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What I expect to see:

The reveal of the Summer Maiden- Okay, first and foremost, this is something we've been waiting to find out for years and none of us have a single clue who she might be. Obviously CRWBY can't keep dragging it out forever, so I'm like 99% sure we'll get the reveal at some point during this season. I'm still holding out on my theory about Maria Calavera being the Summer Maiden, but hey, I'm just so curious to find out the Summer Maiden's true identity because that's one of the biggest secrets in the series and could potentially change the progression of the plot depending on who it is.

Conflict between the people of Vacuo and the refugees of Atlas- There's been a very prominent clash between Atlas and Vacuo for generations, mostly stemmed from the prejudice and discriminatory treatment of the Faunus in Atlas. I don't think the people of Vacuo are going to be very welcoming to the Atlesians arrival at all. It's not like they'll outright deny them political asylum, but I definitely expect there to be friction. Then again, I could be proven wrong and everyone decides to put their differences aside so they can focus on the greater threat of Salem, but I kind of find it unlikely because of the negative history of both Kingdoms.

Team CFVY and Team SSSN reunion- Listen, I miss team CFVY and SSSN terribly. I couldn't get enough of them when I read their novels, but I think everyone can agree it's long overdo for them to appear on screen again. And technically, according to their latest novel, they would still be in Vacuo by the time team RWBY arrives, so to not include them at all or even mention them in Volume 10 would be such a shame in my opinion. I'd love to see how they've grown not just as individuals, but as teams and witness more of their current dynamics with each other.

Raven and Blake officially meet- This is a confrontation I've been wanting to see since Vol. 5 because I JUST KNOW Blake has some not-so-kind words to share with Raven that she's been holding back for a while. Those two had a chance to meet and barely missed each other and I never figured out the reason for that, but now I understand why. They were always destined to meet after Yang and Blake became romantically involved. I have no doubts Raven won't care when she finds out Blake is dating her daughter, but the fact that Blake is dating one of her teammates is what she'd disapprove of. She'd definitely point out how it didn't work out for her when she was with Tai and Summer too if you're a Rosebird truther like I am and that Blake shouldn't expect her relationship with Yang to last because of it. The angst and drama of it all is something I would absolutely eat up!

The Branwen twins make amends- It's inevitable. Qrow and Raven are bound to encounter each other again in Volume 10. The last time they crossed paths, they swore that they'd kill each other if it happened again. Was this ever going to happen? No. Definitely not. Now, when I say they'll make amends, I don't mean they're going to forgive and consider each other as family again. I think they'll both mutually agree that they'll let go of all their past endeavors and go their separate ways for good. Like a permanent truce of sorts. I believe the same is going to apply to Yang and Raven. Half of me wants to say that Raven is going to reach out to Yang and basically tell her "I know I wasn't there for you before, but I'm here for you now" and realistically, Yang wouldn't accept that. She might be willing to forgive her, but to accept Raven into her life and view her as her mom? Yang would never do that. With that said, Raven has surprised us before, so she could be going to Vacuo for a completely unrelated reason. She might not even know that Team RWBY "died". Either way, I need to see her and Qrow bicker with each other again for old times sake.

Ozpin admits he knows about the Ever After- That damn old man has been around long enough to have at least studied the Ever After if not visited it himself. In Vol. 9, the Blacksmith confirmed that Alyx and Lewis weren't the first humans to have visited the Ever After, so that really makes me wonder just how many had stumbled across it. Surely Ozpin had to have been one of them, so why didn't he ever mention such an important detail to team RWBY after promising not to keep secrets from them anymore? Its literally the birthplace of the gods! I know this is more of a minor nit-picky plot thing, but I am genuinely interested to find out what he knows about the Ever After.

Professor Theodore is Lewis- Speaking of the Ever After, we never find out what happens to Lewis once he returns to Remnant to write the Girl Who Fell Through the World. We now know Alyx didn't write it after all since she sacrificed herself so Lewis could leave, but something doesn't add up to me about how his story was concluded. Now, I have no evidence to back this theory whatsoever except for the fact that Lewis and Professor Theodore are similar in physical appearances, and timeline wise, Lewis would be fully grown by Volume 10 since it's confirmed he published the same book that everyone from Team RWBY read as kids. And the fact that Lewis is confirmed to be a book worm and very smart, that would coincide nicely if he were also the headmaster of one of the most renounced academies in Remnant. So, who knows? I just think it'd be hilarious if Jaune or someone from Team RWBY makes the connection that Professor Theodore is Lewis because of his reading glasses or something he says.

Salem has a hidden army of Hounds- So we all know she got her ass smacked in Vol. 8, which means she's likely low on Grimm defenses. However, we also know her experiment with turning silver eyed warriors into Grimm amalgams was a huge success for her. These things can SPEAK. They can THINK for themselves. They're VERY intelligent. This brings up a major moral obligation for Huntsman and Huntresses because no other Grimm are like this. Could they be saved and reverted back to their old human selves or is the transformation permanent? I need these questions to be answered. Most likely, she's been experimenting for many many years with turning humans into Grimm, but y'know, trial and error and such. When she sent that particular Hound after Oscar and it did its job more than well, it confirmed that they'd prove to be useful in the long run. If CRWBY were cruel, which they historically have been known to be, they could totally reveal that Summer Rose was turned into a Hound. I've seen a ton of people theorize about this one and I'm in complete agreement, but I haven't seen a lot of discussions about Salem having an actual Hound army, but it would make perfect sense. Silver eyed warriors are said to be extremely rare on Remnant in the modern age, and this would certainly explain why.

Winter Schnee takes over as General- I, for one, am so glad Ironwood is gone and out of the picture. I was never fond of his character from the beginning. I felt his death was handled justly and wouldn't have had it any other way. Now that he's no longer head in command over what's left of Atlas, the Atlesians are going to need a leader who they can trust to guide them. Also, no offense to the remaining Ace Ops, but none of them are fit for the position. Only Winter is. She's got the Maiden powers now too on top of that, so why wouldn't she take over as General too? I think "General Schnee" has a nice ring to it as well, don't you?

Jaune retains his mental instability- This is kind of a big one that I really hope gets explored more in Vol. 10. It would kind of irk me if he reverted back to how he was pre-Vol. 9. For all intents and purposes, he's now a middle aged man trapped in the body of a guy in his early twenties. To have him not act like it and pretend those years never happened would be a big let down for me. I hope someone from his team notices just how much he's changed and I REALLY hope someone (probably Ren) notices exactly how mentally unstable his experience in the Ever After made him. He's not the same person anymore and it should be treated that way.

Tyrian dies- That bastard needs to go. I don't think there's a single person who'd disagree. I keep jumping back and forth between not caring how he dies as long as it happens or having him suffer a fate that does his character absolute justice. The best outcome I can think of that I feel would work the best not just for him, but also to show how Salem has completely and utterly lost all sense of her humanity and empathy, is having her kill him. She technically doesn't need to raise a finger to do it either. If he makes her mad enough, all she needs to do is say: "Tyrian, the only way you can please me now is if you stopped breathing." He would 100% end his own life if it's what his queen wanted and I wouldn't be opposed to that outcome it at all.

Collecting all 4 Relics becomes the new priority for both sides- Salem already has half of the relics. Since we already know the Relic of Destruction is at Shade Academy, which is now protected more than ever, she's probably going to assign Cinder to find the Relic of Choice that's still in Beacon Academy's vault, all while she wreaks havoc upon the people of Vacuo in every way that she can. I'm sure Ozpin has surely been considering both of those things, which means someone is going to have to hunt Cinder down and potentially kill her/inherit the Fall Maiden powers. Now, if the "Team RWBY becomes the last generation of Maidens" theory is true, then my best guess is Blake would probably be the one to hunt her down. It's the only way to keep Cinder from getting the Relic of Choice back to Salem.

What I WANT to see:

Exploration of Vacuo and Shade Academy- Given the fact that Volume 9 was only ten episodes long, I worry for the length of Volume 10 because there is a lot of questions that need to be answered and so much of the plot that still needs to be tied together. I'm hoping we get closer to fifteen to twenty episodes, but I don't know how realistic that actually is. I'm not even sure if we'll get any extra volumes after this one at this point. With that said, I would love to learn more about the culture and history of Vacuo, even if it's kept brief. There's a lot that can be done with that, including the introduction of new types of Grimm.

Jaune retires- Look. I have nothing against Jaune. I totally like the guy. However, I no longer believe he's fit to lead his team anymore. Even though his body will be the same age as the rest of his teammates, he will never be the same age as them mentally/emotionally. Like I mentioned earlier, I think it's going to be Ren who points it out because he's the only one who can actually read Jaune's emotions and will know it's time for him to step down. There would be no shame in doing that. I think the best thing for Jaune's character at this point in his life is to reconnect with the rest of his family or stay with Sapphire and Terracotta for a while until the war with Salem is over. After everything he's been through and witnessed, he deserves a break. Let the Rusted Knight rest! He deserves it!

Oscar becomes the new leader for Team JNPR- With Jaune stepping down, this would open up the position for team leader, but who would accept the job? Emerald is out of the question. She's too new and needs to gain the trust of the team before she would even be considered for that type of role. Ren and Nora, although both headstrong and more than capable of a leadership position if they had to, probably wouldn't want to take on that kind of a responsibility. They'd much rather prefer someone else to call all the shots and have them follow, since that's what they're already used to and work best doing. That leaves Oscar as the final option. Not only does he have active combat experience, but he's also been with the entire crew since Volume 6, which makes him more than trust worthy. Even though everyone still has mixed emotions about Ozpin, nobody can deny his life experiences and knowledge will greatly assist Oscar in making team decisions. Yes, Oscar is considerably younger than the rest of the team, but four years won't mean much once he's an adult like the rest of them. Besides, Ruby's the youngest on Team RWBY and she's the leader, so that's a nice parallel to think about as well. Also, if Oscar were to become leader, the new team name would be: OREN. Interestingly enough, the name "Oren" means "Pine tree" or "Ash" in Hebrew, which I find to be such a bizarre coincidence because Oscar's last name is Pine and it wouldn't break the tradition of the team name being based off of a color either.

Team RWBY's parents meet each other- I'm certain the moment the girls parents find out they aren't dead, they're going to want to see their daughters right away. Raven and Willow are already in Vacuo, but Tai, Ghira, and Kali will definitely want to see their kids too, so I hope we'll get to see a nice family reunion and have everyone's parents officially meet. This leaves room for some heavy Tai/Raven drama and angst since those two haven't seen each other in a couple decades. I am particularly curious to see his reaction to Blake dating Yang, along with Ghira and Kali's reactions. I'd just love it if Yang acted like her goofy awkward self and reached out to shake Ghira's hand, but he smiles and gives her a big hug instead. I really want to see more wholesome moments in this upcoming Volume to break the dark and heavy themes from the previous two.

Plenty of Bumblby scenes- It would be extremely disappointing if we don't see the bees being two idiots hopelessly in love throughout Volume 10. I better see some major hand-holding, hugs, longing glances, stolen kisses, and sweet-talking from them or else what's even the point? Yang and Blake truly deserve some happier moments together. It's not hard to add these kinds of things and it would have such a big impact too. At the end of the day, I have no doubts that those two WILL get their happily ever after, but I don't want it to be implied. I want to see so much of their love on-screen that it makes me sick.

Whiterose moments/confirmation- I have been a Whiterose shipper since Volume 1, so my fingers are crossed that Ruby and Weiss still have a romantic storyline in the future but won't be upset if it doesn't end up happening. Even if it becomes implicitly canon, I'd be more than satisfied with that. To be honest, if they don't end up with each other by the end of the show, I kind of hope neither of them end up with anyone else. There aren't any other characters who have the extent of history or emotional development that Weiss and Ruby have with each other. Frankly, I hate it when shows throw in a last minute lover for one of the main characters. It lacks depth, the audience is left to interpret the relationship dynamics, and the lover's personality will always be a mystery. To me, it just feels cheap. On a similar note, I'll respect the decision of CRWBY if they decide to pair Weiss with another character like Jaune and leave Ruby single, but I wouldn't like it very much. I'd rather both of them remain single instead of initiating a random relationship out of nowhere with one of the other side characters/supporting cast. Now back to Whiterose, I need to see Weiss voice her concern for Ruby's newfound carefree attitude on the battlefield. I need to see Ruby defend Weiss when someone mocks her for being a Schnee. I need tender moments between them when they need to break away from the world's problems happening all around them. Just the two of them as partners. Cracking jokes, laughing together, sharing their hopes and dreams for the future, and talking about their feelings. If Whiterose actually became canon, I really think it would compliment the other canon pairings in the show as well. Jaune had Pyrrha, Ren has Nora, Blake finally has Yang ... Ruby and Weiss are next. I'm manifesting it. Also, RWBY would officially make LGBTQ+ history where all four main characters of a well-known American animation are in a canon wlw relationship and that is such a huge win in my eyes.

Penny is given a proper memorial- Nobody has had time nor the opportunity to properly grieve the loss of Penny, especially Ruby. It would be really cool if the people of Vacuo already set up a memorial for Penny when Team RWBY arrives, but I'd also think it would be more meaningful if we get a scene where Ruby can get a private moment to herself/with her teammates so she can just cry and let out all of her pent up emotions. She needs to experience that in order to move on and heal from losing Penny not just once, but twice. CRWBY was so mean for doing that to us.

The Relic of Destruction is used against Salem's forces- One solution to the Hound situation might lie with the Relic of Destruction. We know little to nothing about it, but my best bet is it's capable of taking out numbers of Grimm (and people too probably) in ways no huntsman or huntress can dream to accomplish in their lifetime. Because its magical, I'm guessing that also means it can separate the Grimm portion of the Hounds and restore the silver eyed warriors to how they once were. I don't think that means their scars will be healed and their minds might not be the same, but at least they'd be free. The only downside to this is the Relic of Destruction would make whoever is wielding it vulnerable, but that's a given with any of the Relics. I also can't wait to see the spirit who resides in the Relic of Destruction. I think they'll have red/orange skin compared to Ambrosius and Jinn's blue skin. I would be absolutely over the moon if it was an energetic and buff lady spirit, but that's just me!