#faunusrights

for @faunusrights 

because i hate my friends and i would like to have less of them

Okay for Team WITCH

Starting with Watts, he is obviously an evil counterpart to Weiss… shame they never really interacted at all. Like, imagine her figuring out he’s behind the Jacques election rigging and such.

Anyway, both Weiss and Watts are arrogant jerks, though Weiss is only like that at the start. Both plot and scheme a lot, though Watts’ plans blow up at the finishing line while Weiss’ schemes are more half-baked. Both have a flair for the dramatic and act sorta as the only sane characters in their group—but only by comparison to the others they’re working with. Both antagonize the de facto red leader of the group: Weiss with Ruby, Watts with Cinder. While Weiss is mostly projecting her egotism onto Ruby, Watts tends to be right about Cinder—even if it’s hypocritical.

Watts seems extremely elitist in his thinking, and like Weiss, he looks down on others. Unlike Weiss, though, in a bit of irony he was more willing to work with Faunus like Tyrian and even treat them as (somewhat) friends—unlike Blake and Weiss, who despised each other at the start. Also, Watts, while okay at fighting, is clearly not a powerhouse… just like Weiss. Another similarity: both felt entitled, and their jerkass behavior made people dislike them. Plus, they prioritized their own wants over others. The big difference is that Watts refused to change and was willing to starve a city to win… while Weiss accepted her loss and became better.

Expanded Speculative Analysis: Salem's Manipulation in a Direct Alliance with the White Fang

Building on the previous "what if" scenario—where Salem personally approaches Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus with offers of unlimited protection, support, and resources—this deeper dive incorporates canonical details from the RWBY wiki on Salem's character. As an ancient, immortal being altered by the Pools of Grimm, Salem embodies a "desire for pure destruction" while being highly intelligent, patient, and insidious in her manipulations. Her history of deceiving gods, exploiting humanity's divisions, and controlling subordinates through tailored tactics (e.g., ego boosts, power promises, and fear) makes her perfectly suited to ensnare the White Fang. She'd view them not as true allies but as disposable tools in her broader goal of dividing Remnant to summon the Gods and end her curse. Below, I'll explore how she'd initiate and sustain control, the psychological hooks she'd use, potential pitfalls, and broader ripple effects, drawing directly from her established patterns.

1. Initial Manipulation: Tailoring the Pitch to Exploit Grudges and Ambitions

Exploiting Personal Motivations and Fears: Salem's wiki entry highlights her as a master manipulator who "knows how to manipulate people and has different methods to do so," such as leveraging grudges (like Hazel's against Ozpin) or fears (like Leonardo Lionheart's cowardice). In approaching Sienna and Adam face-to-face, she'd mirror this by zeroing in on their core drives. For Sienna, the pragmatic radicalizer who shifted the White Fang toward "retributive violence" but avoided unprovoked escalation, Salem might frame the alliance as a strategic evolution: "Humanity has denied you equality through fear; together, we can make that fear absolute." She'd exploit Sienna's frustration with slow progress under Ghira, promising Grimm-enhanced operations to dismantle institutions like the Schnee Dust Company overnight—echoing how she boosts Arthur Watts' ego by validating his intellect against Atlas. A direct quote from Salem's philosophy, "In pursuit of a new world, no cost is too great," could be woven into her pitch, positioning the White Fang's sacrifices as necessary for Faunus supremacy, while subtly implying that refusal invites destruction (much like her threat to Cinder via Maiden powers).

Adam's Fanaticism as a Hook: Adam, with his scarred face and supremacist zeal, aligns closely with Salem's own transformation into a being of "pure destruction" after her Grimm immersion. She'd appeal to his ego and rage, perhaps revealing her non-human form dramatically to say, "I am no human oppressor—I am the end of them." Promises of personal power, like grafting Grimm enhancements (as she does with Cinder's Shadow Hand), could make him a hybrid enforcer, feeding his desire for vengeance. Wiki details show Salem tolerates "unruly behavior" like Tyrian's mania if it serves her; she'd indulge Adam's extremism initially, using deception to hide her ultimate goal of Remnant's obliteration, which wouldn't spare Faunus.

Non-Human Appeal as a Deceptive Bond: Her altered appearance—pale, veined, Grimm-like—would underscore that she's not part of the human-Faunus binary, potentially fostering a false sense of kinship. As the wiki notes, she commands Grimm effortlessly, so a demonstration (e.g., summoning a horde to crush a mock human target) would prove her sincerity, much like her use of Seers for remote control.

2. Maintaining Control: Keeping Them "Under Her Boots" Through Fairness, Threats, and Discardability

Collegial Facade with Underlying Dominance: Salem is "fair and collegial towards her allies, giving credit where credit is due," as seen when she blames only Cinder for Haven's failure and threatens Hazel for interfering. In this scenario, she'd foster a council-like dynamic at Evernight Castle, praising Sienna's strategic raids or Adam's brutal efficiency to build loyalty. However, this masks her imperious nature—she'd demand absolute obedience, losing her temper (as in shattering windows upon bad news) if operations falter, like a botched attack on Haven. To keep them compliant, she'd use subtle punishments: Inflicting pain via magic (similar to torturing Cinder's Shadow Hand) or threatening Grimm assaults on dissenting Faunus factions.

Exploiting Divisions Within the White Fang: Drawing from her history of turning humanity against the Gods through deception, Salem would amplify internal rifts. If Sienna hesitates on escalation, Salem might secretly boost Adam's ambitions, promising him the High Leader role—mirroring how she discards obsolete allies like Lionheart (killing him via Seer after his utility ends). She'd exploit Adam's grudge against Blake or the SDC, assigning him "experiments" like creating Grimm-Faunus hybrids (as with The Hound, using a living core for intelligence), turning the White Fang into a testing ground for her mutations. This keeps them dependent: Resources flow only through her, and any defection (e.g., like Blake's) invites execution, akin to the White Fang's own policy under Adam.

Psychological and Magical Levers: Her immortality and magic allow offensive dominance without defense, per the wiki—she'd bind dissenters with Shadow Hands or use clairvoyance (via crystal balls or Seers) to monitor the group remotely. For long-term control, she'd dangle immortality or enhanced powers, but only partially deliver, ensuring addiction to her support. If Adam's supremacism clashes with her goals, she'd manipulate his rage into self-destruction, much like her rage-fueled murder of Ozma and their daughters when betrayed.

3. Risks and Potential Backfires: The Limits of Manipulation

Internal Fractures and Betrayal: Salem's wiki personality includes humility about her limits—she knows humanity's "resourcefulness" can thwart her. Sienna's caution (condemning Beacon's attack as risking a unwinnable war) might lead her to question Salem's endgame, especially if hybrids horrify moderate Faunus. Adam, while fanatical, has a messianic complex; if he sees Salem as a rival "monster," he could attempt a coup, prompting her to discard him violently (e.g., vaporizing him with energy blasts, as she does to foes). Her suicidal nature—desiring death via Remnant's destruction—could leak through, alienating allies who fight for Faunus survival.

External Pressures: Ozpin's network would detect the alliance faster, exploiting Salem's overconfidence. Figures like Ghira or Ilia might rally defectors, drawing on Salem's low opinion of Remnant as a "ruined world" to portray her as an existential threat. If the White Fang becomes too powerful, Salem might accelerate their obsolescence, using them as cannon fodder in relic hunts before eliminating survivors.

4. Broader Impacts on Remnant: A Darker Path to Division

Accelerated Escalation: With direct control, events like Beacon's fall become more catastrophic—Salem could deploy White Fang-Grimm hybrids en masse, sowing deeper human-Faunus hatred. Haven and Atlas attacks succeed more decisively, hastening relic collection and her summon-the-Gods plan.

Thematic Resonance: This scenario amplifies RWBY's exploration of corruption and division. The White Fang, born from Faunus rights, devolves into Salem's destructive pawns, echoing her own fall from a "kind yet lonely woman" to a monster. Long-term, if Salem discards them post-victory, it leaves a shattered Faunus society, forcing heroes like Blake to confront manipulation's scars.

Overview of the White Fang Under Sienna Khan

The White Fang in the RWBY canon is a Faunus rights organization that evolved from a peaceful advocacy group into a militant force. Founded after the Faunus Rights Revolution as a symbol of unity between Faunus and Humans, it initially focused on nonviolent protests under its first High Leader, Ghira Belladonna. However, ongoing discrimination led to dissatisfaction with slow progress, prompting a shift when Sienna Khan took over around five years before the events of Volume 1 (as inferred from canon timelines). Sienna, a Bengal tiger-based Faunus and one of the group's earliest advocates for violence, succeeded Ghira after he stepped down following an incident where Adam Taurus killed a Human attacker to protect him. Her leadership marked a radical turn, emphasizing retaliatory violence to demand respect and equality from Humans, rather than waiting for it to be granted.

Sienna's philosophy was rooted in pragmatism: she believed peace had bred complacency and that Humans would only respond to force. As she stated in canon, "I was one of the first to suggest violence where violence was necessary. Peace bred complacency and acceptance of our place in the world. I will not allow [Humanity] to push us down without pushing them back." This era positioned the White Fang as a revolutionary group, but it also drew it into alliances and actions that blurred the line between activism and terrorism. Her tenure ended abruptly when Adam Taurus orchestrated a coup, assassinating her to seize control and push the organization toward outright Faunus supremacy and Human subjugation.

Key Actions and Activities During Sienna's Leadership

Under Sienna, the White Fang engaged in a range of militant operations aimed at combating anti-Faunus prejudice, particularly targeting entities like the Schnee Dust Company (SDC), which symbolized Human exploitation of Faunus labor. These included:

Retaliatory Attacks: Firebombing stores that refused service to Faunus, robbing or sabotaging companies that mistreated them, and assassinating SDC executives or board members involved in exploitative practices.

Raids and Heists: Conducting armed raids on SDC facilities and trains to steal resources like Dust (a key energy source in the RWBY world). They collaborated with criminal elements, such as Roman Torchwick in Vale, for large-scale Dust thefts to fund operations.

Terrorist-Like Operations: Planting explosives, releasing Grimm (monstrous creatures) into populated areas (e.g., the Mountain Glenn plot to breach Vale's defenses), and participating in assaults during events like the Vytal Festival Tournament, which culminated in the Fall of Beacon—an event Sienna later condemned for harming the Faunus cause by worsening Human perceptions.

Espionage and Internal Operations: In places like Menagerie (the Faunus homeland), branches under figures like the Albain brothers (Corsac and Fennec) conducted ambushes, assassinations, and covert recruitment, often using force to maintain loyalty.

The organization had a hierarchical structure, with Sienna as High Leader overseeing regional branches (e.g., Adam's Vale faction). Members wore Grimm-inspired masks to symbolize turning Human fear against them, and uniforms emphasized anonymity and intimidation.

Alliances and External Influences

Sienna's White Fang formed opportunistic alliances that amplified its capabilities but also tied it to darker forces:

With Criminals: Partnerships with Roman Torchwick for resource acquisition in Vale, which indirectly supported broader chaotic plans.

With Salem's Faction: Adam's branch secretly allied with Cinder Fall and her associates (part of the overarching antagonist Salem's inner circle), receiving supplies like Dust, Lien (currency), and advanced weaponry. Sienna was aware of some unauthorized actions but underestimated their extent, as seen when she chastised Adam for the Fall of Beacon without fully severing ties.

Internal Support: She defended members like Adam for defensive killings but drew lines against excessive, unprovoked violence, showing a more measured approach than her successor.

These alliances provided resources but portrayed the group as complicit in larger schemes of destruction, enhancing its antagonistic image.

Portrayal of "Evil" and Moral Ambiguity in Canon

In the RWBY canon, Sienna's White Fang is depicted as morally gray rather than outright evil, though its actions often cross into villainy. The organization is framed as a response to systemic oppression—Faunus face slavery-like labor, segregation, and violence from Humans, justifying retaliation in the eyes of members. Sienna's methods are presented as a necessary escalation from Ghira's failed pacifism, aiming for respect through fear rather than hatred. Redeeming qualities include:

Justifications: Actions were typically retributive (e.g., targeting exploiters like the SDC) rather than random, with the goal of equality, not supremacy. Sienna emphasized dialogue with respectful outsiders (e.g., allowing Hazel Rainart to speak) and avoided letting anger override strategy.

Internal Dissent: Not all members were extremists; some, like Blake Belladonna (Ghira's daughter and a former member), left due to the increasing violence, highlighting the group's shift as a tragic corruption of noble ideals.

However, the "evil" aspects are evident in its terrorist tactics, which endangered innocents and escalated conflicts:

Antagonistic Role: The White Fang is a primary antagonist in early volumes, responsible for civilian casualties (e.g., during Beacon's fall), murders (like the bookstore owner Tukson for desertion), and alliances that fueled apocalyptic threats from Salem.

Cult-Like Elements: It alienated moderate Faunus by using force for recruitment and loyalty, fostering a cult of personality around leaders and risking a full race war.

Overall Reputation: Under Sienna, it gained compliance from Humans through fear but was widely seen as criminals or subversives. Her arrogance and underestimation of internal threats (like Adam's extremism) contributed to its downfall, making it a cautionary tale of how justified anger can lead to destructive radicalism.