CHARACTER
Name: Hunter d’Azur
Age: 35; born Machlud 4, 45 AC
Species and Gender: Panda Faunus, Male
Symbol: N / A
Occupation: Professor of Combat Strategy & Survival Training + Miscellaneous Studies at Atlas Academy, Licensed Huntsman, and Ex-White Fang associate
Appearance:
Hunter doesn’t really put too much care into his appearance. His mid-length hair is often slicked back into a rather spiky hairstyle or styled downwards in a rather messy fashion, mostly depends on how much effort he has for the day. As for hair color, it’s a mixture of white and black, with the hairs on the top of his head being white while the sides & back are black. If you investigate his hair further, you can see stubs of what used to be his panda ears. In terms of facial appearance, Hunter’s usually clean shaven and has makeup around the eyes to hide the black ring around his eyes. More often than not, Hunter could choose to not put makeup on because the black rings look close enough to baggy eyes. As for physique, Hunter is 5’11’ and weighs in at around 180 lbs, he boasts an almost lanky body that is somewhat fit. A near constant accessory regardless of what he’s wearing is an engagement ring.
In terms of everyday appearance, Hunter wears a variety of things. Normally, if you see him out and about for groceries, Hunter would be wearing some kind of hoodie, jeans, and baseball cap. Generally, this is an effective way of diverting attention away from himself. In terms of being a professor and formal events, Hunter would usually just wear a dress shirt with pants and jackets that would complement the outfit. However, that is as far as Hunter would go in terms of formal dress as he feels that ties are extremely restricting and uncomfortable.
As a hunter, Hunter would obviously have a combat outfit. Usually, he can fight in any type of clothing, but he does try to get into his own personalized set of armor just in case. Under the armor, Hunter wears a normal black, almost skintight tracksuit. Overlaying this is on his torso is a smooth, flat light gray steel chestplate reminiscent of the ones Atlesian soldiers wear. This chestplate features steel tassets with light plating that shield his mostly shielded the upper part of his lower body. Hunter's set also features light gray steel shoulder plates that are slightly offset when stacked on top of each other, to create a triple-layered aesthetic. Besides that, he has a pair of simple and thin gauntlets to shield the arms, also made from steel. As an accessory to shield from the cold climate of Atlas, Hunter also has a special blue scarf that he'll wrap around himself. More often than not, he'll keep it wrapped around his neck, but he may also choose to wrap it around his torso depending on what parts of his body are in need of warmth.
History: In Atlas, being a part of a poor faunus family of three would be a death sentence. Yet, the family made it through by hiding in the shadows as best they could. Thick overcoats, large hats, anything that wouldn’t make anyone think for a second that they are faunus. As a result, this style of living became normal for them. His father would always meet through a series of contacts that provided some amount of income to avoid as much of the daily racism he could, while his mother kept leisure time inside their worn down home. As a result, education did not come easily to Hunter. His parents were trying to teach from what little they knew, and broken down textbooks found in the snow were beyond his capabilities. For such a young boy, knowing nothing beyond the safety of his home was heartbreaking.
As Hunter grew, so did his desire to leave the safety of his home and explore the world beyond it. It was only inevitable that this desire would take over his life as he would start to sneak out more and more regardless of the risks it could’ve posed. It was interesting for him to play with the snow and interact with all the objects outside. In fact, he didn’t get any dirty looks because he remembered to be a good child and hide his panda ears like his mom always said! This trend would continue for most of his childhood, unnecessarily risking his life for such a short thrill. For a child, such a short thrill would be enough.
Normally this trend would be unhealthy for surviving in Atlas, but it proved to be beneficial to Hunter in this circumstance. A group of racists had found out about his parents and had outed them as faunus. For a low-income family, that would be a near death sentence for all of them. However, due to Hunter constantly sneaking out, he was never outed as a faunus since they never saw the family as a whole. In a decision to save their child’s life and the life of their friends, his father and mother would leave behind Hunter in their worn down home to draw away attention for both him and their friends. However, Hunter was not left behind with nothing. His parents consolidated as much as they could: food, funds, educational materials, anything that would boost his chances of survival. From then on, Hunter was left to be alone for the rest of his childhood.
It was extremely difficult at first. Hunter couldn’t cope with the overwhelming loneliness that came with missing parents. Desperate for any form of attention, he’d latched onto things and wouldn’t let go when it became too dangerous. In fact, Hunter was so desperate that it got him into a bad situation where he lost his panda ears in an accident when he was trying to escape. This cycle would continue until Hunter finally began to recover from both physical and mental wounds as he started focusing more on just living for a brighter tomorrow. In an effort to be not outed like his parents, Hunter would actually be more aggressive about coming outside after putting effort into hiding his faunus features as casually as he could. In fact, it worked and Hunter began to venture outside more and more. Of course, it’s still alarming to see a kid walk around by themselves, but it would’ve been worse if it was a faunus kid.
Being a young child, his efforts to secure a steady income would often be held back due to his age. As a result, Hunter had often jumped between legal and illegal activities in order to keep his income up. Stealing, mugging, even fighting became commonplace on both sides of the law. Even then, it was not a safe and steady income for him, so he went for a more desperate measure: actively seeking out the White Fang. In return for income, Hunter would become an associate, offering information and services similar to that. With their newfound deal, Hunter now had a fallback and the White Fang had someone that ensured their new operations would be safer.
With a now steady income, Hunter stopped having to worry about doing odd jobs or committing crimes. Instead, he settled down as a cashier at a market while doing jobs for the White Fang on his off time. Of course, Hunter made sure that he never joined the White Fang any farther than an associate. It was far too risky to join the White Fang in Atlas. After all, there’s a reason why their presence in the kingdom was so weak. Otherwise, Hunter had kept himself in a rather normal and surprisingly mundane life for a faunus.
One day, Hunter came across a rather interesting situation on his way back home. A rather pretty girl near his age was currently training herself in what seems to be sword techniques. Being the curious guy he was, Hunter watched her train for a bit before deciding to walk up to her. Making sure he basically looked human, Hunter introduced himself and found out that the girl’s name was Prim. After some small talk, their discussions became much more lively real fast, though it also got pretty heated. They clicked so well together that they found themselves sparring together. Of course, he always got his ass kicked because he never got any formal training, but he quickly learned and actually came close to picking up a few wins. After promising that they’ll meet up again for sparring, Hunter was prepared to leave Prim until she asked him a simple question.
”Are you going to join the Academy?”
After a few seconds of thinking, Hunter could only reply with a yes. To this day, Hunter’s not sure why he lied through his teeth. He never planned on being a specialist, or even a huntsman. That’s why he never applied to the academy two years ago. Yet, Hunter couldn’t help but lie to her face. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you ask, Prim seems to take that lie and secure Hunter as her partner for Atlas. As a result, Hunter basically ended up being her punching bag so that they could get to Atlas together.
As time passed, his thoughts about the lie he told would only worry him more and more. If Hunter follows through with his lie, he can end up outing himself as a faunus and basically make his life a living hell in Atlas. In fact, there could even be the chance where his association with the White Fang would be brought into the daylight. However, if he didn’t follow through, Prim would probably be devastatingly angry and that would probably invoke some vengeance which would reveal much more than he would like. In fact, Hunter’s pretty sure he can’t hide from her when she knows where he’s usually at. When the due date for the applications came, Hunter finally accepted his fate and just sent in an application. When the time for the exams came, he passed the physical portion with flying colors while the knowledge portion fell rather short. Regardless, Hunter was now an official student of Atlas Academy. In consideration of that, Hunter still kept his contact with the White Fang despite being a lot more restricted in what he can do for them.
The first year of Atlas Academy was rather interesting. The first day started off with their initiation, which involved individuals working as a retrieval squad trying to recover supplies and survivors from downed bullheads. Individuals that are a part of the downed bullheads would have to find another “survivor” so that they can send up a flare. Another group would be a scattered rescued team that would have to meet up and quickly close in on any flare. Hunter got lucky and managed to meet up with Prim as a part of the rescue squad, forming one half of their team. Fighting against the onslaught of Grimm, a flare finally arose as the two found themselves at a downed bullhead where they would meet the other half of their team: Leonora Lovett and Magnus Thorn. The newly formed team PLAT would find themselves evac’d and sent to their new dorm to rest, with Prim as their new team leader.
As the team was initially awkward, they would go through most of their classes in a rather quiet and reserved manner. It would only break when Hunter kind of flipped his desk in frustration from their classes. At that point, the atmosphere was rather calm and orderly as his team tried to comprehend what he just did. As they did, chaos inevitably came about as the other pair laughed their asses off when Prim basically gave Hunter the worst lecture he ever had in his life (which is not much actually). From then on, Hunter & Prim’s relationship basically soured a bit as they found parts of their personalities that didn’t click, but the other half of team PLAT got a lot more comfortable with them.
As their first year began to close, Hunter and Prim began to butt heads more and more due to their conflicting personalities. Hunter’s lazy personality and Prim’s strict attitude (and poor anger management) began to create more and more conflicts within the team’s dorm. While the other pair tried to lessen the extent of their conflicts, it’s quite clear that a fight would break out if they continued. When it seemed that their fight would finally break out after Hunter skipped out on his project with Prim, it was quickly defused as he returned with flowers for Prim. With such an embarrassing action, their relationship quickly returned to normal. While still being a bit awkward, it was beginning to blossom into something much more.
The second-year became much more normal and routine, is what you’d expect from a normal second-year team. Taking missions became the norm, and team PLAT became even closer as they learned and sparred together. As for Hunter, he began recovering from his knowledge deficit and actually started to do well in terms of his studies. However, his bad work ethic still stayed the same much to the annoyance of Prim. In fact, there was nothing too notable about Hunter’s second year except for his relationship with Prim.
Interactions between the two were a lot more awkward yet friendly than what they were used to. With the two having romantic feelings for the other, partner work was difficult. In fact, sparring and studying also started suffering as rumors began to circulate. The other half of team PLAT might have been to blame for that, especially since they started pushing the two together in hopes that they can get over their awkwardness and actually act on their feelings. Mostly because Hunter is the one making it awkward and Prim trying to deal with it.
By early third year, Hunter and Prim were finally dating, and it’s actually official instead of the tip-toe shenanigans they’ve been having for the past year. The other half of team PLAT was very happy about that because that means the dorm wouldn’t be so awkward, and it wasn’t even fun to tease them about their feelings anymore. Other than their relationship, nothing else really happened. It was like any other team that was trying to improve their skills and capabilities as they try to pass the school year.
As the third year closed and the fourth year began, Hunter and Prim ran into quite a bit of a conflict for their relationship. The issue was quite clear: Prim was going to be a specialist, but Hunter was going to be a huntsman. The conflict, while there and existing, wasn’t too bad to deal with. It wouldn’t really break their relationship and that even if they went their separate ways, they’d promise to see each other again. Then, the biggest conflict for their relationship came about when they were about to graduate. Choosing to reveal the fact he was a faunus was a hard decision to make. He wished he would have revealed it sooner, but he was far too scared to do so. On that day Hunter explained the truth to Prim, he was effectively cut from her life. It brought him a lot of pain that could’ve been avoided. It didn’t even matter that she didn’t out him as a faunus because Prim was pretty much his everything at that point.
As they graduated and went to their respective careers, Hunter was pretty much conflicted at that point. He didn’t really have anyone else that would want to keep prolonged contact with him, and leaving Atlas would’ve been too much for him. As a result, Hunter just bought a dingy apartment to hide out in and the lack of care he put into his disguise initially had him outed as a faunus. When Hunter started needing funds and needed to start caring, he went back to disguising himself and doing jobs for those that would pay. With a rather steady income, he managed to stay alive in his poor little home.
One day Hunter was approached by the White Fang, in hopes of successfully recruiting an associate. This time, however, they were much more aggressive about recruiting him into their cause. It was funny really. Hunter had found himself in the same situation so long ago, with the exact same circumstances. He used to consider the offer back then, especially since he was stuck in such a poor situation. But that was before Atlas, and before Prim. Before learning and growing much like anyone else. Politely declining their offer, Hunter waited for them to leave before getting on a bullhead to Atlas Academy.
Hunter’s reveal to Amarant about being a White Fang informant was a rather interesting decision. While he was not all too familiar with Amarant, Hunter did hear things about the new headmaster that solidified his decision to appeal to the headmaster. However, the resulting confrontation immediately became tense; the information Hunter had about the White Fang presence on Atlas was valuable, but Amarant was still not sure about whether or not he is trustworthy. In an effort to prove his allegiance, Hunter offered up the idea that he can be under constant surveillance. The idea was something they both agreed on, and Amarant took the measures to make it easier on himself by making Hunter a professor.
Obtaining his new role of being a professor, Hunter wasn’t really in the limelight as he first had to earn his credentials. It wasn’t too hard for him to do so either, as survival came naturally to him and battle strategy was something he excelled at. Upon earning his credentials, Hunter then had to integrate with the staff that was once his teachers. Being initially weird, it would eventually be easy for Hunter to interact with his newfound peers in the academy.
After a while, Hunter would finally be ready to teach for his first year. At the same time, word came around about a new professor. Initially, it didn’t really matter all too much to Hunter until they met in the staffroom. It was a big surprise for the two, considering that was the first time Hunter saw Prim after their breakup. Due to how awkward it was, it quickly became “they can’t see me if I don’t see them” until they went their separate ways. Hunter’s heart ached, but it was probably for the best that they should avoid each other for the rest of their life.
Their first week was awkward as they went out of their way to avoid each other. In fact, some of the older staff remembers would say that Hunter and Prim’s first week together as teachers reminded them of when the two were in their second year. While the staff found it funny at first, they eventually got tired of them tiptoeing around each other again. In an attempt to fix this, the staff kept on insisting the two talk to each other whenever they’re out for the day. Finally budging, Hunter went to talk with Prim so they could finally get closure on the main issue that plagued their relationship.
Once they got together to talk, it was rather awkward for the two. For Hunter, it was rather difficult for him to talk about what happened on that day so long ago, so they just sat in silence together. Soon, they started to talk again and catch up on what happened while the other was gone. Hunter didn’t talk a lot about his situation or talked much about their break up, but Hunter kind of liked their small talk. At the end of it, they plan to meet up again for dinner maybe, and that’s when their relationship repaired itself.
Of course, they didn’t really get much closure, but they still had a good time regardless whenever they met up. Finally, then came the day where Hunter would apologize for lying for so long as Prim said her apologies in return. They didn’t rush their relationship, but physical affection slowly became commonplace between the two. Dates became more frequent as the two finally rekindled their relationship.
Nowadays, it was rather cute to see Hunter acting like a lovesick puppy whenever Prim is around especially since they're finally engaged. In fact, it got rather sickening for some students, but Hunter never really cared.
Personality:
As for his general personality, Hunter is rather normal. Unlike his significant other, Hunter is undisciplined and more down to earth. Even as a teacher, he may display a strict attitude at times, but Hunter’s relaxed approach to life usually takes over. Things that don’t really matter to him are done at a more leisurely pace, or can even be neglected to the point where Hunter improvises based on the situation. In everything else, Hunter can be very energetic. However, if things need to get done, he’ll put in his best effort to do so. Other than that, Hunter does display some level of intelligence that would be hidden behind the fact that he likes to be childish if you draw his ire.
In terms of faunus, Hunter would often act like he dislikes faunus in Atlas. While these feelings are true, they are for a completely different reason. Hunter’s not racist since he’s a faunus himself, but he does believe that those open about being a faunus do not belong in Atlas. Having lived in Atlas for all his life, Hunter acknowledges the difficulties of being a faunus. However, Hunter does believe that Atlas is too set in their ways on faunus views that it would be better off to go elsewhere.
Now, when Hunter is with Prim, his level of discipline and elegance become nonexistent. Hunter becomes a lot more of a jokester, and he definitely likes to tease Prim whenever he can. However, Hunter is kind of dependent on Prim, especially when it comes to her presence. Having been touch-starved and alone for most of his life, it was rather easy for him to rely on one sole person. As for friends and acquaintances, Hunter is much like his normal personality but a little more physically affectionate. Hunter isn’t so strict on the whole professor and student thing, usually treating students as good acquaintances or even friends.
Aura and Semblance:
Aura color is a light blue (#38DDF9).
With a sizable aura pool, Hunter isn’t too trained with the finer details of aura. However, it does extremely well with his semblance especially when you consider physical enhancement.
Unbreakable Attachments - ”People can run, but consequences will always follow.”
Hunter’s semblance lets him lock onto any object of his choosing with a range of 30 feet (9m). From then on, there will be a visible link with a max range of 15 feet (4.5m). Whenever an object tries to leave the max range, Hunter will be pulled along at the exact same speed in perfect orientation. At slower speeds, Hunter can simply glide along while fast speeds will involve running so that Hunter can move faster. However, that means that there is no minimum range which means Hunter can choose to outspeed the object. For example, if Hunter threw a spear with all his might, Hunter can choose to follow along OR he can outrun it via semblance assistance. There are two methods of breaking this link: being extremely fast that it’s impossible to keep up or Hunter breaking it of his own choosing by cutting the link for 3% aura or some form of stamina cost.
Combat Behavior:
Hunter, in overall terms, is what you’d call a disruptor assassin. He’s very good at forcing someone into a fight on his terms, and he can sure as hell do enough damage to take someone out when it’s just a 1v1. Due to the nature of his semblance and weapon, it’s very easy for him to always have a follow up from one strike to another. It is also near impossible to run from as well due to Hunter’s semblance.
On the other hand, there isn’t much Hunter can use to defend himself with, mostly using Thorn to deflect and parry attacks instead of full on blocking them. It’s also important to realize that unless Hunter forcefully breaks the link, he can’t really get knocked back by anything.
+Tons of Damage
+Attack Versatility / Setup
+Excellent Gapcloser
-No safety net if caught within semblance
-No good methods of blocking attacks
-Weapon takes time to charge up (especially range attacks)
-No reliable AOE attacks
WEAPON
Name: Thorn
Primary Form: Thorn is a xiphos, with the blade itself being double-edged and two feet long, with the hilt itself being a foot long. The entire sword itself is purely blue, with white accenting the edge of the blade. Alongside the design of the weapon, the hilt itself is not separated by a hilt guard. It also seems to have a leather grip around it but it's cut in half, making an upper grip and a lower grip for the hilt. The blade is also designed with lines running from tip to hilt that will glow via dust. Also running alongside the blade would be vents that open and close at will to dictate the discharge of energy.
Secondary Form: With enough strength, Hunter can increase the length of the hilt by pulling it apart, turning the sword into a spear that is ten feet in length (not including the spearhead). With just as much strength, the shaft can condense back into a hilt for the sword. When in a situation where it takes too much time to pull Thorn apart, there is a button on the lower end of the weapon that expands and contracts Thorn by itself. This allows Hunter to change the length of his weapon at almost any point in time during combat. A notable concern about the weapon is that the shaft of the spear is noticeably smaller than the hilt, but the material is durable enough to take any hit and not break upon impact. The butt end of the spear is also connected to the dust core for a boost in stabs or throwing.
Dust Functions:
A dust core inside Thorn holds up enough wind and kinetic dust where Hunter can do 10 charged attacks until the dust within the core has to be replaced. Since the nature of the weapon is releasing condensed blasts of wind, it can often manifest as a ranged beam or an extremely strong piercing attack. However, the charged attacks can be released at certain points based on when Hunter would pull the trigger. As for the released energy at the butt of the spear, it uses up negligible amount of dust that it doesn't dent the dust core's charge.
History: Initially, Thorn had first come into conceptualization when he first initially sparred with Prim. The xiphos had suited Thorn very well, thus leading to the very first iteration of the weapon. Later on with Prim’s assistance, Hunter would successfully implement the spear form of the weapon as an upgrade. From then on, Thorn would receive no further upgrades as it was already a very reliable weapon in the first place. Nearing the mastery of his weapon, Hunter (again with Prim’s assistance) realized that he can make his attacks even stronger. His first attempt to do so involved the complete and utter destruction of the original, as well as injuries from the resulting explosion. However, the very next try became a success, albeit not being an exact replica of the initial weapon due to the new addition of the dust core.