Name: Meral Dandee
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Race: Her Mother was Faunus and her Father was a human, but so far Meral hasn't displayed any Faunus features.
Nationality: Meral was born outside of the major civilizations, but her family has since been relocated to Vacuo.
Additional Appearance: Meral has a pretty unassuming and child-like appearance. She is rather short, standing at a proud 5'1, and has a small frame to match. But just by looking at her you can tell she's a friendly person. She is never seen without a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes.
In combat Meral wears no body armor, which is strange for a Huntress who likes to charge into combat. The only protective measure Meral wears is a miners helmet, with a functional light. The helmet, however, has also been upgraded for a modern age of fighting and is incredibly durable and shock resistant. Meral can be seen blocking enemy attacks with her head because of this.
Meral's attire and weapon are a sort of nod to where she came from, and what she endured. She likes to take pride in her humble roots, as a sort of mockery to any who thought she would not get to where she is now.
Personality: Extroverted is an easy way to describe Meral. She is permanently friendly and outgoing. She forgives others easily and doesn't take threats or insults very seriously, Meral considers everyone she meets, and even people she hasn't met, her friend. Her charisma and confidence has not been limited by the difficult life situation she found herself in. Meral is one of those people with a complete "can do" attitude. She tries her hardest in everything she does and tries her hardest to keep her friends positive too.
She is rather impulsive, jumping to conclusions or being the first one to run down a dangerous path. This is likely due to her high energy, which seems to be unending. Her rather fun-loving nature makes her pleasant to be around. She will be the first one to suggest the team takes the day off to go out to eat or enjoy the beach. Meral can be a bit lazy, as shown by her desire to have fun instead of train, but it's never gotten past just wanting to sleep in in the morning. She is extremely loyal to whoever leads her, often carrying out tasks without second thought.
And yet sometimes the goofy and happy exterior is just that, an exterior. Hiding her insecurities. Meral struggles to make her issues known to others, due to most people just thinking of her as the happy-go-lucky kid. Meral worries that if she tells people how she really feels that they will treat her different, or start to question her when she really feels happy. She also finds it difficult to voice her opinions, especially when they go against the opinions of higher ups or authority figures. And since she finds herself unable to go against a direct order, she is often roped into plans or ideas that she doesn't agree with.
Despite this, Meral is still a nice person to be around and an even better person to be friends with. She is always there to lend a hand or provide a shoulder to cry on. While she comes off as 'slow' she is actually quite insightful, understanding people more then she lets on.
Aspiration: Meral wants to end injustice in the world. She understands how vital Dust is, but she doesn't want others to suffer for it. Being a Huntress means that she would be able to travel the world and see many people who need help.
She also wants her father to be able to retire and never have to touch a speck of dust ever again.
Fears: - Confinement or Tight Spaces
- Loud crashing noises (i.e. Tunnel walls collapsing)
- Being the center of attention
- Aggressive authority figures
Ethics: Meral believes in freedom for all, Faunus or Human. And that the only way to keep the world from falling to despair is to stay kind to each other. Faunus should have fair workers rights, and those in difficult life situations should be given help.
Meral's standpoint on fairness and kindness, however, does not extend to those already at the top. Meral hates the Schnee Dust company, and other powerful companies like it, that take advantage of the poor and those with no other options. She would gladly see the Schnee Dust Company fall into disrepair and all their rich associates live in squalor. A taste of their own medicine.
History: Meral is an only child, born to Canary and Liam Dandee. The three of them were miners of the Schnee Dust Company, working underground to harvest Dust. Schnee Dust Company was always known for its shady workers rights, unfairly employing everyone from Faunus to Children. As long as Meral could remember she worked the mines, crawling in the tunnels too small for the adults. And all in the name of Dust.
Meral's mother and father loved each other very much. Meral's mother had the uncanny ability to detect where cave-ins were about to happen, thus keeping the miners safe. Meral's father affectionally referred to her as his "Canary in a Mine Shaft" Most of the cave ins and dangers were due to the unsafe conditions of the mines, and even when mentioned to the Schnee Dust Company higher ups, their pleas for safer measures were ignored.
When Meral was ten her mother detected a cave in, fast approaching. And while she was able to alert and save many of the miners she lost her own life. Once she had ensured the safety of her family she returned to the mine to tell more people. Moments later the tunnel collapsed.
The remaining members of the miners boycotted Schnee, refusing to mine until compensation was received for the families of those who lost loved ones, and better safety measures were implemented. Meral and her father were at the front of the protests. Under the threat of violence the miners were forced to leave the company, and more desperate Faunus took their places.
And so Meral and her father were forced to relocate. Meral and her father walked for days, with nothing but what they could carry on their backs, to the nearest nation. Vacou. Meral and her father had to completely rebuild their lives from scratch, and this time they had to do it without Meral's mother.
The two found home in a very poor neighborhood in Vacou. It was full of Faunus and people with nothing. Meral's father got a job at a local Dust Shop, rather begrudgingly. They valued his knowledge and experience with Dust, but Meral's father despised the stuff.
But the move to Vacou left Meral confused about what to do next. Her entire life had been mining Dust, and that was what she thought the rest of her life would be too. She never thought about hobbies or dreams of her own.
But one day she met a Huntress.
They were a team of hunters and huntresses from Beacon, on some sort of assigned mission. The mission wasn't anything too dangerous or vital, just helping with some repairs around the small Vacuo neighborhood.
The hunters and huntresses has just finished refurbishing a park for the children to play in, when they were stopped by a group of excited children, Meral included. The adults were happy to answer questions for the kids, even showing off their weapons and stories of battles big and small.
Meral wanted to know what the best part was. Was it the beating up monsters? Was it the fame and fortune? The answer Meral got surprised her. It wasn't the fame or fortune or the fighting. It was getting to see kids just like her getting to have safe and happy lives. Knowing that they were making a positive difference in the world. Meral was amazed by these powerful people coming to help, no matter how small the job was they just wanted to help others.
She made up her mind then and there that she wanted to become a huntress. She was enrolled in a local Hunting School and eventually, through her intense motivation and determination, was moved to Beacon Academy.
Semblance: Meral seems to have inherited her mothers uncanny ability to sense danger. Meral affectionately refers to it as Precognition. Meral occasionally is alerted to incoming danger by her semblance. This danger could be as simple as stubbing her toe or an incoming enemy ambush. She has little control over these foretellings, unless she really concentrates on the world around her.
Combat Style: Meral's combat style is all about running in, hitting once where is hurts, and then rushing out. Her weapon is very heavy and slow, it requires her to lean back with it to really charge up the hit. So the further back she swings it the stronger the attack will be. But the long wait time leaves Meral exposed to danger.
Her weapon can also function as a rifle, but her aim is nothing to write home about. She only resorts to distance fighting if there is a swarm incoming or a very large target that she doesn't have to worry about really aiming for.
Weapon: Upon Meral's sudden desire to go to Hunting School Meral and her father began to build her weapon. An energy propelled Pickaxe. Primarily melee based, Meral loves bashing enemies with it, the handle of the Pickaxe also holds a simple rifle.
Non-Combat skills: Some would consider her contagious optimism a skill. She has the ability to brighten even the darkest days with reassuring words or even a smile.
Meral also has a fantastic eye for detail. She remembers patterns and can discern when something seems "off" about a wall. This can be as life saving as discovering a hidden crawl space or as mundane as being able to see the bathroom graffiti a poor janitor tired to paint over.
Deficiencies: Can not lead to save her life. She has grown comfortable in always taking and carrying out orders, to be put in a position of power gives Meral extreme anxiety. Even if the situation is dire and she is the only one who could lead Meral would lock up and panic.
Miscellaneous: Meral's childhood of mining has left her physically ill. Years of breathing in fumes and dust has left her with a weaker lung capacity and a wheeze. She was worried that they would prevent her from becoming a Huntress, but she's been able to work around them.
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