Deerington App

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IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Qrow Branwen
Canon: RWBY
Canon Point: Volume 7, Episode 5 ("Sparks")

In-Game Tattoo Placement: this across his shoulders on his back
Current Health/Status: Alive/healthy, though in recovery from long-term substance abuse
Age: Approximately 40
Species: Human

Content Warnings: Violence/death, mentions of childhood abuse & neglect, alcoholism

History: https://rwby.fandom.com/wiki/Qrow_Branwen/History
CRAU History & Impact: n/a

Personality:

Qrow is, quite literally, cursed. With his semblance bringing misfortune wherever he goes, he grew up isolated, rejected, lonely, and unhappy, desperate for a sense of belonging in the world. His upbringing in a survivalist bandit tribe no doubt contributed to this desperation, fostering a deep self-loathing and fear of being a burden--after all, only the strong survived, and his existence made their tribe’s survival all the more difficult. Indeed, he’s implied to have faced at least some degree of emotional abuse and neglect as a child, admitting at one point that nobody wanted him because he was cursed. Given the way the tribe appears to operate, it’s highly likely that Qrow had to teach himself at an early age how to make himself useful enough to be worth keeping around, if at a distance, and that this need to compensate for his cursed nature made him relatively easy to manipulate. He accepts an assignment from the tribe to become a spy at Beacon Academy and learn how to kill Huntsmen (generally the largest non-Grimm obstacle to tribes like theirs), but soon ends up as one of the headmaster’s trusted inner circle and a spy for him in his shadow war against Salem at the first blush of an offer of acceptance and belonging.

And truly, it’s this particular vulnerability that seems to define him more than any other; the scars of his insecurity and self-loathing linger even decades after tying his identity and sense of purpose to Ozpin’s cause; we learn in Volume 4 that he actively hides the truth of his Semblance, never having told even his beloved nieces about it. He gets anxious and uncomfortable when pressed to explain why he attempted to protect Ruby and her friends from a distance, without revealing himself, rather than traveling together, and almost immediately goes off alone on a walk after the admittance to avoid dealing with the group’s reaction.

Despite having become a well-respected Huntsman, even a former teacher at Signal Academy, he still seems to fear not only rejection, but also the misfortune his Semblance brings, and so he holds himself apart, tries to protect everyone from the shadows. He acts immature and irreverent, arrogant and cocksure, so as to build walls between himself and everyone else, keep things from getting too serious or close. He maintains a blunt and abrasive attitude, and he can be dismissive or downright condescending to those he doesn’t particularly care about; he’s not above interrupting someone to shut them down, just walking right out of a conversation he doesn’t want to deal with, or even suggesting the other person should leave already. Moreover, he’s prone to deep depressive spells where he isolates himself, leaning fully into cynicism and fatalism and rejecting efforts to pull him out of it, retreating further into his alcoholism as an escape instead.

But he can’t hold himself all the way apart, either; Qrow is powerfully loyal to those he loves, and as someone who craves belonging, always finds himself coming back to those people and places, even if he fears lingering for long. It’s both his greatest strength and core to some of his greatest blindspots; when he gives his trust to someone, he gives all of it, and it can make him unable (or at times, unwilling) to see where things might be wrong. His first appearance in the series is when he arrives to Vale out of the blue just to pick a confrontation with Winter Schnee, a high-ranking Atlas officer, because he feels Ozpin’s wishes have been disrespected, and throughout the first five volumes and the beginning of the sixth he’s quick to defend Ozpin’s choices and decisions even when he’s caught off-guard by them, to the point where he is truly and utterly crushed when he learns in Volume 6 that Ozpin has never actually had a plan for defeating Salem, who turns out to be immortal.

It’s ultimately his loved ones that get him back on his feet again, too--protecting Ruby and Yang and their friends becomes reason enough to keep on going. For all that his love can be blind, it’s also deep and defining; once upon a time, an old man reached out his hand to a dusty old crow and redefined family for him, giving him the opportunity to choose a new path. He went from being part of a group that took advantage of the weak and the suffering to someone willing to stand up and protect them instead, and while some part of him still chafes at authority, he’s made it his life’s work to help others do the same, to keep their world as stable and peaceful as it can be. Even when those foundations are rattled and broken, it’s that love for his chosen family and the institutions that first gave him a home that allows him to find the strength to carry on, even clean himself up and stop drinking in volume 7.

Core Values/Moral Codes:

- Essentially, "chaotic good". He doesn't care so much about breaking the law as doing the right thing. Rulebreaking is fine and even fun as long as you're not hurting anyone or taking advantage of the vulnerable to do so.
- He also prioritizes friends and especially family above any form of authority and expects others to do the same. Loyalty is his defining character trait; he'll move the earth and sea for his loved ones and takes any degree of apparent betrayal extremely hard.
- Another notable trait is Qrow's categorical rejection of the Branwen tribe's ideology of "the strong survive, the weak die." He's embraced the Huntsman lifestyle and often refers to Raven's way of thinking as dangerous and something he doesn't see eye-to-eye with, and he's avoided telling his nieces about his past as a bandit, or his original intentions in joining Beacon Academy to learn to kill Huntsmen.

Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping:

▶ Aura - Every person in the RWBY universe has the ability to manifest their soul for use in combat. It can function as a defensive shield, protecting one’s body from injury (albeit not pain) and healing it over time, as well as offensively project out as a shockwave. However, Aura is limited, and becomes depleted with continual use--leaving the user’s body vulnerable while it recharges. Warping: His aura will deplete faster and recharge slower, leaving him able to take much less damage before becoming vulnerable and need more time before he can protect himself again.

▶ Semblance: Additionally, individuals in the RWBY universe can unlock a secondary dimension of their Aura, an ability unique to them. Qrow’s semblance--Misfortune--is a special case; unlike other semblances in the series, it is constantly active and uncontrollable in its effects, bringing bad luck to himself and everyone within his physical vicinity unpredictably. He is said to be able to amplify the extent to which this happens by spending his Aura, but it otherwise appears to be independent from the level of Aura he has; during his fight with Salem’s lieutenant Tyrian, a ceiling support beam nearly falls on Ruby even after his Aura breaks. Warping: every once in a while, a misfortune will come with a "silver lining", a positive byproduct of the situation his semblance caused.

▶ Espionage - Qrow is highly skilled with intelligence gathering and espionage, having initially been a spy for his tribe at Beacon Academy and then Ozpin’s eyes and ears for the fight against Salem. He’s used to keeping his cards close to his chest while uncovering others’, good at lying or presenting a trustworthy front as necessary

▶ Combat Training - Qrow is one of the most capable and powerful Huntsmen in the series, respected as a threat even among Salem’s closest associates. He’s able to fight evenly against Winter Schnee even while intoxicated, despite her high military rank, and spends months following Ruby’s group on their journey to Mistral, killing all the Grimm that would threaten them singlehandedly without ever being detected. He’s also a former instructor at one of Vale’s combat academies, Signal, where he is said to have taught Ruby everything she knows about fighting. He’s skilled primarily in weapons, able to wield his combination scythe-shotgun-sword in either hand, but has proficiency in unarmed combat as well--able to create and maintain an advantage against the powerful Faunus Tyrian even after being disarmed, enough to retrieve his weapon without taking a single blow.

▶ Crow Transformation - As part of magic granted to him by Ozpin, Qrow is able to freely transform between a crow (with full flight capability) and a human. Warping: Occasionally, Qrow will get "stuck" in bird form, unable to change back for up to an hour. His bird form may also be subject to "glitches" where he turns back into a person unintentionally.

Inventory:

- Harbinger, his ridiculous combined scythe/shotgun/sword.
- A crate of additional ammo
- A picture of his former team STRQ
- A drinking flask with his personal emblem on it
- Clover's lucky pin (oocly cleared with the player!)
- His now-largely defunct Scroll

Writing Samples:
Chitchat with Stiles in Aefenglom
Deerington TDM toplevel

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: Batty
Player Age: 28
Player Contact: goodluckmodes

Other Characters In Game: n/a
In-Game Tag If Accepted: qrow branwen: batty
Permissions for Character: here
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: y

What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: My favorite tropes are always the more psychological ones, like when the real danger is the character’s own building paranoia. I also love things like fear gas/hallucinations/heightened aggression sort of things, as well as shared dream/nightmarescapes

Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: Pictures of snakes, rotting flesh, bugs crawling around under the surface of skin
Additional Information: N/A