Reuben Parker

"'It's, um, a bit random but I always think of that whenever I see sunsets.' — Ruby, upon crying after having a good memory while watching the sunset with his friends and club mates"Reuben Parker (better known as Ruby Parker) is one of the main player characters in Aprilside. He's the Vice President of Aprilside Middle School's Student Council, and a recently rejoined member of the PSA Club, officially making it his third year as a member.

Appearance
Ruby is a physically fit boy with golden blonde medium-length curled hair and emerald green eyes. He has fair skin and a peaches and cream complexion, with freckles scattered across his nose and cheeks. He's five feet tall, and visibly more toned than most students would be, due to his heavily athletic and healthy lifestyle.

Before the incident with GlObetrOtter, Ruby would wear t-shirts and shorts/skirts, openly showing off whatever injuries he managed to acquire with his reckless training.

After the incident, he opted for more formal wear, often in multiple layers of dress shirts and sweaters, along with long pants. His hands are, however, still often bandaged or bruised from his work.

Personality
Ruby is an outwardly optimistic boy, characterized by his extreme curiosity and go-get-'em attitude as a leader. He keeps up a tough exterior of someone who can easily be a dependable friend to anyone. He wishes to be the best leader possible, and has molded his personality into something that can vary depending on the people he's around.

He's playful and positive in nearly all situations, focusing more on the inclusion of the whole group over certain individuals standing out. As the former (and hopefully current) Friend-Leader of the PSA Club, his focus was always that the other members were taking part and also growing strong.

Ruby is an intelligent child, being able to think fast on his feet and quickly deduce that a sped up heart-rate is what makes those infected with the Corrosion begin coughing up black bile when he saw Tobi doing the exact thing.

He plays an offensive role in all kinds of situations, preferring to think of a strategy and then barrel through all obstacles, finding deception and escape "cowardly" for himself, and admittedly of others.

Though he wishes not to be such a way, he's cocky and bratty when it comes to opposition. He's prideful in himself and his family, and will become openly aggressive if either are questioned.

He holds himself to larger than life standards that his family has unknowingly created in his mind, and is willing to put himself into dangerous situations to prove himself capable. He's often seen with various bandages and braces on him, all of which have resulted from him getting injured in practice or on club and/or personal missions.

Weakness on his part -- which can also be extended to weakness in the club -- is unforgivable to him. Self-improvement and becoming an individual amongst the high powered and high ranking members of his family is his life goal.

Early Life
Reuben Parker was born as Reuben Phillips in Accreton, Georgia. Due to the nature of his mother's magic, he is biologically the child of three different people, picking up physical and personality traits from each one of them (Babe's eyes, Max's hair and freckles, Charles' skin tone and complexion). He grew up alongside Caelum, often being seen as their younger twin, despite technically being their nephew.

He's been a spectral since he was a toddler, and has always been fascinated with spirits and having one of his own as a medium.

Aprilside
He moved to Aprilside when he was 5 with his family (minus Max) for various reasons, and spent most of his time exploring the town with Ryker and Caelum. He was 6 when he met the Mad Hatter, and quickly became the only human member of the makeshift family. He started an official apprenticeship with the man when he was 8, and has been focusing on the ability to change his spectral energy color through magic.

He went to Aprilside Elementary School, befriending multiple children of his parents' friends in the process. He still remains friends with them now, though his focus is more with the PSA Club.

As the current longest-running member of the PSA Club, he served as the Friend-Leader of his trio with Gabby Santos and Caleb Watanabe. With his strategical thinking and multiple years of training over the other two, he found it only natural that it would be his place to help lead the two.

He's always been a member of the Student Council, though this is the first year he opted for an official title (and easily got the role, in a near unanimous vote).

He became a medium for a spirit named GlObetrOtter on pure accident, and after having his body taken over entirely, he was put into a coma for a week while Charles and Hatter forced the spirit out of him. He quit the PSA Club after the incident, and was fearful around spirits, especially since his body is still currently affected by what happened.

Spectral Abilities
Ruby has many years of spectral energy training under his belt, both in making constructs and in combat. He excels at long range projectiles, preferring non-energy hand-to-hand combat when close to a target.

GlObetrOtter
The only thing Ruby has left of GlObetrOtter's abilities is the globe that has replaced part of his torso. It displays memories of his.

Unfortunately, he no longer can have a full stomach, and needs to eat consistently to keep energy, even if it's technically not edible food.

Hatter's Magic
Ruby is Tapped into Mad Hatter, with an expertise on Monochrome Magic and a struggle with Shard Magic. He can easily teleport himself into the B1nary without any assistance, and he is able to edit the Dimension from the outside. He lacks the current emotional stability/understanding to properly perform Shard Magic, though he is steadily improving.

Kurt's Magic
Ruby is Tapped into Kurt Parker, which makes him fluent in the Storybook Magic that lets him read and write to past ancestors. He is to eventually become the Basin for the Magic, after Kurt inherits it from his grandmother.

Charleston Parker
Ruby is undoubtedly the most similar to his father Charles, who he has lived with for the longest stretch of time. The two get along extremely well, both excitable people who understand each other's desires to lead and be as strong as they can. Ruby is the only person who has never feared Charles' spirit Nidhoggr, openly praising the dangerous being and wishing he could be connected with them at all times, even though he is not allowed to.

Ruby admires his father's strength and willingness to work hard, to the point where he feels he is standing in Charles' shadow. To overcome such a trial is one of Ruby's biggest goals, even if Charles' has repeatedly told Ruby that he simply wants the boy to be happy.

Ruby has picked up on Charles' worst habits, which make the two butt heads whenever they disagree on something. No matter the issue, as long as the two get some moments to breathe and clear their mind, they easily go back to being their ideal father-son duo.

Kurt Parker
Ruby was quick to add Kurt to the family, assuming that the man would be his father the moment him and Charles started dating. He finds that Kurt is the easiest person to depend on, and his straightforward logic is heavily appreciated in moments where Ruby's emotional and mental hangups get the best of him.

Maxwell Angel
Maxwell was arguably the most present parent in Ruby's early years, as the boy went to college alongside him and stayed in his care during that time. When Max was put into rehab, Ruby and Caelum went to Aprilside with the rest of the family. While Ruby was too young to fully understand the situation, he is quite aware of the circumstances now.

He's regretful -- almost to the point of resentful -- at the fact that Maxwell requested that Ruby no longer call him Papa, but he abides by the "hair color" rule the two have set out. Even now, it's still a struggle for him to call him by his first name. However, there's no question that the two love one another unconditionally, still viewing their roles to one another as familial. Ruby is proud to be Maxwell's son, even if he's not allowed to publicly state it.

The Phillips'
Ruby was originally a Phillips, and he holds onto that bond he has between all of them like he still is a Phillips.

He considers Caelum Phillips to be his twin sibling, and the two are frequently found holding hands and sticking right beside one another in many situations. He confides in Caelum over almost everything, even if it involves spirits.

There's no question that Ruby loves his mother. He's still sentimental enough to call Bathilda Phillips "Mommy", finding no shame in the action. He's spoiled rotten by the woman, and he's easily at his most bratty whenever she's in the area.

Ruby places Thaddeus Phillips on a pedestal, which is put further in place because of the man's consistent absence in Ruby's life. The two speak often through texts or calls, and Ruby believes that Thaddeus is the greatest person alive.

Ruby adores Ryker Phillips and thinks him to be the coolest member of the family. He admires Ryker's ability to stand out amongst the family without having to go to great lengths, and he specifically has a matching bandanna with his uncle.

The Dantas'
Mad Hatter is Ruby's main guiding mentor, and the most patient and understanding person Ruby has outside of his family, and the two have a father-son relationship with one another.

Gumercindo Dantas is the closest person to an eldest sibling that Ruby has, and the two get into many childish arguments. They still do care for one another, and Ruby is the only person not in the Dantas family to have seen Gummie's original form.

Caroline Goldstein
Ruby views Caroline as a mother figure, even going as far as to call her Mom on occasion. He trusts her implicitly, and even after the incident with Masque he does not fear or doubt her in any way. She's family to him, and he never betrays family.

Gabby Santos & Caleb Watanabe
He considers the two old members of the club to be his best friends, the two that he confides in the most besides Hatter or his family. He sees it as his job to be in charge and help the two, and is deeply anguished by his failure to do so after he quit the club last year.

Oliver Nikolaevi
There is no doubt that Ruby has a giant crush on Oliver, admiring his ability to stand up for what he believes in and still reaching out to others, even if he doesn't know them well. His inability to fully express his feelings to the boy is one of the largest problems Ruby thinks he faces, even though it's so childish. He's literally so goddamn gay, you guys.

Other New Club Members
Ruby's club absence from the beginning of the year gave him multiple setbacks, but he still finds it his duty to lead the group and assist in whatever he can.

He sees Tobi Dinh as a younger sibling of his, and tries to act as brotherly and parental as he can.

He views Jace Tran as a kind of rival to him, though it's not in any bad manner. He likes challenges.

Ezra is probably the closest in personality to Ruby, and he can so get down with that. He thinks they're real good friends.

Other Middle School Friends
He's good friends with Nauty, Dee, Kameron, Nikita, Austin, and Miranda. They're all still important to him, and Ruby still gets a bit flustered any time Kameron bumps shoulders with him in the hallway.

Quotes

 * (to Caleb) "NO, I'M NOT KNEADING BREAD. BUT! WE'RE COMING! TO GET THAT BREAD OF YOURS!"
 * (to Clarity) "Oh my God shut your fucking mouth, fraud. Shut up. Shut the hell up."
 * (to Tominaga) "Us the fuck!"
 * (to the club) "That's why we play the game and get out. Look, I don't want to be locked in either, which is why we just roll with it so we can get out."
 * (to Caroline) "Football is my middle name, actually."

Facts

 * Ruby has a pet cat named Esme, and he can and will kill for her.
 * Ruby is extremely bad at mathematics, though he excels in all other academics.
 * He collects Lalaloopsy dolls for fun.
 * He has way too many nice accessories, all of which he has stolen from various family members.
 * He's fluent in English, Spanish, German, Common and High Spirit.
 * Ruby dances in his free time, his favorite kinds being break-dancing and swing-dancing.
 * He can play piano, and practices with the keyboard in his room.
 * His legal status is Gremlin.