#questioning qrow

[qrowsofafeather]

Fanfic trope ask: enemies to lovers and… soulmate AU!

Bonus: 🖤 and 🩷 vibes from you 😘

an ask 🥹, tysvm <3

Give me a fanfiction trope and I’ll grade it:

A: Love it. Spend my time combing AO3 for it.

B: Like it. Not one of my bigger cravings, but it can scratch a certain itch if I’m in the right mood.

C: Neutral. A good author might be able to sell it, but a bad one will kill it deader than dead.

D: Not my favorite. I avoid it if I can, but it won’t necessarily put me off reading something.

F: Hate it. Will immediately make me nope out of a fic.

"enemies to lovers" - A & C, I enjoy it greatly, but it tends to be done pretty poorly I have an 'enemies to friends' unfinished fic from like 2012 with a '-to lovers' AU-ish followup I will never post eheh

"soulmate AU" - B only, I can tolerate something I'm not interested in being done poorly, but I really love how many ways one can go about it and while I feel bad for 'grilling' writers on the mechanics/lore of their 'soulmate indicator' I really really really enjoy hearing people's thoughts and instances where one or both and/or friends/society react negatively upon discovery

colors meme black: the figure staring at me in the dark pink: you are just a friendly creature, you cannot change this

no, this is an actual photo of me IRL tho:

[fairlyqualityanon]

Jetfire/Skyfire, for the character ask meme?

oh dear I haven't watched G1 in like over 15 years, but I'll go with that because you said Jetfire/Skyfire and not Jetfire/Jetstorm Unicron Trilogy 3? never heard of it it definitely stopped at 2, and Bayverse's Jetfire is uh.... yeah

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them - SCIENCE while also being a precious lil giant bean

least favorite thing about them - it's G1. I managed to watch all 3 seasons and the movie once. I just can't do it again. There's a lot of things I dislike that can be brushed off as just "bad writing traits of the 80's" and I'll go with "his flippant/glossed-over faction switch"

favorite line - "Can anyone join the party, or do we need an invitation?" (is my TFA bias showing yet? lmao)

brOTP - him and Thundercracker just because I like TC mightormightnotbeanabsolutelyamazingwriteronFFdotnetaheheh and of fragging course I can't find the music video now - it was 3 Day's Grace "Standing On My Own" which got me into that band

OTP - a less-toxic Starscream? or one that's more capable of playing nice? (not Tyran, but Malgus and Aurex are on the table), Ooh! Wheeljack! Just because of "oblivious genius" shenanigans. Or maybe Soundwave for shits n giggles and also the "they're just transport mecha" stereotype that I just know exists

nOTP - Cosmos (or just about anyone with a non-flight alt)

random headcanon - if he'd stuck with the Decepticons, he probably could have rationalized away the atrocities, especially if he'd stayed back in the Nemesis as a non-combat scientist. I bet he and Shockwave would've had some great conversations, maybe make Shocky a lil less depressed in his isolation :( please let my "kinda sorta abandoned" nerds have some fluff, some commiseration perchance?

unpopular opinion - "ship him with someone other than Starscream or the Seekers"? idk what opinions people have of him beyond the rabid StarFire shippers, they're up there with Megatron/Optimus and MegaStar in ferocity

song i associate with them - there's a lot of meme options but I'll go with Neffex's "Cold In The Water" (if you know what game I found this from then you're amazing), but "Cold" I think fits Starscream/Skyfire

favorite picture of them - I need to catch up on this TFA!AU, I haven't been active in that section of Tumblr in years // and here for G1, I believe I know this person from my RPing days... good Lord I feel old now

[incorrect-strq-quotes]

For some reason I started looking up Qrow is Ruby's dad theories again, and I still end up here, and that theory still lives rent-free in my mind lmao

It's just amazing that in the first 5 volumes, the clues are written between the lines, way too many times. I'll die in the hill of that theory; even for someone who wasn't into theorizing back then, and just wanted to see more STRQ, my radar caught it-- because it's most probably just under the surface -- subtle, subliminal, but apparent at the same time lol!

Also saw some Reddit comment from a few years ago saying that Qrow is Monty's oldest character to date, and so it seems poetic that Ruby, this titular protagonist, would be his daughter 🥺

Happy New Year btw!

You’re right and you should say it. I will die on this hill. Qrow is Ruby’s dad.

[rwby-confess]

Confession #492

[strqyr]

never forget that qrow burst through a wall to save ruby. he's a bird, he could have just flown over or gone around, but no. it had to be through a wall:

[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

[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!

[tecnestheim962]

Another day, another day of missing Ruby Rose and Oscar Pine

[pilot-boi]

What are our Friends Doing? The ones that once escaped The Facility? Are those times behind (as much as they can be, At least?)

(Fallen Angel/Questions from the Facility AU)

((It’s been a hot minute hasn’t it))

“We’re mostly doing fine.” Ruby shrugs, glancing up from her book. There are noises of assent, some more confident than others. “It’s been almost a year since The Breakout,” you can hear the capital letters in her emphasis.

“It’s been… an adjustment.” Ruby pushes up a pair of round-rimmed glasses. Her eye sight hasn’t been the same since the magic eye lasers or whatever you hacked into her. “For all of us.”

“Yang had to get a new hand,” Ruby whispers. “Whatever Salem did to it couldn’t be fixed and the doctors had to amputate. Dr. Pietro made her a new one, though, and I think she’s happy.”

She looks sideways her sister, who is sitting with a yellow-painted hand held tight in Blake’s hand. “In fact I know she’s happy.” The blonde is carefully not making eye contact with anyone, but Blake is smiling smugly.

“Oh!” Her ears perk up. “The Avians were all declared people in the eyes of the law, which is great!” The proud smile on her face fades slightly. “It hasn’t all been good, though,” she murmurs, ears drooping. Ruby drops her gaze back to her book.

“It’s been a year, but we’re all still having trouble adjusting.”

“Roman moved in with Penny, but he still can’t sleep through a week without nightmares.” She turns a page, writing down an answer for her homework. “Or they both get nightmares, about being controlled or being the one controlling.” Ruby sighs. “Uncle Qrow says they might never go away completely.”

“Hazel had to go back to jail for the crimes he committed, even though he helped all of us so much.” Ruby turns another page and stares at an anatomical sketch of a cobra. “Cinder JUST got let out of juvie for her role in Pyrrha’s death, even though she was freaking brainwashed into it.”

“The doctors say Jaune will never remember everything about his family. The avians still can’t go outside without being scared of getting attacked.” Her voice is shaking and her grip tightens on her pencil.

“I got my mom back, but on her bad days she can’t even remember her name!” Ruby pushes the book away from her, suddenly furious at the drawing of the snake. “It’s been a year- I- We saved EVERYONE but it’s like Salem still won!”

Her glasses are foggy, and it’s with surprise she realizes that she’s crying. Zwei whines and Ruby bundles the corgi into her arms. Yang glances over, on edge, and Ruby waves her away.

“Dr. Peach says it’s trauma,” Ruby murmurs, her voice muffled in a face full of corgi fur. “That we’re all tense because it’s the anniversary.”

She shrugs. “We’re mostly doing fine.”

[varnaedhar]

@littleblackqrow: ❝ looks worse than it was. ❞

((I had this thought about the scar from Tyrian, and I'm laughing bc he legit almost died--

She fucking doubts it.

Won't call him out on it, not in this case. Whatever he is hiding is his business, but whoever had struck him had been aiming to kill. That much she knows, and he knows she knows. Is he trying to protect her? No, that can't be it. Not now.

"Mm," is the response, after a moment longer than she would have cared. Omen is balanced against the door to the room, ensuring that her... niece ( ? ) doesn't come barging in without any warning. "...I don't know who you're trying to fool. Me, or yourself."

Perhaps it was fear holding his tongue. Fear for just how close he had come to dying. Fear, for the possibility of abandoning those children to Anima... especially when he knew just how cruel the wilds here could be.

scar related prompts

[evilrwbyfan]

ive been thinking of ships i dont like a little too much tonight but genuinely why do people ship ozpin x qrow

[livestosave]

What class(es) did Qrow teach at Signal?

Oooh, excellent question!

I genuinely struggle to figure out what classes are even taught in most of the main academies, let alone the smaller primary combat schools. After all, I would think basic grimm anatomy would be taught in a primary combat school, with more advanced grimm being taught at the full academies like Beacon, and yet...Port is teaching the anatomy of beowolfs and nevermores in volume 1.

All of that to say, I'm not quite sure! But I do wonder if he taught history, given that most of the World of Remnant episodes were done by Qrow, and maybe he also taught some form of combat class in addition, perhaps unarmed combat!

[incorrect-strq-quotes]

Was randomly searching for Summer content since V9 revelaled her weapon and aside from a general loud gasp, my brain immediately went to Qrow and Summer having similar weapon designs as if THAT didn't at least imply SOMETHING holy shit. I'm glad my all-time favorite STRQ blog is still alive and well and still stands for Qrow being Ruby's dad dhdjdksksks love to see it

RIGHT???

LIKE

(reusing this pic because I’m on mobile)

LOOK AT THAT

[ozpins-halfway-house]

24 ozqrow

[24. Are there any fetishes or kinks they have in common? Any that differ?]

Qrow: [goes to read the question] Uh.... I don't- hm.... [shows it to Oz]

Mr. Oz: Yes, I'm going to abstain from answering that in a public space...

[strqyr]

i wonder what the extent to oz's secrets was, and how tight-lipped team strq were with each other.

bc on one hand, you've got tai not-really-asking-but-also-yes summer about her mission, a question summer sidestepped in answering by mentioning ozpin; clearly, any details regarding missions they take for ozpin can be filed under "oz secret, don't ask" without any further issues.

but... raven and qrow were tasked with not only spying, but searching for the maidens when their hosts became unclear. the inner circle primarily refers to the maidens by their "code name" alone; fall / autumn, spring, and so on, rarely (if ever) by their actual name.

which is useful for keeping their identities secret—even if raven and qrow knew exactly who the maidens were, the others wouldn't, and thus any information beyond the maidens being known to them isn't at the risk of leaking—buuut:

qrow was considered "compromised" by the rest of the inner circle—for how long is hard to say, but somewhere between amber being attacked and the fall of beacon is a safe bet

cinder and co knew who amber was; we hear emerald ask after her, claiming amber to be a friend of hers

it's certainly plausible that cinder and co found out amber's identity as the fall maiden some other way—e.g. amber using her powers more freely (she certainly doesn't hold back during the fight)—but qrow being considered "compromised" after he was too late to save amber completely, when part of his job is to keep an eye on the maidens, hints towards the inner circle believing someone—in this case, qrow—might have leaked amber's identity to the enemy.

which gets me back to team strq; qrow definitely knows how to keep secrets, but he's, usually, also the first to blab about them to those he trusts.

so. with that in mind, assuming amber had had her powers for long enough, it's plausible that qrow, once upon a time, could have revealed her identity to summer, who then could have informed salem about it, and that's how we get to cinder sending emerald to ask after amber, which, in a very roundabout, full-circle way would mean that qrow was compromised, just. very, very prematurely and unknowingly.