Author Topic: Wabul "Toast" Paka  (Read 4122 times)

ReaperJoe

  • Full Member

  • Offline
  • ***

  • 478
  • Karma:
    +33/-11
  • Personal Text
    All criticism is valid
    • View Profile
Wabul "Toast" Paka
« on: October 31, 2018, 11:51:12 PM »
Hex code = E55812

CHARACTER

Name: Wabul “Toast” Paka

Age: 17, Born 25th of Machlud

Species and Gender: Male Cat Faunus (Tabico)

Symbol:  A slice of toast, butter-side up.

Occupation: 1st year Shade student, former professional acrobat/circus performer

Appearance: Wabul is long, slender, and lithe in build, standing at an even 6’ and weighing in at around 170 pounds. He has short, reddish-orange hair and a caramel skin tone that comes with a lifetime under the desert sun. He seems to have a permanent smirk on his face that give his brown eyes a keen sparkle.

His clothes are simple, yet brightly colored.  He wears a red, long-sleeved, open vest that cuts off just under the chest with a sand-colored hood that he pulls up to keep sand out of his face, along with white, sand-dusted pants. He wears a bandana and a set of goggles around his neck, only really wearing them on his face during sand storms. Strapped to the waist of his pants are two pistols, one on each side.  A long cat tail snakes behind him.

When he needs to, he dons a cape for traveling to protect himself against the harsh Vacuan weather, though most of the time that’s stored away.

His symbol can be seen on the back of his vest, when he isn't wearing his Bag o' Extra Dust

History:  Wabul was born to a cat faunus father named Sabor and a human mother named Especia.  Sabor is a huntsman, or rather an ex-huntsman, who took it upon himself to establish Sabor’s Spectacular Stunt-Show Supreme, a small travelling circus that consists of himself, his wife Especia, and a few other members.  Each member would have their own act: Especia in particular was an adept sleight-of-hand magician who made of show of pulling peculiar objects from her rather well-endowed cleavage.

But the biggest draw of the circus by far was Sabor’s own act.  During his huntsman career, Wabul’s father made a bit of a name for himself as a flexible martial artist that excelled at using dust to outmaneuver his opponents and deliver powerful strikes.  In the circus, he used those skills to perform incredible feats of acrobatic skill, crossing large expanses of space with no platforms, no trapezes, and no nets.  He’d simply use dust to propel himself across, save himself from terrifying heights, and blast himself through death-defying stunts.  During one such performance, his own son once cried out, ”He’s toast!”  Wabul has carried the nickname “Toast” ever since.

As he grew up, Wabul naturally became more involved in his parent’s performances.  At first, he would help collect money and distribute tickets, mostly because he was too young to be of much use anywhere else.  But as he grew older, he was assigned different tasks behind the scenes.  Here, he would learn both the draw of the spotlight and also the importance of sharing it.  The performers would feed off of each other, and not only figuratively.  While on actor held the spotlight, another would use the limited time available to prepare for the follow-up.

It was also during his behind-the-scenes career that he started practicing his own act.  Naturally, his parents helped him, but they both wanted young Wabul to take after their respective selves.  His mother taught him the basics of magic, most importantly the value of misdirection.  His father taught him the ways of the acrobat, and practiced with him constantly.  But most importantly, he imparted the knowledge that while the expert and the adept may recognize skill, the layman only recognizes spectacle.

With his parents’ teachings in mind, Wabul crafted his own unique act.  Applying the finesse of his mother along with the spectacle of his father, Wabul would stupefy crowds with his acrobatic feats before disappearing into thin air—in mid-air!  The crowds loved it every time it came on, and Wabul relished the spotlight every chance he got it.

But, as time went on, something started to bug him.  His act, by all accounts a crowd-pleaser, was never the big draw.  He was always over-shadowed by his father and mother.  His parts in the show were short, more often than not used as transitions.  Wabul understood he needed to share the spotlight, but he wanted more.  But he wouldn’t get it if he stayed with the circus.  After all, while the layman only recognizes spectacle, the adept can recognize skill, and Sabor was simply far better than Wabul.

If Wabul wanted to surpass his father, he was going to need to take on every challenge Sabor had faced.  He was going to need to become a huntsman.  And so, in a strange twist on the traditional story, Wabul ran away from the circus for Shade Academy, leaving only a note that said ”If you don’t hear from me, I’ll make sure you hear of me!.” 

Of course, the sentiment here is all well and good, but Shade is a prestigious academy.  Wabul’s obviously not going to get in without combat experience.  That’s why it was fortunate that Sabor’s Spectacular Stunt-Show Supreme was a traveling circus.  Because they had to spend so much time trekking through the desert, the group had to be ready for combat at a moment’s notice.  Every member had some degree of combat proficiency and survival training, otherwise the trek from desert village to desert village would be impossible. 

This went for little Wabul, as well.  In fact, he holds the world record for youngest confirmed Grimm kill:  at age 6, he had fired a crossbow bolt at a large Deathstalker.  Naturally, the bolt itself didn’t do any harm, but it did trigger a series of Rube Goldberg-esque events that led to dropping a two-ton crate of steel on top of the beast.  It was a complete accident, but it counted.

Of course, flukes don’t contribute in dedicated examinations of skill, but the point remains that he was trained by his father, an ex-huntsman, to survive outside of the kingdoms.  Naturally, practical exams posed no problem to Wabul.
   
Personality: Wabul has gone by “Toast” for so long that he almost doesn’t respond to his real name.  As such, he introduces himself as “Toast”, not “Wabul”.

Wabul is also a very flashy individual, and is generally the best kind of person to invite to parties.  Between party tricks, acrobatic stunts, and an overall positive demeanor, he can quickly turn strangers into friends in a matter of minutes.  He loves being the center of attention.

And even though he loves the spotlight, he’s okay with sharing it.  His time with the circus taught him the importance of teamplay and giving others the time to shine.  After all, the best performers not only know how to make an entrance, but also when.

That being said, Wabul’s personality is a bit shallow.  He’s not one for deep conversation, as he tends to laugh off serious topics with a joke.  He doesn’t really care for politics, and is more likely than not to be involved in gossip circles. 

Even his motivation to attend Shade is mostly selfish in nature: in the end, he wants to hog more of the spotlight and prove he’s better than his father.  At his core, Wabul seeks attention and thrills. 

Still, beyond all that, he does still have two more positive qualities.  He’s fearless, and he’s committed.  An acrobat practices in dangerous conditions as a necessity to perform their act, and Wabul has countless hours under his belt.  It will take more than a few big scary monsters to veer him off this path, and he’ll do whatever it takes to succeed.       

Aura and Semblance: Wabul’s aura manifests with an orange hue, and his experiences traveling along the Vacuan desert has enhanced his aura’s “danger sense” ability. 

Semblance: Captive Audience—Whenever Wabul touches another creature, be it human, faunus, or Grimm, he can activate his semblance to surround them in an orange, translucent sphere. This sphere is large enough for the target to make an attack, defend, or dodge, but not large enough to significantly reposition.  If a target breaches the sphere, they will take a small amount of damage.  Weapons may breach the sphere without consequence (save for natural weapons, such as long claws).  Once set, the sphere does not move under any circumstance.  Only the target suffers the consequence of breaching the sphere, others may pass through it freely.  It is also plainly visible to see.

The sphere lasts a very short amount of time (generally only a post’s worth, sometimes less), and if the target remains inside the sphere, it will disappear harmlessly.  Furthermore, this semblance does not stack, and only one sphere may be active at a time.  If a new sphere is created, the old sphere immediately disappears without triggering.

This semblance can be triggered multiple times in rapid succession, but Wabul is limited to only 25 uses before needing time to recharge.

Dust Catalyst:  Inside both of Wabul’s swords is a dust catalyst, which is separate from the dust used in the pistol portion of the weapons.  Whenever Wabul applies his semblance, he can choose to apply one of the following effects.

Fire: Increased damage

Ice:  The area/limb that first breached the sphere is encased in ice.

Wind:  When the target breaches the sphere, they are immediately knocked back in the opposite direction of the breach.

Lightning:  Sends jolts through the target’s body, causing slowed movement and decreased accuracy.

Kinetic:  Accelerates the target in the direction of the breach.

It should be noted that Grimm come in much more diverse shapes and sizes, and Wabul’s semblance gives the same amount of movement space to those creatures as it does to human opponents.     
 

Combat Behavior:  Wabul relies on a combination of stealth, speed, agility, and dust to combat his enemies.  He’s primarily a skirmisher, using hit and run tactics to apply multiple dust effects with his weapon and semblance in rapid succession.

His time as an acrobat has given him incredible agility and athletic ability, and, in tandem with dust, he uses his skills to make unorthodox routes throughout the battlefield, with the general aim of getting behind his opponent.  This, when used with his semblance, makes him particularly adept at targeting mobile back-line opponents.

Wabul uses kinetic dust in the pistol portion of his weapons to give him added mobility, while also using it to knock opponents back into his semblance and trigger its effect.  A common combo is to strike an opponent, activate his semblance with wind dust, fire a kinetic round at point-blank to knock them into the sphere, and then tag the target once again during the sphere’s knock-back effect.  If Wabul chooses to apply wind dust again, the target would be knocked back again.  This process could potentially repeat again and again until his semblance or his dust reserve run dry.

However, in reading through his strengths, his weakness becomes evident.  Wabul relies on a combination of effects and circumstances.  Wabul may be athletic, but he isn’t particularly strong.  Individually speaking, Wabul’s attacks are actually quite weak.  If an opponent manages to stand their ground and not trigger the sphere, Wabul’s damage and combo potential is essentially neutered.  Note that if a sphere disappears without triggering, both the semblance use and the dust are wasted.

Furthermore, Wabul has very little in terms of defensive measures.  He relies almost entirely on his agility and speed to evade attacks.  If he’s restricted from moving, he’s almost entirely defenseless.  It’s also worth noting that Wabul needs to be in melee range to apply his semblance, and although he has impressive gap-closing capabilities, opponents that can keep him at range only need worry about weak kinetic rounds.  His dust reserve is also somewhat limited.  If he ever runs out, a lot of his damage, mobility, and crowd-control potential goes with it.   

On another note, Wabul has no fear of heights, and will use his weapons to propel himself into the air if need be.  He is also capable of twisting and dodging in mid-air with little effort, and can maneuver somewhat freely as long as he has dust.

WEAPON

Name: Butter Knives (x2)

Primary Form: Two rapier-pistol hybrids.  There are two separate compartments for dust in each weapon:  1 compartment for the dust catalyst for Wabul’s semblance, and another for kinetic dust rounds to launch Wabul and/or his opponent across the battlefield.  Note that there’s limited room, so both compartments are fairly small.  The catalyst compartment in particular takes a degree of tinkering to reload, generally around one minute.  The other compartment can be reloaded quickly, however.

The trigger for the pistol is located in the hilt, which has a slight curve to allow for an easier grip. 

Secondary Form: The blades retract, reverting them to pistol form.  This form is used almost exclusively for storing and holstering.

Dust Functions: As stated, both weapons are loaded with kinetic dust rounds that Wabul uses to blast himself and his opponent (to a lesser degree) around the battlefield.  In addition, both blades are equipped with a second dust compartment that is used to fuel Wabul’s semblance.  However, that same dust can be used to empower his blade strikes, though he will only use this feature if he feels he can finish his opponent off quickly.  Dust used in this manner has the following effects.

Fire: Increased damage on hit

Ice:  The targeted area will start to freeze.

Wind:  Has a slight knockback effect, can be combined with kinetic dust rounds to increase knockback effect.

Lightning:  Sends jolts through the target’s body, causing decreased accuracy.

Kinetic:  Similar to wind dust, generally not used in this manner.

History: The Butter Knives were forged as a reward for Wabul’s first successful performance.  Wabul did not choose the name, though he does think it’s clever.

WEAPON

Name: Bag o’ extra dust

Primary Form: This isn’t an extra weapon, just extra dust for long missions.  Wabul’s flashy fighting-style tends to burn through dust quickly, and he’ll have to take breaks to replenish the dust in his weapon when he can.  The main pocket holds the dust for the dust catalyst, while the more easily accessible pouches hold spare kinetic ammunition for the pistol.  It also has extra pouches for other extraneous items.

History: This is simply a necessity, Wabul’s swords can’t hold all the dust he’d burn through on missions. 
« Last Edit: November 12, 2018, 06:19:48 PM by ReaperJoe »
Smokey Emberstone Beacon 1st Year and the Immovable Gunslinger of Team DASE "I've got more than enough firepower to beat you" "You've only got one bullet!" "Like I said, more than enough"

Aurelia Lumen Beacon 3rd year and the Warhorse of Team (TBD)  "Lay down your weapons, lest you wish to taste my steel!"

Wabul "Toast" Paka Shade 1st year and the Acrobatic Swashbuckler of Team (TBD)  "Hey, I'm gonna go jump off a bridge, who's with me?"

Lucas Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Hermit of Team CLVS  "What's so great about 'bittersweet'?"

Clara Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Blast Magician of Team (TBD) "No one likes just plain ol' bitter"

August Flare Beacon 1st year and the would-be ruler of the world "Join me, and witness the Brightest Future!"

Hexcodes:
515151
FFD700
E55812
CCE9AE
Cyan
FFA400

Kingnoname1

  • Full Member

  • Offline
  • ***

  • 1032
  • Karma:
    +75/-1
  • Personal Text
    Here to chat, always.
    • View Profile
Re: Wabul "Toast" Paka
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2018, 05:10:45 AM »
Aside from stealing one of the character ideas I had but haven't gotten around to doing yet, it's a really good profile

I'm a little worried about how much damage the bubbles will do but because that is a numbers thing we can always revisit it we think there is an issue.

+1
No criticism is too harsh so hit me with your best shot.

Calen Shrike - ASTC - First Year Beacon.

Saffron de Cortez - SALT - Third Year Atlas.

Amarant Lovis - (formerly of)ACCE - Headmaster of Atlas Academy

Ramalia - RASB - First Year Shade

ReaperJoe

  • Full Member

  • Offline
  • ***

  • 478
  • Karma:
    +33/-11
  • Personal Text
    All criticism is valid
    • View Profile
Re: Wabul "Toast" Paka
« Reply #2 on: November 12, 2018, 06:20:27 PM »
Edited to add a note for the hex code and fix a minor syntax error.  Also using this as a bump
Smokey Emberstone Beacon 1st Year and the Immovable Gunslinger of Team DASE "I've got more than enough firepower to beat you" "You've only got one bullet!" "Like I said, more than enough"

Aurelia Lumen Beacon 3rd year and the Warhorse of Team (TBD)  "Lay down your weapons, lest you wish to taste my steel!"

Wabul "Toast" Paka Shade 1st year and the Acrobatic Swashbuckler of Team (TBD)  "Hey, I'm gonna go jump off a bridge, who's with me?"

Lucas Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Hermit of Team CLVS  "What's so great about 'bittersweet'?"

Clara Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Blast Magician of Team (TBD) "No one likes just plain ol' bitter"

August Flare Beacon 1st year and the would-be ruler of the world "Join me, and witness the Brightest Future!"

Hexcodes:
515151
FFD700
E55812
CCE9AE
Cyan
FFA400

Janus Rogo

  • Global Moderator
  • Been Around

  • Offline
  • ****
  • Senior Staff

  • 78
  • Karma:
    +15/-4
  • Personal Text
    Corporal Moneybags to you
    • View Profile
Re: Wabul "Toast" Paka
« Reply #3 on: November 15, 2018, 05:51:57 PM »
No Flamethrower. Approving this garbage so I don't have to look at it anymore.