Characters / AZRE White Fang

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The White Fang

The civil rights group of the Faunus, the White Fang was originally one of peaceful protest under the leadership of Ghira Belladonna; Blake and Adam's father. For over two decades, the White Fang slowly started to gather more rights for the oppressed Faunus, further making Menagerie into a safe haven for their people. However, two years before the start of AZRE, Ghira was forced to step down from his position after an incident with humans left him injured in his shoulder.

Due to most of the White Fang voting against him, the position of High Leader went to his Second in Command; Sienna Khan. Under her leadership, the organisation went towards a more violent approach to fighting against humanity. This change gathered quicker results, but ended up dividing the White Fang, with some leaving like Blake Belladonna and others pushing even farther than Sienna's idea, like Kaanchana.

Sienna Khan

“Okay. If you promise that you will be more careful in the future… I trust you. But we cannot afford another incident like this again, understand?”

The current High Leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan was once the Second in Command to Ghira Belladonna, the original High Leader, taking over once her predecessor stepped down. Under her rule, she led the White Fang into a more pro-active direction, but that direction ended in many turning to terrorism and murder, especially against the SDC.

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• Fantastic Racism: While she doesn't go as far as some others, she thinks very poorly of humans, and of mixed people if the White Fang's treatment of them is any indication.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: While she is nowhere near as bad as the likes of Kaanchana or Iya, Sienna still pushed the White Fang towards violence and terrorism, as well as showing a clear lack of disregard for the loss of human life, only about the backlash against the Faunus and the White Fang for it.
• The Leader: She's the High Leader, and so is in charge of the entire White Fang compared to Kaanchana only controlling the Vale branch.
• Little Bit Beastly: As a tiger Faunus, she has tiger ears on top of her head and natural tiger stripes.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Sienna is a shade of reddish-brown, as well as meaning "orange-brown", with Sienna's skin colour mimicking the colour, and her outfit highlighted by red, as well as her red cape.
  • Khan is a reference to Shere Khan, Sienna's allusion, and also is used for the title of leader. Sienna is a tiger Faunus who is in charge of the White Fang.
• Morality Pet: Strangely enough, Sienna is this for Kaanchana. While the latter would gladly wage war on the humans and bring them down for what they've done to the Faunus, she refrains from excessive violence because the backlash would go on Sienna.
• Technicolor Eyes: Sienna's eyes are a bright gold.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Compared to other White Fang members, Sienna is one that dislikes excessive violence, but pushes her organisation to more violent methods because Ghira's peaceful ways weren't getting the results she wanted for the Faunus. Rather than through self-gratification or sociopathy, Sienna does the things she does because she wants the best life for her people. This ideal resonates especially with a fellow extremist; Banesaw.

Kaanchana Naga

“You’re looking for morality in a war, Adam. That is the last place you’ll find it.”

Leader of the Vale Branch in the White Fang, Kaanchana came into the organisation young and worked hard to get where she is today. Cold, calculated and determined, she believes that war between the Faunus and the humans is inevitable, and will do whatever she has to do to prepare her people for it.

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• Abusive Parents: She's not their biological mother, but Kaanchana set herself up as the mother figure for all the children in the White Fang, especially Blake and Adam. However, she emotionally and mentally abuses them, installs a fear in them of leaving with lies about the world, and even sends Iya and Banesaw to kill Blake when she finally abandoned the White Fang.
• Animal Motif: The snake. As well as being a snake Faunus and represented by snake imagery in her design, Kaanchana is cunning, deceitful , and prefers manipulation rather than a frontal assault, striking quickly at a person's weakpoints.
• The Baroness: Ruthless in her methods, manipulative, and willing to do anything for Sienna and the Faunus, Kaanchana is ultimately the Big Bad of the White Fang, and personally Adam and Blake.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Exploited. Many of those that work for her do so because she gives them what they want, or makes promises to help them achieve their goals. With Adam, Blake and Ilia, Kaanchana gave them a home after they found themselves on their own, and put herself as a mother figure to them all.
• Benevolent Boss: Surprisingly this. She is quick to chastise followers if they step out of line, and emotionally manipulates everyone around her, but Kaanchana also cares about them and rewards them when they do a good job. The only time she slips into Bad Boss is with Iya.
• Boomerang Bigot: She degrades Faunus that she believes are too weak to do what has to be done, including those of her own village back in Mistral. Despite being a Faunus herself.
• Control Freak: She hates whenever anyone around her directly disobeys her orders, which mostly comes up when in connection to the rule-hating Iya. Even her displays of sympathy, such as Banesaw's injury to his face, is shown when she demands that he removes his mask and gets more demanding when he initially refuses.
• Cool Mask: Rather than wearing the standard Grimm mask that every White Fang member wears, Kaanchana wears a red veil over the lower half of her face, covering her scars.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Though not everything is revealed, Kaanchana's past is slowly shown throughout AZRE. She was born in a poor village of Faunus, raised in poverty, and was involved in an incident with humans that's heavily implied to be where she got the scars on her face.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Condemns any Faunus who leaves the White Fang to death, including the 14 year old Blake.
• The Dragon: As one of the Branch Leaders, Kaanchana is this to High Leader Sienna Khan.
• Dramatic Unmask: During a conversation with Banesaw over Adam, Kaanchana finally reveals her lower face by lowering her mask, showing that in her youth, she was scarred by humans to look even more monsterous, and is leniant to Adam because she feels that she relates to him the most.
• Et Tu, Brute?: Her feelings towards the Belladonna family, as Kaanchana actually thought of them as family after growing up without one, only to feel abandoned and hateful when they left the White Fang in a perceived betrayal to her.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite everything she's done, Kaanchana genuinely loves Sienna and Adam, and does care about those under her leadership. Her return in Queens of Black and White show that, despite their last meeting, Kaanchana does care about Ghira as a friend and ultimately decided to spare Blake for now.
• Everyone Has Standards: She'll put out assassinations on anyone who leaves the White Fang, but even Kaanchana is disgusted by the slaughter of Junior's club.
• Evil Former Friend: She was one to Ghira and Hajimu, actually being close to them before they left the White Fang in disgust.
• Facial Horror: The lower half of her face is revealed to have scars in the form of a Glasgow Grin.
• Fairytale Motif: Kaa from The Jungle Book.
• Fantastic Racism: Like many in the White Fang, she despises humans and doesn't seem to hold a high opinion of mixed people.
• Foil:
  • To Adam. Both are Faunus who grew up in poverty in Remnant's most racist societies; Atlas and Mistral. Both eventually escaped into the White Fang, but not before being scarred by humans in hate attacks, being permanently damaged and hurt by the vicious attacks, which led to their more violent beliefs. However, Adam managed to escape the cult mentality of the White Fang and find a better path in Beacon, whereas Kaanchana simply climbed the ladder to being one of the Branch Leaders, securing her place in the White Fang.
  • To Ghira. Both are leaders of the White Fang, but while Ghira grew up in relative luxury in Menagerie and developed more pacifist ideals for his people, Kaanchana grew up in a struggling village in Mistral, suffering severe racism that turned her to more extremist ideals.
  • Lately, to Cinder. Both are dark haired, powerful women who lead others to follow their own goals, though answer to another leader above themselves. However, Cinder's goals are entirely selfish as all she wants is power, not thinking twice of sacrificing anything to get it, while Kaanchana ultimately wants what she believes is best for her people, giving everything from herself to Sienna to make that dream come true. Cinder also leads with threats and violence, scaring anyone into following her to avoid worse punishment, while Kaanchana rarely lashes out in violence and believes in giving her men something worth fighting for.
• Freudian Excuse: Like many Faunus in the White Fang, Kaanchana was a victim of severe racism in Mistral that forced her people further south, having to make their home in often inhospitable environments. Growing in poverty, she was scarred by humans when she was younger, having to hide her scars with her veil.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Under her veil shows that she has glasgow grin type scars on each side of her mouth, done to her by humans in her youth.
• Green-Eyed Monster: She tries to hide it behind letting Hajimu be a mother figure to Adam, but Kaanchana's attitude to it suggests that she is deeply jealous of the close relationship between Adam and his adoptive mother.
• Hellish Pupils: Has slit pupils.
• Hidden Depths: Despite the earlier chapters highlighting her unempathetic personality and seeming inability to truly connect with people, rather using them, Kaanchana's POV in Queens of Black and White shows that not only is she ultimately doing everything for Sienna, but that she knows that for years she's only felt anger now and wishes for a life where her trauma didn't have such a grip on her mental state.
• Hypocrite: Given her closer relationship with Adam, Kaanchana allows him to get away with far more than anyone else in the White Fang. When he leaves, she simply has Iya and Banesaw let him go to focus on the runaway Blake instead, despite both leaving meaning both should be hunted down. Iya calls her out for this.
• I Control My Minions Through...: Hope. She explains to Cinder that leading through fear is a short sighted method, as eventually one would run into someone who hates them more than they fear them. So, Kaanchana uses her hope in building the Faunus a utopia without humans to push fellow Faunus to follow her.
• It's All About Me: Regardless of what she does, Kaanchana doesn't seem able to empathise with Adam truly, rather only contextualising his suffering when it can be compared to her own. When Adam left, she doesn't think about why for even a second, instead complaining about how it hurt her and treated it like Adam throwing a tantrum rather than legitimately having grievances over the White Fang and it's attempted assassination on Blake.
• I Want Them Alive!: Tells Iya not to kill Adam and simply leave him be, as Kaanchana believes he'll return to her in time.
• The Leader: Leader of the Vale Branch of the White Fang.
• Little Bit Beastly: A snake Faunus, with scales and the ability to unhinge her jaw more than the average person.
• Mask of Sanity: On the outside, she holds herself in a calm, stoic manner that allows people around her to open up, giving Kaanchana the information she seeks. However, underneath, she hides an angry, bitter woman who feels nothing for everyone around her unless they're part of what she believes to be her family. Every time someone betrays her in her mind, Kaanchana lets the mask slip and lashes out.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Kaanchana is a Sanskrit name meaning "Golden". Kaanchana wears plenty of yellow in her design, with the most catching part being her golden, snake shaped helmet.
  • Naga means "snake" in Sanskrit, and is an Indian mythological creature that was half person and half snake, connecting to Kaanchana being a snake Faunus, and so has both human and snake features.
• Missing Mom: Hertalk with Banesaw reveals that Kaanchana's mother was never around, though it's unknown whether she left or died.
• Never My Fault: Doesn't accept responsibility for Adam running away, Blake's death, or the increased attention the White Fang is gathering from the Kingdoms.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Kaanchana greenlighting the assassination of Blake finally pushed Adam to his brink, leaving the White Fang and instead going to Beacon Academy. While the assassination was a success, the actions of her subordinates afterwards brought unwanted attention to the White Fang from Vale and Beacon itself.
• Nice Mean And In Between: Kaanchana is actually the In-Between with her, Banesaw and Iya. She won't go out of her way to antagonise people and sow chaos, but she's not held back by any moral code and will do what is right. Problem is, it's what Kaanchana personally feels is right.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Doesn't believe herself to be that different from Adam, connecting their harsh childhoods in poverty, facing severe racism, and being scarred by humans to the point that it both driven them to the White Fang for acceptance and revenge.
• Perpetual Frowner: She's never shown to be smiling.
• Pet the Dog: Despite his actions leading to more heat on the White Fang and Kaanchana herself, she makes sure Banesaw is given the medical treatment he needs and later gifts him a new weapon, as he did complete the assassination she sent him on.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Despite the White Fang's increasingly tolerant attitude to violent actions, Kaanchana actively tells her soldiers to avoid going too far and reprimands Iya for the attack on Junior's club. Not out of any genuine sympathy, but because more violence means that the Kingdom of Vale, and even possibly Remnant as a whole, would team together to take out the White Fang if they prove themselves such a threat.
• The Sociopath: Fits this to a T. She lies, manipulates, uses people for her own end, and believes herself the only one who can protect those under her thumb, going as far as saying that she only let Hajimu "pretend" to be a mother to Adam while believing herself the only one who truly understands him.
• Technicolor Eyes: Her normal eye colour is the usual green, but Kaanchana's eyes when activating her Semblance turn to an unnatural gold.
• Would Hurt a Child: While she personally doesn't do this, Kaanchana greenlights the assassination of Blake Belladonna, who was only fourteen when she left the White Fang.

Banesaw

“I had a life before the White Fang. I suppose everyone you ask would say the same. Lots of us were farmers, fishermen, soldiers, even parents."

A White Fang lieutenant and close confidant to Kaanchana, Banesaw was once just a Faunus from the Khangris Mountains in Mistral before joining the White Fang. While he shows little to everything around him, he's loyal and capable of carrying out what was expected of him, regardless of his own morals.

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• Animal Motif: Bears. Banesaw is a bear Faunus and is the strongest, most durable fighter in the White Fang, easily outsizing every other major character around him. While he can be fierce and devastating when provoked, he actually prefers to avoid unnecessary conflict and is a very protective person to those he loves.
• Anti-Villain: Despite willingly joining an organisation that later turned to terrorism, abandoning his family in the process, Banesaw only did so not for himself, but for his children so he could make a world that they were safe in. He doesn't believe in unnecessary violence, and even disagrees with a lot of what Kaanchana orders him to do, but does so because he genuinely believes in her and can't even think of betraying her.
• Arranged Marriage: Many marriages in Mistral are this, and Banesaw was married off to another woman when he was younger, starting a family with her. Despite having no choice, and not even loving her like a wife, he does deeply respect her and loves her as a good friend.
• Bald of Evil: His hair is very shaved down.
• Berserk Button: A few that Iya specifically seems to press.
  • Don't even try to insinutate that he isn't loyal to the cause.
  • Not taking things seriously. His entire mission with Iya had Banesaw on the cusp of raging because of her flippant attitude not only to him, but to Kaanchana and what they're doing.
• Chrome Champion: His semblance lets him turn his skin to metal, increasing both his defense and offense.
• Co-Dragons: Shares this with Iya, both being prominent members that directly follow Kaanchana's orders, though technically, as a lieutenant, Banesaw outranks Iya, who only seems to be a scout.
• Cool Mask: His mask is more detailed and intricate compared to the plain masks that White Fang grunts wear, befitting his high rank in the organisation.
• Counter-Attack: What his fighting style seems to boil down to. Banesaw doesn't bother with trying to actively dodge or parry when fighting, rather absorbing the blows or straight up punching his way out of it, like when a shipping container falls on him in Caught in the Crossfire.
• Dark and Troubled Past: He opens up more about his past to Ilia. As it turns out, he was a happily married man even in a racist society of Mistral, but was one day accused and arrested for a murder that he didn't commit. After tattooed and thrown in jail, he was rescued by Kaanchana, who earned his loyalty for saving him from such a fate.
• Deadpan Snarker: What snarky thing he does say is said in a very dry and sardonic way.

  Banesaw to Iya: Done with your tantrum?

• Disappeared Dad: He had children once, but left them behind when he joined the White Fang.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Iya constantly pokes fun at his weight by calling him "Fatass".
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His family are the only ones that Banesaw loves, with the White Fang simply being something to help him achieve his goals.
• Everyone Has Standards: Dislikes excessive violence, attacking children, and even shows a lack of bigotry that a lot of WF members show by being straight up affable to humans and mixed like Eirian.
• Evil Parents Want Good Kids: He never wants his own children doing what he does, only taking it upon himself so they can live in peace.
• Evil Virtues: Loyalty.
• Exposed to the Elements: Just like Iya, Banesaw's undercover outfit has no sleeves, showing off his arms despite the arc taking place entirely in the middle of winter.
• Expy: Bears more than a passing resemblance to Kakuzu from Naruto, being a tall, dark skinned man with a serious demenor and partnered with an Ax-Crazy, Blood Knight partner in Iya/Hidan.
• Eye Scream: He loses his right eye to Cinder after being burnt for placing the bug in her room.
• Facial Markings: Though he hasn't been described without his mask in AZRE, art by the author shows that Banesaw actually has a scar running across the bridge of his nose. [[spoiler: He ends up having half his face burnt off by Cinder in In Harm's Way.
• Fairytale Motif: Baloo from the Jungle Book.
• Fat and Skinny: The heavy built Fat to Iya's lean Skinny.
• Genius Bruiser: He's a smart and resourceful man, showing tactics and survival skills that he tries to pass onto Ilia.
• Happily Married: Was actually this with his wife, having nothing but fond memories with her before the White Fang.
• In the Hood: His undercover outfit has him wearing one, Banesaw constantly keeping it up to hide his identity.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A ruthless man who would destroy everything he feels stands in his people's way, Banesaw actively goes out of his way to avoid collateral damage, unnecessary deaths, is shown to have a soft spot for children, and even harbours no prejudice to humans or mixed Faunus.
• Knight Templar Parent: All he does in the White Fang is for his children and. with how their relationship is developing, Ilia.
• The Lancer: Is this to Kaanchana, the leader of the Vale Faction in the White Fang.
• Little Bit Beastly: A Faunus like the rest of the WF members, he has bear claws.
• Meaningful Name: Banesaw is a codename made from Bane, a type of poisonous plant family that is usually purple in colour, and saw, which is his type of weapon.
• Mighty Glacier: He's one of the physically strongest fighters, but Banesaw's nowhere near the fastest, which is why Iya is always paired with him.
• Muscles Are Meaningful: One of the most muscular characters, and in turn on of the strongest and most durable. Even without his Aura, his massive frame meant Banesaw can take on attacks that would cripple or outright kill a smaller person.
• Named by the Adaptation: He doesn't have a name at all in RWBY, only known as The White Fang Lieutenant. In AZRE, he goes by Banesaw, but both he and Iya reveal that Banesaw is not his real name.
• Nice Mean And In Between: Is actually the nicest of the trio between him, Iya and Kaanchana.
• Noble Demon: Regardless of how he goes about it, Banesaw only have good reasons for joining and remaining with the White Fang, even after their shift to more extremist tendencies. He won't go out of his way to antagonise people, prefers to leave people alive, and if they have to die, he refuses to stretch it out and be cruel.
• One-Man Army: He hasn't earned his title as lieutenant for nothing. Even without Iya, Banesaw can shrug off several powerful attacks from Eirian, including a shipping container falling on him, and still beat her, before fighting 3 to 1 with Icheku, Zanthus and Bomvu while still holding his ground.
• Only One Name: Unlike most of the cast, Banesaw only has one name, and even then it's not his real name.
• Papa Wolf: He's very protective of his children, and soon grows that same protectiveness towards Ilia. This goes as far as Banesaw not hesitating to take the blame when the bug Ilia put in Cinder's room was discovered, earning him a punishment that had half his face melted off and losing his right eye.
• Parental Substitute: Starts to grow into this for Ilia. While he starts out as a gruff and unwilling comrade for the teen, as he didn't even want her on the mission, Banesaw starts to look out for Ilia physically and emotionally, teaching her things that she didn't know and tries to explain his past behaviour to her, including his murder of her best friend; Blake.
• Parents as People: Banesaw tries to be a good father, and was actually one before, but he actively abandoned his family to join the White Fang so he could fight for their people's rights.
• Person of Mass Destruction: His superstrength and straight forward fighting style means that there's a lot of environment damage whenever he's fighting. One example has Banesaw destroyed a part of a forest he's walking through just by punching an Ursa that tried to attack him in That Fateful Day.
• The Quiet One: Compared to Iya who tends to run her mouth, Banesaw keeps to himself and only speaks when he thinks it's necessary.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue Oni to Iya's Red Oni.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: His jacket has no sleeves, showing off his very muscular arms.
• Stout Strength: Like Icheku, Banesaw is quite heavily built, but one of the strongest characters in AZRE.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Taller than most of the characters, even rivalling Icheku who's 7' tall, is considerably dark skinned, and isn't too bad looking under his mask as shown by artwork.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Like everything above, Banesaw also has a very dry wit, though it only comes out with Iya.
• Tattooed Crook: With his past being revealed, the tattoo on his left bicep is revealed to be a one given to criminals in Mistral, as Banesaw was accused of murder before he joined the White Fang.
• Treachery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Out of everything, he really hates betrayal and so has a very low opinion of both Adam and Blake for leaving. Despite his reservations for assassinating a 14 year old, he goes through with it anyway by telling himself the law has to be upheld.
• Undying Loyalty: He won't betray Kaanchana and the White Fang, believing that they are the only way to make the world a better place for his family.
• Unfortunate Name: Iya has called him fatass, poking fun at his stockier body type.
• Would Hurt a Child: Banesaw won't like it, and has very strong morals against it, but his loyalty to the White Fang overrides his personal beliefs when it comes to Blake's assassination.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: His relationship with Kaanchana is complicated at best, but most of the time that she praises or rewards him is when Banesaw has done something that's completely gone against his moral code, leaving him confused and unsure what to believe in himself anymore.

Iya Dhawan

“Listen, you can’t go around feeling bad for everything you do. I mean, look at me. I never feel bad.”

A scout for the White Fang and unofficially used as Kaanchana's personal assassin, Iya Dhawan was once just a young girl living in the floating city of Atlas. However, one day she snapped and murdered her patron, escaping authorities and joining the civil rights movement for freedom. Unlike Banesaw and Kaanchana, Iya is crass, aggressive and childish, prefering to do what she wants rather than what's told of her. However, under her jovial appearance is a sharp mind and perception of the world around her.

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• An Arm and a Leg: She was born with no legs, and so wears prosthetics that were modified to have talons in her toes, befitting her bird theme.
• Animal Motif: Birds. Iya is a kite Faunus that has wings and prosthetic legs modified into looking more bird like, even having sharp talons that can grab anyone unfortunate enough to be in her way. Her early life was one described as a bird in a cage, and her main motive is simply living free after a life of servitude.
• Arch-Enemy: While Kaanchana is the overall antagonist to Blake, Iya is shown to be the more personal villain for her, being the one to nearly kill her and left Blake with visible scars and PTSD. Iya is also the one to have the most interest in going after Blake specifically, while Banesaw expresses more guilt and Ilia still believes she's dead.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Capable of dishing these out; but a big one is to Banesaw in That Fateful Day, which he isn't even able to answer.
  Iya: So was it necessary because you believed it was or because Kaa said it was?
• At Least I Admit It: What she thinks makes her better than most of the White Fang members. She is cruel, sadistic, and she will do whatever she wants whenever she wants, damn be the consequences, but she openly admits that everyone in the White Fang does the same, including Adam. The only difference between her and them is that she admits she's a horrible person.
• Ax-Crazy: There isn't a moment where Iya isn't either commiting horrible acts of violence, or threatening people with horrible acts of violence.
• Berserk Button: While Iya is quick to anger, she really loses her joking tone when her past is brought up in any way. Blake assuming she isn't a victim given her past behaviour enrages Iya to the point that she immediately tries to kill her and Ruby.
• Bloodbath Villain Origin: Her first murder was her patron, whom she hung from his balcony by his own intestines before escaping the authorities. During then and now, she had gone on to kill dozens of others, with thirty seven being confirmed her doing.
• Blood Knight: She openly enjoys fighting and chaos.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Surprisingly. While Iya has no filter and will say whatever comes to mind in regards to people and sex, she does take consent into consideration and willingly backs off when Banesaw tells her that he's not interested in that sort of thing.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Dishes this out on numerous people, both onscreen and off. Most of the time, she doesn't even do it for information, but sadistic pleasure just before the kill.
• Combat Pragmatist: She doesn't care for a fair fight and does whatever she can to get the edge. She typically attacks people at their weak points, and goes for more vulnerable people if she believes that will break her opponent more.
• Comedic Sociopathy: Doesn't actually display most of the symptoms of sociopathy, but Iya's speech patterns and wild antics, even during serious scenes, are still pretty funny. Especially playing off Banesaw's serious demeanour.
• Crippling Overspecialisation: Most of Iya's attack methods are her using her speed and talons to cut up or crush people under her weight, or pick them up and let gravity do the rest. If Iya can't get off the ground to fight, she's considerably easier to take care of. Compare her slaughter of Junior's club to her more evenly matched fight with Adam in the Docks Warehouse.
• Curtains Match the Windows: She has purple hair and purple eyes.
• Dark and Troubled Past: What she has said about it paints just how bad things are for Faunus living in Atlas. Born without legs, she was a victim in the experiments that Atlas scientists conducted on the poor and the Faunus, which propelled prosthetics further ahead at the cost of her blood and tears. On top of that, she lived under a patron, a wealthy Atlas noble who would pick a beautiful Faunus to live in their home, in exchange for being completely under their thumb. While she never said it outright, the fact that the Faunus had no say in it and it could be anything suggested very dark reasons.
• Death Seeker: Not very apparent, but in the first Chapter, Iya says that she isn't looking to die yet rather than at all when talking about angering Sienna, showing a more casual attitude to her own death than normal.
• Depraved Bisexual: She's pansexual, but very much loves everyone and has the psychotic personality to go with this trope.
• Didn't Think This Through: Despite her plan having some basis in reality, and Iya doing most of the work in actually finding Blake, her choice to go back to Vale City to tell Adam and try to break his spirit only brought more unwanted attention to the White Fang. Kaanchana is quick to call her out on this shortsighted plan.
• The Dreaded: Out of everyone in the White Fang, including Sienna and Kaanchana, Iya is considered to be the most feared by everyone, even her own allies, because of her unpredictable behaviour and violent tendencies.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Though she doesn't admit it, her time with Banesaw shows that, despite all their griping and tense teamwork, Iya does harbour some affection for her partner. When Banesaw was critically injured and about to be arrested, Iya managed to sneak him away and carried him all the way back to the White Fang camp in the mountains, even though she could've easily slipped away and left him behind. She's clearly surprised when he doesn't reciprocate her affections in A Night in the Woods.
• Evil Feels Good: Part of why she remains with the White Fang. Their increasingly violent methods fit in with Iya's personality, giving her the protection of a powerful organisation to revel in the chaos it causes. She pretty much says so to Banesaw when he asks why she does all the horrible things she does without remorse.
• Evil Genius: Played With. She shows that she understands how to get to a person psychologically, has some experience with the military due to knowing how to work Atlas' very technical equipment in her helmet, and can repair her own prosthetics with minimal equipment or resources. However, Iya is very short-sighted, and often forgets just how drastic the consequences of her actions are, as seen in both Vale and Kaanchana's response to her attack on Junior's club and Adam.
• Exposed to the Elements: Most of the Villain Arc at the end of Volume 2 takes place during winter, with Ilia making numerous comments on how cold it is. That doesn't stop Iya from wearing an outfit that completely exposes her abdomen and even some of her chest.
• Expy: A female version of Trevor Phillips from Grand Theft Auto V.
• Fairytale Motif: Chil / Raan from The Jungle Book.
• Fat and Skinny: The smaller and slimmer Skinny to Banesaw's heavy built Fat.
• Faux Affably Evil: It's pretty clear that whenever she tries to be friendly, it's a very fake sense of friendliness that very few take at face value.
• Freudian Excuse: Clearly, her difficult childhood and trauma had left Iya without help for her unstable mental disorders and a deep psychological aversion to being told what to do. However, Iya never uses it to excuse herself, simply accepting that it doesn't matter in regards to her long list of crimes.
• Half-Hearted Henchman: While most joined the White Fang for revenge, family, equality or a combination of all three, Iya joined simply because it aligned with her interests. A lot of her talk about loyalty is more towards the idea of the White Fang, something that protects her while she does what she wants, rather than any genuine attachment to it or Kaanchana.
• Hero Killer: She was the one to kill Blake, though it was Blake's own doing rather than Iya making the final blow.
• Hidden Depths: Despite her simplistic life goals and crude criminal persona, Iya does often show that she has a sharp mind and can easily read people, even when they try to hide their true colours underneath. This makes her one of the few people to actively disregard Kaanchana's manipulation, something even Banesaw is unable to do.
• Hot-Blooded: Contrasted to Banesaw's cold personality, Iya is loud, energetic and very much combat ready.
• Kick the Dog: Constantly. If she's not outright killing someone, she's rubbing it in their faces and trying to get at every emotional weakpoint before she finishes the job.
• Large Ham: There are less scenes where she isn't being one.
• Likes Older Women: Older people in general, but all the characters she has admitted to being attracted to are considerably older than her, with Sienna and Kaanchana being in their early 40s, Ironwood being 47, and Banesaw being in his late 40s, while Iya herself is only around twenty seven at the time.
  • An argument in Trapped has Banesaw admonishing Iya for nearly blowing her cover because she's fallen in love with a laundromat who's sixty seven.
• Little Bit Beastly: A bird Faunus, with a pair of large, kite wings.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: A very sexual person, and explicitly admits to feeling sexually attracted to Banesaw, Kaanchana, Sienna, and even James Ironwood.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Iya is a popular Hindi name meaning "Violet Flower", with Iya having purple hair, eyes and Aura.
  • Dhawan is a Hindi name meaning "Messenger" or "Runner". Because of her speed and flight abilities, Iya is a valuable scout for the White Fang, and is even used to send out messages to WF soldiers in the field.
• Missing Mom: Compromises reveals that she lived with her mother long enough to remember her, only to be abandoned to Atlas for experimentation. Iya doesn't have many kind words to say of her mother after that.
• Nice Mean And In Between: Unsurprisingly, she's the Mean between her, Kaanchana and Banesaw. Iya would willingly maim people without much pushing.
• The Nicknamer: Given her informal attitude, Iya gives nicknames to a lot of people around her.
  • Kaanchana is "Kaa".
  • Banesaw is "Fatass".
  • Sienna is "Old Lady".
  • Blake has been called "Princess" a few times.
  • Junior is "Baby Bear".
• Noodle Incident: Whatever happened to Iya and an unfortunate White Fang member that ended up being her partner was never explained, but it ended with Iya leaving him in the trees with his gallbladder and spleen elsewhere.
• Parental Abandonment: Her parents are never mentioned during her time in Atlas, Iya only ever talking about her patron, a wealthy man who had her live in his home in exchange for services.
• Put on the Bus: She was arrested at the end of Compromises and hasn't made another appearance since.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red Oni to Banesaw's Blue Oni.
• Sadist: Very much enjoys killing and torturing people.
• Serial Killer: Bruno reveals to Adam and Eirian that Iya is wanted for over thirty seven murders, which he quickly admits are the ones that they're certain come from her. Besides her patron, a few unfortunate White Fang members, and numerous bouncers in Junior's club, the rest are completely unknown.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: She apparently can't say a single sentence without an expletive. In a story where swearing isn't off the table like in RWBY, Iya takes this even further.
• Smarter Than You Look: Actively plays up her carefree behaviour to get people to underestimate her, but deep down, Iya is very perceptive and very difficult to manipulate, likely because she lived in a kingdom that is made of rich people who would stab each other in the back for a mere foothold in something better.
• Sophisticated as Hell: A crude and informal person who swears far more than anyone else in the cast, Iya also knows big words like "macroaggression".
• The Starscream: Shows very little loyalty to Kaanchana herself, and at one point says that she and Banesaw could be the ones to raise the White Fang to the position it deserves. Right after she admits she'd also probably get it burnt to the ground, and this idea of replacing Kaanchana is never brought up again.
• Stripperific: Her short top comes off her shoulders and stops just below her breasts, showing off her entire midriff. Her undercover outfit goes even further with a sweater not even covering the bottom of her breasts anymore.
• Super-Speed: Her Semblance, though she can only activate it if her feet are off the ground. Adam takes advantage of the office's small space in Blood in the Waters to keep Iya from properly taking off and using her Semblance.
• Teach Him Anger: What she does to Adam in The Spark. While he clearly knows what she's like and fears retaliation for his increasingly aggressive attitude, Iya simply relishes in it and pushes him to do it more, finding it better for Adam to be true to himself. Not so much when Adam leaves, as Iya actively tries to kill him when he starts getting more violent with her.
• Technicolor Eyes: Her eyes are purple.
• Token Evil Teammate: The White Fang are a serious case of Black-and-Grey Morality, but Iya straight up has no morality to begin with. She shows little care for Faunus rights, has no boundaries that she won't stomp over, and is very capable of attacking and even maiming her allies fatally for no reason whatsoever. Her only virtue is that she does put stock in loyalty and wants to know if Banesaw feels the same way, along with showing some form of attachment to him.
• Token Flyer: The only person in the cast that can fly on her own, because of her wings. The others who do fly, like Eirian and Icheku, do so through riding a mount, not through their own abilities.
• Underboobs: Her undercover outfit is a short sweater and tank top that show off the bottom of her breasts.
• Verbal Tic: She's starting to address people with a repeat of "Hey" or "Oi", starting her sentences with "Hey, hey" or "Oi, oi".
• Winged Humanoid: As a bird Faunus, she has the apperance of a human with the wings of a kite coming out of her back.
• Would Hurt a Child: And unlike Banesaw, she'll have no moral objection to doing so.

Ilia Amitola

“I’m not defending them. I was angry and upset when I found out what happened to Blake, but maybe if you guys stayed, maybe if we sorted this out, none of this would’ve happened. I could’ve been there if you guys just let me.”

Blake and Adam's friend, having been left behind when they abandoned the organisation at the beginning of AZRE.

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• The Aloner: Losing Blake and Adam has caused her to shut herself in, the other kids in the White Fang noticing that she has rarely even talked to them over two years.
• The Baby of the Bunch: She's actually the youngest known member of the White Fang at twelve when Blake, who was fourteen, left. By the time she deputed in the story properly, she was fourteen.
• Badass and Child Duo: She's the child to the much older and stronger Banesaw's badass.
• Black-and-White Morality: Mostly due to her younger age and mentality, but Ilia doesn't seem to catch on to the more grey areas of the world, whether it's the White Fang's methods or Banesaw murdering Blake. The latter leave her so confused about her feelings and unable to reconcile the image of a murderer with the Banesaw she knows now.
• Braids, Beads and Buckskins: Ilia has a long braid rather than her high ponytail from RWBY, and two segments of hair framing her face are decorated with blue beads. However, she doesn't wear buckskins and instead adopts a more modern outfit.
• Broken Pedestal: She starts the Villain Arc deeply missing Blake and Adam, and wants to see her friends again one day. When she runs into Adam in Clarity and sees that he's not only made a new life in Beacon, but has started to move on from Blake's death, she feels completely alone and abandoned by both of them, shattering her view of her former friends.
• Broken Tears: After running into Adam and finding out that he's starting to move on from the grief of Blake's death, Ilia is left isolated and unable to handle her own grief due to not having anyone like Adam, and ends up cutting ties with him. When she returns to Banesaw and reaffirms her place in the White Fang, the stress she's under finally drives her to tears.
• Eye Colour Change: As a Chameleon Faunus, Ilia has the ability to change the colour of her eyes in relation to her mood.
• Gender-Blender Name: She's a female Faunus, but Ilia is a typically male name.
• Hide Your Otherness: She was forced to hide the fact that she's a Faunus and ability to change colours when she was accepted into an Atlesian school. Eventually the stress and her friends laughing at the deaths of Faunus in a cave in caused her to snap, but Ilia still hates people seeing her change colours whenever she feels an intense emotion.
• Hollywood Chameleon: Averted. Ilia hasn't shown any ability to change her skin to blend into her environment, with only her scales and eyes being shown to be able to change colour. Rather, they change depending on her mood, either turning blue out of sorrow or grey when she's stressed.
• Like a Daughter to Me: Is starting to become this to Banesaw.
• Little Bit Beastly: Still a chameleon Faunus like in RWBY, and so has scales on her body that can be disguised as freckles and the ability to change colours depending on her mood.
• Living Mood Ring: Her Faunus traits make her into one, as her scales and eyes change with whatever Ilia is feeling at the moment.
• Meaningful Name: Amitola is a Lakota name that means "like the blue sky" or simply "sky blue", with Ilia both wearing that shade of blue on her sweater and having come from Atlas; a city that lives in the skies.
• Technicolor Eyes: Her eyes are the most colourful out of the cast, with her usual eye colour being a mix of red, pink, orange and yellow.
• Trapped in Villainy: She didn't want to work with Cinder at all, and is only brought along because Kaanchana decided her ability to blend in would be useful. Ilia bears no ill will to the Academies, actively disapproves of everyone around her, and now actively wants to kill Cinder for burning Banesaw.

Blake

"You didn’t have to watch one of your friends bleed out and die in your arms, killed by people who decided he didn’t deserve to live, screaming for help that never came!"

The real Blake who Blake Belladonna took the name from. A young Faunus who was in the White Fang the same time as Blake and Adam, he was one of Blake's closest friends who was killed by humans.

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• Dead Person Impersonation: His name is later taken by the current Blake as not only a way to honor him, but as an alias so that no one knows of her true identity.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: He was held by Blake while bleeding out, passing away in her arms.
• Dying for Symbolism: His death is what started Blake's slow desertion of the White Fang, symbolising how the last truly good thing she knew was killed in the fight for equality.
• Fantastic Racism: The cause of his death. He was killed by humans while on the road, unable to recieve medical help despite Blake's efforts.
• Nice Guy: From how Blake talks about him, he was a kindhearted person who likely joined the White Fang at such a young age because, like all the other kids, he had nowhere to go and he wanted to help. His kindness is what spurred Blake to take his name and carry on fighting for the Faunus in his memory.
• One-Steve Limit: Played For Drama. Blake (who's birth name is actually Yaeka) specifically took the original Blake's name as a way to honor him after his death.
• Posthumous Character: He's been dead long before AZRE started, first being mentioned by Blake in Last Ember of Hope.

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