#rosebird

So first off, thanks! Glad to hear it XD

And I’ve actually discussed the possibility of Summer being trans a few times over the years since I started theorizing on Rosebird Parents. And where I’ve ultimately landed is that while I think it’s a cool idea (definitely a lot of AU potential), I don’t think it works all that well in canon.

Namely in that Summer having been the one to be pregnant with Ruby simply gives her far more plausible deniability that Tai could be Ruby’s father. Basically, Summer being trans and thus unable to get pregnant turns Ruby’s true parentage into an ‘open secret’ for anyone who actually knows about Summer being trans. And makes it a lot more questionable as to how this information could have been kept from Ruby and Yang this whole time.

And even if we assume that Summer was VERY secretive about being trans and only her teammates knew, that still ends up painting Qrow in a rather unfavorable light for keeping this secret from Ruby all this time. Like in particular it would make their conversation in Pomp and Circumstance rather uncomfortable in hindsight. The scene paints Qrow finally being fully open and honest to Ruby about what he knows, and doesn’t, about Summer, yet it turns out he was still hiding a MASSIVE secret from Ruby.

Whereas, as I detailed in this post, if Summer was the one to get pregnant with Ruby, then it’s quite plausible that Qrow wouldn’t actually know that Raven is Ruby’s real ‘father’. Or at least not know for sure, and thus not be comfortable with dropping this massive bombshell on Ruby just on a guess.

Again, Summer being trans makes Rosebird Parents into way more of an ‘open secret’, whereas Summer having been the one to have Ruby makes it entirely possible that ONLY Summer, Raven and Tai actually know about Ruby’s true parentage, with Qrow being the only person in any kind of position to even suspect otherwise.

I always feel bad about shooting this theory down, because I do think it is cool in and of itself (again, some fun AU potential), but when mapping out the narrative logistics of it all, I just don’t think it works well in a canon context. As opposed to Raven being functionally intersex or some advanced medical procedure or magic chicanery being involved (personally, the last option is my favorite).

A shocking reveal that feels totally out of nowhere at the time, yet in hindsight all the signs to it were right in front of us all along.

Because the thing that makes the reveal that Raven was the Spring Maiden all along WORK as well as it does is that it really is meant to feel completely out of the blue in the moment. There isn’t any direct foreshadowing meant to ‘prime’ the audience to think that this even could happen.

From the moment we first start hearing about the Spring Maiden in Volume 4, as far as all of the characters seem to know, she is this teenage girl in the care of Raven. Qrow is positive that Vernal is the Spring Maiden and all the other characters down the proverbial chain of information, from our heroines, to Leonardo to Salem’s cronies, all take that information at face value. Right up until Cinder gives Vernal a fisting with her Grimm-arm, we the audience are given no overt reason to doubt that she is the Spring Maiden.

But in hindsight afterwards, ALL the signs were sitting right in front of us the whole time.

The fact that Vernal doesn’t seem to use her powers much (most notably in the Haven battle), or the fact that she never does so when Raven isn’t around, even just the fact that the first we hear about the Spring Maiden comes from Raven.

And of course, the ENTIRE scene in A Perfect Storm where Vernal ‘shows’ her powers to Cinder and co. Like this entire scene really is just the show dangling ALL the clues for the reveal right in front us. The fact that Vernal closes her eyes, thus giving her convenient reason to not show the eye-flames that appear whenever Maidens use their powers. The fact that Raven is conveniently wearing her Grimm helm that can totally obscure her eyes and face, and therefore any eye-flames SHE might have. Heck, just the fact that Vernal ‘chooses’ an indirect use of her maiden powers in the form of summoning a storm, rather than doing something that would affect/emanate from her more directly.

Notably, I do think one key factor in this was timing; this was back when Maidens were still a fairly new and unfamiliar concept for the audience and we hadn’t quite gotten a sense for them yet, like how this was only the second Maiden we were introduced to. For example, it hadn’t been made fully clear just how ubiquitous the now-iconic eye-flames were to Maidens, so Vernal not showing them probably didn’t stick out to most people.

Basically, the reveal is ‘hiding in plain sight’ in part because the audience doesn’t yet know they should be noticing anything amiss.

And the fun thing is, a potential Rosebird Parents reveal has ALL the same qualifications we just went over, just writ large over the course of basically the entire show.

Nobody in the show itself has ever expressed any doubt that Tai is Ruby’s father, or even brought up ANY questioning as to Ruby’s parentage whatsoever, just like nobody across Volumes 4 and 5 ever expressed any doubt as to whether the Spring Maiden was the person they thought she was.

The reason nobody ever had any reason to doubt that Vernal was the Spring Maiden is that I think it’s pretty clear that the only people who even knew the truth were Raven and Vernal themselves. Likewise, I think it’s entirely possible and likely that the only people who could know about Raven being Ruby’s real dad are just Summer, Raven and Taiyang.* So of course nobody ever brings it up. Because nobody has any reason to think otherwise.

Yet, as many, myself included, have been noting over the years, if there IS a reveal that Raven is Ruby’s dad, then just like with the Spring Maiden reveal; in hindsight the clues are all over the goddamn place.

The fact that Tai looks nothing like Ruby yet RAVEN looks just as much like Ruby’s mom as Summer does.

The growing hints of a very CLOSE relationship between Summer and Raven, including secret meetings ever after Raven left.

The very odd absence of any seeming connection between Ruby and Raven, despite all the clear similarities between them.

The repeated downplaying of Ruby’s connection to Taiyang.

ALL of the Unreliable Narrators and general mystery surrounding Team STRQ.

The list goes on.

(This list specifically lol)

Heck, even just the initial ambiguity all the way back in Volume 1 as to how Ruby and Yang are sisters could be considered a hint. The show itself deliberately being a bit vague as to Ruby’s and Yang’s family situation.

Oh, and you know what I said about part of the Spring Maiden reveal relying on the Maiden powers still being a fairly new and unfamiliar concept to the audience at the time? Well by the same token, the show hasn’t yet outright stated that two women conceiving a child is something that can happen in its setting…

…despite the potential case of EXACTLY THAT having been sitting off in a proverbial corner since Volume 6 XD

Simply put; after Volume 9 I think we are at a point where a Rosebird Parents Reveal absolutely COULD happen at some point in the future. All the proverbial pieces are THERE, now it’s just a question of whether or not they are going to fit together.

Oh, and as to the common question I so often get as to the point of such a reveal and what it would ADD to the story…

Exploring hyper-dysfunctional and broken families IS something of recurring TREND of RWBY, is it not? XD

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