VARNAÐR

ind. sel. pri. raven branwen of rwby. as flown by missa. revived 03/2023.

[varnaedhar]

VARNAEDHAR / RAVEN BRANWEN. as adored by missa. 21+, she / her. pst-7. not spoiler-free. using beta editor.

carrd • playlist • starter calls • memes

A STUDY IN: making difficult choices and living with the consequences. the repeated breaking of your bones in exchange for wings. rage as fierce as a hurricane and twice as deadly. staring at your reflection and seeing someone you don't recognize. wishing you could change the past.

[caeloservare]

"You got that right." Of course his people simply didn't have information about one bandit queen anywhere in high or even middle priority tasks. Must have been overlooked or a system bug, obviously.

"Robyn? No, you'd only end up making her the martyr and a reason for Mantle to revolt in the middle of lockdown while we're trying to prepare for Salem's visit. Not even my best people can fight her and our own citizens same time."

"Leave her be. I have enough of murders that people secretly blame me for already."

[varnaedhar]

"Robyn." She repeats the name, as though it had been on the tip of her tongue the entire time. She knew, of course: it was in her best interest to know these sorts of things, but that never stopped her from teasing. His reasonings for sparing her were sensible enough, but dull.

"Fine, fine..." The world had enough insanity right now, she supposed she could spare him that much.

Bored of toying through James' paperwork, Raven turns her full attention back onto him -- that blood red gaze watching closely. He looks more tired than irritated, though she supposes that's to be expected when you have the entire Kingdom held aloft on your shoulders. "But I still think I would be a better ally to have on your side than that old woman."

[unlockthestars]

Her mother is one of the few people that is allowed to touch Yang's hair, especially so extensively. She had insisted on growing it out after both of her other parents remarked on how much it made her look like Raven, and it was starting to get just as wild as hers.

Yang pouts when she says that she couldn't have missed her that much, but before she can reply, Raven scoops her up into her arms, and the little girl lets out a happy shriek instead of words, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck as she settles her on her hip.

"I did too miss you," she insists, but there's a happy smile on her face as her mother nuzzles her nose against her, and its almost as though Yang was lit up from the inside with how brightly she's smiling. Her mother was home and wanted to know what she'd been up to.

She could show off what she'd been learning, and what she'd been trying (and mostly failing; Ruby was still too young to really understand) to teach her baby sister.

"Mom and Dad have been helping me read better!" she exclaimed, little arms still wrapped around her mother's neck. "And I've been trying to read to Ruby, but she doesn't seem to care," Yang pouted for a moment, but it's gone just as quickly, replaced by another smile. "Can I show you? I'm a lot better than the last time I tried!"

[varnaedhar]

Yang is insistent upon the fact that she did miss her, and Raven cannot explain why that fills her with a strange sensation of warmth. Her daughter had more than enough family in her absences -- between Tai, Summer, Ruby, and Qrow, she was certain that her little girl never wanted for attention. Still... perhaps there was a bond between blood that ran deeper than she could have expected.

"I missed you too, little dragon."

The confession falls more easily than she would have expected. Even after all these years, openly admitting her feelings was not something that came with ease... except for her daughter. She was the one who Raven could hide nothing from. Nuzzling her nose gently into Yang's hair, she takes a moment to just enjoy holding her, the scent of her little girl -- she'd been using Summer's shampoo again, and the two scents together are a pleasing one.

Withdrawing as Yang begins to speak, Raven gives a little nod in response, a half smile touching onto her expression. Teaching Ruby to read? The girl was barely toddling, or so she had thought. Setting Yang back down, she gives a short nod toward the house, "Show me."

[unlockthestars]

Raven is still on her feet, and those crossed arms serve to put yet another barrier between them, the way she'd been doing since she left, even when she dropped by, thinking he wouldn't notice. But he almost always knew when she was nearby, even in bird form. When your wife could turn into a bird at will, you got pretty familiar with exactly what that bird looked like.

Tai gets to his feet, ignoring Zwei's protests and crosses the room, so he's more on an eye level with Raven, even if there's still space between them. If they were going to talk about this, talk about his daughters, one of whom was hers, then they were going to be on equal footing.

Everything Raven was telling him…., it just got worse and worse, didn't it? Oz being back should have been some comfort, but he knows it's not that simple, that there's a hell of a lot involved with that, including whoever was carrying him…., Ironwood…., Tai hadn't seen James Ironwood in a while, but he'd hoped the man he had known, the man who had sent Yang a state-of-the-art prosthetic without even being asked could be counted on.

Salem had a maiden on her side, there was one in Atlas…., and now Ruby was fighting all of those forces combined.

Of course, there was always the possibility that Raven was lying….., but there wouldn't be any point to that. No, she was telling him the truth, which made it all that much worse.

"I know you think I'm crazy for wanting to go towards all of that," he started, and there was fire behind his eyes, steel in his voice, "But our daughter is there, in all of that. And don't you dare try to lie to me, to tell me that you don't care, that she made her choice and has to live with it. You wouldn't be here if you truly didn't care."

He takes another step towards Raven, closing the distance between them, so that he doesn't have to raise his voice as he asks again, "Why are you really here?"

[varnaedhar]

Tai got to his feet, and Raven's posture stiffened slightly. Not out of fear -- he would never hurt her, not physically, not without one hell of a reason, but it was unusual for him to place himself on level with her these days. It was an almost aggressive motion, though she doesn't see any anger directed at her in his gaze. Distrust, perhaps. Irritation. But not anger, not truly.

He was crazy, but she held her tongue on that matter. 

When he so accurately dresses her down, Raven scoffed and turned her head, unable to meet that gaze of his. He had that look in his eye, the one he'd had all those years ago at Beacon. That fire that she had always been drawn to, the dragon which had become his namesake. She doesn't deny his accusation; there was no point, not when they both knew he was right.

Tai steps closer, and it takes everything in Raven not to retreat.

"I..." She starts without thinking, crimson gaze locking onto his own once again. Her throat tightens almost painfully, and she has to force out her words: "I don't know. I shouldn't have come -- I just... I needed..." She exhales a sharp breath, hand moving to hold her side. Wounds which should have healed by now, but she hasn't stopped to give her Aura the chance it truly needs.

She hadn't come here for pity, or sympathy, or any of that. She came here because of her daughter. Because she knew what was going to happen to Atlas. She'd been telling Ozpin and his followers as much for the last twenty years.

"...Yang isn't going to want to see me, Tai. Not after what I did. But I can send you to Atlas."

[littleblackqrow]

"I dont think he could make it mandatory. Its not like you can get a grade for how well you go to a party." Qrow shrugged. "I suppose you could bitch out and hide in the dorms. No one's gonna stop you if you say you've got papers to write or some shit.

"It's gonna be lonely sitting up here all alone though." He looked over at his sister slyly. "Tai's going. You wouldn't want to miss watching him embarrass himself on the dance floor, would you?"

[varnaedhar]

Raven huffed out a short laugh at Qrow's remark about not being graded on how well you go to a party; she's fairly certain that there is some sort of rhetoric out there, some guideline that she was unlikely to fit into. It would be just her luck, to get a failing grade in something like that.

"I'm not bitching out--" Her tone is a bit sharper than the bored voice she had been speaking with only moments earlier, tossing the pillow off her bed at him. Far from an effective projectile, it barely manages to make contact with her pest of a brother. "And I don't need to go to a party to see Tai make a fool of himself."

Damn him. Perceptive bastard.

[aestasrosis]

“ i don’t blame you , ” summer laughed with a shrug , finally letting herself relax in this moment with her teammate . “ my family is from atlas . i only recently moved to vale . cant say i exactly miss atlas , though . gods , that kingdom is a wreck . ” summer didn’t have siblings like raven did , or a farm to go & tend to like tai . it was just her & her mother , a former atlesian military officer & huntress . after the death of her father , she’d decided to move her & her daughter to vale to start over . so far , it was working .

as for raven : summer knew she was secretive , that she kept herself guarded & reserved for a reason . summer had been that way too once , & it had almost destroyed her . she wanted nothing more than to prevent raven from going down that dangerous path , but there was nothing she could do . she learned that you couldn’t simply force others to accept your help , & she had offered it . now , she’d wait for raven to come to her , whenever she was ready . summer wouldn’t stop waiting for her .

“ i think you look beautiful tonight , ” she grinned , genuine adoration in her tone . raven was absolutely the most gorgeous woman summer had ever seen . she carried herself with such confidence & poise & summer had spent all year striving just to be like her . deep down , part of her believed that raven should have been elected as their leader .

“ do you like beacon , at least ? i mean , maybe it’s too early to tell , but we do have like — three years left . ”

[varnaedhar]

Summer attempts to relate to her, and Raven wishes that she could say their situations were the same. Wishes that she could smile as openly as her teammate did, wishes that all of it came as easily as it seemed to for the rest of them. Yet she cannot, and simply nods numbly as Summer speaks of her family and home.

She wants to confess it all, but she knows that it would be her undoing -- and she cannot do it without dragging Qrow down along with her. She can't bring herself to take all of this away from him, as well.

"That, little Rose, is because I hardly look like myself." She's grateful for the shift in conversation, for the remark that gives her a chance to return to a more casual tone. Something familiar. "Trust me, you don't want to know how long it took to get my hair to look like this. And it's only because Qrow's stubborn that he managed it."

Bolder, now, with the more relaxed air: it's her turn to spin Summer outward and pull her back in, closer than they had been before. The hand on her waist shifts to hold the small of her back, humming out low in her throat as she contemplates how to answer. "...I like it well enough. Enough to not want to leave." 

It's the truth, and perhaps the most honest she's been that evening. It stings at her tongue, to be so vulnerable. "Of course, I'm stuck with you either way, aren't I? I have a feeling if I left now, you'd track me down and drag me back."

[imuwu]

"raven and tai/summer are divorced" do you think raven has the patience and willpower to read through and sign divorce papers? do you think she even knows what divorce is? do you think summer and tai never had a fraction of hope that she'd come back? that woman is still, legally, married,

[rpmusings-galore]

                        ….. i was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

[pmpknsoup]

imagine your ex turning into a bird so she doesnt have to pay child support for her daughter that you adopted

[leneemusing]

too many people saying their muse is feral,  not enough muses biting people unprompted.  seems like no one wants to just fucking chomp down anymore  

[varnaedhar]

@deviousdoctor: Kisses Raven's temple.

Oh? What an unusual touch, and Raven's hand comes to swat him away like he's a bug invading her space -- not making contact with him, but doing a good enough job of pulling her head away. "And what is that all about, hm?"

semi-unprompted

[varnaedhar]

@anonymous: How did you fall in love with Tai? The two of you are so different and he doesn't really seem like he'd be your type

"He wasn't. He isn't."

For a moment, that seems to be the only response that the bandit queen is going to offer, before she fights that bile rising up in her chest back down to try again. "Taiyang was... undeterred. In a way that I had never experienced before, he was determined to know me. No matter how badly I tried to keep my feelings locked away, no matter how many times I bit and snarled at him. He always... just kept coming back. Always with that smile of his, that resolute positivity... like a sun that could never be extinguished."

But how? Even she couldn't say with certainty. One day she had simply woken up and realized that the sight of him with other women was irritating her in a way she hadn't felt before. Her soul had claimed him long before her lips ever did.

"He was persistent. I suppose that's the best answer I have for you."

semi-unprompted

[varnaedhar]

@anonymous: Are you able to use other weapons?

"I'd be a pretty fucking worthless huntress if I couldn't."

Although, that would have been far from the only reason she was a pretty pathetic excuse for a huntress. "Every huntsman has their preference, but a good one is trained in a variety. Never be caught with your guard down, and all that. I prefer blades, but I'm a decent enough shot and I will fight tooth and claw if I must. I've even played around with Harbinger, years ago."

semi-unprompted

[varnaedhar]

@anonymous: Did you know your parents?

"No, I didn't. Either Qrow and I were abandoned or our parents never owned up to it. Whatever the case, I'll cut you off from the next question: no, I don't care, and no, I don't want to know who they were. They didn't care to know us, why should I?"

semi-unprompted

[varnaedhar]

@flightofaqrow: throws a rock

Joke's on him: her reaction time is still pretty good. Good enough that she can both swing her sword to open a portal behind him and duck her head to the side at the same time. Let's see if the alcohol has dulled his skill enough that she can hit him with the rock he threw.

semi-unprompted

[varnaedhar]

I know it's like hours after the fact but if that transphobic person who went after corvidkins is following this Raven, just know that you aren't welcome here either. uwu

[varnaedhar]

What Form of Gentle Affection are you?

'I miss you' texts

long nights full of yearning and fantasies... intimate secrets you'd be embarrassed to say out loud... passionately reuniting once again... you want a love that is desperate and passionate, you want someone that will make you feel like you’re living a romance novel. you want to feel the fire burning in your chest when you see them. you want every touch to feel like fireworks, and to discover something new about them every day. while this addicting fire can be fun to chase, try not to drop every lover once the flame seems to have died down. sometimes the most intense burn comes from the fire you continue to kindle, and it is worth it to settle in front of a hearth.

tagged by: @caeloservare​ thank you uwu tagging: steal it