ELEVATOR PITCH: Graduated Huntsmen and Huntresses combat resurgent Grimm and carry the torch of humanity while war and strife loom in the shadows.
The IC will be up August 18th, come hell or high water. Please have characters in by then. Post characters in the OOC first, and they will be subject to editing and approval. Once approved, please put them in the Characters tab.
It has been nearly a century since the sounds of the Great War’s great convulsive drums ceased, the air still and free of conflict for the first time in years. On the island of Vytal, a peace which has lasted seventy years endured the flames of diplomacy and forged four nations into one grand alliance. Huntsman academies were established, trade flourished, old grudges were settled and populations grew. The Grimm which had grown so mighty as shells flew and bayonets flashed were pushed back, and as the emotions which fed them subsided the great stockpiles of war were turned on the Old Enemy with tenacity and unity.
A golden age blossomed, one which for more than half a century saw the greatest strides in general happiness and welfare ever recorded, but all students of history know that no age lasts forever, no civilization is permanent. Every peak of culture, learning, wealth, looks from its lofty height and sees the yawning chasm looming in the future. Now, progress slows and stagnation has set in. Atlas and Mistral vie for the great Dust veins which promise such wealth along the northern shore. Client states, satraps and vassals of Vale and Vacuo squabble and bicker between the two great powers who watch the situation with measures of both fear and greed.
All the while, the creatures of Grimm stir. The antithesis of humanity, the Grimm who were so soundly defeated ad thrown back into the periphery of the world as their great forests were burned and their mountains leveled are resurgent. They move with coordination, appear in new forms, tear at the weaknesses of humanity and ignore the gleaming redoubts; the time of human victory appears to the most cynical to be at an end.
The hopes of humanity, and the faunus who with fire and sword broke their chains, are pinned on Hunters. Huntsmen and Huntresses, who wield coruscating souls of terrifying depth, whose every facet is a sword against the dark and a shield for the weak. The four colossal academies have birthed generations of the mightiest warriors ever to walk the face of Remnant, and in their hands the future of sentience itself rests.
All the world can do now is pray that its champions are strong enough to carry the responsibility.
OOC Information:
Welcome to Brilliant Horizon! In this RP, players will take control of powerful graduated Huntsmen or Huntresses, skilled career warriors armed with the light of their own souls. The RP is set five years before the events of the show, and as soon as the RP starts timelines will diverge: everything will change, the butterfly effect will ensure your actions shape the world into new and fantastic patterns. Your characters have just graduated as part of the same class from Beacon Academy as the shining stars of the institution, and great things are expected from you by interested parties and the proletariat masses. The responsibilities of a warrior are immense, and the stresses of the battlefield are hardly taught in classrooms. The way of a Hunter is one of violence and risk, partaken willingly, but what are you willing to sacrifice to save the world?
Dark forces conspire, danger looms, and the ties of family or alliance stretch to breaking points. The world is not simple, and solutions are not easy. When should idealism be compromised? When is altruism unequipped to bind the wounds of the world? What is the worth of a single soul, and what reasons justify violence? Has Humanity earned its lofty throne of existence?
This game encourages player agency both in the plot and the setting, and active, enthusiastic players are encouraged above all else. Post length is not heavily enforced, but quality writing and agency in the plot are asked of players looking to join. Players will be accepted into the game once they produce a character sheet of quality, following the template here:
Name: (Unless you have a good explanation, please follow the RWBY convention of color references, for consistency of tone) Age: (You will be playing newly-graduated hunters, so anywhere from 20-22 is the average. This may be higher, but probably not lower.) Gender: (Because of the colossal power of Hunters, natural physical ability is less important. As such, women serve alongside men in almost equal numbers as Huntresses unlike the national militaries) Race: (Faunus are much less common among the ranks of Hunters for many reasons, but they are still present in large numbers) Nationality: (All the characters have just graduated from Beacon Academy, but they can be from any corner of Remnant) Appearance: (A picture here is fine, but text is preferred)
Personality: (Who is your character?) Aspiration: (What drives your character?) Fears: (What terrifies your character to the core? Ethics: (What does your character consider right and wrong? How do they view the world?) History: (What shaped your character to be who they are? Include here past relations, positive and negative.)
Semblance: (The direct manifestation of the soul in the world. Each is unique to the person, and reflective of their character in subtle or obvious ways) Combat Style: (Every hunter fights in a unique way determined by their semblance: go wild here.) Weapon: (Hunters’ weapons are often as unique as their bizarre powers, as the requirements are different. Text or pictures are welcome, or both.)
Non-Combat skills: (Every Hunter is a talented fighter: what can yours do that the others cannot?) Deficiencies: (No-one is good at everything. What is your character bad at?) Miscellaneous: (Anything that doesn’t quite fit in the other categories goes here.)
Make a character, @Aziraphale, and we'll get you slotted in. I don't really have a set number for this, I'll just wait until I have enough good characters in.
People say Mina is a looker, in a before-her-time kind of way. Long neck and red lips to match that red hair that falls around her ears in whatever way it damn well chooses. Her skin looks like it has never seen the sun, regardless of how long she spends in it, and her eyes are... probably brown. Without a bright light, they may as well be black holes.
She doesn't wear armour, per say, as she doesn't intend on getting hit. Her day to day is a short gold dress which clinches at the waist and falls in folds at the bottom, the sleeves come over her shoulder like a shawl. This area, and over her breast bone, is lined with a thin mesh to protect from piercing attacks. Ultimately, it is meant to keep her light on her feet. And, just for style the dress has an absurd feather collar. She loves it. She also wears long black boots which go above the knee and a black leather jacket to set the look off. This too adds a decent layer of protection.
Her Faunus feature, like the rest of her family, is a big, red fox tail.
Personality:
What would you say you're like, Mina?
Calm. Brave, I'd hope. Oh, and an absolute sweetheart, honey. A doll.
So it isn't true that your siblings call you ruthless?
I hold my hands up, I won't let anyone step on me, or my family. But I do try to see the best in everyone. Try and take pity or mercy, whatever you want to call it.
You're being far too easy on yourself. I've heard you're a bit of a liar.
If you want to call a bit of tactical flattery lying then go for it. I never said I was a angel-
Well, you kind of did-
No I think you're twisting my words, honey.
Ok... So what are your faults then?
They say I've got a bit of a bite sometimes. A sting in my words.
I don't know Mina, you seem pretty friendly.
Why thank you. I'm not a deliberately unkind to anyone, in fact, I try to have something good to say about everyone. But I won't go out of my way to please anyone who thinks they can cross me. I can't stand rudeness. My father taught me that.
So you might say you've got two faces?
Maybe, honey. Maybe. But they're both very real.
So what inspired you to become a Hunter?
I don't want to save the world. It's just not a realistic goal, is it? But I want to do what's best by my family, make them proud. If I can help people along the way then that's just a bonus.
What really scares you Mina?
Oh, I don't think I'll be answering that.
Family: Her family being hurt or worse.
Exposed: large exposed areas, mainly in battle. It puts her on edge.
Innocence lost: The harm of those who are truly defenseless.
Ethics: A realist but not a pessimist.
Mina knows there is dark in the world but it is diminished by those sparks of pure, bright light. She understands that not everyone has a "good" side, but she knows most have a pain and a life and a mind like her own- it makes them easier to understand and easier to forgive. Even those who have feared her kind. However, she cannot tolerate those who look past the "lesser" or "weaker", human and faunus alike.
Mina's world view is not black and white. Every situation is different, determined by many factors. She is ready to be challenged on her views which can make her loyalties falter at times. Other's opinions can often cast doubt on her own. She considers this a good thing, personal growth. She can, and has, done unsavory things to achieve what she needs to, including lie ("tactical flattery, honey"). But ultimately, she does consider herself to be "good". Whatever that means.
History:
Mina was born into a big family, the second eldest of six. Mistral, her home, has a bad rep. Swamps full of low lives and thugs, they say. Mina thinks this is an unfair assessment. Sure enough, it was a rough place to grow up. Her father worked incredibly hard to keep their family fed after her mother's death some years earlier and the swamp town she grew up in had its share of unsavory characters, not to mention no real infrastructure to speak of. But, she was happy. She would learn to fight with her brothers, dance with her sisters and play a mean hand of cards with the men in town (where she first learnt to lie). She often took care of her four younger siblings when her father was working.
Her village was almost entirely populated by Faunus so her family was rarely exposed to the discrimination so common to other areas of Remnant. But the peace wasn't to last. Slowly, as the area became more populated with humans, the level of mistrust and hatred directed towards her and her family. When they travelled to bigger cities, Mina would notice the signs, "No Faunus" and "Humans only". They weren't new, they had always been there but her father had protected his children from it. She was old enough to see it now. One summer, a band of Faunus calling themselves the White Fang traveled through her populated villages of Mistral. They told tales of the injustice done to her kind, the rising discrimination and even violence. It moved her, of course it did, but it moved someone else in her family more.
Her eldest brother, Garnet, had always had the dream of becoming a Hunter. The opportunities at Haven, Mistral's own academy, were fewer for those of their kind so instead he sought a place at Beacon. Mina remembers watching him train, day and night, to gain acceptance into the prestigious academy. Often she would train with him, to keep him motivated. However, after the White Fang's arrival, Garnet no longer seemed interested in Beacon, in becoming a Hunter or protecting the realm. Instead he was inspired to hatred and justice against humans. He left for the White Fang, shortly after receiving an acceptance letter from Beacon.
Mina's father, a kind hearted man, could not condone Garnet's joining what was clearly a terrorist group and disowned his son. His weapon, which was meant to be passed to Garnet, instead was given to her. It made her think; the Faunus in her village, almost a city now, had fallen on tough times. If she could become a Huntress she could provide for her family. Well, good thing there was still an Amaranth enrolled at Beacon.
Mina attended in her brother's place. Through clever words, and half truths, it took Ozpin... days to notice that she was not the brother who had been accepted to Beacon. However, he didn't send her away. Seeing potential, Ozpin allowed Mina to continue at Beacon, with an extra foundation year to catch up with her peers.
She hasn't heard from her brother since starting at Beacon.
Miscellaneous: Garnet Amaranth is, at this point, quite a high ranking member of the White Fang.
Semblance: Second Face
Mina can make a copy of herself which does not have it's own free will aside from being able to move where Mina mentally directs it. The copy cannot speak but Mina can see through it's eyes and hear what it hears if she is concentrating on that alone. In battle, it will mirror her attacks. The copy itself has Mina's shape and look but is just slightly... darker. A shadow, almost.
Weapon: A large energy-gun with one long barrel that can morph into an absurdly large double handed longsword. This harnesses the same energy and creates a sword with a blue energy blade. Mina drags it behind her and it gives off sparks. It's not quite her style but it is a family weapon, upgraded for modern demands.
Combat Style: Mine's style is largely defensive in nature. She doesn't dart around, she holds her ground, choosing tactical point where opponents can only really reach her from one side. At a distance she will use her energy-gun, with little to no precision, to take out large areas. There is little room for hand to hand combat when wielding a two handed sword so when an enemy does approach Mina is quick to block direct hits, using the sword as a shield, before bringing it down down for a powerful, and surprisingly quick, blow.
Mina uses her semblance when her opponent's defense is strong or they are simply too fast. Often she will produce her copy directly behind her opponent so when she goes to strike them, another blow will come down from the opposite direction.
Miscellaneous: Mina's tail is excellent for balancing and agility but also a very easy target. It's one of the reason she keeps her back covered in combat.
Non-Combat skills: It's already been mentioned once or twice but Mina is quite the spinner. She can tell any tale, flatter any fool and soothe any worry. She's also quite the dancer and can play a great game of poker.
Deficiencies: Not turning a blind eye. She doesn't consider herself any kind of hero but if there is someone in need she would drop almost anything which can be a liability. No one can save everyone but she'll damn well try which can cause her to rush into situations.
She is normally quite a calm person, you very rarely see her angry. But her family and friends are a sore point. Threats or comments taken towards them can send her into a rage.
@Aziraphale It's a state of play, in which any move you make will make your position worse. Also, I think you're good to put your sheet in the characters tab, I like her. I might need to talk to you about one or two things, but they're minor things don't worry.
Make a character, there's room left for sure! I don't quite know how many players there'll be, but it's hard to turn down a good character. Have something excellent in by the 18th and you'll slot right in for sure.
Glad to hear it! Like I said, the IC will be up on August 18th, probably late in the evening. As long as you have the final draft of the sheet in by then, there are no issues.
