My Fave Branwen Things:

my fave branwen things:

raven has red eyes and lightish red aura & qrow has lightish red eyes and red aura

hero / monster dichotomy

"the branwen twins have always been... interesting, to say the least." <- thank you oobleck for the food

their weapons are named harbinger & omen, like who came up with the name first and who followed along or was it a team effort? i need answers.

what is up with their semblances, they're so in sync in the angstiest way possible that i'm just AUGH

speaking of angst: their backstory is painful but also super interesting to explore. would like to see it one day :')

they really are birds

Baby birbs

Honestly the way Ruby was reluctant to form new connections at Beacon, wanted to appear normal, but then went out of her way to prove to Weiss her worth, before she was assigned as the leader, makes me assume that she's sort of a people pleaser. Ruby appears way more like a people pleaser than Yang.

Ruby is complicated because her decisions and behavior stem from her desire to walk in her mother's steps.

I'd imagine she would be perfectly fine with not interacting with people -, the attire choice, beyond allusions to her mother, always felt to me like her way to separate from the world around her.

Where I think it gets complicated is that while she doesn't really want or need people to give her validation, at the same time, others deconstructing her motivations or poking holes in her ideals is her ultimate weakness. It's why Roman's big monologue on that airship serves as a crucial moment that tears her down as a person.

(and it's why the V3 finale is built in such a way that tears down her motivations and destroys her while contrasting it with narrative framing her as a leader in that Arena stand-off segment, not to mention being part of some secret ancient legacy - Ruby is given validation but it's not what she needs nor what she wants)

Meanwhile, Weiss's very existence challenges her very being - Ruby's first impression of her is that of a rich social butterfly who flourishes in crowds, always ending up the center of attention - someone smart, someone who is a powerful fighter and someone who knows what they want from their life.

Her introduction and Weiss's early interactions with Ruby all scream at her - "This is what a Huntress should be, this is what a competent person looks like and you are not like her."

This clashes with Ruby's own self-doubt - her need to "belong" in Beacon due to how it ties into her life's purpose - her need to BE a hero/Huntress like her mother.

She doesn't really want to be liked or useful, but she wants to be a Huntress.

She doesn't want to be praised nor to get that positive feedback, but she can't stand any negative feedback.

She wants to deny her, she reacts to react Weiss in a specific way.

But more importantly, Ruby wants to prove Weiss wrong, and she wants to prove herself wrong.

At the same time, I think Ruby subconsciously gravitates towards people who are hurt (whether dealing with grief or trauma) but have to put on cheerful masks to survive - it's not a coincidence that Ruby's first "real" friends are Weiss (abuse survivor and someone who struggles with identity issues) and Penny (existential crisis due to exploration of developing consciousness) and that the huntress she idolizes is Pyrrha (someone who struggles with being put on pedestal and who had to keep up appearances all her life to the point that it would drive others away and she would struggle with genuine interactions).

At some level Ruby recognizes those struggling with the same issues as her and relates to them - Ruby and Weiss's relationship only truly takes a step forward when Weiss lets her guard down around her in that V1 dorm scene, which means that in the end what progresses their relationship is less Ruby proving herself and more of both actually being vulnerable around each other and thus kindred.

In fact, I'd say the show specifically tells that "proving yourself" is a bit toxic of an idea - it's understanding and connections that matter in the end.

Like, it's the most obvious with Jaune, who doesn't prove to be stronger but, rather proves to be a better person than Cardin by actually willing to risk his life for someone who actively blackmails and bullies him.

There is a certain overlap between Yang and Ruby, though because, in a certain way, Yang's coping mechanism and how she behaves is emulating Ruby, but both are doing it for entirely different motives.

Yang hides a softer, vulnerable side behind a hard-headed, angry exterior, while Ruby hides all her anger and emotional turmoil behind a cheerful, more reserved facade.

Yang rushes headfirst and takes the hits, while Ruby, even at her closest combat range still keeps her enemies at a distance, not to mention having a semblance designed around avoiding hits.

Yang's choice of attire is extravagant and draws attention to her, while Ruby's is designed to blend in and hide.

Yang copes by getting into fights to let off steam, while Ruby bottles it all inside till she can't.

Ruby gravitates towards a person hiding her loneliness behind a facade, while Yang gravitates toward someone who feels aimless just like her.

At the end of V3, Yang copes with trauma by shutting down and distancing herself, while Ruby copes with anger outbursts, essentially reversing their positions.

Yang and Ruby both parallel AND contrast each other.

Yang derives her self-worth from how "useful" she can be to others because she doesn't know what she wants in life and because she has mostly just gone with the flow after giving up whatever childhood dreams she might have had.

Ruby on the other hand knows what she wants from life but it is outright impossible - being viewed as a hero wouldn't make her one nor let her save people, for example. It's exactly why most of the first volumes are just her delaying(or running from) that realization of just how silly and impossible "And then everybody lived happily ever after" is in that world. It's something she had refused to face since Summer disappeared, after all.

rhaenyra and her little lady, syrax 💛🫶🏻

Red - Killer by Ruan Zoe

redesign of show rhaenyra in ep.7 and ep.4