What Defines Us - Commentary - Ch. 43-44 (Patreon)

Salutations!  Welcome back to another episode of ‘Oh My God Are There Really Only Four Chapters Left?’  This week, we’ll discuss the happy (and getting happier) conclusion to what began as a very sad story.  Do you even remember the days when we talked about how many tears we shed over specific chapters?  Seems like forever ago!

These days, we have plenty of sunshine and rainbows, starting with Weiss and Ruby going back to the place where it all began - Beacon!  While this is technically their second trip to Beacon, it’s their first where Weiss isn’t internally freaking out and pretending to be ‘just a friend’ of Ruby’s.

Chapter 43 actually didn’t exist through much of the editing process, but was created and stuffed into the story at the eleventh hour.  Now that you’ve read Chapter 44, you might know why!  (This goes back to the previous commentary, where I mentioned that their fight against The Horde also didn’t exist until later on.)

The first outline basically went: Nevermores, morning/decide to move in together.

Doesn’t that seem...kind of fast?  I mean, I know I had Blake give the two of them carte blanche to move as fast as they wanted, but it still seemed pretty abrupt.  So, in the interest of adding some separation from the Nevermore hunt, I added two chapters.

The finished timeline is: Nevermores, morning/The Horde, Beacon, workshop/decide to move in together.  I like this version much better for two reasons.  One, Ruby and Weiss have more time together to solidify their relationship (and make it more believable that they’d want to move in together).  Two, their return to Beacon is one of my favorite parts of the story!  (How many times have I said that now?)

But let’s get into the reasons why Chapter 43 is one of my favorites.

First, we get another progress check on Weiss, who was a mess when they went to Beacon the first time.  Remember how sad she was when they passed the place where she and Ruby met?  Or when they looked at the building across from the cafeteria?  It was torturous for her to be there and deal with the assault of memories.  In this chapter, however, she knows that the day will be a challenge, but she’s determined to see it through (and she does remarkably well!).

I also thought it was really interesting to see how Weiss feels about their introduction, which wasn’t exactly the kindest thing in the world.  This is a bit of an update on her as a character from pre to post-Beacon.  On move-in day, Ruby annoys the heck out of her, but look at them now - BFFs and more.

During their re-introduction to each other, there’s a small reference to an earlier chapter:

“Uh...no?  I mean, I thought that’s what the unicorns were for.”

Be honest - did you think Ruby was making up something random, or did you remember the joke Weiss made about her family being so wealthy that they raise unicorns?  That was actually one of the first jokes Weiss made in the story - and it was the beginning of her starting to open up and relax around Ruby.

(Bonus points if you remember Weiss’ pet unicorn’s name!)

But besides seeing more of Weiss’ progress in this chapter, we also got to meet a couple huntsmen-in-training, who I’m quite fond of for reasons I’ll explain now!

I don’t write a lot of OCs (I’ll have a couple in upcoming stories though), but I really wanted to have a pair of starstruck students that Ruby could meet.  Because this story takes place multiple years after they’ve graduated from Beacon, there aren’t any characters from the actual show that I could use, so I made my own.  The result was Violet and Sky - half of Team SLVR!  (Don’t ask me how long it took me to come up with an acronym that worked…).

I think I mentioned in a previous commentary, but my dog’s name is Violet.  She’s making another cameo here, as she’s done ever since I adopted her.  The irony here (to me, at least) is that Violet’s partner is the canine Faunus, not her!  This doesn’t matter at all to the story, but it’s a little piece of my life that I snuck into the story.  And now you’re in the know for when she pops up in future stories!

In this story, she gets to play the part of huntsmen-in-training that’s super excited to meet Team RWBY.  And her partner is none-other than...an Easter egg from Red Carpet Romance.

No, Violet’s partner isn’t an actual Easter egg.  But the name ‘Skyler’ (Sky for short) is actually the name of Yang’s character in The Dust Chronicles - the movies that made her a superstar actress in Red Carpet Romance.

Funny story, I had no idea I’d used the same name until just recently (like two weeks ago).  I literally thought that I randomly came up with the name ‘Skyler’ on my own.  Well, I guess that technically I did.  It was just the second time I randomly came up with that name.  It’s a nice name though!

Anyway, the story didn’t delve too much into how successful Team RWBY was before Ruby’s injury, but they were quite well-known (at least, amongst the huntsmen community).  In the same way schools in real life celebrate their celebrity graduates, I thought it’d be super cute if incoming huntsmen fought over who got Team RWBY’s room.  Like a badge of honor!  Or, at least, a cool talking point.

What I loved most about this sequence was seeing how Weiss and Ruby interacted with a couple of youngsters who basically idolize them.  Ruby is...well, she doesn’t really understand that she’s their idol.  Weiss understands, but is rather playful with them - like by pointing out that she knows they’re skipping class.

It’s Ruby who has a unique way of getting the two truant-ers back to class though - by agreeing to spar against them when they graduate - “so you better study hard!”  I thought it was really cute that Violet and Sky decide to go to class after Weiss and Ruby leave.  It’s a simple encouragement that gave them the determination to try harder, so they aren’t beaten down by as much in the future.  (Let’s be honest, they’re going to lose.)

What’s even funnier is that Ruby is just as competitive!  She also says she needs to train really hard so that they can beat Team SLVR (not so they can keep the city safe).

So I’ll just tell you this now, but I love to connect my stories together (in case you haven’t noticed!).  In this case, I definitely have the desire to use Team SLVR in the future.  Maybe I will, although I currently have nothing but AUs planned.  But my idea was going to be that Team SLVR gets into trouble while out on a mission.  Their last message, from Violet, explicitly asks for Team RWBY to come find them.

An obvious trap, right?  Of course it is!  And of course Team RWBY accepts.  So they go off to save Team SLVR and solve the mystery of the mountain.  (I’m just making this up now - I have no idea what the rest of the story will be.)

Probably won’t happen, but it definitely popped into mind when I created the OC team.  However, I find it a little strange to write dialogue for Violet, because it’s really, really difficult to imagine my dog talking.  It’s a really weird feeling to read “Violet says”...

Leaving Team SLVR behind, Weiss takes Ruby to the place where Ruby asked her out.  And, surprisingly, it turns out that Nora told the truth!  In Chapter 40, Nora strung together a bunch of half-truths in a row (or did she…?)  When she said that Ruby shouted her love for Weiss from the rooftops, Ruby wrote it off as an exaggeration.  In this chapter, however, we learn that it was actually true.

And then we get to see Ruby do it again - just for fun.  (Or because I really wanted to see it happen again.)

It wasn’t until I had Weiss drag Ruby into the building to get away from the embarrassment that I realized...they should sneak into one of the classes!  Or try to sneak into one of the classes.  Unfortunately for them, I’m sure the professors at Beacon are pros at catching students slipping in late (good luck Violet and Sky).  But I thought this was a great opportunity to bring back another piece of Ruby’s past - Professor Port!  

My first thought was using Professor Oobleck because he tends to be a more...interesting...character, but I already referenced him in the tournament chapter.  So, Professor Port it was!  And I literally can’t read his opening line without hearing his voice:

“Ruuuuby Rose!  And Weiss Schnee!  What an unexpected pleasure.”

Do you hear it?  I can’t not hear it.  And I’ve only seen the episodes a handful of times - that’s how memorable his voice is!

Professor Port definitely grew on me just from this interaction alone.  He treats Ruby with so much respect, even though she’s tripping over herself trying to figure out how to address him.  I don’t really know why, but I super loved this line of his:

“‘Sir?’” Professor Port repeated before chuckling.  “My father was Sir - you can call me Professor.”

Yup, he made a good impression on me in just a few lines!  And then he allowed Ruby and Weiss to make a good impression on the class of huntsmen-in-training.  (Wouldn’t it be funny if this was the class Violet and Sky skipped?  Oh dammit, that would’ve been good.  What if they snuck in after Ruby and Weiss, and also go caught?  That would’ve been so funny!  Ugh, what a missed opportunity!)

The little part where Ruby and Weiss show off their skills was added as an explanation for the feeling Ruby had in the previous chapter while they fought The Horde.  Ruby stumbled across the ability to ‘sense’ Weiss in the room with her, but I didn’t want to leave that discovery hanging out in the wind.  So, Weiss uses it here and explains it a little better for us.

I like to think of it as an intimate understanding of a partner that’s gained through years and years of training together.  If you think about athletes, sometimes they have enough training that they’ll know where their teammates will be and what they’ll do without even looking.  

This is what Ruby and Weiss have, only on a deeper level.  Remember how Ruby could feel Weiss’ aura through Myrtenaster?  (That one time, like a bazillion chapters ago.)  What if they leave a little trail of aura wherever they go?  Small enough that most people will miss it, but their partners can pick it up?

This ‘skill’ is just another instance where I’m trying to make you question what Ruby remembers and what she doesn’t.  She forgot all of their training together, but still knows how to pick up Weiss’ semblance?  Weiss probably put it best (technically I wrote this, but she thought it):

It was realizations like these that led Weiss to believe that their connection hadn’t been as severed as she believed. The years of effort they’d poured into becoming the best partners Remnant had ever seen...that work hadn’t completely vanished.  Bits and pieces had survived, hidden deep within Ruby’s mind just waiting to be unearthed.

Again, the emphasis here is that Ruby didn’t lose everything.  This is basically an explanation for how she’s progressed so far in just a year, and how her relationship with Weiss took off like a rocket.  She remembers without remembering, if that make sense.  And for the details that she’s forgotten, well, now Weiss is there to fill in the gaps.

For as much as she’d wished away her memories from Beacon, now she was eternally grateful to still have them in her possession.  She would use them to give Ruby back as much as possible.

I love these two so much!  They’re so adorable and pure…

Kind of pure.  I almost didn’t have them re-enact their first kiss, but decided that was kind of an important memory to get into the chapter.  At the expense of the first kiss, however, I removed another part.  Don’t worry though - it was a less exciting part!  

Knowing that I wanted to end the chapter in the clearing in the forest, my initial idea was for Weiss to show Ruby the cliff where the new students started on initiation day.  You know, the one where they were unceremoniously tossed into the woods?  Weiss would explain that this was where it all began, and then of course Ruby would want to jump in.  Instead of this, I had Ruby just ask (much easier), but here’s a little snippet of what almost was:

“Here, I have another place I can show you,” she said while leading Ruby back outside and away from the buildings.

They trekked up a path before coming to a ledge overlooking the Emerald Forest.

“That’s where we became partners,” Weiss explained while nodding out to the forest floor.  “We were brought up here and then sent out into the woods.  Whoever we stumbled across first was set to be our partner for the rest of our time at Beacon.”

Watching the treetops sway in the breeze, Weiss could remember her determination to find Pyrrha in the woods.  The two of them together would be a fearsome pair - the best Beacon had ever seen.  That wish had still come true, but it hadn’t been Pyrrha that Weiss needed to find.

I think this still would’ve been cute, but the chapter was already quite long by this point.  In the interest of wrapping things up, I had them walk to the clearing in the forest and made them promise to come back later to go over more memories.

There’s a Retribution Easter egg when they’re calling in their weapons though - did you catch it?

“Then theoretically...if I held onto my scroll and kept moving...the locker would follow me?”

I don’t want to ruin the story if you haven’t read it, but let’s just say that Ruby has a similar idea in one of those chapters.

As for this chapter, it ends in the clearing that Ruby once covered in rose petals to help Yang ask Blake out.  This time, however, Ruby decides to put her own spin on things for Weiss.  I really loved the image of petals fluttering to the ground while the two of them held hands.  And then Ruby shows how much she understands what Weiss went through, which was an entirely different form of recovery than Ruby’s:

“I think it might be more important for you to tell me this stuff than for me to hear it.  It would drive me crazy if I was the only one holding all these memories with no one to share them with.”

Weiss’ acceptance of the past, and her role in it, is the source of her healing.  And now that she can share these memories with Ruby - even if Ruby doesn’t remember them - she should continue to make great strides in her recovery.  And it looks like that will happen soon after the events of Chapter 44!

Chapter 44 is actually Ruby’s last ‘real’ chapter.  It’s a little hard to explain at the moment, but I think you’ll understand after reading the last few chapters.  I’ll try to explain after a few more chapters!  She does have another chapter in this story, but I consider it to be more of an epilogue.  Although, thinking about it now...why do I think that?  You’ll see!  You might think I’m completely wrong.

Anyway, this chapter is essentially the two of them already living together, and then deciding to live together at the very end.  If you noticed, there are multiple instances where Ruby refers to their home as her home and doesn’t realize it.  The only time she realizes her confusion is when she talks about her home with Yang and Blake, and then she comments on how confusing it’s getting.

At this point, I think they’ve spent the past like...four days together?  Which seems a little soon to move in together, but I tried to make it reasonable by pointing out how comfortable Ruby is in her old home (again, remembering things without remembering) and how comfortable she is with Weiss.  I mean, they’re already sharing the same bed!

Plus, Ruby starts this chapter doing whatever an adorable girlfriend would do - making breakfast for Weiss.  I thought this was a rather funny way to start the day because, well, Weiss normally eats a grapefruit for breakfast.  

Or she could try to make Yang’s famous pancakes!  She also didn’t know how to do that, but how hard could it be?  Just throw some flour and water in a bowl, mix, and fry!

I have an upcoming oneshot that ties into this.  It’s called Perfect Pancakes, and I wrote it as part of the WDU universe.  When you read it, I hope you can see where it fits in!

Their breakfast in this story, however, has a few more instances of Ruby ‘remembering’ things - or is she just using educated guesses to pull open the right drawers?  Hmm…good question!  (I don’t have the answer, because I didn’t write it knowing the answer.  I mean, I could probably guess one drawer right in a stranger’s kitchen, but three in a row?)

Anyway...like I mentioned, the beginning of this chapter is really just the two of them hanging out together.  There’s also a couple of instances that show how far Weiss has come since the beginning of the story.  

The first happens at breakfast, when she actually eats her entire grapefruit.  Which doesn’t seem like a big deal, right?  But do you remember the prior breakfasts when she wasn’t even able to finish half of a grapefruit?  Her appetite is finally back!  Which coincides with her sleeping better and, in general, being in better health and spirits.

The second happens in Ruby’s ‘new-old’ workshop (the phrase itself being a reference to Yang calling Weiss Ruby’s ‘new-old’ girlfriend).  When Ruby realizes that she doesn’t know how to use the fancy machines in the workshop, Weiss’ response is exactly what we’d expect from her a couple years ago:

“That’s alright,” Weiss said softly, taking Ruby’s hand and picking up Thorn in her other.  “Why don’t we go back to your house so you can fix Thorn?”

How about that?  She’s initially surprised that Ruby doesn’t remember, but she quickly switches to being reassuring and supportive.  Because she’s capable of that now - she’s not just saying that she wants to be there for Ruby, she’s actually being there for Ruby.

This is another important step in their recovery and relationship, especially with their decision to move in together.  If Ruby is leaving Yang and Blake behind, she still needs someone around to support her - which Weiss just proved she’s capable of being.  And we all know Ruby is capable of supporting Weiss, so...this is really perfect for them! .

But first, getting Ruby to change out of her pajamas so she can go back to her ‘old’ house and fix Thorn.  What’s kind of funny is that Weiss’ comment (and amusement) about Ruby getting ready to leave in her pajamas was actually me realizing that Ruby never changed before going downstairs.  Didn’t she just hop out of bed and sneak downstairs?  Never said anything about her changing into regular clothes!

These little things are so hard to catch sometimes.  You get so caught up in the story, you never stop to think...wait a second, when did she change?  What did they do with the dishes?  Did they ever put the syrup away?  Fortunately, most people will let it slide (or won’t notice), but I try to fix these things whenever I spot them.

Also, did you notice that Ruby was referred to as both Detective Rose and Doctor Rose in this chapter?  I just realized that.

Ok, back to Yang and Blake, who’ve been up to who-knows-what while Ruby and Weiss get all lovey-dovey.  (Who are we kidding?  Yang and Blake have probably been all lovey-dovey too.)

I think there’s an Easter egg somewhere along here, and it’s the title of the documentary Weiss talks to Ruby about - How to Build a Sun.  If memory serves me correctly, this is a reference to Caught.  Maybe.  I really can’t remember, so maybe you can let me know!  I think I referenced it in another story as a weapons documentary that Ruby really loves, and will probably reference it again in the future (without really knowing where it’s from).

As with basically every movie or book created within the stories I write, I have a fic idea to go along with it (that’s probably how I remember the titles so well).  This one had to do with building a super weapon as powerful as the sun and, obviously, the plans for it fall into the wrong hands.  I remember coming up with the idea around the time I finished Caught, which is what makes me think it’s from that story.  

Oh!  I think it was the sequel to Caught!  Where Blake, with her extra thieving ways, and Yang, with her cop-like ways, were going to have to catch the bad guys together.  It turned into a crazy action adventure though, and had the two of them traveling all over the place.  I just remember that Pyrrha was going to be an integral piece of the puzzle they were trying to solve...but that’s all I can remember right now.

But in WDU’s case, it’s nothing more than a documentary that Ruby loves - and again, Weiss isn’t upset that Ruby’s forgotten about it.  She’s excited that she’ll get to see Ruby experience it again for the first time.  (Those silver linings are getting easier to find, huh?)

On their decision to move in together, I tried to make it as sporadic and unexpected as Ruby can be.  There’s not really a big discussion about it - Ruby just kind of...falls into it.  She asks a lot of quick questions, then stumbles across the big question.  (Weiss must spend a lot of time being caught off guard.)  But of course Weiss is ready to move in together!  This is a dream come true for her, just like it is for Ruby.

I thought it was important that Yang talk to Ruby about it though, because of course she would want to make sure Ruby didn’t feel pressured into anything.  There’s a small Easter egg here to a future story - the story I’ll be posting next, actually!  (Can I consider it an Easter egg when it’s referencing something that technically doesn’t exist yet?  Is it a reverse Easter egg?)

I’m not going to tell you exactly what it is, but it’s in here:

Once the door closed, Yang turned back to Ruby with that big sister expression she’d perfected years and years ago.  It was the one that taught Ruby how to ride a bike, how to tie her shoes, how to deal with bullies...all the things big sisters were supposed to do.

If you happen to remember this little excerpt, you’ll get the link pretty quick when you read the next story.

Besides Yang giving her big sister talk, Blake also checks to make sure this is what Ruby actually wants, but she does so in a much different manner:

“Congratulations,” she whispered, watching Ruby’s eyes intently.  “I hope this is what you wanted?”

It’s subtle, but it’s Blake’s way of making sure Ruby wasn’t rushing into something she was unsure of.

Oh my god.  I just realized that the next chapter is probably my very favorite.  Actually, I can’t even say that.  But it’s really, really close to the top!  And it’s actually the chapter that I consider the ‘end’ of the story.  It’s actually titled ‘end of story’ in the story document.  But it’s only Chapter 45, you say - and I said there were 48 chapters.  

That’s correct!  There are 3 chapters of...well, you’ll see.

Back to something funny - remember the end of the Nevermore hunt (Chapter 41) when Ruby and Weiss kiss at the very end?  And Weiss makes the comment:

Yang or Blake were probably going to catch them, but right now she couldn’t care less.

Well...apparently Yang and Blake did catch them!

“So you can make out in the back of an airship but not at home?”

I can only imagine the embarrassment Weiss and Ruby felt after being caught.  Yang probably didn’t stop talking about it the entire way home, either.

As for the end of the chapter, Weiss and Ruby are off for more training, which you can bet they’ll be doing nonstop until they’re kicking everyone’s butts again.  As for us, we’re off to our final few chapters, where I hope to wrap this story up for you with a pretty bow.

Before that, however, I have part of the original segment where Weiss and Ruby decide to move in together.  This was supposed to happen in Chapter 42 - after breakfast and before they leave to try The Horde.  You’ll see that the feel of this is a lot different from what I ended up going with, and hopefully you’ll agree that the finished version is more ‘them.’  

****

“Weiss followed Ruby’s gaze towards the closet before adding, “After training I should run back to Winter’s.  I need some new clothes.”

“Can’t you take some from our closet?” Ruby asked, but Weiss shook her head.

“Those clothes are a little loose right now…”

“Then you can borrow more of mine!”

“And what about tomorrow?”

“I have a lot of clothes, you know.” Ruby pointed to the full closet.  “It’ll be awhile before we go through all of them.  And then we can just wash and start over!”

“As comfortable as they are, I think I should stick to wearing my own, or I might decide to never put on a fancy top again.”

The answer made Ruby’s lower lip stick out in a pout.  She didn’t know why she was against Weiss going back to that mega mansion.  It was a nice place!  But it wasn’t the right place for Weiss to live.

“But after we do that, you’ll come stay with me over here, right?”

“Sure.  I’d love to.”  

There!  That was what Ruby wanted - to know that they wouldn’t be separated tonight.  Or tomorrow. 

“Then that’s ok!  As long as we end up in the same place tonight.”

They shared a smile before Weiss looked down at her hands, which were clasping and unclasping together.

“I know Yang was only kidding earlier…” she began softly.  “About it feeling like I live here...but I’m going to be staying in Vale for - well, for as long as you’re here.  And I was thinking that if you were ever looking for a change of scenery or wanted a little distance from your sister…”

Pausing for a brief second, Weiss dropped her hands to her sides and looked Ruby in the eyes.

“I happen to know of a place with a few empty bedrooms where you’d be more than welcome to stay.  With a combat room you could train in 24/7.”

Whaaat?  Was Weiss really asking what Ruby thought she was asking?

“But - does that mean that you would -?”

Ruby had hardly gotten the full question out before Weiss nodded.

“I would move back as well.  You could have your own room, of course.  I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to...well…”

“I’d love to!” Ruby interrupted, nodding when Weiss looked at her in shock.

****

Anyway, that’s all I have for now, but I’m really excited about the next few chapters!  Nervous and sad, but also excited.  The best is (hopefully) yet to come!

Until next time,

Miko