#wf!sienna

[sageywritings]

Call

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER USES LANGUAGE THAT SOME MAY FIND OFFENSIVE AND TOUCHES ON SENSITIVE TOPICS THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND UPSETTING. (fw: slurs, suicide)

READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

One call in progress. "I hate phone calls."

Long overdue, here is chapter 12 of Flames of Change. A lot of my time away I've spent rewriting the first three chapters and uploading them to AO3. I'm in the process of uploading all the chapters there, so if you would rather read that version, check it out under TheOneCalledSage. But, I'll continue to upload here. Me and my irrelevant blog against the world, baby. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

The Ospreay family belong to me

Sienna Umberon belongs to @gruntnuker-rwby

Dusty Millaray and T belong to @wetsliceofbread

The door flinging open with a loud slam did very little to disturb Dash. He was already awake, and although sleep had evaded him for the past hour at least, he still laid curled up hoping it would embrace him soon. But, his body was too acclimated at this point to the same confined surroundings, and seeing the same guards watching him for what felt like the millionth time, and the same early wakeup call from the medic Sienna sent to check his vitals. Dash rolled over and creaked his eyes open, still trying to maintain the facade of sleep even though the racket meant it was pointless. It was like he was begging the alarm before class for five more unattainable minutes. He was expecting the medic to kick the bars and bark at him to wake up any second now. 

But instead, all he saw through squinted eyes was Sienna pacing back and forth in a crazed hurry. She was mumbling in a hushed tone, too quietly for Dash to make anything out. On about the seventh or eighth cycle of turning toward the door, she finally noticed three or four Fang soldiers in the doorway, each with important questions or paperwork for Sienna but none of them daring to be the first one to present it to her.

“I need this place to myself for a while. So everyone OUT!” Now the guards were tripping over each other to see who could get away from Sienna’s flame-bearing teeth the fastest. Dash could hear the tornado of papers being abandoned from his cell. The last one out didn’t want a reprimand finding its way up the chain of command. Or worse, a reprimand from Sienna in the form of fire being flicked their way. Once left alone, Sienna put two fingers to both her temples and rubbed with an excruciating groan. Now she talked louder, but still as if Dash couldn’t hear. “They have to know by now, right? They have to, one of them had to tell them. How does this keep happening? Why do they keep showing up now of all times?! What am I, haunted??” Dash sat up on the bed, with Sienna unaware, her back turned in search through a cabinet for the next stashed bottle of booze she would claim as a victim.

“So. How was he?” Dash finally spoke up. Sienna’s spin cycle of rumination halted. Dash wanted to add a comment about how it was a bit too early to drink. But he didn’t want to test his possibly sleep deprived warden’s barely existent patience. Otherwise the next bottle of whiskey would be aimed right at his head with speed and precision that would’ve made him jealous on the baseball field.

“What?” Sienna said angrily.

“Sol. You saw him, right? Did you make sure to tell him hi for me?”

“You think this is funny? I keep running into your fucking team!”

“And that’s my fault?” Dash said, unable to contain a disbelieving laugh. “Oh look! It’s the consequences of my own actions! I thought they’d never catch me here!” Sienna snarled and suddenly reached in between the bars to snatch the heir by the throat. Dash gasped and tried to prop his foot against a bar to try and pull away, but Sienna kicked the bar, sending pain reverberating up to his already damaged knee.

“You don’t get to talk about actions! Look where your actions got you! Forgotten by your precious family name that you defended at any cost no matter how many lives had to suffer in your shadow!” Dash was choking for mercy. His legs were starting to give out. In a last ditch effort, he reached out to try and pry Sienna’s hand off of him, just for her other searing hand to lock onto his forearm. “It’s your fault you're here. It… it's your fault we can't be together!” She suddenly let go, and Dash dropped onto all fours in a vicious coughing fit. It was like Sienna was brimming with so much rage she couldn't transfer it to her muscles. So instead, she settled for an alternative and grabbed her own arm. She grimaced but didn't let go as the skin around her fingers began to glow red.

“What… what are you doing?” Dash asked shakily, his voice raspy in between coughing.

“Like you care,” Sienna mumbled with ears down. She was right, part of him didn't. Part of him wanted to watch her self-destruct. But part of him remembered what she told him. How she was the reason he and Dawn were still alive. He felt care in between the pulses of pain throbbing through his arm and his neck. He wanted to tell her to stop, to knock it off, although the chances of her actually listening were somewhere between slim and none. The door flying open again, however, did the trick and she let go. The White Fang rookie that drew the short straw scrambled in.

“Boss!” he called.

“I told you I didn't wanna be bothered! This better be good,” Sienna yelled. He nodded sheepishly and outstretched his hand to offer up a phone. After a moment to let her fingers cool, she took it for inspection. The screen was dark at first, but then illuminated to reveal a call with an unknown number already in progress. “I hate phone calls,” she thought to herself, surveying it a little longer as if someone else was going to take it from her if she waited. But, she put it up to her ear and spoke bluntly. “Speaking.” The voice on the other end was calm, almost scarily assured, like it was nothing more than a standard business affair.

“Where are my kids?”

An uncontrollable grin took over Sienna's face. This was exactly what her spirits needed. The voice she had been dying to hear grovel and beg.

“Well, well. Hello Toney. I got one of them with me right now,” Sienna said with a triumphant chuckle. She hoped the sense of victory in her voice oozed right into Tone's wounded, defeated pride. Dash was already perked up before she held the phone up to him. “Say hi to the daddy that forgot about you.”

“Dad?! Dad whatever you gotta do, just do it and get me and Dawn outta here!” As his volume raised, so did the irritation in his throat before he was cut off by another loud cough. “I haven't heard from Dawn in weeks. We've been here long enough, we gotta get her out! Just do it!” He couldn't hear his dad respond before Sienna put the phone back to her ear, thanks to the racking coughing fit that doubled him over. He didn't even know if there was a response to listen to.

“See? He's alive,” Sienna sang into the phone. “No thanks to you. It's been damn near a month now and you've done nothing to try and get your kids back? Not even a whisper from you, just your cronies. It's almost like you want your kids to die. Don't blame you, your son is annoying as hell.”

“I see,” Tone said. If any of Sienna's attempts to get under his skin worked, he didn't show it. He was still in negotiation mode. It was the complete opposite of Dash's silent panic. “And what, may I ask, are you planning on doing with him and my daughter?”

“Oh Toney. I don't want anything but to see your nice little family reunited. But others in the White Fang? Well, they have a looooot of plans involving your children. So what happens is entirely dependent on what you do next.”

“So what do you want from me?” Tone asked. Sienna found his unwavering stony demeanor disappointing. She really wanted to hear one of Remnant's most powerful oppressors pleading at her feet for mercy, not acting like he was trying to get her to cut to the chase. But, that didn't stop her from letting out a hellish cackle.

“What I want? Your obituary,” she said. Again, no vocal response. She wished she could see the face on the other end of the call. “But we'll settle for some reparations. To pay us back for the trouble we went through getting little Dawn and Spicy, you will transfer five million lien to a specified bank account. Once the payment is received, we'll provide you their location and you can head back to your cute little estate or take a vacation to some private island to destress, whatever rich people do, I dunno. So, we got a deal?” 

There was a pause. A long pause. The seconds ticked by long past uncomfortable lengths. Sienna tapped her foot impatiently before silently scowling. “C'mon, clock's ticking Ospreay. Otherwise that begging you heard will be the last words you'll ever hear from your son. I know you got enough brain cells in that dying skull of yours to know how blackmail works, so why don't you-”

“You're a fucking idiot.” Sienna's eyes flared with shocked anger as she slowly stared at the phone, only to be met with the call runtime. Her eyes then shot at Dash as if looking for an explanation. But he merely shrugged, alarmed and lost. “It's obvious I've worked in this world longer than you have. You're out of your depths. I have been working to make sure you are fucking sorry for ever stepping foot in my home, you stupid, pathetic mutt!”

“Ooooooh mutt, that's a new one. I don't know, I enjoyed stomping my muddy feet all over your clean floor. Might have to do it again some time,” Sienna replied, stubbornly refusing to let him shake her confidence. Her disobedience knew no bounds. “And for being so full of shit, now your kids cost ten million.” Dash's eyes widened at Sienna's gall, silently mouthing his worry even though it fell on “deaf” ears. There was another pause.

“Bold. I would almost commend you. Almost. You see, I have a reputation to uphold. My business is a stalwart amongst Atlas. If I didn't hold myself to being a beacon of strength and consistency, then who knows what else in Atlas could fall? So with talk of this renegade ‘bounty hunter’ coming onto my property and making off with my kids without consequence, that would most certainly be a sign of weakness.” Another pause, though this one shorter and much more tolerable, until uttering just two more icy words.

“Sienna Umberon.”

Sienna's ears instantly pinned back. For once, her body went cold. Even her blood was frozen with fear in her veins. She glared at the phone as if he could see her through it. Then she spun around looking at every corner of the room. Was something bugged? But, not even the piercings or mismatching eyes would give her away to him. “How the fuck does he know that?!”

“It's that reputation I wanna destroy. Remember, do anything too brash and I'll start sending you back your kids IKEA style.” Sienna refused to acknowledge he nailed her identity. However, the threat that had Dash keeping a grateful eye on all ten of his fingers in his cell only produced a light chuckle from his father.

“I see you haven't grasped the gravity of the situation. You think I'm still bluffing.” The phone dinged in her ear loud enough where she had to tilt her head away from it. The notification was a text message. It was a picture from the night of the Ospreay raid taken from under a table by a frightened partygoer of Sienna sauntering right to Tone's face. “I know who you are. I know your marks.” Two more messages came in quick succession, kicking the first photo she was still studying up the screen. The first one was a screenshot from the Vytal Festival TV feed of Team JASR lined up for their first round match. One of Sienna’s hands was on Amber’s shoulder to ease her anxiety from the massive crowd while the other was claws out, ready to fight. The second came from a social media account that set off sirens in her head - DownTheFoxxhole. It was Alex’s account, and the picture was a selfie her brother took of them. “And I know who you hold close.”

Sienna grit her teeth and made sure to turn her head away so Tone couldn’t hear her seething. Her tail flicked sparks in every direction. The next sound the phone made caused Sienna to cock back like she was going to spike it, but instead of more “evidence” it was just an excessive heat warning. She grabbed a bottle to unload her semblance in order to spare the phone. All this time he was simply building a case. This wasn’t life or death to Tone. Nothing could be to a man who thought he was the definition of untouchable. This was just another trial in a litany of defense cases against himself, except this time he didn’t need the skeezy but insanely skilled lawyer the Schnees gifted him upon forming their alliance.

“So you will return my children,” he went on, “or I will make sure these photos end up on every scroll in Remnant. It would merely take a couple of phone calls. I’m sure every news station would want to have the inside scoop on the identity of this kidnapper that has captivated their headlines.”

“I know you’re not bluffing. I’m not fucking stupid! Congrats, you and your little bootlickers can use the internet.” Sienna could no longer play cool and stifle her resentment. The stress relief bottle was getting softer, melting and sagging where it touched her palm.

“I’m sure you have enough dying brain cells to understand how blackmail works. So, do we have an understanding, Miss Umberon?” Tone said. His self-satisfaction came effortlessly, and it was enough to stop Sienna’s heart due to the fury it was causing. She didn’t come this far to back down now.

“Shut down everything you run, make a public announcement acknowledging the number of faunus you’ve killed and endangered for the sake of money, and never go into business again. Then we’ll have an understanding.”

“Fuck…” Sienna said, barely anything more than an emotion riddled sigh. She pressed her clenched fists to her forehead until no amount of aspirin would make this headache go away easily. She closed her eyes. She wanted to cry. She wanted to punch something. She wanted to burn the whole world down and start something new in its ashes. Something alone. But instead, all she could do is scream. “FUCK! I’M GONNA KILL HIM. I'M GONNA SO KILL HIM!”

“Hm,” Tone hummed, unmoved. “Speak with your higher ups. I have a feeling I will be hearing from you very soon. And remember, if you cross my deal, I will make sure to personally bash that blonde little faggot’s head in and mount his tail on my wall.” It was a good thing the “negotiation” was over because that was the last thing that phone would ever do. Smoke and sparks poured out of it before Sienna finally sent it hurtling into the concrete. Whatever parts weren’t liquified bounced and shattered into pieces.

“What the hell happened?? Is he paying the ransom or what?” Dash finally worked up the courage to make his presence known again. Sienna paid him zero attention. She was too busy going back to pacing the floor again, now at double time thanks to the frenzy she had worked herself into. She was kicking aside pieces of broken phone as she did so. “Sienna, what happened?” Dash called again louder to get through her mumbling of wanting to kill him over and over again.

“No! Your daddy is too worried about his precious bottom line! Is that what you wanna hear? I was fucking right and you didn’t wanna listen! That’s the reason you’ve been left here to rot for weeks!”

“Quit with the bullshit already and just tell me what happened!” Dash said. To his heartbreak, there was no snarky comment, no shit eating grin, no teasing at his expense. Only a deadpan stare as she pushed her hair aside with a glowing red arm, the same as Dash's. His sternness trailed off. “You're… you're not joking.” His heart sank. His eyes widened before glazing over into a blank stare. He knew Sienna's asking price was steep, but still easily affordable for Ospreay Industries. So to be stuck in this hell with seemingly no end, and left to wonder what his sister has been going through. Did the money really matter that much? Was his dad's pride really that important to him? “What did he actually say?”

“That he's gonna make me regret breaking into your house, crap like that. Nothing about ‘saving’ you and Dawn. He's just focusing on blackmailing me.”

“And how’s he planning on doing that?” Dash inquired. No reply from the bent over fox faunus as she searched for her next dose of firewater for her nerves. “C’mon Sienna you gotta suck it up and use your words!”

“It’s for me to know and for you to find out at the side of your dad’s deathbed! Sorry I’m just full of disappointments for you today, Strawberry Shortcake,” she said without turning around. Then she mumbled on to no one besides herself in particular. “Typical medic bullshit, telling me to slow up, she better not have hid it.”

“Lemme guess,” Dash said after a moment of contemplation. “Your teammates. Or your brother. Knowing my dad, probably both. He likes to be thorough.” The loud crashing and tossing of the cabinet’s contents that weren’t Sienna’s sole objective came to a sudden stop.

“Lucky guess,” she grumbled.

“It’s not much of a guess. You only like four people, Sienna.” She finally spun around, causing Dash to recoil, until she saw the smile on her face at finding the bottle she had been yearning for. 

“That’s not true! … It’s five people. Leo’s a cool brother-in-law,” she said, ears lowering a little.

“Wait.” Dash’s stare grew far away, a thousand yards past Sienna inelegantly tearing off the top of the bottle. His eyes moved like they were calculating something, dots being connected. “If he goes after your team, then mine won’t be that far behind! Sol will try to defend Amber, and Sapph will help. And anyone that helps them, he’s just gonna go after them too!”

“Yuuuup. Glad to know we’re in this sinking ship together!” she said, raising her glass in a mocking toast.

“Sienna you gotta let me outta here!”

“Like hell I do! You and your sister are my only way out of this mess! I gotta talk with the High Leader. Ugh that fuckin pain in my ass. He’s gonna be pissed at me if we kept you alive this long and get no ransom money out of it. I kept trying to tell him the reward would make everything worth it. Now the reward is just keeping my identity safe. That bastard is gonna try and sell me out.”

“Our reward is keeping our friends safe! We’re the only ones that know what’s going on! We can warn them! I can maybe get my dad to stop, he might listen to me. But that’s only if you let me out to talk to him.” Sienna shook her head during his whole explanation, only stopping to down another swig. “Does your chain of command really mean anything to you if they’re just gonna view you as a ‘necessary sacrifice’?”

“And what about you?!” Sienna said with renewed indignation. “You’re the one keeping all your dad’s business secrets safe. You keep thinking he’s the victim here when he clearly left his own kids here to die! If you had just helped me like I asked and let me have it my way, he woulda been dealt with by now!” 

“For a woman who swears she doesn’t kill, you sure sound ready to murder,” Dash said. Sienna stayed dead silent. Not because she had a lack to say; there were a thousand words ready to spill past her lips. But, she kept them pursed shut. Nothing she had to say would’ve been worth wasting her breath on him. Instead, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to compose herself as much as the internal whirlwind she was facing would allow her. An uphill battle if there ever was one. But, she figured the last thing she needed was to scorch her insurance policy.

“You still don’t get it. You’re still blind to the world around you. Do you even know where you are right now?” Dash paused. He hadn’t a clue where he actually was. The only answer he could come up with was hell, and Sienna was the personal demon assigned to him. After going unconscious in his garage, he woke up in this cell. He couldn’t even guess what continent he was on. Sienna got tired of waiting for an answer. “You’re in an abandoned factory that used to have your name on it. Tore down part of the forest for Ospreay Industries’ latest state of the art crime against humanity. The White Fang converted it into something useful. Guess your loss is our gain.”

“Tsuyukusa?” The town name came to Dash almost instinctively. A small town in the snowy north of Mistral, where Atlas’ influence was stronger than their own home kingdom’s much further away in the south. No one besides the locals or the biggest of geography buffs in Remnant would know this place if it wasn’t for its lone claim to infamy. The reason Dash prayed he never ended up on the path to this town. He prayed he was wrong, up until Sienna nodded her head.

“You automatically knew.”

“I remember the headlines well,” Dash said meekly.

“Oh, you remember them? You remember the people that died here? Or do you only remember what dear old dad wanted you to hear while he was throwing money at his latest PR mess. Shutting this place down and relocating somewhere new for a show of “good faith” to get the journalists off his ass while in reality changing nothing. The new place is run the exact same way. And if the workers couldn't relocate with the factory, well sucked for them.”

The truth was Dash remembered this incident very well. He remembered all the headlines his father let past his filter, and this one was far too big to hide from his son forever. His dad would always explain how the headlines were always blown out of proportion. The papers were just looking for some explosiveness to generate more readers and get them riled up. He was told those same things for so long that he believed them, and he would spout them over and over at Beacon. All the smear campaigns, the threats from the White Fang, his family were the victims here. Dash could've and should've felt more victimized than ever with the beatings he had been taking while held captive. But, he didn't feel like his family were the ones suffering. Not equally at least.

“I heard it all. I even heard a few of the workers left behind from the move jumped from this very roof. That's… not true, is it?”

“Wanna see the memorial built for them?” Sienna asked, back turned and arms across her chest. Dash closed his eyes. He had always clung to that plausible deniability. If he didn’t see it personally, maybe it didn’t happen. But now, he was face to face with the truth he spent his whole life avoiding. He was living in it. It was all around him. Only a small clinking noise got him to peek in between his fingers without removing his hand from his face. A freshly poured glass of whiskey sat in between the middle bars of his cell.

“Figured you might need that right now,” Sienna said, still facing away. She was about to take her leave before Dash stopped her once more.

“Sienna. You gotta at least do me one favor.”

“I don't have to do anything.”

“Tell Dawn what happened here. Tell her the truth. She deserves to know.” Sienna sat motionless before her shoulders raised and fell with a deep sigh.

“Fine. And by the way, I wasn't kidding Dash. If it means saving my friends and my brother, I will make your father's skull my personal cup.”

{some time later}

Why was this so hard? It was just a White Fang captain having to tell the bounty she scored that her dad left her here to die. Not like it was anything she couldn’t have figured that out by now. And not like Sienna was supposed to care. No one else wearing her mask would. But, it still ate away at her as she rehearsed what she was going to say in her head at least half a dozen times, just to shake her head and start over each time. The damned walk there wasn’t helping matters. It was already long enough to make Sienna wish to sink her butt into a bean bag chair every time she took it; the dread was only making it feel longer.

It seemed like no one hardly noted Sienna’s arrival into the room upon first glance. Dusty was leaned back in his chair, his mask doing the job of trying to obscure that he dozed off for a nap. The typing from the fennec fox faunus sat across from him was too soft to stir him. Their double monitor setup illuminated pale skin, a sandy reddish pixie cut, and a pair of fox ears that were the only thing getting them to clock over 5 feet tall. Even if their head was plain to see and not buried in work, they would fuzz even the most attuned gender radars. Dawn was actually the first to spot Sienna, though she did so silently. She stopped scribbling in her sketchbook, which was at least a couple dozen pages more filled than the last time Sienna noticed it.

“Finally relieving us from our post, Captain?” T asked without pulling their eyes away from the screens.

“Not yet. Just came to check on the girl,” Sienna replied before looking around. “Where’s Karma?”

“She got tired of doing action poses for the kid’s drawings, so she subbed me in. Kept telling me I’d make a good muse,” Dusty spoke up, revealing he’s awake.

“Yeah, if the brave hero needs to defeat someone sleeping on the job, then consider me inspired.” Sienna rolled her eyes. Her comment did little to rouse the Tango Squadron leader apart from sitting his chair back on all four of its legs. She wanted to expect more from both of them while on watch duty, but she knew she wasn’t going to get it. So, she ignored them and turned to Dawn, trying to play off the fact her heart was beating out of her chest. “Still not gonna talk to me?” Dawn shook her head. Sienna was just hunting for anything she could use to stall for time, even though she knew she should just rip the bandage off. Why now of all times was her trademark bluntness failing her? Eventually, her eyes fell to Dawn’s book, which the young socialite had lowered from her guard without realizing. On it was a drawing of her brother, the #1 on the back of his jersey proudly - or a lot of times, arrogantly - bolstered on his back. But instead of fighting some goon in a White Fang mask vaguely in the shape of her or Dusty or Karma, it was a man armed with a sword and shield that Dash stood over in victory.

“Wow, you’re getting better each time I see you. You really nailed your brother. Who’s the other guy though, an original character or something?” In a jolt, Dawn immediately pulled it back to her chest. Sienna sighed and dismissed her own question. Conversation was going to get her nowhere even if the small talk did work. “So… I heard from your dad just now.”

“Y-you did?? So he’s finally coming to get me and Dash?” Dawn said, finally perked up enough to speak. Sienna swallowed hard.

“Um. Yeah. Soon,” she awkwardly sputtered out. She wasn’t technically lying. She knew in her head one way or another, this was going to end soon. Neither the White Fang hierarchy nor her father were patient enough to wait on this for much longer. But, she couldn’t face Dawn with anything more than a mere half-truth. Not even Sienna’s claws could match the sharpness of the truth. However, there was no bright surge of optimism evident on Dawn’s face. Instead, her face mirrored her falling heart.

“Soon…? Th-that’s it? All he gave you is soon?” she said. She hung her head, hiding her face underneath her bright red locks. “I… I shouldn’t be surprised. Why would I be a priority? I haven’t been one since Dash left for Beacon. And dad hasn’t pulled himself away from his work since then.” At first, her words weren’t burdened with the weight of untamed emotion. She sounded unsurprised, more resigned to her fate than anything, which honestly hurt Sienna worse. But as she kept talking, the cracks became more visible. Her words trembled as tears began falling and staining the artwork in her lap. “I-I’m no heir. But Dash.. why would he leave us? Why would he abandon us to be left with terrorists??” Hearing this from her gutted Sienna, and it even brought Dusty to remove his mask and look over with concern.

“Is that really all they told you is soon?” T asked with a disgusted groan. “I knew this plan was a mistake, expecting the capitalist machine to pay up their precious money. We shoulda just offed the two of them.” Dawn finally looked up, her teary eyes now filled with a feeling none of her captors and even none of her family had seen from her before: defiance. She hummed a crayon over Sienna’s shoulder, drilling T in one of their fox ears. “You brat!” they growled after a flinch before rising from their chair. But the moment T took a step toward the cell, Sienna stood up with her hand aflame. Dawn reeled back and closed her eyes, but her fear of punishment was abated slightly when she saw Sienna was glaring daggers at her comrade.

“You lay a fucking finger on her and not even the High Leader is gonna stop me from turning your ass into fucking barbecue, got it?! She’s my responsibility! And I’m gonna handle it.” Dusty stood between the two of them, lightly pushing T away as their cue to leave. He knew even all 7 foot plus of him wouldn’t stand a chance of stopping the fiery fox. No one outside of the deep circles of hell did. Neither of them needed to, however, as she stormed out the room, leaving no one more astonished than Dawn at her surprise savior.

[strqyr]

it's blake's turn for a messy sketch (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

[diaryofamadsunwukongfan]

Case file #101: Adam Taurus

Race: Faunus

Nationality: Atlas

Ethnicity: Mantlecean

Weapon: Wilt & Blush (note: resembles a SDC weapon prototype that was stolen about 5 years ago. The blade stores kinetic energy that is then released in the form of harsh destruction rays.)

Gender: Man

Sexuality: Gynephiliac (This information was obtained from a double agent in Menagiere)

Current Age: 21

Aura Color: Red

Handedness: Right

Complexion: Pale

Eye Color: Pale blue

Faunus trait: Bull horns (Adam has both the strength and Endurance of a Bull, according to reports.)

Occupation: White Fang Vale branch leader

Previous Occuppation: White Fang Black ops commander (Classified)

13 years ago, Adam Taurus (note: last name constructed) became the subject of a world known, yet private court case against the SDC where a brand over his left eye was used as evidence of several claims of Faunus workplace abuse. The accusers in the court case were the two leaders of the White Fang, Ghira Bête & Sienna Khan. The White Fang won the court case and an anti neo-slavery bill was passed throughout Atlas-Mantle as a result. Adam, who had recently lost his mother at the time and was a still a minor, was adopted by Sienna Khan who took him to Menagiere.

... unfortunately, 5 years ago Ghira and his wife Kali Bête were assasinated at a Faunus rally somewhere in rural Sanus. They survive by their only daughter, Blake Bête. Since then, the White Fang has cultivated a [CLASSIFIED] organization under the leadership of Sienna Khan. The leaders of the White Fang under Sienna include Adam (Vale branch leader) and Fennec & Corsac Albain (Religous leaders). Attempts by the White Fang to establish an Atlas branch have been stopped by the council (note: countinue to stop them. watch all WF gatherings in Atlas).

WARNING: ONLY MEMBERS WITH LV.5 CLARENCE ARE ALLOWED TO READ BELOW

The White Fang has a Black Ops organization being used to carry out robberies and assasinations in all of Renment. The leader of the Black Ops is Adam Taurus, with Illia Amitola (note: needs a case file) and Blake Bête (has carried out 8 known assasinations on Faunus hate groups, currently missing, needs a case file) as sub commanders. All three serve as de-facto leaders of the White Fang in the event Sienna Khan is killed (note: Do NOT assasinate Sienna Khan, it will lead to race riots. Limit anti White Fang activity to covert operations).

Adam is wanted for the murders of 64 individuals in Atlas, all of whom are connected to the SDC (note: at least 20 were family members). If spotted, do NOT kill him, he is to be captured alive under all circumstances. Allow him to flee if he cannot be captured.

[The writing below is a transcript from a page recovered from a mansion attacked by the White Fang. It is believed to come from Adam Taurus, written by him and then stabbed to the wall.]

"...your father is a white demon. He told me he loved me and would take me to Atlas, but after I gave him what he wanted he left me down here in his mines. Adam, I need you to find your father. And when you do, I want you to kill him. And his wife. And their children. Kill every human on this earth so I can forgive giving birth to a half-"

"I WILL DO IT MOM"

[End of paper dialouge]

[constantvariations]

I have to wonder if the White Fang throne room was so big and empty because the original idea was to have a proper fight between Adam and Sienna but it got cut for budgeting/time reasons

[uncaught-coolfish]

thank fuck I didn’t end up in the “willingly accepts the copaganda of rwby because the fake catgirl told me to do it” club because each and every time some new person tries to stand up and preach to the world “the writers writing an organization of in universe minorities, led by a fridged desi woman, with members including an indigenous girl, two middle eastern-coded twins, and a jewish named ex slave with the initials of a german named company branded into his eye, thats ackshully ☝️🤓 just an evil bunch of reverse-racist TERRORIST ABUSERS who are ON THE LEVEL OF if not WORSE the racists OPPRESSING AND ENSLAVING THEM…… is actually good and subversive writing” I want to throw a cinder block at something I am so serious

[thisdonutguy]

💔 wf goon​ 3 x adam taurus is my otp now

[unofficialadamtaurus]

Au where Blake confronts Adam in volume 4/5 on Menagerie and Sienna during the finale of volume 5 (with an actual fight not smacking her on the back like in the canon)

That is certainly an AU

[sageywritings]

Firesale

90% off all office supplies at your nearest White Fang hideout! Everything must go! Act now while supplies last!

The latest chapter of my RWBY OC fic Flames of Change. Make sure to see the pinned post for the chapter list in order.

Dash Ospreay belongs to me.

Sienna Umberon belongs to @gruntnuker-rwby and @wetsliceofbread

Although he had lost track, Dash was fairly certain it had been a few days since he had last seen Sienna. Or at least it was a few sleep cycles since then. But, between the days and nights blending together from inside his hellish prison cell, and his body demanding rest from a combination of pain, exhaustion, and boredom, there was no guarantee he was right. When she eventually did return, she looked more irritable than usual. Which was saying something. Dash watched as the other White Fang troops did their best to stay clear out of her way. The ones that were forced to interact with her received their orders with complete compliance, no questions and words kept to a minimum besides a succinct "Yes ma'am." Every time her gaze found Dash out of the corner of her eye, her scowl intensified. Dash had no clue why. He knew Sienna well enough to know something was bothering her, but trying to pinpoint what would've been sheer guess-work.

"I'll be in my office. If you bother me, it better be real important," Sienna told the soldiers before retreating behind her office door. It was down the hallway but in plain view from where the caged heir sat. Another unknown amount of time passed. Time might as well have had no meaning to Dash at this point. It was long enough for him to wonder if having Sienna around was better or worse for him compared to the revolving door of faceless Fang cronies. Despite the time, he couldn't come up with an answer before a loud thud from the other side of the door derailed his train of thought. Staggered, stumbling stomps grew louder and closer until the door swung open. Sienna wobbled in place in the doorway with a goofy grin until the door bounced back from its hinges and thwacked her in the shoulder.

"Owww motherfucker!" she cursed at the door before giving it a big two-handed push. The door came back at her again so she inelegantly dodged, nearly tripping over her own two feet in the process. "Fuckin' feet always failing me," she mumbled to herself. Somehow managing to stay upright, she entered Dash's room and her grin curled into something more mischievous. He noticed after light investigation the half finished bottle of whiskey in her hand.

"Helloooooo," she cooed at Dash with a playfully evil undertone before, to Dash's surprise, unlocking the cell door. However, the shock was short-lived once he laid eyes on the chain leash and collar wrapped around her other hand. "I'll be taking the toy into my office. I'll make sure he's fed," she called out to any Fang member within earshot. Dash tried to tilt his head and move away to make it difficult. But, one harsh grab by the chin from Sienna was correction enough so she could snap the collar on with ease.

"But Sienna, ma'am," a particularly nervous looking new recruit spoke up, instantly drawing Sienna's death stare. "Er, Commander, uh.." Sienna's eyes burned two holes through him. "H-High Leader Taurus said the prisoner is to remain in his cell at all times."

"High Leader Taurus can suck my fat cock!" Sienna exclaimed, leaving the rookie perplexed on multiple levels. "The prisoner knows to not even dare try to escape on me. Isn't that right, Spicy?" Dash sighed instead of rolling his eyes at the name. It was one of many used to irk him at Beacon. A quick yank on the leash curtailed him though and brought him closer to Sienna's side.

"Watch the lungs, red. I heard that," she said. A brief moment of PTSD powerlessness gripped Dash and caused him to break into a cold sweat. Sienna then began leading the way, with Dash lagging behind, outside his normal confinement and into a new one. Thankfully the walk was short. In Dash's mind, the less people that saw him like this the better. Even though Sienna was already too much. "Ya know if you ever make it out of here, you're gonna have a serious pet play kink thanks to me." Her loud, uncontrollable laughter was like nails on a chalkboard to Dash. As he trudged along behind her, Sienna kept flicking the end of her tail so it brushed against Dash's face enough to tickle him. Well that's one to be told to pick up the pace. With his hands cuffed and unable to turn his head, the only way he could avoid the relentless tail tickling was to speed up. Sienna snickered again, this time punctuated by a snort. 

Once inside her office, Dash took a survey around as Sienna locked the door behind them. A beautifully crafted dark oak desk sat as the master centerpiece to the room. On one side of the desk sat a messy stack of almost late paperwork with her mask on top of it as a paperweight. Her claws were hung up on a display stand behind her chair. As Dash wondered how Sienna swindled a stylish place like this, Sienna forced him down into a sitting position where he stood. She hooked his bindings to a pipe running along the wall, leaving him very little wiggle room. But, it was still a nice step up from the blanketed shelf he had been sleeping on.

"I don't think you'll need that. It's more for in case someone knocks," she told him while knelt down. Once he was secured, Sienna got up and sauntered toward a counter on the left to begin preparing the inmate his dinner. She had been the one who set his eating schedule during his time here, but it was the first time he watched her actually make it. Or rather he watched what wasn't obscured by her body or the insane amount of fluff on her tail. After a couple moments of eyeing her as she casually went about her business while fighting her drunkenness, she sat down a hot meal in front of Dash - in a doggy bowl. Dash glared at his warden.

"Gotta be able to eat without hands somehow. Now quit giving me that look and be a good puppy." Her words dripped with an infuriating amount of mocking impishness. Dash didn't want to give her the satisfaction of being even more of her obedient dog. He left his food untouched. It was a strategy he had already tried to employ against his captors. It hadn't proven very effective though, and every time he would eventually crack and give his body the scraps it had been begging for. "Suit yourself. Only hurting you."

Sienna turned back toward her desk, whipping her tail into Dash's face one more time in the process. Jumping into her comfortable office chair, she kicked her feet up onto the desk before leaning too far back and nearly falling backwards. She did recover, albeit clumsily. Dash sat in disbelief that this one of the White Fang's fiercest and most capable, the one who stormed into Atlas and got out with him. "So," she went on, "I heard your daddy's little speech." Dash grumbled as his eyes fell away from her and toward a wall. "In the damn near month - fuck has it been that long already? - guess how many times your dad has contacted us personally. Or how many times he's tried to break you out by force."

"You already know the answer," he finally mumbled after a minute of Sienna patiently waiting. He really didn't want to say it. He had already heard it once.

"Yeahhhhh. But I wanna hear you say it," she said. Still, no reply. "Come onnnn, I'll give you a drink if you answer." Sienna waggled the whiskey bottle she had just taken another swig out of. Only silence followed. But, Sienna's stubbornness was only amplified without her sobriety. Dash was learning quickly that there was nothing more frustrating than a happy in-your-face kind of drunk to deal with when you can't leave. "I know you know the answer. You're gonna hate it."

"I get it! It's zero, alright?!" Dash snapped.

"Ayyyyy," Sienna said. "Strawberry shortcake want a drink?" Again with the names. If he didn't like them at Beacon, he fully detested them now. Somehow, the grin that always accompanied them was even more annoying now than it was then. Shrugging him off, Sienna started to rummage through the obscene amount of drawers in her desk. "So much shit in here," she muttered to herself.

"Where is Dawn?" Dash asked.

"She's fine. A different crew is looking after her. I've been keeping in touch with them. They're ones you can trust," she said before her head popped over the desk again with an unopened bag of pens. As she tore into it with her teeth, she met Dash cocking an unsure and faithless eyebrow. Sienna rolled her eyes. "She's got coloring books to keep her busy, and her own personal grunt to make sure she always has crayons. She's broken a few throwing them back at him, just for him to give her more ammo. Poor bastard doesn't know what to do." Dash smiled slightly. It was the first warmth he felt inside in a long time knowing that Dawn was being so strong. He knew she was tough. The smile faded, however, when the first pen was thrown in his direction, even though it sailed over his head.

"Damn!" Sienna remarked. "So when are you gonna learn your daddy doesn't care about you?"

"That's not true," Dash said lowly. Sienna lobbed another pen, this time nailing Dash right on the forehead. He flinched at first, but couldn't turn his head away, before growling and kicking towards Sienna. But he was a mile away, and he only kicked the air before the chains tugged him back to his spot.

"Bullseye!" Sienna laughed. "But it's true. He's too worried about his precious profits to pay the ransom and get his own kids back. He’s either too dumb to realize you’re being held hostage by a group who have wanted you dead for years, or he just doesn’t care."

“If he gives in to the White Fang’s demands, no matter what they are, money or whatever, then they win. Not to mention it can’t be easy coming to the table to negotiate with a side that only wants you killed.”

“Man, he’s got you brainwashed real good,” Sienna said while shaking her head. Her mismatched eyes looked down at Dash, simultaneously stunned and expectantly disappointed that this was his line of thinking even in the situation he’s stuck in. It still didn’t stop the next pen from raining down and getting him right in the nose. “But hey, that last part’s fair. I think everybody wearing these masks want nothing more than his death certificate. Myself included.”

“Yeah, I bet you wanna be the one to personally do it,” Dash grimaced as the next pen tomahawked at him clipped him in the ear. “And are the pens really fucking necessary?? Quit it!” This time at least he kept the thrashing to a minimum so the collar didn’t painfully remind him of his place.

“Still got that hot head. Don’t think anyone will ever beat that out of you,” Sienna said. Dash eyes glanced upward in thought for a moment before he nodded in concession. “And yeah, I’d say the pens are necessary. Let’s see. The first one was for when we first met and you called me a ‘punkass faunus wastelander’. The next one was for the time you tried to pin the argument on ‘faunus like me’ when thirteen people died in an accident at one of your factories. And the one I'm about to throw is for the time you tried to pick a fight with Riley just cause she stood up for me! Actually-". With each accusation, Dash shrunk and shriveled more and more in his place before the sounds of more drawers opening and closing brought his attention forward again. Coming back up, Sienna was reloaded, this time with a box of paper clips. With one heated up in the palm of her hand via her semblance, she chucked it at him. He made no effort to try and dodge, letting it burn where it hit him.

"And to answer your other thing. I want him dead, yeah, but I don't wanna be the one to do it. I don't kill if I can help it," she continued.

"How noble of you. Want a medal? Want me to rub your feet?" Dash scoffed.

"Ohoho," Sienna chuckled, "you even think about touching my feet and I'll make an exception and ship you back to your dad in more pieces than IKEA furniture." Stopping mid-breath, Dash was briefly paralyzed. He wasn't sure if it was a bluff to call her out on. But it sounded like the most real threat she's delivered yet. Guess she wasn't the type to get foot rubs from Riley. Sienna laughed loudly and took one of the last swigs the bottle had left. Slowly, Dash exhaled and let his arms drop. Once the laughter ceased, Sienna caught her breath. "You should be thanking me, ya know."

"Thanking you? For what?? The privilege of being an insane fox's plaything? Or that you don't have anything bigger to throw!" Dash said incredulously almost like his tone was instinct. Another searing office supply smacked him in the forehead, only further proving his points.

"Ooooo maybe I could find some ball bearings, that's an idea for next time. But I'm serious. You should be grateful. I'm the only reason you're alive."

"Uh-huhhhh. You're totally my savior and not the reason I'm in this hell to begin with, right?"

"Think about it, Spicy. You think that hit at the party only happened cause of me? You’ve been on the hit list for a long time, and that party gave them the golden opportunity. They were gonna crash that mansion and come after you anyways. And all the people guarding you while I was gone, you think they have the patience to deal with some trust fund kids? If they had their way, they woulda offed you and Dawn and sent back your corpses in exchange for the ransom money.” A cold snap rocketed up Dash’s spine. It was partially for his safety, but mainly due to the image of his little sister meeting her end like this. It was an image he couldn’t erase. “So I told them I knew you, knew you too damn well, and they offered me the job in a heartbeat. I took it, cause yeah, I wanted to get back at you for all your cocky prick bullshit and for all the times you defended your dad. But also cause… I didn’t wanna see you dead. Same goes for your sister.” Dash squinted at the fox faunus like he was trying to peer through some mirage. “So yeah, think about that next time you wanna call me trash or whatever. I’ll be expecting some more obedience from my pet.”

“So what’s the endgame?” Dash questioned, dismissing Sienna’s cackling and cutting to the point, all the while suppressing a groan.

“It was supposed to be have your sperm donor fork over the ransom and get you two back home safe, but he hasn’t gone for it yet. So now I don’t know.” There was a momentary pause, Dash studying Sienna as she offhandedly fidgeted with a clip.

“And what about you?” he spoke up, causing her fox ears to flick slightly in confusion. “How do you see this ending for yourself?”

“Probably when everybody we went to school with come to put me six feet under,” she said. Her response was quick and seemed to carry no care on the surface, but Dash noticed her entire demeanor shift. Her ears lowered. She sat more leaned forward in her chair. She dropped her makeshift fidget spinner. She instantly sobered up.

"What does that mean?" Dash asked.

"It doesn't matter how it ends for me," she replied, not really answering Dash about where their friends from school came from or how they fit into this.

"Sienna what do they have-"

"Oh for fuck's sake you still just talk way too much! After all this you still can't keep your mouth shut! I said it doesn't matter so drop it!" Sienna swiped her bottle just for her growl to magnify when she realized only the last drops of her bourbon were left. Tossing it aside on her desk, her right hand wrapped around her left forearm, leaving a glowing red mark. Dash took note of her manner. It mirrored the mood she was in when she first arrived today. There had to have been something more to it under the aggressive exterior. Was it stress? Worry? Fear? Sienna wouldn't reveal that even to her most trusted friends, much less him. Whatever it was, it didn't stop the next scalding paper clip from coming at him with renewed vigor, although her aim was wayward. Dash released a heavy sigh. Something in his mind was clearly weighing him down, something he had no idea how to begin to articulate it. What were the words to say here?

"I'm sorry, Sienna." Sienna's ears shot straight up and she stopped mid-windup of her next throw.

"What?" Sienna had no idea that those words were even in the Ospreays' vocabularies. Was that the first time Dash had admitted guilt about anything? It was like a baby saying his first words. It was awkward and lacked confidence. But, she couldn't dwell on it too long. The clip in her hand started to melt and burn her fingers, prompting her to fling it against the wall. "Fuck!"

“What’s the look for?” Now it was Dash’s turn to be befuddled.

“The fuck? Where’d that come from?” Sienna furrowed her brows, convinced he was joking. She almost wanted to lob another pen at him for the audacity of lying to her face like that. Or to make sure he was real and not some alcohol-fueled hallucination.

“For all the shit at Beacon. I’m sorry,” he repeated. He sounded genuinely sincere, but that made it all the more baffling and unbelievable to Sienna. “Believe me or not, I don’t care. You’re not getting it out of me again.” Now that was the Dash she was more than accustomed to. That braggadocio that gave him a very punchable existence. She folded her arms and intently glared at the trapped heir. After an excruciatingly long moment, Sienna unsteadily rose from her chair. Still struggling with coordination, she made her way to the counter without faceplanting into the floor and withdrew a fork from one of the cabinets. Dash’s electric eyes widened in panic.

“Whoa whoa hey hey now what are you planning on doing with that?? Let’s not be rash here, we can be more civilized about this,” Dash said with a nervously petrified fake chuckle. Sienna didn’t answer and kept approaching. He tugged hard on his restraints as the instinct to put his hands up and block his face kicked in. He fruitlessly tried to scoot away before closing his eyes and awaiting the pain of a fiery utensil meeting his skin. However, he kept waiting. And waiting. Until his arms were suddenly able to fall to his sides in their natural position. Unsure how or why he wasn’t bleeding, on fire, or both yet, Dash opened one eye to see his bowl of food placed in front of him now complete with a fork to eat it with. Then, his gaze raised upward to Sienna towering over him, twirling the key to his binds.

“Eat.” The command was stern, frighteningly so. It was still coming from the woman who held the fate of his life in her hands, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Dash rubbed his wrists, hesitating to break eye contact until his grumbling stomach won out. The food was still warm. It was nothing fancy, but every bite he took felt like heaven. The subsequent bites after the first one came quicker after the previous as his body cried in gratitude. After a moment, Sienna dropped down to one knee in front of him. “You know. You can help us.”

"You expect me to help the White Fang?" Dash said with a mouth full of food before swallowing. "The info I've given up already isn't enough."

"You can do more. Give us more, do what we ask, and do it all without having me to beat you into submission, and it might just be your ticket out of here. And our ticket to end all the pain your family"s caused."

"And condemn my father to death?"

"He's doing the same to you right now."

"I can't do that to my own flesh and blood, Sienna. How do you expect me to sleep well at night doing that?"

"Uuuuuugh," she groaned. "Definitely getting something bigger to throw at you next time." Before Dash could escalate the argument any further, something he had a talent for doing, a knock on the door cut them both short. Dash froze before his next bite, petrified if someone heard them or saw him somehow. But, Sienna just groaned louder. "Now whaaaaat?" Rising once more, she went to the door and opened it up just enough for her to stand in the doorway. She blocked any vision of Dash from the outside, and vice versa. But, Dash could still hear a Fang official's voice.

"Commander Umberon."

"Yup, that's me."

"We have received intel that significant progress is being made in repairing Vale's CCT tower. The crew working on it is supposedly close to a major breakthrough in restoring communications." Dash perked up at the mention of at the current state of his old home, but luckily it went unseen. “We need those comms to remain offline so we can continue to operate with less secrecy as we have been. We are sending Tango Squadron to make sure our great strides will not be halted, but they could use an extra bit of firepower. And since you are so familiar with Beacon Academy, the High Leader suggested you.”

“Tango Squadron, huh?” Sienna said before pausing to think. Not like she was pondering not doing it, it was just taking a moment for her buzzed mind to catch up with the rest of her. “Yeah, I’m in.” As she was being relayed all of the important mission details, most notably that this was happening tomorrow night, she nodded rakishly through it all. “Yeah, yeah, got it. And hey tell one of the grunts sitting on their asses to get me some more booze, would ya?” Dash couldn’t see the response, only the door shutting and Sienna spinning to face him once more with a smirk.

“Did you hear that? I get to visit our old stomping grounds! This should be fun! Oh and don’t worry,” she said while crouching next to Dash. She caressed then pinched Dash’s cheek with enough power in her semblance to cause a light sting. With his hands now free, he was able to swat at her arm and push it away. “I’ll be back for you much sooner than my last trip. Then we can continue our little conversation.”

[sir-adamus]

the volume 6 character short went out of its way to establish that Adam was already in his late teens or older (he has different outfits but the same base model throughout) even before he was directly working with the White Fang, including in scenes when Ghira was still leading the White Fang (so when Blake was ~12 or younger), and was propelled into a leadership position by Sienna after she became high leader (when Blake definitely was 12), which would again suggest he's old enough to take on that responsibility

so the entire time he knew Blake, there was a significant age gap where he was already an adult, and she was a teen throughout, as she left the WF when she was 16/17 (we're not given a clear indication how much time passed between Amber getting attacked, which coincided with the Black trailer, and when the first semester at Beacon started)

so while the show doesn't explicitly spell it out, it's very clear this was an adult taking advantage of a girl in her early teens - everything about Adam is fucking disgusting

[constantvariations]

Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you're just a complete idiot making up shit and that you don't know what you're talking about because you would rather worship an edgy white dudebro than identify with WOC characters?

Anon, you have one week to read your choice of the following books. I expect a full report on the issues the author is attempting to educate you on, why it's important, who benefits from the general public's lack of knowledge, and the many ways in which people fail to self-reflect on their behaviors when it comes to the well being of other people

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

Freedom Is A Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol by Nell Irvin Painter

Black against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party by Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin Jr.

If you find a book that fits this subject that you would rather read, submit it for approval by Thursday

If you continue to accuse me without any evidence or providing adequate entertainment, consider yourself a failed student. Should this occur, any further messages will be deleted

Prove that you have a better intellect than a baboon throwing shit at the wall. Good luck. I think you'll need it

[uncaught-coolfish]

Something about how, after Sienna calls him a hero for killing the supremacist & basically saving Ghira, we see probably the most interesting bit of emotion we’ve gotten (and will ever get) from Adam ever— his demeanor shifts instantly, from staring at the ground as he’s reprimanded to looking up and… looking quietly shocked. This small moment clearly indicates that, at least to interpretation, Sienna means something to Adam.

And it’s after this scene that we get Sienna and Ghira having a Trapped in the Drive-Thru moment, where as other WF members walk past, all facing the direction they’re walking, we get Ilia looking at something offscreen, likely Adam himself. This is the only possible time they’ll ever even notice each other in the whole show, outside of them fighting together in the same short, which they basically do separately. One who was able to hide her identity to pass by, the other whose very identity bound him to slavery. But both damaged by the same entity, the SDC, in different ways. “In all sorts of ways.” Still hate that fucking line but whatever. And in this shot she’s got that same expression he had moments prior—

quietly shocked.

[bestworstcase]

So, I recently read your post regarding the Adam short, the WF and Remnants broad sweep of treating children more like tiny adults ETC and found a lot of it deeply insightful and interesting!

However, I feel its worth noting that even before killing that guy Adam was already building a splinter cell/personality cult in Ghira's White Fang with Sienna no where in sight. One rooted in making Faunus resemble monsters to create terror.

Also the comics definitely make it clear Adam was specifically targeting and grooming Blake from day one I feel. Kali & Blakes interactions on that front were really good as well.

i haven’t read the comics myself so i don’t have an opinion on how they handle the characters or the specific dynamic between adam and blake.

wrt to adam and the grimm masks, though: while adam was definitely the one who started it, it’s shown to be something that was not a secret (except for ghira and sienna, all the WF characters are masked in the next scene) and it’s also strategically a good idea to hide your face while engaging in direct action. & the reasoning blake recounts to sun in V2 (“humans wanted to make monsters of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters”) is an echo of what oobleck says of the WF in v1 (that bigotry and persecution is what pushes people subjected to it to resort to violence).

the point of the grimm masks isn’t to cause terror but rather to demand attention and make a statement without sacrificing the anonymity that keeps the members of the white fang safe: it’s “if fighting back makes us monsters, then monsters we will be.”

(there are also perhaps deeper underlying cultural narratives about grimm and faunus being tapped into—“among beasts and monsters” and all, the dehumanization of faunus is intertwined with the cultural belief that grimm prey upon humans specifically with faunus being at best caught in the crossfires; so i’d argue the grimm masks are motivated in part by reclaiming that narrative and turning it into a weapon for the faunus)

all of which is especially salient to adam because a human literally branded his face. his choice to cover the scar with a grimm-like mask carries a lot of emotional weight; he is taking what humans did to him and turning it into a symbol of the faunus cause that will make it impossible for humans to look the other way—as humans no doubt looked the other way when he was attacked.

that’s why i think narratively it’s important that adam came up with the grimm masks before the turning point that incited his gradual corruption into someone driven by spite and hatred; ghira accepted the adoption of grimm masks by rank-and-file members because because they served the narrative and the strategic ends his white fang was trying to advance. it’s only after ghira leaves and adam increasingly loses that strategic focus and becomes consumed by spiteful vengeance that the red detailing begins to appear on the masks as a visual symbol for the corruption of his original purpose. bc there’s a difference between saying “if you’re going to treat me like a monster for defending myself, i will proudly continue to defend myself because you are wrong” and “anything i do to you is justified by what i suffered.” and adam’s arc is about the slow corruption of the first thing into the second.

[the-path-to-redemption]

Hot take: I hate it when RWBY rewrite protray WF as this full on evil organization or try to manipulate faunus discrimination/pain for evil person benefit (I have seen people rewrite as Adam being Amon from Legends of Korra; where he isn't actually a faunus but a man to pretend to be a faunus)

Imo using an oppressed group pain whether a real life group or in universe group is always a cheap move to have an evil person for the sake of being evil.

The closet evil person that I can think of in rwby who has no overly sympathetic backstory is Tyrian.

That's not even a hot take, baby, that's just you seeing racism and rightfully calling it out.

Anyone who sees a fucking person permanently disabled by a slave brand and a person who's orphaned by the same enslaving company and goes, "huh, what if the organization they're participating in that strives for racial equality through extreme means because nothing else has worked to even prevent such tragedies was evil?", is a bonefide idiot and a racist as hell.

That's literally propaganda to separate the "good minority" who doesn't fight back from the "bad minority" who were forced into extremism due to systematic oppression. And like, the discrimination against Faunus is still there; it's still being exploited for an evil benefit, and that benefit is The Schnee Dust Company. Not the WF, the mega-corporation that legally own slaves and mutilate them while driving small businesses into bankruptcy. The company that the protagonists still supports well into Volume 4 and beyond with their Dust supply even though their friend Blake outright tells them that the SDC is immoral and exploitative.

And like, there's already antagonists in the show who are evil for evil's sake; Watts, the Branwen grunt bandits, Salem herself. None of them are the in-universe minority group, yet no one in this brain-dead FNDM ever goes, "they're exploiting another person's pain for their evil benefit", on the same level they do to the WF. It's straight up racism, point fucking blank.

Honestly, I would even argued that Tyrian would still be sympathetic even if we don't know his backstory because of the type of Faunus he is and how society might have treated him. Not to mention he's another example of the meta racism of CRWBY alongside Adam, Sienna, Tock, and Ilia. Notice how the "good" Faunus characters are mostly with cutesy animals with nice traits to look at (cat and bunny ears, monkey and dog tail, sheep horns) while the "bad" Faunus are the ones with scary looking traits (bull horns, venom tail, bat wings, camouflage). Hmmmmmm.

[constantvariations]

I find it curious that you're willing to examine the racism plot only insofar as it pertains to your favored character while not giving any grace of thought to the plot's literal face

There are so many problems with Adam Taurus's writing that each point would need its own presentation complete with diagrams and scheduled bathroom breaks, but it all comes back to the fact that two whites dudes thought they could allegory the racism and did absolutely zero things to make it respectful

Because of this, Adam is barely a character and he certainly isn't written like one. Everything he's done since he was truly brought into the plot has been less about what someone would actually do in that situation and more about what would make the audience disregard him blindly. He's a hate sink, plain and simple

Which he shouldn't be. In a topic this heavy and sensitive, there needs to be nuance to everything, especially if you're on the outside. Adam should have been Blake's counter, his violence to her peace. They should have had dialogue, actual proper dialogue about their ideologies: why they believe their method is the best way, how they came to believe so strongly, and, considering their long history, maybe try to get the other back on their side

Instead we have "violence good >:)" and "violence bad :'("

Riveting.

This discussion over protest methods becomes especially damning when you consider who has which views

The Belladonnas live in a spacious mansion on an overcrowded island, complete with servants and round the clock bodyguards. They're a whole and loving family, supportive and forgiving of one another

Ilia lost her parents in a mining accident while hiding her minority status to go to a high class school. Her classmates laughed at the tragedy

Adam has no family to speak of and nothing to hint at his past besides the Schnee Dust Company initials branded over his eye

I don't blame them for choosing violence. I do blame the writers for flattening the entire argument into a neoliberal circle jerk while throwing several of the show's highest potential characters to the wolves. Everyone deserved better than this

The White Fang Arc Is Racist

I'm saying this as someone who really, genuinely adores RWBY as a show: The way the White Fang arc was written is racist.

(Note: I'm not saying the writers are racist, I'm saying that the story they wrote, as it stands, has racist elements. Describing people as racist is usually less helpful than describing actions or choices as racist.)

Remember:

Simply put: They should have either a) introduced Sienna Khan much, much earlier, and made it abundantly clear that Adam was going rogue, or b) not killed her off, or c) both.

The problem with Adam Taurus isn't that he's a villain, an abusive piece of shit, or that he ended up being killed by Blake and Yang. The problem is that he's taken as the be-all and end-all of violent Faunus resistance to human persecution. In the show as we have it, Adam's White Fang is the only example we have of Faunus rights activists who are willing to use violence. The show polarizes between the Good Activists who never use violence and instead try to Set An Example and Earn The Humans' Respect, and the Bad Activists who are siding with Salem, who blow up cities and unleash Grimm into schools and cut off Yang's arm - and against whom violence by Team RWBY is therefore justified. This implies that violence against Faunus rights activists is OK as long as they're Bad Activists, but violence by Faunus rights activists is not, because that would make them Bad Activists.

And this is, I think, why they tried to backpedal by introducing Sienna Khan. She is, in my opinion, a great character. Ghira's speech in V5C3 made clear that while he, as a character, doesn't approve of her violent methods, her goal is that of equality. She's a good person with just goals who also uses violence where necessary - the same as Robyn Hill, or Team RWBY themselves.

But she should have been brought up much, much, much earlier. By casting Adam as the leader of the White Fang in Volumes 2 and 3, the entire White Fang is cast as villains who are working with the known evil of Cinder. If they'd even mentioned Sienna Khan earlier - maybe had some White Fang grunts express reservations about going behind her back, or have Adam lie to her about his plans - it would have made it clear that Adam is going rogue and acting on his own personal bullshit.

But they didn't do that.

So V4 rolls around, and Sienna is mentioned by the Albains, only for them to be revealed to also be working for Adam. Bleh. Finally, Sienna appears in V5 - much too late - and dresses down Adam for his bullshit. And this could have been the point where Adam fully goes rogue, splits off on his own, and tries to go after Blake. Hell, he could still have launched a coup, and we could have gotten a season of Sienna and Ghira having to put aside their differences to stop him - since, as Blake points out in V5, Haven falling wouldn't materially help the Faunus at all. It's a plan wholly composed by Salem to get the Relic. That story could have ended with Sienna retaking control of the White Fang, maybe with her and Ghira having both learned from the situation - Sienna learning not to allow the conditions that let someone like Adam's influence grow unchecked, and Ghira learning that sometimes violence is the only viable option. They could both renew their commitment to Faunus equality, and to working together in the future to get it.

But no, they don't do that. Instead, they kill Sienna off, and flatten the nuance back down to Good Activists Who Are Peaceful vs. Bad Activists Against Whom It Is OK To Be Violent (and OK to inflict police violence towards.)

Adam is a good villain, a perfect representation of someone who's decided that justice is impossible, so the next best thing is revenge. But without Sienna Khan present in the story to provide important nuance, Adam's presence as a villain makes him representative of all violent praxis, and in condemning him, the story also condemns that praxis.

And that's racist.

[razorblade180]

Hot Take: If Adam's character wasn't so split between being a toxic lover and a spiteful extremist, but rather focused on one over the other, he'd be several degrees better as a character. Like imagine if in the final showdown with Blake, he said "I didn't pursue you in Forever Falls, I let you leave at the Fall of Beacon. You proceeded to meddle in all my plans afterwards and ruin them all. And for all your preaching about "letting go for my own sake" you seemed to be awful quick to mobilize Menagerie against me. So this time I'll make sure you won't be capable of meddling." rather than centering it on his desire to control her. Alternatively, make his entire arc be about wanting to seize control over her. When Blake describes him at first, have her specifically mention he always wanted control and just pretended to want equality. Give us scenes of him gazing at a picture of Blake, rather than that whole "What about her" when he was told she was at Beacon in V3. Hell make him that much more of a creep with her if his character's gonna be about his obsession to her - he controls a good chunk of the White Fang, have him send people to look for her rather than the plot where he kills off Sienna. He'd be more menacing if the WF Lieutenant mentions she's to be brought alive. If he ignores the students and Atlas Soldiers to search for Blake, and his appearance is him calling out to her rather than just kind of killing random people before she stops him, that'd get the "obsessive ex" angle much better off.

I do and also don’t agree. Personally I think they shouldn’t have made him a toxic ex or have a romantically implied relationship with Blake at all.

For starters, it doesn’t do anything when the point and conflict of Blake’s story was fighting racism. Second, Rooster Teeth never took the time to make a comprehensive timeline of when certain events happened and the ages of the characters; so it always going to be a recipe for disaster for fandom and perception unless has always been no more than a year older than Blake.

Part of what attracted me to RWBY in the beginning was how it felt like they took a few tropes and flipped it on its head enough to be different but address important messages. If they wanted to add themes of toxic relationships, domestic abuse, and important, Cinder’s treatment of Emerald was right there. Not to mention Willow and even Tai could’ve been used. Giving that situation to Adam and Blake just feels like a waste when there’s more compelling drama with a conflict of differing ideologies and perspectives.

[tsff21]

There are so many problems with the Faunus and WF arc that don’t revolve around Adam but everybody only focuses on gust but who was mostly handled fine

Although to be fair he was likely branded by an SDC worker so his actions aren’t “entirely” black and white, but that doesn’t mean he was in any way in the right.

Exactly! Like, the way Sienna Khan was treated was FAR worse, but all the critics focus on Adam for some damn reason