User blog:Zathronas/Speculative author: The motivation of a Huntress

Welcome to the 10th post of author speculation (already? Daaaamn!)

With the 9th RWBY episode under our belts, we received even more juicy informative tidbits we can chew on. Everyone wants to talk about the Grimm but I want to wait another week to see where this plot is going before making any public speculation on it so I decided to talk about the second most interesting thing of the episode. Our main character’s motivation and how it will affect their future.

Before I start, I will be doing only 5 characters here. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang and Jaune. Because their motivation has been established in the show. Let’s start shall we?

RUBY: The youngest of the bunch and the one who has been unwavering in her motivation. She is becoming a Huntress because she wants to help people. We’ve seen her motivation throughout the episodes. Be it the dust shop owner, Penny, Blake and her angst or even Zwei. Her motives are always real and pure. That’s what makes her a great leader and because of it, she may well become the best huntress ever.

WEISS: She has ambition as we’ve seen with Pyrrha and in the card game. But her ambition is driven by duty. It’s not a bad motivation but it is lacking when you want to become a huntress because her duty isn’t toward the job but toward her family name. She wants to exemplify that a Weiss is always the best there is. We’ve already seen what can happen if she is not considered the elite. Look at what happened when Ruby was declared the leader of RWBY. She doesn’t have bad intentions but it is clear she’s been raised thinking that a Weiss is always on top no matter what they do.

   I believe she is realizing that there is more to life than a name and this epiphany will put her in direct confrontation with her family.

BLAKE: Her motivation somewhat parallel’s Ruby in the sense that she actively tries to help but only on her terms. Her Idealism can be very dangerous because an idealist tends to go to extreme to prove a point. Look what she did when she discovered that Roman was associated with the White Fang. She became obsessed with it, using every waking moment trying to find an answer to remove them from his clutches at the cost of her health and even a bit of her sanity. It took extreme measures from Yang to bring her back. An idealist will do everything they can to keep their Ideals intact, even if they are wrong.

YANG: I believe she has the furthest to go to be an effective Huntress. Her powers are formidable but as Ozpin would say:

''You plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction.''

That fits Yang to a tee. Her potential is limited by her motivation. A thrill seeker is not only a bad motivation to become a Huntress but it can put herself and her friends into dire circumstances. She might not make the right decision because of it. What will happen when she decides to go for the thrill instead of the safer way and someone dies because of it? How will she react? If she continues on the path she is on, it is only a matter of time before it happens.

JAUNE: His motivation is almost exactly the same as Weiss with one critical exception. The burden wasn’t pushed on him, he chose to take it. He wants to uphold his family tradition of exceptional Hunters. The distinction is subtle but important. When Weiss discovered she has aptitudes for fighting, it was natural for her to become a huntress and become the best. Jaune on the other hand was never shown the art of fighting, he took it upon himself to learn and never gives up, no matter what. He had to fight to get every inch of knowledge and talent out. It makes for a difficult road to climb, full of ambushes and pitfalls on the way but if he succeed, he will become the best hunter of his group. Nothing will be out of his reach.

So why is Ruby and Jaune’s motivation okay but not the other? Because the Huntsman job is all about self-sacrifice, The Huntsman and Huntresses are the main line of defense against the extinction of the human and faunus race. Summer went on a mission that killed her despite having a family and a small child at home waiting because it’s their duty. THAT’S what being a Huntsman is all about. So if your motivation isn’t for others and only what you want then you’ve already failed at being a huntsman. They have to realize that the job is bigger than them and their motives have to be too.

The good news is they seem to think there’s more to their motivation than what they told Oobleck. They just need to understand it themselves.

The bad news is that they are on a mission and a distraction could cost them something valuable.

My speculation is that the mission itself will make them realize there’s more to being a Huntress than fighting. The fact the writers staff has them talking about their motivation now tells me something big is about to happen, Big enough to change their lives. As for what it is, read the end of my previous speculation blog. Since as of now, my speculation has already started to become reality.