Faunus



Faunus (singular Faunus) are one of the two intelligent races that inhabit Remnant along with the Humans. While Faunus resemble Humans, they're often easily distinguishable from the latter in that they possess the traits of animals

Background


Faunus are similar to Humans, except for the fact that they share certain traits with animals. Some types of Faunus are more common than others, with some being extremely rare. Faunus with mammalian traits in general seem to be quite common.

Some, such as Blake Belladonna and Velvet Scarlatina, have been shown to have animal ears (in these cases, those of a cat and a rabbit, respectively); Faunus with animal ears also appear to have a set of Human ears. Other Faunus in the background have been shown to have horns protruding from their heads. Some Faunus, such as Sun Wukong, may have prehensile tails. In some cases, a Faunus may have a trait that is not immediately apparent, such as Tukson's retractable claws.

Faunus can only have a single trait in common with their animal (ex: Blake having cat ears vs Neon Katt having a cat tail). It has been stated that most Faunus have remarkable night vision, a trait that they use to great effect in combat.

In addition, Faunus have been shown on multiple occasions to possess other non-physical traits of the animals that they are based on. One such example is food preference, such as how Sun is shown eating bananas and Ruby notes that Blake "does like tuna a lot".

Faunus Rights Revolution
Faunus have had at least one major conflict with Humans in recent history. In particular, the Faunus Rights Revolution was an attempt by Faunus to gain rights through violence. The revolution is said to have stemmed chiefly from Humans' attempts to confine the Faunus to an area of Remnant known as Menagerie. Given that Faunus are seen living amongst Humans in the present day, it can be deduced that the Faunus were at least successful in preventing this confinement. While still being able to live within the Human kingdoms, it has been noted that some Faunus have lived outside of their borders.

Present Day


In spite of any gains they made during the revolution, Faunus still tend to be treated like animals or second-class citizens by some Humans, and are shown as still trying to gain equality.

This discrimination is exemplified by Cardin Winchester tormenting Velvet. Children are allowed to attend at least some schools with members of other races, but may be at risk of bullying from their non-Faunus peers. Thus, Faunus still seem to suffer from racism and discrimination in the present day.

Bartholomew Oobleck attributes the continuing racial tensions between Humans and the Faunus to the discrimination they have faced, also believing it to be the cause of ongoing conflicts in the present. A group of Faunus known as the White Fang have been in bloody conflict with the Schnee Dust Company for the past three generations of the company's leadership. Because of this conflict, Weiss Schnee held a great deal of animosity towards the Faunus in general. Weiss also claims that White Fang's objective is the eradication of mankind. Roman Torchwick confirms this in the episode "Painting the Town...", saying that their goals are to completely eliminate or subjugate Humankind and establish a reign of Faunus supremacy: overthrowing Human rule by destroying their government, military, and Huntsmen schools; and collapsing the pillars of Human society.

RWBY
In "Ruby Rose", Lisa Lavender presents a news report on the annual Faunus Civil Rights Protest. She says that a protest by a group of Faunus was disrupted by a group known as the White Fang, an organization previously known as being peaceful, which turned the protest violent.

In "Jaunedice", during a meal in Beacon Academy's cafeteria, Cardin Winchester and the rest of Team CRDL pick on Velvet, a female Faunus with rabbit ears. Cardin pulls on Velvet's ears mercilessly as she begs him to stop. Yang Xiao Long comments that it must be hard being a Faunus.

Later, in "Jaunedice, Pt.2", Dr. Oobleck gives a lecture on the history of the Faunus Rights Revolution. His lecture reveals a great deal of Faunus history, including their relationship with Humans and the conflicts that arose from their inability to coexist peacefully. During the lecture, he asks if any Faunus have experienced discrimination, to which several students, including Velvet, respond in the affirmative.

Team RWBY encounters a monkey-based Faunus, Sun Wukong, escaping the police, who are trying to apprehend him for being a stowaway. Weiss comments on him, calling him several derogatory terms, which Blake construes as racist, leading to a long argument. Blake accidentally reveals her identity as a Faunus to her team, and after running away, reveals her cat ears beneath her bow.

Also, in "Never Miss a Beat", Neon Katt, who is on the opposing team of Weiss and Yang, is a Faunus who is also cat-based.

Notable Faunus

 * See also: Category:Faunus


 * Blake Belladonna - Cat-based
 * Velvet Scarlatina - Rabbit-based
 * Sun Wukong - Monkey-based
 * Adam Taurus - Bull-based
 * Neon Katt - Cat-based

Trivia

 * The word "Faunus" is derived from Faunus, who is the Roman god of forests, wild, and nature. He is also the Roman equivalent to the Greek god Pan.
 * Faunus is associated with Satyrs, which incidentally have a less Human morphology than the Faunus people shown in the show.
 * In a Rooster Teeth livestream on August 21st, 2014, it was confirmed that Faunus and Humans can interbreed with one another.
 * On a Facebook Q&A, Miles and Kerry broke down the breeding genetics of Faunus.
 * If two Faunus of the same type breed (e.g. two dog Faunus), their child will also be of the same species.
 * If a Faunus and a Human breed, their child will either be a Faunus or a Human.
 * If two Faunus of different types breed (e.g. a dog Faunus and a cat Faunus), their child will have a fifty/fifty chance of being one or the other.
 * So far in the series, only Faunus with mammal-based traits have been shown. However, it was confirmed in a RWBY livestream that, though mammalian Faunus are most common, other varieties do exist.