#branwen answers

[branwendaughterofllyr]

maris fic????? im soo curious about it👀

Evidently the people want to know about Maris. So to be clear, I currently have no plans to post any Maris fic, it was just one of the ideas I was playing with before I ended up writing a poison tree. I don't think I even have the draft anymore, and all I can remember about it is the line "Maris was not the prettiest of her sisters. Which was fine, for she certainly was the cleverest." I believe it was an Aemond/Maris fic, with a focus on the Four Storms.

I actually think the Four Storms get a bad rap in the fandom, considering three out of four of them ended miserably, and we don't know what happened to the other one.

And there's a very telling detail, I think, that most people miss when it comes to Elenda Caron and her daughters.

Lady Elenda Baratheon, the widow of Storm’s End, also took a new husband that year. With Lord Borros dead and Royce an infant, Dornish incursions into the stormlands had grown more numerous, and the outlaws of the kingswood were proving troublesome. The widow felt the need of a man’s strong hand to keep the peace. She chose Ser Steffon Connington, second son of the Lord of Griffin’s Roost. Though twenty years younger than Lady Elenda, Connington had proved his valor during Lord Borros’s campaign against the Vulture King, and was said to be as fierce as he was handsome.

And I honestly think this hints at something darker about the way that Lady Elenda unloaded all of her daughters off, either as septas or wives, since her new husband would have been closer in age to her unmarried daughters. Maris joins the Silent Sisters for unknown reasons, and while it probably is just a rumor her tongue was cut out, considering that her sisters also ended pretty miserably and she was partially blamed for Aemond losing his temper and killing Luke, I am side-eyeing it.

And I also think that Cassandra gets a bad rap, as well, despite her being in pretty uncomfortable straits after the Dance. Casssandra is likely around twenty (based off of Floris' age) and unmarried, no longer the heir to Storm's End because of her new brother, has lost her chances to be princess and then queen, and now a large chunk of the eligible men have died during the recent Civil War. And I don't think she was the one who killed Jaehaera, and I think that all of the above issues made her a great target for possibly being framed in the matter of the poisoning. Or if she was actually involved, she was likely an easy mark for manipulation (and considering that Tessario was an Unwin Peake appointment.....). And her punishment being to get married off to an old man with a bunch of children, while her mother declares it will stop her plotting..... Idk, maybe you should have been more on top of things, Elenda!

And then we finally have Floris getting married off to a man old enough to be her grandfather at age 14/15, who had SEVEN sons from two prior marriages but still gets her pregnant almost immediately, leading to her dying in childbirth at only 16. I don't care how sad Thaddeus Rowan was anout his teen bride dying with his twentieth kid, you can't make me like him!!!!!!

The Four Storms are really canon OCs to me, so I'm more than a little disappointed how slept on they are, and I think Maris and Cassandra are the real standouts here.

[rwac96]

"Tonight... You" Raven to Jaune

Raven:

(source: Sinccubi)

"Tonight...you~."

Jaune: *blushes, gulps* "M-Me? T-Tonight?!"

Raven: "Yeah, dumb ass."

[artbyfuji]

vampire lovers 🩸🦇 (vtm rosebird)

[howlingday]

What Rwby character of PROPER AGE do you think could pull of Rouge's outfit from Sonic best?

The caps are to make sure no says anything bad about either of us.

Honestly, there are three people that come to mind for the outfit, and only one of them is a girl.

Yang because (Insert confused partner dressed up as Knuckles)

Jaune because look at those pecs

Qrow because, let's be honest, it's probably not the wildest thing he's ever worn.

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

So do you think a series of Qrow's Exes would be funny? Like characters from different series. Like Catwoman or something.

I'm not the best person to ask this of, I do not have an extensive catalogue of characters to do this with. I will try my best though.

Qrow is Middle Aged. I'm taking no debate on this, so all of his Ex's should be close to their forties - roughly 38-50 years old. If anyone has any ideas, I will do my best.

~~~~~

Tai: Exes? Of course Qrow has Exes! He's gotten in and out of a LOT of relationships!

Ruby: Like who?

Qrow: We don't need to worry about it. Let's just keep-

???: Oh, well if it isn't a little birdy~

Qrow: ... Oh no.

???: Oh Yes~

Tai: Oh! Hey Selina! How've you been?

Catwoman: Fine, in fact, I've been quite well~

Tai: Hey, Ruby, you want to go get some cookies from the bakery?

Ruby: *Sprinting off* Cookies

Qrow: Tai no!

Tai: Wallet ... Keys ... Yep! Thanks for not holding me up Selina!

Catwoman: Not a problem Tai~ Just make sure to get me something sweet~

Qrow: ... Selina-

Catwoman: Hush. I don't want anything from you ... I just have someone who could do with some misfortune~

Qrow: Pay off my tabs and I'll do it.

Catwoman: Deal~

~~~~~

Ruby: Hey Weiss, thanks for inviting us to your Family Reunion!

Weiss: It's no Issue. You're as much my family as everyone else here!

Yang: by the way, has anyone seen Uncle Qrow?

Weiss: ... I haven't and that worries me.

Qrow: *falls from the rafters* ... ow ...

???: Oh, I thought I felt your presence!

Qrow: ... ah ...

The Princess (STP): Are you alright? You don't have hollow bones like this, do you?

Qrow: ... Versie ... Heyyyyyy ...

The Princess (STP): Hello Qrow! I have been waiting to see you again for a very long time~

Qrow: ...

Qrow: *Sprints for a window*

The Princess (STP): *Extending Way too many arms out, Nico Robin Style* YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER, BACK STABBER!

Qrow: I DON'T NEED TO RUN FOREVER! JUST LONG ENOUGH TO GET AWAY!

Ruby: ... Who was that?

Weiss: My aunt, Vershie Bung Schnee.

Yang: Why's she angry at Uncle Qrow?

Weiss: I mean, She called him "backstabber."

~~~~~

???: Qrow? Qrow Branwen?

Qrow: ... Before I turn to look at you, are you going to attack me?

???: Attack you? Haha! no, no I won't my old friend.

Qrow: *Turns* Oh! Valka! How've you been! You look great!

Valka: Ah, No need for that Qrow, but you don't look bad yourself! I've been great! Busy, but I found my son again - well, he found me.

Yang: Are you another one of his exes?

Valka: Another one of-Snrrk I'm S-sorry, What? Him? And me? HAHAHA! You're a funny one, young lady!

Qrow: ... well I don't think it's that Funny, Valka.

Valka: No, It is! Ah, your Uncle is just an old friend of mine. him and his sister both were, at one point.

[infoglitch]

i see you are whiteknight trash like i am. let me ask you this weiss is captured in atlass, the schnee family mansion. We must stage a tactical rescue. who does jaune bring as part of the mission to break her out and what is their role? starter lineup, nora? demolitions expert, ren? assasin. Oscar? union representative. Qrow? Wildcard. Whats jaunes plan? (dont think about it too hard, this is purely wish fufilment "fuck yeah" kinda fiction. dont even gotta write any thing in character or nathin)

Ah @philosophicalpug you've come to the right shop.

But I must warn you. For I am someone who goes overboard. You just allowed me to be fuckin GOOFY.

Let's get fucking ridiculous!

Breaking out the ice queen!

The night was cold as Weiss sat in her room, trapped in her own mansion. As some punks managed to jump her, demanding a ransom of 3,000,000 lien. However Weiss knew one thing.. one significant thing that anyone on this planet should fear her for.

She had the money to buy all the ingredients for Ren's pancake recipe. Meaning one person. Nora Valkyrie.

We cut to RBYJNRQO as Nora seemed to be preparing her weapon as she had a shadow over her face.

Ruby: alright everyone. Let's run over the plan again.

Jaune: ok, first Ruby, your our a way in and out.

Ruby: yang is our distraction.

Yang: I'll cause some noise so that way they don't notice you all bust in.

Jaune: blake-

Blake: I'm making sure yang has backup.

Jaune:.. I was gonna say you watch our backs but ok.

Oscar: I'll handle negotiations if you can't find her.

Ren: I'll take over Blake's position so that way you have someone watching out for you.

Ruby: thanks Ren.

Ren: Weiss is our friend.. we won't abandon her.

Nora: I'll break through the walls.. and any guards legs.

Everyone looked at Nora as Ren just sighed before hugging her.

Qrow: I guess that leaves me. I'll be around.. I wanna see if my semblance can be useful.

Ruby: you don't have to do that uncle qr-

Qrow: this is your friend, kiddo. For all I know if I join you on this breakout mission she could get seriously hurt.

Ruby:.. alright but if things go bad?

Qrow: I said I'd be around didn't I?

Qrow had a smirk as Ruby smiled at him. Jaune clapped his hands as he had a grin.

Jaune: alright we got everyone ready. Let's get to work!

Nora & Yang: YEAH!

We cut back to Weiss as she hummed softly. Her eyes looked at the window as she for a second saw a plume of red from beyond it. A smile crept up her face as the 25 minutes felt like 15 seconds as jaune, Ruby, Ren, and Nora came in.

Ruby's face quickly turned to a smile as she practically flung herself at the heiress.

Ruby: WEISS!

Weiss chuckled as Ruby hugged her.

Weiss: good to see you too Ruby.

Jaune: alright before we can be all cuddly and celebrate we gotta get you out.

Weiss: I expected so.. do you have Myrtenaster?

Jaune practically yoinked out Weiss's weapon as Weiss smiled. With said smile evoking a small blush on Jaune's face.

After a few minutes and an annoyed Nora having to cut Weiss's bindings despite her not being forced to. Weiss was free as she held Myrtenaster and inspected it. It seemed to still be in pristine condition.

Weiss: now let's get going.

Nora didn't even reply she just broke down the wall as Ruby quickly took Ren and Nora as she petal burst off.

Weiss: while we have this time.. Jaune?

Jaune looked at the heiress as the girl gave him a nod.

Weiss: thank you.

Jaune: shouldn't you be thanking Ruby?

Weiss: trust me I will.. but I wanted to personally thank you first.. you've become a lot better of a man.

Jaune: well.. I want to make sure I'm able to help my friends.. and that means being a lot less of an ass.

Weiss just smirked before Ruby arrived as she took Weiss and Jaune and they left in a burst of petals.

Mission: SUCCESS

[thepalestrose]

EXCUSE ME?!!? SUMMER ROSE!?!? RAVEN!?!?

[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

[wishingeel]

I'm sorry, I know bird calls are not as common knowledge as I once believed, but I die inside a little whenever I'm watching a RWBY reaction (or reading an analysis) and see people mistake or argue about if a bird is Qrow or Raven. It basically sounds like this:

bird: *makes a crow sound* reactor: "IT'S RAVEN!!!1!"

or

reactor: (sees a black bird) "I wonder if that's Qrow or Raven." bird: *makes a raven sound* reactor: "Sadly there is no possible way to know for sure."

[trialbystory]

Favorite RWBY character and why?

RWBY character you are kinda interested in maybe writing into a story you haven't written yet, but haven't found a way to work 'em in, and what drew you to them.

Windmill slam Robyn. I love me a good Robin Hood fantasy, and I don't even care if it's on the nose just do that kind of story with her and the Happy Huntresses. I wanna make a Leverage-style contemporary 'band of thieves pulls heists in the name of helping people who've been screwed by life,' fic centered around them. Maybe throw in CinWin as well, because that's a ship I've grown to enjoy quite a bit and there's a few ways to play it that would be a fun dynamic to add to that setup.

Second choice: Raven. There's a lot of raw cool factor at play behind this one; I think she's got a great design visually. Plus I've read enough fanfics that approach her in both canon-compliant and AU settings as someone who got scared and/or overwhelmed and made bad decisions because of it but has a heart of gold deep down and now struggles with reconciling that mostly-good core with the guilt of her damning past. I think she could slot into the above hypothetical fic as well. Hell, I'd probably end up pairing her with Robyn in it. That sounds fun.

[unofficialadamtaurus]

I believe with my entire heart that Raven in the original draft was connected to the White Fang. She got the color scheme, she got the mask, and she shares a similar weapon to Adam. People argue that Adam should have been Weiss' personal villain, and they're right, but I know it in my heart that Adam was Yang's personal villain because of his connection with Raven.

So here's what you missed on Glee. Raven abandoned Yang because she was hunting down Adam, her wayward protege. Raven believes that she is incapable of being a mother because her first student turned out so horrifically, Adam is pissed that she doesn't want to join his war on humanity and is betrayed by Raven's horror of him, and Yang's character arc is realizing that Raven abandoning her was not about her worthiness in relation to Adam and that she never needed her mother's approval of her to begin with. Like they were supposed to be Shifu, Tai Lung, and Po and the Bees romantic rivalry subplot was flavoring for all that, but that ended up being the only remaining part of Yang's character arc after they changed Raven's character trajectory.

Do you see the vision, it was in Vol 2's end credit, release the Raven cu- hey wait please don't burn my conspiracy board, I worked very hard on it

I could see separate groups being inspired to adopt Grimm masks as their motifs, but yeah, too much of their character designs overlap. So, so many opportunities to deepen character/villain connections in this show. Alas.

As an aside, if you haven't read Red Sun Over Beacon, you really should.

[branwendaughterofllyr]

Thank you for answering my previous ask! :D I have some thoughts on "a poison tree" that I wanted to share, so I couldn't help but write another one lol. So already going into it I love the backstory you gave Larys! His confession about his upbringing was such a haunting and memorable moment, especially through the lens of little Alyssa (who shouldn't be anywhere near him tbh). The way you portrayed her perspective as a child feels so real and... sad, somehow? Her disappointment with the limited life she can have as a woman in such a stratified and sexist society was really poignant, and her desperate search for someone to fill the void her mother left were highlights that resonated deeply within me (along with Larys' struggles as a disabled person in Westeros, since I'm disabled myself). Alyssa and Oldgon not only fit perfectly into the original story but also enriched it in ways that F&B and HOTD lack. This is so rare in fanfiction today and requires a tremendous amount of work and research, be it into the original work's lore or actual history. I'm really grateful for you sharing such a passionate and dedicated story with us.

On a side note, I apologize in advance because I have so many questions! Will "a poison tree" feature another character's POV besides Alyssa and Oldgon? Do you watch or read any analyses of HOTD/ASOIAF? If so, which ones? I think you would really enjoy the YT channel Hill's Alive. Lastly, could you recommend some of your favorite fanfictions for HOTD/ASOIAF? Bonus points if they're long fics!

Oh my gosh, I just about started giggling and kicking my feet when I saw this ask. Thank you so much for giving me the space to talk endlessly about my fic!

I saw Matthew Needham’s interview where he talks about his headcanons for Larys’ backstory, and it basically came down to his mother dying in childbirth and to be honest… I thought that was pretty lame because every mom dies in childbirth in this universe haha (even though I did it myself with Elinor lol). It’s just very lackluster to me, and I was already coming up with my own backstory for the Strongs at the time. Larys to me is a very… underutilized character, especially in fics. Many of the characters in F&B serve as parallels to characters in the main series, I think there’s a lot to Larys as a basically a caricature of Tyrion through the lens of history, an evil disabled man with unknown motives, who exists only to be the villainous traitorous wildcard. It’s very hard to get a handle on Larys in F&B because he’s really a character that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense based on what little we know about him, and while I thinks it’s worthwhile to consider him in the light of how Tyrion is viewed by a society that pre-judged him and will allow him no lenience, it’s deeply annoying to me that the show chose to do very little with him (especially in s1) and just make him a cackling villain who kills his own family just because. And this is not to say that I think Larys is a good guy, not at all, but I think there’s room to explore why he is the way he is.

And I think that I wanted to approach it through the eyes of a child, who might not have absorbed quite all the biases yet, or at least doesn’t understand the nuances of it. That’s why I wrote that bit where Larys expects Alyssa to ask him about his foot when she’s staring, and then is surprised when she asks about the ghost thing, and this entire thing goes completely over Alyssa’s head. I actually do kind of like the show take that Larys is seeking out people similar to him in Alicent and then Aegon, lonely damaged people that are isolated. But yes, Larys should not be allowed around children, especially ones that will straight up ask whatever questions on their minds. I think Larys’ confession was half-malicious, half-intended to be helpful, much like some of Cersei’s conversations with Sansa. Better to be traumatized early and learn that the world sucks. Really, he’s doing her a favour here!

One thing I tend to find…. Very heavy handed in most fics is how heavy handed the sexism can be, and how “modern” the sensibilities of the female characters. I think there’s a lot to be explored in the more insidious and underlying aspects, as well as the more obvious and in your face ones. Like, she’s grown up around men (of noble birth) who have been able to make their own ways in the world on paths simply not open to women, and as a child she doesn’t understand precisely why she can’t do the same.

I actually wanted to make Oldgon, for as much as he loves his daughter, still submerged in misogyny that he’s not really questioned much. Like, nice and/or smart people are not immune to the biases of their society! And Oldgon certainly isn’t, even if he has more fondness and respect for women due to his upbringing by Alysanne than other men, and he still expects his daughter to obey most of the rules for women even if he thinks education and curiosity are virtues for both the sexes.

I’m very glad that Alyssa has come off as a sort of melancholy character, especially since I think there’s an inherent cheerfulness to Oldgon even though he’s had a lot of tragedy in life. I wrote much of Alyssa I during the wintertime, when I suffer from pretty bad seasonal affective disorder, and I think that the pre-Dance Red Keep is a pretty disordered and lonely place to grow up in, even though it’s full of people. The severed emotional ties, the inherent distance between family members, all contribute to that. I also wanted to give her a really complex relationship with motherhood, that I will continue explore as the fic goes on!

I don’t currently plan to have any other character PoVs for Poison, it was always going to be just Alyssa and Oldgon in my head. But I have been making plans to do much more extensive fake F&B excerpts for events neither of them are present for. You may have noticed that I’ve introduced a new source for my version of F&B, Perkin Gaunt, who will survive the Dance (spoiler lol) and write his own history of it. Writing the F&B bits is actually really hard, but I like thinking about how the history got recorded, by who and why and to what end.

I actually don’t like watching ASOIAF YouTube videos or listening to related podcasts at all, a lot of the really popular ones have opinions I deeply disagree with or just find really annoying, and I’ve disliked the ASOIAF fan industrial complex since the days of GoT, and my opinion has only sunk lower as HoTD started airing. I’ve seen a few of Hills Alive’s videos, as one of my friends sent them to me, and I think she’s got some decent takes overall.

For ASOIAF fics, I like iron fears the rot by @undeniablespice which is a genderbent Theon Greyjoy AU. I’m currently still mad at the most recent chapter for making me feel things about the deaths of the older Greyjoy sons. I also love any work by just_a_dram but I’ll recommend their most recent finished work, which is a Jonsa space opera AU titled Lupum Luna

In the F&B/HoTD realm, I’m always recommending @aifsaath’s series The Sky is Always Red Above Valyria (great title that I am insanely jealous of) and their other series, co-written with @gwenllian-in-the-abbey Our Fathers Clad in Red which is a book canon AU, where Aegon II marries Baela after the Dance. I also like solitariusvirtus’ Aegon III/Jaehaera fics, and I’ll recommend every tomb, every sea, spit the bones from your teeth as a good one shot starter. This next one is probably not for everyone, but I have been fascinated by glory days by behemoth for a while, which is a pre-canon fic exploring Viserys’ enmeshed relationships with his father and Daemon, with plenty of uncomfortable moments, but it’s heavily informed some of my own headcanons about the family for my fic purposes lol.

Anyway, feel free to ask any questions, and I will spill more of my ramblings!

[rwac96]

"Scream and I'll smother you with my breast" Raven towards Jaune when she sneaks into his room, and gets on him. Don't want his teammates waking up to her riding him.

A loud snore leaves a sleeping Jaune Arc's open maw, as he lays on his bed, wearing his blue onesie. The blonde then felt his mouth covered by a hand, making him blink his eyes. Shifting his ocean irises to a buxom, black-haired woman who resembles an older Yang. His eyebrows raised as he noticed the predatory red eyes leering at him as prey. Jaune was about to sit up in his bed but was pushed down by the intruder.

"Scream," Raven Branwen whispered to Jaune as she climbed on top of the youth. "and I'll smother you with my tits."

"Mhmm," he slowly nods as he sees her tugging the zipper of his pajamas down.

"We don't wanna wake up your teammates," the Bandit Queen whispered, "especially that Cereal Mascot while I'm riding you~."

[r0semultiverse]

The Summer Maiden is Ruby & Yang's Long Lost Sister

Hear me out, what if Summer was pregnant, but didn't know it yet when she went off on that "mystery" mission?

Perhaps Ozpin's mission wasn't the only mystery at that time.

There's literally so much we don't know about the timeline of Summer Rose & we know she had her secrets too.

Next thing you know, some young girl shows up looking like the spitting image of Summer Rose!

It's possible that Summer Rose went off on this mission without knowing she was pregnant when she went MIA. Raven would have been with her too. Maybe she even died during child birth.

Let's assume she (Summer Rose) is the summer maiden for a moment here. Why isn't Ruby the current summer maiden? Well, Summer knew Taiyang & everyone else in her family would be in danger if she thought of them as she was giving birth. A baby summer maiden of a well known family? That's an easy target for those after the maiden powers & could get her entire family killed.

Raven knows how Summer really died, but is sworn to secrecy because she helped deliver the third sister, our current summer maiden. Summer asked her to protect the child, but Raven is not about that life.

Raven takes Sumer Jr. to Vacuo in secret & essentially just drops the baby on the doorstep, telling them to keep the child a secret & protect her. Summer Jr. becomes the hooded secret protector of Vacuo, being one of the youngest & most experienced maidens still alive. She is raised in secrecy by Theodore or some others in Vacuo. Imagine her surprise seeing someone who looks a lot like her popping up all over remnant.

Summer Jr. is probably shocked & very interested, but is maybe raised very sheltered as a means to keep her out of the public eye.

Summer Jr. could also be the middle child of a previous partner before Taiyang & part of her secret, when she left, was going to check up on that previous partner & her third child.

Another albeit less likely situation is Summer adopted a child on her journeys. Maybe this is also the previous summer maiden's kid & Summer ran into the previous maiden as she was passing on her powers to her child. Summer being very maternal, takes Summer Jr. under her wing for a while.

Regardless of what the actual answer will be, we have a young girl that looks like Summer Rose & Summer Rose is dead as far as we know! Whoever this is will be our smooth tie-in to put Summer Rose lore in the episodes without it cutting away too much from the main plot. She will be our Summer Rose lore segue! We will finally have answers!

How do you all make sense of this? Let me know your thoughts!

[howlingday]

So who would rank as the best fighters in Rwby that don't have magic? So no Maidens,Salem,Brother Gods, the Tree or Opzin. Anyone else including the Curious Cat is a choice. (I'm saying the cat counts for this list because even though it's magic we at least have a clear understanding of how his powers work.)

The best fighters? Hoof... That's a tall order, especially since I'd have to look over all the candidates I can remember. But I'll narrow it down to TEN characters, in order to appease the [tumblr] gif limit.

General James Ironwood: Simply put, you don't become the headmaster of a huntsman academy by being weak or stupid, because this commanding officer is definitely neither... relatively speaking. Granted, one could argue against his battle tactics as a military general, but I think when compared to other huntsmen, there's not a lot of characters you can say that require an ambush by almost a dozen people to take down! So yeah, General Ironwood is definitely an intimidating character to start off with.

Ruby Rose: Yeah, I know, I know. Ruby's the main character, so of course she's gonna be on this list! But to be fair (to be fair), she's EARNED her place as a main character. The series starts off with her easily thrashing goons, followed by her heading off to Beacon Academy two years early for her skill against such an impressive foe. And she's only grown ever since. Given time, I can totally see Ruby being the hero who saves Remnant and looks good while doing it.

Neopolitan: Barring magic is one thing, but some characters never needed magic to be overpowered. One such character started off as a generic sidekick villain who bailed Torchwick out. Then she comes back later that same Volume to style and beat down on RWBY's heaviest hitter. Heck, Neo would've ended Yang if it wasn't for Raven showing up! And while Neo doesn't have magic, she does have an overpowered semblance that makes her a nuisance at first and a crisis by the end! Tell me, dear reader; what happens when you put a girl whose semblance called, "Overactive Imagination" inside of a FAIRY TALE?! I'll tell you what you get- YOU GET A NIGHTMARE.

Pyrrha Nikos: Ooh, boy, now this is where things get sad. Pyrrha was the best fighter in Volume 1-3 solely for the fact that she was the one fighter EVERYONE knew about. Pyrrha was getting wins BEFORE the series started and she started racking up wins afterwards against Grimm and other students, too. Sadly, this poor, young Achilles was not truly invincible, for her tender heart was what got her killed... And also an arrow to said tender heart.

Cinder Fall: And speaking of arrows to tender hearts, I should give credit where credit is due, and it's overdue for Cinder Fall. First up, let's look at Cinder WITHOUT her magic. Her semblance, Caress, increases the temperature of things she touches, burning and even melting them. Heck, she was even throwing fireballs BEFORE the Maiden powers were hers! Not to mention she was throwing down with Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon and definitely the oldest man on the planet! She managed to outwit and outpace a man with centuries of experience. She then went on to kill the best fighter of the roster at Beacon Academy and steal her powers, only becoming wounded by Ruby's silver eyes. And this was all BEFORE she became the Fall Maiden.

Tyrian Callows: I want to admit something. I have a certain bias both towards and against Tyrian. Towards him, he's one of my favorite villains simply for the sheer lengths he'll go to in order to please his goddess, regardless of who he has to kill and how many. Against him, while I will admit he has some of the best fights in the series, his best fight is also the worst in the entire series. Story-wise, that is, because for some reason the other two combatants got way stupider than they should have.

Qrow Branwen: And speaking of fighters getting dumber than they should, here comes one now! Qrow was our introduction to what a REAL huntsman was like. And he did not disappoint! ...At least, when he first showed up. When Team RWBY were struggling against Tyrian, Qrow came in and fought him to a standstill. If Ruby didn't put herself in danger trying to help, Qrow could have won the battle and even been a big help later. Then again, for as skilled as Qrow may be, he's also got some personal issues that make him more of a hinderance than a boon.

Blake Belladonna: Thinking on it, Blake might be the best fighter of Team RWBY, besides Ruby. She has probably the most versatile weapon of the group, neither limited by range nor function, and watching her fight is always entertaining because, well, she's an agile-build fighter who uses airborne attacks to both maintain distance and to build momentum for closing in with killing blows. While Weiss and Yang also have their uses as support and tank builds, Blake feels like the only other fighter who actually has experience fighting.

Jaune Arc: Big surprise, we have the big man himself, Jaune Arc on my list. To the surprise of no one. No, but seriously, Jaune is someone to be praised for his combat skill, especially since his story is about how he literally showed up with 0 skill. I've seen people meme him as "Dark Souls style" and I can't argue. Where everyone else is over the top with their combat, Jaune manages to stay relatively grounded by comparison. No jumping or magic; just pure human strength, and what strength he has! Though, I will say that his usual style is more akin to tank/wall tactics. He's strong enough to take hits from heavy hitters, protecting his allies from heavy, crippling blows, and his semblance keeps himself and others in the fight.

Now, who else do we talk about... Oh, right! Since you brought them up...

The Curious Cat: For this, let's explain how their power works. Simply put, the Curious Cat's power mostly resides in their ability to possess creatures in a weakened state. Ruby was the intended target of this possession, having been forced by the Cat to avoid ascension while becoming physically and emotionally weaker over time. In the end, however, Ruby did ascend, and the Cat was forced to change their plans to possess Neo, who had also recently become emotionally vulnerable. Tactically speaking, the Cat is dangerous simply for their ability to take over and use the powers of another which, as stated previously, is overpowered to MAXIMUM. Once Neo had outlived her use, the Cat then made themselves more powerful by changing their body into something more combative. Combative enough to push Team WBY and Jaune to their limits. It wasn't until Ruby, who found new purpose and strength within herself that she was able to overcome the "Furious Cat" with the aid of her team.

So... yeah.

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

Au were after Summer dies, Raven returns to Taiyang, with one goal keep her baby and said baby's half sister out if Ozma and salems war.

Or in short overprotective mamma bird Raven

Raven: Summer died Fighting a woman that controls Grimm. Ruby, your silver eyes make you a target. I'll teach you how to fight to protect yourselves, but do not, I repeat, Do Not Become Huntresses.

Baby Ruby: Eh!

Kid Yang: *Crossing her fingers* Yes! I will definitely not become a Huntress!

~~~~~

Raven: WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!

Ruby: He was Robbing a Dust Shop! What was I supposed to do!?!?

Raven: Run? Like any other teenager Would've done?

Roman: ... Do I need to be here for this?

Raven+Ruby: *holding him at Sword/Gunpoint* YES!

~~~~~

Ruby: Wow! Beacon Academy!

Yang: Yep! Well ... Have Fun Ruby! I hope you find Frie- EGH!

Raven:*Grabbing Yang by the collar* Don't leave your sister behind Yang.

Yang: WHY ARE YOU HERE?

Raven: Don't. Shout.

Raven: ... You forgot to give me a kiss goodbye.

Yang: ... Is that it?

Raven: I do have to 'talk' to Ozpin and Glynda, but can I really be blamed for wanting to see my girls off?

Yang: *huffs* I guess not. *Hugs Raven* ... I love you.

Raven: Thank you Yang. Protect Ruby. Ruby, - RUBY?

*KA-BOOM*

Raven: RUBY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!