What Defines Us - Commentary - Ch. 45-46 (Patreon)

Hello everyone!  Welcome back to “alkjoijfwlksjd2alsdfjsl :’( :’(” - otherwise known as the 2nd to last commentary for What Defines Us.  (Clearly, I’m handling this well.)  

I’ll continue the commentaries for future stories!  It just...won’t be the same.  The next story is about a fourth of this size (making it ‘only’ around 100k words), and it will be different.  But I’m excited to talk about the bees a bit, for a change!  And I hope you’ll still enjoy the story even though it’s not rife with mystery and piecing together the past like WDU was.  

I’ll make up for the lack of mystery by being extra witty!  It will be a great time :D

Anyway, let’s get down to business (to defeat...the Hunsss…).

I mentioned in the prior commentary, but I consider Chapter 45 to be the ‘end’ of the story.  When you read it, I hope you can see why.  It just kind of...wraps up the plot in terms of getting everyone back in one spot and re-introducing Ruby and Weiss to their extended family.  

I loved bringing Team JNPR into the story, even if it’s only for a single-chapter cameo.  What I found interesting was how Ruby and Weiss approach this meeting so differently.  Ruby is coming from a place of nervousness/excitement at meeting ‘new’ people.  Weiss still has a bit of anxiety over seeing the people she’s basically ignored for the past year.

Obviously, it goes just fine because JNPR is amazing, but I really wanted to show that last bit of redemption for Weiss.  And for her to realize - one more time - that her mistakes were not as big as she built them up to be.  At least, not in the eyes of her friends and family, who offer her forgiveness at every turn.  (Really, the only person Weiss had to work for forgiveness from was Yang - for obvious reasons.  One being that it was part of the plot lol.)

I slipped a reference to Friends into this chapter.  (Because when I’m not making references to my other stories, I’m making references to Friends.)  When I was younger, my sister and I watched Friends on repeat every day after school.  We’d watch all of the seasons back to back to back, on repeat.  (It’s my favorite show!)

If you also love Friends, maybe you spotted a familiar circumstance in this chapter?

They already ran into this issue with the garage - just yesterday, in fact.  When Weiss saw its state of complete disarray, she canceled their evening plans and they spent the entire night neatly organizing, packing, and labeling boxes instead.  

Ok, if you don’t know Friends, one of the characters (Monica) is a bit of a neat freak.  I think of her a little bit like Weiss in that way.  One of the other characters (Rachel) was supposed to pack up her room to move out, but...well, she didn’t.  Instead, she convinced Monica that it was a gift to be able to pack up the room, because Monica loved packing so much!  The end result...they canceled their evening plans and spent all night packing Rachel’s room - kind of like what Weiss would’ve done if Ruby let her see her room.

I would tell you the rest of the episode, but...we should probably stay focused on this story.

In Chapter 45, I added a little connection to Ruby’s previous chapter so we can see that she and Weiss are kind of in the same frame of mind.

Mentally, she was prepared to earn Team JNPR’s friendship again, no matter what it took.  If that meant she had to start at the beginning...well...starting over wasn’t always such a bad thing.

This directly connects with one of Ruby’s last thoughts in Chapter 43 - that she would willingly start over again, if she needed to.  Even though she once thought of it as a pain to go through her rehabilitation, and even though Weiss once saw it as painful to think about everything she lost, they’re now in a place where they realize that everything ended up as it was supposed to.  They found their way back together, and they’re confident that they could do it again.  (How awful would it be if it happened again?  How would you feel about the title - What Defines Us 2?)

If I could pick one of my favorite lines in this story, it would probably be Blake’s response to Weiss’ gratitude for her help: 

“You know…” Blake replied softly, one of her ears flitting ever-so-slightly.  “A long time ago someone pretty smart told me that if we ever have a problem, we go to our teammates first for help.”

I loved being able to bring the actual conversations in the show into the story, especially a moment that was important to Blake’s growth in the first few seasons.  I also really liked extrapolating on that moment and showing that Blake had learned from Weiss’ advice.  Now, she’s the one providing advice to Weiss in return.  Everything’s coming full circle!

In the spirit of things coming full circle (and repeating themselves, in some instances), Yang gets to give her ‘big sister’ speech to Weiss again.  Do you remember their interactions at the beginning of the story compared to now?  How hard it was for them to be in the same room together, let alone talk to one another?  Can you imagine what Yang’s ‘big sister’ speech would’ve been like at that time?  (Hint, probably very scary.)

Also, Yang forgot her maid of honor speech, but do you remember it?  She actually told us the beginning of it back in Chapter 33 - before the battle where Ruby gets injured.

“I’m already working on my best sister speech!” Yang announced.  “Wanna hear the beginning?”

“Do we have a choice?” Weiss teased, ducking another branch Yang snapped towards her and sending a patch of ice into the girl’s back in indignation.

“Not really.  So you know that feeling when you meet someone and instantly dislike them?” Yang began while shooting Weiss grin.  “Like they fundamentally annoy you?  No big deal - first impressions aren’t everything, right?  But then you meet them again and they still bother you?  So begins the story of Weiss and Ruby - the most unlikely partners at Beacon.”

While Ruby giggled, Weiss rolled her eyes.  

“I’d say Pyrrha and Jaune were the most unlikely.”

“‘Second most unlikely’ has no flair, Weiss!  I’m trying to paint you as star-crossed lovers!”

Her memory was kind of right though!  It was a little bit about Jaune and Pyrrha!

What’s interesting is that I don’t think I’ve written Jaune before.  At least I don’t think I have.  Maybe I have?  Sometimes it’s hard to remember what I’ve written and what I only think I’ve written...but I did like his presence in this chapter!  He’s kind of...self-deprecating and modest.  I like that.

I’m also a huge fan of Winter.  Probably because she’s another big sister like Yang, although her approach to sisterhood is a lot different from Yang’s.  I like to imagine that she thinks of Ruby as a little sister, which is also why she has a cute little nickname for Ruby - ‘little rose.’  

That’s a super unoriginal nickname, but I like to think (I don’t know if it’s true or not) that Winter knew Summer - or at least knew of Summer.  Therefore, the meaning behind ‘little rose’ is more like ‘little Summer Rose’ to her.  

I hope you enjoyed the interaction between Weiss, Winter, and Ruby, because I certainly enjoyed writing it.  I love the banter between Weiss and Winter while they both spoil Ruby in their own way.  And then Weiss being upset that (apparently) Winter once gave Ruby a gift that exploded - something Weiss still isn’t too thrilled about.  (She’s so protective of Ruby!)

Weiss and Winter’s relationship (in my eyes, at least) is very unique.  They love each other unconditionally, but they’re not as openly adoring as Yang and Ruby are.  They’re more reserved - that’s the word.

There were several mentions in this story about lines of politeness that Winter won’t cross with Weiss - like being more demanding that she seek help during her self-imposed exile.  If you remember, in the chapter that Winter snuck a therapist into the building to speak with Weiss, Weiss was taken aback by the gall (she was also a bit angry, but that’s a different issue).  Winter couldn’t (and wouldn’t) try to get Weiss to open up about her feelings.  Even though Winter loves her sister immensely, there’s always been this...distance...between them.  A polite line they’re not willing to cross.  

Until now!

“I think we should be more open with each other,” Weiss suddenly said, having just re-learned the value of openness and honesty herself.  “Like you should tell me about your life.  Not just work, but your goals and...have you been seeing anyone?” 

One of the best parts about this experience is how much Weiss learned about herself and others.  Moving forward, she’s actually going to have better/closer relationships with her friends and family than she did before.  Not that she had poor relationships with them in the past, but now she’s really learned the value of opening up and being there.  

After everything she went through, she understands how valuable it is to have support - and there’s multiple instances in this chapter where she expresses the desire to be that support for the people she loves.  Because of this, her relationship with her teammates will be stronger, and her relationship with Winter will be stronger - which makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.  

Can you imagine how awkward the ‘dating’ conversation will be though?  I have no idea who Winter would date.  I know a lot of people pair her with Qrow, but...meh.  I don’t really see it (maybe because I write almost exclusively female-female pairings?  lol).  But regardless of the type of person Winter dates, I bet that’ll be such an awkward and uncomfortable conversation.  Almost makes me want to write it…

But I digress!

A couple more things to point out before wrapping this chapter up.

One is that Summer makes another small appearance.  Remember how I pointed out that she’s often associated with the wind/breezes?  Well:

While Weiss watched Yang and Nora chase each other around the edge of the woods, a cold breeze swept across the yard and raised goosebumps along her arms. 

Combine that with the fact that Ruby wanted the party to be at night so the moon was out (isn’t she sweet?) and it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that Summer was also at Ruby’s going-away party.  Because of course she was!  No way she’d miss an important moment like this.  Her daughter is back on her feet, reintegrating herself with her team and her circle of friends, and telling adorable stories that anyone would want to listen to.

The second (and last) thing I wanted to point out was how excited Ruby is to start training against other huntsmen - starting with Winter.  I would pay to watch that fight happen (I’m sure a lot of other people would too!).  But what I really loved about her excitement was what it meant to Weiss.  

Weiss, who was nervous about how JNPR would act around her after her extended absence, notices Ruby’s excitement and decides that it’s time for her to get back into the huntsmen world.  She realizes that she has a lot of contacts available to her, and you can bet she’s going to set up tons of practice spars against any huntsmen she can wrangle up.  Think CVFY will show up looking for a showdown?  (You can count on it!)

As the chapter wraps up and the outro music plays, I think we have a good idea of what’s in store for Ruby and Weiss in the future - more training, more laughing, and more falling in love with each other.  Of course, I couldn’t ‘end’ the story without pointing out that Weiss learned the most important lesson of all - that she wasn’t defined by her mistakes.  She’s defined by her reactions to those mistakes - coming back, becoming a part of Ruby’s life again, earning forgiveness, and evolving into a better friend and person.

I’m so proud of all of them!  I realize I put them through a lot, but I think they turned out better for it!  (Hopefully…)

On to Chapter 46 - which is Ruby’s last chapter and what I consider to be part of the epilogue.  It’s move-in day for her and Weiss!  And we see a few references to parts of the story that I completely forgot about by now.

One being Mr. Red, who only made like...one appearance in the earliest part of the story.  If you don’t remember him, that’s ok because I didn’t either!  He’s the little red stress ball that Yang gave to Ruby to help her get the strength back in her hand.  Ruby was playing with him while eating cereal in Chapter 2, I believe.  And she also used it when Weiss came over to watch the sparring practice in the backyard - do you remember that?  Weiss asked Ruby what it was for, and Ruby gave her a really brief answer about how she’s working on her hand strength but no explanation as to why.  (I remember only because Weiss was really hurt by Ruby’s not-forthcoming answer.)

I wouldn’t call him an important part of the story, but...well, he was a part of the story.  I can’t believe I remembered him enough to put him back in at the end…

Also, did you remember the little butterflies that Ruby was making out of scraps of metal?  She figured out how to make their wings flap when someone held them in the palm of their hand?  She gave one to Weiss, and Weiss put it on the bedstand in Winter’s house.

When I decided Ruby should make a little gift for Yang, I remembered those butterflies.  I thought that would be a good gift, but then I realized...if Ruby can make a butterfly...she can surely make a bumblebee!  (Symbolism!)

But bumblebees connect to the story outside of Yang and Blake’s relationship.  

“See?  I caught one!” Ruby joked, lightly poking it and lifting her hand away to show she hadn’t been stung this time. 

Remember in Chapter 9, Ruby got stung by a bee because she was trying to hold it?  That was right before she showed Weiss how to catch butterflies out in the woods (which Weiss epically failed at).  I thought it was a cute continuation of that little episode, only with Ruby successfully holding a bee this time.

Ruby’s short conversations with Blake and Yang in this chapter really get to me.  I just love them all so much - I really didn’t want Ruby to move out, but I also wanted her to move back in with Weiss.  But I didn’t want her to leave Yang and Blake!  They worked so well together and had so much fun.  

Clearly, I was conflicted about making this forward progress in the story.  Ruby still moved out, but not without some tear-inducing goodbyes.

I love how supportive Blake and Yang are though.  They’re sad but willing to help Ruby take the next step in regaining pieces of her previous life.  Blake takes a more reserved approach, but she’s very firm in saying that she’ll always be around if Ruby needs her (and that she’ll be keeping an eye out, just in case).  Yang’s a bit more blunt in saying that Ruby can always move back in if she wants, and that she’ll be missed.

Also, in regards to Blake...Ruby better keep one of her thoughts to herself!

It’d probably be impossible to keep track of her, so if she ever got loose they wouldn’t be able to find her!  Unless they had some way to trace her...like a bracelet or a necklace or something…and it could say ‘If found, please return to Ruby Rose’ with her number… 

If you didn’t catch this, Ruby’s essentially describing a collar.  Which is probably something she should never suggest to Blake.

Ruby also mentions a weird bit of advice from Blake that links to the rest of the story - that she probably shouldn’t eat an entire jar of olives at once.  From Weiss, we know that Ruby and Nora once had an ill-advised olive-eating competition that resulted in Ruby no longer liking olives.  That’s why Weiss was initially saddened to find that the spaghetti Ruby ordered when they went out to dinner had olives in it.  Nora also mentions it when she runs into Ruby at The Beacon Invite - she asks if Ruby wants any olives.

I have no idea why this is important, or why it was referenced like three times in the story.  I also don’t know if eating an entire jar of olives would even be a big deal.  I mean...I like olives.  And a jar isn’t too big, right?  I think I could eat an entire jar of olives, no problem (I probably need to test this now).  

Unless they’re the green olives?  That might be harder because those have a stronger taste.

Maybe it wasn’t the amount of olives that was the problem.  Maybe it was the speed at which they consumed them.  With Ruby and Nora competing, I imagine it was fast.  Fast enough to make one of them sick, apparently.  I think that makes sense!

Ok, with that mystery solved...back to moving in together!

Ohhh and there’s a good Easter egg in this chapter.  I’m expecting maybe one person to comment on it unprompted - otherwise, I think I slipped it under the radar.  But that’s what commentaries are for!  There's no slipping anything past you!

This...event, I guess you’d call it...takes place when Ruby races up to the front door and unlocks it:

“One, six, five, eight,” she hummed to herself while punching in the numbers.  “Now I know I won’t be late!”

Did this jog anything to mind?  Or did you think Ruby was just being cute?

Let me point out a sentence from Chapter 3…

“One, six, five, eight - now I know I won’t be late,” Weiss whispered to herself while punching in the code.

Do you see it now?  Or are you starting to see it?  Let me add on to that a bit:

“Was it open?” Weiss asked, pausing at the door and looking at the handle in concern.

“No, I unlocked it - don’t worry!”

“Oh.”  For a second, Weiss visibly relaxed - but then she looked at Ruby in confusion.  “Wait -”

There’s a lot to unpack here!  

One, Weiss never changed the code to their house.  In Chapter 3, she mentions that she kept it the same ‘in case’ Ruby one day went back.  

Two, Ruby somehow comes up with the exact same riddle that she used to say in order to remember the code - that’s the riddle Weiss whispers to herself when she goes to the house right after returning to Vale.

Three, Weiss’ reaction - ‘was it open?’ - referring to the front door of the house, implies that she didn’t expect Ruby to be able to open the door.  Maybe because she never explicitly gave Ruby the code to open it.

This is a tiny bit of info I’ve waited the entire story to reveal - and most people probably won’t catch it.  By now, everyone has accepted that Ruby won’t get her memories back.  They’ve accepted it, and they’re ok with it - which is exactly how I wanted it to be.  I wanted the story to be about how Ruby doesn’t need her memories - that she and Weiss will be just fine.  They’ll rebuild everything they once had - they’ll become everything they once were.

But Weiss never gave Ruby that code.  And she never told Ruby that rhyme.  

If you go back to each of the moments when they visit the house, I made sure Ruby was distracted by something else when Weiss unlocks the door.  In Chapter 37, Ruby’s still standing in front of the stairs staring at the house.  In Chapter 40, she’s looking at the yard thinking about how Blake sees in the dark instead of watching Weiss.

“Oh.”  For a second, Weiss visibly relaxed - but then she looked at Ruby in confusion.  “Wait -”

Weiss is surprised and about to say something, but then they’re interrupted by Yang.  After the interruption, Weiss probably does the same thing everyone else did - assumes that Ruby had watched her input the password at some point in time.

I’m here to tell you that that’s not true.  Weiss’ initial confusion is well-founded, because Ruby shouldn’t have been able to unlock that door.  Unless she somehow accessed to memories she ‘shouldn’t’ have.

This goes beyond what I’ve written about before - how Ruby remembers in a way that’s similar to muscle memory, or that her heart remembers.  This is an actual piece of knowledge that she pulled from her head without realizing it.

What am I saying here?

I’m saying that the idea that Ruby never regains her memories is inexplicably sad to me - and I don’t write sad endings.  I’m not saying she’s going to have one of those ‘aha!’ moments where everything rushes back in the blink of an eye.  I’m just saying...her memories are still there, and there’s a chance she learns how to see through the fog that’s clouded her mind for so long.

But again, it doesn’t really matter if she regains her memories or not - because her and Weiss have already recaptured much of what they once had.  For her to recall bits and pieces of the past would only be the cherry on top of their remarkable recovery (but I like cherries, so I had to put one on top of this story).

This was probably the biggest piece of information I hid in the story, but there’s one other little ‘mystery’ that returned in this chapter - Weiss’ continued difficulties with turning off lights.  It was an issue for her at Winter’s house (I actually wrote an omake about her trying to solve that problem).  I explained in a previous commentary that it was supposed to be Summer looking after Weiss, in her own way.

That’s why Weiss runs into the same issue with the light in the closet - Summer’s little way of saying ‘hey, you haven’t gotten rid of me yet.  I’m still looking after you two.’  And of course, Ruby is the one who’s able to turn off the lights again.

I find it really amusing to think about all these electrical failures following Weiss and Ruby for the rest of their lives.  It will probably get to the point where Weiss just stops trying to turn off the lights, so Ruby always goes around the house switching everything off.  And then Ruby will turn it into a big joke and keep saying something like “Weiss, you are the lights of my life.”

Ok, that was probably a really dumb joke...

This chapter ends with Ruby showering the house in rose petals, which I thought was a really appropriate way to start their new beginning together.  Do you remember how, in Chapter 3, Weiss ran out of the house because it smelled like roses?  Now here she is, inviting that atmosphere back into her life.

One of Ruby’s ending thoughts in this chapter is that Weiss is perfect, which I thought was a great way to explain an alternative to Weiss’ very firm definition of being perfect:

In a world that was sometimes a little unforgiving and always moved too fast, Weiss was...perfect.  Not ‘perfect’ like she never made mistakes, but ‘perfect’ like she had all the qualities needed to survive a mess up and come back even better than before. 

Part of the reason why Weiss was so hard on herself was that she expected herself to be perfect - perfect as in never making a mistake.  She and Ruby make such a great team because Ruby sees things in a completely different way - a more flexible, forgiving way.  

Weiss wants to be perfect, and Ruby sees her as perfect.  But that doesn’t mean never making a mistake.  It means making a mistake and having the capability of recovering from it, learning from it, and becoming better in the process.

They’re just...really, really good for each other.

Ruby has signed off, and I’ll miss hearing from her in this story.  Rest assured that I’ll write more from her POV in the future.  It will take a little while for me to finish up some bumblebee stories first, but then she’ll be back - and probably in a more mature version than what we’ve seen here ;).

I’m looking forward to the last two chapters, but not looking forward to them at the same time.  All I can hope is that you’ll enjoy them and feel that they’re a good wrap-up of the story we’ve spent almost a year reading (and far longer than that writing).

As always, thank you for your support - I really, really appreciate it.  I love sharing these worlds with you, and I love writing out my thoughts so we can explore everything in a little more detail.  

Until next time,

Miko