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savventeen · 1 year

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heart is full of fairy lights

pairing: joshua x gn!reader rating: G wc: ~1.3k summary: you finally return home to your apartment after studying abroad, and your roommate joshua can't seem to let you out of his sight. some potentially maybe-more-than-strictly-platonic feelings are had. warnings: none tags: fluff, pure fluff, oh my god they were roommates, friends to maybe-we-could-be-more-than-friends???? a/n: this is for the lovely ko-fi anon as part of my emergency commissions who requested "soft, fluffy, touch-starved shua" <3

Joshua can't seem to keep his hands off of you.

And not in a sexy way (shut up, Seokmin), but in a way that's... gentle. A simple need to be close and nothing more complicated than that. All night, he hasn't been more than an arms-length away from you. He was the first to greet you when you walked into your surprise "Welcome Back" party, and his touch has been trailing after you ever since.

Joshua can't seem to keep his hands off of you, and like a flower blooming towards the sun, you've been soaking up every ounce of his presence.

You'd missed him — more than you'd thought you would when you left to study abroad for the quarter.

Calls and texts and facetimes hadn't been enough, and as you sit together on the couch — surrounded by friends as you're pressed together at the shoulder, hip, and knee — you think maybe it hadn't been enough for him either.

It's late by the time the rest of your friends have trickled out of your apartment, leaving you and Joshua still pressed together on the sofa. The newfound silence is a peaceful relief, and you sigh as you let your head fall to the side, resting it on his shoulder. You only whine a little bit when he slightly adjusts your positions so that he can wrap an arm around your shoulders, giggling quietly at your annoyance.

"Long day?" he asks.

You simply groan in response, and he gives you a commiserating hum in return, squeezing your shoulders a bit.

God, you'd missed this so much. Just— getting to sit together and soak up the simple physical affection.

You're not sure how long the both of you sit there, but you think you might have nodded off because the next thing you know, Joshua is gently shaking your shoulder.

"Hey, y/n, c'mon, you can't sleep on the couch. Let's go to bed."

You know he's right, but you groan in frustration anyway and lean more of your body weight on him. "Make me," you pout.

His reply is immediate. "Okay."

Uh oh.

"Wait—"

And then he's sending you sprawling over the couch cushions as you let out an indignant squawk. You splutter as he stands up and holds out a hand to you, a calm smile on his face like he didn't just literally shove you over.

"How did I manage to forget how absolutely deranged you are?" you mutter as you grab his outstretched hand.

He shrugs at you, and then he pulls you up so you're both standing. You glare at him half-heartedly, and he just keeps smiling at you like the cat that caught the canary.

After a moment, something in his expression softens, and he gently squeezes your hand. "Let's go to bed. Also, um." His smile turns a little nervous at the corners. "I have a little surprise for you."

"A surprise?"

He nods. "Yeah, it's in your room, c'mon."

You follow him the few feet down the hall to your bedroom door, hand still clasped in his, and then he turns around to face you.

"Wait here," he blurts, dropping your hand as he opens the door and quickly slips inside, closing it right behind him.

You blink at the space where Joshua just was a second ago, wondering what kind of surprise needs him to leave you out in the hall like this.

Less than a moment later, he calls through the door, "Close your eyes!"

"What are you doing?" you call back, suspicious. You don't think he's about to pull some kind of prank, but you also wouldn't put it past him. Especially if he's been hanging out with Jeonghan recently.

"Just close them!"

"Ugh, fine." Still suspicious, you roll your eyes before doing as you're told.

"Are they closed?"

"Yes."

A pause. "Are you sure?"

Am I— You manage to keep your eyes closed as you roll them even harder. "Yes."

"But how can I be sure?" Even muffled through the door, you can hear the teasing in his voice.

"Joshua Hong."

There's a click as the knob turns and the near-silent whoosh of the door opening.

"You know I hate it when you use my full government name." The pout is evident in his voice.

"And you know I hate it when you keep me in the dark." You gesture to your still-closed eyes. "Literally, this time."

He huffs fondly. "Not for long."

Before you can open your mouth to reply, he gently grabs your shoulders and leads you into your room, shifting so that he's behind you.

The teasing atmosphere has melted away, and it leaves you standing in his warm presence. "Open them," he prompts quietly.

You do so, and you can't help the gasp that escapes your lips. "Oh my god, Shua."

Your room looks the same as normal, except instead of being lit by the standing lamp you keep in the corner, the room is softly illuminated by the strings of fairy lights now hanging above your bed.

"You've talked about getting them for forever and..." Joshua starts explaining. "I don't know, I just thought it would be a nice surprise to come home to."

You walk forward, out of Joshua's grasp to get a closer look at the lights. "It's beautiful," you murmur. And you're not just talking about the lights, you're talking about the gesture, too — the fact that Joshua took the time to get the lights and set them up in your room so that they'd be ready for you when you got back.

It's not a grand gesture by any means, but somehow, pressing into all the nooks and crannies of your jet-lagged heart, it feels like one.

You turn back around and without a word, wrap your arms around him and squeeze.

He immediately squeezes back, resting his head against yours. "Welcome back, y/n." He sighs, in what almost sounds like relief. "I missed you."

You know the tears that start to gather in your eyes are in part because of how exhausted you are, but the fact remains that you can't put into any kind of words just how much you missed him too, and just how much that feeling is bubbling up inside your chest and pressing against your ribs.

Squeezing back even tighter, you hope he can feel the I missed you, too you're trying to hug into him.

The world narrows down to just the two of you, holding each other in the glow of the fairy lights, and even though you know you need to sleep, you don't want to let this moment go — let him go.

So you don't. After a few moments, you start to waddle the both of you toward your bed, Joshua going along without complaint, and soon you're both tipping sideways onto the mattress with a startled oof.

You wiggle on top of the blanket until your head reaches your pillow, and you pull Joshua up along with you until you're lying face to face. The fairy lights above you paint galaxies in his eyes, and the look he's giving you is so full of something that it feels like your chest is filled with galaxies, too.

There's a lot that's going unsaid between the both of you, you know, but there's only one question you can think of asking right now.

"Stay?"

"Of course, y/n," he murmurs. And if his eyes hold galaxies, then his smile holds the moon, soft and beautiful and always waiting for you, no matter how far you go. "Always."

#joshua fluff #svt fluff #seventeen fluff #joshua x reader #joshua x y/n #joshua x you #svt fanfic #svt fic #seventeen fic #seventeen fanfic #savv writes #savv fics #hope u guys enjoy the fluff #im not a hundred percent satisfied with it but i hope u all still like it

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bougiebutchbinch · 7 months

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"I'm not surprised; I'm just disappointed"

- all of us @ the OFMD writers right now

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golden-headband · 7 months

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Lady Time… and your new helpers.

Fem bodied!Reader x ESAU Wukong and Macaque

AU created by @emelinstriker

Macaque appeared as if he was about to whine like a puppy, looking up at you as you lay on the bed, unmotivated, and without energy. Uncomfortable. And slightly irritated.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything?” You heard Wukong ask gently to your right. You turn your head into his arm. You had assured before that just lying down with them near you was enough to sooth you in this time of… well… being born a female.

After they discussed-many times-how they could help, you came up with a position that both of them could stay by your side and help you. Knowing they liked the closeness and that feeling of helping you even when there wasn’t really much they could do. Macaque could lay on your left side, using his portal- or shadow powers- to bring chocolates to you while Wukong laid on your right with his hand over your tummy. Where your pain was centered on. You knew that period pains were different for everyone. For you? It felt like your bladder was turned into a vortex of dull knives. You knew the remedies were either painkillers first thing in the morning, or just having something to eat. Hot beverages, heat over the pain. That’s what worked for you before. And chocolate. Lots. And Lots. Of Chocolate. Hence why they had caught you making chocolate chip cookies a few days ago. You were the kind that kept a calendar marked for every time so you could ready yourself for that messy week- or in your case the first few days of the more extreme pain. And since then, they had been eager in helping you in your time. Apparently they had gone through enough Master Incarnations that they had familiarized themselves with more remedies than even you had thought of. You were honestly amazed at how attentive they were. You had only been with them for about three weeks. This was your first time being their Master with your menstrual cycle arriving.

You had always been told guys get uncomfortable with the mention of periods, so you were more used to dancing around the topic, but here they were talking about all the remedies like you were coming down with the common cold and they would be there to help you the whole while. It was endearing.

“The warmth is enough I don’t need any pain killers…” You assured them. Feeling Macaque nuzzling into your side. Making you smile, almost laugh. “I’m better than I was this morning, I’m thankful for that.” You reassure them, moving your hand to lazily scratch Macaques head, feeling him leaning into your touch. On your right you could feel Wukong nuzzling into the crook of your neck. It was all so soothing.

“You sure you don’t want to hit us?” the dark simian offered, making your heart sink. And making him lower his head. Right. You always forget they can ‘feel’ your emotions through this whole ‘bond’ thing that made them insistent on serving you. You wondered if they also feeling this period pain. You sure hoped not.

“That won’t make me feel better. If anything it’ll just make me worse.” You reminded Macaque. You cared too much about them to take your anger out on them. “Besides, I’m not all that angry. I’m just uncomfortable. The chocolate helps though… thanks for making another batch of cookies. It really helps.” You turned and he rose up, knowing exactly what you were going to do. Your lips touched his forehead, and he melted. Both of them curled into you. Their soft fur soothed you. And gosh darnit feeling their tails around you filled your heart with butterflies all over again. They stayed close… until you had to get up.

“Are you alright?” Macaque hurriedly asked. You knew they already missed the excuse to cuddle with you.

“I’m fine. I’ll be right back.” You didn't look back at what face Macaque was making or the probably concerned look on Wukongs face.

“Do you need us to do anything? We’ll do it right away!” You heard Macaque try to reassure you as you stood up and almost wobbled-the price to pay for not using your legs for so long-focusing on the specific door.

“I don’t think this is something you can help me do.” “Why not?” It would’ve made your heart sink hearing how distressed he was. Like you were dismissing his abilities, no confidence in him after all he's done. But then you turned, and he saw which direction you were headed.

“I’m just gonna use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” You heard how deadpan your tone was. And seeing their expressions almost made you laugh. But you really did need to go. No matter if you had chocolate, pain killers, or heat… if you needed to go, your pain wouldn’t subside.

You knew as soon as you were done, Wukong and Macaque would be there to be your lil snuggle buddies and take care of you while you ride out this whole period thing. You planned on giving each of them a kiss as thanks for everything they did. But where though? Head? Cheek? Lips? ... eh. All of them. Yep. All of them. You concluded with a smile.

#lmk esau #esau wukong #esau macaque #eternal servants au #lmk esau fanfic #not sure what else to tag this. got inspired by... well. my own lady time and started writing #hope you all enjoy it. why is this my first fanfic to post? XD #i realized the first draft didnt have many wukong which wasn't fair to him.#also i almost ended it at the joke but i wasn't satisfied. i wanted to end this fluffy #also cracking up at the new term “shark week”XD #lmk wukong x reader #lmk macaque x reader #esau wukong x reader #esau macaque x reader

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myuminji · 7 months

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So........ What about vash and ww from Badlands Rumble? 🥺

there issss 🥺🥺🥺

#and they're my favourite actually cuz blr ww is somehow the combination of all ww in one #also i actually like blr bcs that's the closest I could get to scenarios of 'vash died and ww lives'#and i am ashamed to admit i'd infuriatingly let blr vash have his way just because he is cute #idt im including them bcs there's not enough content i could make out of them but i hope this tiny snack could satisfy you anonn 🥺🥺#myuask #myuminjidoodle

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youngerfrankenstein · 2 months

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Soundwave superior.

This is why you don’t mess with someone’s cat.

#Transformers #Maccadam #Skybound #TF Skybound Spoilers #I guess?#Don’t get me wrong I love both of these <3 #But you need the variety y’know?#And MAN if Soundwave doesn’t deserve it after all this time #It’s oddly satisfying #Also a character tossing a weapon aside to beat another to (the verge of?) death will always be PEAK for me #There is no weapon cool enough to make it better than how visceral one character #hitting another until they stop moving is #All that said I do hope Screamer survives by some miracle #He’s such a joy of a villain #And I want to see more of him #…But I will accept it for Soundwave leading the Decepticons #Found a copy I could read lol

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nellasbookplanet · 7 months

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Okay but a thought of mine given new rise by the animated intro after having it niggle at the back of my mind for months now are Ludinus and Otohan as villains and who’s going to be standing as the final big bad at the end of the campaign, the way Vecna and Lucien did for c1 and c2.

Because the obvious answer is Ludinus. He’s the instigator, the leader of the cult, a villain in the making for 2 whole campaigns and over a thousand years (not to mention the one who's actually interacted with the party outside of fights). But Otohan is the one standing center stage of the villain line-up in the opening. She’s the one shown actively fighting the party. And, more importantly (as narrative matters more than barely glimpsed easter eggs), she's the one tied to the history and setting of Marquet, who has actual stakes in the people there and has fought for (and against) them before in the Apex War (while the place Ludinus called home was torn down centuries ago, leaving him caring for seemingly nothing but his ultimate goal since). She’s the one who’s actually Ruidusborn, and she’s tied to the Luxon as well with her strange magic. And despite all this, she’s mostly passed under the radar so far, given very little developments or motives or history or even personality. She’s little more than a cool aesthetic and a handful of threats.

And here’s my thought: maybe that’s on purpose. Ludinus, in his great arrogance, has placed himself as the greatest threat, and he’s being treated as such by the Hells. But is he? He steals immortality, appropriates the very concept of being Ruidusborn while holding a secret resentment for lacking the very powers it grants. He barely knows what he’s doing, and certainly not what he's about to unleash. And is there anything more satisfying than seeing a deeply arrogant and hubristic villain taken down by his own folly in underestimating those around him? So what if, as the final fight edges closer, the person actually holding the powers Ludinus pretends to steps up out of the shadows she placed herself in, keeping her motives to herself, barely remarked upon by Ludinus or the Hells or the audience, and personally cuts him down and takes her place as THE exalted Ruidusborn?

#critical role #cr3 #ludinus da'leth #otohan thull #listen seeing arrogant villains who think themselves unbeatable taken down in great battles is cool and all #but there’s something deeply satisfying in seeing them made small by something utterly avoidable #ludinus thinks of the gods as his ultimate enemies #imagine the horror and confusion on his face if his right hand woman #(the one who’s place and powers and land he's brazenly laid claim to)#casually steps up and stabs him in the back #revealing that she’s been playing him since the start to grow her power while keeping her actual motives close to her chest #mr mercer i am begging you let us know more about otohan and the apex war. let her be more than a battle piece with a fancy backpack #not tagging this as spoilers bc it isn’t but I SURE HOPE IT WILL BE #nella talks cr

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yuriyuruandyuraart · 10 months

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motorcycle sketch featuring cross!! >:)

#art #illustration #utmv #xtale #xtale sans #cross sans #cross!sans #cross #sorry about the empty space at the side hh xD that's where my references were #i mixed so many different motorcycle poses and parts and honestly? i'm so happy with this!!!#i got inspired by a guy riding his (full leather jacket- sleek black helmet and leather pants) in the city and idk it looked so PRETTY!!!#it was the type you see in movies it was so impressive! but he also stood out cause who wears black (LEATHER) jackets in SUMMER??#i was dying in my t-shirt and jeans but i guess the wind blowing while driving would negate the stifling warmth hhh x)#so when i decided to make it i knew i didn't wanna color the piece- nor spend ungodly amounts of time drawing clean-ish lineart #for a machine with sooo many details like damn xD so i went the sketch-y route! comic book style hehehe >;)#if alex sees this then i was also inspired by your killer drawing!! i finally understand how satisfying your sketching method is waa<3333 #i would tag you but i'm always unsure if i should unless the au belongs to them/it's fanart so aaa hope you read the tags? muah ty again!!#(btw cross is human here- fem or not is up to interpretation; but then i realized it could kinda be interpreted as a skeleton too soo #just forget the skele knuckles and you have all versions in one piece!! >B)#i couldn't pick which one of the two end results was my fav so you get both versions >;) <333 #and not using blurs or effects this times makes me love it even more waa >:'D the only thing i used a layer option for was the watermark!!#like goshh this was so fun to draw hhh hopefully you guys like it too :D <3333

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kale-of-the-forbidden-cities · 4 months

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i'll do my best @necromycologist

i also included a made-up school called amanita - basically between foxfire and exillium, it's a non noble school for those who are still fit for society. Turns out a lot more of the elvin population is talentless and/or bad match! but you never get to see any of them. and the nobility makes it sound like the worst thing in the world

💙 blue-unicorns Follow

wdym "math isn't important for nobility"

#foxfire #foxfire memes

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☹️ sad3lfposts Follow

did. did foxfire blow up

#IDK I'VE JUST HEARD THINGS #was it. sophie foster. again #foxfire #sophie foster

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🏙️ forbidden-cities-enthusiast Follow

Dame Alina: *fairly good prinipal, tries to treat students fairly* Alina: *becomes a councillor* Councillor Alina: Let's force a child to put an ability restrictor on his best friend :))

#dame alina #councillor alina #from what i've seen she used to favor sophie a little right #welp. #foxfire #memes #nobility memes #foxfire memes

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🍁 maple-leaf-laurier Follow

although amanita has more students than both foxfire and exillium, we always get forgotten? remember that whole thing between those schools and the skill training stuff

#amanita #exilllium #foxfire #meme

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🕶️ personal-exile-deactivated2010630

i'm actually going to cry. just my luck. fml

#guess that means 2 less years of foxfire. woo. #foxfire #meme #talentless

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🦢 moonlark-foster-2000 Follow

Okay, so. TIL that there is not one, but TWO elvin schools named after a fungus. First Foxfire, and I am just now learning about amanita- you guys do know that's a fungus, too, right??

#my posts #foxfire #amanita #foxfire memes #<- can't believe that's a popular tag. I'll have to check it out lol #fitz don't come after me for saying fungus plsss

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#hope that's enough and that you're satisfied with your experience #kotlc #kotlc elfblr #sophie foster on the dash #kotlc foxfire #kotlc exillium #kotlc memes #fake tumblr post #fake tumblr dash #getting invested in some of these blogs.#fun fact one of these accounts is my oc- bonus points if you can guess which one lol #(doesn't count if you already know)#had some fun making memes #ignore how i made them all in imgflip

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hiraganasakura · 4 months

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bcus they have different definitions of family

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#original post #'hey hira why are you so obsessed with these two—' autism. i hope that answers your question!#ok but srsly. i've genuinely worked rly hard on this post for the past like. 3 days?#i didn't think it'd lead to me deducing all of this about the twins' pasts but here we are lol #this'll probably flop due to the length but like. i don't mind tbh! this is mostly to satisfy my own silly brain [affectionate] anyway #i'm genuinely looking forward to seeing them in v10 #since the storyboard for the scrapped v9 epilogue had raven in it #i hope they somehow reconcile and come to understand one another like weiss and whitley did #tho. i have a bad feeling that even if they do it will end in one (or both?) of them tragically dying before the other's eyes #but that's not rly relevant lol #anyhow i am not sry for inflicting you all with my branwen twin brainrot. it will happen again #i'm having sooo many thoughts on this rewatch and they just keep on coming #rwby #qrow branwen #raven branwen #branwen twins #rwby9 spoilers #i hope there's no glaring errors here. i read thru this post multiple times to be sure but it's so huge i may have missed smth irjnfbpbne

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