Neptune and Scarlet are known to take design cues from a combination of contemporary Asian fashion and K-pop stars, specifically T.O.P and G-Dragon, both of the boy band Big Bang.[3][4]
Team SSSN was designed very early on, even before Team JNPR.[5]
Before Sage and Scarlet make full appearances, SSSN can briefly be seen after Pyrrha and Mercury's fight in "Extracurricular", just before Sun breaks off to join Team RWBY.[6]
Sage and Scarlet make their first full appearances in "New Challengers...".
Just like the other significant characters in the series, each of the members of team SSSN is based off of characters or people from classic tales.
Scarlet David is based on the character Peter Pan from "Peter Pan in Scarlet", the official sequel to the original "Peter Pan".
Though it is unknown which character was the inspiration for Sage Ayana, it is known that the character was one created by Aesop, the author of fables such as "Boy Who Cried Wolf" and "The Tortoise and the Hare".
It is possible that Sage was based off of Aesop himself, due to Aesop sometimes alluding to himself in his fables.
Neptune Vasilias was based off Neptune, the Roman equivalent of the Greek god, Poseidon.
It is possible that Neptune's character was based primarily on "The Odyssey" by Homer.
