This page is for the confirmed Fairytale Motifs in AZRE, whether confirmed in the story or by the author.
Characters
Team AZRE
- Adam is inspired by The Beast from Beauty and the Beast to Blake's Beauty. He's a bull Faunus with curved horns matching the Beast's, has a short temper and is often seen as a monster by people around him, either because of his heritage or his past in the White Fang.
- Zanthus is inspired by The Nemean Lion from Greek Mythology. A golden lion Faunus with an obvious Greek aesthetic, he has another side in his Semblance, which increases his strength and durability like the fabled lion, but at the cost of lessened cognitive thought.
- Ruri is inspired by Namazu from Japanese Mythology. She's a catfish Faunus with a shockwave Semblance, mirroring how Namazu causes earthquakes by thrashing around.
- Eirian is inspired by Khnum from Egyptian Mythology. With an Egyptian style clothing and matching eye markings, her Semblance allows her to bring clay figurines to life, alluding to Khnum creating the first humans with clay from the Nile River.
Team CRMN
- Chase and Roxanne are Bonnie & Clyde. Both favour an American aesthetic common in the southern states, and are more morally grey than the Beacon students barring Adam, favouring guns and fists rather than fancy weaponry.
- Mauve is inspired by Joan of Arc. A French woman wearing a medieval knight armour, she displays a tactical mind and prefers to offer assistance to her team with weaponry and support items like bombs. She's also a trans woman who has a very vilified Semblance, whereas Joan was a woman who wore men clothing to serve the army and was later burnt at the stake for witchcraft, heresy and dressing as a man.
- Niccolo is based off Al Capone. He has an Italian name, clothing matching mafia fashion, and wields a Tommy Gun, which was commonly used by the mafia during their height of power. The scar on his face matches Al Capone's nickname, Scarface, due to fighting in his youth.
Team RWBY
- Ruby Rose is inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. Her chosen colour is red with her most obvious aspect of her design being her giant red hood, just like the red hood that her allusion wears.
- Weiss Schnee is inspired by Snow White. The English translation of her name means 'White Snow', her personal emblem is connected to snow, and her rich lifestyle alludes to how Snow White was originally the daughter of a queen that died.
- Blake Belladonna is inspired by Beauty from Beauty and the Beast to Adam's The Beast, and Esmeralda from Hunchback of Notre Dame. Her surname (meaning Beautiful Woman), french-style clothing, and love of reading is attributed to Beauty, while her desire for justice, fighting spirit, and unwillingness to abandon marginalised people matches the personality of Esmeralda.
- Yang Xiaolong is inspired by Goldilocks. She prides herself in her long, golden hair to the point that she gets angry when even a strand is cut off, the first Grimm she fought were Ursa, and her first appearance had her personally know Junior, her Baby Bear.
Team SPRN
- Sun Wukong is inspired by Sun Wukong from Journey to the West. Sharing the character's name, Sun is a monkey Faunus associated with the sun and light. His Semblance allows him to create light-based clones of himself, a power that is shared with the JTTW Sun Wukong also.
- Pyrrha Nikos is inspired by Achilles. Her name comes directly from the name chosen by Achilles when he disguised himself as a woman, and her design is heavily inspired by Ancient Greek armour.
- Lie Ren is inspired by Mulan. Both have flower-themed names, Chinese style clothing, and rather androgynous appearances with Hua Mulan having disguised herself as a man to join the army.
- Nora Valkyrie is inspired by Thor. Her name comes from the Valkyries, a Norse group of warriors connected to Thor, her Semblance allows her to grow stronger from lightning, similar to how Thor is the God of Thunder, and her hammer is directly reference to Mjolnir; Thor's iconic hammer.
Allies
- The inner circle are all based off characters from The Wizard of Oz series:
- Ozpin is based off the titular wizard. His main colour is green, which he dresses in and has his Academy decorated in, and is a powerful wizard disguising himself as merely the headmaster of one of the Academies. His name is also an acronym of the wizard's real name: Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs (O.Z.P.I.N.H.E.A.D).
- Glynda is inspired by Glenda Goodwitch. Her first name is a different spelling, and she shares the same last name. Glynda is also a powerful Huntress that uses a crop like a wand for her Semblance, and dresses in clothing similar to a witch, with a matching cape.
- Eliana Kokkinos is inspired by Locasta, the Good Witch of the North. Another powerful Huntress who's Semblance has been compared to the magic of the Summer Maiden, she is an ally and close friend to Ozpin, and protector of the few Silver eyed warriors seen in AZRE, similar to how Locasta protected Dorothy from the witch's flying monkeys.
- Jin Tong is inspired by The Cowardly Lion. She's a lioness Faunus who is driven by her fear and inexperienced compared to the older headmasters, but shows courage when she defends those around her.
- James Ironwood is inspired by The Tin Woodman. His last name is connected to the metal that made up the tinman's body, and has had half of his own replaced with prosthetics after nearly being killed in action. Often seen as impatient and cold by those around him, he does also have a heart and is compassionate to people.
- Qrow Branwen is inspired by The Scarecrow. With a bird theme and wielding a giant scythe that is commonly used in farmwork, he often plays up his stupidity to catch his targets off guard, and shows a surprising amount of cunning and wit when he can.
- Theodore Gale is inspired by Dorothy Gale. His first name is mostly an anagram of Dorothy and he shares her last name.
Families
- Ghira Belladonna is inspired by Bagheera, as he's a black panther Faunus who became an adoptive guardian to Adam, trying to raise him right until his son went back to the White Fang.
- Hajimu Belladonna is inspired by Raksha. A wolf Faunus, she adopted Adam and became a replacement maternal figure for him after his biological mother's death, forming a close attachment to him.
- Cerise Taurus is inspired by the Cursed Rose to match Adam's Beast allusion. She has a rose motif and shares the same red and pink colouration as the flower, with her death being the cause for Adam's "descent" into becoming a beast.
- Xanthe Nemeós is inspired by King Eurytheus to Zanthus' Nemean Lion and Argenta's Hercules. He shares the same Greek inspiration as his children and was the patriarch of the family.
- Sable "Sigal" Leib is inspired by Tzipphorah from Biblical stories, matching her tribes allusions to other Biblical figures.
- Argenta Nemeós is inspired by Hercules to match Zanthus' Nemean Lion. She was raised and trained alongside him, and was later trained harder by their father when Zanthus ran away.
- The Kashima family all take from Japanese folklore. Hisui is Takemikazuchi with his last name "Kashima" coming from the shrine attributed to the god, Shinju is the Maneki-Neko with her maiden name being Maneki and Shinju having a mass of wealth from birth, and Seigyoku is the Bakeneko, a cat yokai that can shift into a human like how Seigyoku can disguise her Faunus features.
- Icheku Zulu takes inspiration from Shaka Zulu, using the same last name and having a clear South African aesthetic. His ram horns are inspired by the horn formation that Shaka Zulu commonly used in battle.
- Clementine Iomharach is inspired by Boudica, having Scottish last name and clothing along with the bright ginger hair commonly attributed to the Gaelic people.
- Aurora Marrón is inspired by Aurora, the Roman Goddess of the Dawn. She shares the same name and wears bright colours associated with the sun and dawn, as well as having Silver eyes that allow her to summon light.
Students
- Gustave Rouge is inspired by Gaston from the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. He wears the signature red shirt and is antagonistic towards Adam, showing a bigoted viewpoint that Gaston has in the movie.
- Steven Rosewater is inspired by Le Fou from the same movie. While he's friendly to Adam, he is more willing to overlook Gustave's unsavoury opinions, even if he personally doesn't share them. He's also a short, overweight boy who has more comedic moments compared Gustave.
- Team FNKI are all based on modern memes:
- Flynt Quartz is based off the popular Why you lying? song, as he's connected to music with his trumpet and jazz influenced fashion.
- Neon Katt is based off the Nyan Cat meme. Her Semblance allows her to produce rainbows with her speed, and she has a night sky colour aesthetic like the skies Nyan Cat flies through, as well as just having a personality that grates on people.
- Kobalt & Ivori Chiffon are both based off the Black & Blue/White & Gold Dress. Both are identical twins that differ themselves by wearing dresses that are blue and black or white and gold, mimicking the meme that was the same identical dress but viewed differently.
Villains
- The White Fang are all characters from The Jungle Book:
- Sienna Khan is based off Shere Khan. She shares the same last name, and is a tiger Faunus who leads the White Fang with conviction, moving away from the pacifist origins of the organisation into more proactive means.
- Kaanchana Naga is inspired by Kaa. A snake Faunus who's name has Kaa in it, she is cunning and capable of doing whatever it takes to survive, working closely with Sienna like how Kaa worked for Shere Khan. Her Semblance allows her to hypnotise anyone who looks into her eyes, similar to how Kaa hypnotised Mowgli in the movies, and she puts a lot of emphasise in trusting people like Kaa's signature song Trust in Me.
- Banesaw is inspired by Baloo. A hulking bear Faunus who's no longer content with having the bare necessities, he's the strongest and most durable of the group, matching Baloo's own strength and size as a bear.
- Iya is inspired by Rann/Chil. She's a bird Faunus, matching the kite that her allusion is, and serves as a messenger and scout for the White Fang due to her unique speed and flying abilities.
- Ilia is inspired by Mowgli. A human who was adopted by animals and struggles to find out where he belongs, Ilia is a Chameleon Faunus who's traits allow her to pass completely as a human. She was taken into the White Fang at a young age and has come to see them as family, but struggles to accept the darker actions they commit.
- Cinder Fall is inspired by Cinderella.
- Emerald Sustrai is inspired by Aladdin.
- Mercury Black is inspired by the Roman God Mercury.
- Roman Torchwick is inspired by Lampwick from Pinocchio.
- Doctor Merlot is inspired by the book Island of Doctor Moreau.
- Carmine Esclados is both Quetzalcoatl from Aztec Mythology and the Red Knight from Arthurian Legends.
- Bertilak Celadon is inspired by the Green Knight from Arthurian Legends.
- Teumessian is inspired by the Teumessian Fox from Greek Mythology.
