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masterweaverx · 3 years

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So I’d like to open this by saying I’m autistic, and I generally operate on the presumption that I don’t understand anyone--at least, not without some investigation and interaction. Take everything I say with a grain of salt.

Recently, I’ve seen posts about an interesting paradox regarding representation; a lot of writers want to include XYZ group, but don’t want to risk doing it ‘wrong.’ Thus characters are Gay/Trans/Bi/Jewish/Islam/Black/Whatever and, yet, this is unimportant. Or we have tokenistic characters where being a member of This Group is their defining and, in fact, only character trait. Either too little, or too much. Or maybe they’re background characters, done right except for the part where they don’t affect the plot.

I think there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of representation is influencing this. We’re thinking of the group as archetype--a statue that is All Defined and we put clothes on it and make it move. But... paradoxical as it seems, being a member of a group is but one of many possible character traits. And the thing about character traits is that they affect a character, and through that influence the plot, but they rarely dominate the plot unless the plot is specifically about that character trait.

To take a fantastical and therefore somewhat obvious example: Blake Belladonna, from the Web Show RWBY, has cat ears. This is A Very Big Deal, because fantasy racism and also because she’s good at hearing things. A big part of the plot is her saying “This is how my cat ears affect me, and how having cat ears affects my parents, and how I’m reacting.” But having cat ears is not her only trait--and in fact, they’re not her defining trait.

Blake enters the series having just escaped a psychologically abusive relationship. That affects how she acts around the strangers that will become her new friends, and how she’s afraid her parents will never love her again. She’s also quite well-read, which gives her an interesting conversation with character Ruby Rose at the start of the series about fairy tales and real life. She has a ninja-like combat skill and a samurai-like sense of honor, so in situations that involve protecting others she never gives up (even if she thinks she herself isn’t worthy of love at the start of the series, see abusive relationship). And she wants to make the world a better place for a number of reasons--she’s been hurt by it, she’s hurt the world herself, and it’s just the right thing to do.

All of this, and a few other factors, combine to affect how she acts and reacts to the plot of the series. When the Fantasy Racism comes up, yes, her cat ears are important--but they don’t just snap out of existence when Yang Xiao Long says “Okay, it’s time for me to talk about my abandonment issues!” or when Cinder Fall says “My bad guy contract says I have to be malevolent now.” Blake’s ears let her hear small details, and her treatment because of them has her cautious about who to trust--very, VERY important things to the plot that, nonetheless, aren’t specifically about Cat Ear Racism.

One big example I can think of is her confrontation with her abusive ex, who at this point has just gone straight up Yandere and is blaming her for everything. The scene is not about her having cat ears--in fact, the cat ears are not at all included in all the false accusations he throws out. But, because she can hear something he doesn’t, she’s able to reposition herself and let her partner join in, dramatically shifting the direction of the scene.

The character trait affects the character’s action, and through that influences the plot. It has weight, but it’s not the only trait the character has. This is true for any character trait, no matter how fantastical or realistic.

May Marigold, from the same series, is a transgender woman. And she’s not just there to say “I need my Estrogen pills!” every four hours, but neither is her being transgender just a Neat Factoid You Find In The Manual. It influences her character--pretty clearly in one scene, where she outright states her biological relatives are no longer family--but it doesn’t mean she’s just The Trans Character. And, actually, let’s take her big speech as an example of what I mean.

Weiss: People are dying here, too. Don’t you have family in Atlas?

May: No. Mantle needed me, and to the Marigolds, that meant I wasn’t their son anymore. And I made sure that everyone knew that I wasn’t their daughter. So forget ‘em. They’ve got Henry, yours have Whitley. You get what I’m saying.

Weiss: I don’t know about-

May angrily turns to face Weiss.

May: Which side are you on, anyway?

Blake: We’ve heard that before.

May steps toward Blake to confront her, but Ruby chimes in.

Ruby: There are no sides! We want to help everyone. We’re all facing Salem together. And together is the only way we’re going to get out of it.

May: (sighs) So, how exactly do we get out of it?

As the group ponders their situation, Whitley Schnee can be seen in the hallway eavesdropping on the conversation.

The point of this scene isn’t “May is trans.” It’s that she had a very bad relationship with her biological relatives, to the point where they don’t consider each other family--and that as a result of that, she associated Atlas with all that’s wrong with the world and thinks Weiss should too, since Weiss ostensibly has a similar background. Her being transgender very clearly influences her speech, but it’s not the driving aspect of the plot. In fact, Whitley overhearing this and being compared to Henry (previously established as pretty shallow and horrible) directly causes him to affect the plot by becoming as helpful as he can. This is entirely unrelated to her being transgender, and much more related to her biological relatives being horrible people.

May is, in fact, somewhat in the wrong here--but it’s in character for her to be in the wrong, as she’s basing her choices off her own experiences. That said, she’s also got a sort of ‘cool anger’ in her speech--she’s used to people not getting why she’d be insulted (since not many people would instantly get transgenderism) and so keeps her tone calm even when she’s glaring at Weiss. It’s not until Weiss begins to directly contradict her that she snaps--again, another factor of transgender life is too many people saying ‘You sure? You could be wrong.’ This is all behavior that makes sense for a transgender person, considering their likely experiences, but applied to a subject that is not explicitly about transgenderism--in this case, whether Atlas or Mantle is more important to save from big bad Salem.

Character traits affect the characters, and through them influence the plot. But the character is never just one trait, and the plot is rarely about just one thing. May is an excellent character--she’s snarky, but willing to guide the youngsters, loyal to those who care about others, encouraging and realistic, very much a person who got saddled with too much responsibility in way too short a time and is trying her best. And she’s transgender, and that affects how she acts, both when she’s being great and when she’s slipping up.

If you want to write representation, don’t write The Whatever Character. Write a character that happens to be whatever.

#Representation #Analysis #I'm willing to admit I might be wrong on this #Like I said I don't understand people naturally #I'm just going from my experiences as a writer.#Also I'm not sure if my point is coming across?

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littlemisssquiggles · 4 years

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So Willow said she bugged every room in the Schnee Mansion... sooo she got a live recording of Oscar telling James of Salem's apparent immortality. And Neo and Cinder were in there, along with a very unhappy Whiltey Schnee how might now be in control of the SDC and feeling more abandoned by his splintering family...

Heyo Miki-chan! Yeaahhh…here’s the thing with that titbit about the recording:

Even if a recording of Oscar andIronwood’s conversation should exist realistically within the show given the setupabout Willow bugging every room in Schnee Manor with cameras, I honestly don’tthink it’ll ever be used nor will it come up for the remainder of the season.

To me, I think the sole purpose of the narrativehighlighting that little detail was to: a) Provide a nice little way for Willow Schneeto contribute to the PLOT when she finally made her first onscreen debut. b) Provide a nice little way to redeem Willow’s character in the eyes of the audienceas she was originally pegged to be the quintessential ‘absent mother’ who spent most of her time drowning her sorrows in alcohol whileallowing her husband to abuse their children and run the family name that her deceasedfather once built into the dirt.

And finally c) To conveniently give Weiss the exact thing she needed to out her father for hiscrimes.

Gee-whillikers, I thought Clover Ebi was the one with luck on his side. Howlucky was Weiss that Whitley was the only obstacle keeping her back fromexploring Schnee Manor. Not to mention that it was also really lucky how noneof the staff at Schnee Manor tried to stop Weiss at all from wandering aroundthe place…in spite of the fact that the last known worker was fired for‘allowing her to leave the manor’.

How lucky was Weiss that Jacques didn’timplement any kind of new policy with the staff at the Manor barring her and herfriends from exploring any part of the premises unsupervised since she left home.

How lucky was Weiss that Jacques didn’tforce her to be a ‘guest’in her own home by barring her fromexploring the Manor; thus providing a bit of a tougherchallenge to get to her dad’s office than justpoor Whitley.

Hard to believe that this was the same authoritarian father who once cut Weiss off financially just because she chose toattend an academy far away from her kingdom rather than stay home where Jacquescould keep a watchfuleye on her and dictate her education.

Hard to believe that Weiss could justeasily return home and wander the Manor as freely as she did when she lived there back in V4…despite leaving anddespite previously telling off her father in front of the friends she pledgedwere her family over her biological one much to Jacques’ clear annoyance.

Hard to believe Weiss faced zerorepercussions because of that moment. Turns out Weiss can tell off Jacques and STILL walkaround her home like she never left. Seriously, did Clover rub off some of his goodjuju on Weiss because that is just such gosh darn luck.

But wait, there’s more! How lucky wasWeiss that she was easily able to make her way to her father’s office and findit open when she needed it to be.

How lucky was Weiss that Jacques wasthe type to keep his office shut when he’s there but somehow leave it perfectlyaccessible when he isn’t there.

How lucky was Weiss that the night shechose to snoop around her father’s office just so happened to be the same nighther mom chose to make herself present for the first time ever in the story inthe exact same place as her.

How lucky was Weiss that her motherjust so happened to have the information she needed to rat out her father onhis crimes waiting right there in the room to give it to her when she arrived.

And theglazed cherry on top? How lucky was Weissthat her mother was able to provide her with the exact info she needed becauseshe just so happened to have rigged all of Schnee Manor with cameras. Wowee! It’s notlike that detail raises any kind of questions at all. Nope. None. Weiss reallygave Clover a run for his money with just how lucky she got in V7CH8. Amazing.

Alright, alright, my dry sense ofhumour aside—Not to be that person, however the more this squiggle meister watches RWBY, the more I’m starting to catch onto the CRWBYWriters’ overreliance on the almighty Power ofConvenience for the sake of pushing the PLOT.

For example: X thingamabobble was only introduced in this one scene for the sake of providingCharacter A with the precise thing they needed for the next scene and thenX thingamabobble is never used again in the PLOT since it already servedits key purpose.

As established in V7CH8, Willow onlyplaced the cameras for the sake of having a resource to out Jacques in theevent that she ever needed to leave him, I’m assuming.

“…You puta camera in here.”

“I putthem in every room of this house, for our safety, in case I ever needed to—“

I think the camera jig was purposefullyplaced as a plot device to provide a means for Weiss to rat out Jacques on hissecret alliance with Watts. Somehow, I have a better chance at believing thatthe camera detail will never be used ever again for the remainder of V7 thanotherwise.

Unless the PLOT attempts to introduce anothersubplot in which an emotionally distraught Whitley Schnee discovers therecorded footage of Ironwood and Oscar’s conversation about Salem on the Scrollhis mother gave Weiss and decides to use the information about Salem toblackmail the General and the Council into releasing his father from prisonunless they wanted to risk a repeat of what transpired down in Mantle with allof Atlas being plunged into a panic that would bring forth another wave ofGrimm. Especially during a tense time where both the People of Mantle and Atlasare living up in the sky and tensions are even higher now as the People ofAtlas are upset that they’re forced to share their kingdom with the “bottom feeders” and the People of Mantle still blame Atlas for the decimation oftheir home.

Even if the Robyn and the rest of theAtlas Council know about Salem’s existence, I doubt they’d want to reveal thenews to the rest of the kingdom as yet especially in the wake of tense timesfor both Atlas and Mantle.

Here’s what I’m thinking: My hunch isthat by the end of V7, Mantle’skingdom will be near destroyed and infested with Grimm with most of its kingdommoved up to living in Atlas. You’vebeen anticipating a ‘consequence’ for our heroes actions, right Miki-chan?

Well what if… thefitting consequence was that our heroes’ actions contributed toward the Fall ofMantle while settings things in motion for the inevitable Fall of Atlas?

As described before, when Mantle falls,all the People of Mantle will be moved up to Atlas right? While this will markthe first time in Remnant history that Atlas and Mantle are united, imagine if…noteveryone is happy with the reunion.

I can see the People of Atlas,particularly the upperclass, lashing out at the Mantlese, accusingthem of being unwantedimmigrants exploiting the resources of their kingdom while the surviving People of Mantle would argue that Atlaswouldn’t exist without them so if anyone was “exploited”, it was the Mantleseespecially since they still blame Atlas for what happened to their kingdom.

Having a subplot where the truth isused as weapon to bring forth more devastation—this time for both Atlas and Mantle who was now forced coexiston the same soil together— that could be fascinating to watch play out. Especially if you add the detail that Atlas hasnow become the equivalent of dangling a baited worm on a hook over a pool of piranhassince… imagine that Mantlebecomes exactly like Mountain Glenn and what’s left of Beacon after its fall—an abandoned, desolate kingdom infested withGrimm from the tundra all around Solitas that have now made it their territory;making it unsafe for the People of Mantle to return to their home for a whileor ever again.

With this, I can see Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses becomingmore prominent characters for theAtlas Arc as they would have to work with theAtlas Council and Military to siphon the rising tensions in Atlas due to thedisputes among both sides of their citizens.

With Atlas hovering over a literalcesspool of Grimm in the remains of Mantle below, let’s just say that Atlascould not afford another Grimm wave like Mantle. But as I said, tensions arerising. The People are miserable and the supposed leaders of both respectivekingdoms are at their wits ends trying to deal with the demands oftheir people.

I can even picture this as being anopportunity for our heroes to gain triple the experience in the field, workingwith the Ace Ops and the Happy Huntresses to clear out all the Grimm down inMantle. However this proves futile most of the time since the Grimm keepreturning to the city in droves due to all the tension up in Atlas.

To make matters worse, what if… there iseven tension among some members of the Ace Ops and the Happy Huntresses—like Marrow and May for example— which affect the troops ability to work togetherand often creates more problems than the Grimm do.

So basically it’s a scenario wheretimes aren’t all that hunky-dory anymore. The tension between Atlas and Mantle is growing by theday, plaguing everyone including its huntsmen and our heroes are unfortunatelycaught between all of it, forced to feel guilty about the whole thing sincetheir past choices were partially responsible for placing both kingdoms in thiscurrent “rough patch”.

With that thought in mind, that wouldmake the Fall of Atlas far worse since it could potentially kill not just the People ofAtlas but Mantle as well. If Atlasfalls, there would be no place for either Atlas or Mantle to go since the kingdom in the sky has fallen and what’s left of Mantlewas now a ghost territory made unfit by the Grimm. Basically, if Atlas falls,the People of Mantle and Atlas will be forced to restart from the same place their ancestors once did decades ago.

That could be a very cool developmentfor Atlas. Not to mention it could make a really, really great season for RWBYto watch unfold. Buuuuuuuuuuuut….I dunno. These are all just ideas here. Idoubt the story would do something like that with Whitley. As I told oneanon-ninja, I don’t want Whitley to become a villain. However I wouldn’t mindhim being used as an unfortunately pawn since I can see a greater likelihood ofthat.

Then again, what I mostly want for Whitis for him and Weiss’ relationship to become a focal point of Weiss’development. Imagine if…in addition to having to deal with recovering what’s left ofMantle, the tensions between the Ace Ops and the Happy Huntresses, the tensionbetween Mantle and Atlas overall—Weiss also has to deal with tension between herand her brother.

Like she’s trying her best to be a good big sister for Whitley like Winter was to her but Whit wasn’t meeting herhalfway at all on anything. No matter what Weiss did, Whitley would always shuther down since he blamed her for placing their father behind bars—not evenacknowledging that Jacques placed himself at the foot of this door. Weiss justpushed him inside.

No matter how much Weiss tried, she couldn’tseem to catch a break. None of our heroes could. Everything was just such a messand it was only going to be downhill from there.

I dunno. I guess what I’m mostly sayinghere is that I don’t expect the camerafootage plot device to come back; given how thingsoften go within RWBY.

If it does somehow return to serviceyet another subplot like you anticipated then alrighty then. But as of now, I’mnot expecting it too, fam.

As for Neo, while she was indeed insideSchnee Manor under disguise, she was also conveniently under disguise on thesame night our heroes showed up for the Schnee Dinner. Going off of what was foreshadowed back in V6—I think Neo was only there at Schnee Manor to scopeout for Ruby and learn where her next whereabouts were going to be. Since the Fire and Ice-cream duo labelled Ruby as their target, I’m expecting them to ambushher under the haze of the Fall of Mantle. That’s my guess with that.

~LittleMissSquiggles(2020)

#squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #whitley schnee #rwby neopolitan #rwby theories #rwby volume 7 theories #rwby volume 7 spoilers #miki-13 #squiggles answers

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raybyanothername · 5 years

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A Song of Semblance and Shards - RWBY AU

The characters of RWBY in the world of Westeros, with semblances and grimms and the inescapable fight between Ozpin and Salem all accounted for.

The Fallen House of Branwen, Pt 1

Ser Winter Schnee, heir of Highgarden, is charged with taking care of a bandit problem in the western region of the Seven Kingdoms. The Branwen Tribe, however, may have ties to the fallen House Branwen, which had previously held Casterly Rock and her mother's own title of Warden of the West. Complications ensue.

-.-.-

"Why do you have to leave?" Weiss followed Winter as she walked from her chambers. Her eyes were wide and damp with unshed tears. "You only just got back."

Winter straightened and looked down at her younger sister. "The people of the Reach and the Westerlands are being ravaged by bandits, it is the duty of the Warden of the West to protect them."

"But that's father, not you," Weiss whined, balling her small hands into fists. Winter crouched down, placing her hands on her sister's shoulder. She was still just a girl, still learning.

"Do you know how father became the Warden of the West?"

Weiss nodded, "King Ozpin gave him the title after the Fall of House Branwen." Winter smiled, pleased.

"That's right. Casterly Rock held the Warden of the West from the time of the Targaryen Conquest, but it came to Highgarden after Ozpin's Rebellion." Winter patted Weiss's cheek, "And I am the heir of Highgarden."

If Weiss could tell she was leaving things out, she didn't say, she merely nodded. "I understand." She hugged Winter fiercely then, "Please come back safe."

"I will," Winter kissed the top of her sister's head and then stood. She rode out from Highgarden with a small contingent of knights and squires.

The bandits were last reported on the edge of the Riverlands, near the Golden Tooth. She did not head north though, but south, towards Dorne. The bandits were not just run-of-the-mill outlaws, but an organized force calling themselves the Branwen Tribe. The last two Branwens were suppose to be in Dorne.

-.-.-

Winter spent the ride to Starfall reading the books that the maester gave her on House Branwen. He'd slipped a letter in with a few missing bits as well, which Winter appreciated. She'd been just a babe when Ozpin rebelled and her grandfather had kept Highgarden staunchly neutral. It was only after his death that her father had declared for House Pine on her mother's behalf.

House Branwen had remained loyal to the Targaryens and been nearly wiped out for their trouble. While the last Targaryen, Princess Salem, had escaped to Essos, the last Branwens had been stripped of everything - land, titles, freedom - before they'd reached their tenth year.

Raven and Qrow. They were odd names by Winter's standards, but the Branwens had named their children after birds for centuries apparently. Descendants of the First Men, several of the Branwens had claimed to be able to warg into birds. With a history like that, Winter reasoned it was sensible to keep such a tradition.

The books said that the twins had been fostered in King's Landing after their mother's death and their father's execution. The Dornish Princess Summer had also been fostered by King Ozpin and when she returned home to take her seat the Branwens went with her.

It was the letter that filled in the blanks. The twins were often under the care of the Grand Maester, their training was personally overseen by the king himself. He entertained no suitors for the girl and would allow no knights to squire the boy. Winter knew bastards that had been treated better.

"My lady," one of her men leaned from his horse to tap her shoulder. She folded the letter back into the book as she raised her head. They'd reached Starfall.

They were greeted immediately by a boy with strikingly blue hair and a flirtatious smile. "I'm Neptune Vasilias, heir of Starfall," the boy bowed, low and dramatic. Winter raised a brow. "I'd be happy to show you to your rooms."

"Has the envoy from Sunspear arrived yet?" Winter asked the boy as she dropped from her horse. She patted the white mare softly as she slid her book into the satchel on her side.

"Uh…" the boy rubbed at his neck, "Princess Summer is here. If that's what you mean." Winter's brow moved higher. She'd sent a raven to Sunspear with her request for a meeting at Starfall. She had not expected the head of House Rose to come herself.

Winter nodded to her second-in-command before walking up to the boy, "Then I will see her first, before my room." She continued into the castle, leaving the boy to stumble after her. She smiled, Neptune was probably Weiss's age by the look of him, but he reminded her more of Whitley with his bluster and bravado.

He left her at the entrance to a room, running ahead to inform the Princess of Winter's arrival. He ushered her into the sitting room with a flourish and then fled immediately, as if he expected a fight. Given the history between the Reach and Dorne, that was probably smart.

"What exactly do you want from this, Lady Winter?" Summer Rose did not look away from the window beside her seat. Winter tensed. The title irked her, she'd worked hard for her knighthood. She could see Summer was distracted, however, so she chose not to take offense. For now.

"There's bandits in the western lands. They're calling themselves the Branwen Tribe."

Now the Princess of Dorne turned her eyes on her guest. Silver met blue, hard and unflinching. Neither blinked.

"I would like to speak to Raven and Qrow. They may hold insight into who may be behind this group of outlaws." Winter very carefully did not accuse either twin of leading the group, though it was obvious that at least one of then was.

"Come with me."

Winter followed Summer from the room. They navigated through halls and staircases before coming into a small courtyard. Two girls were practicing with wooden swords - one fair-haired and the other dark. While she'd never met the Dornish princesses, she had heard of them. There were rumors that they were both Sands in truth, that Summer had married the man from Bravos to legitimize them.

Such rumors seemed preposterous when looking at them. The older had the same look as Taiyang Xiao-Long and the younger was a near twin to her mother.

It took Winter a few moments to realize that the man standing beside the royal consort was Qrow Branwen himself. By that time, Qrow's eyes had pinned her to the ground. Winter swallowed.

"Qrow will tell you what he can," Summer turned to winter with a sour expression, "But I'm afraid Raven left us at the beginning of this summer."

That was when the Branwen Tribe had first appeared. Winter nodded her understanding, "I can assure you my goal is not bloodshed. I merely wish to bring those responsible to justice."

"The only justice you'll get from Raven will require bloodshed." Qrow's voice was deep and gravely as he appeared by her side. A shiver ran up Winter's spine at the sound. Her face remained composed.

"We don't know th-"

Qrow snorted, "Stop dreaming, Summer, we both know it's Raven. She's always wanted to go home." He shrugged, "Guess she finally decided to do it."

"You believe your sister is leading the bandits then?" Winter asked him, head tilted to the side as she looked into his red eyes. He nodded. "Would you be willing or able to tell me what tactics and strategies she would utilize?"

Qrow leaned into her space, eyes narrowed as he looked her up and down, "No." Winter scowled. "She's willy. But I will help you."

"Help me?" Winter raised a brow. In the short time she'd been standing with Qrow, her entire field of vision and awareness had been shrinking. Now, the only thing she knew was Qrow. His eyes, looking into hers. His body, just a touch too close for propriety.

"Yeah, help." Qrow's mouth quirked up. "I'll go with you."

-.-.-

It took two weeks to track down the bandits' camp. It had been Qrow's suggestion that they head toward Castamere and, lo and behold, the bandits had taken the abandoned castle as their own.

"My sister's always enjoyed a little irony." Qrow settled beside her on the cliff. Their shoulders knocked. Winter ignored the clench of her abdomen as Qrow's breath sailed past her ear. "If she doesn't have sentries, I'll eat my sword." His chuckle sent what felt like the hundredth shiver through her body.

Winter was beyond frustrated with herself. She'd worked with attractive men before. Seven hells, she'd squired for Ironwood! But here she was, reacting like a girl from some stupid song to Qrow Branwen, a scruffy-haired swordsman from a fallen house.

"Can you keep a secret, Schnee?" Qrow whispered and her head moved to look at him. He raised a brow, waited, eyes focused on hers. He never used either of her titles, but when they spoke he looked into her eyes.

"Depends on the secret," Winter said before looking back out at the landscape. Qrow chuckled again and she felt his eyes travel down her body as he propped himself up on his side.

A hand ghosted over the exposed skin of her arms, "I think you're trustworthy." He muttered something more under his breath about not regretting it and then he was gone.

Winter started, rising onto her haunches and grasping the pommel of her sword. That's when she saw the bird. Red eyes focused intently at her as it sat on a low branch.

It cawed and then took flight. Winter tracked it, keeping low. The crow flew over the small wooded area below the cliff that surrounded the castle. It circled the ruin and then returned.

Just like that, Qrow was lying beside her on the ground again. His shoulder knocking against hers. "That a secret you'll keep?" His head was pulled low and close to hers. Improperly so.

"I don't think anyone would believe it, were I to say anything," Winter swallowed hard, "But yes, I will keep it." Qrow's thanks were whispered directly into her ear and she felt the pull of his lips upwards against her skin when the shiver ran down her body.

Winter shoved him away with a glower, "Behave yourself, Qrow." His eyes lingered on her body a moment more, before he met her eyes.

"Nope."

-.-.-

They took the castle with little bloodshed. A fact she thanked the seven for when it became obvious half the so-called bandits were barely old enough to lift a sword, let alone wield one.

Qrow had taken one look at the group of children and fled the room. Winter didn't blame him, though she did go looking for him after the children had been disarmed and corralled. She found him easily enough, sitting on the ground outside and leaning against a decrepit wall.

A hand motion stopped her. He stood, eyes suddenly trained on a spot directly in front of him. She saw the red sparks in the air and took cover behind the wall.

"So, you're with them."

The voice was deep, like Qrow's, but decidedly feminine. Winter pulled a small mirror from her satchel so she could watch the interaction on the other side of the wall.

"So, you're using children." Qrow had a hand on his sword, but Raven had hers drawn. Her body had tensed at his words.

Winter couldn't make out Raven's face through what appeared to be a Grimm mask. Grimm resided beyond the wall, there were sightings at times, but there hadn't been a sighting south of the Neck since Ozpin's rebellion.

"Why are you doing this, Raven?" Qrow sighed when he spoke. His hand left his sword and he slouched back against the wall. Despite his posture Winter could tell his entire body was tense.

Raven snorted, "Why not? They're not our people anymore."

"Ozpin took the titles, not the responsibilities."

Winter blinked. She'd assumed Qrow was helping her because Raven was his sister. She hadn't considered that he might hold some loyalty to the Westerlands still.

"It's Ironwood's problem now." Raven spit the name as if the taste of it made her sick. That, that was more along what Winter expected. "Or Schnee's. He's the Warden of the West."

Winter's shoulders tensed at her father's mention. He wasn't, technically, a Schnee. He was the younger son of a younger son from the North. Her mother was, ostensibly, the one that held the titles of Lady of Highgarden, Warden of the West.

"Don't lie to me, Raven." Qrow's voice took on a darker edge. "You don't give a shit about Jimmy. He's just a puppet, always had been. This is about Ozpin."

Raven snarled, "You say his name like it's nothing!"

"He is." Qrow shrugged. "We were safe in Dorne. Happy." Raven snorted again. "Something to share?"

"We've never been more than someone's pets. First we were Ozpin's, then we were Summer and Tai's." Raven's voice had dropped lower. Qrow had straightened at the mention of the Dornish princess and her husband.

Winter didn't know how to process what she was hearing. Every sentence was loaded with history, with a past that was only hinted at in Klein's letter and books.

"If you think they're like Ozpin, you're an idiot." Qrow's hand fell onto his sword again.

Raven chuckled, dark and derisive, "We're just tools, little brother. Weapons they can aim at their enemies." She gestured with her sword, "And I'm not going to be anyone else's pet again."

The sparks returned as she slashed the space beside her. A portal opened. Raven was gone. Qrow slouched back against the wall again.

"Are you alright?" Winter asked as she came out from the other side. She stood beside him, a hand hovering just above his arm.

In seconds her back was pressing into the stone as Qrow's lips covered hers. She could have shoved him away. Should have, even. But her arms wrapped around his neck instead, fingers curling into his shaggy hair as his mouth moved against hers.

His tongue slid across her bottom lip once before he started kissing along her jaw. Winter groaned, arching into his chest. She hooked a leg around his waist and rolled her hips. He bit into her neck with a moan.

Winter pulled his head back up, kissing him in earnest. He made little noises as her teeth scraped along his lips and her tongue pressed into the roof of his mouth.

"Are you a maiden?" Qrow gasped when he broke the kiss. He breathed into her mouth, lips barely parted as he stared into her eyes.

She met them with her own, "Does that matter?"

"Not to me."

-.-.-

They reached Casterly Rock in a fortnight. Lord Ironwood met them at the gate with his guard. The children, the bandits, were escorted to cells.

"What will be done with them?" Winter asked as they walked into the hall.

Ironwood smiled at her, "You always did have a soft heart under all that iron." He sighed, "Your father sent word that they should be punished to the full extent."

"The mines?" Winter's eyes widened. They stopped in the grand hall. The men behind her all froze at her tone. Ironwood's eyes flickered to them as he nodded. "They're only children."

"It's the standard punishment, Winter."

Qrow snorted and the whole room looked to him. He was trailing along the side of the hall, eyes gazing upward as he took in what had once been a familiar room.

"Do you have something to say, Branwen?" Ironwood's eyes hardened on the man. Qrow's gaze fell to his. Winter's spine straightened at the intensity.

"I just thought this was your land now, Jimmy, not Jacques'." Qrow gestured outward. "You've met my sister. You know how she likes to talk with her sword. You expect a little kid to tell her no?" The eyes sharpened, "You couldn't."

Winter raised a brow at her mentor. His whole body had tensed, even as his face smoothed out. There was definitely a story here, but she could ask Qrow later.

"What would you suggest, Qrow?" Winter asked him. She felt Ironwood's gaze move to her, but she kept her eyes focused on the man before her.

Qrow inclined his head, "The Nights Watch." He looked to Ironwood, "They're not old enough to take the vows yet. They could work and train and it would give you time to decide what to do with them."

"They could still end up in the mines," Ironwood crossed his arms, "If they're not willing to join the Watch when they come of age, they'd be right back here."

Qrow shrugged, "When they're of age, you'll have a better sense of who they are. You can make a more informed decision."

"You know," Ironwood chuckled as he nodded, "I'd forgotten how clever you are, Qrow. If a little, unorthodox." He gestured for his guard captain, relayed his orders. When he led Winter into his solar, he called for Qrow to join them.

There was definitely a story. Ironwood handed Qrow a glass of whiskey, set the bottle beside him. Qrow rolled his eyes and set the glass on the table untouched. Winter watched them with careful eyes. There was a lot left unsaid as they took seats opposite each other at the table.

Winter sat beside Qrow, watched Ironwood's expression. His eyes flickered between them and his lips twitched as he smiled. It was, Winter was certain, a very interesting story.

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