User blog comment:SomeoneYouUsedToKnow/.-.-.-.-.-./@comment-34633327-20171214011147

Okay, I retract my breaking the camels back comment from last time. This I thoroughly enjoyed.... for the most parts. After realizing this is more along the lines of a reactions post, I was able to understand missing certain things. In addition, looking back I should have noticed that while writing these you were still dealing with varying degrees of stress due to outside factors and accounted for that. I admit I acted too harshly and do apologize.

On to the recap itself, I agree with most of the stuff, though there are some things I do disagree with.

1. The Egomania argument for Cinder. She did have a few scenes of having her Ego damaged before hand in Volume 4. Such as when Watts was belittling her and said she should clean up her own mess, or when Salem accused her of lying about wanting power before Tyrian walked in. She doesn't like to have her demeanor challenged, nor does she like being reminded that on the totem pole of Salem's, before the Maiden powers she seemed to be the bottom rung.

2. The Raven caring for Vernal thing doesn't actually come across as assholish to me, rather it illustrates to me just exactly how Raven treats family, and how she would have been to Yang if she stayed with Tai. Hear me out.

Raven we know left when Yang was too young to even remember her, so possibly as early as soon after birth, which of course would leave little of a personal connection, if any. While she still watched her with her bird form, its not really a personal connection, more just her observing. Of course she does seem to still have a bond with Yang if her semblance is an indication, but that can merely be the natural bond of a mother and child. Vernal on the other hand has been said to have joined the Branwen tribe at least 10 years ago, and with Raven having been MIA at least 16 years, its probably Raven was the leader when Vernal joined. If Raven had been training Vernal the entierty of those ten years, then she would have the opportunity to actually form a connection. Hence why she treats Vernal kindly. The difference between Vernal and Yang lies not in biological relation, but rather in interaction.

Raven only observed Yang, she never actually did more than watch her, and in one instance, stop a tiny psychotic mute from stabbing her. The connection between the two was not there. Vernal on the other hand Raven is thought to have directly raised for 10 years, and while Raven does believe in Social Darwinism, she would still be around Vernal enough to actually establish a connection. Now, lets take a second for a hypothetical. Let's say Raven didn't leave Yang as a child, and stayed with Taiyang. Conversely, she was tasked with watching over Vernal after Vernal tried to run away. The roles would be reversed. Yang would be the one Raven treated kindly, and Vernal would be the one Raven merely observes.

This is the fault in why Raven treats Yang crappily. Because she isn't directly connected to her. Raven seems to only care for those in a significant capacity if they are connected to her, such as her tribesman and Vernal. Others, even if she had a bond with them, she had little connection too due to no longer being in proximity to her, such as Tai (Who she hasn't seem to have seen in 17 years), Qrow (Who she sees infrequently and considers to have abandoned his family), and Yang (Who she left when she chose to return to her tribe instead of side with Ozpin). This is also why Raven said she wanted to "start over" with Yang. Because by starting over, Raven would be able to establish a connection with her. It wouldn't simply be Yang forgetting her animosity for Raven, it would be Raven removing her established connection with Yang and starting a new one. She treats direct family kindly, indirect family more apathetically. Just for her, Yang falls into the indirect category out of proximity, not bloodline.

TL;DR Raven treats Vernal better than Yang because unlike Yang, she hand a hand in raising Vernal. Had she raised Yang, she would probably treat Yang similar to Vernal. It's a matter of connection.