Author Topic: Sean Acacia  (Read 3937 times)

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Sean Acacia
« on: September 30, 2017, 04:16:41 PM »
CHARACTER

Name: Sean Acacia

Nicknames: Grenadier (prefers), Blast Bandit, Sugar Bomb (friends only)

Theme Music: Wild Frontier by The Prodigy

Age: 18

Species and Gender: Human, Male

Symbol: A green-gradient hand grenade set in front of a gradient-reversed horseshoe.

Spoiler: ShowHide


Occupation: Shade Academy student, part-time mechanic, part-time smuggler, amateur Dust munitions engineer

Appearance:

Sean is unusually fair skinned for a "desert rat" -- one of any number of half-playful, half derogatory terms for Vacuans who make a habit (or a livelihood) of adventuring out into the wastelands. This is in part due to his heritage, as both his parents immigrated from Mistral roughly ten years before his birth. Being so pale (and prone to sunburns) means he tends to stand out even in a place as diverse and multicultural as Vacuo; it's not uncommon for those who don't know him to assume he's just a visiting Valean or a tourist fresh off the airship trying to "slum it" with the locals.

Aside from his unfortunate complexion, however, Sean looks and acts every inch of his Vacuan upbringing. He prefers to dress simply and ruggedly, usually consisting of worn-in steel toed work boots, scruffy khaki pants that are not uncommonly seen with motor oil or Dust residue stains on them, and any of a number of dark colored t-shirts. He's seldom seen without his satchel bag and often has a small lollipop or other sweet candy sticking nonchalantly out of his mouth. When working on any sort of project or going out into the field he typically slips on a well-worn pair of simple leather gloves and riding goggles, joined with a pale dark green top-of-the-head motorcycle helmet if he plans to take Gust Raider out for a spin. As an added personal touch he makes a habit to wear a wristband, typically on his left side, that has a faded version of his symbol dyed onto it.

When out in the wastelands for extended periods of time Sean will typically don a tattered tan desert poncho, adding a gray or dark green bandana over his mouth if on a smuggling run to further conceal his identity.

Spoiler: ShowHide


History:

It's rather unusual for anyone from Mistral to move to Vacuo, especially outside of corporate, military, or Academy interests, yet Sean's parents did exactly that. Over the years he's asked about the hows and whys on numerous occasions, never really receiving a straightforward answer. While it's true that his father's brother runs one of the more successful and well established auto repair shops in the kingdom that hardly suffices as an explanation; Sean has a nagging suspicion that the real reason had to do with getting away from something or someone back in Mistral, but what or who hasn't been easy to suss out. Whatever the secret, neither his parents or uncle are willing to discuss it -- a major factor in Sean's rebellious tendencies, enrollment at Shade Academy, and the ever-growing rift between the Acacia son and his home life.

Sean's life has mostly been a hodgepodge of reckless mistakes and adventures. From a young age he showed a predisposition to tinkering with machinery: it went from taking his toys apart to see how they worked to disassembling home appliances by age eight, building a working short-range radio at ten, and cobbling together a dune buggy from junk and spare parts by fourteen. At that point his exasperated parents knew he needed an outlet before he either ran off or re-engineered the entire house, and thus arranged for Sean to take on work with his uncle Bernal. It was a natural fit; Sean had a knack for dealing with engines and became a regular fixture at 'Frontier Auto Mechanic', such that he could -- and on slow days sometimes did -- run the shop entirely by himself. What's more, working with the various types of Dust-powered engines ended up also teaching him a great deal about Dust itself...

As Sean moved further into his teenage years tensions at home started to grow more intense. With clashes between child and parents coming more and more frequently Sean found himself coming home less and less, choosing to hang out wherever he ended up after dark rather than drag himself home to face yet another lecture. This being Vacuo, such a choice wasn't without risks. There were close calls, encounters with unsavory individuals -- after the second time Sean was mugged for the handful of lien in his wallet he decided he couldn't let himself become a victim. A sensible person would have gone home to safety, but Sean's pride and stubbornness refused. Instead he enlisted his uncle "Bern" for help, arranging for an old storage shed out behind the auto shop to be converted into a sleeping area and personal workshop and for one of Bernal's friends, a former teacher at Shade, to teach Sean how to defend himself. Though Sean was no powerhouse as a fighter the former teacher, upon seeing what his Semblance was capable of, all but demanded he apply to Shade. With a strong recommendation under his belt Sean was accepted... which meant he would need a weapon.

The easy part was designing and building -- a Dust combustion engine is, after all, just a "bomb" that only explodes on the inside to drive pistons and the like, so applying his knowledge to make something destructive wasn't a hard proposition. The difficulty lay in affording the right parts and materials. Since weapons-grade metal components tend not to end up in scrap yards or repair depots very often (or stay there for very long when they do) there was no real way around needing to buy them... and Sean had nowhere near the kind of money he needed. What he did have, however, was a dune buggy -- one customized to deal with even the harsh desert conditions to be found outside the more civilized areas of Vacuo. When he started to inquire if anyone was looking for a delivery driver he was under no illusions that he'd be ferrying groceries or exchanging pizzas for tips; if Vacuo could be described as having a national sport no one would think it to be anything other than smuggling, which was exactly what Sean was counting on to pay the bills for his new grenade launcher. Risky? Of course. Profitable? Certainly. The people of Vacuo often relied on networks of "couriers" to get everything from basic food and medical supplies to weapons and more questionable goods, especially settlements and nomadic groups who weren't on favorable terms with the main cities. Smuggling meant not only avoiding the authorities but raiders, Grimm, and predatory smuggling rivals looking to pick you off for your cargo. It was the sort of thing Sean's parents had warned him for years not to get mixed up in...

... which was precisely why he went right for it, a satchel of homemade Dust grenades slung ready at his side. His first few runs were rough, a learning curve that included running for his life from a desert Death Stalker and twice having to bluff his way out of unexpected complications, but learn -- and earn -- he did. In the few months he had between acceptance at Shade and the start of classes Sean was able to pull together enough income from smuggling and auto work to fashion Tempestas Telum... and have a bit left over besides. Not a bad side job.

Being part of Shade Academy meant a lot of things: skills and training, of course, but also opportunities -- a chance to be his own person, fully and completely, and no longer be pinned down by his family's demands. With luck maybe he'd even have a chance to find out his parents' oh-so-important secrets, but above all he wouldn't be stifled any longer. Plus, it was Shade! Who wouldn't want a chance to make a name for themselves at the Academy? It was time to make some friends and get a bit crazy with life...


Personality:

Horseshoes and hand grenades... when "almost" still counts, when close enough is good enough, when luck and firepower tip the scales just enough to get by, that's when Sean is at his best.

Sean has always had something of a rebellious, independent streak -- good for a smuggler, even better for an amateur munitions craftsman. He enjoys solitary time out in the wastes almost as much as he does a wild party scene, often leaping from one to the other to get whichever "fix" he needs in the moment. Despite preferring to do things like a lone wolf he's not unapproachable and can be plenty friendly when he's in the right mood... though, be prepared for his sense of humor: gritty, wry, and not above employing cherry bombs and other "party favors" for a cheap laugh. He has a perpetual sweet tooth and is always on the lookout for novel and interesting candy to add to his personal cache, though he prefers popping candy over just about anything else.

As a student, "Grenadier" is a frustration to most of his teachers. Textbooks and lectures bore him to tears, especially when he could be out on a drive or a mission. That said, he's not quite as stupid as he makes himself out to be; he can study and retain information just fine, he just rarely has the interest and attention span to do so. In practicals, however, he's a frustration of an entirely different sort. With his indirect and outright dishonorable fighting style he seldom ever bothers to step into the sparring ring without being disqualified, yet on missions he regularly manages to make an uncanny success of things. Getting Sean to 'play by the rules' is practically a fool's errand -- unless he's forced or incentivized, he tends to do things his way or not at all.

When it comes to others, Sean respects two things above all else: courage and honesty. He doesn't really care if you're human or Faunus. If you're poor he's not above tossing you a little something to get by on, and if you're rich he won't chafe at soaking up a taste of the "good life" from you, but neither makes a particular impression on him. Sean's version of courage, it should be noted, isn't the same as charging headlong into danger -- that's just stupid, as far as he's concerned. What he looks for is someone who's willing to take on the rough jobs, to do what others shy away from, to tough it out and survive based on wits and grit when others call quits. As to honesty... the quickest way to lose Sean is to lie to him, even for a good reason. He doesn't expect people to tell him anything and everything at the drop of a hat, of course, but as long as you say 'no' and give a half decent reason that's fine with him. Nothing gets under his skin quite like people who won't square with him... which, admittedly, makes him a bit choosy about who he smuggles for and runs with.

Sean is a big believer in two things: luck, and superior firepower. He has a penchant for rolling the dice and taking big risks so long as he thinks the payout will be worth it, which leads him into trouble more often than not. He does indeed seem to be luckier than most people, though his 'luck' is the sort that can swing from good to bad and back again without much warning. When luck fails him, however, he usually has a fallback plan... and it usually involves blowing something up.


Living Arrangements: Eschewing what student accommodations Shade has to offer, Sean mostly lives out of a large retrofitted storage shed behind his uncle's repair shop. 'Frontier Auto Mechanic' usually just deals in desert-weather supply trucks, mopeds, dune buggies but they do get the occasional small airship or fancy car coming in, making it an interesting and often convenient place for someone like Sean to set up shop. Inside the shed the living accommodations are simple and durable: a bedroll laid out atop some metal crates, a simple sink, a hot plate, a few large wooden boxes of basic provisions scattered about, and some old adjustable floodlights set up in the corners and wired to a single switch-and-dial combo next to the bed. What amounts to a shower is poorly concealed behind a gray plastic tarp towards the back, making it a bit too easy for visitors to walk in on him -- thus he's gotten in the habit of keeping the large barn-style double doors locked, though not without forgetting occasionally.

What makes his "home" really interesting is the work space. Dominating the left side of the shed is an assortment of metalworking, chemistry, wiring, and assembling tools, many of them homemade and a little bit questionable-looking, centered around a large steel work table with scorn marks and chemical stains permanently seared into its surface. When everything is on and working it can look rather Frankensteinian, a mad scientist's laboratory set among cup ramen and half-empty cereal boxes. This is where Sean works his magic, bringing scrap metal and spare parts together with Dust to make things that, more often than not, go BOOM. It's also handy as a repair space for weapons, tools, you name it -- much of the equipment, while improvised, is fully functional. Sure, it's no Atlas military lab... but you'd be surprised what can be cobbled together with the right inspiration.


Aura and Semblance:

Sean's Aura is a deep, earthy green (#59794d). One unique quirk is that it occasionally manifests as a soft haze wafting off of him, happening when he's either extremely focused (a frequent occurrence when building things) or totally zoned out, leading those who know him well to call it his "zen haze". This means Sean usually isn't even aware he's doing it, and by the time he is it's already fading away. Good friends will sometimes use this to mess with him, claiming it's manifesting when it's not -- good friends are the only ones Sean let's get away with it, though. The manifestation has no particular effects other than making it vaguely look like smoke is coming off of him and looking rather spiff at raves. Sean, unfortunately, hasn't learned to reliably control the manifestation in any way.

Simply called Aura Bomb, Sean's semblance allows him to place an energized imprint of his hand on any inanimate object he touches -- energy which is released, explosively, after four minutes or at the snap of Sean's fingers. This Semblance has three grades of intensity, each requiring greater efforts as the blasts get bigger and more intense. These are detailed below:



LOW INTENSITY: The "little bang" -- a low intensity charge can be imparted with just a momentary contact, as slight as fingertips grazing across the object's surface. This charge grade is more a burst of force than an actual explosion; the energized object, so long as it's not inherently fragile or reactive, is not harmed upon detonation but instead releases a full-dome shockwave of mild concussive force (equivalent to a solid punch from an experienced Huntsman) and a momentary flash of light (enough to distract but not cause a blinding effect, except at very close range or in dark environs). Sean can use up to ten low intensity charges at a time so long as he hasn't used a high intensity charge any time in the last 24 hours and his Aura isn't completely depleted. A low intensity charge imprint will faintly glow a dim green hue, surging to bright white immediately before detonation. Applying a pinch of powdered or granular Dust to the charge area (or holding a Dust crystal) when placing this charge empowers the resulting blast with a low-grade Dust effect: ice Dust will coat anything touched by the shockwave in a thin layer of frost, fire Dust will cause flammables touched by the shockwave to ignite, earth Dust causes a lingering cloud of dusty earthen haze to erupt from the explosion, wind Dust increases the kick of the shockwave by roughly half, electricity Dust causes a shocking effect like unto a taser to accompany the shockwave (causing mild disorientation for roughly a minute) as well as upping the lumens of the flash to a blinding level, and gravity Dust turns the explosion into an implosion that forcefully draws objects, people, Grimm, etc., towards its center for about three seconds before dissipating. Of course, if he has a Dust crystal or Dust in a storage device he can also simply apply the charge directly, with the explosion guaranteed to detonate the Dust's raw, natural power. Sean may have as many low intensity charges placed at one time as he likes and choose, via mental focus, which one(s) he wishes to go off when he snaps his fingers.

MEDIUM INTENSITY: The "big bang" -- a charge of moderate intensity, this is the biggest boom Sean can impart on his own. To place this charge Sean needs at least a solid twenty seconds to focus his mind and Aura on the object he's imprinting explosive energy onto. He can't move around or fight at all while imparting the charge or it ruins the process, forcing him to start over or just abandon the effort. The imprint radiates a strong green light that can be easily spotted, making it the kind of attack that, for all its power, is not that hard to see coming. This grade of explosion most likely will damage all but the hardiest of materials it is imparted to; steel objects, for example, will survive but in a scorched and slightly mangled state. The blast itself is a roiling green-flame fireball with a five foot diameter and a strong enough shockwave to knock even a large Ursa flat on its back from a direct hit -- assuming it survives, of course. Sean can only muster one of these impressive blasts once every five minutes, meaning that he often only gets one or two in during an average duration fight, and only if he hasn't used a high intensity charge in the last 24 hours. Applying a pinch of powdered or granular Dust to the charge area (or holding a Dust crystal) when placing this charge empowers the resulting blast with a moderate strength Dust effect: ice Dust causes the explosion to instead become a wintry blast of razor-sharp ice shards, fire Dust doubles the size and intensity of the resulting fireball, earth Dust replaces the explosive force with a violently erupting pillar of dirt, stone, or concrete the moment the charged object touches the ground (assuming there is ground to erupt -- it won't work at all, for instance, on the deck of an airship or a second story apartment building with wood floors, instead fizzling out with a tiny poof of earthy grit), wind Dust triggers sixty seconds of violent storm-grade winds within a 30 ft radius in addition to the regular shockwave, electricity Dust briefly creates a sphere of ball lightning that will electrocute anything that gets too close (lasts 20 seconds), and gravity Dust causes a powerful implosion five feet wide that lingers for a full ten seconds to crush anything unlucky enough to get caught in its grip. He can also apply a medium intensity charge directly to a Dust crystal or Dust storage device to detonate the Dust directly, but this tends to lack the effects that channeled Dust power grants (even if the resulting explosion is rather impressive).

HIGH INTENSITY: The "BIG bang". Once a day, and only with some help, Sean can conjure up the mother of all Aura Bombs.

A high intensity charge is no laughing matter for any number of reasons. Sean needs no less than ten minutes of solid concentration to generate the charge, during which time he cannot move, speak, or even open his eyes. What's more, he cannot create one alone. A high intensity charge requires EITHER a large quantity of Dust to act as a catalyst (no less than 50lbs powdered or eighteen good quality crystals will do) OR he needs a second person with an awakened Aura to stabilize him in the attempt. Without either the Dust or a helper it's impossible and, frustratingly, it has to be someone he has a strong personal connection with -- friendship, respect, trust. Nothing less will do. The protection of his Aura is also cut in half while he's doing this and any interruption risks a feedback loop that can short his Aura out entirely, rendering him basically defenseless for at least an hour. Whether the charge is successfully created or not, however, the attempt leaves him unable to create any grade of charge for a full 24 hour period. If successful, what he creates is a white-hot intensely glowing imprint with a neon green light streaming from the center of it. At this point it's a good idea to start running -- when a high intensity charge goes off the explosion itself can be over fifty feet wide and unleash a shockwave which travels for at least a thousand feet, uprooting all but the heaviest of heavy objects in its path and sending them tumbling violently through the air. To give you a sense of power, one of these blasts once sent a small brood of Death Stalkers flying into a canyon wall, crushing them inside their own snapped shells and pinning them there for a full minute before they dropped. It's hard to imagine anything directly hit by a high intensity Aura Bomb surviving -- the armor of a top-grade Atlas airship or the most monstrous and terrible of Grimm, perhaps, but nothing less. Sean does not regularly carry around the kind of Dust needed to pull this off and does not go looking to use it... nor, technically, is he allowed to make a high intensity Aura Bomb without EXPLICIT permission from Shade Academy -- something his teammates have indeed been informed of.



Regardless of intensity grade, Aura Bomb always follows the same essential rules. The ideal object to use is no larger than a one gallon milk jug and light enough to be thrown a good distance by hand, although an imprint can be placed on any inanimate object (see further restrictions ->). An imprint can only be placed with direct skin contact; the gloves Sean wears are a means of avoiding accidental imprints, mostly a reminder not to do so. Sean can "withdraw" an imprint once he's created it but needs to do so before detonation -- once the "bomb" has gone off he has zero control over the forces that are unleashed.  The imprint of a charge is always visible and variably luminous based on charge level but always a small glowing patch at the point of contact which, itself, carries and delivers the force of detonation. To place an imprint Sean must make direct, purposeful physical contact with it -- getting his hand struck by a combat android does not let him "charge" the android's fist, but throwing a small rock can be used to impart a charge to the rock (this, in fact, is one of his preferred ways to use Aura Bomb). He cannot impart a charge directly onto living beings (the exception being Grimm, curiously) or anything bearing or channeling an Aura -- this means that so long as an opponent possesses even a tiny measure of Aura their carried weapons, armor, and equipment are safe from Sean's explosive touch.


Combat Behavior:

Most Huntsmen-or-Huntresses-to-be have an approach to combat that falls along certain predictable lines: front line, ranged, support, that sort of thing. Sean isn't a big believer in this kind of classification, not for himself at least. His style is... creative. His smuggling experiences have given him a flexible "wait-and-see" way of thinking about combat -- in a one-on-one fair fight he generally focuses on evasion at the outset, looking to get a sense of what his foe can do before deciding how to employ his weapon or Semblance as a countermeasure, then either bringing as much force as he can muster all at once or doing what he can to wear his opponent down. It's worth noting that his unarmed fighting style leans heavily towards acrobatics and parkour moves, both to make him harder to hit and to let him lay hands on as many surfaces as possible. Out on a real battlefield, however, his preference is to either sneak about and lay traps (usually with his Semblance) or, instead, find a nice semi-distant elevated area to shoot from and pummel a target with a hail of grenades. What comes after either of those opening moves often involves either mopping up victoriously... or a lot of running. Needless to say, when explosions don't get the job done Sean usually looks to his teammates (or whoever's backing him up at the time) to take the lead and make the calls -- in the absence of clear leadership he is rather wont to improvise a smokescreen or other distraction if under attack, his go-to pattern being "attack, withdraw, relocate, repeat as necessary".

His combat aptitudes are best described as "well rounded"; when it comes to speed, strength, endurance and the like Sean is a jack of many trades but a master of none. He can keep pace with other Shade students (usually) but by no means excels -- his greatest personal assets, aside from his Semblance, are his survival instincts, ability to improvise, and just a pinch of extra luck.


WEAPON

Name: Tempestas Telum (literally "Storm Bolt")

Primary Form:

A rugged drum-fed grenade launcher, Tempestas Telum is designed to "bring the thunder" at medium-to-long range, up to five rounds per minute. Ideal distance to target is between 300 and 500 ft, both for accuracy and to avoid potential splash damage to the user, but under fair-weather conditions its shots can reach up to 1000 feet away. Each drum holds eighteen 40mm contact-burst grenades which Sean personally crafts himself to his own specifications, with different types created for specific firing effects (see Dust Functions for ammo types). Sean can store up to five drums in his satchel and an extra six in Gust Raider, should the need arise. The weapon has a digital target-finder scope which is tailored to use out in the wastelands of Vacuo, able to pick out motion up to 1000 feet away even in low light conditions -- useful for recon, but ultimately aiming and landing a shot is up to Sean's own skills (and luck).

Spoiler: ShowHide


Secondary Form:

When not in use, Tempestas Telum collapses down into a durable, boxy, compressed state which Sean can clip onto his belt or satchel. It cannot fire in this mode but it can take a beating while keeping the vital parts clean and working, making it the ideal way to transport the launcher. The ammo drum must be removed before compression.

Tertiary Form: {none currently}

Dust Functions:

Regular Ammo: The standard 40mm grenade shot uses a typical firing mix for contact-explosive Dust ammo, giving it a kick roughly equivalent to a real-world hand grenade.

High Grade Ammo: These grenades use an improved formula which is expensive to make, utilizing a higher grade of Dust to deliver almost twice the destructive force while keeping to the same burst size as regular ammo.

Smoke Ammo: A non-damaging ammo variant that unleashes a cloud of dark, oily gray smoke upon detonation. The smoke is nontoxic and will, at most, cause minor eye or throat irritation if one stands in it for too long, however anyone inside the thirty foot wide cloud is basically blind to what's outside (and vice versa). Useful for setting up ambushes or making a concealed getaway... so long as there isn't any strong wind, that is.

Flashbang Ammo: The flashbang is a classic grenade variety, and with good reason. When one of these goes off you'd best have your ears covered and be looking the other way, as the intense flash of light and thunderous noise is easily enough to render most targets momentarily blinded, deafened, and disoriented. The effect on humans is pretty well known, whereas impact on Grimm can vary by species. Faunus, possessed as they generally are of superior low-light vision and sensitive hearing, can be particularly disabled by the burst of a flashbang, so it's best to be extra careful when using this type in mixed company.

Flame Ammo: When fire is the way to go, these incendiary grenades deliver. Each unleashes a spread of micro-pellets over a ten foot radius upon exploding -- on contact with a solid object or heat source the pellets burst into small gouts of flame, making it possible to cover a small area (or a large target) in fire.

Ice Ammo: Always useful when you need to immobilize a target, these ice-Dust grenades cause a flash freeze with ice one inch thick within five feet of impact. Best used as part of a full barrage for maximum coverage.

Earth Ammo: Need to do a little aggressive landscaping? Punch through a cave wall? Collapse a rocky pillar? These are the grenades for you. On contact with dirt or stone the impacted material is forced out of the blast radius, leaving no less than a ten foot wide crater or hole; on contact with any other kind of target (or in the case of an air burst) the grenade creates a five foot burst of sticky, resinous mud.

Maelstrom Ammo: Though these grenades don't actually cause direct damage, the forceful shockwave of air that one unleashes upon detonation is often enough to unbalance or straight-up bowl over a human-sized target within five feet of the burst.

Lightning Ammo: The three foot wide blast from these electrically charged Dust grenades may be smaller than the others, but the effect it can have on people, Grimm, and especially machines, is stunning. It's a real shock to the system. If you don't know watt that means, you will when one goes off.

Gravity Ammo: A bit different than the other grenade types, these rounds are actually designed to stick to a target (via a proximity-released purple gel that works as a rubbery fast-curing glue) and weigh them down via activated gravity Dust. Each activated grenade effectively adds 50lbs of weight and lasts for three minutes before running out of power. No explosion (aside from the bursting gel layer) accompanies this grenade's impact.


History: Based off a standard template, Sean's grenade launcher was an expensive build for someone living off of auto shop wages. To pay for the weapon's construction -- and the continued not-insignificant cost of the Dust grenades it fires -- he has taken on a semi-secret secondary life as a smuggler.


VEHICLE / WEAPON

Name: Gust Raider

Primary Form:

Spoiler: ShowHide



A single-seater dune buggy that Sean has been working on since he began his employment at his uncle's repair shop, Gust Raider is a quick and nimble wasteland-ready vehicle that's just as capable on sand dunes and in rocky ravines as it is on the kingdom's (admittedly not always great) roads. What's more, it incorporates a high speed propeller system that it can use as a speed booster, the thrust from which is often enough for it to safely jump gaps that would be suicide for other vehicles its size. The propeller system has been further modified to be useful for Sean's "second job" as well -- with the flick of a switch it can tap into one of three Dust reserves useful for throwing off pursuers (see Dust Functions).

Sean doesn't often bring along passengers, but he can fit Gust Raider with two additional side seats that attach securely to the undercarriage. A third person can be squeezed in behind the driver's seat, however they will have to stand and won't be able to get out very easily. Eye protection is recommended.

Secondary Form:

When Sean needs to make his "deliveries" over walls, to low flying airships, or when he just feels like sending a special "hello" to targets too distant for his grenade launcher, Gust Raider's catapult mode is just the trick. Locking down into an immobile artillery-like arrangement, this weapon-like form can launch any object of less than 450 lbs and three feet across at its base into a parabolic arc, able to accurately hit within ten feet of a target location up to 2000 feet away. This can easily be used for launching durable goods, as long as they can survive the acceleration and landing -- for most things that are meant to arrive intact, however, Sean typically attaches a parachute with an inexpensive in altitude sensor. Targeting is handled via a local uplink to his Scroll, relying on its processing power, camera, and map data to run the calculations needed for an accurate launch.

As you might imagine, this form is also handy for long-range bombardments using things Sean has applied his Semblance to. It can even launch people... however, they'd better have a landing strategy before they go.

Tertiary Form: {none yet}

Dust Functions:

In its primary form, Gust Raider's rear propeller can be used to spread activated Dust powder from one of three internal reserves in its wake, for various effects. The one Sean uses the most often is earth Dust, causing a large dark-brown smokescreen to be released in a steady stream. There's a secondary Dust reserve for ice Dust, having the effect of coating the surface in Guat Raider's wake in a slick layer of frost. If neither of these is enough to throw off pursuit Sean typically turns to his final reserve: wind Dust, which nearly triples the speed boost caused by the propeller -- and can, in fact, briefly send the dune buggy airborne or into a very long, very fast jump. Sean tries to avoid using this last one at full power because if something goes wrong at those speeds the results can be pretty grisly.

Experiments with fire, electric, and gravity Dust were entirely unsuccessful and rather damaging, so Sean avoids ever putting them into the vehicle's reserve tanks.

History:

Gust Raider came to Sean as a birthday gift from his uncle, a junked dune buggy salvaged from a local scrapyard that the young boy could disassemble and tinker with to his heart's content. Uncle Bern had expected the fourteen year old would eventually get it in working order, but he hadn't counted on the boy doing it in just six weeks. Ever since, whenever there isn't anything else to occupy his attentions Sean can frequently be found cleaning and working on Gust Raider. He keeps it in a purpose-build mini garage right alongside the shed he calls home, keeping the garage door secured with a padlock and a chain bolted into the concrete foundation to deter thieves. In the worst case scenario, if someone is brazen enough to steal his ride he can track it via his Scroll, the vehicle having a homing beacon with a ten mile radius that pings back through any open connection to the CCTS.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2018, 05:48:28 PM by Riven »
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STUDENTS

Beacon Student: Rory Vogel, "The Scarlet Shield" ~ 1st Year, Team VCVS

Shade Student: Sean Acacia, "Grenadier" ~ 1st Year



OTHERS

Beacon Teacher / Experimental Botanist: Dr. Budonoki Sophos, Medical & Wilderness Specialist

Baker / Retired Huntsman: Alec Chadwick, owner of 'Fabled Goods' bakery

Pirate / Freelancer: Captain Cordell of the Red Corsair ~ Available For Hire!

Mercenary / Infiltrator: Micah Sere AKA "Prowler" ~ Danger, Avoid If Possible

Mercenary / Infiltrator: Maria Sanguine AKA "Bloody Mary" ~ Underworld operative, "The Lady of a Thousand Faces"

Kaliot

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Re: Sean Acacia
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2017, 09:34:35 PM »
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Izumi Cremisi - Member of Obsidian Rose, Assassin, Thief, Arcade Enthusiast
Airi Fogden Bicardi - Second-Year Atlas Student, Family Heiress
Avery LeBlanc - Third-Year Atlas Student, Triplet, Duelist, Manipulator, Team SA[L]T | Threads [Team: ]
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Suna Arevik - First-Year Shade Student, Scavenger-in-Training, Team S[S]MR
Mara Lev - Mercenary, de facto Leader of Siren

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Xarias Fury

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Re: Sean Acacia
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2017, 07:08:29 PM »
Semblance is a bit strong but drawbacks make up for it. Approved.
Students
Wisteria Lockheart - 1st Year student at Beacon. "Don't make me throw a book at you"
Shiroe Pendragon - 1st Year Student at beacon - "This is my monochrome reality" - Team MARS
Lavender du Lac - 1st Year Student at Haven -  "The harder I try the further things drift away."
Ayaka Miyamoto - 1st Year student at Beacon. "Tsubame Gaeshi!" - Team ALIA
Vermilion Desdemona - 3rd Year Student at Beacon - "Only time you'd be above me is when your head rests on my pike"
Talen de L'eglantine - 3rd Year Student at Beacon
Kei Almas - 4th Year Student at Beacon - "Everything is ripe for the taking!"
Aurum LeBlanc - 3rd Year Student at Atlas - "Lay back, take it easy, and watch the comedy unfold"

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Professor William Nox - "To contain the world in a grain of dust

Kingnoname1

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Re: Sean Acacia
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2018, 07:03:48 PM »
pre edits: ShowHide
CHARACTER

Name: Sean Acacia

Nicknames: Grenadier (prefers), Blast Bandit, Sugar Bomb (friends only)

Theme Music: Wild Frontier by The Prodigy

Age: 18

Species and Gender: Human, Male

Symbol: A green-gradient hand grenade set in front of a gradient-reversed horseshoe.

[spoiler]


Occupation: Shade Academy student, part-time mechanic, part-time smuggler, amateur Dust munitions engineer

Appearance:

Sean is unusually fair skinned for a "desert rat" -- one of any number of half-playful, half derogatory terms for Vacuans who make a habit (or a livelihood) of adventuring out into the wastelands. This is in part due to his heritage, as both his parents immigrated from Mistral roughly ten years before his birth. Being so pale (and prone to sunburns) means he tends to stand out even in a place as diverse and multicultural as Vacuo; it's not uncommon for those who don't know him to assume he's just a visiting Valean or a tourist fresh off the airship trying to "slum it" with the locals.

Aside from his unfortunate complexion, however, Sean looks and acts every inch of his Vacuan upbringing. He prefers to dress simply and ruggedly, usually consisting of worn-in steel toed work boots, scruffy khaki pants that are not uncommonly seen with motor oil or Dust residue stains on them, and any of a number of dark colored t-shirts. He's seldom seen without his satchel bag and often has a small lollipop or other sweet candy sticking nonchalantly out of his mouth. When working on any sort of project or going out into the field he typically slips on a well-worn pair of simple leather gloves and riding goggles, joined with a pale dark green top-of-the-head motorcycle helmet if he plans to take Gust Raider out for a spin. As an added personal touch he makes a habit to wear a wristband, typically on his left side, that has a faded version of his symbol dyed onto it.

When out in the wastelands for extended periods of time Sean will typically don a tattered tan desert poncho, adding a gray or dark green bandana over his mouth if on a smuggling run to further conceal his identity.

Spoiler: ShowHide


History:

It's rather unusual for anyone from Mistral to move to Vacuo, especially outside of corporate, military, or Academy interests, yet Sean's parents did exactly that. Over the years he's asked about the hows and whys on numerous occasions, never really receiving a straightforward answer. While it's true that his father's brother runs one of the more successful and well established auto repair shops in the kingdom that hardly suffices as an explanation; Sean has a nagging suspicion that the real reason had to do with getting away from something or someone back in Mistral, but what or who hasn't been easy to suss out. Whatever the secret, neither his parents or uncle are willing to discuss it -- a major factor in Sean's rebellious tendencies, enrollment at Shade Academy, and the ever-growing rift between the Acacia son and his home life.

Sean's life has mostly been a hodgepodge of reckless mistakes and adventures. From a young age he showed a predisposition to tinkering with machinery: it went from taking his toys apart to see how they worked to disassembling home appliances by age eight, building a working short-range radio at ten, and cobbling together a dune buggy from junk and spare parts by fourteen. At that point his exasperated parents knew he needed an outlet before he either ran off or re-engineered the entire house, and thus arranged for Sean to take on work with his uncle Bernal. It was a natural fit; Sean had a knack for dealing with engines and became a regular fixture at 'Frontier Auto Mechanic', such that he could -- and on slow days sometimes did -- run the shop entirely by himself. What's more, working with the various types of Dust-powered engines ended up also teaching him a great deal about Dust itself...

As Sean moved further into his teenage years tensions at home started to grow more intense. With clashes between child and parents coming more and more frequently Sean found himself coming home less and less, choosing to hang out wherever he ended up after dark rather than drag himself home to face yet another lecture. This being Vacuo, such a choice wasn't without risks. There were close calls, encounters with unsavory individuals -- after the second time Sean was mugged for the handful of lien in his wallet he decided he couldn't let himself become a victim. A sensible person would have gone home to safety, but Sean's pride and stubbornness refused. Instead he enlisted his uncle "Bern" for help, arranging for an old storage shed out behind the auto shop to be converted into a sleeping area and personal workshop and for one of Bernal's friends, a former teacher at Shade, to teach Sean how to defend himself. Though Sean was no powerhouse as a fighter the former teacher, upon seeing what his Semblance was capable of, all but demanded he apply to Shade. With a strong recommendation under his belt Sean was accepted... which meant he would need a weapon.

The easy part was designing and building -- a Dust combustion engine is, after all, just a "bomb" that only explodes on the inside to drive pistons and the like, so applying his knowledge to make something destructive wasn't a hard proposition. The difficulty lay in affording the right parts and materials. Since weapons-grade metal components tend not to end up in scrap yards or repair depots very often (or stay there for very long when they do) there was no real way around needing to buy them... and Sean had nowhere near the kind of money he needed. What he did have, however, was a dune buggy -- one customized to deal with even the harsh desert conditions to be found outside the more civilized areas of Vacuo. When he started to inquire if anyone was looking for a delivery driver he was under no illusions that he'd be ferrying groceries or exchanging pizzas for tips; if Vacuo could be described as having a national sport no one would think it to be anything other than smuggling, which was exactly what Sean was counting on to pay the bills for his new grenade launcher. Risky? Of course. Profitable? Certainly. The people of Vacuo often relied on networks of "couriers" to get everything from basic food and medical supplies to weapons and more questionable goods, especially settlements and nomadic groups who weren't on favorable terms with the main cities. Smuggling meant not only avoiding the authorities but raiders, Grimm, and predatory smuggling rivals looking to pick you off for your cargo. It was the sort of thing Sean's parents had warned him for years not to get mixed up in...

... which was precisely why he went right for it, a satchel of homemade Dust grenades slung ready at his side. His first few runs were rough, a learning curve that included running for his life from a desert Death Stalker and twice having to bluff his way out of unexpected complications, but learn -- and earn -- he did. In the few months he had between acceptance at Shade and the start of classes Sean was able to pull together enough income from smuggling and auto work to fashion Tempestas Telum... and have a bit left over besides. Not a bad side job.

Being part of Shade Academy meant a lot of things: skills and training, of course, but also opportunities -- a chance to be his own person, fully and completely, and no longer be pinned down by his family's demands. With luck maybe he'd even have a chance to find out his parents' oh-so-important secrets, but above all he wouldn't be stifled any longer. Plus, it was Shade! Who wouldn't want a chance to make a name for themselves at the Academy? It was time to make some friends and get a bit crazy with life...


Personality:

Horseshoes and hand grenades... when "almost" still counts, when close enough is good enough, when luck and firepower tip the scales just enough to get by, that's when Sean is at his best.

Sean has always had something of a rebellious, independent streak -- good for a smuggler, even better for an amateur munitions craftsman. He enjoys solitary time out in the wastes almost as much as he does a wild party scene, often leaping from one to the other to get whichever "fix" he needs in the moment. Despite preferring to do things like a lone wolf he's not unapproachable and can be plenty friendly when he's in the right mood... though, be prepared for his sense of humor: gritty, wry, and not above employing cherry bombs and other "party favors" for a cheap laugh. He has a perpetual sweet tooth and is always on the lookout for novel and interesting candy to add to his personal cache, though he prefers popping candy over just about anything else.

As a student, "Grenadier" is a frustration to most of his teachers. Textbooks and lectures bore him to tears, especially when he could be out on a drive or a mission. That said, he's not quite as stupid as he makes himself out to be; he can study and retain information just fine, he just rarely has the interest and attention span to do so. In practicals, however, he's a frustration of an entirely different sort. With his indirect and outright dishonorable fighting style he seldom ever bothers to step into the sparring ring without being disqualified, yet on missions he regularly manages to make an uncanny success of things. Getting Sean to 'play by the rules' is practically a fool's errand -- unless he's forced or incentivized, he tends to do things his way or not at all.

When it comes to others, Sean respects two things above all else: courage and honesty. He doesn't really care if you're human or Faunus. If you're poor he's not above tossing you a little something to get by on, and if you're rich he won't chafe at soaking up a taste of the "good life" from you, but neither makes a particular impression on him. Sean's version of courage, it should be noted, isn't the same as charging headlong into danger -- that's just stupid, as far as he's concerned. What he looks for is someone who's willing to take on the rough jobs, to do what others shy away from, to tough it out and survive based on wits and grit when others call quits. As to honesty... the quickest way to lose Sean is to lie to him, even for a good reason. He doesn't expect people to tell him anything and everything at the drop of a hat, of course, but as long as you say 'no' and give a half decent reason that's fine with him. Nothing gets under his skin quite like people who won't square with him... which, admittedly, makes him a bit choosy about who he smuggles for and runs with.

Sean is a big believer in two things: luck, and superior firepower. He has a penchant for rolling the dice and taking big risks so long as he thinks the payout will be worth it, which leads him into trouble more often than not. He does indeed seem to be luckier than most people, though his 'luck' is the sort that can swing from good to bad and back again without much warning. When luck fails him, however, he usually has a fallback plan... and it usually involves blowing something up.


Living Arrangements: Eschewing what student accommodations Shade has to offer, Sean mostly lives out of a large retrofitted storage shed behind his uncle's repair shop. 'Frontier Auto Mechanic' usually just deals in desert-weather supply trucks, mopeds, dune buggies but they do get the occasional small airship or fancy car coming in, making it an interesting and often convenient place for someone like Sean to set up shop. Inside the shed the living accommodations are simple and durable: a bedroll laid out atop some metal crates, a simple sink, a hot plate, a few large wooden boxes of basic provisions scattered about, and some old adjustable floodlights set up in the corners and wired to a single switch-and-dial combo next to the bed. What amounts to a shower is poorly concealed behind a gray plastic tarp towards the back, making it a bit too easy for visitors to walk in on him -- thus he's gotten in the habit of keeping the large barn-style double doors locked, though not without forgetting occasionally.

What makes his "home" really interesting is the work space. Dominating the left side of the shed is an assortment of metalworking, chemistry, wiring, and assembling tools, many of them homemade and a little bit questionable-looking, centered around a large steel work table with scorn marks and chemical stains permanently seared into its surface. When everything is on and working it can look rather Frankensteinian, a mad scientist's laboratory set among cup ramen and half-empty cereal boxes. This is where Sean works his magic, bringing scrap metal and spare parts together with Dust to make things that, more often than not, go BOOM. It's also handy as a repair space for weapons, tools, you name it -- much of the equipment, while improvised, is fully functional. Sure, it's no Atlas military lab... but you'd be surprised what can be cobbled together with the right inspiration.


Aura and Semblance:

Sean's Aura is a deep, earthy green (#59794d). One unique quirk is that it occasionally manifests as a soft haze wafting off of him, happening when he's either extremely focused (a frequent occurrence when building things) or totally zoned out, leading those who know him well to call it his "zen haze". This means Sean usually isn't even aware he's doing it, and by the time he is it's already fading away. Good friends will sometimes use this to mess with him, claiming it's manifesting when it's not -- good friends are the only ones Sean let's get away with it, though. The manifestation has no particular effects other than making it vaguely look like smoke is coming off of him and looking rather spiff at raves. Sean, unfortunately, hasn't learned to reliably control the manifestation in any way.

Simply called Aura Bomb, Sean's semblance allows him to place an energized imprint of his hand on any inanimate object he touches -- energy which is released, explosively, after four minutes or at the snap of Sean's fingers. This Semblance has three grades of intensity, each requiring greater efforts as the blasts get bigger and more intense. These are detailed below:



LOW INTENSITY: The "little bang" -- a low intensity charge can be imparted with just a momentary contact, as slight as fingertips grazing across the object's surface. This charge grade is more a burst of force than an actual explosion; the energized object, so long as it's not inherently fragile or reactive, is not harmed upon detonation but instead releases a full-dome shockwave of mild concussive force (equivalent to a solid punch from an experienced Huntsman) and a momentary flash of light (enough to distract but not cause a blinding effect, except at very close range or in dark environs). Sean can use up to ten low intensity charges at a time so long as he hasn't used a high intensity charge any time in the last 24 hours and his Aura isn't completely depleted. A low intensity charge imprint will faintly glow a dim green hue, surging to bright white immediately before detonation. Applying a pinch of powdered or granular Dust to the charge area (or holding a Dust crystal) when placing this charge empowers the resulting blast with a low-grade Dust effect: ice Dust will coat anything touched by the shockwave in a thin layer of frost, fire Dust will cause flammables touched by the shockwave to ignite, earth Dust causes a lingering cloud of dusty earthen haze to erupt from the explosion, wind Dust increases the kick of the shockwave by roughly half, electricity Dust causes a shocking effect like unto a taser to accompany the shockwave (causing mild disorientation for roughly a minute) as well as upping the lumens of the flash to a blinding level, and gravity Dust turns the explosion into an implosion that forcefully draws objects, people, Grimm, etc., towards its center for about three seconds before dissipating. Of course, if he has a Dust crystal or Dust in a storage device he can also simply apply the charge directly, with the explosion guaranteed to detonate the Dust's raw, natural power. Sean may have as many low intensity charges placed at one time as he likes and choose, via mental focus, which one(s) he wishes to go off when he snaps his fingers.

MEDIUM INTENSITY: The "big bang" -- a charge of moderate intensity, this is the biggest boom Sean can impart on his own. To place this charge Sean needs at least a solid twenty seconds to focus his mind and Aura on the object he's imprinting explosive energy onto. He can't move around or fight at all while imparting the charge or it ruins the process, forcing him to start over or just abandon the effort. The imprint radiates a strong green light that can be easily spotted, making it the kind of attack that, for all its power, is not that hard to see coming. This grade of explosion most likely will damage all but the hardiest of materials it is imparted to; steel objects, for example, will survive but in a scorched and slightly mangled state. The blast itself is a roiling green-flame fireball with a five foot diameter and a strong enough shockwave to knock even a large Ursa flat on its back from a direct hit -- assuming it survives, of course. Sean can only muster one of these impressive blasts once every five minutes, meaning that he often only gets one or two in during an average duration fight, and only if he hasn't used a high intensity charge in the last 24 hours. Applying a pinch of powdered or granular Dust to the charge area (or holding a Dust crystal) when placing this charge empowers the resulting blast with a moderate strength Dust effect: ice Dust causes the explosion to instead become a wintry blast of razor-sharp ice shards, fire Dust doubles the size and intensity of the resulting fireball, earth Dust replaces the explosive force with a violently erupting pillar of dirt, stone, or concrete the moment the charged object touches the ground (assuming there is ground to erupt -- it won't work at all, for instance, on the deck of an airship or a second story apartment building with wood floors, instead fizzling out with a tiny poof of earthy grit), wind Dust triggers sixty seconds of violent storm-grade winds within a 30 ft radius in addition to the regular shockwave, electricity Dust briefly creates a sphere of ball lightning that will electrocute anything that gets too close (lasts 20 seconds), and gravity Dust causes a powerful implosion five feet wide that lingers for a full ten seconds to crush anything unlucky enough to get caught in its grip. He can also apply a medium intensity charge directly to a Dust crystal or Dust storage device to detonate the Dust directly, but this tends to lack the effects that channeled Dust power grants (even if the resulting explosion is rather impressive).

HIGH INTENSITY: The "BIG bang". Once a day, and only with some help, Sean can conjure up the mother of all Aura Bombs.

A high intensity charge is no laughing matter for any number of reasons. Sean needs no less than ten minutes of solid concentration to generate the charge, during which time he cannot move, speak, or even open his eyes. What's more, he cannot create one alone. A high intensity charge requires EITHER a large quantity of Dust to act as a catalyst (no less than 50lbs powdered or eighteen good quality crystals will do) OR he needs a second person with an awakened Aura to stabilize him in the attempt. Without either the Dust or a helper it's impossible and, frustratingly, it has to be someone he has a strong personal connection with -- friendship, respect, trust. Nothing less will do. The protection of his Aura is also cut in half while he's doing this and any interruption risks a feedback loop that can short his Aura out entirely, rendering him basically defenseless for at least an hour. Whether the charge is successfully created or not, however, the attempt leaves him unable to create any grade of charge for a full 24 hour period. If successful, what he creates is a white-hot intensely glowing imprint with a neon green light streaming from the center of it. At this point it's a good idea to start running -- when a high intensity charge goes off the explosion itself can be over fifty feet wide and unleash a shockwave which travels for at least a thousand feet, uprooting all but the heaviest of heavy objects in its path and sending them tumbling violently through the air. To give you a sense of power, one of these blasts once sent a small brood of Death Stalkers flying into a canyon wall, crushing them inside their own snapped shells and pinning them there for a full minute before they dropped. It's hard to imagine anything directly hit by a high intensity Aura Bomb surviving -- the armor of a top-grade Atlas airship or the most monstrous and terrible of Grimm, perhaps, but nothing less. Sean does not regularly carry around the kind of Dust needed to pull this off and does not go looking to use it... nor, technically, is he allowed to make a high intensity Aura Bomb without EXPLICIT permission from Shade Academy -- something his teammates have indeed been informed of.



Regardless of intensity grade, Aura Bomb always follows the same essential rules. The ideal object to use is no larger than a one gallon milk jug and light enough to be thrown a good distance by hand, although an imprint can be placed on any inanimate object (see further restrictions ->). An imprint can only be placed with direct skin contact; the gloves Sean wears are a means of avoiding accidental imprints, mostly a reminder not to do so. Sean can "withdraw" an imprint once he's created it but needs to do so before detonation -- once the "bomb" has gone off he has zero control over the forces that are unleashed.  The imprint of a charge is always visible and variably luminous based on charge level but always a small glowing patch at the point of contact which, itself, carries and delivers the force of detonation. To place an imprint Sean must make direct, purposeful physical contact with it -- getting his hand struck by a combat android does not let him "charge" the android's fist, but throwing a small rock can be used to impart a charge to the rock (this, in fact, is one of his preferred ways to use Aura Bomb). He cannot impart a charge directly onto living beings (the exception being Grimm, curiously) or anything bearing or channeling an Aura -- this means that so long as an opponent possesses even a tiny measure of Aura their carried weapons, armor, and equipment are safe from Sean's explosive touch.


Combat Behavior:

Most Huntsmen-or-Huntresses-to-be have an approach to combat that falls along certain predictable lines: front line, ranged, support, that sort of thing. Sean isn't a big believer in this kind of classification, not for himself at least. His style is... creative. His smuggling experiences have given him a flexible "wait-and-see" way of thinking about combat -- in a one-on-one fair fight he generally focuses on evasion at the outset, looking to get a sense of what his foe can do before deciding how to employ his weapon or Semblance as a countermeasure, then either bringing as much force as he can muster all at once or doing what he can to wear his opponent down. It's worth noting that his unarmed fighting style leans heavily towards acrobatics and parkour moves, both to make him harder to hit and to let him lay hands on as many surfaces as possible. Out on a real battlefield, however, his preference is to either sneak about and lay traps (usually with his Semblance) or, instead, find a nice semi-distant elevated area to shoot from and pummel a target with a hail of grenades. What comes after either of those opening moves often involves either mopping up victoriously... or a lot of running. Needless to say, when explosions don't get the job done Sean usually looks to his teammates (or whoever's backing him up at the time) to take the lead and make the calls -- in the absence of clear leadership he is rather wont to improvise a smokescreen or other distraction if under attack, his go-to pattern being "attack, withdraw, relocate, repeat as necessary".

His combat aptitudes are best described as "well rounded"; when it comes to speed, strength, endurance and the like Sean is a jack of many trades but a master of none. He can keep pace with other Shade students (usually) but by no means excels -- his greatest personal assets, aside from his Semblance, are his survival instincts, ability to improvise, and just a pinch of extra luck.


WEAPON

Name: Tempestas Telum (literally "Storm Bolt")

Primary Form:

A rugged drum-fed grenade launcher, Tempestas Telum is designed to "bring the thunder" at medium-to-long range, up to five rounds per minute. Ideal distance to target is between 300 and 500 ft, both for accuracy and to avoid potential splash damage to the user, but under fair-weather conditions its shots can reach up to 1000 feet away. Each drum holds eighteen 40mm contact-burst grenades which Sean personally crafts himself to his own specifications, with different types created for specific firing effects (see Dust Functions for ammo types). Sean can store up to five drums in his satchel and an extra six in Gust Raider, should the need arise. The weapon has a digital target-finder scope which is tailored to use out in the wastelands of Vacuo, able to pick out motion up to 1000 feet away even in low light conditions -- useful for recon, but ultimately aiming and landing a shot is up to Sean's own skills (and luck).

Spoiler: ShowHide


Secondary Form:

When not in use, Tempestas Telum collapses down into a durable, boxy, compressed state which Sean can clip onto his belt or satchel. It cannot fire in this mode but it can take a beating while keeping the vital parts clean and working, making it the ideal way to transport the launcher. The ammo drum must be removed before compression.

Tertiary Form: {none currently}

Dust Functions:

Regular Ammo: The standard 40mm grenade shot uses a typical firing mix for contact-explosive Dust ammo, giving it a kick roughly equivalent to a real-world hand grenade.

High Grade Ammo: These grenades use an improved formula which is expensive to make, utilizing a higher grade of Dust to deliver almost twice the destructive force while keeping to the same burst size as regular ammo.

Flame Ammo: When fire is the way to go, these incendiary grenades deliver. Each unleashes a spread of micro-pellets over a ten foot radius upon exploding -- on contact with a solid object or heat source the pellets burst into small gouts of flame, making it possible to cover a small area (or a large target) in fire.

Ice Ammo: Always useful when you need to immobilize a target, these ice-Dust grenades cause a flash freeze with ice one inch thick within five feet of impact. Best used as part of a full barrage for maximum coverage.

Earth Ammo: Need to do a little aggressive landscaping? Punch through a cave wall? Collapse a rocky pillar? These are the grenades for you. On contact with dirt or stone the impacted material is forced out of the blast radius, leaving no less than a ten foot wide crater or hole; on contact with any other kind of target (or in the case of an air burst) the grenade creates a five foot burst of sticky, resinous mud.

Maelstrom Ammo: Though these grenades don't actually cause direct damage, the forceful shockwave of air that one unleashes upon detonation is often enough to unbalance or straight-up bowl over a human-sized target within five feet of the burst.

Lightning Ammo: The three foot wide blast from these electrically charged Dust grenades may be smaller than the others, but the effect it can have on people, Grimm, and especially machines, is stunning. It's a real shock to the system. If you don't know watt that means, you will when one goes off.

Gravity Ammo: A bit different than the other grenade types, these rounds are actually designed to stick to a target (via a proximity-released purple gel that works as a rubbery fast-curing glue) and weigh them down via activated gravity Dust. Each activated grenade effectively adds 50lbs of weight and lasts for three minutes before running out of power. No explosion (aside from the bursting gel layer) accompanies this grenade's impact.


History: Based off a standard template, Sean's grenade launcher was an expensive build for someone living off of auto shop wages. To pay for the weapon's construction -- and the continued not-insignificant cost of the Dust grenades it fires -- he has taken on a semi-secret secondary life as a smuggler.


VEHICLE / WEAPON

Name: Gust Raider

Primary Form:

Spoiler: ShowHide



A single-seater dune buggy that Sean has been working on since he began his employment at his uncle's repair shop, Gust Raider is a quick and nimble wasteland-ready vehicle that's just as capable on sand dunes and in rocky ravines as it is on the kingdom's (admittedly not always great) roads. What's more, it incorporates a high speed propeller system that it can use as a speed booster, the thrust from which is often enough for it to safely jump gaps that would be suicide for other vehicles its size. The propeller system has been further modified to be useful for Sean's "second job" as well -- with the flick of a switch it can tap into one of three Dust reserves useful for throwing off pursuers (see Dust Functions).

Sean doesn't often bring along passengers, but he can fit Gust Raider with two additional side seats that attach securely to the undercarriage. A third person can be squeezed in behind the driver's seat, however they will have to stand and won't be able to get out very easily. Eye protection is recommended.

Secondary Form:

When Sean needs to make his "deliveries" over walls, to low flying airships, or when he just feels like sending a special "hello" to targets too distant for his grenade launcher, Gust Raider's catapult mode is just the trick. Locking down into an immobile artillery-like arrangement, this weapon-like form can launch any object of less than 450 lbs and three feet across at its base into a parabolic arc, able to accurately hit within ten feet of a target location up to 2000 feet away. This can easily be used for launching durable goods, as long as they can survive the acceleration and landing -- for most things that are meant to arrive intact, however, Sean typically attaches a parachute with an inexpensive in altitude sensor. Targeting is handled via a local uplink to his Scroll, relying on its processing power, camera, and map data to run the calculations needed for an accurate launch.

As you might imagine, this form is also handy for long-range bombardments using things Sean has applied his Semblance to. It can even launch people... however, they'd better have a landing strategy before they go.

Tertiary Form: {none yet}

Dust Functions:

In its primary form, Gust Raider's rear propeller can be used to spread activated Dust powder from one of three internal reserves in its wake, for various effects. The one Sean uses the most often is earth Dust, causing a large dark-brown smokescreen to be released in a steady stream. There's a secondary Dust reserve for ice Dust, having the effect of coating the surface in Guat Raider's wake in a slick layer of frost. If neither of these is enough to throw off pursuit Sean typically turns to his final reserve: wind Dust, which nearly triples the speed boost caused by the propeller -- and can, in fact, briefly send the dune buggy airborne or into a very long, very fast jump. Sean tries to avoid using this last one at full power because if something goes wrong at those speeds the results can be pretty grisly.

Experiments with fire, electric, and gravity Dust were entirely unsuccessful and rather damaging, so Sean avoids ever putting them into the vehicle's reserve tanks.

History:

Gust Raider came to Sean as a birthday gift from his uncle, a junked dune buggy salvaged from a local scrapyard that the young boy could disassemble and tinker with to his heart's content. Uncle Bern had expected the fourteen year old would eventually get it in working order, but he hadn't counted on the boy doing it in just six weeks. Ever since, whenever there isn't anything else to occupy his attentions Sean can frequently be found cleaning and working on Gust Raider. He keeps it in a purpose-build mini garage right alongside the shed he calls home, keeping the garage door secured with a padlock and a chain bolted into the concrete foundation to deter thieves. In the worst case scenario, if someone is brazen enough to steal his ride he can track it via his Scroll, the vehicle having a homing beacon with a ten mile radius that pings back through any open connection to the CCTS.[/spoiler]
No criticism is too harsh so hit me with your best shot.

Calen Shrike - ASTC - First Year Beacon.

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

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Re: Sean Acacia
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2018, 05:51:24 PM »
Additions made as follows:

Quote
Smoke Ammo: A non-damaging ammo variant that unleashes a cloud of dark, oily gray smoke upon detonation. The smoke is nontoxic and will, at most, cause minor eye or throat irritation if one stands in it for too long, however anyone inside the thirty foot wide cloud is basically blind to what's outside (and vice versa). Useful for setting up ambushes or making a concealed getaway... so long as there isn't any strong wind, that is.

Flashbang Ammo: The flashbang is a classic grenade variety, and with good reason. When one of these goes off you'd best have your ears covered and be looking the other way, as the intense flash of light and thunderous noise is easily enough to render most targets momentarily blinded, deafened, and disoriented. The effect on humans is pretty well known, whereas impact on Grimm can vary by species. Faunus, possessed as they generally are of superior low-light vision and sensitive hearing, can be particularly disabled by the burst of a flashbang, so it's best to be extra careful when using this type in mixed company.
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STUDENTS

Beacon Student: Rory Vogel, "The Scarlet Shield" ~ 1st Year, Team VCVS

Shade Student: Sean Acacia, "Grenadier" ~ 1st Year



OTHERS

Beacon Teacher / Experimental Botanist: Dr. Budonoki Sophos, Medical & Wilderness Specialist

Baker / Retired Huntsman: Alec Chadwick, owner of 'Fabled Goods' bakery

Pirate / Freelancer: Captain Cordell of the Red Corsair ~ Available For Hire!

Mercenary / Infiltrator: Micah Sere AKA "Prowler" ~ Danger, Avoid If Possible

Mercenary / Infiltrator: Maria Sanguine AKA "Bloody Mary" ~ Underworld operative, "The Lady of a Thousand Faces"

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Re: Sean Acacia
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2018, 03:49:55 PM »
reapproved
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