Blake

Blake Belladonna is a titular protagonist of RWBY. She is a Huntress, having been trained at the now-defunct Beacon Academy. Her weapon of choice is a Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe (VBCS) named Gambol Shroud.

She first appeared in the "Black" Trailer alongside Adam Taurus, her lover, partner, and mentor in the White Fang, a Faunus terrorist organization. After leaving the organization, Blake enrolled at the now-defunct Beacon Academy, where she became a member of Team RWBY alongside Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long.

She is also the daughter of Ghira Belladonna, the current chieftain of Menagerie and his wife Kali Belladonna.

Blake is a fair-skinned young woman with wavy black hair and amber eyes. Her Faunus trait is a pair of black cat ears on top of her head.

After arriving in Atlas and meeting with James Ironwood, Blake cuts her hair to a shoulder-length bob. She changes her attire to a purple sleeveless leather catsuit with attached boots that has light purple soles and trim. The catsuit has a high neck with a single short silver zipper alongside matching zippers that run from her thighs to her ankles on the front of the legs. A pair of knee pads, matching color to the catsuit with silver studs on them are attached to the knees of the catsuit.

Her long, white tailcoat has desaturated purple detailing on the chest, sleeves, sides and collar alongside a dark purple detailing on the back. It has a narrow belt around the collar and a wide white belt loosely secured around her waist through the coat's belt loops. The belt has two pouches attached to the back. The coattails end in a point and the inside lining is vivid purple. The front zipper of the coat is upside down and extends to the very bottom of the coat, and there are additional zippers along the lower half of the sleeves with a single purple line running between the zipper and her shoulders. Around each wrist is a dark purple belted wristband and has a desaturated purple magnetic backpack on her back.

Blake is described by her voice actress Arryn Zech as being "mellow". She displays a cool, reserved and serious personality most of the time but does not lack a humorous side, which is usually in the form of dry wit and sarcasm. Blake is a righteous person, respecting other people's lives regardless of whether they are Faunus or not. She strongly despises those who judge and discriminate based on racial prejudice. Blake is outspoken, going so far as to indirectly insult the Schnee Dust Company in front of its heiress and defend Faunus of any kind. Despite her generally quiet demeanor, she can be surprisingly charismatic, as when she rallied the Faunus to defend Mistral against the White Fang after the attack on her home.

Blake is shown to be an introvert. Although she reads books to distance herself from the discussion at hand, as the series continues, she is shown to be more facetious and friendly. Blake appears most conversant when discussing the history and plight of her people.

As a Faunus, Blake has faced discrimination in the past and wears a bow when around Humans in order to be treated for her character and not her species. However, despite having no hate for Humans, she has seen how the real world works and wonders how she can undo so many years of hate and pain. After the Fall of Beacon, Blake discards her bow and does not cover her ears again, even around the presence of Humans, showing that she is no longer afraid to be seen as a Faunus.

Blake's past negatively influenced her personality, leading to moodiness, stubbornness, sleep deprivation and trust issues at times. She also has self-loathing issues, viewing herself as a criminal hiding in plain sight because of her past with the White Fang until her teammates convinced her that they still trusted and cared for her despite her being a Faunus and a former member of the White Fang. She also viewed herself as a coward who ran from her problems, as her Semblance was a prospect of her tendency to avoid conflict. She had even felt unworthy of her parents' love after leaving them behind for the White Fang's cause. However, her strong sense of righteousness led her to strongly disagree with the White Fang's increasing level of violence and hatred towards Humans, especially Adam's. It was thanks to her realization of seeing how spiteful and uncaring Adam was for Human lives she not only left the group but also decided to fight back after discovering Adam was planning to overthrow Sienna Khan and gain total control over the White Fang.

Thanks to her parents' unconditional love and Sun Wukong's support of her, Blake began to grow out of her self-loathing issues and mistrust for others, with Sun persuading her to let her friends help her as much as she believes she is helping them. She uses this in turn to persuade Ilia Amitola to leave the White Fang and find the courage to confront Adam with others' help and to reunite with her teammates at Haven. After she and Yang kill Adam for good, she vows to keep her promise by never running again, no longer viewing herself as a coward.

During her time at Beacon she learns to open up more and trust her teammates, and became more fun loving while hanging out with her friends, but when the Battle of Beacon happened, and Adam vowing to destroy everything she loved, she was regressed to loneliness and isolation, until Sun's persistence helps straighten out her understanding of the value and importance of having friends. After saving Haven Academy, reconciling with her teammates, and defeated Adam for good, she starts to relearn how to relax and have fun, such as going clubbing with Yang and Team FNKI.

Blake's Relationships:

Ghira Belladonna: Ghira is Blake's father, the chieftain of Menagerie, and the former leader of the White Fang. The two share a loving father-daughter relationship, and Ghira is eager to reconnect with his daughter when she returns home.

In "A Much Needed Talk", it is revealed that Blake had parted angrily with her parents due to their decision to leave the White Fang. She is now ashamed of the things she said then, believing her father and mother were right. Ghira assures her that they are proud of her and still love her.

Blake then helps Ghira in his endeavors to rally the people of Menagerie to head for Mistral and defend Haven from Adam's attack.

In "True Colors", Blake saves her father from Fennec's last attempt to kill him by using her weapon to pull him to safety.

Kali Belladonna: Kali is Blake's mother. At first, Blake is nervous about greeting her mother because it had been a long time since the two have seen each other. After receiving a warm, welcoming embrace from Kali, Blake relaxes and returns it.

The two talk quietly together during tea, both comfortable enough to converse privately. Kali even goes so far as to tease her daughter about Sun Wukong more than once. She also encourages Blake to talk things out with her father in "A Much Needed Talk", adding in a little bit of teasing about her non-talkative nature.

In "True Colors", Blake feels relieved to see her mother alive after the latter takes down Yuma by herself.

Adam Taurus: Adam is Blake's previous partner from the White Fang. They were stated to have a mentor-apprentice relationship, and Adam was also referred to as Blake's "crazy, abusive ex-boyfriend".

While still in the White Fang, Blake has some doubts believing Adam for accidentally killing innocent lives during missions, Adam even emotionally manipulates her when he brings up her parents leaving the White Fang to stay by his side.

Blake is seen leaving Adam at the end of the "Black" Trailer, likely due to the fact that Adam had no regard for the innocent lives still on board when he plans to detonate a bomb on the train; thus showing that she had had enough of White Fang's aggression and violence.

However, in "Best Day Ever", Blake is shown to have a sketch of him in her notebook, suggesting she still thinks of him. In "Mountain Glenn", Blake described Adam as having been her partner, but more of a mentor. Blake states that seeing Adam as having become a monster was one of the reasons she ran away from the White Fang.

In "Battle of Beacon", Blake is horrified to see Adam again. During "Heroes and Monsters", Blake is highly distressed and fearful in Adam's presence. He then proceeded to mock and insult her, causing her to shut down. Adam stabs her, but she escapes, showing her fear for herself and Yang. This encounter solidified to Blake that Adam truly did not want equality, only revenge against Humans and was using the White Fang as a means to do so.

In "Necessary Sacrifice", Blake tells Sun her summary of Adam has changed throughout their time together. At first, she thought he was "justice", and then she thought he was "passion". Ultimately, however, Blake saw that Adam has nothing but "spite" for Humans. She has become worried that his influence and ideals are dangerously contagious to those around him.

In "Alone Together" Ilia retorts that during Blake's time in the White Fang, she was "too busy falling for Adam", hinting that the two have a romantic history together. However, all feelings of affection that Blake may have harbored for him dissolved following the Fall of Beacon, as she admits she has given up on him despite still hoping to save Ilia.

In "True Colors", Blake vows to stop Adam from further tarnishing the name of the White Fang.

In "Downfall", Blake arrives at Haven Academy telling him to stand down and surrender peacefully. Adam thinks Blake saved him time bringing herself to him but realizes that she did not come alone showing that he is wrong knowing she brought reinforcements: her parents, Sun, Ilia, the people of Menagerie and the Mistral Police force. After his plan to bomb the Academy was ruined, Adam tries to slash Blake, but she uses her Semblance to avoid him and hits him from behind. In "Haven's Fate", Blake is not intimidated by Adam's taunts of her fears, saying that she has more important things to worry about than him. After she and Sun briefly fight Adam, Blake easily sees through his plan as he escapes and proclaims to Sun that it is time for Adam to see what it feels like to run away.

Ilia Amitola: While still in the White Fang, Blake was on friendly terms with Ilia, enough so that the latter told her about a painful part of her past that motivated her to join the White Fang. In "Menagerie", Fennec Albain claims that Ilia would be elated if Blake returned to the White Fang, implying they used to be close. During the events of "Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back" and the present day events in the "Volume 5 Blake Character Short", Ilia displays an unwillingness to use her weapon to harm Blake, actively fleeing from conflict with the latter. Blake does not share Ilia's avoidance of conflict. However, in "Necessary Sacrifice", Blake decides to try and help Ilia to save her from Adam's influence. In "Alone Together", Blake becomes distraught and angered towards Ilia after her old friend betrayed her and willingly follows the White Fang's plans to capture her alive and kill her parents. She was also surprised to learn that Ilia has romantic feelings for her. When she meets Ilia again in "A Perfect Storm", Blake hesitantly draws her weapon. As of "True Colors", Blake and Ilia regained their friendship by deciding to fight against Adam Taurus in order to defend Haven Academy along with the other Faunus in Menagerie.

In "Argus Limited", Blake and Ilia share an embrace before Blake joins her team and friends to journey to Atlas.

Ruby Rose: Ruby is Blake's fellow schoolmate, leader and teammate. Their first acquaintance is brief and without direct interaction. Blake appears indifferent to Ruby as she ignores her when the latter tries to make conversation.

The two meet again and end up on friendly terms when they realize their shared love for literature. Blake seems to be comfortable with Ruby being the leader of their team as she shows no shock or disappointment in Ozpin's choice, and she openly follows her orders either in battle, or to fix up their dorm.

As Vytal Festival draws near, both seem to get along better. After Blake reveals she is a Faunus, Ruby tries to talk to her, but Blake runs out of the room before Ruby can say anything. Two days later, Ruby is concerned for Blake, worrying about her not returning all weekend in spite of the doubts concerning her loyalty. Still, even after this, Ruby is thankful that Blake is safe and glad that she has returned. Also, she does not seem to care that Blake is a former member of the White Fang.

In "Welcome to Beacon", Ruby is worried when Blake expresses her concern about the White Fang. When Blake urges her teammates that they should do something about their enemies, Ruby agrees to help.

Despite not being partners, the two are seen to work exceptionally well as a pair, as seen during the fight with the Atlesian Paladin-290, where both use their speed to their advantage in striking it from below and above. Blake compliments Ruby by saying she handled herself well with Ozpin in "Field Trip". When Ruby goes missing in "Mountain Glenn", Blake, along with her teammates, expresses concern for their leader. After reuniting with Ruby in the underground city, Blake smiles when Yang hugs Ruby.

In "Necessary Sacrifice", Blake summarizes Ruby as the embodiment of "purity". In "Downfall", after reuniting with her teammates, Blake and Ruby share a mutual nod with each other before going back to finish their respective battles. In "Haven's Fate", Blake assures Ruby that she is not going anywhere as the team is fully reunited.

In "Alone in the Woods", Blake gets on Ruby's bad side when she sides with Yang about leaving the Relic of Knowledge at Brunswick Farms. Later, Blake's near death at the hands of the Apathy triggers Ruby to activate her silver eyes.

Weiss Schnee: Weiss is a fellow schoolmate and teammate of Blake's. Their first encounter involves Blake interrupting Weiss' scolding of Ruby and then insulting the Schnee Dust Company. However, this insult may be a way of getting at the Schnee Dust Company rather than an attack on Weiss, even though it also has the effect of saving Ruby from being berated further by the latter.

Due to the hostility Weiss has for the White Fang and her distrust of the Faunus, she runs into conflict with Blake. Blake is likewise annoyed at the prejudice Weiss shows towards the Faunus, taking it personally in the process of defending her race. After Blake accidentally reveals to the team that she is a Faunus and was in the White Fang, Weiss becomes distrustful of Blake and questions her loyalty.

Following this incident, even though Weiss seems as if she does not care, she does want to find her teammate after saying she was gone for twelve hours. Following the Dust incident, where Penny was able to stop the theft, Weiss said she does not care that Blake is a former member of the White Fang; they are teammates first and foremost.

By "Welcome to Beacon", the two seem to be on friendly terms, as shown when Blake points out her worries about Roman and the White Fang. When Blake proposes they fight their enemies, Weiss agrees, leaving Blake with a sigh of relief, knowing that her team is with her. The two also seem to trust each other well, as Weiss hands her a cartridge of Dust that allows Blake to get the upper hand in her fight with Roman. After a White Fang lieutenant defeats Weiss, Blake shows concern for her teammate and flees with her to avoid getting injured.

Before Pyrrha's fight against Penny, Blake and Weiss decide they have seen enough fighting and get drinks together instead.

In "Necessary Sacrifice", Blake associates Weiss with the word "defiance". In "Haven's Fate", Blake makes a strong entrance and asks with concern if she is alright while rejoining her and Ruby, surprising her two teammates as they remember her as always being the quiet one.

In "The Coming Storm", after Weiss is terrified of the corpses she finds, Blake comforts her with a blanket on the shoulders.

In "Dead End", after Caroline Cordovin referred to Blake's character as "questionable", Weiss replies, "What's that supposed to mean?" as a means of sticking up for her.

In "The Greatest Kingdom", Blake is worried for Weiss when Weiss talked about her fear of being returned to her father. During their mission in an abandoned Dust mine in "Ace Operatives" Blake is comforted by Weiss after she pointed how Faunus were exploited and possibly died in the mine before and during the accident and smiles and put her hand on Weiss' shoulder after she apologized for the pain her family caused to Faunus.

Yang Xiao Long: Yang is Blake's teammate and academy partner. Yang helps Ruby and Blake become acquainted after a somewhat awkward introduction. She believes befriending Blake is a lost cause, but Ruby steps in and manages to make a connection. Blake later helps Yang when a pair of Ursai attacks her. After Yang defeats one, Blake kills the other with a single attack. Yang jokes that she "could have taken" it, and the two become partners.

They appear to get along well, although due to Blake's silent and rather introverted personality contrasting with Yang's exhuberance, they do not talk much. Blake seems to find Yang amusing, such as at the abandoned temple when Yang suggests they take the "cute little pony" relic. By the time of the Vytal Festival, both seem to get along quite well. In "Welcome to Beacon", Yang is worried when Blake voices her concern regarding the White Fang and attempts to reassure her. When Blake proposes they take the fight to their enemies, Yang instantly agrees and playfully remarks "I love it when you're feisty", both sharing a smile afterward.

In "Painting the Town...", Blake shows noticeable worry for Yang, breaking her usual mellowness to cry out her partner's name in concern after Roman Torchwick, commandeering an Atlesian Paladin, smashes her through pillars and into the ground. Ruby assures her that Yang's semblance would allow her to keep things under control, as with each blow, Yang becomes even stronger. After she uses it to fight back, the two are shown to have grown as partners in combat terms, employing a tactic dubbed "Bumblebee", in which Blake swings Yang in a wide arc from the end of Gambol Shroud, to attack the Paladin. This plan proves to be effective, as, after a distraction provided by Ruby and Weiss, the two are able to use the maneuver to land a climactic blow from Yang to the Paladin, which utterly shatters it and forces Roman to disembark.

"Extracurricular" reveals that Yang, along with the rest of the team, is deeply concerned over Blake's recent lack of sleep and appetite, as well as slipping grades. Yang calms Blake down when she becomes irritated and tries to convince her to attend the dance the following weekend, promising to ensure Blake has the perfect night. Blake, however, declines and leaves for the library.

Yang confronts Blake the day before the dance, in "Burning the Candle". She tells Blake about her childhood, and how she continues searching for her mother. When Blake angers Yang, she begins pushing Blake back, to show that it would be impossible for her to beat Roman in her current state. Calming down, Yang hugs her partner and tells her to not stop but to get rest, not only for herself but for those she cares about as well. Yang then invites Blake to the dance again and promises her a dance. When Blake attends both are seen dancing together, shortly before Yang allows Sun to cut in.

In "Destiny", Blake has some difficulty trusting Yang after she injures Mercury during their festival match. The action reminds Blake of how Adam acted before he changed. Blake makes Yang promise that she will not change and that Yang did what she thought was right and regrets it. Yang promises, and Blake trusts her once more. In "Heroes and Monsters", Blake withnesses Yang lose her arm attempting to protect her from Adam; she then throws herself in front of her injured partner and uses her Semblance to distract Adam, enabling her to carry Yang away to safety. In "End of the Beginning", Blake is seen holding the unconscious Yang's hand as they lay next to one another in the courtyard, tearfully apologizing to her. After the Battle of Beacon, Blake ran off without informing her team.

In "Necessary Sacrifice", Blake describes Yang as the embodiment of "strength". In "Downfall", as she reunites with her teammates again, Blake calls out Yang's name first. In "Haven's Fate", Blake smiles as Yang forgives her and welcomes her back to the team.

In "Argus Limited", Blake's friendship with Yang is a slow start as it will takes some of time to regain her trust. In "The Coming Storm", she grabs Yang's robotic hand and tells Yang that if they ever encounter Adam again, she will be by her side and protect her, but Yang is offended by her words and walks off. While they are running away from the Apathy in "Alone in the Woods", Blake is surprised when Yang grabs her by the hand as they escape. When they are on the road and Yang apologizes about giving up on their mission to get the lamp to Atlas, Blake assures that it was not her fault as they were all under the influence of the Apathy.

In the midst of Blake's battle with Adam in "The Lady in the Shoe", she hears Bumblebee approaching and declares that she's not alone. Not long after, Yang arrives and fights by Blake's side. She then declares to Adam that she and Yang are protecting each other as they hold hands together. In "Seeing Red", Blake states that she will always be by Yang's side. She and Blake work together to fight Adam once and for all. After they successfully kill Adam, Blake breaks down and embraces Yang and tells her that she swears that she will never break her promise to her, to which Yang replies "I know you won’t". They are last seen comforting each other by touching foreheads, with Blake holding Yang's robotic hand to her cheek, and Yang fully forgiving her and repairing their trust and friendship.

In "Ace Operatives", Blake is flustered and visibly blushes when Yang tries to compliment her new haircut. Later, she laughs at Yang's comment about Ruby and Harriet.

In "Pomp and Circumstance", Blake can be seen getting a selfie with Yang after they become official Huntresses.

In "Sparks", Blake partner up with Yang and Marrow to eliminate Beowolves in the abandoned mines. She along with Yang are annoyed at Marrow when he suggests both of them should go separate missions until both of them prove him wrong by taking down a Beowolf together. The next morning, Blake later helps Yang wake up by tugging her arm. She can later be seen sleeping with her head on Yang's lap.

In "A Night Off", the two of them go to a dance together, and Yang is seen teaching Blake some dance moves. It is later speculated by Nora that "there's more going on" between the two, though Ren disagrees.

In "Worst Case Scenario", Yang listens to Blake when she tells her that she doesn't wish to use violence to bring Robyn Hill in to talk with Ironwood or to use violence to do the right thing, with Yang agreeing and deciding to have the two of them try and talk to Robyn instead.

In "Fault" she shows concern for Yang and Ruby's relationship as she reminds Ruby that she can call Yang if they want to talk. At the same time, Yang asks Jaune Arc is she thinks less of her for not assisting in Ruby's plan for Amity - Jaune naturally thinks Yang is referring to Ruby but it's strongly inferred that it's Blake she's actually referring to.

In "Ultimatum", Blake is relieved to see Yang and her group alive and well when she finally gets a call through. When everybody reconvenes at Schnee Manor, Blake struggles to meet Yang's eye until she holds her face in her hand and blushes, at which point she and Blake are content to touch foreheads.

In "Worthy", Blake attempts to rescue Yang when she falls into the void, and is left distraught and tearful when she fails to catch her, furiously attacking Neopolitan in response.

In "A Place of Particular Concern", after she and Weiss arrived at Ever After, she didn’t lose faith and believes Yang is alive. When she reunited with Yang after the encounter of the Jabberwalker, she tackled Yang in a hug and expresses relieve she is alright.

In "Altercation at the Auspicious Auction", after Blake tease Yang and had a good conversation, she briefly touch Yang’s hand before she moves her hand back.

In "Confessions Within Cumulonimbus Clouds", when Yang and Blake are trapped in the Punderstorm and stuck on a bridge, they express what they think of each other before finally confessing their true feelings to each other. Yang and Blake have their first kiss which surprises their friends, which leads to Yang and Blake finally becoming a couple, and Blake finally getting to experience real romantic love for the first time.