Nobody Can Save The World Alone

Currently a RWBY fanblog, but I'm painfully new to tumblr, so that might change at a later date. Female - British - Asexual - She/Her. Ask me about my AU. :D

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Meet The Writer

Hi, I'm Bafflement and I'm a writer. :D I tend to post mostly RWBY writing at the moment, but that doesn't mean that's all I'm writing! My inbox is always open for requests, whether poetry or prose, it's all good practice!

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Writing Update

Promised myself I wouldn't do this. :(

But it's been about four months since new content, so I guess I have to.

Bear's health is... not hella great atm. I AM writing, I do still have several different RWBY themed things in the works and they should hopefully be up soon. Soon is HOPEFULLY in the next few days, but I can't make any guarantees right now.

I'm sorry for the unintentional hiatus, but at least Escalopram is treating me better than sertraline did?

I really am feeling better, just... yeah.

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Might as well reblog this. <3

I... yeah. New content won't be today.

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Reblogging again. Stuff'll be up when it is.

[Sidenote, it's SO HOT.]

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Reblogging again. Why is is still boiling?

Dear summer, go away.

Feeling better, just far too hot.

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Writing Update

Promised myself I wouldn't do this. :(

But it's been about four months since new content, so I guess I have to.

Bear's health is... not hella great atm. I AM writing, I do still have several different RWBY themed things in the works and they should hopefully be up soon. Soon is HOPEFULLY in the next few days, but I can't make any guarantees right now.

I'm sorry for the unintentional hiatus, but at least Escalopram is treating me better than sertraline did?

I really am feeling better, just... yeah.

[bafflement]

Might as well reblog this. <3

I... yeah. New content won't be today.

[bafflement]

Reblogging again. Stuff'll be up when it is.

[Sidenote, it's SO HOT.]

[bafflement]

Writing Update

Promised myself I wouldn't do this. :(

But it's been about four months since new content, so I guess I have to.

Bear's health is... not hella great atm. I AM writing, I do still have several different RWBY themed things in the works and they should hopefully be up soon. Soon is HOPEFULLY in the next few days, but I can't make any guarantees right now.

I'm sorry for the unintentional hiatus, but at least Escalopram is treating me better than sertraline did?

I really am feeling better, just... yeah.

[bafflement]

Might as well reblog this. <3

I... yeah. New content won't be today.

[bafflement]

Writing Update

Promised myself I wouldn't do this. :(

But it's been about four months since new content, so I guess I have to.

Bear's health is... not hella great atm. I AM writing, I do still have several different RWBY themed things in the works and they should hopefully be up soon. Soon is HOPEFULLY in the next few days, but I can't make any guarantees right now.

I'm sorry for the unintentional hiatus, but at least Escalopram is treating me better than sertraline did?

I really am feeling better, just... yeah.

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Deaged Oz AU - New Clothes And New Possibilities

Unfortunately for Tip, Willow's idea of sibling bonding is shopping trips. They certainly have the money for it, at least? Weiss and Whitley are there too, though they're laughing at him more than anything.

Tip IS glad to have a sister, though. He thinks.

Tip spluttered indignantly as the book he’d been enjoying was all but snatched from his hands. He was ready to glare at whoever had had the temerity, he’d been enjoying that! But… but it wasn’t Nora. It wasn’t even Blake. He blinked up at his sister, puzzled. What was Willow doing here?

He racked his brains, trying to recall if there’d been a meeting scheduled, but came up empty. Besides, someone would have reminded him, if that had been the case. Weiss, if nobody else. He knew he wasn’t at his best right now, and tried to repress the scowl that threatened to break out at the mental reminder of just how vulnerable he was, but surely he’d have remembered a family commitment? It was still so odd, having family outside Oscar…

Willow smiled down at him, though there was something shadowed in her eyes. There always had been, when she looked at him, but Tip put it down to the fact that he currently looked so much like the boy she’d lost. He doubted she’d have been anything like as accepting, had he still been the adult he should have been, but there was no real way to know that, now. Either way, whatever he had forgotten, he was certainly going to be reminded of it soon.

“We were thinking that it might be nice to have a day out, Just us, just the family. It would be good to go out and get to know each other.” Willow’s voice was tentative, but Tip had already straightened in his chair. It really would be nice, to get to know them better, this family that he couldn’t fully remember. He felt slightly suspicious, though, as to the timing of this. Usually, they’d scheduled these sort of things in advance, how could they have known he’d be free?

Oh, wait. No, they’d have asked James, of course. Winter would have done, anyway. It hadn’t passed him by that Willow had been careful not to address him by name, either. That was nice of her, though he doubted she’d call him Tip any time soon.

… he rather doubted most people in Atlas ever would. That was still strange, too, he kept running in to people who’d known him, or rather the sickly child he had once been. It had been fine in Vale, he’d known that most people would know him as Ozpin and that, at least, had been his choice in part. But here? They didn’t know he was Ozpin… they all saw the boy he used to do.

Maybe he could fix that, one day? He felt himself biting his lip and looked away, suddenly nervous. Going out into the city as a family unit, again… being seen, would it place a target on his family’s backs? More than it was already, that was?

But Willow wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She cleared her throat pointedly, trying to get her brother’s attention again. Whether Tip would enjoy the day out was another matter entirely, but he was going, whether he wanted to or not.

Tip got up, rather reluctantly, hands groping for the wooden sheath he tended to use to store Long Memory. The cane was too recognisable, and although he’d promised himself that he’s stop using the piece of stylised wood, it was another layer of protection. As long as nobody connected him to who he really was, he’d be okay.

The movement hiked his shirt sleeve up an inch or so, revealing skinny wrists and accidentally reinforcing Willow’s plans for the day. It really was rather shocking, seeing him walk around in ill fitting clothing when there was just so much money that could be used to fix that particular oversight. But then, the fact that Tip was so very against spending any of it would probably have confirmed, if confirmation had ever been needed, that he really was her brother.

He wasn’t going to be given a choice, though. The stores they’d gone to last time still had all his measurements on file, it would be easy enough to add another half inch to the sleeves. Maybe they could even get a few of them to be slightly oversized, for him to grow into? Not that they needed to save money, but Willow rather thought he might appreciate it.

It was still hard, sometimes, watching her brother like this. He was so young, so real… so like the baby brother she’d tried so hard to protect. She knew others saw it, too, had heard the whispers as surely as he must have done. She’d seen some of the blogs that had been put up about him, the few times she’d gone looking, though part of her hoped that he hadn’t seen all of them. He was just… no, no he wasn’t really a little boy, was he? He just looked like it.

Little boy or not, though, he would always be her baby brother.

“When you said that you wanted us to have a day out, you never mentioned anything about shopping!” Tip was annoyed, looking over all the materials the shop clerks kept pushing at him. Clothing was expensive, he didn’t really need any. But, looking up at the flinty look in Willow’s eyes, he knew better than to say anything about it.

That they had his measurements on file was just rude, though. Surely they had to be aware that he didn’t need that much clothing? It had been bad enough that Aunt Em had bought him a few things while they were in Mistral, but… the sheer amount of clothing was insane. Where would he even store it all? How could he ever wear even half of it before he grew out of it? Although, maybe he could pay her back now?

“You need clothes, baby brother. You’re growing out of the clothing you’re wearing, and our family does have a reputation to keep up. Besides, why are you so worried about spending a bit of money? You know that we certainly have it to spare.” Willow was almost certain Tip wouldn’t say anything in public, but she still really wanted to know just who had fostered such an utter lack of self confidence in him. He’d been the head of Beacon Academy, surely he had to know that appearances mattered? But then again, all she ever remembered him wearing as an adult were versions of the same identical suit. Did she want to know where all the money was going? No, no, probably not.

Tip groaned. “Only if you let me donate the things I won’t wear. This much is just… it’s too much, Willow.” Her glare increased, but Tip felt better having actually said something. Spending this much money just felt wrong, and even worse, he got the feeling this might not even be all of it. That the shop had refused to take his measurements out of their files was… well, rather worrying. Why could he almost hear Qrow laughing at him over this?

“No, Winter. No, it really isn’t too much.” Willow said, voice sad. There were times when she really wished she could go and throttle those in Vale that had given her brother so may issues around money and this was certainly one of them. Oh, their family was far from perfect, and she would be the first to admit that they had their problems, but money had never been one of them. The way Winter was growing, well… maybe he was right, that he would grow out of them long before they wore out, but why should that mean he didn’t have them? Besides, it would make the Schnee family reputation even worse, if one of their members went around in rags.

She probably couldn’t technically call them that, really. But Tip’s clothing was mostly made of simple materials, easily torn, easily destroyed. They weren’t even that warm, which with Tip’s health issues was rather more worrying than she really wanted to think about. He’d been happy enough to let them buy Oscar clothing, why was he so different? His health mattered too, dammit.

Tip ducked his head, unwilling to look Willow in the face. He hadn’t meant to upset her! He wasn’t entirely sure what he’d done, but Glynda had been just as upset with him in the past, when he refused to do something that they thought was important. Maybe that was a part of having a sister, that they worried about you? He really should get in contact with Glynda, but what could he even say to her, if he did? He was mostly helpless like this, far too young to be taken seriously. If he’d still been an adult, Willow wouldn’t have treated him like… no, no she really would, wouldn’t she?

He scowled, hearing Weiss laughing at him in the background. At least one of them was amused? She wasn’t making any move to help him though. Worse, she’d made her own suggestions as to possible outfits, though at least they’d all been in relatively good taste?

Not that the same could be said for everybody/ He didn’t even want to think about the suggestions Whitley had fired at him, but then his nephew still didn’t seem to like him very much. At least most of them had been green, well, technically at least. One or two of them had made him incredibly glad for the fact that his glasses were tinted, though.

That was fair enough really, he knew that it had to be beyond strange, to suddenly have an uncle, much less one that was visually younger than him. He couldn’t blame Whitley, he was a decent enough kid, under all the conditioning Jacques had left behind.

Winter hadn’t come with them, had claimed that James had a mission for her. He envied her that, he would have given quite a lot to get out of this, though at least Willow seemed happy? She was the only one, really, but still, he wondered. The spark that showed occasionally when she was like this, had that been what his sister had been like all those years ago? Before Jacques, before everything had gone so wrong? Dead or not, he was certain that he’d never forgive the man for everything he’d done to his family.

And the worst bit of all of this? This was just the first store. He knew he had a room at the manor, had been shown it once, but surely the items in there were more than enough? He really wasn’t comfortable having too many belongings, he didn’t really need them. But it made the others happy, to give them to him. He sighed dejectedly. There were reasons he really shouldn’t let them do this, but a lot of them fell apart when he examined them more closely. It might be a waste of money, but he knew, now, just how much of that there was to waste. He might not feel like he deserved any of this, but though he’d told them as much, it just served to make them sad. He might be dead in a year or two, but though he could see the heartbreak in their eyes at the thought, they’d told him that it would just be there for the next one.

If there was a next one, Ozzy had been oddly smug about that, hadn’t let Tip have any real knowledge of just what would happen, if he actually died properly. Though, with the threat to Oscar, he really didn’t think he overly wanted to know any more than that.

It was just one day, and with the sheer amount of new items, surely they wouldn’t notice if a few of them got redistributed? He hoped so, at least, though he knew better than to try it immediately.

This had to be the last of these trips for awhile, surely? Once he had everything that they thought he’d need, they’d stop? At least until he grew again?

“Don’t worry, little brother.” Willow said, sounding very smug. “I did promise we’d visit the book store later.” She had, in fact, promised that. As a bribe, it could have been worse, even if Tip didn’t particularly like thinking of it quite like that. Part of him had missed having siblings, but as he stared at the mountain of clothing in black and green and gold and blue and silver, he still felt slightly despairing. Even if he could, he doubted that anyone would ever see anything other than sickly little Winter, wearing all this.

At least they’d underestimate him? He wanted those books, dammit.

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Morning reblog. :D

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Reblogging again. Willow's idea of sibling bonding is retail therapy.

Tip's... is not.

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Reblogging this again. xD Don't think anyone saw it, though it's far less important than the other one.

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Reblogging this again. :D

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Reblogging this one, too. I'm proud of it.

Still pretty sick. :(

There will be new stuff up this month if i have to sit up all night to do it.

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Reblogging this again. New content'll be up when it's up. I'm on different meds, so hopefully they'll help?

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Reblogging this one more time. Hopefully there should be new stuff up soon. The meds are helping and I'm starting to feel better!

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Deaged Oz AU - To Remeet Old Friends

I... managed to miss February. :( However, meet Prism Arc! He's Jaune's father, amongst other things, and he's very keen to meet those of Jaune's frends who didn't fall. Are there certain consequences to this? Well...

Prism’s jaw hurt, it was clenched so hard. He knew, oh of course he did, that it hadn’t been the fault of those that had crossed successfully that his son had fallen, had… disappeared. He wasn’t dead, he wasn’t allowed to be dead. Not now, not again… he’d lost so many people already. His parents, his only sibling… he didn’t want to think about what might happen if this was permanent, if Jaune was dead.

He’d been told that he wasn’t, impersonally, via a message from someone he couldn’t even trace. He’d seen Taiyang Xiao Long’s reaction to that, too… which had been strangely defeated. But then, they were in the same boat. They’d both lost children, in the same event. They’d both had children that had technically signed up to be hunters, but… it didn’t matter. Not really, not now. They may have been acting like young adults, but they had still been their children.

Would always be their children.

All the commiserations, all the assurances that Jaune had been a hero, had ordered Nora to take a boy across the bridge, not to wait for him… it didn’t matter. Oh, he didn’t blame the child for needing rescuing, whoever they were had obviously needed the help, and besides… oh, they hadn’t told him, really, but he was very aware it was probably the little boy Jaune had been so very protective of. It fit, Jaune had been as protective of his sisters. Most of the time.

Oh, but the girls weren’t taking their brother’s status well, not at all. He remembered, distantly, being so very angry that Jaune had falsified his transcripts. He’d still gotten into Beacon, though, and that was nothing to sneeze at. But he wished he could just be proud of his son, not have his heroism constantly forced down his throat. There was a reason most heroes ended up… well. Yes.

It could have been worse, he supposed. Taiyang had lost both his children. The Belladonna’s had only had one to start with. But that didn’t matter, nothing mattered in the face of that overwhelming, all encompassing grief.

He’d see it, once, with his father when Reuben had been kidnapped. When the other children had disappeared too. Had seen it in the washed out, devastated look in their parents eyes, the haunted questions… the hollow place where a child had been and might never be again. He saw that in the mirror, now. He’d never, ever wanted to look this much like his father had.

Maybe there would be a miracle yet. There had to be at least one, right? The message had been so very sure that they were just vanished, that they weren’t dead, though it hadn’t explained how whoever it was had known, or just who had sent it. The Belladonna’s had probably got the same message, though they didn’t seem to want to say anything, to share it. It was strange, being this close to people he hadn’t known before. Bonded by their loss, their shared pain. He hadn’t gone looking for the survivors, though he knew he probably should.

What could he say to them? How would he be able to tell them that he envied them for still being here… but that he didn’t blame them for what had so clearly been Jaune’s choice. He was sure that the children would blame themselves. Nora, Ren. The Pine siblings that he’d only ever heard about. He’d met Jaune’s teammates over scroll, but he’d never even seen a picture of the younger boys. Em’s nephews. Oh, that had been an interesting meeting, too. She was familiar in a way he still couldn’t place, but again, that was probably the grief. Her nephews were alive though, safe or at least relatively so, here in Vacuo. She, at least, might still have gotten her happy ending.

Would it have been different, maybe, had Prism been there for his son as Qrow Branwen had been there for all of them? Would he have been able to stop things? To protect them? But no, he hadn’t been an active Huntsman in decades… and it was useless to dwell on maybes.

He probably should look up Jaune’s friends, though. Those kids deserved to know that he was more or less on their side. Nora and Ren didn’t have parents of their own, and though the younger boys had their aunt, he’d gotten enough context clues to infer that they were orphans too.

From the way Jaune had spoken of all of them, well… if they needed a family, it was the least he could do to honor his son’s memory.

Nora was, in a word, bored. Tip had been being supremely rude and hadn’t actually given anyone the list of those that had hurt him yet, and Ren was off somewhere doing something she wasn’t sure of. Breaking up had sucked, but they both needed to find out who they were individually. There were reasons, even if she had to remind herself of them at times, but… hey, he was probably off training. Maybe she should go and find him?

No, no, that was the old Nora. The Nora that had never been without him. She didn’t need him. … she totally needed him.

She heard a cough and turned, blinking as Tip appeared next to her. Huh, all she had to do was think about him, neat!

“Oh, hey, Pocketsized! Whatcha want?” If nothing else, this was likely to be a good distraction for her. Itty biity Oz was good at that.

Tip didn’t answer immediately, his head was cocked to one side, as though he was listening, before he shook his head with a frown.

“Apologies, Nora. I had the strangest feeling, just now.” Tip sounded distracted, his eyes far away. That had been happening more and more, since they’d lost the others. Oh, he’d told them that it was normal, that he was fine, but Nora really wasn’t sure she actually believed him. Would telling them that he was okay when he wasn’t count as a lie? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, she worried for him. This sucked, it wasn’t the kind of distraction she’d been looking for.

It had been hours, now, since either of them had seen Ren. Oscar had trailed in awhile ago, bouncing with tales of the mission he’d been a part of, happy in a way that seemed so rare now. Tip had grinned, obviously ecstatic to see that his brother was this delighted, though there was a shadow to his eyes. Everybody knew he’d rather be out there with them, than stuck here playing politics with the various surviving council members. Everybody knew, too, that nobody was going to allow him that choice. Tip was far too much of a target now, too vulnerable and far too irreplaceable to risk. That sucked, too. At least Nora could go and fight to relieve stress, but not Tip. Not now.

Nora wondered what it was that Tip had noticed, that she’d missed, though. That happened pretty often, too, though everybody was more or less used to it by now. She rather thought it had happened while he was still the Professor, too, though it had been much easier to hide while he was still an adult. Ozpin had always seemed to know too much, though, rather like Tip did now. It was comforting, in a way, that that at least hadn’t really changed.

Ren returned several hours later, refusing to tell the others where he’d been, though he seemed happy enough. Whatever it was seemed to have put some of the sparkle back in his eye though, and Nora had to admit that that was a good thing. She still wished she’d been wherever it was with him, but that was all part of finding themselves. She had to remember her decision, though sometimes it hurt. She had to be Nora without Ren, he had to learn to be Ren without Nora.

Was this what Qrow felt like, she wondered, not for the first time. After all, he was in an impossible position when it came to Tip, far worse off than they were. No, no, it could be worse, she supposed.

It was getting dark when they heard a soft knock at their door. The sound seemed strangely hesitant, as though whoever was on the other side wasn’t sure that they really wanted to be there. From the look on Tip’s face as he levered himself to his feet though, this was the event he’d been expecting. Was it a friend of his? Nora was pretty sure they’d met just about all of those by now, but you never really knew when it came to Tip. As Ozpin, he’d seemed to know most people, and in Atlas… well, even people he didn’t know seemed to know him.

What would that be like, to know everybody? Nora shook her head, ridding herself of the thought as she and the other two stood up, too. Whoever this was, meeting them sitting down probably wouldn’t make a good first impression.

The door opened slowly, a dark shrouded figure stood on the other side. Their body language too seemed strangely nervous, though as they shrugged their hood back, Nora realised that she knew them. She’d seen him before, on scroll calls Jaune made to his parents. This was Jaune’s father, then... but why was he here now? Was he here to yell at them, to try to hurt them? Blake’s parents had seemed accepting enough, at least after Tip reassured them that he didn’t think their daughter was dead, but Tai had been a different matter entirely. Where would Prism Arc land, on the scale? And would he, too, try to hurt Tip?

Tip had been their professor, was very much the wizard, yes, but as she took in the way he slumped, all Nora could really see was her friend. Was the little boy they’d gotten to know, the one that wasn’t Ozpin, not really.

“Hello, sir.” Tip said, tone defeated. Whatever was coming, he had to be ready for it. He hadn’t saved Jaune, hadn’t been able to, too frozen in his unreasoning terror at seeing the thing Cinder had become. If the man decided to take things out on him, could he really blame him? No, of course not.

Prism shot the boy as much of a smile as he could manage under the circumstances. This wasn’t Nora or Ren, and he didn’t think it was Oscar. Was this Pocketsized, then? He’d never actually met the youngest of Jaune’s friends, though he’d hard their voices often enough, He’d greet him properly later, though. Just getting here had taken a lot out of him, but he needed to be here. He needed to see Jaune’s friends, to check that they, at least, were alright. His son wasn’t, would never be, but Jaune had cared so much about his team, about his other friends.

As he scanned the room, he noticed the distance between Nora and Ren and something ached in his chest. They’d been so close before, was this another consequence of the terrible events that had cost him his son? Had cost so many of his son’s friends? He noticed the bandages around the neck and wrists of the older of the two strangers, too. Was that from the same event, or something older? He’d never really thought to ask, thinking he’d have years to meet and get to know these children. Maybe he still could, eventually? Not now, not tonight. But eventually?

He turned his gaze back towards the boy at the door, who wasn’t looking at him. He seemed to be twisting his fingers nervously, which Prism couldn’t help but emphasise with. He was almost sure this was the boy that Jaune had saved, though he hoped that he didn’t blame himself too much. It made sense that they would have been friends, though he rather thought that his son might have saved a stranger almost as easily. Jaune had been a leader, had made a choice. Could he wish it had been different? Absolutely, but it was still the choice that had happened, He’d had time to start to accept that, too. Maybe.

He knew the boy from somewhere, he was certain of it. Maybe it was from Jaune's stories? He looked almost as miserable as Prism did, these days, but then there was a palpable aura of grief over all of these children, of Jaune's friends, that matched his own. That fact, that they were obviously mourning too, was what gave him the strength to introduce himself.

“Hello, children. My name is Prism Arc, I’m Jaune’s father. I’m happy to meet you, though I do wish it was in other circumstances.” He smiled sadly, making his way over to the nearest chair. “Do you kids mind if I sit?” He asked, glancing around again. “Only old bones do tend to ache.”

“Of course, sir.” Came a voice, the same as the one that had greeted him. The boy still looked deeply uncomfortable and Prism’s heart couldn’t help go out to him. As the others settled back into chairs of their own, he watched as the youngest limped his way over. That looked painful, surely that wasn’t recent, too?

It was only as he passed him that Prism finally, horrified, realised just why he’d seemed so very familiar. His mind had gone over what had happened that night all those years ago enough times to recognise him anywhere, his semblance letting him retread the memory at his leasure.

“Winter?” He hissed, horrified. He couldn’t be, though, surely he’d know? But there had been those rumors out of Atlas… how could James never have told him? Oh, they weren't close, not anymore, but... he'd lost people, too, to that damn kidnapping ring.

The boy flinched, misery turning to a sort of weary acceptance, his face briefly seeming much older than Prism thought that he should. The pain was still there, though, shadowing eyes just as familiar as his face was, now.

If this was truly Winter, truly the friend he'd lost? Well, that changed things, didn't it? Maybe Prism would finally find out just what had been so important, that day?

Then again, maybe not.

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Reblogging this one again, I don't think many people saw it.

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Reblogging this one again.

I'm honestly not entirely sure when the next set are going up. As I've stated, I'm on some new meds and my brain is sort of fuzzy right now.

:(

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Reblogging again.

HOPEFULLY there should be new content soon, but it very much does depend on when these meds let me stop feeling sort of like a truck hit me. :(

I'm so sorry for the wait, it wasn't intentional.

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Reblogging again. I'm alive, still not having the best time, but I'm alive.

Again, not sure when the next set will go up, but I AM actively working on it. Some of it is Tipverse, some... less so.

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Reblogging this one again.

I hate being this sick. :(

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Deaged Oz AU - New Clothes And New Possibilities

Unfortunately for Tip, Willow's idea of sibling bonding is shopping trips. They certainly have the money for it, at least? Weiss and Whitley are there too, though they're laughing at him more than anything.

Tip IS glad to have a sister, though. He thinks.

Tip spluttered indignantly as the book he’d been enjoying was all but snatched from his hands. He was ready to glare at whoever had had the temerity, he’d been enjoying that! But… but it wasn’t Nora. It wasn’t even Blake. He blinked up at his sister, puzzled. What was Willow doing here?

He racked his brains, trying to recall if there’d been a meeting scheduled, but came up empty. Besides, someone would have reminded him, if that had been the case. Weiss, if nobody else. He knew he wasn’t at his best right now, and tried to repress the scowl that threatened to break out at the mental reminder of just how vulnerable he was, but surely he’d have remembered a family commitment? It was still so odd, having family outside Oscar…

Willow smiled down at him, though there was something shadowed in her eyes. There always had been, when she looked at him, but Tip put it down to the fact that he currently looked so much like the boy she’d lost. He doubted she’d have been anything like as accepting, had he still been the adult he should have been, but there was no real way to know that, now. Either way, whatever he had forgotten, he was certainly going to be reminded of it soon.

“We were thinking that it might be nice to have a day out, Just us, just the family. It would be good to go out and get to know each other.” Willow’s voice was tentative, but Tip had already straightened in his chair. It really would be nice, to get to know them better, this family that he couldn’t fully remember. He felt slightly suspicious, though, as to the timing of this. Usually, they’d scheduled these sort of things in advance, how could they have known he’d be free?

Oh, wait. No, they’d have asked James, of course. Winter would have done, anyway. It hadn’t passed him by that Willow had been careful not to address him by name, either. That was nice of her, though he doubted she’d call him Tip any time soon.

… he rather doubted most people in Atlas ever would. That was still strange, too, he kept running in to people who’d known him, or rather the sickly child he had once been. It had been fine in Vale, he’d known that most people would know him as Ozpin and that, at least, had been his choice in part. But here? They didn’t know he was Ozpin… they all saw the boy he used to do.

Maybe he could fix that, one day? He felt himself biting his lip and looked away, suddenly nervous. Going out into the city as a family unit, again… being seen, would it place a target on his family’s backs? More than it was already, that was?

But Willow wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She cleared her throat pointedly, trying to get her brother’s attention again. Whether Tip would enjoy the day out was another matter entirely, but he was going, whether he wanted to or not.

Tip got up, rather reluctantly, hands groping for the wooden sheath he tended to use to store Long Memory. The cane was too recognisable, and although he’d promised himself that he’s stop using the piece of stylised wood, it was another layer of protection. As long as nobody connected him to who he really was, he’d be okay.

The movement hiked his shirt sleeve up an inch or so, revealing skinny wrists and accidentally reinforcing Willow’s plans for the day. It really was rather shocking, seeing him walk around in ill fitting clothing when there was just so much money that could be used to fix that particular oversight. But then, the fact that Tip was so very against spending any of it would probably have confirmed, if confirmation had ever been needed, that he really was her brother.

He wasn’t going to be given a choice, though. The stores they’d gone to last time still had all his measurements on file, it would be easy enough to add another half inch to the sleeves. Maybe they could even get a few of them to be slightly oversized, for him to grow into? Not that they needed to save money, but Willow rather thought he might appreciate it.

It was still hard, sometimes, watching her brother like this. He was so young, so real… so like the baby brother she’d tried so hard to protect. She knew others saw it, too, had heard the whispers as surely as he must have done. She’d seen some of the blogs that had been put up about him, the few times she’d gone looking, though part of her hoped that he hadn’t seen all of them. He was just… no, no he wasn’t really a little boy, was he? He just looked like it.

Little boy or not, though, he would always be her baby brother.

“When you said that you wanted us to have a day out, you never mentioned anything about shopping!” Tip was annoyed, looking over all the materials the shop clerks kept pushing at him. Clothing was expensive, he didn’t really need any. But, looking up at the flinty look in Willow’s eyes, he knew better than to say anything about it.

That they had his measurements on file was just rude, though. Surely they had to be aware that he didn’t need that much clothing? It had been bad enough that Aunt Em had bought him a few things while they were in Mistral, but… the sheer amount of clothing was insane. Where would he even store it all? How could he ever wear even half of it before he grew out of it? Although, maybe he could pay her back now?

“You need clothes, baby brother. You’re growing out of the clothing you’re wearing, and our family does have a reputation to keep up. Besides, why are you so worried about spending a bit of money? You know that we certainly have it to spare.” Willow was almost certain Tip wouldn’t say anything in public, but she still really wanted to know just who had fostered such an utter lack of self confidence in him. He’d been the head of Beacon Academy, surely he had to know that appearances mattered? But then again, all she ever remembered him wearing as an adult were versions of the same identical suit. Did she want to know where all the money was going? No, no, probably not.

Tip groaned. “Only if you let me donate the things I won’t wear. This much is just… it’s too much, Willow.” Her glare increased, but Tip felt better having actually said something. Spending this much money just felt wrong, and even worse, he got the feeling this might not even be all of it. That the shop had refused to take his measurements out of their files was… well, rather worrying. Why could he almost hear Qrow laughing at him over this?

“No, Winter. No, it really isn’t too much.” Willow said, voice sad. There were times when she really wished she could go and throttle those in Vale that had given her brother so may issues around money and this was certainly one of them. Oh, their family was far from perfect, and she would be the first to admit that they had their problems, but money had never been one of them. The way Winter was growing, well… maybe he was right, that he would grow out of them long before they wore out, but why should that mean he didn’t have them? Besides, it would make the Schnee family reputation even worse, if one of their members went around in rags.

She probably couldn’t technically call them that, really. But Tip’s clothing was mostly made of simple materials, easily torn, easily destroyed. They weren’t even that warm, which with Tip’s health issues was rather more worrying than she really wanted to think about. He’d been happy enough to let them buy Oscar clothing, why was he so different? His health mattered too, dammit.

Tip ducked his head, unwilling to look Willow in the face. He hadn’t meant to upset her! He wasn’t entirely sure what he’d done, but Glynda had been just as upset with him in the past, when he refused to do something that they thought was important. Maybe that was a part of having a sister, that they worried about you? He really should get in contact with Glynda, but what could he even say to her, if he did? He was mostly helpless like this, far too young to be taken seriously. If he’d still been an adult, Willow wouldn’t have treated him like… no, no she really would, wouldn’t she?

He scowled, hearing Weiss laughing at him in the background. At least one of them was amused? She wasn’t making any move to help him though. Worse, she’d made her own suggestions as to possible outfits, though at least they’d all been in relatively good taste?

Not that the same could be said for everybody/ He didn’t even want to think about the suggestions Whitley had fired at him, but then his nephew still didn’t seem to like him very much. At least most of them had been green, well, technically at least. One or two of them had made him incredibly glad for the fact that his glasses were tinted, though.

That was fair enough really, he knew that it had to be beyond strange, to suddenly have an uncle, much less one that was visually younger than him. He couldn’t blame Whitley, he was a decent enough kid, under all the conditioning Jacques had left behind.

Winter hadn’t come with them, had claimed that James had a mission for her. He envied her that, he would have given quite a lot to get out of this, though at least Willow seemed happy? She was the only one, really, but still, he wondered. The spark that showed occasionally when she was like this, had that been what his sister had been like all those years ago? Before Jacques, before everything had gone so wrong? Dead or not, he was certain that he’d never forgive the man for everything he’d done to his family.

And the worst bit of all of this? This was just the first store. He knew he had a room at the manor, had been shown it once, but surely the items in there were more than enough? He really wasn’t comfortable having too many belongings, he didn’t really need them. But it made the others happy, to give them to him. He sighed dejectedly. There were reasons he really shouldn’t let them do this, but a lot of them fell apart when he examined them more closely. It might be a waste of money, but he knew, now, just how much of that there was to waste. He might not feel like he deserved any of this, but though he’d told them as much, it just served to make them sad. He might be dead in a year or two, but though he could see the heartbreak in their eyes at the thought, they’d told him that it would just be there for the next one.

If there was a next one, Ozzy had been oddly smug about that, hadn’t let Tip have any real knowledge of just what would happen, if he actually died properly. Though, with the threat to Oscar, he really didn’t think he overly wanted to know any more than that.

It was just one day, and with the sheer amount of new items, surely they wouldn’t notice if a few of them got redistributed? He hoped so, at least, though he knew better than to try it immediately.

This had to be the last of these trips for awhile, surely? Once he had everything that they thought he’d need, they’d stop? At least until he grew again?

“Don’t worry, little brother.” Willow said, sounding very smug. “I did promise we’d visit the book store later.” She had, in fact, promised that. As a bribe, it could have been worse, even if Tip didn’t particularly like thinking of it quite like that. Part of him had missed having siblings, but as he stared at the mountain of clothing in black and green and gold and blue and silver, he still felt slightly despairing. Even if he could, he doubted that anyone would ever see anything other than sickly little Winter, wearing all this.

At least they’d underestimate him? He wanted those books, dammit.

[bafflement]

Morning reblog. :D

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Reblogging again. Willow's idea of sibling bonding is retail therapy.

Tip's... is not.

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Reblogging this again. xD Don't think anyone saw it, though it's far less important than the other one.

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Reblogging this again. :D

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Reblogging this one, too. I'm proud of it.

Still pretty sick. :(

There will be new stuff up this month if i have to sit up all night to do it.

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Reblogging this again. New content'll be up when it's up. I'm on different meds, so hopefully they'll help?

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Sometimes RWBY annoys me

Ozpin was a tragedy. The terrifyingly young headmaster of arguably the most famous of the Huntsman academies, shoved into the place he was in solely because of Ozma.

People conflate them, but they're not actually the same person. Ozpin hates himself, even after death... but there's no real evidence that Ozma does.

He's horrified that he's taking over Oscar because that was never meant to happen, he hoped to be the last just as much as previous Ozcarnations did... maybe even more, considering where he was and the protectiveness he feels for his students. Oscar, given a few years, could so easily be a Beacon student, after all.

He ran, he locked himself away and yet that still wasn't enough to stop the merge. OZPIN did not ask Jinn the question shown and we don't even know just when he was given the particular information that that even happened. Should he have shared it? Yes, maybe. But then again, he'd only known team RWBY and what's left of team JNPR for about a year when they all jumped him for not telling them and we do have canon proof that when he trusts people [Lionheart and Ironwood] they can and do betray that trust for their own reasons.

What's worst? He's fighting a war he no more signed up for than Oscar did, yet everybody seems very set on blaming him, as the last Ozcarnation, for the sins of them all.

Ozpin might be the voice, but that's merely because he was the last. EVERY incarnation of Ozma is a tragedy, it's one of the shittiest reincarnation methods in fiction. 'You'll never be alone', no, but the process gives the new host exactly no choice in the matter.

Basically... Oscar is a victim, but so was Oz. And it's quite likely he might not even have been in double digits when it happened.

[bafflement]

Reblogging this, because I'm still super proud of it.

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Reblogging this again. I'm alive, just... yeah. Not in great health.tm

[bafflement]

Reblogging this one again, since new content took a bit of a back seat to health stuff this month. :( I'm sorry, guys.

[the-semicolonoscopy]

It’s Pride Month Eve, so leave out some milk for Freddie Mercury and his cats.

[the-semicolonoscopy]

Time for the annual Pride Month reblog of Freddie Mercury and his fabulous cats!

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Freddie Mercury and his amazing cats!

Happy Pride.

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Taking Writing Prompts

In celebration of getting my laptop back (kinda sorta anyway), taking writing prompts!

Any genre, any fandom, though I might have to do research for some of them. :D

[bafflement]

Speaking of ancient reblogs... still very much open to doing this. :P

Give me something to do!

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Reblogging this again. Still very open to taking any and all prompts!

[bafflement]

Taking Writing Prompts

In celebration of getting my laptop back (kinda sorta anyway), taking writing prompts!

Any genre, any fandom, though I might have to do research for some of them. :D

[bafflement]

Speaking of ancient reblogs... still very much open to doing this. :P

Give me something to do!

[bafflement]

Sometimes RWBY annoys me

Ozpin was a tragedy. The terrifyingly young headmaster of arguably the most famous of the Huntsman academies, shoved into the place he was in solely because of Ozma.

People conflate them, but they're not actually the same person. Ozpin hates himself, even after death... but there's no real evidence that Ozma does.

He's horrified that he's taking over Oscar because that was never meant to happen, he hoped to be the last just as much as previous Ozcarnations did... maybe even more, considering where he was and the protectiveness he feels for his students. Oscar, given a few years, could so easily be a Beacon student, after all.

He ran, he locked himself away and yet that still wasn't enough to stop the merge. OZPIN did not ask Jinn the question shown and we don't even know just when he was given the particular information that that even happened. Should he have shared it? Yes, maybe. But then again, he'd only known team RWBY and what's left of team JNPR for about a year when they all jumped him for not telling them and we do have canon proof that when he trusts people [Lionheart and Ironwood] they can and do betray that trust for their own reasons.

What's worst? He's fighting a war he no more signed up for than Oscar did, yet everybody seems very set on blaming him, as the last Ozcarnation, for the sins of them all.

Ozpin might be the voice, but that's merely because he was the last. EVERY incarnation of Ozma is a tragedy, it's one of the shittiest reincarnation methods in fiction. 'You'll never be alone', no, but the process gives the new host exactly no choice in the matter.

Basically... Oscar is a victim, but so was Oz. And it's quite likely he might not even have been in double digits when it happened.

[bafflement]

Reblogging this, because I'm still super proud of it.

[bafflement]

Reblogging this again. I'm alive, just... yeah. Not in great health.tm

[bafflement]

Sometimes RWBY annoys me

Ozpin was a tragedy. The terrifyingly young headmaster of arguably the most famous of the Huntsman academies, shoved into the place he was in solely because of Ozma.

People conflate them, but they're not actually the same person. Ozpin hates himself, even after death... but there's no real evidence that Ozma does.

He's horrified that he's taking over Oscar because that was never meant to happen, he hoped to be the last just as much as previous Ozcarnations did... maybe even more, considering where he was and the protectiveness he feels for his students. Oscar, given a few years, could so easily be a Beacon student, after all.

He ran, he locked himself away and yet that still wasn't enough to stop the merge. OZPIN did not ask Jinn the question shown and we don't even know just when he was given the particular information that that even happened. Should he have shared it? Yes, maybe. But then again, he'd only known team RWBY and what's left of team JNPR for about a year when they all jumped him for not telling them and we do have canon proof that when he trusts people [Lionheart and Ironwood] they can and do betray that trust for their own reasons.

What's worst? He's fighting a war he no more signed up for than Oscar did, yet everybody seems very set on blaming him, as the last Ozcarnation, for the sins of them all.

Ozpin might be the voice, but that's merely because he was the last. EVERY incarnation of Ozma is a tragedy, it's one of the shittiest reincarnation methods in fiction. 'You'll never be alone', no, but the process gives the new host exactly no choice in the matter.

Basically... Oscar is a victim, but so was Oz. And it's quite likely he might not even have been in double digits when it happened.

[bafflement]

Reblogging this, because I'm still super proud of it.

[bafflement]

Deaged Oz AU - New Clothes And New Possibilities

Unfortunately for Tip, Willow's idea of sibling bonding is shopping trips. They certainly have the money for it, at least? Weiss and Whitley are there too, though they're laughing at him more than anything.

Tip IS glad to have a sister, though. He thinks.

Tip spluttered indignantly as the book he’d been enjoying was all but snatched from his hands. He was ready to glare at whoever had had the temerity, he’d been enjoying that! But… but it wasn’t Nora. It wasn’t even Blake. He blinked up at his sister, puzzled. What was Willow doing here?

He racked his brains, trying to recall if there’d been a meeting scheduled, but came up empty. Besides, someone would have reminded him, if that had been the case. Weiss, if nobody else. He knew he wasn’t at his best right now, and tried to repress the scowl that threatened to break out at the mental reminder of just how vulnerable he was, but surely he’d have remembered a family commitment? It was still so odd, having family outside Oscar…

Willow smiled down at him, though there was something shadowed in her eyes. There always had been, when she looked at him, but Tip put it down to the fact that he currently looked so much like the boy she’d lost. He doubted she’d have been anything like as accepting, had he still been the adult he should have been, but there was no real way to know that, now. Either way, whatever he had forgotten, he was certainly going to be reminded of it soon.

“We were thinking that it might be nice to have a day out, Just us, just the family. It would be good to go out and get to know each other.” Willow’s voice was tentative, but Tip had already straightened in his chair. It really would be nice, to get to know them better, this family that he couldn’t fully remember. He felt slightly suspicious, though, as to the timing of this. Usually, they’d scheduled these sort of things in advance, how could they have known he’d be free?

Oh, wait. No, they’d have asked James, of course. Winter would have done, anyway. It hadn’t passed him by that Willow had been careful not to address him by name, either. That was nice of her, though he doubted she’d call him Tip any time soon.

… he rather doubted most people in Atlas ever would. That was still strange, too, he kept running in to people who’d known him, or rather the sickly child he had once been. It had been fine in Vale, he’d known that most people would know him as Ozpin and that, at least, had been his choice in part. But here? They didn’t know he was Ozpin… they all saw the boy he used to do.

Maybe he could fix that, one day? He felt himself biting his lip and looked away, suddenly nervous. Going out into the city as a family unit, again… being seen, would it place a target on his family’s backs? More than it was already, that was?

But Willow wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She cleared her throat pointedly, trying to get her brother’s attention again. Whether Tip would enjoy the day out was another matter entirely, but he was going, whether he wanted to or not.

Tip got up, rather reluctantly, hands groping for the wooden sheath he tended to use to store Long Memory. The cane was too recognisable, and although he’d promised himself that he’s stop using the piece of stylised wood, it was another layer of protection. As long as nobody connected him to who he really was, he’d be okay.

The movement hiked his shirt sleeve up an inch or so, revealing skinny wrists and accidentally reinforcing Willow’s plans for the day. It really was rather shocking, seeing him walk around in ill fitting clothing when there was just so much money that could be used to fix that particular oversight. But then, the fact that Tip was so very against spending any of it would probably have confirmed, if confirmation had ever been needed, that he really was her brother.

He wasn’t going to be given a choice, though. The stores they’d gone to last time still had all his measurements on file, it would be easy enough to add another half inch to the sleeves. Maybe they could even get a few of them to be slightly oversized, for him to grow into? Not that they needed to save money, but Willow rather thought he might appreciate it.

It was still hard, sometimes, watching her brother like this. He was so young, so real… so like the baby brother she’d tried so hard to protect. She knew others saw it, too, had heard the whispers as surely as he must have done. She’d seen some of the blogs that had been put up about him, the few times she’d gone looking, though part of her hoped that he hadn’t seen all of them. He was just… no, no he wasn’t really a little boy, was he? He just looked like it.

Little boy or not, though, he would always be her baby brother.

“When you said that you wanted us to have a day out, you never mentioned anything about shopping!” Tip was annoyed, looking over all the materials the shop clerks kept pushing at him. Clothing was expensive, he didn’t really need any. But, looking up at the flinty look in Willow’s eyes, he knew better than to say anything about it.

That they had his measurements on file was just rude, though. Surely they had to be aware that he didn’t need that much clothing? It had been bad enough that Aunt Em had bought him a few things while they were in Mistral, but… the sheer amount of clothing was insane. Where would he even store it all? How could he ever wear even half of it before he grew out of it? Although, maybe he could pay her back now?

“You need clothes, baby brother. You’re growing out of the clothing you’re wearing, and our family does have a reputation to keep up. Besides, why are you so worried about spending a bit of money? You know that we certainly have it to spare.” Willow was almost certain Tip wouldn’t say anything in public, but she still really wanted to know just who had fostered such an utter lack of self confidence in him. He’d been the head of Beacon Academy, surely he had to know that appearances mattered? But then again, all she ever remembered him wearing as an adult were versions of the same identical suit. Did she want to know where all the money was going? No, no, probably not.

Tip groaned. “Only if you let me donate the things I won’t wear. This much is just… it’s too much, Willow.” Her glare increased, but Tip felt better having actually said something. Spending this much money just felt wrong, and even worse, he got the feeling this might not even be all of it. That the shop had refused to take his measurements out of their files was… well, rather worrying. Why could he almost hear Qrow laughing at him over this?

“No, Winter. No, it really isn’t too much.” Willow said, voice sad. There were times when she really wished she could go and throttle those in Vale that had given her brother so may issues around money and this was certainly one of them. Oh, their family was far from perfect, and she would be the first to admit that they had their problems, but money had never been one of them. The way Winter was growing, well… maybe he was right, that he would grow out of them long before they wore out, but why should that mean he didn’t have them? Besides, it would make the Schnee family reputation even worse, if one of their members went around in rags.

She probably couldn’t technically call them that, really. But Tip’s clothing was mostly made of simple materials, easily torn, easily destroyed. They weren’t even that warm, which with Tip’s health issues was rather more worrying than she really wanted to think about. He’d been happy enough to let them buy Oscar clothing, why was he so different? His health mattered too, dammit.

Tip ducked his head, unwilling to look Willow in the face. He hadn’t meant to upset her! He wasn’t entirely sure what he’d done, but Glynda had been just as upset with him in the past, when he refused to do something that they thought was important. Maybe that was a part of having a sister, that they worried about you? He really should get in contact with Glynda, but what could he even say to her, if he did? He was mostly helpless like this, far too young to be taken seriously. If he’d still been an adult, Willow wouldn’t have treated him like… no, no she really would, wouldn’t she?

He scowled, hearing Weiss laughing at him in the background. At least one of them was amused? She wasn’t making any move to help him though. Worse, she’d made her own suggestions as to possible outfits, though at least they’d all been in relatively good taste?

Not that the same could be said for everybody/ He didn’t even want to think about the suggestions Whitley had fired at him, but then his nephew still didn’t seem to like him very much. At least most of them had been green, well, technically at least. One or two of them had made him incredibly glad for the fact that his glasses were tinted, though.

That was fair enough really, he knew that it had to be beyond strange, to suddenly have an uncle, much less one that was visually younger than him. He couldn’t blame Whitley, he was a decent enough kid, under all the conditioning Jacques had left behind.

Winter hadn’t come with them, had claimed that James had a mission for her. He envied her that, he would have given quite a lot to get out of this, though at least Willow seemed happy? She was the only one, really, but still, he wondered. The spark that showed occasionally when she was like this, had that been what his sister had been like all those years ago? Before Jacques, before everything had gone so wrong? Dead or not, he was certain that he’d never forgive the man for everything he’d done to his family.

And the worst bit of all of this? This was just the first store. He knew he had a room at the manor, had been shown it once, but surely the items in there were more than enough? He really wasn’t comfortable having too many belongings, he didn’t really need them. But it made the others happy, to give them to him. He sighed dejectedly. There were reasons he really shouldn’t let them do this, but a lot of them fell apart when he examined them more closely. It might be a waste of money, but he knew, now, just how much of that there was to waste. He might not feel like he deserved any of this, but though he’d told them as much, it just served to make them sad. He might be dead in a year or two, but though he could see the heartbreak in their eyes at the thought, they’d told him that it would just be there for the next one.

If there was a next one, Ozzy had been oddly smug about that, hadn’t let Tip have any real knowledge of just what would happen, if he actually died properly. Though, with the threat to Oscar, he really didn’t think he overly wanted to know any more than that.

It was just one day, and with the sheer amount of new items, surely they wouldn’t notice if a few of them got redistributed? He hoped so, at least, though he knew better than to try it immediately.

This had to be the last of these trips for awhile, surely? Once he had everything that they thought he’d need, they’d stop? At least until he grew again?

“Don’t worry, little brother.” Willow said, sounding very smug. “I did promise we’d visit the book store later.” She had, in fact, promised that. As a bribe, it could have been worse, even if Tip didn’t particularly like thinking of it quite like that. Part of him had missed having siblings, but as he stared at the mountain of clothing in black and green and gold and blue and silver, he still felt slightly despairing. Even if he could, he doubted that anyone would ever see anything other than sickly little Winter, wearing all this.

At least they’d underestimate him? He wanted those books, dammit.

[bafflement]

Morning reblog. :D

[bafflement]

Reblogging again. Willow's idea of sibling bonding is retail therapy.

Tip's... is not.

[bafflement]

Reblogging this again. xD Don't think anyone saw it, though it's far less important than the other one.

[bafflement]

Reblogging this again. :D

[bafflement]

Reblogging this one, too. I'm proud of it.

Still pretty sick. :(

There will be new stuff up this month if i have to sit up all night to do it.

[bafflement]

Deaged Oz AU - To Remeet Old Friends

I... managed to miss February. :( However, meet Prism Arc! He's Jaune's father, amongst other things, and he's very keen to meet those of Jaune's frends who didn't fall. Are there certain consequences to this? Well...

Prism’s jaw hurt, it was clenched so hard. He knew, oh of course he did, that it hadn’t been the fault of those that had crossed successfully that his son had fallen, had… disappeared. He wasn’t dead, he wasn’t allowed to be dead. Not now, not again… he’d lost so many people already. His parents, his only sibling… he didn’t want to think about what might happen if this was permanent, if Jaune was dead.

He’d been told that he wasn’t, impersonally, via a message from someone he couldn’t even trace. He’d seen Taiyang Xiao Long’s reaction to that, too… which had been strangely defeated. But then, they were in the same boat. They’d both lost children, in the same event. They’d both had children that had technically signed up to be hunters, but… it didn’t matter. Not really, not now. They may have been acting like young adults, but they had still been their children.

Would always be their children.

All the commiserations, all the assurances that Jaune had been a hero, had ordered Nora to take a boy across the bridge, not to wait for him… it didn’t matter. Oh, he didn’t blame the child for needing rescuing, whoever they were had obviously needed the help, and besides… oh, they hadn’t told him, really, but he was very aware it was probably the little boy Jaune had been so very protective of. It fit, Jaune had been as protective of his sisters. Most of the time.

Oh, but the girls weren’t taking their brother’s status well, not at all. He remembered, distantly, being so very angry that Jaune had falsified his transcripts. He’d still gotten into Beacon, though, and that was nothing to sneeze at. But he wished he could just be proud of his son, not have his heroism constantly forced down his throat. There was a reason most heroes ended up… well. Yes.

It could have been worse, he supposed. Taiyang had lost both his children. The Belladonna’s had only had one to start with. But that didn’t matter, nothing mattered in the face of that overwhelming, all encompassing grief.

He’d see it, once, with his father when Reuben had been kidnapped. When the other children had disappeared too. Had seen it in the washed out, devastated look in their parents eyes, the haunted questions… the hollow place where a child had been and might never be again. He saw that in the mirror, now. He’d never, ever wanted to look this much like his father had.

Maybe there would be a miracle yet. There had to be at least one, right? The message had been so very sure that they were just vanished, that they weren’t dead, though it hadn’t explained how whoever it was had known, or just who had sent it. The Belladonna’s had probably got the same message, though they didn’t seem to want to say anything, to share it. It was strange, being this close to people he hadn’t known before. Bonded by their loss, their shared pain. He hadn’t gone looking for the survivors, though he knew he probably should.

What could he say to them? How would he be able to tell them that he envied them for still being here… but that he didn’t blame them for what had so clearly been Jaune’s choice. He was sure that the children would blame themselves. Nora, Ren. The Pine siblings that he’d only ever heard about. He’d met Jaune’s teammates over scroll, but he’d never even seen a picture of the younger boys. Em’s nephews. Oh, that had been an interesting meeting, too. She was familiar in a way he still couldn’t place, but again, that was probably the grief. Her nephews were alive though, safe or at least relatively so, here in Vacuo. She, at least, might still have gotten her happy ending.

Would it have been different, maybe, had Prism been there for his son as Qrow Branwen had been there for all of them? Would he have been able to stop things? To protect them? But no, he hadn’t been an active Huntsman in decades… and it was useless to dwell on maybes.

He probably should look up Jaune’s friends, though. Those kids deserved to know that he was more or less on their side. Nora and Ren didn’t have parents of their own, and though the younger boys had their aunt, he’d gotten enough context clues to infer that they were orphans too.

From the way Jaune had spoken of all of them, well… if they needed a family, it was the least he could do to honor his son’s memory.

Nora was, in a word, bored. Tip had been being supremely rude and hadn’t actually given anyone the list of those that had hurt him yet, and Ren was off somewhere doing something she wasn’t sure of. Breaking up had sucked, but they both needed to find out who they were individually. There were reasons, even if she had to remind herself of them at times, but… hey, he was probably off training. Maybe she should go and find him?

No, no, that was the old Nora. The Nora that had never been without him. She didn’t need him. … she totally needed him.

She heard a cough and turned, blinking as Tip appeared next to her. Huh, all she had to do was think about him, neat!

“Oh, hey, Pocketsized! Whatcha want?” If nothing else, this was likely to be a good distraction for her. Itty biity Oz was good at that.

Tip didn’t answer immediately, his head was cocked to one side, as though he was listening, before he shook his head with a frown.

“Apologies, Nora. I had the strangest feeling, just now.” Tip sounded distracted, his eyes far away. That had been happening more and more, since they’d lost the others. Oh, he’d told them that it was normal, that he was fine, but Nora really wasn’t sure she actually believed him. Would telling them that he was okay when he wasn’t count as a lie? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, she worried for him. This sucked, it wasn’t the kind of distraction she’d been looking for.

It had been hours, now, since either of them had seen Ren. Oscar had trailed in awhile ago, bouncing with tales of the mission he’d been a part of, happy in a way that seemed so rare now. Tip had grinned, obviously ecstatic to see that his brother was this delighted, though there was a shadow to his eyes. Everybody knew he’d rather be out there with them, than stuck here playing politics with the various surviving council members. Everybody knew, too, that nobody was going to allow him that choice. Tip was far too much of a target now, too vulnerable and far too irreplaceable to risk. That sucked, too. At least Nora could go and fight to relieve stress, but not Tip. Not now.

Nora wondered what it was that Tip had noticed, that she’d missed, though. That happened pretty often, too, though everybody was more or less used to it by now. She rather thought it had happened while he was still the Professor, too, though it had been much easier to hide while he was still an adult. Ozpin had always seemed to know too much, though, rather like Tip did now. It was comforting, in a way, that that at least hadn’t really changed.

Ren returned several hours later, refusing to tell the others where he’d been, though he seemed happy enough. Whatever it was seemed to have put some of the sparkle back in his eye though, and Nora had to admit that that was a good thing. She still wished she’d been wherever it was with him, but that was all part of finding themselves. She had to remember her decision, though sometimes it hurt. She had to be Nora without Ren, he had to learn to be Ren without Nora.

Was this what Qrow felt like, she wondered, not for the first time. After all, he was in an impossible position when it came to Tip, far worse off than they were. No, no, it could be worse, she supposed.

It was getting dark when they heard a soft knock at their door. The sound seemed strangely hesitant, as though whoever was on the other side wasn’t sure that they really wanted to be there. From the look on Tip’s face as he levered himself to his feet though, this was the event he’d been expecting. Was it a friend of his? Nora was pretty sure they’d met just about all of those by now, but you never really knew when it came to Tip. As Ozpin, he’d seemed to know most people, and in Atlas… well, even people he didn’t know seemed to know him.

What would that be like, to know everybody? Nora shook her head, ridding herself of the thought as she and the other two stood up, too. Whoever this was, meeting them sitting down probably wouldn’t make a good first impression.

The door opened slowly, a dark shrouded figure stood on the other side. Their body language too seemed strangely nervous, though as they shrugged their hood back, Nora realised that she knew them. She’d seen him before, on scroll calls Jaune made to his parents. This was Jaune’s father, then... but why was he here now? Was he here to yell at them, to try to hurt them? Blake’s parents had seemed accepting enough, at least after Tip reassured them that he didn’t think their daughter was dead, but Tai had been a different matter entirely. Where would Prism Arc land, on the scale? And would he, too, try to hurt Tip?

Tip had been their professor, was very much the wizard, yes, but as she took in the way he slumped, all Nora could really see was her friend. Was the little boy they’d gotten to know, the one that wasn’t Ozpin, not really.

“Hello, sir.” Tip said, tone defeated. Whatever was coming, he had to be ready for it. He hadn’t saved Jaune, hadn’t been able to, too frozen in his unreasoning terror at seeing the thing Cinder had become. If the man decided to take things out on him, could he really blame him? No, of course not.

Prism shot the boy as much of a smile as he could manage under the circumstances. This wasn’t Nora or Ren, and he didn’t think it was Oscar. Was this Pocketsized, then? He’d never actually met the youngest of Jaune’s friends, though he’d hard their voices often enough, He’d greet him properly later, though. Just getting here had taken a lot out of him, but he needed to be here. He needed to see Jaune’s friends, to check that they, at least, were alright. His son wasn’t, would never be, but Jaune had cared so much about his team, about his other friends.

As he scanned the room, he noticed the distance between Nora and Ren and something ached in his chest. They’d been so close before, was this another consequence of the terrible events that had cost him his son? Had cost so many of his son’s friends? He noticed the bandages around the neck and wrists of the older of the two strangers, too. Was that from the same event, or something older? He’d never really thought to ask, thinking he’d have years to meet and get to know these children. Maybe he still could, eventually? Not now, not tonight. But eventually?

He turned his gaze back towards the boy at the door, who wasn’t looking at him. He seemed to be twisting his fingers nervously, which Prism couldn’t help but emphasise with. He was almost sure this was the boy that Jaune had saved, though he hoped that he didn’t blame himself too much. It made sense that they would have been friends, though he rather thought that his son might have saved a stranger almost as easily. Jaune had been a leader, had made a choice. Could he wish it had been different? Absolutely, but it was still the choice that had happened, He’d had time to start to accept that, too. Maybe.

He knew the boy from somewhere, he was certain of it. Maybe it was from Jaune's stories? He looked almost as miserable as Prism did, these days, but then there was a palpable aura of grief over all of these children, of Jaune's friends, that matched his own. That fact, that they were obviously mourning too, was what gave him the strength to introduce himself.

“Hello, children. My name is Prism Arc, I’m Jaune’s father. I’m happy to meet you, though I do wish it was in other circumstances.” He smiled sadly, making his way over to the nearest chair. “Do you kids mind if I sit?” He asked, glancing around again. “Only old bones do tend to ache.”

“Of course, sir.” Came a voice, the same as the one that had greeted him. The boy still looked deeply uncomfortable and Prism’s heart couldn’t help go out to him. As the others settled back into chairs of their own, he watched as the youngest limped his way over. That looked painful, surely that wasn’t recent, too?

It was only as he passed him that Prism finally, horrified, realised just why he’d seemed so very familiar. His mind had gone over what had happened that night all those years ago enough times to recognise him anywhere, his semblance letting him retread the memory at his leasure.

“Winter?” He hissed, horrified. He couldn’t be, though, surely he’d know? But there had been those rumors out of Atlas… how could James never have told him? Oh, they weren't close, not anymore, but... he'd lost people, too, to that damn kidnapping ring.

The boy flinched, misery turning to a sort of weary acceptance, his face briefly seeming much older than Prism thought that he should. The pain was still there, though, shadowing eyes just as familiar as his face was, now.

If this was truly Winter, truly the friend he'd lost? Well, that changed things, didn't it? Maybe Prism would finally find out just what had been so important, that day?

Then again, maybe not.

[bafflement]

Reblogging this one again, I don't think many people saw it.

[bafflement]

Reblogging this one again.

I'm honestly not entirely sure when the next set are going up. As I've stated, I'm on some new meds and my brain is sort of fuzzy right now.

:(

[bafflement]

Reblogging again.

HOPEFULLY there should be new content soon, but it very much does depend on when these meds let me stop feeling sort of like a truck hit me. :(

I'm so sorry for the wait, it wasn't intentional.

[bafflement]

Reblogging again. I'm alive, still not having the best time, but I'm alive.

Again, not sure when the next set will go up, but I AM actively working on it. Some of it is Tipverse, some... less so.

[bafflement]

Deaged Oz AU - To Remeet Old Friends

I... managed to miss February. :( However, meet Prism Arc! He's Jaune's father, amongst other things, and he's very keen to meet those of Jaune's frends who didn't fall. Are there certain consequences to this? Well...

Prism’s jaw hurt, it was clenched so hard. He knew, oh of course he did, that it hadn’t been the fault of those that had crossed successfully that his son had fallen, had… disappeared. He wasn’t dead, he wasn’t allowed to be dead. Not now, not again… he’d lost so many people already. His parents, his only sibling… he didn’t want to think about what might happen if this was permanent, if Jaune was dead.

He’d been told that he wasn’t, impersonally, via a message from someone he couldn’t even trace. He’d seen Taiyang Xiao Long’s reaction to that, too… which had been strangely defeated. But then, they were in the same boat. They’d both lost children, in the same event. They’d both had children that had technically signed up to be hunters, but… it didn’t matter. Not really, not now. They may have been acting like young adults, but they had still been their children.

Would always be their children.

All the commiserations, all the assurances that Jaune had been a hero, had ordered Nora to take a boy across the bridge, not to wait for him… it didn’t matter. Oh, he didn’t blame the child for needing rescuing, whoever they were had obviously needed the help, and besides… oh, they hadn’t told him, really, but he was very aware it was probably the little boy Jaune had been so very protective of. It fit, Jaune had been as protective of his sisters. Most of the time.

Oh, but the girls weren’t taking their brother’s status well, not at all. He remembered, distantly, being so very angry that Jaune had falsified his transcripts. He’d still gotten into Beacon, though, and that was nothing to sneeze at. But he wished he could just be proud of his son, not have his heroism constantly forced down his throat. There was a reason most heroes ended up… well. Yes.

It could have been worse, he supposed. Taiyang had lost both his children. The Belladonna’s had only had one to start with. But that didn’t matter, nothing mattered in the face of that overwhelming, all encompassing grief.

He’d see it, once, with his father when Reuben had been kidnapped. When the other children had disappeared too. Had seen it in the washed out, devastated look in their parents eyes, the haunted questions… the hollow place where a child had been and might never be again. He saw that in the mirror, now. He’d never, ever wanted to look this much like his father had.

Maybe there would be a miracle yet. There had to be at least one, right? The message had been so very sure that they were just vanished, that they weren’t dead, though it hadn’t explained how whoever it was had known, or just who had sent it. The Belladonna’s had probably got the same message, though they didn’t seem to want to say anything, to share it. It was strange, being this close to people he hadn’t known before. Bonded by their loss, their shared pain. He hadn’t gone looking for the survivors, though he knew he probably should.

What could he say to them? How would he be able to tell them that he envied them for still being here… but that he didn’t blame them for what had so clearly been Jaune’s choice. He was sure that the children would blame themselves. Nora, Ren. The Pine siblings that he’d only ever heard about. He’d met Jaune’s teammates over scroll, but he’d never even seen a picture of the younger boys. Em’s nephews. Oh, that had been an interesting meeting, too. She was familiar in a way he still couldn’t place, but again, that was probably the grief. Her nephews were alive though, safe or at least relatively so, here in Vacuo. She, at least, might still have gotten her happy ending.

Would it have been different, maybe, had Prism been there for his son as Qrow Branwen had been there for all of them? Would he have been able to stop things? To protect them? But no, he hadn’t been an active Huntsman in decades… and it was useless to dwell on maybes.

He probably should look up Jaune’s friends, though. Those kids deserved to know that he was more or less on their side. Nora and Ren didn’t have parents of their own, and though the younger boys had their aunt, he’d gotten enough context clues to infer that they were orphans too.

From the way Jaune had spoken of all of them, well… if they needed a family, it was the least he could do to honor his son’s memory.

Nora was, in a word, bored. Tip had been being supremely rude and hadn’t actually given anyone the list of those that had hurt him yet, and Ren was off somewhere doing something she wasn’t sure of. Breaking up had sucked, but they both needed to find out who they were individually. There were reasons, even if she had to remind herself of them at times, but… hey, he was probably off training. Maybe she should go and find him?

No, no, that was the old Nora. The Nora that had never been without him. She didn’t need him. … she totally needed him.

She heard a cough and turned, blinking as Tip appeared next to her. Huh, all she had to do was think about him, neat!

“Oh, hey, Pocketsized! Whatcha want?” If nothing else, this was likely to be a good distraction for her. Itty biity Oz was good at that.

Tip didn’t answer immediately, his head was cocked to one side, as though he was listening, before he shook his head with a frown.

“Apologies, Nora. I had the strangest feeling, just now.” Tip sounded distracted, his eyes far away. That had been happening more and more, since they’d lost the others. Oh, he’d told them that it was normal, that he was fine, but Nora really wasn’t sure she actually believed him. Would telling them that he was okay when he wasn’t count as a lie? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, she worried for him. This sucked, it wasn’t the kind of distraction she’d been looking for.

It had been hours, now, since either of them had seen Ren. Oscar had trailed in awhile ago, bouncing with tales of the mission he’d been a part of, happy in a way that seemed so rare now. Tip had grinned, obviously ecstatic to see that his brother was this delighted, though there was a shadow to his eyes. Everybody knew he’d rather be out there with them, than stuck here playing politics with the various surviving council members. Everybody knew, too, that nobody was going to allow him that choice. Tip was far too much of a target now, too vulnerable and far too irreplaceable to risk. That sucked, too. At least Nora could go and fight to relieve stress, but not Tip. Not now.

Nora wondered what it was that Tip had noticed, that she’d missed, though. That happened pretty often, too, though everybody was more or less used to it by now. She rather thought it had happened while he was still the Professor, too, though it had been much easier to hide while he was still an adult. Ozpin had always seemed to know too much, though, rather like Tip did now. It was comforting, in a way, that that at least hadn’t really changed.

Ren returned several hours later, refusing to tell the others where he’d been, though he seemed happy enough. Whatever it was seemed to have put some of the sparkle back in his eye though, and Nora had to admit that that was a good thing. She still wished she’d been wherever it was with him, but that was all part of finding themselves. She had to remember her decision, though sometimes it hurt. She had to be Nora without Ren, he had to learn to be Ren without Nora.

Was this what Qrow felt like, she wondered, not for the first time. After all, he was in an impossible position when it came to Tip, far worse off than they were. No, no, it could be worse, she supposed.

It was getting dark when they heard a soft knock at their door. The sound seemed strangely hesitant, as though whoever was on the other side wasn’t sure that they really wanted to be there. From the look on Tip’s face as he levered himself to his feet though, this was the event he’d been expecting. Was it a friend of his? Nora was pretty sure they’d met just about all of those by now, but you never really knew when it came to Tip. As Ozpin, he’d seemed to know most people, and in Atlas… well, even people he didn’t know seemed to know him.

What would that be like, to know everybody? Nora shook her head, ridding herself of the thought as she and the other two stood up, too. Whoever this was, meeting them sitting down probably wouldn’t make a good first impression.

The door opened slowly, a dark shrouded figure stood on the other side. Their body language too seemed strangely nervous, though as they shrugged their hood back, Nora realised that she knew them. She’d seen him before, on scroll calls Jaune made to his parents. This was Jaune’s father, then... but why was he here now? Was he here to yell at them, to try to hurt them? Blake’s parents had seemed accepting enough, at least after Tip reassured them that he didn’t think their daughter was dead, but Tai had been a different matter entirely. Where would Prism Arc land, on the scale? And would he, too, try to hurt Tip?

Tip had been their professor, was very much the wizard, yes, but as she took in the way he slumped, all Nora could really see was her friend. Was the little boy they’d gotten to know, the one that wasn’t Ozpin, not really.

“Hello, sir.” Tip said, tone defeated. Whatever was coming, he had to be ready for it. He hadn’t saved Jaune, hadn’t been able to, too frozen in his unreasoning terror at seeing the thing Cinder had become. If the man decided to take things out on him, could he really blame him? No, of course not.

Prism shot the boy as much of a smile as he could manage under the circumstances. This wasn’t Nora or Ren, and he didn’t think it was Oscar. Was this Pocketsized, then? He’d never actually met the youngest of Jaune’s friends, though he’d hard their voices often enough, He’d greet him properly later, though. Just getting here had taken a lot out of him, but he needed to be here. He needed to see Jaune’s friends, to check that they, at least, were alright. His son wasn’t, would never be, but Jaune had cared so much about his team, about his other friends.

As he scanned the room, he noticed the distance between Nora and Ren and something ached in his chest. They’d been so close before, was this another consequence of the terrible events that had cost him his son? Had cost so many of his son’s friends? He noticed the bandages around the neck and wrists of the older of the two strangers, too. Was that from the same event, or something older? He’d never really thought to ask, thinking he’d have years to meet and get to know these children. Maybe he still could, eventually? Not now, not tonight. But eventually?

He turned his gaze back towards the boy at the door, who wasn’t looking at him. He seemed to be twisting his fingers nervously, which Prism couldn’t help but emphasise with. He was almost sure this was the boy that Jaune had saved, though he hoped that he didn’t blame himself too much. It made sense that they would have been friends, though he rather thought that his son might have saved a stranger almost as easily. Jaune had been a leader, had made a choice. Could he wish it had been different? Absolutely, but it was still the choice that had happened, He’d had time to start to accept that, too. Maybe.

He knew the boy from somewhere, he was certain of it. Maybe it was from Jaune's stories? He looked almost as miserable as Prism did, these days, but then there was a palpable aura of grief over all of these children, of Jaune's friends, that matched his own. That fact, that they were obviously mourning too, was what gave him the strength to introduce himself.

“Hello, children. My name is Prism Arc, I’m Jaune’s father. I’m happy to meet you, though I do wish it was in other circumstances.” He smiled sadly, making his way over to the nearest chair. “Do you kids mind if I sit?” He asked, glancing around again. “Only old bones do tend to ache.”

“Of course, sir.” Came a voice, the same as the one that had greeted him. The boy still looked deeply uncomfortable and Prism’s heart couldn’t help go out to him. As the others settled back into chairs of their own, he watched as the youngest limped his way over. That looked painful, surely that wasn’t recent, too?

It was only as he passed him that Prism finally, horrified, realised just why he’d seemed so very familiar. His mind had gone over what had happened that night all those years ago enough times to recognise him anywhere, his semblance letting him retread the memory at his leasure.

“Winter?” He hissed, horrified. He couldn’t be, though, surely he’d know? But there had been those rumors out of Atlas… how could James never have told him? Oh, they weren't close, not anymore, but... he'd lost people, too, to that damn kidnapping ring.

The boy flinched, misery turning to a sort of weary acceptance, his face briefly seeming much older than Prism thought that he should. The pain was still there, though, shadowing eyes just as familiar as his face was, now.

If this was truly Winter, truly the friend he'd lost? Well, that changed things, didn't it? Maybe Prism would finally find out just what had been so important, that day?

Then again, maybe not.

[bafflement]

Reblogging this one again, I don't think many people saw it.

[bafflement]

Reblogging this one again.

I'm honestly not entirely sure when the next set are going up. As I've stated, I'm on some new meds and my brain is sort of fuzzy right now.

:(

[bafflement]

Reblogging again.

HOPEFULLY there should be new content soon, but it very much does depend on when these meds let me stop feeling sort of like a truck hit me. :(

I'm so sorry for the wait, it wasn't intentional.