What Defines Us - Commentary - Ch. 47-48 (The End!) (Patreon)

Well...we made it.  Forty-eight weeks later, and this story is complete.  I didn’t cry!  But I feel...weird about it.  Happy, relieved, but also somber?  A little lost as to what I do next?  WDU has been a part of my life for such a long time (about 3 years now), that it’s unsettling to think I won’t revisit it again.  Of course, I could always revisit and re-read later on, but that won’t be the same.

But we’re moving on from here, and hopefully on to new, exciting things!  I think I’ve mentioned before, but I have a fluffier, Bumblebee-centric story up next.  The main issue I’m having is...what next?  (I have several partially finished stories...I just need to choose one.)

With that said, let’s jump into the last commentary for this story.  I’ll go through the chapters first and add some thoughts about the story as a whole at the end.

We’ll start with the Bumblebee chapter!  

I was pretty thrilled that I squeezed them into the story.  One, because they’re my favorite pairing (their lead over White Rose is diminishing though).  But two, we spent so much time focused on Weiss and Ruby and making sure they were happy together that we didn’t really see how Blake and Yang were doing.

Until now!

For this chapter, I had a couple of objectives I set out to accomplish:

1. Show that Blake and Yang also get their happily-ever-after.
2. Point out (in case anyone missed it) how integral Blake was to everyone’s happy ending.

With Ruby moving out, I think it’s fair to call Yang’s demeanor bittersweet.  As she put it, “Happy for Ruby, sad for herself.”  I mean, that’s her little sister!  She took care of Ruby growing up, and then again after Ruby’s injury.  She’s probably learned to be depended on, in a way.  So while it makes her happy that Ruby’s doing well enough to go off on her own, it’s also...bittersweet is probably the best word for it.

I didn’t want that to be how we left things for Yang and Blake.  How sad would that be after how supportive they were this entire story?  (Minus Yang’s tiny bouts of anger in the earlier chapters…)  Instead of giving them a cheerful send-off, they get...melancholy?

No, thank you!  If I’m writing a happy ending (which I exclusively do) then everyone is going to be happy.  Plus, I really love writing proposals…

Before we get into the mushy stuff, however, this chapter answered a question that you might’ve forgotten about by now - namely, we found Blake and Yang’s weapon lockers!

It was back in Chapter 37 that Ruby first saw the combat room and noted that Blake and Yang’s lockers were missing.  Do you remember?  She pointed it out, and Weiss laughed and said she had no idea where the pair put them.

Turns out, they’ve been hiding underneath their bed all along.  (I just had the thought that hopefully they powered the lockers off or something.  Can you imagine what a surprise that would be if one of them accidentally called their locker while the other was sleeping?)

No longer used for summoning weapons, the lockers are now basically time capsules.  From Yang’s description of pulling out ‘lots of pictures of Weiss and Ruby,’ we realize that this is where all that memorabilia went.  When Yang (and probably Blake) went through and scrubbed every memory of Weiss from their possessions, they didn’t throw it all away.  Yang didn’t throw it all away.  Even though she was so angry with Weiss for leaving, she didn’t have the heart to destroy those pieces of the past.

Ugh, I’m actually tearing up over this.  I just got hit by a big ol’ wave of WDU nostalgia.  They went through so much, yet Yang loved Weiss through it all - even when she was mad beyond words.  Now that’s true friendship.

And then...there’s Blake, whose friendship and support really go beyond words.  As the story expanded, I found myself loving her role because it’s different from what she did in the show - where she ran - but I think it fits her perfectly.  In a way, this is all part of the redemption she’s still seeking for herself.  Obviously, she’s already done more than enough to earn forgiveness, but she never stops trying to be better for her teammates - and that’s something I really love seeing from her.

She provided so much encouragement and support throughout the story, I don’t know what they would’ve done without her.  She was the intermediary and friendly face Weiss needed upon her return to Vale.  Can you imagine if Blake was also mad at Weiss?  How difficult would that be for Weiss to stick around if half of her team was against her?  Ruby would’ve sided with Blake and Yang because she wouldn’t have known any better.  That would’ve been a short story…

Then there’s Ruby, who we saw turn to Blake for help and advice at several key moments in her life.  Blake was the sounding board Ruby needed in many of those instances, offering a perspective that was a little more impartial than Yang’s.  Plus, we know how much work Blake put into training with Ruby and helping her recover as a huntress.

And now, we see Blake’s support for Yang.

I love that she just lets Yang carry her around and hold her.  Like, she knows that the physical closeness will provide comfort, so she’s more than willing to do it.  And when Yang gets concerned about Ruby’s well-being, Blake calmly assures her that there’s nothing to worry about.

Like I’ve pointed out several times in these commentaries, she played a very important role in bringing everyone back together.  

Of course, when I set out to commend her on a job well done, she got all modest and determined not to accept the praise.  But that’s part of what makes her so amazing!  Which Yang immediately realizes, and thankfully decides that it’s the perfect time to get that ring back out.  

If you remember, it was during Chapter 33 - the flashback of Ruby’s injury - where Yang stealthily let us know that she planned to propose.  This was also the moment when Blake said that Yang didn’t even need to ask because she already knew the answer - a line Yang repeats here before popping the question.

A quick thing to point out - the reason Yang puts the engagement ring on the wrong hand here is so that you know for the next chapter that the left hand is the proper hand for an engagement ring.  (More on that later - keep it in mind though!)

The end of this chapter is all fluff and love and giving those two their well-deserved happy ending.  I don’t know that I need to say much about that other than I’m happy they’re happy, and I’m sure you’re happy they’re happy!  

There’s something immeasurably satisfying about seeing all of the characters learn, grow, and end up in a better place than where they started...which leads us to our main couple and their last foray in the limelight.

Chapter 48 is a legitimate epilogue that takes place an unspecified amount of time later (again, I don’t like being specific about times unless it’s important to the plot).  But this is our opportunity to see Weiss and Ruby’s happy ending - and another proposal.

I have a little secret to tell you though.

This chapter was originally supposed to be a flashback.

So if you read it and thought ‘huh, this could be Weiss and Ruby pre-injury’ - well, you’re right.  It could have been the two of them pre-injury, because that’s how I wanted it to read.

Why would I even think to do that?  

Well, I thought most people probably wouldn’t notice.  They’d just assume it was the future and miss the tiny hints suggesting it was the past.  

But that was the point!  I wanted to make it a flashback chapter because we could mistake it for the future.  Because Weiss and Ruby were back together and happy, and we would easily believe that they were getting married again.

And then I realized that the people who realized the truth might be kind of upset.  It would be akin to the ending of Rush, where we learn that - ah, I don’t want to spoil it for people who haven’t read it!  But it would’ve been this unexpected moment that no one saw coming because we haven’t had a flashback chapter in a long time.  A complete head-fake at the very end of the story.

Suffice to say, I had a change of heart and changed the chapter.  It now reads somewhat like the past, but there are a few definitive reasons why it isn’t the past.

Before going into those details, I have a quail egg to point out!  Did this line catch anyone’s attention?

Someone could start dropping Grimm into the city, and Yang would only say that Weiss should’ve asked sooner.

This is a reference to The Fire Within!  Again, spoilers so I won’t go into detail, but if you read the story you should get it!  

It’s funny because some people like finding Easter eggs, but most of the time the existence of these little references stems from laziness (in my case, at least).  

For example, imagine I’m typing away and reach a spot where I need a book title.  I could come up with something off the top of my head, or I could reuse the ones I made up for Red Carpet Romance.  Because I think it’s really ironic to imagine Blake in another story reading books written by Blake in RCR (and because coming up with titles is a pain), I normally take the easy route.

Because people enjoy finding these threads of similarity, my laziness is encouraged!  It’s a vicious cycle, I’ll tell ya…

(On the specific subject of book or movie titles, when I come up with good ones I often start thinking of the story behind them as well.  Therefore...every title you read within my stories has a quick outline in my mind.  And I might have started writing one for future posting…)

Now, let’s go through the specifics of what makes this chapter the future rather than the past.

One of the biggest suggestions that it is a flashback happens when Weiss finds Ruby in the room searching through the bedside cabinet.  Weiss is creeping over to her with the ring clutched behind her back - just like the moment she describes in Chapter 9:

The more familiarity she found, the more she could feel another reality surging to the surface of her mind.  The room was much larger, lit by the light of more windows, with the smell of roses everywhere.  Ruby was still there, rustling through the drawers, only it was the drawers by the bed - their bed.  She had no idea Weiss was behind her...because Weiss had been sneaking ever since walking into the room.  She was determined that today was going to be the day.  And she was growing infinitely more nervous with every step she took - a small square box clutched behind her back -

See?  Told you it was subtle.  How many people remembered a single paragraph from 40 chapters ago?  That’s 40 weeks ago!

But this time, Weiss says a feeling of deja vu washed over her upon the circumstances, which took this moment away from the past and into the future.

And then there’s the fact that Ruby remembered the promise she made to Winter in Chapter 46 (the one with the going away party).  She promised that she would remind Weiss to call more often - which she does here when they’re making dinner.  

Now, that could have been something Ruby already did.  In fact, I could make an argument that maybe Winter asked Ruby to do that in the past, so that was already a habit Ruby had.  In which case, this could be a moot point.  Maybe this is the past, but maybe it’s the future!  (It’s the future, by the way.)

(What’s funny is that I’m actually typing this in the past…)

Another occurrence which could be argued either way is Ruby’s use of the phrase - “That’s a question with only one answer!”

This comes from Chapter 2 (reaching way far back in the memory logs today).  When Blake asks Ruby if she wants more ice cream (after that first dinner with Weiss, when Blake uses ice cream as an excuse to tail Weiss home to see where she’s staying), Ruby uses the same answer.

Again, this one is a toss-up and could go either way.

Then there are the little jokes and statements the characters make - such as Yang telling Weiss to “pretend like you’ve done this before!” or Weiss telling Ruby that “Your memory concerns me sometimes” or Ruby saying that she “thinks her brain is regressing.”  I could argue all of these either way too!  (Sensing a theme here?  Lots of ambiguous events and statements.)

There’s also a tiny nod to the story Retribution, which was so small that it might not be worth mentioning but I will anyway:

Beowolves and Death Stalkers and Nevermores and lonely little Boarbatusks and whatever that freaking thing was we saw in that lake.

This is a reference to the water Grimm that Ruby, Weiss, and Blake encountered at the bottom of the waterfall!

There are a couple more ambiguous ‘maybe the past, maybe the future’ moments to decipher.  

For example, in Chapter 44 (when Weiss and Ruby decide to move in together), Weiss makes a comment about how Ruby hardly did dishes before because speed and breakable objects didn’t mesh well together.  Yet here she is...washing dishes and not breaking anything!  (Again, I could argue this was just luck.)

But also, when Weiss tells Ruby to pick her favorite map, she chooses The Horde.  It could’ve been their favorite map before, but it also holds special significance as the ‘first’ simulation they tried together after coming back together.

The really clear hints start appearing towards the end of this story - such as Weiss putting the engagement ring on Ruby’s right hand.  

Remember how I pointed out that Yang used the wrong hand in the previous chapter so that we’d know it was wrong?  Well, here’s why!  If you remembered, you might’ve read this and though “Why is Weiss putting the ring on the wrong hand?”  Well, the answer is that Weiss already knew Ruby’s preferences for wearing an engagement ring - and how would she know that unless they’d been engaged before?

This is the proof from Chapter 33:

Ruby had never liked wearing the ring on her left hand...she was worried she might break it by hitting it on something…

Because Weiss already knew this, she skipped using Ruby’s left hand entirely and just put the ring on her right.

There’s also this little interaction:

“I love you, Ruby Rose.”

“And you’re not lying,” Ruby teased with a grin that made Weiss laugh happily.

This pretty heavily implies that Ruby still knows Weiss’ tell, which she learned in Chapter 24.  

A lot of people have asked what Weiss’ tell is, but I never answered that question - because I don’t know.  I just literally never came up with what it is!  A slight eye movement, maybe?  Who knows.  (Only Ruby does - let’s keep it that way for Weiss’ sake.)

And then there’s the very obvious clue - 

“Yeah!  I’ve been thinking about it for a while now,” Ruby continued, habitually playing with the ring around her neck before pointing to the new one clutched in Weiss’ hand.  “I get to wear that one, right?”

Weiss also points out that the word ‘eternity’ went on the outside of the new one instead of inscribed inside.  Which also makes it pretty clear that this is another ring.  (If you didn’t notice, I made the hints clearer as we reached the end of the chapter to prevent any lingering confusion.)

Lastly, there’s this little gem about the simulation they’re about to run to celebrate their engagement:

“You mean 2.0?” Weiss clarified, receiving a nod before she smiled.  “We’ll do our best.”

So, it’s not just The Horde they’re going to attempt.  They’re trying The Horde 2.0!  The implication being that they’ve already mastered the original version and moved on to a more difficult challenge.  In my imagination, it’s now two thousand Beowolves instead of the measly one thousand.  Pretty soon, they’ll master the new version and move on to something bigger and better, which we all know they’re capable of doing - together.

But you can bet Weiss is planning that wedding as soon as possible.  I don’t think she’d be willing to wait any substantial amount of time and risk another injury or accident or some kind of random misfortune happening.  Plus, I imagine she’d make the argument that she’s already waited an inordinate amount of time to marry Ruby.  Why delay any longer just for the logistics of setting up an entire wedding?  She’s a Schnee!  Her super powers include organization!

Also, it was only recently pointed out to me that the combat room records the simulations, in which case it should’ve recorded Weiss’ proposal.  I DIDN’T MAKE THAT CONNECTION AT ALL!  But that’s awesome.  Now they have the memory captured on video in case Ruby bumps her head again.  (Which begs the question...did they have it on video from the first time…?)

But after all this time, they’re finally going to get married...again.  And as they ride off into the sunset to fight a bazillion jumbo-sized, super-speed Beowolves, we can wrap up this story with a smile.  (At least, I hope we’re smiling.)  Even though Ruby lost her memories of Beacon, even though Weiss nearly broke under the weight of her guilt, they both made it back to exactly where they belong - together.

***

Now, about this story overall…

It’s been an incredibly fun journey, even though I hardly remember the beginning of it by now.  Honestly, I don’t know how I ever created this to begin with (which is a little alarming - maybe I have memory issues too?).

When I set out to write this emotional saga, I really wanted to show how people can be too hard on themselves, how that can be a detriment to their recovery, and how physical wounds aren’t the only types of wounds that need time to heal.  Even though Weiss was physically fine (outside of one mild-ish injury in Chapter 1) she spent much of the story believing she deserved the pain she put herself through and ignored the support she had until it was nearly too late.  Ruby, meanwhile, accepted Yang and Blake’s help and flourished because of it.

Two different people, two different journeys back from their injuries.  But, ultimately, they were both successful.

Would I have done anything differently?  Most definitely!  Lots of things, probably.  That’s one of the reasons it’s so difficult for me to re-read my stories.  I always find things I want to change or tweak or add.

But in terms of major plot changes, I don’t think I’d change much.  Maybe I would add more to the ‘huntsmen’ ending, but I liked Weiss’ moment of triumph with the Nevermores.  I thought that was enough of a finale of sorts showing that she was nearly ‘back’ as a huntress.  This story always was, however, about her and Ruby’s relationship.

That’s why I never wanted Ruby to get her memories back.  While I implied at the very end that she has memories we spent the entire story thinking she didn’t, I didn’t want that to be a huge part of the story.  It was far more important to me that they both learn to overcome their pasts and move forward.  

As dramatic and awesome as those moments are when characters receive all of their lost memories in a few seconds, I felt that made Weiss and Ruby’s struggles so...meaningless.  They spent all that time working on their weaknesses just to make it back to where they were before?  I didn’t want that.  I wanted them to struggle and make it somewhere better, together.

By the end, Weiss isn’t hoping for Ruby’s memories to come back, and I hope you weren’t either.  I hope everyone reached a peaceful acceptance that those memories might be gone forever, but that’s ok because they’re still happy.  They’re still in love!  And they’re still getting their happily-ever-after.

(Of course, like I said before, there might be a little more there than Ruby realizes - and being back home might’ve brought more to the surface.)

Anyway, I’m sure there are plenty of mistakes and plotholes.  I’m sure plenty of people could read it and think it’s a really crappy story.  It’s not perfect by any means, but it was never supposed to be perfect.  To me, this is another practice - and another attempt to become a better writer.  Sure, I made lots of mistakes, but...well, we all know what they say about mistakes, right?  ;)

Until next time,

Miko

P.S. - just for fun, I’ve attached my final outline of the story with the brief chapter headings I use to jog my memory.  If you glance through it, it should serve as a quick reminder of where we started, what we went through, and where we ended up.

Ch. 1 - Weiss POV - the beginning
Ch. 2 - Ruby POV - Weiss arrives
Ch. 3 - Weiss POV - after leaving the house, old house, Winter’s house
Ch. 4 - Ruby POV - training w/Blake
Ch. 5 - Weiss POV - training w/Yang
Ch. 6 - Ruby POV - carnival
Ch. 7 - Weiss POV - MEMORY - running
Ch. 8 - Ruby POV  - walk w/Weiss, the moon
Ch. 9 - Weiss POV - butterflies, Ruby’s room, almost kiss
Ch. 10 - Ruby POV - MEMORY - pain, Yang’s story
Ch. 11 - Weiss POV - meeting w/Blake, ice cream w/Ruby
Ch. 12 - Ruby POV - 2nd spar w/Blake, Yang agrees that Ruby’s ready
Ch. 13 - Weiss POV  - workshop, told about hunt, weapon locker
Ch. 14 - Ruby POV - Myrtenaster, Weiss opens up
Ch. 15 - Weiss POV - MEMORY - therapist
Ch. 16 - Ruby POV - Ruby and Yang, brief sparring, talk about Weiss
Ch. 17 - Weiss POV - sparring Ruby
Ch. 18 - Ruby POV - first hunt back
Ch. 19 - Weiss POV - boots, dust factory, Winter, holding hands
Ch. 20 - Ruby POV - gift, passing out, Weiss about to tell
Ch. 21 - Weiss POV - MEMORY - phone call w/Yang
Ch. 22 - Ruby POV - MEMORY - waking up
Ch. 23 - Weiss POV - 2nd hospital, Yang confrontation
Ch. 24 - Ruby POV - recovery, Achievemen, tickles, almost kiss, grapes
Ch. 25 - Weiss POV - Yang talk, forgiveness
Ch. 26 - Ruby POV - talk w/Blake, invitation to Beacon
Ch. 27 - Weiss POV - told about invitation, distracted dinner, almost kiss goodnight
Ch. 28 - Ruby’s POV - loving Weiss, talk w/Yang, Weiss comes over to spar
Ch. 29 - Weiss POV - team practice, another almost kiss, Blake talks to at end
Ch. 30 - Ruby POV - MEMORY - morning practice alone, breakfast, talk w/Blake
Ch. 31 - Weiss POV - Beacon pre-fight, kiss on cheek
Ch. 32 - Ruby POV - Beacon tournament
Ch. 33 - Weiss POV - MEMORY - injury
Ch. 34 - Ruby POV - asking Weiss questions, Weiss falling asleep
Ch. 35 - Weiss POV - waking up Ruby snuggling w/her, Winter call
Ch. 36 - Ruby POV - goes to Weiss’ house - kiss
Ch. 37 - Weiss POV - wake up w/Ruby, old house
Ch. 38 - Ruby POV - love, talk w/Blake
Ch. 39 - Weiss POV - sneaks over, I love you too
Ch. 40 - Ruby POV - wake up w/Weiss, choosing hunt, Nora, sleep at old house
Ch. 41 - Weiss POV - Nevermore Hunt
Ch. 42 - Ruby POV - post Nevermores, the horde
Ch. 43 - Weiss POV - Beacon reenactment
Ch. 44 - Ruby POV - deciding to move in together
Ch. 45 - End of story - Weiss POV - get together, Winter convo
Ch. 46 - Ruby POV - Move in day
Ch. 47 - Epilogue 2 - Yang
Ch. 48 - Weiss POV - proposal