STATUS:
Loved Xenoblade 3, and I just got done with Astral Chain my friend lent me. Monster Hunter Stories 2 is next, and so far I'm liking it!
2 yrs ago
"Welcome to Shade Academy. As future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it will be your duty to uphold the stability of the world- no pressure."
Brunhilde inwardly gave an incredulous chuckle, standing next to the window of the Vacuan airbus with her index fingers and thumbs forming a diamond in front of her chest. As if saying "no pressure" would just magically ease her nerves. She looked out of the window to the sandy reaches below, seeing the plateau of Shade Academy split the horizon in two. How much stability was there to even uphold in a place like this? It had only been a few months since her parents had made the decision to move from Vale to Vacuo, and she still hadn't quite gotten used to their new environment yet. This kingdom seemed almost lawless sometimes compared to the orderly ways of Vale. Was living here really better than being close to places the White Fang was active?
No, she told herself. She had already bemoaned the huge change long enough. She couldn't do anything about it, so there was no use letting it dominate her thoughts. She gave her head a shake, her brown locks swinging from side to side behind her. She had to focus. She was going to become a huntress, just like her mom and dad. The people living in Vacuo still needed protection from Grimm, just like the people in Vale, and she'd be just as proud to provide it to the former as the latter. And she'd never get to that point if she just spent all her time feeling nervous and sorry for herself.
The air bus touched down and other students started filing out onto the academy grounds. Not wanting to be in anyone's way, Brunhilde waited for everyone else to disembark first, making her the last one off of the Vacuo shuttle. She moved out of the landing area immediately, not wanting to be in the way of anying getting off the next ships to touch down. She looked around at all the students. Some wore fashion common in Vale, which helped make her feel a bit more at ease. She herself had opted for a plain white tee with tan shorts, and a green sweater tied around her waist that she had intended to wear on her actual torso, wanting to look nice on her first day at Shade Academy. She hadn't yet updated her wardrobe for Vacuo's weather to combine form and function; it was either Valean form or Vacuan function. So there it stayed, around her hips instead.
She turned away from the throngs of people to gaze up toward the Spire - the antenna for Vacuo's CCT tower - shielding her eyes from the sun with her left hand as she did so. Here she was, Shade Academy. A surreal experience, seeing as how she'd always imagined herself attending Beacon if she'd been good enough. All the pride of having reached a high pillar without any of the familiarity.
Brunhilde frowned, feeling herself dip back into that negative line of thinking again. In a desperate attempt to refocus her thoughts, she pulled Jormungandr over her shoulder, the camo-pattern guitar having been strapped to her back for the entire ride since it basically went with her wherever she went, and brought her fingers to the strings. A victorious-sounding guitar riff sounded out over the crowd of students talking and monitors displaying the news. The sound signified the pride she felt at having trained hard enough to be accepted by one of the most famous hunting academies in the four kingdoms.
Immediately Brunhilde lowered her head and hunched her shoulders, trying to shrink herself as she looked around at all the people who were no doubt staring right in her direction now.
Nickel counted herself lucky she didn't have a stomach. It was hard not to be thankful given that someone else on the Vacuan air bus, standing not too far away from her, had come down with motion sickness during the trip. Certainly such an affliction had to occur every semester in a handful of new students, but that didn't make it any less embarassing- or unpleasant-looking. Had she the capability to become motion sick, she almost certainly would have; this was her first ever time being carried by air bus, and having only come into existence two months ago wouldn't have helped her resist the affliction, either.
I guess dad built a bit of luck into me. Hahah!
As the air bus touched down and students around her began to disembark, Nickel was still smiling at the absurdity of such an idea, as well as the heartwarming image it formed in her mind, as she followed the crowd onto the sandy rocks Shade Academy was built upon. Immediately the screens above caught her attention, as seemed intended, as the news program they were displaying changed to a different broadcast. It sounded like one of the academy's staff was addressing the new arrivals, probably an administrator.
But is their equipment really so poor that they can't transmit an image of the speaker? I should have them talk to dad about that.
As she mused inwardly about whether Shade would have enough money to pay Toolmaster's fee if they didn't even have enough to make a professional first impression on the new students, Nickel looked around at the crowds disembarking from the other air buses. Some of the buses were even from other kingdoms, and the students filing off of them looked suitably exotic. Nickel's smile grew wider, thinking of meeting lots of foreigners and learning about the world beyond the sands of Vacuo through them. How did their values differ from those of Vacuans? Would she be able to see the value in their opinions?
Taking a calming breath in and out, Nickel let the tension drain from her body, replacing her excitement with a more relaxed energy. If she was going to learn anything, she had to pay attention, and she couldn't do that while wrapped up in her own imagination.
Name: Brunhilde Braun Age: 16 Sex: Female Phenotype: Faunus (Feline) Appearance: Stands at 5'4". Has long hair reaching her mid-back with bangs cut low to her brow, colored a healthy shade of brown. Eyes are round and lively, a shade or two darker brown than her hair. Her skin is a fair caucasian tone, with some tan depending on her sun exposure. Her body has a cat's tail, fur coloured the same shade of brown as her hair. Her hunting outfit consists of a forest green cloth draped over her shoulders, covering a plain brown T-shirt that leaves her arrms and hands bare, paired with forest green shorts that reach the top of her knees. Around her neck is a string of claws and teeth from various (forest animals/Grimm), and her feet are protected by a pair of brown combat boots. Her shorts have pouches for food, a canteen for water, and a holstered survival knife attatched to the belt.
Casual wear also typically involves similar shades of brown and green, usually long-sleeve shirts and jeans or shorts.
Nationality: Valean Weapon: Jormungandr
A variable weapon with three distinct modes: Guitar, Axe, and Sword-and-Shield. Guitar mode is its default state, the form it takes when not on a hunt. Fully functional as an electric guitar with a built in speaker/amp. Coloured in camo pattern matching the forest green and brown of her outfit, along with some black spots. The shape is the standard curved shape most electric guitars have.
In Sword-and-Shield mode, the body and the neck of the guitar separate, the strings retracting into a spool located on the body. A single-edged blade is revealed on the neck during the split, as well as a white vial located on the blunt side, just above the guard. The body splits into sections and produces blades on the top and bottom, and the body strap is pulled tight to become an arm strap. The sword is gripped in the left hand, and the shield in the right, turned so that the slot for the neck is pointed upward and the blades are on the sides. In this mode, Brunhilde can perform a versatile combination of offense and defense, using her natural affinity for dance and rhythm to flow seamlessly between the two. In addition, the vial located on the blade has the ability to store kinetic enery created by landing blows against objects with the blade. This kinetic energy can then be transferred to the shield, which has five vials located inside of it in total. This energy can be used in different ways depending on the mode Jormungandr is in; in Sword-and-Shield mode, the energy can be discharged and manipulated by Brunhilde's Semblance into concussive blasts in reaction to incoming attacks hitting her the shield, blowing away and potentially damaging her attacker.
In Axe mode, the sword reconnects with the shield, which turns 180 degrees on an axis located on a shaft within the guitar body, giving it extra reach and turning the weapon into a large double-bladed axe. In this mode, Brunhilde can leverage the weight on the far end of the shaft for wide, destructive attacks, though she becomes much more open to taking hits as well. In addition, any kinetic energy stored in the axe head's vials can be discharged and controlled by Brunhilde's Semblance, allowing her to create short-range concussive blasts concentrated at the point of impact of her axe's swing, whose strength depends on the number of vials worth of energy discharged at one time. Finally, the axe head can also be spun on the axis within the shaft, creating a buzz-saw effect, though overuse of this feature will cause the weapon to overheat, resulting in Brunhilde losing access to the kinetic energy manipulating properties of Jormungandr. At most, the axe head can spin for about six consecutive seconds before overheating.
Once the body of the guitar has kinetic energy built up, the Guitar mode gains a new feature as well; playing music will discharge the stored up energy, which can be used to form small barriers or fire weak, medium-range sonic projectiles.
Semblance: Brunhilde's Semblance allows her to manipulate kinetic energy in the air. However, she cannot create it using her Semblance, so she must rely on outside sources to make her Semblance act upon. This usually ends up being sound waves, which she can make louder, quieter, a different pitch, or even intense in vibration. However, thanks to her weapon, she can use it to create short-range concussive blasts using the kinetic energy her weapon is able to discharge. Aura Color: Brown Emblem: An electric guitar with a curved cat's tail where the neck would normally be. Personality: To people she's not familiar with, Brunhilde is the epitome of a wallflower. Shy, meek, and usually fading into the background. She'll avoid confrontation, keep her opinions to herself, and generally avoid engaging with people unless they interest her in some way, typically by displaying musical talent or an appreciation for music if they can't make it themselves. Even for someone unable to speak, she's quiet.
To those who she chooses to become familiar with, or go out of their way to interact with her, she's the loudest mute they will ever have the pleasure of knowing. Bombastic and spontaneous, with a flair for drama and performance, Brunhilde loves to have the attention of people she knows she can trust. She's capable of having long discussions about shared interests and her strong opinions via a text application on her scroll, And even without her scroll she's expressive enough in face and body that she usually has little problem communicating her thoughts and feelings to those who pay enough attention to listen.
Background: Brunhilde's life has been, for the most part, relatively uneventful. The biggest thing that shook the status quo of her life was when her parents made the decision to move from Vale to Vacuo to avoid the inevitable crisis that would result from the building tensions due to the actions of the White Fang in that kingdom. Given that both her parents are accomplished hunters, with her father enjoying wilderness survival as a hobby on top of that, there was little question that they'd be able to face the harshness of Vacuo's desert and find refuge from the unpredictable political dangers in the much more manageble dangers found therein.
Brunhilde has naturally developed a variety of talents thanks to the time spent with her parents, having inherited their skill in hunting Grimm, her father's wilderness survival knowledge, and her mothers' musical aptitude. Her overall lack of a social life with other children - caused by the combination of her lack of functioning vocal chords with her parents' enjoyment on the outskirts of civilization rather than within cities - has led to her overall shyness in social climates. Likes: Rock and roll, metal, jazz, techno, polka Dislikes: People who are loud to the point of being inconsiderate, People who are as quiet as she is Favors:
Survival Skills: Brunhilde's training at previous smaller academies involved suriving in the wilderness, which has given her a level of hardiness potentially above that of her peers when it comes to drawn-out hunting missions. Her mind is a valuable resource of knowledge on how to survive without the amenities afforded by modern civilization.
Morale Management: Brunhilde's musical skills can be valuable in and of themselves for allowing her to bring up her allies' moods, improving their mental state for combat. She's skilled in a variety of genres of music so she can usually come up with a tune for each member of her team if there's no consensus on what kind they enjoy.
Tank: Given her weapon's defensive capabilities and the fact that she doesn't rely on her semblance much in battle, Brunhilde has an easier time holding out and drawing out fights than her peers, leading her to be the natural choice for engaing Grimm head-on.
Disfavors:
Long-Range Combat: Brunhilde's skill set in combat consists of staying close to targets and keeping their attention, using her Sword-and-Shield mode's defensive capability to avoid taking too much damage and her Axe mode's power to keep enemies' attention on her. Because of this, her long-range capabilities are lacking in general, and she can't do much to an enemy she can't get close to.
Communication: Being that she is mute, communication can be a chore for her more than it is for other hunters, even if she likes to act like this is not the case. In the heat of combat, she can't simply pull out her scroll and type out a sentence, and there's no guarantee her teammates will have the opportunity to look away from an enemy to see her non-verbal communications. Naturally, this can be an issue outside of combat as well; for example, misunderstandings are even harder to clear up than normal when one does not have words readily at their disposal.
Friendly Fire: Especially when Jormungandr is in Axe form, she can be just as dangerous to her own teammates as she can be to Grimm they're facing, given how widely it swings and how powerful the indiscriminate concussive blasts can be. This makes it difficult for her to use everything at her disposal in situations where she needs to work in close proximity to her team, or alternatively makes it diffcult for her team to back her up when she's going all-out.
Relationships-
Umber Braun: Brunhilde's mother. Cat faunus with black eyes, black hair cut in a bob, black-furred tail, sharp features, standing at 5'5". Often wears a tense, humorless expression behind her glasses. She and Hilda are very close and enjoy playing music together.
Beauregard Braun: Brunhilde's father. Hulk of a man standing at 6'7", shaggy brown hair and bushy brown full beard. Smiles a lot around people. Rabbit faunus with adorable brown bunny ears. Also very close with Hilda, and very proud that his daughter grew to be someone who doesn't let her disability impede her ambition.
Feeling the weight of Maple King's hand upon her shoulder made her heart jump, her grin growing wider. It was the same weight her grandpas' hands would have when they did the gesture. As if she couldn't be endeared toward him any more than she already had been! She had half a mind to request to be transferred to his class after school that day! No, she couldn't do that to Mr. Hayes. In fact, it was probably better for her to have an educator that didn't act like her grandpas. It would make her more well-rounded as a person.
"Alright, here's the training. Every pair will...face one another in duel!
Oh....
When Gabby had volunteered to team up with Momo, it had been on the assumption that there would be two teams, and she would be fighting beside Momo and others against whoever was on the opposite team. Instead it seemed she had volunteered to be Momo's opponent in a series of simultaneous one-on-one duels. That was...not the bonding experience she had been hoping to have with her new friend.
Frowning, Gabby looked to Momo, who...seemed more than excited at the prospect, which seemed to be her default state. ...I should have her attitude. This is just like learning lucha libre with my grandfathers, after all! Finding herself imbued by Momo's infectious energy, Gabby joined Momo away from the other students, smiling back at her.
"If dancing is what you wish to see, then dancing is what you shall receive!"
And dance she did. She raised her arms in the air and kicked off her sandals, leaving her barefoot in grey track pants and a black tank top with a vertical green stripe on the left side of the chest. She put her right foot forward and rocked her hips, eyes locked on Momo, then repeated the motion with her left foot forward. A few repetitions of that would see Gabriella move within 8 feet of Momo, at which point Gabby would twirl around while leaping up in the air, throwing her huge body toward Momo while tilting her body sideways. Her right leg came up and over as she came down, attempting to hit Momo with a powerful leg drop that would leave Gabby prone on the gym floor.
The first person to take a guess at her quirk was another newcomer like herself, having arrived just after her entrance. She couldn't deny she was amused by his demeanour, even if his visual aesthetic was a little too close to her own for her liking - what with the elegant-looking costume and emphasis on blacks and whites. Kind of made her feel like she stood out less. Though she found herself able to forgive him as he voiced his guess, elliciting a laugh from her in response. Oh, if only being goth had been her quirk, her life would have been much different. Probably better in a lot of ways. Although she imagined her classmates through school would have still given her the same amount of "creepy girl" comments.
She paid attention as the group's leader, Noxious, outlined the job they'd be doing - breaking another member of the League out of a prison transfer bus. Okay, should be a quick job. Noxious appointed Anarchy Red as their leader for the mission. No reason to complain about that, either.
Following were more comments directed at her from Sharkman and Corvus. The former complimented her "threads", making Molly quirk her brow as she smiled toward him. Something about the way he said it made her feel like he wasn't just talking about her outfit. The latter provided a genuine guess at her quirk, and he was as accurate as he could be given how much information she'd given about herself.
"You're right on the money, sir Corvus. Though it doesn't look like I have time to expound the details to you," Molly replied, looking around at the others. Given how few details Anarchy Red had given about how she wanted to handle the mission, it looked like they'd be making their way shortly. But for the moment, she had opened the floor to questions. Although it looked like Sharkman had taken that to include suggestions as well, suggesting he be dropped off seperately. "If I may make a suggestion as well, how about using me as a crane? If I hang from the helicopter, the pilot would only have to swing low once the prison convoy has been stopped and Animus is in the open, and I could snatch them right up for us, allowing a quick in-and-out."
Name: Brunhilde Braun Age: 16 Sex: Female Phenotype: Faunus (Feline) Appearance: Stands at 5'4". Has long hair reaching her mid-back with bangs cut low to her brow, colored a healthy shade of brown. Eyes are round and lively, a shade or two darker brown than her hair. Her skin is a fair caucasian tone, with some tan depending on her sun exposure. Her body has a cat's tail, fur coloured the same shade of brown as her hair. Her hunting outfit consists of a forest green cloth draped over her shoulders, covering a plain brown T-shirt that leaves her arrms and hands bare, paired with forest green shorts that reach the top of her knees. Around her neck is a string of claws and teeth from various (forest animals/Grimm), and her feet are protected by a pair of brown combat boots. Her shorts have pouches for food, a canteen for water, and a holstered survival knife attatched to the belt.
Casual wear also typically involves similar shades of brown and green, usually long-sleeve shirts and jeans or shorts.
Nationality: Valean Weapon: Jormungandr
A variable weapon with three distinct modes: Guitar, Axe, and Sword-and-Shield. Guitar mode is its default state, the form it takes when not on a hunt. Fully functional as an electric guitar with a built in speaker/amp. Coloured in camo pattern matching the forest green and brown of her outfit, along with some black spots. The shape is the standard curved shape most electric guitars have.
In Sword-and-Shield mode, the body and the neck of the guitar separate, the strings retracting into a spool located on the body. A single-edged blade is revealed on the neck during the split, as well as a white vial located on the blunt side, just above the guard. The body splits into sections and produces blades on the top and bottom, and the body strap is pulled tight to become an arm strap. The sword is gripped in the left hand, and the shield in the right, turned so that the slot for the neck is pointed upward and the blades are on the sides. In this mode, Brunhilde can perform a versatile combination of offense and defense, using her natural affinity for dance and rhythm to flow seamlessly between the two. In addition, the vial located on the blade has the ability to store kinetic enery created by landing blows against objects with the blade. This kinetic energy can then be transferred to the shield, which has five vials located inside of it in total. This energy can be used in different ways depending on the mode Jormungandr is in; in Sword-and-Shield mode, the energy can be discharged and manipulated by Brunhilde's Semblance into concussive blasts in reaction to incoming attacks hitting her the shield, blowing away and potentially damaging her attacker.
In Axe mode, the sword reconnects with the shield, which turns 180 degrees on an axis located on a shaft within the guitar body, giving it extra reach and turning the weapon into a large double-bladed axe. In this mode, Brunhilde can leverage the weight on the far end of the shaft for wide, destructive attacks, though she becomes much more open to taking hits as well. In addition, any kinetic energy stored in the axe head's vials can be discharged and controlled by Brunhilde's Semblance, allowing her to create short-range concussive blasts concentrated at the point of impact of her axe's swing, whose strength depends on the number of vials worth of energy discharged at one time. Finally, the axe head can also be spun on the axis within the shaft, creating a buzz-saw effect, though overuse of this feature will cause the weapon to overheat, resulting in Brunhilde losing access to the kinetic energy manipulating properties of Jormungandr. At most, the axe head can spin for about six consecutive seconds before overheating.
Once the body of the guitar has kinetic energy built up, the Guitar mode gains a new feature as well; playing music will discharge the stored up energy, which can be used to form small barriers or fire weak, medium-range sonic projectiles.
Semblance: Brunhilde's Semblance allows her to manipulate kinetic energy in the air. However, she cannot create it using her Semblance, so she must rely on outside sources to make her Semblance act upon. This usually ends up being sound waves, which she can make louder, quieter, a different pitch, or even intense in vibration. However, thanks to her weapon, she can use it to create short-range concussive blasts using the kinetic energy her weapon is able to discharge. Aura Color: Brown Emblem: An electric guitar with a curved cat's tail where the neck would normally be. Personality: To people she's not familiar with, Brunhilde is the epitome of a wallflower. Shy, meek, and usually fading into the background. She'll avoid confrontation, keep her opinions to herself, and generally avoid engaging with people unless they interest her in some way, typically by displaying musical talent or an appreciation for music if they can't make it themselves. Even for someone unable to speak, she's quiet.
To those who she chooses to become familiar with, or go out of their way to interact with her, she's the loudest mute they will ever have the pleasure of knowing. Bombastic and spontaneous, with a flair for drama and performance, Brunhilde loves to have the attention of people she knows she can trust. She's capable of having long discussions about shared interests and her strong opinions via a text application on her scroll, And even without her scroll she's expressive enough in face and body that she usually has little problem communicating her thoughts and feelings to those who pay enough attention to listen.
Background: Brunhilde's life has been, for the most part, relatively uneventful. The biggest thing that shook the status quo of her life was when her parents made the decision to move from Vale to Vacuo to avoid the inevitable crisis that would result from the building tensions due to the actions of the White Fang in that kingdom. Given that both her parents are accomplished hunters, with her father enjoying wilderness survival as a hobby on top of that, there was little question that they'd be able to face the harshness of Vacuo's desert and find refuge from the unpredictable political dangers in the much more manageble dangers found therein.
Brunhilde has naturally developed a variety of talents thanks to the time spent with her parents, having inherited their skill in hunting Grimm, her father's wilderness survival knowledge, and her mothers' musical aptitude. Her overall lack of a social life with other children - caused by the combination of her lack of functioning vocal chords with her parents' enjoyment on the outskirts of civilization rather than within cities - has led to her overall shyness in social climates. Likes: Rock and roll, metal, jazz, techno, polka Dislikes: People who are loud to the point of being inconsiderate, People who are as quiet as she is Favors:
Survival Skills: Brunhilde's training at previous smaller academies involved suriving in the wilderness, which has given her a level of hardiness potentially above that of her peers when it comes to drawn-out hunting missions. Her mind is a valuable resource of knowledge on how to survive without the amenities afforded by modern civilization.
Morale Management: Brunhilde's musical skills can be valuable in and of themselves for allowing her to bring up her allies' moods, improving their mental state for combat. She's skilled in a variety of genres of music so she can usually come up with a tune for each member of her team if there's no consensus on what kind they enjoy.
Tank: Given her weapon's defensive capabilities and the fact that she doesn't rely on her semblance much in battle, Brunhilde has an easier time holding out and drawing out fights than her peers, leading her to be the natural choice for engaing Grimm head-on.
Disfavors:
Long-Range Combat: Brunhilde's skill set in combat consists of staying close to targets and keeping their attention, using her Sword-and-Shield mode's defensive capability to avoid taking too much damage and her Axe mode's power to keep enemies' attention on her. Because of this, her long-range capabilities are lacking in general, and she can't do much to an enemy she can't get close to.
Communication: Being that she is mute, communication can be a chore for her more than it is for other hunters, even if she likes to act like this is not the case. In the heat of combat, she can't simply pull out her scroll and type out a sentence, and there's no guarantee her teammates will have the opportunity to look away from an enemy to see her non-verbal communications. Naturally, this can be an issue outside of combat as well; for example, misunderstandings are even harder to clear up than normal when one does not have words readily at their disposal.
Friendly Fire: Especially when Jormungandr is in Axe form, she can be just as dangerous to her own teammates as she can be to Grimm they're facing, given how widely it swings and how powerful the indiscriminate concussive blasts can be. This makes it difficult for her to use everything at her disposal in situations where she needs to work in close proximity to her team, or alternatively makes it diffcult for her team to back her up when she's going all-out.
Relationships-
Umber Braun: Brunhilde's mother. Cat faunus with black eyes, black hair cut in a bob, black-furred tail, sharp features, standing at 5'5". Often wears a tense, humorless expression behind her glasses. She and Hilda are very close and enjoy playing music together.
Beauregard Braun: Brunhilde's father. Hulk of a man standing at 6'7", shaggy brown hair and bushy brown full beard. Smiles a lot around people. Rabbit faunus with adorable brown bunny ears. Also very close with Hilda, and very proud that his daughter grew to be someone who doesn't let her disability impede her ambition.
Gabby felt a bead of sweat grace her brow as she looked upon the surprised expression her performance had placed upon Momo's face. And it wasn't the good kind of sweat borne of exertion. But in a flash, Momo's smile returned, seemingly brighter even than before, and Gabby was immediately infected by it. The tension eased out of her face, allowing her nervous smile to become a genuine grin as Momo bragged to her friends about how good of an impression she'd made, referring to her as "cool". An honor Gabby recalled having dreamed of for many nights in her younger days, before she found comfort with her own image in her later years of high school. Still, even if she didn't yearn for it now as much as then, that didn't stop it from being a nice moment all the same.
Gabby allowed the rest of her body to relax afterward as the darker haired one began speaking again. Gabby half-paid attention, having already decided she had little to gain by giving that girl her attention. Something about a team-on-team training exercise. Gabby pursed her lips, kind of liking the idea, but wishing it came from someone she actually cared to give credit to for the idea. Luckily for her, someone much more appealing entered the room, signalled by his loud voice booming throughout the gymnasium. Ah, Maple King! She'd never admit it to Mr. Hayes, but Gabriella had actually been hoping to end up in Maple King's homeroom back during the application process, when she learned he was a teacher at UJ Academy. He was like the Canadian version of her grandpas, how could she not?!
That being the case, her grin remained stuck to her face even as he chided them for picking fights on school grounds. She knew that wasn't what had been happening anyway so it didn't worry her any. Her face beamed still as Momo referred to her as a friend and tried to wrap her arm around Gabriella's wide midsection, putting her arm on the smaller girl's opposite shoulder and pulling Momo against her abs. Maple King didn't look convinced, which hurt a little, but she put her trust in Momo's word.
As Kerianne answered Maple King's question on the team practice session, Gabby nodded along in agreement. Kerianne then suggested forming their teams. Gabriella's face was split by a grin once more. "Gabby calls Momo for her team!" she announced, raising her hand for the added attention. She then looked around at the other students, her smile turning sheepish as she realized that maybe they might have wanted to split the teams up based on class, or that Momo might rather be on a team with her own friends. "...Assuming that it is not too bold of me to do so..."
The answer to Dean's question was carried into the room by a velvety-smooth woman's voice, deepened by her maturity. Looking in the direction it came from, any of the villains in the room would be able to see one of the aforementioned new villains; a woman dressed in a flowing, puffed-up ballgown of black and white, adorned with a large white bow cut in the shape of a bat's wings, wearing a mask over her eyes and nose. Her body, leaning forward at an angle a normal person would struggle to maintain, appeared to glide over the ground, the gentle sound of her footwear scraping along the stone floor audible to the ear. In actuality, her body was being pulled forward by the many thread-thin tentacle muscles that gripped the room's ceiling, sticking and un-sticking as needed to carry her forward toward the table both Corvus and Sharkman had taken a seat at. Her hand reached forward toward a chair to pull it out from the table, then her body rose up into the air for a brief moment as the invisible threads controlling her deposited her body into the seat.
If she were to tell the truth, her arrival at that moment wasn't quite as serendipitous as it seemed; she'd arrived not long after Corvus, and had been waiting outside of the room listening to the conversation, partly to gauge the personalities of her cohorts-to-be, and to try to find a nice dramatic moment to enter. Both of these things she'd succeeded at, to differing degrees.
"You may refer to me as Marionetta. Would anyone like to hazard a guess at my quirk?" she asked, quite certain that any smart person in the room would be able to put together by her demonstration just now, and her name, that she manipulates her body from the outside, at the very least. "I know it's a touch rude to request you all to humor me right out of the gate. I figured it would make a good icebreaker."
Though Gabriella had already been smiling, hoping it added some weight to the words of encouragement she was trying to hammer into Renard's head, she couldn't resist the pull of her cheeks as others joined in, adding their own words to hers. Kerianne, Freya, and even Breeze - shy as she was and having not been present at the factory - all joined in to help her lift him back up. She felt proud, both of herself for having apparently chosen her words well enough to spark that reaction from them, and of her classmates for their compassion. There wasn't a single person in that room with her that she wouldn't consider hero material.
All of their words (and Freya beginning to act like a house cat for some reason) seemed to succeed in lifting Renard's spirits. Or at the very least, getting him to recognize what a downer he was being. Gabby felt immense relief as she saw a smile finally bless his face with its presence. He even hopped off the bleacher to talk to Eira, which was a good sign, too. Good. Keep being the Renard we all know. That's what Sofia told you to do. She might not have died, but that doesn't mean I'll let you ignore her final wishes as a student at UJ.
Yi must have felt the weight of the air in the room lift as well, as he promptly suggested a sparring session. "You are-- no, wait...You're on!" Gabriella immediately answered, hoping she'd used that contraction properly. "The weekend left me feeling stiff. I'll set out the--"
She was cut off from saying "mats" when a voice she didn't recognize rang through the gym like the jingle of sleigh bells rings through a mall in December. Turning to the door, Gabby found the source - a blue-haired girl, probably around the same age as her classmates and herself, who performed a pose while she spoke of them a "heroes in the flesh". Gabby couldn't be entirely sure whether she was being sincere or sarcastic, but she wanted to believe the former. Such high energy and cute poses couldn't possibly come from a mean person, could they?
Her friends didn't seem to share her demeanour, which was probably for the best - more than one person with that energy would be overwhelming. Gabriella froze for a moment when the peppy girl introduced herself. Momo? Cute name, too. And so friendly1 No, she definitely must have been speaking sincerely when she entered. Gabby felt her fondness for Momo increase immediately. Conversely, her dark-haired compatriot proved quite quickly to not be worth Gabriella's time or breath. Okay, focus! You're meeting a new person who seems interesting. Don't screw up.
Gabby's hand took Momo's. Engulfed it, really. "My name is-- wait, please."
After cutting herself off, Gabriella released Momo's hand and took a step back. Feeling inspired by Momo's energy, she decided to try to impress her by acting in kind. She was pretty sure this was known as "mirroring". So, instead of introducing herself with a simple hand shake, Gabriella performed a twirl on the ball of her left foot. Her right foot touched the ground for just a moment to stop her spin with her right side angled toward Momo, who she then pointed at with both hands while raising her right leg up and holding her left arm over her own head.
"I am Gabriella! It is nice to meet you, Momo!" Gabriella responded, holding the pose. She then realized she wasn't smiling, and a nervous grin spread across her face in a sloppy attempt to rectify that.
Standing at a fair 5'8", pale caucasian skin, jet black hair reaching down to the middle of her back with straight-cut bangs framing her face, and black eyes that often look lifeless despite their round shape, Molly could easily be mistaken for a life-size porcelain doll. Her fashion sense is squarely gothic, finding her typically wearing dark colours or black and white, often with dark makeup and sometimes piercings. Though she favours the gaudy, she saves that for her work costume, with her casual clothes typically consisting of more modest dresses, or skirt-sweater combos, with heels being her footwear of choice.
A billowing ballgown of silken black fabric with white trim and highlights, designed and woven by herself for herself using her tailoring skills. Around the waist is a large white sash, tied into a striking bat wing-shaped bow behind her (a shape obtained by cutting arcs out of that section of the sash, creating the downward points on the bottom of the bow). Her face is concealed by the kind of mask one would see on an attender of a masquerade ball, the eyes covered by a thin white fabric that can be seen through when place directly in front of the eyes, the metal frame painted gold and held on her face by a band that stretches behind her head. The gown is long enough to coneal her feet, and does not have sleeves beyond its frilled, padded shoulders. Instead, Molly's arms are covered in black fishnet gloves.
The sash conceals storage space for weapons as detailed in the inventory section.
Name: Molly Felara Age: 33 Gender: Female
Villain Name: Marionetta Quirk Name: Marionette Quirk Type: Mutant Quirk Description: Molly is unable to move her body the same way most living beings do. Her quirk has left her body without the necessary muscle structure to move her limbs, though the structure for facial expression and the autonomous operation of inner organs is thankfully intact. The muscles that should be located inside her body instead manifest outside her body thanks to her quirk, taking the form of tentacle-like appendages, so thin as to be almost invisible to the naked eye. These "threads" originate in the pores of her skin, sharing space with hair follicles, and are variable in length, able to extend out from her body up to a distance of 30 feet. They are tipped with a sticky substance similar to what the human body uses to prevent hair follicles from falling out, but in greater amounts for more adhering power. The structure of Molly's body forces her to control her own body like one would control a puppet, using the tentacle-like muscle threads to manipulate herself from without by latching them to nearby surfaces and contracting the threads to pull her limbs where she wants them to go. This comes with some unique difficulties - standing upright is easiest when there are tall walls or ceilings around her, or other things like lamp posts and street lights above. In the absence of these things, she can stay upright by pushing off the ground with her tentacle muscles instead of pulling herself up, but it takes much more effort.
Though it would be easy to consider a quirk like this more of a hindrance than a boon - and indeed it was for much of Molly's young life - she has grown over the years to become just as dexterous with these threads as any other human is with their own muscles, if not more so. She is able to aptly imitate the motions of a person with normal muscles, and thanks to her threads, is able to go beyond that, moving her body in ways no other human can. Her quirk also makes her body extremely flexible; she can bend her limbs in ways that would cause pain to most people, though not in ways that would defy human anatomy, similar to a contortionist. This flexibility allows her to accomplish tricks like turning her head 180 degrees, or twisting her torso almost entirely around. Using enough threads, Molly can even achieve a limited form of flight - assuming she is indoors or there is a tall enough structure nearby - by attaching her threads to objects or surfaces above her and lifting herself entirely off the ground. Because of these, Molly can be very hard to pin down in close combat, her movements being eclectic and acrobatic in ways almost impossible to train for. Finally, she can manipulate light objects with her threads as well, things like her knives being easy to control with only a few threads. Obviously, the heavier an object is, the more of her tentacle-like muscles are needed to move it, and the more threads she devotes to moving something other than herself, the fewer threads she has to move her own body with, meaning even the act of pulling another person her own weight toward herself would take nearly all of her threads and leave her motionless.
However, since the threads are muscle, they have similar limitations to the muscles of others. Strenuous activity consumes stamina, and too much strain will cause them to get sore - the biggest factor limiting her ability to "fly". Furthermore, since they are located outside of her body, the are more prone to damage - they can be cut, and it hurts. The muscle has regenerative properties which will allow the threads to regrow after a day or so, but until then the range of any cut thread will be severely reduced, if it's even usable at all due to the pain. Cutting her threads can be difficult due to their low visibility and her own skill with them, but it gets easier the more tired she is; as individual threads get harder to move herself with, she'll begin bunching them together, making them visible and less precise in their movement.
Inventory & Possessions:
Knives. She does her best to keep 8 honed kitchen knives on her person while in costume, hidden under the white sash around her midsection.
(A pistol. Still need to reasearch what kind. Am comfortable with removing this)
Geno. An antique wooden puppet in a jester outfit, coloured purple with a yellow star pattern on the cloak and bell-adorned hat. Does not come with her while doing villainous work. Very precious to Molly.
Ooooh, this one looks cute!
It was a black t-shirt, cut short to bare the midriff, which a graphic of a heart with a smiley face, except the heart was anatomically correct instead of Valentine's-style. Molly's long hair, black as the shirt she had happened across, flowed behind her as she swiped the article off the rack and made a beeline for the cashier, face beaming. She did need to be a bit careful not to let her strings touch any of the store's other patrons - she'd found herself dragged by people far too many times as a child because of that to let it happen in her adult life. Not to mention that the reveal of her quirk could raise suspicions if anyone else in the store happened to work in law enforcement. No, it was much better that she blend in with people as best as she could. Which was to say, very well.
Her legs "carried" her to the front counter of the small women's clothing store. Raise the arm, move arm forward, extend fingers. Every movement was deliberate, but flowed into one another seamlessly, thanks to the many years spent just studying how the normal human body moved, how people moved, and practicing the replication of these normal everyday movements. She paid with cash, and the friendly cashier bagged her item and greeted her goodbye.
"You have a nice day as well!" Molly answered as she walked out of the store. Going outside meant normal-looking movement would be more difficult, given the lack of a ceiling, but she had grown used to staying close to walls which served just as well as anchors for her threads, and in the event she needed to cross a street, there were traffic lights and street lamps she could use, as well as using some threads attached to the ground to push her body instead of pull it, so she would manage just like she always did.
As she walked past a small alleyway, she looked down its length out of habit and was pleasantly surprised to spot a scene playing out in secret to everyone but her; a common mugging. Two men using their quirks, both fire-based, to rob another man in a business suit. Still smiling widely, Molly turned and headed into the alleyway, her body rising up off the ground once she was several steps out of the line of sight of anyone on the main street. She let go of her shopping bag, leaving it next to a dumpster. The rustling of the bag caught the attention of all three men, who looked towards it, not seeing her body up above their heads.
The next few moments ended up as a blur; she dropped from above onto one of the muggers' heads and used the combination of her weight and the pull of her threads to drive the back of his head into the pavement with a sickening crunch, knocking him out instantly, then swung her lower body in a semi-circle to sweep the other man's legs out from under him. By the time his face collided with the pavement, Molly was already on his back, grabbing his hair, and slamming his forehead into the pavement a few more brutal times.
After taking out the two muggers, she searched their pockets for their finds while the man in the business suit fled. It seemed they'd already had some moderate successes. It would be more than enough to cover the expense of the shirt she'd just bought. She pocketed their ill-gotten-gains and, after retreiving her shopping bag, continued down the alley, not daring to go the same direction the business man had.
Member
Izurich
Majoraa
TaintedMushroom
VitaVitaAR
Creative Chaos
vietmyke
Noctis
Cleveraptor
Credit to