AND SURVIVE!

independent multimuse for characters from rwby. written by meri.

[fatesunwritten-a]

spiraling.

that's the FIRST word that comes to qrow's mind regarding his current state of mind. if ozpin was still around, he could cling on to him, to let him be the one navigating through remnant in this post-fall of beacon crisis that only seemed to keep getting worse with every day that passes. the cane he holds in his hand tightens in his grip slightly. but he's not. YOU need to do this.

there's movement out of the corner of his eye. not grimm, nothing hostile, but it's still enough for his free hand to twitch towards where harbinger sat while his head snapped towards the figure. oh. great. THIS guy. frankly, running into roman torchwick while tailing ruby and her friends was the last thing qrow wanted, especially considering the already dire status of his mental state. he knows he should probably bring him in - but roman was really only a wanted man in vale and, well...

just his luck.

" you know what? you caught me in a good mood, torchwick. just keep walking. " he did NOT have the time or patience to deal with this today on top of everything else either. on that, they could both agree.

[candledburns]

Well, that's almost offensive. Roman may be down on his luck at the moment, and technically Qrow is here giving him exactly what he wants, but to be dismissed so easily like he's not even a threat worth worrying about - honestly, talk about a way to hurt a guy's feelings!

"Well, I've gotta say that's not the response I expected to hear. Can you really afford to be so carefree?" He responds, tone somewhere between casual and taunting, before he's even really thinks about it. Which, okay, maybe not his best decision ever. There really is no reason he should stick around...

...Though as he stands here getting a better look at the Huntsman, Roman realizes that Qrow looks quite frankly awful at the moment. He might be having an even worse day than Roman is, which is impressive. Curiosity flickering inside him, he adds another remark.

"Not that I can afford to look a gift horse in the mouth here, but..." Considerations run through his mind. Is it worth trying to get information from this guy? Would he even know anything useful, or is it stupid not to leave right away? News of Roman's survival is likely to start spreading now that he's been spotted anyway - but there's no time to think about it, caught mid-conversation as he is.

"You look like you've just had the worst night of your life. Though it's not like I can talk." Can he even afford to fight a Huntsman right now? But can he afford to let the man go, knowing he's been spotted alive? "Ugh, this is really not how I wanted this evening to go."

[etruatcaelum]

Quite a tale, indeed. Her eyes glint with faint humor at the reminder of how mad all of this appears to those who've lived until this year in blissful ignorance of the awful reality; eons of injustice and pain.

She smiles tightly, holding his gaze for a moment before she hums under her breath, retreats to gaze out the window.

Mist wafts against the panes and obscures the view of Beacon's ruined campus.

"If the four relics are brought together, they will invite the Brothers back to Remnant for the final judgment," she murmurs, thick with disgust. "Should they return to find all of mankind united in obedient submission, they will deign to once rule over us; otherwise… our world will be wiped from existence."

Her fingertips tense upon the window sill.

"The huntsmen exist in service of this ambition," she sighs. "To… make ready for the day of judgment as if–" a sneer. "—this is a game humanity can win."

[candledburns]

Roman stills, mind working a hundred miles a minute as he tries to puzzle out what Salem is trying to tell him. Is telling him. And he can't stop the startled, nervous laugh that slips out as he starts to process it all.

The Brothers... they were supposed to be the gods of Remnant, if he remembers correctly? But the idea of this final judgement, though he doesn't quite yet understand it - makes something cold crawl across the back of his skin. Salem is talking about the end of the world so casually, like it's such a mundane thing, but if the Brothers really are that powerful - it would be nothing to them, wouldn't it? The idea of rule doesn't suit him much either, but it's certainly preferable to destruction - yet, Salem's words about obedient submission...

He's almost beginning to see something - like a shape coming in focus - but he still can't quite figure out the edges; what it is or what it means. Roman knows, of course, that Salem might very well be lying, or even just... spinning a tale, so he can't take her words at face value. But it's not like he can afford to dismiss them out of hand, either. The truly unbelieveable part of what she's told him, though, the part he can't understand at all, is what she said at the very end.

"But why?" he asks. "Why would they want something like that?" Not the brothers, but the huntsmen. Actively seeking to bring about this "judgement" sounds, quite frankly, like a stupid idea. Far beyond what he would call a losing move. It's for that reason that he feels skeptical, because he genuinely doesn't get why the huntsmen would want such a thing. What would they even get out of it? Are Salem's words really the truth?

"How do they plan to... Are they hoping to defeat these Brothers? Why would they invite a couple of gods to- come and kill us, from the sounds of what you're saying?"

[candledburns]

small whitley starter call?? i will make one for weiss and qrow (hopefully soon) too, but i've gotta rewatch more episodes before i'm ready for that i think!

[candledburns]

PLUS, I NEED WHITLEY-WEISS SIBLING BONDING THREADS........ they are actually so important to me it's not even funny. also i think if they both had some kind of (possibly dark or dangerous?) hidden magic they weren't aware of that'd be fun too.

[candledburns]

WHY DO I SUDDENLY WANT QROW & WEISS INTERACTIONS........ i think it would be fun!

[candledburns]

neo or ruby starter call, maybe...??? ruby is a testing muse atm, but you're more than welcome to request her!

[candledburns]

thinking about reincarnation focused threads with roman again today.......... the one where he had a past life during the bygone era of magic but doesn't remember it. i still really want to write that...

[etruatcaelum]

The notion of telling him, deadpan, that she has no plan flickers across her mind; however he chose to answer sarcasm—and indeed, whether he recognized it as such at all—would tell her more than his nervous patter. But she reins in the impulse.

Salem does appreciate courage. Curiosity, too.

"My intention," she says, velvet-soft, "is to finish what I started long ago."

She begins another circuit around him, hands tucking into the small of her back; a restive prowl while her gaze slips away. Her eons bear down and for a dreadful moment she truly feels her age—ancient and haunted and tired.

What kind of world is she trying to create? One freed from this inescapable threat of divine execution is the best she can hope to get. Let Remnant hate her from now until the end of time. Let them hunt her to the edge of the world and cast her down as she did her own loathsome creators, for all she cares. She's suffered worse.

But I will end it, first.

"I presume you heard the girl's broadcast," she murmurs indifferently. "Ruby Rose." Behind him, Salem conceals a wince, and clicks her tongue. "The relics hidden away beneath dear Ozma's academies…"

Completing her circle, she finds his gaze with a cool glance and adds, "Would you like to know their true purpose to the huntsmen who guard them so zealously?"

[candledburns]

The relics? If Roman were to answer honestly, he'd say he really couldn't care less. But of course, that feels like such an obvious wrong answer that it's not even worth consideration.

So he tries to feign a sense of curiosity, brows raising as he listens to the beginning of Salem's tale. To his surprise, though... as he thinks about how to respond, he finds that he's actually far more interested than he thought. Normally, Roman couldn't care less about mythology or fairy tales - and the tale that Ruby had broadcast to the world had seemed so unimaginably ridiculous that he almost hadn't taken it seriously.

The key word, of course, being almost. Because Roman had already known that Salem is very real, and very dangerous... not to mention: the girl had no reason to lie. And if it is all true, those stories about Maidens and magic, they clearly must be related to Salem's plan, and Salem's plan... well, it's going to end up changing - or ending - the world, whether he likes it or not.

There's no escaping whatever's coming. Roman has tried to deny that for a long time, but in this moment, the solemn reality hits him. Everyone is directly involved... so at the very least, it's in his best interests to stay as informed as possible.

"It was quite a tale." he replies, still smiling; attempting nonchalance, but he can feel sweat on his skin - swallowing down a rush of fear that threatens to make him drown.

"Honestly, it's hard to imagine that such a crazy truth was hidden in plain sight all along." And yet, based of Salem's words...

"But... I take it there's more to the story." he adds, and this time, he finally looks her in the eye. It's hard not to shiver. "And in that case... you have my upmost attention."

[candledburns]

also take a roman-specific starter call because i always have muse for him here, honestly. open to all mutuals even if we've already got something ongoing, since i'm always down for multiple threads!

[candledburns]

With each agonizing second that passes, Whitley tries his best to push down the overwhelming need to escape, and the despair that follows when realizing he can't. It's fine, after all. It's not like he's on his own here, and he's perfectly capable of... well...

...Alright, so maybe Whitley can admit he's afraid. It's hard to stay in denial of that fact when he can hear the racing of his heart in his ears, and when he feels just about ready to fall apart. But he can't be blamed for that, right? He's not like Weiss, he's not a Huntsman! All those times he'd dismissed her choice as wasteful, and thought about how he'd never do the same... well, he's certainly paying for them now.

For only an instant, he wonders if she was right at that time - when she accused him of being jealous. Hiding here now, it's all too easy to realize how he could never have the courage to do what she does. It's an unhelpful, infuriating thought - but mostly, he just hates how powerless he feels. Being stuck here with a Grimm, and Weiss without her weapon... it feels impossible that they'll escape alive. But he won't just lie down and die without doing anything, either!

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Whitley whispers through gritted teeth, unable to hold himself back. Honestly, while it might be better to just stay quiet and let Weiss think things through... the mounting stress threatening to crush him leaves him apparently incapable of keeping his mouth shut. "I don't see how we have a chance at all with this plan of yours!"

@wintereign ( plotted starter! )

[candledburns]

back again and i think i should pick winter up as a muse actually. just like......... having all three schnee siblings............ it would make me so happy i think. i love them!!

[candledburns]

i kind of want to pick up alyx as a muse but like... i haven't watched vol9 yet and know nothing about her.............. help.

[candledburns]

IT'S SO ANNOYING HOW I CAN HAVE THE DESIRE TO WATCH RWBY and the want is all there, yet i can't actually get myself to. do it.......... i'm so impatient i need my adhd meds RIGHT NOW-

[candledburns]

OKAY SO HERE'S AN UPDATE: i officially got my adhd diagnosis a few days ago, so I should be able to start on medication at some point (hopefully) soon! if i'm lucky and it works, i'm hoping that it'll make it way easier to get the necessary concentration to power through the last few volumes of rwby (& to rewatch the earlier ones), and i should then be able to be way more active once i'm done with that.

i'll still be popping in here to write when i can, but just wanted to let you all know that things Are Happening and my activity should go up at some point too, even if it's not super soon!

[withasideofjpeg]

dot dot dot...

[candledburns]

guys i went to start volume 7 finally but like. where do you actually....... watch rwby................ i straight up do not know where to find it-

[candledburns]

i wanna do something with raven or qrow.......... i just think they are neat...