#Every family has secrets they dont share until the recipients are READY to hear it

[littleblackqrow]

((I keep seeing people question why Taiyang didnt tell Ruby about her eyes, or Yang about her mom, and I really need people to understand something: Tai has lost both of the women he loved: Raven abandoned him, and Summer died. While Qrow is still around, in a sense, he’s also somewhat lost and is drifting further and further away as his alcoholism steadily gets worse over the years.

Yang and Ruby are really all he’s got,

Losing Summer sent the poor bastard into a catatonic fit of depression. If Yang’s recollections are accurate (I’m not going to doubt them, but I am going to say that her memories are coloured by being a little girl who was also hurting and couldnt understand why her dad couldnt be there for her), Tai tried his best but there were days he wasnt able to get out of bed. 

I want to be very clear that his struggles with depression do not make Tai a bad dad. Given his current state, Tai clearly took responsibility for his mental illness and got help in some form. Anyone who has struggled with mental illness knows, however, there are some days that you just cant fight it. A small Yang might remember that happening more often than it actually did because memories are fickle, especially childhood memories.

Its understandable, then, why Tai would want to shelter these girls from some of the evils of the world. As I’ve said before, Yang has already displayed that she is willing and capable of running away in search of Raven. Her mom is on a different continent in the middle of the Grimm infested woods, and in a tribe of bandits that make even the Headmaster of a Hunting Academy nervous. Qrow, a former member of that same tribe, had five skilled fighters with him, and Leo, and still went out to get more help to deal with the Branwens. No responsible father would just let his daughter wander into that without an escort or without training so that she could handle herself.

And no responsible father would let Yang go to meet her mom without some emotional maturity, and critical thinking skills to really be able to take in who Raven was and how different she was from whatever image Yang had built up in her mind.

As for Ruby and her silver eyes, the Fairy Tales of Remnant had Tai narrating the Watcher in the Woods fairy tale. He did not finish with the last line of the story which talks about the Silver Eyes. Tai visibly tears up, probably because the line about falling in love as soon as he saw her silver eyes hits home. It would be well known to any member of Oz’s inner circle that Silver-Eyed Warriors are hunted by Salem’s forces. Qrow even says as much when he’s telling Ruby about it. 

Why would you tell a child that they are in mortal danger, when, instead, you can surround her with adults with the skills to protect her. Ruby got to have a childhood where she could grow up without having to constantly look over her shoulder out of fear. She had people like Qrow Branwen protecting her, after all.

And even with his fears of loosing his daughters, Tai didnt prevent them from following their dreams. He didnt forbid Yang from becoming a Huntress, even though he had to know looking for Raven was an eventual goal. He didnt stop Ruby from growing up to be a warrior either, and allowed her to use one of the most dangerous and difficult to use weapons known to Remnant. 

I can already hear people say, “But he didnt want Qrow to tell her about her eyes after the Fall of Beacon.” See: the girls are all he’s got left. A cataclysmic event has just happened. Ruby was in a days long coma, and Yang was maimed. I think getting both his daughters back in that condition gives Tai the right to be a little overprotective. He knows his kids, and he knows once Ruby learns about her powers, she’s going to do exactly what she did: leave because its her duty.

Remember also, she’s 15/16. She doesnt even have a driver’s license. 

Tai is not a perfect dad, but god dammit, he’s doing his best.