#grimm summer rose theories

[anthurak]

Why I think Grimm!Summer is Going to Happen

So over the last few months I’ve seen a bit of discussion and theorizing on the prospect of Grimm!Summer actually being a red-herring for an even bigger reveal, such as Summer having actually joined Salem and is working with her entirely willingly. With what seems to be a decent chunk of this idea borne out of the idea that Ruby just straight up figuring out the Grimm!Summer twist in Volume 8 feeling like an ‘obvious’ setup for a fakeout.

The thing is (and this is rather ironic given that I was pushing the idea of Grimm!Summer being a red-herring pre-Volume 9), I think we’re not only getting Grimm-Hybrid Summer, but also that Ruby’s big ‘That’s what happened to Mom…’ theory in Volume 8 is actually basically LEGIT. And furthermore, that the writers have actually kind of ‘locked in’ Grimm!Summer to the point that doing some kind of fake-out would significantly undermine and even outright contradict some major plot points in Volume 8.

But to begin, let’s talk about “That’s what happened to Mom…”

The thing is, I totally get why some people might be suspicious of a fake-out here. After all, the main character essentially piecing together what is clearly a massive twist BEFORE the big reveal is something we very much DON’T normally see. This is basically Luke Skywalker walking out of the Dagobah cave in Episode V, sitting down next to Yoda with an absolutely HAUNTED look and straight up stating: “Vader is my father, isn’t he?”

But when has RWBY ever done things NORMAL with fantasy tropes? And Ruby in particular has always been a very ATYPICAL protagonist. So I’d say RWBY’s heroine piecing together a major reveal ahead of time would actually be rather appropriate.

Furthermore, I think what we see play out in this scene is actually very important to one of RWBY’s major overriding narratives: The counterpoint to the repeated use of Unreliable Narrators. With how much RWBY has made use of this trope, that naturally raises the question ‘How can we/the characters be sure of ANYTHING?’ And I think we’re seeing the answer here:

The characters have to piece the answers together themselves.

Ruby finding out that her mother was taken by Salem and turned into a horrific grimm hybrid monstrosity is very much NOT a case of the Unreliable Narrator. Nobody TOLD Ruby this information, she simply figured it out herself.

First, Ruby learned from Tyrian back in Volume 4 that Salem specifically wants her alive.

Then in Volume 6, Ruby learned from Maria that Salem used to simply have Silver Eyed Warriors hunted down and killed. Meaning that something must have changed between Maria’s time and now.

Then in Volume 7, Ruby learned that her mother apparently MET Salem on that fateful final mission of hers.

Finally in Volume 8, Ruby sees this horrifying, monstrous Grimm Hybrid that Salem has created… with a Silver Eyed Warrior inside it.

And with that, the pieces fall into place:

As Ruby herself puts it: “Salem used to kill people with Silver Eyes, like Maria. But she’s always wanted ME alive. But why would that change unless… When she met Mom, she learned she could do something new.”

This isn’t even the first time the show has done something like this. Back in Volume 6, Maria’s and Ruby’s theory that the Silver Eyes originate from or are otherwise connected to the God of Light is NOT something they are ‘told’ but rather something they infer based on observations made during Jinn’s vision.

Given how much RWBY has made use of Unreliable Narrators, I think it’s actually only natural that the information our heroines come across and piece together themselves would be the far more legit answers.

Obviously it might not be the whole story, but it is at least the START of it.

Next let’s talk about Grimm!Summer herself and why I think Summer turning out to have joined and is serving Salem entirely willingly… doesn’t really WORK with everything that’s been set up so far.

The thing is, the big Hound reveal in Volume 8 essentially ‘locks-in’ Summer being the ‘Patient Zero’ of Salem’s whole Grimm Hybrid project. Again, as Ruby herself laid out; Salem used to kill people with Silver Eyes. But now she seems to want them, like Ruby, alive. And it turns out she actually met Summer Rose in the meantime. And now Salem is making horrific Grimm Hybrids using Silver Eyes Warriors. Ergo, meeting Summer is when Salem ‘learned she could do something new’.

So if Grimm!Summer turns out to be a red-herring… then WHERE did the Hybrids come from? Are we supposed to find out that ‘Oh, it wasn’t actually Summer, but rather thanks to some OTHER Silver Eyed Warrior who also just so happened to fight Salem that she learned she could start making Grimm Hybrids’?

Because I don’t think I need to explain why that would be an EXTREMELY UNSATISFYING as a twist. In the ‘red-herring that exists ONLY to be a red-herring’ kind of way.

And with Grimm!Summer as the starting point of Salem’s Hybrids essentially locked-in, I think that kills any possibility that Summer has joined and is working with Salem willingly. After all, I think it’s hard to imagine Summer working with/for Salem fully willingly if she’s also spent years as effectively the Patient Zero for Salem’s twisted hybrid experiments. As I’ve stated elsewhere, I think Summer’s mental state at this point is that she’s ‘willingly’ working for Salem, but only because she’s been so psychologically BROKEN by everything she’s been put through.

Finally, there’s this idea that Ruby ‘figuring out the twist’ in Volume 8 somehow ‘kills the reveal’ of Summer being a Grimm Hybrid. To which I not only VEHEMENTLY disagree with, but I also think it actually MASSIVELY ratchets up the tension surrounding Summer’s fate going forward.

Thanks to essentially figuring the reveal out early, now Ruby has to LIVE with this knowledge. Now this fact of Summer not only being alive, but likely some terrible grimm monstrosity can LOOM over Ruby, Yang, Weiss and Blake, as well as Qrow, Raven, Tai and others who were close to Summer once RWBY fills them in. Going forward, this knowledge will be sitting ominously in the back of Ruby’s mind. I mean it’s pretty clear that this was one of the things weighing HEAVILY on Ruby during Volume 9.

And it gives the appearance of more Grimm Hybrid further down the line an ominous, haunting inevitability for Ruby and her family. Because now she KNOWS that one of these monstrosities isn’t just a silver-eyed warrior like her, but her MOTHER.

It’s basically Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘bomb under the table’ theorem applied to long-form storytelling.

All in all, I do think there’s certainly a lot of really interesting ideas to Summer joining Salem willingly. I just think they don’t line up with where the story seems to be going.

[downtofragglerock]

So, anyone wanna make bets that Summer’s failed assault on Salem is the reason Salem has those exposed veins now?

[lesbianseaweed]

RWBY THEORY

I know fairytales have different versions but in the version I've always heard of Little Red Riding Hood, when Little Red gets to her grandma's house, the wolf is already there, it ate the grandma and is now impersonating her. In the end the wolf is cut open and the grandma is inside.

So we know Salem is putting silver eyed people inside of grimm

And we know that Summer might be there too

So, by this logic, Summer Rose could the grandma

Meaning that there's a chance that, in the future of the series we might get a Grimm impersonating Summer and/or Summer alive(?) inside the Grimm

[thecapturedafrique]

While discussing with a friend what Taiyang’s allusion could be, I ended up reflecting on this meta and thinking of perhaps another way the Three Bears could be divided, where prior to Ruby’s birth we have Tai as Papa Bear, Summer as Mama Bear, and Yang as Baby Bear.

This is a very bare bones analysis that could perhaps be shored up by learning more about Taiyang and Summer’s relationship, but so far they’ve been positioned as opposites: even before Summer’s death, Yang describes her as the adventurer who went out on missions while Tai was the teacher who stayed home. We’re also told that Tai lost heart completely in the wake of Summer’s death, whereas everyone who’s compared Ruby to Summer has done so primarily by stating that they are both the type to press on despite the odds/losses.

(If we do a bit of theorizing, we could also assume Tai’s first big battle against depression occurred when Raven left him and Yang, until Summer comes along with her positivity and love and heals his first heartbreak.)

So Papa and Mama Bear are opposites who still complement one another until a tragedy befalls their family and Mama Bear dies. Our Baby Bear Yang is suddenly forced to grow up very quickly because things are no longer just right, and with Papa Bear having shutdown completely, she takes up the role of both parents for the new Baby Bear, Ruby. And as Baby Bear, Ruby forces herself into the role of being Just Right, aka repressing her own problems to maintain her seemingly endless positivity.

But we see that the allusion is breaking down, because Ruby isn’t actually Baby Bear; she’s Little Red Riding Hood, and in her fairy tale, the protagonist is indeed flawed. LRRH has stuck religiously to the path thus far, but as OP’s other metas point out, she must listen to her inner wolf to find the flowers which lie beyond from the path (very neat symbolism for our rose!) and thus become the Huntress in full.

Tai does eventually return to his role as Papa Bear (recalling how one of the first traits we learn about him is his overprotectiveness), but by that point his Baby Bear has already begun growing up and into herself as Goldilocks. Yet we still see the sliver of the bear remain in Yang, most notably when she’s juxtaposed with Ruby.

I believe this is indicative of how the “final” piece to Yang’s self-actualization revolves around her relationship with Ruby. Specifically, she needs to learn that Ruby isn’t actually the Baby Bear and thus is not someone to strictly be protected. Just as she learned by defeating Adam and becoming the Golden Prince to Blake’s Beauty, Yang must accept that her little sister has grown up into someone who can offer her protection and support too, and that she is as deserving of it as she believes Ruby to be.

Yang's Goldilocks is Beautiful

Scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical, one sided and easily processed. Yet every misshapen spark's unseen beauty is greater than its would be judgement.

The Yellow Trailer - like all trailers - foreshadows Yang's arc on multiple levels and it gives some hints on how our Sunny Little Dragon's allusion is used in her story.

To be more specific, Yang's trailer can be read in 2 ways:

The Yellow Trailer is Goldilocks and the Three Bears in a nutshell: Yang enters the Bears' turf (their house), asks about Raven and then trashes the place. She fights 3 opponents: the Malachite twins (red and blue, so too hot and too cold) and Junior (The Baby Bear). After all the ruckus, Yang simply jumps from a window and disappears, like her literary counterpart.

The Yellow Trailer also contains a super condensed version of Snowhite and Red Rose: The Malachite Twins play Snowhite and Red Rose, a pair of sisters that befriend a Bear. The Malachites use discarded designs of Weiss and Ruby and fight side by side with Junior, whose name means Black Bear. Their fairy tale should end with the Bear becoming a Prince with a Golden Armor. However, here comes Yang to take central stage. She plays the part of the Golden Prince herself and defeats the bear-curse (Junior). In other words, she enters the Malachites' story and makes it hers.

These 2 readings are complementary and offer 2 interpretative keys to Yang's allusion. The first is rooted in Goldilocks' plot and gives us the recurring motifs of Yang's arc. It helps us understand where we currently are in Yang's fairy tale and how much we still have to cover. The second instead adds a meta-element that gives Yang's Goldilocks an even deeper meaning.

Here comes the 2 reading clues:

Yang's Goldilocks motifs are the too hot/too cold (the Malachites Twins) and the Baby Bear/Just Right (Junior). To be clear: to reach her just right Yang has to go through her hot/cold sides and face her inner beast (the Baby Bear), so that she can emerge as a Golden Prince.

Goldilocks enters a strangers' house and tries to fit in. Well, Yang does the same, but with others' fairy tales instead. This is why her trailer is the only one with 2 fairy tales instead than 1.

You aren't convinced by this last point, are you? And yet, it is a very easy point to prove. Let's consider, for example, Yang's flashback in Burning the Candle:

Yang: I waited for Dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and headed out. I must’ve walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, I was totally exhausted, but I wasn’t gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand, but I didn’t care; I had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes…

This memory is clearly key to Yang's character to the point it can be considered the beginning of her story. So, it is no surprise it has some similarities with her fairy tale. A rebellious little girl wanders in the woods and finds a mysterious wooden house. The child hopes she will find a place for her there, but she discovers soon it is home to 3 scary beasts.

However, something feels odd. For starters, the 3 Grimms Yang meets are not Ursai, as one would expect, but Beowolves. Secondly, Yang does not run away, like in Goldilocks, but is saved by her Uncle Qrow, a model Huntsman. So, Yang disobeys Tai and goes alone into the woods, she is almost eaten by Beowolves and is saved by a Huntsman. This isn't Goldilocks and The Three Bears. This is Little Red Riding Hood.

Wait, what? What does this all mean? Let's start from the very beginning...

ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD...

Once upon a time, there was Summer Rose's daughter. She lived happily with her little sister and was protected from evil beasts, be them wolves or bears alike. Then, something bad happened:

Yang: Her name was Summer Rose, and she was, like… Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then… one day she left for a mission and never came back.

Summer disappears and is revealed not to be Yang's biological mother. This is a double-layered trauma. On the one hand Summer not coming home triggers Yang's abandonement issues. On the other hand the discovery of Raven's existence just make them worse. Not 1, but 2 moms left Yang. Then, it must be Yang's fault. By the time of her expedition into the woods, Yang is clearly facing these very complex and painful emotions, that get metaphorically explored through a short version of Little Red Riding Hood. Let's analyze it, by considering these 3 elements:

The Mother Yang is looking for

Ruby - the real LRRH - being with Yang

The Big Bad Wolves Yang meets

1 - Who is Yang really looking for? She is searching for Raven, but unconsciously she wants to know why Summer left. This is why the scenario resembles LRRH more than Goldilocks. Yang is a child that has just lost her mother twice - both physically and psychologically.

In her mind, this double loss materializes in the form of 2 distinctive mothers: Summer who is missing and Raven who is tormenting Yang's mind. Yang's reaction is to go hunting for both.

2 - Yang puts a sleeping Ruby on a wagon and starts her journey. The scene describes how Summer's grief was handled in Yang's family:

Yang: Ruby was really torn up, but… I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, y'know? And my dad just kind of… shut down.

Tai is absent because he shut down, Ruby is unconscious because too little to understand what's happening (or so Yang thinks) and Yang starts her lonely pursue while trying to take care of her sister.

3 - Yang meets 3 Bewolves with burning red eyes. Here is where Little Red Riding Hood starts blending with Goldilocks and The Three Bears. Hood meets only 1 wolf (2 at most in some versions), while Yang meets 3 at the same time. 3 like the bears of her fairy tale.

At the same time, the motif of the eyes is very dear to LRRH:

"Oh, grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

However, the idea of 3 beasts seizing you up as different and unwelcomed is really Goldilocks-like. In the original story, the 3 bears find Goldilocks in their house and immediately condemn her behavior and attack her. She is a stranger, an outsider. She shouldn't be there. She brings chaos in their symmetrical world:

Scathing eyes (scathing eyes) That see things from only one side

So, the wolves' scary eyes become the bears' judgemental ones and Little Red Riding Hood is degraded into Goldilocks.

Wait, why degraded? I have nothing against Goldilocks, but it is often considered an imperfect fairy tale with no beginning nor conclusion. Where does Goldilocks come from and where does she go after the 3 Bears? There is no answer.

Goldilocks lacks an objective and a drive:

Yang: At least you two have something that drives you. I've just kinda of always, gone with the flow, y'know? And that's fine, I mean, that's who I am. I wanna be a Huntress, not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won't know what tomorrow will bring. And that'll be a good thing. Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that.

She is not like Little Red Riding Hood:

Yang: I'm not like Ruby, she's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she'd dreamt about being the heroes in the books. Helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she knew that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get where she is today.

Yang's transformation into Goldilocks, then perfectly describes our girl's interiority and self-perception. She feels wrong, incomplete and asymmetrical. She isn't Summer's daughter, but Raven's. She isn't Little Red Riding Hood, but Goldilocks. The flashback in Burning the Candle simply gives an origin and an explanation to this unconscious feeling of inadequacy:

Yang: There we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter.

Yang is almost responsible for Ruby's death. This is why the red eyes imagery appears and sticks with Yang from here on out. After all, nobody thinks of Yang as unfitting or different, but Yang herself:

She is at the same time Goldilocks and the Bears judging her.

HERE COMES GOLDILOCKS!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears makes up the meat of Yang's story. Once again, the Yellow Trailer tells us how to interpret this fairy tale. There Yang is looking for Raven, but finds 3 downgraded versions of her teammates. The Malachites are Ruby and Weiss (Red Rose and Snowhite), while Junior is a Black Beast, just like Blake. This brings 2 considerations:

Whenever Yang fails to find Raven, she discovers one of her teammates instead. In the Yellow Trailer, Yang finds Ruby. At the Branwen Camp, she meets Weiss. When Raven runs away at the end of the Haven Battle, there is Blake waiting for Yang.

Ruby, Weiss and Blake are respectively the too hot (red), too cold (blue) and just right (red + blue = purple) of Yang's fairy tale.

Let's explore these patterns up until now, with a special focus on the Mistral Arc.

YANG AND RAVEN: TOO COLD, TOO HOT AND NEVER RIGHT

So far, Yang has tried to find Raven 3 times, which can be seen as a set of too cold, too hot and just right.

Too cold - As a child, Yang goes alone into the woods, but she is too weak to fight the Grimms waiting for her. She can only stare back frozen in fear.

Too hot - In the Yellow Trailer, Yang has grown strong enough. A douchebag flirts with her? She catches fire and punches him in the face. However, she still lacks knowledge of Raven's whereabouts.

Strength and Knowledge are the 2 ideas Raven has built her whole persona around:

Cinder: You know, I've heard so many stories about you, Raven. They say you're a cunning leader, that you're strong, that you're clever.

This is why Yang too has to prove she is strong and clever enough to find her mom. Third time is the charm and, as the gas station called Just Rite lets us know, things are finally just right for Yang and Raven to meet.

Just right:

Shay: Seriously. Not too bulky. Not too lean. You're… Yang: Just right. Yup. Like I said, I'm good.

Everything looks perfect, doesn't it? After being told twice she is too young:

Junior: Aren't you a little young to be in this club, Blondie?

Just Rite Bartender: Aren't you a little young to be drinking?

Yang is welcomed by her mom, who is ready to tell her all the truths adults have been hiding:

Raven: But I must admit that you've proven yourself. So any questions you have I'll be happy to answer.

After the Strawberry Sunrise of the trailer (too fancy) and the water bottle of the gas station (too plain), Raven offers her tea (just right), adding she likes it hot (just like Yang herself). And yet:

Yang refuses Raven's cup and chooses to leave her mom just after finding her.

Why is that so?

There are 2 thematic reasons. The 1st is about Yang and Raven's foiling, while the 2nd ties with Goldilocks and the Three Bears in general.

1 - Yang is too selfless, while Raven is too selfish

Let's compare these 2 scenes:

Raven: I'm giving you a choice. Stay here, with me, and I'll answer all your questions and more. We can have a fresh start. Or…you can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem, and meet the same fate as so many others.

Yang: Because you're afraid of Salem!!! And if you thought having Maiden powers put a target on your back, imagine what she'll do when she finds out you have a Relic. She'll come after you with everything she has. Or she can come after me.

Yang and Raven are offered a choice. Yang must choose between Raven and Ruby. Raven between herself and Yang. Yang chooses her little sister and puts Ruby's safety before her own wishes. Raven instead chooses to survive even if it means Yang may die.

The end result is apparently the same. Both Yang and Raven leave through a window (a portal), like Goldilocks. However, their choices reveal 2 very different takes on the character. To be more specific, Raven plays the Little Old Woman to Yang's Goldilocks.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears is, in fact, a recent rewriting of an old fable, where a Little Old Woman enters the Bears's house to steal their food. In this version, the intruder isn't painted as a charming beautiful child, but as a greedy burglar only interested in stealing from the Bears. This fits Raven, a bandit who attacks towns and leaves them an easy prey for Grimms.

At the same time, Goldilocks' fairy tale may be the evolution of the Little Old Woman's fable, but it is not the same story. Similarly, Yang is Raven's daughter, but she isn't like her mother:

Yang: I'm not like you. I won't run.

Yang decides to write a brand new version of the story, which doesn't follow Raven's narrative. She chooses to become a Goldilocks that doesn't run. Not a Goldilocks who steals out of selfishness, but one who steps in out of selflessness.

2- Goldilocks and the Three Bears has no fairy-tale ending:

Yang: All of this endless death, because something bad happened to you once upon a time?! Nobody gets a fairy-tale ending!

Goldilocks runs away in the woods and doesn't have to face consequences for her behaviour. Similarly, the Bears do not really have to solve the mystery of this strange intruder. Who is the child? Where does she come from? They don't know and they don't care.

Goldilocks is ultimately a story of characters that run away from difficult things. In this way, though, they do not evolve and there is no proper closure. The central problem of Goldilocks's identity and of where she fits is left unsolved. Ironically, the famous "just right" is never found:

This time it was neither too hot nor too cold. It was just right and so delicious that she ate it all up. But she was too heavy for the little chair and it broke in pieces under her weight.

Even when the porridge tastes good, the chair breaks and Goldilocks falls.

The same goes for Yang and Raven in volume 5. Yang initially struggles to see Raven in her complexity (like the Bears), while Raven eventually runs away (like Goldilocks).

Most importantly, though, they both get a chance to choose the other, but don't. So, even if both heartbroken, they never find their "just right".

TEAM RWBY: HOT, COLD, JUST RIGHT

Ruby, Weiss and Blake are Yang's hot, cold and just right. This doesn't mean Ruby and Weiss are "wrong" for Yang, though. In reality, all 3 girls are necessary for Yang's arc, starting with her recovery after the Fall of Beacon.

Ruby is too hot: in volume 4 Yang is defeated and depressed. Her inner fire is out, which is why her hair (her flames) is in a pony-tail, restricted. For better or worse, Ruby is the reason why Yang pulls herself back together. The determination to find and protect her little sister is enough to fire Yang up and to start her recovery. This is also why the song Ignite focuses specifically on Yang jumping in the fray to protect Ruby (her family):

Usually I devastate This time, might annihilate Any minute now You're gonna rue our meeting Messing with my family Means that soon you're history The moments of your life are fleeting

Weiss is too cold: in volume 5 Yang deals with a lot of inner turmoil and is very easy to trigger. Be it Raven or Blake, her eyes are quick to turn red with anger. The one who manages to cool Yang down is Weiss. She is at Yang's side at the camp and checks on her well being several times. Later on, she is the one that helps Yang see things from a different perspective when it comes to Blake:

Weiss: You're right though. I don't know loneliness like you do. I have my own version. And, I'll bet Blake has her own version too.

Blake is the just right: Yang's journey in Mistral leads her to Blake. She has to face her demons, overcome Raven and reach her inner "just right" (balance) to find Blake once again. At the same time, Blake herself spells out what the "just right" is in volume 6.

Not too hot:

Blake: Hey, I'm not leaving. And if we ever see him again, I promise I'll be there. And I'll protect you. Yang: What? Blake: What? Yang: Forget it. Let's just head back.

Not too cold:

Adam: Heh, do you really believe that? Or are you just trying to scare me away so you won't have to die trying to protect her?

Just right:

Blake: She's not protecting me, Adam. And I'm not protecting her. We're protecting each other.

Ruby gives Yang love, warmth and inspiration, even after Summer's disappearance. Weiss cools Yang off and teaches her empathy better than Raven. Blake is ready to accept Yang in all her vulnerability and strength. Her teammates are the place Yang belongs to. Three people that have welcomed Yang. Three kind bears.

IS THE MISTRAL ARC'S "JUST RIGHT"... JUST RIGHT?

Yang's arc up until now has been the search for the "just right" both inside and outside.

Inside: Yang has learnt not to rely on her Semblance too much. After all, Burn is nothing, but a metaphorical representation of the "too hot" of her fairy tale. This is why Yang has had to reduce its use in order to find her just right. On a deeper level, she has had to face her anger towards Raven and Blake to see her 2 loved ones clearly, in all their contradictions. She has had to tone her emotions down, so that she could let go of her interiorized "scathing eyes".

Outside: she has restored her bonds with her teammates that right now are stronger than ever. In particular, her relationship with Blake has been progressing and, after Adam, they have grown even closer.

So, is everything done? Can Yang reach her happy ending provided that Salem doesn't destroy the world? Obviously, the answer is "not yet".

On the one hand it is clear Raven is bound to come back into the story, so that she and Yang can have some kind of closure. On the other hand Blake's resolution to stand beside Yang no matter what is beautiful, but has not really been tested, so far.

By this, I mean that Bumbleby's focus in the Mistral Arc has mostly seen Yang be there for Blake and help her complete her arc through defeating Adam. Sure, this has been an important development for Yang as well, but Blake has been interestingly absent from Yang's personal subplots, that have instead seen a major involvement by Ruby and Weiss. I wouldn't be surprised if this tendency were to be changed towards the end.

Let's briefly consider the 2 instances where Yang's Goldilocks has been alluded to directly: the Yellow Trailer and the Just Rite scene. The 2 situations are clear paralles. Yang is looking for Raven and she wants something to drink. However, there is a difference:

Yang: Strawberry Sunrise. No ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas.

Yang: A water. It's hot out.

The meaning is clear. In both situations Yang wants to find Raven, but the first one is the "too hot" (no ice) and it ends with Yang meeting Ruby, while the second is the "too cold" (water to cool down) and it ends with Yang meeting Weiss.

So, there might still be a "just right" scene in the future that involves Raven and Blake. If this is the case, it may offer proper closure to Yang and Raven's mother-daughter's relationship.

Blake may play a part in this by assisting Yang. Alternatively, she might support Yang when she faces the true issue at the root of her struggle: Summer Rose, LRRH's mother.

After all, Yang's story starts with Summer's disappearance, so it only makes sense that it ends with her return. She left as LRRH's mother and is probably going to come back as the Big Bad Wolf in some form, at least in Ruby's story. What about Yang, though? She isn't Little Red Riding Hood, so which form is Summer gonna take in her story? Well, she may very well be the Cursed Rose that brings out Yang's inner Beast.

... AND THEN THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Blake and Yang are each others' Beauty and the Beast. Blake's name can mean both black and white, so she is both shadow (beast) and light (beauty). She is the Beast that looks for redemption and the Beauty that temporary leaves the Beast.

What about Yang?

She too is Beauty and Beast, with her duality easily found in her fairy tale. She is a beauty that burns (Goldilocks) and a wounded beast (the Baby Bear). In this way, RWBY solves the mystery behind the character of Goldilocks. Who is Goldilocks? Just another story's Baby Bear, a child whose place in the world has been threatened. A child who has been looking where to fit since then.

Luckily for Yang, Blake is ready to take her in. When her inner beast, which is nothing, but her vulnerability, comes out, Blake will accept it and welcome her in their shared "happy ending". After all, Blake's fairy tale is the opposite of Yang's. Goldilocks has no resolution, while Beauty & Beast has a "happily ever after" that needs 2 people to be meaningful. This is why meta-narratively, Yang looks for a fairy-tale that can fit her, while Blake wants someone that can complete her story. This is why they are perfect for each other. Together, they make a tale as old as time. As old as the very beginning of our story:

Black the beast descends from shadows. Yellow beauty burns gold.

YELLOW BEAUTY BURNS GOLD

Yang's presentation line in Red Like Roses foreshadows her happy ending with Blake. Still, there is another deeper meaning to it, which is probably going to be the main theme of Yang's arc.

First of all, Yang is built on the idea of "hot". Our pun-loving girl is herself a pun on "hotness":

You're standing too close to a flame that's burning Hotter than the sun in the middle of July

She is introduced as an eye-candy hot girl. Then she is revealed as a ruthless and hot-blooded fighter. This is the dualism Ember Celica is built on: they appear as a pair of bracelets that transform into explosive gauntlets. Is that the root of Yang's character? There is more, which becomes clear the moment Yang loses an arm and becomes "asymmetrical".

What does Yang's "asymmetry" stands for? Once you think at her fairy tale and semblance, it becomes clear: Yang is "too hot". This is why she loses her arm, as well. She explodes in flames when she should have stayed cool, and loses a part of herself as a result. This is why her development is essentially... "her cooling down".

This process is shown also through her Semblance. When Yang uses Burn, her hair catches fire and her eyes go from purple to red. The symbolism is clear: she is usually the "just right" (purple), but her semblance makes her "too hot" (red). Her own semblance is a metaphor for Yang's inner asymmetry and unbalance. This is why she is the only one among her friends that has had to reduce the use of her semblance, instead of developing it.

Still, Semblances represent who people are, for better or worse. This is why a development that ends with a character simply repressing their Semblance is not gonna work. Burn will most likely evolve and affirm itself again in all its "hotness", in all its beauty:

Neon Katt: Ooh! Flashy eyes! Y'know, you're actually kinda pretty when you're angry.

When Yang uses her semblance she is beautiful. That is not just a physical attribute, but a thematic statement. There is beauty in Yang taking in the trauma and using it to grow stronger and protect her loved ones. There is beauty in her showing her emotions instead of keeping them hidden. Sure, she must pay attention not to "burn out" nor to let anger blind her. Still, there is value in her asymmetrical "too hot".

And here comes the final twist on Yang's fairy tale. Goldilocks and The Three Bears is a story that celebrates the "just right", but never finds it. Yang's story has her discover the "just right" does not really exist and that in itself is good. Because there are not "just right" people and then the rest. Everyone is asymmetrical and complex. Weiss seems cold, but has a lot of warmth inside. Ruby is Yang's little sister, but also her competent leader. Blake runs away, but she is also braver than anyone else. Raven and Tai's relationship may be hot/cold, but it still generated Yang, who is the "just right" (her purple eyes mix Raven's red and Tai's blue).

As a child (Goldilocks), Yang feels she doesn't fit, but as an adult (Blake's Burning Beauty) she realizes it is okay not to fit. After all, she is beautiful (hot) precisely because she burns gold:

Crash and burn (crash and burn) Some lessons are just hard to learn Scathing eyes (scathing eyes) That see things from only one side Yet every misshapen spark Suffers the judgment and pain But just as light conquers dark There's a beauty that's greater Than pure symmetry can contain So let's start the game!

Yang is the "too hot" of her fairy-tale and that in itself is "just right".

[st-whalefall]

I’m taking a big ol’ swing with this one so everyone please keep your limbs inside the vehicle until we reach our destination (let me cook)

So, what happened here? For this to go from-

Goofy ass grin <3

Summer: “Trust me..”

To this-

Raven: “The creatures of Grimm have a master named Salem. She can’t be stopped, she can’t be reasoned with, and she will not rest until humanity crumbles at her feet.”

Raven: To Ruby with disdain, “You sound just like your mother.”

Let me lay some of my cards on the table. I’m in the “Summer is still alive” camp and I got thoughts on: if Summer is still alive, why has she not been in Yang and Ruby’s life?

Not even a peep? For 14 years?

Something BIG had to have happened to her to keep her away from them.

Now, a lot of folks will go straight to where Ruby jumped to: Summer got Grimm hound-ed by Salem

But I think that’s takes a lot of agency away from Summer and the building revelation of her character and the purpose she serves in the narrative.

If Summer has been grimmified, I posit it was by her own doing, by choice. And her choice alone.

Qrow: “You’re special the same way your mom was…The creatures of Grimm were afraid of those silver eyed warriors.”

Salem: “Do you feel it? Don’t fight it girl. It can sense your trepidation. You must make it dread you.”

How does Salem illustrate the melding of Cinders flesh with the Grimm arm and mastery over it?

In the few instances we get, how are silver eyes described in their effect on Grimm? Obliteration, yes. Resistance to their influence? Possibly (see Ruby & the apathy). But command over them? Let’s explore that.

We are working with a pretty small dataset here, so you’ll forgive me for mostly drawing from Cinder for this (separate post I think the hound is a reanimated corpse and so different from true living hybrids like Cinder (& hypothetically Summer)).

Grimm evolve and Grimm hybrids, like Cinder, adapt.

From vol4 to vol8, Cinder’s Grimm arm grows. It spreads. And she becomes more comfortable with it as time progresses.

Cinders Grimm arm has become an integral part of her and, side note, I dislike theories that revolve her hypothetical redemption around her being purified of evil (Grimm) by silver eyes.

[But that’s just me, I want the monstrous to stay monstrous rather than erased or watered down for easy digestion. Let the monster stay a monster in its appearance and still be worthy of love, and so on and so forth.]

So, we come back to Summer Rose.

Summer confronted Salem, learned something earth shattering, destroyed Raven’s faith and trust in her, and did something that prevented her from returning to her daughters for more than a decade.

What did Summer do? Agency, we’re thinking strong choices here.

Choices that are radical but in line for a character with strong convictions, an alluded to pedestal she stands upon and all the complexes that comes with, perhaps a little self destructive, and a big heart. Big enough to sympathize with the devil and do something about it.

The thing that could be preventing Summer from returning home could be as simple as:

After she learned the truth about Oz’s shadow war, she joined Salem’s side, and won’t return until she’s seen it through to the end.

But I want to put some spice on there because what if:

After learning whatever it was Salem told Summer, that turned her world upside down, Summer looked down into the pools of black and took the plunge

To understand Salem on a molecular level

To be Grimm as Salem is Grimm

To be a world changer

In the world of Remnant, that’s what the Grimm are. A force of destructive change, like hurricanes and wildfires, they shape the world through calamity. Disaster doesn’t feel any one way about you, it just is. It is devastating, but it doesn’t hate you. And it doesn’t love you either.

So, what would that make Summer?

How do you think that’s changed her, fundamentally?

Bloody evolution indeed.

And that’s why she stayed away. Summer changed, and now she looks a little more on the outside how she feels on the inside. But to the rest of the world, she is something horrifying. Unspeakable.

She didn’t want to give her girls nightmares.

Yeah, Summer was the inspiration for the Hound, and Cinder’s Grimm arm. But not in the way Ruby thinks.

[storm-of-feathers]

okay so my very old theory since like volume 6 when silver eyes were explained was that summer tried to use her silver eyes to wash the grimm out of salem, and got killed in the process. thats why salem knows EXACTLY WHO SUMMER IS and why ruby is so so recognizable as the spitting image of her.

"if i do this right, there's nothing to worry about" whatever it was, summer thought she was the only one who could do it. and raven helped her and has kept that secret for years.

whatever raven saw happen to summer is what ultimately broke her and made her more scared of salem than anyone. because she saw salem tear summer apart. thats why raven gave up. if summer fucking rose couldnt do it, no one can.

[chaikachi]

Little Red Riding Hood, The Big Bad Wolf, & The Silver Bullet

Aka I did an Oscar as The Little Prince analysis and now I wanna do one for Ruby's allusion in honour of the 10th Anniversary.

I know most if not all of us are familiar, but I'm still going to start with a summary.

Little Red is a story about a young girl in a red cloak who is sent into the woods at her mother's behest to bring baked goods to her sick grandmother. There, she meets a malicious wolf that asks her many questions, to which she answers all truthfully and without hesitation. The wolf takes this information and uses it to beat the girl to her destination where he then swallows her grandma whole and disguises himself in the woman's clothes. There he waits for the child to arrive and come closer so he can swallow her up too.

There are actually two popular versions of this story with different endings that we often look back to.

In Perrault's story, there is no happy ending. They're both eaten up, the wolf is content. The end. But in the Grimm version, there is an additional character... the Huntsman (aka the woodsman). He hears the wolf snoring after its meal and ends up cutting the beast open & saving the victims. Then, with the help of Little Red Riding Hood, he kills the wolf before it can do anymore harm.

All in all, it's a story about childhood innocence being lost, learning not to trust strangers, and being mindful to always follow the correct path. For if you stray too far, you may lose track of time, invite unwanted danger, or find yourself lost.

In RWBY, we have some very clear allusions here since it's the basis for so much of the show as a whole:

Little Red - Ruby Rose

The Mother - Summer Rose

The Grandmother - Maria

The Hunstman/Woodsman - All Three of Them

The Wolf - Salem and her Grimm (but ESPECIALLY The Hound)

They're all pretty self explanatory.

Ruby has the red cloak, her og trailer is clearly inspired by the tale, she loves baked goods, she's referred to as "Red" and "Little Red" by Torchwick & Cinder. She's also a huntress. And, by and large, her entire arc is about losing that childhood innocence and the view that life "is like a fairytale" as well as struggling with what the "right path" to follow is.

Summer is the mother (baker of cookies) and also the huntsman (slayer of giant monsters). The battle axe being her weapon choice alludes well to the alternate name, Woodsman, as well.

While Maria as the grandmother makes the most sense. Another silver eyed huntress that becomes a mentor figure for Ruby.

And while Salem, her war, & the Grimm (that are all emblematic of that loss of innocence) can absolutely symbolize the wolf... There's a reason why I want to focus on The Hound.

All three previous characters are connected by a very specific common denominator: Silver Eyes.

And the hound is no different.

Just another huntsman... but one devoured by the malice of a canine. And, if Ruby's theory is right, that's the same fate that Summer met as well.

And if you think about Silver Eyes specifically... What is one of the most famous lines from the original fairytale?

"My, what big eyes you have grandmother." "The better to see you with, my dear."

Which, when applied to the grimmification of SEWs, is HAUNTING.

Terrifying when you remember "Woah... you have silver eyes". Also thanks to Behind The Scenes content, that Ruby's hair design was always meant to "be a bit wolf-y". And that since Volume 4, Salem has been interested in capturing Ruby alive... I am WORRIED ABOUT HER.

Some interesting things about silver though that ARE worth noting...

1. "In folklore, a bullet cast from silver is often one of the few weapons that are effective against a werewolf or witch."

2. "The term silver bullet is also a metaphor for a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult problem."

3. "In the Brothers Grimm fairy-tale of The Two Brothers, a bullet-proof witch is shot down by silver buttons, fired from a gun."

The lyric "Yeah I'm a girl but I'm also a gun" from Triumph really tells us point blank (lol) why Ruby is so important to this war against Salem, huh.

I'm gonna end this meta on a fun little easter egg; a hidden fifth character allusion to the original Red Riding Hood fairytale: The Woods.

Now I know what you're thinking, the woods aren't a person, they're a location. But they're INCREDIBLY important to the story.

Overall, the woods are the world outside of the cabin that Little Red grows up in. Whenever she travels beyond it, she's liable to meet all sorts of horrible tragedies and monsters. But I want to talk again specifically about The Hound & just where Ruby first meets them: Atlas.

Or, more specifically, Ironwood's kingdom.

For those unfamiliar, while Jimmy's main allusion is the Tin Man from Oz, his last name gives us a hint to another subtle allusion: Járnviðr. Aka the Iron Wood of Midgard in Norse Mythology (a mythos that's been alluded to a lot in RWBY).

Whiiich if you look at a stanza (40) in the infamous Völuspá, a historic poem which is chalk full of Norse myths, you get the following passage:

In the east sat an old woman in Iron-wood and nurtured there offspring of Fenrir a certain one of them in monstrous form will be the snatcher of the moon

A poem that talks all about the Biggest Baddest Wolf of the Norse pantheon, Fenrir... who is the offspring of a powerful Witch...

and is destined to eat the moon...

All within the Iron Wood, a character Ruby spends an entire volume contemplating on whether or not she can trust...

And the moment she does finally tell Ironwood the truth? The secrets she was keeping? The woods become unsafe, the witch and the wolf appear, and everything else falls apart. Resulting her and her team lost and very far from home.

Say what you want about analyses like these but CRWBY knows what they're doing, okay?

[normalest-of-knees]

I cannot fathom what the plot of V10 would even be if it really does become the final season.

Like, regardless if that's really what's gonna happen or not, IF V10 even happens, I'm just thinking hypothetically.

We just had an entire Volume of nothing of actual importance happen, and then.....????????

Sure, we saw some shit with Summer. But all that really did was provide more questions and kinda just stoke people's already ongoing theories and such.

Even learning about The Tree and the Gods and such was meaningless, and our characters didn't actually grow in any meaningful way.

So it really boils down to: V8 had all Hell break loose, the main cast and 1 cockroach fall into the void, Salem got 2 relics, and an entire Kingdom and then some got dumped onto another in the middle of a sandstorm.

Then the characters from the Void just show up to continue the plot.

So I'm really struggling to see what could possibly get resolved in any meaningful way...

Cuz we still have:

Tyrian & Mercury already at Vacuo

The relic from Beacon still not found

No idea how to actually beat Salem

The possible merging of Oscar & Oz

Winter being a Maiden

The summer Maiden still not heard of or seen

Summer Rose and whatever the fuck happened there

Raven, as she is still a Maiden and a charceter that SHOULD have relevance, especially now with the news of the Summer Secret

Silver Eyes to actually be relevant to the plot

SEWs being made into Grimm

Where is Pietro & Maria

Penny's death & Jaune's part in it actually being addressed (saying "they talked about it off screen" doesn't count)

Neo's whole thing

And just so much more.... like SO much more!

There's 2 main ways (that may just kinda merge into 1) the heros could win as things stand: The villains keep screwing themselves over or switching sides and end up helping (intentionally or not) to defeat Salem, or, they toss Salem into a portal that sends her directly to the Tree in Ever After and she's forced to Ascend 😑

Awful bonus points if it's Jaune that pushes her.

Like...... even with a whole Volume of content, I really don't see a satisfying conclusion or one that even really makes sense.

I'm kinda hoping they don't even try to make a finale. If it dies here and now, it'd be a mercy

[strqyr]

Me just chewing on the Summer working with Salem theory. Just... As someone else pointed out Summer is the only stepmother we've seen in the entire show about fairytales. And very specifically Yang has both abandonment issues and the family absolutely imploded when Summer died or "died". Bonus that's messed up points: Raven at least occasionally visits as a raven. I'm all for this theory because oh it makes sense and it finally puts the spotlight on the family implosion.

More on the whole Summer Rose possibly joining Salem makes the whole STRQ situation stupidly complex - Yang and Ruby nearly ended up Grimm chow because went looking for Raven. Qrow saved them - but given Raven's semblance she possibly could have also. Or what I'm saying is that I'm considering the option that Raven's reintroduction to the narrative is her bailing out RWBY after they come across Summer working for Salem. Because Raven is extremely set up for high powered evac from nowhere.

my mind always goes back to red like roses part ii bc with every new revelation that make the picture just a little bit more clearer, the more relevant it becomes. i made a sacrifice but forced a bigger sacrifice on you is often read as "summer took a risk going against salem and died trying to end this war once and for all, and thus the weight of being the simple, more honest soul fell on ruby" but reading it in the light of summer working with salem, and it becomes "summer made a sacrifice by essentially faking her own death and never making any contact with her family, perhaps hoping that one day she could return to them when it's all over, but in doing so forced ruby, the little girl with silver eyes, her own daughter, into the spotlight" which i find 100x more interesting characterwise.

and god is the reveal going to have an impact on the whole family; the comparisons between summer and raven are apt bc so far, they could have not been spoken more differently about, but the more the curtains get peeled back, the more similar they become (not the same, never the same, but i do think summer and raven are more similar to each other than even they themselves may think). and it's so interesting bc we know how the family was affected after summer's alleged death (at least from yang's perspective) but nothing after raven left other than they all eventually moved on and what tai said about it doing a number on their family (which rings odd when the focus has been more on how they were handling things post-summer's 'death' rather than raven's departure).

the bridging of the gap between heroes and monsters is already well on its way; a world is a lot more complex than a simple black-and-white morality might suggest, being a hero and doing good doesn't equal never failing, people you trust or don't trust can both be right about one thing and wrong about another, everything that ruby is going through mirrors plenty of villains, it's just a matter of perspective, etc; finding out that summer, the best of the heroes the world has to offer, is working with salem is definitely going to speed things up even further.

i'm not willing to try and predict when raven is going to come back properly (i.e. excluding potential summer flashbacks) bc, well. she's kind of unpredictable. like, her first appearance was 'foreshadowed' by yang talking about her family to blake, but that was as much about summer as it was about raven, and what it left us with was "yang is searching for her mom", not "her mom is going to drop in out of nowhere to save yang."

like the setup is there, the warrior in the woods made it clear—"next time you enter the woods, you're on your own." -> "i knew you'd still come to my rescue." is not being subtle—but it could also do with summer potentially going to ask for raven's help during her final mission that took a turn, and. ya know. "promises are like birds; they taste great, but always escape." or something like that. idk.

i jinxed myself not so long ago by saying that i don't think any of my long running, serious theories are going to get proven or debunked this volume and now i've been told to buckle up and the strq brainworms are having a unannounced party that has kept going way past into the quiet hours.

like. ten years of waiting and i might actually get all of team strq in the same episode this saturday? trying to keep my expectations in check but also i might just cry.

[anthurak]

Maiden Raven and Hound Summer will take the Monsterfucker genre to a whole new level

Oh we can only hope XD

Though I will admit that I do think it's rather presumptive to assume that Grimm Summer will be just another 'Hound'. Rather, I imagine (hope) that Salem's Grimm Hybrids will each have their own unique forms. With Summer herself essentially being the mythical 'Humanoid Grimm' that the fandom has been theorizing about for years now.

That being said, if Summer is in fact our equivalent to the Witch King, I could also imagine her also having a monstrous, winged form as a reference to WK's Fel Beast (or maybe she just rides an unfrozen Kevin into battle).

So we could see Summer using her giant monster form to battle Raven, and when Raven is defeated, Ruby destroys Summer's monster form with a Silver Eye blast much like how Eowyn kills the Witch King's Fel Beast. Which likewise leads to Ruby (and Yang) fighting Grimm Summer, now fully unmasked and in human form, on foot.

Meaning we can still totally ship Maiden Raven with Grimm Summer in her monster form XD

[littlemisssquiggles]

Y’know what would be unintentionally ironic but somewhat expected?

If V9 ended on a cliffhanger with RWBYJ returning from the Ever After and reuniting with their comrades on the other side only to learn that Oscar was missing…again.

As us Pineheads in the RWBY community are aware of, it is literally a meme at this point for Oscar Pine to go missing/end up lost at some point during a season. The only two seasons he didn’t go missing in are V4 and V5---the two seasons he was introduced in. V4 being his debut season and V5 being the first time he met the hero team. So on that front, those seasons don’t count.

But for the seasons following:

V6--- Oscar went missing in Argus following a scuffle with Jaune.

V7--- Oscar went missing in Atlas after getting separated from JNR thanks to Neo, shot to his death by General Ironwood only to end up down in Mantle

V8--- Oscar went missing in Mantle after getting kidnapped by the Hound and taken to Monstra to be tortured by Salem and Hazel; leading his comrades on a mission to save him.

I wasn’t kidding when I said Oscar is literally the wandering sheep of the hero team once upon at time. They keep losing him in some shape or form each volume. So I feel like it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch if Ruby and the others came back to Remnant to learn from the others that Oscar is missing yet again, probably for some time after running away and disappearing into the desert in a desperate attempt to find the missing RWBYJ.

Oscar draws inspiration from the little prince fairy-tale character and part of the prince’s story took place in a desert where he found himself lost along with the Pilot as company.

 Let’s say…learning the news that RWBYJ all disappeared following the attack at the portal devastated Oscar.

So much so, that even after meeting with the allies in Vacuo and arriving safely at Shade Academy, Oscar wanted to return to the desert to search for their missing comrades; wanting to believe they were still alive somehow.

But since Vacuo was under siege thanks to Salem’s forces attacking Shade Academy for the Summer Maiden and the Relic of Destruction, the other huntsmen had exhausted themselves and their resources trying to defend the school and its kingdom to the point that they could no longer focus on finding a few missing huntsmen when they were trying to protect the lives of many innocent people.

So ultimately, Oscar is given no other choice than to go off on his own to find RWBYJ. I also have this theory of Oscar finding Mercury in the desert after he was presumed left for dead by Tyrian Callows.

My theory is that Tyrian would double cross Mercury as soon as they arrived in Vacuo, believing him to be a potential traitor to Salem or something along those lines.

Perhaps Oscar and Mercury end up bonding which ultimately leads to them being forced to join forces as Tyrian returned to finish Mercury off and take Oscar to Salem with an army of Grimm Beringels in his stead.

And as us Pineheads are also aware of, in the original Little Prince tale, the prince was poisoned by a snake with his story ending on the presumption that he died and was never able to reunite with his beloved rose.

It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to have Oscar be poisoned by Tyrian since he is a Scorpion Faunus.

But unlike his fairytale counterpart, Oscar will get to reunite with his rose as Ruby, in her reborn form, would come find and save him in the desert leading to a emotionally heartfelt reunion between them.

Or so I’d like to imagine.

I mean I could end up being very much wrong about Oscar disappearing at all.

But at the same time, I also wouldn’t be too surprised if I’m correct in my assumption because let's just face it, these CRWBY showrunners just love to write this former farm boi as a lost boy.

Shoot I predict Oscar being in danger at least twice if there was to be a V10 since he's still needed alive by Salem inorder to reveal the true location of the Chamber of Choice---the final relic.

So sorry Pineheads, we got some more worrying to do for our boy moving forward. But if it leads to more potential moments between him and his rose, I'd say it'd be worth the added angst.

~LMS (2023)

[tumblezwei]

There are three theories that the FNDM will never let go of until the show ends for good

1. Qrow is definitely gonna die this volume guys for sure he is

2. [X] character is Neo in disguise

3. This unique type Grimm is actually Summer Rose

[thornsofrosesdumps]

The choice the crown showed Tai (if he has it) (mentioned suicide trigger warning)

If Tai has the crown I think the choice it gave him is killing whatever is left of summer, this is hinged on two theory’s the Tai has the crown, and the Summer was turned into something similar to the hound theory. One it’ll make Tai so so so much worse of mentally, which in RWBY means he’s getting character development and it’ll also tie into the poem summer is partly based off of. For the uninitiated that’s the poem “the last flower of summer” by Thomas Moore which is essentially about someone or something preparing to mercy kill a summer rose Because it’s alone,

'Tis the last rose of summer,     Left blooming alone; All her lovely companions     Are faded and gone; No flower of her kindred,     No rose-bud is nigh, To reflect back her blushes     Or give sigh for sigh!

this tied into the fact that here teammates are scattered to the winds and as a Grimm monster she is alone. she also had no other sliver eyes warriors with here, she had no other roses. Apart from Ruby but she was just a kid and not someone who she could genuinely share her woes with, someone to give Sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one.     To pine on the stem; Since the lovely are sleeping,     Go, sleep thou with them; Thus kindly I scatter     Thy leaves o'er the bed, Where thy mates of the garden     Lie scentless and dead.

her fellow sliver eyed warriors (minus Ruby) are all presumably dead, and her teammates are scattered to the wind. “Thus kindly I scatter” Is tai rationalizing killing what’s left of summer. And taking down the Grimm beast that she is now.

So soon may I follow,     When friendships decay, And from love's shining circle     The gems drop away! When true hearts lie withered,     And fond ones are flown, Oh! who would inhabit     This bleak world alone?

So soon I may follow-I’m guessing Tai isn’t aware his kids are alive so he’s prepping to Kill himself because his family is dead and he’s just killed what was left of his wife. when friendships decay: Team STRQ falling apart, leaving tai alone.

And from love's shining circle The gems drop away!: Loves shining circle is his family and the gems are the people dropping and dieing and leaving.

When true hearts lie withered and fond ones are flown: True hearts are summer and Tai, summer rose withering from the Grimm curse and Tai drowning in his depression, the fond ones flown? Yeah that’s the Branwen twins baby! flying away from there problems, specifically Raven.

oh who would Inhabit this bleak world alone?: man’s family and friends are gone, he’s alone and patch is probably going downhill-He’s scarred so in a act of despair after killing what was left of summer he goes to kill himself-Which either ends in him succeeding or his friends/family showing up to show him he’s not alone.

also I really want to talk to my mutes but social anxiety exists even online ):

(IF ITS BAD ID LIKE TO MENTION I WROTE THIS IN MATH CLASS)

[ficretus]

Theory: Speculating about Summer Maiden

So far Summer Maiden is the only Maiden we have no whereabouts of. Not even Vacuo novels provide anything about her or her Relic. I wanted to throw some thoughts around who I think will be Summer Maiden by the end of the Vacuo arc.

CURRENT SUMMER MAIDEN:

As I said, no idea. But let me get one thing out the way, I don't think Summer Rose is Summer Maiden or that she'll be at any point in the story. This might seem relatively weird considering so far characters with season in their name did eventually become Maiden of their respective season, but I don't think this is the case with Summer.

First of all, it would be bit random considering that power is tied to Vacuo and Summer herself doesn't have any Vacuo connections we know of. Second, it is somewhat implied that Summer is still alive, likely being Salem's Grimm experiment. If Summer was Summer Maiden and is under Salem's control, why would Salem bother with Cinder? Summer would be loyal subordinate that is second to none in combat. Why would you need to groom new subordinate of questionable loyalty and lesser combat ability? Third, in case she isn't Summer Maiden and is just one of Salem's thralls, I don't think she can inherit the power. Chronologically she'd be in late 30s or even 40s, making her too old to inherit the power.

For Summer to be Summer Maiden, it would mean she became one ages ago and isn't currently under Salem's control (because that kind of creates plot holes in Salem's plan). But I feel that both kind of damages her character (she becomes another Raven, abandoning her family for her own goals) and wastes implications Hound creates. I think her fate will be revealed during Vacuo arc, during summer portion of the story, if that makes sense.

I suspect we'll have another Amber or Fria situation with current Summer Maiden. As in, minimally established character that will give away their power to more important character narrative wise down the line.

GATHERING CLUES:

First place I looked into is The Four Maidens, in universe fairy tale about Maidens. For those uninitiated, it's a fairy tale about recluse Old Wizard being visited by girls representing Maidens. They visit him in sequence of Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, each teaching him valuable lesson.

Maiden lessons are key part to focus on here. While in the story, they are something Old Wizard has to learn, in RWBY it's something Maidens themselves have to learn.

For example, Winter appears in front of Old Wizard's house, sitting in state of absolute tranquility. Wizard sits down and copies her example thinking about his own strange predicament. This somewhat matches Winter, who in her own moment of clarity realizes Ironwood is lost cause and turns against him.

Other two examples are much clearer parallels. Spring shows up and plants flowers all over Old Wizard's yard, turning a pile of dirt into beautiful garden. This implies Spring Maiden is all about fostering life. This matches well as a lesson Raven needs to learn as a Spring Maiden, someone who both abandoned her family and used her protege as a decoy.

Fall Maiden urges Old Wizard to be thankful for what he has. This matches Cinder who needs to learn to be grateful for what she already has, instead of seeking out all other Maiden powers.

Summer Maiden convinces Old Wizard to step outside. Upon doing so, Old Wizard starts laughing at himself for even staying indoors all this time. So whoever becomes Summer Maiden needs to have a flaw that makes them distrustful of the world. Their character arc needs to be about opening themselves to the world.

______________________________________________________________

All three current Maidens also have personal connection to the members of Team RWBY. This is either set up for eventual transfer of power to respective members of Team RWBY or they simply exist as dark reflections of respective team members.

Raven is Yang's mother, Winter is Weiss' sister and Cinder is Ruby's nemesis. This mean, whoever will be Summer Maiden needs to have some kind of connection to Blake.

______________________________________________________________

Lastly, all three current Maidens were at some point of the story antagonists. Winter was an antagonist during the portion of Atlas arc as Ironwood's most loyal subordinate, Raven was antagonist throughout most of Mistral arc and Cinder is still major antagonist. So whoever becomes Summer Maiden had to have been antagonist at some point of the story.

CANDIDATES:

First candidate I have is Gillian Asturias, one of the main villains of Vacuo novels. She is leader of villainous Crown faction, who seek to restore Vacuoan monarchy with Gillian in charge. She believes she is descendant of legendary Vacuoan kings, albeit this claim is based on delusion her father convinced her of.

Why do I think she might become Summer Maiden? First of all, she is an antagonist. While at the end of the novel, she gets imprisoned... it's RWBY prison, nobody stays there. Her Semblance allows her to siphon Aura which theoretically means she could take the power all by herself (since all transfer methods we've seen so far were Aura based). She also has a motive to become a Maiden, what better way to show you are true heir to the throne then seizing divine power that allows you to control the elements.

She also fits with Summer Maiden lesson. She is extremely traditionalist, avoiding the use of both Dust and Scroll. Crown members are also xenophobic to some degree. Both of these traits make her good candidate for a lesson about opening yourself to the world.

Issue with her is that she has no connections to any member of Team RWBY. While it's not out the question they might eventually interact, I am doubtful writers will have her establish some really personal relationship with Blake. I think she might become Summer Maiden, but more of a interim Maiden like Penny was.

______________________________________________________________

My preferred choice so far is Ilia. She matches all the criteria I've set up earlier. First of all, she is a former antagonist. Second, she matches well with lesson of Summer Maiden. As an antagonist, she was member of more radical version of White Fang that was no longer about Faunus equality and more about their supremacy. This "us versus them" mentality symbolically parallels Old Wizard refusing to leave his house, closed off from everybody else.

Summer Maiden lesson can also be manifested in another way. If you think about it, it's almost inevitable White Fang will appear in Vacuo to assist the good guys. And who else will be there? Ace Ops. Ilia will be forced to work side by side with people who represent abuse she suffered as a child. This could create interesting dynamic of Ilia and White Fang refusing to cooperate with them, creating an issue for good guys cause (in fact you can have entire Volume 10 be about previously opposed sides coming to terms with each other for the greater good considering you'll have Ace Ops, Happy Huntresses, White Fang and potentially even Branwen tribe all working together). Her character arc would be about letting go of her hatred and trauma and opening herself to the world, fulfilling the Summer Maiden lesson.

Of course, Ilia is also personally connected to Blake. Yeah, she is "just" her friend, but when you think about it, that's the most personal relationship Blake has outside of her team. Unlike her other team members, she doesn't have a sister, her mother is too old to inherit the power and her nemesis was not only male... he is busy being dead. Ilia becoming a Maiden would also diversify the roster by giving us Faunus Maiden. After all, if all kingdoms are coming together why not also have that symbolically reflected in Maiden roster.

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What are your thoughts? Do you have any other Maiden candidate you think is more likely? If you do, feel free to comment it.

[kaen-ace-of-diamonds]

How Summer Rose Became The Werewolf MILF We All Didn’t Know We Needed

I drank the werewolf wine again so now you’re all going to hear about the Summer Rose Grimm werewolf agenda —

OKAY. So we have presumably all noticed the show’s Highly Suspicious way of never saying that Summer actually died: it’s always “took,” “left,” “lost,” “gone,” etc. We’re just going to accept it as a fact that she’s alive.

(To be clear, I don’t believe Summer is or has ever been in the Ever After, considering the questionable reality of the Blacksmith’s first appearance/the effects of Ruby’s mental state on her surroundings in the second.) 

In the past, I’ve flirted with the theories that Summer is A) stuck in suspended animation at the bottom of a Grimm pool, or B) trapped as a prisoner in Evernight while Salem feeds off the residual magic in her body, but in recent times I’ve come to be backing the horrible bastard child of both theories.

C) Summer was Grimmified after failing to defeat Salem and, her spirit entirely broken, is now working as her right-hand werewolf to help her end the world because she believes putting Remnant out of its misery is her only option.

Stay with me, here we go.

First off  — Why did Summer go to Evernight in the first place?

As Qrow told us, nobody but Summer knows why she left on her last mission, which was apparently not one that Ozpin assigned her. And as Salem told us, when she met and defeated Summer, Summer told her some variation of, “We don't have to kill you to stop you. And we will stop you.”

Silver eyes don’t just kill Grimm. They can also freeze them in permanent stasis. What if Summer got it into her head that she could try and stop Salem that way? Hell, maybe she could even vaporize the Grimm pits along with her! Oz doesn’t believe that she can be stopped directly, only held off, so I don’t believe that that’s a plan of action he would have tried. 

But Qrow was right about Summer: she takes the information that Oz gave her, and takes it further. Salem must be killing Silver-Eyed Warriors for a reason: the most obvious one must be that her powers are the key to defeating her. And even leaving aside the very good chances that the only other Silver-Eyed Warrior she knows is her toddler daughter...

She’s the leader, isn’t she? The hero. She’s supposed to take care of everything, help everyone. Now that the idea occurred to her, how is she supposed to turn her back on a whole world that needs her?

(Ruby, with the deepest of sighs: “unfortunately, same hat, Mom”)

If she succeeds, the world will be safe, forever. Her daughters will never have to go through what she and her team have, make the kind of choices she has to make now.

So without her boss or her teammates’ knowledge, off Summer goes to Battle Tendency this bitch, hoping against hope that she’s finally found the answer.

Raven, sitting judgmentally in a tree watching her go:

What happened at Evernight?

We can all guess where this went.

Summer at the door of Evernight Castle:

Salem, who was enjoying a nice cup of tea and a book before this human came trying to assassinate her: what the fuck is going on down there

Summer tries to fight her and quickly finds out that she’s in over her head: Salem gives her the bad news that, surprise, she can’t be killed, didn’t Ozpin tell you, girl?

He did not, but Summer keeps trying: she doesn’t need to kill her to stop her, after all.

I have an image of her managing to Silver-Eye the Grimm out of Salem, and Salem diving right back into the pool of Destruction to power herself up again, but I’ve got no evidence to back that up, I just think that’s what would horrify poor Summer the most. 

In the struggle, Summer gets thrown into the Grimm pool too, but to her own horror and Salem’s surprise, it doesn’t kill her like it would any other human.

Divine cannot kill the divine, only alter it. Because of the God of Light’s power inside her, the Grimm pool doesn’t kill Summer, but transforms her into a Grimm hybrid. Salem hasn’t been shocked in eons, but she certainly is watching this horror unfold in front of her.

Salem realizing she can do something new with this interesting little anomaly: 

Summer: [SCREAMS OF THE ETERNALLY DAMNED]

Grimm Symbolism

First of all, in “The End of the Beginning,” the scene cuts straight from Summer’s grave, which we know damn well is empty, to Evernight:

It’s pretty obvious where Summer went, and where she actually is.

Second of all, it was pointed out to me that not only does the Grimm color scheme match Team RWBY’s (red, white, yellow, and black are the only ones visible on all of the Grimm), but Summer’s as well:

So far as I can tell, Summer and the Grimm are the only characters to incorporate all four colors into their designs. In any other show I would ignore that, but in RWBY, color symbolism is everything, so it deserves at least a mention.

Does she still have her powers?

That’s completely up in the air for me, and no possible option is any better than the others for Grimm!Summer.

Option 1: she still has her Silver Eyes, but can’t actually use their power.

Option 2: she still has her Silver Eyes, and is still able to use her powers, but at the cost of badly hurting herself thanks to her new, vulnerable Grimm body.

Option 3: she doesn’t have her Silver Eyes at all anymore, and forget about the powers: a Grimm can’t use anti-Grimm abilities by its very nature.

I’m also still up in the air as to what her eyes might look like now that she’s transformed. Personally, I’m picturing her with silver eyes with black sclera: a full moon in a pure black night.

On the other hand, if her eyes were turned red like a Grimm’s or Salem’s, that’s a blood moon!

Why do you think any of this in the first place? Why couldn’t she just be a Hound?

Because of the Unspoken Plan Guarantee. Ruby’s already caught on that something is going on:

So it’s all but guaranteed that when we finally meet Summer, it’s going to be a whole lot worse than what Ruby’s already assuming. 

Right now, Ruby thinks that the worst possible way she can find her mother is as a mindless Hound. So the show is going to have to bump the stakes of her eventual reveal up considerably in order to keep it a good surprise. If the audience is already clued into the fact that she’s been transformed into a Grimm, the twist will be that unlike the Hound, she’s kept her mind and is working for Salem willingly. 

(Incidentally, this is also the reason why not just anyone other than Oz can destroy Salem: because Nora brought that exact possibility up in “A Night Off”):

...Okay, but why a fucking werewolf?

I’m glad you asked! Not only do werewolves absolutely fuck but there is a boatload of symbolism backing up the idea. 

Wolf Symbolism

Among all the corvids and dragons running around in this family, it’s easy to overlook the general wolfiness surrounding Summer and Ruby both, from several different directions.

Little Red Riding Hood

It’s been obvious from volume 1 that one of Ruby’s allusions is Little Red Riding Hood. So isn’t it suspicious that, in volume 9, we’ve seen neither hide nor hair of her Big Bad Wolf?

Clearly, none of the villains we’ve seen so far fit, not even the Hound, who didn’t have the autonomy and was finished off too quickly to be on the wolf’s level. Especially if she ascends to become the Woodsman of her own story as well, it’s long past time for that story’s villain to show up. Summer tried to become the Woodsman herself, taking her axe and slaying the villain so Red Riding Hood could live in peace, but was consumed by and became the Wolf instead.

(And since we do have one character who fits pretty well into the role of Red’s grandmother, who is also eaten by the Wolf...sorry, Maria, I think if you meet Summer you’re going the way of Obi-Wan.)

Odin’s Wolves

Qrow and Raven allude to Huginn and Muninn, the two ravens that Odin uses to gather knowledge from around the world, just as Ozpin gave the Branwens shapeshifting magic so they could serve as his spies. But there were four students on the team he gave special attention. What might Summer and Tai allude to in relation to Oz?

Well, Odin didn’t just have two ravens, he created two wolves as well: Geri and Freki, both of whose names translate to “greedy,” “voracious,” “gluttonous,” and such. They ran out to consume the corpses left on the battlefield (sometimes guided by Huginn and Muninn) and guide fallen souls to Valhalla, relying on Odin to give them meat rather than hunting for themselves.

Spying is only one part of a successful campaign: once you have the tactical information, you’ve got to make use of it. We’ve heard little if anything of what Summer and Tai were doing for Oz, but it’s pretty reasonable to guess that once Qrow and Raven gathered important intel, it was Summer and Tai who were dispatched to handle the situation.

Even if Summer and Tai weren’t actually given wolf shapeshifting magic, their teamwork with Raven and Qrow could easily still fit the roles of Odin’s birds and wolves.

It tracks with the real-life behavior of ravens and wolves as well:

What Do You Know About Summer Rose, Raven Branwen

Tell Us

She Has The Other Half Of Your Bracers, Raven

In addition, it has also been pointed out that Geri and Freki have more destructive counterparts: Hati and Sköll (”one who hates” and “one who mocks”), who in some versions of Norse mythology chase the moon and sun through the sky so they can eat them during Ragnarok, ending the world. (Some sources have them as the wolf Fenrir’s children, but as far as I can tell it’s not a definite thing.)

And who do we know around here who are directly symbolized by the moon and sun?

Speaking of which...

Ruby’s In On It, Too

To round all this off, according to RTX 2013′s RWBY art panel, Ruby was originally designed to be “kinda wolfy,” with gray hair that flipped up like ears/hackles to look "wild and wolf-like.”

It’s Beowolves that she’s shown fighting in the Red Trailer, and she has Beowolf models overlooking her bed:

And, more recently: what did she dress up as for Halloween (her birthday!) in the official merch?

The question is, what purpose does this imagery serve? Because Ruby’s wolfishness hasn’t been brought up directly in the show, much unlike other characters’ more blatant imagery. If this theory is correct, it’s to connect her to her Big Bad Wolf mom.

Ruby shares a certain other category of imagery with her mother as well...

Moon Symbolism

This is the more obvious symbolism associated with Summer and Ruby, just like Tai and Yang are associated with the sun. Right from the Red Trailer, the two of them have always been associated with the moon, especially the full moon. 

The moon is also notably brought up in several song lyrics in ways that could be very relevant as well — “The moon will sadly watch the roses die,” “Rising like the moon,” “Our path was clear / The moon watched safely from above", "Enemies arise and the hate is flowing / Shattering the moon and bloodying the sky,” “When there's no more light / and the moon should crumble” — but I’m not good enough at analyzing songs to go too in depth on that point.

Now, remember the pool of Destruction that Salem jumped into that turned her Grimm in the first place? What was reflected in it again?

[Eggman voice] THE MOOOOOOOOON

I might note here that my character tag for Summer isn’t “dead Moon Mom,” it’s “Dead Moon mom”: we can still swing it so that one of her character allusions is the Dead Moon (or Buried Moon, as it’s called in some versions) of English folklore.

How it goes is basically: the Moon protects travelers through England’s bogs with her light, but when she hears that without it, the people are attacked by evil creatures of the night, she descends to Earth to try and solve the problem, clad in a black hooded cloak. In saving a lost traveler, her light attracts the creatures, who bury her alive in the bog. 

The traveler eventually leads the worried people back to the bog to save the Moon, but Summer’s journey to save humanity from the Creatures of Grimm with the light of her Silver Eyes doesn’t go quite as well. She’s still buried in the bog, trapped in the body of a Grimm hybrid.

To sum it all up, combine a wolf with the full moon and what do you get?

WEREWOLF, MOTHERFUCK

So where is Summer now?

In the one place we haven’t gotten a proper look at yet. 

“Reinforce our numbers at Beacon. The Relic is there.”

It didn’t seem to me like Salem was talking to a Grimm there. Like with Leo in volume 5, somebody is on the other side of that conversation. Summer just isn’t too inclined to answer verbally: she loathes her master, but has no choice but to stay under her control.

It’s also been pointed out that Team STRQ is the Team RWBY that failed and broke down; specifically, Summer is the Ruby that lost hope and gave up, that was utterly shattered and didn’t go to the therapy dimension about it. 

The Hound(s) are an experiment, by Salem’s own description: a weapon not quite as mindless as the average Grimm but not as resentful as Summer. As a wolf, Summer is a step above them, the perfected version that Salem has been trying to recreate ever since accidentally acquiring her. 

Summer’s last ditch effort to save the world was so thoroughly crushed, every possible solution she thought to helping the ones she loves most completely lost. With those gone, the only thing she has left to offer her family and the world is the mercy of a quick death. So that’s what she’s going to give them; and to that end, here she is at the end of Salem’s leash, still fighting to end suffering in the only way she believes she can anymore.

She’s not going to be happy at all to find out that her daughters became Huntresses to follow in her footsteps (”but, baby, please don’t do what I did” / “I don’t want you to waste your life in vain” and all that), and Ruby and Yang are going to be even less happy to find out that not only is their mom alive but is now evil and wants to kill them before Salem can do worse to them. 

Absolutely nobody is happy at that family reunion except Salem, who’s watching the continued befuckening of her favorite lapdog’s life with wine and popcorn. 

How are they going to beat her?

Don’t let that header fool you, I have no actual conclusion to this post. My only solid idea re: how the actual Rose-Xiao Long-Branwen family fight might actually go is that Summer can’t be one-shotted by Ruby’s Silver Eyes like any other Grimm. She can be temporarily hurt by them, but being a Silver-Eyed Warrior herself, they can’t permanently damage, freeze, or kill her.

Cinder, rage quitting: OH COME ON THAT’S NOT FUCKING FAIR

[zozoistireds-blog]

The Light Of The Future: Summer Rose

Summer in this au is based on the hound/grimm Summer theories as in this au, she was a part of the testing phases that salem went to, as a means to achieve human/grimm hybrids.

Summer was subjected to immense pain and torture, and was eventually turned into a grimm monster, but unlike other grimm, her resolve and determination kept her from being subservient to Salem, who did not kill her immediately opting out as a means to learn from summers success and failures to create fully obedient grimm/human hybrids, this leading her to be imprisoned within Salem's castle for number of years.

At some point before the final battle that led to Salem's defeat summer manages to escape the evil witches, grasp. Mangaing to find her way back to patch Hiding out within the forest near the rose-xiao long house until she was eventually stumbled onto by tai as he headed from patch to vacuo to aid the fight. At first, like many grimm taiyang was going to kill her, but summer recognised her husband, ultimately fleeing before tai could really do anything.

A time skip forward (cause this is already long enough). Summer eventually gets through to her husband and later daughters that she's this grimm monster they have found themselves with. Now summer doesn't get removed/saved from her grimm form until much later mainly she just spends time getting to know the people her daughters husband and friends have become, this does happen a few years after Salem's deafet. As it did take remnant a while to figure out a way to separate summer from the grimm. (I myself also need to figure out how, so leave you suggestions in the comments if you have any).

When summer is finally removed though, there are adverse side effects mainly her body is covered in scars from the grimm being embedded into her, she also lost her right arm and left leg during the process too. Though the biggest change the grimm experiments had caused her was her right eye, as it had been completely grimm-efied and so now she wears and eye-patch to cover it, but every now and again grimm essence does leak from it.

(There are some more effects that being a grimm experiment has done to summer, but that'll be explained in a later post) :)

Bonus: summers scars

Design semi-inspired by @cosmokyrin (I hope you don't mind me @-ting you) And check them out too their art is awesome :) p.s if you are uncomfortable with me @-ting you just let me know and I'll remove the mention.