Miracles of Ancient Wonder [RWBY/Exalted]
- Thread starter Graveless
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- exalted (white wolf) rwby
Who says Weiss is settling for one?
Better yet, who says her hitting on Blake isn't an elaborate smoke screen so she can get Ruby?
Sasha
Not the Leader
- Location
- The Ever After
Don't lose hope! Weiss doesn't seem super invested in pursuing Blake other than as a way to keep Yang sane. Our ship may still sail!
More seriously though, I don't really think this portrayal of Ruby will pursue romance at all, or at least not within the scope of this story.The focus on her development thus far seems to be leaning heavily towards the 'coming into her own as a huntress/Exalt' side of things, not the 'young-adult discovering romance and sexuality' side.
- Location
- Canada
Priorities Yang. Priorities.
- Location
- NOVA
The Bee's Schnees love triangle is real.
There are still many things that may or may not happen.
Though I have known where the dice will land regarding all of the ships for some time.
She has her priorities straight... Or wait...
Someday I might write a story around that theme, I do have some ideas, but there's a reason why that hasn't been one of the sources of emotional problems for any of them.
- Location
- Canada
Given that Remnant lacks certain RL monotheistic religions predicated on dogmas of hate and ignorance (which, ironically, wouldnt really work on Remnant; youd get eaten by the Grimm). Liking ladies might not be a source of emotional problems at all.
Well, beyond the usual teenage angst. *points at jaune's attempts at wooing wiess*
...That said, does it make me a bad person that I wish Yang and Wiess had decided to fight over Ruby? The start of their argument where Yang was riled up because Wiess offered ruby a slavegirl outfit seems like a perfect setup. Unlike Blake shes oblivious enough that it would make for a decent challenge and storywise would have had them trying to go along with her craziness more to win relationship points. It goes on for a dozen chapters and then they finally give up because she *still* hasnt clued in.
Think of the funnies that could have been! D:
Ruby; "Yang, pants" -_-
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- Location
- NOVA
Yeah, that didn't seem like it would be too much of an issue from what we've seen in canon and it's not the type of angst that's appropriate for where the story's going.
This is a hilarious idea that I've spent far too much time thinking about instead of writing this week, along with other silly scenes that would all be spoilers and off theme right now, but I might post later.
It would probably be a perfect omake if I ever have the time.
That being said, Enabler is one of those ships that's in the list of things that I'd have warned people about due to squick related issues.
The scenario is funny enough that I might write a one-off for it... after MoAW is done or I manage to build up a large backlog of chapters.
- Location
- Canada
If its stuck in your head then maybe writing some will help you get it out? 
*shoulder devil*
*shoulder devil*
Book 1 Chapter 4.7
- Location
- NOVA
Miracles of Ancient Wonder
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Chapter 4.7
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Chapter 4.7
~~~
Yang swaggered onto the dance floor, matching each step to the pounding of the bass. As she hit the edge of the crowd, she moved in, bumping and grinding against whoever was nearby as she made her way through the shallow sea of bodies. The floor wasn't pressed shoulder to shoulder quite yet. Slide in, shimmy near whoever was surrounding her, then side to the next group.
The heat of bare skin pressed against her own, the feeling of their breath on her neck, and the way she shifted their hips with her hands. Some people just had no rhythm, but as long as they let her lead, that wasn't a problem. It was what she really needed. There was no web of lies, no need to worry about what Weiss was planning, and no way that what she was doing was bad. It would be so easy to just get lost in the dance. To let let her joy radiate out until the entire crowd joined in, then it would get harder and faster, knees and elbows would start flying to the beat of the music and-
Yang pushed the thought down. She could do it, she knew she could, but there were too many people without Aura here. It would be a blast for her, and for some of them too, but it would be a little obvious and very dangerous. Also, she had a job to do: pick a fight with the older girl who knew where Roman Torchwick was. Her gut told her that the solution to their problems rested in that girl. Just like how it told her that the best way to find Blake right before the investigation was a drinking contest with two upperclassmen. She might not have been able to trust her instincts about many things, but this was one of them.
Her eyes were drawn to her target from across the room, a bear Faunus who spent most of her time hiding in the corner with a boy who seemed just as prickly. He was also a Faunus, the curly horns gave it away, but Yang wasn't sure what type. Sheep maybe?
At the normal party, she would've tried to drag them out into the fun. Both kept glancing at the crowd with an intense, longing look. They had the eyes of people who wanted to join in, but were too proud to do it. It was kind of like Weiss in some ways, definitely not the shyness that Blake or her sister radiated.
As she approached, Yang gave them a quick once over. They both definitely had their Auras unlocked, but they were very weak. It was better than nothing. The girl also kept glancing at the guy, in very particular locations. Meanwhile, he was looking everywhere else, especially towards the other girls dancing nearby. Yang took a deep breath, getting her annoyed should be easy, all she needed to do was press the right buttons.
"Hey there." She stepped behind the boy and slapped him on the ass. Yang let her hand linger.
"Whoa… Can I help you?" He straightened up and glanced over his shoulder, shying away from the contact after a moment. His eyes flickered from Yang to the other girl.
"I'm pretty sure you can." Yang stepped up and pressed into him again, leaning her chin on his shoulder.
"He's not interested." The girl snapped, her ears flattening as she yanked at his sleeve.
"Come on," Yang whispered in his ear, completely ignoring the girl, her voice low and sultry, "You know what they say about boys with big horns."
"I-uhh…" The boy stammered, his cheeks growing redder as Yang shifted her body up a little. He met the motion, leaning in.
"Ferrer," The girl growled. He straightened up.
"Oh. Sorry, didn't see you there." Yang looked at the girl, then waved her hand to the side. She was only a couple of inches shorter than the boy, so there was no chance of someone missing her when they were this close. "Do you mind giving us some space?"
"Hey, look I- Ahh." Ferrer started talking, but Yang made him yelp with a pinch to the butt.
"I said he's not interested."
"He seems pretty okay with this to me."
"I'm good Cyan. You don't need to-" He chuckled nervously and held his arms up.
"You're not supposed to be doing anything with the-" She cut herself off and clenched her fists so hard her knuckles went white.
"With what?" Yang squinted at her.
"With you." Cyan got up on her toes to meet Yang's eyes.
"I don't think so. I'm pretty great, but I'm not a 'the'. What did you mean by that?"
She growled again.
"If you don't have a good reason, why're you mad? He's a big boy." Yang shifted to the side and slid her arm around his waist. "He can do what he wants."
"Look, Cyan, I-" He whimpered.
"Shut up, Ferrer."
"Or what?" Yang leaned closer to her. "What's her problem? She's not your girlfriend is she?"
"No, we're just a friends." He leaned into Yang, then turned to Cyan. "You've been acting like this all night. What's wrong?"
"You wouldn't understand." She crossed her arms.
"What? That you're jealous?" Yang shook her head, expecting a punch that never came. Which was a little strange because she'd have hit someone doing what she'd done by now. Maybe she'd been wrong about why Cyan was reacting that way.
"Or is it." Yang dropped down to barely more than a whisper. "Because I'm human."
Cyan flinched. Still no actual attack.
Yang felt the excitement bubbling up again. She could just let it go, force the fight here and now. Again, she pushed the urge back down. It wasn't necessary and these two were normal people, not Huntresses or Anathema. Just sucker punching Cyan didn't feel right either, she needed to push more. "What are you? A member of the White Fang?"
"Woah." Ferrer pushed Yang off of him. "What the hell? We're not with them. We hate those psychos too."
He glared at Yang, pausing for a moment. "Right, Cyan?"
Ferrer turned and caught her face caught between anger and terror.
"Cyan… You- You're not... " Ferrer shuddered, voice almost cracking. "Please, tell me you didn't."
"They were the only ones who tried to help us." She said so softly that Yang could barely hear her.
"They broke Blaise's leg when he told them they had to pay him."
"They're fighting to save all of us!"
"They're… They don't… I can't…" With every word he said, she shuddered. "Is that where you learned how to…" He stared at his hands. The light glow of a very weak Aura pulsed around them, then he clenched them tightly. "I… I'm out. I can't deal with this right now." He pushed past Yang.
She didn't dodge the punch. Cyan caught her on the cheekbone, but her Aura took the entire blow.
"You… you." Cyan continued throwing punches that Yang didn't dodge. They were lighter than the first. She shouted between each hit, voice growing more hoarse by the second. "Why?"
Maybe forcing the fight would've been a better idea after all. It would've saved both of them the pain of a stranger revealing it.
She let the hits keep coming for a little while, then grabbed Cyan's wrist. "That's enough."
"You ruined everything." She pulled her other arm back.
"No, I didn't." Yang spun Cyan around mid swing, making her hit air. "You did."
Yang stepped in, flipping the girl over her leg. "I just made him know about it."
With a quick lift of her knee, Yang flung the girl up. A follow up elbow shot her over the crowd, with an extra wave of force from Yang's Aura. A scroll fell freely from her pockets. Yang snatched it as it tumbled through the air. The scroll was what she was looking for; she could feel it in her soul.
"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?" Melanie yelled so she could be heard over the fading music.
Yang had launched Cyan towards the other girl. While she had dodged the flying Faunus, the men with her hadn't. They looked familiar, probably more of Junior's men that needed a new job while his club was being fixed.
"Guess not." Yang tucked Cyan's scroll into her bra, on the opposite side as her own, silently cursing her lack of pockets.
She raised her fists in a ready stance as she sunk into her knees, but didn't deploy Ember Celica. Even without her weapon, it would probably be too easy. Though, the guys bowled over by Cyan gave her an idea.
How many of them could she knockout by hitting their teammates into them?
~~~
"Somehow, I'm not surprised." Weiss sighed. The dance floor had become a brawling pit thanks to Yang's influence. Bodies flew left and right, colliding with each other more often than not, while the blond slide past any attack that came her way and moved right into another powerful hit.
It had started 'innocently' enough. While none of the dancing could truly have been called innocent, it was interesting enough to watch. If only her other teammates were down there as well. And that the fighting had not begun. And that this was a proper ballroom. Actually, there were a large number of changes which could be made to make current events suit Weiss' taste far better.
"Woo, go Yang!" Ruby cheered, leaning so far over the edge of the railing that a single push would send her tumbling down.
"I'm still not clear on what this accomplishes besides mass-property damage." Weiss shook her head as the girl in white was sent flying through another groups, bowling over two men and ending sprawled on a third. As the enemy with seemingly the most Aura, she had been Yang's primary projectile. The fact that she charged head first into another attack immediately after standing up didn't help matters.
"It seems like she's having fun." Blake shrugged and joined Ruby's leaning, though she kept herself within the railing. "And there isn't that much that's been destroyed."
The crash of a shattered mirror drew their eyes to the side of the room, where normal people were cheering from behind overturned tables. Thankfully, the owner had enough foresight to buy shatter resistant ones that didn't result in large shards of glass raining down on unprotected bodies.
Blake winced as the man fell onto a couch. He didn't get up. "Well, there hadn't been. Did the club expect that this-" She waved at the crowd. "-would happen?"
"Lots of places where a bunch of Hunters go do that." Ruby pointed at the lighting rig above the stage. "The beams and joints over there are reinforced. Even if they had twice as many lights up, it'd probably be able to hold three or four people without any problems."
Weiss gave her a look of exasperation. Ruby wasn't giggling and that sounded too ridiculous to be a joke. Though, if she ran with the assumption that Yang knew this club had those protections in place, then coming here and starting a fight was suddenly much less reckless.
"Do fights like these really happen that often?" Blake asked the question that Weiss refused to.
"I mean. Our Uncle Qrow either got into a fight, or had a story about one, at pretty much every bar he took us to. A big crowd always showed up to watch because him and my dad were really well known for having good ones."
"That's so different it's hard to comprehend." Weiss shook her head. "A Specialist who did something like that would be in an incredible amount of trouble. They serve the people. Damaging someone's property is as close to the opposite as you can get."
"Why didn't you go to school in Atlas then?"
"I have no intention of serving anyone and the military academy requires a minimum six years after graduation. Elite Specialists are expected to continue long past that."
"Mom and Uncle Qrow sort of felt that way too. They pushed any paperwork onto dad whenever it came up, but mom still- Oh!" Ruby snapped her head back down and jumped up on the railing.
A gunshot sounded at the same time that Ruby vanished into a cloud of rose petals. She wasn't quick enough to stop the first shot, but that didn't matter. Yang casually backhanded the Fire Dust pellets into the floor. It seemed almost accidental, she didn't even bother looking at them.
Ruby, on the other hand, had tackled the man with the shotgun and was trying to wrestle it out of his hands.
"They're more similar than I would have ever expected." Weiss said as she pushed her Aura into her words. 'Ruby has to be Anathema as well.'
Blake perked up and looked at Weiss for a moment. She tensed her mouth before saying, "Yes."
Weiss nodded her head towards Ruby. Their leader, having failed to get the gun out of her opponent's hands, had jumped behind the bar and grabbed a deck broom. Her flourish almost perfectly matched the rhythm of the music.
"It was difficult for me to realize because Ruby seems much more perceptive than her sister. However, they are distressingly similar in temperament as well." Weiss hoped that Blake would be able to pick up on what she really meant. Keeping track of all of the fighting, along with the crowds' reactions and plotting her next movements at Beacon, was very taxing on her Aura and put her uncomfortably close to her limit.
Blake nodded very slowly. "I'm not sure I would consider that a bad thing. They both have a very strong sense of right and wrong. I'm sure they'd be… safe and responsible. Though it does… uhhh… make them hard to talk to about certain things."
"Life isn't black and white, no matter what they might think. Even tools which may seem despicable have their uses." Weiss kept a close eye on Ruby as she disarmed the man with an impeccably placed strike to his hands. She followed up by sweeping his knees out from under him. "Thoughts of justice can easily turn to a zealotry that damages not only the person, but also those around them."
Yang shifted tactics as her foes dwindled. She let them surround her and started slapping her enemies' attacks out of the way. In the same motion, she danced between them and turned them towards each other. Most of them had the self-control to not hit their own teammate, but it only took one overly aggressive person to become a problem. And a problem he was.
Blake took enough time to think that two men had been knocked down by friendly fire before she responded. "Complacency and amorality can cause just as much damage by ignoring or denying problems. Just because we aren't dealing entirely with black and white doesn't mean there aren't actions which are so dark or light they may as well be."
"Not all problems can be resolved quickly. A complex solution requires a great deal of consideration and incremental change."
"Sometimes, you can't afford to wait. There are people who are both impatient and hurt by the status quo." She nodded at their teammates. "Someone else will take matters into their own hands if the steps are too small."
"That doesn't make them correct. Haphazard overreactions will just create more issues in the void remaining, assuming they succeed in the first place." Weiss sighed. Of course Blake would bring the White Fang up as well.
"If someone's pain can't be… soothed, then they'll do anything that has a chance of helping." Blake's hands shook as she held the railing. "Even if it hurts everyone else in the process."
"It's human nature." Weiss glanced knowingly at Blake. "Something that more people should fight to control."
Blake frowned and started to open her mouth.
"Has Yang told you how I found out about her proclivities?" Weiss pivoted the topic away from the argument that never ended before Blake could continue it. Considering Ruby's very transparent lie about them overhearing White Fang members talking about working with Torchwick, Weiss had to assume that bringing them up more directly to Blake would not end well at the moment.
Blake raised an eyebrow, the faintest blush hitting her cheeks. Weiss smiled softly
Weiss leaned over, letting her hair dangle on Blake's shoulder. "Her friend, Tialeth, took revealing them into her own hands."
"Who?"
"The girl from far away." Weiss had recovered enough to push another hidden statement. 'The Anathema from her dreams who she sees the life of.'
Blake's eyes went wide. "Oh… Her."
"I met up with her while Yang was resting."
"That… I didn't know that was possible."
Weiss quickly winced while Blake was looking at her. It wasn't likely that anyone was listening to them, but it was still a worry.
Blake lowered her head slightly and flashed an apologetic smile. "Did she tell you anything else?"
"I wouldn't quite describe the conversation as illuminating, but it was close."
Blake winced and glanced at Yang. Most of her enemies had either fallen unconscious or were pretending to. Ruby jumped down to join her sister, the shotgun in hand.
Blake licked her lips. "How did Yang react when you told her about it?"
"Worse than I'd ever expected." Weiss had just enough to push another explanation in. 'She was shocked that I hadn't killed her and ranting about how inherently evil she was.'
"Oh…"
"And I have to imagine that Ruby would react the same way if she knew what we'd been up to."
Blake nodded again.
"We need to convince them there isn't anything wrong with it."
"I'm still not convinced they're incorrect."
Weiss tried to meet Blake's eyes, but she looked away. "Why?"
"The world is full of lies, running away, and potential targets. There are so many people who have already fallen through the cracks and come back worse. How can we be sure that our justice won't be... corrupted as well?"
"Society can be strengthened, the cracks can be mended, and we have an advantage that others did not. We have each other." Weiss laid a hand on Blake's arm and lightly squeezed.
Blake gave her a suspicious glance her, but didn't pull away.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "I didn't just mean it only that way and you know that."
Blake shook her head and smiled, then gestured to the dance floor again. The tiles had been cracked, along with countless mirrors. "What if all we can do is destroy? Tear down what exists without putting anything good in its place."
Weiss pointed at the happy crowd gathering around Yang. The fight had been very impressive and it seemed that Ruby's thoughts on destructive fights were accurate. "I don't think that's the case, but if it is, then we find the right targets and let the chips fall where they may."
"I don't think we'll agree on what those targets are."
"Why not? It's possible for a system and those who want to end it to both deserve destruction." Weiss looked over their teammates again. 'This is something we need to do together, in agreement, with Ruby and Yang's reactions signalling when we're wrong.'
Blake held her gaze, then slightly nodded.
~~~
"That was amazing!" Ruby cheered as the burly bouncer escorted them out. "I had no idea you'd gotten that much more control over your Semblance."
"Heh, yeah." Yang ran her fingers through her hair and turned away.
"While it was impressive, was there any purpose to it beyond your own enjoyment?" Weiss was waiting for them at the entrance with her arms crossed.
"Yep." Yang pulled a scroll out of her shirt and held it out to Weiss.
"Urgh." Weiss recoiled. "It's covered in sweat."
"Why do you have a second scroll?" Blake asked.
Yang leaned in close and whispered, "The first girl I fought was a member of the White Fang. If they're really dealing with Torchwick, then we should be able to find that in her scroll."
"How exactly would that help?" Ruby picked the scroll up and slide it open. A password screen greeted her. "Even if she is a member, and we manage to figure out her password, why would she have saved anything like that? Wouldn't it have been better to follow her back to her base?"
"The White Fang operates in cells to stop people from tracking them like that and you need to be back at Beacon tomorrow." Weiss looked over Ruby's shoulder. "Even assuming we follow her unnoticed, it could be weeks before she goes to another meeting."
Ruby giggled slightly and held the scroll out for Weiss, but she didn't take it. Instead she pointed at a drop of sweat about to fall from the edge. Ruby awkwardly giggled as Blake took the scroll and wiped it off on her shirt. She tried a few passwords, none worked.
Blake sighed. "Most people don't cover their tracks well. If she hasn't deleted her recent location searches, then we have some very easy places to look for. If we're lucky, we could find him tomorrow."
"That makes sense… Hmm..." Ruby nodded and watched Blake carefully. She had a meeting tomorrow, but none of the rest of her team did. They could go out there and find him now, then he'd be stopped that much sooner and no one else would be hurt. But, waiting would let her get Crescent Rose fixed and make sure Weiss was all better, so they'd be sure to get him. Assuming they could find the information.
If they waited, they could also get more help. Team JNRP would probably be able to help track him down and box in anyone trying to get away. For that matter, if they didn't catch him themselves, she could tell the Professors about where he was. They couldn't ignore an opportunity to do good like that… But if they did….
'How should we catch him?' Ruby plucked the strings and visions exploded around her. There were so many different ways they could move, but one thing stuck out to her. Anything less than all of them would have problems.
"I have a plan." Ruby stopped and gestured for everyone to move in. "Our best chance of making sure we get him is with as many fighters as we can find a week or so from today."
Weiss nodded, but Blake and Yang both made confused faces.
"He's escaped from lots of Hunters already and we'll be going after one of his bases. He'll have getaways covered." Ruby gestured slowly as she spoke. "We can beat most of them in a fight, but we can't be everywhere at once. If we have team JNPR with us, then they can help corral him."
"That would be very dangerous for them." Weiss glanced at Yang. "And Jaune would actively be a hindrance no matter what we do."
"We're Huntresses, or we're going to be soon enough, danger's in the job description." Ruby shook her head, then paused to think. Weiss did have a point about Jaune. "And Jaune can handle communications or be a spotter. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren would join us on the assault, each coming from a different side of wherever we find him. Between all of us, there's no way he'd escape."
"I don't know." Blake said slowly. "I doubt they'd go along with this unless we tell them more."
"Weiss?" Ruby looked to her partner with her eyes wide. "You're best at arguing those things."
"If we telling more people, then we should simply tell the Professors about his location and leave it to them. They're the professionals." Weiss shook her head.
"They've been ignoring him this entire time. If we, a brand new team, got this far in a few hours, how have they not caught him yet?" Ruby almost shouted, but barely managed to keep herself under control. Yang flinched back. Blake did too, but not as much.
"Sis, if that's true…" Yang hesitated by biting her lip. "Then we should just do it ourselves. We don't need to bring other people into it."
"We need other people and we're not that much better than they are." Ruby didn't add that the world told her they'd have a much better chance of succeeding with help because that would just sound crazy.
"We're rea-" Yang cut herself off by slamming her mouth shut. The pressure built.
'We need help.' Ruby pushed against the world and it moved. She needed someone on her side if they were going to do this. Also, she could explain her real reason to Yang when they got back to Beacon. And then… maybe tell Blake and Weiss. She'd get Yang's thoughts on that first though.
Yang squinted her eyes, as if she was in pain, but nodded. Blake glanced from her, to Ruby, and tensed up slightly.
"If we're going to do this we need to hit him as hard as we can, when he isn't expecting it, and have people further out to catch him when he runs. There are probably some other things which can work too, but I think this is our best options."
"Yeah." Yang said without much enthusiasm.
"Let's sleep on it. We can't do anything until after returning to Beacon." Weiss stepped back and waited for the others to as well.
Ruby met Blake and Yang's eyes in turn, then nodded. "Okay, so… where are we going? The last shuttle was a while ago."
Weiss sighed. "My family has an apartment we can use."
"Why didn't we go there to talk in the first place?"
"Because I'd hoped to not have to worry about the tabloids finding me taking three people to a private apartment and Yang's idea sounded interesting."
"And you're okay with us going now?" Blake raised an eyebrow.
"I already brought Yang there, bringing her back with you two won't be that much worse."
"What did you do?" Blake asked as she looked between them.
Weiss pulled her scroll out. "I still have pictures if you really want to know."
Blake blushed and shook her head.
"You'd better send me copies." Yang muttered under her breath.
"I don't want to know anymore." Ruby groaned. She was very tempted to call Weiss' bluff; however, the danger of it not being a lie was too real. Some day she would, but today was not that day.
DBDrake
Totaly A Dragon
You know, I have this absurd headcannon re. RWBY.
So, Yang loves fighting people; this is her character. She's all passionate and shit.
From Some of Ruby's actions, I get the sense that her goal is to be a protector, but that her passion is cutting(it's safe).
Like, she's a good person and doesn't enjoy killing things, but that the thing that she loves more than anything else is the action of violence.
It makes here character make more sense to me, explains how she can be all kind and naive on one hand and Fuckoff hueg scythe in the other.
Edit: Read Kill Six Billion Demons, it is one of the best comics I have ever read. Supper exalted/gnostic/ Sermons of Vivec.
So, Yang loves fighting people; this is her character. She's all passionate and shit.
From Some of Ruby's actions, I get the sense that her goal is to be a protector, but that her passion is cutting(it's safe).
Like, she's a good person and doesn't enjoy killing things, but that the thing that she loves more than anything else is the action of violence.
It makes here character make more sense to me, explains how she can be all kind and naive on one hand and Fuckoff hueg scythe in the other.
Edit: Read Kill Six Billion Demons, it is one of the best comics I have ever read. Supper exalted/gnostic/ Sermons of Vivec.
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Your not entirely wrong, Canon-wise Ruby has a completely blaise, one-track mind about grim. See grim, kill grim. Nothing in the middle, or around the edges. She doesnt care about grim, she doesnt care how they work, where, they come from, or why they do what they do, shes not really interested in grand strategy either.
See grimm = kill grimm. End of thought process.
I mean, this is her reaction to seeing a couple ancient and crazy powerful grim that could probably curb stomp her off in the distance, not bothering her or anyone else;
Ruby is a sweet girl with a simple soul and a powerful sense of morals, but shes also the most casual about combat, even yang has more second thoughts about fighting than she does. She kills Grimm without blinking and when she fights people the only thing you can really say is that she refrains from chopping them up. She certainly doesnt hesitate to put foot (or a massive chunk of metal swung fast enough to blur) to ass.
Despite all the innocence, shes a prime example of someone whos raised intimately with the idea of violence being part of every day life. Much like spartans or samurai.
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K6BD is an amazing comic and fits what I feel Malfeas should be like incredibly well.
This is something that I've had to remind myself of a lot. It's a very important aspect of her personality.
Her dialogue in the second scene went through a pretty large number of revisions, relative to the total number in the chapter, as a result.
- Location
- Minneapolis
Just tore through this fic the last two days and wanted to say how much I enjoyed it. You've done a great job integrating the two settings, and showcasing characters with complex and believable motives/personalities. I love all the mindgames and social-fu going on, and look foward to the three anathema colluding together even as Ruby continues to waltz through the viper's nest in blissful ignorance.
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Mr. Mica
Capitalism cannot fix Global Warming.
- Location
- Earth
I have never actually read any of the Exalted source books, but the more of this I read, the closer I get to spending my money on something I can't eat.
Also, I have been following along on a mobile device where I am not logged in, but I went to the trouble of scrolling through it all and liking every installment anyway. Just so that you appreciate the work that went into that red number in your notifications.
Also, I have been following along on a mobile device where I am not logged in, but I went to the trouble of scrolling through it all and liking every installment anyway. Just so that you appreciate the work that went into that red number in your notifications.
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Thank you both!
Though, this-
Is probably some of what I've enjoyed writing the most. There are so many fun social effects that can show up in Exalted and playing with their intersection was a big interest of mine.
Book 1 Chapter 4.i
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- NOVA
Miracles of Ancient Wonder
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Chapter 4.i
~~~
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Chapter 4.i
~~~
Question 3: Which of the following is a weak point on a standard Beowolf?
She rolled her eyes and tapped the 'All of the above' option on her scroll: eyes, mouth, and… elbow. Elbow sounded good enough. It wasn't like she needed to actually do well on the assignment, just good enough to not get kicked out before the Vytal Festival. Though that was still months away. Months of boring, tedious, and pointless assignments between bursts of joy as the students of Haven fell beneath her heel.
It was the little things that kept her going and taking those brats down a peg was one of the best she could remember. They thought they were going to be so special just because they knew some ancient martial arts style that had been passed down for generations. Maybe if they'd learn how to fight real people, instead of Grimm or tournament fights, those skills would have been worth something.
Question 4: What is the proper name for this species of advanced Grimm?
She shook her head at the image of a big four-legged beast. It wasn't something they ever saw in Vale, so this question would require actually reading up on things. She rolled her head back and forth while moving the scrollbar up and down. It wouldn't be hard to find the information, but that would be so boring.
A crash sounded from the room next door, followed by several more crashes as things tumbled down. And then the shouting started.
The night might be fun after all.
Neopolitan, Neo to exactly one person, swung her legs off of the bed and stepped over to the door, careful to make as little noise as possible. She cracked it just far enough open to peek through.
"-worthless animals!" Roman shouted, brandishing his cane in the general direction of the White Fang members milling around the warehouse floor. A couple of them flinched away as the end pointed at them. They were either the smart ones or the few who'd seen him fight. She couldn't remember the last time his bright white coat had a speck of dirt on it.
"Do you have any idea what would have happened if that-" He pointed to a bright red container, "-had gone off?"
A couple of them looked around and shrugged.
"The red containers hold the high quality, very volatile Dust. You're all lucky that butter fingers the baboon over here is so short, otherwise you'd all be dead."
The monkey Faunus that he pointed to, she could tell because of his tail, waved his fist at Roman. The idiot.
"I dropped it because you yelled at me!" he shouted. Several of the other Faunus drew in next to him, nodding their heads. The smarter ones made themselves scarce.
"That wasn't yelling," Roman said softly before suddenly raising his voice. "This is yelling! Before you bungled your simple job up so badly, you were about to load one of the red cases onto the green pile."
The Faunus glanced from the case, to the pile, and back. "They look the same to me."
"And you're supposed to have better eyes than I do." Roman shook his head and turned away. "Go sweep the floor and stay away from any Dust. The rest of you get back to work."
He stalked back to the side of the room with his giant map, where two more White Fang members were waiting for him. The pair had their leader tattoos exposed.
"Now that the little problem has been resolved, let's continue. We've gone through almost all of the easy targets, which leaves us with the hard and profitable, the remote and worthless, and the utterly insane." He pointed to a section of the upper-class district and then the agricultural district and ended on the rail depot that brought Dust in from the mines. Ever since the White Fang robbed one of the transport trains, the SDC had doubled their security forces. "The stuffed shirts have a lot of Dust and all of it's high quality. But, they also hire Hunters as guards. This means that I'm going to have to babysit every operation. So, we have to make each job count."
Roman paced over to a second map, which was zoomed in on the second richest shopping district. "We're going past the bottom of the barrel. They know the rest of the city's hurting for Dust and will be expecting us to hit them. The first thing that you two are going to do is-"
The squeak of an eraser rubbing across paper made Roman go silent as he turned around to face them. The two Faunus were writing his plan down dutifully, one on a scroll and the other in a notebook. It took a few seconds of silence before either looked up. Both took a half step back when they saw his scowl.
"What are you doing?" He walked in front of the girl with the notebook.
"Writing down your instructions," she said between clenched teeth.
"Where's your scroll? We gave you a good one for a reason."
"I lost it."
"You lost it." Roman said deadpan. "How?"
"Some Huntress knocked me across the White Panther. I couldn't find it afterwards."
"And why were you fighting a Huntress?"
"Hey, she picked a fight with me!"
"I thought you were one of the less stupid ones," Roman groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. He continued the same way a teacher would talk to a child, a dumb child. "Where do you think your scroll might have gone? Did it grow a pair of legs and start dancing a jig? Did it get picked up by some pretty monkey-boy with amazing abs? Or could it be that this mystery Huntress was tracking down beasts like you and now she's probably bearing down on us as we speak?"
Neo smiled at the pun, though the bear girl didn't seem to get it. Or maybe she was too scared to laugh, that worked too.
"This isn't a circus, there's no tamer to keep you freaks safe when you screw up."
The girl flinched back. "She- she was a dumb party girl. There's no way she could do that."
"Was she really that dumb or did she just want you to think that? There are plenty of Huntresses who are good actors or have allies smarter than they are." He dropped his voice down lower. "Now what did she look like?"
The girl gulped. "Tall, blonde, and young. She wore club clothes, but had golden bracelets on her arms. They looked too heavy to not be weapons of some sort. Though she didn't need them to kick half of the club's collective asses."
"Young, blonde, fights with her hands. Any idea about her Semblance?"
"She sent me flying way further than I should've been and did that to everyone else too. Also some sort of crazy reflexes. I don't think anyone touched her, even when she was surrounded and being shot at."
"Probably a Beacon brat then." Roman paced in front of her. "If she was skilled enough to take on the Panther's security unarmed, she'll be a junior or senior looking for something 'good' to do over winter break. One of their top of her class students who'll become a real pain in a couple of years. Did she have anyone else with her?"
"There was one other girl. She..." The girl clenched her hand tight. "She was…"
"Well? Out with it." Roman twirled the end of his cane in a circle.
"I think she was… Uhh… She had black hair and…"
"Are you serious? You can't even remember what she looked like? She's a Huntress. She should have something distinctive: her weapon, her clothing, anything."
"She was also young, younger I think, with flowers on her dress… Umm, lilies?"
Neo pursed her lips behind the door. A Huntress should have been more memorable than that, which meant that something interesting was going on. Did this girl have a Semblance that disguised her or was she just that boring?
She conjured an image of her Haven disguise. Long hair, frilly top, and miniskirt: all in black. Her phantom curtseyed with a vicious smirk and twirled her parasol.
Maybe this mystery girl had a Semblance like her own and was using it to disguise herself? That could be very interesting. Black-Neo ran her finger along her throat and lulled her head to the side, eyes closed and tongue hanging out.
Silently laughing, she shattered the illusion with a snap and turned her attention back to Roman. He'd finished his angry rant, which left the Faunus girl shivering, and had turned back to the map.
"This changes things. One of you will have to scout out our new targets." Roman rubbed his chin and looked at the pair in front of him. He pointed at the girl again. "What's your jacket size?"
"What?" She raised her voice a hair.
"You kind of look like someone who could shop this district. We just need to dress you up a bit: stick you in a silk suit, darken your complexion a little, and you'll fit right in."
She blanched. "You think any of those humans would let a Faunus into a store?"
"Not all humans hate you animals and most of the ones who do won't say anything in public. If you show up looking like you have money, they'll barely bat an eye." He paused for a moment. "Just keep your mouth shut as much as possible; you sound like you grew up on the docks."
"Why can't you do it?"
"Because, I need to keep watch over the warehouse in case your mystery Huntress shows up. With the cripple missing, someone who can fight needs to be on hand."
"She'd destroy you."
"Really? Well then." Roman looked to the door and met Neo's eye. He drew out his pause with a smirk. "If you're that scared of the big, bad blonde, I have some good news."
Neo conjured an illusion of the door and stepped out of the real one, picking her parasol up midstride. She sauntered into the room, unseen to all. As she moved, she drew her needle.
"We have some assistance on that front for the next few days." He gestured wildly with his cane and smiled at the door.
Neo stuck her blade between the girl's thighs and drew it along her femoral artery in a smooth motion. It didn't have a cutting edge, but her Aura should have been strong enough to hold even if it did.
"Ahh!" she shouted and swung her arm around, shattering the illusion.
But, Neo had already started moving. She slipped under the girl's arm, then tapped her on the back with the point of needle, right above her kidney. She yelped again and jumped away. Neo gave her a deep bow with a smirk.
The Faunus held her lips closed so tightly they turned white.
Roman applauded. "And that is why we have nothing to worry about. Between the two of us, a no-name Huntress won't stand a chance. "
Neo rose and met his eyes. She spread her fingers, mimicking Cinder's fire hand pose to remind him of the added danger lurking in the warehouse. A grimace flashed over Roman's face. Their boss was still in her secret room, doing who knew what with the best Dust they had, and gave very specific instructions about not being disturbed for any reason.
While Neo'd been watching her for the entire semester, she still had no idea what Cinder was or how she did everything she did. She hadn't even figured out what the beautiful language that Cinder sometimes spoke in was, when she thought no one was listening in. Though the woman managed to make it sound as diabolical as it was heavenly.
It was possible that she was an Anathema. Considering how easily she'd beaten both of them, that option was fairly high on Neo's list. If she was… Neo shivered at the thought. She and Roman had never dealt directly with one of them before. Maybe she'd be able to find the secret of that power too and take it for herself.
She could see it now, Roman and Neo, rulers of the underworld and the overworld. Well, actually no. Ruling meant responsibility. Roman could have that. He'd handle all of the planning and paperwork while she... executed.
"Tomorrow morning, you two are going for a fitting." Roman held a hand out while Neo bowed again.
She left an illusion behind, still bent over, and stepped behind the Faunus girl again.
"This is ridiculous. There's no wa- Eep." The girl yelped again when the point of Neo's needle ran down her spine.
"Ah ah ah ah. No complaining." Roman wagged a finger at her. "You brought this on yourself."
Neo departed with a skip in her step. She needed to keep this one around, it would be a shame if someone so amusing went and died on her.
The illusion stepped right in front of the girl, smirked, and then shattered into her face. This time she didn't shout. Neo sighed, but didn't turn back. She still had homework to do… eventually.
She slipped back into the room and immediately noticed two things. The first was that her scroll had moved. The second was that the most terrifying person she had ever met was holding it.
Cinder Fall was sitting on the edge of Neo's bed in the outfit that she had been wearing when they first fought. A red dress with Fire Dust and Orichalcum thread sewn into the fabric. She hadn't worn it for months.
"Neopolitan," Cinder said with the smug smirk she always had, "We will be returning to Haven later than anticipated. Prepare yourself for a trip to the mountains South of Vale. We will leave when Emerald arrives. Mercury and Professor Eurwen will complete our team's 'away mission' by themselves."
Neo raised an eyebrow. That was unusually straightforward. No obscure metaphors, no veiled hints about what she might do to them if they failed, just a simple order. She met Cinder's eyes with a squint. Something else was going on.
Cinder narrowed her eyes and ran a finger along the edge of the sheets. The obsidian coating her nail split the threads so silently that Neo could barely hear them tearing. She pushed the temptation to match Cinder's burning glare down and lowered her head. It made Neo's blood boil, but there was nothing else that could be done, not when she was in one of these moods.
Cinder could, and would, kill both of them if they failed her. She'd more than proved how easy it would be when she 'recruited' them to her cause and purged dissenters from the White Fang.
Neo left her head bowed until long after the tearing had stopped. When she glanced up, the flames smoldering in Cinder's eyes had died down, but they weren't gone.
"You will serve as bait to draw the Red Queen out," Cinder continued, while Neo took a quick breath. She was going to go up against the second most powerful fighter she'd ever met. "Do whatever you want to her men and women. Once she has been lured from her camp, we will strike with our most potent warriors. She shall perish just before she is able to discover the fate of her counterpart."
Neo glanced at the door to Roman and gulped.
"He is not needed for this. All he has to do is find a doctor who meets my specifications and continue depriving Vale of Dust." Cinder tapped on Neo's scroll and narrowed her eyes again. "We will remove one of the pieces from the board before she can discover the truth behind her opposite's fate. Then, when the Prodigal Son acts, he will be too exhausted to move against us. The stars have told of his fall and it shall begin here."
She turned the image of a beautiful valley toward Neo. The cliffs fell in a perfectly symmetrical manner as they spiraled into the shore of a lake. At the center of the lake was an island with several White Fang tents encircling an enormous tree. Or was it a grove of trees interweaving?
It was as if seven tree trunks grew in a perfect circle and split as they rose. Where they met, they reconnected, only to re-split soon. Again and again they weaved in and out as they climbed to a tremendous height, easily taller than many of the buildings in the city.
Neo paused, then raised an eyebrow again. She had never seen anything like that before.
"Don't question. Obey." Cinder changed the image to one of Neo and Roman when they were first starting out.
They were a pair of street rats with no sense of class or style. Roman had just bought his first suit, it fit him terribly, and had used so much product that his hair looked like an orange helmet. Neo had a terrible part, pinks strands of hair mixing with brown ones in a combination that would make her nauseated to be seen with now, and she'd used her Semblance to make most of her clothing. At the time, she'd actually been wearing a shirt too small to fully button and pants which needed four rolls to not drag on the ground.
Cinder ran her thumb over the surface of the scroll, nail biting into the glass as it passed over Roman's neck.
"Play your part and you will be rewarded. Fail and-" She pushed her thumb into the scroll, shattering it with a loud pop. "I will find other pieces."
An illusion covered up Neo's heavy breathing and clenched teeth. Her phantom nodded slowly while she dropped her hand to her needle. She gripped the handle so hard that normal wood would have exploded.
Cinder smirked and strutted to the door. "Be prepared to leave at a moment's notice."
The illusionary Neo nodded.
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Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
So we finally meet the Baddies. And based on the Orichalcum thread bit, I'd say Cinder is most likely a mad Solar. Which caste, I'm not sure.
- Location
- U.S.
It could be that it's just a detail change to fit the setting on her red dress from canon. And why a mad solar?
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
In canon, Cinder's dress was merely infused with burn dust. As for her being a mad Solar, it's either that or she's an Abyssal and she's not giving off that feel right now.
- Location
- Canada
Ebon Dragon Defiler Infernal.
Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
Maybe, maybe not.
Could be a Siddie off on some arcane plan we can't tell the reason behind. Or could be a Solar who a rogue Gold Faction survivor elder found.
- Location
- U.S.
And had lots of gold threading, which is an easy detail to switch, Orichalcum is made form gold, and looks similar after all, and it fits the setting better.
I don't object to her being a Solar, but she doesn't seem insane, just calling her a Solar would be fine. And there is the possibility of Sidereal to think about.
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
Yellow threading. Specifically saying that the thread is Orichalcum means that it's there to boost some property of the dress and it would make sense for her to use something she attunes to well.
Edit: checked the wiki, the patterns are yellow and glow an orangey gold when the infused dust is activated.
Mad as in twisted by the Great Curse, not mad as in cackling lunatic.
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