#I hope these answers are satisfying!

[emilykaldwen]

@alexandria-millie asked me a BUNCH of Abby questions. Thank you!!

OC Questions on the Seven Forms of Love

Philia 3 - What qualities does your OC most value in a friend? Loyalty? Shared sense of humour? Or something else?

Abby values honesty and trust. She wants to find someone she can rely on in a world where honestly, she can't rely on. Or she does but doesn't quite trust. On a less serious note, she values lightness and humor, she likes friendships that you can escape in. Someone who shares in the optimism, who she can find laughter with. Friends you can have the peaceful silences with, or non stop laughter all night. People who will pull her from her comfort zone and go on adventures. Making friends in Westeros is really fucking hard omg.

Storge 1 - Did your OC's parents love them unconditionally? If so then has this helped them feel confident as an adult? If not then how has this affected them? What were the conditions their family attached to their relationship?

Lyonel and Celeste Strong loved Abby unconditionally. She was the baby of the family, and their only surviving child. Because Abby was so young when she lost her parents, they're pillars of perfection in her head and so part of her character journey is understanding that her parents weren't perfect, and she doesn't have to be perfect. They made mistakes, or were fierce in their own ways, and it's such a valuable lesson.

Storge 3 - How far does parental approval (imagined or expressed) impact upon their current sense of self-worth? What might they sacrifice or attempt to achieve in order to ensure the approval of their parents?

Abby very much is someone who wants to be a good girl. She wants to be the best girl, and she's a little teacher's pet. She's the friend who your parents would trust out of the friend group who you put forward to ask permission. And something Abby struggles with is wanting to be the perfect Lady, she wants to be the best she can be, as she told Otto in chapter one, she wants to reflect well upon her grace, the Queen. And a lot of this goes into that character journey of do I need external validation? or do I simply need my own.

Storge 4 - Does your OC have any siblings? If so then did their parents have a favourite growing up? Has their relationship with their sibling changed in adulthood? If they don't have any siblings then do they perhaps feel they have missed out on an important relationship? Do they have any especially close friends who go some way towards filling that role?

Abby has a few siblings! There was Harwin, and now there's Larys and Corynna, who share a mother. Cory is married to Tyland and Jason's younger brother and lives in Lannisport. However there's such an age gap that basically you could say Abby grew up as an only child. And even with as close to the clutch as she is, she does miss these sibling relationships bound by family like that, which is a big reason why she tries to find them through others. She's lonely, and I think she very much feels like she misses out on it. Her closest friend has been Helaena, and it does go a long ways to filling that role, and now Wylla is there as well.

Agape 5 - Does your OC find it easy to empathise with their enemies? Or do they see it as important to dehumanise them in order to combat them with sufficient determination?

Abby's a bleeding heart lol. It takes a lot for her to be angry, to let herself be angry. She doesn't enjoy being angry, she doesn't enjoy hate, because she sees so much of it (gesturing to team black vs team green). When Abby discovered what it means to have an enemy? It's going to be very interesting but I don't think she would ever need to dehumanize someone to do it.

Ludus 4 - Who was your OC's first crush? How do they feel about it now?

First crush? NOT AEGON (mostly). Her first crush was on Ser Gwayne when he came to King's Landing to brind Daeron to Oldtown. He was dashing and handsome, an image of a true knight with the bonus of not being someone she'd grown up around. No one in KL is like Gwayne. I guess we'll have to see how she feels about it now

Ludus 5 - What seduction techniques are most likely to be effective when it comes to your OC? Are there some things guaranteed to get them going? Or are they immune to such things?

Aegon, who regularly tries to slut himself out of trouble, is probably the better answer on this. Abby's not a tough nut to crack by any means, even though she tries to be. She responds very well to soft acts - tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, murmuring into her ear what you'd like to do to her, the teasing and anticipation work incredibly well for her. Also call her a good girl.

Pragma 4 - After the initial fires of passion cool to some degree, what would keep your OC engaged in a relationship? Shared goals? Similar values? Or contented companionship?

Contented companionship my underrated fave. The peaceful silences. The simple co-existence. Love is a choice that's made every day and I think it's important that amidst the passion, those moments are found. Enjoying each other's company is a huge thing, and actively seeking one another out.

[finehs]

It's difficult for you to say aloud, I know, so I won't ask you to. Rather, I would ask you to consider a proposal. Stay on permanently. 

[cartoonsinthemorning]

I LOVE YOUR STANCEST ART RAAAAHH what’s your top five best stancest fanfic recs?

Thank you so much!!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧💕💕💕 I'm not the best person to ask this to lmao, since 1) I'm a slow reader, I don't have much time to read, and I probably yet have to find some gems and 2) I read and tend to fall in love with unfinished works, that I know many people avoid like the plague. That said, I won't do a top 5 because I don't think any of these are better than the others, but I'll recommend some of my fave Stancest fics so far. I hope you'll enjoy! ❤ "bad moon on the rise" by calciseptine. If you like teenstans and Ford being down bad for his clueless bro, this is for you.

🧡 "The Guardian" by cellard00rs. Stanford travels back in time to check on Stan during his drifter years. I did some trad sketches of this fanfics, I gotta ink them digitally one of these days. 💛 "Brand New", unfortunately by Anonymous. I won't tell you anything, it's best to go into this one blind- I'll just say it got my favorite brand of fucked-up, opportunistic, dark Ford.

💚 "Learning Commons" by Frondere. AU with so much going on, so many elements to keep you hooked...There's many chapters too, so if you're into something rich and lengthy to read, this is ideal! 💙 "Tough as Nails" by sixerstanley. If you enjoy intense, deep exploration of the Stans' feelings, thoughts and relationship, you'll love this one! There's so much tension, and then tenderness, it's such a great read.

💜 "stay (it doesn't have to hurt)" again by calciseptine. Okay, this one doesn't actually get to any Stancest, as it stops at chapter one, but is SO GOOD. Especially if, like me, you love drifter Stan, you should read it. It's just that good.

🖤 "The Pull Of You" by an orphaned account, sadly. The way they're written as teenagers here is so authentic and natural. The intimacy, the tension, the desire, the daily rituals.... Pretty great read, but get ready for the heartbreak at the end.

[definitelynotshouting]

Hi I’m obsesseddddd with your hunger au and after reading the lore doc and the fic I have a couple questions if you don’t mind

Ok first off this isn’t really a question and more like a “huh wouldn’t that be fucked up” thought but uhhhh. So og grian was pretty much trapped in a box and constantly watched while the larva developed right. Did the watchers ever feed off him? Bc I imagine being trapped and just waiting to die wouldn’t be great for your emotional state. Or would they not since he is hosting the larva and that point so they can’t/wont feed on a host? Oh also you said that he made the deal to become a watcher while under duress. I imagine that duress could easily be heightened by some hungry watchers. And having your brain lightly fried would probably make you more susceptible to agreeing to a fucked up situation

And for my second question I was curious how aware the general populace/the hermits are of watchers?? Like are they a known thing and ppl just aren’t sure how they work or what. Because the rescue group had to puzzle out that grian was benefiting from their suffering in some way, but pearl seemed to have some idea of what grian was with the whole “eating our brains” bit so I’m curious what levels of knowledge they’re operating with here

Anyways thanks for reading my silly little thoughts on your amazing au!! It’s so fun I’m having such a good time with the horrible things happening

Im so glad you like the fic, anon!! :DD im always so touched when people tell me they enjoyed it enough to read the lore behind it-- gods ive gotta update that, there are a sizeable amount of newer asks i havent added to it yet, plus my beloved friend @/corvidaearts made a proper carrd for it on my birthday that i plan on replacing the google doc with!!! Just, uh, as soon as i add aforementioned posts dkcjsjdjfj

That would be super fucked up if they fed on him while he was trapped, OUGHHHH.... id say in canon probably not, because feeding off of one Player is really really dangerous for them, and Grian was now a host for their experiment to see if they could bring their population back up. If anything, nobody touched or interacted with him beyond the bare minimum it took to keep him safe from any potential respawns, and it was likely only the colony elders who even had direct access to him in the first place. THAT BEING SAID..... GODS THATS FUCKED UP I LOVE IT. And, well, i suppose one Watcher did feed on him.. which was Grian himself, as he emerged from his Player cocoon. Player!Grian's final moments of agony and terror were amplified to the max as his Watcher-self's very first meal, and that haunts Grian a lot late at night if he lets himself think about it

The duress he was placed under to become a host in the first place involved a significant amount of heightened emotional leverage though, thats for sure. One of these days i need to map out how exactly that went down, but i know that it involved an offer that was not actually an offer, several lies through omission, intimidation tactics that spanned the entirety of Evo in the first place, and using Grian's own fear-- both of them, and for his friends-- against him. Real fucked up situation all around 😔😔😔😔

General populace does not know much if anything about the Watchers!! The Watchers are, aside from this one colony, pretty much extinct; even before that, they relied quite a lot on camouflage and secrecy to keep their presence from being discovered, both by their prey and by the Seekers that hunted them.

Some very very old Players might know whispers of information-- rumors from the tail end of a game of telephone, as it were. And there are for sure a few individuals here and there who know of them due to personal experience (including the entire Evo crew, which was ofc a special case), but because Player information is not centralized in any capacity in this universe, the vast majority of Players have zero knowledge that Watchers even exist, let alone what they do and how they feed.

Pearl, with her previous knowledge and experience with Watchers and how they operated while involved with the Evo server, made some really good educated guesses about how Grian works and what's going on with him. And ofc everyone on Hermitcraft, plus all the lifers, knows that Grian at the very least can manipulate Player emotions to an extreme degree-- putting those context clues together, you can piece together quite a few connections. She doesn't have the full picture, but at this point in time she's basically figured out a good chunk of it. The rest will have to come from Grian himself >:]

[nilboxes]

How do you think Aventurine would react if Ratio got seriously hurt?

I would make a little caveat that I think my read on Aventurine is a little more niche on the account that I had to characterize Aventurine prior to his release and really do not see him through the lens of his nihilism/trauma in 2.1 as I consider it to be Aventurine at his lowest and not exactly true to his baseline.

The very basis of my Aventurine is greed and control these two concepts I feel is what defines him as a character. A gambler is inherently greedy, always clamoring for more more and more, though there is something about Aventurine that speaks to a great hunger for control. I find him extremely contradictory as a character, but it goes that way, and as someone whose life has been characterized by gambles, games and everything boiling down to luck, all Aventurine has control over ultimately is himself and he has really worked hard to gain control of himself and his emotions.

So let's say Ratio got seriously hurt, assuming through battle or a dangerous situation. Perhaps say even Aventurine was overwhelmed and could not fully protect Ratio, but Ratio falls first, he bleeds, it looks dire. Aventurine would know immediately something's not right when the near-fatal blow hits even without looking and his heart seizes, he stops breathing as he looks and fully registers what just happened.

But he wouldn't cry. He stops himself from crying. He wouldn't even make a sound, but it is suddenly extremely clear to him he had failed in protecting Ratio and there might not be taking it back. So, he digs deep and thinks for a moment.

A lot of what Aventurine does and how he operates is always in dominos, he nudges here and there for results, and he never really gets his hands dirty, but his first instinct here would be to do so, and he would do it with cold silent fury. His eyes are dead blank, nothing really sane is going on behind that, he is intent on the full eradication of whatever or whoever it is that hurt Ratio.

Still he doesn't lose it. He wreaks destruction in a very calculating manner, can imagine him dropping the chips from nowhere or beating someone up with his bare hands and he does it with his eyes going wild, a small smile on his lips like how dare they hurt his precious Ver, and he would make sure nothing is left.

Then he would have to look at what's going on with Ratio and with whatever it was destroyed and maybe they are sort of in the clear now he would lose it, only a little. He would look absolutely devastated in a way that you can tell his entire world is collapsing. Veritas Ratio is Aventurine's world, after all, his inspiration and his meaning. He would gather Veritas into his arms and try to first aid, reach for his healing spray and attempt aid. His hands are still steady but his mind has been doing a whirwind, what if Ver dies and is lost to him forever? The thought makes some tears flood his eyes, but he doesn't wipe at it. When the healing spray could do no more he knows he must carry Veritas to safety and doesn't hesitate. He's only shorter, but he can fireman carry Veritas with ease and makes his way.

He only starts crying, tears running down his eyes uncontrollably with some hiccupping but never outright sobbing and he glares through it, when he realizes Veritas is still bleeding, feeling the wetness seep through his clothes, and through his tears he bids his legs to go faster and allows himself to just very quietly plead "Hold on, Ver, please, don't leave me yet. Don't leave me, don't leave me."

[lemonlurkrr]

lemon i hope you know (if you didn't already from your notification boom solely from me) that your prev hero au designs did something to me. fundamentally altered my brain somehow. im literally stuffing them in my mouth how did you do that

HHEELLLOOOO THIS WAS A LOVELY NOTIFICATION BOMB TO WAKE UP TO, HOLDING ALL THESE TAGS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART

as for how (i'm seizing this as an opportunity to share a bunch of process work):

there was a butt load of trial and error

From what I can remember (this all started 3 years ago holy shit,,,) I worked on Kevin's design first. The only 2 ref images I've found are included in the screenshot, but I'm pretty sure I was looking at those in addition to all of the other Impa+Sheik designs from the games, OG Hyrule Warriors concept art for Impa+Sheik, and the Sheikah pages from BOTW's Creating A Champion.

here's Link's stuff and YIPPEE I HAVE HIS REFERENCE IMAGES 🙌🙌

(BIG BIGG shoutout to @/historyofhyrule btw for archiving so much concept art and everything from all of the zelda games. None of this brainrot would've been possible without them.)

butt load of trial and error cont. especially for the colour of his scarf omg (I was looking at some of the hero's garb colour variants from OG Hyrule Warriors, and was conscious of the two other scarf wearing Links in Zelda Not Canon)

I can't find Zelda's inspo/ref images either but I remember referencing Griffith and Casca from Berserk, Kushana from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Ashei from TP, some of the OG Hyrule Warriors concept art for Princess Zelda, and of course some of the other canon Zelda designs (ALttP, TP, HW, OoT, BOTW).

I'd say Kushana was and still is the biggest inspo for Prev!Zelda, even personality wise I find myself looking back to her and how she was in the Nausicaa manga and movie.

final design thoughts: I really REALLY wanted the three of them to look cohesive with each other SO,

I always carried over screenshots of the other members of the trio onto their individual canvases to make sure that any changes I made to one design didn't stand out too much from the others,

I'm also pretty sure I worked on Link and Zelda's design simultaneously, or at least flipped back and forth between them a LOT when doing their armour (I wanted it to be evident that they were produced by the same smiths of the royal family yknowww),

and finally I made sure there were a couple of shared colours between their colour palettes

Thankee Thankee for reading this far and I hope y'all enjoyed my process stuff :))!!!

[mixtercandy]

love your art 🥺 i was wondering if some day would you like to draw black garlic or ghost cookie, thanks for always showing your beautiful drawings 💕

i went with Black Garlic for this ask because this outfit has got to be one of my favs... ITS SO CUTE (⁠☆⁠▽⁠☆⁠)

[kleinv01]

Don't answer this if you don't want to

Why would Klein still strangle us if he said himself that he is ok with us uninstalling his app😭 Plus killing Sera and Yael

I am assuming that Klein is the one to strangle us, I mean who else could it be, Al? Ethan? Why would they be mad at us

://SYSTEM_MESSAGE_ANSWERED

im sorry LMAO

you really can't trust every single thing that klein says. because if he's willing to do so much more than 'killing' just to have you, then lying and manipulating you would be nothing for him

[chipsncookies]

Lulu...?

[oceandiagonale]

the green light in gene’s eyes is so good. SO good. oh is this a smidgen of foreshadowing I detect? is someone going to use the power of a god to psychologically torture show the villain the error of his ways?? is gene gonna go a little bit apeshit??? I am sat. I am so excited

WEHEHEHE :D

[foibles-fables]

I have a question. How did you come to the wonderful conclusion that Aloy and Talanah would be a good couple? I can see the appeal in it, but I'd rather hear it from you

[CRACKS KNUCKLES] Watch me try to stay as concise as I can with this post, hahaha.

First thing I'll say is--I'm an absolute sucker for a strong-based friends to lovers ship. The loyalty, the devotion, the knowing each other before and after the world changes them and every stage between, the slow strengthening of feelings, the contending with blurred boundaries, the oh moment, the it was this all along, the I have always been here and so have you and so we will, the settling into even deeper contentment with the other, hoo boy I can go on and on. I especially like it when it comes in a sapphic flavor of the Burdened Chosen One and their Tender, Caring, Supportive Best Friend.

[looks directly at camera]

So you can already see where I'm coming from, here. But--truly, for me--it comes down to 1) the similarities AND innate differences in their life stories/situations and 2) their interactions in HZD. A combined one-two punch that crushed my windpipe and stole my lunch money.

I'm a sucker for a friends to lovers ship, and I'm also a sucker for a ship with compelling parallels. What interests me most about the Aloy/Talanah dynamic is that they're narrative mirrors, but foils in situation. Both are highly-skilled hunters; both driven by their fixation on a parental figure (either avenging or uncovering); both lost their father (figure) to a cruelty much too large for them, with their fathers' shared desire for them to survive; both inheriting new titles (Sunhawk, Alpha Prime) and shouldering the burdens of their deceased parental figure; both proving their place and worth in the world as based on, in Talanah's words, more than the nature of their birth alone; I could keep going. (Don't tempt me.) But here Aloy was an outcast, while Talanah is from one of the noblest houses of her tribe--the difference of change from without versus change from within, and all the ways in which both are complicated. So narrative mirrors coming from opposing situations--how does that make them alike, and how does it make them different? How does it change they way they navigated through the world, and how does it change the way they would navigate one another?

I also love to point out the fact that Talanah is the perfect example of what Rost was trying to demonstrate to Aloy in his final lesson. The strength to stand alone and to make a stand. Her dedication to a selfless cause--ambition not for her own sake, but to restore her family's legacy, and to change her culture. GOD. My fingers are going numb just thinking about it.

What I'm trying to say is that Talanah is in a unique position to see and empathize with the burden Aloy feels post-HZD, and I'm not sure I'll ever forgive the writers for not capitalizing on that during the pivotal time of HFW. Carrying on of your parent's legacy is not easy, and even if Talanah doesn't know it by weight, she knows it by shape. Importantly, to me--Talanah understands--she's lived analogous experiences to Aloy's--but she's also different enough to challenge her. In fact, it goes both ways. There's a mutuality to the way that they make up for what the other has maybe lacked--puzzle pieces instead of cognate shapes, or the same image repeated twice, amplifying itself. There's harmony where there could just be volume.

That got away from me, so I'll just keep on going with how their interactions in HZD fishhooked me. I made a post the other day about Aloy's joy in the Redmaw victory, and that's a major part of it. The rest is just--the sense of ease and understanding that comes out in all of their conversations? And how Talanah always and consistently from the beginning sees Aloy as Aloy, not a Seeker, not a savior, not an oddity, just based on her own merit alone? How she heard Aloy give herself a name--Aloy despite the Nora--says she'll remember it, and then does, TWICE? Every smile she brings out of Aloy, every moment of bare genuineness between them, that giggle from Aloy post-quest? And don't get me started on the "you made this possible, Aloy" parallel. Don't even let me think about "you'll always have a special home here, if you want it." It'll end badly for all of us, category 10 blorbo emergency.

But it's not only what Talanah can offer Aloy (a deep bond of loyalty and fondness, a sense of belongingness, the simple fact of being seen as exactly how you yourself want to be seen)--Aloy gives back to Talanah as well!! Much more deeply than just helping her earn the Sunhawk title and restoring her family's legacy. Think about their pre-Alight conversation: "I won't stand aside while one of mine fights alone. Not again." Aloy has become one of Talanah's--a person who has lost everyone dear to her. Something that must be absolutely terrifying (see my post-HZD Lanah characterization, lmao) but still worth fighting for.

I was lucky enough to read the entire Sunhawk comic directly after the credits rolled on HZD, and that again just blew me out of the water with how much sense they make. The fact that Talanah was the only one to see Aloy leave makes my brain wanna come gushing out of my ears. And how they just--keep running into one another (more on this in the next paragraph). But perhaps the most important comic moment is Talanah's affirmation of "you don't owe me anything" after Aloy apologizes for leaving. That right there is respect to Aloy's agency and personhood (versus instrumentality!!) and the burden Talanah can sense she's under. She trusts Aloy to have told her what was up, if she had wanted her to know. And trusts that whatever she is doing must be important. Even if it's been difficult to be without her, Talanah knows she can't ask Aloy for more than what she is or what she can give.

(that's not to say Talanah isn't hurt. I think she still is--and projects a lot of that hurt and attachment onto another woodsy hermit--but that's a topic for a different post. You can trust and accept something like this while still being hurt by it.)

You asked how I came to the conclusion of THEM, so I haven't really included HFW in this analysis (I was clearly a goner from HZD), but it's there too. The way Aloy just happens to find out Talanah is nearby after her entire worldview is cracked open at Latopolis, how seeking her out and finding her seems to just make things okay again despite everything? (again, the constant finding of each other.) The fondness of their reunion? "It feels good to hunt by your side again"? The easy way they settle into old comfortable patterns of conversation? The tone of You love him, don't you and Really??? and Come here.? It's just all there screaming at me. I can't.

I just. I love them so much. It's so clear to me how they already have helped and can continue to help each other grow. Especially now that the series has placed them in yet another paralleled situation post-HBS. From where I see it, they've been dancing around each other since the beginning. And the way they've both sought things with others (ALSO EACH HAVING PARALLELS TO THE OTHER) only to walk away makes me wanna go absolutely feral. I can very, very clearly see this playing out into an what was I looking for when there was you moment and it might actually be the thing that makes me perish

I'm so sorry if this was totally incoherent. I've got a lot of feelings about this ship and I'm gonna continue to make them your problem.

[pampanope]

Hello stranger! I’ve come to praise you for your Shadow AU and Dadler content because it is very delightful to see all of these OCs interact with each other.

I have also come to ask you a few questions, you know, for a friend.

1. What is Graves’ thought on ghosts, reincarnation, reanimation, spooks, stuff straight out of a fantasy novel?

2. This question is a bit out of the blue but have you heard of the Roblox game called Pressure?

Thank you for humoring me and I hope you have a wonderful time of day.

Thank you!❤️ Well I’m happy you’re enjoying the content and the OC shenanigans XD

Graves thoughts on the supernatural?

In my opinion, he’s a practical guy who wouldn’t concern himself with the supernatural; it’s all fiction you’d find in book and movies. (Except for maybe ghosts: soldiers can be superstitious about the dead.)

But if he did actually witness something strange, something that just don’t seem right? A shape that should not be possible he saw lurking in the night? A presence in the air that cannot be explained away so easily? Or evidence left behind by something that should not be…?

Then he’d be quick to change his opinion. It wouldn’t take much for him to become a believer in the supernatural; he’s cocky but not stupid enough to ignore what’s in front of him.

He’d struggle with accepting the existence of the supernatural (because he’s stubborn) but he’s gonna make sure he and his Shadows wouldn’t be caught unprepared to face ‘em. Any zombies out there better back off 💀

(Never mind the possibility that not all his Shadows may be human…👀)

Pressure? Isn’t that a horror game?

((I googled it, IT IS. WHY IS THE ART ACTUALLY SCARY))

[hiraganasakura]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bcus they have different definitions of family

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[heatwa-ves]

Drop the izlo stand hcs please

u get a bonus naruritsu too 💖 this au started as a joke but now im actually invested. oops.

[mochinon-yah]

How would you describe your friend's art/writing? (E.g.: scenario, food, memory, etc.)

OMGGG ANON THANK YOUUU LET ME SMOOCH U RNNN <3333

But i'm gonna twist the question a bit since i haven't read everyone's work so yeah 🥹 i'm gonna describe the way they talk or how they 'feel' like to me lolll

@beloved-brynn: (<- my dear sweet hallow) whenever brynn is talking about something, it could either be the most mindblowing thing ever or the funniest thing ever 😭 i love her sm (platonically) since she's my first ever mutual and the first ever person to just... kinda welcome me to tumblr (i can hesr her in the distance saying smth smth abt i traumatized her despite the warm welcome- /silly) also she's good at giving advices! She's somebody who would cofmort you in an objective but warm way while also try to joke around so you won't feel like you're being nagged at (good grief, i cried more while she did that lol) ALSO A SIMP FOR DIMITRIII ‼️‼️

@meimeimeirin: tbh rin's writing or way of speaking is so so uniquely her that even if she tried to mask it up, i could guess that it's her 😆 she's an amazing mutual that i have no clue how the heck did we even be friends and be close like this??? Is it the same thing like how me and brynn get close- i gave you a drawing- anyway, she has a very elegant way of doing things, and especially when she starts to ramble or write about something that she loves! It's always so lovely reading her posts <3 btw rin, keep a chicken head with you always, yeah? 😋

@leftdestiny-posts: NOW THIS IS AN ENIGMA BECAUSE I HAVE NO CLUE HOW DID WE ACTUALLY BECOME MOOTS????? Shiro, did u just somehow in someway adopt me- 😭 but anywayyyy, shiro's way of talking is so so so soft and cute and warm and it makes me wonder how the heck did they mask their craziness so good like that- /smacked sorry sorry, enough jokes, what i meant to say is that shiro is such a down to earth person, and honestly i could see them go "wah, the clouds are really pretty today~ the flowers too~~" their writing or talking style has that vibe to me! It's so warm and fuzzy to me 🫠 i feel so comfy with themm 💗💗

@a-bookworms-teashop: i took a liking to one of her series and ever since then, i am a fan of her works!! I like to leave comments and just yk... support her works! Suddenly, bam! She dm'ed me or smth and we just kinda talk 😆 i love when she goes to ramble about her works because it shows how much love and effort she pours into each and every one of them!!! Im still waiting for an update to that series hiks but in any case, her other works sre also a masterpiece! Example? The yandere ceo one! It's so interesting and honestly bae, i would read every chapters 😻 i mean i already did, but eh YEAH READ EM GUYS!!!

@jessamine-rose: bae jess, ur works are amazing pookie, i once read one of ur work before eventually falling in love with how u write but i forgot which one was it... (it was a long time ago) was it abt capitano...? I'M SORRY I FORGOT HDBSHSJSJ 😭😭😭 but anyway, jess has the mom vibe that it always made me think of those asian moms (I'M ASIAN- THE TRAUMA IS THERE- /silly) who would hit their kids with sandals and be "i told you don't be like that!" >:o also her way of speaking and the amount of kaomojis she used is so so her that i would just imagine her every time i see one of those kaomojis 😆💗 please keep using em, i love ittt <333

@harmonysanreads: i simp for u. Yes, you read that right, my friends... I SIMP FOR HARMYYYY (shoo shoo eun- /silly) 😻💗 harmy has a very distinctive vibe and personality despite being similar to rinrin, and uhh how do i describe it...? It's like talking with a mom figure (no harm, i don't see u as a mom figure-) who knows you so well!! Her way of talking is so elegant, but it's not the warm-like elegant! It's like seeing a queen (?) and you can't help but to be mesmerized by her mannerisms! I also love the way she can form her words, they're always so thoughtful and really straightforward in a way lolll (she's my argue buddy too- anyway prince hirang 👎 /silly)

@navxry: NAVI ACTS LIKE THE MOM FRIEND!! Not really the mom mom friend, but navi is our server mom 💗 they take care of us and sometimes pop in and say either the most horrendous down bad thing ever for female game characters (while im like "oh yeah so true lmao" but i don't usually pop in and say that) or they'll help us around the server because apparently most some of us are not pretty... tech-savvy (me included HAHAHHA) navi is such a mood sometimes and i absolutely love them for ittt 🫶 u go girl (/gn) be as silly as you wsnt for your fics, or in other words, kill em all- *cough* i mean what

@calxlu: a fellow infp who really loves albedo 😆 i love when one time i made a bedo art for them and they reblogged it so many times,,, it made me super happy and super proud that the art made them that happy 💗 anyway, vivi talks similarly like me methinks but like ummm how do i say it? Vivi is like cuter...???? IDKK HAHAHAJDJ- um, moving on 😆 i love it when vivi describes or tell smth because it could either be the most cutest thing ever or the funniest thing ever (i still remember that grandma comment pls 😭) anywayyy i hope your life has been less stressful!!! Also will be hoping that ppl won't bother you especially when you don't want to get bothered 🫂

@teabutmakeitazure: ZURIII MY BELOVED 🙌 HELLO HI <333 muach muach i hope you're doing well when you read this post /gen /pos !!! When zuri comes in the server and say smth, i will always imagine someone wesring a glasses, talking in such a monotone voice but tries to appear caring and sweet because YES they are actually really sweet and very much loveable and smoochable <3 it's just how you 'feel' like to me, so don't mind em too much loll 😆💗 also, i see that zuri and speckled can match each other vibe so well and it makes me think that they'll be such a great and cute duo together sbsnsjkssk

@vennnnn-diagram: VENNNNN OMG MY PARTNER IN CRIME 😻💗‼️ (<- we never did any crime other than bully brynn... i think-) ven is so funny and chaotic that it makes me wanna smooch em every time they appear <3 how do i explain this... uhhh, like ven always seems to be the silliest person ever whenever they talk in the server, but GUYS they're like really thoughtful and so overall nshdjisks i can't describe it but i will fight anyone who diss or insult ven /hj kinda srs actually ✨️ ven, if u think that being silly feels weird out of nowhere, bae we're all weird, so dw abt it 😆 im also very silly, so we can be silly together!!! ALSO ONE IMPORTANT FACT, ven is our music genius 🙌‼️ i'm so serious abt wanting to hear ur music for an hour straight-

@stickyspeckledlight: speckled...... well, uh, the word 'silly', 'random', "what in the world-" as a person fr 😆 i also just kinda deem her as the gamer pro in our server and well.... i gotta say she's real good when gaming (<- has never seen her gaming stream) BUT LIKE WHATEVER THOSE GAME TERM STUFF, SPECKLED KNOWS IT ALL ‼️‼️ like whenever she said oh this and that about hsr or genshin, i'd be "oh yeah so true" despite me not understanding her words (sorry yall i'm not a gamer 😭) alsoooo it's pretty noticeable, but uhh speckled (and zuri) is aventurine lover and she's pretty crazy abt him *cues me looking at her fics* keep going bestie 🙌 you (and zuri) are our aventurine truther lol

@ainescribe: AINE MY SPOUSE ✨️ THE LOVE OF MY LIFE /pos 💗💗 ainneee, one of our talented super amazing artists in the hostelry 😻 thought despite me saying that aine is the loml, we haven't talk or interact much, but i know that she's a sweetheart hehe 🫶 aine has a very bubbly way of talking, she likes to yap yap like eun especially if it's about.... uh lores? Idrk the kind of stuff that aine likes to talk about, but it's always fun to hear her (and eun) yap ‼️ also, i can't describe it but she makes me wanna smooch her but also nom her (it's just cuteness aggression-) ALSO I HAVE TO SAY IT AGAINNN, HER ARTS ARE REALLY PRETTYYY 💗🙌 LIKE 100/10 PRETTY ✨️

@lucienbarkbark: girl, idk what goes on in your mind but you're a mood 😆 i am always so surprised whenever rika appears and say something, it's too straightforward but i love her for it <333 she seems like someone who would just do whatever she wants, and i would totally support her for it 💪 rika and her... 66 or more men that she would (respectfully saying) sleep with 🔥🔥🔥 HAHAHHAH THE LIST IS SO LONG AND LIKE 😭😭 i can never not laugh whenever i remember it hdjdjsjwkw pls never change your frank and honest attitude, i love it 🫶 btw, uh, pls have some rest bestie 😭 like an actual rest and also a mental rest 🫂 wishing the best for you rikaaaa >:o

@mixed-kester: esther! While i may not know much about you, but i KNOW one thing!!! It's that she's a really great artist 😻 i'm telling yall to check her arts because (from my opinion) her art style looks like one you would find in a cute short comic (that i would totally devour-) AND YEAH she's just really sweet yk 🥺 also esther talks in a very direct way that it makes you want to just know what's up inside that head of hers 😆 she's also part of the 'would eat mochi 😋' gang and i just.... have to accept that....... anyway LOVE HER 💗‼️ please be more braver and accepting of your feelings, you're precious and worth it, okay? We love you, and i hope sincerely that YOU love YOURSELF 🙌

@euniveve: OHOHOHO OUR RESUME DESTROYER HERE /silly ✨️ jokes aside, i think me, jess, and shiro would say "what can't eun do atp" if we're talking about eun 😭😭 wdym she can write amazing fanfics, great artist, good at debating, a highschool athlete, a student council president- LIKE EUN WHAT THE HECK DID YOU NOT DO???? Is it the intj in you- /silly LMAO anyway, all that aside, eun talks in a very pookie way, so full of.... love (especially if she's talking with harmy) and she would totally yap yap abt smth altho sometimes she's a bit direct about stuff (not in a harsh way tho) all in all, i hope you're not too harsh on yourself 💗 OH AND i love how confident you are!! You know that you're amazing, and i think that's great pookie 🫶

@fishanonishere: FISHHHHH 🫂 the 'albedo' in my life LMAOOOO 😭 they're so cute i wanna smooch them fr ✨️ they like to yap about their works and honestly yap more bestie (I HAVEN'T ANSWERED THEIR DM IN DISCORD BUT YEAH YAP MORE BESTIE 😭😭) they have a distinct way of talking and it's hard for me to describe it, but imagine albedo talking with such an interest while also keeping it low with how monotonous his face is and you're a bit confused whether he's excited or chill with it 😆 fish is also an amazing artist, their art style is very very 😋💗 yeah i'd eat all of em HAHAHAHA anyway fishhh, i hope you keep being 'you'!! It's always fun talking to you, but i think my energy is just not that big enough for us to keep talking for so long 😭🙏

[moghedien]

so a lot of show only reactors are being like "will that work on a sul'dam" when they realize that Nynaeve and Elayne are gonna try to put a collar on one and I just love that they're asking that question