#Add that cape to an outfit that absolutely does not have that option in canon

[largemandrill]

Giving my tarnished a cape just because I think he should be allowed to have it 👍

[carishio-blog]

Favorite Overall Character

So yesterday, I reblogged a post by @vexpercy​ that included an entire list of favorite things about RWBY. I said I wanted to do it as a chance to talk about one of my favorite pieces of animation and to let my followers (current and new ones to come!) get to know me a little better about the show. So, the first thing on the list was “Favorite Character Overall”, and this was a tough one to limit it down to. There are so many characters that I absolutely love when it comes to RWBY, and picking one was a difficult task. However, when I looked at every option and factor, there was really only one character that came to mind:

Qrow Branwen!

To make things fair, I thought it would be fair to look into the entire process of figuring out my favorite, making a small little list that would help people see why I love him so much. So, with that being said here is the list:

-Voice Acting

-Writing

-Design

-Interaction with other characters

-Importance to the Story

-Personal Beliefs (Head canons, art, fan fics etc.)

1. Voice Acting

Now for those that know RWBY, Qrow’s voice actor is Vic Mignogna. His most notable role was voicing the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric in both the 2003 adaptation and the 2009 version, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Vic already came into the show with a very impressive resume, so throwing in him playing Qrow is nothing small. According to RWBY Wiki, Rooster Teeth approached him at an Australia convention where they showed him the overall style of the show, which he was really impressed with! He received a follow up email a few weeks later and BAM! You’ve got yourself the VA for Qrow.

As opposed to the adorable, squeaky voiced Ruby or the more professional, whimsical voice of Professor Ozpin, Qrow adds a certain flare in his speech with his deep, drunken drawl (think most voices for any Wolverine i.e. Hugh Jackman or Cal Dodd in the 1992 animated incarnation of the X-Men.)

While it is debatable about how good the impression is, I personally love it. The tone Qrow speaks with is one filled with a level of confidence and cockiness. He carries himself in a way where he knows that he’s better than you and is not afraid to show it. I would delve further into this, but that shall wait until we get to Interactions with Other Characters. But all in all Vic delivers another amazing performance in my book that leaves me wanting more every time I see him on screen.

2. Writing

Writing for characters in RWBY is always a touchy subject. Most of them are very well written, while others sometimes leave a bit to be desired.That being said, I still 100% appreciate the work Miles and Kerry put into the scripts and have not been disappointed in them at any point really. So with that, how do they handle writing Qrow? Referring once again to the RWBY Wiki, both of them have been on record as saying that he is their favorite character to write.

And boy does it show.

A lot of the interactions we get with him are either hilarious or draw you into the story and lore even more. Along with the great voice acting to go along with it, we really get an interesting character to discuss and listen to.

From the first four volumes, we’ve learned very little about his backstory or even relationship with people from his former team. All we get are little bits of dialogue telling us that him and his sister Raven are part of a very deadly clan, little bits of silent interaction and development with Ruby and Yang’s father Tai in the Volume 3 finale and an image of a photo of his old team that can really be depressing to look at once you look closer at it.

It’s very easy for a character to show all of their cards when they’re first introduced, however the CRWBY have done an excellent job at giving us bits and pieces at not only his backstory, but Team STRQ as a whole. They’ve definitely caught my interest and will be keeping me hooked for however long the show runs (which is hopefully a long time <3)

3. Design

RWBY has always been a show about colors. Colors are everywhere you look in the show, from names of character to the names of teams. Each outfit someone wears along with their aura and name basically suit the overall personality of the character. So what do we get from Qrow?

If it wasn’t obvious enough, Qrow is based of a crow, most notably one of Odin’s birds from Norse mythology, Huginn (I’m not 100% sure about this one. If anyone does know, feel free to let me now!). The colors of his outfit and hair show give us that feel of a relation to the bird he’s named after. Along with that,  the messiness of his clothes and how tattered his cape is give us the vibe that this is man who has seen his fair share of skirmishes and most likely a few bar fights along the way. The crooked cross around his neck also gives us some great symbolism that help show Qrow is not exactly the greatest of people either. However it could be a clever nod toward Norse culture once more, as that usually shows that someone is currently in mourning of someone they lost who was close to them (maybe Summer???).

To top it off, Qrow brings one of the coolest weapons to the table in my opinion. His weapon is a combination of a scythe, a sword and a shotgun. While everyone else has two weapons in one, he’s so cool his mom lets him have THREE! Each one is a joy to see in battle, and the idea of him being the master scythe wielder in Remnant was a statement passed around by Ozpin and Ruby. While we haven’t seen him use it a lot, when he has it has produced devastating results to his opponents. The sword was awesome to see him use in his fight vs Tyrian and Winter, and the shotgun is a nifty little weapon for him to use up close against opponents to chip away at their aura. All in all, his weapon is a great part of his design and just adds to one of my favorite character designs in general. Hopefully we’ll see him use that scythe more in the upcoming future.

Finally, he also gets my favorite semblance in the entire show: misfortune. It’s a semblance that cannot be turned on and off, and it affects those around him. Highlighted in the fight with Tyrian and the song “Bad Luck Charm” that gives me feels every time I listen to it, you get the perfect semblance for the perfect guy (even if it does make me wanna hug him and tell him everything will be alright).

4. Interactions with Other Characters

For someone who carries themselves around the way Qrow does, you’re expecting to get some really entertaining moments with other characters. But before we get to that, I want to establish one of my favorite partnerships and duos in the entire show: him and his niece Ruby

While the bond between him and Yang is very strong (as shown when he offers to help her find her mother and his sister Raven), the bond between him and Ruby is where things really shine. It has been mentioned and implied that Qrow is Ruby’s mentor, the Obi Wan to her Luke Skywalker if you will. He was the one that taught her how to use Crescent Rose and helped her design it, and the bond between the two is heart warming. In all of Volume 4 when she is out with RNJR trying to get to Mistral, he is the one watching over her and making sure she’s safe. Ruby jumps in to help him fight Tyrian (even tough she should’ve stayed back), and watching her try her best to get him medical help after he gets poisoned is something heart wrenching to see. The care for each other is amazing, as he truly does represent the cool uncle trope perfectly.

Besides Ruby, we get some amazing interactions with Winter, Glynda, Ironwood, Oz, Tyrian and even Jaune! From those, we get some really great fight scenes that let him show off his best skills and assets, funny moments and lines such as “He’s always drunk”, and some much needed release of anger that ends up getting directed at him. All in all, the entertainment we get from him interacting with others along with some of the more serious ones with Ozpin, Raven and RNJR keep me personally locked in and focused on what he has to say.

5. Importance to the Story

Qrow is by no means a main character in RWBY, however it is fair to say that he is an important side one. He was the one responsible for training Ruby and helping her become the young woman she is growing up to be, someone in Ozpin’s inner circle that has a great understanding of the world around him and the person that will most likely be helping Oscar become the next “Ozpin” (I don’t even know what to call that. Grand Wizard? The next Wiz? Gandalf the Great?). He gives us a lot of world building in the form of his story about the two gods and the fan favorite World of Remnant shorts. Qrow will be around for quite some time in my opinion, so maybe his role will grow even further as the plot progresses. But for now, he is a pretty important character that has brought some great dynamics and information to viewers and fans of RWBY.

6. Personal Beliefs

Last but not least, we have the section where we talk about fan stuff! Qrow was probably the first character that I really started developing head canons for, and along with RPing it became very easy to find me looking for all sorts of art, fan fictions and more pertaining to him. Along with that, we also have everyone’s favorite topic: ships! I found myself having to really think about who would work well with him in a romantic setting, and only two people really keep in mind (DISCLAIMER: This is my opinion. You can have a different one than me without attacking me about mine. I would actually love to hear your’s, but please remember to be respectful)

(Art by @ellelehman​)

(Art by @reikiwie-art​)

My two favorite Qrow ships are Flown North/Hummingbird (Qrow X Summer) and Snowbird/Qrowin (Qrow X Winter). While I much prefer Snowbird, I really love Hummingbird as well, as not only has @ellelehman​ basically given me a small addiction to it (that she feeds by making more awesome art!), the relationship that I can imagine with them is also just oh so adorable. While Qrow has basically made it clear that he is not a family man, I would love to see a relationship involving him in the show at some point. Ships aside, some of my favorite Team STRQ head canons revolve around him as well. The best example I can give you is the picture that I mentioned earlier. 

(For some reason I cannot post the picture without it not letting me post the entire post, so here’s a link to Google images to show you exactly what I’m talking about.)

If ypu look at it very closely, you will notice a coffee mug stain around summer and tear drops near Tai and Raven. Seeing that really breaks my heart, as I cannot even imagine the pain and guilt he must feel, especially when it comes to his semblance. I get really emotional when thinking about it in general and imaging certain scenarios happening in my head, like if Ruby got seriously hurt and he wasn’t there to help, or if he was saving Winter’s life mid fight and getting flashbacks of Summer, pushing himself to his absolute limit to save her so history does not repeat itself. It’s just a blast for me to think of and drabble these ideas down, as it really connects me more to the character and make me enjoy watching him even more.

Anyways, that’s all for today! I hope you all learned a bit more about me and Qrow as a whole, as it was fun to really talk about my favorite character from one of my favorite pieces of animation. I know it was long, so hopefully I can try and shorten it for tomorrow (no promises though ;3). Anyways, tomorrow I’ll be going over my favorite female Beacon student, which most of you might already know. But with that, I thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a great day! (Thanks to @vexpercy​ once more for the awesome list again!)