The Queens of Remnant - Commentary - Ch 23-24 (Patreon)
Content
Another two weeks in the rearview mirror, another two chapters thrown to the wolves. I mean readers. Thrown to the readers!
I kid, I kid. Though it has been pretty quiet around the fandom now that RWBY’s on another hiatus with no end in sight. It could be a couple more years until the next volume comes out, I guess. What with the writers/actors strikes going on and then the general craziness at Warner Brothers…I fear that they have much bigger issues than worrying about RWBY at this point in time. Unfortunate. I’m not sure how I feel about another long wait…
I mentioned last time, but my life has been so wonky recently that writing hasn’t been at the top of my list. Well, I want it to be at the top of my list, but I have some other stressors going on that are keeping me from being able to focus on it.
Oh! And I’ll be gone for a week in August for some Not Fun Stuff (nothing health related, just family drama related), so there probably won’t be a new chapter that week. I’m not sure what the exact dates will be yet, but most likely the last week in August. I’ll make sure to let everyone know in the chapter beforehand though. I don’t plan on bringing my computer so that I can focus on getting that stuff done instead.
In the meantime…I finally picked up one of the old stories I partially wrote and then stepped away from. It’s the Bumbleby detective and bank robber AU that spawned the White Rose mob boss AU that I already finished. I wrote out of order, ok? I couldn't help it. Get me in a room with sassy Weiss and she’s obviously going to take over. But that means I really want to get the Bumbleby piece done too!
Unfortunately, I quickly realized that I already did most of the fun parts. The day dreaming and idea generating? Yeah, all done. Now all that’s left is the…writing…ugh.
It’s been slow so far, especially because I haven’t been forcing myself to write when my brain isn’t feeling up for it, but it’ll eventually get done. The first two chapters are done, so I’ll give myself a small pat on the back for that. Nevermind that they were already mostly done from when I first started writing out the idea - it’s still progress!
Speaking of progress…we’ve reached the halfway point of Queens of Remnant. Can you believe it? I can’t believe it. It feels like this story has been going on forever now, but we’re only halfway there? What even happens in the second half? Hopefully, something good.
The relationship stuff is getting good, right? They’re no longer strangers! They’re familiar with each other. Getting comfortable. In Blake and Yang’s case, really comfortable.
First though - how excited were you that Winter found her way back into the story? I was so happy that I could bring her back in what I thought was an unexpected but fun way. Weiss is in Atlas with her ‘woe is me, where is Winter?’ melancholy, and then Winter crashes into Blake’s life.
Backing up a little bit…the beginning of Blake’s chapter shows her being back in her element - ie in charge of the Resistance, and coordinating help rather than coordinating soldiers. It’s too bad we didn’t get to see how people reacted to her showing up with cartloads of supplies that no one had had access to for years. I’m sure that with Blake’s ‘reputation’ some people probably thought she went and stole it from Vale. Not that they would’ve particularly minded, but…you know. Blake might have minded.
She’s kind of too busy to care about that stuff anymore though. Not only is she suddenly the Badlands’ Golden Girl, but she’s also being sought out all the time for Yang’s (loving and devoted) letters.
Blake hasn’t been gone long, but I bet Yang sent one letter each day. Every morning, she writes a letter, then rewrites it because she’s worried about how the first one sounds, and then has it delivered to Blake by the evening. I’m sure we couldn't call them love letters…
And now Ruby’s sending Blake letters, too!
Ruby’s letter was probably delayed getting to Blake because Ruby has no idea that Blake’s in the Badlands. The messenger probably went to Vale and then Yang had to point him in the right direction. I’m sure he wasn’t at all concerned about having to trudge into the heart of the Badlands when he thought he had the relatively easy task of just going between the big cities…
Either way, these messengers are great at their jobs, which is important to me because I need to keep our main characters connected somehow. Of course, when Blake considers reporting information back to Yang, she plans on personally delivering it - how cute.
Obviously, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease her about that, so Sun clearly sees through what’s going on. I guess Blake is usually pretty good at keeping her emotions close to the chest, but this is her best friend we’re talking about! Just imagine what he thought when she returned to the Badlands and (subtly) gushes about Yang with hearts in her eyes. Everyone else probably only heard a vague compliment, but Sun’s ears perked up. “Blake complimenting someone? Did I miss the wedding invite??”
I hope that we get to see a Bee reunion with Sun in the next volume now that they’re officially together. I bet he’s the biggest Bumbleby shipper of us all. He certainly is in this story! He knows what Blake’s been through and just wants her to be happy.
I don’t like chapters where the characters are apart - I think that people find them boring - but I also felt like it was important in this part of the story. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? Or I guess it’s absence? Either way, Blake probably needed a little space to sort through her feelings and come to terms with what they mean. Also, importantly, we get to check in on the Badlands and see what kind of leader she is.
She’s an organized, gracious leader. She’s pretty much a natural at it. Yang and Ruby grew up in that position, so it’s like second nature for them, but Blake got thrown into it out of necessity. I would put her nearly on the same level as Yang and Ruby, but she lacks the experience they do with ruling large groups of people. Of course, they also hold official power that she doesn’t…so perhaps that makes her leadership even more pure…Weiss, meanwhile, is the laggard. But we’ll forgive her because her dad really sucked.
But Weiss just had a stroke of luck, though she doesn’t know it yet - Winter’s alive!
Can you imagine Winter’s surprise when she runs into a random girl in the Badlands who somehow knows her little sister, who - as far as she knows - has never left Atlas? If that happened to me, I would think they were lying. Winter might have if the circumstances weren’t so pressing (ie some Jacques-loyal Knights hot on her trail). Desperate times call for desperate measures, so she takes a leap of faith with a random stranger who somehow knows Weiss.
When I decided that Winter would take the blame for Jacques’ death, I knew that I wanted to bring her back into the story somehow. She’s important to Weiss, not to mention another part of our collection of royal family members we have floating around. Yang, Ruby, Weiss…and Winter. They’re the main attractions in terms of the whole ‘royal lineage’ thing this AU has going on.
I couldn't return Winter to Atlas though because that would severely impact Weiss’ fledgling growth. Just imagine…Weiss is finally getting her feet under her, then Winter gets marched through the gates to be tried as a criminal. Anything to do with the treaty or Ruby will instantly take the back seat to saving Winter.
So Winter can’t go back to Atlas at the moment - where can she go? Just have her run around random places for the rest of the story? Or…put her in the one place where not even the Knights would look for her? Because why would the Knights ever look for her in Vale? She’s basically public enemy #1 there - or so they think.
I wonder how Blake got her through the gates though…because we’ve seen that Vale has guards at the gates. Maybe they don’t check everyone that thoroughly? Just a cursory glance for weapons or anyone suspicious?
What if Blake used her spark to, like, burrow under Vale’s outer wall? She can manipulate earth and soil, right? What if she just shoved it aside so that they could crawl under? And, you know, reinforced the wall so that the whole thing didn’t collapse on top of them.
Imagine one section of the wall just collapsing and Blake’s like “whoops…” That would be a quick way to get an escort to the palace. Yang, of course, would be like, “Omg you’re back! Who cares about a puny wall?”
Ah, young love…
Speaking of young love (or something kind of like love??), I really enjoyed writing another scene with Cecelia and Yang. Cecelia is like the voice of temptation and gluttony. The bad angel on someone’s shoulder. Why work when you can do whatever you want? Why help others when you don’t have to?
Despite that mentality, I think she’s kind of fun. And I liked showing that she has a weird, quasi functioning relationship with Yang and, by extension, Ruby. They’re…kind of…friends?
Just imagine how upset Cecelia must’ve been when Ruby beat her in a race though. She doesn’t strike me as a good loser. But I wanted to remind everyone that while Cecelia might be dangerous, Ruby still squashed her in a race. (Ruby for MVP!)
I also loved the idea that Ruby is so nice that Cecelia is like, “Ugh. Please stop.” The two of them are polar opposites in the story - they only share an element and an affinity for Yang.
Affinity or obsession…?
I think I just like psycho characters. Because you never know what they’ll do, right? They’re wild cards, and you can put them in all sorts of situations or make them do things that the main characters wouldn't do. They’re agents of chaos. Catalysts for change. And just plain fun to write.
So now we have an agent of chaos and an Atlesian princess cooped up in Vale’s palace…
But that’s a problem for later. Right now, Yang would rather enjoy her and Blake’s ‘reunitement’ than worry about the powder keg in the room. Can you blame her? Poor girl deserves something good for once since I gave her the ‘never ending suffering’ route. At this point, pretty much everyone is looking for a cure, but we keep hitting dead end after dead end…something’s gotta give, right?
I wouldn't kill my favorite character, would I??
Wait, maybe Weiss is my favorite character now…
I adore Yang. Like I wish her nothing but the best and love making her happy. But Weiss…I have this strange compulsion to write her character. I’m writing that Bumbleby story right now because I want it finished, but I so badly want to jump back into Weiss’ shoes for another adventure. Another learning experience. Another growth opportunity with the best girl.
Maybe I should just throw in the towel on the other three characters and only write Weiss’ POV from now on. Although…I would miss the others eventually…Ruby not as much, perhaps. Except for Dream Theory Ruby. I love me some Dream Theory Ruby.
Ok, this has dissolved into rambles, so I’ll sign off here. I hope you’re having a wonderful summer and staying cool! It’s been a little blistering here, but hopefully the worst of it is behind us. (Looks at the date, realizes all of August is ahead…) I can’t wait for fall.
Until next time,
Miko