Snowbird

Snowbird is the het ship between Qrow Branwen and Winter Schnee from the RWBY fandom.

Volume 3
Qrow and Winter both make their first appearances in the show in Volume 3. Qrow's dislike of Atlas, Winter's birthplace, is brazen enough for him to immediately get into a brawl with Winter upon encountering her and personal enough for him to back down at the last second just for the chance to humiliate Winter in front of her superior, James Ironwood. He also shows a level of cockiness when he baits Winter into attacking him. Winter, although lady-like and dignified, loses her restraint when provoked by Qrow. While in battle, they did not have any malicious intent towards each other but rather, is shown to be more of on how the two tend to tease each other. Upon closer inspection, the two seem to be enjoying themselves as they can be seen smirking throughout the altercation. It is also worth noting that Qrow and Winter are close enough to be on first name basis.

Winter only makes a short appearance in Volume 3, and exits from the story after the fourth episode, Lessons Learned, after tutoring Weiss in her summoning. Both Qrow and Winter were framed as role models for their respective relatives; Qrow being a role model for his niece Ruby Rose and Winter being a role model for her younger sister Weiss Schnee. The episode shows the audience the parallels between Qrow and Winter as respective role models for their younger relatives, advising them about why they (Ruby and co.) should keep training to be stronger. Both Ruby and Weiss idolize their older family members to an extent and try to mimic them in appearance and behavior.

Volume 7
As Volume 7 is the season that reunites the two within their four years of separation throughout the series, it is revealed that Qrow doesn't necessarily disrespect Winter and is actually quite terrified of her when necessary.

In the episode "A New Approach", Winter quickly addresses Qrow regarding how he chaperones the kids to which he replies that they are uncontrollable once they have their minds set on something. This scene parallels the skit from the Chibi episode "Monsters of Rock" wherein the two are portrayed as the group's parental figures.

It is revealed in "Sparks", that the only reason why Qrow wanted Ironwood to dismiss Winter was because he did not want her getting involved with The Inner Circle's dangerous mission albeit not knowing that Winter was already in the know regarding The Maidens and was Ironwood's personal candidate to be the next Winter Maiden.

As of the end of Volume 7, Team RWBY and co. have decided to leave Qrow and Winter behind in Atlas since the former is under arrest while the latter was heavily injured during her battle with Cinder Fall.

Volume 8
TBA

RWBY Chibi
In RWBY Chibi, Qrow and Winter have a lot of moments together. In Season 3, Episode 3 - "Mortal Frenemies", Qrow amuses himself at the expense of Winter over petty squabbles. Professor Ozpin reminds her that the two are on the same side, so Winter proposes a truce, which does not last long. As they continue to fight, Ozpin remarks that "flirting was a lot less destructive" back in his day.

In "Battle of the Bands", Qrow and Winter are seen sitting next to each other as judges of the contest alongside Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck. Even though Winter could have sat away from Qrow (if she truly despised him), she still chose to sit beside him, lightly nodding her head to the beat of the music.

In "Monsters of Rock", Qrow and Winter take the kids to the local escape room facility wherein Winter took charge of looking after Qrow's nieces, whereas Qrow took charge of taking care of the boys. This shows the characters present in the skit as a married couple taking their kids out for fun. Winter also expresses her concern for Qrow after Yang breaks the wall of the room they were in.


 * Coincidentally, the first time Qrow and Winter are seen interacting with each other on-screen on both the main series as well as on the Chibi spin-off was on the third episodes of their third seasons.
 * "Mortal Frenemies" aired a few days after The Valentine's Day of 2018 (since at the time, new Chibi episodes are only scheduled to air on Sundays).
 * In "Mortal Frenemies", Winter is shown to be a fan of erotic novels and fan fiction, which is one of the many suggestive things that Qrow is familiar with. Which makes him offer to highlight the "good parts" for her once he was done with the book.
 * Qrow is always seen with a sly smirk or a mischievous smile throughout the episode whenever Winter pounces on him.
 * It is also hinted that Qrow and Winter's relationship is of a sadomasochistic nature. As Winter proposed "a leash with electric shocks" as Qrow's punishment for getting on her nerves whereas he doesn't really mind, and actually quite enjoys, the squabbles he has with Winter no matter how ridiculous they would seem.
 * The erotic novel Qrow and Winter were fighting over, titled "Cold Heart | Hot Love", is also a hint towards the two's relationship.
 * Ozpin's comment regarding how the two fight-flirting reminds him of his relationship with Salem back in the day, before they turned on each other.
 * Qrow and Winter are often seen next to each other or act as the chaperones of the main characters whenever they are present.

Production

 * Winter's character was modeled after his wife, Sheena Duquette, while Qrow was Monty's long-time OC even before he started working on RWBY. By the time Volume 3 had wrapped up in production, Monty had already fleshed out both the respective characters as well as their supposed faith to end up together, with him voicing Qrow while Sheena would voice Winter. But after Monty's passing, CRWBY has since then rewritten both characters' stories and changed their voice actors to (at the time) Maxwell and Mignogna, respectively.
 * Their color schemes heavily compliment each other. With Qrow's color scheme being black, red, and gray whereas Winter's color scheme being white, blue, and gray.
 * Winter and Qrow's post Volume 7 timeskip outfits also compliment each other. With Winter's being heavily white/navy blue whereas Qrow's is heavily black/dark red.
 * Winter's new outfit seem to have taken inspiration from Qrow's old outfit's lapels, whereas Qrow's new outfit seem to have taken inspiration from Winter's old outfit's vest which overlapped her long-sleeved shirt.
 * As shown in one of the reference sheets for Winter's potential Volume 7 outfits, Outfit C has her have a red cape on, matching Qrow's.
 * They were designed to have an opposing motif/aesthetic.

Show Lore

 * Qrow is the only one who's capable of cracking Winter's cold exterior in public by teasing her and by trying to get her to lighten up a bit and see that having fun in life won't hurt her.
 * Winter is prim and proper whereas Qrow is laidback and carefree. Qrow grew up poor and was raised by a tribe of bandits alongside his twin sister whereas Winter and her siblings grew up with the absence of their mother and the abuse of their father.
 * Despite their many contrasting traits the two share some things in common, such as being their former headmasters' right hand/most trusted ally, their tendency to put their lives on the line to protect their loved ones, as well as the fact that they both grew up with bad childhoods.
 * As of "The Enemy of Trust", it is confirmed that Winter also does not value her own life and would put it on the line for her loved ones instead, another trait she and Qrow shares.
 * Some more traits these two share in common is how they're both skillful sword wielders and that both Qrow and Winter have birds as the respective animal they are usually affiliated with. With Qrow's being (obviously) a black crow, and with Winter's being a white dove (which is inspired by the first bird-like creatures called Nevermores she summons during her battle with Qrow).
 * As of Volume 7, both Qrow and Winter are now on negative terms with their respective former headmasters. As Qrow has lost faith and trust in Ozpin after finding about the truth in Volume 6, whereas Winter has failed to become the next Winter Maiden as per Ironwood's demands as well as having failed to protect Atlas from foreign evil forces, and in addition to that, losing custody of Penny Polendina, the current Winter Maiden.
 * The nickname "Ice Queen" which Qrow uses to call Winter also means "a woman who's beautiful but is cold".
 * During the scene wherein Qrow comments that he was "defeated by the inn-keeper's skirt length" in "It's Brawl in the Family", it is noted that the inn-keeper he was referring to bears a striking resemblance to Winter.
 * Volume 7 is the season wherein the two are seen together again in the opening as well as the series.
 * In "A New Approach", instead of starting another fight, Winter and Qrow reunite with Winter telling Qrow off on letting the kids steal an airship whereas he responds to her with a shy smile.
 * In "Cordially Invited", Ironwood suggests that Winter should smile for the cameras, which she responds that he would have to pay her to smile. Although she can easily be seen smirking throughout her battle with Qrow in "It's Brawl in The Family".
 * It is inevitable that the two will have more major interactions in the future, as Qrow has been with her sister, Weiss Schnee (and her team) whereas Qrow's sister, Raven Branwen, is the current Spring Maiden, which ties into Qrow and Winter's mission of finding the Maidens before Salem's group does.

Manga Lore

 * Although the two are yet to interact in any of the manga series, the two can be seen facing each other in the last page of the official RWBY: Manga.

Behind The Scenes

 * Qrow's voice actor, Jason Liebrecht, and Winter's voice actress, Elizabeth Maxwell are currently in a relationship.
 * Maxwell was the one to encourage Liebrecht to audition as Qrow's new voice actor, he then later succeeds in landing the job.
 * Qrow's previous voice actor, Vic Mignogna, is also an avid supporter of the ship and would frequently make skits with Elizabeth during panels which has both their characters flirting quite suggestively with each other.
 * During the AMA on the official Rooster Teeth Facebook page, Miles Luna, one of the main writers of the show, was the one to give this ship its name.
 * In the Volume 3 Cast and Crew commentary, the voice actors of Team RWBY as well as Miles and Kerry themselves comment on the not-so-subtle sexual tension between the two.
 * Their fight was made to be in-sync with the solo verse in "Free Bird", the signature love song by the band, Lynyrd Skynyrd.
 * According to Maxwell, Winter's type of men are those who are "Tall, dark, handsome,avian...with a really big 'scythe'."
 * Both the main writers of the show, Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross, are avid supporters of the pairing.

Promotional Material

 * The two are always paired together in advertisements for cons that both Maxwell and Liebrecht would be attending.
 * The cover of the official Volumes 1 to 6 DVD features Qrow and Winter facing each other.

RWBY: Amity Arena (Mobile Game)

 * Putting their cards together side-by-side makes it look like the two are giving the other their signature look.
 * Both Qrow and Winter are excellent chip cards and can take down a turret with little to no effort if used together and left unattended.
 * During the February 2019 update of the mobile game, Qrow was given a Valentine's Outfit called "Dandy Qrow". A year later, during the February 2020 update, Winter was given a matching Valentine's Outfit called "Queen Winter" with the following caption: "Winter can fight with Qrow all day as mortal frenemies!".
 * On Valentine's Day of 2020, The title "Mortal Frenemies" is distributed to players that logged in during that day. RWBY_AA_Valentines_2020_Title.png
 * The notification for the title reads "Cold Heart | Hot Love: We'll underline all the...'good parts.'".

Miscellaneous

 * Vic Mignogna, Qrow's previous voice actor, and Elizabeth Maxwell, Winter's voice actor, have also played the role of a human-alien couple in Vic's online spin-off series of Star Trek, Star Trek Continues.

Fanon
On AO3, Snowbird is Winter's most written for pairing and Qrow's second most written.


 * After spotting the similarities the two share regarding their troubled lives, fans have been wanting an episode wherein the two would talk things just between the two of them. Regarding their similar problems, situations, and how both have grown up in their own ways during their in-show four years of separation. It is also hoped for that once they talk things out, the animosity the two had for each other will die down and the two will once again make amends and work together.
 * Other than the two sharing similar problems and aesthetics overall, many fans agree that Qrow would be the perfect partner for Winter and vice versa since Qrow could teach Winter how to be her own person and have fun/lighten up whereas Winter can guide Qrow on how to keep his life right on track.
 * It is heavily implied and believed that Qrow and Winter, were at one point, a couple, or at the very least, have slept together sometime in the past. And that the only reasons as to why they have developed their animosity towards each other is (for Qrow) because Winter joined Ironwood in the military and (for Winter) because Qrow becoming a drunkard, a similar path her own mother chose after falling apart with her father.
 * Fans are still waiting for Winter's reaction/comments on Qrow sobering up as of the end of Volume 6 alongside what she would say to him regarding him keeping an eye out for her sister and her schoolmates throughout their journey, as well as what Qrow's reaction/comments would be after finding out about her fight with Cinder, which resulted in her having fatal injuries.
 * As of the end of Volume 7, Qrow and Winter are left behind by Team RWBY and co. in Atlas, which hints at the possibility that the two will finally have a major interaction with each other again ever since Volume 3.
 * It is also heavily desired that Winter should join Team RWBY and co. in their journey, as to have a mother figure paralleling Qrow, who has acted as their father figure starting Volume 4. This is heavily referenced in RWBY Chibi as the two are the designated chaperones of the students even during non-school activities.
 * Fans are also waiting for the two to have a a rematch of their interrupted brawl in Volume 3.
 * After seeing their skills in the battlefield, fans have also wanted the two to have a 2-on-2 fight, either with wild Grimm or with Salem's Henchmen, specifically Tyrian Callows and Cinder Fall.

Fandom
FAN FICTION


 * Qrow/Winter tag on FanFiction.Net

TUMBLR

TWITTER
 * Snowbird Compilation account on Twitter

Songs

 * Qrow vs. Winter | Jeff Williams
 * played during their fight in Volume 3
 * Free Bird (Solo Verse) | Lynyrd Skynyrd
 * The song whose solo verse their fight was made in-sync to

Main Series
"Qrow: Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town. Guess you're here, too. Winter:I'm standing right before you. Qrow: So it would seem."

- Qrow and Winter greeting each other, in "It's Brawl in The Family"

"Winter: If you won't hold your tongue, I will gladly remove it for you! Qrow: Come take it."

- Qrow and Winter, before their match

"Winter: They had reason to assume you'd been compromised. Qrow: And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here. Seriously, who invited her?"

- Qrow to Winter then to Ironwood, during The Ozluminati meeting

"Winter: But I cannot believe that you allowed this to happen, Qrow! Qrow: You try stopping these kids when they have their mind set on something."

- Qrow and Winter's reunion, after four years of separation

"What are you [Penny] doing? My life doesn't matter!"

- Winter to Penny, paralleling Qrow on how they both view their own lives with insignificance

RWBY Chibi
"I wonder how Qrow's doing with the boys..."

- Winter about Qrow, in "Monsters of Rock"

"Winter: Release that book at once! You probably don't even read. Qrow: Don't worry, you can borrow it afterward. I'll underline all the "good" parts."

- Qrow to Winter fighting over an erotic novel, in "Mortal Frenemies"

"Ozpin: I want you both to shake hands and apologize. Qrow: I will if she will. Winter: Due to my professionalism and... incredible self control, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. Qrow: Too slow, Ice Queen! Winter: That does it! You're DEAD MEAT!"

- Ozpin trying to get the two to make up

"You know, flirting was a lot less destructive back in my day."

- Ozpin regarding Qrow and Winter's squabbles

"Qrow: Stop messing with my hair! Winter: Like you can even tell!"

- Qrow and Winter as she "compliments" Qrow's hair during their squabble

Soundtrack
"I am no one's blessing, I'll just bring you harm. I'm a cursed black cat, I'm an albatross, I'm a mirror-broken. Sad to say, I'm your Bad Luck Charm."

- The chorus in Qrow's theme