RISE, RISE, RISE!

from dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

[valorsouls-blog]

     the contents of her bag remain a pandora’s box, something she hasn’t dared open or even touched since everyone settled into their suites. never mind that all of her clean clothes, tools, and sanitary products are in there— a piece of gambol shroud sat on top of them all like its own damn throne, ruling over every decision yang made when she had the thought to rifle through her belongings. that broken piece of metal was an omen waiting to ensnare yang, remind her of just what she’d done with it.   

     still. still, if she was going to take care of her hair, it had to be now. there was no way she was going to let dirt, and blood ( was it even hers or his? ) stick inside the curls, which would be much worse than letting her fingers touch a stained blade. yang’s breath released in a growl as she sank to the floor and zipped her duffel bag open, hand quickly stirring around the content. she felt a sharp object scrape against her skin a little, but she didn’t even care. the moment yang felt for the bottle, she retrieved it and hovered it in the air like a grand prize, and then swiped a spare change of clothes into her fists.

     ❝ gonna go take a shower real quick, ❞ yang says and aims a quick smile at blake. as she steps into the shower, she stops and pokes her head out. ❝ uh, and also do you wanna go look around the shops with me after i’m done? we could... fix gambol. ❞

poor gal’s so nervous to ask she doesn’t even realize the shower has transparent walls. @unstrayed

[valorsouls-blog]

     ❝ you’ve got to be joking, ❞ she growls, hands balled into a fist on the floor.  

     she should have expected this. she’d seen how badly they had conned ozpin and the grimm witch herself, always fooling with star-crossed lovers, always doling out impossible tasks under the guise of fulfilling destiny, which, in the end, only bound the mortals to eternal damnation. no, it should have been obvious from the start that even after running across all of remnant, fighting all of grimm, eating all the dirt grovelling for the gods’ favors, they would not pay her her due. 

     why else would she be staring up at a familiar pair of eyes, a frozen blue full of shock trickling down the surface. weiss grips myrtenaster’s handle and gets up on her feet like she was meant to be standing here, tossing her head once to arrange her bangs into a suitable position and brushing off any dust on her deep blue coat.

     ❝ staring at myself in a mirror for ungodly amounts of time? i thought i was over that by the time i was at this age, ❞ weiss murmurs, looking at the mirror behind her in disapproval. did the gods find it funny to send her across the realms through a mirror, just to meet her literal reflection? her teeth grinds painfully. damn them.

if there’s anything your future self has maintained, it is the boiling spite which strengthens your resolve. @gainheart

[valorsouls-blog]

weiss

      “so.” 

     it’s not like weiss to hesitate, but she’s not doing it for her own benefit. see, yang’s always been a tougher nut to crack, the wall that made her realise she was a rather empathetic person in the first place just by her resistance. part of weiss knows better than to simply expect answers from yang, the bulwark of strength for their group. that she shudders under earthquakes is supposed to be ignored. the other part though has learned. that yang is more like her mother than she might like to admit (in all the best ways). no beating around the bush. 

     “so that’s your mom? i’m not impressed.”

shit parent solidarity ! | @valorsouls

     one side of yang’s nose reflexively twitches. try as weiss might to soften the blow before she drops the bomb on her, it’s still something that leaves yang winded and in a state of perpetual turmoil. yang pushes herself to turn to weiss and does so stiffly, like a train forced to change its tracks, and shrugs with a quick jerk of her shoulder.

     ❝ yep. gotta love the whole kidnapping your child's friend and disowning her in the same breath schpeel, ❞ yang says, a mirthless laugh escaping her breath. ❝ sorry about the kidnapping, by the way. ❞

[valorsouls-blog]

ruby

@valorsouls liked

“I’ve thought of an amazing weapon!!” Ruby sped up to Velvet’s table in the library, trying not to shout but her excitement couldn’t contained. She was bouncing up and down, an eager grin on her face as if she had just discovered the greatest thing in the world. The young leader waited for the fanus to look at her before she continued, talking fast as petals fell around her after her sped.

“This is gonna sound really weird but hear me out! A dust xylophone.”

     try as the librarian might, the libraries of beacon were not impervious to the laughter and rambunctiousness of students, loitering here for every purpose except pouring into great and ancient books that might grant them wisdom in their huntsman endeavors. velvet, on the other hand, has always treated this as a sacred sanctuary for the diligent. she flips away at a textbook, deep in her research for dust theory in relation to physics. 

     naturally, that meant any one of her friends could come bursting through the shelves to snag her away from her ‘ monk pilgrimage ’ ( velvet still can’t believe fox compared pilgrimage to her study sessions— it wasn’t that long! ) at any moment. velvet rubs at her eyes beneath her glasses and looks up, smiling at the beaming girl. 

     ❝ hey ruby, yeah i’m doing fine, thanks for asking, ❞ velvet teases, and then she pulls out a chair beside her. ❝ c’mon, take a breather and sit down first. a dust xylophone is totally doable, but we don’t need you zipping off to the stores to get the parts for it yet. ❞

[valorsouls-blog]

coco

          “ velvet?! ”  coco says, offended, and she’s stunned at her teammate’s question.  yes, she’s barging into her business, and no, it doesn’t feel good.  coco barely knows what she looks like beneath the glasses, and she was trusting her friend not to act upon whatever was beneath them.  her facial expression is hurt, mouth slightly open with brows lowered.  she hasn’t slept well in a long time, and everyone knows she’s notorious for staying up on her scroll way later than she should.  but it isn’t out of irresponsibility, it’s out of an inability to fall asleep.  it’s been that way ever since beacon fell so many months ago.  “ that’s — not your business, you’re right, ”  she says firmly, like a cornered animal lashing out at the one reaching out to save it.  

          not only that, but coco now wonders just how visible the hurt around her eyes is.  enough to see to the naked eye, enough to see beneath a camera lens.  ( enough for velvet to be concerned about ).  her hand reaches for her glasses in her pocket again, but she stops once she sees the hurt she’s put on velvet’s face.  that’s your fault, coco, nice fucking work.  you’re real good at hurting her.  gods, this isn’t what she wanted, this isn’t how this was supposed to go.  it should’ve just been: laugh and smile, click, done, back on go the shades.  she inhales deeply.  “ i’m sorry, velvet, i shouldn’t have lashed out, ”  the brunette says quickly, stepping forward to her teammate and reaching out with one of her hands.  she hesitates for a moment before she considers what she’s going to say next.  “ i don’t like it when you guys worry about me.  i’m the leader.  concern is the last thing i need to be giving you and the team. ”

     coco’s sudden snap sends velvet flinching a little, the little palpitations in her chest intensifying to warring drums. velvet huffs, blinks away the wetness in her eyes ferociously and clutches her camera tight in her fist, about to turn and leave. as she wants to dash from this room, she stops mid step the moment she hears coco's voice, ears lopping over her head like sagged branches, and turns her head slightly with a withered glance. velvet takes a deep breath. 

     ❝ okay, first things first, ❞ velvet says, facing coco directly now. ❝ you need to stop doing that. you need to stop deflecting and combating everything we say when we express our concern for you. just because you’re the leader doesn’t mean you have to carry the burden alone. i mean, we’re a team, aren’t we! you lead us, we support you. we hold you up when your shoulders get a little too heavy. you can rely on us, coco, ❞ she tucks her arm under her hand, her voice softening to a murmur. ❝ ...or at least, fox and yatsu, if you don’t trust me as much. point is, you not taking care of yourself only gets us more worried. ❞ 

[valorsouls-blog]

coco

          something in coco’s heart shatters.  shit.  she hates to see velvet like this.  “ hey, my shades are everything to me! ”  hesitation, a rare, rare occasion for coco.  there’s no explanation beyond that, not one that coco adel is willing to disclose.  there’s a long pause, a stare through darkened lenses before she raises an eyebrow.  this sucks.  “ … okay. ”  

         the brunette takes a deep breath.  “ you promise it’s just for you? ”  she waits for a nod, exhales, and takes them off her face.  coco folds them up and carefully places the expensive shades in their rightful case in her jacket pocket.  before she dare look at velvet, she reaches up and rubs at her eyes, the actual brightness of shade academy getting into them once the glasses have been removed.  she holds her breath.  “ do you want me to smile, too? ”  big, doe - like brown eyes with tired purple - tinted eyebags accompanying finally bring themselves to gaze up at her teammate.  “ don’t push your luck, ”  she jokes ( it’s apparent in her tiny smirk ).  

        she’s going to smile anyways.  anything for the heart of team cfvy.

     there’s something exciting about seeing something that is rarely shown. more so when it’s your elusive leader, the one who always stands as a proud beacon among the team, yet never seems to allow anyone to peer deeply into. velvet’s heart even pounds a little against her chest as she watches coco remove her sunglasses. yes, it’s just for her. yes, she wants her to smile, because it’s very pretty if only she can see her eyes too. her camera rises to prepare for its shot. she aims the lens towards coco’s face, her finger hovering over the button, and then... and then she hesitates. 

     the first thing velvet sees isn’t her smile, nor is it coco’s innocent-like eyes in contrast to her bravado, but the deep colored bags sitting below them, like rocks bulging from what should be a beautiful, serene plain. velvet lowers her camera. 

     ❝ have you been unable to sleep much? ❞ she asks softly. ❝ i mean, i don’t mean to barge into your business, but i... i didn’t know you’ve been so tired lately. ❞

[valorsouls-blog]

fox

        it’s almost impossible to tell that velvet is here at all, and perhaps someone with less canny hearing and just as little sight wouldn’t have noticed her. but fox does, he can hear her soft breathing and smell the scent of vanilla and strawberries. he kneels down by her bedside and reaches a hand out, seeking her shoulder and giving it a short squeeze. 

        “ hey, you. ” he says, taking a seat on the floor with his back to her bedside cabinet. “ how are you feelin’? ” 

                                                       ——— @valorsouls ♥’d for a starter!

     staring at the wall by her bed for the past hour certainly helps her eyes identify all the little pocks and marks that have aged onto the plaster. there’s the big dent made by what velvet assumes to be an alumni of heavy bearings, and there’re the little scratches either a faunus with claws or someone with knives liked to drag across the wall. whatever the case, it’s helped velvet empty her mind into the void. 

     she jumps a little when she feels a hand squeeze down her shoulder. velvet slowly shifts and turns to face fox, one of her ears sagging low enough to flop over her cheek like a withered plant.

     ❝ hey, ❞ she tries to smile. ❝ i thought you were supposed to be a mind-reader? not that i really want you to right now. i’m doing... i’m managing, fox. hope it’s better on your side. ❞

[valorsouls-blog]

coco

         “ good.  maybe if you tell the school that’s what my eyes look like, the cishet boys will stop asking me for threesomes. ”

     ❝ first of all— i’m not showing this to anybody. second of all, this is just for me! so it can go in my photo album where all the rest of our memories are. i’ve got several photos of yatsu and fox smiling, but none of you where you’re not smiling smugly with your glasses! ❞

[valorsouls-blog]

     hums as she glues googly eyes onto a photo of coco.

[redandblacktac]

full color commission

[automaticgiraffe]

Trying out some lighting and hair techniques.  Pretty fun and right in line with my never-clean-lines habit

[artbyfuji]

the twins beacon was not ready for

[valorsouls-blog]

@scattersouls @gcrdens @hoardofheroes @herguidance

[valorsouls-blog]

various watts headcanons pt. i

neglect was a great part of arthur’s childhood. granted, it will never justify his many horrid acts, but his parents have played a role in arthur’s future behavior— simply by never doing anything. they didn’t neglect arthur out of malice, but arthur’s sickly younger brother was always the object of attention. his parents hardly spoke to him, left him to his own devices, and ultimately failed to tend to him, so who else was arthur supposed to learn from besides himself? 

which was a terrible idea, because the man’s ego grew larger than his head. 

when he started gaining high income, he gave part of it to his parents, but never enough to support both two retired elders and a terminally ill patient. he let his parents decide using it for their son or for their own necessities.

a researcher stole his work once. 2 years later, his experiments suffered a terrible accident. with 200 people killed, he was left to rot in jail, thinking about his mistakes and his acclaim as a scientist torn in shambles.

arthur always desires acclaim but will never take credit of another’s work.

he knows how to activate aura and his semblance, but he rarely finds use for it outside of research.

his semblance is also quite a simple skill— which you won’t discover unless you’re a participant of his experiments (;

[valorsouls-blog]

     damp. it is the sole description for the ground she walks right now, and though she can’t blame the rain weather for performing its due part, weiss would like to find a place that doesn’t stick mud onto her soles wherever she treads. thankfully, her eyes find the neon marks etched across the tree bark, heralding her arrival towards their camp. she shifts the strap of her bag and decides to cheat a little, tossing glyphs ahead of the path for faster travel.

     weiss practically skates through the trees and reaches the little nest of wood set up in the center of their camp. the campfire was not very necessary aside for cooking, and though weiss barely managed to watch ruby roast the rabbit, it was, still, a valuable lesson for weiss. it simply took her a while to speak with ruby again. 

     weiss sets down her bag and glances through the forest, expecting to see a storm of petals charging towards her any moment. ❝ ruby! ❞ weiss calls out to the woods. ❝ where are you? i’ve gathered the plants! ❞

you said you could make tea with them? @slayess 

[sketchhungry]

Coco is pretty stubborn, so Velvet has to use force when necessary.

[gcrdens-a]

@valorsouls @scattersouls

[valorsouls-blog]

KALI / gcrdens

           ‘  can we have a moment to talk ? … alone ?  ‘  ichor turned pointedly to the guards that stood throughout the room, each taking their time to acknowledge the medic before hurriedly leaving them both. they knew their leader was more than safe in kali’s presence, &. the older feline waited patiently for the hall to empty before stepping closer to the throne. prior to the intrusion kali had spent her time practicing how to bring up her concerns in the first place ; yet now all those words long since vanished from her mind.

          a deep breath followed, trying to calm her nerves.  ‘  i don’t believe adam taurus has the white fang’s interests at heart, sienna.  ‘  kali spoke out as confidently as she could, &. after the initial statement she found it easier to keep going.  ‘  we don’t murder unless it’s our life or theirs. he clearly doesn’t have any value for that, and —-  ‘  faunus paused, calming her tone again.  ‘  something isn’t right with blake. she’s hardly ever home, she doesn’t talk to anyone… she talks to him, though.  ‘  kali didn’t care if she sounded biased. this was, truthfully, about her DAUGHTER after all. her heart ached with a desperation to protect her kitten long after she’d grown.  ‘  please. tell me you don’t see his behavior too.  ‘  

@valorsouls // s . c

     privacy with the high leader was not so much a right as a privilege for any rank within the white fang, yet no one dared question kali belladonna’s authority, firstly because she commanded respect under the sheer amount of lives she’d saved; second, because she was the only one who could turn sienna’s head and reign the fire within. 

     even the audacity to accuse one of her most competent champions did not drive sienna into a fit of anger. instead, she lifted one leg onto the throne and rested her arm on the knee, sighing. 

     ❝ kali, you are making a very bold claim here, ❞ sienna said. ❝ adam has brought the white fang to a much better position in a single year. he may have a lust for blood, but so do the humans—ours, in particular. a few hostiles put down won’t damper our spirits. ❞

     blake was another point of conflict. kali clearly harbored great affection for her daughter, and that clouded her judgement. sienna’s finger tapped on the flat of the throne arm. still, she was noticing the same.

     ❝ it is true, however, that blake... has been unresponsive to me as well. takes on any mission that requires only a single body, ❞ sienna murmured, lolling her head lazily towards the ceiling. she sighed once more. ❝ i don’t agree with your claim, kali, but i am concerned for your daughter. ❞

[valorsouls-blog]

ILIA / iridissent

          when the blade lays against her skin, amitola can do nothing but let a scream rip into sienna.  she is adam’s wounded prey at the moment ( luckily her leader made sure that no blood was left behind for him to sniff out ).  her teeth dig ferociously into the dark flesh of khan’s shoulder.  the foreign feeling of an UNBEARABLE heat mixed with the forced fusion of her wounded skin causes her nails to scrape into sienna’s back as ilia screams, cries out in horror into the night.  her scales there will be ruined forever / the colors will never be as bright as they once were.  

          after the few minutes of the burning are said and done, and the chameleon feels like she’s lost all of her energy, she goes limp into the tigress’s arms ( and the bite marks have easily left blood ).  “ thank you, ” she manages, although her voice is barely existent after her screams destroyed her vocal cords.  the scratchy essence of her voice is only amplified in the aftermath.  “ i’m sorry. ”  

         the faunus lays her head back against the bark of the tree, gasping for air as she tries to catch her breath.  her eyes remain closed, still trying to cope with the pain stinging furiously in her leg.  “ i should’ve known he was going to come at you.  i, i should have been ready sooner — ”  her thought is only interrupted by coughing, induced by the dryness of her throat.  

     a line of red trails down her shoulder and onto her arm, and sienna pulls her top back up to stop the blood from gathering too much. once ilia leans back into the bark of the tree, sienna tugs the cloth tied around her arm and reveals a much deeper cut gaping from the flesh. she presses the still burning shiv against the wound, making no more than a guttural growl as the metal seals the tender flesh, her nails digging into the dirt.

     ❝ save it, ilia, ❞ sienna responds, catching her breath. ❝ what’s done is done. now we must focus on how we might survive in this wilderness. ❞

     sienna’s ears twitch to the harsh sound of ilia’s coughs. her own tongue tastes as dry as sand against the roof of her mouth. dehydration will kill them first before any of adam’s fools can. sienna shifts to ilia, slicing off a large piece of her cape and wrapping it around her freshly cauterized wound.

     ❝ what intrigues me more... ❞ she says, ❝ is that i believe your chances of survival would have been much higher if you’d simply kept quiet and looked the other way. ❞ the cloth tightens into a knot.  ❝what were you thinking, charging into more than a dozen traitors like that? ❞