#caruss

[annsblyth]

According to biographers, this song was written with Columbo’s fiancée, Carole Lombard, in mind, and recorded just three days before his tragic death. It was the last song he ever recorded.

[annsblyth]

I'm in such a Caruss (my new ship name for Carole and Russ, because it sounds like caress) mood right now. If I spam with their awesomeness, I'm sorry.

[fangirltrash]

Alright, here's my RWBY OC: Caruss Shaba

Lots of info about him under the cut. I've played with the idea of this character for some time now, and changed up his design quite a bit. A good portion of his design is still up for debate (namely his shoes and his weapon) so nothing's set in stone. But this is him for now, and I'm pretty happy with him overall!

Okay, time to learn about Caruss. This is more of a reference for me in the future than anything else, but if you give two shits about my feathery RWBY OC then by all means, read on.

Full Name: Caruss Shaba Sex: Male Gender: Male Sexuality: Heterosexual Race: Faunus (Falcon) Age: 17 Height: 5'5" Weight: 190 lbs (His wings add a lot of weight) Build: Muscular Eye Color: Light brown Hair Color: Black Feather Color: Tawny Main color: Brown/copper Fantasy character he's based off of: Icarus Weapon: Nemea Eryx Semblance: Force fields using Dust

Personality: Caruss is a very levelheaded and kind young man. He's very polite and gentle, and is eternally an optimist. He looks on the bright side of everything and everyone, and sees beauty in all things. He's very well-mannered and takes care to treat everyone with respect. Unfortunately, Caruss can also be a bit timid, not wanting to step on anyone's toes. He is, however, very stubborn and very strong-willed, and doesn't take kindly to bullies and abusive people. While he'll do his damnedest to avoid a fight, when one does break out he certainly knows how to hold his own. Past: Caruss was born in a Faunus reservation territory outside Vale. He lived outside the reservation's largest city, in a small town in the desert. Here, he was born amongst his other tribemembers. Part of the Shaba Tribe, he grew up surrounded by Faunus like him, with grand, golden wings. His mother and father raised him, along with the rest of the tribe. Caruss spent as much time in other tribemember's homes as he did in his own, much like many children of the tribe. He was raised in a happy home. However, his town was pretty isolated from the city, which was isolated from the rest of the non-Faunus world. As he grew older and travelled from his home more often (trips to the city with friends, school trips, business trips with his mother) he began to learn about the racism directed toward Faunus. He saw the way people without wings or fur looked at him and his family and friends. He saw the the way Faunus like him (sometimes unlike him) were treated in TV shows and movies that he would watch. He would sometimes stumble upon message boards and forums that spewed such negativity and hate that he would become sick to his stomach. But Caruss was raised in a relatively safe environment. Non-Faunus were rarely a threat, and his tribe taught their youth the importance of love, kindness, and patience, even to your enemy. On this note, however, the tribe also taught their youth how to become vicious fighters, both on land and in the air. Despite the threat of the Creatures of Grimm being something of the past, the tribe often trained new warriors, both in the interest of perserving culture and having a backup in case things go to shit and Ursas start rampaging in the city for whatever reason. So, Caruss learned to fight, specializing in hand-to-hand (which also included pummeling his opponents with his wings) and Dust usage. Caruss was esentially "homeschooled" until he was about 13, when he was transferred to a public school. His parents tried to get him a nice Faunus school, but the education system for Faunus was heavily flawed and very poor in this reservation. Instead, they took a risk and enrolled him in a mixed Faunus-Nonfaunus school. Here, Caruss faced all sorts of different treatments. Some people bullied him. Others were grossly interested in him, as if he was some kind of alien. Some treated him as any other. Caruss came to many conclusions about the rest of the world, and how they treated Faunus. His gentle upbringing made it so that he held no ill will towards Nonfaunus in general, but was very wary of many of them. As he grew, he saw how other Faunus reacted to Nonfaunus. He saw protests, attacks, the gross transformation of a society he formerly revered--the White Fang-- and many other forms of retaliation, peaceful or otherwise. He saw how Nonfaunus reacted to Faunus every day, on the train to school, when he was out with friends, when he tried to make new ones. While this was all going on, a new wave and revival of Hunters and Huntresses began to be glorified in his city. They had always been revered, but recent media coverage of new schools and tournaments and the feats of currents Hunters and Huntresses had returned to the people's eye in full force. This, of course, included Caruss. Caruss decided one day that he wanted to become a Hunter. He wanted to protect and inspire people, Faunus and Nonfaunus. He wanted to hone his skills, and become a powerful, talented, and accomplished person, all in the name of helping others. He wanted to act as an inspiration to Faunus, and an example of just how capable his people are to Nonfaunus. With this ambitious goal in mind, Caruss dropped out of public school and began training to become a Hunter. Using his various scholarships and recommendations due to his minority status, he got himself into a Hunter/Huntress testing center, where, after a rigorous two-week exam (physical and mental) he was given a full ride to the most prestigious Hunter/Huntress school in the nearby country of Vale: the esteemed Beacon Academy. As he packed his things and prepared to leave, a few weeks after his 17th birthday, his elderly grandmother approched him in private. She told him that she had a dream, a premonition, about his upcoming journey at Beacon. She warned him that his determination could spell danger for him; that his ambition could be his downfall. Despite the dark omen, Caruss held his head high, excited for the beginning of his new life and his new dream, and left on a train to Vale. Psychoanalysis:

Caruss is very kind and respectful because such patience and kindness are preached in his tribe. They pride themselves on being open and loving to others. As such, despite having put up with a lot of Nonfaunus' bullshit, he doesn't despise their race. He's wary of them, and will not stand down if physically threatened. For the most part, he feels empathy for them. Most Nonfaunus don't know any better, and are acting off of a lifetime of subtle anti-Faunus social cues, being brainwashed by a society aggressive to Faunus. He understands that they cannot help they way their ancestors set the world up for them. That being said, however, Caruss is still very much offended by a lot of openly-anti-Faunus people. His patience usually wins out when someone may or may not accidentally say something incredibly hateful around him. However, when someone outrightly confronts him or directs slander at him or other Faunus, he rarely sits idly by, and confronts them about it.

Caruss' tribe has a few social issues as well. The Shaba Tribe is historically a very radical matriarchal society. In the past, women were seen as the most important people in the tribe, being the life-givers of everyone else. Their life-bearing "powers" made them more privileged members of society than men. Women were revered and treated with respect. They were the most vicious warriors, thanks to the "offspring-protecting" blood that ran within them. (Myth also states in their culture that women make better warriors because they do not fear blood.) They were politically strong and held high positions of power within the community. In contrast, men were often seen as useless, lesser, and weak. Their main role within the tribe was laborer and, of course, to assist in reproduction. This radical and toxic view on gender roles has greatly calmed down as the generations rolled on. Thanks to Nonfaunus intervention throughout history, many of the ways of the Shaba tribe died with their ancestors, including the traditional gender roles. Now, a good majority of the tribe has a more modern view on what men and women are capable of. However, such social rules are hard to completely break out of a society, and many ideas and concepts from that time still last to this day. Women are still seen as, in general, better than men. More capable, more beautiful, more kind and levelheaded. While both genders have equal legal spots in society, women are still held on a higher pedestal. Because of this, Caruss is very, very respectful and kind to women in particular. He sees women in general as very beautiful, capable people. His reverence for women is often seen as flirting, as he often compliments them in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Nonchalantly calling girls "beautiful", "powerful", "elegant", and "regal" often gives people outside his tribe the wrong idea about his opinions on girls. Such titles are simply basic etiquette where he's from, same as if someone else referred to a woman as "ma'am" or "missus". Overall, though, considering how extremely matriarchal his culture used to be, Caruss has very modern views on gender and sexuality, and is very accepting of each and every one.

On the topic of Caruss and girls, when it comes to romance, the confident and levelheaded Caruss becomes very baffled and flustered. Dating is a very serious concept in his tribe, as there's a lot of pressure for the man to be worthy of the woman. The dating pool is very small, generally, as most women have very high standards. Because of this, Caruss doesn't see himself as a very worthy partner for anyone at this point in his life. He feels he hasn't accomplished enough or reached a peak in his moral character to be worthy of a girl. He chooses instead to focus on his goals at Beacon and maintaining the close relationships he has with his friends. When any kind of romantic attention is directed toward him, he's absolutely baffled. He honestly doesn't see why any girl would find him appealing or attractive in any way, as he's used to girls in his hometown having incredibly high standards.

Because of the wings he and his people are graced with, flying and the concept of flight is very important to Caruss and the rest of the Shaba people. It's very important for a Faunus with the ability of flight to fly often. It gives them the exercise they need physically and keeps their immune system up. It also is very important mentally as well. When winged Faunus go long periods of time without flying, they tend to become a little depressed, slow, have trouble sleeping, and cranky. They need to spread their wings often and do quite a bit of flying if they want to function at 100%. Needless to say, Caruss quite enjoys flying, and makes a point to fly at least a couple times a week. His favorite times to fly are sunrise and sunset, as he loves to see the way the sun paints the surrounding landscape.

Due to Caruss' gentle, polite, and reserved upbringing, he often finds himself baffled at culture outside his hometown. Other people, especially Nonfaunus, seem very impulsive, tempermental, and wild. They say and do things that shock Caruss at first, but as he sees it more and more and is explained the social reasoning behind it all, he ends up being simply amused by most of it. Almost all of popular culture seems very alien to him; the party atmosphere, the dating scene, obsession with drama and social intrigue, and the selective open-ness and closed-ness of personal information is very surprising to Caruss at first. He likes to learn about all of the strange ways of others, to try and understand and embrace the culture outside his own.

Weapon: Nemea Eryx - Two metal gauntlets that also serve as vicious brass knuckles. Two solid, razor-sharp claws grace the ends, which make Caruss pack two very powerful punches. They can be used in punching, stabbing, or scratching. Their most important function, however, is their ability to powerfully fire the claw pairs off the gauntlet. Connected to a strong, metal cable, when the claws are fired off, the gauntlets then become grappling hooks. Not only is this a good way to dispatch distant enemies, it's absolutely crucial in battle if Caruss needs to have a quick takeoff into the air. The metal in the claws are nearly impenetrable, allowing them to pierce into and latch onto almost any surface. The mechanism that controls the claws is located directly on Caruss' palms. By sqeezing certain parts of the grip, Caruss can fire the claws, make them release gently, or retract the wire rapidly. The latter will cause Caruss to be yanked from where he's standing and pulled rapidly toward the claws, where his wings can catch the wind and he can take flight. Name Meaning/Origin: The Nemean lion in Greek mythology had a hide (and by extension, claws) that was impenetrable. Eryx was a figure from Greek mythology that owned a pair of big, powerful, impenetrable gauntlets that could smash someone's skull in. Battle Style: Caruss specializes in close combat. Midrange combat is dangerous for him, as guns and staffs would often hit his wings, hindering him immensely. Long-distance combat is very rarely used in his fighting style, as he is a large and easy-to-hit target on the ground. The only long-distance move he will use will be to shoot an opponent with Nemea Eryx's grapple and pull them closer to him to get their ass beat in close combat. When battling hand-to-hand, Caruss' punches usually finish the fight fairly quickly, but he's also relatively vicious with his kicks as well. Wings: Caruss' wings are also an essential part of his battle style. Offensively, he can beat and pummel people with them, their heavy, brunt force often leaving some serious bruises and broken bones. They are, however, especially effective thanks to Caruss' semblance with Dust-powered forcefields (discussed further below). He can sharpen the tips of his wings to be razor-sharp, cutting and slashing his opponents. (This method, however, is usually hard to pull off. He has to do a lot of bending and twirling and pivoting to make his wings slice at the correct angles, so it's rarely used.) Defensively, Caruss' wings are used as shields. Thanks to their Dust enhancements, they can take a hell of a beating. They can withstand bullets, punches, spears, swords, and much more. While not being perfectly shield-shaped, they do make an effective form of defense in close combat. Overall, Caruss' wings add another pair of limbs to his hand-to-hand fighting style, often overwhelming and confusing enemies. Focusing on arms and legs is enough, but throwing in two more large, solid appendages that hit and block can be baffling. The Shaba fighting style is based around this concept. Overwhelm and confuse the opponent to more quickly subdue them and end the conflict. Semblance: Caruss' semblance is a very specific kind of force field. Using Dust stored in Nemea Eryx, he creates a solid force field around his wings. This force field is nearly impenetrable, able to withstand hundreds of tons of force and unpierced by blades. Bullets simply crumple when they make contact, and the extra solid-ness of his wings make them great weapons to beat the shit out of people. However, there is one thing that can not only penetrate, but completely negate the force field; Fire. Excessive amounts of heat melts his particular type of Dust away, leaving his wings open and vulnerable. (Icarus reference anyone lmao) Weaknesses:

Caruss is pretty slow on the ground. He's not very quick, but makes up for that with crazy-high endurance.

Caruss' GIGANTIC FUCKIN' WINGS make him a pretty big target. He's not that difficult to hit. This is why his Semblance is so important. Even though swords and bullets can't penetrate the force field, enough brute force can very easily knock him off balance, rendering him vulnerable to attacks.

While most bullets cool enough before hitting his wings, shooting him at close range causes significantly more damage to his shields than shooting from far away, as the bullets are hotter.

His wings are super-weak to fire and heat. Stabbing them with sword will simply break the sword. Throwing a hot pizza on them is a good way to impair his defenses.

It's difficult for Caruss to take flight. Without the help of Nemea Eryx, Caruss needs a high place, a good wind, and plenty of room to take off. Taking off directly from the ground is extremely difficult and extremely tiring. The required maneuver is used only for emergency takeoffs and does quite a number on his wings.

Strengths:

Caruss is pretty much solid muscle. Despite his small size, he can really mess someone up.

Caruss is a talented flier. He can perform complicated maneuvers, fly through most conditions, and is incredibly fast in the air. The extra speed boost he gets with Nemea Eryx's grapple makes him incredibly fast.

Caruss has ridiculously high endurance. He can fight viciously for a very long time.

Design Notes:

Dreadlocks imply a feeling of peace and one-ness with nature. Dreadlocks often associated with tribal people, Hindu people, or hippies. Recalls Caruss' gentle and levelheaded personality.

Goggles used during Caruss' flying. Often draped around his neck otherwise.

Regular battle/normal shirt doesn't have a back. Gives his wings plenty of room.

Color scheme reminiscent of copper, the color/material I based a lot of his design off of. The bluish hints recall the cooler colors of an unrefined form of copper, Malachite.

The draped cloth around his hips recalls the draped cloth seen often in ancient Greek culture.

The brooch is where his emblem is located on his design.

The poofy pants are reminiscent of the poofy flying pants 20's-era pilots would wear.

The cuffs on the pants inspired by Korean men's styles.

Kinda breaking the color-naming rule by naming him Caruss. It's supposed to recall "Icarus" ("Ic-CARUSS"). I guess it could also recall rust, which is close to his color of copper and often happens on metals.

Extra Character Notes:

Caruss' birthday is April 14th

Caruss has a raging sweet-tooth. He loves fruits and REALLY REALLY loves candy. The sweeter, the better.

Caruss also really likes spicy food.

Caruss rarely ever wears a shirt around the house/his dorm at Beacon. He likes having all the room for this wings.

Caruss has to special-order his shirts to have well-designed and well-hidden slits for his wings.

It takes hours for Caruss to shower. Not only does he like to really really clean himself and his hair, it takes him quite a while to clean his wings and preen his feathers.

On that note, it sucks to be around Caruss when he's molting.

Caruss HATES it when Nonfaunus (or just people in general) try to pluck one of his feathers. He often has to explain that it's not like the cartoons, they don't just pluck out like hair, those suckers are literally embedded in his flesh and it really really hurts when people yank them out. Also they take a while to grow back so please just don't.

Caruss doesn't mind people touching his wings, so long as they have permission.

Caruss is actually a big comic book nerd. He used to read tons when he was a kid. His favorite is X-Ray and Vav. He's read every issue, watched the cartoon series vigorously, and been to every midnight release of every movie.

Caruss' favorite episode of the X-Ray and Vav cartoon is the one where Vav accidentally grows bird wings. The episode focuses on Faunus, and the moral of the story is revealed when Vav has a speech about how people treat Faunus. The episode isn't aired that much anymore, as the majority of viewers (Nonfaunus) think the episode is to preachy and too seeped in social politics for kids.

Caruss takes a lot of bullshit from other people, but if someone starts giving another Faunus or one of his close friends bullshit he gets very upset.

Caruss' Force-field-protected wings

Nemea Eryx

Phew! That was a ton of writing! Kudos if you were insane enough to read this far. As I said at the beginning, these are all mainly notes for me and are most certainly up to change. As the official RWBY canon explores more stuff about the world and as I change my opinion of certain stuff about the character, things will probably be shifted around a little. I do have a team planned for Caruss, but so far there's not a lot on them. Caruss is my baby, so I've been focusing on him most. So, yeah. For those of you insane enough to have read this far, lemme know what you think of him so far, if you wanna!