The story I came to know of Rooster Teeth and RWBY is an interesting, long and rather disjointed one. But since you’ve taken the time to click this link you can take the time to listen to me ramble.

From my first days on the internet people have been making reference to Rooster Teeth’s premier HALO based Machinima series Red VS Blue. But for the first 9 years I had no clue what it was, in 2015 however I became involved in the #GamerGate controversy. That same year Rooster Teeth released their trigger warning PSA for Red VS Blue, a satirical little skit about the contentious topic which I found quite humorous. This skit was reposted on various #GamerGate forums and I watched it, I laughed and I wanted to know more.

So I found out more. A little cursory search about the history of Red VS Blue and Rooster Teeth. No more no less.

And then I moved on with my life.

A few months later I was bored one day, I’d made a list of anime I had been advised to watch and had all but completed the list sans one. RWBY. I’d heard of RWBY before I’d watched the Trigger Warning Special actually, when it was featured in an IGN list of must watch anime and had placed it at the bottom of the list below Full Metal Alchemist, Code Geass, Akame Ga Kill, Kill La Kill and Tokyo Ghoul. So I watched the first episode.

I was unaware of RWBY’s exact nature. I figured it was just another anime so instead of looking to YouTube I began browsing various illegal streaming sites for it after finding it was not present on my preferred one. I watched the first episode and was hooked in a nanosecond. I watched the first 6 episodes on this same site before it occurred to me that it was in English and the word dub was not in its title.

Suddenly remembering it was from Rooster Teeth, a YouTube based American company. It dawned on me that I could probably find the show on YouTube. And I did. I watched the rest of Volume 1 over the next two days in YouTube. Watched the 4 trailers the next day. And then watched Volume 2 over the course of the next week.

I was well and truly in love.

I then found out that a third volume was coming, I was confused. The last episode of V2 had been in late 2014, this was now late 2015 with no V3. It was then that I learned that Monty Oum had passed. I began familiarizing myself with him and I felt sad that such a young talented man was struck down in his prime when he clearly had so much to offer to the world. Regardless I learned the hiatus until V3 was one more week and I began clamoring for something to fill the empty void in my life, deciding to give RVB another try. Watching the first episode and then jumping straight to Season 13. I loved it and it kept me occupied till V3 premiered.

It was around the first episode of V3 that I became a subscriber and regular poster on /r/RWBY.

The week long gaps between episodes were painful to say the least. But they were made more than bearable, hell they were made enjoyable by the constant flow of fan art, fan fictions, puns, jokes, and general lewdness I was exposed to as a new member of the FNDM.

The sense of love and community was and still is amazing. And even after a hiccup I suffered when I first tried posting fan art onto the sub without reading the rules or bothering to make sure Ruby was wearing pants (Don’t ask), I still kept coming back day in and day out. Because I loved everything these strange internet people had to offer me.

The sense of acceptance and the idea that you share a great passion with these people has to be the best thing about the whole arrangement. Always having someone to talk to, discuss with, and theorize with and just someone who’s just as obsessed as you are if not more is an amazing thing to have for someone who lives in a country where geeks/nerds/gamers are rare.

How big a fan of RWBY am I? Bigger than most I wager. I don’t own much merch, not any with the exception of a RWBY branded tumbler. Strings had to be pulled to get that to Nigeria. However RWBY has become a massive part of my irl life and my online life. The purpose of my twitter account is 40% talking about general life, 50% RWBY and 10% #GamerGate stuff. I’m also starting work on my first fanfic for RWBY, not my first fanfic ever but my first for RWBY.

RWBY and RVB are the only shows that have ever made me want to do cosplay. Caboose, Felix, Junior and Professor Port specifically. RWBY is the only show that has ever led me to spend money to commission art (In the works give it a couple months). While experimentally watching the Japanese dub of the series, I found that I knew every line spoken word for word even tho I speak no Japanese and there were no English subtitles. RWBY has found a special place in my mind, body and soul and it now lives there.

Also Shipping is fun as fuck. I pity people who say “I don’t ship anything on principle.” That’s a shitty fucking principle, then again I don’t watch World of Remnant or eat crunchy peanut butter on principle. I once proudly flew the flags of the SS Bumblebee, the SS Arkos and the SS Nuts & Dolts. I jumped off Bumblebee just as the hiatus for V3 rounded up, Arkos kinda sank and I’ve got one foot on Nuts & Dolts and one foot on the pier. So I can jump back on should Penny be brought back, or jump off if she gets confirmed to be dead at some point. I currently only really ship Strawberry Shortcake, even then half-jokingly. I ship it in the: Neo ties Ruby up and pats her head kind of way. But I find basically any Yuri ship hot, even Schneekos and Falling Petals. I find a lot of the male gay ships hot to. Or rather I find the idea of them hot cos understandably they got no fan art…. I don’t care if most people on Earth are straight give me Sun X Scarlet pls…. but anyway….

Shipping is a lot of fun. It’s stupid and probably really immature but it’s fun. That simple.

I’ve encountered so many cool people, been inspired to do shit with my life, had so much fun and have overall had my existence greatly enriched by RWBY as a series. But what is a great series without great people to gush about it with?

Special shout outs to (Usernames will be bastardized):

LibertyPrime117

Soap916

LaurenZephyr

Oklahoma_Beat_Down

Zentics

Pennybot (Bots need love to).

I love you all and I hope you’re half as awesome irl as you are online.

Love MC-D-DAYO aka thewordlynerd.