#for some context kali just saw his sister for the first time in a few weeks after both being unsure if the other was okay

[aureliobooks]

next! for the ask game

ahh, thank you so much for the ask!! i’ll happily provide you with this bit from chapter sixteen of wayfarer, titled as my soul alights:

There was something to be said of such relief, of the chest-full-to-bursting sensation in his lungs and the spark that seemed to reignite beneath his ribs. Where he had once been standing as a solitary sapling in a field of grass, he now stood with his leaves sheltering a small sparrow that built her nest among the roots, shielding her from the storm that would have ripped them from the ground had one not found the other. 

NO EXCUSES WRITING MEME

[jadekitty777]

Time for a friendship PSA

I want to take a minute and talk about this scene:

Because I see that a lot of people use this moment as evidence to make claims that Tai and Qrow aren’t really good friends or even that they hate each other. And while canon hasn’t exactly disproven this possibility, I do feel there’s WAY more evidence to support the opposite is true. So, let me take a few minutes of y’all’s time to show why.

So, since this is the crutch of the issue, let’s start with the scene in question, analyze some of the language used and break it down through the context given to us as well.

We’ll begin with the dialogue:

Tai: Things are just kind of a mess right now.

Qrow: It’s always a mess. Mind if we have a minute?

Tai: What, I can’t stay here?

Qrow: Tai, please.

So, Qrow especially is interesting here – his wording and his demeanor, asking for permission and even saying ‘please’, it’s all very respectful. But, this is also the same guy who started a fight in the courtyard with an Atlasian specialist and outright verbally put down a military general because he didn’t agree with their methods. Not to mention outright arguing with the headmaster of Haven Academy and antagonizing his own sister. He’s a sassy little shit with pretty much everyone no matter who they are or what their level of authority is. He’s the kind of guy who would talk down the Gods themselves if given half a chance. In fact, as far as peers go (not kids, that’s a whole other ballgame), the only other person we’ve seen Qrow really dial down his attitude for and give his respect to is Ozpin, who he trusts completely and is absolutely loyal to.

So for him to be just as humble with Tai, to me, speaks volumes on how he feels about him as both a teammate and friend.

Now, about Tai…

Let’s get a feel for his personality first: With his children, he’s warm and caring, trying to encourage them to better themselves whether it be with their own shortcomings (Ruby’s lack of sociability) or their mental obstacles (Yang’s discouragement after losing her arm). With Bart and Pete, he’s friendly and, we find out, a bit of a jokester. And, as for Raven, though he has obvious misgivings when he talks about her – of which I’ll go more in depth about in a bit – he still has some level of care of her while still being able to reasonably point out her severe flaws.

But with Qrow? In the scene above, he’s angry at him. Yet, this wasn’t the case in the conversation they had while Ruby was sleeping. They were stressed out about ‘something’ not working and how bad the situation was, but not angry at each other.

So, the question is: What changed and why?

It would be easy to assume it’s because Qrow is shoving him out of his own daughter’s room to tell her about her mystical heritage – but what Tai says isn’t correct for that implication. He asks “I can’t stay here?” implying he knows exactly what Qrow is going to be telling Ruby and furthermore, that they had agreed upon it (interestingly, note also that Qrow was chosen to lead this conversation over Tai). So why is he angry about something he agreed to?

Well, I don’t think it has anything to do with Ruby and has everything to do with Yang. And what makes me think that?

Well, for as much as I made a joke about it in this post, I absolutely believe this is why.

First let’s start with this - look at what happens when Qrow shows the picture to his nieces:

When he notices Yang staring at her, Qrow tries to block out Raven and pulls the picture away. He’s actively trying to dissuade her. And yet, four episodes later, when Yang mentions she saw her mom, he decides ‘Ah fuck it’ and tells her about Raven while verbally acknowledging in that same sequence his sister is a big ball of crazy death feathers? Let’s not even get into the fact he’s probably telling Yang this at the worst possible time when she’s already feeling vulnerable and upset over what happened with Mercury.

And we know Taiyang finds out about this. Remember when Yang is about to leave to go after her sister in Mistral? Taiyang says this to her: “Despite telling him numerous times not to, I know Qrow told you about where your mother’s been these days”.

So knowing that Qrow is not the most… tactful of sorts, what do you want to bet he told Tai at the worst possible time – with Yang dismembered, Ruby comatose, Ozpin and a few kids dead, Beacon Academy a wreck – that, ‘oh yeah so I told Yang where to find Raven’. I can just imagine the fight that would break out. Not just because it went against Tai’s wishes but because, unless it’s a hell of a writing inconsistency, for Qrow to go from trying to hide Raven from Yang to instead outright telling her, it seems Qrow broke a promise doing so.

And if he did, I’m sorry but Tai has every right to be pissed off about it. And anger, especially fresh anger, is an emotion that bleeds into everything, which would explain the immediate tension between them.

And for those of you thinking that it’s wrong for Taiyang to keep Yang from her mom and Qrow is more in the right by breaking his word, let me ask you…

Is he?

I’m just going to take one line of dialogue of Raven’s from each of the three conversations she has with Yang:

Episode 4, Raven’s first spoken words to her daughter: So, after all this time, you finally decided to visit me.

Episode 14, Raven verbally putting her daughter down: Who do you think you are lecturing me? Standing there, shaking like a scared little girl?

Episode 6, Raven threatening her daughter: If you side with your uncle, I may not be as kind next time we meet.

So let me ask you again, IS HE?!

While I honestly love her to bits and wish for a lot more with her character, for what we have in canon, Raven is a manipulative, cruel, coldhearted and borderline sociopathic individual who is NOT above abusing or using people to get her way. And we see sides of that not just with Yang but with Qrow too. Obvious murder plots aside, her consistent use of the term ‘little brother’ rather than his name comes off very condescending especially when they’re twins and her grabbing his wrist during their conversation in the bar was a sign of force.

Would it really be so much of a stretch to guess that this behavior was used against someone else? Maybe someone like a former lover?

If there was any sight or sign that Tai was keeping his daughter away from a loving mom who, upon seeing her, just came running over to embrace her and tell her how much she missed her (IE. Kali with Blake), yeah maybe I’d have a problem with his decision. But that was not Raven. Raven was a standoffish egomaniac who went on and on like Yang did a really good job to find her, like getting her respect and love needs to be earned not given.

And imagine how devastating this is for Yang too. One of the biggest character goals we learn about her is how much she wants to find her mom; and to be given this as a result of that journey? No matter what age Yang is, that’s absolutely soul-crushing. And we see that full effect towards the end of episode 14, when she breaks down and cries.

And Tai trying to protect Yang from that? From something he probably experienced and was hurt by first hand? That’s called being a parent. It doesn’t matter that Raven is her mom, Raven is also an active force that can, will and DOES hurt Yang. And being mad at Qrow because he feels that he’s helping put her in the pathway of that hurt, especially if they had an agreement not to? Yeah that’s fair.

So going back to Qrow and Tai: Do I think they hate each other?

No, not at all.

Do I think Taiyang is pissed off at Qrow for very legitimate and fair reasons?

Yes. Yes I do.

Do I think this is an overview of their entire relationship as a whole?

Hell fucking no.

Even the best of friends don’t agree with each other on everything. Sometimes friends fight, or disappoint each other, or hurt each other. Being human and making mistakes is part of living and sometimes those mistakes happen with people you care about. But just because you’re angry or don’t agree with their actions doesn’t necessarily mean you stopped loving them.

There’s also several other things we can pull from canon that are true or even is implied to be true:

A.      Despite rocky beginnings (I’m looking at you skirt incident), Team STRQ became an extraordinary team, which could only be the case if they learned to work together as one, and it was torn apart solely because of Raven’s actions. Neither Qrow nor Tai have ever said or implied any blame on anyone else but her for that.

B.      Qrow and Taiyang both were teachers at Signal – a job that Qrow himself says wasn’t a good fit for him. So why choose something like it to stay nearby unless…

C.      Qrow was likely around a lot after Summer’s death to the point of having a hand in raising the girls. Both his nieces exhibit how close they are to Qrow during the show’s duration and, from these two conversation sequences, it’s obvious the girls look at Qrow as a second father figure

-Season 3: Qrow tells them “Just remember you still have a long way to go. Don’t think graduating means you’re done.”

-Season 4: Tai parallels this by saying “Adult or not, you’ve still got a long way to go before you’re ready for the real world.” Of which Yang’s response is “Oh my gosh does every father figure just have the same three condescending phrases?”

D.      Also, while it’s unclear, the “she” Qrow is talking to ‘Tai’ about that “isn’t coming back” during his poisoned hallucinations was likely Summer. But…

E.       Even if it’s not, even if it were Raven, this still shows that Qrow was there to try and talk to and support Tai through a moment of loss. But if he was around enough to have the girls look up to him like a second dad, then that also means Qrow was there a lot for Tai too.

F.       Tai gave Qrow his trust in both showing Ruby how to wield a scythe, which is what Ozpin claims as ‘one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed’ and no doubt can only be perfected with years and years of hard work, as well as – again I reiterate – telling her about her heritage.

G.      Equally, Tai also allowed Qrow to train her despite knowing his semblance of bad luck is uncontrollable and unpredictable and would be more active when he is using aura, simply because he believed in him enough to protect her if something went wrong.

H.      The lucky convenience of Qrow showing up to save Yang and Ruby when they were toddlers was likely not one at all. Either 1. Tai returned home and called Qrow immediately upon realizing the girls were missing or 2. Qrow came by the house himself, possibly to watch the kids or because he was living there, and found them missing.

In short:

These two are actually married.

I mean, best friends.

This has been a PSA.

[ditadevil]

Tulu - an amazing woman!

People who know me well also know of my obsessive love towards my Mother. Over the last 30 years, my Mother has been omnipresent in my mind in different ways. I get bouts of memories from my childhood to growing-up days where I have seen Ma being in the situations that I now face while adulting. Over the last few years, I have always thought of penning down how she has been more than a Mother to me and finally this lockdown triggered me to write this down. So, here it goes… Disclaimer: It might seem as though my Dad is missing in all these things but let me tell you that he is the sweetheart of our lives and someday there will be a separate write-up about him. 

It all begins with one of the early memories that I have from childhood; but I am going to set up a bit of context first. My Dad has been working in Bhutan (since 1987). Ma and Baaba decided that both their daughters need good education. Thereby the arrangement was that my Didi and I will stay with Ma in Calcutta and Dad would pay us a visit every 3-4 months. 

My Dadu and Thakuma (Grandfather and Grandmom) also stayed with us back then. Ma taught Bengali in a Primary school just to make sure that the houses’ needs were met independently, as my Dad’s monthly money-order sometimes took a lot of time to process. So, one of my first memories take me back to this day when I was sitting with my Thakuma in the backside of our house. The backyard had many plants that my Dadu had grown. It also had a dark green coloured tube well and two nylon ropes where clothes were to be dried. I was enjoying the cool breeze and Thakuma was having cha (tea) from a small cup. Suddenly, I heard a thud which came from my Dadu’s room. He was an aged man who was bedridden. I nudged Thakuma to tell her that let’s go and check on him, but I don’t know why she ignored me and chose to not get up. That was also probably the first time that I remembered something which Ma would always tell me. While leaving for her school she would say, “Take care of Dadu and Thakuma when I am away.” So, I went and peeked inside my Dadu’s room and saw that he was lying on the ground and holding his head which was bleeding. I then ran to the kitchen and filled a steel glass with water to its brim and ran back to give it to my Dadu, leaving a trail of water behind my path. I don’t remember much of what happened after that. But I do remember that after a few weeks, my Baba came home as Dadu had passed away. More than the despair of losing a grandparent, I was more excited that my Baaba was visiting us. I started noticing things around me after that. I observed that my Thakuma used to be mean towards my Ma and when I used to tell this to Ma, she would just tell me, “Your Thakuma is old and there are many people who are mean to each other. That doesn’t mean that I have to forget my kindness and you shouldn’t too.” Later, I joined the same primary school where my Mother used to teach. Relating one funny incident from those two years. One day, back in school after the Kali Pujo (or Diwali) holidays, my classmates stood in a group and were trying to outdo each other with stories from their holidays around firecrackers. I too wanted to share my story. I told them, “Do you know what I did? I took a bunch of kaali-potka (the red firecrackers) in my palm and let it burn till the end!” The kids were amazed and that’s when I felt a tug on my shoulder. It was Ma. She told all of the kids, “Erokom kichu hoe ni… tomra baari jaao (Nothing like this has happened. Please go home now).” She took my palm (the same one which had made me immensely famous just a while ago) and we started walking. We got out of the school gate and were going back home. She said, “Baabi (Baabi and Moom i.e. wax-like are my daak names), why have you started lying? What if they try this out at home and get their hands burnt!” I wanted to justify my exaggerated story. I wanted to say, ‘what about their exaggerated stories?’ But I let it be. In reality, I have always been scared of firecrackers. I have even given up on fitting into the group of firecracker-bursting and noise-making enthusiasts of the world. 

One of the next memories I have is when Baaba started to build the first floor of our house and Ma left teaching. I just started telling myself that “We are also boro lok now (rich people)”, although the rest of the family didn’t share the same enthusiasm. Anyway, there was this empty plot next to our house which my Ma used to say belonged to our estranged Uncle (the second brother). He neither intended to make a house there, nor did he agree to sell it to my Dad. They were three brothers and my Baaba is the youngest one. I still haven’t been told about the reason behind why this uncle decided to part ways with the rest of us. All I knew was that he had a drinking problem. Often, he used to come outside our house and yell at the top of his voice. What I could only understand is that he was drunk and he is yelling at Ma, calling her names. I would hold on to Ma and not let her proceed towards the verandah as I used to be really scared. She would move me aside and that’s when I started noticing this other side of my Mother - The stern one. The face which has seen a lot and will not take up any unnecessary drama. In a minute or two, I could hear my Ma roaring at my Uncle.” At the end of these conflicts, Mejo Jethu (Uncle) would leave and my Mom would turn back, lock the doors and gates. Her face still red, flushed with anger. But I found her to be beautiful even then. In her floral cotton sarees, gold hoop earrings, long braided hair and her red face not saying anything but reflecting a face of someone almost powerful as Ma Durga herself. I couldn’t say anything to her but just take her aanchol (pallu) and be at awe of her amazing bravery each time! The streaks of bravery were often displayed in different manners. It happened many-a-times. Slowly, I started observing how my Didi started reflecting both my Ma’s powerful stance to my Baaba’s selfless mannerisms. The following episode was one such incident. I used to both love and hate ‘monsoons in Calcutta’ – Loved it because of the thunderstorms and moments enjoying harmonious rains on our terrace. Hated it because of the creatures it brought with it. 

This was one of those nights in the monsoon season when Ma, Didi and I were watching TV post dinner. Then Didi and I went on to make the bed. I was spreading the night bedsheet and my Didi was putting up the moshari (mosquito net). Ma went down to lock the doors and while coming back, between the ground and the first floor level, she noticed some movement in the water drain outlet. She called out to my Didi and I knew it then that there must be a snake. With a hush voice, I kept pleading to them to stay inside the bedroom. I said that we will lock the door and just be there. They didn’t pay any heed to me. My Didi asked me to stay safe inside the mosquito net and instructed me to not come out. I joined both my hands and kept praying to different Gods. After 10 minutes or so, both of them came back laughing and started making fun of me. They said that they have gotten the snake upstairs for me. I could smell something burning. It was the bunch of red chillies that they burnt and kept next to the outlet hole so that the snake climbs down the drainage pipe. I went and hugged Ma and my sister came in hugging me from behind. I realized that now I stay with two Goddesses! 

I was not a topper from my school, but I would get by. Ma never asked me to aim for being the topper but just requested that there shouldn’t be any complaints about me. Otherwise she would have to go and mingle with other parents, which she didn’t want to do. So, I made sure that I never let that happen to her. She had to visit school once a year, only to collect the report card. There were phases though when I decided to study throughout the day. I would not let Ma go out and meet people as she had to be around me when I was preparing for my exams. I wouldn’t let anyone come home as well because that would disturb me. Those used to be the best times. She would watch TV or read a magazine, and I used to rest my head on her lap and keep reading. She says that those times were the times when she had to endure my ‘otyachar’ on her. 

Now in the times of lockdown when I call her, I hear that she is alone at home and just watching TV. In my mind, I join her right there and I feel like I am with her, just lying next to her, reading a book or playing the snake game on her Nokia phone. I am glad that she chose to not be on any social media. But this lockdown has gotten her wishing that she wasn’t so stubborn. At least not refused upgrading to a smartphone. She knows that if she wasn’t so stubborn, then she could have video called her husband and her daughters. I don’t remember exactly, but when I was in class 3 or 4, I once got the highest marks in an essay writing competition. The subject was ‘If you can be something/someone for two days, what/ who would it be.’ While the entire class was buzzing with future astronauts, Presidents, Doctors and so many other great answers, I simply wrote about how I wanted to be like my Mother. I thought that she is a living example for me, with all of the superpowers one would strive for. 

My answer will not change even today. 

My Mother’s name is Tulu. She’s an amazing woman.