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* BookEnds: The first and the final chapter both open on a FakeOutOpening of a battle eerily similar to one in the show, which turns out to merely be a sparring match.
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* FakeOutOpening: The first chapter opens on Cinder fighting Rhodes in what seems to be a retread of their dramatic fight in the episode ''Midnight''. Turns out that Cinder is 17, soon to be attending Atlas, and they are merely having a sparring match.
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* FakeOutOpening: FakeOutOpening:
** The first chapter opens on Cinder fighting Rhodes in what seems to be a retread of their dramatic fight in the episode ''Midnight''. Turns out that Cinder is 17, soon to be attending Atlas, and they are merely having a sparringmatch.match.
** The last chapter opens on what appears to be May's assassination of the Fall Maiden, but turns out to be training for the real deal with Salem.
** The first chapter opens on Cinder fighting Rhodes in what seems to be a retread of their dramatic fight in the episode ''Midnight''. Turns out that Cinder is 17, soon to be attending Atlas, and they are merely having a sparring
** The last chapter opens on what appears to be May's assassination of the Fall Maiden, but turns out to be training for the real deal with Salem.
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* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In chapter 31, Marrow, Winter and Cinder have a mutual one. Cinder and Marrow accuse Winter of being naïve and unwilling to accept [[spoiler:[[DeathFakedForYou Marigold's death]]. Winter and Marrow call Cinder out for being an incessant rules heckler who never even tried to be close with her team, only playing nice with them if they did as she asked, and being so mindlessly obedient that she didn't even support May when she was objecting to war crimes]].
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* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
** May gives on to Ironwood in "Janus", calling out all the horrific civil rights violations she saw evidence of in the Janus archive, the fact that Ironwood collaborated with Jacques Schnee to break up unions, the [[spoiler:false accusations]] of Amarillo Suadere, and the many, ''many'' censored documents indicating even worse things. [[spoiler:It gets her blackbagged and sent to a secret prison]].
** In chapter 31, Marrow, Winter and Cinder have a mutual one. Cinder and Marrow accuse Winter of being naïve and unwilling to accept [[spoiler:[[DeathFakedForYou Marigold's death]]. Winter and Marrow call Cinder out for being an incessant rules heckler who never even tried to be close with her team, only playing nice with them if they did as she asked, and being so mindlessly obedient that she didn't even support May when she was objecting to warcrimes]].crimes]].
** Qrow Branwen gives one to Ironwood in the final chapter, pointing out how [[spoiler:killing Amarillo]] would only cause more trouble and caused the loss of a possible asset. He also peppers in complaints about Ironwood's generally authoritarian methods.
** May gives on to Ironwood in "Janus", calling out all the horrific civil rights violations she saw evidence of in the Janus archive, the fact that Ironwood collaborated with Jacques Schnee to break up unions, the [[spoiler:false accusations]] of Amarillo Suadere, and the many, ''many'' censored documents indicating even worse things. [[spoiler:It gets her blackbagged and sent to a secret prison]].
** In chapter 31, Marrow, Winter and Cinder have a mutual one. Cinder and Marrow accuse Winter of being naïve and unwilling to accept [[spoiler:[[DeathFakedForYou Marigold's death]]. Winter and Marrow call Cinder out for being an incessant rules heckler who never even tried to be close with her team, only playing nice with them if they did as she asked, and being so mindlessly obedient that she didn't even support May when she was objecting to war
** Qrow Branwen gives one to Ironwood in the final chapter, pointing out how [[spoiler:killing Amarillo]] would only cause more trouble and caused the loss of a possible asset. He also peppers in complaints about Ironwood's generally authoritarian methods.
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* FakeOutOpening: The first chapter opens on Cinder fighting Rhodes in what seems to be a retread of their dramatic fight in the episode ''Midnight''. Turns out that Cinder is 17, soon to be attending Atlas, and they are merely having a sparring match.
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* WriteWhatYouKnow: The fic is tagged as "Canon Trans Character" and "Equally Trans Author". The author also states that May's TransTribulations and Salem's manipulations are based on her own experiences.
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* SinsOfOurFathers: Keegan Athery, the leader of team KROT, is obsessed with the Great War and hates CASM because they're from Atlas, the successor state to the Kingdom of Mantle that Vale fought in the war.
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* SinsOfOurFathers: Keegan Athery, the leader Tobias of team KROT, is obsessed with the Great War and hates CASM because they're from Atlas, the successor state to the Kingdom of Mantle that Vale fought in the war.
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''Holding the World on their Shoulders'' follows the events of the au up until the events that happen in the show, with a planned sequel featuring the events of the show itself.
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''Holding the World on their Shoulders'' follows the events of the au up until the events that happen in the show, with a planned the sequel featuring ''Fanfic/{{Reignfall}}'' following the events of the show itself.
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* SpecialThanks: The endnotes of the final chapter, "At risk of potentially sounding pretentious for what is the endnotes of a fanfiction", has thanks given to the author's friends, fiancee, author of ''Blackened Bluebird'' and artist that inspired Winter and Cinder's designs.
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* EvilIsBurningHot: The Dark Continent, where Salem (and later May) lives, is described as swelteringly hot.
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** The combat school in Mantle is named Prometheus. In Greek myth, the titan Prometheus gave Fire to mankind, giving them the tools to survive, but in doing so angered Zeus, who punished Prometheus severely. The combat school Prometheus equipped the people of Mantle with the knowldge and tools to protect themselves, but when some of its graduates defies Atlas, it angers Ironwood, who has Prometheus shut down and its teachers arrested.
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** The combat school in Mantle is named Prometheus. In Greek myth, the titan Prometheus gave Fire to mankind, giving them the tools to survive, but in doing so angered Zeus, who punished Prometheus severely. The combat school Prometheus equipped the people of Mantle with the knowldge and tools to protect themselves, but when some of its graduates defies Atlas, it [[spoiler:it angers Ironwood, who has Prometheus shut down and its teachers arrested.arrested]].
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** The combat school in Mantle is named Prometheus. In Greek myth, the titan Prometheus gave Fire to mankind, giving them the tools to survive, but in doing so angered Zeus, who punished Prometheus severely. The combat school Prometheus equipped the people of Mantle with the knowldge and tools to protect themselves, but when some of its graduates defies Atlas, it angers Ironwood, who has Prometheus shut down and its teachers arrested.
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''Holding the World on their Shoulders'' follows the events of the au up until the events that happen in the show, with a planned sequel featuring the events of the show itself.
* BreatherEpisode: Between each major storybeat, there are a few chapters detailing May and her ex-friends hanging out and not doing anything while the major players are active. In an unusual twist, the ''final chapter'' is a breather episode, mostly setting up for the sequel with very few major story beats happening.
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* DoorStopper: Not egregiously so, but at 480,000 words split across 51 (so far) chapters, it's the length of a respectable epic.
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* DoorStopper: Not egregiously so, but at 480,000 560,000 words split across 51 (so far) 58 chapters, it's the length of a respectable epic.epic, and that's not even counting in the sequel.
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* ShipTease: While it's not tagged as such, the fic contains strong leanings towards Hellbore (Winter/May). May is closer with Winter than any other member of team CASM, they frequently have private talks about their respective issues from being raised in abusive enviroments, Winter even mistakenly thinks May asked her out on a date once, and [[spoiler:Winter is the first person May comes out to. Finally goes beyond mere teasing in chapter 47, which features a DreamWorld built on May's view of a perfect world. Not only are May and Winter dating in it, but after the illusion falls apart, May admits that she was in love with Winter]].
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* ShipTease: While it's not The fic features a lot for Hellbore (Winter/May) and is even tagged as such, the fic contains strong leanings towards Hellbore (Winter/May).such. May is closer with Winter than any other member of team CASM, they frequently have private talks about their respective issues from being raised in abusive enviroments, Winter even mistakenly thinks May asked her out on a date once, and [[spoiler:Winter is the first person May comes out to. Finally goes beyond mere teasing in chapter 47, which features a DreamWorld built on May's view of a perfect world. Not only are May and Winter dating in it, but after the illusion falls apart, May admits that she was in love with Winter]].
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* AdaptationalContextChange: Cinder still [[spoiler:loses an eye, but in this continuity it's taken out by an arrow from May, rather than Ruby's silver eyes]].
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** Amarillo [[spoiler:had just decided to defect from Salem and tell Ozpin everything he knows about her plans when Cinder catches up with and kills him on Ironwood's orders]].
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** The doppler grimm Salem is seen working on in the early chapters come back in chapter 57 as [[spoiler:the means by which Salem will have May steal the Maiden powers]].
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** The doppler grimm Salem is seen working on in the early chapters come back in chapter 57 56 as [[spoiler:the means by which Salem will have May steal the Maiden powers]].
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* RudelyHangingUp: PlayedForDrama. When calling to inform Amarillo of [[spoiler:Cassia, Barry and Silver's deaths]], May hangs up as soon as he mentions the Happy Huntresses.
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* ChekhovsGun: The charybdis grimm May encounters in Vacuo ends up [[spoiler:excavating enough of the buried temple she couldn't get into on her own]].
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* ChekhovsGun: ChekhovsGun:
** The charybdis grimm May encounters in Vacuo ends up [[spoiler:excavating enough of the buried temple she couldn't get into on herown]].own]].
** The doppler grimm Salem is seen working on in the early chapters come back in chapter 57 as [[spoiler:the means by which Salem will have May steal the Maiden powers]].
** The charybdis grimm May encounters in Vacuo ends up [[spoiler:excavating enough of the buried temple she couldn't get into on her
** The doppler grimm Salem is seen working on in the early chapters come back in chapter 57 as [[spoiler:the means by which Salem will have May steal the Maiden powers]].
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* NightmareSequence: Chapter 42 ends with May suffering a nightmare where she and Winter try to escape from the Marigold manor, helped by the Happy Huntresses, only for them all to leave her behind and mock her. It not-so-subtly reflects how she is starting to feel about her old friends, however unjustified.
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* NightmareSequence: NightmareSequence:
** Chapter 42 ends with May suffering a nightmare where she and Winter try to escape from the Marigold manor, helped by the Happy Huntresses, only for them all to leave her behind and mock her. It not-so-subtly reflects how she is starting to feel about her old friends, howeverunjustified.unjustified.
** Chapter 56 has May suffer a nightmare about her various anxieties and traumas. First, she sees the Happy Huntresses in a bar in Mantle being happy that they got rid of her, then [[spoiler:Emerald, Cassia and Silver dying]], and finally Cinder accusing her of being responsible for their deaths]].
** Chapter 42 ends with May suffering a nightmare where she and Winter try to escape from the Marigold manor, helped by the Happy Huntresses, only for them all to leave her behind and mock her. It not-so-subtly reflects how she is starting to feel about her old friends, however
** Chapter 56 has May suffer a nightmare about her various anxieties and traumas. First, she sees the Happy Huntresses in a bar in Mantle being happy that they got rid of her, then [[spoiler:Emerald, Cassia and Silver dying]], and finally Cinder accusing her of being responsible for their deaths]].
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** [[spoiler:Cinder]] meets Fria the Winter Maiden years before she (or Winter) would in canon.
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** [[spoiler:Cinder]] Cinder meets Fria the Winter Maiden years before she (or Winter) would in canon.
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* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:Cinder and May are both chosen as inheritors of the Maiden powers. Downplayed in that the people who choose them are, respectively, a very fallible mortal and a DarkMessiah and it's framed less like a quirk of destiny and more like grooming]].
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* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:Cinder Cinder and May are both chosen as inheritors of the Maiden powers. Downplayed in that the people who choose them are, respectively, a very fallible mortal and a DarkMessiah and it's framed less like a quirk of destiny and more like grooming]].grooming.
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** The Janus incident also means that [[spoiler:Cinder learns about the Maidens and the Relics far earlier than Winter did in the show]].
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** The Janus incident also means that [[spoiler:Cinder Cinder learns about the Maidens and the Relics far earlier than Winter did in the show]].show.
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* LegacyCharacter: Maidens, as per canon, passes their powers onto someone else when they die, either the person they think about when they die if they qualify, or someone random if they don't. The fic also runs with the idea that [[spoiler:the Maiden powers originate not from Ozma [[SuperEmpowering empowering worthy mortals]], but from Salem and Ozma's children, who inherited part of their father's ResurrectiveImmortality causing their powers (but not souls) to reincarnate]]. The fic shows the previous Fall Maiden pass her powers along to Amber, and May and [[spoiler:Cinder]] are both being groomed as Maidens.
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* LegacyCharacter: Maidens, as per canon, passes their powers onto someone else when they die, either the person they think about when they die if they qualify, or someone random if they don't. The fic also runs with the idea that [[spoiler:the Maiden powers originate not from Ozma [[SuperEmpowering empowering worthy mortals]], but from Salem and Ozma's children, who inherited part of their father's ResurrectiveImmortality causing their powers (but not souls) to reincarnate]]. The fic shows the previous Fall Maiden pass her powers along to Amber, and May and [[spoiler:Cinder]] Cinder are both being groomed as Maidens.
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* GainingTheWillToKill: Salem wants her maiden to be willing to kill, so part of her training of May involves pushing her towards being more ruthless and embracing her anger. May is initially horrified when she kills someone for the first time, but later [[spoiler:only barely stops herself from killing Cinder]].
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* GainingTheWillToKill: Salem wants her maiden to be willing to kill, so part of her training of May involves pushing her towards being more ruthless and embracing her anger. May is initially horrified when she kills someone for the first time, but later [[spoiler:only barely stops and [[spoiler:stops herself from killing Cinder]].Cinder]], but finally crosses the line with [[spoiler:Juni, killing her out of anger and spite after Juni kills several of May's companions]].
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* InternalReveal: May and the Happy Huntresses learn the truth about various things at different paces, leading to a lot of this. It takes until chapter 55 for the HH to learn that [[spoiler:aura dampeners are essentially torture devices, whereas May has known that since chapter 27]].
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* {{Panacea}}: The third artifact May recovers, the Amulet of Protection, can heal any wound or disease short of death. [[spoiler:She uses it to save Emerald from a lethal poisoning, but is too late to save her other companions]].
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* RageBreakingPoint: May reaches hers in chapter 55, after [[spoiler:Juni Syntrichia kills Barry, Silver and Cassia, and fatally poisons Emerald. She goes completely feral and murders Juni in anger, rather than desperation as her previous kill had been]].
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* VengeanceFeelsEmpty: In Solitas, Juni admits to herself that she has no idea what to actually do once she kills May, since she has nothing to return to, but decides that she has come too far. [[spoiler:She never gets the chance to find out, since May kills her first]].
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* KingOfTheDinosaurs: [[spoiler:The grimm guarding the silent archive is modeled after a t-rex]].
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** Cinder has it similarily. Her parental figures include the physically abusive Madame and the emotionally distant Rhodes, leaving her clinging to any paternal approval from Ironwood.
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** Cinder has it similarily. Her parental figures include the physically abusive Madame and the emotionally distant Rhodes, leaving her clinging to any paternal approval from Ironwood. [[WordOfGod The author has stated that Cinder's relationship to Ironwood was foreshadowing for May and Salem.]]
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** Along with Marigold and Ottendorf (the union organizer), the [[spoiler:Cerberus innmates]] Clover lists are [[VideoGame/{{Overwatch}} Lacroix]], [[Film/TheSuicideSquad Cazo, Lawton]] and [[ComicBook/HarleyQuinn Quinzell]].
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* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Ladon Marigold blackmailing May from going into Mantle with the Happy Huntresses contributes to her depression and makes it easier for Salem to {{Gaslight}} her into thinking the HH never cared, which is a big part of her becoming a FallenHero.
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* MundaneUtility: It's suggested at a few points that [[spoiler:the mirror of reflection]] could be used to both instantly clean up and apply makeup, though both are [[SubvertedTrope deemed too costly in aura]].
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* MirrorCharacter: May and Cinder have strong parallels in their respective arcs, and notably are both driving forces in each other's fall from grace. [[spoiler:May initially falls into Salem's hand because Cinder didn't take her side when she was arrested. This leads to May's corruption arc, including shooting out Cinder's eye in retribution, which in turn leads to Cinder getting a prosthetic that can see through May's [[{{Invisibility}} Semblance]]. May's preference for ShockAndAwe for her Maiden powers also stems from her anger at Atlas, which Cinder was part of, unintentionally giving her the ability to press Cinder's TraumaButton. Every step of the way, Cinder and May push each other to become worse and arm each other to better fight one another]].
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* DreamSequence: Chapter 47 is one long one, induced by Salem to help May embrace her anger. [[spoiler:It depicts a perfect world where May is living openly as a woman and in a happy relationship with Winter, Ironwood, his lackeys and Jacques have been arrested for their crimes thanks to Ozpin, the Marigolds are both accepting of May being a woman and have decided to stop exploiting Mantle, Winter's family are happy and contributing to building up Mantle, and Amarillo is the new headmaster of Atlas with Marrow as his right hand man. When the dream finally breaks (just as Ladon Marigold was about to call May "daughter"), May directs her anger and grief at Winter, the Happy Huntresses, Marrow and Ozpin. [[JustAsPlanned Exactly as Salem hoped she would]]]].
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* LotusEaterMachine: Chapter 47 is one long one, induced by Salem to help May embrace her anger. [[spoiler:It depicts a perfect world where May is living openly as a woman and in a happy relationship with Winter, Ironwood, his lackeys and Jacques have been arrested for their crimes thanks to Ozpin, the Marigolds are both accepting of May being a woman and have decided to stop exploiting Mantle, Winter's family are happy and contributing to building up Mantle, and Amarillo is the new headmaster of Atlas with Marrow as his right hand man. When the dream finally breaks (just as Ladon Marigold was about to call May "daughter"), May directs her anger and grief at Winter, the Happy Huntresses, Marrow and Ozpin. [[JustAsPlanned Exactly as Salem hoped she would]]]].
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* AlternativeCalendar: Since ''RWBY'' has yet to introduce a canonical calendar for the world of Remnant, the fic uses its own version. Years are measured from the end of the Great War, with time before the Great War being denominated BGW, and years after being denominated AGW. Team CASM is formed in 72 AGW, with the majority of the fic taking place in 73 and 74 AGW. Ruby Rose was born in 65 AGW, and the Fall of Beacon will be in 81 AGW.
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* AlternativeCalendar: Since ''RWBY'' has yet to introduce a canonical calendar for the world of Remnant, the fic uses its own version. Years are measured from the end of the Great War, with time before the Great War being denominated BGW, and years after being denominated AGW. Team CASM is formed in 72 AGW, with the majority of the fic taking place in 73 and 74 AGW. Ruby Rose was born in 65 AGW, and the Fall of Beacon will be in 81 AGW.
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* ShipTease: While it's not tagged as such, the fic contains strong leanings towards Hellbore (Winter/May). May is closer with Winter than any other member of team CASM, they frequently have private talks about their respective issues from being raised in abusive enviroments, Winter even mistakenly thinks May asked her out on a date once, and [[spoiler:Winter is the first person May comes out to. May and Winter are dating in May's perfect world DreamSequence, and, after it is ripped away, she gives an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove]].
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* ShipTease: While it's not tagged as such, the fic contains strong leanings towards Hellbore (Winter/May). May is closer with Winter than any other member of team CASM, they frequently have private talks about their respective issues from being raised in abusive enviroments, Winter even mistakenly thinks May asked her out on a date once, and [[spoiler:Winter is the first person May comes out to. Finally goes beyond mere teasing in chapter 47, which features a DreamWorld built on May's view of a perfect world. Not only are May and Winter are dating in May's perfect world DreamSequence, and, it, but after it is ripped away, the illusion falls apart, May admits that she gives an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove]].was in love with Winter]].
