Ruby: Hey, Terra, what's that painting over there?
Terra Cotta-Arc: Oh, that? That's a depiction of evolution.
Ruby: Eva-what-what?
Terra: Evolution. It's a scientific theory that all life was originally a different species, before it changed into its present form over a period of tens of millions of years. Humans, for example, used to a type of ape.
Weiss: Well, that would explain... (Glances at Nora, who is picking bugs out of Jaune's hair) some things.
Blake: And where do faunus stand in this glorious science?
Terra: (Very awkwardly) We-ell, the most common theory is that faunus and humans have the same source, but the future-faunus were exposed to elements that caused them to develop their animalistic traits. No offense.
Blake: (coolly) None taken.
Yang: So it's all theories, huh? Nothing proven?
Terra: I admit, it's hard to prove. But I think it's more rational than to believe some sentient being put everything in motion.
Team RWBY: (Has traumatic flashbacks to "The Lost Fable")
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I was looking through my drafts and found a little mini-fic I wrote and never published. I think I was too shy to publish romance back then. Enjoy!
Deets: In this concept, exceptionally powerful humans can make pacts with other humans.
Warnings:
- Romantic as FUCK
-----
Solomon gently grabs your non-dominant wrist, kissing the palm of your hand. "No, it has to be here." His hand slips behind you, gently grasping the small of your back, tugging you in close as he continues to kiss your palm.
You reactively cover your cheeks as the heat explodes in them, feeling shy from his aggressive affections. He slowly replaces his lips with his hand, placing his palm squarely to match up with yours, so the mark will appear right on your palm.
His fingers intertwine with yours, and he asks you, smiling from how obviously flustered you are; "May we make a pact?"
"... Yes." You say with smiling, shy, flustered lips as you peek over your other hand to him, curious.
A light bursts between your two hands as the pact mark is sealed.
"... Why my non-dominant hand?"
"I want to feel everything you do with passion."
"Wouldn't my dominant hand be better for that?"
"I want to feel whatever makes you use both of your hands. Reading a good book that has both your hands entangled in it, the delicate focus of you bringing form to clay, the exploration of food you make and divulge in. I want to feel the things that you put your everything into."
There was a rapid rat-tatt-tatt of a knock in a rhythm that made Nicolò sit up straight and look over the back of the sofa at the front door of their tiny, studio flat.
“Habibi?” Yusuf rolled onto his side. He had been lying on the floor, tongue caught between his teeth, sketching.
It couldn’t be. Nicolò set his book aside. As his heart hammered against his ribs, he rose slowly to his feet.
Fingernails danced across the door again, a cadence that he knew. How? Mamma and papà had told him to leave, to never return. Nearly two years…
“Habibi?” Yusuf rose to his knees as Nicolò raced around the couch, to get to that door, to not waste a minute, to not give himself a second to dismiss hope…
He yanked open the door, half scared that he would pull it off the hinges, half scared that this was a dream.
“Piccolo mio.” Nicolò’s tiny, little Grandmother beamed up at him.
“Nonna,” he breathed. “Nonna Luciana.”
“Nicolò.”
She was real. She was here. “How?” he asked.
“I have been saving,” she said proudly, all four foot eleven of her. “And I have been playing poker with my grandchildren.”
Nonna Luciana was a terrible poker player, and on the heels of that realisation he knew that his cousins had financed this trip.
“How did you get here?” It was a long, long flight for an eighty year old, who had never left Genoa, and probably had not had a passport until this trip.
“Gabriella is starting her studies at the University of Edinburgh this September.” Nonna Luciana rocked up on her toes. “I have come to help her…. How do you say it? Vet her apartments? This is not true as a fresh… fresher, she is in ‘halls’ for her first year. What your papà does not know, he does not know,” Nonna finished, proud at her fabrication.
“Gabriella is here?”
“And her twin brother, Dario, he is to study Medicine, like you.”
His favourite cousins—here in Scotland, and his Nonna? Nicolò could feel tears pricking at his eyes.
“Rouħi—” Yusuf slipped in beside him, and set a warm hand on the small of his back, “—are you going to keep your grandmother on the doorstep?”
“Oh!”
“Ah, and you must be Yusuf.” Nonna Luciana toddled into the flat as Nicolò stepped back. “My newest Grandson.”
Self-indulgent min-fic concerning Mandy + reuniting with her parents and siblings.
"A little closer, bunch up, bunch up!" Mandy followed orders from a stout man with thinning blonde hair without question. Though, she had to wonder where was that 'cool guy' her mother had fallen hard for. He had always been a bit corny and outdated. To hear Mom tell it though, he had been a bit of a wild man in their college years.
Could be a groupie's single-target infatuation talking, but his band never quite took off as he pictured. So, Mandy could only think it might have started as star-struck turned into genuine love and affection.
They had to love each other to have stuck it out this long, through him chasing various careers, nothing quite 'fitted'; and Mom decided to go back to school later on in life. Not to mention having twin boys spoke of something to how there was still a spark.
On either side of her, dark-haired teenagers nearly shoulder to her already. They are going to get so tall...lips tempted to twitch into a smug. All of her Dad's effort to convince Mandy to play sports and waiting for sons and not a one of them wanted to so much as touch a football, kick a goal or indulge in a round of hoops.
As they posed for pictures, Mandy couldn't help but let her eye wander to one brother than the other while their parents instructed Mandy, Sig and Max to turn their heads this way or that, sigh at one of them blinking mid-take and other things parents fuss over for portraits of their kids.
Max, she noticed, had an habit of tugging at his right earlobe. Right at a healed star-burst scar, from when his first ever girlfriend talked him into getting his ears pierced by her hand.
While the story of how he got it was embarrassing and invoked an exasperated "MOM, don't tell her that!". Max seemed proud of the mark, at least he parted his shoulder length hair to the side in order to show off that ear.
Remind me to introduce you to someone, if you guys are ever in California.
Did regret not asking Robert to come with her, but felt this reunion had to be about her, her parents and brothers. Introducing Robert Robertson in the same breath as stepping back into their lives might be too much.
Had honestly been surprised how...easy it was to be welcomed home. Well, to their new home at least. Mandy had always regretted forcing them to move, not reaching out to them, but SDN and the agency they had partnered with advised a complete cut-off.
No contact. It would be easier that way, make it sound urgent and believable.
Nevertheless, those two word haunted her, despite knowing it had to be done. Knew she had made the best decision at the time. Villains were not above going after blood relatives. The nastiest sort would even take glee in rooting out secret connections and utilizing.
Abruptly leaving with only men in black and flashing official enough looking badges to explain the situation was a tad extreme, but she wanted them far away from her new identity. As divorced from Mandy's new reality as possible.
She didn't even ask information on to 'where' they were being relocated to. Now, without her amulet had asked SDN to do her one more favor, give her the file on her family.
"Last one" their dad assured, meanwhile Mandy doubted that because his wife was frowning at the screen of her own phone, so any minute now Mary-Ann would pipe up and say she'd want to 'retake' a few of her own photos.
Before the flash, Mandy's hand on Sig's shoulder was forced to drop as the teenager pulled away.
"Okay, had enough, I'm going back in. Too damn cold out here"
"Ah come on, Sigmund!"
Mandy saw the boy bristle. "No. I'm out. Photoshop me in if you want."
Before anyone could protest, the younger twin had taken the steps two at a time and closed the front door.
-
Mandy gingerly closed the garage door, as if gently putting the barrier back up was going to make a dent in the noise rattling the insulated walls.
Maddox had wanted to share a new piece he was working on, having to interject drumlines with 'This is when the guitar is gonna come in...gotta work on this rhythm, but it's gonna be great!' and various other bits of music crafting Mandy didn't know a lick about but was impressed by.
After helping Maddox record and upload his new 'set' to his phone's social media accounts, Mandy excused herself since it seemed he was raring to practice some more. He was talented, but all of that was starting to give her a headache.
However, closing the door brought her into the heart of the kitchen, three sets of eyes on her, air weighted with an abrupt halt of a conversation.
Mandy knew that look, the subtle shift of gaze from one to another, wringing hands and awkward pressing of lips that clearly weren't done talking.
Had just walked in on her parents and Sig talking, probably about her.
"Oh...kay, I probably shouldn't ask, but what's going on? What were you guys talking about?"
"Nothing, well nothing you won't be able to walk away from."
"Sig!" the scandalized tone coming from her mother. Mandy had to admit that did sting.
Unable to help herself, Mandy rested a hand on her right hip, "Well, since I'm leaving tomorrow, might be better to talk about it now. I don't know when I'll see you guys again..."
"That's just the thing" Sig didn't give her time to go into her own spiel, seemingly having enough of this homecoming.
"Don't interrupt her..." her dad began, clearly trying to turn the tone of this confrontation into a civil discussion.
"Why not? She interrupted us! I don't remember the move, but I remember how you and Mom were! Mom had to quit her job, you had to take us across the country...and for...what? So she can fly around in tights and a mask?!"
Animated hands, gestures Mandy had seen in replays of her interviews, the ones that had made her nervous enough to break the bubbly yet competent exterior.
The teenager reeled back, clearing his throat as his voice had cracked a little in his haste and anger.
"You left us" it's an accusation.
"I know" Mandy had to force herself to fix her face into a neutral expression, blink away the start of tears.
"We don't even know if you're...really her. I want proof...something" Sig continued.
"You don't remember who I was back then, Sig" Mandy said as gently as possible.
"...how could I forget? Mom and Dad would talk about you. Dad..."he looked a bit pained to say it, but probably know it was too far gone, "Nearly got into trouble with the law multiple times because he...would go off the deep end sometimes. Conspiracy theories and thinking the government had kidnapped you!"
Mandy blinked, looking to her father who hung his head briefly in shame.
"Sigmund, please don't bring that up" Mom attempted to ease him back from a verbal ledge.
"Mom wasted our savings to hire a P.I to find you" apparently there was enough dirt to be flung around.
"It wasn't a waste..."
"We only saw her again because she can't fly, punch brick walls and whatever ELSE she could do! She came to us..." at this point his gaze was on her, steel gray like their mother's.
"Because she wants us to take her back."
Mandy watched Sig's bottom lip tremble, doubt clouding his eyes, clearly unsure if he wanted to go on or slip away to his room upstairs.
"You never left. Max and I didn't know you, but Mom and Dad made sure we never forgot about you. We still talked about you. Wondered where you were, how to get you...it was...a constant state of mourning, without a body, without someone to actually miss."
Now Mandy could see a near mirror-like shine of tears forming in his eyes, jawline tightened while Sig's face held onto some softness of baby fat, it was clear he was trying so hard to be the voice of reason in a family in the throes of sentimentality.
"And? If you do...get your powers back? Aren't you going to ghost us again? Linger around like you always have?"
Mandy wished she had answer for him. Now was grateful she hadn't asked Robert to join her on this little road trip. If this is how Sig reacted to finding out his sister had been Blonde Blazer, was this reluctant to welcome her back due to the absence and having to keep so many secrets, didn't want to think how he'd react to even a portion of her current life.
Mini-fic: had child!Mandy and her family on the brain, so have a short fic of Dad and Mandy
-
pov: you were excited your first daughter/only child, decides she wants to play little league soccer
"There you go Mandy! Good job, good job! Chase that ball..." only to see his daughter veer sharply to the right, over to a downed player wearing a different colored jersey.
Not again...
"Mandy...we talked about this! Your focus needs to be on the ball!" especially since now the opposing team had snapped victory out of the jaws of defeat.
The brunette sporting a high pony tail looked to her father, "She's hurt, Dad!" before leaning down to talk to the girl crying about grass stains and a skinned knee since her shin guard had been knocked clean off.
"She's on the opposite team..." knew it was pointless though because Mandy already had an arm underneath the other girl, helping her stand, effectively distracting the starting forward.
"You're falling for a wounded gazelle gambit" he warned, doubting the other kid was seriously that hurt, seemed like a bunch of dramatics.
Mandy paused, for a moment there was hope she'd abandoned her rescue efforts, instead she blinks blue eyes at her dad.
"...what's a gazelle?"
"It's a..." sighed, "You know what, Mandy? Sure, help her off the field. Think I can see her parents right over there," an anxious couple hung back, gaze on their kid being guided back to the sidelines.
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(Setting: Team RRAYNBOW have met the now very old Lewis)
Lewis: ...Sir Knight. Heh. You look good for your age.
Jaune: Lewis...have you been waiting for me?
Lewis: And for the friends you described. (Nods at the others) I'm glad I did. Jaune told me and Alyx all about his fellow warriors.
Jaune: Um...Lewis, I'm not sure how to tell you, this...
(After the exposition on Alyx's fate...)
Lewis: So, the cat...I wondered what deal he and Alyx struck...
Ren: You...don't sound very surprised.
Lewis: When Alyx did not return after several years, I knew something must have happened. But then the Great War happened, and I was unable to find portal again. I was also afraid that if a military force followed me, they could exploit the properties of the Ever After for warfare.
Weiss: Why would an army follow you?
Lewis: I was highly monitored for my actions before the War escalated. The book I wrote about Alyx, wasn't just a story of one girl's journey. It also held subtle but striking social commentary on the nature of that era's politics. One that provoked more than a few revolts among the mistreated citizens of Mantle.
Yang: You're book caused the ban on art!?
Blake: But I've read The Girl Who Fell Through the World a dozen times, and I don't recall there being any...politics.
Lewis: (Darkly) Because of the book's popularity, the authorities couldn't ban it outright. Instead they printed a version that had the more important lessons against authority removed...even after the ban on art was lifted.
Nora: (Hits Jaune on the shoulder) See! So it wasn't your fault nothing turned out back then like you thought it would!
Jaune: ...Lewis, could you tell me why Alyx poisoned me?
Ruby: And how did you end up in the Ever After to begin with?
Lewis: ...It all began when Alyx and I stumbled upon an outrageous secret within the desert...
Ceil: There's a reason why it's so hard to fight Salem, but it requires some explanation. (Shields herself in Aura) See this energy?
Ruby: Yeah?
Ciel: What you are seeing as the color blue is a succession of psychically charged theosophic particles escaping the event horizon escaping my physical singularity determined by my cellular quiddity.
Ruby: You're...you're gonna have to dumb that down at least two degrees for me.
Blake: Three would be nice.
Ruby: Yeah, let's go with three.
Ciel: Hmm. Let's see that each person has a unique but singular quiddity-
Ruby: Don't know that word.
Ciel: Has an...let's say an essence. Such an essence makes a different color aura when it manifests. For example, Ruby's aura has a red quiddity, Weiss' is white, and Blake's is black. When one person creates something alone, it's ephemeral, like one of Blake's duplicates. Lasting only a short time, and easily dispersed. But when different warriors combine their auras, they can create something strong, more durable.
Yang: Ohh, kinda like how people amped by Jaune are super-charged!
Ciel: That is exactly right. The more colors involved, the stronger the power. The problem is that a majority of the people in the world- perhaps all the worlds- have only one color...and Salem is imbued with three. According to the story you received from Jinn, Salem was first created by the combined forces of the Two Brothers. She was then granted immortality by Light's pool, and then became part Grimm by absorbing a pool of essence left by Dark. No one has been able to attain two extra colors since then. Salem is, by those terms, the most powerful being in creation.
Ruby: What about the Two Brothers?
Ciel: As powerful as they are, the Two Brothers are single-color beings like the rest of us. Salem could cut through them like a hot knife through butter. No single creature could ever defeat Salem.
Ruby: ...That's why Light made Oz the way he is. He probably thought combining two souls would make them strong enough to fight Salem. But it was only two essences against three.
Yang: Sooo we just need to combine three auras into one attack? shouldn't be too hard...
Weiss: Do you think that's why Ironwood built the Aura Transference Device? To infuse people with extra quiddities?
Ciel: (Bitter) Ironwood didn't know about the quiddities- None of Oz's stooges knew a thing about Salem before you found the truth. Oz and Ironwood saw the device as just a means of control the succession of the Maidens' powers. that's what we need you for, Team RWBY.
Ruby: Us!? But we don't know how to build a, an aura-warping thingy!
Ciel: No. But a member of the Crown- you know her as Gillian- has a similar power to Jaune's, only she can pull auras out of different people. If we can get her support, we can put Salem down for good.
Weiss: Are you sure you want us to handle this...?
Ciel: Didn't you manage to get help from agents of the White Fang, Happy Huntresses and the SDC once before?
Yang: Those were...kinda special circumstances.
Ciel: This happens to be the most special circumstance ever. You'll be fine.
