nightelf37: Instead of a crossover Huntress or Huntsman, I decided that this chapter will be a special one, in commemoration to the creator of RWBY, Haloid, and Dead Fantasy, as well as animator for some episodes of Red vs. Blue: Monty Oum (Requiescat in pace). I've seen articles of RWBY in TV Tropes, and saw one of my favorite authors in FF dot net write some too, but it wasn't until a Christmas Party in 2014 when I saw the trailers of the show. It got me hooked, and before I knew it, I was a fan as well.
And like many fans, I eventually started making my own OCs, so as a tribute to him, I will feature them right here. These OCs belong to me, but RWBY is property of Rooster Teeth and dearly beloved Monty Oum.
Team BOGS
This team specializes in ranged combat and often resort to it when it comes to a fight. However, like any self-respected Hunter, they know when to switch to melee combat. They have varying thresholds when it comes to when it's time to switch though. All of them are graduates from Signal Academy, same-year in fact.
(If I'm ever writing a RWBY story featuring these four, it'll be akin to my Shisno Chronicles stories, but they won't be interacting much with RWBY or JNPR. It'll just be a side story that takes place in the same time frame. Of course, since this is Beacon, I'll eventually have BOGS mix with the canon teams on occasion. Depending on whether or not there were other Signal graduates in the same year as Yang—since Ruby was moved forward two and thus isn't technically a graduate, and now we can't confirm it since our dear Oum is now departed—BOGS will be in the same Initiation as the canon one. But I'm getting too ahead of myself.)
Name: Brenda Azuris
(Azuris is—as far as I know—original, but I derived it from the term "azure", which is a light shade of blue.)
Gender: Female
Backstory: Being born in a family of esteemed Hunters, Brenda was forced to attend Signal to uphold its legacy. Unfortunately for the Azuris family, she's a pacifist by nature, and was hesitant to even battle. But she didn't want to bring shame to them, so she trained regardless, focusing on improving her accuracy. For some reason, she didn't trust on Aura to defend her opponents, and thus she primarily focuses on disarming (mainly, shooting out of their hands) and disabling.
After three years following this philosophy, that all changed when a Grimm invasion occurred on the village in Patch. Everyone at Signal fought to defend their home. Brenda was at the rear line, preventing her teammates from dying, and knocking down/distracting Grimm long enough for others to kill them. And then an Alpha Beowolf managed to corner her. She would've died then and there were it not for a certain first-year Huntress who had just finished constructing her weapon; a scythe-wielder named Ruby Rose (though they did not see each other up close, Ruby having sniped the Beowolf from a distance). Not only did Brenda owe her her life, it was here that she realized that the Grimm have no concept of mercy and if unimpeded will kill everybody she ever cared for. Since then, she's become more adamant in becoming a Huntress, to protect her beloved ones.
Appearance: Brenda stands at six foot one, though she doesn't take much pride in her tall stature. Her cyan hair is tied in a braided ponytail, she has hazel eyes, and has a slight tan in her skin. She wears a white t-shirt, a navy blue vest over it, both of which bare her midriff, denim jeans, and white low-heeled boots.
Her symbol and family insignia is a crossbow pointed upwards in front of the sea and a leaping dolphin.
Personality: Even in her late teens, Brenda is still a pacifist, choosing to disable/disarm opponents when given the chance. She's a fairly sociable person, though she gets awkward around men (with the eventual exception of her teammates). She's reluctant in taking the role of leader, but she knows her keen eye makes her ideal for pointing out weak spots for her teammates.
Weapon(s): Brenda's weapon is a blue automatic crossbow named Crossbeater that fires Dust-enhanced bolts. Stationed close to the cyan-colored bow limbs is a revolving chamber which she can rotate to change what Dust she'll be using. The bow limbs are wide, flat in a front-view respective, and sharp at the edges, which is useful in this weapon's alternate form.
The second form of this weapon is revealed when its navy-colored stock is folded to be parallel with the length of the Crossbeater and its bow limbs are folded in. In this form, a second trigger is 'unlocked' and when pressed, it causes the bow limbs to spin in a high velocity, making it part-bat, part-eggwhisk. Not only can she deal maximum damage against Grimm, Brenda can also use this form to snag the weapons of other Hunters, particularly curved blades like scythes and kusarigamas. There is also a third button also unlocked to imbue the Crossbeater with whatever Dust is set at the time.
Semblance: Concealment. When positioned against "natural backgrounds" (e.g. foliage, mist, underwater, snow, desert sands, etc.), she can render herself completely invisible. Obviously, this doesn't apply in man-made terrain, which is why she also brings special Mist Dust grenades and crude smoke bombs that aid her Semblance in a pinch.
Fighting Style: In contrast to most Huntresses, Brenda isn't very suited to close combat and is primarily a sniper. With her excellent accuracy skills, she can land multiple headshots on mindless Grimm, smarter ones needing to be lead a while first. Of course, as part of Signal's—no, all Hunter schools'—courses, she has rudimentary martial arts in case she gets into trouble.
Hobbies/Interests: swimming, hide-and-seek, sharpshooting
Dislikes: short ceilings, cramped spaces (not claustrophobia), fighting non-Grimm
Name: Oliver Saffron
(Saffron is a shade of orange tinged with yellow. Or is it the other way around?)
Gender: Male
Backstory: The earliest Oliver can remember of his life is that he and his parents were part of the Schnee Dust Company's labor force. With how they treat Faunus, life was difficult.
And then, the new White Fang happened. The political organization attacked the mines the Saffrons were forced to work in, killing all the humans in there. One would've thought that the Faunus workers were now safe, but they were wrong. In the need for more men, the liberated workers were press-ganged into joining the White Fang, and any who didn't wish to were…terminated. Oliver's parents were among these, and had bought time for him to escape.
While on the run, Oliver ended up in a canoe to get away from his parents' murderers. Cold and lonely, he shivered as he slept, eventually landing ashore at Patch. A Signal Academy Huntsman named Callum Blanc found him in the brink of starvation and took him in, nursing him back to health. A couple days later, Oliver decided to become a Huntsman, with his drive being a desire to ensure that Faunus and humans can live in peace.
One would presume that from this past, Oliver would be driven by a narrow-minded desire for revenge on the White Fang and/or the Schnee Dust Company, but Professor Blanc's stern tutoring put a permanent halt on that. Blanc hammered it into his head until is stuck that revenge is not a proper drive; to be obsessed by it would not only leave him empty once he achieves it, but be prioritized over reason and likely to get him killed in the long run.
Appearance: Oliver has short black hair, a tall and muscular build, yellow eyes, a (He-Man styled-)battle harness over his leather vest, an orange bolero jacket-like clothing over that, jeans, and black shoes. As a tiger Faunus, he has a striped tail, which he trained to be insensitive to to pretend that he isn't one and instead wears a tiger tail for unknown reasons, even if it fools no one. He also has black markings on his face themed like a tiger's.
On the back of the jacket is his symbol: a roaring tiger's face surrounded by a lion's mane.
Personality: In combat, Oliver is a passionate and boisterous battler, taking pleasure in the thrill of the fight. This doesn't seem to carry over outside combat, though; there, he's surprisingly tranquil, amicable even. Even so, getting him angry is a bad idea, especially by pulling his tail. Even if he pretends it's an accessory, he admonishes pullers for violating his personal space. He's also unfortunately uncomfortable around any wolf Faunus, "unfortunately" because one of his teammates is just that.
Weapon(s): Oliver's weapon is a fire orange double-bladed greataxe-shotgun he calls the Shotaxe Gamma (having remade it two times prior). The axe blades are large, rectangular, and blunt, though cleaver additions can be attached for Grimm-slaying. At the bottom of the blades, pointing at the wielder when held as an axe, are two spikes that are automated with technology and Dust so that they fly out of the weapon and assist him in battle by slicing at foes or pinning things or as distractions.
In its shotgun form, the silver alloy stock and retractable trigger are positioned between the axe blades, thus also serving as a blunt implement when used as an axe. The loading chamber is positioned opposite the stock and uses standard Dust cartridges. Not very remarkable, but if the spike drones are dormant and on the axe, Oliver can direct a Grimm's charge into them.
Semblance: Oliver's Semblance is unknown at this time, but it's speculated to be a minor form of telekinesis since his spike drones never leave his line of sight when in motion. It also explains that despite his size, he can dodge as well as his teammates.
Fighting Style: Even if the team specializes in ranged combat, Oliver's most suited in melee compared to the rest. As suggested by his bulk, he's all for delivering powerful strikes on his foes, and tanking blows from them if he can't dodge, which he's quite capable of (dodging).
Hobbies/Interests: fitness exercises, calmness exercises, combat
Dislikes: White Fang, Schnee Dust Company (though he's starting to tolerate Weiss enough to not get in an unnecessary fight with her)
Name: Gregory Viridian
(Viridian is a shade of blue-green. During development, I sometimes forgot this was the name I first planned for him and used Vermillion, which is a red-with-orange color, thus making his last name ironic, since his color scheme is green.)
Gender: Male
Backstory: Not much is known regarding Gregory, only that his place of origin is in the south, likely in the area surrounding Vacuo if not Vacuo itself. His parents were traveling Hunters and always brought him along, which was easy since he was an only child, and was trained at an early age. He also had a one-time puppy love affair with a girl with dark skin like him, light green hair, and was well-developed for her age; that quickly ended when she disappeared on him, his wallet gone with her.
And then one day, his parents had a falling-out, their relationship not having been that strong to begin with. Gregory had seen it coming a long time and, not wanting to be forced to choose between them, decided to strike out on his own. Luckily for him, at that time being, they were at a port with a ship en route to Patch. He stowed away in it, and once in Patch, signed up at Signal Academy.
Appearance: Standing at one inch shorter than six feet, Gregory is a dark-skinned human with dark green hair and brown eyes. He's also the heaviest of the team, more so than his more muscular teammate because he happens to be fat, especially in the belly and the arms. This is reportedly due to a low metabolism. Despite this, since part of his weight is also from muscle (even if they're not that well-defined), he can keep up with his more agile teammates. His apparel consists of a green angora sweater, brown pants, and sandals for his otherwise bare feet.
His symbol is a sword buried blade-first into a stone, and a snake coiling around it as it ascends, its head resting on the crossguard.
Personality: Gregory is an overall nice guy; respectable, kindhearted, serene, and even sympathizes with Faunus bordering on envy for their advantages. He does have one glaring flaw however. Aside from being teased on his physique, which deals a blow on his psyche, ridiculing his weapon in any way however slightly always irks him and sets him off. The reason behind this is because this style of weapon-craft was in honor of his parents, and in spite of their history he still respects them.
Weapon(s): Gregory's weapon is a wide greatsword he calls the Railblade. The reason it's called that is because of its gun function. Instead of somehow folding into it, the Railblade is already in both forms. At the tip of the blade is the gun barrel in which Dust bullets are expelled in a rapid rate. The forest green handle can be folded to a different setting so he can then unveil the usually-hidden trigger for using his gun mode as well as a loading chamber for Dust magazines.
Due to the weapon's weight, when used as a gun, Gregory rests his hand on a metal cushion that covers a portion of the greatsword's blade. This doesn't seem to dampen its ability to cut apart Grimm though, since it can slide along the sword's length, resting against the leaf green crossguard when the Railblade is not in use. Also, at the sides of the blade are LED power lines that signify what element Dust he's using, green being the default color.
Semblance: Clairvoyance. This Semblance is why he's capable of switching between modes so fluidly and as capable of dodging as any other Hunter.
Fighting Style: Due to his figure, Gregory prefers to stand his ground in a fight and move his legs as little as possible. His Semblance helps with that. He delivers powerful strikes with his Railblade, and thanks to its width can block projectiles easily.
Hobbies/Interests: meditation, mediation, Faunus
Dislikes: any who diss his Railblade, Faunus haters
Name: Sylvia Gray
(A twofer. Sylvia and Gray are references to that color between black and white.)
Gender: Female
Backstory: Not much is known about Sylvia apart from the fact that she enrolled in Signal out of the blue, and that prior to Beacon, she hid the fact that she was a wolf Faunus with a hair bonnet, which made her look rather cute. Now at Beacon, she had decided to let the world know her true heritage.
Unbeknownst to everyone (and her teammates before she decided to tell them), she was a former member of the White Fang, back in its "peaceful protesters" days. Back then, she was an amicable fellow, and had made acquaintances with lots of its members, including befriending a puma Faunus named Tukson. When the change in leadership that would turn it into a terrorist organization occurred, Sylvia felt something was wrong and decided to leave. She didn't try and tell anybody else (aside from Tukson) do the same, for she knew it would be pointless; they were in the White Fang because they felt they were making a difference there and because they were safe from humans.
The act of leaving many of her friends behind filled her with much grief, and thus she hides her sorrow with silence. She was thankful however for leaving when she did; those who did later were either killed or forced into hiding, which unfortunately adds to her grief. As such, she simply hopes they survive as long as they can until peace with Faunus and humans is successfully achieved.
Appearance: Sylvia is the shortest of the team, but not really by much, standing at five foot two, and sporting a sylph figure. Poking through her lustrous, mid-back length, silver hair are her wolf ears. She also has pale skin and amber eyes. Part of her standard apparel is a black-and-white dirndl (black at the bodice, white with black dots at the skirt, a gray sash tied into an elegant bow), white stockings (grade A "zettai ryouiki"), and Mary Jane shoes.
Personality: Sylvia speaks in short coherent sentences, and normally only when replying to somebody or when she has something important to say. Otherwise, she keeps to herself and talks little. She does learn to open up a bit to her teammates though. She also never forgets a face, and can identify them easily even if it's been years. As a result of her pre-Signal past, if she makes a friend/ally, she'll do her darnedest to keep them safe.
Weapon(s): Sylvia wields a halberd she calls Tawiscara that is just as tall as she when fully extended, retaining only half its length when in compact form. Its blade was silver, like many others designed for Grimm-slaying, and was just wide enough to behead an Ursa Major with relative ease. It has a gun barrel at the blade end of her weapon for releasing Dust bullets. The trigger (and trigger guard) is positioned in the middle, and the loading mechanism is between it and the business end, (think of the Wutai halberd in Final Fantasy VII, probably Crisis Core).
Semblance: Heightened Reflexes. When this Semblance activates, in Sylvia's perspective, time seems to slow down to a crawl, which enables her to counter many fast attacks that would've otherwise left her wide open to more attacks. Thanks to her training, her body seems to operate in the same speed, as if she was under a "haste" effect.
Fighting Style: Sylvia is an excellent solo combatant, but is capable of following directives from others, making her a great team player. She is extremely skilled in the use of her weapon, and can block attacks from both in front and behind her with relative ease. And thanks to her Semblance and physical training, she can keep up with many Hunters who base their battle strategy on speedy attacks.
Hobbies/Interests: detective novels, singing (alone, like in the shower)
Dislikes: abandonment, feline Faunus (though she learns to tolerate and eventually trust Oliver)
nightelf37: Yes, I inevitably put in some original history and associated the characters in BOGS with team RWBY at some level, but it's not by much. And that girl Gregory encountered may or may not be Emerald Sustrai. I am also aware that many of their characteristics are either direct contrasts or vague similarities with team RWBY's characteristics and backstories. Heck, RWBY (Red, White, Black, Yellow) is a derivation for the name BOGS (Blue, Orange, Green, Silver).
The fourth one was meant to be someone with a Purple or Violet motif to 'complete' the colors, but I eventually stuck with Silver because I couldn't come up with a good acronym, which is another rule for RWBY. While BOGS doesn't quite bring a color to mind for most, it does for me, even if it's a stretch; I envision the natural greens and browns in a bog, so it eventually does remind me of a color.
See ya on Third!