Blake Belladonna

**Blake Belladonna** (ブレイク・ベラドンナ, *Bureiku Beradonna*), is both a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the *RWBY* series. She is a cat Faunus and former student at Beacon Academy. Her weapon of choice is her Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe (VBCS) named Gambol Shroud.

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

"*I understand that to ask you to leave your homes and protect Haven Academy is asking you to put your lives at risk, but that's what's at stake. So I'm going, and I'll stand by myself if I have to."*"

—Blake Belladonna, giving a speech to the Faunus of Menagerie.

## Appearance & Biography

*Voice Actor*: Arryn Zech (English), Yū Shimamura (Japanese), Not Known (French), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Chinese), Not Known (German), Not Known (Hebrew), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Poland), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (European Portuguese), Not Known (Latin Spanish)

### Appearance

Blake is a fair skinned young girl with amber eyes and long black hair. A ribbon is tied with a large bow on the top of her head, which acts as a cover for her Faunus heritage and disguises her black cat ears. She wears purple eyeshadow in catseye style.

In "*Of Runaways and Stowaways*", Blake removes her bow and throws it into the ocean.

#### Original (Volumes 1–3)

She wears a black buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front. Underneath this is a white, sleeveless, high necked, crop undershirt and white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg, emblazoned with the YKK logo of the real-life Japanese zipper manufacturer.

She also wears black low-heeled boots and full stockings with a color gradation of black to purple at her ankles. Her emblem is visible on the outside of both thighs just below her shorts in white. On her left arm is a detached sleeve with a silver cuff around her bicep, and black ribbons are wrapped around both forearms. A small, loose scarf is wrapped around her neck and a gray magnetic backpack is strapped to her back, hidden by her hair.

##### Pajamas

Blake's pajamas consist of a black, long-sleeved, yukata-style shirt with white edging over a purple undershirt, and a matching skirt. A black obi is wrapped around her waist and tied with a black and white string. She wears her bow while sleeping.

##### Alternate Outfit (Intruder)

During the events of "*A Minor Hiccup*" and "*Painting the Town...*", Blake wears an alternate outfit codenamed "Intruder".

This outfit consists of a white, v-neck, zip-up crop shirt with a black hem and three-quarter sleeves. Her emblem is printed in off-white on the left side of the shirt. She wears black pants that have a vertical gray stripe on the outer side of each leg and a black belt.

Attached to the rear of the belt is a black piece of fabric that covers her from hip to hip. Underneath this is a longer, translucent, purple piece of fabric. She also wears black high-heel boots with two straps and buckles and purple undersoles, reaching to mid-calf. She retains the black ribbons on her forearms and her black bow.

##### Dance

During the Beacon Dance, Blake wears a short, purple, asymmetrical, halter neck dress that is split up the right side and has a black collar. Translucent black mesh covers her shoulders, decolletage and back, and decorative black swirls cover the left side of the dress and continue up the left strap. The outfit is completed with black pumps, and she wears a teal bow as opposed to her usual black one.

##### Uniform

Blake wears the same brown shoes, red tartan skirt, white blouse with maroon trim and thin red bow, brown vest with gold buttons, and maroon blazer with gold trim as every other girl attending Beacon Academy, alongside knee-high black socks.

#### Post-Timeskip (Volume 4 - Current)

After the timeskip following the Fall of Beacon, her new design features a long white tailcoat with dark gray lining and a sleeveless black crop top. The crop top has rectangular and diamond shaped cutouts around the neckline. Additionally, she wears a white belt over black fitted pants. After the confrontation with Adam in "*Heroes and Monsters*", Blake has been left with a scar on her left abdomen.

Across her torso is a diagonal strap that contains a smaller magnetic clip used to sheathe Gambol Shroud. She wears thigh-high black heeled boots with gold-colored edging around the top. The left boot has a belt wrapped twice around the thigh. Each boot bears her belladonna emblem in white on the outer side of the thigh, and a white pouch is attached to the back of her belt.

* Hair Color: Black
* Skin Color: Pale White
* Eye Color: Amber
* Age: 17 (at series start)
* Birthday: Not Known
* Height: 5'6" (1.68 meters) minus ears
* Weight: Not Known

## Personality

Blake is described as being "mellow" by her voice actress, Arryn Zech. She displays a cool, reserved, and serious personality most of the time but does not lack a humorous side 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. 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.

Blake is shown to be an introvert. Though 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.

Blake's past negatively influenced her personality, leading to stubbornness, sleep deprivation and trust issues at times; however, she has a strong sense of righteousness. As a member of the White Fang during its former, peaceful leadership, Blake strongly disagrees with the level of violence and hatred they exhibit toward Humans. She sees her Semblance as a prospect of her tendency to avoid conflict, especially when caused by the White Fang, but Sun persuades her to let her friends help her as much as she believes she is helping them. She uses this in turn to persuade Ilia to leave the White Fang and to confront Adam with others' help.

Blake's Cat-Faunus features also seem to give her other aspects of a cat, such as climbing up to Ruby's bed to stay away from Ruby and Yang's pet dog, Zwei. Another time, she is distracted by and then instinctively decides to follow a laser pointer light to a waiting Yang in "*Burning the Candle*". She also has a great love for tuna, as shown in "*Round One*" where she drools over a bowl of noodles topped with tuna fish.

## Relationships

### Friends/Allies

* Ilia Amitola
* Beacon Academy
	+ Ozpin
* Team RWBY
	+ Ruby Rose
	+ Weiss Schnee
	+ Yang Xiao Long
* Team SSSN
	+ Sun Wukong
	+ Neptune Vasilias
* Penny Polendina
* Oscar Pine

### Family

* Kali Belladonna (Mother)
* Ghira Belladonna (Father)

### Enemies

* White Fang
	+ Adam Taurus
* Salem's Faction
	+ Salem
	+ Arthur Watts
	+ Cinder's Faction
		- Cinder Fall
		- Mercury Black
		- Emerald Sustrai
		- Roman Torchwick

## Powers and Abilities

### Physical Abilities

Blake shows above-average agility, speed and endurance, as shown when fighting multiple enemies yet maintaining motion and energy without fatigue. She also exhibits a high level of skill when handling Gambol Shroud. She can slash away at opponents with startling speed and deflect incoming machine gun fire using just her blade.

Blake also possesses remarkable reflexes, able to dodge a nearly point-blank strike from Adam Taurus by using her Semblance.

As a Faunus, Blake possesses the ability of night vision, granting her the ability to see proficiently in the dark, as is shown after shooting out the power during the White Fang Faction Meeting, using the dark as a means for her and Sun to escape from Roman and the White Fang.

### Fighting Style

#### Semblance

Blake's most remarkable quality is her Semblance, which allows her to create Shadow-clones. Blake can use these clones to distract, shield or hide herself from the enemy for a brief amount of time, which is demonstrated during her fight with Atlesian Knight-130s and again during her fight against Roman Torchwick.

Her first on-screen use of it is during the events of the *"Black" Trailer* when she utilized it against the Spider Droid. Blake's first recorded use of her "Shadow" ability in the series proper is during "*Players and Pieces*" when she fights the Nevermore. During the latter battle and others, she propels from her shadows, confirming there is some substance to her copies. In "*Of Runaways and Stowaways*", a clone exerts a force on her, allowing her to reach greater heights.

It is unknown exactly how long a shadow copy can appear for or how far away from Blake they can exist. Though Blake usually uses them in her immediate area, she reaches rather far away from one she uses to trick Reese Chloris in a Vytal Festival Tournament match.

Blake uses Dust to give her clones additional abilities. Fire Clones are explosive, Earth Clones are more concrete defenses than normal clones, and Ice Clones are effective in trapping enemies, giving Blake the advantage in fights.

### Weapons

*Main article:* *Gambol Shroud*
There are three forms to Gambol Shroud. When sheathed, her weapon is able to slice opponents in two with its cleaver-like cover. However, when unsheathed, it becomes even deadlier, and Blake is able to use both the blade and sheath in tandem against her opponents. Blake is also capable of jumping large distances, leaping from building to building and even on moving cars, as seen in "*Painting the Town...*".

She is also adept in using Gambol Shroud as a conduit for her Aura. Creating shock wave like attacks of varying intensities in conjunction with her swings, these attacks have been shown to be extremely effective and versatile as Blake has used them against Grimm, missiles, AK-130's and human opponents. Given that Adam demonstrates a red variant of this attack in the *"Black" Trailer*, it is possible she learned this technique from him.

She also appears to be able to freely and quickly change the way she grips her weapon. She can fold the blade into a gun-blade which is attached to an extending ribbon, similar to the Japanese *kusarigama* or sickle-and-chain. Her technique with this form of Gambol Shroud is similar to Ruby's with Crescent Rose: she uses the recoil from the gun attached to her blade to increase the speed of her attacks and can slice multiple enemies with Gambol Shroud from the ground or in the air through a whirling attack.

Additionally, she uses the momentum of the weapon on the ribbon as an anchor to maneuver herself in midair, and she can grapple other opponents or objects from medium range to bring them into melee distance. She is quite accurate as well, for she is able to kill an Ursa with one strike during her meeting with Yang in the Emerald Forest. Though she is very talented at using Gambol Shroud offensively, it requires a lot of concentration, lowering her defensive capability and making her more susceptible to attacks overall. Blake uses her ribbon again in "Painting the Town..." to spin Yang around, which is part of Ruby's plan to distract and defeat Roman.

Because the sword portion of Gambol Shroud folds into a sickle, the end of the blade is double-edged, and she can use this double edge when it is in its sword form. This is seen in "Black and White" when she attempts to interrogate Roman by placing the back of the blade to his throat while pointing her gun toward the White Fang members to keep them at bay.

## History

### Past

#### White Fang

In "*Black and White*", Blake once tells Sun Wukong that she was practically "born into" the White Fang organization while explaining to Professor Ozpin that she grew up outside of the kingdoms of Remnant. In "*Of Runaways and Stowaways*" she reveals that Menagerie is her home.

From early in her life, she was involved in the organization's protests against unfair and discriminatory treatment of Faunus. It is clear that she continued as an active supporter of the organization despite its turn to militancy approximately five years before she enrolled at Beacon Academy.

Despite her later-expressed misgivings at the organization trying to gain respect through fear, she fought alongside other members of the organization and was clearly trained to become a proficient guerrilla fighter.

On the night before the train heist, Blake approaches Adam after he turns down a deal with Cinder Fall.

#### "Black" Trailer

Blake is first seen assisting Adam Taurus in the raiding of a cargo train owned by the Schnee Dust Company, carrying shipments of Dust.

During the raid, Blake helps Adam fight off an army of Atlesian Knight-130s in order to reach the cargo hold and find what Adam was looking for. However, upon discovering Adam's plans to blow the train up, along with the crew, Blake starts to have doubts.

They are then attacked by a Spider Droid and forced outside, where Blake distracts it long enough for Adam to charge an attack and destroy it. When he turns around, Blake decides to sever their connection and the train car, saying goodbye as the train pulls away without Adam.

Blake later tells Sun: "*I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence. Instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress.*"

## Synopsis

### *RWBY*

#### Before the Timeskip

##### Welcome to Beacon

Blake is present on the first day at Beacon Academy, reading a book in the landing area. She is seen to verbally attack Weiss Schnee in a cool manner, using the Schnee Dust Company's bad reputation as a base for her insults. After Weiss leaves the area, Ruby Rose comments on the encounter, only to turn around and find that Blake has already left.

After all the students are dismissed and sent to bed, Ruby and Yang Xiao Long spot Blake in a corner, reading a book. Ruby, forced by Yang to talk to her and make friends, is dragged over to where Blake is. Though the conversation is awkward at first, Ruby and Blake start to warm up to each other and seem to become friends somewhat; however, Weiss interrupts the conversation and causes an argument once more.

Knowing she won't be able to continue her book, Blake blows out the candles beside her.

##### Beacon Academy Initiation

Although she is never directly seen in this episode, Kerry Shawcross tweeted that Blake was one of the silhouettes shown in the Beacon Cliff launch lineup. This tweet, however, was possibly a joke made to address the commotion caused by Blake's absence.

While Blake doesn't make an actual appearance in this episode, Ruby contemplates having her as her partner, as they both seem to like books. However, because of Blake's quiet nature, Ruby fears she wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with her for very long.

She is later seen running through the shadows of the forest while Yang is searching for a partner, possibly attempting to scrutinize the fighting styles of other students in order to deliberately choose a partner. After Yang is confronted by two Ursai and knocks one far away with a series of punches, she turns to the other one. Before she can attack, it is swiftly defeated by one quick strike from Blake and her Gambol Shroud. The two smile at each other.

Blake and Yang make it to the temple, where they discover the relics, which Blake notes are just chess pieces. They walk around the temple, making note that some pairs have already found the temple, and study the pieces up close. Blake seems uninterested in which piece they pick, so when Yang suggests taking a yellow knight, Blake agrees.

However, when the two hear Jaune Arc's girly scream, Yang asks Blake if she heard it and what they should do. Blake, on the other hand, seems distracted by something in the sky as Ruby is seen flying through the air towards the temple.

As Blake and Yang stand by the temple, Blake starts to notice all the strange things going on, like Ruby falling from the sky, Nora Valkyrie riding on the back of an Ursa to the temple, and Pyrrha Nikos being chased by a Death Stalker. As Weiss flies overhead on a Nevermore, Blake says she is going to fall (which she eventually does). Blake then follows the rest of the students to an old structure on the cliffside and helps Lie Ren defend Nora from the Death Stalker before retreating with the others.

Nora then accidentally knocks Blake off the broken pathway, but she manages to swing onto the Nevermore and hit it multiple times with little damage. Ruby then comes up with a plan and to use Blake's ribbon as a large slingshot, with Weiss launching Ruby at the Nevermore and allowing Ruby to defeat it. Once they return to Beacon, Blake is assigned to Team RWBY.

##### Manga

Blake is seen with Team RWBY in the Beacon food halls talking about the nature and uses of Dust until they are interrupted by Cardin Winchester throwing Jaune Arc into their table, sending it flying.

##### Start of Classes

After rooming with her team, Blake wakes up with an uncharacteristic enthusiasm. Blake points out that they need to unpack, holding a suitcase that accidentally opens up and the contents fall to the floor, prompting her to say they need to clean as well.

They begin setting up their personal belongings, with Blake organizing her bookshelf until she takes out a book titled *Ninjas of Love*, but quickly puts it in a hidden location, apparently wary of someone seeing it. When Ruby suggests making bunk beds, Blake agrees, stating that it would be more efficient.

Blake later rushes out of the room with Yang and Ruby after Weiss points out class starts in five minutes. During Peter Port's lecture on the Grimm, she seems uninterested.

As Weiss faces off against the Boarbatusk in Professor Port's class, Blake gives her encouragement with the rest of her teammates, waving a small Team RWBY flag and telling her to "fight well". She is later seen in their dorm room asleep in the bottom bunk under Yang.

Blake is seen sitting with her team, alongside Team JNPR, reading a book during lunchtime, while Nora tells a story about her dream, which she is heavily ignoring. She then closes her book, after seeing how Cardin is treating Velvet. She then agrees with Pyrrha Nikos' statement on how she hates people that hurt others, such as Cardin and his team, and mentions that he is not the only person she can not stand to see being rude to others.

Blake is seen attending a history class in Bartholomew Oobleck's class. She is sitting next to Pyrrha where both explain a particular battle fought in the Faunus Rights Revolution. Blake mentions how Faunus were able to obtain victory, shortly after Pyrrha mentioned that Faunus often have good night vision. She then says that if the general had paid attention in class, he wouldn't be remembered as a failure, provoking Cardin.

Blake is seen in the Forever Fall forest alongside her team listening to Glynda Goodwitch, who comments on the forest and the assignment given to them by Professor Peach. After the teams go to search for sap, she is seen alongside Ruby, who is collecting sap, while she stares at her teammate with her hand on her cheek.

Blake was briefly seen alongside Yang. Under orders from Ruby, she and Yang went to get Glynda to warn her of an Ursa that was attacking Jaune and Cardin.

##### Team Divided

Blake notices and is surprised by Sun Wukong who stows away to Vale. Before and after this incident, Weiss claims the White Fang is nothing but a group of anti-Human Faunus, prompting Blake to argue with her long into the evening of that day.

When Weiss condemns the White Fang yet again for attacking her family, Blake bursts with emotion and exclaims that they "were tired of being pushed around", accidentally revealing her past. She runs away from her teammates and crosses paths with Sun in the courtyard.

At a café, Blake explains her involvement and departure from White Fang to Sun. She announces her intention to prove the White Fang innocent of the Dust thefts, to which Sun suggests they catch the real thieves in the act. They head to a harbor, only to witness White Fang agents collaborating with Roman Torchwick, a human, which astonishes Blake.

Blake tries to use her previous ties to the White Fang to get them to stop, but she is forced to fight both them and Roman. Although Sun aids her, Roman matches their combined efforts, only to stop when Ruby and Penny arrive on the scene. Afterwards, she meets with her team and reconciles with Weiss.

##### Beginning the Second Semester

While eating with Yang and Weiss in the dining hall, Blake looks over a notebook with a drawing of Adam and the original logo of the White Fang. Yang tries to see what she is looking at, but Blake claims they are notes from last semester and Yang quickly loses interest and goes back to catching food Nora is throwing at her.

Ruby then appears with a large binder full of ideas on how to spend their last free day before the second semester starts, but Blake wants to back out. Weiss, on the other hand, feels that even if they don't do anything, they stay together as a team, but is cut off when she is hit in the face with a pie as a result of Yang and Nora's escalating food fight. Meanwhile, outside, Sun describes to Neptune Vasilias the circumstances in which they met and fought together, and asks him to keep secret her status as a Faunus, so as to not betray her confidence.

When they enter the dining hall, however, Blake and her team are already involved in a large food fight with JNPR. Blake and Pyrrha fight using large rolls of French bread, but the former is forced back. After Nora takes out both Weiss and Yang, Blake picks up a large chain of sausage links and uses them as a whip, knocking Nora into some soda machines.

Nora forces Blake back with the cans, but Blake is defeated when Pyrrha uses her Semblance to control all the cans and forces Blake against the wall, defeating her. After the fight, Blake jumps out of the way as Yang crashes through the ceiling and is seen laughing with the others.

Sometime later, Blake Belladonna is seen with her team in the library playing a board game, to which she seems to be inattentive. Following Sun and Neptune's arrival, Blake leaves the library and secludes herself in her team's dorm room, remembering the events of what happened during the fight with Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, and her meeting with Ozpin.

She is then confronted by her team and is stopped from leaving the room by Weiss, who notes her recent behavior in being quiet, anti-social and moody. Blake voices her worries, concerning the machinations of Roman and the White Fang, and the relative calm of her fellows regarding said activities. After some argumentation, Ruby suggests a plan to stop their enemies, and the team adopts it, with Blake noting that they are all in it together.

##### RWBY Investigations

Blake is first seen alongside her team at the end of Professor Port's class. Later in the dorm room, she and her team prepare themselves for their investigation, with each member summarizing her role; Blake's is to infiltrate a White Fang meeting to gather actionable intelligence, disguised as a new recruit. Alongside her team, they are surprised by Sun, who, hanging from a tree branch outside their room, offers his assistance to their investigation. While the team initially declines his aid, upon his insistence he joins Blake's infiltration.

Blake and Sun are seen arriving at the location of a White Fang Faction Meeting, and infiltrate it posing as new recruits. Each are given a Grimm mask by the doorman, to which Sun asks Blake why the members wear these masks. Blake explains the significance of the White Fang's Grimm masks: Faunus are treated as monsters, and so they adopt the motif - a dark thing, as Sun suggests and to which Blake attributes to the person who founded the concept.

Once they successfully inject themselves into the crowd, they overhear the speech Roman gives regarding the newly obtained "resources" and their new operations in the southeast. However, after the speech, they are soon spotted by Roman as Blake shoots a nearby breaker box, cutting the power to the building. Blake and Sun lunge out of the building through the side windows, while Roman pursues them in the Atlesian Paladin-290 he had presented to the White Fang's Faction Meeting.

As the two try to escape via rooftop-hopping, Blake contacts her team, requesting assistance. They traverse towards the highway where the battle ensues, jumping from vehicle to vehicle to maintain their distance. Yang and Neptune try to assist with hindering the Paladin, only to have Neptune flung against Sun off the highway while Yang and Blake watch Weiss force the Paladin off the highway by freezing the road.

Team RWBY regroups and launch coordinated attacks against the Paladin, with Blake using her Gambol Shroud to cut projectiles (with Weiss' acceleration glyph), weaken the leg bracers of the machine in tandem with Ruby, and amplify the momentum of Yang's attacks. The team manages to destroy the machine, though Roman escapes with the aid of Neopolitan.

##### Aftermath and The Dance

Blake is later seen with her team, watching a spar between Pyrrha and Team CRDL. After the fight is over, Glynda calls upon her to participate, noting her recent docility, but she is preempted by Mercury Black. Afterwards, Sun asks her to the dance, but she rejects him harshly.

Later, she is confronted by her team with her recent behavior, including lack of sleep and appetite, as well as declining academic performance. Her team prevails upon her to attend, but she ignores their concern and makes for the library.

Blake is seen in the library on a computer, seemingly looking up information on the ongoing investigation of her team. She then catches her eye on a laser, but seems to pay no mind to it, until she is irritated, only to find out it was her partner Yang, but before she can ask her anything, Yang informs her that they need to talk and pulls her away into a classroom.

Continuing with the same behavior, Blake informs Yang that she can't tell her to stop, much to the fact that she won't, but Yang responds by telling her that it isn't her intention, but only to tell her to slow down.

Blake continues with a similar response, but she then decides to listen Yang after the latter asked her. Blake soon learns about Ruby and Yang's past, including their mothers, mostly Yang's mother who left her and her father several years ago. When Blake asks Yang why she left, Yang says she doesn't know, but to this day she still continues to look for her.

After hearing her story, Blake expresses sympathy for Yang's past, and understands her, but states that it is different to hers because she is not a child. Blake continues pressing on the same topic, she being the only one who can do anything, which ends up infuriating her partner.

When Yang asks Blake on what she would do if Roman walked through the classroom door, Blake says she would fight but is pushed back by Yang, pointing out on how she can barely move, as she couldn't even stop Yang herself. While trying to recover from the push Yang gave her, Blake is hugged by Yang, who tells her once more not to stop the search, but to at least get some rest, not only for her but for everyone she cares about.

Later, at the timing of the dance, Blake, seen in a dress, joins Sun in heading to the dance, telling him he looks better in a tie. She later dances with Yang, having taken her proposal from the following day, and later dances with Sun. Blake is seen several times dancing with Sun, where she is laughing and enjoying herself throughout the majority of the dance. At one point she and Sun are seen around with Neptune.

##### The Mountain Glenn Mission

Along with Weiss and Yang, Blake confronts Ruby upon her arrival to their dorm room and asks her what happened. Ruby tells her team of her confrontation with Cinder in the CCT tower, and Blake believes Ruby handled it right.

Before leaving, Blake and her teammates are shocked to discover Oobleck as the Huntsmen who joins their mission to Quadrant 5. After Oobleck runs ahead to an airship, Team JNPR, Sun and Neptune convene with Team RWBY, and the ensuing conversation presses Oobleck to call for the four girls.

Shortly after landing in Quadrant 5- Mountain Glenn- and following the revelation of Ruby having brought Zwei, Blake and her team easily dispatch a pack of Beowolves under orders from Oobleck.

During the day's fights, Oobleck asks Blake why she became a Huntress. She says there is too much bad in the world to sit and do nothing and mentions ideals such as corruption and inequality. However, when Blake is asked how she plans to stop it, she is unable to give a proper answer.

Later, Blake sits at the campfire she, Weiss and Yang set up. When Yang brings up how they were not able to find anything, Blake says they have been fortunate before but that luck will not always be on their side.

The three then start discussing how each of them doesn't know what they want, as Blake says she knows what she wants to do but had figured she would take things one step at a time. As Ruby stands watch, Blake and the rest of their team set up their beds and lie down.

Late in the night, Blake, Weiss and Yang ponder Oobleck's question on why they wished to become Huntresses and realize they still do not know how to answer. Blake thinks back to her past and how back then, she believed that she was doing the right thing along with her old partner and mentor, Adam.

However, she later grew to see how horrifying his methods and goals truly were, despite his assurances they were trying to make the world a better place. As a result, she decided to become a Huntress and help others, joining the academy because they were seen as noble warriors fighting for good by the rest of the world.

Blake wonders how she can undo so many years of hatred once she graduates. After Yang tells her she will find a way and that she has never backed down from a challenge, Blake disagrees, reminding Yang that when her team discovered that she was a Faunus, she didn't know what to do and chose to flee. She also recalls running when she discovered her old partner had become a monster. She ruminates on how her Semblance symbolizes her nature to run away from a problem.

Sometime later that same night, after Zwei returns from Ruby falling into a cave, Blake, Weiss, Yang and Oobleck look for her, knowing she is in trouble. After Oobleck informs them of the history beneath their location, the girls look at each other in concern for Ruby. Oobleck says they must go down and find her.

Blake, Weiss, Yang and Oobleck arrive in time to save Ruby, who flees from Roman. After Ruby shares a reunion with Yang, Blake hands Ruby her scythe. They run to stop the train, carrying Dust and Atlesian Paladins toward Vale. who informs them of what the White Fang has, that being cargo and the Paladins. The group runs atop the train as several cars detach and explode, creating paths for Grimm as White Fang members mount a failed attack.

As Blake, Weiss and Yang separate into the train, they fight different opponents. Blake fights and defeats Roman. Afterwards, Weiss is thrown through the door unconscious, having lost her fight with a White Fang lieutenant. Blake knocks out Roman, grabs Weiss and runs. The team reunites atop the train and they notice an upcoming wall. Weiss creates a large ice shield, protecting them from the crash and explosion.

Blake and her teammates wake up within Vale above the crash site and watch in horror as the invading Grimm attack citizens. Surrounded by the Grimm, Blake and her team attack and are overwhelmed. Teams JNPR and CFVY, several professors, Emerald and Mercury aid them, eventually emerging victorious.

Later, Team RWBY sits at Beacon and talks about the events that transpired in Vale. Remarking that they were able to do something about the problem, they wonder what to do next. When Ruby suggests they go to sleep, everyone agrees.

##### Vytal Festival Tournament

At the enormous floating stadium Amity Colosseum, Team RWBY's first match in the Vytal Festival tournament is with Team ABRN of Haven Academy. Blake takes on Reese Chloris, a skater girl who fights with a weaponized hoverboard. Blake manages to defeat Reese through clever use of her Semblance. Team RWBY emerges victorious, and the team heads to the Vytal Festival fairgrounds to get a meal.

Team RWBY ends up eating at a noodle store run by the Shopkeep. Blake gives the Shopkeep a knowing nod, and he swiftly returns with an enormous bowl of fish to a hungry Blake's great delight. Weiss attempts to pay for their meal, but to Blake's dismay, her card is declined. Fortunately, Pyrrha arrives and pays for their meal instead, and they are joined by Team JNPR. After they have eaten, JNPR is called away to their next match. Blake and her team follow them over to the stadium, taking their place at the spectator stands to cheer their friends on.

During Team SSSN's fight against Team NDGO, one of the biomes used is a beach. When Neptune tenses up before the fight, Blake tells her team that he is afraid of the water. After Neptune is able to confront the water and deal the final damage of the match, Team SSSN celebrates, and Sun cheerfully acknowledges Blake as she watches on, causing Blake to blush and call him a dork.

She watches Yang and Weiss take on Flynt Coal and Neon Katt of Team FNKI in the doubles round. After the fight is over, she rushes into the arena to see if Weiss is hurt. She cheers Yang on as she fights Mercury in the singles round, but after seeing Yang break Mercury's leg seemingly without any provocation, she shares the crowd's shock.

Back in her team's dorm room, Blake hesitates to believe that Yang used self-defense against Mercury. She remembers when someone else dear to her changed. She recalls the memories as a gradual process of small actions he took that led him to become someone completely different, regardless of him telling Blake he was still the same person. Blake makes Yang promise that she is not like Blake's old friend. Yang promises, and Ruby, Weiss and Blake leave her alone to rest.

Blake and Weiss go to the fairgrounds to get drinks together. There, they witness Pyrrha accidentally tear Penny apart, followed by Cinder Fall's ominous speech to the world.

##### The Battle of Beacon

As the chaos unfolds, Blake and Weiss leave the fairgrounds while talking to Yang via Scroll. No one can establish contact with Ruby, but Blake assure the older sister that their leader can take care of herself. Blake and Weiss, with weapons in tow, head to Beacon to defend it. After Blake and Weiss arrive at Beacon, the Atlesian Knight-200s turn on them. Later, Blake and Weiss fight the now-hostile droids and the White Fang forces attacking Beacon. They decide to split up, Blake heading to fight a large Alpha Beowolf and Weiss heading to fight an Atlesian Paladin.

As Blake chases after the Beowolf, she sees Adam throwing the body of an Atlas soldier in the dining hall. As she gasps his name in fear, he notices her and mockingly calls her his darling. Adam calls her a coward, and vengefully re-states his intentions to start a revolution to change the world. When he threatens to execute an innocent student, Blake attacks him.

Adam prevails during the fight, disarming Blake and throwing her to the floor. Adam promises to make her suffer for her betrayal and vows that he will destroy everything she loves – starting with a nearby Yang Xiao Long. Adam stabs Blake in the lower torso, causing her to cry out and attract Yang's attention. Yang immediately lunges at him, enraged. Adam retaliates, cutting off Yang's arm, but before he can finish her, Blake distracts him using a Semblance clone and escapes with Yang.

Having escaped Adam, she is bandaged for her injuries, apologizing to Yang for getting her hurt for her sake. Once she returns to Vale in the evacuation, she then decides to run off for undisclosed reasons. She is last seen running across the rooftops of the city alone.

#### During the Timeskip

Several months after the fall of Beacon, Blake is seen standing alone on a pier at an unknown location, staring into the setting sun.

As she travels by a passenger boat, Blake stands on the side deck alone, refusing the company of the ship's captain. After he leaves, she removes her bow and tosses it into the ocean.

When the sun begins to set, Blake notices a hooded figure watching her, and she demands to know who it is. Before she can go after the figure, the ship is attacked by a Sea Feilong. As she struggles to fight the creature, the hooded figure removes his cloak, and it is none other than Sun. Although not happy to see him, Blake accepts his help, and they, along with the ship's crew, defeat the Grimm. Afterwards, Blake angrily slaps Sun in the face.

That night, Blake learns that Sun followed her without his team because he believed that she is going after the White Fang after what they did to her friends and school. However, Blake reveals that she is returning home to Menagerie to sort some personal things out. She unwillingly accepts Sun's company after seeing that nothing is stopping him.

#### After the Timeskip

##### Returning Home

After they arrive on Menagerie, Blake goes to visit her parents, Ghira and Kali Belladonna, with Sun. At first she is reluctant to knock on the door, but Sun convinces her to do so. Her mother opens the door and embraces Blake; moments later, Blake's father sees her home and is elated. Blake catches up on current events with her parents until Corsac and Fennec Albain arrive at her parents' doorstep to discuss matters regarding the White Fang. Blake and Sun are shocked to discover that her parents do not know about the White Fang's involvement in Beacon Academy's downfall, and Blake tells them what really happened. Ghira becomes suspicious of the Albains, who insist that the White Fang opposes the actions of its members in Vale. The two brothers leave the Belladonnas' residence, and Blake storms off.

Blake has a one-on-one talk with her father, revealing her shame at having yelled at her parents and turning her back on them. The two clear the air and bond, only to discover that Sun was eavesdropping on the end of their conversation. Sun privately tries to explain that he is certain that bad members of the White Fang are around, but Blake is too incensed at him to listen. However, they quickly discover that they are in fact being spied on by a white-masked Faunus, and the two give chase. They catch up and are able to retrieve the spy's Scroll, which seems to contain important information. Blake recognizes her as Ilia Amitola and becomes distraught when Ilia wounds Sun and disappears.

The next day, Blake accompanies Sun as he wakes from his injury. She tells him she left her team behind in order to keep them safe. However, Blake realizes her mistake when Sun argues that shutting her friends out hurts more than any physical injury an enemy can give. Kali and Ghira inform Blake and Sun about Adam Taurus' efforts to take control of the White Fang and lead a full-scale attack on Haven. Blake proposes to mount an effort to take back the White Fang.

##### Battling the White Fang

Sometime after, Blake and Sun chase an associate of Ilia through a crowded Menagerie marketplace, but Ilia helps the man escape. Blake confronts the Albain brothers with her parents and Sun about Ilia's Scroll on a later day, though they are unable to arrest the pair due to lack of evidence. That night, Ilia confronts her and pleads for her to forget her plan and leave Menagerie before it is too late. Blake coldly replies that Ilia is going to have to make her leave.

As the Belladonna family goes public at a speaking event about Adam Taurus' plans, Ilia interrupts just as Blake is about to speak. Blake watches as Ilia tells the crowd "the Belladonnas are the worst kind of Faunus" and to join Adam's movement.

Following the press conference, Blake sets out with Sun to gather signatures for the defense of Haven but to no avail. As the two of them take a break, Blake shares with Sun about how dangerous Adam has become and how worried she is that Ilia might be easily influenced by his ideals. She decides to try and help Ilia in the same matter as Sun has helped her.

One night, Blake and Sun prepare to do another recruitment. On the balcony, she finds a note from Ilia asking to meet with her alone. When Sun calls for her, Blake says she needs to take of something first, showing uneasiness on her face. Out in the streets, Blake finds Ilia and assures her Blake and her family will keep her safe. Ilia's White Fang allies suddenly ambush and capture Blake. Ilia tells Blake she is to be sent to Adam in Mistral while her parents are assassinated. As she is about to be taken to the docks, Blake is rescued by Sun, whom she had brought to follow her. With her parents in danger, Blake and Sun rush back to the manor as Blake tries to call her mother.

Blake arrives at her house in time to intervene in her father's fight against the Albain brothers. She traps their weapons in an ice clone of herself. Though she wants to fight alongside her father, he tells her to leave him with Sun and help Kali instead. On her way to find her mother, Blake crosses paths with Ilia in an open room, and the two hesitate before drawing their weapons.

During their battle, Blake is at a disadvantage when Ilia dims the lights. Though Blake uses night vision to retrieve her weapon, Ilia's chameleon trait hides her. Needing light, Blake shoots Fire Dust at the room's plant tier and continues the fight. Eventually, Blake disarms and pins Ilia on the ground and tries again to reason with her, saying Ilia's violent path is not what her parents would have wanted. When Ghira appears and is suddenly stabbed in the back by Fennec, Blake is knocked over by Ilia, prompting Sun to attack the chameleon Faunus. Ilia is pinned to a pillar, and Blake pleads for her and Sun to stop fighting. The pillar buckles, breaks and sends a broken section of the upper walkway falling. Ghira saves Ilia from being crushed under it, and Fennec rushes for the killing blow. Blake quickly pulls her father from under the debris while Fennec is crushed and dies in the ensuing explosion.

After Blake and the others from the altercation emerge outside, Blake delivers her speech to the people of Menagerie about how the Faunus are just as capable of hate and violence as Humans. She reiterates Ghira's point that Adam will further tarnish the reputation of the White Fang in attacking Haven and decides to head there to stop him. When Ilia volunteers to go with her and a guard stops her, Blake asks for her to come, having forgiven her friend. Many citizens volunteer to join her, and Blake tells her parents she knows a ship captain who owes her and Sun a favor.

##### The Battle of Haven

Blake appears at Haven Academy, where Adam Taurus and the White Fang have infiltrated and set explosives. She reveals Sun, her parents, Ilia and many Menagerie citizens traveled with her and contacted the Mistral police, who arrive shortly after. Recognizing the White Fang is outnumbered, Adam decides to trigger the explosives, but to no avail. Enraged at the situation, Adam lunges to attack Blake, but she evades him with her Semblance and knocks him to the ground.

Blake on the altercation with Adam, continually emphasizing how she is above him he tries to play off her fear of him. Sun asks where the important people Adam mentions are if none of his White Fang allies is helping him, and it Adam realizes his situation and flees. Though Sun gives chase, Blake tells him to let Adam run or he would have the upper hand in a fight. To her surprise, Blake sees Ruby and Weiss fighting Hazel Rainart inside the academy building. Sun then tells Blake to help her teammates inside, and she does. She interrupts Ruby and Weiss' fight with Hazel by knocking him to the ground, much to Weiss' shock. Yang returns from the vault after retrieving the Relic, and Emerald is driven into despair that she gives everyone a horrifying illusion of Salem. Mercury, Emerald and Hazel escape, leaving Blake to question what she just saw.

Blake reunites with Sun, Ilia and her parents after police round up the White Fang. Ilia says Adam will not have followers, and Ghira suggests a new brotherhood for Faunus equality should be made. Sun urges Blake to see Team RWBY again, and Blake tells them she is not going anywhere. After she is forgiven by Yang, the four share a group hug, all together for the first time in months.

## Battles

### Canon

* Blake Belladonna and Adam Taurus vs. Atlesian Knight-130s (Won)
* Blake Belladonna and Adam Taurus vs. Spider Droid (Won)
* Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long vs. Ursai (Won)
* Blake Belladonna, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren vs. Death Stalker (Removed from combat)
* Team RWBY vs. Nevermore (Won)
* Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong vs. Roman Torchwick and White Fang (Interfered)
* Team RWBY vs. Team JNPR (Won)
* Team RWBY, Sun Wukong, and Neptune Vasilias vs. Roman Torchwick (Draw)
* Team RWBY vs. Grimm (Won)
* Team RWBY and Dr. Oobleck vs. White Fang (Won)
* Blake Belladonna vs. Roman Torchwick (Won)
* Huntsmen vs. Grimm (Won)
* Team RWBY vs. Team ABRN (Won)
* Huntsmen vs. Grimm, White Fang and AK-200s (Withdrew)
* Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long vs. Adam Taurus (Lost)
* Blake Belladonna, Sun Wukong, and Ship Crew vs. Sea Feilong (Won)
* Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong vs. Ilia Amitola (Won)
* Belladonna Household vs. White Fang (Won)
* Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong vs. Adam Taurus (Won)
* Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, and Weiss Schnee vs. Hazel Rainart, Emerald Sustrai, and Mercury Black (Won)

## Events

### Canon

* Beacon Academy Initiation
* Vale Port Heist
* White Fang Faction Meeting
* Beacon Dance
* 40th Vytal Festival
* Battle of Beacon
* Attack on the Belladonna Household
* Battle of Haven

## Theme songs

* *"Black" Trailer*: "From Shadows" - Casey Lee Williams.

## Etymology

* Blake alludes to Belle from the fairy tale *Beauty and the Beast*.
	+ When she is first introduced in the regular series, she is seen having a love for reading, much like Belle. It is also shown that she has a candelabra in her possession, referencing Lumière from the Disney adaptation. In the Volume 1 directors' commentary, Miles Luna stated that they were trying to surround her with lots of "Belle-related items".
	+ The lyrics to "Red Like Roses" supports the connection to *Beauty and the Beast* by referencing Blake as "Black the beast".
* Blake means "black" in Old English. Belladonna means "fair lady" (*bella donna*) and beauty, in Italian language, and it is also the name of the poisonus toxic plant, commonly known as "deadly nightshade". This plant commonly bears extremely poisonous black berries, which lends to Blake's black color theme.

## External links

* Raven Branwen *Wikipedia*
* Blake Belladonna *RWBY Wiki*

## Notes & Trivia

* According to Monty Oum, Blake's alternate outfit is based on SNSD member Yuri's clothes from the music video of the song "The Boys".
	+ The name is a possible reference to the *"Black" Trailer* when Blake and Adam infiltrate the train, security AI asks them "Intruder, identify yourself".
* Blake is the only member of Team RWBY that is a Faunus instead of a human.
* Monty said that Blake's name was the hardest to make. In fact, Belladonna was originally planned to be her first name but was changed because it didn't feel sharp enough for her character.
* The Rooster Teeth crew said Blake is one of the hardest characters to write for.
* It was stated by Miles and Kerry that Blake prefers drinking tea over coffee. In "Destiny", when Weiss suggests the pair get coffee, Blake opts for tea instead. It was also mentioned in the Fan Service Podcast.
* When asked about her bow by a fan during the Blake Week AMA, Arryn answered that Blake has a closet full of bows all neatly aligned on the walls.
* Monty stated during a livestream that Blake's lack of a belly button was a glitch with her character model.
* In "*The Stray*", Blake's cat ears are depicted as violet in color.
* In the episode "*Field Trip*", Blake is shown to be highly uncomfortable around, or even scared of, dogs, most likely because she is a cat Faunus. This aspect is then played up for comedy in episodes of *RWBY Chibi*.
* During group fight scenes, the music often switches to the more dramatic piano scales when suddenly focus shifts solely on Blake, as seen in episodes such as "*Players and Pieces*", "*Best Day Ever*", "*Painting the Town...*" and "*Round One*". This could be a leitmotif of sorts for Blake.
* On the first night at Beacon, Blake tells Ruby her book is about a man with two souls. The first line of the right hand page of the book reads "He raised the glass to his lips." a direct quote from Stevenson's *The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde*.
* Blake was originally going to have complete heterochromia iridum, as evidenced by early concept art of her with one yellow eye and one blue eye. Cats have any of the chance of having the heterochromia iridum, and then those who have it are called "odd-eyed cats". Some documented odd-eyed cats have a yellow eye and a blue eye, just as the aforementioned concept art of Blake. This trait was ultimately transferred to Neopolitan.