CHARACTER
Name: Avery LeBlanc
Age: 20, 4 Niege 55 A.C.
Species and Gender: Human, Male
Symbol:
[spoiler]
Occupation: Third-Year Atlas Student
Physical Characteristics: General Body - Avery stands at 5'10" and weighs in at 145lbs. He has a somewhat slim frame, but his various hobbies and activities rewarded him with an athletic build. Avery's skin is a fair pale, reminiscent of a light cream.
Hair and Face - Avery's hair is fairly long, its longest strands nearly reaching the base of his neck. His hair is naturally spiked to his right in a mild fashion, and its color and feel similar to the innards of a vanilla cake. There are a few locks of his bangs that sit idly on the front of his face, their lengths barely short enough to prevent the obstruction of his calculating, ash-grey eyes. The structure of his face is fairly defined, its shape colloquially known as a heart, and his nose is somewhat pointed with a very slight, upward tilt.
General Attire - Avery's casual attire is similar to his brothers': a rather fashionable, dark-grey hooded windbreaker of average length over a white polo/white undershirt combo, simple dark-khaki jeans, and black urban sneakers with white bases. On his right wrist is a cheap, upper-class watch, and while he does have both his ears pierced, he generally wears a single metal stud earring at a time, switching ears just often enough to prevent their closings.
Student Uniform - 100% standard Atlas uniform.
Duelist Uniform - Avery's dueling uniform is simple yet respectable to the sport. He dons an ivory-white dueling coat with a single strap running from his left shoulder to right hip, the coat-tail extending to his lower thighs. Underneath, he wears a slate-grey silk vest and similarly colored dress shirt, adding in an ivory-white tie when he doesn't intend to fight in the uniform. On his lower body, he is dressed in black, form-fitting trousers that are tucked into black, strapped leather boots that reach up to his mid-shins. On his left hand is a ivory-white leather glove.
History: Avery was born in Atlas, last of a trio, to an upper-class family in decline. As the youngest of the three, he was by default the designated driver of the group as the others did as they pleased. Feigning good integrity through his personality and deeds, Avery and his brothers would often go around causing mischief, and it was him with the good public grace that was always the one to pull everyone else out of the fire...usually. Despite having not been chosen as the leader of their band, these traits shifted him naturally toward the position, though because the other two were so free-willed, a more accurate term would be string-puller or puppet master.
Given his family's position as a power descending from the upper echelons of Atlas society, he was fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of whatever reputation they had left. When we wasn't bailing out his brothers whenever they messed up, Avery was building up his public image with activities that he enjoyed. One-on-one sword dueling was his primary source for reputation-building, amusement, and combat training which he knew he would eventually need. As he continued to rise through the ranks as a duelist, his skill couldn't quite keep up with his opponents' and he was forced to rely on his cunning and mental fortitude. However, a strong mind could only carry him so much, and there comes a point where it can no longer overcome sheer skill; Avery was never able to win a world-class title, only ever having a single finals appearance (where he was handily crushed) and a decent amount of top-eight appearances for premier tournaments throughout his career. Although he did participate in many lesser tournaments and did win a few championships among them, they've never been able to quench his thirst for a premier championship.
While dueling covered his need for refined combat, he still needed to work on his sense of refined culture, and for that he chose the viola, an instrument typically overlooked by even the Atlas public as it sat in the shadow of the violin and other similar instruments. Avery only belonged to one ensemble, his student ensemble, and that was when he was still learning to play. After he completed his training, he became more of a free lance musician, typically doing work for his friends if they needed his services. Alongside the viola, he also learned the cello. Although he is not as proficient with it as he is with the viola, Avery can still play it fairly well and considers it the second of his main instruments.
Eventually, Avery and his brothers enrolled into the lower combat academy of Atlas, and it was there that he designed a weapon that synergized much more with his semblance than his dueling sword had. Aside from this, nothing significant happened from the time of his enrollment to present day.
Personality: On the surface, Avery holds a positive reputation among the public. He is diligent in furthering his crafts and studies, and while he doesn't usually go out and volunteer his time, he enjoys helping others when given the immediate opportunity to. He is humble, quick to judge his own weaknesses, and respectful towards his elders and those he considers to be superior to him. He is warm, friendly, and sociable, always trying to leave a positive impression on those that he meets.
Beneath his surface, Avery is manipulative. On a micro level, he subconsciously and subtly tries to steer things and people his way, generally through careful wording and deliberate body language. On a macro level, he actively tries to shape his reputation through his activities and surface personality. It is somewhat difficult to manage his reputation because of his association with his brothers and their shenanigans, but he makes due as he is perceived to be a good guy hanging with the wrong crowd. He is devious, though not terribly or visibly, and prioritizes making decisions that benefit him and his brothers (but primarily him) when circumstances allow for it. He also has a habit of identifying the weakest links in groups, structures, and plans, and this skill has become second nature due to the sheer need of it when goofing around with his brothers.
Avery tries to remain well-connected. Despite having a less-than-savory interior, he does hold a lot of respect for his peers in the dueling community, even more so for those that he often meets in tournaments and typically gets beaten by, and he tries to keep in touch with them on a fairly regular basis. In the same vein, he holds a lot of respect for those who are great musicians and also tries to keep in touch with his peers in said community as well. These connections are not driven by his need to project a positive image onto society but rather his genuine desire to have cordial relations with others (outside of these, there are very few). He would do the same with tricksters and manipulators like himself, but it would certainly be unwise to make such connections as any mess up on their parts could screw him through association. Besides, putting any worthwhile amount of trust into such people would be a fool's errand.
Aura and Semblance: Ivory White (#FFFFF0)
Terre à Terre - Avery casts a debuff on whomever or whatever he chooses in his vicinity. The target is able to move normally until they are no longer touching the ground at which point a heavy force proportional to the target's mass is applied on them (in such a way that all targets would have approximately the same downward acceleration regardless of size) in the same direction as gravity. Because it is not constantly active, it is difficult to get used to and more likely to lead to mistakes than a straight, constant debuff, but that also means that opponents can plan around its conditions should his opponents figure out his semblance (Avery tries to make sure that never happens). When cast upon the average human and similarly massive or powerful targets, aura costs are close to negligible and are not worth worrying about unless cast upon multiple targets (3+) in which case it becomes 1% aura per second per three target with an additional 0.5% cost per second when the targets attempt to fight against the force. When cast upon large/massive targets, the aura cost becomes significant but still remains fairly small, the cost being proportional to the targets size and overall power (on a Nevermore, 2% aura per second only when it is not touching the ground, an additional 1% aura cost when the Nevermore is actively fighting against the force; the additional cost is dependent of the target's ability to fight against the force).
The initial cast range is 100 feet and it has a leash range of 150 feet. Currently, Avery can only maintain a maximum of five simultaneous instances.
There is no visual effect for Terre à Terre.
Combat Behavior: When dueling, Avery has a reactive fighting style. When he is reading his opponent's style, he is defensive, simply dodging or blocking any incoming attacks during this time. It is during this period that aggressive fighters have a significant edge on him: needing to put much focus on defending disrupts Avery's analysis of his opponents, delaying or even stopping the process entirely if his opponent is aggressive enough. Still, if he is able to successfully defend against such styles, that can give him the information he was looking for through raw experience alone. With that, he can better counter such styles. The trouble again comes in with opponents who are either able to adapt quickly or are able to use multiple fighting styles. If Avery has to constantly analyze his opponents, he runs a greater risk of making mistakes, and if he puts all his focus into fighting, he runs the risk of not being able to ever gain the upper hand against opponents. Avery has a much easier time fighting those he already has information on, but he still needs to confirm whatever information he already has during the fight. He is also able to fight with non-reactive styles, but that means any mental advantage that he may have is reduced, and his mental advantage is his greatest strength.
Otherwise when he is fighting, he uses his polearm, Philou. Again, he fights reactively but in a different fashion than when dueling. Avery, taking advantage of his weapon's length, tries to keep his opponents at a distance. Typically, he will remain on the defensive, waiting until his opponents make a mistake to give him a decent opening; his semblance aids him in this regard. Against lesser opponents where he doesn't have to be as weary, Avery feels much more comfortable going on the offensive immediately. If Avery is not able to easily get in hits, he will instead use his attacks to force open opportunities and create mistakes.
MAIN WEAPONName: Philou
Primary Form: Philou's primary form is that of a steel staff, its length just greater than Avery's height at 6'. There are two slider switches that move up and down and then to the same direction (up-left, down-left for example) near where he typically grips the staff during combat. These switches activate two different functions: one brings out the partizan spearhead out from one end of the staff, and the other acts as a trigger for the rifle portion of the weapon on the other end. The rifle function of the weapon is able to fire normal and Dust rounds and is able to shoot five times before needing to be reloaded.
Secondary Form: By pressing and holding a small, black button in the middle of the body, the staff transforms into a 2' baton. It retains the functions of the primary form, but this form is generally used for storage purposes or easy handling. Pressing the button again decompresses the weapon.
Dust Functions: Philou is able to utilize all Dust rounds, though Avery typically supplies it with fire, lightning, and ice Dust.
History: Avery designed this weapon with his public image and semblance in mind. Philou's staff form makes him appear relatively non-threatening while the partizan form gives him an aura nobility while retaining fighting and lethal functionality, and its long reach helps with destabilizing his targets making them seem inferior in ability.
DUELING WEAPON 1Name: (None)
Primary Form: An simple and standard 2.5' steel backsword.
Dust Functions: None.
History: Avery's first sword after his transition from a smaller sword, this sword more suited for his full-grown stature. Because he never intended to keep it intact for as long as he did, it was relatively cheap yet sturdily built, and its survival Avery chalks up to sheer luck. Mainly used for training, informal duels, and "dirty-work".
DUELING WEAPON 2Name: Viriti
Primary Form: An elegant, 2.5' steel backsword with a polished handguard, engraved hilt and pummel, delicately wrapped leather handle, and a clean blade. Viriti is mostly for show, though it is fully functional and he uses it in formal duels, official tournaments mainly.
Dust Functions: None.
History: Paid for with the prize money gained from various dueling tournaments, Avery had Viriti crafted by one of the finest metalworkers in Atlas (that wasn't already ridiculously booked up). Despite never having won a world-class tournament, Viriti serves as his pride and joy in the art of dueling. One day, he hopes to give her a sister blade. Mainly used for formal duels and establishing his status.
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