Weiss Schnee

**Weiss Schnee** (ワイス・シュニー, *Waisu Shūnī*) is a Huntress, a former student of the now-defunct Beacon Academy, and former heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. Her weapon of choice is a Multi-Action Dust Rapier (MADR) named Myrtenaster.

As the former heiress of the vastly influential Schnee Dust Company, Weiss made her first appearance in the "White" Trailer. After enrolling in Beacon against the wishes of her father, Jacques Schnee, she becomes a member of Team RWBY alongside Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. She is the younger sister of Winter Schnee and the older sister of Whitley Schnee.

Following a lengthy battle against Cinder Fall, Weiss was blasted off a platform and into the void under the Central Location, landing in the Ever After.

## Description

### Appearance

Weiss is a beautiful pale-skinned young woman with pale blue eyes and long white hair that is often pulled back into an off-center ponytail or braid on the right side and pinned with a silver, icicle-shaped tiara. She stands at 4' 11" (1.5 meters), but typically wears heels that raise her height to 5' 3" (1.6 meters). Weiss has a scar which runs vertically down her left eye and face, gained during her battle against an Arma Gigas in the "White" Trailer.

She wears a thigh-length strapless dress with a faint color gradation from white to pale blue at the hem. A small piece of black lace sits in the front of her neckline and the hem of the dress is scalloped and stitched to resemble snowflakes, with layers of white tulle under the skirt. Over this, she wears a bell-sleeved bolero with the same color gradation as her dress from shoulder to wrist, lined in red and with a ruffled collar. On the back of the bolero is the Schnee Crest.

She also wears a small apple pendant on a silver chain and thin, rectangular silver earrings. Her boots are white, wedged heeled, and higher at the back than the front. They have a small silver decoration across the top of the foot and are lined in red. A thin white sash is tied around her waist with a pouch attached to the back.

### Personality

Monty Oum had said that everything has been decided for Weiss in her life and because of it, she is a bit of a rebel. This manifests itself in her physical appearance as she wears her ponytail to the side of her head, disrupting the symmetry of the rest of her outfit. When Professor Peter Port states that Weiss has received everything she wanted in life, she responds that it is not entirely true, thinking of her father's attitude. She takes pride in her name and the company, though, as seen when she first meets Blake, when she discusses it with her team in Mountain Glenn and when she confronts her father over it.

Considering the lyrics of her leitmotif "Mirror Mirror", it is very likely that Weiss has felt lonely throughout her life, which translated into a cold nature. Constant attacks by the White Fang added heavy strain to her life, explaining her often difficult personality. Her strict upbringing has also given her a tendency to keep quiet about her own desires, likely not to be seen as vulnerable. After warming up to people, she places a great deal of trust in her friends and confides in them when she feels the need. While she doesn't abandon her prickly attitude completely, she gradually becomes nicer and more compassionate to people, especially her friends.

According to her voice actress, Kara Eberle, Weiss is "nice but can also be a little bit bitchy." She is irritable and confident in her abilities, though also acknowledges her deficiencies and the need to hone her skills further. Her confidence in her skills and intellect often comes off as arrogance to others. This is also mentioned by Kara, who called her the "know-it-all" type of person who can also become best friends with her acquaintances.

Weiss takes her time at Beacon more seriously than her teammates, taking notes even when the topic is not related to the knowledge she seeks. She equates such dedication in the classroom with dedication in the field. Thus, she is annoyed at those who do not take things seriously, especially when it comes to becoming protectors against the Grimm. Weiss remains calm and tactical during encounters and mentally coaches herself. She is thoughtful and fights with precision and coordination.

After speaking with Professor Port, Weiss' attitude appears to change, as she takes his suggestion to "be the best person [she] can be" to heart. She opens up to Ruby, though she does not halt future criticisms. Weiss' development carries into her whimsical and humorous side as she joins her team in a food fight against Team JNPR and a board game. In "Painting the Town...", Weiss attempts to joke but is met with negative criticism from Yang and Blake. Weiss also enjoys planning and participating in certain events, such as the Beacon Dance.

Weiss vows that as a Huntress, she will elevate the Schnee name from her father's dishonor to it and put her desires behind others' necessities. This solidifies in "Lessons Learned" when Weiss heeds her sister's advice and removes her bindings from the SDC to discover more about herself.

After being retrieved from Beacon and flown home, Weiss is truly affected by the loss that happened during the Fall of Beacon. She becomes increasingly intolerant of the Atlesian lifestyle she grew up in, seeing it as superficial and ignorant. Her change of perspective is demonstrated by her hostility toward Henry Marigold's insensitive and ignorant attitude about the charity event and her public outburst when a couple talks condescendingly about the destruction of Vale.

Weiss has demonstrated the ability to keep a level head in the face of intense and deeply emotional situations. When Ironwood's paranoia begins to spiral in "Gravity" Weiss attempts to regain control of the situation by pointing out that his concerns are not relevant to the current situation. After Neopolitan knocked Yang over the edge in "The Final Word", Weiss immediately attempts to comfort Blake before the latter lashes back at Neo in rage. While Ruby and Blake are preoccupied with Neopolitan, Weiss quietly resigns herself and does her duty by fighting Cinder and drawing the Fall Maiden's attention to keep as many civilians out of harm's way as possible during the evacuation.

Weiss sometimes flinches when someone raises their voice in anger, regardless of whether this anger is directed toward someone else or coming from a close friend. This is first shown in "Taking Control" when she overhears an argument between her father and General Ironwood. It is also shown in "Known by its Song" when Yang snaps at her mother, Raven Branwen, for mocking Qrow Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long. The latter incident shows Weiss remaining on edge around Yang even after her anger subsides. This unconscious habit may have been another result of her dysfunctional childhood and strained family life, as it has been implied by Weiss that her father and mother would frequently fight with each other in angry voices.

Despite her good qualities, Weiss holds a double standard regarding others and secrets. In "Sparks", she is upset on Winter's behalf due to the fact that she believes Ironwood is keeping secrets from her, even though she went along with Ruby's decision to lie to Ironwood and keep Ozpin's disappearance, how many questions left in the Relic of Knowledge, and Salem's immortality a secret. When Winter reveals Fria to Weiss as a gesture of faith to show that Ironwood has trusted her, Weiss keeps what she knows a secret from her sister.

Due to the ongoing violence between the SDC and the White Fang terrorist group, Weiss despises the White Fang and shows a noticeable distrust of Faunus at first. The White Fang's activities seem to have contributed to a difficult childhood for Weiss, for she had close ties with numerous people who were either killed by or disappeared because of the White Fang. This led to her father frequently coming home angry, and this further colored Weiss' views on the White Fang and Faunus.

When Blake defends Sun Wukong's criminal acts, Weiss makes many derogatory comments about him and suggests he would likely join with the White Fang. However, shortly after the fight with Roman Torchwick, Weiss no longer cares about her argument with Blake, stating they are teammates and it changes nothing. Regardless, she says she remains unsure of how she feels about Sun, but they grow to be on friendlier terms. Weiss and the rest of her team keep Blake's status as a Faunus a secret.

Weiss' hostility toward the Faunus downgrades considerably through her time at Beacon, as seen when she shows concern for Velvet Scarlatina and the rest of Team CFVY. She is even friendlier and empathetic toward Blake, having placed trust in her as well after fighting alongside Blake against the White Fang several times. In "Dead End" when Caroline Cordovin shows blatant racism towards Blake for her Faunus heritage, Weiss immediately snaps "What's that supposed to mean?!" and in "The Greatest Kingdom" when a drunk shows Blake the same prejudice, Weiss uses Myrtenaster to hurl him into a dumpster, saying it was worth it- showing how significantly her views have changed. When Team RWBY explores an abandoned SDC mine, Weiss expresses shame and remorse to Blake for the pain her family has caused the Faunus.

Weiss has been described by Blake as the personification of the word "defiance." This is shown to be true in her various rebellions against those who try to decide things for her, or make assumptions about her; from her father, to Flynt Coal in the Vytal Festival Tournament (who initially believes she is nothing but a spoilt rich kid) to even General Ironwood and her older sister in Volume 7. This defiance culminates in her encounter with Cinder Fall in "The Final Word", when Weiss is left as the last of Team RWBY to face her; Cinder mocks her status as a Schnee, claiming she let "all her friends die first". Despite her Aura being broken, and outmatched by the Fall Maiden's power, Weiss continues to attack Cinder in order to buy her other friends time- showing that she is, indeed, defiant to the end.

It is implied that she likely used to suffer from both a superiority and an inferiority complex, often coming across as supercilious, haughty, and disdainful towards those she views as being beneath her and seeing herself as a perfect example of what a future Huntress should be but will often fall into long periods of paranoia and self-doubt whenever someone dares to challenge these beliefs.

In the case of Ruby Rose, Weiss is initially dismissive of her believing that she has no place in Beacon and that she isn't worth her time as a leader. However, after her conversation with Port, Weiss misunderstands what he was trying to tell her and resolves to try and "fix" Ruby's flaws as a leader believing that it will help raise her standing with the rest of her team and the other students attending Beacon.

Weiss is also shown to be far more prejudiced against Faunus in general in this version, showing a strong distrust towards them as the White Fang were responsible for many people she had once known getting hurt or killed. This grudge was so strong that it even extended to her teammate Blake Belladonna as upon finding out the truth about Blake being a Faunus, she burst into angry tears at having been forced into close proximity with her.

## Powers and Abilities

As the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss was raised from youth to strive to be the best in all she did, and combat was no exception. As a testament to her skills, Weiss was on the top ranking of the sparring class during the events of the Vytal Festival. Weiss can move quickly and is creative on the battlefield, particularly with Ice Dust.

 File:Glyph ice.png
Weiss' combat style relies heavily on ricocheting off either surrounding surfaces or her glyphs, allowing her to take control of the fight by rapidly attacking from multiple angles to keep the enemy off balance. She has been seen utilizing this tactic with her Arma Gigas Summon, rapidly transporting it between glyphs to confuse and ambush the enemy in mid-strike. Her Semblance enables her to shift rapidly between offense, defense and evasion.

Most notably, Weiss frequently utilizes Dust in battle. She has shown a preference for Ice Dust, only switching types if it provides her with an advantage, such as using Wind Dust against sonic based attacks, or to create certain types of glyphs such as black or time dilation glyphs. She has used Ice Dust to trap enemies, create a trail to push enemies from a height, create a slippery sheet of ice and form pointed ice chunks to use as projectiles.

Weiss also has some skill in medical treatment. In "War", she helped Nora Valkyrie after she had injured herself overusing her Semblance by bandaging her up and tending to her at her bedside. However, it is insufficient in fully handling her condition.

As seen in "The Final Word", Weiss is capable of using guns despite never having been shown to hold any experience with them before, as she shot Cinder with three bullets using Gambol Shroud. She also showcased some skill in a dual sword style, having fought Cinder Fall using both Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud.

Although Ruby is usually the one who makes the team's battle plans, Weiss was the one who came up with the plan to use Emerald's Semblance against Ironwood in "Creation".

In *Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part Two*, Weiss would lose both her Aura and Semblance with her arrival on Earth. However unlike her team, Weiss gained no new abilities and was simply a baseline human.

### Weapon

*Main article: Myrtenaster*
 File:Castle.jpg
Weiss' weapon of choice is **Myrtenaster**, a Multi-Action Dust Rapier. The rapier has a revolving chamber inside the guard, which has six slots in total, each of which contains a vial of powdered Dust. The revolving chamber is constantly stocked with red, cyan, purple, white, yellow and blue Dust.

Weiss utilizes the Dust in combat, either in raw form or in conjunction with her Semblance to create various effects that suit the situation. When not using Myrtenaster as a Dust supplier, Weiss utilizes her speed to dodge attacks and her sword to deliver damage through quick thrusts that leave little room for counters.

In "The Final Word", Weiss took up the katana blade of Gambol Shroud after Blake Belladonna and Ruby Rose was thrown into the abyss of the Evacuation dimension during her last stand against Cinder.

In *Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part Two*, Weiss would use a freeze gun created by Mr. Freeze, which could shoot blue beams that create ice upon hitting a target. Though due to being in storage for to long, it ran out of power, forcing Weiss to discard it.

### Semblance

*Main article: Glyphs*
 File:The Badge and The Burden Pt.2.png
Weiss has the Schnee family Semblance of **Glyphs**, allowing her to create glyphs that can be used in a variety of ways: create a slippery platform to skate on at high speed, generate midair platforms to manipulate her trajectory in the air and perform limited time dilation that can speed up actionsTemplate:RC, to name a few.

She has gained more control over her Semblance upon her arrival in Atlas. During her fight against Marrow Amin in "With Friends Like These", she could use her glyphs to create several ice spikes to simultaneously speed up and throw the ice as makeshift spears while summoning her Arma Gigas.

#### Summoning

With mastery, a Schnee also has the ability to summon avatars of the foes that they have defeated. While these avatars have the appearance of Grimm, they do not possess the same weaknesses. For instance, they are unaffected by the light from Silver Eyes.

In "Lessons Learned", Winter specifies that the summoned foe had to have caused the Schnee to push past who they were and become who they are now.

#### Weiss' Summons:

* Arma Gigas
* Boarbatusk
* Queen Lancer
* Nevermore

#### Image Gallery

00024.pngWeiss summoning her Arma Gigas00030.pngWeiss summoning a Boarbatusk00050.pngWeiss summoning her Queen Lancer00045.pngWeiss attempting to summon her NevermoreWeiss' Nevermore.pngWeiss' full Nevermore avatar.
### Weaknesses

 File:00055.png
Weiss has poor endurance and stamina, as seen in "The Emerald Forest" after Ruby and Weiss are forced to retreat from a pack of Beowolves after a forest fire; Weiss is shown to be panting in exhaustion while Ruby is still fully energized.

The biggest sign of her lack of endurance, however, is her inability to take heavy hits. In fact, she is the weakest out of everyone on her team, having been knocked out the most, such as by Nora Valkyrie with her watermelon hammer during the food fight, and the White Fang Lieutenant smashing her head into the ground.

Despite her glyphs' durability, they have been demonstrated to be breakable, such as when she summons three black glyphs in an attempt to stop the cargo ship's crash. The ship falls far too fast or is too heavy for her, causing it to rip the glyphs apart as it falls through them.

In regards to her summons, larger ones like her Arma Gigas take greater time and effort to manifest, as shown in her duel with Vernal, who heavily exploited this weakness by constantly interrupting Weiss' attempts to bring forth the sword-wielding warrior.

## Etymology

* The name **Weiss** means "white" in German.
	+ Despite her name being German, the 'W' in her first name, as well as the 'nee' part of her last name are not pronounced as they would be in German. Monty stated that this is because real-world countries, such as Germany, do not exist in Remnant.
* Weiss' surname **Schnee** means "snow" in German.
	+ It may also be a reference to Scheelite, which is a type of tungstate mineral, which has several industrial age applications not unlike dust.

## Trivia

* Weiss' voice actor, Kara Eberle, compares her to Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series.
	+ Also, if given the choice between fighting one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses, she would rather fight one horse-sized duck.
* Weiss is often addressed by nicknames:
	+ "Princess", "Snow Angel" or "Ice Queen" by Ruby, Jaune Arc, Neptune Vasilias, Sun, Yang, even Torchwick and the White Fang Lieutenant.
	+ The nickname "Ice Queen" is also given by Qrow to Winter (Weiss' older sister).
* During an "Ask Me Anything" question and answer session on the Rooster Teeth website, Kara said that Weiss' favorite season is winter, her favorite color is baby blue and her favorite ice cream flavor is blueberry frozen yogurt.
* Weiss has her own official Twitter account at RT\_WeissSchnee, like Ruby, Yang, and Jaune, all of which are currently inactive.