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itstimetotheorize · 4 years

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Ravens greatest regret, The mysterious final days of Summer Rose

Ever since volume 2, Raven presented herself as someone that is shrouded in mystery, whatever we knew about raven was always mirrored by how much yang knew as the story progressed. According to Tai and Qrow, Raven is a complicated woman, she has a funny way of looking at the world that many would disagree on, but despite this she remained a strong, clever, independent woman who is devoted to whatever cause she believed in.

However, over the course of volume 5, many of us have now begun to realize that raven may not be the person she once was. Throughout volume 5, Raven has been shown to be manipulative, untrustworthy, and more than willing to sacrifice anyone around her. But most importantly, it was through ravens confrontation between Yang that we realize juts what kind of person raven is, so, who is she? well....shes a coward.

Despite Ravens best efforts to be the only victor in the fight of volume 5 and make others believe that everything she has done till now was the smart decision, we begin to realize that raven is simply letting herself live in denial rather than accept the fact that it was her fears that prompted her to make bad decision, decisions that she claims are for her and her tribes benefit. Some of those decisions included, siding with Cinder to help Salem obtain the relic in exchange for Qrows death,

stealing the spring maiden powers by killing the previous maiden

and even attempting to steal the relic from the vault.

And for what exactly?, HOPE!, hope that the maiden powers and the relic of knowledge would be more than enough power to help keep her safe from Salem!

As I watched Raven realize the reality of her situation and just how much she had screwed up by making such decisions, I began to wonder....... what exactly happened to Raven that lead her to lose track of herself and fall down such a path?. Something must have happened to her, but what? well, lets take a step back and look at what we know of Ravens past.

In the past, when raven was still part of team STRQ, and shortly after giving birth to yang, raven found out that Salem could not be defeated ..… but.... did this mean she found out that Salem couldn't be killed?. Ruby and the others only found out about Salems immortality when they questioned Jinn,

So, did Raven somehow uncover the same truth?. Some have theorized that perhaps Raven used one of Jinns wishes to learn about the truth herself, but this would not make sense because Raven had never seen the relic of knowledge, let alone know where the vault containing it was hidden, so, how did she find out that Salem could not be defeated? well, let me start off by saying that maybe Raven never knew Salem couldn't be killed, only that she could not be stopped.

Now, the main problem with fighting in Salems war, is that it was already well known to have lasted generations!, Iron Wood knew this, Glinda knew this, Qrow knew this, pretty much everyone that was on either Ozpin or Salems circle knew this, and yet none of theme ever questioned why she hadn't at least died of old age. Perhaps due to Ozpins ability to reincarnate and Salems ability to use magic and control grimm, they may not have questioned it much, they simply accepted the fact that Salem was capable of terrible things, including keeping herself alive. So, what if it was this one major factor in the war against Salem that lead Raven to realize one very important thing about herself ..... she, had been fighting in the war against Salem, for far to long now!

with all the fighting and no real progress to show them where Salem was and how to defeat her, could have lead raven to grow tired of it all. Soon after, raven may have come to the realization that all this fighting was pointless and as a result, Raven left.

but this still doesn't explain why she was so afraid of Salem and why she was so desperate to avoid her, after all, no one (not including Ozpin), not even Qrow or Tai, had ever seen Salem!. The only ones team STRQ had ever faced in relation to salem were her henchmen, and they appear to have no problem defending themselves against them, I mean, just look at when Qrow fought against Tyrian in V4C7

everyone of Ozpins followers that knew of Salem only ever had fears of what she would do to the world if she managed to get her hands on the relics, but only those that truly came face to face with her and realized just how horrifying she truly was, would end up developing an overwhelming fear for her.

Cinder, Tyrian, Watts, Hazel, Emerald and Mercury, are all terrified of Salem and what she might do to them If they don’t do as she says.

Even Leo, a man who had devoted himself to Ozpin, who told Ozpin face to face that he would never betray him no matter the danger, did in fact betray him once he met and saw first hand just what kind of threat Salem really is.

So, does this mean that Raven met Salem in her years away from Ozpin?..... maybe, but how?, when?, where? and why?

For starters, when raven left Ozpins side, she would have needed to gather her thoughts and come up with a plan for herself: Where would she go now?, and what would she do next?. If you think about it, these questions are obvious, Raven went back to her old tribe and became the new leader, as for what she would do next ,well, there was only one thing she could do, survive. If Raven had any chance of surviving the crazy war between Ozpin and Salem, she would have needed to keep herself hidden and as far away from Salem, for as long as possible. To do this, raven would have needed intel on what areas in remnant Salem was targeting

keep in mind that when raven left Ozpins side, she left with the bird transformation ability. Raven, being as clever as she is, might have harnessed this ability and used it to her advantage in order to gather information on how she could better defend herself against Salem. Better yet, she could do all of this undetected by anyone, if anyone did see her, they would simply see an ordinary bird!

But gathering intel on Salems targeted areas was one thing, figuring out who Salems pawns were was a completely different situation. Just as Qrow said back in V4C8 , Salem likes to work in the shadows, she likes using others to carry out her work. So, if raven did want to keep herself away from Salem, she would have also needed a good idea as to what kind of people were following her. Seeing as just how good raven is at judging others by their character, such as when she was able to accurately describe cinder, watts, mercury and emerald in V5C9

It doesn't seem like Raven needed to hunt down the people that could be following Salem, she only needed to know what kind of people had the potential to be a pawn in Salems plans. Back in V2C11, when raven saved yang from being killed by neo,

its possible that raven was there, not to keep an eye on Yang and save her the one time, but to confirm her suspicions of Roman Torchwick being one of the pawn in Salems plans! Roman was all over the news after all, so his suspicious actions in the city of Vale most likely caught her attention.

Unfortunately, keeping track of your enemies is certainly not an easy job to do, but if raven really did want to stay away from salem, she would have no other choice but to keep track of everyone elses plans and make sure that she was not going to be involved. But, what if, just maybe, something did get her involved, or...someone!

what if in the midst of her investigating, someone discovered what raven was doing and asked her to include them in order to better figure out who else was involved with Salem. But wait, Raven would never agree to working with someone, if anyone did discover what she was doing, raven would simply kill them without a second thought, its been made clear to us that Raven is perfectly willing to kill innocent people such as villagers, the previous spring maiden, and even her own brother Qrow

if someone really was with Raven in her search for answers, it would have been someone that kept her from killing them on sight, someone that not only made her listen to their reasons for wanting to join her, but also be someone that was able to prove to her that they had the skills to carry out dangerous mission along side her, without being a burden.

Problem is, the only people who have these qualifications, are the members of her former team, team STRQ! but wait, she left them remember, why would any of them search for Raven and ask her to team up?

Qrow only ever saw Raven when she felt it was necessary, so that leaves him out. Tai was busy enough as it is, taking care of yang and ruby when he became a father as well as a teacher at signal academy, so we can cross him off the list. The only one left to take into account is...Summer rose!... but wait... no one knows what happened to her....

in V2C6, when yang tells Blake about what had happened to Summer, yang says that she went on a mission one day and never came back.

In V7C4 when Ruby talks to Qrow about summer, Qrow finally reveals to us and Ruby that of all the missions that summer went on, the one mission that she never came back from, was a mission that she never told anyone about!... but what if summer only kept her mission a secret from her friends and Ozpin, what if, someone else knew about her mission! but who? who would summer talk to about her mission besides Qrow, Tai and Ozpin?...perhaps, a former friend...like Raven!?

but why would Raven get involved with summer, years after she left team STRQ? and why would Summer want to include Raven in her mission, years after Raven abandoned Yang and her team? and if Raven really did get involved with summer, then what the heck kind of mission did summer set up for herself !?

from what we know, after Raven left, Summer married Tai, became the adopted mother of Yang, and gave birth to Ruby. According to Yang, summer was “supermom”, going out on monster fighting missions and making cookies for her and ruby when she came back home. Judging by Yangs description of Summer, Summer was clearly every bit the loving mother that Raven was not. When Qrow talks about Summer, he talks about her the same way Yang does, that she was a kind person that was always the first to stand up and fight for what was right.

But then again, maybe it was her identity as a kind, strong willed person, a protective and loving mother, that could have made summer realize something horrible and later come to an even more terrifying decision.

where am I going with this? well, what if in the time that Summer became a mother, Summer began to have the same realizations raven had about fighting Salem, that realization being of course that the war on Salem was lasting to long!. And that despite her, her team, and Ozpins efforts, summer might have realized that there was a chance that the war would not end in her time. When summer became a mother, it might have occurred to her that she did not want the war on Salem to be passed onto Ruby and Yangs generation. Perhaps it was through her own worry of what might have happened to her daughters, should they one day choose to fight against Salems war themselves, that finally made summer come to a very important decision.... this war... needed to end!

but what would Summer even do to end a war that has lasted generations?!. Keep in mind that Summer was a huntress born with silver eyes, meaning that she was a major threat to the creatures of grim, and by extension a major threat to Salem. When the fans discovered just what kind of effect the silver eyed warriors had on the grim, such as when ruby used her eyes in V6C6

and when Maria used her eyes in V6C7, back in her youth as “the grim reaper”

many of us had soon theorized that if a silver eyed warrior managed to find Salem and actually got the chance to use their powers on her, then maybe, just maybe, they could beat her immortality by turning her into a living statue, rather than killing her! Well, odds are, Summer might’ve had a similar idea, the only thing she needed to do now, was find Salem! but how !?

Summer already knew that Ozpin had no idea where Salem was located and any leads they had on her location were a bust. The only people that knew where Salem was were the same people that had to report directly to her from time to time, her henchmen!. But finding them was a challenge of its own. Regardless, If summer had any hope of finding Salem, she would first need to track down her pawns, but her pawns hide in the shadows, away from the public eyes, moving only when Salem tells them to.

In order to find them, Summer would have needed help from someone who was not only familiar with the dark side of the information network, but also be willing enough to help her locate Salems pawns. She couldn't rely on Qrow since he already had a tough enough time collecting whatever info he could without being noticed in his human form, that and seeing as Qrow and the others still have no idea what had happened to her, clearly tells us that summer really didn't want anymore of her friends and family involved. .

In order to accomplish her mission, Summer needed someone who not only had experience in the dark underbelly of the world of remnant, without drawing suspicion, but also be someone she could trust in helping her accomplish her goal, that someone...could have been Raven!

What if, Summer tracked Raven down and convinced her to help. Growing up along side raven at Beacon academy, summer must have already known that Raven would not agree to helping her without a good enough reason, well, what if Summer gave her a reason, a means to an end, a chance to end the war and be free from Salems threat!. Raven might be hard to talk to but she is clearly someone who is willing to negotiate a deal, IF its in her favor. If raven really did put up a search in trying to keep track of some of Salems followers then Raven would have been the key to completing summers mission.

But why would raven help fight Salem? she wanted nothing to do with her. If summer really did try to recruit raven, she would have sealed the deal in their negotiation by telling raven that she would have no part to play in the fight, just lead up to it. If anyone had a chance of defeating Salem, it was summer, and if they did manage to locate Salem, then the inevitable fight was for Summer to handle alone!. The only question now is, If Raven and Summer really did manage to track Salem down through her pawns, then what would’ve happened after that?

In V7C11, when ruby and the others finally confront Salem (as an apparition), Ruby shows no fear to her as she valiantly proclaims that they do not need to kill her to defeat her and that no matter the challenge, they will stop her.

When Salem hears Rubys words, she is unfazed, why? because, seconds after Rubys courageous speech, Salem drops a bomb of information and explains to Ruby that her words, were words she had heard before, from summer!!.

Its during this scene that we finally receive confirmation to the one thing Ruby and her family had been questioning for years, Summers whereabouts the day she went missing!.... summer.....was with Salem the day she disappeared !!!

up to now, no one was ever able to find and confront salem, but if our theory is correct then, this moment in V7C11 ,confirms to us that summer was successful in her goal. Summer found Salem, she fought against her, and she failed!!

However !, Salem never talks about confronting Raven, but maybe, that's just because raven stuck true to her word with Summer and didn't fight! so then, what did she do?. If raven really did help Summer find salem, then perhaps rather than leave Summer and go back to her tribe using her portal semblance, Raven may have decided that she wanted to see the outcome of the fight and answer the one question she had been thinking of the day she agreed to help summer, ....could summers plan.... really work?...this... was something that Raven had to see. But if Raven really was there, watching Summer fight, then how was it that Raven remained unnoticed by Salem....unless... she was in a form that made her practically invisible. What if the reason salem and her pawns didn't take notice of Raven during their fight with Summer, is because she was hiding in the sidelines, in her bird form!

when summer began her fight, Ravens mind must have begun to flood with thoughts about everything she had heard about Salem; was she powerful!?, was she truly as terrifying as ozpin said she would be!?, could Salem finally be beat!? could this war finally end!? and could the world of remnant finally be freed!?

I can imagine that Raven only ever heard stories about how terrifying Salem was, she had only ever seen just what kind of damage she could do. But if she really was present the day Summer fought Salem, then maybe it was that very day, the day that summer died, that finally made Raven understand just how horrifying going against Salem was, just how terrifying Salem is, and just how hopeless it was to win against her!

The day that she watched her beloved friend summer die, could’ve finally caused Raven to lose her courage and become truly afraid for her life, making her the Raven she is today.

In the RWBY comics issue #2, when Summers disappearance had already become known, we see a young Ruby searching through a memory box filled with things that reminded Ruby of Summer.

Unfortunately, due to Rubys young age at the time of summers disappearance, Ruby has had a hard time remembering what little she could of summer, eventually, Ruby becomes desperate for any information on what kind of person her mother Summer was. Sadly, no one, not even her father Tai, is willing to tell her about summer.

Yang however, is able to to ease rubys curiosity by telling her stories about Summer,

These stories however, are sadly made up by Yangs childish mind, due to her missing Summer just as much as Ruby. Ruby never the less takes the stories seriously and is over joyed by just how much of a hero Summer was. Moment later, however, Ruby tries to share her moment with a black bird in a tree next to her, this black bird is of course revealed to be Raven the moment it talks back to Ruby.

When Raven talks to Ruby, she tells ruby in anger that summer was weak, she was no hero, and she was never as good of a wife, mother or huntress as she was told she was. As Raven continues her cruel words towards Ruby, Raven finishes up by saying that ruby is the same as summer, but not yang, yang is different because she was never truly summers daughter.

These are indeed some heavy words for Raven to blast at a little girl. Originally, some of us believed that Raven said this when she felt insulted for having watched her own daughter Yang favor Summer as a mother rather than her. However, when Raven yells at ruby, she says it in a way that almost makes it seem like she is not talking to a child, but an adult, if so, then who might Raven be talking to as she stares at ruby? Qrow always said that Ruby was a lot like summer, so perhaps when raven saw ruby, all she could see was summer looking back at her. If Raven really was with summer, then perhaps her death caused Raven to spiral into a pit of twisted emotions, resulting in her doing things that could cause others to question her emotional state, such as yelling at a child.

Raven has always been presented as someone who is unable to properly express her emotions, so perhaps at some point or another, summers death might’ve caused Raven to develop a sense of hatred for her in the midst of her grief, why? because, up until the day summer fought salem, Raven still had hope that she could survive the war, but ever since “that” day, that hope Raven had disappeared along with her bravery and willingness to keep fighting.

Then again, this hatred towards summer, could also be a cover for Ravens true feelings. Like I said before, Raven has been presented as the type of person who can’t properly express her emotions towards others, including herself! if so, then how does raven really feel about summer and about herself?

in V5 C14, when yang tells raven that despite her reasoning for everything she had done up to that point, raven has shown yang that she is nothing but a coward who will do anything to run away.

When raven hears this she is greatly angered and tries to put herself in the right by telling yang that she can make choices that others cant and that it was her willingness to make those decisions that has allowed her to face death and come back out alive every time.

This however, does not convince Yang and instead only confirms to her that raven is no longer the strong woman she once was and is instead now someone that makes decisions based solely on her fear of salem.

Yang does not hesitate to tell Raven this and in their final moments, yang tells raven that she is not like her and is willing to face the threat and consequence of salems wrath once she takes the relic of knowledge. When Raven hears this, we see her, for the first time, not defend herself. What's so interesting about raven and yangs final moments is that as yang proclaims her willingness to face danger, Raven physically and emotionally begins to weaken in front of us all!

Of all the things that raven could have done in her final moments with yang, be it fight against yang for the relic, yell at yang once more for not understanding how hopeless the fight against salem really is or even choosing to redeem herself by setting her fears aside and instead choose to side with her daughter to once again fight against salem, we instead watch as Raven cries and utter to yang in a sad voice, ”I'm sorry”, before escaping through one of her portals.

as I re-watched this scene over and over again, I began to realize something, ravens apology... may not have just been towards yang. When yang tells raven the harsh truth about herself its almost as if there was something else eating at her, making Yangs words sting and hurt even more than what we saw. Tai always said that Yang was a lot like Raven, and in those final moments, perhaps Raven saw through yang the version of herself that was still courageous and strong willed, the version of herself that was still devoted to fighting salem and the version of herself that was still part of a team.

As raven watched yang walk towards the relic door, raven may not have just been thinking back to the days that she was still as strong as yang, but the day that she witnessed summer be just as strong as yang and ruby as they all choose to fight salem head on no matter the risk. If raven was thinking about all this and the choices she made up until now, then maybe, just maybe, raven cried for not having tried hard enough to hold onto that same courage, she cried for having given up so quickly and for not having the strength and willingness to set her fears aside and stand alongside summer the day she fought salem. These, I imagine, were Ravens greatest mistakes, this was her greatest regret, but hey, that's just a theory, a RWBY theory.

#rwby #rwby vol 5 #rwby vol 6 #rwby vol 7 #rwby volume 8 #raven branwen #yang xiao long #tai yang xiao long #qrow branwen #summer rose #ruby rose #rwby theory #rwby theories

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rwbyvein · 3 years

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Firen Lhain: Chapter 508: The Night Watches Back

"You're going to ransom me to my father, is that it?" Weiss asked from within the cage.

"If I could, Miss?" Aurora asked from beside her, and Weiss nodded. Aurora turned to Vernal, "The Schnee Dust Corporation has strict rules when dealing with ransoms." Vernal's eyebrows raised as she tried not to react, "All personnages must be completely unharmed, not just the primary person, and the ransom must be proportional to the primary person."

"And... if we follow these rules?" Vernal asked.

"The ransom will be paid promptly." Aurora replied.

"And if we don't want to follow the rules?"

"Then the Schnee Dust Corporation will use it's unlimited resources to hunt you down to the ends of Remnant."

Vernal faltered for a moment before recovering her confidence. "Oh?" she asked, "It's not like we're used to avoiding authorities..." she said, before Aurora cut her off.

"They won't be using legitimate means."

"And that's supposed to frighten us?" Vernal asked, trying to hide her nervousness.

"Haven't you noticed there are a lot less bandits than there used to be?" Aurora asked, and a shocked look appeared on Vernal's face. She then breathed in deep to recover a semblance of confidence.

"It's a shame you're a Schnee." Vernal said to Weiss, "You'd probably do quite well around here."

"I," Weiss said and paused to steel herself, "would never sink down to your level."

* * *

"Miss?" Aurora asked her.

"Yes?" Weiss asked.

"I would advise you from antagonizing our captors." Aurora stated.

"I don't intend to stay here that long." Weiss said, and tapped her new shoes onto the ground, causing a small Glyph to appear with a torso from an Arma Gigas.

* * *

A large commotion could be heard from outside the camp, as Weiss had the tiny Arma-Gigas cutting through the cage. Aurora stood up and looked over to the gates, seeing them blown open. "It seems goldilocks has come knocking at the door."

"Why does that remind me of someone?" Weiss asked.

* * *

"Yang?!" Weiss asked.

"Weiss?!" Yang replied.

"Ah..." Aurora stated.

"Aurora?" Weiss asked, and Aurora stepped back. "Well," Weiss continued, "subtlety is out of the window."

* * *

"You two, my tent, now." Raven said, and turned back into her tent.

* * *

Yang and Weiss hugged in the middle of the bandit camp, with Aurora standing awkwardly behind Weiss.

"Your new arm is so warm." Weiss nearly moaned, and Yang just hugged her even tighter, Aurora awkwardly standing nearby.

"I love you..." Yang whispered, and Weiss did not reply.

* * *

Yang with Weiss immediately behind her walked into the tent. Aurora tried to follow behind her, but Vernal stepped in front of her. "She did not invite you." Vernal stated, and Weiss paused, turning to look back at her.

"She's with me." Weiss stated.

"She - was - not - invited." Vernal repeated.

"I could summon the Arma-Gigas again." Weiss stated, and Raven reappeared at the entrance.

"If she comes in here she will learn the disturbing truth about the world that will shake her faith in whatever it is she believes."

"I would feel," Aurora said and paused, "more comfortable - by my Mistress' side." Aurora stated.

"If Raven says so, no one in the camp will touch you." Vernal stated.

"Which she has not." Weiss stated. Weiss and Yang looked in Raven's eyes, and Raven just turned back into the tent.

Yang looked Vernal in the eyes, "I don't know who the little bit is... but..."

"Aurora Ainsley." Aurora held out her hand.

"Yeah, really not the right time." Yang said, and turned back, looking between Raven and Vernal. "I don't know who's she is, but if she's with Weiss, she's with me."

"Thank you." Weiss and Aurora said at the same time.

"That's..." Yang voiced, "going to get on my nerves."

"All three of you, in my tent." Raven stated, she then turned to the bandits outside, ""Shay, you're banished."

"Just because she's your daughter?" Shay asked.

"No." Raven simply stated.

"Pfft." Shay replied.

"No," Yang stated, "family only gets one, and I've apparently had my one."

"Then... why?.." Shay asked.

"You seriously don't know, do you?" Raven asked. Shay looked at her, completely failing to understand the weight of what he had done. "You antagonize locals and harass travellers." Again, Shay did not seem to understand what he had done.

"We're bandits!" he exclaimed.

"You would bring the full force of the Kingdoms down on our head!"

"But..." Shay tried to say, before being cut off again.

"We go out and hunt. We keep a low profile back home. Because if we don't - we're all dead."

"Well, just because..."

"Just because you're going to bring the full force of the Kingdoms down on us?" Raven asked, "You also picked a fight."

"So?" Shay defiantly said.

"And lost." Raven continued.

"Well, she's..." Shay tried to say.

"Obviously a Huntress." Raven said to him, "And after you picked a fight with her and lost, you pulled the rest of the tribe in on it."

"But..." Shay tried to say.

"I thought I made this clear," Raven stated, "we only pick fights we know we can win. If not, we'll end up dead."

"As dead as the villages you destroy." Yang accusingly said to to her.

"Exactly." Raven matter-of-factly replied.

"You can't trust he's not going to blab on you?" Yang asked.

"Of course not." Raven replied, "We'll pick up and be gone before he has a chance to even get to Mistral. He's also going to lose an eye," she said, and turned to Shay, "you might want to decide which one it's going to be."

* * *

Weiss and Yang pensively looked to the ground as they tried to comprehend what was said. Aurora sat off the side, shaking nervously. "And what does your pet think?" Raven asked.

"I..." Aurora nervously said, "was ready... to serve... a Huntress..." She paused, shaking, looking at the ground. She slowly looked up, looking Raven in the eyes. "It really... doesn't change anything..."

"Hm." Raven said with a small amount of respect, "she's a lot more brave than I would have expected."

"You," Weiss accusingly said to her, "apparently don't seem to understand how racist the elite of Atlas are with Faunus."

"Enough to make you their princess." Raven stated.

"There is only one person who can get away with calling me a..." Weiss voiced, and looked off into the distance. She then shook her head and looked Raven in the eyes, "It took far more courage than you could muster to even APPLY to be my assistant."

"So?," Raven incredulously asked, "she's like really important in Atlas?"

"So, what does she do?," Yang asked, "Like a butler?"

"Similar but not at all." Aurora replied.

"So, you get her coffee?" Yang stated.

"Yes." Aurora said to her, "If she asks me to."

"What else do you do?" Yang asked.

"Make major purchases, such as her new shoes."

"Swank." Yang stated, causing Raven to scoff. Weiss stood up properly, and then in a moment ice spikes had appeared, doubling the height of the heels.

"Okay..." Raven voiced, "a bit impressive." A giant summoning circle appeared around the tent, with the head of an Arma-Gigas appearing from the ground." "Okay, okay, yeah, impressive, just cancel the giant."

With this the giant's head and summoning circle disappeared.

"Transfers assets into non-recoverable accounts." Aurora stated.

"Huh?" Yang asked, and Raven just looked her firmly in the eyes. "What?" Yang asked.

"You... can launder Lien?.." Raven asked her, and Aurora nodded.

"Or, at the very least, make her funds untouchable from her father."

Raven then looked at Weiss, "So, why do you trust her so much with your money? If it was me, I would have just taken the money and ran right away."

"Because that's exactly what Father would want." Weiss replied, followed by an affirmative huff.

"If I did betray her," Aurora stated, "I would not only be a fugitive, I would lose all of my legitimate income."

"One thing Father taught me is how to write a contract." Weiss firmly stated, followed by another affirmative huff.

"Weiss," Aurora continued, "is also the only member of Atlas elite to truly accept me."

"Who cares if you have the Lien?" Raven asked.

"If all I wanted was Lien, I could have had it years ago." Aurora stated, and Raven looked her steely in the eyes.

"You want respect, don't you?" Raven asked, and Aurora nodded, "Do you EVER think those rich twats in Atlas will respect you."

"Ms. Weiss does." Aurora said firmly.

"Shit," Yang stated, "she's like business amazon. Business Huntress?.."

"She has earned my respect," Raven stated, "whatever that is worth."

"That just sent a chill up my spine." Aurora voiced.

"Yeah... she does that..." Yang stated.

"She's noticed you," Weiss stated," perhaps like a Fey in the woods and mists?"

"Really don't know if I like the sound of that." Raven stated, "I mean, it's ominious and poetic... and honestly reminds me of Tai..."

"Quoth the Raven," Yang said, "I mean, right?" she asked, with Weiss, Raven, and Aurora all looking at her with surprise.

#rwby #firen lhain #faunus au #pollinated knight ending

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oscar-lime · 3 years

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Evil Oz / Salem reincarnates AU?

I'm not super sure what to call it yet... info under the cut because I've been planning this one for awhile now.

Feel free to ask me any questions about it!

• The rules for immortality are different. Salem maybe ends up in a soul different from hers that is meant to help her learn and grow. Maybe Ozpin has to live forever to learn a certain lesson as well (trust? Honesty? Just based on something he is known for doing wrong... I'm not sure on this one yet.)

• Instead of a merge, the more dominant soul in the body will eventually gain most of the control. The other will start to struggle to be in control at all until they are just a voice in the back of the other's mind.

• Salem took control of most of her lives by force... she hated not being in control. Oscar was her youngest host, and she ended up thinking back on her children... so she is now trying to make sure he is himself, and trying to make sure he ends up the body's main soul for a change. Even a heartless monster sometimes feels bad when she realizes her next life is a child.

• Oscar can control grimm, but it takes time and practice. Salem's magic is also extremely powerful, so he struggles to hold it in now since he does not know how to control it at all. (She just really wants him to hit the point where he can control the hound.)

• When using Salem's power to control grimm, Oscar's veins temporarily turn red/black (it's a gradient of both colors)

• "Hello Oscar, I'm Salem. Now leave this sad little farm and go to my castle." "*loud screaming*"

• Hazel is the one to realize Oscar is the next Salem. He has her inner circle. She gained them in slightly different ways in her past lives.

Hazel: Ozma sent his sister into another kingdom, then staged her death and made it appear to be a murder to cause conflict between the kingdoms.

Tyrian: Salem wanted someone ready to kill and cause destruction when she needed it. So she offered him the opportunity to kill whenever he wanted (as long as he followed her orders and didn't kill any of her allies.. she always provides him with grimm or prisoners to harm) and for her to hide him away from the law.

Watts: He could make whatever he wanted and she would provide the materials, but in return he had to help her with technology anytime she requested.

Cinder: She was offered revenge. Salem explained what huntsman and huntresses truly are to her, and offered to help her become strong enough to take revenge on the ones who ignored her when she needed help the most.

Emerald, Mercury, and Neo all still followed Cinder.

Roman was actually hired by Ozma for that whole thing with the trains, along with Adam and the White Fang. Ozma chose to destroy his school like that KNOWING it would cause conflict.

• Ozma is immortal. His inner circle is not actually aware of what he is planning. He wants to watch humanity tear itself apart.

• Of course even if they learn of Salem's existence and unite, it still benefits him since they would be fighting against her, and he could use the tension to draw in more grimm and doubt between the nations

• Oz is ALWAYS subtly feeding Ironwood's paranoia. He hopes James will cause a war for him amongst humanity.

• STRQ originally, like every other huntsman and huntress, believed they were doing good. They had no idea Ozpin had been manipulating all of humanity and the academies just to do his bidding. Some "criminals" are truly innocent. They just stood against Oz in someway so they were wanted dead or alive. If he gets them alive he makes sure to make them regret even daring to stand against him... and of course he doesn't want word spreading.

• Raven left when she found out Ozma's true intentions.

• Tai just settled down with his family and is staying out of it. He figures he has time before the world ends, Ozma can't work that fast right? His kids would totally have time to grow up. (He was heartbroken hearing them say they want to go to Beacon)

• Summer actually discovered Ozma's plans, and was killed for trying to fight against him. She wasn't aware of Salem, so she stood up to him on her own.

• Qrow couldn't believe Oz was bad, not after everything he'd done for them. So he stayed around. Ozma has his inner circle tricked into believing he is saving the world.

• Oz still gave out his magic. Two watchbirds are very helpful after all. The maidens are human, the potential they have to cause chaos and destruction is amazing! Plus then the relics are hidden, so Salem CAN'T summon the gods.

• Jaune died. Pyrrha found out something was fishy when she was supposed to be getting the maiden powers, so she got out of the transfer machine with her semblance when she and Jaune realized. She started out fighting Ozpin, but Jaune ended up taking her place because he had the big shield and told her to go warn the others about what was going on.

• So after the fall the group still travels on, just now they want to get the relics AWAY from Oz and to a safe place. They join up with Oscar + Salem's crew eventually

The lamp is the reason Qrow turns against Oz. When they ask what he is hiding the backstory reveals how he began to hate humanity with time, and the joy he took in watching them fight and destroy each other. Qrow is shattered by the truth since he was supposed to be the one hunting the kids down, but he then decides he has to protect them... and apologizes for not believing them.

Oz still has the upper hand though. Salem only has the fall maiden (the one with the hardest to find relic anyway), some henchmen, and a bunch of children. Oz has humanity already starting to argue and nations not trusting one another, plus the academies at his command. Atlas is going nuts because Ironwood is much more paranoid since Oz has been feeding into that.

• Leo did actually still have connections to Salem. His family was sent to live in her castle for their protection, and in return he snuck her team into Beacon. She gave the orders in her old vessel from her castle. But she made her way there around the fall because she wanted her team out safely. It's not always easy for her to find new minions after all, and she didn't want to lose the fall maiden.

• She had a team in the school to try and figure out what Oz is planning, exactly how he tricks the students, and where the relic might be hidden.

• Leo ends up killed by Qrow (poor bird man), as he is one of Ozma's most loyal followers before he turns and considers what Leo did a horrible betrayal.

The Atlas arc goes EXTREMELY different. Penny is sent to actually hunt down RWBY and co at first, but when she sees it's them she doesn't fight them very hard. She doesn't want to take them... they get away, and encounter her again when they head to Pietro for Maria's eyes. She prepares to fight them, but Maria and Pietro quickly stop both sides. After a long explanation of everything, Pietro and Penny are on their side (since Pietro already could see something was fishy just from his work on the inside)

The happy huntresses recongnize the main cast as fugitives right away and absolutely love them. They weren't sure what these kids did, but placed more blame for the main groups criminal status on authority instead of the kids. The group was happy to have allies to stay with and work with behind Ironwoods back.

Monstra pulls up (Atlas was raised, unfortunately) and RWBY, NOPR, and Qrow are like "Yeah that... that is our ride."

There was definitely still some bloodshed in Atlas. Qrow almost convinced Clover of the truth... buuuut then Tyrian happened and Qrow had the same reaction...

Now the group can't leave Atlas because Mantle is struggling and Qrow and Robyn got arrested.

Oscar is kidnapped by Ozma. He is trying to learn what Salem is planning, where she is hiding the relic of knowledge, and where she is keeping now her two maidens. Out of Oz's inner circle, he chooses to trust Glynda to do the right thing since for obvious reasons, Hazel is not torturing him this time around.

Oscar's outfit is different this time. Orange is his main color, so he keeps the orange. Maybe he gets some sort of cape, but with long sleeves for the cold he tosses over his farmer outfit. He could be influenced by Salem since she is a part of him without realizing and maybe change the gloves to red, and have some red (or red and orange) on his cape. I'm not sure the exact colors yet. Basically though his little cape thing is a jacket that just... doesn't really go past the sleeves. It was the only thing I could think of that wasn't just another hood, and the cape seemed fitting because of Salem's subtle influence. (Oscar does not want to kill people, Salem has no problem killing people. She will forcibly take control of him if she feels he is in danger.)

Silver eyes work a bit differently here. They are basically angels, and their power works best on grimm. However, if they begin to truly believe a human is just as bad as a monster or see them in the same light (even without realizing) they can do a bit of damage to them as well (Maybe turn a bit of them to stone, blast off part of them, badly burn them, etc.).

#please go easy on me if i missed anything... this is the first time i put so much work into an au so i definitely would have missed things #rwby au #evil ozpin #evil ozma #is that a better tag?#rwby #oscar pine #oscar pine au #rwby volume 8 #rip jaune #sorry this is a bit hard to read... it's long and i just pasted it here

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jadekitty777 · 5 years

Text

Successive Failure

I’m a little later then I said I would be on this one. I intended to release this one in-between the hiatus, but one of the final scenes was giving me some trouble, but I still hope it was worth the wait! Ever since this volume decided to bring Qrow’s addiction as a more prominent plot point, I wanted to try my hand at a proper introspective piece for him, and this is what resulted.

Rating: K+

Word Count: 6k

Ao3 Link: Successive Failure

Warnings: Lots of cursing and alcoholism

Summary: No matter how many times Qrow has tried, he has never able to put the bottle down for good. You’d think that’d be his greatest failure in life. You’d be wrong. [A What-If scenario of Volume 6, Chapter 9 – What if Team RWBY found Qrow in a different way]

“Give me the strongest you got.” Qrow ordered the moment he sat down.

The bartender’s curvy mustache waggled as he gave him a sharp look over. “You ain’t from around here, are ya bud?”

Annoyance tinged through him. He knew some bartenders were always out looking for the next strange person to talk with; but Qrow certainly wasn’t interested in spilling his life story. “You’re a regular ol’ Sherlock. Can I just get my drink?”

The other was not amused with his attitude, not that many ever were. In answer, he reached under the bar and placed a bottle on the desk. It was pretty unassuming, just a shade of dark-green, with a label on it that read ‘King Taijitu Venom’ on it. The two-headed Grimm hissed at him from underneath the title. “Argus’ breweries are some of the finest in the world. To the point some of the bottles need special permission to be exported. But this one right here?” He tapped the bottlecap. “Is so potent it’s been illegalized for transport. Only people in Argus can purchase it, and only by the shot.”

As he scanned the words, he quickly discovered why. 67.8 APV. He’d never had anything stronger than 35 before, and it had knocked him on his ass by the end of the night.

He had to admit, it got his interest piqued. “Is it that good?”

“Let’s just say one shot has put even the biggest of guys under the table in the hour. You? I’d give twenty minutes.”

He slid a lien card across the bar, smirking confidently. “That a challenge?”

Qrow has had many terrible ideas over the course of his 40-year lifespan. Sneaking from one bar to another to take two shots of pure poison in a bottle somehow only ranked in the top five.

Still, as he wandered around the streets of – where was he again? Didn’t matter. As he wandered the streets, trying to find his way back to the house, he had to wonder why he didn’t try this sooner. He felt great! The liquor had burned like whiskey but tasted as fine as a martini. Worth every bit of the 200 lien it cost him.

“W-Whoa!” Qrow stumbled as the ground underneath him upheaved, grasping onto a light pole to keep himself upright. A bubbling in his chest turned into laughter and he swung himself around it, doing a decent rendition of ‘Singing in the Rain’ in one of those wishy-washy musicals Tai liked to watch. He let go of it, kicking up some snow bunched along the curb of the sidewalk, before tapping and twisting across the road, going on about sunshine in his heart and other such nonsense.

As he twirled once more on his heels, he noticed two bright lights coming towards him. Ah, right, the spotlight! Time for the big finish! He held up his arms, grinning widely, as the lights sped towards him.

“QROW!” The voice – a fan no doubt – was echoed with a great big noise that must have been the baseline reaching the crescendo.

He took a deep breath, ready to belt out the chorus for his audience – when something slammed into his body with enough force to jar his bones and rattle his brain around in his skull. It made the whole world spin.

“What were you doing?!” The voice, his fan, shrieked from above.

He blinked away spots, confused on how he’d suddenly ended up back on the sidewalk. He craned his neck, trying to focus on the tiny lady atop him. As her face came into view, his heart leapt. “Flowerbud?”

“Ruby!” Another, more boisterous, woman yelled, before she came into view. Huh, when had Raven dyed her hair? “Is he alright?!”

Okay. Not Raven. She wouldn’t care about his wellbeing for a millisecond.

“What kind of idiot stands in the middle of traffic like that!” This third lady was much shriller as she came to stand beside not-Raven. Unfortunately, even in his wildest woes of drunkenness, he couldn’t forget the face of a Schnee.

Which had an even more unfortunate side effect of pulling him out of his stupor enough that he realized it was not Summer but his niece hovering above him. It was also her fist that hit him hard enough on the chest that some of the air rushed from his lungs, making his voice squeak ironically when he gasped out, “Pipsqueak?”

“How much have you had to drink?”

“Uh,” It took a moment to calculate, ��Just two shots.”

“You’re lying!” Something seemed off about Ruby’s voice, but he couldn’t place why. Maybe he was still hearing Summer’s ghost in its tone.

Another hit jolted him from that train of thought. He swiped out for her hands – and was she using her semblance to keep them away from him because he was having an awfully hard time catching them. “Will you cut that out? Everything’s fine.”

“Fine? …Fine?!” He flinched a bit, her voice too loud. “Nothing’s fine! Oscar’s missing, everyone’s upset and you almost got hit by a truck! You, you-!” Lost for words, she just gave a yell of rage, before she was up and storming down the sidewalk, her cloak billowing behind her like a windstorm. After a moment, she gave another cry, kicking a Styrofoam coffee cup so it skittered across the concrete.

He knew something was really wrong though when she fell to her knees, pulling her hood up over her bowed head, wailing loudly.

“Ruby!” Yang hurried over to her.

Above him still, the Schnee and – wait, where’d the fourth come from? – shared a look, before the former nodded her head towards the sisters. “Go on. I’ll get him home.”

“Are you sure?” Blake looked between her and him warily. Not that he cared about that. Not one bit.

“Don’t worry. I’ve… done it before.”

He did however care about his niece who sounded really, really bad. “Kiddo?” He called to her, struggling to get to his feet. By the time he’d managed it though, dainty fingers were wrapping around his bicep, tugging him away from the sidewalk and away from his niece. “Hey, leggo!” His assailant didn’t answer nor concede. He tried to pull away, only to stumble even more when black glyphs appeared under his feet, magnetizing his boots and forcing him to stay on the path. “Ice princess, ya hear me? I said let go! I have to check on Ruby!”

“You’ve done enough.” She wouldn’t even look at him.

He was glad she didn’t because he knew that tone. Had heard it all his life, sewing itself into his head like a song that he couldn’t find the rest of. A tune that just wouldn’t quit replaying those few beats, no matter how many times he tried to distract himself from it.

It was the tone that said: I’m disappointed in you.

When Qrow was 30, he had hit rock bottom.

It had been a slow weathering. At first it was simply the pressure of the underground mission, the secrets so few knew looming along his back like a phantom. Then, Raven left, carving a hole in his team and family that not even Summer and her boundless optimism knew how to correct. She didn’t get long to try before her life was stolen next and with it, she might as well have taken Tai’s as he lost himself to grief so endless, no amount of effort could pull him out of the pit he’d fallen into. Qrow, left alone for the first time, felt like he’d lost all semblance of control. Aimless, guideless, he turned to the only thing that could bring him joy anymore, as false as it was.

He was no stranger to drinking. In the tribe, it was common place for twelve-year-olds to be declared men, and with it, were allowed to sip on the neck of a bottle. At Beacon, he made a lot of his connections through rave parties and throwaway dances, always with a cup in hand and praised for his ability to find ‘the good stuff’. Maturity and fitting in, that’s what drinking meant for him.

Until it didn’t anymore. For as much as he scoffed at his sister for it, he knew – whether physically present or not – he was just as good at running away.

As the years progressed, he became more of a master at that than anything else. By the time he’d truly woken up, Tai had gotten a new job as a teacher, Yang was seven, and Ruby was five. And apparently Qrow, drunk, stupid Qrow, was their babysitter.

But that was kind of the thing about black out drinking. He made promises he hardly remembered and had entire weeks months of his memory just splotched out like a gothic painter got a little too eager when they put the paintbrush to his brain.

So when he finally woke up to a puppy he hadn’t even known Tai had adopted yapping incessantly at him and found the house disturbingly empty, nothing but the grooved tracks of the girls’ play wagon disappearing into the forest left behind, he knew he had fucked up. Cursed himself as he rushed out after them, taking to the sky as he prayed to whatever Gods he didn’t believe in at the time that they would just let him be lucky.

Just this once, please, just this one time and he’ll never drink again.

They answered and he got to bring both the girls home that day.

He repaid Them by trying to convince a seven-year-old to keep a secret she shouldn’t have to hold.

Tai found out anyways, because Ruby was too wide-eyed over just how cool she thought her uncle was to understand why she wouldn’t tell her daddy about his brave rescue.

Qrow remembered that day with more clarity than he would have liked, down to the very way Tai manhandled him out of the house and tossed him into the dirt.

“I’m done.” Tai had seethed. He was beyond livid, red in the face and every inch of him shaking as he contained the need to pummel him six feet under. “You either get your fucking act together or you get the fuck out of my house.”

Though he’d later be grateful, the Qrow that day was nothing but indignant as he rose against him, “The fuck? I save your kids and you kick me out?”

“You were supposed to be watching them!” Tai shrilled back. “I’ve tried my best to be patient and understanding and all you do is spit that back in my face! And you know what? I’m tired! I’m tired of giving you extra money every week. I’m tired of calls at 2 A.M to come pick you up from the bar. I’m tired of having to explain to the girls why their uncle is never around, even when he is.”

“At least drinking’s a better excuse then the damn pity party you’re still throwing.” Even as he said it, he knew he had crossed a line, and deserved every bit of the black eye he received for it.

“You know what? Fuck off.” Tai snarled down at him, before turning back for the house. Turning back from him. “You want to go kill yourself, then be my fucking guest!”

“Y-Yeah well-!” Qrow scrambled for a response, digging as dirty as he could go, “I’m sure you’ll be happy to be rid of me! Better off without your bad luck charm hanging around, right?!”

For a moment, it made his brother-in-law pause but when he looked back at him, there was no sympathy, only disappointment. “Wow. Playing the manipulative card? I thought you were better than that.”

And then, to add salt onto the newly cut wound, the door was slammed in his face and Qrow found himself homeless.

He’d like to say he’d immediately cleaned up his act and came back into the house with his tail-feathers tucked between his legs, but that’d be a lie, so he didn’t. In fact, he never told anyone how he spent the next few months, scavenging about and doing less than savory missions for quick cash to feed his addiction.

His second awakening came when he found himself locked in a prison in Vale after trying to steal a six-pack from the grocery store. Nothing was more pathetic than being given his one phone call and realizing he had absolutely no one to dial.

So he called Ozpin, explaining without explaining that he found himself in a bit of trouble and needed some cash. He had expected to be hung up on. He had hoped to be wired the money. What he got was his former headmaster coming down to the station in person to bail him out. And boy, was that ride back to Beacon ever awkward and uncomfortable, Qrow silently wishing he could sink into the leather seats until he disappeared for good.

Oz didn’t ask any questions until they were closed up in his office, making Qrow feel like he was seventeen and about to be scolded for breaking the holographic projectors in the computer lab. Again.

“So, care to tell me what that was all about?” Ozpin asked, pouring him some hot chocolate.

“Don’t suppose I can just say no and accept a week’s detention like the good ol’ days, huh?” Qrow accepted the cup, even if he likely wouldn’t drink it.

He chuckled in return. “I’m afraid not. Being a graduate means I can no longer dole out corporal punishment.” He pushed off from the desk he lent against, saying as he rounded it, “However, I’m still an excellent listener, if you want to talk about anything.”

He stared hard at his reflection in the muddy surface. “Who says I got anything to say?”

The other sat down, humming, “Well, I suppose if you don’t we can merely spend the time catching up. It has been quite awhile since I’ve last seen you.” Qrow slunk down a little more in his seat, pretending he didn’t know why that was. Oz went about pouring his own cup, adding as he did, “It’s a little ironic you showed up, actually. Taiyang called a few days ago, asking if I’d seen you.” Brown eyes peered at him over shaded spectacles. “He’s worried.”

That finally got him to snort, crossing his heels on the edge of the desk. “Yeah. Sure he is.”

There was a sigh, Oz dropping all pretenses that he didn’t already know what was going on. “Qrow, I understand why you might feel that Tai’s actions were out of spite, but-”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a burden.” He slumped further, setting the full cup on the floor. “Got it.”

His old headmaster gave him a reproachful look, before sternly saying, “No. You are not the burden, Qrow. Your drinking is. You need to separate yourself from the vice if you hope to beat this.”

Beat it? He could hardly live without it. “Drinking IS part of who I am.”

“Do you truly define yourself in your head as a drunkard?”

“Well… what would YOU define me as?” He challenged right back.

“A huntsman.”

It was so simple.

And yet so wrong.

“Ha, haha!” Qrow smacked his own forehead, craning his neck over the back of his chair as he laughed towards the ceiling. “You got to be kidding me! Oz, I haven’t done an honest mission in years.”

“Then do one.”

“Okay, it was funny the first time, not so much the second time.” He spat.

“I’m being serious.” Oz turned slightly, bringing up a display to the left of him, scrolling through a listing. “How about Grimm control in the western sector? Or escorting the trade lines in Argus?”

“H-Hey.” Panic suddenly clogged his throat, Qrow sitting up straight. “Oz, wait. I’m out of practice.”

Hardly deterred, the man hit a few keys to pull up a new list. “Well, there are certainly plenty of easy rank missions to be done as well. How does transporting rations to stationaries sound?”

“Bad. They all sound bad.” He snapped. When that didn’t even earn him a cursory glance, he smacked the top of the desk. “Oz!”

There was a horrible screech as one of the cogs underneath the glass surface suddenly popped out of place, the rest of the gears coming to an awful, ear-piercing stop. They both looked down at it, Qrow giving a low groan before thumping his forehead on the cold, glass surface.

After a moment, he heard a sigh. “It’s easily fixed Qrow. Other things, I’m afraid, are not. Especially the longer you allow them to remain unrepaired.”

When he turned his head to peer up at him, he didn’t know what to make of the look Ozpin was giving him. It was full of compassion and, worse yet, understanding in a way that made his stomach flip sickeningly. “Look, Oz,” He said as he sat up, “I get what you’re trying to do and I appreciate it, I guess. But, it’s not…” that bad. The rest of the sentence faltered in his throat. He hadn’t slept in a bed or had a decent meal in weeks.

He tried again. “I can-” Stop? If he had the means to get it, he’d be downing a shot in a heartbeat.

“I don’t-” Need help? He was just in jail, for maiden’s sake!

And as he tried to find a way, any way, to justify himself, to argue for a desire on the worst of days even he hated, he realized he’d run out of excuses.

If he didn’t do something now, then what? How much further could he lose control of his life, until he couldn’t come back from it?

For the first time in a long time, Qrow remembered what it was like to be afraid of himself.

The strength he found to finally speak was tenuous at best, coming out as nothing but a whisper, “I’ve really fucked up, haven’t I?”

Oz’s smile was kind. “We all do things in life we regret. But, it’s not in those errors that we should crucify ourselves. Rather, it’s in those choices we make after those errors that we should judge ourselves.”

And so, Qrow made one.

For the following months, he stuck around Beacon and spent his days in a waking hell as he forced himself through a rough detox. Daily shakes, cold sweats, physical, aching pain that wouldn’t quit no matter how many painkillers he swallowed down. On the worst of them, the ones where the need became so strong he knew he was going to fail himself, he would have Ozpin lock him in the vault, knowing it was the only place his wings couldn’t get him out of.

When he returned to Patch, it was on orientation for Signal’s new school year. He never really felt cut out to be a teacher, but being a headmaster himself, Ozpin was able to secure himself the opportunity, encouraging him to take some time to recover and retrain himself while also helping the future generation do the same. In a few years, Oz told him, he’d want to see him return to the field as a Huntsman once more.

It was the first time in a long time that Qrow felt eager for something that didn’t come in a bottle. After being lost for so long, finally he was able to remember what he had wanted in life. To be a legend, unforgettable and revered.

But, first, there were a few people he needed to make things up to.

Ruby and Yang were simple. Young as they were, they couldn’t grasp the full impact of what had happened that resulted in his sudden disappearance, just the sorrow left behind and the joy of his return. However, blindsided as he was, Taiyang wasn’t so easily swayed, making it clear he’d have to earn his trust back. So used to breaking things in life, Qrow wasn’t even entirely sure how to fix that, but for once, he wanted to. This was the only family he had left, and by Gods, he was going to make sure he kept them. So, he stuck around and proved to Tai, to the girls, and even to himself that he really could be a functional adult and he didn’t need a crutch in life to get by. What had weathered away was rebuilt even slower, but little by little he was invited to spend more time at the house, doing everything from sharing dinners to marathoning series together. Eventually, he started to call it home again.

It wasn’t until Tai gave him permission to train Ruby that he truly felt forgiven though. He’d never taken anything so serious in his life as he did showing his niece how to be the extraordinary huntress he could already tell she would be.

Despite all his efforts though, he never stopped drinking, not really. He couldn’t manage to fully abolish the itch that would bite at his skin whenever the temptation would get to be too much. The most he accomplished was making sure his addition wasn’t the thing running the show anymore. But it was something. Something he could take a measure of pride in and hold onto.

His life was his again and he was going to make the most of it.

At 40, Qrow found himself waking up in a hospital and was hit once more with the realization he had fucked up.

Three problems made themselves immediately clear the moment he opened his eyes:

The headache beating across his skull was so terrible, taking a jackhammer to it would have been kinder.

The incessant beeping coming from somewhere in the general vicinity just needed to shut the hell up.

The soft whimpers of someone crying was simultaneously the least bothersome and the most terrible.

The last measure was magnified tenfold when he finally turned to see who it was.

“Ruby?” His tongue felt heavy and slurred, even though he knew he was anything but drunk right now.

She jerked, a startled gasp escaping her. She hurriedly wiped at her face. “Uncle, you’re awake!”

He glanced around the room, at the high-tech gizmos settled against the walls and the IV line going down into his wrist, and a sinking feeling started to settle in his gut as he pieced together where he was. “Why am I here? What happened?”

“When we got back, you were on the floor and you wouldn’t wake up. We thought you hit your head.” Ruby swallowed some, her lip trembling. “We weren’t even sure you were breathing and even when Jaune tried to heal you, you just started to-” Her voice caught and she looked away.

Something in him felt like it was breaking, seeing her cry like this. “Rubes, hey.” He tried to reach out for her, but she dodged his attempt, hurrying for the door.

“I got to go tell the nurse your awake. He needs to check, things. I’ll be back in a second.” She couldn’t manage to even look at him as she slipped out the door.

It was more than a second, or even a few minutes, and Qrow didn’t have to wonder why. The image of Ruby, strong, surefire, almost unshakeable Ruby, probably holed up in a bathroom somewhere to compose herself because of him left a bad taste in his mouth and a guilt so heavy he was sure it’d crush him. (Gods, he wanted a drink.) The least he could do was try and look a bit more presentable by the time she got back and not like… not like he was dying. He struggled to sit up, but just a few inches sent a ripple of pain through his stomach and he swallowed down the instant nausea before he could throw up over himself. He laid still as much as possible, waiting out the agony until it passed.

Alright, bad idea.

He looked around, trying to think. Some beds came with remote-y things, right? It was Atlas tech but Argus was a close enough neighbor, maybe they’d imported.

He had just spotted a possible candidate to his plight, tucked away in the corner of a side table, when the door opened and in walked his niece and a young man in earth-toned scrubs. A gray and white banded tail curled around him as he approached the bedside.

“Mr. Branwen, it’s good to see you up. I’m Nurse Arma.” Qrow tried not to snort over how on the nose that name was. Unperturbed, the nurse continued, “Let’s sit you up, okay?”

Sure enough, the remote he had been eyeing was the right one, and the gears underneath it whirled, slowly lifted him into a sitting position. Qrow had to shut his eyes against another roil of pain – not just in his gut but all over, like he’d been zapped by a thousand volts of lightning dust.

A hand fell to his arm, pinching lightly. “Looks like you’re mostly hydrated again. How are you feeling?”

He glanced quickly to his niece, hidden in the far corner of the room and still refusing to look at him. “Well, ain’t the worst I’ve ever felt, if you can believe that.”

Arma chuckled, writing some things down on the chart he carried as he looked over one of the nearby machines. “Glad to see the alcohol poisoning didn’t destroy your sense of humor.”

“Wait, what?” The fact hit him like a train wreck. He’d been bad before, but he’d never… “That’s what happened to me?”

The smiles were gone, the other turning away from the IV bag to focus on him. “Do you remember anything from last night?”

Last night? A quick glance at the window told him that the sky was a soft, pale shade. He had grown so accustomed to reading it during his years when a clock and a calendar weren’t exactly common finds in a woodland camp, that he knew it was early morning. “I left one bar to go to another and then, I think there were some lights? That’s it.”

That was apparently not what the nurse wanted to hear as he frowned down at him, before glancing across the room. “Ruby, would you like me to tell him, or would you prefer to?”

She withdrew a little further in her corner, murmuring back, “You can. I can’t say it.”

“Alright.” Arma set his clipboard down on the side table, turning his full attention back to his patient. There was nothing about that piteous look that Qrow liked. “The story I was told is your nieces and her friends were out looking for one of your teammates that had gone missing.” Missing? Who had-? “During their search, one of them spotted you running into the street, right in front of a truck. Your niece here used her semblance to get you out of the way, but you were so intoxicated you couldn’t answer why you’d done it. You don’t remember that?”

Qrow could barely breathe. “I… N-No.” Had he been trying to…?

Oh gods, and Ruby and Yang had both witnessed it.

The armadillo Faunus only nodded and continued, like he wasn’t shaking up Qrow’s entire psyche. “One of them brought you back to the house, before going back out to continue her search, hoping you’d be able to just rest it off. But in the meantime, your blood alcohol concentration continued to rise, until it reached dangerous levels. That was when your teammate that was supposedly missing returned to the house, and he found you lying on the floor, unconscious and unresponsive. He called the rest of your team to notify them of the emergency, and they all rushed back home. One of your other teammates tried to use his semblance to heal you. He didn’t think that it wouldn’t work for a non-physical wound.”

He braced himself as he braved asking, “So, what happened?”

“If I had to guess? His semblance probably jumped your BAC into the highest peak possible.” The man held out his hands like a consolation even as he delivered the blow, “You had a seizure. Two, in fact. One there, and one shortly after you were admitted to ER. During the first one, you bit through your tongue enough that we had to stitch it.” Well, that explained why talking hurt. “The one here was much more severe. You would have asphyxiated on your own vomit had you not have had anyone to clear your airways. After that, the doctor ordered a catheter to clear some of the fluid in your bladder and an IV for the dehydration. We’ve been monitoring your progress overnight. Thankfully, no other complications came up; but, as you can imagine, it was a pretty scary experience. For everyone involved.”

Qrow couldn’t look up anymore, and instead stared down at his trembling hands, feeling the shame and humiliation tangling its way through him. “Yeah…”

He heard a sigh, Arma picking back up the clipboard. “You’re very lucky, Mr. Branwen. Had they been even an hour later, you probably wouldn’t be here anymore.” He stepped towards the doorway, saying as he went. “The doctor will come check on you in a bit and release you once she’s confirmed you’re well enough.”

With him gone, the following silence was almost suffocating. It felt like it took everything it had in him to speak up. “So uh, hey kiddo, what say we order some hospital food and complain about how awful it is?”

No answer.

“Or, maybe a game? I’m sure my Scroll’s somewhere.”

He saw her jaw twitch but her eyes remained stubbornly focused on the window.

His hands curled into the sheets. “Ruby. Say something. Please.”

“You want me to say something?” She said, turning, a storm in her gaze. “Okay. I’ll say something.” She stomped towards him, stopping at the end of his bed and yelled, “Do you know how mad I am at you?!”

“I-”

“No! Shut up!” She cut her hands through the air, her voice rising another octave, enough to make him flinch. “Do you have any idea what it was like, coming back to you just lying on the floor like that? I’ve never been so terrified as I was sitting out in that waiting room, wondering if you were even gonna make it!” She hitched over another breath, tears flowing anew. “What was I gonna do if you died, huh?! What was I gonna tell dad? That his best friend was just too STUPID to control himself? And Yang’s so upset with you, she won’t even come in here!” She lifted her arms up to the ceiling as if to curse the heavens, “I don’t even know I feel! I’m hurt and sad and, and- I just want to shove Crescent Rose through your head!”

As quickly as it was there, the bluster blew out of her, and as her arms fell and her body slumped, Ruby looked almost small again, in a way that made Qrow remember the innocent, little girl who so looked up to him for so many years. Looked at him like her idol and hero and who would go around school telling anyone who would listen about how her uncle was just the best and she was going to be just like him. Who would bounce at the end of his bed, bright-eyed and begging him to tell her another story about his missions or who would don her blanket like a cape and go running down the halls, fighting off imaginary foes.

And in her visage now, he could see that vision of him shattering around her. It pained him, to realize he’d caused it. He never meant to fail her too.

Ruby sniffled, saying to the tiles, “I know what Professor Ozpin did hurt you, Uncle, and it’s been real hard for you. But you were wrong about something.” She looked up, catching his gaze and holding it in a way she couldn’t before. “You said no one wanted you, but that’s not true. I will always want you to be a part of my life.” The words struck him in the chest, and he couldn’t breathe again. “If dad and Yang were here, they’d say the same. I know you think you’re unimportant and unneeded, and I think you focus so hard on that you can’t always see it, but you are family. And us losing you will break it more than you think it will.”

Qrow twisted the sheets in his hands. “Ruby, I-” His voice faltered. Fuck.

“I just…” She lowered her head. “I don’t know what else to do, uncle. What am I doing wrong?”

His eyes widened.

“If I could just figure out how to-”

“Stop.” Though his voice had been firm he barely felt steady, everything around him ready to upheave. He watched the way his knuckles turned white, the way his arms trembled. The way a single droplet fell from his chin, splotching a wet spot into the sheets. “Look. I know you want me to say I’ll just quit and everything will just be fine. But, I’ve been trying for years. I… don’t know how. To stop.” He chuckled bitterly, hitching over a sob. He couldn’t remember the last time things hurt this bad. “It’s like my semblance. I don’t want it, but I can’t get rid of it, either.” In the corner of his eye, he could see the blur of red growing closer. “But none of this is your fault, kiddo. All this? Being here today? It’s on me and me only. You, Yang, Tai?” He finally looked up at her. “You guys aren’t the reason I fail. You’re the reason I try at all.”

This time, when she hugged him, he didn’t try to pull away like he had at the farm. Instead, he sighed and sunk into it, enjoying the rare warmth and comfort it brought, even if he wasn’t sure he deserved it.

“Uncle Qrow?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

Qrow blinked his eyes open, staring at the silver rose-patterned emblem pinned to Ruby’s coat, seeing his reflection in it. He smiled weakly back at it. “Yeah kiddo, love ya too.”

Qrow stepped out of the bathroom, adjusting the last button to his dress shirt. “Gotta say, my normal clothes are definitely more comfortable than that scratchy gown y’all threw me in.”

“I’ll lodge a complaint with the fashion department, just for you.” Arma quipped, placing a tray on the side table, nodding to it. “Your personal artifacts.”

“Thanks.” He still felt sore and his tongue was a definite mess – he’d decided to take a look at it the moment he had access to a mirror – but after a small meal and enough water to fill a lake, his nausea and his headache had both tempered. Enough for the doc to clear him for release.

“Take care, Mr. Branwen.” Arma headed for the exit but as he reached the threshold, he paused, looking back. “And… for your sake, I hope I don’t see you back here.”

“Yeah, me nether kid.”

Once he��d left, Qrow crossed over to the table, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He pocked his scroll. Slowly slipped back on his bracelets. Then his rings. And, finally, his necklace. All the while avoiding the largest item there until it was all that was left.

He sighed, reaching out and picking up the flask, hearing the slosh as he did. It triggered the itch, the one that left his skin tingling, his mouth watering.

If drinking two glasses of the strongest alcohol in the world was only in the top five worst things he’d ever done, he was pretty sure him undoing the cap of his flask was vying for the number one slot.

“You’re such an idiot.” He whispered as he lifted it.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, following the signs down the hall to the lobby. It wasn’t hard to spot Ruby, between her standout clothing and her high-pitched voice shouting his name as she waved him over.

“Gee, glad the whole cavalry didn’t come running.” Qrow jibed.

She shoved him for it. “They’re outside. The staff doesn’t like a lot of us, uh, ‘weapons-toting kids’ hanging around.”

“Well, at least we’re already here when firecracker decides to deck me right back through the front door.”

“Uncle…” She reprimanded as she turned for the exit.

He followed after her. “Bet you five lien she does it.”

“That’s awful!” A beat, then Ruby smirked. “How about a box of chocolate-chip cookies instead?”

“Deal.” He chuckled, throwing an arm across her shoulders as they walked through the doorway.

Back in room 104, it wouldn’t be discovered until the orderly finished cleaning up the room.

Left upturned in the sink just outside of the bathroom was single item.

A metal flask, the last droplet of alcohol having drained out of it some time ago.

#qrow branwen #ruby rose #ozpin #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

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itsclydebitches · 5 years

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RWBY Recaps: Vol. 5 "Lighting the Fire"

This is a re-posting from Nov. 4th, 2017 in an effort to get all my recaps fully on tumblr. Thanks!

I would like to begin this review by extending a heartfelt apology to Yang Xiao Long. I should have never doubted her.

A few posts ago I mentioned how surprised I was that Yang would choose her Mom over Ruby, especially given her character short on top of an already single-minded personality. If there’s one thing that can be truly said to define Yang, it’s the love and protective streak she has for her sister. So I was thrilled at the reveal that this whole trip was essentially a strategic smokescreen. As Yang puts it bluntly: “I’m not here for you.” She’s always been heading towards Ruby. The only reason Yang is making this emotional pit-stop is because Raven can save her time.

We’ve known since the train that Raven can open portals, but until now it’s been up in the air whether that’s her semblance, something extra (like Qrow’s morphing ability), something that was bestowed on her, etc. Well, it turns out that first time’s the charm. Raven’s semblance allows her to bond to certain people—Yang, Tai, and Qrow—and form portals to their immediate location. Pretty nifty when you think about it, especially since Yang knows Qrow will have found Ruby by now. If she gets to Qrow, she gets to her sis. Except for the fact that Qrow is off looking for more huntsmen. Potential problem?) Still it’s a wonderful twist, especially since RWBY already has enough character arcs about kids trying to reconcile with their abusers. Given Yang’s headstrong nature, it just didn’t feel right for her to try and bond with a long-absent mom. Demand a favor though because “nothing is going to keep me from my sister”? Yeah. That’s Yang.

Not to say she hasn’t changed, of course. Though many are still uncomfortable with the way her PTSD is being written, I’m glad to see that this persistent shaking remains. Obviously not glad in the sense of, “Yay kids suffering!” but glad that we’re given acknowledgment that trauma has lasting effects and Yang will need to continue to work at her new life and against her new fears—things aren’t solved through one good crying session. We get to see her in a real fight for the first time since Beacon and, as many guessed, her new arm is outfitted with a gun to balance out the other half of Ember Celica, doubling as a decent shield in a pinch. It’s also notable that Yang’s style has changed a bit. Her movements are more controlled; graceful even, more like Weiss’ (and isn’t that something given the end of the episode). In short, Yang’s hand-to-hand has become more measured, as opposed to the ‘charge and hit as hard as you can’ technique that we saw pre-Volume 3. It makes sense, given that the last time Yang rushed in without thoroughly evaluating her opponent she lost that arm. Even her conversation is a little cooler. “Good to know, thanks.” This is a Yang that retains her confidence, but with less of the arrogant taunts. She’s growing up and though much of that growth stems from trauma, it’s still lovely to see.

Back in Haven training has begun. Ruby is… really not good at hand-to-hand. But she’s improving! This whole sequence is a study in excellent facial expressions, as two kids—both of whom are uncomfortable with this situation—attempt to beat each other up the old-fashioned way. The animation moves smoothly from comic fear to stubborn determination. Oscar actually manages to land a punch that knocks Ruby down and I laughed aloud at his frantic apology. He shouldn’t have lost focus. Ruby comes back with a swing of her own seconds later.

However, as usual there are significant details paired alongside these humorous scenes. After Oscar takes his hit Ozpin asks, “Mind if I give it a shot?” and immediately takes control. This is interesting, given that just last episode (only a day earlier?) Oscar had to focus and deliberately give up control to Ozpin. It took time. Now we don’t even get to see whether Oscar agrees to the switch—Ozpin is already there.

Now yes, they’re eventually meant to merge into one person, or at least share this body in a way reminiscent of that. That’s presumably the end goal (unless Shannon McCormick’s recent comments hint at something we don’t know yet). However, the fact that we see Ozpin’s power over Oscar in the same episode that Raven drops her cryptic comments brings back the theory that Ozpin isn’t quite as benevolent as we’d like to believe. The only true evidence for that (given his actual kind nature and the fact that Raven herself definitely can’t be trusted) is because that’s just how these stories go. Oh, I have no doubt that he’s doing things for “the right reasons,” but like Dumbledore and Gandalf before him, Ozpin’s quest to do what’s right for the world no doubt involves a great deal of sacrifice, complicating the morality there. If Raven considers Ruby a “lost cause” for so much as associating with Ozpin, that’s a pretty heavy implication--if we choose to believe her--that anyone near him will get chewed up and spit out by this war, regardless of what Ozpin might do to try and stop it. AKA, Pyrrha. Casualties are inevitable. (In fact, there’s a lot of potential similarities here between the corners Ozpin is backed into and Qrow’s semblance. For both, everyone around them suffers, regardless of intent). Ozpin’s screen-time this season has been just a little too lighthearted and his persona just a little too grandfatherly. I’m waiting for when these complications come back up and bite everyone on the ass, reminding them that they’re in the middle of a war.

Anyone who spends five minutes with me in the RWBY fandom knows that Ozpin is my favorite and I’d like nothing more than for him to remain the wise, kindly headmaster figure indefinitely. I want him alongside Team RWBY to the very end. However, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Raven drops some very uncomfortable information about him next episode, the “truth” that she insists Yang and Weiss don’t know about yet. She could be referring to Ozpin’s cursed nature, but Raven has already admitted that she was once in his employ and can clearly never go back to that, so I suspect there’s far more to her discomfort than just a little reincarnation. Whether we believe her—whether that will be enough to turn the audience against Ozpin even more than they already are, especially when it’s coming from someone like Raven—we’ll have to wait and see. And no doubt all of this will tie back to Raven’s work in securing the Spring Maiden.

The implications of all this are still at least a week off though. For now the training session remains as happy as possible when you’re preparing to take down your world’s embodiment of evil. Ren has a lovely moment where he explains various theories on semblances: how they might be a reflection of your personality, or vice versa, or have no true connection to who you are at all. So basically... semblances could be anything. The magic structure keeps getting flimsier as time goes on. Regardless, Ruby confirms a long-held belief that her semblance came out during training one day (with Qrow?) and Nora was… struck by lightning. And survived. Good god this girl’s life is horrifying.

The big question then is: What is Jaune’s semblance? And what is Oscar’s? It honestly never occurred to me that he’d have a semblance of his own to unlock, rather than just inheriting something from Ozpin. In fact, what’s Ozpin’s semblance? Does he still have one? Or was it lost long ago after his first merge? I'd like to think that he has at least two at all times: his original semblance (or magic, perhaps) and whatever his host is capable of. I'd actually be interested in seeing an Ozpin who retains the semblances of every person he's merged with, but given that Cinder managed to kill him, I doubt we'll be seeing that kind of power. I suppose time manipulation is still a possibility given how that fight was animated, but again, I think we’d have already heard about such a powerful ability if that card was on the table. It's certainly not the curse itself… that was forced onto Ozpin by the Gods. So maybe—just maybe—Volume 5 will give us three semblance reveals instead of just one. And Ozpin’s comment that there are heights to achieve beyond just unlocking your semblance opens doors for power-ups within our main cast.

This is actually a lot packed into the shortest episode of the Volume thus far and if you thought we were finished…

Weiss: “Your mom kidnapped me?”

Yang: “YOU KIDNAPPED HER?”

I nominate this as one of RWBY’s greatest moments. I honestly couldn’t have asked for more from their reunion. Harking back to last week’s episode, Weiss demonstrates that she really doesn’t need anyone to save her. Yes, she was still in that cage, but only because she was going for subtly and strategy over a brute-force escape plan. (Remember, that’s Yang’s territory.) When she sees that Yang is somehow here that plan goes straight out the window. One knight at full strength and Weiss has busted out of her prison, running to back up Yang in a very outnumbered fight.

RT knows when to cut things back though and reminding everyone that, ahem, the Grimm are still a formidable enemy was a smart move. Raven might not have any qualms about fighting family, but she won’t let that anger draw a whole horde of Grimm to her camp. She gives Myrtenaster back to Weiss and invites them inside for that talk.

But first we have this.

I love that Weiss hugged first. I love that she freely abandons Myrtenaster in hostile territory to do so. She never would have done that a year ago. They’ve been through so much though and the fact that she can freely say how much she missed Yang says heaps about her character development.

It’s a beautiful shot to end the episode on. And if you listen closely, there’s the sound of Freezerburn shippers sobbing happily in the distance…

Other Details of Note

Raven’s bandit sitting waaaaay far back on Yang’s motorbike. Bet you ten lien he tried to wrap his arms around her waist and got another punch for his trouble.

The click of gears we hear as Yang stretches her arms. Nice touch there.

“I’m her daughter, after all.” There’s some of the taunting Yang we know and love.

Can’t say I was a fan of the music during the RJNR-Ozpin-Oscar chat scene. It felt… sitcom-ish? That’s not quite right, but too upbeat and noticeable for the moment. I shouldn’t be distracted from the conversation by whatever the music is doing.

I found Raven’s first greeting to Yang creepy in the extreme. You’re so strong and patient, doing everything you can to make your dream a reality. Talk about trying to butter someone up when you don’t actually know anything about that person. Raven’s attempts at welcoming Yang ring so false that it just hits home how estranged they are.

We've had a lot of 'crane shots' (for lack of a better word) this Volume: during Salem's conversation with Lionheart, before Sienna's assassination, now as Yang confronts her mother. I'm not sure what exactly to make of this yet, only that it's been a frequent technique the last few episodes and has definitely caught my attention.

#rwby #mymetas #RWBY Recaps

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flightofaqrow · 4 years

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high lonesome place

qrow + Lifa Hakon ( @lifahakondotter )

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Lifa tapped her fingers awkwardly on her thermos, as she glanced the boy up and down. Not an Atlesian student. “You’re one of those Vale kids. The hell are you doing up here? Aren’t you all allergic to weather below thirties?”

“projected aura?” qrow answers, any indignant tone only matches hers, doesn’t escalate, “…well that and growing up without heat. mistral and vale may not be as cold as atlas all the time, but there’s a few winter nights that could give it a run for the money.”

“I am also not from Atlas. The city, I mean. I’m more used to a hearth than the fancy heating they have in this school.”

she had sense, if her clothes and attitude are anything to go by, and style, admittedly. he’s only beginning to learn what the typical atlesian is like, but he decides he won’t mind her company at all. that’s part of the vytal festival purpose anyway, right? creating ties between the kingdoms.

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The wind had calmed for one night to let new snow fall at a soft, leisurely pace from the dense clouds above and the closest things to stars Lifa had to look at were the city lights. Gods, she missed stars and the aurora borealis of her home but…this would have to do. She really wasn’t allowed up here. Many teachers had said so. Many teachers ignored. So when she heard the scuff of a foot behind her, she snapped her head around at the intruder with a withering look to drive them off. “Oh.” Not a teacher. Lifa tapped her fingers awkwardly on her thermos, as she glanced him up and down. Not an Atlesian student. “You’re one of those Vale kids. The hell are you doing up here? Aren’t you all allergic to weather below thirties?” She wasn’t truly hostile, if only being guarded.

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Raven, ever the competitor, and Summer, ever the dutiful, are training hard alongside fancy atlas tech for the festival. Tai had stayed behind to “watch.” not that Tai ever really came with him on these excursions, but he is used to having his sister to sky watch with. qrow can’t complain, really. some solitude is always nice.

he has no idea about the rules here, and anyway they’ve never stopped him from making his way to a rooftop before. he halts his steps when he realizes solitude does not, in fact, await him there.

the girl’s dagger of a look only earns an equally pointy quirk of his brow, slightly impressed at such instant and zealous territoriality. an atlas student, then. as if the attitude didn’t already give it away.

“projected aura?” he answers, any indignant tone only matches hers, doesn’t escalate, “…well that and growing up without heat. mistral and vale may not be as cold as atlas all the time, but there’s a few winter nights that could give it a run for the money.”

he scans the rooftop. there seemed to be plenty of room to stay the hell away for his own purposes, if needed. “anyway, definitely not up here for a fight, Spitfire. they’ll be plenty ‘a that comin’. thought i might kick back and check out what the atlesian view has to offer.”

apparently a fiery redhead is part of it.

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Electric or gas heating was a luxury in Gulheim limited to public spaces. Most personal abodes were warmed by a large fireplace and other old world methods like heated bricks in the foots of beds, hot water bottles, wool, tapestries to insulate the cold from stone walls…Lifa’s expression softened slightly. “Wasn’t asking for a fight. I’m just used to people telling me to get down but if you’re not going to complain, neither will I.” She didn’t feel right about telling him to go. Anyone who needed the peacefulness of this place was welcome to it. As tense as it made her to be around another stranger, Lifa couldn’t let herself by selfish. But his casual demeanor made her realize if he’s from Vale, he doesn’t know who I am. Lifa unscrewed the top of her thermos and turned it over to show him the cup, “Does your aura keep you too warm for a cup of cider, peek-a-bangs?”

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it’s a nice change from those at beacon who, when he mentioned something about how he once lived, would suddenly get on his case about growing up like some sort of savage in their minds. understanding is least of all expected from an atlesian. but he’s not about to question it.

“nah, don’t really consider myself in the business of tellin’ other people what to do. unless they’re just bein’ stupid.” loosening his posture, qrow sways and takes a few long strides to meet the girl in her little sitting spot - stopping at a reachable but respectable distance. roofs weren’t exactly the best places to take any chances. one leg extends out while the other knee bends closer to his chest for his arm to rest on. a slight scrunch of his face recalls what he just said and his brain backpedals to clarify for the sake of friendliness, “…you’re not.”

smooth.

“an’ sure, i’ll take some cider. if you’re sharin’.” he reaches his free hand out for the cup when it’s ready, "name’s qrow, by the way.” not that peek-a-bangs is anywhere close to the worst thing he’s been called. a small jerk of his head knocks that hair at least a little out of the way, if only for acknowledgement and show.

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Well, she could definitely appreciate that sentiment, although he did get another pointed look until he smoothed over the comment. Lifa was sitting with her feet dangling over the edge, the wind ruffling her dense reindeer fur cape around her shoulders that kept her nicely insulated from the cold. Underneath, she was sporting a simple dark blue tunic embroidered with gold feathers at the hem and sleeves, warm brown leggings and her boots seemed to be the same material as her cape. Wool, finely cured animal hide and fur, not at all like the sleek and simplistically colored clothes most Atlesians went around in. She had color and grit and she moved her long braid behind her shoulder as she filled the cup and set it on the roof between them for him to accept. “Damn right I’m not.” Lifa sipped her own cider, sweet and spicy, relishing the taste of home. “Lifa,” she replied, the corner of her mouth turning up in a crooked smile. She watched him toss his hair with a quirked brow, amused by the subtle display of vanity but not at all impressed. “I lead team LARK…And I am also not from Atlas. The city, I mean. I’m more used to a hearth than the fancy heating they have in this school. Honestly, I hate the noise it makes. Part of the reason I come up here. How ‘bout you? Just lurking in the dead of night to look cool?”

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she had sense, if her clothes and attitude are anything to go by, and style, admittedly. he’s only beginning to learn what the typical atlesian is like, but he hasn’t yet seen fur. qrow believes her, and decides he won’t mind her company at all. that’s part of the vytal festival purpose anyway, right? creating ties between the kingdoms.

“Lifa,” he repeats, taking the cup, letting it warm his hands against the cold air, tasting the flavor of the name before moving on to the cider. “simple. i like it.” (which was he talking about…?) a few more sips as she speaks leave a pleasant burn of spice and heat in his throat, yet still leaves him slightly wanting.

“…gotta admit, it kinda reminds me how long s’been since i had a proper jug of mead around a fire,” the smallest hint of mischief slides into his side-glance, checking her face for confirmation of a theory that being around a hearth not-from-atlas-proper meant a home with at least some shared libations around it, like his had. “anyway, oh man, agreed! i’d take the crackle of flames over bangin’… uh,” what was the word… “ - ventilation any day. can barely hear the crickets at night with that kinda racket.”

he shifts his gaze toward the sky. not quite as open or sparkling as he’d been hoping, considering all the mountains peaks and lights, but it beats four walls and a ceiling.

he catches her sarcasm, but decides to take it without question as a compliment that he’s succeeding in looking cool. “like i said, i’m here for the view. never been too good at sittin’ still in a school all day. rest’a my team - oh yeah, that’s STRQ,” she’d mentioned hers, so he throws it in too, “they’re trainin’ late. so it felt like a good time to explore. an’ no better way to get the lay of the land than from a high point, yeah?”

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A proud smile curved over her lips but she hid it behind the rim as she drank, the taste and heat chasing away any unwelcome cold from her core. But she still relished the nip of it on her nose and cheeks, how she had to blink snowflakes off her eyelashes. At least those things she remembered from home were still with her. “Best cider on the continent. I can’t stand Atlesian brands. The best part of my month is when I get stuff like this shipped from home. Cider, gooseberry jam, smoked venison. Everyone here is obsessed with cheese boards and if one more person tries to tell me about the joys of Brie, I’m going to just start screaming.” At the word mead, he had her attention immediately, as she slapped her hand down on the stone between them for emphasis, “Holy shit, you have no idea! Warm mulled mead is half the point of living somewhere that’ll give you frostbite on your kidneys. The worst part for me is the weird humming noise in the vents, I can’t sleep with that over my head all night.” She didn’t mean to exclaim so excitedly and blinked before returning her gaze back out the city, maybe a little sheepish. She wasn’t used to just chatting with someone so casually, but for whatever reason, he made it easy. “I’m from a settlement way north-east in the mountains and you have to get there by climbing, conditions don’t allow aircraft. I used to climb in all my free time just to see the world like a bird does. When the only thing keeping the wind from carrying you off is a knot you had to tie yourself…best feeling in the world. This is a nice alternative, though. Do you have an Aurora in Vale?”

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indulgence in the majesty of the sky makes qrow miss the beauty right next to him. he may not look, but he listens, his own features settle like feathers overlapping, relaxing into contentment. “hey, that all sounds pretty good! can’t complain much about havin’ three square meals of anything, myself. not to say i don’t understand something becomin’ a pain if it’s shoved in yer face all the damn time.”

a slight jump jerks through his body at her excitement, head turning, eyes snapping wide, and cider splashing almost out of the cup. but he quickly recovers with an equally enthusiastic smile. Lifa’s cute for how tough she came off originally. he wishes that didn’t make it all that much harder for him to truly enjoy. well, it only means he can’t stay. for tonight, anyway, he’s already here. and by gods this random atlas girl from a whole other continent is somehow speaking his language.

“hell yeah!” he claps his hand down in deliberate echo of hers, not far off. “it’s unlike anything else, right? don’t know a whole lot about mountains, but i’ve climbed more trees than you’d even believe! right to the tippy-top, i swear!” he’d also fallen out of just as many broken branches, but he leaves that part out.

now he’s looking at her, taking note of more than the sensibility of clothes, like how they drape over the bulk of her physique, the intricate braids styling her hair, and the soft shape of her face. “huh,” he has to think about her question, pick at the back of his brain to recall traveler’s stories and pictures in the books at beacon, “that’s… the fancy lights in the sky, yeah? nah, don’t think vale has ‘em. never seen it if we do. although, i sure wouldn’t mind catchin’ em someday…”

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He echoed her passion with hardly a skipped beat and Lifa took that little sign of encouragement to look at him more closely. He had soft, layered hair that looked like it was designed to be windswept and eyes like raw garnet that made her feel oddly drawn in. Like standing at the edge of a wood and becoming too fixated on a shadow at the very end of where her eyes could go. She hadn’t met anyone in Atlas with eyes like that, nor a voice so charismatically ripped at the edges. “Tippy top,” Lifa echoed, grinning her crooked grin with a short laugh. “That’s cute…Fancy lights in the sky about cuts it. The city lights block them out but if you’re adventurous enough, you can find places outside the walls where they’re not outshone.” Lifa rose smoothly to her feet in a single motion, turning on her heel to walk one foot in front of the other on the edge. But as she did, she would sway one out, tap the side of the ledge and knock the icicles loose. They collided against the stone below, echoing back up as clear and pretty as any chime could. Wind picked up and buffeted her side, but her balance was unshaken at the peak of an eight story fall. Lifa watched the wisps of snow in the distant follow the wind, wishing more than anything to be out there. She was longing for it more than ever, now that she was talking about it with someone who clearly knew that craving. Daring herself to do it, she looked at him and asked, “Is your team going to miss you if you stay out past your bed time?” Bet five Lien he stutters and says no.

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qrow smiles, warm and real. good conversation under an open sky with a like-minded person - this is already going to be a vytal festival to remember. the fact that she’s laughing like sunshine and checking him out in return doesn’t hurt one little bit. a trip to atlas promised to be a cold, snowy adventure into the mountains, and yet here he sits on a whole second rooftop escapade with someone whose conversation feels like when he used to let his feet dangle from a bridge, dipping toes into the creek - a little rocky at first, but then everything chill and flowing.

and then, as most things do for him, that all shatters like the icicles Lifa starts kicking down, down, down so dangerously far onto frozen solid concrete ground. lounging comfortably with sure weight is one thing, literally dancing on the edge of life and death is entirely another. she could have the best balance in the world, with the best weather conditions, impress the hell out of him as a student huntress with her little trick, but having him around the whole new world he has found in this person could still blink out in an instant…!

he stutters, alright, but for none of the reasons she expects.

terrified, he scrambles to put distance between them as quickly as he can without startling her. hands fly back to scrape and scuttle an uncharacteristically inelegant crab-walk as far away from the ledge as he can get. her cup falls from his grasp in his haste, cider spills, and in an unfortunate display of everything qrow is capable of - it clatters in front of a foot which kicks it off into the distance and down into the shadows.

paradoxically, he reaches out, as if he could catch her from there if she falls, “d-don’t! don’t do that! not…” not with me here, “i’m sure it’s usually fine, but… i’m asking you not to, okay?”

he sighs. so much for looking cool.

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Lifa’s eyes shot wide and she quickly leaned her away to the right, letting her weight carry her over and catching herself on her feet, once more on the safety of a flat roof top. His extreme reaction left her bewildered that a fellow student would panic at her risky maneuver, since in her mind it was no more dangerous than what they usually did. “Are you–” she started to ask if he was alright but he was stammering up a storm. She didn’t care about the cup. Her eyes flicked down to his outstretched hand, understanding the meaning but she took it anyway to try to calm him down. Firm, calloused, warm to the touch even in this chill like she had been sitting by a fire. “Okay. I won’t.” Lifa said calmly, intentionally making sure not draw attention to his panic. She scanned the space around them, as she gently tugged him away from the edge altogether. “Hey. I can show you a better view from the ground. How’s that sound?”

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qrow’s not entirely sure why it frightened him that terribly now that Lifa’s back with two feet on something solid. maybe because their huntsman training at least had purposeful, calculated danger involved, while there are some risks qrow doesn’t see worth taking just for fun. an eight story fall felt pretty extreme, even with the armor of aura.

Raven and the tribe would have his hide for being so weak. but he’s not there now. he is… here. with someone who does not seem to be of that opinion at all. qrow feels the warmth and strength of her grasp, looking from where they connect then up to her face and then away, anywhere else, because this is almost too much to handle. a stunned silence clogs his throat from the fact that they’re even touching. he expected her to argue, tease, make it a challenge, laugh him away for being well, him, in that moment of vulnerability. instead, she’s quick to understand and comply, even holding his hand.

he feels Summer in her forgiveness, can hear his leader insisting that compassion is never something to be ashamed of. he hears Tai, too, telling him to lighten up (doubly so, with a girl involved) - and qrow had originally ventured up here to do just that.

a pout replaces terror as he collects himself. “no,” he assures, “no we both came for the sky view. no reason t’give that up. but let’s stick to where one lil’ slip up doesn’t mean eating pavement at eight stories worth of velocity, huh?”

however, if there’s one thing constantly being knocked down can teach someone like qrow, it’s how to get back up. he’s not used to having many second chances like this. he shouldn’t waste one. his fingers wrap around her hand a give a little squeeze, “an’ no, i don’t have anythin’ like a team curfew to worry about, Sunshine.”

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Lifa waited with the patience of stone for him to come back around and rejoin the conversation with a leveled mind. A life spent around battle veterans, Dust miners and the like, she was no stranger to sudden emotional outbursts that seemed to have no direct cause but she had learned there always was one. Something they heard or saw or felt that set it all off. And she didn’t have to understand it. She just had to respect it. “Are you sure? Because I was going to drag you along on a whirl wind adventure that starts with sneaking out of bounds and into the forest away from the city so we could see the–” Oh, he’s holding my hand. Actually holding it. It’s a back and forth. Okay. Be cool. That was all it took for her to go from confident to bashful, though the only signs were a little more rose in her face and her talking slightly faster. Did she let go? Wouldn’t that be weirder? “The Aurora, since you’ve never seen it before and you’ve got me missing trees now.” In a hasty choice to try and lighten the situation, she added with a smirk, “Unless you’re a soft city boy now and it was all nostalgia?” and she gave his hand a yank to test his balance, a warning she was a rough-houser.

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qrow’s mood recovers quickly. his affection makes her fumble, and it’s not nearly as dramatic of one as his, but somehow helps him feel more even score about it. he idly wonders how used to a stranger’s touch she has ever been. especially with promises of sneaking out and adventuring in forests.

blame the way that little rush of fear got his heart pumping.

she switches from sweet to tough, and her sudden test catches him off-guard just enough for face and posture to widen with surprise, before training and instincts kick in and right him. a push from his back arm and through legs turns her tug into momentum to help him stand.

he doesn’t mind the hidden message at all; he can work with that. all the more, it might even be preferred, because everything comes back to who he is, and someone who can both stand firm and roll with the punches gives him hope of creating perhaps less of a mess. the one security he has ever had in life is another who also lives quite rough-and-tumble.

he appreciates her attempt at banter to boost his ego, he does, but he’s well aware there will be no coming back from panic to preening machismo, at least not tonight. he doesn’t have it in himself to make the effort, or to quip all too clever back at her. seriously, for really reals, just like he keeps saying, he came up here to relax with a view.

so he answers her smirk with the honest mirth of a crooked smile. voice as genuine as the crisp air breaking through the branches of surrounding trees, confessing observation of his new friend’s sense of self, “hah! Lifa, i’ve just met ya, but i’m certain you’re more ‘n capable of deciding what kinda boy i am for yourself.”

he releases her hand, but not without letting his thumb glide over the top of her wrist in slight counter suggestion of a more rascally side. …or maybe that would be considered too soft of a gesture and more to her point? maybe he’s simply capable of both. qrow dusts himself off and shakes his head.

“i’d be plenty happy to sneak away with ya, but how ‘bout on a different day? we’ve got the whole festival, right? i like it just fine up here for now.” he also needed to leave himself some time to go find that cup before bed, even if she’s seems to have forgotten it already.

“…‘course if you wanna go now, i can’t stop ya.” he wouldn’t blame her. he can’t be great company acting all over the place like this.

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“You seem like a nice boy, Qrow.” she said, genuinely and innocently.

This was alarming. And how stupid it was for it to be, of all things to make her stumble, this was it? A beautiful boy with a soft smile and touch but a rough voice and confidence that hid an unknown element? Right about now, if she was home and anyone important knew how warm her face felt and how impaired her judgement was, she’d be grabbed by the ear in a second by a bemused mentor. Lifa backpedaled, literally, her feet moving quickly around him towards the door as she stopped and fiddled with the thermos for a second, trying to get a grip. Don’t be silly. And don’t get excited. Yes, it’s nice he doesn’t know but it’s not nice to hide it. “Noooo no no, you’re right, we have time. I mean, I’d like to– find you again and do that, if you really want to.” Smooth. Deep breath. “I’ll leave you with some peace and quiet and uh, cider, for now.” With that, she put the thermos down on the roof top and gave him an awkward wave as she continued to back towards the exit, before bumping her back against the door. “Don’t fall asleep in the cold, alright? Frostbite.” she added, before her hand found the doorknob and she disappeared down the staircase.

#* standing next to you at this altitude the world makes sense = lifahakondotter *#* at the end of all of it i found you = solar wind *#* i gave you my life = past *#* how do you think legends and fairy tales get started? = thread archive *#this is such a good thread #yes

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