Post by Swaggerman on Nov 19, 2020 11:16:26 GMT -5
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Character quote or saying.
[attr=class,char-name]Character Full Name
Character quote or saying.
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Date of Birth: December 26th, 6 Years After Vytal
Species: Human
Romantic Orientation: Demiromantic
Aura Color: Deep Grey
Height: 170 Centimeters
Weight: 49 Kilograms
Color Naming Rule: Belle Blau’s name is reminiscent of blue on it’s own. Furthermore, her surname translates literally to the word “blue” in German.
Semblance Name: Stimulant
Rank of Semblance: E
Semblance Type:Physical Boost
One Sentence Summary of Semblance: Belle Blau has the Physical Boost semblance of Stimulant which allows the wielder to ignore exhaustion.
Description of Semblance:Belle is able to temporarily ignore any exhaustion or strain put upon herself and function at near peak capacity, pushing her strength and endurance well beyond her normal capacity. Although she technically still feels the exhaustion, Stimulant allows her to relegate it to a background sensation; think how you ignore the feeling of the clothes you wear.
This can be used both physically and mentally; sprinting extensively or heavy lifting showcase the former, while staying up multiple days or hyperfocusing can be examples of the latter. Belle is able to activate and deactivate her semblance at will, and to varying intensities
Drawbacks of Semblance: The key word is that Stimulant lets Belle ignore exhaustion, not eliminate it. Any time she pushes herself with her semblance, she is only delaying the consequences of straining herself.
The exertion she puts herself through while using Stimulant is only borrowed time. This can easily become a danger to her; Belle can (and has) lose track of how hard she’s pushing herself in the heat of battle. If she’s not careful, she can quite literally work herself to death.
Weapon Name: Wanderlust
Rank of Weapon(s): F
Description of Weapons(s): Wanderlust is a rock hammer around 150 centimeters long, with it’s head around the size of a brick in dimensions. It’s sturdy enough to tear down drywall and some stone, and it’s good for taking on larger, bulky targets like the Grimm. This on it’s own isn’t too atypical, apart from it being almost as big as Belle herself.
But Wanderlust also doubles as a gun, a musket specifically; halfway down the wooden handle there’s a transition to a steel, hollowed barrel, and it’s oddly shaped handle guard is actually a flintlock and trigger. It’s loaded via a breech in the handguard, and can fire rounds powerful enough to crack weaker Grimms’ armor.
However, due to it being bound to the hammer, it’s unwieldy, and Belle has to hold it mounted on top of her shoulder rather than tucked underneath it; furthermore, its larger nature limits both the ammunition Belle can carry and the versatility of where she can fire it. It’s largely only used to take a few potshots or hold a defensive position due to this.
Name of Non-Combat Ability: Demagogue
Rank of Non-Combat Ability: F
Description of Non-Combat Ability: During the Faunus War, Belle became much more experienced with public speaking as she spoke up for numerous rallies and protests. Given her extremely hawkish nature against the Faunus, these speeches focused especially on riling people up and brewing fear and anger. Admittedly, there’s only so much that heading the Activism Club can provide, but it’s already a huge step above most.
Name of Non-Combat Ability: Tech-Savvy
Rank of Non-Combat Ability: F
Description of Non-Combat Ability: Being raised in Atlas’s upper class and trained to succeed the role of a tech pioneer, Belle once had firsthand access to a lot of her day’s latest technological developments, or at the very least the precursors to them. Although her knowledge hasn’t been exercised that much in recent times (plus, it’s not exactly new anymore; she hasn’t even been in Atlas for almost a decade), she still has a bit of intuition for gadgets.
Name of Non-Combat Ability: Navigation
Rank of Non-Combat Ability: F
Description of Non-Combat Ability: The Adventure that birthed the Kingdom of Mantle demanded two skills: exploring, and mapping out said exploring. As a result of this, navigation is a deep tradition that’s embedded in their society even after Atlas overtook Mantle. Additionally, Cartography is taught from grade school to all Atlesians, and every citizen of the kingdom can exercise some proficiency in it. Given her more enriched education, Belle has a specialty in it that most others can’t boast.
Name of Combat Ability: “David and Goliath” (Martial Arts)
Rank of Combat Ability: F
Description of Combat Ability: The combat experience Belle’s obtained primarily concerns large, singular targets, and she’s used to being in an uneven fight. She’s capable of defeating larger and more theoretically powerful foes, and her fighting style consists of strong, calculated strikes while being evasive in between, both conserving her energy and maximizing her attacks. However, this also relies on her opponents being more offensive than her, and Belle isn’t overtly good at leading a charge or striking the first hit.
Name of Combat Ability: “The Adventurer Ethos” (Stamina)
Rank of Combat Ability: E
Description of Combat Ability: Belle’s family dates back to the origins of Mantle itself, and the Adventurer Ethic runs in her blood wholly and totally. She’s tenacious and can fight extensively even without the use of Stimulant, and in a battle of attrition it’s likely Belle will have the upper hand.
Name of Combat Ability: “Total Mobilization” (Strength)
Rank of Combat Ability: F
Description of Combat Ability: Belle’s stance towards fighting can be summed up as “Go Big or Go Home.” The only way she approaches any conflict is by giving it her all, and that constant pushing of her limits has led to her being quite the powerhouse even if it doesn’t seem it; Forge’s curriculum has only served to reinforce that mindset as well, and the hardline stance on training has shown it’s merits.
Name of Combat Ability: “The Battery” (Marksmanship)
Rank of Combat Ability: F
Description of Combat Ability: As part of Forge Academy’s training, students had to learn how to operate Kuchinashi’s special defenses, a slew of artillery and anti-air found across the city famously known as “The Battery”. But although this training is extensive when it comes to the artillery itself, it’s near useless for almost everything else due to 1. Kuchinashi’s defenses being a world apart from your average village, and even most fortresses, and 2. the sheer difference in logistics there is between a howitzer and a handgun. As a result, Belle’s skills only crudely translate into normal marksmanship. But still, it’s a start.
Primary Drive: This is generally going to be related to the goals/plot of the group your character is joining. What are their plot related goals? How are they working to accomplish that? How do they make decisions? What do they think they're doing and how do they justify doing it?
Fears: One deep fear like abandonment, loss of family, losing morality, etc. Several smaller fears like spiders, someone licking them, mold in food, just small things that bother them.
Style of Self-Expression: How do they talk to others? Are they shy or outgoing? Internally, are they confident or anxious and how do they express those feelings externally? Do they care about words more or actions when it comes to the people around them? Does their socioeconomic background affect the way they present themselves socially?
Most Important Thing: Every person has an exception to their in theory infallible ideals, what is yours? What is something that influences your character regardless of their moral code? What would they reject sacrificing even when driven to the brink, choosing to cut off their own finger rather than sacrifice? What would they kill for, if pushed? A character can believe firmly in every person being equal, but still show preference for a certain person when things come down to the wire. A character can believe in fairness in the moment but still act on a grudge at a critical moment. A character can be cool and collected, but if someone tries to spread misinformation about one specific thing they will lose their mind and fight against it no matter where they are or who they're in front of. (Application note: Please do not keep the example text with paragraphs in these sections. Delete them and insert your answers.)
With the reputation Belle has, you’d think she’s always had it rough from the start. After all, how could such a brash, unsociable, and acrid individual seeming to be driven solely by spite have anything less than a lifetime that knew only of struggle and conflict?
Well, Belle could. In fact, she actually started off at the top of the world all things considered.
Belle Blau was born the first child to the Blau family, a powerful political dynasty in Atlas once at the head of entire industries, and descendents of the first Adventurers that had founded Mantle itself. Her childhood was spent immersed in the high class, and her devoted father made sure that she grew up in a safe and nurturing environment. It seemed that her future was laid out from the very beginning, and things only seemed like they could go up.
But in 16 A.V, when Belle was ten years old, her father Magnus decided that she was ready to experience the life of politics for herself, and one of the very first lessons was to learn about the outside world. She was to leave Atlas for the first time, joining her father on an Expedition to establish business ties and expand Atlesian influence.
They didn’t know it would be her last time leaving too.
At first, the trip went without a hitch. Traveling to Anima went by without any hiccups, and their time in Argus was wondrous. Mistral’s terrain was also marvelous, and a breath of fresh air from the uniform tundra of Solitas. It was so beautiful, in fact, that they decided to spin the Expedition into a vacation, and the travels in between cities were filled with detours of all kinds. After all, what Mantlers were they if they didn’t explore the world to it’s fullest?
They made it to Wind Pass, and then Mistral, with the Expedition going smoothly and Magnus’s efforts coming to fruition, and they had a darn good time the whole way. But on the journey to Kuchinashi, they flew a bit too close to the sun, and ended up lost in the mountains trying to find the best view. This was an issue to say the least, but cartography and navigation were strong traditions in Atlas, and through enough effort they came across civilization once again, a small village in the mountains that welcomed them with open arms.
It was a miracle, to say the least. But there was one little quirk: the village was inhabited entirely by Faunus.
And as Atlesians, Magnus and his hired guard all viewed them as lesser.
For the first day or two, it wasn’t too bad; relations were amiable between the two parties and their time spent resting was certainly used well. But as time went on over the next week, things changed. The behavior of the guards grew more arrogant, condescending even, and steadily they started to leave a bad impression upon the village.
Even with the warmth they received, the Blau expedition wasn’t too respectful of their saviors. They still looked down on the Faunus, and began to treat their stay as more of an entitlement than a privilege. Magnus, credit where it’s due, did try to reign them in, but his own prejudice kept this to half measures and lip service towards the natives. Things only deteriorated as the expedition overstayed their welcome.
Belle however spent her stay getting to actually know the natives better. She’d always been taught that the Faunus were merely animals at heart, and that they had to be subdued in order to protect the common man.
But when she spoke with them, she didn’t see anything that showed as much. They were kind and funny, and they felt the same feelings as her. They weren’t even slow or dumb, and for all intents and purposes she could talk to them as if they were actual people. The more time she spent with them, the more Belle questioned what she’d been taught.
But soon, they started preparing to leave. They weren’t visiting Mistral for leisure, after all, and Magnus still had business in Kuchinashi. He told them such, and a ram Faunus cooking them breakfast was especially curious. Seeing no harm, he relayed the general goal of his trip: He was an Atlesian magnate, one of the largest ones actually, and was working to establish trade outside of the Kingdom for business purposes.
That seemed to satisfy them, and the questions stopped, but the Faunus was much more curt now. Conversation ended soon after that, and though Magnus got their breakfast without a hiccup, everything felt more… stiff.
At the end of the week, the foreign guests were surprised by their benefactors; they wanted to have a celebration on their behalf. It was tradition in Mistral, they said, to send off travelers on a high note for good luck on the journey. Of course, by ‘good luck’, that was the unspoken goal of warding off the Grimm once they departed.
The last evening before their leave, a festival was kicked off at the center of the town, and the Blau expedition was lauded with more attention than ever. Drinks and feast were abundant, and they made sure to enjoy it to the fullest. By around midnight, they started to wind things up. The travelers had gotten their fill, and it was a good idea for them to rest for tomorrow. But to top it off, the townsfolk gathered them around for a final cheer.
Belle had gone back to their makeshift hotel a bit earlier. The party was fun, yeah, but there wasn’t anyone she could really talk to. For some reason, the kids weren’t present, and she could only interact with a few teenagers willing to put up with her for a bit. But she was still awake, and looked out the window as her dad’s group met up at the table. A townsfolk, the ram faunus Magnus had met earlier, got at the head of the table to give them a speech.
Belle smiled from her window. She knew these kinds of speeches were just a formality over anything, but it was still nice to know that the villagers cared enough to prepare this nevertheless.
…wait, who was that behind them?
“Your visit has provided us immense opportunity and invigorates us to pursue our cause. Dare I say, it was a blessing from the gods themselves that your presence graced us all. With you, the future of our people seems brighter than ever before, and it’s through your visit that we now see a clear path.”
The figures crept closer. They were dressed in military uniform, in stark contrast to the townsfolk from before, and though Belle couldn’t see it they were all holding something in their hands.
A void grew in her stomach. Something was definitely wrong. Belle looked on anxiously as the troops got closer and closer to the table, only steps away from the chairs her crew sat in. Her gut was telling her that they really shouldn’t stay in those seats, but alas they were too drunk to focus on anything besides the ram’s speech for all of them.
A glint in one person’s fist showcased a blade to Belle.
Oh no.
“Magnus Blau, in compensation for your efforts in bringing suffering to the Faunus people, oppressing our brothers and sisters a kingdom apart, it is the most esteemed honor that we can be the last to say to you…”
They all lunged in.
“...goodbye.”
And in a moment, the crew were gone. No screams, no fighting, nothing to even suggest that anything had changed.
But Belle Blau would remember what she saw for the rest of her life.
She froze. The whole world seemed surreal, as Belle processed what she saw and her thoughts came to a standstill.
Only when the entrance below slammed open was she jolted back to reality, and all Belle remembers thinking was that she had to get out.
Belle ran. She ran out of the open window, and ran through the pain of tanking a five meter drop unprotected. She ran through the slew of alleys and ran up the guard post, and she ran along the walls until she was cornered between two groups.
She even ran when she jumped off the wall and fell face first into a stone walkway; oddly, that one didn’t hurt as much. She ran through the forests, tripping and scraping herself along all the debris, yet that didn’t bother her either. Belle ran farther than she ever thought she would, thought she could, and even when it was clear they weren’t following her anymore, she kept running.
It was only when the sun rose and she came across a fresh road that Belle stopped her mad dash. She paused for a few moments, if only to let her mind settle and to think things through. The first thought that came to her mind was how relieved she was to be alive, and she almost broke down in tears at the stress of it all.
Then her sense of reason kicked in. Belle’s second thought was how in the world had she made it this far? When she’d dashed off it was close to midnight, and yet, right now it was already sunrise. But, she didn’t recall stopping once… shouldn’t she be exhausted right now-
_______________________________
Belle woke up a long while later on a wagon, hardly able to move, and a slew of people, human people, came to her side with bread and water. It took awhile before she had the strength to get words out, but eventually, she could speak minimally to the strangers she woke up to.
They were a caravan, they said, and they’d come across her passed out and half dead on the road out of the blue. They’d taken her in, nurtured her for the past few days (yes, days) hoping to keep her alive, and as she could see, they’d pulled through. It was a miracle, to say the absolute least. Then, they were curious about her.
“Hey, uh, kid. Where are your parents? And who in the world left you like... this?”
….
...She stopped talking again after that. They got the message, and let her be.
_____________
A week passed without a single word leaving her lips. To the crew, it seemed like Belle had turned inwards again to deal with the outer world, dissociating in order to not acknowledge the answer.
But, that wouldn’t be too accurate. In truth, Belle just didn’t know. There was so much that had happened in such a short window, and Belle had hardly had any time to actually think back on it. Really, she was still trying to process it all herself.
Though it didn’t seem it, Belle was aware of what was happening, and what had happened. In fact, Belle’s mind was working relentlessly to find a response, to find an answer to why everything fell apart.
And soon enough, she reached one.
________________
“...the Faunus…”
The crew, engaged in a thralling conversation about rations, stopped at once and turned to her.
“The what?”
“...you asked who did this to me,” Belle started. She paused, seeming to ponder her words before continuing with a new confidence, “...it was the Faunus.”
And immediately, they looked at her with pity. One of them, a woman who’d been the first to give her a drink when she woke up, came and knelt down to her. Belle found herself embraced in a hug, and before she could stop it she felt her eyes tearing up.
_________________
Soon enough, they reached Kuchinashi, the Fortress City.
And soon enough, Belle found out that she wasn’t going back to Atlas.
The first few days were uneventful; the caravan was selling their goods and Belle helped a bit wherever she could. But one fine morning, she was greeted by a pen, a paper, and an older woman that looked a bit too important to be another patrol officer.
She greeted herself as a staff member of the famed (or maybe infamous) Forge Academy, and informed Belle of a new development: She was adopted.
This was… a surprise, to say the least, and a very unpleasant one at that. Belle let them know as much and demanded the justification. And at that point, she was directed to the contract that was slipped towards her.
The facts all stacked against her. Her parents were not only unknown but presumed dead, and without that proof there wasn’t any legal justification to send her to Atlas. Furthermore, it was the caravan that had saved her life that was in de facto custody of her. And they were the ones who opted to leave her to Kuchinashi, their reasoning being that they were best suited to look over her well-being. Now, she was a ward of the city by merit of the Campaign for Youth Welfare
Truth was, the game was rigged from the start.
Her fate was sealed, and not even a day later she was taken to Forge Academy proper, where she’d reside in the dorms under Kuchinashi custody. She didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to the caravan, and Belle was left to her own devices.
Just a few weeks later, she was thrown into the fray as Summer break ended and classes revved up once more. Belle had an even more rigorous curriculum than the other students, given the game of catch-up she had to play, but her natural shrewdness and Atlas education were able to shine through in the familiar school environment, and Belle was back on track in no time.
Combat Classes were a much bigger shock for her but oddly, Belle’s Aura was already unlocked when she’d arrived. A pleasant surprise for her teachers, but it was still a source of inquiry. What kind of event could have caused Belle to unlock her Aura? It hadn’t been done at Atlas, they knew that much, and usually, only stressful events led to people unlocking it by themselves.
Though with that latter part, Belle had an idea a
At least things seemed to have finally settled down for her. But of course, life could never be so simple, could it?
Near the end of the year, the Faunus war kicked up, and Belle was once again thrown into action.
Forge Academy had more than a few Faunus students, and now that Kingdom was potentially at actual war with them, their attendance at the school became a very hot topic.
There was a lot of discourse over what should be done; their presence alone caused a slew of complications, obviously, and if they weren’t dealt with, there would only be unrest… but, the insurgent group that made up the enemy forces wasn’t even present in Kuchinashi, and there was no feasible way that the current students actually had any ties to the enemy prope.
Punishing them didn’t seem right with how little dirt was actually against them. But the public and the national Council wouldn’t take that for an answer. Something had to be done to ease tensions, irrespective of justice.
Things only got more heated, and Belle suddenly found herself much more immersed in Forge’s state of affairs. The Faunus students had been an issue for Belle since day one, but she’d always kept quiet about it so as to avoid any drama. But now, the issue in question was one she had a personal investment in. The Faunus were finally being put under scrutiny, and she could play a part in exposing what they truly were.
Could she really just stand by? As these beasts stood to threaten the whole school’s livelihood?
No. No she couldn’t.
Belle Blau surprised her peers quite a bit when one morning, during their breakfast hours, she spoke up about the war.
“What do you think about the Faunus?”
Belle asked across the school, and got a slew of answers. The general consensus, though, was a moderate hesitancy to take action. Expected. Few people if anyone in this school had seen the real side of the Faunus, and the animals assimilated well with them during their time as students. But they were wary, and a good few had the intuition to know something was wrong. She pounced on that wholly and totally.
Belle made herself known when she approached the school newspaper, offering to be interviewed about her life in the faraway land of Atlas in exchange for putting in her simple opinion piece, the former of which won them over in an instant.
And a week later, the Patriot’s Pen published a cool tabloid about Atlas, yes, but far more enthralling was a shocking account of the brutality of the Faunus, as told from an eyewitness victim.
A young migrant, on their way to Kuchinashi, had stopped peacefully in a Faunus-dominated mountain village. They spent a week getting warmly acquainted with the locals, only to be brutally stabbed in the back as they were slaughtered at their most vulnerable moment. Likely, it was an insurgent outpost, and the story came as a shock to the city, both due to the horrific recount and because of how close it potentially was to Kuchinashi if they were in the mountains.
In a few days, the story had spread across the school. And in a few more, the whole city.
Soon enough, there was a whole new perspective on the Faunus controversy, and Belle was at the center of it all. Across the school, she’d been known once as a quiet and broody loner, the only hint of her past being that she was a ward of the school and that she didn’t have any apparent guardians. People could put two and two together, but this revelation put Belle in a new light.
Over the next few years, Belle continued her Forge education as expected, but also found herself at the center of a youth movement to rally against the Faunus, pushing for action against them and immersing herself in anti-Faunus politics. The Activism Club, normally an extracurricular for volunteer service, became Belle’s means to push propaganda; she was put at the head of it on order of Forge Academy, thanks to the appeal that a student-led, pro-war body held to Kuchinashi’s state media. Life wasn’t pretty for the Faunus kids, to say the least, but then again, that was the whole idea, wasn’t it?
But, with the Battle of Fort Castle and the subsequent end of the Faunus War some months, the fervor died down and Belle found her position a bit more controversial than it had been before. She de-escalated her position for the most part, and though her rhetoric and efforts are still a huge part of her legacy, she’s first and foremost a Forge graduate today.
Still, the “local celebrity” status she obtained during the war years has stuck around a bit, and from time to time there’s been someone who has recognized her outside of Kuchinashi. After all, that old news article that started it all still has some copies out there.
Surprisingly, Belle took the end of the war for what it was; Forge had instilled a respect for authority in her, and she’d begrudgingly accepted whatever treaty had been signed, even if she disagreed with it publicly. Plus... if she dissented more than she should, disciplinary measures would be imposed, and Belle would rather keep her record clean.
After the war, her life continued on as usual, and in 25 A.V, ten years after she’d been stranded in Mistral, Belle Blau graduated from Forge Academy with flying colors, and began her service in the Civil Guard. From then on, it’d seemed like her life was laid out once more, finally reaching a status quo to settle in with.
And yet even still, the world found another curveball to throw her way. Though this time, Belle was more inclined to catch it.
In the background as the time had passed, she inevitably heard of the Order of Animan Nationalists, and while she’d initially seen the cause as admirable, the increasing reports of violence and suppression from them had gradually turned her off to the movement. Even if they were fighting to contain the Faunus threat, that didn’t mean anything to Belle if they were going to brutalize humans in their place.
But she didn’t pay too much attention to it, until the news of the Attack on Haven, and the press release from the Scarlet Group that followed.
Their article was... offputting, to put it lightly. They’d bragged about their attack on the Academy, and their contributions to the chaos of the situation. While Belle could see the issues on Haven’s end as shown by the chat logs, to pin the Academy as the villain for what they themselves admitted were the actions of select individuals. And to blame them for exploiting chaos that they had started?
Belle knew now that these people were nothing but trouble. Veterans of the war or not, this “Scarlet Group” clearly wasn’t composed of the noble defenders they made themselves out to be.
And now with Haven in shambles, a new idea came to her mind.
When she graduated from Forge, she’d found a new purpose in being an upstanding citizen of the Fortress City, but Belle knew there was little she’d be able to do here. She’d decided her new calling was to help people in danger, and Kuchinashi was one of the safest places on Remnant. But as a huntsman, she could contribute much more to the world, and the Attack on Haven and the Fall made people like her needed now more than ever.
Soon enough, she’d filed in her discharge forums, and made the trip to the city of Mistral.
__________________________
Belle made the journey by foot as she did all those years ago, but this time, she had the experiences given by Kuchinashi at her back, and everything felt better. She didn’t have anything to fear anymore; Belle could fight for herself, and she had an intimate knowledge of Anima unlike before. Now, she could pave her own path, just like her ancestors before her.
And so she did. She came across a few Grimm on her travels, but she’d learned what to expect from Forge, and with her instinct for travel, she found the safest and speediest routes. Within a few months, quicker than expected, Belle had made it to the city without a scratch.
Haven had taken her in at a heartbeat; a certified academy graduate was a welcome break from the vagabonds that usually applied to the school, and she faced her initiation soon enough.
Her opponent was a ram faunus twice her size, and Belle couldn’t help but be reminded of when she’d lost her father all those years before.
(INCOMPLETE, NEED TO DEAL WITH NEW LORE COMPLICATIONS)
 | [attr=class,title nomargin]Age 19 Years Old [attr=class,title]Gender Female [attr=class,title]Faction Haven Academy [attr=class,title]Tier Freshman [attr=class,title]Face Claim Face Claim and Series go here. [attr=class,title]OOC Name Swaggerman |
[attr=class,main-title-left haven]Character Traits
Date of Birth: December 26th, 6 Years After Vytal
Species: Human
Romantic Orientation: Demiromantic
Aura Color: Deep Grey
Height: 170 Centimeters
Weight: 49 Kilograms
Color Naming Rule: Belle Blau’s name is reminiscent of blue on it’s own. Furthermore, her surname translates literally to the word “blue” in German.
[attr=class,main-title-right haven]Combat And Inventory
[attr=class,title]Semblance
Semblance Name: Stimulant
Rank of Semblance: E
Semblance Type:Physical Boost
One Sentence Summary of Semblance: Belle Blau has the Physical Boost semblance of Stimulant which allows the wielder to ignore exhaustion.
Description of Semblance:Belle is able to temporarily ignore any exhaustion or strain put upon herself and function at near peak capacity, pushing her strength and endurance well beyond her normal capacity. Although she technically still feels the exhaustion, Stimulant allows her to relegate it to a background sensation; think how you ignore the feeling of the clothes you wear.
This can be used both physically and mentally; sprinting extensively or heavy lifting showcase the former, while staying up multiple days or hyperfocusing can be examples of the latter. Belle is able to activate and deactivate her semblance at will, and to varying intensities
Drawbacks of Semblance: The key word is that Stimulant lets Belle ignore exhaustion, not eliminate it. Any time she pushes herself with her semblance, she is only delaying the consequences of straining herself.
The exertion she puts herself through while using Stimulant is only borrowed time. This can easily become a danger to her; Belle can (and has) lose track of how hard she’s pushing herself in the heat of battle. If she’s not careful, she can quite literally work herself to death.
[attr=class,title]Weapon(s)
Weapon Name: Wanderlust
Rank of Weapon(s): F
Description of Weapons(s): Wanderlust is a rock hammer around 150 centimeters long, with it’s head around the size of a brick in dimensions. It’s sturdy enough to tear down drywall and some stone, and it’s good for taking on larger, bulky targets like the Grimm. This on it’s own isn’t too atypical, apart from it being almost as big as Belle herself.
But Wanderlust also doubles as a gun, a musket specifically; halfway down the wooden handle there’s a transition to a steel, hollowed barrel, and it’s oddly shaped handle guard is actually a flintlock and trigger. It’s loaded via a breech in the handguard, and can fire rounds powerful enough to crack weaker Grimms’ armor.
However, due to it being bound to the hammer, it’s unwieldy, and Belle has to hold it mounted on top of her shoulder rather than tucked underneath it; furthermore, its larger nature limits both the ammunition Belle can carry and the versatility of where she can fire it. It’s largely only used to take a few potshots or hold a defensive position due to this.
[attr=class,title]Non-Combat Abilities
Name of Non-Combat Ability: Demagogue
Rank of Non-Combat Ability: F
Description of Non-Combat Ability: During the Faunus War, Belle became much more experienced with public speaking as she spoke up for numerous rallies and protests. Given her extremely hawkish nature against the Faunus, these speeches focused especially on riling people up and brewing fear and anger. Admittedly, there’s only so much that heading the Activism Club can provide, but it’s already a huge step above most.
Name of Non-Combat Ability: Tech-Savvy
Rank of Non-Combat Ability: F
Description of Non-Combat Ability: Being raised in Atlas’s upper class and trained to succeed the role of a tech pioneer, Belle once had firsthand access to a lot of her day’s latest technological developments, or at the very least the precursors to them. Although her knowledge hasn’t been exercised that much in recent times (plus, it’s not exactly new anymore; she hasn’t even been in Atlas for almost a decade), she still has a bit of intuition for gadgets.
Name of Non-Combat Ability: Navigation
Rank of Non-Combat Ability: F
Description of Non-Combat Ability: The Adventure that birthed the Kingdom of Mantle demanded two skills: exploring, and mapping out said exploring. As a result of this, navigation is a deep tradition that’s embedded in their society even after Atlas overtook Mantle. Additionally, Cartography is taught from grade school to all Atlesians, and every citizen of the kingdom can exercise some proficiency in it. Given her more enriched education, Belle has a specialty in it that most others can’t boast.
[attr=class,title]Combat Abilities
Name of Combat Ability: “David and Goliath” (Martial Arts)
Rank of Combat Ability: F
Description of Combat Ability: The combat experience Belle’s obtained primarily concerns large, singular targets, and she’s used to being in an uneven fight. She’s capable of defeating larger and more theoretically powerful foes, and her fighting style consists of strong, calculated strikes while being evasive in between, both conserving her energy and maximizing her attacks. However, this also relies on her opponents being more offensive than her, and Belle isn’t overtly good at leading a charge or striking the first hit.
Name of Combat Ability: “The Adventurer Ethos” (Stamina)
Rank of Combat Ability: E
Description of Combat Ability: Belle’s family dates back to the origins of Mantle itself, and the Adventurer Ethic runs in her blood wholly and totally. She’s tenacious and can fight extensively even without the use of Stimulant, and in a battle of attrition it’s likely Belle will have the upper hand.
Name of Combat Ability: “Total Mobilization” (Strength)
Rank of Combat Ability: F
Description of Combat Ability: Belle’s stance towards fighting can be summed up as “Go Big or Go Home.” The only way she approaches any conflict is by giving it her all, and that constant pushing of her limits has led to her being quite the powerhouse even if it doesn’t seem it; Forge’s curriculum has only served to reinforce that mindset as well, and the hardline stance on training has shown it’s merits.
Name of Combat Ability: “The Battery” (Marksmanship)
Rank of Combat Ability: F
Description of Combat Ability: As part of Forge Academy’s training, students had to learn how to operate Kuchinashi’s special defenses, a slew of artillery and anti-air found across the city famously known as “The Battery”. But although this training is extensive when it comes to the artillery itself, it’s near useless for almost everything else due to 1. Kuchinashi’s defenses being a world apart from your average village, and even most fortresses, and 2. the sheer difference in logistics there is between a howitzer and a handgun. As a result, Belle’s skills only crudely translate into normal marksmanship. But still, it’s a start.
[attr=class,main-title-left haven]Character Information
[attr=class,title]Vitals
Primary Drive: This is generally going to be related to the goals/plot of the group your character is joining. What are their plot related goals? How are they working to accomplish that? How do they make decisions? What do they think they're doing and how do they justify doing it?
Fears: One deep fear like abandonment, loss of family, losing morality, etc. Several smaller fears like spiders, someone licking them, mold in food, just small things that bother them.
Style of Self-Expression: How do they talk to others? Are they shy or outgoing? Internally, are they confident or anxious and how do they express those feelings externally? Do they care about words more or actions when it comes to the people around them? Does their socioeconomic background affect the way they present themselves socially?
Most Important Thing: Every person has an exception to their in theory infallible ideals, what is yours? What is something that influences your character regardless of their moral code? What would they reject sacrificing even when driven to the brink, choosing to cut off their own finger rather than sacrifice? What would they kill for, if pushed? A character can believe firmly in every person being equal, but still show preference for a certain person when things come down to the wire. A character can believe in fairness in the moment but still act on a grudge at a critical moment. A character can be cool and collected, but if someone tries to spread misinformation about one specific thing they will lose their mind and fight against it no matter where they are or who they're in front of. (Application note: Please do not keep the example text with paragraphs in these sections. Delete them and insert your answers.)
[attr=class,title]History Freeform
With the reputation Belle has, you’d think she’s always had it rough from the start. After all, how could such a brash, unsociable, and acrid individual seeming to be driven solely by spite have anything less than a lifetime that knew only of struggle and conflict?
Well, Belle could. In fact, she actually started off at the top of the world all things considered.
Belle Blau was born the first child to the Blau family, a powerful political dynasty in Atlas once at the head of entire industries, and descendents of the first Adventurers that had founded Mantle itself. Her childhood was spent immersed in the high class, and her devoted father made sure that she grew up in a safe and nurturing environment. It seemed that her future was laid out from the very beginning, and things only seemed like they could go up.
But in 16 A.V, when Belle was ten years old, her father Magnus decided that she was ready to experience the life of politics for herself, and one of the very first lessons was to learn about the outside world. She was to leave Atlas for the first time, joining her father on an Expedition to establish business ties and expand Atlesian influence.
They didn’t know it would be her last time leaving too.
At first, the trip went without a hitch. Traveling to Anima went by without any hiccups, and their time in Argus was wondrous. Mistral’s terrain was also marvelous, and a breath of fresh air from the uniform tundra of Solitas. It was so beautiful, in fact, that they decided to spin the Expedition into a vacation, and the travels in between cities were filled with detours of all kinds. After all, what Mantlers were they if they didn’t explore the world to it’s fullest?
They made it to Wind Pass, and then Mistral, with the Expedition going smoothly and Magnus’s efforts coming to fruition, and they had a darn good time the whole way. But on the journey to Kuchinashi, they flew a bit too close to the sun, and ended up lost in the mountains trying to find the best view. This was an issue to say the least, but cartography and navigation were strong traditions in Atlas, and through enough effort they came across civilization once again, a small village in the mountains that welcomed them with open arms.
It was a miracle, to say the least. But there was one little quirk: the village was inhabited entirely by Faunus.
And as Atlesians, Magnus and his hired guard all viewed them as lesser.
For the first day or two, it wasn’t too bad; relations were amiable between the two parties and their time spent resting was certainly used well. But as time went on over the next week, things changed. The behavior of the guards grew more arrogant, condescending even, and steadily they started to leave a bad impression upon the village.
Even with the warmth they received, the Blau expedition wasn’t too respectful of their saviors. They still looked down on the Faunus, and began to treat their stay as more of an entitlement than a privilege. Magnus, credit where it’s due, did try to reign them in, but his own prejudice kept this to half measures and lip service towards the natives. Things only deteriorated as the expedition overstayed their welcome.
Belle however spent her stay getting to actually know the natives better. She’d always been taught that the Faunus were merely animals at heart, and that they had to be subdued in order to protect the common man.
But when she spoke with them, she didn’t see anything that showed as much. They were kind and funny, and they felt the same feelings as her. They weren’t even slow or dumb, and for all intents and purposes she could talk to them as if they were actual people. The more time she spent with them, the more Belle questioned what she’d been taught.
But soon, they started preparing to leave. They weren’t visiting Mistral for leisure, after all, and Magnus still had business in Kuchinashi. He told them such, and a ram Faunus cooking them breakfast was especially curious. Seeing no harm, he relayed the general goal of his trip: He was an Atlesian magnate, one of the largest ones actually, and was working to establish trade outside of the Kingdom for business purposes.
That seemed to satisfy them, and the questions stopped, but the Faunus was much more curt now. Conversation ended soon after that, and though Magnus got their breakfast without a hiccup, everything felt more… stiff.
At the end of the week, the foreign guests were surprised by their benefactors; they wanted to have a celebration on their behalf. It was tradition in Mistral, they said, to send off travelers on a high note for good luck on the journey. Of course, by ‘good luck’, that was the unspoken goal of warding off the Grimm once they departed.
The last evening before their leave, a festival was kicked off at the center of the town, and the Blau expedition was lauded with more attention than ever. Drinks and feast were abundant, and they made sure to enjoy it to the fullest. By around midnight, they started to wind things up. The travelers had gotten their fill, and it was a good idea for them to rest for tomorrow. But to top it off, the townsfolk gathered them around for a final cheer.
Belle had gone back to their makeshift hotel a bit earlier. The party was fun, yeah, but there wasn’t anyone she could really talk to. For some reason, the kids weren’t present, and she could only interact with a few teenagers willing to put up with her for a bit. But she was still awake, and looked out the window as her dad’s group met up at the table. A townsfolk, the ram faunus Magnus had met earlier, got at the head of the table to give them a speech.
Belle smiled from her window. She knew these kinds of speeches were just a formality over anything, but it was still nice to know that the villagers cared enough to prepare this nevertheless.
…wait, who was that behind them?
“Your visit has provided us immense opportunity and invigorates us to pursue our cause. Dare I say, it was a blessing from the gods themselves that your presence graced us all. With you, the future of our people seems brighter than ever before, and it’s through your visit that we now see a clear path.”
The figures crept closer. They were dressed in military uniform, in stark contrast to the townsfolk from before, and though Belle couldn’t see it they were all holding something in their hands.
A void grew in her stomach. Something was definitely wrong. Belle looked on anxiously as the troops got closer and closer to the table, only steps away from the chairs her crew sat in. Her gut was telling her that they really shouldn’t stay in those seats, but alas they were too drunk to focus on anything besides the ram’s speech for all of them.
A glint in one person’s fist showcased a blade to Belle.
Oh no.
“Magnus Blau, in compensation for your efforts in bringing suffering to the Faunus people, oppressing our brothers and sisters a kingdom apart, it is the most esteemed honor that we can be the last to say to you…”
They all lunged in.
“...goodbye.”
And in a moment, the crew were gone. No screams, no fighting, nothing to even suggest that anything had changed.
But Belle Blau would remember what she saw for the rest of her life.
She froze. The whole world seemed surreal, as Belle processed what she saw and her thoughts came to a standstill.
Only when the entrance below slammed open was she jolted back to reality, and all Belle remembers thinking was that she had to get out.
Belle ran. She ran out of the open window, and ran through the pain of tanking a five meter drop unprotected. She ran through the slew of alleys and ran up the guard post, and she ran along the walls until she was cornered between two groups.
She even ran when she jumped off the wall and fell face first into a stone walkway; oddly, that one didn’t hurt as much. She ran through the forests, tripping and scraping herself along all the debris, yet that didn’t bother her either. Belle ran farther than she ever thought she would, thought she could, and even when it was clear they weren’t following her anymore, she kept running.
It was only when the sun rose and she came across a fresh road that Belle stopped her mad dash. She paused for a few moments, if only to let her mind settle and to think things through. The first thought that came to her mind was how relieved she was to be alive, and she almost broke down in tears at the stress of it all.
Then her sense of reason kicked in. Belle’s second thought was how in the world had she made it this far? When she’d dashed off it was close to midnight, and yet, right now it was already sunrise. But, she didn’t recall stopping once… shouldn’t she be exhausted right now-
_______________________________
Belle woke up a long while later on a wagon, hardly able to move, and a slew of people, human people, came to her side with bread and water. It took awhile before she had the strength to get words out, but eventually, she could speak minimally to the strangers she woke up to.
They were a caravan, they said, and they’d come across her passed out and half dead on the road out of the blue. They’d taken her in, nurtured her for the past few days (yes, days) hoping to keep her alive, and as she could see, they’d pulled through. It was a miracle, to say the absolute least. Then, they were curious about her.
“Hey, uh, kid. Where are your parents? And who in the world left you like... this?”
….
...She stopped talking again after that. They got the message, and let her be.
_____________
A week passed without a single word leaving her lips. To the crew, it seemed like Belle had turned inwards again to deal with the outer world, dissociating in order to not acknowledge the answer.
But, that wouldn’t be too accurate. In truth, Belle just didn’t know. There was so much that had happened in such a short window, and Belle had hardly had any time to actually think back on it. Really, she was still trying to process it all herself.
Though it didn’t seem it, Belle was aware of what was happening, and what had happened. In fact, Belle’s mind was working relentlessly to find a response, to find an answer to why everything fell apart.
And soon enough, she reached one.
________________
“...the Faunus…”
The crew, engaged in a thralling conversation about rations, stopped at once and turned to her.
“The what?”
“...you asked who did this to me,” Belle started. She paused, seeming to ponder her words before continuing with a new confidence, “...it was the Faunus.”
And immediately, they looked at her with pity. One of them, a woman who’d been the first to give her a drink when she woke up, came and knelt down to her. Belle found herself embraced in a hug, and before she could stop it she felt her eyes tearing up.
_________________
Soon enough, they reached Kuchinashi, the Fortress City.
And soon enough, Belle found out that she wasn’t going back to Atlas.
The first few days were uneventful; the caravan was selling their goods and Belle helped a bit wherever she could. But one fine morning, she was greeted by a pen, a paper, and an older woman that looked a bit too important to be another patrol officer.
She greeted herself as a staff member of the famed (or maybe infamous) Forge Academy, and informed Belle of a new development: She was adopted.
This was… a surprise, to say the least, and a very unpleasant one at that. Belle let them know as much and demanded the justification. And at that point, she was directed to the contract that was slipped towards her.
The facts all stacked against her. Her parents were not only unknown but presumed dead, and without that proof there wasn’t any legal justification to send her to Atlas. Furthermore, it was the caravan that had saved her life that was in de facto custody of her. And they were the ones who opted to leave her to Kuchinashi, their reasoning being that they were best suited to look over her well-being. Now, she was a ward of the city by merit of the Campaign for Youth Welfare
Truth was, the game was rigged from the start.
Her fate was sealed, and not even a day later she was taken to Forge Academy proper, where she’d reside in the dorms under Kuchinashi custody. She didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to the caravan, and Belle was left to her own devices.
Just a few weeks later, she was thrown into the fray as Summer break ended and classes revved up once more. Belle had an even more rigorous curriculum than the other students, given the game of catch-up she had to play, but her natural shrewdness and Atlas education were able to shine through in the familiar school environment, and Belle was back on track in no time.
Combat Classes were a much bigger shock for her but oddly, Belle’s Aura was already unlocked when she’d arrived. A pleasant surprise for her teachers, but it was still a source of inquiry. What kind of event could have caused Belle to unlock her Aura? It hadn’t been done at Atlas, they knew that much, and usually, only stressful events led to people unlocking it by themselves.
Though with that latter part, Belle had an idea a
At least things seemed to have finally settled down for her. But of course, life could never be so simple, could it?
Near the end of the year, the Faunus war kicked up, and Belle was once again thrown into action.
Forge Academy had more than a few Faunus students, and now that Kingdom was potentially at actual war with them, their attendance at the school became a very hot topic.
There was a lot of discourse over what should be done; their presence alone caused a slew of complications, obviously, and if they weren’t dealt with, there would only be unrest… but, the insurgent group that made up the enemy forces wasn’t even present in Kuchinashi, and there was no feasible way that the current students actually had any ties to the enemy prope.
Punishing them didn’t seem right with how little dirt was actually against them. But the public and the national Council wouldn’t take that for an answer. Something had to be done to ease tensions, irrespective of justice.
Things only got more heated, and Belle suddenly found herself much more immersed in Forge’s state of affairs. The Faunus students had been an issue for Belle since day one, but she’d always kept quiet about it so as to avoid any drama. But now, the issue in question was one she had a personal investment in. The Faunus were finally being put under scrutiny, and she could play a part in exposing what they truly were.
Could she really just stand by? As these beasts stood to threaten the whole school’s livelihood?
No. No she couldn’t.
Belle Blau surprised her peers quite a bit when one morning, during their breakfast hours, she spoke up about the war.
“What do you think about the Faunus?”
Belle asked across the school, and got a slew of answers. The general consensus, though, was a moderate hesitancy to take action. Expected. Few people if anyone in this school had seen the real side of the Faunus, and the animals assimilated well with them during their time as students. But they were wary, and a good few had the intuition to know something was wrong. She pounced on that wholly and totally.
Belle made herself known when she approached the school newspaper, offering to be interviewed about her life in the faraway land of Atlas in exchange for putting in her simple opinion piece, the former of which won them over in an instant.
And a week later, the Patriot’s Pen published a cool tabloid about Atlas, yes, but far more enthralling was a shocking account of the brutality of the Faunus, as told from an eyewitness victim.
A young migrant, on their way to Kuchinashi, had stopped peacefully in a Faunus-dominated mountain village. They spent a week getting warmly acquainted with the locals, only to be brutally stabbed in the back as they were slaughtered at their most vulnerable moment. Likely, it was an insurgent outpost, and the story came as a shock to the city, both due to the horrific recount and because of how close it potentially was to Kuchinashi if they were in the mountains.
In a few days, the story had spread across the school. And in a few more, the whole city.
Soon enough, there was a whole new perspective on the Faunus controversy, and Belle was at the center of it all. Across the school, she’d been known once as a quiet and broody loner, the only hint of her past being that she was a ward of the school and that she didn’t have any apparent guardians. People could put two and two together, but this revelation put Belle in a new light.
Over the next few years, Belle continued her Forge education as expected, but also found herself at the center of a youth movement to rally against the Faunus, pushing for action against them and immersing herself in anti-Faunus politics. The Activism Club, normally an extracurricular for volunteer service, became Belle’s means to push propaganda; she was put at the head of it on order of Forge Academy, thanks to the appeal that a student-led, pro-war body held to Kuchinashi’s state media. Life wasn’t pretty for the Faunus kids, to say the least, but then again, that was the whole idea, wasn’t it?
But, with the Battle of Fort Castle and the subsequent end of the Faunus War some months, the fervor died down and Belle found her position a bit more controversial than it had been before. She de-escalated her position for the most part, and though her rhetoric and efforts are still a huge part of her legacy, she’s first and foremost a Forge graduate today.
Still, the “local celebrity” status she obtained during the war years has stuck around a bit, and from time to time there’s been someone who has recognized her outside of Kuchinashi. After all, that old news article that started it all still has some copies out there.
Surprisingly, Belle took the end of the war for what it was; Forge had instilled a respect for authority in her, and she’d begrudgingly accepted whatever treaty had been signed, even if she disagreed with it publicly. Plus... if she dissented more than she should, disciplinary measures would be imposed, and Belle would rather keep her record clean.
After the war, her life continued on as usual, and in 25 A.V, ten years after she’d been stranded in Mistral, Belle Blau graduated from Forge Academy with flying colors, and began her service in the Civil Guard. From then on, it’d seemed like her life was laid out once more, finally reaching a status quo to settle in with.
And yet even still, the world found another curveball to throw her way. Though this time, Belle was more inclined to catch it.
In the background as the time had passed, she inevitably heard of the Order of Animan Nationalists, and while she’d initially seen the cause as admirable, the increasing reports of violence and suppression from them had gradually turned her off to the movement. Even if they were fighting to contain the Faunus threat, that didn’t mean anything to Belle if they were going to brutalize humans in their place.
But she didn’t pay too much attention to it, until the news of the Attack on Haven, and the press release from the Scarlet Group that followed.
Their article was... offputting, to put it lightly. They’d bragged about their attack on the Academy, and their contributions to the chaos of the situation. While Belle could see the issues on Haven’s end as shown by the chat logs, to pin the Academy as the villain for what they themselves admitted were the actions of select individuals. And to blame them for exploiting chaos that they had started?
Belle knew now that these people were nothing but trouble. Veterans of the war or not, this “Scarlet Group” clearly wasn’t composed of the noble defenders they made themselves out to be.
And now with Haven in shambles, a new idea came to her mind.
When she graduated from Forge, she’d found a new purpose in being an upstanding citizen of the Fortress City, but Belle knew there was little she’d be able to do here. She’d decided her new calling was to help people in danger, and Kuchinashi was one of the safest places on Remnant. But as a huntsman, she could contribute much more to the world, and the Attack on Haven and the Fall made people like her needed now more than ever.
Soon enough, she’d filed in her discharge forums, and made the trip to the city of Mistral.
__________________________
Belle made the journey by foot as she did all those years ago, but this time, she had the experiences given by Kuchinashi at her back, and everything felt better. She didn’t have anything to fear anymore; Belle could fight for herself, and she had an intimate knowledge of Anima unlike before. Now, she could pave her own path, just like her ancestors before her.
And so she did. She came across a few Grimm on her travels, but she’d learned what to expect from Forge, and with her instinct for travel, she found the safest and speediest routes. Within a few months, quicker than expected, Belle had made it to the city without a scratch.
Haven had taken her in at a heartbeat; a certified academy graduate was a welcome break from the vagabonds that usually applied to the school, and she faced her initiation soon enough.
Her opponent was a ram faunus twice her size, and Belle couldn’t help but be reminded of when she’d lost her father all those years before.
(INCOMPLETE, NEED TO DEAL WITH NEW LORE COMPLICATIONS)
[attr=class,cs-bottom haven]