#HEY QROW

[sonicrush]

Mr. Bad Habits

[invincibleweasel]

For your consideration.

[hiraganasakura]

Hi so me being me I've decided to hyperanalyze the conversation Qrow and Raven had in Higanbana practically line by line bcus I have Many Thoughts and this is the best way I can think of to get them all out. If you can't tell I'm absolutely obsessed with these two. Btw.

Thanks to the RWBY wiki for providing transcripts for every episode, otherwise I definitely would have missed smth despite having just watched this scene recently lol

I put it under the read more for easier scrolling due to how long this post got!

I immediately noticed smth in the very first lines of the interaction:

Raven: "Hello, brother." Qrow: "...Raven."

You'll notice throughout the whole conversation that Raven never calls Qrow by his name, only condescendingly referring to him as "brother" this one time and never calling him anything else. Meanwhile, Qrow directly refers to Raven a total of three times throughout the conversation, and only one doesn't call Raven by her name (which we'll get to shortly)

On the other hand, Qrow doesn't bother with even so much as a greeting beyond simply stating Raven's name

It's different ways of communicating their distance. While Raven holds her relationship with Qrow over his head — never once, even outside of this scene, does she call him "brother" with affection iirc, only derision and condescension — Qrow doesn't seem to rly know how to greet her. He hesitates before saying her name and approaching her, as if trying to assess the situation before acting

Qrow: "So, what do you want?" Raven: "A girl can't just catch up with her family?" Qrow: "She can, but you're not. Now how 'bout we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these [drinks] comin'."

Again, Raven seems to bring up her familial ties with Qrow as a tactic to get him to do what she wants — in this case, stick around to talk to her despite him not seeming to rly want to. Frankly, it feels manipulative. We're gonna put a pin in this for now and come back to it in just a moment

Additionally, Qrow already knows that Raven's not just here for a friendly chat between two siblings, and sees right thru her facade that it is. Raven is here bcus she wants smth from him. But interestingly, it is Raven in V5 that says, in an almost frustrated/disappointed tone, "Family. Only coming around when they need something." There's another pin; keep both in mind

Raven: "Does she have it?" Qrow: "...Did you know Yang lost her arm?" Raven: "That's not—" Qrow: "Rhetorical question, I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you'd bring up family and then carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist." Raven: "I saved her." Qrow: "Once. Because that was your rule, right? Real 'Mom of the Year' material, sis."

Qrow dodges Raven's question about the Relic and instead brings up her hypocrisy in how she treats family. And it's a good point. Here she is lording her siblingship with Qrow over his head while simultaneously defending and upholding her rule that she is only obligated to help her own daughter a single time. Another pinpoint on our little conspiracy board

Also, here's the one time in this conversation Qrow refers to Raven as "sis". Like Raven's use of "brother", Qrow's use of "sis" is very pointed and with intent. But it's not to manipulate Raven, it's a snarky jab meant to rly hammer home Qrow's point

Raven: "I told you Beacon would fall, and it did. I told you Ozpin would fail, and he has. Now you tell me. Does. Salem. Have it?" Qrow: "I thought you weren't interested in all of that." Raven: "I just want to know what we are up against." Qrow: "And which 'we' are you referring to?"

A few things of note here. At some point in the past, Raven expressed an outright disinterest in Ozpin's inner circle, at least to Qrow. Qrow also feels excluded in the "we" Raven mentions being against Salem. To me, there seems to be a distinct possibility here that it wasn't that Raven felt personally disinterested in Ozpin's operations, but that she somehow felt excluded and feigned a lack of interest in order to protect herself. An idea that is further supported in my eyes by the following dialogue:

Qrow: "You should come back, Raven. The only way we'd beat her is by working together. All of us." Raven: "You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them." Qrow: "They were killers and thieves." Raven: "They were your family." Qrow: "You have a very skewed perception of that word."

And there it is. Raven's problem is laid out here for us, loud and clear: She feels like she was the one abandoned, not the one running away. She says it outright! "You're the one who left." To her, Qrow is the traitor, the one who left their family behind. If you ask Qrow (or, for that matter, Tai, Yang, and even Summer based on the scene in V9), it's the opposite

Bcus they have different definitions of family

Another thing to pin (I promise this will all become clear soon)

Raven: "I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival." Qrow: "I saw. The people of Shion saw, too." Raven: "The weak die. The strong live. Those are the rules." Qrow: "Well, you've certainly got someone strong on your side. I've seen the damage." Raven: "We couldn't have known the Grimm would set in as quickly as they did." Qrow: "I'm not talking about the Grimm. And I'm not talking about you, either."

Notice Raven's shift from "the tribe" to "our people". More of that guilt tripping!

Additionally, Raven is *obsessed* with rules. One save. The weak die, the strong live. Raven lives and breathes rules, even seemingly arbitrary ones. Guess what this is? Another pin!

Raven: "If you don't know where the Relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about." Qrow: "I don't know where the Spring Maiden is, either, but if you do, I need you to tell me." Raven: "And why would I do that?" Qrow: "Because without her, we're all going to die." Raven: "...And which 'we' are you referring to?"

Qrow's "either" here implies that he also doesn't know where the Crown of Choice is, which is... interesting. He's one of Ozpin's closest lieutenants, and is in the dark on where Beacon's Relic is? Wherever it is, it is such a closely kept secret that even Ozpin's best spy doesn't know where it is (maybe so that in the event Qrow gets captured by Salem he can't be forced into giving her the information?)

Meanwhile, Raven's "And why would I [tell you]?" implies that she does know who the Spring Maiden is (obviously. Raven's the Spring Maiden lol) but refuses to disclose to Qrow

A lantern sputters out after Qrow says "Without [Spring] we're all going to die." Now, I genuinely can't remember if this is headcanon or canon, but iirc Misfortune seems to act up when Qrow's upset. He's clearly tired of this little game of dancing around topics that Raven's been playing with him

And once again, Raven indicates a feeling of exclusion from Qrow's life in the iconic final line. She gets the final word in before leaving

We've finally reached the end of the conversation. Now what does all of this tell us?

And here is where all of those pins I wrote down are relevant. As I mentioned, the twins view family very differently

Qrow's view is pretty obvious: he views family as the ppl in his life who matter most to him. Unlike Raven, he does not view the tribe as family despite the fact that they raised him, disgustedly referring to them as "killers and thieves". It's implied that he was, in fact, neglected and/or likely abused by the Branwen tribe, saying in V6C4, "No one wanted me... I was cursed..." further explaining his distaste for them. Furthermore, despite not being related to Ruby by blood, they clearly consider one another family throughout the series, and he even seems closer to her than he seems to his niece who's actually blood related to him (I personally headcanon that he keeps more of a distance from Yang bcus she reminds him too much of Raven, who he feels abandoned and hurt by, but that's neither here nor there). Bloodlines and debts are secondary compared to loyalty, if they're considered at all. He is obviously furious that Raven only insists on saving Yang once and never directly interacting with her beyond that, despite Raven constantly guilting Qrow over abandoning his so-called "family" of the tribe. And yet. And yet. He still offers Raven a place back in his life, even if only to unite against Salem

Raven's view, to me, has been an enigma for a while. But after hyperanalyzing this conversation, after noting down all of those points of interest, I feel like I've finally cracked the code. Raven views family as an obligation, an exchange that always has an ulterior motive behind it. She seeks out Qrow only bcus she desires smth from him despite showing distaste when someone does the same to her; condescendingly calls Qrow "brother" more than his actual name and calls the tribe their "family" to try guilting him into doing what she wants; and feels fierce loyalty to the tribe but barely interacts with her daughter, only seeming to count one of the two as true family. She views the concept of family with cynicism and seems to feel an obligation to the tribe, as if she "owes" them for raising her

I think the two's perceptions of what defines family are all to do with the way the tribe treated both of them. This crosses a bit into headcanon territory, but as you can see by the above quotes and analysis, I rly don't think I'm just making it up entirely

As I already mentioned, I think it's implied that the Branwen tribe neglected/abused Qrow. In fact, we could probably blame their treatment of him for the deep self-loathing he has due to his "cursed" Semblance. But what about Raven?

Well, it's simple: I think she was abused, too, just in a different way. While Qrow was likely shown and told on a consistent basis that he was unwanted, unloved, undeserving of good things, Raven may have been shown and told she was wanted, loved, and deserving of good things... if she did what the tribe told her. If she repaid them for raising her and her brother, for being her "family". The way she uses her familial ties with Qrow as almost blackmail may be exactly the way the tribe treated her. Her obsession with following rules may stem from the fact that she had to follow the rules the tribe set for her in order to be accepted and deemed worth smth

As for her distance from Yang... honestly, I wonder if Raven is aware that Yang deserves better and keeps her distance as her way of doing that. When Summer confronts Raven in the V9 scene, Raven says, "...You're better at that life. Better than I was." She seems to have a fear and insecurity about being a good family member, a good mother, and maybe that's why she fled. Maybe she was scared of being like her abusers due to how she emulates them as a self-preservation tactic in so many other ways. Not entirely sure about this point tho

And I think too this is why the twins don't rly understand one another. They may have been unaware of the different ways in which the other was treated. Qrow, constantly unwanted and loathed, can't understand why Raven sticks around with the tribe; Raven, who obeyed the tribe and, in doing so, garnered enough of their favor to even eventually become leader, can't understand why Qrow can't just be "good", earn respect, and stay

This dissonance between the two experiences may also be completely intentional on the part of the tribe; abusers will often eliminate their targets' support systems in order to make them completely reliant on the abuser, so it's highly likely that the wedge was intentionally driven between the two siblings so that they could not find support in one another. This would also tie into why the twins seem to feel excluded from one another's lives and abandoned by one another: bcus they were made to feel that way by their common abusers, and did nothing to challenge these assumptions bcus they saw no reason to — and only seemed to keep proving one another right if they did

Which rly has some disturbing implications about how the Branwen tribe works. Like, do they just pick orphaned kids up off the street and abuse them into being perfect little bandits, molded to be of the greatest possible use and discarded if they're deemed worthless? Plus Qrow says his Semblance is how he got his name, which implies that the tribe also renames the kids they scoop up (possibly as a form of control or a way to make sure they can't be tracked down by any remaining family)? Plus there's the whole thing where Qrow and Raven were originally sent to Beacon to learn how to kill Huntsmen, which carries with it the implication that the Branwen tribe grooms literal orphan children into becoming stone-hearted murderers? What. The heck.

And if I'm right, if the Branwen tribe is that severely abusive, then like... wow, no wonder Qrow and Raven are Like That. They're both very deeply hurt people expressing it in different ways

I was considering adding their conversation at the Battle of Haven to this post, but I think that would be better as its own thing. Also I haven't gotten there on my rewatch yet so I may miss some details if I try to analyze it rn; it's better to wait overall methinks

But I have reached the point of my rewatch where we see Weiss and Whitley interact, and I think it would be very efficient to sum up what Qrow and Raven's relationship seems to be by using those siblings as a point of reference. Qrow = Weiss, actively trying to break free from and fight back against their abusers in different ways, while Raven = Whitley, continuing to do as their abusers want and have wanted as a method of self-preservation. Only, unlike Weiss and Whitley, Qrow and Raven have yet to come to a point where they can understand one another. I think that's a good way to briefly summarize the uh. Absolutely massive post this is.

In conclusion, I may have cracked the majority of the Branwen twins' pre-Beacon backstory purely by hyperanalyzing a single conversation. Oopsies

[renabe4life]

Something feels off as he goes through the motions, and it's not just that his neck is stiff from sleeping funny. Or that his knee still faintly hurts from knocking it against the tub last night. No surprise there, probably sporting the start of a lovely bruise.

Splashing water on his face, he then reaches for the hand towel. Fingers clutch at air, find an empty ring where one usually hangs. Odd, he remembers it being there yesterday. He shakes hands out over the sink, lets his face drip a few moments more before turning around to grab one from the shelf. Nearly empty. Right, he thinks as he dries his face. He'd done a load of wash last night.

Hopefully got all the blood out.

Blood…?

He drops the towel from his face, eyes darting to the tub. In the dim morning light that filters in through the window, he can see that it is half full with water. And it hits him like a truck that there ought be something else in there too.

[masterweaverx]

So RWBY walks into Vacuo, and Ruby says “Hi! Sorry we’re late, we’re here to help.”

And the guards are like “It’s really fucking disrespectful to impersonate a dead hero.”

[averagemrfox]

rwby rewrite this rwby reboot that

you’re wrong let’s get that straight but i do need crwby to redo every single scene with the team strq photo because i refuse to believe they’ve all been wearing the same outfit since they went to Beacon

[thecraftyninjacat]

Day 6: Roommates/Kisses

go fish 🍀

link to the original

close up + extra under the cut :3

i figured out how to draw lips!

[lovingdabeessss]

EXCUSE THE BAD ART BECAUSE ITS WHAT I GOT 🔫🔫🔫

Yang and Qrow co-parenting Bby Ruby as tai goes through his whole family mandated mental breakdown fills my every waking thought

Qrow is single handedly handling all of ozpins secret missions now so all of remnant is on his shoulders, that combined with all the death and general tragedy in his family there’s no way the second he gets a moment of peace with his nieces he doesn’t pass the fuck out

Yang is just doing her best as qrow is usually busy saving all of remnant for months at a time to be home

(Additional hc because they’re living of of assumably two teachers salaries, Ruby and Yang wear a lot of school merch they get for free, cause buying new clothes is expensive and a hassle Qrow doesn’t really have the time for, and Yang can’t reach the counters)

[problematic-rwby-shipping-poll]

A/GE GAP BRACKET - ROUND ONE: QROWIN VS JUST RYGHT

Propaganda is below the cut.

QROWIN

"They INVENTED fighting as a form of flirting. The sexual tension was off the charts the entire fight." "Come on, this one's obvious, the winks, the fight, the flirts, they have, currently are, or will bang. It's what she deserves."

JUST RYGHT

"It's very important to me that you realise Junior is more than a foot taller than Yang. The size difference is crazy." "They've got big "I like the kind of woman that can kick my ass" energy. Also, the untapped potential of Goldilocks falling in love with one of the Three Bears? I crave it."

[electronicyarn]

The Bandit’s Rose - Chapter 19

Fandom: RWBY

Raven Branwen/Summer Rose Taiyang Xiao Long/Qrow Branwen Summer Rose/Taiyang Xiao Long Raven Branwen/Taiyang Xiao Long

Read From the Beginning

Summary:

Before there was Team RWBY, there was Team STRQ. And before Team STRQ were huntsmen and huntresses, they were students.

Summer, Taiyang, Raven, and Qrow are four of Beacon Academy’s newest students, and although they don’t know it yet, powerful forces have taken note of them. But if they’re going to survive being pawns in a secret game, they’ll first have to survive each other.

Read on AO3 | Read on FF.net

Summer was sitting on her bed in Team STRQ’s dorm room. If she’d had to pick a word to describe how she was feeling at the moment, “dumbfounded” was the only one that came to mind. One minute she’d been getting ready for bed, and the next minute Raven and Qrow had burst into the room. Raven had then frantically proceeded to explained to Summer that she and her brother had, apparently, been recruited by Ozpin to be secret agents of some kind, and that she’d, somehow, eavesdropped on a meeting between two of Vale’s criminal gangs. And if all of that wasn’t enough, it seemed that some mysterious person had hired these gangs to hunt Summer herself down because of her eye color. If it had been anyone other than Raven saying the crazy things she was saying, even Headmaster Ozpin himself, Summer wouldn’t have believed them.

Qrow and Taiyang were presently sitting on Qrow’s bed together across from Summer, and Raven was anxiously pacing back and forth in the middle of the room. It unsettled Summer to see how distressed Raven was acting given how unflappable she usually was. It really drove home the point of how serious the situation was.

“Okay. Well…” Summer said, struggling to think of anything to add to the conversation. “Did you tell Ozpin yet?”

“No,” Raven said.

“Shouldn’t you?” Summer asked.

“He already knows. He’s got to already know!” Raven said, practically ranting at this point. “He just wanted me to see it! To see her! What’s he even going to do about it? He’ll just keep on playing his stupid games!”

Read More

[flightofaqrow]

I swear to the gods I was going to focus on writing and not meta for awhile, but I was looking through screenshots to make some more icons and I'M SORRY BUT I'M STILL INSANE ABOUT THIS AND CAN FINALLY PUT IT IN ALL THE RELEVANT WORDS.

This is the screen cut; these frames are right in a row. Look at that softening, look at that transition to calm from pure panic.

It's hope.

It's the pessimistic idealist allowing himself to fully believe in something better.

It's the scarecrow fighting off the crows.

It's not Clover and it's not the pin (though it is, in part, his influence and a tangible reminder), and it's damn sure not a change in perspective turning bad fortune into good fortune.

It's qrow's own soul allowing him to focus, to counteract and control Misfortune. He can reign back a semblance spike with hope.

[bafflement]

/sideeyes Qrow's symbol [And Raven's...]

Did anyone else notice that Raven's symbol has a clock in the wing, and Qrow's has a gear? Oz's symbol is a gear and his whole... thing, is based around time for, well... reasons. Teams are four members strong, but there's an exception, the Atlas arc and Ironwood's Ace Operatives. But... what if they had a form to guide them?

Because I can very much imagine a set of teenagers at Beacon, all seventeen-ish, meeting during the whole 'lets throw people off a cliff' and going to yell at their headmaster. Only to discover a fifth teen. Oz might have silver hair at that point... but he's still so terrifyingly young. None of them can quite believe a kid their age is the headmaster and Oz, blushing, can only shrug and blame Vale's council. If Summer is anything like early season Ruby, she hears that and thinks 'new friend!' and, since she's the leader, the others go along with it. Qrow and Raven are kinda sceptical, but Oz is so happy to be seen as his actual age, even the Branwen twins can't deny that sweet smile and the desperation in those too old eyes.

So he trains with them when he can slip away, five teens just allowed to actually be teenagers without Ozma's mystical bullshit getting in the way [much]. But they can never do it openly. Oz might be as much a teenager as the rest of them, but he's also been fighting Grimm since he was fourteen, the experience he gained from the collective Ozcarnations enough to make him a legend in his own right. Oz is very much a full Huntsman, for all that the ethics of that are iffy, it's still less iffy than those council idiots giving him Beacon.

So. Officially, team ST[O]RQ has four members, just like any other. But then? Then they get told to pick symbols to represent themselves. There's no way for them to register all five, colors or symbols... but by then Oz has granted the twins flight. So Taiyang picks a flaming heart, divided as though into wings of his own in tribute to their silent fifth member. Qrow chooses a gear to go inside his wing symbol, an echo of Oz without being obvious. He hopes. The gear is commented on several times over his time as a Huntsman, Qrow has certain regrets. Raven, whose favorite fairytale growing up was the infinite man and is rather sus, adds a clock to her wing symbol. Hey, Oz... she has suspicions. Maybe tell her? Nah? Okay then... that'll never backfire on you.

So the team forms. A white rose for Summer, a golden spread heart for Tai, a black wing with a clock in it for Raven and a red wing with Oz's gear in it for Qrow. He adds a second gear, hoping to be less obvious, but that doesn't really succeed either... hey Qrow, you can be a bit too adorable at times.

So yeah. Team STRQ probably consisted of five teenagers, each trying to find their place in the world. Summer's silver eyes would normally have been the major issue. Except, of course, that Ozpin is by then at least part Ozma. And magic in Remnant, of either variant, complicates things. Together? No wonder team STRQ is famous this long after it broke up...

[ladedanixie]

Leaning against a tree, Clover couldn’t resist the next words that came out of his mouth. Patience be damned. 

“If you’re still unsure, why don’t you try dating me?”

Qrow spluttered, face turning a pretty red as he attempted to stow Harbinger on his back, missing by a few degrees and spearing its blade a few inches into the dirt. Clover maintained his easy smile, patiently waiting for Qrow to collect himself from the shock. It was so damn cute. When they were kids, maybe a day or two after Clover regained his past lives’ memories, Clover once upon a time wondered if he’d ever get tired of Qrow Branwen and the expressions he made whenever he got flustered. Sure, they’d only spent seven years of his sixth life together, and it's only been a few days since he found Qrow again, but as Qrow directed a wild look of offended bewilderment at him, Clover was certain that he’d never, ever get tired of looking at that face. 

“Are you fucking with me right now?!”

[kuokuana]

ASSORTED SENTENCE PROMPTS

@livestosave sent: ❝ i love you. don’t forget that. ❞ - From Qrow for Ruby mayhaps? (Also, hello there dear!)

Qrow never liked to talk about anything serious. Never liked to take anything serious. Ever the laidback, cool Uncle Qrow, so whenever he did take the time to speak from his heart, it was always unequivocally genuine.

It might have brought a tear or two to her eyes.

"I love you, too."

[renabe4life]

would it be alright to be selfish and ask for a second dance

[barrenceallence]

one thing i really liked abt the battle of haven was just how protective of oscar qrow was