Keidivh
Warrior with the Silver Eyes
Livana Gemalde"Painting is a blind persons profession. We paint not what we see, but what we feel."
Name: Livana Gemalde
Age: 17
Aura color: White
Species: Faunus
Type: "I'm a Puma! ... Why are you looking at me like that? It's a real animal!"
Traits: Puma ears, fangs
Emblem:
Weapons: Künstler Berühren
A paintbrush designed by her father, Künstler Berühren is a paintbrush unlike any other in that it is able to use Dust based paint. While some would question what the point of this would be, Livana has proven that this tool not only creates beautiful art but is also a surprisingly potent weapon. When used simply for artistic purposes the paintings made are striking, seeming to come to life in a way. The rivers seems to run, fires blaze, trees rustle in the breeze. Many have been captivated by her works, which have become quite the hit in Atlas.
As a weapon, its effects are far less tranquil. Depending on the Dust being used Livana's brush is able to propel the Dust, activating it and causing an elemental attack. Simply put she is able to 'cast' elemental attacks, whether it be a gout of flame, a burst of lightning or strong gale of wind. This allows Livana to be a powerful, if fragile, force on the battlefield, able to wield Dust with ruthless efficiency.
Fighting Style: "Hmm, well if I had to describe myself, I'd say I'm more of a caster than anything else! That's basically nerd talk for saying I hide behind others and toss stuff at the baddies. With Künstler Berühren I'm able to cast my Dust paint at whatever I'm fighting, causing the Dust to trigger. This lets me unleash the elemental punch of Dust in its full form! But, well... Heh, I'm not the toughest girl you'll meet. My dad used to joke that a draft could blow me over. So I'm not any use when the fighting gets close. I've had to become pretty tactical when it comes to choosing when and where to attack. If I'm by myself, I'll try to use my semblance to bring in some back up.
If my back is against the wall, I can hold my own! Kinda.. For the most part. My moms trained me in evasion, she knows I'm not strong, so I make up for that by being really hard to hit! Still, it's only so long before someone splats me, so I prefer to not let myself get in those scenarios! Just consider me your glass cannon! Oh come on you haven't heard of that either?"
Strengths:
- Caster - Given her unique weapon and knowledge of Dust, Livana is quite skilled in casting primary elemental Dusts at her foes with her paintbrush. This allows her to dish out serious damage from a good distance.
- Evasion - Not being particularly strong or sturdy, being quick and agile are about the only things that keep Livana from being torn to ribbons or beaten into the ground. Years of training with her mother have honed this skill well, and she's become difficult to pin down.
- Aura expertise - In order to overcome her blindness, Livana has spent a great deal of time getting in touch with her Aura, tapping it to it's full potential. While she still has a great deal to learn, this work has paid off. Livana has taught herself to 'see' the Aura of those around her, allowing her a limited type of sight. Moreover she is able to see Dust, being connected to the Essence of Remnant itself. This is what allows her to paint so vividly. If large amounts of Dust are released or used around her at once though, her senses can become overwhelmed.
- Painter - Livana is a skilled artist, her works already gaining recognition in the upper echelons of Atlas. It is a passion she still pursues, and can often be found painting during her free time.
- Strategic - Being fairly vulnerable on her own, Livana has had to develop a keen mind in order to survive, quickly assessing the battle she is in and the best course of action to take.
- Acute senses - Thanks to being a Faunus, Livana's senses have become remarkably strong. Her sense of smell and particularly her hearing are far greater than most of those around her. This helps to mitigate the fact that she is unable to truly see.
- Physically weak - If Livana were to try and hit you, it wouldn't hurt anymore than a stray piece of paper being carried on the breeze hitting you. Alright, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the message.
- Not durable - Aside from not hitting hard, Livana can't take many hits either. While her Aura is decently strong, most of it is focused into her offensive abilities or left as a reserve for her semblance.
- Divided we fall - While a competent opponent by herself, to fully make use of her abilities Livana needs to be supported. Otherwise she will be hard pressed to activate her semblance, and will eventually be cornered by her opponents.
- Reckless - In order to accomplish her goal of defending others, Livana will often throw her tactical thinking out the window, throwing herself into harms way to try and protect others. While noble, this can land her in dangerous positions and her lack of durability only makes things worse.
- Self Critical - While it is good to recognize ones short comings, Livana is particularly brutal on herself. Every failure, every mistake cuts her deeply, and she will ceaselessly deride herself for it. This has led to her being overcome at times with self-doubt and loathing.
- Blind - Despite all her attempts to overcome it, Livana's blindness is still something that effects her in all aspects of life, particularly in becoming a Huntress. It can cause her to miss a vital piece of information that she isn't able to sense.
Semblance: The World is My Canvas
Something that she still struggles to grasp, Livana's semblance is fairly time consuming to use and she has found it difficult to be able to properly wield in combat. When active, Livana no longer needs a canvas for her to create art. Rather her brush is able paint the air before here like she would a canvas. When completed, her creation actually springs to life, ready to enact its creators will. While potentially powerful, her semblance is quite limited by a couple of factors. One is time. Livana needs to be able to fully complete her painting before her creation can become fully animated. Furthermore it can't be some half-assed job, but requires her full skill as an artist. If her painting isn't done well or is rushed, it will function poorly being quite weaker than normal as well as unstable.
All this means that it is very difficult for her to be able to make use of this semblance by herself, though she has successfully done so in a couple of instances
It is well worth the time and effort despite these issues, as her creations will fight with all with savage fury. Typically Livana paints a trio stuffed bunnies, after the stuffed bunnies her father gave her and she's kept to this day. While seemingly unassuming, they are vicious little beasts that will attack relentlessly to defend their creator. They are more for defense than anything else, giving Livana the breathing room to cast as she pleases, but they pack a punch, and being made of Dust paint gives them some versatility, possibly able to set themselves alight in flames or course with electricity pending on the paint used. As of now this seems to be the only thing Livana is able to reliably create.
Personality: Kind-hearted, chipper and full of life, Livana always seems to have a smile on her face even when the situation doesn't necessarily warrant one. Where as most would become embittered after facing constant years of bigotry and contempt, Livana doubled down on her positive attitude. Furthermore she is a genuinely compassionate person, and is always looking to lend a helping hand to anyone who is in need. Her difficulty in making friends during her formative years has led her to be a bit of a try hard however. While she tries to not come of as desperate for the approval of her peers and acts as though she doesn't need it, it is something she craves and tries desperately to attain. This can cause her to come off as an annoyance at times.
Even still, her genuine warmth can be enough to win people over. She also tends to act rather silly and even childish at times, leading some to perhaps think she is simple or innocent. They would be wrong to assume either. Despite the way she acts, Livana is actually a fairly smart girl and cultured as well, though she doesn't care to show it often. However if somebody gets her talking about the properties of Dust or her process as an artist they would find it difficult to shut her up. The young prodigy also enjoys playing board games, specifically Dungeons and Drakes, though she usually needs help to play given her blindness.
Livana can also prove to be surprisingly protective. This is most obvious when it comes to her sister who she defends viciously. Her cheery demeanor will fall away, replaced with a righteous anger, especially if she is in true danger. This doesn't hold true only for Ellia though, rather she will become protective of anyone she considers to be close.
Beneath her shining smile however is a girl who is oft wracked with self-doubt and guilt. Her failure in protecting her sister is something that haunts her to this day, and even now has not fully forgiven herself for letting it happen. It doesn't happen often, but occasionally her smiling facade will crack, leading to an emotional breakdown. This rarely happens however, with Livana not wanting to burden others with the consequences of her own failures. It is her wish to save others from suffering, not share her own.
Likes:
- Painting - "I know what you're thinking. 'But Livana... You're a Puma! How could you possibly paint?' Oh you think it's the blindness that gets in my way huh? Nah, it just gives me a different perspective, and I show it on the canvas!"
- Studying Dust - "Dust is the lifeblood of our world, a gift from the gods. How can I not be in awe of it? I mean seriously, who could just be like, 'Eh...'"
- Defending the weak - "There are a lot of people who can't defend themselves. I won't let them get hurt... Not again."
- Board games - "Oh my Dust you play Dungeons and Drakes too!?"
- Ice Cream - "I have no idea who could've eaten that whole carton. It's a mystery for the ages..."
- Fantasy and romance novels - "Who doesn't like a good fantasy novel? Adventure and excitement around every corner! Romance ain't bad either."
- Her sister - "She's my best friend, my blood. How could I not love her?"
Dislikes:
- Bigots - "Hating someone for something they have no control over... Can't fucking stand it. What, I swear! Sometimes..."
- Failure - "I can't... I just can't.."
- Being rejected - "I thought I would have gotten past this by now... Is there something wrong with me?"
- Vegetables - "Blegh! Just... BLEGH!"
- People doubting a Puma is a real animal - "I'm not making it up damnit! Why does no one believe me!?"
- Anyone messing with her sister - "Nobody messes with my sister. Except me... Shut up."
Bio: Born to the renowned inventor Aden Gemalde and infamous retired Huntress Eis Kalt, Livana had an interesting childhood to be sure. Now that can be said of most children who are born into the high society of Atlas, but it is made excruciatingly more complicated when said child is a Faunus. Of course with Eis being a Faunus herself, the controversy was not something the family was unused to. Her blindness was another factor they took in stride. As she grew Livana found it difficult to form friendships at her school, and commonly ran into the bigotry one would expect from Atlesian highborns, even if it was hidden behind strained smiles. This harassment was made all the more brutal given she was a defenseless blind girl. For some time her only true friend was her twin sister, Ellia. Though a cheery, kind girl this started to have an effect, enough so that Aden and Eis began considering pulling her out of primary school. Before they did however, Livana had joined an art club. A seemingly odd choice for a blind girl, but she was always up for trying anything. Taking up a paintbrush, she began to paint, guided by nothing other than her feelings. This strange sight caught the attention of a rather affluent artist who came to teach art from time to time. Impressed with her lack of vanity, and her intense passion, he took her under her wing for a time, allowing her to begin to truly develop as an artist.
Despite this the harassment at her school only continued to grow as those around her grew jealous of the special attention she received and the impressive works she could create. So she was pulled out of school to be personally trained by her parents, while her art teacher was hired as a personal tutor. As her passion for the arts grew, so to did her interest in both her parents lines of work. Her father being an expert in Dust and its properties passed on the interest to his daughter. She tried to learn as much as she possibly could about the incredible element, fascinated by its myriad of uses and mythical importance to the peoples of Remnant. It was her father in fact who decided to create Dust paint for his child to use and gifted her with Künstler Berühren. Eis meanwhile had always trained her daughter from the moment she could walk. Being a Faunus herself she knew how cruel the world could be, and wished to ensure Livana would be able to defend herself. Livana reveled in the training with her mother, and while lacking her physical strength she proved to be fast and agile.
When she was about 15 years old Livana had really grown into herself, becoming an up and coming artist in Atlas despite her being a Faunus and prospering under her parents tutelage. It was around this time that Livana had the experience that would cement her goal to become a Huntress. It started with a day as any other, her father was off at work while she and her sister trained with their mother. Except Aden never came home. Nor the the day after that. At first their mother tried to keep her daughters from worrying, stating that he was just busy with work. After about a week and multiple visits from the Atlas police however it became evident that something had happened. As the fourth week past, Livana could no longer contain herself, lashing out at her mother. Demanding to know what had become of her father. Unable to keep the truth from her child any longer, Eis revealed everything. The attack on her fathers research compound, the dead guards and her father no where to be found. Worse still, the police had no leads. At some level Livana already knew this, or at least that something horrible had happened. But to hear it from her mother made it all real. Livana collapsed, tears flowing from her eyes for what seemed like days. When there were no tears left to shed, Livana determined what she had to do. Become a full fledged Huntress, and find her father. Her sister Ellia had determined the same. Eis couldn't bear to deny their request, and trained them all the harder.
Months later Livana decided to take a trip to the outskirts of the city with her twin. At times she would leave the city to enjoy the quiet outskirts, being peaceful and tranquil compared to the bustling city. Ellia would often accompany her sister, enjoying playing in the snow covered fields and watching her paint. They had taken the trip so many times before, and this seemed like the perfect way to escape the pain of recent months. It had always worked before. It didn't this time.
It was an unfortunate circumstance that the defense perimeter around the outskirts wasn't at peak efficiency that day. It was an unfortunate circumstance that the current guard rotation was running late. It was an unfortunate circumstance that a Beowulf had slipped through the cracks, and found its way towards the sisters, sensing their despair. When Livana realized what was happening she desperately tried to protect her sister, though she was sorely unprepared. Both were badly injured before Livana's Aura finally unlocked and her semblance awoke. Taking Künstler Berühren, Livana hastily drew her three stuffed bunnies in the air, all of which animated and viciously attacked the Beowulf. The beast was slain, but the damage was done, with both sisters suffering some serious wounds. It was only later the Livana realized how serious her sisters had been, having lost her right arm and left eye from the experience. Her family tried to convince her that it wasn't her fault, but she would have none of it. She had failed to protect someone she loved. Failed to protect her father. But she wouldn't fail again. From that moment on Livana dedicated herself to becoming a full fledged huntress, to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.
Relationships:
Father- Aden Gemalde (Missing)
Mother- Eis Kalt
Twin Sister- Ellia Kalt
Quirks:
- Livana often bites her lip with her fangs when nervous, sometimes drawing blood if truly under duress.
- Despite being born blind, Livana's eyes are pools of sapphire.
- At nearly all times Livana has a choker on that bears the semblance of her sister. She will sometimes absentmindedly fiddle with it. It's one of her most prized possession, and will become truly livid if it's ever taken from her.
- Due to her blindness and refusal to use a walking cane, Livana will often bump into objects or people, or simply trip and fall flat on her face. Usually this is due to her simply not paying attention, as she has been known to traverse a battlefield fairly well.
- Livana despises being treated as broken or lesser due to her disability. She will try to brush it off as best she can, but if pressed will go off on someone.
Theme song:
Last edited: