#rwby a tale of huntsmen

[a-tale-of-huntsmen]

Arguments

Ruby: Can I stay in your dorm tonight?

Jaune: Why?

Ruby: Well, Yang and Blake were arguing about if boobies or butts were better. Then they started yelling, then the yelling turned to moaning, and it was really just hard for me to read my manga with all the noise, so can I stay over here?

Jaune: ...Yes, which manga?

Ruby: Ma-

Insert loud screeching noise here

Ruby: Oh, and can Weiss stay too?

[maxiemumdamage]

So, something that just now occurred to me —

Ilia says her parents managed to enroll her in an Atlas prep school. Normally I’d assume prep school to mean for college, but this being RWBY? There’s every chance it actually means combat school.

Ilia being one of the more skilled members of the White Fang makes sense if she had prior training. Lightning Lash, Ilia’s weapon — colorless, intricate, technologically advanced, designed to constantly rely on Dust — does strike me as very Atlesian in its sensibilities. Less something made by a Faunus on the road needing something sturdy and economical, and more something a girl at a snobby Atlesian combat school would design to blend in. And she was probably at about the right age.

Which means that the horrific bigots Ilia was spending time around were Huntresses in training.

Granted, I could be wrong. Blake says Ilia was more or less trained on the road alongside her and other Faunus in the White Fang, so if Ilia did have formal combat training at whatever school she was at, it probably didn't last very long or go very deep.

But if I'm right…I mean, no wonder she and the other White Fang members saw nothing wrong with blowing up a Huntsman Academy or two. They know plenty of Huntsmen and Huntresses aren't fairy-tale heroes, just people with the ability to do great harm.

[howlingday]

So who would rank as the best fighters in Rwby that don't have magic? So no Maidens,Salem,Brother Gods, the Tree or Opzin. Anyone else including the Curious Cat is a choice. (I'm saying the cat counts for this list because even though it's magic we at least have a clear understanding of how his powers work.)

The best fighters? Hoof... That's a tall order, especially since I'd have to look over all the candidates I can remember. But I'll narrow it down to TEN characters, in order to appease the [tumblr] gif limit.

General James Ironwood: Simply put, you don't become the headmaster of a huntsman academy by being weak or stupid, because this commanding officer is definitely neither... relatively speaking. Granted, one could argue against his battle tactics as a military general, but I think when compared to other huntsmen, there's not a lot of characters you can say that require an ambush by almost a dozen people to take down! So yeah, General Ironwood is definitely an intimidating character to start off with.

Ruby Rose: Yeah, I know, I know. Ruby's the main character, so of course she's gonna be on this list! But to be fair (to be fair), she's EARNED her place as a main character. The series starts off with her easily thrashing goons, followed by her heading off to Beacon Academy two years early for her skill against such an impressive foe. And she's only grown ever since. Given time, I can totally see Ruby being the hero who saves Remnant and looks good while doing it.

Neopolitan: Barring magic is one thing, but some characters never needed magic to be overpowered. One such character started off as a generic sidekick villain who bailed Torchwick out. Then she comes back later that same Volume to style and beat down on RWBY's heaviest hitter. Heck, Neo would've ended Yang if it wasn't for Raven showing up! And while Neo doesn't have magic, she does have an overpowered semblance that makes her a nuisance at first and a crisis by the end! Tell me, dear reader; what happens when you put a girl whose semblance called, "Overactive Imagination" inside of a FAIRY TALE?! I'll tell you what you get- YOU GET A NIGHTMARE.

Pyrrha Nikos: Ooh, boy, now this is where things get sad. Pyrrha was the best fighter in Volume 1-3 solely for the fact that she was the one fighter EVERYONE knew about. Pyrrha was getting wins BEFORE the series started and she started racking up wins afterwards against Grimm and other students, too. Sadly, this poor, young Achilles was not truly invincible, for her tender heart was what got her killed... And also an arrow to said tender heart.

Cinder Fall: And speaking of arrows to tender hearts, I should give credit where credit is due, and it's overdue for Cinder Fall. First up, let's look at Cinder WITHOUT her magic. Her semblance, Caress, increases the temperature of things she touches, burning and even melting them. Heck, she was even throwing fireballs BEFORE the Maiden powers were hers! Not to mention she was throwing down with Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon and definitely the oldest man on the planet! She managed to outwit and outpace a man with centuries of experience. She then went on to kill the best fighter of the roster at Beacon Academy and steal her powers, only becoming wounded by Ruby's silver eyes. And this was all BEFORE she became the Fall Maiden.

Tyrian Callows: I want to admit something. I have a certain bias both towards and against Tyrian. Towards him, he's one of my favorite villains simply for the sheer lengths he'll go to in order to please his goddess, regardless of who he has to kill and how many. Against him, while I will admit he has some of the best fights in the series, his best fight is also the worst in the entire series. Story-wise, that is, because for some reason the other two combatants got way stupider than they should have.

Qrow Branwen: And speaking of fighters getting dumber than they should, here comes one now! Qrow was our introduction to what a REAL huntsman was like. And he did not disappoint! ...At least, when he first showed up. When Team RWBY were struggling against Tyrian, Qrow came in and fought him to a standstill. If Ruby didn't put herself in danger trying to help, Qrow could have won the battle and even been a big help later. Then again, for as skilled as Qrow may be, he's also got some personal issues that make him more of a hinderance than a boon.

Blake Belladonna: Thinking on it, Blake might be the best fighter of Team RWBY, besides Ruby. She has probably the most versatile weapon of the group, neither limited by range nor function, and watching her fight is always entertaining because, well, she's an agile-build fighter who uses airborne attacks to both maintain distance and to build momentum for closing in with killing blows. While Weiss and Yang also have their uses as support and tank builds, Blake feels like the only other fighter who actually has experience fighting.

Jaune Arc: Big surprise, we have the big man himself, Jaune Arc on my list. To the surprise of no one. No, but seriously, Jaune is someone to be praised for his combat skill, especially since his story is about how he literally showed up with 0 skill. I've seen people meme him as "Dark Souls style" and I can't argue. Where everyone else is over the top with their combat, Jaune manages to stay relatively grounded by comparison. No jumping or magic; just pure human strength, and what strength he has! Though, I will say that his usual style is more akin to tank/wall tactics. He's strong enough to take hits from heavy hitters, protecting his allies from heavy, crippling blows, and his semblance keeps himself and others in the fight.

Now, who else do we talk about... Oh, right! Since you brought them up...

The Curious Cat: For this, let's explain how their power works. Simply put, the Curious Cat's power mostly resides in their ability to possess creatures in a weakened state. Ruby was the intended target of this possession, having been forced by the Cat to avoid ascension while becoming physically and emotionally weaker over time. In the end, however, Ruby did ascend, and the Cat was forced to change their plans to possess Neo, who had also recently become emotionally vulnerable. Tactically speaking, the Cat is dangerous simply for their ability to take over and use the powers of another which, as stated previously, is overpowered to MAXIMUM. Once Neo had outlived her use, the Cat then made themselves more powerful by changing their body into something more combative. Combative enough to push Team WBY and Jaune to their limits. It wasn't until Ruby, who found new purpose and strength within herself that she was able to overcome the "Furious Cat" with the aid of her team.

So... yeah.

[magentacat]

I had a weirdest dream.

RWBY: the Movie, but directed like those late 2000s/early 2010s adaptations.

By that I mean the movie itself tries to cram as much plot as possible into the 90 minutes runtime (say, volumes 1 through 3), and the point-of-view character is more of a secondary character (Jaune) through which we see the main characters (Ruby and co.).

What's weird is that I even pictured the visuals.

It would have started with Jaune as a kid being bullied by everyone at his village for being half-faunus (his mother side, hare). His dad tries to cheer him with the tales of huntsmen and huntresses, but the stress of an entire village gets to him, so he runs away to become a huntsman and be more for his family's sake.

Cut to the classical montage of visuals and music intro of movies from that period, with a cover/remake of 'This Will Be the Day' that focuses more on the battery than on the singing.

The visuals themselves are Team RWBY in their trailer fights, only hyper saturated in a way that they were more like flat colors silhouettes with only small break (Ruby was all black and red, Weiss white and silver, Blake black and white and Yang gold and black).

It's all quick cuts between all four, gaining speed between the cuts until they're interrupted by the big bold letters of "RWBY: the Movie". Then those get smashed by Team RWBY jumping to the side in a team shot, followed by teams JNPR and CFVY, Penny and Sun, finally cut to black to display the in memoriam for Monty Oum.

Plot wise, the first act is teams RWBY and JNPR (without their names or teams formed yet) learning the ropes of Beacon academy, with Team CFVY being some sort of 'the ace' for the academy. At first Ruby and Jaune are antagonistic, with the 'teams' heading to a fight until they're interrupted by two giant grimms attacking Beacon. They learn to work together and all it's good.

Second act is a crimewave by Roman and the White Fang, but it's revealed none of the White Fang are faunus and they're posing as such to cover their tracks. Ruby meets Penny and Jaune meets Sun, with both teams converging in a fight with Adam and the fake White Fang (forcefully revealing Blake is a faunus and ex-member of the real White Fang).

In the end it's revealed that it was all a distraction and the real deal was an all out assault (Fake Fang and a wave of grimms) on Beacon. Big fight again, with Team CFVY joining in and showing off. In the middle of it, Ruby, Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha make their way through a literal wall of grimms into the main building, witnessing Ozpin dueling a hooded woman (and getting thrown out of a window).

Final fight is with all four tag teaming the hooded woman, with Red Like Roses in the background. They're overwhelming her until she lands an arrow to Pyrrha's heel, which makes Ruby's eye glow and she goes berserk, blitzing the hooded woman so fast it looks like she's in four places at the same time, forcing her to escape.

Jaune saves Pyrrha's life by discovering his semblance (a plotpoint of the movie), and Ozpin appears again. He explains that what happened was in order to uncover a secret in Beacon Academy that could either save the world, or set it on fire.

Movie ends with a ceremony where Teams RWBY and Team JNPR becoming official and running off the academy's entrance for a wide team shot.

So, yeah. My dreams are weird like that.

[darksaiyangoku]

RWBY: Grim Tales

Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Cat

The Myrkheim Forests was considered to be one of the most dangerous places in Remnant. It was home to many horrific creatures like the brutish orcs, the nimble wargs, the slimy taijitu and even the ravaging undead. Not even huntsmen or huntresses would dare venture into Myrkheim. Except one.

Ruby Rose was an unusual young woman. What many considered scary or odd, she found fascinating and fun. In her right hand, she was armed with her mother's trusty scythe, Crescent Rose and in her left hand was a basket of Valen sponge cake. If any monster dared to cross her path, she would slay it with ease. As she walked under the blackened trees, a gust of wind blew over a pile of leaves. Ruby stopped in her tracks and held up her scythe. She could hear small, harsh breathes touch the back of her neck. Ruby quickly turned around but saw nothing. She felt it again, and turned. Still nothing.

???: Ruby~ Ruby~

Ruby suddenly felt herself fall down onto the leaves.

Ruby: Ow, what the-!

A female, cat faunus was laying on top of her, smirking and stroking her cheek.

Ruby: *groans* Blake, you almost scared me!

Blake: *giggles* Sorry, babe. I just missed you is all.

Ruby: *blushes* I missed you too.

Ruby sat herself up and cupped Blake's cheek, drawing her in for a deep loving kiss.

Blake: Mmmmm~ *breaks kiss* Ooooh, is that blackcurrent I taste?

Ruby: *beams* Sure is. *opens basket* Valen sponge cake with blackcurrent jam!

Blake: *licks lips* Can't wait.

The two women took off their cloaks and laid them on the ground, cutting several slices of cake and feeding each other. What was supposed to be a treacherous place filled with dread and monsters had become Ruby and Blake's favourite spots for their dates. They would simply let the time go past them, not worrying about anything else. And if anyone dared to disturb them? Well, let's just say that there's a reason that the two of them have come to be known as The Shade Reapers.

[felix-mateo]

BEAST AU

Jaune arc is 15 years old when he is all alone training to be a huntsman. He is alone and deep in the forest due to his father stopping him from training. One night, as he is heading back home. He is kidnaped by a cult. This cult worships the beast god. The god in the fairy tale story of rwby.

This cult is angry with humanity as they have treated the Faunus like shit for BS reasons. So, they decide to teach humanity a lesson. One of the leaders is a genetic scientist. The scientist uses his studies to turn humans into SPLICERS.

WHAT IS A SPLICERS

Splicing: is the act of mixing and crossing DNA from two or more different species. This produces hybrid/chimera organisms. Commonly, it was done by mixing human DNA with animal genes so as to enhance the recipient's genetic material. However, there were other forms of splicing that left humans... mindless and savage...just like the grimm.

Jaune arc kidnaped at 15 is experimented on as his animal trate was a bunny as he now has bunny ears, a tail, and bunny feet. After he is studied and altered he is forced into a very large cage with others who have been spliced like him. Now forced to fight each other like a savage animal to live jaune had to live for 2 years trapped in that crazy place fighting, killing, and eating others just to survive. Until a faithful day came.

The huntsmen and huntresses came to arrest and shut down the cult. But they faught back. Releasing the spliced blood was shed on both sides. Jaune arc now alone and mutated he runs for his life away from the battle wanting to live. His animal instincts take over to run away from that terrible place. He soon learns the cult was taking refuge in MANTEL.

All alone and no way to get home jaune arc walks around aimless as his animal instincts lead the way until he runs into an underground pit fight arena hiden underground. Jaune escaped one Hell hole only to enter another.

Forced to fight for cash, food, clothing, and housing a spliced jaune fights for 1 year and shoots up the ranks. Now at the age of 18 he can't even remember the faces of hi family as he entered the arena seeing his potent covered in a dark cloak on and had orange hair.

[littlemisssquiggles]

In today’s episode, Jaune revealed that Lewis and Alyx were actually residents of Vacuo Kingdom (surprise, surprise) during a time before the Great War. And since we know that Lewis actually returned from the Ever After, it make wonder something curious.

If Lewis was the author of the Girl Who Fell Through the World fairy-tale then it would make perfect sense as to why he omitted himself from the written adventures in the Ever After and chose to make Alyx the protagonist. It makes sense since, unlike Lewis, Alyx never returned home and basically “died” in the Ever After.

So my assumption is that Lewis must’ve maintained his sister’s story through his story about her. That way Alyx’s legacy was able to live on in some shape or form despite the real Alyx practically ceasing to exist after never returning home.

Since Jaune was shown to still be have some qualms over his time in the Ever After, it got me thinking.

What if…Jaune were to (somehow) discover the original journal of Lewis which he had used to record his experience in the Ever After in the Vacuo archives?

What if…Jaune were to meet someone closely connected to Lewis and Alyx while in Vacuo? Like a surviving member of their family bloodline still thriving in modern Remnant.

What if… Headmaster Theodore was that surviving member? I know the main popular theory is that Lewis was one of Ozma’s reincarnations but imagine if Lewis wasn’t an Ozma reincarnation but Theo’s ancestor instead?

I haven’t read either of the RWBY After the Fall books so I’m not familiar with Headmaster Theodore in terms of characterization or like what his backstory is.

That being said, I do, however like the idea of the final maiden being connected to Theo in some shape or form.

For me, I like the prospect of the Summer Maiden being either Theo’s daughter or younger sister or cousin or niece or some important person to him as she’s probably the only family he has left.

Again, I don’t know anything about Theo but thus far, none of the other headmasters of the huntsmen academies have had any reason to be protective of their respective maiden outside of a moral obligation as per Ozpin’s instructions.

To make Theo stand out more, I think it would be a nice change of pace if Theo, the final headmaster, were to share an actual connection to the final  maiden as she is a beloved relative of his.

Why bring this up? Well I like the idea of Jaune forming a close relationship with another Maiden candidate. Maybe he could even fall in love with the Summer Maiden.

Technically, Jaune hasn’t had a legit love interest since Pyrhha and I don’t know about ya’ll but…after six seasons (and half a movie), I’m kind of tired of being reminded of Arkos, ya’ll.

It was the Ship that was meant to be that never got to be because Writers decided to kill it off early.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Arkos. Arkos was a great ship that was gone too soon.

To (finally) close the chapter on Jaune moving on from Pyrhha (since even after all of his growth, I still don't think he's over her as the show keeps constantly bringing up whenever they can)...

I think it actually might be cute if Jaune does end up being romantically involved with the Summer Maiden who he actually succeeds in protecting from Cinder when she comes to steal her powers.

I’ve grown tired of new maidens showing up in the story just to die for the sake of the powers being passed onto a main character.

Since Summer is the last maiden, it would be nice if Summer is the one to stop the cycle of original maiden deaths and she actually gets to live on even after opening the vault.

As much as I like WhiteKnight as a ship, I honestly gave up on it becoming canon after V5 dropped and nothing else was done to further develop Weiss and Jaune’s relationship as a prospective romance.

Yeah sure, V9 tossed us a crumb of Weiss being attracted to Jaune in his more mature Rusted Knight persona.

But after further deliberation, I’ve concluded that that little nugget of hope isn’t enough to get me back on the horse of hoping for a romance between these two.

Do you know what would actually be pretty wild?

If Jaune fell in love with the Summer Maiden who is not only a red-head (like Pyrhha) but is also a descendent of Lewis who is the author of the Girl Who Fell Through the World and thus a relative of Alyx.

And unlike Alyx and Pyrhha who Jaune failed to protect/help/save, Jaune is able to do just that with the Summer Maiden by protecting her from Cinder and thus, the two are able to live happily ever after.

That would actually be wild.

Not saying this would become true in the canon. I'm just tossing it out into the RWBY FNDM ether as a food for thought.

~LMS (2024)

[invested-in-your-future]

One of many things I have been figuring out is how different Kingdoms might handle their legends about monsters, since Grimm would be intrinsically linked to concepts like folklore and fairytales of this land, having been there for as long as humanity remembers.

Would creatures of Grimm replace the traditional monsters in the stories? Would there be cryptid creatures of Grimm whose existence hasn't been confirmed but lone Huntsmen would swear they exist?

One thing I've decided is that this version of Remnant would contain many sightings and stories of Grimm that could be considered apocryphal—types of creatures never scientifically confirmed to even exist. Over the years, Huntsmen and civilians alike would have shared rumors, written entire books, etc, about the experiences that nobody can confirm having happened.

The important aspect, however, is how contradictory and ambiguous legends and rumors can be.

For example, one such piece of literature is "Die Wilde Jagd" (The Wild Hunt)—an autobiographical book by one of Vale's Huntsmen centuries ago, where he chronicles his journeys chasing after a folk legend, gathering tales, as well as chronicling encounters that he claims have happened. As the book is old old, it's impossible to confirm or deny the authenticity of what the author wrote about—he could have actually faced those creatures, he could have embellished confrontations with "usual" Grimm, or he could have thought all of the stories up while drunk in some wayside tavern.

Let's say characters come upon something they do not understand—more literature-focused ones would know the stories they would have read or at least heard about, but how do they know any of that information is "useful" or fit? They can only guess.

One of my pet peeves with the show will always be how MilesWBY era handled one of its better ideas, The Apathy—it's just too neat of a conclusion that takes away any mystique of this creepy and unique and weird type of creature of Grimm—they are built up as a threat, and then Ruby plot-eyes them, and it's all solved without any doubt. Meanwhile, for me, that threat was always something that felt like it shouldn't have neatly "concluded"—a threat where the characters should have been left guessing if they had defeated the Apathy or if these things are still out there and that maybe there's no real way to "defeat" them, that some things in this world just are and should be avoided at all costs. And then the show doubled down on that by having Ruby randomly be able to defeat one of the Goliaths.

Neatly concluding creatures of Grimm as a threat doesn't work. Some of the STRONGEST moments of the early RWBY that are stuck in my mind are when Ruby first sees the Goliaths and then in V3 when that thing bursts out of the mountain. The show pulls back a curtain and shows just how much unknown there is in the world and how out of their depth humanity might be.

It's important to leave ambiguity AND uncertainty in the concept behind The Creatures of Grimm. It's supposed to be an endless, eternal, ever-changing, ever-evolving threat that has always been there and will likely always be there.

And tying that into the bigger theme of how ambiguous, twisted, and incomplete myths and legends of the world are just makes sense. Even in the show, it would have made more sense to do that if Salem's very existence was supposed to be this big secret that would have thrown the population into chaos when revealed.

[itsclydebitches]

i personally feel like jaune's armor is meant to serve a story purpose, not to be practical. his armor and weapon are hand-me-downs in his family, so it's supposed to look archaic in remnant's more sci-fi fantasy world. other male characters like ren or qrow don't wear armor as well. it doesn't deny that the female designs are sexualized, just that male characters wear more clothes, and jaune's armor is unique to him.

like, blake and ren both have ninja-esque fighting styles, but ren's outfits are sleeveless at best, while blake has shorts, tights, and crop tops in her wardrobe.

I definitely agree in that RWBY-specific way of, "That feels like the original intention but then they didn't do anything with it, so..." In the very early episodes Jaune is absolutely introduced as an old-school outlier using archaic hand-me-downs that, as you say, nicely contrast the sci-fi nature of others' designs. It's a choice that raises a lot of cool questions about Jaune (Why does someone presumably working to keep a low profile after sneaking in choose to wear such unusual armor? Did he feel pressured to continue this legacy by his family? Did he just take what he could get given his lack of experience?) as well as the history of Remnant (Is this level of aura control a semi-recent development? Why would huntsmen further endanger themselves by giving up that extra layer of protection? Does the change have anything to do with Remnant's politics, with armor more representative of the military vs. cute / impractical fighting outfits representing individual freedom?) But then NOTHING happened with Jaune's design, so across the whole of RWBY it feels less like a choice specific to him and more a part of that larger gender trend.

It hasn't helped (me, anyway) that armor isn't fully unique to Jaune. Pyrrha gets armor... except it's far more sexualized with lots of skin showing and heels. Yang has her gauntlets (which do more than just shoot), but she needs the crop-top and shorts too. Mercury looks like he's got plate to protect his upper arms on top of his jacket. Cardin gets a full set of armor similar to Jaune's, as do two of his teammates. And as recently as the last Volume we meet the Knight of Remnant's supposedly beloved fairy tale... who also turns out to be Jaune, despite the fact that the Knight could have been anyone, including a woman. 99% of the fighters aren't bothering with practical clothing, but when they do it's always given to the guys.

[bestworstcase]

Okay, sorry in advance for the consecutive asks (I'm the anon who asked abour Theo and the GoL) it's just it's been ages since I've seen fresh, thoughtful takes on the show in the RWBY FNDM shsjsksksjsj and your metas are scratching a particular corner of my brain lol. My one other question is what would be the state of the world when all is said and done with GoL's ascension and the Ozlem reconciliation? And what would be the fates of characters like Ruby, Summer, Cinder, and the other Maidens?

i enjoy being encouraged to ramble :P

anyway, i think the ending after the climactic resolution is always the most difficult to part of a story to anticipate in anything but the broadest strokes. generally, my thinking here is informed by a few key tenets of my reading of the story so far:

i think the grimm do have souls, and that being grimm is not what's wrong with salem or a problem that must be solved

i do not think any currently dead characters will be brought back to life, but we may see one or more of them return to a new life

i think remnant's cycle of life and death will settle into a form of reincarnation that is like ascension but not the same (transcendence)

i do not think that salem, cinder, or ozma will die by the end of the story, but i am unsure about summer rose

i think that the huntsmen academies are a failed institution that will have no place in the world anymore, but that the identity of a "huntress" or "huntsmen" can be reclaimed and changed into something better

i think the story is building to a positive ending that refutes the idea of "happily ever after;" it will feel like a hopeful new beginning.

specifically on that last point, ozpin's afterward in fairytales of remnant tells us what kind of ending we should expect:

No one is guaranteed a happy ending, but the tales told about Remnant and its people do hold a bittersweet promise: who we are and what we do are important enough to be remembered and shared. We exist. Our existence means something. Stories will survive longer than all of us, but through them, we may continue on. So, rather than “And they lived happily ever after,” I favor a more honest and hopeful closing: And they lived.

in terms of what impact the god of light ascending might have (aside from the obvious of removing the existential threat he poses to remnant), i don't think there will be any. this world—remnant—is not the world he and his brother created, and hasn't been for quite some time. the god of light only mattered at all because ozma believed he did.

(this relates to why i think it will be easy to beat him, in the end. remnant is not his world; he did not create these humans, and he has no real power over them. it matters—i think more than symbolically—that his promised day of judgment needs to begin with humans inviting him to come back to adjudicate.)

so, remnant will change because its people decide to change it. how?

if i am right about the grimm being a kind of people, the story cannot end in their destruction and the huntsmen academies must be reckoned with as an institution of war, not protection. the resolution that i find most likely is that grimm will still present a danger, but with the explicit possibility of peaceful coexistence between humans and grimm. 

the huntsmen academies as they were do not belong in a world where humans, faunus, and grimm can live in harmony. but lasting peace doesn't happen overnight, and as ozma is learning in the aftermath of the great war, it isn't enough to sign a treaty and then sweep every new conflict under the rug. it takes real cooperation and hard work and trust and honesty. 

i think this is what huntsmen and huntresses will become after this war is over: mediators between humans and grimm. the bridge, not the bulwark.

and this is why i don't think salem will die at the end of her story. the grimm need someone who will advocate for them, and humans need guidance in navigating peace with their ancient enemies. salem has already begun to do this in a limited way—she taught cinder and summer how to communicate with grimm. and if i'm right about her historical identification with the faunus, she may have already done this once before, long ago. 

so,

i think salem and ozma will both get what they've always wanted: ozma's curse will be broken and her exile ended, and they can come together again. salem will be more involved in the effort to rebuild and renew, partly to atone for her violent destruction of the old order but mostly because she wants to build a new world. whereas i think ozma will let go and take a step back to focus on his own healing and figuring out what he wants to be and who he really is without the weight of the world on his shoulders.

cinder, i think will end the story at a point where she has found peace with salem and made peace with her past through that reconciliation, and is ready to close this chapter of her life and open a new one. she can't stay in salem's shadow forever; she needs to leave the nest and find herself. my feeling is that cinder's arc will probably have the most open-ended resolution out of the core cast, although i do think that she will keep the arm and (unlike a lot of cinder fans!) i'm not convinced she'll leave to go on a journey. 

her anger is righteous, even though her indiscriminate violence is not, and i don't think cinder will relinquish that anger as part of her villain -> hero arc—because she doesn't need to. instead, she'll find hope and hope will transform her anger into a driving constructive force. in the end, i think cinder will be VERY KEEN to have her say in what the world will be; what makes her evil now becomes what inspires her to be good.

summer… it depends a lot on who summer rose is now, after fourteen years with salem. i've seen the sentiment that if she is alive, she will have to die in the end because her absence and ruby's grief are so central to the story that it would undercut the story's theme for her to be "given back," but i do not agree with that at all. summer being alive now doesn't change the fact of her absence or the pain she left behind—just recontextualizes it. her heroic death is revealed as a profound betrayal. she left to join salem. 

will ruby or yang even want her back, once they know that? can they forgive her? does it matter why she did it? what happens if ruby wants to reconcile with her but yang does not—or vice versa? how does summer feel, as their mother and as their adversary? what about her relationship with cinder, whom she may well have known for longer than she knew her own children?

i think it might go either way, but i err on the side of thinking that summer will live and be on civil terms with her children and teammates but not reintegrated as part of the family. given her experience as a former huntress and salem's general, she might become a teacher or otherwise be a part of establishing peace between grimm and humans. 

ruby, i think, is probably not going to know what to do with herself after they actually somehow did the impossible and saved the world. figuring that out is half of what ruby/oscar is for but i doubt she'll really grasp that there is an "after the war" at all until it hits her. and then what? i think, out of all the characters in this story, she and oscar are the ones who are most likely to just leave for a while. they're the youngest, and they're "special" in ways that multiply the weight on their shoulders (silver-eyed and ozpin's heir). moreover, ruby enjoyed the trip across anima and has expressed a desire to go exploring several times; likewise, oscar wanted to see more of the world than his farm but has so far been prevented from doing so on his own terms.  so i think they might set out on a journey just for the sake of it.

winter, raven, and obviously cinder are the endgame maidens. i am pretty confident about that. 

also, this might be going against the grain—i don't know—but i don't think the maiden cycle is going to change in any significant way. i also don't think ancient magic will "come back" or the maidens will cease to be or anything like that. the idea that the maidens are innately harmful or burdensome is silly; the problem is the dehumanizing system ozpin built to control the maidens, and that will be dismantled. then they can just… exist for themselves.

i think weiss is going to return to solitas and rebuild mantle—not atlas, mantle. obviously not by herself, but she is taking the loss of her home very hard and her guiding motivation has always been a determination to define herself apart from her father and redeem her family's name and legacy. math.

similarly, it seems pretty open and shut that the bees will get what they wanted from the beginning: blake comes into her own as an advocate for the faunus and bridge between cultures, specifically in a manner that involves a lot of traveling with yang. her fierce ambition and focus answers yang's lack of ambition (and complete comfort with being a supporter and cheerleader for her loved ones) in a very complementary way. again, math.

i think the ending i'm most curious and uncertain about right now is jaune's. what they did with him in V9 was really interesting and very specific, and also took a turn in a direction that has been making me go hmm in the back of my mind periodically. i wish he'd been in the second rwby x jl movie even just for one scene so that i could have a sense for where he's at emotionally in vacuo. 

he's important for the ozlem reconciliation and narratively intertwined with cinder in a way that almost but doesn't quite feel like the set up for an enemies-to-lovers romantic arc and the weiss/jaune flirtation in V9 is followed by what seem to me to be clear narrative signals against that pairing too. weiss, jaune, and cinder all repeat salem and it's striking to me that all of them refract the tower in similar ways: weiss is her own knight-in-shining-armor, jaune wants to be "the hero," and cinder fights her way out alone in pure desperations. 

possibly there is a point being made here about what the hero tells the girl at the end of 'the girl in the tower': "all you needed was a little help, but in the end you freed yourself." even in the fairytale that is not really true and i think there is perhaps a thin line between giving salem agency and misrepresenting the tower as something she did not, in fact, need saving from—and thence ozpin's rather bizarre insinuation in commentary that the girl might have been an evil manipulator all along.

and then we have cinder (the abused child who truly did free herself, alone) trying to kill weiss (the abused child who, like salem, had agency in her own escape but needed serious help to achieve it) to hurt jaune (the "damsel in distress" who dreams of being his own hero). and in V9 jaune stagnates until he resembles ozpin more than salem and it's weiss who helps him find himself again. it's an interesting suggestion of what might be going on in salem's head, if nothing else.

but there's also jaune's simmering resentment of ozpin and his outburst lashing out at oscar in V6, which makes his corruption in V9 particularly interesting. it's about changing perspective and gaining insight that leads to greater empathy and forgiveness but who for whom? jaune for ozpin certainly, but whether it foreshadows salem coming to understand ozma better or the other way around or both i'm not sure.

i think it will start to clarify quickly enough once we get to V10. a lot depends on where jaune falls emotionally once the dust has settled. the guilt he feels about penny and alyx have risen to the surface and being able to save neo was not nothing but those decades festering haven't just disappeared, and he'll be dealing with this guilt in conjunction with ruby's and winter's and pietro's grief. it's easier to be cynical, but he has his friends again, but he's experienced horrors none of them can fully grasp…

much to think about. 

assuming gillian asturias is a significant player in the vacuo arc, i think she and jaune are going to be narratively linked… somehow. their semblances are mirrored, his lineage of warriors reflects her claim to royal heritage, her absolute devotion to her brother matches his absolute devotion to his friends, she was a prodigy who dropped out and he cheated his way into beacon. there is a lot of really obvious potential for character foils here. 

[zerm2v0hg]

TToaCMC Remnant Timeline - Part 1

(...a.k.a., "What if RWBY/J never returned?")

So, anyone who’s read my Volume 9 fic The Tale of a Cat Most Curious might remember I said at the end that I might write a spinoff describing what happens on a post-Fall of Atlas Remnant in the fic’s AU. So I’ve written a series of posts, starting with this one, loosely describing one possible timeline of how the war against Salem goes for the remaining characters and people, with some gaps for folks to draw their own conclusions about the details.

This’ll be coming in several parts over several days, with new posts being put up every three or four days.

-

PART 1 – THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE FALL:

(Vacuo)

Qrow, Robyn and the surviving Ace-Ops make their way to Vacuo, eventually rejoining Nora, Ren, Winter and Emerald at Shade Academy.

In the months after the Fall of Atlas and the forced mass exodus into Vacuo, things are dire. Shade Academy and its local oasis are initially used as a refugee centre, but it doesn’t have the room or resources to support all the evacuees plus its own student and tutor body, especially on account of how resource-scarce Vacuo is coupled with Vacuo’s semi-Darwinistic culture. The thought of the Atlas-Mantle refugees overconsuming the Shade oasis’ resources furthermore rubs many Vacuans the wrong way. Some of Vacuo’s population don’t even believe that Salem is real or that Ruby’s rogue broadcast to the world was truthful, leading Vacuan nationalistic organisations to gain power.

A large percentage of the refugees die from causes including: lack of basic resources like food, water and medicine; heat stress in the new climate; suicides, violent encounters with the locals, attacks by local Grimm, and desperate clashes between each-other. More refugees disappear due to traffickers, organ harvesters and the other criminal organisations in Vacuo’s anarchist climate preying on them, despite huntsmen and huntresses’ efforts to defend or rescue them from such. Other desperate evacuees take their chances trying to flee to other regions.

The Maidens present in Vacuo use their weather-manipulating magic to shield refugee-inhabited areas from the Vacuan heat and bring rain as much as possible, and they at one point try terraforming fertile lands and grow more food. This backfires by further enflaming tensions among the Vacuans, whom feel even more so like they’re being invaded by their former colonists again due to this, and point out that the Maidens are intervening on the refugees’ behalf rather than the Vacuans’ after centuries. (ADDENDUM: Why didn’t anyone ever use the Maidens’ weather powers for long-term terraforming before, particularly in Vacuo and Solitas’ extreme environments? My guess is that Ozpin forbade the Maidens under his thumb from doing it to maintain secrecy, and none of the generations of Maidens that WEREN’T under his thumb were the types of people who would care enough about others to bother. And maybe, Ozpin WANTED Vacuo and Solitas to remain barren as part of his politicking and long-game plan for saving Remnant. Maybe Shade Academy’s oasis was itself originally cultivated by a past Maiden on Ozpin’s orders.)

Within four months of the Fall, roughly 65% of the former Kingdom of Atlas’ displaced population including children and infirm are dead or missing. Willow Schnee is later among the confirmed casualties, leaving Whitley under Winter’s care – the Schnee family is a remnant of what it once was. In a desperate effort to lower the death toll, the huntsmen and huntresses resort to mass-unlocking civilian refugees’ auras and training them as much as can be afforded.

Hope diminishes further after news reaches Vacuo that Vale has been completely overrun by a massive spike in Grimm activity. Several of the heroes observe the oddity that Salem would have her Grimm attack the already-decimated Vale first, instead of going straight for the unorganised desert kingdom where they currently reside in a weakened state. It’s hypothesised that Salem is making a second attempt to locate the Crown of Choice’s hidden true vault in Vale, or that Salem might not have ordered the Grimm to finish destroying  Vale at all and the Grimm had simply been drawn in by the negativity spike after the Fall of Atlas.

The remaining heroes, while struggling to save what refugees they can, debate what to do next about countering Salem. They debate whether or not to use the Summer Maiden (*) to open the vault under Shade and take the Sword of Destruction out to be moved to somewhere else.

(The other kingdoms)

Slowly, the other kingdoms and settlements outside of Shade Academy withdraw into their own borders.

Mistral’s gates are initially open to refugees, partly in an effort by the kingdom to rearm itself after Leonardo Lionheart’s actions decimated the kingdom’s huntsman population. Salem openly contacts Mistral and offers them a “gift:” they have nothing she’s after anymore, so she and the Grimm will leave Mistral alone on the condition that they close their borders, don’t get in her way and don’t in any way aid her enemies. Mistral’s council take the bargain, closing up and cutting off all support to Vacuo.

After a delay, news of the Fall of Atlas and Ruby’s message reach Menagerie. Ghira and Kali Belladonna call for the reformed White Fang to mobilise to the continents. However, many of Menagerie’s population, having been untouched by Salem’s genocidal campaign since the White Fang’s reformation, are outraged at the prospect of sending their militia away from their homeland to the aid of foreign kingdoms, including kingdoms which Menagerie has very bad blood with, based on Ruby’s message, leading to mass protests and a delay in mobilisation.

(Salem and her faction)

Salem has instructed the Grimm to comb the ruins of Vale, looking for the hidden new Fall Maiden vault where the Crown of Choice was moved out of Beacon’s basement to. Contacting Tyrian and Mercury via a Seer, she orders them to be patient and bide their time: Salem wants to let her enemies in Vacuo have breathing room to tear themselves apart with squabbles and infighting like they and Ironwood previously did in Atlas before her minions move in. Cinder is frustrated and impatient to claim the Winter and Summer Maiden powers immediately, knowing that they’re both currently in Vacuo.

-

(*) - I’ll default to calling the Summer Maiden Omaira, as a placeholder name on this timeline. If you’ve read a certain Coeur Al’Aran fic, then you know. ;)

(Also, Ruby’s broadcast REALLY should have mentioned that the consequences of Salem winning are the physical destruction of Remnant and all life on it. If it had, maybe Mistral and Menagerie would’ve opposed Salem like she wanted.)

[a-tale-of-huntsmen]

(AToH) - Antagonist Outline: Adam Taurus

Now, let me first say that I'm not an big Adam fan nor hater. I'm not going to go on a rant about wasted potential, though I will say I think the "crazy abusive ex" thing kind of just falls completely flat for me. So I'm just going with the "revolutionary who takes things too far" approach instead.

He is going to be Blake's foil and personal protagonist, of course. They're going to have more of a big brother/little sister dynamic. With Adam being 23 at the start of Volume 1. So 6 years older than Blake. With them having known each other since they were very young and a lot longer than they did in canon.

(Side note - I've decided to change Blake's backstory a good bit, but I won't get into that here.)

I'm keeping the Dust mining part of his backstory. May or may not keep the SDC branding, definitely going to have a scar there no matter what though. Gonna have it come up earlier in the story too.

He will be leading a cell within the White Fang that happened to be operating around Vale at the time Blake leaves. Though they did also operate in north-western Anima and a little in Atlas. With Ilia not being in the cell when Blake left... for reasons.

In terms of his combat abilities, he really doesn't have much if any formal training. Maybe a little bit from some White Fang sympathetic huntsmen. But I'd imagine most of his combat ability comes from pure experience and raw talent.

And also just having a very strong semblance.

I'm going to say that for overall combat ability, Adam would be considered above average for his age. And probably would be a handful with most good pro huntsmen. Though he'd probably be able to constantly beat the more average and below average huntsmen that he would regularly encounter, and Academy students would pretty much all be no match for him. Except for maybe the very top of the classes.

Really, if they sent any top huntsmen after him, he'd be screwed. He more just survives on knowing when to retreat, in the beginning at least, and not being a big enough problem for anyone outside of maybe Atlas from sending someone that strong after him.

His story is probably going to play out mostly like it did in canon. Though I'd like to give him more interactions with the whole of the main teams.

Don't have a ton plotted out for him just yet though.

[novankenn]

Saints of the Sword (v1-1)

(I am going to very BLUNT with this statement, even though it seems like it... THIS IS NOT an everyone betrays Jaune fic. There is much more going on including Jaune's own low sense of self-worth.)

Word of a team of Huntsmen and Huntresses set to arrive today had the school in a buzz. There had been stories of the exploits of the group, officially known as the Chevaliers, but more often not referred to as the Saints of the Sword. The stories of their inception were as varied as the very often; larger than life tales associated with them. But regardless, it was still big news, and a worthy excuse by the younger years to hang out in Beacon’s courtyard for pretty much the whole morning.

They watched as several bullheads arrived and left, but from none of them did a group of nearly legendary huntsmen and huntresses disembark. It was pushing close to midday and the cafeteria was just starting to serve lunch, when an out-of-place sound started to reach people's ears. Those teams and students that had yet to abandon the vigil waited as the creaking and clinking of metal grew in volume.

“No way!” Ruby shouted as she watched the first of a group of heavily armored figures on equally heavily armored horses climb over the low rise that was the marked, the rarely used road that connected Beacon to Vale.

“That’s them, see” Jade held up his scroll showing the image of a stylized skull impaled on a sword. The very same image emblazoned on the pennon the third rider was holding aloft upon a flagstaff.

RWBY and JNPR waited as more of the riders crested the end of the road. They all moved at a steady giant, and moved in an orderly formation. Every one of them wearing road dust covered plate and chain mail armor. Their horses wearing similarly layered barding. All except for one wore visorless closed faced helmets. The outlier’s head and face hidden with the hood of a travelling cloak.

“We should go meet them.” Nora spoke up, taking a step forward as the group of ten figures began to dismount.

“Wait.” Ren took hold of Nora’s wrist, preventing her from going any further, as he saw Professor Goodwitch approaching. “I don't think this is a good time…”

So the two teams stayed put, as did the few others, who also continued to wait longer than some of their peers. They watched as two of the figures move towards Professor Goodwitch, as two others helped the hooded one off their horse. With the remainder busying themselves gathering reigns or removing saddlebags and bedrolls.

“You’re several hours past due.” Professor Goodwitch commented as she stopped before the two figures that approached her. “Was there trouble?”

“You could say that.” replied the first one as he removed his helmet, revealing sweat slicked burnt orange hair, and stern indigo eyes. “That settlement you asked us to check on.”

“Cardin?” was the combined puzzled comment that sounded out among all those who had remained to watch the arrival of the Saints of the Sword.

“I do recall sending that request.” Goodwitch replied, knowing full well who she was speaking with.

“It wasn’t a settlement,” the other figure spoke, removing her helmet to reveal short sweat drenched strawberry blond hair, blue eyes, and fox ears. “Or it looked like one, and tried to function like one…”

“I’m not following. Our records distinctly make mention and show the founding documentation of a settlement in that area.”

“It may have been at first,” Cardin commented, “But it wasn’t when we got there.”

“What was it then?”

“Slavers.” Cardin replied. “They’ve been dealt with, we escorted all the victims here, and have handed all the recovered records to the authorities.”

“I shudder to ask what happened to the perpetrators.”

“Then don’t.” the fox faunus replied. “I’m Jeanne Denois, by the way, Professor.”

/== Table of Contents ==/

[howlingday]

I just realized: If we look at all three arcs, the heroes only got one solid win. The first arc ends with the Fall of Beacon. The Second arc had them win. The Third arc ended with the Fall of Atlas and Mantle. I would like to think the Vacuo Arc would have ended in a win, but I'm not sure.

Alright, let's break it down, Volume by Volume, big fight by big fight.

Volume 1: Emerald Forest, Jaundice, Dock Fight

Three wins and plenty of room to grow.

Volume 2: Paladin Fight, Beacon Dance, Mountain Glenn

Win with collateral damage (that everybody was pissed about), one loss for the good guys with the data stolen by a disguised Cinder Fall, and one win for everybody at Beacon Academy, this time with somehow more and less collateral damage? I guess it was more contained than entire highways and bridges being damaged.

Volume 3: Vytal Tournament, Battle OfBeacon

Oh boy... This is where the losses start to stack... RWBY and JNPR made into the finals, but... Well, by the end, Penny and Pyrrha died, Team RWBY got separated, Yang lost an arm, and Beacon Academy and the CCT network was disabled. This coming from a previous volume where there was a joke about Ruby getting words wrong.

Volume 4: Volume 4...

This is the point where we learn the dynamic of RWBY Volumes, which is with the flow of seasons. Volume 1 was spring fresh with new beginnings, Volume 2 was action-packed summer adventures, and Volume 3 was drastic and horrible changes like the leaves in autumn, leading us to Volume 4, which hit us non-stop with L after L after L. Yangst, Weiss being abused, Blake having her kitty pity party, and Team RNJR (IT'S JNRR) having to survive Tyrian Callows, the Nuckelavee, and the harsh reality of being huntsmen and huntresses... Oh, and also the Brother gods are real.

Volume 5: Battle for Haven, Menagerie

By the end of Volume 5, everything starts looking up. The White Fang disbands after failing to assassinate the Belladonnas, Ruby and her friends manage to fend off Cinder's group, the good guys learn new abilities and limitations, and Cinder gets dropped off a cliff by Raven. Overall, a good Volume. A couple losses, but still a lot more wins.

Volume 6: Knock, knock! Who's there? It's REALITY!

And... it's gone. The wins. They're gone. Sure, we end this Volume with Adam's death and Ruby's group escaping to Atlas, but... this was also when RWBY stopped looking like young heroes and more like trouble-maker teens with good intentions doing more harm than good. And they don't get any punishment, really. Not to mention that we also learn the truth about Salem and Ozpin. Not many Ls, but only because they're still cooking.

Volume 7: You lost, but you won, but you still lost

Starting off, we have Team RWBY and group getting captured by the Ace-Ops, serving as a sort of marker for where they'll by Volume end. Until then, we have Team RWBY failing to stop a public massacre, a rigged election, and end with martial law being established over all of Atlas. But hey, at least we stopped Jacques Schnee, got out licenses to kill, and some sick-ass upgrades to our old gear!

Volume 8: I want off General Ironwood's Wild Martial Law

OKAY! So we start off with Penny being pressured to do something she doesn't want to and NOBODY is talking about it like adults. Even fucking General Ironwood isn't backing down. But then again, he's probably still riding the high of shooting a child and suffering from the low that it wasn't a kill shot. But yeah, this entire Volume was just low after low after low after LOW. There is no positive to this Volume. No Ws for anyone. Now get back on the bus. It's time to go to Saturday detention.

Volume 9: Guide~! My~! Way~! Out~! I'm what inspired the fairy tales~...

Real talk. You listening? Okay... I will say that V9 isn't the best Volume. Compared to V2 or V5, it's barely squeezing in at third. However, THIS is my absolute favorite Volume. In terms of Ls and Ws, there's definitely a couple Ls, biggest of all to Ruby, but she also gets the biggest W of the entire Volume. V9 has the best moments, the best music, and even the best villain of the entire series, even if they weren't even main antag level. Everything about Volume 9 served it's purpose as a spring chapter. It's coming out of the cold winter and into the new beginnings of spring.

That said, I understand that this being said AFTER RT already announced their shutdown, but I think the show says it best. Never lose hope, keep moving forward, and remember that victory is in the simple soul.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

[bartoonist]

Tales of Team RWBY: This is Team RWBY as I attempted to draw them, using Kevin Eastman’s two art styles from both the IDW Turtles Comics, and the miscellaneous TMNT 2012 artwork he occasionally made in both some of the 2012 TV tie in-Comic Series’ Variant Comic Covers, as well as when he drew both BTAS/90's Batman and the 2012 Era-TMNT in a variant comic cover for that Spinoff or Remake that’s based on the Batman and Ninja Turtles Franchises’ Two Best Cartoons of course. I hope this one is as Kevin Eastman stylistic enough as I could get at it so far? Because I did make some of their body sizes look a little unintentionally and indirectly like their ArrowFell in game-model designs I’ll say, but hopefully I did hopefully manage to capture the White Highlighted Outlines that Kevin Eastman would draw in those thickly inked comic covers this time y'know, it wasn’t easy for me to capture the Kevin Eastman style interpretation of Team RWBY’s Atlas Era Designs, plus the third picture of my RWBY fan art illustration that I’m managed keep in my iOS Photo Library’s Traditional Art Folder was colored in red highlights to pay homage to both the first Ninja Turtles One Shot Comic’s iconic comic cover and the first TMNT Cartoon’s Red Sky Seasons too of course, which is why I chose to make make the Night Sky, Red, it wasn’t easy but it was fun to make, plus I’m currently planning on upgrading from my current iPhone with a 64 GB Storage to the next iPhone with better storage capacity sooner or later in general after Christmas, as I’m now currently busy making my latest decorative family portraits of my extended family tree and my family and I as our own RWBYsona human & faunus huntsmen and huntresses to celebrate the 10th anniversary year of the RWBY Franchise on it’s last month, before 2024 kicks in where the RWBY CG Anime Saga’s 10th Anniversary year will transition to a Post 10th Anniversary Year since the RWBY Franchise made it’s debut in July 2013, and I hope you RWBY Fans like my Kevin Eastman styled Fan Art Illustration of Team RWBY finished drawing and coloring this year of course.

[darksaiyangoku]

RWBY Christmas Tales

Sniffles

For @chaoslordjoe

Shen: Atchoo!!! *sneezes loudly*

Sita: *coughs loudly* Oh god, my throat...

Blake: *opens bedroom door* Hey sweeties. How are feeling?

Shen: Terrible. Why did we have to get sick a week before Christmas?!

Sita: Yeah! I wanted to help daddy with fhe tree! *pouts*

Blake: It's alright. You can help him next year.

Sita: But I really wanted to do it this year!

Blake: Hmmmm. *snaps fingers* How about I tell you two a story?

Sita: Ooooh!

Shen: Okay. *leans in*

Blake: It's about your father and I's first Christmas.

[Vale City - 13 years ago]

Sun and Blake wrapped their arms around each other as they walked down the street. Blake was really excited to show Sun Avalon Park.

Blake: Come on! Hurry up!

Sun: Alright, I'm coming. *chuckles* I've never seen you this excited before. What's going on?

Blake: You'll see!

As Blake and Sun carried on, snow started falling from the sky and decorated Vale in a beautul white landscape. The closer the two of them got to Avalon Park, the more crowded it seemed to become. Blake grumbled as she struggled to move through.

Blake: Damn it!

Sun: It's okay, babe. Whatever it is, we can see it tomorrow.

Blake: No! It has to be today. *spots tree* Hold on! Sun, let's climb up that tree!

Sun: Wait- aaaaaagh!!! *dragged by Blake*

Sun's arm was nearly pulled from his socket as Blake sprinted to the closest tree. She hastily climbed up and Sun followed. He was about to ask her what was going on until he heard the crowd cheering. He turned around and saw that the Silver Tree had been decorated... and it looked absolutely beautiful. Hanging among the branches were wonderful Christmas ornaments, each one a statue based on Vale's most revered Huntsmen and Huntresses. Chief among them was Nicholas the Merry, wearing a red suit and white beard. Sun's jaw was wide open with glee, making Blake smile.

Sun: Wow... this is magnificent.

Blake: *smiles* I told you you'd like it. *holds his hand* Merry Christmas, Sun.

Sun: Merry Christmas, Blake.

As the crowd continued cheering, Sun and Blake leaned in and kissed each other lovingly.

[Present day]

Blake: And that's what happened.

Sita: Wow! That was a great story, mom!

Shen: I'll say!

Blake: *laughs* I'll say. This time of year is always special to me. It's the time when your father told me that he loved me. *blushes*

[Downstairs]

Sun: There we go!

Sun stood back as he gazed at is masterpiece; a fully decorated Christmas Tree.

Sun: And God said 'let there be light!'