team-aale

[team-aale]

Regan’s Team OPRA Character Redesign Project Part 5 - Tin Toulouse, Lilian Armfeldt and Ignis Artifex

Okay so these three don’t count as ‘redesigns’ per say but i’m proud to show the official designs for Mai Pembe’s (now former) Team mates that form Team TLIP!

Tin Toulouse is a rather reckless and headstrong individual. He enjoys the adrenaline and thrill that fighting presents. Having come from a humble background in the city of Vale, He’s a positive force towards his team. In battle Tin uses heavy hitting and powerful swings with his hybrid baseball bat-machete Crossfire Hurricane. His semblance, Revolution, can further enhance the speed and pure power at which he can hit his enemies. 

Lillian Armfeldt is the only child of Helena Armfeldt, former famous actress turned holiday resort owner. Lillian acts as a team mom to the other members of TLIP, opting to make sure they behave well and also dote on them similarly to how a mother would. During her time at Sanctum, Lillian became proficient in the art of hand to hand and creates A Woman’s Touch, which allows her to manipulate dust and cast it at her enemies. Further more, her semblance, Pressure Points, can temporarily paralyse opponents by striking them with her aura-tipped fingers.

Finally, Ignis Artifex is the quiet and creative member of TLIP. He is an artist and painter. It is unsure exactly why Ignis would want to be a hunter, but he is a valued and respect member of his team despite that. Ignis’ genius and love of painting inspired him to pioneer dust-paint and use it through his launcher, Eisle. Further alluding to his artistic interests, Ignis’ semblance allows him to camouflage himself by absorbing the colours of the environment around him.

Read the Team OPRA Story here!

(References by Adorkastock)

[team-aale]

So, thoughts on Robin Hill's semblance being lie detection?

i cri

naw but seriously I suppose Harriet did say people can have similar semblance types, Robyn and Akane just fall into the same group with key differences (Robyn has to have physical contact, Akane physically can’t lie without causing herself pain)

At this point it’s just a running gag on the discord how much RT can totally absolutely definitely be stealing from me

[team-aale]

Forgot my laptop charger at home today

I don’t have any clients and nothing to do for the next few hours so AMA

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lol it just occurred to me that if I wanted to be really in line with the Susanoo allusion, Austin should have either three daughters or five sons

So that’s a thing

[team-aale]

Austin weapon update

So I realized recently that Austin’s allusion to Susanoo actually could play a deeper role in his weapon’s design. As of up until now, he had four daggers for no particular reason other than symmetry and the sake of even numbers; that said, the initial portion of Susanoo’s main myth features a very useful piece of context. While feuding with his sister Amaterasu, the each took one of the other’s belongings and broke them to pieces for reasons that are irrelevant. Amaterasu broke Susanoo’s Totsuka-no-Tsurugi (sword) into three pieces. If we run by that logic, Austin having three daggers instead of four would make more logical sense. Not only would it be a keener point to the allusion, but it would also allow for the daggers to be a bit larger, fit into a more reasonably sized sword in its alternate form, and even combine in a more concise way. Any thoughts?

[team-aale]

Lana Mulberry - Basic Info

Name: Lana Mulberry (Formerly Laurel Maia) Aura Color: Dark Purple Colors: Mulberry Purple (primary), Green and Gold (secondary) Emblem: A Laurel Wreath Allusion/Inspiration: Kū mainly, Nike secondarily Semblance: “Lending” - The ability to bestow a portion of her physical strength on other people. It works by physical contact, and comes at the cost of a portion of her own strength, so giving away 10% would leave her with 90%. This effect lasts for about a minute when the story begins, and the strength doesn’t immediately return to her once that time expires, generally taking a little time and rest to restore back to normal. The subject of the lending will also feel a similar effect, though to a lesser degree. Weapon name: Dié (Butterfly) Weapon: A double-headed axe that can split apart, and snaps together to form a leaf-shaped shield. Physical Description: Curvy body with muscular arms. Tanned skin, brown eyes, and mulberry colored hair that falls over her shoulder in a thick, fishtail braid. There’s a large scar starting from the top of her thigh down to her ankle, a childhood stab wound that never healed properly. Attitude: Lana’s attitude can generally be summarized with, “I will climb a table, six chairs, and a pile of books all stacked precariously on top of each other, just to punch you.” Very motherly towards others, constantly looking out for friends while viciously ignoring her own problems, tries to talk things out but will pull status when she feels that it’s necessary. Horrendously insecure but hides it well and is always there for her team. Flaws: Impulsive, stubborn, and far too trusting. Skills: Stronger than most, and able to to take a hit to boot. She hits like a truck, and is fairly mobile, but she’s a slow attacker when using her full weapon. Has an affinity for ice and earth dust types, as well as ice and nature in general.

TL;DR - Lana is the hard-headed, soft-hearted leader of Team AALE. In the field, she’s a resilient and strong fighter skilled with axes and ice, always ready to protect others. She’s at times stubborn, but ultimately a kind and compassionate person. The effects of her troubled past can show from time to time, causing her to come off as cold or angry, but she tries to keep that under wraps.

More info under the cut!

Outfit: A black, sleeveless, dress with her emblem (a laurel wreath) wrapping around the hem of the skirt. A mulberry colored jacket with a queen Anne collar that’s usually kept open, but there are dark purple frogs to hold it closed when needed. Pale purple stockings, and black boots that end just below the knee. Strapped around her thighs are small cases that hold dust vials and extra medical supplies. Underneath her dress, Lana has ice dust-woven bandages - should her aura run dry, these act a last line of defense by providing her with a sort of ice-armor.

Other Info: 

- Both Lana’s given name, Laurel Maia, and current name are telling of her color scheme. Laurel refers to laurel wreaths, like her emblem, and are known to come in greens and golds. Mulberry plants are regarded for their green leaves and purple fruits.

- Lana alludes to the Hawaiian god Kū, god of strength, and Greek goddess Nike, goddess of victory. Kū’s can be seen in a variety of ways, though most clear being her immense amount of strength and endurance. Incidentally, Nike is associated with the colors green and gold, and is known for wearing a laurel wreath.

- The original iteration of Lana’s weapons were dust infused ribbons used for various purposes. While that was done away with, pieces of this can be found in the ice-armor bandages worn under her clothes. 

- Lana’s semblance was inspired by the character Reyna in the Percy Jackson series

[team-aale]

Lana Mulberry - Backstory

TL;DR - Born to bandits, Lana traveled from place to place until she arrived in Mistral under the care of Astra Mulberry. After her passing, she and her new brother joined Sanctum, before moving to Vale to attend Beacon Academy. But before then, other stuff happened, so keep reading!

Starting her life as Laurel Maia, she was born and raised in Menagerie by a group of misfits and bandits that had been together so long they considered each other family. For years Laurel thrived in her family’s lifestyle, but at the age of 10 she suffered a terrible leg injury at the hands of some Grimm. Her family abandoned her when she could no longer keep up with them, and so she survived by begging until she snuck aboard a ship headed for Mistral.

Once there, she joined a caravan that roamed the countryside, and was eventually adopted by an elderly woman named Astra Mulberry after hearing her story - convinced that no child should have to grow alone - who misheard her name and called her Lana which ended up sticking. After two years of a caravan life, Lana and Astra met the young Austin Argento, a young boy about Lana’s age, eventually being adopted into the family as well. Not too long after, the trio left the caravan to start a life in Soyo, a small village near the coast of Mistral. There, Astra opened a dressmaking shop with a small apartment above it.

When the kids were about 14, their adoptive mother passed away in her sleep, and they were left on their own for some time before being taken in by the village’s Rangers - a group that watched over their town and protected it from the Grimm in a way similar to that of Huntsmen, though they lacked the specialized training. With the Rangers the kids learned some combat skills, and when they were old enough they left for Sanctum Academy and eventually Beacon, but not before promising to one day return to their home, and use their new skills to protect it.

[team-aale]

Austin Argento - Weapon & Fighting Style

TLDR - Austin fights much like an acrobat and an assassin, using Chained Daggers that combine into a Katana. He’s a duelist and a support-fighter, using his skills and tools to help separate and keep enemies away from the rest of his team.

Weapon - Jinsoku Ombra

Jinsoku Ombra are Austin's primary weapon(s) of choice. The weapon has two main forms, and is generally comprised of a series of four blades, four hilts, and a set of chains. The number of those things may vary, and the chains can be replaced with rope or wires, but the most common arrangement is the above. In its base form, Jinsoku Ombra takes the form of a set of daggers, easily attached to chains. The hilts hold various types of dust in them, and the dust is able to flow through the blades to make use of various elements. The daggers are balanced to be throw as well as wielded like melee weapons, and the blades can be detached from the hilts to further mix and match dust types on the fly. As such, Austin tends to carry a few spare hilts on his person, along with dust in other containers. The blades themselves are slotted at their tangs, allowing for their transformation to take place. Either by hand or by way of his weapons sheathes, Austin can combine the blades together on one hilt, transforming the weapon from a set of daggers to a single sword. The blades attach end by end via fitting into the slots at the base of the tangs previously mentioned. They remain connected by aid of [weak magnetic presence/internal mechanisms?], and remain able to make use of dust. This form allows for much more versatile use of dust as well as a more sustained and defensive style of fighting. The blades are still detachable, letting him perform a variety of feints and other techniques not otherwise capable with a single solid blade. The orientation of the blades is also subject to the situation; if need be, he could use a 2:2 ratio on two hilts to for two shorter (forget the word) swords, or 3:1 for a more “sword and parrying dagger” setup.

Ultimately, initiating the swap from dagger to sword form is a much slower process than going back to dagger form, requiring him to remove the hilts of 3 of them before transforming, and even longer if being done fully by hand. While switching back still takes time, it takes much less time since in a pinch he can just drop the remaining blades and fight with only one.

Given that there are no real defensive elements in his kit outside of sword mode, Austin is well versed in using his cloak and chains in order to block strikes, and even wears his chains around his body as a sort of makeshift armor.

Fighting Style - Opportunist: “Look for an opening; get in, get out — and abuse every mistake.”

Austin is a very quick and nimble fighter, making use of his high speed and cunning to quickly close gaps with his enemies and strike before they have time to react. Lacking any form of firearm in his primary weapon set, Austin relies prominently on close range combat, though will from time to time use throwing knives or will throw his daggers to compensate for longer ranged attacks. Along with this, he regularly uses chains or wires to increase his weapon’s range in dagger form, making use of a variety of dust and aura based and enhanced attacks to increase his reach and power in sword mode.

Austin has a slight height and reach advantage compared to an average fighter, but he’s not necessarily as strong as others. He’s got powerful legs and decent strength, but is more comfortable fighting with his weapons rather than without. Unarmed and when using his dagger mode, he fights more like an assassin, focused on an acrobatic style involving use of his speed and environment to dip and dive in and out of combat range when most optimal to strike, before absconding back to the edge of the fight. Otherwise, he simply tries to make the best use of counter attacks and diversions as possible, especially in a team setting. In sword mode Austin fights more like a duelist, still trying to make the best use of his enemy’s mistakes as possible, but more likely to stay in the fight and press advantages than try to duck out. As a bonus, it also becomes much easier for him to parry and riposte in this form, as well as perform feints with the unique construction of the blade. Naturally, in sword form his fighting becomes much more one-on-one focused, save for a handful of techniques to deal with multiple angles of attack. With a combination of a good understanding and use of dust, and a head-on aggressive approach to fighting in this form, it makes him a much more serious competitor.

And sure, I probably could have put shortened versions of all this on the character introduction post, but where’s the fun in that? Oh yeah, there’s also this whole thing about different stances and stuff but... We’ll get to that another time, there’s already enough information here.

[team-aale]

Austin Argento - Basic Info

So I should probably introduce Austin properly now that I think about it

Name: Austin Argento Aura Color: Grey Colors: Silver/Grey (primary), Gold (secondary) Emblem: A Scorpion Allusion/Inspiration: Susanō mainly, Auster/Notus and Hermes secondarily Semblance: “Striding” - Austin’s Semblance allows for near-instant movement (range of up to 3 meters upon joining Beacon), akin to a ‘shunpo’. To those unaware it may seem like teleportation, but given that it’s a dash, the movement can be stopped by obstacles in his path. It uses relatively low amounts of aura to preform, but rapid overuse can cause nausea and/or disorientation. I like to compare it to how Cinder’s running is masked in this scene in Volume 3. Weapon name: Jinsoku Ombra (Swift Shadow) Weapon: Detachable-Blade Daggers & Chains / Composite-blade Katana Physical Description: Lean, lightly muscular body (kind of a runner’s body type), and fair skinned. White-blonde/Ash-Blonde hair that reaches just barely eye length, and relatively straight (though usually worn somewhat messy). Good endurance and health. A few small scars around his body, one more noticable on the palm of his hands. Attitude: Upbeat, calm, and generally pretty optimistic for the most part. He’s caring and friendly to those both familiar and stranger, but likes to remain unnoticed when not otherwise necessary. An observant “sit in the back and watch events unfold” kind of person, though is willing to get involved if it’s a cause important to himself, his friends, or family. He’s often quite mischievous, and can be somewhat forgetful in the heat of the moment. Will almost always put the needs of his family above his own. With friends, he may be more melodramatic, and may allow himself to be a bit more silly. Being a thief for most of his life, he’s developed some almost impulsive habits; whether he needs it or not, he’ll often look for ways out of situations or ways around things, and opportunities to take things that don’t belong to him. He’s easily the most patient member of Team AALE, and while he’s known for being calm under pressure, there are certain things that can push him over the edge - though his anger is usually short lasted (and he doesn’t like it). Flaws: A bit impulsive and unpredictable Skills and Strengths: Faster than the average student and possesses fair acrobatic skill. Good spatial and situational awareness, and above average hand-eye coordination. Maneuvers well in both urban and rural environments. Knows parts of Mistral, and the streets of Vale quite well. Has an affinity for using wind and lightning dust types, but well versed in many after growing up with Lana and Astra. Trained mostly in light bladed weapons (Pre-chapters 3 and 5). A musician across many instruments.

TL;DR - Austin is the quick-witted and fleet-footed swordsman and second in command of Team AALE. He’s a calm and caring guy who’s not afraid to stand up for himself or his friends. However, once a thief always a thief; and some things stay with you. 

More info to come! In the meantime, there’s an outfit description, and a few more details under the cut here.

Outfit: Austin wears a light grey medium-sleeved shirt with a nice leather tunic/shirt overtop, and casual slack style pants. Along with that, he bracers/vambraces on his arms, riding-boot style shoes, and a worn grey-brown cloak. On occasion or when required, he wears reading glasses, though not very often and generally not in combat scenarios. Some references here.

Accessories: He’s got a few pouches on his person for spare dust, throwing knives, and other supplies, and his bracers are slotted to be able to fit backup blades as well. If the need arises, he’ll wear a sling backpack. He bears his family’s crest, a stylized scorpion, engraved in his bracers and on the back of his cloak. He also has a more personalized emblem, which can be found on the arms of his glasses.   

And here are more details about character inspiration and such: 

- The allusions to Susanō and Hermes follow the overall allusion for AALE, Deities - One (or more) representative of his culture, and one (or more) Greek. His direct influence is Susanō, the Japanese god of storms and the sea, who made his family mad, was banished from his home, killed a giant monster of a snake-dragon, and found a legendary sword that controlled the wind. 

• His secondary allusions are to Notus/Auster and Hermes; Notus is the Greek and name for the god of the South Wind, thought to bring storms and destroy crops, a parallel to Susanō. Auster is the Roman god of the south wind, more accurately, the embodiment of the Sirocco wind, Sirocco being the name of Austin’s weapon in a later part of the story. Interesting to note, Austin’s brother, Zephyr, alludes to the West Wind of Greek mythology, Zephyrus, brother to Auster. Also, Auster sounds like Austin kind of.

• Hermes is the patron god of thieves, merchants, travelers, and more. Hermes is also the messenger god, and well known for his winged boots, that granted him immense speed.

- Austin’s name can be broken into two halves, AU and Tin, AU being the chemical symbol for gold, and Tin being a silverish metal, both playing into his color scheme. Argento is Italian for Silver.

- The silver in his name color scheme plays thematically on how he tends to end up second, or in “second place” in life. He’s the second brother, the second in command for his team, the second child Astra took in, etc.

- Austin has a lot of inspiration drawn from mostly Japanese elements; the region he’s from, fighting styles and weapon, and his family structure being on the forefront of that. Even his backstory plays lightly on the ‘Ronin’ archetype.

- His semblance references a lot of older samurai movies and media, the idea of finishing off enemies in one quick movement and such. Pieces of his fighting style pull heavily from anime/game thematics and ideas, namely things like Soul Calibur, Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and more.

- In his original iteration, Austin’s knives were also flutes, to go along with his old noise-related semblance. After an overhaul to his character, that design was mostly done away with, though the concept of perforated blades became part of the weapon’s current design, used to distribute dust through the blades.

- Fun fact, his design and ultimately most of his initial inspiration comes from a custom character made in Soul Calibur

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Austin Argento - Backstory

TL;DR - Born to a family of thieves, Austin grew up with a rough life, before running off to get away from his family. He found his way to Astra Mulberry who took him in as her own. He lived in a costal village until his teenage years, at which point he and his adoptive sister joined a combat school, then emigrated to Vale. But wait, there’s more!

Austin was born into the Argento family/clan, a gang of street thieves and petty criminals. He rejected their lifestyle from a young age, and as such gained a some distrust from the rest of the family, sans his brother Zephyr, the only direct relative he had aside from their grandfather. After years of the others’ progressive loathing, Austin finally chose a life of independence and decided finally to leave the family behind. However, upon being left to his own devices, he quickly learned the tragic irony life had in store for him - being a child alone in the seedy underbelly of Mistral, he’d have to use those skills he had tried to leave behind if he wanted to make it on his own; relying on, and to his dismay, eventually learning to love them. 

On his own, he took to joining groups of travelers and frequent caravans going to-and-fro between villages, across the wilderness of Mistral. During the treks, he’d look for unsuspecting victims and offer his services in any way he could, making a quick buck, while attempting to get any valuables he could from them in the process by putting to use the tricks and techniques taught to him by his family before. His life seemed to mellow out for a while, and though still young, he felt he had found a way to take care of himself. 

Amidst one such journey however, he had the misfortune of getting caught in the act. The caravan he was traveling alongside was well ready to leave him behind to fend for himself but were put to ease when the target of his act, Astra Mulberry, came to his defense, claiming that she’d told him that he could have what he was taking. When things died down she gave him a warning, understanding his position but encouraging him to look for a better way. Her kindness drew him in, and upon reaching the village of Soyo, he followed Astra like a lost puppy in search of a bit more compassion from the elderly woman. By sheer luck or the grace of some god, she welcomed him to stay with her in order to save him from the dangerous path he was on - on the grounds that he work for her at her shop. 

It was in Soyo that Austin met Laurel Maia - now Lana Mulberry - the other adoptive child of Astra, and his new sister. In time they bonded and formed a rather close relationship despite their differences, finding similarities in their lives and the struggles they once faced. 

After old age brought upon Astra’s passing, Austin and Lana fared on their own (with help here and there from the other villagers) for some time before catching the attention of the Rangers that protected their village. The Rangers taught them valuable skills in order to better themselves, to be more resourceful, and most importantly, to fight. The kids picked up odd jobs here and there, and somewhere down the line with the support of their home behind them, they were even able to get into a nearby entry level combat school. Eventually, they’d go on to be supported one last time in their move to Vale and Beacon Academy, in the hopes that they’d one day return and take up the torch of Rangers, protecting those that helped them make it to that point, and those on a similar journey.

After all, you know what they say - It takes a village.

[team-aale]

Team AALE

Andrew Aruna (Red)

Austin Argento (Silver)

Lana Mulberry (Purple)

Emeraldine Grace (Green)