Faunus

Faunus (ファウナス, Faunasu), singular Faunus, are one of the two intelligent races that inhabit Remnant, the other race being the Humans. While Faunus resemble Humans, they're often easily distinguishable from the latter in that they possess the traits of animals.

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 * —About Faunus.

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 physical 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 Rose notes that Blake "does like tuna a lot".

Heroes

 * Blake Belladonna - Cat-based; Ears

Allies

 * Bruce Logan - Black Wolf-based; Ears, Tail, Claws, Senses
 * Velvet Scarlatina - Rabbit-based; Ears
 * Sun Wukong - Monkey-based; Tail
 * Neon Katt - Cat-based; Tail
 * Ghira Belladonna - Feline-based; Unknown
 * Kali Belladonna - Cat-based; Ears

Villains

 * White Fang Lieutenant - Unknown
 * Adam Taurus - Bull-based; Horns
 * Ilia Amitola - Chameleon-based; Skin
 * Sienna Khan - Unknown
 * Corsac Albain - Corsac Fox-based; Tail
 * Fennec Albain - Fennec Fox-based; Ears
 * Tyrian Callows - Scorpion-based; Stinger

Other featured characters

 * Tukson (Attempted Deserter) † - Puma-based; Claws

Early History
Faunus have existed for as long as Humanity has, if not longer, though very little is known of their origins. Scientists still currently struggle to discover or understand anything about them.

Humans' discrimination toward Faunus began early, due to how startling Humans found it that Faunus looked and acted like them but had animalistic features that were sometimes frightening, such as fangs. This discrimination only grew through rumors and stories that spread fear and suspicion. It was not uncommon for Humans to chase Faunus out of their villages or even hunt them down and kill them.

At some point in history, a village in Sanus fell under attack, and its survival was thanks solely to the fact that Humans and Faunus worked together to defeat the invading Grimm. After this event, Humans grew to realize that Faunus were not that different from them after all. However, rather than treating them equally, Humans used the Faunus' differences from them to exploit and continue to discriminate against them.

Great War
After the end of the Great War the Faunus were given equal rights and the continent of Menagerie as compensation for previous treatment. Some saw the gift of Menagerie as fair and just, while others saw it as a slap in the face from sore losers. Over time, it became apparent that Humanity was adamant about centralizing all Faunus there.

Faunus Rights Revolution
In recent history, Humans began countermanding the equal rights won by the Faunus in the Great War, and attempted to confine all Faunus to Menagerie. The Faunus began to revolt against this, and thus the Faunus Rights Revolution began. Given that Faunus live amongst the Humans in present day, it can be deduced that the Faunus were at least successful in both reclaiming their rights and preventing their confinement at Menagerie. While still being able to live anywhere on Remnant, including the four kingdoms, there are Faunus who still live on Menagerie, seeing it as a safe haven.

Present Day
Despite whatever material gains the Faunus achieved during the revolution, they remain a subject of discrimination, as exemplified by Blake's mention of Human shops refusing to serve Faunus shortly prior to the start of the series. The treatment they receive varies from place to place, but locations like Beacon Academy and Vacuo appear to be host to less discrimination than others.

Since the White Fang's turn to violence five years prior to the events of Volume 1, the Faunus have begun receiving better treatment. However, some people (including other Faunus) criticize and dislike the methods through which the White Fang achieved this, due to it being through fear rather than respect. These violent tactics have also established conflict between the White Fang and the Schnee Dust Company.

Tales of RWBY
In "Ruby Rose", Lisa Lavender presents a news report on a 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", Bartholomew 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. He notes that this treatment is exactly what breeds violence and mentions the White Fang as an example of such happening.

Toward the end of Volume 1, in "The Stray", Team RWBY observes a crime scene where a Dust shop has been recently robbed. After overhearing the police speculating that the White Fang are behind it, Weiss Schnee begins speaking ill of the organization, even going so far as to use derogatory terms, which Blake construes as racist. They then see a monkey-based Faunus, Sun Wukong, escaping the police, who are trying to apprehend him for being a stowaway. Weiss' comments about him, especially her use of the words "filthy Faunus", anger Blake even more, leading to a long argument. Blake accidentally reveals her identity as a Faunus to her team, and after running away, she reveals her cat ears beneath her bow.

In "Never Miss a Beat", Neon Katt, a tournament competitor on the opposing team of Weiss and Yang, is a Faunus who is cat-based but has a tail instead of cat ears.

Notes & 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 be a random type of Faunus.
 * This Information was later retconned in World of Remnant: Faunus where it was revealed that if a Human and a Faunus breed their child is typically a Faunus of the same kind as the Faunus parent.
 * Before Volume 3 only Faunus with mammal-based traits had been shown. However, it was confirmed in a RWBY livestream that, though mammalian Faunus are most common, other varieties do exist.
 * Non-mammalian Faunus were first seen on Menagerie, as a couple of people with patches of scales scattered across their faces and bodies.
 * Tyrian is the first Invertebrate Faunus, seen in the show.