss confirmed.
"Despite my best efforts," Yang sighed.
"Actually ours ended on a silly note," Blake offered.
Ruby quirked a brow. "The irony abounds."
"What's that sup-?" Weiss cut herself off, glaring pointedly at her counterpart. "I can't even say it. Why did you point that out?!"
"Just a bit of humor for us immortal time travelers," Weiss replied loftily. "Boredom is our greatest enemy."
"I thought apathy was our greatest enemy," Yang quipped.
"Boredom leads to apathy."
"As does despair," Blake pointed out.
"And burnout," Ruby added.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Fine, apathy is our greatest enemy, but boredom is the most active general in his army."
"Why is apathy masculine?" Yang shook her head. "Never mind, silly question."
Weiss leaned toward Blake. "Are they having an actual conversation, or is this just banter?"
"What I want to know is why the Yangs are switching off," Blake replied. "I can't tell which one's the looper."
"Oh that's easy, it's..." Ruby raised a finger, looking from Yang to Yang and back to Yang. "It's... uh..." She turned to Ruby. "Help?"
"Nope," Ruby denied firmly. "Has to be a nonlooper who guesses. Too easy otherwise."
"Huh, right." Ruby looked at her sister and her sister's duplicate, both of which were crossing their arms with cocky smirks. "Right, uh..."
Blake glanced at Blake for a moment. The corner of her lips quirked. "I think I might be able to guess."
"Really?" Weiss frowned. "But you've only known Yang a couple of days."
Weiss chuckled. "Oh, no, let's let this play out."
Blake sauntered over to the blondes, running a finger over her lips thoughtfully as she looked from one set of lilac eyes to the other. She walked around the pair carefully, deliberately letting her eyes rove across their backs before she stood in front of them again. A single hand clasped her hip delicately as she tilted her head.
"Oh." Ruby snorted. "So that's what you're doing."
Ruby looked at her in confusion. "What? What's she doing?"
"To say is to spoil it."
Blake rolled a finger in the air, eventually settling on the Yang on the right. She started toward her, swaying gently with every step, and leaned forward to examine her face in detail. The blonde's expression didn't so much as twitch, not even when Blake wrapped an arm around her neck. Their noses drew closer, ever closer-
"UM?!" asked Weiss.
"WUT?!" agreed Ruby.
"This is rather abrupt for our usual standards," Weiss admitted.
"I'm honestly impressed neither Yang has flinched," Ruby mused.
Blake's lips brushed against Yang's...
held for three seconds...
and then she leaned back with a smirk. "Yep. You're the looper."
Yang shrugged. "Caught me."
"Okay," said Yang, "now that that's all done, WHAT?!"
"The other me told me she was married to the other you," Blake explained, backing off. "Which meant she would know how I like to be kissed, right?"
"I'm not even mad," Blake replied with a grin. "Well, not at you."
Yang's face fell so dramatically it had to be deliberate. "But Blaaaaaaake it was part of the gaaaaaaame I'm sooooooorry I'll take you out on a super romantic date for-"
Blake cracked up laughing. "Alright, alright, I'm not mad at you either!"
"Right, this..." Yang looked between the two of them. "Okay. So, I'm a little weirded out since I only met Blake like yesterday and we're still getting to know each other but now we need to fall in love or something?"
"No no no," Yang assured her, "you can have your own life independent of my expectations. I mean twin foursome's a fun night but it wouldn't be right to just jump to that without really building up our trust and understanding."
"OKAY I think we've heard enough!" Ruby declared with a blush.
Ruby sighed. "Look what you've done, you've embarrassed my minime."
"I, uh, well, this is, okay, ah..." Weiss tilted her head. "I... I guess... this is just... huh."
"Actually, I'm a bit shocked that Blake is willing to be so forward this early," Weiss admitted. "Maybe being presented with a future version of her team has resulted in a welcome if not entirely stable opening of trust which could be a good thing if carefully-"
"Weiss," Blake deadpanned, "didn't Alucard tell you to let up on the psychotherapy?"
"That was only ever temporary!"
"Who's Alucard?" asked Weiss.
"A vampire from another universe," Yang replied casually.
Blake stared at her. "Wait, what?"
"Yeeeeeah," Ruby drawled with a lazy smirk, "if we were just time travelers things wouldn't nearly be weird enough."
Yang gave her a suspicious look. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, I'm a living swarm of chibirubies, Weiss has pet honey badger kaiju, Blake's figured out magical ninjitsu powers, and Yang's a licensed surgeon!"
"Wait-" Yang looked at Yang. "A surgeon?!"
Yang struck a pose. "MEDICINE!" she declared grandiosely.
"Why would you become a surgeon?" Ruby asked curiously.
Yang rubbed her arm, not quite looking at her. "Personal reasons."
"O...kay then..."
"So..." Weiss cleared her throat. "What... exactly is the plan now? I mean, you still have to tell the headmaster about this, right?"
"Yes, but that's going to be easy to arrange," Ruby assured her.
"Why's that?"
"You missed the first day of school talking to us and Glynda's coming to 'discipline' you all."
"Wait, WHAT?!"
On cue, the door opened. "Team RWBY, I am... afraid that..."
"Hey!" said Ruby, grinning as her team joined up with her. "We're time traveling duplicates of team RWBY from the future and totally responsible for this one-time incident which we will personally assist in helping them make up. But before we get to that, I have a very important question for you."
Glynda stared at her for a moment. "...and... what question might that be?"
Ruby's smile was genuine, toothy, and all too smug. "What's your favorite fairy tale?"
