Author Topic: Mara Lev  (Read 2712 times)

Kaliot

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Mara Lev
« on: December 02, 2017, 05:59:28 PM »
CHARACTER

Name: Mara Lev

Age: 43

Species and Gender: Human, Female

Symbol:  -

Occupation: Leader of Mercenary/Hit Squad, Siren

Physical Characteristics:

General Health - After getting out of her situation, Mara managed to improved her overall health to an adequate state. Though she doesn't have access to rich food anymore, she still manages to get by with a balanced diet.

Mara trains and exercises on most days of the week. Most of her training and exercise she does with her mentor and it usually focuses on technique, balance, and keeping a clear state of mind even when under duress. On her own time, Mara works on improving her balance and her endurance.

General Body - Mara weighs 115lbs and stands in at 5'5". Her body is fairly tone and is maintained by her regular exercise. Her skin, while once fair when she lived in the harsh Vale, was now slightly tanned thanks to the constant agitation of Vacuan sun; it used to be that she instead was easily burned, but after a decade of living in Vacuo, her skin was now used to it. [ ]

Head and Face - Her hair is a chestnut brown with a red tint and it runs to her shoulder-blades. Her hair is naturally straight, but because of her environmental conditions, it tends to always be at least a little disheveled. Because of this, Mara tends to wear her hair in either a bun or a ponytail, the latter held together with a simple, black, elastic hair-tie. [ ]

Her eyes are in-between the color of her hair and the color of her aura, and it is best described as illuminated rosewood. The default setting of her eyes is observation with a sprinkle of judgement making her seem as if she is staring down whomever she is looking at. [ ]

The shape of her face overall is oval. Her cheeks are moderately round, and both her lips and her nose are thin. Signs of aging are just starting to appear on her face.

Attire:

Main Wear - Mara doesn't refresh her wardrobe often making her clothes are worn but still often enough that they're not ragged. Mara's main garb consists of a beige, hooded cloak with either a black or white head-scarf, doubling as a facemask, made from cotton-polyester cloth. Underneath her cloak, she wears a plain tank-top of varying colors--usually light-blue but never white--with black, tight mid-thigh shorts and either khaki leg-wrap sandals or desert boots that run up to a third of her shin. In additional, her hands are always covered in black hand-wrap--blood tends to stain white a tad too easily--in anticipation for any fight that may come her way. She also keeps a pair of recently-replaced, military-grade goggles, its grey straps hanging around her neck allowing the goggles to be concealed under her scarf. [ (/) ]

Formal Wear - Being a Vacuan mercenary/hitman, the chances of actually needing formal wear is unsurprisingly low; she'd sooner win the lottery than have to go to a formal event. In such an event, Mara keeps it simple: she wears a sleek black or wine-red dress with black gloves that run to her elbow and black heeled-boots that rum to her knees. She keeps her makeup light and her hair in a bun. She wears no jewelry but has on light make-up. [ (/) ]

Combat/Mission Wear - Not wanting to endanger herself, Mara strays away from you usual loose clothing, instead going for fitting/tight clothes to reduce her opponents' abilities to grab her. Following this goal, she keeps her hair up in a tight bun. She subs out her tank-top with a tight, dark-grey t-shirt, her shorts with fitting, khaki military-pants, and her scarf for a black, proper facemask. Mara holds onto her hand-wraps, adding atop them black Kevlar gloves, as well as her desert boots. She also retains her goggles, but for safety purposes, keeps them in a beige sack, the sack kept closed with string. If she needs to conceal her outfit, she will use her cloak to do so, but he will remove it upon arrival to the target's location. [ ]

History: Mara was born in Vale to loving parents. The family was not well-off financially, and although they encountered many hardships, they always managed to pull through, even by the skin of their teeth. Despite their situation, they were able to send Mara to a decent school--She was able to lead a fairly normal academic life and she graduated with respect.

Managing a work-school life, Mara continued on to college where she would meet her husband and eventually come out as a certified nutritionist. Shortly thereafter, she gave birth to a daughter.

Mara enjoyed her family life. She was much better off than she was as a child, and with her income she was even able to help support her parents when they needed it. Unfortunately, this life was cut short.

When Mara was 33, she was intercepted on her way home from work. They blindfolded and gagged her, and the next thing she knew, she was in some sort of cell, her hands tied behind her back. Around her, she could hear the agony of other women who had suffered the same fate as she had.

She wasn't in the cell for very long. Almost immediately after she had realized where she was, several men had entered the premises, whisking away women one by one, retaliating against anyone who resisted. When they got to her, she went without a fight. They took her up to the surface to what appeared to be the docks, placed her in a shipping container, and shut the door, engulfing her in darkness.

The 'ride', as one could call it, was miserable. It was only a day, but with the rocking of the barge, it felt like an eternity. At one point, it was clear that she was being craned, and the ride continued past the waves. When the doors opened up again, a sweltering heat smashed into her face. It took her eyes a bit to adjust, but when they did, Mara realized they had brought her to Vacuo.

Again they herded her, but this time it was back into a cell. With the slamming of the door, they tossed some exotic clothing into the cell and ordered her to put them on. She glared at them, demanding with her eyes for some privacy and they did so, preferring not to have to deal with anymore hassle.

When she was done, they brought her back outside to a stage with a small crowd gathered. Not having been the first to be let out, the crowd seemed to be placing prices on the girls with a surprisingly amount of civility. Mara watched until her turn was up. They led her by leash onto the stage and her own auction commenced. Of course it was no laughing matter back then, but when she looks on it now, she was modestly brag about how she managed to snag the highest price. "Those fuckers" she would add as a cherry on top.

For years, Mara was a pet being used by one owner until they tired of her only to be transferred to the hands of another. For years, she endured as best she could while she waited for a chance to make a clean, stealthy escape or for a rescue party to find her. In the meantime, she did a little training everyday out of the sights of those around her. She waited for a long time, but nothing ever happened.: no rescues, no openings. Upset, disappointed, bitter, and extremely frustrated, Mara gave up on the idea of rescue, instead only turning to only herself to get her out of this mess. She went on, trying to remain strong-willed, but she was slowly chipped away at day after day until one day she finally snapped. After an altercation with her master, Mara grabbed the nearest heavy object she could and smacked him atop the head with it before bolting out into the dead of night.

Almost immediately Mara began to regret her decision, certain that they would find her, and in doing so, provide her with some unimaginable fate. She wouldn't be able to show her face; she was essentially still a prisoner, except her cell went with her to whatever hole she managed find herself in night after night. She changed clothes soon after leaving, stealing some garments off an open-air rack, and proceeded to lay as low as she could, awaiting the day they would find her and take her away. She spent her days hidden away, sleeping in abandoned buildings or rarely-treaded rooms in occupied ones. During the night is when she became active, scavenging for food and clothing as well as continuing her training which she had been doing in secret before. A long while passed and they never found her, whether due to her prowess or their apathy she wasn't sure.

Eventually, she did find the courage to walk around in daylight, albeit with a covered body and face. Like the breaking of her will, every day she spent in the light rejuvenated her spirit. She looked into doing one-off jobs so she wouldn't have to forage or steal anymore, and she trained more seriously in combat by finding someone willing to teach her, preparing for the day that her confidence may have been misplaced. With time, she felt stronger and more empowered than she had ever felt before.

Still, there was still something missing. Mara thought about it constantly, and she eventually realized that she couldn't keep doing nothing. Sure, she was starting to make something of herself, but there were many others that still needed help. Filled with a resolve and a mission, she set out on her crusade. She started with her most recent captor, managing to simply free the woman that replaced her. She continued down the line of her masters, her methods getting more violent and extreme, culminating in the murder of her first, and it was almost…euphoric, and it was this feeling that would twist her into someone merciless.

By that time, a small band had formed around Mara from the victims who had decided to following are, either because they had nowhere else to go or they wanted to join in her crusade. The group continued on this path, continuing to hunt her former masters and branching out to the former masters of other party members.

With time, as their pool of targets began to slowly dwindle, the group's 'just' crusade began to falter as well and their ideals started to erode. What started as a group of seemingly righteous individuals turned into a band of vigilantes, and eventually after that, nothing more than a small mercenary group/hit squad with very little moral compass to speak of, and Mara was at the helm; many left during throughout the transition, citing that Mara wasn't who she once was. She dubbed the group 'Siren' as a reference to the fact that many in the group had been brought from overseas, and for the irony of having mythical sea creatures in the middle of a desert.

Personality: Mara was once a kind and merciful soul, a light that brightened even the darkest of days. She was once a loving mother and wife, but the sandstorm that was Vacuo gradually and eventually dimmed her light; now, she isn't even bright enough to see her hands in front of her face. Once just, looking to free those who were like her, she became tainted by the Vacuan culture where it wasn't the kind-hearted who survived, it was the strong, the cunning, and the merciless, and that is what she became. Despite being something like a mercenary nowadays, the money it brings in is just a nice bonus; she's just in it for herself.

By nature, Mara has always been tuned to details. Whenever she got curious, she would follow all interests to their roots, or at least until she could no longer comfortably understand the details anymore. She was never been caught off-guard by trick questions in exams, and she is quick to pick up on social anomalies as well as the behaviors of people. It's this trait of hers that makes her not much of an icebreaker as she's too busy takes notes on the people around her. That's not to say doesn't socialize--she enjoys a good conversation like everyone else.

For the most part, Mara has retained her motherly traits. She is always trying to find ways to nurture those in the group who are younger than her, and she makes sure that those older than her are able to live comfortably. Mara is highly protective of the group. She makes sure to handle dealings with outsiders herself. In the event of something going wrong, Mara would prefer to go down than any of her companions.

As a leader, Mara tries to run a tight ship. She does understand that the group is fairly amateurish and things may not go as she hopes but she still, is quick to punish those who endanger the group regardless of actual intent. While she has a reputation as a strict leader, Mara is not opposed to having a good time when the situation calls for it, though her 'good time' mainly just consists of cards and drinking around a dimly-lit round-table, joking with her companions how some of the dumb or silly things they've done.

Mara would be lying if she said she didn't want to visit home and her child but she is acutely aware of how much she has changed since she was first swept away to Vacuo. Besides, it's been 10 years with not a single trace of a search or rescue. Perhaps, she figures, they've given her up long ago as missing or dead. Despite not having seen her family for a decade, Mara still considers herself a married woman.

Hobbies/Preferences - Mara's leading hobby is training, not only because it keeps her and her companions safe but it is also her primary means of venting off any caged emotions rattling inside her. Beyond that, a nutritionist at heart, she also loves to cook. She finds the meticulous nature of cooking calming, and whenever she has an odd inventory, she enjoys trying to make the best dishes she can with whatever she has left available to her. For similar reasons, Mara also enjoys to sew, not only as a means of relaxation but also to save money since she just needs to buy cloth and thread.

For entertainment, her go-to activity is playing cards with her companions. Mara enjoys trying to predict how they will act in whatever scenarios they may find themselves in, and it also gives her an opportunity to boost her observation skills. Beyond just playing cards, Mara trains her card training  in an effort to become a card mechanic and illusionist. The manipulation of something as seemingly chaotic as a deck of cards fascinates her. She doesn't do anything tricky when playing with her companions, though they nevertheless get nervous when she is dealing. When playing with complete strangers, Mara would be willing to employ her tricks depending on the situation.

Mara doesn't have many major, insignificant likes or dislikes. One of her few is smoking. Mara despises smoking, enough that she's pretty much banned her companions from doing so. The smell is disgusting, the smoke slowly stains whatever is around, and it affects bystanders.

Aura and Semblance:
Coquelicot Red (#FF3800)

Mara is able to tag objects, and in doing so, she is able to continuously 'see' them even if they leave her line of sight. The more objects she tags, the more vague the sense becomes. For example, at one object, she is able to see that one object with absolute clarity; she could actually count the hairs on a person's head of she wanted to. At five objects, she has a somewhat vague idea of what the tagged objects are doing. If they are all holding up some amount of fingers, all Mara would be able to tell you if is her tags are holding up more or less than half their fingers. Past five, the actions of tags come progressively blurred. At this stage, she still has an approximate direction and distance of her tags, but those senses soon fade into pure noise past ten tags.

Tagging exhausts her brain, but because her semblance's senses degrade with every added tag, the total cost is the same regardless of how many active tags she has.

Combat Behavior:  With her main weapons being her knives and her various limbs, Mara is almost exclusively a melee fighter save for a pistol she carries around just in case.

When weaponless, her primary style involves reacting to her opponents in a swift and aggressive manner in order to shift control of situations to her (e.g. swiping a gun or forcing an attacker onto the ground and into a submissive position). This style typically does not involve striking, but if it is or becomes clear that invoking submission will be difficult to impossible, she will not hesitate to get her fists and shins involved.

Mara's combat style with knives is similar, but it does aim to kill rather than to simply incapacitate (as one would expect). Unless she smells blood or if she must attack, Mara prefers to fight reactively, using her opponent's attacks to create opening for hard strikes.

Against untrained or novice combatants, Mara has also dabbled in a style that involves repeatedly attacking a opponent with heavy low-kicks in order to hinder their movement and ultimately incapacitate them. She doesn't do so against stronger opponent because they generally are able to endure much more pain and such a style would drag the fight out longer than she would be uncomfortable with. On top of that, she has a tendency to leave small opening using that style that stronger opponents can more easily exploit.

She can handle up to five melee opponents at a time, the five opponents being completely inferior to her in skill. For greater numbers and against ranged fighters, help is required. When 1-on-1 with an equally skilled opponent, her choice to disengage or fight depends on the situation. If the fight is more or less meaningless, she will usually disengage. If the fight is significant, she will always take it.

MELEE WEAPON 1

Name: (None)

Primary Form: Two trench knives with the blades the same length as the handles. The blade retract into the handle allowing for them to be easily stored or used as brass knuckles.

Dust Functions: None.

History:  Snatched off the body of an unconscious guard during her first mission.

MELEE WEAPON 2

Name: (None)

Primary Form: A simple karambit.

Dust Functions: None.

History: Bought from a vendor.

RANGED WEAPON

Name: (None)

Primary Form: A simple, silver revolver, slightly worn. Mara carries this around at all times in a leather sheath around her thigh. Holds six rounds.

Dust Functions: None.

History: Bought from a vendor.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2017, 05:55:47 PM by Kaliot »
Pyre Persephone Delanto

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Sophea Devi Visorith - Beacon Nurse, Gardener, Health Nut, Scholar
Mao Visorith - First-Year Beacon Student, Team SFF[M]
Aurelia Caelius - Beacon Graduate, Huntress, Team [A]URM
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: ]
Yu Mei - Third-Year Haven Student
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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Mahava Plains - The bastion of Eastern Sanus
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Kaliot

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Re: Mara Lev
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2017, 06:16:26 PM »
Combat Behavior is clearly lacking. Would specifically like feedback on what anyone would like to see added there, though comments on any of the profile is fine as well.
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Sophea Devi Visorith - Beacon Nurse, Gardener, Health Nut, Scholar
Mao Visorith - First-Year Beacon Student, Team SFF[M]
Aurelia Caelius - Beacon Graduate, Huntress, Team [A]URM
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: ]
Yu Mei - Third-Year Haven Student
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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Mahava Plains - The bastion of Eastern Sanus
Obsidian Rose - Valish Criminal Organization

nathan67003

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Re: Mara Lev
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2017, 07:30:10 PM »
1) What even are Krav Maga and Silat styles? Just a brief 'looks like this' or something would be fine. I know I can Google it but a very, very summary description within the profile itself would be nice.
2) What would she do against someone of equal skill? If help isn't available against ranged opponents or overwhelming numbers, will she just run or adopt specific strategies?
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Kaliot

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Re: Mara Lev
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2017, 07:46:08 PM »
1) What even are Krav Maga and Silat styles? Just a brief 'looks like this' or something would be fine. I know I can Google it but a very, very summary description within the profile itself would be nice.
2) What would she do against someone of equal skill? If help isn't available against ranged opponents or overwhelming numbers, will she just run or adopt specific strategies?

* Hard to describe in detail, but they are basically styles where you (from what I pick out of it) reacting yo/parrying attacks and counterattacking very swiftly and with a lot a power.
* Fairly broad, but generally speaking, she will disengage if the fight is meaningless. If the fight is significant or if she is just plain looking for a fight, she won't back down.

Updated appearance, personality, and combat behavior.
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Sophea Devi Visorith - Beacon Nurse, Gardener, Health Nut, Scholar
Mao Visorith - First-Year Beacon Student, Team SFF[M]
Aurelia Caelius - Beacon Graduate, Huntress, Team [A]URM
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: ]
Yu Mei - Third-Year Haven Student
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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Mahava Plains - The bastion of Eastern Sanus
Obsidian Rose - Valish Criminal Organization

Kingnoname1

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Re: Mara Lev
« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2017, 03:30:36 AM »
Although pedantic the main advantage of Krav Maga is it's speed not it's power which may seen nonsensical but it is simply about removing threats as efficiently as possible rather beating opponents down.

As for the character itself I'd like a bit more detail into Mara's fall. I understand that it might be story related and you don't want to spoil things but does she still maintain the facade that it's about justice and they just need money? and if not why not? Like sure they have had a tough turn of it but mercenary company seems like a pretty big step.
No criticism is too harsh so hit me with your best shot.

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Kaliot

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Re: Mara Lev
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2017, 05:44:43 PM »
I definitely made it sound like it a striking style. Apologies for that. And I was looking for feedback on it so be as pendatic as you like. I should note that when I use aggressive, I do mean aggressive and not offensive. Shaved it slightly to make it sound correct, hopefully.

Her corruption happened pretty quickly on paper (my fault), but it was a very slow, very gradual process. When Mara realized that nobody was coming to save her, she was filled with many negative emotions, but she kept them locked away to avoid creating scenes (emotions slipped out when she cracked and made a risky escape). It wasn't until she got her revenge on her old master that she stopped holding them back. Updated personality and small bits of history to hopefully make it more clear.

'Mercenary company' is a bit of an overstatement, thougb 'mercenary' is as well on my part. The group is made up of 20-30 people at most with the majority being non-combatants. Wording very slightly adjusted for clarity.
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Characters: ShowHide

Sophea Devi Visorith - Beacon Nurse, Gardener, Health Nut, Scholar
Mao Visorith - First-Year Beacon Student, Team SFF[M]
Aurelia Caelius - Beacon Graduate, Huntress, Team [A]URM
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: ]
Yu Mei - Third-Year Haven Student
Suna Arevik - First-Year Shade Student, Scavenger-in-Training, Team S[S]MR
Mara Lev - Mercenary, de facto Leader of Siren

Worldbuilding: ShowHide

Mahava Plains - The bastion of Eastern Sanus
Obsidian Rose - Valish Criminal Organization

Kaliot

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Re: Mara Lev
« Reply #6 on: December 07, 2017, 11:11:49 PM »
Made edits over a few days so I don't recall where I started from.

* Re-formatted Appearance
* Updated Personality
* Slightly updated Combat Behavior
* Added Ranged Weapon (back-up weapon)
Pyre Persephone Delanto

Formatting

Characters: ShowHide

Sophea Devi Visorith - Beacon Nurse, Gardener, Health Nut, Scholar
Mao Visorith - First-Year Beacon Student, Team SFF[M]
Aurelia Caelius - Beacon Graduate, Huntress, Team [A]URM
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: ]
Yu Mei - Third-Year Haven Student
Suna Arevik - First-Year Shade Student, Scavenger-in-Training, Team S[S]MR
Mara Lev - Mercenary, de facto Leader of Siren

Worldbuilding: ShowHide

Mahava Plains - The bastion of Eastern Sanus
Obsidian Rose - Valish Criminal Organization