#when raven knows about summer's mission

[strqyr]

qrow's reaction to leo's staff being away—"what? leo, you can't be serious. who's guarding the relic?" // "no, reckless is leaving one of the relics completely unguarded."—is actually pretty damn telling when not a single soul in the know shows any concern over salem getting the crown of choice.

there certainly isn't any staff at beacon to protect it, and it's not like the lamp of knowledge was out in the open, ready to be taken; the vault alone was accessible by a hidden elevator, the spring maiden was unknown at the time, yet they still considered the lamp to be at risk while the crown isn't, despite the fact that salem has full control over beacon and cinder is the fall maiden.

so, safe to say the crown isn't at beacon, yet by qrow's own words, any relic should still be guarded by someone; it would be reckless to not do so.

and when qrow also says that tai is on an assignment that prevents him from being in vacuo when everyone else is already there, well... put that as another point towards tai guarding the crown of choice, wherever it might be hidden.

[anthurak]

So by this point, I think many of us are likely familiar with the idea that the breakup of Team RWBY at the end of Volume 3 is meant to thematically parallel the breakup of Team STRQ in the wake of Summer’s death, ie; Ruby falls into a coma for a few days while Summer disappears and then both their teams fracture. Along with a popular sub-theory that Blake leaving Yang after the Fall is meant to parallel Raven leaving Tai.

But the thing is, if Ruby falling into a coma at the end of Volume 3 is meant to parallel Summer’s (supposed) death and the way this loss caused the fracturing and breakup of their respective teams, then Raven’s actions DON’T really parallel Blake nearly as well as a lot of people think.

And in fact, I feel like Qrow could potentially have paralleled Blake’s actions FAR better.

Like people talk about how Raven ‘abandoned’ Tai just like Blake ran away from Yang after the Fall of Beacon. Except if the point of parallel to the Fall of Beacon is Summer’s death, then the parallel doesn’t work because Raven was ALREADY GONE from Team STRQ by the time Summer disappeared. To the point where Tai, Qrow and Ozpin had (and still have) NO IDEA she was even involved in whatever happened to Summer. Raven can’t exactly have abandoned Tai just like Blake did to Yang if Raven wasn’t even around.

Instead, as I’ve discussed in the past, I think Raven’s actions following Summer’s ‘death’ potentially line up far better with WEISS. Like if it turns out that losing Summer was what actually drove Raven to return to her tribe, then that lines up very nicely with Weiss being taken back to her family/Atlas in the wake of the Fall of Beacon: Both return to the shitty, abusive family that raised them. And given how much of Weiss’s character is tied up in her family and their ‘legacy’, then the way Raven eventually took over her tribe makes her an ideal foil; effectively representing a Weiss who did eventually take over the Schnee family and company, but in the process internalized all the pain and trauma her family gave her.

And as for a cherry on top; if Ruby falling into a coma after the Fall of Beacon is meant to parallel Summer’s supposed ‘death’, then what was one of the last things Ruby did at the Fall?

Run off on a special mission with Weiss, just like we now know Summer did with Raven.

Now going back to my point about how Raven was not even around to abandon Tai just like Blake did to Yang, you know who WAS presumably around when Summer ‘died’?

Yeah; Qrow.

Let’s consider what exactly Blake actually did following the Fall of Beacon beyond just a surface-level reading: Yes, she did go back to her family, similar to what Raven may have done, but given that the Belladonnas are NOT actually shitty and abusive, I maintain that Weiss is still the better parallel to Raven. Instead, let’s consider Blake’s whole arc across Volumes 4 and 5 relating to the White Fang: At first being depressed over loss and perceived failure before being inspired to start working for a better cause, in this case pushing back against and stopping Adam’s takeover of the White Fang.

So I have to wonder; what if this reflects what Qrow did with Ozpin and the conspiracy following Summer’s ‘death’? Maybe Qrow and his teammates had helped Ozpin in the past and knew what he was doing, but what if THIS was the point where Qrow became fully committed to Ozpin’s cause and joined the Ozluminati full-time? Perhaps seeing it as a way of ‘honoring’ Summer’s memory.

Instead of staying with the one teammate he had left (and possible partner) who was now in a massive depressive spiral AND had two kids to take care of.

It starts to make Qrow and Tai feel a lot like Blake and Yang, doesn’t it?

This is one of the big reasons why I think Qrow and Tai are the REAL foil to Bumbleby on Team STRQ. They effectively give us a look at a version of Blake and Yang whose relationship failed. Or rather, were never able to ‘take the next step’ and actually form their relationship.

Qrow is a Blake who fully internalized her self-loathing and belief that she didn’t deserve Yang or that Yang was better off without her and has simply been pining for Yang from afar.

Meanwhile Tai is a Yang who likewise fully internalized her fears of abandonment and fully resents Blake for leaving her or may not have ever even fully recognized her feelings for Blake in the first place.

Essentially, Qrow and Tai are the version of Blake and Yang who weren’t able to work through all the problems, issues and baggage which allowed them to actually start their relationship. Like a Blake who didn’t get that vital pep-talk from Sun at the end of Volume 4, or a Yang who likewise didn’t get that vital talk from Weiss in Volume 5.

Which in turn leads us to what I brought up earlier with Qrow joining up with the Ozluminati full-time, essentially representing a Blake who threw herself into reforming the White Fang instead of returning to Team RWBY and reconnecting with Yang. Meanwhile Tai simply throws himself into a deep depression, grief and ‘moping’, ironically all the things he would later accuse Yang of doing (at some point I’m going to do a post on just how much PROJECTING Tai has likely been doing…)

So now Qrow and Tai have this low-key toxic relationship where Qrow is more-or-less aware of Tai’s extremely dysfunctional parenting but has also been enabling it and a lot of Tai’s unhealthy coping mechanisms over the years because he’s been pining for Tai ever since their Beacon days and still is pining in a very depressed, self-loathing ‘I don’t deserve him/to be happy’ way and also doesn’t want to risk conflict with his former partner and also the only teammate he has left.

Thus Qrow keeps his distance and just goes along with Tai’s dysfunctions and/or lets Tai push him away. Which in turn just reinforces Tai’s abandonment issues.

And Ruby and Yang are still stuck with utterly dysfunctional parental figures.

Oh, and if you need more proof about the deliberate parallels between Blake and Qrow…

Then how about the whole damn song where they sing about how they’ve always felt terrible about themselves but now things are looking up for them.

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

he fucks you too hard and you cry x reader w frank? 🥧

a/n: so, i feel like i written this type of scenario with crying during sex a fair amount of times, so i tried to put a different spin on it than the go-to soft and gentle pause to check what kind of tears they are. 

∼ gentle reminder that feedback, but especially reblogs are the way you support writers on here ∽

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It wasn’t unusual for you to know little to no details about the missions that swallowed Frank whole. Though what was unusual was his behaviour on this particular night. Usually, whenever he’d walk through your door, he’d only have to cast you a glance before the weight of what he was tangled up in lifted off his shoulders. Tonight, however, that didn’t seem to happen. 

His expression had stayed stony as he woke you from your slumber, ravenous for a taste that only you could satisfy. He almost seemed possessed when he finally buried himself in you, grunting and groaning in your hair like a bull about to pounce. 

The way he snapped into you with such ferocity swiftly caused tears to erupt and soak the crumbled duvet beneath your face. His bruising grip kept your ass high in the air, keeping you in place like a little stress toy as the rest of your frame had long ago melted down against the mattress. 

Though suddenly, just as your third orgasm sneaked up on you and began to tremble your weak knees, Frank’s fat girth slipped out and caused your pussy to wink back at him in its sudden emptiness. His fingers flexed at your side before he flipped you around and moulded you into a new position. 

The small yelp that tumbled from your lips at his manhandling didn’t break through his hide one bit. With your spine now settled against the bed, he crawled over you and eclipsed the dim lamp glowing on the bedside table. His eyes were dark and they didn’t meet your own till he’d once again filled you up more than you imagined possible. 

But when he did finally notice the tears rolling down your face, he didn’t pause as you’d predicted. 

Instead, something inside of him seemed to unravel as his gaze traced their paths down your features, and with a low and primal groan, he leaned even further down and studied the waterworks even closer as he let his possessed efforts slow nearly completely to a halt, plugging you up so completely that the greedy grind his pelvis offered caused your silent tears to morph into a full-blown sob as the tip of him bullied the deepest parts of you. 

Like a summer rain on the hottest of days, you then felt his lips begin to slowly flutter all over your face, kissing up each droplet before his pecks migrated down to capture your lips, ever agape and frozen in a moan.

© 2024 thyme-in-a-bubble 

[superiorsturgeon]

Jaune: Pyrrha, how could you not tell me about risking your life and that soul-merge thing? 😠

Pyrrha: Beloved, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you…b-but everyone’s life was in danger! It was a spur-of-the moment decision! 😢

Jaune: *sigh* Well…I suppose I can understand that��

Ozpin: If I may interject!

Ozpin: Mister Arc, you shouldn’t worry about Pyrrha’s mission. It was in the works for some time, not some half-baked spur-of-the moment idea!

Jaune: 🤨

Pyrrha: 🫣

Jaune: Sounds like you two need to get your story straight! *stomps away*

Ozpin: …oh…perhaps I should stop talking to Mister Arc…

Pyrrha: YEAH. MAYBE YOU SHOULD!! 🤬 *runs after Jaune*

Later…

Jaune: So what else have you not been telling me? Do you have two scroll numbers? Are you cooking meth Have you been taking missions without your armor? 😠

Pyrrha: …Jaune, please…😭

Ozpin: *walks up* I’d like to clarify something I said earlier…

Pyrrha: Oh gods why…?! 😖

Ozpin: While the plans had been in the works for a while, Miss Nikos actually made her decision in a limited time! She didn’t even take a moment to allow her aura to replenish-

Jaune: She WHAT?! 😱

Pyrrha: Ozpin WHY?! 😫

Ozpin: …oh…dear…I seem to have made things worse…! 😰

Raven: *drunkenly interrupts* Let me fix this for you, Oz! 🥴

Raven: Look, blondie, your girlfriend is obviously a great huntress and everyone loves her and would do anything to protect her!

Raven: *burps*…and you have incredibly attractive legs! 😘

Jaune: …uh…😕

Raven: *sways and turns to Pyrrha* …and you!! What the hell are you doing lying to your boyfriend?! Unless you want to move into my ex-husband’s new girlfriend’s basement with me, you’d better shape up and never keep anything from this beautiful man ever again!! 😤

Raven: *turns to Jaune* …seriously, you are beautiful! If she ever lies to you again you can call me! 😉

Pyrrha: I’m sorry, beloved…I just didn’t want you to worry…😔

Jaune: *melts and wraps Pyrrha in a big forgiveness hug* Pyr, I am always going to worry about you. But if you feel ready, then by all means get out there and kick butt! ☺️

Pyrrha: 🥰

Jaune: BUT, if you ever keep anything from me again, I will leave you and join this scary drunk lady in her ex-husband’s girlfriend’s house!

Raven: I know you’re kidding, but Summer’s actually a very good landlady! Sometimes when she and Taiyang go on nice vacations I’m allowed to use the hot tub! 😃

[bridgyrose]

Rosebird week day 2: private moments

Summer smiled a bit once she realized she finally had the house to herself. Tai and Qrow were out on a mission, Ruby and Yang were being looked after by a family friend… all worth it to finally have a break from Ozpin’s missions and to relax. At least, until she heard the door open. 

She slowly took her axe off its mount off the wall, gripping it tightly as she made her way to the front room. As she peeked around the doorway, she nearly dropped her axe when she saw Raven sitting. “What are you doing here?” 

“I saw Tai and Qrow leave, so I figured you could use a little company,” Raven said with a small smile. “So I decided to stop by-” 

“And you cant stop by when the kids are here too?” 

“You… you know I cant.” 

“You could.” Summer sat her axe down and walked over to Raven, gently taking her hand. “I’d love for you to come here more. And for Yang and Ruby to meet you too. I know you left to protect everyone, but there’s still room for you to live here.” 

Raven looked away. “You know exactly why I cant.” 

“I-I know, but…” Summer let out a soft sigh. “I’d… I’d rather we not have to meet privately like this every time. I want to enjoy more time with you.” 

“Qrow and Tai would never let me.” 

“What they want wont matter.” Summer pulled Raven to the couch to sit. “Well, if you’re here, you should join me to relax.” 

“I cant relax-” 

“I’m not asking you, I’m tell you to.” Summer pulled Raven down to sit and smiled at her. “If you’re only going to meet me for our ‘private time’ then you need to at least spend time with me.” 

Raven shook her head and tried to hide the blush on her cheeks. “Can you not call it that?” 

Summer leaned against her. “Its your fault. If you didnt insist on only coming when I’m alone, then I’d call it something else. But instead, it's always a private meeting with you. So, private time.” 

“It sounds like something a teenager would say when they're getting ready to get laid.” 

“Its never anything like that.” 

“Still sounds like that.” 

“If you didnt insist on acting like a shy teenager, then I wouldnt have it call it that.” 

“I dont act like a shy teenager!” 

“You’re scared of letting people close to you and what they’ll think about you caring about others.” Summer pulled Raven close and leaned against her shoulder. “Just like a teenager coming out of a bad home would be. We’re not teenagers anymore, so you dont have to worry what anyone will think about it. We can be together.” 

“We can, but its not… I’m not worried about what others will think.” 

“Then what is it?” 

“I cant tell you. But… I guess there wouldnt be any harm in showing.” 

“What do you mean by show-” Summer paused as she watched small flames start to dance around Raven’s fingertips as she raised her hand. The flames then froze, the ice falling onto the floor and melting as quickly as they came. When she finally looked at Raven again, she could see flames around her eyes just as they went out. 

“This is why I keep wanting to meet with you privately. Why I ran away. And I’m afraid that if I’m here for too long, you and Ruby will be hurt by people who want this power.” 

Summer quietly nodded and took Raven’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Nothing will ever happen to Ruby and I.” 

Raven looked away. “But what if something does? What if someone comes after you just to get to me?” 

“Then I’ll make sure you dont have to worry. So, will you come home to me?” 

Raven started to nod, and then froze as she heard voices from outside. She pulled away and stood up. “I should go.” 

“Wait Raven!” Summer let out a small groan as she watched Raven shift into her bird form and fly out the open window. Just like she always did. Only ever giving her time in private. 

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Jaune: “So…”

Taiyang: “So?”

Jaune: “Ruby must have gotten most of her looks from her mom. Summer? RIght? I mean… I see where Yang got it. From both you and Raven Branwen. But Ruby must have taken mostly after her mother.”

Taiyang: “You knew Raven?”

Jaune: “I fought her twice. I killed her the second time. I have her sword. Do you… do you want it?”

Taiyang: “I didn’t know that about you. No. I don’t want it. It’s yours by all rights. And Ruby does take after more Summer than me. It’s a good thing. It reminds me of her.”

Jaune: “Couldn’t have been easy with how she wanted to be a huntress. With how both of your girls wanted to be hunters. I hope… I hope my kids choose something else.”

Taiyang: “It wasn’t a walk in the park. I worry about them but I had to let them go. I couldn’t hold them back. But you’re planning on having kids? With Ruby?”

Jaune: *nods* “Ruby wants four. Weiss wants two. They want to drown me, I think. ”

Taiyang: “You’re a lucky guy.”

Jaune: “You… everyone says that. But they wouldn’t if they really knew me. You feel me?”

Taiyang: *laughs* “A little bit.”

Jaune: “Ruby and Weiss are all I really have. I lost everyone else. And if I lost them I’d lose it in a bad, bad way. I… I have some real power behind me and I’ve done some pretty terrible stuff with it before when no one was able to stop me. And we’ll see how I fucking handle kids.”

Taiyang: “Ruby trusts you with it. That counts for something.”

Jaune: “Ruby trusts a little too easily.”

Taiyang: “Maybe. You took off with her to Mistral. That was you.”

Jaune: “Back then I thought they were just her enemies and it was my place to serve beside her. It was my honor to serve her and hound her enemies like a dog.” 

Taiyang: *nods* “But they weren’t just her enemies. Ozpin’s enemies. I don’t know the details like Qrow and Summer did.”

Jaune: “My family are those enemies. I defected from them. I fight them now. I… I lead the fight in many ways. It’s my responsibility to fight them. It will kill me. And Ruby and Weiss are trying to squeeze as much life out of me as they can before I bite it fighting something like Ozpin’s enemies or something for the council.”

Taiyang: “You run errands for the council?”

Jaune: “They pay well enough and it’s sort of my duty. The money can’t buy what I really want but it pays for pretty much everything else pretty handily for my ladies.”

Taiyang: “Summer used to run those sorts of missions,. I’m sure Ruby worries about you.”

Jaune: “Ruby worries about literally everyone. But yeah. She worries about me. But it’s… it’s really only a matter of time. You know? Until I run into something too big for me to handle. And there’s no one who can really bail me out if I’m in a bad way. But in the meantime I have my women and a pretty good job.”

Taiyang: “Beacon, right?”  

Jaune: *nods, walks into Taiyang’s family room. Folds his arms in front of his chest and listens to Ruby work in the kitchen. She was after the old pots and pans and sheets which belonged to her mother. She wanted them at our house. It wasn’t far. Just a thirty minute drive.*

Taiyang: “Well, you seem like a good kid…”  

Jaune: “But looks can be deceiving.“ 

Taiyang: “Ruby’s an adult. She can make her own decisions. She always wanted a big family and I’m glad she’s getting it. Raising kids is safer than hunting.”

Jaune: “It’s just as hard, though. Isn’t it.”

Taiyang: “It’s harder.”

Jaune: "I was worried about that. And I suspected as much. Luckily I’ll have Ruby and Weiss to bail me out of a bad situation. Set me straight when I’m wrong.”

Taiyang: “Are you sure about that?”

Jaune: “That or this world stops being my problem. I lost it before. I know what would shatter me again. Losing Weiss or Ruby would be intolerable. I literally couldn’t handle it.”

Taiyang: “Kids change you." 

Jaune: “Vale would be gone. No one could stop me from tearing down cities in my madness. Atlas and Mistral too. It would break me and I would level mountains out of spite.”

Taiyang: “Kids change you.”

Jaune: “Nothing could change this. We call that checkmate.”

Taiyang: “Maybe. If you have kids, they could ground you. Keep you sane. My kids kept me sane. Both times.”

Jaune: “I would break. I’m already glass. Ruby has no idea how fragile I am and how she holds me together. She’s my moral compass. I would perish. I couldn’t do what you did. Luckily I’m the one slated for death. I couldn’t handle it if it was one of them.”

Taiyang: “We don’t really have a choice. I had to keep going for my little girls. I didn’t have a choice. I had to let Summer and Raven go. I had to push forward. They were so wonderful and they held me together but I had to keep going for my little girls.”

Jaune: “Not so little anymore.”

Taiyang: “No. Not so little anymore. Now she’s somebody else’s sweetheart. And I just have to trust that she’s making the right decision for herself with who she chooses. You seem like a good kid but I sort of have to take it on faith.”

Jaune: “Sounds hard.”

Taiyang: “Wait until you have a little girl of your own,” the words dripped from his lips like an ancient curse. Jaune imagines it stretching all the way back to the dawn of time. From father to son in law. “Then tell that to me.”

Jaune: “Weiss wants a little girl. A boy and a girl. I’m not sure if she wants both bad enough to do some in vitro bullshit. But I know that’s what she wants. And Ruby I think is up for dealing with whatever hand she gets dealt.”

Taiyang: “Six is a lot.”

Jaune: “It is. And they’ll probably have to do most of the work without me. Especially if I bite it.”

Taiyang: “But you want to give it to them?”

Jaune: “I’d do anything for them. I’d even fight my family and try to walk away for them. It’s so easy to say. ‘I’d do anything for you.’ But would I actually? Would I kill my friends if they asked me to? I’m having kids for them. Because they want it. And that’s pretty hard. Maybe it’s even the hardest task that they could ask me to do. You know?”

Taiyang: *nods*

Jaune: “I’m gonna fail. Whether I beat my family or not, I will fail to be a good enough parent. It’s literally impossible to do a good enough job”

Taiyang: “I take offense to that. I did good enough.“ 

Jaune: “You’re not allowed to be offended because did you? Or could you have done better?”

Taiyang: *gets quiet*

Jaune: “How do I do it? How do I do a good enough job? On top of all my other responsibilities?”

Taiyang: "You can’t. You will fail.”

Jaune: “I knew it. But I have to try anyway. They’re asking me to try anyway. They want me to try. They really honestly believe I can be a good father even with all my other bullshit. And I can’t talk them out of it. And I’ve tried. And I would do anything for them. And it scares the living shit out of me. Even more than my family does.”

Taiyang: “Good. You should be scared. Six.” *grants Jaune a kindly smile* 

Jaune: “Thank the gods I have two of them to support me or I would be fucked.”

Taiyang: “But then again you wouldn’t be having six without the two of them.”

Jaune: “You been to our place yet?”

Taiyang: *shakes his head*

Jaune: “You’re welcome to swing by. Big empty house to fill with all those little ones. That’s the plan.”

Taiyang: “The wedding is there as well, isn’t it?”

Jaune: *nods* “It is. That’s the accord, at least. As far as I’m aware. Most of the planning is those two. I’m sort of just along for the ride.”

Taiyang: “They both taking your name?”  

Jaune: “Yeah. Both of them. I suppose I had better ask for your blessing.” 

Taiyang: “Is that how you ask me?”

jaune: “Yeah. It is.”

Taiyang: “Did you ask Weiss’s dad for his blessing to marry her?” 

Jaune: “Weiss isn’t on speaking terms with her father. I was going to ask the man she chose to walk her down the aisle. A butler who actually raised her named Klein.”

Taiyang: “So you don’t intend to ask her father?”

Jaune: “No. She hates her pop. She couldn’t care less if I had his blessing or not so I don’t care about asking for it.”

Taiyang: “But you do care about mine? And this other man’s? Klein’s?”

Jaune: “To an extent. Ruby wants to marry me. I’m gonna marry her. You can either give me your blessing or you can not. But I’m gonna marry her regardless because I love her and she loves me. It’s still your choice to give me the blessing or not.”

Taiyang: “But it doesn’t really matter. You’d marry her anyway.”

Jaune: “I’d like your blessing. Ruby cares what you think. That counts for something.”

Taiyang: “And I’m supposed to give it to you off of one conversation?”

Jaune: “You got to take me on faith. Isn’t that what you said? And yeah, maybe don’t give it to me today. Maybe don’t give it to me in general. But I’m gonna marry Ruby. We’re gonna have kids. You can be as big of a part of that as Ruby lets you.”

Taiyang: “What about you? You gonna cut me out?”

Jaune: “Not unless you motivate me to. Please don’t motivate me to. And it would take more than not giving me your blessing to motivate me to.”

Taiyang: “So how important is this blessing.”

Jaune: “I think it’s important to Ruby.”

Taiyang: “So… pretty important?”  

Jaune: “So pretty important.“

Taiyang: “But not so important that you wouldn’t marry her against my will?”

Jaune: “You’d have to have some pretty potent will to stop me. You couldn’t stop Ruby from leaving for Mistral under my protection. When I was her dog and nothing more. Even if you would have wanted to, you couldn’t stop her. And I’m willing to bet you would have rather she stayed here. Nice and safe. Not out dealing with those same forces that took her mother from you.”

Taiyang: “Would you kill and die for Ruby?”

Jaune: “Easily.” "pulls up his shirt to reveal the bifurcating scars Tyrian left behind* "This serial killer came after us out in Anima and I almost died rather than let him take her. When I killed for the first time it was in Ruby’s defense. I’d do it again now. I have a lot more power now than I did then. I’d do more if she asked me for more. Like having kids.”

Taiyang: “Like having kids. Put your shirt down, kid. I’m probably going to need more than one conversation.”

Jaune: “No problem. You had two wives, right?”

Taiyang: “Not at the same time.” *shakes her head*“Not like you will.”

Jaune: “Just about. Ruby and Yang are what? A year and a half apart? Minus nine months implies… You moved on fast at the very least.”

Taiyang: “I never really moved on and got over Raven.”

Jaune: “Ouch. But Summer scooped you up nice and quick.”

Taiyang: “Yeah, I suppose she did.”

Jaune: “You can be more honest with me than that.”

Taiyang: “I… I don’t know what you mean?”

Jaune: “Did you sleep with Summer before Raven left you?”

Taiyang: *says nothing, doesn’t meet Jaune’s eye*

Jaune: “I was just curious. Does Ruby know?”  

Taiyang: *shakes his head*

Jaune: “How do you want her to find out?”  

Taiyang: *lowers his face into his hands* “Don’t tell her, please. I will. When I’m ready.”

Jaune: “Fair cop. Fair enough. Just don’t wait too long. I don’t want to have to tell her.”

Taiyang: “Making me the bad guy?”

Jaune: “Holding you responsible. I have to be responsible for so much bullshit. Your daughter comes up to me and tells me ‘take responsibility for me, won’t you?’ You have to be held responsible for the impact you have over her emotions too. And if I have to hold you responsible so that she’s informed and aware of everything she should know, then I will. That’s my job. I’m the person she turns to now.”

Taiyang: “She used to turn to me…” 

Jaune: “You had your time, old man. She’s mine now.”

Taiyang: “And if I don’t like it?”

Jaune: “Well let’s ask her. We’ll tell her you don’t like it and ask her to decide.”

Taiyang: “That’s not fair…”

Jaune: “Really? What’s not fair about it? You had her for fifteen years, old man . I’ll be lucky to squeeze out ten. You don’t get to sit there and tell me it’s not fair. Your time as the sun has passed. I’m her sunshine now. And I worked hard to get there. I killed, and bled, and almost died to get there. Over and over again I killed and bled and almost died. Worse than that happened to me too. What’s not fair? Tell me specifically? If I’m not a good enough man for your daughter you better come out and accuse me of such.”

Taiyang: “You’re not a good enough man for my daughter.“  

Jaune: “Yeah, no shit. But she chose me anyway. She chose to save me. She could have left me in the garbage where I belong. Now I’m the most powerful man on the planet and it’s all because of her. She has the power to make and unmake me. I’m only the most powerful man on the planet.”

Taiyang: “And this other girl? Weiss? You want her too?”

Jaune: “I always wanted Weiss. Ever since I was young. She was my first real crush. She was the question with the changing answer. ‘How do I be good enough?’ Do I need to be faster? Stronger? Smarter? More confident? Do I need more power? Always more power. Unending with the power. When is it enough? And of course the answer is that it’s never enough. It can’t be. I can’t be enough. I was never going to be. But she also chose me anyway.”

Taiyang: “And how did you three get together?”

Jaune: “How we got together… Ruby and I dated out in Anima. Then I got split up and they and I weren’t sure that we’d ever see each other again. Then Weiss and Ruby got together. They were always close and had good chemistry. Then when we found each other again Ruby begged me not to make her choose. She begged me. So I gave it a shot.”

Taiyang: “How magnanimous of you.”

Jaune: “Please. I’m allowed to have something . Just because you never figured out how to make it work with your business doesn’t mean we can’t. And Ruby begged me to try. I had no choice. And I always wanted Weiss. It just played out well. If we tried it again a million times I think they’d exclude me. And I would deserve it.”

Taiyang: “If you don’t deserve to marry them and you know you don’t deserve to marry them, then you shouldn’t be marrying them.”

Jaune: “Not even if they beg me to? Their heads are on straighter than mine. If they think it’s a good idea, then who am I to argue?”

Taiyang: “You sound like a dog. Why would I be happy about my little girl marrying some dog?”

Jaune: “Well, I am a dog. But I’m her dog. And I’m doin’ it because she asked me to. And I would do anything for her. Even if I personally don’t think it’s a good idea. I didn’t think this trio was a good idea. But she begged me to try and robbed me of my free will. I had to. And you don’t have to address me like you’re not also a dog. Do you? Out of you and Summer Rose, who was the person and who crawled on all fours?” 

Taiyang: “Cruel of you…”  

Jaune: “But not inaccurate. Is it? And it’s not my fault that it’s the truth. Did you deserve her? Or was she so fantastic you didn’t deserve to pray for her? When she came for you did you have a choice in sireing Ruby? Or did she tell you to come and, like a dog, you did?”

Taiyang: “I couldn’t help it. I didn’t have any choice really. I never really did. Not with Summer or with Raven.”

Jaune: “So do you think I have any choice when she says she wants to marry me and wants four kids?”  

Taiyang: “You’re supposed to be a man.“

Jaune: “I’m not. I never was. Ruby knows that. Or I’ve told her so many times she’s forbidden me from saying it anymore. Qrow didn’t like me around her. He thinks it’s dangerous because of my family. And it is. And Ruby knows that. She is so cruelly merciful.”

Taiyang: “She’s sweet like that… Summer was as well. That’s where she gets it from.”

Jaune: “And here I am hoping for a daughter just like Ruby. I’m over here praying for my heart to be broken.”

Taiyang: “A good woman is like that. On one hand I hope… this awful thing I’m going through right now… some kid does to you someday with your daughters. My granddaughters. On the other I really wouldn’t wish this on another person.”

Jaune: “I’ll look after Ruby and my daughters.”

Taiyang: “Lookin’ after ‘em is easy. Letting them go is hard.”

Jaune: “I hope I’m fuckin’ dead before that happens. Stone cold gone.”

Taiyang: “I mean… it’s beautiful. Watching her grow into the woman she’s supposed to be. It’s so beautiful I can hardly watch it happen. But I do have to watch it happen. And part of that is you. You’re the man she wants to marry. You have a role in it too. And it’s so terrible I want to laugh and so beautiful I want to cry. And I’m just left sitting here feeling it all. What am I going to do now? She doesn’t need me anymore? She’s the reason I’m alive and kicking. And she doesn’t need me anymore. And I can’t attach myself to her like a parasite. I can’t. I have to set her free. And part of that is watching her run into your arms and watching her run towards heart break and I can’t stop it. It’s agony and wonder unlike anything in the world. And all I can do is watch while my brain melts.”

Jaune: “Sometimes life is like that, I think. With the awe and horror mixing together in unmerciful quantities. But what can we do about it? We just have to lay back and take it. Or let it take us at any rate. It’s so much bigger than we are. It’s huge. Ruby has a heart bigger and stronger than my whole soul. That’s why I’m just a dog compared to her. The real reason. Not just because I do what she tells me to do.”

Taiyang:: “Sounds painful.”

Jaune: “I want to claw my eyes out but I want to stare at her forever and I deserve neither. Was it the same for you?”

Taiyang: “Largely. I couldn’t handle it. Summer was too good to me. I didn’t deserve it. And she left me with this shining gem of a daughter. I didn’t deserve Ruby either. But… my time as her light has ended. You’re her sunshine now. Isn’t that right?”

Jaune: “My turn. My turn to not deserve her.”

Ruby: *walks in carrying a box from the kitchen* “What are you two talking about?”

Jaune: "You." 

Taiyang: “I was just giving this kid my blessing. He asked for it and you trust him. That’s good enough for me.”

Ruby: “Oh, well that’s wonderful. I’m glad you two can get along. And you don’t have to worry, dad, Jaune’s good material. He’s a wonderful person.”

Taiyang: “You wouldn’t be marrying him if he wasn’t.” 

Jaune: *takes the box from Ruby on basic principle*

Ruby: *cocks her head up at him*

Jaune: *walks out of the house and puts the box in his bike’s trunk*

Jaune: *catches the tail end of their conversation*  

Ruby: “-oh? Yang? Well she’s with Blake. They’re dating but I don’t know how far along they really are with it. They aren’t pressed for time like I am with Jaune.”

Taiyang: “But you’re not rushing in?”

Jaune: *hesitates by the door* 

Ruby “No, I’ve dated Cloud for almost three years. I trust him totally and I’ve been with Weiss for almost two. Longer if you count how long I’ve been on a team with her. But I get the sense it’s not Weiss that has you worried about me.”

Taiyang: “Well… he talked a little about his family. And the missions he’s doing. I hear you say you love him and trust him. But… I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Ruby: “I’ll be fine dad. Swing by our house some time. Okay? I love you.”

Taiyang: “I love you too sweet girl. Bye. Drive safe.”

Ruby: “I will. See you soon!” *walks out of the house*

Jaune: *stares at her*

Ruby: "What?”

Jaune: “I just… like looking at you.”

Ruby: “So what did you and my dad really talk about?” 

Jaune: “I told you, you. I mean, a little about Raven and Ozpin and missions for the council. But it was mostly about you.”

Ruby: “Like what about me?”

Jaune: “Well, how many kids you want. How hard it’s gonna be for me to be a teacher, a hunter and a father. We talked about how I didn’t really need his permission to marry you. I mean, if he could stop you from doing what you wanted, then he would have stopped you from leaving for Anima. Then we talked about how I killed for you and almost died when the Scorpion came for you. He talked about how scared he was.”

Ruby: “What did you say?” 

Jaune: “I told him his time was over. I told him it was my turn to take care of you.”

Ruby: “Were you mean?”

Jaune: “Maybe… I’m a selfish beast. And you belong to me now.”

Ruby: “Be nice to him.”

Jaune: “Sure. No problem.”

If you liked this excerpt try my fanfic Motion Sickness V2

[bestworstcase]

Given the time/resources and presuming that there isn't unknown elements to setup how would you handle

A. The Reveal that Summer Rose is alive and Working with Taiyang

B. What Taiyang has been doing that is so important he's not in Vacuo?

if i were the one writing this story there is no force on earth that could stop me from doing the reveal like—well for the purpose of this hypothetical let’s pretend “time/resources” included that the 9.12 animatic did not get cut at the eleventh hour but the original 9.11 did, such that v9 is exactly the same except for the storyboard epilogue being a completed eleventh episode. given that, in my hands:

v10 cold opens in the midst of salem’s assault on vale, narrowly focused on glynda’s point of view. we use this to establish the basic sequence of events leading to that refugee ship arriving in vale, glynda and other defenders are holding the line, raven portals in to inform her grimly that patch’s defenses are falling and the ship is leaving now, she maybe expects glynda to flee with her, glynda instead thinks: mountain glenn. we might have a fighting chance there. and then sends raven to make sure the refugees make it to safety.

the remainder of episode 1 is about rwbyj getting caught up with everything. ruby has questions she wants to ask raven about summer, but she’s not forgotten how raven reacted the last time ruby reminded her of summer, and also everything else is so much, so she has a team huddle with yang about it. yang meanwhile is feeling… some way about raven being here because a) why wasn’t yang a good enough reason to stay before she ‘died’ but also b) she doesn’t not want raven to be here, so…? it’s complicated.

which leads to: yang is the one who bites the bullet to ask raven about summer. (probably not in 10.1, this is a 10.2 or 10.3 conversation depending on how high the heat is with the crown. i haven’t thought deeply about this but my impulse is to say we use 10.1 to establish what the situation is, in 10.2 we play the schnee family reunion off some sort of skirmish or setback involving the crown, 10.3 yang takes a stab at talking to raven.

now. yang is smart. and she’s had a few days to observe raven—i think she’d want some time to process mom is here? and helping?! before actually trying to have a conversation. she knows what ruby saw in the tree, and how raven reacted when ruby reminded her of summer, and what raven said in mistral.

“she lied—she left with raven!?”

versus, the truth is that truth is hard to come by, and you need to question everything, and your father and qrow are blind fools for trusting ozpin. and also: i’ve stared death in the face over and over again and every time i’ve spat in that face and survived, while raven all but choked back tears. because i’m strong enough to do what others won’t.

and yang also knows, because salem herself told them, that summer’s last mission—the one where she left with raven—brought her face-to-face with salem.

it does not take a genius to put two and two together, here. yang figures that either:

raven sold out summer to save herself, or

summer lied to raven, too

or maybe both, and either way this is an extremely sore subject—one she maybe shouldn’t start prodding right off the bat. luckily(?) there’s a safer goliath in this room she can start with instead.

where’s dad?

like, qrow told the girls tai’s “on assignment,” but little else. it seemed like he didn’t know the details, either. raven has a bond to tai—she must know where he is, right? (right, says raven, reluctantly.)

where is he? in vale. still.

if he’s trying to evacuate the ones who got left behind, why couldn’t qrow just tell us that? he’s…………not doing that.

then why isn’t he here?

<- raven does not want to fucking touch the answer to this question with a twelve foot pole, and narratively the reason we open the question like this is so that raven’s abandonment of yang—first as a small child, and then again at haven—can derail the conversation the instant raven starts squirming. probably it does not go super well from here; raven clams up, yang’s resentment and hurt come flooding out again, maybe they have another shouting match, maybe yang in the heat of the moment throws an accusation re: summer that makes raven go deer in headlights before bolting. or maybe something explodes outside the academy (figuratively or otherwise) and they have to drop it and rush to put out the proverbial fire. whatever happens, things are left unresolved.

in 10.4 we skip back just a few months. vale hasn’t fallen yet. it’s late. snowing maybe. hooded figure (a dark cloak, not white—nondescript grey or brown, maybe black, she’s keeping a low profile) is standing at summer’s grave, alone. replaying the recording of ruby’s broadcast. i hope amity tower will help bring us all together. because in the end, that’s how we’ll win—

emergency broadcast screen. static. hooded figure lowers the scroll. stares at her grave for a moment. and then from the woods behind her, salem: she sounds… just like her mother.

hooded figure startles and as she’s turning around, says bitterly: i guess it’s like they say; like mother, like daughter.

we hear her voice before we see her face, so there’s one last split second for denial and disbelief (that can’t really be her, no, what, what!?) before salem slinks out of the shadows and summer pulls her hood down and smiles wanly and is plainly not a corrupt hollowed out grimm shell of herself.

and then we do the “what happened in atlas, no i’ve not found the vault (tai doesn’t know anything 😒), salem cautiously sharing that ruby and yang ‘fell’” conversation. cinder isn’t here either implicitly or explicitly because salem isn’t sure how badly summer will take the news. to really double-underline where we’re going with this summer echoes the sentiment if not the exact words of ruby’s inspiring speech to oscar in the dojo scene; she is scared, she is hurt, but the gods intend to kill everyone, so she will not turn aside. no matter what.

(that’s the funny thing about the unserious edgy ‘ruby villain arc’ and semi-serious ‘salem fallen hero’ stuff stirred up by all the anvil-sized ruby-salem parallelism going on in v9, isn’t it? summer rose is imminent.)

anyway from there we toggle back and forth between what is now an agonizing boil of dramatic irony (they don’t know their mom is with salem) intermixed with enigma (how did this happen. why did this happen. what the HELL does raven know–) against the backdrop of burgeoning civil war in vacuo, and peeling back the outer layers of salem’s psyche against the backdrop of her search for the crown and preparation to force the coalition to risk use of the sword in vale, while tai realizes too late that he might be a boiled frog and cinder doing her level best to wring every concession she can get out of salem.

in my hands the vale storyline remains in the past relative to the vacuo storyline such that it is an inevitable build toward razing vale: we know it’s going to happen, we know there’s a span of a couple weeks, maybe even a month, between atlas falling and the sack of vale, and in this part of the narrative we’re very abruptly wrenched into salem’s side of this war—she doesn’t arrive in vale with the intention of razing it and her arc in v10 is about how and why she comes to that course of action.

and then at the end of the volume we bookend the assault on vale from the other side—cinder’s and summer’s and salem’s perspectives, tai maybe getting corralled into the mountain glenn undercity with everyone else—and play that against the climactic confrontation with the crown in vacuo to set the stage for v11.

[lovingdabeessss]

You think Taiyang has a favorite child?

💖If it isn’t my favorite tagger back again💖

Thank you for asking this, this is actually something I’ve been desperately wishing for an excuse to talk about because my defense for it isn’t great

Anyway back to the question sorry

Yes I do 100% believe he has a favorite

There’s no doubt in my mind it’s ruby

I think he loves them both of course obviously but he FOR SURE favors Ruby

We know from his interactions with Yang he tends to project onto her things about Raven that aren’t necessarily true for her the way he talks when they spar like her whole thing is anger and strength and that focusing on that is her biggest weakness, which is true for Raven, however yangs problem is her self sacrificing nature and obviously he sees Raven in her even more cause they look similar and it’s just.. she’s not someone tai has purely positive feelings for considering all the betrayal and abandonment not that he doesn’t still love her at all but you know

He definitely projects things about himself onto her as well and considering NONE of the fucking STQR family likes themselves ESPECIALLY not taiyang “11 year long depression nap” xiao long and so he’s got that against her and then she got herself abandoned putting more fuel to that particular fire

And I think while they were dealing with the death of summer when Yang started taking on roles she was too young to take he just… let her… and then eventually those things were just her job as the oldest and a lot of things became her job and he kinda slipped into seeing her as more help with Ruby then someone he was supposed to be raising

And like even when he recovers he had to get back into parenting which is hard so he probably started out just doing stuff that were already needed, and Ruby was her own problem cause she needed stuff but only really accepted getting help from Yang at least emotionally depending on how bad you believe tai’s shut down to be and otherwise she’d get things from qrow whenever he wasn’t on missions from Oz so she was just hard to get to accept anything from him

Yang despite being very supportive of the idea of him recovering and finally someone helping her out a lot and having a parent at all again… she is incredibly independent and doesn’t really seem to need anything that he knows how to give and she also genuinely probably just doesn’t know how to have a parent anymore, she’s so used to being the parent and she doesn’t remember getting to really be the kid

So she’s just kinda reduced to third parent

There’s also the fact that Ruby looks exactly like summer who he did leave off with good positive feelings for and then she’s all that’s left of her

AND Ruby’s the youngest speaks for itself possibly got that “guest in the house” treatment youngest sometimes get where they aren’t treated as much as part of the family and more of a guest which is nice but isolating even if she tried to help Yang with chores Yang would get in trouble for having her do it kinda thing

However I do think that tai would’ve wanted Yang to back off of raising Ruby so much so he could be her dad and she would maybe accept him as that more hence like the Ruby queendom things of how she won’t be there for her forever but Ruby doesn’t want him to and Yang doesn’t fully trust him to

IDK THO just messy unorganised family dynamic thoughts

IN SUMMARY!!!:

I think Ruby’s his favorite I think he loves them both but is struggling to parent in wake of the lose of his wife and struggling to relearn how to do it after his recovery and Yang struggles to even be parented and they speak NONE of these emotions to each other cause they’re allergic to talking about their feelings ever

[yankthoudong]

RUTH SLAMBAT'S (yankthoudong) V10+ BET LIST

Feel free to ask questions about any of these. I may also expand on it in the future. (Any of these happening will cause me to post "READ EM AND WEEP, SUCKERS", at least in my Discord.)

I am a true believer:

Summer Rose was the former Spring maiden

V10 contains a flagship episode-length (think The Lost Fable or Of Solitude and Self) flashback to the last mission

There was some form of consensual polyamory among Summer, Raven, and Taiyang

Ozcar and Salem will Ascend (probably not in V10 itself). Oscar will go his own separate way while Ascended Ozma and Salem live out one final lifetime together and die peacefully

When a Remnantian Ascends, they keep the Semblance of their previous form, as it is tied to the soul which is not changed in Ascension

Ascended Neo's Purpose will be directly related to Ruby

Neo's tree branch breaking is in a trailer for Volume 10, leading to hopefully-incorrect accusations that they're just trying to build hype using a fan favorite

Pietro will attempt or succeed at self-sacrificing in secret to rebuild Penny again

Ruby and Emerald bond over interlocking traumas in Vacuo (and possibly kiss???)

Tyrian is the only remaining villain to die without some form of at least debatable redemption

I go back and forth on whether I think they'll actually happen, but fuck do I hope for them:

Rosebird parents (preferably via transfem Summer, for me)

V10 will have not one, but two, full-length flashback episodes, one overviewing STRQ's rise and fall, followed by the one covering the last mission

Ren and Nora grow apart while on their break, and ultimately remain friends but don't get back together

Mostly for fun or fics but I will take full credit if they come real:

Neo Ascends as Penny

Taiyang is the Crown of Choice incarnated, combined with Summer's parent(s) being killed by Salem's agents, thus tying together STRQ as having come from strange and unusual orphan backgrounds

Ruby learns sign in Vacuo (to help with refugees, of course, haha), sparking much confusion when Neo returns and it's confirmed she doesn't know it

If they change animation programs again, they should start the season with Ruby having a Yangst/slasher-style flashback dream sequence to Tea Amidst Terrible Trouble, which has not been reanimated but is instead clips of the episode in Maya

[yoomschoocs]

Part 2 of the @rosebird-week doodle dump, in which I catch up on missed prompts! I wasn't lying when I said this part was the angsty part. I'd say I'm sorry but.. I'm not-

Like part 1, below the 'read more' you can find the days and prompts and how I used them (as well as the last artwork I warned for): Doodle dump Part 1 Rosebirdweek Day 8

Day 1: Red Thread of Fate From being ignored, to being loved, to loving someone new together, to being left. Fate will go how it pleases, and it won't continue to lead someplace nice for Summer. As the thread of fate continues to guide her path, it becomes damaged and thin, until her story ends :')

Day 7: Grieving/Loss Losing Summer weighed hard on Raven's heart. After their final mission, she brought back Summer's cloak to bring her some sense of comfort, though most of that comfort is drowned out by sadness and guilt. This day is also a small nod to my Raven animatic, where I portrayed the same scenario (except I've had a few years to improve lol).

Day 6: Final Mission Everyone knows by now that Summer's final mission did not end well. But aside from the headcanon that I think Raven was there, I also sprinkled in another headcanon I've been thinking about for a while; that this might be the moment where Raven got her Maiden Powers. 👀

And that's all of rosebirdweek 2023!! Despite being a bit late to the party, I'm glad I still got to participate. I'm definitely looking forward to next year!

[howi99]

A Qrow's nest prologue 2

All the adult are at the table

Taiyang: So let me get this straight, Ironwood asked for you to go undercover into the glass unicorn, and not even an hour later, you punched the owner in the face and kidnapped a kid.

Qrow: *crossing his arm* Yep, should i have not?

Taiyang: *shaking his head* I probably would have killed her myself. Being a dad and all... It changes you, you know? But what should we do now?

Raven: Tsk, don't expect me to take care of the kid. It's hard enough to look after mine. *Looking at summer* And yours, by the way.

Summer: *sheepishly* H-hey, i'm trying my best! But with all the negativity in anima and menagerie, i have more work than i can shew.

Raven: *sigh* I know. Gosh, if i had known beforehand how hard being a mom would be, i might have gone back to the tribe.

ST_Q: *deadpanning her*

Raven: *roll her eyes* I was joking, obviously. Gee, way to show your trust.

Qrow: *massaging his temple* Like you said Tai, i don't know what to do. I can't give her to an orphanage, she was sold to slavery by one. *Look at the ceiling* and i can't let you all take care of her, it wouldn't be fair.

Taiyang: *smirking* Way to make us feel bad uh?

Qrow: *shake his head* For once, not my intention... *Looking at the couch where Cinder currently sleep* i feel bad for the kid. I feel like i'm the only one who she will trust.

Summer: *agreeing* Yeah, with what she's been through, i wouldn't be surprised.

*Qrow's scroll violently vibrate*

Qrow: That must be headmaster dickhead. *Answering* Yello?

Ironwood: *calmly* You have 30 seconds to explain why punched the owner, kidnapped her dear daughter and why is the glass unicorn on fire.

Qrow: She was using a shock collar on the kid and was about to whip her, so i punched her. That respond to your two first question. For the fire, i would blame my semblance but considering when i left everything was fine, i think it's really just bad luck.

Ironwood: *sigh* I knew i should have sent someone else. We had a potential lead to Her Qrow.

Qrow: *irritated* What was i supposed to do Jame? Was i supposed to let it happen? Wasn't slavery abolished in your fucking kingdom? *Getting angrier* Would you have me whip children in the name of a mission!?

Ironwood: ... No. No, i wouldn't ask this from anyone, not even my most loyal soldiers... You don't need to worry about her, she doesn't know your real identity. I will... Try finding an arrangement with her. If anything, she seems more interested in getting more money for repair so it shouldn't be to hard.

Qrow: ... I wasn't expecting that of you Jame.

Ironwood: *roll his eyes* I'm still human Qrow, but you also have to understand you'll need to stay low profile for a bit.

Qrow: Yeah, with the kid, i don't think i'll have time for a mission. Gonna have to warn Ozpin about all this.

Ironwood: Please do. You got me enough paperwork already, i don't have the patience to deal with him. *Close communication*

Taiyang: *laughing* Still as courtois as ever! Not even an au revoir.

Qrow: *smirk* That would be too much from him... Welp, i need a good night of sleep.

Summer: *surprised* Sleep? Knowing you, i thought you would have already turned into a bird to fly to the nearest bars!

Qrow: *shruging* What can i say? I don't want to make the kid sad. And i don't drink every day.

[strqyr]

i cannot get over this scene. not only is there no music, only the steady ticking of a clock in the background, but this very moment? the memories of something eerily similar flooding back to tai, summer taking notice of it and immediately promising him she'll be back, his "i know", so certain despite his own insecurities?

it's so haunting and tragic. the last moment they shared together; they don't know, have no reason to doubt it, but the audience does and it's just AUGH.

and if we later learn that raven actually did leave in a similar manner, lying about it being a mission for ozpin and then never returning? i'm going feral.

but also. this man has not healed one bit and no wonder why, when each time he has had a tiny child or two depending on him. how can he allow himself to break and build himself back up again when there's so much else at stage? he can disregard the unnecessary things like taking care of the sunflowers, letting weeds take over them and what not, but whenever the sadness threatens to take over, he pulls himself together again and asks his daughter if she wants to hear another story.

and that, too, sounds eerily familiar.

[anthurak]

So I’ve been thinking more about one of the more subtle but striking questions brought up by Ruby’s tree vision:

Namely; to where or rather to who were Raven and Summer portaling to? After all, it’s been established that Raven’s semblance, Kindred Link, allows her to create portals specifically to people she has established a certain bond and connection with.

And this is particularly interesting, because of the people we thus far know have Raven’s ‘Link’, only ONE was otherwise not present in the flashback; Qrow.

And wouldn’t you know it; Qrow also happens to be one of the people we can definitively say DOESN’T know what happened to Summer, going off his talk with Ruby in Volume 7 where he mentions having no idea where Summer went or what she was doing on her mysterious last mission.

Now, as I’m sure some people will bring up, it IS possible that Qrow was actually present and is simply keeping quiet about it to Ruby. However, personally I seriously doubt that. As I simply don’t see the writers cheapening such a personal and important scene between Ruby and Qrow by later revealing that Qrow was actually outright lying to Ruby at the time.

So that seemingly leaves us with seemingly only one other option: That Summer and Raven portaled to someone else.

As to who that someone might be? Well personally, I think it would have to be someone we likely haven’t met yet. I know some people have suggested it could have been Ozpin, but frankly I don’t buy that one bit. Whatever happened to Summer is clearly meant to have MASSIVE implications, impact and general status-quo shattering revelations, all things it would make much more sense that Oz has NO idea to. Not to mention it’s kind of hard to imagine Raven forming a link, clearly a very close connection, with someone she seems to have always distrusted like Ozpin. Meaning that we’re left with a character that we simply haven’t be introduced to yet.

However, after giving it some more thought, I think there may be a THIRD option:

Raven and Summer DIDN’T actually portal to a person.

Remember just how we learned the mechanics of Raven’s semblance?

It was via Yang explaining it, via information she was told by TAI.

Here’s the thing though; Tai certainly knew how Raven’s semblance worked back when they were a team with Summer and Qrow. But it’s also been a LONG time since then. And wouldn’t you know it, these last couple volumes have ALSO introduced us to the concept of SEMBLANCE EVOLUTION.

So what if in the near-twenty-odd years since leaving her team, Raven’s semblance ALSO ‘evolved’? To the point where she can form her ‘Links’ with more than JUST people?

Perhaps now Raven can form a link with objects that have particular significance to her? Or, and this one I find the most compelling, LOCATIONS that are particularly important to her?

It’s funny that we’ve never actually known for sure where or to who Raven has been portalling to all the times we’ve seen her. Sure, in hindsight I think we’ve all been assuming it was Vernal in Volumes 2, 3, and 4, and to Taiyang at the end of Volume 5. But the funny thing is, we DON’T actually hear the characteristic sound of Raven’s portal opening in the V5 post-credits scene with Tai, only the flapping of wings. Implying that Raven may not have actually portalled to Tai directly…

Meaning that throughout the show, perhaps Raven wasn’t actually portalling to Vernal, but rather to the camp, the home which now has great significance and meaning to her. And at the end of Volume 5, she portalled not to Tai, but rather to the home she once had on Patch. Or, for the REAL spicy alternative, to Summer’s grave.

So what if at the start of their world-most-homoerotic-suicide-mission together, Raven and Summer portalled not to a person, but rather to a LOCATION that Raven was able to set up a link to?

(shoutout to @mikey-polo420 for the ask that got me thinking about this :D)

[melonishus]

Rosebird Week 2024 (Day 2) - Private Moments

Tai - Hey Sunshine !

Summer - Shut up Tai

Tai - I get it , but please come help with Raven , something’s wrong ….

[Summer gets up and jogs to Ravens tent , leaving Tai alone in hers , to see Raven sitting on her sleeping bag, looking at her feet, pulling slightly at her hair]

Summer - Raven ?

Raven - They’re going to find out , they’re going to know. I have to stop this

[Summer had never seen Raven so tense before, so fearful. She looked on the verge of tears]

Summer - Raven , I’m right here. No ones going to find out anything until you want them to

Raven - [she breathed several more times , looking between every sound]

Summer - I can take us somewhere quiet. Can I pick you up…

Raven - [swallows hard ] Y…yeah

[Summer picks up Raven and carries her far enough away that the gathering of students could not be heard]

Summer - [holds up her hands] Raven ….tell me 5 things you can feel

Raven - [look of frustration mixed in with her stress] My …sword….dirt …

…:::

[Raven lay in Summers lap, with Summer stroking her hair when Raven was ready to be touched. She was embarrassed to have shown Summer her weakness]

Raven - I’m …sorry

Summer - Raven you watched me cry watching a princess movie

Raven - [thinks about letting the conversation go but sits up] You…know why we’re here right now. Not me but …the mission

Summer - Some tribe of bandits ? Causing problems for people

Raven - [stands up and turns away from Summer] I’m part of that tribe

[Raven waited for a gasp of shock, a bite of condemnation]

Raven - Our chief, my mother ….sent us here to learn your ways so we could kill huntresses more effectively.

[Summer didn’t say anything]

Raven - We’re here ALONE ! [turns back to Summer]

Summer - And yet …I’m fine

[Raven tensed]

Summer - You think you’re a killer, but …you could have stabbed me in the heart at any time during the past 20 minutes and you didn’t

Raven - I didn’t

Summer - I think you believe you’re a killer. But at every turn you’ve chosen not to be [walks around Raven to look at her] At least as long as I’ve known you

—

Writing Requests are OPEN

@rosebird-week

[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!

[bridgyrose]

“You cant keep letting people take advantage of you!”

Summer rolled her eyes and let out a sigh as she felt Raven grip her shoulder. “They’re not taking advantage of me, Rae. Its my choice to help people whether they really need the help or not.” 

“I still think you need to make boundaries on helping others,” Raven said. “We cant keep deviating from our mission every time someone asks for help.” 

“And when did the mission ever matter to you?” Summer asked with a smirk. “Unless… you’re finally going soft.” 

“I’m not soft, I care about getting paid. And the sooner we get this mission done, the sooner we get paid.” 

Summer grinned as she poked Raven’s shoulder. “That cant be the *only* reason you’re on this mission. Three years ago I was practically dragging you to make sure you went on missions to keep your license active, and now you’re coming with me on missions on your own and even focused on making sure we get them done. So tell me, what’s got you wanting to get this done?” 

“Its not like that.” 

“Then what is it?” 

“I just think you need to be more careful about who you help and when you do. That’s all.” 

Summer shook her head and continued walking through the Mantle streets as she looked around at the people that roamed the streets. It was easy to tell that most of them were faunus who were down on their luck or had nowhere else to go, so it didnt bother her much if she stopped to help those that asked for it. That was part of being a huntress. “Does it really matter who we help out?” 

“We shouldn’t help others if we arent getting paid,” Raven said plainly. “What’s the point if we dont get anything out of it?” 

“Just because we dont get paid for every little good deed doesnt mean we arent getting anything out of it. Helping others is its own reward.” 

“Not a tangible one,” Raven huffed. 

Summer frowned and quickly pulled Raven by her arm. “Alright, that’s it. *You* need to learn to relax.” 

“Summer-” 

“No ‘Summer’ me. We are going to do our mission and help at least twenty people before we are done so you can finally feel a bit of warmth in that cold heart of yours.” 

“My heart isnt that cold!” 

Summer dragged Raven down the road and towards the crater of Mantle, certain they’d find people there who could use help. Sure it was selfish to look for people who needed help just to prove a point, but as long as those who needed help received it then it didnt really matter why she was helping, right? 

A smile crossed her lips as she came across a woman and her child standing next to a barrel trying to keep warm next to the flames that came from it. “Look, there’s a couple people here who could use our assistance.” 

Raven pulled herself out of Summer’s grip. “And how do you know they need help? Maybe they have everything under control.” 

“Because everyone needs help at some point,” Summer said through her teeth as she walked over to the mother and child. She kept a friendly smile on her lips as she reached out to the mother. “I'm Summer and this is my partner Raven. We were wondering if you needed any help.” 

“Oh, we… we could… maybe use some food,” the mother said. “A-and a couple coats.” 

Summer nodded and sat down her back to dig through her rations to find some that would be filling enough for the mother and her child. “I’m not so sure what I can do about coats, but I know I have some food here that I can give you.” 

“That would be great.” 

“This should work for now for food, at least for a couple days until things can get cleared up with the mines,” Summer said as she handed over a few ration packs with dried meat, cheese, and bread. “And I’ll see what I can do about getting you a couple coats.” 

The mother took the ration packs with a smile. “Thank you.” 

“And what are we supposed to do for food?” Raven asked. “Those ration packs are supposed to last us for the month and we cant exactly afford more.” 

“And we’ll get more food-” 

“With what money, Sum? This is what I mean by not letting people take advantage of you.” 

“We can restock before we leave.” 

“Not if we cant afford to.” Raven sighed and took Summer’s hand. “I love you, but you cant keep helping people like this. Why is it so important to you to help until you cant anymore?” 

Summer averted her eyes from Raven’s, voice cracking as she spoke. “B-because then… I… I’ll know that no one else has to be in the same position I was. Just because I lived within a kingdom didnt mean I had everything I needed. My family struggled and relied on the help of others to survive. My parents used every last bit of their money to help send me to Beacon to become a huntress before they passed away.” She wiped away a few tears and looked up at Raven again with a sad smile. “I owe it to them to help others like we were.” 

Raven rolled her eyes and started to drag Summer down the street. “That’s fine, but you have to quit giving away everything we need for our missions to help others.” 

Summer winced a bit as she felt Raven’s grip tighten around her arm as she tried to struggle to get free. “But Rae-”

“Mission first. We get paid and then we can find a way to help others.” 

“Fine,” Summer said with a small pout as they passed by a few more faunus struggling to survive. It hurt her to leave them, but she understood where Raven was coming from. “At least let me try to help someone before we go.” 

“No!” 

“I wont give away anything we have.” 

“Mission first.” Raven pinched the bridge of her nose. “Working with Tai would’ve been easier. At least he gets things done.”