RWBY Critiques: Volume 5 Blake Character Short

Hey, everyone.

So, in case you missed it, the RWBY Volume 5 Blake Character Short was released on YouTube. I don't know how it went over with the general audience, but there are definitely a couple of Illia weeaboos in RWBY Wonderland now. And, I'm not one of them.

Anyway, I said I was going to do a critique of it for both my YouTube channel and my blog. The critique for YouTube is available here, but fair warning, it kind of sucks. (I don't think I'm going to be doing any more critique videos.) But, the good news is that my blog version is much more comprehensive. So, let's talk about it.

The Character Short starts with Blake and Sun chasing what I assume is a member of the White Fang through the market streets of Menagerie. During the chase, there's a flashback to years ago where Blake asked Illia why she joined the White Fang, and why she chose to fight when she passes for human. Illia launches into a story about how she used to attend a school in Atlas where she hid her Faunus powers and even talked sh*t about the Faunus with her human friends because she claims that she was one of them.

The story takes a turn when Illia and her friends find out about a mining accident where another Faunus was injured: the friends laugh whereas Illia turns blue and starts sobbing. Her friends are suddenly filled with fear, and she breaks their teeth in for some reason. From there, we go back into the present and Blake manages to catch the White Fang member she was chasing, Illia shows up, there's a moment between them where Illia shoots a bunch of crates off a hanging chain to distract Blake, and she makes good her escape along with the other dude. Sun shows up and asks what happened, and Blake apologizes for letting him get away, doesn't tell Sun about Illia, and then becomes awkward herself for some reason.

Damn it, Blake! Stop being so emo!
And this is coming from someone who claims to be a Gothic emo kid
beneath his cool adult exterior.

As you can probably imagine from the way I retold the short, I didn't like it. The fact that it wasn't about Blake irritated me to begin with, but then when I checked in on RWBY Wonderland and found that Illia had some new fans, I wanted to scream.

Does nobody else see Illia for what she is? A hypocrite and a terrorist? Think about it: Illia sh*ts on the Faunus though she is one (that's low), and then says that it was perfectly fine because she identified as one of the girls she went to school with (double low). But then when she hears about how the one Faunus accidentally blew himself up, she reacts differently from her friends. I'm sorry, but I thought she claimed she was one of them. Shouldn't she have laughed, too? And then, after her abilities are revealed and her friends become terrified of her, she ends up beating the sh*t out of them. They were already terrified of her, did she need to beat them?

So, tell me, what exactly is there to like about this girl? I don't get it. It confuses me as much as people who like Cinder, Mercury, Neo, or Adam. All of these people are murderers or, at the least, unnecessarily violent, and some of them have made attempts on the lives of our main cast. So, is there something wrong with the people who like them, or do they not know how this villain thing is supposed to work? Generally, you're not supposed to like villains. I will admit, Heath Ledger is one hell of a Joker and Spehiroth is the biggest pimp dick OG in the world of video game villains, but that doesn't make them likable. Hell, I don't even like the villains I write for my own stories.

Most badass villain ever!

Now, I admit, the above point isn't a criticism on the character short; it's a criticism of the community. So, do I have any actual criticisms of the short itself? Yes.

It seems to me that Kerry and Miles are setting up Illia to be an emotional block or hindrance to Blake, and I'm against that. Not because I think Illia could get Blake to have second thoughts, but because Blake already has at least three emotional blocks and they are all other characters: Sun, Adam, and Yang. By dint of their very existence and the dealings they've had with Blake, they have all inadvertently prevented Blake from taking some course of action or has forced her to retreat along her path. Why is a fourth one being introduced? Blake has enough problems. She likes a boy, but doesn't want him to get too close in case he gets hurt because of her (which has already happened thanks to that bitch Illia), she abandoned her best friend in a great and confusing time of need without explanation, and then she's got a toxic ex-boyfriend who desperately wants to destroy her. Why do we need a former friend getting in there and mixing things up? This is one the biggest problems I have with Blake as character; though it is through no fault of her own (I'm looking at you Kerry and Miles), she is the least developed of the four, she's the most stock out of the four, and all her problems are the same to which she has the same reaction--running away.

Now, I will admit that there was a part during the short that may point to the possibility of Illia's redemption. When she saved whatever-his-name-is from Blake, she aimed her weapon at Blake, Blake gave her the stink eye, Illia gasped and instead shot the crates above Blake to distract her. This moment hints at a few possibilities: 1. Illia isn't over her friendship with Blake and could be converted, 2. Illia is afraid of Blake, or 3. Illia will come to the conclusion that Blake doesn't care about her anymore and that will turn Illia into an even firmer enemy.

I hate you, you bitch!

However, Blake becoming awkward and apologizing unnecessarily afterward tells me that Blake isn't totally over her friendship with Illia, hence the emotional block I mentioned. It also feels like to me that Blake was actually apologizing to Illia for having left, or she was apologizing to Sun for letting Illia stop her when Illia shouldn't have been a problem for Blake.

Any way you slice it, we are most likely doomed to have more emo moments with Blake in Vol. 5, and this time they'll surround Illia. Which means Sun will probably have to try to convince Blake to take action against her, and that may pit Blake and Sun against each other (temporarily). Now, that wouldn't be too terrible so long as it doesn't interfere with story progression. Blake can feel awkward if she wants, but she better continue moving toward the objective of reclaiming the White Fang. Unfortunately, this also means that my prediction from last volume about how all roads lead to Mistral is wrong because it seems like Blake is going to spend another entire volume away from her friends. And I really hope that doesn't mean something is going to happen to Weiss on her journey to Mistral. I'm going to be so pissed if that happens because it means our story may not actually progress in Vol. 5 just like how it seemed to lose steam in Vol. 4.

                                                                      

So, yeah, those are my thoughts on the character short--it sucks and blows. Rooster Teeth should have led with Blake's and then released Weiss'. But this begs the question: will there be a Yang character short? Probably not; there isn't time. Volume 5 drops on October 14th (my mother's birthday by the way), and seeing as how there was more than a month separating the releases of Weiss' short and Blake's short, they can't fit one in about Yang. Besides which, she's practically in Mistral already and I'd be shocked if Yang wasn't in the first episode.

Speaking of Volume 5, I will continue writing these critiques on RWBY, I just may not to the videos anymore, but I will be releasing my critiques a full week after the fact so I don't spoil anything for the YouTube audience. This will also allow me to keep up my weekly segments of RWBY Theory and Speculation. Which means I'll be doing three RWBY posts a week starting October. (Holy crap.) But anyway, that will be it for now. In my next two RWBY Speculation/Theory posts, I'm going to talk about Blake's (fall in) popularity and why I think Sun won't be another Pyrrha. So, be on the lookout for those. Or just sign up for my RWBY mailing list here.

Keep writing, my friends.

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RWBY: The Top 10 Reasons Why Yang Should Be Your Favorite Character

Hey, everyone.

So to finish up my Top 10 Reasons Why This-Character Should Be Your Favorite series, we have the last member of Team RWBY, our sunny, little dragon, Yang Xiao Long. Once again, I'd like to thank my friend Michaela Roan and RWBY Wonderland admin Blake Belladonna for their help in making this list. If you want to join RWBY Wonderland, click this link: https://www.facebook.com/rwbywonderland/. And, if you guys want to make sure you don't miss the next series of RWBY posts, subscribe to my RWBY mailing list: http://eepurl.com/cWX8Fj. But if you really want to show me the love, support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.con/bryanclaesch.

Alright, then. Let's finish this bitch.



"Yang? Is that you?"

1. "Oh! I'm so proud of my baby sister!"

Yang and Ruby make for interesting siblings. Their proportions are different, their weapons are different, their hair is different, hell, they don't even have the same last name. But despite these differences, Yang still looks out for Ruby with great enthusiasm and she's been doing so for a long time. While we aren't told exactly when, I would estimate that it has been somewhere between 10 to 12 years ago (since Volume 1) when Summer was killed. This effectively cemented Ruby and Yang together as they no longer had a mother to rely on. With Yang being the older and likely feeling guilty for nearly getting the both of them killed, it's apt to say that Yang has practically become a surrogate mother to Ruby.

Something that struck me the other day was that it's never mentioned why Yang thinks it's the best day ever that Ruby gets to go with her to Beacon. Most older siblings would be annoyed if their little brother or sister got moved so far ahead that they ended up going to school together. But not Yang--she's super excited about it. We could assume it's because Yang just has that upbeat of a personality, but it's more likely Yang is relieved that she won't have to leave Ruby behind to fend for herself. I mean, do you remember in Players and Pieces where the Nevermore filled the battlefield with its quills? Do you remember how Yang rushed to help Ruby, and then the tight hug she gave Ruby after Weiss saved her from the Deathstalker? Yang hugs Ruby a lot in Volume 1. Then there's the part in The Shining Beacon where Ruby mentions that Yang used to read to Ruby every night before bed, an activity that is usually performed by a parent.

Another strange thought I had was that because Ruby is so much like Summer and Summer was the only mother Yang ever knew, and so by cherishing Ruby the way she does, Yang is holding onto and cherishing the memory of Summer. No longer able to love her mother, Yang turns to her baby sister and makes sure to love Ruby the way Summer deserved. Hence, Yang becomes the over-doting big sister.

"Please, stop..."

2. "I'm not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about and who care about you."

Monty had an interesting idea behind introducing the characters of RWBY. It was his intention to make them all look like stock, one-dimensional characters, and then as the show went on, to fill them out. Not many writers have the balls to do that since most readers, editors, and publishers won't even give a writer the time to set something up like that. Once they look stock, no one thinks to read on or care about what happens to them in the story.

When we're introduced to Yang, she's supposed to come off as the super extraverted, quintessential party girl. Always looking for fun and always on the move. But Yang is more than that. She deeply cares about her friends and family, and their relationships are very important to her. Remember when she started crying in Destiny when she thought Blake didn't believe her for being attacked by Mercury? Yeah, a skin-deep, party girl wouldn't do that. A party girl also wouldn't have a never-ending search for the mother she never knew. While Yang could have lived her life as she saw fit and think of Raven as dead to her, she doesn't. Yang genuinely cares about her friends and family, and she feels the sting of rejection or disbelief quite deeply. All of which will make Yang and Blake's reunion very interesting to see.

3. "Wait! Yang! Is she alright?"
"Uh... She's uh... She's gonna be alright. I think she's just... I think it's just going to take some time for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let this stop her."

Yang is a strong girl. Physically, but also mentally. She has such a strong will that you could call her stubborn, such as in her fight against Neo. And while Yang did take some time getting used to only having one arm, she didn't let it interfere with her day-to-day to life, and she hated how her incident with Adam left her with PTSD. Not wanting to be pitied or looked after by Tai, she took a chance on the prosthetic arm from Atlas in an attempt to re-forge her life and achieve a degree of normality that was more normal than being without it. Something I've mentioned elsewhere is that a good indication of Yang's inner state is her hair since it's so important to her and her vision of self. When it was tied up, so was she. But when her hair flows freely, that's when she's ready to burn brighter than everyone else.

4. "Yes, Junior. I have several. But instead of 'sweetheart,' you can just call me 'sir!'"

You ever seen Persona 4: The Animation? Do you remember the scene where Yu and Yosuke are sharing a tent with Kanji and he gets irritated with them for thinking he's gay, so he declares he's going to go sleep with the girls since they had more balls than them? Yeah, Yang is one of those girls that Yu referred to when he said, "For some girls, that is true."

Whether you call it balls, confidence, daredeviltry, or brash, Yang isn't afraid of doing what needs to be done in order to achieve her objective. She'll grab a guy by the balls, she'll destroy his club, she openly declares that she'll be turning heads, and she'll put herself at risk to help her friends. Of course, though, if Yang can have fun while doing it, she's going to. Let's not forget how she giggled after being launched off the cliff in The First Step.

Yang's favorite ballet is the Nutcracker.
(Is it true that Barbara actually grabbed Jack's balls once?)

5. "You're Yang Xiao Long. My sunny, little dragon."

Whenever we see Yang, we usually see her smiling and having fun. She's very positive and upbeat, and very few things get to her. In fact, it's unusual to see her bothered by something or even hurting. When she was bested by Neo, lost to Adam, and Blake didn't believe her or worse, ran away, those were all difficult moments for her. She's not one to sweat the small stuff. She can even take a jab thrown her way about her arm and her hair. Yang is emotionally resilient, and she can almost always find a reason to smile.

I need a better system than Print Screen.

6. Bumblebee

Did you honestly think I was talking about the ship? Well, if you read the Top 10 Reasons Why Blake Should Be Your Favorite Character you wouldn't have. (Maybe I'll do a blog post on why I hate the ship so much and why it's actually a terrible idea.)

But, anyway, Yang's got a bike. And bikes are pretty cool. While I may not like bikers for their impetuous attitudes, I find it difficult to squash my desire for a motorcycle. I have fond memories of being a kid and zipping around my neighbor on my bike. What could be better than strapping 1000 CC's of power to that experience. And so, just like with Ruby and scythes, the cool factor of Bumblebee helps make Yang cool(er). And as far as we've seen, she's a safe and responsible driver, but very capable and skilled when the time comes. Which is more than we can say for the Fake AH Crew and their talents on bikes. (To be fair though, most of those blunders are Gavin.)

7. This Porridge Is Too Cold

Just like how Ruby is a great interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, Yang is a great interpretation of Goldilocks. In fact, I'd say Yang is a huge improvement on the original. For one, she isn't a stupid kid who committed a B&E, raided someone else's food, messed up the ass grooves on their favorite chairs, and then invited herself over for a slumber party. And the only notable thing about Goldilocks was that she was a dumb blonde and a criminal. Yang's neither of those things, and her hair has more meaning to who she is than just a color. Still though, I'd love a direct reference or joke back to Goldilocks in RWBY. The scene where she killed a couple of Ursas isn't enough.

8. "Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night."

Well, I told you all it was coming, and here it is: Yang is the sexiest member of Team RWBY and possibly the whole show. Which is a bold statement considering Yang has some pretty stiff competition from the likes of Neo and Emerald. Hell, even Glynda has a number of very committed fans. But for me, the victor is Yang, and it's not just because of two very large and obvious reasons. She's got a great ass, too! No, I kid. Although it did look good in the Yellow Trailer. But the reason why I saw Yang is the sexiest character is because she has both a banging body and a fun personality. Everyone wants to have fun and we all prefer to be around pretty things rather than ugly, so that instantly makes Yang a winner across the board. True, my RWBY waifu is probably Weiss and Ruby is the most adorable, but who wouldn't want to at the very least date Yang? It'd be a good time.

Did you know that Monty based Yang's dress off one
Marilyn Monroe wore?

9. Dumbass: I'm a master of Karate! Hi-ya!
Smartass: I'm a master of Ka-chuk.
Dumbass: What's Ka-chuck?
Smartass: *Pulls out a shotgun and pumps it*

The Ember Celica. Who in their right mind would strap a shotgun to a gauntlet? I criticize, but just like combining a rifle with a scythe, it's actually a great idea. It combines a long range weapon with a short range one, and who wouldn't want to attach a shotgun to a gauntlet. I'm pretty sure a lot of people think the hidden blade from Assassin's Creed is one of the coolest things ever, so why not attach a shotgun to a gauntlet? Never mind the fact you're strapping a shotgun's recoil straight to your arm. But, hey, if we're going to get that picky, we're going to have to dismantle every weapon in RWBY. So let's just enjoy the Ember Celica as it is and imagine ourselves punching someone we really don't like with them.

10. "With each hit, she gets stronger. And she uses that energy to fight back. That's what makes her special."

Yang's semblance. The ability to take damage and then dish it back twice as hard. It's a pretty good one. Admittedly, it has some flaws and Yang isn't always strong enough to take the hit, but come on, she's a friggin' Super Saiyan! And what's more, she's a female Super Saiyan. There aren't any of those in DBZ, and if Yang could fire a Kamehameha (my autocorrect recognizes Kamehameha but not saiyan), it'd be the hypest shit. In fact, I'm kind of surprised no one has done any art of Yang using the Kamehameha. (Fan artists! Don't let me down!)

But anyway, we've all had those moments when we get so pissed, we give people that "You're so dead" face and we want the vehemence of our anger to be reflected in how hard we hit them. There'd probably be a lot fewer trolls if that was true. Too bad we aren't all Super Saiyans, but at least Yang is.

"Oh! Looks like Yang is angry. And you wouldn't like her when she's... upset."

And there you have it. The Top 10 Reasons why Yang should be your favorite character. It you guys think I missed any, go ahead and add them in the comments below.

Keep writing, my friends.


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RWBY: The Top 10 Reasons Why Blake Should Be Your Favorite Character

Hey, everyone.

Continuing with my series of Top 10 Reasons Why (this-character) Should Be Your Favorite, this time, we'll be looking at everyone's favorite emo kitty-cat Batman, Blake Belladonna. I'd also like to thank my friend Michaela Roan and RWBY Wonderland admin Blake Belladonna for their help in making this list.

And if you guys want to make sure you don't miss the next Top 10 RWBY post, subscribe to my RWBY mailing list: http://eepurl.com/cWX8Fj. And if you really want to show me the love, support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.con/bryanclaesch.

Let's get to it!

"Blake..."

So, Blake... so... Blake-y. I'll be honest, before I started writing the Novelization and before Volume 4, I really didn't like Blake. I didn't get the hype. She felt more like a stock character than the other members of RWBY and it still feels like she has the least characterization of them all. So it can be difficult for me to get into that Blake-mindset, but I'll do my best to explain why people like her so much.

1. "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."

Perhaps Blake's strongest asset is her strong sense of justice. Having lived through injustice and even committing unjust acts, Blake knows how far the crimes of others reach and how deeply ingrained they are in the world. Desiring real equality through real change, Blake left the White Fang and became a huntress all for the sake of rooting out the corruption. And even though she isn't quite clear on how to go about it, she's still fighting which is more than most people can say.

2. "There's no such thing as pure evil!"

This one confuses me a little, especially because I do believe in pure evil. (His name is Satan.) I got this from Michaela, so if it confuses you too, blame her.

Anyway, the argument here is that since Blake has been from both the right side and wrong side of the tracks, she can see the motivations behind every action and doesn't actually see people as necessarily evil. At the worst, they're just misguided. Who knows? Perhaps one of the reasons why Blake left the White Fang is because she pitied the White Fang and Adam. Blinded by their prejudices, she sees them not as evil, but handicapped, and so they can't objectively see the harm they're doing.

3. Psychomachia

I'm sure that's a new word for a lot of ya! But I bet Blake knows its meaning.

Anyway, psychomachia is a fancy word for the phenomenon of the angel and devil that sit on either of your shoulders and tell you what to do. Nearly all of Blake's existence has been tied to a battle between good and evil. She is that battle, and she constantly struggles with how to live a normal, virtuous life when her life has been darkened by everything she's done. We even get to see this battle play out as she struggles with the decision to just kill Torchwick or let him live in No Brakes. Her sense of morality and the struggle she faces reflects how others also struggle with the fight between good and evil.

Luckily though, Blake has her own sun who'll never stop brightening her world just like how morning always follows night.

Suck on that Bumblebee shippers! Blake's light is a sun, not a firecracker.

4. Redemptive

Blake fell in with a very bad crowd. She stole, she hurt, and quite possibly maimed or even murdered. (We don't know.) But Blake had the perspective to see what she was doing and what she was becoming, and she was repulsed by it. So, she left and got back on the right path. And as her father points out, she faced the White Fang, her demons, again and again, and she always came out on top rather than running away or changing her stripes for the sake of survival. Her story is one of redemption, and the audience always loves a good redemption story.

"I should have left the White Fang with you and Mom."

5. "I've heard students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom."
"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament."

Not much gets past Blake. Is it the Faunus eyes? The life of a criminal? Or is she just naturally sharp? (Ow! I cut myself!)

Whatever it is, Blake can see through the BS whatever the situation, whether it be Weiss' feigned diplomacy, the goodwill gift of Menagerie, or that there's no good reason for the White Fang to be working with Torchwick. Blake's got the eyes of a hawk.

6. "General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured. Perhaps if he had paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

Besides being perceptive, Blake studies. The girl knows her history, and although it's easy to assume she would've known that since she's a Faunus, we must also remember that in Volume 2 when she becomes obsessed with finding Torchwick and the White Fang, one of her problems that Weiss mentions is that her grades started to slip meaning she had grades that could slip. (I can't even claim that! But I don't go to school anymore.) And! The way Blake went searching for the White Fang and Torchwick suggests a studious, researcher mentality what with checking out books and searching the web. Blake's not your stereotypical cat-furry--she's got brains.

7. "Plus she likes books!"

If you were asked to name two things that Blake likes, what would you say? Adam? No! Yang? Maybe. Sun? Depends on the situation. But two things that you'll never go wrong with are books and tea. This may sound a little strange, but for those of us who like books and tea, it's great to see a character with these traits. Especially tea--there's too much coffee in the world! And books and tea go together perfectly. What's the perfect drink to have when you're reading? Tea! What's the best thing to do while drinking a cup of tea? Reading! See? It works splendidly.

8. Mmm, mmm. Yeah, yeah.

Have you guys ever been on YouTube and seen those RWBY Crack videos? Most of them suck, but some are genius. One I saw played that crappy song "Mmm mmm yeah yeah" by Austin Mahone over the footage of Blake walking away from Ruby after helping her with Weiss, and for the first time ever, I had to recognize the fact that Blake has a great booty. It's shallow, I know. But I mentioned Ruby being cute and guess what I'm going to say about Yang. That's right. Steel yourselves. But my point here is that while Blake is overshadowed by Yang, she's no slouch herself in terms of physical beauty. And I think all our hearts melted when we saw her in her prom dress.

9. "Now that's a katana!"

The Gambol Shroud is an interesting weapon. It's a sword, it's a gun, it's sheathe is a sword, and it's got a ribbon and can be thrown like a kunai. While I never would've thought of this as a viable weapon design because there's too much going on and there are better gunblade designs, Blake's weapon is effective and adaptable. In fact, there are times when it's more of a tool than a weapon. And if the Samurai or Ninja could've gotten their hands on the Gambol Shroud, they would have definitely used it. It's a pretty cool katana. (But admittedly Jetsteam Sam's is cooler.)

His sword is also a gun!

Can Blake's sword do that?

Hmm... not bad, actually.

10. "Here. This should help you."

On the surface, Blake's shadow clones don't seem to be anything special. She dodges and leaves a copy of herself to take the hit--what's so great about that? Well, Blake's semblance has a few extra advantages. For instance, she doesn't just dodge, she can use the clones to change the direction of her movement on a dime. She can go from flying right at Torchwick to the train car floor a safe distance away. Or, she can be flying through the air and then use her shadow clones to move her into attack position to take on a giant Nevermore.

Add dust charges to her Gambol Shroud and she can show you a whole range of new tricks from freezing an enemy's weapon in place to blowing them up. And if Weiss' semblance can evolve, I wonder what will happen when Blake's also evolves. Because lets face it, no one predicted Weiss being able to summon her fallen foes or how dust could help Blake. Just goes to show that Miles and Kerry still have a few tricks up their sleeves, and that we still don't know everything there is to know about Blake. How exciting.

And there you have it. The Top 10 Reasons why Blake should be your favorite character.



"Ugh!"

If you guys think I missed any, go ahead and put them in the comments below.

Keep writing, my friends.


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RWBY: The Top 10 Reasons Why Ruby Should Be Your Favorite Character

Hey, everyone.

So my blog post on why I like Weiss was so popular that I decided to keep it going. Not about Weiss, but about all of Team RWBY. Today, we'll be looking at Team RWBY's leader, Ruby Rose and the top 10 reasons why she should be your favorite. I'd like to thank my friend Michaela Roan and RWBY Wonderland admin Blake Belladonna for helping me put together this list.

And if you guys want to stay up to date with everything I'm doing RWBY related, then you can sign up so you never miss a beat. (Get it?) http://eepurl.com/cWX8Fj.

Let's jump in!

"Ruby!"

 



So, why would anyone like Ruby? Isn't she just a naïve, inexperienced, and socially awkward, 15-year old? What about her is so great that anyone would call her their favorite character?

1. And victory is in a simple soul

In the opening scene of RWBY, we are introduced to man's creation on Remnant and how he first fought against the grimm. Finding strength in dust, man was able to fight off the grimm, and not only survive, but thrive. But when Salem turns the tables and tells us the end is coming, that "there will be no victory in strength," Ozpin replies, "Or perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you have long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul."

Within Ruby is this pure and more honest soul. Ruby is good for the sake of good, and wants to become a huntress for the simple reason to help and save others, and to make sure that everyone lives happily ever after. Is there a nobler virtue?

2. "It's going to be tough. But I know we can do it. We've never back 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!"

Ruby has a bright outlook on the future. Thinking back to Field Trip, after Team CFVY returns from their mission that ran long, Team RWBY seems worried about their own mission to Mountain Glenn. Ruby admits that their mission is going to be tough, but she reassures her team that they can do it. Having never backed down from a challenge and coming out smelling like roses every time (to that date), Ruby's pep talk warms the spirits of her team and they get pumped for their mission.

3. "Of course, I'm excited. I just... I got moved ahead two years."

Ruby is a competent and skilled huntress. If she wasn't, Ozpin wouldn't have let her into Beacon. Thinking about Ruby's combat history, she has fought alongside huntresses and huntsmen at least two years older than her, she has faced villains single-handedly, and slain dozens of grimm. While I don't like the fact that the Beowolf is regarded as RWBY's version of the slime from Dragon Quest, because the Beowolf is really cool, Ruby has fought multiple packs without a problem. She fought one in her trailer, she criticizes Weiss for not being able to handle a pack alone, and then there was the Volume 4 character short where Ruby took out a Nevermore, Beowolves, and a Beringel all by herself. Girl's got skillz.

"You better hurry."
Translation: I'm not saving any for you guys.



4. "I have a plan."

Regardless of what the situation is, Ruby always seems to have a plan in mind. From taking down giant Nevermores to giving Weiss obvious advice in class, Ruby always manages to find the solution to her combat problem and is remarkably adaptable. If it weren't for Jaune and high heels, she could be the best strategist in the show.

5. "You've been burdened with a daunting responsibility, Ruby. I advise you take some time to think about how you will uphold it."

One of the things working against Ruby is her age. And with her youth comes immaturity. Everything from making fart noises in class to balancing a binder on a pencil. But when her immaturity creates friction between her and Weiss, with some help from Ozpin, Ruby realizes that she has to always be at her very best so that those who follow her will be, too. Even in Volume 4, Jaune tells Ruby, that despite everything she's lost and could still lose, she gave the rest of JNPR the courage to follow her.

6. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?

"Uh... well..."



Okay, so this is a little shallow and mostly opinion based. I do know that Nora and Penny seem to be in the running for cutest character in RWBY, but my money is on Ruby. While all three girls have what I consider to be essential cute girl qualities: short, upbeat, high energy, and short hair, sometimes I find Nora really annoying, and Penny's too naïve. Even in her sexier, timeskip outfit, I still think Ruby is as cute as a button. I really wish real girls looked like that.

7. Little Red Riding Hood

Very few people can deny that Kerry, Miles, and Monty did good basing their characters off fairytales, but besides Yang, I think Ruby is really where they did super well. Little Red Riding Hood is one of my favorite fairytales, and why wouldn't it be? It's essentially a Bloodborne side quest.

*Wink*
*Growl*

I also dig hoods. I used to wear hoodies all the time and a common theme in some of my novels is that characters who are author inserts often wear hoods. Add to that, I dig Ruby's Gothic threads and if it were socially acceptable, I would dress more Gothic myself. (That and I'm basically an emo teenager at heart.) Whether it be Ruby's original outfit or her timeskip one, both are good on her with her timeskip outfit easily being my favorite in the series. And lastly, my favorite colors are red and black. So, yeah...

8. "Got your back!"
"Who's got yours?"
"My BFF!"

"No..."

Besides Ruby's noble soul, her most virtuous trait is that she's a loyal and loving friend. The thing about people like Ruby is that while they're terrible in social situations, they often make the most loyal of friends. (I should know being an INTJ.)

Remembering back to Ruby's introduction to Weiss and Blake, she really wasn't comfortable in either situation. And then at the prom, she was hiding out at the punch bowl. But despite her social awkwardness, Ruby doesn't let that get in the way of her duty to her friends. She accepts them as they are whether they be Faunus or made of bolts and nuts instead of squishy guts. She's there for them in a pinch whether they need to escape Atlas personnel or when one is being attacked by a Nervermore, (even though that friend just made quarters out of a penny). She's willing to stare down almost certain death just to save a friend.

9. She Goes Naaaarrrroooo!

Ruby's semblance is speed. Or is it turning into rose petals? Either way, Ruby can go super fast. So fast that she becomes a red tornado capable of creating a vortex that sucks up things and people in its wake. Ruby's speed allows her to get the drop on her enemies, flee when necessary, or even use it to augment others' abilities such as when she and Nora defeated the Geist grimm in the first episode of Volume 4. And honestly, after being able to read minds and turn invisible, super speed is number one on my super power list.

10. "It's also a gun!"

Scythes are cool. Why? Probably because they're associated with the Grim Reaper despite the fact a scythe makes a terrible weapon. (Yes, I know about battle scythes. No need to tell me.) Therefore when you see a character wielding a scythe as a weapon, it makes them an instant badass. (Except for Dante from Dante's Inferno.) But scythes are great regardless of their inception, whether they be Crimson Rose, the Burial Blade, or Qrow's scythe, it's just a cool weapon and turns its wielder into Death's Apprentice. (Hey! Death's Apprentice. Cool story title.)

Well guys, that was the top 10 reasons why you should like Ruby. If you think I missed anything, let me know what it was in the comments. And don't forget to sign up for the mailing list so you don't miss anything RWBY. http://eepurl.com/cWX8Fj.

Keep writing, my friends.

The moment we all fell in love.



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RWBY: The Novelization Update

Some of you know that I write RWBY: The Novelization. For those of you who don't, I wrote a novelization of RWBY. Not the whole thing, but most of volumes 1 and 2, and the Yellow Trailer. If you're interested, you can read it on Inkitt, Deviantart, or FanFiction.net.

Now, back in May or June when I finished Volume 2, I uploaded a vid to my YouTube channel talking about why I did the Novelization and what my future plans were. To keep things short: because I love writing, really like RWBY, and I wouldn't mind having a contract with RT where they actually pay me to write the thing, and my future plans were to start releasing Volume 3 chapters on July 7th. As is obvious, I have not done that. Why?

There are a few reasons, but the most influential one is that when I wrote the Novelization, I didn't need to worry about money. Sure, the Novelization doesn't take up that much time, but it does take a few hours per week. There's at least two hours of work transcribing and writing an episode, an hour or two for editing, and then there's the uploading which when done on three different sites, takes longer than you'd think. So, I could very easily work and write the Novelization, but my situation has changed in other ways too.

When July started, I decided to get serious about this whole writing as a career thing and self-publishing my work. And that all takes time--time to write, time to edit, time to finagle Amazon's system, and time to market. Add to that, I've given myself several more projects due before the end of August. See, the secret to being successful as a self-published writer isn't having one book that makes you a hundred dollars, but rather having a hundred books that make you a dollar a day. And since money is an option right now, guess what gets the priority.

In addition to that, I'm going to start editing/doing another draft of a novel I completed a few months ago as I begin a third. Plus, I've got a project with my uncle. Basically, we're creating an app and there's going to be an animated web-series to go with it, but that's not making me any money yet. And! There'll be a book to go with that, and my uncle wants me to help him write a few memoir projects of his own. So... yeah. Writing... it's what I do.

So, what does this mean for the Novelization? Will it be indefinitely put on hold? NO! It shan't.

The Novelization is actually somewhat popular and people request I keep working on it. Problem is, I don't have the time to devote to a whole volume right now. And as some of you may remember, part of my self-publishing plan with regards to RWBY was to create a following that I could show to Rooster Teeth before I started hitting them up for a contract. But the Novelization is fairly popular. I think I might spring my plan early. But, not yet.

The plan is to take a look at the earlier entries of the Novelization and polish them, especially the first two entries, The Yellow Trailer and Ruby Rose and Welcome to Beacon, because these will be a part of the portfolio I send to Rooster Teeth. I may also send in a new version of Best Day Ever and another chapter from Volume 2. Why? Because I intend on writing at least two fresh chapters from Volume 3 and I will write the Red, White, and Black trailers. I'll also release these new entries to you, my adoring fans, on the usual channels and this blog. (I might even start adding them to Reddit.)

The purpose of all this is to show Rooster Teeth the scope of my abilities. But I can't do it alone. I quite appreciate all the support you guys give, and I have to ask for more (which I hate because I'm an INTJ). How can you support me? Keep reading the Novelization. Share it, get it out there. Comment on it. Discuss it. And if you actually want to see it whole as a real book, tell Rooster Teeth you want it and point them in my direction. You can also support me by checking out my original work. I have three books that are available now. I'll write entries for them, but if you want to check them out now, click this link: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B073Q8M216.

And lastly, keep reading this blog. I intend on expanding its scope to include RWBY stuff because my Weiss blog got more hits than my RWBY videos ever have. So, all those things I planned to do videos on but didn't because making videos are a huge pain in the ass, you can expect them here. I'll do speculations on Summer, dust, and why the moon is f-ed up. And just like how I broke down the reasons why I like Weiss, I'll do the same thing for the rest of Team RWBY.

I've got some big things in store, and I can't wait to share them. Like I said in January, 2017 is going to be my year.

So, to end this post, let me ask you guys something--I have my own ideas on which chapters from Volume 3 I'm going to write in the interim and for Rooster Teeth, but if you guys could request two chapters for me to write, what would they be? Put your answers in the comments below.

Keep writing, my friends.