Colors of Remnant

Username:

Kyo Morinaga

Groups:

Approved CharacterRegistered users

Age:

19

Birthday:

October 19

Gender Identity:

Female

Race:

Faunus [Trait: Long, thin, shiny skink-tail]

Nationality:

Born in Mistral, but Atlas-raised

Character Picture:

https://i.imgur.com/erF9s63.png

Height:

4'6"/141 cm

Eye Color:

Green

Aura Color:

Purple

Physical Description:

Kyo is a short, wiry little gremlin. At first glance a human-gremlin: her only immediately eyecatching traits are her fir-tree-green hair, styled in a boyish asymmetrical mullet-mop that covers her left eye and falls nearly to her shoulders, and the prominent muscle-tone that her outfit proudly shows off whenever the weather permits. What appears to be an iridescent blue-green leather belt is actually her quite-thin lizard's tail, which she keeps wrapped around her waist unless she needs to take advantage of the additional balance it provides.

Clearly Mistralian in descent, her facial features are discordantly "cute" in contrast to the tough-girl aesthetic that dominates every other inch of her. Her facial expressions and boyish mannerisms don't seem to mesh with her babyface either, although when she gets to scheming her grins can become extremely shark-like.

Outfit Description:

Her typical clothing style combines pocket-heavy cargo pants and combat boots with quite a revealing array of strapless tube tops: if she isn't wearing her biker jacket (typically black leather), her arms, shoulders, and abs are on full display. Fingerless black biker-gloves are a staple of her outfits no matter the season.

Her tube tops are all custom-made to showcase her personal emblem, which is shaped like a butterfly and dark-purple in color like her Aura. No one who knew her before she enrolled at Beacon will recognize the butterfly; she chose it to remind herself of her decision to change into something better than she was before.

Personality Description:

The first impression Kyo often gives others is "a lot." She is loud, proud, and prone to going on overconfident rambles when under social pressure—sometimes to the point of oversharing. As a result of this, she has difficulty establishing more than casual acquaintance with others, a fact that has lead to frustration and heartache for most of her teenage life. The chemical mixture between this and her deep-seated desire to see herself as powerful and intelligent is not a pleasant one, and it was only over the months leading up to her enrollment at Beacon that she began to assemble a coherent sense of self from her various disparate, contradictory parts.

In her present state, Kyo projects a sly confidence outward, and is gregarious in the extreme in spite of how her tryhard manner frequently drives people away. Tempering this is the recent epiphany she experienced, bringing with it a secret but powerful self-recrimination and desire to redeem herself for her previous, disgusting behavior. Being the sort of person who projects things outward even when trying to keep them inside, this manifests frequently as a tendency to be... a bit of a busybody. She will insert herself into other people's troubles before really thinking about it—and before determining if her involvement is even welcome—meddling in other peoples' affairs in an effort to help.

In spite of her internal conflicts (and how frequently they spill over and become external conflicts), and in spite of her "street punk" aesthetic style, Kyo possess an almost prodigiously-sharp mind. Deductive reasoning and on-the-fly scheming are particular strengths of hers. While she lacks the charisma for leadership, she makes up for it with her talent for adapting to those situations in which the best-laid plans of leaders fall apart and the situation *appears* to have achieved "FUBAR" status.

This schemer's mind comes with its own kind of drawback, however: Kyo is also prone to going off on her own, trying to solve whatever problem faces her and those she cares about... without consulting or warning others, if she believes the need is real. What she "believes" does not always align with the truth, of course, and it may be that she will bite off more than she can chew at some point...

Backstory Highlights:

The bastard daughter of a noble woman in Mistral and her Faunus consort, Kyo's birth may well have never happened if either her birth-mother or not-really-father realized beforehand who was really the father. So of course when a human man's human wife gave birth to a baby with a lizard's tail there was a *bit* of a kerfuffle among the local rumor-mongers, and some domestic drama alongside it.

It was perhaps a credit to Kyo's mother that she chose to leave her husband and raise said lizard-tailed daughter, rather than foist her child off on some orphanage. Less a credit that she tried to hide the Faunus bit. But, of course, the tail grew back. And again. And again, the third time. Kyo was too young during any of these attempts to remember the ordeal now, thankfully.

To leave her reputation behind, Ms. Morinaga jumped ship from Mistral to Atlas, where she found herself employment with one of the big Dust Companies. Kyo at this point became what she sardonically calls a "Token Faunus," or as she explains, "That girl they all point to and say, 'My co-worker's daughter is a Faunus! Of course we're not racist!' and ignore the rest of the time."

Between this and a troubling early adolescence, Kyo became the most cynical tweenager within a hundred miles of her hometown. Her natural intelligence in fact *did not help,* as by the time she was fifteen she'd constructed for herself a truly comprehensive philosophy of general misanthropy that was (for a wonder) utterly undescriminating between human and faunus. She quite simply despised *people,* and as with everything else going on beneath the hood, she projected it outwards.

What came of this was a bully. A truly detestable bully, of the sort that would seduce a girl's boyfriend just to prove that he would cheat. And unlike, say, the Cardin Winchesters of the world, she was naturally quite sneaky about it. Not just a despicable person on the whole, but one who could be despicable and not get caught.

These years are what Kyo now vaguely refers to as her Idiot Era; "a time when my brain short-circuited, computed five plus five as seven, and everything just went downhill from there." The true formative year of her life was her final year of preliminary combat school, where she met her fourteenth lover, third boyfriend, and first *real* boyfriend.

What transpired between the two, she keeps close to the vest. If she can help it, she avoids mentioning him at all. Somehow, some way, he managed to get under her skin in a way no one else had, recognizing her internal logic (or anti-logic) for what it was and dismantling it. Their relationship snapped her out of her years-long slump and convinced her to try to better.

And then he died. Became Grimm food. Nevermore food, to be specific. It was very traumatizing, but at least she hunted the thing down and killed it before the local Huntsmen could beat her to it.

After that, she was basically dead to the world for a little while. Full shut-in, staring-at-the-ceiling-in-a-daze-for-days depression. Not her proudest moment, and possibly the only time her tendency to project outward did her some actual good. Because after a long and very cathartic screaming, shouting, and possessions-throwing explosion two weeks in, Kyo decided to focus on doing what her birdfood boytoy would have wanted her to do: turning his death into terrible wordplay (he was that kind of horribly unfunny) and then continuing her stalled journey toward self-actualization.

She set off from Atlas as soon as her eighteenth birthday hit, and enrolled at Beacon Academy all the way over in Vale. The change in scenery, she hoped, would do her good, make it easier not to mope around and stuff.

(She still has her crying jags, of course, she just... doesn't mention them to anybody.)

Kyo's arrival in Vale and her enrollment at Beacon went without incident, although she may have avoided all mention of having recently lost a loved one to a Grimm when the psyche eval came and went. When asked why she wanted to be a Huntress, she claimed to just want a life of adventure. Basically no mention of her former scumbucket past has made its way with her to Vale, and she intends to keep it that way.

Occupation:

Beacon Academy Student

Education:

Originally intending to join the Atlas military as a Specialist, Kyo acquired all of her basic education, plus entry-level combat training, in Atlas. She had not originally intended to become a Huntress, so she attended remedial classes in Vale to learn how to build and design a mechashift weapon before formally applying to Beacon. That her mother was willing to pay for this extra education is an olive branch of sorts that has left Kyo *very* emotionally confused.

Semblance Name:

Aura Infiltration and Metamorphic Mimicry

Semblance Description:

(*SEMBLANCE CURRENTLY UNDISCOVERED*)

If Kyo is able to make physical contact with another Aura-user, she can inject some quantity of her own Aura into their body and then draw it back remotely; this is "Aura Infiltration." Upon its return (unless that is prevented in some way), it brings a portion of their Aura with it and grants her use of that individual's Semblance temporarily: "Metamorphic Mimicry." This does not hinder that individual's ability to use their Semblance, though it does deplete a small portion of that person's Aura.

The longer Kyo's Aura remains within the target before she draws it back, the longer she retains the use of their Semblance. However, the absolute maximum length she can use a copied Semblance is twelve hours, and to achieve that she must keep her Aura securely within the target for two hours or more before calling it back.

It is extremely difficult to detect Kyo's Aura when it infiltrates a target's body, though if the target's Aura "breaks," the infiltrating Aura breaks along with it, and the Semblance imitation will fail. If the target becomes aware of Kyo's Aura while it is in their system it is possible for them to use their own Aura to snuff it out, though this takes concentration to achieve and may not always be possible in the heat of combat.

Kyo cannot copy a Semblance from a person who has not yet discovered it themselves. All she will gain when her Aura returns to her is the certain knowledge that her target has no knowledge of their own Semblance.

It is possible for Kyo to obtain permission from someone before copying their Semblance, plant her Aura Infiltration far in advance of a battle, and then draw it back when she needs it for maximum effect. However, Kyo can only use Aura Infiltration on one person at a time, and can only mimic one Semblance at a time.

While Metamorphic Mimicry is active, she cannot use Aura Infiltration to attempt to grab another Semblance. She must wait for the Mimicry to "expire." Therefore, if she intends to mimic a Semblance for only a short time, she must intentionally time the Infiltration to be quick and dirty, so that the copied Semblance wears off quickly. It is very possible that Kyo might end up stuck fighting with a Semblance that is absolutely no help at all, simply because she overdid the Infiltration step.

Weapon Name:

Ultraviolet Ultimatum

Weapon Description:

A violet-and-black chain whip when assembled into a single whole, but capable of splitting into two mecha-shift firearms: one a sawed-off shotgun with a stock, the other a semiautomatic pistol. Whip, shotgun, and pistol can all be loaded with Dust rounds to produce various effects, though only the whip and shotgun modes benefit from the revolver-barrel element-changer in the main grip. As a result, Kyo must premeditate which Dust rounds she loads into the pistol portion before a battle begins.

Her preference is for Fire, Lightning, and Gravity Dust (when she can afford it), though she keeps a moderate supply of every other Dust type "just in case," and frequently brainstorms inventive ways to use them (most of which don't actually work when she tries them out).

In Whip Mode, the whip can extend to roughly three times' her body's length for an effective range of fifteen feet, and each segment is bladed. The gun modes, however, are just guns.

Other Gear:

Kyo keeps a mechashift switchblade-pen-self-defense-pistol contraption that her deceased boyfriend created on her person at all times, and in fact uses the pen mode for all of her written assignments while at Beacon. It is almost useless in any true combat situation, though it can serve as a concealed self-defense weapon in a pinch.

Kyo's boots also have knives in their toes. They aren't very sturdy knives, but are easily replaced. They pop out when she clicks her heels together twice. Think "there's no place like home," only it's more like, "there's no place to kick like that place where the sun don't shine."

Kyo has several water flasks that she can belt onto her belt that look like flasks but are actually Lightning Dust splash grenades that splash water and then go zappy.

Fighting Style:

Kyo's fighting style is a mix of mid-range and close-range that utilizes her hands and feet almost as much as her weapon: she learned to fight before she built the darn thing, after all, and the way she sees it, anyone who's helpless without a weapon is kind of a chump.

So, at base, she utilizes not only her whip and firearms, but also her hands and feet in an erratic, difficult-to-predict martial arts style. This is more effective against people than Grimm, against which she adopts a more brutal, weapons-focused approach that lacks refinement.

When using Dust ammunition, she'll attempt to use various elements first to restrict her target's movement, and then to inflict damage. Against human opponents and even some grim, she will absolutely look for opportunities to snare them with the whip and send a debilitating zap of electricity through them.

She also utilizes her whip as a grapple-swing tool, when the opportunity shows itself.

Strengths:

Socially fearless. Not very good at it, but socially fearless.

Swift, clever mind: both deductive and scheming, though her lack of social graces and uncharismatic personality don't mesh with leadership roles.

Her personal "redemption arc" manifests as a desire to help others and an honest, if inexperienced, compassionate side.

Naturally combative in both the best and worst ways, she is at least very willing to fight when she needs to (and inclined to be good at it). She also bounces back from trauma with remarkable agility, even if she has to kickbox with it for an extended period afterward.

Weaknesses:

Awkward combination of socially outgoing and socially inept. Kyo often gives people an overwhelming impression of herself that makes it difficult to get close to people, and less likely that other people will take the initiative to get close to her.

Though it is subdued by her recent "redemption arc," there is still a cynical and misanthropic streak that runs deep. Her faith in people is healing, but still weak.

Absolutely prone to hedonism and lasciviousness, to a point where people can mistake it for something far worse. To be fair, she's improving. It was, not so long ago, something far worse.

Tends to meddle in other peoples' lives in a well-meaning busybody sort of way, whether they want her to or not. Her tendency to maybe-sometimes-surprisingly produce good results ironically feeds into the unhealthy nature of the trait.

Likes:

Good food. She's very much a spicy-sauce-and-fried-meats sort of carnivore, though her knowledge of and enthusiasm for fitness tempers this with an appreciation for the nutritious things in life.

Men. (She's straight as an arrow, and energetically so.)

Socializing! (No, really. She's bad at it, but she likes it.)

Videogames, of all kinds, even the slower-paced ones that you wouldn't expect a high-energy gal like Kyo to be into.

She's also the first girl to the sparring arena come practice time, and spends a fair bit of her free time there, too.

Physical fitness. She's proud of those muscles. Flaunt 'em if you got 'em! Probably the only "tiny gremlin girl" with washboard abs you'll ever see, and could talk for hours about the things that earned her those abs if you get her going about it.

Home cooking. What started as an extension of the above has evolved into a genuine appreciation for the craft.

Dislikes:

Girly things. (But only if she feels pressured to engage with them herself. She gets along fine with girly girls and will even listen politely when they talk about girly-girl things. Will mostly mean it, too.)

Bigots and bullies of any kind, including herself a year before Beacon. Especially herself a year before Beacon, but since she can't take it out on herself, she takes it out on all the others. It's not uncommon for her to witness a racist shopkeeper give a customer a hard time or a schoolyard bully doing schoolyard bully things, and for her to quietly slip a small quantity of handbuzzer-tier Lightning Dust into some personal item of theirs before quietly slipping away. Nor is it uncommon for those individuals to become the victim of similar unfortunate events in the weeks that follow...

Has difficulty focusing when reading, both for recreation and study. While she has no disdain for reading as a passtime, she finds the exercise frustrating and frequently "cheats" by listening to the audiobook version, instead.

Hates onions. Considers this the most inconvenient food in the universe to dislike, since so many recipes call for onions. Considers onions her archnemesis as a result.

Fun Facts:

Kyo and her mother used to butt heads about Kyo's aversion to dolls, frills, the color pink, and general girlishness during her childhood. Her mother wanted a cute and stereotypically feminine girl to bond with and got the most tomboyish tornado of a daughter instead. Kyo's boyish mannerisms originate from this period of her life and were, at the time, a form of rebellion. These days she doesn't care as much, even if she doesn't feel inclined to change them. So when Kyo crosses one leg over a knee and throws her arm over the back of a chair, it *isn't* an expression of disdain for all of the adorable-cute dresses and ribbons her mom bought her when she was ten... anymore. Used to be, though.

Despite her talent for pranking people who deserve it, she doesn't actually enjoy pranking people in general. She just considers it a self-enforced, informal training method in the art of espionage.

Doesn't disguise her tail out of shame or insecurity or desire to pass as human or anything like that. Just does so because avoiding prejudice where she can means time saved and fewer headaches. She's very practical about her Faunus heritage that way.

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