I think we can all agree this is going to be impressive

Natural: A RWBY Ficlet

* * * * *

It was days after this that I found her in the Armory, just staring at the racks of weapons, shoulders slumped. It was obvious her mind was on her failure to find a weapon that she could wield easily, or really, at all. I made enough noise with my entrance that she turned to me, her silver eyes downcast.

"I want to be a Huntress... but I'm a failure." She turned and waved at the wall of equipment. "I've tried nearly everything! Nothing works! Nothing feels right! I'm two months behind everyone else, and the gap's getting wider every day." she moaned.

I approached her, and put my hand on her shoulder. "Signal isn't going to throw you out for not having a weapon, girl. Like your sister said, there's other options available to you." I gestured at the weapons, "Not every type is here, there's always some specialized piece we can think up. I know I had..." I trailed off, as a sudden thought hit me. "Nearly everything in the room, huh?" The tone in my voice caused my niece to look up at me questioningly. "Lets make that everything then."

I took my scythe from its holster, and expanded it to its full form. Her eyes widened at seeing it as I held it out to her. She tentatively reached out with both hands, and grasped it. I let go, letting her take the full weight, and took a step back. At first, I despaired, for she had taken it in an over-hand grip, off balance and shaky. It was only for a moment, though, as her right hand moved down the shaft, flipping around to an under-handed grip, supporting the weight of the weapon, leaving her left hand for control and direction. Her stance shifted, hips angling and feet moving to better control her new, lower center of gravity.

I shook my head in wonder as she unconsciously, unknowingly took a perfect beginners form, holding the weapon at the ready. For the first time since she had started working with weapons, trying to find her own, she looked... Natural. She looked at me, her eyes shining with disbelief, fear, and a smidgen of hope. I nodded at her, and motioned for her to take a swing. I could near hear her distressed swallow as her shoulders and back shifted the weapon - one larger than she was by far! - back and to the side.

The first swing wasn't picture perfect by any means, but it was a far better strike than any she had made before. Her feet lifted as she turned with the weight of the scythe, pirouetting on the point of her toes, then back down to continue twisting in another swing of the blade. I could tell she was alternating strikes, and could almost picture her foes as she danced with my chosen weapon up and down the Armory. What had started as a single clockwise strike had moved on to over- and under-hand attacks, counter-clockwise swings, and even a few double-swipes. I could tell that aside from just keeping the spiraling motion going, she was using her semblance to speed up her movements and help control the blade.

Finally, after twelve minutes of practice, she came to a halt, holding the scythe behind her back, right hand high on the shaft, left hand low near the head, the arc of the blade parallel to the floor. Her breathing was quick, her face flushed, but her eyes were bright with joy.

I stepped forward from where I had been watching, giving a slow clap and smiling at her. She grinned back, "I did it, didn't I Unc- Professor! It was so cool! I just couldn't help but move and I was all like Swing! Whoosh! Twirl! And- and-"

"That you did, Ruby, that you did." I held out my hands, and she reluctantly gave me back my perfect weapon, now a template for *her* perfect weapon. I collapsed it down to storage form, and holstered it on my thigh again. "We need to make a trip to the foundry, I think. You've got a bit of designing to do." I gestured for her to proceed me out the door. "Now, our weapon is difficult, probably one of, if not the most difficult..."

* * * * *

AN: So, dreamed this scene up last night, and put it to paper with little delay. I don't write that often so I know I've got problems. I had trouble deciding between first person and third person limited for Qrow, I kinda feel like I should have scenes leading up to this with Ruby trying out dozens of weapons to failure and growing depression, even trying out Yang's brawler style to tripping over her own feet.

And comments and criticisms are well appreciated.

I was wandering at the local Best Buy when I saw Logitech's MX performance mouse on the shelf. Took it home with and I'm impressed.
1.  You can 2 scroll speeds...fast and zooom! for those long internet pages or word documents. There's a detent switch above the scroll wheel to distinguish the speeds.
2. The scroll wheel can also be pushed left or right when you have a wide page.
3. The mouse will track over any surface..even glass...no more contacts getting dirty. I've been using over a dusty mouse pad and no problems so far.
4. It's wireless. Meh..you need batteries for it right and replace it. No quite. The battery is rechargeable and built in. The charging cable also acts as the mouse cable when needed. There's an LED status indicator that warns you when the juice is going done.  So, no need for batteries. No more hunting the house for spare AAA when the thing goes down.
There's more power hacks..haven't tried all yet.
http://www.logitech.com/assets/46861/pe ... -guide.pdf
Oh, there's also an off/on switch at the bottom of the mouse. If you want to speed up the charging time, just turn the mouse off when not in use.
You know, I'd like to see somebody fly a fighter using a mouse and HOTA system. Maybe not an athmo fighter, but a space fighter?
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

Age 83, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  New York Times obituary here.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

I was going to hold off on this until I had the partner figure done, but I'm also trying to see if there's image hosting problems. This is a toy-style design for a Godmaster (sold as Powermasters in the US with a rather different body of lore) that also turns into a miniature vehicle like the more recent Minicon toys, rather than just a human and an engine for the full-size robot body. The robot is oddly positioned because I just pulled it out of the cockpit of the larger toy being built around it.


--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

I was listening on NPR this report segment:
http://www.npr.org/2015/02/25/389008046 ... anker-cars
I believe our Canadian brethren here is very familiar with this story: Especially Lac-Megantic on July 6, 2013. Now what piques my particular interest was what the reporter said about Tuscaloosa, AL ( which is an hour away from me).  A few facts stated by the reporter:
1. The fracking oil fields in the U.S are located in areas where there are no pipelines to bring it to refineries. There are rail lines though.
2. The amount of oil transported by rail had been expanding.
3. The type of oil transported by rail is light crude with VOC's (volatile organic compounds) suspended in them. Those compounds are shaken out of the crude during the journey and forms a blanket on top of the crude. These compounds are flammable and explosive under the right conditions. They can also be deadly like hydrogen sulfide (my 2 cents).
4. The type of tanker cars being used in transport is typically the DOT-111A cars. Which was originally designed  to handle corn syrup. It's a design not originally intended to handle flammable materials.
Tuscaloosa is home to University of Alabama (home to the shrine of Bear Bryant), for those who are not into U.S. collegiate football. Interesting enough, it's the first time I'ved heard of a wooden railway trestle bridge in use to transport crude to a nearby oil refinery over there:

__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

I do believe I found the gate song that leads Doug away from Cheyenne Mountain and closer to Maggie.
http://gundamseed.livejournal.com/793026.html

Nice twist!

http://io9.com/holy-hell-this-power-ran ... 1687689958

So, I finally have a new PC that will play the latest MMOs. Logged in F2P on SWTOR to give it a try, been running an Imperial Agent through the initial Nal Hutta arc.
Anyone else been playing? On which server?
(I'm on 'Jedi Covenant'.)
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

 
You never lived to seeWhat you gave to meOne shining dream of hope and loveLife and liberty
With a host of brave unknown SoldiersFor your company, you will live foreverHere in our memory
In fields of sacrificeHeroes paid the priceYoung men who died for old men's warsGone to paradise
We are all one great band of brothersAnd one day you'll see we can live togetherWhen all the world is free
I wish you'd lived to seeAll you gave to meYour shining dream of hope and loveLife and liberty
We are all one great band of brothersAnd one day you'll see - we can live togetherWhen all the world is free?
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell