11Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.
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Hunters and Weapons
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Sometimes, Ruby likes to think she and Crescent Rose are the same.
Even among Hunter weapons, Crescent Rose is a special one, dazzling in its uniqueness, overwhelming in its lethality, and exuberant to the extreme. It is the product of many sleepless nights, countless blueprints, and dozens of failed experiments. In it, Ruby put her dreams and aspirations, her frustrations and desires.
In Ruby's mind, Crescent Rose is the symbol of everything a Hunter should be, the epitome of coolness and strength. When she wields it, Ruby is the Huntress she wishes to be instead of that weak, lonely first-year student at Signal. A pure red rose that blooms in the battlefield.
However, Ruby Rose is neither scythe nor a gun.
Ruby Rose is a sword, true and enduring. Simple in design yet boundless in possibility.
A simple, honest weapon for a simple, honest soul.
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Myrtenaster lacks a hidden blade.
The moment Weiss first sees her sister fighting in the Vytal Tournament is the moment Weiss decides that is who she aspires to be. A single elegant blade standing supreme against all foes. Indeed, Myrtenaster is designed to be everything Winter's blade is and more.
Except it lacks a hidden blade.
Weiss knows it is there because her sister uses it once against her in a spar. Weiss thought she had an opening. She ended with a blade a hair's breadth away from her throat instead. Weiss thinks about adding that feature to Myrtenaster. She considers it, and in the end, she cannot bring herself to do it. That blade represents a side of Winter that is just not in her.
Instead, Myrtenaster boldly proclaims what it is. There is no hidden side to it. The beautiful blade will not change its shape. The Dust that can power the weapon at a moment's notice is plain to see to anyone that bothers to look at the hilt.
It costs money to keep Myrtenaster well-supplied, but it doesn't matter. Weiss can afford it because she is a Schnee, and her Semblance can make the best use of the Dust in her weapon because she is a Schnee. Myrtenaster does not hide anything about its wielder. It proudly announces her to the world. As long as its wielder is Weiss Schnee, it can adapt to any situation. As long as its wielder is Weiss Schnee, it can defeat any foe.
Myrtenaster is an oath to perfection. Weiss intends to keep it.
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Gambol Shroud is a gun that is cleaver that is a katana that is a chain scythe.
It is not that way at first. In the beginning, Gambol Shroud is very similar to Adam's Wilt and Blush, a sword and a gun. It is Adam who teaches Blake how to fight, and it is Adam she admires. He is Justice. To fight like he does is only natural.
Things change.
Even now, Blake is not exactly sure when the change starts. All she knows is that at some point she is not holding signs, she is attacking stores and fighting robots. The chain scythe is added when she needs more mobility and edge to her fighting style. The sheath turns into a cleaver when that is not enough, and the robots start attacking to kill instead of capture.
Gambol Shroud keeps changing, in big ways, in small ways. It is a weapon that struggles to adapt to a changing world. It is the weapon of someone who keeps questioning her place in that world. Activist. Revolutionary. Terrorist. Huntress. Princess.
Blake struggles to find herself, always managing to run in the wrong direction until she can't do it anymore.
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Yang is a natural fighter.
Unlike Ruby, Yang excels right away. She takes to her father's lessons like a fish to water. She grows and grows, and Taiyang has no reason to stop teaching her. By the time she enters Signal, Yang is already superior to even second-year students in power, battle sense, and technique.
In a sense, Ember Celica only adds to what is already a first-rate weapon. Yang's body has been honed to perfection, every move practiced dozens of times, every form mastered. With Ember Celica in her fists, Yang gains options. The weapon adds power to her strikes, and the Dust rounds allow her fists to reach places they couldn't before.
It is such a pity the gap her mother left in her heart is not one of them.
Yang is a closed fist yearning for an open hand that will never come.
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Ren uses Storm Flower for efficiency and little else.
The blades help with close combat. The guns give him ranged options. Its mecha-shift ability allows him to hide the weapon under his sleeves.
In the end, Ren ends up killing as many Grimm with his bare hands as he does with Storm Flower. In the end, Ren is not Storm Flower. Ren is the knife his father left behind.
Sharp, subtle, and deadly. Woe to anyone who turns that blade against their person.
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Milo and Akouo are one of a kind.
Akouo stays the reliable shield. Milo shifts from sword to javelin to riffle yet never looks awkward doing so. Each change is seamless. Each form brims with elegance. In a world of exotic weapons, Milo and Akouo radiate class.
Pyrrha does not strive for grace in her fights. She does not pursue beauty and elegance. In her quest for efficiency, she finds them regardless, because Pyrrha is that good. She is the Invincible Girl, and none can compare to her.
At the beginning and the end, Pyrrha stands alone.
Milo burns for duty and responsibility. Akouo stays behind for love.
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Magnhild strikes hard, strikes true, strikes pink.
It is not a weapon of subtlety. It is not a weapon of grace. It is a weapon of power, and that suits Nora to a tee. Nora is a creature of power. It flows through her body like the lightning her Semblance turns into strength. Nora does not shy away from it. She embraces it.
Nora fights with power and, some would even say, with brutality. For the sake of her loved ones, there is no amount of legs she won't break.
Nora fights utterly unashamed of who she is.
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Jaune is not Crocea Mors. He is not the sword, straight and true. He is not the stalwart shield.
Jaune gains skill with both, and the ancestral weapon does its best for the youngest Arc. However, as much as Jaune wishes it, it is not the person he is at his core. It is not the person he is now, and it is not the person he will become.
Jaune is an arrow.
The bow is still unsteady. It trembles with fear, self-loathing, and regret.
One day the bow will stop trembling, and Jaune will see himself and the world around him with clarity. On that day, he will see his target, and the arrow will fly, and it shall not miss.
Great things will happen that day.
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