Application for Empatheias

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⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Qrow Branwen
Age: IT'S A MYSTERY? Actually I've found it stated nowhere but prooooobably late thirties? Maaaybe early forties if you squint. As far as I've found, Team STRQ's ages aren't listed anywhere, but they're old enough to have teenaged children and his hair is starting to grey so....? Ozpin calls him a dusty old crow, he plays the old man card well. >.>
Canon: RWBY
Canon Point: Post-Volume 5.

Background: Qrow's Wiki.

Personality:

Qrow is a bit of an enigma - and a contradicting one at that. A lot of the details of his backstory are still shrouded and unknown but we're given a lot of really interesting glimpses into how he thinks and reacts in the volumes he is present for. On one hand is his persona as the lazy and incorrigable drunk, one which - while true in its own way - is also one her perpetuates for his own ends. Besides, he's rarely compromised even when he is drunk (as shown multiple times, but especially in his duel with Winter) so his efforts to use alcohol to dull other things have a purpose for him. Even if it does exasperate most people around him. Or, considering his hint of a perverse sense of humor and difficult personality, maybe especially because of that. He can often come off as rude, brash, blunt, abrasive, and even downright lewd. He's not afraid to speak his mind, even if it offends and is shown to be very opinionated about certain topics. And certain people.

But that's not all he is, and the longer we see him, the more this is hinted at. He's also a skilled and capable Huntsman, one well-known and with a renowned reputation in Remnant. His role as Ozpin's eyes and ears have sent him to every corner of the known world and he's done well for himself in this wandering role. He has contacts everywhere - both those in the open and others who prefer to stick to the shadows, showing that he's surprisingly good at interacting and working with people of varied natures, despite his enforced loner persona. He has proven himself reliable and loyal enough that he serves in Ozpin's selective inner circle, privy to the man's knowledge and secrets. And what's more, when things at Beacon turn dire, it is Qrow who is left with the instructions to keep an eye on things as well as to keep his most treasured possession safe, showing just how deeply this two-way trust and loyalty goes.

Despite his outer carefree and careless nature, Qrow is a person who holds very deep loyalties. While he is not quick to trust, those who do earn it are people he would do just about anything for. And he's someone who takes his responsibility to those people very seriously. Whether it is Ozpin and his duties for him, or his family, or even those he fights beside and to protect - when push comes to shove, he will give it his all and not back down. In this, he often shows a very determined side, one that can even easily be pretty stubborn in certain situations - again, often when his opinionated side rears its head. He is shown carrying out Ozpin's orders no matter how dangerous or dire the situation may seem. And when Ruby and her friends set out on their own, he follows and protects them from a distance for what is assumed to be months, keeping almost all Grimm off their trail single-handedly. He takes on Hazel to protect Oscar/Ozpin. He grows outraged at Lionheart for betraying the Huntsman and Huntresses in his lands. He baits and lectures Ironwood for endangering the people of Beacon by bringing his army and inciting fear and uncertainty and showing a lack of trust in Ozpin's plans.

One very large note in his personality is the effect his Semblance has had on his life and his outlook. Being the perpetual bearer of bad luck - more often to everyone around him, but also himself by default - it has left him cynical and sarcastic and aloof, keeping his distance from everyone around him - and the more important those people are to him, the more careful distance he keeps. Because his Semblance is one he cannot turn off, he carries the responsibility for this very seriously - and the regrets he believes he may or may not have caused weight heavy on him. It's safer for everyone if he keeps his distance, remains seperate.

This is never gone into in detail in the series but there are little hints here and there - the photograph he carries around of his own school Team for one. One of him with Raven, Summer, and Tai, a team that's fallen apart in the years since. Summer to death, Raven to her own convictions, and Tai left to raise two young girls alone. While Tai also has a copy of this photograph shown in the series, it is carefully preserved in a frame. Qrow's version is something he carries on him always and shows evidence of what may be many tears shed over it and the trace of a glass set down over Summer's face - the one of their team that died, even if nothing is known about what happened.

It's shown that he cares deeply for his nieces and holds his responsibility to them very seriously, watching over them always (if also almost always from a distance) and showing up when they need a protector such as when they were small children set upon by Grimm, or when Ruby needed a teacher to help her learn how to weild her unique weapon, or when she set out for Haven with her friends and he followed her for months to keep her safe, including fighting off one of Salem's most trusted followers to keep her safe, almost at the risk of his own life. It's obvious he cares deeply for them and after the words he throws at Raven for abandoning her family, it's pretty clear what his viewpoint is on the matter, and yet he also holds himself apart despite that. In his own way, it's the best protection he can offer them from himself. Another example of this is when he uses his bad luck in a fight against Tyrian, a dangerous fighter that is seeking to take Ruby back to Salem. While he manages to hold the man off, Ruby keeps trying to help him, even though he repeatedly warns her to keep her distance. While his bad luck affects him a time or two, it definitely affects Tyrian quite a few times during the fight and, as he feared, almost kills Ruby completely by accident. He saves her but takes a poisoned blow from Tyrian before defeating him but this is an example of his worst fears realized - not being able to protect the people most important to him... from himself.

I think it's this outlook that contributes heavily to his dry sense of humor and sarcasm. On one hand it's a defense mechanism, a way his humor peeks through while also making sure people keep their distance. Although he really can be quick and witty, with quirky observations and one-liners, it's more of a dry (and occasionally lewd) sense of humor, sharper than the puns that Tai and his niece Yang seem so fond of. But sometimes when he lets his guard down, this sharp humor softens into pure mischief, hinting at the person he had been when younger (and never really grew out of?) or perhaps who he might have been without his Semblance being what it is. It comes out a lot more when he's drunk - playful, spontaneous, almost more carefree and roguish. A risk taker in search of a bit of fun or a bit of a challenge. Something that's definitely too dangerous to indulge in when he's entirely sober, but I think the alochol helps dull those sharp edges a little, too. As much as a hassle he might be to deal with when drunk by those around him.

Overall, he can be summed up as someone who set out to become a Huntsman for less than admirable means but found his true calling in it in the end. But his bad luck has always followed him and made him more closed off and cautious, reluctant to trust and reluctant to let anyone get too close. Since he can't let himself fall back on the bonds of companionship so many often do - even if he may very much want to - he focuses instead on what he can do. His duties and responsibilities as a Huntsman, as one of Ozpin's inner circle, and as an uncle. He's endured loss and loneliness and probably a great deal of conflicted loyalties, regrets and guilt, but he keeps moving forward, coping how he can (even if it's by questionable means), making a difference where he can. But it has definitely shaped his perspectives, his opinions, and his interactions with those around him. He has little to no patience for disloyalty, for blind stupidity, for betrayal. he's quick to speak his mind, but he's also endured and experienced more than many ever will and so has insight and understanding into situations that many others might miss entirely or overlook. He wasn't chosen to be Ozpin's eyes and ears for nothing, after all. He knows how to observe, and what's more, to understand much of what he observes in the world and situations around him. It what makes him so good - and so dangerous - at what he does and that's something he takes satisfaction in it. There might be a lot of things he denies himself but this? This he can do.

Abilities:

Combat: Qrow often fights with his unique weapon, named Harbinger, which has four different forms that shift between scythe, sword and shotgun, giving him an advantage in both melee and ranged combat. He is known as one of the most competent and capable fighters in the series and fellow Huntsmen and even a few of the villains are shown to be reluctant to engage in a fight with him. Even while intoxicated, he held his own against one of Atlas' highest ranking officers, easily outmatching her and then even showing her up in front of her superior. And when disarmed against a powerful enemy - one of Salem's most trusted followers - he simply falls back on hand-to-hand combat, holding his own with an adept skill that hints at an expertise long-honed.

Aura: Aura is the manifestation of one's soul in the RWBY universe, and can be used for a wide range of abilities. We're not shown a lot of how Qrow uses his, but it is assumed, considering his position in canon, that he has long since mastered it. He is shown using it in battle, releasing arcs of Aura against enemies as an attack in addition to his weapon.

Semblance: Qrow's Semblance is "misfortune" and unlike a lot of other Semblances in the series, is always on and almost completely impossible to control. Rather than trying, Qrow (and occasionally those who are aware of his Semblance) instead often tries to use it to his advantage, because he brings misfortune to just about anyone in his vicinity, which gives him an advantage against enemies. Unfortunately, it also puts him at great disadvantage when around allies, family and friends, so he tends to keep his distance out of necessity.

Huntsman: Qrow follows his own path as a Huntsman - being part of Ozpin's inner circle has him travelling often and over great distances, so he gets around to pretty much everywhere, giving him a well-known reputation in a lot of places and making him comfortable at being able to blend in in a variety of scenes, whether it be a military city or a shady bar on the bad side of town. He is experienced and skilled in his profession, able to handle most things that get thrown at him on his own (something shown by the fact that he trailed Team RNJR for months without them ever knowing and killing off hordes of Grimm before they could ever reach the teens, all without much of a problem).

He is resillient and durable (despite his weakness for alcohol and short skirts) and shown to endure both intense physical force (in his battle with Hazel) as well as poison (after his fight with Tyrian) - although the latter's toxin did eventually take him down, it took a while to work through his bloodstream and it is assumed that a wound like that would have likely been deadly for anyone else. He is fast and agile and has incredible instincts and reflexes, all of which make him a formidable opponent against both other fighters and monsters.

Qrow'd: One unique aspect Qrow has to call on is a gift that Ozpin gave to both him and his sister - that of transformation. Not much is known yet about how it works or how it was granted, but both Qrow and Raven are shown using this ability now in canon and it appears instantaneous and painless, a shift of shape between human and crow and back again. Ozpin states that he gave them this gift to let them be his eyes and ears in places that their human bodies would not allow them to go and Qrow, at least, has used it faithfully to aid Ozpin's cause ever since.

Alignment:

Piphron: distrust and trust; Trust and Distrust seem to resonnate the most strongly with Qrow, who acts as an informant and spy in the series and can probably count the number of people he truly trusts on his fingers. He is often suspicious of many around him and plays his cards close to his chest. Being part of Ozpin's inner circle has only made this tendency more pronounced since he's aware of what is truly going on in the shadows behind everything.

Other: He will be arriving in his usual outfit, with his flask and Harbinger.


⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉

General Sample: Qrow on the TDM

Emotion Sample: Example One and Two.


Questions: