Ruby Rose

> We've all lost something, and I've seen what loss can do to people. But if we gave up every time we lost, then we'd never be able to move forward.
>
> Ruby Rose

## Ruby Rose

### Residence

Island of Patch, Kingdom of Vale, Remnant

### Occupation

Signal Academy Student (formerly)
Beacon Academy Student (formerly)
Licensed Grimm Huntress

### Education

Signal Academy
Beacon Academy

### Family

* Yang Xiao Long (half-sister)
* Taiyang Xiao Long (father)
* Summer Rose (mother, presumed deceased

### People

* Alani Kelso (ally and mother figure)
* Weiss Schnee (teammate)
* Blake Belladonna (teammate)
* Carter "Goblin" Reyes‎‎ (archenemy)

### Nicknames

* Little Red
* Pipsqueak
* Kiddo
* Miss Hero
* Rubes
* Babygirl (By Kelso)

### Weapons Used

Crescent Rose (Scythe-Sniper Rifle Hybrid)

**Ruby Rose** is the main protagonist of RWBY and leader of Team RWBY. She is a Huntress, having been trained at the now-defunct Beacon Academy. Ruby's weapon of choice is her High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe known as Crescent Rose, which she designed herself.

After an invitation from Professor Ozpin following a short battle with Roman Torchwick, Ruby attends Beacon Academy in order to become a Huntress. During her time at Beacon, Ruby became a member and the leader of Team RWBY, consisting of herself, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and her own older half-sister, Yang Xiao Long.

However, after the disbandment of her team following the Fall of Beacon, Ruby travels to Haven Academy as a member of Team RNJR with the remaining members of Team JNPR. After the Battle of Haven, Team RWBY is reunited again and they continue to participate in the war against Salem and her forces.

Following a battle with Neopolitan in the Central Location, Ruby was dropped into the void by Cinder Fall, and ended up in another realm entirely, the Ever After. She and her Team and managed to escape Ever After, and encountered the mysterious Huntsman Farren Scriver, who informs them that the last two remaining relics are located within Earth and have sent them there to retrieve the relics so that they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands.

## History

Ruby is the daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long, as well as the younger half-sister of Yang Xiao Long, with whom she was raised on the island of Patch.

When she was very young, Yang would read Ruby fairy tales every night before bed, filled with the deeds of great heroes; this would later inspire Ruby to become a Huntress.

One day, Summer went missing while on a mission. Yang said that, although Ruby was "really torn up" by the incident, she was too young to really understand what had happened.

Shortly after Summer's disappearance, Yang brought Ruby with her to an abandoned building in order to find clues about the whereabouts of Yang's mother, Raven Branwen. During the search, they were almost killed by Beowolves but were saved by their uncle, Qrow Branwen, which only fueled Ruby's desire to become a Huntress.

To achieve this, she studied at Signal Academy, where she built and learned to use her high-caliber sniper scythe, Crescent Rose, under the tutelage of her uncle Qrow.

*Coming Soon*

## Personality

> As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books — someone who fought for what was right and who protected people who couldn't protect themselves.
>
> Ruby's reasoning on what made her wanting to protect people.

Ever since she was little, Ruby has had a romanticized view of the Huntsman profession. She is quick to reveal she wanted to become a Huntress in order to be like the great heroes in fairy tales, and she has described being one as far more "romantic" than being a police officer. Her mentality is described as "I don't have time for my emotions. I've gotta make sure that everybody else is okay." Lindsay Jones claims Ruby's mentality is "selfless, but that means she's not dealing with her own issues. Compartmentalizing and internalizing her grief is what might eventually destroy her." She has also shown a distinct lack of ability to pick up social cues due to being a very open and honest person. This results in her inability to pick up Weiss' sarcasm in the "The Shining Beacon" and her struggling to act formally in "It's Brawl in the Family".

Ruby is a self-proclaimed dork when it comes to weapons; she is quite intelligent, having designed and built Crescent Rose during her time at Signal, although she admits to going "a little overboard" with its design. She feels that seeing new weapons "is like meeting new people, but better." Oum has said she relies on Crescent Rose quite often in battle, which implies that her weapon is the source of her confidence in battle.

Ruby has a strong sense of moral justice, a trait she obtained from stories about heroes and monsters that her sister used to read for her, as well as the way her parents raised her. These stories are what gave her the ideals that she wished to live by and uphold throughout her life, and are the reason for her love for books. Because she is shown to be childish even when in class, she tends to study by herself to cover the necessary knowledge.

Ruby is shown to be naïve, as although she doesn't like to be the center of attention, becoming a Huntress would effectively put her in the spotlight. In addition to her dislike of attention, Ruby prefers to either be alone or with Yang. However, she has become comfortable around Team RWBY and Team JNPR. She does not lack social skills but has problems when meeting new people. This is mostly because of her childish nature and lack of social grace, as she can be bad-mannered (only out of ignorance) and sometimes speaks without thinking. However, because of her enthusiastic personality, she can become very good friends with people who share her enthusiasm.

Despite this, Ruby's leadership skills make her a worthy teammate. While she may occasionally act without thinking, sometimes she seems to understand the situation better than most. She can then use this ability to quickly formulate plans. This was seen during Team RWBY's battle with the Nevermore, in which her teammates' positions allowed her to come up with a successful plan. Ozpin most likely assigned Ruby as team leader to ensure that she grows as an individual. This proves to be the case as she becomes a resourceful and dependable leader who studies so hard and so late, she falls asleep in the middle of the task, all to impress her teammate Weiss. She was also able to pass her beliefs as leader to Jaune Arc, thus helping him find a new sense of responsibility for the safety and well-being of his own team.

Ruby is also shown to care for all her teammates equally, despite their background. This is seen in how she expresses sympathy for Weiss' bad childhood after she explains her family's history with the White Fang, before showing the same concern moments later for Blake Belladonna when she runs away, having let slip her prior involvement with the group, and by extension indirectly revealing that she was a Faunus. Ruby's concern is further expressed in her desperate search for her teammate. This sense of care is later shown not to be limited to her teammates. She also shows some worry for Penny, telling the latter to stay out of the fight between Roman Torchwick, Blake Belladonna, and Sun Wukong.

Although Ruby has no trouble interacting with her friends, she does have trouble actually making them, and once admits that seeing new weapons "is like meeting new people, but better". This could have been a result of her having been accepted two years earlier to Beacon Academy, which forces her to leave her friends at Signal behind, as well as interact with people that are both older and more experienced than she is. Regardless, both she and Jaune Arc toast to being socially awkward during the Beacon Dance.

In the second chapter of the manga, it is revealed that Ruby originally had enochlophobia, a fear of large crowds, as shown when she freezes up during a sparring match against Cardin Winchester. However, she manages to work through that fear with some encouragement from her teammates long enough to win the spar, and by the Vytal Festival, she has overcome them entirely.

Despite her social awkwardness, Ruby is far from shy: she is enthusiastic and often eager to speak her mind. She is capable of being assertive, when necessary, as she has verbally stood her ground against many people who have tried to dissuade or humiliate her, including Weiss Schnee before they became friends, Roman Torchwick, Neopolitan, Caroline Cordovin and James Ironwood. Despite her usual kindness, Ruby can also be stern with her friends and close ones when she feels it necessary, such as arguing with Qrow in Argus or with Yang in Mantle.

Ruby also has a sweet tooth, preferring five sugars in her coffee and scarfing down a large plate of cookies in "Ruby Rose". She is even seen with a plate of cookies in "Jaunedice", while her friends are eating more nutritious meals. This is shown again in "Alone Together", where Ruby rejoices and accepts coffee after learning Weiss put "blasphemous amounts of cream and sugar" in it.

In combat or dangerous situations, she is shown to be quite impulsive and battle eager, such as when she attacks a Death Stalker upon seeing it before learning of its high resistance to bullets and blades. This trait contrasts with her adaptability, for she is quite capable of forming attack plans with others in order to take down stronger foes, such as the Nevermore in "Players and Pieces" and Roman in the Atlesian Paladin-290 in "Painting the Town...". After her discussion with Ozpin in "The Badge and The Burden, Pt.2", Ruby begins to take her role as leader of Team RWBY seriously.

Ruby has been shown to be ruthless at times when it comes to protecting her loved ones, such as when she nonchalantly cuts off Tyrian Callows' stinger in "Punished" after he manages to injure and poison Qrow Branwen. When Neopolitan knocks Yang over the edge of the Central Location in "Worthy", Ruby attempts to cut Neo in half using the same motion she frequently employs on Grimm. This behavior is most likely a side effect of the trauma she experienced during the Fall of Beacon.

In "Lost", Ruby further develops as a leader whenever she and her friends find themselves in trouble. This is evident when she directs the group when they are attacked on the Argus Limited and when she stands up to Qrow after he turns down Jaune's proposed idea of stealing a military airship to get to Atlas. In "Dark" Blake recounts that Ruby's determination and optimism is something that has always inspired her, and she continues to look up to her despite being older.

Despite her stance on not keeping secrets from her teammates and friends, Ruby has done so to others. In "A New Approach", after James Ironwood inquires on what happened to Ozpin, Ruby lies, stating that she does not know what happened, despite the fact that it was her group's actions that led to his disappearance. She also states that the questions for the Relic of Knowledge were all used up, which is the same thing Ozpin said that led to them turning on him in the first place. These acts, along with Yang and Blake leaking classified information on the Amity Communications Tower to Robyn Hill, eventually result in Ironwood losing trust in them.

She also has a tendency on not backing down from a fight no matter the odds, which while admirable, can also be detrimental. In "Punished", she refuses to listen to Qrow to stay out of his fight with Tyrian as she would only get in the way, which leads to him having to protect her and leaving him open to be poisoned by Tyrian. This flaw is highlighted in her stance against Ironwood. In "Gravity", when Ironwood declares his intent to use the Relic of Creation to raise Atlas due to Salem personally coming, Ruby refuses the plan, as doing so would leave Mantle in danger. Although she and her group prevent Ironwood from carrying out the plan, this later caused both cities to be attacked when Salem landed Monstra on the island in "Midnight".

Following the events of Volume 7, Ruby goes through a major change and realized that Ironwood couldn't be trusted to make the right choices and began steeling herself to stand by her friends instead.

Ultimately, Ruby's choices can weigh heavily on her when her plans fail, or her team becomes divided. When depressed or under intense pressure, she requires the same emotional support she often provides to her friends, despite constantly trying to keep up a brave face and a positive outlook as team leader. In "Dark", Ruby became overwhelmed and blamed her actions for leading to their situation, until she was reassured by Blake. She ended up breaking down in "Risk" due to the worsening situation, both her and Yang's plans ended up not working, and realizing what Salem may have possibly done to her mother after seeing the core of The Hound. However, Yang pointed out that, while Ruby's optimism and determination had occasionally been blind, it was also necessary in many situations, to provide the team with hope when they took risks. Thanks to her sister's reassurance, Ruby has regained her resolve to save the people of Remnant.

After she arrived in the Ever After and was informed about Penny’s death, Ruby became less cheerful and more depressed most of the time. She felt helpless without her weapon when she wanted help her team against the Jabberwalker. She refuses to talk about her problems to her friends when Weiss asks her if she was alright after she informs her about Penny’s death.

In “A Cat Most Curious“, her depression got worse when she confronts her past self, as she claims she has chronic heroic syndrome. She wasn’t able to call herself a Huntress as she is completely lost and has no idea what she is supposed to be. It implies that all the trauma she has faced is starting to take a toll on her mentally. She slowly started losing part of herself and became unsure about her identity after she met the Blacksmith. She was willing to give up her personal items like her Emblem keepsake that belonged to her mother. Despite her depressed state, she still cared for her friends. She refused to pick up Crescent Rose that Jaune found and kept safe. Ruby’s weapon was like a part of her, but now she refuses to take it back.

In “Confessions Within Cumulonimbus Clouds”, she completely loses her cheerful demeanor and becomes more depressed after she learns the real truth about Alyx and the Curious Cat from Jaune.

Things got worst in "The Perils of Paper Houses", as she becomes afraid of Crescent Rose. Because of this, she lost all of her will to fight against Neo, who tormented her by making her remember her worst experiences with Salem's forces. After the fall of Jaune's village, she finally has a mental breakdown and vents her pent up turmoil at her team and Jaune, about all her problems like being a leader, never worrying about herself without screwing up everything, forcing the group stay positive, about her sister's relationship, and mourning over the death of Jaune's "make believe friends", which causes Jaune to retaliate by angrily blaming her for everything bad that's happened, including her plan, Neo's hatred, and the fact that they're stuck in the Ever After, which causes Ruby to look at him angry with tears in her eyes. Blake tries to intervene, but Ruby tells her to shut up, grabs her weapon and Petal Bursts far away from her friends. Weiss later speculated Ruby withdrew herself because she couldn’t discuss her problems for so long due to feeling burdened by so much expectation.

In “Tea Amidst Terrible Trouble”, Ruby’s depression causes her to snap at Little to be left in solitude where her mental state worsens. She was left mentally and physically broken by Neo after she used clones of Ruby’s deceased friends and former allies to torment her about her past failures and to the point where she decided not to be herself anymore. The death of Little caused her to believe she was useless and decided to commit suicide by ascending, drinking the tainted tea with the Tree's leaf.

In “A Tale Involving a Tree”, Ruby reveals she feels her burdens are too heavy for her to bear anymore and briefly considers starting over with Ascension to abandon her problems. Her nihilism worsens to the point she felt imperfect and unable to do anything right. However, she gained emotional support from the Blacksmith, helping her realize she didn’t need to be perfect just because she was a leader and accepting herself as enough. After emerging from her chrysalis, she regained her confidence and will to fight, as shown in her altercation with the Curious Cat afterwards.

## Powers and Abilities

In order to become a Huntress, Ruby trained at Signal Academy, where her skills and abilities far surpassed her peers. Wielding a dangerous weapon like Crescent Rose required strength, balance and adaptability, all of which she demonstrated the night she stopped the robbery of From Dust Till Dawn, a Dust shop in Vale. This led Ozpin to accept her into Beacon Academy two years before the usual age of admittance.

While at Beacon, Ruby developed skills as a decisive leader, being able to formulate and execute tactical plans with others in order to take down tougher foes, such as the giant Nevermore the team encountered during initiation, and later in coordinated attacks against Roman in an Atlesian Paladin-290. However, perhaps Ruby's greatest strength is her ability to give hope when it is needed most- something Ozpin described as "Something unquantifiable... a *spark*." She always sees the best in people, and has a knack for finding the right words in the right situation, whether when rallying her teammates, comforting demoralized or suffering allies, or trying to sway enemies to her side. While Ruby's willingness to negotiate has occasionally backfired (such as with Raven and Ironwood) she has inspired many with her words, actions and perseverance as a leader and Huntress.

Ruby's sense of balance stands out, particularly in precarious situations like perching on a taut ribbon at the Beacon Initiation or running off an exploding airship during the Battle of Beacon Academy. Despite her small size, Ruby's physical strength is considerable, given how skillfully she wields the large and bulky Crescent Rose. Perhaps one of the best demonstrations of her strength was during her initiation, when she used Crescent Rose to drag a Giant Nevermore *vertically* up a cliff, at high speed (although she was assisted by Weiss' glyphs and Crescent Rose's recoil).

Ruby's fighting style relies heavily on her creative uses of and methods for achieving momentum, relying on a combination of her Semblance and Crescent Rose's recoil to allow her to achieve massive impact force, then speeding away to avoid counterattacks and prepare her next strike. She can also throw her opponents off by creating slipstreams and even small whirlwinds using her Semblance.

Ruby also has some skills as a seamstress. Which of according to her, she made the outfit that she originally wore to Beacon herself.

### Weapon

*Main article: Crescent Rose*
Ruby's weapon of choice is **Crescent Rose**. Ruby is self-admittedly obsessed when it comes to weapons, which shows in her complex design and craftsmanship of her weapon, a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe which she designed herself at Signal, as well as her eye for detail when observing other people's weapons and tools. This weapon can transform between a scythe and a sniper rifle and can fire Dust rounds in either form with massive force. Ruby has proven to have excellent marksmanship, making a perfect headshot on a fleeing Geist or shooting down a missile. After arriving in Atlas, Crescent Rose was upgraded, with the blade now capable of rotation, allowing Ruby to swing her weapon more freely when in cramped spaces such as caves.
### Semblance

*Main article: Petal Burst*
Ruby's Semblance, **Petal Burst** (also known as **Speed**), allows her to dash with an inhuman speed in whatever direction she chooses, often leaving trails of rose petals in her wake. However, this is, of course, at the cost of Aura so Ruby can't rely on it indefinitely. Ruby is shown to be capable of creating powerful tailwinds with her Semblance; if she gathers enough momentum, the resulting turbulence is capable of lifting people off the ground. It was stated by Harriet Bree that Ruby's Semblance is not like other speed-type Semblances, though she does not elaborate. It is later revealed by Penny that Ruby's Semblance allows her to disassemble herself at a molecular level and reassemble at a chosen location, negating her mass. With practice, she has proven able to do the same with anyone she is in contact with, similar to Ren's Semblance; she can carry at least four people along with her. This allows her to go around obstacles or through paths that she would not otherwise fit. She has also proven able to negate gravity while using her Semblance, as she uses her Semblance mid-fall to circle up and around Neopolitan, attacking her from behind. However, as shown by her battle with Mercury at the Vytal Tornment, if her path is blocked by an unexpected obstacle mid-flight, her Semblance can be disrupted, forcing her to stop.
### Silver Eyes

*Main article: Silver-Eyed Individuals*
Through her mother, Summer, Ruby comes from a line of legendary warriors who possessed powerful abilities related to their Silver Eyes, said to be an extremely rare trait. Upon seeing Pyrrha Nikos die, Ruby accidentally uses this power in her grief and petrifies the Wyvern. However, she has no memory of doing this other than her head hurting. Later in the episode, Qrow describes a fairy tale about warriors with Silver Eyes who are so powerful that even the Grimm fear them.

It is also revealed that Ruby's powers injured Cinder Fall greatly, causing her to lose her left eye and arm, and making it difficult for her to speak for a period of time. Salem states that this is due to Cinder's possession of the Fall Maiden powers but does not explain why this is the case. However, when Ruby uses her powers once again during the Battle of Haven Academy, Raven Branwen, who possesses the Spring Maiden powers, is not affected despite being in the vicinity, indicating that the Maiden powers themselves do not cause an individual to be affected by the Silver Eye. This indicates that the reason Cinder was affected was due to her usage of the Grimm, through a Grimm beetle glove and later a Shadow Hand.

Ruby has managed to activate her power intentionally after Maria Calavera tells her to concentrate on her loved ones, turning a group of Apathy to dust. Through Maria's guidance, Ruby was able to petrify a Leviathan grimm, but the massive Grimm was able to partially destroy the stone encasing its body before it was destroyed by Caroline Cordovin.

Despite Maria's guidance, Ruby still hasn't fully mastered the activation of her powers. During the Battle of Atlas, Ruby attempts to activate her eyes while fighting an Alpha Megoliath but is unable to concentrate with all the chaos. However, she quickly and easily activates her Silver Eyes upon seeing Cinder.

### Weaknesses

While Ruby is exceptionally skilled in Grimm-based combat, she does not fare as well against Human or Faunus opponents. In addition, Ruby is heavily reliant on Crescent Rose. In contrast to her sister, her hand-to-hand capabilities are rather poor, making her easy to be taken down by mere grunts. Without her weapon, there is not much she can do in a fight, and her best bet is to run away with her speed. Her cape, on occasion, has been exploited and used against her, notably during the Beacon initiation when a Nevermore pinned her cape to the ground with its feather-spears. Ruby is slightly shown to be improving in hand-to-hand combat under the tutelage of Professor Ozpin through Oscar Pine. She shows this further while battling Mercury at Haven Academy; when disarmed by him, she dodges his next blow and knocks him back with a headbutt.

Although less skilled in unarmed combat, Ruby can often compensate by using her wits and her surroundings to turn the tables on her opponent, if she is unarmed. She has notably defeated Neopolitan, a much more skilled melee fighter, twice in this manner. The first was atop Ironwood's flagship during the Fall of Beacon, where Ruby managed to activate Hush's parasol and blow Neo off the ship. Later, when Ruby is disarmed at the Evacuation Central Location, she tricks Neo into lunging at her, then uses her Semblance to circle behind, disarming her and knocking her off the platform in a single attack. During her battle with Harriet Bree, she lands multiple blows on her and is about to restrain her, Ruby uses her Semblance to outmaneuver her opponent and turn the tables on her.

Until she was guided by Maria, Ruby was using the power of her Silver Eyes in reaction to the death of a close friend or a loved one being in danger, without control on her part. During the Grimm invasion of Atlas, when Ruby experienced negative emotions after she found out about her mother's fate, she briefly lost control the power of her Silver Eyes and her head begun to hurt.