Yang Xiao Long

"I want a life where I don't know what tomorrow will bring."

- Yang Xiao Long

"I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me, but I will never let that search control me."

- Yang, to Blake Belladonna.

"You can spout off whatever you want, but nothing is going to keep me from my sister."

- Yang about her determination to find Ruby. Yang Xiao Long (Sun Little-Dragon) is one of the titular protagonists of the American webcartoon series, RWBY. Her weapons of choice are the Dual Ranged Shot Gauntlets, Ember Celica. She made her appearance on June 1st at A-Kon in Dallas, in the "Yellow" Trailer, in which she interrogates Junior for information, and later fights him and his henchmen at his club.

She is voiced by Barbara Dunkelman.

Original (Volumes 1-3)
Yang is a fair-skinned young girl with lilac eyes and bright golden hair worn loose that fades to pale gold at the tips with a cowlick sticking out at the top. When she is angry, her eyes turn red.

She wears a tan jacket that bares her lower stomach, with golden brown piping and short, puffy sleeves with black cuffs that feature two gold buttons. Underneath this, she wears a low cut yellow crop top with her emblem on the left breast in black.

She also wears a brown belt covered by a pleated brown piece of material reaching from hip to hip around the back of her waist, with her emblem emblazoned on the right-most pleat in gold. Underneath this is a longer, white, asymmetrical piece of material reaching to her knee on the right side, as well as a pair of black mini-shorts. She wears a pair of brown, knee-high boots and orange over-the-knee socks, with the right sock pushed down just below the knee. A lavender bandana is tied around her left knee. An orange infinity scarf and black fingerless gloves complete her outfit.

While riding her motorcycle, Bumblebee, she wears yellow goggles and a matching helmet that bears her emblem in black on either side. While outdoors, she sometimes wears a pair of yellow-rimmed aviator sunglasses.

Pajamas
Yang's pajamas consist of an orange tank top with her emblem on the front in red, and black boy shorts.

At her home in Patch, Yang wears another set of pajamas, consisting of a dark-yellow short-sleeved shirt with black shorts.

Alternate Outfit (Hunter)
During the events of "A Minor Hiccup" and "Painting the Town...", Yang wears an alternate outfit codenamed "Hunter".

This outfit consists of a deep-collared cream vest worn over a low cut black shirt; both are covered by a dark gray shrug with a raised collar, three-quarter sleeves adorned with a single black stripe down the outside of each sleeve, and gold cuffs. A black miniskirt is worn under the cream vest.

A pair of crooked black belts with gold accents are slung around her hip, with a purple piece of fabric attached to the left-rear section of the lower belt. She wears thigh high stockings attached to her miniskirt by garter-belts on the front and back of each thigh, decorated with four golden studs above her knee and her emblem on the outside of each thigh in gold. She also wears black ankle boots with multiple buckles and white ribbons on the back tied in a bow. Around her neck is a purple pendant set in silver.

Dance
During the Beacon Dance, Yang wears a short, white, halter neck dress with a pale gray hem, and white pumps.

Uniform
Yang wears the same brown shoes, red tartan skirt, white blouse with maroon trim and thin red bow, brown vest with gold buttons, and maroon blazer with gold trim as every other girl attending Beacon Academy, alongside with a pair of thigh high black stockings. She retains her fingerless black gloves as seen in "Best Day Ever".

Post-Timeskip "DGAS" Outfit (Volume 4)
After the timeskip following the Fall of Beacon, her new design consists of a gray jacket over an orange tank top that bares her hips. The jacket is tied at the right sleeve, indicating her missing arm. The jacket's left sleeve bears her father's emblem. Completing her attire are gray-brown cargo pants, which show the rim of her dark undergarments and ribbed knee paneling. High on the left leg of her pants is a red shield-shaped patch with imagery of three Ursa masks, and her emblem is stitched on her right thigh.

The stump of her right arm is covered by a circular, metallic plate. She wears white sneakers with blue laces, and her hair is pulled back into a messy ponytail.

At the end of "Family", she begins wearing a silver and white robotic arm. In "Taking Control", she paints this arm bright yellow and black.

In the concept art, her right arm is simply bandaged, and a Bumblebee patch is in the place of her symbol. This same concept art refers to the outfit as her "DGAS" outfit.

Post-Timeskip Battle Outfit (Volume 4 - Current)
In "No Safe Haven", Yang is shown wearing a tan jacket with orange lining and gold edging, unzipped halfway to show an orange crop top. The coat has darker brown short sleeves, a thick collar that completely encircles her neck, and two long gold-trimmed rectangular tails which are shown to be detachable in "Lighting the Fire". She also wears fitted black pants, and her hair has been let down again like her original outfit.

Around her hips and over the tails of her coat is a brown belt, which has two pieces of dark brown material trimmed in gold attached to it. The first covers from her left hip to the back of the belt and is folded over the belt, and the second is attached from the right hip and almost around to the other piece of material. She wears knee high brown boots with gold caps on the heel and toe, with the heel cap attaching to a gold strap across the front of her ankle, and a gold zipper on the upper half of the front of the boots. A single small buckled strap is on the upper outside of her boots, and a purple bandana tied around her left knee. A pair of black fingerless gloves with long brown cuffs reaching to mid forearm complete the outfit.

While riding Bumblebee, Yang no longer wears her helmet or goggles, instead donning a pair of yellow-rimmed aviator sunglasses.

In the promotional material for Volume 4, Yang is shown wearing the same coat and pants shown in the series. A gold metal plate covers her missing right arm, which matches the accessories on the heels and toes of her boots.

In promotional material for Volume 5, her outfit includes her new robotic arm.

Personality
"...and Yang was strength."

- Blake to Sun, on what word Yang personifies in "Necessary Sacrifice". Yang's voice actress, Barbara Dunkelman, has said that when Yang's character was described to her, she was described as "the kind of person who would teach someone how to swim by pushing them in the water". This speaks volumes about how Yang approaches most things in life. She is very straightforward and confident.

Yang is also described as being a cheerful, energetic and bright young lady. She is arguably the most flippant, carefree and adventurous member of her team, frequently making sarcastic comments and jokes even in the heat of battle and often taking combat and hostile situations lightly. Yang is very sociable and extroverted, even in unfamiliar situations. Blake considers Yang the personification of the word "strength".

However, Yang's "brawler" fighting style is evocative of her personality. Her anger, one of her main assets in battle, can lead her to act predictably. When her hair is cut during battle, her resulting anger leads her to attacking with straight, blunt force. Additionally, a grudge against Neopolitan led to frustration on Yang's part, which quickly cost her the battle and almost her life. Her thoughtless anger led to the quick loss of her right arm in a short encounter with Adam Taurus.

Despite these things, Yang is deceptively mature. She is extremely nurturing, particularly toward her younger sister, Ruby. Yang pushes her into being outgoing and also worries a great deal for her sister across the many battles they fight in. This protective and encouraging nature extends to Blake and Weiss as well. Yang is worried for Blake on several occasions, such as when she runs from her team and when she suffers from sleep and appetite problems, opening Yang to discussing her stubborn past. What Yang does not reveal is that she suffers from abandonment issues, blaming herself for her mother not sticking around.

Yang's love of adventure is the main reason she decided to become a Huntress. However, after the deaths of Pyrrha Nikos and Penny Polendina, the losses of her right arm and her partner, Blake, Yang sinks into a reclusive depression. The mention of her missing partner agitates her; she gives Ruby the cold shoulder and outright ignores her sister when she says, "I love you".

Over months, Yang rebounds from this reclusive nature. Though she suffers from PTSD, she tries to keep moving forward, partially for her father's sake when feeling she holds him back. After overhearing her father and Doctor Oobleck talking about Ruby outside her window, she accepts the wisdom of her father, Oobleck and Professor Port and dons her new robotic arm.

When training with her new limb, she learns how to balance her driven and positive nature without overconfidence or agitation. She paints her arm to match her style, changes to a new outfit and heads to Mistral, though Taiyang believes she has not overcome the personality that cost her arm. While traveling Mistral to reunite with Ruby, she continues to struggle with her PTSD, which manifests in her left arm shaking when she encounters conflict.

Yang is known to be somewhat self-conscious regarding her body, as Neon Katt was able to enrage her in their match during the Vytal Festival Tournament by making fun of her for her large chest and glutes.

Powers and Abilities
Yang's fighting style is much more aggressive than that of her teammates, bearing resemblance to boxing and kickboxing. She is quite agile, able to dodge an onslaught of Ursai with ease. Since gaining her prosthetic arm, Yang has taken to using its armored surface defensively, shielding herself from firearms, and staving off attacks to gain greater ground on her opponents, incorporating its advantages into her improved fighting style following further instruction from her father, Taiyang Xiao Long.

She is also the physically strongest of the group. Her strength is displayed on numerous occasions, such as when her punch sent a fully grown man several feet into the air and through a glass pillar without the enhancement of her weapon, and in "Players and Pieces", where she was able to keep the mouth of a Nevermore open with one arm long enough to deliver multiple shots down its throat.

Like all Huntsmen and Huntresses, Yang has had her Aura unlocked, coating her body with a shield powered by her soul, which helps protect her, especially when her aggressiveness gets her into bad situations. Even with her Aura unlocked her durability is also noticeably high, as showcased in her doubles match with Weiss against Flynt Coal and Neon Kattduring the Vytal Tournament, where she withstood numerous hits from Neon during the bout's opening stages, and powered through the effects of Flynt's weapon, knocking him out and securing victory for her side shortly after.

Weapon
Yang's weapon is radically different compared to those used by her teammates, for theirs all include some sort of blade. Yang's primary weapon is a pair of gauntlets known as Ember Celica, which can retract into bracelets. When Yang throws a punch, she can shoot explosive rounds from Ember Celica for moderate or short ranged attacks, although not every single jab activates the weapon, as seen in her fight against Neo. Ember Celica also has powerful recoil, which can be utilized to augment the force of her punch and accelerate her movements, the force being able to launch her high in the air. She can also use her Ember Celica as a form of armor when defending against attacks in unarmed combat. After the events of "Heroes and Monsters", Yang only has one Ember Celica, due to her lost arm.

Semblance
As Ruby states during the events of "Painting the Town...", Yang's Semblance lets her use the energy from every blow she takes to make herself more powerful, showcased when Yang completely shatters the Atlesian Paladin-290 in a few hits after being battered by it; this seems to be a form of kinetic energy absorption, with Yang subsequently redirecting said energy against her opponent. After a sparring match with his daughter in "Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back", Taiyang states that the amount of energy Yang's Semblance grants her is equal to twice the strength she is hit with. However, she does still take the full force the attack, meaning that quickly dealing lots of damage is the key to taking her down.

As the combat becomes more intense or she is angered enough, fire appears around her hair. During the final state of her Semblance, her eyes turn red and her fire is capable of bursting out of her. Yang's Semblance does not make her angry, but anger has led her to want to use it.

Although a powerful Semblance, Yang is unable to power it up without taking damage first[6], weakening herself in the process. As seen in her fight with Neopolitan, fighters well-versed in dodging attacks can frustrate Yang, making her attacks predictable and easily avoided, rendering the added power useless. Her anger also causes her to unintentionally activate her Semblance, even if she is not in a battle. Examples of this include her frustrated outburst in "Players and Pieces", her moment of anger toward Blake in "Burning the Candle" and two times in her doubles round tournament fight in "Never Miss a Beat".

Yang's father Taiyang somewhat jokingly defines her Semblance as "basically a temper tantrum" and a liability against stronger and more experienced opponents; if they can evade or outlast the duration of her onslaught, she is left weak and tired and vulnerable to a counterattack. For this reason, Taiyang tells Yang it is best left as a last resort, rather than a crutch like she had been using it in the Vytal Festival.

Robotic Arm
ang's cybernetic limb possesses great strength. Its power is shown in "Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back", where a single blow sent her father, a fully trained Huntsman, skidding back several feet. It is also outfitted with a shotgun similar to Ember Celica's. In "Rest and Resolutions", it shows the arm can detach from her bicep, and can even be fired like a projectile.

Weaknesses
Although Yang gets stronger from her anger and from taking damage, her frustration can be exploited by skilled opponents. This weakness is perhaps best expressed in her very brief confrontation with Adam Taurus, her anger causing her to recklessly charge him and lose her right arm in the process. However, this drawback is more or less under control due to her father's advice and he taught her how to use her opponent's force against him or her. Aside from that, knocking her unconscious before she can reach her final stage completely negates her Semblance. Yang is also noted to be weak against kick-based fighting styles, seen when she struggled against Neopolitan, Melanie Malachite, and Mercury Black.

Quotes
"Strawberry Sunrise, no ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas."

- Yang, to the bartender. "Aren't you a little old to have a name like "Junior"?"

- Yang, teasing Junior Xiong. "Instead of "sweetheart", you can just call me "sir"!"

- Yang, interrogating Junior. "Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!"

- Yang, after learning about Ruby Rose's early entry to Beacon. "Who's that? (Glynda:My name is Glynda Goodwitch) Oh."

- Yang, talking to herself during Glynda Goodwitch's introduction. "Why can't you just swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?"

- Yang, talking to Ruby about her love for weapons. "Well... (fast voice) actually, my friends are here now, gotta go, bye!"

- Yang, leaving Ruby behind. "Oh my god, you really exploded."

- Yang, after Weiss Schnee confronts Ruby in the assembly hall. "There's no such thing as negative friends. You just made one friend and one enemy!"

- Yang, attempting to console Ruby. "Yeah, this girl's a lost cause."

- Yang, ready to give up on making friends with Blake Belladonna. "Having some trouble there, lady-killer?"

- Yang, after Jaune Arc's failed attempts at flirting. ""Snow Angel" probably wasn't the best start."

- Yang, explaining where Jaune went wrong with Weiss. "Nailed it!"

- Yang, after strategically landing. "(rustling in the bushes) Ruby, is that you? (low growling) Nope."

- Yang, after finding a pair of Ursai in the forest. "You monsters!!!"

- Yang, reacting to losing some strands of her hair in battle. "I could've taken him."

- Yang, after Blake kills an Ursa she was facing down. "How about a cute little pony?!"

- Yang, suggesting a relic. "Some girl is in trouble!"

- Yang, hearing Jaune's screams. "I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something CRAZY happens again?!"

- Yang, after seeing a series of strange events. "Great, the gang's all here. Now we can all die together."

- Yang, after seeing Pyrrha Nikos fall right in front of her, completing the group of eight. "I! Hope! You're! Hungry!!!"

- Yang, shooting into the Nevermore's mouth. "Well... that was a thing."

- Yang, after the Nevermore dies. "Decorating!"

- Yang, to Weiss' inquiry to her actions. "Banzai!"

- Yang, cheering with Blake. "Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff."

- Yang, talking about how cramped their room is. "Goooo, Weiss!!"

- Yang, cheering on Weiss. "It must be hard to be a Faunus."

- Yang, sympathizing with Velvet Scarlatina. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head? (Blake Hits Her) Oh, I'm Yang."

- Yang introducing herself to Penny Polendina. "Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Either way, she's missing, and we've gotta find her."

- Yang, being concerned about Blake. "What cat ears? She wears a... bow..."

- Yang, realizing that Blake is a Faunus. "I always kick my semester off with a "Yang"!"

- Yang, making a pun. "Pretty sneaky, sis, but you just activated my trap card!"

- Yang, to Ruby during the card game. "Trap card. Your armies have been destroyed."

- Yang, after defeating Weiss' forces. "Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it."

- Yang, reassuring Blake. "YES! I love it when you're feisty!"

- Yang, regarding Blake. "Hey, we've got a plan! That's... moderately serious."

- Yang, reassuring Weiss. "Guess who's back!"

- Yang, to everyone in Junior's Club. "No, it just wasn't very good."

- Yang, on Weiss' pun. "And THAT is why people call you the Ice Queen."

- Yang, to Weiss. "You can't even stop me!"

- Yang, to Blake. "Tomorrow it's back to work."

- Yang, to Ruby. "Oh, he does stuff like this all the time!"

- Yang, to Blake and Weiss. "I'm a thrill-seeker. I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win, y'know?"

- Yang, to Bartholomew Oobleck on why she wants to become a Huntress. "We all know why we're here... right?"

- Yang, to Weiss and Blake. "At least you two have something that drives you. I've just always, gone with the flow, you know."

- Yang, to Weiss and Blake. "Yay... teamwork, camaraderie, good guys, go team, alright, good job... So what now?"

- Yang, celebrating victory over Roman and the Grimm. "Yeah, we're going to kick some butt!"

- Yang on the Vytal Festival tournament. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

- Yang to Neon Katt. "You better not go easy on me."

- Yang to Mercury. "Better luck next time."

- Yang to Mercury. "That's what you get, you little—"

- Yang to Mercury. "You don't understand! He attacked me, I swear!"

- Yang protesting her innocence. "...Blake?"

- Yang, when Blake hesitates to believe her story. "I saw my mom. I was in a lot of trouble. Took a pretty hard hit. But when I came to, the person attacking me was gone. And I thought I saw... her. Her sword, like the one in you and dad's old picture."

- Yang, telling Qrow about the time she saw Raven. "Get away from her!"

- Yang, when Adam Taurus hurts Blake. "It's all gone. The school, Penny, Pyrrha, and..."

- Yang, lamenting the loss of Beacon, Penny, Pyrrha and her arm. "And Blake ran! Sun saw her go. After we got to the city, she just... ran!"

- Yang, on why Blake left. "I don't know... and I don't care!"

- Yang, on why Blake left. "Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby!"

- Yang, interrupting Ruby. "You can do whatever you want. I'm ... gonna lie here."

- Yang, being apathetic. "Just leave me alone."

- Yang, asking Ruby to leave. "I uh, I'm not feeling too great right now. Maybe later?"

- Yang to Taiyang Xiao Long, reluctant to accept her "hard-earned gift. "Thanks, Dad."

- Yang before she heads upstairs. "And I think I have been through enough to be considered an adult at this point."

- Yang, to her father. "Oh my gosh does 'every' father figure have the same three condescending phrases?"

- Yang, exasperated with being refuted by Tai. "I lost a part of me. A piece of me is gone and it's never coming back."

- Yang, about her right arm. "I think I'm doing just fine."

- Yang's somewhat snarky self-assessment of her fighting progress. "I thought it would be just this huge weight, but it feels... natural. They did a great job with this thing."

- Yang, about her robotic arm. "I'm, uh, looking for someone."

- Her response when asked what she was doing out in the middle of nowhere. "You know that I searched for you. I spent years looking for you."

- Yang about her search for Raven. "Because we're family."

- Yang, on why Raven should help her find Ruby. "I've missed you, too"

- Yang, reunited with Weiss. "Don't you dare talk about my family like that!"

- Yang to Raven Branwen. "You don't know the first thing about my teammates! About me! You were never there! You LEFT US!! Why?"

- Yang to Raven Branwen. "I love you."

- Yang to Ruby Rose. "It's not a replacement for the real thing, but I'll make sure to make good use of it."

- Yang to the gathered friends, about her cybernetic arm. "Easy there, Vomit Boy. I believe in you."

- Yang to Jaune, bringing back an old nickname. "I may have been a little too gung-ho from time to time."

- Yang, reflecting on who she was at Beacon. "But, if we're going to help, if we're going to keep risking our lives, no more lies. No more half-truths."

- Yang to Ozpin, about his keeping secrets. "Yeah, well, she made her choice."

- Yang to Ruby and Weiss, on wishing Blake were with them. "Why would I want her here?"

- Yang to Ruby, about Blake. "I'm sorry, I just... I don't think you know what it's like to be left. You have a giant family, recitals to perform at, dinners to attend. I didn't have any of that. My mom left me. Ruby's mom left too. Tai was always busy with school and Ruby couldn't even talk yet. I had to pick up the pieces. I had to keep things together. Alone."

- Yang to Weiss, on her childhood. "No one blamed her for anything! If she had just talked to us, she would've known that! How could I be there for her if she doesn't let me? What if I needed her here for me?"

- Yang to Weiss, before shedding tears.

"You're right. I don't know you. I only know the Raven dad told me about. She was troubled, and complicated, but she fought for what she believed in, whether it was her team or her tribe! Did you kill her too?"

- Yang about the Raven she knows from Taiyang. "Oh, shut up!! You don't know the first thing about strength! You turn your back on people, you run away when things get too hard, you put others in harm's way instead of yourself!! You might be powerful, but that doesn't make you strong."

- Yang, refuting Raven's claims about her strength. "Yeah, I'm scared. But I'm still standing here! I'm not like you, I won't run, which is why you're going to give me the Relic."

- Yang to Raven.

Trivia

 * Yang (阳) is the Chinese character for sun and/or light, Xiao (小) is the character for small, and Long (龙) is the character for dragon. Therefore, her name roughly translates into "Little Light Dragon" and/or "Small Dragon of the Sun".
 * In Eastern culture, names are written with the last name coming before the individual's name, as in "Last name First name"; however, although Yang has a Chinese name, it seems she is referred to as Yang as opposed to Xiao Long, which is the Western style of name sequence. Therefore, although her name is Chinese, it is not written in the traditional Oriental style.
 * Yang's weapons and fighting style bears an uncanny resemblance to those of Ieyasu Tokugawa from Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes. She also shares the theme of the sun with him.
 * The CGI version looks just like Miki Hoshii from the The IDOLM@STER series.
 * Her similarities to Bullet from BlazBlue are way too many to not notice.
 * In the "Yellow" trailer, Ruby encounters Yang, who calls her "sis". It was believed that this was just a greeting between one another but Monty has recently confirmed on twitter that it was not just a greeting.
 * Among the four protagonists, Yang is the only person to fight humans in her debut trailer.
 * Like Ruby, Yang uses two different sets of ammunition; one is colored gold and the second is colored red.
 * Yang is the only character seen so far that has her own vehicle. She is also the only one who appears to have a cellphone.
 * Yang uses the "Dempsey Roll" when fighting Junior.
 * In the "Yellow" Trailer, it appears that Yang is looking for the "Transient Princess", an artwork by Monty Oum based on Final Fantasy VIII's Rinoa.
 * She has her own official Twitter account at RT_YangXiaoLong, like Ruby and Weiss.
 * Although confirmed to be based on Goldilocks by Monty Oum, many fans have speculated that Yang may be be based off of characters in other fairy tales as well.
 * Although unconfirmed as of yet, it as more then once been implied that Yang has romantic feelings for Blake.
 * If this turns out to be true this would make Yang the second confirmed LGBT character on RWBY, the first being Ilia.