Flash Stories & Poetry Day 44: Limerick "RWBY Limericks"

 

Hey, everyone.

Well, I wasn't as busy today as yesterday, though I still was busy. I had a job interview and they nearly hired me on the spot, but they're pretty far away. Hopefully, something better comes down the pipeline. And then afterward, I had a to meet a student I'm tutoring in Spanish. Interesting guy; goes to Cuba a lot and wants to learn conversational Spanish. But he'll probably catch on quickly. Anyway...

Wheel of Genres, turn, turn, turn! Tell me the genre I will discern!





Today's style is... Limerick.

Okay, so, sometimes when you're working on one opus, another opus will pop into your head, fully formed without any work. I honestly thought up a limerick in a few seconds. It was about a character from an animated web series called RWBY, which is an anagram of the four main characters first names. And basically the B-character limerick wrote itself, so I'm going to write it down and try to write limericks for the other three... and maybe for some of the other characters. And if you're a fan of RWBY, you'll probably enjoy this immensely.

Thirty minutes on the clock: 30:00. And... go!

I once met a maiden named Ruby,
She said her friend was a booby,
    She was fond of hoods red,
    And making Grimm dead,
And she had a nice booty.

I once knew a princess named Weiss,
She was quite fond of everything ice,
    Her best friend is quaint,
    Despite Weiss' complaint,
But that will have to suffice.

I once met a cat-girl named Blake,
She was what you could call a flake,
    When I asked her her age,
    She said she was a page,
And fought for justice's sake.

I once met a hottie named Yang,
She started the night with a bang,
    She teased with a kiss,
    But served up a diss,
And beat up Junior's gang.

I once met a bitch named Cinder,
Her underlings were two Kinder,
    She was ambitious at best,
    Willing to kill the rest,
And turned Pyrrha into tinder.

There once was a girl named Nora,
She had an interesting aura,
    She had a great hammer,
    And made such a clamor,
And she never heard of the Torah.

There once was a character Amber,
None of the fans had heard of her,
    She was taken in ambush,
    Qrow had to save her sweet tush,
And now we remember her with myrrh.

***

 

Alright, stop the clock. Five minutes and something left. So, those weren't as dirty as I originally planned. The one with Blake, the one I thought up first, was much dirtier, but I didn't expect any one to really get the reference between page and the original word I had in the last line, "snake," basically me saying she was underage and yet she somehow had knowledge of the size of the narrator's penis. But since none of the others' were all that dirty and there are other words that rhyme with Blake, I changed the poem to fit her character better. Also, when I call her a "flake," I mean it in the sense she's always running away from her problems. But overall, I think Yang's is my favorite with Cinder's being a close second. As for Ruby's, not a lot of things rhyme with her name, so I had to use an near-rhyme. And, lastly, for Amber, for remembering her with myrrh, what does that mean? Well, myrrh was once used in ancient times for embalming the dead. So, you tell me.

 

But anyway, that's it for today. If you want to use the wheel I made, you should be able to access it here. And if you have the time, please check out my books for sale on Amazon which you can find through my author page. The link is below. Also, I reworked my Patreon page, so why not give it a look and consider becoming my patron. I would appreciate it.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

My Works:

Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar

RWBY Volume 2: The Novelization: Search and Destroy

RWBY: The Novelization is not endorsed by Rooster Teeth in any way. Views, opinions, and thoughts are all my own. Rooster Teeth and RWBY are trade names or registered trademarks of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. © Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.

When Ruby got back to her dorm from meeting with Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood, her team immediately rushed her. “What happened?!” said Yang.

“Uh, um… well…”

Despite what Ozpin had said about being discreet, Ruby went ahead and told them about how she mentioned the possibility of a base in southeast Vale thanks to what Sun and Blake had discovered at the White Fang meeting.

“That was a risky move,” commented Weiss.

“No,” said Blake, “I think you handled it well.”

“I hope so,” said Ruby with a shrug.

“I’m sure everything will be all right, Ruby,” added Yang. “Oh! I know what will cheer you up.”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know. Dad sent it to us,” said Yang, placing a medium sized box on the floor. “We can open it together.”

Ruby squealed. “Something from home!”

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake looked on eagerly as Yang peeled back the tape on the box and opened its flaps. They looked on in anticipation as a small, rotund, furry item jumped to life. It barked. Ruby and Yang squealed, Weiss recoiled, and Blake jumped onto Ruby’s bunk.

“Zwei!” cheered Ruby, scooping up the corgi.

“Your dad sent a dog?!” said Blake.

“In the mail?!” added Weiss.

“Oh, he does stuff like this all the time,” explained Yang.

“Your father or your dog?” asked Blake.

Weiss leaned in to get a better look at Zwei as he panted in her face. “Do you mean to tell me that this… mangy… drooling mutt… is going to wiv with us foreva?! Oh, yes, he is. Yes, he is! Oh, isn’t he adorable?!” she fawned.

Blake was not amused. “Please keep it away from my belongings.”

Suddenly, there was a message on the PA from Glynda. “Would all first-year students please report to the amphitheater.”

“Well, we can’t just leave him here while we’re gone for a week,” noted Weiss.

Yang looked deeper into the box. “Oh. There’s a letter. ‘Dear girls. I’ve got to leave the island for a few days so I’m sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both. Taiyang.’” Yang tipped over the box and a mountain of cans of dog food fell out.

“What is he supposed to do with that?” asked Weiss.

Yang shook the box and a can opener fell out as well. “Welp. That settles it. C’mon, girls. Zwei will be here when we get back.”

As Weiss passed Zwei, she continued with the baby talk. “Oh, I’ll miss you so much! We’re going to be best friends. I can’t wait to see you again. You’re so cute!”

Blake meanwhile jumped from Ruby’s bed to a table and to the door.

Ruby however considered Zwei very intently. She didn’t feel right about leaving him behind and surely Yang hadn’t considered the mess and mischief he would cause while they were gone. But how could she take him on the mission with her?

Ruby racked her brain until the idea hit her. “That’s it!”

As Team RWBY made their way into the amphitheater, Ruby wore a rather large Beacon Academy backpack. As they stood with Team JNPR, nobody seemed to notice that it was breathing.

“Quiet. Quiet, please,” said Glynda from the stage. “Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin.”

“Today, we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the world’s largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself.

“We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something that many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come. And it is a trend that has held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity.

“As I have said, today we stand together united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, huntsmen and huntresses will work to uphold it. As first-year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsman on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best.”

Ruby turned to her team. “This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a huntsman working in the southeast.”

“Yeah,” said Yang. “We’ll follow him around by day, and give him the slip at night.”

Weiss suggested, “Let’s check ‘Search and Destroy.’”

The girls went up to one of the many holographic screens around the amphitheater and found a search and destroy mission that required Grimm to be cleaned out in a part of Vale known as quadrant five. “What about this one?” asked Ruby.

“Well, it’s in the southeast,” said Blake.

“Sounds perfect,” added Yang.

Ruby touched the screen and it asked for her to enter their team name. She did so, but a message popped up saying “Mission Unavailable to First-Year Students.”

“Wonderful,” quipped Weiss. “Never mind the fact that this event is for first-years only.”

“Any other ideas?” asked Blake.

“We mail ourselves there,” suggested Ruby.

“Well, that’s one option,” said Ozpin, walking up. “Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students. It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that the four of you will make your way there no matter which job you choose.”

Yang, Blake, and Weiss glared at Ruby.

She shrugged. “Whatever makes you say that?”

 “I’m still curious as to how you all ended up at the docks last semester. I’m interested to know how you really learned about a ‘hideout’ in the southeast. And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club sometime ago.”

Ruby smiled and tried to look as cute as possible—it worked on her father.

“I doubt I’ll ever find the exact answers I’m looking for. So, how about this: instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don’t we just bend them a little?” Ozpin took out a full sized Scroll, gave it a few taps, and the girls instantly received a mission confirmation on their individual Scrolls.

“We won’t let you down,” said Ruby. “Thank you, Professor.”

“Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far, but you must understand that the things awaiting you beyond the protection of the kingdom will not care. Stay close to your huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck,” said Ozpin as he left.

As they made their way to the air docks, Yang said, “That wasn’t exactly uplifting.”

“But it’s the truth,” added Blake.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Ruby. “But I know we can do it. We’ve never backed down before, and we’re not going to start now. Besides, it won’t only be us out there. We’ll be fighting alongside a genuine huntsman!”

“Yeah!” said Yang.

All their spirits had been lifted, until they made it to the air dock and found Professor Oobleck, looking like he was about to go on safari, waiting for them. “Why, hello, girls! Whose ready to fight for their lives?!”

“Professor Oobleck?” said Weiss incredulously.

“Yes. I’m afraid those bags won’t be necessary, girls,” he said, seeing Ruby’s backpack, “as you have opted to shadow a huntsman on what is essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you we will not be establishing a single base of operations, rather we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon.

“I’ve packed all our essentials myself, plotted the air course, and readied the airship. And!” he said, getting in Weiss’ face, “it’s Doctor Oobleck. I didn’t earn a Ph.D. for fun. Thank you very much.”

“Uh…?”

“Come now, children. According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind… schedule!” Doctor Oobleck then zipped away and aboard the airship.

Ruby tried to seem upbeat. “Well… all right then. Looks like we’re going to save the world with Dr. Oobleck.” After a pause, she went, “Okay, yeah. When you say it out loud it sounds worse.”

“Save the world?!” shrieked someone from behind RWBY. They turned and saw Team JNPR.

“You’re going on world saving missions without us?!” said Nora. “I’m hurt! Sad! Maybe a little hungry. That last one’s not your fault though… Ren!”

Ren turned away from Nora. So he hadn’t made pancakes that day. Big deal.

“Sounds exciting,” said Jaune. “Where you going?”

“Oh, just outside the kingdom,” replied Ruby.

“Hey! So are we,” said Nora.

“Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village,” explained Pyrrha.

“We set out tomorrow,” added Ren.

“Then you can party with us tonight!” said Neptune, as he and Sun appeared. “We’re shadowing a crime specialist. All inner city detective stuff. We get junior badges.”

Jaune was struck hard with envy.

“We normally go to the city with you guys,” started Sun, “which means stuff’s always exploding and junk. So we thought that this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it’s, you know, normal.”

“Well,” began Ruby.

“Four minutes, ladies!” shouted Oobleck from the airship.

There was a pregnant, awkward pause. Ruby finally said, “Well, uh, wish us luck.” And with that, Team RWBY said goodbye to JNPR and to Neptune and Sun.

Aboard the airship, Yang confessed to Doctor Oobleck, “I guess I never saw you as much of a fighter.”

“I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a huntsman, I’ve had my fair share of tussles.”

“Like the mushroom?” said Ruby.

“Those are truffles,” corrected Blake.

“Like the sprout?”

“Those are brussels,” said Yang.

“Besides,” continued Oobleck, “given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in archeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw it fit to assign me to this particular… assignment.”

“What does history have to do with this?” asked Weiss.

“Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girl. Why, history is the backbone of our very society. And the liver! And the kidneys, too, if I were to wager.”

“And that means…?”

“The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves. But! It is also the location to one of the kingdom’s greatest failures.”

“Mountain Glenn,” said Ruby.

“That’s right!” said Yang. “It was an expansion of Vale. But in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city.”

“Correct!” said Oobleck. “And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder.”

“And a likely place for a hideout,” concluded Blake.

“Precisely.”

***

The airship circled above the derelict remains of Mountain Glenn and descended into a suitable clearing. Team RWBY dropped from it all ready for action and Doctor Oobleck with his thermos handy. The airship departed.

“Ladies! You still may be students, but as of this moment, your mission as huntresses has begun. From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?”

The girls nodded, but Oobleck noted a discrepancy.

“Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all your bags back at school,” he said, seeing the rather large backpack still with her.

Ruby was quick with a counter. “But, you hadn’t told us to listen to you, yet. So… I didn’t.”

“She’s not wrong…” Oobleck said to himself. “Very well, Ruby. Leave your bag here. We can pick it up upon our return.”

“But, I… uh…”

“Young lady! What in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with y—”

Zwei’s head popped out. Ruby’s eyes widened as the rest of her team looked at her worriedly.

Ruby turned to Zwei. “Get back in the bag!” she whispered.

“We’re here to investigate an abandoned, urban jungle, teeming with death and hostility, and you brought… a dog?”

“I, uh—!”

“Genius!” declared Doctor Oobleck. He scooped Zwei out of the backpack and started carrying him around. “Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!”

Ruby smiled. “I’m a genius.”

Weiss and Yang facepalmed.

“So, what are your orders, Doctor?” asked Blake.

“Ah, yes! Straight to the chase. I like it!” Oobleck dropped Zwei. “As you have been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being—Grimm.”

The girls leaned in. They didn’t understand. “Uh, what?” said Ruby.

“Grimm,” repeated Oobleck. “A creature of Grimm. Approximately one-hundred yards from us at this very moment.”

“What?!” said Yang.

RWBY turned and saw a lone Beowolf as it wandered into the street and sniffed at the ground. The girls armed their weapons.

“Stop!” ordered Oobleck. “There are a number of reasons why Grimm would congregate in this particular area. The most likely of which would be their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent.”

“So… what now?” asked Ruby.

“We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey.”

“How long do we wait?” asked Yang.

“It’s uncertain. Hours. Days. Weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months—and there’s the whole pack,” concluded Oobleck as more Beowolves entered the street.

“What?” said Weiss.

“And now they’ve seen us.”

“What?!”

“And now they’ve seen us!”

“I take it tracking is out of the question,” said Ruby.

“An accurate assumption, yes.”

“What’s the plan, then?” said Yang as the pack charged them.

“Show me what you’re capable of,” ordered Oobleck.

 Yang gladly charged the pack head on, punching several and breaking a few necks. Within a few seconds, she had several Beowolves following her. But some of them became distracted by Blake, who stood still in the middle of the street. They attempted to ambush her, but Blake dodged their attack with one of her shadow clones and proceeded to slice and dice them.

Weiss quickly garnered the attention of several herself, but thanks to her glyphs, she was able to stay a couple of moves ahead of them. She launched straight through the pack and with several fanciful and artistic cuts, they all fell.

Ruby meanwhile was providing support with suppressive fire. Eventually, what was left of the pack turned their attention to her. Ruby flourished her scythe and shot right at them. With a few quick slashes, they all lay dead at her feet. She turned to Doctor Oobleck. “Heh. Piece of cake.”

“Do not celebrate yet. For I am certain this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?”

Doctor Oobleck led the girls through Mountain Glenn, looking for anything that may give him a clue as to where their query was hidden. While he did that, he relied on the girls to fight off the many Grimm.

After stopping to observe some long dead growth and allow the girls to clear away a few Beowolves, Oobleck said, “Excellent work, girls. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any signs of criminal activity in this sector. Oh well! Moving along.”

The girls followed, but Yang had a contention. “Hey, Doc! You know, I was actually looking forward to seeing a pro huntsman in action. Like fighting, or at least, helping us fight.”

“Ah, but I am in action: scouring the ruins of this once great city for any signs of irregularity. Not every mission is full of daring and heroism, girls. Sometimes it’s just a heightened form of extermination. Remember: this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that.”

Yang stammered. “Well, yeah.” She looked at the others for support, but didn’t find any. “I mean, of course.”

“Hmm.” Following that exchange, Oobleck started paying more attention to Team RWBY. He noticed several interesting things, but when he examined Yang and compared her to the rest of the team, he noticed that her shot-gauntlets forced her to get quite close to her enemy, much closer than any of the others. He also noticed how Yang was much more aggressive. This piqued his interest, and after another pack of slain Grimm, Oobleck said, “Tell me, Yang: why did you choose this line of work?”

“Huh?” Wasn’t that obvious? “Well, to fight monsters and save—”

“No! That is what you do. I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a huntress.”

“The honest reason?” Yang sighed. She fidgeted for a second. “I’m a thrill seeker. I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, that’s even better. It’s a win-win, you know?”

Oobleck was quiet for a second. “I see.” He then turned to Weiss. “And you, Miss Schnee. A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn’t need the extra work. So, why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?”

“It’s exactly as you said,” said Weiss. “I’m a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty.”

“Interesting. And what about you, Blake? You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose.”

“There’s too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality. Corruption. Someone has to stop it.”

“Very well,” said Oobleck. “How?”

“I… ugh…” Blake suddenly looked very disappointed with herself.

Oobleck turned to Ruby who had started to play with Zwei. When she noticed, she quickly stopped. “Sorry! Uh, are we ready to keep going?”

Oobleck looked around. “No, I believe that will have to do for today. It’s going to be dark soon.” He suddenly tossed their camping equipment at Yang. “You three, set up camp in that building. And please make sure that there are no more of those… creatures. Your leader and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby,” said Oobleck as he walked away.

Ruby ran after Doctor Oobleck. As they were securing the perimeter, they rounded a corner at the end of a street, and Ruby saw something unlike anything she had before. Several black and white creatures looking like elephants were several hundred yards outside of the city limits. But they were large. They dwarfed the trees around them.

“What is that?” said Ruby awed. “It looks awesome.”

“That, my dear girl, is a Grimm.”

Ruby was shocked. The only Grimm she had ever seen that big was a Nevermore. But they were the exception weren’t they? To see so many large Grimm in one location was truly stunning. And Ruby loved the idea of the challenge they posed. “Let’s kill it,” she said, pulling out Crescent Rose.

Oobleck almost laughed. “I’m afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size.”

“But! What if they attack us?”

“Fret not, Ruby. Those Goliaths are not concerned with us. Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless, or rather, not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you fought, that they have undoubtedly lived hundreds of years. And in that time, between killing humans and attacking our borders, they’ve done one important thing: they’ve learned—they’ve learned that when they attack our borders, they are likely to die. And what we lack in strength, we make up for in will. And that killing one human will only bring more.”

“Then… why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?”

“Waiting.”

Oobleck waited for the herd of Goliaths to proceed by before turning his back on them and walking back to camp.

Ruby trotted after him. “Doctor Oobleck? I was wondering…”

“Wondering why I interrogated your teammates?”

“Actually, I was wondering, why did you want to become a huntsman?”

“Look around and tell me what you see.”

“Lots of old buildings… uh, empty streets…”

“I see lives that could’ve been saved. As a huntsman, it’s my job to protect the people, and although I’m capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I am able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it into the hands of every student who passes through my classroom.

“I look at this wasteland and I see lives that could’ve been saved. But I also see an opportunity—an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy. And therefore become stronger.

“I am a huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be.”

Ruby recoiled slightly. To hear Doctor Oobleck speak so eloquently about his calling to be a huntsman was inspiring and humbling. Doctor Oobleck wasn’t a huntsman for the fame or glory, and he didn’t become a professor because he wanted to escape the dangers of the field—he had a genuine concern for the world. But to be more effective than just slaughtering a few Grimm, by teaching others, he could effectively slaughter Grimm by the hundreds via proxy. How many Grimm had he taken down total with assists alone? The numbers must have been staggering.

***

Back at the campsite, Yang, Blake, and Weiss had gotten a fire going. It was crackling nicely when Yang said, “I can’t believe we didn’t find anything.”

Blake replied, “We’ve always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can’t always have luck on our side.”

“That’s not what I meant,” said Weiss suddenly. She had been quiet for a while seemingly lost in reverie. Her sudden outburst surprised the other two. “Earlier. About ‘upholding the legacy.’ There’s more to it than that.”

“Yeah,” agreed Yang. “No, me too. I mean… I don’t know.”

“I don’t know, either,” said Blake. “I know what I want to do, but I figured I would always take things one step at a time.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. We know why we’re here. Right?”

Neither Blake nor Weiss answered.

Their silence was eventually broken by Doctor Oobleck. “Ah, wonderful! A textbook campfire.”

Ruby gasped. “Fire!” She knelt next to it. “So warm…”

“Very good. Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we’ll need you to take turns watching over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?”

“Yo,” said Ruby.

That was good enough for Doctor Oobleck and he zipped away to find a place for himself to sleep. Ruby meanwhile looked for a place where she could post up for a few hours with Crescent Rose and Zwei.

“Hey,” said Yang as she passed. “Did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a huntress? I mean, what did you tell him?”

“No, he didn’t. Weird. Oh well. Good night, guys.”

Yang was disappointed. She couldn’t see what Oobleck’s angle was. Neither could Weiss and Blake. It couldn’t have been as simple as he was just curious. Was he trying to teach them something? Did he think that they had chosen the wrong career? A bit late for that advice. But if not, what was he after?

They were all uncomfortably silent as they rolled out their bedrolls and settled in for the night







 



******************

 Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

My Works:

Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar

RWBY Volume 5 Chapter 3 Critique and Review

Hey, everyone.

This blog entry is brought to you by my new novels: Remnants of Chaos: Chaotic Omens and Heroes of Majestia: The Company of Flight. You can buy ROCCO here and HOMCOF here.

Anyway, this past week, Chapter 3 dropped to the masses as did a lot of interesting information that will help to set up the rest of Volume 5. In fact, I can see why no scenes from this episode were used in the trailer. There was some good stuff in this episode, and most of it would've given away better stuff. But, let's stop talking about how good this good stuff was and start talking about what it was and why it was good.

Critique

Scene 1: Ghira's Press Conference

What I Liked: Okay, well, I sort of lied. Not everything about this episode was fantastic, but Ghira's Press Conference was better than all of what is going on with Weiss right now, so... Anyway, so Ghira called this big press conference where he let all the Faunus on Menagerie know about Adam's big plans to overthrow Sienna and take over the White Fang as well as to overthrow Haven Academy. But right before he went out there and told the Faunus, there was this tender family moment between Ghira and Kali and Blake as they showed their support for him. And then I liked everything about Ghira talking mad sh*t about the White Fang and why Adam sucks. Basically, everything he said was what Sienna said, and that's good. Well, except for...

What Could've Been Better: Did Ghira really expect all the Faunus to march toward Haven to protect it "at all costs" like he suggested? How did he not foresee that being a problem? Although, that wasn't the worst part of this scene; Ilia disrupting the conference to say her part was pretty bad because 1. Ghira had already won over the audience, and 2. because screw Ilia and everything she believes. Also, a big screw you to Sun in this scene. Not only does he ruin the tender family moment between the Belladonnas when he could have just added verbal affirmation to Ghira, he then went and ruined his ambush by telling Ilia to shut up before he jumped her. Excuse me, but I thought Sun was supposed to be a trained warrior. Shouldn't he know to be quiet before jumping someone? Another problem I had with this scene was Ilia's suggestion that the White Fang will fight for all Faunus if they can't/won't do it for themselves. This is an issue because most self-righteous terrorist/political groups often denounce those who don't join the fight as traitors. They typically have the "either you're with us or you're against us" type of mentality. And that's the type of mentality I would expect from Adam, so I have a hard time believing the White Fang would fight for and represent those who are fine with sitting on their hands while someone else does all the work.

Questions/Insights: Alright, so this scene raises a few interesting questions besides those faults in logic I've already suggested above. The first and most pertinent question is who is this "swiftest messenger" that is on Ghira's pay roll that he sent to Mistral? I don't recall seeing any other Faunus who were really close to the Belladonnas that he could trust with delivering that information. I'm also quite curious as to what Blake was going to say at the conference, but I have a feeling Kerry and Miles didn't have a clue as to what she would say, so that's why they wrote in Ilia's disruption there--it's too convenient.

Scene 2: Ozpin Explains It All

Okay, so I know there's this scene, and then it cuts to Weiss and cuts back, but I'm going to treat the two scenes as one just because it's easier. Likewise with Weiss in the bandit camp.

What I Liked: Alright, so this scene is where the hypest sh*t happens this episode. Not only is Ozpin back, but Ozpin finally explains how it is that he has "committed more mistakes than any man, woman, or child" on Remnant and his connection to Salem. Although he only says that he and Salem are basically locked in eternal conflict, he doesn't mention why or how it was he failed to stop Salem that led to his curse. But, there's more to love in this episode such as Oz's plan to make real huntsmen and huntresses out of RNJR as well as the fact that we're going to be introduced to some new bad ass huntsmen in the very near future. I also thoroughly enjoyed RNJR's faces when they saw Oz flip through the air back onto his chair and twirl his cane. They all had a different variation of the "what the f*ck" face.

Nora's expression is my favorite.

What Could've Been Better: However, this scene wasn't perfect. I was pretty displeased with Oscar's behavior asking Oz not to do anything embarrassing, not being able to maintain his balance standing on a chair, and not being pleased to learn that he would have to train himself. I mean, does he really not trust Oz to keep the situation under control and can he not keep his balance? And did he really not expect to hear that he would have to do his fair share of fighting as well? I also didn't care for the comedy in this scene with Nora's over exuberant response that Oz can set Lionheart right and I don't understand why the table and mug broke when Qrow put his feet on the table--that was just stupid. And lastly, I liked how Oz pointed out Ruby and Jaune's weaknesses, but I wish he would've critiqued Nora and Ren as well to find out where they're weak. If I had to guess what their weaknesses are, I'd say Nora isn't disciplined well enough and Ren doesn't do enough damage. I mean, I do think he has the weakest and worst designed weapons out of the four of them.

Questions/Insights: So with hearing Oz's explanation that he is the culmination of countless men through the ages, I began to wonder whether Ozpin will take over Oscar or if Oscar will grow into Ozpin. What I mean is, is Ozpin's soul like a parasite that eventually takes over its host, or will Oscar's thoughts and mentality just become the same as Ozpin's? This also raises the questions of whether or not Ozpin had two souls and was one of them was constantly talking to him inside his head? It also seemed to me that Oz was particularly worried with the safety of the Relic of Knowledge, and my question is why? Is there something uniquely special about the Relic of Knowledge, or is it that just because of the unusual situation in Mistral, Lionheart not having anyone guarding it and Spring potentially being a bad guy, that has put Ozpin in a specially guarded mindset?

Scene 3: Snow White Behind Bars

What I Liked: Alright, so for me, this was the low point in the episode. The only thing I liked is that Weiss used her Semblance to summon a tiny Arma Gigas to set herself free. I hope we get to see the carnage she wreaks next week and not a stupid World of Remnant episode--I can feel it coming.

What Could've Been Better: I have two major complaints with this episode the first being Weiss telling the bandits about her sister rather than mentioning she isn't interested in being ransomed off which she then could've used to her advantage to kick their sh*t in, but I guess her Semblance is a decent backup. Even still though, if she could've used her Semblance all the time, why bother telling the bandits about Winter at all? I also don't believe Winter went back to Atlas. If she's expecting Weiss to arrive in Mistral, Winter would've found a way to stay even if it meant disobeying orders. Plus, Ironwood said he was heading to Mistral based on Winter's report; she could use that to her advantage to stay.

The other major issue I have with this scene is with Vernal herself. Everyone's pretty sure she's the Spring Maiden and the fact that she's called "Vernal" is a pretty big f*cking hint. At first, I was excited when I made the connection, but when I realized it doesn't take a genius to make that connection, I got a little pissed at how transparent it is. Now I really hope she isn't the Spring Maiden just to throw everyone for a loop because that would be funny as hell.

Questions/Insights: This scene prompted two questions from me: 1. Where's Raven, and 2. Does Weiss know who Raven is? The reason why I'm so focused on Raven is because I would've expected her to know that Weiss was Yang's teammate or that Weiss would know Raven is Yang's mother, and the fact that the whole issue never came up is really disappointing to me. I also thought that Raven would've wanted to tell Weiss that she was going to be ransomed off rather than leaving it to Vernal. It just seems like it would be up her alley to do so. (Also, what happened to the Atlesian pilot?)

Review:

So, what do I think of this chapter overall? Well, it was half disappointing and half great, but the great parts were great enough that they made up for the lame stuff, so I did like this chapter and it has made me eager to see chapter 4 which wasn't a feeling I had when I saw chapter 2. Unfortunately, I have a feeling RT is going to be a bunch of cock teases and release a World of Remnant episode next week, or they're going to cut back to Yang and we're not going to get very much time at all with RNJR and Weiss which is a real dick move because both of their storylines ended on cliffhangers. But we won't know until we see the next episode.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:
Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar

RWBY Volume 2: The Novelization: Best Day Ever

RWBY: The Novelization is not endorsed by Rooster Teeth in any way. Views, opinions, and thoughts are all my own. Rooster Teeth and RWBY are trade names or registered trademarks of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. © Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.

On a beautiful day in the summer, students were returning to Beacon Academy after their summer break. Many had already returned and were spending time catching up with their teammates in the cafeteria.

Except for their leader, Team RWBY was sitting at one table all on one side. Across from them at another table was Team JNPR. While Weiss drank a cup of coffee and Yang seemed to be making faces at Nora, Blake had one of her notebooks open. In it, she had doodled pictures of her former White Fang partner Adam Taurus. Ever since the fight at the docks, she had been obsessed with trying to figure out what he was after.

“Whatcha doin’?” asked Yang.

“Nothing!” said Blake, quickly shutting her notebook. “Just going over some notes from last semester.”

A green grape flew at Yang and she caught in her mouth. She looked back at Blake. “Lame!” Nora catapulted a second grape and Yang caught it again.

It seemed like everything was going to be normal that day until Ruby appeared and slammed a giant white binder on the table. The title of the binder read “Best Day Ever Activities!” in bright red marker. Above that, in a conservative typeface which had been crossed out was “Vytal Festival Activities: Property of Weiss Schnee.”

Ruby cleared her throat. To her team, “Sisters!” To JNPR, “Friends!” And then, “Weiss.”

“Hey!”

“Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream.”

“This oughta be good,” said Yang, catching a cherry in her mouth.

“A dream that one day, the four of us would come together, as a team, and have the most fun that anyone has ever had… ever!”

“Did you steal my binder?” asked Weiss.

“‘I am not a crook’,” said Ruby, throwing up a pair of deuces.

Blake asked, “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about kicking this semester off with a bang!”

Yang replied, “I always kick my semesters off with a Yang! Eh? Guys? Am I right?” Suddenly, an apple hit in her face and Nora booed.

Ruby continued, “Look guys, it’s been a good two weeks, and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great. But classes start back up tomorrow. Which is why I’ve taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today.”

“I don’t know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store,” said Weiss.

Yang chucked a green apple back at Nora.

“I don’t know,” added Blake. “I think I might sit this one out.” She had more research to do.

“Sit out or not, I think however we spend this last day, we do it as a team. I for one think—” But then suddenly, pie. It hit someone in the face. That someone was Weiss.

Nora looked at her hand like it wasn’t hers. It had betrayed her. How had that cream pie managed to tumble off her fingers so badly that she hit Weiss instead of Yang? Never mind the fact that she completely missed Blake who sat between the two.

The pie slid off Weiss’ face leaving her with a whipped cream facial. She shook with anger and embarrassment. She reached for the nearest food object, an apple, and cocked her arm.

Meanwhile, outside the cafeteria, Sun Wukong was with a teammate of his from Team SSSN, Neptune Vasilias. Sun had been telling him all about the fight that had happened at the docks the previous semester. “Man, that’s harsh,” commented Neptune.

“So then we were there fighting side-by-side,” continued Sun. “She was super fast! And then I threw a banana at a guy which sounds gross but it was awesome!”

“Nice!”

“Right? And the best part is, she’s a Faunus.” Sun raised a hand to his lips in shock. “But that’s a secret. I didn’t say that! Okay?”

“Got it.”

“And not a I’m-going-to-go-tell-Scarlet-the-second-Sun-turns-his-back secret. I’m talking secret-secret.”

“Whoa, whoa. Chill out, man, okay? I got it.”

Sun eyed him.

Neptune whispered, “I got it.”

“You better. I just don’t wanna screw this up, you know? The people here are the coolest. No offense to you guys.”

“None taken.”

Finally, Sun and Neptune reached the cafeteria’s entrance.

“Okay,” said Sun, “they’re right in here. I’m really excited for you to meet them. So, be cool, okay? You’re gonna be cool, right?”

“Dude,” said Neptune. He stood back and folded his arms. And in his tight pants, slim fit hoodie over collared shirt and tie with his teeth sparkling in the sun, he did cut an impressive figure.

“Good point,” admitted Sun.

But as Sun and Neptune entered the cafeteria, an onrush of students exited. Some of them shouted “food fight” and a feminine cackle echoed.

Sun and Neptune saw Team JNPR at the far end of the cafeteria with several tables stacked upon each other. Ren, Jaune, and Pyrrha acted as honor guards protecting Nora who was on the topmost table declaring, “I’m queen of the castle! I’m queen of the castle!”

Team RWBY meanwhile was closest to the entrance with Ruby declaring war on JNPR. “Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be…” she crushed a milk carton in her hand, “delicious!”

“Yeah!” her team chimed.

“Ha! Off with their heads!” ordered Nora.

JNPR started lobbing watermelons en masse at RWBY.

“Yang!” said Ruby. “Turkeys!”

Yang dashed forward and stuck either fist up a turkey. She banged them together and faced the onslaught of watermelons. They came fast and furious, but no melon could stand up to her Iron Turkey Fist technique. Having smashed them all, she launched them from her fists and hit Jaune full in the body with both.

Pyrrha, witnessing the loss of her teammate and captain, took up a baguette and sought to mete out her vengeance on Blake who had grabbed a pair of baguettes. The two clashed and pushed against each other neither stale loaf giving way.

Pyrrha broke the bind and struck but Blake dodged. There was a flurry of expert French Dough Cuts between the two well-seasoned warriors. Pyrrha made for a wrathful cut, but Blake used a shadow copy to dodge it. From the air, she cast one of her baguettes at Pyrrha and missed.

As Blake fell, Pyrrha surged forward and delivered a Spear Roll Thrust to Blake’s gut knocking her back several yards. Pyrrha then threw her baguette as a javelin at Yang. Yang managed to break it and the next, but the third baguette succeeded in knocking her back also.

Ruby advanced in Yang’s place sliding among the spilled fluids of the cafeteria’s tables on a tray. She jumped and kicked Pyrrha back.

Ren and Nora now charged forward in Pyrrha’s place. Ruby spun back and deferred to Weiss. She spun forward daintily and squirted the floor in copious amounts of ketchup. Ren slipped and slid into a cluster of tables. Nora however jumped into the air and grabbed a flag post from the top of the cafeteria’s wall. She snapped it off and upon hitting the ground, embedded the end in another melon.

Nora did an impressive flourish and smacked the melon hammer into the ground. The force of the blow knocked Ruby back. Weiss had dodged it and picked up a frozen swordfish by the tail. While not a practitioner of the Xiphias Gladiae arts, Weiss found the fish to be about the right length, weight, and handling of her Myrtenaster. She engaged Nora in savage combat, but her Xiphiidae rapier let her down not being able to match the sheer brutality of Nora’s Cucurbitaceae hammer. She delivered a crushing blow to Weiss’ abdomen and knocked her all the way back to the other end of the cafeteria.

Weiss hit a pillar and shattered it. As she fell unconscious, Ruby leapt and caught her saving her from the pillar’s collapse.

“Weiss?! Weiss! Don’t leave me!” But seeing no reaction from the Ice Queen, Ruby couldn’t stop a lament from escaping her lungs.

Meanwhile, Yang and Ren were back in the fight going at each other. Yang was armed with her Iron Turkey Fists and Ren with his Fresh Leek Kali Sticks. Being fast as lightning and with expert timing, the two fighters showcased their martial art prowess against one another. Yang got the upper hand with a Turkey Hammerfist to Ren’s head and followed it up with a Turkey Uppercut launching him into the air. Ren regained enough faculty to throw his leeks at Yang, but she dodged them jumping into the air herself and then meteored him straight into the ground.

As Yang landed though, Nora avenged Ren with a powerful upward sweep with her melon hammer. The force caught Yang full force destroying the melon and catapulting her up through the cafeteria’s ceiling.

Disarmed of her hammer, Blake seized the advantage by lashing Nora with a Weiner Whip. Nora was knocked back into a grape soda machine breaking it open and releasing cans of soda all over the ground. She picked up a few and bombarded Blake with the refreshing and sweet taste of the vine.

Blake managed to dodge Nora’s bombardment, but she couldn’t dodge Pyrrha’s unrelenting salvo of grape sodas driven by her magnetic semblance. Caught in the carbonated explosion, she was blasted back.

Having regained her composure and seen enough of her comrades fall in brutal battle, Ruby stood and faced the four fresh members of JNPR. They prepared themselves for whatever the tiny girl would do, but they received the shock of their lives when Ruby rushed at them maxing out her speedy semblance. As she became a blinding vortex of red, a vacuum was created in her wake picking up all the remnants of food that had been spent in battle.

Ruby rocketed past Team JNPR and they were caught in the vacuum. Ruby stopped before the cafeteria wall and JNPR slammed into it. Ruby backflipped away just as the tornado of food caught up with JNPR coating them in greasy, sticky, leftover victuals. Having suffered a consummate defeat, the only thing they could do was slide off the wall to the floor.

“I love these guys,” said Sun. He looked over at Neptune who was covered in grape soda.

Just then, Glynda burst into the cafeteria growling. She waved her riding crop and in a complicated but sentient harmony, the tables of the cafeteria were all realigned in their proper places and the wasted food disposed of in their proper receptacles. Through grit teeth, Glynda warned both teams, “Children! Please! Do not play with your food.”

The damage done and pain subsided, both teams felt ashamed of themselves in their stained uniforms. Suddenly, Yang fell back through the cafeteria roof and shattered the tension of the moment. Both teams erupted into laughter. Glynda let out an exasperated sigh.

“Let it go,” advised Ozpin, materializing at her side.

Glynda reluctantly relaxed. “They’re supposed to be the defenders of the world.”
“And they will be. But right now, they’re still children. So why not let them play the part? After all, it isn’t a role they’ll have forever.”

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:
Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar

RWBY: The Novelization: The Badge and the Burden

The next morning, Weiss woke up contented as could be as just the right amount of sunlight brushed her eyes. She stretched and felt very refreshed. Everything in the world was pleasant, until Ruby blew a loud whistle in her ear causing her to fall to the ground.

“Good morning, Team RWBY!”

“What in the world is wrong with you?” asked Weiss from the floor.

After yesterday’s events, they were moved onto campus and shown to their dorm. They had been fairly exhausted and decided to sleep off the rest of the day and into the next morning.

Weiss looked around and was astonished to find that she was the only one still a-bed. The other three were already dressed in their three piece uniforms consisting of a vest and suit coat matched with a red-and-black plaid skirt.

“Now, that you’re awake, we can officially begin our first order of business.”

“Excuse me?”

“Decorating!” said Yang with an armful of stuff.

“What?!”

“We still have to unpack,” added Blake, holding her suitcase before it burst open and dumped its contents on the floor. “And… clean.”

Ruby blew her whistle again. “All right! Weiss! Blake! Yang! And their fearless leader Ruby, have begun their first mission.” Ruby threw her fist in the air. “Banzai!”

Blake and Yang did the same. “Banzai!”

Simultaneously, all three girls bent at the hip and tilted to the left. Weiss was not-so-secretly irritated. But, there was nothing she could do other than get dressed and help.

When she came out of the bathroom, Yang had already hung a poster of the boy band, The Achieve Men. Their members were split into two smaller fan groups called the Lads and the Gents.  The Lads were composed of Browny, Nosey, and Ruby’s favorite, Ragey—he made her laugh. Yang however was a fan of Nosey; his big nose and funny voice was endearing to her. The Gents were composed of Beardy, Crazy, and Drinky. Ruby and Yang’s Uncle Qrow always said he liked Drinky best, but would never say why.

 To balance out the pop poster, Weiss hung one of her favorite art pieces from home. It depicted the Forest of Forever Fall as it looked in every season. Funnily enough, there was only one image and not four.

Blake meanwhile organized their books. It was going well, until Blake was shocked to discover she had brought one of her more scandalous tales Ninjas of Love with her. She slinked away and tried to hide it.

Ruby used her scythe to hang a curtain over the window by Weiss’ bed. Weiss gave her a dirty look when she finished.

The four girls stepped back and were shocked to find that in the effort to decorate their room, their beds, tables, and chairs had been thrown around and piled precariously.

“This isn’t going to work,” said Weiss.

Blake noted, “It is a bit cramped.”

“Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff,” suggested Yang.

“Or!” began Ruby, “And hear me out! What if we ditched our beds and replaced them with bunk beds?!”

Weiss looked at the beds. Several problems flew through her head as well as a certain memory of something her older sister once said to her. “That sounds incredibly dangerous.”

“And super awesome,” said Yang.

“It does seem efficient,” Blake added.

Weiss grabbed at straws. “Well, we should put it to a vote.”

“I think we just did,” said Ruby.

Three for and one against. Again, Weiss was not-so-secretly irritated, but could not fight the democratic system.

Team RWBY set to work and made their bunk beds in the fastest and most efficient way they could. Blake’s and Yang’s beds were on one side of the room and stacked on top of each other. Four separate stacks of books were placed on top of each of the four posts on Blake’s bed supporting Yang’s. Ruby however was more creative and secured ropes to the ceiling, wrapping them around her bed and suspending it above Weiss’.

“Objective complete,” said Ruby.

Weiss worried that her own mortality rate had just dropped by several decades and hoped Ruby used strong ropes.

“All right. Our second order of business is… classes.” Ruby checked their schedule. “Now, we have a few classes together today. At nine, we’ve got—”

“What?!” shrieked Weiss. “Did you say nine-o-clock?!”

Ruby faltered.

“It’s 8:55, you dunce!”

“Uh… to class!”

Team RWBY dashed out of their room and was quickly followed by Team JNPR who had the dorm across from them. All eight of them were seen streaking across campus in a mad dash passing Glynda and Ozpin. Glynda frowned while Ozpin sipped from his mug.

Just in the nick of time, both teams made it to Professor Peter Port’s class. He was an older huntsman with grey hair, eyebrows, and a mustache. He was also a little wide in the waist band. But he was best known for his bombastic storytelling which in his mind amounted to teaching. He was known among the student body as the Mad Tale-King.

“Monsters!” he began in his deep voice. “Demons! Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names.” He referred to the wall behind him which bore several sketches of known Grimm including the King Taijitu, Deathstalker, Beowolf, Boarbatusk, Nevermore, and Ursa.

“But I merely refer to them… as prey!” Port laughed, shaking Ruby out of a tired daze. “And you shall too upon graduating from this prestigious academy.

“Now, as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Remnant is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that’s where we come in.

“Huntsmen! Huntresses!” he said, making a suggestive clicking sound in Yang’s direction.

She giggled nervously and felt nauseous. Sometimes she cursed her great curves and golden locks.

“Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. From what you ask? Why, the very world! That is what you’re training to become. But first, a story. The tale of a young, handsome man… Me! When I was a boy…”

Port continued to ramble on about his past including some strange anecdote involving his grandfather.

Weiss nodded. She was bored, but played the dutiful student taking down any notes she thought might be helpful. She heard snickering from her left and looked at Ruby who had been doodling.

Ruby passed an irreverent picture of Port she had drawn down to Yang and Blake. It was complete with stink lines. Weiss was a little disgusted and a little more than disgusted when Ruby made a bodily noise with her tongue. Yang and Blake were beset by giggles.

Weiss clenched her pen, feeling the heat swell in her face. This was hardly appropriate behavior for the leader of a team of huntresses.

“The moral of this story,” said Port, his voice coming back into the foreground, “a true huntsman must be honorable…”

Weiss looked at Ruby as she balanced an apple on her binder on a pen and all on her finger while making a strange face.

“A true huntsman must be dependable…”

Ruby yawned and seemed to nod off slightly.

“A true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise…”

Ruby was now picking her nose.

The heat in Weiss had now grown into a full rage. She began grinding her teeth and started to shake. Ruby wasn’t fit for the position of team leader. She was just a child. And a very immature one at that. Weiss should have been team leader, not her.

“So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?”

Weiss raised her hand and with a little more force than she meant, she said, “I do, sir!”

“Well then, let’s find out.”

A teacher’s aide rolled in a cage containing an ornery Boarbatusk.

“Step forward, and face your opponent!”

Weiss marched up to the front of the class and drew Myrtenaster.

“Go, Weiss!” cheered Yang.

“Fight well!” called Blake.

“Yeah! Represent Team RWBY!” added Ruby.

“Ruby!” scolded Weiss. “I’m trying to focus.”

“Oh,” Ruby said in a tiny voice. “Sorry…”

But the fact that Weiss hadn’t said anything to Yang or Blake hadn’t escaped her.

“All right,” said Port, wielding his double-bitted axe-musket. “Let the match begin!” he said, cutting the cage open.

The Boarbatusk charged Weiss. She rolled to the side and slashed at its flank—it had no effect as the Boarbatusk was covered in bone-like protrusions giving it a decent set of armor.

“Ha-ha!” said Port. “Weren’t expecting that were you?”

Ruby looked a little worried. “Hang in there, Weiss!”

Weiss charged, but the Grimm’s bone armor turned her blade. She lost her balance and Myrtenaster became entangled in the two giant tusks that gave the creature its name.

“Come on, Weiss!” cheered Ruby. “Show it who’s boss!”

Weiss looked back at her. Her grip loosened, and the Boarbatusk managed to disarm her, throwing the rapier to the other side of the room. It knocked her backward.

Port seemed to be enjoying himself. “Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?”

The Grimm charged Weiss and she managed to dodge it. The Boarbatusk ran into its cage and knocked itself somewhat senseless giving Weiss enough time to collect her sword.

“Weiss!” called Ruby. “Go for its belly. There’s no armor—!”

“Stop telling me what to do!” Weiss already knew what she had to do. She knew where to hit it. She didn’t need Ruby’s assistance. And she’d be damned if she took any from Ruby.

Ruby shrunk into her seat as much as she could. Several others were also uncomfortable.

The Boarbatusk turned itself into a ball and spun-dash at Weiss. She produced a glyph before her, which the Grimm ricocheted off, landing on its back. Weiss backflipped up and launched herself from another glyph giving her the vantage point necessary to thrust Myrtenaster into the beast’s gut. Weiss withdrew her rapier and stabbed it again. It wasn’t necessary, but it sure felt good.

“Bravo! Bravo!” called Port. “It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training.”

The bell chimed.

“I’m afraid that’s all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and stay vigilant. Class dismissed.”

Weiss collected her books and stomped off without her team.

Ruby ran after her and caught her in the hallway. “Weiss.”

“What?!”

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you being—”

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?! You’re supposed to be a leader. And all you’ve been so far is a nuisance.”

 “What did I do?”

“That’s just it! You’ve done nothing to earn your position. Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you’ve only continued to do so.”

Ruby shrank under Weiss’ smoldering words. “Weiss… where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about working together? I thought you believed in acting as a team.”

“Not a team led by you. I’ve studied. And trained! And quite frankly, I deserve better. Ozpin made a mistake.” Weiss stormed off.

Ruby slumped.

Weiss walked outside onto Beacon’s ramparts. Standing at the far end was Professor Port. Weiss saw him and thought she might be able to plead her case of Ozpin’s mistake to someone sensible.

“Professor Port.”

Port turned. “Ah! Miss Schnee. And to what do I owe this fine pleasure?”

“I…” Weiss faltered. How to begin? Maybe a little white lie wouldn’t hurt. “I enjoyed your lecture.”

“Of course you did, child. You have the blood of a true huntress in you.”

That was good to hear. “You really think so?”

“Most surely.”

Weiss looked away for a second; a calculated measure.

“Hmm. Something’s troubling you.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Dear girl! Confess to me your strife!”

“Well… I think I should have been the leader of Team RWBY.”

Port was quiet for a second. Then, with a bit of a laugh, “That’s preposterous!”

Irritation rose in her voice. “Excuse me?!”

“I have believed in Professor Ozpin for many years, and the man has never once led me astray.”

“So, you would blindly accept his decision even after seeing how exceptional I am?”

“With all due respect, your exceptional skill on the battlefield is matched only by your poor attitude.”

“How dare you!”

“My point exactly. I see a girl before me who has spent her entire life getting exactly what she wanted.”

Weiss folded her arms. “That’s not even remotely true.”

She fell under Port’s gentle scrutiny and began to crumble beneath its weight.

“Well, not entirely true.”

Port decided to try to appeal to her high-esteemed sense of reason. “So, the outcome did not fall in your favor. Do you really believe that acting in such a manner would cause those in power to reconsider their decision?”

Weiss seemed to have heard him—she defrosted a little.

“I suggest that instead of fretting over what you don’t have, savor what you do. Hone your skills. Perfect every technique. And be not the best leader, but the best person you can be.”

Weiss gave a helpless shrug, but wouldn’t meet Port’s gaze. He knew that even that much was a big concession for her and walked away satisfied.

***

Back in the hallway, Ruby turned and ran into Ozpin.

“Hmm. Now that didn’t seem to go very well,” he noted.

Ruby couldn’t help the doubt from welling up inside her. “Is she right? Did you make a mistake?”

“That remains to be seen,” he said with a half-laugh.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s only been one day. Ruby, I’ve made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on Remnant. But at this moment, I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them. Do you?”

Ruby looked unsure.

“Being a team leader isn’t just a title that you carry into battle but a badge you wear constantly. If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?

“You’ve been burdened with a daunting responsibility, Ruby. I advise you take some time to think about how you will uphold it.” Ozpin walked away.

Ruby considered what he said. What was the best way to show Weiss that she could be at her best and uphold her responsibility as team leader? She thought back to her antics in the classroom. Perhaps some of the things she had done were childish and immature. Perhaps Yang and her father were both right: a part of growing up meant working well with others. It would mean needing to give up many of the childish antics she enjoyed, but her relationship with Weiss was more important.

It turned out, growing up required more than just drinking milk.

Keep writing, my friends.

Stalk me everywhere:
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Instagram: Bryan C. Laesch
Tumblr: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar

RWBY: The Novelization is not endorsed by Rooster Teeth in any way. Views, opinions, and thoughts are all my own. Rooster Teeth and RWBY are trade names or registered trademarks of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. © Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.