CHARACTERName: Dorian Rothenberg
Age: 21
Species and Gender: Human, Male
Symbol: -
Occupation: Third-Year Atlas Student, Aerospace Engineer-in-Training
Appearance: Dorian stands at 5'7" and, through his training as both a Huntsman and an engineer, maintains a fit body. While not particularly large in stature, still has an imposing figure. His shoulders are nearly square, only being ever-so-slightly angled outward, and he maintains a perfect posture, painstakingly instilled into him through thorough and persistent discipline.
His hair is a dark pomegranate red, contrasting with his slightly-paler-than-average skin to make it appear darker than it actually is. His jawline is well-defined and his hair is slicked back and spiky as if Dorian were to be typecast in a movie or cartoon as the far-too-obvious villain of the story; he keeps it touched up on a weekly basis. Below his well-kept hair are his striking eyes: a light blue appearing as if his irises had been iced over for eons.
Attire: Atlas Uniform - Being an Atlas student, he does of course don the academy uniform. His outfit is fairly standard, casually accenting it with a dark-grey long-coat with black trim and stitching; he does remove it for events like the Vytal tournament as to conform to his peers and show solidarity among the studentry.
(Semi-)Formal Wear - Dorian's second most commonly seen outfits, he is in this when he is either out for business or working. Dorian has no one particular outfit that he favors in this category, only making sure that he is wearing dress pants and a dress shirts. He will generally through in a tie but not always, and we will also occasionally sport a blazer.
History: Dorian was born into the Rothenberg family whose legacy dates back to the Greyed War. His mother, Rosaline, was a Senior Engineer of Rothenberg Industries and his father, Otto, an Atlesian Specialist and Chief Warrant Officer of Transportation in the Atlesian military. While his family was only connected to Rothenberg Industries through Dorian's granduncle, Marx, that, along with his own parents' connections and positions, made them quite well off.
Growing up, Dorian's playfulness and creativity were nurtured by his mother, first starting with building blocks and eventually ending up with an engine block of a bullhead. All the while, his father was responsible for keeping Dorian well-disciplined and strong. Going into his early school days, Dorian was considered by his peers to be a bit of a jerk. He was always boisterous about his accomplishments and he was quick to point out mistakes in the works of others. Even if he was right, they still got annoyed by him. What they also couldn't dispute was Dorian's ingenuity. Whenever he had the chance in school, he was either building or drawing up blueprints for his next project--nothing particularly extravagant, of course.
As he became older, his builds became more complex, and when he finally reached Atlas, he was able to design his own equipment with ease. He was not infallible though. The professional designers and engineers found mistakes in his blueprints, but he welcomed their input. With their help, not only did he craft the weapons he desired, but he also learned much in the process of weapon design.
His first couple of years at Atlas Academy were probably some of the toughest he had ever experienced: Dorian, having no prior training, knew nothing about combat. Until that point, basically all of his strain had been mental. Dorian was constantly beat by those he once thought as inferior to him, and he was sure they were relishing every moment of his suffering. He felt helpless and humiliated, but he channeled those feelings and set his sights to the top of the ladder. Dorian cut back on his engineering, shifting his focus to physical training instead. Whenever he wasn't training, he was watching others fight, taking notes on the mistakes his peers were making in battle and jotting down how to take advantage of such mistakes in his opponents as well as what he should do to avoid them as well. At the end of his fourth year at Atlas (Signal graduate equivalent), Dorian managed to climb considerably. He wasn't at the top, but his goal was certainly within reach.
To his surprise, Dorian ended up as he leader of his team. By then, his reputation preceded him and his teammates weren't too fond of the situation. The early days of the team were extremely turbulent. Dorian, with his hubris and ego, was always trying to control situations. His teammates on the other hand despised being micromanaged, and eventually any degree of control over the team broke apart. His teammates distanced themselves from Dorian, and in combat, they would run with their own battle plans. Sometimes their ideas panned out and sometimes they didn't, but they figured it was still better than being a puppet of Dorian's.
Dorian isolated himself once again. For some time, he was angry, frustrated that nobody would listen to him. He spent so much time studying others as well as Grimm. The weight of all his studies and experience went into every decision he made. With his team constantly getting rank low and their combat performances were always poor. Slowly his old sentiment started to fade. He was tired being trash, and so he decided to fold away his ego and appease his team.
When the students returned the following year, Dorian was much more bearable. He was more willingly to listen to his teammates and cooperate, and as a result, the team flourished. They weren't among the top teams, but at least they were performing significantly better than before.
Personality: While not nearly as playful as he was as a child, he is still plenty curious and creative. Whenever he wasn't acting as an Atlesian student, he was researching and developing blueprints for all sorts of things from simple gadgets to vehicles, and while not revolutionary, it was always of his own design. He is highly knowledgeable, and whenever there an answer to be found, he is stubborn and persistent in its pursuit.
Dorian is very proud, but while debatable, does keep in check to
some degree. He is vengeful: whenever someone slights him, he is not afraid to fire back, though always keeping it masked under a veil of civility. Others tend to keep their distance because of this trait. While Dorian may not show it, this distancing of others from himself has only made it just a bit worse.
In regards to Faunus, he finds them to be an inferior people, but not necessarily physically. Faunus have a clear though variable advantage over humans, and he feels that it is shameful that they have allowed themselves to be in the position they are. Dorian would say that he is willing to respect any Faunus that proves their worth, but would also say that none yet to do so.
Aura and Semblance:Pomegranate Seed Red (#842641)
Dorian's semblance is extremely simple: he is able to create spikes of varying number and length directly off his body up to 30'. The spikes are an extension of his aura, and upon damage, will affect his shielding. Because of this, he is quick to retract them immediately after use.
Combat Behavior: Dorian stands at the front-line as a tank, shielding his teammates behind him. Using his shield and semblance, he effectively makes himself a 60' wall with spikes going to either side and him at the center.
Dorian generally won't go on the attack unless he needs to draw the attention of larger, more dangerous Grimm, the likes of which he is able to take.
He is sturdy and resilient at the cost of his mobility. Dorian is relatively slow when fully suited and if he fails to stop a Grimm from breaching his wall, there isn't much he can do about it.
EQUIPMENT: SHIELDName: -
Primary Form: Dorian's primary means of defense, he wields a 2x4 foot steel scutum. On the face of the shield is a spiked X, the X doubling as a claw that can be fired from the shield to drag targets toward him; its effective range is about 10 feet. In the center of an X is a larger spike, a grappling hook, which has an effective range of 50 feet and is much faster. Built into the shield's grip/handle is the device that fires both these projectiles.
Damaging of the claw's cable would make the shield useless at work and less effective at best. In the event of this, the cable can be detached and it cannot be reattached until returning home or visiting a workshop. Damage of the grappling hook's cable is not as significant but follows the same repair rules as the claw.
Dust Functions: None
History: The shield was originally designed as just an ordinary shield. Over time as he trained both his raw and his aura's strength buff, Dorian decided to give it a bit more utility.
EQUIPMENT: WEAPON 1Name: -
Primary Form: Dorian's primary means of offense, he wields a 2.5 foot steel spatha whose sheath is built directly into the back of Dorian's shield. The sword is completely ordinary.
Dust Functions: None
History: A weapon to be used among the front-lines in the heat of battle.
EQUIPMENT: WEAPON 2Name: -
Primary Form: Dorian's second weapon is a normal AR15 which fires both normal and Fire Dust rounds at 30 per magazine. He keeps four magazines fairly bare on his upper-left chest to grant them protection through his shield as well as for easier, one-handed reloading. Dorian wears a robotic bracer on his right forearm which attaches to the weapon hands-free to form an arm grip giving him additional stability.
Dust Functions: Fire Dust rounds (150x): Small explosion on impact.
History: Lacking any ranged capabilities, Dorian decided to pick up a standard weapon.
EQUIPMENT: GEAR 1Name: -
Primary Form: A robotic bracer that allows for the attachment of a variety of things to Dorian's right forearm though it is mainly used for his AR15 and other firearms.
Dust Functions: None.
History: Handling one-handed recoil was a bit tricky so Dorian designed the bracer to assist him in that regard.
EQUIPMENT: GEAR 2Name: -
Primary Form: Metal greaves that run up his shin. In the soles are pores for Dust.
Dust Functions: Gravity Dust - Aids Dorian in rooting himself in one position.
Repulsion Dust - When about to take a powerful blow, Dorian will mix in Repulsion Dust to convert some of the impact into movement. By mixing both, he slides smoothly across the ground.
History: Another piece of gear directly designed by Dorian, this time to assist him in holding the front-line.