CHARACTER
Name: Azre and Erza Sundown
Age: 18, Born 4th of Maaclud
Species and Gender: Female Human (Erza), Male Human (Azre)
Symbol: Two falling stars, parallel to each other, and connected by their respective diamond-shaped shines.
Occupation: 1st Year Shade Students, former models, part time musician (Azre)
Appearance: Erza and Azre are both 5’8”, though Erza is 130lbs while Azre is 140lb due to an increase in muscle mass and weight. Erza’s hair is a bright platinum blonde tied back in a tight bun or ponytail, complimented by blue eyes with darker, warm olive skin and a C-cup. Often considered classically beautiful, the huntress-in-training wears a combat skirt in the form of a red, strapless dress and combat skirt, a black belt surroinding her middle that she uses to hold her sword's sheath. complemented with fishnet stockings and a pair of spike heels - something she fights remarkably well with, in an outfit that Azre finds complimentary to his own. She usually wears half-moon golden-rimmed spectacles in order to see. She does usually change her outfit to practically fit the weather, as long as the approvals get by Azre. If it were up to her, she’d likely dress in boots and tight clothing with more armor, but allows Azre to determine her dress to keep up their appearance a duo. She normally wears Dynami when going around school.
Azre is more broad-shouldered than his twin sister with a considerably greater amount of visible muscle mass, but possess the same slim waist and toned figure. He has bright red hair and usually styles his facial hair into a alfredo mustache, resulting in a somewhat outdated but handsome appearance, complimented by warm brown eyes and a golden-rimmed monocle over one eye, despite not needing it. He wears a red vest over a white overshirt that’s been rolled up to his sleeves, dress pants, and leather loafers, opting towards expensive and fancy clothing. Azre's very particular about his look and will often refuse to start anything until his dress and makeup are perfect - alongside Erza's. To help compensate for a shorter height, it isn't uncommon for him to wear platform heals, boosting his height to 5'10" or 11". When viewed shirtless, Azre has two noticeable scars along the underside of his pecs, as he’s still recovering from a mastectomy at age 17.
History: The Sundown twins were born as Erza Marie Sundown and Anna Grace Sundown on Zinnober 31st. The daughters of an exceedingly wealthy family with an entrepreneur father and the mother that died in childbirth, their father was out on business trips nearly all the time and didn’t have time for twin daughters - despite them being the last remnants of his wife. Subsequently, the two children were raised side-by-side and treated as nearly a single individual throughout their entire childhoods by nurses, nannies, and private tutors, never afforded the chance to socialize with the outside world. Both girls spent the majority of their times immersed in every study possible, alongside a strict physical fitness regime to ensure they both stayed in shape - it was Anna who naturally gravitated towards music however, and Erza towards writing. The tutors were more than happy to indulge the girl’s interests under command of their absent father, and both girls were soon quickly well-versed in subjects of their choice. They were furthermore afforded extreme amounts of freedom of expression as kids, with Anna choosing to run around in boy’s clothing all the time alongside her sister in frilly dresses. With a lack of other children their age, Anna and Erza were incredibly close, as close as two sisters can be. The only times they socialized outside each other and the staff was whenever it was necessary for them to join their father on business trips and at dinners - in which case, they were dressed up in their very best and expected to entertain curious adults for hours on end. Despite some rough beginnings, both girls valued the time as it was amongst the most they got to see their father - and both became quickly adept at playing linguistic gymnastics to become the perfect little angels for every one of their father’s “friends.”
Zanzabar Sundown didn’t pay much attention to his daughters, and it wasn’t until his fellow businessmen began to remark about how “pretty” and “gorgeous” and “soft” his daughters were he began to realize the women they were blossoming into. Heart-shaped faces, long hair, growing bodies - it was obvious they were both blossoming into beautiful young women. It was the first time Zanzabar recognized his daughters as something other than assets to be taken care of, they were more importantly a source of potential profit. On the eve of their 11th birthday, he offered the girls the opportunity of a lifetime: join him and act as the models for the Sundown Company’s new line of perfume and jewelry. It only took a glance between Anna and Erza to confirm they’d accept the opportunity, as it would afford them what they’d always wanted: time with their father.
Unfortunately, the modeling gig didn’t work out as the twins anticipated. It was rush from photoshoot to photoshoot, constantly forced into uncomfortable and feminine clothing; makeup this and hairdo that. Their father was rarely present, and instead they were afforded a hurried schedule that contrasted harshly with their previous leisurely lifestyle. But both twins, masters of social conduct, sucked it up and let it drag on in the hopes of getting close to their father. This pattern lasted for four years until the twins were 15, in which the marketing ads with the “Sundown Sisters” became an almost instantaneous success. Magazine ads, commercials, even billboards - the Sundown Twins were launched into stardom faster than they could understand what was happening. They were a worldwide name, the teens every preteen would kill to become - and could, with just a few purchases of extremely expensive perfume from their parent’s credit cards! The Sundown name become the brand associated with both luxury and youth, fun and maturity - a thin line that the girls managed to balance with strict regimes throughout their early teens. This was furthermore bolstered by the twin’s talents for music: Anna’s predilection for nearly all things that she’s studied through her entire life, alongside Erza’s pleasant singing voice, made them the perfect deal to put out occasional music videos for the Sundown Company.
Until Anna one day cut off all her hair.
Forced into feminine clothing on a daily basis, sexualized from a young age - all this awakened something in Anna. She’d always hated girl’s clothing as a child, and the help were perfectly happy to let her run around in boy’s clothing as long as she was happy and healthy. She’d opted into charming jacket-and-skirt combinations instead of dresses whenever a fancy dinner with her father’s business associates was deemed necessary. Puberty had been a hard time for her, as her body developed in unfamiliar ways she disliked - it wasn’t her body, anymore. Seeing her body sexualized on a day-to-day basis by men years older than her only made her more disconcerted.
She’d turned to the internet, as any confused teen would do. Googling “disliking my body”, “out-of-place in own body”, “can i make my breasts go away” - she’d stumbled on the term when reading in secret, the only one she’d ever kept from her twin sister. “Gender Dysphoria - the condition of feeling one’s emotional and psychological identity as female or male to be opposite to one’s biological sex.” It had clicked in an instant - they were male. They’d stepped into the bathroom on-location one day, picked up the automated razor in the onsite bathroom, and shaved off all her hair in one foul swoop.
He’d never felt more free than that moment.
He stepped outside the horrified gasps and stares of the entire crew. An entire career swept down the drain, just thanks to a teenager shaving their head - their father was beyond furious, sitting down the twins for what Azre recounts as the worst moment of his life. He received an earth-shattering lecture on what he’d done, an entire branch of the company thrown down the drain - threatening to take away every one of Anna’s privileges to the outside world, to banish her back to Mistral permanently, while Erza spent the entire time in the corner tapping intently on her scroll. Anna was alone with their father’s wrath for the first time ever, and had never felt more abandoned - but just when Zanzabar was threatening to separate the twins, Erza stepped in.
“Hey, what’s like, your name and pronouns and stuff now?”
The question was enough to shock Azre out of crying and their father into silence.
“Um… he-him, and… call me Azre.”
Erza had nodded in determination, pressed a button on her phone, and sent a note to every newspaper and celebrity gossip outlet she could reach that her sister was now her brother, they had a new name, and more importantly a new label - the “Sundown Twins.” The news was out, the new label was announced by Erza herself, and Zanzabar couldn’t risk contradicting his daughters without ruining his public reputation. The immediate launch of his new identity was more than Azre anticipated, but he took it in stride as he realized this was his bid to freedom - to become who he wanted.
Azre’s transition to regularly identifying as male was painfully public, but Azre embraced it like a warm hug. He was set to become a transgender model for every kid across Remnant, and therefore regularly updated his adoring fan base with every update possible - from his start of HRT at age 16, to the mastectomy he got when he was 17, to his first growths of facial hair. Azre thrived in this new environment, chasing the high of fame by being who he wanted to be more than ever - and before soon was incorporating his passions into his products, taking his lifelong passion of music and soon putting out occasional singles, and album in the works. Erza was overshadowed in her brother’s rapid rise to greater fame than either of them had ever seen, but was with him every step of the way - taking the same chances to start to explore their passions as well - starting to take her writing more seriously, and leaning towards texts of an academic quality. She discovered her love of literature and language, and the way they worked together - and learned to harness a quick wit that had hidden behind a vapid persona her whole life.
Despite finally blossoming as a person as a result of his transition, it wasn't without hardships: Azre faced an onslaught of too-personal interview questions, transphobic words from the half of his fanbase that was infuriated with his transition, and a scary amount of fetishization. It was thanks to Erza's endless help and support that he was willing to live through every hard word, and work to better himself; but even she couldn't shield him from the misconceptions of a cruel world. Azre's harassment culminated one day when at a cafe with his twin one day, he was confronted by an angry fan referring to him by his deadname and other crude slurs. Azre tried to keep the words from getting to him, but even he couldn't avoid getting upset, and once the violent situation escalated to physical confrontation, Azre was left pinned to the wall with a knife at this throat, threatening to be skinned alive.
Erza's shit was promptly flipped.
Coming this far and dealing with all their hardships, Erza wasn't about to lose her the only person who'd been there for her her entire life. Her semblance activated for the first time ever to an extreme degree, temporarily turning her into a hulking 8-foot monster with claws and fangs and a mane of yellow hair with more than enough phsyical strength to punch the would-be assailant into the wall and leave cracks behind. This transformation only lasted 10 seconds though, as her entire aura was completely drained - leaving her to collapse to the floor and resume a more human, if exhausted, form. She spent a few days in the hospital as a result of exhaustion, and the following court case deemed Erza's actions a necessary move of self-defense to protect her brother, letting her get off easy. Erza's sudden and harsh discovery of her semblance at age 17 sparked something within Azre - making him realize the popularity of hunters in Remnant, and therefore determining his goal for the future. His own more charming semblance was realized slowly by both him and Erza as his art of dazzling paparazzi and leaving them with nothing but good things to say became a formidable skill - to the point didn't seem to have a bad angle.
Years of physical conditioning and marital-arts training allowed them to both pass the entrance exam to Shade Academy with little difficult, even if Azre struggled somewhat academically. It was a joint decision to go all the way to Vacuo to attend a hunter's academy as another way of putting as much distance between them and their father, who by then they only associated with when necessary regarding the company name - both Azre and Erza's branch of the "Sundown Twins" had become a separate and successful enterprise. Azre enrolled for fame and glory, and like always Erza followed him - and at least one of them is more than prepared for whatever lies ahead. The other just wants to make sure her brother doesn't lose himself in the process.
Personality: Azre Sundown is an extroverted, charismatic, and incredibly vain man. After time attracting attention and fame for who he really was, Azre has become addicted to the spotlight, willing to do nearly everything to assure his reputation as a celebrity stays up alongside keeping himself entertained. He’s a natural charmer as he appeals to people’s best interests, a witty sense of humor wonderfully accompanying good looks, alongside a tendency to be endlessly entertaining, always some story to tell. He's furthermore naturally flamboyant and flirty, and will hit on anybody regardless of gender who shows interest and has a pulse - human or faunus doesn't matter. Despite his vanity and desire to stay in the spotlight, Azre really is a good person, aware of his position as a positive role model for kids all across Remnant. As a result, he’s always striving to be positive and upbeat and really be the role model the media perceives him as. This manifests most commonly in Azre’s greatest passion outside himself - music, being proficient in multiple instruments including guitar, piano, and the trumpet. His instrument of choice however is the saxophone, the classy brassy jazz instrument drawing him in with its associated history of suave entertainers. Overall, it isn’t inaccurate to call Azre the dominant twin.
Azre isn’t without his flaws as any person is - celebrities are always human. If a person doesn’t show an immediate liking of Azre, he’ll do their best to win over them to the point of annoying persistence - unable to fathom the idea some people may dislike him. This can escalate to incredible levels of desperation until he’s stressed himself out about one little thing, and it consumes him to the point he can’t think of anything else - he often puts too much stock in other people’s thoughts. This all-consuming desperation furthermore extends to his looks, unable to function unless his outfit, hair, and accessories are all perfect, alongside his sister’s - appearance is one of the most important things to him after all, and they’re a unit. Azre takes a lot to get angry after dealing with paparazzi his entire life, and an angry Azre is usually able to quickly calm down - but he’s hotheaded and confrontational when he reaches the point of anger, refusing to back down to anybody except Erza. There’s only a few things that are guaranteed to make him snap right away: his deadname, which he refuses to tolerate, or anybody hurting his sister in any way.
Erza’s always been the quieter twin, despite initially being the more popular one before her brother’s transition. Her good looks contrasted with the quiet, observational girl with a sharp mind - you wouldn’t anticipate someone like her to have a dry sense of humor and an introverted approach to life. She prefers to support her brother from the shadows while slowly developing her own talents in journalism and critical writing, learning about the world around her that she was so protected from as a child. Despite her investment in the academics, she is troubled in math however. She’s fascinated by language and culture, and it isn’t uncommon to find her buried in a book - at least, if you know her in real life. She’s furthermore one of the warmest, most supportive people you could encounter - her support was what gave Azre the courage to publicly transition before he started to gain confidence, and the quick wit and situational awareness she possess makes her good at both cheering up a person and helping them find rational solutions to their problems.
Erza still has her problems, regardless of how together she seems to be. Supporting her brother her entire life and socializing entirely with him, alongside a lack of apparent real social skills herself, has left her incredibly inept at making friends her own age. Beyond the appearance she puts on to appease adults and other professionals, she’s beyond awkward, often not knowing what to talk about or more importantly how to - leaving her shy and letting her brother do the talking. She’s prone to depression and anxiety due to her lonely nature and her brother slowly gaining independence, feeling left behind despite everything. When mad, unlike getting hot-headed like her twin, she has a colder anger - a million-yard stare that could pierce steel, and that quick, dry wit finding the best way to tear a person apart piece by piece, or ruin their life. Erza doesn’t take prisoners.
The twin’s relationship has directly affected either of their personalities drastically. While incredibly close as children and only growing closer through their modeling career, Azre’s transition and subsequent personality change as he grew in popularity left Erza reeling. He was the first to break from their obviously codependent relationship while still retaining a degree of obsessive control over their relationship - using Erza emotional labor when needed and nitpicking about appearance, both physically and emotionally. Erza’s been left confused as what to do as a result - her brother is obviously taking her for granted, but he still needs her, so it’s not like she can just cast him aside. They’ve been through too much together anyways, and despite everything they’re still a unit - even if there’s Azre and Erza, and Azre Sundown himself, but no Erza Sundown. Erza has yet to discover herself without defining herself by her twin brother.
Aura and Semblance: Azre has a slightly smaller aura than normal, leaving him a poor defense in a warm blood orange/red. Erza’s aura is slightly stronger than her brother, colored gold. In a rare case of hereditary semblances affecting both twins at once, both Erza and Azre have the same one: Appearance Manipulation. Both can willingly change how they appear to other people on an individual basis, with one important distinction: Azre’s semblance makes him more appealing, while Erza’s terrifies.
Azre’s semblance allows him to cater to what people find most attractive. His voice becomes more enchanting and captivating, his hair might lengthen, and or he’ll grow taller - whatever the person’s type is, the more one-on-one time he spends with them, the more he’ll slowly morph to become that. This change is an illusion, only he and the person he chooses can see, and while milder features such as a captivating voice and constantly-perfect hair can be used in groups of people (and can only be used for 6+ hours within a day before sleeping, recharging, etc.) the ability to morph into what a person finds most attractive can only happen in one-on-one interactions. Azre’s unable to control the features he picks up in this form (at least yet) though he is aware of what he changes to look like, only able to control the intensity of his “charm”. While the captivating voice, flawless skin, and perfect hair are passive and can be maintained by Azre for several hours on end - most commonly in popular social situations, altering his appearance to best appeal to a person has a maximum usage time of up to an hour. This allusion can be shattered if the person he's talking to touches him, or he himself is distracted and drops the illusion, as it requires intense concentration and attention to keep up. It can furthermore be shattered if the person he's talking to gets distracted by anything or anybody else.
Erza’s semblance manifests in changing her appearance to appeal to a person’s greatest fears. Best used in combat, she’ll appear larger, stronger, and more terrifying than she really is - taking on animalistic traits such as sharpened claws, fangs, glowing eyes, and a wild mane of hair- an illusion that can only be maintained for up to 6 hours before rest is necessary. The more of her aura she pours into her semblance, the more stereotypically "scarier" it gets, to the point of growing extra arms, getting extra eyes, sharper teeth, etc. A generally scary allusion can be maintained for up to several hours by Erza, as it's a passive ability, but gaining any of the extra traits puts a greater drain on her, and maintaining a large, terrifying illusion can drain her aura completely within an hour. Just like Azre, her allusion can be shattered if she's distracted and if anybody or anything comes into contact with her (that she wasn't initially holding) when starting the illusion. Finally, while the more terrifying version of her monstrous persona can appear to everyone (unlike her brother gaining traits of what appeals most to a person), if she's distracted or her concentration from maintaining the more intimidating illusion is diverted, it drops completely.
The supposed physical changes for either twin are only illusionary, and they actually don’t get any of the traits they take on. This can hypothetically be done if either Azre or Erza pour their entire aura into maintaining the illusion. This is less useful for Azre, as his appearance will simply change temporarily, but has a much greater physical application Erza, as she’ll temporarily gain the height, strength, and wild attributes of her more intimidating persona. However, doing this is currently beyond either twin’s skill level, and the one time it did ever activate for either, Erza could only hold her new appearance for 10 seconds before her aura was completely depleted. Furthermore, either twin can hypothetically access the other twin’s form of appearance manipulation, but are yet to learn how to do so.
Combat Behavior: As anticipated, Erza and Azre fight best when working together or with a team. Their lifetime together has made them masters of body language, often creating strategic plans with just a few gestures that would be invisible to anybody else - allowing for unanticipated and sudden attacks by both twins. Azre acts mostly as a brawler and partial skirmisher, wielding his axe with hard and sudden strikes that will often leave an opponent staggering, working best within close range. Erza will then distract their opponent with ranged shots, or provide cover fire for her brother. When fighting together in melee combat, the twins work astoundingly well back-to-back. Azre will usually follow his orders, as Erza’s typically the one to come up with a better plan. If forced into one-on-one combat (which is a less than preferential scenario for either), both are surprisingly capable of using their semblance offensively - Erza’s is naturally excellent for startling and intimidating opponents, while Azre can at least throw them off temporarily by appearing extremely beautiful.
Both twins struggle when in one-on-one combat, as they’re used to fighting and training as a pair. Without the other, they often feel disconcerted on the battlefield - it’s like losing a limb, as they’re used to covering each other’s weaknesses. Azre’s absolutely useless at long-range due to the melee-based features of his weapon, and is incredibly vulnerable to snipers or frankly anybody with a rifle. He furthermore doesn’t have an advantage in combat afforded to him by a semblance, so needs to use everything that’s presented in the beginning of the fight in order to win. Erza’s more covered since the nature of her weapons affords her both close combat and mid-range capabilities, and can at least hide behind her cape when in the case of a sniper; but that doesn’t cover all scenarios.
WEAPON - Azre
Name: Saxobeat
Primary Form: Saxobeat is a golden-brass saxophone owned by Azre. The saxophone has a one-sided axe head built into the bell of the body, rendering it usable as a blunt-force cutting weapon as well as a completely usable musical instrument. By pulling a trigger located in the bend of the mouth pipe, Azre is able to activate the dust-based flamethrower built into the neck of the saxaphone - sending out up to 10 meter bursts of flames for 30 seconds at a time, before a reload of the dust chamber is necessary. The flamethrower in the saxophone can only be activated by blowing into the mouthpiece at the same time.
Secondary Form: By plugging Saxobeat into a round tube-shaped speaker he carries at his hip, Azre is able to rapidly amp up Saxobeat’s sound to an incredibly painful deterrent tone that’s effective up to 200 meters - temporarily paralyzing opponents in pain. To avoid being affected by Saxobeat’s sound himself, Azre (and anybody else in the immediate vicinity) must use sound-canceling earbuds.
Tertiary Form: Saxobeat is carried in a specially-modified saxophone case.
Dust Functions: Saxobeat’s “flamethrower” functions by loading pure powdered dust into a cartridge in the body of the saxophone. The flamethrower can hold a sustained blast for up to 30 seconds as long as the cartridge is full, the effects of the blast depending on the type of dust loaded:
Fire: creates a 10 meter blast of flames, burning on contact.
Ice: creates a 10 meter cone of ice dust, freezing surfaces on contact and causing frostbite.
Electric: Creates a bolt of lighting, consuming the entire cartridge at once; discharging up to 100 meters depending on the location of the target.
History: Saxobeat was made by a professional weaponsmith, comissioned by Azre once he decided to enroll in combat school, with the strict instructions of “...looking as badass as possible.”
WEAPONS - Erza
Name: Dynami
Primary Form: Dynami is a dark-red “cape” with white stripes at the end. Formed of what appear to be heavy fabric, the weave actually consists of a flexible kevlar covering, the inside lined with a chainmail-lock mechanism. When in combat, Erza is able to slide her right arm through a series of fabric loops along Dynami’s front edge, before bringing it up and “snapping” it into place in front of her, causing it to take on it’s primary rigid form - the chainmail mechanism interlocks, forming a surface that’s as hard as any regular metallic shield.
Secondary Form: When not in combat, Erza is able to wear Dynami as exactly what it is - a cape, secured at her left shoulder with a pin in the shape of her and her brother’s symbol. It goes down to approximately waist-height.
Tertiary Form: Dynami is capable of being removed and hung up like a regular cape, but unfortunately it isn’t machine-washable, and must be tended to by hand.
Dust Functions: The white stripes along the bottom of Dynami serve as channels were Dust in the form of glamour is applicable. Adding fire dust would warm Erza, adding ice dust would cool her (what she prefers to use in the hot deserts of Vacuo). She prefers to not use beyond those types, as anything else is just relatively uncomfortable.
History: Dynami was a joint effort between the weaponsmith that built Saxobeat and a guild of seamstresses that Erza commissioned, working to create a weapon that would help make up for her brother’s weaknesses while still allowing her a modicum of comfort.
Name: Coreiseuse
Primary Form: Coreiseuse is a double-bladed shortsword with a blade length of 24 inches, made of black metal with red highlights. The blade is capable of being dual-weilded with Dynami as Erza snaps it quickly to and from shield mode, and provides her with a short-range option when working alongside her brother in close combat.
Secondary Form: By pressing a button on the hold of her sword, The blades of Ferrum collapse inwards while a hidden barrel running the length of the blade extends. The hilt extends grows to become the butt of a rifle, and Coreiseuse becomes a standard lever-action rifle with a 5-bullet magazine and simple iron sights. Capable of sniping up to 450 yards, Erza uses the rifle without Dynami in battle to provide long-range cover for allies.
Tertiary Form: Coreiseuse is carried in a metal sheath on Erza’s right hip, held in by a series of magnets to prevent it from falling out.
Dust Functions: In it’s secondary form, Coreiseuse is capable of using dust-tipped bullets. In its primary form, a cartridge of dust can be loaded into the hilt of the sword.
Ice: Gives blade a frostlike sheen, capable of freezing enemies with contact. Good for up to five hits with an opponent, or a two full minutes of freezing blade.
Fire: Lights blade aflame, chance of burning on contact. Good for up to 5 hits with an opponent or a full two minutes of fire.
Electric: Electrocutes enemies on-contact with the sword, single-use.
Kinetic: Allows for a greater amount of force to be applied when swinging. Good for up to 5 hits with an opponent or two full minutes of use.
History: Commissioned by Erza by the same hunter who made Saxobeat, Erza requested a sword with an inbuilt rifle “To accommodate for my brother’s ridiculous weapon.”