Vendetta543
patreon
Project: Fix Blake's Racism
🕑 Added 2025-01-31 10:44:51 +0000 UTCBlake Belladonna prided herself on many things - her discipline, her intelligence, and her ability to remain composed under pressure. She had to. She ran away from home to join a terrorist group when she was twelve years old. She was trained by Adam Taurus on how to fight, taught from the first time she picked up a sword that the people they fought against wouldn't care about her age or innocence. To them, she was nothing more than a filthy animal that needed to be put down.
...
But if there was one thing she never thought she'd have to deal with, it was her own team mistakenly believing she was a raging racist.
It all started as a simple misunderstanding, really. Someone made an offhand comment about Faunus rights during lunch, and Blake, conditioned by years of navigating prejudice and personal history, had tensed up, her hands clenching into shaky fists. Not because she disagreed - oh no, far from it - but because she'd learned to keep a low profile. She wore a bow ever since she attended Beacon specifically so she wouldn't have to deal with these kinds of conversations.
Unfortunately, her teammates had noticed her stiff posture. And, because her teammates were them, they had drawn the worst possible conclusion.
Weiss, ever the blunt aristocrat (so much for that government reformation, Atlas), had given her a knowing look and muttered, "I see how it is."
Yang had squinted at her like she'd just been caught kicking a puppy.
And Ruby? Poor, sweet, innocent Ruby had gasped so hard she almost inhaled her sandwich.
Blake had thought they would let it go. She had hoped they would let it go. But of course, they hadn't. Which was why she was now sitting on a chair in Team RWBY's dorm room, staring up at her three teammates, who just uttered the words that would haunt her for the rest of her life, "Blake, we need to talk about your racism," Weiss said, legs crossed and utterly blind of the irony dripping from her in waves..
She blinked. Once. Twice, "What."
Yang crossed her arms, giving Blake a look that was equal parts concern and smug satisfaction, like an older sister who caught their sibling sneaking cookies from the jar, "Look, we've all noticed how weird you get whenever Faunus come up in conversation."
Weiss nodded sagely, "You go silent. You clench your fists. You refuse to engage. It's clear you have...strong feelings on the matter."
Blake's eye twitched, "I- "
Ruby, their darling leader, clasped her hands together and looked up at Blake with tearful silver eyes, as if begging her to change her wicked ways, "Blake, we're your friends. We can help you! You don't have to be this way!"
Blake stared. Her brain short-circuited. This couldn't be happening. This could not be happening, "I'm not- " she started, but Weiss cut her off with a solemn nod.
"We get it, Blake," Weiss said in the most condescending, 'I've-read-three-books-on-this-and-now-I'm-an-expert' voice imaginable, "You grew up in a place where these...beliefs were the norm. You probably never had someone to challenge them."
Blake clenched her jaw so hard she thought her teeth might crack. She told them she grew up in Mistral. She didn't have a choice. Weiss was Atlesian and both Yang and Ruby were Valeans (well, they lived in Patch, but that was a distinction without a difference, despite their claims to the contrary). Her only choice was Mistral or Vacuo, and at least she knew about Mistral's culture if someone started asking about her time back 'home'. Vacuo was practically ignored by the White Fang since the Vacuans hated everyone outside of their own equally.
"I promise you, that is not the case."
Weiss sighed, closing her eyes as if preparing herself for a noble speech, "Blake, I understand. You know I used to have my own prejudices, right? I grew up in Atlas as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, raised with a certain perspective on Faunus." She put a hand on her chest, looking at Blake with condescending pity, "But I've changed. I learned to see past the ignorance and recognize my own flaws. And you can too."
Blake threw her hands up, "Oh, come on! I am NOT getting a lecture on prejudice from WEISS SCHNEE, of all people!"
Weiss looked mildly offended, "I don't see why not."
"Because!" Blake sputtered, gesturing wildly, "Because you're you! Because your family has a history of-! Because I'm not even-!" She stopped herself just short of outing her own secret, biting her lip so hard it almost bled.
Yang nodded solemnly, "Wow. Defensive much?"
"I am not defensive!" Blake snapped, her composure slipping. "I have nothing against Faunus! In fact, I think they're great! They're fantastic! Some of my best friends are Faunus!" Like Ilia. She'd understand why she had to leave her and everyone else without warning.
Weiss, Ruby, and Yang all exchanged deeply concerned glances that made her want to punch them all in the face. Even Ruby, "You just said the thing," Ruby whispered.
"What thing?" Blake asked, already regretting the question.
"'Some of my best friends are Faunus,'" Yang quoted, making finger quotes in the air. "That's, like, classic racist denial."
Blake's soul left her body, "I am a Faunus!" she wanted to scream. "I'm literally one of them! My parents ran a revolution for Faunus rights! My childhood best friend was a giant tuna with arms! HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!"
But of course, she didn't say that. Blake took another deep breath. No, she had to be smart. She could talk her way out of this. She could convince them without exposing her secret to a girl who couldn't keep her mouth shut if her life depended on it (Ruby), someone who'd use her race as fodder for cat jokes (Yang), and the future CEO of Racism (Weiss), "Look," she said carefully. "I support Faunus. I just...don't always want to talk about it. It's a complicated subject."
Weiss nodded in understanding. "Of course. Bigotry is deeply ingrained in many cultures. Undoing that kind of thinking can take time. I know from personal experience."
"That is not what I meant."
Yang frowned, rubbing her chin. "Maybe we need to take action. Get you out of your comfort zone. Exposure therapy."
Blake's eyes widened in horror, "Please don't." She could see it now. The three of them taking her across Vale and trying to teach her lessons about equality and tolerance straight out of kid shows. Even the White Fang despised those, which was saying a lot.
Yang grinned, "Too late, Blakey."
Weiss straightened, "I have some excellent reading material on Faunus history and oppression." She paused, "Granted, those books try to paint it as a good thing, but beggars can't be choosers. Just please remember that it's not meant to be positive despite what the book claims."
Ruby clapped her hands, "Ooh! I can introduce you to some really nice Faunus! Maybe if you get to know them, you'll see they're just like us! That we're all just people!"
Blake buried her face in her hands, "I already know that."
"One step at a time," Weiss said soothingly, patting her back as if Blake were the world's dumbest child. She wanted to die. She wanted to die. She'd do it. She'd take Gambol Shroud and stab herself in the gut right in front of them. Then she'd take off her bow so the last thing they realized before the light left her eyes was that they were all morons and they killed her.
"Blake," Ruby said softly, taking her hand, "We care about you. And because we care, we won't give up on you."
Blake groaned into her hands, "Please do."
"Tomorrow," Yang announced, standing up, "We start Project 'Un-Racism Blake.'" Blake sobbed. Did the name have to suck too?
Weiss nodded in approval, "I'll prepare the literature."
Ruby beamed, "I'll set up some playdates!"
"And I'll get the drinks." Yang grinned.
Blake stared at them, then at the ceiling, as if asking some higher being why she was being punished. What did she do to deserve this? Was it running away from her loving parents? Joining a militant extremism group? Falling in love with a psychopath who unironically owned a katana and fedora? Because those were just innocent childhood mistakes. If whatever God was out there really held those against her, then they were a petty asshole.
Comments
BA
All of the above, Blake. All of the above.
